YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

A HISTORY

OK

LONG ISLAND

From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time

BY

WILLIAM 8. PELLETREAU, A. M.
VOL. II

THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York and Chicago
1905

INTRODUCTION

PON the writer of this has devolved the task of editing the present or second
volume of the "History of Long Island." While overseeing and aiding in all,
his principal labor has been that connected with the history of his native county
of Suffolk. In this field it has been his chief desire and plan not to follow and
repeat former histories, but to add as much new material as possible, and the reader must
judge as to the degree of success which has crowned his effort.
It is painful to reflect that of the very limited editions of Hon. Silas Wood's "Sketch
of the Early Settlements of Long Island," a large part were never sold, and that its
honored author never realized sufficient to recompense hirn for the expenses of printing.
Almost the same may be said of Benjamin F. Thompson's "History," for the profits of
that masterly work never yielded a reward at all proportionate to the time and labor
expended in its production. These works are now so dispersed as to be difficult of access.
In view of these facts the publishers of the present work are to be highly commended for
their enterprise, and the writer has taken a genuine interest in aiding them in their work.
Since the publication of the histories above referred to, a marked change in public
sentiment has taken place. There was never a time when the general interest in Histor
ical and Genealogical information was so deep as at present, and a book is valued in
proportion as it abounds in facts adding to the store of present knowledge. Another
consideration which presents itself is the fact that the greatly increased advantages for
education, as afforded by Academies and their successors, the Union Schools, have pro
duced a vastly increased number of intelligent readers able to fully appreciate the labor
and importance of historical research.
Among the new material contained in this volume may be mentioned the very ex
tended accounts of the Patentship of Moriches and of all the region on the south side of
Long Island from East Hampton to the former Queens County. The early land grants
for these necks of land, now valuable and rapidly increasing in value, are given in detail,
with their subsequent sales and transfers. The account of Humphrey Avery's Lottery is
a most interesting episode in the history of one of the most flourishing villages in Suffolk
County, and is very characteristic of the former days.
In one respect it would seem as if recent historical research came too late. Long
and very expensive law suits have been the result of a too limited knowledge of the prin-

vi INTRODUCTION.
ciples upon which all the towns in Suffolk County were founded. The publication of the
Town Records shows that, in the beginning, all the lands were purchased by a few persons
who were, in the fullest extent, the town, and were the sole owners of the lands they had
purchased and paid for. All other persons who settled in the towns were not owners,
but simply neighbors, and had no share in the undivided lands unless they purchased such
a part. So long as any lands of any importance (in the eyes of the first settlers) still
remained undivided, the lists of the Proprietors and the rights they possessed were pre
served with minute care and accuracy. But, after the lands were divided, this was no
longer done, and, at the present time, although there is a large amount of property of
great present and prospective value, which in reality belongs to the descendants and suc
cessors of the original Proprietors, yet it is now utterly impossible to tell who they are.
The origin and growth of the newspaper press in Suffolk County has been fully given.
The pioneer newspaper, founded by Frothingham in 1791, is now represented by twenty-
five papers, and the number seems likely to increase, while far the largest number are
well supported. The Bibliography of the County is a most interesting and valuable addi
tion to our knowledge on that subject.
Among those to whom especial thanks are due for valuable assistance in this work
a very prominent place must be given to Mr.. William Wallace Tooker, of Sag Harbor,
whose learned researches in regard to the Indian language have given his name a well
deserved prominence. To him also we are indebted for most of the information concern
ing the early newspapers and books issued in the early days.
To Mr. Orville B. Ackerley, for many years Clerk of Suffolk County, we owe many
thanks for free permission to examine his volumes of copies of ancient deeds and docu
ments which he has been collecting for long years, furnishing material that cannot be
found elsewhere.
Mr. Nat C. Foster, of Riverhead, has been long identified with the Agricultural Soci
ety and the Historical Society of Suffolk County. This work has been greatly benefited
by his contributions, and he well deserves the thanks of all sons of Suffolk County.
The writings of Rev. Dr. Epher Whitaker, a valuable mass of historical matter, have
been freely drawn upon, with the permission of that eminently scholarly writer.
The earlier chapters of this volume, including those pertaining to the present Nassau
County, and the chapter of War history, are from the pen of Captain F. Y. Hedley, of
the editorial staff, a most capable writer, with whom the association of the writer has
been most harmonious. The chapter on Catholic Church history is from a contribution
by Marc F. Vallette, LL.D., President of the Brooklyn Catholic Historical Society, and a
writer of acknowledged credibility.
William S. Pelletreau.
Southampton, Long Island, January 11, 1903.

©6e

' Come ye who have gone forth from this fair Isle,
To win friends, fortune, fame — in other Climes —
Back to your early haunts and homes awhile,
Unroll with us the records of old times;
Call to the fresh young hours now fleeting fast,
'Ho, hurrying train, what of the dim old Past?'
'What of the dim old Past? Why seek to stay
The rushing Present, with such bootless quest ?
Ask the gray gravestones crumbling in decay,
Who sleep beneath, in deep and dreamless rest ?
Ask tireless ocean, booming on the shore,
Who trod these wave-washed sands in days of yore ?
'Who trod these wave-washed sands? High hearts of old!
Strong men of giant minds, and stalwart mould,
By goading wrongs to daring deeds impelled,
Patient of toil — in danger calm and bold —
Wise, wary, watchful, weighing all things well,
Men whose stern will oppression could not quell.
' 'Neath these gray stones, who sleep in dreamless rest ?
Men faithful, fervent, eloquent, sincere,
Names loved and lispt in childhood's earnest tones —
Names breathed in prayer from altars, and hearthstones."

(Written in 1849, by Miss Cornelia Huntington,
and sung at the two hundredth celebration of the
settlement of the town of East Hampton.)

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

Eastern Long Island — Its Physical Characteristics— Notable Landmarks and Points of Interest — Ancient
Windmills — Stories of Shipwreck and Piracy — Light Houses and Life Saving Stations — Shipbuild
ing in Olden Times — Old Time Shipbuilders and Sailors — Modern Yachting  1
CHAPTER II.
The Counties of Nassau and Suffolk — Characteristics of the Pioneer Colonists — The Town Meeting and
Early Courts — The Primitive Church and School — Early Industries — The Home of Long Ago and
that of To-Day  49
CHAPTER III.
Nassau County — Its Organization — The Queens-Nassau Agricultural Association  74
CHAPTER IV.
Hempstead — Its Ancient History — Early Churches and Schools — Garden City and the Cathedral — Towns
and Villages  82
CHAPTER V.
North Hempstead — Its Separation from Hempstead — Roslyn and Its Literary Associations — William
Cullen Bryant— The Bryant Library — Towns and Villages  110
CHAPTER VI.
Oyster Bay — Early Land Grants — The Rise of Churches — Home of President Roosevelt — Glen Cove and
Other Villages  127
CHAPTER VII.
Suffolk County — Its Early History — Primitive Manufactures — Visit of Washington — Churches and Schools
— The Long Island Bible Society — Education — The Rev. Epher Whitaker's Historical Resume  157
CHAPTER VIII.
Huntington — Early Land Titles — The First Settlers — Churches and Schools — A Schoolmaster of Ye Olden
Tymme— Towns and Villages   S, :  172
CHAPTER 'iX.
Babylon — Creation of the Town — The Village of Babylon — Revolutionary Reminiscences — Washington,
Prince Joseph Bonaparte, and Daniel Webster — Amityville  189

x CONTENTS.

CHAPTER X.

Smithtown— The First Land Titles — Notable Families— Churches and Schools — Smithtown and Other
Villages  198
CHAPTER XI.
Islip — Its Situation — Early Land Grants — Some of the Notables of Long Ago — Rise of Churches and
Schools — Towns and Villages  233
CHAPTER XII.
Brookhaven — The First Land Purchase — Some of the Pioneers — Early Patents and Deeds — The Story of
Setauket and Caroline Church — Bohemia — Port Jefferson — Patchogue — Moriches — Yaphank  252
CHAPTER XIII.
Southampton — The First Immigrants — The Earl of Sterling's Authority Asserted — Ancient Grants and
Deeds — Old Tombstones — Churches and Schools — Celebration of the Sag Harbor Affair of Revo
lutionary Times  282
CHAPTER XIV.
East Hampton — Annals of the Indians — Early Land Titles and Grants — Families ot the Colonial Days —
The Beginning of Civil Institutions — Contrast Between the Past and the Present  346
CHAPTER XV.
Riverhead — Organization of the Township — Early Land Grant — The Village of Riverhead — Suffolk
County Agricultural Society — Suffolk County Historical Society and Its Notable Records and Relics
— Aquebogue and the Steeple Church  380
CHAPTER XVI.
Southold — The Early Records and First Settlers — Old Tombstones and Their Quaint Inscriptions —
Ancient Wills — Founding of the Villages of Southold and Greenport  402
CHAPTER XVII.
Shelter Island — Ancient Titles — Notable Families of the Early Days — Nathaniel Sylvester — The Havens
Family — Early Churches and Schools  443
CHAPTER XVIII.
In Times of War — Early Militia Organizations — Dawn of the Revolution — Preparing for the Fray —
Suffolk County Troops in the Battle of Brooklyn— The British Occupation — The War of 1812— The
Civil War — The Spanish-American War  463
CHAPTER XIX.
The Whale and Menhaden Fishery — Founding and Development of These Enterprises — The Industry as
Seen by a Participant — The Oyster Industry  494
CHAPTER XX.
Newspapers of Suffolk County — Bibliography . . •  504
CHAPTER XXI.
The Catholic Church on Long Island — The Pre-Diocesan Period — Creation of the Diocese — The Founding
of Churches, Schools and Charitable Institutions  524

INDEX.

Aboriginal Remains. — 157; in Southampton, 312.
Agricultural Societies. — Queens-Nassau, 77; officers
of, 81; of Suffolk County, 389.
Amagansett. — 373.
Amityville.— 196.
Andros, Governor. — Grant from, 293.
Aquf-bogue.— 400.
Art Gallery, Southampton.— 309.
Babylon.— Descriptive, 189; Land Titles, 190; Early
Homes, 193; Churches, 195; Villages, 196.
Babylon, Village of. — 251; Newspaper, 509.
Baptist Church.— At Oyster Bay, 133; in Suffolk coun
ty, 162; at Babylon, 195; at Patchogue, 278; at
Greenport, 428.
Bayles, James M.— Shipbuilder, 45.
Bayles, Richard M.— 509; 522.
Bayswater Yacht Club.— 108.
Beecher, Rev. Lyman. — 363; his successors, 364;
printed Sermons, 514.
Bethpage. — 154.
Bibliography. — 511.
Bible Societies.— The Long Island, 62; the Suffolk
County, 163.
Birds of Long Island. — 19.
Blydenburgh, Isaac. — 217.
Bowne, John.— 67.
Bradford, William.— At Oyster Bay, 131.
Brewster, Nathaniel.— 270.
Bridge Hampton. — 322.
Brookhaven. — Early local laws, 53; Land controver
sies, 217; Descriptive, 252; Early settlers, 253;
Deeds and grants, 256; Diagram, 258; Land
division by Richard Smith and Matthew How
ell, 261; Diagram of Mastic lands, 264; Ab
stracts of dt-eds, 267; Winthrop patent, 268;
Early churches, 270; Setauket, 271 ; Stony
Brook, 273 ; Port Jefferson, 274 ; Patchogue,
276: Moriches, 279.
Bryant, William Cullen. — Home at Cedarmere, 114;
Bryant Circulating Library, 116.
Buel, Rev. Samuel. — 362; his sucessors, 363; in Revo
lutionary War, 484; sermons of, 516.
Burgess, Bishop. — 101.
Burling, Walter R.— 510, 523.
Cammann, Edward C. — 105.
Canoe Place Division. — 334.
Carpenter, Joseph.— 150; builds a mill, 151.
Carll, Jesse.— Shipbuilder, 45.

Cauldwell, Mrs. M. B.— 312.
Churches.— The Primitive, 59; at Huntington, 183;
at Southampton, 300; at Sag Harbor, 326; at
Catchaponack, 338; in East Hampton, 359; in
Riverhead, 389; at Southold, 420.
Clinton Academy. — 365.
Cold Spring Harbor. — 187.
Congregational Church. — In Suffolk County, 162; at
Patchogue, 277; at Greenport, 427.
Conklin, Jacob. — 47; his property, 193.
Conklin, Nathaniel. — 194.
Conkling, John. — 175; Acquisition at Southold, 405.
Cook, Capt. Joel.— 194.
Cooper, James M. — Quoted, 192.
Coram. — 275.
Country Road. — Lawsuit concerning, 238.
Courts. — In Hempstead, 55; in Suffolk County, 167;
in Smithtown, 199.
Cow Neck.— 112.
Cox, Rev. Philip.— 153.
Cutchogue. — 419.
Davenport, Rev. James. — His visionary religionism,
423.
Deeds. — Early form of, 179.
Deer Hunting. — 19.
Denton, Rev. Richard.— 87.
Dering, Thomas. — 456.
Dickerson, Philemon. — At Southold, 408.
Dosoris. — 149.
Dwight, Rev. Dr. Timothy. — Visit to Long Island, 69.
East Hampton. — Constitution of, 52; Desciptive, 346;
Indian deed, 349; first settlers, 350; the early
local government, 355; land division, 358; the
first church, 359: Clinton Academy, 365; the
first school, 367; Montauk deed, 368 ; Lion
Gardiner, 376.
Eastern Long Island. — Physical Characteristics, 1;
Climatic conditions, 3; Towns of, 12.
East Norwich. — 153.
Eburne, Samuel. — Purchase in Brookhaven, 255.
Erskine, Sir William.^482.
Estates, Notable.— 17.

Far Rockaway. — 11; Pettit and Thompson quoted,
107; Bayswater Yacht Club, 108.
Fairs. — In Colonial times, 57; in Nassau County, 76.
Farmingdale. — 155.

INDEX.

Farrett, James. — 127; deed to Undertakers at South
ampton, 286.
Fisher's Island. — 438.
Floral Park.— 124.
Floyd, Richard.— 254.
Flushing Battery. — 488.
Fort Neck.— 246; 433.
Frank linville. — 436.
Freeport. — 102.
Friends, The. — At Hempstead, 95; at Westbury, 125;
at Oyster Bay, 132; at Jericho, 154; Rev. Elias
Hicks, 154; trial of Humphrey Norton, 419;
in Revolutionary War, 478.
Fordham, Robert. — 83; his associates, 84.
Frothingham, David. — 504; prints first book on Long
Island, 511 ; prints a magazine, 513'.
Garden City.— The Cathedral, 96; Bishop Littlejohn,
100; Bishop Burgess, 101.
Gardiner, David. — "Chronicles" by, 521.
Gardiner's Island. — Title to, 375.
Gardiner, Lion. — Acquires Gardiner's Island, 376;
his life and death, 376; his descendants, 377.
George's Neck. — 247.
Gibbs, Andrew. — Patent to, 242; personal history,
243; deed from Indians, 256.
Glen Cove. — 149; early emigrants, 150; Glen Cove
Manufacturing Company, 152; Glen Cove Mu
tual Insurance Company, 153.
Godwin, Parke. — His home near Roslyn, 117.
Goodyear, Stephen. — Purchases Shelter Island, 445.
Great Neck.— 112.
Greenport. — 126; newspapers, 508.
Griffin, Augustus. — Tournal by, 520.
Hale, Nathan. — Monument to, 486.
Halsey's Manor. — 256.
Hand, Nehemiah. — 43.
Harrison, President. — Genealogy of, 407.
Hashamamock. — 415.
Hauppauge. — 218.
Head of the Harbor.— 219.
Heartte, Nehemiah. — 193.
Hedges, Henry P. — Works by, 522.
Hempstead. — Early Courts, 55; Geographical, 82;
Early Settlers, S3; Early religious conditions,
88; the present village, 93; other villages: Garden
City, 96; Rockville Centre, Freeport, 102; New
Bridge, Seaford, BeJlmore, Valley Stream,
Ridgewood, Wantagh, Baldwin's, Norwood, 103;
Long Island Camp Meeting Association, 105; in
Revolutionary War, 465.
Hewlett Family. — 103; Monument erected by Abra
ham Hewlett, 109.
Hicks, Elias.— 154; his Journal, 520.
Hicksville — 154; Prime quoted, 155.
Holdsworth, Jonas. — Contract as school teacher, 184.
Hosford, Miss. — Relic of Captain Kidd, 47.
Horse Neck —176.
Horton, Barnabas. — At Southold, 407; his home lot,
411; will of, 440; old homestead, 441.
Howell Family. — At Southampton, 296.
Howell, George R. — As author, 521.
Huntington. — Early court records, 55; descriptive, 172;
early deeds, 174; first grants, 1665; "Yorkers'
Patent," 178; Early school, 184; Villages, 185; in
Revolutionary War, 467; in the Civil War, 490;
Newspapers, 507.
Huntington Bay. — 186.
Huntting, Rev. Nathaniel. — 362; his successors, 363.
Hyde Park.- 124.

Islip— 233; early land grants, 235; contested titles, 238;
Diagram, 239; Gibb Patent, 242; Mowbray Pat
ent, 243; Willetts Patent, 246; list of Freehold
ers, 248; village of Islip, 249; Babylon and Say-
ville, 251; Newspaper, 510.
Jackson, Richard. — Deed from James Farrett, 403.
Jackson, Robert. — 95.
James, Rev. Thomas. — 360.
Johnson, Jerome B. — 73.
Jones, J. Wesley. — Founder of United State's Life Sav
ing Corps, 38.
Keyes, Dr. E. L.— Home at Water Mill, 319.
Laws, Early. — 52.
Leverich, Rev. William.— At Oyster Bay, 132; referred
toby C. S. Street, 179; as'a lawyer and litigant,
181.
Libraries. — In Nassau county, 75; in Suffolk county,
166.
Life Saving Service. — 28; Raynor R. Smith, 29; Life
Saving Stations on Long Island, 31; Life Savers
and their equipment, 32; United States Life Sav
ing Corps, 37.
Light Houses. — 25; at Sandy Hook; 26; on Long Isl
and, 27; at Sands Point, 110.
Lindenhurst.— 197.
Littlejohn, Bishop.— 100.
Lloyd's Neck.— 175.
Long Island. — Physical characteristics, 1; Camp Meet
ing Association, 105.
Long Island Bible Society. — Organization, 61.
Lotteries. — 104.
Louden, John. — 196.
Loughhn, John — Bishop of Brooklyn, 532.
McDonnell, Charles — Second Bishop of Brooklyn, 545.
Mackay, Clarence. — Estate at Roslyn, 120.
Manhasset. — Indian tradition, 13; early newspapers,
122.
Mansions on Long Island, 15.
Manufacturers, early. — 161.
Mapes, Thomas. — 254.
Masonic. — Lodge at Hempstead, 92.
Massapequa. — 197.
Mastic. — Land diagram, 264.
Matinecock. — 147.
Mattituck.^434.
Meadow Brook Hunting Club. — 18.
Mechanics, Pioneer. — 64.
Mecox.— 321.
Meigs Expedition. — Celebration of, 326.
Menhaden Fishing. — 498.
Merrick. — 104; Frre Circulating Library, 105; Long
Island Camp Meeting Association, 105.
Merritt, Israel J. — Wrecking operations, 39.
Methodist Episcopal Church. — Of Hempstead, 91; at
Rockville Centre, 102; at Merrick, 105; Philip
Cox, 113; at Oyster Bay, 134; at Glen Cove, 151;
at East Norwich, 155; in Suffolk county, 162; at
Babylon, 195; at Hauppauge, 218; at St. James,
220; at Smithtown Branch, 222; at Blyden-
burgh's Landing, 223; at [slip, 249; at Patchogue,
277; at Southampton, 305, 320; at Sag Harbor,
328; at Quogue, 341; at Greenport, 428; on
Shelter Island, 462.
Mills, Historic— 20.
Mills, Richard.— 298.
Mills, Timothy.— 220.

INDEX.

Miller, Andrew.— 254.
Miller's Place.— 275.
Mineola. — Letter from Qui'en Victoria, 12; county seat
of Nassau county, 124.
Moiitauk.— Deed to, 368.
Moriches.— Patentship of, 257; the villages, 279; News
papers, 509.
Mott, Adam.— Will of, 111.
Mount Sinai.— 275.
Mowbray, John. — Patent to, 243; disposes of land, 244;
line of descent, 248.
Murray, Lindley. — '^50.
Nassau County.— Its creation, 74; Civil List, 75; Statis
tics, 76; Agricultural Society, 76.
New Jersey. — Srttlement of, 67.
New Lights. — 133.
Newspapers.— at Babylon, 195; of Suffolk county, 504.
Nicolls, William. — Personal history, 234; his land pur
chases, 235.
Nicolls, William (2d). — Inheritance from his father,
236; Act of Legislature for relief of, 237.
North Hempstead. — Boundaries, 110; the first settlers,
111; early churches, 113; home of William Cul-
len Bryant, 115; the Mackay. estate, 120.
Northport — 187; Newspaper, 509.
Norton, Humphrey, the Quaker. — Trial of, 419.
Noyack.— 332.
Orient. — 431.
Onderdonk, Henry, Jr. — As an author, 520.
Osborn, Selleck. — 505.
Oystering.— 113; 501. .
Oyster Bay. — 127; first land grant, 128; settlement
in 1653, 129; first freeholders, 130; William Brad
ford, 131; Rev. William Leverich, 132; early
churches, 133; present village of Oyster Bay,
134; Theodore Roosevelt, 135; villages, 149; in
Revolutionary War, 464.
Oyster Ponds.— 418.
Palmer, Captain John. — 106.
Paper Mill, First in New York. — 114.
Parrish, Samuel L.— 299; 311.
Patchogue.— 277; Newspapers, 508; 510.
Paulding, Admiral.— 490.
Payne, John Howard. — 15.
Pearsalls.— 102.
Peconic. — 436.
Pettit, William S.— Quoted, 106.
Piracy. — 38; Captain Kidd, 46; Lion Gardiner visited
by pirates, 46; relic of Captain Kidd, 47; the "San
Antonio," 47; the "Vineyard" and the"Haidee,"
48.
Plum Island.— 438.
Port Jefferson.— 273; Newspapers, 509.
Port Washington.— 122.
Presbyterian Church. — Christ's First Church, Hemp
stead, 87; at Roslyn, 113; at Oyster Bay, 134; at
Glen Cove, 151; Organization of Presbytery, 162-
at Babylon, 195; in Islip, 250; at Setauket, 271 ¦
in Southampton, 301, 320; at Sag Harbor, 326
at Quogue, 337; in East Hampton, 360; in-South
old,. 421; on Shelter Island, 461.
Prime, Rev. N. S.— 187; history by, 519.
Protestant Episcopal Church. ---St. George's, Hemp
stead, 89; at Manhasset, 113; at Glen Cove, 151;
in Suffolk county, 162; at Babylon, 195; at St.
James, 220; St. John's, Islip, 249; Caroline
Church, Setauket, 271; at Patchogue, 278; St.

Andrews', Southampton, 307; at Sag Harbor,
327; in East Hampton, 365; at Greenport, 428;
on Shelter Island, 462.
Queen Victoria. — Letter from, 12.
Quogue— Purchase of, 315, 333; village of, 336.
Reformed Church.— At North Hempstead, 113; in
Islip, 250.
Richbill, John -175.
Riverhead. — Aboriginal remains, 380; boundaries, 381
Indian deeds, 382; Diagram of Land Grant, 385
pioneer settlers, 388; Agricultural Society, 389
Historical Society, 395; Savings Bank, 400
Newspapers, 508.
Roads, Ancient and Modern. — 8.
Robin's Island— 436.
Rockville Centre— 102.
Rogers Memorial Library, Southampton. — 310.
Roman Catholic Church. — At Westbury, 113; at Baby
lon, 195; at Patchogue, 278; at Sag Harbor,
328; General History of, 524.
Roosevelt, Theodore. — Address by, 61; Home at Oys
ter Bay, 134; his ancestry, 135; his entrance
upon public life, 138; his military career, 140;
elected Governor, 143; Vice-President, 144;
President, 145; as an author, 146.
Roslyn.— 117.
Saggaponack. — 322.
Saghtekoos. — Patent to Stephanus Van Cortlandt,
245.
Sag Harbor. — 323; old bill 'of lading, 324; early set
tlers, 326; churches and schools, 327; Sag Har
bor Savings Bank, 329; Newspapers, 504.
Sailors, Old Time. — 45.
Sands, Col. John — 470; harries Tories, 475.
Sayville.— 251.
Schools. — of Nassau County, 75; at Smithtown Branch,
222; in Brookhaven, 271; in Patchogue, 279; in
Southampton, 298 ; at Sag Harbor, 328 ; at
Catchaponack, 338; in East Hampton, 367; at
Greenport, 428.
Scott, Capt. John.— 205.
Seabury, Rev. Samuel. — 90.
Sea Algae. — 5.
Sea Cliff.— 153.
Sea Shells. — 3.
Seaman, Capt. John. — at Hempstead, 93.
Setauket. — 271; newspapers, 508.
Shelter Island. — Commission to James Farrett, 443;
sale to Stephen Goodyear, 445; Nathaniel Syl
vester, 447; his history, 451; the Dering family,
456; the Nicoll family, 457; first town meeting,
458; the early church, 459.
Sherrawog. — 219.
Shipbuilding and Shipbuilders. — 41; at Sag Harbor,
42; at Setauket, Port Jefferson and Greenport,
43; Nehemiah Hand, 43; James M. Bayles, 45;
Jesse Carll, 45.
Shipwrecks. — 22; Monument to the lost of the "Bris
tol" and "Mexico," 24.
Skinner, Col. Abraham. — 193.
Slavery on Lor>g Island. — 182.
Smith, Adam. — Ancient Farm Map, 227.
Smith, Caleb.— 217.
Smith, Ebenezer. — Land Plat, 226.
Smith, Jesse. — Inn at Babylon, 195.
Smith, John.— 103.
Smith, Jonas. — Friends' School, 222.

xiv

INDEX.

Smith, Josiah. — Commands Militia, 470; at Battle of
Brooklyn, 471.
Smith, Raj nor R. — Medal for life saving, 29.
Smith, Richard. — 198; Land Controversies, 204; His
home and family, 206; will of his widow, 209;
Deed made by Richard Smith, 212; sells land
to Samuel Eburne, 255; land division, 261.
Smithtown.— First Settlers; 199; Land Titles, 200;
First Mill, 215; Smithtown Branch, 220; Early
Church, 221; Ancient Maps, 226-7-8; in Revo
lutionary War, 468; in Civil War, 491; news
papers, 510.
Smithtown Branch.— 220.
Social Conditions. — In Colonial times, 68; after the
Revolution, 69.
Society of St. Johnland. — 167.
Southampton. — Descriptive, 282; First grantees, 285;
List of inhabitants, 290; Division of Lands, 292;
Gov. Andros' Grant, 294; the Town Trustees,
295; schools, 299; churches, 300; ancient bill of
lading, 324; the Quogue Purchase, 333 ; the
modern village, 310; in Revolutionary War,
469; Newspapers, 510; Town Records, 521.
Southampton Undertakers. — 283.
Southold. — 402; Grant by James Farrett, 403; founding
of the town, 406; descent of President Harri
son, 407; the early settlers, 408; Indian deeds,
413; division of lands, 418; the early church,
420; Greenport, 426; Orient, 432; Horton home
stead, Southold, 441; in Revolutionary War,
469.
Southold Academy. — 425.
Spain, War with. — 492.
Speonk. — 343.
Spooner, Alden. — 505; prints a grammar, 515.
Standish, Miles.— 122.
State Hospital for Insane. — 168.
St. George's Manor. — 266.
Stony Brook.— 273.
Street, Charles R.— Quoted, 179.
Suffolk County. — 157; William Wallace Tooker quo
ted, 157; early history, 160; visited by Wash
ington, 162; First Sunday School, 163; Educa
tional, 164; Libraries, 166; Political Divisions,
166; Almshouse and other charitable institu
tions, 167; Civil List, 168; Rev. Epher Whita
ker, quoted, 168; Newspapers, 504; Bibliogra
phy. 511.
Suffolk County Agricultural Society. — 389.
Suffolk County Historical Society. — 395.
Sunday School, first in Suffolk County. — 163.
Sylvester Manor Estate.— 16.
Sylvester, Nathaniel. — At Shelter Island, 447; his his
tory, 451; his descendants, 455.
Talmadge, Colonel Benjamin. — 273.
Talmadge, Rev. Benjamin. — 273.
Taverns. — 58.
Taxation. — Under Colonial Rule, 66.
Teachers' Associations. — In Suffolk County, 164.
Thanksgiving Day. — Gov. Stuyvesant's Proclamation,
58.
Thomas, Dr. T. Gaillard. — at Southampton, 307; quo
ted, 310.
Thompson, Benjamin F. — History by, 519.
Thompson, Charles G. — 378.

Tooker, John— 254; sale to Samuel Eburne, 255.
Tooker, William Wallace— Quoted, 157; as author,
523.
Town Meeting.— 182.
Town Trustees. — Origion of, 295.
Training Days. — 57.
Tredwell, Mrs. Amanda— Letter from Queen Victoria,
12.
Underhill, Capt. John.— 148.
Vail, Aaron S.— 225.
Wainscott — 379.
Wales, Salem H.— 311.
War of 1812.— 487.
War, The Civil.— 487; Flushing Battery, 488.
War, Revolutionary. — 463; Oyster Bay, 464; Hemp
stead, 465; Suffolk county, 466; Huntington, 467:
Smithtown, 468; Southold, 469; Southampton,
470; Colonel Sands, 470; Colonel Josiah Smith,
471; operations of his regiment, 472; British oc
cupation, 474; Whale-boat campaign, 480; Oper
ations of the patriots, 481; Sir William Erskine,
483; Nathan Hale, 485.
Warrata— 261.
Washington, General. — At Hempstead Harbor, 114;
Visits Suffolk County, 162.
Water Mill.— 318.
Wave Crest.— 109.
Wells, William.^-At Southold, 407.
Westbury.— 124; Friends' School, 125.
Whale Fishing.— 328; 494.
Wheatly Hills.— Palatial Homes, 17.
Whitney, Henry.— 181; buys land, 190.
Whitaker, Rev. Epher.— Quoted, 49; 168; Pastor at
Southold, 425; Quoted, 463; as an author, 520.
Willetts' Point. — Fortifications, 11.
Willetts, Thomas and Richard. — Grant to, 246; land
transfers, 247.
Windmills, Old.— 21; 319; 321.
Winnecomac Patent. — 228; Land Title Controversies,
230.
Winthrop Patent.— 268.
Wood, Jonas.— 200.
Wood, Silas. — As author, 518.
Woodbury. — 155.
Woodford, Stewart L.— 491.
Woodhull, Nathaniel— 255.
Woodhull, Richard. — Purchases land in Brookhaven,
253; his colleagues, 254; receives patent, 255.
Wrecking.— 39.
Wright, Peter.— Settles at Oyster Bay, 130.
Wyandanch Club House.— 224.
"Yorkers' Patent."— 178.
Youngs, Colonel John. — 409.
Youngs, Rev. John. — At Southold, 406; Indian deed to,
413; his tomb, 421 ; his successors in the ministry,
421.
APPENDIX
Long Island Militia, Colonial, 560.
Revolutionary Soldiers, 561.
Civil War Soldiers, 575.

CHAPTER I.

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.
Its Physical Characteristics and Notable Landmarks — Light Houses and Life Saving
Stations — Shipbuilding and Yachting — Stories of Shipwreck and Piracy.

N the previous volume is contained' the
general history of Long Island, and of
the counties of Kings and Queens. Our
present concern is with the remaining
counties, their peculiar conditions, and their his
toric associations.
Long Island occupies a place of its own, not
alone in its uniqueness as a geographical loca
tion, but in the purposes to which it has been
devoted. Within a .space of time not much more
than half a century, resorts for health and pleas
ure have been established at almost every avail
able spot on the shores .of the Atlantic, from the
rugged ocean barriers of Maine to the coral reefs
of Florida. Between these far separated ex
tremes are cities and villages presenting every
feature of attraction and desirability. There are
spots, as along the coasts of Maine and Massa
chusetts, which are delightful in summer, but
are wellnigh uninhabitable in winter; and
others, as in Florida, which are grateful to the
l

winter sojourner, but are almost unendurable
during' the remainder of the year.
Between these geographical and climatic ex
tremes lies Long Island, stretching away eastward
from the southern point of Manhattan. On the
ocean side are the multitudinous picturesque in
lets dotting the waters between the main land and
a series of beaches — Long Beach, Jones Beach
and Oak Island Beach — and, extending farther
eastwardly, enclosing Great South Bay, is the
long narrow Fire Island, an everlasting barrier to
the mighty breakers rolling in from the shore
of the old world. This ocean coast line is almost
level from Brooklyn1 to the faraway picturesque
Shinnecock Hills.
Much of the eastern territory of the Island on
its ocean side remains as nature has made it,
wild, desolate and barren — a plaything for the
storms and for the wintry waves which seem to
gather strength as they roll across the Atlantic
and break with wild impetuosity on its shore,

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

lifting up miles of sand bar as if they were drift
wood, and even battering down the rocky bul
wark that for ages has carried on a ceaseless
warfare with the elements but has gradually got
the worst of it. The cliff at the extreme point is
slowly but surely being ground to powder by the
remorseless action of the ocean, and, while many
of the boulders and pebbles and gravel we see are
the results of glacial movement, much of the de
bris is part of the volcanic rocks. The sea, in
fact, is steadily encroaching upon the land and
winning back to its depths that which had been
raised above its level in some primeval struggle.

But the verse was written of an alder country,
where the voyager might stop his boat and gaze
down upon the remains of a city sunken below
the water, and what has disappeared here has
been but meadow or edge of forest.
But the sea, at one time at least, returned a lit
tle of what it had won. There is no doubt that
the district we call Montauk was once an island,
perhaps, two — one from Napeague Harbor to
Fort Pond, and one from there to the lighthouse
om that historic Point
Against whose breast the everlasting surge
Long traveling on and ominous of wrath
Forever beats.

MONTAUK POINT.

Some scientists affirm that the entire Atlantic
coast of this continent is gradually sinking, and
that in the course of an indeterminate number of
years practically all of the present coast regions
will have disappeared. Certainly some change
is apparent, and the mind recalls some lines of
Thomas Moore:
"On Lough Neagh's banks as the fisherman strays
When the clear, cold eve's declining,
He sees the remains of other days
In the waves beneath him shining.
Thus shall memory often in dreams sublime
Catch a glimpse of the days that are over,
And, sighing, look 'back through the waves of time
For the long faded glories they cover."

From Amagansett to Montauk Point is a re
gion of desolation and gloom. Sand everywhere,
sand in all the shapes which nature can twist it,
dunes and hills and wide rolling expanse. It is
said that this territory was once fairly well-
wooded in spots, but we find no signs of the for
est now, and the spots appear to have vanished.
Sand, sand everywhere, and long stretches of
solitude, the Montauk peninsula looks as if it
were intended by nature to be left alone by man.
Yet the railroad runs through it now almost to
the point, and it does not need much o'f prophetic

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

power to say that within a quarter of a century
this will rank among the favorite resorts along
the Atlantic coast, and that it will be one gor
geous parterre — for three months in each year at
least. Facing Gardiner's Bay, the coast line is
rocky, but, except on the coast, there is no eleva
tion of land, and it descends by an easy gradient
to the Atlantic, which fringes it with a sandy
bulwark. In the west and north are quite ex
tensive ranges of forests. The farmiing lands,
which extend to where the Montauk peninsula
begins, are fairly productive, and though the
holdings, as a general rule, are small, they sup
port a thrifty and settled population.
The cooling sea breezes which sweep around
Montauk from the far north mingle with the
balmy zephyrs from.' 'the tropics, and the waters
of old ocean, tempered by the warmth of the
Gulf Stream, are unpolluted by stain or odor
from factory or mine. According to* the superin
tendent of the New York Weather Bureau
(Eighth Annual Report), the July isothermal
line of 74 degrees passes .from Brooklyn to
southern New Jersey, thence to northern Africa,
to France, and through southern Europe to the
northward of Italy. The writer of the same pa
per takes occasion to controvert the proposition
that the Gulf Stream has gone astray, as has
been asserted by some meteorologists, and bases
the occasional eccentricities of temperature upon
the erratic movements of the wind currents, argu
ing that, equable as climatic conditions generally
are, they would be far more so, approaching those
of the Azores Islands, were the prevailing winter
winds from the southeast instead of from the
northwest. As it is, it is a matter of general
knowledge that the climate of Long Island can
in no way be measured by that of New York
City, with its excessive humidity and habitual
absence of sunshine. On the contrary, it has
been shown that in various localities on Long
Island, where observations have been made, sun
shine has prevailed 312 days in the year, against
235 days in New York City, with a correspond
ing advantage in absence of excessive humidity.
These and other like conditions point to the
healthfulness of the region, and amply justify its

favorable consideration as an abode for health
seekers. Never-ending enjoyment is there here for
him who has well learned even the rudiments of
the teachings of Nature — who discerns the fact
that man has never equalled her works in delicacy
and beauty. And another part of the same les
son — that Nature puts the products of her skill
before all, and without price, only asking that
they look and hear. But this lesson has been illy
learned by the many, and we are all guilty of its
neglect in some fashion or other, seeking some
thing we call great, when the smallest are great
if only viewed aright.
The beach, floored with smoothest, cleanest
sand that could not soil the fairest foot, is
reached twice a day by the tide whioh brings to
it a wealth of ocean life, in lines of shells and
seaweed. These arouse (or should arouse) our
admiration at every step, in the auroral tints upon
the curved scroll of the shell ; the delicate carv
ing of the sea urchin; the prismatic lights of
the medusae; still down to those lower forms
that mark the confines of the two great divisions
of organic life, animal and plant, apparently hav
ing so little in common with each other, though
always mingling. During some months of the
year, the brilliant but delicate greens and scar
lets, browns and purples of sea algae, blend with
the quiet hues of Other varieties of seaweed and
mosses into an elusive tint that evades the sense
of color, and in these lines, sparkling here and
there with jewelled shells, we read the poems of
the sea.
Two of the most delicately colored shells are
the large snails, natica heros and natica dupli-
cata. They are cast 'up on the strand in the in
finitesimal specks of newly hatched young, up to
the adult shell, the size of an orange. They
move rapidly and feed upon mussels and tender
shells, which they perforate. The eggs of this
shell-fish are deposited in a nest known as the
"Nidas," or sand saucer; this is composed of a
glutinous substance mixed with sand, in form
and size not unlike a saucer, and, when held up to
the light, the eggs are revealed in tiny amber
specks.

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

The p ho las bakeri is a burrowing shell-fish,
seldom found in a perfect condition on the beach
except when it has been carried up in the ob
ject in which it is burrowing; a block of wood,
for instance, may contain a dozen fine specimens
that have burrowed circular tunnels through it,
and nlot in any case does one shell encroach upon
its neighbor or pierce the tunnel made by anoth-

fingers. The "miano.se" is the aristocrat of the
clam family on account of its delicate flavor. It
is growing too scarce to be an article of com
merce to any great extent.
Moire than .seventy-five varieties of shell-fish
inhabit the Long Island waters. Some of these
are carried by tlhe Gulf Stream from the tropics,
and survive the colder waters of the temperate

SEA SHELLS.

12. Natita heros- Snails.
13. Natica duplioata— Snails.

14. Pholas bakeri— Burrowing Shellfish.
15. Mya arenaria — Manose Clam.

er. Fine lateral lines radiate from the hinge,
and the beautiful white shell adds to its other
charms a phosphorescent appearance that gives it
a peculiarity seldom found in other shells.
The "nianase" (mya arenaria) is found on
the mud flats; it burrows very rapidly, but re
mains in the hole it has once made for its home
in a locality overflowed by the tide. The shell
is very soft, and can be e:;;ilv crushed with the

regions for a long
and their numbers
manner described.
character, the cowr
ornament, jewel an
and the keyhole
among the number
Plant life upon
chids, its gorgeous

time, but do not propagate,
are reinforced only in the
Of the univalve shells of this
y (cyprodca) which was tbe
d currency of savage tribes,
limpet, fissitrilla listcri, are
land has its wonderful or-
or sombre blossoms of state-

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

ly stalk and trailing vine, found in the soil to
which they are indigenous, or transplanted and
cultivated by skillful hands to different climes
and greater perfection; but plant life of the
ocean remains untouched by art and untram
melled in its growth by forced migration. No
florist trains the marvelous length of the chorda
Mum over trellised arbors, or confines the wav
ing tangle of kelp and grasses to hanging bask
ets or beds of prescribed geometric lines. More
than six thousand marine species riot over the
rocks and valleys beneath the sea, or float upon
its surface, in fitful or prolonged life. The shal
low, green waters of the shores and inlets, and
the blue waters of the deep sea, each yields its
own flora — as far removed in structure and hab
its as land plants of the tropics are removed
from those of the temperate regions.
The favorable location of the -Long Island
coast presents many advantages for the growth
of different varieties of ocean flora. Lying
midway between the extremes of vegetation
which affect alike both land and sea plants, to
gether with the ,shoal waters extending far out
and the deep sea beyond, it yields not only the
growth of each condition of the waters, but the
Gulf Stream, sweeping from the tropics, here and
there leaves portions of flotsam which die tide
catches and carries up on the beach, laying at our
feet specimens that belong to far distant waters.
Crytogams, or flowerless plants, including
sea algae, are without true stamens or pistils, and
propagate by spores, and these are divided and
subdivided into many classes. Roots of sea
weed fulfil their functions when they secure the
plants to a foundation, and have but little influ
ence over their growth. By most botanists the
classification of algae is on the basis of repro
duction', but Prof. W H. Harvey, of Dublin,
has divided them into three classes distinguished
by their color — grass green algae, olive brown
or green-algae, and red or purple algae, running
into brown or black.
Chlorospermeae is a bright green-colored sea
weed with green spores growing in shallow wa
ters. It is very common all along the Atlantic
coast, and is the lowest order in organization.

The genus uiv a includes sea lettuce among its
coarser plants. This is found adhering to shells
and piling in thin papery leaves that are very
perishable, tearing easily and withering rapidly.
It resembles in color and shape the vegetable of
the kitchen, but grows in the wild form -of scat
tered leaves and not in heads. It is not valued
in a collection, as it cannot be preserved by ord
inary process, although the effect when lying on
the beach against the gray .slands i.nd driftwood
is very pleasing. Sea beard (cladopliora rapes-
ta) figure 3, bryopsis plumosj, figure 1, both be
long to this genus and grow in deeper waters,
but are most beautiful in their dainty pencilings.
The former is so delicate that its dense tufts
must be separated and mounted in single sprays
before its structure is revealed.
Rhodospermeae, rose colored seaweed, with
red and purple spores, grows in deep waters and
belongs chiefly to the temperate zonesi. Where
it is abundant the waters assume a rosy, scarlet
or purple hue that is gorgeous in its effect. The
seaweeds of this order vie in color with the del
icate pink of the wild rose, the flaming scarlet
of the trumpet creeper and the purple of the
passion flower. Their fairylike structure is
seen in figure 2, dasya clcgans, dark purple in
color ; figure 4, grinellia, rosy red ; figure 6, cali-
thomnium, pale red and pink; figure 3, polysi-
phonia, light purple shading to brown and black.
So delicate are many of the plants of all classes
of algae that they cannot be discovered on the
beach with the naked e}'e, but must be sought
for floating in the water. The hair-like plumes
and fronds must be seen to be appreciated. A
spray extending over four or five square inches,
when mounted on a card, the usual manner of
preservation, will, when rubbed between the
thumb and finger; disappear like gold-leaf, leav
ing scarcely a trace.
Gulf weed, or seagrape (sargassum bacci-
form) and sargassum vulgare, (figure 5,) has
clusters of air vessels like tiny cherries attached
coarser plants. This is found adhering to shells
to its thick-leaved foliage. It comes up in de
tached sprays from the beds that float on the
surface of the ocean in different parts of the

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

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SEA ALGAE.
EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

globe. Its presence lin the great masses in which
it collects gives name to tbe "Sargossa Sea." It
is never attached to any object, but is always
found floating.
There is lan indescribable charm in walking
along the ocean 'strand. 'Some object never seen
before is ever apt to meet the eye, while those
whioh are familiar grow more interesting. Thus,
the study is never ending, the charm is ever new. '
A fragment of Iceland moss carries us in imag
ination to the land of perpetual snows-, and the
long hollow tube of the sea trumpet transports
us to the sweltering heat and luxuriant vegeta
tion of the tropics ; while the waves of the great
deep roll over such forms of life that we know
are beyond the powers of mind to conceive or
imagination to fancy.
The best time to gather seaweed is in the
early morning, before the sun has withered its
dainty orispness or bleached out its delicate col
oring. The Atlantic coast of Long Island, and
particularly at the mouth of a harbor or inlet,
presents a splendid field for the delightful pur
suit. Nature in her primeval majesty and love
liness is (here revealed aja the sun rises out of the
waters and lays a brilliantly colored pathway to
our -feet, changing the banks of vapor to gold
and purple and crimson, whicli slowly vanish to
give place to the clear blue ether as the sun
mounts higher in the heavens.
Here, too, the ocean' has, recorded its trag
edies in the unmistakable characters of broken
spars, twisted cordage and fragments of storm-
torn vessels. What the mission of the wrecked
vessel may have been, or whither it came and
for what port it sailed, can seldom be determined.
In imany cases there was a tragedy which left no
witness. So broad is the ocean highway that
even of its immense traffic no passing vessel af
forded an audience when death rang down the
curtain to the roar of the tempest, upon the last
act, when mute white faces were covered over,
unshrjiven by priest and unhallowed by prayer, in
a cemetery where no separate plot is dedicated to
burial purposes, and no gravestone is reared to
mark the place of sepulture.
This flotsam of the sea is usually thickly

covered over with an infinite variety of ocean
life gathered from the deep. Fragments of
wreckage which are still partially submerged re
tain much of these stores, and we are enabled to
learn the growth and manner of attaching to
deep sea moorings much better than if these spe
cimens had not been cast up by the tide. Over
battered mast and yard and broken oar, trail
lichens and algae foreign to our shores, while
groups of mussels and barnacles, firmly attached
to the wood, or waving by long threads to the
motion of the waves, search for food with open
mouths, as nature has ordained. And yet far
ther does nature continue her work. Where
one shell dies, or has fulfilled its mission, it serves
as a habitation or foundation for smaller ones,
and for the innumerable varieties or bryozoa or
inferior coral to build upon, and on those, in
turn, countless varieties of seaweed fasten their
roots and flourish. An old shell may constitute
a valuable zoological and botanical garden of the
sea, which years of study would not exhaust.
Unlike the land, the sea is largely protected
from the ravages of man. "His control stops
with tihe shore," and, beyond it, nature asserts
her sway, undisturbed and unmolested, as she
has from the beginning of time, withholding her
wonders from curious eyes, save as she reveals
— sufficient to awaken our wonder — those forms
which she herself has 'cast up when their span
of life is completed.
Totally different in appearance, topography
and soil is the northern shore, which skirts Long
Island Sound. Here the sandy beaches have
given way to bold and, in many cases, precipit
ous bluffs, into which the Sound has broken and
spreads itself out in placid and picturesque bays,
and great arms of this inland sea stretch here
and there into tbe interior. Upon their shores
are ' charming sites for summer homes, where
the loveliest of marine views may be enjoyed
amid surroundings of field and meadow and
copse, and where, giving out an aroma grateful
and healing to long oppressed lungs now ex
panding into renewed activity in breathing the
air of primeval nature,

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"The murmuring pines
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in
the twilight,
.Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their
bosoms."
Here and there, hidden away within the for
est, are placid lakes where boating may be en
joyed without thought of fear. At another
point is a veritable nature's old curiosity shop,
where giant trees and vines take on all sorts of
fantastic shape. Again is found a little body
of water strikingly remindful of the lake of the
Dismal Swiamp — a rare spot to visit by tbe light
of the moon. Looking up the tortuous stream
which feeds it, the straggling moonbeam which
creeps through the trees fringing" its banks and
glints upon its waters far away, would seem to
be a sign of the presence of the phantom Indian
maiden, and the voyager almost expects to catch
a glimpse of
"The lover and maid so true,
Seen at the hour of midnight damp,
To cross the lake by a fire-fly lamp
And paddle their white canoe."
The central portion of Long Island presents
all the characteristics of a farming country in
which agriculture has made advanced strides and
has been brought to its highest perfection. In
soil and climatic conditions it is admirably adapt
ed to vegetable and fruit farming. Thousands of
its broad acres are being scientifically and in
telligently tilled, and from this region there goes
to the market of New York City daily contribu
tions in enormous volume, and of the finest qual
ity. The surrounding waters teem with the
finest varieties of salt-water fish, and the world-
famous little neck clams. The blue point oys
ters are natives of the Great South Bay, on the
south side.
That the people of Long Island are thorough
ly alive to the -desirability of advancing their ma
terial interests and personal comfort, and, also,
of making the region as attractive as possible to
those coming to them from the outside world, is
attested by the intelligent attention which has
been given to highway improvement, and by the

large expenditures which have been and are being
made for that purpose.
Indispensable to modern commerce as are
railroads and natural or artificial navigable wa
ters, the country road is of first importance. It
is to the farmer what. the river is to the harbor
and the ocean. It reaches the door of every
farmer and gardener and orchardist, and over it
'must be conveyed every product that reaches
either the small market in the village near by,
or goes to tbat greater one where hundreds of
thousands are to be fed.
There is also a moral side to the question, as
affecting social and educational interests. Road
improvement tends to make the rural districts —
the most enjoyable on earth for a home and in
which to rear a family — -more pleasant and more
profitable to live in. Their people are thus en
abled to comfortably reach the village, not only to
market, but to- attend church, and to -enjoy the
advantages of the library, the lecture and the
concert. Thus making rural domestic life more
charming, we would be spared that large exodus
of old families that has worked so woeful a tran
sition im many parts of the country. Then we
shall have really founded, as we should, homes
in which our descendants' will delight to dwell,
and which they will cherish- as does the English
manorial gentleman his old ancestral home with
its fragrant memories and its inspiring tradi
tions — a condition which, aa a matter of fact,
obtains upon Long Island as scarcely anywhere
upon American soil.
It is only in recent years that intelligent care
has been given to the making and keeping up
of the country road. Even now tire matter is
sadly neglected in some of the moist fertile agri
cultural regions in the country — where .the soil
is so deep that in rainy season the wheel of the
farm wagon sinks into the ruts until the hub
drags along the road surface. In such regions
the old fashioned way of "working the road"
yet prevails. For one or two days each year
the adjacent property owners are called out by
the road overseer, and for a few hours perform

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

9

an inefficient job, filling up a few ruts, or draw
ing down- an upheaval by means of a scraper, de
voting the greater part of the day to sitting in
the fence corner, discussing politics and crop
prospects. Years ago, in various meetings of the Queens-
Nassau Agricultural Society and the Suffolk
County Agricultural Society, was discussed the
necessity for improved roads and methods to that
end. At a later day appeared the bicycle, which,
for a time, was regarded by the general farm
ing public as being such a nuisance and menace
to their personal safety as they consider the au
tomobile to be to-day. .But the bicycle was an
educator, and a powerful one. Wheeling -clubs
throughout the State and country made common
cause in procuring legislation and appropriations
for road making, and introduced better methods
therefor. Under these combined influences,
rapid improvement was made, and, except in re
mote regions:, the roads of the greater part of
Long Island now compare favorably with any in
the State, while those in the vicinity of the prin
cipal towns and villages are unsurpassable. The
accompanying plate presents the contrast be
tween former and present road conditions.
Delightful Long Island, which in area exceeds
the State of Rhode Island by more than four
hundred square miles, affords room and accom
modations for the three great desirable classes —
the millionaire, the man who is in what is termed
comfortable circumstances, and the prudent
wage earner who must needs secure the greatest
possible comfort at a minimum expense. Pecu
liarly is it a home for the tw.o classes first named
Whose business concerns are in the great metrop
olis, and, in these conditions, they are more
highly favored than are their fellows in any
other American city, or on the globe, for that
matter. Generally speaking, there is a well de
fined line of separation between the pleasure
ground and the residential region. The towns
known as pleasure resorts are situated on the
ocean side of the island, and do not extend far
ther east than Rockavfay. The remainder of the
sea front and all the Sound shore are for him

who seeks surcease from the grind of business
and the exactions of ultra-social life in the quiet
ness of real home life.
Dotting both coasts at frequent intervals, and
inland as well, are a multitude of towns and vil
lages presenting every feature of architecture,
from the modest cottage to the elegant mansion,
with their lawns and flower gardens of exuber
ant foliage and exquisite fragrance. These
towns are of every characteristic save one — there
is none given over to the vicious, nor any where
good morals are contemned or modesty offended.
There are veritable cities with their church
edifices which would grace a metropolis ; libra
ries sufficient for all needs save those of the del-
ver in the deepest fields of tedhnical science ; op
era houses and clubhouses ; and shops displaying
the finest fabrics. They are also world famous
as ocean resorts, affording pleasures and social
advantages comparable only with the most cele
brated European watering places. Flere are ho
tels really palatial in their vast dimensions, beau
tiful architecture and sumptuous appointments,
containing under a single roof all that can min
ister to personal comfort and give indoor de-
ligJht. They contain spacious apartments for
concert and ball, and the orchestra maintained
through the season is as capable of giving a mas
terly rendition of the delightfully soft and sooth
ing nocturne from Mendelssohn's "Midsummer
Night's Dream" before a parlor audience as of
playing the inspiring "Blue Danube Waltzes" in
the spacious ball room. There are billiard and
card room's, and special play rooms and grounds
for children. Flere fashion has its unlimited
sway. Here are worn costumes which would
grace a queen's drawing room, and jewels a
princess well might envy.
There are also many modest villages which
make no pretense to recognition as places of
popular resort, nor boast the advantages sought
by the world of fashion, to which come hosts
¦of those in quest of rest and mild recreation,
wiho find their wants supplied at a moderate ex
pense. Some of these had their founding in
such a sentiment as was expressed by the gen
tle Quaker poet, who, one season long ago, set

10

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ROAD BEFORE IMPROVEMENT.

ROAD AFTER IMPROVEMENT.

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

11

up his "Tent on the Beach," far from the tumult
of the giddy throng, and, looking upon old ocean,
and listening to its deep solemn diapason, rever
entially wrote:
"The harp at nature's advent strung
Has never ceased- to play;
The song the stars of morning sung
Has never died away.
"And prayer is made and praise is given
By all tilings near and far —
The ocean looketh up to heaven
And mirrors every star.
"Its waves are kneeling on -the strand
As kneels the human knee,
Their white locks bending to the sand,
The priesthood of the sea.
fc * * * fc s):
"And nature keeps the rev'rent frame
With which her years began-;
And all her signs- and voices shame
The prayerless heart of man."
Many of the towns notable for their historic
associations are written of at length in succeeding
pages of this work, but some are mentioned in
this connection, even at the risk of some little
repetition. Far Rockaway, which extends to the south-
em division line between the counties of Queens
and Nassau, was a favorite resort of men of let
ters three-quarters of a century ago* — Longfel
low, Willis, Washington Irving, George P. Mor
ris arid Herbert — and it is believed that the lat
ter named there wrote his famous lines —
"On old Long Island's sea-girt shore
Many an hour I've whiled away,
Listening to the breakers' roar
That washed the beach at Rockaway.
Transfixed I've stood while Nature's- lyre
In one harmonious concert broke,
And catching its Promethean fire
My inmost soul to rapture woke.
"Oh, how delightful 'tis to stroll
Where the murmuring winds and waters meet,
Marking the billows as they roll
And break resistless at your feet;
To watch young Iris as she dips
Her mantle in the sparkling dew,
And, chased by Sol, away she trips
O'er the horizon's quivering blue —
"To hear the startling night winds sigh,
As dreamy twilight Rills to sleep,
While the pale moon reflects from high
Her image in the mighty deep ;
Majestic scene where Nature dwells,
Profound in everlasting love,
While her unmeasured music swells
The vaulted firmanent above."

To these stanzas, "inspired by the measured
rhythm of the waves breaking against the mag
nificent jutting headland which is Rockaway 's
pride," was given a musical setting, and were
popular in concert roomsi and parlors for many
years. Juisit across the island, almost due northward
ly from Far Rockaway, is Willett's Point, fa
mous as one of the most important military
posts in tbe United States. Jutting far out from
the general line of the land, where the broad
Long Island Sound narrows into what is known
as East River, it would seem as though nature
had prepared it especially as an effectual barrier
against a hostile fleet seeking to reach the me
tropolis. Yet it long lay unutilized. True, the
United States government, as far back as 1857,
bought one hundred and ten acres of its- land for
military uses, but no work was accomplished
until 1862, when fortifications were begun. The
work was not prosecuted methodically, however,
and the ground was principally used as a camp
of instruction for soldiers and for hospital pur
poses during the civil war. After the close of
the war, a battalion of the United States Engin
eer Corps was stationed here, and, since that
time, the Point has been practically a school of
instruction for this highly important branch of
the military establishment. Here the men are
instructed in all the departments of their calling,
practical as well as theoretical, and are famil
iarized with the construction and laying of
bridges, and tbe use of torpedoes, high explo
sives and electrical apparatus, in addition to all
the labors formerly devolving upon sappers .and
miners. The original fortifications consisted of
a stone fort, which long ago became obsolete
.through the introduction of long range guns.
The present elaborate forts which crown the
hills are massive stone and earth- works, mounted
with the most improved ordnance, among which
are many guns mounted on disappearing carri
ages. The waters thus commanded are charted
for the planting of torpedoes in case of neces
sity, as during the recent Spanish-American war,
when alarm was occasioned by the reported ap
proach of a hostile fleet. The post is a verita-

12

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ble community. in itself, with its school for the
children of officers and soldiers, a chapel, a print
ing office, and suitable club and assembly room's.
A pleasant reminiscence of the past, which
links the name of the village of Mineola to that
of Victoria, queen of her sex as she was of her
great realm, was resurrected in 1875 by the
"Hempstead Inquirer," from which we condense
the narrative which follows:
After the death of Dr. Samuel Tredwell, of
Mineola, which occurred September 25, 1873,
was found among his papers a letter written in
1774 by Mrs. Mary Campbell, then a resident
of Philadelphia, addressed to her daughter, Mrs.
Rebecca Frazer. In this letter tbe writer trans
cribed, for the edification of her daughter, some
correspondence from her sister', a Miss Planta,
who was, when she wrote, tutor to the children
of King George III, wbom she Charmingly de
scribed, as the following excerpt will show:
Philadelphia, 1774.
My dear Rebecca : I know you love the King,
and in consequence will be pleased to have a
description of the six boys and three girls in
King George's family, all of them being praised
for their beauty and princely gifts. Your aunt
says they are all healthy, sensible and good tem
pered and would attract notice though they were
clothed in rags. lOne more thing common to
them all is a very retentive memory. Their
dress is as unadorned as their rank will admit.
In the day of dress the little swords the boys wear
maked me laugh. Imagine yourself little Prince
William at eighteen months old in his nurse's
arms, with a sword by his side and a chapeau bras,
under his arm. Such was his figure. Their diet
is extremely plain and light. I believe they all
love me, and I have gained their affections by
making their learning as much a play as pos
sible; by gentleness and steadiness I have
brought them not to ask me twice for the same
.thing. I have put together a set of cards, which
contain the history of England, or more prop
erly an idea of it, and have reduced the chron
ology of England to a game, by which the
Princesses are better chronologists than I was
three years ago. Princess Elizabeth is now
learning the succession of kings, according to
their several lines, by them. The Queen did
me the honor to say that she would translate
them into German.

Pray do not consider me partial, my dear
sister, in what I have said; for indeed
I am with the greatest respect, very truly
yours,
(Mrs. Samuel) Amanda Tredwell.
East Williston, Queens Co.,
New York, U. S. A.
This letter Mrs. Tredwell, widow of Dr.
Tredwell, transmitted to Queen Victoria, a
granddaughter of King George, with the follow
ing note : October 25th, 1874.
Queen Victoria:
Dear Madam: I found the enclosed among
some papers recently come into my possession.
As it is a century oid, and gives an account of
your grandfather's family, I thought it might
be* interesting to yourself and children, which
must be my apology for sending it.
If, in looking it over, you are pleased to ob
serve how precocious the children were, and how
royally they deported themselves, I shall have
my reward. You had, my dear madam, my
heartfelt sympathy in your great sorrow, and I
shall ever rejoice in the happiness and prosperity
of yourself and family.
I am, with the greatest respect, very truly,
yours,
(Mrs. Samuel") Amanda Tredwell.
East Williston, Queens Co.,
New York, U S. A.
To this letter was returned the following an
swer : • Buckingham Palace, London,
Jan. 21, 1875.
Madam : The Queen desires me to acknowl
edge your letter of last October, and the letters
you enclosed, which interested Her Majesty
greatly, and for which I am to return you Her
Majesty's thanks.
The Queen has kept the letters and wishes
you to accept in return the framed photograph
of Her Majesty, which I have forwarded to be
delivered to you per the British Legation at
Washington. I am, your obdt., humble servant,
T. M. Biddulph,
Mrs. (Dr.) Samuel Tredwell.
This letter, so characteristic of the womanly-
grace of the great Queen, was sealed with the
royal signet, and the portrait accompanying it

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

13

was a half-length miniature, admirably executed,
showing the sovereign seated. The frame was
of gilt . bronze, with folding enclosures to the
picture, and ornamented with open-work and a
beautifully wrought border. Upon the solid
back was inscribed the following:
presented by
FIER MAJESTY, OUEEN VICTORIA,
TO
Mrs. (Dr.) Samuel Tredwell,
Mineola, L. I.
In recognition of the gift of Mrs. Tredwell,
of an old family letter, dated 1774, in which is
a most interesting description of the children
of George the' Third, written by their governess,
Miss Planta. 1875-
This beautiful token from the Queen, which
was entirely unexpected, is carefully preserved
and highly prized. How the letter of Miss
Planta came into the possession of Dr. Tredwell
is not known, but it is presumable that it was
handed down to 'him by his father, who probably
received it direct from Mrs. Frazer herself.
In the old village of Hempstead is yet stand
ing the old hotel where Washington once rested,
and in Elm-hurst (formerly Newtown) is yet
the old church in which- the same great soldier
and patriot worshipped, as did the ill-fated An
dre but shortly before he paid the penalty which
was more properly the due of Benedict Arnold.
Garden City is the See city of the Protestant
Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, and was
founded by the late A. T. Stewart. It is a re
ligious, educational and social center. Grouped
about the beautiful Cathedral are a number of
schools, including the famous St. Paul's school
for boys, endowed and erected by Mrs. A. T.
Stewart, as a memorial to her husband. It is a
splendid building, and from it through the trees
the tall spire of the Cathedral is seen, exquisite
in its Gothic beauty. Here is also located St.
Mary's school for young ladies-.
Roslyn has its reminiscences of William Cul-
len Bryant, who here wrote some of his choicest
verse, and compiled his "Glossary of American

Poetry." Here, too, came a goodly company of
his intimate friends — Ralph Waldo Emerson,
John G. Whittier, Hamilton Mabie, Henry
Ward Beecher, Lyman Abbott and other noted
literateuis. Near Glen Cove, C. A. Dana, the veteran ed
itor of the "New York Sun," laid out his mag
nificent estate, known as Dana's Island, upon
which he lavished an unremitting care, and to
which he brought trees, shrubs and plants col
lected from every clime and nation.
Manhasset has its captivating traditions, and
among themi is the story that hither came the Pu
ritan Miles Standish, more successful as a soldier
than diplomatic as a lover, and with a friend, one
Davis. Davis loved an Indian maiden, and was
beloved by her. She was also loved by a young
Indian chief, but she repulsed his advances and
fled with Davis. The white lover was faithful
unto death. After a long pursuit, the pair were
overtaken at a great stone, against which the
doomed Davis placed his back, and fought val
iantly until he fell under the onslaught of his
dusky rival and his companions. After her
white lover had fallen, the Indian maiden plucked
from his breast the fatal arrow and drove it into
her -own breast. The two were buried where
they fell, and their names are yet to be discerned
upon the stone once stained with their blood, and
which is now nearly covered with moss and
rugged vines. It is a romantic story, but such as
has been told, in essence, since the sexes found
each other, and the spot upon which the trag
edy occurred is often the shrine to which lov
ers of a fairer and more well spoken day repair,
to repledge- their vows of fealty to each other.
Hieksviiie commemorates the name of Elias
Hicks, a leader among the gentle sect of Friends,
or Quakers. As if in marked contrast, not far
distant is the town of Oyster Bay, which in re
cent day has been a point upon which the gaze
of the world has been fastened as the home of
a notable representative of modern vigor and ag
gressiveness, whether in military or civil life —
President Roosevelt.
At Huntington is a sacred spot, a veritable
shrine of patriotism. Here a massive stone, ap-

14

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

propriately inscribed, tells the tragic story of
Nathan Hale, who came to an ignoble death for
discharging a most urgent duty devolved upon
him by the great Washington.
Every one who has listened to the aboriginal
terms of Long Island localities, or read the story
of its early days, will recognize "Patchogue" as
an Indian name. History tells us that more than
twelve tribes who' were in their time numerous
and powerful, have left their names indelibly
stamped on Long Island. They included the
Canarsies, the Rockaways, Massapequas, Patch-
ogues, Shinnecocks, Montauks, Manhassets-,
Amaganisetts, Ronkonkomas and others.
Westhampton was the home of General John
A. Dix, who, at a critical period, when treason
ran rampant, and the safety of the government
was threatened, in 1861, gave the patriotic order
that "If any man attempts to haul down the
American flag, shoot him on the spot!" The
ancestral place is now the summer home of the
General's son, Rev. Dr. Morgan, Dix.
Among the traditions to which Quogue
clings tenaciously is that De Witt Clinton and
Daniel Webster were accustomed to spend their
vacation days here, enjoying in the fullest degree
the bathing and the fishing, with the attendant
shore dinner. Hence it comes that fish dinners
are in these modern days the popular thing at
this charming little place by the sea.
Connecting the waters of Peconic and Shin-
necock bayts is an ancient and long disused canal,
and near it is a tavern of ancient times but mock-
cm comforts. There are growing in front of it
two immense willows grown from slips brought
from St. Helena from a tree planted by the First
Napoleon, and a notable exterior decoration is a
colossal wooden statue of Hercules, the weath
er-worn figurehead of the famous old United
States warship, "Ohio." In the cemetery of a
quaint little church nearby, in which he preached,
is the grave of the last of tbe Indian missionaries,
Rev. Paul Cuffee, and not far away are the ruins
of an old fort.
Southampton cherishes the memory of one of
its old-time whalers, Mercator Cooper, who, by
returning a crew of shipwrecked Japanese sail

ors to their native home, first invited the friend
ship of Japan, and made it the easier for Commo
dore Perry to succeed in opening the ports of that
country to American shipping.
It was at Easthampton, so says tradition, that
Europeans landed before the Pilgrims stepped
foot upon Plymouth Rock, and here was made
one of the first actual settlements on Long Isl
and. Here was the home of one of the first and
most famous settlers, Lion Gardiner, whose
tomb is surmounted by the effigy of an armored
knight recumbent. And here was born John
Howard Payne, the author of "Home, Sweet
Home," known to every ear and which has been
stung by nearly every voice in Christendom. "An
exile from home," the unhappy poet bore with
him those tender recollections of the quaint old
cottage and of the guardians and companions
of his youth which warmed his heart and tuned
his lyre to the thrilling yet pathetic lines which
will for all time voice the sentiments of the
wanderer who has found this world
"A fleeting show
For man's illusion given —
Whose smiles of joy, whose tears of woe,
Deceitful shine, deceitful flow."
The residences, whether in town, or villa
standing apart from others, present every style
of architecture, from the colonial mansion and
farm home to the elegant palace-like edifice and
pretty cottage of the present time. Those of the
latter period are significant of the cosmopolitan
character of the people of to-day who were their
creators and are their occupants. They have
travelled much, and they brought with them from
foreign lands all that is beautiful and desirable
(and, in some instances, much that is not), in
design and idea for material; indeed, in numer
ous cases, even material has been brought from
workshops abroad for interior adornment. From
Rockaway to Southampton and beyond, are
homes which are remindful of every country in
Europe where science has a home and art is
treasured. Beautiful, too-, are the adornments of the
grounds surrounding them. In the more an
cient dooryards are trees and hedges and flow-

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

15

ers brought long ago from lands beyond the
seas, and from far-distant places in our own
country. The locust trees which are now found
everywhere upon Long Island, and give a glory
of color and a fragrant perfume in early sum-

rail-fences of Vinginia, the osa-ge orange hedges
of Illinois and Ohio, and the barbed wire of the
farther west — are made by cutting small trees
half way through, near the ground, and interlac
ing them into each other, making a continuous

BOYHOOD HOME OF JOHN HOWARD PAYNE.
Author of the Words of the Song, "Home, Sweet Home."

mer to the lanes and byroads, had their origin
at Sands Point, where Captain John Sands, two
centuries ago, planted trees brought from Vir
ginia to adorn the home he had builded for Si
byl, his fair young bride. A delightful reminis
cence of colonial life is seen in the picturesque
hedgerows known nowhere else in America than
on Long Island, and most numerous in the oldest
parts of Suffolk county. These hedgerows —
which here serve in place of the unsightly up
turned tree roots of upper New York, the stone
walls of Pennsylvania and New England, the

and nearly horizontal line of branches, into which
intertwine wild vines bearing flower and fruit.
And on Shelter Island is Sylvester Manor, with
its old garden with a multitude of flower beds,
and the most ancient box shrub (euphorbiaceae)
known in America, brought and planted by Gris-
sel Sylvester in 1656. And near it stands an
old sun dial bearing the motto, peculiarly signi
ficant of the beauties of Long Island: "I tell
only of sunny hours." The present mansion is
nearly a century old, and it stands almost upon
the site of the original building, constructed of

16

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

brick brought from Holland, and its windows and
doors brought from England. Here the toler
ant and warm-hearted Nathaniel Sylvester ex
tended his hospitality to the meek Quakers, driv
en out of New England by the intolerance of the
Puritans. The old Sylvester burying ground, not far
from the Manor house, is one of the attractions
to visitors in search of tbe ancient and the
picturesque. It occupies but a small space, measuring
about fifty by twenty-five yards. It is well
shaded and is in every way such a spot as
would be selected by the first resident pro
prietor of the manor of Shelter Island. Na
thaniel Sylvester would have taken umbrage at

fence around a seventeenth century graveyard.
Relic hunters have perhaps chipped away bits
of the slate head stones, but the weather,
doubtless, has had much to do with their
time worn appearance. The inscriptions upon
the slate headstones are much more easily de
cipherable than those of the granite tablets . Of
these headstones there are nineteen.
In the center of the burying place is a
monument of rather imposing dimensions.
The upper and the lower slabs are covered with
inscriptions. The upper slab is of marble and
the inscription denotes that buried beneath it
is the body of Nathaniel Sylvester, "First
Resident Proprietor of the Manor of Shelter
Island, Under Grant of Charles II, A. D.,

MONUMENT ON SYLVESTER MANOR ESTATE.
From Photograph Furnished by Mrs. George Wilson Smith, of New York City.

one feature of his earthly resting place. It is
enclosed by a fence made of oaken posts and
iron piping. Of the latter there are two rows.
Above the top row is a strip of barbed wire.
It looks curiously out of place, and one won
ders why it was put there. Had the fence
been of wood the wire would have been no
protection against relic hunters, but even the
most feeble minded of that class would hardly
contemplate the demolition, bit by bit, of tbe
iron piping. Besides, there is something un
pleasantly incongruous about a barbed wire

1666." It also contains the family coat of
arms. The monument is approached by three
tlie

stone steps. These
curious inscriptions :

contain

following

"The Puritan in his pride, overcome by the
faith of the Quaker, gave Concord and Lexing
ton ^and Bunker Hill to history.
_ "The blood and the spirit of Victor and Van
quished alike are of the gl-orv of Massachu
setts. "Daniel Gould bound to the gun carriage
?nd lashed. &

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

17

"Edward Wharton, the much scourged.
"Christopher Holder, the mutilated.
"Ralph Goldsmith, the shipmaster, and Sam
uel Shattuck of the King's missive ; these stones
are testimony.
"Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, de
spoiled, imprisoned, starved, whipped, ban
ished. "Who fled here to die.
"Mary Dyer, Marmaduke Stevenson, Will
iam Robinson and William Leddra, who were
executed on Boston Common.
"Of the suffering for conscience sake of
friends of Nathaniel Sylvester, most of whom
sought shelter here, including
"George Fox, founder of the Society of
Quakers, and of his followers."
The modern lawns are set out with all the var
iegated flowers and shrubs known to the florist
and arboriculturist, and the landscape gardener
has proved himself a masterly artist in displaying
them to the utmost advantage. He has even, in
places, so changed the ground contour as to give
it entirely different character. Upon a plain
he has raised up a goodly hill, and elsewhere he
has removed a hill to- make a plain. Was the
spot destitute of tree or shrub, he made a grove
and hedges and flower gardens in brief season.
At Westbury, on the Hempstead Plain, lives
Henry Hicks, who, at the behest of the wealthy
denizens of the region, has literally changed the
face of nature. With his father, Isaac Hicks,
he knows every tree -of extraordinary size or
peculiar beauty, and every hedgerow on Long
Island, and he will contract for their uprooting
and their replacement elsewhere as readily as the
city transfer company will engage to move a piano
from one house to another. With leverage ap
paratus designed for the purpose, in- the hands
of a half-bundred men or less, the giant oak or
elm, thirty, forty or fifty feet in height, is drawn
out of the ground in which it has been, apparent
ly, immovably fixed for a century or more, with
out impairment to its) wide-spreading roots.
Mounted upon a truck, two or three span of
horses transport it over miles of country, and it
is reset as successfully as a rose-bush is trans
planted. The storv of the accomplishments herein re

ferred to, is of real interest, and its telling would,
a few years ago, be regarded as the production
of the novelist of vivid imagination. Of a truth,
"necessity is the mother of invention." And to
this proverb may be added the fact (for such it
is) that whatever wealth seeks, that will inven
tion supply. Soon after Mr. William C. Whitney
had purchased his splendid property at Wheatley
Hills, he bought a grove, of two hundred trees
of various varieties and had them reset upon his
place. On- Mr. Stanley Mortimer's place, upon
the summit of Wheatley Hills, are many large
transplanted cedars and other evergreens, and
Norway maples of great size have been moved
to the estate of the late C. Albert Stevens, near
by. "Wheatlands," Mr. Edward D. Morgan's
country seat, was originally a bleak spot, but it
is now one of the most entrancingly beautiful on
the Wheatley Hills, made ,so by repeated tree
transplantations. Among these adornments of
the grounds are a red cedar thirty-three feet in
height, a beech of unusual proportions, a horn
beam, red maples and cedars trim-med to re
semble bay trees, and a veritable pine forest. A
large number of very large silver maples were
similarly removed to the estate of Mr. O. H. P.
Belmont, at Hempstead. At Cedar-hurst, Mr.
Robert C. Burton has a beautiful avenue of pin-
oaks which were moved across the country from
the neighborhood of Mineola.
The Castlegould estate of Mr. Howard
Gould, at Port Washington, will, when the work
is completed, afford a remarkable illustration of
what may be accomplished in the way of tree
transplantation. LTpon the grounds are two fine
avenues of majestic wide-spreading English
elms of great age. Some of these trees stood
there from the far^distan-t past. By judicious
elimination, the avenuelike effect was produced,
and the avenues were perfected by setting in
proper place elms of size and shape to match in
height and proportions those among which they
were set, and all these were brought from con
siderable distances. On either end of the ter
race, which commands a beautiful view of Long
Island Sound, are to be set two great bay trees,
each twenty-two feet in height, and expending,

18

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

high up in the air, into a wide-spreading mass
fifteen feet in diameter.
At Locust Valley, between Glen Cove and
Oyster Bay, Mr. W.- D. Guthrie found a little
forest. This he eradicated, root and branch,
and upon the ground he set out a splendid spruce
tree thirty feet in height, many full grown sugar
and scarlet maple trees, massive elms, and an old
boxwood. Some of the trees now on these
grounds, and others soon to be placed there, are
from the famous tree collection of the late
Charles A. Dana, on Dana's Island, Dosoris, sev
eral miles distant. Notable among these are a
Colorado blue spruce, a blue Douglas fir from
the same State, a great Colorado pine, and a
Japanese yew.
One might here digress Lo make a little
preachment in answer to those envious ones who
decry what they are pleased to term the extrav-

Social life, as associated with out-door and
water sports, finds its fullest development on
Loner Island. In manv localities clubs and asso-
ciations composed of wealthy gentlemen have se
lected choice sites, and erected delightful club
houses, in which they have set up all the luxuries
and conveniences of metropolitan life. Several of
these clubs have purchased or leased large tracts
of land to make a summer home. Perhaps the
most far noted organization is the Meadow
Brook Hunting Club, -of Westbury, with its
membership of three hundred splendid riders,
all men of wealth. Indeed, this club was the
great attraction for numerous millionaires, whom
it drew to its vicinage, where many of them
erected palatial mansions, among them Theodore
Havemeyer, who has brought to America some
of the best hunting horses which ever ran to
hounds. The club was also primarily respon-

MEADOW BROOK HUNT.

agances of the rich in the erection of magnificent
homes and the creation of ground surroundings
which bear all conceivable variety of beauteous
vegetation. Surely the builders; and creators of
these have not wrought only for themselves, for
their works are -open to sight of all, and are won-
drously pleasing to all eyes save those of him
who holds bitterness in his soul —

"The motions of whose spirit are dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus."

sible for Theodore Roosevelt (before he came to
his present 'high position) making his residence
at Oyster Bay. It is told of him that shortly af
ter opening his establishment, several years
ago, while on a before-breakfast hunt, he was
thrown from the saddle and broke an arm- — an
accident which he endeavored to conceal from his
fellows, but without success. Among the most
persistent and enthusiastic riders of the imme
diate present is the veteran publisher, P. F. Col-

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

19

Her, who, near about the seventy years age mark,
with splendid saddlers and a fine pack of hounds,
abates none of his youthful interest and daring.
Other ardent sportsmen, who are well known
in financial and commercial circles, are August
Belmont and sons, Reginald and Alfred Vander-
bilt, Stanley Mortimer, Samuel Willets, James
L. Kernochan, E. "VV. Roby, Sidney D. Ripley
and others of like celebrity.
Nor is the sport restricted to the men folk.
There are daring horsewomen whose feats have
challenged the admiration of such equestrian
adepts as Lord Charles Beresford and the Duke
of Marlborough, who have been delighted partic
ipants in meets of the Meadow Brook club. Fa
mous among these horsewomen are Mrs. Emily
Laden-burg and Mrs. James L. Kernochan. Mrs.
Ladenburg grew up beside her brother, Eben
Stevens, who was once master of the hounds, and
an expert rider and owner of several fine ani
mals. Her exploits have been admiringly wit
nessed not only on the home course but at New
port and in England and Europe. Mrs. Kernoc
han, who is equally expert, and has imported
fine saddlers from abroad, is an enthusiastic de
votee of the sport and rides several days a week
during the season.
The master of the Meadow Brook hunt is
Ralph Ellis, who keeps a number of splendid
horses and is as enthusiastic a yachtsman as he is
a hunter. Farther out, away in the island interior, is
the opportunity for bunting of a different char
acter. There, not more than fifty miles from the
metropolis (and the statement will be a revela
tion to many who think themselves acquainted
with all the Long Island region), are dense for
ests and tangled underbrush where deer are yet
to be hunted.
The most attractive points of rendezvous are
Ronkonkoma, on the north or main line of the
Long Island Railroad, and Sayville, on the south
branch. While it is true that the full range of
the deer is but ten miles square, which is mostly
covered with a scrub oak and pine growth,
there is within this- larger area a stretch of for
est, about five miles square, owned as a private

game preserve by the South Side Gun Club, an
organization of wealthy New York men. This
preserve, its boundaries marked by a single
strand of wire strung -on stout posts on the far
side of a hundred-foot "fire line," is seldom shot
over, tbe members preferring to allow the deer to
remain in peace within the preserve, and to keep
off trespassers and poachers. The grounds are
patroled by a large corps of gamekeepers, which
is increased to a small army on legal shooting
days. Short though the season is, covering only
four days in all (the law reading that "deer
shall be shot only on the first two Wednesdays
and the first two Fridays in November each
year"), it claims a steadily increasing number of
devotees. It is estimated that in 1901 as many as three
hundred deer were killed on the Long Island
hunting grounds. Nor is there immediate dan
ger -of extermination, the law providing excellent
protection for the animals except during the
limited open season. Again, the animals have
a certain degree of protection in the perils
which beset the sportsmen. For the hunting is
extremely dangerous at all times, with the great
number of hunters crowded into such a limited
area, and the rank novices, knowing nothing
about the handling of fire arms ; others, far worse,
shooting with reckless and criminal disregard in
the direction of every rustling leaf or breaking
twig. In these regions, and elsewhere in the inter
ior of Long Island, are to be found nearly one
hundred and fifty species and sub-species of na
tive birds. Among these are the ruby crown
and the golden crown kinglets, two tiny song
sters whose strains are entrancing; the downy
woodpecker, several species of warbler, of which
the chestnut-sided is the handsomest and most
rare, the black-throated blueback warbler, one
of the sweetest but laziest singers, which loves
the thick foliage of the maple or beech ; and also
the pine, palm, Parula and the black and white
creeping warblers, whose notes are very sweet.
There are numerous thrushes, including the
brown, the wood and the hermit, and field and

20

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

chirping as well as clear voiced song spar
rows, while among the special favorites of the
woods are the sprightly white eyed and blue-
headed vireos.
Among the finest local nest builders is the
favorite little snow bird, or slate-colored jinco;
the provoking, mischievous catbird, the noisy
woodpecker and the tiny chickadee that falls heir
to the nest of the woodpecker when he, later, is
through with it. There are also specimens of the
yellow-bellied sap-sucker, cowbird,' chewink,
ovenbird or golden-crown warbler, and robin
redbreast. Specimens of the greater number of
the native birds have been taken and mounted by
Mr. George K. Cherrie, ornithologist and taxi
dermist of the Museum of the Brooklyn Insti
tute, and a naturalist whose work is known all
over Europe as well as in the United States. He
has traveled abroad in the prosecution of his or
nithological studies, making collections not only
for himself but for the Rothschild Museum in
London, England, and for prominent European
scientific institutions. Mrs. Cherrie is also an
accomplished naturalist, and has accompanied
him in much of his traveling.
But if Long Island presents such scenes as
we have described, which have inspired and ever
will inspire the poet, it is also prolific in such as
delight the artist, whether with brush or cam
era. The coast regions, from whatever view
point, present an old yet ever new field, with
their changing settings — at times the glorious
cloud tints under a brilliantly shining sun or a
mildly beaming moon, and again, the dense black
heavens rent asunder by the lightning's flash.
Then, when the sea is boisterous and is piling
mountain high, those who love to paint the ocean
in its wildest fury may find the freest scope for
their genius. Perhaps, as is often the case, some
great ship will be tossed far up on the beach,
and the sturdy life-savers from one of the num
erous stations which dot the shore will become
living and unconscious models for a thrilling
chef-d'oeuvre. The light-house is ever a con
spicuous feature in such a scene, and adds to its
picturesqueness.

Inland, the woodlands, the meadows, the
broad level moorlands, with glimpses of the sea
beyond and between, will challenge the skill of
hand and eye as long as art shall last. The Dutch
windmills, choice bits of antiquity and land
marks of other days, have been in the past, and
will be in the future, an inspiration for many a
canvas. In Nassau county we begin to see the old
mills which are such prominent features of the
Long Island landscape. Some of these, notably
out by Southampton and East Hampton, are at
least a couple of centuries old, and, were any of
them removed, the appearance of their surround
ings would change as completely as though a
hill bad been leveled or a natural landmark de
stroyed. On the North Shore, at Port Washington, is
the largest tidewater mill ever built on Long Isl
and. It was erected by- Adam Mott in 1730, near
his home, which is still called the "Mill House."
When the troops of Lord Howe had driven the
American army across the Harlem River this
old mill was seized, along with its owner, and
thereafter, until the war of independence was
over, the unwilling miller, who was a Quaker,
was forced to grind rations for the invading
army. Another large mill was built near this,.
one in 1785, and to these two mills the village
of Port Washington owes its early importance.
The mills were supplied with wheat from the
Mediterranean Sea, and did a large business.
On the beautiful shores of Manhasset Bay,.
formerly known as Little Cow Neck, stands the
well-known Plasdome Mill, built by William
Nicolls in 1735. It was spoken of as Latham's
Mill in 1746. It was afterward owned by the
learned and renowned Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell —
one of Long Island's famous men — who named
it Plasdome, meaning a pleasant place. Part of
it was carried away by the great wind and flood
of August 10, 1826. It was rebuilt, and remained
unchanged until 1863, when it was changed to its
present form, with additions.
At Babylon, on the south shore, is the. old
Monfort Mill, rich in historic interest and leg
ends of olden clays, when, the sturdy farmers of

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

21

OLD WINDMILLS ON LONG ISLAND.
By Courtesy of the Long Island Railroad Company.

22

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Suffolk county claimed citizenship with New
England. It was built in 1680, and is one of
the oldest mills on Long Island. It was run by
Judge Garret Monfort for fifty years. The
Monforts sold it to the Oakleys, a family of mil
lers, who ran it for sixty years as a grist mill.
It is now used as a toy whip' factory, the only
one in the United States. At Mill Neck are the
ruins of the old Cocks Mill and homestead, dat
ing back to 1675. Old Thomas -Cocks was a
staid owner, and only on certain days would he
turn the water against the old mill wheel. On
other days he would attend to his estate of 180
acres. At Smithtown is another old-time mill, built
about 1725, and at Cold Spring, across from tbe
State fish hatcheries, not far distant from the
spot where Nathan Hale landed on his perilous
undertaking, is a mill dating back to long before
the Revolution. This is one of the few mills that
are now run by the overshot wheel, the power for
which is obtained from- a narrow canal built along
the hillside.
Only a few years ago, one of the 'most inter
esting of the old landmarks was removed to
make way for modern improvements. This was
the old cloth mill of James Mott, at Wheatley
Hills — probably the only one ever erected on
Long Island, and one of the first to be built in
America after the Revolution.
James Mott, the genial old Quaker who built
the quaint old structure, was a plain, simple farm
er who had never sudied the mechanical arts, but
he deserved to rank with the great inventors of
his age — -Whitney, Fitch, Fulton and others —
who revolutionized the industries of the country
by their inventions. It was long before the in
troduction of steam, and his was the first at
tempt to supplant the spinning wheel by the use
of motive power. Upon the apex of the quad
rangular roof he set up a horizontal wind-mill,
whose great square sails caught the full force of
the wind, from whatever quarter, and set all the
interior machinery in motion. The farmers for
miles around brought their flax to this mill and
received in exchange some of the most beautiful
linen fabrics ever produced in this country. Linen

tablecloths, napkins, toweb, sheets, pillow cases,
beautifully colored bedspreads, all these were
manufactured in this isolated .country mill. As
this volume is in course of preparation, a move
ment is afoot to- construct a model of the old
mill on the original site as a monument to the
memory of a most worthy and useful man.
But the Long Island coast has its dangers and
horrors, as well as its beauties. That the re
gion is dangerousi and fatal to shipping is evi
dent in view of the fact that, along tbe greater
-part of the ocean front, the shore shelves grad
ually at a rate of descent of about six feet to the
mile. At a distance varying between three hun
dred and eight hundred feet from the visible
beach, the depth of water rarely exceeds two feet.
Hence, a vessel driven- inland by stress of weath
er, must inevitably be stranded far from land,
from which it is separated by an intervening
stretch of water too shallow to float any but the
lightest of boats ordinarily carried by ships. Dur
ing the winter months, particularly, fierce north
easterly winds rage for long intervals, and are
often accompanied by that thick heavy weather
which is so deceiving to the sailor, obscuring
landmarks by day and the glare of the lighthouse
by night. These are tbe perilous conditions that
confront a great proportion of the immense com
merce, domestic and foreign, which seeks the me
tropolitan harbor of the United States.
Small cause for wonder is there, then, that
the shores are strewn with the relics of ships, em
bedded in the sands and lodged far up the inlets,
whither they have been borne by wind and tide.
Statistics fail to convey an adequate idea of the
aggregate of sea disasters. As early as 1657 the
ship "Prins Mauritz," with emigrants from New
Amsterdam, went ashore in a gale off Fire Isl
and and was completely wrecked, although the
passengers and crew were saved. This is the
earliest disaster of importance on record.
During a storm on the night of January 22d,
1 781, the British frigate, "Culloden," a ninety-
gun ship, was wrecked off Montauk, and the
spot where it went down has since been known
as "Culloden Point."

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

23

The wrecking of the British ship-of-war
"Sylph," nearly opposite Shinnecock Point, on
the night of January 25, 1815, was one of the
most dreadful disasters! which ever occurred on
the American coast. She struck on a reef, and
was discovered, early in the morning, by Na
than White, who assembled a large party to at
tempt the rescue of the people on board the ves
sel, which was already breaking up. The surf
was running very high, a furious snow storm was
raging, and the weather was bitterly cold. After
several efforts, a fishing boat was finally

ment was erected over the grave. Mr. John
Pelletreau was wreck-master at the time of the
disaster. The wrecking of the "Savannah," on the
beach opposite Fire Island, on October 27,
1822, was a catastrophe which attracted atten
tion on both sides of the Atlantic, on account of
the history of the vessel. She was the first to
cross the ocean by means of steam power, and
was built in New York City by Francis Fickett.
Her engines were made by Stephen Vail, at Mor-
ristown, New Jersey. She was of only three hun-

A SHIP ASHORE.

launched, and after desperate exertion five per
sons were brought ashore, all others perishing,
to the number of one hundred and eleven souls.
By act of the legislature the proceeds of the
wreck, after payment of tbe expenses, were di
vided among the religious societies of the town.
The ship "Helen" was wrecked off Southamp
ton on January 17, 1820. Several passengers
were, lost, and among them was Major Robert
Sterry, U. S. A. His remains, were interred near
the spot where they came ashore, and a monu-

dred tons burden, and her fuel carrying capacity
was limited to seventy-five tons of coal and
twenty-five cords of wood- — quantities so insuffi
cient that she was largely dependent upon her
sails. May 25, 1819, she sailed from Savan
nah, and reached Liverpool after a voyage of
twenty-six days, using steam for eighteen days
of this time. She was afterward converted into
a simple sailing vessel, and came to her doom
on the date before recorded, while under the
command of Captain John Coles, of Glen Cove,

24

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Long Island, while sailing from Liverpool to
New York. She went to pieces, and all on board
perished— her commander and his crew of ten
men. The New York "Daily Advertiser," in
narrating the occurrence, said that a trunk be
longing to Captain Coles was thrown upon the
beach and broken by the force of the waves, and
a large quantity of gold and silver coin which it
contained was scattered along the strand, along
with the lifeless bodies of the shipwrecked mar
iners. The disaster was discovered by one soli
tary man, Smith Muncey, about daylight, and
the honest fellow turned over to the wreck-mas
ter every dollar which he found.
The brig "Brilliant" was lost on Cedar Isl
and Beach at a later time, but all on board were
saved by a fisherman named Ezra Sammis, by
means of a small boat. A romantic incident grew
out of the wrecking of the vessel. Some years'
afterward, John Webber, a son of Captain Web
ber, the commander of the "Brilliant," wedded
a daughter of Sammis, the fisherman who had
rescued the elder Webber from impending death.
At the wedding, Captain Webber, on being intro
duced to the father of his daughter-in-law, re
marked that they had met before, but the old
fisherman had no recollection of him until the
shipwreck scene was recalled to his mind. On
the following day Captain Webber was shown
in the neighborhood a small building which was
used as a school bouse, and which he recognized
as the former cabin of the vessel which he had
commanded and had gone to pieces on the adja
cent beach.
Rockaway Beach was so prolific of wrecks
that the inhabitants of Hempstead set apart, in
the cemetery between Rockville Centre and Pear-
sails, a plot known as "the Mariner's Lot," for
the interment of the unfortunates cast lifeless
ashore. Upon the lot was erected a monument
to commemorate two of the most stupendous ca
tastrophes which ever occurred upon that portion
of the coast. The inscriptions upon the stone
relate these tragedies of the sea as follows :
On tbe front: "To the memory of jy per
sons, chiefly emigrants from England and Ire
land, being the only remains of ioo souls, com

posing the passengers and crew of the Ameri
can ship "Bristol," Captain McKown, wrecked
on Far Rockaway Beach, November 21st, 1836."
On the second side : "To commemorate the
melancholy fate of the unfortunate sufferers be
longing to the 'Bristol' and 'Mexico,' this monu
ment was erected,, partly by the money found up
on their persons, and partly by the contributions
of the benevolent and humane in the County of
Queens." On the third side : "To the memory of sixty-
two persons, chiefly emigrants from England
and Ireland; being the only remains of 115 souls
forming the passengers and crew of the Ameri
can barque 'Mexico,' Captain Winston, wrecked
on Hempstead Beach, January 2d, 1837.
In this grave, from the wide ocean, doth sleep
The bodies of those that had crossed the deep ;
And instead of being landed safe on the shore,
In a cold, frosty morning they all were no more.
On the fourth side: "All the bodies of the
'Bristol' and 'Mexico' recovered from the ocean
and decently interred near this spot, were fol
lowed to the grave by a large concourse of cit
izens and strangers, and an address delivered
suited to the occasion from these words: 'Lord,
save us, we perish.' "
Henry P. Hedges, in his "History of East
Hampton," tells of the wrecking of the barque
"Edward Quesnel," on Nepeague Beach, about
the year 1838. Some ten or twelve of the crew
were drowned, and their ghastly corpses, drawn
up on the sands, side by side, was a pitiful sight.
The ship was a total loss, but a portion of its
cargo of sperm oil was saved.
One record says : "The Sound steamer "Lex
ington" took fire on the evening of January 13,
1840, when off Eaton's Neck. In a few moments
she was enveloped in flames and burned to the
^water's edge. One hundred and eighteen per
sons perished either by the flames or the waters,
only four of all those on, board surviving."
About 1848 the steamship "Atlantic" was
wrecked on Fisher's Island, with a large loss of
life. The point which witnessed this dire catas
trophe was so dangerous, and wrecks were so
common there, that, soon after the "Atlantic"

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

25

went down, the legislature passed an act requir
ing the coroner of Suffolk county to make his
residence at Fisher's Island.
On July 19, 1850, the ship "Elizabeth" was
wrecked off Fire Island, and among the pas
sengers lost was Margaret Fuller, the famous
American writer, her husband and their child.
A bronze tablet commemorative of this disaster
was unveiled at Point o' Woods, on Fire Island
Beach, July 19, 1901. The tablet describes Mar
garet Fuller as "author, editor, poet and orator."
She was a power in her day, and her influence
and example are yet potent in the cause of the
advancement of her sex.
The ship "John Milton," of New Bedford,
returning from the Chica Islands, February 20,
1858, went ashore on Montauk, in a snow storm.
She was a vessel of nearly fifteen hundred tons
burden and was loaded with guano. The entire
crew, composed of the captain, three mates and
twenty-two seamen, and a number of passengers
— all on board — perished.
The schooner "Helen J. Holway" was
wrecked on Flat Beach, opposite Sayville, April
4, 1876, with a loss of six lives.
About 1866 the French vessel "Alexander
Lavallie" went ashore off Southampton during
a severe storm. All on board were rescued in
safetv, by the life saving crew, under the volun
teer leadership of Captain George T. White, an
old and experienced sailor, and an experienced
surf man.
The ship "Circassian" was stranded on the
beach opposite Bridgehampton on December 30,
1876. The entire crew, among whom were a
number of Shinnecock Indians, who were ex
pert mariners, were rescued by the life savers.
By a strange fatality, the greater number of
these men thus snatched from death during a
howling storm, came to a dreadful fate a day
or two later. They returned to the vessel, in
pleasant weather, to assist a wrecking crew. The
ship was floated into deep water, and anchored
near the bar. During the following night an
other storm arose, and she was broken into pieces
by pounding upon the bar, and all but three of

the lately saved sailors perished miserably in the
sea. No case of serious earthquake has been
known on the island, nor have there been any
unusual convulsions of nature. The storm of
December 23, 181 1, however, which raged
throughout its entire territory, is unprecedented.
Snow -fell without intermission for twenty-four
hours, and the wind blew in tornado fury. Al
most every vessel afloat between Hell Gate and
Montauk Point was driven ashore, involving
much loss of life and destruction of property.
Thirty-six bilged and stranded vessels were
counted in one day.
Every winter adds a fresh chapter to the
story of disaster and death. On the north side
the battle between the waves and the rockbound
coast is often a terrific one, and woe to any un
fortunate vessel which at such times gets into the
power of the sea through any accident or mis
calculation. On the south side the storms beat
with awful fury on the great sand bar, some
times seemingly lifting it up and tossing it about,
changing its appearance, closing one inlet and
opening another, covering one stretch entirely
over and raising a temporary sandhill of con
siderable proportions on another. There, again,
danger lurks for every passing vessel. The
light-houses, with their beacons and whistles and
bells, of course, do much to lessen the number
of such disasters, while the life-saving stations
save many lives each winter.
The present magnificent light-house system
of New York harbor and adjacent waters had
its beginning at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, but
its authors were business men . f New York
City. The foundations of the system were laid
in the necessity for providing for the safety of
shore property during a state of war. In 1746
the British and French nations were in fierce
hostility, and each had afloat a large and well
appointed navy to prey upon the commerce and
colonies of its enemy. In that year the people
of New York, and more particularly the mer
chants, were in great fear that French war ves-

2(3

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

sels would enter the harbor and destroy the city.
Among other preparations for defence, the
authorities of the city addressed to the Council
of New Jersey, in session at Perth Amboy, a
communication urging the establishment of a
beacon at the Highlands of Navesink to give
warning of the approach of hostile vessels. The
Council promptly acceded to the request, and
John Hamilton, the President of that body, is
sued instructions to the colonel of the Mon
mouth County Militia requiring that a "Prop
er Beacon be Erected upon the said Highlands
of Navesink." The beacon was not to be fired
except under the direction of a field officer of
the regiment, and upon occasions of emergency.
It was expected that the flame would be visible
in New York, and this was to' be the signal call
ing troops to the defence of the city, and among
them the militia of Bergen and Essex counties.
It does riot appear that the precaution served any
good purpose, for a month after its establish
ment a beacon was lighted, presumably by ac
cident, without attracting attention in New York,
and confidence in the efficiency of the system
was destroyed. During the Revolutionary war,
however, beacons at this and other points were
of frequent service in assembling the militia to
defend threatened places in their vicinity.
Long prior to this, however, an attempt had
been made to establish a light-house at Sandy
Hook. In 1679-80 Sir Edmund Andros, Gov
ernor of New York, had suggested to Philip Car
teret, Governor of East Jersey, the desirability of
erecting "sea marks for shipping upon Sandy
Point," as Sandy Hook was then known, and he
also urged the purchase of land for that purpose.
He met with no favorable response, and the
project was destined to lie dormant until nearly
a century later.
In 1761 the merchants of New York under
took the establishment of a light-house on Sandy
Hook, and sought to purchase four acres of land
for the purpose, but the owner, Isick Harts-
horne, demanded seven hundred and fifty pounds
sterling for the tract, a sum which was consid
ered unreasonable, and the plan was again de
layed. May 8, same year, at the solicitation of

the New York merchants, the Assembly of New
York authorized a lottery for procuring a sum
not exceeding three thousand pounds sterling
with which to purchase land and erect a beacon.
The matter was placed in charge of a committee
consisting of Messrs. Cruger, Livingston, Lis-
penard and Bayard, all merchants of New York,
and twelve months later this body reported that
something more than twenty-six hundred pounds
had been realized, Out of this money was pur
chased a tract of land on Sandy Hook, and this
transaction was recognized by the crown authori
ties, in a legislative act, May 22, 1762, forbid
ding trespass on the land designated, and mak
ing violation thereof actionable in the New
York courts.
The money derived from the lottery being
insufficient for completing the light-house, the
Assembly of New York authorized a second lot
tery for a like sum of three thousand pounds
sterling, and the drawing took place June 13,
1763. iln 1764 was completed a stone edifice one
hundred and six feet in height from the ground
surface to the lantern, and this light-house is
believed to be the second in the American col
onies, having been antedated by but one, that
at Brant Point, near Nantucket, Massachusetts,
in 1759. The Sandy Hook light-house is re
ferred to by Smith, in his "History of New Jer
sey," published in 1765, who notes that "at the
Highland's of Navesink the New York merchants
have lately erected a commodious light-house
for the security of navigation." It also appears
on a "chart of the bar of Sandy Hook and en
trance of Hudson's River," made from surveys
by Lieutenant Hills, and published in London in
1784, and the "New York Magazine" of August,
1790, gives such description as to identify the
site with that upon which stands the present
structure. The location was originally five hun
dred feet from the northern extremity of Sandy
Hook, but, by a natural process of land pro
longation, about one hundred years later the
point had extended itself seven-eighths of a
mile to the northward. In the last twenty-five
years this point has shown little change.
The first lamps were of copper, enclosed in

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

27

a lantern of ordinary glass. March 4, 1776, the
Provincial Congress decided to darken the bea
con for the discomfiture of a British fleet which
was then expected, and Major Malcom, to
whom the task was entrusted, brought away the
glass and oil, and it does not appear that a light
was again displayed until after the end of the
war

A MODERN LIGHT HOUSE.
With the re-organization of the Colonies as
States, Sandy Hook came within the territory of
New Jersey, and that State, by Act of Council,
ceded to the United States jurisdiction in and
over a four-acre tract of land in Monmouth coun
ty, upon which stood the light-house. February
26, 1806, the federal government acquired the
property by purchase, and subsequently secured
additional land, extending its holdings south
ward to the mouth of Young's Creek.

The Light-House Board of the United States
has -established the following lights at the most
dangerous points on Long Island and in the vi
cinity :
LIGHTHOUSES ON LONG ISLAND AND VICINITY.
Montauk Point, on the extreme east end of Long
Island. Shinnecock Bay, on Ponquogue Point, Shinnecock
Bay. Fire Island, on the east side of Fire Island Inlet.
Fire Island Light Vessel, No. 68, light vessel 9.7
miles south from Fire Island Light 'House.
Race Rock, near Fisher's Island, north side entrance
to Long Island Sound.
Little Gull Island, south side of easterly entrance to
Long Island Sound.
Plum Island, Plum Island, Gardiner's Bay, north
east extremity of Long Island.
Long Beach Bar, entrance to Orient Harbor and
Peconic Bay, Long Island.
Cedar Island, entrance to Sag Harbor.
-Greenport Harbor, on outer end of breakwater,
Greenport Harbor.
Horton Point, on Horton Point, north of Southold
village. Stratford Shoal, in Long Island Sound, nearly op
posite Port Jefferson.
Port Jefferson Breakwater, east side of entrance to
Port Jefferson Harbor.
Port Jefferson West Beacon, west side of entrance
to Port Jefferson Harbor.
Old Field Point, north of Setauket.
Eaton's Neck, east side of entrance to Huntington
Bay. Lloyd Harbor, southeast end -of Lloyd Neck.
Cold Spring Harbor, easterly point of shoal, en
trance to Cold Spring Harbor.
Great Captain Island, near Greenwich Point.
Execution Rocks, off Sands Point.
Sands Point, on northwest extremity of Manhasset
Neck. Stepping Stones, near Hart Island.
Throg's Neck, northwest side of Fort Schuyler.
Whitestone Point, P. L., on Whitestone Point.
Flushing Bay, P. L., on dike in Flushing Bay.
Riker's Island, P. L., on north end of Riker's Island.
Oak Bluff, P. L., on Oak Bluff to east of Port
Morris. North Brother Island, south end of North Brother
Island. South Brother Island Ledge, west entrance to South
Channel, East River.
Lawrence Point Ledge, west entrance to South
Channel, East River.
Sunken Meadow, P. L., on Sunken Meadow, East
River. Blackwell's Island, on northern point of Blackwell's
Island. Man-o'-War Rock, P. L., opposite foot East Thirty-
eighth street, East River.
Governor's Island, P. L., on Castle Williams, Gov
ernor's Island.
Coney Island, on Norton Point, western end of
Coney Island.
Fort Lafayette Fog Bell, east side of Narrows.

28

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Fort Wadsworth Fog Bell, west side of Narrows.
Old Orchard Shoal, on Romer Shoal, northeast side
of Swash Channel, New York lower bay.
Navesink, on Highlands of Navesink, New Jersey.
Scotland Light Vessel, No. 7, four and three-six
teenths miles northeast, three-fourths east 'from Navesink
light. Sandy Hook Light Vessel, No. 48, eight and one-
eighth miles northeast by east, three-fourths east from
Navesink light. '
Sandy Hook, on Sandy Hook, seven and three-
fourths miles west, three-eighths north from Sandy Hook
light vessel.
North Hook Beacon, on north point of Sandy Hook.
Princess Bay, on Staten Island, near entrance to
Raritan Bay.
Elm Tree Beacon, on Staten Island, near New Dorp.
Fort Tompkins, on Staten Island, at the Narrows.
Bergen Point, in Kill Van Kull, at Newark Bay en
trance. Robbins Reef, in New York Upper Bay.
Statue of Liberty, inside Fort Wood, Bedloe Island,
New York Harbor.
Jeffreys Hook, P. L, in Hudson River at Fort
Washington. One of the most famous light-houses in the
United States, directly across the Great South
Bay from Bayshore, on Long Island, and reached
by steamer, is the far-famed one on Fire Island,
known the maritime world over as the place from
whence all transatlantic steamships are first
sighted and their arrival telegraphed to New
York. This island is a low-lying sand key, not
over a mile in width at any one point, and full
forty miles in length. It forms a natural break
water for the south shore of Long Island, and
between it and the main shore is the Great South
Bay so frequently referred to in this work.
Some years ago the island was purchased by the
State of New York, and although several syndi
cates have undertaken its purchase, it still re
mains one of the public possessions. The great
light-house, whose electric beacon of twenty-
three million candle-power is the most powerful
in tire country, is a never-ending source of in
terest to visitors. It is an immense structure,
and its friendly light, which is plainly visible
for many miles at -sea, has brought joy and com
fort to many a storm-tossed mariner.
At Montauk Point, the extreme eastern end
of the Island, is another famous light-house, with
its powerful Fresnel light, which throws its rays
to a distance of twentv miles in the darkest night.

The splendid lantern was the gift of the French
government. And so stand these sentinels of the sea —
silent, yet impressive and commanding, ever
pointing the way to the ' safe and quiet harbor.
Among all the hosts who are called to the serv
ice of the government, in its various depart
ments, perhaps none is charged with duties of
such moment and of such universal usefulness as
is the light-house keeper. The soldier and the
statesman protect the national honor and the
person and property of the citizen, and their
acts are performed in the gaze of the world.
But the quiet man who trims and lights the shore
and harbor lights, and watches them through the
long night watches lest they fade out and bring
death to sleeping voyagers upon the great wa
ters, stands his. vigil for all humanity, asking no
questions as to the nationality or purpose of
him whom he directs to safety. Nor is there,
in all the annals of the service, an instance where
he has failed in his duty. On the contrary, on
many occasions, he has faithfully performed his
tasks when his life was going out in the effort,
and dying alone at his post at the very moment
when came tbe relief which was too late to re
store his overtaxed strength.
Tbe Life Saving Service merits mention in
this connection. To no man comes such noble
mission as that of imperilling his own life in
saving that of another. From' the earliest days
of letters, historians have delighted in narrating
the achievements of the soldier on the field of
battle, and poets have been inspired to the loftiest
heights in singing his praises. But the saver of
human life, not its destroyer, is he who merits
the greater honor. His deeds are not undertaken
in the hot blood which quickens the step to the
charge, nor under the eye of a leader of men
whose approbation is prized as was the knight-
making sword-stroke of the monarch in days of
old, nor do they lead to those high places in
civil and military life to which the gallant soldier
is so often called. On the contrary, his effort
is exerted in a hazardous undertaking in face of

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

29

the most dreadful forces of nature, the tempest
and the storm, frequently in the darkest hour of
the night, and with no witnesses save his few
companions on an errand of mercy which they
may not accomplish, and in which they may be
doomed to sudden death, and with no record of
their supreme devotion save the brief mention
made in a formal official paper which never
comes before the public eye. The horrors of
shipwreck, the heroic efforts of those who es
say the work of rescue, and the dreadful dangers
which they encounter, are beyond description.
Shortly after the French steamer "L'Amerique"
went ashore at Seabright, New Jersey, in 1877,
the wreck was viewed by the gifted painter,
Bierstadt. He saw it in weather like to that at
the time of the disaster, and he listened to the
narratives of gallant men who had struggled
nobly in the merciful work of rescue, and of
those whom- they had saved. Yet he confessed
his inability to portray the scene upon canvas.
It defied his art. The raging storm, the howl
ing wind, -the blinding snow, the seething foam,
the strange, dim lights on the doomed vessel,
the answering signals on shore,, tbe wild shrieks
of the imperilled passengers and crew, men,
women and children, and the seemingly hopeless
struggle of the life saving crew against the ele
ments — all this made up a scene not to be de
lineated by painter nor described by poet. Yet
in such a dreadful picture, of which the mind
may form but feeble conception, the central fig
ure was the life saver.
As in all undertakings essayed in behalf of
humanity, the present United States Life Sav
ing Service, so beneficent in its operations-, and
whose annals are adorned with countless thrill
ing narratives of splendid effort and unquail-
ing courage, had its foundation in urgent neces
sity, and its development was slow and laborious.
The hardy sailors and fishermen of the Long
Island coast were among the first life savers.
Long before there was organized effort, shore
dwellers who were accustomed to the sea, moved
by humane purpose, at the risk of their lives, and
on many occasions, manned their own frail boats
and rescued human beings from vessels strand

ed and breaking up within sight- of their dwell
ings. To these poor people, who lived upon
scanty fare and were inadequately clad, the flot
sam and jetsam from a wreck — rich food stuffs
and dainty fabrics — were a great temptation, but
enough has come to us' out of the traditions of
their times for us to know that usually their
first care was to bring off imperilled passengers
and crew, leaving to a later time the cargo sav
ing which was to bring them reward.
The achievements of these life savers of the
long ago find eloquent attestation in the record
we have of Captain Raynor Rock Smith, of Free-
port, a seafaring man, and one of the most en
terprising and exemplary men of his day. It was
largely through his effort that a number of the
passengers of the "Mexico" escaped a dreadful
fate in the wrecking of the vessel named, a
disaster which has been hereinbefore referred to.
A number of citizens of New York City, in
recognition of his heroic services upon that oc
casion, procured a silver memorial cup, most
elaborately wrought and artistically engraved.
Upon the obverse it displays the ship imbedded
in the sand, witli the waves breaking over her.
Her helpless crew are seen stretching out their
imploring hands. A boat is making its way
to them. A few figures stand upon the beach,
surrounded by masses of ice, which show the
severity of the season and the peril of the un
dertaking. The reverse side bears the following
inscription: "Reward of Merit, Presented to
Raynor R. Smith, of Hempstead South, L. I.,
by a number of his fellow citizens of the fifth
ward, as a token of regard for his noble daring,
performed at the peril of his own life, in saving
the eight persons from the wreck of the fated
ship 'Mexico,' on the morning of Jan. 2nd,
1837." The presentation was made to Captain
Smith, -on February 25, 1S37, at the hotel of
Oliver Conklin, in Hempstead, and the relic is
carefully preserved by the descendants of the
recipient. In course of time gallant deeds performed
by these volunteer life savers came to the notice
of humanely disposed men of means, principally
residents of New York City, who formed such

30

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

associations as the Life Saving and Benevolent
Association and the American Shipwreck Asso
ciation. These organizations at times bestowed
gold medals upon gallant men "for humane and
Christian effort" in saving lives from wrecked
vessels. They also, with the Board of Under
writers, provided crude equipments for volun
teer life savers at particularly dangerous points
on the coast, and, at a later day, they aided by
their influence in the establishment of a govern
mental life saving service. The surf-boats they
provided were only needed at intervals, and no
one was specially -chargeable with their care.
As a result, they soon became useless through
inattention, or were -diverted to other uses, and
so this feeble attempt resulted in little good.
In succeeding years various individuals had
devised apparatus for life saving purposes,
which was put to use at times, and one of these
incidents occurred quite near to Long Island.
In 1839 the Hon. William A. Newell, of New
Jersey, witnessed the wreck of the Austrian
brig "Terasto" (which has erroneously ap
peared in history as the "Count Perasto"), off
Long Beach, New Jersey. Thirteen of the crew
had met their deaths in endeavoring to swim
through the raging surf. Mr. Newell con
ceived the idea that the unfortunate men could
have been saved by means of a rope with which
to drag them to land, and with the thought oc
curred to him the necessity for a projectile to
carry a line from the shore to a vessel. He in
stituted a series of -experiments for the carry
ing of a light line by arrow, rocket, or by a
shot from a shortened blunderbuss, and all with
some degree of encouragement, which culmin
ated in the successful use of a mortar or cor-
ronade discharging a ball with a line attached.
In 1846 Mr. Newell was elected to Congress
from the district including the Atlantic coast
region from Sandy Hook Bay to Little Egg
Harbor. In 1847 Congress made its first effort
in aid of life saving, by making an appropriation
of $5,000 to furnish the light-houses on the
Atlantic coast with means of rendering assist
ance to shipwrecked mariners, but in the fol

lowing session this beggarly sum was returned
as unexpended. January 3, 1848, Mr. Newell offered a reso
lution instructing the committee on commerce
to -enquire "whether any plan can be devised
whereby dangerous navigation along the coast
of New Jersey, between Sandy Hook and Little
Egg Harbor, may be furnished with additional
safeguards to life and property from shipwreck,
and that they report by bill or otherwise." In
this resolution lay the germ of the United States
Life Saving System, as it now exists, and
which, to the present time, has neither counter
part nor parallel upon any other shores in the
world — save the Danish system, which is crude
by comparison — and which has become and will
remain one of the chief features of our gov
ernmental system, with its nearly three hundred
rescue stations, manned by two thousand brave
and skillful wreckers, and for which the gov
ernment annually appropriates nearly two mil
lions of dollars. Yet Mr. Newell's beneficent
measure was ignored by the committee, not
withstanding the fact that several of its mem
bers were from maritime States, and should have
reasonably been expected to appreciate the value
of his suggestions, and to lend their sympathy
and assistance to him in an effort at once phil
anthropic and' economic. Yet he persisted, mak
ing personal appeals to men of great distinction
in both houses of Congress, among them being
John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Henry
Clay, John C. Calhoun, Stephen A. Douglas,
Thomas H. Benton and Thaddeus Stevens, but
without avail, his views being regarded as
chimerical, and as tending to useless and ex
travagant expense. Toward the close of the
session, however, he procured the passage of
an amendment to the Senate Light House Bill
which provided for surf-boats, rockets, car-
ronades and other necessary apparatus for the
better preservation of life and property from
Shipwreck along the coast of New Jersey, be
tween Sandy Hook and Little Egg Harbor, and
this amendment carried an appropriation- of
$10,000. New York first figures in national life-

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

31

saving legislation in the second session of the
same Congress, when, under an additional ap
propriation, stations were established on the At
lantic coast of Long Island.
The life saving apparatus first provided was
placed at eight convenient stations on the New
Jersey coast. Meantime Joseph Francis, a noted
boat builder, built in his shops in Brooklyn the
famous corrugated metal life-boat and life-car
which bore his name, and brought him honoring
recognition from almost every nation in Chrisr-
tendom. The- Francis boats and the Newell
carronade and life-line were first used on Jan
uary 12, 1850, in bringing ashore two hun
dred people (all but one of those aboard), Eng
lish and Irish immigrants, from the Scottish
brig "Ayrshire," which went to wreck off Ab-
secon Beach, in New Jersey. Dr. Robert Laird
witnessed the heroic rescue, and. was afterward
deputized to present the gold medal of the New
York Life Saving Association to John Maxson,
who shot over the vessel the first line for the
saving of human life at sea. By curious for
tune, many years afterward, the ball fired at the
"Ayrshire" was found in a fragment of her
wreckage, and is now preserved in the National
Museum in Washington, where is also the Fran
cis life-car, which proved so serviceable on the
same thrilling occasion, and which, when it was
retired from service in 1878, had been the means
of saving nearly fifteen hundred lives — in exact
figures, 1,493.
The system was imperfectly, organized, how
ever, and the meager equipment provided was
left uncared for by any responsible custodian,
and went to ruin. As a consequence, dreadful
shipwrecks occurred in view of stations which
existed only in name and were powerless to
render assistance. In this emergency, in 1854,
Congress passed a law providing for the ap
pointment of superintendents for New Jersey
and Long Island. To this time the life-savers
had performed their arduous and dangerous du
ties without compensation or reward. In 1868
an ineffectual effort was made in Congress to
reorganize the Life Saving Service in a more
perfect manner. In 1871 the brilliant orator,

Hon. S. S. Cox, of New York, then in Congress,
made a splendid appeal to the House, and an ap
propriation of $200,000 was made, out of which
new stations were built and old ones were re
paired for the housing of the men and their
boats and apparatus. The service was attached
to the Revenue Cutter Division of the Treasury
Department, under S. I. Kimball as Chief. Un
der his administration the service was made non
partisan, a code of signals for use between life
saving crews and vessels in jeopardy was adopt
ed, and minute regulations were laid down for
the management of boats and life-saving ap
paratus. Somewhat later the shore patrol system
was adopted. In 1876 a Medal of Honor was
provided for by Act of Congress, to be bestowed
upon such persons as had performed conspicuous
service in life saving on the ocean and inland
waters. In 1878 the Life Saving Service be
came a separate governmental institution in it
self. The Long Island coast constitutes the Fourth
Life Saving District, in which are thirty-three
Life Saving Stations, in point of number com
ing second, New Jersey (the Fifth District) hav
ing forty-two stations. The Long Island stations
are as follows :
FOURTH DISTRICT — COAST OF LONG ISLAND.
Montauk Point (a), at the light.
Ditch Plain, three and one-half miles southwest of
Montauk light.
Hither Plain, one-half of a mile southwest of Fort
Pond. Napeague. abreast of Napeague Harbor.
Amagansett, abreast of the village.
Georgica, one mile south of village of East Hamp
ton. Mecox, two miles south of the village of Bridge-
hampton. Southampton, three-fourths of a mile south of the
village. Shinnecock, two miles east southeast of Shinnecock
Hght. Tiana, two miles southwest of Shinnecock light.
Quogue, one-half of a mile south of the village.
Potunk, one and one-half miles southwest of Po-
tunk village.
Moriches, two and one-half miles southwest of
Speonk village.
Forge River, three and one-half miles south of
Moriches. Smith's Point, abreast of the point.
Bellport, four miles south of the village.
Blue Point, four and one-half miles south of
Patchogue.

82

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Lone Hill, eight miles east of Fire Island light.
Point of Woods, four miles east o-f Fire Island
light. _
Fire Island, one-half of a mile west of Fire Island
light. Oak Island, east end of Oak Island.
Gilgo, west end of Oak Island.
Jones Beach, east end of Jones Beach.
Za-chs Inlet, west end of Jones Beach.
Short Beach, one-half of a mile east of Jones Inlet.
Point Lookout, two miles 'west of New Inlet.
Long Beach, near west end of Long Beach.
Far Rockaway (£>).
Rockaway, near the village of Rockaway.
Rockaway Point, west end of Rockaway Beach.
Coney Island (c), Manhattan Beach.
Eaton's Neck, east side entrance to Huntington
Bay, Long Island Sound.
Rocky Point, near Rocky Point, Long Island Sound,
about four miles northerly from Greenport.
Each station is in charge of a Keeper who
has direct control of all its affairs, subject to the
District Superintendent. The position held by
this officer will be recognized at once as one
of the most important in the service. He is,
therefore, selected with the greatest care. The
indispensable qualifications for appointment are
that he shall be of good character and habits,
not less than twenty-one nor more than forty-
five years of age ; have sufficient education to
be able to transact the station business ; be able-
bodied, physically sound, and a master of boat-
craft and surfing. He keeps a daily log or jour
nal, a weekly transcript of which he sends
through the District Superintendent to the Gen
eral Superintendent, who is thus kept advised of
all that transpires. Immediately after the oc
currence of a wreck he furnishes a complete re
port of every detail of interest concerning the
disaster, and from time to time various other re
ports are required of him.
The crews are selected by the keepers from
able-bodied and experienced surfmen residing
in the vicinity of the respective stations. A
surfman, upon original entry, must not be over
forty-five years of age, and -must undergo a
stringent examination as to physical condition,
character for courage and endurance, and sea
manlike qualifications, and it is all but impossible
for an unfit or unworthy man to secure entrance
to the service. Fiis compensation is fifty dollars
per month during the active season, and three
dollars for each occasion of service at other

times. He cannot be discharged from the Serv
ice without good and sufficient reason. For well
proven neglect of patrol duty, or for disobedi
ence or insubordination at a wreck, the keeper
may instantly dismiss him; in all other cases
special authority must first be obtained from
the General Superintendent.
In case a Keeper or Surfman becomes dis
abled by injury received or disease contracted in
the line of duty, he is entitled to receive his full
pay during the continuance of the disability, if
it does not exceed one year, and, upon the
recommendation of the General Superintendent,
the Secretary of the Treasury may extend the
time for a second year, or a part thereof, but
no longer in any case. If any Keeper or Surf
man loses his life by reason of injury or dis
ease incurred in the line of his duty, his widow
or children under sixteen years of age may re
ceive for two years the pay that the deceased
would receive if alive and in the Service. If
the widow remarries, or a child survives at the
age of sixteen, the amount that would have been
paid to the one or the other is paid to the re
maining beneficiaries, if any.
The number of men composing the crew of a
station is determined by the number of oars
required to pull the largest boat belonging to it.
There are some five-oared boats at the Atlantic
stations, but at all of them there is at least -one of
six 'oars. Six men, therefore, make up the
regular crews of these stations, but a seventh
man is added on the ist of December, so that
during the most rigorous portion of the season
a man 'may be left ashore to assist in the launch
ing and beaching of the boat and to see that the
station is properly prepared for the comfortable
reception of his comrades and the rescued people
they bring with them on their return from a
wreck; also to aid in doing the extra work that
severe weather necessitates.
At the opening of the active season, the men
assemble at their respective stations and estab
lish themselves for a residence of eight months.
They arrange for their housekeeping, usually
by forming a mess, taking turns by weeks in
catering and cooking, although at some of the

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

33

stations they engage board of the Keeper at a
rate approved by the General Superintendent.
These preliminaries being settled, the Keeper
organizes his crew by arranging and numbering
them in their ascertained order of merit. These
numbers are changed by promotion as vacancies
occur, or by such re-arrangement from time to
time as proficiency in drill and performance of
duty may dictate. Whenever the Keeper is ab
sent, Surfman No. I assumes command and ex
ercises his functions.
The rank of his men being fixed, the Keeper
assigns to each his quarters and prepares sta
tion bills for the day watch, night patrol, boat
and apparatus drill, care of the premises, etc.
For every week day a regular routine is ap
pointed. For Monday, it is drill and practice

method adopted for restoring the apparently
drowned ; and for Saturday, cleaning house.
For practice with the beach apparatus there
is provided near, each station a suitable drill
ground, prepared by erecting a spar, called a
wreck-pole, to represent the mast of a stranded
vessel, seventy-five yards distant (over the water
if possible) from the place where the men op
erate, which represents the shore.
A code of signals, understood by all seafar
ing men, is used at every life-saving station,
flags being the medium of communication in
day-time, and torches or rockets at night.
Among the most important phrases signalled at
night are : "You are seen ; assistance will be
given as soon as possible," indicated by a red
light or rocket ; "Do not attempt to land in your

LIFE SAVING STATION,

with the beach apparatus and overhauling and
examining the boats and all apparatus and gear ;
for Tuesday, practice with the boats ; for
Wednesday, practice with the international code
of signals; for Thursday, practice with the
beach apparatus ; for Friday, practice in the
a

own boats; it is impossible," indicated by a blue
light; and "This is the best place to land," in
dicated by two torches. There are also numer
ous signals conveying instructions for use of
boats, hawsers and other life-saving appliances.
The life-saving station equipment includes

34

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the surf-boat, often called the life-boat, specially
designed for the service ; a life-car, carrying six
to eight persons ; a breeches buoy, which con
veys one person, and a piece of life-saving ord
nance with its appurtenances. The first gun
used was of cast iron, weighing 288 pounds,
throwing a spherical ball to a distance of 420
yards. This was succeeded by the Parrott gun,
weighing 266 pounds, and having a range of
470 yards. In 1878 this gave place to- a bronze
gun constructed' by Lieutenant D. A. Lyle, of
the United States Ordnance Department. The
Lyle gun weighs 185 pounds, and has a range of
695 yards, or nearly a half-mile, and surpasses
in mobility and effect all other life-saving ord
nance. 1
On arriving within range of a wreck, the
gun is fired, discharging a projectile to which
is attached a light line, by means of which the
crew of the vessel haul inboard a strong hawser.
The hawser supports by means of rings the life-
car, or the breeches buoy, as necessity may de
mand. The life-car is a covered boat, made of
¦corrugated galvanized iron, furnished with rings
•at each end, into which hauling lines are bent,
whereby the car is hauled back and forth on the
water between the wreck and the shore without
the use of any apparatus. It is supplied, however,
with bails, one near each aid, by which it can
be suspended from a hawser and passed along
upon it like the breeches buoy, if found neces
sary, as is sometimes the case where the shore
is abrupt. The cover of the boat is convex, and
is provided with a hatch, which fastens either
inside or outside, through which entrance and
exit are effected. Near each end it is perforated
with a group of small holes, like the holes in a
grater, punched outward, to supply air for
breathing, without admitting much if any water.
It is capable of containing six or eight persons,
and is very useful in landing sick people and
valuables, as they are protected from getting
wet. On the first occasion of its use it saved two
hundred and one persons.
Aside from the immediate personal danger in
curred at the actual scene of the wreck, the life-
saving crews, in many instances, have performed

remarkably arduous labor and endured the se
verest exposures in reaching the spot where there
services were needed. On occasion, they were
obliged to travel distances of ten and even
twenty miles, in part by boat, and in part by land,
dragging the carts containing their apparatus,
and arriving at their destination in such ex
hausted physical condition that only the most
supreme courage and devotion could inspire
them to their final humane efforts. A volume
would be needed to relate these achievements.
The labors of the life-savers do not end with
landing those imperilled. After rescue, the ship
wrecked people are taken to the station and pro
vided with every comfort it affords. They find
hot coffee and dry clothing awaiting them, with
cots for those who need rest and sleep. If any
are sick or maimed, as is frequently the case,
they are nursed and cared for until sufficiently
recovered to safely leave; in the meantime med
ical aid is called in if practicable. For wounds
and ailments requiring only simple and well
known remedies, resource is had to- the medicine
chest, which is stocked with restoratives and
medicines that can be safely used according to a
hand-book of directions. Dry clothing is pro
vided from a supply constantly kept on hand
at each station by the Woman's National Relief
Association, an organization established to af
ford relief to sufferers from disasters of every
kind. Libraries are provided by the Seamen's
Friend Society and by benevolent individuals.
Several newspaper publishers send their papers
regularly to many of the stations. The food is
prepared by the station keepers or the messes,
who are reimbursed by the recipients if they are
financially able, and otherwise by the govern
ment. Occasionally unfortunate victims of the sea
who are to all appearances dead are brought to
the shore. In such cases the iife-saving- crews
attempt their restoration, according to methods
for restoring the apparently drowned, in which
they have been thoroughly drilled. During a
given period, in one hundred and eighteen at
tempts at resuscitation, sixty were successful,
very nearly fifty per cent. In some of the success-

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

35

ful instances, after the patient was taken from
the water, several hours elapsed before natural
respiration was induced. Success has followed
even after reputable physicians had pronounced
the patient actually dead. In the saving of prop
erty, the work of the service is conspicuously
useful. This is accomplished by getting vessels
afloat when stranded, a task in which the surf-
men are particularly expert ; in extricating them
from dangerous situations ; in pumping them out
when leaking ; in running lines between wrecked ¦
vessels and tugs when it can not be done with
ordinary boats ; in rendering assistance in vari
ous ways, and in warning off vessels standing
into danger. In the majority of casualties the
surfmen succeed in saving the vessels and car
goes without any other aid than that afforded
by the ship's crew. When this is impracticable,
they act in conjunction with the revenue cutters
— which are equipped for rendering assistance
in such cases — if these vessels are available, or
assist, when necessary, when other relief ap
pears. In the Fourth (Long Island) District, in
1901, there were thirty-four disasters to vessels
which, with their cargoes, were valued at $235,-
250, and of this sum $197,510 was saved, leav
ing a loss of only $37,740. But two vessels were
totally lost. The number of persons imperilled
was 127, and but one life was lost. It is to be
presumed that many disasters were averted by
warnings given by the life-saving crews to ves
sels in jeopardy.
The services of a life-saving crew may be
discerned in the narrative of the stranding of
the Norwegian steamer "Gwent," off Long
Beach, on March 26, 1901. The station patrol
discovered her plight about nine o'clock at night,
and the surfmen at -once pulled to her through a
heavy sea. The master of the vessel informed
them that one -of the steamer's boats containing
the passengers had just pulled away from the
vessel. The keeper pulled after the boat, over
took it, and transferred four passengers to the
surf -boat; then, with the steamer's boat follow
ing, he returned to the steamer and advised all
hands to remain on board until the next morn

ing, as the vessel lay high up on the beach and
was in no. immediate danger of breaking up.
Had not the steamer's boat been brought back
it would undoubtedly have been carried1 out to
sea by the strong wind which sprang up before
morning. Surfmen carried the seven passengers
ashore early on the next morning and they took
the train for New York. The .steamer's crew
stood by their vessel until a wrecking vessel
floated her on March 31st.
October 16, 1901, the sloop "Fenella" went
ashore off Rockaway, with the loss of her boom.
The surfmen boarded her, but by that time the
wind had driven her afloat. The nine men on
board were fearful their craft would be driven to
sea in her disabled condition, and the -station
crew made her fast by a strong line and brought
all her people ashore.
The only life lost during the year was un
der circumstances which afford a vivid idea
of the severe effort which life-savers frequently
make, and the dangers they incur.
On December 31, 1900, near the Quogue
Life paving Station, three colored fishermen put
to sea in a small dory. The sea was smooth
when they went out, but about ten o'clock a
flag was displayed from the station warning
fishermen that the surf was becoming dangerous
for small craft. Three fishing boats were out
at that time, and the keeper, apprehending that
there might be difficulty when they should at
tempt to land, mustered his entire crew, hauled
the surf-boat down to the water's edge, and made
all ready' for launching. By this time the three
boats were in plain view, headed for the shore
in the vicinity of their respective fish houses.
The keeper immediately set out in that direction,
in order to be close at hand to render all possible
assistance should mishap overtake any of them.
The surf at that point turned out to> be much
rougher and more difficult of passage than it
was opposite the life-saving station, and, there
fore, mounting a high bank, the keeper waved
his oilcoat as a signal to the dories to proceed
further westward, which they immediately did.
One of the fisher boats made safe landing, but
the other two, when thev arrived abreast of

36

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the life-saving station and beyond the outer bar,
stopped pulling and laid by for a time, as though
in doubt whether to attempt a landing. The
keeper, however, being uncertain as to what
their purpose might be, and whether or not they
wished assistance, determined to go out to them
with his surf-boat. Taking with him six men
of his crew, leaving the other on the beach, a
launch was -effected, and the surf-boat was soon
pulled to the vicinity of the two dories. To the
men in charge of each, Edward F. Warner and
Herbert G. Smith, the keeper stated that the
surf was pretty rough, and requested them all to
get into his boat and let him take them ashore,
but they declined, saying they would endeavor to
make the passage themselves.
After a little delay for. a favorable oppor
tunity, Warner's boat pulled for the shore and
made a safe passage through the breakers of the
outer bar, followed by the life-saving boat, which,
in turn, was followed by that of the colored
men, who were using a drag made of a piece of
fish net filled with fish and towed astern. When
all three boats had passed the bar, they held back
for a few minutes in the quieter water, waiting
for another "slatch" which would afford them a
fair opportunity to- pass through the dangerous
surf tumbling between them and the shore.
Warner again started first, and succeeded in
landing without serious trouble. About this
time the surf-boat and the Smith dory started
in. The Smith boat passed the first roller suc
cessfully, and Herbert Smith, who had com
mand, ordered the other two to pull hard, in
tending to follow in close behind the great wave.
Reginald Smith, however, did not respond with
his oars, being young and of little experience in
boating, and, therefore, the dory lacking the
necessary headway, was caught by the next great
roller which lifted the stern high and drove her
forward with frightful rapidity. As it broke
under the stern, the dory slewed sharplv to the
westward, and Herbert was pitched headlong
into the sea. Then the dory rolled over broad
side to the beach and threw out the other two

men.

Flalf swimming and half wading, Herbert

and Frederick scrambled for the shore, while
the boy Reginald, apparently dazed, attempted to
climb on the bottom of the capsized dory. The
life-saving boat was at this time within about
fifty feet of the beach, and, under the circum
stances, there was nothing to be done but first to
force it with all possible celerity to the shore,
when all hands jumped overboard and rushed
into the surf to aid the young fellow still cling
ing to the dory. Taking the end of a small line,
Surfman Overton made it fast around his waist,.
the men behind holding on to it so that be might
not be -swept to sea by the undertow, which at
this point is unusually strong and perilous in
consequence of its concentration from both sides
into a deep gully or "sea-puss." He thus strug
gled out toward the helpless man, to whom Her
bert Smith from on shore shouted instructions
that he let go of the boat and get away from it
as soon as he could. Upon this injunction, the
young man appears to have let go, and was now
washing helplessly back and forth just inshore of
the dory, and the life-savers resolutely pushed
toward him as far as they could go, but he was
yet beyond their reach. Once he was swept with
in fifteen or twenty feet of Overton, who was
barely able to keep his place, while every sea
dashed shoulder high against him. The reced
ing waves now carried young Smith back to the
dory, and he attempted to climb upon it again,
but a heavy sea swept him off, and, when he re
appeared, he was floating face downward out
side of the boat, drifting slowly away. Then he
sank and was seen no more.
That Keeper Herman and the several mem
bers of the Quogue Life Saving Crew used all
judicious and necessary precautions on this occa
sion for the prevention of the accident, and, after
it had taken place, exerted every effort within the
power cf man to effect a rescue, is clearly shown.
If the three persons in the Smith boat had com
plied with the request of Keeper Herman to
transfer themselves from the dory to the station
surf-boat, all would have been landed without
any trouble whatever.
. A veritable honor list is- that which bears the
names of those to whom the government medaL

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

37

was awarded for the saving of human life.
Among them are the following, who are well de
serving of remembrance :
Dominick J. Ryder, of New York, for the
rescue from drowning of eleven persons at Rock
away Beach, between the years 1876 and 1881.
F. C. Bartholomew, of Stony Creek, Connec
ticut, for rescuing eight persons from the yacht
"Prodigal," capsized in Long Island Sound, Au
gust it, 1883.
Marie D. Parsons, of Fireplace Point, Long
Island, for rescuing from drowning a young
man and a little girl, July 7, 1883. The little
girl hero was then only ten years old.
William J. Yen-able, of New York, for res
cuing thirty persons from drowning, at Coney
Island, at various times between 1879 an<l 1888.
John H. Hanley, of New York, for the rescue
of several persons from drowning at Rockaway
beach, in 1877-8.
Philip Bierschenk, of Brooklyn, New York,
July 1, 1900, for rescuing from- drowning a boy
who had fallen overboard from a tug bound from
Green Point to Glen Cove, Long Island. Bier
schenk jumped into the water, swam to the boy,
and supported him until the tug turned and
picked them up, the boy being unconscious, and
his rescuer so exhausted that he was unable to
stand or speak.
The United States Volunteer Life Saving
Corps is a body maintained by humanely disposed
persons of means. Its membership comprises
shoremen, fishermen, sailors and yachtsmen, who
serve for the sake of humanity. It has 898 sta
tions, of which the following are located upon
Long Island :
Brooklyn Division. — Manhattan Beach, Co
ney Island, Norton's Point, Sheepshead Bay,
Plum Island, Coney Island Creek, Bay 27th St.,
Ulmer Park, Gravesend Bay Yacht Club, Ben-
sonhurst, Bath Beach, West End Hotel, River
View Pier, Bay 17th st. Pier, 58th, 56th, 53d St.,
Bay 2Tst and 20th st. piers, Gowanus Bay, Erie
Basin, Amity, Harrison, Baltic and Bridge sts.,
Catharine St. Ferry, Wallabout Basin, N. 8th st.,
Newtown Creek and Gowanus Canal bridges.
Queens County. — Canarsie, Bergen Beach,
Ruffle Bar, Barren Island, Rockaway Beach,
Broad Channel, Old Mill Creek, Aqueduct,
Breakwater, Hammels, Springfield, Arverne,
Edgmere, Far Rockaway and Long Beach.

Sound Divisions. — Ravenswood Boat Club,
Clinton av., Astoria, Bowery Bay, Steinway,
College Point, North Beach, Seawanhaka Boat
Club, Flushing and Sanford Points, Wetzel's
Island and Max Zehden's, Flushing Bay.

The crews a_re on duty at all the seashore re
sorts and principal shore points during the sum
mer months. They are provided with metallic
buoys, air-chambered cork life-preservers and
long life-lines, and also' with chests containing
such medicines as are needed for the restoration
of persons recovered from the surf in condition
of exhaustion or apparently drowned. Life boats
are provided at particularly dangerous points
where there is no life-saving station under the
national establishment. Various yacht clubs and
crewsmen of coasting craft have been enrolled
as members of the corps. A medal of honor is
awarded to life savers for heroic rescues. The
organization is maintained by the contributions
of humanely disposed people.
In 1901 the corps organized 7,400 enrolled
members, and the expense of maintenance was
$1,152.05. In eight years it has saved 3,574 lives
and its executive board has awarded 970 medals
for heroic rescues from drowning.
The noble organization whose work has been
so beneficent owes its origin primarily to a num
ber of gentlemen of Brooklyn, who, in 1870,
formed a Humane Benevolent Association to
reward heroic service in the rescue of persons
from drowning in the immediate vicinity, and
the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Father Sylves
ter Malone and others made notable speeches on
the occasion of memorable presentation of med
als. No attempt was made to organize life-sav
ing crews or to provide life-saving equipments,
and the Association lapsed. In 1890 the Uni
ted States Volunteer Life Saving Corps (Inland
Waters) was organized by act of incorporation.
Its system of organized life-saving was first de
veloped in the State of New York, the legislature
aiding it by two small appropriations to extend
it over its numerous lakes, rivers and sounds,
and, from this beginning, its operations were
gradually extended throughout the country, in-

38

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

eluding inland waters. In 1898 the chief or
ganizer and instructor of the Corps, Captain
Davis Dalton, the most celebrated swimmer in
the world, visited all the noted watering places
and other important points on the rivers and in
the harbors of New York and New Jersey, and
organized and instructed crews of life-savers,
who from tbe first have rendered noble and effi
cient service, increasing in numbers and useful
ness in each succeeding year.
Colonel J. Wesley Jones, the founder and
managing director of the United States Volun
teer Life Saving Corps, has lived a most use
ful and eventful life. In his student days he wit
nessed the riot in Alton, Illinois, in which Love-
joy came to his death for anti-slavery sentiments
expressed in his newspaper, and he was twice
mobbed himself, while yet under age, for mak
ing anti-slavery speeches. In 1850, as captain
of cavalry, he commanded one hundred and fifty
men to protect emigration on the plains to Cali
fornia, and at one time he received six arrow
wounds in a battle with Indians. During the
Civil war he performed conspicuous service at
the national capital, and in command of cavalry
in the field. He was severely wounded while
pursuing General Jubal Early, after the battle
of Gettysburg, and lay in the' hospital for sev
eral months. Being disabled for field service,
he accepted a position in the New York Custom
Service. A' lawyer by profession, he retired
from, business pursuits some years ago to de
vote his entire attention to the life-saving serv
ice which he had established and which, despite
his advanced age, nearly eighty years, he con
ducts with skill, energy and hearty enthusiasm.
He maintains his residence in New York City,
and the offices of the Volunteer Life Saving
Corps are in the Pulitzer Building.
After the savers of human life, the savers of
property imperilled by the sea are deserving of
recognition for heroic effort and great achieve
ments, often undertaken at imminent risk of life.
In the early days, the shore fishermen be
came also wreckers, and these had a quasi gov
ernmental recognition in appointment by the

Governor of the Province. The share coming to
the wrecker was pitifully small. He took des
perate chances in his contest with the elements,
and in contact with the flotsam and wreckage
which the tempestuous waves hurled against him.
Did his life pay the penalty of his daring, -there
were none save his fellows, as poor as himself,
to succor his widow and orphans. And so, it
was to be expected, the law became practically
inoperative. The spoils of the seas were in
greater part appropriated by the wrecker, and in
this he was justified by the practice of the times.
Despite their poverty and necessities, the
wreckers as a rule kept within the pale of the
illy defined law which governed their calling, and
contented themselves with -the goods which came
ashore, or which they brought from the wrecked
vessel after its abandonment by the captain and
crew. But the Hfe was demoralizing. Familiar
ity with scenes of destruction and death were
dulling to the sensibilities, begetting contempt
for human life and a rapacious desire for plun
der. There were instances where the wreckers
became lost to all sense of honor, even between
themselves. In the winter of 1830 the ship
"George Cannon," from Liverpool, laden with
dry goods and hardware, went ashore on the
New Jersey coast, below Sandy Hook. The shore
people scented prey and came in throngs, eager
for the spoils, and cupidity reigned unrestrained.
Neighbor robbed neighbor. Boxes of goods
were buried in holes made in the hills, and while
the hider was gone in quest of more plunder,
another would dig them out and take them to
other places of concealment. The night was bit
terly cold, and two men perished in such under
takings. Such occasional scenes were an inspiration for
the sensational newspaper writer and lurid novel
ist of the period, who improved the occasion to
the utmost. According to their telling, cold
blooded deceit was practiced to bring ashore ves
sels for sake of gain. False lights were dis
played by night and false hails were given by
day to lure to wreck the mariner who had wan
dered away to an unfamiliar coast. Even then,
the annalist averred that it was to be said, in

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

39

justice, that the treacherous wrecker at times
permitted his humane instincts to prevail, and
hastened to save those whose lives he had brought
into peril, before seeking the flotsam upon which
he was at heart intent. But then followed the
relation of scenes of shocking inhumanity and
lawlessness — the despoilment of corpses, with
out regard to sex, and to the point of utter
nakedness ; passengers and sailors were made
to give up money and valuables upon their
persons ; in some extreme cases, where resist
ance to the act of robbery was attempted, the un- ¦
fortunate castaway was subjected to personal
violence, even to the extremity of murder.
Such charges as these were of frequent repe
tition, particularly between 1830 and 1835, and
at intervals thereafter. In 1832 a pirate, Panda
by name, attempted a horrible crime on the high
seas. Having captured the brig "Mexican," of
Salem, Massachusetts, he drove the crew between
decks and battened down the hatches. After re
moving to his own craft treasure amounting to
twenty thousand dollars, he fired the captured
vessel and sailed away. Providentially, one of
the sailors left in this miserable plight found
his way to the deck and removed the hatches, re
leasing his fellows, who put out the fire and
brought their vessel safely into port. The news
of this affair and a description of the pirate ship
went to all parts of the globe, and two years af
terward she was captured by a British man-of-
war off the African coast. Seven of the pi
rates were brought to trial in Boston, where they
were fully identified by some of those whom
they thought they had burned to death, and their
execution speedily followed.
This affair had excited the public imagination
and indignation to the utmost, and for some
years nearly every disaster on all the coasts adja
cent to New York was magnified into a crime
perpetrated by shore-dwelling pirates.
Charges finally became so specific that in
1846 a committee of the New Jersey Legislature
was appointed, pursuant to a resolution reciting
an allegation that at the time of the distressing
wreck of the "John Minturn" and other vessels,
February 15th of that year, on the coast of New

Jersey, some persons on shore neglected and re
fused to render relief and assistance to the per
ishing passengers and seamen, and that some
plundered the bodies of the dead of valuables,
and exacted money for the delivery of the bodies
to their friends. The charges were disproven,
and the shore dwellers were relieved of an unde
served stigma.
About the middle of the last century, wreck
ing became an established business, and its de
velopment and operations find accurate telling
in the story of the career of a representative
wrecker, Captain Israel J. Merritt, of White
stone, Queens county, Long Island.
From his very youth his effort has been
devoted to the saving of human life and
property, and it was his good fortune, while
yet actively engaged in his calling, to have
eloquent evidence that his name was held in
high honor as that of a real benefactor of
his fellow men in saving hundreds of souls
from awful death and millions of dollars
of vessel and cargo property from entire loss. To
this service, during more than, a third of cen
tury, he not only devoted his personal effort at
scenes of disaster, but his fertile brain originated
devices and methods which have been utilized
by every maritime people for the saving of im
periled and wrecked shipping, and have won for
him world-wide renown. His entrance upon
this work marked a new era in marine engineer
ing, for, up to that time, save in exceptionally fa-
¦vorable instances, a sunken ship was utterly
abandoned, and the corpses of her crew and the
cargo in her hold were left to sepulture in the
ocean ooze.
Beginning his life work as a driver of a ca
nal boat, when fifteen years of age, he entered
the employ of a wrecking captain, and there
found his true vocation. In 1854 he was appoint
ed agent for the Board of Marine Underwriters,
and later he became connected with the Coast
Wrecking Company, of which he was for many
years the manager. While constantly active in
wrecking operations he yet found time to devise
methods and appliances to promote the efficiency
of the wrecking service, his most important in-

40

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

vention (in 1865) being the pontoon for rais
ing sunken vessels, a device now of constant use
wherever there is necessity, and so perfected that
it has not admitted of improvement.
In 1880 Captain Merritt formed the Merritt
Wrecking Organization (unincorporated), in
which was admitted to partnership Israel J. Mer
ritt, Jr., who had been for several years associ
ated with his father in practical work. The new
company spared no expense in providing a fleet
and equipment unrivaled in the world, and its
success was phenomenal, surpassing that of any
similar concern. It accomplished practically all
the heavy wrecking work on the Atlantic coast,
and saved the most difficult cases known, its re
coveries amounting to many millions of dollars.
In 1897 the Chapman Company, which had a
large derrick, lighterage and inside business, was
united with the Merritt Wrecking Organization,
the consolidated firms taking the name of the
Merritt & Chapman Derrick and Wrecking Com
pany, with Captain Merritt as president, and
his son, Israel J. Merritt, Jr., as treasurer.
Tbe most notable undertaking of the new
company was its' work upon the United
States battleship "Maine," after its sink
ing by explosion in the harbor of Havana, Cuba,
Secretary of the Navy Long having telegraphed
an appeal, which met with prompt response as
a patriotic duty.
The career of Captain Merritt in the rescue of
human life and the saving of property imper
illed at sea, justly entitles him to be named
among genuine humanitarians as well as with
those successful in an honorable and useful call
ing. To merely enumerate the notable cases in
which, through his instrumentality, and often at
his own great peril, hundreds of persons were
rescued from impending death, and property of
immense value was saved or recovered, would
require a chapter of great length. Among them
may be named the rescue of the brig "Kong
Thryme," on Barnegat Shoals, in midwinter,
1856, for which he received a gold medal from
the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New
York ; the rescue of the passengers and crew of
the ship "Chauncey Jerome," at Long Branch,

in 1853 ; the rescue of sixty-five souls from the
steamship "Black Warrior," at Rockaway Shoals,
in 1859, for which he was awarded five hundred
dollars in gold ; the saving of the 4,850-ton steam
ship "L'Amerique," at Seabright, in midwinter,
1877 ; the rescue of the crew of the steamer "Lou
ise H. Randall,"' south of Long Island, in 1893 ;
and the saving of the steamship "St. Paul" near
Long Branch in' 1886. In the "St. Paul" and
"L'Amerique" instances, Captain Merritt had
entire personal charge (as in many others), and
in the case of "L'Amerique" he remained at his
post on the stranded ship for ninety-three days,
until he floated her and returned her to the com
mander. On January 3, 1894, Captain Merritt com
pleted a half-century's service with the Board of
Marine Underwriters, and that body made the
anniversary the occasion for formal recognition
of his distinguished service. On behalf of the
board, its president, John D. Jones, who was also
president of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Com
pany, presented to him a splendid silver service
costing one thousand five hundred dollars. The
principal piece bore an inscription testifying to
his eminent services, and Mr. Jones, in his pre
sentation address, gave eloquent utterance to the
estimation in which Captain Merritt was held
by the donors. Other recognition has come to
him from time to time in appreciative letters of
admiration from distinguished people of various
nations, and in almost innumerable medals in
commemoration of special deeds of daring and
success. The invaluable museum in the New York
offices of the Merritt & Chapman Derrick and
Wrecking Company is incomparably unique, be
ing made up of relics and souvenirs of the many
famous wrecks in which Captain Merritt figured,
and there are few pieces but have direct personal
reference to himself.
Dealing so largely with maritime subjects, as
we do in this chapter, the topic of shipbuilding
naturally presents itself.
Veritable "hearts of oak" were the vessels
of an olden time ! Built under the very eve of

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

41

him who was to command, he had seen every
piece of material entering into the construction,
and he could well say that he knew
"What master laid thy keel,
Who made each mast, each sail, each rope,
What anvils rang, what hammers beat,
In what a forge and what a heat,
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope,"
When builded they were mastered and
manned by such old-time sailors as Dibdin told
of in verse, and whom- Marryat and Cooper
painted in graphic story. Their crew weighed
anchor by pushing the capstan-bars to the chanty
of the old country man-o'-warsman of a century
ago, and when once it was at the cathead the
sailors sprang to bowline and sheetrope, one af
ter another, until every stitch of canvas was fully-
set. No machine-work aided in propulsion or
sailing. The old sea-dog who was in command
was at once master, executive officer and naviga
tor. He read the skies as readily as he did his
compass, and his stentorian voice rang out from
hour to hour in directions to send aloft studding-
sails, sky-scrapers and moon-rakers when
breezes were light, or to shorten sail and send
down the upper spars on indication of gale or
tempest. But — alas ! for the romance of the sea — the
old skipper and the old sailor and the old ship
have vanished into the past, and with them, too,
the literature that inspired and delighted gen
eration after generation. For who can weave a
romance or write a song out of a great floating
machine shop, and out of the quiet life of the
well-groomed gentleman who increases or re
duces speed and who changes his course by his
finger's pressure upon a button !
Some of the pioneer settlers fashioned their
first water craft in the same manner as did the
savages whom they came to supplant, making
dugout canoes by burning out one side of a
great log and shaping it into the rude sem
blance of a boat. In a later day they built such
vessels as could be made by the most ordinary
worker with saw and axe, giving little attention
to symmetry of form or even ease of propulsion,
but only to buoyancy. Qf such were the sail

scow, • used in transporting salt hay from the
marshes to the farm, and the garvey, which was
used in gathering and bringing to shore oysters
and clams.
Prosaic, certainly, were the uses of these
water craft with their burden of oysters, fish and
marsh hay. Yet there were occasional pleasure
boats to be seen, or one with something of decor
ation, when it was called into service to convey
a high official or a gentleman of importance on a
public errand or a visit of ceremony — a barge
decorated with flowers and laurels, with men
dressed in white as oarsmen.
With the development of the fishing and lum
ber industries, the latter through the introduction
of the sawmill, vessels of larger build came into
vogue, first of the sloop and later of the schoon
er type, but of limited size, for many years not
exceeding thirty tons.
Before the days of steamboats, what were
known as market sloops were sailed between the
Raritan Bay ports and New York. These ves
sels carried what produce the farmers had to sell,
such as hay, potatoes, apples and cider ; also many
a pail of butter made by the farmers' wives, in
oak pails of ten to fifteen pounds, the handle of
which had their initials carved upon it. Some of
this butter was equal to the creamery produc
tions of the present day, and was eagerly sought
for by city purchasers.
The market or sailing day was quite a lively
time. The landing was crowded with wagons
and carts of the farmers bringing their products
for shipment, and the stores did a thriving busi
ness. Many people availed themselves of these
vessels to visit the city. The time of sailing was
always at night, at such hour as wind and tide
favored. The accommodations on these boats
were very small. There were only four berths on
each side of the main cabin, and as many in the
after cabin for women. It was expected to make
the trip in the night, and to arrive at the dock
in the morning, but on many occasions the sloops
had not accomplished more than half the distance
when morning came.
In the later colonial days large numbers of
open boats designed for fishing purposes were

42

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

built at various coast points, and were known
as whaleboats. During the Revolutionary war,
craft of this description, but of larger build, came
into vogue, and nearly every coast neighborhood
where was an inland stream had its association of
men who owned and manned such a vessel. The
boat was usually about thirty feet in length,
pointed at bow and stern to facilitate readiness
of movement by avoidance of turning, and with
high gunwales in order to admit of carrying large
loads. The material was cedar, ana the boat was
so light that a few men could conveniently carry
it into the woods for concealment. The necessi
ty for thus ensuring its safety lay in the fact that
the British armed boats kept the coast industri
ously patrolled. The crew of the whaleboat usu
ally consisted of fifteen men, selected for their
physical strength, endurance and courage. They
were trained to row noiselessly, and were able to
drive their boat at a speed of twelve miles an
hour. Each man was armed with a cutlass and
pistols. The command was vested in one who
was at once helmsman aboard the boat and cap
tain ashore. Many daring feats were performed
by such crews.
Many of the vessels, sloops and schooners
which were engaged in peaceable commerce prior
to the Revolutionary war, were transformed into
privateers when the struggle for liberty began,
and others were hurriedly constructed for a sim
ilar purpose. In both instances, as a rule, the
builder and commander was the same person. In
some cases, doubtless, the desire for gain was
the more powerful incentive, but the greater
number of seamen who engaged in these un
dertakings were as worthy of praise as were their
fellows in the regular service. As a matter of
fact, these privateers were invaluable to the em
bryo American government, which was destitute
of means for the creation of a regular navy. In
the necessity of the case, through the British oc
cupation of New York and the strict surveillance
of the adjacent waters maintained by the British
fleet, the privateersmen were a most efficient ma
rine force; and they continually harrassed Brit
ish commerce. In these undertakings the pri
vateersmen displayed great daring and superb

courage, and many of their deeds were worthy
the glowing pen of a Marryat or a Cooper.
During the war with Great Britain in 1812,
another ' generation of privateersmen came out
from the same and adjacent ports, in home built
vessels, and worked great injury to the enemy.
These hardy sailors were curiously resourceful in
time of necessity. On returning to port, in or
der to escape the eye of the British commander
off shore, they would fasten pine tree branches
into their rigging, and thus lose themselves to
sight against the foliage of the forest.
About 1650 a sloop of fifty tons was a huge
vessel — the majority were not more than one-
third of that tonnage, but in tbe course of a hun
dred years the sloops had doubled in size. About
1712 the first schooner was built — a rig which
was destined to become a favorite down to the
present day. Anent this, Judge Henry P. Hedg
es, the veteran leader of the Suffolk county bar
and a well known local annalist, says that when
this first schooner was launched, a spectator said,
"See how she scoons" or skims, and the owner
replied, "A schooner let her be," and this is said
to be the origin of the word schooner.
With the name of Sag Harbor is pleasantly
associated that of the great American novelist,
James Fenimore Cooper, who made the entire
Long Island coast a favorite resort, and it is said
that he made a long stay in the village named,
and there wrote "Precaution."
Sag Harbor was a principal ship building
point from a very early day, and authentic rec
ords contain mention of vessels on the stocks in
1780. They were for whaling purposes. A
"Captain Prior" obtained the lease of a piece of
land near the old wharf in 1795 for the purpose
of ship building, and in 1806 it was voted by the
trustees of the town that Captain Stephen How
ell should have the privilege of building a ship
"near the old wharf, not interfering with the
road, for the sum of 16 shillings." About this
time many vessels were built by Messrs. Flowell,
Huntting, and others, which made to their own
ers rich returns in prosperous whaling voyages.
The first vessel to undertake long voyages
was the ship "Hope," owned by the Gardiners

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

43

and commanded by Captain Ripley. The result
was far from satisfactory, and the enterprise
proved a loss. In 1785 Colonel Benjamin Hunt-
ting and Captain Stephen Howell sent out ves
sels which finally extended their voyages to the
coast of Brazil. The average duration of a voy
age was ten or eleven months, and the. voyages
were almost always successful. The war of 1812
caused a temporary suspension of business, which
soon- recommenced with increased vigor. In
1807 there were four ships fitted out from this
port. In 1845, when the business was at its
highest point, there were seventy vessels engaged
in whaling. In 1862 the last vestige of what had
been a great and extended enterprise disap
peared by the sale of the brig "Myra," which
was the last remnant of the once powerful whal
ing fleet.
The following statistics are from the records
of the Sag Harbor Custom House:
In 1794, 472 tons registered; 473 tons enrolled
and licensed vessels.
In 1800, 805 tons registered; 1449 tons enrolled
and licensed vessels.
In 1805, 1916 tons registered; 2228 tons enrolled
and licensed vessels.
In 1810, 1 185 tons registered; 3223 tons enrolled
and licensed vessels.
In 18:5, 808 tons registered; 2719 tons enrolled
and vessels.
In 1820, 2263 tons registered; 3416 tons enrolled
and licensed vessels.
Bearing in mind the small tonnage of those
days, the magnitude of the seafaring trade may
be accounted as. something really important.
Setauket was another considerable ship
building point. Records show that as early as
1662 Richard Bullock purchased timber and
plank of John Ketchani, and built a boat here.
The size of the vessel is unknown, but from the
fact that he was allowed four months in which
to complete it, and that he was then to leave the
town with it, we may infer that it was designed
for the sea. In the period not many years re
mote from Revolutionary times the business was
carried on by Benjamin Floyd, a representative
of the prominent family of that name. The scale

upon which it was conducted, however, was at a
later period enlarged. In the early part of the
present century the building of sloops was ex
tensively carried on. David Cleaves was en
gaged in it in 1820, and continued until about
1835. In 1832 were laid the foundation of the
Hand shipyards, with which the family name is
yet associated.
At Port Jefferson, the pioneer shipbuilder
was John Wilsie, who constructed vessels in
1797, on the ground occupied many years after
ward by the large shipbuilding firm of James M.
Bayles & Son. 1
The first vessel built at Greenjxirt was a
sloop named "Van Buren," built by Calvin Hor
ton, in 1834. The first ship was the "Jane A.
Bishop," built by Hiram Bishop, and named af
ter his daughter.
The accomplishments of the old-time ship
builder may be discerned in the stirring careers
of several who are of comparatively recent times.
Nehemiah Hand, of Setauket, born in Brook
haven, in 18 1 4, became apprentice to a shipbuild
er when he was but seventeen years of age. Be
fore he was of age he was rjlaced in charge of a
gang of men, and attended to the completion and
launching of a vessel. In 1836 he built his first
vessel, the schooner "Delight," for Adam Bayles,
and the next year he made the models and
moulds for the schooner "Swallow." In later
years he built several vessels in which he held
an ownership interest. In 1849 he built a schoon
er upon his own account, and named her the
"Marietta Hand," after his -eldest daughter, and
sold one-half to Captain Micah Jayne, and Cap
tain Scudder Jayne was put in command. In
four years the vessel had earned for its owners
$7,200, and they sold her at an advance upon
her cost. In 1850 Mr. Hand built the schooner
"Nassau," for Stephen H. Townsend and Cap
tain Richard Edwards. This vessel went into
the Mediterranean trade, and was capsized in a
storm, but one man being saved. In 185 1 Mr.
Hand built a brig, named for himself, for Turner
& Townsend, in which he owned a one-fourth
interest. This vessel cost $14,600, paid her own
ers $22,562 in four years, and was sold for $10,-

44

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

250. In 1852 Mr. Hand built a large sloop, the
"Chase," which ran as a packet between New
York and Providence. On one of her trips, while
racing with the sloop "Pointer," her mast was
carried away. But the sporting sentiment pre
vailed, even then, the principal owner, who was
aboard, remarking, "Never mind; we are ahead."
In 1853 Mr. Hand built the schooner "Fly
ing Eagle" on his own account, and sold one-
half interest to Captain Benjamin Jones and
others. She made a voyage to Constantinople
during the Crimean war, and earned for her own
ers $5,000 for carrying a single cargo of rum and
pepper. In 1854 Mr. Hand built the bark "C.
W. Poultney," for Baker & Studson, at a cost
of $39,000, for the Philadelphia and New Or
leans trade. The next year he built the brig
"T. W. Rowland," at a cost of $28,000, be being
a one-fourth owner. He subsequently built the
bark "Urania," costing $31,000, in which he
owned a three-eighths interest. She was built
for the New York and Brazil coffee trade, and,
when the Japanese ports were first opened to for
eign commerce, she was run as a packet between
Shanghai and Nagasaki, and brought home a
cargo of tea and silks, the freight charges upon
which amounted to $12,000.
Mr. Hand built various other vessels down to
i860, when he ran off the stocks the schooner
"Aldebaran," in which he gave his son- Robert a
one-eighth interest, and made him commander,
his first mate being Edward Hawkins, neither
one being twenty years of age. The vessel left
port the day before Fort Sumter was fired upon,
sailing for Spain. While sailing from New
York to Marinham, she was captured on March
13, 1863, by the rebel privateer "Florida," com
manded by Captain Moffit, who was a son of the
Methodist preacher Moffit, who was a noted re
vivalist, and had visited Long Island. The prize
was plundered and burned. Young Moffit plead
earnestly for his chronometer, nautical instru
ments and chart, which were gifts from his fa
ther, but he was denied, Captain Moffit declaring
the articles to be contraband of war. Captain
Hand and his crew were held aboard the priva
teer for ten days, and were then put on board a

vessel bound for Scotland, entirely penniless, with
nothing save their clothes. In the award made
by the claims commission after the close of the
war, the owners of the "Aldebaran" received
$30,160, with interest at the rate of four per cent.
In 1863 the Hands, father and son, became
partners, and the first vessel of their joint build
ing was the brig "Americus," in 1864-5, which
cost $42,000. The junior Hand was a one-six
teenth partner and commander. In 1868 the
senior Hand built for Captain Henry Baker the
brig "Mary E. Thayer," which had an unfortu
nate career. She went into the Mediterranean
fruit trade, and was twice dismasted, was robbed
of $1,750 while in the port of Lisbon, Spain, and
her owners paid $2,117 f°r damages accruing
from a collision when the captain of the vessel
sailed in mid ocean without lights. Another un
fortunate vessel of Mr. Hand's building was the
three-masted schooner "Georgetta Lawrence,"
which cost $32,000. Struck by lightning off the
coast of Cyprus, her cargo of cased coal oil
caught fire. The vessel was saved through the
heroism of Charles Robinson, the mate, who
went 'tween decks and threw out ,the burning
packages, the crew throwing water upon him
while he was so engaged.
Mr. Hand built many other vessels during all
these years, among them the bark "De Zaldo,"
for Waydell & Co., which paid her owners her
cost ($40,000) in five years; the brig "Daisy,"
for Captain Casey, at a cost of $32,500, which
made the voyage from Cape Henry to Stetten, in
the German Baltic, in twenty-six days, and paid
her owners $10,000 the first year, and the bark-
entine "Thomas Brooks," which went into the
West Indies trade and carried one cargo of 660
hogsheads of sugar.
About 1874 Mr. Hand, in association with
Daniel Bayles as superintendent, undertook the
building of a ship of 3,500 tons, a mammoth ves
sel for that day, but owing to the remarkable fi
nancial depression of that decade the original de
sign was never carried out, but that which was
intended to become one of the proudest specimens
of marine architecture was afterward finished as
an ungraceful barge.

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

45

In all his large and varied experience as ship
builder and owner (and he built forty-four ves
sels) Mr. Hand never paid as much as $500 for
insurance. He acted upon the theory that if in
surance companies could make money in the in
surance of poor vessels, he could make money
by taking his own risk upon sound, well built
craft, and his ideas were amply vindicated in his
experience. In 1873 he left his shipbuilding. bus
iness to a worthy successor, his son, George
Hand. But he did not retire to lead an inactive
life. He was one of the projectors and survey
ors of the railroad route from Centerport to Port
Jefferson, and he was a leading spirit in secur
ing state legislation for the improvement of the
pilotage system in New York waters.
Another famous shipbuilder, James M. Bayles,
of Port Jefferson, born in 181 5, took to sea
faring pursuits when he was fourteen years old.
When he was seventeen years old he went to
work as a ship caulker and rigger. In 1836 he
built his first vessel, and has a total of more than
one hundred to his credit, furnishing employment
to many workmen.
Jesse Carll, of Northport, whose activities
have but lately ceased, when seventeen years of
age entered the shipyards of James and Lloyd
Bayles, at Port Jefferson. Five years later he
and his brother David engaged in shipbuilding
at Northport upon- their own account. The third
vessel of their building was the double-decked
bark "Storm Bird," of 650 tons, contracted for
at $35,000, but upon which they lost $7,000. But
their work was a marvel, for the craft was built
and launched within the short period of eighty-
seven days. In 1865, after an association of ten
years, the brothers dissolved partnership, dividing
$50,000 as the fruits of their .ndustry.
Mr. Carll subsequently built vessels sufficient
in number to make a veritable fleet. A monu
ment to his integrity as a master workman was
his schooner "Joseph Budd," launched in 1871,
and costing $34,000. While laying in the har
bor of Brazos, on the coast of Rio Grande, in the
Gulf of Mexico, in the midst of a sudden tropical
storm and tidal wave, the vessel was driven in
land, and when tbe waters subsided she was two

miles from the shore. Mr. Carll and his part
ner, Joseph Budd, on information given them
by their foreman, George Tillett, contracted with
a dredging firm to build a canal through which
to float the vessel to the water. Work was pros
ecuted vigorously, but occupied a year's time and
cost $23,000. But so perfect was the ship in ma
terial and workmanship, that, after twelve
months' exposure to the intense heat of the cli
mate, her seagoing qualities were unimpaired,
and, without repairs, she safely landed in New
York a $160,000 cargo of hides, wool and lead.
There were able commanders, too. Captain
Isaac Ludlow, of Bridgehampton, was thus
spoken of in all truthfulness by a friend : "Few
men embody more prominently the higher traits
of ocean life than this- man. The sea molds as
if to itself the hardy and resolute spirits that dare
its perils. He was brave as a lion, sincere as
truth, generous as a prince, sympathetic as a
child, tender and humane like the good Samari
tan ; and if at times the strong emotional1 nature,
so full of elevated sentiment, broke the bounds
of decorous restraint in censure of aught untrue
or dishonest or mean, all remembered that, rocked
by the stormy wave, assailed by the tempest's
breath, nurtured in the rage of the mighty deep,
something of its elemental wrath seemed in
woven into the fibres of the nature and the frame
they nurtured and tried."
Captain Ludlow became a sailor when he was
fifteen years of age, and in all he made as many
as twenty long whaling voyages in Atlantic and
Pacific waters, and he commanded a vessel in his
last eight voyages. In August, 1853, he rescued
from the island of Amsterdam, in the Indian
ocean, the shipwrecked crew and passengers of
the British bark "Meridian." His care for them
involved the failure of his voyage, and was but
partially compensated by the gift of a fine chro
nometer from the British admiralty and other
presents and acknowledgments.
A native of Southampton, born in 1825, Cap
tain James R. Huntting went before the mast on
a whaling voyage, in the bark "Portland," Cap
tain William H. Payne, when he was sixteen
years old. In three successive voyages in the

46

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

same vessel he was boat steerer, second officer
and first officer. In 1848 he commanded the
bark "Nimrod," and returned with a full cargo of
whale oil and bone after a voyage of two years.
In November, 1850, as master of the ship "Jeffer
son," he left port and, after a voyage of two
years and six months, returned with a cargo val
ued at $150,000. He made another successful
voyage in the same vessel, and then followed
land pursuits until i860, when he again went to
sea and sailed successively the bark "General
Scott," and the bark "Fanny." Returning in
1869 he abandoned the sea and engaged in mer
cantile business.
The builders and commanders named by no
means exhaust the list. They are only presented
as types of those worthies of a now past age who,
by energy, daring, self-reliance and enterprise,
wrested from distant lands the wealth that has
enlarged the commerce of America, built up its
maritime cities, and presented to the national navy
the elements which have made the flag of the
United States the emblem of heroic achievements
upon every sea.
But the times have changed, and the waters
of the ocean front and of the sound bear but few
of the sails of the old time commerce. In their
stead are fleets of the finest and fleetest pleasure
craft, sailed by hundreds of enthusiastic amateur
sailors. Oyster Bay leads in priority of yacht
club organizations and membership, its Seawan-
haka-Corinthian Yacht Club, dating from 1871,
and having a membership of 500, and its cup
races are events which are regarded with intense
interest in yachting circles the world over. Other
clubs are the Bayswater Club, at Jamaica Bay;
the Indian Creek Club, of Carnasie, 69 members,
organized in 1896 ; the Jamaica Bay Club, Rocka
way, 150 members, organized in 1892; the Jeffer
son Club, Rockaway Beach, 25 members, organ
ized in 1897; the Progressive Club, Rockaway
Beach; the Vigilant Club, 21 members, organized
in 1897; the Cedar Island Club, New Babylon;
the Hempstead Bay Club, Elder Island, Great
South Bay, 94 members, organized in 1892; the
Hempstead Harbor Club, Glen Cove, 51 mem
bers, organized in 1891 ; the Huntington Club,

Huntington, 60 members, organized in 1894; the
Keystone Club, Windmere, 56 members, organ
ized in 1892; the Manhasset Bay Club, Port
Washington; the Northport Club, Northport, 74
members, -organized in 1898; the Patchogue Club,
Patchogue; the Penataquit^Corinthian Club,
Bay Shore, 96 members, organized in 1896; the
Point o' Woods Club, Point o' Woods, 100
members, organized in 1899; the Quantuck Club,
Quogue, 85 members, organized in 1896; the Sag
Harbor Club, Sag Harbor, 35 members, organ
ized in 1897; the Sea Cliff Club, Sea Cliff, 135
members, organized in 1892 ; the Shelter Island
Club, Chequit Point, 90 members, organized in
1896; the Shinnecock Club, Quogue, 50 mem
bers, organized in 1897 ; and the Yacht Squadron
of the West Hampton Country Club, West
Hampton Beach, 125 members, organized in
1 89 1.
Tales of piracy in connection with Long Isl
and were plentiful in the days of long ago. Coney
Island and Rockaway, in particular, were hotbeds
of pirates, principally the small fry who ought to
be more properly classed as smugglers, but who
were equally as ready to murder and to rob as
to cheat the revenue of what the government
claimed to be its just due. Then there are stor
ies of Captain Kidd, who is claimed to have hid
den- treasures in so many places along the coast
that if he had only dropped one strong box in all
the places alleged to he his "hiding places" he
must have had enough of such boxes to have
burdened an entire fleet.
John Gardiner, son of Lion Gardiner, asserted
during his life that in the summer of 1699, when
he was eight years old, Captain Kidd, "as he
sailed," made a visit at Gardiner's Island. Ac
cording to John Lyon Gardiner's narrative, the
redoubtable rascal "took what fresh provisions he
wanted; came in the night and cut the old gentle
man's hands in the dark with their cutlasses ; de
stroyed feather beds ; stayed several days and
lived well ; tied the old gentleman up to the mul
berry tree, which is now standing at the north of
the house ; left money, etc., with him. It was hid
in a swampy place at Cherry Harbor.' He showed

EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

47

Mr. John where he put it, told him if he never
called for it he might have it, but if he called for
it and it was gone he would 'take his son's
head.' After the apprehension of Kidd, com
missioners came to the island and were given
possession of the valuables.
Miss Hosford, the last descendant of Na
thaniel Sylvester, preserved in the old manor
house on Shelter Island a piece of gold chain,
several links, which was given to a Sylvester by
the buccaneer Captain Kidd in payment of
some supplies. The local story is that the pirate,
"as he sailed," got short of fresh meat and land
ed at the head of a party of his desperadoes on
Shelter Island in search of some. In the manor
house yard they came across two pigs, which
they appropriated in the easy manner usual with
pirates. But the pigs objected and began to
squeal, and the racket brought out on the scene
a servant girl who defied the whole gang and de
manded that the pigs be dropped. A cowardly
historian has suggested that if she had known
she was dealing with Captain Kidd and his free
booters she would have run away to the other end
of the island. That, however, is a base slander.
Captain Kidd saw that he had a determined
woman to deal with, so he called a halt, explained
his necessity in the way of provender, and tore
off several, links of the gold chain he wore — far
more than the value of the pigs. She accepted the
payment and left the pigs to their fate, and hand
ed the bullion to her mistress, who had watched
the entire scene with fear and trembling from
an upper chamber window. She had recognized
Kidd and would willingly have let him take all
the stock he could lay his hands on if only he and
his crew would have departed in peace.
But Captain Kidd,. on one occasion, unwit
tingly contributed to the population of Babylon
one who became a most useful citizen and who
reared an excellent family. This was Captain
Jacob Conklin, who had been- impressed on board
of Captain Kidd's ship and served under him
on one of his voyages. On Kidd's return from
his last voyage, and while his vessel, the "San
Antonio," lay in Cold Spring Harbor, Conklin
and others, having been sent on shore for water,

hid themselves and did not return to the ship.
Doubtless they feared Kidd's arrest and trial, and
dreaded lest they might be punished with him.
They were for some time secreted among the
Indians. Conklin purchased a large tract of land
from the natives, of which the farm, late the prop
erty of Colonel James F. Casey, is part, and upon
which Conklin built a fine mansion, which is yet
standing. The house was probably erected about
1710, and every part qf its bears evidence of its
antiquity. The high hill behind the dwelling
commands a splendid though distant view of the
ocean and bay. Near by are several fine springs
of water, one of which is said to be of medicinal
character. Captain Conklin was born in Wiltshire, Eng
land, probably in 1675, and died at his residence
in Babylon in 1754. His wife was Hannah
Piatt, of Huntington, by whom he had several
children, among them Colonel Piatt Conklin,
who was an ardent patriot during the Revolution.
The; latter had only one child, Nathaniel, who
was Sheriff of the county. He was the third
owner of the premises above described. This
property descended to the grandchildren of
Sheriff Conklin, thus having been owned by four
successive generations of the family. It has since
been owned by Dr. Bartlett, formerly editor of
the "Albion," Colonel James F. Casey and Ulys
ses S. Grant, Jr.
A treasure laden ship said to- have come
ashore at Southampton through treachery, some
time in the early part of the last century, has al
ways remained a mystery. Whether she was an
English merchantman or a Spanish pirate re
turning from the Carribean sea to old Spain, will
always remain unknown. Spanish money was
found in the vicinity frequently afterward, and
the hope of finding more sprang up in the minds
of many avaricious creatures. All that is known
is Captain Terry's story of how on a Sunday in
June the vessel hove to and set ashore a man, and
then sailed out again. The lone sailor set out at
a brisk pace along Napeague Beach, reaching
Amaganset at dusk. He was a creature of
such forbidding appearance that lodgings were
repeatedly refused him, and where he passed the

48

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

night is not kno.vn, but at Easthampton and at
Southampton he was seen and commented upon.
Who the unpleasant appearing stranger was, and
what his errand and where he went, were mat
ters of speculation for many days.
At one of the villages where the Great South
Bay widens out, he was boated across to Fire
Island Beach, and there he lighted a signal. In
the meantime a' violent storm had arisen and the
sea was furious, and, the precious ras
cals who had expected to escape with all the
treasure, leaving a scuttled ship to tell no tales,
were cast helpless upon the shore, weighted to
death by the gold hidden in their belts, and only
three escaped. With no sense of mercy or honor,
they rifled their rascally comrades, and, burying
the treasure, fled the country to avoid the arrest
whioh their suspicious spending of money
brought upon them. Some say they never re
turned for their ill-gotten booty.
On November q, 1830, the splendid brig
"Vineyard" left New Orleans with a valuable
cargo and $54,000 in specie. Had this last de
tail not been known to the crew, all might have
gone well, but the fact- that it was on board
aroused the cupidity of the fo'csle and the appar
ently innate desire of ignorant, lawless men to
get rich quickly. A mutiny was determined upon
so as to gain possession of the money, and the
plans arranged were put in effect when the brig
was off Cape Hatteras. The Captain and mate
were murdered and the crew of seven men took
possession of the brig. They determined to pro
ceed to the Long Island shore and there aban
don the ship and scatter, each with his share of
the plunder. The vessel arrived safely within a
few miles of Long Island and was, in accordance
with their plans, burned and sunk. The mutin

eers took to the small boats, intending to land at
different places. Then their troubles began. One
boat with three men upset and its occupants
were drowned. The other boat had a hard time
making shore, and much of the money had to- be
thrown overboard to lighten the little craft. The
four pirates landed near Coney Island with some
$5,000, and then began quarrelling, with the re
sult that their crime became known and their ar
rest followed. Two of them were hanged on
April 22, 1831.
In September, 1858, the brig "Haidee," of
New York, was scuttled and sunk by her crew
when off Montauk. The brig had been to the
coast of Africa, whence she had taken a cargo
of 960 slaves to Cuba. After landing the slaves
the captain and owners sent the brig in charge
of the mate north to be sunk. The entire crew
of twenty-two men came ashore in boats and
scattered, some going to New York and others
to New London. The mate was arrested near
New Bedford, and three of the men in New
York. But these dreadful tales have had their tell
ing, and find no counterpart in the narratives- of
the present day. The pirate and shoresman who
thrived upon the flotsam from the wreck have
passed away forever. Even the sea is far less
prolific of disaster, thanks to the splendid per
fection of the lighthouse service, and, when a
wreck occasionally occurs, human life is seldom
lost, so perfect is the work of the life-savers-, gov
ernmental and volunteer. And so the story of
the historian and annalist has ceased to be one
of horror and human suffering, and comes to be
of those things which are!
"A beauty and a joy forever."

CHAPTER II.

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.
Characteristics of the People — The Foundations of Communities.

"Beneath the roots of tangled weeds,
Afar in country graveyards, lie
The men whose unrecorded deeds
Have stamped this nation's destiny.
"We praise the present stock and man ;
But have we ever thought to praise
The strong, still, humble lives that ran
The deep-cut channels of -these days?
"Beneath those tottering slabs of slate,
Whose tribute moss and mold efface,
Sleeps the calm dust that made us great,
The true substratum of our race!"
— James Buckham.
< order to avoid otherwise necessary rejje-
titions, it is well, thus early in the narra
tive, to dispose of the Nassau-Suffolk re
gion in so far as their characteristics and
history are similar. In a way the two counties.
the strongly alike; and, in some respects, they
differ materially from the counties of Queens and
Kings. In a physical sense, the former preserves
in greater degree its original features. The denser
population of the district to its westward has ne
cessitated the obliteration of hill and forest, and
even of water-cdurses, and what of the natural
contour remains is disguised by the multitude of
buildings of all classes and style. But eastward
from Ithe line separating the counties of Queens
4

and Nassau the territory is, in natural conforma
tion, much as it was before the advent of the
white man. With that line we may be said to
have fairly -entered upon the most picturesque of
the coast region of Long Island, to which, in its
entirety, some reference may be in order, so full
is it of interest and beauty on the south, so wild
and romantic is it on the north side of the island.
On the sound it has several fine harbors — Little
Neck, 'Flempstead, Oyster Bay and Cold Spring.
On the Atlantic front its water line is more
adapted for summer resorts than for commerce.
Flempstead Bay and its islands present countless
spots which can and undoubtedly will be utilized
for such purposes, and quite a number are already
high class residential neighborhoods.
But we may particularize somewhat more
closely. In an address delivered by the Rev. Dr.
Epher Whittaker, at the annual meeting of the
Historical Society of Suffolk County, held in
Riverhead, in February, 1900, that scholarly
gentleman referred to the gradual sinking of the
land along the Atlantic from Cape Cod to Flor
ida, and observed that while in places, and nota
bly at Charleston, South Carolina, this subsidence
has been attended by tremendous convulsions,

50

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Long Island has not been violently affected.
There has not been entire absence of earthquakes
but these have been of the mildest character.
The shores have shown change, but in no radi
cal way. Along both the ocean and sound sides,
some fruitful land has been lost by the encroach
ments of the sea. As an instance, the new light
house at Orient Point was built in water several
feet deep, at a point where men now living have
seen fields of grain planted and harvested. On
the other hand, nature has made ample compen
sation for what she has taken, by pouring rich
stores of soil into lakes and ponds and shallow
streams, and these have been added to farm and
garden spots, making this one of the most pro
ductive regions in all America, adorned with
beautiful homes and all that goes to make happi
ness upon earth.
But before and above all these excellent ma
terial conditions is to be admired the power
which has miade them — the people. In numbers
native to the soil for the greater part, these cher
ish with affection and pride the ancestry -whence
they sprung and whose worth and names they
have commemorated, in many instances, in en
during form. For the people, despite the tur
moil of business and the glamour of society, are
a home-loving and family-loving people, and, in
their homes, their schools and their churches,
they are rearing to-day a generation which, in its
own time, will doubtless be called upon to engage
in effort and -confront obstacles and conquer suc
cess after the manner of those who have gone be
fore them.
Of a verity were their forebears, the
worthies of two and a half centuries ago, the
founders of a new England. Suffolk is notable
as being the oldest purely English settlement —
entirely English in its forms and institutions —
within the limits of the great Empire State, and
various of its towns had a healthy existence and
were practically independent and self-governing
communities before any real powers of sov
ereignty were sought to- be exercised over them.
The same fact practically obtains in those towns
which were recently separated from Queens
county to form the county of Nassau. Indeed, it

may be said — and the fact is important — that the
Dutch influence was scarcely felt within the re
gion now known as Nassau county, and was not
at all perceptible in Suffolk county.
At the risk of slight repetition, it may be ob
served that the immigrants acquired title to their
lands through purchase from the Indians, and
through grants made by proprietors holding un
der the English crown.
James I of England granted to the Plymouth
Company a charter for all the land between the
fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of north lati
tude, extending from sea to sea, which territory
bore the name of New England. In 1636 King
Charles I procured the transfer of the whole of
Long Island and the adjacent islands to William
Alexander, Earl of Sterling, by patent from the
Plymouth Company. The Earl appointed James
Farret as his general deputy, and authorized him
to select for his own use a tract of twelve thou
sand acres in this territory. Farret chose Shelter
Island and Robin's Island in Peconic Bay; he
made various sales to actual settlers, and in 1641
he sold the remainder to Stephen Goodyear, of
the New Haven Colony. The Earl of Sterling
died in 1640, and his son and heir died a few
months afterward. The next in heirship, a grand
son of the Earl, for a consideration of £300, sur
rendered to the crown the grant acquired from
the Plymouth Company, and it was conveyed
(April 2, 1664,) to the Duke of York, acording
to the following description : "All that island or
islands commonly called by the several name or
names of Meitowacks, or Long Island, situate,
lying and being toward the west of Cape Cod
and the narrow Higansetts, abutting upon the
mainland between the two rivers there -called or
known by the several names of Connecticut and
Hud-son's River."
To this region came a splendid race of men,
many of whom settled in Rhode Island, whence
they came to Long Island. They were English
men, and their ancestry was most honorable.
They were merchants and seafaring men, among
the most enterprising of their day. The major
ity came with means of support, and often with
what in those days was considered wealth. Thev

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

51

were educated beyond the average yeomanry of
Great Britain. This is proven by the fact that
a majority could sign their own names to the legal
documents which they recorded. Some Scotch
.and English bordermen of the highest classes
signed legal contracts "with their hands to the
pen led by the clerk." The men who organized
the oldest towns and townships of Long Island
were men of the world of business and affairs,
far beyond the average villager or yeoman of
the English or Scotch rural districts. They were
men of thought as well as of intelligence. They
were exiled not as blind or ignorant rioters, but
as men who had contemplated the affairs of state,
formed their opinions, held fixed principles, and
they were ready in the new world to give them
the test of practical application. They were in
most instances the clean, honest republicans of
¦the "Republic of England" (or of the Common
wealth) who would not sell their love of liberty
•and their manhood to the degraded policies of the
Stuarts after the Restoration. Some of the other
members were among the roundheads of Crom
well and had fought at Naseby, and by their side
were a few descendants of Huguenots who had
been allied with Admiral Coligny, and had taken
refuge in England after the revocation of the
Edict of Nantes.
If there is aught in the history of Long Isl
and that is so completely established as to be
wholly outside the pale of controversy, it is the
fact that its early colonists were a deeply relig
ious people. Indeed, had they been less con
scientious and less unyielding as religionists, the
political structure which they aided in rearing
would doubtless have been of other design. It
was decreed in a very early day that the country
was to be essentially English, and dominated by
English thought and policies — the withdrawal
of the Dutch fleet and the Dutch Governor set
tled that matter. Had the Englishmen and
Scotchmen then on -the ground been time-servers,
had they abandoned their meetings and conven
ticles, they would doubtless have proven as
truculent in their political conduct, and — would
there have been the Revolution ? And this sug
gests another query: Had the Established

Church of England utilized the Methodism of
Wesley in England, arid displayed a conciliatory
attitude toward the Presbyterians of Scotland, is
it not probable that there would have been an Es
tablished Church in America, with Trinity Church
standing in the new land for what Canterbury
does in the mother country?
A fruitful field for speculation this, but there
is sufficient of momentous interest in what did
actually occur. And so, it may be repeated that
the early colonists were a deeply religious peo
ple, and this is not the less true if, as was the
case, with different standards, their conduct was
in many instances somewhat at variance with
that expected of professed religionists in the
present day. But deeply religious these people
were, yet not super-sentimental, but entirely
practical. Without being aware of it, they were
the most astute politicians (in the best sense of
the term) of their day, and they were anticipat
ing, albeit all unconsciously, that assertion of
political liberty which culminated in independ
ence after the Revolution. Religious as they were,
they were not bigoted or in-tolerant. While ac
cording to all comers a broad measure of per
sonal liberty, they jealously guarded against
what would be destructive of good morals. The
early government of the little communities was
by the town meeting, in which, in nearly all in
stances, the influence of the Presbyterian Church
was predominant until the beginning of the
eighteenth century, and, indeed, for many years
thereafter, the same influence continued to- be
important in community affairs. True, the towns
differed somewhat as to the details of govern
ment, but, in the main, there was a noticeable
similarity of method as there was- entire unani
mity of purpose.
The social life of a community is but the re
flection of the personality of its members. Where
the leaders in affairs are mem of strong character,
whose conduct is dominated by stern moral con
victions, rectitude of conduct prevails, coloring
the present life of the community, and affording
an example for the guidance of succeeding gen
erations. Law is the product of social life, rather than

52

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

its maker. Law is generally enacted only when
conditions have shown the urgent necessity
therefor — when moral tenets and- personal use
fulness seem powerless to eradicate or mitigate an
evil which threatens society. Hence, the statute
books of a nation, in whatever era, may be un
derstood as indicating a mpre or less widespread
existence of those misdemeanors and- crimes for
which penalties are provided. The Mosaic law is
the most convincing instance in point that ap
pears in all human history. Its minute regula
tions for the conduct of the individual, even to
the details of personal cleanliness and foods, re
veal an existent state of almost savagery, from
which the children of Israel were upraised by
their great lawgiver, ultimately becoming models
in these respects for all mankind and for all time.
The high moral and religious sentiments
which animated the makers of these miniature
commonwealths upon Long Island may be dis
cerned in the constitution of East Hampton, en
acted by the people on October 24, 1654:
East Hampton, October 24, 1654. — Foras
much as it has pleased Almighty God, by the
wise dispensation of his Providence, so to order
and dispose of things that we the Inhabitants of
East Hampton are now dwelling together, the
word of God requires that to maintain the Peace
and Union of such a people there should be an
Orderly and Decent Government established ac
cording to God, to order and Dispose as Occa
sion shall require. We Do therefore associate
and conjoin our selves to be one Town or Cor
poration, and Do f^~ ourselves and successors,
and such as shall be adjoined to us at any time
hereafter, enter into combination and confedera
tion together to maintain and preserve the purity
of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
we now possess ; as also the Discipline of the
Church, which according to the truth of said
Gospel is now practiced among us; As also in
our Civil affaires to be guided and Governed by
such Laws and Orders as shall be made accord
ing to God, and whioh by vote of the Major Part
shall be in force among us. Furthermore we
do engage our selves that in all votes for choos
ing Officers or making orders that it be accord
ing to Conscience and -our best light, And also
we do engage our selves by this Combination to
stand to and maintain the authority of the sev
eral Officers of the Town in their Determinations

and actions according to their Orders and Laws
that either are or shall be made, not swerving
therefrom1. In witness whereof each accepted
Inhabitant set to our hand."
The duties devolved upon the law officers
were deemed so important, and their proper dis
charge was recognized as a sacred duty, as wit
ness the following oath administered:
"You, being chosen by this court for the
careful and comfortable carrying on the affairs
of this town, do here swear by the name of the
great and ever living God that you will faith
fully and without respect of persons execute all
jury laws and orders as shall or may be made
and established by this court, according to God,
according to the trust committed to you during
this year for which you are chosen, and until a
new lone be chosen, if you remain among us, so
help you God."
Among the earliest laws enacted were those
for the guarding of the public morals. The fact
is significant. The people were deeply imbued
with religious sentiments which had been their
heritage from many preceding generations. The
community was in its formative stage, and the
laws were framed rather to establish a standard
for conduct, and more especially for later immi
grants who were beginning to arrive, than out
of immediate necessity. Again, the legislators
of tbe day were familiar with the vicious con
duct of the worst classes in the mother country,
and they did not clearly discriminate between the
conditions in an old and thickly populated land,
with its diversified classes and those in a new
community where all were practically upon a
common level, and where all must struggle for
an existence, practicing industry and economy,
with little time or means, and less of inclination,
for debasing pursuits. Again, these laws may,
in part, be taken as having origin in the horror
in which these early English immigrants held the
conduct of the ruling classes at home, in the time
of that "Merry Monarch" who was, to use the
unique phrase of Macaulay, "much addicted to
women," and whose profligate behavior' on the
Sabbath, and in public gaze, had provoked the
pained indignation of Pepys and Evelyn.

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

53

The town meeting — tbe general assembly of
the people — was not only the legislative body,
but it was also, in some cases, the judicial body,
when it was known as the general court. This
body was constituted without written constitu
tion or governmental warrant except in the
broadest sense, and owed its being solely to that
organizing power which has resided in the Briton
from time immemorial, and which he has made
the dominating power in every land wherein, he
has established a firm foothold. It taxed the
people for the establishment and maintenance of
churches and schools, for the support of ministers
and teachers. It organized military forces for
the defense of the town, and erected fortifications.
The boundaries of the town and of farms and
"home lots" were recorded in the town- book.
Every year the owners- of adjoining lands met
and made what was called a "perambulation of
the bounds," and every three years there was a
"perambulation" by the officers of adjoining-
towns of the boundaries between such towns,
and a record made. The constables and over
seers were empowered to establish and lay out
roads and designate convenient places near the
highways for watering domestic animals. The
road law was afterward changed, and three "ser-
veyors and orderors of roads" were elected at
town meetings, and roads were in the control of
such officers until about 1708, when John Tuthill,
Joseph Parson and Thomas Helme, commission
ers appointed by the governor for Suffolk coun
ty, were given power to lay out roads and record
those already in use. All the main roads in
Huntington and somie landing places were estab
lished by them and put on record in the county
clerk's office; but under a new law passed in 1732
John Wickes was appointed a commissioner for
that town for seven years to lay out and regulate
roads. Swinging gates were then first author
ized in certain places. Roads were now required
to be recorded in the town books. This contin
ued until 1739, when the freeholders at a town
meeting were authorized to elect commissioners
to lay out and regulate roads. Afterward what
was known as "the three-county act," applying
to Suffolk, Queens and Kings counties only, was

enacted, and it continued in force until a recent
period. On the bay shore, landing places were
established for loading and unloading vessels.
Each town adopted a peculiar "town mark" to
be branded by the constables and overseers upon
the cattle to distinguish them from animals be
longing to the inhabitants of other towns, and
the owner also had his own personal brand.
The town meeting also legislated upon every
manner of question that could Miter community
life or the conduct of the individual, short' of
grave crimes and misdemeanors. It named the
value of the various products of the farm, and
fixed the wages of the laborer. A day's work
was adjudged to be worth 2s 6d, but at that time
a night's lodging was only valued at twopence,
and two days' wages paid for board for a week.
At such rates the laborer of 1658 was at least as
well paid as is his brother of the present day.
Persons coming with intention of making a per
manent settlement were placed upon a proba
tion of three to six months, when, if they were
not deemed desirable neighbors, they were no
tified to seek a home elsewhere. In places, at
tendance at church was deemed a first duty, and
it was provided that any man or woman who
did not attend at the Sabbath services should be
fined five shillings — the price of a week's board —
for the first offense, ten shillings for the second,
and twenty shillings for the third. Those who
continued to absent themselves after being so
mulcted, were deemed incorrigible under lenient
measures, and were to- be dealt with by means of
corporal punishment, and, after that, if this rem
edy failed, were to be banished the town. The
sale of intoxicants was stringently regulated,
and drunkenness was severely punished, as were
desecrations of the Sabbath, profanity, slander
and lying.
The curious nature of some of the early town
regulations may be discerned in the following
enactments made by the town of Brookhaven :
"Orders and constatutions maed by the
Arhoaty of this towne 8th July 1674, to be duly
cept and obsarved.
"1. Whereas there have beane much abuese
a prophaneing of the lord's day by the younger

54

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

sort of people in discourssing of vaine things
and iRuning of Raesses. Therefore we make an
order that whoesoever shall doe the lieke againe
notis shall be taken of them, and be presented to
the nex court, there to answer for -t-her falts
and to Reseve such punishment as they desarve.
"2. Whereas It have bene two coman in
this towne for young men and maieds to be out
of ther father's and mother's house at unseason
able tiems of niete, It is therefore ordered that
whoesoever of the younger sort shall be out of
there father's or mother's house past nien of the
clock at niet shall be summonsed in to the next
oourt, and ther to pay cort charges with what
punishment the cort shall se cause to lay upon
them, ecksept thay can give suffissient Reson of
there being out late.
"3. Whereas god have bene much dis'hon-
ered, much pressious tyme misspent .and men Im-
povershed by drinking and tipling, ether in ord-
nery or other privet bouses, therefor, we maek
this order that whoe soe ever shall thus trans-
gres or sett drinking above two houres shall pay
5s. and tbe man of the house for letting of them
have it after the tyme prefixed shall pay 10s.,
exsept strangers onely.
"4. that whosoever shall run any Rases or
Run otherwise a hors back in the streets or
within the towne platt shall forfet 10s. to thee
use of the towne.
"These above sayed orders is sett up and
mad kraowne the day and daete above written."
Huntington has preserved with great fidelity
the history of the earlier tribunals, and these
present a most interesting picture of the times.
Stringent regulations were made with reference
to the sale and use of intoxicating liquors, con
stables and overseers were to admonish parents
and masters to instruct their children in religion
and laws and to bring them' up in some useful
calling, and the children, wilfully refusing "to
harken to the voice of their parents or masters,"
were to be whipped by the constables. Penalties,
were provided against masters cruelly beating or
maiming their servants. Laborers must "work
in their calling the whole day, the master allow
ing them sufficient tyme for feed and rest."
The "court of three men" tried all ordinary cases,
and the edicts of the courts, of the town meet
ing, and, after a while, of the commonwealth
beyond the .Sound, were carried into effect by

the constable, who was, under the conditions, a
most necessary and most important personage.
"In the little town republics," write Professor
Johnston, "the ancient and honorable office of
constable was the connecting link between the
commonwealth and the town. The constable pub
lished the commonwealth laws in his town, kept
the "publike peace" of the town and the com
monwealth, levied the town's share of the com
monwealth taxation, and went "from bowse to
howse" to notify the freemen of meetings of
the general court, and of the time and place of
election of deputies thereto." And the import
ance of the constable was made to appear
through his emblem of authority, which was thus
prescribed under the Duke's laws : "And that
no man may pleade ignorance for such neglect, or
refuse obedience, constables shall have a staffe
of about six feet long, with the King's arms on
it as a badge of his office." "The parish," said
(John) Selden, "makes the constable, and when
the constable is made he governs the parish."
But the constable was not left entirely to his
own devices. He was the actual representative
and embodiment of the law, its executive, but
he does not seem to have had tbe power "to gov
ern the parish" at any time, even between the
dates of the town meetings. The local court
was always in session, or ready to be called in
session, and it, under the town meeting, was the
real ruler of the parish, rather than the con
stable, whose doings and dictum could be over
ruled by it on short notice, should occasion arise.
On entering upon his office (and our state
ment is made with particularity because it indi
cates how law was 'enforced throughout the vari
ous settlements) the constable took an oath to
carry on his work "without respect of persons
* * * according to God, according to the
trust committed to you." In 1650 we read that
in East Hampton "there were chosen 4 men
with the constable for ye orderinge ye affaires
of ye towne, and it is ordered that any two of
them shall have power to grant a warrant for
ye bringing of any delinquent before them in
any case ; also ye said five men shall have power
to try any case under the sum of 40 shillings ; but

TFIE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

55

if any case or action be to be tryed that is above,
then it is to be tryed by a jury of seven men."
Thus the constable had not full power to make
arrests ; the warrant must be signed by two, but
it would seem that he could even sit in judg
ment in the causes which, by virtue of his office,
he was the means of bringing to the bar of jus
tice. But even this court was not omnipotent,
and had its limitations, for we find an entry (in
1652) that "if any man be aggrieved by anything
that is done by the men in authority he shall
have libertie to make his appeal to the next gen
eral court, or when the men are assembled to
gether on public occasions." At the same time,
while its powers were thus subject to review, the
dignity of the tribunal was jealously upheld.
Thus (in 1655) one William Simmons was fined
five shillings, "which is to be disposed of to
make a paire of stocks, for ' his provoking
speeches to the three men in autboritie, being a
disturbance to them in their proceedings." And
then "the men in authoritie" had ample means
of making their court a terror to evil doers. As
early as 1650 a house was set aside as a lock-up,
and, as we have seen, it was- not long afterward
until the village stocks, the pillory and the whip
ping post stood in public view as a visible ex
ponent O'f the terrors of the law and the right
eousness and certainty of judgment.
The transactions of such a primitive tri
bunal as has been described are seen in the fol
lowing, taken from the Hempstead annals: ;
1658, July 25. — Richard Valentine having re
ported that Thomas Southard went up and down
with a club, the latter, meeting him one morn
ing as he was going about his avocations, struck
him on the face. As Southard still menaced and
threatened to further beat him, he took oath that
he stood in danger and fear of his life, and re
quired the peace and that Southard might put in
security for ihis good behavior. It is therefore
ordered by Mr. Richard Gildersleeve, for that
Thomas Southard did contemptuously resist
authority in refusing to obey the marshal with
his warrant, and did fly the same and betook
himself to his own house for his refuge, in con
sideration for these outrages and misdemeanors
he is required to put in security for his appear
ance at court. And said -Southard doth bind him

self and all his lands, goods and chattels, to ap
pear at court, and meantime to keep the peace
and good behavior.
At a court held December 28, on the submis
sion of Southard, and paying all costs, the pen
alty and fault are remitted in hopes of his refor
mation. Valentine is also reconciled, and doth
remit the abuse done unto him.
1659, January 2. — Thomas Ireland complains
of Richard Brudenell, keeper of an ordinary, for
using deceitful dealings, and produces in court
the following witnesses :
Mary, wife of Richard Willis, sent her child
for a pint of sack and he afterward demanded
pay for a quart.
William Jacocks bought four cans of beer,
one day last spring, and was booked seven. He
paid it.
Thomas Langdon was charged for four bush
els of oats and had but two, and a few oats in
a piggin and a tray — being half a bushel.
'Richard Lattin, four or five years ago, agreed
with Brudenell for diet of himself and son for
twelve shillings the week, and had it a week and
four days, which did come to twenty shillings.
Lattin said it was ten days, but Brudenell made
it eleven', and said if he would not pay for eleven
lie would show him such a trick as he never had
seen ; that is, he would set upon his book a guil
der a meal and eight pence a night for his bed,
and then he should pay whether he would or not.
The court find, January 14, that Brudenelfs
books are false and not fit to pass in law, and he
is to pay twelve guilders for calling a court, else
execution to follow.
1659, January 14. — Robert Lloyd, having
spoken unseemly words to the dishonor of God
and the evil example of others, is fined ten guil
ders. But having, February 11, made an
acknowledgment of his fault, the court hath re
mitted the fine on his reformation.
1659, January 116. — Daniel Whitehead, when
he lived at Hempstead, lost linen and other goods,
and upon search he found at Richard Brudenell's
a brass candlestick and one small striped linen
carpet and one table napkin which he doth judge
to be his own. IWhereas Brudenell would not
enter into recognizance and utterly refused the
favor of the court, he is condemned to restore
fourfold — -that is, twenty-eight shillings sterling
—else execution to follow in fourteen days. He
appeals to the governor, and the answer in Dutch
may be seen in the Hempstead court minutes.
1659, May 1. — Robert Jackson contra Rich
ard Lattin — action of the case, defamation to the
value of £100 sterling damages. Jackson in his

56

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

declaration says that, having occasions of ac
count with Lattin, upon some debate he gave him
very bad language tending to his defamation and
scandal, and amongst other evil words called him
a rascal. The court, June 5, sentences him to'
forty guilders fine, or corporal punishment, un
less he submissively acknowledges, in presence
of the court, that he hath wronged Mr. Jackson,
and is sorry for it.
1659, May 1. — Robert Williams sent to the
mill of Hempstead six bushels of good Indian
corn' and delivered it into the keeping of Will
iam, son of Peter Cornelissen, to be ground. He
received two bushels, but the rest of the meal
lay on the mill-bed and had been spoiled by the
rain beating upon it, and was grown sour and not
fit for man's food. When Williams demanded
satisfaction Cornelissen refused, and said he had
carried corn himself to Manhattan's mill and it
took -damage and he could get no recompense.
He then desired Cornelissen to put out the meal
and give him the sack, but he told him he would
not meddle with it. The court adjudged Cor
nelissen to make good the damage done unto
tJhe sack and meal by giving him good meal, and
in case they can not agree, then to stand at the
judgment of two indifferent men ; and Cornelis
sen is to pay court charges and give satisfaction
within fourteen days, or before he depart the
town, else execution to follow.
Io59> (June 11. — It is -ordered that all wills
proved in- this court at Hempstead shall pay six
guilders unto the use of the court, and the clerk
and marshal's fee.
1658, September 2. — Among other items in
the will of Nicholas Tanner is that "a beast shall
be sold to buy some linen to bury me in, and
also a sheet and other things that shall be need
ful, and the white-faced cow killed at my burial
and given to the neighbors."
1659, November. — Richard Lamson put out
a cow to Joseph ISchott to winter. He removed
that winter from iHempstead, and the cow was
to be returned next spring to Samuel Clark,- his
agent, but Schott refused; though Clark tendered
security. Schott says the cow proved unsound in
her bag, and the ispring following, being farrow,
he put her down to the common pasture to feed,
and in 'the fall sold her to D. Whitehead. Her
calf he maintained till it came to be a cow, and
she had one calf, and another which was de
stroyed by wolves. The cow, being well so far
forth as he knew, was found dead one morning,
leaving a calf. The court order Schott to pay
for the_ cow £6.10, and 20s for one summer's
milk, with one guilder on the pound interest upon

interest for eight years, and costs, and 10s for
the plaintiff's charges for this journey. Schott
(ultimo January, .1659) makes a tender of goods
to the valuation of the aforesaid sum, to be pub
licly sold at outcry by the marshal, and engages
to save him- harmless. Primo February Schott's
barn and appurtenance, with his home-lot (three
acres), is sold to George Hewlet for £5.4 in pres
ent passable pay. I, Thomas Skidmore (May 6,
1659), have received £15.9.6 in full satisfaction
of the above sentence, in behalf of Edward Hig-
bie of Huntington.
1660, January 21. — John Smith, Jr., sues
Thomas Ellison in an action for trespass, for that
he did ride his mare double, contrary to his
knowledge, and his mare was lamed to his dam
age 40s. Ellison answers that he was at John
Carman's door, and at his wife Hannah's request
did ride before her to Oyster Bay, on Saturday,
and on the Lord's day kept the mare there and
on Monday rode her back and delivered her to
John Carman. The court doth condemn the
plaintiff in all the court charges, to be paid with
in fourteen- days, else execution to follow.
At a later day was put into effect a criminal
code — "the Duke's Laws," so called because pro
mulgated by the Duke of York— copied in large
part from those in force in England. Eleven
crimes were -enumerated for whioh the pre
scribed penalty was death, these including false
witness, forgery, arson, denying the authority of
the King, and against children for smiting a
parent, but it is proper to note that in England
the criminal offenses thus punishable were of
greater number. Punishments savoring of the
inquisition were provided for less heinous of
fenses. However, the cases in which the sever
est penalties were imposed were but few. Few
persons were placed in the stocks or whipped,
and the records do not reveal any instances of
branding, tongue boring or ears cut off. When
the people came to enact their own laws, in as
semblies composed of representatives chosen
from among themselves, the bloody code was
abrogated and replaced with one much more
humane. The Duke's Laws also provided for a.military
establishment, and the regulations were minute
and elaborate. "Every male oyer sixteen years
of age and under sixty years was to provide

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

57

himself with one good serviceable gun fit for
present service, a powder horn, a worm, a prime
rod wire, one pound of powder, seven pounds of
pistol bullets, 20 bullets fitted to the gun, four
fathoms of serviceable match for a match-lock
gun, and four good flints fitted for a fire-lock
gun." On forming military companies, the con
stable and overseers sent to the governor the
names for captains, lieutenants and ensigns, and
he appointed themi unless objectionable. There

AN OLD COURT HOUSE.
were 60 men in a full company. The captain every
three months 6r oftener examined the arms; if
these were not up to the 'standard required, the
delinquents were, fined 40 shillings, and if the
fine was not paid they might be put in the stocks.
There were four training days a year for the
town and one general training for the "riding,"
occupying three days; and once in two years
there was a general muster and training of all
the soldiers in the colony, at a time and place
appointed by the governor. Fines were imposed
on those who failed to attend or were disobedient
or disorderly. For sleeping on the watch the fine
was £5.
A troop of horse consisted of 50 "troopes,"
with a captain, lieutenant, cornet, quartermaster

and three corporals; each was required to have
"one horse, saddle, bridle, holsters-, pistols or
carbine, and a good sword;" it was a £5 offense
for a trooper to sell his horse without leave of
his captain.
Under the colonial government the people
had their holidays, made for them by the British
Parliament or by royal proclamation, and these
were invariably to convey some lesson of loyalty
to the crown. Thus, the principal holidays were :
November 1st, to give thanks for deliverance
from the gunpowder plot of Guy Fawkes, who
sought to destroy Parliament; January 30th, a
day of fasting and prayer in commemoration of
the" barbarous murder of Charles I, whereby to
divert God's judgment from falling on the whole
nation ; May 29th, a day of thanksgiving for the
restoration of Charles II, and the birthday of the
King. 'It is not to be supposed, in the condition
of the temper of the people, that they entered
into these observances with any heartiness, but
all persons were required to abstain from labor
(except the minister, who was commanded to
preach), and they devoted the time to the sports
then prevalent.
The "training day" had a pernicious influ
ence, and, at a later day, the tavern and the fair
afforded occasion and excuse for such conduct
by those lewd fellows of the baser sort who
by and by crept in, as was viewed with reproba
tion by the -orderly portion of the community.
So early as in 1683 there is record of fairs.
Three years later they were authorized by the
legislative assembly, and were permitted for
three days in each of the months of May and
October. These were intended for the purpose
of affording farmers an opportunity of meet
ing for the exchange of products, mostly domes
tic animals, in imitation of the old English coun
try fashion. Property of all descriptions could
be sold freely, without payment of license. These
fairs were made more of a social affair, how
ever, and revelry and mirth prevailed. Horse
racing, running, jumping, wrestling and pitching
quoits were the sports engaged in. The "fakir"
of his day was always present, and inveigled the
innocent countrymen into games with which they

58

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

were unacquainted, and in which they were only
successful in parting with their money. Drink
ing was common on such occasions, and at times
there were serious personal affrays in settlement
of old quarrels or out of grievances at the mo
ment. Law was practically abrogated during the
fair, all persons being privileged from arrest,
except for offenses committed against the crown
or for flagrant crime on' the spot. Court days
were regarded as holidays, -and the same sports
were indulged in as at fairs.
Again, the excesses beginning in the later
colonial days and extending far beyond the close
of the Revolutionary war, are traceable in large
degree to the tavern. Taverns were established
to meet the wants of travelers, to provide them
with food and lodging. According to the cus
tom of the times, ardent spirits were dispensed
on call, but tlie tavern was by no means in
tended to be a mere tippling place. Always on
an important line of travel, it was in many cases
a terminal or relay point for travelers, and its
customers were therefore numerous. .'It also
gained, in the absence of public buildings, cer
tain prestige as the place of assembly for courts
and local boards of officers, and for the holding
of 'elections. It sheltered from time to time the
highest dignitaries and most eminent men in the
land — Governors, Judges, lawyers and clergy
men. These were the newsbearers and oracles
of the day, and their presence attracted the prin
cipal men of the neighborhood, who gathered
to listen to their utterances, and to enter into
discussion upon -events present 'and impending.
The tavern keeper, by reason of his more inti
mate acquaintance with his distinguished guests,
to whose comfort he ministered with scrupulous
care and much tact, was a man of commanding
importance in the neighborhood, and the ex
ample which he set in his personal conduct
found many ready imitators.
But the few brawlers and wrongdoers were
not the makers of the community. They would
occasionally mar its peace and blemish its good
name, but they could not materially affect its
morals.' From the beginning, religion had a
first' claim upon the attention of the people. Of

the old meeting-house itself, it is to be said that,
according to a neighborhood tradition, it was pri
marily built for town purposes. It passed into
decay, but the spiritual light kindled within its
walls survived its fall, to illuminate other neigh
borhoods and other generations of worshippers.
From what we know of the beginnings of a
church in a new settlement, it would appear that
the early meeting-house was what would -be
now called a Union Church, such as many Long
Islanders yet living have aided in establishing
in the west-em States — a church wherein people
of all denominations assembled for worship, min
istered to by clergymen of various denomina
tions, until, as the community increased, there
came .to be a sufficient numtjer of a particular
faith to separate from their fellows and set up
a church society of their own.
And here it is appropriate to note that as
early as 1662 a Day of Thanksgiving was pro
claimed, and this by Peter Stuyvesant, the last of
the Dutch Governors, 'and was appointed for the-
mid-winter, whereas in the New England col
onies the time designated was in the fall, after
the harvests had been gathered. This paper is
so richly appropriate in sentiment and verbiage
tbat it is well worth ' preserving :
"Honest Dear Commons. Notwithstand
ing the Great God and Righteous Judge, has in
the past year, on account of our sins (among
which not the least are our ingratitude for re
ceived favors, blessings and protection, against
foreign and domestic enemies) severely visited
this province in general and many inhabitants
in particular, with dire pestilences and unheard
of fevers, diseases and afflictions in some places,
with unexpected rains and floods in summer, by
which the crops' were destroyed, in others with
too much drouth and heat of the sun through
which the products of the fields were scorched
and well nigh ruined ; besides which other visita
tions, if not punishments ; still as a Merciful and
gracious Father he has thoughts of commisera
tion for us in the midst of his Righteous Judg
ments, by blessing this province in general and
many inhabitants in particular with great favor
and benefaction, not the least among which are
tlie turning aside and cure of the above named
strange diseases and fevers, the continuance and
needed rest and peace in the midst of many

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

59

enemies, and notwithstanding so many rumors
of wars, disturbances, trials (or straits) and
again in clemency cheering other places with an
abundant and satisfactory harvest, and what is
to be appreciated above all, the maintenance
among us of pure religion and the practical en
joyment of the bright and undimmed light of
the Gospel upon our candlestick, which light in
many places has often been dimmed through per
secution or darkened through human inventions.
"These and many more favors and blessings
and benefactions, ought not only to make us feel
thankful, but the blending of them with his pa
ternal chastisements, if not punishments, should
lead us to observance in order to keep the first
named through thankful prayer, and to- turn the
last named away from us through genuine hu
mility and patience.
"The Director General and Council have
therefore thought it necessary to plan and appoint
a day of general thanksgiving, fasting and pray
er, which shall be generally done within the
province, on Wednesday, being the 15th day of
March. "Wherefore all inhabitants of this province,
officers as well as subject's, are ordered to- appear
on the appointed day, in the churches or in such
places where it is customary to- preach the word
of God to call with fervent and contrite hearts
most earnestly upon the Lord's name to pray
and to beseech Him that it may please His Di
vine Majesty to turn aside and to stop His just
plagues and well deserved punishments, to con
tinue among us peace and peaceful relations with
our neighbors, take this only a just developing
province under his paternal protection, and
carry her through all danger to bless his field
with crops, with early and late rains, and above
all to make the knowledge and fear of his name
grow and increase among us, and to make us hate
our own sins.
"The Director General and Council in order
to make the observance more general, forbid, on
the forementioned day of fasting and prayer, all
games of tennis and ball, fishing, navigating,
rowing, plowing or sowing, besides all unlawful
games, as playing at dice and drinking, under
penalty as heretofore threatened against them.
"We also request the ministers of the Di
vine Word within this province, to arrange their
sermons and prayers so as: to befit the occasion.
"This given and done in the meeting of the
Director General and Council, holden at Fort

Amsterdam in New Netherlands, January 26,
1662.
P. Stuyvesant,
"By the Director General and Council of New
Netherland,
"C. VanRuyoen, Secretary."

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AN OLD CHURCH.
It is to be regretted that we have no record
of the manner of observance of this early
Thanksgiving Day, but it is to be presumed that,
on account of the wide -dispersion of the early
colonists, and the difficulty of transmitting in
telligence, the day received little if any recog
nition in the Interior of Long Island.
The early church building was of the utmost
plainness, for the people were plain in them
selves and in all about them, and there .was no
market to provide luxuries and adornments.
The plain board or shingle sides were destitute
of paint, inside and out, and it was long be
fore there was either fireplace or stove. The
pulpit stood high up, and in front of it was a
low platform whereon were seated the deacons.
The worshippers came well prepared for their
religious duties. .With them the Sabbath was
already well begun. The women devoted Sat-
60

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

urday to cooking food for that sacred day where
on no avoidable labor was to be performed,
and Saturday night had been given to religious
meditation. At such an hour, too, some mem
ber of the family would read a chapter or two
from the Scriptures, or from one of those vol
umes treasured in nearly every Presbyterian
home — often the entire family library — Bun-
yan's "Pilgrim's Progress," Baxter's "Saints'
Everlasting Rest," Young's "Night Thoughts,"
or Dodridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion in
the Soul."
The Sabbath church service began with a
solemn prayer which continued for a quarter
of an hour or more, and after this a chapter of
the Bible was read and expounded. The sing
ing was most impressive. Only the Psalms
were used — it was before the days of hymns — ¦
and these according to the quaint version of
Rouse, of which the following (Psalm xxii) is a
beautiful example:

"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want,
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; he leadeth me
The quiet waters by.
"My soul he doth restore again,
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness
Ev'n for his own name's sake.
"Yea, though I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear none ill;
For thou art with me, and thy rod
And staff me comfort still.
"My table thou has furnished
In presence of my foes ;
My head thou dost with oil annoint,
, And my cup overflows.
"Goodness and mercy all my life
Shall surely follow me ;
And in God's house for ever more
My dwelling-place shall be."
The Psalm was "given out" by the minister
or an elder, two lines at a time, although there
was probably not one in the congregation who
had it not firmly anchored in the memory. Mu
sical instruments were not tolerated — they were
too suggestive of prelatic worship or of sinful
amusements — and the Psalms were sung slowly
and heartily to some dear old tune brought from

the land of Knox, after the home-country fash
ion, as told of by Burns :
"They chant their artless notes in simple guise,
They tune their -hearts, by far the nobler aim.
Perhaps "Dundee's" wild, warbling measures rise,
Or plaintive "Martyrs," -worthy of the name,
Or noble "Elgin" beats the heav'nward flame,
The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays."
The sermon was usually pronouncedly doc
trinal, and was of considerable length, often ex
ceeding an hour. In many churches an hour
glass stood upon the pulpit, and, on ordinary
occasions, the preacher was expected to finish
the "lastly" of his discourse with the running
out of the sands, but there were instances when
the glass was turned the second and even the
third time before the condlusion was reached.
If no minister were present, an elder would read
a discourse from a volume of sermons by some
noted divine of an earlier day, even so ancient
a worthy as the martyred Latimer. After the
sermon, another prayer was offered, and another
Psalm was sung. On occasion a baptism took
place, immediately after tbe regular service, and,
once each month, the Sacrament of the Lord's
Supper was administered in connection with the
service. There was frequently an afternoon
service, but very seldom was there one at night,
and not then until the days of sconces and tallow
dips. But the primitive house of worship has passed
away, and the old-time Christian ministers and
laymen have left no descendants of their own
kind. Each sect now rears such ornate temples
as its means will permit, and frequently antici
pates the future by incurring a great debt in
its building. In the conduct of worship only
the staid Quakers maintain any semblance of the
original simplicity, and even they have their
regular preaching and their Sunday-school. The
Presbyterians, who so abhorred anything at all
imitative of what they regarded as Catholicism,
repeat the Creed, chant the Gloria, read the
Psalms antiphonally with the minister, and sing
popular hymns led by a grand organ and a
salaried choir. In only a few feeble congrega
tions of Covenanters, well back in the remote

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

61

hill regions, are the old traditions preserved.
The followers of Wesley vie with their Presby
terian brethren in making their service elaborate,
even to the introduction of vested choirs, and
the old-time revival and powerful exhortation
remain only in story.

agencies for good has been and is the Long
Island Bible Society, which was organized Au
gust i, 1815, antedating by one year the Amer
ican Bible Society, to which it became auxiliary
September 16, 1817. In October, 181 5, the Suf
folk County Bible Society was organized, and

MODERN CHURCHES.

But, to end this little interlude, and to re
turn to the old church. The ministers were sup
ported by the towns, and so early as 1678 their
salaries were from £40 to £70 per annum, with
the use of a house and a tract of land. In 1677
complaint was made at Huntington that the
Quakers disturbed the meetings — a curious
averment, considering the quiet disposition of the
sect thus charged, and the further fact that there
were but few of them- in the neighborhood. Ten
years before, there were only nine Quakers reg
istered, and only two of these at Huntington.
The hold which religion has ever had upon
the people of Long Island is apparent in their
churches, record of which is to be found in con
nection with the narratives concerning the in
dividual villages, and additional evidence is
found in the annals of various societies organized
for religious purposes. One of the mlost potent

this was afterward merged into the Long Island
Bible Society. The latter named body held its
eighty-sixth . annual meeting on November 12,
1901, at Jamaica, and it was a notable event. On
that occasion, Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, then
President of the United States, delivered an
address, which was thus commented upon by
"The Bible Society Record :"
"The address of President Roosevelt on the
Bible has attracted the widest attention. The
demands for it have kept our presses more than
busy. They come from all classes and conditions
— the heads of schools ; the ministers of churches ;
business men ; publishers of periodicals, and- many
individuals. It has reappeared in print in vari
ous journals, notably in the British and Foreign
"Monthly Reporter." The chaplain of a large
penitentiary asked for enough copies to give each
prisoner one, feeling sure that it will do much to
persuade them to read tbe Scriptures'. It has

62

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

been translated into Spanish in Mexico, and
will no doubt circulate largely there. "Winged
words" like these -fly through the earth. Who
can measure their influence for good ?"
At the last meeting of the Society, held at
Far Rockaway, November ii, 1902, overtures
were made by the Brooklyn Bible Society, look
ing to a consolidation of the two, and a com
mittee was appointed to take the proposal un
der consideration and make report at a future
time. The Long Island Bible Society was organized
in a time when -the region was sparsely popu
lated, and its people were widely dispersed. In
many localities there was no church or minister.
It was before the day of cheap printing, and
many families were without a copy of the sacred
Scriptures. Philanthropic people made liberal
contributions for procuring copies in quantity,
and colporteurs made their journeys through the
island to supply the destitute.
That necessity yet exists for a Bible So
ciety ia discernible from reports presented at the
last meeting of the body to which reference is
made. During the preceding fiscal year, the de
positories at Port Jefferson, Greenport, Lake
Grove, Northport, Orient, Port Washington,
Sag Harbor, Shelter Island and Southampton
had distributed 105 Bibles, 30 Testaments and
two part volumes, amounting in value to $100.90.
The liberality with which the Society is sus
tained is shown by the report of the treasurer.
The sum of $1,080 bad been donated, this
amount to be expended in constituting thirty-
six life members of the American Bible Soci
ety. Other receipt's, for the direct purposes of
the local society, amounted to $829.74, from the
following sources: Queens county, $94.34;
Nassau county, $49; Suffolk county, $225.30;
and East New York Conference, $129. The
following named were elected officers :
President, the Rev. Richard S. Campbell, D.
D., Southampton : vice-president, President The
odore Roosevelt, Oyster Bay ; Henry P. Hedges,
Bridgehampton ; the Rev. Cornelius. L. Wells, D.
D., Flatbush; the Rev. William p. Estes Ovster

Bay; Daniel H. Buckingham, Port Jefferson;
the Rev. James S. Chadwick, presiding elder:
Lewis L. Fosdick, Jamaica; John S. Havens,
Patchogue;' Joseph S. Osborne, Easthampton;
Charles C. Overton, Coney Island; the
Rev. James Montgomery, presiding elder;
corresponding secretary, Minot C. Mor
gan, Far Rockawav; recording secretary,
the Rev. Wrilliam Jay Peck, M. D., Co
rona; treasurer, Nat W. Foster, -Riverhead;
executive committee, the fRev. R. S. Camp
bell, D. D., the Rev. C. L. Wells, D. D., the Rev.
J. S. Gardner, the Rev. J. H. Hobbs, the Rev.
W. J. Peck, M. D., the Rev. M. C. Morgan, Nat
W. Foster, A. H. Beers, B. F. Hallock.
The following named have been the princi
pal officers from the date of organization to the
present time :
Presidents. — Adrian Sinderen, Newtown,
1815-43; Rev. John Goldsmith, D. D., New
town, 1843-53 : Laurens Reeve, Esq., Jamaica,
1853-65; Judge John A. Lott, Flatbush, 1865-
78';' Judge John J. Armstrong, Jamaica, 1878-86;
Rev. Samuel Whaley, Riverhead, 1886-99; Rev.
Richard S. Campbell, D. D., Southampton, 1899-
I9°3- ' ^ -,
Corresponding Secretaries. — Rev. David
Schuyler Bogart, North Hempstead, 1815-23;
Rev. John V E. Thorn, Flushing, 1823-25 ; Rev.
John Goldsmith, D. D., Newtown, 1825-43 ; Rev.
Melancthon W. Jacobus, D. D., Brooklyn, 1843-
51; Rev, Jonathan Greenleaf, D. D., Brooklyn,
1851-52; Rev. N. Locke, D. D., Hempstead,
1852-59 ; Rev. John P. Knox, Newtown, 1859-
68; Rev. Benjamin F. Stead, Astoria, 1868-79;
Rev. Franklin Noble, Hempstead, 1879-80 ; Rev.
Cornelius L. Wells,' D. D., Flatbush, 1880-86;
Rev. W. S. C. Webster, D. D., Islip, 1886-97;
Rev. E. C. Lawrence, Ph. D., AYest Hampton
Beach, 1897-1902; Rev. W. J. Peck, M. D.,
Conona, 1902 to date.
Recording Secretaries. — Rev. Jacob Schoon-
maker, D. D., Jamaica, 1815-24; Rev. Thomas
M. Strong, D. D., Flatbush, 1824-28; Rev Elias
W. Crane, Jamaica, 1828-35 ; Rev. Ichabod S.
Spencer, D. D., Brooklyn, 1835-36; Rev. George
A. Shelton, Newtown, 1836-64; Rev. William H.
Moore, D. D., Hempstead, 1864-68; Gilbert
Savrcs, Esq., Jamaica. 1868-81 ; Rev. Arthur H.
Alien, Islip, 1881-85; Rev. W. S. C. Webster,
Islip, 1885-86; Rev. W. Jay Peck, M. D., Corona,
1886-1902; Rev. M. C. Morgan, 1902 to date.
Treasurers. — John Titus, Esq., Flushing,

TFIE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

63

1815-20; Van Wyck Wicks, Esq., Jamaica,
1820-36; Hosea Webster, Esq., Brooklyn, 1836-
52; Henry Onderdonk, Jr., Jamaica, 1852-80;
Lewis L. Fosdick, Esq., Jamaica, 1880-88; Nat.
W. Foster, Esq., Riverhead, 1888 to date.
Information concerning educational condi
tions during the early colonial times is exceed
ingly meager, but we do know that there was
a vast difference between the school then and its
modern successor. In the former, moral and
religious training were the most important fea
tures, while in our day secular instruction takes
precedence over all else.
In the early days, the teacher was not ex
pected to teach other than the most rudimentary
branches. He was usually paid in greater part
in farm' produce, and sometimes in wampum.
As late as 1763, in Hempstead, his compensation
was £25 and board the year, the school contin
uing throughout the year, albeit few if any
scholars attended from beginning to end, com
ing in and going out as circumstances would
permit. The teacher collected his stipend from-
the people, as a rate bill. The boy scholars were
obliged to cut wood and build the fires, while
the girls swept the floor and kept the room in
order. But there was another school between that of
the very long ago and that of the present, which
was almost as primitive, and it existed within
the memory of the writer of these pages, and
it was in one such that he made his beginning in
education. The picture will be readily recog
nized by many who will peruse this narrative.
The school house was a log building with
two windows. A great fireplace, wide enough
to take in a cordstick, occupied one-half the
width of the room. The seats were rough planks
supported by legs let into auger holes at either
end, and without backs. At the sides of the
building were rough planks resting upon punch
eons, and at these stood the pupils over un
ruled copy books, laboriously tracing with a
goose-quill pen the copy set by the master —
capitals and small letters, and then such allitera
tive sentences as "Many Men of Many Minds."
It was before the days of "Readers," too, and

two or three generations learned to read and
spell from the Bible. If the master was an ami
able creature, he would turn the children to the
plain short word passages in the Gospels. If he
was irascible and domineering, he would "give
out" a chapter in the pentateuch, and his- gorge
would increasingly rise as '.the frightened young
sters stumbled over the unpronounceable names
in the old genealogies. But the youth thus
taught became admirable readers, and the pul
piteer or rostrum speaker who was taught in
such fashion had no difficulty in being clearly
understood by his readers. Indeed, were there
no other reason to cling to the Bible, it were
valuable before all other books for its splendid
influence in the formation of a clear and con
cise use of the English language, whether in ut
terance or in writing.
Aside from' the Bible there was no uni
formity of text-books in those early schools, each
scholar bringing such as the family closet would
afford, and, as a consequence, there were rarely
two alike. Those were the palmy times of the
"Three R's" — "readin,' 'ritin' and 'rithmetic."
He was accounted something of a mathematician
who was ready in vulgar fractions, tare and
tret, and the double rule of three. If perchance
one had a grammar, or a geography, he was
viewed by his less favored fellows as one whose
learning would enable him to make a great mark
in the world. And the learned despot who
ruled in this hall of learning ! The typical
schoolmaster of the period was a Scotchman or
Irishman, who wrote a clerkly hand and had
some knowledge of the' classics. His post of ob
servation was in tbe chimney corner, where he
sat -enjoying a pipe, and apparently immersed
in a book, but not so abstracted but that he
noted any inattention to study or disposition to
horseplay, which brought from him a sharp
"draw near," and a volley of blows from his
convenient birch (almost a cudgel) when the
head or shoulders of the offender were within
reach. Similar punishment attended a failure
in a lesson, and it was a lucky lad who worried
through a day without a castigation more or less
severe.

64

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Tender-hearted, after all, in a fashion, was
this old-time schoolmaster, and in later years,
when old and infirm, he would drag himself to
the office or home of him who had been his
scholar, whom1 he regarded with almost paternal
affection, and whose punishing, he firmly be
lieved, was the chief instrumentality in form-

and the yet later practice of granting subsidies to
induce their establishment. The blacksmith was
so useful in his calling that he became a man
of influence in the community. In Brookhaven,
on December io, 1686, the townsmen voted "that
Cristofer Swaine be admitted and incouraged
as a smith for this town, and that a shop shall

OLD SCHOOL HOUSE.

ing his character, and providing him with that
mental equipment which enabled him to take
an honorable and useful position among men.
But reminiscence may not have too free a
rein, and we would drop the ¦ subject, referring
the reader to the general educational chapter in
the previous volume and to the various town
histories to follow.
The people of the primitive towns gave
hearty welcome to the mechanic, anticipating, in
a way, the doctrine of fostering infant industries
as taught by Henry Clay in a much later day,

This old-time blacksmith was, perforce, a busy
man. Every nail driven in every board must
be built for ye sd Cristofer about May next."
needs be hammered out separately upon his anvil.
He made every horse-shoe, and every nail which
bound it .to the hoof of the animal. The shoe
maker was almost as necessary. He usually took
his kit of tools, and -went from house to house,
staying at each! so long as was necessary to
make 'shoes for the entire family. The weaver
was another useful man, although many families
did their own weaving. For a time the settlers
were obliged to send their grain across the

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

65

Sound over into Connecticut to be ground. Sub
sequently mills were established in all the towns,
usually through assistance rendered by the peo
ple. Thus, in Brookhaven, on October io, 1664,
eighteen of the principal inhabitants agreed that
if one Lane would build a substantial mill and
keep it in repair for -the grinding of the town's
corn, they would erect a strong dam, and also
pay him twenty shillings a lot for the proprietary
rights which they represented. Further, he was
to have absolute possession of the mill and dam,
and was to have a tollage of two quarts in every
bushel of English grain, and a pint in every
bushel of Indian corn. The importance of the
mill is seen in the fact that at one time the
miller was notified by the authorities that unless
he put his mill in good and sufficient repair with
in six months, the privilege of the water power
would be sold at public sale.
The simple and industrious habits of the
people, and their predilection for farming pur
suits, is evidenced in the annals of all the town
ships. The following agreemenc made at Oyster
Bay, January 20, 1670, well exemplifies the fact :
"This is an agreement made between me and
Thomas Youngs jr. and Richard Youngs, his
brother. First they are to have the free use of
my team, cart and plow, with the iron chains,
with all -things thereto belonging; and they are
to stub and break up and manure all the land now
within fence that is fit for it ; and they are to look
well arid carefully after all my creatures; and
they are to have for their team and plow two-
thirds of the increase of all the land manured
that I own there. And they are to have two-
thirds of the fruit,- and I reserve one of
twio barrels for John Youngs and so every
year following as they enjoy it. Then for
the sheep ; there are thirty, and they are
to deliver thirty pounds of wool per year,
that is one pound for one sheep; and there are
nine lambs, and at the end of three years and a
half they are to deliver me thirty sheep and nine
lambs. Now for the cattle; we are to have
half the milk and one-third of the increase, and
they two-thirds, and they are to find or provide
me a beast to ride on when I please; and they
are to provide me wood to burn, what is needful.
Four cows, one two-year-old heifer, one two-
year-old bull, four yearlings. And the principals
5

engage to me to make good at the term and time
of three years and a half of all these creatures;
they do also engage to sow so many acres of
wheat and rye on the ground as there is now,-
at the end of three years and a half, and to leave
all my goods and carts and plows, and them with
all things else that they receive of me, as good
as they are now ( two broad chisels, two narrow.
chisels, one saw, two adze, compasses, one inch-
and-a-half auger, three lesser augers and bung-
borer, one pruner bit, one mattock, two forks-,
three pair of new traces and one old pair, two
new collars, two oid collars, one pair of cart
traces with iron hooks, with a new collar, one
cross-cut saw, one new file, a beetle, three wedg
es, one saw-set, two great clevises with bolts, two
lesser clevises with the bolts). Andthey are to
tan my hides for one-third. And they are to
leave all my farm and tools in as good order and
repair as they are now, with all things else, with
six bushels of oats, two bushels and half peas,
two bushels of barley, one bushel and half of flax
seed. "As witness our hand and seal the manner as
within. Thomas Youngs, Senior."'
And Gaine's Mercury thus throws light on
the state of agriculture: "December 18, 1768,
the New York Society for Promoting Arts ad
judged a premium of £10 to Thomas Youngs,
of Oyster Bay, for the largest nursery of apple
trees. It contains twenty-seven thousand one
hundred and twenty-three trees."
The old families of those days were certainly
healthy, thrifty, moral men and women, who<
made the very best of citizens. Brought up tO'
consider hard work honorable, and an honest-
name their best inheritance, they labored per
severingly, lived frugally, and jDrospered by pru
dence. Their well-tilled farms afforded them
a good living, and in most instances a small
yearly income besides. This little surplus, by
careful saving,' made many of them rich, and
placed nearly all in comfortable circumstances.
The representatives of these old families cling
affectionately to the ancestral acres; and it is not
unusual to find a lineal descendant of the first
settler of the name still residing on the old
homestead, which in several instances is held by
a deed running back to the first settlement of

66

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the country and attested by the curious signs of
the Indian chiefs.
The interior of Long Island, too, has had
many representatives in the great cities and other
busy marts of commerce and industry, as the
farmers have been in the habit of encouraging
some of their sons to fit themselves for business
pursuits. Some of the most respected and
wealthy merchants in New York, both at pres
ent and in times past, were there born and
were the sons of farmers. These merchants, with
scarcely an exception, when they acquired a com
petence, themselves returned or sent their sons
fo occupy and improve some part of the home
farm, thus demonstrating that inherited love of
the freedom and independence of a country life
survives amid the cares of business and the lux
uries of the city.
The conditions of the colonists may be dis
cerned in some degree from: the tables of prop
erty values as returned for taxation — these show
ing, at least, of what they were possessed. The
principal occupation was farming, and the prod
ucts were mainly corn and cattle. Under the
administration of Governor Andros the taxes
levied for the support of the government in New
York were only a penny in the pound sterling,
but the valuations were excessive : Improved
land, £i the acre; oxen, £6 per head; cows, ac
cording to age, £1.10 to £5; horses, £3 to £12;
hogs, fi per head; goats, 8 shillings, and sheep
6 shillings eight pence. Remonstrance was
made as to horses, and the values were reduced
to about one-third, and the complaint was yet
made that this was beyond the real market value.
. In addition, an assessment of £18 was made as
a poll tax — probably upon each adult male. The
improved and meadow lands were returned as
5,867 acres, and the animals owned were 4,297
cattle, 896 horses, 2,030 hogs, 1,262 sheep, and
a few goats. In 1675 the assessment of the vari
ous towns of Suffolk county was: Southamp
ton, £13,667; Southold, £10,195 los-; East
hampton, £6,842 16s 8d; Huntington, £6,339 and
Brookhaven, £3,065 16s 8d. At tlie rate of one
penny -to the pound, the aggregate annual tax
paid to the Governor and his New York estab

lishment was about £170. Shortly afterward,
negro slaves were listed, and they were valued at
from £30 to £35.
Such people as these we have feebly por
trayed — the founders of the town meeting, of the
primitive school and of the church without char
ter save their own act of creation — were the
settlers throughout the region now known as the
counties of Nassau and Suffolk. Mighty build
ers were they, building 'far better than they
knew, for their works have followed them
through the centuries and yet endure in cumula
tive influence and results.
No colonies coming out of England ever
had more auspicious beginning than those found
ed upon Long Island, nor did ever colonists dis
play more masterly ability for self-government.
But these salutary conditions were not to long
endure. Royal governors began petty intermed-
dlings, interfering with the local authorities in
their conduct, of the affairs of their little towns,
placing restrictions upon ministers and upon
congregations who practiced their religion in
what the great little Poobah. at New Amster
dam was pleased to deem a heterodox manner,
and imposing annoying taxes, as for marriage
licenses. And this impolitic intermeddlement led
to events most remarkable as viewed from an
after day. Elsewhere this volume narrates the
results in New York. But there was a more
remarkable result, all things considered, to come
out of the exodus' of Long Islanders to Nova
Caesarea, or New Jersey. True, these English
men who had come voluntary expatriates from
their native land, to New England, to again be
come wanderers and searchers out for a new
home, were not of the Nassau- Suffolk region
which we have been considering. But they were
fellow-countrymen, and- they had come to Amer
ica with the same purposes and the same ends
in view. They were, under then existing condi
tions, neighbors with those who remained on
Long Island, and their efforts in the establish
ment -of civil institutions had been along the
same lines. And it was their destiny to work
to the same ends, though in different fields.

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

67

In 1663 a number of Long Islanders formed
a company for the exploration and occupation
of the unknown- region lying south of New
York " Bay — Nova Caesarea, or New Jersey.
Their names are as worthy of preservation in the
history of New York as in that of New Jersey,
where they are revered and will be for all time
to come. They were John Bowne, Gerrard
Bowne, James Bowne, William Bowne, William
Compton, John Conklin (earlier from Salem,
Massachusetts), Thomas Cox, Richard Gibbons,
William Goulding, James Grover, James Grover,
Jr., William Lawrence, Bartholomew Lippen-
cott, Richard Lippencott, Richard Moor, Thomas
Moor, John Ruckman, Nathaniel Sylvester, Ben
jamin Spicer, Samuel Spicer, John Stout, Rich
ard Stout, John Tilton, Peter Tilt-on1, Nathaniel
Tompkins, John Townlsend, John Wall, Walter
Wall, Thomas Wansick and Thomas Whitlock.
Not all of these became actual residents in the
new land, but many of them did. They were
such men as we have portrayed on a preceding
page — Godly men, -men who had demonstrated
their ability to govern themselves in model com
munities of their own establishment, and among
them were those who had been the victims of
religious persecution, more or less bitter in de
gree, and some of these are to be named. They
were mostly from Gravesend, but they were of
the same class as we have heretofore portrayed.
John Tilton, when he first came from. Eng
land, located at Lynn, Massachusetts. His
wife was a Baptist, and in December, 1642, she
was indicted for "holdinge that the Baptism of
Infants is no Ordinance of God." They left
Massachusetts with Lady Deborah Moody and
other Anabaptists and settled at Gravesend, Long
Island, where again they were made to suffer.
In 1658 Tilton was fined by the Dutch authori
ties for allowing a Quaker woman to stop at his
house. In- September, 1662, he was fined for
"permitting Quakers to quake at his house." In
October of the same year himself and wife were
summoned before Governor Stuyvesant and
Council, charged with having entertained Quak
ers and frequently attended their conventicles,
and they were ordered to leave the province un

der pain of corporal punishment. They were
among the Jersey settlers of 1665.
Samuel Spicer had resided at Gravesend,
Long Island. He was a member of the Society
of Friends, and had been severely dealt with by
Governor Stuyvesant for nonconformity to the
established religion.
Richard Stout was head of one of the first
five families who settled on the Indian purchase
in Jersey in 1664. He had previously lived a
number of years on Long Island.
There were others, but the royal man and
leader of them all was John Bowne, who sailed
from Gravesend, Long Island, in December,
1663, and wa's a leader in the first purchase
from Indians in Monmouth county, New Jersey,
and his was one of the first five families which
made a permanent settlement on the tract. He
was the most important citizen of the county,
esteemed for his integrity and ability. He was
a deputy to the first Assembly in Governor
Carteret's time, which met May 26, 1668-, the
members of the Lower House being then called
"burgesses." He was deputy again in 1675 ; in
the first legislature under the twenty-four pro
prietors; in 1683, he was a member and the
Speaker, and he acted until the December fol
lowing. He held other position's of trust.
March 12, 1677, a commission was issued to him
as president of the court to hold a- term at Mid-
dletown. In December, 1683, shortly after his
last illness, he was appointed major of the militia
of 'Monmouth county. He was the first minister
in that county, but who can say of what sect
was he, or what his creed, after reading his
"words of advice or councell to his children as he
lay on his death bed," January 3, 1683-4:
"There is no way in the whole world for a
man to obtain felicity, in this world or in the
world to come, but to take heed in the ways of
the Lord, and to put his trust in Him, who deals
faithfully and truly with all men ; for He knocks
at the door of your hearts, and calls you to come
and buy, without money and without price.
"My desire is, that in all actions of Meum
and Teum you deal not deceitfully, but plane
hearted with all men, and remember that your
dying Father left it with you for your instruc-

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tion, that when trust is with your Honor to pre
serve it. And in all contracts and bargains that
you make, violate not your promise, and you
will have praise. Let your Mother be your
Counsellor in all matters of difference, and goe
not to Lawyers, but ask her councell first. If
at any time any of you have an advantage of a
poor man at law, O pursue it not, but rather for
give him' if he hath done you wrongue, and if
you do so, you will have the help of the Law of
God and of his people. Give not away to youth
ful jolities and sports, but improve your leisure
time in the service of God. Let no good man
be dealt churlishly by you, but entertain when
they come to your house. But if a vitious, wicked
man come, give him' meat and drink to refresh
him, and let him pass by your doors. It has been
many times in my thoughts, that for a man to
marry a wife and have children, and never take
any care to instruct them, but leave them worse
than the Beasts of the Field, that if a man ask
concerning the things of God, they know not
what it means. O, this is a very sad thing. But
if we can season our hearts, so as to desire the
Lord to assist us, He will help us, and not fly
from^ 11s."

Such as these were the men who fled from
the petty tyrrany exercised by the colonial gov
ernors of New York — who became the settlers
of South Jersey, and there, on tbe banks of the
Shrewsbury river, organized the first towns with
their town meetings, and there resisted another
persecution, and were among the first to give
formal and emphatic utterance to- the doctrine
that those actual colonists abiding upon its soil,
holding title by honest purchase from the na
tives and by compliance with legal requirements,
were freemen and not serfs. The "Monmouth
Declaration of Independence" in which this
principle was embodied, as was also that of local
self-government, was of weighty importance in
the formation of that public opinion which a cen
tury later found final and unequivocal expression
in the Declaration of Independence by all the
Colonies. Their coming to Long Island, and
their going thence to New Jersey, was the open
ing of a new chapter in the history of civiliza
tion as written by the English speaking race —
that history which began at Runnymede and, in
cur day, has had continuation under the Amer

ican flag in the islands of the isea, a history which
gives an added significance to the poet's
thought —
"For Good is not a shapely mass of stone,
Hewn by man's hand and worked by one alone.
It is a seed God suffers man to sow ;
Others will reap, and when the harvests grow
He giveth increase through all coming years,
And lets men-reap in joy seed that was sown in tears.'
But what of those who remained on Long
Island? Theirs were not the opportunities of
their brethren who Went, to New Jersey. But,
for the greater number, they acted well their
parts. They kept alive the spirit of self-gov
ernment, though they often submitted to tyr
rany. Their geographical position during the
Revolutionary period placed them in an awkward
situation in relation to political affairs. But
they sustained little moral harm — less in some
respects than did others who were ir the immedi
ate track of war. Even then., they did not, at
least, retrograde, and it may be said that their
progress has steadily and constantly been up
ward, each generation showing improvement
over that which had preceded it.
After peace was- restored, the churches' re
sumed their functions, and the people of this
war-ridden region turned to the task of repair
ing their shattered fortunes, setting out upon
a new career as modest, quiet, God-fearing peo
ple, rearing their families in ways of decency,
and setting up anew, and upon more solid foun
dations, the church and the school — the bulwarks
of virtue and good order. Hospitable they al
ways were, and never, before nor since, so much
so as then. The wayfaring man — he would be
termed a "tramp" to-day — was ever welcome,
and was ever well entertained. If only needv,
he was fed and lodged for sake of that Dear
Lord who loves and pities all his children, and
who said "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done
it unto me." If he was a man of intelligence, he
was gladly hailed as a messenger from an outer
world, and the news which he brought and the
views which he expressed were listened to with
respectful attention and interest.

TFIE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

69

Social conditions under the colonial estab
lishment have already been narrated. The Rev
olutionary period was a crucial one for society
and for civil institutions. The track of the
British soldier and his foreign allies was seen
in wasted fields and the ashes of homesteads,
and in some homes was an agony worse than
death. The effect upon the people was in a man
ner demoralizing, and some, who under peaceful
conditions would have lived exemplary lives,
gave their time to idleness and dissipation, bid
ding defiance to all moral restraints and respect
ing the law but little. Some of these had been
Continental soldiers, and for them was a certain
measure of -excuse. They were but mere youths
when they set out in a war which engaged them
for seven long years of untold privation and
danger. They had gone to the life of the camp
and march — demoralizing under the most favor
able' conditions — before character was formed,
and without knowledge of the temptations and,
vicious influences which, were to beset them.
They returned full grown men, to enter into- a
world which was new to them, one wherein was
no home they could call their own, nor occupa
tion for which they seemed to- be fitted. But
such were the exceptions, and far the greater
number turned readily to the peaceful pursuits
of life. In the times _ preceding the Revolutionary
war, nearly all manufactured articles came from
England, and the cost was such as to deter all
but a highly favored few from indulging in ar
ticles of luxury. Inventories made of goods at
this time show that in general personal property
was of the rudest and simplest kind compatible
with civilized life. These people, isolated from
the rest of the world, and destitute of skilled
artisans, tools, and materials necessary in pro
viding ornaments and articles of luxury, were
compelled to content themselves with rudely con
structed household furniture and plain but sub
stantial dress. Indeed, they were compelled to
this by the policy of the British government,
which was avowedly hostile to the idea of permit
ting the people of the colonies to be aught else
than a community of self-expatriates who should

esteem it a privilege to be permitted to merely
maintain an animal existence. Even so stanch
a friend of America as was William Pitt frowned
upon the idea of permitting its people to lessen
in any degree their servile dependence upon the
mother country, and declared that they had no
right to make so much as a horse-shoe nail, but
should be compelled to purchase all products of
skilled labor in the British markets ; and, to com
pel acquiescence in such doctrine, taxes were
imposed by Parliament, which were virtually in
prohibition of American manufactures. And so,
as Dr. Epher Whittaker said of the people >of
Southold: "Within their dwellings they used
tables, chairs, drawers, chests, bedsteads, beds,
bedding, shovels, tongs, andirons, trammels, pot
hooks, pots, pans, knives, wooden ware, pewter
ware, especially plates and spoons, and some
times a little earthen ware, and perhaps a few
pieces of silver — as a tankard and a cup. But
stoves, tin ware, plated ware of every kind, china,
porcelain, queensware and all kinds of fine work
of the potter's art seem to have been unknown
among them. So were table cloths, and especial
ly table forks. They had no carpets, and few
had any pictures, watches, musical instruments
or works of art for the adornment of their homes.
Tea and coffee were not on their tables."
Shortly after the close of the Revolutionary
war, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight, the eighth
president of Yale College, one of the most schol
arly men and most careful observers of his time,
made a journey through a large portion of
Long Island, and said of it that because of its
insular position "the people must be always nar
row and contracted in their views, affections and
pursuits; that they were destitute of the ad
vantages that were calculated to aw'aken and
diffuse information and stimulate energy, and
that, if such were to spring up here, they would
emigrate, and that it must continue for an in
definite period to be a place where advantages
that were enjoyed elsewhere would be imperfect
ly realized." But even as he wrote, there was
dawning a brighter day, giving promise of a
higher development, yet affording no prophecy
of what the region was to become, a wonderfully

70

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

productive garden spot, the abode of a prosper
ous and cultured people, and the pleasure ground
of the American metropolis.
At the time of Dr. Dwight's coming, the resi
dences remained unchanged outwardly, but the
changes were many within. A carpet covered
the floor of the best room, if none other; people
of means purchased an imported article, while
the poorer classes made their floor covering out
of woven rags. The family no longer dined in
the kitchen, but in another room, which was also
the sitting room. The furniture was simple but

silks and figured shawls. They usually knitted
their own stockings and their gloves. Jewelry
was affected only by the wealthy, excepting the
wedding ring, without which no woman claiming
fo be married was regarded as respectable. In
land travel was principally by horseback, which
finally gave way to the old-fashioned horse-cart.
Such multiplication of comforts and luxuries
excited a keen mental stimulation. By and by
the weekly newspaper came with its message from
the outer world, and this created desire for yet
more knowledge, and the book followed. Social

*~^g

A

wj: *.'53

¦•¦'

sfe'vSS

«*»;; *ST7 »¦*£- |S|S

DWELLING OF REVOLUTIONARY TIMES.

substantial, usually home made, of the splendid
native pine, walnut and cedar, then common
and cheap, but now scarce and costly. Clothing
for men had not yet changed in style, but it was
of better quality and frequently of imported
goods. Boots and shoes were made by the trav
eling shoemaker, from home dressed leather.
The female sex revealed its constant fondness
for finery. The poorest wore homespun and
linsey-woolsey, but they had learned to make
dyes from barks and roots, and their garments
were of varying hues. Those in better circum
stances wore goods of foreign make, linens, and

gatherings came into vogue, and these soon led
to the debating society and the singing school.
The two last named were admirable in an in
structional way, and those who yet remain with
us, who were participants in them in their youth
ful days, are acustdmed to recall them with deep
pleasure, and to the disparagement of much that
is peculiar to the present fair, well-spoken days,.
For many years the only musical instrument in
the farm or village home was the violin or flute,
and a fair performer on either was a gladly
hailed acquisition to any company, and frequent
ly in sacred music in such churches as were not

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

71

sternly set against the use of instruments in di
vine worship. It was not until about 1850 that
the seraphine or melodeon became at all familiar,
and ten years later a piano was a great curiosity
in many good sized towns.
In the community where a half century ago
a book was uncommon, is now a well stored li
brary. Where were but few isolated instru
ments of music is- now an orchestra capable of
performing the music of the great masters. The
humble cottage has given place to the elegant
mansion with its luxurious furnishings, and the

eral generations

stately temple stands where did the modest plain-
walled country church.
But here and there is an old-time dwelling
of the long ago, or an old church so far from the
busy throng that it has not been deemed worthy
of destruction to make way for one more mod
ern. Such are pleasant to look upon, and in
gazing upon them there come to us fragrant
memories and a reverent feeling something akin
to that "benediction that follows after prayer."
The constant progression which has led- to
these conditions cannot be more accurately de
picted than by presenting the words of Dr. Whit

taker, the writer referred to in the opening sen
tences of this chapter, and which are as pertinent
to Nassau county as they are to Suffolk county,
of which he more particularly wrote :
After the greater part of Long Island was
torn governmentally from its kindred New Eng
land in 1662, the people here were doubly isolat
ed. The Sound and the ocean were less of a bar
rier than- the repulsive government and the un
congenial population of New York. Hence our
people lived signally within themselves for sev-
The county produced its own
men and women — its own
farmers, mechanics, sailors,
fishermen, ministers, lawyers,
doctors. It produced, also, in
great measure, its own food,
clothing, utensils, buildings,
and other supports and re
ceived little benefit from the
great world beyond it. This
somewhat undesirable but
thoroughly natural state con
tinued until near the middle
of the century which has just
ended. * * *
Many causes have been
active to effect the changes al
ready indicated. The build
ing of the railroad from one
end of the island to the other
brought into the county a
small army of men born on
the other side of the sea.
Many of them1 saw the fitness
of the land to reward indus
try, to- afford health and to
make pleasant living. They
set up their barriers all along the road, and they
have not ceased for half a century to call their
kindred and countrymen effectively to their
standard. These and their descendants ^re now
an important part and element of our people.
The railroad has notably fostered a change in the
agriculture of the county by making quick and
ready access- to the best markets for the produce
of the soil. And this change has summoned a
multitude of men of alien birth to work the
ground. The facilities of travel by cars and
steamers between the great emporium and our
beautiful shores and villages, with their ocean
waters and health-giving air, have brought hither
in ever increasing throngs tbe summer visitors
who have profoundly affected our native citizen's

72

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and rural ways. The opportunities for thrift and
gain of riches here have also led many other
classes of persons to build their homes within our
bounds. These enlargements of tbe life of our coun
ty have not turned away our people from agri
culture as their chief employment. They are
well pleased with the ways of Cincinnatus and
the Master of Mount Vernon. But they have
revolutionized the methods of their fathers.
These gave a large part of their time and
strength to the work of gathering fertilizers for
their fields. The seaweed of the ocean, the grass
of the bays, the sedge of the marshes, the fishes
of the briny deep, and even the leaves of the
trees were diligently and toilesomely collected to
be used in giving heart to the land and making it
yield fruitful harvests.

The products of the soil in those days were
little else than grain, potatoes, turnips and hay.
Step by step the farmers have had recourse to
chemically prepared fertilizers and to the raising
of a wide range of marketable crops. The vast
regions of the. west and northwest of our coun
try have made the cultivation of grain on Long
Island unprofitable. Formerly this land, in
broad fields, raised wheat and rye and oats. For
these crops its occupation is gone.
On the other hand, our nearness and facili
ties of access to the great markets in the popu
lous cities of New York and New England en
able our farmers to raise and sell green crops to
advantage. Strawberries, cranberries, cabbage,
cauliflower, and kindred vegetables, as well as
various fruits, have come to be a prominent part

of the sources of our support and wealth. In
crease of this kind of industry and profit has
rome from the ever-increasing accession of
summer guests and cottages and from the
multiplication of factories for canning fruits
and vegetables in the neighborhood of their
growth. All of this transformation has been animated
and fostered by the beginning which invention
has made in the creation of manifold and effec
tive agricultural implements. . The farmer of
fifty years ago, if he should now return to us,
would not know the names of half the tools and
utensils that his son now employs. He could not
name a monkey wrench ; and the boys of to-day
will hereafter use more implements of future
invention than all that now exist. The weeder,
the mower, the tedder, the reaper, the binder, the
thresher, the sifter, the planter, the
drill, the digger, and others, separate
or combined, and with or without
steam power, have come after the hoe,
the spade, the plow and the harrow,
but there are many more to follow
that have not yet been invented.
These inventions have already made
the farmer's life easy and pleasant
in comparison with his toilsome days
and weary nights five decades ago.
He does not now sling a peck of
wheat over his shoulder, trudge over
soft, uneven, plowed ground, and
scatter the seeds with his ever swing
ing and ever increasingly weary arm.
He pours his grain into a box, mounts
his seat behind his fine span of horses,
says to them "go," and the drill does
the rest.
The conditions above depicted did not form
erly exist as universally as they do at the pres
ent time. While the Nassau-Suffolk region was
always famed as an agricultural country, many
of its people, and particularly those along the
shores, were adventurous spirits, and were not
to be restricted to the dull, tame land, but made
for themselves splendid record as sailors,
whether in ships of commerce or of war, and
their descendants of a later day emulated their
example. - An illustration of the character above depict
ed is found in the person of one who is now liv
ing a quiet unassuming life as sheriff of Nassau

THE COUNTIES OF NASSAU AND SUFFOLK.

73

county — Mr. Jerome B. Johnson — the. record of
whose life is a veritable romance, worthy the pen
of a Marryat or Cooper.
Mr. Johnson is probable the sole survivor of
the famous "Foreign Legion," that band of
young daredevils which practically put down the
Taeping rebellion in China in 1859. He was at
that time a mere youth and was attracted to
China by a longing for adventure. He shipped
as third mate on a ship bound for Shanghai, and
on arriving at that port enlisted in the Chinese
navy and was given a commission to raise a com
pany by the Governor of Shanghai. It is an in
teresting document, yellow with age, and reads
as follows :
"I, Toutal of Shanghai, representative of the
Emperor of China, authorize herewith Jerome
B. Johnson to form a company -of 100 to 200
men and to take charge of them to operate against
Souchow or any places in that vicinity. I here
with give him the 'command of said company
and he may choose four per cent, of the rhen as
officers, according to his choice. I hereby com
mand also the said J. B. Johnson to pay such men
the sum of $50 a month, and officers as follows :
First officer, $90 ; second officer, $80 ; third offi
cer, $70 ; fourth officer, 60. All their salaries are
to be paid at the end of each month, and beside
he has the power to reward them who distin
guish themselves in their imperial cause accord
ing to their merits. Provisions will be supplied
by the commissary, who has to act according to
his orders from the said J. B. Johnson.
"Done this day as the palace."
This company was irecrulited from dis
charged men and officers of the various foreign
vessels in port, and many seamen, eager for ad

venture, deserted their ships and joined Mr.
Johnson. The officers of the Foreign Legion
were Ward, the intrepid American; an Italian,
whose name Sheriff Johnson does not remember ;
Ashley, another American, who had charge of
the commissary, and Sheriff Johnson. The bulk
of the men were Filipinos, and were armed with
Sharp's rifles, while the sailors in the company
rendered themselves invaluable by improvising
scaling ladders.
The Taepings, a fierce Chinese tribe, were in
rebellion, and were gaining strength each day, SO
that the situation was becoming very serious.
The first fighting done by Sheriff Johnson's com
pany was before the walled city of Sungkiang.
An attempt was made to scale the walls, but was
met with a repulse, and the Foreign Legion
suffered heavily and was forced to retreat to the
boats and make their way to Hongqua. In this
engagement Mr. Johnson was wounded six
times and afterward had a very severe attack of
fever. After his recovery Mr. Johnson returned to
this country and enlisted in the Union navy and
fought on Admiral Farragut's flag-ship, also par
ticipating in the severe fighting around Galves
ton, Texas.
At the close of the Civil War, Mr. John
son's thirst for adventure was not satisfied, and
be isailed for South America and spent several
years in the Argentine Republic working on the
large cattle ranches. Tiring at last of a
vaquero's life, the adventurer returned once
more to his native land and settled down to
peaceful avocations.

55}}5

CHAPTER III.

NASSAU COUNTY.

IJ

T is not to be expected that a county
which dates back only three of four years
affords any fertile field- for investigation
as a political division. The res gestae
lies in the story of the settlement and develop
ment of its towns and villages, and this is in part
contained in the chapter pertaining to Queens
county and in that imimediately preceding this,
and, for the remainder, will appear in connection
with the annals which are presented on other
pages to follow.
Nassau county owes its creation to the move
ment which brought about the Greater New
York. It is to be said, in this connection, that
the separation was not unattended by conflict of
ideas and strenuous opposition in some quarters.
Many of an older class of people, whose remote
ancestors were among the first white occupants
of the region, objected on sentimental grounds.
Up to the time of the creation of the new county,
the three Long Island counties of Kings,
Queens and Suffolk had been unaltered in boun
daries and extent from their original creation by
act of the colonial legislature in 1683, save in one
instance — when, in 1881, Lloyd's Neck was
transferred from the jurisdiction of Queens
county to that of Suffolk. On the other hand,
a potent argument for the separation of 'Nassau
from Queens was the discontent of many of
the people of the projected new county, due to
the previous expenditure of the public funds and
large bond issues, much after the fashion of a
new mushroom county out west during the
"boom1" times.

The new county of Nassau was constituted
by act of the legislature, which became operative
when that act received the signature of Gov
ernor Black, April 28, 1898. It became the sixty-
first county in the State of New York, and it
stood, at its creation, the thirty-first in order
of size and wealth. It was made to comprise
the towns of Oyster Bay, North Hempstead, and
that part of Hempstead set off as a part of
Queens county, the latter separation being mark
ed by a line extending almost due northwardly
from Floral Park to the eastern extremity of the
Far Rockaway Beach, on tbe Atlantic Ocean.
The total area of the new county is 320 square
miles, containing 162,000 acres, including waters
well enclosed by land, and is sixteen miles- in
width from the borough of Queens to the county
line of Suffolk, and twenty-two miles in length
from Long Island Sound to the Atlantic.
The first officials of Nassau county — County
Judge and Surrogate, District Attorney, Sheriff,
Treasurer, Clerk and Superintendent of the
Poor — were elected November 8, 1898, and the
county commenced business on January 3, 1899,
when the first Board of Supervisors assembled
in Mineola, the new county seat, and adopted a
seal — "a golden lion rampant, between seven
golden billets, on an azure field."
In 1903 the civil list of Nassau county was
as follows :

State Senator, Luke Keenan ; Assemblyman,
G. Wilbur Doughty ; County Judge, Robert Sea-
bury; Sheriff, Jerome B. Johnson; County Clerk,

NASSAU COUNTY.

75

Thomas S. Cheshire; Supervisors, Smith Cox,
Edwin Willetts and William H. Jones; County
Treasurer, Charles F. Lewis ; District Attorney,
James P. Nieman; Superintendent of Poor,
George W. Smith; School Commissioner, James
S. Cooley. Nassau county is in the Second Congres
sional District, and is represented by Hon. Town-
send Scudder, elected in 1902 to succeed Hon.
Frederick Storms.
When Nassau county was erected, tbe
bonded debt of Queens county was about $14,-
000,000 and the real estate valuation was a trifle
more than $83,000,000. The new county of Nas
sau entered upon its existence with about twenty-
three per centum of the population of the old
county of which it was formerly a part, and with
a trifle larger percentage of the assessed realty
valuation. Perhaps the greatest inconvenience
to the people of Nassau county is the necessity,
in case of real estate title litigation, of searching
records in Queens as well as in their own county.
While the county as a political division, as
has been remarked, has practically no history,
its townships are among the richest in that re
spect on Long Island, and to them we will pres
ently return. They are tbe towns of Oyster Bay,
North Hempstead and the greater part of Hemp
stead. Mineola, the county seat is in North
Hempstead township, and has a population of
some 900. There are the following villages :

Oyster Bay, with a population of 2,000; Hemp
stead, 5,000; Freeport, 2,500; Glen Cove, 4,000;
Rockville Centre, 2,000; Hicksville, 1,500;
FarmSngdale, 1,100; Manhasset, 800; Sea Cliff,
1,300; Roslyn, 1,300; Port Washington, 1,250;
Lynbrook, 1,000; and Garden City, 800. All are
delightful for residential purposes, and those on
the bay waters of the Atlantic or on Long Island
Sound combine all the natural advantages of
sea-shore life with those of retiring quiet home
life. There are in the villages, besides, all the
elevating and refining agencies belonging to our
civilization. Garden City, with its Episcopal
cathedral and schools, and splendid array of
homes, churches, etc., promises in time to develop
into one of the most important towns on Long
Island for educational purposes.
In Nassau county there were, at the time of
its organization, ninety-one houses of 'worship,
including the magnificent cathedral at Garden
City. At Garden City are two libraries — ca
thedral and school — with five thousand volumes
each. There are also two libraries at Hemp
stead, aggregating 8,000 volumes, one each at
Massapequa, Oyster Bay, Rockville Centre,
Roslyn and -Sea Cliff, and in many of the public
schools. The public schools are fifty-nine in number,
and several of the buildings represent a value of
from $25,000 to $60,000 each. The following
table gives the statistics for the year 1900:

NASSAU COUNTY— SOLE DISTRICT

TOWNS IN
DISTRICT

Teach
ers Em
ployed
for Legal
Term

Whole
Number of
Children
Attending School

Average Days'
Attendance During
School Year

Assessed
Valuation of
Districts

Amount of
Public Money
Received
from State

Amount of
Money
Raised by
Local Tax

Value of
School
Houses
and Sites

Volumes in
School
Libraries

1:11 4473

5,276 1,921
2,991

695,914245,030
410,309

$ 7,781,202
5,091,1569,726,136

$12,904.55 4,621.92 8,482.04

* 85,512.7735,176.76
46,265.58

$282,605 117,400141,075

24S
10,188
1,351,253
$22,598,494
$26,008.51
$167,255.11
$541,080
i;,274
76

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

That the people of Nassau county are awake
to their splendid natural conditions, and that they
are determined to add to the attractiveness of
their region by all possible means, is attested by
the fact that when the new county entered upon
its separate existence, it was estimated that there
were within its borders more than three hundred
¦miles of new macadamized roads of the best
possible material and construction. Tbe re
source's of the county may be ascertained from
an inspection of the following valuation and tax
lists for 1899 — the year the county was fully or
ganized — and the figures show a material in
crease since that time:

Nassau county is pre-eminently an agricul
tural region, and the fairs of the Agricultural
Society of Queens-Nassau Counties, held in Min
eola, now the county seat of Nassau county, have
been for m|any years the most important event in
the history of the two districts named.
The foundation of the Society lies far back
in the history of Long Island. In 1693 a fair was
established at Jamaica after the English method,
under authority of an act of the General As
sembly of the Colony of New York, "to- remedy
the inconvenience of a want of certain market
days, and that trade may be better encouraged.
This so-called fair was to be held every Thurs-

TOWNS

Assessed Value
Real Estate

Assessed Value
Personal Property

Town
Taxes

County Taxes

State
Taxes

State Tax
for
Schools

North Hempstead 
Oyster Bay 

$ 4,465,785
6,845,5628,499,015

$ 429,100 394,660
756,920

$ 42,596.9097,950.44
45,170.93

$ 9,637.89
13,970.98 17,687.23

$10,700.76 15,511.7619,637.05

$ 4,500.56
13,316.03 8,510.67

Totals 

$19,810,362

$1,580,680

$185,718.27

$41,296.10

$45,849.57

$26,327.26

Population, census of 1900, 55,448.

There are in the county two useful charitable
institutions. The Nassau Hospital Association,
located at West Hempstead, owns real estate
valued at $3,000. In a recent year its receipts
were $7,058, and it expended $6,284, and ren
dered assistance to 213 persons. The Temporary
Home for Children, at Mineola, established in
1884, 'with the purpose of caring for children
between the ages .of four and fourteen, owns
property valued at $20,000.
A peculiar institution of Nassau county — and
the Isame is to be said of Suffolk — is a splendid
fire company organization which exists in nearly
every town of any size and making pretensions
to keeping pace with the tim-es. These com
panies, in the older villages, are of considerable
antiquity, and the wealthiest men are pleased to
be of their active membership. Their annual
meetings are marked with a grand parade, and
the event is notable as a society function.

day, from eight o'clock until sunset, for sale or
barter of cattle, grain, victuals, provisions and all
other necessities, and no toll was exacted. At
Jamaica was also established a semi-annual fair of
four days in May and a like period in October,
which was presided over by a governor or ruler
of the fair. This was for the sale of horses and
cattle, and a toll gatherer made a record of each
transaction, entering in a book the distinguish
ing marks of each animal sold, with the names of
seller and buyer, and for this was paid nine pence
tollage in each case. In 1728 -a great quantity of
various descriptions of merchandise, as well as
many fine horses, were exposed for sale. It is of
interest to note that on this occa'sion we have the
dawn of the "show" business, a lion being exhib
ited to add to the attractions of the fair. It is
presumable that at this time many urchins who
not long afterward attained distinction in mili
tary and civil life were delighted witnesses to the

NASSAU COUNTY.

77

performances of "Punch and Judy," given by
itinerant performers. In 1774 John Rapelye was
governor and superintendent of the fair, and
Robert 'Brooks was clerk of two fairs for Queens
county — one at Jamaica, in May, and another at
the same place in October.
But the fair as we know it in substance to-

lips, Recording Secretary; and Daniel Kissam,
Treasurer. The purpose of the .society was to
improve methods of farming and stock raising,
and for mutual improvement in rural economy.
In November following the first exhibition was
held in and about the court house. The exhibits
were entirely of local production. Premiums

LONG ISLAND LIVE STOCK.
(By Permission of Long Island Railroad Company.)

day had its beginning with the formation of an
agricultural association at the old court house
near Mineola, November 11, 18 17, but it does
not appear that a permanent organization was
effected until June 21, 1819, when officers were
elected as follows: Rufuis King, President; Ef
fingham Lawrence, Singleton Mitchell and Will
iam Jones, Vice Presidents; the Rev. David S.
Bogart, Corresponding Secretary; Thomas Phil-

amounting to $200 were distributed, and among
the awards were to Townlsend Cock, for his cele
brated horse "Duroe," to Rufus King for the best
milch cow, and to Joseph Onderdonk for ruta
bagas. In 1 82 1 the premium list was increased to
$369, and some of the awards are interesting as
indicating what the industries of the little agri
cultural community were. Henry Covert received

78

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

$10 for a garden plow and a machine for plant
ing beans and sowing turnip seed. Garrett
Laton received a similar amount for the largest
quantity of cloth made in one family, his exhibit
being 202 yards of woolen and 363 yards of linen
cloth. In 1822 the programme was varied with some
displays of oratory— by General Rufus King and
Judge Effingham Lawrence. The premiums
amounted to $263.50. Samples of cotton were
exhibited by Colonel Leverich, of Newton, by
Tunis D. Covert, of South Jamaica, and by Dan
iel Coles, of Oyster Bay, the latter named having
raised sufficient cotton to make twenty yards of
muslin. Public interest had flagged, however,
and the. society went out of existence.
The recent Queens County Agricultural So
ciety had its founding in a meeting of the execu
tive committee of the New York State Agricul
tural Society, held in New York City, July 21,
1841. At this time was mooted the formation of
a society in Queen's county, and the following
named were appointed a eomlmittee to carry the
purpose into effect : Grant Thorburn and Gar
ret Cowenboven, Newtown; John W. Lawrence
and Effingham Lawrence, Flushing; Singleton
Mitchell and Robert W. Mott, North Hemp
stead; Tohn Wells and Albert G. Carll, Oyster
Bay; John Bedell and Edward H. Seaman,
Hempstead; and William R. Grace and John
Johnson, Jamaica. October 9 of the same year
the Isociety was fully organized with the follow
ing named officers : Effingham Lawrence, Presi
dent; George Nostrand, William H. Carter,
Thomas B. Jackson, Piatt Willets, Singleton
Mitchell and George D. Coles, Vice Presidents ;
Albert G. Carll, Corresponding Secretary; John
G. Lambert, Recording Secretary; and Daniel
K. K. Youngs, Treasurer. A circular was issued
appealing to the people of the county to "unite
with the society and give it your encouragement,
and not let it be said that the farmers of Queens
county have not sufficient spirit to keep an agri
cultural society in existence."
The firist fair was held in Hempstead, Oc
tober 13, 1842. On the day appointed the entire
populace and a host from a distance participated

in the event. A grand procession of the clergy,
officers and members of the society and citizens
generally, headed by the Hempstead Brass Band,
marched from Anderson's Hotel to the Metho
dist Church, where Vice-Chancellor McCoun de
livered an address, and an ode composed by Will
iam Cullen Bryant was sung. The receipts (in
cluding $91 .contributed by the State) amounted
to $338, and the premiums awarded amounted to
$250. At the second fair, in 1843, more than six
thousand people were present; — a vast concourse
in that day. Lieutenant-Governor Daniel S.
Dickinson delivered' an address, and one of Bry
ant's odes was sung. The third fair was held in
Jamaica, October 10, 1844, and was notable for
a larger display of fruits, vegetables and articles
of domestic manufacture. Gabriel Furman was
the speaker of the occasion. At the fourth fair, at
Hempstead, October 9, 1845, the weather pre
vented a large attendance. Some relics were
here placed upon exhibition- — an inkstand which
had been used by William Penn, and specimens
•of continental currency.
Some interesting innovations were intro
duced at the fifth fair, which was held in Flush
ing, October 9, 1846. The United States Military
Band from' Governor's Island was present, con-
' veyed through the village in a tastily decorated
wagon, drawn by thirty-six yoke of oxen. An ad
dress was delivered by Dr. Gardiner. At the close
of this fair, exhibitors were permitted to sell
their animals and wares on the ground. Interest
waned after this, and in 1849 the receipts were
so small that subscriptions were called for to pay
a premium deficit. In 1850, at Hempstead, a tent
fifty feet in diameter sufficed to contain all the
exhibits. After this, fairs were held in turn at
Flempstead, Flushing and Jamaica.
To the writer it is mlost interesting to trace
the record of these fairs, and he trusts that the
reader shares in his interest. There is not in
America an agricultural association- which pro-
trays more vividly tbe gradual development of
industries than does that of which we write, and
it is to be said that the influence, was far-reach
ing. In the then west— Ohio, and beyond,
throughout Indiana and Illinois, and to a slight

NASSAU COUNTY

extent in that part of Missouri bordering the
Mississippi River — the fairs which were held
within the decade beginning in 1850 were pat
terned in large degree after that of Queens coun
ty, and, in many instances, Long Islanders who
had taken the advice of Florace Greeley to "go
west, young man, and grow up with the country"
were concerned in their management, and ap
plied the methods they had learned at home,
And hence no- farther excuse is made for continu
ing the narrative in order to discover the salient
points in the development of the country fair
idea. The fair of 1852 was held in Flushing. This
was a notable success, and, as the writer has
cause to- know, proved a great stimulus to those
held in St. Louis, Missouri, in the two following
years. There was prdsent a delegation from the
American Institute, and 'these gentlemen and
other invited guests rode from the steamboat
wharf to the fair grounds in a decorated wagon
drawn by fifty-six yoke of oxen, with a brass
band, and a military escort — Bragg's Horse
Guards and the Hamilton Rifles. The State fair
was outdistanced in the horse display, which in
cluded tome splendid descendants of the most
famous animals of America, "Eclipse," "Mes
senger," "Engineer," "Mambrino" and "Ab-
dallah." The premiums amounted in value to
about $800, and comprised seven silver medals,
numerous articles of 'silver, book, and cash pre
miums, and three hundred diplomas were issued.
The display of flowers and fruits was very beau
tiful. An interesting feature of this' fair was a
plowing match.
In 1853 woman's handiwork received recog
nition. Premiums were offered for the best loaf
of bread made by a woman under twenty-one
years of age, and for home-made cheese, pre
serves and needle work.
In 1857 the Society had so largely increased
its membership and added to its treasury that in
corporation was decided upon, and the scope of
the organization was broadened, as the charter
phrased it, "to encourage and improve agricul
ture, horticulture and the mechanic arts." Tlie
incorporators were John Harold, John Bedell,

Joseph Tompkins, William T. McCoun, Samuel
T. Jackison, Benjamin W. Doughty, Jeremiah
Valentine, Uriah Mitchell, Samuel L. Hewlett
and James P. 'Smith. To the first named was
presented a silver service in recognition of his
efforts in behalf of the Society.
The fair of 1858 was held in Flushing, a local
committee of citizens defraying all expenses. A
ten-acre lot enclosed in a high board fence con
tained a quarter-mile track for the display of
horses, one individual, Simon R. Browne, bring
ing twenty fine animals. E. A. Lawrence exhib
ited a 2500-pound ox. Seven thousand people
assembled upon this occasion, including a con
siderable delegation from those regions of the
metropolis 'which graduate fakirs and pickpock
ets, and these classes reaped a rich harvest. The
receipts were over $1400.
In 1859, at Hempstead, three premiums were
offered for trotting ho-rsels and seven premiums
for carriages, wagons ,and harness. About one
hundred cattle were exhibited, and nearly as
many horses. The fruit interests were exempli
fied by Isaac Hicks and Jacob Williams, who put
on exhibition, respectively, eighty-seven and
eighty varieties of apples and pears.
Substantial advancement was seen in i860, at
the fair held in Jamaica, which was attended by
eight thousand people. The various classes of
stock, implements, fruits and vegetables and
products of woman's skill were well filled. The
educational feature made its appearance at this
time, ca'sh awards being made for essays upon
the agricultural history of Queens county, upon
horses, and upon the potato and its diseases. In
1861 the fair officers were designated by .suitable
badges. In 1862 the fair was held on the Fash
ion Course at Newton, and largely increased pre
miums were offered for horses. The Flushing
Railroad Company gave $100 for the best trotter
in harness, driven by the owner, $20 for the best
saddle horse, and $250 for the best trained pair
of road horses. Liberal premiums were also
offered for all classes of thoroughbred cattle. At
this fair premium's were also offered for speci
mens of penmanship by public school pupils.
In 1866 the Society saw its way clear to make

80

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

for itself a permanent home. April 3 of that
year, at the annual town meeting in Hempstead,
it was voted to grant to the 'Society a forty-acre
tract of land near the village of 'Mineola, to be
used by the Society, and to revert to the town
should it be diverted from its legitimate pur
poses — the promotion of agricultural and me
chanical interests. This proffer was accepted,
and it was given legislative sanction on April 23,
1867, and since that time the grounds so desig
nated have been the permanent abiding place of
the Society.
June 18, of the same year in which it ac
quired the property designated, the board of
managers met to consider plans for necessary
buildings. Work was begun July 26, and, by the
aid of volunteer workmen, the grounds were
available for the fair on September 27-8 follow
ing. The cost of construction, making no al
lowance for volunteer labor and do-nations, was
$8,115.32 for the agricultural hall, and $9,809.47
for stables, stalls, etc. The receipts of the first
ten years of the existence of the Society were
$4,101.59, and for the next ten years they were
$19,096.11. The receipts for the first four years
of permanent location at Mineola were about
$40,000. Receipts steadily increased from year
to year, and in 1900 had reached such a sum that
$12,831 Were expended in- premiums alone, to- say-
nothing of the expense of maintaining the prop
erty. The gradual development of the fair since its
establishment at Mineola can only be shown by
tracing the innovations from time to time. The
'first agricultural exhibition was held in 1867,
when was also held a ladies' festival which netted
$846.75. In 1869 a splendid horticultural and
floral show wals given', when one individual (T.
W. Kennard, of Glen Cove), put one hundred
and twenty varieties of roses on exhibition. At
the horticultural show on June 14, 1871, Allen &
Co. laid out a beautiful miniature garden. In
1874 over $8,000 was expended in erecting a
grand stand, and increasing the stabling capacity.
At the fair that year was a bench show of dogs,
with one hundred and twenty entries. In 1876

the centennial celebration of the founding of the
nation called out an enthusiastic interest, and the
crowning feature of the fair was the exhibition
of relics of the colonial and revolutionary pe
riods — implements of war and peace, ancient ar
ticles of dress, historic documents, etc.
The year of 1880 was one of disaster. The
usual cattle display was wanting because of the
alarm occasioned by the epidemic of pleuro-pneu-
monia among domestic animals. In the fall,
ninety-two horse sheds were destroyed by fire,
and the insurance did not more than half repay
the loss.
In 1899 the Association disbursed something
more than $32,000, of which amount $13,077.98
was for premiums. In 1900 the premiums paid
amounted to $12,831.25, and in 1901 to $12,-
666.50. The Association was known as the Queens
County Agricultural Society until 1899, when
the creation of the new county of Nassau made
a change of title advisable, and, at the annual
meeting, the title "The Agricultural Society of
Queens-Nalssau Counties" was adopted.
Before this action was definitely agreed upon,
Hon. Harrison S. Moore had beai consulted rela
tive to any complications likely to arise by reason
of the location of the grounds in Nassau County,
while the Society was reorganized as the Queens
County Agricultural 'Society. Legislative action
was deemed necessary, and other steps were
taken to insure the receipts from State appro
priations and from other sources. While the
title has been changed, the word "Queens" is
retained, so that the original name -may not be
entirely lost sight of. The Association has an
effective ally in the 'Ladies' Festival Association,
which provided means for remodeling and im
proving the interior of the house devoted to the
art exhibitions.
In 1902, June 18-19, 'the Association held its
thirty-sixth summer exhibition. The exhibits
included all classes of road horses, horticultural
and floricultural products and farming imple
ments. In the same year, September 23-27, was
held the sixty-first annual exhibition, including

NASSAU COUNTY.

81

local products of farm, field and orchard, to
gether with domestic products and a fine art
display. Subjoined are the names of the presidents of
the Association from the date of organization.
Effingham Lawrence  1841
Singleton -Mitchell  1845
William T. McCoun  1847
John A. King  1848
William T. McCoun  1856
David R. Floyd-Jones  1858
Edward A. Lawrence  i860
Daniel K. Youngs  1861
John C. Jackson  1863
Samuel T. Taber  1866
Peter C. Barnum  1868
Samuel T. Taber  1869
Charles H. Jones  1870

Robert Willets  1873
John C. Jackson  '. . . ¦ 1874
Horatio S. Parke  1876
Thomas Messenger  l&77
George T. Hewlett  1878
Townsend D. Cock  1879
Frederick N. Lawrence  1882
George S. Downing  1883
Samuel S. Aymar  1885
Charles Post  1888
Edward Cooper  1890
G. Howland Leavitt  1893
Thomas Mott  1895
J. William Ahles  1897
George P. Titus  1899
For nine years past, Lott Van de Water has
been secretary, and Thomas H. Bacon hate been
treasurer.

CHAPTER IV.

HEMPSTEAD.

FIE town of Hempstead, as a political di
vision, originally extended from Long
Island Sound to the Atlantic Ocean,
with the town of Ovster Bay as its
eastern boundary, and the towns of Flushing
and Jamaica as its western boundaries. In 1784,
by an act of the legislature, the territory now
known as North Hempstead was taken 'from it,
reducing it to its present proportion's. It was the
largest town in Queens county when it was bodily
detached therefrom to form a portion of the new
county of Nassau, one hundred square miles, or
sixty-four thousand acres. Its ocean frontage is
about twenty miles.
There are many evidences of the Indian oc
cupation, and the instances adduced, aside from
the history of the aborigines in their relations
with the whites, are of considerable interest.
In 1862 two copper axes, with four of jasper,
were found at Rockville Centre, three feet below
the surface. They were surrounded by spear

heads of flint, set upright iii .a circle. The cop
per axes were evidently of native copper, and
wrought into form by hammering. One of these,
in possession of the Long Island Historical So
ciety, is seven inches long by four and one-half
broad. These relics are rude in pattern and the
deep corrosion of their surface indicates that
they are of considerable antiquity. These axes
were presumably from the copper-bearing re
gions of the upper lakes, and upon this hy
pothesis it is reasonable to conclude that the
Long Island Indians were in intercourse with
those of the copper region.
There is nothing to lead us to believe that
the Indians of Long Island knew anything of
the working of copper. They were workers of
stone, but not of metals. Stone axes, clubs and
spear and arrow heads were found at an early
date throughout the island. All these are of the
same material as composes the rocks of Long
Island, and include flint, quartz, jasper, compact

HEMPSTEAD.

83

sandstone and slaty rock pestles, mortars, whet-
Stones .and pottery, but not as frequently as one
would expect from the density of the Indian
population. A large whetstone or milling stone
of silicious slaty rock was found at Rockaway,
and a well-formed skull was taken from an In
dian grave in Rockaway. It -was found enclosed
in a round urn-shaped vessel, the skeleton being
upright and the vessel turned over tbe head;
on the outside it is rudely worked or carved.
The entire skull and about half of the urn were
preserved. The origin of the name of the old town of
Hempstead has long been held in doubt. Thomp
son derived it from the English town of the
same name, and this is presumably correct, when
we remember that the early settlers were Eng
lishmen. But the name has also appeared in
an antiquated Dutch form, tbat of Heemstede,
which in form and -meaning is akin to- tbe Eng
lish Homestead. In the early days the people
of the northern and southern divisions were prac
tically two communities, who together cut grass
upon the south meadows and until as late as
1815. After the division, litigation began (in
1797) between the two towns with relation to
grass cutting rights, which wals only finally set
tled in December, 1828, with such victory as
there was to Hempstead. It was at best a mis
erably petty dispute, and, like most of the bound
ary dispute's which were so frequent in the early
history of the various Long Island towns, seems
to us to have been silly enough. Empty land
was all about them, yet they wrangled for years
over a field or two, as if there were not' room
enough for their insignificant population — the
epithet relating to -their numbers, of course. In
1830 Hempstead disposed of all its public lands
by auction, a consummation that added greatly
to the internal peace of the settlements. Down
to 1784 the history of the two towns — Hemp
stead and North Hempsteaid — must be consid
ered as one topic which relates to both. After
the division this story follows the fortunes of
the southern division, that section which now
bearis the plain title of Hempstead.

While much is doubtful as to the early his
tory of Hempstead, two things seem certain. It
was a theocratic colony, like Southold, and it was
peopled by a congregation, or part of a congre
gation, from Stamford, Connecticut, most of
them being natives of England. One of the first
things they set up was a building for public wor
ship, as already told in this work. But the
town had a civil history as well. Among the
early settlers who came after arrangements for
tlieir reception had been completed by Robert
Fordham- and John Carman, were Richard Gild
ersleeve, Edward Raynor, Thurston Raynor,
William Raynor, the Rev. Richard Denton, Mat
thew Mitchell, John Underhill, Robert Coe, An
drew Ward, Jonas Wood, John Ogden and Rob
ert Jackson. Most of these people, if not all
of them, were possessed of more or less means,
and several had been prominent in public life in
Connecticut, such as Richard Gildersleeve,
Thurston Raynor, Robert Coe and others. The
patent was obtained from Governor Kieft in
1644, which may be accepted as the legal date
of the foundation of the township, although an
tiquaries place it a year earlier, when Fordham
and Car-man had bought the township from the
Indian's. Whatever may have been the nature of
that transaction, it was confirmed on July 4,
1647, when the Indians of Hempstead, repre
sented by the sachems Takapousha and Wantagh,
with seven other head men of their tribe made an
agreement as follows :
July the 4th, 1647. Stilo Novo.
Know all men by these Presents, that We,
the Indians of Marsapege, Mericock, and Rock
away, whose Names be underwritten, for our
selves, and all the rest of the Indians that doe
Claime any Right or Interest in the Purchase
that hempsteed bought in the year 1643. And
within the bounds and limits of the Whole tract
of Land, Concluded upon with the governor of
Manbatans as it is in this paper Specified, Doe,
by thse p'rsents, Ratifie and Confirme to them
and their heires forever, freely, firmly, quiettly
and Peaceably, for them and their heires and
success'rs for Ever to enjoye without any Mo-
lestacon or trouble from us, or any that shall pre
tend Any Game or title unto itt.

84

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

In Witness whereof Wee, whose names bee
here under written, have hereunto subscribed.
The Marke of Takaposha.
The Sachem of Marsapeague.
The Marke of Wantagh.
The Montake Sachem.
The Marke of Chegone.
The Marke of Romege.
The Marke of Wangwang.
The Marke of Rumasackromen.
The Marke of  .
The Marke of Woronmcacking.
In the presence of us,
¦Richard Gildersleeve.
John Seaman.
John Hicks.
Vera copia concordans cum- originalis
scripsit, per me, John James, clerk.
According to Charles B. Moore ("Early His
tory of Hempstead") the following named were
residents of the town in the year in which this
above described deed was executed:
Robert Ashman, Thomas Armitage, Sam
uel Baccus. John Carman; Samuel Clark, Ben
jamin and John Coe and their father, Robert,
Rev. IRichard Denton and his sons, Samuel,
Richard, Nathaniel and Daniel (the historian),
John Ellison, John Foucks, Rev. Robert Ford
ham and son John, Christopher Foster, Thom
as Foster, Richard Guildersleeve, John Hicks,
John Hudd, Henry Hudson, Thomas Ireland,
Robert Jackson, John Lawrence, William Law
rence, John Lewis, Richard Lewis, Roger
Lines, John Ogden, Richard Ogden, Henry
Pierson, Thomas Pope, Edward Raynor, Will
iam Raynor, William Rogers, Joseph Scott,
William Scott, Simon Sering, John Sewell,
William Shadden, Thomas Sherman, Abraham
Smith, James Smith, John Smith, sen, and John
Smith jr., William Smith, Thomas Stephenson,
John Storye, John Strickland, Samuel Strick
land, Nicholas Tanner, John Topping, William
Thickstone, Richard Valentine, William Wash-
burne, Daniel Whitehead, Henry Whitson,
Thomas Willett, Robert Williams, William
Williams, Edmund Wood, Jeremiah Wood, Jo
nas Wood, Francis Yates.
While out of the chronological order, a final
disposition of the land buying affair of 1643 maY
be here made by stating that the last install

ment of the purchase money (or whatever else
it was) was paid February 14, 1660, when the
Indian chiefs executed to the Rev. John Ford
ham and John Carman, who represented the set
tlers, the following curiou'sly written release,
Which presumably covers tbe same tracts as were
described -in Governor Kieft's grant in 1644:
We the Indians under written do hereby
acknowledge to have received of the magis
trates and inhabitants of Hemsteede our pay-
in full satisfaction for the tract of land sould
unto them according to agreement and accord
ing to patent and purchase. The general
boundes is as followeth : beginning at a place
called Mattagarrett's Bay, and soe running up
on a direct line north and south, from sea to
sea; the bounds running from Hempsteede
Harbour due east to a pointe of treese adjoin
ing to the lande of Robert Williams, where we
left' markt treese ; the same line running from
sea to sea ; the other line beginning at a markt
tree standing at the east end of the greate
plaine and running a due south line, at the
south sea by a markt tree in a neck called
Maskachoung. And wee doe further engage
to uphold this our present act and all our form
er agreements to bee just and lawful ; and wee
doe binde ourselves to save and defend them
harmless from any manner of claime or pre
tense that shall be made to disturb theire right.
Whereunto we have subscribed this eleventh
day of May Anno 1658, stilo novo.
Waautauch,Cheknow, Sayasstock,
Tackapousi-ia, Martom,
Pers-Roma.
Subscribed by Wacombound, Montauk sa
chem after the death of his father, this 14th day
of February 1660, being a general town meet
ing at Hemsteede. John James, clerk.
To return to the proper order of events,
it is to be remarked that Ithe white set
tlers got along remarkably well with the
aborigines upon whom they had intruded.
Indeed, we 'are not certain but they behaved a
great 'deal better than some Americans have
'since behaved, as witness some of our dealings
with foreigners coming to- our shores, with the

FIEMPSTEAD.

85

Indians of the far west during the century just
passed, and with others who might be named.
It is fair to presume that in larger measure such
unpleasantness as occurred had its origin in
misunderstandings, such as were inevitable in
that early contact of two widely differing peo
ples, each unknown to the other. At any rate,
there were several unpleasant occurrences in the
early relations, but it would seem to a less ex
tent than wals the case in most of the other set
tlements. A sort of treaty of peace governing
the relations of the two races was made, by a
conference with the colonists and the sachems and
head men of the Marsapeagues and other tribes
in interest, on March 12, 1656, at Hempstead.
It was then and there agreed that all injuries
"formerly passed" since the year 1645, "shall be
forgiven and forgotten ;" a house or fort was to
be built, and "to be furnished with Indian trade
and commodities ;" the inhabitants of Hem
steede, according to their patent, were' "to enjoy
their purchase without molestation from ye
sachem or his people, and the sachem will live
in peace with all ye English and Dutch within
this jurisdiction, and the governor doth promise
for himself .and all his people to live in peace
with ye sachem and all his people," and it was
finally provided that "in case an Indian do
wrong to a Christian in person or elstate, and
complaint be made to the sachem, he shall make
full satisfaction; likewise if a Dutchman or
Englishman shall wrong an Indian the governor
shall make satisfaction acording to -equity."
The original condition on which the first
patent was granted was that the people should
pay to the Council at New Amsterdam a tax
of one-tenth part of their farm produce ten years
after the first general peace with the Indians.
It would seem- that it was not until 1658 that the
people declared their readiness to contribute to
Stuyvesant'si treasury. In that year they im-
formed the Governor that they had "voted and
put upon denomination our former Magistrate,
Mr. Gildersleeve, and with him William Shod-
dan, Robert Forman and Henry Pearsall," all
of them known as "men of honest life and of

good integrity," as their magistrates. That this
choosing of officers was regarded as a most
solemn act, wholly different from the perfunc
tory methods of the present day, can not be
gainsaid after reading the humble prayer of the
petitioners :
After the remembrance of our submissive
and humble respects, it hath pleased God, aft
er a sickly and sad sommer, to give us a sea
sonable and comfortable autumne, wherewith
wee have beene (throw mercy) refreshed our
selves and have gained strength of God soe
that wee necessarily have been employed in
getting winter foode for our cattell, and there
by have something prolonged our wonted
tyme of chosing magestrates, for ye weh wee
hope yor honour will hold us excused ; and
now, accordinge to our accustomed manner,
wee have voted and put upon denomination
our former magestrate, Mr. Gildersleeve, and
with him William Shodden, Robert Forman
and Henry Pearsall ; all of whom are knowing
men of honest life and good integrity ; there
fore wee desire your honour to appoint two
of them, and always according to cur duty
shall pray the most high God to bless and pre
serve yor honour with much health and pros
perity, in all your noble designs, wee humbly
take our leave.
Ever honour sr., your Loyall, true and
obedient servants, the inhabitants of Hem
steede. John James, clerk.
Stuyvesant, invariably gracious to the Eng
lish settlements, at once confirmed the selection.
The same year Magistrate Gildersleeve was
authorized to go to New Amsterdam and ar
range about the payment of the taxes, provided
the Governor was reasonable in his views of
the matter, ate he seems to have been.
Tbe change brought about by the downfall
of the Dutch Government and the institution of
English authority seems to have been accepted
with equanimity by the Hempstead settlers. Gov
ernor Nicolls introduced among them a new
"industry," that of horse-racing, for which pur
pose the great Hempstead plain was iso well
adapted, and his lead in that regard was still
further developed by his successor, Governor
Lovelace, and Salisbury Plain, near the present

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

pleasant village of Hyde Park, became celebrated
on both sides of the Atlantic for its sporting
events. The sport still continues a favorite
one in Hempstead, although it has there lost
some of its vulgar and debalsing features, and,
as at Mineola, where is an exhibition of racing,
pure and simple.
The Duke's Laws were felt in Hempstead, as
elsewhere, to be oppressive and unjust, and it
can not be Isaid that when the Dutch regime
in 1673 was once more established in New Ams
terdam, the Hempstead people mourned over the
change. As soon as Governor Colve took hold
of the reins of power, he sent a letter of in
structions in which he really granted as full
a meais-ure of local self-government as was con:
ceivable in those days. Some of his instruc
tions (which were sent to the other Long Isl
and towns, and to which they equally refer)
were :
3. All cases relating to the Police, Securi
ty and Peace of the Inhabitants ; also to Justice.
between man and man, shall be finally deter
mined by the magistrates 'of each- of the afore
said Villages, to the amount of sixty florins,
Beaver, and thereunder without appeal : In
case the sum be larger the aggrieved party
may appeal to the meeting of the Sheriff and
Councillors delegated from the Villages sub
ject to his jurisdiction, for which purpose one
person shall be annually appointed from each
Village who shall assemble in the most con
venient place to be selected by them, and who
shall have power to pronounce final judgment
to the amount of fl. 240 Beavers and there
under. But in all cases exceeding that sum
each one shall be entitled to an appeal to the
Governour General and Council here.
4. In case of inequality of votes, the mi
nority shall submit to the majority; but those
who are of a contrary opinion may have it
recorded in the minutes but not divulge it
without the meeting on pain of arbitrary cor
rection. 5. Whenever any cases occur in the meet
ing in which any of the Magistrates are in
terested, such Magistrate shall, in that in
stance, rise and absent himself, as is herein
before stated.
6. All the Inhabitants of the abovenamed
Villages shall be citable before said Sheriff

and Schepens or their delegated Councillors
who shall hold their meetings and courts as
often as they shall consider requisite.
7. All criminal offences shall be referred
to the Governour General and Council, on
condition that the Sheriff he obliged to ap
prehend the offenders, to seize and detain them
& to convey them as prisoners under proper
safeguard to Chief Magistrate with good and
correct informations for or against the of
fenders. 8. Smaller offences, such as quarrels, abu
sive words, threats, fisticuffs and such like,
are left to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates
of each particular Village.
9. The Sheriff and Schepens shall have
power to conclude on some ordinances for the
welfare and peace of the Inhabitants of their
district, such as laying highways, setting off
lands and gardens, and in like manner what
appertains to agriculture, observance of the
Sabbath, erecting churches, school houses or
similar public works. Item, against fighting
& wrestling and such petty offences — provided
such ordinances are not contrary but as far as
is possible, conformable to the Laws of our
Fatherland and the Statutes of this Province ;
and therefore all orders of any importance
shall, before publication, be presented to the
Chief Magistrate and his approval thereof re
quested. With the return of the British power and
the advent of Governor Andros upon the scene,
the "Duke's Laws" were again enforced, even
more rigidly than before. Under Governor Don-
gan, the great charter monger, in 1685, much
against the will of the majority of its people,
the town was compelled to take out a new char
ter. It seems to have taken three years of ne
gotiations to perfect an instrument which was
thoroughly satisfactory to Hempstead, and prob
ably the gift which the people gave to Dongan
of a plantation of six hundred and fifty acres had
something to do with directing his mind in the
right direction on many mooted points of boun
dary, and im the annual tax of the township be
ing placed at twenty bushels, of good winter
Wheat or four pounds of good current money —
a reasonable enough impost.
From that time until the outbreak of the
Revolutionary struggle there is little to tell of the

HEMPSTEAD.

87

civil history of Hempstead. In 1775, when the
crisis with the mother country became acute,
Hempstead was pronouncedly against any
change in the relations between the crown and
the colonies, and a public meeting held on April
4th pledged renewed allegiance to King George
III and declined to send deputies to any pro
vincial congress or assembly. It seems, how
ever, to have changed its views so far as to
elect Thomas Hicks and Richard Thorne to rep
resent it in the provincial congress, but Flicks
refused to attend, saying that Hempstead wanted
to remain peaceable and quiet. Under the cir
cumstances we can understand its becoming a
favorite hunting ground for Tories in the days
immediately preceding the landing of the Brit
ish forces in 1776. Colonel Heard and the other
Continental raiders captured many stacks of
arms and stores of ammunition in Hempstead
and sent many of the local Tories into exile.
That, however, did not win the inhabitants over
to the side of tbe patriots, although, under
orders from the Whig leaderls-, it contributed sev
eral companies to the Queens county militia un
der Colonel John Sands.
But when that time came, when the British
were in possession of the island and Hempstead
was overrun with redcoats, the people found
small comfort in their Toryism. The soldiers
rode roughshod over Whig and Tory alike,
helped themselves to produce and provender
without stint, paid prices of their own choos
ing, burned up fences and barns for firewood, and
robbed orchards and farm buildings without
fear. But this story is told in another place.
The local history of the village of Hemp
stead is of peculiar interest, and particularly in
that of its religious bodies. "Christ's First
Church," which is held to have been the first
Presbyterian Church organized in America, has
been mentioned in the chapter 0111 religious his
tory in the previous volume.
On Sunday, October 14, 1894, Christ's First
Presbyterian Church of Hempstead, celebrated
its 250th anniversary. The historical address
was delivered bv the Rev. Frank Melville Kerr,

the pastor. From his discourse the following
narrative is principally derived.
If not founded by the Rev. Richard Denton,
he was certainly its first minister, serving from
the time of his coming, in 1644, until 1659, when
he returned to England, where he died three
years later, at the age of seventy-six years.
Mr. Denton was a Presbyterian minister of
Coby Chapel, Parish of Halifax, England, "a
good minister of Jesus Christ and affluent in his
worldly circumstances. In his time came out
the book for sports cn- the Sabbath days. He
saw he could not do what was required,' feared
further persecution and therefore took the op
portunity of going into New England."
This "Book of Sports" was the cause for
a considerable exodus from England. In- 1618 a
royal proclamation was drawn up. by Bishop
Morton for James I, which was called "The-
Book of Sports." The object of this proclama
tion was to encourage the -people who had at
tended divine service to spend the remaining part
of the day in such "lawful sports" as dancing,
archen-, leaping, vaulting, May games, Whit-
sun ales, Morris dances, setting of May polels-,
etc. This royal document was aimed at the
Puritans. To carry his plan to completion the
king ordered this "Book of Sports" to be read in
every church in the kingdom. Many of the
dissenting ministers refused to do this, prefer
ring the wrath of the king and bishops to the
violation of conscientious scruples, and some,
like Denton, left the kingdom.
Mr. Denton labored first at Watertown, Mas
sachusetts-, but in 1635, on account of opposition
to his Presbyterianism by the Congregationalists
'of Massachusetts, he started a new settlement
in Connecticut, and gave it the name Weathers-
field. In 1641 he became the owner of valuable
real estate in Stamford, Connecticut, then in the
jurisdiction of New Haven, and, after his re
moval to Hempstead in 1644, he sold bis place to
the Rev. John Bishop, his successor in work at
Stamford. The first church building was completed in
1648. It stood at the northwestern part of the

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

town, near Buriey Pond, now the northwest cor
ner of Fulton and Franklin streets. The build
ing was twenty- four feet square, and had con
nected with it a fort or stockade, for protection
in case the Indians manifested any hostility. The
building was also used for town meeting and
other public purposes, and, after a time, it
was given over entirely to the latter uses. In
1770 it was sold and removed to North Hemp
stead. "At A Jeneral townd meeting held in Hemp
stead the 7th day of Janeuary in the yere of our
Lord 1677 it was agreed on by the major vote
that they should bild a meeting house." This
house, as afterward agreed upon by a town
meeting, was thirty feet long, twenty-four wide
and twelve high, with a lean-to on each side. The
building was completed in 1679 and stood a few
rods south of the present position of the Epis
copal church. This building, whidh was en
larged in 1770, was roofed with cedar shingles,
had clapboard sides, and the interior was lined
with pine. For seats there were benches. A
parsonage was built in 1682, and was used for
about one hundred years.
After the departure of Mr. Denton, the
church sent Joseph Meade "on a voyage from
Stamford to Fairfield, about procuring a min
ister," and allowed him the munificent sum of
nine shillings for expenses. Mr. Meade's jour
ney and outlay were, however, in vain. In 1660
the church secured the Rev. Jonas Fordham,
who remained for some years, and met with
such favor in the eyes of his parishioners that
the town voted to him allotments the same as
made to other inhabitants, and, in addition, gave
him a three-hundred-acre estate.
Jeremiah Hobart became pastor in 1683, and
was allowed, so long as he served as pastor, a
house and three-acre lot, fifty acres of woodland
and pasturage privileges for his cattle. He
was also to be paid the same salary as was paid
to his predecessor, £20, but the amount was not
easily -obtainable, and in 1696 he appealed to
the law to make payment a certainty. It would
appear, reading between the lineSj that non-pay
ment was, in the case of some of the subscribers,

due to dissatisfaction; Quakers, and probably
others, resenting the idea of contributing to the
maintenance of a religion with- which they were
not in sympathy. In 1696 Mr. Hobart removed
to Jamaica, where he preached for a time, then
going to Haddam, Connecticut, where he min
istered for seventeen years. He must have been
a man of wonderful vitality, for he was eighty- m
seven years of age when he died, expiring on a
Sunday afternoon, shortly after preaching a
powerful discourse.
It would appear that about this time the
church property came into possession of those
who favored the Church of England, and con
ducted worship after its manner. The Presby
terian congregation (as it is regarded to have
been) lost a large part of its membership, but
those who held to the faith assembled for worship
in various houses in the village until about 1722,
when they built another church edifice, near the
site of the original one. In 1762 a fourth house
of worship was erected, and this, as nearly as can
be ascertained, stood upon- the site of the present
edifice. In 1772 the Rev. Joshua Hart became the
settled minister. He came in troublous times,
and his disquietude was increased on account of
his unswerving patriotism, his utterances being
frequently against those of the people who were
not pronounced against British arrogance. It is
related of Mr. Hart that, while holding serv
ices some little distance from the village, short
ly after the breaking out of the Revolutionary
war, a British captain stationed a band in front
of the building in order to interrupt the min
ister. Mr. Hart asked his congregation to re
main seated and listen to the music, and, after
the band had gone away, he resumed and com
pleted his discourse.
The village church was greatly injured dur
ing the British occupation, being used by the
soldiers as a stable. After peace was restored,
it was repaired, and, when it came to be re
opened, for the first time in eight years, the
people were so affected that they set to work
to build another edifice. This was totally de
stroyed by fire, in March, 1803. A new build-

81. aiOBWS «WE©H8 HXHDPfiiaAB, L. I.
Built, 1733. Opened, April 22, 1735, by Gov. Cosby,
Taken Down, 1821. New Edifice Erected, 1822.

HEMPSTEAD.

ing was erected, which was used until 1846, when.
the present house of worship was built, at a
cost of $7,000, under the pastorate of the Rev.
Sylvester Woodbridge, Jr. The old church was
reconstructed as a parsonage at an expense of
something more than $2,000. The present
church membership is about 300, and the Sun
day-school has a like membership. A chapel was
erected in 1855. In 1891 about $2,500 was ex
pended in an extension to the church building,
and in the purchase and placing of a fine organ.
In answer to the averment by some that the
Hempstead church has not had a continuous ex
istence, Mr. Kerr said, in his historical address
on the anniversary occasion heretofore referred
to, speaking of the period during which the
Church of England people were in possession :
But that does not necessarily mean that the
church lost its existence. They 'were poor,
few and confronted by a strong and eloquent
Episcopal ministry ; and had to get what sup
plies they could. That they kept together at
all and managed to perpetuate the name and
histories of the church, indeed, is a miracle.
At the present time Ave do not say that a church
ceases to exist because there is no pastor or
church had ever been reorganized, but on tbe
has perished in the flames; but the congrega
tion has not ceased to exist, and will not, un
til they agree to disband and go as they indi
vidually -desire. Woodbridge, in a letter writ
ten from San Francisco, September 9, 1876, to
Rev. Franklin 'Noble, then pastor, says that
he could not learn from any of the old people
of his day, whose memory went back to a per
iod preceding the Revolutionary war,- that this
church had ever been reorganized, but on the
contrary had always been here.
The subjoined list of pastors and supplies,
which has been prepared after careful search,
shows that there was little time when the church
was without the ministrations of the Gospel. The
list is as follows :
Richard Denton, i644-'59 ; Jonas Fordham,
1659-1681; Jeremiah Hobart, 1682-1696; Jo
seph Lamb, 1717-1725; Benjamin Woosey,
1736-1756; Abraham Kettletas, 1 760-1765,
stated supply; Hotchkiss, 1770-71, supply;
Joshua Hart, 1772-76, supply; and again

1787-90, supply; Samuel Sturges, 1791-3, supply;
Davenport, i794-'y8, supply; Joshua Hart,
again, 1798-1803, supply; William P. Kupors,
i8o5-'n, pastor; Josiah Andrews, i8i2-'i6, sup
ply; Samuel Robertson, i8i6-'i8, supply;
Charles Webster, March '16, i8i8-'37, pastor;
Sylvester Woodbridge, February, i838-'49, pas
tor; Charles AI. Shields, i849-'50, pastor; N.
C. Locke, i850-'6o, pastor ; J. J. A. Morgan,
i86o-'67, pastor; James B. Finch, i867-'75, pas
tor; Franklin Noble, i875-'8o, pastor; F E.
Hopkins, i88i-'82, supply; F E. Hopkins,
1882-84, pastor; Charles E. Dunn, July 21.
1884-88; John A. Davis, January, 1890-Septem-
ber '93 ; and Frank Melville Kerr, April 25th,
1894, present pastor.
St. George's Church, Protestant Episcopal,
not as ancient as the church before written of,
is fully as interesting to the antiquarian. In
1702 the Rev. George Keith and others pro
cured, through the Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, of London, the
appointment of the Rev. John Thomas, of Phila
delphia, as a missioner to Hempstead. He came,
armed with a letter or commission from Gov
ernor Cornbury, but, although there were influ
ential people to greet him, he had difficulty in
organizing a parish, on account of the small
number of English speaking residents, the
Dutch largely predominating. Air. Thomas held
services in a building which was also used for
town purposes, and made his abode in another
house, also belonging to- the town. He had
strong prejudices to overcome, and was obliged
to submit at times to disrespect, but he was of a
kindly disposition, and he finally won his way
into the regard of the people. He served in
the ministry for a period of twenty years and
until his death. He was grandfather of Alajor-
General Thomas Thomas, of tbe Continental
army. Two years after the death of Mr. Thomas,
his place was supplied by the Rev. Robert Jen-
ney, who proved to be a worthy successor. He
obtained from the town a grant of the church
building and residence, and this transfer was
confirmed to the parish by a charter from the
crown in 1735. The title of this ran to "The In
habitants of Hempstead in Communion with the

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Church of England," and this fonm has been
retained to the present time. This fact remains
unique in the. history of religious bodies, inas
much as most (probably all) others obtained a
change of charter when the American govern
ment was firmly established. Under Mr. Jenney
a new house of worship was erected, and it was
opened on St. George's Day, April 22, 1735,
with imposing ceremonies and the attendance of
tbe militia of the county, and the presence
of (jovernor Cosby and many of the principal
men of the province. After a rectorate of sev
enteen years Mr. Jenney removed to Philadel
phia to become rector of Christ Church, and
v/as succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Seabury.
Mr. Seabury was a descendant of John Alden,
of Puritan memory. He had left Yale College,
dissatisfied with the defection of its president
and other leading men to Episcopalianism, but
he afterward experienced a change and was or
dained by the Bishop olf London. He was for
a time minister at New London, Connecticut,
whence he came to Hempstead. Mr. Seabury
officiated also at Oyster Bay and in other vil
lages, some of them twenty miles apart. After
a time he was obliged, in order to maintain him
self, to open a classical school, and in this were
educated some who became distinguished men.
Mr. Seabury died in 1764, after a pastorate of
thirty-eight years. When he came to Flemp
stead, his son Samuel was a boy thirteen years
of age, and this lad was be who became the
first bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church
in the United States. JSishop Seabury's mitre,
it will not be amiss to note in passing, is pre
served in the library of Trinity College, at Hart
ford, Connecticut, and it was this emblem of
ecclesiastical authority, borne by one who had
been a Flempstead lad, which inspired Bishop
Coxe to write his verses on "The First Mitre of
the West:" "This mitre with its crown of thorn,
Its cross upon the front,
Not for a proud adorning worn,
But for the battle's brunt.
Type of the Lord's commission given
To this our western shore,
The rod of Christ — the key of heaven
Through one lo thousands more : —
*******

" 'Tis belter than a diadem,
The crown that Bishop wore,
Whose hand the rod of David's stem
The further westward bore."
Two years after the death of Mr. Seabury,
came to the rectorate the Rev. Leonard Cutting,
the progenitor of the family of that name in the
State of New York. He was of English birth,
was a graduate of Cambridge, came to Amer
ica and became a classical tutor in Kings (now
Columbia j College, New York, lie was or
dained in 1763 by the Bishop of London, and
in 1764 went as a missionary to New Bruns
wick, New Jersey. Two years later he came
to Flempstead. Ilis career was peaceful, pleas
ant and useful until the outbreak of the Revolu
tionary war. A Tory himself, and with a congre
gation most of whom entertained similar views
with himself, he did not escape annoyance at
the hands of the British, and even his church
was desecrated. When the independence of the
colonies was established, bis embarrassments be
came so annoying that he left bis parish with
out the formality of resignation, and went to
Maryland. He subsequently returned to New
York City, where he died.
The Rev. Thomas Lambert Moore was called
to the vacant rectorate about the time of the
restoration of peace, lie had been ordained in
England, bad served as chaplain on board a
British man-of-war, and on coming to America
was engaged as- a missionary at Islip, Suffolk
county, whence he was called to 1 lampion. Here
his service was particularly useful, lie was
one of the thirteen persons who took the initia
tive for the institution of the Protestant Episco
pal Church in the United States, the change be
ing necessary on account of tlie new political
conditions which had separated America from
the Church of England. For his service pur
poses he continued to use the old desk prayer-
book, which, with a silver comimunion set, had
been presented to the church by Queen Anne,
in 171 1, but he adapted it to the necessities of
the times by writing out and pasting in prayers
for the President and the Congress of the Uni
ted States in place of those for the Monarch and
the Parliament.

HEMPSTEAD.

91

In this church, in 1785, the first ordina
tion in the Protestant Episcopal Church of the
United States took place, when John Lowe was
admitted to holy orders. Lowe was a native of
Scotland, a man of many fine qualities, and, hav
ing received a university training, was for a time
employed as tutor in the family of a wealthy
landed proprietor in Galloway, not far from the
English border. He fell in love with one of the
young ladies of the family, and it is said she
reciprocated his affection, but somehow the in
tended marriage never took place. While the
billing and cooing was going on, one of the
sisters of the young lady dreamed that she saw
her sweetheart, a ship surgeon, and that the
wraith had told her that the ship with all cn
board had gone down, and urged her not to weep
for him, as she would soon join him in the other
world. After many months it was learned that
the lover had actually been drowned at sea. On
hearing the dream related, Lowe went to his
room and wrote the following pathetic lines :
'"The moon had climbed the highest hill
Which rises o'er the source of Dee,
And from the eastern summit shed
Her silver light o'er tower and tree ,
When Mary laid her down to sleep,
Her thoughts on Sandy far at sea;
When, soft and low, a voice was heard,
Saying, Man-, weep no more for me !'
'She from her pillow gently raised
Her head, to ask who there might be,
And saw young Sandy shivering stand,
With visage pale and hollow e'e;
"O Alary, dear! cold is my clay —
Jt lies beneath a stormy sea;
Far. far from thee I sleep in death —
So, Alary, weep no more for me!
¦'• Three stormy nights and stormy days
We tossed upon the raging main,
And long we strove our bark to save,
But all our striving was in vain.
Even then, when horror chilled my blocd,
Aly heart was filled with love for thee;
The storm is past, and I at rest,
5o. Alary, weep no more for me!
" 'Oh, maiden dear, thyself prepare,
We soon shall meet upon that shore
Where love is free from doubt and care,
And thou and I shall part no more.'
Loud crowed the cock, the shadow fled,
Xo more of Sandy could she see;
But soft the passing spirit said,
Sweet Alary, weep no more for me!'"

This song, the only piece of poetry Lowe
wrote that is worth reading, has won for him an
honored place among the minor poets of his
native land. When his love passage ended,
Lowe came to this country and studied for holy
orders, which resulted in his ordination in St.
George's Church. He afterward went to Vir
ginia, made an unfortunate marriage, fell into
dissipated habits, and died at Fredericksburg in
1798. In 1799. Mr. Moore passed away, and was
succeeded by the Rev. J. H. Hobart, who re
mained but a short time, being called to a posi
tion with- Trinity Church, New York City, from
which he was elevated to the bishcpric. His
successor, the Rev. Seth Hart, a native of Con
necticut, occupied the rectorate for a period of
more than twenty-eight years, during which
time the old church edifice was (in 1823) re
placed by a new one. After him, the church was
favored with the ministry of a line of talented
divines ; several of them became prominent in
the affairs of the church at large.
It is to be noted that from this old St.
George's Church sprang Christ Church, Man
hasset; Christ Church, Oyster Bay; Grace
Church, South Oyster Bay; St. Paul's Church,
Glen Cove : Trinity Church, Rockaway ; Trinity
Church, Roslyn, and the Garden City Cathedral,
all of these being contained within the territory
which was designated in 1693 as the Parish of
St. George.
The Methodist Episcopal Church had its re
mote beginning in the ministrations of the Rev.
John Wilson, a preacher on the Jamaica cir
cuit. He came into Hempstead one Sunday
morning in 1800, immediately after the close of
the Episcopal services, and, mounting a wagon,
he sang a hymn and then delivered a fervent
exhortation. It does not appear that he made
any attempt to organize a congregation. Dur
ing the succeeding twelve years occasional serv
ices were held by preachers of the Jamaica cir
cuit — Thomas Ware, David Buck, "Billy" Hib-
bard and others. In 1812 William Thatcher was
appointed -to the circuit, and he held sendees
once a month. He died at the age of eighty-

92

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

nine years, after devoting sixty years of his life
to the work of the ministry. In 1816 a house
was rented for meeting purposes, and in the fol
lowing year a school building was purchased
and fitted with pews and a pulpit. In 1820 a
church building was erected on the site of the
present edifice, at a cost of $1,500, and the dedi
cation took place December 31, 1822. Trustees
• were elected the same year — James Cooper,
Isaac Wright, Stephen H. Skidmore, Richard
Carman and Stephen C. Bedell. This work was
accomplished during the ministry of Samuel
Coohran, who labored as a preacher and pastor
through a term- of thirty-eight years. In 1834
a lot was purchased and a parsonage erected at a
cost of $1,400. In the next year $1,700 was ex
pended in enlarging the church. Instrumental
music was introduced in 1852, and in 1872 Mr.
P. J. A. Harper presented to the church an ex
cellent organ. In 1866 was celebrated the cen
tennial of Methodism in America, and the fiftieth
anniversary of the Hempstead Church, upon
which occasion $10,000 was subscribed for cen
tenary and church extension purposes, and out
of this amount was built the Sunday-school edi
fice, at a cost of nearly $7,000. In 1854 a new
church building was erected at a cost of $14,651,
and in 1856 a parsonage costing nearly $4,000
was built. Various important improvements
have since been made.
Various interesting reminiscences pertaining
to the village are narrated on other pages of
this work — in the Chapter on Revolutionary his
tory and others. Here it may be stated that
after the war President George Washington
stopped for some days at the ancient Sammis
tavern. This ancient hostelry was first opened
by Nehemiah Sammis, son of the first Sammis
who came from England in 1650. Seven genera
tions of the Sammis family were here born, and
it is still in the possession of one of its members.
Morton Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M.,was chartered
June 23. 1797. The first officers were David R.
F. Jones, Master; Jacob S. Jackson, Senior
Warden; and Thomas Carman, Junior Warden.
The Lodge preserves a Bible, which was saved
when the lodge room was burned about 1832,

in which is inscribed the following: "Presented
to the Worshipful Master, Wardens and Breth
ren of Morton Lodge, No. 63, by their affection
ate brother, Jacob Morton, Deputy Grand Master
of Masons of the State of New York, Jan. 8,
1798." The first newspaper printed in the vil
lage was "The Schoolmaster," in 1850, by Tim
othy Clowes, but it did not long endure.
With the beginning of the past century, the
village of Hempstead commenced slowly to
grow, for it became noted as a place of summer
residence, and many people from New York
began spending a season there, and, as a result,
quite a number of attractive homes were added
to it year after year. Communication with
Brooklyn was maintained by means of stages,
and, until the advent of the railroad, Hempstead
had a regular service of three stages in each
week. The streets are lined with trees, and are
well and cleanly kept, and, down to the pres
ent day, when it is credited with a population of
nearly 4,000, the town retains many of the rural
features which made it so attractive in the
past, and which half a century ago enabled it
to start upon its modern era of prosperity. It
is a residential town, its manufactures amount
ing to little in a business way, and it depends
to a great extent on the trade which conies to
it from the needs of the villa residents and its
summer population. It has all modern improve
ments in the way of gas, electricity, macadamized
roads and social features of the highest class.
Near it the Meadow Brook Farm and Kennel
Clubs have their headquarters, and attract to it
year after year many hundreds of people repre
sentative of what are called the foremost classes'
in the aristocratic circles of New York City.
On the outbreak of the late war with Spain,
Flempstead came prominently before the people
of the State, for near to the north of it was lo
cated Camp Black, where for many .months sev
eral thousand volunteers were housed and drilled
in readiness to be sent to the front or into other
active service according to the requirements of the
War Department. Had the war lasted any length
of time, there is no doubt that Camp Black would
have been retained as a military depot, but the

FIEMPSTEAD.

93

rapid victories of the American forces on land
and sea brought hostilities to a more speedy
conclusion than had been anticipated, and the
camp was abandoned and has since been "a
waste of furze and brush."
In point of historic antiquity the settlement in
the township which dates closest to that of Hemp
stead village is that of Jerusalem, now a hamlet
which has lost all its former prestige and pre
eminence, and has apparently been forgotten. It
is on the border line of Oyster Bay township,
the creek known as Jerusalem river separating it
from that territory. When the exodus from
Stamford, Connecticut, which peopled Hemp
stead, took place, in 1644, two of the immigrants,
Captain John Seaman and Robert Jackson, pur
chased on their own account 1,500 acres of land
from the Indians and settled upon it with their
families. Their houses, as usual, were placed
almost side by side, and after a time the dwell
ings of -their children (Captain Seaman had eight
sons and eight daughters, it is said, while Jack
son had two sons and two daughters) made up
quite a village a few hundred feet east of the
Jerusalem river. Additions to the real estate
holdings were made from time to time, until the
village territory included some 6,000 acres — some
of it the most fertile land on Long Island.
Captain John Seaman came from England
about the year 1635. Not much is known of
his early life. The family from which he came
claimed descent from Danish stock which set
tled in England after the defeat of the Danes
by King Alfred. Their Danish origin seems to
find confirmation in the old family coat-of-arms
¦ — the sea-horse as a crest, and the motto "We
make our name known by our deeds" — which
is similar in nature to those borne by others of
that seafaring people. But the achievements
of Captain Seaman were worthy of any ancestry,
or would ennoble him were he ancestorless. Fie
was a man of masterly ability, and he conducted
himself as a true colony founder and leader
should, exercising a paternal care for his peo
ple. It would appear that a very large part
of his time during more than a third of a cen
tury was given to conducting the affairs of the

Flempstead colony, a task- abounding in diffi
culties and requiring constant watchfulness and
rare sagacity. As one of the largest land pro
prietors in the town, through his -purchase from
the Indians, he was well known to Governors
Kieft, Nicolls and Dongan, each of whom ex
ecuted patents to him or confirmed patents, and
he was almost constantly employed in some pub
lic capacity, occupying positions of trust and ex
ecuting missions between the royal authorities
and the people, and between them and the In
dians. His eminent fitness for the latter task
was abundantly demonstrated on many occasions.
His strong sense of justice and fair-dealing
found no limitation ; he was invariably as fair to
the untutored savage as he was to those of his
own race, and the Indians never once accused
him of wronging them, and held him in regard
as a friend, where, in so- many instances, the
white man had oppressed and mistreated them.
Upon one occasion, when the Indians, exasper
ated by some wrong done them by some of the
colonists, had planned a geneial massacre of
the whites, one of their number gave warning
to Captain Seaman, and the calamity was
averted. So largely occupied as he was in- colony af
fairs, Captain Seaman had little time to give
to his plantation, and he committed its care to
four of his sons, and, with the two others, re
moved to the village of Hempstead. In 1694,
when his will was executed, he appears to
have been living on what he calls "the
home lot, adjoining the land of James
Pine." His descendants are legion, num
bering more than two thousand in the United
States and Canada, and many of them have held
positions on the bench, in the learned profes
sions, and in the civil and military service. To
trace the family through its multitudinous rami
fications were a vast task in itself, and the men
tion must be brief.
From Jonathan, son of Captain Seaman, de
scended a goodly company : Isaac, an officer in
the colonial forces, who served under Wolfe at
the capture of Quebec ; Zebulon,. a very promi
nent member of the colonial legislature for many

94

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

years ; Zebulon's son Zebulon, a lieutenant of
the Jerusalem militia, who joined the patriot
army at the outbreak of the Revolution ; the first
Zebulon's second son, John AV., who- commanded
the Oyster Bay militia and also served through
out the Revolutionary war, and was afterwards
for many years surrogate of Queens county ;
and the grandson of John W., John A. Searing,
who was a congressman from the First New
York District. Benjamin, the third son
of Captain Seaman, was the ancestor of
Benjamin, who was chairm|an of the New
York committee of correspondence in the
early Revolutionary days, and whose re
port "that all attempts of single States must
prove futile; that the efforts and organization
should be made continental," presumably gave
origin to the title "Continental Congress." From
him was also descended Henry I., of Staten Isl
and, who- became a congressman from the First
New York District. From other sons of Cap
tain Seaman, Jonathan and Richard, descended
Jordan Seaman, an unflinching patriot during
the Revolutionary period, who- was afterwards
a judge of Queens county, and became the father
of Henry Onderdonk Seaman, who- was for
many years a justice of Hempstead, a county
judge, a member of the assembly, and held other
important offices.. From Thomas, sixth son of
Captain Seaman, descended James M. Seaman,
of Ridgewood, who was for many years a jus
tice of the peace for Hempstead, and subse
quently became an associate justice upon the su
preme bench.
The daughters of Captain John Seaman were
also the -ancestors of many notable men. Eliza
beth became the wife of John Jackson, son of
Robert Jackson, Captain Seaman's fellow pro
prietor. From this pair descended the greater
number of the Jacksons of Long Ilsland and
New York, and the numerous descendants of
William and Phcebe Jones, of West Neck, Oyster
Bay. Of these were Samuel Jones, who became
an eminent jurist, and his sons Chancellor Sam
uel, Judge David S., Major William and vari
ous of their descendants — a long line of dis
tinguished men who held high public and social

positions for more than a hundred years. Sarah,
another daughter of Captain Seaman, married
a Mott, and from this union descended numer
ous men of high character and some of notable
ability. Another daughter of Captain Seaman,
Martha, became the wife of Nathaniel Pearsall,
and from them sprang an excellent family, of
which General James B. Pearsall of a recent gen
eration was a conspicuous representative. De
borah, another daughter of Captain Seaman,
married a Kirk, and from them was directly de
scended Benjamin C. Kirk, of Glen Cove. Han
nah and another daughter of Captain Seaman
became the wives of the Carman brothers, Caleb
and Joshua, and numerous respected and useful
descendants came of these marriages. Mary, yet
another daughter of Captain Seaman, became
the wife of Thomas Pearsall, and from them
descended Gilbert Pearsall, late of Flushing.
Of the grandsons of Captain Seaman, John
remained in Flempstead ; Joseph founded a nu
merous family at Little Egg Harbor, New Jer
sey; of Jonathan's descendants, mpny settled
along the Hudson river and thence dispersed
into Virginia, while others were the progenitors
of the Jericho, Jamaica and New York branches
of the family. The elder branch of Benjamin's
family settled on Staten Island, and the others
remained at Jerusalem. Solomon's sons settled
near the village of Hempstead, except two who
went to Maryland. The greater number of
Samuel's descendants settled in Suffolk county,
Long Island, and in 1800 the most of Thomas'
descendants were residing about Jerusalem. Of
Nathaniel's descendants, one branch remained at
Hempstead, and another settled at Westbury.
The children of Richard settled near Success,
Hempstead Harbor and Jericho, in Oyster Bay.
The farm known as Cherrywood was the
first seat of Captain Seaman, and here was build
ed his first home. It descended from him to his
sixth son, Thomas, and from him to his eldest
son, John, to his third son, Thomas, and from
him to his son-in-law, Zebulon Seaman, and
daughter, Mary ; from them to their son, Ardon,
and from him to his son, Edward H. Seaman.
Upon this old homestead stood what had been

HEMPSTEAD.

95

known through many successive generations as
"the old apple tree." It bore fruit as late as
1870, when it had become so badly decayed that it
was cut down. It was then known to be two
hundred and eight years old. The* venerable
old tree was removed by Albert W. Seaman, of
New York City, a son of Edward H. Seaman,
the then owner, and a portion of the wood taken
from it was made into a beautiful frame which
now encloses a copy of John Durand's fine en
graving of William Cullen Bryant, with a stanza
from his poem "Planting the Apple Tree," and
an autograph of the genial poet, with the date,
April, 1872.
The Seaman family, in the earlier generations
of those remaining at home, were in greater
number buried on the farms belonging to the
descendants of Benjamin and Thomas. These
primitive cemetery spots long ago passed into
the hands of strangers, and nearly every vestige
of the graves of long ago have been obliterated
for many years.
Of Robert Jackson, who was Captain Sea
man's associate at the founding of. the Flemp
stead colony, very little is known. He was one
of the original settlers at Stamford, Connecticut,
in 1640-41, and the records preserved by his de
scendants set forth: " A portion of the settlers
of Stamford, becoming dissatisfied, sent a com
mittee over to Long Island in 1643, who suc
ceeded in making a purchase of the Indians ; and
in April, 1644, the company crossed the sound
to Hempstead Harbor, and began the settlement
on the present site of Hempstead village. Rob
ert Jackson and his wife were of this -company."
Robert Jackson was for many years active
in community affairs. His will, dated May
26, 1683, mentions his sons John and Samuel,
and his daughters Sarah and Martha, who, re
spectively, became the wives of Nathaniel Moore
and Nathaniel Coles. 'His son John, who was
also a patentee of the town under Governors
Kieft and Dongan, was a man of great promi
nence. He was high sheriff of Queens county
from 1 691 to 1695; a member of the assembly _
from 1693 to 1709 and from 1710 to 1716; jus
tice of the peace in 1707; a -county judge from

1710 to 1723, and occupied other positions until
his death in 1725. In 1685 he married Elizabeth,
the eldest daughter of Captain Seaman. From
them descended their son John, before men
tioned ; their grandson, also named John ; and
in a far later generation, Thomas Ii. Jackson,
of Newtown, who was for many years a justice
of the peace, a county judge and a member of
congress, and his brother James, who was also a
justice and a county judge.
Robert Jackson builded his home about eight
hundred feet distant from that of Captain Sea
man. So remotely were they situated as to
neighbors, that it was eight miles westward to
the Hempstead settlement, and sixty miles of al
most -impassable wilderness lay between them
and their nearest settlement to the eastward.
The Seaman and Jackson families grew up al
most side by side. Captain Seaman's sons, John,
Jonathan, Benjamin, Solomon and Samuel, as
they arrived at manhood, there made their
homes, and not far from them were the younger
Jacksons. Of the last named were John and
Samuel, whose descendants extended southward
until they reached the shore.
The Jackson family have maintained and
carefully protected a family burying ground since
1744, and the earliest burial 'therein was Phebe,
daughter of the second John Jackson, who be
came the wife of William Jones, of West Neck,
Oyster Bay.
The Seamans and Jacksons and their col
lateral branches devoted themselves to agricul
ture, and the settlement would have passed on
without attracting much attention but for the
fact that it became one of the gathering places
of the Long Island Quakers. The Seaman
family, or many of them, early adopted the ten
ets held by these "peculiar people," as they were
then described by those who regarded them most
tenderly, and' for nearly a century, from 1793,
regular meetings for worship were held in one
or other of the Seaman homes at more or less
regular intervals. A regular meeting house was
built in 1827, and there Ardon Seaman preached
and labored until his death, in 1875. By that
time, however, the Society of Friends had lost

96

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

its hold in the vicinity, many of the old settlers
moved away, the land through a long series of
years of mismanagement had lost its fertility,
and the new settlers .who came in belonged to
other communions. So the meeting place was
abandoned, and with its passing Jerusalem be
gan to fade. Early in the nineteenth century,
When it was seen that the land was losing its
original fertility, an effort was made to introduce
mjanufactures ; a grist mill and a paper mill
were built, and long afterward a tannery and
wood mill were introduced; but none of them
made much headway. It seems a pity that a
place so full of treasured memories should pass
into oblivion, but such seems to be the fate in
store for Jerusalem unless a change speedily sets
in, and of that there is yet no sign.
The crowning glory of Hempstead is Gar
den City, which was founded in 1869 by Alex
ander Turney Stewart, long the most noted of
the merchant princes of the great metropolis.
A shrewd, far-seeing and wonderfully success
ful man in his business, Stewart, when wealth
came to him, engaged in schemes which he
deemed philanthropic, and which at the same
time were likely to return to him the money act
ually expended on them. He gave several large
donations to charity, but as a general rule he
had no conception of giving away money in the
fashion of more modern millionaires. He was
ready to help public enterprises with his means,
willing to inaugurate an undertaking which was
to benefit the people, but he wanted some return
for the money expended. For instance, one of
his schemes was the erection of a hotel solely
for women in New York, by which he thought he
could benefit the hundreds of professional wo
men in the great city and the hundreds of wo-
m|en who visited it from day to day, and at the
same time gain five or six per cent, on the
money he should invest in it. The hotel was
built, but its restrictions were such that no one
was satisfied, and it was soon abandoned.
So, too, he conceived the idea of erecting a
town which would in its way be a model com
munity, a little republic, a revival in nineteenth

century days -of the old theocratic settlements.
It would be far enough away from New York
to keep away excursion parties, its land should
be common property and should not be sold out
right, and even the houses would be built by the
corporation and only leased to the settlers. It
would be a complete community within itself;
it would make and enact its own laws, have a
large hotel capable of accommodating the most
refined travelers, wide streets, superb schools,
and all manner of modern improvements and
equipments. Everything would be hedged about
with restrictions, the place would be exclusive
and refined, and the entire community should 'so
commend itself that it would be regarded as a
garden spot — a veritable Eden. -With these no
tions -of town building, Mr. Stewart looked
about for a site and in 1869 he selected a plot
of 7,170 acres on the historic Flempstead Plain,
not far from the old village, for which he paid
to the township $394,350. By an act of legisla
ture this money was to be invested and the pro
ceeds devoted to educational purposes in the
town he proposed to establish, and for the sup
port of its poor, should it have any poor.
So the place received the name of Garden
City. It was surveyed, cut up into streets and
avenues, the hotel was built and houses erected,
but the people did not flock in. Americans do
not like to be hampered by restrictions, and the
class of people he aimed at securing preferred
to own their country homes outright, and it
seemed as though Garden City would end in be
ing regarded as a merchant's folly. For two
or three years its main purpose was to advance
the price of Hempstead real estate, and to afford
the land boomers a chance to throw into the
market other tracts of the great plain. Stewart
died in 1876, before he had time to fully mature
his plans for the success of the new town, but
it is' difficult to understand how the policy he
had outlined, and which he would have clung to
with all the dogged pertinacity of his nature,
would have ended in anything but failure.
But with his death a change came over Gar
den City. Many of his objectionable restrictions
were quietly thrown aside, and the town was

HEMPSTEAD.

97

permitted to grow on the regular lines of sup
ply and demand. But the demand would have
been slow had not his widow designed to make
the town a memorial of her husband. She de
termined to build in it a grand cathedral, rival
ling in size and beauty some of the great Europ
ean religious shrines, and to associate with it
a school whose educational advantages should be
unsurpassed. Some have averred that the ca
thedral and school were but a part of A. T.
Stewart's original scheme, but that is merely sur
mise. The millionaire left the bulk of his vast
estate to his wife, untrammeled by obligations,

CATHEDRAL AT GARDEN CITY.
and the cathedral, the school and the bishop's
palace were her free offering, and 'all she asked
in return was that the group of buildings should
become the seat of the Bishop of Long Island,
7

and that the crypt of the cathedral should be the
last resting place of her own body and that of
her husband, whose memory she thus desired
to honor. Mrs. Stewart's purposes were heartily
approved by Bishop Littlejohn and his clergy,
architects were set to work and plans prepared,
and on June 28, 1877, the corner stone of tbe
cathedral was laid by the Bishop with imposing
ceremonies. The plan of the edifice is cruciform, with
tower and spire, baptistery, organ apse, crypt
and mausoleum. The style employed is decorated
gothic of the thirteenth century, but the architect
has given freshness and independence
to the treatment by adopting the foli
age and flowers of this country and
following nature rather than the old
and stiff conventional forms. Un
usual beauty and grace are attained
in this manner in all the carved work
of the triforium, capitals, bosses and
corbels, which furnish everywhere
varied and pleasing subjects for
study. The exterior is constructed of
Bellville (New Jersey) stone, and the
interior of Berea (Ohio) stone, with
the use of native and foreign marbles
in the pavement, chancel steps, bap
tistery and mausoleum. The pro
portions of the building are admir
able, the extreme length measuring
190 feet, width of the transept in
cluding the porches 109 feet, of the
nave and aisles 52 feet. The choir
and chancel are 60 feet deep, sepa
rated by marble steps, with the bish
op's throne on tbe north side and the
dean's on the south. The tower,
which is monumental in character,
with bold buttresses, ornate gables
and pinnacles, is 124 feet high; and
the delicately tapering spire, crock-
eted and surmounted by a large illuminated cross
of colored gems, is 97 feet, making the whole
height 221 feet. In the upper stage of the tower
is hung the chime of bells, thirteen in number,

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

exhibited at the Centennial exhibition in Phila
delphia, from the noted McShane foundry in
Baltimore. The spire of the baptistery is beau
tiful in design and workmanship, with its flying
buttresses and pierced belfry ; and from the aisle
walls also spring flying buttresses to the nave,
giving lightness and elegance to the general ef
fect of the exterior, while the cornices are en
riched with gargoyles and pinnacles. The roof
is slated, and finished at the apex with a bronze
crest, bearing a crown at the junction of the
nave and the transepts, ¦ and a cross over the
chancel. In the interior the work is equally elaborate
and carefully finished. The baptistery is con
nected with the choir and transept by large
arches, filled with elegant stone tracery, and is
finished with columns of variegated foreign
marbles, with capitals of statuary marble ex
quisitely carved, supporting the gothic groin
ing of the dome above. Around the walls runs a
wainscoting of statuary marble with panels of vert
antique. In the center of the inlaid marble pave
ment stands the white marble font, adorned with
appropriate symbols and figures, and covered by
a rich canopy. The seats of the bishop and
dean as well as the stalls of the clergy in the
ante-chancel are of mahogany, with elaborately
carved canopies ; and in the sanctuary the stalls
and canopies are of carved stone, as well as the
piscina and credence. On a platform of raised
steps stands the altar, constructed of the purest
statuary marble, with panels presenting in bold
relief the chief events of our Lord's incarnate
life, with their prophetical types in the old dis
pensation. The pavement of this portion of the_
edifice is a rich mosaic of colored marbles. In
the choir and transepts are large niches for ap
propriate figures, executed in marble.
The crypt is connected with the choir and
nave by staircases, and contains a large chapel,
with a spacious hall and vestibules of carved
oak filled with panels of stained glass. At the
west end under the choir is another smaller
chapel, and adjoining it the mausoleum, which
is polygonal, having fourteen bays, wrought
in the most elegant manner in statuary marble,

with clustered columns of the costliest Euro
pean marbles at each angle of the walls, sup
porting the vaulting and its pendent crown. The
symmetry and variety of the columnar treatment,
the exquisite finish of the floriated capitals, cor
bels and mullions, all of which are separate
studies, the stained glass presenting the story of
our Lord's passion, death and resurrection, the
graceful statuary and the massive sarcophagus,
all combine to render this mortuary temple a tri
umph of architectural genius.
The architect was Henry G. Harrison, of
New York, and the contractor James H. L'Hom-
medieu, -of Great Neck, Long Island. The
stained glass of the crypt was from the manu
factory of Colgate, New York; and that of the
mausoleum and the cathedral itself from the
celebrated London firms of Heaton, Butler &
Bayne, and Clayton & Bell. The cost of the
edifice was $1,000,000.
The organ, built by H. L. Roosevelt, of
New York, ranks among the largest, and in
several respects is one of the most remarkable
in the world. It has four manual keyboards
and one pedal keyboard, and comprises one hun
dred and twenty speaking stops and about eight
thousand pipes. Though placed in different parts
of the cathedral, it is all played from one key
box, situated in the choir, the remote portions
being connected by cables of electric wire, over
twenty miles of which are used for this purpose.
The main body of the instrument is in an oc
tagonal chamber built on the north side of the
choir for this purpose. The next largest por
tion is at the other end of the building, in the
stage of the tower immediately below the chimes
and separated from the church by a stained glass
window, which is opened and- shut from one of
the swell pedals in the choir by means of elec
tricity. A third part is in the chapel under the
nave, and can be played there from its own key
board for chapel services. A fourth, above the
ceiling, is called the Echo organ, and is played
also from the choir. Two other portions are on
either side of the choir. The chimes are also
played from the solo manual by electricity, or
from a separate keyboard in the tower. The

HEMPSTEAD.

99

combination pedals are so arranged that the
organist can change any combination to suit
himself, small knobs being placed above the
drawstops for this purpose. Three steam en
gines, located in different parts of the building,
are employed to work the bellows. The cost
of the instrument was over $60,000, and the
ornately carved mahogany cases cost about $30,-
000 additional.
The Cathedral School of St. Paul's occupies
a sightly position about a quarter of a mile
northwest of the cathedral. It is in style an
adaptation of English gothic, and is massively
constructed of brick, made at the brick works of
the estate, with brown stone and Dorchester yel
low stone for windows, doorways, porches and
other ornamental features.
The edifice consists of an imposing facade,
which with the port-cochere is 290 feet long,
and three wings 170 feet deep, forming a ground
plan something like the letter E; and is four
stories in height, with additional stories in the
center and at the angles, which have high man
sard roofs. Besides these projections the exterior
is diversified with ornate porches of carved
stone, a clock and bell tower and a broach spire
in copper for the ventilation of the laboratory.
Over the main entrance is inscribed: "In Me-
moriam Alex. Turney Stewart," with the
name of the school beneath, and over the east
and west doorways, "Historia et Scientia," and
"Ars et Philosophia."
The interior arrangements have been care
fully planned, and appear to successfully com
bine the best features of modern collegiate edi
fices, whether in this country or abroad. The
whole building is fireproof, admirably ventilat
ed, and supplied with gas and hot and cold water
in every room, with abundant bathing facilities,
and steam heating apparatus after the Holly
system. The different stories are connected by
two elevators, and several commodious stair
ways, constructed of iron and stone. The first
floor comprises the main hall, 270 feet long and
10 wide, and lateral corridors 170 feet long,
wainscoted with tiles and marble, and paved
with Minton tiles of beautiful designs ; reception

rooms on- either side of the central entrance, con
necting with a library and parlor, each 21 by 50
feet, tbe headmaster's and the matron's apart
ments, dormitories in the east wing; the dining
hall in the central wing, 43 by 62 feet, with serv
ing rooms; and the two assembly rooms in the
west wing for the higher and lower school,
about 50 feet square, with several recitation
and lecture rooms, each 20 by 24 feet. The sec
ond story is devoted to teachers' and pupils'
rooms, varying in size from 9 by 20 feet to 18
by 25 feet; and in the center, occupying two
stories, is the chapel, 42 by 65 feet, which is ar
ranged with longitudinal sittings for some four
or five hundred pupils, and has at the north end a
chancel, organ and sacristy. On the third floor
are situated in front of the music rooms, the art
gallery, 25 by 62 feet; the infirmary, 25 by 40
feet, with apartments for nurses, and in the cor
ridors a large number of dormitories. The
fourth story contains, ' besides dormitories, the
laboratory, 20 by 44 feet, studios for art pupils,
and the gymnasium, 37 by 62 feet, with dressing
rooms, in the central mansard. In the basement
are play rooms in the school wing, the armory,
the laundry and drying rooms, the steward's
room and the servant's hall, the store room,
butcher's shop, refrigerators, dairy, engine room,
ovens, kitchen, scullery, eac. ; and in the east
wing the servants' dormitories. Throughout the
building the wood work is of ash, black walnut,
oak and mahogany, finished in the most elegant
and substantial manner, with solid and appropri
ate furniture specially manufactured for the
school after the most approved designs.
In the early days of the Diocese of Long Isl
and, the Rev. Beverley Betts designed an epis
copal arms therefor, which is the basis of the
corporation seal of the Cathedral. This is at
once .strikingly emblematic, and richly aristic.
The heraldic terms are obscure to the ordinary
reader, but the significance of the entire display
cannot but be of interest. The technical descrip
tion as given by the designer is as follows :
"Or, a chevron barry-wavy, argent and
azure between three crosses, crosslet fitchy

100

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

gules. The shield is of gold and with the
crosses is a part of the arms of the MacDon-
alds, ancestors of William Alexander, Earl of
Sterling, first Lord Proprietor of Long Island.
The chevron, with barry-wavy gules, blue on
silver, is also part of his arms. These tinctures
are the well-known Stewart colors, and . con
tain a graceful allusion to the benefactions of
Mrs. A. T. Stewart, by whom the cathedral at
Garden City was founded and endowed. The
arrangement of "barry-wavy" is the conven
tional symbol of "waters" and with the Bibli
cal motto below, "I will set his dominion in
the sea," indicates the insular "jurisdiction."
The crosses, customary emblems of the Chris
tian religion, are red. The mitre is of gold
With lining and bands in red, indicating the
episcopal character of the corporation.
Much -significance attaches to the jewels
of the mitre. Of these the five rubies repre
sent the five wounds of Christ, the three sap
phires have reference to the Trinity, and the
two emeralds are symbols of the dual nature
of Christ, the human and divine. These pre
cious stones were chosen as being especially
significant and appropriate from the allusions
made to them in the Scriptures : — the ruby
suggesting charity, dignity, divine power; the
sapphire constancy, truth and virtue; the
emerald, immortality.
The Right Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, D. D., the
first Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Long Is
land, entered upon his residence at Garden City
as soon as a home was prepared for him, and
from there managed the affairs of the diocese
until his death on August 3, 1901. The sad event
took place at WilMamstown, Massachusetts,
where the venerable prelate was spending a brief
vacation from his many and exacting duties.
His sudden death created a profound sentiment
of regret, not alone on Long Island, but through
out the Church of which he was so long recog
nized as a leader.
Dr. Littlejohn was born December 13, 1824,
at Florida, Montgomery county, New York.
Entering Union College, Schenectady, when
seventeen years old, he was graduated with hon
ors in 1845, aIKb after a course of three years in
theological studies, he was ordained a Deacon
by Bishop Williami H. DeLancey, in 1848. His
first church position was that of assistant in St.

Anne's, Amsterdam, New York, whence he went
not long afterward to accept a corresponding
place in St. Andrew's, Meriden, Connecticut.
In li 850 he was called to Springfield, Mas
sachusetts, as rector of Christ Church, but he
remained there only a year, leaving to take
charge of the important parish of St. Paul's, in
New Haven, Connecticut. It was while in this
church that he began to be well known through
out this country and Europe, his writings on ec
clesiastical and literary subjects attracting favor
able attention generally.
After ten years at New Haven, Dr. Little
john, who in the meantime had been honored
with the degree of Doctor of Divinity by the
University of Pennsylvania, came to Brooklyn
to be rector of the Holy Trinity Church, at Clin
ton and Montague streets. Before this he had
been offered the Presidency of Geneva College,
now called Hobart College, but had declined the
position. He had also been a lecturer on pas
toral theology in the Berkley Divinity School,
Middletown, Connecticut, for seven years. He
was the second rector o-f Holy Trinity Church in
Brooklyn, succeeding the Rev. Dr. William H.
Lewis. During the nine years Dr. Littlejohn stayed
there the debts of the church were paid off, and
the steeple, which had been unbuilt for lack of
funds, was reared to its full height.
Dr. Littlejohn's career was distinguished by
an occurrence that is said to be unique in the
records of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
this country. When the Diocese of Central New
York and Long Island were formed he was
elected Bishop -for both .of them, almost simul
taneously. His acceptance of the latter territory
was made on the ground that he was more fa
miliar with the needs of the diocese where he had
been working than with those of the one up the
State. He was consecrated on January 27, 1869,
Bishop Henry C. Potter officiating, with the as
sistance of eight other Bishops.
In 1874 Bishop Littlejohn was appointed to
take charge of churches established in Europe
by the Protestant Episcopalians of America, and
he consecrated the Church of St. Paul's- Within-

HEMPSTEAD.

101

the-Walls, in Rome, and opened the American
Church in Paris. Later, however, he was forced
to transfer his foreign duties to the Bishop of
North Carolina, church affairs in Long Island
demanding his entire attention. .
The University of Cambridge, England,
made Bishop Littlejohn a Doctor of Laws in
1880, and he received the degree of Doctor of
Civil Laws from the University of the South,
at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1897. From the time
of his residence in New Haven he continued to
write regularly. Among his published works
are "The Philosophy of Religion," "The Meta
physics of Cousin," "The Life and Writings of
Coleridge," "The Poetry of George Herbert,"
"The Bible and Common Sense," "The Out
wardness of Popular Religion," "Human Pro
gress," "The Alt-Catholic Movement," "Con
dones ad Clerum," "Stephen's Lectures on the
History of France," "Roger's Eclipse of Faith,"
and "The Christian Ministry at the Close of the
Nineteenth Century."
In February, 1899, services commemorative
of the Bishop's thirty years of service were held
in the Cathedral of the Incarnation. The last
public service of unusual importance that Bishop
Littlejohn attended was that which celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of the organization of
the Church Charity Foundation, in which he had
always been interested. It was noticeable at this
service that he was very feeble, and since then
there was frequent talk of his having a coadju
tor. He persistently refused this offer, even
taking occasion to say at a meeting of the
clergyman and laymen of tbe diocese that he was
well able to take care of the affairs of the diocese.
Dr. Littlejohn was a strict Churchman, and
was heard to express himself emphatically more
than once about certain innovations in the wor
ship of his church that he regarded as altogether
wrong. Although his reputation as a writer and
scholar was the greater, he achieved no small
note as an orator, and there were those who
ranked him among the best pulpit preachers.
Bishop Littlejohn was succeeded by the Rev.
Dr. 'Frederick Burgess. He was born in 1853,

in Providence, Rhode Island, a son of Frederick
Burgess, of that city. His family is one of dis
tinction in the annals of the Church. His uncle,
George Burgess, was the first Bishop of Maine,
a diocese founded in 1820, and another uncle,
Alexander Burgess, was first Bishop of the dio
cese of Quincy, which was organized in 1878.
Dr. Burgess received his early education in his
native city, and was graduated from Brown's
University there in 1873. He then studied two
years at the General Theological Seminary in
New York, and afterwards for a year at Oxford.
On his return in 1876 he was ordained deacon by
Bishop Niles in Grace Church, Providence, hav
ing been presented for ordination by Dr. Greer,
then rector of that parish. In Grace Church,
also, he was ordained priest in 1878 by Bishop
Clark, having served in the meantime at Mend-
ham, New Jersey. After his ordination to the
priesthood he was for five years in charge of
Grace Church, Amherst, Massachusetts, and then
for six years at Christ Church, Pomfret, Con
necticut. In the summer of 1879, while on his
way to . Great Neck, Long Island, he suffered
shipwreck on the "Seawanhaka," which was
burned off Ward's Island , near Hell Gate.
Twenty-four lives were lost in this disaster, and
the terrible experience deepened the natural
seriousness of the future bishop's character. Dr.
Burgess remained at Bala for seven years ; then
he went to Christ Church, Detroit, where he re
mained until 1898, when he was called to Brook
lyn to the rectorate of Grace Church on the
Heights, as successor to the Rt. Rev. Chauncey
B. Brewster, D. D. His rectorates have been
signalized by successful work among men, and
his power to draw them to the Church. His
genius for preaching without notes has added
greatly to his influence .over mien. Clergymen
of all parties join in commendation of his ad
ministrative ability, and feel assured of a united
forward movement under his guidance in every
department of diocesan work.
Bishop Burgess was married in Mendham,
New Jersey, in 188 1, to Miss Caroline G. Bar
tow, daughter of Edgar J. Bartow, who provided

102

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the funds for the erection of Holy Trinity
Church, Brooklyn. Mrs. Burgess died in 1894,

leaving four sons.

Even with all its advantages, the popu
lation of Garden 'City has crept up but slowly.
In 1 89 1 it had something like 600, in 1896 it had
increased to 700, and in 1900 it had added about
fifty more, and there it remains. But time is on
its side, and it will undoubtedly grow in import
ance and influence as the years speed on. It is
now recognized as a splendid centre of church
and educational work; the beauty of its streets
and of its situation is yearly becoming more
widely known ; its hotel has even now become a
resort, and in many respects it is the pride of
Nassau county. Mrs. Stewart has been lying at
rest in the cathedral crypt for several years, and
it is presumed that the body of her husband is
there also, although nothing on that point is
known. The Stewart millions have been dissipat
ed, some of them' in- a fashion that would have
roused his indignation. But the haste which his
widow made in erecting this great architectural
pile and in so lavishly providing endowments
have been amply justified by the story of the dis
posal of these milions, and prove that her native
shrewdness had almost forecasted the end of it
all. So Garden City's cathedral has become the
merchant's enduring monument, and still keeps
by its healthful agencies part, at least, of his own
great fortune engaged in useful and beneficent
work. There has for some time been talk, more or
less vague, of a municipal union between Hemp
stead village and Garden City, and while the
time for it seems hardly ripe, there appears no
reason to doubt its taking place ultimately, unless
the Greater New York takes another leap and
adds Nassau county to its domain. Even that
has already been mooted, and certainly as un
likely things have happened in the history of the
great city.
Rockville Centre, which now claims a popula
tion of some 2,500, was settled mainly in 1854,
but its Methodist Church has an existence dating
back to 1790, when a small hamlet sprang up

around it. The first church was torn down in
1817 and a new edifice was built on its site, which
served until 1874, when the present structure
was erected. As usual, the first church was
erected as a meeting house for the use of any
body of worshippers, and its surrounding ceme
tery was for the reception of the fathers of the
little hamlet, as, one by one, they fell into that
sleep which knows no waking. But after a while
it appears that there were no residents of the
vicinity who belonged to other -than the Metho
dist body, and so they seem to have entered into
full possession. In 1870 the Methodist Episcopal
Church of St. Mark's erected a temporary church,
which in the following year gave way to the now
existing building. Rockville Centre remains a
residential village. Its high school is a most at
tractive edifice, and as a spot for home building
the town possesses many peculiar attractions.
As much may be said of Pearsalls, which also
dates practically from the middle of last century,
but without any old church to bind it to the re
mote past. From a religious point of view Pear
salls may be regarded as the sister of Rockville
Centre, for the religious work and influence of
the one is always shared by the other. In 1841
the old Methodist Church at Rockville Centre
helped to found a church at Pearsalls, and St.
James' Church in the last named village was the
result of a division of the work of St. Mark's.
A school house was one of the first buildings
erected at Persalls after it was laid out, and the
construction of the water-works for Brooklyn
made it a busy place in 1857. After that com
motion passed, it assumed its proper place as a
residential point, which it has since retained. Its
present population is estimated at 1,400. The
town derives its name from the Pearsall family,
which has been established here for considerably
more than a century past.
Freeport (otherwise known as Hempstead
South or Raynorville) , twenty-three miles dis
tant from' .New York, is a town of comfortable
and attractive homes, handsome churches and
excellent society. Its streets lead down to the
Great South Bay, where oyster culture is carried
on upon a large scale.

HEMPSTEAD.

103

New Bridge is the name given to the little
settlement upon both sides of the brook separat
ing what was formerly known as Whale Neck
from Little Neck. The ground is known to have
been a favorite resort of the Merikoke Indians,
and relics of their occupation are yet found by
farmers while upturning the soil. During the
revolutionary war, General Jacob S. J. Jones was
stationed here with a brigade to protect the peo
ple against the depredations of sailors from the
British fleet which made the point a favorite
anchorage. Seaford, Bellmore, Valley Stream, Ridge-
wood, Wantagh, Baldwin's and Norwood are all
pleasant villages, some of them beautifully
located, and all presenting attractions for quiet
home-seekers. One of the most lovely of these smaller vil
lages is Merrick, twenty-four miles from New
York. The name is of Indian origin, that of
a tribe of Indians, and has appeared in the va
rious forms or Meric, Meroks, Merikoke, Me-
rock, Meroque. The history of the town was
written in the year 1900 by Mr. 'Charles N. Kent,
and was published in a pamphlet, which is made
in large part the basis of our account.
The first actual settler was John Smith, who
came to be known as John Rock Smith and John
Smith Rock — the appellation being bestowed up
on him in recognition of his ingenuity in build
ing his house at Stamford, Connecticut, over a
rock which was too large to be removed, and
which was thus utilized as a part of the wall and
also as a back to his fireplace. The Carman
family sent representatives from the settlement
on Hempstead Plains to Merrick at a very early
day. The first white child born in the Merrick
settlement was Caleb, a son of John Carman,
January 9, 1645. The Carman and Smith families
intermarried, and appear to have held land in
common, westward from' the eastern line of what
is now the property of H. H. Cammann, on Mer
rick Avenue. These two families pre-empted
the entire territory from Merrick river east to
Cove Spring Landing, Merrick Cove, and from
the bay north to Hempstead Plains.
John Rock Smith settled west of the present

lakes on either side of Merrick road — his house
on the north and barn on the south side. Jon
athan Smith Black laid out his farm east of Mer
rick path, which afterward became the Hemp
stead turnpike, and Jonathan Smith Rock settled
to the west, there being between them a wedge
of land known as the Hewlett farm. It is re
ported that this wedge was contributed equally
by the two Smiths to induce the Hewletts to set
tle thereon.
From carefully preserved records now in the
possession of Mr. George T. Hewlett and Mr.
George M. Hewlett it appears that the first of
their family to reach America was one of the
judges who passed sentence of death upon King
Charles (1648). The signature of this Hewlett
in the King's death warrant is differently spelled
and it is supposed to* have been purposely chang
ed afterward to avoid pursuit and detection.
The Hewlett coat-of-arms represents two
owls upon a shield, with the mottoes : "To stake
one's life for the truth," and "By courage, not
by craft." The name was sometimes spelt Hulit,
and also "Owlett," the latter probably derived
from the Yorkshire dialect and the representa
tive owls.
The first Hewlett settlement (about 1649)
was on Riker's Island, near Hell Gate. The
house was destroyed by Indians, although the
family being warned, escaped, and we next hear
of them in Hempstead, whither they probably
migrated. There were then three brothers,
George, John and Lewis, and one sister. George
and John -both died unmarried, the former at
Hempstead, the latter at Cow Neck. Of the
others there is no record. The first George Hew
lett to come to Merrick settled "between Whale
Neck and New Bridge road," including what is
now known as Cedar Swamp. There is also
record of an early Hewlett settlement upon the
farm of Mr. George M. Hewlett, which has al
ways remained in the family. The original house
has been incorporated in the more modern resi
dence occupied at the present time. An old
clothes press brought from England is still in its
garret, as well as portraits of Colonel Hewlett
and his wife. The Hewletts were among the

104

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

leaders of the Royalist party, and at times were
in imminent danger, but finally a declaration of
submission to the Continental Congress was
drawn up, and among its signers were John Car
man, John Smith Rock, William) Smith Black,
Benjamin Hewlett, Benjamin Flew'ctt (2d), Jo
seph Hewlett, George Hewlett and John Hew
lett. The Hewlett family were continuously in the
eyes of the people, known as enterprising and
successful folk. Thus, the following copied
from an old newspaper dated February 28, 1800,
will serve as an example : "The curious are in
vited to a sight of one of the most astonishing
productions in nature, a large ox, raised by Mr.
George Hewlett. He is to be seen at Mrs.
Delo-uf's Flymarket. Admittance, one shilling.
To give an idea of this ox, it need only be men
tioned that he is nineteen hands high, seventeen
and a half feet in length, and nine feet in girth,
forming a tremendous mass of animation. Not
to view him as he now stands argues that want
of curiosity which tends to enlarge the mind.'-'
And again, in 1831, we read: "George Hew
lett, of Merrick, has a cornstalk on which
grew thirteen perfect ears."
On one occasion, George Hewlett was in
command of a militia detachment in pursuit of
some whale-boat robbers. Not long afterwards,
while he was with two friends, gunning on the
marsh, a whale-boat rowed up, took his gun,
silver sleeve buttons, and some money, and con
sulted whether they should take their hats and
coats. In the last generation of our first George
Hewlett's descendants there were twelve brothers
and sisters. Of these, Mr. George T. Hewlett
and Mrs. Mary Willetts were in 1900 the sole
survivors. Richard A^alentine had land, undescribed, in
Merrick as early as 1657. He was a town mar
shal and a man of some parts.
The old Merrick Path, beginning near the
present Hempstead turnpike and passing east of
the house of Mr. Benjamin Seaman, in a north
erly direction to the plains, was probably the first
road in this part of the new township. It is said

that one with sharp eyes can still discern its out
lines. It was simply "brushed out," and indi
cated more distinctly by "blazed trees." This
path later on was known as the "Hempstead
Road," and then as the turnpike. About 1850 a
company was organized for the construction of
the South Oyster Bay Turnpike, including the
Merrick Road from Babylon to the Old Hemp
stead Turnpike in Merrick, and thence north to
Hempstead Plains. The work seems to have been
accomplished with but little delay and resulted in
pretty general satisfaction to all but stockholders.
Later, there were regular lines of stages on the
new turnpike from Babylon to Hempstead —
thence to Jamaica and Brooklyn. South Oyster
Bay had a postoffice, and one was soon after
established for Merrick in the old hotel and
store combined on the Hempstead Turnpike,
north of the present railroad crossing.
Merrick avenue, extending from the Bay
north to the railroad and thence to and beyond
the camp grounds, is perhaps as fine a road
with its surroundings as can be found on Long
Island. It is, the greater part, beautifully shad
ed, and has a macadam foundation. Previous
to 1850, however, it was but a cow path, more
particularly designated as "Whale Neck Road,"
from the stranding of a whale at Whale Neck
Point, which whale was later subdivided and
transferred in carts over the cow path to settle
ments further north. A pair of bars then closed
Merrick avenue to the public at its junction
with the Merrick road. The necessity for mak
ing the path a highway soon became apparent,
and it was accordingly set apart for that purpose
and reconstructed. Freight from the Merrick
dock, at the foot of this avenue, before the days
of a railroad, was then received from, vessels and
conveyed in wagons to all parts of the surround
ing country. Indeed, at this period, nearly all
freight to and from Hempstead and New York
was so transferred. The good ship "Native of
America," commanded by Captain Thomas Ray
nor, made regular trips between the two ports.
Some of the early enterprises were founded
out of funds procured by lottery, and this agency
was at times resorted to in aid of schools and

HEMPSTEAD.

105

even churches. Thus, in 1763, the Reverend
Samuel Seabury recorded in his diary : "The
ticket No. 5866 in the Light House, drew in my
favor, by the blessing of God, £500, for which
I now record to my posterity my thanks, and
praise to Almighty ¦ God, the Giver of all good
gifts. Amen."
"In Alerrick," writes Thompson, "the Meth
odists have a meeting house, erected in 1830, and
another east in 1840." This first meeting house
referred to has been identified as one which
stood near Hempstead Turnpike in Freeport,
about one mile north of the Alerrick Road; it
was formerly known as the Sand Hill Church.
The graveyard, with its headstones, is yet to be
seen in the still kept inclosure where the building
formerly stood. The edifice east, to which
Thompson refers, was probably the Alerrick
school house, where services were occasionally
held and a regular Sunday-school maintained.
The first building erected within Merrick
precincts for religious services was undoubt
edly the Union Chapel, commenced in the fall
of 1875, completed in the summer of 1876, and
dedicated Sunday, August 27th, of that year, by
Alethodist Elder Graves.
The first school house in Alerrick was built
early in the last century. It was of rough boards
and timbers hewn from logs — from its size evi
dently not intended for a large number of pupils.
The remnants of this building may still be seen
in rear of Air. William E. Hewlett's residence,
where until fallen into decay they did duty for
many years as a chicken house. The old boards
and logs bear indications that the boys then, as
well as now, had jack knives and knew how
to use them; they record, cut deep in the wood,
initials of many a girl and boy, long since passed
away, and of whom there is probably no other
memorial extant.
The second school house, on the Merrick
Road, east of Air. Hewlett's, was erected in
1844, and used until the modern building
further east was completed in 1892. In this sec
ond edifice many of the present residents of Aler
rick received their education ; and for years this
school produced the best scholars and gave the

most thorough instruction of any on Long Isl
and. The. early teacher lived on the premises,
sleeping over the school room, and cooking his
frugal meals upon the rough apology of a box
stove. It is said of one that his chief nutri
ment was derived from buckwheat cakes in their
season, and other kinds of cakes during the rest
of the year. An "old boy" remembers that his
teacher was famous for his skill in cooking,
"and when the process was about to commence
the scholars gathered around to watch him flop
the cakes on top of the hot iron."
The Alerrick of to-day is a delightful resi
dential city, affording all the advantages of the
day. The principal church is the Church of
the Redeemer, Protestant Episcopal. Its prop
erty was originally the old Union Church before
referred to, upon which was erected a new edi
fice, which was consecrated by Bishop Little
john, July 26, 1887. In the following year a
rectory was built.
The villagers feel a just pride in the Mer
rick Free Circulating Library. This had its
beginning through the instrumentality of the
proprietors of "The Alessenger," a parish jour
nal, and at first consisted of about fifty con
tributed volumes kept upon improvised shelves in
the hay loft of a vacant stable. Mr. Edward
C. Cammann gave to the library his untiring
interest, and used his means liberally, and the
Alerrick Library (now incorporated) occupies a
neat building of its own, a goodly collection of
books, and a valuable museum of Long Isl
and relics and curios which is receiving constant
additions. About one mile from the village, on the
Whale Neck Road, are the grounds of the Long
Island Camp Aleeting Association, comprising
nearly sixty acres, upon which are nearly sixty
residences. The first cost of grounds and build
ings was about $26,000. The Association was
formed in 1864, and was a moving body until
1869, when it located permanently at Alerrick.
During the summer months the cottages are
well filled, making a little community of three
hundred people, and this number is largely in
creased during the regular camp meeting sea-

106

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

son. The superintendent has known as many
as ten thousand people present at one time, but
there was a touch of regret in his accompanying
statement that this was before Coney Island and
Long Beach had become so attractive.
Probably the most widely known portion of
the town of Hempstead, the portion which at
tracts the greatest number of visitors each re
turning year, and has done so for nearly half a
century, is the great sand bar which practically
stretches along the entire south front of Long
Island, forming a succession of inland seas —
Hempstead Bay, Jamaica Bay and South Bay —
and which is now known by various names. The
part included in Hempstead township, and now
called Long Beach — wirtually a continuation of

AN INSHORE SCENE.
Rockaway Beach — has become famous as Far
Rockaway, now incorporated in the Greater New
York. According to Mr. William S. Pettit's "History
of the Rockaways," from, which our information
is in part derived, the land was purchased from
the Indian occupants in 1685 by Captain John
Palmer, and comprised nearly all upon which
stand the villages of Far Rockaway, Edgemere,
Arverne and Rockaway Beach. For this tract,
now worth many millions of dollars, the pur

chaser paid a trifle more than £25 in money,
some liquor, fire arms and wampum1. With the
surrender of their lands went the name of their
tribe, Re-kan-a-wa-ha-ha, signifying "we live
near laughing waters," which by corruption be
came Rockaway.
About 1687 Palmer sold his possessions to
Richard Cornwall, at a considerable advance over
his -investment, the purchase being for £200. The
entire tract was held in the Cornwall family as
late as 1809, and portions of it are yet held by its
descendants, who are legion, and extend through
out the entire United States. The old family
homestead was erected about 1690, near the site
of the Dickerson mansion in the village of Wave
Crest, and stood until 1833, when it was de
stroyed by fire. The old family
burying ground is yet to be seen-.
In 11 720 a school was established,
its founding growing out of a letter
addressed- by Mr. Thomas to "The
Venerable Society of the Town,"
in which he requests a money grant
wherewith to employ a catechist,
setting forth that "the children
hereof, for want of letters and ed
ucation, are as wild, uncultivated
and- unimproved as the soil was
when their fathers first had it."
At a later day a school-mistress
was employed, and, according to
the records, the vestry allowed her
forty shillings, "to be dealt out to
her a little at a time so as to last
her all winter." In 1735 Colonel
Cornwall entertained Governor
Cosby and his family, who were greatly
pleased with their reception and with the place.
In 1748 the widow of John Cornell (a corruption
of Cornwall) manumitted her slaves, eight in
number. During the Revolutionary period the
inhabitants took no active part in war, the great
majority of them being Quakers.
This portion of Long Island was a fashion
able resort for pleasure seekers from the metrop
olis as long ago as two-thirds of a century. The
"New York Mirror" said in 1833 :

HEMPSTEAD.

107

"For a number of years the Rockaway
beach has attracted numbers of our townsmen
with their families to that healthful and agreea
ble part of Long Island. The atmosphere
there is fresh, cool and delightful ; invalids soon
find themselves invigorated by the constant
sea breeze; and the tired denizen of the town,
whose scorching pavements have long blistered
his feet, and whose heterogeneous and fanciful
odors from gutters, sewers, piles of filth, dust
and smoke, have regaled his olfactory organ,
finds a plunge or two in the Atlantic a truly
delicious luxury. They have a real pleasure
in prospective, wbo have never (ridden down
to that broad, white, endless, magnificent
beach, where the heavy swell of the ocean rolls
so superbly to the snowy and silvery sand.
One- after another forever the waves come
heaving, swelling, breaking, tumbling, flashing,
foaming and roaring in. Hither the stranger
delights to resort When the fervor of the long
summer day begins to abate. For miles and
miles around the eye wanders over the dead
level. Fearless of interruption, he loves to
feel the grateful, wet, velvet sand crushed be
neath his feet as he wanders into the foam
ing tide, for the next billow. Soon it comes ;
he takes his place so as to stand exactly within
its green, transparent curve, when it lifts its
head just in the act of breaking. The emerald
wall rises suddenly before him, and, with a
skillful spring, he plunges headlong into the
liquid mass, which bursts above him with
stately and measured sweep, while, with a few
well timed strokes, or, with an attitude braced
with more than ordinary care, he stems the
swift current of the returning flood, rejoicing
in this exercise of his amphibious abilities, till
some crab, perhaps as large as his thumb nail,
seizes him by the foot, as if the ocean were
not big enough for them both, and warns him
that he is but a timid intruder in the empire
of Neptune." Howe, in a history written in 1841, said "Far
Rockaway, about twenty-nine miles from New
York (by the old road), has grown into import
ance as a fashionable watering place. The Marine
Pavilion, a splendid hotel, was erected here in
1834, near the beach, seventy rods from the
ocean." This celebrated caravansary stood near
the Cheever m|ansion in Wave Crest, and was
erected by an association of New York men of
wealth and leisure at a cost of $43,000.

Of this Thompson wrote: "It is a large
and splendid edifice standing upon the margin
of the Atlantic, and has- hitherto been kept in a
style not excelled by any hotel in the Union.
The main building is two hundred and thirty
feet front, with wings, one of which is seventy-
five, and the other forty-five feet long. The
peristyles are of the Ionic order, the piazza be
ing two hundred and thirty-five feet in length by
twenty in width. The dining room is eighty feet
long, and the drawing room fifty. The sleeping
apartments number one hundred and sixty."
This splendid old hotel, memorable for its old-
time hospitality and the distinguished persons
who patronized it, among whom were conspicu
ous — Longfellow, N. P. Willis, Washington Irv
ing, Trumbull, the artist, and General George
P. Morris, and Herbert — was destroyed by fire,
June 25, 1864.
Other celebrities of their day made their sum
mer homes in this region, among them the Frank
lins, of Philadelphia; the Blennerhassets, of
Blennerhasset, on the Mississippi; the Livings
tons, of Livingston Manor ; the Van Rensselaers,
descendants of the famous patroon; Admiral
Wilkes; the Bleeckers, the Hoffmans, the As-
pinwalls, and the famous Mme. Jumel, widow of
Aaron Burr.
Until 1832, when the Long Island Railroad
built its line from Brooklyn to Jamaica, all travel
to the region was by carriage and stage coach,
driving by way of Hempstead. Before the bar
was formed opposite Far Rockaway, the beach
at low tide stretched out many rods and was
known as The Strand. Here, as told by Mr.
Pettit, in his bright little monograph, "during
the height of the season it was customlary to see
the white sand dotted with portable tents, under
whose shelter were groups of gay young folk
from the city and adjoining towns. Bathing
was then carried on in a peculiar fashion. The
bath houses were on wheels and driven directly
into the surf. The bath chair was also in vogue.
The scene resembled that of Brighton, in Eng
land." During the latter part of the nineteenth cen
tury various delightful little villages sprang up.

108

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Lawrence received its name from Mr. John Law
rence. He had desired to here found a "New
Venice," but the natural obstacles were insuper
able, and he learned with Byron that "man's
control stops with the shore." Lawrence is a
beautiful residential spot, charming in its scen
ery, and possesses all the advantages desirable to
a cultured community. Cedarhurst takes its
name from the exuberant primeval trees which

LAWRENCE.
surround it. It fronts upon Hempstead Bay,
and commands every advantage of sea and shore.
Here an ultra-fashionable set have erected their
beautiful summer cottages, and here is the lav
ishly appointed home of the Rockaway Hunt
Club, an organization which has added greatly
to the popularity of polo throughout the neigh
borhood. In 1880 Mr. R. Vernon found a bleak
expanse of sand where now stands the pleasant
village "Arverne," its name coined from its own,
or, more properly, a -counterfeit thereof. Edge-
mere has become a fashionable summer resort
through the establishment of the magnificent
hotel bearing its name, which is one of the most.
aristocratic houses of entertainment on the en
tire Atlantic coast.
Far Rockaway, known by its prefix to dis
tinguish it from Rockaway, taking the shire
town, Hempstead, as the view point, is, par ex
cellence, the most attractive home spot upon
Long Island for the business man of the metrop

olis. A veritable city by the sea, it enjoys all the
advantages of proximity to and distance from
the great mart of finance and trade. It is readily
accessible, but, when reached, all the hurly-burly,
whether of business or the extremes of amuse
ment, disappears. The residences are of all ar
chitectural styles, and all are pleasing to the
eye. The streets are well mlade and abundantly
shaded, and the driveways into the surround
ing country are unsurpassed. The
various religious bodies occupy
beautiful houses of worship. The
educational facilities are exception
ally excellent. The high school
and grammar school, with their
efficient corps of teachers, stand
second to none in educational ad
vantages. The attractive, con
venient and imposing high school
building was erected in 1894. Since
that time the school has grown to
a surprising extent. In 1896 it was
necessary to add two wings on the
north and south ends, thus nearly
doubling the size of the original
building. In 1900 a well equipped
gymnasium was added, together wifli a new
library of several hundred volumes. Dur
ing the early part of last year the Board of
Education set up a physical laboratory and busi
ness department, which is a new and admirable
feature of public school education. As this work
is nearing completion, it is about to begin the
work of building a $20,000 library building, pro
vided for under the library establishment benevo
lence of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the great steel
manufacturer. West of Far Rockaway lies beautiful Jamaica
Bay, on the shore of which- nestle many unique
and handsome cottages. The Bayswater Yacht
Club, incorporated in 1892, lies situated some
four hundred feet from the shore, surrounded
by water. This is the meeting place for those
who are fond of yachting and social pleasures.
On its roll of membership are to be found the
names of Judge Edmund J. Healy, John M.
Frucks, S. B. Althause, Thomas Henderson,

HEMPSTEAD.

109

Watkin W. Jones, Edgar Mott, Richard Mott,
F. L. Richmond, Daniel Whitford, John Rene-
han, John Dohse, David N. Carvalho, Charles
E. Pretz, Rev. Henry Mesier, E. A. Brinker-
hoff, Sr., Frederick Hawley, Hubert Cillis, John
Guilfoyle, John W. F. Nicols, P. F. Griffin,
Frank M. Cronise, Franklin B. Lord, Louis J.
Bossert, John F. Schumann, 'Edward Roche, An
drew McTigue, E. N. Dickerson, Hermann
Miller, Malcolm R. Lawrence, Harold Werner,
John N. Moser, John W. Masury, H. G. Heyson,
F. J. Heney, S. N. Decker, C. R. Betts, A. C.
Haynes, J. A. North. D. L. Starks, William J.
Buckley, R. W. Buckle, Otto L. Roche, Andrew
L. Sullivan, Frank Jenkins, Philip R. Simmonds,

WAVE CREST.
Houghton Wheeler, James Lynch, Henry Friel-
man and others.
The property designated as Wave Crest (so
named by Mr. John H. Cheever) on- the west
boundary of Far Rockaway, includes the land
formerly owned by the Marine Pavilion Associa
tion, and what was known as the Clark estate.
Until a recent date the grounds were enclosed
as a private park, with lodges at the entrances.
To-day the gates of Wave Crest are open
to the public and it is the delight of all to drive
through the picturesque park, with its meander
ing roads and beautiful lake. Among the resi
dents are: Messrs. A. W. Nicholson, E. A.
Brinkerhoff, John Cowdin, Murray, Benjamin
F. Einstein, I. A. .Bach, M. Foster, Louis Auer-
bach, Lowenstein and A. J. Bach, Mrs. E. N.
Dickson and Mrs. J. Cheever.
Perhaps before closing this sketch it would
be appropriate to tell what finally became of the

Rockaway tribe of Indians. Alas ! They met
the same sad fate as the Mohicans.
To the whites these aborigines were just,
generous and hospitable, and less warlike than
many other tribes, of North America. Their ad
mirable qualities were esteemed by our Quaker
forefathers, and, from- the time of the treaty of
1657, there never was an actual breach of friend
ship between the English and the Rockaway In
dians. After the natives sold their property at Far
Rockaway, for a few cents an acre, they moved
eastward to Cedarhurst and lived for nearly a
century in that vicinity, thence removing in a
body to Barnum's Island, at East Rockaway, and
there, with the aid of the white
man's firewater, they went, one by
one, to the happy hunting grounds.
For them the beautiful waters
laugh no more, for the pale-faces
are masters of the earth, and the
time of the red man has gone,
never to return.
One of their number, however,
survives in memory, and his name
will endure long after many who
aided in thrusting his people from
off the face of the earth shall have
been forgotten. This one was
Culluloo Telawana, the last of the sachems of
the Rockaway tribe, and, there is every reason
to believe, a lineal descendant of Takapousha.
He was personally known to Mr. Abraham- Hew
lett, when he was. a boy and the chief was an
aged man. And over the grave of the last rep
resentative of an ancient people, stands a beauti
ful monument bearing the following inscription :
Here lived and died
Culluloo Telawana
A. D. 1818,
The last of the Rockaway
Iroquois Indians,
Who was personally known to me
in my boyhood.
I, owning the land, have
erected this monument
to him and his tribe.
Abraham Hewlett.

CHAPTER V.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

HE present town of North Hempstead
was taken from the original Hempstead
township in 1784. It lies upon Long
Island Sound- between Hempstead Har
bor and Little Neck Bay, while to the south it ex
tends to the center of Hempstead Plains. It was
computed to contain 34,470 acres. A range of
hills extend east and west near the center, and
from them spurs- extend to the Sound, giving to
the northern part of the township a peculiarly
hilly character. The coast line is rocky and rugged
and is indented with several deep and irregular
has — Hempstead Harbor, Manhasset Bay, and
with several "points," Hewlett's, Sand's, Baker's
— while immediately off the coast are a great
number of half sunken rocks — such as the Exe
cution Rock — and the whole coast line, as may
readily be conceived, is dangerous to navigation.
The soil, as a general rule, is light and sandy,
but in the northern section is a stretch of loam
which is markedly adapted to farming purposes.
Harbor Hill is the highest point on Long
Island — 380 feet above tide water. This has long
been a favorite observation point, commanding
an unsurpassable view of sea and land. From
its summit may be had a comprehensive bird's-
eye view of Long Island, of Connecticut and the
Atlantic ocean. On a clear day — when the air
is not laden with the foul smoke from soft coal,
as during the recent tie-up of the anthracite
fields — the Brooklyn Bridge and many of the
great sky-scraper buildings of New York City
are visible to the naked eye.

While, however, the coast is dangerous, it is
very beautiful, sometimes beautiful even in its
ruggedness and desolation, sometimes in its
stretches of sand, its coves and eddies, and many
charming villas have been erected in these open
places, notably on Great Neck, and quite a num
ber of private residences have sprung up in its vi
cinity. Communication with New York by rail
is ample, while from Boston, Glen Cove, Sea
Cliff and other places there are abundant facilities
for water communication with the great city.
At the northern extremity of Cow 'Neck,
where it projects itself well out into the Sound,
the national government in 1809 erected the fa
mous Sands Point light-house, upon a five-acre
tract of land purchased from Benjamin Hewlett.
The light-house was built by Captain Noah Ma
son, who was its first keeper and had charge
of it until his death, which occurred in 1841.
Forty years later a light-house was erected about
a half-mile northward from the Sands Point
light, on what has been long known as "Execu
tion Rock," a dangerous stretch of reef directly
in the course of vessels passing into or out from
the metropolis. During the war with Great
Britain this point was (September 10, 1814) the
scene of an engagement between the British
frigate "Acosta" and a flotilla of thirty Amer
ican gunboats.
The earliest settlement of which we have
record was in 1640, when a party of adventurers
from Lynn, Massachusetts, armed with a per
mit from! Lord Stirling's agent, landed on the

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

Ill

west side of Cow's Neck, tore down the arms of
the Netherlands, which they saw nailed to a
tree, so that all the world might know their
"Fligh Mightinesses" held sway there, and carved
a fool's face on the tree in its stead. Then they
took possession of the land, erected dwellings
and entered into negotiations with the Indians
for the sale of a generous slice of the soil. The
aborigines, however, carried information of these
wayward doings to Governor Kieft, and the
blood of that peppery little man boiled with in
dignation at the recital. The settlement, un
authorized as it was, might be forgiven and
arranged, but the insult to the arms of the Fa
therland could not be condoned. So he sent
twenty-five picked soldiers to Cow Bay and made
short work with the settlers. They took most
of them captives, demolished their houses and
effectually quenched their aspirations. Many of
those thus summarily dispossessed aided in the
settlement of Southampton. The more method
ical settlement under Fordham and Carman in
1644 (referred to in another chapter) 'was
arranged peacefully enough, and settlements
gradually spread north as well as south from
Hempstead village. In 1676 Great Neck was
fairly well settled and the records tell of other
early colonies.
North Hempstead has always been pre-em
inently an agricultural town. A few grist mills
and other small manufactories were scattered
about in favorable locations, but the principal
occupation of the inhabitants was the tillage of
the soil. The location of the township upon Long
Island Sound, with its shores indented by deep
and safe harbors, offered peculiar facilities for
the cheap and easy carriage of its products to
market, and before the construction of railways
regular lines of market boats made frequent
trips to New York and convenient landings upon
the shore. Both the products of the soil and
the manner of obtaining them have varied great
ly since the first settlement of the country. The
early farmers cultivated a great variety of crops,
some of which, such as tobacco and flax, have
long since been abandoned. The proximity and
rapid growth of the great cities of New York

and Brooklyn constantly modified the conditions
under which profitable farming could be con
ducted on Long Island.
Among tbe early settlers was the family of
Sands, who figure elsewhere in this work. They
were very large landowners and held a large
tract about Sands Point, which took its name
from them. This family is now all but extinct
in the region to which their ancestors first came.
Other early families dating back to colonial
times, of whom there are many descendants,
were as follows : Allen, Brinkerhoff, Bogart,
Burtis, Cornwall, Cox, Cock, Denton, Dodge,
Hewlett, Hegeman, Hicks, Hoagland, Kissam,
Mitchell, Morrell, Mott, Onderdonk, Piatt, Pear
sall, Post, Powell, Robbins, Remsen, Rapelyea,
Schenck, Smith, Sands, Titus, Treadwell,
Thorne, Underbill, Valentine, Willets, Willis,
Williams and Woolley. There were alsoi those
of the following names, many of whom have
now no recognizable posterity: Appleby, Adri-
ance, Albertson, Baker, Burr, Burt, Bedell, Ben
nett, Baldwin, Baxter, Craft, Covert. Crooker,
Carpenter, Cheeseman, Cornell, Duryea, Down
ing, Demilt, Ellison, Frost, Foster, Fowler,
Hutchings, Haines, Flaviland, Hawkshurst,
Hagner, Ketcham, Kirk, Kirby, Jackson, Jarvis,
Lewis, Losee, Layton, Mudge, Nostrand, Peters,
Poole, Sell, Seaman, Sealy, Townsend, Toffey,
Van 'Nostrand, Van Wyck, Vandewater, Van
Dyne, Whitson, Wood and Wiggins. The most
prominent of these are named in connection with
important events of their time.
Adam Mott was a resident of the village of
Hempstead, but he also owned large tracts of
land in what is now the town of North Hemp
stead, to which the family subsequently removed.
His will is of peculiar interest, affording us some
knowledge of the particularity of the prudent,
methodical man of his day:
"I, Adam Mott, lying now very weak, do
now declare this to be my last will and testa
ment from this day, I being through God's
mercy in my right senses. I do humbly sur
render and give my soul and spirit to God
which gave it me, and my body to the earth,
to be buried in decent manner; that all just

112

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

debts that shall be made appear shall be paid
justly to the creditors so applying. I do give
to my eldest son, Adam Mott, fifty acres of
land "that he is to take up and five shillings in
money ; to my son Jeames I give two cows and
a hollow lying by the Harbor parth and my
Kersey westcoat and my Searsy drawers and
my new Hatt; to my daughter Grace I give.
four great pewter platters, and those Hollows
lying between the Great Run and Tanner's
Hook, those two hollows which lyeth on the
left hand of the parth going to the Town from
Madnan's Neck, and three Hollows lying on
next to the other side of the parth by the great
Run, the said land to remain to her and her
heirs forever; to my son John I do give my
Lott of Meadow lying at the Wheat Neck
and my Hollow: lying by the Flarbor parth ,
to my son Joseph I give a hundred acres of
land where he shall see good to take up for his
use which is yet un taken up, and a Hollow
lying by the West Hollow in the Sandy Hol
low. To my Gershom I do give five cows ; to
my son Henry's three children I do give one
two years old Heifer. To my dear wife Eliza
beth Mott and all the children I have by her
I do give and bequeath my house and lott upon
Madman's Neck, and 'with all the rest of my
said Estate except mentioned in my will afore
said, Moveables and Immoveables, with all
and every part thereof, to stand and remain to
my wife and children, only my House and Or
chard and home Lott at Hempstead and the
Mill Hollow in particular I do give to my
younger son Adam. But in case my wife Eliza
beth should see cause to marry, that then the
Estate which I have given to- my wife and
children shall be Equally divided into four
parts, and my wife Elizabeth to have and en
joy the one part and those children which I
have had by her shall have the other three
parts, to be Equally divided between them.
And I do give unto my wife Elizabeth for her
life time, If she shall see Cause, my House
and Land on, Madnan's Neck and a Lott of
Meadow ; and If my Wife doth Remain a Wid
ow; that (there should be none of the children
to enjoy any of the said Estate until they mar
ry, Except that my wife shall see cause to the
Contrary. As to four proprietyships which
I have in the bounds of Hempstead I do- give
unto- my wife Elizabeth and her children, first
to take her choice of two of the said propriety-
ships and the Other two to be Equally divided
amongst my four Eldest Sons in Equall pro
portions ; and with all and Every Part of this

my will and Testament I do heartily desire
may be performed in all particulars, as wit
ness my hand and seal, this 12th day of March
Anno Dom. 1681."
The history of the town is closely inter
woven with that of Hempstead, from which it
was separated. Cow Neck, containing about
6,000 acres of land, was at the earliest settlement
of the original town of Hempstead used prin
cipally for pasturing cattle by the inhabitants of
other portions of the town. Great Neck, con
taining about 4,000 acres of land and formerly
known as Madnan's Neck, was earliest per
manently settled, religious services being estab
lished there as early as 1676. For a long period
and up to about 1676 Cow Neck continued to
be used by residents in distant parts of the town.
The majority of the settlers in this township
were opposed to the separation from the mother
country, but the narrative of these events is
contained elsewhere, and we pass over the Revo
lutionary period.. It need only be said that the
British occupation unsettled all order and author
ity except that upheld by the rigors of martial
law, and all classes of the people suffered from
its continuance. The real history of North Hempstead, as re
lated to the present, began in 1784, when the
conflict was well over, and "King George
reigned no more." At that time the supervisor
(the first) was Adrian Onderdonk, grandfather
of Henry Onderdonk, Jr., of Jamaica, the well
known industrious historian. But there re
mained some traces of the recent unpleasantness.
Under a trespass law enacted by the legislature,
now composed almost entirely of men who had
waged war upon the British, either as soldiers or
helpful non-combatants, suits were brought
against all who were reachable who had rendered
themselves obnoxious by impressing property un
der the British authority, and many farmers re
covered damages for animals, feed-stuffs and
other property taken. Two farms were confis
cated to the State — one at Flower Hill, compris
ing 330 acres, belonging to Daniel Kissami, and
which was bid in by his widow for £2,000, and
one belonging to a Ludlow. About the same

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

113

time the Whigs of North Hempstead, in order
to separate themselves from the Loyalists of
South Hempstead, procured a legislative act di
viding the town "by the line of the county road."
From the very first, North Hempstead has
been a religious community, and it became a
stronghold of Quakerism and Methodism. At
the close of the Revolutionary war, the town
contained four houses of worship — the Reformed
Church near Success Lake (now Lakeville),
erected in 1732; the Methodist Episcopal Church
in Searington ; a Friends' meeting house at West
bury and another at Manhasset.
The Reformed 'Church was organized April
11, 1730, out of the Hollanders in the vicinity —
the Schenck, Onderdonk, Rapelyea, Bogart, Rem-
sen, Rhodes, Van Nostrand, Brinkerhoff, Cor
nell and other families. A building site was pur
chased at a cost of twenty-five shillings, and a
building fund amounting to £173 16s was se
cured by subscription, with which a house of
worship was erected, as appears from! the date on
the corner stone, in 1732. It was an octagonal
structure, about fifty by sixty feet, the largest
church edifice in Queens county at the time, with
a steep pyramidal roof. The seats were let at
twenty^ve shillings for men, and twenty shill
ings for women. At first it was under the care
of the churches at Newton and Jamaica, and
services were held but once a month. The first
minister was Johannes Henricus Goetschius, who
came from Holland at their call in 1741. Sol
omon Froeleigh became pastor in 1775. His was
a troublous experience. Being an ardent Whig,
the British forced him. to flee, and in a later
year he withdrew from the denomination. There
were no services from- 1775 to 1785, when Rynier
Van Nest became the minister. In 1813 the peo
ple living in the northern part of the parish with
drew to form a church at Manhasset, and this so
weakened the parent congregation that it dis
banded, and the old church was sold and razed
to the .ground.
When Philip Cox, the first Methodist cir
cuit preacher on Long Island, came in 1784, he
found a miserable condition of affairs. The so
ciety at Jamaica had become extinct, and the two
8

remaining societies at Newtown and Comae num
bered but twenty-four members in the aggre
gate. Air. Cox preached in Searington, in the
house of Hannah Searing, an aged widow
woman, "and very many attended until an alarm
was sounded that tbe false prophets foretold in
Scripture had come. The word of truth, how
ever, did not fall to the ground. Souls were
awakened, and a society formed which remains
to this day." Among the persons known to have
united in forming this first class was Albert Van
Nostrand, who afterward became a useful and
honored minister of the gospel, and died in 1797.
The Friends, or Quakers, were numerous
and influential from an early period, but, as their
principal seat was in Oyster Bay, extended men
tion of therri is deferred until we reach that point.
All the other denominations represented are of
modern date. The Episcopalians did not erect
a house of worship until 1803, when Christ
Church was built at Manhasset, and the first
meetings of the Presbyterian body were held at
Roslyn in 1849, and the first Roman Catholic
place of worship was that of St. Bridget's, West
bury Station, which was dedicated in 1856 — the
second .Roman Catholic church erected east of
Brooklyn. The history of none of these bodies
belongs within the scope of this narrative.
A few salient points in the educational his
tory of the town are to be briefly stated. The
early schools were of the primitive character such
as has been described in a previous chapter. For
nearly a half century, and until the establish
ment of the public school system in 1829, Christ
Church Academy was the only school of any
note in Manhasset. The famous Friends' school
at Westbury is written of in connection with that
town. 1
From the first, the township has been oc
cupied by an agricultural community, and their
farms have been justly famed for many years
for the abundance and excellence of their prod
ucts, both/Of the field, of the herd and of the
flock. In 1832 oyster culture was added to the
industrial field of the town through the efforts
of Henry Cock and John Mackey. Since then
that business has grown to wonderful propor-

114

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tions, and the oysters of Cow Bay, in particular,
are in high repute; the clams with which that
shore abound have also given rise to a most ex
tensive industry. But still the main feature "of
North Hempstead is agriculture and floriculture
— the products of the soil — varied within the past
two decades with the "summer boarder busi
ness," which, however, lasts only about two
months in each year.
The principal villages in this township, with
their present population, are as follows: Great
Neck, 1,600; Port Washington, 1,250; Manhas
set, 800; Mineola, 900; Roslyn, 1,300; West
bury Station, 400; Thomaston, 350; New Hyde
Park, 500; Old Westbury, 375; Herricks, 125;
Searington, 150; Alberson, 240. Some of these
.may now be considered in detail.
Probably the best known of them all is Ros
lyn, not so much on account of its own inherent
beauty, but because it is associated with the name
and fame of William Cullen Bryant, one of the
greatest American poets. Independent, how
ever, of this it has considerable historical data
connected with it to invest it with interest to
the antiquary. Down to the middle of the nine
teenth century it bore the name of Hempstead
Harbor, and besides being the leading village of
the township was known as a manufacturing cen
ter. The first paper mill in the Province of New
York was established here in 1773 by Hendrick
Onderdonck, grandfather of the two bishops of
that name, along with Hugh Gaine, a well known
New York printer of that time, and Henry Rem-
sen. There were also several grist mills at an
early date, one at least dating from prior to 1700.
General Washington, who visited Hempstead
Harbor in April, 1790, when, while President,
he drove through the country in his quaint old
coach, drawn by four white horses, and visited
and commended such local industries in pleasant
terms. Indeed, it is said that the great man
watched so closely, from- start to finish, the mak
ing of a sheet of paper in a paper mill, that it
was carefully preserved and exhibited as his own
work. Several paper mills were established at
later dates, but did not seem to prosper, and in
1880 a silk mill was added to the industries of

the village. It is a prosperous community, with
savings bank, public library and other accessories
demanded- by modern culture and requirements,
and although its industries are still important
it has developed of late years more and more as
a settlement of refined homes. In this there is
no doubt William C. Bryant led the way.
The life story of this brilliant man of let
ters is part of the literary history of the United
States and need not be dwelt upon here at any
great length. He was born at Cummington,
Massachusetts, November 3, 1794, and was ed
ucated at Williams College, and when in his
twenty-first year was admitted to the bar. He
entered upon the practice of the legal- profes
sion at Plainfield, and after a while he removed
to Great Barrington, where, it is said, he won
considerable prominence in the local courts. But
his success was not substantial. The law, as
Sir Walter Scott used to say, is a jealous mis
tress, and Bryant, even before he had assumed
the dignity of a full-fledged lawyer, had been
coquetting with literature, so much so that he
was recognized as a man of letters even ere he
had attained his majority. When thirteen years
of age he was a recognized contributor of poetry
to the country papers, and had written a long ef
fusion in the nature of a political squib, which
was justly considered an extraordinary produc
tion by those interested in the lad and the ar
gument, but is now, happily, forgotten. When
nineteen years of age he wrote his remarkable
poem, "Thanatopsis," which at once assumed a
foremost place in American poetic literature, and
still remains the most popular and most widely
read of all his works. The poem first appeared
in the "North American Review," and at once at
tracted wide attention, and as soon as the author
ship became known gave him a place in the high
est literary circles of his time. He also contrib
uted several prose articles to the "Review," and
so demonstrated that he wielded a facile pen in
prose and was a graceful, clear and cogent writer
on whatever theme he concentrated his thought.
Under these circumstances it was easy to foresee
that with law on one side and literature on the
other, each claiming his attention and each de-

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

115

manding all his powers, that one would have
to be abandoned, and, happily, he turned away
from law and made literature his sole com
panion. In 1825 Mr. Bryant settled in New York and
became one of the editors of "The 'New York
Review." A year later he became associated
with the "Evening Post," and a few years later
assumed the duties of editor-in-chief and main
taining his connection with it until the end of his
long career. But while engrossed in the editorial
cares of a newspaper, which became in his hands

that all the world was really akin, and where-
ever he went he was a ceaseless student of lan
guage, art, manner and customs, thoughts and
aspirations. All that became reflected in his
poems, his orations and even in his editorial and
critical articles in the "Post." Before settling
in New York he had published at Cambridge
a small volume of poetry. In 1832 he again
printed that work, with additions, and several
editions followed. In 1866 he issued a volume
entitled "Thirty Poems," which has since been
incorporated in his collected writings. He was

CEDARMERE, HOME OF WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT-.

one of the most powerful in the country and
one that exercised a most marked influence upon
the political, economic and literary history of its
time, he did not neglect his own literary work.
His frequent visits to Europe had made him per
sonally acquainted in all the literary centers
there, and had broadened and widened his own
views of men and matters, had made him see

an indefatigable worker and after he had at
tained his seventieth year he began the transla
tion in blank verse of Homer's "Iliad," and fol
lowed it up with a version of the "Odyssy," and
his work as a translator was conceded by many
of the most competent critics and scholars to be
the best English dress which had been given to
the marvelous writings of "the first of

116

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

poets." Literally Air. Bryant was busied with
his pen almost to the very moment when came
his summons to join the innumerable caravan
which ever moves to the mysterious realms of
death. The greater part of his time in his later years
was spent at Roslyn, and he took a most active
part not only in promoting the beauty and amen
ity of the village, but in enhancing its material
prosperity. His own home, to which he gave
the name of Cedarmere, he loved almost as pas
sionately as Scott loved Abbotsford. The house
was originally built in 1787 by Richard Kirk, a
zealous Quaker, who seemed to have taken a
considerable interest in laying out the house and
its land, about forty acres. Then it passed into
the possession o'f Joseph White Moulton, the
historian and antiquary, joint author with T. V.
N. Yates of a history of New York, and was
sold by him to Bryant in 1846. Bryant remod
eled the house, enlarged it on all sides and intro
duced many peculiar architectural features and
added to its surrounding grounds until they
measured two hundred acres. It was his king
dom, his hobby, his pride, even more than his
literary triumphs ; every field had for him a story
and some peculiar feature greeted the visitor
at almost .every step, and visitors to Cedarmere
came in plenty, for Bryant was never happier
than when acting as host and surrounded by his
literary and artistic friends. It was. amid these
scenes that the genial poet penned one of his
sweetest poems, which may be regarded as an
apostrophe to his home and its surroundings :
"Is this a time to be cloudy and sad,
When our mother Nature laughs around ;
When even the deep blue heavens look glad,
And gladness breathes from the blossoming ground?
"There are notes of joy from the hang-bird and wren,
And the gossip of swallows through all the sky;
The ground-squirrel gayly chirps by his den,
And the wilding bee hums merrily by.
"The clouds are at play in the azure space
And their shadows at play on the bright green vale,
And here they stretch to the frolic chase,
And there they roll on the ea?y gale.
"There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,
There's a titter of winds in that bcechen tree,
There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,
And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea.

"And look at the broad-faced sun, how he smiles
On the dewy earth that smiles in his ray,
On the leaping waters and gay young isles;
Ay, look, and he'll smile thy gloom away."
Air. Bryant died June 12, 1878, and his re
mains were laid away in the beautiful Roslyn
cemeterv, by the side of those of his wife, and
over them was reared a stately monument bear
ing the following inscription :
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT,
Born in Cummington, Mass., Nov. 3, 1794,
Died in New York, June 12, 1878.
FANNY FAIRCHILD BRYANT,
¦the beloved wife of William Cullen Bryant, an
humble disciple of Christ, exemplary in every re
lation of life, affectionate, sympathetic, sincere,
and ever occupied with the welfare of others.
The poet's grandchildren, children of Parke
Godwin, are buried in the same plot. Some of
the names of others buried in this cemetery are
Abercrombie, Bogart, Brown, Cahart, Cham
berlain, Clapham, Denton, Dickenson, Ely,
Francis, Hegeman, Ketcham, Kilpatrick, Kirby,
Losee, McNally, Mott, Moulton, Oakley, Rogers,
Smith, Snedeker, Strong, Underhill, Vickers,
Wanser, Wiggins and Wilson.
As these pages were passing into the hands
of the printer, all of that portion of the famous
old house above the first story was burned. This
disaster occurred on the afternoon of November
15, 1902. The furniture and library of the poet
were removed when the building was leased to
Air. W. Butler Duncan. The property yet belongs
to the descendants of Mr. Bryant, who are pro
hibited from selling it while one of the family
line is living. Cedarmere is now the property of
the poet's grandson, Harold Godwin.
But while the Bryant home is not as it was,
there are constant reminders of the genial poet.
A fitting memorial exists in the Bryant Circu
lating Library, named in his honor, housed in a
beautiful building, which, with its grounds, was
presented to the village by his daughter, Miss
Julia S. Bryant, in accordance with an expressed
wish of the venerable poet shortly before his
death.

/ristut.ctstc~ C^c^Cc^vi^

r

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

117

The library still continues to be the main
feature of the village life. Within the past year
or so it has been the object of much kindly in
terest on the part of Mrs. Clarence Mackay,
wife of one of the owners of one of the modern
baronial estates on Long Island, whose palatial
home, as will be seen, is in the immediate vi
cinity of Roslyn village. Shortly after settling
there Mrs. Mackay asked permission from the
trustees to take possession of the library and
furnish it, and stipulated that no one was to
make any suggestions, as she wished to be free
to. do as she liked. Her desire was granted, and
she secured Miss Maud Johnson and Miss Susan
Clendenning, graduates of Pratt Institute,
Brooklyn, both trained librarians. After inspect
ing the books then on the shelves four hundred
were retained and four hundred and fifty new
ones added, and all arranged after modern meth
ods. Miss Johnson, who is an ardent book lover,
and who has assisted in classifying and cata
loguing many rare and valuable collections, was
interested deeply in the discovery of the old
books. The books were such as the general pub
lic does not care for and therefore were allowed
to drop out of sight. Their neglect seems to in
a way justify the criticisms of Mr. Bryant by
his friends and neighbors at the time he gave
the library for bestowing such works upon so
small an institution.
Outsiders have often come to the rescue of
the library. The Bryant family, the Godwin
family, and George A. Thayer preceded Mrs.
Mackay in aiding it. Besides adding to the num
ber of books and rebinding the old ones, Mrs.
Mackay has redecorated and recarpeted the
rooms. There is as usual an inharmonious note heard,
due to the removal of the portraits, fine litho
graphs of Bryant and Longfellow, and some
engravings given by the Godwin and Bryant
families. These no longer appear on the walls
and some of the old residents who are not in
sympathy with the radical changes and who re
tain a loyal affection and gratitude for the poet
founder, think this is a mistake.
But with this passing of William Cullen

Bryant, Roslyn did not lose its literary celebrity,
for his place was at once taken by his son-in-
law, Parke Godwin, who was long associated
with him on the "Evening Post" and had won a
measure of success as a man of letters even when
he married the poet's eldest daughter, and for
many years his home, Clover Croft, was a gath
ering place of famous men, just as Roslyn had
been. Nowadays Mr. Godwin has no home, in
one sense, in Roslyn. He gifted over Clover
Croft to his daughter, Mrs. F. N. Goddard, when
he began to feel the need of husbanding his
strength to complete his literary work ; but no
man is better known in Roslyn than he, and his
frequent visits, spent either at Clover Croft or
Cedarmere, keep up his connection with the vil
lage which has now continued over many, many
years. Writing of Clover Croft and Mr. Godwin, a
recent visitor says :
"The great attic of Clover Croft, which is
the length and breadth of the house, has a
big storage of theater flies and stage details,
which in the past were often called into requi
sition for impromptu entertainments, when
the neighbors were hastily bidden to meet
some prominent actor or singer. The dra
matic strain in Mr. Godwin's many sided na
ture has always been in evidence, whether
as an enthusiastic and appreciative frequenter
of his box at the opera or during the win
ter's series of plays, or when as a brown haired
man he took part in the amateur theatricals
at Clover Croft, when Roslyn was. but a little
hamlet and the summer home of Charles A.
Dana, Bryant, Richard Storrs Willis and the
brilliant friends they entertained. The wit and
humor of Mr. Godwin's character songs, his
strong, rich voice, natural grace and intense
magnetism, made him the life of all gatherings
which he shared.
"There has been a wide range of experi
ence in his eighty-seven years, and his mar
velous memory recalls this to the happy lis
tener, when Mr. Godwin is in the mood to talk.
Had he been less the dreamer, poet, philos
opher and student, with ambition equal to his
abilities, these would have kept him contin
ually before the public eye and ear. He has,
however, responded reluctantly to appeals,
especially when desired as a speaker, but his

118

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

addresses are notable as fine mosaics of terse
phrases, graceful imagery, sound sense and
a wide range of knowledge. Memorable ad
dresses are, one delivered in the Century Club
on its fiftieth anniversary, his eulogy on
George W. Curtis, at the same place, and at
Paterson when that city celebrated its cen
tennial and he stood before a great audience
as the oldest living representative of the first
white settler, Abraham Godwin, when Pater
son was Tatwana. His latest addresses, the
one at the memorial service of Edwin Booth,
and at Cummington, when the one hundredth
anniversary of Bryant's birth was celebrated,
were made when his plenitude of years might
have caused a weakening of the old forces,
but his magnetic earnestness, rich, clear and
sonorous tones made him, as in the past, the
chief attraction.
"A marked feature of the Booth commem
oration ceremonies was the volume of cheers
the newspaper men gave the great journalist
when he came forward on the stage, one of a
group comprising Henry Irving, Tomasa Sal-
vini and Joseph Jefferson, and the next day
they reported that 'Mr. Godwin's delivery was
even finer and more impressive than that of
any of the three professional actors who spoke
from the stage,' and 'we think that any per
son in the audience who did not know the
men on the stage would, in judging by ap
pearance, have picked out the seventy-seven-
year-old Parke Godwin as the greatest trage
dian of the lot.'
"Mr. Godwin is an art critic of intelligence
and discrimination, and his lectures on art
given at Princeton, his alma mater, are held
up to the students as models in diction and
knowledge. In his personal relations as
friend and neighbor, be is delightful, and
when the ball of thought is sent rolling into
the past it is a great privilege to be a listen
er. He likes to tell how (strangely the cur
rent of his life was changed, when as a young
lawyer he tried to wait patiently for the cases
so slow in appearing. At this time his Sun
day afternoons were spent with a young mar
ried cousin, of whom1 he was very fond, and
to whom he went for advice and sympathy.
On one of these occasions he inquired if in
her neighborhood he could find a boarding
place where accommodations were pleasant
and prices reasonable, and was referred to
'a house across the way, lately changed from
a school to a select boarding place.' This
soon became a popular resort for clever men,

and not long after Mr. Godwin's establish
ment there he noticed a finely intellectual
looking man, always grave, silent and thought
ful and alone.
"There was something so distinguished
about his personality that Mr. Godwin asked
of one of the attendants the stranger's name.
The answer was so carelessly given that the
next day Mr. Godwin again made inquiries
and was told that the man was William Cullen
Bryant, who was a transient boarder dur
ing the absence of his family from the city,
and that he had sought this unpretentious
place because of its quiet and nearness to the
office of the "Evening Post." The interest was
mutual, . however, and ordinarily shy and
reticent as Mr. Bryant was, he one day, find
ing himself seated 'near Mr. Godwin, and the
two the only occupants of the room, inter
rogated him in a friendly way as to his occu
pation, which 'Mr. Godwin frankly acknowl
edged was only in embryo. 'Then,' said the
elder man, 'as you are not busy, Why can you
not take the place of my assistant, who is ill.'
Godwin tells with much hiunor that he as
sured Mr. Bryant he could be of no earthly use
to him, as he had never been in a newspaper
office. But he accepted the offer, and the reg
ular assistant dying soon after, he continued
to serve with Mr. Bryant the interests of the
"Evening Post" from 1837 to 1853, and after a
long interval resuming editorship in 1865 for
another period of years. The business rela
tions with Mr. Bryant led to a friendly in
timacy, resulting in the marriage of Mr. God
win to Mr. Bryant's eldest daughter. An epi
sode of his journalistic life which was always
of interest to him was when as editor of "Put
nam's Magazine" Miss Bacon presented to him
her appeal to the public to dethrone Shakes
peare and substitute Bacon as the author of
the immortal plays and sonnets. Mr. Godwin
has always been an ardent student of Shakes
peare, and he published the article only as a
literary curiosity, the mental disorder of the
writer being quite apparent, and it was a
satire of late that Miss Bacon should offer her
uncanny imaginings to a man who had studied
his Shakespeare as devoutly as he loved and
believed in his personality.
"In the early years of Mr. Godwin's mar
ried life he occupied in the summer an old-
fashioned home on the southern part of Mr.
Bryan's estate at Roslyn. It was simple
in construction, but quaintly attractive and
stood midway between the waters of Hemp-

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

119

stead Harbor and the winding lake from
which the place takes its name. It was here,
on the grassy slope just above the salt waters,
where Margaret Fuller, a frequent and be
loved guest, would throw herself after a swim
in the harbor and talk breezily to her friends
with that captivating magnetism wb.ich made
her a beloved companion at Brook Farm.
"When the Godwins were living at Roslyn
occurred the frightful storm which ship
wrecked on Long Island Sound the vessel on
which Margaret Fuller Ossoli, her husband
and child were passengers, and it was a curious
psychological fact that Airs. Godwin was so
much under the influences of the night of
disaster that she could not sleep, but rest
lessly walked her room until morning, insist
ing that some one they knew and loved was
in danger. The first person Air. Godwin met
the next morning near the "Evening Post"
building was Bayard Taylor, who told him
of the sad news which was a mutual sorrow.
"In the gradual developing of 'the Cedar
mere grounds the low brown house was torn
down, and . some time later on its site was
built an attractive cottage, known as Golden
Rod. It has of recent years been rented for
the summer, one of its tenants having been
Albert Sterner, who used the west balcony for
a studio. Among the changes Mr. Godwin
deplores is the shutting out of the Sound view
from Clpver Croft piazzas by the magnificent
trees of Willow Mere. When these were
planted by the direction of the mother of Mrs.
Richard Storrs Willis, Mr. Godwin foretold
they would prove a future barricade to his
view; but his neighbor assured him that they
would not be likely to give him trouble, as
years would come and go before they would
attain such proportions as to change the land
scape. To-day Air. Godwin is the only one
left to bear witness to the truth of his pre
diction. "For a man who has in his nature the es
sentials of a dreamer and a poet, Mr. Godwin
has had a keen and practical interest in poli
tics, and at one time was deputy collector of
the New York Custom House. Many of the
reforms he advocated in the "Democratic Re
view" were afterward embodied in the consti
tution and code of New York. Air. Godwin's
years of Shakespearean research have culmi
nated, since his retirement from newspaper
work, in an analytical arrangement of the
sonnets of Shakespeare. He began by careful
and continuous reading, determined to find

the author's meaning, which he believed the
sonnets were written to convey, at last group
ing them, adding marginal notes, after
thoughtful readings, and now he declares that
the key to their various moods is that they
tell the history of the author. Air. Godwin,
with this loving tribute to the great master,
closes his literary work. He believes that his
vigorous physical and mental vitality is due
not only to the inheritance of a sound mind
and body, but to his restful summers at
the Roslyn country home and the exercise
of horseback riding. Friendly guests at both
homes of whom Mr. Godwin often speaks are
Bayard Taylor, Hawthorne, Fitz-Greene Hal-
leck and Richard Storrs Willis, Edwin Booth,
Salvini, Lord Houghton, Sir Henry Irving,
Justin McCarthy. Orville Dewey, Robert Coll-
yer, Edwin Forest, Horatio Greenough, Samuel
j. Tilden and scores of others, of whom many
were women prominent as singers, writers and
artists."

TOWER AT ROSLYN.
It has been said that Bryant brought fame
to Roslyn and made its beauties known to thou
sands, inducing many to build homes within its
boundaries or to select it as a place in which to
recuperate mind and body in a summer rest each
year. Byrant, and later, Parke Godwin, used to
declare that they owed much of their triumph
over the wear and tear of years by the splendid
health-giving qualities of Roslyn's pure air and
its restfulness. Perhaps the most advanced
form of this spirit of home building has been the
palace on Harbor Hill, which has been erected

120

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

for Clarence Mackay, son of one of the Cali
fornia millionaires. By it Harbor Hill is now
closed to the public, and the palace rises on the
apex where for many years the United States
Government maintained an observatory by the
undignified right of "squatter" sovereignty.
When he selected the site for his summer resi
dence, 'Mr. Mackey bought up as much of the
surrounding farmland as he deemed was neces
sary for his purpose and the proper seclusion of
his home and of its appendages in the way of
barns, stables, cottages for work people, etc., and
now, it is said, is in possession of some 650 acres
all enclosed and all in process of development,
for at the date of this writing neither the house
nor tbe "improvements" on the property have
been completed. The whole "scheme" of the
estate is being worked out according to carefully
thought-out plans, covering the most minute
details, and everything has had to give way to
these from Uncle Sam's observatory and public
roa.ds to a humble negro burying ground, which
had been in use for a century or more. The fol
lowing newspaper account of the details of the
work is fairly correct and it is worth preserving :
The estate itself was, and to a great extent
is yet, simply a wild waste of hill and dale,
covered with a tangled mass of undergrowth,
so thickly intertwined that in most places it
is impossible to force a way through it without
an ax and a bush hook. Stately oaks, massive
hickories, groves of mammoth chestnuts, pine,
cedar and maple, undisturbed by the wood
man's ax, abound. It is a wilderness which
for hundreds of years has been invaded only
by the hunter. Two roads only intersect the
property; one, the primitive road cut through
from the village to the site of the old United
States observatory; the other a mere bridle
path running diagonally across the estate,
the closing of which a month or so ago aroused
the animosity of a few of the villagers. The
daily papers had the stories of how the Ros
lyn residents purposed to invoke the law to
uphold their alleged prescriptive rights to pass
through the property over this road. When,
a week ago, I made inquiries about Roslyn in
reference to the alleged unlawful closing of
the old road, I was unable to find a resident
of the place who would admit that he had any

grievance against Air. Mackay on account of
his action in the matter. They all said that
it was simply a path through the jungle, which,
although it had been used for many years,
never was a road, and consequently had not
become a right of way by prescription.
Early in the course of the preparation of
plans Mr. Mackay made known his preference
for the natural wilderness of the estate and of
his desire to preserve this feature as much as
possible. It was decided that the house should be
built on the very apex of the hill, with a tower
which should extend even higher than the old
United States observatory, which formerly oc
cupied the space, so that an even better gen
eral view of the surrounding country could be
obtained. To> reach this spot, high above the
surroundings, a long road was necessary. The
point nearest the road station, only about
three minutes' ride by carriage from it, was
chosen for the site of the lodge, the entrance
to the estate. Here it was decided to build
a gate, modeled after the old English style.
The lodge, the foundation of which has already-
been completed, is to be of solid granite. It
will Consist of two houses or structures, with a
bridge containing other rooms, connecting the
two, over the roadway leading into the estate.
The problem which was submitted to the
civil engineers connected with the huge staff
engaged in the work of laying out the estate
was, how to run the road to the summit of the
bill so that the grade might be uniform
throughout the whole distance, without abrupt
rises, or too many short turns. That they have
solved the problem is a feather in their caps,
wlhich all engineers who have looked over the
work are willing to recognize. A topographical
map of the entire estate was first made, and
from it the route was laid out. It winds in
and out like a snake, through cuts in the hills,
over seemingly natural bridges, through defiles
and over filled-in ravines, keeping the same
relative rise for its entire distance, of from a
mile to a mile and a half, all within the Mackav
domain, until it finally ends at the terrace leadA
ing to the house. This road is nearly com
pleted. There is no portion of it less than six
ty feet wide, and in many places it broadens
out to 100 feet. Throughout its entire length
it is to be macadamized, under a guarantee
that it will be as lasting as the best macadam
road in the city.
In its windings it meets hills, through which
it is necessary to bore. This has been done,

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

121

and in one instance the cut is between thirty
and forty feet deep. Then it meets ravines,
which 'have been filled in, some of them to the
depth of from twenty to thirty feet. In one.
instance it was necessary to skirt a hill with
a sheer almost perpendicular descent of a hun
dred or more feet. A portion of the side of
the hill had to be excavated, but as in a short
time, if left in that condition, the weather
would have washed the new road entirely away,
it was necessary to build a stone stay or abut
ment on the precipitate, side. This was done
with unhewn rocks dug from other portions
of the road. The retaining wall at its deepest
point is about fifty feet, and extends from one
side of the gully to the other, something over
500 feet.
This retaining wall at the bottom is twenty
feet thick, tapering up to a nine-foot thickness
at the level of the roadbed. Just before reach
ing the apex of the hill, where the castle is
to be situated, a valley is met, which has taxed
the ingenuity of the engineers. After trying-
all sorts of plans, it was finally decided to fill
it in for a roadway, and this is now being
done. '
Mr. Mackay has kept careful count of
everything that has transpired in the effort to
transform the howling wilderness into a lux
urious abode, and has personally conducted
many of the plans. He is jealous of his wild
woodland effect, and is spending tens of thou
sands of dollars in saving the trees. One in
stance of this was shown when he ordered a
change from the original lines of the road, be
cause if the work were continued on the origin
al plan it would cut through a noble grove of
old chestnuts and naturally destroy many of
them. It cost him between $4,000 and $5,000
to change the route, but he seemed to consider
the money well spent wlien it saved his be
loved grove of chestnuts from destruction.
Strict orders were given by him that no tree
or shrub, however insignificant, should be de
stroyed if money could save it.
In complying with these orders, thousands
of trees which grew in valleys along the site
of the road, and which would have to be buried
or half buried in filling in the ravines for the
road, were encased in boxes from the roots to
a height above the level of the filling, with air
space between the (trunk of the tree and tbe
boxing. One noble oak which I noticed, stand
ing just on the edge of the surveyor's line,
in the bottom of a valley, would have been
buried to its lower branches in the filling in

earth, and would have eventually died had it
not been boxed in from the roots to the lower
branches, fully twenty-five feet. The tree meas
ured fully four feet in diameter at the bottom.
To encase it for twenty-five feet took a square
box four by four by twenty-five feet, allowing
for the necessary air space. The timber used
was spruce — worth five Icents a foot. The
saving of this one tree cost twenty dollars, for
material alone, not counting the extra labor.
One little maple sapling, which the owner in
sisted upon saving and which the ordinary
mortal walking through the woods would smash
with his cane, without a second thought, cost
him eight dollars for boxing, so that it should
not die !
His love for nature at her wildest, together
with his fear lest some portion of his magnifi
cent domain should be marred by the ruth
less hand of the contractor and his employes,
has led Mr. Mackay into extravagance which
he scarcely could have contemplated in the
beginning. The original contract for cutting
through the mile or so of road to the site of
the residence was 'moderate. His exactions
since then, in respect to the saving of trees,
shrubbery, etc., which was not contemplated
in the original agreement, will probably aug
ment the total cost to at least three times the
original contract price.
The approach to the mansion alone will
cost close to $150,000, and this is only the
actual approach and does not include the ap
propriation for the landscape engineer. Every
cut through a hill will have to be sodded,
seeded, planted and set out so as to carry out
the general scheme of native wilderness. All
of the ravines which have been filled in will
have to be mossed over and made to look
natural. Every portion of the approach will
have to be so treated by the gardeners and
architects in order that it may be a complete
contrast to the surrounding estates. So much
for the approach to the house alone.
Then will come the fencing in. A portion
of the vast estate will be inclosed by heavy,
substantial stone walls. Another portion will
have a high and closely woven wire fence as
a protection, and still another section will be
inclosed by a thick thorn hedge. It will depend
entirely upon the topography of the ground.
And this, also, is but the beginning.
The house, which Mr. Mackay has said
would be "his little summer place," will, as a
matter of fact, probably be the most magnifi
cent summer home in America. It is Air.

122

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Mackay's ambition to eclipse all others. The
homes of the Vanderbilts, Astors, Whitneys
and Goulds are to be nothing in comparison
to the splendid place planned by -Mr. Mackay.
The approach to the house is to be a marvel
of beauty, built on the old Roman order of ar
chitecture. Just in front of the house will be
an oblong plaza, nearly as large as the main
front of the house. In the center of this will
be a fountain, capable of presenting prismatic
effects in the evening. Around this will be
rare plants, and on the outside a marble walk,
surrounded by solid marble balustrades. At
the side opposite the house three steps will
lead down to another marble plaza, with an
tique lamp posts at either end. Three more
steps will lead down to a third level like the
second, and so on until the final circle is
reached, where the carriages stop. ¦ For use
on rainy days, when the owner may not wish
to ascend the graduated plazas, a road will
be built from the carriage circle to the left,
and through a tunnel under the main plaza
into the cellar of the house, where an elevator
will take the occupants to the rooms above.
It is proposed by Mr. Mackay to keep the
property as far as possible in its present state
of wilderness, and it will be stocked with
game of various kinds.
It is estimated by those who are conversant
with Mr. Mackay's plans that it will cost all
of $5,000,000 to carry them out, and that the
place will be one of the most magnificent, if
not the most -magnificent, of America's sum
mer residences.
Great Neck has risen in importance and in
creased in population since the opening of the
railroad through it, but although it has been
settled since about 1670, there is little about
it to call for notice beyond saying that it is a
prosperous agricultural community, Here the
country begins to reach a greater height, and
the scene becomes picturesque. The splendid
estate of ex-Mayor William R. Grace, of New
York, which bears the name of Graceland, is one
of many attractive properties which wealth and
taste combined have created out of what was in
deed a wilderness.
Port Washington is the terminus of one
branch of the Long Island 'Railroad, and from
the opening of that bit of railroad line in 1898
its story as a modern resort will in the future

date. But at present its story is mainly of the
past. Up to 1875 it was known as Cow Bay, and
its oystering business gave employment to the
bulk of its adult population, and it could rejoice
in its antiquity, as- it was the scene of the sur
render of the English to the Dutch, already, nar
rated in this chapter. In the early part of the
eighteenth century two tidewater grist-mills
were erected at Cow Bay, and with them the vil
lage may be said to have begun. It is delight
fully situated, commands a beautiful view of the
Sound, and possesses all the advantages of an
ideal residential village. The roads are of mac
adam, and that to the Sands Point Lighthouse
is a most enjoyable drive. The Manhasset Yacht
Club has its club house and anchorage grounds
here. Manhasset looms up a little more prominently
than its two neighbors we have just been writing
about, from the historian's point of view. It was
formerly called Cow Neck by its white inhabit
ants, and Sint Sink by the red men, but Manhas
set has been its legal designation since 1850.
Since the opening up of the railroad it has added
greatly to its population, and it promises ere
long to be one of the most popular resort towns
on the north shore. In most of the guide books
a traditionary story is> printed which connects
Manhasset with the redoubtable Miles Standish,
but this is told in another chapter. At Manhas
set was printed the first newspaper in the town
ship, the "North Hempstead Gazette." This was
established December 3, 1846, by William H.
Onderdonk, then a young lawyer, who subse
quently rose to eminence in his profession. In
1848 the paper was removed to Roslyn, and in
1852 the material was taken to West Farns, in
Westchester county.
Turning to another section of the town, we
find the rifle ranges of Creedmoor, where year
after year the State militia compete for marks
men's badges and where the famous series of in
ternational rifle matches for the "Palma" trophy
were held in the seventies. At that time he
rifle butts of Creedmoor were as well known as
those of Wimbledon, but in recent years its
competitions have been local and humdrum.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

123

IN AND AROUND PORT WASHINGTON

124

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Not far distant is a spot famous for one of
the most delightful of the arts of peace, that of
floriculture — Floral Park, known throughout
the whole land for the flowers and seeds that go
out from it. John Lewis Childs performed a
monumental work, one of magnificent beauty as
well as utility, for the nurseries form one of the
most handsome scenes human eye ever rested
upon. So successful has been the raising of seeds
that the business has spread over the town to the
exclusion of nearly all other enterprises. Every
condition of soil and climate favors, and there
seems to be no good reason why the raising of
flowers, as well as seeds, cannot be carried on
to the point where the city's great demand can
be almost wholly supplied. The little park
whence the town gets its name, reached just be
fore the station, is a thing of beauty when all
abloom during the summer. From an observa
tory in it one can look over this great seed and
flower farm, for such it is, and see the pretty
houses and cottages that dot it. The village
itself, of but recent date, numbers a population
of about 400.
Hyde Park was formerly a horse-racing cen
ter, and at one time bore the name of New
market. Hyde Park was formerly the residence
of Judge George D. Ludlow, and his mansion
was for many years the most notable dwelling
in the neighborhood. Judge Ludlow was an in
tense Tory during the Revolution, and his
brother Gabriel was colonel of a regiment of
American loyalists during tbe same period. As
a result of this, when peace was declared, their
estates were forfeited and the two brothers set
tled in New Brunswick, Canada, and Hyde Park
saw them no more. In 1816 William Cobbett,
the English political reformer and agitator, was
compelled to leave London on account of hav
ing excited the ire of the Government of that
day, and coming to this country until the storm
should blow over, leased a farm' at Hyde Park.
He resided in the old Ludlow mansion, and it
was while in his occupancy, in 181 7, that it was
destroyed by fire. Cobbett did not remain long

in America, for in 1819 he was again in England
and earning his livelihood by his pen.
Mineola has sprung into new prominence
since 1898, when was formed the new county of
Nassau, of which it is the judicial seat. Since
1866 however, the exhibitions of the Queens-
Nassau County Agricultural Society have been
held there, and these have steadily increased in
attractiveness until the annual fair has become
one of the most fashionable functions of not only
the people in the immediate neighborhood but of
the entire borough of Queens. At these fairs
there is always an excellent showing of the rich
bounties of the Nassau County and Queens
Borough farms and their finest blooded stock.
It is the country supporting this fair that long
ago gave to Long Island its great reputation for
farm and garden products of unsurpassable ex
cellence. The history of the Agricultural So
ciety is given at length in a previous chapter.

QUEENS COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
The village of Mineola is of comparatively
recent founding. In French's "Gazetteer" of
i860 it is described as a "scattered village at the
junction of the Long Island and Hempstead
Branch Railroads." In 1892 the population was
600, and this number had increased to some 900
in 1902. Westbury derives its name from Westbury,
Wiltshire, England, that being the birthplace of
Henry Willis, who, with Edward Titus, first set
tled within the present precincts of the village in

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

125

1670 and applied the name to it. Willis was a
Quaker, and had suffered much persecution be
fore crossing the Atlantic. Westbury was long
noted as one of the centers of Quakerism on
Long Island, and most of its old families still be
long to that body. Among these were the
Hickses, Posts, Seamans, Rushmores, Town-
sends, Treadwells and Willetts.
For many years the Quakers (Friends)
maintained an academical school which was fa
mous upon Long Island, and known to the sect
throughout the United States. This was known
as the Friends' School. For thirty years after
the division of the Friends into two bodies
through the Hicksite movement, each branch
conducted a school under the management of a
committee. About 1852 the Hicksites lost their
school property by fire, after which the two so
cieties united in the formation of the Westbury
Educational Association, which was charged
with the conduct of one school. Nominally it
was undenominational, and so it was, practically,
in fact, albeit it was dominated by Quaker in
fluences. For many years it enjoyed a prosperous
career, and it commanded the presence of such
accomplished men and famous lecturers as Pro
fessor Edward Livingston Youmans, George W.
Curtis, Theodore Tilton, William Lloyd Gar
rison, and others of similar repute. Something
like a quarter of century ago the school was
closed, and the building came to be used for dis
trict purposes, as it is at the present time.

But the quaintness and simplicity of the days
agone have disappeared, giving way before the
spirit of a new age. The town has moved stead
ily into those industrial pursuits which necessi
tate the whirr of machinery and the incoming of
a new population — some factory operatives, and
others, men of means and comparative leisure,
with whom the automobile has become a neces
sity. The ground, too, has become a golfing
ground since the craze for that ancient and royal
Scottish game has assumed its present American
popularity, and quite a number of handsome
homes and large and well appointed club
houses have in recent years been added to its old
attractiveness. Before leaving this catalogue of the more
important villages of North Hempstead, some
brief mention should be made of one which
seems in recent years to be retrograding,
but which had a bit of history attaching to it that
is worth remembering. That is the village of
Lakeville, almost on the old border line of Flush
ing. Indeed, it is to its closeness to Flushing that
is due its historical interest. It contained a
country seat belonging to Governor Dongan, and
part of the six hundred acres or so which he re
ceived when Flushing and Hempstead received
their charters, and which, while not exactly a
bribe, was at least a diplomatic gift. Lakeville
was formerly called Success from a pond in its
neighborhood which bore that name.

3|g 3|8 3

8

126

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

OYSTER BAY AND VICINITY.

CHAPTER VI.

OYSTER BAY.

j|HE township of Oyster Bay, which is
the largest in Nassau County, as it
was the largest in the old County of
Queens, extends across the entire island
from the Sound to the ocean. The north shore
is deeply indented, and on the south it is separated
from the ocean by the Great South Bay, with
Jones or Seaford Beach in front. The bay en
closes several small islands which are included
in the township, but for the most part they are of
very little value.
The earliest deed for the disposal of land in
Oyster Bay" Township was unearthed some
years ago by Mr. W. S. Pelletreau. It was
issued in 1639 by the agent of the Earl of Ster
ling, and, although Alariner Sinderland does not
seem to have profited by the deed, it may be
inserted here as it shows the value of the land,
and also proves that even in spite of the grant
of the "Royal King" the Indians had to be
reckoned with :

Know all men whom this p'snt writeing
may concearne that I, James ffarrett, gent.,
Deputy to the right Honorable, the Earle of
Starelinge, doe by these p'sents, in the name
and behalfe of the said Earle, and in my own
name as his deputy as it doth or may any way
concerne mysejfe, give and graunt free leave
and liberty unto Alathew Sinderland Seaman
at Boston in New England, to possesse and
vmprove and enjoy two little necks of Land,
the one uppon the East side of Oyster Bay
Harbour, and the other uppon the west side of
the said Harbour, w'ch two necks, and every

part of them, and all belonging thereunto or
that the aforesaid two necks may afford, to
remain unto the said Alathew Sinderland, his
heires and assignes for now and ever, with full
power to the said Mathew to dispose thereof
at his own pleasure. But forasmuch as it
hath pleased our Royall King to grant a patent
of Long Island to the said Earle, in considera
tion thereof it is agreed upon that the said
Mathew Sinderland shall pay or cause to be
paid yearely to the said Earle or his deputy
tenn shillings lawfull money of England, and
the first payment to bee and beginn at our
Lady day next ensuinge, in the year of God
one thusand six hundred and fforty yeares, and
so to continue. And it shall bee lawfull for
the said Mathew to compound and agree witli
the Indians that now have the possession of
the said necks for theire consent and good will.
In witness I have sett my hand and seale
this day, beinge 18th of June 1639.
James Farrett.
Robert Turner.
Whereas Alathew Sinderland, seaman, hath
apporcon of Land at Oyster Bay on Long
Island from one James Farrett, in the name
and behalfe of the Earle of Starelinge, and the
said Alathew is to pay for the said proportion
tenn shillings a year to the said Earle or his
deputy, Know you that I James ffarrett to
have received from the said Alathew twenty
shillings, and for the rent of the said land for
the first yeare of his possession, beinge from
thirty-nine unto the fortieth, w'ch I reseaved
and graunt the receipt thereof.
Witness my hand the 4th of September
1639. James Farrett,
Recorded the 1st of Alarch 1660, by me.
Will: Wells, Recorder.

128

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

In 1667 the first patent issued by Governor
Nicolls was confirmed by Governor Andros,
whose patent reads as follows :
Edmond Andros Esqr., Seigneur of Saus-
mares, Lieut, and Governor General under his
Royal Highness James Duke of York and Al
bany &c. of all his Territories in America, To
all to whom these Presents shall come sendeth
greeting. Whereas there is a certain Town in the
North Riding of Yorkshire on Long Island
commonly called and known by the name of
Oyster Bay, situated, lying and being on the
north side of the Island, toward the Sound,
having a certain Tract of land thereunto be
longing ; the East bounds whereof begin at the
head of the Cold Spring, and so to range upon
a Southward line from the Sound or North
Sea to the South Sea, across the Island to the
South East bounds of their South meadows at
a certain River called by the Indians Narras-
ketuck ; thence running along the said coast
westerly to another certain river called Arras-
quaung; then northerly to the Eastermost ex
tent of the Great Plains where the line divides
Hempstead and Robert Williams' bounds;
from thence stretching westerly along the mid
dle of the said Plains till it bears South from
the said Robert Williams' marked Tree at the
point of Trees called Cantiagge; thence on a
north line to the said marked tree, and then
on a north west line somewhat westerly to the
head of Hempstead Harbor on the East side,
so to the Sound ; and from thence Easterly
along the sound to the aforementioned North
and South line which runs across the Island
by the Cold Spring aforesaid : Bounded, on
the North by the Sound, on the East by Hunt
ington limmitts, on the South part by the Sea
and part by Hempstead limmitts, and on West
by the bounds of Hempstead aforesaid, includ
ing all the Necks of Land and Islands within
the aforedescribed bounds and limmitts.
Know ye that by virtue of His Majesty's
Letters Patent and the commission and au
thority unto me given by his Royal Highness
I have Ratified, Confirmed and Granted, and
by these presents do hereby rattify, Confirm
and grant unto Henry Townsend senr., Nich
olas Wright, Thomas Townsend, Gideon
Wright, Richard Harcker, Joseph Carpenter,
and Josias Latting, as patentees for and on be
half of themselves and of their associates the
Freeholders and Inhabitants of the said Town,

their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, all the
afore mentioned Tract of Land within the said
hounds, with the Islands and Necks of Land
aforesaid, together with -all the Wood lands,
Plains, Meadows, Pastures, Quarries, Marshes,
Waters, Lakes, Rivers, Fishing, Hawking,
Hunting and Fowling, and all of the profits,
commodities, emoluments, Hereditiments to
the said Town Tract of Land and premises
within the limmitts and bounds aforemen
tioned described belonging or in any wise ap
pertaining; To have and To hold all and sin
gular the'said lands, Hereditiments and prem
ises, with their and every of their appurte
nances and part and parcel thereof, to the said
Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs,
Successors and Assigns, to the proper use and
behoof of them the said Patentees and their As
sociates, their Successors and Assigns forever.
The Tenure of the said lands and premises to
be according to the custom of the Manour of
East Greenwich in the County of Kent in Eng
land, in 'free and Common Soccage and by
Fealty only. Provided allways notwithstand
ing that the extent of the bounds afore recited
in no way prejudiced or infringed the particu
lar propriety of any person or persons who
have right by labour or any other lawfull claim
to any part or parcell of Land or Tenement
within the limmitts aforesaid, only that all the
lands and Plantations within the said limmitts
or bounds shall have relation to the Town in
general for the well Government thereof; and
if it shall so happen that any part or parcell of
the said land within the bounds and limmitts
afore described be not all ready purchased of
the Indians it may be purchased (as occasion)
according to Law.
I do hereby likewise confirm and grant unto
the said Pattentees and their associates, their
Heirs, successors and assigns, all the privi
leges and immunities belonging to a Township
within this Government, and that the place of
their present habitation and abode shall con
tinue and retain the name of Oyster Bay, by
which name and Stile it shall be distinguished
and known in all bargains and Sales, Deeds,
Records and writings, they making improve
ments thereon according to Law, and yielding
and paying therefor yearly and every year
unto his Royal Highness' use .as a Quit Rent
one good fat Lamb on the 25th clay of March
unto such Officer or Officers as shall be em
powered to receive the same.
Given under my hand and sealed with the
seal of the Province in New York this 29th day

OYSTER BAY.

129

of September in the 29th year of his Majesty's
Reign, Anno Domini 1677. Andros.
Examined by me, Mathew Nichols, Sec.
This is a true Record of the original patent
of Oyster Bay, written and examined by me,
John Newman, Recorder.
On the back side of the before written pa.i-
ent is the following endorsement:
New York^ November 1st, 1684.
Memorandum. — That it is agreed and con
sented unto' by us whose names are underwrit
ten, deputed from the town of Oyster Bay to
adjust and ascertain the bounds and limmits
between the towns of Oyster Bay and Hemp
stead before the governor and council at Fort
James in New York, that the bounds and lim
mits between Oyster Bay and Hempstead be
gin at the Barrow Beach, according to an
agreement made the 25th day of October 1677.
Witness our hands — Thos. Townsend, Na
thaniel Coles, John Weeks, Isaac Horner.
Signed in the presence of John Sprague,
George Farewell, George Brewerton.
Governor Andros's patent was needed, for
the vagueness of the boundary lines had given
trouble. The Indians had not been promptly
paid in the first place and that involved con
siderable negotiations, and the precise limits of
the western boundary involved another dispute
with the red men, while a similar trouble was
started in 1663 with Huntington over the eastern
boundary, but that dispute lasted for over a
century and its details are too wearisome to be
followed, especially as the matter has long ago
lost its living interest — if it ever really had any
except to a handful of people.
This, however, is anticipating. The history
of the township begins much earlier than the
documents last mentioned would imply, and in
that history was one of the sorrows of old Peter
Stuyvesant. It was neither English nor Dutch.
The English held it ; the Dutch claimed it ; so it
was a sort of no-man's land, caring little for the
Dutch laws and looking to Connecticut for pro
tection, although nominally under Dutch jurisdic
tion. Sovereignty was claimed for a time by the
9

colony of New Haven, but Stuyvesant never
formally admitted that claim, although there is
little doubt that it was a just and lawful one, as
just and lawful as a treaty could accomplish. But
the accession of Governor Nicolls settled all
such disputes, overthrew the Dutch rule, made
Long Island an integral part of the Province
of New York, and, except for the brief interval
of the Colve opera bouffe supremacy, crushed
for ever its hopes of being part of the New Eng
land Confederacy. But all this has already been
told in an earlier part of this work, and treaties
and the like may be passed by here and the story
of actual settlement be dwelt upon.
The first real settlement was begun in 1653,
when land was bought from ¦ the Matinecock
Indians by Peter Wright, Samuel Mayo and
William Leverich, and the purchase included the
present bounds of Oyster Bay ViNage. The price
paid was on a much more liberal scale than
usual and included "six Indian coats, six kettles,
six fathom of wampum, six hoes, six hatchets,
three pair of stockings ; thirty awl blades or
muxes, twenty knives, three shirts, and as much
peague (wampum shells) as will amount to four
pounds sterling." The others included in the
purchase were William Washburne, Thomas
Armitage, Daniel Whitehead, Anthony Wright,
Robert William's, John Washburne and Richard
Holbrook, and these men may justly be regarded
as the pioneers of the township. Several others
joined immediately after the agreement was
made, if they were not even then on the exact
spot. Twenty lots were laid' out at first, of six
acres each. Not much is known of the personal
history of any of the settlers. Mr. Leverich we
have already met in our story of Newtown.
In Oyster Bay he does not appear to have been
recognized as a leader, although he was the ac
cepted minister of the settlement until 1657. His
great aim in settling on Long Island seems to
have been to work among the Indian tribes, and
he certainly found many opportunities. Samuel
Mayo was a remarkably -enterprising fellow. He
owned the good ship "Desire," of Barnstable,
and in it carried the adventurers and their goods
and possessions to Oyster Bay. He seems to

130

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

have been the business man of the enterprise and
looked after the affairs of the colony, apportion
ing its plantations or farms to those new-comers
who proved agreeable to the town mating. But
he had not always smooth sailing in the carrying
on of his enterprises. Being engaged to- convey
the goods of Mr. Leverich to Oyster Bay, his
vessel was seized in Hempstead Harbor, by one
Thomas Baxter, under the pretense of au
thority from those in charge of affairs in Rhode
Island. Thompson says that "this Baxter was
beyond all question a turbulent and unprincipled
fellow," and the general court at Hartford cen
sured him "for his reproachful speeches against
that jurisdiction," and imposed a fine upon him.
He was also obliged to reimburse Mayo for seiz
ing his vessel under false pretenses. Mayo
died at Oyster Bay in 1670.
Peter Wright is regarded as the founder of
Oyster Bay. He was one of three brothers who
came from England to Massachusetts, probably
about 1636. He was tbe only one of the original
three purchasers who made a permanent settle
ment, and it would appear that he was regarded
as the leading man in the little community.
Richard Holbrook built the first house in what
is now Oyster Bay village. Robert Williams is
described as having been a near relative of the
celebrated Roger Williams, and was the first
purchaser of the property which afterward be
came known as Dosoris. Daniel Whitehead soon
removed to Jamaica, Anthony Wright prospered
in Oyster Bay until his death in 1680, and the
Washburnes moved to Hempstead. Most of them
were natives of England, and while the settle
ment they formed was not a religious one, it was
a 'moral community in every way. They seem
- to have freely admitted new-comers to share in
the privileges of settlement, and Governor An
dres's patent presents us with several new
names. It would seem that at first the land was to
be held in common, except the six-acre home
lots. That theory, however, was soon departed
from, and in practice all sorts of notions pre
vailed. Privileges were granted to one and with
held from another. Some lots carried rights to

privileges in the meadows, pastures and wood
lands, others did not ; sometimes lots were given
to people with the proviso that they should build
houses on them; others received lots without
any proviso at all. It was the rule that the town
meeting should pass upon the merits or demerits
of intending settlers, but, after a while, lots
were transferred without asking the leave of the
meeting. All this in the long run led to con
fusion and bickering, recrimination and law
suits. The fathers seemed to have had some
ideas of settling the land question, but appeared
unable to carry them out and the result was
trouble all around. So burdensome did all be
come that a town meeting was held in 1677, when
there was confirmed, by name, "every freeholder
which hath a free vote for giving and granting
of common rights, and not otherwise; and that
from henceforward no grant of township or com
mon rights shall be confirmed, or hold legal
grants, without every freeholder hath legal
warning that such a meeting is to be appointed,
or that there are lands to be given out ; and, after
legal warning given them by the officer appoint
ed, it shall be held legal, to all intents and pur
poses, all gifts or grants by common rights to
either man or men, given by the majority of free
holders that doth appear at the time and place ap
pointed. And it is further agreed that for every
town right that any freeholder doth possess he
shall have so many votes in the giving and grant
ing land- and common rig-hts, and not otherwise
to be understood, but to grant and divide, as they
shall see cause."
The freeholders named were : Henry
Townsend, Joseph Dickinson, Edmund Wright,
Anthony Wright, Joseph Ludlum, Samuel
Weeks, Nicholas Simpkins, John Jones, Francis
Weeks, William Frost, John Rogers, John Dick
inson, William Buckler, Nicholas Wright, Job
Wright, Elizabeth Townsend, John Towns-end,
Josiah Latting, Nathaniel Coles, Richard Har-
cott, Adam Wright, Latamore Sampson, (Simon
Cooper), Daniel Coles, John Wright, John
Townsend, Caleb Wright, Isaac Doutty, James
Townsend, John Weeks, Samuel Andrews, Mat
thias Harvey Fyde, Samuel Furman, Alice

OYSTER BAY.

131

Crabb, Henry Townsend, Jr., Gideon Wright,
Richard Crabb, George Dennis, Thomas Town-
send, Joseph Weeks, John Weeks, of Warwick,
Thomas Weeks, Moses Furman, James Weeks.
Only freeholders could vote in town meet
ing, but all lot owners were not freeholders, and
thereby arose another complication. In fact the
early land question in Oyster Bay is about as
interesting a puzzle as a legal antiquary would
find to study.
From the first the settlers looked to New
Haven as their suzerain, so to speak, and it
would seem that New Haven accepted the
charge, and in 1662 named John Richbill as
constable of Oyster Bay. The colonists seemed
to have thought this hardly in keeping with their
ideas of municipal liberty and in 1664 they joined
with Hempstead, Newton, Jamaica and- Flushing
to make up a sort of federation and manage their
own affairs without crossing the Sound, How
this federation would have panned out is hard to
say. Certainly Connecticut would have opposed
it. and just as certainly Stuyvesant would not
have tolerated it so far as such places as Flushing
and Newtown and Jamaica were concerned. But
the advent of Richard Nicolls settled all such
matters, as has already been said. It is said that
Richbill became so unpopular in Oyster Bay vil
lage owing to his willingness to accept Connec
ticut's nomination, that he was glad to sell his
property and wander away.
Richbill is described by some as the pioneer
merchant of Oyster Bay and Newtown. The sec
ond was a George Dennis, who, however, if he
was the second merchant was the first bankrupt,
for we are told that he had to make his goods
over to his creditors.
As early as 1668 a grant of land was made
for the construction of a wharf on Oyster Bay,
at the point called Ship Point, but this scheme
was not carried into effect. In 1661 the first grist
mill was erected by Henry Townsend. The mil
ler engaged to operate it, Richard H-arcutt, was
not a very polished or a very politic gentle
man and seemed to offend several of the
customers of the mill, and much grumb
ling ensued. The matter, as was certain, was

discussed at a town meeting in 1672 with the
following result: "That if any person or per
sons do not like their usage at the mill they are
to give notice of it to the miller and attend him
self, or his wife if he have one, and see their
corn grinding if they will; but if they will not
attend the grinding * * * they are at lib
erty to grind in another place and the miller is
at his liberty whether he will grind again for
any such person or persons." It is computed
that in 1699 one-third of the goods imported into
the colony of 'New York come into the Long
Island ports of Setauket, Mosquito Cove, South-
old and Oyster Bay, and a half century later the
Oyster Bay merchants had an extensive trade
with the various Sound ports, and even with
the West Indies. The outbreak of the Revolu
tionary war, _ however, dissipated all that pros
perity and blighted even the work of the fields
for many years.
But we are not to forget one of the old mer
chants of Oyster Bay — no less a personage than
the famous William Bradford, who was the first
printer in New York. For several years prior
to 1703 he executed deeds in which he described
himself as "merchant of Oyster Bay and
printer of New York." It is well enough known
that Oyster Bay was an important commercial
point ; indeed, it was largely with a view to that
end that it came to be settled; and it is curious
ly interesting to read the following — the first
known newspaper advertisement referring to
Long Island — which appeared in the "Boston
News Letter" of May 8, 1704:
"At Oyster Bay on Long Island in the
Province of New York There is a very good
Fulling Mill to be Let or Sold, as also a Plan
tation, having on it a large new Brick house,
and another good house by it for a Kitchen &
wash house, with a Barn, Stable &c, a young
orchard and 20 Acres of Cleared land. The
Mill is to be Let with or without the Planta
tion. Enquire of Mr. William Bradford Printer
in New York and know further."
Probably the people of Oyster Bay, whether
Whig or Tory, felt relieved when the Revolu
tionary war ceased and the horrors of martial

132

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

law became a thing of the past. When peace
was proclaimed, industry was resumed, but the
township had been so seriously drained of its
resources, its fields had been so trampled on
and destroyed, its granaries, when spared, had
been so emptied, and its financial resources so
reduced, that it took a long time to regain what
had been lost during the few years of conflict.
Agriculture was at that time the main industry,
for the war had shattered the shipping trade
which had been promising so much prior to 1776.
But the soil, not the sea, was, after all, the
mainstay of the people, and so until the nine
teenth century had pretty well advanced, the
story of the township might be a record of im
provements in crops, in farm stock, in extension
of the farm' land by a steady clearance of the
brush and wildwood, and in the development of
the breed of- horses, horses for pleasure as well
as for work. The apple seems to have been the
principal fruit cultivated, and Oyster Bay be
came noted for its cider.
' We may now turn our attention to the re
ligious life of Oyster Bay, a subject which is
of equal interest and importance with its civil
history. It has already been said that the first
community was not a theocracy, although the
Rev. Mr. Leverich was among the pioneers and
was regarded as their minister. In the internal
government of the township (he town meeting
ruled in everything — so far as is known no cler
gyman was appointed in Mr. Leverich's place
when he left, and it was many years before a
meeting house was erected. In 1693 the town
meeting "met together in order to a late act
of Assembly for settling two ministers in the
county, but nothing done about it; but made re
turn that it was against their judgment, there
fore could act nothing about it." Now it is im
possible to believe that these people were with
out public worship from the time Mr. Leverich
left in 1656 or thereabouts, and the probability
is that the Quaker doctrines had made headway
among them.
It is held that in 1659 a regular meeting of
the Society of Friends was established at Oyster
Bay, in the residence of Anthony Wright, and

a marriage was solemnized there between Sam
uel Andrews and Mary Wright, August 8, 1663.
There are some signs also that some of Mrs.
Hutchinson's converts visited Oyster Bay and
held religious meetings, so that in one way or
another the place was not without its spiritual
leaders, and Oyster Bay became the religious
center for a wide district. In 1672 George Fox
paid it a visit and preached in the woods, with
a rock for a pulpit, because there was no house
in the place large enough to accommodate the
number of his auditors, and it was in that year
that Anthony Wright gave land, part of his house
lot, to the Society of Friends, on which to erect
a meeting house and lay out a -burial plot. The
house was finished early in the following year
and seems to- have been a comfortable little struc
ture, with double doors, eight windows and
plain benches. The Society waxed strong, and
large congregations- were formed in Matinicock
in 1671, Jericho in 1676, and in Bethpage in
1698, while on the lonely farms the simple faith
of the Society was that held by possibly nine-
tenths of the people. For a time it would seem
that next to Flushing, Oyster Bay was the most
important center of the Society on Long Isl
and. So the burly and blusterous Keith reported,
in 1701, as the result of his personal- observa
tion. But even then a change had taken place,
and the adherents of the Society gradually fell
off in the village. The first meeting house was
taken down in 1693, and a second was not built
until 1749. In 1797 the number of Friends had
dwindled down until little more than "a rem
nant." This, however, was not caused by any fall
ing off in the religious spirit of the town, but
because other influences had been at work and
had weakened the hold of the Society. The
Baptists had been zealously at work even when
the Society seemed supreme, and had gradually
won converts to their views. About the year
1700 William Rhodes settled in Oyster Bay vil
lage from Rhode Island, and at once began to
hold regular meetings, and so organized a con
gregation—a congregation that was made up
mainly, if not wholly, of persons who had been

OYSTER BAY.

133

numbered among the Quakers. It has been held
that he was not an ordained minister, that he
was without denominational authority, but in the
early history of either the Quakers or the Bap
tists such matters were not deemed of prime
importance in the face of results. In' 1724 a
Baptist meeting house was erected, but the con
gregation lost its up-builder, for Mr. Rhodes
in that year was called to his reward. He was
succeeded, Prime tells us, by "an individual by
the name of Robert Peeks, the son of a Quaker
preacher," who had been his assistant. "He was
ordained," says Prime, "in 1724 by elders from
Rhode Island. He was what was called a Free
will Baptist, and as no other qualification was
considered necessary in a candidate for bap
tism than a desire to be saved, his church was,
of course, numerous. * * * He labored
many years, and died [1773] in the 89th year of
his age." But he was not without his troubles.
In 1745 the Rev. Thomas Davis was appointed
his colleague, and, being a stern unyielding Cal-
vinist, his sentiments were on many points ut
terly opposed to those of his senior. This led
to bickerings and confusion and might have
caused the creation of. another congregation had
not Davis, after some three years of agitation,
retired from the vineyard on account of ill-
health. The people then held together, each sec
tion certain of ultimate triumph. Caleb Wright,
a grandson of the pioneer Rhodes, had been ed
ucated for the ministry and was to be ordained
and installed as Mr. Feeks's colleague. The peo
ple listened to his preaching for over a year,
and there was a strong hope that he would lead
the people into quiet waters, that he would heal
the past differences. But the day appointed for
his ordination turned out to be that of his burial,
and the Rev. Isaac Still, "of New Jersey, who
had been appointed to ordain, preached his fun
eral sermon. After that contention broke out
worse than ever. Mr. Davis returned for a brief
visit in the hope of restoring peace, but seems
to have made the confusion worse than ever, and
if we read Prime's story of the trouble aright,
he and the now venerable Pastor Feeks had a
regular set-to in the pulpit one Sunday, and

Davis proved the victor, put Feeks out and
preached the sermon !
In 1759 David Sutton was called to the pas
torate, and for a short time peace prevailed, but
the result was a schism and the formation of
a new congregation, calling, themselves the "New
Lights." The pastor of this body, or its spokes
man and preacher, was Peter Underhill (a
grandson of the famous Captain John Under
bill), but its real leader was his mother-in-law,
Mrs. Sarah Townsend, who, having in her early
years been a schoolmistress, was generally
known as Madame Townsend ; a woman of much
ability, evidently, and one who had certainly
studied the Scriptures closely and believed in ex
pounding them according to -her lights. She
refused to believe in denominational restraints,
believed in the indiscriminate outpouring of the
Spirit, and believed that all would, at one time
or other, be converted. When the new body at
tempted, after a little experience, to draw up
a set of rules to maintain order and decorum,
she shouted "Babylon!" and withdrew. How
ever, she seems to have soon returned, and the
little community lasted for .some thirty years,
when she and Underhill and the others gave up
the struggle and became associated again with
the regular Baptist Church. By that time that
body had been reduced to nine members, and
even six years later it was only blessed with a
membership of forty. In 1801 the Rev. Mar-
maduke Earle, having settled in Oyster Bay to
assume charge of the academy, also agreed to
supply the pulpit of the Baptist Church, and un
der his ministry, which continued until his death,
in 1856, the Baptist body has had a history in
Oyster Bay in every way worthy of its aspira
tions and its high position as a body of earnest,
devoted Christian workers.
Along with the Baptist body the Episcopalians
aided in the disintegration of the Quaker su
premacy. Keith, the renegade Quaker, mentions
that he had considerable success in his proselytiz
ing efforts in Oyster Bay, among other places
on Long Island, in 1701. A church building was
erected in 1707, but for many years the congre
gation was under the pastoral charge of the

134

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

clergyman at Hempstead. After the Revolu
tion services were conducted irregularly, but the
congregation remained intact and the church
authorities in New York in 1787 appointed An
drew Fowler as "reader" to the people at Islip,
Brookhaven and Oyster Bay. Mr. Fowler after
ward became rector at Oyster Bay. He did not
remain long with the people after being or
dained a priest. It is doubtful if the church
building was much used after the Revolution for
Divine service, as the Hessian troops had used
its timber for their own purposes and destroyed
much of the internal fittings. In 1804, how
ever, the structure was blown down and the
material of which it was composed was then sold
for $67, which sum, however, the local church
authorities did not receive until 1845. Its site
was used for the Oyster Bay Academy. With
the removal of Mr. Fowler in 1791, the congre
gation seems to have again passed under the care
of a reader, with occasional visits from- the rec
tors at Huntington and North Hempstead.
When the Academy was completed the people
worshipped in one of its rooms. In 1835 it was
made a missionary station under the Rev. Isaac
Sherwood. In 1844 Oyster Bay again became
a district charge, a new church building was
erected in 1845, and the modern history of the
congregation may be said to have then begun.
The present beautiful structure in which the con
gregation now worships was erected in 1878,
when the corner stone was laid by the then rec
tor, the Rev. George R. Van de Water, now of
New York.
A Methodist Society was formed in 1833,
and the little congregation was first ministered to
by the Rev. A. Hulin and the Rev. R. Wymond,
of the Huntington circuit. In the autumn of
the same year, a quarterly conference was held,
and a class of nineteen members received Joseph
Latting as leader. For several years meetings
were held in the old academy building. In Au
gust, 1856, a building fund was secured, and a
house of worship was erected, which was dedi
cated by the Rev. Mr. Milburn, in 1859. The
first settled pastor was the Rev. Abraham S.
Emmons, who came in 1870. The Sunday-school

was organized in the year following the dedica
tion of the church edifice.
The Presbyterian Church was organized De
cember 18, 1845, by the Presbytery of Long
Island. The congregation was served by visit
ing clergymen, most prominent among whom
was the Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge, Jr., of
Hempstead, until late in 1846, when the Rev.
John T. Clark became the first installed pastor.
Meetings were at first held in the old- academy
building. In 1848 a church edifice was erected
at a cost of $3,000, and in 1873 the congrega
tion had so increased in numbers and wealth
that it was enabled to- erect a more substantial
and commodious building at a cost of $16,000.
Of the early educational conditions we have
little account. There was a schoolmaster in
1677, for it is of record that Thomas Webb,
who served as such, was appointed town clerk.
In a later day, a school was maintained in con
nection with the Episcopal Church, and there
were private schools from that time until the
establishment of the public school system.
The present village of Oyster Bay has a pop
ulation of 2,320. In 1846, in a moment of irre
sponsibility, it was decided to change its name
to Syosset, but the change only lasted, fortunate
ly, for about a week. Besides its important
oystering and shipping trade it is the center of
a colony of summer homes of the very highest
class. Its importance has steadily increased since
the railroad gave it easy access to the outer
world. Its cottages are most picturesque and
reach out from it in all directions, and it is well
supplied with hotels and boarding houses. As
the home of the Seawanhaka Yacht Club it is a
center for that class of sport, and the club house
of that organization, a most imposing structure
at the entrance of the bay, with more or less of its
"fleet" in front and its dock always a busy, bust
ling place during the season, is itself a prime
attraction to visitors. Oyster Bay, in fact, has
become quite a fashionable center, and its dig
nity in this respect seems certain to steadily in
crease. Of recent years it has come into especial
prominence as the residence of Theodore Roose
velt, ex-Governor of New York and President of

OYSTER BAY.

185

the United States. His splendid cottage has been
the scene of many an important gathering since
his return from Cuba, where, as Colonel of the
famous "Rough Riders," he won a national pre
eminence and became one of the foremost figures
in American public life. Inasmuch as the name
of this distinguished man will ever be associated
with that of this, his home village, it is entirely
proper that the story of his eventful life should
be here told.
The eyes of the nation never turned with
more anxious questioning to one man than to
Theodore Roosevelt; they came to rest upon
him with good will, confidence and trust. Un
der the administration of President AIcKinley
the country had enjoyed over four years of
marked growth, advancement and progress.
Through his kindly nature, his great diplomacy
and powers of statescraft he had done more than

Kmmdl.

any other individual to bring the whole country
into harmony and unity, and had given it prestige
among the great world powers. The marvelous
hold which he had upon the affections of the
people, east and west, north and south, was mani
fested in the universal grief which reached its
culmination in the five minutes of absolute si
lence which prevailed throughout the land in
everv avenue of life as the hour for his burial
arrived.

And the people turned to their new ruler
anxiously and yet with faith in their hearts,
for he had proved his bravery on the San Juan
hills, had manifested the purity and strength
of his purpose in public office and in his earn
est and purposeful way had shown himself to
be the peer of some of the most gifted men of
the nation. He is, however, the youngest chief
executive that has presided over the destinies
of the United States, but since he has handled
the reins of government he has shown a won
derful insight into public affairs of every de
scription. The man of war has become the
man of peace ; the man of action has become
the man of thought; his diplomacy has elicited
the highest commendation ; and while his great
strength of purpose has in no wise diminished,
he has directed it in different channels, having
marked influence upon the public good.
President Roosevelt springs from one of the
old and distinguished families of Dutch orig
in. This family was one of considerable import
ance in Holland, as shown by the coat of armor,
indicating the origin of the family. Arms, ar
gent on a mount vert, a rose bush with three
roses ppr. ; crest, three ostrich feathers per
pale, gules and argent; motto, Qui plantavit
curabit ( the one who planted it will take care
of it). This. is the same in substance as that
borne on the arms of the State of Connecti
cut, viz. : Qui transtulit sustinet (he who trans
planted sustains).
Claes Alartinzen Van Roosevelt, meaning
Nicholas the son of Alartin, of the Rosefield,
who emigrated to America from Holland in 1654,
was the first of the name in this country. His
descendants intermarried with the Schuylers,
Bogaerts, Provosts, Van Schaicks, DePeysters,
Latrobes, Hoffmans, Barclays, Aan Courtlandts,
Lispenards, etc. The family early obtained an ex
tensive tract of land in New York City, extend
ing from Chatham street to the East river, lying
between Pearl, Roosevelt and Catharine streets,
or, as it was originally called, Ruger's old farm.
Hence in this way and by its commercial en
terprises it has become affluent. The family has
been represented in Colonial and State affairs

136

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

through every generation down to the present
period, and owing to the achievements of the
present representative of the family the name
is as familiar to every schoolboy throughout the
country as is that of Washington or Grant.
The wife of Claes Martinzen Van Roosevelt
was Jannetje Samuels or Thomas, probably the
latter. Nicholas Roosevelt, fourth child of Claes and
Jannetje Roosevelt, was baptized October 2, 1658,
and married December 26, 1682, Heytje Jans,
who was an alderman of New York, 1698 to
1701. He removed to Esopus, and died July 30,
1742. Johannes Roosevelt, eldest child of Nicholas
and Heytje (Jans) Roosevelt, was baptized Feb
ruary 27, 1689. He was assistant alderman of
New York from 1717 till 1727 and alderman
from 1730 until 1733. He married Heltje
Sjverts. This name is also spelled Hyla Suerts
in the Dutch records of New York. She was
the daughter of Olphert Suerts, who married
Alargrieji Cloppers, born -May 30, 1708, a daugh
ter of Cornelius Jansen Cloppers.
Jacobus Roosevelt, fifth child of Johannes,
was born August 14, 1724. He married A11-
netje Bogart, and his second wife was- Ele-
nora Thompson. The sixth of their seven chil
dren was Jacobus Roosevelt, who was born Oc
tober 25, 1759, and died August 13, 1840. He
was known as James I. Roosevelt, and was com
missary during the war of the Revolution, giving
his services gratuitously. "Getting supplies" for
the Continental army became so impressed on his
mind as to enter into his every-day transactions,
and long after the war, whenever he went to
market, as was the custom of the head of the
family in those days, taking a servant along to
carry the basket, he always referred to it as go
ing for "supplies." He married Mary Van
Sohaick. Cornelius Van Schaick Roosevelt, youngest
child of Jacobus (2), was born January 30,
1794. From his father and grandfather he in
herited a large fortune, and this he augmented
by various successful financial ventures, becom
ing one of the richest men in New York. For

many years he was engaged in the importation
of hardware and plate glass. He was one of
those who founded the Chemical Bank on the
single principle of honesty, and that institution
has never failed to pay its obligations in gold,
and during the Civil war redeemed its notes at
one time at $280 in greenbacks. He introduced
in business the principle of giving no notes. Mr. ¦
Roosevelt married Margaret Barnhill, of Penn
sylvania, and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. Her
grandfather was Thomas Potts, a member of
the Continental Congress. The issue of this
marriage was : Weir, C. V. S., Jr., James A.,
Robert and Theodore (1st).
Theodore Roosevelt (1), youngest child of
Cornelius Van Schaick Roosevelt and Margaret
(Barnhill) Roosevelt, his wife, was born in New
York City, September 29, 1831, and died there
February 9, 1878. He joined the firm of Roose
velt & Company, glass importers, then located
at No. 2 Maiden Lane, and continued in that
business till 1876, when he established a bank
ing house in partnership with his son at No. 32
Pine street. Mr. Roosevelt was among the pio
neers in the development of what was known
as the up-town district of Manhattan Island.
He built an elegant residence on West Fifty-sev
enth street, and there he passed the last hours of
his life.
At the time of his. death Mr. Roosevelt was
one of the three state _ commissioners of public
charities, a position for which he was admirably
fitted by his experience and his peculiar devotion
to philanthropic enterprises. He was vice-presi
dent of the Union League Club and a member
of the Century, St. Nicholas and various kindred
organizations. When C. A. Arthur was sup-posed
to be on the point of giving up the position of
collector of the port of New York, attention
was turned upon Mr. Roosevelt- as a gentleman
conspicuously fitted for it, and one who, it was
thought, would discharge its functions to the
advantage of the community and his own honor.
At first an opposition was made on account of
his participation in an importing business, from
which some believed he had not entirely alienated
himself. He was tendered the position by Presi-

_y^TL^cr-^

trr-Jis

OYSTER BAY.

187

ident Hayes, but the senate, for the above named
reasons, failed to confirm- the appointment.
Mr. Roosevelt's charitable enterprises were
so numerous and varied in character that it. is
difficult to refer to- them all, but perhaps no more
useful institution owes to him a share of its
paternity than the Orthopaedic Hospital in Fifty-
ninth street, near Ninth avenue, New York.
Knowing that prompt and skilled ' treatment
would in many instances spare the victims of ac
cident or disease from becoming deformed, he
had lent his best exertions to establish an insti
tution where such permanent treatment would
be readily accessible. The Newsboys' Lodging
House is also deeply indebted to him for its
success. From its inception he paid special at
tention to the development of its resources and
the perfection of its management. The up-town
branch of the establishment devolved entirely
upon him for a support which was liberally ac
corded. He also greatly enlisted himself in the
Young Men's Christian Association, and aided
by his counsel and his purse in developing its
usefulness. In fact, during a business- career
which absorbed a great part of his time and
thought for the amelioration of his fellow crea
tures' conditions, he was evolving plans for hav
ing charity more widely distributed and turned
to the best advantage. When the scheme of unit
ing all benevolent organizations for the purpose
of mutual assistance and general co-operation
was proposed, Mr.- Roosevelt warmly encouraged
the movement. He took part in organizing the
Bureau of United Charities, which he believed
would subserve a great object, but was forced
with his associates to give over his design by
the disinclination of some charitable institutions
to make their methods and resources public.
He married Martha, daughter of James and
Martha Oswald Bulloch, of Roswell, Georgia.
Her maternal great-grandfather was Daniel
Stewart, who joined the Revolutionary army
when a boy and was captured by the British,
but escaped from a prison ship and afterward
served as captain under Sumter and Marion.
Martha Bulloch's paternal grandfather was
James Bulloch, who was a captain of the Georgia

troops in the Revolution and an original member
of the Society of the Cincinnati. James Bul
loch's father was Archibald Bulloch, first Revo
lutionary Governor of Georgia, who married
Mary de Vaux, whose paternal grandfather, a
Ffuguenot, fled from France after the Revoca
tion of the Edict of Nantes. Her maternal
grandfather was Edward Bellinger, one of the
Carolina landgraves. Archibald Bulloch's father
was James Bulloch, who came from Scotland
about 171 5 and settled in Georgia, was a mem
ber of the Provincial Congress, and held posi
tions of honor and trust. He was a blood rela
tive of the Douglasses, Bartons and other promi
nent families. Their children were Anna, wife
of Captain W. S. Cowles, of the United States
Navy ; Theodore ; Elliott ; and Corinne, the wife
of Douglas Robinson, Jr. Mrs. Roosevelt died
February 15, 1884. S'he was a member of the
Rev. Dr. Hall's church, and took a deep interest
in many charities, including the Orthopaedic
Hospital, of which her husband was one of the
founders. Theodore Roosevelt, the leading subject of
this sketch, was born in New York City, Octo
ber 27, 1858, and was graduated at Harvard with
the class of 1880. Among the early New York
families to establish a summer home at Oyster
Bay, Long Island, was that of Cornelius Van
Schaick Roosevelt, the grandfather of the Presi
dent. The place where he resided was known
as Tranquility, and to. him it was all that the
name implied — rest, peace and quietness. His
son, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., became very much
attached to the place and spent the long sum
mer and autumn months at this most delightful
resort. Thus it happened that the early child
hood of young Theodore was spent amid these
surroundings. It was said that "he was a mere
wisp of a boy, pale, puny, without health or
strength; but he had a will, and determined to
overcome his lack of physical vigor." The boys
in the neighborhood knew him as the wiry, earn
est, determined little fellow, perfectly fearless
and ready to encounter any difficulty or danger
that would add to his bodily health and strength.
He "rode and swam and climbed and jumped;"

188

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

his "yacht" was a rowboat in which he could ex
ercise his muscles and toughen every limb, and
this "toughening" process was continued years
after on his western ranch.
Memories of his childhood days at Oyster
Bay clung to him long after he left home to
prepare for his great life work, and not long after
his graduation in 1880 he purchased one hundred
acres, mostly woodland, to which he gave the
name of "Sagamore Hill" — a name at the time
having no particular significance — but, associ
ated with his subsequent achievements, it is fitly
named. Politics seemed to have a fascination for Col-

it," said Hutchinson; "there's an opening for
young men of independent fortune and good ed
ucation in public life. You ought to make the
experiment." Young Roosevelt "made the ex
periment" and succeeded, as he has in every sub
sequent "experiment" of his life. The word
"fail" is not a part of his vocabulary. He liter
ally "batters down" all opposition as he did on
the famous field of San Juan, and then quietly
surveys the situation and sums up the cost pre
paratory to a second onslaught if necessary.
Young Roosevelt was elected to the Assem
bly as a Republican. He led the minority dur
ing the session of 1882, was active in reform

HOME OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT.

onel Roosevelt from an early age, but before en
tering the field he called on his Uncle Robert and
said, "Uncle Bob, I want your advice. Shall I
run for the Assembly?" "I can't say," replied
his uncle. "Here is Colonel Charles Hutchinson,
of Utica, who may answer the question." "Take

measures, and on his re-election in 1883 was
largely instrumental in carrying out the State
civil-service-reform law and an act for regulat
ing primary elections. As chairman of the com
mittee on cities in 1884 he succeeded in abolish
ing the fees of the county clerk and register and

OYSTER BAY

139

in providing for their payment by salaries ; cur
tailing abuses in the sheriff's and surrogate's of
fices ; and securing the passage of a bill that de
prived aldermen of the power to confirm ap
pointments to office, and centered in the mayor
the responsibility of administering municipal af
fairs. He was chairman of the New York dele
gation to the National Republican Convention in
1884, and an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor
of New York in 1886. He was nominated as an
independent but was indorsed by the Re
publicans. In Alay, 1889, President Harrison
appointed him Civil Service Commissioner, and
he served as President of the board until May,
1895. He succeeded in changing the whole sys
tem of public appointments and in establishing
important reforms. He resigned in May, 1895,
to accept the position of president of the New
York Board of Police Commissioners, and with
characteristic energy and vigor he began the
work of reform by the application of civil-service
principles in the appointments to and promo
tions on the force. He rigidly enforced the ex
cise law and succeeded in closing the saloons on
Sunday, and in purifying the city of many cor
rupting influences which then existed.
Colonel Roosevelt's life on his ranch on the
borders of the Little Missouri river in the far
west, with all of its exciting adventures, has been
given in his "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman."
He went out as a "tenderfoot," but he was soon
able to give the cowboy and the ranchman points
that they little dreamed of.
Colonel Roosevelt is as modest as he is brave,
and his most intimate friends could never suc
ceed in drawing from' him any incident of his
life the description of which necessitated any
reference to himself as the hero. The following
incident would probably never have found its
way into print but for the fact that the local ed
itor considered the joke on the "profession" too
good to be suppressed. It appears that the Col
onel, while stopping at a hotel in a border town,
was approached by a typical western "tough,"
who with accustomed western politeness invited
the "tenderfoot" to take a drink. The invitation
was politely declined with thanks. It was re

peated, and this time pressed by the "tough"
with his finger on the trigger of his gun. Sud
denly he felt something between his eyes, and
the ball struck wide of the mark and entered
the ceiling above. Fie fell backward and went
to sleep. When he awoke he was not certain
whether he had been struck with a cannon ball
or the heels of a mule; he concluded, however,
that it was not always safe to meddle with a
"tenderfoot." Colonel Roosevelt first became known to the
general public outside of his own State when
he accepted the position of Assistant Secretary
of the Navy in 1897. Shortly after he assumed
the duties of office he asked for an appropriation
of eight hundred thousand dollars for ammuni
tion for practical target-shooting in the navy,
and a few months later for another appropriation
of five hundred thousand dollars for the same
purpose. The results at -Manila and Santiago
justified what was considered at the time reck
less extravagance. His connection with the
Spanish war which followed is best told in the
language of Colonel Watterson in his "History
of the Spanish-American War." He says :
"It is the nature of Americans to welcome
bold experiments and- to applaud success. There
was no volunteer body of the war that received-
as much attention and invited as much interest
as the regiment of cavalry known as Roosevelt's
Rough Riders. That was its popular name, al-
. though Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt was but
second in command. His was the resolute spirit
that prompted its organization and fixed public
interest upon it.
"The Hon. Theodore Roosevelt was Assist
ant Secretary of the Navy at the opening of the
war, one of those 'characteristics personalities
in the public and private life of the United- States
that represent the vigor of democracy without
regard to difference of opinion. Of the old
Dutch stock of New York's oldest settlers, he
was born to great wealth and with determined
character. Carefully educated in universities, he
made his entrance into politics early, with vigor
ous ideals and practical methods. Greeted with
the epithet of the 'dude politician,' he received
the epithet with the good nature that an athletic,
courageous and good natured man would nat
urally exhibit. He was soon a representative in

140

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

national conventions, was the forlorn hope of his
party for the mayoralty of New York, was
appointed President of the Civil Service Com
mission, was Police Commissioner of New York,
and became Assistant Secretary of the Navy in
1897. Recognizing then the probabilities of the
war with Spain, he began to encourage the sys
tem of State naval reserves, and made many ad
dresses in which he upheld the manful necessity
of war to compel peace and secure justice. The
good condition of the navy at the outbreak of
war was largely due to his labor and enthusiasm.
When the war was inevitable he resigned his po
sition as Assistant Secretary and asked for a
commission to organize a regiment of cavalry of
which Dr. Wood was to be commissioned -Col
onel. Great was the public surprise. His
friends remonstrated with him and urged
that he was jeopardizing his career. The author
ities suggested that he would be invaluable in
the Navy Department. 'The Navy Department,'
he answered, 'is in good order. I have done all
I can here. There are other men who can carry
it on as well as I ; but I should be false to my
ideals, false to the views I have openly expressed,
if I were to remain here while fighting is going
on after urging other men to risk their lives for
their country.' He declined a colonel's commis
sion and asked it for his friend Dr. Wood.
There was his answer in this self-reliant courage
of American manhood. Mr. Roosevelt had writ
ten admirable historical works, exciting stories
of adventure in hunting 'big game' while he was
leading the life of a ranchman in the far west,
He was at once at the beginning and the end
of tbe American type, rich, intelligent, thought
ful, cultured, and had 'sand.' "
-Referring to Colonel Roosevelt's participa
tion in the battle of San Juan, Hon. Henry B.
Russell in "The Story of the Two Wars" said:
"A little before 4 o'clock occurred the second
thrilling episode of the day. Under the brow
of the little hill a council of war was held, the
question being whether they should push on and
take the main hill where the Spanish block-
bouses were. Colonel Roosevelt volunteered to
head the charge. It seemed a mad rush. A
foreign officer standing near the position when
the men started out to make the charge was heard
to say : 'Men, for heaven's sake don't go up
that hill. It will be impossible for human beings
to take that position. You can't stand the fire.'
But with a terrific yell they rushed up to the
enemy's works, and the Spanish, whose courage

had fled after the first charge, retired, and when
night came thev had been driven back upon the
city." Colonel Watterson, in describing the charge,
said: After a moment's pause for formation, the
volunteers, with Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt
marching in front of the line, made a dash
for the blockhouse, the men raising the terrible
yell of the western Indians as they went. A
murderous fire poured from the block-house.
Lieutenant- Colonel Roosevelt turned, and, waving
his sword, called -on his command to follow him
up the hill. The Spaniards poured a steady fire
and for a second the volunteer fighters hesitated
under the shock of it. At that critical moment
the Tenth Cavalry on the valley road to our
left and the First Cavalry in the rear that had
been ordered against the wings of the enemy-
had made their attacks and charged up the slopes
with the intrepidity of disciplined veterans. The
sound of the guns was echoed by cheers from
the Rough Riders, who clashed against the block
house with cyclonic force. At the sight of such
impetuous daring the enemy burst from the fort
and ran to the cover of the woods behind, leaving
seventeen dead on tbe ground as they fled. Then
they gave way on both wings and three thousand
Spaniards were in full flight before nine hun
dred and fifty Americans that had fought against
enormous odds and disadvantages. No pursuit
was possible, and our victorious troops camped
on the ground and held it."
The most authentic as well as the most
graphic account of the famous charge of Colonel
Roosevelt is that given by himself in his volume
on "The Rough Riders." He says :
"The infantry got nearer and nearer the
crest of the hill. ' At last we could see the
Spaniards running from the rifle pits as the
Americans came on in their final rush. Then
I stopped my men for fear they would injure
their comrades, and called to them to charge
the next line of trenches on the hills in our
front, from which we had been undergoing a
good deal of punishment. Thinking that the
men would all come, I jumped over the wire
fence in front of us and started at the double-
quick ; but, as a matter of fact, the troopers were
so excited, both with shooting and being shot,
and shouting and cheering, that they did not
hear, or did not heed me, and after running
about a hundred yards I found that I had only

OYSTER BAY.

141

five men along with me. Bullets were ripping
the grass all around us and one of the men,
Clay Green, was mortally wounded; another,
Winslow Clark, a Harvard man, was shot first
in the leg and then through the body. * * :|:
There was no use going with the remaining
three men, and I 'bade them stay where they
were while I went back and brought up the
rest of the brigade. This was a decidedly cool
request, for there was really no possible point
in letting them stay there while I went back ;
but at the moment it seemed perfectly natur
al, to me, and apparently so to them, for they
cheerfully nodded and sat down -on the grass,
firing back at the line of trenches from which
the Spaniards were shooting at them. Alean-
while I ran back, jumped over the wire fence
and went over the crest of the hill, filled with
anger against the troopers, and especially those
of my own regiment, for not having accom
panied me. They, of course, were quite inno
cent of wrong doing; and even while I taunted
them bitterly for not having followed me, it
was all I could do not to smile at the look of
injury and surprise that came over their faces,

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
while they cried out, 'We didn't hear you; we
didn't see' you go, Colonel ; lead on now, we'll
sure follow' you.' I wanted the other regiments
to come, too, so I ran down to where General

Sumner was and asked him if I might make the
charge, and he told me to go and that he would
see that the men followed. By this time every
body bad his attention attracted, and when I
¦leaped over the fence again, with Major Jenkins
beside me, tbe men of the various regiments
Which were already on the hill came with a rush
and wc started across the wide valley which lay
between us and the Spanish intrenchments.
* * * Long before we got near them the
Spaniards ran, save a few here and there, who
either surrendered or were shot down. * * *
Lieut. Davis' first sergeant, Clarence Gould,
killed a Spanish soldier with his revolver just as
the Spaniard was aiming at one of my Rough
Riders. At about the same time I also shot one.
I was with Henry Bardshar, running up at the
double-quick, and two Spaniards leaped from the
trenches and fired at us, not ten yards away. As
they turned to run I closed in and fired twice,
missing the first and killing the second. My
revolver was from the sunken battle-ship A'laine,
and had been given me by my brother-in-law,
Capt. W. S. Cowles, of the Navy. At the time I
did not know of Gould's exploit, and supposed
rriy feat to be unique ; and although Gould had
killed his Spaniard in the trenches not very far
from me, I never learned of it until weeks after.
"There was a very great confusion at the
time, the different regiments being 'completely
intermingled — white regulars, colored regulars
and Rough Riders. General Sumner had kept
a considerable force in reserve on Kettle Hill,
under Major Jackson of the Third Cavalry. We
were still under a heavy fire, and I got together
a mixed lot of men and pushed on from the
trenches and ranche houses which we had just
taken, driving the Spaniards through a line of
palm-trees and over the crest of a chain of hills.
When we reached these crests we found ourselves
overlooking Santiago.
"While I was re-forming the troops on the
chain of hills, one of General Sherman's aides,
Captain Robert Howze — as dashing and gallant
an officer as there was in the whole gallant cav-
alrv division, by the way — came up with orders
to me to halt where 1 was, not advancing further,
but to hold the hill at all hazards.
"I now had under me all the fragments of
the six cavalry regiments which were at the ex
treme front, being the highest officer left there,
and I was in immediate command of them for
the remainder of the afternoon and that night.
* * * The Spaniards who had been hold
ing the trenches and the line of hills, had fallen
back upon their supports and we were under very

142

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

heavy fire both from rifles and great guns. Our
artillery made one or two efforts to come into
action on the firing line of the infantry, but the
black powder rendered each attempt fruitless.
The Spanish guns used smokeless powder, so that
it was difficult to place them. As night came on
the firing gradually died away. Before this hap
pened, however, Captains Morton and Bough-
ton, of the Third Cavalry, came over to tell mie
that a rumor had reached them to the effect that
there had been some talk of retiring, and, that
they wished to protest in the strongest manner.
1 had been watching them both, as they handled
their troops with the cool confidence of the vet
eran regular officer, and had been congratulating
myself that they were off toward the right flank ;
for as long as they were there I knew I was
perfectly safe in that direction. I had heard no
rumor about retiring, and I cordially agreed with
them that it would be far worse than a blunder
to abandon our position.
"Soon after dark General Wheeler, who in the
afternoon had resumed command of the cavalry
division, came to the front. A very few words
with General Wheeler reassured us about retir
ing. He had been through too much heavy fight
ing in the Civil War to regard the present fight
as very serious, and he told us not to be under
any apprehension, for he had sent word that there
was no need whatever of retiring, and was sure
we would stay where we were until the chance
came to advance. He was second in command,
and to him more than to any other one man was
due the prompt abandonment of the proposal to
fall back — a proposal, which, if adopted, would
have meant shame and disaster. Shortly after
ward General Wheeler sent us orders to intrench.
We finished digging the trench soon
after midnight, and then the worn-out 'men lay-
down in rows on their rifles and dropped heavily
to sleep. * * * Before any one had time to
awake from the cold, however, we were all
awakened by the Spaniards, whose skirmishers
suddenly opened fire upon us. * * * At the
alarm everybody jumped to his feet, and the stiff,
shivering, haggard men, their eyes only half
opened, all clutched their rifles and ran forward
fo the trench on the crest of the hill.
"The sputtering shots died away and we went
to sleep again. But in another hour dawn broke
and the Spaniards opened fire in good earnest.
* * * In this fight our regiment had num
bered four hundred and ninety men, as, in ad
dition to the killed and wounded of the first fight,
some had to go to the hospital for sickness and
some had been left behind with the baggage -or

were detailed on other duty. Eighty-nine were
killed and wounded, the heaviest loss suffered by
any regiment in the cavalry division. The Span
iards made a stiff fight, standing firm until we
charged home. They fought much more stub
bornly than at Las Guasimas. We ought to have
expected this, for they have always done well in
holding entrenchments. On this day they -showed
themselves to be brave foes worthy of honor for
their gallantry.
"In the attack on the San Juan hills our
forces numbered about 6,600. There were about
4,500 Spaniards against us. Our total loss in
killed and wounded was 1,071. Of the cavalry
division there were all told, some 2,300 officers
and men, of whom 375 were killed and wounded.
In the division over a fourth of the officers were
killed or wounded, their loss being relatively half
as great again as that of the enlisted mien, — which
was as it should be. I think we suffered more
heavily than the Spaniards did in killed and
wounded, -though we also captured some scores
of prisoners. It would have been very extraor
dinary if the reverse was the case, for we did
the charging ; and to -carry earthworks on foot
with dismounted cavalry, when the earthworks
are held by unbroken infantry, armed with the
best modern rifles, is a serious task."
The city surrendered on the 17th of July, and
soon after this the men, being relieved from the
constant strain and excitement, began to feel the
effects of the climate. Colonel Roosevelt says :
"Every officer other than myself except one
was down with sickness at one time or another.
Very few of the men, indeed, retained their
strength and energy, and though the percentage
actually on the sick list never g-ot over twenty,
there were less than fifty per cent, who were fit
for any kind of work. Yellow fever also broke
out in the rear, chiefly among the Cubans. It
never became epidemic, but it caused a perfect
panic among some of -our own doctors and es
pecially in the minds of one or two generals and
of the home authorities. * * * The Wash
ington authorities seemed determined that we
should stay in Cuba.' 'They unfortunately knew
nothing of the country nor the circumstances of
the army. Several suggestions were made and
among others it was proposed that we should
go up the mountains and make our camps
there. * * * The soil along the sides of the
mountains was deep and soft, while the rains
were heavy. We could, with much difficulty,
have got our regiments up the mountains; but

OYSTER BAY.

143

not half the men would have got up there with
their belongings; and once -there it would have
been an impossibility to feed them. About the last
of July, General Shafter called a conference in the
palace of all the. division and brigade command
ers. * * * jt was deemed best to make some
record of our opinion in the shape of a letter or
report which would show that to keep the army
in Santiago meant its absolute and objectless
ruin, and that it should at once be recalled. At
first there was naturally some hesitation on the
part of the regular officers to take the initiative,
for their entire future career might be sacrificed ;
so 1 wrote a letter to General Shafter, reading
over the rought draft to the various generals
and adopting their corrections. Before I had
finished making these corrections, it was de
termined that we should send a circular letter
on behalf of all of us to General Shafter, and
when I returned from presenting him mine I
found this circular letter already prepared and
we all of us signed it. Both letters were made
public. The result was immediate. Within three
days tbe army was ordered to be ready to sail
for home. This letter was known as the famous
'Round Robin.' "
Colonel Roosevelt with his Rough Riders
was encamped at Montauk Point, Long Island,
and in the following autumn, peace having been
formally declared, he bade farewell to his men,
every one of whom was devoted to him, and re
turned to his home at Oyster Bay.
On September 27, 1898, Colonel Roosevelt
was nominated for Governor of New York State.
He conducted his own campaign, visiting every
important town in the State. His brilliant mili
tary record gave him great prestige, and he was
enthusiastically received wherever he went. He
carried the State by a plurality of 18,079. -A-s
Governor he encouraged honest legislation and
carried through every reform measure to which
he had pledged himself. He carefully scrutin
ized every bill and withheld his signature from
all that had the least taint of irregularity, re
gardless of party obligations. No man ever had
a more difficult task to carry forward the work
of reform which he had planned than did Gov
ernor Roosevelt at this time. The political pres
sure brought to bear upon him by the leading
men in his own party was very great, but he re
mained firm and true to his own convictions, even

at the risk of losing the influence of those on
whom he relied for support. Above all, he put
in office as high-minded and able a set of public
officials as the State has ever had since its founda
tion. It was his wish to be elected for a sec
ond term, that he might complete the work he
had begun, but circumstances beyond his control
and that of his friends changed all his future
plans. Governor Roosevelt was a delegate to the
Republican convention held at Philadelphia in
the summer of 1900. The renomination of
President McKinley was a foregone conclusion.
Two or three candidates were brought forward
for the vice-presidency, but from the very be
ginning a pressure was brought to bear by those
who sought to defeat his aspirations for a sec
ond term as Governor to force on him the nom
ination for Vice-President. They failed, how
ever, to accomplish their object, and Governor
Roosevelt compelled the New York delegation to
definitely abandon its efforts to put him for
ward, and at the same time he introduced the
name of Lieutenant-Governor Woodruff, hoping
thereby to secure bis nomination, but the dele
gates simply refused to consider any other can
didate and insisted on the Governor's nomina
tion in order to save the electoral votes of half
a dozen western States and thereby assure a ma
jority in Congress. Under these circumstances
Governor Roosevelt felt that he was in duty
bound to accept, and he was nominated for Vice-
President, amid the greatest excitement and en
thusiasm, the East and the West, the North
and the South, rallying around him and pledging
him their earnest support.
The presidential campaign of 1900 was the
most remarkable of all ever held in this coun
try, and from the beginning to the end Gov
ernor Roosevelt fought the battle almost single-
handed and alone. He represented honest
money, honest principles and a defense of Presi
dent McKinley's administration; while his op
ponent, William J. Bryan, clung to his "16 to 1"
silver policy, on which he had been defeated four
years previously, and exposed the "expansion"
policy of the administration. Colonel Roosevelt

144

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

traveled from one end of the country to the other,
even invading the home territory- of his opponent,
speaking several times a day from the train
platform, in the open air on improvised plat
forms and in public halls, and wherever the peo
ple could gather to hear him. With one or two
exceptions he met with a hearty reception where
ever he went, — even in "the enemy's country."
The result was one of the grandest victories ever
achieved by the Republican party, and Governor
Roosevelt was duly inaugurated Vice-President
of the United States on the 4th of March, 1901.
In his inaugural address he said :
"The history of free government is in a large
part the history of those representing legislative
bodies in which, from the earliest times, free
government has found its loftiest expression.
They must ever hold a peculiar and exalted posi
tion in the record which tells how the great na
tions of the world have endeavored to achieve
and preserve orderly freedom. No man can ren
der to his fellows greater service than is rendered
by him who with fearlessness and honesty, with
sanity and disinterestedness, does his life work
as a member of such a body. Especially is this
the case when the Legislature in which the ser
vice is rendered is a vital part in the govern
mental machinery of one of those world powers
to whose hands, in the course of the ages, is en
trusted a leading part in shaping the destinies cf
mankind. For weal or for woe, for good or for
evil, this is true of our own mighty nation. Great
privileges and great powers are ours, and heavy-
are the responsibilities that go with these privi
leges and these powers. Accordingly as we do-
well or ill, so shall mankind in the future be
raised or cast clown.
# ^ ^ s{c # H< *
"A great work lies ready to the hand of this
generation ; it should count itself happy, indeed,
that to it is given the privilege of doing such a
work. A leading part therein must be taken by
this, the august and powerful legislative body-
over which I have been called to preside. Most
deeply I appreciate the privilege of my position,
for high, indeed, is the honor of presiding over
the American senate at the outset of the twen
tieth century."
On Friday, September 6, 1901, the startling
news was flashed over the wire that President
McKinley, while visiting the Pan-American Ex
position, had been shot by a Polish anarchist
named Czolgosz. Vice-President Roosevelt has

tened to Buffalo as quickly as possible, reaching
there the following day. He was completely
overwhelmed by the news, but on arriving at the
house of Dr. Milburn, where the President had
been taken and where he had been stopping with
his family for some days previously, he was
overjoyed to learn from the attending surgeons
that the wound was not necessarily fatal and
that there were hopes of his recovery. He re
mained in Buffalo for a few days, until the
danger point seemed past. He then went on a
hunting trip in the Adirondacks. Soon after
this a change for the worse took place in the
, President's condition, and as soon as it was found
that death was inevitable, messengers were sent
to the Vice-President, who traveled day and
night, reaching Buffalo some hours after the
President's death. He was driven at. once to the
house of his friend, Mr. Ansley Wilcox. As
soon as he entered Mr. Roosevelt was told that
it had been planned for him to take the oath of
office at once. This agreement had been reached
at a meeting of the cabinet held during the
forenoon at the Milburn residence. The new
President refused to recognize it as an agree
ment, and he declared he was not ready to take
the oath yet. He was here more for the purpose
of paying -his respects to William McKinley than
of qualifying as William1 McKinley's successor.
"But, Mr. President," he was expostulated
with, "everything is in readiness. Don't you
think it would be far better to do as the cabinet
has decided?"
"No," retorted the President; "it would be
far worse. I intend to pay my respects at Will
iam McKinley's bier as a private citizen and
offer my condolence to the members of the fam
ily as such. Then I will return and take the
oath." In the face of such an emphatic stand by the
new chief executive, all arguments availed noth
ing and President Roosevelt had his own way.
He left the Milburn house about half past two
o'clock and entered his carriage alone. When
he found that he was being escorted by a squad
of mounted policemen he stood up and shouted :
"Get back ! I want no escort. I will have no

OYSTER BAY.

145

escort. I am now on a mission as a private citi
zen." He then drove swiftly to- the Milburn
house and after paying his respects to: the dead
President returned to the Wilcox house to take
the oath, reaching there shortly after three
o'clock. All the members of the cabinet and a
number of others were assembled there. Among
these was Judge Hazel, who was to administer
the oath.
"President Roosevelt," said Mr. Root, "I
have been requested by all the members of the
cabinet of the late President who are here in the
city of Buffalo, being all except two, to request
that for reasons of weight affecting the adminis
tration of government, you should proceed with
out delay to take the Constitutional oath of of
fice." A silence fell upon the group. It lasted but
a minute and then Air. Roosevelt spoke: "Mr.
Secretary, I shall take the oath at once, agree
able to the request of the members of the cabinet,
and in this hour of trouble and national bereave
ment I wish to state that it shall be my aim to
continue absolutely unbroken the policy of Presi
dent McKinley, for the peace and prosperity and
honor of our beloved country." He then took
the oath, and Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt
became the twenty-sixth President of the Uni
ted States. During the one year incumbency
of his high office, he has discharged his duties
with a degree of sagacity, independence and un
alloyed patriotism which has challenged the ad
miration of those who were not in sympathy with
his views. Attestation of this was touchingly
displayed when, late in' 1902, he experienced
painful injuries from the accident in which he
was thrown from his carriage, and when the na
tion held its breath, fearful of a fatal termination.
It is difficult to conceive how any one so thor
oughly absorbed in public affairs could find time
to devote to literary work, and yet Colonel
Roosevelt has achieved a world-wide reputation
as an author, and his works have become stand
ard on the subjects he has treated. Among the
best known are: "History of the Naval War
of 1812" (1882) and "Hunting Trips of a
Ranchman" (1883). As a biographer he has
10

won fame as the author of the "Life of Thomas
Benton" (1886) ; and "Life of Gouverneur Mor
ris" (1888). He has also published "History
of the City of New York" (1890) ; "Essays on
Practical Politics" (1898) ; and has collaborated
with Captain A. S. Alahan in writing the "Im
perial History of the British Navy;" he is also
joint author with Henry Cabot Lodge of "Hero
Tales from American History." The most im
portant of his works, however, are the volumes
bearing the collective title "The Winning of
the West." These have for their subject the
acquisition by the United States of the ter
ritory west of the Alleghanies, and in their
intrinsic merit and their importance as
contributions to history they rank with the
works of Parkman. His books have been char
acterized as "marked by felicity, vigor and clear
ness of expression, with descriptive power."
As a man of letters it may be said as more
completely true of Mr. Roosevelt than any
other writer whose books are as numerous and
widely read as his are, that he has merely adopt
ed literary expression with the aim of placing
before the public facts and ideas which he sin
cerely believes to be worthy of consideration and
preservation. His presentation of facts, how
ever, is useful and stimulating rather than merely
entertaining, while his ideas represent an elo
quent appeal for a general and wholesome ex
amination of the truths which he so fervently
believes and so ardently advocates. In other
words, Mr. Roosevelt is in no sense a profes
sional author. The books he has written simply
represent one phase of a very active career. On
the title page of "Ranch Life and Hunting
Trail" we find cited that passage from Brown
ing ending with the words —
"How good is man's life, the mere living,''
which speaks more eloquently and is more
characteristic of Mr. Roosevelt as a man, and,
therefore, necessarily as an author, than all
that literateurs have written and all that poets
have sung about the beauties of rhetoric and
the philosophy of style.
Air. Roosevelt's first published work was

146

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

his history of "The Naval War of 1812," which
bears the date of 1882, and it is a singular co
incidence that his most recent production, writ
ten just as his term as Vice President of the
United States was to be brought to a fateful
close, should be a contribution to an English
work on the same subject, — "The Royal Navy,"
Vol. VI, by Laird Clowes. A comparison of
these works offers an excellent opportunity to
observe the mental development of the man in
a most important field of historical study and ob
servation. One was written at the age of
twenty-three; the other at forty-two. It is not

terprise and courage. Moreover, it is not singu
lar that his historical works, particularly "The
Winning of the West," should have a vitality
which few histories possess. It is because he has
lived with and knows1 intimately the trapper, the
hunter, the frontiersman of to-day, that he has
been enabled to reproduce the distant predecessors
of these men and their surroundings with mar
velous intimacy.
In the last nineteen years, Mr. Roosevelt has
written over a dozen books, which are included
in many departments — history, biography, travel,
observation and politico-ethical discussion. At

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PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S LIBRARY.
from the fact that we find the patriotism less in
tense, or the presence of any taint of Anglomania
in the latter work, but because the man has
learned to think for himself, has freed himself
entirely from the anti-British prejudices which
for years have inspired the makers of many
American school books ; and he has from a fuller
knowledge been able to appreciate the merits of
the enemy and to point out the reasons for his
misfortunes in a clear, almost scientific manner-
and without undue laudation of American en-
the same time he has occupied successively va
rious positions in public life upon which he has
left the stamp of his individuality and the results
of his tireless energy. What these offices were
and what he did in them have taken their place
in our State, municipal and national history, and
are now more or less familiar to every one. But
the more one becomes familiar with Mr. Roose
velt's public achievements the more must one
marvel that he could have produced the books
that he did, which, from the point of view of
OYSTER BAY.

147

mere mechanical and mental labor, would have
been considered more than adequate to establish
the literary reputation of a professional writer.
To attempt a character sketch of Colonel
Roosevelt is a more difficult undertaking. He
can be judged only by his acts. His motive is
always apparent, for he is incapable of duplicity.
His utterances, both public and private, are clear,
distinct and unequivocal. Whether his opinions
are right or wrong they are honestly held and
stated with simplicity and directness. He is em
phatically a man of action, and his writings deal
with matters of observation rather than thought ;
he is no theorist but intensely practical. With
determination and undaunted courage he com
bines tenacity of purpose. If he ever experienced
the sensation of fear it is known only to himself.
He has the instinct of a soldier, and in emerg
encies does not stop to consider whether or not
the odds are against him, but obeys orders with
decision and accepts the consequences. He is as
generous as he is brave; bears no malice; and
, after inflicting punishment on an adversary he
would instantly seek to alleviate the pain he has
caused. With the heart of a lion in, danger, he is
moved to pity at the sight of suffering, and with
out a moment's hesitation would befriend a
fallen adversary. His qualities and achieve
ments have made him a popular hero, and in a
democratic society like ours there is no distinc
tion which he may not hope to attain.
Colonel Roosevelt married, first, Miss Alice
Hathaway Lee; second, Miss Edith Kermit
Caron, and his children are Alice, Theodore, Jr.,
Kermit, Ethel, Archibald and Quentin. The
children rough it at their country home, Saga
more Hill, as did their father, enjoying the ut
most freedom, apparently unconscious of the
honors that have been showered upon the. father
by a grateful and appreciative constituency. The
veteran war horse "Texas" that carried him
through the Santiago campaign munches his
oats and hay in the stable in peace and quietness,
glad no doubt that his campaigning days are over
and that for the remainder of his life he can en
joy the cool breezes of Oyster Bay in summer
and a warm, comfortable stall in winter.

The entrance to Sagamore Hill is up a wind
ing road through a thickly wooded country for
some distance until a "private road" leads up to
the home of the President. The view on
reaching the crest of the hill is a most beautiful
one, although partly obscured on the west and
south sides, of the house by the dcse growth of
forest trees. From the east and south sides a
fine view of the bay is presented. A lawn of sev
eral acres slopes down to the wall of forest trees,
and the other side, which is nearly level, is de
voted to farming purposes. The character of the
exterior of the dwelling is known as the Queen
Anne style of architecture. It is a substantial
edifice, the first story being of brick, the second
and third stories of frame. A wide piazza ex
tends around two sides, from which a beautiful
view of the surrounding country is obtained.
The entrance to the house is through a vine-
covered port-cochere. The wide hall, simply
furnished, contains numerous trophies of the
Colonel's life in the far West. The large library
looks like the workshop of an active brain
worker. A portrait of the father which hangs
on the wall looks benignly down on the son, who,
with unceasing energy and tireless industry,
works out the great problems of life, stimulating
in others a desire to be something and do some
thing for their fellow men.
Matinecock is now better known to the out
side world from the fact that its "point" has be
come a "mark" in the local yachting competi
tions. Yet, in spite of that and in spite of the
fact that its population increases but slowly (125
at last reckoning) , it has a most interesting his
tory. For a long time it was claimed by Hemp
stead as part of its territory, as is attested by the
fact than on July 4, 1661, the town of Hempstead
granted to Thomas Terry and Samuel Deering
the right to settle upon lands, at M&tinecock and
hold the same. This grant bore a singular re
striction, the tenants being obligated "not to
trespass against the town of Hempsteadi by let
ting any of their calff trespass on any great
playne and spoil thire corn or doe like harml;
and if they shall to make satisfaction to ani per-

148

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

son or persons soe ronged;" and the following:
"alsoe the above sayd planters doe ingage them
selves or ani that they shall bring or thire suc
cessors not to bring in any Quakers or such like
opinions." May 26, 1663, the Indians sold a part of Alat-
inecock to Captain John Undierhill, John Frost
and William Frost ; and the following document,
which is preserved in the Frost family, shows the
syle of conveyance :
"This instrument of writing -or deed of sale
witnesseth to all Christian people to whom it may
come or any ways concern. Know ye that for us
we underwritten, Susconaman alias Runasuck,
Samouse And Querripin, all three Indians, be
ing empowered by ye rest of ye Indians and
proprietors of Cheaf ye lands called by ye Eng
lish Alatinecock, situate, lying and being within
ye patent of Oyster Bay wth'n Queens county
upon Long Island, And by Virtue whereof And
for ye ffull of twenty pounds silver or equiva
lent to silver 'money in goods, to us paid before
ye signing and sealing thereof, have bargained
and sold and by present possession deliver unto
John Underhill, John Ffeexes, and William
Ffrost, all three inhabitants of Matinecock, and
all our Comons, or individual lands unsold,
lying and being to ye northward of ye now high
way between ye Beaver Swamp so called and
Mosquito Cove, lands being to be understood ye
the highway from Oyster Bay to Mosquito Cove
to ye sound or North Sea, be it more or less ; ex
cepting twenty acres to be laid out to' John Pryor
at ye rere of his lands bought of Joseph Eastland
fforman, by grantal. * * * It is to be un
derstood that every inhabitant below the path
settled are to have equal privileges, provided they
pay ye above three persons nominated their equal
proportions in money according to agreement."
April 20, 1669, the Indians made a further
conveyance to Richard Latting; another on the
1st of December, 1683, to Thomas Townsend;
and on the 9th of January, 1685, the chiefs,
namely : Susconaman, alias Runasuck, Cbec-
hagen, alias Quaropin, and Saniose, son of Tack-
apousha, conveyed the residue of Matinecock,
with some other lands, for the price of sixty
pounds current merchantable pay, to James
Cock, Joseph Dickerson, Robert Townsend,
Samuel Dickerson, Stephen Birdsall, James

Townsend, Daniel Weeks, Isaac Doughty, John
Wood, Edmund Wright, Caleb Wright, John
Wright, William 'Frost and John Newman, and
the grantees accepted as joint purchasers with
themselves the following inhabitants and free
holders of the -town — comprising the most com
plete list of names which the records present at
that period : George Downing, John Townsend,
Sr., Richard Harcutt, Daniel Townsend, Nathan
iel Coles, Jr., John Dewsbury, John Cock, Will
iam Crooker, John Weeks, John Applegate, Hen
ry Franklin, Thomas Youngs, John Townsend,
Jr., John Rogers of Lusum, Hannah Forman for
her son Moses, Henry Bell, Richard Willett, John
Robbins, M-eriam Harker, Thomas Townsend,
Hope Williams of Lusum, Samuel Birdsall, Jo-
sias Carpenter, Lawrence Mott, Sampson Hawx-
hurst, William Buckler, Adam Wright, Josias
Latting, Thomas Weeks, Thomas Cock, John
Pratt, William Hawxhurst, Thomas- Willets,
Elizabeth Dickson, Samuel Weeks, James Bleven,
Joseph Weeks, Daniel Whitehead, Peter Wright,
Samuel Tiller.
Perhaps the most conspicuous of the early set
tlers was Captain John Underhill, whose mili
tary exploits have been elsewhere narrated. He
was of English birth, and had served as an offi
cer in the British forces in the Netherlands, in
Ireland and in Spain. Coming to America he
engaged in the Pequot war, and afterward set
tled at Stamford; Connecticut, whence he came
to Long Island, settling at Flushing. In 1665 he
was a delegate from, Oyster Bay to the Hemp
stead Assembly, and was the under-sheriff of
the North Riding of Yorkshire, or Queens coun
ty, under commission issued by Governor Nic
olls. In 1667 he received from the Matinecock
Indians a deed to 150 acres of land, and to this
tract he gave the name of Cillingworth or Kenil-
worth. Fiis remains repose in a grave upon this
ancient farm, which to this day remains in the
possession of his descendants. It is gratifying
to record, as these pages are passing into the
hands of the printers, that the unmarked grave
of the sturdy old pioneer is at last to be properly
marked. The site of the monument which is to
be erected has not been definitely settled1, but a.

OYSTER BAY.

149

piece of ground has been donated by Miss
Maria F. Townsend and Charles DeKay Town-
send, who are direct descendants of Captain Un
derhill, consisting of a triangle near the office of
the town clerk at the intersection of Audrey ave
nue and Spring street, at Oyster Bay. Mrs R.
Ogden Doremus, wife of the noted chemist, is
president of the Underhill Society -of America,
and it is mainly through her efforts that a suffi
cient sum ($10,000) has been raised. to erect the
monument. With reference to the actual settlement we
find that people from Matinecock attended serv
ices of the Society of Friends at Oyster Bay in
1659. About the time Captain Underhill ac
quired his land, his brother-in-law, John Feeks,
a Quaker preacher, bought an adjoining tract,
and the dwellings of these two worthies were
erected close together. The only son of John
Feeks became the pastor of the first Baptist
Church in Oyster Bay. In 1682 a stated meet
ing of the Society of Friends was inaugurated
here, and the same year a meeting house was
erected, which was followed by the erection of
a larger structure in 1725. From the first Matine
cock has been a farming community and so re
mains. 1 1
Locust Valley (formerly known as Buck
ram), with its population of 625, is a. pleasant
little village, and is famed for its early enter
prise in educational affairs. The Cock family
have been foremost in such works, and one of
its members some years ago made a donation of
$5,000 toward the erection of a school edifice.
Other villages taken out of the former terri
tory of Matinecock are Bayville (population
400), which ,is the site of the Downing Vaca
tion House, an establishment for the benefit of
working women — an eloquent expression of the
human itarianism of a public-spirited people; and
Lattington, with a population of 200.
Dosoris dates from 1668, when Robert Will
iams bought 1,000 acres there from the Matine
cock Indians, including two islands known by
the prosaic names of East and West, the former
containing about seventy-five acres and the lat
ter fifty acres. The same year, 'Governor Nicolls

executed a confirmatory grant. In 1670 Will
iams sold the property to Lewis Morris, of Bar
badoes. After several changes it came into pos
session of Daniel Whitehead, of Jamaica, who
bequeathed it to his daughter, the wife of John
Taylor. It was inherited by the only offspring
of that marriage, a daughter, Abigail, who be
came the wife of the Rev. Benjamin Woolsey,
of Southold. He it was who gave it its name1 —
a contraction or adaptation of the Latin Dos
Uxoris —a wife's dower.
Dosoris is beautifully situated and. presents
many features of interest to the antiquarian. Nu
merous skeletons and implements of the chase
attest the former Indian occupation. Nearby
the village are 'the burial grounds where rest
the remains of the earlier Woolseys, ancestors
of the famous presidents of Yale College. The
old Woolsey mansion, which has been somewhat
modernized, is yet reminiscent of the historic
past. Among its treasures are fine specimens of
colonial furniture, a beautiful portrait of Wash
ington by Rembrandt Pearl — his first copy of the
original painting made from life — and, of a later
day, two columns once in the palace of the
Caesars, which were brought from Egypt at the
same time when the obelisk from the same far-
off land was transported hither by Captain Gor-
ringe, U. S. A., and set up in Central Park, New
York. For many years Charles A. Dana, of the
"New York Sun," occupied West Island, and
Townsend Cox, a long and leading politician in
New York, had his home on West Island.
Glen Cove has a peculiarly interesting his
tory. It was formerly known 'as Musceata Coufe,
and afterward as Pembroke, receiving its present
name by vote of the people in 1834. It is a beau
tiful and progressive little village, with well
maintained churches, excellent educational insti
tutions, and all that makes up the life of a cul
tured community.
In 1668 Joseph Carpenter, a resident of
Rhode Island, after a short stay at Oyster Bay,
bought some land from the Indians at Mosquito
Cove for Nathaniel Coles, Abra Carpenter,
Thomas Townsend and Robert Cole. That pur
chase was taken to mark the beginning of Glen

150

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Cove by the local antiquaries. The little colony
was soon enlarged, and in 1786 the settlement
had no fewer than 32 taxpayers. They were:
Caleb Coles, 125; Benjamin Coles, 100; Ja
cob Valentine, 277; Colts Mudge, 80; Jordan
Coles, 19; James Bennett, 3; Henry Mott, 26;

Joseph Carpenter, the first purchaser, appears
to have resided for some time with his father,
William, at Providence, Rhode Island; from
there he moved to Oyster Bay early in the year
1667, and thence to Mosquito Cove.
Nathaniel Coles was the son of Robert Coles,

.

DOSORIS.
(By Permission of Long Island Railway Company.)

Charles Thome, 19; Thomas Kipp's estate, 6;
Joseph Wood, 120; Benjamin Craft, 73; Joseph
Craft, 147 ; Solomon Craft, .60 ; Morris Carpen
ter, 15; William Hyde, 11 ; Coles Carpenter, 200;
Albert Coles, 75; Derich Coles, 62; William
Coles, 48; Benjamin Coles, Jr., 100; Isaac Coles,
19; Daniel Coles, 120; Ananias Downing, 156;
William Hopkins, 80; Thomas Hopkins, 140;
Silas Downing, 20 ; Jeromas Bennett, 80 ; George
Bennett, 80; Thomas Pearsall, 185; Charles
Frost, 3 ; John Frost, 3 ; William Bennett, 6.

one of the associates of Governor Winthrop in
the settlement of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He
came to Long Island in 1654, in company with
Robert Williams, and settled at Oyster Bay.
Many of the descendants of these two men are
still living in the village and vicinity.
The first industry outside of agriculture
was that of milling. Joseph Carpenter erected
the first sawmill and in 1677 added a grist mill,
in connection with which he entered into the fol
lowing agreement with his neighbors :

OYSTER BAY,

151

AN INLAND VIEW.

Agreed yt whareas I, Joseph Carpenter, have-
ing Built A grist-mill joyneing to oure new saw
mill, and upon ye stream which belongeth to us
five purchasers — Nathanell Colles, Daniel Colles,
Robert Colles, Nickolas Simkins and my selfe —
and in consideration of three parts in ye streme
and timbar I Joseph Carpenter doe pledge my
selfe, my heyres, Exsexetors, Administrators,
and Asignes, soe long as my selfe, my heyres,
Exsexetors, Administrators, or 'Asignes shall
keep or maintaine ye said mill, tto grind ye afore
said proprietors' corne and grayne for each of
their famylies well and Tolle-free for ever; and
iff my selfe, my heyres, Exsexetors, Administra
tors, or Asignes for ye futar shall see case to
Lett ye sayde grist-mill fall, and not to keep it
in jrepayre for ye fulfilling of ye conditions as
above inserted, that then and after, forever, ye
aforesavde strenie to remaine to us five pro
prietors and our heyres and Asignes for ever,
to order and dispose of as we shall see Case — to
which I have sett my hand and seale ye 14th of
Janewry 1677. Joseph Carpenter.
Signed, sealed and delivered in ye presence
of us — Tho. Townsend, Samuel Pell.
These mills appear to have done quite a large

business, and indeed prosperity seems to have
been the characteristic of life at Mosquito Cove
until the crisis of 1776. Its people then were
mainly found on the side of the patriots, and
quite a number of its youth — a company indeed
— marched away to the scene of battle and gave
up their lives under the leadership of the gallant
Woodhull, whose own life was also sacrificed
for the cause of liberty.
It has been held that a Methodist congrega
tion was formed in Glen Cove as early as 1785
under Jesse Coles as class leader. The services
were held in private residences until 1827, when
provision was made for them in the school build
ing, and a Sabbath school was organized. In 1844
a church building was erected, which gave way
in 1861 to a much more commodious structure.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was founded here
in 1833, and was at first closely associated with
the church at Manhassett, and a Presbyterian
Church was organized in 1868 with fifteen mem
bers. From the declaration of peace, Glen Cove

152

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

seems to have been forgotten by the world, until
about 1828, when a joint stock company was or
ganized to run a steamer between it and New
York and intermediate ports. A steamer, the
"Linnens," had for some time been run between
Glen Cove and New Rochelle by Captain Peck.
The stock company built a splendid new dock
and the adventure proved quite a success. It is
still continued, even although many thought that
the railroad would force its cessation. Some of
the most substantial boats that ever plied on
Long Island Sound have been on this route, the
"Flushing," "American Eagle," "Mayflower,"
"General Sedgwick," among them. Two of the
boats, the "Glen Cove" and the "Long Island,"
were sent south during 'the Civil war and were
there burned. The saddest incident of the line's

NASSAU COUNTRY CLUB.
story was that of the burning of the "Seawan-
haka," on June 28, 1880. She had left her pier
in New York on that date with some 300 pas
sengers on board. When passing Ward's Island,
the vessel seemed suddenly to become a mass
of flames and the captain hastily determined to
run it on to a 'marsh known as the Sunken Mead

ows. By this action the lives of most of those
on board were saved, but between deaths by
burning and drowning the casualties reached 61.
lt was the establishment of the Glen Cove
A'ianufacturing Company — for the making of
starch — in 1855 that has given to the village its
position as a manufacturing place and made its
name to be known almost all over the civilized
world. The product was perfect from the start
and speedily won its way; while the awards it
received at the great London Exhibition of 1862
gave it a position which it has since maintained,
that of making a starch which is not surpassed
for purity by any in the world. The subsequent
"world's exhibitions" at Paris, Philadelphia, Chi
cago and elsewhere, emphasized the praise be
stowed on it by the London experts when it first
entered into open competition with all
other makes. Its first factory, erected
in 1856, was destroyed by fire in Febru
ary, 1858, but a new establishment was
erected at once. Nowadays the com
pany operates an immense establishment,
and to it, more than to any other single
agency, Glen Cove owes its, eminence as
the most richly populated village in
Oyster Bay township, the latest returns
placing it at 4,700.
An old and well established insti
tution is the Glen Cove Mutual Insur
ance Company, which grew out of the
great fire in the city of New York, which
wrecked nearly all the insurance com
panies in that city in the winter of
1835-6. The company was organized
principally through the efforts of Will
iam Al. Weeks, a merchant of Glen
Cove. In September, 1868, Glen Cove cele
brated its biennial, and there was a pro
cession, music, oratory — mainly an ora
tion by Mr. H. T. Scudder— and a feast of
clams, sandwiches, coffee, etc. It was a good
old fashioned jollification, and was open to all
who chose to listen or partake, and when tlie
day was over tbe good folks of the village were
ready to affirm that Glen Cove had not its equal
in all Long Island.

OYSTER BAY.

153

Adjacent to the village is the Pratt property,
an estate of eight hundred acres, magnificently
located, with a frontage on Long Island Sound.
On the Pratt estate is the tomb of the late Charles
Pratt, in his lifetime the most prominent- person
age identified with Glen Cove. He located his
country home upon the estate above referred to,
and established a model educational school build
ing for the town, which he designed to stand as
his most enduring monument. He died before
the realization of his hopes, but his sons carried
out as a sacred injunction the favorite design
of his lifetime, and the building was dedicated
with due solemnity on May 24, 1893. The insti
tution maintains an agricultural department
which is operated upon a portion of the estate,
and here the students are initiated into the best
and latest researches of modern farming.
Contiguous to the Pratt estate the veteran edi
tor of the "New York Sun," recently deceased,
laid out his magnificent possessions, known as
"Dana Island." This beautiful property is known
far and wide, and the late Charles A. Dana lav
ished upon it a constant and unremitting care.
It is as celebrated in the records of horticulture
as the famous Shaw's Garden of St. Louis, and
contains trees, plants and shrubs collected from
every portion of the globe. Dull care and busi
ness was never allowed to- enter this ideal spot.
To Air. Dana it was a happy valley of Rasselas.
His last hours were spent here, and the estate
is to be maintained in its integrity and beauty
with the same reverent care as was lavished
upon it by its lamented owner. 1
Sea Cliff, which might be called a suburb of
Glen Cove, was founded in 1871 as a religious
settlement by a corporation having its headquar
ters in New York. It was to be a place for the
summer residence of Christian families of mod
erate means, where they might lease a small plot
of ground, erect modest cottages and enjoy
fresh air and rest, with such spiritual enjoyments
as camp meetings and other form'sl of public
worship. The ground was at first intended to
be leased, not sold, and an annual rent of ten
dollars on each lot was to be devoted to paying
the interest on the money invested and in im

proving the grounds, opening up and grading
the streets, policing, etc. The lands of the as
sociation embraced a total purchase of 240 acres.
The original cost of the land, together with the
buildings and furniture, the tents, docks and
piers, the water works, the cost of laying out and
mapping the grounds, building of streets and av
enues, aggregated the sum of $270,000. Add to
this the sum since expended in repairs, interest,
taxes and improvements, and the total was sev
eral hundred thousand dollars greater. The as
sociation purchase embraced about a mile of
water front.
But the beauty of the place soon overturned
these primitive calculations. There was too much
in the site and its surroundings to attract a pleas
ure seeking population. Occupying a command
ing situation, "like a sentinel against the sky,"
it commands an expansive view of bay and shore.
And so, after a while, the early restrictions were
abandoned, the streets were widened, the size
of the lots increased, and palatial villas began to
arise beside the modest cottages. The system
of leasing gave way to selling outright, and Sea
Cliff is now one of the most popular of Long Isl
and's "summer" cities, and has a population es
timated at 1,475. It has good hotels, splendid
bathing accommodations, and in many respects is
a model settlement.
East Norwich was named after their father's
birthplace in England by James and George
Townsend, sons of John Townsend, of Oyster
Bay. They secured a tract of land in 1680, about
two miles south of Oyster Bay village, and
around their farms a small village gradually
sprang up. It was never very populous, and now
only claims 425, but at an early period in its
history it became a center of Methodism, and the
light started there in 1784 is still burning. The
history of East Norwich really centers round its
little Methodist Church, and as it is curious in
many ways, the following story of its career by
Mr. H. H. Frost may not be without interest to
the general reader:
"The Rev. Philip Cox, a Methodist minister
belonging to the Jamaica circuit, preached in this
place in T784. Services were held at private

154

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

houses. From 1784 to 1822 traveling ministers
of the Jamaica circuit officiated here. In 1822
the Rev. Joshua Burch was located here, and
held services at the residence of Thomas Che
shire. During the summer of 1833 a grove meet
ing was held at Muttontown, then called Chris
tian Hill. This grove meeting was a memorable
one ; out of it grew a well organized and efficient
working Methodist society in this place, and the
erection of a suitable building. About forty
persons were converted upon this occasion, and
among them we find the name of James Vernon.
The first thought of this good man after his con
version was to devise plans for a suitable place
of worship. He aroused enthusiasm among a
few neighbors. They held a meeting in a barn
now standing, drew up a paper stating their ob
ject, and Mr. Vernon started the list of subscrib
ers with $40, a very large sum in those days. At
tached to this paper are seventy-four names, with
the amount promised. George Peters, 'Thomas
Cheshire, Henry Cheshire, John Nostrand, Abra
ham Remsen, Catherine, Mary and Sally Peters
and Andrew C Hegeman gave $25 each ; Thomas
Cheshire and William Duryea, $20 each; John
Van Cott, $15 ; Jackson Vernon, George Remsen,
John Jackson, John Layton, John Cheshire,
Charles Cheshire, Joseph White, C. & J. Stores,
Samuel Mott, Gideon Wright and Townsend W.
Burtis, $10 each; and others from five dollars
down to one as they were able. The members
of the Society of 'Friends also contributed Hber-
ally. "The church was built in 1834, and it has
been of great use and benefit to the entire neigh
borhood. It is 31 by 37 feet, located just south of
the village, and is worth, with the ground at
tached, about $2,500. The site was a gift from
James Vernon. The parsonage situated a short
distance north of the village is a two-story
structure built in 1866 or 1867, and with the plot
of ground, worth perhaps $1,500.
Bethpage is another community which for
long was a religious center. Thomas Powell, a
Quaker, from Huntington, bought a large tract
of land in 1695, and in 1698 a Friends' meeting
was established, which was maintained until a
year or two ago, when it seems to have died out.
The population at present is given as 150, and
brickmaking is the only industry, except farm
ing. A much more important religious center was
Jericho, a pleasant village near tbe center of the

town. It was settled first about 1650, and the
present population of 325 is mainly descended
from- the first settlers, such as Seamans, Willets,
Underhill, Williams. In early times Jericho was
known as "The Farms," or Springfield, and the
Indians called it Lusum. Most of the early set
tlers were of the Society of Friends, and meet
ings for worship were held in the homes of the
people with more or less frequency, from 1676
to 1787, when a regular meeting house was built.
In that tabernacle some wonderful reunions have
been held, and Elias Hicks preached in it for
several years. It is still a place of worship, but
the old palmy days have gone, although the sixty
members on its roll make up a congregation as
earnest and devoted as any that ever assembled
within its walls.
The mention of the venerated name of Elias
Hicks recalls to us the town named in his mem
ory and which, although it seemed for a long
time incapable of growth, now has a population
of 1,300, a number of factories and industries,
and appears destined to grow steadily in import
ance as a manufacturing center, even -if it fails
to become a resort. It was founded in 1836,
when Hicks and other members of the Society of
Friends bought part of the land on which it is
situated, and laid out a few streets on a map and
gave it the name of Hicksville. But the popula
tion expected did not appear, and the place
seemed dead. In 1842 the Long Island Railway
reached it and built a station, an engine house
and some storage places, and on the strength of
all that the original projectors took heart and
erected a hotel and a dozen cottages. But the
venture even then seemed a failure. For some
reason or other the Rev. Dr. Prime, the historian,
was bitterly opposed to Hicksville, mainly be
cause he was opposed to the doctrines of Elias
Hicks. He wrote in 1845 :
"It (Hicksville) is a village of recent origin
situated on the western line of the town about
midway of the great plain. It originally con-
sistedof a large depot and workshops, a hotel
with its outhouses and five or six small private
dwellings. Tbe railroad having been -extended
to Greenport in 1844, the depot being burned

OYSTER BAY.

155

down about the same time, and no additions
whatever being made to the private dwellings,
the 'village' bids fair to remain 'in statu quo. Its
business, however, is undiminished, as it is a
point at whch several stages and private con
veyances arrive daily with passengers from the
adjoining villages, and after remaining an hour
or two depart with their return cargoes. Of
course, its principal trade consists of hay and oats
for 'horses, and cakes and pies and coffee, or
Whisky, for men, all of which are articles of
foreign production, as there is no land under
cultivation. Indeed, all the houses stand 'out of
doors' without any enclosure except a small
garden attached to the hotel. And although the
whole territory is as level as a barn floor and
building lots can be purchased far cheaper than
in New York, the public seems determined not
to buy them. * * * It does not seem likely
to be selected as a place of residence of any man
in his senses. East New York and Jamesport are

Dr. Prime may have been a very good preacher,
he is without honor as a prophet; for, in 1849,
Frederick Heyne purchased 1,000 acres of land,
and several others, Germans, like himself, also
purchased land in the vicinity. In 1850 the idea
was broached of making Hicksville a German
settlement, and the idea was quickly put into
practice. Streets were again surveyed and lots
staked out, and in 1852 a school house was erec
ted. Tbe people, mostly Germans, began to buy
up the lots and build, and long before Dr. Prime
died, in 1856, he could have seen a thriving vil
lage rising on the spot concerning which he ut
tered his sarcasms and his lamentations.
Farmingdale is a thriving village of some
1,600 inhabitants, and with its church, educational
advantages, its School of Technology, its one or

HOME OF CAPT. CHARLES HEWLETT NEAR WOODBURY.

privileged spots compared with Hicksville. Tlie
name may live, but the 'village' is a miserable
abortion." All of which only goes to show that while

two factories, and its beautiful situation, it is
one of tbe pleasantest little towns to be met with,
even in Long Island. It lies at the foot of the
Comae Hills and is really one of the healthiest

156

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

places to be found within a wide circle of New
York. In olden times it rejoiced in the name of
Hardscrabble, but how or when such a cognomen
was first applied has not come clown to us in any
satisfactory shape.
Among the other villages in Oyster Bay
township mention might be made of Glen Head,

"a summer city," with a population of 500;
Plainview, 230 ; South Oyster Bay, 475 ; Syos-
set, 638; Wheatly, 175; Laurelton, 125; Green-
vale, 192 ; Central Park, 375 ; Glenwood Land
ing, 268 ; 'Mill Neck, 200 ; New Cassell, 225 ;
Woodbury, 350; and Plain Edge, 137.

N£ X ^ >N

CHAPTER VII.

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

UFFOLK county includes all of Long
Island to- the east of the township of
Oyster Bay, and comprises about
two-thirds of its area. Its greatest
length is about ninety miles, and its greatest
breadth, from Eaton's Neck to the Great
South. Bay, is twenty miles, and its area measures
about 1,200 square miles. Tbe eastern extrem
ity of the county is divided by Great and Little
Peconic P.ays and Gardiner's Bay, with two nar
row, unequal branches, between which are Gar
diner's Island, Shelter Island and Robin's Island,
which, with a number of smaller islands, form a
part of the territory of the county.
The natural conditions of the region are else
where narrated. There are countless remin-
scences of the original occupants of the soil.
Many Indian legends concerning Suffolk county
have been unearthed by Dr. William Wallace
Tooker, of Sag Harbor, and concerning the abor
iginal inhabitants of his home town and the me
morials they left behind in the way of place
names, he writes as follows :
In a former time, under primitive conditions,
on the rolling ground and plain, to the northward
of the range of hills that extend west and east
across the eastern portion of the present village
of Sag Harbor, were located the picturesque
wigwams, corn fields and other accessories of the
village of Wegwagonock. A large portion of the
elevation, on the southern slopes of which the
most compact part of the village had been sit
uated, was leveled about fifty years ago and its
contents distributed over the adjoining meadow
in order to increase the area and stability of the

ship and oil yards of Mulford and Sleight. The
writer was informed by the late William R.
Sleight that human bones, supposed to have been
those of Indians, very friable and decayed, were
unearthed during the excavating; but, if any
objects aboriginal were deposited with them at
the time of burial, they were overlooked in the
haste and carelessness of the digging.
The situation of this summer dwelling place
of the red men, which it must undoubtedly have
been, for in the winter they lived back in the for
ests where it was less exposed and more shel
tered, was highly favored naturally for their pur
poses and their primitive mode of living. From
evidences, surface or otherwise, that have been
discovered from time to time, this village ex
tended, with the wigwams in scattered iorder,
along the edge of the meadows where the late E.
M. Cooper and Charles L. Phillips' houses stand,
skirting the base of the hills as far as the Fahys
Watch Case Factory. At -the present day a large
portion of this area has been obliterated of its
aboriginal marks by the march of improvements
until but a small. part of the site indicates what
it must have been at the period of which I write ;
that portion in close proximity to the depression
which has been known from my childhood as the
"Frog Pond" is about the only part remaining
that may still be studied by the student of prehis
toric anthropology with much interest and sat
isfaction. The conditions which gave rise to this vil
lage in aboriginal times were these : First, its
nearness to the tidal waters in front made their
food quest an easy one, for fish abounded here.
Second, the sand-flats, bare at low water, bor
dering the shore in every direction, undoubted
ly teemed, as it does to-day, with shell-fish of
various kinds. The abundance of the univalve,
commonly called the periwinkle, in the various
coves and bays hereabouts, gave the name Meh-

158

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tanawack, "country of the ear-shell," to this part
of Long Island, thus making it a place of note
to the natives on the neighboring main. There
can be no doubt whatever but that the manu
facture of wampum was carried on to a great
extent at this Indian village, and that it was fre
quently visited by the Dutch for the purposes of
trading in this commodity. All the facts dis
closed by excavating on this village site proves
it ; the numerous columella or stock of periwinkle
scattered about this village site bears mute testi
mony of this manufacture. The writer, in dig
ging here, discovered a cache of these shells
which had evidently been stored for future use.
He has discovered like deposits in other places
which bears out Roger Williams' observation in
1643, viz. ; "Most on the sea-side make Money,
and store up shells in Summer against Winter
whereof to make their money." Again, at the
mouths of the tidal creeks could be found- in
abundance the round clam which Roger Williams
said "the Indians wade deepe and dive for, and
after they have eaten the meat Ithere (in those
which are good) they break out of the shell,
about halfe an inch of a blacke part of it, of
which they make their suckau hock, or black
money, which is to them precious1." It is very
rare we find a whole valve of the round clam
(venus mercenaria) , but fragments -exist in great
quantity, showing breakage of the shell in order
to obtain the "blue eye" so highly desired for
beads. The debris which marks the settlement
is composed of shells, ashes, charcoal, burnt
stones which were probably the hearths of the
wigwams, pottery sherds, both ornamented and
plain, arrow points, hammer stones, celts, stone
axes and other objects that carry the age of the
village back to a past, previous to the dawn of
settlement by the English, and the layers of
which prove that the occupation of the site by
the Indians was not continuous but was revisited
time and time again. Again in the top layer has
been found a few gun flints, glass beads and
brass buttons, indicating occupation within his
toric times. On the surface it was the writer's
fortune to find a brass arrow-point identical with
that figured- by Dr. Abbott on page 421 of his
"Primitive Industry," which also belongs to the
writer. There is something peculiar about these
two points in the fact that when placed one on
the other it is indicated seemingly that they were
both cut by a die, for the perforations and out
lines are exact in both specimens. There is no
question but what careful examination on the
site of this village would bring to light many ob
jects of aboriginal use and workmanship. It is

only a few years ago that my friend, Dr. C. S.
Stilwell, who owns the hill and land adjoining,
was digging to reset a post on the lowest part
of this village site, when he drew out at the
depth of about three feet, a perfect grooved stone
axe. It was quite large and very nicely finished,
and its accidental discovery indicates to some ex
tent what may lie buried underneath the soil in
this vicinity.
The neighboring meadows and the marshy
pools of water where the rushes grew and
where the cat-tails flourished in abundance,
were frequent places of resort in order to
gather flags for making mats, baskets and cov-.
erings for their wigwams. The adjoining
hills, then all wooded, were roamed over in
search of game, and the occasional arrow-point
picked up on the surface or overturned by the
plow is a reminder of the arrow's flight either
in time of war or peaceful pursuits. The notch-.
ed or grooved sinker is also a token of the foot
steps of the Indian fisherman and indicates
where his nets sometimes were left to dry on
the upland bordering the shore. Thus on every
hand hereabouts may be met some token of the
dweller in the village of Wegwagonock. Across
the bay could be seen the island of Ahaquatu-
wamuck, "the sheltered fishing-place," now
known as Shelter Island, of which its southern
end directly opposite Wegwagonock still re
tains its aboriginal appellation of Meshomack,
a term denoting "where there is going by boat,"
indicating the ferry between that point and Three
Mile Harbor or to Wegwagonock. Further
northward, also within sight where now we see
the residence of Dr. S. B. Nicoll, was the wig
wam of the Sachem Ambusco in the seventeenth
century, which, gives the name, "Sachem's Neck"
to the locality. The trail or path froni Weg
wagonock led to Ashawagh at Three Mile Har
bor, to Weckatuck at the north side, with
branches in various directions wherever the
footsteps of the Indian might lead him.
The name Wegwagonock or Wigwagonock,
as designating the locality, was retained in the
early records of East Hampton and probably in
the speech of our first settlers until the year 1731,
when it disappears from the written page and
from the memory of our oldest inhabitant until
it was brought again to light by the publishing
of the records. Among other notices we find one
dated April 30th , 1718, when "It was agreed
* * * that all the land lying to the westward
of Joseph Stretton's meadow at Wigwagonock
shall lie * * * as common land forever
* * * all the land lying between the bound

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

159

line and the north side to the utmost limits of
East Hampton bounds." This record identifies
the locality beyond a shadow of doubt, for the
"bound line," "north side," "utmost limits of the
bounds of East Hampton," could not have ap
plied to any other locality than that north of the
site of where I place the village of Wegwago
nock. By the inroads of the sea and other causes
much of the meadow hereabouts has disappeared
and it is impossible to locate any of the tracts of
meadow first allotted to the inhabitants of East
Hampton; although in 1728 Ananias Conkling,
Jr., entereth his land joining his land at Weg
wagonock — near the bound line, which was
probably what is now tbe residence of Mrs. Will
iam R. Sleight and of the others in the rear, ex
tending back to the bay, including the site of
Wegwagonock and meadow to the eastward, and
terminating in Conkling's Point, so named after
its first owner.
Indian place names are invariably descriptive
of the place to which they are applied, and were
therefore topographical, and not mere marks to
distinguish one place from the other like all our
names. Wegwagonock belongs to the same
class and denotes "land or place at the end of
the hill," which fully describes the location at
the foot of what has been known for many
years as "Sleight's Hill." John Eliot, the emi
nent Indian Missionary, would probably have
written it in the Massachusetts dialect as We-
quae-adn-ohke, from . Wequae, "at the end of,"
"as far as," limit, etc., and "a hill," used in com
pound words only, — ock, "land or place." The
name being descriptive is found in varying
forms in other parts of New England. It was
also the name of an Indian village in Sharon,
Conn., as written by the Moravian missionaries,
Wequadn'ach. Once I asked a Chippeway In
dian what Wegwagonock meant, giving the
sounds as represented here; he was unable, how
ever, to translate it,, but just as soon as I told him
that it was the same as Waiekwadnach in his own
language, he recognized its identity and translat
ed it as given above without my assistance. The
same name is found in Columbia and Dutchess
Counties, New York, applied to a tribe of In
dians who were called the Wayaughtanocks or
Wawyachtonocks, from the fact that they dwelt
"at the end of a hill or mountain."
By such people as those of Gravesend and
Flempstead, and after similar fashion and with
similar institutions, as has, been previously nar
rated, were settled tbe historic old points in Suf

folk county— Gardiner's Island in 1639; South
ampton and Southold in 1640; Easthampton in
1648; Shelter Island in 1*652; Huntington in
1653 ; and Smithtown about 1663. With, the
exception of Smithtown and Shelter Island,
which did not immediately set up as independ
encies, these towns formed alliances with the
New England colonies — Southampton with Con
necticut in 1644, Southold with New Haven in
1648, and the others with Connecticut: East
hampton in 1657, Brookhaven in 1659 and Hunt
ington in 1660. These associations were entered
into and maintained for mutual assistance and
protection against the Indians and the Dutch,
and the independence of the towns and their
mode of self-government were in no manner to
be infringed upon.
Shortly after the establishment of the towns
named, plans were laid for tbe union of South-
old, Southampton and Easthampton, whose peo
ple appointed committees to confer with the gen
eral court at Hartford, with a view to such an
agreement and the establishment of a general
seat of government in their midst, presumably
after the fashion of the New Haven community.
For some reason the scheme did not materialize,
but in 1662 the Connecticut Colony laid claim to
Long Island, asserting right under that clause
of its charter, granted in that year, which gave
it jurisdiction over "the islands adjacent," and
two years later it sent a commission to the isl
and to enforce its pretensions. But these plans
were nipped in the bud on the instant. In the
same year Governor Richard Nicolls cam|e as
deputy under the Duke of York, to whom the
lands had been granted by the King, and he be
came at once landlord and ruler. In the former
capacity he was a law to himself and he exer
cised a wide discretion. Where the Indian
claims had been satisfied he was content with a
royalty of a penny per acre, but when the pur
chaser assumed the responsibility of dealing with
the aboriginal owner or occupant, he placed his
price as low as two shillings and sixpence for
one hundred acres.
The political history of Suffolk county begins
with the famous "Hempstead Convention" of

,160

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

1665. Prior to tbe assembling of this body, Col
onel Nicolls had exhibited to Governor Winthrop,
of Connecticut, the royal grant conveying New
York and its adjacent territory to the Duke of
York, and the Governor bad informed the Eng
lish on Long Island that Connecticut had no
longer any claim upon them — "'that what they
had done for them was for the welfare, peace and
quiet settlement of his Majesty's subjects, they
being the nearest organized government to them
under his Alajesty; but now that his Majesty's
pleasure was fully signified by his letters patent,
their jurisdiction had ceased and become null."
The calling of the Hempstead Convention by
Colonel Nicolls, its personnel and its transactions
— all this has been narrated in the previous vol
ume. It is only to be repeated here that Long
Island and Staten Island were erected into a
shire, called Yorkshire, after that in England,
and of this the towns now included in Suffolk
county constituted the East Riding. It is pre
sumable that in this convention the original
names of some of the towns were changed to
those which they now bear. At this time was
created the court of sessions, to meet twice a
year, and to consist of tbe justices of the peace
of the county. Three commissioners were ap
pointed in each town to constitute a local court,
with power to decide, cases not exceeding £5
value. This Assembly also provided for a rev
enue to the government from duties on imports
as follows : Rum, brandy and distilled liquors,
4 pence a gallon; Madeira, Malaga, sherry and
all sweet wines, 40 shillings per pipe ; powder,
12 shillings a barrel ; lead, 6 shillings per hun
dred weight ; every gun or gun barrel with lock,
6 shillings ; general merchandise not otherwise
specified, an ad valorem duty of 2 per cent. ; all
merchandise intended for the Indian trade, 10
per cent. The following merchandise was ex
empt : Salt, brick, pan-tiles, coal, fish, sugar,
molasses, cotton, wool, ginger, logw'ood, "brasa-
lette," fustic, West India hides, tobacco, bullion
and plate. An excise was also placed upon all
liquors sold in less quantities than five gallons.
of 12 pence a gallon, except beer and cider,
which were rated at 6 shillings a barrel. An ex

port duty was also laid upon all skins of animals
sent away. In computing the value of skins and
tbe duty thereon a whole beaver skin was taken
as the standard or unit of value, and other skins
were reckoned by it. The duty on a whole beav
er was nine pence, and the same on its equiva
lent in any other skins, as follows : Two half-
beavers, four "lapps," three "drillings," ten "ra-
toons," four foxes, four "fishers," five cats, twen
ty-four "mees-catts," ten "mailers," twenty-four
pounds of deer skin and the same weight of
moose skin.
In 1683 the first Colonial Assembly was con
vened under a call made by Governor Dongan,
and this body abolished the "ridings" and erected
the three counties of Kings, Queens and Suffolk.
Under the various administrations of Governor
Leisler, the following county officers were com
missioned : John Howell, Richard Smith, Sam
uel Mulford, Thomas Alapes and Ebenezer Piatt,
justices ; and Matthew Howell, High Sheriff,
and at a council meeting on December 17, 1689,
Captain Ebenezer Piatt, of Huntington, was com
missioned to administer the oath to the other
Justices. Tbe Governor also commissioned offi
cers of a militia company. In 1690 be made a
call for an assembly, two from each county. Suf
folk county refused to send assemblymen, and
the Governor sent Samuel Edsall, a member of
his Council, to secure acknowledgment of his
authority and compliance with his demand, but
his success was meager.
After the overthrow of Leisler, the original
government was re-established and remained
stable until the revolutionary period. Land titles
were quieted by confirmation of former grants,
and the Assembly was again established and was
never afterward abolished. Courts were cre
ated — the county court, or court of common
pleas, composed of a Judge and the Justices, ap
pointed by the Governor. This court had cos-- o
nizance of civil actions except where the title
of land was concerned, and final power in cases
of value less than £20; tbe court of sessions,
composed of the justices of the count v; and the
justices' courts, wherein a single justice had
power to decide a controversy to the amount of

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

161

forty shillings. The justices were appointed by
the Governor. Surveyors o'f highways, collec
tors, assessors and constables were elected by the
people. In 1693 Isaac Arnold was judge of the
common pleas, Josiah Hobart was sheriff, and
the justices were John Howell, Samuel Mulford,
Richard Smith, William Barker, Matthew How
ell, Ebenetus (Epenetus?) Piatt and Thomas
Mapes. Their names appear frequently in tbe
annals of their times, and they were evidently
men of importance.
While agriculture was the principal pursuit
of the people, many were engaged in more stir
ring occupations, as shipbuilding and whaling,
as written of elsewhere. Gradually other indus
tries were introduced. About 1700 the manu
facture of woolen cloth was begun, and this en
terprise, insignificant as it was, at once occa
sioned alarm to the crown officials. Governor
Cornbury was particularly disquieted, and wrote
(in 1705) to the home government as follows:
"I am well informed that upon Long Island
and Connecticut they are setting up a woolen
manufacture, and I myself have seen serge made
upon Long Island that any man may wear.
Now, if they begin to make serge, they will in
time make coarse cloth and then fine. * * *
I hope I may be pardoned if I declare my opin
ion to be that all these colonies, which are but
twigs belonging to the main tree (England),
ought to be kept entirely dependent upon and
subservient to England ; and that can never be if
they are suffered to go On in the nations they
have, that as they are Englishmen so they may set
up the same manufactures here as people may do
in England; for the consequence will be that if
once they can see they can clothe themselves, not
only comfortably but handsomely, too, without
the help of England, they, who are not very fond
of submitting to government, would soon think
of putting in execution designs they had long
harbored in their breasts. This will not seem
strange when you consider what sort of people
this country is inhabited- by."
Three years later (in 1708) Caleb Heathcote,
a member of the council, wrote to England:
"They are already sol far advanced in their
Alanufacoryes that Ya of ye linen and Wollen
they use is made amongst them, especially the
11

Courser sort; & if some speedy and effectual
ways are not found to putt a stop to it they will
carry it on a great deal further, & perhaps in
time very much to the prejudice of our manu
factory's at home."
These alarming opinions were not held by all,
however. In 1732 Governor Cosby wrote to tbe
Board of Trade that "the inhabitants here are
more lazy and inactive than the world generally
supposes, and their manufacture extends no far
ther than what is consumed in their own fam
ilies — a few coarse woolseys for clothing, and
linen for their own wear." And Governor Aloore
wrote, in 1767:
"It does not appear that there is any estab
lished fabric or broadcloth here; and some poor
weavers from Yorkshire, who came over lately
in expectation of being engaged to make broad
cloths, could find no employment. But there is
a general manufactory of woolen carried on here,
and consist of two sorts, the first a coarse cloth
entirely woolen, % of a yard wide; and another
stuff, which they call linsey woolsey. The warp
of this is linen and the woof woolen, and a very
small quantity of it is ever sent to market.
* * * The custom of making these coarse
cloths in private families prevails throughout
the 'whole province, and almost in every house a
sufficient quantity is manufactured for the use of
the family, without the least design of sending
any of it to market. This I had an opportunity
of seeing in the late tour I made, and had the
same accounts given me by all those persons of
whom I made any inquiry ; for every house
swarms with- children, who are set to work as
soon as they are able to spin and card, and as
every family is furnished witli a loom the itiner
ant weavers who travel about the country put
the finishing 'hand to the work."
In the latter part of the seventeenth century
tanning came into vogue, but the product, as
leather, was very inferior. About 171 5 beaver
fur was used in hat making — an industry which
became so important, being carried on in shops
in many of the villages in the county, that Par
liament enacted a law forbidding the exportation
of hats. In 171 5 was also begun the manufacture
of linseed oil. Shortly before the revolution, pa
per mills were established, and in 1791 the first

162

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

newspaper in the county was printed — the "Long
Island Herald," at Sag Harbor, May ioth, by
David Frothingham.
After the Revolutionary war, the county was
visited by General Washington, . then President,
and it is pleasant to record the notes which he
made in his diary concerning it:
"April 21, 1790 — -We dined at Captain Zebu
lon Ketcham's, Huntington South, which had
been a public house, but now a private one;
that is, receives pay for what is furnished. This
house was about 14 miles from South Hemp
stead, and a very -neat and decent one. After
dinner we proceeded to a 'Squire Thompson's,
such a house as the last ; that is, one that is not
public, but will receive pay for everything it
furnishes in the same manner as if it was. The
road on- which I passed to-day and the country
here is more mixed with sand than yesterday,
and the soil jis of inferior quality; yet with
manure, which all the corn ground receives, tbe
land yields on an average 30 bushels to- the
acre, often more. Of wheat they do not grow
much on account of the fly, but the crops of rye
are good.
"April 22. — About 8 o'clock we left Mr.
Thompson's, halted- awhile at one Green's, dis
tance 11 miles, and dined at 'Hart's tavern, in
Brookhaven township, five miles farther. To
this place we traveled on what is called the South
road, but the country through which it passed
grew more and more sandy and barren as we
traveled eastward, so as to become very poor in
deed ; a few miles further eastward the land took
a different complexion, as were informed. From
Hart's we struck across the island for the north
side, passing the east end of bushy plains and
Coram, 8 miles ; thence to Setauket, seven miles
more to the house -of Captain Roe, which is tol
erably decent, with obliging people in it. The
first five miles of the road is too poof to admit
inhabitants or cultivation, being a low, scrubby
oak, not more than two feet high, intermixed
with small and ill-thriving pines. Within two
miles of Coram there are farms, but the land is
of indifferent qur.h'r- much mixed with -sand.
Coram contains but few houses. From thence to
Setauket the soil improves, especially as you ap
proach the sound, but it is far from being of the
first quality, still a good deal being mixed with
sand. The road across from the south to the
north side is level except a small part south of
Coram, but the hills are trifling."

The first churches were independent, and
congregational in government. Presbyterian
ism obtained a substantial foothold within the
first half century of the settlement of the county.
The Presbytery of Long Island was organized
at Southampton, April 17, 1717, and belonged
to the Synod of Philadelphia. As the denomina
tion grew,' there came necessity for another
Presbytery, that of Suffolk, which was formed
April 9, 1747. A reorganization was effected in
October, 1790, under the title of the Presbytery
of Long Island, and this name has been pre
served, although the territorial limits have been
changed from time to time.
While the earliest churches were congrega
tional in form, .those belonging to the denomina
tion known by that name came far later. In
1 79 1, at Riverhead, was organized the strict Con
gregational Convention of Long Island, which
comprised a few churches, principally within the
county. This body was dissolved in April, 1845,
and, in time, other Congregational Associations
were formed.
The Methodist Episcopal Church had its be
ginning shortly before the Revolutionary war
period. It made rapid growth, and at the pres
ent time numbers a larger membership and more
church edifices in the county than does any other
denomination. The Protestant Episcopal Church had its
founding about 1730, and was of slow growth.
In 1704 a communicant complained that "in Suf
folk county, in the east end of Long Island, there
is neither a Church of England minister nor any
provision made for one by law, the people gen
erally being Independents, and upheld in their
separation by the New England emissaries."
The Baptist Church was established some
what later than was the Church of England, and
the Roman Catholic Church came long afterward,
about 1837.
Religious influences have been at various
times greatly strengthened by the aid of organi
zations having for their purpose moral advance
ment and primary religious instruction. Short
ly before the Civil war, the Suffolk County Sab
bath School Association was oragnized, and it

SUFFOLK COUNTY

163

performed a useful work for many years. Dur
ing a large part of its early period a journal was
published, the "Suffolk County Sabbath School
Journal," under the management of the secre
tary of the Association. In this connection it is
of interest to note that Mrs. Phoebe Wickham,
a sister of John Ledyard, the famous traveler,
at her home near Mattituck, established the
first Sunday school in Suffolk county, in 1793,
only eleven years after such schools were opened

Of course education had its beginning in such
primitive schools as have been previously de
scribed in this work. In the early part of the
last century the towns were divided into school
districts. The educational system was in its
crude state, but there were earnest and capable
men who put it in a constant condition of pro
gression. In 1830 was organized the Teachers'
Association of the Town of Islip, with Amos
Doxsee, Henry Brewster, William Brewster.

OLD CHURCH.

in London, Englan-d, by Robert Raikes, known
the world over as the "Father of the Sunday
school." The Suffolk County Bible Society was organ
ized October 3, 1815, with the Rev. Zachariah
Green as president. For many years it accom
plished much good in supplying the Scriptures
to destitute families before the era of extrava
gantly cheap printing, and in securing means
wherewith to supply missionaries in foreign
lands. Later it was merged into the Long Isl
and Bible Society, which is elsewhere mentioned.
The Suffolk County Temperance Society was or
ganized in 1850, and exerted a salutary influence
for very many years.

Flenry Doxsee and Jonas Jarvis as its moving
spirits, and it performed a useful work for sev
eral years. In 1842 Samuel A. Smith, who was
then county superintendent of schools, suggested
the organization of a similar body at Hunting
ton, and it held profitable monthly meetings dur
ing a period of about twelve years. Occasional
meetings were also held to further educational
interests, among which was one -called by Selah
B. Strong, at South Haven, in 1837, and one
held in 1844, at Riverhead, which was ad
dressed by some of the foremost men of the
day. The foundations of the present Teachers' As
sociation were laid by the Suffolk County Teach-

164

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ers' Association, which was organized at River
head in June, 1852, with an original membership
consisting of James H. Tuthill, H. H. Skinner,
L. H. De Loss Crane, B. Hi. Saxton, J. Andrew
Flallock, M. D. Loper, A. M. Young, S. Orlando
Lee, G. O. Wells and W. C. Booth. This Asso
ciation at first met quarterly, in various villages
in turn, on invitation of those of their people
interested in its objects. As towns developed and
schools multiplied, auxiliary associations were

formed in various portions of the county, while
the parent -organization maintained its existence,
and covered the larger field. In 1842 the office
of county superintendent of schools was created,
and from that day the cause of education has
shown constant progression, and1 tbe schools of
Suffolk county to-day stand among the foremost
in efficiency, personnel bf teachers and equip
ment. In 1900 the public school statistics for
the county were as follows :

SUFFOLK COUNTY— FIRST DISTRICT

TOWNS IN
DISTRICT

Districts with
School House in
County

Teach
ers Em
ployed
for Legal
Term

Whole
Number of
Children
Attending School

Aggregate Days'
Attendance During
School Year

Assessed
Valuation of
Districts

Amount of
PublicMoney
Received
from State

Amount of
Money
Raised by
Local Tax

Value of
School
Houses
and Sites

Volumes in
School
Libraries

Southold 

4
151622 1

132338
52 4

527878
1,4812,098 204

65,029
119,630207,818285,611 27,636

$ 1,851,955
3,329,0346,061,4998,093,475 1,544,800

$ 1,237.14
2,669.05
4,682.17 5,978.97 474.91

$ 8,245.809,615.48
18,872.36 29,077.79 2,780.64

$ 18,250
40,68051,100
114,025 8,500

58
130
5,188
705,724
$20,831,268
$15,042.24
$68,592.07
$332,555
10,839
SECOND DISTRICT
TOWNS IN
DISTRICT
Districts with
School House in
County
Teach
ers Em
ployed
for Legal
Term
Whole
Number of
Children
Attending School
Aggregate Days'
Attendance During
School Year
Assessed
Valuation of
Districts
Amount of
Public
Money
Received
from State
Amount of
Money
Raised by
Local Tax
Value of
School
Houses
and Sites
Volumes in
School
Libraries
7
351813 7
27
74485810
1,254 2,634
1,8322,293 232
170,681
333,846228,554319,625 37,774
$ 2,239,7229,571,289
5,328,0115,126,390 1,295,267
$ 2,990.03
38,559.28 5,453.52
6,425.99 1,118.06
$ 20,920.17
37,300.78 25,178.57
41,595.82 4,325.25
$ 54,79096,172
176,305130,100 13,985
Total 
80
217
8,248
1,110,480
$23,560,779
$24,546.88
$129,320.59
$471,352
20,584
The above exhibit as to the school libraries
speaks volumes for the usefulness of the school's
and the liberality with which they are maintained.
Something, also, is deserving to be said of the
observance of Arbor Day, which in this county
is entered into with genuine enthusiasm. Its in
fluence can not be too highly estimated, not alone
on the material side, in educating the children to
the value of the grand old trees which here rise
to such noble proportions, but in opening their
minds to the beauties of nature. Great effort has
been made in the fourteen years during which
the Arbor Day law has been in effect, to stimu
late the children to a hearty participation in the
exercises of the occasion.
Included in the public school establishment of
SUFFOLK COUNTY.

165

OLD SCHOOL BUILDING, COLD SPRING HARBOR.

NEW SCHOOL BUILDING, COLD SPRING HARBOR.

166

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Suffolk county are two schools for the children
of the few remaining Shinnecock Indians — one
at Poospatuck and one at Shinnecock. The for
mer is reported as progressing satisfactorily
with good attendance and reasonable attention to
study. At' Shinnecock, however, the conditions
are different, and the teacher reports some ob
stacles. The teacher, who is also a preacher,
"will do better when he has learned the ways of
the pupils." .But the Worst trouble is the golf
players, who hire the boys out of school to act
as caddies. A splendid adjunct to tbe excellent educa
tional institutions of the county is found in the
numerous well selected and liberally maintained
libraries, which are accessible to students as well
as to the general public. These are as follows :
The Hampton Library, at Bridgehampton, 5,254
volumes; the Free Library, at Easthampton,
1,526 volumes ; the Association Library, at Islip,
1,000; the Lloyd Jones Library, at Massapequa,
1,050 volumes; the Public Library, at Northville,
637 volumes; the Circulating Library, at Pat
chogue, 1500 volumes; the Free Library, at
Riverhead, 800 volumes ; the Library Association
at Sag Harbor, 1,893 volumes; the Public Li
brary, at Sea Cliff, 1,062 volumes; the Emma
Clark Library at Setauket, 2.304 volumes; the
Rogers 'Memorial Library, at Southampton, 4,-
000 volumes ; the Free Library, at Westhampton,
1,200 volumes; and the Circulating Library, at
Yaphank, 650 volumes. In addition to these
public school libraries are maintained in the prin
cipal towns.
One of the former great industries of Suffolk
county, whaling, has practically disappeared.
Another, shipbuilding, presents but a shadow
of its former great proportions, although- many
small vessels are yet run off the stocks up the
principal harbors.
Oystering is profitable in many localities
along the shore, as is also fishing. In and near
many of the towns are various manufactories of
the smaller kind — for carriage building, harness
making, brick and pottery works, and the like,
which are a source of considerable revenue, and
do not materially detract from the beauty of the

locality or from its desirability for residential
purposes. But the occupation of the larger por
tion of the population is farming, dairying and
stock breeding, and in these lines the Suffolk
county farmer enjoys a high distinction. His soil
is fertile, his animals and implements are of the
best, and his products are unsurpassable in quan
tity and quality, while his immediate surround
ings are those of the ideal country farm house.
Largely contributing to these magnificent re
sults has been that really excellent body, the Suf
folk County Agricultural Society, a narrative of
which appears elsewhere in this work.
Up to 1872 Suffolk county was divided into
nine townships. In that year the present town of
Babylon was formed, making the entire number
ten, as follows :

Huntington.Babylon.Smithtown.
Islip. Brookhaven.

Riverhead. Southampton.
Easthampton.
Southold. Shelter Island.

Change ever begets change, and where a
long-existing order of things is once broken, al
most inevitably follows other innovations, or, at
least, a feeling of restlessness which provokes at
tempt at such. And so, for some years, there
have been influential men who ihave sought to
dismember the ancient county, and make of it
two. The advocates of this plan argue that the
western portion of the -county is too remote from
the shire town, Riverhead, and that a considera
ble portion of the western population, in order
to reach the county seat, are obliged to make long
and circuitous journeys.
The -advocates of the new scheme propose
to form the townships of Islip, Babylon, Smith-
town, Hunting-ton and Brookhavai into a new
county. But, in all probability, it will be a long
time before this plan, or any looking to division,
is consummated, if for no other reason than the
antagonisms which will arise between rival vil
lages seeking the honor of being made the coun
ty seat. But, some day, when the population be
comes more dense, there will undoubtedly be a
division.

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

167

The courts of Suffolk county were held in
Southold (with an occasional term in Southamp
ton) until 1729, when Riverhead was made and
yet continues to be the seat of justice. In 1728
a court house was there erected, in the center of
the business portion of the town. In 1854-5 a
new edifice was erected in what was then the
northwestern suburb of tbe village, at a cost
of $17,800. The building stands upon a stone
basement and is of brick, two stories in height.
It is said that on one occasion Chancellor Kent
came to hold a term- of oyer and terminer, but he
found neither lawyers or prisoners, and he de
parted without hearing a single case. An old
jail, dating back to almost time immemorial, af
ter being condemned annually by the grand jury
for many years, was replaced in 1881 by a sub
stantial octagonal stone structure.
Until 1870 each town cared for its own poor
— so far as they were cared for — for in absence
of a system there were many abuses, not the least
of which was the "farming out" of the homeless
to such as would maintain them at least expense
to the county. But in the year designated, a coun
ty farm1 was agreed upon, and one suitable, at
Yaphank, was purchased, upon which buildings
were erected at a total outlay of almost $70,000.
Additional buildings were subsequently erected
as necessity demanded. This property is official
ly known as the Suffolk County Almshouse and
Children's Home. In a recent year the alms
house report showed that 157 persons were cared
for — chargeable to Huntington, 17; Babylon,
14; Islip, 19; Smithtown, 9; Brookhaven, 20;
Riverhead, 10; Southampton, 13; Easthampton,
4 ; Southold, 9 ; Shelter Island, 3 ; boarders, 5 ;
Suffolk county, 34. The report of the Children's
Home showed the receipts for the year to have
been $5,039.06, with expenditures amounting to
$6,572.41. The cost of food and clothing was
$2,682.32. The number of children remaining
in the 'borne was 49 ; received during the year, 56 ;
discharged, 68; remaining September 30, 1899,
37. Chargeable to Huntington, 4 ; Islip, 4 ; Baby
lon, 1; Smithtown, 1; Brookhaven, 11; River
head , 1 ; -Southampton, 1 ; Easthampton, 2 ;
Southold, 5.

Among the other charitable institutions are,
at Amityville, the Long Island Home for the
Insane, founded in 1881, and the Louden Hall
for Aged, Decrepit and Mentally Enfeebled; at
Central Islip, the Manhattan State FDospital,
with its spiendid buildings affording accommo
dations for 1,500 inmates; and at King's Park,
the Long Island State Hospital.
In addition to these is- to be noted the homes
maintained by the Society of St. Johnland, at
King's Park. There is no more useful or more
truly charitable work carried on anywhere than
in these institutions, where aged men are en
abled to await the close of life's generally disas
trous and poverty-stricken journey in comfort
and peace, and where children are received,
clothed, fed and educated in a manner calculated
to develop them into strong, active and intelligent
citizens whose labors in years to come will add
to the general welfare of whatever section where
their lots may be cast. During the year ending
December 1, 1901, the Society had maintained
in these institutions 51 aged men, 83 boys and
60 girls, at a per capita cost of about $175, and
had received legacies during the same period
amounting to $27,761, which had been added to
its general fund — the fund which insures the
permanence of the work. Truly in this case the
perpetual power of good is clearly illustrated.
Dr. Muhlenburg, the founder of the institution,
has long rested from his labors, leaving behind
a sainted memory, yet his example and his work
still bring forth good fruit and daily render
grand service to the cause of humanity — the
cause of 'Christianity. At the annual meeting
of the Society of St. Johnland held in the clos
ing week of 'I901, the following officers were
elected :
The Rev. Dr. Henry Mottet, President ; Will
iam Alexander Smith, Vice-President ; Dr. Fred
erick D. Hyde, Secretary; Francis M. Bacon,
Treasurer. Trustees — W. Alexander Smith,
Bishop Henry C. Potter, A. W. Har-d, George
Blagden, the Rev. Dr. Mottet, John A. McKim,
Joseph Park, J. H. H-ewson, James McLean, F.
M. Bacon, Theodore Thomas, Roswell Eldridge,
Dr. F. E. Hyde, the Rev. Dr. W. M. Grosvenor,
John H. Cole, George E. Chisholm, John Seely

168

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Ward, Jr., the Rev. James E. Freeman, Avery
D. Andrews, Alfred G. Vanderbilt, S. 'Nicholson
Kane, William 'N. Wilmer, James K. Gracie, and
William G. Davies. Superintendent — Rev. N.
C. Halsted. At King's Park is located the splendidly
equipped Long Island State Hospital for the In
sane, occupying property valued at $3,700,000.
In 1901 the inmates numbered 2,783. The cost
of maintenance was $464,329, and $180,609 was
expended for improvements.
It is estimated tbat in 1650 the population of
Suffolk county was 500, one-fifth of the total ac
credited to the province of New York. In 1731
these figures 'bad increased to 7,675 for the
county (including 715 Indians) and 50,289 in
the province. In 1771 the county numbered
13,128 people, but the number in tbe province had
increased to 168,007. Ln I79° the population of
Suffolk county was 16,640, and it had very near
ly doubled in T840, when it was 32,469. In 1875
the population was 51,873, of which but little
more than eleven per cent, were of foreign birth,
and fully seventy-one per cent, were born within
the county. In 1900 the population had in
creased to 77,582, of which nearly twenty per
cent. (1-1,757) were of foreign birth.
In 1903 the civil list of Suffolk county was
as follows '.
State Senator, Edwin Bailey, Jr. ; Assembly
men, Willis A. Reeve, Orlando Hubbs ; County
Judge, Walter H. Jaycox; Sheriff, Henry How
ard Preston ; County Clerk, Solomon Ketcham ;
Supervisor, William R. Fanning; County Treas
urer, Henry S. Brush ; District Attorney, Living
ston Smith; Superintendent of Poor, John J.
Kirkpatrick ; School Commissioners, Charles H.
Howell, Millard H. Packer.
Suffolk county is in the First Congressional
District, and is represented by Hon. Townsend
Scudder, elected in 1902 to succeed Hon. Fred
erick Stone.
Farly in this work, brief quotations were
made from a paper of real historical value —
"Fifty Years of Suffolk County," read in Febru
ary, 1900, at Riverhead, at the annual meeting

of tbe Suffolk County Historical Society, by the
Rev. Epher Whittaker, of that body. Some fur
ther quotations from this excellent paper will
better serve the readers of these pages than would
aught else, and we quote freely, by permission of
the talented author:
Men are greatly affected by the climate in
which they live. It may be cold, hot, dry, moist,
rare or dense. In many places, as in our own
county, the climate depends more or less upon
the presence or absence of forests. In many
parts of our county the half century has seen
forest land converted into fruitful fields. But
this advantage has produced no- want of balance
in our healthful climate. Tens of thousands of
trees for fruit, shade and beauty, with shrubs
and vines for ornament and use, have well sup
plied the absence of common trees. Villages that
fifty years ago- were in the summer season scorch
ing in the glowing sun now resemble pleasant
parks adorned with good trees of resplendent
variety and attractiveness. The desert has be
come paradise. Furthermore, many of these
well-adorned villages have doubled their size
since 1850. The people of the county have
changed far more than the soil they occupy or
the healthful and genial air which they breathe.
% ^ $z ijr :jc :£ ^ j{t
For two hundred years yoiing people had
swarmed from tbe teeming hive. Few persons
from abroad had made their homes within its
bounds. Now and then a young man, who-, for
trade or toil, had gone forth and found the treas
ure of his life elsewhere, returned with his bride.
But cases of this kind were rare. For Suffolk
county girls were then, as they are now, good
enough for any man. When this uncommonness
of our condition terminated, the population of
our countv was about 37,000. In these fifty years
it has nearly doubled its resident citizens. Dur
ing the summer, including visitors and cottages,
it is above 100,000.
The rate of increase in wealth has been far
greater than in population. An indication of
this fact is seen in the -establishment of banks.
The county, it. is supposed, had no bank in it fifty
years ago. It certainly had no savings bank.
It now has two national banks in Greenport, one
in Sag Harbor, one in Southampton, one in
Riverhead, one in Patchogue, one in Babylon,
one in Port Jefferson, and one or more elsewhere.
There is a private bank in Easthampton, one in
Sag Harbor, one in Riverhead, and -others, it
may be, in different places.

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

169

The Southold Savings Bank was organized
in 1858. This has been followed by the organ
ization of those of Riverhead, Sag Harbor and
Patchogue. These savings banks now have six
millions of dollars deposited in them. It is believed
that the Suffolk county depositors in savings
banks equal in number one-tenth of its whole
population, as many as half the men who' voted
last yrear at the election for county officers.
Furthermore, our citizens have millions of dol
lars invested in life insurance. It is needless to
conjecture how many millions they have in
Government bonds and in other bonds and stocks.
The coasting trade and the fisheries contin
ued to be available ; and our vessel-builders made
the best of these important and valuable re-

OLD FARM HOUSE.
mainders. In the harbors along the Sound, and
at Greenport and other places, the enterprise of
our shipwrights — no other workers are more en
terprising than they — rose to the height of the
demand made upon their genius and diligence.
But unhappily they had jn those days to fight
another battle, which soon became a somewhat
unequal contest. It was the defensive battle of
the wind against the invading power of steam.
It was essentially the same kind of a combat
which steam is now compelled to wage against
the encroaching power of magnetism-. It is said
that when Edison crossed the ocean he could not
sleep during the voyage. This was not due to
the ceaseless tossing of the slhip- which oonveyed
him, but to his inability to see how he could har

ness the forces of the waves — old Neptune's
steeds — and make them work for man under hu
man control and direction on the land. Well, he
ned not be too much cast down; for doubtless
the whole globe is a magnet, and Edison, Bell
and Marconi and others are following Henry
and Morse and showing how it can be put into
harness on both land and sea.
The Hon. Lewis A. Edward's, of Orient, one
of our society's in memoriam members, was a
man whose soul was commensurate with the
stateliness of his physical frame and with the dig
nity and winsomeness of his bearing and man
ners. 'Not a small part of his well-earned and
comfortable fortune was at one time invested in
sailing vessels. I remember distinctly how he
said to me: "I formerly believed that steam
would never master wind upon the
high and open sea for the convey
ance of freight. I believed that the
inexpensiveness of the one would be
more than a match for the greater
constancy and certainty of the other.
But I have changed my mind. The
last two years have decided the bat
tle, and the steamers have won the
victory." That was perhaps twenty-
five years ago, and our Suffolk
county shipwrights were building
sailing vessels.
Furthermore, this was not the
only battle fought and lost which
affected the shipbuilders of the coun
ty. Another contest was that of iron
and steel against wood, and the
triumph of the former, while our
shipwrights were generally workers
in wood. To maintain their business
and make it profitable they had to
unite in themselves the daring of
the mariner, the courage of the soldier, the
venturesomeness of the merchant and the
genius and skill of the engineer. One fact
shows their eminent ability ; they have at
no time ceased to build seafaring vessels — crafts
of nearly every kind, rowboats, fishing smacks,
pleasure yachts, scollopers, sloops, schooners,
barks, brigs. The trader has given employment
to hundreds of men ; and they have matched in
the excellence of the fruits of their toil that of
the worthy architects, builders and mechanics
who have erected houses, barns, mills, bridges
and other structures which have 'within the last
fifty years utterly changed the face of the county
for the better so far as this can depend on the
work of men's hands. For the period in review

170

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

has made nearly all things new in the villages
not only, but also on the farms. Advance and
improvement in size style and surroundings are
seen everywhere. Increase in wealth has made the
delightful change not more than the growth and
progress of intelligence and the elevation and re
finement of taste. )
The builders of houses have perhaps made
no more remarkable advancement than men in
other employments have manifested. In every
department of mechanic arts are seen the grati
fying improvements of the half-century.
In other directions may be seen noteworthy
changes in the employments and conditions of
our industrious and thrifty fellow citizens.
Within the last decades many poultry farms
have been established. From some of these sev
erally three or four thousand ducks are sent to
market every year. Others yield one or two
thousand each. Changes for the better in the
incubators and other apparatus as well as in the
buildings, and the business generally, have been
made and continue.
The schools, of the county have become less
numerous than formerly, and have lost in some
measure their individual traits of character. They
have generally -approximated an uninteresting
and typical sameness of manner and quality.
The public schools having become a part of
the machinery of the political parties, with ex
treme power of taxation, and millions of money
m the hands of a few central operators, to be
used for their purposes every year, these schools
have a character distinctly unlike those of earlier
days. They have been effective in gradually clos
ing the academies that were formerly sources of
intellectual life in the several villages of East
hampton, Remsenberg, Bellport, Southampton,
Franklinville, Riverhead, Miller's Place and else
where. These academies were generally taught by
able and ambitious young -men of liberal educa
tion, whose instruction, impulse, example and in
spiration animated and impelled their bright pu
pils to aim at excellence and noble ends. These
teachers sometimes entered upon other pursuits
and won eminence, distinction and honor in
walks of professional usefulness. Thus they led
onward an attractive and aspiring procession of
worthy followers. Their day is past.
Tlie schools of the county are now far less
individually distinctive and far more mechanical.
They work with magnetic energy to bring all
their pupils to the same level in their respective
classes. All the public schools were made free
about thirty years ago. More recently the attend

ance at schools of children within certain ages
has been made compulsory, and by these means
the likelihood of deplorable illiteracy has been di
minished. The churches within the past 'half century
have more than doubled in number, and increased
more rapidly than the whole population of the
county. This is not twice as numerous as it was
fifty years ago. These churches, combined are
now served by as many as 140 clergymen. The
full pastoral service of a minister does not prob
ably exceed, on the average, twenty years. To
maintain the supply requires an accession of seven
each year. At this rate three hundred and more
come and. go in half a century. Doubtless, 200
have passed away since 1850. '
Jn the various towns of the county, from their
origin, 250 years ago, there has always been a
Christian ministry of high character in morals
and religion, of eminent ability, and of liberal
education. There has been no lowering of the
standard during the period under review.
Among those who have passed away in this
period may be mentioned: Baptist — Charles J.
Hopkins, Alvin Ackley. -Congregational-
Charles J. Knowles, Henry T. Cheever, Christo
pher Youngs, Thomas :N. Benedict, Charles
Hoover, Aaron Snow, Henry Woodruff, Eusebius
Hale. Methodist Episcopal — Thomas G. Os-
born, Seymour Landon, Marvin R. Lent, George
W. Woodruff, Edward Warriner, George Hollis,
Stephen Rushmore, Samuel A. Seaman. Presby
terian — Enoch C. Wines, Edward Hopper, Hugh
N. Wilson, William B. Reeve, M. D., Augustus
T. Dobson, William H. Cooper, Daniel N. Lord,
Carson W. Adams, Daniel Beers, James T. Ham
lin, Phineas Robinson, Abraham- Luce, George
F. Wiswell, Zachariah Green, Ezra King, James
S. Evans, James McDougaM. Protestant Episco
pal— D. V. M. Johnson, J. M(. 'Noll. Roman
Catholic— John McKenna. Universalist — Dr.
Emerson. The flood of years has borne away from the
legal profession some of the ablest judges, coun
sellors and advocates of justice who have at any
time given dignity and worth to the judicial office
of the county.
Selah B. Strong was a judge who had few
peers in the highest court of the Empire State-
upright, impartial, recondite, diligent, consider
ate, and- pure and spotless as the snowy ermine,
the precious emblem of his proud and conspicu
ous office.
Worthy to be associated with him were the
judges of our county who have passed away
within the period in hand : Hugh Halsey, Abra-

SUFFOLK COUNTY.

171

ham T. Rose, William P. Buffet, George Miller,
J. Lawrence Smith. The successors of these
men are their peers. There has been no abate
ment of the lofty judicial standard.
The surrogates, James H. Tuthill and others,
when not the same as the judges of the county,
have not been inferior to them in legal knowl
edge, elevation of character and soundness of
judgment. Their decisions have not been often
contested — rarely overruled by higher courts.
Of the clerks of the county, George S. Phil
lip, Samuel A. Smith, Joseph Wickham Case,
like the judges of the county who have died with
in the half century, have been known to me.
What a splendid list of courteous and capable
gentlemen they and their successors present to
grace the annals of our county for the last fifty
years !
It has been my good fortune to be free from
all unpleasant grips of the sheriffs of old Suf
folk. But I have been the guest of these faith
ful and courageous officers who have joined the
great majority, namely: Richard W. Smith,
Silas Horton, John Clark, Samuel Phillips, John
Shirley. The attorneys and counsellors who have been
officers of the courts of the county include a
goodly array of legal gentlemen, eminent for
honor, learning and eloquence. One calls to
mind among the departed, Samuel S. Gardiner,
Selah B. Strong, William H. Gleason, James H.

Tuthill, Abraham T. Rose, J. Lawrence Smith,
Flenry J. Scudder, Everett A. Carpenter and
others. Among the physicians and surgeons who have
adorned their benevolent profession and conferred
priceless benefits upon their fellow men were
Doctors Ebenezer Sage, Frederick W. Lord,
Henry Cook, Levi D. Wright, Ezekiel D. Skin
ner, Franklin Tuthill, Abraham B. Luce, Rich-
ard H. Benjamin, John E. Hartranft, James I.
Baker, Nathaniel Miller, Abraham G. Thompson,
and a score of their compeers.
There are not many features in the face of
the county where its life has made a more charm
ing and notable change than in its live stock.
Herein the Suffolk County Agricultural Society
has been efficient, and among the chief who have
made this improvement may be named Richard
B. Conklin, the breeder of Rarus; Henry L.
Fleet, the owner of Black Eagle ; Carll Burr, Da
vid Carll and Edward Dayton, whose oxen in
strength and beauty were admirable types of
their kind; and when the did Greek poets, the
most tasteful and artistic of mankind, wished to
put the finishing touch to their description of
the Queen of Heaven, they called her ox-eyed.
It is not in the lower forms, of life only that
improvement is seen. The people of the county
have advanced to a higher degree of intelligence,
culture, refinement and manifold traits of Chris
tian excellence.

CHAPTER VIII.

HUNTINGTON.

HIS township, as originally constituted,
extended its territory and authority from
Smithtown, on the east, to Oyster Bay-
on the west, and had for its northern
boundary Long Island Sound, and for its south
ern boundary the Atlantic Ocean, giving it a
length of twenty miles between the waters and a
breadth of ten miles. In the period of boundary-
controversies, by act of the colonial legislature,
October i, 1691, it was declared to be a part of
Queens county, and it became attached to the
town of Oyster Bay. It was subsequently attach
ed to the territory of Huntington, of which it was
always a part geographically, aud from which it
should never have been detached politically.
Huntington Bay, the splendid inlet which sep
arates Lloyd's Neck from Eaton's Neck, early
attracted the attention of adventurous sailors.
Adrian Van der Donck visted it in 1649, and it
was particularly reported upon to the States Gen
eral by Secretary Van Tienhoven, in the follow
ing, written March 4, 1650:
"This bay is much deeper and wider than
Oyster Bay and runs westward in, divides into
three rivers, two of which are navigable; the
smallest stream runs up in front of the Indian
village called Martinne-liouck, where they have
their plantations. This tribe is not strong, and
consists of about 30 families. There was former
ly in and about this bay great numbers of Indian
plantations, which now lie waste and vacant.
This land is mostly level and of good quality,
well adapted for grain and all sorts of cattle;

on the rivers are numerous valleys of sweet and
salt meadows. All sorts of fish are caught there."
The Indian name of the region was Ketewo~
moke, for which the English substituted tbat of
Fluntington, which some writers have taken to
be a corruption of Huntingtown, tbe latter be
ing significant of the abundance of wild game
when settlement began. On tbe other hand, it has
been held that the name was given it in its pres
ent form after that of the home of Oliver Crom
well, in England, whence -came (presumably)
some of the colonists.
Tlie Indians were few in number, and gave
little trouble. They were but remnants, in iact,
of the Matinecock, Marsapeague and Seucatogue
tribes, and the advent of the white man com
pleted the process of extinction which- had been
begun by the evil fortunes of war with the tribes
on the mainland.
As has been shown in a previous chapter,
the settlement of Suffolk county was made by
distinctively English colonists, and their man
ners of doing were somewhat different from those
which were in vogue farther to the west
ward, where the Dutch influence was thoroughly
felt. Just when and, where the first settlements
in Fluntington were made is not altogether clear.
But the newcomers were careful as to one thing
—they made their first dealings with the Indians.
Their first deed was from Raseocon, the chief of
one portion of the Matinecock tribe, then num-

HUNTINGTON.

173

HUNTINGTON VIEWS.

174

HISTORY. OF LONG ISLAND.

bering nearly two score heads of families, and
was as follows :
Articles of agreement betwixt Rasokan, Sag
amore of Mattinicoke, of the one part, and Rich
ard Houlbrock, Robert Williams, Danial White
head, of the other party, witnesseth as f olloweth :
Know all men whom these present writings
may in anv way concern that I Raseokan do sell
and make over unto the aforesaid parties — Rich
ard Houlbrock, Robert Williams and Danial
Whitehead, their heirs, executors or assigns1 — a
certain quantity of land lying and being upon
Long Island, bounded upon the west side with
a river commonly called by the Indians Nacha-
quetack, and tlie North side with the sea, and
going eastward to a river called Opcatkontycke,
on the south side to the utmost part of my bounds ;
promising and by virtue hereof I do promise to
free the above said lands from all title off and
claim that shall be made unto it by reason of any
former act ; in consideration of which land the
aforesaid Richard Houlbrock, Robert Williams
and Danial Whitehead doth promise unto the said
Raseokan as followeth : 6 coats, 6 kettles, 6 hatch
ets, 6 howes, 6 shirts, io knives, 6 fathoms of
wampum, 3 muxes, 30 needles. Further the said
sachem doth promise to go or send some one in
twenty days to show and mark out the bounds,
and in case it prove not according to expecta
tion, then this writing to be void and of no ef
fect ; but in case it be, then this writing to stand
in full force, power and virtue. Witness our
hands the second day of April 1653.
His
Richard (R) Houlbrock,
Mark.
Robert Williams,
Danial Whitehead.
Raseokan, Sagamore.
The above described tract covered an area of
somewhat more than six miles square, and had
for its boundaries Long Island Sound (not in
cluding Eaton's Neck, nor, as was afterward
settled, Lloyd's Neck) on its north, the head of
Northport Harbor- on the east, Cold Spring Har
bor on the west, and the line of what was after
ward known as the Old Country Road on the
south. The purchasers of this tract were resi
dents of Oyster Bay, and, on the same day on
which they made their purchase, they assigned
it in its entirety to the people of Huntington.
In 1656 Asharoken, who had succeeded to the
leadership of the Matinecock tribe, with his as

sociate tribe members, made deed to the eastern
portion of this territory, lying between the stream
at the head of Northport Harbor and Smithtown
Harbor, southward to the great plains, and north
ward to the sound, including Eaton's Neck. This
deed was as follows:
This indenture, made in the year 1656, on or
about the last day of July, betwixt Asharoken,
Matinnicock Sacheni, and the rest of the Indian
owners with him, on the one part, and Jonas
Wood, William Roggrs, Thomas Wickes, for
themselves and the rest of their associates, on
the other part, witnesseth1 that I Asharoken have
sold unto Jonas Wood, Williams Roggrs, Thom
as Wickes, all the meadows, fresh and salt, lying
and being upon the north side of Long Island
from our former bounds, Cow Harbor brook, to
Neesaquock-e river ; all the meadow within these
bounds, West and East, and to the North' side to
as far as Asharoken's bounds goeth, southward
as far as the neck called Eaton's Neck, Crab
meadows, and all the rest of the meadows within
the aforesaid bounds; with all the arbige that is
or shall be hereafter upon the wood lands within
the aforesaid bounds, to be the aforesaid Jonas's,
William's and Thomas's, to them and their asso
ciates, heirs and executors forever; reserving to
the Indians liberty to plant and hunt within these
aforesaid bounds; and that for and in considera
tion of 2 coats, 4 shirts, 7 qts. licker, 11 oz. pow
der, in witness hereof we have sot to our hands :
Jonas Wood.
Wiliam Roggrs.
Thomas Wickes.
Asharoken. Makamah.
Syhar.
Foger.poynepya.Namerows.Mohemos.Mamarad. Manateorye.
The claim of the above named grantees, so
far as it relates to Eaton's Neck and adjacent
territory, was subsequently resisted by those who
claimed under Theophilus Eaton, former gov
ernor of tbe New Haven colony, who held title
under a claimed gift made to him by tlie Chief-
Raseocon, in 1646, long prior to these transac
tions. And notwithstanding the clearness of de-

HUNTINGTON.

175

scription in the deed made to Jonas Wood and his
associates by Asharoken and his tribal brethren,
the Eaton Neck claim of Eaton was held good
(the "adjoining territory excluded") and the
property ran from him direct to the present own
ers. The Indian title was now in course of rapid
extinguishment and among the records of the
times are the following : I
Jonas Wood of Huntington for himself and
his neighbors of Huntington bought five necks
of meadow lying next adjoining to Messapeagus
Sachems land, and agreed to pay to the Sachem of
Meantauhett 12 coats, 20 hoes, 20 hatchets, 20
knives, 10 pounds of powder, 10 pounds of lead
and 1 great kettle and 1 hatt. The Sachem
Wyandance agrees to the same. June 1, 1657.
Kecoseacock, Sachem of Secowtoke, resigns
all claim to the same.
Wyandance, Sachem of Pawmmacke, or by
ye English called Long Island, sells to Henry
Whitnee of Huntington (August 17, 1658) for
the use of the whole town of Huntington, three
whole necks of meadow lying on the southward
side of their towne, and westerly from the six
necks which we bought before -these three necks
of Mashapeahe land. And he sent his agent
Checanoe to deliver it on condition of the pay
ment of 12 coats, each coat being two yards of
trucking cloth, and 20 pounds ot powder, 20
Dutch batchett-s, 20 Dutch hoes, 20 Dutch knives,
10 shirts, 200 muxes, four paire of handsome
stockings, 1 good Dutch hatt, and a Great faire
Looking Glasse. And Checanoe for his wage
and going to mark out the land is to have 1 coat,
4 pounds of powder, 6 pounds of lead, 1 Dutch
Hatchett and 16 shillings in Wampum:.
Witness
Ambrose Sutton.
Richard Brush
The various purchases were made on cheap
enough terms. The Indians were well pleased
to accept all sorts of gew-gaws — discarded mili
tary uniforms, glass beads, mirrors, liquor and
the like. There, was one notable exception to the
rule, in the person of Takapousha, the chief of
the Marsapeague tribe, who refused to join in
bartering away his birthright for so miserable a
mess of pottage, and stood inflexible on the as
sertion of his patrimonial right so long as he
lived.

But the Indians, while guileless in one re
spect, antedated Bret Flarte's "Heathen Chinee"
in the practice of "ways that are dark and tricks
that are vain." They had no respect for a bar
gain, but would barter away their lands a second
time, if opportunity offered, as when Raseocon
resold the Horse Neck tract, as shown by the
following deed, which bore the signatures
(marks) of fourteen Indians :
September the 20 1654.
This writing witnesseth that I Ratiocan, sag
amore of Cow Harbor, have sold unto Samuel
Mayo, Daniel Whitehead, and Peter Wright my
necks of land which makes the east side of Oys
ter Bay and the west side of Cow Harbor, on the
north side bounded with the sound, called by
Indians Caumsett. For and in consideration of
which neck of land we the aforesaid Samuel
Mayo, Daniel Whitehead, and Peter Wright do
promise to pay to the aforesaid Ratiocon, saga
more, three coats, three shirts, three hatchets,
three hoes, two fathom of wampum, six knives,
two pair of stockings, two pair shoes.
This is an example of the tangled web of
grants and counter-grants and conflicting claims
in which the early landlords became involved.
To dispose of the instance in point : Mayo,
Whitehead and Wright sold "their interests to
Samuel Andrews, a London merchant, who for
tified his purchase by making some presents to
Wyandance, an Indian chief who was supposed
to possess some paramount authority, and se
cured his ratification of the transaction. After
the death of Andrews, the Horse (Lloyd's)
Neck tract came into possession of John Rich-
bill, of Oyster Bay. A dispute as- to title be
tween him and John Conklin, of Huntington,
was decided in his favor, and he was put in pos
session under a mandate of Governor Nicolls.
This settlement, however, did not close the inci
dent, and the dispute became a veritable cause
celebre. Richbill was so disturbed in his pos
session that he brought an action against the
people of Hunting-ton, alleging "unjust molesta
tion." In 1665 the cause was heard in the general
court in New York, composed of the Governor
and his Council and the Trustees of the Peace,
and was tried by the following jury: Richard

176

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Gildersleeve, foreman, and William Hallet, Henry
Pierson, John Barrows, John Symonds, Edward
Titus and Thomas Smith, and the lawyers had
their innings, too — John Rider appearing for
Richbill, and tbe Rev. William Leverich for the
people of Huntington. The case presented some
notable features, involving not only consideration
of all tbe various written deed's, but of the evi
dence of Whitehead and his associates, who
testified that when the Indian chief -executed the
deed conveying the Horse Neck region, Horse
Neck itself was reserved to his tribe by a verbal
provision, and the two days trial resulted in a
verdict in favor of Huntington, and it was de
creed that the plaintiff should be mulcted in
costs. In a subsequent rehearing before the
Governor and Council, the following decision
was rendered:
The court, having heard the case in difference
between the plaintiff and defendants debated at
large concerning their title to a certain parcel of
land' commonly called Horse Neck, and having
also seen and perused their several writings and
evidences concerning the same, it was committed
to a jury, who brought in their verdict for the de
fendant; upon which the court, demurring, did
examine further into the equity of the cause, and
upon mature and serious consideration do find
the said parcel of land called Horse Neck doth of
right belong to the plaintiff, it being purchased
by said plaintiff for a valuable consideration, and
by the testimony of the first purchasers, under
whom the defendants claim, was not conveyed
or assigned by them to the defendants with their
other lands ; upon which and divers other weighty
considerations the court doth decree that the said
parcel of land called Horse Ncck doth belong and
appertain unto the plaintiff and his heirs, and it
is hereby ordered that the high sheriff or under
sheriff of the North Riding of Yorkshire upon
Long Island do forthwith put the said plaintiff
or his assigns in possession thereof ; and all per
sons are hereby requested to forbear the giving .
the said plaintiff or his assigns any molestation
in the peaceable and quiet enjoyment of the prem
ises. So Richbill finally came into possession,
Huntington prosecuting its claim no further.
The tract in question afterward passed to James
Lloyd, of Boston, who received from Governor

Dongan a patent constituting it an individual
local body, called Queen's Village, but usually
known as Lloyd's Manor. This manorial au
tonomy was extinguished by the revolution.
After thus tracing the derivation of land titles
from the Indians, and considering the most not
able of the litigation arising therefrom1, we turn
to the governmental relations of the early colo
nists. In 1664 the following patent was granted by
Governor Nicolls :
Ordered, that the town of Huntington shall
possess and enjoy three necks of meadow land in
controversie between them and Oyster Bay, as
of right belonging to them, they having the more
ancient grant for them. And as it is pretended
that Checanoe marked out four necks of land
for Huntington instead of three, if upon a
joynt view of them it shall appear to be so, then
Huntington shall make over the outmost neck,
next to Oyster Bay, to the Inhabitants thereof.
R. Nicoll.
In 1665 at the Hempstead Convention, so
called, the deputies from the various towns were
required to bring for examination, by the
agents of the governor, their evidences of title,
and to receive new grants. That for Hunting
ton was as follows :
A Patent granted unto the Inhabitants of Hunt
ington.
Richard Nicolls Esqr., Governor General un
der his Royal Highness the Duke of Yorke and
Albany, etc., of all his territories in America, to
all to whome these pr'ts shall come sendeth
greeting. 1
Whereas there is a certain Towne within this
Government commonly called and known by the
name of Huntington, situate and being in Long
Island, now in the tenure or occupation of sev
eral Freeholders and inhabitants there residing,
who, having heretofore made lawful purchase of
the lands thereunto belonging, have likewise
manured and improved a considerable part
thereof and settled a competent number of fam-
ilyes there upon, and for a confirmation of the
said Freeholders and Inhabitants in -their enjoy
ment and possession of the premises, know ye
that, by virtue of ye commission and: authority
unto me given by his Royal Highness, I have rat-

HUNTINGTON.

177

ified, confirmed and granted and by these prists
do hereby ratify, confirm and grant unto- Jonas
Wood, William Leveredge, Robert Seely, John
Ketcham, Thomas Scudmore, Isaac Piatt, Thom
as Joanes and Thomas Weeks, in the behalfe of
themselves and their associates the Freeholders
and inhabitants of the s'd Towne, their heirs, suc
cessors and assigns, all y't lands that already have
beene or hereafter shall bee purchased for and in
the behalfe of the Towne of Fluntington, either
from the natives, proprietors or others within
the limitts and bounds herein exprest : (vizt)
That is to say, from a certaine river or creeke
on the West com'only called by the Indyans by
the name of Nackaquatok and by the English the
Coldspring, to stretch eastward to Nasaquack
River ; on the north to bee bounded by the Sound
running betwixt Long Island and the Maine;
and on ye South by ye sea, including- there nine
several necks of Meadow Ground; all of which
tract of lan'd, together with the s'd necks there
unto belonging, within the bounds, limitts afore
said, and all or any plantaco-n thereupon, are to
belong to the said Towne of Huntington ; as also
all Havens, Harbors, Creekes, Quarryes, Wood
land, Meadows, Pastures, Marshes, Lakes, Fish
ing, Hawking, Hunting and Fowling, and all
other profitts, commodityes, Emolum'ts and He-
riditam'ts to the said land and premises within
limitts and bounds aforementioned described,
belonging or in any wise appertaining, to have
and to hold the said Lands and necks of lands,
Hereditam'ts and premises, with their and every.
of their appurtenances, and of every part, part
and parcel thereof, to the said patentees and their
associates, to the proper use and behoofs of the
said patentees and their associates, their Heirs,
Successors, and assigns forever ; and I do like
wise hereby confirme and Grant unto the said
Patentees and their associates, their Heires, suc
cessors and assigns all the privileges belonging
to a Towne within this Governm't, and that the
place of their present Habitacon shall continue
and retaine the name of Huntington, by which
name it shall be distinguist and knowne in all
Bargains and sales, deeds, records and writings.
They, the said patentees, and their associates,
their Heirs, successors and assigns rendering and
paying such dutyes and acknowledgem'ts as now
or hereafter shall be constituted and esta'blist by
the Laws of this Colony under the obedience of
his Royal Highness, his heirs and successors.
Given under my hand and seale at Fort James
in New York, the 30th day of November, in the
18th year of his Majesties reign and in the year
of our Lord 1666. Richard Nicolls.
ia

On June 25, 1685, John Palmer, John. Royse
and Richard Cornhill obtained from Governor
Dongan a license permitting them to purchase
the lands between Cow Flarbor (Northport) and
Fresh Pond, bounded on the south by the Smith-
town town, and called Crab Meadow by the
whites and "Katawamac" by tlie Indians. Octo
ber 10th following, a deed covering this tract was
made to the parties named, by two Indians, and
December 23rd of the same year Governor Don
gan issued a patent conveying the same bound
aries. This territory was within the Huntington
limits, and -occasioned great disquietude among
the inhabitants of that town, who* soon, sought to
reconcile difficulties by admitting Palmer as one
of themselves, but almost immediately reconsid
ered this and left him out in the cold, where he
appears to have remained, for his claim seems to
have been extinguished when was executed the
next patent, now to be considered.
August 2, 1688, Governor Dongan made a
confirmatory grant Which was remarkable for its
verboseness and repetitions, written after the
manner of an embryo legal penny-a-liner. It
made no boundary alterations, and the confirma
tory clause was as follows :
And by these presents do give, grant, ratify
and confirm unto Thomas Fleet senior, Epenetus
Piatt, Jonas Wood senior, James Chichester,
senior, Joseph Bailey, Thomas Powell senior,
John Sammis, Isaac Piatt and Thomas  ,
Freeholders and Inhabitants of Huntington, here
in erected and made one Body Corporate and pub-
lique and willed and determined to be called by
ye name of ye Trustees of ye Freeholders and
Comonalty of ye Towne of Huntington, and their
successors, all ye above recited Tracts of Land
within ye Limitts and Bounds aforesaid, together
with ail and singular ye Houses, Messuages,
Tenements, Buildings, Mills, Milldames, fenc
ing, enclosures, Gardens, Orchards, fields, pas
tures, woods, underwoods, trees, timbers, feed
ings and Common of pasture, meadows, marshes,
swamps, plaines, Rivers, Rivoletts, waters, Lakes,
Ponds, Brooks, Streams, Beaches, Quarries,
Creekes, Harbours, Highways and Easements,
fishing, hawking, hunting and fowling, mines,
minerals (silver and gold mines excepted), and
all franchises, profits, commodityes and Herid-
itaments whatsoever to ye said Tracts of Lands

178

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and premises belonging or in anywise appertain
ing, etc.
But this unique document went farther, and
conferred corporate powers in such amplitude
that no modern "trust" would ask for aught more
all-comprehending. It was to act through trus
tees to be elected out of the body of its member
ship, and it was empowered to acquire, hold,
manage and dispose of real and personal property
and maintain and defend suits at law. It was
also authorized to use a "seale," which was ac
cordingly made and has been perpetuated in use
to the present day — circular, about three-quarters
of an inch in diameter, bearing in its center the
town mark, a capital letter "E," and in the mar
gin the letters "H V N," an abbreviation of
"Huntington," the second letter being the old
Roman letter for which "U" is the present Eng
lish equivalent.
Benjamin Fletcher, who became governor on
December I, 1693, evidently found it necessary
to do something to display his authority, and he
began following the example of his predecessor
in requiring the land grantees to make applica
tion for new patents. This demand was ac
quiesced in by the inhabitants, and Governor
Fletcher, on October 5, 1694, received from the
inhabitants, his fees of £58, and issued' a patent
covering twenty-six folios, by its terms consti
tuting Joseph Bayley, Thomas Wicks, Thomas
Brush, . Jonas Wood, John Wood, John Wicks
and John Adams "trustees of the freeholders and
commonalty of our said town of Huntington,"
declaring them to be "the first modern trustees
and freeholders," and giving to them and their
successors, forever, "sole license of purchasing
from the natives any land or meadow within the
limits and bounds next aforementioned." The
boundaries, however, were not coincident with
those designated in the former patent, and Hunt
ington was bereft of a large strip of its territory
by the substitution of Fresh Pond for the Nesa-
quake River as its eastern boundary. The people
of Huntington were subjected to considerable
annoyance, being solicited to protect from rival
towns the territory of which they had been de

prived. They held aloof from all entanglements,
however, and the people of the disputed' tract
eventually found a place for themselves, as else
where narrated.
September 10, 1708, there was granted to
John Johnson, Sr., and John Johnson, Jr, "All
that tract of land or meadow land on the south
side oFLong Island, bounded east by Huntington
line, west by Hempstead line, south by the sea
on the south side of the beach at low water mark,
north by the bay that parts the beach from the
meadow." [This is south of Oyster Bay, in
Queen County.]
April 11, 1706, a patent was granted to Isaac
De Reimer, John Evertse, William Creed, Ben
jamin Ashe, Samuel Staats, Peter Fawconier
and Barent Christianse, for "A tract of land in
Suffolk' County. Beginning at a white oak tree
near a little  called by the Indians Mene-
copinonup, from thence northward by a path
called Jeremiah Smith's path, two miles south
ward, from thence westward three miles, and
from thence northward two miles and from
thence eastward- three miles upon a square."
This description seems to be defective, but
is copied exactly as the original Patent reads.
The Patent was in thirteen shares of which Isaac
De Reimer, Benjamin Ashe and Peter Fawconier
each owned three shares, the others owned one
share each. They were all prominent citizens of
New York, and the tract was popularly known as
the "Yorkers' Patent."
It is well at this point, not only with reference
to the township in which we are now interested,
but in order to avoid repetition when considering
the remaining towns, to point out the manner
in which individual titles to land were made and
transferred. As has already appeared, defensible
legal' title was based upon the crown grants,
whicli were made to individuals named, who were
made a body corporate. Individual titles were
long deferred. Tbe expenses attending the pro
curement of the patent were met by the parties
in interest— usually those who had united in
purchasing from the Indians — and individual in
terests were apportioned in proportion to their
individual contributions to the purchasing and

HUNTINGTON.

179

patent funds, and these interests were made a
matter of record. The deeds — the earliest docu
ments of their kind — lie at the foundation of all
modern method of conferring title, and, for this
reason, the form most frequently used is here
given :
"To all Christian people, greeting. Know yee
that we ye under written, having this yeare re
ceived a Patent from Sr Edmond Andross,
Knight, Governor for his Royall Highness the
Duke of York and Albany, and dated at New
York in ye 31 clay of October in ye yeare 1676,
in ye behalfe. of our selves and of all the free
holders Inhabitants of this Towne, who are there
in called Associates, wherein is contained a con
firmation of all ye Lands pertaining to and now
in the. possession of the respective freeholders of
sd towne of Southold, with all such rights, lib
erties, and properties, as are more at large in sd
patent Contained, all which ffreeholders wee doe
fully own, admit and declare to be our o-nely as
sociates in sd Patent, and no others ; to whom we
do hereby give full power to, To have and to
Hold, possess and enjoy, to themselves, their
heirs and assigns for ever, all such common rights
as are contained in sd Patent, and all such par
ticular shares and allotments which are now in
their possession, as fully, amply and freely as if
thev and every of them had been therein named.
And in further confirmation of all their proper
ties and shares in tlie premises, to such our Asso
ciates, their heirs forever, we have caused to be
recorded in the page next following all such par
ticular rights, tracts and parcells of Land as doe
of right appertain and belong unto them, -their
heirs and assigns in said patent aiid Township.
In testimony whereof we the patentees have here
unto affixed our hands and seals, in Southold
ve 2J day of December in the 28 yeare of the
reigne of' our Sovereign Lord Charles the 2nd of
England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King,
defender of the faith &c, and in ye veare of our
Lord 1676."
Under the patent of 1694, were created trus
tees who, acting for the original proprietors,
made division from time to time, and the lands
so divided were recorded descriptively in the
town book. When subsequent sales were made,
seller and buyer went upon the ground, and, in
token of transfer of title, the one gave to -the
other a twig broken from a tree and a fragment

of turf taken from the soil, thus giving ex
planation to the phrase which frequently occurs
111 ancient deeds : "Sold by ye turf and- twig."
And, referring to these primitive customs, Mr.
Charles R. Street, who has written of the fore
going, makes mention of the fact that ancient
deeds, and especially those written on parchment,
had irregular or scalloped edges, which was due
to the custom of writing the deeds in duplicate
on one sheet, and then dividing them bv a curved
line, each party to the transaction taking one of
these portions. This, in case of the genuineness of
the deed being questioned, made possible abso
lute identification by the perfect fitting together
of the two sheets, and this gave rise to the for
mula used in the outset of legal documents,
"this indenture," which is perpetuated to the
present day, albeit the custom to which it re
lates no longer exists. It is to be observed that
the inhabitants of Huntington claimed no patent
right upon this process — it was a method which
they had brought with them from their home
across the sea.
Leaving this subject, our return is to a time
in which both writer and reader can take greater
interest — the personality of the early colonists,
and the manner in which they laid the founda
tions of civil order.
Where the pioneer white settlers came from
seems most uncertain. Mr. C. S. Street says :
"I incline to the belief that the first and oldest
company came across the Sound, perhaps under
the leadership of the Rev. William Leverich
from the vicinity of New Haven and Branford,
landing at Huntington Harbor and locating prin
cipally along the valley where the eastern part of
Huntington village now is, this having been al
ways called "the town spot'' or "old town spot;"
that the second immigration was an offshoot
from the Hempstead colony, led thither by the
Rev. Richard Denton soon after 1640, originally
from Wethersfield, Massachusetts, and for a time
at Stamford, Connecticut; and the third influx
came from the vicinity of Salem, Massachusetts,
after stopping a short time in Southold and
Southampton, principally in the former town."

180

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

However this may be, the various companies of
settlers came so nearly together that the ques
tion of priority is of comparatively little conse
quence. They were all English, and nearly all,
if not quite, all, were of that class of noncon
formists which had been outraged by the
persecution of the crown authorities, and fled
to America, there to find a more congenial moral
and political atmosphere. The greater number of
them were presumably in the very prime of life,
and were self-respecting, self-relying and enter
prising. Many were known as "Master" or
"Goodman," indicating that they were men rec
ognized for their worth and as leaders. Perhaps
the most conspicuous among them was Thomas
Fleet, for whom it is claimed that he was de
scended from Admiral Fleetwood (the original
form of the family name), who was a man of
note in England. He came in 1660, and
engaged in trading operations with New York
and West Indian ports, and was assessed on the
rate list of the town as tbe owner of forty vessels,
besides much land and other property. He was
a freeholder, and was one of the proprietors un
der the Dongan patent. The Rev. William
Leverich, whom we have already met in our
studies, was one of the pioneers and we shall
meet with him again. Joseph Bayle was town
clerk for several years, and a captain of tbe train
band. Thomas Benedict was deacon, town clerk
and representative. John Budd was at New
Haven in 1639, engaged in the settlement of
Southold, and is supposed to have returned to
England and taken part in the revolution under
Cromwell. John Conklin was influential in the
affairs of the town and church; his son Timothy
was probably the ancestor of the Conklin family
of Huntington of recent times. Jeffrey Estey
was the father of Tonsfield Estey, whose wife
was (so says Savage) executed as a witch, Sep
tember 26, 1692. Richard Latten (or Latting)
came to Hempstead in 1653, and in 1660 to Hunt
ington, whence he was expelled (in 1663) for
refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of the
New Haven authorities, and he returned to
Oyster Bay. His son Josiah became a prominent
citizen of Oyster Bay, and a daughter married

John Davis, one of the original proprietors of
Brookhaven. Jonas Mathews was a ship owner
and carried on a large trade with the West In
dies. Mark Meggs was owner of the old mill,
which he sold, "having grown ancient and desir
ing peace and quiet." Richard Ogden was a part
ner with his brother in building a church in New
Amsterdam, under a bargain made with Gov
ernor Kieft. Thomas Powell was a Quaker, and
at various times held nearly every town office.
Isaac and Epenetus Piatt were patentees of the
town and large landowners, and both held many
important public positions. The Scudder brothers
— Thomas, Henry and John — were all men of
prominence and left numerous descendants.
Thomas Scidmore was probably the first town
clerk of Huntington. Robert Seeley, after hold
ing numerous public positions, was killed in bat
tle with the Indians. John Strickland was an
early justice of the peace. The Titus brothers —
Abial, John, Samuel, Henry, Content and Ed
ward — were all large landholders, and the first
named was for many years paid for beating the
drum to call the people to religious services on
Sunday. Joseph Whitman, from whom de
scended the poet, Walt Whitman, was 'sued by
Henry Whitney for marrying his daughter
Sarah, "against her mother's mind," but the case
was not sustained. This Henry Whitney built
the first mill for Mr. Leverich, under contract.
He was a man of violent temper, and became in
volved in many law suits: against Leverich and
others. Jonas Wood of Oram (so called to dis
tinguish him from another of the same name)
was a justice of the peace under the New Haven
government and also under the Duke of York;
he was deputy to the Hempstead Convention in
1665, and held many official positions.
"In the first years of the settlement," says Mr.
C. R. Street in his "Town Records," Vol. I, p.
13. "the pioneers built their rudely constructed
dwellings around and near the 'town spot,' where
they had a fort and watch houses and where the
'train bands' were drilled. Their animals were
daily driven out and herded under guard, some
in the 'east field,' now Old Fields, and some in
the 'west field,' now West Neck, and at night

HUNTINGTON.

181

the cattle were driven back and corailled near the
watch house. Gradually, however, the more ad
venturous pushed out in all directions and made
themselves homes where they found the richest
soil and most attractive surroundings, and at
their meetings grants of 'home lots' were made.
At first the women pounded their corn in mortars,
and the men wrought logs and clapboards for
building with axes and cleavers, but soon dams
were constructed across the stream's, small mills
were built for grinding grain and sawing lum
ber, rude tanneries were constructed for tanning
leather, and spindles or looms were made or pro
cured for the manufacture of coarse flaxen or
woolen fabrics for clothing. The ox-cart was
their onlv vehicle for travel and cart-paths their
only highways. They used wooden ploughshares
tipped with iron. Their match-lock guns were
even more clumsy than the old flint-locks, but
some of their swords were wrought by Spanish
artisans and were tempered with a skill that is
among the lost arts."
Perhaps the most active and prominent per
son in that primitive community was William
Leverich, who preached to tbe people, but he was
necessarily absent from among them frequently,
and, besides, his worldly occupations must have
occupied quite a part of his time. He built and
operated the first mill in the town, and seems to
have been a general merchant, selling cloth and
other articles. He was an able minister, and
something of a lawyer, for he attended to his
own litigation, which was considerable, and fre
quently appeared as attorney for parties in suits.
His was certainly a strenuous life, as appears
in part from a narrative of his missionary ca
reer, in the preceding volume, and from what is
to follow. When Mr. Leverich came to the town, he en
gaged Henry Whitney to build a mill for him.
Whitney was a -man of ability and influence, but
he was of ungovernable temper and possessed
that unruly member which has made trouble for
its owner and those about him, in all the days of
the world. Business disputes arose between the
two men, and these were presumably intensified
through Whitney regarding Leverich as an in

terloper, for he (Whitney) had been prominent
in church affairs before the coming of Leverich,
and he was wont to assert with his caustic tongue
tbat the town had prospered more greatly before
the arrival of the newcomer. At any rate, Whit
ney entered suit for debt against Leverich, and
a few days later he brought another action for
slander. Leverich brought a counter suit, alleg
ing slander, breach of contract and defamation,
as well as debt. The evidence was voluminous,
and shows that Leverich had complained bitterly
that the people had not paid him according to
contract, -and that he had threatened to preach
no more in Huntington. Whitney was charged
with saying that Leverich "lived among a com
pany of hypocrites and dissemblers," and with de
claring that Leverich was guilty of "a breach of
the Sabbath and profained it." As to the ques
tion of debt, both recovered a part of what they
respectively claimed. In the matter of slander,
both parties were required to -make public ac
knowledgment of wrong doing, or pay a fine of
£5. Mr. Leverich must have emerged from the
ordeal practically unhurt, for he continued to
serve the people as minister for ten years after
ward. The town as a settled and self-governing
community dates before the Nicolls patent, for
the town meeting was in operation as early as
1650, and one would judge from one entry in the
records that the brethren had advanced so far in
the art of governing that by 1660 the stocks had
been built wherewith to detain and punish of
fenders. Nor was the town a theocracy. Its
earl)^ magistrates were elected by the people, and
if the confirmation of the General Court at Hart
ford was asked, it was more in the nature of a
formality than anything else. The town meet
ing at once rose into power. It divided and
awarded lands, voted allegiance to Connecticut,
elected deputies to the General Court at Hart
ford, made and repaired highways, fixed legal
fees, administered justice in criminal as well as
in civil cases (thirty trials being recorded up to
1664), apparently according to the pioneers'
ideas of justice until the Duke's laws were forced
upon them; elected constables; ordered fences

182

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

built to keep cattle and hogs from wandering;
and fined without mercy. The town -meeting
even banished1 a man, — Richard Latting, — agree
ing "that ould Laten shalle take away his cattel
out of this town bounds within a fortnight, or
14 days, or pay to the town 10 shillings a head."
His imputed offense was, according to Mr.
Street, his refusal to recognize the 'sovereignty
of Connecticut, but he must have been a bad man
clear through, for he was afterward expelled
from the immediate jurisdiction of Hartford,
where he had taken refuge, for his "turbulent
conduct." He then apparently wanted to settle
in Huntington ence more, but the town meeting
would have none of him, and resolved that if any
person "shall either by way of gift or paye do
give or selle entartanement to- Richard Laten for
more than the spase of one week every person so
offending shall pay forty shillings fine for every
time he shall offend in brakeing this order made
for the pease of the Town."
But the most significent evidence o-f inde
pendence was, — as in all of the town -meetings
in the Island towns, — that the meeting was the
sole arbiter as to who should settle within their
domain, and in 1662 the Rev. Mr. Leverich, Will
Smith, Thomas Weekes, John Lum, Goodman
Jones, James Chichester and Jonas Wood were
appointed as a committee to pass upon the char
acter and credentials of every applicant for ad
mission into the little community. No one inter
fered with the town meeting's edicts ; it was a
law unto itself; its verdict was supreme, and
there does not seem to have been any idea of an
appeal from its decision to a higher court. With
Governor Nicolls and the Duke's laws that state
of independence passed away.
The independent spirit of the people is dis
cerned at various stages. They assembled and
denounced the arbitrary rule of Governor An
dros. Nor were they to be deterred, even when
visited with the condign displeasure -of the great
magnate over at New Amsterdam. Thus, in
1681, Isaac Piatt, Epenetus Piatt, Samuel Titus,
Jonas Wood and Thomas Wicks were arrested on
-the order of the 'Governor, who had them con
veyed to New York, where they were committed

to prison, solely upon his authority and without
any form of trial ; charged with no offense save
that of attending meetings of their people called
to take measures looking to a loyal and bumble
request for a redress of grievances. At a later
date, the town meeting made an appropriation
to defray the expenses of their incarcerated rep
resentatives and to reimburse them for their loss
of time. But the rights asserted by the people, as ex
pressed through their town meeting, finds most
curious and abundant exemplification when, in
1689, they became aroused in S3rmpathy for
Governor Leisler, of unhappy memory, and
"voted and consented" that one of their number,
Captain Epenetus Piatt, "shall have by virtue of
the town's choice, full power to act as civil and
military head officer of this town" — a virtual de
claration of martial law. The first court of which
we find record was holden on January 10, 1659,
with Jonas Wood as the magistrate, and he seems
to have made his residence the seat from which
justice was dispensed. In the following year
the justices were John Strickland and Thomas
Benedict; Jonas Holsworth was clerk, and Jo
seph Jenning was marshal. In the greater num
ber, the earlier causes were for debt, but there
were graver cases which were heard by the mag
istrates. Thus, Jonas Wood brought an action
against Thomas Brush for slander, setting forth
that the accused had slandered him "in that he
goeth about to make him pay money twice, and
also charged him with keeping a false book." And
the court having heard the evidence "find for the
plaintiff; and whereas the defendant has sland
ered him with that he cannot prove, the defend
ant is to give satisfaction in the open court or
pay five pound's, with all the costs and charges
of the court." The record closes with the entry
"Thomas Brush has given satisfaction," and the
presumption is that he made due apology and
saved his money.
Through the painstaking labor of the early
annalists there is preserved to us knowledge of
the institution of slavery in this region. In 1655
the Dutch had brought to New York in the ship
"White Horse." a cargo of black slaves, and this

HUNTINGTON.

183

was followed by later importations. A number
of -these slaves were brought to Huntington, and
in 1755 they and their descendants numbered
eighty-one persons or "head," who were dis
tributed among 53 families. Under acts of the
legislature passed in 1799 and subsequently,
these slaves were gradually manumitted.
The history of the town during the later
colonial days -was so prolific of events which
found their conclusion in the revolutionary war,
that it is relegated to the chapter upon that sub
ject. When hostilities ceased the population was
only a little over 1,000, and the township's losses
by the occupation were figured at about £75,000.
Civil law was quickly restored; the town m-eet-
ing again held its supreme position as the arbiter
of local affairs, and farm and mill combined to
make Huntington once more a prosperous as
well as a peaceful community. By 1790 the
township had doubled its population, but it would
seem that some of the newcomers had not proved
either well-doing or prosperous, or perhaps de
serving of neither, for that year the overseers of
the poor found it necessary to buy a building in
the village for the purposes of a poor-house.
This house was continued to1 be used for that
purpose until 1868, when a poor farm was bought
at Long Swamp. In 1872 the paupers belonging
to tbe township were removed to the county in
stitution at Yaphank, Brookhaven township. In
the same year the township was divided by the
general consent of the people, the southern part
becoming an independent township under the
name of Babylon. It was said at the time that
the reason for this change was simply a lack of
sympathy or coherence between the people on the
northern side of the township and those on the
south, but possibly the real reason was that the
Long Island Railroad, when it had. completed its
road from Hicksville to Greenpoint in 1844,
practically divided the township into two sections,
and in, 1868 the northern half got a railroad of
its own bv the extension of the branch from
Syosset. The seat of all public concerns was what be
came known as the village of Huntington. The

principal interest of the early times clusters
about the church. The people were Puritans in
sentiment and Congregationalists in method, and,
at the same time, intolerant of all religious ex
cept their own, and Quakers were particularly
obnoxious to them. Mr. Leverich was installed
as pastor in 1657 (but it is probable that he oc
casionally officiated for a year or two prior to
that time) and he remained until 1670. For sev
eral years the services were held in private
houses. In 1662 the town ordered the procuring
of a house for the minister, and it was secured
the following year and was occupied until 1672,
when it fell into decay and was converted into
a public house. The first church edifice was
built in 1665, on Meeting-House Brook. It was
a small frame structure and was not heated. The
church was supported and its buildings were
erected and maintained by a tax levied upon all
the inhabitants. One of their number, Thomas
Powell, a Quaker, was bitterly disinclined to aid
in supporting a religion to which he was in con
science opposed, and he stubbornly refused to
pay his stipend. After six years, however, he
was given the alternative of paying or leaving
the town, and he reluctantly chose tbe former
course. Mr. Leverich was succeeded in the pastorate
by the Rev. Eliphalet Jones, but he was chosen
by the representatives of the town meeting, and
as a result of a vote at a town meeting, and not
so far as we can see on the initiative of the
church session and congregation ; as such Mr.
Jones ministered in the town until his death, in
1 73 1. He had then attained the patriarchal
age of ninety-three years, and his pastorate ex
tended over a period of fifty-nine years. It was
in his time (in 1715) that a new church building
was erected, and its bell was probably the first
ever heard in Huntington. Mr. Jones was fol
lowed by the Rev. Ebenezer Prime, who had been
an assistant to Mr. Jones. During Mr. Prime's
ministry, tbe famous' revivalist, Whitefield,
came to Long Island, and he preached in Hunt
ington on several occasions, and left a marked
influence for good. As Mr. Prime became over
taken by the infirmities of age, the Rev. John

184

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Close (in 1766) became -associate pastor with
him, and served in that capacity until 1773, when
he was dismissed. Services were suspended with
tbe entry of the British, who first used the church
building as a store house and then destroyed it.
Mr. Prime, an outspoken and detested "rebel,"
was obliged to hastily seek a refuge elsewhere.
It is said that Mr. Prime was the last min
ister settled by the town, and this is doubtless a
fact, inasmuch as on April 26, 1785, the con
gregation organized as "the Corporation of the
Presbyterian Church in Huntington," and elected
trustees. The first pastor under the Presbyterian
form' was the Rev. Nathan Woodhull. In 1863
the Second Presbyterian Church was organized,
taking- its membership from the parent body.
In 1746 St. John's Episcopal Church was
constituted under the name of Trinity Church.
It was ministered to by the Rev. Samuel Sea
bury, rector at Hempstead. In 1749 the first
church building was erected, and in 1773 the
Rev. James Greaton, pi Boston, was called as
the first sole rector. His widow, an accomplished
lady, lived for some time in the rectory, and sub
sequently married Dr. Benjamin Y. Prime,
whom she survived for about fifty years. The old
church, with its high-backed, old-fashioned
pews and its antiquated sounding-board, was re
placed in 1861 with a more modern structure.
The Methodist Church was erected about
1830, although a society had held meetings for
some years previously, and a notable camp meet
ing was held near the cove at East Neck as early
as 1814. In 1836 a Universalist society was
formed, and a church building was erected the
following year. A Baptist Church was organized
prior to 1842, and a Catholic Church was built in
1870, although services had been held many years
prior to that date.
The first school dates as far back as '1657,
four years after the first settlement was made,
and this is notable as having been established
upon the public school system which claims to be
among the comparatively modern improvements.
The first schoolmaster was Jonas H'oldsworth or
Houlds worth, — the same, in all probability, who
sailed from England to Virginia in '1635, when

he was twenty years of age, and subsequently
cam-e to Southdld, whence he removed, as early
as 1657, to Huntington, where he was town clerk
in 1661. The minute care with which was made
his agreement to teach, would lead us to conclude
that the undertaking was regarded as a most mo
mentous one, and it may be inferred that it was
so much of an innovation that the schoolmaster
elect was not Overly sanguine as to proper com
pensation unless his contract was made in all-
binding terms. This curiosity of literature and of
self-protection was as follows :
"A covenant and agreement made the eleventh
day of February 1657 at a Corte or Town meet
ing, betwixt the Inhabitants of ye Towne of
Hunttington, of the .one partie, And Jonas
Houldsworth, of the other partie, whereby the
said Jonas Houldsworth doth engage himself
to tbe saide Inhabitants during ye terme of foure
years, to be expired from the 13 day of April next
ensueing the day of the date hereof, For to
sthoole such persons or children as shall be put
to him for that end by ye said Inhabitants. And
likewise the said Inhabitants doth alsoe engage
themselves to the said Jonas Houldsworth for to
build him a sufficient house, and to give him with
ye said house a percell of grounde adjoining to
it for accommodation thereunto. And further
more the said inhabitants doth likewise engage
themselves to pay unto said Jonas Houldsworth,
and in consideration of his said schooling, twenty-
five pounds (English accompt) and his diet the
first year, and also to 'allow him what more may
come in by ye schooling of any that come from
other parts. The said twenty-five pounds is to
be paid ye said Jonas as followeth : Three pounds
twelve shillings in butter at six pence ye pound,
and seven pounds two shillings in good well
sized merchantable wampum, that is well strung
or strand, or in such comodityes as will suite him
for clothing. These to be paid him by ye first of
October, and three pound twelve shillings in
corne, one-half in wheat and ye other in Indian,
at three and five shillings ye bushel (provided it
be good and merchantable) , to be paid by ye first
of March. Also ten pounds fourteen shillings in
well thriving young cattle, that shall then be be
twixt two and four years old, the one half being
in the steare kind,— these to be delivered him
when the yeare is expired. And also the two
next ensuing yeares To pay the said Jonas
Houldsworth Thirty-five pounds ye yeare, with
ye foresaid alowance of what may come 'in by

HUNTINGTON.

185

such as come from other parts. The said Thirty-
five pounds is to be paid as followeth, viz. : five
pounds in butter at six pence ye pound, and ten
pounds in such wampum as is above mentioned,
or in such comodityes as will suit him,— these all
to be paid by ye first of October ; and five pounds
in corne by ye first of March, the half in wheat
the other in Indian, at five and three shillings per
bushel (so that it be good and merchantable);
and fifteen pounds in well thriving cattle betwixt
two and four years old, the half being in ye steare
kind, — these are to be delivered when ye yeare
is expired (being valued by indiferent men).
And the fourth or last yeare to pay the said Jonas
Houldsworth forty pounds in such pay as is
above mentioned, according to the nature and time
proportionately, and at the foresaid times of pay
ment. Also it is agreed of that firewood be got
ten and brought for the schoole when ye season -
shall require it, by such as send their children to
school ; and that the said Jonas Houldsworth
shall have liberty yearly for to choose foure men
that shall be bound to him for the true perform
ance of the foresaid engagement."
But the people seem to have been intent upon
the establishment of their school, for a building
was soon erected..
A splendid effort in aid of education was

Western view of Huntington Village.
made about 1793, when some fifty of the leading
citizens of Huntington built a two-story building
with a belfry — a most imposing edifice for the
times — and instituted "the Academy." The school
was designed to afford such instruction as would

fit the youth to enter colleges, and it fulfilled its
mission most successfully for about half a cen
tury, numbering among its teachers some of the
most capable educators of their clay. The hon
ored old building was razed to the ground about
1857 tc make way for a modern union school
building, and the old bell was transferred to the
engine house of the Hunting-ton Fire Company.
Among the benefactors of old Huntington was
Nathaniel Potter, a man of great excellence of
character and a genuine humanitarian. Dying
in 1841, his will gave $10,000 to the Presbvterian
Church and a like amount to be expended in the
education of poor children in the town. A por
tion of this educational bequest was applied to
the support of the Academy, so long as it existed,
and afterward to the support of the union school.
It was subsequently transferred to the public
school fund.
Huntington has been notable for its early
journals. In 1821 Samuel A. Seabury estab
lished the "American Eagle," which in 1825
came into the hands of Samuel Fleet, and was
transmogrified into the much-titled "Long Isl
and Journal of Philosophy
and Cabinet of Variety." This
name, perhaps, was a handi
cap, for in 1827 it was
changed to "The Portico,"
and two years later it lapsed.
In 1838 appeared "The Long
Islander," with one for editor
who was afterward destined
to be numbered among the
poets of America — Walt
Whitman, a native of West
Hills, in the town of Hunt
ington. The modern village of
Huntington is more properly
a city, and a thriving one,
proud of its past and more than hopeful as to its
future — one of tbe most important towns on the
Lone Island Railroad. With a population of
it has eight churches, exceptional educa-
advantages, including a well-equipped

4,000, tional

186

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

academy, two newspapers, a bank, and numerous
well sustained benevolent and fraternal associa
tions. Handsome private cottages abound, and
beautiful homes have been built up by prominent
New Yorkers and Brooklynites. There are spa
cious and well managed hotels and a number of
pleasant homes- open to the summer sojourner.
Well supplied stores of various descriptions sup
ply all wants from those of necessary to those
of luxury. Among the adornments of which the people

men of Huntington who gave their lives for their
country during the Civil war.
Huntington Bay is about a mile from the vil
lage, and is one of tbe most delightful "bits," as
a landscape painter might say, along the coast
of Long Island Sound. "As a whole," to quote
a graphic writer (Scribner's Magazine, May,
1881), "it resembles the track of a bird. The
rear claw is the narrow entrance from the sound ;
the center of the foot is the main body of water.
and three or four claws are spread from this

THE LIBRARY.
(By Permission of Long Island Railroad Company.)

of Fluntington are proud, is a massive boulder
of their procuring, appropriately carved, com
memorating the youthful patriot, Nathan Hale,
whose tragic fate is known by every schoolboy
in the land, and is told in our Revolutionary war
chapter. This eloquent appeal to patriotic sen
timent finds a fitting counterpart in a fine public
library raised to the memory of the gallant young

westward, southward and eastward. Each long,
narrow harbor is diversified with many points
and coves that surprise you as you explore it.
You pass farther and farther inland, among the
wooded hills and along the clean sand beaches.
A. sloping field here and there, an orchard cov
ering a low farm-house or a' villa on a command
ing knoll, are minor points in the charming pano-

t-
00

z
O H
O Zi— i
H
Z OX

ON HUNTINGTON HARBOR.

188

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

rama of the shores. In-and-out, in-and-out, is
the course of land and water; and in their de
vious way they play many tricks at hide-and-seek,
and draw you on from nook to nook by the most
attractive pictures. At last you reach the head
of the harbor, with its salt meadow of waving
grass, its old tide mill, its pond, and the shady
village sheltered among the encircling hills. You
can explore still farther with pleasure by follow
ing the roads and lanes through scenes of unusual
beauty. "The road may skirt the beach o'f a sand-
locked bay bordered with forest; it may lead
past old farm houses, orchards and 'typical barn
yards ; or it may mount the hills of a headland
or neck commanding extensive views of tortu
ous harbors, rounded headlands, long tongues of
white sand dividing the blue water, the wide hor
izon of the continent, and tbe sound stretched
eastward to the Atlantic."
North-port, formerly- Great Cow Harbor, has
a Presbyterian Church with a record dating from
1794, although it was not always located in the
village. The most famous of its ministers was
the Rev. Joshua Hartt, who held forth to its
people from about 1780 until 1809, by which time
the congregation had dwindled down until only
a handful remained. The Rev. N. S. Prime, the
historian of Long Island, then became pastor
and -succeeding in reviving it so that at the con
clusion of his stay of eighteen months it had a
membership of forty. The Rev. Mr. Hartt con
tinued to act as "pulpit supply" until his death,
in 1825. He was a great "marrying minister,"
for some reason or other, and- probably mated
more couples in Huntington than any other cler
gyman, one record placing the number as high
as 500. The town is beautifully situated upon a
body of water which forms a portion of Hunting-
1 ton Bay, and is a place of considerable import
ance with numerous manufactories. One of its
chief industries is the Edward Thompson Pub

lishing Company, one of the largest law publish
ing houses in the United States, employing sev
eral hundred people.
Cold Spring Harbor is a quaint and attrac
tive village, situated upon a lovely bay of the
same name, which is one of the noblest estuaries
of the sound. The surroundings are as charming
as those of the Lake of Como. The shores at
times are wide lawns -of velvet, sloping gradually
back into broad parks of green to an elevation
overlooking the waters for many miles. At Cold
Harbor the Brooklyn Biological Laboratory has
established a summer course of study, and- many
eminent scholars lecture here upon topics per
taining to biological science. Students from the
best families of the State attend in large num
bers, making of this antique village a modern
college town. Like many of the old seaports
of Long Island, Cold Spring Harbor was once
the seat of an extensive oil industry. Scores of
arctic whalers were fitted out at this point for
their perilous voyages to the north, and among
the inhabitants of the village are yet to be found
numbers of old salts, those rugged and hardy
characters of the Eastern shipping population
which made the American seaman typical the
world over. Near the village are three large
fresh water lakes,' and here the State has estab
lished one of its principal fish hatcheries, the
product of which reaches many millions a year
and serves to bountifully replenish the waters
of the sound -and vicinity with a constantly in
creasing store of the finny tribes.
There are several other smaller settlements
all through the township. It possesses many
splendid agricultural sections, but its glory lies
in the part lying between the railroad and the
coast, and in that portion of the township there
is little doubt that rapid and wonderful devel
opments are certain in the immediate future.

CHAPTER IX.

BABYLON.

m

TRICTLY speaking, the history of
Babylon township only commences
with March 13, 1872, when she was
constituted to the dignity of a sep
arate community with the -following as her
boundary lines, according to the act of the Leg
islature :
On the north by a line commencing at the
boundary line between -the towns of Hunting
ton and Oyster Bay, one mile north of the
line of the Long Island Railway, and running
thence easterly and parallel with said Long
Island Railway until it reaches a point on the
boundary line between the towns of Hunting
ton and Islip one mile north of the Long Island
Railroad; on the east by the town of Islip; on
the south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west
by the town of Oyster Bay; the eastern and
western boundaries being the lines now estab
lished and recognized as the town divisions of
the said several towns respectively.
The land surface is remarkably level except
ing along the ocean front, which is bordered
with sand dunes, and an inland ridge known as
the Halfway Hollow Hills. The central portion
was covered with a heavy pine forest until the
railroad era, when numerous fires occurred,
mostly kindled by sparks from locomotives, caus
ing great destruction to the pine timber, and there
are now only found thick, tangled scrub oaks
and stunted pines. Only a small portion of this
kind of land is under a good state of cultivation.
The soil is mostly a sand loam,. The land is

easily cleared, and is adapted to the growing
of grain and root crops, and probably in a few
years large tracts will be cleared and cultivated.
The marsh land portion of the town adjoins the
northern and southern sides of the Great South
Bay. The tract on the south side of the bay ad
joins the beach, and extends the entire length- of
the town; it is but about a half mile in width,
and the land is overflowed at high tide.
Down to the time of the enactment of the
law separating it from Huntington, as before re
lated, the general history of Babylon is contained
in that of the parent town. It had its revolution
ary experiences and heroes, it had its little ex
citements in 1812, and it contributed its full pro
portionate share to the heroes who wait to the
front in the Civil war, yet these are part of the
history of Huntington and only belong to Baby
lon in a sort of reflected light as the glory of
Shakespeare and Milton belongs to the literature
of America. And yet it had and has an identity
of its own, and is not to be treated lightly simply
because it boasts no antiquity as a political di
vision. The ancient land titles are in large part
covered by the early transactions which have
been told of in connection with Huntington, but
some of these are to be referred to herein to pre
serve the symmetry of the local narrative, and
to avoid turning to other pages, and certainly
the Babylon tract figured as extensively as a
land dealing region as any upon Long Island.
A number of the original deeds given by In-

190

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

dian chiefs for land in this town are among the
town records of Huntington. One dated June
5, 1657, between Jonas Wood, of Huntington,
and "Meantaquit [Montauk] sachem," witnesses
that Wood, for himlself and his neighbors of
Huntington, "bought five necks of land lying
next adjoining to Massapaugs sachem's land,"
giving for it "twenty coats, twenty howes, twen
ty hatchets, twenty knives, ten pounds of pow
der, ten pounds of lead, and 'one great settell,
and one hat, present in hand ; and doth further
promis to give the above said sachem1 every year
a coat for six years next ensuing."
A deed dated July 23, 1657, made between
Jonas Wood and Wyandanch, "the sachem of
Secotaughe," conveyed to Wood for himself one-
half neck of a meadow lying "betwixt a river
that bounds the necks bought by the inhabitance
of Huntington eastward and so to trees that -are
marked, being next going to Massapeqs sachem's
land," "for and in consideration of one new gun
and one pistol and two pounds of -powder." This
deed was "signed in the presence of John Strick-
line, John Lion."
May 12, 1659, Wyandanch confirmed the sale
last mentioned, speaking of the land as "that half
neck from the water along the creek into the
highway that headeth it." The deed of confirma
tion was signed, sealed and delivered in the pres
ence of David Gardiner, Jeremiah Conklin and
Lion Gardiner.
By deed dated August 17, 1658, the same
sachem "sold to Henry Whitney, of Huntington,
for the use of the whole town of Huntington
three whole necks of meadow land lying on the
south-ward side of this town, and westerly by
the six necks which were bought before;" and
sent his "agent Checanoe to deliver upon condi
tions as followeth: first they shall pay or cause
to be paid to me or 'my assigns these following
goods punctually, tbat is — first, twelve coats, each
coat being two yards of tucking cloth, twenty
pounds of powder, twenty dutch hatchetts, twen
ty dutch howes, twenty dutch knives, ten shirts,
two hundred of muxes [awl blades], five pairs of
handsome stockens, one good dutch hat, and a

great fine looking glass ; and for Checanoe for
his wages and going to mark out the land shall
have for himself one coat, seven pounds of pow
der, six pounds of lead, one dutc'h hatchet, as
also seventeen shillings in wampum."
A most unique document, and one which
might well arouse a query as to the real under
standing of the Indians of the papers which they
subscribed, is a deed of July 12, 1689, whereby
Jeffery, Will Ch-epie and Whawacem, Secatouge
Indians and proprietors of a neck of land lying
on the south side of the island commonly called
Sautepauge, with the consent of Pamequa and
Wampas, and the rest of the owners of that neck
of upland, "for the kindness and great love"
they had unto Captain (Epenetus) Piatt, Thom
as Wicks, Jonathan Rogers, Sr., Nathaniel Fos
ter and the rest of 'the owners of the meadow
line of that neck aforesaid," conveyed to them all
that "tract or parcel of land aforesaid from
tbe edge of the fresh meadow southward unto
the Indian path, northward as now it is, and
from the river eastward that parts Guscomgi-
raram from the said Sautapague and unto
the river westward that parts Sautapague
and 'Naguntepague ;" stipulating "that the up
land aforesaid may be equally divided with every
English owner of meadow and upland answer
able to their proportion of meadow, to the end
that the English and Indians may not be tres
passers one to the other but that there may be
neighborly love continued between English and
Indians. * * * Whereas it is said in the 17
line the upland to be divided according to the
proportion of meadow, it was a mistake — the
upland is to every man alike according to the
intent of the Indians."
A deed dated July 13, 1689 "witnesseth that
Jeffrey, the Indian living at Secotauke — that be
ing the name that it is commonly called by" —
had sold to Robert Kellum -of Huntington "eight
acres of land at Neguntatague, he having a right
there whensoever the Indians see cause to sell
it. And the said Jeffrey doth engage that the
said Robert Kelluni- shall have this eight acres
of upland at the south end of the neck above

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BABYLON LAND GRANT.

192

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

mentioned where the said Robert K-ellum shall
see cause to take it in." This was witnessed by
Jonathan Harnett and Elizabeth Whitte.
On November 5, 1689, Wauchas, Pamequa,
Chippas, Will Cheepye, Wamerweeram and
Peetawas, chief heads of the Sequatogue In
dians, "sold to Jonas Ward, Sr., Thomas Fleet,
Isaac Piatt and Captain Piatt, of Huntington,
"a certain neck of meadow land lying and being
on the south side of this island eastermost of
all the purchased necks, comtoonly called or
known by the name of Sampawams [Sumpa-
wans] bounded on the south side with the sound
[here meaning the Great South Bay], the east
with a river or creek, and north with the Indian
path that now is the west with a river or creek.
We may say all the aforesaid neck of meadow
land, both fresh and salt, with its upland within
the bounds, and wood 'for sellars, gards and
firings above the Indian path, unto the said Jonas
Wood sen. and others, their heirs & assigns; and
the use of the town of Huntington, for and in
consideration of the sum of fower score and ten
pounds, in silver or goods at silver prices, all in
hand secured before the selling and delivery
hereof." This was the neck of land now occu
pied by that part of the village of Babylon lying
south of Prospect street.
Miarch 7, 1691, subsequent Indian convey
ances to land now in Babylon township were
made to Robert Kellum ; to Epenetus Piatt, Rich
ard Brush, Jonas Wood and Thomas Brash ; to
John Wood; to Jonas Wood; to John Ketcham
and Jonas Piatt; to1 John Ketcham, James Chi
chester and Timothy Conklin, Sr. ; to- Thomas
Fleet and Nathaniel Foster; and to- others. One
of the most important sales took place as late as
April 14, 1702, when the town trustees bought
the Sampaunes Creek tract, north of Prospect
street, in the village of Babylon, and south of the
Long Island Railroad, and subsequent purchases
from the Indians were -made as late as 1705,
when (November 20) the native proprietors con
veyed to the town of Huntington a tract on the
south side of the island upon a neck called
Naguntatogue ; "bounded on the south side by
land lying above the meadows purchased by the

town of Huntington aforesaid; bounded on the
north by the heads of the two swamps and the
last land purchased by the town of Huntington ;
bounded on the east by the river that parteth
this said neck and the little neck; to them as
tenants in common, without any pretense of joint
tenancy or survivorship; always providing *
* * that it shall be lawful for the said Indians
to hunt on ye said land."
Mr. James M. Cooper, the local historian,
has remarked that it is doubtless true few if
any dwellings or other buildings were erected
in this portion of Huntington previous to the
year 1700. The land first purchased on the south
side was bought by the settlers on the north shore.
They bought tbe marshy necks of land on the
South Bay, which were then and are now cov
ered with an abundant growth of salt sedge
and black grass. These lands at that period ap
pear to have been more highly prized by the in
habitants of the town than the uplands; The
farmers were in great need of hay with which
to feed their domestic animals, and English
grasses were but little cultivated on Long Isl
and until about 1800. The early yeomen spent
the early portion of the fall months in cutting,
curing and carting the hay from these marshes
to their north side homes. Mr. Cooper also said
that it is rather a singular fact, although more
than two centuries have elapsed since the town
has been settled by the white race, and its west
ern limits are only about thirty .miles 'from New
York City, more than three-quarters of the land
in tbe town remains in an uncultivated state,
that portion which- is cultivated being on the
eastern and northwestern parts and along the
southern or post road. This was said three dec
ades ago, nor has there been a marked change
since then, much of the land yet lying idle. The
population has increased, however, from 4,739
in 1880, to 7,112 in 1900, the advance being fully
apace with the remainder of the county, except
ing those villages which have attracted an un
usual number of newcomers through their su
perior residential advantages.
The principal interest attaches to the village

BABYLON.

193

of Babylon,, situated in the southern portion of
the town, on Sumpawams Neck, and now having
a population of 2,157. If would appear that the
village was given its name in the form of New
Babylon, in 1803, by Mrs. Conklin, the mother
of Nathaniel Conklin, but its prefix "New" has
been discarded.

OLD MILL.
The first house erected on the site of the vil
lage was probably the Heartte residence, about
1760. In the following ten years a number of
others had been built, but they were so few that
the settlement was not regarded as worthy of
the designation of hamlet, let alone village. The
Heartte family were owners of large tracts at
and in the vicinity of Babylon, and Nehemiah
Heartte, resided on the home place during the
Revolutionary war. One of his sons, Philip, re
moved to Troy, New York, and Jonas, son of
the latter named, became mayor of that city.
But, insignificant as it was in these far-back
days, the village preserves some interesting rem
iniscences of old-time worthies who were upon
its ground. The 'old Conklin house, the oldest
in the 'place, and, perhaps, in the county, was
built by Captain Jacob Conklin, about whose
name is a glamour of romance as before related.
Conklin purchased a large tract of land from the
natives, of which the farm late tlie property of
13

Colonel James F. Casey is part, and upon which
the venerable mansion above alluded to is sit
uated. The house was probably erected about
1710, and every part of it bears evidence of its
antiquity. The high hill behind the dwelling
commands a splendid though distant view of the
ocean and bay. Near by are several fine springs
of water, one of which is said to be of
medicinal character.
Captain Conklin married Hannah
Piatt, of Huntington, by whom he
had several children, among them Col
onel Piatt Conklin, who was an ardent
patriot during the Revolution.. The
latter had only one child, Nathaniel,
who was sheriff of the county. He
was the third owner of the premises
above described. This property de
scended to the grandchildren of
Sheriff Conklin, thus having been
owned by four successive genera
tions of the family. It has since
been owned by Dr. Bartlett, formerly
editor of the "Albion," Colonel
James F. Casey, and Ulysses S.
Grant, Jr.
Babylon was also the home of one of the
most distinguished patriot soldiers of Long Isl
and — Colonel Abraham Skinner. When the
revolutionary struggle began, he was a young
lawyer in New York City, his birthplace. He-
was of excellent family, related to the Van
Cortlandts, De Peysters and De LanceW
When twenty years of age (in 1773) he mar
ried Miss Catherine Foster, of Jamaica. He
was an ardent Whig, and gave his hearty
support to the patriot cause. He was on terms
of personal friendship with Washington, Gen
eral Nathaniel Greene and -other worthies of
those stirring times. Washington made him a.
commissary of prisoners, and he represented his
government in all relating to the exchange of and
treatment of the unhappy men incarcerated, in
the prisons of New York and on board the prison
ships in the harbor. He subsequently acted as
quartermaster and an account book kept by him
while he was acting in that capacity shows a

194

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

marked resemblance of handwriting to that of
Washington. This book is now in the posses
sion of Mr. James B. Cooper, of Babylon. Dur
ing the New Jersey campaign, Skinner held the
rank of captain, and, for a time, served as secre
tary in the field to the illustrious commander-in-
chief. After the close of the war Colonel Skinner
took up his residence in Jamaica, whence he re
moved about 1808, to Babylon. He represented
Queens county in the state assembly in 1784 and
1785, and about three years later he was ap
pointed clerk of that county, serving until 1796,
and he also served as master in chancery. He
was a successful lawyer, and an orator of high
ability. He was a stanch Federalist, and, in com
mon with the great majority in that party, he
was strongly opposed to the second war with
England. While that war was- at its height the
Rev. Joshua Hart, of Smithtown, a famous
preacher of his day, came here and filled the
pulpit of the old Presbyterian Church, now occu
pied as a dwelling by the Misses Sammis.
"Priest" Hart, as he was termed, in his sermon
made a strong plea for the vigorous prosecution
of the war, defending every act of President
Madison. Colonel Skinner was present and was
much displeased at the sermon. At its close he
took the Rev. Mr. Hart to task for it, but the
venerable divine would not retract anything he
had said, and the argument that ensued was quite
spirited. The clergyman and the old soldier
were friend's of long standing, however, and the
dispute on that occasion did not disrupt their
friendship. Colonel Skinner's promotion to a colonelcy
at the close of the Revolutionary war did not
carry increase of pay, and it was not until twenty
years after the war closed that the first pension
act was passed, and Skinner had become desper
ately poor. The first pension law provided only
for the compensation of such officers as were
known to be in need, and to take advantage of
it a very humiliating declaration was required.
Skinner avoided asking for a pension as long as
possible, but was finally obliged to do so, and
when it was awarded him he lived in comparative

comfort, although the amount was small. The
pension ceased with his death and his widow
was left in almost destitute circumstances. His
death -occurred in 1825 and his remains were in
terred in the cemetery adjoining Grace Church,
in Jamaica. No stone was ever placed over his
last resting place and it is doubtful if the exact
location of his grave is known. He left no chil
dren, his only child1 — a son — having died in his
youth.-, Another worthy of the same day was Cap
tain Joel Cook, who died in the village on De
cember 8, 1 85 1. He was a native of Connecticut,
and was sixteen years of age when the Revolu
tionary war began. He sought to enter the army,
but was rejected on account of his undersize and
youth, but managed to gain tbe favor of a conti
nental officer, whom he accompanied as a body
servant. A year later he entered the ranks and
bore arms during the continuance of the war.
In 1 81 2 he formed a company in New Haven,
Connecticut, and was commissioned captain. He
fought in several engagements, including the
battle of Tippecanoe, in which Tecums-eh, the fa
mous Indian warrior, was killed. He was- of the
garrison at Detroit, and was among the troops
surrendered by General Hull. He was held pris
oner in Canada for a time, was exchanged, and
returned to service. In 181 4 he was inspector
of customs at Hartford, Connecticut. In 1840,
while a resident of Yonkers, New York, be was
the guest of honor at a Fourth of July banquet,
and upon that occasion Hon. W. W. Schrugan,
afterward a judge of the supreme court, acting
on behalf of the citizens, presented to the veteran
a gold medal, which bore the following inscrip
tion: "Presented to Capt. Joel Cook, by the citizens
of Yonkers, in honor of his patriotic services in
defense of liberty. July 4, 1840.
"At the Battles of Danbury, White Plains,
Trenton, Stony Point, Springfield and Tippe
canoe." The activity of the modern village was coin
cident with the opening of the eighteenth cen
tury. In 1801 Nathaniel Conklin" built a tannery,

BABYLON.

195

and a cloth mill was set in operation about 1810
by Timothy Carll. About the same time Abra
ham S. Thompson kept the principal store; he
subsequently became a prominent merchant in
New York City. It was also near this time that
an inn was opened by Jesse Smith, and the busi
ness then established is still known as the Amer
ican House. It has, perhaps, from the historian's
point of view, a more interesting record than any
existing house of entertainment on Long Island.
It was one of the stopping places in the days
prior to 1841 of the coaches carrying the mails,
and was then a popular place of "refreshment for
man and beast." Among its many distinguished
guests mention is made of Prince Joseph Bona
parte, ex-King of Spain and a brother of Na
poleon the Great, who in the course of a tour
through Long Island in 181 6 put up at the hos
telry for several days — longer than he intended
to — but he was overtaken by a sudden illness.
This distinguished individual traveled around
with a good deal of style, and his illness was
doubtless a most fortunate source of increase to
the week's financial returns. An Italian gentle
man was his traveling companion, and in bis
train he had several carriages. The vehicle in
which he rode was drawn by four splendid
horses ; another carriage carried his cooks and
other servants, and the third was loaded with sil
verware, wines and cooking utensils. The Prince
was in search of a piece of property on which
.he might settle, but apparently was unable to
find what he wanted and continued the search
elsewhere, finally locating at Bordentown, New
Jersey. In 1840 a much greater man than this
king, who had retired from business, was a guest
for a night at the American House — the immor
tal Daniel Webster — who rested at Babylon1 while
on his way to arouse the Patchogue Whigs into
a proper condition of enthusiasm. This he did,
for on such an expedition failure with him was
an impossibility. The Presbyterian Church of Babylon claims
an existence since 1797. That was when the
Presbyterian Church government was effected by
the election of a session and trustees, and tbe
charge ol the congregation was formally as

sumed by the Presbytery of Long Island, April
11, 1797. It seems to have been an offshoot
from a congregation which in 1730 built a church
in Islip township. Its first house of worship was
demolished by the British soldiers during the
Revolutionary war, the material being taken to
Flempstead and used in the erection of barracks.
A new edifice was built about 1783. In 1797 the
congregation was ministered to by the Rev. Mr.
Gleason, who also conducted services at Smith-
town. Of but limited education, he was a pleas
ing speaker and a companionable man, and his
popularity was increased by his service as a chap
lain in the Continental army. In 1804 he was
brought to trial for intemperance, and on confes
sion of his faults and promise of reformation he
was continued in the pastoral office. Two years
later more grave charges were preferred against
him, and the trial, which continued for five days,
created much feeling in the community. Being
found guilty and put under sentence of suspen
sion he was again charged with flagrant of
fenses, whereupon he refused to stand trial and
was deposed. A portion of the congregation re
sented this action and sought his reinstatement,
and this failing, a division of the church took
place, and the differences were not reconciled un
til several years later.
The Methodist congregation dates from 1840,
and Trinity Episcopal Church from 1862, but
that parish was afterward merged into that' of
Christ Church, West Islip. The Baptists founded
their church in 1872, and St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic Church dates from 1878.
The first postoffice was established in the early
part of the last century, and was known for a
score of years as Huntington South. The first
postmaster was Major Timothy Carll. The first
newspaper was the "Suffolk Democrat," founded
in 1859 by Hon. John R. Reid, who removed the
material from Huntington', where the paper had
been previously ¦ published. Various manufac
tures are carried on and oystering and clamming
are important industries.
Tbe Babylon of the present day is a beautiful
spot, located directly upon the Great South Bay,
enjoying the uninterrupted and uncontam-inated

196

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

breezes from off the ocean. The village is much
sought by permanent residents and summer so
journers of the most desirable classes. Vast ho
tels have sprung up, some of them1 among the
most perfectly fitted up and most beautifully at
tractive of any near the metropolis, golf links
have been laid out .and sporting clubs of all sorts
have been organized, notable among the latter be
ing the Westminster Kennel Club. The vicinity
has also its attractions, and even the sandy wastes
of Oak Island and M'uncie Island have been
adapted to- the uses of man, transformed into
health or pleasure resorts. At Muncie Island is
the famous Muncie Surf Sanitarium. Steamers
ply between Babylon and Fire Island and Oak Isl
and, and near by are the elegantly appointed
buildings -of the Wawayanda and Short Beach
Clubs, and made up in greater part of New York
and Brooklyn men of affairs.
Amitvville, which was once known as West

ARGYLE LAKE.
Neck, seems also to have had its origin in a grist
and saw mill, and dates back to about 1780. It
had an inn as early as the date of Washington's
tour through Long Island, for we read in Onder-
donk's "Annals" that tbe Father of his Country
"dined at Zebulon Ketcham's Huntington South

and begged the landlord to take no trouble about
the fare, and on leaving gave a half Joe and a
kiss to his (Ketcham's) daughter." The present
village must be classed as a modern town. Its
oyster business is large and prosperous, its hotels
are modern and well appointed, and its health
sanitariums are famous all over the country. It
has all modern improvements in the way of splen
did roads, electric lights- and boating and fishing
appliances for pleasure seekers, and attracts a
yearly increasing colony of summer residents of
the. highest social class.
One of the famous institutions of Long Isl
and is located at Amityville — ^the Long Island
Hotel, designed for the treatment of those dis
ordered mentally. Its founder was John Lou
den, a native of Maine. His early years were
given to mercantile pursuits in his native town.
During the Civil war he served with a Maine reg
iment. His was a varied career for some vears
afterward. He was an advance
agent for Cooper Brothers' cir
cus, and he was a deputy mar
shal and aided in the capture of
the notorious St. Alban's bank-
robbers. In 1869 he took up his
residence in Babylon, Long Isl
and. For six years he was su
perintendent of the Suffolk
County Alms House in Yap-
hank, and in the management
of that institution he introduced
numerous important innovations,
conducting it with rare intelli
gence and humanity. He em
ployed the inmates in labor on
the county farm, to the improve
ment of their health and morals,
and to the financial advantage of
the taxpayers by" reducing the
expense of maintaining the pau-
success in this field led to
his appointment as deputy superintendent •
and afterward as superintendent of the work
house at Blackwell's Island, and he was
subsequently general inspector of the charita
ble and correctional institutions of the city

pers.

His

BABYLON.

197

of New York. In 1881 he became superintend
ent of the Long Island Home Hotel at Amityville,
an establishment which primarily grew out of his
efforts. It was a calling for which he was emi
nently well fitted. While superintendent of the
alms house at Yaphank he had the care of many
demented persons, and his experience with them
led him into new methods of treatment. Realiz
ing their helplessness, his humane feelings were
touched, and he devoted- his attention to ame
liorating their condition, banishing the straight
jacket and other scientific modes of torture, and
substituting kindly treatment, and finding his
reward in evident improvement in many cases.
In his new establishment, entirely under his own
control, he continued the same manner of treat
ment, with greater opportunity of observing par
ticular cases and caring for them in the light of
their individual necessity. It need only be fur
ther said that bis work has been a real boon to
a class of afflicted humanity which is absolutely
unable to minister to itself.
Two miles north of Amityville the Roman
Catholic sisterhood of St. Dominick founded a
community upon a sixty-acre tract of land, and

upon which were erected a massive building
costing $256,000, including- the Church of- the
Rosary, the convent, the novitiate, the orphanage
and the apartments for the aged. The corner
stone was laid May 8, 1878, and the dedication
took place March 3, 1879, the Rev. M. May,
vicar general, officiating.
Lindenhurst, formerly Breslau, only dates
back to 1869, when it was founded as a German
colony, with manufacturing as its feature, and
that feature it still retains. It now has a popu
lation estimated at 1,080, an increase of only
about 100 in a decade. It is, however, a thriv
ing place, and well adapted as a manufacturing
center. South Oyster Bay, under its modern name of
Massapequa, has within the past few years as
sumed considerable importance as a summer res
idential village, With its fine hotel and many beau
tiful and attractive villas. It has an estimated
population of about 500. Deer Park, with an
estimated population of 275, West Deer Park,
with 200, North Babylon, with 257, and May-
wood, with 60, are among the other settlements
in this township.

11/'A

<s~

*¦*.

rPX^

MOUTH OF NISSEQUOGUE RIVER.
(By favor of W, L. Mathieson, Esq.)

CHAPTER X.

SMITHTOWN.

N the town records of Southampton,
under date of October 26, 1643, occurs
the following :

"It is ordered that Thomas Hyldreth
shall satisfy unto Mr. Smith to the value of three
pounds and twelve shilings and four pence, to bee
payd unto him in English wheate after the rate of
foure shillings by the bushell betwixt this and the
first of March, and that this order shall bee a
finall ende of all matters of Controversie what
soever betwixt them."
Such is the first mention made of a man who
was destined to act an important part in the

history of Long Island, Of his previous history
we know absolutely nothing, and the most care
ful and painstaking investigation has failed to
throw any light on the subject. He' is said by
some historians to have come from a certain vil
lage in Yorkshire, England, but the evidence is
not sufficient to warrant us in stating it as a
fact. How long he had been in Southampton
before the above date is not known, but he had
time enough to become involved in a contro
versy with one of its inhabitants. On March 7,
1644, the men of Southampton were divided into
four "Wards" for the purpose of cutting up

SMITHTOWN.

199

whales cast upon the shore. Richard Smith
was in the "fourth Ward," and in 1653, when
they were divided into four "Squadrons," for
the same purpose, he was leader of the first
"Squadron." From the very first he seems to have been a
leader in the settlement. His home lot was one
of the most eligible in the town. The fact that
he owned a full proprietor's right shows that
he was a man of means, and the title of "Mr."
(then much more than an unmeaning compli
ment) is sufficient indication of his social posi
tion. In 'March, 1647, he was one of the "five
men" appointed to lay out land, and on October
7, 1648, he was chosen freeman of the town, and
thus became a member of the General Court and
eligible to any office. On December 17, 1651,
he was prosecuted by Mark Meggs "in an ac
tion of slander and defamation," but the judge
decided in his favor. In November, 1648, he
was one of the general committee to regulate the
laying out" of land on the "Great Playnes," and
in 1649 he held the same position.
January 11, 1650, Deborah Raynor entered a
suit for breach of promise of marriage (the first
probably that ever occurred in Long Island)
against "John Kelly, carpenter," who assured her
that his former wife was dead, but, when brought
before the Court, and it was proved that she was
still living, he "attempted to excuse himself by
saying that he meant shee was deade in tres
passes and sinnes," a plea which did not save
him from well merited punishment. Mr. Smith
was one of the arbitrators who levied upon him a
very substantial fine to be paid to Deborah for
her injured feelings.
On October 7, 1650, by vote of the General
Court, he was chosen constable, an office at
that time of great dignity and honor. Shortly
afterwards he had a suit against Thomas Doxy,
and won the case, which must have been of some
importance, as he gained £15 6 shillings and 2
pence damages. On May 3, 1654, he was grant
ed an 'addition to his home lot. His entire ca
reer in .Southampton shows him to have been a
man of active enterprise, foremost among his
equals, and of the same rank as Edward Howell,

Lion Gardiner and Richard Woodhull, the three
famed leaders of Long Island settlements. Fin
ally, on September 17, 1656, occurs the follow
ing :
"It is ordered by ye General Court that Rich
ard Smith for his irreverent carriage towards the
Magistrates, contrary to the order, was adjudged
to bee banished out of the Towne, and bee is to
have a weeke's liberty to prepare himself to de-
parte, and if at any time hee bee found after
that limited weeke within the Towne or the
bounds thereof, hee shall forfeit twenty shillings."
It seems, however, that the magistrates
thought better of it, and did not insist upon his
leaving within the specified time, for some weeks
later he was still in the town, and engaged in a
controversy with Henry Pierson. What was the
real nature of his offense we do not know'. It
is very evident, however, that there was noth
ing of a criminal nature connected with it. His
offense was simply what would now be called
a very aggravated case of contempt of court. His
whole career shows him to have been a man
of most determined will and great persistency of
purpose, and it is quite possible that he may
have disobeyed some order which he considered
unreasonable, and may have used language
toward the court that was more emphatic than
complimentary. Upon leaving Southampton he seems to have
sold his house, lot and meadows to Major John
Howell, and they remained in the possession of
his descendants for many years after. His next
place of residence was Setauket, where he had
for a neighbor Richard Woodhull, who had pre
viously lived in Southampton. His dwelling
place was on the west side of the street, and no
doubt the exact spot could be identified with a
little antiquarian effort. The great aspiration of
his life seems to have been a desire to be an ex
tensive landholder, and to possess a domain of
which he was to be the sole owner and free from
the domination of other jurisdictions.
It is proper to remark here that Richard
Smith has been written of by some historians as
two entirely different persons. The first is Rich
ard Smith, who was an earlv owner of a wide

200

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

lot on the north side of Pearl street, in New
York, near Hanover Square. He and his son
of tbe same name went to Rhode Island, and are
frequently mentioned in the records of that col
ony. The other Richard Smith was a Quaker,
who, it seems, had lived in Southampton and had
gone to Massachusetts, whence he had been de
ported to Long Island, as an "emissary of Sa
tan." He is known in Southampton as "Richard
Smith, of North Sea," and is mentioned in the
East Hampton records. As he was an illiterate
man who signed his name with a mark, it is need
less to say that he was not the patentee of Smith-
town. The history of Smithtown begins at a
period somewhat later than the other eastern
towns on Long Island.
At the time of the settlement by the whites
in 1650 it was inhabited by the Nesaquake or
Nissequogue tribe, who dwelt on both sides of
the Nissequogue River, from its mouth to its
head in the southern part of Hauppauge ; as far
east as Stony Brook and as far west as Fresh
Pond and Comae. The tribe and the river de
rived their name from Nesaquake, an Indian
sagamore, the father of Nasseconset, the latter
being the sagamore at the time of the convey
ances to the whites hereinafter referred to.
The first conveyance of these lands found on
record was made by Nasseconset in 1650. In that
year he and his councilors made tbe following
first Indian deed :
Articles of agreement between Nasseconseke,
Sachem of Nesequake, of the, one part, and Ed-
mond Wood, Jonas Wood, Jeremy Wood, Tim
othy Wood and Daniel Whitehead of the other,
and" Stephen Hudson.
This writing witnesseth that I Nasseconsack,
Sachem of Long Island, do sell and make over to
the aforesaid partyes, Edmond Wood, Jonas
Wood, Jeremy Wood, Timothy Wood, Stephen
Fludson and Daniel Whitehead, a certaine quanti
ty of land, beginning at a River called and com
monly knowne by the name of Nesaquake River,
and from that River Eastward to a River called
Memanusack, lying on the 'North side of Long
Island, and on the South side from Conecticott
foure Necks westward; promising, and by vertue
of this writing do promise, that the aforesaid
partyes shall quietly possess and enjoy the said

quantityes of Land without any trouble or dis
turbance from any other Indyans whatsoever.
In consideration of which land, we the aforesaid
Partyes do promise to pay unto the aforesaid
Naseconsake, Six Coatts, Six ffathom of Wam-
pone, Six Howes, Six Hatchetts, Six knives,
Six kettles, one hundred Muxes, to be paid on
or before the 29th of September 1650.
Attached to the above deed is the following:
I Jonas Wood do hereby testifie, that I and
Jeremv Wood and Daniel Whitehead went to
view the foure Necks of meadow, lying west
ward from Conecticutt River, mentioned in the
bill of Nessaquake purchase, and there lived an
old Homes and his sonne whose name was
Wanequaheag, who "owned those Necks and we
told them that Naseconsake had undertaken to
sell us those four necks, and they seemed
very willing. Jonas Wood.
May 28, 1663.
This deed covers the territory between Nis
sequogue River and Stony Brook. The grantees
sold parts of their purchase to other parties, as
will be hereafter seen. At that time Wyan
danch, the great sachem of Montauk, was the
acknowledged ruler of all the other sachems on
the east end of Long Island. All the smaller tribes
paid tribute to him, and it was generally under
stood that no conveyance of land was valid with
out his concurrence. In many instances he held
the title to the lands by gift or purchase from the
subordinate chief, and conveyed those lands to
the whites in his own name;, and in others he
joined with the lesser sachems or sagamores of
the tribes in conveying the lands within his jur
isdiction. Wyandanch and his tribe were in con
stant dread of the Pequots and Narragansetts,
warlike tribes of Indians on tbe Connecticut
shore, between whom and the Montauks was
waged a continuous warfare, by reason of which
the Montauks were so much reduced in numbers
as to be in danger of annihilation, and were
obliged to leave their possessions at Montauk
and seek refuge and protection among the whites
at East Hampton. In one of the incursions of
the Narragansetts across the sound they seized
and carried off into captivity the daughter of

SMITHTOWN.

201

Wyandanch on the evening of her wedding.
Lion Gardiner, patentee of Gardiner's Island, the
first white man who settled- on the east end of
Long Island, had been on intimate terms with
and commanded the respect of the Connecticut
Indians while commander of the fort at Say-
brook. After his purchase of Gardiner's Island
he acquired the confidence and respect of the
Montauks, and was their friend and counsellor
in all their troubles. By his interposition the fail-
Indian maiden was surrendered by her captors
and restored to her grief-stricken father. In re
turn for this kindness Wyandanch gave to his
benefactor a deed for the Nesaquake lands. The
original deed was discovered by the late Caleb
Smith, of Comae, among his father's papers. He
presented it to the Long Island Historical Soci
ety, and it hangs in the society's building in
Brooklyn. It is as follows :
East Hampton, July 14th, 1659.
Be it known unto all men both English and
Indians, especially the inhabitants of Long Isl
and, that I, Wyandance, sachem of Paumanack,
with my wife and son Wyandanbone, my only
son and heir, having deliberately considered how
this twenty-four years we have been not only ac
quainted with Lyon Gardiner, but from time to
time and from much kindness of him by coun-
cell and advice in our prosperity, but in our great
extremity, when we were almost swallowed up of
our enemies — then, we say, he appeared to us not
only as a friend, but as a father in giving us his
money and goods, whereby we defended our
selves, and ransomed my daughter ; and we say
and know that by this means we had great com
fort and relief from the most honorable of the
English nation here about us ; so that, seeing we
yet live, and both of us being now old, and not
that we at any time have given him anything to
gratify his love and care and charge, we
having nothing left that is worth his accept
ance but a small tract of land left us, we desire
him to accept for himself, his heirs, executors
and assigns forever. Now that it may be known
how and where this land lyeth on Long Island,
we say it lyeth 'between Huntington and Se
tauket, the western bound being Cow Harbor,
easterly Acatamunk, and southerly crosse the
¦island to the end 'pi the great hollow or valley,
or more than half way through the island
southerly; and that this is our free gift and

deed doth appear by our hand mark under
written. Signed, sealed and delivered in the
presence of
Richard Smythe.
Thomas Chatfield.
Thomas Talmage.
Wyandance F M his mark.
Wyandbone III, his mark.
The sachem's wife S. M., her mark.
It seems that Lion Gardiner sold this tract
to Richard, as is mentioned in a deed from the
Sachem Nesatesconsett (the same sachem named
as Nasseconseke in the deed to Edmond Wood
and others) as will be seen. It will be noticed
that Richard Smith was one of the witnesses
of the deed given to Lion Gardiner, and there
can be little doubt but that the whole affair had
been prearranged between Gardiner and Smith.
Richard Smith lost no time in applying for a
patent for his lands from Governor Richard
Nicolls and received the following :
A confirmation of a tract of land called
Nesequauke granted unto Richard Smith of
Long Island.
Richard Xicholls, Esq., Governor, under his
Royall highness James Duke of Yorke &c of
all his Territories in America ; To all to whome
these presents shall come send'eth greeting.
Whereas there is a certain parcel or tract of
land situate, lying and being in the East Rid
ing of Yorkshire upon Long Island, commonly
called or known by the name of Nesaquake
Land, Bounded Eastward with the Lyne lately
runne by the Inhabitants of Seatalcott as the
bounds of their town ; bearing Southward to a
certaine ffresh Pond Called Raconkamuck,
from whence Southwestward to the Head of
Nesaquauke River so ffar as it is this present in
ye possession of Richard Smith as his proper
right and not any wayes claymed or in con
troversy betweene any other persons ; which
said parcell or tract of land (amongst others)
was heretofore given and granted by the
Sachems or Indyan proprietors to Lyon Gardi
ner of Gardiner's Island, deceased, and his
heirs, whose interest and estate therein hath
beene sold and conveyed unto Richard Smith
and his Heires, by vertue of which hee claymes
his property ; and whereas the commissioners
authorized by a Genall Court held at Hertford
in his Maties Colonv of Connecticot did here-

202

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tofore — That is to say in ye month of June
1664 — make an agreement with the said Rich
ard Smith; That upon the conditions therein
exprest hee the said Richard Smith should
place Twenty ffamilyes upon the said land;
Now know yee that by vertue of the commis
sion and authority given unto mee by his
Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke, I do rat
ify and confirme the said agreement, and do
likewise hereby give, confirme and graunt
unto the said Richard Smith, his heirs
and assignes tbe said Parcell or Tract
of land called or knowne by the name
of Nesaquauke Lands, bounded as aforesaid,
together with all the lands, wood's, meadows,
Pastures, Marshes, Waters, Lakes, ffishings,
Hunting and ffowling, and all other proffitts,
commodityes and Emoluments to the said parcel
or tract of Land and Premisses belonging, with
their and every of their appurtenances and of
every part and parcell thereof, To have and to
hold the said Parcell or Tract or Land, with all
and singular the appurtenances, unto- the said
Richard Smith, his Heirss and Assignes, to the
proper use and behoofe of the said Richard
Smith, his Heires and assigns for ever, upon the
condition & Termes hereafter exprest, That is to
say : That in Regard there hath arisen some dis
pute and controversy between the Inhabitants of
the Towne of Huntington and Captaine Robert
Ceely of the same place concerning that Parcell
of land lying -to ye westward of Nesaquauke
River, which for the co-nsideracon vertue of the
aforementioned Agreement was to enjoy, But
now is molested and hindered in the quiet Pos
session thereof. The said Rich'd Smith shall
bee oblieged to Settle onely tenne ffamilyes1 on
the land's before mentioned within the space of
three years after the date hereof. But if it shall
hereafter happen that the said Richard Smith
shall cleere his Title and bee lawfully possest of
the premises as aforesaid, that then bee the
said Richard Smith shall settle the full number
of Twenty familyes within Five yeares after such
Clearing of his Title, and being lawfully Possest
as aforesaid, and shall fulfill whatsoever in the
said Apreem't is required. And for an encour
agement to the said Richard Smith in his settling
the ffamilyes aforementioned the Plantations
upon the said Nassaquauke Lands shall, from the
first settlement untill the expiration of the Terme
or Termes of years, bee free from all Rates or
Taxes, and shall have no dependence upon any
other -place; but in all respects have like and
equall priviledges with any Town within this
Governm't, Provided always That the said Rich
ard Smith, his Heires and Assignes shall render

and pay such other acknowledgements and
dutyes as are or shall be Constituted and Or
dained by his Royall Highness the Duke . of
Yorke and his Heires, or such Governor or Gov
ernors as shall from time to time be appointed
and Sett over them.
Given under my hand and Seale at ffort
James in New Yorke this 3d day of March in
the Eighteenth yeare of tbe Rayne of our Sov
ereign Lord Charles, the Second by the Grace of
God King of England, Scotland, ffrance and
Ireland, Defender of the ffaith &c, and in the
year of our Lord God 1665. Richard Nicolls.
The next thing Smith- did was to perfect his
Indian title. A reservation which was claimed
was extinguished by the following :
This writing witnesseth, that when Nasses-
conset sould that part of land on the est siede of
Nessequage River unto Jonas, Jerime, Timothy
wood, and daniell whitehead, and others, that
then my saved tinkle did Resarve half the sayed
Neck, called and Knowne by the name of Nese
quage neck, to himselve and 'Nesequage
Indiens, to live and to plant on. I Nas-
sekege, being sole haire to all Nassesconset's
land on the Est siede of Nesequage River, doe
by these pressents for me and my haires
make over' all our interest in the sayed halve neck
unto Richard Smith, of Nessequag, senyer, the
same to- have and to hould, to him and his haires
forever ; and Nassekege doth further witness of
my knowledge that Nineponishare was formerly
apoyntel Nesaconnopp and myselve was
apoynted by young Nassesconsett my unkle, as
Joynt haires to them both, to mark the bounds
of Neseequag land for Richard Smith, and we
did doe it acording to the saels which they had
formerly made unto Raeonkumake, a fresh pond
aboute tbe midle of long Island, acording to
the order that they both did give to us, being
acompanied with John Catchem and Samuel
Adams and Mawhew, to mark the trees — aperell
6th 1664. I Xassakeag, doe owne that the above
saied was wittnessed by Richard Odell, and Rich
ard Harnett doth promis to own the above saied
before the governor or any else, Nasskeag X
mark having Reserved full satisfaction for the
premisees to his content.
witncs Massetuse X his mark.
the wrieting above was owned by Nase-
keage and Massetuse to be true in my presens.
Richard Woodhull.
Dorothy Woodhull.

SMITHTOWN.

203

Nasseconset, the Nesaquake sagamore,
claimed that in his deed to Wyandanch of the
Nesaquake lands he had reserved to himself a
strip of land at the west side of and adjoining
the river, indicated by marked trees, and made
complaint to the commissioners of Hartford, then
sitting as a court at Setauket, that Richard
Smythe had taken from him his land. The com
missioners did not decide the controversy, but
recommended Smythe to buy up the Indian claim.
Being a shrewd and careful business man, Smythe
was unwilling to buy and pay for what the saga
more might be unable to deliver to him — a clear
title ; so he hurried off to the Montauks to in
vestigate the sagamore's claimi The Montauk
Indians had removed from Montauk to the "calf
pasture" at the south end of East Hampton vil
lage, where they had been scourged and greatly
reduced in numbers by the smallpox, and Wyan-
danch's widow and the young chief Wyancom-
bone were two of the victims. The tribe then re
moved to a place then and now known as the
Indian highway, at the west side of the head of
Three-mile Harbor. Here 'Smythe found the
young squaw at whose restoration he had assist
ed ; after sharply cross-examining her in the pres
ence of several East Hampton people he became
satisfied that Nasseconset's claim was meritorious
and he hastened home and settled with him for
a gun, a kettle, ten coats, a blanket and three
handfuls of powder and shot. Before the deed
was executed another claimant, enjoying the
euphonious name of Catawumps1, appeared. But
he was quickly silenced by throwing in two- more
coats, and Smythe received the following deed :
Whereas Richard Smith of Smithfield hath
bought all the land between Huntington Harbour
and Nesaquauke River of Lyon Gardiner, as may
appear by a deed bearing date '63, Nasettecon-
sett, Sagamore of Nesaquauke, complaint to ye
commissioners of Hertford at a court held at
Seatalcott in '64 that Richard Smith had taken
away his land. And did then owne that he had
given Catawaunuck [Crab Meadow] to Wyan-
daunce, for the said Lyon Gardiner's use, which
was by Mr. Odiell and others Bounded as may by
marked trees appear. But Nassetconsett said
that the Land betweene those marked trees and

Nesaquauke River was his. The Court advised
me to buy the Land of him, in case he had not
sold it before ; whereupon I Rich'd Smith went to
speake with ye Sauck Squaw. She did before
many of East Hampton owne that Nesaquauke,
Sagamore, did give Catawamuck to her ffather
Longe ago; and that hee Nassetconsett did give
the other part, unto Nesaquauke River, to her
Brother Wogancombone ; But finding nothing
under his hand to show, and shee owning him to
be the true Proprietor at first, I thought good to
buy the said Land of Nessateconsett, and have
agreed with him for one Gunn, one Kettle, tenn
Coates, one Blankett, three hands of powder, and
three handfulls of Lead.
These are to certify that I Xessetsconsett,
Sagamore of Nesaquauk, have for me and my
heires sold all of my land on the West side of
Nesaquauk River with all the Benefits and Priv
ileges of Land and water, unto Richard Smith
of Smithfield and his Heirs or assigns forever,
and have rec'd pay for the same to- my content :
Whereas Catawump doth lay clayme to half the
aforesaid Land, It is agreed that he is to have two
Coates more, and so doth joyne wth Nassetconsett
in the Sale. And do- both agree for us and Our
Heires, to maintaine the right of Richard
Smith and his heires, for ever, in all the land,
aforesaid, reserving the liberty of Matts,
Canooes, and Eagles and Deare Skinns Catcht in
the water ; by canooes is meant Indyan Built, that
is to say, rack; this to my selfe and heires.
Witness our hands and Seales May 4th, 1665.
The mark of Xesa'tesconsett,
Catawumps, his mark.
Tanatingo, his mark.
Witness : — Richard Woodhull.
Daniell Lane,
his
Quarter X Sachem,
¦marke.
Mcmorand: — That ye Land afore mentioned
was bought and part of the Pay delivered neare a
yeare before the Signing hereof.
This deed is recorded in the office of the Sec
retary of State, Liber 2 of Records, page 121.
Lion Gardiner died in 1663, and the follow
ing is endorsed upon the original deed from
Wyandance to Lion Gardiner :
Memorandum, That I David Gardiner of
Gardiner's Island, do acknowledge to have re
ceived satisfaction of Richard Smythe of Nis-
saquake for what concerns -me in the within

204

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

written deed. In witness whereof I have set my
band this 15th clay of October 1664.
David Gardiner.
The following extract from the records of
East Hampton throws mluch light upon the pur
chase from Lion Gardiner :
Jeremyah Conklinge, Deposed Testifyeth,
that Mr. Richard Smith of Nessaquauk, came to
my mother Gardiner's house and fell into dis
course with her about a parsell of land which
he had bought of Mr. L)'on Gardiner, lying be
yond Nessaquauk. Mr. Smith said he thought
he should meete with a great dele of trouble
about the land. Mrs. Gardiner made answer of
this, rather than shee would have any trouble
about it she would let the bargain bee voide, or
to that purpose. Whereupon Mr. Smith said
that he would have the bargain stand and he
would paie according to the agreement with her
husband, and he would take all the trouble on
himself. Which agreement was that Mr. Gardi- •
ner sould to Mr. Smith all his right in that par-
sell of land. This testimony was taken at East
Flampton this 21 day of March 1 670-1, before
me.
John Mulford.
Justice of the Peace.
The date of the above conversation is not
given, but it was probably before the release
from David Gardiner, and seems to- indicate that
no formal deed had been- given by Lion Gard
iner. The controversy between Richard Smith and
the town of Huntington was of long continuance.
In 1656 "on or about the last day of July," Asha
roken, the Matinecock sachem, sold to Jonas
Wood and others, for themselves and tbe rest of
their associates, "all the meadows, fresh and salt,
lying and- being upon the north side of Long Isl
and, from all former bounds, Cow Harbor to
Nesaquake River." The patent given to Hunt
ington by Governor Nicolls, November 30, 1666,
describes that their boundaries "were to stretch
east to Nesaquake River." Richard Smith, rely
ing upon his title obtained from Lion Gardiner,
brought suits for trespass against persons who,
under the claim of Huntington, were occupying
lands at Fresh Pond. Some of these suits were

tried at Southampton, and finally, about 1670,
came to the court of assizes. The claim of Hunt
ington was sustained as far eastward as Nese-
quake River, upon condition that Huntington
settle families there within three years, and a
systematic -effort was made to comply with these
conditions. In 1674 the Dutch recaptured New York and
Richard Smith appealed to the Dutch govern
ment for a new trial. In this Smith claimed
that Huntington had produced a false bill of sale
in Assepokin's name, and several false witnesses.
The principal claim, however, was that the land
"did not belong to Assepokin, ye Matinecock Sa-
¦chem, but to Nasetconset, the Sachem of Xese-
quake," who sold the land to Smith "by order
of Mr. Winthrop and Hartford Commissioners,"
and that under this "he had possessed it peace
ably for 7 -or 8 years." The land in controversy
was bounded west by Whitman's Hollow &
ye Fresh Pond." The summons was doubtless
written in the Dutch language and was served
upon the inhabitants of Huntington. They re
turned it with this reply :
Neighbour Smith of Xesaquag: by this ye
may understand that you left a paper, for, as you
say, the towne, in the hands of Joseph Whitman,
written in an unknown tongue to us; from
whence it came or what it is we know not,
neither what you intend bv it we know not, but
this we know — yt we shall take no notice of it,
neither can do; and if you would have us to
know your mind you must speak and write in a
known tongue to us. Likewise take notice yt
we have and intend to know more fully shortly yt
you and yours have acted the part of the cur
rish nabour by usurping with impudence and
shameless bouldness, to come upon our ground
and to seize upon our grass for your own use,
an unheard of practice, and never practiced by
honest men; therefore we doe by these protest
against your course, and we are resolved first to
defend ourselves and our estates from the hands
of violent aggressors, which is no more than the
law of nature and nations allowes. Secondly,
when the season comes you may expect to have
and reap the due defeat of such demerits.
from Huntington July 17:74
It is not to be supposed that his neighbors of

SMITHTOWN.

205.

Huntington were as ignorant of the contents of
this summons as they professed to be. The
Dutch governor and council appointed "Mr.
Jan Lawrence, merchant of this city, Mr. Rich
ard Cornwell of Flushing, Mr. Richard Odell
and Mr. Thomas Townsend, magistrates of Oys
ter Bay and Setalcot," as commissioners to ex
amine the case and report.
Before this was done Xew York was restored
to the English. A new trial was granted to
Richard Smith in October, 1675, and tne court
decided that the land's in question belonged in
equity to Richard Smith, and he was to be put
in possession if they were not otherwise deliv
ered up. The present inhabitants were to have
leave to stay till the first day of May, and to have
all their crops. "However, the said land to bee
within the jurisdiction of Huntington as within
their patent, though the property -is adjudged to
the plaintiff." Accordingly, the land was laid
out by Thomas Wickes in obedience to the order
of the court of assizes, the west bounds to be
"from the west most part of Joseph Whitman's
Hollow and the west side of the leading hollow
to the Fresh Pond Unthemamuck, and the west
side of the pond at high water mark." Some
years before this a new individual had appeared
on the scene. This was the notorious Captain
John Scott, whose numerous escapades had kept
the various towns on Long Island, in hot water.
His favorite scheme was to pretend ownership
of lands 'and then sell them to unwary people
who found others in possession with a better
title. It was not strange that he should profess
some claim to the lands purchased by Richard
Smith, who, to quiet matters, executed the fol
lowing :
This writing Witnesseth an Agreement Be
tween Capt. John Scott of Ashford, and Rich
ard Smith sen. ejusdem. That all that (tract) of
land once in the possession of Lion Gardiner,
and lying Between Cow Harbour and Neesa-
quak River, shall be equally divided between
Captain Scott and ye said' Richard Smith, ye
said Captain John Scott being to pay to Rich
ard Smith ye sume of twenty five pounds, sterl
ing upon Demand, next after this date Nov. 22,
1663. further ye said Captain Scott is to enjoy

ye said tract of land to him and his heirs for
ever, and wee doe bind ourselves to doe anything
that may tend to ye Strengthening of our right
in ye premises. Witness our hands ye date afore
said. Richard Smith.
John Scott
Witness : Thomas James, Henry Pierson.
Know all men by these presents that Whereas
I Richard Smith of Ashford alias Setauket on
Long Island, have by writing bearing date No
vember 22 1663, made a full and firme Covenant
with 'Captain John Scott of ye said Town, Es
quire, Concerning ye lands I bought of Lieuten
ant Lion Gardiner, which said lands are a cer
tain tract lying and being Bounded between ye
river Neesequauk and ye head of ye Cow Har
bour, ye next river south or south -east from
Hunttington, and distant about three miles from
ye said Hunttington, and ye said Captain John
Scott being by ye said agreement to have halfe
ye said land upon a just Division for which he
is to pay me Twenty five pounds, and whereas
hee ye said Captn : Scott did lay Claime to1 all
ye said tract of land I purchased aforesaid, by
vertue of Bargaine with ye said Lieutenant Gar
diner formerly. By meanes whereof hee ye said
Captin John Scott became debtor unto him1 ye
said Lyon Gardiner. I say I ye forenamed Rich
ard Smith doe hereby bind hiy selfe, my heirs
&c. that neither ye said Lyon Gardiner nor any
in his right or name shall molest him ye said
Captain Scott or his heirs &c. in Respecte of ye
said Bargain or -Covenant between them concern
ing ye said lands, and I further bind my selfe my
heirs &c never to make any claim of interest in
ye said proportion of lands made over as afore
said, by ye said Covenants. Witness my hand
this 22d November anno Domini, 1663.
Richard Smith. '
Witness: Henry Pierson, Richard Howell,
John Yungs.
Captain John Scott afterward reached the
limit of his power to make trouble, and abscond
ed and left the country. He had married De
borah, daughter of Thurston Raynor, of South
ampton (the same Deborah Raynor who had the
suit against John Kelly, as stated before), and had
abandoned her. The governor and council ap
pointed her brother, Joseph Raynor, and Rich
ard Howell "to gather in the estate of Captain
John Scott for the use of his wife and children."
They sold to Richard Smith all the right that

206

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Scott ever had to the land on the west side of
Neesequage River for £25 sterling, November 29,
1667, and this ended the episode.
In 1676 a claim was made to these lands on
the strength of the deed given by the Indian
sachem to Edmiond Wood and others. These
parties had sold an equal share of the lands to
"Mr. Thomas Willett and Mr. Padie, merchants
of Plymouth," September 4, 1650. In 1676 John
Saffin, as administrator of the estate of Captain
Thomas Willett, "appeared in the -secretary's
office on August 16th and entered claim to .two-
eighths parts of all the land called Nessaquage."
As no further mention is made it is presumed
that Richard Smith obtained their interests.
Thomas Willett released all his claims to the
heirs of Richard Smith. Daniel Whitehead and
John Wood, son of Timothy Wood, sold all
their rights to Richard Smith March 3, 1684-5.
Among the various papers connected with the
case is the "declaration of Pauquaitown, form
erly Chiefe Counselor to the Old Sachem- Wyan
dance," that to his knowledge Cattawamnuck
land did belong to the forefathers of the Old
Sachem Wyandance, and "that the grandmother
of the forenamed Sachem lived on that land
formerly, and that those Indians that lived on
said land owned the Sachem as Chiefe owner,
and such Indians as lived on the land did give
him the tribute skin of all drowned deer when he
demanded it." The Sunk Squaw of Mbntauket
also declared "that the fforesaid land was her
father's own land, and that those Indians if he
were living durst not deny it." "Pauquatown
since testifieth that the old Sachem Wyandance
appointed Sakkatakka and Chekanno to marke
out the said Rattaconeck lands, and after that ye
said Pauquatown saw the trees marked all along
the bound's, and the Sachem being with him he
heard him the said Sachem say it was marked
right. And that there is a fresh pond called Ash-
amaumuk which is at the parting of the bounds
of the foresaid lands from where the trees were
marked to ye pathway." This was signed Oc
tober 18, 1667, in presence of John Mulford.
The western bounds of the town as then fixed
have remained unchanged. The natural land

marks, of course, still remain. "Whitman's Hol
low," which looks like the bed of a dried up lake,
is at the south end of the line at the northwest
corner of the Winnecomac patent. We may re
mark here that "Chekanno," who was one of the
Indians who marked out the lines, was very
noted in those days and is said to have assisted
the saintly Eliot in translating the Bible into the
Indian language. An extremely interesting book
concerning him has been written by Dr. William
Wallace Tooker, of Sag Harbor, who is a well
recognized authority on Indian affairs.
After more than ten years of dispute the
title of Richard Smith was at length fully estab
lished, and to make assurance doubly sure, he
obtained a new patent from Governor Andros,
March 25, 1677.
A depression in the ground on the farm of
Edmund T. Smith at Nissequogue, at the corner
of the Horse-race lane, marks the spot where
stood the patentee's dwelling. A stately pear
tree standing near it is said to have been planted
by his hand. He brought with him his wife
Sarah (who is supposed to have been Sarah Fol-
ger of Newburyport) and nine children — Jona
than, Obadiah, Richard, Job, Daniel, Adam,
Samuel, Elizabeth and Deborah. With this stock
he had very little difficulty in peopling his do
main with the ten families required by his first
patent. His sons were located near him;. Jonathan
occupied a part of the homestead. His house
was about midway between his father's and the
Misses Harries', on the spot where the old Floyd
house formerly stood. It was demolished about
1845 by Edmund T. Smith, whose handsome res
idence was erected on the commanding eminence
above. Daniel located on "Mud Island," former
ly the residence of Hon. Edward Henry Smith.
Richard was located on the hill afterward occu
pied by the Misses Harries. He was one of the
first justices of the peace in the county. His son
of the same name was the person frequently al
luded to in the records as Lieutenant Richard
Smith ; and his grandson Richard Smith, who re
sided on and owned the place was called "Shell
Dick," from the fact that on his- farm were great

SMITHTOWN.

207

Indian shell banks, which he utilized to enrich
his farm and sold for use as a fertilizer. Job
was located at the next house eastward, after
ward the residence of Mrs. Abigail Rogers.
Here was born and raised thejieautiful and ac
complished Sally Rogers, afterward the cele
brated Mrs. Richard K. Haight, for many years
a leader of fashionable society in New York.
Adam settled at Sherewog, wdiere formerly lived
successively three Nathaniel Smiths. The home
lot of Samuel Smith was on the east side of Nis
sequogue River, and is now the north part of
the homestead farm of the late Caleb T. Smith.
The highway, called Plorse Race, is the eastern
boundary. Obadiah, the second son of the pat
entee, was- drowned at the inlet of Smithtown
Harbor. His grave is in the old family burying
ground at Nissequogue. The inscription on his
tomb, almost obliterated by time, is as follows :
"Here lies burried ye body of Obadiah Smith,
son of Richard and Sarah Smith, aged about
20 vears, drowned on the 7th day of August
1680." This was the first man buried in Smithtown.
The patentee's grave is near his, but is not
marked by any stone.
Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, married1 Col
onel William Lawrence, one of the patentees of
Flushing. She was his second wife, and by her
he had several children. Her marriage license
was granted by Governor Nicolls. Her husband
died in 1680, and in 1681 she married Philip
Carteret, governor of New Jersey; she removed
to that province and there brought up her seven
young children by her first husband. The town
of Elizabeth was named after her. She was an
intelligent and attractive lady, but always had a
keen eye to business. In contracting marriage
with Carteret she took care to preserve her own
separate estate, and her ante-nuptial contract is
recorded in the Queens county clerk's office.
Carteret died, and by his will gave all his prop
erty in this country to his wife. She afterward
married Colonel Richard Townley, her third hus
band, who came oyer in the suite of Lord Effing
ham Howard, governor of Virginia, in 1683,

and settled in Elizabethto-wn. The encomium
passed on this lady by Thompson probably be
longed in part to Lady Carteret, wife of Sir
George Carteret.
Deborah, the youngest daughter of the pat
entee, married William Lawrence 2d, the son of
her eldest sister Elizabeth's husband, of Flush
ing, and from her is descended the numerous
Lawrence family in and around Flushing.
The six sons of the patentee all had families,
and appear on the Smithtown tax roll in 1683.
During his life Smith conveyed to his sons
tracts of land in various parts of the town. He
died at Nissequogue, March 7, 1692, and was bur
ied in the family burying ground there. He left
a will dated March 5, 1692, in which, after mak
ing some bequests and devises, he gives all his
real estate with almost exact -equality among his
children, except Elizabeth. The following is a
copy :
March ye 5th iGgyi. In ye name of God,
Amen. I Richard Smith Senr. of Smithtown in
ye County of Suffolk on Long Island, in ye prov
ince of New York, being sicke & weake in body
but of sound and perfect memory thanks be to
God, calling to mind ye uncertain state of this life
and that we must submit to God's Will when it
shall please him to call us out of this life, doe
make, constitute and ordain this our last will &
testament, hereby revoking & annulling any form
er or other Will or Testament made by us either
by word or writing.
"Imprimus We give our soules to God who
gave them '& our bodyes, being dead, to be decent
ly buried in such place and manner as to our
Executors hereafter named shall seem conven
ient, and as for ye lands, goods & chattels where
with it has pleased God to endue us withall, our
Just Debts & Legacyes being first paid, we order
and dispose in manner and forme following:
"It'm. To Jonathan Smith our oldest son we
give & bequeath our house, barn & orchard j-oyn-
ing to his home lot, and ye homestead as far as
ye old fence Northward and halfe way from ye
said house to Samuell's house and thence to ye
West end of ye barne, and ye wood close on ye
East side of ye little brooke over against ye
house, and forty acres of land more than his
equall share in division with ye rest of our chil
dren, and that lot of meadow over against ye
hill on ye West side of ye River.

208

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"Jt'm. To our son Richard we give & be
queath our negro Harry and an equall share of
land in division with ye rest of our children.
''It' m. To our son Job we give & bequeath
our negro Robin for ye terms of twelve yeares and
an equall share of land in division with ye rest
of our children, and at ye end of sd twelve yeares
the said Robin shall be free.
"If in. To our son Adam we give an equall
share of Land in division with ye rest of our chil
dren. "If m. To our son Samuel Smith we give &
bequeath ye orchard Southward of the house, &
half ye pasture bounded by ye little Creek, ye
Eastward parte thereof, & ye lower or northward
most fresh island on ye East side of ye river, with
an equall share of land in division with ye rest
of our children, and the swamp called ye North
swamp, with ye land, on ye East side which is
fenced. "If in. To our son Daniell we give and be
queath ye other halfe of ye pasture Southward
of his house, ye westward part of it, and an
equall share of land in division with ye rest of
our children; & our will is that James Necke
shall be and remaine for ye use & improvement
of my six sons above sd & their heires forever.
"If in. To our daughter Elizabeth Townley
we give & confirme that land & meadow at a
place called Sunk Meadow as it is mentioned in
a deed made by us, & also ye one halfe of my
cloathing. "If in. To our daughter Lawrence we give &
bequeath an equall parte & share of land in diwte
ye rest of our children where it shall be most
suitable & convenient ; also ye other halfe of my
clothing. Lastly we do hereby nominate and appoint
our beloved sons Jonathan & Richard Smith Ex
ecutors of this our last Will & Testament, to
pay all our just debts and to1 make an equall par
tition amongst all our children of all ye goods &
chattels & what moveable estate shall be left..
In Witness whereof we have hereunto set our
hands and scales the day & year above named.
Richard Smythe [Seal].
Sarah Smythe [Seal].
This will appears to have been proven May
2, 1693, but for many years the book containing
it could not be found. Hence it was supposed
by Thompson that the will recorded in Boston
was tbe will of this Richard, and others that he
left no will. By the research of that industrious
and indefatigable antiquarian Charles B. Moore,

of New York, the book was found among the
papers of Eleazer Latham, of Southold, who de
posited it in the county clerk's office, accompanied
by the following letter :
"To the County Clerk or Surrogate of Suffolk
County:
"Sir: I am informed that Colonel William
Smith was appointed judge of the prerogative
court for Suffolk county on 15th May 1691, and
was succeeded by Giles Sylvester on 13th June
1706. "I understand that the clerk of the court of
sessions or county clerk was the clerk of this
court, and that Thomas Helme was such clerk
in 1 69 1 or 1692 and for about ten years after
ward. William Smith (of the judge's family)
was clerk from 1730 until 1739.
"After the Revolutionary war the Hon. Ezra
L'Hommedieu was county clerk under the new
State government from 1784 to 1810, and again
in 181 1. Fie died 27th September 181 1. My
father, Thomas S. Lester, was an executor of
Mr. L'Hommedieu's will, and had charge of some
of his books and papers. My father died 13th
September 1817, when I was only six years of
age. After I came of age some of my father's
papers came to my hands, and among them this
book of wills, &c. It has been carefully pre
served. I have no- doubt it is a genuine and orig
inal record book ; the last page 'entered April
25> :733' in the handwriting of the then clerk,
William Smith, and the other entries embracing
the dates from 25th May 1691 to 1st April 1703,
doubtless in the handwriting of Thomas Helme.
The parchment cover is of later date, 1762, and
may be supposed to have come from the old
county clerk's office. Where the book belongs I
do not know, but I conclude that it should be re
turned and deposited in the county clerk's office,
or else in the surrogate's office, and I accordingly
send it herewith ; wishing your receipt, stating
that you will place it among the records of your
office for preservation. "Respectfully,
Thomas S. Lester."
It appears to have been the custom in those
days for the wife to join in her husband's will.
Sarah, his wife, executed the will with him. She
appears to have claimed a joint interest with him
in the property and the right to dispose of it by
will. She resided in the old family mansion and
died there, having first miade her will, as follows :

SMITHTOWN.

209

In the name of God, Amen. I Sarah Smith,
relict of Richard Smith Sen., deceased, of Smith-
town in ye County of Suffolk & in ye province
of New Yorke, Doe make my last Will and Tes
tament in manner following.: First. I commit
my soul into ye hands of God whch gave it, and
my body to a decent buriall at ye discresion of
my Executor hereafter named, in comfortable
hopes of a happy and glorious resurection thro
the power & merits of my Lord & Saviour Jesus
Christ. And as for my outward estate, after
debts and my funerall charges are ]>aid I give
and bequeath as f olloweth : Imp. I give and be
queathe to my son Richard Smith his eldest son
Richard all the houses, orchards, and all my lands
that my husband left me in ye possession of, &
that I am at this present in possession- of, he
yielding and paying me ten pounds a year &
yearly as long as I shall live, & at my death to
have above mentioned premises, & his heirs for
ever, with all the priviledges and accommodations
thereunto belonging. I also give to my daugh
ter Elizabeth one trunk, with all my linen &
wearing clothes. I give to -ray son Richard's
two daughters my silk whod & scarfe. I give a
Necke. called James Kecke to be equally divided
amongst my six sons, Jonathan, Richard, Job,
Adam, Samuel and Daniell. I give my son Rich
ard's eldest sonne my blunderbus. I give my son
Richard's wife my cloake; I give all ye bous-
hold stuff not here bequeathed to be equally di
vided amongst my six sons above mentioned. I
give m. George Phillips a Cow ; & all ye rest
of my stock to be equally divided amongst my
six sons above mentioned ; it must be understood
that what I have given my son Richard is to
oblige him to quirt and null all debts yt he pre
tends is owing to him by my husband or myselfe,
so it may prevent future differences among my
children ; and also all ye rest of my children to
null & void all debts from1 husband or myselfe &
to acebt of what I have given them in full satis
faction. I desire also what I gave to Mary Pet-
reche she may have it, & to be maintained equally
amongst my children.
I hereby null & revoke all former wills & in
struments whatsoever, & constitute & appoint my
well beloved son Richard Smith to be my execu
tor & to take & see that this will be to the true
intent of it performed.
In testimony hereof that this is my last will
& testament I have hereunto affixed my hand
and seale this twentieth day of Jan'y 1707-8.
Her
Sarah (X) Smith. [Seal.]
mark.
14

Signed, sealed and declared to be her last
Will & Tes taint, in presence of us Witnesses.
George Phillips,
Elias Nodine.
Recorded in the Suffolk county clerk's office,
Liber B, page 25*.
The sons of the patentee made numerous ex
changes and conveyances between themselves, and
in 1735 his grandchildren entered into- an agree
ment appointing three commissioners to divide
the unappropriated lands, as follows :
"Articles of Agreement made this 13th day of
March Annoq. Dom. 1735 by the Inhabitants,
freeholders and commoners of the land in Smith-
town, att a meting apointed have agreed to
nominate and appoint Richard Woodhull, Esq.,
and John PTallock of Brookhaven, James Dick
inson and Richard Willitts of Smithtown, George
Townssen, surveyor, to lay out and judge of &
equelise all the free holders and commoners in
ye undivided lands and thatchbeds according to
their just rights therein, wee further agree that
every person having a right in ye said lands shall
keep his just, lawful and reasonable improve
ment, now wee also agree that any person hav
ing ouer or above his just Right, so that all ye
owners or free holders cannot be equallised in
land, then and in such cases it is agreed on that
the persons so chosen and improved for the equal-
lising and deviding the above sd land and thatch
beds shall judge and determine whether such per
sons haveing such lands shall turn out the lands
or pay the valey of itt in money within six
months after ye judgment of the said men to the
persons to whom itt is Due. wee also agree that
good and lawful deeds made by our grandfather
Richard Smith shall stand good, which said men
are to have all Deeds to lay out by ; & Whereas
their is ocqupaticn Deeds by our grandfather
Richard Smith granted to his sons, wee alow
them to be good as far as evidence and circum
stances shall prove was in each persons pos
session & improvement att the time when given
& granted; & also our grandfather's will and our
agreement made in the )rear 1725 to be good. We
also agree that ye six hundred acres which is
upon the record should be the whole of Willetts'
Right. We also agree that any three of the men
above said shall be chosen by the major part of
*Under date of August 31st, 1705, Willets released
the claim under the first Indian deed to Jonathan, Rich
ard, Job, Adam, Samuel and Daniel Smith.

210

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

us subscribers from time to time till ye whole
division be accomplished ; which said men so
chosen & improved as aforesaid shall have full
power to survey, Lay out, Judge of & equelise
all the commons Lands and thach beds to every
person according to their just Right, and ye same
equalising and deviding to be given under their
hands in writing to whome itt doth concern. &
itt is further agreed on that in case of sickness,
Death or refusall of either of ye fore said per
sons, then and in such cases wee the major part
may chuse and improve other men for ye same
service, they having- the same power to servey,
judge of and equalise as aforesaid, itt is also
agreed by us that such men so chosen and im-
ployed as aforesaid shall judge of and Determine
all Diference and controversies, Disputes which
may or shall hereafter arise, eonsenimg Laying
out and equalising ye above said Land and thach-
beds. itt is hereby covenanted & agreed and con
cluded by all and every of us the subscribers to
these presents that wee and every of us doe hereby
covenant, grant and agree to and with each other
for ourselves our heirs Exr. & Adrnr. & each of
us separately doth covenant and agree to and
with ye other of the subscribers, their heirs, ex
ecutors and Administrators, to pay our full pro
portion of the charges of Laying out, Deviding
& equalising ye land & thach beds according to
our rights ; & if any person or persons concerned
will not agree to a division in manner aforesaid
that wee or ye major paft of us will use such
methods by Law, equity, or other wise to corri-
pell them to a Division of the aforesaid land and
thachbeds. for all which every person hereto
subscribing shall and will pay to such person or
persons as by the major part of us shall be nom
inated and appointed to Demand and Receiv the
same our respective equal and proportionate part
oi all such charges, costs, expenses & Disburse
ments as shall be occasioned by the premises from
time to time until ye same shall be accomplished,
and compleated ; and for the true performance
of all & every part of -ye above written articles,
covenants, agreements and conditions all and
every of us the subscribers, each for himself and
for his heirs, Executors and Administrators,
Doth covenant, grant and agree to and with all
and every of us the subscribers, our heirs, execu
tors, administrators of all and every of them,
and Doth bind himself and themselves each to the
other Respectively on the forfeiture of three
hundred pounds good money of New York, to
be paid by the party failing to observe & comply
with all & every part of the above said covenants,
articles, conditions and agreements to ye party

or partys performing or
Witness whereof wee ye
our seals the day & year
"Daniel Smith.
"Edmund Smith.
"Ebenezer Smith.
"Richard Smith.
"Zephaniai-i Pi.att.
"Joseph Smith.
"Timothy Smith.

willing to performe. in
subscribers have put to
above written.
Jonathan Smith.
Job Smith.
Richard Smith.
Aa.ron Smith.
Obadiah Smith.
Daniel Lawrence.

"Sealed in presence of
"Shubeale Marchant.
"Christopher Crosgrove.
"Nathan Curren.
"Ruth Smith."
The rights of the several signers to this agree
ment are set out in a document found in the pos
session of Nathaniel Smith, endorsed on a copy
of the agreement, as follows :
"Children of old Richd. Smith, each to have
1-7 part of Smith-town.
"Jonathan Smith.— Had a son Jonathan ye 2d
(the signer), who by deed gave part of his share
to his son Piatt Smith ; who died intestate, where
by his part descends upon his two daughters
Elizabeth and Abigail, infants, as coparceners.
Jonathan Smith by will gave the rest to his two
daughters, viz. Tabitha, now the wife of Nicoll
Floyd, and to Ruth, now the widow of Henry
Smith. Note — that Ruth since her being a widow
has sold to Nicoll Floyd, so that Jonathan the 1st
his share now belongs to Elizabeth and Abigail,
the daughters of Piatt, and to Nicoll Floyd in
his own right, and to him and his wife in his said
wife Tabitha's right.
"Job Smith.— Gave his share to his six sons,
viz. Job' the 2d, Joseph, Richard, Aaron, Timothy
and James (now James sold to Job the 2d), so
that this share belongs to the other 5 sons, who
have all signed the articles.
"Saml Smith.— Had Obadiah the signer, who
has his share.
"Daniel Smith. — Had Daniel the signer, who
has his share.
"Adam Smith.— Had Edmund, deed., who
gave it to, his 4 sons Edmund, Floyd, Thomas
and Adam. Edmund the 2d has signed and Floyd
is now of age. Thomas and Adam are infants.
"Richd. Smith.— Had Ried. the 3d and Ebe
nezer, who are both signers and have his share.
Deborah Smith.— Sold to her son Daniel
Lawrence.

SMITHTOWN.

211

Three of the persons named in this agree
ment were designated to carry it into effect, as
follows : "Att a Town meeting of the propria-
tors of Smithtown on ye first day of March
1736 then chose and Imploued Richard Wood-
hull, John Hallock and George Townsend, to Lay
out and divide all the proprietors land & thach
beds in Smithtown agreeable to our articles bare-
ing date March the thirteenth 1735."
Pursuant to the agreement the commissioners
divided a large part of the land. In August,
1 75 1, Townsend withdrew from the commission,
and William Nicoll was appointed in his place.
By the commission the greater part of the lands
and meadows were divided and alloted. In the
descriptions of these divisions the houses of
Mary Liscom, Shubal Merchant, James Dickin
son and Moses Ackerly are often mentioned as
landmarks. Mary Liscom's house was on the
east of the river. It was afterward occupied and
owned by Nicholas Smith, then by his son Fred-
crick Halsey Smith, and is now by the son of
the latter, Samuel O. Smith. '
Shubal Merchant lived at the first house on
the south side of the road in entering Nisse
quogue from the east, adjoining the woods. The
old house was demolished and the present house
erected about sixty years ago.
Captain James Dickinson owned a tract
bounded west by the land of Frederick Lenhart,
and extending to the road to Hauppauge.
Moses Ackerly was at Fresh Pond, on the
corner lately occupied by Albert G. Mulford, and
now by Scudder Smith.
"Wheeler's" was at Hauppauge, at or near
the house of the late Thomas W. Conkling at
the fork of the roads opposite Wallace Donald
son's store.
At the time when the title of Richard Smith
was confirmed there were a few families living
on the tract west of Nissequoge River who held
their land under grants from Huntington. The
patentee seems to have dealt fairly with them and
gave them deeds for farms. Among these fam
ilies were Edward Ketcham, John Jones, Benja
min Jones, William Brotherton and Robert Ar
thur and David Scudder. The patentee and his

wife also gave various tracts of land to their sons.
Fie also gave to his son-in-law, William Law
rence, 500 acres of land on the west side of the
river. This land (or apart of it) had been form
erly in possession of Benjamin Jones. The south
line seems to have been a small stream, called
Pesapunk Brook, and extended north to where
was formerly the poor house land. Many papers
connected with this are in the town clerk's office.
The following is the deed for the landing on
the river.
"These presents witnesseth that I Richard
Smith Senr. of Smithtown in the County of Suf
folk, upon Long Island Gent, for ye wellfare &
benefit of the Inhabitants of Smithtown, afore
said for their landing and spreading of creek
thatch, Hath given and granted1 & doth by these
(presents) give and grant unto Jonathan Smith,
Richard Smith & their associates the Inhabitants
aforesaid, Five acres of upland adjoining to the
east side of Nissequogue river on the fittest place
for landing to the south side of William Law
rence his meadow. To Have and To Hold the said
five acres of upland to the said Jonathan Smith
and Richard Smith and their associates afore
said, their heirs and successors forever. To the
only proper use benefit and behoofe of them the
said Jonathan Smith Richard Smith and their as
sociates, their heirs and successors forever.
"In witness whereof the said Richard 'Smith
hath hereunto sett his hand & seale the 30th day
of August in the fourth year of his majestys
Reigne, Annoque Dom. 1688.
"Witness, His
"John (X) Mosier,
mark.
"Humphrey Siles."
This is now called "Blydenburg's Landing."
Tbe deed has been lately recorded in the Suffolk
county clerk's office.
The only original document in the handwrit
ing of Richard Smith is a deed to Daniel White
head, dated March 3, 1684-5. This was the same
day that Daniel Whitehead conveyed to Richard
Smith all his right to the land sold by the In
dian Sachem, Nasseconsehe, to Edmoud Wood
and others ; and "my hand been given in consider
ation of that conveyance." A fac-simile and com
plete copy are given on the page following :

212

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"JP«*-0 C^r f*~p.

The following is a transcript of the forego
ing document :
"Know all men by these presents that I Rich
ard Smythe senior, of Smythtown, doe promise to
deliver into the possession of Daniell Whitehead
a lott of land adjoining to the lott of my sonn
Jobe and as large as his lott, with liberty of Com-
monidge h this to bee done upoon demand for
to halv & hold to- the said Daniell his heires or
assignes for ever, and for the reall performance
thereof I binde me my heires exermitors admin
istrators & assignes, my sonn Jobes lott contains

at least 14 or 16 ackres witnes my hand & seal
halveing receaved satisfaction to mv content.
"March 3 1684-5.
"Richard Smythe
"Witness : William Creed, Samuel Ruscoe."
The original deed, of which the above is an
exact copy, was lately in possession of Richard
B. Smith, Esq. It is the only document known
to be in existence written by the patentee of
Smithtown. The land is on the west side of
Stony Brook Harbor.

SMITHTOWN.

213

Major Daniel Whitehead, named above, was
the son of Daniel Whitehead, of Newtown,
where he died in 1669. Major Daniel White
head married Abigail, daughter of Thomas Ste
venson. He died in '1704, leaving children, Jon
athan (who died in 1735), Benjamin, Susannah,
wife of Benjamin Hewlett, and Thomas.
Richard Smith made the following deed to
his sons:"This Indenture made the thirtyeth day of
August in the fourth years of the Reigne of our
Sovereign Lord, James the Second, by the Grace
of God King of England, 'Scotland, ffrance and
Ireland, Defencder of the ffaith &c. Between
Richard Smith Senr. of Smithtown, in the Coun
ty of Suffolk upon Long Island in the Province
of New York, within the Territoryes of New Eng
land, Gent, of the one part, & Job Smith of the
same place of the other part Witnesseth. That
the sd Richard Smith by and with the consent of
Sarah his wife, Testifyed her being a party by
her sealing and delivering of these pesents, for
and in consideration of the naturall affection hee

the said Richard Smith in & to the premises & in
& to every part and parcell thereof. To Have
and Hold the said tract of land & premises to
him the said Job Smith to the only proper use
benefit and behoof of him the said Job Smith,
during his naturall Life, and after his decease to
the use benefit and behoof of the four sons of the
sd Job Smith, viz. : Job, Richard, Joseph and
Timothy their heirs and assigns forever, fo be
equally divided between them, the said Job, Rich
ard, Joseph and Timothy their heirs and assigns.
In Testimony whereof the parties have hereunto
sett their hands and seales at Smithtown the
day and yeare first above written."
As stated previously, Richard Smith, the
Patentee, died March 7, 1692. His wife survived
him several years. Their children were:
1st. Jonathan, who died about 1718. He mar
ried Sarah Brewster, and left two children, Jona
than (2nd) and Deborah, wife of Joseph Blydten-
burgh. Jonathan Smith (2nd) was born No
vember 9, 1676, and died in 1744. He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Epenetus Piatt, and had
three children, Piatt Smith, born October 1, 1706,

^*& <S ȴf?/i

c^^ ^)/\j^^^€

beareth unto the said Job Smith his well beloved
sonne, and Job, Richard, Joseph and Timothy
the sonnes of the said Job Smith, and other good
causes & considerations him thereunto moving,
Hath given, granted, enfeofed Released & con
firmed, and doth by these presents fully clearly &
absolutely give, grant enfeof Release & confirm
unto the said Job Smith All that twenty acres of
land situate lying and being to the east ward of
the land in the occupation of the said Job Smith
— upon the North neck together with all & sin- ¦
gular the privileges appurtenances & meridita-
ments to the said twenty acres of land belonging
or in any ways appertaining, and all the estate
right title interest claims and Demands of him

and died August 24, 1743 ; Tabitha, born Febru
ary 18, 1704, and died January 17, 1755 (she
married Nicoll Floyd and they were the parents
of a large and distinguished family; Ruth,
wife of Colonel Henry Smith, grandson of Colo
nel William Smith, the head of the "Tangiers"
Smith family.
2nd. Richard, born about 1647, and died in
1720. He married Hannah, daughter of John
Tooker, who survived him and died in 1730.
Their children were Richard, Nathaniel, Sarah
(wife of General Nathaniel Woodhull), Hannah
(wife of James Fanning), and Ebenezer. Rich
ard Smith was the owner of the patentship of
Moriches.

214

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

3d. Samuel, who was born in 1654 and died
April 2, 1717. He married Hannah Longbotham.
Their children were Obadiah, Richard (who was
called Quaker Richard), Mary, Phebe (wife of
Nathaniel Brewster), and Hannah, wife of John
Stratton. 4th. Daniel, who probably died before 1715.
He married (is-t) Ruth Tooker and (2nd) Mary
Holton. His children were Daniel, Solomon,
Deborah (wife of Colonel Rudyard), Irene,
Sarah (wife of Jacob Rogers), and Mary, wife
of Zebulon Bttnce. He is also said to have had
a daughter, Lorinda, who married Thomas Skid-
more. 5th. Obadiah, who was drowned in Nisse
quogue river, August 7, 1680.
6th. Elizabeth, who married Colonel Will
iam Lawrence, of Flushing. They had seven
children — Mary, Thomas, Joseph, Ridiard, Sam
uel, Sarah and James. Colonel William Law
rence died in 1680, and the following year his
widow married Governor Philip Carteret of New
Jersey. He died December, 1682, leaving no
children. His widow married for her third hus
band, Colonel Richard Townley. They had two
sons, Charles and Effingham Townley.
7th. Deborah, who married Major William
Lawrence (son of Colonel William Lawrence by
a former wife). Their children were : William,
Richard, Obadiah, Daniel, Samuel, Joshua,
Adam, Elizabeth (wife of John Willetts), Caleb
and Stephen.
8th. Adam Smith died in 1720. He married
Elizabeth Brown, of Boston, and left one son
Edmund Smith.
9'th. Job Smith, died, about 1719. He mar
ried Elizabeth, daughter of John Thompson; Esq.,
of Setauket. Their children were Job 2nd, Rich
ard called "Saint Richard'," Timothy, Aaron,
James, Joseph and Elizabeth, who is said to have
been the second wife of Rev. Daniel Taylor.
Al! of these families, have a numerous off
spring, and it is believed that the living descend
ants of Richard Smith number more than 1,200
persons. Within the last few years, a monument
has been placed in the ancient burying ground
at Nissequoge, to mark the grave of the pat
entee. No autograph of Daniel Smith is known
to exist, but the autographs of the other sons of
the Patentee are here given, as they appear upon
a deed made by them in 171 5 to the Rev. Daniel
Taylor, who was the first minister of Smith-
town:

tr/-1

"Whereas the inhabitants and proprietors of
Smithtown, by Articles of agreement bearing date
the 13th of March, 1735, have appointed several
persons to lay out and proportion their lands and

ic/3^^ \mifik

kail lui ywi

Wi

i^/sC

SMITHTOWN.

215

meadows, and thatch, some of which are since
dead and some others have refused. Now in pur
suance of said agreement all whose names are
hereunder written do nominate and appoint Mr.
Richard Woodhull, John Hollock, and William
Nicoll, Jr., for the same purpose and with all the
powers and authorities contained and specified
in the said agreement.
"Witness our hands this 13th of August, 1753."
Richard Smith, the first signer, was son of
Job (ist) and was known as "Saint Richard"
and "Richard Smith of Stony BrooK." Obadiah
Smith was son of Samuel Smith, son of the pat
entee. Daniel Smith was son of Daniel (rs^.).
The next signature which frequently occurs in
old documents is that of Richard Smith (3d), son
of Richard (2nd). Edmund Smith was son. of
Edmund (ist), son of Adam Smith. Job Smith
was eldest son of Job (2nd), and was known as
Captain Job. The next signature is that of Jo
seph Smith, son of Job (ist), and brother of
"Saint Richard." Isaac, Jonathan and Samuel
Mills were three of the sons of Timothy Mills,
the ancestor of the family at Mills Pond. Floyd
Smith was son of Edmund Smith (ist), son of
Adam Smith.
How greatly the town had increased in num
bers may be seen by the following list of heads
of families, made in 1776:

Joseph Piatt.
Jonathan Sammis.
Jesse Arthur.
Jacob Balis.
John Stratton.
Z'ephaniah Piatt.
Henry Shadden.
Elemuel Soper.
Solomon Smith.
Obadiah Smith, Sr.
Aaron Smith.
Jacob Smith.
Mary Vargason.
Zophar Scidmore.
Samuel Phillips.
Samuel Ketcham.
Samuel Tillotson.
Caleb Smith.
Nath'l Gerrard.
Zophar Mills.
Joshua Hart.
William Arthur.

Epenetus Wood.
Nath'l Piatt.
Reuben Arthur.
Thomas Tredwell.
Jeremiah Wheeler.
Jeremiah Conkling.
Gamaliel Conkling.
Jonah Soper.
Jeffrey Smith.
Philetus Smith.
Nathaniel Smith.
Hamble Darling.
Wilham Thompson.
Joseph Jane.
Daniel Brush.
James Jane.
Elisha Jillit.
Benjamin Nicoll.
Stephen Smith.
Ebenezer Smith.
Joseph Gould, Sen.
Joseph Gould, Jun.

William Smith, Jun.
Shubal Marchant.
Nathaniel Taylor.
William Smith, Sen.
Micah Smith.
Stephen Smith, Sen.
Gilbert Smith.
Joseph Smith.
Gershom Smith.
Edmond Smith, Jun.
Floyd Smith.
Elemuel Smith.
Jonas Mills.
Jacob Mills.
Isaac Mills.
Jonathan Mills.
Timothy Mills.
Benjamin Gculd.
William Biggs.
Jonathan L'Hommedue.
Mary Biggs.
Silas Biggs.
Benjamin Newton.
Merrit Smith.
Abigail Ward.

Epenetus Smith.
Zophar Wheeler.
Ruth Blydenburgh.
Daniel Tillotson.
James Payne.
Samuel Blydenburgh.
Ruth Traves.
William Phillips.
John L'Hommedue.
James L'Hommedue.
Shadrach Terry.
Joshua Smith.
Jacob Longbotton.
Richard Smith.
Samuel Mills.
Nathan Wheeler.
Abner Smith.
Obadiah Smith, Jun.
Isaac Gerard.
William Ward.
Alexander Mencil.
Daniel Smith.
Margaret Floyd.
Margaret Smith.
Job Smith.
The total population was then 555.
The first mill was at a place called the Old
Mill. This is the first streamlet on the east side
of the Nissequogue river southward of the
"town," and is now the site of a small trout pond
on the line between the Ogilvie and Petty places.
The mill here was of short duration. As pop
ulation increased the power was insufficient to
do the work, and the mill was abandoned.
The following document gives the early his
tory of the present mill site on the river. It is
not dated, but was probably written about 1775:
"On the 25th day of March, 1684, Richard
Smith, Patentee of Smithtown, conveyed to his
son-in-law William Lawrence, 500 acres of land
at the common passage and the river Nisse
quogue. Bounded east by the river."
In some after period William Lawrence
conveys the above five hundred acres of land to
Isaiah Harrison. Isaiah Harrison conveys the
five hundred acres to Amos Willetts, of Islip.
Amos Willetts, while in possession of the above
five hundred acres of land, about fifty years past,
in conjunction with his brother, Richard Wil
letts, Daniel Smith and Richard Smith, built a
dam across the river and erected a sawmill, each

216

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

building and owning a quarter of said mill.
Daniel Smith and Richard Smith convey each
their quarters to Daniel Bates, after two or three
years, with their right to the pond, upon which
Daniel Bates erects the first fulling mill, and
Amos Willetts, afterward, the first grist mill.
Daniel Bates conveys- his title to the sawmill
and fulling mill to James Chipman, and Amos

to Isaiah Harrison April 20, 1702, for £400, and
he and his wife Abigail sold it to Amos Willetts
June 12, 1 72 1. In after years a new mill was
built here by George Phillips, a son of the min
ister at Setauket and has ever since been in op
eration. At a general town meeting January 27, 1698,
it was "agreed by a major vote that Adam

OLD MILL AT SMITHTOWN.

Willetts conveys his half of the sawmill and the
grist mill to Richard Smith, surnamed "the
Quaker." December 28, 1730, James Chipman
conveys to the above Richard Smith and his
brother Obadiah bis half of the sawmill and
fulling mill, with half the privilege of stream
and water and so much land as is needful for the
pond to flow. August 21, 1735, the above Rich
ard Smith conveys the whole of his title to the
said mill to his brother, Obadiah Smith, bound
ing him east by the eastermost part or side of
the stream at the run. From the document it
is plain that the dam and the first mill were
built as early as 1725, and probably some years
earlier. William Lawrence sold the five hundred acres

Smith shall have the town's right of the stream
called Stony Brook, with two acres of land ad
joining thereto which may be most convenient,
on condition that he erect and build a good suffi
cient grist-mill and maintain the same, the towns
men first building the dam, which he the said
Smith shall keep in repair himself, and that he
do hereby obligate to grind for all the townsmen
who shall in due portion assist in making the
dam, at the rate of two quarts on each bushel
of wheat and three of corn and rye."
This agreement was modified May 8, 1699,
Adam agreeing to make the dam himself, and to
be allowed one-tenth toll on wheat and one-
eighth on corn and rye.
This stream was the boundary line between

SMITHTOWN.

217

the two. towns; Adam owned half tbe stream
and the Brookhaven grant carried the other half.
The mill was erected and is still in operation.
The pond flows back almost to the Stony Brook
Hotel, and is both useful and ornamental to
Stony Brook and its environs.
In 1798 Caleb Smith, Isaac Blydenburgh
and Joshua Smith, who owned large tracts of
land on either side of the Nissequogue river,
erected a dam at a place ever since called the
New 'Mill, and flowed back the water on several
hundred acres of forest land, where the trees
had been cut and tlie stumps left standing. They
have stood for nearly a century in, a perfect
state of preservation, and give to the pond the
well known name of Stump Pond. There is a
very fine water fall of eight feet, with authority
and ability to increase it to ten feet; a sawmill
and gristmill make use of it. In 1827 Richard
and Isaac W. Blydenburgh erected here a
cloth factory, and for many years carried on an
extensive business in manufacturing woolen
cloths. Isaac Blydenburgh's land was on the
northeast side of the river. His grandson Ben
jamin B. Blydenburgh lately owned the mill
and mill pond, while his other grandsons, Tim
othy and Theodore Blydenburgh, occupy large
farms — part of the family domain.
Caleb 'Smith, comimonly remembered as
'Squire Caleb, who owned land on the south
side of the river, embracing the western part
of Hauppauge, then resided where the late Major
Ebenezer Smith, his son-in-law, afterward re
sided and died. Caleb removed to Comae and
erected the dwelling afterward occupied by his
son Caleb and now by his grandson Robert
Smith. The two Calebs, father and son, were
influential in town affairs.
At the head of Stump Pond, near the head
of this branch of the river, Timothy Wheeler
and, after him, Samuel Brush, had a small tan
nery and shoe factory. Here Captain Elijah
Brush learned the trade of shoemaking. Here,
at the head waters of the river, the town authori
ties laid out a public watering place.
There was some dispute with Brookhaven
about the eastern boundary of the town, which

was submitted to the arbitrators (Theophilus
Howell, Isaac Hals-ey, Elisha Halsey and David
Pierson of Southampton, and Cornelius Conk
ling, John Hedges and Eliphalet Stratton of East
Hampton), who by their award, March 11, 1725,
decided that the head of the middle branch of
Stony Brook, where they put down a stake,
should be "one of the bounds between ye said
towns, and so running southward to Ronconca-
muck' Pond, to a certain tree marked with two
notches, by ye pond side, the line running near
Ben. Ackerly's barn, which is ye south end of
Smithtown line, and then from the aforesaid
stake at ye head of Stony Brook to run north
erly down ye beach into the harbor, and so into
the sound; and that ye said be ye standing
bounds between ye said towns."
The changes in the Stony Brook stream and
in the channel caused other disputes, and in
1841 commissioners were appointed — on the
part of Brookhaven, Selah B. Strong,. Charles
Phillips and Davis Norton, and on the part of
Smithtown Joshua B. Smith, William Wickham
Mills and Joseph R. Huntting — to settle the dis
pute, or, if they could not agree, to appoint an
arbitrator. They appointed Hon. Charles H.
Ruggles, of Poughkeepsie, the circuit judge, as
arbitrator. He made his award February 14,
1842, by which he decided "that the boundary
line between the towns- from the mill dam at
Stony Brook to Long Island Sound begins in
the middle of the main channel of the middle
branch of the said Stony Brook at the said mill
dam, and runs thence down the middle of the
said main channel of said stream until it comes
to the harbor, and so along the channel or deep
est part thereof into Long Island Sound; and
the middle of the main channel of said stream
until it comes to the harbor and thence the mid
dle of the channel of the harbor is adjudged
to be the boundary line between the two towns
from- the mill dam to the Sound."
There are several branches or heads of the
Nissequogue river, and the exact point or spot
of the head waters of the river mentioned in the
Smithtown patent and the Winnecomac patent
was claimed to be immediately in that neighbor-

218

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

hood, but was for a long time in dispute between
William Nicoll (son of the Islip patentee) and
the Smithtown people; and in 1763 they sub
mitted the question of boundary to the arbi
tration of Samuel .Willis, Zebulon Seaman and
Richard Willetts, of Jericho, who on the 31st
day of May, 1763, made the award in writing,
deciding that the western branch of Nissequogue
river, on which the northeast corner -of the Win-
neco-mac patent is bounded, "is and ought to be
taken and deemed the head of Nissequogue
river, and the -place, at the head of said river,
in the brook eastward from the present path
or road that goes around the river, and two rods
westward froml the old path or going over the
river, in the brook, is the present station- which
we fix as the head of said river ; and that a right
line run from the old bound or near Ronkon-
koma (that is already agreed upon by both par
ties) to the head of the western branch of the
Nissequogue river at the station before men
tioned shall be for the future taken and deemed
and esteemed by the parties to be the partition
or division between Smithtown and Islip," etc.
In tbe old records this spot is called the
"Head of the River," and it must not be con
founded with the present village of that name,
two miles or more further down the stream.
From this watering place eastward on the line
between the towns of Smithtown and Islip runs
the village street of Hauppauge.
At the south side of the town is the district
or locality called Hauppauge. This is the In
dian name for the springs of water at the ex
treme head -of Nissequogue river, where it
touches the Islip line. On March 9, 1762, Dan
iel Smith, son of Daniel (ist), gave to his son
Joshua Smith, "for love and affection" the tract
of land thus described:

"The Farm or tract called Flauppauge Neck,
bounded westerly by the middle of the river,
northerly by the brook of the North East Branch,
easterly by the middle of a Brook running out
of tbe North East Branch, and southerly by Is
lip. Also my right in the Thatch lot called Law
rence Lot, on the Long Beach Great Thatch Bed.
Also a tract of land in Islip, purchased by Capt.

Richard Smith of niessrs Thomas and William
Gibbs, the equal half of which was released to
me by said Richard Smith. Also a piece of land
and meadow at the Common Landing, bounded
east by Lhe Landing Path, west by the river, south
by Richard Blydenburgh 's land, and the high
way, as it is now fenced. Containing 20 acres
more or less. Also a piece of meadow in Islip
in Joseph Saxton's neck, formerly the property
of Jeremiah Piatt, deceased, which I purchased
of Zephaniah Piatt."
"Witness : Daniel Smith, Jr., Job Smith."
"Daniel Smith."
The above abstract. was made from the orig
inal deed, in possession of the late Edward Mow
bray. This estate was left to his son Joshua,
who was a noted and leading man in the town.
He represented Suffolk county in the Legisla
ture in- 1794-7 and 1799, was a member of the
Constitutional Convention in 1781, State Senator
in 1827^9, and first judge of the county, from
1823 to 1828. He was born in 1764, and died in
1845. This large estate of Hauppauge Neck
descended to his son Joshua B. Smith, who was
member of Assembly 1839-1843, and State Sen
ator from 1844 to 1847, and in 1858-9. After
a life of usefulness and honor he died, leaving
an only daughter Ellen, who married Dr. James
R. Mowbray, of Islip. She was the last to in
herit the ancestral mansion, which is now owned
by the heirs of Charles A. Miller. The house
still stands, an interesting relic of the days that
are passed.
Major Ebenezer Smith (a brother of Joshua
B.) was also prominent here. He married Sarah,
daughter of Caleb Smith, and was the father
of Ethelbert M., Caleb T. and Joshua Smith, all
well known citizens. His daughter Elizabeth H.
married W. C. Lawrence, Esq., and the home
stead is now in possession of his descendants.
The Methodist Church at Hauppauge was
organized in 1806. The church was built in
1812, and was the first of its denomination in the
town. About 1830 several Irish families settled
in the neighborhood, and in 1845 tneY erected
a small Roman Catholic Church, which was suc
ceeded by a more commodious building in 1874.
The first pastor was the Rev. John O'Donnell.

SMITHTOWN.

219

The entire east side of Stony Brook Harbor
was originally called Sherrawog. Adam Smith,
son of the patentee, setted here, on the farm
afterwards occupied by Nathaniel Smith and his
son Edmund N. Smith. Adam' devised it to his
only son Edmund, and he to his two sons Ed
mund and Floyd. Edmund took the homestead

The southern part of Sherrawog, formerly
(and sometimes at present) called the Head of
the Harbor, is a village situated in a green val
ley running from the Moriches road to the har
bor. Here were settled in early days Gershom
Smith, Job Smith and Gilbert Smith, whose nu
merous descendants still people the village.

JOSHUA. B. SMITH HOMESTEAD.

and Floyd took the place afterward occupied
by Henry Wells and more recently by the late
Jonas Smith. Floyd was the father of Jesse

Jonas Smith (not Captain Jonas) occupied the
residence and farm of the late Samuel Carman,
covering an extensive territory and some of the

Smith, commonly called "Scoggins," and the most commanding views along the sound. Car-

grandfather of the late Edwin A. Smith. This
farm of Nathaniel Smith is one of the many
farms of this town which have never been con
veyed. The place occupied by Nathaniel Smith
was formerly occupied by Jonas Hawkins, the
grandfather of ex-Mayor Wickham, of New
York, who for many years owned and carried on
a large distillery there, situated on the south side
of the Hither Brook, road and near the harbor-.

man's barn, on the highest point, is a well known
landmark to mariners passing through the
sound. Near this and on a part of Jonas Smith's
farm is the country seat of the late Prescott H.
Butler, a pleasant cottage of the early colonial
style, on an eminence overlooking the sound and
Stony Brook Harbor.
About a mile east of the Head of the Harbor

220

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

is Mills Pond, a hamlet near a small pond, from
which it derives its name. The first settler here
was Timothy Mills, one of whose descendants,
the late William Wickham Mills, owned and oc
cupied the old family mansion. He was for
several years supervisor of the town, was one
of the largest landholders and a man of much
influence. William Mills, another descendant of
the original settler, occupied the farm now owned
by William C. Powell. He was the father of
the late Ethelbert S. Mills, Mrs. Josiah O. Low,
of Brooklyn, and James M. Mills, of New York.
Another of the family, Gideon Mills, resided
where Benjamin Mott now lives.
Samuel Bailey, another early settler, lived on
the east side of the pond, on the farm afterward
occupied by his grandson, J. Henry Bailey.
In 1853 the Episcopalians in the town who
had worshiped at Caroline Church, Setauket, and
at the Episcopal churches in Islip, organized a
society and erected an Episcopal church, called
St. James church, in compliment to James Clinch,
of New York, through whose instrumentality
and liberality the church was organized and,
in its infancy, mainly supported. The first offi
cers of the corporation were: Wardens, Will
iam W. Mills, J. Lawrence Smith; vestrymen,
Edward H. Smith, Charles S. Seabury, Edmund
F. Smith, Joel L. G. Smith, Gideon Smith, Will
iam1 W. Mills, Jr., Charles Henry Wells and
Henry Smith.
A neat wooden building, designed by ' Mr.
Upjohn, gothic in style, was erected, mainly by
contributions. A plat of two acres was donated
by Joel L. G. Smith. On thisare the church,
a neat rectory with barn, etc., and a cemetery.
The church has also a glebe of four acres. The
chancel is adorned with a large stained glass
window, a memorial of Mr. Mills, the senior
warden, and his wife. A smaller window of
stained glass, made by Lafarge, in memory of
the patron, Mr. Clinch, and his wife, is near the
chancel. The first rector was the Rev. Carlton Maples.
He remained about two years, and after him,
came the Rev. C. S. Williams, who remained
several years and removed to Brooklyn. Then

came the Rev. J. W. Buckmaster, who remained
two years and was called to Greenport. After
him Rev. Heary Degen served two or three
years. He was called to South Orange, New
Jersey, and was succeeded by the Rev. James
H. Lee, who after a little while received a call to
a fine church at Canandaigua. After Mr. Lee
came the Rev. I. W. N. Irvine, who remained
three or four years. Rev. Mr. Archdeacon be
came rector in 1880 and remained several years,
and was succeeded by the present rector, Rev.
Mr. Hold-en.
Soon after this church was erected a post-
office was established under the name of St.
James, and from that time the locality has borne
that namte. The late Joel L. G. Smith, one of the
founders of the church, built the fine dwelling
now occupied by Mrs. Milton G. Smith, and
afterward removed to his late residence near
Mills Pond.
Near St. James church, and on an eminence
overlooking the sound and the harbor, was erect
ed in 1873 a Methodist church. The society was
organized under the name of "Thompson Meth
odist Episcopal Church."
The first trustees were J. B. Meeker, G. S.
Hodgkinson, Thomas Hubbs, G. N. Pedrick and
Ernest Myers, and the first minister was Rev.
J. S. Brundage. He was pastor from 1874 to
1878; Rev. Samuel Thompson, 1878, 1879; Rev-
¦S. A. Sands, 1879-81.
- Smithtown1 Branch takes its name from the
northeast branch of the Nissequogue river. On
the north side of the street or main road, all the
land from the farm lately owned by Frederick
Lenhart, to the road to Hauppauge, was owned
in the earliest times by Captain James Dickin
son, who came from Oyster Bay and bought
land from Obadiah Smith March 30, 1732. He
resold it to Obadiah Smith in 1741. The land
of Frederick Lenhart, and the extensive tracts
of the Blydenburgh family, form what was
formerly known as" Brushy Neck.
On the south side of the street, east of the
road to Nissequogue, is the ancient Blydenburgh
mansion, probably the oldest in the town. The

SOUTH AHD FROHT YIEW OF PRESBYTERIAH CHURCH AHD MEMORIAL CLOCK.

BAST SIDE OF PRESBYTERIAH CHURCH AHD MEMORIAL CLOCK, SMITHTOWH BRAHCH.

SMITHTOWN.

221

land was given by Jonathan Smith to Joseph
Blydenburgh, who married his daughter De
borah in 1690. The house, probably built at
that time, has been handed down from father
to son, and is now owned by Theodore Blyden
burgh. This family has always been important
and influential in the town.
In 1769 one. of the prominent citizens of the
town was Dr. John Howard. In that year he
built the house which now belongs to Mr. George
W. Hallock. When it was rebuilt in 1881 Dr.
Howard's name and the date, 1769, were found
written, on one of the boards. Dr. Howard was
a relative of Mrs. Williami Payne, who was
teacher of Clinton Academy in East Hampton.
It was his custom, when going to or from New
York, to stop over night with his relatives. On
one occasion he remarked to him, "Doctor, I
had a son born the other day, what shall I name
him?" The Doctor replied," Give him my name,"
and the boy was named "John Howard Payne,"
"One of those few immortal names,
That were not born to die."
It is of some interest to know that the famous
poet received his name in this house and from
its owner. Dr. Howard was the maternal grand
father of John H. Hunt, the well known editor
of the "Sag Harbor Express."
A large tract of land on the south side of
the street, west o-f the road to Nissequogue, was
in the early times owned by two generations of
Epenetus Smith. Here a tavern was built,
which was the regular stopping place for trav
elers through the island. Samuel Arden Smith,
a grandson, in the days of his prosperity built the
elegant mansion now owned by the heirs of
David J. Ely. Prosperous and wealthy in early
life, his later years were passed in poverty and
suffering. The first church in the town was erected at
Nissequogue, on the land late of Caleb T. Smith
and near his gate at the corner of the Horse
race lane. The inhabitants of Smithtown con
tributed toward the support of the Rev. George
Phillips, of Setauket, and are said to have wor
shiped for a season at the Setauket church. It

is not ascertained that Mr. Phillips ever preached
at Nissequogue, or that there was any organized
church there. The town voted Mr. Phillips a
tract of land adjoining the Brookhaven line and
the road from Mills Pond to Stony Brook, prob
ably with the intention that he should settle there
and be convenient to both parties ; but Mr. Phil
lips continued to live in the old parsonage at
Setauket, and died there. The patentee's widow
gave him a cow in her will. He was one of the
witnesses to the will.
The first settled minister of whomi we have
any account was the Rev. Daniel Taylor, who
preached at Nissequogue from 1712 to 1716. In
the latter year the proprietors of Smithtown
granted him fifty acres of land on the west side
of the river, near the present Landing M. E.
church, in consideration of four years' faithful
service to them as a minister. How long Mr.
Taylor preached there is not ascertained. He
was succeeded by the Rev. Abner Reeve, who
prached there from twelve to fourteen years pre
vious to 1750.
The church was removed to the Branch in
1750. The paths between the then houses of
Epenetus Smith and Richard Blydenburgh were
altered so as to accommodate the building, and
Obadiah Smith, who then owned the triangular
piece between the two paths, gave one-quarter
of an acre of land for the site. The highway
leading from Nissequogue to the Branch then
ran west to the present church site. The build
ing was erected on the land then occupied by
the highway. It stood about six feet in the rear
of the present church. It was a mere shell, sim
ply a covered frame, having no plaster on its
walls; the open rafters and the shingles of the
roof formed the ceiling. The old building was
removed in 1827 and used as a woolen factory
at the New Mills, and the present substantial
edifice was erected.
The first minister was the Rev. Napthali
Dagget, who remained five years ; and then
came Thomas Lewis, from 1763 to 1769; then
David Avery, who remained only a shore time.
Then Joshua Hart occupied the place from! 1774.
to 1787. After some temporary supplies the.

222

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Rev. Luther Gleason commenced his ministry in
1797. He remained several years, and after him
came the Rev. Bradford Marcy, from. 181 1 to
1814; then successively: Henry Fuller, 1816-21 ;
Richard F. Nicoll, 1823-27; Ithamar Pillsbury,
1827-32; James C. Edwards, 1835-52; Rutgers
Van Brunt, until 1856, when he resigned and E.
F. Munday was called. He was succeeded by
S. H. McMullen in 1861, and he in 1865 by
James Sinclair. Mr. Sinclair was succeeded by
the Rev. Henry A. Porter, who remained six
years. The next pastor was the Rev. Henry
A. Lewis, who was succeeded by the Rev. J. O.
Gray, the present incumbent.
The parsonage was erected in 1835. The
site was given by William Blydenburgh to be
used for a parsonage only, the deed only to be
valid so long as the ground was used for that
purpose. The first parsonage occupied by the
Presbyterian minister after the removal of the
church to the Branch was the residence formerly
of Benjamin Mills, afterward of Samuel A.
Smith and of Mr. Campbell, at the crossroads
west of the railroad depot. This place was
owned and occupied as a parsonage for many
years. It was conveyed' by the church in 1801
to the Rev. Luther Gleason, then the minister.
In January, 1823, William Blydenburgh, who
then owned the house and four acres on the
west side of the road near the brook, known
as the Burnt house property, conveyed it to the
church for a parsonage, and it was occupied as
such until Rev. Mr. Pillsbury came here. He
purchased the parsonage and occupied it dur
ing his ministry, and when he left he sold it and
the church was without a parsonage until the
lot now owned was purchased.
In 1845 a Methodist Episcopal society was
formed and the present Church building erected
on the lane north of the residence of J. Law
rence Smith. The first trustees were Richard
Wheeler, Elijah Brush, George K. Hubbs, Sam
uel Gould and James Darling. The name of the
corporation is "The Trustees of the Methodist
Episcopal Church and Congregation of the
Branch." This church was then and still is in
the Smithtown circuit. Its first minister who

officiated in the whole circuit (then composed
of this church and the churches at Lake Grove,
Hauppauge, Comae and Landing) was Rev.
George Hollis, who continued here till 1848.
On the 20th of May, 1862, an agreement was
entered into between the five churches then form
ing the Smithtown circuit to the effect that the
Methodist Episcopal parsonage at the Branch
was purchased and repaired with their common
funds, and that the deed for it should be taken
in the name of the Branch church, and held- by
it for their common benefit and managed as the
majority should direct. Under this agreement
the parsonage was held and used for the equal
benefit of all until the division of the circuit.
In the spring of 1879 the circuit was di
vided, the churches at Comae, the Landing and
the Branch forming the Smithtown Circuit, and
St. James, Lake Grove and Hauppauge form
ing a new circuit called the Lake Grove cir
cuit. The old school house was a private institu
tion, built by subscription, and a select school
was taught until 1816. In that year the village
was organized as school district No. 1, and on
the 6th of November the inhabitants voted "that
the trustees purchase the school bouse from its
present owners for the use of the district for
$500." Benjamin B. Blydenburgh was the first
clerk of the district. He died in 1816, but the
organization has continued, and from the school
many well educated men have gone forth.
In 1867 Captain, Jonas Smith, of Stony
Brook, a native of St. James, devised to J. Law
rence Smith, Joel L. G. Smith and Lyman B.
Smith in trust $8,000, to be appropriated to the
cause of education in this district. A corpora
tion under the union free school law was
formed, the school house lot was enlarged, and
the present commodious and convenient building
was erected in '1868. The school has since
maintained a high standard. On the front of
the building, under the roof of the porch, is a
marble tablet, the inscription of which is as fol
lows: "To the memory of Jonas Smith, the found-

SMITHTOWN.

223

er, and to his esteemed widow, Nancy Smith,
the patron, these halls are respectfully dedicated.
Without opportunity for education, or assistance
from friends in youth, he was tbe architect of his
own fortune. Far seeing, clearly discerning,
soundly judging, and promptly deciding, he
marked whatever he touched. A pattern of so
briety, integrity and industry, he wanted only
the polish of education to make him the perfect
man. He leaves this legacy to you pupils that
you may here enjoy in earlv life the privileges
which were denied to him."

The Landing,

or, as it is sometimes called
"Blydenburgh's Landing," on the Nissequogue
river, is a public landing and watering place laid
out by the town authorities. Here Richard Bly-

farmters, for convenience in shipping their cord-
wood and receiving fertilizers from the city.
The first bridge across the river here was built
about the years 1806 or 1807. In 1869 the more
commodious and substantial structure was erect
ed which now spans the river.
Beyond the bridge is the residence of Eben
ezer Jayne, an industrious and prosperous farm
er, and a short distance beyond is the Landing
Methodist Episcopal church, which he was chief
ly instrumental in constructing. A half acre of
land was conveyed to- the society by Adam Dar
ling, July 11, 1834. The society was incorpor
ated April 26, 1834, under the name of "The
Methodist Episcopal Church and Congregation

ELIAS SMITH HOMESTEAD.

denburgh and Henry Conkling kept a country-
store. In 1806 they erected a dock along the
river for the convenience of scows and lighters
going up and down. Hence it is called Blyden
burgh's Landing. Several other docks have been
erected along the river in that vicinity by the

of Smithtown Landing." The first trustees were
Joseph B. Jayne, Fletcher E. Wheeler, John A.
Darling, George K. Hubbs (and Elkanah Wheel
er. This church is a part of the Smithtown cir
cuit. April 26, 1823, the trustees of the Presby-

224

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

terian church in Smithtown made a contract with
George Curtiss to build the present church edi
fice. The trustees were to furnish all the ma
terial and Mr. Curtiss was to do all the work
for $825. The house was to be 46 feet long
and 34 feet wide, "with a cupola on the
same." It was to be completed before Decem
ber 25th, except painting, and the work was
to be done "in all respects equal to the meeting
house at Patchogue," except that the galleries
were to have twelve inches more pitch, and the
aisles somewhat wider.
On the west side of the river was the home
stead and farm of Elias Smith, a very extensive
land owner. On this estate was "Aaron's Land
ing," much used in early days. For some years
it was owned and occupied by his grandson-,
William C. Lawrence, and by his daughter and
son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hilton Brown.

WYANDANCH CLUB HOUSE.
Mrs. Brown has a more extensive collection of
ancient documents relating to the history of the
Smith family than any other person, and her line
of descent from the patentee of Smithtown may
be traced in nine or ten different ways. To her

assistance the writer is most deeply indebted in
all his efforts to preserve the records and history
of the town.
The tract and institution known as St. John-
land was founded by the late Rev. William
Angus Muhlenberg, D. D. A farm was pur
chased in 1865 and additions made at a
later date, the whole now embracing over 500
acres. The institution was incorporated in 1870.
It is in reality an industrial rural parish under
the auspices of the Episcopal Church, with a
plan for* benevolence very far reaching _ in its
effects, and its influence for good is universally
admitted. To the west of St. Johnland is a locality
known as Sunk Meadow, whose appearance suf
ficiently explains the name. It has also given the
name to a large tract of land adjacent. The
meadows were laid out in lots in 1735. In the
early days they were valuable
for the meadow grass that
grew annually, but of late years
considered of very little value.
West of the Sunk Mead-
owiSi, and between them and the
Huntington line, is the tract
known as Treadwell's Neck, for
merly the property of Timothy
Treadwell. In 1784 it was sold
by Thomas Treadwell to John
Gardiner "of the Isle of Wight"
for the large sum of £2,900.
Near this was the extensive
homestead of Joseph Buffett,
who purchased the land from
the executors of Timothy
Treadwell in 1778. > It was in
late years the residence of
Judge William P. Buffett, who
died there in 1874. The man
sion was burned in 1893.
West of the river and near
the center of the town is a locality known
as Willow Pond. This is a mill pond, raised
on a brook that runs into the river. The
ancient road known as "Willetts' Path,"
(long since discontinued) crosses the stream

SMITHTOWN.

225

a short distance above the mill. Here
was, in pioneer days, the residence of Paul
Smith and his son Theodoras. Paul Smith built
the dam and a saw and grist mill about the year
1795. It has been known, from its different
owners, as Seacord's, Oakley's, Horton's and
Davis' mills. The recent owner was Captain
Lewis W. Davis, who sold it to the Wyandanch
Club for a price that would have astounded his
predecessors. The club house has taken the place
of the residence of Paul Smith. The leading
spirit of this club, which by lease controls a very
large part of Smithtown lands, is John L. Hill,
Esq., a prominent New York lawyer, and tinder
his skillful care and management it has become a
very popular institution.
Near this place was the residence of Aaron
S. Vail, which is still standing, and known as
"the Vail House," and is a relic of the old times.
It was a place of resort for many noted men
during the fishing season, and now belongs to

THE VAIL HOUSE.
the Wyandanch Club. The Fresh Pond, called
by the Indians Un-she-nian-muck, which is the
northwest corner of the town, is no longer a
pond, but has grown up to meadow.
15

About three miles southeast of Fresh Pond
is a locality known as "Indian Head." It was
so called from the head of an Indian carved in
stone which was placed on a rock on the west
side of a pond in the vicinity. A large Indian set
tlement was around the pond. The Indians re
vered this- head and believed that if removed from
the rock by a sacrilegious hand it would surely
return and resume its place. David W. Smith,
an aged citizen, now deceased, remembered see
ing it in his youth, but the image and its wor
shipers have both long since disappeared. The
descendants of Samuel Smith are still living
here. Next to Smithtown Branch the most consid
erable village is the Head of the River. Here
is situated the Smithtown postoffice. While the
town business was always, in early times, trans
acted at the Branch, the postoffice, the only one
in the town, was at the Plead of the River. After
the inauguration of President Harrison the
Smithtown' postoffice was re
moved to the Branch, creating
great dissatisfaction among the
residents at the Head of the
River. The difficulty was fin
ally compromised by establish
ing a new office, called Smith-
town Branch, in the new place,
and carrying back the old post-
office with its' old name of
Smithtown to the Head of the
River. Here are the large grist
mill, sawmill, and fulling and
cardingmills erected by George
Phillips ; the tide flows back and
forth to the foot of the mill dam.
Here v/as the residence of Dr.
Charles H. Havens, a noted
physician and politician in his
day, and one of the early clerks
of the county. Here, too, was
the residence of George S, Phil
lips, a lineal descendant of the Rev. George
Phillips, of Setauket, and another of the early
county clerks, and for a long time supervisor
of the town. The first country store in the vii-

226

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

lage was kept in the basement of George S.
Phillips' house. It was then removed across
the dam and kept by George Mills, in the build
ing now occupied by Justice Edmund Wheeler;
from there it was removed, about the year 1816,
to its present site, and kept by Jesse Mills and his
son Egbert S. Mills, who retired after acquiring
a competency, and were succeeded by the present
proprietors, M. R. Smith & Company. Here,
too, is the residence of Hon. Edward H. Smith,
a native and former resident of Mud Island at
Nissequogue, and for many years supervisor of
the town. He represented this congressional
district in the thirty-seventh congress, and has
always been a power in the politics of the county.
The bridge across the river here was erected

corporated under that name. The road was after
many years' use abandoned as a turnpike and
became a public highway.
The region west of Stony Brook Harbor
was known as Rasapeage. A certain locality on
the west side of the Harbor was called Old
Rasapeage, and the part next the Sound was
North Rasapeage. The original homestead of
Ebenezer Smith (son of Richard 2nd) was a
lot next east of the school house at Nissequogue,
and the original map as laid out in 1736, is here
given. The full description will be found in the
printed records of Smithtown, page 444.
Upon the high lands overlooking the Sound,
between St. James and Stony Brook Harbor,
are the elegant country seats of the late Pres-

ICAG.J) OF EBENEZER SMITHS

iio-fJ-Vff ^> yu-o^

^ <S ^ <*o

0 ni rtis —{^\^<r ^o
Home Lay \73jj ^C&2*y*

A/

1 11 - s n, ¦ • • «- l_ L7 l» 1 / <-i \^J ~* >
og, ™rrvo_£ TpT "^>/ V*"- Crpoj, O^g jk Co^r y^^/ *%,

t

J H. Cly, ~S

about the year 1805. Before that the river was
fordable at low tide, but when the tide was high
travelers to the village were obliged to go
around on the hill by Blyndenburgh's and across
the mill dam. Now a substantial bridge spans
the river, of sufficient height to permit the pas
sage of loaded scows under it. This was the
terminus of the Jericho and Smithtown turn
pike, which was constructed by a company in-

cott Hall Butler, -Stamford White and Mrs.
Wetherell. For excellence of location and com
manding view these places are excelled by few in
Suffolk county.
Smithtown has more ancient maps and sur
veys of the early divisions of land than any town
in the county, but the oldest map is that of the
farm of Adam Smith, at Sherrewog. A large part
of this farm is now owned by Mr. and Mrs.

SMITHTOWN.

227

Deveretix Emmett, and their elegant mansion
stands on the site of Adam Smith's house.
Among the many ancient maps is one of the land
laid out to Daniel Smith (2nd) in 1736. It
was given by him to his son Obadiah Smith, and
by him to his son Adam Smith, and, in turn, to
Lyman Beecher Smith. A large part is still
owned by his son, Coe D. Smith, Esq., who has
the original map and many other documents of
great value, and he also possesses a fund of in
formation concerning former days which is sur
passed by very few.

others. The two small lakes called Mill Pond
were called by the Indian name Cuttscunsuck,
and are thus named in old wills and deeds. Tim
othy Mills, who came from Jamaica in 1705, was
the ancestor of a very numerous, wealthy and
influential family and extensive owners of real
estate. The homestead of William Wickham
Mills, one of the most prominent of the name,
is now the residence of his grandson, Dubois
Smith, Esq. South of the country road, and
extending to the town line, is a large tract called
in the old surveys Ronconkomy Plains. The far

-fit £™S%.e^»u^

,1'orZtt 0^4 djj^-^i tfCuT 2-V3 r-ods £- <* &a£f j£yW-ni

On the north side of the country road, east
of the village of Smithtown Branch, were laid
out a row of lots called the "50-acre lots," this
being their original size, but they were very
largely increased. They extend east nearly to
the Brookhaven line, but between them! and the
line was a tract owned by Nathaniel Smith and

famed Lake Ronkonkoma is at the southeast cor
ner of the town, but is a part of the Nicolls
Patent in Islip. The west part of the town is a
range of what was called the "Long Lots," and
extended from the Huntington line east to the
lotted land, on the west side of the river.
The records of the town were printed in 1898

228

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

s3 /' V 7 / /

W1NNECOMAC I'ATENT.

SMITHTOWN.

229

and contain a vast fund of information concern
ing the laying out of lands and the early his
tory. This work was very carefully performed
by Williami S. Pelletreau, and was published by
the town. In preparing this sketch the writer
is greatly indebted to the labors and researches
of the late Hon. J. Lawrence Smith, to whose
memory we accord all due honor.
The Patent of Winnecomac is a large tract
in the southwest corner of the town, and its
history is entirely independent of that of the
lands of Richard Smith, of which it formed no
part. The following documents tell its early
history :
"This Indenture, Made ye first day of Novem
ber in ye Tenth yeare of the Raigne of our
Soverne Lord William the third, King of Eng
land, Scotland, ffrance and Ireland, defender of
the faith, & in the yeare of our Lord one thou
sand six hundred and ninety-eight, betweene
Wameas & Tuskin & Charles Pamequa of Seca-
tugu in the 'County of Suffolk on the Island of
Nassau, in the Province of New York in Amer
ica of the one party, and John Scidmore and John
Whitman of the other party of Hunttington, In
the County & Province aforesaid, Witnesseth, ye
said Wamous Sachem & Touskin & Charles
Pamequa and all us hose names are underwrit
ten, doth for the consideration of a considerable
sum of good and Lawful -money of the Province
allready Received and — In hand at or before the
ye Tnseling & delivering these presents, the Re
ceipt whereof we the said Wameas, Tuskin &
Charles Pamequa doth hereby acknowledge, and
themselves and each of them therewith to be fully
Satisfied contented and paid, and of and there
from and of and from Every Part and Parcell
thereof Doth hereby acquitt, exonerate & Dis
charge ye said John Skidmore and John Whit
man there heirs and executors administrators,
and hath given Granted Bargained and Sould
enfeofe'd released and confirmed, and by these
Presents doth hereby give grant Bargain sell en-
feofe release and Confirme to the said John Skid
more and John Whitman their heirs and assignes,
forever, a Sartin Tract of Land lying on the east
side of Hunttington oattent bounds, Called and
known by the name Wenycommick bounded on
the north side by Whitman's hollow, Running
Eastward by the marked trees to the hed of the
South west' branch of Nesoquage River, upon
the East side upon A south Lyne to the pine
Plains, upon the South side by the southward

Pints of trees to Hunttington patent, lying on the
west side to Whitman's hollow. This above
mentioned tract of Land with all and singular
the hereditaments and Appurtenances thereunto
belonging as or by Timbers or in any ways ap
pertaining, and all the rights title Interest Pos
session, property Claimes and demands whatso
ever of them the said Wameas, Tuskin, Charles
Pamequa made in and to tbe aforementioned
Land and in and to all and every part and par-
cell thereof TO HAVE AND TO HOLD ye
said land with the appurtenances unto the said
John Skidmore and John Whitman, their heirs
executors and administrators, To the sole and
only proper use and behoof of the said John Skid
more and John Whitman their heirs and assigns
forever. And the said Wameas, Tuskin, Charles
Pamequa, Doth for themselves, their heirs their
executors and administrators promise covenant
and agree to and with ye said John Skidmore and
John Whitman their heirs and assigns that they
the said Wameas, Tuskin, Charles (Pamequa)
now at ye Inseling and Delivering hereof, stand-
eth and is soley only and Rightfully seized of ye
said Premises, of good absolute and perfect title
in fee simple to them their heires and assigns
forever and that the Premises now are and for
ever after shall be and Remaine to the said John
Skidmore and John Whitman their heirs and as
signes free and clearly acquitted released and
Discouraged of and from all and all manner of
other and former bargains, sales alienations,
mortgages Judgments Executions Easements and
all charges and Incumbrances whatsoever, and
moreover that the said Wameas, Tuskin, Charles
and their heirs here in before granted and men
tioned promise unto the said John Skidmore and
John Whitman, their heirs and assigns shall and
will at any Time or Times, upon Request made,
shall give any further Security as they the said
John Skidmore and John Whitman or their
Earned Councell In the Law thinks fit. As wit
ness our hands and seales. Signed and delivered
in the presence. "Chippose his mark X
"Wameas his mark X
"Pompos his mark X
"Tuskin his mark X
"Memsoworron his mark X
"Charles Pame his mark X
"Cattone his mark X
"Napanick his mark X
"Witnesses: "Perwineas his mark X"
Edward Caush
Nathaniel Ketcham
Zebulon Whitman"

230

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"Memorandum, that on ye Sixth day of Feb
ruary annoque Domini 170^ Appeared before
me John Wood one of his majesties Justices of
the Peace for the County of Suffolk Wamohas
Sachem and Tooskins and Charles Pamoqua and
Choopons and Sawamos and Cottone, and doth
acknowledge this within written Conveyance to
be their free and voluntary act and deed.
Test. John Wood.
"Warrent for survey date Sept. 12 anno 1702,
Dec. 1.
New York 21 Dec. 1702. Perused.
"August Graham, Surveyor Gen
"Recorded in the Secretary's office in the
booke of Indian Deeds &c beginning Anno 1691
folio 102. Dan Honan, Secretary.
"Received of Captain Thomas Higbie, John
Skidmore and John Whitman the full satisfac
tion for a tract of land Comonly called Winna
Commack I say Received by us whose names
are marked are underwritten, and by order of
tbe Rest of our natives for' the use, Which said
tract of land lying being bounded on the High
way by Whitmans hollow, Stretching Easterly
to the westermost branch of 'Nesequage River,
and Southerly to the brushy plains to Huntting
ton Patent, and so up to the side of Whitmans
Hollow northerly. I say Reed for us this 26
day of May anno 1705.
"Wameas X his mark
Chepous X his mark
Nepovvnich X his mark
Roaum X his mark
Charles Pamoqua X his mark
Sawatomas X his mark
Chepous X his mark
Joseph X his mark
Hary X his mark
Catow X his m^rk
Aroisheis X his mark
Cowamuthis X his mark
Pompott X his mark."'
"Witness our hands
John Peaeody
Samonka X his mark
Jonas Wood
Timothy Conklin."
By a private agreement made between the
purchasers of this tract it was agreed that a
patent should be taken for the same in the name
of Charles 'Congreve, who was a prominent mer
chant in New York. In accordance with his pe
tition he received a patent from Governor Corn-
bury, May 5, 1703.

On November 22, 1703, Charles Congreve
conveyed to "Rip Van Dam, merchant of New
York," one-quarter of the tract, the deed ex
pressly stating that the said Van Dam had paid
one-fourth of the purchase money, and that the
name of Charles Congreve was only used in the
Settlers' Patent by agreement of Rip Van Dam
and others. Charles Congreve conveyed to
Thomas Higbie, John Skidmore and John Whit
man one-half of the said tract, and on May 6,
1707, John Whitman sold to Rip Van Darn his
one-third of the half. On February 23, 1713,
Captain Thomas Higbie also sold his one-sixth
of the same. The whole tract was laid out and
divided on March 26, 1726, by Robert Cro-oke,
deputy surveyor. It contained 3,625 acres, of
which Rip Van Dam owned 1,812 acres and his
son Richard 150 acres. Johnson and Hig
bie owned 720 acres and Captain Congreve
owned 943 acres.
In 1768 there was a law suit between Mary
Tredwell and Elnathan Weekes and the com
plaint and answer contain so many facts in rela
tion to the early history of this tract they are
here given in extended abstracts :
"ABSTRACT OF COMPLAINT OF MARY TREDWELL
AND EXECUTORS OF TIMOTHY TREDWELL
AGAINST ELNATHAN WEEKES.
"This complaint recites the original facts,
and that Charles Congreve sold to Rip Van Dam
1-4 of his Winnecomack Patent November 22,
1703, and that he also sold 1-2 the Patent to
Thomas Fligbee, John Skidmore and John Whit
man Nov. 22, 1703. Thomas Higbee sold his
1-6 to Rip Van Dam Feb. 23, 1712. John Skid
more sold his right to William' Johnson and Jo
siah Higbee. So Charles Congreve had 3-12,
Rip Van Dam, 7-12 and Johnson and Higbee 2-12.
That in 1726 a division was made into 4 lots
and a lot 57 chains wide at west end, and 20
chains wide at east end was laid out for Con
greve 3-12, A lot 8 chains wide at west end and
four chains at east end, was laid out for Rich
ard Van Dam, son of Rip Van Dam, as they be
lieved he had conveyed it to him, but Rip Van
Dam afterwards purchased it back again. In
1 73 1, one John Mott and others entered upon the
lots of Rip Van Dam, under him, and built a small
house on the lot marked for Richard Van Dam,

SMITHTOWN.

231

near the north -division line between that lot and
the lot of Charles Congreve, and lived in the
same quietly for some years, and then left it, and
then one Isaac Totten entered into said house
under Rip Van Dam- and held the same some 7
years, and afterwards Rip Van Dam by deed No
vember 2, 1745 sold the said lots to Timothy
Tredwell for f 1,200, the description being: Be
ginning at a stake standing in a line 97 chains
distant from Whitman's Hollow, on a course S.
9 1-4 W., then running S. 75, E. 267 chains, then
S 9 1-2 W. 44 chains, then W. o 1 -2 N. to Hunt
ington Bounds, 268 chains, then along Hunting
ton bounds 113 chains to beginning, containing
2,076 acres. Some time before this Rip Van
Dam employed one Ananias Carle, an ancient
man, since deceased, as he was acquainted with
the lands and knew the division made by Robert
Crooke, to get the same remeasured. Whereupon
in the beginning of 1745 Ananias Carle applied
fo one Samuel Willis, a surveyor, and went with
him to survey the Patent and division lines, and
he found that by the Patent the north line was
280 chains long (though -Cooke had only made it
250, though for what reason he knew not) and
that laying it down that length would not inter
fere with any older Patent to the eastward. He
accordingly laid it down as 280 chains and then
laid out tbe lot of Johnson and Higbee 40 chains
at the west end and 16 chains at the east end,
as said Robert Crooke had done in his survey.
And next to that he laid the lot of Charles Con
greve 57 chains at the west end, and 20 at the
east end, as laid out in Crooke's survey. And at
the end of 97 chains from the Hollow he struck
a stake for the division between the lot of Con
greve and Rip Van Dam, and in running from
thence to the east end of the Patent, the lines
of marked trees, as marked by Crooke and Wil
lis, agreed as exactly as could be supposed that
two lines, run by two different surveyors, at such
a distance of time could agree. And be laid out
the lot of Rip Van Dam 103 chains wide at the
west end and 44 at the east end, as Crooke had
done, although by that means, the whole west
line was 10 chains longer than it ought to be by
the Patent, it being stated to be only 200 chains,
and found the lot of Rip Van Dam to contain
2,076 acres as by original survey. And so Rip
Van Dam in deed to Timothy Tredwell made the
east and west lines longer than in the 'survey of
Crooke. Soon after the purchase Timothy Tred
well entered into the same, and took possession
of the same house, built by John Mott, near the
north line between Congreve and Van Dam, and
died siezed of the same Nov. 6, 1749. He by

will, dated June 2, 1747, directed the remainder of
his estate, of which the lands of Rip Van Dam
are a part, to be sold, and after paying debts,
the remainder was to go to his wife Mary and
his children, except his- son Elias, and made his
wife and Benjamin Tredwell and Zophar Piatt
executors. They found that Elnathan Wickes
had taken possession and claimed 4 chains in
breadth of the stake set up by Willis, as the be
ginning of Rip Van Dam's lot, and 4 chains more
than the 57 in Crooke's survey, and that
took in the house and about 200 acres of land.
And on their complaining he agreed to give it up,
if they would give him a watering place on said
land, which for peace sake they agreed to do,
and expected an end of all trouble, but no agree
ment being agreed to by him, they began suit
for ejectment. They admit that the original map
of Robert Crooke is in their hands, and Zophar
Piatt says that some time before the suit he
showed it to him, and a copy was made by one
Solomon Ketcham."
ABSTRACT AND ANSWER OF ELNATHAN WICKES.
Charles Congreve presented a petition for a
Patent for lands at Winnecomack, and the Pat
ent was granted. Sir Jeffry Jeffrys-, late Alder
man of London, loaned to Charles Congreve £10,
Nov. 30, 1704. He afterwards loaned him £20
and then £70, and about the year 1707, Charles
Congreve removed from London to New York.
About 3 years after Sir Jeffry Jeffrys died, and
by his will made Edward Jeffrys his executor,
who made Adolph Phillipse his -attorney. To se
cure payment of the debt, Charles Congreve and
his wife Rebecca gave a mortgage for 34 of the
land, and on August 17, 1737, he conveyed the
said J/\ hi fee to Adolph Phillipse, who conveyed
it to Edward Jeffrys April 28 in the nth year
of King George II. Edward Jeffrys died in
1740, and left the property to Jeffry Jeffrys who
shortly after became a lunatic, and his wife Mary
was made a committee of his estate. She and his
father, Nicholas Jeffrys, by permission of Court
made over to 'Isaac Levy, all claims against
Charles Congreve, including the mortgage and
release of equity, and he sold to Elnathan Wickes
the l/\ of lands- in Winnecommack. Rip Van
Dam, Wm. Johnson and Josiah Higbee were ten
ants in common with Charles Congreve, and on
March 20, 1726, they by Robert Crook, surveyor,
divided the Patent -into 3 parts, and the share of
Johnson and Higbee was to begin at a red oak
tree standing in a place called Whitman's Hol
low, and from thence to run S. 10 W. to a wal-

232

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

nut tree marked with 3 notches on the north,
east and south sides. And from the said, red oak
tree to run S. 59 E. along marked trees to a tree
at the east corner of the Patent, then S. n. 15
W. to a white oak tree at the east extremity of
the Patent, and from said white 6ak tree N. 67
W. to the walnut tree above mentioned. The
part of Charles Congreve was to begin at the
walnut tree, and from thence to run S. 10 W.
to a white oak tree marked with three notches
on the east, south and west sides, thence by a
line of -marked trees to a bladk oak, on the east
bounds of the Patent, then N. n. 15 E. to the
southwest bounds of the lot of Johnson and
Higbee. The remainder of the Patent was to
belong to Rip Van Dam. The parties agreed to
abide by this, and articles of agreement were in
the hands of Thomas Moon of Flushing, who
upon demand, refused to let Elnathan Weekes
see them. In 1750 he again demanded to see
them and was told that he had given them to the
executors of Timothy Tredwell. In 1755, the
said Weekes sent his son to demand sight of
them and Moon said they were in the hands of
Zopher Piatt, and he and Mary Tredwell also
refused. ¦ And the title to Rip Van Dam's part
was then claimed by Mary and Thomas Tred
well.

The controversy was settled by a release from
Elnathan Weekes to Mary Tredwell and others
to the strip of land in controversy, leaving the
lots as they were originally laid out. This was
dated February n, 1768. Timothy Tredwell by
his will directed all his lands in Winnecomac to

be sold, and his executors sold the same to
Philetus Smith of Smithtown. He left it to his
two sons, Timiothy Tredwell Smith, of Kingston,
and Elias Smith. They made a division May 27,
1797, and Elias Smith had the eastern part, which
was 165 chains long on the south side and 1633/2
chains on the north side. On April 25, 1745,
SamUel Willis, surveyor, made a survey of the
lot of Rip Van Dam and computed the area to
be 2,076 acres.
In 1768, at the time of the law suit, an elab
orate survey and map of the whole patent was
made by Samuel Willis and Solomon Ketcham.
From1 this we learn that the land in controversy
was a strip on the north side of the Van Dam
lot, 15 rods wide and 267 chains in length and
containing about 100 acres. Elnathan Weekes
had a house close to the north line, and his well
and cider mill and press were on the disputed
tract. The northeast corner of the Patent was
the southwest branch of Nissequogue river, near
a place of springs, called by the Indians "Hap-
pogs." Here we have very plainly the origin
of the name now spelled Hauppauge, and applied
to a village and district some ways to- the east
of the original locality. The original map is
now in possession of the heirs of Charles Ar-
buckle, who in recent years purchased that part
of the patent formerly owned by Elias Smith.
A very accurate copy is in possession of William
S. Pelletreau.

BSWW**'*'*

CHAPTER XI,

ISLIP.

dates 1720.

F Babylon township be practically stripped
of its ancient history, its neighbor, Islip,
fully makes up for it in this regard, even
although its career as a township only
from 1710 and the township records from
It has an area of about 72,000 acres,
is about sixteen miles in length, and in breadth
measures about eight miles, from the "backbone"
of the island to the shores of the Great South
Bay. It never was, it probably never will be, a
fertile region, except in its southern portion, and
it was a region of slow growth until it was dis
covered by the summer boarder. In 1880 its
population was 6,490, in 1890, 11,073, and in
1900, 12,545. In the latter decade it had not
only been discovered by the summer boarder but
had been taken up by society and had been made
fashionable. In his survey of the history of this township,
Mr. Prime commences with a plaint that is much
better founded than most of his pessimistic ut
terances — and there are many. He said : "Here
we have a striking illustration of the pernicious
influence on the interests of population resulting
from the accumulation of land in the hands of

a few owners ; especially where that accumu
lation is perpetuated by the old feudal law of
entailment. Although a large portion of this
town is naturally incapable of maintaining a large
population, as it embraces extensive tracts of
sterile plains and vast swamps, yet the necks
and other tracts of land are good and capable
of sustaining a much larger number of inhabi
tants than it now contains ; and as the law of
entailment is now abrogated, it may be expected
that the evil will be gradually remedied, though
time will be required to render the work ef
fectual." This was written in 1845, and the
trouble complained of has been most effectually
remedied, but it is to be questioned whether
Islip's real popularity and prosperity were re
tarded even for a year by the arrangement com
plained of. The iron horse was the great clearer
of feudal notions and Puritanical isolations on
Long Island as elsewhere.
Its coast, on the Great South Bay, is an ex
ceedingly beautiful one, while the waters of the
bay itself afford aquatic sport of all kinds. Its
shores are lined with pleasant cottages and huge
hotels, summer boarding places of all descrip-

234

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tions, while here and there rise veritable palaces,
and now and again we encounter enclosures
of private property almost rivaling in size
baronial manors and certainly exceeding most
of such old-time relics in the elegance of their
' equipment and the extent of their resources.
Even Fire Island, that part of the great sand
bar which separates the Great South Bay from
the Atlantic, has been brought into requisition
for the summer boarder trade, although it must
be confessed, without the same degree of finan
cial success that has crowned the efforts of the

upbuilders of such resorts on the mainland of
the township. In the northeastern portion of
the township is the famous Lake Ronkonkoma,
which is more particularly told of on other
pages. The story of Islip, the story, that is, from

the time when the white man generally took up
its burden from the red man, introduces us in
the first place to a single landgrabber rather, as
in other townships, to an organization of men
seeking to benefit their worldly prospects or to
promote their religious freedom and fellowship,
or to enjoy civil liberty according to their own
ideas. Matthias Nicolls, the compiler, it is al
leged, of "the Duke's Laws," and secretary of
the Province, and connected in one way or an
other with it in an official capacity almost
until his death, in 1687, was so fond" of
Long Island that he secured quite a large estate
at Great Neck in the present township of North
Hempstead. William Nicolls, son of Matthias Nicolls, fol
lowed in the footsteps of his father, and became
famous as a lawyer, a local politician and a
land getter. His name appears at times as Nicolls
and again as Nicoll. In 1683 he purchased a
large tract of land from the natives, of which
more anon, and the same year he was appointed
clerk of Queens county. In 1687 he was appoint
ed Provincial Attorney General. After his fa
ther's death he settled in New
York and became a leader in
politics and at the bar. He op
posed the little movement of
Jacob Leisler, and was held by
that serio-comic potentate as a
prisoner. When that crisis was
over he got his reward in being
made a member of Council, and
in 1695 he was sent by the New
York Assembly on a mission to
the crown with the view of get
ting the other colonies to share
in the cost of the defense of
Britain's strip of coast against
the inroads of the French, which
fell almost wholly upon New
York from its -geographical position. In
1698, in the course of the kaleidescopic
change so frequent in the history of American
politics, Nicoll was again among the outs. Gov
ernor Bellomont summarily dismissed him from
the Council. However, he soon showed the ex-

ISLIP.

235

tent of his influence, for in 1701 he was elected a
m'ember of the Assembly from Suffolk county,
but was not permitted to take his seat on the
ground that his election was illegal, he being a
non-resident. He soon got over this by erecting
a mansion — Islip Grange — on the Great South
Bay, and in 1702 was again chosen to represent
Suffolk and so continued for twenty-one years,
and for sixteen years was Speaker of the As
sembly. He died at Islip Grange in 1723.
The land which William Nicolls bought from
the Indians was confirmed to him by the follow
ing patent :
Thomas Dongan, Lieut, and Governor Gen
eral and vice Admiral under his Royal Highness,
James, Duke of York, &c. of New York and its
dependencys in America, To all to whom these
presents shall come sendeth Greeting. Whereas
by one indenture of bargain and sale bearing date
the nine and twentieth day of November, in the
year of our Lord 1683, and in the 35th year of
the reigne of cur Sovreigne Lord, Charles the
second, of England, &c King, &c, William Nic
olls of New York, gentleman, did make purchase
of, and Winnequaheagh, Indian Sachem, of Con-
etquot, bargained and sold unto the said William
Nicolls, his heirs and assigns for ever, all that
neck tract or parcel of land scituate and being on
the south side of Long Island, bounded on the
east by a certain river called Conetquot, on the
south by the Sound, on the west by a certain
river called Cantasquntah, and on the north by
a right line from the head of the said river called
Conetquot, to the head of the said river called
Cantasquntah, to have and to hold the said neck
or parcel of land, with all and singular, unto the
said William Nicolls his heirs and assigns for
ever. Now Know ye that by virtue of the Commis
sion and authority unto me given under his Royal
Highness. * * and in consideration of Ithe
Quit rents herein after reserved. * * I have
given, granted ratified and confirmed, unto the
said William Nicolls. * * all the before re
cited neck tract and parcel of land, with all and
singular, woods waters runns, stream, ponds,
marshes, fishing hawking huntting and fowling
* * unto said William Nicolls, his heirs and as
signs, in free and common soccage, according to
the tenure of East Greenwich, in the County of
Kent. * * vielding therefor yearly, in lieu
and stead of all services and demands, as a quit

rent for his Royal Highness use five bushells of
good winter wheat, or 25 shillings good and law
ful money of this Province, on or before the 25th
clay of March yearly unto such officer as shall
be appointed to receive the same. Given under
my hand, and sealed with the seal of the Prov
ince, at Fort James in New York, the 5 day of
December 1684.
Thomas Dongan.
In 1686 Nicolls added to his holdings by
further purchases from the Indians and Gov
ernor Dongan issued a confirmatory patent, cov
ering the same territory. The following are
self-explanatory :
LICENSE TO PURCHASE LANDS.
Recorded for William Nicoll. By his Excel
lency tbe Governor in Council the 17 June 1697.
Whereas William Nicoll Esquire, by his at
torney hath prayed liberty and license to purchase
from the native Indians, a certain tract of vacant
land in Suffolk County, bounded north by the
Country road, east by a line to be drawn from
tbe head of a river called Peatuck, south by the
land of said William Nicoll and Andrew Gibb,
and west by a line to be drawn from the head of
a river called Orowake, to run northerly to the
Country road, aforesaid; together with the Pond
called Raconckony for his improvement. I have
by and with the advice of the Council, granted
and I do hereby grant unto the said William
Nicoll free liberty and license to purchase the
said land and lake or Pond in order to his ob
taining a patent for the same under the Seal of
the Province. Given under my hand and seal
at New York in Council the day and year above
. said. Ben. Fletcher.
indian agreement to sell lands.
Memorandum. That on this day, the 14th
cf September, Anno Domini 1697, appeared be
fore me Nicholas Bayard, one of his majesties
Council for the Province of New York Masaro-
ken, an Indian woman, with Taschanes her hus
band, and Taanheesocks, Passaque and Miskas-
sen, all Indian natives of Nassau Island, or Long
Island, who declared that the above named Mas-
?arooken was the Chief proprietresse and the said
Taankeesocks, Passaque and Maskassen with
some others not present, were the right and
lawful owners and proprietors of the lands herein

236

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

after mencioned, situate lying and being on said
Island of Nassau in Suffolk County, bounded
easterly by a brook or river called by the Indian
name "of Manacotasquet, lying to the westward
of a Point called Blue Point, containing four
necks of land, being bounded eastwardly by the
said river, westwardly by the Conetquot river,
southwardly by the sound, and extending from
the sound to the middle of the said Island, called
the Island of Nassau; and did promise and en
gage that they the above named Indians, who
declared that they were also interested for the
rest of the Proprieters, and for several reasons
would sell and dispose of the three eastermost
necks of land to William Nicoll, of the city of
New York Esquire, and to no other person or
persons whatsoever, as soon as he the said Nic
oll should return from England, and if Mr. Nic
oll should die before his return, that then they
would sell it only to his widow and children, and
that the last neck of land they would keep for
their own planting, but whenever sold that Mr.
Nicoll should have the preference. Dated in New
York the day and year above said, acknowledged
and promised before me by the interpretation of
Mrs. Blandina Bayard. N. Bayard.
In accordance with this the same Indians
gave a deed to William Nicoll for the same
lands February 17, 1702.
THE THIRD PATENT.
William the Third by the Grace of God, King
of England &c. To all to whom these Presents
shall come send eth Greeting. Whereas our lov
ing subject William Nicoll Esq. one of the mem
bers of our Council, for our province of New
York, by his humble petition presented unto his
Excellency Col. Benjamin Fletcher, and Captain
General and Governor in Chief of our Province
of New York, prayed our grant and confirma
tion of a certain parcel- of vacant unimproved
land in the County of Suffolk in the island of
Nassau, adjoining to the land of our said lov
ing subject, and of Andrew Gibb, bounded east
erly by a brook or "river to the westward of a
point called the Blew Point, known by the In
dian name of Manowtassquott, and a north and
by east line from the head of said river to the
Country road, thence along the said road west
erly until it bears north and by east to the head
of Orawake river, and thence by a south and
west line to the head of the said river, and so

running easterly along by the land of said Will
iam Nicolls and Andrew Gibb to the head of
Conetquot, and down said river to the sound,
and from thence along the sound easterly to the
mouth of the Manowtassquott, aforesaid, together
with a certain fresh pond called Raconckony
Pond. Which reasonable request we being- will
ing to grant Now Know ye that of our special
Grace * * we have given and granted and
confirmed unto the said William Nicoll, all that
said certain tract of land, and Raconckony Pond,
limited and bounded as aforesaid. Together with
all and singular &c. To have and to hold &c.
vielding yearly * unto us, and heirs and suc
cessors the annual rent of six shillings New York
mony in lieu of all other rents &c.
In testimony whereof we have caused the
great seal of our said Province to be affixed. Wit
ness our said trusty and well beloved Col. Benja
min Fletcher and Capt. General and Governor &c
the. 20 of September 1697.
Benjamin Fletcher.
Thompson estimates the area of Nicolls' hold
ings at sixty square miles. Nicolls died March
25, 1780, and it was found that he had disposed
of his vast estate by the following will :
I give and devise unto my son William Nic
oll, all my lands and hereditaments at Islip in
the County Suffolk (not hereinafter disposed of
to my daughters) for and during his natural life,
subject to the authority herein after given to my
executors, with remainder unto the Hon. George
Duncan Ludlow Esq. and the Hon. Whitehead
Hicks Esq. and their- heirs during the life of ye
said son William, to preserve the contingent re
mainders, hereinafter limited, with the remainder
to the first. son of my said son William, to pre
serve the contingent remainders hereinafter lim
ited, to wit. with remainder to the first every
other son and sons of the eldest son of my said
son William, successively according to their se
niority. To hold the same in tale male * *
And I think it proper to declare that after con
sidering my estate and my family, I think it will
be best not only to entail the estate but to pre
vent the hasty docking of it, and therefore it is
my general intent to continue the estate at Is
lip, first in tbe male descendants of my son Will
iam, then in the male issue of his daughters, and
then in the male issue of my son Samuel Ben
jamin Nicoll, and then in the male issue of my
own 4111-66 daughters and that it shall not be in
the power of any of my descendants before my

ISLIP.

237

great grand children, to cut off the entail. * *
The lands at Islip are defined to be "AU the lands
lying northward, westward and southward of
the river Namke that runs by Blue Point, as they
are described in tbe several Patents or grants
thereof, made to my honored grand father Will
iam Nicoll of Islip, except such part thereof as
is hereinafter given to my three daughters."
I give and bequeath unto my said three daugh
ters Charity, Gloriana and Joanna Rachel, one of
my rights to land at West Neck on Shelter Isl
and, and all that neck of land adjoining to Blue
Point, in Islip, aforesaid.
I give to my three daughters, Charity, Glori
ana and Joanna Rachel 42 pounds per year to
each of them for twelve years, and 100 pounds
per year for 12 years to my son Samuel Benja
min Nicolls, which said sums I direct my son
William to pay. Dated August 19, 1778.,
William Nicolls, the heir to this great prop
erty, was greatly embarrassed by the terms of the
will, and was practically a poor man. So great
were the necessities of his case, that he sought re
lief at the hands of the legislature, and Samuel
Benjamin Nicolls, who had a contingent remain
der in the land, also by petition signified his de
sire that the relief prayed for by William. Nicolls
should be afforded.
Accordingly, on May 3, 1786, the legislature
passed an act "for the relief of William Nic
olls." This instrument quotes the terms of the
will and then proceeds :
And whereas the said William Nicoll, the
son, hath presented his petition to the Legisla
ture setting forth that doubts have arisen
whether the estate which he holds1 be an estate
tail, or only for life, and that many of the farms
in Islip were at the time of his father's decease
leased at very low rents, and that he is charged
by said will with the payment of annuities to
the amount of £126 for ten years to his three sis
ters, and an annuity of £100 for twelve years to
his brother, that, conceiving himself to be pos
sessed of an estate in tail, he had been induced
to contract debts to a large amount, and that the
doubts respecting his estate render it impractica
ble to sell, any part of his lands to discharge his
debts, and that a number of executions have been
issued against him, and if thev shall be levied
on his estate, while the doubts respecting it re
mains, it would prove insufficient to pay his

debts, and he must be turned out of possession
and deprived not only of the means of suitably
educating his children, but of subsisting his fam
ily, and the greater part of his creditors be
ruined ; and that if Trustees were to be appointed
by the Legislature with authority to sell lands to
the amount of £4,000 evils might be prevented,
and be enabled by honest industry to discharge
the remainder of his debts."
The act then provided that William Nicoll
should convey to Ezra L'Hommedieu, William
Floyd and Selah Strong, Esquires, all his lands
in Islip, in trust, to sell as much as would raise
the sum of £4,000, and discharge the debts. The
remainder they were to lease to the best advan
tage for the payment of the annuities, the resi
due to be paid to said William Nicoll during his
life, and then to the uses of the will.
In accordance with the terms of the act, Will
iam1 Nicoll conveyed all his lands to Ezra L'Hom
medieu, William Floyd and Selah Strong, No
vember 16, 1786, and they made the following
sales of large tracts of the lands :
ist. To Cornelius Ray, February 23, 1790,
"A certain tract of land in Islip, Containing 960
acres, bounded as follows : Beginning at the
southwest corner of a lot of 960 acres sold by
them to Alexander Macomb, and 80 chains west
from the line that divides the town of Islip from
Winthrops Patent, at the distance of one mile on
the said line from the Country road, on the south
side of Long Island, from thence running north
240 chains, thence west 40 chains, thence south
240 chains, thence east 40 chains to the place of
beginning." 2nd. To Willett Green, December 20, 1786,
price £480, "All the moiety or one equal half-
part of a certain neck and tract of land in Islip,
and bounded as follows : Beginning at the mid
dle of the brook westward of the house where
James Morris formerly lived, on the road, from
thence extending northward on a straight line,
as the general course of the said brook runs, the
distance of one mile ; from thence running a due
east course until it strikes the middle of the
brook, and from thence along the middle of the
brook last mentioned southward- to the Bay,
southward upon the bay, and westward by the
middle of the brook that parts tbe said neck of
land from Green's Neck, extending northward by
the first mentioned brook to the place of begin
ning. The said Willett Green to have the wes-

238

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

termost half of the said neck in quantity and
quality, to be divided between him and John Ed
ward, who has purchased, the east half of said
neck." 3d. To Sampson Flemming, February 23,
1790, "A certain tract of land in Islip contain
ing 960 acres, bounded as follows : Beginning
at the distance of one mile north of the Country
road, on the south side of Long Island, on the
line that divides the town 'of Islip from- the Win
throp Patent, from thence extending north 240
chains, from thence west 40 chains, thence south
240 chains, thence east 40 chains to the place of
beginning." 4th. To Alexander Macomb, A tract of 960
acres, one mile north of the Country road, bound
ed east by the line of Winthrop's Patent, west by
the lot of 960 acres sold to Cornelius Ray.
In 1836 a law suit occurred known as "James
Jackson ex dem. William Nicoll and others ver
sus .Francis Woodhull and others, heirs of Rich
ard Woodhull, deceased." This case was to de
cide whether a certain tract of land near Lake
Ronkonkoma was in the Nicoll patent or in
Brookhaven. Tbe question was as to the loca
tion of the "Country Road," the plaintiffs assert
ing that it ran between Smithtown and Islip,
north of Lake Ronkonkoma, and the defendants
declaring that it meant a road much farther south.
The printed case (which is extremely rare, only
two copies being known to exist) has preserved
a great many facts in regard to process at law.
Nicoll Floyd, for plaintiff testified that he
was over seventy years old and had been surro
gate for thirty years and treasurer for the same
period. That he knew the roads well ; that the
country road was the one leading through
Smithtown and Coram, easterly to Riverhead,
and westerly to Jamaica, and was the road form
erly principally traveled, and until lately there
was very little travel on the south road. He
testified that a line north by east, starting at
Blue Point, would strike the said country road
not far from Coram. He knew a house called
Titus Gould's Tavern, (formerly Horseblock
Smith's). There was a road turning from
the country road at his house southwest
erly towards the Pond, and when he first
knew the place there were old houses and set
tlements on this road, also on the north side of
the pond. John Newton, Caleb Newton and one
Smith had houses on the northeast side of the
Pond. A road ran there nearly parallel with the

country road between it and the Pond, and
turning off to the southward some distance east
of the Pond, going down towards Patchogue.
This was called the Horseblock road. A road
called Portion road ran east from the Pond be
ginning at Caleb Newton's bouse, which was
upon the bank of the Pond. There was an old
settlement at the junction of the Portion at
Horseblock road.
Charles T. Dering testified that he assisted
in running out the Nicoll Patent about six years
ago. They began' at the head of the Namke and
then ran due north. They came out about
three miles east of Richard Woodhull's house,
which was on the Portion road about a quar
ter of a mile east of the Pond. In survey
ing they stopped at the Portion road and ran
west along it to the Pond at Caleb Newton's.
They then began to survey the west side at a
brook called the Wingahhappagh, and now
called Champlain creek, and then north to a
road called the Happagh road, and then fol
lowed it east to the Pond, and then ran around
on the north side of the Pond to the Portion
road. They surveyed the patent as they could
make it out. There was a small old house south
of the Pond surrounded by an old clearing -occu
pied by William Gould.
The defendant claimed that the north bound
of the Nicoll Patent was a road which crossed
Conetiquot river (the western boundary of the
Smith Patent) at or near Carmans, and ran west
along the present south country road about a
mile and a half until it came near a house form
erly of Jeffrey Brewster's and now Osborn's,
then crossed Brewster's Swamp, Mud Creek,
the head of Swan Creek, Patchogue Swamp
about three miles north of Patchogue, Terry's
Swamp, then running near the head of Coneti
quot river, then south of Wheeler's hill, near the
Wheeler's village, and passing Conklin's (now
Seaman's) and so to Hempstead. That the
premises in dispute were north of this road and
were covered by the Brookhaven Patents. That
the Indians, by deeds prior to the Nicoll Patent,
sold to Richard Woodhull, and he to the Trus
tees of Brookhaven, all that part of the Brook
haven Patent bounded north by Long Island
Sound and south by the middle of the Island and
they allotted all that all part west of the Coneti
quot river, east of the Smithtown line, south of
the present middle country road and north of the
middle of the island to different Proprietors,
under whom the defendants claim. That the line
called Hart's Line was run in 1791, as the south
line of that tract.

S L A j\r

A ,'iM' WJ
Compiled fTom the Testimony
JACKSON.
Ex dem IOC OLLg v.s. W©<D©JW aill'

240

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

It may be stated that the defendants claimed
that the "middle of the Island" meant from the
Sound to the ocean; the claim of the plaintiffs
was that it meant from the north side of the
Great South Bay, and this latter view was sus
tained. Richard Udall, for defendant, testified tbat he
was eighty years old last November, and was
born in Islip, where he now lives on the present
south country road, about six miles west of the
Winganhappagh brook. When he first recol
lects a road passed his house to the east as far as
the brook. The Quakers settled about there and
made the road passable as far east as the brook,
but could not pass the swamp there. The peo
ple of Islip made the swamp passable. This was
seventy-three years ago. Before that, there was
a road called Nicoll's old road, leading from
Nicoll's house north to the Conklin road, Whicli
Lawyer Nicoll used to travel to New York. His
father told him that the Conklin road was called
the "Old Country road" and the "King's High
way." The house on the north edge of Racon-
kony Pond was an old house when he first knew
it, and was held by the Nicolls. Conklin's tav
ern was about ten miles west of the Branch in
Smithtown. Daniel 'Smith, for defendant, testified that he
was born in Coram, and will be sixty-six years
old in October next. Ever since he was six
months old he had lived on Swan Creek Neck,
near Patchogue, and has never been absent from
home three nights together since he was born.
Before the south road was openel, there was an
other road, much used, known as the Old Fish
erman's road or highway. The road went across
the head -of Jeffrey Brewster's Swamp, then
across the head of Swan Creek and the head of
Patchogue stream, next across Jeremy Terry's
Swamp till you came about three miles west of
Patchogue, then it ran smartly to the northwest
till you crossed the Conetiquot river (passing
an ox head which hung there many years) and
then by the plains along Wheeler's hills and then
west. He had heard old people call it the Fish
erman's Old Road and the King's Highway.
His father was born in 1729. It was a very
crooked road, owing to the different lengths of
the streams. The Horse block road ran from
near Fire Place to the west.
Nathaniel Smith, for defendant, says he is
seventy-four years old and was born in Coram,
in a house about a mile from Richard Smith's.
The old road called the Fish road is pretty much
grown up. It was about three miles north of Pat
chogue. It was used in carting fish from Quogue.

The Coram road to Smithtown is the principal
road. It is an old road. The villages are upon it.
On the Fish road there was no house nor settle
ments. Titus Gould's house was about two miles
northeast of the Pond. John 'Newton had a
house a little northeast of the Pond. It was an
old house with considerable land. Below it was
Caleb Newton's. There was a good deal of
cleared land on the south side of the Pond.. On
the south side of the road, pretty much north of
the Pond, was an old bouse occupied! by old Mr.
Hallock. There were houses along on the south
side of the road down to the Portion road. John
Ackerly's was an old house with considerable
clearing. Brewster Terry, for defendant, says he was
sixty-two years old last March.
Jedediah Williamson was seventy-six years
old last March. He knew a road called Conklin's
road. David Willetts, John Mowbray (father of
Anning Mowbray, who would now be over 100
years old if living), and other old people, called it
the oountry road. Mr. Mowbray's possession un
der the Mowbray Patent extended north to this
road, and the family claimed up to this road as
their north line and no further.
Jacob Hawkins was eighty-one years old last
February, and had always lived near Setauket.
When a boy he used to go with his father to the
South side of the island for hay. They crossed a
road about three miles north of Patchogue. It
was an old road seventy years ago-. It went west
to Conklin's road. It was the principal road the
market men had. John Newton lived near the
Pond; he was grandfather of Caleb Newton.
Timothy Smith lived in a house on the northwest
side of Raconkony Pond, and then William
Smith, and both held under the Nicolls. It was
about eight or ten rods west of the Pond. There
were about forty or sixty acres of cleared land
around it. The Portion road from John Acker-
ley's to the Pond was cut about seventv years
ago. John Newton says he was eighty-one last
August, and had always lived at the northeast
corner of Raconkony Pond. Fiis father built
the house, and informed him that there was an
old house there previously. William 'Gould had
a house south of 'the Pond; he remembers when
it was built. There is a large swamp at the north
end io-f the pond, and at the corner of this swamp
there was a house built by Daniel Briggs, and
James Smith lived there.
Phillip Longbotham says he is sixty-three
years old, and knows the old country road.
Richard AV Smith showed a deed from Will-

ISLIP.

241

iam Bohr to Isaac Smith, dated December 22,
1780, for one-half of lot 30 in Winthrop's Patent,
at the head of Swan Creek, beginning at the
country road and running north to the middle
of the Island.
Moses Benjamin was thirty-seven years old,
and about fifteen years ago an old man named
V-oorhees, of Hempstead, who was eighty-five
years old, told him there was a direct road from
Hempstead to Frre Place called the King's High
way, when he was young and there was no other
country road at that time. It came out at Conk
lin's formerly Seaman's tavern.
Richard F. Blydenburgh testified that in May,
1832, he was employed to run a line from a cer
tain cedar hassock in 'Stony Brook mill pond to
the sound. Then they returned and measured due
south from the cedar hassock to the Great
South Bay, allowing four and one-half degrees
for variation. They then calculated the distance
in the same course across the bay and beach, and
they thus ascertained the distance across the Isl
and, bay and beach, which they found to be
nineteen miles and some chains over. They
then ascertained one-half this distance, and it
fell near the Bridge road, about twenty
chains north of it. The distance across the
bay was four miles and twenty rods, across
the beach was twenty chains and seventy-five
links, from the sound to the middle road (by
Titus Gould's) was (four and one-half miles,
from that road to the South Bay was nine miles
and sixty rods. Half the distance across the
Island from the Sound to the bay was full three-
quarters of a mile south of Raconkony Pond.
From the cedar hassock to the Sound was sixty-
eight chains, seventy-three links, but he did not
measure out as far north as Crane Neck Point.
His line went south to an extreme point of land
projecting into the South Bay.
Daniel Saxton says that he was twenty-nine
years old in 1790, when Joshua Hart made his
survey which purported to be the premises de
scribed in the Brookhaven Patents. The survey
was begun in the spring of 1790 and finished in
the summer of 1791. They began at a cedar
hassock which was the east bound of Smith-
town Patent, and ran a due north line to the
Sound at West Meadows on the east side of
Smithtown bay. They then ran a due south
course to the Great South Bay, which they struck
at the end of Newton's Point. They calculated
by trigonometry the distance across the bay.
They also measured across the island on a due
north and south course, on the east bounds of the
Patent oif Brookhaven, and by dividing the line
16

measurements they obtained a line which they
then denominated the middle of the Island. The
line was run at the expense of a number of the
people. Their object was to get a definite line,
as they claimed to the middle of the Island.
William looker testifies that he is sixty-five,
that in 1790 he lived near Mooney Pond, and
helped make the Hart survey. He now lives at
Star Neck ijtist east of Winthrop Patent. He
knows the road, called Bridge road, also- called
the Ox-head road. He once traveled the Conk
lin road more than thirty-five years ago, with one
John Ackerly, who was a much older man than
he. He heard aged people call the Conklin road
the country road. The Wheeler road went from
Star Neck across the bridge (over Conetiquot
river) through the Hoppoghs, and so on to Conk
lin's near Commack. The Wheelers at the Hop-
pogh had a life lease of one of the necks near
Blue Point, and they cut the road to get their
hay. This was called Wheeler's road. Daniel
Wheeler, now dead, who would be, is living, over
one hundred years old, told him his family cut
the road.
The deposition of Daniel Smith 3d (who was
too infirm to attend court) says he is eighty^six
„ years old, and was born at Coram where Rich
ard W. Smith now lives, and resided there with
his father, who kept an inn, until he was thirteen.
Remembers there was a controversy as to the
middle of the Island. The middle Island peo
ple wished to measure from the ocean. The
south people (the owners of Nicoll Patent)
wished to measure from the bay.
The "Furrows" was a strip of land cleared
of trees, and plowed up, so as to prevent fires
spreading to the north side of the island. These
were claimed to be the middle island.
William Tooker states that he lived on lots
16-17-18 of the Brookhaven allotments. The
lots began at the Pond and numbered eastward.
The defendant's lots were a little west of this. He
held them under John Ackerly for seventeen
years. Lot No. 10 or 11 was owned by Robert
Ackerly, who died during the Revolutionary
war. It was an old- settled farm and had an old
house on it when he first knew it. Richard
Woodhull (the defendant) and Brewster Wood-
hull were the two children of John Woodhull.
The premises in controversy were a part of six
lots west of No. 10, which were formerly Jona
than Smith's. [He seems to have had sons,
Isaac (known as "black Isaac"), James and
Alexander] .
Jesse W. Conklin, twenty-five years old, was
born at Commack, states that the road called by

242

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

old people the old country road, is about three
miles south of Jeffrey Woodhull's. It appeared
to be a very old road, but not much traveled at
present. Joel Rutland, fifty-one years old, says he lived
in Islip, four miles west of Patchogue. Fie heard
Robert Jayne (who if now living would be one
hundred years old) sayr that he remembered
when the present South r'oad was scarcely pass
able. Several witnesses testified that it was an old
tradition originally, that the bay at Islip and east,
was very shallow, and was meadows and swamps,
and it was impossible to cross it on horseback, and
that the opening of the Fire Island inlet had
flooded land formerly dry land and meadow.
Joshua Smith says that he was seventy last
Jul)-, and is Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas. The Wheeler settlement is about three-
fourths of a mile southwest of his house and
about seven miles east of Conklin's. [Note, the
Joshua Smith house is yet standing at Hoppogue,
1902.] The Conklin road turned from the Coun
try road at Smithtown Branch and ran south
west and then west to Conklin's. The Bridge
road called Wheeler's road began at the Conk
lin road about three-fourths of a mile west of
Wheeler's settlement. It ran southeasterly and
crossed Conetiquot river where there was a
bridge f ormerly ; it then proceeded till it crossed
a road called Terry's road. After passing this
there was an ox head fixed along side of it, and
it was called the Ox Head road. He never heard
it called the Country road. He knew the Wheel
er family from boyhood. There are three aged
men living, Jacob Wheeler, if living, would now
be about ninety years old. He told him that
the Wheeler family owned a neck called Blue
Point, and the Wicks family owned Pine Neck.
They cut this road. He says the Orowahe river
is west of the river called Champlin's, or Wing;
anhappagh. The road from the Hoppaghs to
Ranconkony Pond has been made since the Rev
olution. The Conklin road is about 200 yards
south from his door and in sight. The Wheeler
road from the Conklin road to Patchogue is
about fifteen miles, and not a house on the road
in its whole extent.
Nicoll Floyd testifies that he knew Benja
min Havens, a fish carter, during the Revolu
tion. His father asked him how he escaped the
British. He said he had a new road through
the plains called the Fish road, traveled mostly
by fishermen, and used on account of the British
plundering every one- on the Country road.
William Brown, seventy years old, has al

ways lived in Islip, about half a mile from the
bay. Never heard the Wheeler road called the
Country road.
Abijah Ketcham, sixty-two years old. His
fatehr if living would be ninety. Has heard his
father say that the Wheeler road was cut within
his remembrance.
Jacob Morris, sixty-two years old, was born
in Islip, where he now lives. He heard William
Terry say (who if alive would be eighty) that
the Wheeler road was cut to cart logs to Wheel
er's and Wicks'. The Wicks owned Pine
Neck. Ephraim Smith, sixty-seven years old, states
that he is one of the persons against whom suits
for ejectment under Nicoll title are pending. His
father used to live on Smith's Neck, west of
Patchogue. He knew the Fisherman's road, and
heard it called the old Country road.
One of the witnesses was James M. Fanning,
a surveyor, who made a survey and measured
the distance between the Sound and the ocean.
By his survey the "middle of the island," meas
uring north from the South Bay, was one mile
north of Ranconkony Pond. Measuring from
the ocean it was 1 mile, 26 chains, 46 links
north of the Bridge road.
The jury brought in a verdict for defendant.
The judge charged that the term "middle of the
Island" meant a line half way between the bay
and the Sound.
An interesting chapter of history this, the
foregoing shedding light, as it does, upon the
difficulties Which attended the settlement of land
titles where large tracts of land were ambigu
ously described and there was conflict as to
boundary lines.
Next west of the lands of William Nicoll
comes a tract granted to Andrew Gibb, and
known as "the Gibbs Patent." Upon a petition
presented to Governor Richard Ingoldsby a grant
was made to Andrew Gibb for "All that certain
tract of vacant land on Long Island commonly
called and known by the name of Winganhop-
poge Neck, bounded on the east by Winganhop-
poge river, south by the bay, west by Orawahe
river and north by a right line from the head of
Winganhoppoge river to the head of Orawahe
river, whereon he intendeth to make some set-

V^^/^^^T/^-h^ L<AE^.i  /'
\-t~i^"-, 9 1 i  : 
'  i  -<£.f%,' i^ T

.1 ..&?? -^

A 3T

ISLIP LAHD GRAHT.

ISLIP.

243

dement and improvement." The annual quit-
rent was 4 shillings. This is dated March 26,
in the .fourth year of William and Mary, King
and Queen, etc., 1692.
Andrew Gibb mortgaged this tract to Will
iam Richardson, October 30, 1703.
Andrew Gibb was a man of importance in
his day, and held many high positions. He was
county clerk of Queens county and town clerk
of Brookhaven. What became of him' is a ques
tion that has not been answered. There is no
will nor letters of administration to tell where
and when he died. A man of the same name was
living in Westchester, but there is reason to be
lieve that he was a different person. Nothing
more is learned concerning this tract except that
in 1773 it was owned by Amos Willetts. His
widow, Rebecca, and his son, Joseph Willetts,
sold the east half of the neck to Benajah Strong
March 18, 1773. He died in 1796 and left it to
his wife Elizabeth and his children Samuel,
Benajah, William and Silas C. Strong. They
sold it to John T. Champlin, May 10, 1814, and
since then it has been divided among many dif
ferent owners.
Next to the land of Andrew Gibb comes the
Mowbray Patent. John Mowbray, the owner of
this tract, was living in Southampton in 1685.
There is on record there in the town books the
contract made with him to teach school from
May to November, 1694, at the the rate of twelve
shillings for each scholar. His wife was Eliza
beth, daughter of John Anning, who was also
living in Southampton. From that town John
Mowbray went to Islip in 1695. Among the
original documents now in existence the peti
tion of John M'owbray states that in- 1695 Eben
ezer Willson, Esq., obtained from Governor
Fletcher a license to purchase from the native
proprietors "a certain tract of waste and unim
proved land." John Mowbray purchased an
assignment of this license in 1701, by virtue of
which he purchased part of the lands from the
Indians and part from Olaf . Van Cortlandt,
Philip Van Cortlandt and Stephen Van Cort
landt, in 1705. He therefore prays that a patent
rriay be granted. This petition was duly ap

proved by the Governor and Council October 8,
1708, and the following is an abstract:
Anne by the Grace of God, Queen of Great
Britain, France and Ireland, etc. Whereas our
loving subject John Mowbray by his petition
to our well beloved Cousin, Edward, Viscount
Cornbury, Capt. General and Governor, etc.,
hath prayed our confirmation of a certain piece
of land 6 nthe south side of Long Island. Be
ginning from the South bay, up Orawack brook
or river, to the Country road, northerly, and from
thence along the said Country road westerly till
it conies to the east brook of Apple Tree Neck,
upon a south line, and from thence along the
South bay to the mouth of Orawack brook or
river." This grant is then made on the usual terms,
upon condition of his "yielding and paying at
or upon the feast day of the birth of our Lord
God, commonly called Xmas, the rent of 10
shillings." This is dated October 19, 1708.
The lands he bought of the Van Cortlandts
are described in the following deed:
Olaf Van Cortlandt, Philip Van Cortlandt
and Stephen Van Cortlandt, "of New York,
Gentlemen," to sell to1 John Mowbray of Awixa,
in the County of Suffolk, "All that certain neck
of land on the south side of Long Island, called
by the Indians by the name of Campawis, extend
ing northwest from the Indian path 5 English
miles. Bounded south by the sea, east by a neck
called Morihtak, and west by a neck called
Mispotuck ; also all the certain neck called by the
Indians Mispotuche neck, bounded south by the
Sea, west adjoining to Apple Tree neck, north
by Huntington farms, and east by other lands."
Price £100, March 2, 1705.
The whole tract patented to John Mowbray
included seven necks, of which the above were
the two westerm-ost. By a deed dated May 30,
1 701, "Wayumpe alias Pashamish and other In
dian natives of .Sequatogue, sell to John Mow
bray, of South Hampton, all that certain neck of
land and meadow situated on the south side
of Long Island, commonly called and known by
the Indian n'ame of Aweeksa, bounded east by
the land late- in tenure of Samuel Haight and
Charles Doughty, south by the sound or bay,
westward by the east side of the neck of land

244

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

called by the Indians Watchogue, running north
ward from the heads' of Cagaqunks and Penata-
quit rivers to the bounds between the north and
south Indians." This deed is signed by twenty
or more Indians.
John Mowbray sold the neck next east of
Aweeksa (and extending east to the Gibb Pat
ent) to Daniel Saxton, and it wasi known as
Saxton's neck. John Mowbray's second wife
was Ruth (Stratton), widow of James White,
of Southampton. By deed dated July II, 1702,
John Mowbray gives "to his two sons-in-law
(stepsons), Charles White and Stephen White,
and to their heirs male," "All that my neck of
land commonly called Pannataquit neck, bounded
south by Watchogue river or creek, west and
north by the Brushy Plains, at the extent of
said river at Panataquit river, which is the east
bounds of said neck, and parts this neck from
John Mowbray's land."
On January 18, 1708, John Mowbray gives
a deed with the same description to his stepson,
Stephen White, and it is probable that Charles
White had died in the interval. This neck of land
continued to be known by its ancient aborig
inal name of Panataquit, till about forty years
since it was changed to Bay Shore.
By a deed dated July 20, 1712, John Mowbray
gave to his son, Anning Mowbray, the neck
called Awixa, described as "beginning at tbe
mouth of Awixa creek and running north of the
east side of said river, by Daniel Saxton's land,
to the head of the same, then along the north
bounds of Saxton's land till it conies to Mr.
Nicoll's path or road that goes to New York,
then along the path till the head of Watchogue
river bears due south and by east, then upon the
said south and by east line until it comes to
the northwest corner of Stephen White's land,
then east along the bounds of the same
until it comes to the head of the Panata
quit river, then along the west side of said
river to the Sound or South Bay, then, along the
bay east to the east side of Awixa river. To
gether with the dwelling house, etc."
By deed dated July 31, 1712, John Mowbray
and Ruth, his wife, sell to Amos Willetts of

Islip, "All that certain neck of land and meadow
called by the Indians Conipams, bounded east
by a neck called by the Indians Manatek, on
the south by ye bay, on ye west by a neck called
by ye Indians Muscritux, at ye north at five
miles northward of the Indian Path. With all,
etc." The price paid was £200.
On January 13, 1708, John Mowbray "of
Awixa" gave to Thomas Powell, Jr., of Beth-
page, in Queens county, a perpetual lease of "All
my right to a neck on the south side of Long
Island, called by the Indian name of Watchogue,
bounded west by the middle of Manetuck brook
or river, to the head thereof, then north and by
west to the north side of the Pines, then east and
by north until the head of Watchogue river bears
due south and by east, thence over the same
course to the head of said river, thence along the
west side of said river to the South bay, and
along the sam,e to the middle of Manetuck brook
or creek." The yearly rent was to be one
shilling six pence.
It will be observed that the neck sold to
Amos Willetts was the easternmost of the two
necks bought of the Van Cortlandts, and the
neck sold to Thomas Powell was next east of
that. According to a deed dated "the 23d day
of the 3d month called May, 1735," the title to
this neck was in some dispute. That Thomas
Powell and Thomas Willetts, Sr., had purchased
it from the Indians, and that Thomas Willetts
had released his claim to Thomas Powell by
deed January 15, 1708, and that John Mowbray
had sold his right by the above deed. Thomas
Powell died, and by his will he made his wife
Mary and his sons, Thomas and Wright Powell,
and his brother, Wright Powell, his executors,
with power to sell. The will was dated "the 16
day of the 9th month, 1731." The executors
sold the" whole neck to Amos Powell of Islip
May 23, 1735. He sold it to John Smith of
Stony Brook, June 23, 1740.
John Mowbray by his will dated October
28, 1779, and proved December 23, 1784, left
all his lands to his son Anning Mowbray, and he
was to pay £60 to his three sisters, Anne, Charity
and Lucretia. On October 27, 1794, an agree-

ISLIP.

245

ment was made between William Nicoll and
Anning Mowbray that "the head of Orowak river
should be at a maple tree standing about one
rod north of where an old road crosses the head
of said brook and thence west and by south until
the head of Cachinucack river bears south and
by east, according to an old conveyance given
by John Mowbray to Daniel Saxton."
On June 3, 1814, the trustees of Hunting
ton sold to Anning Mowbray "the south half
of the Pine Plains lying between Nicolls road
(or Candlewood road) and the road commonly
called the Middle Country road, or Conklin's
road. To extend from a line running due north
from a tree at the head of Orowack brook, 160
chains, 5 links, and from thence due west to a
line running due north from the east bank of
Apple Tree neck."
The river called above Cachinucack, is doubt
less the stream on the east side of Penataqttit
neck. On April 15, 1786, "Zebulon Saxton and
wife Phebe and Elizabeth Saxton, the elder," sold
to Gilbert Carl of Huntington "the west half of
the neck of land and meadow called Arewock,"
with half of a sawmill. The price was £250.
To the west of the Mowbray Patent comes a
neck, the original Indian name of which was
Saghtakoos. On September 26, 1692, a license
was granted to Colonel Stephanus Van Cort
landt to purchase this neck from the Indians.
This purchase was acquired by a deed dated Oc
tober 1, 1692, the consideration being £45.
On January 12, 1692-3, an order was made
to Augustine Graham, Surveyor General of the
Province, "to survey and return a platt of Saghte-
koos," and pursuant to this a return was made,
dated October 9, 1693. Thereupon a patent was
granted to Colonel Stephanus Van Cortlandt for
"A neck of land on the south side, of Huntington
in Suffolk county, called by the Indian name of
Sagtakoos, and by the Christians called Apple
Tree neck, being bounded west by Oakenock
creek to an Indian foot path, and north by the
footpath to the Saghtakoos creek, and east by the
east' bank of Saghtakoos creek as it runs to the
bay, and south by the hay to the said Oakenock

creek. Containing 150 acres." The patent and
Indian deed also include the west bank of Oake
nock creek, though this description was not con
tained in later deeds. The east bank of Saghta
koos creek still belongs to the neck, a fact of
considerable importance at the present time. The
annual quit rent was "one shilling current
money." After the death of Colonel Van Cortlandt
his widow, Gertrude, and his sons, Philip, Ste
phen and Olaf Van Cortlandt, sold the whole
neck to Timothy Carle of Huntington, Septem
ber 27, 1706. From him it descended to his
oldest son and heir, Ananias Carle, who left it
by will to his son, Silas Carle, who sold the whole
to Jonathan Thompson of Brookhaven, May 4,
1758, for the sum of £1,200. The tract had
been greatly increased in size, as may be seen by
the following description :
Bounded west by the brook that divides this
neck from the neck of Richard Willetts. Be
ginning at a peperidge tree on the south side of
the road that runs east and west across the neck
and stands about four or five feet north of the
old Indian path that used to cross the neck, and
then north by the main branch as far as the brook
runs, and thence by the middle of the swamp
to the head, and thence a due east line 8 chains,
15 links, to a marked tree, and thence north 3
English miles on a straight line from said Indian
path, and from the end of the said 3 miles a
due east line about 20 chains, thence a due south
line to a peperidge tree at the fork of the two
branches of the swamp that separates this neck
from the neck of John Scudder, then south along
the middle of the brook unto the creek between
the said necks, then along the east side of the
creek to the bay or salt water, then west along
the bay to the creek that runs up between this
neck and Richard Willetts' neck, and up the
middle of the creek and brook to the first men
tioned peperidge tree. With dwelling house,
etc. The addition was made by purchase from
the Indians November 20, 1699. The original
patent, Indian deed and other interesting relics
of the past are now in the possession of Hon.
Frederick Diodati Thompson, the present Lord
of the manor of Sagdikos, as it is now called,

246

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

who by purchase from other heirs became the
sole owner in 1894.
To the west of the manor of Sagdikos or
Apple Tree neck are two necks, which extend to
the old line of Huntington (now Babylon). The
title is as follows :
Wameas, Sachem, and other Indian pro
prietors of the land at Sequatogue, sell to Thomas
Willetts and Richard Willetts of Jericho, in the
town of Oyster Bay, a certain parcel of meadow-
land- known by the name of Sequatogue meadow,
containing two necks, that is to say, the easter
nmost neck, called Fort 'Neck meadow, and the
westermost, known by the name of George's
neck or meadow, which said necks lye together
and adjoining. Bounded west by a neck of
meadow within Huntington bounds called Sampo-
wams, on the north by the upland, east by a river
called Oheconneck, and south by the sea." This
is dated September 19, 1692.
Following this a patent was granted by Gov
ernor Fletcher to Thomas and Richard Willetts
for "Two necks of land and meadow on the
south side of the Island of Nassau, called Fort
neck and George's neck. Beginning at the east
side of Fort neck at a peperidge tree standing
on the bank of Oakenecke creek, and from thence
running along said creek, as it runs to the bay,
39 chains, then by the bay as it runs to the creek
parting the two necks, then north up the said
creek as it runs, 40 chains, then crossing to
George's neck runs southerly down the said
creek as it runs to the bay, then by the bay to
Sampwams creek, 22 chains, then by said creek
to the head thereof, then on a due north line
to the north side of Sampwams swamp, then a
due east line running until it meets with a due
north line running from the marked tree on the
northwest bounds of Colonel Van Cortlandt's
land, and thence to Oakeneck creek and the
peperidge tree where it began." This is dated
October 10, 1695.
The same Indians named before gave a new
deed on May 8, 1696, for George's neck, which
was bounded on the east of Sequatogue river or
brook, the deed to include all the brook.
On October 31, 1701, the same Indians gave
another deed for a tract of upland at Sequa

togue neck, "bounded east by a swamp lying to
the west of the house late in occupation of said
Richard Willetts, which is about one-half mile
east of Sequatogue river, and extending north to
the Indian Fence."
These deeds show that the original name of
Fort Neck was Sequatogue, and was the head
quarters of the Indian tribe. Richard Willetts
sold all his right to the land and meadow in the
patent to his brother, Thomas Willetts, for £300,
April 1, 1702.
On October 25, 1705, Wameas and the other
Indians sold to Richard and Thomas Willetts
"All that tract of Pine Plains land, bounded
east by the land of Thomas Willetts and so run
ning east by Colonel Van . Cortlandt's land un
til it comes to Compawams brook or swamp,
and so running north until it comes clear of the
pine trees, and then running west along the edge
of the pines to Sampwams hollow, and south
along the hollow to Thomas Wiletts' bounds."
"Compo-wams brook" is the eastern boundary
of the neck called in the old deeds "Muscritux,"
and is the westermost neck in the Mowbray
patent. In April 23, 1710, Thomas Willetts gave to
his son, Thomas, a tract of land bounded east
by Sequatogue river and extending west along ,
the bay to a small creek called Soquams, 123
rods, and running north one mile.
He also gave to his oldest son, Richard Wil
letts, a tract bounded west by Sequatogue river
and south by the bay. He also gives to his
son Thomas a tract next east of Richard's land,
extending "along the bay to Kemscommon
creek." In these deeds the whole tract is men
tioned by the name of "Hocum."
The Indian name of Okeconneck was cor
rupted into "Oak Neck."
On January 1, 1710, the Indians gave a deed
to Thomas and Richard Willetts for a tract of
land, "bounded east by Oaka river, where the
old Indian fence began, and running west by
the fence half way to Sequatogue river, then
southerly to the west branch of Kemscommon
swamp, and then south to the meadows, taking
in all the island of upland that lyeth in the

ISLIP.

247

meadows, and along the bay to Oaka river, and
along it to the place of beginning."
George's neck, which is next to the town of
Babylon, is a corruption of "Goorgo his neck,"
and is probably the name of some Indian sachem.
On the west side of this neck in the early
part of the last, century" was an extensive farm
owned by William Conkling. In his old age he
married Mary, widow of Francis Pelletreau, and
gave her the estate, which fell to her two chil
dren, Henry Pelletreau and Cornelia, wife of
Rev. Ralph Smith. It is now known as "Sutton
Park." Richard Willetts sold the east part of Oak
neck (or Sequatogue neck) to Colonel Piatt
Conkling in 1779.
The Commissioners sold to Jeremiah Terry,
of Islip, December 16, 1786, for £415, "one-half
of a certain neck of land on which Jeremiah
Terry now lives. Bounded east by the middle of
a creek that divides the said neck from the lands
of Samuel Tobey, to the head of said creek, and
from thence adjoining the land of said Samuel
Tobey to the Country road; northward upon the
said Country road, being the South Country
road; westerly by the middle of the river on
which Jeremiah Terry's sawmill now stands, with
the privilege of damming and raising a pond
on the little neck commonly called the Forks ;
southerly by the Bay." This is the eastern half
of said neck.
In 1793, May 2, Gershom Hawkins sold to
Jeremiah Terry "All his right to the west half
of a neck of land on which we now live, in Islip,
except fifteen acres of salt meadow, on the west
side of said neck, south of Joseph Young's
mteadow." The above named tracts are probably the vil
lage of Sayville.
Among the few original deeds for lands in
the Nicoll Patent is the following:
This indenture made the nine and twentieth
day of November in the year of our Lord 1683
Between Wenequaheag, Indian Sachem and Pro
prietor of Coneticutt on ye one part, and William
Nicolls now of ye city of New York, Gent, of
the other part, Witnesseth that for and in con

sideration of a certain sum of money in hand
paid by the said William Nicolls. The said
Wenequaheag hath granted bargained and sold
* * All that neck tract or parcel of land situ
ate lying and being on ye south side of Long
Island, Bounded on the east by a certain River
called Connettcutt, On ye South by ye Sound.
On ye west by a certain River called Contasquatt-
ahab, and on ye North by a right line from ye
head of said River called Conetticutt to ye head
of the before mentioned1 River called Contas-
quatah. To Flave and to Hold etc."
The mark of Wenequaheag,
Witnesses :
Thomas Town-send,
John Wicks, Constable of Oyster Bay,
Munguagb X Sachem of Rokaway,
Nathaniel Colles,
William Creed,
William White.
Practically all of the present township of Islip
was held by the proprietors named heretofore in
this narrative excepting a small portion in the
north which no one seemed to want. Mowbray
seems to have gone into the business of selling
portions' of his extensive real estate as soon as
all the legal requirements which invested him
with proprietorship had been complied with. The
others, however, held on to theirs, probably as in
the case of Nicolls and his heirs, with the view
of keeping intact a great estate, which would
by its very extent confer distinction.
But under such circumstances the territory
did not attract much additions to its population.
William Nicolls did not spend much of his time
for many years at Islip Grange, and there is a
tradition that Andrew Gibb, in his anxiety to
have a neighbor he could speak to, deeded a
large share of his land to Amos Willetts, a
Quaker, on condition that the. latter should live
near him, and the bargain was carried out.
There is also a tradition that William Nicolls
tried to induce a settlement in or near the pres
ent village of Islip, but was not very successful.
It was probably not until all of the original pat
entees had been gathered to their fathers that
the entrance gates were unbarred sufficiently to
permit others to enter and "enjoy the land." The
Nicolls estate descended to William Nicolls (6),

248

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

who died in 1823 ; with him the entailment
ceased, and it passed to his children, William
(7) and Frances Louisa, who married General
William H. Ludlow.
The other early ]}roprietors remain to be
mentioned. Thomas and Richard Willetts were
Quakers from Rhode Island, and from them are
descended the widely dispersed members of the
family name. Stephen Van Cortlandt came from
New Amsterdam, where he had been a merchant.
He was also probably the most active of the
local statesmen of his time, filling every office of
importance in the Province except that of Gov
ernor. He was a soldier, a merchant, Mayor of
New York, member of Council, Judge of the
Common Pleas in Kings county, and it is hard to
tell all what. Little is known of Andrew Gibb,
and he does not appear to have left descendants
upon Long Island. The Mowbray line was pre
served to local history beyond all other of the im
migrant families, and has a direct descendant in
Dr. Jarvis R. Moubray, who died but recently.
In 1720, when the records of the township,
as such, commence, the freeholders were :
Benjamin Nicolls (Supervisor).
Thomas Willetts (Assessor).
John Mowbray (Assessor).
Isaac Willets (Collector).
James Saxton (Constable).

William Nicolls,
David Akerly,
Joseph Dow,
John Moger,
William Gibb,
George Phillips,
John Arthur,
Amos Powell,
John Smith,
Samuel Muncy,
William Green,
Richard Willets,

Anning Mowbray,
Joseph Saxton,
James Morris,
Israel Howell,
John Scudder,
Jr., Ananias Carll,
Stephen White,
Amos Willets,
Daniel Phillips,
Joseph Udall,
Samuel Tillotson.

In 1757 the tax list of the town was as fol
lows:

Joseph Saxton,
Eunice Saxton,
Mary Piatt,
Timothy Carll,
Thomas Wheeler,
Timothy Wheeler,
Joseph Blydenburgh,
Joseph Blydenburgh, Jr.
, Timothy Smith,
Mary Newton,
Isaac Newton,
Caleb Newton,
Clement Bartow,
Morris Bartow,
Simon Haff,
Nathaniel Ackerley,
Philip Ackerley.
Benjamin Nicoll,
Nathaniel Davis,
Alexander Hawkins,,
William Smith,
David Dayton,
Samuel Hawkins,
Jonas Mills,
Phebe Powell,
Sarah Willetts,
Sarah Powell,
Rachel D'Honeur,
Anne Morris.

Jesse Willets,
Eunice Conkling,,
Joseph Wells,
Joseph Dow,
Israel Smith,

Isaac Smith,
Joseph Foster,
Israel Howell,
John Mowbray,
Sarah Mowbray,

Amos Willetts,
John Rogers,
Samuel Moncey,
Joseph Udell,
Amy Willetts,
Margaret Willetts,
Richard Willetts,
Alexander Smith,
Daniel and Israel Lewis
Daniel Willetts,
Nathaniel Smith,
Jonathan Smith,
Jacob Willetts,
Samuel Willetts,
Joseph Willetts,
Rebecca Willetts,
William Smith,
Wm. Nicoll,
Zebulon Robins,
Eleazer Hawkins,
John Arthur,
vJohn Moger,
Mowbray Smith,
George Phillips,
Samuel Phillips,
William Phillips,
Benjamin Gold,
Eliphalet Piatt,
Obadiah Green,
James Morris,
The town meeting was a weakly affair until
long after the nineteenth century had dawned.
It could not be otherwise in the presence of the
large landed interests which were on every side
of "the precinct of Islip." In 1737 Ananias
Carll, John Arthur and John Scudder were elect
ed Overseers of the Poor, which may be accepted
as evidence of increasing population and advanc
ing civilization, but the principal work of the
town meetings even up to 1820 was to attempt
to restrict the harvest of the sea, or as much of
it as lay before them, to the actual residents.
Fishing was for long- the main industry of the
people, and clamming and oystering in time
reached large proportions, and continued to af
ford employment to several thousands of people
in one way or another. For many years the for
ests of pine and oak, which seem to have in
primitive times covered the township, afforded
a revenue for the patentees and much employ
ment to the people. But as the timber was cut

ISLIP.

249

down it was not replaced, and as the supply of
nature gave out the employment ceased, the mills
which had been built to cut the wood into staves,
etc., fell into decay, and the ground on which
the "monarchs of the forest" stood was given
over to brushwood. Several mills were started
from time to time, and no- part of Long Island
was better adapted for manufacturing purposes,
but few had any pronounced success, few lasted
over a decade in any one's hands. Stock raising,
although extensively engaged in for some years,
gradually became unprofitable, and in 1876 was
abandoned altogether as a recognized industry.
The population increased slowly; in 1820 it was
figured as 1,150, in 1830 as 1,653, m I84° as
1,909, and in 1850 as 2,602. It was not until the
land monopoly was abandoned and the railway
crossed its territory that Islip began to assume
its modern position and popularity.
The village of Islip, as does the town, takes
its name from the town of the same name in
Northamptonshire, England, the seat of the fam
ily of Nicolls.
The early church record of Islip is an ex
tremely scanty one, as might easily be imagined
from the way in which its territory was por
tioned off. Thompson gives the first church
building as that of St. John's Episcopal, "a
grotesque-looking edifice of small dimensions and
singular shape, standing upon the Country road
near the middle of Nicolls' patent. It was erect
ed in the year 1766, principally, if not entirely,
at the expense of the then opulent proprietor
of that immense estate." Prime places the erec
tion of the building three years later, saying : "In
1769 a small church edifice was erected by the
patentee near the middle of the town on the
south road, designed for the celebration of divine
worship according to the forms of the Episco
pal Church, and was -occasionally used for that
purpose, though it long remained unblessed by
prelatical hands. From 1814 the Rev. Charles
Seabury, rector of Caroline church, at Setauket,
acted as missionary to this congregation and de
voted a portion of his time to its service. In
1843 this church was repaired and enlarged, and

on the 6th of July duly consecrated by the
Bishop." Prime also mentions, an Indian con
gregation, but seems to doubt if it had a regular
house of worship.
The Methodist Church dates from 18 10, al
though the first church was not erected until
1828. It was a wooden structure measuring
about 22 by 32, and was erected so as to be as
convenient as possible to the brethren in Penata-
quit, as Bay Shore was then called. It was not
until 1850 that Methodism organized a separate
society at Bay Shore, and about 1854 a small
chapel was erected. The best of feeling during
all tbe separation preceding seems to have pre
vailed between the brethren at Islip and those
at Penataquit. Amos Doxsee, the leader of the
class at the latter place, was, like all of his fam
ily, a stanch supporter of Methodism, a believer
in the most literal interpretation of the Scrip
tures and in their verbal interpretation. It is
told of him that at a meeting of the clergy and
laity, to give expression of their views on danc
ing, which was beginning to creep into the early
church, having held back and being appealed
to by the pastor for his opinion, he stood up and,
slowly raising his gaunt figure on tiptoe, said:
"Now I'll tell you what I think about dancing.
Let a man be filled with the Holy Ghost and if
he wants to dance, let him dance."
One of his brothers, Leonard, was class lead
er for over twenty years, and another brother,
Benjamin, was a trustee for some forty years
and was proud at being -able, in spite of the
weight of years, to work a little on the walls of
the Tabernacle of 1892, the latest development
of the home congregation which his family had
been so prominent in founding. Many of the
old members of the church even now recall the
grand "seasons of refreshing" in 1877 arm l&7&>
when the Rev. Stephen Rushmore led in a
series of revivals which are said to have stirred
Bay Shore to its depths.
St. Mark's Episcopal Church at Islip was
organized in 1847 under the Rev. William
Everett. Its present building was erected in
1880 by William H. Vanderbilt. This church
has mission stations at Central Islip since 1869,

250

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and at Brentwood since 1872. Emanuel Church
at Great River was organized in 1862 by St.
Mark's, but in 1878 it was erected into a sep
arate parish. Christ Church, West Islip, dates
from 1869, and St. Ann's, at Sayville, from
1866. The Presbyterian Church of Islip had
its beginning in 1854, and the Dutch Reformed
Church dates its entrance into the township from
1866, one year before its church at Sayville was
erected. During the Revolutionary period resided with
Judge Isaac Thompson one whose name was
better known two or three generations ago
than it is to-day — Lindley
Murray. He was born in Leb
anon county, Pennsylvania,
and was educated for the bar,
but abandoned all attempt to
practice during the war. It is
supposed that while in Islip
he was occupied in writing
his famous grammar, which
was completed during his
residence in England, whither
he had gone for the benefit of
his health and where he died
in 1826. He was a Quaker,
and royalist during the Revo
lution. His father Robert
Murray himself went to Eng
land with his family, but returned in 1775
and engaged in mercantile pursuits with his
son Lindley, under -the firm name of Mur
ray, Sansom & Company, London and New
York. Although a Quaker, he kept his
coach, which he called his "leathern vehicle for,
conveniency." Many deeds and wills written by
Lindley Murray are yet to be found in Suffolk
county. The -present Islip (population 1,956) is not
only a pleasant home village, but it has become
fashionable. Its splendid hotels and club houses,
and the magnificent estates of W. K. Vanderbilt,
F. G. Bourne, W. K. Astor, the Cutting family,
as well as the hundreds of palatial villas which
have been erected mainly by New Yorkers for
their summer homes, have drawn to it people

of the very highest class, people, who, by their
means and tastes, have made even much of its
sandy wastes blossom into veritable gardens.
There is an air of exclusiveness outside of the
villages and hotels which seems to be especially
pleasing to those who regard themselves as the
fashionable world, while such enterprises as the
group of Moorish houses, erected by H. O.
Havemeyer at Bayberry Point, near Islip, is an
experiment iii tbe way of co-operation among
the very rich which will be watched with curious
interest. The Vanderbilt estate at Oakdale, with
its new mansion costing, it is said, $1,600,000,

¦<*t*Mfaf ZHP^

MOORISH HOUSE.
and its thousand acres of farm and garden and
wood land, and its iron fence, beautiful en-
traces, lodges, farm buildings, game preserves,
and it is hard to tell all what, is a veritable fairy
land and one of the wonders of Islip. It is a
part of the old Nicolls patent, and when it first
passed into the hands of the Vanderbilts was a
mass of brush and shrub, half-starved fields
and broken-down steadings. Now its gardens,
its groves of oak and maple, its well kept lawns
and smiling fields seem to speak eloquently of
how man can triumph over nature with the aid
of determination, taste, ambition and money.
During late years trees have been planted liberal
ly all along the line of population, and Islip now
boasts of her pine and other forests, while na
ture has also been at work replacing the damage

ISLIP.

251

done by the -depletion of a generation that has
now passed, and it is safe to say that the value
of such forests is now too highly appreciated
to permit again of their wanton destruction for
purposes of firewood.

equal variety if not quantity of goods. Here
are the spacious grounds of the Bay Shore Driv
ing Park Association and of the Olympic Club.
Across the Great South Bay, reached by steamer,
is the world-known Fire Island.

A LODGE.

Writing a score of years ago1, an Islip an
nalist said that "so thickly are summer resi
dences scattered along the South Road through
this town that it is almost a continuous village."
For some years past that word "almost" could
be eliminated and the sentence would hold good
to-day. All along the line of the railroad and
the South Road is a continuous succession of
villages, hamlets, country seats and villas from
Udall's Road to Bayport.
Babylon, after Islip, is the most ancient vil
lage in the township, but, like its neighbor, its
chief characteristic is its modernity. It was once
called Mechanicsville, and then Penataquit, from
a small stream in its vicinity. It boasts a popu
lation of 3,135, and is a delightful home spot all
the year round. The village contains, a great
number of the most elaborate residential estab
lishments to be found on Long Island, with ele
gant church and School buildings and hotels,
Shopping facilities are almost equal to those of
the city, the wellkept stores presenting almost

Sayville was meant to be known as Seville,
after the famous city of that name in Spain, but
the secretary of the organizing meeting blun
dered in his orthography, and the present form
of the name was recorded upon the rolls of the
Postoffice Department in Washington, and has
been preserved to the present time. A Meth
odist class was organized here about 1838 by
members of the church at Patchogue, but it was
not until 1847 that a house of worship was erect
ed, and it continued to be associated with
Patchogue until 1866, when it became a sep
arate charge. The village (population 3,369)
has several modern hotels, and the private resi
dences are of the best cottage style, while some
are more pretentious. Near -by are the scientific
trout ponds of Mr. R. B. Roosevelt.
At Central Islip is located the Manhattan
State Hospital, one of the finest institutions of
its kind in the country. Other pleasant villages
are Youngsport and Great River.

CHAPTER XII.

BROOKHAVEN.

ROOKHAVEN is the largest township
on Long Island, and its geographical
center is 57 miles from the city hall
in New York. It extends the en
tire width of the island and has twenty
miles of coast line on the Sound, 221 on the
Great South Bay and about thirty on the At
lantic, facing Fire Island or Great South Beach.
Its acreage has been figured at 152,500, its
square mileage at 250. The land surface is di
versified. The north side is elevated, broken
and rugged in the immediate vicinity of the
above, but more level a few miles inland.
Through the middle a range of hills extends
from west to east, and in their neighborhood the
land is rolling, and ponds, marshes, streams, clay
beds and rich deposits of muck or peat abound.
South of this range the land is flat and low,
having an almost imperceptible slope to the sea.
Spots of rich, heavy loam may be found in dif
ferent parts of the town, but they are most com
mon upon the north side. The soil of the central
and southern parts is considerably enlivened with
sand. The water inlets cover an area of 70 square
miles, and are Conscience Bay, Setauket Harbor,
Port Jefferson Bay and Mount Sinai Harbor
upon the north side, and 011 the south side East
Bay and a considerable part of the Great South
Bay, sections of which are known as Brook
haven, Patchogue and Bellport Bays.
The first purchase of land was made in 1655
.from the Setalcott Indians by a party of six

pioneers, who were evidently acting on behalf of
others, prospecting, as it were, for a spot on
which to establish a colony. Five of these were"
from Massachusetts' — John Scudder, John
Swezie, Jonathan Porter, Roger Chester and
Thomas Charles, and one, Thomas Mabbs or
Mapes, belonged to .Southold and was one of
the original settlers of that township. Probably
he accompanied the others as being a man of ex
perience in dealing with the natives ; it could
hardly be because he had any knowledge of the
land. The party had with them! the usual col
lection of coats, hatchets, powder, knives and
the like with which to do a land business with
the Indians, and appear to have made a pretty
good bargain.
Pretty soon those for whom the prospectors
were acting began to arrive ; most of them were
from New England, but several came from other
portions of Long Island, from Southampton and
even from Jamaica. Within a few years the fol
lowing were found in the settlement according to
a list in "Thompson's History :"

Zachariah Hawkins,
Peter Whitehaire,
John Jenners,
Henry Perring,
Andrew Gibb,
William Satterly,
Thomas Biggs,
John Tooker,
Henry Rogers,
William Fancy,
Jacob Lo-ngbotham.

Richard Woodhull
John Roe,
John Budd,
Henry Brooks,
William Williams,
Robert Woolley,
Samuel Akerly,
Arthur Smith,
John Combs,
Richard Waring,
Joseph Mapes,

BROOKHAVEN.

253

Daniel Lane,
Richard Floyd,
Francis Muiicy,
Obed Seward,
John Wade,
William Salyer,
Robert Smith,
Edward Avery,
John Smith,
Samuel Dayton,
John Davis,
William Frost,
John Thomas,
Elias Baylis,
John Thompson,
Thomas Ward,

Thomas Thorp,
Richard Bryant,
Samuel Eburne,
Timothy Brewster,
John Brewster,
William Poole,
Daniel Brewster,
Thomas Sharpe,
George Phillips,
Thomas Smith,
Moses Burnet,
Richard Smith [Bull],
Thomas Helme,
Joshua Garlick,
John Moger,
Robert Akerlv.

It was essentially a New England community
and as usual the scheme of town government
was at once set up. A town was fixed at what
afterward became Setauket and around it were
the home lots, one of which was reserved for a
meeting house and one for a minister, when he
should come. Each of the original settlers had
a home lot and a further allotment of meadow,
or a lot on the beach, besides each settler was at
liberty to buy what additional land he pleased,
only the purchases should be confirmed by town
meeting. The power was put in operation very
early in the history of the colony; probably a
town meeting decided the primal allotment of the
lands. A town house was built upon the home
lots, which served the purpose of a place for
town meetings and for divine worship until the
first church was built in 1671. So far as can
be seen the colony was an independent body;
its town meeting was the supreme dictator of
all its affairs until 1661, when it voluntarily
acknowledged itself as under the government of
Connecticut and sent Richard Woodhull and
Thomas Pierce to represent it in General Meet
ing. That connection, sentimental as it mainly
was, did not last long, and Governor Nicolls
made it clear, soon after he assumed control,
that the Long Island colonies should look to
New York and not to Hartford for protection
and support.
The town of Setauket had hardly been found
ed than additional tracts of land were secured
by the colony from the Indians. In 1657 a large

tract at M'astic was purchased; in 1664
their purchases gave them a vast tract from the
Great South Bay to the middle of the Island,
and for a coat, a knife, a pair of stockings, two
hoes, two hatchets and two shirts they secured
practically the land, along the shore from Old
Man's Harbor to Wading River. In 1675 the
purchase of all the land from Stony Brook to
Wading River was confirmed by the Indian
Sachem Gy, and bit by bit" all the territory in
cluded in the present limits of the township, and
indeed much more, was given up to its repre
sentatives so far as the Indian power of disposal
was concerned. In accomplishing all this quite
a large variety of coats, stockings, penknives,
powder and the like was doubtless expended, but
the Indians were made complaisant in- another
way, for in 1671 the buyers were told to "take
some likers with them to the Indians," and
charge the cost to the town.
The principal negotiator in all these trans
actions, evidently the leading and most repre
sentative citizen of the young town, was Rich
ard Woodhull, and his importance in early af
fairs, and as the progenitor of descendants who
became distinguished in the State and Nation
to the present generation, warrants sufficient di
gression to here notice him at some length.
Richard Woodhull was a man of superior
attainments, a practical surveyor, of undoubted
personal courage, a born diplomat and an able
executive, all the qualities in fact which were
reproduced in the most famous of his descend-
ats, General Nathaniel Woodhull, the Long Isl
and hero of the Revolution. He is said to have
descended through an ancient lineage from a
subject of William the Conqueror who came
with him from Normandy into England in 1066.
He was born in Northamptonshire, England,
September 13, 1620, and is supposed to have
come to this country when a young man. His
first appearance is at Southampton about 1644,
and he may have come from Lynn with the orig
inal company of settlers of Southampton. He
appears to have manifested there the same un
tiring energy and active interest in the affairs
of the town that made him afterward so con-

254

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

spicuous in Brookhaven. He was frequently
placed on juries, on committees and on many
important missions. He seems to have left
Southampton about 1655, and after a year or
two appears among the early settlers of Brook
haven, where July 20, 1657, he purchased of
Wyandanch two necks of meadow at Mastic
for the town. He was appointed a magistrate
for the town by the court at Hartford, May 16,
1661, which position he held for many years.
He was one of the patentees of 1666, and again
of 1686, and was a surveyor and conveyancer
of superior abilities. He was appointed to many
offices and acted on many important commis
sions, one of the most conspicuous of which was
that masterly stroke of diplomacy by which the
title of the town to the whole northern territory
was forever freed from the complication of In
dian claims under which it was liable to fall.
His was a character which for principles of
honor and justice, unselfish motives, far-seeing
discretion, kindliness of manners, and constant
zeal in public service has few superiors among
the honored names that grace the first pages of
American history.
Something may be said of some of Wood-
hull's colleagues and of some who came im
mediately after the. founding of the colony. Rob
ert Akerly was an inhabitant in 1,664, and was a
town trustee in 1718; Samuel (presumably his
son) was a herdsman for the people in 1672, and
in 1695 was a fence viewer. Robert Arnold came
in 1662, and, with John Jenners, and one Smith
and another, . Tucker, was appointed the same
year to settle differences between contestants,
having almost magisterial powers. Edward
Avery was a blacksmith, and, as a highly useful
member of the community, he was accorded
special privileges. John Budd, whom we have
met in the history of Huntington, was also
among the early settlers, but did not remain
long. John Dier was an early freeholder ; he did
not remain long, but left his name to the point of
land known as Dier's Neck, between Port Jeffer
son and Setauket. Ralph Dayton was father of
Samuel Dayton, who figured as a commissioner
to the Indians, and was presumably the pro

genitor of the numerous family of his name in
the present day. Richard Floyd became a large
land owner, and is supposed to have brought the
first negro slave to the town. He held almost all
the town offices, and numerous of his descendants
became conspicuous in the county and State.
Zachariah Hawkins was a man of influence, and
his descendants are numerous. John Jenners
was a juror in 1663, a patentee in 1666, and a
delegate to convention in 1691. William Jayne,
whose descendants are numerous, was one of the
active men in community affairs. Daniel Lane
was a man of large business capacity, and built a
mill in 1667. Thomas Mapes or (Mabbs), one
of the six land buyers in 1655, was a justice of
the peace in 1693, and removed to Southold,
where he was a captain of militia. Andrew Mil
ler was founder of what came to be the beauti
ful hamlet, Miller's Place, where his descendants
resided into the twentieth century. Nathaniel
Norton was a carpenter, and was absolved from
taxes for six years for his services in the building
of the meeting-house; he is yet represented by
a numerous posterity. William Nicolls, one of
the proprietors, has been previously written of
in connection with the town of Islip. John Roe
was a shoemaker, and acquired various town
offices ; his descendants are numerous. Richard
Smith, who came in 1656, was a man of more
than ordinary ability, and was elected to promi
nent positions ; he was founder of the town which
bears his name. William Simson was an enter
prising man and sailed a merchandise boat be
tween the settlement and the Connecticut shore.
John Scott was a lawyer, and practiced in South
ampton three years before his coming to Brook
haven in 1663. Eben Salsberry, who came in
1666, was, high sheriff in 1670. John Tooker,
whose name is perpetuated in numerous de
scendants of the present day, was a highly use
ful man — he was an inn-keeper and held various
offices, and in 1677 the town made him a land
grant of -fifty acres for "writing the records to
date." December 27, 1686, a grant was made to An
drew Gibb of a tract of land commonly called
the Indian Ground, situate on a place called

BROOKHAVEN.

255

Minassoack, or the Little Neck, bounded east by
the Harbor, south by the five acre lot late in ten
ure of Richard Smith of Smithtown, west by
land now or late in tenure of John Munsey and
Samuel Munsey, at north by the Harbor.
September 29, 1677, a Patent was granted
to Richard Woodhull and Nathaniel Wood-
hull "for a certain parcell of land at the Wad
ing Creek to the east of Setalcott upon Long
Island, containing 120 acres of upland. That is
to say, 40 acres lying in the Neck of Vekhies'
wigwam. Bounded by a creek or fresh run on
the east, and the long fresh brook on the west,
the meadow and Wading Creek on the north
and the Commons on the south. And 80 acres
more lying westward from the aforesaid fresh
brook near a mile, at a place commonly called -
the Long Chesnut Trees, being in length north
and south 160 poles, and in breadth 80 poles.
Bounded by the commons on all four sides.
Together with 40 acres of meadow, bounded on
the north with the Wading Creek, on the east
by the same creek, which parts Southold
bounds and Setalcott, on the south by the upland.
As considered to be convenient for two farms."
The land thus granted or a part of it, is, we be
lieve, still in the possession of the Woodhull
family. Richard Smith, the Patentee of Smithtown,
sells to Samuel Eburne, April 5, 1686, "All his
entire right and interest in- all lands in the Town
of Brookhaven." This includes a House Lot,
bounded west by highway, north lot formerly
of Samuel Terrill, south by land of widow
Fancz, containing 5 acres. Also a 5 acre lot in
Newtown, being No. 7, lying between Zachariah
Hawkins and John Tooker. Also lot No. 24 in
Newtown, between the land of John Roe and
John Jenners. Also "lands in the Old field, in a
place called Cranes Neck." And 50 acres at the
Old Mans, "bounded north by the North Sea, and
west by the path going down upon the beach."
A large number of pieces of land and meadow
are mentioned. The price mentioned is £90,
which must have been a nominal consideration.
Samuel Eburne also purchased from William
Jane, John Thomas and others, various tracts of

land, which must mave made him an extensive
land owner.
John Houlton and wife Sarah sell to Mr.
Samuel Eburne "A parcel of land that the town
gave me, being about 8 acres, lying between Ar
thur Forthy's and John Tooker's, tailor." Dated
February 17, 1685.
John Tooker (or Tucker) tailor, sells to -Mr.
Samuel Eburne "A certain tract of land given
to me by the Town, and situate between John
Houlton's land given by the Town, and that
which was apointed for a minister's lot." Feb.
13, 1686.
Mr. Eburne thus became the owner of three
lots adjoining each other, and opposite the
church. The following deeds are also on record :
"Whereas John Thompson by virtue of a grant
from the freeholders and Inhabitants of Brook
haven, stands now possessed of one home lot
of land situate lying at and being, in said Town,
and aginst the Meeting House, bounded to ye
eest and southeest by the land of Anthony
Thompson and Jacob Longbottom, to the west by
the land of John Tooker, containing five acres,
with all rights, etc. Also his share of meadow at
Mattamummax bounded east by the meadow of
Wm. Thompson, north by upland, west by mead
ow of Thomas Briggs, south by the Bay or
Sound." He sells these and some other parcels of
land to John Palmer, Of ,New York, Gentleman,
for £100, March 2, 1685.
The manner in which titles were derived will
appear from the following deeds, grants and
records, with reference to lands in the neigh
borhood of Setauket:
"This Indenture made the 28 day of Novem
ber 1685. Between Goodyer, Bombrash, alias
Washassaquohague, and Robin, alias Cutcha-
wahton, Indians of Brookhaven, in Suffolk Coun
ty, of the one part and Andrew Gibb. of the same
place, merchant. Witnesseth that in considera
tion of £45 they sell to said Andrew Gibb All
their farm or tract of land situate upon Minas-
sonche or Little Neck in the township of Brook
haven, adjoining to the Five acre lot belonging
to Richard Smith, southerly, and to the land in
occupation of John and Samuel Mttncey, wester-

256

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ly, being bounded as by the Records of Brook
haven Containing 70 acres."
Based upon this, Andrew Gibb obtained the
following Patent :
Thomas Dongan, Capt. General and Governor
&c. to all &c. Whereas Andrew Gibb of Brook
haven, Gentleman, by my lycense hath purchased
from the Indian natives, a certain tract or par-
cell of land, commonly called the Indian Ground,
situate on a certain place called by the name of
Minassonke or the Little Neck, in the town of
Brookhaven. Bounded east ward by the Har
bour, southerly by the five acre lot late in the
occupation of Richard Smith, of Smithtown,
westerly by the land now or late in the tenure of
John Muncy and Samuel Muncey, and northerly
by the Harbor. Now Know you that by virtue
of our commission We have given granted &c
to the said Andrew Gibb all and singular the said
tract of land * * He rendering and paying
yearly and every year the Quit Rent of one
bushell of good winter wheate. In testimony &c.
We have caused the Seal of the Province to be
affixed Dec. 27 1686.
Thomas Dongan.
On May 8, 1687, Andrew Gibbs obtained a
new deed from Catchegon Sachem, and Pame-
quage, Cayoson, Wills, Quering, Trepe, Mon-
sonce, Pumsham, John- Mahue, Pisecataonse,
Packham, Massamihair, Petunkes, Amputinue,
and Ajmbramcke, "Indians, Proprietors of a
tract of land on Minassouke or Little Neck,
commonly called the Indian Ground," confirm
ing the above deed and reciting the Patent.
On June 17, 1697, a Patent was granted to
Colonel William Smith, granting:
"Sundry tracts of land and meadow on Long
Island, comprising all the vacant lands lying be
tween the bounds of the towns of Brookhaven,
Southold, Southampton and St. Georges Mianor.
The northermost bounds thereof being the Wad
ing river or. Red Creek, being the east and west
bounds of the towns of Brookhaven and South-
old. From thence in a direct line to a creek or
brook called the Red Creek, into which fresh
water runneth, called by the Indians To Youngs,
which runneth with an arm' of the sea or river
lying between the lands of Southold and South
ampton, called Peconick river, being Southold

Scuthermost bounds ; and from thence in a direct
line to a marked tree at the head of a river or
creek called Seatuck, being the utmost bounds of
Southampton; and from thence in a due south
line to the main sea, being the eastermost bound
ary of the Manor of St. George. And the west
ward bounds being the eastermost line running
north and south of the said town of Brookhaven,
By all other ways or bounds adjoining to the
said Manor of St. George. But excepting there
from so much of the marshes and necks of land
and meadow of Moritches and Mamanuck form
erly purchased by Col. Thomas Willetts, Dr.
Henry Taylor and Thomas Townsend."
This second Patent embraced a large tri
angular tract in Riverhead, and also a large ex
tent of the western part of Southampton. This,
however, being covered by the earlier patents,
never held and was never claimed. It also in
cluded the Patentship of Moriches, and the
necks to the west, and these were all quitclaimed
as before stated. North of the Moriches Patent
and west of the Southampton line was a vast
tract of woodland which was covered by the
above patent, and the title was free from dispute.
It remained in possession of Colonel Smith dur
ing his lifetime and then fell to his heirs. March
30, 1 7 16, William Henry Smith, his son, con
veyed to Captain Isaac Halsey, of Southampton,
a very large tract of land which in the deed is
described as follows:
"A certain tract & parcell of land which is
situated, lying & Being within ye Manor of St.
George aforesd in ye County abovesd and is but
ted and Bounded on ye west as followeth — by a
line running from ye Head of Moriches River
due North over to Pueaconnock River — on ye
East of Southampton Patton and on ye South
by ye land of Justce Richard Smith, Israel How
ell & Ezekiel Howell."
This deed, after remaining unrecorded for
a hundred and fifty years, was placed on record
in 1867. From its owner this tract took the
name of "Halsey's Manor," and contains about
10,000 acres. Captain Isaac Halsey sold one-
seventh of the whole to Theophilus Howell, who
died in 1759 and left it to his sons, Theophilus
and Elihu, who sold it to Matthew Smith, of

BROOKHAVEN.

257

Moriches. Fie also sold a share to Abraham
Howell, who left it to his son John Howell and
it was sold to Matthew Smith about 1750. He
also gave to Timothy Hudson a deed which was
lost, but the other owners agreed in 1786 that he
was entitled to 2,500 acres. Captain Isaac
Halsey died in 1757 and left his remaining part
to his sons, Cornelius and Sylvanus. Cornelius
left his part to his sons Timothy, William and
Frederick, in 1782. Captain Isaac Halsey sold
to James Smith, of Moriches, 1,000 acres, Oc
tober 4, 1 74-, for £15. Cornelius and Sylvanus
Halsey sold to David Howell and Josiah Smith
2,000 acres, April 1, 1760. Timothy Hudson sold
to James Smith ,500 acres "in any part except
the mill that Hudson built," March 10, 1741..
Price £8. Josiah Smith and Mathew Smith, by
various deeds, owned 6,429 acres. Matthew
Smith also owned a large amount.' In 1786 the
whole .tract was divided among its owners, as
will be seen by the map, of which a copy is here
given. In 1798 Phebe Howell, daughter of
John Howell sold to Zephariah Bowers of Kill-
ingsworth, Connecticut, one-half of lot 7.
Oliver Smith sold to Benjamin Downs one-half
of lot No. 10. The -greatest part of one of these
was in the early part of the last century, owned
by William Jane, who purchased of Colonel Jo
siah Smith. About forty years since it was
owned by two New York lawyers, and from
this it was called the "Barrett and Beebe
farms." It was subsequently mortgaged far be
yond its value, and sold under foreclosure and is
now owned by the Oxford Gun Club.
West of Halsey's Manor was a very large ex
tent of woodland, bounded south by Dongon's
line, east by the land sold to Captain Isaac
Halsey and west by the line of the Brookhaven
Patent. This was sold by William Smith (son
of Colonel William' Smith) to Benjamin Youngs,
of Southold, February 4, 1721, for £80. This
tract was afterward called "Brookfield." Ben
jamin Youngs sold the whole to James Reeves,
Joshua Tuthill, Mathias Dickinson, Richard
Terry, Charles Booth, Thomas Goldsmith, Caleb
Horton, David Horton, Daniel' Tuthill, Joshua
Wells, Samuel Conkling, Thomas Reeves, Na-
17

thaniel Warner, Josiah Youngs, Daniel Parschal,
Joseph Wickham, Joshua Wells, Jr., Joseph
Flulse and Jonathan Dimar, Feb. 4, 1721. Ben
jamin Youngs reserved a share for himself. This
tract remained undivided for many years. It
was surveyed and divided among its owners
October 2, 1793, and the survey and partition is
in the Records of Brookhaven. The whole tract
contains 6,600 acres and in 1793 was owned by
forty persons in various shares.
In the southeast corner of the town of Brook
haven is a large tract of land known by the name
of East Moriches, and extending from Seatuck
river (which is the boundary between this and
the town of Southampton) to Terrill's river on
the west. This is known in history as the Pat
entship of Moriches, and includes three necks —
Mattuck, Watchogue and Moriches.
The papers connected with this have fortun
ately been preserved and the complete chain of
title is here given. The first is a deed from John
Mayou (or Mahew) which reads as, follows:
"This deed of conveyance witnesseth to all
Christian people to whom it may come or in any
waye consern that I John Mayou, an Indian
proprietor of sartin lands lying and being within
ye pattin and privileges of Seatoaket upon Long
Island, doe by these presents freely grant give
and make over from me my heirs executors ad
ministrators or assigns unto Thomas Townsend
of Oyster Bay, to him his heyres executors ad
ministrators or assigns, ye full quantity of one-
hundred achres of upland upon ye south side of
this island commonly called ye South land, with
out ye pattin and township of Seatoaket, with a
convenient quantity of meadow thereunto adjoin
ing upon a sartin neck called by ye Indian name
Wattshoge. I say I have freely given and made
over ye aforesaid hundred achres of land with a
convenient quantity of meadow thereunto belong
ing as above expressed, from mee, my heirs, ex
ecutors, administrators or assigns forever, unto
ye above said Thomas Townsend, his heires, ex
ecutors, administraters or assigns, for ever. To
have and to hold as his or their oune proper
right, title, and interest, for ever peaceably to pos
sess and injoy-e from any further left hindrance
or molestation, having received full satisfaction
for ye same, as witness my hand and seale m
Huntington -this 30th daye of May 1679. and in
ye first year of the Reigne of our soureign king

sK <iC\ I. IV 3j C-R,

¦^^VHS&v*.

Y

BROOKHAVEN LAND GRANT.

BROOKHAVEN.

259

Charles ye Second by ye Grace of God, King of
Great Brittain, france and Ireland. his
"John X Mayhu."
mark1
"Witness for us, William Williams, Jonathan
Scudder, Abiel ¦  ."
Endorsed upon this, is an assignment of
Thomas Townsend of all his interest in the above
deed to Robert Woolley, of Southampton, dated
in Oyster Bay, July 14, 1679.
By a deed dated November 8, 1701, Robert
Woolley sold all his right and claim to- Colonel
William Smith, of the Manor of St. George, for
"twelve shillings in hand," and twelve pounds
to be paid when Robert Woolley should furnish
a good title. Endorsed upon this is a receipt,
dated April 30, 1703, by which Robert Woolley
acknowledges the receipt of the twelve pounds.
By another endorsement Colonel William Smith
assigns all his right to Richard Smith, Esq. and
Colonel Matthew'Howell, Dated March 29, 1703.
On October 31, 1677, Dr. Henry Taylor
"Chirugeon and inhabitant of Flushing," re
ceived a grant from the Governor, Sir Edward
Andros, "for ye acquiring and purchasing of
lands of ye Indians at ye south side of this island,
ye eastward of Seatallcott lands." By an instru
ment dated December 16, 1679, he admitted as
associates and equal partners, in the said grant
Major Thomas Willetts, of Flushing, and Cap
tain Thomas Townsend, of Oyster Bay. These
three men then obtained deeds from John
Mayhu, the Indian, as follows :
"This Instrument of writing witnesseth to
all Christian People. Know yee that I John May
hu an Indian proprietor of a certain neck of land
upon the south side of Long Island, lying be
tween Southampton pattent and Seatakett pat-
tent, called and known by the name in the Indian
language Watshoge, I do by these presents, free
ly and absolutely give alienate and make over the
above said neck of land called by the name of
Watshoge * . * unto my loving friend Thom
as Townsend of Oyster Bay, his heirs and as
signs for ever. That is to say and be understood,
all the meadows fresh and salt upon the said
neck, and all the upland or woodland, from

river to river, being two miles in breadth, and
from the meadow, north ward one mile into the
woods, and what wants of the two miles of the
breadth of the neck is to be added to the mile in
depth, but if the neck holds out to be two miles
or more then he is to have but one mile in depth.
Including all etc. * * To the confirmation
whereof . I have subscribed my hand and set to
my seale in Oyster Bay, this 12 day of February,
1679. It is to be understood that I gave one
hundred acres of this neck to the said Thomas
Townsend before, which is within the bounds re
cited. his
"John X Mayhue."
mark.
"Witness, John Jones, John Pitts, Thomas
Webb, clericus.
Endorsed upon this is the following:
"I Ahuncham, Indian, ctizzen to John May-
hue, and being concerned in ye land with him,
do by these persents confirm the within deed."
Feb. 12, 1679.
Also the following :'
"I Worishon, having a propriety with John
Mayhue in the land. Watshoge within this deed
do by these presents confirm the same to Thomas
Townsend. June 2, 1680."
Worishon X his mark.
"In presence of
"John Cole, interpreter.
"Hasawomp X his mark."
By a deed dated June 10, 1680, John May-
hue, Indian, sells to Thomas Townsend, "A
sartin small neck of land at ye west 'side of Wat-
choge, where my kinsman Warishone now liveth.
Ye west bounds whereof beginneth at ye head of
a boggy swamp north west bounds, and from
thence east northeast or thereabouts, upon a
straight line to the white oak tree, the first
boundaries of ye said Thomas Townsend's land
or neck Watchoge, including all the upland
and meadow, etc."
By an endorsement on the deed, John Town-
send conveys all his right to Richard Smith, of
Smithtown, October 10, 1694. The land sold by
this deed is the neck called Mattuck. "Lusom"
(supposed to be a contraction of Lewisham) is
now Jericho, in Oyster Bay.

260

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

John Townsend, of "Lusom" sold the land
he purchased of John Mayhue to Richard Smith,
of Smithtown, October 15, 1694. It is described
as "bounded by a river called Setucke eastward
and a neck called Moriches, westward, and ye
salt sea southward, & by ye trees marked north
ward, as is specified by deeds, granted by John
Mayhue ye Indian Proprietor." The price was
"fifteen pounds in silver." By an endorsement,
John Townsend agrees "to pay it back again, if
Richard Smith does not record the said lands."
This was probably a precaution against any
claim that Captain William Smith might have,
whose purchase right he held to include part of
the lands.
By a deed. dated November 15, 1697, Colonel
Thomas Willetts and Dr. Henry Taylor sell to
Richard Smith, "A certain tract of land and
meadow, being our proportion or ye two^third
part in partnership with Thomas Townsend and
is bounded by a river called Setuck eastward,
and a river called 'Pacotuck westward, and the
salt sea southward, and by trees marked north
ward, being ye two-thirds of ye tract comprised
in the deed from John Mayhu ye Indian pro
prietor." Thomas Townsend conveyed all his right and
title to the lands of John Townsend, Jr., of
Lusom, June 11, 1689, and John Townsend sold
it to Richard Smith by endorsement on deed, Oc
tober 10, 1694.
In this manner Richard Smith became the
owner of the whole tract. He was the son of
Richard Smith, the Patentee of Smithtown, the
ancestor of the family known as the "Bull
Smiths." To secure his title, Richard Smith obtained a
Patent from the Royal Governor, Benjamin
Fletcher, March 15, 1703. This Patent describes
the tract as "bounded on the west by a river on
the west side of Moriches neck, called Paqua-
tuck, on the north by a line from the head of
said river to a white oak tree marked, on the
west side of the neck called Watshoge by a pond,
and from thence to a line east of Setuck river,
on the east by Setuck river, and on the south by
the sea."

Shortly after this, Richard Smith sold one-
half of his Patent to Colonel Matthew Howell,
of Southampton, but no deed can be found.
Nothing was more common in early times
then for one Patent to encroach upon the bound
aries of another. The patent for the lands of
Colonel William Smith, of the Manor of St.
George, seems to include a part of the whole of
Moriches. To settle all disputes, Colonel Will
iam Smith gave a deed of release to Richard
Smith and Matthew Howell, March 15, 1703.
The lands are described as "the tract called
Moriches, Watshoge and Mattuck and bounded
on the west by the river called Pauquatuck to its
head of the spring of said river, from thence by
a line running northeast or easterly something
above a mile, to the north west bank of Wat-
choge, which is near about a mile and a halfe due
north from the head of the spring of Moriches
river, and thence a straight line running near due
east about a mile and three-quarters to Setuck
river, where the road made by Matthew Howell
crosses the river, which is about half a mile
northward -of Southampton's bound tree stand
ing by Setuck river, on the east Setuck river,
and south by the South Bay round all the necks
and points to the mouth of Pauquatuck." To
make their Indian title doubly sure, they obtained
the following deed:
Know all men by these presents that where
as by certain- deeds or conveyances made here
tofore by John Mayhue, Indian, deceased, pro
prietor of certain necks of land unto Col. Thomas
Willetts, Doctor Henry Taylor and Thomas and
John Townsend, all of them of Queens County,
which said necks are situate lying and being on
the south side of the island of Nassau, in the
County of Suffolk, and are commonly known by
the names of Moriches, Watshoge and Mattuck,
butted and bounded on the west by the river
commonly known by the name of Pauquatuck,
which divides the neck called Warratta Etnd the
aforesaid neck Moriches, and southwardly with
the water of the South bay, and eastwardly with
a river known by the name of Seatuck, and so-
running into the woods two -miles, and the said
necks of land having been since convcved from
tbe afore said gentlemen unto Mr. Richard
Smith of Smithtown, Gentleman, and by him

BROOKHAVEN.

261

Patented from the Governor. And the one mo
iety of which necks of land and premises having
been by him the said Richard Smith sold and
conveyed unto Matthew Howell of Southampton.
Now Know yee that I Wyangonhott, Indian
Sachem of the Plantation of Indians belonging
to a place commonly knowne by ye name of
Unquachouge, for divers good causes, but more
especially for as that I know the said John May-
hue though not a Sachem, had an undoubted right
to dispose of all the said lands and also for the
sum of eighteene shillings- to me paid by the
said Richard Smith and Matthew Howell. I the
said Wyangonhott do for ever release the same
to the said Richard Smith and Matthew Howell
* * In full confirmation I have set to my hand
and seale in Southampton the 21 day of August
1703- His
Wyangonhott X Sachem.
mark.
His
Pamshag X Indian."
mark
"Witness, Joshua Halsey, Jeremiah Jagger.
January 14, 1702, Richard Smith and Mat
thew Howell made a division of their lands. The
partition deed recites that each owned one-half
and gives the bounds as described in the Patent.
It was agreed that Matthew Howell should have
one-half of the neck called Moriches and some
part of the west side of the neck called 'Wat
choge. His part of Moriches neck, was bounded
as follows: The north line of the neck was to
be a "straight line from the usual going over the
river Pauquatuck to the head of the swamp of
the river or pond called Pamachees," and his
north bound was to be the east half of that line,
on the east it was "bounded partly by the swamp
and river Pamachees, and partly by the south
bay, and partly by a ditch cut through
the meadow that separates the island called
Catchemenchouge from the south-east part of the
river Moriches, southwardly and partly on the
west by a salt water cove, that runs in near the
middle of the neck, and partly by a straight line
running from the head of the swamp at the
head of the cove, to the middle of the said
straight line." To this was added a small part
of Watchoge neck, bounded west by the,
swamp and river Pamachees, down southwest to

a cove, and southwardly and eastwardly to the
head of the cove, and east by a line runing north
"until it comes upon a square, with the head of
the swamp Pamachees." The north line was to
be 50 rods long.
The remainder of Watshoge neck remains
undivided, also the island now called Moriches
Island. The line of division of Moriches neck
is well defined and is the east line of a lot now
owned by Miss Alice Wines, All the lands north
of this were divided at a late day. Colonel Mat
thew Howell died May 4, 1706, and left his lands
to his sons Israel and Ezekiel. The undivided
part of Watshoge was left to Israel who sold it
to 'Richard Smith, August 3, 1730. The land at
Moriches was left to Ezekiel, and the next we
know it was owned by James Smith, of Smith-
town, and in recent years by Theophilus Smith,
probably his grandson.
Richard Smith, by deed October 27, 1719,
gave all his lands on Moriches Neck to his son
Nathaniel Smith, and also his share of the isl
and. Richard Smith died in 1720, and left his
lands at Watshoge to Nathaniel, and also one-
half of Mattuck Neck. The other half of Mat
tuck was left to his son Richard who sold it to
his brother Nathaniel, and he thus became the
sole owner of all the Smith right in the patent,
and a large part is now owned by his descend
ants. It will be seen by the foregoing that the
name Moriches properly belongs to the neck
next east of Terrill's river, but it has been ex
tended to a very large district, known as East,
Centre, and West Moriches.
Next west of Terrill's river is the neck called
Warrata. June 25, 1687, Governor Thomas
Dongan granted a patent to John Mayhu,
"native Indian," reciting that the said John
Mayhu had made application to him for a patent
for "a certain neck of land called Warracta, on
the south side of Long Island." Accordingly
the neck is granted to him — one-half to him and
his heirs and assigns, and the other half to him
and the heirs of his body, and failing heirs, then
to return to his Majesty. By this he only had
power to sell one-half.

262

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

April io, ,1688, John, Mayhu sold to Elias
Doughty, of Flushing, "All the one-half or
moiety of a certain neck or tract of land called
Warracta, late granted to ye said John Mahue,
by His Excellency Governor Dongan by Patent."
The next we know of this neck is a deed from
Jacob Doughty, of Jamaica, to Samuel Terrill, of
Brookhaven, October 17, 1698, for "one-half of a
certain neck of land called Warracta, lying on
the south side of Nassau island, Bounded east by
a creek called Moriches, west by a creek called
Swiniches. With all and singular etc." The
price paid was £23. Samuel Terrill was a black
smith, and came from East Hampshire, where he
had carried on his trade for some years. From
him the river Pauquatuck took the name of Ter
rill's River, which it still retains.' April 16, 1706,
Colonel Henry Smith, of the manor of St.
George, gave a deed to Samuel Terrill, reciting
that his father, Colonel William Smith, had sold
to Samuel Terrill, for the sum of thirty pounds,
all his right and title to said neck, but died before
executing a deed. Colonel Smith therefore con
tinues the same, as then in possession of Sam|uel
Terrill. In the deed it is described as "A neck
called Warracta neck, bounded eastward from
the bay by Moriches river, to ye head thereof,
and northward by a line running west from ye
said river, until met by a direct line running
from ye head of Senitches river, and soe west
ward by ye said river to ye bay, thence south
ward along ye bay to Moriches river." This
deed was simply a quit claim to quiet title, as
the land was apparently within the bounds of the
patent to Colonel Smith. Sarriuel Terrill was to
pay yearly "one bushel of good merchantable
winter wheate."
September 29, 1721, William Smith, of the
manor of St. George, sells to Thomas Conkling,
of Southold, one-third of a certain neck of land
in the manor of St. George, called Warratta Neck,
the description being the same as in the preceding
deed. The price was £40.
March 20, 1755, Thomas Conkling, of Shelter
Island, sells to John Havens, of the manor of
St. George, "one-half of a certain neck in the
manor of St. George known by the name of War

racta Neck," the whole neck being described as
before. Price £500. In August, 1775, John
name of Warracta neck, with one-half of the
of the farm or neck that the said John Havens,
Sr., now possesses and enjoys, known by the
name of Warracto neck, with one-half of the
dwelling house and other buildings." His wife,
Kenturah Havens, also signs the deed. October
29, 1782, Thomas Conkling, Jr., of Southaven,
sells to John Havens "1-3 of the neck called
Wacta." This was perhaps a confirmatory deed.
From; that time to the present, Warratta has
been, in possession of the Havens family. The
ancestor of the family was William Havens, who
was an early settler in Shelter Island. In the
history of that island, recently published, is a
very elaborate genealogy of the family which
renders a more extended notice here unnecessary.
Captain John Havens, who died June 18, 1809, at
the age of 61, was very prominent in- the Revo
lution. His descendants are possessed of well
earned wealth and well merited political honors.
The name "Warracta" is believed to be that of an
Indian Sachem who lived on the neck.
Next west of Warratta and extending to
Mastic river, are five necks, embraced in the fol
lowing chain of title.
To all People to whom these Presents shall
come. John Mayhew, Indian sends Greeting.
Know y-ees that the said John Mayhew for and
in consideration as well of a competent sum, of
money to him in hand Payed by the Honourable
Coll. Thomas Dongan the Receipt of which he
doth hereby acknowledge, as of a Patent agreed
to be made unto the sayd John Mayhew, his
heirs and asigns by the said Col. Thomas Don
gan, of and for a certain neck of land called or
known by the name of Wirachtag here in after
reserved, wherewith the said John Mayhew doth
acknowledge himselfe fo be fully satisfied and
Payed. Hath granted and sold unto the said Col.
Thomas Dongan his heirs and assigns. All that
large tract of land situate lying and being on
the south side of Long Island Bounded on the
west by Mastick river, on the south by the maine
ocean, on the east by the River Seatukk, and on
the north by a straight line to be drawn from
the head of said Mastick River, to the head- of
Seatukk river aforesaid. Excepting a certain
Tract or Parcell of land formerly granted to

BROOKHAVEN.

263

Major Thomas Willett and Doctor Henry Tay
lor. Excepting also the above mentioned Par-
cell or Neck of land called Wirachtag. To
gether with all and singular etc. In witness
whereof I have set my hand and seal this First
day of December, 1685.
The mark X of John Mayhew.
Witness John Spragge, George Baxter, Ste
phen Van Cortlandt.
The lands reserved in this deed include the
patentship of Moriches, and the neck Warratta.
Governor Thomas Dongan held this tract until
the time of his death, and by his will (recorded
on Staten Island) he left it, with other lands far
more valuable, to his nephews "to build up the
house of Dongan," a hope and expectation that
was never realized. To make the title sure, Wal
ter Dongan, one of the nephews, obtained a deed
from William Smith, of the manor of St. George,
which conveyed "All those several necks of land
within the limits of the manor of St. George at
or near a place called Moriches, being five necks
of land commonly known by the name of Orchard
Neck, Ariskunk, Skyes' Neck, and Pine Neck,
with a small point or neck of land called Little-
worth, which said necks, with other lands, are
said to be formerly purchased from one John
Mayhew, the Indian owner and proprietor, and
are to extend north as far as the heads of the
two creeks or rivers Mastick and Seatuck, and
are bounded north by a line to be run from the
head of the river Mastick to the head of the river
Seatuck." The price paid was £120. This deed
is dated October 5, 1734-
Of these necks, Orchard Neck is the eastern
most, and is bounded east by the river or creek
Senitches, which separates it from Warratta.
The rest follow west in regular succession. There
are no deeds to be found from the Dongans for
any of these necks, with one exception, which will
be mentioned. The north line of these necks was surveyed
in later years, and is still known as "Dongan's
Line," though very few persons know the origin
of the name.
In 1790, John Havens, Sr., owned the east
part of Orchard Neck, extending "north to Col.

Dongan's Line." He gave this tract to his son,
John Havens, Jr.
The next neck west is still known by the In
dian name of Ariskunk. August 1, 1796, the
entire neck was sold by John Gardiner to Jere
miah Havens for £1100. It was bounded east
and west by creeks, and north by Dongan's Line.
The lands of Flon. Charles S. Havens are on this
tract. Next comes Skye's Neck, which, like many
other necks, derives its name from some Indian
who lived there in early days. Many years ago
the writer found a deed most beautifully written,
by which Thomas Dongan and Magdalen his
wife conveyed to Israel Howell, of Islip, "A
tract or neck of land commonly called and known
by the name of Skies Neck, Bounded east by the
brook, which parts it from a neck called Aris-
cunk, west by the creek which divides it from
the neck where Joshua Hallock now lives,
south by the meeting of the brook and creek,
and extending north by parallel lines to Colonel
Dongan's Line." This is dated January 25.
1 75 1. Knowing its value, the writer of this had
it placed on record. The creek on the east side
is known as Senex creek.
Of the next neck, called Pine Neck, and now
called Old Neck, we know nothing except that in
1 75 1 Joshua Hallock was living there. Next west
is evidently 'the small point or neck of land called
Littleworth." It was later known as Hog Neck,
and was owned by Henry Havens in 1771.
The neck west of Senex creek or river, are
probably the same as the "two small tracts of
upland and meadow lying east of Mastic river,
called Puencatone and Hoggs Neck," mentioned
in' the Patent for St. George's Manor, as will be
seen hereafter. Upon Pine Neck (now called
"Old Neck") has been erected in recent years
the elegant mansion of the late John W. Masory,
a wealthy paint manufacturer.
Mastic Neck was purchased by Colonel Will
iam' 'Smith from Tobacus, Sachem of Uncha-
cluded in the Manor of St. George, but some of
them held by other owners by prior purchase.
Mastic Neck was purchased by Colonel Wil
liam Smith from Tobacus, Sachem of Uncha-

¦264

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

choke, but the deeds are not on record and
the originals are doubtless among the monu
ment a majorum of the Smith family which we
trust will some day be brought tp light.

Next west of Mastic comes the neck, called
from its Indian owner, Winnecroscum's Neck.
This Winnecroscum is mentioned as one of the
Sachems in the Indian deed for the South beach
in 1685. This neck seems to have been un
purchased till 1686, when the following Patent
was given :
"Thomas Dongan Esq. Capt. General and
Governor &c. Whereas there is a certain Neck
or piece of land on the south side of Long Isl
and called Winnecroscum's Neck. Containing by
estimation 100 acres, adjoining to the meadow
ground now in the tenure and possession of Ben
jamin Smith a Freeholder and Inhabitant of the
Town of Brookhaven. Which said Neck is wood
land unimproved, and not as yet granted to any
person whatsoever. The same is hereby granted
to the said Benjamin Smith. December 9, 1686.
He paying an annual Quit rent of one bushell of
good winter wheat."
Next west of Winnecroscum's Neck is Snake
Neck, which was Patented to Samuel Eburne, as
by the following Patent:
"Thomas Dongan, Esq. Capt. General and
Governor &c. Where as there is a certain tract
or Neck of land called Snakes Neck on the South
side of Long Island within the bounds of Setal
cott, Bounded on the east by the Neck commonly

called Winnecroscums Neck, on the west by
Padersquash river, on the north by the Com
mons, and on the south by the meadows ad
joining to the bay. Containing by estimation 300
acres. Which said land is wood land and unim
proved and not yet granted to any person what
soever. The said Neck is hereby granted to Sam
uel Eburne 'Clerke' of Setalcott. Paying annu
ally as a Quit rent one bushell and a halfe of
good winter merchantable wheat.
"Dated December 27, 1686."
Samuel Eburne "Clerke" sells "To the heirs
of Richard Woodhull, in consideration of a sum
of money paid by Richard Woodhull, deceased,
for the purchase of a certain tract of land on the
south side of Long Island, at a place called Snake
Neck, and also for £6 paid by Temperance
Woodhull, his executor, he releases to them all
his right to the land in Snake Neck," October
22, 1700.
This neck was afterwards the home of Gen
eral Nathaniel Woodhull, whose tragic fate is
one of the most important events of our Revo
lutionary history, and here his honored remains
are buried. . A large portion of that neck is now
owned by the Lawrence family.
Next to Snake or Eburne's Neck comes
Floyd's Neck. The original name of this was
Paderquash Neck. In the Town Clerk's office
of Southampton is recorded the following:
"Know all men by these presents that I John
Jennings of Southampton, marshall, having sev-
erall fees due me from the County. And the
Worshipfull Court of Sessions having given and
granted unto tbe said John Jennings the land
that was fallen unto the Court of Sessions for
the default of Mohave an Indian by his non
payment of his fine and Court charges. I the
said John Jennings do sell the same to Lieut.
Richard Floyd of Brookhaven. Lying and be
ing in a place commonly called and known by
the name of Padesquash Neck on the South side
of Long Island." The price was £19. Dated
March 24, 168 3-4.
It is possible that "Mohave" the Indian mav
have been our old friend "John Mayhue In
dian" with his name misspelled. To confirm this
title Richard Floyd obtained the following:
"Thomas Dongan Esq. Capt. General and
Governor &c."

BROOKHAVEN.

265

"Whereas there is a certain parcell of land
on the south side of Long Island, within the
bounds of Setalcott. Bounded on the south by
the meadow, on the east by the Pattersquash
river or creek, on the west by the Unquechogh
creek, and on the north by the woods unlaid out.
Containing in all 500 acres. Which is not as
yet laid out or appropriated to any person. And
whereas Richard Floyd hath made application
unto me, the same is hereby granted to the said
Richard Floyd. He paying annually as a Quit
rent the sum of two bushells of good merchanta
ble winter wheat.
"Dated  , 1686.
"Examined January 12, 1686, and passed in
Council." Next to this comes the neck called Unque-
chogue -or Unchechogue. There is a peculiar in
terest connected with this from the fact that it
seems to have been the seat and chief settlement
of the tribe that bad an extensive territory. A
document in the office of the Secretary of State
shows that their claim extended to Apocock
creek, or river, (now Beaver Dam) in the town
of Southampton and this was admitted to be the
bounds between them and the Shinnecock In
dians ; to the west, their bounds extended probab
ly as far as Islip. On this neck lived Tobacus the
Sachem, who figures so extensively in Indian
deeds, and "Wyangonhott, Sachem of FJn-
quechogue," who gave the confirmatory deed for
the Patentship of Moriches in 1703.
On September 16, 1670, we find that "John
Tooker and .Mr. Daniel Lane have bought a
tract of upland and meadow of Waphege, he
undertaking for his associates, that is to say, on
Unchechoge neck, at the south side of the Island,
running by the lands of Patersquass, being the
east bounds, with a straight line to the head of
a swamp, west being bounded with the great bay,
being all that land and meadow commonly called
Patersquass." On September 19, 1674, Tobac-
cus, Sachem of Unkercboke sells "to the town of
Setalcott, all the mowable meadow land, whether
hier land or lower, that lieth between a river
called Conneticutt, to another river called
Mastic." This was called the "New Purchase
Meadows at South" and they were laid out in
1675-

The neck lying next to Coneticutt river was
called Sebomack. This name is probably the
same as Seponack in Southampton, and means
a " ground nut place." All these necks are now
included under the general name of Mastic,
which originally applied only to the neck next to
Mastic river, the original name of which seems
to have been Musqutux creek.
By warrant of Governor Benjamin Fletcher,
the Surveyor General, Augustine Graham, sur
veyed several tracts of land for Colonel William
Smith, September, 1693, and lying between
Coneticutt river to Mastic river, and extending
north to the country road. In his report he
states that "within these bounds there are three
patents granted by Governor Dongan, and that all
the meadows had been long since purchased and
enjoyed by the town of Brookhaven." The map
attached shows the location of the necks. Based
upon this survey, Governor Fletcher gave a Pat
ent to Colonel William Smith for a tract of land
as follows :

"Bounded westward from the main sea or
ocean to the west most banks of a certain river
called East Coneticott and so along the banks
of said river to a creek running out of said river
called Yamphank, and so along the south west
bank of ye said creek unto the head, the whole
creek included, and soe in a direct north line
until it comes to the banks of Coneticott river,
and from there along the westermost banks of
said river, unto the said river head, the whole
river and all the branches thereof included, and
from there along the west side of Conneticott
Hollow to the Country road, near the middle
of the Island, the whole hollow included, and
so bounded north by the Country road to a
marked tree five and a half miles, and so in a
direct south line to a marked tree at the head of
the main branch of Mastick river, and from
thence along tbe easter most banks of Mastick
river, the whole river and all its branches in
cluded to the main sea. Also the small tracts of
upland and meadow Lying east of Mastic river
called Puncatone and Hoggs neck, bounded
eastward from the main sea to- a river or creeke
called Senekes river, and thence in a direct
north line to the Country road, and bounded
west bv the lands aforesaid."

266

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

This is dated October 9, 1693. The whole
tract was to be a "Lordship or Manor" under
the name of "St. George's Manor," with man
orial privileges. It will be seen that the necks
previously sold were only a small part of the
tract, and Colonel Smith finally became the
owner of the greater part.
By a deed dated July 2, 1 700, Colonel Smith
recites "Tobacus and other Indian proprietors
of certain tracts of land on the south side of
Long Island, near Unquechoge, had by several
deeds conveyed to him their lands." He there
fore gives to "Wisquosuck, Jose, Wionconow,
Potaquom , Steven, Werampes, Penaws-, Top-
shana, iWepsha, Tocome and Jacob, Indian na
tives of Unquechoge, and to their children and
the posterity of their children, the right to plant
one hundred and seventy-five acres of land."
Of this land, 100 acres was to be on Mastic
Neck, 50 acres at Poospaton, 15 acres on Con
stable's Neck and 10 acres at Qualicon." The an
nual rent was to be "Two yellow ears of Indian
corn." On this right the last remnant of the
tribe of Uncachoges still remain under the name
of "Poospatuck Indians." This manor has been
the home for generations of families famous in
the history of the State and nation, .and the his
tory of tlie Smiths, tlie Woodhulls and (the
Floyds are the history of the town.
William Smith sells to John Wood "All the
upland of the lower part of a certain neck now in
his tenure, in the manor of St. George, com
monly called by the Indian natives, Towapi-
onke, containing 100 acres, bounded -east by Pus-
ecunck's creek, west by -Sunkapawk creek, north
to a hollow, south to the mouth of Masfick river.
Given under my hand and seal in my Court
Book, at -my house in the manor of St. George."
December 20, 1693. This deed is of interest, as
it gives local Indian names perhaps otherwise
unknown? On May 17, 1718, William Smith, "of the
Manor of St. George," sold to Richard Floyd
for a "reasonable sum of money" "a tract of
land beginning at the mouth of Mastic river, and
along the river to tbe head of the same, thence
due 'north to the middle of the Island, thence

due west one English mile, then due south till
the head of the Mastic river bears due east, and
then south on a straight line to the head of
Patersquash creek, from' thence as the land of
said William Smith doth extend to the place
where it begins, with all, etc."
On December 6, 1787, Benjamin Floyd sold
to Dr. Christopher Roberts 700 acres of Floyd's
neck, then bounded west by William Smith, east
by late Nathaniel Woodhull, south by the bay.
The price was £2,750. This tract still remains
in the possession of the descendants of Dr.
Roberts. The neck of land called Yamphank, on the
creek of that name, was sold by "Wopekege alias
forridge, Indian," to Samuel Terrill, "for good
will and affection and divers other good causes,"
and was described as "A tract of land and
meadow bounded east by a river called East
Coneticott, south by a small river called Yamp
hank, west by a tree at the head of said Yamp
hank, and north by a swamp called Asawsum."
This is dated November 13, 1688. Many years
after Samuel Terrill was dead, on April 11,
1738, tbe town trustees "acknowledged that
Samuel Terrell did live in the town, and did al
low him- to be the proper owner of Yamphank
neck." This was no doubt in relation to some
dispute between the town and the Smith family.
On April 10, 1745, Mordicai Homan, Jr.,
Richard Floyd and Nicoll Floyd, sold to John
Havens, of Shelter Island, "All the neck Yamp
hank, as described in the deed of Samuel Ter
rell, with a grist mill, saw mill and
fulling mill. The price was £720, or $1,800,
a large sum in those days. A note adds,
"Possession given same day, and money re
ceived in- full." John Havens was a man of ex
tensive means, 'when he came from Shelter Isl
and. This region was called Southhav-en, May
3, 1757- West of Coneticutt river comes the large ex
tent of territory now known as Brookhaven, or
Bellport, but originally Fire Place Xeck, and Oc-
combomack. The earliest deed is dated July 20,
1657, when Wyandance, the ,Mantauk Sachem,
and Wenecohoge sell to Richard Woodhull, "for

BROOKHAVEN.

267

himself and the rest of his neighbors, at Setal
cott, two great necks of meadow, lying from a
river called Coneticott to a river called Wegon-
thotok. The price paid was "20 coats, 20 hoes,
20 hatchets, 40 needles, 40 muxes, 10 pounds of
powder, 10 pounds of lead, 6 pair of stockings,
6 shirts, 1 Trooper's coat, made of good cloth,
20 knives and 1 gun." Concerning the title to
this tract, there never seems to have been any
dispute. Weaump and five other Indians "of the
south side of Nassau Island," sell to Richard
Floyd and Jonathan Rose and other inhabitants
of Brookhaven, "All that tract of upland and
meadow on the south side of said Island, from a
marked tree westward, near the Fresh Pond,
west of Occ-o-mbomack, as far as the Fire Place
creek, containing all the meadow and upland as
far as the middle of the Island, and to the bay
or salt water." July 17, 1705. Probably this
was intended as a confirmation.
These necks were laid out at a very early
day, and the original lots could no doubt be lo
cated with little antiquarian; effort. The fol
lowing abstracts of deeds may be of interest :
George Norton sells to William Jane "All
that share of meadow and 15 acres of upland
lying at a place commonly called the Fire Place,
in Brookhaven, in the little Vly at the south side,
and known as No. 28, and lots in the possession
of ye father Nathaniel Norton." 1701. (Vly is
a Dutch word meaning a low swampy piece of
ground.) Andrew Miller sells to Richard Hulse "a 15
acre lot and share of meadow in Fire 'Place
Neck, No. 31." Samuel Acrely sells to Richard
Hulse the lot No. 32, which was next north.
1706. Thomas Ward sold to Benjamin Gould "A
certain parcel of land and meadow, lying in
Brookhaven, at a place commonly called by the,
name of Fire Place Neck, being No. 15. Also
another lot adjoining thereto." Benjamin Gould
mortgaged them to Job Sayre, of Southampton,
and came to him by judgment of Court, and he
sold them to .Thomas Hunter, .of Brookhaven,
June 25, 1691.
Richard Floyd sells to Thomas Rose "a 15
acre lot with a share of meadow on a neck com
monly called Fire Place, being No. 25." July 12,

1704. Benjamin Smith sold to Thomas Rose the
lot No. 26.
Thomas Thorpe sells to Jonathan Rose "My
15 acre lot of upland at Occumbomack, with the
meadow thereto belonging. Bounded west by
Thomas Smith, east by John Coombs." Oct. 12,
1 68 1.
Jonathan Rose was one of the sons of Robert
Rose, who originally lived in Southampton and
moved to East Hampton, and died there before
1665. His sons Jonathan, Thomas and John
moved to Brookhaven.
Zachariah Ffawkins and wife Mary sells to
¦Jonathau Rose,, "cooper,' '"A certain 15 acre lot
of upland and 1 share of meadow in a- certain
neck called Occumbomack. Bounded east by
land of Thomas Smith, south by Sound or Bay,
west by land late in tenure of Thomas Jenner,
and north by Commons." Price £18. April 4,
1696. Richard Floyd sells to "Jonathan Rose, of
Occumbomack, 2 Fifteen acre lots of upland,
and 2 shares of meadow, lying upon Occum
bomack Neck. Being lots laid out by the Town
Surveyor; one to Richard -Floyd, and the other
to John Coombs, and bounded as by Record."
May 12, 1696. 1
Samuel Dayton, Sr., gives to his wife Eliza
beth "and my two daughters, which God has
given me by her, viz Sarah and Elizabeth. All
my now dwelling house, and all land and mead
ows thereto belonging, that I have upon this
Neck Which was laid out to me, with the swamp,
and also serveral parcels of land which I have
purchased. To my said wife for life and then to
my two daughters, that they may be incouraged
to be loving and helpful to their mother." This
is dated "at my dwelling house in Brookhaven
South July 4, 1690." Witness, Jonathan Rose,
Jane Rose, Samuel Terrill. Samuel Dayton was
the first settler in Bellport.
William Weatherby sells to Jonathan Rose,
"A lot of meadow on the east side of the land
of Jonathan Rose at a place called Occum
bomack, and a piece of land near the same,
formerly in possession of Samuel Dayton, my
father-in-law, late of Brookhaven, deceased,
being 15 acres, and granted to me as a part of
the portion of my wife, the daughter of said
Samuel Dayton." April 11, 1699.
John Halliock sells to Jonathan Rose "Three
15 acre lots and meadow lying together, situate
at a place called Occumbomack. Bounded west
by land formerly of Zachary Hawkins and by
him given to his son (in law) Nathaniel Brew
ster, east by Dayton's river, south by the bay,

268

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

north by lands, as laid out." May 19, 1702.
Price £30.
Samuel Terrill and wife Abigail sell to
Jonathan Rose "A certain tract of land in Oc-
combomach Neck, on the south side of Long Isl
and, being four 15 acre -lots of upland and 4
shares of meadow, as the same was laid out to
Thomas Thorpe, Zachariah Hawkins, Thomas
Smith and Thomas Jenner. Also one-half of a
whole right of Common ge late in tenure of one
Robert Goldsbury. Also 20 acres of upland
already laid out and joining to the said 15 acre
lots." Price £80. June 17, 1697.
The eastern boundary of Winthrop's Patent
was at a Fresh pond. The following unrecorded
deeds may throw some light upon early owner
ship. The trustees of Brookhaven sell to Richard
Floyd Jr. for £25, "A mesuage or tract of land,
on the south side of the township of Brookhaven,
at a place called Stars Neck, bounded on the
south by the 15 acre lots, west by Governor
Winthrop's land, east by a certain creek or brook
running between said land and Accombomack
Neck, and so running north until it comes to a
west line from the head of a certain creek called
Dayton's creek, on the east side of Robert Rose's
land, with all, etc"
Richard Floyd and his wife Elizabeth give
the above tract to his brother, Nicoll Floyd,
dated, October 8, 1736, "for love and affection
and £25."
John Brewster sells to Nicoll Floyd "all his
right, claim and demand to a certain tract of land
and meadow within the bounds of the Patent
granted to Governor Winthrop, bounded south
by the bay, on the east by the middle of a creek
which divides the tract now in possession of said
Nicoll Floyd and Benjamin Rider, and running
north in the middle of the creek until it meets
a north line from a place called a pond formerly
on the east side of Accombomack point, and
to extend on this line north until it comes to
the midle of the Island. On the west it is
bounded by a ditch running from a point on the
west side of Star's Neck, south to the bay and
north it shall extend to the middle of the Island.
The southwest part of the tract of land com
monly called with the name' of Star's Neck."
The price paid was £350.
John Brewster sells to- Nicoll Floyd "All that
upland and meadow lying east of the middle of
the creek that part Star's Neck from Acom-
bomack, bounded south by the bay west by the

middle of the creek that part of Star's Neck from
Acomboniack, and eastward it is' bounded by a
place which is supposed to be the pond, oil or
near Acomboniack Point, from which place or
pond it runs south to the bay, and north to the
creeks which make the westward bounds, the
north bounds coming- to a point, the land called
by the name of Acomboniack. The one-half of
all the above bounded lands." April 1, 1754.
Price £115, 15 s.
Nicoll Floyd leases the above tract to John
Brewster for four years, at £25 rent and he is
to "set out and take care of 100 apple trees."
September 19, 1754.
Nathan Dayton, of East Hampton, sells to
Nicoll Floyd "a tract of land in Accombomack
Neck, bounded west by land of Samuel Conkling,
south by the bay, east by the land of Nathaniel
Brewster, and west by the lotted lands of Brook
haven, as was held by Daniel Terry, deceased.
Also a piece of meadow, bounded north, east and
south by land of Samuel Conkling and west by
creek that divides Acombomack Neck from
Star's Neck." April 9, 1761. Dayton's creek is
probably the one now called Osborne's creek.
Next west of Occombomack (now Bellport)
and extending to the Islip town line is the exten
sive tract known as Winthrop's Patent, having
an extremely interesting history.
On March 29, 1680, a Patent was granted
to "Major John Winthrop, formerly Governor
of the Colony of Connecticutt," reading as fol
lows :
"For a tract of land on the south side of
Long Island, opposite to Setalcott and to the
Nessequake river, the said tract consisting of
upland and meadow ground there. The same be
ing bounded on the west by a river called by the
Indians Namke, and on the east bv a fresh pond
adjoining to a place called Acombamock, extend
ing northwards to the middle of the Island. As
conveyed on or about tbe 9th day of June 1664
by Tobacus Sachem of Onchechatig to the said
Winthrop as appears bv the records of Setall-
cott. Epiuond Andros, Gov."
This tract included nine necks of land, named
as follows, beginning from the west: Blue
Point, Tucker's Neck, Smith's Neck, Short
Neck, Pochaug, Swan Creek Neck, Pine Neck,

BROOKHAVEN.

269

Moger 's Neck and Francis Neck. This tract re
mained in possession of Governor Winthrop-
until the time of his death. His son, John Still
Winthrop, sold the two eastern necks, Moger's
Neck and Francis Neck, to Thomas Strong and
John' Brewster, October 14, 1719. On March
27, 1752, John Still Winthrop, of New Haven,
sells to Humphrey Avery, of Boston, the re
mainder, described as follows :
"A tract of land on the south side of Long-
Island. Bounded south by the Great Bay, east
by the middle of the river that parts Pine Neck
from Moger's neck, until the said river intersects
the road that crosses the head of said necks,
from thence north to the middle of the Island,
bounded north by the middle of the Island, and
west by the river Namke. Containing seven
necks, called Pine neck, Swan Creek, Pochaug, .
Short neck, Smith's neck, Tucker's neck, and
Blue Point." The price paid was £2599
10s. Humphrey Avery being involved in debt was
permitted by Act of Governor and Council, No
vember 27, 1756, "to make sale of his estate by
Lottery." Richard Floyd, Nathaniel Smith and
William Nicpll were appointed managers and
duly sworn. "They published a Scheme." The
whole estate was valued at £6900, and was di
vided into .36 lots, valued from £20 to £1000.
The number of tickets issued were 8000 and were
sold at 30 shillings each. There were 36 land
prizes, valued at £6900, 1580 cash prizes at £3
each and £360 was allowed for expenses. The
whole affair was liberally advertised in the "New
York Gazette," the principal New York news
paper of that day. Each neck south of the
Country road was a lot by itself. The wood land
north of the road was divided into lots of com
paratively little value. The extent and value of
the lots below the road are as follows :
Upland Meadow
Acres Acres Value
1 Pine Neck  300 100 £1000
2 Swan Creek  400 56 750
1 Pochaug Neck  400 75 9°°
5 Short Xeck -  120 45 324
6 Smith's Neck  30CJ 46 650
1 Tucker's Neck  190 43 574
8 Blue Point  150 60 618

Lot No. 4 will be described hereafter. The
drawing was made in June, 1758. There were
1616 prizes, and 6384 blanks. The advertise
ment stated that "there never was a Lottery in
America that had so many large and valuable
Prizes in it, therefore it is not doubted but the
tickets will be sold ver)1 soon, especially consid
ering- that the situation of the land is a Place
freed and absolutely secured from the Inroads and
Ravage of the Enemy." This last statement is
a reminder that the "Old French War" was then
raging. The drawing was finished June 21,
1758. Unfortunately we know only the names
of a few of the fortunate ones who drew prizes.
Lot No. 4 was drawn by "Captain Thomas
Clarke, of Chelsea, in New York." He was the
grandfather of Clement Clarke Moore, the fa
mous author Of the "Night Before Christmas."
This lot was valued at £700, and was "bounded
south partly by the road and partly by lot No. 3
extending east from the Pachoug river, 218 rods,
then north 125 rods, thence west to the mill
pond, and including the mill pond and swamp,
on the west side of the river, between the old go
ing over and the mill dam, together with the
mill, etc." Lot No. 3, which was Pachoug Neck,
was drawn by Lefford Leffords, of Bedford, in
Kings County. Lot 8, on Blue Point Neck, was
drawn by Jonathan Wright. Lot No. 7, or
Tucker's Neck, was drawn by Abraham Pol-
hemus, of Jamaica.
The lottery was a complete success for
Humphrey Avery, who not only realized enough
to pay all his debts, but repurchased a very large
part of the tract. Captain Thomas Clarke sold
back to him lot No. 4 for £500. He must have
also have repurchased Lots 1, 2 and 5, for he gave
Pine Neck and Swan Creek Neck and Short
Neck to his son, Humphrey Avery, Jr., February
27. 1759. Blue Point also came back to him, and
a very large and valuable part of these lands are
still in the possession of his descendants. Owing
to unrecorded deeds, it is impossible to make a
clear chain of title to Patchogue Xeck, but on
September 21, 1789, Jacob Baker and Jonathan
Terry Baker sold to Nathan Mulford, of East
Hampton, 200 acres on the east side of Pat-

270

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

chogue creek, and including all the bay shore
east to Little Swan Creek. The price paid was
£350, or $875. This, it will be seen, includes the
business part of the present village of Patchogue.
Reducing all legal records to their simplest
terms, it is to be said that in 1666 the town re
ceived a patent from Governor Nicolls1 and in
1686 that patent was confirmed by a fresh one
issued by Governor Dongan. Besides the terri
tories contained in these patents there were four
annexed to the town of Brookhaven — the
Moriches Patent, on land originally purchased
from the Indians in 1677, the Winthrop Patent
for land, between Islip and Bellport and extend
ing to the center of the island, Halsey's Manor,
bought in 1716 from Colonel W. H. Smith, and
the Smith Purchase, the largest of them all.
When these became part of .the legal territory
of the township it started in, in 1797, to1 define
its boundaries, and then ensued a series of squab
bles with its neighbors, iwhich were not wholly
settled until i860.
There does not seem to have been any idea
of anything but a civil government at Setauket
(where was- made the first settlement in Brook
haven), and the town meeting passed the usual
laws for the regulation of affairs just about the
same as we have seen similar bodie* legislating
in previous chapters of this history. And the
colonists had their early troubles, too, as colonists
elsewhere had, as appears from one of the earli
est current records:
On January 14 1672 "Mr. John Thompson, of
Seatauket enters an action of slander and Def-
famation against John Beswick." This case was
settled by the following acknowledgment :
"Know all whome it may concerne, that
whereas I John Beswich, have taken up an evill
reporte against Mr. John Tomson, which I
made not of my self but took it up of another
man, in saying yt I was never banished from
Stamford, as he was, which I acknowledge that
I know noe such thinge of him of my own
knowledge. By which I acknowledge that I
have done tbe aforesaide John Tomson much
wrong and am very sorry for it. As witness my
hand this 16 of January 1672. his
"John X Beswick."
mark

John Beswick afterward removed to South
ampton, and set up his trade of brickmaking.
Of course there was a clergyman in the
community, and he was a man of parts, one who,
if he was not one of the first colonists, came
so early that he is acknowledged as the - first
minister. He was the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster,
a grandson of William Brewster, one of the
Pilgrim Fathers. His three sons were among
the pioneers and it is thought that he merely
went to Setauket to visit them and was induced
to stay. These sons were Timothy, Daniel and
John, who became prominent in town affairs, the
first named serving for twenty-three years as
clerk, and the second being continued in that
office for twenty-six years following.
There is no record in the earlier years, how
ever, to show that Mr. Brewster was regarded
as the minister of the town. In fact, in 1662,
the town meeting extended a call to a dominie
named Fletcher to become the minister at a
salary of £40 a year, but whether he accepted
or not cannot be determined. But from his ar
rival Brewster acted as minister, and in 1665
seems to have fully accepted the charge, for a
house was purchased for his use as a manse. It
was evidently a most superior structure, for it
had doors and glass windows and -other modern
improvements. Brewster died in 1690. In 1685
he' was laid aside from active work through ill-
health, and Samuel Eburne, one of the men in
Thompson's list, was chosen as his successor.
He was to receive a salary of £60 per annum
"Soe long as hee should continue to- preach
amongst them." At the end of the year, how
ever, the salary was not forthcoming — probably
they did not think much of his preaching — and he
appealed to Governor Dongan. to enforce pay
ment. This the Governor ordered, but prob
ably the controversy destroyed Mr. Eburne's
usefulness and closed his ministerial career. In
1687 Mr. Jonah Fordham, of Southampton, be
came minister, and from then on the town meet
ing was always zealous in seeing that the spir
itual interests of the people were attended to,
but the church as such had no special power in
the community.
Education had early attention, for we find

BROOKHAVEN.

271

that as early as 1687 the town employed Francis
Williamson as schoolmaster, at a salary of £30
per annum, one-third of the amount to be paid by
a general tax and two-thirds by a school-rate to
be paid by the parents of the pupils. In 1704,
John Gray was the schoolmaster, and he was
permitted the use of the meeting-house, he being-
responsible for any damage to property caused
by the scholars, and seeing that the room was
left in proper order for religious services on
Sunday. In 1718 a school building was erected.
During the remainder of the colonial period
school buildings were annually erected through
personal subscriptions, the town donating the
necessary ground.
In the Revolutionary struggle Brookhaven
was most emphatically on the side of the Pa
triots from the beginning. During that period
it was the scene of many exploits which are
chronicled elsewhere in these pages, and it had
its own full share of the hardships and wrongs
of the days of the occupation. But the special
glory of Brookhaven in this connection is in the
men she contributed to the cause of American
liberty — General Woodhull; William Floyd, one
of the signers of the Declaration of Independ
ence; Caleb Brewster, a descendant of Setauket's
first minister, and who did such grand service
with his fleet of whaleboats ; Major Benjamin
Talmadge, a son of a minister of Setauket and
born in that village; Captain Nathaniel Norton,
who was at the capture of Burgoyne and his
army; Colonel Josiah Smith, who led the Suffolk
county militia, and many others who might be
named. Her record in the Civil war, while it
did not furnish so many brilliant names, amply
demonstrated that the fighting qualities of its
citizens had not diminished with the years of
"inactive ease." To that conflict it furnished
more men by far than were demanded by the
drafts, while in a financial sense its contributions
were most generous.
The modern story of Brookhaven presents
little to detain us. After the Revolution was
over it resumed the quiet and even tenor of its
ways and until the advent of the iron horse
was apparently forgotten. Its people were farm

ers, shipbuilders and fishermen, and very little
manufacturing was done within its bounds. For
many years shipbuilding was the greatest of its
industries, the one that kept it most in touch
with the world, but as the era of wooden ships
passed, so passed that industry, although yacht
building has in recent years made some of the
old yards look lively again and opened many
new, ones. Manufacturing has been tried at
Setauket, but has never reached anything like
the proportion it was at one time hoped it would
attain, and it remains yet a village with only
some 600 inhabitants.
Yet Setauket is a place with a good deal of
historic interest. Tradition says that its ancient
"Green" was the headquarters of the Setalcott
Indians and that on it the bargain was 'Struck
by which the red men abandoned their lands
for a few trinkets. The Green still remains the
center of Setauket's story. The origin of the
Presbyterian Church, as a town meeting-house,
has already been touched upon. A new and_
large structure devoted wholly to1 religious uses
was built in 1671 and around it lay the spot
which the fathers had selected as the town's
burying ground. This structure served until
1 714, when a grander building was erected on its
site and by a vote of the town was to be "a
Presbyterian meeting-house forever." It gave
way, however, to another building, still larger,
in 1766, which was used by the British during
the occupation as a barracks and before they
left was completely destroyed. However, it was
soon replaced. The church during its long ex
istence has had many well-known pastors, the
Rev. David Youngs from 1745 to 1751; the
Rev. Benjamin Talmadge from 1754 to 1786;
the Rev. Zachariah Greene from- 1797 until 1858.
During the latter part of his ministry Mr. Greene
had several "helpers," and the last of these, the
Rev. James S. Evans, entered the charge in 1850,
and continued until 1867, when he was succeeded
in 1868 by the Rev. W. H. Littell, who is still its
pastor. Setauket has another church — Caroline (Pro
testant Episcopal) Church — the history of which
is replete with interest, and has been interest-

272

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ingly written by Mr. R. M. Bayles, a careful
investigator of local affairs, and from whose nar
rative we condense what follows.
This church grew out of the effort of the
London (England) Society for the Propagation
of the Gospel, which sent out the Rev. Mr. Wet-

CAROLINE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
more as a missioner in 1723. That the services
of the Church of England were known here, and
worship in accordance with that form was con
ducted many years before that date, there is
scarcely room to doubt. It is not known, bow-
ever, that the church had an edifice of its own un
til the present one was erected in 1730. For this
building, which appears to be enjoying a robust
old age, is claimed the double honor of having
been the first church edifice ever erected at the ex
pense of the Episcopal denomination on Long
Island, and as at j^resent being the oldest church

edifice standing on the island. The original
name of the church was Christ Church, but the
name was changed to its present one in compli
ment to Queen- Caroline of England, who had
presented to the parish a silver communion serv
ice and embroidered altar cloths. This royal
gift was sacrilegiously abstracted during the
Revolutionary period. Through a long term of
years the society in London helped to sustain
the missionary stationed here by a contribution
of from £50 to £60 a year. The church was
stronger and its services were more largely at
tended during the colonial period than for many
years afterward.
Within a few years past the parish has re
covered somewhat. Since 1878 a new fence has
been set up around the churchyard, a rectory
of handsome appearance and comfortable dimen
sions has been erected, and the church repaired.
The following is a list of the rectors, which
also shows the term each served the church, as
nearly as can be ascertained :
Rev. Mr. Wetmore, 1723-1725; Rev. Mr.
Standard, 1725-28; Rev. Alexander Campbell,
1728-30; Rev. Isaac Brown, 1733-43; Rev. James
Lyons, 1746; Rev. T. Lambert Moore, 1781-83;
Rev. Andrew Fowler, 1788-90; Rev. Mr. Sands,
1800; Rev. N. B. Burgess, 1811-14; Rev. Charles
Seabury, 1814-44; Rev. William Adams, 1843-
44; Rev. Frederic M. Noll, 1844-77; Rev.
Robert T. Pearson, 1878. (Rev. D. Marvin is
the present rector.)
The Rev. Charles Seabury, of whom we have
heretofore written, died after thirty years' faithful
service, and a pillar marks his tomb. Rev. F.
M. Noll, who served the church thirty-three years,
was unmarried, and for many years occupied
rooms at the rear of the church, where the
graves in the surrounding churchyard lay so
near that one could step upon them from his
threshold or reach the marble slabs froml his
bedroom windows. Amid such gloomy sur
roundings he enjoyed undisturbed seclusion.
In- 1662 the shipbuilding industry in Setauket
appears to have had its beginning and the yards
afterward turned out some famous craft. The
Hand family were for years conspicuous in this

BROOKHAVEN.

273

line, and as late as 1870 David Bayles constructed
a vessel — the Adorna — of 1,700 tons, but the
industry has Since then lost its vitality.
At East Setauket yet stands the parsonage
which was occupied by the Rev. Benjamin
Talmadge, and was the birthplace of his son,
Colonel Benjamin Talmadge, of revolutionary
fame. A view of the old building is here pre
sented.

fe

[Wtka

¦

BIRTHPLACE OF COL. BENJAMIN TALMADGE,
 EAST SETAUKET, L.I.

Near Setauket is Strong's Neck — Little Neck,
as it was formerly called. It was once a favorite
seat of the Indians. The principal part of the
neck was bought from the red men by Daniel
Lane, whose title was transferred to the town
proprietors in 1663.
Stony Brook now boasts a population of
some 700, and can trace its history to 1699, when
a mill was established by a pioneer bearing the
afterward famous name of Adam Smith. Its
population grew slowly, but surely, and in 1801
it reached the -dignity of having a school house,
and in 1817 a church building. For many years
its principal trade, outside of farming, was the
manufacture of cord wood and fertilizers, and
in 1843 ^ boasted a fleet of one brig, eight
schooners and fifteen sloops. Then it became a
little manufacturing place, but that soon passed,
and it slowly drifted backward until, with the
opening up of the railroad, it received a new
lease of life and is steadily -winning a place
among the popular resorts. In 1902 it had a
population of 500, so its progress has been fairly
18

satisfactory. Its situation is one of exceeding
beauty, and it possesses many rural and aquatic
attractions. A few miles- from Stony Brook is one of the
quaintest villages on Long Island. Its one main
street contains stores and shops, whose signs
bear names of the proprietors and of goods in
words mostly made up of consonants. The name
of the place is Bohemia, and the 300 inhabitants
are people from that land for which it is named.
They maintain their native language, manners
and customs. The men wear the heavy shoes,
short jackets and caps, and the women the
wooden shoes of their fatherland. A New
Yorker happening here would scarcely think him
self in America. The men are mostly farmers,
some working tracts which they own and which
lie beyond the village. Others work for Amer
ican farmers in the neighborhood. They are
sober and industrious and hard times have never
struck the village. Here on a Sunday afternoon
the people give themselves up to- amusement.
The music sounds strange to the American, but
it is that of the ancient kingdom. The villagers
gather in Ithe public dance halls and young and
old dance and make merry. The provisions of
the Sunday liquor law do not seem to apply to
the village, and between the dances the hop-brew
and wines of the old country pass freely around.
While tbe men are good citizens, still, there is
more talk of the happenings in the country
across the sea than of what is going on in the
United States.
One of the most prominent features, of the
village is a monument erected to John Huss.
It stands near the village church. Recently the
monument has fallen into decay and some of the
leaders of the village have started a fund to re
pair it.
Port Jefferson enjoys an ideal location, and its
crescent-shaped harbor, one of the finest on Long
Island Sound, is associated with many stirring
scenes. Captain Kidd rendezvoused here, and
there are local legends of various of his exploits.
During the Revolutionary period it was an ad
mirable vantage ground for the patriots, among
them Paul Jones. One of his vessels was here

274

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

fitted out, and he killed two1 officers belonging
to the British frigate "Nahant." In the war of
1812 two British frigates sailed into the bay and
made off wth six sloops, and a seventh which

PORT JEFFERSON HARBOR.
they burned at Dyer's Xeck. And at this time,
and, indeed, as late as 1836, the place was known
as Drown Meadow.
The real history of Port Jefferson may be
dated from 1797, when John Wilsie began the
shipbuilding industry. At that time there were
only five houses in the village, and for a num
ber of years the increase was small. Wilsie
built a dock into the bay on his property, and
seems to have done a good trade, but up to the
time of his death, in 1818, the shipbuilding in
dustry remained in his hands and added but little
to the prosperity of the place. But a beginning
had been made, and by 1825 there were several
firms in the business. The history of the village
has been written at length by R. M. Bayles, and
his narrative is largely drawn upon in this sketch.

According to this writer about 1836 a new era
seemed to open to the progress of this industry
and the improvement of the village generally.
This was in considerable measure owing to the
enterprise of Captain William
L. Jones, who probably ven
tured more capital and energy
in developing the village than
any other man has ever done.
Captain Jones was a member
of a native family, and was bora
about the year 1792. In early
life he naturally took to the
water. His parents were Daniel
and Bethia Jones. He inherit
ed considerable landed prop
erty about Comsewogue, which
furnished him the means for
carrying out the designs of an
inventive and enterprising geni
us. The estate of the Roe fam
ily comprised the greater part
of the present village site, and
from this Captain Jones pur
chased a large tract, reach
ing from about the site of the
Presbyterian Church, along the
west and north sides of Alain
street to the neighborhood of
the Baptist church, and so
northerly to the shore of the bay, including also a
tract on the east side of Main street, up Pros
pect street as far as the residence of John R. Ma
ther. November 10, 1837, he received a grant from
the town for a dock into the bay from the shore
of his property, and at the same time entered
into an agreement to construct a causeway over
the salt meadows to the dock through his land,
so as to make a public highway 18 feet wide,
to be stoned up on either side and of sufficient
height to be above ordinary high tides. This
two-fold enterprise was completed in a few years,
at a cost of several thousand dollars. The dock
is maintained in part, and the highway thus
opened over the flooded meadows is now the
busy street that runs from Hotel square to the
shore. Nearly half the business of the present

BROOKHAVEN.

275

village is carried on upon the land that forty-
years ago was owned by Captain Jones, the
greater part of which was made available for
business by the improvements just noticed. Cap
tain Jones was married November 30, 1814, to
Hetta Hallock. After her death he married the
widow of Richard Mather, and his third wife
was Hannah Hallock, who survived him. He
died in i860.
For a time Port Jefferson prospered beyond
its fellow villages, and its shipbuilding industry
grew until it had the largest business of that
kind of an)- town in Suffolk county, and other in
dustries — notably milling — found entry. A
Methodist Church was erected in 1836, a Presby
terian Church jn 1854, and a Congregational
tabernacle in 1855.
At the present time the village is thrifty,
and appears to be well started upon a career of
even greater usefulness — one which the late P.
T. Barnum hoped for, when he took a fancy to
the place, and undertook its building upon a
larger scale. It has a splendid body of citizens
and a large population — 2,026.
Sailing vessels often start from Port Jeffer
son for an extended tour along the Sound shores.
A steamer plys between this place and Bridge
port, Connecticut, which is directly across Long
Island Sound. From Port Jefferson the railroad
passes through the attractive rural villages of
Rocky Point, Miller's Place and Wardenclyffe,
to Wading River, the terminus of this branch
of the railroad. The immense structure erected
by Professor Tesla for the operation of his
wireless telegraphic invention was located at
Wardenclyffe. Mount Sinai, a village which, according to
the records, formerly boasted a larger popula
tion than now, lies on the coast some three miles
eastward from Port Jefferson. It was called by
the Indians Xon-o-wan-tuck, but the more com
monplace New England settlers dubbed it "Old
Man's." It seems to have come into use as soon
as the choice plots in Setauket were appropriated,
for its rich meadows appeared desirable selling
places, while its forests stretched away in the dis
tance in seemingly inexhaustible extent. But the

soil did not prove as fruitful as it looked, and
Old Man's grew very slowly. Early in the nine
teenth century sloopbuilding was begun, and for
mlany years cordwood was shipped in great quan
tities, and the business in clams reached large
proportions. In 1720 a preaching station in con
nection with the Setauket Presbyterian Church
was established, and it grew into a separate con
gregation in 1760. It has, however, long since
disappeared. A Congregational Church, found
ed in 1789, upon, it is supposed, the "remnants"
of the Presbyterian fold, has fared better, and
still continues to shed the light of the Gospel
with an active membership of 120. The total
population of Mount Sinai is about 225.
Still eastward along the Sound is Miller's
Place, a settlement with a population of some
200, which takes its name from its original set
tler, Andrew Miller, who removed there from
East Hampton in 1671. Its antiquity is all that
calls for remark, as it is a wide scattered farm
ing community. Rocky Point and Woodville are
small settlements between Miller's Place and
Wading River — the latter town lying on the
boundary line between Brookhaven and River
head, but belonging mainly to the latter. From
St. James' to Wading River, Brookhaven pos
sesses a magnificent stretch of shore line which
will some day be utilized for resort purposes
and will bring to the township a degree of pros
perity it has not yet dreamed of. The oppor
tunity lies waiting and only needs energy, en
terprise and capital to develop rich and lasting
results. Coram, in the center of the township, is one
of the oldest settlements, and Middle Island has
liekwise some claim to considerable antiquity.
Both are small farming communities. Yaphank
started, in 1739 as a mill-site, and in time other
mills were started and a settlement grew slowly,
but it was not until 1853 that it was large enough
to have a church, and in that year St. Andrew's
Protestant Episcopal Church was erected. In
1871 the Suffolk County Almshouse was erected
in the village on a farm of 170 acres, and which,
in 1879, was extended by the addition of 80
acres.

276

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Patchogue Neck, as previously stated, was
lot No. 3 of Winthrop's patent, as disposed of
by lottery. On February 6, 1773, by an act of
the Colonial Assembly it was enacted "That
Winthrop's Patent shall be under the jurisdiction
of the Town of Brookhaven."
In this manner Patchogue and the neighbor
ing district first became a part of the town. As
a village the principal support for long years
was the rich supply of oysters, and fishing in
general, but in later years other important in
dustries sprang up and were prosperous. This
was the over-night stopping place for the stages
which ran from East Hampton to Brooklyn, car
rying the weekly mail, and the ancient Roe's Tav
ern, which stood on the east corner of Main
street and Coram road, was a welcome resting
place for wearied travelers.
Before 1750 a mill had been built on
Patchogue river, and it was valued at £700,
which shows its importance at that early day.
The value of the stream in this neighborhood
was so apparent that dams and mills for grind
ing grain were soon built, and later devoted to
more important industries.
The modern Patchogue, the most thriving
village in the town of Brookhaven, and one of
the largest on Long Island, is beautiful of situ
ation, and, with the adornments given it by the
architect and landscape gardener, its splendid
hotels, its handsome stores and its general air
of wealth and refinement, it fully justifies the
appellation which has been given it — "the Queen
City of the South Shore." A fine Soldiers' Mon
ument stands at once as an impressive memorial
of the patriot dead and an eloquent attestation
of the patriotic spirit which has ever -pervaded
the community. The resident population is
4,250, and this number is multiplied fourfold in
the summer season, when the village is in its
greatest glory. It is a gathering- place for bi
cyclists, canoeists, yachtsmen, automiobilists and
all sorts and descriptions of pleasure seekers ; its
roads are among the best on Long Island, its
streets are macadamized and lighted by elec
tricity, its bathing facilites are of the best, and
it caters in a sensible and progressive way to the

wants and wishes of the great army of "summer
folks" who descend upon it year after year, and
add to its popularity and its material wealth.
It is also quite an industrial center, with its ex
tensive silk mills, and an oyster trade which
has reached wonderful proportions, while some
of the fastest yachts of the South Shore waters
are from such yards as those- of S. C. Wicks
& Company, Fillmore Baker, G. Smith and De
Witt Conklin.
Patchogue was for many years the home of
one who was in his day a leading literary celebri
ty, famed throughout the land — Seba Smith,
better known under his pen name, "Major Jack
Downing." He was a native of Maine, where
he became, in turn, editor of the "Eastern Argus"
and the "Bridgeton Daily Courier," and' in the
journal last named he published his celebrated
"Downing Letters," which at once established
his reputation as a political satirist and wit of
a high order. In 1832 he removed to New York
City, and about the time of the opening of the
Civil war he took up his residence in Patchogue.
His wife, who was Miss Elizabeth Oakes Prince,
was a congenial helpmeet and made a position
of her own in a literary career.
The first factory in Patchogue was a paper
mill located near the present site of the lace mill,
which was owned by Jonas Wicks, who made
strawboard and wrapping paper. This mill was
built in 1798 and destroyed by fire in 1850.
In the early years of 1800 there was a cotton
twine mill just west of the paper mill owned by
Frederick Odell, which was bought by Justus
Roe, grandfather -of Justus Roe, in 1816, who
sold a one-half interest to George Fair, of New
York, in 1823. Many years later this mill, which
is now a part of the lace mill, was rebuilt by
John E. Roe, who also owned another twine mill
at the east lake. In 1880 Hon. John S. Havens,
then owner of the west mill, leased it to Carls-
low, Henderson & Company, of Scotland, who
began the manufacture of crinoline. Later thev
imported lace curtains and bleached and finished
them for the market. Looms were then brought
to this country and placed in the mill for the
manufacture of lace curtains. In 1890 the mill

BROOKHAVEN.

277

was sold to the Patchogue Lace Manufacturing
Company. The plant has been enlarged and' new
looms and machinery added from time to time
until it is now one of the largest lace curtain
mills in the country.
In 1822 Daniel Haff owned a two-story wool
en mill, which stood on the grounds now oc
cupied by the electric light plant. The farmers
brought their wool to the mill. It was carded,
spun and woven into blankets and cloth.
The first mill on the west stream of the vil
lage was built by Nathaniel Smith and Daniel C.
Gillette, in 1832. There were also several other
enterprises in operation in the past, among them
an iron forge, several tanneries and a machine
shop employed in the manufacture of machines
for making envelopes.
About ,1850 shipbuilding in Patchogue was
an important industry. Many large coasting
schooners were built, and this business proba
bly did more toward the building up of the vil
lage than any other industry.
In' 1869 the Hon. Edwin Bailey took the
initiative step in the lumber business which has
grown and developed to its present capacity.
The firm of E. Bailey & Sons has now the largest
and most complete lumber yards and mills on
Long Island.
In 1878 Justus Roe began
the manufacture of steel tapes
and reels for surveyors' use.
The firm of Justus Roe &
Sons has now a large factory,
do an extensive business, and
their surveyors' instruments
are used in every State in the
Fmion and Canada. They also
manufacture bicycles, horse
clipping machines, and make a
specialty of iron and steel
work. Just north of the village
is a paper mill owned by Hon. John S. Havens,
where strawboard and wrapping paper are manu
factured. The first church in Patchogue was erected
in 1794 by a union of Congregationalists, Meth

odists, Baptists and Presbyterians, each sect oc
cupying but a portion of the time. A Congre
gational Society was organized January 14, 1793,
by the Rev. Noah Hallock. It consisted of eight
members, and was the Second Congregational
Church of Brookhaven, but had for a long time
no settled pastor. In 1820 the meeting house
mentioned above was rebuilt and enlarged. The
Presbyterians and Baptists had fallen out of the
race, and the Methodists, having greatly in
creased, wanted the use of the house for a great
er proportion of the time. The Congregational
ists purchased their right, and the first church
in the place became their own. The Rev.
Noah FI. Gillett, who was pastor at Mount
Sinai (or "Old Man's" as it was then
called), divided his labors with this church
until 1833. His successors were the Rev.
Smith P. Gammage, the Rev. Mr. Moore, the
Rev. Parshal Terry, the Rev. Mr. Beattie, and
the Rev. B. Matthias, who was there. in 1893.
The Rev. Mr. Gammage afterwards became a
disciple of Miller, the Second Adventist, and car
ried with him 58 of the members. These or
ganized a new church, but as the expected end
of the world did not come, they all, with the
minister, went back to the old fold. The church
in 1845 had increased to 204 members, and the

View of Patchogue in Brookhaven, Long Island.

congregation embraced 115 families, making it
by far the leading denomination. The old church
was replaced by an elegant structure on Pine
street in 1858, and a parsonage was added in
1862. The Methodist Episcopal Church was

278

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

first organized in 1791, but had no regular place
of meeting until the -old meeting house was built
in 1794, when they occupied it for one quarter
of the time. Circuit riders or local preachers
furnished the means of grace. When the Con
gregationalists purchased the old building, the
Methodists erected a new one about 1833. The
engraving which appears opposite gives a view of
the village as viewed from the west side of the
west mill dam in 1840. It shows distinctly the
first Congregational church and the first Meth
odist, afterwards the first Roman Catholic,
church. The former, the larger building, is now
a tenement house, while the latter has been de
stroyed. This was sold to the Roman Catholics
and a new one was built in 1853. The present
elegant edifice was built in 1891. The congre-
tion and membership is constantly increasing.
A Baptist meeting house was built on Ocean
avenue and dedicated August 9, 1876. The next
year a church was organized with five members,
but for some time it had no regular preacher.
On September 12, 1888, a meeting was called
for the purpose of organizing a Sunday-school
under the Baptist influence, and on January 17,
1889, the society disbanded in order to organize
a Baptist Church, and on Friday, January 18,
1889, the First Baptist Church of Patchogue
was organized. Mrs. James L. Whiting was its
first church clerk, and the first deacons were
James L. Whiting, H. W. Paine and William
Revere, with eleven members. The Rev. John
T. Vine was the first pastor and commenced
services under the Baptist Church -on March 14,
1889, when it was recognized as a Baptist
Church. The Rev. L. Evans was its second
pastor. The Rev. L. W. Jackson, the present
pastor, commenced his labors in December,
1898. The first congregation of Roman Catholics
purchased the first Methodist Episcopal meet
ing house about 1854. In this church they wor
shipped with occasional services by priests from
other localities. The increasing congregation
rendered larger and better accommodations a ne
cessity, and in 1888 the present church of St.
Francis de Sales was erected. The first priest

was Father Felix O'Callahan, who died here in
1891. The present priest is Father J. J. Cronin,
who is a preacher of marked ability and great
influence. His pastorate dates from July 3, 1897.
He had been previously pastor at Flushing and
at King's Park.
St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church was
built about 1845, and at first was connected with
St. Ann's Church at Sayville. For many years
the rector was Rev. John H. Prescott.
The history of Freemasonry in Patchogue
dates from June, i860, when South Side Lodge
was instituted and the officers installed by Will
iam Z. King, of Peconic Lodge, as follows :
William S. Preston, master; Sanford W. Chapel,
senior warden; William J. Horton, junior war
den ; George F. Carman, senior deacon ; Charles
W. Miller, junior deacon; Henry Parks, tyler.
The present membership is 165.
At the meeting of the grand chapter of Royal
Arch Masons, of New York, February 10, 1866,
a dispensation for the institution of Suwassett
Chapter, at Port Jefferson, was granted, and on
April 14 the first meeting was held in that vil
lage with Effingham Tuthill as high priest. On
December 14, 1875, John Ferguson of Patchogue
was elected( high priest, and at a meeting of the
grand chapter in February, 1876, a permission
was granted by that body to remove the chapter
to Patchogue, since which time the chapter has
continued to prosper. In 1894 the chapter was
costumed and now works its various degrees in
full regalia.
The order of Odd Fellows is represented in
Pachogue by Brookhaven Lodge, No. 80, which
was instituted on August 19, 1846, with five
charter members, as follows : Dr. William S.
Preston, Nathaniel Conklin, Flenry Ketcham,
Lewis G. Davis and D. Wichham Case.
Farragut Council, No. 54, Junior Order Uni
ted American Mechanics, was instituted Decem
ber 27, 1895, with 69 charter members. The
first councilor of the society was Dr. E. Agate
Foster. Court Advance, No. 159, Foresters of Amer
ica^ was instituted February 24, 1891, with 105
charter members. The late M. B. Vandusen

BROOKHAVEN.

279

was the first chief ranger of the society. As a
beneficial institution it stands first among those
of Patchogue. The present membership is 190.
Previous to the middle of the last century,
Patchogue included four school districts, each
with a rude schoolhouse of the ancient pattern,
and, as a schoolmaster of that day expressed
it, "filled with young barbarians." The practice
of having the teacher "board around" was uni
versal. The branches taught were few, conven
iences for study fewer still, and, of elegancies,
none. Both teachers and scholars labored under
every inconvenience, yet, as a rule, the in
structors were faithful to their duties, and, as
there were "brave men before Agememnon," so
there were good schoolmasters before Professor
Gordon. .Of the schoolmasters of the olden
time, foremost was Brewster Saxton, who taught
not only in each of the four districts, but prob
ably in more different localities than any school
master in Suffolk county. His great hobby was
mental arithmetic. Nothing suited him so well
as to call out on the floor some scholar whom
he had drilled for weeks, and ask him "How
much will 3 hogsheads, 1 barrel, 15 gallons, 3
quarts, 1 pint and 2 gills of wine cost at 6 cents
a gill?" And it was with pleasure which he
did not conceal that he witnessed the amaze
ment of the visitor, as the boy went through
this calculation and gave the answer. He never
failed to remark to the visitor, "If you don't
think he is right you can try it on a slate," an
invitation that was seldom accepted. In spite of
many harmless eccentricities he was successful
for the time in which he lived, and we honor his
memory. He was the last of the old-time school
masters. The Patchogue Union School was organized
in 1869 by the union of four districts under the
general law. In 1870 the present building was
erected by the Hon. Edwin Bailey, and at that
time was the finest building of its kind in Suf
folk county. The first board of education con
sisted of Dr. W. S. Preston, president; E. T.
Moore, clerk; Hon. Edwin Bailey, Hon. George
F. Carman, Smith L. Newins, Oliver Perry
Smith and Alfred C. Mott. Professor A. M.

Drummond was the first principal, and opened
the school in the fall of 1871. He was a scholar
and an excellent teacher and good organizer.
Under his influence the school at once took a
high rank in the county. He had five assistants,
and registered about four hundred pupils. After
four years of hard work, which resulted in a
thorough organization of the school, Professor
Drummond left for another field of labor, and
Professor Levi Seeley was elected principal. He
Garried forward the work so well begun by his
predecessor, and by various means succeeded in
so popularizing the school that when he left,
after six years of faithful service, the most pop-
alar institution in the community was the
Patchogue Union School. Its registration had
increased to over live hundred, and eight as
sistants were employed. In 1881 Professor
Seeley left to become superintendent of schools
at Lansingburg, New York, and Professor W.
E. Gordon, the present principal, was elected to
succeed him.
Professor Gordon, the principal, was born at
Batchellerville, Saratoga county, New York,
in 1848. Until he was twenty years of age
his life was spent upon the farm, and by
attending school during the winter months he
fitted himself to enter the junior second class
at the Albany Normal School, from- which he
graduated in 1870. His first school was at
Orient, Long Island, where he taught one year.
While teaching in this school he was engaged to
take charge of the Shelter Island school. From
here he was called to the principalship of this
school, after which he took a three-years' course
in the school of pedagogy of the University of
the City of New York, and received from that
institution the degree of Doctor of Pedagogy in
1892. In 1888 a kindergarten department was or
ganized with Miss Lucretia Titte'rtoh in charge.
This was the first kindergarten in connection
with a public school in Suffolk county, if not
on Long Island. In 1892 the academic depart
ment was admitted to the supervision of the re
gents with a full high1 school course.
Moriches, a district rather than a village,

280

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and generally understood as covering Moriches,
Centre Moriches and East Moriches, may be
said to -lie between Forge River and the vil
lage of Eastport, on the line of Southampton
township. The territory formed a part of the
Moriches patent. It is one of the most popular
resorts on Long Island for an excellent class of
people — such as prefer the wholesome enjoy-

the visitor will find himself in touch with all
the conveniences of an ideal summer resort.
The Presbyterian Church at East Moriches
was organized on February 20, 1902. It was
composed of twenty members, who had previ
ously belonged to the Presbyterian Church at
Centre Moriches. The pulpit of the new church
was supplied by Rev. Augustus C. Kellogg, and

NEAR MORICHES.

ments of outdoor life before the. attractions of
the more fashionable resorts. Hundreds of fam
ilies from New York and Brooklyn make this
place their summer home, and, knowing its
charms, would not for a moment entertain an
idea of going anywhere else. For these there
are the ample accommodations afforded by large
hotels and those of less pretentiousness. No
more ideal spot could be found for those who
love the water. Moriches Bay is practically
land-locked, and perfectly safe for sailing or
rowing at all times. There is neither danger of
sudden squalls or rough water. Along the
beach of the bay the still-water bathing is de
lightful, and, as at other nearby places, a short
sail takes those who wish a plunge in the surf
over to the outlying island, where the ocean
breaks upon one of the finest beaches in America.
The train service from here is excellent, and

he was installed as stated supply on October 14,
1902. St. John's Episcopal Church, at Centre
Moriches, was organized in February, 1898, and
for two years services were conducted by Mr.
L. G. Marony, a lay reader. The old village
school house was purchased and was repaired
and greatly improved and is a church building of
elegant simplicity, and well furnished with all
necessary accessories for church services. Rev.
Harry Willard Raymond Stafford, B. D., the
Priest in charge, was born September 20, i860.
After a three years' course of study at St.
Stephen's College, Annandale, he graduated
from the Episcopal Theological School, Cam
bridge, Massachusetts, June 16, 1886, was
ordained Deacon the same year, and Priest
on Ma)- 27, 1888. He was Rector of Grace
Church, Hannlen, Connecticut, 1887-88, and

BROOKHAVEN.

281

Curate of the Church of the Incarnation, Brook
lyn, in 189S. From that place he came to this
parish January 21, 1900. Under his energetic

NATHANIEL SMITHS HOME.
labors the church has been prosperous, and there
is little doubt but that it will soon be one of the
most flourishing in the country.
Among the other villages in the township are
Yaphank, near the center of the territory, a

delightful village with a population of about
500; Bellport ( 79 5 ) well elevated, with a fine
frontage on the Great South Bay, and possessing
excellent accommodations for the summer guest;
Mandeville (380), another pleasant village;
Old Field, population 200; Mastic (50) a quiet
little spot; Blue Point (355); Brookfield, 380;
Dyer's Neck, 150; Lake Grove, 330; Eotor, 355;
and Brookhaven, 325. The last named village
was known as Fire Place up to about 1876. It
is entirely a place of modern growth, its first
church society dating from 1848. South Haven,
a neighboring village, is much older, although
its population is only about 100. It was large
enough in 1745 to have a Presbyterian meeting
house and several mills. At that time it was'
known as Yamphank Neck. The name was
changed to South Haven in 1757 as the result of
a vote of its people, so we see that the fashion
of substituting more fanciful names for the often
homely but always expressive primitive ones is
not quite as modern a fad as is commonly sup
posed.

CHAPTER XIII.

SOUTHAMPTON.

HE town of Southampton is bounded as
follows : "Beginning at the easter
most point of Hog Neck, over against
Shelter Island ; from- thence on a
straight line to a point in Sag Harbor op
posite to the center of Division street, and
the center of a two pole highway laid out be
tween the towns of Southampton and East
Hampton, in the year 1695 ; to the south side of
the Country road. From this point it is bounded
south by East Hampton, as far west as the cen
ter of the Wainscott road. Thence south along
the center of this road, and the same line ex
tended to- the Atlantic ocean, at high water mark.
From thence westward along the ocean shore to
a place called Seatuck, at a point opposite a
monument placed by commissioners in the year
1873, thence to said monument, and on the same
line, between Clam Island on the east and Long
Point on the west to the bay, thence in a straight
line to the centre of the mouth of Seatuck river
and so northerly up the centre of Seatuck
river to the centre of the mill dam, formerly
of one Pye, but lately of George W. Tuthill.
From thence in a straight line to the place
where the bound tree formerly stood, now
marked by a brown stone and a white mar
ble monument, on the north side of the coun
try road, at the southeast (corner of what is
known as the Barrett and Beebe farm ; which
is also the southeast corner of the large tract of
land known as Halsey's manor. Thence north

erly along the east line of the town of Brook
haven, to a brown stone standing a few rods
from the shore of Peconic river, or the mill pond,
and on the same line to the river." The town is
bounded on the north by the centre of the stream
of Peconic river to tide water in Peconic Bay.
From thence it is bounded north by Peconic Bay,
at ordinary highwater mark, and so along the
shore of the bay (including Great Noyach) to
the most easterly point of Hog Neck, where it be
gan. This includes the branches and creeks of Pe
conic Bay, which are within the boundaries ; and
also Shinnecock Bay, and a part of the Great
South Bay.
The history of this town begins March 10, in
the year 1639, at which time a company of men
in Lynn, Massachusetts, had made preparations
for settling a new plantation or town on Long
Island, and had built or purchased a small vessel
for that purpose. The Company consisted of Ed
ward Howell, who disbursed £15 ; Edmond Far-
rington, £10; Josias Stanborough, £5; George
Welbe, £10; Job Sayre, £5; Edmond Needham,
£5; Henry Walton, £10, and Thomas Sayre, £5.
This Company, who called themselves the
"Undertakers," sold their shares in the vessel
to Daniel Flow, upon the condition that "hee is
to transporte them so much goods, as their sev-
erall sonimes of Money shall amount unto, and
also for each man a person and a tunne of goods
free." It was also agreed that Daniel How

SOUTHAMPTON.

283

should make three voyages a year to the intended
plantation, "namely, the first moneth, the fourth
moneth and the eighth moneth," these being, ac
cording to the "old style" of reckoning then in
use, March, June and October. In the meantime,
Allen Bread, Thomas Halsey and 'William Har-
ker had by the consent of the company become
partners with the rest. It was a part Of the
agreement that each man who disbursed £5
should be entitled to a "house lot, planting lott
and farme," and to these new members Edward
Howell, Daniel How and Henry Walton each
gave one of their shares. And it seems that
Daniel How had contributed £15 as his part.
The Company of "Undertakers" then drew
up an agreement, which is the most interesting
and valuable document in the history of the town,
and is here given in full :
"For as much as wee Edward Howell, Ed
mond ffarrington, Edmond Needham, Daniell
How, Josias Stanborough, Thomas Sairs, Job
Saires, George Welbe, Henry Walton & Thomas
Halsey, Allen Bread, William Harker, have dis
bursed ffottrscore pounds ffor the settinge ffor-
ward A Plantacon, and in regard wee have taken
vpon vs to transporte at or owne prop Costs and
charges all such psons as shall go-e at the first
voyage whenn those of or Company that are
Chosen thereunto shall goe vpon Discovery and
search, and to beginne and settle a Plantacon,
and further more in regarde all such psons soe
goeinge vpon or accompt have in or vessell the
ffreedome of halfe A Tunne of goods a pson,
it is thought meete that wee the fore named vnd-
dertakers should not any tyme nor tymes here
after be lyable to any rates, taxes or Impositions,
nor be putt vpon -any fenceings, buildinge of
meetinge house, erecting ffortifications, buildinge
of bridges, repairinge high wayes, nor otherwise
charged for any Cause or reason whatsoever
duringe the tyme of or discontinuance in or in
tended Plantacon, except yt in the fencinge in of
Plantinge Lotts, every man shall (with his neigh-
bore) fence or cause to be fenced by the first
day of April weh shall be 1641.
"ffurthermore because delaying to lay out the
boundes of Townes, and all such land within the
saide boundes hath bene generally the ruin of
Townes in this Country, therefore we the said
vndertakers have thought goode to take vpon, vs,
the dispose of all lands within our said boundes
soe yt yt weh wee lay out for A house Lott, shall

at al! tymes from tyme to tyme hereafter, con
tinue to be A house Lott, and but one Dwelling
house shall be builded vpon it, and those Lo-ttes
yt wee lay out for plantenge Lotts, shall not at
any tyme nor tymes hereafter, be made house
lotts whereby more Inhabitants might be re-
ceaved into or said Plantacon to the otter charge-
ing of Commons and the Impoverishinge of the
Towne, and yt allsoe what is layed out for Com
mons shall Continue Common & noe man shall
presume to Incroach vpon it soe , much as A
hands breadeth, and whatsoever wee lay out for
farmes shall so remaine for after tyme, and ye
dispose of all such landes so- layed out shall also
bee at all tymes and from tyme to tyme hereafter
at the will & pleasure of vs the said vndertakers
or executors Administrators and Assigns. Name
ly the disposinge of the lande * * * shall
be disposed * * * [nearly two lines gone].
"And allsoe whosoever selleth his Accomo
dations in the Towne shall sell house Lott &
plantinge Lott or Lotts & nieddow Intirelv and
if hee sell his farme he shall not devide it butt
sell it together, viz, his ffarme Intirely & his Ac
comodations in ye Towne Intirely.
"Moreover whosoever cometh in by vs shall
hotild himself Sattisfyed with foure Achres to
an house Lott & twelve Achres to a plantinge
Lott, & soe much meddow & vplande as may
make his Accomodations ffifty Achres, except wee
the said vndertakers shall see cause to Inlarge
that proportion by A farme or otherwise.
"ffurthermore noe pson nor psons whatsoever
shall challenge or claime any proper Interest in
Seas, rivers, creekes or broo'kes, howsoever
boundeinge or passinge througe his grounde, but
ffreedome of fishinge, fowlinge, & navigation
shall be Common to all within the bankes of the
said waters whatsoever.
"And whosoever shall fell any tree or trees
in highwayes, is either to grtibb them up by the
rootes or else to eutt them smooth vp euen by
the grounde and putt the tree or trees out of all
such highways.
"And whosoever felleth any tree or trees in
the common, shall either carry away the body or
bodyes thereof with ye Aptenances, or else sett
or lay it vp on heapes soe as the pasture for Cat-
tell or passage for man or beast may not haue
any Annoyance.
"Likewise noe pson nor psons wt'ever shall
fell or lopp or carry away any 'Tree or trees, fire
wood or otherwise off or ffrom any Lott or Lotts
wtsoeuer, for as is the lande, soe shall ye Apt-
nances bee, every mans owne peculiar ppriety.
"Neither shall any pson or psons make or vse

284

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

any highwayes paths or otherwise over any per
sons house Lott plantinge Lott or medow, but
shall vpon all occasions vse the Allowed wayes
layed out for yt end.
"ffurthermore it is thought meete that if the
said vndertakers make any Composition with any
pson or psons yt claim to them to make many-
fest his or their right in any pt or pts or in all
* * * of the place where God shall direct
vs to beginne or intended Plantacon * * *
[a line gone].
"And it come to passe yt wee the said vnder
takers shall either in our owne names, or in the
names of the Inhabitants In generall promise to
pay or cause to be. paid any somme or sommes of
money, goods or Chart-ell, fines or rates or the
like, as may hereafter be thought meete propor-
tionably to what they In joy, And: that then every
pson or psons Inhabitinge within the boundes
of our Plantacon beinge owners of lande there,
that they shall be contented and pleased to help
to beare a share or shares, from tyme to tyme
and at all tymes hereafter of all such payments
as may be required of vs the forenamed vnder
takers or executors Administrators or Assignes
and yt his or their Subscribeinge to these pres
ents may be a sufficient Declaration vnder all
such psons ban des yt they doe approve of all the
premises here specified.
"Lastly wee the said vndertakers testify by
these prsents in our Admittinge of Inhabitants
to our Intended Plantacon that wee without any
kinde of reseruation leave men ffree to choose
and determine all Causes and Controuerseys
Arbitrary amonge themselues. And that when-
soeuer it shall please the Lord & he shall see it
good to adde to vs such men as shall be fitt
matter for A church, that then wee will in that
thinge lay ourselves downe before )"e Consti
tutes thereof either to bee or not to be receaved
as members thereof accordinge as they shall dis-
cerne the worke of god to be in our hearts.
"John Cooper Ye marke of
"Edward Howell "Edmund X Harrington
"Edmund Needham "Daniell How
"Josiah Stanborough "Job Sayre
"Henr. Walton "George Welbee
the mark of "Thomas Halsey
"Allen X Bread "William Harker1
"Thomas Sayre Vndertakers.

the marke of
"Thomas X Newell
"John ffarington
the marke of
"Richard X Rvall

"Phillip Kyrtland
"Nathaniel Kyrtland
"Thomas Harrington
"Thorn— Terry."

"These are to give no-tise that wee the ffore-
said Company of vndertakers doe ffully and ffree-
ly give' our Consent that John Cooper shall 'and
is Admitted an vndertaker with the like full &
Lymmitted power with ourselves in all Cases
yt may Concerae our Plantacon. Edward Howell
the mark of Edmond X Harrington.
Edmund Needham
Thomas Halsey.
the mark of Allen W. Bread.
Daniell How.
Henr. Walton."
"Know all men whom these presents may
concerne yt whereas it is expressed in on Arti-
kle that the power of disposing of Land & Ad
mission of Inhabitants into our Plantacon shall
at all tymes remaine in the hands of vs the said
vndertakers to vs and our heires forever, yt
our true intent and meaneinge is that when our
Plantacon is laid out by those Appointed accord
inge to our Articles & that there shall be a church
gathered and constituted accordinge to the minde ,
of Christe, that then wee doe ffreely lay downe
our power both of orderinge and disposeinge of
the plantacon & receaveinge of Inhabitants or
any other thinge that may tende to the good &
welfare of ye place at the ffeete of Christe and
his Church, provided that they shall not doe any
thing contrary to the true meaninge of the
fformer Articles.
"ffurther more whereas it is expressed in A
fformer Article yt the lande of vndertakers
should at all tymes remaine ffree from Afforde-
inge any helpe to builde meeting house or make-
ing of bridge or bridges or mendeinge of high
wayes or the like dureing the tyme of their dis
continuance ffrom the plantacon, it is thought
meete that yt shall take place & stande in force but
two years vnless there be some good reason given
for it & then those shall have land only for the
third yeare provided yt within the thirde yeare
they come back-e againe, [nearly two lines gone]
* * ye 4th day of ye 4th 16 —
"In witness of these two Articles foregoinge
wee have sett to our hands.

John Cooper
Edmund Needham
Henr. Walton.
Edward Howell.
Thomas Halsey

the marke of
Edmond X Harrington
Daniell Bow-
Thomas Sayre.

"These are to give notis that wee the afore-
sayd vndertakers doe ffully and ffreely give our
Consent that Mr. John Gosmeere shall and is ad
mitted an vndertaker with the like full and Lim-

SOUTHAMPTON.

285

etted power with ourselves in all Cases yt Con- borough, Thomas Sayre, Job Sayre , Thomas
Halsey, John Cooper and John Gosmere. The
Farringtons seem to have gone to Flushing.
Thomas Terry may have been the same man who,
at a later date, was a settler in Southold. The
rest probably returned to New England.
As stated in an earlier portion of this history,

serne our plantatyon.
Edward Howell
Edmund Needham.
Henr. Walton
John Cooper
William Barker
Thomas Savre.

the marke of
Allen X Breade
The marke bf
Edmund X ffarrington.
Thomas Halsev

cUpru

(

A

: lc

zrt

V«,7"' ' . . v»
4~-

J

./

AUTOGRAPHS OF FIRST GRANTEES.

The date of this last Instrument, which is
given as "Ye 4th day of ye 4th 16 — " is of the
greatest value. Although a part of the same
document and on the same paper, it appears to
have been added at a later date, and means the
4th day of June, 1640. In addition to the origin
al Company several more names are found.
Some of these names never appear again in our
records. These persons probably abandoned the
settlement soon after its commencement. The
only men who remained and were identified with
our history, were Edward Howell, Josias Stan-

King Charles I of England, on April 22, 1636,
requested the Plymouth Colony to issue to Will
iam Alexander, Earl of Stirling, a patent for
Long Island and the islands adjacent. This was
done, and on April 20, 1637, the Earl gave a
power of Attorney to James Farrett to dispose of
his lands. A certified copy of this power of At
torney is now in the town clerk's office in South
ampton, The "Undertakers" of the new Plantation, in
order to obtain a legal title to such lands as they
might settle upon, procured from James Farrett

286

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the following Deed -of permission to settle on

Long Island :

"Know all men whom this prsent writing
may concerne that I James ffarret of Long Isl
and Gent Deputy to the right hoiirbl the Earle of
Starling Secretary for the kingdom of Scotland
doe by these presents in the name and behalf of
the said Earle and in mine owne name allsoe as
his Deputy as it doth or may any way concerne
myself, Give and grant free leave and liberty to
Daniell how, Job Sayre, 'George Willby and
William Harker together with their associates
to sitt downe upon Long Island afforesaide, there
to possess improve and enjoy eight miles square
of land or soe much as shall containe the said
quantity, not only upland but alsoe whatsoever
meadow marish ground, harbors Rivrs and
creeks lye within the bounds or limitts of the
said eight miles, The same and every pt thereof
quietly and peaceably to enjoy to1 them and theire
•heyres forever without any disturbance, lett or
mollestation from the said earle or any by his
appoyntment or prcurement for him or any of
his. And that they are to take their choise to
sit down upon as best lyketh them and alsoe that
they and their associates shall enjoy as full and
free liberty in all matters that doe or may con
cerne them or theires or that may conduce to ye
good and comfort of them and theires both in
church order and civill Governmt together with
all other Easemts conveniences and accommoda
tions whatsoever which the said place doth or
may afford, answerable to what other plantations
enjoy in Massachusetts Bay. But in as much as
it hath pleased our Royall King to Give and grant
the patent of Long Island to the afforesaid Earle :
In consideration thereof it is agreed uppon that
the trade with ye Indians shall remaine to the
said Earle of Starling to Dispose of from time
to time and at all times as best liketh him. Onely
ye aforesaid Daniell How and his copartners
shall have libertie to make choice of one man
amongst them that sail freely trade with the In
dians in theire behalf for any victualls within
theire owne plantation, but not for wampum. And
if any of the afforesaid p'sons or any of them
shall secretly trade with the Indians for wam
pum whither directly or indirectly without leave
or license from the said Earle or his Assignes
the pson or psons soe offending shall pay for
eveiy fathom soe traded to the said Earl or his
assignes the sum of twenty shillings : ffurther it
is Agreed uppon that whatsoever shall bee
thought meete by the rt Worpl John Winthrop

Esp. Govemr of the Massachusetts Bay to bee
given to the Earl of Starling in way of acknowl
edgement as the Patenttee of the place shall be
cluely and truely paid, ffurthermore it is agreed
upon that noe man shall by vertue of any gift
or purchase lay any claime to any land lying
within tbe compass of the eight miles before
mentioned but onely the afforesaid Inhabitants
shall make purchase (in theire owne names at
theire owne leisure from, any Indians that In
habit or have lawful right to any of the afore
said land) all or any pt thereof, and thereby as
sure it to themselves and theire heyres as theire
Inhabitance for ever. In witness whereof wee
have hereunto set our hands and scales the 17th
day of April, 1640.
"Memorandum. That the true meaning of
Mr. ffarret is that whereas hee hath formerly
purchased sartain lands in Long Island for the
Earle of Starling or himself, That hee doth by
these presents fully release all claime and Inter
est in the land above mentioned or psons that
shall sitt down upon it with all to Governmt
whither in church or in commonwealth. All
which is to be clearly and fully drawne up ac
cording to the trew meaning of this agreement
when things shall be settled and concluded by
the rt worpl John Winthrop above mentioned.
James ffarrett [seal]."
"Sealed and delivered in the presence of
Theoph : Eaton
John Davenport.
With this authority, a portion of the company
went, with their vessel to select a place for set
tlement. The place they selected was at the head
of Cow Bay, in what is now the town of North
Hempstead, and probably on the present site of
the village of Fort Washington. They made a
landing here May 10, 1640, and finding the arms
of the Prince of Orange, erected upon a tree,
Lieutenant Howe (the owner of the vessel and
leader of the enterprise) pulled them down. The
Indian Sachem who had sold the lands to the
Dutch sent word to Governor William Kieft
that "some foreign strollers" had arrived there,
and were felling trees and building houses and
"had even hewn down the arms of their High
Mightenesses" and in their place had drawn "an
unhandsome face." On May 13, the -Council of
New Amsterdam ordered Cornelius Von T-hien-
hoven to arrest and bring before them the "strol-

SOUTHAMPTON.

287

lers and vagabonds" who had invaded their ter
ritory. He went with two, officers and twenty
men, and on arriving there, on May 15th, they
found "eight men, one woman and a little child."
They had built one house and were building an
other. Upon being asked "why they had cut
down their high Mightinesses arms, and set up
a fool's face in its stead," some answered that
it was done by a person who was not then pres
ent. Another said it was done by order of a
Scotchman, James Farrett, and that he and Lieu
tenant Howe were then at Red Hill (New
Haven). This shows that Howe after landing
the company had immediately returned with his
vessel. Six of the men were taken to New Am
sterdam. Upon examination they stated that
they went to Long Island from Lynn, (Massa
chusetts, under authority from James Farrett,
and with consent of Governor 'Winthrop. It
was intended to bring twenty families, and many
more would come if the land was good. "They
should live free under their own laws, and would
have been obedient to whomsomever was lord of
the land." Of the six men, Job Sayre stated
that he was born in Bedfordshire, England, and
was twenty-eight years old; George Wilbye was
born in Northamptonshire, and was twenty-five;
Phillip Kirtland was twenty-six, and (Nathaniel
Kirtland was twenty-two, and they and John
Farrington (who was twenty- four) were all
from Buckinghamshire. William Harker was
from Lincolnshire, and was twenty-four years
old. They were discharged on May 19th, as not
being guilty of tearing down the Dutch arms,
and were set at liberty on condition that they
should depart from the territory and never to
return to it without the consent of the Directors.
Such was the end of the first English settlement
on Long Island.
In considering the different dates above
given, it is very necessary to understand that the
year at that time began on March 25, and March
was called the "First month." And that March
10, the date of the disposal of the vessel, and all
the following dates, were in the same year, 1640.
The Company appear to have gone without
delay to the east end of Long Island. On June

12, 1640, James Farrett gave a deed of confirma
tion to Edward 'Howell, Daniel How, Job Sayre
and their associates "for all those lands lying and
being bounded between Peaconeck and the east
ermost point of Long Island, with the whole
breadth of the said Island from sea to sea, with
all lands and premises contained within said
limits." This would seem to intimate that a new
settlement had been actually begun on the lands
mentioned, and this date (June 12, 1640) is now
celebrated as "Founders' Day" in the town.
On July 7, 1640, a confirmation of the patent
was given by James Farrett, as follows :
"Memorandum: It is agreed upon between
James ffarret agent, and Edward Howell, John
Gosmer, Edmund ffarrington, Daniel Howe,
Thomas Halsey, Edmund Needham, Allen Breed,
Thomas Sayre, Henry Walton, George Welby,
William Harker and Job Sayre: that whereupon
it is agreed upon in a covenant passed between
us touching the extent of a olantacon in Long
Island, that the aforesaid Mir Edward Howell
and his copartners shall enjoy eight miles square
of land or so much as the said eight miles shall
containe, and that now lie in said bounds being
layed out and agreed upon : It is to begin at a
place westward from Shinnecock entitled the
name of the place where the Indians drawe over
their cannoes out of the north bay over to the
south side of the island, and from there to run
along that neck of land eastward the whole
breadth between the bays aforesaid to the easterly
end of an Island or neck of land lying over
against the Island commonly known by the name
of Mr ffarret's Island, To enjoy all and every
parte there of according as yt is expressed in
our agreement elsewhere, with that Island or
.neck lying over against Mr. ffarret's Island
formerly expressed. James Farret."
"Thomas Dexter
"Richard Walker Witnesses"
This giving, as it does, local names which
could only have been known by actual residence
on the spot, shows that the settlement was in ac
tual existence at that time. The "easterly end of
the Island or neck of land" mentioned, is the
east point of Hog Neck, opposite Shelter Island,
and this has always been held as the eastern

288

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

extremity of the town. The tract of land above
described, and extending from Canoe Place to
the bounds of East Hampton, was considered the
equivalent of the "eight miles square" granted
in James Farrett's first deed, and has always been
called the "Town Purchase," to distinguish it
from the purchases made at a later date of the
western part of the Town.
On August 12, 1640, William Alexander,
Earl of Stirling, confirmed all the sales made by
James Farrett to Edward Bowell, Daniel Howe
and others, by virtue of his power of attorney,
and confirmed them in their possessions.
The question having arisen as to what should
be paid to the Earl of Stirling as a quit rent, or
acknowledgment of his title, this question was
referred to John Winthrop, the Governor of
Massachusetts, who gave the following, on Oc
tober 20, 1641 :
"I, John Winthrop within named, having sea-
riously considered of that which in this writing
is reffered to my determination, although I am
very unwilling to take it vpon me & as unfitt also,
the rather being to seeke of any -rule or approued
precedent to guide me herein, yet being called
hereunto, I shall xpress what I conceive to be
equall vpon the considerations here ensueing, viz. :
The land within granted being a meere wilder
ness, and the natives of the place pretending some
Interest which the planters must purchase, and
they might have had land enough gratis (and
as convenient) in the massachusets or other of
the Collonies, with liberty to trade with the In
dians (which they are barred from), and for
that they had possessed and improved this place
before any actual claim made thereto by the
Right horibbl the Earle of Sterling or had any
neede of his lordships patent ; and whereas his
lordship (vpon consideration I suppose of the
premises) required nothing of them but in way
of acknowledgement of his interest, I doe here
upon conceive and doe accordingly (so farr as
power is given mee) order and sett downe that
the Inhabitants of the tract of land within men
tioned, or the plantation now called Southamp
ton, vpon Long Island, and their successors for
ever shall pay yearely to the said Earle of Ster
ling, his heirs or assigns, vpon the last day of
7 ber, att Southampton aforesaid, foure bushells
of the best Indian Corne there growing, or the
value of soe much, in full satisfaction of all

rents and services (the 5'tb part of gold and sil
ver oare to the Kings majesty reserved allways
excepted). In testimony whereof I have here
unto sett my hand, dated 20 (8) 1641
"Jo. Winthrop."
The above is written on the back of James
Farrett's deed of April 17/1640.
The next thing in order was to obtain a deed
from the Indians, the original and equitable pro
prietors of the soil, and some time after the set
tlement was begun the following deed was
given :
This Indenture, made the 13th day of De
cember Anno Dom. 1640, betweene Pomatuck,
Mandush, Mocomanto, Pathemanto, Wybbenett,
Wainmenowog, Heden, Watemexoted, Checke-
puchat, the native Inhabitants & true owners of
the eastern pt of the Long Island, on the one
part, and Mr. Jorn Gosmer, Edward Howell,
Daniel How, Edmond Needham, Thomas Hal
sey, John Cooper, Thomas Sayre, Edward ffar-
lngton, Job Sayre, George Welbee, Allen Breade,
Willm Harker, Henry Walton, on the other part,
witnesseth, that the sayed Indians, for due con
sideration of sixteen coats already received and
alsoe three score bushells of indian corne to be
payed vpon lawfull demand the last of Septem
ber, which shall bee in the year 1641, & fur
ther in consideration that the above named Eng
lish shall defend vs the sayed Indians from the
uniust violence of whatever Indians shall ille-
golly assaile vs, do absolutely & for ever give &
grant, and by these presents do acknowledge ovr-
selues to have given & granted, to the partyes
above mentioned, without any fraude, guile, men
tal reservation or equivocation to them and theire
heires 8: successors for ever, all the lands, woods,
waters, water courses, easements, proffits &
emoluments thence arising whatsoever, from the
place commonly knowne by the place where the
Indians hayle over their cannoes out of the North
Bay to the south side of the Island, from thence
to possess all the lands lving eastward between
the foresaid bounds by water, to wit, all the lands
pertaining to the parteyes aforesaid, as also all
the old ground formerly planted lying eastward
from the first creek at the westermore end of
Shinecock plaine; to have & to hold forever,
without any claime or challenge of the least tit
tle, interest or propriety whatsoever of vs the
sayd Indians or our heires or successors or any
others by our leave, appointment, license, coun
sel or authority what soever, alb the land bounded

SOUTHAMPTON.

289

as is above said. In full testimone of this our ab
solute bargaine, contract & grant, indented, &
in full and complete satisfaction & establishment
of this our act & deed of passing over all our title
and interest in the premises, with all emolu
ments & proffits thereto appertaining or any
wise belonging from sea or land, within our lim
its above specified, without all guile wee have set
to our hands th day and yeare above s-ayd. Mem-
orand. — Before the subscribing of this present
writing it is agreed that the Indians aboue
named shall have the libertie to break vp ground
for theire vse to the westward of the creek above
mentioned on the west side of Shinnecock plaine.
Witness of the deliverie & subscribinge this
writing : Abraham Pierson, Edward Stephenson,
Robert Terry, Joseph Howe, Thomas White-
hone, Joshua Griffiths, William How, Manata-
cut x his mark, Mandush x his mark, Wybenet
x his mark, Howes x his mark, Secommecock x
his mark, Mocomanto x his mark. These in the
the name of the rest.
The following agreement was entered into at
a subsequent time :
Indian Agreement between the Town of
Southampton and Seaponack Indians, December
28, 1649. To remove all trouble on account of
the Indians planting on ground that did not be
long to them. It is agreed that the Indians are
to have planting land west of the Long Creek
beyond the Great Playnes toward Shinecock unto
tbe Long Creek of Seaponack aforesayd, where
a ware house belonging unto the said English
did formerly stand. The Indians are to make a
fence for their planting ground.
The above agreement, which is recorded in
the office of the Secretary of State, explains the
meaning of the clause in the Indian Deed of
1640, where it spoke of "the old ground form
erly planted, at the west end of the westermore
end of Shinecock plaine." This land is men
tioned in old deeds as "Seaponack old Ground"
and is on the north side of Tuckahoe street, next
east of Shinnecock Hills. The "long creek of
Seaponack" is now called Bull Head Bay, and
this agreement' shows that a landing for vessels
was here very soon after the settlement. In 1678
William Baker had a warehouse at a place still
called "Barker's island," which was at the west
19

end of the fence of Shinnecock Hills, and prob
ably very near, if not on the same site, as the one
mentioned above.
By an agreement made before (iovernor
Nicolls, October 4, 1665, it was1 agreed that the
bounds of the Shinnecock Indians extended west
to Apocock creek, now Beaver Dam, and that
the bound's of the Unchechoge Indians extended
east to the said Apocock creek. "The middle of
the river to be the bounds, but either nation may
cutt flaggs for their use on either side." The
Indian name Apocock signifies a place where
flags grow. The Unchechoge Indians had their
principal seat on the neck, called Unchechoge,
near Mastic.
The original settlement was made at a place
which has ever since borne the name of "Old
Town," about half a mile east of the present
main street of Southampton. The very few al
lusions to it in our ancient records render it im
possible to exactly locate the houses of the first
settlers. We have evidence that the Pierson
family owned the south part of the land of late
Colonel Benjamin H. Foster on the east side of
Old Town Pond, and Rev. Abraham Pierson was
doubtless the first owner. Edward Howell, the
leader of the Colony, appears to have owned the
north corner of Old Town Lane and Wickapogue
street, but beyond these we have no certain
knowledge. For the first few' years of its existence,
Southampton was an independent government.
Among the very first documents as recorded in
the Town- Clerk's office, is "An Abstract of the
Lawes of Judgment as given by Moses to the
Commonwealth of Israel, soe farr foarth as they
bee of Morall, that is of perpetuall and universall
Equity. Among all nations, Especially such
where the church and Commonwealth are corn-
planted together in hoi}- couenant, and fellow-
shippe with God, in Jesus Christ, being joyntly
and unanimously consented vnto as funda
mental! by the Inhabitants of this Colony of
Southampton." These laws were based upon the
Mosaic code as given in Exodus. They include
the damage to be paid in case of trespass by cat
tle or swine, and for injuries inflicted by vicious

290

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

animals, and provide that blasphemy, idolatry
and witchcraft shall all be punished with death,
and the same for heresy, murder, perjury, adul
tery and rebellion. "Heresie" was defined as "the
mayntaynance of some wicked error, over
throwing the foundation of Christian Religion
with obstinacy." Profane swearing was to be
punished "by corporal punishment, eyther by
stripes or by branding them with an hott yron,
or boareing them through the tongue, as he hath
boared and pierced God's name." "Drunken
ness, as transforming God's Image into a Beast,
is to be punished with the punishment of a Beast.
A whippe for the horse, and a rodde for the
fooles backe."
The highest authority was the town meeting.
This was composed of all the freeholders of the
town. Universal suffrage was unknown till many
years after the Revolution. From the free
holders were chosen a select number, called
"Freemen," and these seem to be the only men
eligible to hold office. The "Generall Courte"
for election was held yearly on October ist.
"Quarter Courts" were to be held on- the first
Tuesdays of March, June, September and Decem
ber. These "Quarter Courts" were for the trial
of general oflenses and lawsuits, but the parties
could appeal to- the "General Court." The mag
istrates were appointed by the General Court,
and they were the great men of the town. One
of the things that the first settlers brought with
them was "respect for magistrates," and this,
we are happy to say, has continued till the pres
ent day. The position of "Freeman" not only in
volved the power to hold office, but rendered the
person liable to jury duty, and was more of an
honor than an advantage. In 1647 it was found
necessary to enact that if any man should be
chosen freeman and refuse the position, he should
pay forty shillings as a fine. The first list of
freemen on record is in 1650, and they were:
Mr. Edward Howell, Josiah Stanborough,
Thomas Talmage, Thomas Halsey, William
Rogers, Thomas Sayre, John White, Mr. John
Gosmer, Mr. Richard Odell (Woodhull) Rich
ard Barrett, John Cooper, Mr. Robert Ford
ham, Edward Johnes, Mr. Thurston Raynor, Mr.

William. Browne, John Howell, Mr. Thomas
Topping, Mr. Richard Smith.
In the early settlement, social position was
more clearly marked than at present. The first
settlers brought with them the same rank that
they held in their native land. Only a few were
entitled to be called "Mr." or "Gentleman." A
man who was not of sufficient importance to en
joy these titles was known as "Goodman." Bis
wife would be called "Good woman," which was
shortened into "goody." These distinctions are
very frequently seen in our early records.
That all the inhabitants were not virtuous
is shown by an entry of March 6, 1645. "It is
ordered that the five pounds that are due from
Thomas. Farrington and Edward Farrington
unto the Towne, shall be layed out for the pro
viding of a prison." On November. 14, 1648,
it is voted, "That there shall hereby be provided
a sufficient payre of stocks, John White having
undertaken to make them." These stocks (or
their successors) and a whipping post were
standing on the corner of Main street and Job's
Lane as late as 181 1. The last person so pun
ished was a colored woman detected in steal
ing. On October 7, 1650, the Court of Election
chose five men "to order all towne aflairs what
soever, excepting matters of admitting inhabi
tants or giving of land." These persons, known
as the "Towns men," had a great variety of du
ties, their principal duty being laying out lands
by order of the General Court. The following
were inhabitants of the town before 1650:
Edward Howell, Thomas Balsey, Thomas
Sayre, Job Sayre, William Harker, William
Wells, John Moore, Thomas Talmadge jr.,
Thomas Talmadge sen., Abraham Pierson, Hen
ry Pierson, Daniel Howe, Richard Barrett, Will
iam Rodgers, Fulk Davis, Nathaniel Kirtland,
Phillip Kirtland, Thomas Farrington, John Far
rington, Richard Mills, Thomas Tomson, Allen
Breade, Henry Walton, Josiah Stanborough, Ed
mond Needham, Thomas Terry, George Welbee,
John Gosmer, John Cooper, Henry Seymonds,
Richard Post, John Stratton, Thomas Hildreth,
Isaac Willman, John Budd, Thomas Burnett,
Thurston Raynor, John Odgen, John White, Ar-

SOUTHAMPTON.

291

th-ur Bostock, . Richard Smith, Joshua Barnes,
Theodore Vale, Thomas Topping, Jonas Wood,
George Wood, John Mulford, Richard Odell,
Edward Johnes, William Browne, John Robbin-
son, John Kelley, William Barnes, Robert Rose,
Ellis Cook, John Cory, Robert Marvin, Jeremiah
Flowe, Christopher Foster, John Lum, William
Mulford, Robert Talmage, Robert Bond, John
Ogden, Mark Meggs, Thomas Beale, Thomas
Pope, Isaac Willman, Richard Woodhull, Rich
ard Jacques, John Hand, Tristram Hedges. Sam
uel Dayton, Raphael Swinfield, John Jessup,
John Jag-ger, Thomas Doxy, Thomas Robinson.
Of these many remained but a short time,
and some of them, were among the first set
tlers of East Hampton. Richard Smith re
moved from the town at an early date and be
came the founder of Smithtown, and his name
is celebrated in Long Island history as "Bull
Smith." It is generally believed that Rich
ard Odiell and Richard Woodhull, whoise
names appear as above, were one and the same
person, who afterward settled in the town of
Brookhaven, and whose illustrious descendant
General Nathaniel Woodhull has left an im
perishable name as a marytr to the cause of
Long Island liberty.
As before mentioned, the first settlement was
at Old Town, but this locality being for some
reason considered unsuitable for a permanent
village, we find the following order:
"This instant 23d of the first (March) 1648.
it is ordered by ye five men, apoynted for towne
affaires, that ye whole Towne shall be called to
gether on the second day next, at the setting of
the sunne, to consider -of a Towne Plot that
shall be then presented to them, and to deter
mine concerning ye said Plot, or some other,
that may be presented by any other man's advice,
and also to consider of such home accomoda
tions as may be most suitable to the comfort
peace & welfare of this Plantation."
The new plan thus established is the present
main street of Southampton village, and ancient
deeds for home lots upon it are described as
being "in the Town Plot." The first mention of
a home lot on this street is October 7, 1648,
when "it is ordered by the freemen of this towne

that Isaac Willman hath the house lot next vnto
Ellis Cook, vpon the south side, granted him,
provided that if he shall remove from this place
before 3 years be expired, then he shall not sell
the sayd lott, vnless he have improved it by
building, fencing or manureing." This is the
home lot, on the east side of Main street, of
the late Edwin Post. It remained in the fam
ily of Isaac Willman for two or three genera
tions. The second church in Southampton was
built upon it. It was decided that each 50-
pound right should be entitled to a house lot of
four acres. Those who owned more than one
right had additional lots.
In the beginning Edward Howell and his
band of associates were the town. They owned
all the land purchased from the Earl of Stirling,
and owned it in proportion to what each man had
paid. New comers to the town were only ad
mitted by their approbation, and great care was
taken to exclude any who would not be de
sirable neighbors. To those who were admitted
they would give specified parcels of land, and
sometimes such persons bought lots ; but all that
remained undivided or unsold belonged to the
original company. The number of inhabitants
had increased, most of whom seem to have
bought shares in the company. On June 11,
1648, we find the following important order:
"It is ordered by all the Inhabitants of this
Towne this day that this towne is to be devided
into fortie house lots, some bigger, some less,
as men have put in a share, six thousand pounds
to be devided into fortie parts."
Such was the -origin of the "Proprietors'
rights." A full share in this division would be
£150, two-thirds of- a share would be £100, while
one-third of a share would be £50. This last
was for many ye^rs'the smallest division. The
names- of all the proprietors, and the share that
each owned, were too well known to be disputed.
It was well understood that no man had any
share in the undivided, lands unless he had pur
chased such a share, or it had been given unto
him by the town. In 1649 a tract of land in the
"Greate Plavne" was "laid out for in comers."

292

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

This land was divided into forty-five parts, each
part -containing six acres. Three of these
parts made a £150 lot. The "Great Playne"
is the whole tract of land between the town
pond and Shinnecock Bay, or what is known
as" the head of the creek, and includes First
Neck, Cooper's Neck, Halsey's Neck and Cap-
taints Neck.
In 1 65 1 we find that the town granted to
Christopher Foster a £150 lot, to Jeremy Veale
and John Loome each a £100 lot, and to John
Cooper and Simon Searing each a £50 lot. The
expression so frequently found in old deeds and
wills, "a 50 of commonge," "a 100 of com-
monge," mean respectively a £50 and a £100
right in the undivided lands. In 1712 a complete
account was made of all the proprietor rights.
At that time there were found to be 153 £50
rights, making 51 whole shares, and all the lands
subsequently divided were divided into 51 lots.
The first regular division of lands among the
proprietors were 41 lots laid out at Saggaponack
and Meacox, and land on the east side of Water-
mill creek, in 1653. The second division (1654)
was the salt meadows at Shinnecock and Se-
ponack, on the shores of the bay. These
meadows, although bounded by the lands of
Shinnecock Neck, and Shinnecock Hills, are still
owned by private individuals. The next division
was in 1657, and was the meadows on the South
Beach, west of Cooper's Neck.
In 165 1 the "Little Plain" was laid out. This
includes all the land south of Gin Lane, between
Town Pond and Old Town- Pond. There were
three tiers of lots running east and west. The
encroachment of the beach has obliterated a large
part of this tract. About i6fM'). a new division
was laid out. A large part of this was additions
to the home lots on the east side of the street,
and the remainder in other^jfoces. The Ox Pas
ture is a tract of land bounded north by the road
to Shinnecock Hills, or Hill street, south by Cap
tain's Neck Lane, east by"?iown Pond, and west
by the Head of the Cree'k. This was laid out
in 1676. In 1677 a large division of land was
laid out at Saggaponack and Meacox. This
was the most fertile part of the farm lands in

the town. The large tract of wood land ex
tending from the East Hampton line to Millstone
brook was laid put in 1738 in two divisions,
known as the Great North and the Great South
Division. In 1679 was laid out the 40-acre Division.
The greater part of this was on each side of the
range of ponds known as Long Pond, and at
Scuttle Hole. Three of the lots were at Mill
Pond head. The farm at Seven Ponds, lately
owned by the Archibald family, was one of the
lots in this division, and was laid out to Joshua
Barnes. The peninsula called Great Noyack
was also a lot and was laid out to John Jessup,
as his share in the division.
The 30-acre Division was laid out in 1712.
This included the lands north of Bridgehamp-
ton village and at Paugasebogue (Poxabog),
and on Lumber Lane. The 20-acre Division, or
North Side Division, was also laid out in 1712.
This includes scattered lots west of Noyack, and
in the region known as "North Side." These
two divisions derive their names from the num
ber of acres in each lot.
The last division of land east of Canoe Place
is called the "Little South Division," laid out
in 1763. It is composed of scattered parcels of
land from East Bampton to Shinnecock Bills.
The "Drake farm," at the north end of South
ampton village, is a part of this- division; also
lands at Tuckahoe.
When the various divisions were laid out, if
one lot was not equal in value to another, a piece
would be added to the less valuable lot in some-
other locality. These pieces, so laid out to
equalize the lots, were called "Amendments,"
and were sometimes larger than the lots them
selves. The method of allotting the lands to the
various proprietors was simple, yet ingenious,
and perfectly fair. The town trustees would
select a number of persons whose rights taken
together would be a £150 lot. These names,
with the rights of each, would be written on a
ticket and placed in a box. A number of tickets,
equal to the number of lots to be drawn, with
the number of a lot on each ticket, would be

SOUTHAMPTON.

293

placed in another box. They would then draw,
alternately, a ticket from each box, and fasten
them together. The numbers of the lots and the
names of the persons who drew them would be
recorded in the town clerk's office. This is the
basis of title to all lands in the town of South
ampton, and that the divisions were rightly made
is proved by the fact that they were always ac
cepted in good faith. It was only in recent
years, when arose a class ignorant of town his
tory, that "Proprietor rights" were ever dis
puted. Two other divisions will be mentioned in the
sketch of the village of Sag Harbor.
By right of discovery the title to all lands in
the Province of New York was vested in the
English Crown. After, the death of the Earl of
Stirling, his heirs sold all their rights on Long
Island (excepting the lands already sold by
James Farrett) to the King, Charles II, and on
March 12, 1664, he granted the whole terri
tory to his brother James, Duke of York and Al
bany. The Duke immediately took measures to
conquer his Province from the Dutch, then in
possession of New Netherlands. In August,
1664, an. English fleet, under command of Col
onel Richard Nicolls, appeared before New Am
sterdam. The city, utterly unprepared for resist
ance, surrendered, and with it the Duke of York
came in possession of the entire region. The
terms of capitulation were favorable to the
Dutch, who remained in peaceable possession
of their estates. They were only required to
recognize fully the authority of the new ruler.
The inhabitants of New Netherland lost no time
in obtaining from Governor Nicolls "Patents cE
Confirmation" for the lands they held under title
from the Dutch government. This being done,
they had no further trouble. But on the east
end of Long Island an entirely different state of
things existed. The people of Southampton, al
though perfectly willing to recognize the author
ity of the British Crown, did not feel inclined
to admit the title of the Duke of York to the
lands they had already purchased from the Earl
of Stirling, their lawful owner. They took no
pains to procure a patent from Governor Nicolls,

and things remained in this condition until the
arrival of Governor Edmond Andros, who im
mediately demanded that the people. of the east
ern towns should recognize his title by obtaining
a new patent. The town responded in a letter,
still in existence, giving their reasons for not
complying with the demand. Andros was not
a man to be trifled with. His reply was prac
tically, "Get a new patent or be declared rebels,
with danger of having your lands confiscated."
This had its effect, and the patent was applied
for and obtained :
"Edmond Andross, Esqr., Seigneur of Saus-
marez, Lieut, and Governor Gen'all under His
Royall Highness James Duke of York and Al
bany &c. of all his Territoryes in America, To
all to whom these presents shall come sendeth
Greeting. Whereas there is a certain Towne in
the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island
commonly called and knowne by the name of
South Hampton, situate, lying and being on the
South side of the said Island, toward the Maine
sea, having a certaine Tract of Land thereunto
belonging, the Eastward Bounds whereof extend
to a certain place or plaine called Wainscutt,
where the bounds are settled betwixt their Neigh
bors of the Towne of East Hampton and them:
Their southern bounds being the Sea, and so
runs westward to a place called Seatuck, where
a Stake was sett as -their farthest extent that
way ; Then crossing over the Island to the North
ward to Peaconick great River (not contradict
ing the agreement made betweene their Towne
and the Towne of Southhold after their tryall
at the Court of Assizes), and soe to run East
ward along the North bounds to the Eastermost
point of Hogg neck over against Shelter Island ;
Including all the Necks of land and Islands with
in the afore described bounds and Limits ;
"Now for a confirmation unto the present
Freeholders Inhabitants of the said Towne and
precincts, Know Vee that by virtue of his Majes-
fi-e's Letters Pat-tents and the Commission and
Authority unto me given by bis Royall Highness
I have Ratified, Confirmed and Granted * *
unto John Topping (Justice of the Peace), Cap
tain John Howell, Thomas Halsey Senior, Jo
seph Raynor (Constable), Edward Howell, John
Jagger, John Foster, and Francis Sayre (Over
seers), Lieut. Joseph Fordham, Henry Pierson,
John Cooper, Ellis Cooke, Samuel Clarke, Rich
ard Post and Tohn Jennings, as Patentees, for

294

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and on behalfe of them selves and their Associ
ates the ffreebolders and Inhabitants of said
town, * * * All the afore mentioned tract
of land * * * with all Rivers, Lakes, wat
ers, Quarrys, Woodlands, Plains, Meadows,
pastures, Marshes, ffishing, Hawking, Hunting
and ffouling, And all other Promts and Commod
ities * * * To Bave and to Bold all and
singular their said lands and premises. * * *
The Tenure of said land to be according to the.
custome of the Manor of East Greenwich in the
County of Kent in England, in Free and Com
mon Soccage and by fealty only. * * *
And I doe hereby likewise Confirme and grant
unto the said Patentees and their Associates all
the privileges and Immunities belonging to a
Towne within this government. And that the
place of their present habitacon and abode shall
continue and retaine the name of South Bamp
ton, by which name and Stile it shall be dis
tinguished and known in all Bargaines * * *
and writings. Yeilding and paying therefor as
an acknowledgement or Quit rent One fatt Lamb
unto such officer or officers there in authority
as shall be Empowered to receive the same.
"Given under my hand and sealed with the
Seal of the Province, in New York, the first day
of November in the Eight and twentieth year of
his Majestie's reign, Annoque Domini one thou
sand six hundred and seventy-six.

King Charles II died in 1685, and, as he left
no children, the throne descended to his brother,
who now appears as "James the II, by the Grace
of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ire
land, Defender of the Faith." A new governor
in the person of Thomas Dongan ruled the Prov
ince. The town of Southampton had been
doubled in extent by purchase of lands west of
Canoe Place, and more enlarged privileges of
town government were greatly desired. In ac
cordance with a vote of the town, Major John
Howell, who was one of the patentees in the
Andros patent, made application to the gov
ernor for a new patent.

This patent, which is dated December 6,
1686, is a document of great length, and written
on two large sheets of parchment with the great
seal of the Province attached, and is one of the
most interesting relics in the town clerk's office.

SEAL ATTACHED TO PATENT.
From its great length, only an abstract can here
be given :
"Thomas Dongan, Capt. Generall, Governor
in Chiefe and Vice Admirall in and over the
Province of New England and Territo-ryes de
pending thereon in America &c unto his majesty
James the second, By the Grace of God, King of
England France and Ireland, Defender of the
Faith &c. To all whom this shall come sendeth
Greeting.'" The patent then goes on to recite the patent
given by his predecessor, Governor Andros,
and gives the same boundaries to the town. It
also recites that Major John Howell, by order
of the freeholders, had made application that
the said tracts of land should be confirmed to
the freeholders "in a more full and ample man
ner," and that the difference between the Indians
and the town should be determined, and that the
lands should be erected into one township.
"Now Know yee that I the said Thomas Dongan,
having examined the matter in variance between
the Freeholders and the Indians, doe finde that
the Freeholders of the town of Southampton
have lawfully purchased the lands and have paid
them according to agreement."
The patent then grants and confirms all the

SOUTHAMPTON.

295

lands so purchased and included in the limits of
the town unto twelve trustees, viz. : Major John
Howell, Thomas Halsey, Sr., Edward Howell,
John Jagger, John Foster, Francis Sayre, Joseph
Fordham, Benry Pierson, Samuel Clarke, Job
Sayre, William) Barker and Isaac Balsey. And
then comes the most important part of the patent.
These trustees were to hold the lands, which
had already been divided and allotted, for the
benefit of the respective owners and freeholders.
"And as for and concerning all and every such
parcel or parcels of land, remainder of the
granted premises, not yet taken up or appropri
ated to any particular person or persons, for the
benefit of such as have been purchasers there
of, in proportion to their several and respective
purchases." They were to be "a body Corporate
and Politique," under the name of the "Trustees
of the Trustees of the Freeholders and Comonal-
ty of the Town of Southampton," and to have
perpetual succession. They had the control and
management of the undivided lands for the ben
efit of the Proprietors. These twelve trustees
and two constables and two assessors were to
be elected annually at a town meeting to be held
on "the First Tuesday in April forever." And
finally, as an acknowledgment of his Majesty's
title, and as a quit rent, they were to pay an
nually die sum of 40 shillings.
Such was the origin of town trustees, the
most important officers in the town. At that
time the undivided lands were nearly nine-tenths
of the town. All the divisions of land among
the proprietors were made by them. They acted
in a dual capacity. For all town affairs, such as
the support of the poor and levying of taxes for
public charges, they acted for the town at large,
but, in all cases in which the undivided lands
were concerned, they acted for the proprietors,
who were the heirs and assigns of the original
purchasers. A total misunderstanding of the
meaning of the patent has been the cause of many
expensive lawsuits, happily now ended. The
cost of paying for the patent was paid by the
proprietors in proportion to their rights of 50's,
ioo's and 150's, and a few rights of commonge
were sold to raise a portion of the money, and

thus the number of proprietor rights were in
creased to 51, the highest number. As the un
divided lands were divided in the different di
visions, the value of a proprietor's right became
less, and, as there are now no undivided lands,
they exist only in name. About 1818 a violent
dispute arose in the town concerning the own
ership of the waters of the town, the proprietors
claiming them as part of their property, while a
ven- large proportion of the inhabitants held
that they were the property of the town at large.
To settle this dispute, the proprietors agreed to
relinquish all claims to the waters, on- condition
that the town should give up all claims to the un
divided lands. An- act of legislature passed in
that year incorporated the proprietors of the un
divided lands, with power to elect their own
trustees for the management of their affairs.
The town meeting still continued to elect town
trustees, who managed the waters of the town
very badly, and in such a manner that the town
as a body derived no benefit. In 183 1 the town
trustees were also incorporated by act of the
legislature. They were to continue to be twelve
in number, to be elected annually at town meet
ing, and had full power to manage the waters
and productions of the waters, as their pre
decessors had power to do. In accordance with
this and the terms of the Dongan patent, the
trustees have been elected down to the present
year. At the town meeting held in' 1901 a reso
lution was passed that the number of trustees
be reduced to five. In accordance with this the
legislature passed an act, March 13, 1902, pro
viding that at the biennial town meeting to be
held in April, 1903, there should be five trustees
elected, who should hold their office for two
years. On the first Tuesday of April, 1902, the
greater part of the town supposed that no town
meeting would be held; but twenty-seven per
sons met in Agawam Ball, in the village of
Southampton, and duly organized a town meet
ing and elected twelve trustees for the next year.
The old board of trustees professing to believe
that their terms of office extended till 1903, re
fused to recognize the new trustees as being duly
elected, and thus the matter stands at present.

296

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

The proprietors of the undivided lands con
tinued to elect their trustees annually, and on
November 7, 1882, they made a final sale of
all the property yet remaining to them. They
sold to Stephen B. French, Everett B. Carpenter
and others all their right or rights they might
have to Mecox Bay. They also sold to the "Long
Island Improvement Company" all their right
and title to Shinnecock Bay, Bull's Head Bay,
Cold Spring Bay and that part of the Great
South Bay which lies in Southampton, together
with all their undivided lands, whatever they
might be, in Quogue and Topping's Purchase,
excepting Red Creek Pond, which was sold fo
William S. Pelletreau. All their right to all un
divided lands east of Shinnecock Hills was sold to
Rufus Sayre, who shortly after conveyed all
his purchase to Edwin Post and James H. Foster.
By these 'sales all their property and rights were
conveyed. At a meeting of the trustees the
president, clerk and all the trustees resigned
their office. No new ones have been since elected
and, although the corporation still has a legal
existence, it has no officers, owns no property
and owes no debts. Whenever the proprietors
sold lands they always gave quitclaim deeds,
and thus avoided all chances of lawsuits. The
men who purchased Mecox Bay became incor
porated as the "Mecox Bay Company." By
vote of a town meeting the town trustees com
menced a suit of ejectment against them. This
case, contested by most able counsel on both
sides, brought out a vast amount of historical in
formation, and was decided in favor of tbe town,
and on appeal to the general term of the supreme
court and to the court of appeals the judgment
was affirmed. This case, of course, also decided
the title to Shinnecock Bay and the other waters
of the town, and after some delay the "Long
Island Improvement Company" conveyed to the
town trustees all, their claim- to the waters pur
chased by them.
Another important lawsuit was commenced
by the town trustees, in which they were fully
sustained by public opinion. This was in rela
tion to the ancient South End Burying Ground,

of which an account will be found in another
place. In 1 88 1 the proprietors sold to C. Wyllis
Betts and John B. Bowell the beach and beach
banks south of the Town Pond. Emboldened
by their success in the Mecox Bay case, the town
trustees resolved to test the title to the lands
thus sold. This suit, in reality, was a test of
the proprietor rights and the validity of sales
made by them. C. Wyllis Betts, the purchaser
of a part of these lands, had died, leaving them
to his nephew, and the suit was commenced
against him. In this case, as in the Mecox Bay
suit, the whole history of the land tenure of the
town was thoroughly examined and the validity
and meaning of the town patents was very care
fully examined. After a very careful and long
extended examination the learned judge decided
that the action could not be sustained, and di
rected a verdict for the defendant. The "law's
delay" was in this case very fully exemplified,
and it was several years after the commencement
of the suit before a final determination was given
by the court of appeals. The judgment of the
lower court was affirmed, and the rights of the
proprietors and their assigns were fully sus
tained. There are very few who can appreciate
the amount of mischief that would have been
done had this case come back, "new trial or
dered.' Such is a brief review of the history of
the land titles in this town. To narrate fully
the story of town and proprietor rights would
make a volume.

The first settlers of Southampton did not
find a place "where men do not die." The first
death of which we have any record is that of
William Browne, who died shortly before July
23, 1650. Edward Bowell, the leader of the
settlement, died before October 6, 1655. In the
wills of Major John Bowell and his brother,
Edward Bowell, both give directions that they
should be buried "by their honored father's sep
ulchre." The tombstone of Major John is stand
ing to this day and shows approximately the lo-

SOUTHAMPTON.

297

cation of the grave of the founder of South
ampton.

For what particular reason this location was
first chosen for a cemetery must remain forever
unknown, but probably Edward Howell was not
the first one who was there laid to rest. The
following record occurs :
"January 5, 1665. The Overseers have agreed
with James Berrick, that hee shall have one acre
of land at the reere of his home lott, in consider
ation of a foot way for people vp his lott to the
burying place, where the towne have one acre
for that vs-e & James Berrick is to have the
hearbidge of it."
This shows that at that time the burying
ground was bounded north, east and south by
common land,, for the land at the rear of those
home lots was not taken up till 1666. When we
consider that tombstones could not be procured
nearer than Connecticut, it is no wonder that
the earliest graves remain unmarked. The old
est tombstones bear tbe following inscriptions :
"Bere lyes ye Body of Reverend Josiah Tay
lor, aged 31. who deceased April 4th 1682."
"Bere lyeth buried ye body of Abigill Bow
ell, ye wife of Abraham- Bowell, aged 27 years,
deceased ye 19th of June 1688."
"Here lies the body of Abigail Halsey, aged
26 years, who died the 10th of October, 1696."

"1696 Bere lies the body of Major John Bow
ell, deceased November, aged 71."
"Here lyeth the body of Coll. Matthew Bow
ell, and one of the House of Representatives for
their Majesties province of New York, Deceased
may ye 4th Anno 1706. Aetas sua 55."
Colonel Matthew Howell, whose honored
grave is thus marked, was one of the most dis
tinguished men of his day, and was a representa
tive for Suffolk county in the Colonial Legisla
ture in 1691-2, and from 1694 to 1706. The
statement that he died at Newtown, Long Isl
and, is disproved by a notice in a Boston news
paper, from Southampton, which says, "died
here much lamented Matthew Howell.'.'
For more than two centuries this hallowed
spot remained in a condition of utter neglect,
but the bounds were clearly defined by ancient
ditches and fences erected by the owners of ad
joining lands. In 1885 Edwin Post, whose lands
bounded it on the south, trespassed upon the
ground, using it as a cartway. The town trus
tees commenced a suit for trespass, a suit which
met the approval of the entire community. Mr.
Post claimed that the ancient record only men
tioned one acre, all the land beyond that quan
tity belonged to him. The case was decided in
favor of the town by Bon. Jasper W. Gilbert,
who was appointed referee by the supreme court.
Bis opinion, which entered largely into the early
history of the neighborhood, showed very clear
ly that this ancient cemetery had been from the
earliest times dedicated to the public use. The
case was appealed to the general term, and thence
to the court of appeals, and in both cases the
decisions of the referee were unanimously af
firmed. As the entire population of tbe village
from 1640 to 1 72 1 are buried here, the ground
must be wholly occupied with graves, though
but few gravestones exist. It is safe to say that
all of the original settlers, except Josiah Stan
borough, here found their last resting place. The
Colonial Society of the Village of Southampton
have taken it under their charge, and it is now
well cared for. There are in all thirty-two grave
stones. The oldest person is Captain Isaac Bal-
sey, who died May 18, 1757, aged ninety-seven.

298

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

The youngest is William Ludlam, son of An
thony Ludlam, who died April 27, 1716, aged
thirteen. The inscriptions are all printed in
Howell's "History of Southampton."
The North End Burying Ground, at the junc
tion of Main street and the road to North Sea,
was one of the original home lots laid out in
1648. It was owned by William Russell, who
had a house upon it in 1667. It was sold to
Obadiah Sale in about 1674. He sold it to
George Beathcote, a merchant of New York,
in 1679, and he left it by will to his cousin, Col
onel Caleb Beathcote, in 1710. Colonel Beath
cote sold it to the trustees of South
ampton, December 13, 171 2. The origi
nal deed is now in the town clerk's
office. It was then bounded north by the
home lot of Josiah Laughton, "which lyeth now
Common," and south by Jeremiah Jagger's home
lot. The cart path leading across it at the east
end was to remain unfenced. In 1721 the town
trustees voted that the south part of the lot
should be used for a burying ground. A tomb
stone in this part of the yard tells its own story :
"Beare Lyes ye Body of Joseph Post, de
ceased 10 November. Aged abovt 72, 1721." ,
Upon the footstone is the following:
"Post Joseph, the first entared in this plas."
In process of time the whole of the lot be
came covered with graves, and a lot for a new
cemetery on the north side of the road to
Seponack was purchased by Dr. David R. Hal
lock, in 1886.
Richard Mills, who filled the double position
of schoolmaster and town clerk, was here with
in a few years after the settlement, and was one
of the freemen in 1650. On April 11, 1651, the
town gave him the old meeting house for the
purpose of enlarging his dwelling house, and he
was to keep "an ordinary" or tavern. On March
7, 1652, he sold his house and lot to John Cooper,
Jr., and left the town,. He was schoolmaster in
Middleburgh, Long Island, in 1660; from there

he went to Westchester, and was town clerk in
1661. .Bere he found himself in hot water. The
whole region was held and occupied by the
Dutch, and claimed by the English. He soon
became prominent among the English faction,
and finally he and a number of "English thieves,"
as Governor Stuyvesant called them, were ar
rested and put in prison in New Amsterdam. A
few weeks' experience in confinement brought
him to his senses, and he addressed a very pit
eous letter to Peter Stuyvesant, or, as he terms
him, "my dear Lord Stevensen," asking for re
lease; but the individual known in the veracious
history of "Diedrich Knickerbocker," as "Peter.
the Headstrong," turned a deaf ear to his en
treaties, and he continued to languish. Some
time after he made petition to the High Court of
New Amsterdam, stating that he "had been ten
derly brought up," and urging as an additional
inducement for his release his intention to "go
about his affairs to Virginia." Be was soon
after set at liberty, on his promise not to com
mit any act hostile to the Dutch government.
The English account states that, owing to his
imprisonment, "he shortly afterwards died."
Such was the unhappy fate of the first town
clerk of Southampton, and the first English
schoolmaster in the Province of New York. In
1710 Richard Mills, of Cohansey, New Jersey,
speaks of himself in a deed as "grandson and
sole heir at law of Mr. Richard Mills, formerly
of Westchester." On September 22, 1663, it was ordained "that
Jonas Boldsworth shall have £35 for his school
ing per annum, for the term of two years at least,
and his pay to be answerable to ye pay engaged
to him at Bempstead, with ye allowance of 12
days in ye yeare liberty for his own particular
occations." On September 5, 1664, "At a towne meeting
it is ordered that there shall bee a school howse
of 20 foot long 'and1 15 foot wide built at tbe
townes charge and finished fit for use before win
ter." This schoolhouse stood on the west street
of the village (or Wind Mill Lane), on the rear
of the home lot of the late Captain George G.
White, south of the burying ground. This school

THE OLD ROGERS HOMESTEAD, SOUTHAMPTON. HOI THE RESIDEHCE OF SAHUEL L. PARRISH.

SOUTHAMPTON.

299

house stood for -a great many years. The coun
ty courts were held here after thev were estab
lished. The following entry is a curious relic of
our school history :
"I John Mowbray, doe binde myselfe faith
fully & dilligently to teach and instruct a school
in Southampton, att twelve shillings in cash per
Scholler for the Terme of Six months. Com-
menseing from ye first day of May next, and
Ending ye first of November next enswing, and
to teach them in the hours following viz. from
eight to eleven o'clocke in ye forenoone and
from one to five of the clocke in ye afternoone.
As witness my hand in Southampton this 28th
day of April 1694.
"John Mowbray."
"Signed in presence of us,
"Matthew Howell, Thomas Stephens."
Then follows a list of "Mr. Mowbray's
scollers." — Matthew Howell 2, Lieutenant Ste
phens 1, Richard Bowell, Jr., 1, Joseph Good-
ale 1, Ensign Fordham 2, Hannah Sayre, 1,
Walter Melvin 1, Isaac Willman 1, William Ker-
rick 1, Joseph Foster 1, Abraham Bowell 1,
James White 1, Samuel Jo-hnes 1, Mrs. Johanah
Cooper 1, Jonas Bower 1, John Woodruff 2, Jo
seph Bildrefih 1.
John Mowbray was afterward the patentee
and owner of the extensive necks of land at what
is now Bay Shore, in Islip, and part of it is still
owned by his descendants.
The old school house seems to' have stood
for more than a century. On August 7, 1767,
William1 Johnes sold to Isaac Post, Cornelius
Balsey, William 'Woolly and Elias Cooper, as a
committee, 504 square feet of land on the south
east corner of his home lot. On this was built
a schoolhouse which is well remembered by
many of the present generation. This lot was
then bounded south by the home lot of Dr. Isaac
Balsey, deceased. On December 10, 1804,
Elizabeth Kent, daughter of Dr. Isaac Balsey,
sold to Obadiah Rogers, Nathan Cooper, Jonas
Pierson, Oliver Bowell and Berrick Rogers, as
a committee, a lot south of the school house.
On this an addition to the former building was
built, making in all a schoolhouse sixty feet
long. A few years later, when the district was

divided, the schoolhouse was sawed in two, and
the south half moved to a lot bought of Edward
Reeves, on the south side of Job's Lane. The
old schoolhouse at the "north end" remained as
it was until 1857, when it was sold to E. Wines
Payne, who moved it to his premises. On July
21, 1876, his barn was struck by lightning, and
schoolhouse and other buildings were destroyed.
It had stood for nearly no years. The site of
this ancient schoolhouse was on the west side
of Main street, directly opposite to the Bridge
Bampton road. A new street opened by Dr.
John Nugent occupies the place. In 1857 a new
schoolhouse was built on the west side of
"Windmill Lane," on a lot purchased of Lewis
Bowell, a short distance north of the present
Union School lot. It was built by a committee
consisting of William R. Post, Jonathan Fithian
and Captain Charles Goodale, the first -mentioned
doing all the work of superintending its erection
and deserving all the credit. It was exceedingly
well built and cost $1,100. A few years later
a new schoolhouse was built in the "South End
District," a few feet east of the old one. The old
building was sold to Edwin Post, and in later
years was moved to his homestead, and is still
used as an outbuilding.
When the village had begun greatly to in
crease in population a successful movement was
made to establish a Union School, the com
munity being almost a unit in its favor. Through
the energetic influence of James B. Foster, the
justice of the peace, a large lot was purchased
on the west street, and the Union School building
was erected. It was opened for school in No
vember, 1891, and came under the care of the
regents of the State University, December 14,
1892. The first principal was Frederick A.
Johnson, who was born at Burlington Flats, New
York, October 20, i860. Bis father, Charles
M. Johnson, was a descendant of early settlers
who went from Massachusetts to- central New
York. Be was educated at Richfield Springs
and at the New York State Normal College,
where he graduated in June, 1888. He was for
a while professor of mathematics in Alba'ny
Business College, and principal of a school in

300

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

White Plains, New York. His active and en
ergetic efforts to raise the Southampton Union
School to the highest rank were crowned with
complete success. After a term of eight years
of successful and well appreciated serving, be re
signed the position in the fall of 1899, and went
to Binghamto-n, New York, where he is now
tbe principal of the public school. Bis suc
cessor was Professor Charles Ernst Keck, who
was born at Clinton, New York, October 27,
1874. Bis- father, Nathaniel, and his grandfa
ther, Peter Keck, went to Oneida county in the
early part of the last century. Bis early edu
cation was obtained in the Clinton Grammar
School. Be graduated from Flamilton College
in 1897 with high honor, and was principal of
the Union School at Palatine's Bridge, Mont
gomery county, New York. He succeeded Pro
fessor Johnson in the Southampton school, and
after a brief but creditable service be resigned
in March, 1901, and is now in the employ of a
publishing house in the western part of the
state. In 183 1 an academy was established in South
ampton, the moving spirit in the enterprise be
ing Rev. Daniel Beers, who was then the pastor
of the Presbyterian Church. The owners were
a company of about fifty men, most of whom
took stock under the impression that it would
be financially a paying investment, an expecta
tion that was never realized. The builder was
William French, who came from Rhode Island,
bringing some advanced ideas on the subject of
building. The lot on the corner of Main street
and Job's Lane was purchased from Stephen
Sayre, at a cost of $90, considered a large price
at that time. It was a well proportioned, two-
story building, with a high steeple surmounted
with a wooden fish as a vane. The first teacher
was John Ingram, who is said to have come from
Massachusetts, but concerning whom we can
obtain no information. Under able instructors,
it was for many years an institution of great and
lasting benefit. In the early summer of 1853 it
was struck by lightning and greatly damaged,
and the steeple, which was destroyed, was never
rebuijt. In its later years it was not successful.

As it scarcely paid expenses, giving the prin
cipal only a very meager salary, it is not strange
that teachers, trustees and owners lost all in
terest in. its welfare. The neglect of its trustees
was the principal cause of its failure. In 1886
its career ended as a school, and after standing
a few years vacant, it was. sold and is now a
paint shop on Job's Lane.
In a community like the early settlers of
Southampton, to build a meeting house would be
one of the first things to be done. There can
be no doubt that one was erected within a year
after the settlement. The first mention is July
7, '1645 : "Yt is ordered that from time to time
hereafter that the meeting house shall be
sweeped vpon the last day of every weeke, of
each family by turns, vpon notice given by those
who sweeped it last. And each family, from the
first of October to the 15th of April, shall by
turne lykewise make a fire in the meeting house
vpon each Sabath daye." To neglect this would
cost them a fine of "two- shillings, and sixe
pence," quite a sum in those days. This meet
ing house stood at Old Town, on the homestead
of the late Joseph King. An old deed for this
lot, bounded east by Old Town street, and north
by the highway, has endorsed upon it the words
"Deed for Old Meeting House Lot," and many-
years ago the writer found among the oldest
inhabitants a tradition to the same effect. An
agreement had been made previous to March
20, 1 65 1, between the town and Richard Post
and Ellis Cook, to build a new meeting house 30
feet long and 24 feet wide, and 8y2 feet "from
ye ground to ye plate." The carpenters and la
borers were to have "two shillings a day, the pay
to be in merchantable wampum, strung or un
strung." In April, 1651, the old meeting house
was given to Richard Mills, to enlarge his house,
which is pretty good evidence that the new
church was finished at that time. The location
of this church is well known. It stood on the
south part of the home lot of Isaac Willman
(now the homestead of the late Edwin Post),
and opposite the parsonage. Between the south
side of the meeting house and the south line of

FIRST CHURCH BU1LDIHG- IH SOUTHAMPTOH, BUILT IH 1Y0 7 AHD BOUGHT BY SAMUEL L.
PARRISH AHD REMODELED, MADE IHTO A GYMHASIUM, AHD PRESEHTED TO THE
YILLAGE OF SOUTHAMPTOH AS SUCH AHD READIHG ROOM.

SOUTHAMPTON.

301

Isaac Willman's lot, next to James Herrick's
home lot, there was a small piece of land, con
cerning which there was "long time a difference"
between Him and the town. This was settled
in 1672 by giving him some land on the west
side of Saggaponack Pond. On November 29,
1659, the town made over to Mr. John Ogden
certain monies due from the Indians, and he
agreed to "pay the cost of flooring and seating
the meeting house, which amounteth to toward
sixty pounds." On August 4, 1681, a vote was
passed that "the building of galleries in the meet
ing house shall be deferred until the next yeare."
This meeting house stood for nearly fifty years,
or until the third church was built. The lot
where it stood was afterwards used for a pound
by vote of the town trustees, and finally sold to
Dr. John Mackie. This church was furnished
with a bell, which superseded the ancient custom
of beating the drum on Sunday morning. In 1693
a new bell was obtained from London. The old
one was sent there to be sold, with a letter which
stated that it was "nott only cracked but too
little; it waighs 65 lb." The new bell weighed
173 pounds and cost £10 is iod. The old one sold
for £2 8s, and the balance was paid in whale oil.
On August 20, 1707, Obadiah
Rogers sold to Benjamin Bowell and
John Mitchell a piece of land thirty-'
six feet wide and forty-six feet
in length. This was the southwest
corner of his home lot, and directly
opposite to the present church. On
the 27th of the same month Benjamin
Bowell and John Mitchell conveyed
the same to 94 men, which probably
included all the persons who con
tributed to the purchase, the deed
stating that "the said persons had
pious intentions for building a con
venient house and structure for the
worship of Almighty God' according
to the usage and discipline of those
churches known by the name and style
of Presbyterian." Upon this the third
church was erected. It was begun as
early as September 18, 1707, but was

not finished before November 15, 1709.
The cost seems to have been £55 7s 5d, but
doubtless the timber and much of the -work
was given. The builder was a man named
Townsend, probably from Queens county. A
steeple was built in 175 1. Mr. William Bowell,
of Moriches, a native of Southampton, told the
writer about 1880 "John Sayre told me more than
fifty years ago that about 1775 the old church
had windows set in lead, and that there was a
large cannon in the street near by, which was
fired and it broke the windows, and Mr. Abra=-
ham Fordham (grandfather of the late Daniel
Fordham) mended them. The steeple was built
in 1 75 1. This I saw narrated in a diary of
Caleb Cooper, who said he attended a parish
meeting to take measures for building it." This
church remained until 1845, when it was sold to
the Methodist Episcopal Society and removed.
The lot was sold to Captain Albert Rogers, whose
great-great-grandfather had sold it 138 years be
fore. The following plate represents the old build
ing as it appeared until 1845. The plate on the
opposite page shows it after its removal and
conversion to use as a gymnasium.
The fourth church, now standing, was built

302

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

in 1843, on a lot purchased from George Mackie,
and may well compare with any of the village
churches in the county. In 1879 it was presented
with a fine organ, the gift of Miss Harriet Jones
Rogers. The lot next south of the church was
purchased and an extensive addition made to the
church building.
The first minister of the church in South
ampton was the Rev. Abraham Pierson. He was
from Yorkshire, England. He was graduated
at the University of Cambridge in 1632, and
came to New England in 1639. He was ap
pointed in October, 1640, to be the pastor of the
new church to be set up in -Southampton. In
November of tbe same year be was ordained as
minister of the same church, "composed of in
dividuals who had emigrated and settled in
Southampton." That he was here on December

 .VJt&jjSlfT^

13th is evidenced by his being a witness to the
Indian deed. The desire of Mr. Pierson was
that, in this town, church and State should be
identical, but Southampton was not based upon
this idea, and preferred to join the Colony of
Hartford rather than New Haven. With this
union be was probably dissatisfied, and he re
moved from this town to Branford, Connecticut,
in 1647, and there organized a church, of which
he was pastor for about twenty-three years.
From there he went to Newark, New Jersey, and
was the first pastor of what is now the First
Presbyterian Church. He died there August 9,
1678. Among his other work he published a
catechism in the Indian language. The only
relic of him in, Southampton is his, autograph
as witness to the Indian deed, a fac-simile of
which is given above.

The second minister was the Rev. Robert
Fordham, who was the son of Philip Fordham,
of Sacombe, Hertfordshire, England, and was
born in 1603. As a more extended account of
him, from the able pen of Dr. William Wallace
Tooker, one of his descendants, appears in this
work, we will only state that he came to this
town from Hempstead in April, 1649. He was
to receive £60 for his first year's salary, and £80
per annum1 afterward. He also had a £150 right
of Commonge, and drew lands in the various
divisions, besides other lands which were given
him by the town. Among these were fifty acres
bounded south by the road to Bridge Hampton
and west by David White's land, and now owned
by J. Horace Fanning and others. He had wife
Elizabeth, and children, Hannah, wife of Sam
uel Clarke (of Old Town), Mary, wife of Ed
ward Howell, Joseph, Jonah
and John. He died in Novem
ber, 'i 674, leaving a large prop
erty for those days. Bis de
scendants are numerous in the
town. Among the town records is
a document written in short
hand, which upon being trans
lated proved to be an agreement
dated June 5, 1674, between the town and the
Rev. John Barriman, from which we learn
that Mr. Fordham had become incapacitated
for the work of the ministry, and Mr. Bar
riman had been employed as a colleague.
The town engaged to give him the use
of thirty acres of land in the "Ox Pasture," and
the parsonage lot lately purchased of John Coop
er, and agreed to build upon the same "a good
house of two stories, with a brick chimney and
two chamber chimnies." Mr. Fordham relin
quished half his salary, and, in addition, Mr.
Barriman was to have £20 per year; "and if Mr.
Fordham should be wholly taken away from the
work of the ministry" he should have the same
salary as his predecessor. Several other items
are added which show that Mr. Barriman was
alive to his own interests and lost no opportunity

SOUTHAMPTON.

303

of advancing them. He remained here until
1679, but was absent for a part of the time,
preaching as a candidate in various places in
Connecticut. After his removal he sent a let
ter to the town demanding his last half year's
salary. This letter was presented to the town
meeting- on April 1, 1680, and it was promptly
voted "that Mr. Harriman was soe long absent,
and the towne paid soe much for him, which he
promised to repay; that Mr. Barriman ought in
equity to make ye towne compensation, than
that they should pay him one penny."
In 1679 a call was made to the Rev. Joseph
Taylor, a. son of John Taylor, of Cambridge, Mas
sachusetts. Be was a graduate of Harvard
(1669) and was for a time a tutor in that uni
versity. He was minister in New Baven at the
time of his invitation to Southampton. In 1680
he came here as the fourth pastor. The agree
ment made by the town was exceedingly liberal.
Be was to receive £100 a year, to be paid in win
ter wheat at 5s per bushel ; or summer wheat
at 4s 6d a bushel ; or Indian corn at 2s 6d a bush
el ; tallow at 6d a pound ; green hides at 3d, or
dry hides at 6d a pound ; beef at 40s or pork at
£3 10s a barrel; whale bone at 8d and oil at 30s
a barrel. Be bad the use of the parsonage land,
and a house and lot, now the homestead of the
late Benry A. Fordham, on First Neck lane. Be
died here and his tombstone is in the South End
burying ground. Be seems to have left no chil
dren and his house and lands descended to Abra
ham and Joseph Fordham (sons of Joseph and
Martha Fordham), who mention him as their
"Uncle Taylor." Among his lands was a close
at Balsey's Neck, on the west side of the lane,
and Taylor's creek derives its name from him.
Be left a widow, Martha, who after married John
Howell,' Jr.
The Rev. Joseph Whiting, the sixth pastor,
was a graduate of Harvard. Be succeeded his
father as minister at Lynn, and was settled there
when called to Long Island, in June, 1682. Be
probably came here soon after. At a town meet
ing in April, 1687, it was stated that Mr. Whit
ing, "our present minister," and the town had
not yet come "to any settled conclusion for his

yearly maintenance." An agreement was made
upon nearly the same terms as those made with
Mr. Taylor. Be remained here during the re
mainder of his life. His tombstone in our ancient
burying ground, tells us of his decease, April 7,
1723, at the age of eighty-two. His wife, Re
becca, survived him and died April 21, 1726,
aged sixty-three. Be left sons, whose de
scendants reside in New England.
The Rev. Samuel Gelston, the seventh pastor,
was a native of Belfast, Ireland, and with his
brother Bugh came to this country in 171 5. Be
was called to this church in 1716 and was installed
on April 17, 17 1 7. Be remained here about ten
years, being a portion of the time a colleague of
Mr. Whiting. In 1728 he was called to a church
in Chester, Pennsylvania. After many changes
and much trouble he is said to have died, Oc
tober 22, 1782, at the age of ninety. The only
personal relic of Mr. Gelston which has met the
eye of the writer, after very extended research,
is a single autograph signature as witness to a
deed in 1726.
The eighth pastor was Rev. Sylvanus White.
Be was a son of Rev. Ebenezer White, the first
minister of Bridge Bampton, and was born in
1704, graduated at Barvard in 1723, and was or
dained pastor of this church. Be lived in unin
terrupted health through a ministry of fifty-five
years and died after a week's illness October 22,
1782, in his seventy-ninth year. Of all that he
must have written during his long life, nothing
remains except his day book of accounts, in
which all articles boughtj or sold are entered
with scrupulous care, and give a very accurate
picture of family life at that time. Bis tomb
stone is in the North End burying ground, and
his dwelling house is now owned by his descend
ants. The ninth pastor was the Rev. Joshua Will
iams, who preached as a candidate from Septem
ber to December, 1784, and received a call on De
cember 14th. By an agreement signed by 120
persons, he was to receive £70 ($175) and forty
loads of wood yearly, and he was to have the full
use of the parsonage and parsonage lands. The
parish was to put the fences in good repair, and

304

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

he was to keep them so. If he died here and left
a widow, she was to have £40. Fie labored here
until April, 1789, and that his labors were not
in vain is shown by the fact that there were ad
mitted to communion during that time, 480 per
sons. Rev. Herman Daggett, the Lenth pastor, was
a son of Dr. Ebenezer Daggett, and was born at
Walpole, Massachusetts, September 11, 1766.
He graduated from Brown's University in 1784,
and became minister here April 12, 1792. He
remained for less than four years. Difficulties
concerning the "Half Way Covenant" caused
his withdrawal in 1796. Be then became the
pastor of the church in West Bampton, from
September, 1797, to September 1801. Be then
left on account of inadequate support. Fie was
afterwards- in Fire Place, and Middle Island, and
in many other places. After a laborious life, he
died, May 19, 1832. He is said to be buried at
Cornwall, Connecticut.
The eleventh pastor was the Rev. David
Schuyler Bogart, of an ancient New York
family, born January 12, 1770, and graduated
at Columbia College, 1790. Having received a
call to this church, he resolved to accept it on
May 20, 1796, but before being installed he re
ceived a call from tbe Presbyterian church in
Albany, and, accepting it, he remained there until
August, 1797. He then returned to South
ampton and was installed in the fall of 1798. In
1806 he accepted a call to one of the Dutch Re
formed churches in New York. He was re
instated in Southampton and remained here until
April 15, 1813. Fie died in New York, July 10,
1839. He probably had greater powers of elo
quence than any minister that ever occupied the
pulpit. The Rev. Joshua Flart and other minis
ters supplied the vacancy until November 19,
1817, when Rev. John M. Babbit was installed.
His salary was $300, and it is characteristic of
the economical habits of the times, that with the
help of an industrious wife, he was -able to lay up
money yearly ; which may be explained by the
fact that the board of hiniself and wife in a re
spectable family only cost one dollar a week.
During his ministry the church membership was

increased from 70 to 280. lie was dismissed
April iS, 1821. The Rev. Peter 11. Shaw was
installed here September 19, 1821. lie was son
ol" William Shaw who came from Greenock, in
Ccotland. Be was a graduate of Dartmouth
College. His ministry is worth)- of mention for
two things. He started the first Sunday School
in the town, an institution still continued, with
ever increasing powers for good. Be was also
the originator of the temperance reform, at a
time when the use of ardent spirits was all but
universal. In this he stood alone, and none of
his brother ministers had the courage to stand by
his side. Be labored here for eight years, and
removed June 2, 18-29.
Rev. Daniel Beers came to this place in 1829,
and was installed June 8, 1830, and remained
here until April 21, 1835, when he resigned, and
went to Orient, in Southold, and to Greenport,
where he labored for many years. To Mr. Beers
is justly due the credit of being the founder of
Southampton Academy, and for this, if nothing
more, his memory should be hallowed in the
minds of a grateful people.
The fifteenth pastor of the church was the
Rev. Hugh N. Wilson. His father was James
Wilson, Esq., of Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was
born May 7, 1813, and graduated at Princeton,
April 23, 1835. Fie began his labors here in
September, 1835, and was ordained October 7,
1835, and installed June 29, iS^C*. In 1837 he
married Jane, daughter of Captain James Post.
After several years of usefulness be resigned his
pastorate, and in April, 1852, went to Hacketts-
town, New Jersey, and, in 1858, to the Second
Dutch church of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
.1 le returned to Southampton in the summer of
1863, and was again installed on the second Sab
bath of October, 1864. He resigned the charge
May 1, 1867, and he moved lo Cermantown,
New Jersey, where he lived for many years in
great weakness of body, but with unimpaired
strength of mind, and died there June 4, 1878.
The Rev. John J. A. Morgan became pastor
January 20, 1853, and remained until September,
1855. lie afterwards preached at Bridcsbury,
Pennsylvania, from which place he removed to

SOUTHAMPTON.

305

Hempstead, Long Island, and entered secular
pursuits. From 1855 until the second installation of
the Rev. Dr. Wilson, the following ministers
served as stated supplies: Elias N. Crane until
1856, David Kennedy until 1858, William N.
Cleveland from January 1, 1859, to July 2, 1863.
The Rev. Frederick Shearer began his ser
vices as colleague to the Rev. Dr. Wilson, April
29, 1866. In 1867 he was installed as pastor,
but resigned in 1870, and became the agent for
the American Tract Society in California, -and is
now connected with the same society in New
York. The Rev. Andrew Shiland, D. D., was called
November 8, 1870. Dr. Shiland was born at
Cambridge, New York, July 4, 1820. After
preparation at Cambridge Academy, he entered
Union College and graduated in 1844. For two
years he studied theology under Dr. Peter Bul
lions, an eminent scholar and theologian, and
completed his studies at Princeton Theological
Seminary, graduating in the class of 1845. F°r
two years he was a teacher in Albany Academy,
and was ordained for the ministry November 25,
1847. In 1849 ne received a call to the Associ
ate Presbyterian church of West Hebron, New
York, and resigned his charge, to accept a call
to the Presbyterian church at Mount Kisco, New
York, where he remained a faithful pastor until
1870. During these years he also maintained a
private school of a high order, and many of his
pupils held high rank in their various professions
in later years. His labors in Southampton con
tinued until September 13, 1883, and he retired
from the active ministry in 1884. In 1879 the
degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him by Union College. The latter part of his
life was passed in New York, and he died there
at his residence, No. 2J2 West 84th St., on Jan
uary 10, 1901. During his pastorate in South
ampton, he endeared himself to a very large
circle of friends and acquaintances, who were
capable of appreciating his man}- excellencies.
Never descending to unworthy means to gain
popularity, he sought the consciousness of duty
well performed, and not the applause of men.
20

Be was a faithful minister and not a theological
mountebank ; and to his memory the writer glad
ly adds his humble tribute of appreciation and
respect. The Rev. Walter Condit was installed April
30, 1887, and resigned October 1, 1888.
The Rev. Robert C. Hallock became pastor
December 17, 1889. Resigned December 31,
1892, and is now pastor of a church in Clinton,
New York.
The Rev. Richard S. Campbell began his la
bors in April, 1894, and was installed April 9,
1895, and is pastor at the present time.
In the old church, from 1707 to 1845, there
was no provision of any kind for heating, and
until the close of the ministry of the Rev. Dr.
Wilson it was the practice to have three sermons
on Sunday. The evening discourse being shorter
than the others, was called "a lecture." Each of
these sermons was over an hour in length, and
entirely written.
When Methodism was introduced, one of the
charges against their ministers was that they
"only talked" instead of writing their sermons
in the orthodox way. The Methodists retorted
by styling the Presbyterian ministers "College
bred readers of sermons. ' Dr. Wilson's salary
during his first term was S600 per year, after
wards raised to $800, which was considered
large. The first person who preached Methodism in
Southampton was James Sowden, from Sag
Harbor, but concerning him we have no infor
mation whatever. It is scarcely possible at the
present time to full)- realize the bitter prejudice
that was excited against them. They were not
allowed to hold meetings in the schoolhouse, and,
as for the church, it would be just as possible
for a Mormon elder to obtain permission to
preach his peculiar doctrines there at the present
time. The first meetings held here were about
1810. The old house at the south end of the vil
lage, and lately owned by Thomas Nicoll White,
was at that time owned by James Raynor. Be
became attracted by their preaching and allowed
them the use of his house. For this, he was con
sidered a sad wanderer from the higrhwav. Mr.

306

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Raynor and his wife Phoebe were among the first
members of the Methodist church in Sag Harbor.
The members of this denomination had increased
to such an extent that a church was organized
about 1840. When the new Presbyterian church
was built in 1845, there was great fear that "it
might fall into the hands of the Methodists."
To prevent so great a sacrilege it was sold to
Major Samuel Bishop, who proposed to- move it
for a barn. He was occasionally subject to fits
of hypocondria, during which he took a very
gloomy view of his prospects for a future world.
Taking advantage of one of these "turns," some
of the Methodists assured him that his chances
for eternal salvation would be by no means in
creased by turning the house of God into a barn,
whereupon he sold it to them for the same price
he had paid. A lot was purchased at tbe south
side of the home lot of Captain Charles Howell,
and the ancient building was moved to the spot
where it still remains, in 1845.
The first minister of this church was Rev.
Gilbert Osborn, a native of Riverhead, Long Isl
and. In 1862 the church edifice was raised up
three and one-half feet and the basement en-
tended tbe whole length of the building. In
1883, the congregation having greatly increased,
a lot was purchased from Albert J. Post on the
north corner of Main street and Poet's Crossing,
upon which the present church and parsonage
were erected the same year. In 1884 the old
church and lot were sold to a company, and used
for some years as a village hall and place for
meetings. In 1901 they sold it to James Parrish
Esq., and it is now used as a gymnasium. From
the time the church was established until the
time of the Civil war, the salary of the minister
was $150 a year, and $200 if married, and the
question of raising even this amount was one of
very serious difficulty. The most prominent
members of the society were Captain Jeremiah
Reeve, of North Sea, Captain Charles Goodale,
William Jagger, Zebulon Jessup and Nathaniel
Hubbard, of Tuckahoe, the latter named being a
"local preacher" of natural eloquence.
Until within recent years there were very few
Catholic families in this entire region. James

Cavanagh gave a lot on his homestead, on the
south side of the Bridge Hampton road, and
about a mile east of Main street, and upon this lot
a plain building was erected, and consecrated in
1878. In recent years the rapid influx of New
York residents, bringing their domestics with
them, make the church too small to accommodate
the worshippers. In order to have a church in a
more desirable location, a lot was purchased on
the south side of Bill street, and an elegant edifice
erected, which was consecrated in 1892. The
former church was sold to Captain Daniel
Bavens, and moved and is now a dwelling house,
near the Union School. This was the first Ro
man Catholic church on the south side of the
island, east of Patchogue. The services were
conducted by a priest from- Sag Barbor. The
first resident priest was the Rev. William Kirby,
who was born in New York, August 10, 1863,
and was educated at Manhattan College. Bis
first assignment was to St. Anthony's church at
Greenpoint, and from thence to St. Malachi's
in East New York, and St. Agnes, in Brooklyn.
Be was installed in the church in Southampton
in 1889. It was through his energetic efforts
that the new church and parsonage were built.
Be died January 31, 1902, greatly lamented, and
was laid to rest in Boly Cross cemetery, in Flat
bush. Bis successor is the Rev. Francis J.
O'Bara. The Rev. David Schuyler Bogart, formerly
pastor in Southampton, had three grandsons,
Charles, August Brunei and Leon Depierre De
Bost. These three boys were sent to South
ampton, boarded in respectable families and at
tended the Academy. They were very popular
among the young people, and retained their in
terest in the place for long years after their
school days were ended. They never failed to
spend a portion of each summer in. the village
where they had enjoyed life so well. In 1866
Leon Depierre De Bost purchased a lot and built
a summer residence. In 1854 there was living in
Southampton an old man named Sylvanus
1 lowell. Having no family, he concluded to sell
his property, and pass his last days with his
brother, Ucal Howell, in the western part of the

SUMMER RESIDEHCE OF DR. T. GAILLARD THOMAS.
THE FIRST COTTAGE OF THE SUMMER COLOHY TO BE BUILT IH SOUTHAMPTOH.

SOUTHAMPTON.

307

"state. Among his possessions was a lot of four
teen acres at the south end of the village. This
was offered at public auction, and the highest
bid was $25 per acre, which was not satisfactory.
The next day Captain Charles Goo-dale offered
$27.50 per acre, which was accepted. When
Dr. Thomas offered $200 per acre in 1867, it
was considered a very high price, and very
speedily taken, and upon this lot the Doctor
built his present residence. This was the
beginning of Southampton as a fashionable
summer resort. On the same day, the lot on the
west side of Main street, next to the road to the
beach, was sold to Captain Edward Sayre, for
$50 per acre. This was considered a great deal
more valuable than the former lot, because that
was next to the ocean, "and the ocean was a bad
neighbor." Upon the lot thus sold the costly and
elegant mansion of Mr. Robbius was erected in
1901. The coming of Dr. Thomas was very
quickly followed by C. Wyllis Betts and his
brother Frederick H. Betts, Uriel A. Murdoch
and Blaise Lorillard Barsell, and Hon. Salem
H. Wales. The first house on the west side of
Town Pond was built by Mrs. William H.
Hoyt, (a daughter of Chief Justice Salmon P.
Chase,) on a lot purchased from Augustus E.
Halsey. This house was built to resemble as
much as possible, an old fashioned residence,
with a "gambrel roof," and many ancient incon
veniences. This mansion was afterward pur
chased by Charles T. Barney, who enlarged and
improved it at a great expense. It was burned on
the night of November 16, 1901, and totally de
stroyed. As the coming of a few brought many others
the village very rapidly increased. Southampton
was incorporated under the General Village In
corporation Act. The first president of the vil
lage was Albert I. Post, an old resident, and de
scendants from the ancient families, a man of ex
cellent judgment and conservative views. After
remaining in office for several years, he was suc
ceeded in 1901, by Samuel L. Parrish,
who was re-elected in 1902. He was born
in Philadelphia, February 28, 1849. His fa
ther, Dr. Isaac Parrish, and his grandfather,

Dr. Joseph Parrish, were very prominent
physicians in that city. Mr. Parrish came to
Southampton in 1886, and at once proceeded to
take as much interest in village affairs as if it
were his own native town.
The three principal adornments of the mod
ern Southampton are, in the order of their estab
lishment, St. Andrews' Dune-Church, the
Rogers Memorial Library, and the Southampton
Art Museum.
St. Andrews' Dune-Church, one of the most
unique and picturesque Episcopal churches on
Long Island, was founded in 1879, as St. An-
drews-by-the-Sea, and the present name was
adopted in 1884. The edifice and its furnishings
comprise relics of great historical significance.
The central part of the nave was originally the
life-saving station, erected in 185 1 on the west
shore of the Town Pond (Lake Agawam).
Upon the completion of a new life-saving station,
the original station was purchased by Dr.T.
Gaillard Thomas, and presented to the church,
and was removed to its present location upon the
Dunes, this site having been given by the late
Mr. C. Wyllys Betts. The side aisles of the nave
and the north and south transepts were added in
1883, were enlarged in 1887 after designs of
Edward B. Kendall, and again in 1894. The
choir and chancel extension were also added in
1887 and enlarged in 1894. In the west wall of
the church are placed three stones from York
Minster, England. These were presented to the
church by the Dean and Chapter of York Mins
ter. One of these stones is interesting from hav
ing been a part of the moulding of the tomb in
the north aisle, of the Minster of Roger de
l'Eveque, Archbishop of York, from A. D. 1154
to A. D. 1 181. The oak corbels supporting the
corner posts under the belfry roof are from
Blytheburg church, Suffolk, England, built in
1442. They were presented by the patron of
that church, Sir John Blois, in 1882, through
Mr. C. Wyhys Betts. A tablet on the east wall
of the north transept records their history. The
reredos, altar and decorations were added in
1893. Over the altar is a tapestry representing the

308

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"Miraculous Draught of Fishes" (after
Raphael's cartoon at Hampton Court Pal
ace) worked by the Pelham School of Art
Needle Work, and presented by Mrs. William S.
Hoyt. The circular children's window over, the
altar was the gift of the children of the congre
gation. The embroidered altar cloth was pre
sented by the late Miss Helen T. Barney. The
Credence table, supported upon a shaft and base
of Purbeck marble from one of the doorways of
Netley Abbey, Southampton, England, erected
by King Benry III in 1239. The Altar book
(from the Chiswick Press) is the gift of Mr.
Henry B. Barnes. The embroidered Altar linen
is the gift of Mrs. Frederic B. Betts. The
Altar cross is the gift of Rev. Dr. John Wesley
Brown. Among the Eucharistic vessels are a
silver paten of Irish manufacture, -bearing the
hall-mark of 1684, and a Florentine chalice bear
ing enamel figures (much defaced), which ap
pear to be those of St. Dominic, St. Giovanni,
Gualberto, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. Cath
erine of Alexandria. An inscription seems to
bear the name of Angelo Nanini, who, about
J550 was abbot of Vajano, a Dominican mon
astery near Florence, of the order of Valambrosa.
These vessels were the gift of Air. Frederic B.
Betts. The pipe organ was purchased from a
fund donated to the church by Mrs. Dr. P. F.
Chambers as a thanksgiving for recovery from
illness. An old English Bible and Prayer-Book
is chained to a bracket desk in the choir. This
was printed in the reign of Charles I, 1638, and
was presented by Mr. C. Wyllys Betts in 1881.
The chancel and choir chairs are of ancient Eng
lish workmanship. One bears the date of 1681.
The font is of stone, and was presented in 1880
by Zion church, New York citv. The peal of
bells in the tower of the church were placed there
in 1900 principally through the generosity of
Mr. and Mrs. William Allen Butler, Jr., and Mr.
and Mrs. William A. Kobbe.
The alms box is upheld by a stone bracket
from Tintern Abbey (presented by Mr. Fred
eric B. Betts), and bears a plate with the follow
ing inscription: "The stone under this box is
from the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Tin-

tern, Monmouthshire, England, founded by Wal
ter de Clare, A. D. 1131. Erected by Roger
Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, A. D. 1268-1288. Dis
solved A. D. 1537."
.The historical tablets are of rare interest. A
large brass tablet commemorates the two hun
dred and fiftieth anniversary in 1890 of the found
ing of Southampton in June, 1640. It bears the
names of the eight founders (or "undertakers")
of Southampton and an extract from their orig
inal "Declaration of Intention," as follows :
"Our true intent and meaninge is that when
our Plantacon is layed out by those appointed ac-
"cordine to our Articles, and there shall be a
"Church gathered and constituted accordinc to
"the Mind of CHRIST, that then wee doe ffreely
"lay dozvne our power both of orderinge and dis-
"poseing of the Plantacon aud receavinge of I in
habitants or any other thinge that may Tend to
"the Good and Welfare of ve Place, at the feete~
"of CHRIST and His Church."
The "Colonial Tablet" records the principal
events in the colonial history of Southampton
from 1640 to 1775. It bears the texts, "Beata
Gens Cujus est Dominus Deus Ejus" (Ps.
XXXIII, 12) and "Gcncratio et Gcneratio lauda-
bit opera Tua."
The "Revolutionary Tablet," in memory of
the inhabitants of Southampton who served or
suffered in the cause of the Revolution, 17.75-
1783, records the names of the officers of the
two Southampton companies. The tablet also
bears the following tribute : . "In recognition also
of the character and conduct of the British com
mander at Southampton, General Sir William
Erskine, who tempered the rigors of a hostile
occupation by a policy of conciliation and the
practice of justice."
The "Union Tablet" records the names of the
soldiers from 'Southampton who served in the
war for the Union, 1861-1865. It bears the text:
"Praise the Lord, for He hath strengthened the
bars of thy gates. He hath blessed thy children
within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders."
Two dreadful disasters are commemorated
by tablets. One is in memory of the seventeen
officers and men drowned near the church in the

ART GALLERY, SOUTHAMPTOH. BUILT FOR THE YILLAGE BY SAMUEL L. PARRISH.

SOUTHAMPTON.

309

great gale of August 24, 1893, which wrecked
the steamer "Panther" and the barge "Lykens
Valley." The "Lykens Valley" was stranded
about one-half of a mile to the east of the church,
and all on board perished. The "Panther" found
ered opposite the church while endeavoring to
put further to sea, and the engineer and two
members of the crew were rescued in the surf.
The tablet bears the words : "God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble;
Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be carried
into the midst of the sea: Though the zmters
thereof roar and are troubled; and though the
mountains shake with swelling thereof (Ps.
XLVI 1-3). Oh, hear us when we cry to THEE
for those in peril on the sea."
On the same wall is a tablet recording the
wreck, on the night of January 16-17, 181 5, of
the British sloop-of-war "Sylph," 22 guns, Cap1-
tain George Dickens. The wreck occurred near
the site of the church, at the close of the war of
1812-1815, between the United States and- Great
Britain. The "Sylph" had been active in Long
Island Sound during the war; but, in passing
near the south coast of the island, lost her reckon
ings in a fog. Except the purser and five sea
men, a crew of 12 officers and 121 seamen were
all lost. The border of the wall tablet and tbe
wheel above it are made from pieces of the red
cedar frame of the "Sylph." The tablet bears
the names of the officers of the ship, and the fol
lowing text: "In rebus arduis et extremis etiam
hostes in memoriam habeantur."
The walls and windows of the church are
occupied by memorials of trustees of the church
and members of their families.
The Art Gallery, Botanical Garden and Gym
nasium are graceful and valuable contributions to
the social and intellectual life of the community,
and were founded in 1867 by Mr. Samuel L. Par
rish, who made grateful acknowledgment of the
liberality and warm interest of Mr. Henry G.
Marquand, president of the Metropolitan Mu
seum of Art of New York, in carrying to suc
cess the establishment of the principal enter

prise, the art gallery, the most complete museum
in America. The art collection embraces a splendid ex
hibit of painting, sculpture and other works
of art. These include the Bayeux tapestry, of
the exact size of the original, reproduced by the
autotype process and colored by hand, and pre
senting a striking resemblance to the original
work. This copy was taken from plates in the
possession of the British government, and there
is one other reproduction in the United States,
that in the Pennsylvania Museum, in Fairmount
Park, Philadelphia.
A series of effigies of British royalties, in half
length, are copies from electrotype reproductions
in the ownership of the National Portrait Gal
lery, in London, England , and were modeled
from the effigies themselves upon the royal
tombs in Westminster Abbey and Canterbury
Cathedral. These include Henry III, Eleanor
of Castile, Edward III, Edward "the Black
Prince," Richard II, Henry IV, Benry VII and
his mother, Lady Margaret, Countess of Rich
mond, Elizabeth of York, wife of Benry VII,
portrait bust of Benry VIII, Queen Elizabeth,
and a portrait bust of Mary Stuart, Queen of
Scots. The collection of pictures was made, in
greater part, during several visits made to Italy
by Mr. Parrish, and were mostly obtained in
Venice and Florence and in the neighborhood
of these cities, although some were procured in
other continental art centers, and a few in Lon
don and New York. A considerable number
of these are painted on panel during the period
between, the early part of the fifteenth century
and reaching down to the latter part of the sev
enteenth century. During this time the artists
of Italy and of their school were remarkably
numerous and industrious, and, in many in
stances, the name of the individual artist has
been lost, but all the paintings in the Southamp
ton Art Gallery are recognizable as belonging to
them and their day. The subjects are in large
majority of a religious character, with some al
legorical scenes founded upon the classic poets.
and portraits. In some instances the pictures are

310

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

presumably from the brush of pupils of some of
the great Italian masters, and, while the names of
these minor artists are not preserved, their work
is readily discernible as belonging- to the period
of the Italian Renaissance.
The reproductions in marble and plaster were
obtained from Florence, Paris, London and New
York. The world famous "Laocoon," the Faun
of Praxiteles," the "Wrestlers," the "Winged
Victory of Samathrace," and others, were ob
tained from the Atelier de Moulage, or plaster-
cast department of the Museum of the Louvre,
in Paris, France, and conducted by the govern
ment. The plaster rep-roduction of the Par
thenon Frieze was from the Metropolitan Mu
seum of Art of New York.
In the reading room are numerous volumes
of particular interest to art students and con
noisseurs, pertaining to the history of art, and
biographies of artists of every school and day.
In the summer of 1902 Mr. James C. Par
rish, a brother of the founder of the Art Gallery,
made a splendid wing addition to the original
building, in order to provide accommodations
for musical, literary and other entertainments.
The Rogers Memorial Library was founded
upon a bequest made by Miss Harriet Jones
Rogers, and was dedicated in 1895. Miss Rogers
was the only child of Obadiah Jones Rogers and
Clara (Herrick) Rogers, of Southampton, and
the library was established as a memorial to the
memory of the mother of the donor and to
herself. 'Miss Rogers also presented a fine or
gan to the Presbyterian church. The library
building is an architectural ornament, and is
most conveniently arranged. It contains 7,500
well chosen volumes, and the reading room is
supplied with the principal books of reference
and the leading magazines and newspapers of
the day.' The library is open every day and
evening and its privileges are free to all, both
residents and transient visitors.
At the western extremity of Job's Lane is a
unique monument to the memory of those Amer
ican soldiers and sailors who served their coun
try in times of war. It is doubtful if there can
be found in the land a more eloquent and ap

propriate monumental tribute. This was erected
under the supervising care and largely out of the
generosity of General Thomas H. Barber, him
self a gallant veteran of the Civil war.
The story of the new Southampton was told
most interestingly in a letter to a friend by Dr.
T. Gaillard Thomas, a prominent physician of
New York, and, while not intended for publi
cation, will prove an acceptable addition to our
narrative. Dr. Thomas said :
"In September, 1863, worn out by the cares
of a very large practice in the city of New York,
I sought leisure and repair of health in a drive
along the southern shore of Long Island, and a
return to New York by the northern shore. In
a light wagon, capable of carrying a trunk, with
my wife as a companion, and behind a good pair
of horses, I drove across the 34th Street ferry on
my way to Babylon as my first destination.
Stopping at the charming old hostelry of Selah
Smith for a couple of days, we went on to
Quogue as our next resting place, and thus visit
ing the villages' along the south shore, South-
ampton'among the number, we gradually worked
our way to Montauk Point, where we found
pleasant accommodations at the light-house.
From this point we went to Sag Barbor, after
being nearly devoured by the phenomenal hordes
of mosquitos which attacked us and our horses
in crossing Napeague Beach, and the morning
after our arrival there we embarked for Green
port and made our way home. On leaving
Southampton, I remarked to my wife, T am
charmed with this quiet old village ; most agree
ably impressed by its great advantages and by
the respectability and apparent worth of the
good people who inhabit it, and I am fully de
termined that should I ever build a summer
home it shall be located here.'
"Thirteen years afterwards I decided to
build a summer place and came to Southampton
to investigate with my friend, Mr. Leon De
pierre DeBost, a native of the village, then liv
ing in New York, bought fifteen acres of land
on the dunes from Captain Goodale, and built
the house in which I now reside, and have made
this by summer home for twenty-five years, my
appreciation of the place and my friendly regard
for those who inhabit it increasing distinctly and
steadily as this quarter of a century has slipped
almost imperceptibly away.
"As I came here with my friend, Mr. De
Bost, and was his guest for a short time, it has

ROGERS MEMORIAL LIBRARY, SOUTHAMPTOH, L. I.

OX PASTURE. THE SUMMER RESIDEHCE OF HOH. S. H. WALES, SOUTHAMPTOH.

SOUTHAMPTON.

311

been very generally supposed that he introduced
me to Southampton and its people, and I have
taken little care to correct the error. But the
facts I now give are stated exactly as they oc
curred. "The erection of my house in the ancient
village of Southampton was an era in its history,
it being the first house ever erected here outside
the strict limits of the village, for the purposes
of summer residence, by a man not born in the
community. The limits of the village on the
south were marked bv the homes of Mr. Nicoll
White and Mr. Isaac Foster. Mr. DeBost was
born in Southampton in the house of his grand
father, who had lived here for two generations
before the birth of this grandson, and Mr. De-
Bost's house was built to the north of those resi
dences just mentioned, and was therefore dis
tinctly within the village limits.
"For one year I was entirely without neigh
bors, not another cottage existing between Me
cox Bay on the east, the Atlantic Ocean on the
south, the gate of the Shinnecock reservation on
the west, and Long Springs on the north. One
year after my settlement here two cottages were
built — one by Mr. W. S. Hoyt and one by Dr.
Albert H. Buck, both of whom have since re
moved from Southampton, their places falling
into the hands of Mr. Charles T. Barney. In
the third year, a cottage was built by Mr. Fred
eric B. Betts, as a place of residence, and an
other, called 'The Gables,' for the purpose of
renting, by his brother Mr. C. Wyllis Betts. In
the fourth year Mr. Wyllis Betts built several
more cottages for renting, which were fortunate
ly filled by persons who proved of great ad
vantage to the new Southampton, my venerable
and valued friend, Mr. Salem B. Wales, to
whom the community is . very greatly indebted
for constant and able efforts for its advancement,
being one of them.
"After this year we grew so rapidly rich in
fine cottages and excellent neighbors that I find
it impossible to keep the tally accurately. I
would merely say that about this time Messrs.
George R. and William B. Schieffelin, Colonel
Siebert, a German ex-army officer, Messrs. Uriel
A. Murdock, James T. Kilbreth and -others dis
tinctly increased' the prosperity of the settlement
by adopting it as their summer home. In the
year 1880 Mr. Wales built the fine residence in
which -he now resides, and soon after his son-
in-law. the secretary of war, Mr. Elihu Root,
created himself his neighbor. At the present
time there are in the summer colony of South

ampton between one hundred and fifty to two
hundred cottages many of which equal those of
any summer place, with the exception of New
port, in our country.
"I cannot refrain from speaking of some of
those of my fellow citizens who, as the years have
passed, have created steps by the mounting of
which this place has climbed into prominence and
prosperity. To Mr. Frederic H. Betts we owe
the charming Episcopal chapel, called St. An
drew's Dune- Church, which for twenty-two
years has proved a centre around which has
gathered the healthy sentiment which character
izes our community. To Mr. Salem H. Wales
we are indebted for the excellent bank, which
has greatly advanced the prosperity of the town.
To Miss Rogers, now deceased, we owe the Rog
ers Memorial Library, an ornament to the place
and a blessing to its people. But we must not
forget, in connection with it, the long and faith
ful services of its president, Mr. Wales, who has
done much to secure its great success. To Mr.
John W. Kilbreth we are indebted for two- bene
factions — a pure and plentiful water supply and
a well-conducted and efficient company for elec
trical lighting. To Mr. R. H. Robertson, the
eminent architect, we owe the architectural effects
in our library, and many other public buildings
which fascinate our visitors. To Mr. Samuel
L. Parrish, and more recently to1 his brother, Mr.
James C. Parrish, we are indebted for the
charming museum, hall of music, and gymna
sium, which will surely do a vast deal for the
elevation of the community. To Mr. Edward
S. Mead and Mr. Samuel L. Parrish acknowl
edgments are especially due, though many oth
ers were associated with them, for the establish
ment of the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which
has had a vast influence on the development of the
place; and our profound thanks are due to Mr.
John B. Cauldwell for the handsomest and most
commodious depot and grounds which adorn any
station between Montauk Point and Long Island
City. "There is no doubt in my mind as to the great
influence in the development of our colony which
has been exerted by the Meadow Club, but
it is difficult to decide to whom its creation be
accredited. Those gentlemen who were chiefly
instrumental in the work are Judge Henry E.
Howland, Messrs. F. B. Betts, B. Aymar Sands,
Bowers Lee, C. R. Henderson, and J. Bamden
Robb. "In the year 1900, a club for gentlemen, known
as the Southampton Club, was inaugurated by

312

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Mr. George R. Schieffelin, which now owns a
handsome and commodious club-house, and
which is entirely successful in every way.
"What the influence, of the Southampton
Horse Association with its fine race-track, its at
tractive grand stand, and other appropriate fea
tures will be, remains to be tested by time. But
1 feel so confident that these dangerous pos
sessions will be wisely safeguarded and ' de
terminedly protected against evil results, that I
point with satisfaction to Mr. Henry W. Mac-
Vickar as the originator of the enterprise, and
as one to whose energy we are indebted for
much of the rapid and satisfactory development
which has attended it.
"Within the last year or two, thanks to the
energy and enterprise of three gentlemen of our
community, a large sum of money has been col
lected by subscription for the improvement of
the roads, particularly of those penetrating the
woods within a radius of eight miles of the vil
lage. Already a good deal of very satisfactory
work has been done and, the promise pf the
future is most gratifying. The committee which
has laid us under so great an obligation consists
of Messrs. Henry E. Coe, Henry P. Robbins,
Howard Townsend and Dr. George A. Dickson.
"In this narrative I have depended entirely up
on memory, with the painful consciousness that
it will give offence to some whose good works
I have forgotten to acknowledge. If this be so,
I beg them to attribute the shortcoming on im
part to the head and not the heart."

Dr. Thomas has taken a deep interest in com
munity affairs, and was particularly useful in
the establishment, building and furnishing of
the beautiful Protestant Episcopal church edi
fice referred to on previous pages.
Among -the principal ornaments of the new
Southampton is the splendid estate of Hon. Sa
lem B. Wales. This place, known as Ox Pas
ture, fronting on Agawam Lake, comprises
twenty-four acres of land, which Mr. Wales
purchased in the year of his coming, 1880.
From its totally unused and unimproved con
dition, he has transformed it into one of the most
beautiful summer home places in the entire resi
dential portion of Long Island. The grounds
are laid out artistically, and bear an abundance
of ornamental trees and shrubbery, arbors, beds
of flowers, and all those outdoor ornaments

which go to make a suitable setting to an ideal
family residence. Mr. Wales has taken an act
ive and most useful part in all movements for
the advancement and development of the village.
He was one of the organizers of the bank, and
has charge of the new water system, and he
superintended the erection of the Rogers Memo
rial Library. He is ia trustee of St. Andrew's
Dune-Church, and is connected with all the local
clubs. On Ox Pasture Lane is Darene, the home of
Mrs. M. B. Cauldwell, which is one of the most
handsome specimens of colonial architecture on
Long Island. This, with others of varying type,
afford some idea of the beauties of the modern
Southampton. It will be remembered that, by the terms of
Governor Dongan's patent, the town was to pay
annually forty shillings as a quit rent. After
the Revolution this became due to the State of
New York, and by act of legislature April 1,
1786, it was ordered that all quit rents should
be paid into the treasury, and that persons hold
ing- lands by quit rent might commute the same
by paying 14 shillings for every shilling of the
rent. Accordingly, at a meeting of the town trus
tees held February 26, 1787, Dr. Silas Balsey
was instructed to take enough of the proprietors'
money to discharge all arrears and commute the
quit rent. This was done, and thus disappeared
the last vestige of the colonial form of govern
ment. The entire region now. the town of South
ampton was owned and occupied by an Indian
tribe known as the Shinnecocks, whose sachem
was subordinate to Wyandanch, the sachem of
Montauk. The word Shinnecock is said to mean
"level land," and seems to have been the name
of the plain of which Shinnecock Neck is a part.
The number of the tribe was probably not very
large, and it is very doubtful if they ever num
bered two hundred fighting men. In the census
of 1698 there were reported 52 Indians upward
of fifteen years of age, and about the same num
ber of women and ' children. But this was not
the whole number, for Matthew Bowell, the. een-

DAREHE. HOME OF MRS. M. B. CAULDWELL.

SOUTHAMPTON.

313

sus taker, says "The heathen are so scattered to
and fro that they can neither be summonsed in
nor counted." Their chief seat was on Shinne
cock Neck, and as a locality on the west side of
the neck, adjoining a branch of the bay, is men
tioned in deeds as early as 1660 as "Old Fort,"
and still retains the name, it is to be supposed
that an Indian fortification once existed there,
but at present no trace remains. Near -it is an
aboriginal burying ground and many Indian
relics have been found in the vicinity. Some
years ago excavations were made in the old
burial place and four skeletons were discovered.
These had been buried in a sitting position, and
with them were many curious relics. Among
them was a gun barrel nearly six feet in length,
several glass bottles and an earthen cup, and a
considerable quantity of traders' beads and a
quantity of wampum (the latter being cylindrical
beads of shell about a quarter . of an inch in
length and one-eighth of an inch in diameter,
and pierced longitudinally), and a copper box
containing a few silver coins bearing the date
of 1656. A basket, which had probably con
tained food, had also been buried, and a por
tion was so well preserved as to show that it had
been woven of flags. There were also portions
of a woolen blanket. We conclude from this that
the aboriginal customs of burying the dead were
continued for many years after the advent of the
white settlers. Some years since there was
found in the mud of a swamp at Potunk a stone
axe or hatchet with a handle, of oak about two
feet in length, secured to the axe by being placed
against the flat side and a withe wound firmly
around in the same manner as a rope is belayed,
thus holding it very securely. In the spring of
1880 a man, while catching eels in the creek at
Canoe Place, drew up on his spear a wooden
paddle which had evidently been used in pro
pelling a canoe in olden time. It was about
three feet long, including the blade, which was
about a foot in length. At the beginning of the
last century the Indians lived entirely in wig
wams, most of them at Shinnecock, but several
were at Canoe Place and at the outlet of Cold
Spring Bay. From an entry in the town records

we learn that in 1647 tlle sachem's house was
near the brook that runs into Wooley's Pond,
near Towd. They doubtless moved their fragile
dwellings whenever they thought best, but gen
erally located where fish and clams were plenti
ful. They afterward began to build small frame
houses, and wigwams disappeared about 1850.
As these only exist in the traditions of the past, it
may be well to describe their construction.
A circular space about twelve feet in diam
eter was cleared of bushes, and the turf removed
to the depth of ten or twelve inches. This
was heaped around the circumference, making a
low bank. Small poles about twelve feet long
were sharpened at the large end, and stuck firm
ly in tbe top of the embankment. The tops were
then brought nearly together, leaving a small
circular hole at the top. Slender "hoop poles"
were then fastened horizontally to the upright
sticks at intervals of about ten inches. To these
the covering was fastened. This consisted either
of mats woven of flags and rushes, or thatch of
a coarse kind of grass which still grows in the
swampy places at Shinnecock, and which the na
tives called "bluevent." A fire was made within
a small icirole of stones in the center of the wig
wam, and the smoke found an outlet at the top
These stone "fireplaces," being the only thing
about the wigwam that was indestructible, are
still to be found and mark the places where wig
wams stood in the days long past. A flat stone
with a hollow in the top, large enough to hold a
pint of corn, was used as a mortar, and these,
together with stone pestles, are to be seen in col
lections of Indian relics. Stone arrow heads
are frequently found, but those of quartz, which
were probably -made by the tribe dwelling here,
are not as finely formed as those of obsidian
and other stones which were probably obtained
by barter from other parts.
The ancient language and customs have long
since disappeared. The last Indian of pure
blood was known as "Joe Tony," and he died in
1850. The last Indian custom that survived was
that of carrying the "back basket" by a strap
that passed around the forehead of the bearer.
It was carried in this manner bv an old Indian

314

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

woman who died in 1879. The present tribe
are entirely derived from negroes, most of whom
came from other places and married Indian
women, thus securing a right to live on the In
dian land.
A Congregational Church was organized by
the Rev. Paul Cuffee, the Indian preacher, about
1808, but never had a settled minister. A few
years since it became incorporated to enable it
to receive a legacy left in the will of Pyrrhus
Cancer, a highly respected colored man, who
lived in Southampton. "June meeting," on the
first Sunday in June, is a religious anniversary,
instituted by the Rev. Paul Cuffee, but in late
years has ceased to be a source of religious bene
fit. About 1845 a "Second Adventist" society was
organized among the Indians by James Lee, an
escaped slave from Virginia, who married into
the tribe. The most important of its members
were lost in the wreck of the ship "Circassian,"
in 1876, since which time it has dwindled al
most to nothing.
In 1686 a new generation of Indians were
on the scene, who were dissatisfied with the sale
of the lands made by their ancestors. To quiet
them a new deed was obtained from the sachem
then in power, and in 1703 a fresh agreement
was made. A new deed signed by Pomqumo,
Chice and Mahanum as sachems, and signed by
34 other members of the tribe, conveyed to the
trustees of the commonalty of Southampton, for
the sum of £20, "All that tract of land of ye
Township of Southampton, bounded at ye south
with the main ocean, on the north by ye bay and
Peconick great river, and eastward by a line run
ning from ye most -eastward pinte of Hogg Neck
across ye said branch of ve Island to a stake upon
Wainscutt plains, and westwardly from an inlet
out of ye sea or main ocean, commonly known
by the name of Cupsogue gut, into- ye south bay,
and running northerly up Seatuck River to ye
marked bound tree, standing upon ye west side
of the main branch of Seatuck River, and from
said tree extending northerly to Peconick great
river as aforesaid."
To make the matter more sure a deed was
obtained from Giangonhut, sachem of Unckacho-

hok, in the present town of Brookhaven, and
Stimono, his sister, who was wife of Pomqumo,
by which they acknowledged that -the lands east
of Seatuck belonged to the Shinnecock tribe.
These deeds were executed August 16, 1703, and
are recorded in the town clerk's office.
Up to 1703 the Indians seem to have roamed
at large, though their principal place of residence
was on Shinnecock Neck, and they had- "free
fishing and fowling." At the time of giving
of the second Indian deed it was found necessary
to restrict them to some particular place. The
town trustees, therefore, gave to the Indians the
following lease for Shinnecock Hills and Shinne
cock Neck, dated August 16, 1703 :
"This Indenture made between the Trustees
of the Co-monalty of the Towne of Southampton,
on the one part, and Pomquamo Chice and Mana-
man, and their people belonging to Shinnecock,
Witnesseth that the said Trustees * * * for
clivers good causes and one ear of Indian corn
to be paid annually on the first day of November.
* * * have demised, granted, and to farm
let, * * * All the certain tract of land,
called by the name of Shinecock and Sebonac,
bounded west by Canoe Place, alias Niamug, and
bounded southward by Shinecock Bay, and east
ward by a line running from the head of Shine
cock Creek, to the northwest corner of James
Cooper's close, and from thence northwardly to
the westward -part of Jonathan Rayners land at
Sebonac old ground, and from thence on a direct
line to a place called the warehouse by the North
Bay, and on the north by said bay, meadows,
marshes, grass herbage feeding and pasterage
and highways, excepted. * * * for the term
of 1000 years next ensuing to the date hereof.
Provided that the Indians do not keep any part
of the land enclosed from the last of October to
the first of April in each year. !
The trustees also gave the Indians liberty to
cut flags and bulrushes and such grass as they
usually make their mats and houses of, and to
dig ground nuts (mowing lands excepted) any-
wherein the bounds of the town. In this way
the Indians had the right to plow and plant,
while the proprietors had the right of pasture.
In a lawsuit that arose many years later the
court of appeals decided that if the Indians

SOUTHAMPTON.

315

planted crops they must do all the fencing re
quired to protect them, and after that very little
planting was done on the Hills. The meadows
along the bay had been divided soon after tlie
original settlement and were owned by private
individuals. The same rules held good on Shinne
cock Neck. The inconvenience of holding lands
in this manner soon became manifest. The
courts decided that the seaweed drifting on the
shores belonged to the Indian's, and this was for
many years a source of revenue. In 1859 tne
proprietors agreed to release to the Indians all
their rights to Shinnecock Neck in exchange for
the Indian rights to Shinnecock Hills. This was
agreed to by a very large majority of the Indian
tribe, and the consent of the State was given by
an act of legislature. The proprietors then of
fered Shinnecock Hills for sale, and they were
purchased at public auction by a company of
men residing in Southampton for $6,250. This
included Ram Island, which was not Indian land.
They were incorporated under the title of "The
Trustees of Shinnecock Hills," and held it as
tenants in common for pasturage for several
years. About 1884 a company of English capitalists,
through agents, purchased all the shares of the
owners of Shinnecock Hills, and also purchased
large tracts of "wild land" in other parts of
Long Island. As they were aliens they could
not take title in their own names, but associating
with two New York lawyers, they were incor
porated as the "Long Island Improvement Com
pany," the two lawyers and two or three of their
clerks, all owning a very small interest, being the
officers. The Hills were afterwards sold to a
new company, known as the "Shinnecock Hills
Company." On March 31, 1892, the Long Island Im
provement Company conveyed to the town trus
tees a right of way "for persons, vehicles or. ani
mals" along the shore of Shinnecock Bay and
Bull's Head Bay, Cold Spring Bay and Peconic
Bay, the said road to be 50 feet wide, except the
road along Peconic Bay, which was to be 75 feet
wide, all measuring from mean high water mark.
They also release all claims to any lands under

water which had been sold by the proprietors
to William FI. Maxwell, for the company, on
November 7, 1882. Several tracts on the Hills
have been sold to private individuals and hand
some dwellings erected and an "Art School" es
tablished. The original "Town Purchase" was the land
east of Canoe Place. On June 10, 1658, Wyan
danch, "Sachem of Paumanack," sold to Lyon
Gardiner "A certain tract of beach land, with all
the. rest of ye grass that joynes to it, not sep
arated from it by water. Which beach begins
eastward at the west end of Southampton
bounds, and westward where it is separated by
ye waters of ye sea coming in out of ye ocean
sea. Being southward by the great sea, north
ward with the inland water. This land and the
grass for a range for to feed horses or cattle on."
This was for "a considerable sum of money and
a yearly rent of 25 shillings." "But the whales
that shall be cast up on this beach shall belong
to me, and the rest of the Indians in their
bounds, as they have been anciently granted to
them formerly by my forefathers." On December
3, 1658, Lyon Gardiner transferred his title to
John Cooper. This includes all the beach be
tween a point opposite Canoe Place to what was
known as "Cupsogue Gut," or inlet, and now
the west line of the town.
The second purchase is known as the
"Quogue Purchase." On May 12, 1659, Wyan
danch, "Sachem of Paumanack," sold to Mr.
John Ogden "A certain tract of land beginning
at the westward end of Southampton bounds,
which land is bounded eastward with Southamp
ton bounds, and with a small piece of meadow
which I gave to Mr. John Gosmer. Northward
to the water of the bay and to the creek of
Accaboucke. Westward to the place called
Peheconnache, and southerly to Potunk, three
miles landward in from the high water mark
and creek of Accaboucke and soe to the west.
But from that three-mile breadth of land south
ward all the laud and meadow toward the South
sea, the beach only excepted, is sold to John
Cooper." This was on the condition that Thorn-

316

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

as Halsey and his associates should have the use
of a "piece of meadow called Quaquanantuck for
the term of years formerly granted to them."
This was for a yearly rent of 25 shillings, the
Indians to have the right "of fishing and fowling
and gathering berries." John Ogden sold this
tract to Captain John Scott (whose exploits in
the way of land speculations left the early set
tlements on Long Island in hot water for a long
term of years), and be sold it to the town Feb
ruary 2, 1663.
On April 10, 1662, Weany Sunk, squaw,
Anabackns and Jackanapes "all of them residents
of Shinecock near Southampton," sold to Cap
tain Thomas Topping of Southampton "all our
right and title to a certain tract of land being
westward of Shinnecock and the lawful bounds of
Southampton. To begin at Canoe Place, other
wise Niamuck, and soe to ru-nn westward to a
place called and known by the name of Seatuck,
from thence to run northward across the said
Island or neck of land unto- a place called the
head of the bay." Together with half the profits
and benefits of the beach in respect to fish, whale
or whales that shall by God's Providence be
cast up." This was in consideration of "four
score fathoms of wampum or other pay equiva
lent." This deed included the entire western part
of the town, including the land sold to John
Ogden. These deeds excited the jealousy of the
town, and the parties who sold to Captain
Topping were not recognized as having any
right to sell, and a long and bitter controversy
ensued. On September 17, 1666, a deed was
given by the son, daughter and widow of Man-
dush (who was one of the sachems who gave tbe
original deed in 1640) and other head Indians
of the Shinnecock tribe, by which they sold all
the lands described in the deed to Captain Thom
as Topping, "unto our loving friends, the towns
men of Southampton, with this proviso, that if
General Nicolls, whom we acknowledge the hon
orable and discreet Governor of this Island, doth
upon examination find us to be the true propri
etors of ye said lands."
Governor Richard Nicolls decided that Cap

tain Topping and John Cooper should resign all
their claims, and the said lands should belong to
the town of Southampton, that is, to those
townsmen who had paid the purchase money.
The town should pay to Captain Topping £5
and to the Indians "four score fathoms of
wampum, at six for a penny," and that Captain
Topping should have a £150 allotment in the
meadows. This was dated October 3, 1666.
The part of the town west of the land sold
to John Ogden has always been called Topping's
Purchase, and the -east boundary is a line run
ning from the mill dam at Beaverdam to River
head. The cost of the purchase of the west part
of the town was £70, and was paid by 41 per
sons. A list of these will be found in Vol. II,
Town Records, page 250.
The first division in the western part of the
town was made in 1673. This included' the
meadow along the bay and creeks from the west
side of Assop's Neck to a short creek at the
bottom of Fourth Neck. The short creek here
mentioned was called by the Indian name of
"Anock," and it divided Fourth Neck into two
parts' — Little Fourth- Neck and Great Fourth
Neck. These meadows were the most valuable
part of that portion of the town. One acre of
meadow was worth more than twenty acres cov
ered with heavy pine timber.
The next division was in 1683, and included
all the meadows beginning- with Little Assop's
Neck (now Quoioge) and extending to the west
part of Woniunk (or Onuck), and including
Catchoponack and Potunk.
The next division was in 1686. This was the
Accabog meadows, west of Red creek.
The next division was the meadows west of
Wontink, beginning with Apocock Neck and in
cluding the meadows at Speonk. This was in
1712. The vast tracts of woodland were not divided
until 1738. The first was the "Lower Division,
in Quogue Purchase." This included a large
tract bounded north by the Country road and
extending west from Shinnecock Bay to Fourth
Neck, with some small lots farther west. This
was in 1738.

SOUTHAMPTON.

31

In the same year was laid out the North or
"Upper Division" This was bounded north by
the Country - road, west by Beaverdam, or the
line between Quogue and Topping's Purchase,
south by highways laid across each neck, and
east by the creek called Achabacawesuck, which
separates Pine Xeck from Fourth Neck.
The Canoe Place division was laid out the
same year. This was bounded east by Canoe
Place, south by the Country road, north by the
beach on Peconic Bay, west by a line from Tiana
to Red creek.
The Accabog division is bounded east by Red
creek, south by a line running due west from
the south end of Red Creek Pond to the road
from Quogue to Riverhead, and west by that
road. This was laid out in 1763.
The "Last Division in Quogue Purchase"
is bounded south by the Country road from
Tiana to Beaverdam, west by the line of Top
ping's Purchase, and north by the south line of
the Accabog division, and east by a line from
Red Creek Pond to Tiana. The southwest cor
ner of this division is some distance north of
the mill at Beaverdam, at the place where the
old Country road crossed the stream.
In Topping's Purchase there are two di
visions, besides the meadows at Speonk and other
necks. The Speonk division is bounded east by
Beaverdam river, north by the Country road,
called the Moriches road, west by Seatuck river
and south by the bay and the meadows formerly
divided. The "Last Division in Topping's Purchase" is
a vast tract of woodland, bounded south by the
Country road, east by the Quogue Purchase
north by Peconic river, and west by
the Brookhaven line. It was laid out
in 1782. By the terms of the deed of
Sachem Wyandanch to John Ogden a
tract of land on the north side, near
Flanders, was not included in Quogue Pur
chase. This is called the "Accabog Division in
Quogue and Topping's Purchase." This was
laid out in 1763, and includes the necks west of

Red creek. The west line is White brook, which
is the first brook one crosses in going from
Riverhead to Flanders.
On the terms of the Indian deed for Southold
and the description of the bounds in the Andros
patent, which was based upon it, a claim was set
up by that town to a triangular tract of land
and meadow in Southampton, bounded east by
Red creek and westerly by a line running from
the head of Red creek to the head of Wading
river. Some of the most interesting and curious
river. Some of the most interesting and curious
ed with this dispute. The great point in the con
troversy was to decide what tribe of Indians
were the owners of the land. It was shown to
be an ancient custom that if young eagles were
taken in the nest or a bear or a deer happened to
be drowned in the waters, the eagles and the
skins of the animals were sent to the sachem
that owned the land. It was proved by Indian
witnesses that upon a time a bear had been
drowned in the water, and that the skin had been
sent to the sachem at Shinnecock. After a long
controversy the case was tried before the court
of assizes in New York in November, 1667, and
was decided in favor of Southampton. An ap
peal in equity was allowed, to be heard at the
next court to be held in October, 1688, but the
court recommended that both parties should
agree. The affair was settled by a committee
from each town. It was agreed that the land
was to be in the jurisdiction of Southampton,
but that certain parts of the meadow were to be
long to Southold men as individuals. This
agreement is alluded to in the patents for both
towns. The first town clerk was Richard Mills, who
was also the first schoolmaster of whom an ex
tended notice has been given. His autograph
has been preserved, and appears above.

318

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

He was succeeded by Henry Pierson (1650-
69), whose elegant penmanship is so conspicuous
in our early records. The following is the list
of his successors :
John Howell, 1669-1692 ; Job Sayre, 1693 ;
Matthew Howell, 1693-1706; Joseph 'Fordham,
1706-1709; Thomas Stephens, 1710; Christopher
Foster, 1711-1742; John Howell, 2nd, 1743-1748;
Obadiah Rogers, 1748-1752; Stephen Rogers,
1753-1783; Isaac Post, 1783-1785; Silas Bal
sey, 1 786- 1 790: William Herrick, 1791-1811;
James Post, 1812-1820; William Berrick,
1821-1822; William P. Herrick, 1823-1824;
Jonathan Fithian, 1825-1843; Robert R. Rhodes,
1844-1847; Jonathan Fithian, 1848-1849; Robert
R. Rhodes, 1850-1856; Noah D. Ellsworth,
1857; Albert J. Post, 1 858-1 86 1 ; William S.
Pelletreau, 1862-1869; Edward H. Foster,
1870-1886; Henry A. Fordham, 1886; Lewis
Bowden, 1887. Mr. Bowden was also elected in
1888, but died a few days later. William J. Post
was then appointed to fill the vacancy and has
been elected till the present time.
On October 21, 1692, "At a town meeting
holden in Southampton by virtue of an order
from the Justices of the Peace, to chuse a man
of this Town to Supervise the county charge with
the rest of the men soe chosen by the severall
townes, to meet in Southampton upon the first
Wednesday of November next. By major vote
of the said Inhabitants at this meeting Thomas
Cooper is chosen Supervisor for this year afore
said." The following is the list of supervisors :
Thomas Cooper, 1692 ; William Herrick,
1693; Samuel Cooper, 1694-1696; Joseph Pier
son, 1695; Joseph Fordham, 1697-1708; Theo
philus Bowell, 1709-1718; David Pierson, 1719-
1 733 ; Josiah Howell, 1734-1737-1747; Job Pier
son, 1738-1746; Abram Halsey, 1748-1759; Job
Pierson, 1760-1762 ; Thomas Cooper, 1763 ;
David Howell, 1764-1780; David Hedges, 1781-
1786; Silas Balsey, 1 787-1791 ; Jonathan Rogers,
1792-1794; David Hedges, 1795-1810; David
Rose, 1811-1813; Flenry Corwithe, 1814-1816;
Samuel Huntting, 1817, David Rose, 1818-1821 ;
James Post, 1822-1827; Selden Foster, 1828-
1832; Abram Halsey, 1833; Benjamin Huntting,
1834; Selden Foster, 1835-1836 ;' David R. Rose,
1837; Gilbert C. Huntting, i8?8- David R. Rose,
1839; Ma'ltby G. Rose, 1840; Edwin Rose, 1841 ;

Samuel L'FIommedieu, 1842; David R. Rose,
1843-1848; David Pierson, 1849; George O.
Post, 1850; Josiah Douglass, 1851; William R.
Post. 1852-1855; Jonathan Fithian, 1856-1858;
Edwin Rose, 1859-1861 ; Jonathan Fithian, 1862-
1864; William R. Post, 1865-1876; James R.
Huntting, 1877; James M. Balsey, 1878-1880;
James B. Pierson, 1881, till the present time.
We now give the ancient history of the vari
ous villages and localities in the town of South
ampton. Watermill derives its name from the water
mill which was built by the town in 1644. An
agreement was made by which Edward Bowell
agreed to erect the mill, and the town was to
build 'the dam and open, a channel between the
bay and the ocean. This channel bore the name
of "Sepoose," and Indian name for "little river."
Mr. Bowell was to have forty acres of land ad
joining. This is now the homestead of the late
D. Hedges Sandford. The mill and privileges
soon after passed into the hands of William Lud
lam, who came from Matlock in England. He
died in 1665 and left it to his sons, Benry and
Joseph. The latter named removed to Oyster
Bay. The mill continued in the possession of
the descendants of Benry Ludlam until 1733,
when Jeremiah Ludlam sold it to John Conkling,
of East Bampton. In 1790 it was owned by
Bugh Smith, of Moriches, whose heirs proba
bly sold it to Jonathan Conkling about 1794.
It was purchased in 181 5 by John Benedict, by
whom it was for many years used as a fulling
and carding mill, and also as a grist mill, and
it is still owned by his descendants. In 1746
a lot for a burying place was laid out by the
town trustees, and is still used for that purpose.
The earliest settlers here were Captain Tliomas
Stephens, who owned the farm of Theodore A.
Balsey, and families of Rose, Balsey and Sand-
ford, who were also here at early date. In 181 3 a
school district was established and a school
house erected, which in 1870 was replaced by an
elegant building. The purchase of lands jby
wealthy persons from New York, who have
erected costly residences, has almost entirely
changed the character of this ancient village.

.>*

OLD WIHDMILL AT WATER HILL, OWHED BY DR. E. L. KEYES.

vA„-„: >¦
Y\

SUMMER RESIDEHCE OF DR. E. L. REYES, WATER MILL, L. I.

SOUTFIAMPTON

319

In the vicinity are some of the most de
lightful natural situations and most beautiful
adornments to be seen on Long Island. A con
spicuous type is the elegant summer home of
Dr. E. L. Keyes. The grounds of "Grass Land,"
by which name the estate is known-, comprise a
tract of eleven acres, purchased about seven years
ago, and have a frontage of some seven hundred
feet on Mecox Bay, affording a commanding view
of the water as it expands oceanward ; inland, the
estate overlooks the Bampton road and the pub
lic square at Water Mill. The grounds are
adorned with ' a profusion of ornamental trees
and shrubbery, all set out after the artistic fash
ion of the accomplished landscape gardener. The
residence is in the Queen Anne style of archi
tecture and forms a bright feature of a pictur
esque scene.
Reference has been made on a previous page
to the old windmills which have survived the
iconoclast and him who improves after the mod
ern fashion. All too, many of these ancient
landmarks have disappeared, and the few which
remain have an added quaint impressiveness be
cause of their loneliness. One of the most noted
of these old structures has been saved through
the thoughtfulness of Dr. Keyes.
The old windmill, which has been painted on
many a canvas and caught on many a camera
film, was originally put up at Sag Harbor, and,
as shown by the date inscribed upon one of the
stairs, it began to grind on August i, 1800,
something more than a century ago. In 1820
it was bought by James Corwith and conveyed
piecemeal to Watermill, where it was operated
by the owner until his death, in 1863. His son,
Samuel Corwith, was brought up in the occupa
tion of his father, worked with him during his
life, and after his death operated the mill until
1887. In that year the old mill began to fall
into decay. Besides, the utility of its old and
cumbersome mechanism was a thing of the past.
It was abandoned and was about to be destroyed
when Dr. Keyes purchased it for preservation
as a historic landmark and relic. He has won
a certain reward, too, in the gratitude of resi
dent lovers of the ancient and picturesque, who

continue to regard the rickety old mill as an old
familiar friend, and of that class of visitors who
delight in placing themselves in touch with the
remote past.
Mecox was the original name for all that
tract of country between the "Mill creek" at the
Water mill, and Saggaponack Pond. The
ancient and most traveled road from the Water
mill to the eastern part of the town ran through
the lane on the north side of the homestead of
Theodore A. Halsey, and thence east through
the farm of David Flalsey to the "wading place,"
across Hay Ground creek, from thence to the
lane leading to Mecox street, and through the
street to the road to the ocean, and probably
around Saggaponack pond by the beach. On
July 22, 1686, the town voted £50 towards build
ing a bridge over Saggaponack pond, and this
was confirmed on August 24, the same year. In
April, 1687, it is mentioned as in actual exist
ence. The bridge was built by Ezekiel Sand-
ford, and was a little south of the present one.
The road to it was purchased from Isaac Wil-
rnan. The bridge fell out of repair and ceased
to be used as a highway, and in 1765 the road
was sold by the town trustees to John Sandford,
and in the course of a hundred years it was al
most forgotten. In 1876 a new bridge on the
site of the' old one was built by Silas Tuttle, of
Speonk, who had purchased land at Sagg, and
in 1882 a new road was laid out by the town on
the same site as the road bought of Isaac Wil-
man, nearly two hundred years before.
On the north side of the original road was a
small piece of land, also bought of Isaac Wil-
man, near the pond, and upon this was built the
first church in Bridgehampton, about the time
when the bridge was finished. This was suc
ceeded by a new church, built in 1737, and stood
on the north side of the road to Saggaponack,
about forty rods east of the road to the ocean.
The building was 54 feet long and 38 feet wide,
and stood 105 years. The present church was
built in 1842, and is one of the finest country
churches in the county. The first minister was
the Rev. Ebenezer White, who was ordained Oc
tober 9, 1695. He was here in May, 1695, for

320

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

fifteen acres of land were then granted to him,
and on April 17, the same year, he purchased
from Jonas Wood and wife Lydia, of Elizabeth-
town, New Jersey, "10 acres of land at Sagga
ponack, with housing &c. bounded east and south
by highways, west by street, north by Col.
Henry Pierson." This was opposite the burying
ground, and the old house in which he lived was
torn down about i860. It was -a large double
two-story house, built after the ancient manner,
fronting the south, and had a long roof on the
north side which reached nearly to the ground.
Mr. White labored here fifty-three years and
died February 4, 1756, aged eighty-four. His
tombstone may be seen in the Sagg burying
ground. Bis descendants form a numerous and
very respectable family. The fifteen acres given
him -by the town May 27, 1695, is now part of
the homestead of the late Captain Jeremiah Lud
low, south of Bridgehampton village. Mr. White
was succeeded by the Rev. James Brown, who was
ordained June 15, 1748. Be resigned his charge
March 27, 1775, and removed to a farm' at Scut
tle Bole, now owned by George Strong. Bis
tombstone, in a sadly neglected burying ground
. in that vicinity, bears the inscription "In memory
of the Revd. James Brown, Pastor of the Church
of Christ in Bridge Bampton, who died April
22, 1788, in the 68 year of his age." The pulpit
was for a long time vacant, but on August 30,
1787, a pastor was ordained, whose life was one
long and bright example of the deeds that adorn
and the virtues that exalt humanity. The Rev.
Aaron Woolworth, D. D., was a native of Long-
Meadow, Massachusetts, and a graduate of
Yale College. Bis pastorate continued for thir
ty-four years. The fourth pastor, the Rev.
Amzi Francis, was ordained April 17, 1823.
After a pastorate of twenty-three years he was
called to his eternal rest October 18, 1845, at
the age of 52. The Rev. Cornelius B. Edgar came
to this place November 21, 1845, and was in
stalled June 10, 1846. Be remained until October
1853, when he resigned, and removed to Easton,
Pennsylvania, and became pastor of the Re
formed Church. The Rev. David M. Miller was
installed April 27, 1854, after having preached

three months as stated supply. Bis ministry
was terminated by his untimely death in June,
1855. Shortly before his death he was married
to the only daughter of Bon. Hugh Balsey.
The Rev. Thomas M. Gray was installed April
23, 1856, and remained until April 10, 1866.
Be was succeeded by the Rev, William P.
Strickland, D. D., who came in May, 1866, and
preached as stated supply till October 5, 1875,
when he was duly installed. Failing health
caused his resignation in October, 1878.' He
was distinguished for eloquence and ability. He
died in New Jersey in 1883. The Rev. William
S. Dodd served here as stated supply for three
years. The present ' pastor, the Rev. Arthur
Newman, was born in Goshen, New York, grad
uated at Princeton College in 1875, and from
Union Theological Seminary, 1879, and was
assistant pastor of the Presbyterian Church in
Goshen for two years and a half. On March
1, 1883, he was installed here. During his pas
torate the church has greatly prospered ; 250
persons have been added to the membership and
$15,000 has been raised for improvement of
church property.
In 1820 a Methodist Church was organized
and a small house of worship erected which
stood in the street on the east side of the resi
dence of William H. B. Rogers. This was dis
posed of and a much larger house built in 1833,
on the south side of the main street, east of the
hotel lately owned by John Bowell. It was
moved to its present site and enlarged and im
proved in 1870.
In 1 718 a remarkable religious revival took
place, known as the "New Light Movement."
The origin, of this excitement was the preaching
of the Rev. James Davenport, of Southold, who,
according- to his biographer, "became satisfied
that God had revealed to him that his kingdom
was coming with great power, and that he had
an extraordinary call to1 labor for its advance
ment." A new church organization was soon
established, and a small house of worship was
erected. This stood on, the south side of the
main road to- East Bampton, on the west side of
"Rose's Lane," and nearly opposite the west end

SOUTHAMPTON.

321

of the Hay Ground cemetery. Although the
early enthusiasm soon died out, still a distinct
church was kept up, tinder the ministry of the
Rev. Elisha Paine. His tombstone in the Hay
Ground cemetery tells us that he was a native
of Nantucket, and was son of Elisha Paine, and
he removed to Canterbury, Connecticut, where
he practiced law. Be was settled in Bridge-
. hampton in 1752, and died in 1775, at the age of
eighty-three. Be left a son, Elisha, who lived in
Cardigan, Grafton county, New Bampshire, in
1776. Mr. Paine, like all ministers of his time, de
pended for a portion of his subsistence upon
farming. Be owned a tract of land at Mecox,
at Swan creek, and known as "Mr. Paine's
Neck." This was sold by his son, Elisha, to
Jonathan Rogers, Stephen Halsey and William
Rogers, May 13, 1776. A small part of this was
Amendment No. 51 in the Little South Division.
The church died out in the early part of the
past century, and the building was sold and is
now a dwelling house, standing next south of the
district school house in Bridgehampton.
The need for better educational facilities was
met by the founding of an academy in 1859. The
first trustees were Colonel Edwin Rose, Silas W
Corwith, Alanson Topping, William D. Halsey
and James E. Baines. The principals were Sam
uel E. Berrick, i860; Albert White, 1862; 
Warner, 1863; George R. Bowell, 1867; the
Rev. Mr. Lawrence, 1869; Edwin Bedges, 1870;
Lewis W. Ballock, 1873. In 1874 Professor
Hallock became the principal owner of the stock
and he has continued the work to the present
time with well merited success. This institution
was in 1873 incorporated by the regents of the
State under the name of "Bridge Hampton Lit
erary and Commercial Institute," and ranks high
among the high schools of Long Island.
Tlie first settlement at Mecox was about
r66o, and the first house is believed to have been
built by Ellis Cook on the south side of Mecox
street, where his descendants row live. A neck
near Calf creek, was owned by AYilliam Lud
lam, and afterward by his son Anthony Ludlam.
who had a house here in 1665, and it descended
from father to son, the latest owner being
21

Charles Ludlam (or Ludlow, the name being
changed in later years), who sold the remaining
part in the spring of 1902.

MILL AT BRIDGE HAMPTON.
Among the early settlers were Thomas
Cooper, who lived on the north side of the street,
next east of the marshy hollow ; Benony New
ton; John Beswick, "brick maker," who in 1671
sold his house on the east side of Swan creek to
Isaac [Miller; and next east of Thomas Cooper
lived James Bildreth, whose ancient homestead
was standing in recent years. In 1678 the town
gave to Ezekiel Sandford fifteen acres of land,
on the condition that he would settle and carry
on his trade of making cart wheels. This tract
is next south of the homestead of Bon. Benry
P. Bedges, while next south of this was a tract
he purchased of Robert Woolley, and on it the
ancient house of Ezekiel Sandford was standing
till recent times. In the old burying ground at
Mecox is a tombstone with the inscription :
"Bere lyeth the Body of Anthony Ludlam, who
dyed March the 17. Anno 1681-2 in the 31st
year of his age." This is the oldest tombstone
in the town of Southampton.

322

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

The land adjoining to Mecox bay was laid
out in 1653, and "Ludlam's Neck" is doubtless
the tract called the "Miller's land," and was left
by William Ludlam to his son Anthony in 1665.
(See Printed Records of Southampton, Vol. 1,
Page 99) . In the earliest times there was a gate
across the highway running south to the beach,
at the east end of Mecox street. This was to
prevent cattie from running on the beach and
meadows, and was called "Mecox gate," and is
frequently mentioned in ancient deeds. The land
in the vicinity of Kelly's Pond was laid out in
1677 and a full description may be found in Vol.
II, Printed Records, Page 261. "Calf Pen
Neck," next north of Calf creek, was laid out to
Captain John Howell in 1672. It was after
wards owned by his son, Theophilus Howell,
who left it to his son Theophilus in 1739, and
he left it to his nephew, Theophilus Bowell, in
1775. Be sold it to Phebe Sandford, July 25,
1789. She left it to her daughter Phebe, wife of
Dr. Rufus Rose, who sold to Theophilus Cook.
In 1891 it was owned by the heirs of Captain
Albert Jennings.
The first house in what is now the village of
Bridge Bampton was built by John Wick about
1712. It was on the west corner of the main
road and Lumber Lane. Wicks was a magis^
trate and man of note, and died January 16, 1719,
in the 59th year of his age. Be was buried on his
own homestead, about forty rods north of the
main road, and the same distance west of Lum
ber Lane. Bis remains rest in their original
grave, but the tombstone was removed by Lem
uel Wick (his last descendant in the town) to
the new cemetery in Southampton village. The
lands north of the village, and on both sides of
Long Pond and at Scuttle Bole, were laid out in
the "Forty Acre Division" in 1679.
Saggaponack was the general name for all
the tract east of Sagg pond. It is of Indian or
igin, and' signifies "The place where the biggest
ground nuts -grow," and has always been ac
counted the most fertile land in the town. The
land next the ocean, at the south end of Sagg
street, was laid out in 1653, and a settlement
was made here as early as 1658. Among the

first settlers was Captain Thomas Topping, who
was living in Milford, Connecticut, . in 1639.
The first mention of him in Southampton is
March 31, 1650; previous to that he seems to
have been in Jamaica, or Hempstead, Long Isl
and. His home lot in the village of Southamp
ton is now the homestead of Benry B. Post.
Bis home lot at Sagg (which he obtained by
draft and purchase) was on the east side of the
street, south of the road to Sagg Pond. Bis
sons, Elnathan, John and James, had home
steads north of his own. Next west of Captain
Topping lived Josiah Stamborough, who was
one of the Original "Undertakers" of the settle
ment in Southampton. With him was his son,
Peregrine Stamborough, whose tombstone in
the village burying ground states that he died
"January ye 4, 1701, in ye 62 year of his age."
This shows that he was born the same year that
Southampton was settled, and he was probably
the first white child born in the town. The land
on the east side of the street, north of the
road to Fairfield, was laid out in 1677. The land
on the west side of the street and extending to
Sagg Pond appears to have been laid out at
different times. Ten acres of land were laid out
to Benjamin Palmer in 1677. December 16,
1679 George Barris sells to Benry Pierson, Jr.,
"a tract of land at Saggaponack, bounded south
by William Barnes, Josiah Stamborough and
Shamgar Band; west by Saggaponack Pond;
north by land of Benjamin Palmer, east by
street." This is probably the homestead of the
late David Emmett Pierson. The land of Will
iam Barnes and others was Lots 21-22 of the
Saggaponack Division, and probably extended
south to the Bridge Lane. Benry Pierson, Jr.,
who was the son of tbe Town Clerk, and after
wards known as Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pier
son, was for many years Speaker of the Pro
vincial Assembly, and one of the most promi
nent men of his time. His homestead was on the
east side of the street, north of the home lot of
John White. His tombstone bears the inscrip
tion : "Coll Flenry Pierson, Deceased, Novem
ber the 15, in the 50 year of his age, 1701." This
tombstone has in recent years been restored bv

SOUTHAMPTON

323

Mrs. Russell Sage, who is one of his descend
ants.
In the latter part of his life, Captain Thomas
Topping removed to Branford, Connecticut, and
died there in 1688. His son, Captain Elnathan
Topping, died March 26, 1705, . aged 64, and
"John Topping, Justice of the Peace," died
May 29, 1686, aged 50 years. Captain Thomas
Topping at one time owned all the western part
of the town, as we have shown in another place.
The descendants of Colonel Henry Pierson
in later years owned almost all of Sagg. At the
time of the Revolution, Lemuel Pierson owned
a large farm on the west side of the street. This
was purchased April 28, 1784, by Deacon David
Hedges, who was for twenty years Supervisor
of the Town, and for many years a member of
the legislature. He was the grandfather of Hon.
Henry P. Hedges, who has during his long life
been very prominently identified with the affairs
of town, county and State.
Major John Howell, in his will, (1696) left
his land at Sagg to his son, Theophilus Howell.
Bis house lot is the north part of the present
homestead of G. Clarence Topping, Esq. It re
mained in the possession of the descendants of
Theophilus Bowell until about i860. The
ophilus Bowell, Esq., died March 12, 1739, aged
yj years.
Among the residents of this region, in recent
years, few deserve a more prominent mention
than Dr. Nathaniel Topping, who was practic
ing physician for many years, and also a member
of assembly and justice of the peace, and in all
the relations of life a useful and honored man.
The opportunities for obtaining useful
knowledge have been greatly increased by the
establishment of the Bampton Library. This
owes its origin to the liberality of William Gar
diner and Charles Rogers, who were possessed
not only of wealth but of the ennobling spirit
which prompts a liberal use of it for the good of
others. It was founded in 1873, and contains
about 5060 volumes.
Sag Harbor merits considerable attention.
The first landing place for vessels in the town

of Southampton was at North Sea, but in later
years, when the population of the eastern part
of the town had increased, a more convenient
landing was greatly needed, and, as Sagga
ponack was the principal village, the new harbor
was called the "Harbor of Sagg." There must
have been' considerable business done here as
early as the latter part of the seventeenth cen
tury, for on March 15, 1694, a petition was pre
sented to the Colonial Legislature "to have a
Port of entry at Southold or Southampton."
The first mention of Sag Harbor by name
is in the town trustee's books in 1707, when
the clerk makes a charge "For going to Sag
Harbor to evidence for ye towne, 3s 6d." It
seems that about this time a man named Russell
had "squatted" on Bog Neck, for an entry of
May 1, 1707, says, "Paid to Captain Theophilus
Bowell for warning Mr. Russell of Bog Neck
to depart from ye neck, 5 shillings." We have
evidence that a family named Russell was living
on Bog Neck in 1727, and in 1745 Samuel Rus
sell had a house on the site of the railroad depot,
and so far as we know, this was the first house
in the place. Be is mentioned in 1751 as running
a vessel, and about 1760 he sold his house to
Nathan Fordham, Jr. This house was a noted
resort in the early part of the last century, when
a tavern was kept there by his grandson, Pele-
tiah Fordham, who, from -certain personal pecu
liarities, was well known to his contemporaries
as "Duke Fordham." At his tavern James Feni-
more Cooper, the prince of American novelists,
wrote his first work, "Precautions."
The oldest original document which we have
seen relating to Sag Harbor port, is a bill
of lading given to Francis Pelletreau, of South
ampton, in 1731, for goods shipped to New
York, on board the "good sloop, Portlands Ad
venture, now riding at anchor in the Harbor of
Sagg," of which Richard Hartshorne was mas
ter. In this bill of lading the blanks and margin
are in the handwriting of Francis Pelletreau,
and signed by the master. A facsimile of the
original is given on the page following.
At the time of the settlement, there was a
wide extent of meadow, upon which Main street

324

s

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c-JyirHc FP*E

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
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has greatly encroached. This is frequently men
tioned in ancient deeds as "the Great Meadow"
and "Smith's Meadow." This was laid out and
divided at the same time as Hog Neck, in June
1680. Between the meadow and the East Hamp
ton line, all the land was included in a very wide
highway. In 1745 this highway was narrowed
to the present limits of the main street, and the
land to the east was laid out into a "division" of
seventeen lots, with the same number of
"amendments," which were drawn by the pro
prietors of the town in the usual manner. At
that time there was a high cliff along the shore ;
lot numbered 1 was where John De Castro's

livery stable lately stood, and was bounded north
by the cliff. The south line of this division was
at the junction of the roads to Sagg and
Southampton. The lots and amendments were
quickly bought up by speculators, and the origi
nal lines obliterated, but we know that Wash
ington street lies between amendments 5 and 6.
South of this division was a tract originally re
served for the proprietors to sell, and was called
"Twelve Acres." This was laid out in 1761, into
seventeen lots, and drawn as usual. The south
bounds of the "Twelve Acres" was the Great
South Division. The north line of the burvina:
ground is a part of the boundary. The -resi-

SOUTHAMPTON.

325

dence of the late Stephen B. French stands on
Lot 5 of this division.
The first landing place for vessels is said to
have been near the foot of Howard street. The
cliff which was near the shore has long since dis
appeared. Several store houses and other build
ings were there, which were soon after moved
away. On May 5, 1742, it was voted by the
Town Trustees, "that Abraham Pierson, Josiah
Pierson, David Topping and John Cooper shall
goe down to Sagg Harbour, to make choice of a
place to build a wharf at said harbor, and to get
as many people as they can to assist in building
said wharf. The inhabitants of ye town having
the privilege of said wharf before any others
and the town to be at noe charge by any con
tract or compulsion in building said wharf at
present." It is not probable that any wharf was
built at that time, for in 1748 another com
mittee was sent "to agree with John Russell to
build a wharf at Sagg Harbor." There was evi
dently still more delay, for it was voted, April
3, 1753, "that the Commissioners of Highways
shall goe to Sag Barbor to stake out the piece of
land where John Russell is to build a wharf if
he see cause, The said men to be paid by said
Russell." On April 7, 1761, it was "voted that
Nathan Fordham, Jr., and James Foster shall
have the liberty of building a wharf and setting
up a try house at Sag Barbor, at such place as
is thought fit and convenient" by certain persons
who were authorized to select a place, "and to
set the bounds of said house and wharf." To
this is added the important statement "The Town
reserving the privilege of landing their whale
upon said wharf at all times ; and they shall re
ceive it into their try house and try said
whale on reasonable terms." Here we have the
first intimation of the whale fishery being car
ried on in vessels. After this it was the custom
to cruise along the shore in sloops, and, after the
capture of a whale, to carry the blubber and bone
to the harbor, where the former was tried into
oil ; and this practice continued until vessels of
greater size, fully equipped, ventured upon
longer voyages, which in after years extended to
the most distant portions of the globe.

In 1770 a number of inhabitants entered into
an agreement to build a wharf, and petitioned
the Trustees for their consent. Accordingly it
was voted that the proprietor of the wharf shall
have liberty to build a wharf, provided that the
water should be left clear from Mr. John Fos
ter's yard, 48 feet eastward, and from thence the
water granted eastward, 150 feet." The old
wharf was a considerable distance west of the
main street, and is said to have been where is
the bridge leading- up to Bog Neck. The
wharf, so well remembered of the old whaling
clays, was built in 1794. A description of the
highway along the beach laid out in 1798 indi
cates that the "old wharf" was about 37 rods
west of Main street.
After the disastrous result of the battle of
Long Island, the old wharf was reported as
crowded with people, anxious to escape to Con
necticut with their families and effects.
Among the principal inhabitants at the time
of the Revolution was John Foster, whose house
stood on the south corner of Main and Boward
streets. Be was at one time a large ship owner
and made voyages to Europe in his own vessels.
Be was a member of the first Provincial Con
gress and held a high position. By various
changes in fortune, his last years were passed
in greatly reduced circumstances, and he was to
a great extent supported by the liberality of his
friends. Be died in 1816, and rests in an un
marked grave in the North End burying ground
in Southampton. Captain Nathan Fordham lived in the old
house lately owned by Jesse Halsey, on the west
side of the road, near Otter Pond bridge, and
owned a large farm adjoining. He died May
18, 1805, aged 84. Bis tombstone in the old
burying ground records that "he was one of the
first who commenced the settlement of this
place." The most remarkable event connected with
the Revolutionary history of Sag Barbor was
the famous expedition made by Lieutenant Col
onel Return Jonathan Meigs, on the night of
May 23, 1777, as narrated elsewhere in this
work. On May 30, 1902, a most enthusiastic

326

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

meeting was held at Sag Harbor to commemor
ate this victory, and this meeting derives an ad
ditional interest from the fact that it was graced
by the presence of Captain Joseph Vincent
Meigs, of Boston, and his cousins, Mrs. Ethel
Meigs Knox, Mrs. Jennie Meigs Dunham and
Misses Harriet and Florence Meigs, all great
grandchildren of the hero. Upon this occasion,
stone monuments, suitably inscribed, were placed
to mark the spot where the house stood in which
the outpost was surprised, as well as other his
torical localities. An exteremely interesting and
valuable historical address was delivered by
Francis B. Palmer, Esq., who had with much
labor collected all the details of the expedition.

Northern view of Sagg Harbor, Long Island,

The population of Sag Barbor had increased
to such an extent that on February 24, 1766, a
meeting was held "to consult upon the affairs
of erecting a house for publick worship at Sag
Barbor." At this meeting it was voted "to get
the timber and erect the house as soon as
conveniency will admit." Committees were ap
pointed to collect material, and it was further
agreed upon that any dispute that might arise
should be decided by John Foster, of Southamp
ton, Maltby Gelston, of Bridge Bampton, and
William Fledges, of East Bampton. The church
was to be Presbyterian1 in its form of govern
ment, and a permanent committee was appoint
ed, consisting of Joseph Conkling, James Bow

ell, Captain Nathan Fordham, John Mitchell and
Constant Bavens. The church then built stood
where the Episcopal church now stands, and was
torn down in 1817. A second church, built on
the same site in the above year, was used until
1893. The increased prosperity of the village
then justified tihe building of the present church
edifice, which was dedicated May 16, 1844, and
is one of the finest on Long Island. To assist
the feeble church in its beginning the Town, in
1767, voted that the Sag Harbor parish should
have the use of certain meadows near Hog Neck,
and a piece of land was purchased of David
Hand "at or near Sag Harbor meeting house,
as it is laid out and staked off, for a burying
place, to be to the Trustees of
Southampton and their succes
sors for ever." This is the old
burying ground of the village,
and, is the north end of Lot No.
1, Great North Division. In
exchange for this, David Band
received land by his home lot,
which is on the north side of the
main road from Bridge Bamp
ton to East Bamptcn, and now
(or lately) owned by James
Austin. At the time of the
building of the church in Sag
Barbor, there were only three
churches in the town — at South
ampton, Bridge Bampton and
Beaver Dam. We might add the New Light
meeting house at Bridge Bampton. The min
isters of the church, were: John Taylor, 1789;
James Richards, D. D. ; Daniel Ball, 1797;
Nathaniel S. Prime, 1806-
John D. Gardiner, 1812-
1832; Ithamar Pillsbury,

Aaron Jordan Bogue,
09; Stephen Porter,
1832; Samuel King,

1834; Joseph A. Copp, 1835-185 1 ; John Lo\
ery, 1863-1867; William G. Barnes, 1868-1872;
Alexander W. Spraile, May 20, 1873, till October
16, 1883 ; Edward B. Camp, stated supply, 1884-
1886. The Rev. Clarence B. Wilson, the pres
ent pastor, was born in New Wilmington, Penn
sylvania. Graduated from Westminster Col
lege, 188 r, and from Union Seminary, New

SOUTHAMPTON.

327

York, 1887, and on April 24, same year, was or
dained pastor in Sag Harbor. He resigned
January 15, 1902, after a useful and successful
service of fourteen years, and accepted a call to
the Centre Church, Crawfordsville, Indiana.
Early in 1845 a little company of persons as
sembled in an upper room of the arsenal build
ing for the first regular services of the Protest
ant Episcopal Church in the town. The services
were conducted by Henry Floyd Roberts, a can
didate for orders, sent as a missionary by certain
churches in Brooklyn. These services were
afterwards held in the session room of the Pres
byterian church, which had been rented for that
purpose, and the society was incorporated under
the title of Grace Church. The Rev. Mr. Rob
erts, who had been ordained, was the first rector.
The first Presbyterian church building was then
for sale, and was purchased by a committee on
August 25, 1846. Extensive repairs and im
provements were made, and it was dedicated
on December 16 of the same year, by the Right
Rev. Dr. Ives, Bishop of North Carolina. The
Rev. Benry Floyd Roberts was rector until
April 2, 1847, when he resigned, and was' suc
ceeded by the Rev. Richard Whittingham,
nephew of the late Bishop of Maryland. At
that time there were 32 families and 19 com
municants connected with the church, and a
Sunday school of 16 scholars. Mr. Whitting
ham resigned in 1849. Be was succeeded by the
Rev. G. C. Foot, February 1, 1850. January 1,
1853, the Rev. Mr. Pardee became rector. Be
resigned on account of ill health, in October,
1854., and died in New York in 1857. For many
years the church suffered great depression by
reason of the decline of the whaling business.
The establishment of an Episcopal church in
East Hampton caused the withdrawal of many
families connected with the church in this vil
lage. Services were for some time conducted
bv the Rev. W. B. Musgrave, and Rev. Gordon
Huntington was called to the rectorship in June,
1856. He resigned in. 1864, and services were
again conducted by Mr. Musgrave. The Rev.
David F. McDonald was called, and remained
until 1870, when he resigned and was succeeded

by the Rev. S. Hubbell, who in 1873 was fol
lowed by the Rev. William Mowbray. After a
brief service of usefulness, Mr. Mowbray died
July 26, 1875, and the Rev. John Jay Barrison
became rector the following September. During
the pastorate of Mr. Barrison, the church re
covered to a great extent its former prosperity.
After a very useful and acceptable service of ten
years, Mr. Barrison resigned, July 1, 1884. The
Rev. William Frisbee served as supply until the
calling of the Rev. William B. Walker, October
28, 1884. Be resigned in the latter part of 1885,
and was succeeded, January 11, 1886, by the
Rev. J. B. Jennings, who remained until No-.
vember 1, 1887. April 6, 1888, the Rev. J. W.
Smith became rector and continued until June 1,
1890. The successor of the Rev. Mr. Smith
was the Rev. Gordon T. Lewis, who was then
a student in the General Theological Seminary,
and supplied the chancel until his graduation and
ordination. Be was then called as rector in the
fall of 1892, in which position he still remains.
Mr. Lewis was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia,
March 23, 1862, and was educated in the schools
of that place, and at a College in New Bruns
wick. In early manhood he came to the United
States, and while living at St. James, Long Isl
and, be was led to study for the ministry, and
graduated from the General Theological Semin
ary in 1892. Early in 1892 the church became
free from debt, through the generosity of a sum
mer resident, Mrs. James Aldrich, of New York,
and on May 29 of the same year it was conse
crated by Bishop Littlejohn. The church edifice
was also greatly enlarged and beautified by Mrs.
Aldrich, as an act of filial devotion to the mem
ory of her lamented father. In the fall of 1901
the church came in possession of a fine property,
the gift of Miss Mary Juliana King, daughter of
the Rev. Samuel King, who was pastor of the
Presbyterian church in 1832. Miss King died
November 1, 1901, aged 82 years.
The first Methodist Episcopal services were
held as early as 1807, and in 1809 a house of
worship was erected. The first preacher appears
to have been a man named James Souden, who
was instrumental in establishing a congregation

328

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

in Southampton. The increase of the congre
gation in this place, which was commensurate
with the rapid growth and prosperity of the vil
lage, made a much larger edifice a necessity, and
in 1837 a very elegant church was erected in the
eastern part of the village, upon a hill command
ing a very extensive view. In 1864 this building
was removed to its present locality in the centre
of the place. The first church was sold to the
Roman Catholic society and is now standing at
the north side of Union street and used as a pa
rochial school.
The Roman Catholic church was established
about 1840. The first Methodist church was
purchased and was used until 1872, when a very-
elegant church and parsonage were built on the
comer of Union and Division streets.
April 21, 1798, the commissioners laid out
a highway to the old wharf, "Beginning at the
northeast corner of the house of Captain John
N. Fordham, and running west 13 degrees,
south 17 rods to' a red stone set in the beach
ranging along an old ditch > in the meadow to
the northzuest corner of the school house." This
is the first mention of a school house in Sag
Harbor. The following list is so valuable that
it is given in full :

"Names of scholars that hath attended the
School of Sag Harbor from September 1, 1795,
to March 19, 1796.

John Atwood,
Lorenzo Bates,
James Beebee,
Asa Corey,
John Corey,
Nathan Fordham,
Peletiah Fordham,
Sybil Fordham,
Charles Fordham,
Austin Fordham,
Jeremiah Gardiner,
Eliphalet Halsey,
Lodowick Hedges,
Maria Bowell,
Nancy Balsey,
John Bicks,
Sylvanus Bicks,
Betsy Bavens,

James Parker,
Simeon Parker,
James Rogers,
Edmond Rogers,
Josiah Rogers,
Sayre Stuart,
Garret Satterly,
Stephen Satterly,
Nancy Satterly,
Sally Topping,
Jane Topping,
John Topping,
William Fordham,
Edmund Dennison,
Abram Woodruff,
Ephraim Niles,
Samuel Ells,
Huhlah Lincoln,

Mebitabel Bildreth,
Rebecca Jerniain,
.Alan son Jerniain,
Julia Jermain,
Samuel L'Bommedieu,
Sally L'Bommedieu,
Polly L'Bommedieu,
Ruth Latham,
Abigail Latham,
Sally Latham,
Sally Mason,
Abraham Parker,

Polly Ball,
Lucretia Ball,
Elias Bowell,
George Lugar,
Christopher Lugar,
Clarisa Band,
Bowes Crowell,
Phebe Foster,
Francis Duvall,
Reuben Cone,
Bowell Bedges,
Jesse Bedges,

Jesse Bedges, teacher; Samuel L'Bommedieu,
FI. P. Deling, Noah Mason, Trustees.
This school house was succeeded by one
which stood a short distance south of the present
Methodist church. When it was built we do
not know. It was a long, low, unpainted build
ing, surmounted by a belfry of a magnitude
entirely disproportion ed to the building, and pre
senting a most grotesque appearance. In 181 5
an academy was built on Suffolk street, which
was destroyed by incendiary fire in 1864. The
want of a suitable school building was seriously
felt, and in 1870 the want was fully met by the
purchase of a large brick building on the east
side of Main street, which had been built for
a hotel, and was known as the "Mansion House."
It is a striking instance of the decline in the
value of real estate which followed the decay of
whale fishing that this building, which originally
cost $17,000, was purchased, with the lot, for
$7,000. That this building was obtained was
owing to the benevolence of Dr. Frederick
Crocker, who generously subscribed the greater
part of the cost. After being thoroughly re
fitted it was formally opened as a Union school.
Among tbe teachers of this school was Rev. John
Jay Harrison, who was principal for many years,
and under his care the school attained a very high
degree of efficiency.
An account of the whale fishing, which built
up the village, will be found in a separate chap
ter in this work. The building of vessels was
begun here as early as 1780. A Captain Prior
obtained the lease of a piece of land near the
old wharf in 1795 for the purpose of shipbuild-

SOUTBAMPTON.

329

ing, and in 1806 it was voted by the town trus
tees tbat Capt. Stephen Bowell should have
the privilege of building a ship, "near the old
wharf, not interfering with the road, for the sum
of 16 shillings." About this time Capt. Ste
phen Bowell, Benjamin Huntting and otliers
built many vessels for the whale fishing and for
trade with the West Indies. A fire which oc
curred in 1 817 destroyed a large part of the busi
ness portion of the village, and the loss had been
fully repaired, but on the evening of November
13, 1845, a nre occurred which swept away al
most the entire western part of the place.
After the failure of the whale fishing it was
fondly hoped that the lost prosperity could be
restored by starting a manufacturing enterprise,

the neighboring village, who were led to believe
that the returns would be large arid the security
ample. The factory was finished in 1850 and
proved an utter failure. Tbe buildings were fin
ally sold at a heavy loss to a company of New
England capitalists. On the night of October
21, 1879, the mill caught fire and was entirely de
stroyed. Shortly after the lot and the ruins
were purchased by Joseph Fahys, who resolved
to transfer to the place his immense business of
watch case manufacturing. Within a year the.
building was rebuilt and greatly enlarged, and
a business of great importance and prosperity
has been established.
The Sag Harbor Savings Bank was char
tered April 12, i860. The first officers were J.

MODERN SAG HARBOR.
(By Permission of the Long Island Railroad Company.)

and iii 1845 steps were taken to raise funds to
build a cotton factory. A company was formed,
of which Major John Hildreth was president,
and the new enterprise was fairly begun. Much
of the money was furnished by the farmers of

Madison Huntting, of East Hampton, president ;
William A. Woodbridge, treasurer ; and Will
iam FI. Gleason, secretary. At the regular meet
ing on October 1, of tbe same year, the deposits
had amounted' to1 $9,620. Mr. Huntting, the

330

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

president, died in 1868, and Isaiah Douglass was
chosen in his place and held the position until the
time of his death, February, 1869. Hon. Henry
P. Hedges was then elected. Upon the resigna
tion of Mr. Bedges, a few years since, Bon.
James B. Pierson was chosen in his place.
Many years later the Peconic Bank was es
tablished, with John Jay Barrison as president
and Francis B. Palmer as cashier. This insti
tution has enjoyed well merited prosperity, its
present resources amounting to $167,000.
In 1880 an association was formed under the
name of the "East Long Island Pottery Com
pany." A lot was procured near the railroad
depot, and kilns and the necessary buildings
were erected, and work was expected to begin at
an early day, but 011 the night of August 15,
1 881, the budlding was set on fire, and all that
was combustible was quickly consumed. On
July 28, previous, a fire destroyed a large num
ber of buildings on the west side of Main street,
and the general aspect of things was desolate
indeed. February 18, 1879, a still more disas
trous conflagration occurred. This commenced
in a small building near the wharf owned by
Matthew B. Gregory, and this and the adjoining
buildings were quickly consumed. The prin
cipal buildings destroyed were the hotel known
as the "Nassau Bouse," and the Pluntting block.
The latter was a large brick building, which
stood west of the wharf, and had been built by
Benjamin and Samuel Buntting when the vil
lage was in its palmiest days. It was considered
fireproof, and at the time of its building it was
the finest business block in Suffolk county. The
word "Bank" in large gilded letters "conspicu
ous from afar," which appeared on the west part
of the building, reminds us of the first banking
institution in the place. It was a private enter
prise, conducted for many years by William
Adams as president. By a robbery, about 1859,
it experienced a loss from which it never recov
ered, and by its disastrous failure in 1865 many
persons were financially embarrassed.
A steam flouring mill, which had been built
east of the wharf, was also completely destroyed
and never rebuilt.

The peninsula called Hog Neck was laid out
in June, 1680, and a description of the survey
may be found in the printed records of South
ampton, Vol. II, page 88. A highway was laid
out from the end of the beach, the entire length
of the neck, which was 490 poles in length, and
is still the road to the Shelter Island ferry. The
meadows of Sag Harbor and Brushy Neck were
laid out at the same time. The dimensions of
the lots on Flog Neck are not given, but they
seem to have 'been- about 25 acres each. The
original bounds of the lots are now entirely ob
literated except in a few cases. At a town meet
ing, November 15, 1676, it was ordered that
. Hog Neck should be laid out, but that no per
son should sell any lot to- any person "but to
such as shall bee approved of by ye Justices, the
minister, ye constable & overseers of ye Town
that shall there bee in place." If this was now
enforced, it might make some difference with
a portion of its owners. It was not until a great
many years later that any settlement was made
here. A man named Russell had "squatted"
on Hog Neck, and was warned off by the town
trustees in 1707. A family of that name was
living here in 1727, and Samuel Russell had a
house at Sag Harbor in 1745. In 1719 Peletiah
Fordham sells to John Mitchell 20 acres at Hog
Neck Point for £65, bounded north by highway,
east and south by water. In 1765 the town trus
tees sold to John Mitchell 16 acres and 158
poles of land, being the whole of a highway
across the said neck, 370 rods long and 6 poles
wide. John Mitchell agreed to keep good gates
or bars across the road, and to allow all per
sons to pass as required. "Hog Neck Spring"
is a locality very frequently mentioned in old
deeds. Lot 29 of the 20jacre division was near
that place. It seems to be at the west end of
Hog Neck beach. William Paine, by will, 1742,
leaves his land on Great Hog Neck to his son
Cornelius, and to his sons William and Isaac
all his land at Hog Neck Spring. November 24,
1742, Cornelius Paine sold to John Havens, of
Shelter Island, two-third's of lot 8, and two-thirds
of lot 9, bounded north- and east by highways
and south by water, containing 53 acres. About

SOUTHAMPTON.

331

the same time he purchased many other tracts in
the same place, and by various purchases became
the owner of considerable land. In 1748 John
Havens gave to his son John a tract of land on
Hog 'Neck, with the house and orchard standing
on the same. In 1761 Constant Havens by will
left to his grandson Walter Havens 50 acres at
the south end of his farm running from the high
way to the Cliff, joining- to Jonathan Paine's
land. He left all the rest of his land to his sons
Constant and Jonathan, the latter to have the
dwelling house and homestead and Constant was
to have "the part where he now lives."
In 1772 John Mitchell, by his will, left to his
son James, all his lands and buildings on Hog
Neck. Peter Paine, in 1783, left his lands to his
sons Daniel, Zaccheus, Rufus and Nicholas. His
executors are to sell the tract he bought of
Walter Havens.
The various tracts bought by John Havens
And his descendants became what was known in
recent times as the "Bavens-Gleason farm," and
is a tract of great prospective value, owned by
Benry F. Cook and others.
Previous to 1825 John Paine owned a farm
of about 120 acres. It was divided in that year
between Timothy Paine and Captain Stephen
Howell. In 1806 Joseph Crow ell, Zephaniah Hedges
and David L'Bommedieu owned premises known
as the "Salt Works," containing il/2 acres,
bounded east by bay, 270 feet, north and west
by Charles Payne, south by Lewis Bowell.
The beautiful and extensive tract owned in
recent times by the Paine family is now the prop
erty of Joseph Fahys and Benry F. Cook.
, The following is the list of scholars attend
ing school on Bog Neck in 1796, when Samuel
Waters, of East Bampton, was teacher, and Con
stant Bavens, John Payne and Phineas Duvall
were trustees :

Polly Bavens,
David Bavens,
Selah Payne,
Wilson Payne,
Marcy Payne,
Charles Payne,
Ezekiel Havens,

Minerva Gardiner,
Rebecca Gardiner,
Zebrisch Payne,
Clarissa Payne,
Mehitabel Payne,
Silas Havens.

Austin Duvall,
Rebecca Duvall,
Jeremiah Payne,
Hliram Bavens,
Nancv Havens,

Sally Havens,
Samuel Rider,
Thomas Rider,
Harriet Duvall,
Timothv Rider,

The above shows that there were very few
families on1 the neck at that time.
The road through Hog Neck and the ferry
to Shelter Island were for long years the prin
cipal means of communication between the north
and south branches of Long Island, being the
regular mail route. A family named Tindall
were for generations the ferrymen. George
Tindall, who died February 22, 1902, at the age
of seventy, was the successor of his father in the
business, and is in turn succeeded by another of
the family.
In the early times Peconic Bay was called the
"North Sea" in contradistinction from the ocean.
On the west side of North Sea Harbor a point
of land projects into the creek, which has al
ways been called "Conscience Point." Tradi
tion say,s that when the first settlers came to the
town they landed here and one woman, as she
stepped on shore, exclaimed "For conscience
sake, I'm on dry land once more." This tradi
tion we heard from the oldest inhabitant a great
many years ago.
In 1647 'the town voted that John Ogden and
his company should have Cow Neck and Jeffreys'
Neck and plowing land to the extent of 324
acres, provided they should settle six families.
They were also to have all the meadow on Pe
conic Bay between Hog Neck Spring "and the
brook by the Sachem's house." This brook is
probably the one that empties into "Woolley 's
Pond," east of town. The first settlers were
John Ogden, Jonas Wood "of Oram" (so called
in distinction from Jonas Wood "of Hallifax",
who afterward lived in Huntington), Samuel
Dayton, Vincent Meggs, Mark Meggs, Samuel
Clark, Fuller Davis, Edmond Shaw and Samuel
Barker. All these names have long since dis
appeared from the place.
At a later date were John Jennings (1670),

332

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

who lived on the homestead of the late Jeremiah
Reeve (now George L. Sandford). Next south
was the lot of Samuel Barker, bought by Ben
jamin Haines in 1668. It remained in his fam
ily until 1877, when it was sold by the heirs of
Samuel Baines to Bewlett Reeve. Bis son-in-
law, Charles Barlow, sold it to Charles T. Bar
ney. George Harris probably lived on the home
stead of the late Captain Joseph Barris, nearly
opposite tbe school house. Charles Sturmy lived
on the place of the late Austin Rose, now Ad
dison Jennings'. Christopher Lupton probably
lived on the homestead of the late Lewis Scott.
Samuel Clark had a mill on the stream which
crosses the street. Bis homestead was prob
ably that of the late Stephen Harris. Henry
Barris, before 1769, owned the homestead of
the late Captain Jeter R. Rose, and left it to his
son, George Barris. The lot on the north side
of the road that runs west from the street was
owned by John Lum, who went to Huntington.
It is still known as "bum's Lot," and is owned
by Henry Norton. John Rose was probably
a son of Robert Rose, who was in Southampton
in 1644. John Rose, in 1660, bought 'a house
and lot of John Scott. This is the old Rose
homestead, on the east side of the street, and, is
now owned by Miss Emma Rose. Captain John
Scott, who was so famous in the early days
of Long Island, married Deborah Raynor,
daughter of Thurston Raynor. They had one
son, Captain Jeckomiah Scott, who married Mary-
Jackson, daughter of Colonel James Jackson, of
Hempstead. (This fact has not been mentioned
in any other history.) They were the ancestors
Of all the families of that name in the town.
Bis home lot at North Sea was probably the
homestead of the late Samuel Scott. Richard
Shaw and John Davis probably owned the home
lot which was afterwards owned by Benjamin
Baines, mentioned- before. John Davis had in
early times a mill on the brook that runs into
Woolley's Pond, and the road to it was called
"Davis mill path;" it is now the road to the
homestead of Barrold Rose.
The lands in North Sea were owned by a
set of men known as the "North Sea Pro

prietors," who were entirely distinct from the
"Proprietors of the undivided lands of South
ampton." If there are any undivided lands in
North Sea they are owned by those proprietors,
but it would probably be impossible to know
who they are. The North Sea line, which sep
arates North Sea from Southampton, begins at
a rock a few rods west of Mill Stone brook, at
Seponack, and runs to a stone a few rods south
of the head of Fish Cove. It crosses Great
Fresh Pond. In 1659 Anthony Waters was liv
ing in North Sea and bought a house and lot
of Samuel Dayton. Be afterwards moved to
Jamaica, where he was a prominent citizen and
has many -descendants.
The point called Noyack was granted to John
Jessup as his share of the "Forty-acre Division,"
in 1679. (See Printed Records, Vol. II, page
289.) It was given by him to his son, Isaac
Jessup, who settled here as early as 1712. The
Jessup homestead was where the residence of
David Wiggins now stands. In an old family
burying ground near the house is a slate tomb
stone with the inscription "Here lyes ye body
of Abigail Jessup, Daughter of Mr. Isaac and
Mrs. Sarah Jessup, who deceased in November,
1724, aged about 11 years." The estate contin
ued in the family until about 1800, when Silas
Jessup sold it to the father -of the late Judge
John S. Osborn, who owned it for many years,
and after his death it was sold to David Wiggins,
who had formerly been a merchant in- Sag Har
bor. The stream' at Noyack was granted in 1686
to Obadiah Rogers "to set a fulling mill on."
He gave it up and in 1690 it was granted to
John Parker. In 1718 it was granted to Jonah
Rogers. As early as 1738 it seems to be owned
by Charles Rugg, and afterwards by Joseph
Rugg, and was known for a long time as "Rugg's
mill." It afterwards passed into the hands of a
family named Budd. In 1874 the ponds ad
joining were purchased by G. W. Thompson, o'f
Oakland, California, who improved them at
great expense as trout ponds, and made it one of
the most beautiful places on Long Island.
The isthmus known as the Canoe Place was
the western extremity of the original "Town

SOUTBAMPTON.

333

Purchase" of Southampton. The first sale of
land at this place is mentioned in the deed from
the Indian Sachem ; Wyandanch to John Ogden,
May 12, 1659, which mentions "a small piece of
meadow which I gave to Mr. John Gosmer."
This was next to Shinnecock Bay. In 1739 tbe
trustees of the town sold to Jeremiah Culver
a piece of land at Canoe Place, which enbr-aced
the present hotel property, running east to Shin
necock Bills. The lot of meadow given to John
Ogden was given by him to his grandson, John
Woodruff, and in 1694 it was sold by Oliver
Russell to Gershom Culver, described as "lying
at Canoe Place, bounded south by Shinecock Bay,
north by upland." Jeremiah Culver built a house
on- his land. Until after the Revolution this
was the only house in the wilderness between
Riverhead and Southampton, and there were not
more than one or two east of Quogue. Before
1756 it seems to have been sold to Stephen Ber
rick, who in his will directs that his "house at
Canoe Place, with the land on which it stands,"
should be sold. It was, however, owned during
the Revolution by bis son, Major George Ber
rick, who sold the place to John Bowell, 3d (who
was the great-grand-father of Mortimer D.
Bowell), in 1785. From him it passed into
the lands of Israel Conkling, and afterwards
was for many years owned by George Seaman
and "his son-in-law, James Horton. A few years
since it was purchased by Miles B. Carpenter,
of New York, by whom it was rebuilt and great
ly enlarged, and the premises were widely known
as "Canoe Place Inn." After the death of Mr.
Carpenter it was purchased by Mirabeau L.
Towns, the present owner.
A little west of the junction of the old road
to Riverhead is a small tract of land owned by
the Shinnecock tribe of Indians, though how it
came into their possession is now unknown.
Upon this tract is a plain marble tombstone,
surrounded by a neat fence. This marks the last
resting place of Rev. Paul Cuffee. The tomb
stone tells its own story: "Erected by tlie New
York Missionary Society, in Memory of the
Rev. Paul Cuffee, an Indian of the Shinnecock
tribe, who was employed by that Society for the

last thirteen years of his life on the Eastern part
of Long Island, where he labored with fidelity
and success. Humble, pious and indefatigable in
testifying the gospel of the grace of God, he fin
ished his course with joy on the 7th of March,
1812, aged 55 years and three days." The origin
al fence around the enclosure having fallen into
decay, the present one was built by Mr. Miles B.
Carpenter. The journeyings of Paul Cuffee ex
tended from Poosepatuck to Montauk, and were
made on foot.
The entire district embraced in Good Ground
and Pond Quogue is a part of the "Lower Di
vision in Quogue Purchase," laid out in 1738,
and a full description may be found in Vol. II,
page 97, Southampton Printed Records. The
name "Pond Quogue" is a corruption of the
original name Pauganquaquanantuck. At
the lower part of the neck a highway was
laid out east and west across the neck
and another highway north and south from
the Country road to the highway above men
tioned. The lots in this division ran south from
the first highway to the bay, while the Amend
ments ran east and west from the middle high
way, and were bounded east by Shinnecock Bay
and west by "Tiana water." A little west of
the middle highway was a tract of land some
what better than its surroundings, and called
"the Good Ground," from which the village de
rives its name.
There were 17 lots, beginning with No. 10,
on the west side of Rampasture Neck, to No. 17,
on the same neck. There were 14 lots at the bot
tom of Pond Quogue Neck, beginning with No.
25 on the east side, where the light-house stands,
and running west to No. 38, which isi next to
the Long Cove, east of Rampasture Neck. Lot
No. 39 is a tract of 118 acres, which was bound
ed north by the Country road, east by Canoe
Place and west by the middle road, and south
bv Amendment No. 38. In 1810 this was sold
by Elias Culver to Samuel Bishop. It was then
bounded east by land of Israel Conkling- and
"south by the Indian Amendment." Samuel
Bishop sold it to Micaiah Herrick and Herrick

334

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Rogers in 1811, and it was afterwards sold to
Alvin Squires. This shows that Amendment No.
38 must have been purchased by the Shinnecock
tribe or members of it before 1810. Amend
ment No. 35 was sold to Jesse Culver by Thomas
Sandford in 1760 for £30 or $75. Lots 36 and
37 were sold by Thomas Sandford to Dr. Will
iam Smith, of Southampton, 1765. The Amend
ment No. 29 was drawn by Abram Halsey and
Peter Bildreth, the former owning five-sixths of
it. In 1752 Abram Balsey sold his part to Jonas
Foster, and his son Jeded-iah Foster sold 36 acres
on the west end to Elias Pelletreau, May 20, 1802.
Elias Pelletreau sold the north half to his broth
er, John Pelletreau, and it was sold by Charles
Pelletreau to William Smith Bellows, about 1858.
In 1802 it was bounded north by Zebulon Bowell,
east by James Pierson and Ananias Balsey, south
by Abraham Fordham and pastures by Amend
ment No. 38. In 1810 this was sold near
Cormorant Point." In amendment No. 34
two-thirds was drawn by Obadiah Rogers, and
it remained in his family until recent years,
and was lately owned by Captain Jetur R.
Rogers. From these landmarks the bounds of
the various amendments may be readily found.
In 1828 John Edwards sold to Abraham Ed
wards "A lot at Good Ground, containing 128^
acres, bounded north by the Post road, west by
Tiana brook, south by land of Prosper King,
Samuel Band, John Jackson and heirs of Zophar
Bowell, east by highway to Pond Quogue."
Price $605. This evidently includes Amendment
No. 15 and the greater part of No. 14.
All the -land north of the Country road is in
the Canoe Place Division. After the disastrous
battle of Long Island, in August, 1776, there was
great alarm on the east end of the Island. At
this time a fort was thrown up at Canoe Place,
traces of which were visible in recent years. It
was, however, soon abandoned. The entire
region was almost uninhabited previous to 1800.
At that time the only house was a little west
of the house of -the late Elisha King, and was
owned by a widow named Goodale. The next
building is said to have been a log house built
in 1804, near the residence of Mr. Williamson.

The first resident at Pond Quogue was proba
bly Wakeman Foster. Be had children — John
S. ; Phebe, wife of Joseph Penny ; Maltby ;
Lydia, wife of Abraham Edwards ; and Jemima,
wife of Rogers Squires. Bis sons and sons-in-
law all settled here, and his descendants, are now
very numerous.
The family of Squires, who have always been
prominent and numerous in this section are de
scended from John Squire, an early resident in
East Hampton. Ellis Squires was here very
early in the last century. The Bellows family
(of French origin, and originally spelled "Bel-
leaux") and Joseph Penny were here before
1816. Prosper King, of a Southold family, was
here in 1820.
The bay privileges brought many people from
less favored regions and the isettlement gradual
ly increased. A sufficient number of people
were dwelling here to organize a Methodist
church in 1836, and a meeting house was built,
which was succeeded by a larger and better edi
fice in 1863. Within the last few years measures
have been taken which are likely to change en
tirely the order of things. The great advan
tages of this region as a summer resort have in
duced many prominent people from New York
to purchase lands and build country seats.
Among them are Judge O'Brien, of the supreme
court; James C. Carter, one of the most promi
nent lawyers in the State; and Hon. Wauhope
Lynn. The latter named, with a full apprecia
tion of the prospective importance of this region,
has made very extensive purchases, and has done
far more to develop the resources of the neigh
borhood and- to make its many attractions known
far and wide than any other person. His ef
forts in this respect have met with the fullest
public appreciation, and a few years hence will
probably see it one of the most popular resorts in
the country.
The South beach, opposite Pond Quogue, and
extending from the "Pines Division" west to
Quogue, was sold by the proprietors of the undi
vided lands to Oliver Post and others, about fifty
years ago. In addition to his already extensive
purchases, Mr. Lynn has 'bought a very large

SOUTHAMPTON.

335

part of this beach, which will doubtless soon be
the scene of great improvements.
Through the liberality of Judge Morgan J.
O'Brien and others who have recently become
residents of this place, a Roman Catholic church
has been erected at Good Ground, the corner
stone being laid August 29, 1901, and is an ele
gant and tasteful building.
The light-house on Pond Quogue Point was
built in 1857 and was first lighted January 1,
1858. It is 160 feet in height above the level of
the sea, from which it is one mile distant. This
light-house stands on lot No. 25. The Bay View
Hotel was built in 1875 and is an extensive and
well patronized establishment. The western part
of this place is a school district known as Spring-
ville. Its natural advantages will soon make it
widely known.
Ram Pasture and Pine Neck are included in
the Lower Division of Quogue Purchase, the
former being 10 lots, from No. 10 to 17, in
clusive. No. 17 is the north end of the neck, and
the original owners had the privilege of placing
a "swing gate" across the highway down the
neck. From this it took the name of "The Swing
Gate Lot." Pine Neck, which is next west of
Tiana Bay, includes 6 lots with amendments.
The highway across the neck was laid out in
1757, and was of the extraordinary width of 21
rods. The north part of this neck was laid out
as an amendment to the lots at the lower end.
These amendments were divided in 1763, and a
full description is in Vol. Ill, Printed Records,
pages 241, 252. This neck remained almost
wholly uninhabited until a very recent period. A
large boarding house, built by Benjamin F.
Squires, on Tiana Bay, has been and is still a
favorite resort for sportsmen.
Next west of Pine Neck is a very large tract
of land originally called "Fourth Neck," as be
ing the fourth neck east of Quogue. The
meadows at the lower end of this neck were laid
out in 1673 (Vol. II, Records, page 252). The
upland, which is almost all the neck was laid
out in 1738, and is a part of the "Upper Divi
sion in Quogue Purchase." The eastern bound
ary of this neck is a creek and stream, called

by the Indian name of "Achabackawesuck," but
now contracted into "Wesuck." At that time
roads were laid out across the neck and also at
the upper end. This division is recorded in Vol.
Ill, p. 117-117, Records. At the bottom of Fourth
Neck is a small creek which divides the neck into
two parts, the eastern of which is called "Little
Fourth Neck." In the will of Elisha Howell,
1 77 1, this creek is mentioned by its Indian name
of "Anock creek," and this is the only time it
occurs. At that time Elisha Howell had a house
and considerable land on Little Fourth Neck and
left it to his son Lewis, Howell. Elisha Howell
was probably the first settler here. The neck
was known by its original name (which, was ap
propriate and geographically correct, until about
1852, when a postoffice was established and was
called Atlanticville. A few years ago the name
was changed to East Quogue. A Methodist
church was built here in 1850.
At the point where the Country road crosses
the railroad and where the Atlanticville station
formerly stood there was standing until recent
years a very large oak tree, evidently of great
age, and called the "Box Tree." This from the
fact that in former times, when the mail was
carried in stages that made weekly trips to New
York, it was the custom to leave letters and
papers for this place in a box- nailed on this
tree. Next west of Fourth Neck lies Third Neck
or "Short Neck." This comprises two lots in
the "Lower Division," Nos. 8 and 9. In 1740
the greater -part of this neck was owned by Sam
uel Johnes, who also owned other land adjoin
ing. His son, William Johnes, sold to Jonathan
Cook in 1748 60 acres of land, bounded north
by highway, south by bay, -west by Josiah Howell
and east by John Post. Also lot 9 on Third Neck
and one-third of lot 8, "with all buildings and
fences thereon." This is the first indication of a
settlement at this place. Jonathan Cook lived
here and died March 7, 1754, aged 54 years,.
His home farm includes the homestead now, or
late, of Henry Gardiner.
Next west of Third Neck is Second Neck.
The meadows in this neck were laid out in four

33b

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

lots in 1673. The upland in this and also in
Ogden's Neck and Quogue appears to have been
laid out to the owners of the meadows, in 1686.
(See Vol. II, Records, page 112.) A very large
part of Second Neck was owned by William
Herrick, who bought out the original owners.
In his will (1707) he leaves to his .son William
"all the west part of my land at Second Neck
with the buildings and all the meadow on the
west side of Second Neck." Be leaves to his
son, Nathan Berrick, all the east part of Second
Neck, with the meadow and improvements. Na
than Berrick was living here in 1738, on the
estate now (or late) of George F. Stone. His
tombstone tells us he died March 24, 1783, in
the eighty-third year of his age. He left his
place here to his son Nathaniel, who died four
days after his father.
Next west of Second Neck is Ogden's Neck,
which derives its name from John Ogden, who
was the original owner of "Quogue Purchase."
In 1747 a large part of this neck was owned by
Josiah Bowell and William Johnes. The 60
acres of land which William Johnes sold to Jon
athan Cook was the east part of the neck. John
Post owned a lot of upland and meadow in this
neck, which he and his Wife Abigail had from
the estate of her father, Joshua Balsey. In
1708 William Berrick sells to Josiah Bowell one-
third of lot 20 on the west side of Ogden's
neck, in exchange for one-third of lot 27 on
the east side. Josiah Bowell sold to John Post
one-third of lot 27. Matthew Bowell sold to
John Post one-third of lot 27.
Quogue is one of the most important villages
in the town. The original name of the neck was
Quaquanantuck, which has been abbreviated to
its present form. The western boundary is a
rivulet called Cutting's Creek, its eastern bound
ary being Ogden's Pond. The meadows in this
neck were also laid out in 1673, being 13 lots.
The upland south of the street was laid out to
the owners of the meadow lots in 1686. The
original lots were bought from their owners, and
the whole was afterwards owned by a few per
sons. In the middle or the latter part of the last
century the neck was divided into four tracts.

The eastern one was owned by Deacon Thomas
Cooper; next west was the farm of Thomas
Jessup ; next came Captain Thomas Stephens, and
west of all, next to Cutting's creek, was Josiah
Bowell. Captain Obadiah Rogers' house was
north of the road and very near the present- house
of S. D. Craig, while somewhat east of him, on
the south side of the road, was the house of John
Halsey. Among the early settlers was Captain John
Post, whom we have mentioned as owning land
in Ogden's Neck. His homestead has descend
ed to his great-grandson, Hon. Erastus F. Post.
Captain John Post died January 3, 1792, aged
ninety-two, and his wife, Abigail, died March
17, 1772, aged sixty-seven.
When John Foster, of Southampton, made
his will in 1761 he left to his son, Josiah Foster,
"all lands, meadows and buildings west of Canoe
Place." This, although expressed in very few
words, embraced a very large amount of real es
tate, of which his descendants at Quogue now
have the benefit. He was among the very first
to attempt the subjugation of the wilderness. He
built his house on the place now owned by the
heirs of Erastus Foster, and, after a long life,
left a large estate to his sons, with a remarkable
faculty for increasing it.
Quogue is the first locality east of Rocka
way where access may be had to the ocean with
out crossing the bay. This fact has been the
making of the place financially, and its privileges
have been for many years fully appreciated by a
class of wealthy citizens who wish to spend the
heated season on "Old Long Island's sea-girt
shores." The business thus erected has, from
a very small beginning, very largely increase!,
and the place is now almost wholly composed of
large boarding houses, which are very liberally
patronized. A few years since an attempt was
made to establish the business of extracting
iodine from sea water, but it failed to be re
munerative. An effort was also made to manu
facture steel from the magnetic iron sand which
abounds on the sea beach. It was soon found
that although the finest kind of steel could be
made, the cost was too great to make it a sue-

SOUTBAMPTON

337

cessful business, and the buildings and works
were sold at a great sacrifice. Afterwards the
iron ore was separated from the sand by means
of magnets and sent to other places to be manu
factured. In the spring of 1896 a number of ladies in
Quogue resolved to attempt tbe establishment
of a library, and their efforts met with encourag
ing -success. At first the books were left in one
of the village stores, and in 1897 Mr. Abram S.
Post gave a lot, and his brother, Mr. William B.
Post, and his sister furnished funds for a build
ing, which was opened for the purpose in July
of that year. It is not a free library, but is sup
ported by subscriptions and donations. The
number of volumes is now 1,350, with a steady
annual increase. Among the most active in its
support is Miss Mary Post, to whom we are
indebted for information.

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THE FOSTER HOMESTEAD, QUIOGUE, L. I.
Next west of Cutting's Creek and Quogue
is a tract known from the earliest times as As
sop's Neck, also called Assop's Stalk (orstoake).
This is bounded on the west by Quantuck Creek.
Assop's Neck was divided in 1673 into seven
lots. The east lot, No. 7, was next to Cutting's
Creek, and was drawn by Ellis Cook (Vol. II,
Printed Records, page 252). The heirs of Ellis
Cook sold it to Captain Thomas Stephens, May
29, 1690, and it was described as "a ^150 Lot-
22
ment at Assop's Neck alias Assups Stoake."
Isaac Balsey (by will, 1750) leaves to his son
John "A Lot of upland and meadow at Asop's
Neck." Elisha Bowell, in 1771, leaves to his son
Lewis Bowell, "all my meadow on the great
point in Assop's Neck," and to his son Ed
mond "all my land and meadow in Assop's neck,
except the great point." Obadiah Rogers, in
1782, leaves to his son Zeplianiah, his lot of
meadow "on the short point at Assop's Neck,"
and to his grandson Jeremiah Rogers all the rest
of his lands there.
West of this, and between Quantuck Creek
and Aspatuck Creek, is a neck called in our
ancient records Little Assop's Neck, or Quiogue.
The latter name is now in use. This neck was
laid out in 1683 (Vol. II, Records, pages 113,
278), at the same time as the neck further west.
The whole neck was two lots, Nos. 38 and 39,
and were drawn by Christopher Foster and
Thomas Halsey. The right of Christopher Fos
ter descended to his grandson, Daniel Foster,
who left to his son Jonas "all his land at Little
Quiogue." In 1832 the Presbyterian church was built
here and dedicated January 20th. A new
church on the same site has been built in
recent years. During the greater part of the
time since the church has been here the pastor
was the Rev. William B. Reeve, who, after-
serving as "stated supply" for twenty years, was
finally duly installed as pastor in 1875. After
a long and faithful service be was called to his
rest September 10, 1888. After the death of
Mr. Reeve the Rev. Henry Schlosser was pastor
for a short- time. His successor was the Rev. E.
C. Lawrence, who came in March, 1890, and was
called to the pastorate in the fall of the same
year. During his pastorate the church has en
joyed great prosperity. In 1891 a very handsome
parsonage was erected. After a very acceptable-
pastorate of twelve years the Rev. Mr. Lawrence
resigned, and preached his farewell sermon Oc
tober 6, 1901, and removed to Schenectady. In
proportion to its numbers, it is believed that the
church of Quioge has done more for the cause
of foreign missions than any church in the Pres-
338

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

bytery. During the pastorate of Mr. Reeve a
chapel was built in Quioge in connection with the
church. West of Asapotuck creek is the neck
known by the name of Catchaponack. This is
an Indian name, denoting "a place where large
ground nuts grow." Like the other necks in this
region, the meadows were laid out in 1683, and
the upland adjoining in 1686. There were 17
Lots in this neck. A settlement was probably
commenced as early as 1738, at which time Jona
than Raynor had a house and orchard here. He
owned the entire lot No. 22, and probably pur
chased other lots. In his will (1741) he leaves to
his son Elihu Raynor "and his male heirs to the
end of time, all my lands and buildings lying at
Catchaponack neck, and all the rest of ye lands
and meadows from Asapotuck creek to Beaver
dam." These lands are still owned by his de
scendants. The original homestead is now
owned by Elihu Raynor. Among the early set
tlers was Jonah Bower, of a Southampton family
now extinct. Bis farm was bounded south by
the road and east by Asapotuck creek.
The Bowell family, so long identified with
this place, is descended from John Bowell (a
son of Captain Josiah Bowell, of Southampton.)
who was generally known as "John Howell, of
Canoe Place," from his keeping a house of en
tertainment there after the revolution. He was
also known as "John Howell 3d." About 1750
William Albertson (son of William Albertson
who owned the mill at Riverhead), was the
owner of an extensive tract in Catchaponack, and
left it to his son William, in 1761. By a deed
dated March 11, 1786, William; Albert-son and
his mother, Charity Albertson, sold to -Josiah
Howell and John Howell 3d "All our lands at
Catchaponack, bounded north by highway, east by
David Howell, John Bishop and highway, south
by water, and west by Elihu Raynor, deceased."
"Also 5 acres of meadow on an island called
Reedy island, and y2 of the blank lot." Josiah
Howell and wife Phebe sold their half to John
Bowell 3d April 5, 1786. John Bowell 3d was
the grandfather of Charles Howell to whom the
above land descended.

The Great South Bay here ends in a narrow
channel (crossed by a bridge) which connects
it with Quantuck Bay. A portion of the
Howell property was some years since sold to
General John A. Dix, who built an elegant coun
try seat. A hotel owned by Mortimer D.
Howell has been for many years a resort for a
very superior class of people from the city, and
the vicinity has many attractions which are fully
appreciated. A Union chapel built in a style of
elegant simplicity is one of the finest features of
the village.
A school was taught in Catchaponack in 1795
and 1796, the teachers being Jared Gardiner and
Theophilus Smith. The teachers' pay was iio
per quarter" ($25). The Trustees were Abra
ham Howell and Timothy Halsey. The follow
ing is the list of pupils :

Flannah Stephens,
William Howell,
Josiah Howell,
William Halsey, Jr.,
Shepard Balsey,
Walter Balsey,
Sally Raynor,
Charles Raynor,
Martha Jessup,
Cynthia Jessup,
Pamela Bowell,
Charles Grover,
Oliver Russell,
Zebulon Reeves,
Nathan Bishop,
Phebe Bishop,
Miriam Balsey,
Anne Raynor,
Nathan Raynor,
David Bishop,
Anne Bishop,
Charles Bavens,
Julia Russell,
James Raynor,
Polly Stephens,
Hiram Balsey,
David Howell.

Milicent Wright,
Nancy Russell,
Polly" Wright,
Susan Halsey,
Polly Howell,
Harry Gardiner,
Hetty Bishop,
Betsey Howell,
Josiah P. Bowell,
Polly Balsey,
Patty Halsey,
Cephas Halsey,
Apollos Halsey,
Abram Stephens,
Jehiel Howell,
Wood Raynor,
Timothy Raynor,
Susan Raynor,
Richard' Jessup,
Eldad Brewster,
Pamela Howell,
Silvanus Jessup,
James Brewster,
Silvanus Russell,
Silas (negro),
Polly Raynor.

The manner of church -establishment may be
discovered from the following subscription list
-made for the support of a minister in the west
ern part of the town :
"Feb. 29, 1765, Southampton bounds, verv

SOUTHAMPTON.

339

dear friends and Neighbors. Let us try once
more to enjoy so valuable a blessing as a preached
Gospel is. Let us see what we can raise toward
settling Mr. Thomas Paine, and so every one
give what he thinks he can pay yearly"

Jonathan Russell,
William Bower,
Elisha Howell,
John Jessup, Jr..
John 'Strong,
Nathan Raynor,
Silvanus Halsey,
Charity Albertson,
John Bishop,
Nathaniel Wickes,
Stephen Rogers,
Samuel Chard,
Benjamin Homan,
Timothy Bishop,
Josiah Foster,
Josiah Bowell,
Nathaniel Bowell,
Thomas Jessup,
(Amount raised

James Rogers,
Ephraim Howell,
John Post,
Micaiah Herrick,
Jeremiah Smith,
Thomas Norris,
Phineas Bower,
Silas Topping,
William Phillips,
Edward Petty,
Edward Petty, Jr.,
Daniel Brewster,
Simeon Babcock,
Daniel Bower,
Jonathan Havens,
Daniel Foster,
Stephen Jagger.
£31, 12, 6.)

December 17, 1765, another subscription list
was- made for the same object. The same names
are given with the following additions :

Grant Bower,
Jonah Bower,
James Lane,
Stephen Jessup,
Samuel Howell,
Elnathan Topping,
(About the same amount raised).

Daniel Cook,
Edward Herrick,
Capt. Obadiah Rogers,
Thomas Stephens,
Justice Thomas Cooper.

The following record is of a later date :
"January 4he 25, 1773, Whereas the western
part of Southampton, or parrish of Catchapo
nack, being destitute of a preached Gospel, have
thought proper to give Mr. Joseph Avery a call
to preach with us, hoping that our condition
may be considered and proposals accep'ted. And
for the Incoragement and support of said Mr.
Avery the subscribers hereof do oblige them
selves yearly to pay to the said Mr. Avery the
sum of forty pounds. Also the use of our par
sonage, that is to, say, thirty pounds in money,
and ten pounds in labour, as gifting of Hay, or
such labour as may be most needful, each sub
scriber doing his proportion of labour."

Potunk Neck is next west of Catchaponack,
and is separated from it by a creek and swamp
called Monobaugs. Potunk is an Indian name
signifying "a place where the foot sinks in the
ground." The laying out of this neck may be
found in Vol. II, Printed Records, Pages 114-277.
The corner lot on the south side 01 the street, op
posite the house of Nathan Jessup, is supposed
to be Lot 14 of the original Division. It was sold
by Jonathan Jagger to Nehemiah Sayre, of
Southampton, in 1759, and continued in posses
sion of his descendants until recent times, when
it was sold to the Stephens family.
Isaac Jessup, who lived at Noyack, in -his
will (1750) left to his son John Jessup "all his
houses, lands and meadows, at a place called
Potunk and Little Onuck." These are still
owned, by his descendants. Deacon John Jes
sup, who is well remembered by the present
generation, was during a long life one of the
most prominent men in the western part of the
town, and his sons, Captain Frank Jessup, Issac
Jessup and Nathan Jessup, are well known citi
zens. Thomas Stephens, of Southampton, in his
will (1779) leaves to his son William Stephens,
all his divided lands and meadows at Potunk,
and all his lands were of Asapotuck creek. Bis
descendants are still remaining in the section.
June 2, 1888, the Town Trustees granted to
Nathan C. Jessup the privilege of building a
bridge across the bay to the beach. The bridge
was built, but the loose slipshod manner in
which the grant was given has not only been
the cause of expensive law suits, but has pre
vented the public from having any benefit from
the enterprise.
West of Potunk are the two necks known
in our early records as Wonunk and Little Wo-
nunk, the name having been changed to Onuck,
as it is now called. A large part of these necks
was drawn by Thomas Balsey. Isaac Balsey
purchased additional land and had a house here
in 1758. By his will (1751) he left to his son,
Ephraim Balsey, the use of all his lands, mead
ows and buildings, during his life, with rever
sion to his grandsons, Cornelius and Sylvanus.

340

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

The two necks are almost entirely owned by his
descendants. Ephraim Halsey died August 20,
1764, aged 71. Cornelius Halsey died April 19,
1782, aged 61. On the site of the house built
by the original settler, stands the residence of
the late Dennis K. Halsey, who died November
15, 1901, aged "76. The late Isaac C. Halsey and
Edwin C . Halsey, both well known and re
spected citizens, owned large tracts of the an
cestral heritage.
The stream and creek now called Beaver
dam, is the boundary between the Quogue Pur
chase and Topping's- Purchase, the northern part
of the boundary being a straight line from the
mill dam to the bridge at Riverhead. In 1738 the
"Upper Division in Quogue Purchase" was
laid out. This was bounded north by a road that
crossed the stream and the upper part of Onuck
Neck. A "blank lot" of 100 acres was laid out
bounded west by the stream, south by the Lower
Division, north" by the road above mentioned,
and east by Lot No. 1. This "Blank Lot" was
sold by the Trustees to Hezekiah Bowell, in
1738, and he sold one-fourth to- Nathaniel
Bowell. The proprietors reserved full liberty
to build a dam and mill. The northwest cor
ner of this lot is some ways north of the pres
ent mill dam, and is where the old road crossed
the stream. The houses in the village of
Beaverdam stand on this lot.
The original name of the creek and 'stream
was Apocock Creek, and the neck next west was
Apocock Neck. This is an Indian name, de
noting a "place where flags grow." These were
used by the Indians to cover their wigwams.
At a meeting, April 1, 1746, "it was voted
that Abigail Bowell, widow of John Bowell,
Jr., should have the use and improvement of the
stream called the Beaverdam, with all the nec
essary conveniences for a mill, and making a
dam, for twelve years to come and then to, re
turn to the town." The mill was built soon
after, and is mentioned 1748. In 1758 it was
granted to Benjamin Boman for. thirteen years,
"provided the said Floman shall keepe. and main
tain a good griste mill, and grind for one-tenth
of what he grinds, and shall not by any means

or pretentions, take or exact any more on for
feiture of the use of the stream, and at the ex
piration of the term, the stream to return to the
Town." In 1771 the same was granted to Jere
miah Homan (probably a son of Benjamin) for
ten years. He was to "keep the mill in good
order, and grind after the common custom, and
to maintain a good road over the mill dam, and
to keep a good road from the meeting house
across the river, four poles wide, at his own
cost." As the mill was built some distance be
low the old road, the highway was turned so as
to cross the dam.
The exact time when a church was erected
here is unknown, but it was previous to 1758.
It stood in what is now the burying
ground, very near the gate. It remain
ed until 1 83 1, when the church was built
at Quioge. It was Presbyterian in its or
ganization, and for many years the parish was
connected with Moriches. The first minister
was the Rev. Nehemiah Greenman, who
preached in 1748 and 1749. The Rev. Abner
Reeve was ordained in 1755. It became a dis
tinct parish in 1763, but for twenty years after
that time there was no settled pastor. A com
plete list of pastors mayr be found in Prime's.
'History of Long Island." In 1771 the town
granted to the western parish the use of a tract
of wood land, -extending from the east side of
the mill pond to a point twelve rods east to the
meeting house, and running north to the "old
road," for the use of a school house and meet
ing house, and it still remains for the same
purpose. The burying ground contains the re
mains of the early settlers, the oldest tombstone
being that -of Elisha Howell, Jr., who died Sep
tember 8, 1754, aged 17. A monument erected
by public subscription in 1866 lo the memory of
the soldiers who fought and fell in the War for
the Union bears the following names : Cap
tain Franklin, B. Ballock, Sergeant Cyrus D.
Tuthill, Corporal Biram B. Wines, Reeves B.
Bavens, Timothy W. Robbinson, Thomas M.
Smith, Edward Stephens, James E. Griffing,
Benry S. Raynor.
West of Apocock are two necks, known in-

SOUTHAMPTON.

341

the old records as Great Tanner's Neck and
Little Tanner's Neck. The meadows in these
two necks, and also in Apocock Neck and
Speonk Neck were laid out in 1712 (Vol. II,
Records, Page 155.) With the meadows there
was also laid ,out a quantity of upland which be
longed to those who owned the meadows. The
uplands in the upper part of the neck east of
Speonk river were laid out in 1748, at the same
time as the Speonk division, and are bounded
on the north by the Moriches road.
Among the first settlers in Tanner's Neck
was Jonathan Jagger. As early as 1740 he
purchased many lots of the original owners, one
of his purchasers being of Daniel Wicks, who
sold him "2^ lots bounded west by the middle
of the Swamp which separates Little Tanner's
Neck from Great Tanner's Neck." Here he
built a house which stood south of the road, not
far from the residence of his descendant, the
late Seth R. Jagger. Bugh Raynor also pur
chased large tracts and owned the land west of
Apocock creek, or Beaverdam river. In 1799
he sold the north part of the tract to Thomas
Rogers, of Riverhead. This is now owned by
the heirs of Lester B. Rogers.
James Baines sold to Jonathan Jagger, in
I739> 3/^ l°ts °f meadow and upland in Tan
ner's Neck, "with my part of house on said
neck." Price £70. In 1743 James Berrick,
John Mackie and Nathaniel Woodruff sold to
Jonathan Jagger Lots 21-22-23-24 at Little
Tanner's Neck. Price /70.
Jeremiah Culver and wife Phebe sold to
Jonathan Jagger, in 1804, "A tract of land in
Little Tanner's- Neck, bounded north by high
way, east by Jonathan Jagger, west by Brushy
neck, south by bay." Also a tract of wood land
north of the highway, bounded north by the
Country road, 300 acres. Price £1300 ($3250).
In the earliest times it was customary for
persons who owned lots or meadows in the west
ern part of the town to build small houses on
the upland near by. In these houses they lived
during the haying season, when the meadow
hay was cut and stacked. In the early part of
winter' they would drive their cattle to these

places and fodder them on the hay, the person
attending the stock living in the houses until
spring. This explains the mention of houses
long before there was any actual settlement.
"To the Proprietors of Quago purchase.
Gentlemen : My Bumble petition to you is,
that you will be pleased to grant me the liberty
of taking in one acre of land lying northward
and eastward of my Bouse at Ketchaponack,
and in so doing I will make such satisfaction for
the same as any two of the Proprietors shall
think fit. Hezekiah Howell."
This was granted, and it is the first mention
of a house in that region. It stood on the land
now (or lately) belonging to Mortimer D.
Howell, near the bay.
In 183 1 Reuben Barris was a Methodist cir
cuit preacher who preached occasionally at this
place. The first convert seems to have been
Ezra Jagger. Be established a class, and for six
teen years was a faithful itinerant preacner, and
died in 1850. The first members of the congre
gation were Ezra Jagger, Silas Tuthill, Thomas
Rogers, Charles Bowell, William Raynor, Will
iam Jessup, Phebe Jagger, Phebe Corwin and
John Gordon. In 1833 a church was erected
on land given by Deacon Cephus Jagger, who
afterwards joined the -society. For a few years
it was called the West Bampton mission, but in
1836 it became a self-sustaining circuit. A
parsonage was built in 1856, and in 1859 tne
church was enlarged and improved.
Brushy Neck is next east of Speonk river.
April 6, 1742, it was voted at Town meeting
"That Bushy neck lying in ye west bounds
of Southampton shall be for a parsonage, for ye
use of a Gospel Presbyterian minister that shall
be suteably qualified for ye gospell rule by our
people yt shall call him, there unto, and on de
fault thereof the said Brushy neck shall return
to ye Proprietors again."
Speonk was the original name of the entire
tract west of Speonk river, but Speonk Neck
proper was next west of the river and extend
ing to the pond. The meadows in Speonk
Neck were laid out in 1712 (II Vol. Records,
Page 155) ; 141 acres of upland were also laid

342

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

out to the meadows. This was bounded north
by the best going over into Brushy neck. The
first notice we have is in 1745, when it was voted
by the trustees that Abram Halsey (who was son
of Thomas Halsey, 2d) should have some land
at Speonk running from the swamp to- his
house. There may be some doubt whether this
was a permanent dwelling or only used for a
part of the year. The rest of the land in this
region was laid out in the Speonk Division
(1748) the lots being bounded at the north by
the Moriches road. Seatuck Neck includes the
land between Seatuck river and the stream where
the mill and pond of the late Nathaniel Howell
lately were. Middle Neck included the land be
tween this stream (sometimes called Little Sea
tuck) and the Great Pond. East of Great Pond
was Basket Neck, which extended east to
Speonk Neck, or the little pond. This Division
is in Vol. Ill, Records, Page 136. At that time
Captain Halsey's house is mentioned, and a
highway was laid out to it. This stood on the
east side of the road running by the house of
the late Joel Tuthill, and about 80 rods south of
it. Abram Halsey bought many lots in this Di
vision. He had a son, David, who had sons Bi-
ram and Oliver, from whom the present families
are descended. In 1751 Isaac Halsey leaves to
his grandson Sylvester Halsey, all his lands,
meadows and buildings at Speonk. Stephen
and David Rogers also owned land here in 1748,
and mention is made of land having been sold to
them by the trustees. Stephen Rogers, by will,
left to his eldest son Vincent Rogers all his
homestead, houses and land south of the road.
Be left to his son Stephen 45 acres north of the
road, and all his meadow on Speonk river. The
homestead was left to Vincent, was left by him
to his son Thomas, who sold it to Oliver Tuthill,
and it was afterwards sold to Charles Balsey,
Warren Ruland, Benry Fordham and Philip
Brady, who are its recent owners. The land
left to Stephen was sold by him to Benry Cor-
win, who gave it to his son Benry, and be sold
to Captain John Rogers and Noah Tuthill. All
the above lands were in Speonk Neck.
All the Lots in Seatuck neck appear to have

been purchased from the original owner by Ed
ward Petty. April 17, 1775, Edward Petty and
wife Sarah sold to John Tuttle "A certain neck
of land at Setuck, being 7 Lots, beginning at No.
1 on the west or at the river where Capt. Josiah
Smith and David Bowell hath a. gristmill and
saw mill now standing. The neck being bounded
on said river the west side, on the south end by
the bay or water, and on the east by the water
until it comes to a certain stake at Silas Schel-
lenger's mill tail, being a bound between Lot
No. 7 and No. 8, and from said stake by the
land of the fore mentioned Silas Schellenger
unto a certain bound at Moriches path, and on
the north by said path. Except one acre which
I convey unto Capt. Josiah Smith for the benefit
of a mill." Witness, David Arnold and Mary
Arnold. Seatuck then contained 7 Lots.
Joseph Rogers, who lived in Bridge Bamp
ton, sold his house and land at that place to
Thomas Stanford, in exchange for "all his lot
ted land and meadow at Speonk." This em
braced all of Middle Neck, between Little Sea
tuck stream and the Great Pond, and included
Lots 8 to 23, inclusive. This estate is stiU
for the greater part in possession of his de
scendants. May 4, 1754, Daniel Bower sold to Jeremiah
Smith, of Huntington, "A parcel of upland and
meadow and marsh ground, situate at a place
called and known by the name of Speonk, being
I2~y2 lots, lying in the neck formerly called the
Basket Neck, where the said Daniel Bower now
liveth. Beginning on the west side of said neck
with Number 24, including up and to No. 36,
that is to the middle of No. 36. Not to include
any amendments. Also all my piece of marsh
or meadow land lying along by the east of the
Great Pond, between the upland, or the above
said lot of land, to No. 29, adjoining also on the
west of the creek or gut, and to the bay south.
Also y2 of all the lots of meadow or meadow
land lying on Speonk river, that were laid out
to the above said Basket Neck, not including any
amendments. The said I2y2 lots are bounded
north by Moriches road, south by the bay."
Price £250. Jeremiah Smith and wife Hannah

SOUTFIAMPTON.

343

sold the entire tract to William Phillips, of
Brookhaven , July 13, 1757. In 1771, Joseph
Rogers sold to William Phillips and Josiah Phil
lips "all that part of his estate lying east of tbe
new road running across my neck. The "new
road" is the one running from Speonk to- Water-
ville or Eastport, by the house of the late Will
iam E. Phillips, now of Theodore Tuttle.
Daniel Bower, who was of an old Southamp
ton family, now extinct, was undoubtedly the
first actual resident in this region.
The Phillips family, four brothers, were de
scendants of the Rev. George Phillips, who was
minister at Setauket. In. 1782 the four brothers
bought of Henry Ludlam "A certain tract of
land and meadow at Speonk, bounded east by
the bay and land of William Chard, south by
bay, west by land of Vincent and Stephen
Rogers, north by Moriches road." This is the
estate of the late Joseph Phillips. William
Chard may have been, a son of Samuel Chard,
who is mentioned in the will of Isaac Halsey, in
1752, as renting land of him.
The bract in Basket Neck, bought by Will
iam Phillips, is now owned by the heirs of Orin
Dayton and Theodore Tuttle. John R. Dayton,
by opening a wide channel between the Great
Pond and the bay, has greatly improved* this
section. The saw mill and pond on Little Seatuck
(fomerly owned by Silas Schellenger) was sold
by Jesse Ruland to Joshua Terry, July 10, 1808,
described as "30 acres, with house, saw mill and
stream, bounded north by Country road, east
by Josiah Phillips, west by John Tuttle, south
by Josiah Raynor."
The Tuthill family, now so numerous, are
descended from John and James Tuthill, uncle
and nephew, who -came, from Southold about
1760. The former named was generally known
as "Hunter John." Be bought an extensive
tract of land, now greatly subdivided. Bis
house stood -south of the residence of the late
Herman Rogers. His tombstone in a burying
ground near by bears the inscription, "in mem
ory of J.ohn Tuthill, who died November 4,
1805, aged TJ years." His wife Sarah died

December 11, 1820, aged 84. The Seatuck Neck,
which he bought of Edward Petty, is now oc
cupied by a great many people.
The first church in this village was built in
1846, and was a neat and substantial structure.
It was originally Presbyterian. In later years
it was connected with the -Methodist Society,
and the pulpit was supplied by the minister of
West Hampton.
Years ago occurred an event which created
an excitement and animosity out of all propor
tion to the exciting cause. In February, 1895,
the Rev. Minot S. Morgan, pastor of the church
in Speonk, procured signatures to a petition to
the Postmaster General, asking a change of
name of the postoffice at that place. Be had been
pastor there for a few months, and had taken a
very serious dislike to the aboriginal name of the
village. A counter petition was prepared by Mr.
Rensselaer Dayton, which was largely signed.
Mr. Morgan then started- on a new line. Dr.
Charles Remsen, a wealthy summer visitor, and
descendant of a very ancient and honorable
family, was very much esteemed by the com
munity. Bis father, Mr. William Remsen, died
March 3, 1895. Dr. Remsen, being much at
tached to the place, contemplated the erection
of a church or library or public hall. Air. Mor
gan is said to have proposed, or made his per
sonal engagement, that, if the church was built,
the name of the village would be changed to
Remsenburg, in recognition of the gift. Dr.
Remsen informed Mr. Morgan that this would
be acceptable, provided no objection was made
by the people. Mr. Morgan then solicited sig
natures to a new petition to the Postmaster
General, representing to the citizens that Dr.
Remsen's proposed gift was conditional upon
the new name. This representation and respect
entertained for Dr. Remsen caused many to
sign it, and his canvass of the village was
pressed with great alacrity before those who
were opposed could offer their objections.
Under the changed aspects of the case, some
signed who had formerly opposed, and among
them was the principal leader of the opposition.
In the counter movement, Captain Ernest A.

344

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Des Marets, Elias P. Tuttle and Lewis Tuttle
took the lead, and a very vigorous public senti
ment was aroused against changing the ancient
name. Feeling ran high, and out of eighty land
owners, fifty-two signed the counter petition,
some alleging that they had been misled. In
July, 1895, Mr. Morgan went to Washington
and presented his petition to the Fourth Assist
ant Postmaster General. At a later date, Cap
tain Des Marets, Elias P. Tuttle and Lewis Tut
tle also went and .sought a hearing, but, the
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General being ab
sent, they placed their petition on file and re
turned. The application to change the name to
Remsen was rejected on the ground that there
was an office of the name in New Jersey. The
name of Remsenburg was substituted, and the
petition was granted in October, 1895. The
first letter postmarked "Remsenburg' was sent
out from the Old Speonk postoffice, November
20, 1895. The Long Island Railroad refused to
change the name of the Station for a long time,
but finally yielded, under the general rule that
each Station should be named after the nearest
postoffice. But it was "Remsenburg" for only
one month and two days, for a new postoffice
was established and -called by the old name of
Speonk. This was on July 9, 1897. This was
in accordance with a petition presented by Cap
tain Des Marets and others, and signed by sixty-
five persons, in the spring of 1897. It should be
observed that Dr. Remsen was not a party to the
controversy. The principal argument used by
the advocates of "Remsenburg" was that the
old name of Speonk was a detriment to- the
place, and had a tendency to prevent summer
visitors from making it a place of summer resi
dence. However, the new church was built and
dedicated as a Presbyterian church on Septem
ber 13, 1896.
At what time a school was established here
is not known, but it was before 1796.
The teacher was Elias Woolley, of Southampton.
The trustees were John Culver and Moses Phil
lips. The following is the list of scholars in the
year given :

Benjamin Phillips,
Stephen Phillips,
Susanna Phillips,
Elijah Phillips,
Abraham Culver,
John Culver,
Eunice Culver,
William H. Phillips,
Sally Phillips,
Edmund Fanning,
Alexander Fanning,
Barriet Fanning,
Phineas Phillips,
Bannah Phillipse,
Jacob Raynor,
Jerusha Raynor,
Sally Raynor,
David Tarbell,
Rebecca Tarbell,
David Sweezy,

Nathan Sweezy,
Bethiah Sweezy,
John Raynor,
Nathan Raynor,
Ruth Raynor,
Betsey Raynor,
Jotham Raynor,
Charles Rogers,
Clarissa Rogers,
Martha Rogers,
Oliver Rogers,
William Tuthill,
Thomas Rogers,
Phebe Culver,
Jesse Rogers,
Peter (negro),
Shadrach (negro),
Joe (negro),
Catharine (negro).

The old school house stood on the north side
of the street, in front of the homestead of Orin
Fordham and his son Jonathan Fordham. It
was a small unpainted building. The present
school building- was erected in 1894, and is well
suited for its purpose. The old school house
was used for some time as a church by the por
tion of the community who declined accepting
Remsenburg as the name of the place. It was
burned on March 12, 1898.
The road from Remsenburg (or Speonk) to
Waterville was opened about 1771, and was
then called the "new road." In 1772 Colonel
Josiah Smith and David Bowell, of Moriches,
built the mill on Seatuck river, and raised the
pond. Edward Petty, by deed, May 27, the
same year, sold them an acre of land for build
ing a dam. This mill, which was one of the
most important in the town, continued till very
recent years. For a long time it was owned by
one Pye, and was widely known as "Pye's mill."
About 18-78 it was sold to George W. Tuthill.
A few years since it was sold with the pond to
the Oxford Gun Club, who demolished the
building that had stood so long. As this mill
was on the west side of the dam, it was in
Brookhaven. The street through this village
was cut through the forest by John Tuthill after

SOUTHAMPTON.

345

his purchase of the neck. The oldest house is
that of the late Cephus Tuthill, which was built
by John Tuthill, Jr., about 1800. A church was
organized here in 1822 and belonged to the de
nomination known as "Stillwellites." It was
afterwards changed to Protestant Methodist.
Meetings were held in the school house and pri
vate dwellings, and the present church was built
in 1853.On the west side of the road that runs down

Potunk Neck was standing until recently
an old house that fifty years ago was owned by
Elisha Howell. This was probably the same
house owned originally by Cornelius Halsey,
and left by him to his son Timothy in 1779.
This house was torn down and the 'old church
which formerly stood at Quioge was moved to
the site and enlarged and now does duty as a
boarding house, owned and occupied by Na
than C. Jessup.

to vW

&

CHAPTER XIV.

EAST HAMPTON.

HIS town occupies the extreme eastern
portion of the south branch of the isl
and. It is bounded on the west by the
town of Southampton, and the bound
ary is described in the history of that town,
while on the north, the east and the
south nature has fixed the boundaries, and
around it the ocean and the bay are everlast
ing bounds. As in the adjoining towns, the im
proved and cultivated lands bear a small pro
portion to the part that continues in a state
of nature, and the forest still occupies the west
ern and much of the northern portion of the
town. The range of hills, which are probably
the moraine of an ancient glacier, do not extend
to this town, and west of Montauk there are no
high elevations of land. The portion next the
ocean is a low plain, while the shore itself is
fringed by the line of sand hills or beach banks
which form so prominent a feature of the Long
Island coast.
Upon the north side, by the shore of Pe
conic Bay and Gardiner's Bay, we find the sur

face more hill)', and the beach on the bay itself
is bounded by cliffs, in some places of consider
able height. The action of the waves during
storms gradually undermined the cliffs, and land
slides on a small scale are not unfrequent. The
lighter portions of the soil are swept away,
while the boulders are left as monuments to
mark the places which the land once occupied.
This encroachment has produced great geo
graphical changes in the past, and there is very
little doubt but that Shelter Island and Gardin
er's Island were once connected with the ad
joining shores. The bay thus gradually en
croaches upon the land to a much greater ex
tent than, is generally supposed. In the suit be
tween the Trustees of the Town of Easthamp
ton and Josiah Kirk, the point in question was
the right of tbe town to the beach between the
bay and the upland of the defendant, the prem
ises being at that portion of the town known
as "Northwest." It was shown from the rec
ords that when the land was originally laid out,
in 1736, the lots were bounded not by the bay

EAST HAMPTON.

347

but by the cliff, and it was most conclusively
shown by the evidence that the bay had en
croached to such an extent that the place where
the cliff was then must now be under water.
The process of encroachment is especially dis
cernible at Montauk. The whole region there
is evidently of glacial formation, and composed
of earth, clay, gravel and boulders of all sizes,
from large rocks to small pebbles, mixed to
gether. The cliff at the extreme point is about
seventy feet in height, and the encroaching pro
cess above described has covered the coast with
rocks which extend in an unbroken line across
to Block Tsland, and reaches south to a distance
of many miles, showing conclusively that this
part of Long Island is but a mere fragment of
its former self.
Separating Montauk from the western part
of the town is a desolate tract known as Na
peague Beach. This is some five miles In
length, and -its width is from Gardiner's Bay
to the ocean. It is composed entirely of sand,
which is blown into hills by the winds. On the
north side are small pieces of meadow which
in early times were of considerable value on ac
count of the meadow grass, which yielded an un
failing crop. The remainder produces nothing
but a few scanty bushes of the beach plum and
other plants which are adapted to their barren
dwelling place. This region was probably cov
ered by the sea. There is a tradition that at an
early date the skeleton of a whale was visible
near the western end of the beach, nearly mid
way between the ocean and the highlands. This
must have been left by the receding ocean or
carried to the place by some extraordinary tide.
The marshy places render it the paradise of
mosquitoes, and here, if we may speak from
experience, may be found the most annoying
specimens of that bloodthirsty race. Next to
this comes the peninsula of Montauk.
In the early times the whole of the land
now embraced in- the town was owned and oc
cupied by a tribe of Indians known from their
seat of principal residence as the Montauks.
This tribe seems to have been more powerful
than any other on the east end of Long Island,

and all the other tribes within- the limits of Suf
folk county were to some extent under their
control. They, in turn, stood in great dread
of the Pequot and Narragansett Indians. Their
comparative proximity and the facility with
which they could land upon their shores with
their fleets of war canoes, rendered them sub
servient to the fierce tribe which was the terror
of the New England settlements. It was in
reference to these that a clause was inserted -in
the Indian deed for Southampton, that the Eng
lish should defend them against the attack's of
any other Indians who should unlawfully as
sail them-. At the head of the Montauk tribe
was the great chief Wyandanch, who assumed
the title of Sachem of Pawmanack, or Long
Island. At what time this title was assumed is
uncertain, but in a curious affidavit made by
Thomas Halsey, of Southampton, whose wife
was murdered by some Indians, in 1649, ne
deposes "That at the time of the trouble in
Southampton, by reason of murther committed
by the Indians, I saw Mandush, whoe was a
man reputed and acknowledged to be the great
Sachem's son of Shinecock, cutt up a turf of
ground in Southampton and delivering it to
Wyandanch gave up all his right and interest
unto him. And hee the said Mandush, with
many others of the chiefe of Shinecock Indians,
did manifest their consent by their ordinary
signs of stroaking Wyandanch on the back.
And since that time the said Wyandanch (who
was Sachem of Meantauk) hath acted upon ye
afore said interest given to- him, as by letting
and disposing of lands at Quaquanantuck and
elsewhere." This was sworn to September 19,
1666. According to the statement of the author
of "Chronicles of East Hampton," the Long
Island tribes were under the control and subject
to Poggatacut, Sachem of the Manhassett tribe,
which inhabited Shelter Island, "who had un
der him ten or fifteen sachems to whom his word
was law." Poggatacut died in 1651, and was
succeeded by his -brother Wyandanch, who then
became the grand Sachem' of Long Island. As
a place of refuge against their enemies, the In
dians built a fort at the west end of Montauk,

348

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

not far from the line separating it from Na
peague beach. This fort must have been aban
doned at an early date, for in the deed for Mon
tauk, given in 1661, allusion is made to its site
as the place "where the old Indian fort stood."
At that time a new fort had been made on the
northeast side of Fort Pond, on what is still
called Fort Hill. The outlines of this work are
yet visible, and show that it was about one hun
dred feet square, with a round tower at each
corner. Its position was well chosen for de
fense, and must have afforded comparative
security against an enemy who did not pos
sess the means or the patience to carry
on a regular siege. Relics of ancient burial
places are found in the vicinity, and doubtless
here rest the remains of many a warrior whose
deeds are long since forgotten and are unre
corded in song or story. In the great battle
at Mystic Fort the power of the Pequots was
destroyed forever, and the few of that tribe
"who were among the Long Island Indians were
hunted out and destroyed. After this, the Narra
gansetts, seeing the destruction of the Pequots,
became jealous of the growing power of the
English, and their chief, Miantonomah, endeav
ored to induce the neighboring tribes to unite
in a common cause and destroy the English set
tlements at one blow. Accordingly, he visited
the Montauks and made every effort to enlist
the Sachem in his enterprise. He represented
that the whites had already taken the best of
their lands, that game, once so abundant, was
now scarce, and' in a short time the Indians must
perish before the advancing power of their new
enemy. "For this purpose," said the wily sav
age, "I have come secretly to you, because you
can persuade the Indians and sachems of Long
Island what you will. Brothers, I will send
over fifty Indians to Block Island, and thirty to
you from thence, and take an hundred of South
ampton Indians, with an hundred of your own
here, and when you see the three fires that will
be made at the end of forty days hence, in a
clear night, then do as we shall do and follow
and kill men, women and children, but not the
cows — they will serve for provisions till the deer

be increased." Fortunately the Montauk
Sachem did not listen to this appeal. Had he
done so, and thrown his powerful influence into
the scale of war, it is almost certain that the
settlements on the south side of Long Island
would have been swept from the face of the
earth. As it was, he communicated bis knowl
edge to the magistrates in Connecticut, and, as
Lion Gardiner quaintly remarks, "so the plot
failed and the plotter next spring after died, as
Ahab died at Ramoth Gilead." Ninigret, who
was afterward the Sachem of the Narragansetts,
attempted to carry out the same plan, and in
the same manner endeavored to obtain the help
of the Montauks. Failing in this, he began a
war with that tribe, which was carried on by
both sides with great vigor. Learning that the
enemy was on Block Island, the Montauk
Sachem proceeded thither with a large force, and
in a sudden attack killed about thirty of. the
Narragansetts. After this, Ninigret made a de
scent upon Montauk, which he ravaged, burn
ing wigwams-, destroying- cornfields and killing
many of the bravest warriors. It was during
this attack. that he carried off the daughter of
Wyandanch, tbe Montauk Sachem. As the
story runs, the daughter of the Sachem was to
be married to a young chief of his tribe at Fort
Pond. Knowing that all precautions would be
overlooked in the revelry of the festive occasion,
Ninigret came down in force upon his unpre
pared enemy, slaughtered half the tribe, includ
ing the bridegroom, and bore away the bride
as his captive to the main land. Through the
interference and aid of Lion Gardiner, she was
restored to her people, and Wyandanch, in grati
tude, gave to Gardiner the greater part of what
is now Smithtown, as will be seen in the his
tory of that town. In this war the power and
strength of the Montauks was almost entirely
destroyed, and their case was rendered almost
hopeless by a sickness which prevailed in the
years 1658 and 1659. Among the victims was
the great Wyandanch, and the tribe, having lost
their greatest warrior, was compelled to ask the
help and protection of the English at East
Hampton. This was readily granted, and the

EAST HAMPTON.

349

remnant of the tribe was permitted to reside on
the parsonage land at the south end of the vil
lage. Wyandanch left a widow who is mentioned
in the records as the "Sunk Squaw," and an
only son, Wyancombone, who is mentioned in
the Southampton Records. He died of small
pox at an early age, and the line of the great
Sachem was_ extinct. After things became more
quiet, the remnant of the tribe lived on their
ancient heritage of Montauk, with constantly-
dwindling numbers, until the present day. Their
present status will be given in the sketch of
Montauk. Tbe work of David Gardiner, "Chronicles
of East Hampton," is a book of the greatest
value, and a more extended notice will be found
in the chapter on "Bibliography."
The lands now included in East Bampton
lay vacant and unclaimed until the spring of
1648, when Theophilus Eaton, Governor of the
Colony of New Baven, and Edward Bopkins,
Governor of Connecticut, obtained the follow
ing deed from the Indians :
This present Writing testifieth an agree
ment between the Worshipful Theophilus
Eaton, Esquire, Governor of the Colony of New
Baven, And the Worshipful Edward Bopkins,
Esquire, Governor of the Colony of Connecticut,.
and their associates, on the one part, And P'o-
gatacut, Sachem of Manhanset, Wyandanch,
Sachem of Meantauket, Momowoton, Sachem of
Corchauk, Nowedonah, Sachem of Shinecock,
and their assotyates, the other Part. The said
Sachems having sould unto the foresayed Mr.
Eaton and Mr. Bopkins with their assotyates
all the land lying from the bounds of the In
habitants of Southampton unto the East side of
Napeak, next unto Meantacut highland, with the
whole breadth from sea to sea, not intrenching
upon any in length or breadth which the In
habitants of Southampton have and do possess,
as they by Lawfull right shall make appear; for
and in Consideration of twentie coats, twenty-
four looking glasses, twenty-four hoes, twenty-
four hatchets, twenty-four knives, one hundred
muxes, already received by us the forenamed
Sachems, for ourselves and assotiates, and in
consideration thereof wee doe give up unto the

said Purchasers all our right and Interest in the
said land to them and their heyers for ever.
Allsoe we doe bind ourselves to secure their
right from any claim of any others, whether In
dians or other nations whatsoever, that doe or
may hereafter challenge Interest therein. Allsoe
wee the said Sachems have Covenanted to have
Liberty to fish in any or all the creeks and ponds
and to hunt up and downe in the woods without
Molestation, they giving the English Inhabitants
noe just offence or Injurie to their goods or cat
tle. Lykewise they are to have the fyns and
tayles of all such whales as shall be cast up, to
their proper right, and desire they may be friendly
dealt with in ye other part. Allsoe they reserve
liberty to fish in all convenient places for shells
to make wampum. Allsoe if the Indyans hunt
ing of any deer they should chase them into ye
water and the English should kill them, the Eng
lish shall have the body and the Sachem the skin.
And in Testimony of our well performance here
of we have set to our hands the Day and yeare
above written.
The mark of X Poggatacut, Manhanset Sa
chem.
The mark of X Wyandanch, Meantacut Sa
chem.
The mark of X Momoweta, Corchake Sachem.
The mark of X Nowedonah, Shinecock Sa
chem.
Witnesses to this : Richard Woodhull, Tho. Stan
ton, Robert Bond, Job Sayre, Chectanoe X his
mark, their Interpreter."
By an evident oversight the date of the deed
was omitted, but that it was on April 29, 1648,
appears by the following entry :
Whereas, by direction from Theophilus
Eaton, Esq., and Mr. Edward Bopkins, a pur
chase was made by Thomas Stanton and others
of a part of the Eastern part of Long Island,
of the Indian Sachems, the true proprietors
thereof, in the name of Theophilus Eaton, Esq.,
aforesaid and myself with our associates, as by
the said agreement dated the 29th of April 1648
may more fully appear, which said purchase was
paid by me Edward Bopkins, and amounted to
the sum of thirty pounds four shillings eight
pence, as may appear by a note of particulars
under the hand of Thomas Stanton, to whom the
said sum was paid, now delivered to Robert Bond
of East Bampton; this writing witnesseth that
I have received the fore-mentioned sum of thirty
pounds four shillings eight pence, of the In-

350

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

habitants of East Flampton, and have delivered
unto them the writings of the said purchase, and
all the interest that thereby was purchased. In
witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed, the
1 6th of April 165 1. I say received £30 4s 8d
per me. Edward Bopkins.
The deed, as a matter of security, was re
corded in the town clerk's office of Southamp
ton, and at a later date in the records of Suf
folk county. It will be seen that it was signed
by the Sachems of Manhanset (Shelter Island),
Montauk, Corchake (now Cutchogue, in South-
old) and Shinnecock. This was doubtless tq re
move all uncertainty as to conflicting claims of
the various tribes.
The first settlers of the town, the men for
whom Governors Eaton and Hopkins purchased
the territory, were John Hand, Thomas Tal
mage, Daniel Howe, Thomas Thompson, John
Stratton, Robert Bond, Robert Rose, Joshua
Barnes and John Mulford. All of these men
were originally living in Southampton. John
Hand was living there in 1644, and was one
of the members of a "whaling squadron."
Thomas Talmage, Sr., was living there in 1642,
and had land granted to' him. Thomas Tal
mage and Robert Talmage were also there at
the same time, and so was Thomas Thompson.
Daniel Howe was one of the original "under
takers" of the settlement of Southampton, but
did not remain there. Be was also the first man
to "sell out" his "accomodations" in East Bamp
ton, which he did to Thomas Baker, May 10,
1650. Be had two sons, Daniel and William.
John Stratton was a brother of Richard Strat
ton, who was there in 1644, and probably both
went to the new settlement. Robert Bond had
land in Southampton in 1643. He was a black
smith, and was forbidden to make "harping
irons" (harpoons) for the Indians. Be removed
from East Bampton -to1 Elizabethtown, New Jer
sey, about 1668. Be had a son, Joseph Bond.
Robert Rose lived in Southampton in 1644. Be
married Dorothy, who- was probably a daugh
ter of Ananias Conkling. They had children,
Thomas, John, Samuel, Mary and Jonathan.

Thomas Rose, the eldest son, went to Southamp
ton, and sold his father's estate in East Bamp
ton to George Miller, December 19, 1665. Jon
athan went to Brookhaven. A "John Rose,
aged 17," was servant of Anthony Waters of
North Sea, Southampton, October 2, 1665.
John Mulford and his brother William were
living in Southampton in 1643. Joshua Barnes,
William Barnes and Charles Barnes were prob
ably brothers. The records expressly state that
Charles Barnes was the son of William Barnes,
of Eastwinch, County of Norfolk, England.
William and Charles both went to East Bamp
ton. Joshua, although an owner in the East
Bampton purchase, remained in Southampton
and died there. Be had sons, William and Sam
uel ; the former went to Westchester and was
very prominent there.
These facts refute the idea that the first set
tlers came directly from Lynn, but there is no
doubt that some of them were living there be
fore going to Southampton.
Among the earliest settlers who are not men
tioned in the above list are the following :
Thomas Osborn, the ancestor of a numer
ous family, is mentioned as "of East Bampton"
in Southampton Records, in 1650. Be had a
son Thomas, who was a prominent citizen, who
died in 1712.
Ralph Dayton lived in Southampton and died
there in 1658. Be had a son Robert Dayton,
who was living in East Bampton in 1658. In
1647 one Samuel Dayton came to Southampton
from Flushing. Be was living in North Sea in
1658. Whether he was related to Ralph is un
certain. Thomas Chatfield came from Sussex, Eng
land, and was here in 1652. Fie died in 1686,
leaving sons, Thomas and John.
William Fithian was a soldier in Cromwell's
army and witnessed the execution of King
Charles I. Be was here in 1653, and died in
1678. John and Samuel Parsons were brothers and
were here in 1653. The former died in 1685,
and left sons, Samuel and John.
Joshua Garlick is supposed to have been a

EAST FIAMPTON.

351

brother of Joseph Garlick, who was living in
Southampton, in 1645. Joshua Garlick was here
in 1653. Be died March 7, 1700, at the age of
100 years.
Fulk Davis was one of the earliest- settlers in
Southampton, and had land laid out for him in
1642. Be afterwards moved to North Sea and
lived near the locality known as "Towd." Be
had land here in 1653. ln If56o he seems to
have been living again in Southampton, and
land here is spoken of as "formerly Fulk Davis."
Nathaniel Bishop was son of Richard Bishop,
of Salem, where he was freeman in 1642. Bis
brother, John Bishop, was the ancestor of the
families in Southampton. Nathaniel Bishop was
here in 1653.
Jeremiah Veale was a blacksmith from
Salem. Be had land given him in Southamp
ton, 165 1. In 1655 he seems to be working for
Lion Gardiner under a contract which had not
expired. The name at a later date was changed
to Vaile or Vail.
Thomas Baker (or "Backer" as it appears in-
the earliest records) came here in 1650 from
Milford, Connecticut. He bought the "accomo
dations" (that is, the lands and ccmmonage) of
Daniel Howe, who probably left Southhamp
ton at that time. The wife of John Baker was
Alice, daughter of Ralph Dayton. They were
married June 20, 1643. Ber gravestone is in
the Amagansett burying ground.
Josiah Stanborough had land here in 1651,
but he never lived here. Be was one of the
founders of Southampton and lived at Saga-
ponack. John Kirtland (sometimes spelled Cort
land) had a lot granted to him on April 9, 165 1,
provided he "comes to live here before the last
of July." Be came here and lived many years.
He may have been a brother or son of Philip
Kirtland, one of the first settlers of Southamp
ton. James Goodman was here in 165 1. As he is
spoken of as "Mr.," we conclude that he was of
some social importance.
Luke Lillie was also here in 165 1. In 1654

he was chosen recorder. He died before Oc
tober 29, 1667.
Richard Brooks is first mentioned May 9,
1651. Benjamin Price is first mentioned July 14,
165 1, but was probably here before that time.
He was chosen "secretarie," October 7 of that
year. He was thirty-four years old in 1655.
Captain Josiah Hobart appears to have been
living here on September 24, 1651, but on De
cember 18, 1676, he is mentioned as "having been
lately accepted as an inhabitant." He was after
wards high sheriff of the county.
William Simonds was here November 17,
165-1. In the inventory of the estate of Lion
Gardiner (1664) is mentioned "the house Si
monds lives in." Be was a landowner here in
1653. In 1684 his son Thomas was living in
Albemarle county, North Carolina.
William Edwards is first mentioned January
5, 165 1-2. Bis descendants are numerous and
respected. "Goodman" Meggs, who had a lot in 1651,
was probably Vincent Meggs, who was living
in Southampton in 1656. See his agreement
about the mill.
James Still (or Till) was here in 1651, but
was evidently unacceptable to the town, as it
was voted that he should not stay here.
John Meigs (or Meggs) was here in 1653,
and had a suit with James Till. Be and Vin
cent may have been sons or brothers of Mark
Meggs, of Southampton, who afterwards went
to Buntington. William Bedges, the ancestor of an honored
family, is first mentioned June 10, 1652. Of
his antecedents nothing appears to be known.
Tristram Fledges was living in Southampton in
1649, but it is uncertain whether there was any
relationship. Samuel Belknap was here June 13, 1653,
and was a land owner.
Nathan Birdsall owned meadow at North
west, July 5, 1653.
Annanias Conklin was freeman at Salem,
Massachusetts, May 18, 1642. Be is said to

352

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

have come to East Hampton in 1650, but is first
mentioned July 5, 1653. He died before Octo
ber 5, 1657. His brother, John Conklin, was
a prominent settler of Southold.
Daniel Howe, who was one of the original
settlers, had sons, Daniel and William, but it
is doubtful If they lived here. Daniel Bowe
was cousin- to Alexander Bryan, prominent in
Connecticut. Jeremy Meecham was here February 1, 1653,
and had land laid out in 1655. In 1660 he was
in Southampton, and went to Salem in 1668.
Be seems to have been living in East Bampton
in 1664, and was one of the appraisers of the
estate of Lion Gardiner.
Daniel Fairfield was a servant of Joshua
Garlick before 1654.
John Woolley was servant of Jeremiah
Vayle, "of the Isle of Wight." Be was between
seventeen and eighteen years old October 2,
I655- Shubal Walker, aged eighteen, was working
for Lion Gardiner, December 20, 1655.
Roger Smith is mentioned September 15,
1657.,. Be died before May 28, 1686. Bis widow,
Rebecca, married John Flopping. Bis son, Daniel
Smith, sold to them all his right to the estate,
May 28, 1686.
Captain Edward Codnor was witness to the
Indian deed for Montauk, February 11, 1661.
He married Alice, widow of John Hand. She
was sister of Josiah Stanborough of Southamp
ton. John Miller was living in Southampton in
1653, and George Milner (Miller ?) in the
same year. They both appear in East Hampton
in 1657. Mary Miller is mentioned in a document
in Printed Records, dated January 8, 1667, but
probably should be 1657. George Miller was
killed by the kick of a horse about December 3,
1668. He married Hester, daughter of An-
nanias Conkling. For a more extended notice
the reader is referred to the valuable history
prepared by Hon. B. P. Bedges.
Nathaniel Foster first appears in 1657. Be
had wife Sarah and son Nathaniel.
Andrew Miller, brother of John, came here

in 1657. Be went to Brookhaven and founded
"Miller's Place."
John Squire married Ann, daughter of Will
iam Edwards, in 1676, and her father gave them
a good outset in lancbs. Be may have been the
son of Thomas Squire, who was living here
January 13, 1659-1685. A branch of the family
are very numerous in the western part of South
ampton. Reineck Garrison (alias De Freese) was a
Dutchman of New Amsterdam, and master of
a trading vessel in 1659, and made trips to
East Bampton. As he desired to settle here,
the town gave him "a parcel of land toward
the northeast end of the Towne, westward of
the New highway that goeth to the three mile
harbour," 1673.
Richard Shaw was son-in-law of Joshua
Garlick, who gave him land and meadow at
Northwest in 1660.
Richard Bennett first appears on February
27, 1662-3, when he enters "an accon of slander
against Nathaniel Foster in sayinge that he the
sd Richard Bennett was drunke at goodman
Garlicks." Thomas Diament was living in Southamp
ton June 21, 1655, and with several others made
an! unlawful seizure of a vessel belonging to
"a Dutchman." December 15, 1658, he was
"censured for several miscarriages" among them
"calling Joseph Raynor and John Scott dogge
and hounde." Be' and his wife Mary made ac
knowledgment. In September, 1663, he was in
East Hampton, and William Tomson, of New
London, agrees to- pay him thirty-one pounds.
After this, on March 1, 1663-4, he bought a
house and lands of Richard Smith. His eldest
son, James, married Bannah, daughter of the
Rev. Thomas Janes, about August 21, 1677.
This family has always held a respectable posi
tion. After one hundred and fifty years one
branch in the person of Isaac Diament returned
to Southampton, where his descendants are re
spected citizens. The name in late years has
been changed to Dimon, which is to be re
gretted. Charles Barnes, the ancestor of the family

EAST HAMPTON.

353

of that name, married Mary, daughter of John
and Alice Band. Be died before November 23,
1663. John Oldfield came to Southampton in 165 1
and remained until 1664. Be is said to have
married a daughter of Richard Post. April 23,
1664, he purchased from Nathan Birdsall his
house and "accomodation of a thirteen acre lot."
Be sold the same to Joshua Garlick, Jr., No
vember 1, 1664, and went to Jamaica. While
here he carried on his trade as a tanner.
Samuel Dayton had a sister, Alice, wife of
Thomas Baker. On December 25, 1664, he
gives them his son Jacob, for the term of 14
years. Be also gives his son Caleb to Joshua
Garlick, Sr., and his wife, Elizabeth, for the
term of sixteen years. August 26 Thomas
Baker and Robert Dayton, "being desired by
Samel Dayton," transfer the son Caleb to John
Jushup (Jessup) for twelve years and four
months. James Skellenger, on October 22, 1667, pur
chased from Benjamin Conklin, of Elizabeth-
town, New Jersey, a house and lot in East
Hampton. Samuel Fyler was here in 1677. George
Filer died, leaving a widow, before May 3, 1681.
Land had been granted to him previously.
Edward Avery, a blacksmith, had a home
lot granted to him and ten acres of land, on con
dition that he remain and carry on his trade for
three years from June 8, 1668.
Thomas Wheeler, of New Haven, had wife
Alice. Be died before 1661, and she then mar
ried Josiah Stanborough, of Southampton.
Thomas Wheeler left three children, John,
Thomas and Mary. John Wheeler was a man
of great importance in his day, and held many
important offices. Be died June 18, 1727, aged
about eighty. Be had sons John and Thomas.
A family of Wheeler, once quite numerous, re
siding at Smithtown, are said to be his descend
ants. Thomas Skidmore, a blacksmith, came here
from Buntington and on February 12, 1668,
he had a house and lot granted to him on con

dition that he worked here at his trade for six
years. Be left before 167 1.
Nathaniel Dominy is first mentioned De
cember 18, 1669, when he is about to marry
Sarah, daughter of William Edwards, who gives
them a home lot and other land. Be died be
fore October 20, 1687, and his wife was ap
pointed administratrix on that date. His de
scendants are still here, and the family for gen
erations have been noted for a remarkable me
chanical genius.
Philip Alcock was schoolmaster here Decem
ber 24, 1669. He was here in 1672, and was
defendant in a suit of William Edwards, in
which he had to pay for eleven pounds worth
of whale bone, "and the Court charge, only a
pint of wine subtracted," which throws some
light on court expenses at that time.
James Loper is first mentioned May 11, 1673,
when the town sold him two acres of land "ly
ing in the Calf pasture next to Stephen Hedges'
house lot." This was on condition that he "doth
follow his trade of shoemaking." He married
Elizabeth, daughter of Arthur Howell. Be en
gaged extensively in whaling.
John Osborn was the first settler at Wains-
cott, in 1670, and was "accepted as an inhabi
tant, with all the privileges and appurtenances
belonging to a thirteen acre lot." Be was son of
Thomas Osborn.
Thomas Smith was a blacksmith, and on
May 11, 1671, the town granted him the same
house and lot that had been given to Thomas
Skidmore. Be agreed to stay six years and to
"faithfully perform the work of his trade for
the town's service according to his abilitie, god
giving him health and life." Be left in 1672.
Anthony Waters and Jeremy Vaile were
farmers for Lion Gardiner in June, 1655. The
former removed to North Sea in Southampton.
Bis descendants are now in Queens county.
Philip Leeke and his brother Ebenezer were
here on March 27, 1672. The town gave to
Philip eight acres of land bounded south by the
rear of John Parsons' house lot, "and east by
the highway that goeth down to the harbor."

23

354

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Ebenezer Leeke married Hannah, daughter of
Thomas Baker, Sr., who gave them several lots,
of land, June 12, 1678. Their descendants are
yet in the town.
Roger Earle was here on April 10, 1672, and
must have been here the year before, for on that
date he was sued by William Edwards "for un-
. faithfulness in his sheep keeping the summer
last past." The case was nonsuited. He was
here in 1688.
John Hopping was here in 1670 when Pere
grine Stanborough, of Southampton, sold him
"one-third of a whole alotment of a- fifteen acre
lot," which be had bought of Thomas Osborn,
Sr., with one -third of the commonage, etc., be
longing to it.
William Rundle married Hannah, daughter
of William Edwards, who gave them several
lots of land. She died before May 7, 1674.
Janes Bird was here June 13, 1673, and
shortly before that married his wife Ban
nah  .
Samuel Terrill was here in 1675 and 1681.
Be was a blacksmith, and the town gave him
in 1676 eight acres of land. April 8, 1678, the
town gave him "a small quantitie cf land in
the streete, 8 poles long and 2y2 poles wide."
He was to have it so long as he worked here at
his trade.- He afterwards went to Brookhaven
and bought Warratta Neck, next west of Ter-
rills river, which derives its name from him.
Thomas Terrill, who was here in 1688, may
have been his son.
John Laughton came here from Southampton,
August 10, 1675, as a schoolmaster. Be had
served in that capacity for several years in
Southampton. Edward Jones, "carpenter," had six acres
of land given him by the town, October 2, 1677.
He married a daughter of Thomas Chatfield.
Richard Stratton was son-in-law, of Nathaniel
Baker, April 11, 1678.
John Kirle was a servant of John Mulford
"for several years." Afterwards, on January
13, 1677, John Mulford gave him six acres of
land, "being part of the accomodation which I
bought of Thomas Tomsin, lying among the

second home lots, bounded by the street south
and the highway west." The name afterwards
appears as "Carle." He left sons John and
Abiel Carle.
Mr. William Darvall bought from Thomas
Diament, Sr., 40 square poles of ground at the
corner of his home lot, March 15, 1679. Be
was a merchant of New York, and bought whale
oil, etc.
Abraham Bawk owned a lot of six acres
here, and sold it to Jacob Daiton, February 18,
1681. Bounded west by the street, north by
William Barnes, south and east by Benjamin
Osborne. He was a weaver from New York,
George Filer was living here with his wife.
He died before May 3, 1681.
William Simonds was here November 17,
165 1. In the inventory of the estate of Lion
Gardiner ( 1664) is mentioned "the house Simons
lives in." Be was a land owner here in 1653.
In 1684 his son Thomas was living in Albe
marle county, North Carolina, and in a letter to
David Gardiner he mentions, "my uncle Fithian,"
and states "my father and mother are both
dead." Richard Shaw married a daughter of Joshua
Garlick. Be died before 1692. Bad sons Rich
ard, Edmund and John. The last named was
living at Cape May in 1693.
John Stratton, who died before 1699, kft
sons John, Joseph, Cornelius and Stephen.
Daniel Turner was here October 7, 1 651.
It was ordered that he should "either sojourn in
some family as a servant, or else depart from
the Town."
Such is a brief notice of the early settlers
whose names appear before 1680.
As mentioned previously, the cost of obtain
ing the lands included in the original purchase
was £30 4s 8d. There is recorded a receipt from
Edward Bopkins to "Robert Bond — inhabitant
of East Bampton for £34. 4. 8. being the amount
of monies paid for the purchase of the Lands,"
and a certificate of the delivering of said Bond
the writings of the said purchase and all the
Interest that was thereby purchased dated 16th

EAST HAMPTON.

355

April, 1 65 1. On a blank leaf of one of the old
Books of Records are seen these words : "Rob
ert Bond delivered unto the'Govr for the pur
chase of our Lands, for the towns use the sum
of £1. 3. 10. Robert Bond for his expenses, go
ing to the Mayne land in the Town's service the
sum of £1. 3s. 6d." From this it would seem
that the entire cost of the purchase was £35 7s
I4d in pounds sterling, or about $177.03, and,
of course, was paid by the purchasers, the orig
inal "townsmen" of East Hampton, and it was
plainly understood that they were the sole own
ers in fee simple and absolutely, a fact that some
attempted to ignore at a later date.
Like the town of Southampton, East Bamp
ton was for the first few years of its existence
an independent government and .a pure democ
racy. All of the officers were elected by the peo
ple, and were men of the highest standing in the
-community. Tlie first town clerk was Thomas
Talmage, Jr., and his salary was 20 shillings.
There was also a "pounder," who had charge
of cattle trespassing. The executive commit
tee, called the "Three men." settled all dis
putes of a minor nature and all higher suits went
to the general court. For the first few years
there does not seem to have been any magistrate
or justice of the peace.
The first record we have is1 of' a "Court of
elections," held the first Tuesday of October,
1650, and four men with the constable were
chosen "for ye ordering of ye affaires of ye
Towne." The first order was "It is ordred yt whoso
ever shall take up a lot in Toune shall live upon
it himself and also yt no man shall sei his alot-
ment at any part thereof, unless it be to such as
ye Towne shall approve of and give Consent to
ye sale thereof." If any man refused or neg
lected to come to town meeting he was fined
twelve shillings.
The dead whales cast upon the ocean shore
were matters of great importance, and every
householder was obliged to take his part in se
curing them and cutting them out. They were
also to take turns in looking out for them and
giving notice, and, it cost him five shillings to

neglect this duty. If an Indian found a whale
and reported it he was to have five shillings as
a reward, "and if any Inglishman of ye Town
doe accidentally find a whale & doe bring ye first
tidinge of it he shall have a peece of whale 3
foot broad."
Such were some of the enactments of the first
Town meeting in East Bampton. Next is found a
mutual agreement between this town and South
ampton "for the settling of a firm peace" be
tween them. The men who were chosen to
make this treaty with what was really another
nation were Robert Bond, John Mulford and
Thomas Baker. It principally related to cattle
accidentally trespassing over the town line.
The next court is dated March 7, 1650, which
was really 165 1, as the year began on March 25
in those days. Ralph Dayton was appointed to
go to "Keneticot to procure evidence for our
lands, and an acquittance for the payment of our
money," and also- "for a boddie of law-es."
Wolves at that time were dangerous and nu
merous, and persons were in the practice of set
ting guns for them. It was ordered that they
should set no guns within half a mile of the town,
and "allsoe yt noe man shall trade any bait for
the wolves, within half a myle of the Town, and
likewyse yt noe man shall set any guns but he
shall look to' it while the stars appear, and also to'
take the gun upp by tbe sun risinge." By such
guns, stray cattle were in danger of being killed,
afld if this happened the loss was to be borne by
the town, every man to pay the damage. "accord
ing to his land."
It was ordered "yt there shall be a cart way
over to the east side of the Towne, made in the
hollow between Goodman Osborne's and Good
man Band's lands. This was to be done "be
tween this and the nth of June next." It was
postponed until September 20. That is the first
record of a highway in the town.
On March 19, 1651, appears the following:
"It is ordered that Mr. Stanborough shall have 50
shillings per annum in lieu of Drawing of water
if the water mill doth for the time that hee main-
taineth the mill, but if the watermill doth not,
then this order to be void." The meaning of the

356

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

order, and where the mill was to stand, we con
fess is far beyond our knowledge, but it is the
first mention of a mill in this town.
On November 17, 1651, "The 3 men chosen
for Town officers are ordered to sett out the place
for a meeting- House, and they shall have power
to marrie during the year."
The dignity and authority of these Town of
ficers was fully sustained, and on October 3, 1655,
we find : "It is ordered that William Simons for
his provoking speeches to the 3 men in authoritie,
being a disturbance to them in their proceedings,
that he shall forthwith pay 5 shillings, which is
to be disposed of to make a pair of stocks."
The stocks and whipping post were regular
features in all New England towns at that period.
As an instance of their power to exclude undesir
able people we find in 1650 that "It is ordered
that Goodman Meggs' lot shall not be laid out for
Janes Still or (Till) to go to work on, and that
he shall not stay here." Nor would they allow
freeholders to sell lands to such persons, as in
1657 we find: "It is agreed by a voate of the
Town that the bargain yt Goodman Davis made
with Goodman Birdsall in selling of his lands is
annullified and not to stand."
In 1654 the Town adopted what might be
termed a Constitution. This was a copy of the
Connecticut Combination," to which they made
an addition, (which is quoted elsewhere in this
work) and under this Combination the town con
tinued until it was united with Connecticut,
March 19, 1657, as witness the following:
"It is ordered and by a major voate of the
Inhabitants of the Towne agreede uppon yt
Thomas Baker and John Hand is to go into
Keniticut for to bringe us under their Govern
ment, according unto the terms as Southampton
is, and also to carrie up Goodwife Garlick yt
she may be delivered up to the Authorities there
for the trial of the cause of witchcraft which she
is suspected for."
Under this government the town remained
until the English conquest of New Netherland
entirely changed the order of things. All the
land titles in the city of New Amsterdam and
the western part of Long Island and the Dutch

settlements on the Hudson river rested upon
"Ground Briefs" granted by the various Dutch
governors. On the eastern end of Long Island
a different state of things existed. The town of
Southampton and Shelter Island held their lands
by virtue of titles derived from James Farrett,
the agent of the Earl of Stirling. The Dutch in
habitants lost no time in obtaining from Gover
nor Richard Nicoll, "Patents of Confirmation,"
for their lands and had no further trouble.
Southampton and Southold made several pro
tests, but obtained patents as did the owners of
Shelter Island. The title to East Hampton lands
rested entirely upon the Indian deed, and the
town had really no excuse for recognizing the
authority of the Duke of York and to confirm
their title they obtained a patent from Governor
Nicolls, March 13, 1666. This document was in
terms similar to others executed by him, and
which appear on other pages of this work. The
grant was made to- John Mulford, Thomas Baker,
Thomas Chatfield, Jeremiah Conkling, Stephen
Hedges, Thomas Osborne, Sr., and John Os
borne, as patentees, for themselves and their as
sociates, and the bounds of the grant were as
follows :
"Their west bounds beginning from the East
Limitts of the bounds of Southampton, as they
are now layed out and staked according to
Agreement & Consent. Soe to stretch East to
a certaine Pond commonly called the Fort Pond,
which lyes within the old Bounds of the lands-
belonging to the Montauk Indians, and from
thence to goe on still East to the utmost extent.
of the Island. On the North by one bounded by
the Bay, and on the South by the Sea or maine
ocean." The obtaining of this Patent satisfied the
claims of the Duke of York. The cost of the-
Patent was paid by the inhabitants in proportion
to the lands which they owned.
Upon the death of King Charles II, his
brother James, Duke of York, became King of
England in 1686. In the meantime the town
of East Hampton, like Southampton and
Southold had largely increased their lands,
and even if King James, through his Royal

EAST HAMPTON.

357

Governors, had not insisted that the towns
should take out new patents, it was very
much to their interest to do so. Ac
cordingly, after some protest about their rights,
the following was obtained:
"Thomas Dongan, Captain General, Gover
nor in Chiefe and vice Admirall of the Province
of New York and its Dependencys, under his
majesty, James the Second by the Grace of God,
of England, Scotland, France and Ireland King,
Defender of the Faith, &c."
The patent, which is of great length, recites
the patent of Governor Nicolls, with the de
scription of the lands, lt then goes on to state that
a portion of Montauk yet remains unpurchased
from the Indians, and that Samuel Mulford and
Thomas Janes had made application for liberty to
purchase the same in behalf of the freeholders of
the town, and that all the premises might be con
firmed by a new Patent. Accordingly Thomas
Janes, Captain Josiah Hobart, Captain Thomas
Talmage, Lieutenant John Wheeler, Ensign
Samuel Mulford, John Mulford, Thomas Chat-
field, Sr., Jeremiah Conkling, Stephen Hand,
Robert Dayton, Mr. Thomas Backer, and
Thomas Osborne, freeholders, were incorporated
by the name of the "Trustees of the freeholders
and Co-monalty of the Town of East Hampton,"
with full power to purchase from the Indians
¦"the land called Montack," and if the Indians
should refuse to sell, then the trustees should be
the only persons capable of buying the same.
And here follows the most important part of the
Patent. The trustees were to hold all the lands in
the town in trust. Those parts which had been al
ready taken up and appropriated to particular in
dividuals were to be for them and their heirs and
assigns. And the undivided lands were to be
held for the benefit of those who had been pur
chasers thereof, in proportion to their purchases
as tenants in common. The persons named
above were to be the first Trustees, and
their successors were to be annually elected on
the "First Tuesday in April for ever." Also two
Constables and two assessors. The quit rent was
to be the sum of 40 shillings, to be paid yearly on
the 25th of March. Dated December 9, 1686.

The cost of the Patent must have been con
siderable, for on January 24, 1687, a "rate" of
£200 was to be raised, of which £120 was to be
paid by the proprietors of the Town, and £80
upon the land on Montauk, "to defray the charge
about the Patent." The original parchment
patent is now in the town clerk's office, a ven
erable relic of antiquity.
This body of Town Trustees thereafter man
aged the town affairs down to the time when
the state government was established. Their du
ties were manifold. They fixed the price of
grain and other articles. They repaired the
meeting house' and paid for ringing the bell and
sweeping. They raised the money for the min
ister's salary, decided where the negroes should
sit in church, and ordered the curfew bell to be
rang at 9 o'clock. They attended to the school
house and hired the schoolmaster. They made
arrangements for preventing the beach bank and
sand hills from blowing away, built the town
poor house and raised money for support of
paupers, paid a doctor In a case of emergency,
made laws about cattle on Montauk and on the
commons, put up guide boards on the Sag Har
bor road, made a box in the meeting house gal
lery "for Mr. Dimon to put his Psalm book and
pitch pipe in," leased land for a wharf at Sag
Harbor, agreed that Colonel John P. Decatur
might dig earth on Montauk for the purpose of
making paint, and, mindful of the dead as well
as the living, ordered two biers to be made at
public -expense. They managed the undivided
lands, fully recognizing the rights of the pro
prietors, gave permission to neighborhoods to
fence their burying grounds ; in short, it would
be difficult to tell what they did not do.
From a very careful examination of the
records we derive the following conclusion:
The original settlers of the town paid an equal
proportion of the cost, and consequently owned
an equal share in the premises. Of the original
laying out of the home lots no record remains,
but it seems as if each man had thirteen acres
for a home lot, and an equal share in all the land
that was undivided. From this a "13 acre lot"

358

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

meant a whole share, and was the same as a
£150 lot was in Southampton. If a man sold his
lot, it meant that he disposed of his home lot
and his share in the undivided lands, which was
called his "Right of commonage."
There is no record of the laying out of the
original home lots, which were few in number,
but on May 14, 1651, "It is ordered that every
man shall have a certain quantitie of land join
ing to the rear end of their house lots, every
man to have 4 acres to one £100 estate, accord
ing to the division that every man have in the
plain and house lots, and this land every man
shall have some part of his addition of land to_
join so to his house lot that every man may go
from his house lot upon his other division with
out trespassing upon any other."
At the same time that the first home lots
were laid out, land was also- laid out on the
"Plains." This is the tract of land extending
from the south end of the village to Lily Pond,
and embracing the locality known by the Indian
name of "Apoquogue," the place where flags
grow. In 165 1 "the Plain in the eastern side of
the town" was laid out. This was divided into
four divisions. Land near the village being
more desirable than land more remote, an at
tempt to equalize this was made as follows :
The first division was next the town, and each
proprietor had an acre for each acre of com
monage he possessed. To the lots in the second
division an allowance was made of 10 poles to
each acre. To lots in the third division 20 poles
were added to each, while to the lots in the
fourth division 30 poles were added. The
meadows at Accobonack were also laid out in
165 1, and the three men appointed for that pur
pose were to do so "according to their best light
and discretion."
The first list of proprietors that we find is
in connection with "the charge for the meeting
house" about 1654. This gives the names of the
proprietors and the number of acres of com
monage they possessed.

Thos. Talmage, Sr., 16.
Wm. Hedges, 16.
Tho. Osborn, Sr., 20.
Tho. Osborn, 15.
John Hand, 22.
John Stratton, 18.
Thos. Talmage, Jr., 15.
Robert Bond, 20.
John Mulford, 20.
Tho. Baker, 21.
Tho. Tomson, 20.

Wm. Fithian, 14.
Ri. Brooks, 13.
Wm. Barnes, 13.
Samuel Parsons, 13.
 Daiton, 26.
Chatfield, 21.
Fulke Davis, 18.
Samuel Belknap, 13.
Widow Rose, 13.
Joshua Garlick, 13.

Wm. Simons, 13.
Wm. Edwards, 20.
Benj. Price, 14.

Wm. Hand (?), 16.
Luke Lillie, 14.
Ri. Stratton, 14.

From an entry made July 7, 1652, the town
seems to be divided into- 34 lots, but some of
them were not "taken up" that is allotted to any
person. The meadow at Accobonack and North
west was laid out in that year.
The general divisions were, as said before,
divided into lots. The convenient highways for
giving access were first laid out, and were not
regarded as part of the lots. The common law
principle that highways are an easement and
that the fee of the land belongs to the adjoin
ing owners was not recognized, but all roads
were considered "commons." One or two of
the earlier highways are thus described:
"5-acre division, an highway laid out from
Amagansett to Abraham Conkling's, 4 poles
wide; and an highway 4 poles wide along the
path that goeth to ye brick kilns to ye cleft south
ward of ye Fresh Pond ; and an highway along
the path that goeth from Amagansett to Barnes
his hole, consistenting of 4 poles wide."
At the time of the granting of the Dongan
Patent the greater part of the town was undi
vided land. From time to time various divisions
were made by the trustees among the propri
etors according to their rights in commonage.
So long as there were any undivided lands, the
list of proprietors, with their respective rights,
was very carefully kept. After this, when the
rights in commonage were of little or no value,
the lists were no longer kept, and at the present
time it would be utterly impossible to tell who
the proprietors are. If there were any undi
vided lands the trustees had control. "A right
in commonage" is now nothing but a name.
The first transfer of land in East Hampton

EAST HAMPTON.

359

was on May io, 1650, when Daniel How sold
to Thomas Backer "all his accomodations in
East Hampton, with all what he now possesseth,
and what is or may belong unto him with rela
tion to his lott as his right to his settling there."
The price was "the sum of twenty pounds to be
paid on the 29 day of September next," at which
time the premises were to be delivered free of
all charge. As there is no doubt but that Daniel
How owned as much as any of the others, the
above shows the value of a full share at ,that
time. A religious organization, a minister and a
meeting house were in every New England
town the things to be first considered, and to
this East Hampton was no exception. The first
meeting for religious service was held in the
house of Thomas Baker, and it was voted that
he should "have eighteen pence for every Lord's
Day that the meeting shall be at his house."
On November 17, 165 1, "It is ordered and
agreed upon by us the Inhabitants that there
shall be a meeting house built 20 feet longe, 20
foot broade and 8 foot stoode." Like all build
ings at that time it had a thatched roof, and
William Edwards, William Fithian, Richard
Brookes., William Simons and Samuel Parsons
were appointed "to gett sixe loade of thatch
within fourteen days," under penalty of ten
shillings. The "3 men" were to select the place
for the church, and the thatch was to be fenced
in an enclosure near it. The expense of building-
seems to have been about £13. It was also used
as the place for holding courts. In 1682 the
building seems to have been enlarged and re
paired. John Mulford made an agreement to
"under pin and clapboard up ye Meeting House."
A gallery was built. There are sundry charges
for boards, timber and ground silling and "nayls."
Among other items we find "2 barrels of beefe
lent to buy bords." There was also "24 foot
of glasse for ye meeting House." We are of the
opinion that the original meeting house was
thatched, both roof and sides, and that at this
time it was entirely rebuilt. How it was cared
for thus appears : "Memorand, the Constable

& overseers agree with James Bird to Looke after
the boys at meeting for one whole yeare for
fifteen shillings; he began the 25 day of June,
1682." And the following notice appears in
1688: "This is to certifie all the inhabitants of this
Towne, that the Constable and overseers, taking
Notis of the great disorder that is at the meeting
house upon the Sabbath day, to the great dishonor
of god & reproach to Religion by any persons
staying abroade in time of publick worship and
spending their time in sleaping or talking, Not
being able to profit by ye word preacht. Not
withstanding the care that is taken to provide
Roome in the house; doe therefore signifie that
if such persons who have been guilty bee not
upon this warning Reclavm, we resolve to take
a list of their names, and present them to the next
sessions for Sabbath breaking, as the Law Re
quires us, also we doe desire all Masters of fam
ilies, to take particular care of their owne chil
dren and servants that so there may not bee that
disorder which Now is, by boys & girls, Run
ning out and in, in time of public worship."
Sixteen years later, when tbe population had
much increased, the question arose as to whether
a new meeting house should be built or the old
one repaired. At a vote taken May 23, 1698,
the majority agreed to build a new meeting
house, and Captain Samuel Mulford, Mr. John
Mulford, William Schellinx, Abraham Schellinx
and Richard Shaw were appointed "to take the
full oversight of agreeing for the building and
finishing the said new meeting house, and provid
ing all necessaries for that purpose."
But there will always be opposition, even in
building meeting houses, and, on the same day,
Richard- Stratton and John Hoppin made public
protest against building the new meeting house,
and declared that they "would bee at no charge
so long as the olde meeting house may bee serv
iceable unto that use." The matter was recon
sidered, and on June 2 a majority voted to re
pair the old meeting house. This was done.
"Alicsander ye Joyner" seems to have been the
architect, but we know as little about him as
about "Alexander the coppersmith." On Feb
ruary 1, 1698-99, we find various charges, among

360

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

them to1 Thomas Chatfield for 1,650 nailes, for
14 shillings,. Also " a vane and stake and spikes
for ye meeting house £2 us." -Shingles are
mentioned and so far as we know this is the
first mention. Also- "seder for the windows."
People were called to meeting by beating the
drum, and in 1683 James Diament was paid 2
pounds for this service and £1 ,3s 6d was paid to
Jeremiah Conkling "for sweeping the meeting
house." In 1717 a new church building was erected.
This stood -on the south side of a lot which orig
inally belonged to William Edwards, and now
belongs (or lately belonged) to Samuel G. Mul
ford, and nearly opposite to Clinton Academy.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
It is said that a large part of the timber was
given by the owner of Gardiner's Island. At
the time of its building it is said to have been the
largest and most costly church -edifice on Long
Island. Externally it was 45 by 80 feet, and
originally covered with clapboards, but after
wards with three foot cedar shingles, fastened
with wrought nails. A tower in front was sur

mounted by a steeple and spire with a large cop
per vane, with the figures 1645- 171 7, the
former date denoting the settlement of the town.
It was also furnished with a clock and bell, and
the whole was built in the most massive and sub
stantial manner.
In recognition of substantial assistance, one
of the most eligible pews was devoted to the ex
clusive use of the Gardiner family, and for gen
erations was known as the "Gardiner's Island
pew." The first person baptized in the new
church was Mary, daughter of Cornelius Conk
ling, Jr., May 29, 1718. The church was proba
bly not occupied till very near that time. The
last sermon preached in this venerable edifice
was on September 1, 1861,
and it was destroyed in 1864.
It was then the oldest church
edifice on Long Island except
the old Presbyterian church
in Southampton, built in 1707.
The present church was erect
ed in 1862, at a cost of $13,-
500, and is one of the finest
churches in the county.
The Rev. Thomas James
was the first pastor of this
ancient church. He arrived
in this country June 5, 1632.
His father, Thomas James,
Sr., had been a minister in
Lincolnshire, England. Aft
er coming to America Mr.
James was settled at Charles-
town, Massachusetts, whence
he removed to New Haven.
Tradition states that he was
a very young man when he
came to East Hampton. This
must have been the case, or else he must
have attained an age beyond the ordinary
limit of human life. The first notice of
Mr. James appears April 22, 1651, at which
date an extension of time .was granted him
to make his log fence. This would Indicate
that land had been granted -him previous to this
date. On August 23d it was ordered in a town

EAST HAMPTON.

361

meeting that Mr. James should "have for his
work in the ministry for the ensuing year £45,
and his lands to lie rate free ; and for future time
£50 a year and rate free for the time of his
standing in office in the ministry among them."
In 1659 his salary was raised to £60. From' that
time until age and infirmity had laid their hands
upon him he appears to have been an active, pub
lic spirited man, who had a deep interest in the
affairs of this world as well as of the next. All
the information we have concerning his relations
with his fellow townsmen tends to show that
they were of the most satisfactory nature. Their
confidence in his business capacity is exhibited
by their conferring upon him offices not connect
ed with his sacred calling. Among other evi
dences of his mental power he seems to have
acquired a knowledge of the Indian language,
and a good acquaintance with their customs.
This was often of the greatest value. Mr. James
prepared a catechism in the Indian language
for which he received the thanks of the royal
governor, and his services were extremely valu
able as an interpreter.
The name of the first wife of Mr. James does
not appear, but a contract of marriage was made
between his daughter Hannah and James Dia
ment before August 21, 1677. They were mar
ried and had a son Thomas, previous to Decem
ber 27, 1680. On August 14, 1669, a very busi
ness like contract of marriage was made between
Mr. James and a widow, Katherine Blux, who
was then living in Southampton, and was ap
parently a relative of the Rev. Robert Fordham.
The sequel is thus recorded: "Mr. Thomas
James was maryed -the second day of Septem
ber, 1669." The date of her death is unknown,
but she was living in 1674. An abstract of the
will of Mr. James is here given:
"The last will and Testament of me Thomas
James, Preacher of ye Gospel & minister of
East Hampton, in ye County of Suffolk, upon
ye Isle of Nassau alias Long Island, within ye
Province of New York, as followeth : * * *
To my eldest daghter', Sarah, wife of Pere
grine Stanborough (having already given her
more than any of the rest of my children), * *

* four score pounds, in cash current of this
Province, also an equal part with my other
children of my personal goods, * * * also ve
small part I have in ye ship called ye "Speed
well" (being half a quarter), also ye feather
bed I lye upon & ye green rug with it. To my
second daghter, Alary, wife of John Stratton,
an hundred pounds in cash. * * * To rav
daughter Hannah, wife of James Diament, one
hundred pounds. I, having very lately deliv
ered to my son-in-law Thomas Harris in behalf
of his wife, my 4th daghter, Ruth, one hundred
pounds upon same conditions, doe confirm it ab
solutely to her; I also give her my feather bed
in ye large chamber, with ye furniture to it. *
* ¦¦• I give to my grandchildren Mary Stanbor
ough and Mary Stratton £50 a piece, and a
feather bed and two pairs of sheets, * * * also
to each of them a cow and six sheep, and an iron
pot of ye bigger sort, * * * two pewter plat
ters, a silver spoon. * * * To my daughter
Anne Howell, now wife of Mr. Abraham How
ell of Southampton, £20, provided she bring in
noe after reckoning on account of her first hus
band, my son Nathaniel, deceased. * * * To
my eldest grandson, John Stanborough, £10. To
my two daughters-in-law [step-daughters?]
Mary, wife of Mr. John Mulford, and Elizabeth,
wife of Joseph Osborn, £10. '¦¦ * * I appoint
Peregrine Stanborough, John Stratton and James
Diament executors. As for what debts is owing
to me from this Towne of East Hampton, either
former arrears or for last year, amounting to
above four score pounds, I give to all my grand
children excepting those mentioned in this will.
Only this — tbat if ye Towne freely and readily
will take ye best and speediest way they can for
ye discharge of ye debts afore said, then I give
to ye towne £20 towards ye maintaining of a good
school-master in this towne; otherwise not. *
* * I give to my son-in-law John Stratton what
time I have in my man Charles Jones, ray execu
tors to make good his indenture and allow him
40s. in pay more. * * * To my son-in-law
James Diament my Share in ye horse mill. * *
"Thomas James."
Dated June 5, 1696.
Tradition states that at his own request he
was buried, contrary to the usual custom, with
his head to the east, in order that he might face
his congregation at the Judgment Day. His
tombstone, placed in accordance with his desire,
still stands in the ancient graveyard, and near
the spot where stood the church which was the

362

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

scene of his lifelong labor. It bears the follow
ing inscription :
"Mr. Thomas James Dyed The 16th day of
June in the yeare 1696. He was Minister of
The gospel and Pasture of the church of Christ."
By grants of land from the town and by many
purchases he became an extensive land owner.
On November 20, 1655, he sold all his estate
to John Gardiner for £500, reserving the use of
the same during his life.
In 1691 Mr. James had become aged and in
firm, and a letter was sent by the town to- the
Rev. John Davenport inviting him to be his as
sistant at a salary of £60. His reply indicated
an intention of visiting them "next spring." An
other letter was sent December 17, 1691, repeat
ing the invitation, which does not seem to- have
been accepted. On June 4, 1694, an agreement
was made with the Rev. William Jones, Mr.
James agreeing to give £40 of his own salary,
and the town added £20 more and his firewood.
On August 21, 1695, the same was renewed.
On May 14, 1696, it was voted that the town
trustees "should improve the most convenient
opportunity for the obtaining of a suitable man
to carry on the work of the ministry."
The Rev. Nathaniel Huntting, the second
pastor, was a son of Elder John Buntting of
Dedham, Massachusetts, where his father, John
Buntting, was pastor of the church. Be was
born November 15, 1675, graduated at Barvard
in 1693, came to1 East Bampton as, early as
1696, and was ordained the 13th of September,
1699. His salary was fixed at £60 a year, and
he had in addition, to this a house and the use of
the parsonage land. He married Mary Green,
of Boston, in 1701, and had six children — Na
thaniel, Edward, Samuel, Jonathan, Mary and
John. The descendants of these children are
numerous and widely scattered. Samuel, . the
third son, settled in Southampton in 1739, and
his descendants still remain in that town. Na
thaniel, the eldest son, married Mary Hedges
September 11, 1728, and had children, Nathaniel,
Joseph, William and Mary. From the son Will

iam are descended David H. Buntting, the pres
ent representative of the family in East Bamp
ton, and also the families of that name in South-
old. When we consider that this was one of the
Puritan towns of the strictest class it seems
strange to read the written record that at the
time of Mr. Buntting's settlement the church
numbered only six male members and twenty-
two females. The lack of religious enthusiasm
was greatly deplored by the faithful pastor. In
his record of deaths he mentions in 1752 the de
cease of six persons in less than six days, and
adds, "Never did East Bampton see the like!"
Oh, that for holiness too yt there never was
the like !" After a pastorate of fifty years he
was called to his eternal rest on the 21st of
September, 1753, in the 78th year of his age.
Bis funeral sermon was preached by the Rev.
Sylvanus White, of Southampton, and his virtues
and learning received a well merited eulogium.
Many of Mr. Buntting's sermons are still
in existence, but a more lasting monument is a
carefully kept record of marriages and deaths,
begun in 1696 and continued till the end of his
ministry. In it much incidental knowledge is
conveyed concerning the habits of the people
and the nature of the most common diseases
which carried his parshioners to the tomb.
Bis venerated remains were laid to rest in
the same enclosure consecrated by the tomb of
his sainted predecessor, and his modest monu
ment bears the inscription.
"In memory of the Revnd Mr. Nathaniel
Huntting, who died Septmr ye 21 1753, in ye
78th year of his age."
Previous to Mr. Huntting's death several per
sons had been employed as his assistants, and
among them Rev. James Davenport, whose er
ratic views and half insane enthusiasm produced
the "New Light movement;" through his agency
the same "root of bitterness" was introduced
into this church to mar the harmony so long
existing. After some trouble all differences were
happily arranged by the settlement of
The Rev. Samuel Buel, D. D., whose in-

EAST HAMPTON.

363

fluence was so deep and lasting, was born at
Coventry, Connecticut, September i, 1716, grad
uated at Yale in 1741, and settled as pastor here
September 19, 1746. He remained, alike during
the calm of peace and the storms and anxieties
of the Revolution, the same faithful, laborious
preacher and patriotic citizen. As with his pre
decessor James, there was something about him
that brought him near to the popular heart;
and the man who could reconcile the feuds of
religious schism, and without sacrificing in the
slightest degree his political convictions could
ingratiate himself with his country's enemies,
and yet retain to the fullest extent the love and
confidence of his people, must have possessed in
no small measure the heaven-born gift, the art
of pleasing. It is probable that, unlike Mr.
James, he was not a man -of business, and his
neglect to continue the register so carefully kept
by Mr. Huntting, which he admits was a "faulty
omission," and the irregular manner in which
his part was performed would indicate a person
of unmethodical habits. Mr. Buel was married
in May, 1745, to Jerusha, daughter of Rev. Jo
seph Meacham, of Coventry. He had several
children, most of whom died at an early age.
The loss of his only son, Samuei, was especially
mourned, as he was a young man who seemed
likely to inherit the talents of his father. A
daughter Jerusha married David Gardiner,
grandfather of Hon. Samuel Buel Gardiner, the
present owner of Gardiner's Island. His second
wife was Mary, daughter of Elisha Mulford.
Rev. Nathaniel Prime in his "History of Long
Island" speaks with refreshing coolness of Dr.
Bud's "weakness" in marrying a youthful wife
in his old age. The circumstances of his court
ship (if such it could be called) are exceedingly
characteristic of the Doctor and the place. The
story goes that Mary, daughter of Jeremiah
Miller was a blooming belle of 17 and had a
most ardent admirer in the person of a young
man named Conkling. The young lady did, not
reciprocate v his affection, and the young man
went to Dr. Buel and requested his good offices
to assist him in winning the heart of the ob
durate beauty. The Doctor consented, and tak

ing a favorable opportunity "labored" with the
young lady, but found her unwilling to consent
to the proposed union. "Well," said the Doctor,
who evidently did not think it well for men or
women either to live alone, "If you don't marry
him you ought to marry somebody. Will you
marry me?" Whether the young lady was
moved by sudden love for the good minister, or
(as is more likely) was dazzled by his high social
position, we do not know. But she assented, and
the man of 70 led his blooming bride to the
altar. Strange to say young Conkling did not
seem to appreciate Dr. Buel and his excellencies
as much as he did before. Mrs. Mary Buel's
tombstone records her death December 27, 1844,
aged 79. Dr. Buel's youngest daughter, Mary,
married Rev. Aaron Woolworth, of Bridge-
hampton. A tomb, crowned with a heavy slab of stone,
bears the following epitaph :
"Reader, behold this tomb with reverence and
respect. Here he the remains of that eminent
Servant of Christ, the Reverend Samuel Buel,
D. D., 53 years pastor of the Church in this place.
He was a faithful and successful minister of the
Gospel, a kind relation, a true friend, a good
patriot, an honest man and an exemplary Chris
tian. Was born September ist, 1716, died in
peace July 19, 1798, aged 82 years."
It will be seen that the pastorates of these
three men embraced a period of 154 years.
The mantle of Samuel Buel fell upon a man
whose fame is not bounded by the limits of his
native land, tbe Rev. Lyman Beecher. He was
ordained here September 5, 1799. To give any
extended account of Dr. Beecher would be super
fluous, for his life and ministry are a part of
the history of our country. The writer once
asked an old man who had attended his meet
ings, "How did Lyman Beecher preach ?" "Bow
did Lyman Beecher preach ?" was the reply, "I'll
tell you how ; he would get up in the pulpit and
make a prayer, and read the Psalm and a chap
ter in the Bible, just like other ministers. Then
he would take his text and shut up the book and
lean over the pulpit, and the way that man would
talk zvas a caution." Probably this was the great

364

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

secret of Dr. Beecher's power — instead of read
ing a sermon at his people he talked to them.
Dr. Beecher was dismissed at his own request
in 1810. The Rev. Ebenezer Phillips was a son of
Philetus Phillips, of Greenville, New York, and
a descendant of Rev. George Phillips, second
minister of Setauket. He was ordained here
May 5, 181 1.- Failing health compelled his resig
nation March 16, 1830, and he removed to Car-
mel, New York, where he died in 184 — .
The Rev. Joseph D. Condit was settled here
September 1, 1830. Be was dismissed April 22,
1835, and removed to Massachusetts.
The Rev. Sam'uel R. Ely, after preaching as
a stated supply, was ordained in 1835. Bis
labors, which were highly satisfactory, were ter
minated on account of failing health and his fare
well sermon was preached October 25, 1846.
Be resided for some time at Roslyn, Long Isl
and, but has since died.
The Rev. Alexander B. Bullions was or
dained and installed November 5, 1846. Mr.
Bullions had just graduated from the seminary,
where he had earned the reputation of a close
student and one of fine literary attainments.
Be was a man of modest and unobtrusive man
ners. The loss of his wife and child weighed
heavily upon his mind, for he had deep sensi
bilities, and this is usually considered the cause
of his resignation, June 26, 1848.
The Rev. Samuel Buntting, the ninth pastor,
was the son of Deacon Edward Buntting, of
Southampton, and inherited all the virtues of
his ancestors. The epitaph on his tombstone,
which stands near that of his illustrious pro
genitor, tells the sad story of his too brief ca
reer: "Samuel Huntting, born at Southampton, L.
I., Nov. 11 1822; Installed pastor of the Presby
terian church in this place Oct. 31 1848; died
September 10 1849, aged 26 years 10 mos."
Mr. Huntting was married in 1848 to Miss
Emma Balsey, daughter of Daniel Balsey, of
Southampton. He left one son, Samuel, who
died in early manhood.
Mr. Huntting was succeeded by Rev. Enoch

C. Wines, a man of various and large experience
and of high literary ability. Be was installed in
February, 1850. Bis pastorate was terminated
in December, 1853, by bis acceptance of a call
from the synod of Wheeling to a professorship
in Washington College, Pennsylvania. Bis sub
sequent long and useful service as a reformer
of prison discipline has marked him a wise, dis
criminating and efficient philanthropist in a work
where a Howard had illustrated in his own ca
reer some of the noblest features of a regenerated
humanity. Rev. Stephen L. Mershon was a graduate of
Princeton, and was installed here in April, 1854.
Bis twelve years in this pastorate were dis
tinguished by zeal crowned with success. Dur
ing this time the parsonage was greatly enlarged
and improved, a new and commodious session
house erected, and a new church, of ample di
mensions and elegant appointments, built and
consecrated to the service of God. Be resigned
in 1866 and removed to New Jersey.
Rev. John D. Stokes, a later pastor, was a native
of Ohio. He was installed in May, 1867, and
enjoyed fourteen years of useful labor among a
united people.
About the year 1854 a stage coach stopped
one evening at one of the many boarding houses
in the village and a stranger alighted. For
nearly twenty years that he remained John Wal
lace was in most respects one of the. best known
of the village residents, yet his life has always
been wrapped in the profoundest mystery. He
used his abundant means unsparingly in all cases
that called for judicious benevolence. It was
found that he came from Scotland, and friendly
interest and vulgar curiosity alike failed to learn
more of his early -history. The theory of crime
committed in the past, and flight to a distant land
for safety, plausible as it might seem, could not
be applied to one whose life was a constant prac
tice of benevolence and virtue ; and if some act
of youthful folly had rendered him a wanderer
it was more than atoned for in the long course of
a holy life. He died in 1870, and the secret of
his life was buried in his grave.

EAST HAMPTON.

365

It was to this gentleman that the Episcopal
church in the village owed its origin. The first
service for the Church of England was held in
Clinton Academy, on Whit-Sunday, 1854. The
services were conducted by the Rev. Charles
Gardiner, and the congregation numbered four
teen, all communicants. Mr. Wallace paid a
nominal salary and the clergyman made his home
with Dr. Abel Huntington. The same year Mr.
Gardiner left for a more remunerative field, and
his place was filled by Rev. Gurdon Bunting
ton, the salary still being defrayed by Mr. Wal
lace. In the spring Sag Barbor and East Bamp
ton joined forces, the clergyman residing at Sag
Barbor and holding service half a day in this
village, Mr. Wallace paying half the salary and
the clergyman taking the offertory, which, ow
ing to the liberality of summer visitors, was quite
large. The subject of building a church was dis
cussed in 1858; Dr. Wagstaff headed the sub
scription paper with $1,000, Mr. Wallace con
tributed $600, and the gentlemen and ladies
making this village their summer resting place
gave to the cause with great liberality. A site
was procured in the winter of the same year and
a contract made with Captain George Band for
the erection of a building. A deed of trust for
the subscribers was taken by Dr. Wagstaff, who
generously provided a bell and the sacramental
service ; and the church was consecrated in July,
1859, V Bishop Potter.
The connection with the church of Sag Bar
bor was kept up a number of years, Mr. Wallace
acting as lay reader by authority of the bishop.
Since the death of Mr. Wallace the church is
only open from June to October. It has been
for many years under the charge of Rev. Charles
Gardiner, and is supported by the voluntary offer
ings of summer visitors. The title is now vested
in a board of trustees. The church is kept in
the nicest order by the care of a few who find
their reward in the consciousness of doing good.
A memorial window preserves the memory of
Mr. Wallace and the two young ladies who were
lost in the steamer "Ville de Bavre."
The old North District school house at the

Book, about seventy-five years old, was sold in
1895 to the congregation of the Methodist Epis
copal church and has been raised slightly, re
modeled and is used for church services. It is
sixty feet long. The first school house was
built on the site one hundred and fifty years ago.
The original building was erected upon town
land, and the property was deeded by the town
to the school trustees in 1875. About the same
time the old-fashioned desks arranged around the
four sides of the room, at which the pupils sat
in rows facing the wall, were changed for those
of a newer pattern, at which the pupils were
seated by twos. The belfry and school house
bell were added fifteen years ago. Before that
the children were summoned by a hand bell.
More than half of the inhabitants of East Hamp
ton received their education at the old Hook
school. Thirty-five years ago, before tbe session
house was built, the regular meetings of the
Presbyterian church were held in the old school
house, as well as in the old town house, where
Dr. De Witt C. Talmage preached his first ser
mon. Famous old Clinton Academy owed its found
ing to the Rev. Samuel Buel. At a meeting at
which steps were taken to- incorporate the insti
tution, the presiding officer was William Floyd,
a signer of. the Declaration of Independence. At
a meeting of the proprietors of the institution,
held December 28, 1784, the following regula
tions and terms "were considered and deter
mined as the laws of East Bampton Academy :"
"Whereas we have founded this academy, at
a great expense, for the purpose of promoting
necessary and useful education, by the instruc
tion of children and youths, from whatever
places they may be sent to the seminary, as well"
for the benefit of society at large as for that of
the children and youths of East Bampton and
vicinity in particular, we have approved and de
termined on the following terms and regulations,
to be adopted and strictly adhered to as temporary
laws of this academy: That this academy be
immediately and continually hereafter supplied
with masters or tutors sufficient and thoroughly
qualified for the number of pupils which may
apply for instruction here, and for the branches

366

HISTORY* OF LONG ISLAND.

of education which are required to be taught.
That the said masters and tutors be governed by
the laws of the academy so far as relates to the
interests of the proprietors and promoting the
general design. The English school to be opened
at 8 o'clock and I o'clock. The following terms
were agreed upon : For each scholar who at
tends for reading only, from 8 to n and from
I to 3, 3 shillings a month ; for each scholar who
attends for reading, writing and arithmetic, 4
shillings a month ; for each reader only who tar
ries from 10 to 11 and from 3 to 4, 'I shilling a
month. 'And whereas much needless damage may oc
cur to the house from the mischievous or careless
management of the unruly, it is hereby provided
that every scholar who shall break a square of
glass shall immediately repair the same or pay
the ordinary price of two squares ; any scholar
who shall mark, scratch or deface the walls,
ceiling or furniture, a penalty of 1 shilling more

sible the indelicacy of that corporal punishment
which often becomes necessary, where better
means of government are not used, it is hereby
recommended to the master that for every other
trespass than those aforementioned — viz. for con
tempt of authority or breach of order — the pen
alty of a fine be exacted in proportion to the
nature of such offense from every scholar so
offending not under the age of 10 years. The
fines to be applied to procuring presents for faith
ful scholars." Jabez Peck was master for the classic school,
and William Payne for the English and writing
school. Of the former and his history we know
nothing, but to the latter a peculiar interest at
taches from the fact that he was the father of the
far-famed John Howard Payne. The academy
filled a highly useful mission for very many
vears, but finally succumbed in face of more mod-

CLINTON ACADEMY.

or less, according to damage ; for breaking a
desk or seat, to repair or pay double.
"And whereas the utility and advantage of
a school depends greatly on the good discipline
preserved therein, and to prevent as much as pos-

ern institutions of learning. Men who held high
positions graduated from this institution, and
whoever looks upon the time worn building and
its antique appliances for study should remember

EAST HAMPTON.

367

that at a time when learning was more difficult
to obtain and consequently more highly valued
than at present, it had more influence in molding
the character of Suffolk county than any institu
tion of its kind. All honor to its memory.
The first school master in this town was
Charles Barnes. He was the son of William
Barnes, Esq., of Eastwinch, in the county of Nor
folk, England, and he was probably the brother
of Joshua and William Barnes, of Southampton.
The original Barnes homestead in that place is
now the property of William S. Pelletreau.
William and Charles Barnes came to East
Hampton with the first settlers. Charles Barnes
married Mary, daughter of John and Alice Hand.
He died before November 23, 1663.
On December 24, 1669, Philip Alcock is men
tioned as "Scoole master in East Hampton," and
was doubtless the successor of Charles Barnes',
and he was here in 1672. In April, 1674, the
town employed Jonas Houldsworth as school
master. He was a veteran teadher and taught in
Southampton and other towns in the county. He
was to have £33 for teaching one year. Be
was to be paid one-half "in beefe or oyle at two
pounds a barrel," and the other half in oyle, porke,
hides or Tallow or whalebone at the price they
commonly goe." Be was to have twelve days
in the year for his own use. On August 10,
1675, an agreement was made "that Mr. John
Laughton shall kepe Scoole and teach the chil
dren to reade and write for this, one yeare and
to begin the next second day, being the six
teenth of this instant, and soe to kepe until the
last of December next and then to breake off by
reson of the whale design until the first of April
next, and then to beginn againe to kepe scoole,
to make up the time of one whole yeare, for
which service the Town have agreede to give
unto Mr. Laughton the full some of fortie shill
ings a month and his Dyet." This shows that
the 16th of August, 1675, was Monday. Mr.
Laughton was schoolmaster in Southampton for
several years and many deeds and wills written
by him are in existence. Bis name was pro
nounced "Layton."
On March 24, 1679, it was voted "That where

as there is different apprehensions conserning
the way of raising pay for a scoole master to
teach children to write & reade, which is soe
needful," it was agreed to leave it to' the de
termination of the governor and the high court
of Assizes "which way is ye most just & equal-
e.st to be carried on." The first actual mention
of a schoolhouse is on May 4, 1682, when there
is a charge for "makeing and putting up ye
scoolhouse windo." Also "bords for ye scool-
house' and "a small pane of glass for ye scool
house," which shows that schoolhouse windows
were quite as easily broken then as in more re
cent times. In 1682 the schoolmaster was "Mr.
Peter Benson." Be had "29 scollars at 16 shill
ings each" and "11 halfe Scollers as pr agree
ment at 8 shillings per peece." Bis whole pay
seems to have been £34 6. 7. On August 9,
1683, an agreement was made with "Mr. Peter
Benson to teach scoole the Next yeare, to begin
the 2 day of October next." Bis wages were
to be £35 in provision, and part was paid by the
parents of the children and the rest by the town.
On September 29, 1684, it was voted that he
should teach "halfe a yeere more" at the same
rate. Mr. Benson was a land owner here in
1686. It would be interesting to know where
the ancient schoolhouse stood, but we have no
knowledge. On the west side of the street, near the middle
of the village, there was standing until the pres
ent year a small dingy-looking building called,
apparently in derision, the "Town Ball." When
it was built we have been unable to learn, but
it is very likely that it was the "Town house"
built in 1701. (See Vol. II, Records, p. 495.)
Strange to say, in so enlightened a town as East
Hampton, this little shanty was for long years
the village schoolhouse in spite of its utter un
fitness for the purpose. All who are acquainted
with the characteristics of the people on the east
end of Long Island know full well the difficulty
of inducing a neighborhood to build a new school
house, and this building would doubtless have
been used for long years to come had not the
supervisor, Jehiel K. Parsons, had the manhood
— which few indeed of his brother officials pos-

368

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

sessed — to risk re-election to office by uniting
with the school commissioner in condemning this
unsuitable building. The result was a commo
tion which has not been exceeded since the trial
of "Goody Garlick" for witchcraft. But after
the -excitement had ceased and common sense
resumed its sway, the good people built, in 1876,
the present school house, which is an ornament
and a credit to the ancient town. The anti
quated "Town Hall" was removed' in 1892 to the
north end of the village in "the Hook," and is
still standing near the north end cemetery.
In May, 1893, the school districts in the vil
lage were united as a union school, which has a
high reputation for efficiency.
In 1887 the town records, of East Hampton
were printed. The work of transcribing was
performed by Joseph S. Osborn, Esq., the town
clerk, and will be a lasting monument to his
skill and patience. A flood of light is thrown
upon our early history which no other source
could supply.
In the early days of the town skilled mechan
ics were greatly needed and liberal induce
ments were offered to induce -them to join the
settlement. Blacksmiths, especially, were in
great demand. Robert Bond was undoubtedly
the first one and was among the original owners.
In 1668 Edward Avery, "a smith," was offered
three acres of land for a home lot and ten acres
elsewhere and to be admitted as an inhabitant,
on condition that he remain three years. On
May 1.1, 1671, the town made an agreement with
Thomas Smith, "blacksmith," to work here for
six years, "God giveing him health and life,"
and he was to work at "such reasonable terms
as other men of his calling doe elsewhere upon
the Mayne land." Be was to have the same lot
that was offered to Edward Avery "that was
formerly John Osborns," and other land. Be
remained till May, 1673. Previous to this, on
February 12, 1668, Thomas, Skidmore, of Bunt
ington, engaged to come and stay six years, and
to have the same lot, but he- did not stay long.
The lot that was offered to each of these men
was the north side of the lot that was afterward-

purchased for a parsonage lot and now Samuel
G. Mulford's. The next wasi Samuel Terrill,
who came here in 1675. Be had the privilege
of building a house and shop in the street, and
tbe use of it as long as he remained. Be after
ward went to Brookhaven. Thomas Terrill, who
was here many years later, may have been his
son. Be went in 1694 to Elizabeth-town. In
1685 John Pinney was offered the privilege "to
sett himself up a shop and house, by ye other
smiths shop, and to have that little piece of land
that the old pound did formerly stand on, as far
as to the school house." Be afterward went to
Southampton. Thomas Terrill sold his lot, and
probably the shop, to Robert Hud-son, black
smith, May 3, 1694. It was one-eighth of an
acre, and was part of the home lot of Samuel
Brooks, and was bounded east by the street, north
by Joshua Garlick, and south and west by Sam
uel Brooks. In 1697 Henry Buck, Jr., of Weth-
ersfield, had the privilege of building a shop in
the street and carrying on his trade.
James Loper had land granted in 1673 on
condition of carrying on his trade as a cord-
wainer, or shoe maker. He soon got "beyond
his last," and was extensively engaged in whal
ing and other business. Jeremy Meecham came
here from Southold in 1653, the town giving
him inducements to work at his trade as a
weaver. For many years after the settlement' of the
town, the extensive peninsula of Montauk
remained in the possession of its aboriginal
owners, though it seems that at a very early date
the "Townsmen" cast covetous eyes upon it and
resolved to purchase it at the first opportunity.
The following documents fully explain the vari
ous purchases in chronological order :
"This Writing- testfieth an agreement between
Wyandance of Meantauket, Chief Sachem, of
Long Island, and Thomas James, minister of
East Hampton, and Lyon Gardiner, John Mul
ford, Robert Bond, Thomas Baker, John Hand
and the rest of their associates the purchasers and
proprietors of the Towne of Easthampton, as fol-
loweth. That upon consideration that the In
habitants of Easthampton doe sett up and main-

EAST FIAMPTON.

369

tain a good sufficient fence from the south side of
this town, to the head of the harbor called uie
Three mile harbor, that is to say from sea to sea,
for the keeping off of horses from going east
ward in the summer, during the Indian corne is
upon the ground, the aforesaid Sachem doeth
firmly bind himself to left and dispose of to the
Inhabitants of Easthampton, all the hearbidge
that is the' grass and feed for cattle, upon his
land, how in possession eastward of Napeahe to
the end of the Island. And if the fence doeth not
prove sufficient to turne the horses, and soe pre
vent damage, the Englishmen shall pay 40 shill
ings a year in good pay for ever. And the
Sachem shall not sell the land to anyone but the
Town of Easthampton. Dated April 10, 1655.
"Witnesses "Wiandance (X),
"Jeremiah Vale, "Sasakako (X),
"John Wooly." "Paquatorone (X)."
This Indenture, made the first day of August,
in the year of our Lord One Thousand Six hun
dred and Sixtie, between the Old Sachem Squa,
late wife of Wiandance, Deceased, and her son
Wiancombone, Pogantone, Chekanow, Massa-
quet, Powhe and Gentleman, the true and lawful
proprietors of the neck of Landl Commonly
known by the name of Meantauquet on the East
ern end of Long Island, the one partie, and Mr.
Thomas Baker, Mr. Robert Bond, Mr. Thomas
James. Mr. Lion Gardiner, Mr. John Mulford,
John Hand andBenjamin Price, of the Plantation
of Easthampton, on the Island aforesaid, the
other partie, Witnesseth, that the abovenamed
Sachem Squa, together with her Son Wiancom
bone, Pogatone, Chekanow, Massaqut, Powhe
and gentleman, together with their associates, do
by these presents, fully Confirm, hold good, and
firmly maintain and avouch the former contract
or bargain, made between the aforesaid Wian
dance and his associates, the one partie, and the
Inhabitants of the aforesaid Easthampton, the
other partie, and do by tliese presents acknowl
edge to have fully and firmly sold, Aliened, en
feoffed and confirmed, and allso do- by these
presents, fullv, firmly, and absolutely give, grant,
aliene, enfeoff, Sell and Confirm, unto the afore
said Thomas Baker, Robert Bond, Thomas
James, Lion Gardiner, John Mulford, John Band,
and Benjamin Price, together with their associ
ates, all the aforesaid neck of land1, called Mean-
quit, with all and Every part and parcel thereof,
from sea to sea, from the utmost end of the Isl
and, Eastward 'to the sea side,' unto the Other
End of the said Land, westward adjoining to the
bounds of East Bampton aforesaid, with all and
24

Singular its rights, privileges, members, Juris
dictions, immunities and appurtenances whatso
ever, with Meadow, Wood, Stone, Cricks, ponds
with whatsoever doth, or may grow upon or issue
from the same, with all profits and Commodities
by Sea or Land unto the aforesaid Inhabitants of
East-Hampton, their heirs and assigns forever,
to have and to hold, and from time to time for
ever peaceably to enjoy the same, without Dis
turbance or Molestation from the aforesaid pro
prietors or their Associates, or any of their heirs
or Assigns, or any other by their means, Consent
or procurement, for the Consideration of One
Hundred Pounds Sterling, to be well and truly
paid in manner as follow eth, viz : that the afore
said Thomas Baker, Robert Bond, Thomas
James, Lion Gardiner, John Mulford, John Hand,
and Benjamin Price and their Associates, the In
habitants of Easthampton do well and truly and
duely pay unto the aforenamed Indians their
heirs or assigns, the full and Just Sum of ten
pounds Sterling every Year, either in Indian
Corn, or else in good Wampumpeague, at five a
penny, until the end of ten Years be Expired,
and afterwards to be wholy and fully freed from
any further or future demand or demands for
ever; and furthermore, we the aforesaid owners
and proprietors of the aforesaid Land, for the
full Confirmation of all and Every of the prem
ises, Do acknowledge to have given peaceable
and quiet, possession of the Land aforesaid, to
the aforesaid purchasers, and in token hereof,
have d.iged up a piece of said land and delivered
it as our act and Deed, into the hands of the
inhabitants of Easthampton;' and also do ac
knowledge to have Received the full Sum of ten
bushels of Indian Corn, in part of payment of
the first ten pounds ; and in Witness of all and
every of the Premises, we have Each Partie set
too our hands and seals, the day and year first
above written.
The Corn to be paid at 4s. a bushel.
Signed by the marke under seal, of wian
combone, sachem squa, and others, Parties of
the first part.
Sealed and Delivered- in Presence of us
RICHARD SHAW.
The mark of john.
Be it known unto all men by these presents,
that I, the Sunk Squaw of Meantuck, wife of Wi-
andanch, of late years Deceased partie, Sachem
of Long Island, together with Pokkatonn Chief
Counsellor, and the rest of our trusty Counsellors
and associates, send greeting. Know ye, that
Whereas there was a full and firm Indenture

870

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

made between Mr. Thomas Baker, Mr. Robert
Bond, Mr. Thomas James, Mr. Lion Gardiner,
Mr. John Mulford, John Hand, Benjamin Price
Together with their associates the Inhabitants of
Easthampton upon Long Island, with the full
Consent of my Counsellors and Servants, as- also
of my two Guardians, left by my deceased
Father, viz : Mr. Lion Gardiner of Easthamp
ton, and Mr. David Gardiner, of ye Isle of wight,
ye other partie, in ye yeere of or Lord One
Thousand Six Hundred Sixtie, upon ye sixt day
of August, whereby we did fully and firmly sell
unto the said parties, our neck of land called
Montaukut, from sea to sea, from ye utmost end
of that neck Eastward Called wompenanit, to
our utmost bounds westward, Called Napeake,
with all priviledges and appurtenances belonging
to the same, upon Condition there and then speci
fied in that foresaid Indenture, and a Counter-
bond, bearing ye same Date, signed and sealed
to us by ye aforesaid parties, Inhabitants of East-
Hampton, by virtue of which we had free libertie
granted if wee see cause to s't down again upon
ye said Land, this being the full purpose of us
the _ Sunk Squa, of Winkombone, Sachem, to
gether with our associates in Convenient time to
sit down to live at ye said Montaukut; know yee
allsoe, that whereas of late years, there hawing
beene sore Distress and Calamities befallen us by-
reason of ye Cruel opposition and Violence of or
most Deadly Enemies Ninnicraft, Sachem of
Narhigganset, whose Cruelty hath proceeded so
far as to take away ye lives of many of or Deare
friends and relations, soe that we were forced to
flie from ye said Montouqu't for shelter to our
beloved friends and' neighbors of Easthampton,
whom wee found to be friendly in our distress,
and whom wee must ever owne and acknowl
edge as instruments under God, for ye preserva
tion of or lives and ye lives of or Wives and
Children to this Day, and of that Land of Mon-
takut frome ye hands of or Enemies, and since
or Coming amongst them ye relieving of
us in or Extremities from time to time ; and
now at last we find ye said Inhabitants of East
hampton, our Deliverers, Cordial and faithful
in their former Covenants, leaving us freely to
or own libertie to go or stay, being ready to
perform all conditions of ye aforesaid agree
ment. After serious debate and deliberation,
in Consideration of that love which we have and
doe bear, unto these our trustie and beloved
friends of Easthampton, upon our owne free and
Voluntarie motion, have given and granted, and
by these presents do give and grant and Con
firme unto these our friends, ye Inhabitants of

Easthampton, Excepting such as have Exempted
themselves from ye former agreement ; and shall
from this our grant, all that piece or neck of
Land belonging to M-cntakut Land, westward
to a fresh pond in a beach on, this side, West
ward to that place where the old Indian ffort
stoode on ye other side, Eastward to ye new fort
that is yet standing; the name of ye pond being
Quanuntowunk on ye North .and konkhonganik
on ye south, together with all privileges and ap
purtenances belonging to the aforesaid land from
south to north, To have and to hold ye same at
free Commonage, to be ordered and disposed of
for the benefit of ye aforesaid Inhabitants of
East-Hampton, themselves, their heirs, adminis
trators, Executors and assigns forever ; to pos
sess the same freely and quietly, without any
matter of Challenge clayme or demand of us, ye
said Sunk Squa and Wionkombone Sachem, or
our associates, or of any other person or persons
whatsoever, for us or in our name, or for our
cause, means or procurement. And without any
money or other things therefor to be yielded,
paid or done only for ye said Land, to us or our
heires forever, and shall Justifie the possession
of this aforesaid Land, by these said Inhabitants
of Easthampton, against any shall Questin their
propertie in the same. Know ye allso, yt this
is not only the Deed of mee, ye Sunk Squa, and
Wionkombone Sachem, but allso the act and
Deed of all our associates and subjects, many-
fested their consent freely by a Voate, not one
contradicting the same, as allsoe with ye consent
of Mr. Lion Gardiner, and Mr. David Gardiner,
Whome the Deceased Father left as Overseers
and -Guardians of the aforesaid Wiankombone
Sachem ; know yee allso vt for ye securing of ye
Easterne part of Montauket Land, which ye In
dians are to live upon, yt the Inhabitants of ye
foresaid Easthampton shall from time to time,
kep up a sufficient fence upon ye North side of
ye foresaid pond, and the Indians are to secure
ye south side of ye foresaid pond, from all Cat
tle, Dureing ye time their corn is upon the
ground. * * *
This deed is dated February n, 1661, and the
tract is called the "Hither woods."
"The following agreements were made and
concluded upon before the Right Honorable the
Governor at New York the 4th day of October,
1665, between the Inhabitants of the Towne of
East-Hampton, and the Sunk Squaw of Mon-
taukett, daughter of ye Sachem Wyandance de
ceased.

EAST HAMPTON.

371

"ist. The east bounds of Easthampton to the
east shall be to ye Fort Pond, and the north fence
from the Pond to ye Sea shall be kept by the
Town. And the south fence to ye Sea to be kept
by the Indians, sufficient against tresspass by
cattle. "2nd. All the rest, to the east end of the Isl
and shall belong to ye Montaukett Sunck Squaw,
daughter of the Sachem Wyandanch, deceased,
and her heirs and the Indians belonging thereto.
"3d. The said Sunck Squaw, and her In
dians engage that they will not sell, let or alien
ate any of said lands to any other person except
such as belong to the Town of Easthampton.
"4th. The Sunck Squaw and her Indians
agree that the Town of Easthampton, shall have
liberty to pasture cattle and cut grass on said land
but they are not to pasture cattle till the Indian
corn is gathered, and the cattle are to be driven
off, when the Indians give notice that they are
about to plant their corn.
"5th. If the cattle do any damage to the corn
'by default of the Town fence,' the Town shall
give satisfaction, and if the Indians' dogs do any
damage to cattle, the Indians are to- pay damage.
"The Town agrees to pay yearly 40 shillings
for the said privileges. "Richard Nicolls."
"This Agreement following agreed and con
cluded December 1, 1670. Be it knowne to all
men bv these presents, that I Poniute, Sachem
of Montauket alias Monsup, Pehchowan, Manh-
sianan, Mahtempait, Obadiah, or Checkanoo. In
the name, and with the consent of Pauhquatowne,
counselled Missaquate Askemmaige, Weisson
Anusin, and the rest of our Associates the true
and lawful Proprietors of a parcell of land called
Montauket, beyond a certain pond called the Fort
pond, eastward. Whereas Mr. John Mulford
Mr. Thomas James, minister, and Jeremiah Conk
ling, Inhabitants of East-Hampton, were bound
in a' bond -of a hundred pounds to the Commis
sioners of the Right Honorable Frances Lovelace,
Governor, in our behalf, wee having bound out
and mortgged all our lands for their security in
case - of our non-payment of a certain sum of
monev (viz) 400 bushels of Indian corne, wee
having forfeited our lands to ye fore mentioned
persons, At and upon the Advice of ye worship-
full William Wells of Southold one of ye fore
said Commissioners, that wee should come to a
speedy Composition with our sayd friends, We
above named, after serious consideration and de
bate have agreed and concluded, and by these
presents doe deliver and enfeof a certain parcell

of land to ye aforesaid John Mulford, Thomas
James and Jeremiah Conkling, as it is thus limited
and bounded.
"ist. Muekebeksuck, a place by the Fort
pond, being a valley southwest from the Fort hill
to the beach.
"2d. Shahchippitchuge, being on the north
side of said land, midway betwen the Great pond
and Fort pond, so on a straight line to Chebiok-
innauhsuk, from thence to- a swamp, where the
hedge stakes stood called Machowgitchuge, and
so through the swampe to the Great Pond, then
straight from the hay stacks to the Great Pond,
so along by the great pond to a place called
Mamenkquiauge, being on the furtherest side, the
.reeds growing on the south- end of the Great Pond
eastward and so along to the Sea side, southward
to a place called Coppauhshapaugansuk, so
straight from thence to 'the South sea. Together
with all privileges etc."
The above is interesting from the Indian
names of localities which are' given. We should
state here that "Monsup" was not an alias for
Montawkut, but for the Sachem called "Poni
ute." The above is signed by all the sachems.
The witnesses were Benjamin Conkling and
Phillip All-cock. The grantees assigned and
made over all their -claim to the above land to the
Town of East Hampton, February 8, 1671.
This Agreement made between Samuel Par
sons, John Hopping and Enoch Fithian, Select
men of the Town of East-Hampton, for their as
sociates the Inhabitants of the Town and the true
Proprietors of ye land belonging either to the
Town of Easthampton, so far as Napeak east
ward, or at Meantauket eastward of Napeak, of
the one Party, and Aquoas, Sachem of Mentau-
het, and Sasakatahe Sachem, together with the
advice and consent of Managubongon alias Gen
tleman, chief Counsellor Wasowan, Tyumpon,
Dick, i'nchan, Chekano and Pawapetown, Augua-
niat, and Ned, Obadiah, and Konkomany, to
gether with the rest of the Indians belonging to
Montauket. The other party as followeth. Where
as there hath several agreements made by the
predecessors ancestors of the aforesaid Sachem,
with the English, the true and lawful purchasers
of the lands they now possess, And those said
agreements have been confirmed by the Governor
at New York, October, 1665.
The agreement then made confirms the pre
vious agreement tbat the Indians should not sell

372

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

any land east of the Fort Pond to any persons
except the town of East Hampton. They also
confirm to the town all the grass, winter and
summer, between the Fort Pond and the Great
Pond, and east of that after the Indian corn is
gathered, and the town agrees to pay four pounds
yearly to the Indians. It is also agreed that a
fence shall be built from the south end of the
Great Pond "to a Sea bank at ye South Sea as
the English and the Indians have already agreed."
The Indians to secure the north end.
By deed December i, 1670, the Sunk Squaw
and several sachems convey to the inhabitants of
East Hampton certain lands at Montauk "called
by us Wuchebehsuck, a place by the Fort Pond,
being , a valley southward from the Fort
Bill to Shahchippitchage, being on ye north side
of the said land, midway between the great pond
and Fort pond, so on a straight line to Chebia-
kinnawhsuk, from thence to a swamp where the
hay stacks stood, called Mahchongitchuge, and
so through the swamp to the great pond, then
straight from the bay stacks to the great pond,
so along by the pond to a place called Manunk-
quiang, on furthest side the reeds growing on
the south end of the great pond eastward, and
so along to the sea side to a place called Chop-
pawhshapangawsuck, so straight from thence to
the South sea." This is called the "Nine Score
acre Purchase."
On July 25, 1687, the sachems sell "All our
tract of land at Meantaket, bounded by part of
the fort pond and fort pond bay, west, the Eng
lish land south, by a line run from the fort pond
to the great pond, and so from the south end of
the great pond over to the south sea, and so
to the utmost extent of the island from sea to
sea." Thjs is called the "North Neck," the "In
dian Field" and the "Point Field." This deed
gives the names of the original proprietors of
Montauk for whom the trustees made the pur
chase, who were as follows :
"John Wheeler, Samuel Mulford, Thomas
Osborn, Stephen Fland, Stephen Bedges, Samuel
Parsons and John Mulford, trustees of the free
holders and comonalty of East Bampton, and
Benjamin Osborn, for the use of themselves and

these proprietors, namely John Band's widow,
John Stretton, Thomas Talmadge, Thomas Os
born, John Mulford, Samuel Mulford, Thomas.
Baker, Thomas Mulford, widow Elizabeth Bak
er's 2 allotments, Samuel Fithian, Samuel Brooks,
Joshua Garlick, Richard Shaw, Jacob Schellen-
ger, John Miller sen., Nathaniel Bishop's lot,
William Barnes, Samuel Parsons, the lot which
was Birds-all's, John Edwards, William Edwards,
Lieutenant John Wheeler, Captain Josiah Bobart,,
Robert Dayton, Thomasi Chatfield, Jeremiah
Conkling, Mr. Thomas James, that lot which was
George Miller's, that lot which was Jeremiah
Meacham's, Stephen Fledges, Benjamin Osborn.
that which was Thomas Osborn's lot, John Bop-
pin, Thomas Diment's lot, Stepfien Band, John
Osborn." In March, 1703, a final deed was taken from
the Indians', confirming the deed of July 25, 1687.
The purchasers of these several tracts occupied
and enjoyed the same, not as public property be
longing to the town, but as tenants in common
according to their respective shares. Some owned
more in one purchase than in another, and some-
owned in one purchase and owned nothing in
another. But in 1748 all these interests were-
consolidated and made to extend equally to the-
whole of Montauk, and as a sort of basis for the
new shares the value of a share in the first pur
chase was estimated at £8, in the second at
£8, and in the third at £24, and a share through
out the whole was estimated at £40.
It had always been a subject of dispute
whether under the Indian deeds' Montauk did
not belong to the town of East Bampton and
not to the proprietors. This question was final
ly settled in 1851, when a judgment was duly
entered in an action between Benry P. Bedges
and the rest of the proprietors, plaintiffs, and the-
town trustees', defendants. In this it was decided
that the proprietors were the true owners,' ac
cording- to their shares as tenants in common.
From a document recorded in the office of the
Secretary of State it appears that Thomas Long-
worth, of Southold, came over to East Bampton
and sent a man to Meantauket for the Sachem
and two or three more of the Indians. Long-
worth told them he had a warrant from the Gov
ernor for them to go and meet him at Jamaica.

EAST HAMPTON.

373

with some of their Indians, upon this the Sachem
returned to Meantauket "and caused the Indians
to meet together to consult." And they concluded
that the two Sachems and, several of the Indians
"should go and hear what his Lordship had to
„ say." Whereupon they, "as in duty bound, set
forward in ye journey with a small present to
acknowledge our obedience to his Excellency."
The result was that the Sachems were induced
to give a bill of sale to Thomas Bridges and Rip
Van Dam, of New York, "for the east end of
Meantauket." A protest was signed by twenty-
five Indians, stating that they never gave any
power to the Sachems to make any such sale,
""and we will have no part of the money." This
is dated Nov. 12, 1702, and is thus verified:
Wee Wyandance and Sasakatoke, Sachems,
Do own what is above written as to Thomas
Longworth,And we find that it was false, and only
a trap to ensnare us. And whereas we have signed
a Bill of Sale to Thomas Bridges and Rip Van
Dam for the east end of Meantaukett, we declare
yt wee were drawn into it, and signed what we
knew not, nor are we able to make a good title,
it being long since sold to our neighbors of East-
Hampton, And we request the same to be can
celled." Nov. 2, 1702.
And the following :
"Whereas wee W'yandance, and Sasachatock,
Indian Sachems and Proprietors of a certain tract
of land lying upon a certain neck of land com-
monlv known by the name of Meantauket, did
sell unto the Trustees of East-Hampton A cer
tain tract of land on said neck as by our deeds
Julv 25, 1687, may appear, And upon a differ
ence between us and the Town of East-Hampton
concerning the improvement of some of the said
tract of land, as by a lease we had liberty to do,
some people have reported that our deed was but
a pretended one. We by these presents do ac
knowledge that our deed to the Proprietors of
East-Bampton for a tract which is bounded by
part of the Fort Pond, and the Fort Pond bay
west, and the English land, and by a line running
from said Fort Pond to the Great Pond, and from
the south end of the Great Pond over to the south
¦sea, and so to the utmost extent of the Island
from sea to sea, The main ocean on the south,
and the bay or Sound on the north. To be real,
good and lawful, etc. March 13, 1702-3. This
is signed bv Wvandance and many other Indians.
"Witness : ' John Shaw,
William Rose."

Tn 1703 and 1754 agreements were made
with the Indians to the effect that they should
have the power to fence in and use as a field
cither a portion of land west of tbe Great Pond,
known as North Neck, or land east of the Great
Pond, known as Indian Field ; not to use both at
once, but to have the right to change from one
to the other at their pleasure. The cattle of the
proprietors are permitted to pasture on the In
dian land from October till April, except some
small fields not exceeding 30 acres. The Mon
tauks were also to have the right to keep 250
swine, and horses and cattle not exceeding fifty
in all. They have no right to take in cattle or
horses to pasture, nor can they sell or dispose of
grass or hay, nor can they hire out land for
planting. For the last 170 years they have confined
themselves to the Indian field east of the pond;
so long as they lived in wigwams it was their
custom to live in the open plain in the summer,
and in the winter move to the shelter of the
woods. It was also a part of the agreement that
in case any native squaw should marry "any
strange Indian or foreigner" she should forfeit
all her right; and any "Mustee, Mulatto or
stranger or foreign- Indian" who might go there
should be considered a trespasser and put off the
land. The result is what might have been ex
pected ; the Montauk tribe has dwindled down to
five or six individuals, but the blood that runs
in their veins is pure. The tribe has always had
a nominal "king," the last being Stephen Pha
raoh, who died in 1880. Be was a perfect spec
imen of the Indian — tall, with straight black hair
and the true copper colored complexion and
aboriginal features.
In 1875 the owners of Montauk were 241
persons. The entire tract was sold under a parti
tion suit to Arthur Benson, of Brooklyn, Octo
ber 22, 1879, for the sum of $151,000.
The exact time of the settlement at Amagan
sett is uncertain, but land was allotted at a very
early date. The first deed for land is dated 1683,
when the Rev. Thomas James sells to Abraham
Schellenger "52 acres in the woods eastward of
ye town, bounded east by Jeremiah Conkling,

374

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

west by Thomas James, south by the highway that
goes to Napeage, north by the highway called
Amagansett way."
The earliest settlers were families named
Baker, Conkling and Mulford. The oldest tomb
stone in the burying ground is to the memory of
David Baker, who died November 23, 1729, aged
28. The ancestor of the Baker family in this
place was Nathaniel Baker, whose tombstone
bears the following inscription : "Here lies the
body of Nathaniel Baker, the son of Mr. Thom
as Baker, who dyed February 27, and in the
84th year of his' age 1738-9." Another epitaph
here reads : "Here lies the body of Alice Baker,
formerly wife of Thomas Baker, who died Feb
ruary 4, 1708, in the 88 year of her age." Thom
as Baker, her husband, was one of the earliest
settlers in East Hampton, where he died in 1700,
and his widow was living with her son at -the
time of her decease.
The first of the Mulford family who lived
here was Samuel, who died July 10, 1743, aged
65. Be was a son of Captain Samuel Mulford,
and grandson of John, the first settler. Be had
a brother Elias who was living here at the same
time, and died Noyember 2, 1760, aged 75.
Lewis Conkling was a son of Annanias Conk
ling, who was among the earliest settlers in East
Hampton. He settled in Amagansett in 1697.
His tombstone has the following inscription :
"In Memory of Lewis Conkling, who died Oct.
ye 2, 1746 in ye 74 year of his age." His wife
Mary died November 15, 1752, aged 76. He left
sons, Isaac and Linnaeus. The latter named had
sons Isaac and Benjamin, the last of whom was
father of Judge Alfred Conkling, of Utica,
and grandfather of the late Senator Roscoe
Conkling. Families of Edward Schellenger. and Barnes,
with others, settled here at an early date, and be
tween farming and whaling the place was pros
perous. Until the year i860 the people of Am
agansett attended church in East Hampton, but
the increasing population and the remoteness of
the village rendered a church almost a necessity.
This enterprise was carried into effect, with full
concurrence of the parent church, by the build-

ins- of a new church which was dedicated No-
vember 15, i860. The first pastor was the Rev.
A. A. Haines, of Hamburg, New Jersey, a de
scendant of the family that emigrated from
Southampton to East Jersey in 1690. He acted
as stated supply until August 5, 1862, when he ,
became the chaplain of the Fifteenth Regiment
of New Jersey Volunteers. For one year the
pulpit was occupied by the Rev. Edward S.
Beard, of Andover, Massachusetts. The Rev.
William H. Dean was employed October 18,
1863, and was settled here April 4, 1864, and was
installed May 3d of the same year. Bis pastor
ate ended in September, 1866, when he became
pastor of a Congregational church at Bridge-
water, Connecticut. He afterward went to Cal
ifornia as a missionary, and died there in 1879.
The next pastor was the Rev. Charles M. Oakley,
of Melville, Suffolk county, who commenced his
labors here in February, 1867, and continued un
til September 7, 1879, when his failing health
compelled him to resign. The Rev. James B.
Finch, D. D., the present pastor, was born in
Southampton, Massachusetts, and was educated
at Amherst College and at the University of the
City of New York, and completed a course of
study at Union Theological Seminary in 1863,
and was ordained the same year. His first
charge was as stated supply of the Congrega
tional church at Orient, Long Island, 1863-65. Be
was stated supply of the Congregational church,
Nebraska City, Nebraska, 1865-7. He was pas
tor of the First Presbyterian church in Hemp
stead, Long Island, 1867-75. Later, he was
stated supply at Orient, Greenpoint and Middle
Island. He began his labors in Amagansett in
1879, ancl nas since labored here with great ac
ceptability.. Dr. Finch is also the author of many
learned and valuable works, and is especially no
ted for his knowledge of the Latin language.
A Methodist Episcopal church, at that time
the only one in the town, was built in 1850, but
owing to the smallness of the society had no set
tled pastor. In 1901 it became defunct, and the
building was sold by order of court and the- pro
ceeds paid to the Methodist Episcopal church in
East Hampton village.

EAST BAMPTON.

375-

The antiquated schoolhouse in this village
was superseded by a new and beautiful school
building erected in 1880.
The town trustees are the custodians of a
fund left by William I. Rysam, of Sag Barbor,
more than seventy years ago, to be applied
toward lessening the school bills of poor chil
dren. It is now used to furnish school books.
The first settler at Wainscott was John Os
born, who in 1670 obtained a tract of land
bounded south by the ocean and east by Wain
scott pond. Be was allowed certain privileges
at the mill, owing to his remoteness from the
town. The first settlers here were also families
of Hopping and Osborn. The proximity of this
place to the ocean and ponds makes it very de
sirable for summer residences.
Gardiner's Island was the first purchase made
under the commission granted by the Earle of
Stirling to James Farrett, and the grant reads
as follows :
"Know all whom this present Writing may
concern, tbat I, James Farrett of Long Island,
Gent. Deputy to the Right Hon'ble the Earll
of Starling Secretary for the Kingdom of Scot
land, doe by these presents, in the name and
behalf of the said Earle of Starling and in my
own name also, as his Deputy, as it doth or may-
concern mvself, Give & Grant free leave and lib
erty to Lion Gardiner his heirs, executors and
assigns to enjoy that Island which he hath now
in possession called by the Indians Manch-onack,
by the English the Isle of Wight ; I say to enjoy
both now & for ever, which Island hath been
purchased, before my coming, from the ancient
Inhabitants, the Indians; Nevertheless though
the said Lion Gardiner had his possession first
from the Indians before my coming, yet is he
now contented to hold the tenor & title of the
possession of tbe aforesaid Island from the
Earll of Starling or his successors whomsoever,
who hath a Grant from the King of England,
under the Great Seal of the aforesaid Kingdom.
Bee it known, therefore, that I, the said James
Farret doe give & hath given free liberty &
power to the said Lion Gardiner, his Heirs,
Exe'rs and Assigns a/id their Sucesors for
ever to enjoy the possession of the aforesaid Isl
and, to build & plant thereon as best liketh them,
-and to dispose thereof as they think fitt, and also
to make, execute & put in practice such laws for

Church and Civil Government as are according,
to God, the Kings and the practise of the Coun-.
try, without giving any account thereof to any
whomsoever and the aforesaid Right & Title,
both of land and Government to remayne with,
and to them and their successors for ever, with
out any trouble or molestation from the said
Earll or any of his successors, for now & for
ever. And as much as it hath pleased Our Royal'
King to give the Patten of Long Island to the
aforesaid Earle of Starling in consideration -
whereof it is agreed upon that the trade with'
the Indians shall remayne with the said Earle
and his successors, to dispose upon from time
to time and at all times as best liketh him. Not
withstanding [allowing] the said Lion Gardiner
to trade with the Indyans for Come or any
Kinde of victuals for the use of the Plantation
and no farther; and if the said Lion Gardiner
shall trade in Wampum from the Indyans hee
shall pay for every fadome twenty shillings and
also the said Lion Gardiner and his successors
shall pay to the said Earle or his depuytes a(
yearly acknowledgment being the sum of Five
Pounds, (being lawfully demanded) of lawfull
money of England, or such commoditys as at
that time shall pass for money in the country-;
and the first payment to begin on the last of'
Oct. 1643, the three former years being ad
vanced for the use of the said James Farrett.
In witness whereof the party has put his hands
and seal the tenth day of March 1639. [o. s.]
(Signed) James Farrett (seal.)
Sealed and delivered in the presence of ffulk.
Davis and Benjn Price.
Governor Winthrop records that "on No
vember 28, 1635, there arrived a small Norsey
barque of 25 tons sent by the Lords Say and
Brooke with one Gardiner, an expert engineer,
and work base and provisions of all sorts to
begin a fort at the mouth -of Connec'ticutt River."
The Indian name of the island, which has for
more than two centuries borne the name of Gar
diner, was Mashongonock, and is said to mean a
place where many persons had died. This isl
and Gardiner purchased from the Indians,
as shown by the following deed :
"Knowe all men by these presents that we
Yovawan, Sachem of Pommanoce, and Aswaw
Sachem his wife, for ten coats of trading cloath
to us before the making hereof payd, and de
livered bv Lion Gardiner, commander of the forte

376.

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

called Saybrpok fort, alias Pashpeshauks, at the
mouth of the River of Kennecticot, doe hereby
for us and our heires & succesors grant, bargaine
& sell unto the said Lion Gardiner, all that our
Island called Mancbonat, with- the appurtenances,
and all our right title and demand of, in & to the
same, to have and to hold the said Island with the
appurtenances unto the said Lion Gardiner his
heires & asignes forever. . In Witnesse whereof
we have hereto sett our hands & seales the third
day of the month called by the English May, in
the yeare by them of their Lord, written, one
thousand six hundred thirty and nyne; 1639.
To further secure his title Lion Gardiner ob
tained a deed from James Farrett, the agent of
the' Earl of Stirling, bearing date March 10,
1639-40, giving him full title to the island "which
he hath now in possession called by the Indians
Manchonack, by the English the Isle of Wight,
* - * which Island hath been purchased before
my coming from the ancient inhabitants the In
dians." The consideration was to be five
pounds yearly, if demanded, and he was not to.
trade with the Indians, except for provisions.
This deed was signed by James Farrett in the
presence of Fulk Davis, and Benjamin Price.
Lion Gardiner, the American ancestor of the
now numerous family bearing his name, was a
native of England, a military engineer by profes
sion. He crossed the Atlantic in 1635, arriving
at Boston November 28 in that year, and was
employed by a land company to lay out a tract
of land at the mouth of the Connecticut River,
of which the town of Saybrook, so named by him,
is still a pleasant reminder. He remained in the
service of the company some four years, and, it
is said, at first intended to return to England
when his employment end'ed. Still his family
was with him, he saw many brilliant opportuni
ties awaiting him in the new land, and he seemed
to possess from the beginning the happy art of
winning and retaining the good graces of the
Indians, so that he probably changed his mind
about returning to the old land as soon as he
saw enough of the country to become aware of
its possibilities. It is here to be said that the island which he
acquired has remained in tbe hands ofthe Gardi

ner family until the present day, and it gives us
"the only illustration of the practical working
of the law of primogeniture in this country cov
ering so long a period."
Lion Gardiner told the story of his coming
to America in an entry made in his family Bible,
a facsimile of which appears on the page op
posite this. Tbe word "deurcant," as found in
the entry, has been a cause of much conjecture
as to its meaning, but the researches of Hon.
Frederick D. Thompson go to show that it is
really a family name.
Lion Gardiner lived at Gardiner's Island with
none but the Indians for his neighbors, until about
1653, at which time he removed to East Hamp
ton, leaving his son David in possession, who
remained here until 1657, when he went to Eng
land, where he remained for some years.
Lion Gardiner presumably took up his abode
at East Hampton with the view of the enjoy
ment of more frequent social intercourse with
his fellows than he could command on his little
island kingdom, on which, in 1641, one of his
daughters, Elizabeth, was born. In his new home
he seems to have lived the simple life of a cul
tured country gentleman, and was held in the
highest esteem by the people. He filled th« office
of magistrate, and in all respects was regarded
as the representative citizen of that section of
the island, wielding an influence that was equally
potent among the Indians as among those of his
own race. A recumbent statue placed beside his
grave in 1886 is testimony that his memory is
still cherished.
He died in 1663, aged about sixty-four years,
and his will, written August 13, 1658, was en
tered in the town clerk's office in Southampton.
In it he. leaves all his real estate to his wife, "to
dispose of it before her death as God shall put
it into her mind." The executors named
were the Rev. Thomas James, John Mulford
and Robert Bond. An inventory of his es
tate was presented to the court at Southamp
ton April 12, 1664; and, notwithstanding what
he says about parting with a large part of his
estate, he was considered a very wealthy man.
Bis estate in East Hampton was inventoried

,-',

i

C

?xrc>l
Qn zZ- _ *~ ,.,»* m t?
c/fivcrx
"o a-n yfipA<n.)' oj? ^in$ orvnr ruAuA jf ' $wdA cr/iM 'rt
fa 6
?i& frf
S^r 'A
>&%-r.
i-h ,
)OPY OF THE STATEMENT MADE BY LYOH GARDIHER IH THE OLD GARDIHER BIBLE.
EAST HAMPTON.

377

at £256, and his property on the island at
-£511. The island itself was put at £700. There
were three houses on the island, and one Will
iam Simons was his steward and farmer.
Mary Gardiner, widow of Lion Gardiner,
made her will April 19, 1664, with a codicil Jan
uary 16, 1664-5. It was proved June 6, 1665.
Ths was the second will recorded in the New
York surrogate's office, and a part of the original
document is on file among the original wills. By

her will she left the island to her son David and
to his heir male with legacies to her other chil
dren — Mary, wife of Jeremiah Conkling, and
Elizabeth, wife of Arthur Howell. "
David Gardiner was educated in England,
where he married Mary Lerningman, of West
minster. He died in Hartford July 10, 1689, and
the inscription on his tombstone in the old burial
ground in that place states that he was "well,
sick, dead in one hour's space." He had four
children — John, David, Lion and Elizabeth.

John Gardiner, the third proprietor, was born
April 19, 1 661. It was in his time (in the sum
mer of 1699) 'that the famous Captain Kidd
made a very unwelcome visit to the island. As
John Lyon Gardiner describes it, "he took what
fresh provisions he wanted ; Bradish came in the
night and cut the old gentleman's hands in the
dark with their cutlasses ; destroyed feather beds ;
scattered the paper money about the house;
stayed several days and lived well; tied the old
gentleman up to the mulberry tree,
which is now standing at the north
house; Kidd left money, etc., with
him. It was hid in a swampy
place at Cherry Harbor. He
showed Mr. John where he put it,
and told him if he never called for
it he might have it, but if he called
for it and it was gone, zvould take
his or his son's head." After Kidd
was arrested, commissioners came
to the island and the valuables
were delivered up. Mr. Gardiner
died June 25, 1738, and left sons
David, Samuel, John, Joseph and
Jonathan. David, the fourth proprietor,
was born January 3, 1691, and was
the last owner who could speak' the
Montauk language. He had four
sons — John, Abraham, Samuel and
David. The second son, Abraham,
was a very prominent citizen in
East Bampton during the Revolu
tion, and was known as Colonel
Gardiner. He died in 1782.
John, the fifth proprietor, was born June 7,
1714. Fiis first wife, Elizabeth Mulford, died
October 21, 1754. He afterward married De
borah (Lothrop) Avery, widow of the Rev.
Ephraim Avery. She survived her husband and
became the second wife of General Israel Put
nam. John Gardiner died May 19, 1764, and
was buried on the island. He left sons David,
John and Septimus. John settled at Eaton's
Neck, in Huntington.
David, the sixth proprietor, was born in 1738,

378

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and was educated at Yale. He married Jerusha,
daughter of the Rev. Samuel Buel. His life was
cut short by an untimely death at the age of thir
ty-six years. He left sons John Lyon and
David. John Lyon, the seventh proprietor, left a
monument to his name in the form of a very
Carefully prepared sketch of local history,
abounding in curious information, and which will
always be an authority on the subject. His
"Notes and Observations on the Town of East
Hampton," printed in the "Documentary Bis-
tory of the State of New York," is a paper of
great value. To him we are indebted for much
that is known of the language of the Montauk In
dians ; and it is greatly to be regretted that a
very brief vocabulary is all that he took pains to
record. Be died November 22, 1816, in the for
ty-seventh year of his age. Bis eldest son, Da
vid Johnson, inherited the island. Be died at
the early age of twenty-six, December 18, 1829,
without children. The island then passed into
the hands of his -brother, John Griswold Gardi
ner, who died in June, 1,861, at the age of fifty
years Samuel Buel Gardiner, a brother of John
Griswold Gardiner, became the tenth proprietor.
Be is referred to at length elsewhere in this
work. In 1893 the railroad system was extended
through the township to Fort Pond Bay, and
with that event may be said to commence its rise
as a summer resort, or rather, a township of sum
mer resorts, for that seems to be its inevitable
destiny, all hope of making an international port
at Fort Pond having been seemingly abandoned,
at least until the new schemes introduced by the
Long Island Railroad looking to close connec
tion with the entire railroad system of the coun
try approach fruition, and the road has almost
reached Montauk Point itself, and it does not
need much of a prophetic power to say that with
in a quarter of a century this will rank among
the favorite resorts along the Atlantic coast, and
that it will be one gorgeous parterre — for three
months in each vear at least.

The village of East Bampton presents curi
ous contrasts of present and past. In the near
vicinity the old windmills with their wide extend
ed arms look as if they belonged to another clime
and carry the spectator's mind at once back to
the "days of old," and the memorial tomb of Lion
Gardiner, with its knightly figure in full armor,
fits into its quaint surroundings — a mediaeval
monument in a village which until a few years
ago scarcely realized what modern progress
meant. The relics of the past seem to be more
carefully conserved than in most American
towns. The ancient informal name has been re
vived in the Maidstone Club, whose splendid
building was destroyed by fire in igoi.and was re
built at a cost of $50,000; the old building of
Clinton Academy still greets tlie visitor, and he
can render homage to genius at one of its verita
ble shrines — the home in which John Boward
Payne,- the author of ' "Bome Sweet Home,"
spent his earliest years, and the memories of
which may have unconsciously framed the
thoughts and inspired the words of what has be
come one of the "world's songs." The grand old
trees which line the . main street were planted,
some of them, a half century ago, and succeeded
others which marked out the line of the road-
nvay in the early settlement. -But if the village is
thus redolent of the past, it also affords all the
advantages which mark the effort of a cultured
people of the present -day, and the devotees of
literature and art have provided for the com
munity that which is at once beautiful and en
nobling. There is splendid bathing on the beach,
but sea-bathing is not the main attraction of East
Hampton at present. The ancient and royal
game of golf claims first honors, and nowhere
in America are to be found better grounds for
the practice of that magnificent sport than from
Wainscott to Pond Bay. The region roundabout
is ideal in situation, and the most beautiful of
modern residences adorn the landscape. A hand
some example in seen in the summer home of
A{r. Charles G. Thompson. His property fronts:
on Ocean avenue and extends to Book Pond,
which is a beautiful lake, only separated from
old ocean by the sand dunes which have been

SUMMER RESIDEHCE OF CHARLES G. THOMPSOH, EAST HAHPTOH.

EAST HAMPTON.

379

thrown up by its own tempestuous beatings to
serve as a barrier against itself. The residence
stands upon a commanding site, affording an
expansive view of the bay and ocean, and the
grounds surrounding it are handsomely set in
ornamental trees and shrubbery and beds of
flowers. Wainscott is a small village, some four miles
from East Hampton, which was first settled
about 1670, and is the home of a farming and
fishing population. It is little known except to
golfers and anglers, and its pond, famous for its
pickerel, is one of the most beautiful bits of in
land water on the island. In 1880 it had a pop
ulation of 100; at present it claims 170, so that
its modern progress is not very rapid. Neither
is Amagansett progressing very rapidly, for in
1880 its figures were 548, and the latest compu
tation only added two to that total, while Gardi
ner's Island, which in 1880 had a population of
40, has now only 25. Northwest, which had once
high commercial hopes and in 1880 a population
of 78, now has only 60, although if it could only
be again discovered it would show wonderful
advantages for the development of a summer

resort. But the township in many places shows
substantial increases. The Springs, which in
1880 had 339, now rejoice in 529, while East
Bampton village in 1880 had 807, in 1890, 1,014,
and now has 1,600.
Then there are several new communities
which have been started within the -past few
years, which promise to become places of import
ance within a decade, while Montauk Point,
thanks mainly to the importance it acquired in
the Spanish- American war, when it was the
camping ground of 30,000 volunteer soldiers,
now claims a residential population of 200. Bad
the census been taken when Camp Wickoff oc
cupied the Point it would have swelled the fig
ure for the district and the township considera
bly. But the splendid advantages of the section
for healthfuiness and sport became the theme in
the camp days of national interest and discus
sion, and it would not be surprising ere many
years pass to see the Montauk region inhabited
by a population far surpassing in extent the num
bers which made Camp Wickoff so busy for sev
eral memorable months.

CHAPTER XV.

RIVERHEAD.

HE modern annals of Riverhead town
ship, the county town of Suffolk, be
gan with 1792, when it was formed out
of Southold. It is fifteen miles in
length, with an average width of 5 miles,
and contains something like 36,500 acres. Its
north shore runs along the Sound, while its south
shore is on Peconic Bay, and the Peconic river
separates it from Southampton and Brookhaven.
Farming is exclusively carried on, but in no part
is the land noted for its fertility, and even to the
present day large sections of the township can
hardly be said to be under cultivation. Yet
within recent years a vast improvement has been
effected, and, bit by bit, acres which have been
given over for a century or more to wildbrush
and weeds have been recovered and are yielding
abundant return in the shape of grain or garden
truck. Many thriving communities have sprung
up, and Riverhead from being, as the Rev. Dr.
Dwight described it in 1804, "a miserable ham
let," is now one of the most prosperous and beau
tiful and progressive towns on Long Island, with
a population estimated at about 2,500.
But Riverhead had an interesting story long
before it took its place as a political division of
Suffolk county. 'Some of the most interesting
aboriginal remains on all Long Island were
found in the vicinity of Aquebogue, as late as
1879. As related by Mr. R. M. Bayles, the vil
lage annalist, Nathan A. Downs, in the year men

tioned, found by the frequent appearance of In
dian arrows and some specimens of rude pot
tery that he was on the site of an ancient Indian
village. Investigation discovered curiosities that
attracted the attention of archaeologists and the
public far and near. The ground lay upon the
bank of Meeting House creek, on the south side
of the Country road and about one-eighth of a
mile from it. This creek runs into Peconic Bay,
about one and a half miles distant from this
point, and its name is suggested by the fact of its
head being near the meeting-house or "steeple
church." It is supposed that this creek at some
time during the remote centuries of the past was
the lower section of a river whose source was
away to the north, among the hills which range
along the sound. In plowing in this vicinity
dark spots were observed in the ground and
were at first supposed to have been temporary
fire places or ovens that had been filled with
ashes, shells, refuse and soil; but on closer
examination it was discovered that they con
tained human bones, and that the oyster
shells had been placed where they were while
the oyster was intact. A refuse heap some
fifty yards long contained hundreds of loads
of shells, chips of flint, bones and broken im
plements, and must have been many years ac
cumulating. Near the shore of the now extinct
river the graves of Indian dead were made. The
geological changes that have taken place since

RIVERHEAD.

381

these graves were made suggest that possibly
thousands of years may have passed since that
time. The greater portion of the territory of
Riverhead township was purchased from the
Indians by inhabitants of Southold; and the
first purchase, known as the Aquebogue Pur
chase, was made in 1649. in 1665 (December 7)
a confirmatory deed was procured from the In
dians, and this contains the first definite (yet
not altogether exact or satisfactory) boundaries,
and these were substantially the same as con
tained by Governor Andros' patent, executed in
1676. According to the second Indian deed
mentioned the boundaries were "the River called
in the English toung the Weading (Wading)
Kreek, in the Indian toung Pauquaconsuk, oil
the West * * * * * and with a River or
arme of the sea weh runneth up between South
ampton Land and the aforesaid tract of land unto
a certain Kreek which fresh water runneth into
on ye South, called in English the Red Kreek,
in Indian Toyonge ; together with the said Kreek
and meadows belonging thereto, and running
on a straight line from the bead of the afore
named fresh water to the head of ye Small
brook that runneth into the Kreek called Pau
quaconsuk; as also all neck of lands," etc. The
line from the head of Toyonge to the head of
Pauquaconsuk was afterward interpreted as the
line from the head of what is now known as
Red Creek, in Southampton, to the head of
Wading River Creek, and this line, running in
a northwesterly and southeasterly direction
across what is now the southwest part of the
town of Riverhead, afterward became the north
eastern boundary of Colonel Smith's "St.
George's manor," and is still known in real estate
descriptions as the "manor line."
The land grants are related in principal part
in connection with those of the town of South-
old. In 1742 that portion of the township lying
southwest of the manor line was divided among
William Nicoll, Robert Hempstead, Joseph
Wickham, Daniel Wells and Elijah Hutchinson.
Among purchasers were Caleb Horton, David
Corey, Thomas Reeve, Richard Terry, Samuel

Conklin, John Salmon, William Benjamin, Da
vid Horton, James Horton, James Reeve,
Elijah Hutchinson, John Goldsmith, Solomon
Wells, John Tuthill, John Conklin, Jonathan
Horton, David Parshall, Israel Parshall, Joshua
Tuthill, Zebulon Hallock, Joseph Wickham,
Nathaniel Youngs, Joshua Wells, William Al
bertson and Noah Hallock.
The controversy between Southold and
Southampton, concerning the ownership of cer
tain lands and meadows at Red Creek, in South
ampton, is related in the history of Riverhead,
and the following Indian deed shows how the
claim of Southold first originated. Very few of
the original documents which time has spared
equal this deed in interest. The name Ucquebaak
(which is the earliest form of the word, which
in the record appears in various forms as Oc-
cabauk, Accobock, Accobog , Agaboke, Aqua-
bauk, and now stereotyped in the form of Aque
bogue) was originally applied to lands on both
sides of Peconic river, and means "land at the
head of the bay," or "the cove place." It is now
the name of a village very far removed from the
place which the Indians called by that name. In
Southampton, the "Accabog Division" included
the lands from Red creek to Riverhead. This
deed is of special interest at the present time, as
upon it and the patent based thereupon is the
foundation of the claim of Southold to a large
portion of Peconic Bay. The deed and docu
ments following are recorded in the office of the-
Secretary of State :
These present witness that Oocombooma-
quus, and the wife of Mahakannuck the true In-
dyan owners of Ocquebouck, for and in con
sideration of three coats, two fathoms of Wam
pum, four hatchets, four knives, and four To-
baco Pipes, into their hands at the ensealing
thereof. Have granted bargained and sold unto
Mr. Theophilus Eaton Governor of New Haven
Jurisdiction, and to Mr. Stephen Goodyear,
Deputv Governor, for and in the behalf of ye
Jurisdiction, the whole tract commonly called
Ocquebauk, bounded on the east with the creek
Unscawamuck, which is the next creek to the
place where ye canoes are drawn over to Matti-
tuck, on the west with the Great fresh river, on

382

FIISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the south with the Greate Harbour, and on the
north with the Sea. Together with the land and
meadows lying on the other side the water south
ward so farre as the creek Mashmanock, which is
the fifth creeke from the fresh river towards
Shinecock. Provided that the aforesaid Indians
may enjoy during their lives a small piece of
land to plant upon lying between the two creeks
Miamegg and Assasquage. And also to take the
benefit of the Sassachems. To Have and to Hold
all the said tract of land as is before expressed,
with the meadows and all their appurtenances
(except before excepted) to tbe said Theophilus
Eaton and Stephen Goodyeare Esquires, in the
behalfe of the Jurisdiction. To them their heirs
and assigns for ever. With Warranty against
the said Occomboomaquus and Mahamack their
heirs and assigns and all and every other person
and persons claiming any title or Interest of
from, by or under them, their meanes occasions
or Consent in or to all or any the above specifyed,
or any part or parcell thereof. In witness where
of the aforesaid Occomboomaquus and M'aha-
mack's wife have set to their hands and scales
the 4th day of March, 1648. Sealed and de
livered in presence of
John Youngs,
Benrv Whitings,
John Youngs, Jr.,
Muckomosh,Saggamougi-i.
Attached to the above is the deposition of
certain Indians that "there was an Indian Squaw
of the Sachem's blood that was wife of Maham
ack who, to their knowledge, was the true Pro
prietor of a tract of land on ye south side of the
Great Harbour, or river called Peacanuck, from
the head of a, creek called To Youngs or Mash-
mamock, and so through the middle of the Island
to the creek called Pauqunconsuck on the north
side, which creeke by the English is called the
Wading creeke, and so along the north sea to
Mattituck. And that her right was purchased
by Mr. John Youngs, and all the four Sachems
then living knew of her sale, and objected noth
ing aginst it. And it was constant custom by all
other Indians to ask her leave to gether herbage
and flaggs for matts." Dated December 27,
1662. Paucumpt, an Indian, about 80 years old, de
scended from the house of the Sachems in the

end of the Island, before divers English and In
dyans, gave testimony "that Occobauke was an
ancient seate of Sachem ship and of long stand
ing; that is to say time out of mind; but the
first in his time did possess the upland and
meadow on the swamp side of the head of the
river, lying in the west end of the Bay, five
creeks. The first, Massemennuck, the second
Nobbs, the third Suggamuck, the fourth Week-
ewook-Mamish and the fifth To Youngs, being
the out bounds thereof, and lying in opposition
to Occabauk, Old Ground, on the north side of
the Bay. The name of the last Sachem that
possessed the same was called Ockenmungan,
who had one son and one daughter, the son dying
in his infancy, the daughter is the sole heir and
proprietor of Occabauk, which Mr. Youngs
purchased of said squaw about eleven years ago,
and Munhansett the Sachem did well approve
the same. And the bounds -of Occabauk go on a
straight line from the head of the river to the
Wading Creek on the north beach, which is
called Pequaockeon because Peaquocks are found
there." Dated May, 1660.
The necks mentioned above are all on the
south side of the river, in Southampton, and
probably begins with what is now "Wells Neck"
on the west and extending east to To Youngs,
or Red Creek.
The very interesting allusion to the meaning
of the Indian name for Wading River is here
given by the learned antiquarian and student of
the Indian language, Mr. William Wallace
Tooker, of Sag Harbor:
(Pauquacamsuck or Pauquaconsuck)
"That the bounds of Occabauk aforesaid go
on a straight line from ye head of ye river (Pe-
sonic) to ye wading- creek (now Wading River
Creek, see Maps of Long Island), on ye North
Beach which is called Pequaockeon, because Pc-
quaoks are found there." P equa-oc-P o-qua-hoc
(Unkec'haug) ; Poquan-hock (Narragansett) ab
breviated to Quohaug, 'round-clam,' literally,
thick or tiglitly closed shell : the terminal — oc,
hoc, or hocki, 'that which covers' (as a garment) ;
keou from toskeon (Eliot), 'to wade,' suck, 'a
brook or outlet of any small stream,' thus making

RIVERHEAD.

383

Pequa-oc-keon-suck, 'the brook or the outlet
where we wade for thick shells' or 'round-
clams.' ': Book of Deeds, Vol. 2, p. 273, Albany
N. Y The above is quoted from my "The In
dian Names of Long Island," pp. 46, 47, 48,
Algonquin Series, Vol. 4, Harper, 1901.
From documents in the office of the Town
Clerk of Southampton we learn that at one time
the lands at Red Creek and vicinity were occu
pied by a village of Indians who were a part of
the tribe which claimed and inhabited the town
of Southhold. After this there was a war be
tween the Shinnecocks and Yeanocock Indians, in
which the latter were defeated and driven off.
After a time they returned and were allowed to
settle in their former seats, but the Shinnecocks
claimed all the land oh the south side of the
river, and required acknowledgment of their
title according to certain Indian customs. The
following document will explain the case more
fullv :

Richard Howell and Joseph Raynor, aged
about fourty years, deposed this 15th day of Sep
tember 1667. Saith as follows. That upon a
time about the latter end of May last, Capt. John
Youngs of Southold brought over to Southamp
ton, Thomas Stanton with some of the chiefe of
Southold Indians, meting at the School house
some of chiefe of Southampton Indians with the
Sachem, being there. Capt. Youngs being asked
the end of his comeing said, To finde out truthe,
viz. whoe had true right to ye land or meadow in
controversy betweene the two townes. And the
debate thereupon grew on betweene the Indians
theire beinge present some of the Southold In
habitants with divers of ye chiefe of the Inhabit
ants of Southampton. Thomas Stanton being
ye interpreter. These deponents heard the said
Thomas ask both parties of ye Indians, whoe had
tlie true right to the said land and meadows.
And the said Indians (after long debate) joyntly
answered that ve young eagles that were taken
in the nests, & the deere that were drowned or
killed in the water, it was ye Indians custom to
carry ye saide eagles & the skins of the deere to
these Sachems or Indians that were the true
owners of ye land. Thereupon Thomas Stanton
presently replyed, saying, indeed the eagles and
the deere were something, but if there was a bear
drowned or killed, that would put the matter out

of controversie, And the deponent heard South
ampton Indians affirme that there was a bear
drowned or killed in ye same tract of land now
in controversy between -ye said townes. Then
Thomas Stanton asked to whom the skin was
carried, and Southampton Indians answered, To
Sbinnekuke Indians, And Southold Indians all
soe acknowledged that the said bear skin was
carryed to Shinnecock Indians by Southold In
dians whoe tooke ye bear.
Taken before me. Thomas Topping.
For further evidence in the matter, appli
cation was made to the Rev. Thomas James, of
East Bampton, whose acquaintance with the In
dian language rendered his services as an inter
preter of great value.
"The Deposition of Mr. Thomas James, taken
at Easthampton this 18th Day of October, 1667,
Testifieth "Being earnestly desired by them of South
ampton towne to be some meanes in their behalfe
to procure ye testimony, or affirmation of ye mon
taukut Indians concerning ye bounds of Shinni-
kuke Indians, accordingly, Paqunttown, Coun
sellor, being here att yt present att Easthampton,
I enquired of him whether he knew anything coi>
cerning ye aforesd bounds, & he told me he did,
as being often employed by ye Sachems in their
matters, & wth all told me yt ye bounds of ye
Sbinnecuke Indians ( since ye conquest of those
Indians weh formerly many yeares since lined att
akkobauk) did reach to a river where they go to
catch ye fish we commonly call alewiues, the
name of yt Riuer hee said is Pehik; & wth all
told me yt there were two old women liueing at
Montaukut who formerly were of ye Akkobauk
Indians, who could giue further information con
cerning ye matter.
"So I made a journey with Mr. Rich. Howell
and Mr. John Leyton (Laughton) to Montaukut
& we mett with ye aforesd women, who af
firmed they formerly were of ye Akkobauk In
dians. & they knew the bounds of ye severall
plantations in those parts. One of them an antient
woman (called by ye Indians Akkobauk Homo's
Squaw), to which the other also asserted called
Wompquaim's Squaw, a middle aged woman, in
they jovntlv declared as followeth, that formerly
many years since, there was a small plantation of
Indians at Akkobauk & those Indians being few,
were driven off their land, being conquered by

3S4

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

other Indians & that in those tymes the bounds
of those Akkobauk Indians came eastward of the
River Pehikkonuk to a creek which she named,
And they gathered flags for mats within that
nee of land, but since those Indians were con-
querred who lived att Akkobauk, the Shinecock
bounds went to the river pehikkonuck, where ye
Indians catched Alewives, & the Shinnokuk In
dians had the drowned deere as theirs, on this
side of the said river, and one beare some years
since, & the old squaw said by ye- token shee eat
some of it. pointing to her teeth, and that the
skin & flesh was brought to Shinnocut as ac-
knowledgeing their right to it, to a Saunk Squaw
then living there who was the old Montauket
Sachem's sister & first wife to Awkkonnu. This
to the best of my understanding. This taken
upon oath before mee. John Mulford."
The foregoing document in the handwriting
of Air. James is in the Town Clerk's office of
East Hampton. Other affidavits showed that the
town of Southampton had claimed and made use
of the meadows on the south side of Peconic
river before 1663.
In_ accordance with their claim, the town of
Southampton, as plaintiff, commenced a suit in
the Court of Assizes against Southold as a de
fendant, Captain John Howell and Henry Pier
son being attorneys for the former. The case
came to trial in October, 1667, and the jury de
cided in favor of Southampton. Southhold then
appealed from the verdict "to be heard in
Equity." This was granted, the appeal to be
considered by the Court in October, 1688, "unless
they should otherwise agree, which the Court
doth recommend unto both parties." Governor
Richard Nicolls sent Hon. Captain Needham and
Captain Matthias Nicolls to act as mediators,
and the result was an agreement made by
representatives from both towns, on March 11,
1667-8: That ye town of Southampton shall peace
ably & quietly enjoy & possess ye full lattitude
of their land bounds they sometime purchased of
Captain Topping, ye west line was & is to run
according to their deed from a place called Se
tuck on the South Side to ye head of a River or
Bay called Peaconet on ye North Side to be to
the said Southampton & their successers for ever.

With this restriction or premission, that Mr.
William Welles of Southold shall have and re
tain eighteen acres off the above said meadows,
which are allready appointed unto him, ye same
to be to ye only use & behoof of him and his heirs
forever. And all the rest of ye land or tract of
meadow to lye in Common for mowing for all
ye Inhabitants of Both towns, who have interest
according to their property, until ye said towns
shall more fully agree to divide ye same in par
ticular, and when they shall come to be divided,
ye said eighteen acres, belonging to Mr. Wells,
shall be accounted as part of ye quantity which
Southold are to have."
This was a final settlement of the difficulty,
and is mentioned in the patents of Governor An
dros and Governor Dongan.
On September 8, 1686, an agreement was
made between the two towns that the Southhold
people should have the west part of the meadows,
"their west bounds to begin at two pine trees that
are marked by the Riverside about half a mile
below the going over the Riverhead, and from
the said pine trees, all the meadow eastward- to
the spring at the head of the Creek that comes
up on the east side of Fifteen Mile Island. And
Southampton townes part of the said meadows
for their west bounds to begjn at said spring at
the head of the creek on the east side of Fifteen
Mile Island, and from thence eastward all the
meadow to the creek called the Red Creek. The
meadows that Lyes westward of the aforesaid
two pine trees (being by estimation about two
Acres of meadow more or less) is by mutual
consent left to lye in common between the two
townes until both parties agree to dispose of it."
The part that was given to Southold men
was owned by them in proportion to their indi
vidual proprietor rights. Mention is frequently
made in wills and deeds. The jurisdiction was to
be to Southampton, whose claim rested upon the
'Indian deed to Captain Thomas Topping which
was approved by the Governor. The western
part of these meadows is still known as "Wells'
Neck." In 1764, Fifteen Mile Island was owned by
James Fanning, Jr., who sold it to Thomas Fan
ning. He also owned Long Neck and had a

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RIVERHEAD LAND GRANT.
25
386

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

dwelling house on it, and sold the same to
Thomas Fanning in 1765.
The map of the "Manor Land" that is given
in this history may be thus explained. The
eastern boundary of the patent for Brookhaven
was at the head of Wading river, and from
thence a line running due north to the Sound
and south to the middle of the Island. A small
stone monument in the northwest corner, of the
Presbyterian church lot at Wading river marks
the place where a peperidge tree formerly stood,
which marked the head of Wading river, and the
boundary between the two towns. The Second
Patent to Colonel William Smith included a large
triangular tract bounded on the east by a line
running from this point to the crossing of Pecon-
nic river at Riverhead. This triangular tract was
sold by Colonel Henry Smith to Benjamin
Youngs and Samuel Hutchinson of Southold,
April 1, 1720, for £50.
They sold the same tract to James Reeve,
Joshua Tuthill, Matthias Dickinson, Richard
Terry, Charles Booth, Thomas Goldsmith, Caleb
Horton, Samuel Conkling, Thomas Reeve, Na
thaniel Warner, Josiah Youngs, David Parshall,
Joseph Wickham, Joshua Wells. Jr., Joseph
Hulse, Jonathan Dimon, Samuel Conkling, John
Conkling and Henry Conkling, in sixty shares as
partners, reserving shares for themselves. This
is dated February 21, 1722.
The map shows the division into lots, with
names of owners at that time. The east line of
the tract is well known as the "Manor Line."
The population increased very slowly, the
settlements were small and widely scattered and
the people were poor. The territory added
nothing to the wealth of Southold. It had
no harbors, no commerce, no excess of crops and
was very little heard of even in the town meet
ings. The county was not particularly adapted
for traveling. The distances were great and
from Aquebogue westward the territory to the
Brookhaven line was in Southold, but not of it.
Therefore there was little excitement when it
became known that on March 13, 1792, the
Legislature had cut off the territory and erected
it into a separate township described as follows :

All that part of the said town of Southold,
lying to the westward of a line beginning at
the sound and running thence southerly to the
bav separating the towns of Southampton and.
Southold, and which is the 'eastern boundary
or side of a farm now in the tenure or occupa
tion of William Albertson and is the reputed
line of division between the parishes of Ocque-
bouge and Mattetuck. /
This legislation was, enacted on the petition
of Peter Reeves and others, but not without op
position. John Wells, and others prayed for a
postponement until the next session, and Benja
min Florton and others asked for an act provid
ing that town meetings should be held alternate
ly in the old town meeting house in Southold
and in the Aquobogue meeting house. These vari
ous petitions were presented January 11, and
little more than two months later was passed the
law for which Reeves and his associates had
asked. As directed by the organic act, the first town
meeting was held on April 3, 1792, when the
following officers were elected : Daniel Wells,
supervisor; Josiah Reeve, clerk; John C. Terry,
Joseph Wills and Benjamin Terry, assessors;
Jeremiah Wells and Spencer Dayton, highway
commissioners ; Daniel Terry, Zachariah Bal-
lock and Daniel Edwards, overseers of the poor;
Nathan Youngs, Eleazar Luce, Rufus Youngs,
John Corwin, Zophar Mills, Peter Reeve and
Merritt Bowell, overseers of highways ; Svlvanus
Brown, collector; and David Brown, Abel Cor
win and Benjamin Borton, constables. The in
fant township was governed under the laws
which were in force in Southold at the time of
the separation until 1794, when they appear to
have been superseded by others, but the proceed
ings at the enacting sessions included little of
interest to us. One exception, to this might be
made in the care taken of the poor. When the
township was formed it had only six paupers,
and these were let out for one year to the bid
der who offered to maintain them for the least
money, and this method of disposing of such
dependents continued to prevail until 1832, when
a farm was purchased at Lower Aquebogue

RIVERHEAD.

387

and the poor were gathered together and re
moved there, and that establishment was main
tained until the county system came into law and
the paupers of Riverhead were transferred, in
1871, to Yaphank, and the old poor farm was sold.
But in spite of its dignity as a township and
its position as containing the county town, the
township of Riverhead advanced very slowly. In

RIVERHEAD WATER TOWER.
1800 its population was i,498; m l82°» I>857>
in 1825, 1,816; in 1835, 2,138; in 1840, 2,373,
and twentv vears later it had only reached
2,734; two 'decades still further it had advanced

to 3,939, and the census in 1900 showed that it
practically stood at these figures, the census re
turns showing 4,503.
But in the stories of the various villages
and settlements deserving of a much more dig
nified title, we find much deserving of study.
Even the story of the village of Riverhead, mod
ern as most of it is, is full of interesting detail,
all of which tend to present
it before us as a typical coun
try town, and one which at
the present day is full of
ambition and life and is
making full use of its nat
ural beauty of situation and
its ready adoption of all that
in these modern times is re
garded as necessary to mu
nicipal success to make it
become one of the most at
tractive and popular of Long
Island cities. It is a beau
tiful place ; it .combines city
and country in its broad and
well paved streets, its stately
trees lining the sidewalks
everywhere, its business es
tablishments and banks, its
many really handsome vil
las, its steadily increasing
popularity among summer
visitors and its loyal, ener
getic and enterprising body
of regular residents, who
have an abiding faith in its
future at all times to bestir
themselves in every move
ment likely to aid in its de
velopment. It has its orna
ments too, as witness, the
beautiful water tower.
Like so many other cen
ters of population on Long
Island, Riverhead began with a sawmill, and this
was erected on the banks of the Peconic in
1659 by two pioneers — John Tucker and
Joshua Horton. This is said to have antedated

388

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

by eighteen years that of Joseph Carpenter, at
Maschete Cove, Long Island, for whom the
claim was long made that "he was the first man
on Long Island, New York, Connecticut or New
Jersey to set up a sawmill run by water power."
The setting forth of this fact was made by
Orville B. Ackerly, of Yonkers, New York, a
member of the Suffolk County Historical Society,
in an address delivered upon the occasion of the
one hundredth anniversary of the organization
of the town of Riverhead, at that place on July 4,
1892. And this valuable paper the writer ac
knowledges as the source of much of the in
formation contained in the following narrative.
This pioneer miller, John
Tucker, was a man of im
portance, known as deacon,
captain and esquire, in a day
when these titles commanded
far greater respect than they
do now. In 1711 his grandson,
also named John, sold to John
Parker one of the original four
hundred tracts of land, and
this, with a lot adjoining, con
stituted the entire business por
tion of the present village of
Riverhead. The Woodhull fam
ily was the bone and sinew of
the infant community. Josiah Woodhull, dur
ing Revolutionary times, made the roof of
his house a watch-tower, and from it gave
notice of the approach of marauding British
bands. In the village was also the home of
Major Frederick Hudson, a prominent citi
zen and one of Tory proclivities. . His son,
Oliver Hudson, sold the estate to Zophar
Mills. A peculiar interest attaches to this
property in the fact that among Major Hud
son's bound servants was Paul Cuffee, an In
dian, whose name subsequently became familiar
and honored through his ministrations as a
preacher to his rapidly dying out people. As
remarked by Mr. Ackerly, "Strange change of
circumstances ! The grave of the Master is
somewhere unmarked and unknown, in a dense
thicket of weeds and briars. The grave of the

servant, fenced and guarded with pious care by
the roadside at Good Ground, is visited by hun
dreds who revere his. virtues and honor his
name." The village of Riverhead had enjoyed a cer
tain distinction from a time long antedating its
erection as a shire town. In 1727 an ace of the
legislature authorized the justices of the peace
to build a "county house and prison," and the
first court in the building which was erected was
held March 27, 1729. . This was a court of gen
eral sessions, and the first court of oyer and
terminer in the newly created county of -Suffolk
began its session on September 4, 1787. To dis-

ANCIENT SOUTH VIEW OF CENTRAL PART OF RIVERHEAD.

pose of the judicial side of our subject it may be-
here said that the old court house was renovated
and a new jail built about 1825. In 18541a new
and modern court house was erected, but it was.
not until 1881, and after the old building had"
been repeatedly condemned as unsafe, that a
new jail was provided, with all the improve
ments to which such an edifice could then
aspire. Notwithstanding it was now the shire town,.
the growth of Riverhead was slow for very many
years. In 1812 it contained only four buildings
besides the court house, and of these one was a
tavern kept by John Griffin, and one was a grist
mill operated by Josiah Albertson. In 1828 John
Perkins set up a woolen factory. There had been
other industries further up the stream long be
fore this, among them an iron forge, built by

RIVERHEAD.

359

Jeremiah Petty, about 1797, which was aban
doned about twenty-five years later. After the
middle of the last century, various modern man
ufactories were established, and the village en
tered upon the beginnings of those substantial
industrious conditions which characterize it at
the present time.
The churches of the village had their origin
more or less immediately in the early "Steeple
Church" at Upper Aquebogue. The people wor
shipping there were of various denominations..
In 1834 some of these people formed a congre
gation at Riverhead, holding services in the
lower room of the seminary building. In 1833
the Methodists, who had long maintained a class,
organized a church, and built a house of wor
ship the next year, and this was replaced by the
present elegant edifice in 1870. In 1839 the
Swedenborgians built. a meeting house, and the

RIVERHEAD.
Congregationalists builded in 1841. The Roman
Catholic church was built in 1870, and the Free
Methodist church in 1872. The Episcopalians,
who had formed a society in 1870, erected a
church building in 1873.
The seminary referred to was established in

1834, chiefly through the instrumentality of
Judge George Miller, and proved a power for
good in the advancement of female education.
The excellent power furnished by the Pe
conic river began about the middle of the last
century to attract many manufacturing enter
prises to Riverhead — molding and planing mills,
a soap factory, fertilizer works (both fish and
wood being the staple of manufacture), organ
building- and quite a number of other industries
added to its wealth- and importance. Such es
tablishments rarely add much to the aesthetic
beauty of a place and Riverhead in its march
of improvement might have lost much of its at
tractiveness but for the organization, in 1881,
of the "Village Improvement Society," which
not only accomplished much and lasting good
by its own direct work, but exerted a healthy in
fluence on the entire community. In 1868 the citizens
showed their public spirit
and their sagacity by pur
chasing twenty acres of
ground in their village and
presenting the property to
the Suffolk County Agri
cultural' Society as its per
manent headquarters. Its
history from its organiza
tion more than four decades
ago was written in extenso,
in 1881, by Mr. Nat W.
Foster, who had long been
its efficient secretary, and
this excellent paper has
been utilized almost ver
batim in this narrative,
which has been continued
with supplementary matter
furnished the writer by Mr.
Sylvester M. Foster, who
honored father in the secre
taryship of the society.
"The Constitution of the Suffolk County Agri
cultural Society, adopted October 6, 1818," states
the object of the society to "be the advancement
of agriculture in all its various branches, by col-

succeeded his

390

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

lecting and circulating the knowledge of im
provements, and by bestowing premiums for the
most successful exertions." It provides for two
meetings each year at the court house in River
head, in May and October; article io for an
annual fair and cattle show, time and place to be
appointed by the managers. The officers were :
President, Thomas S. Strong; ist vice-president,
Sylvester Dering ; 2nd vice-president, Joshua
Smith; 3d vice-president, Nathaniel Potter; 4th
vice-president, John .P. Osborne ; corresponding
secretaries, Charles H. Bavens and Benry- P.
Dering ; recording secretary, Ebenezer W. Case ;
treasurer, David Warner. Twelve managers
were also elected. We find no mention of any
meetings or fairs.
In Volume I of the "Transactions of the New
York State Agricultural Society" for 1841 is
found the statement that the Suffolk County
Agricultural Society was organized in that year.
In the "Transactions" for 1842 are several state
ments by persons receiving premiums for crops
from this county society, of which William W.
Mills was then president. In the volume for
1843 is a report by William C. Stout, president,
stating that the third annual fair was held No
vember 15, and $186.50 paid in premiums. Rich
ard B. Post was secretary, David Brush, treas
urer, and there was a manager from each town.
"The society is not in so flourishing a condition
as I would like to see it, owing almost- entirely
to the immense length of our county, thereby ren
dering it difficult to fix upon the proper place'
at which to'hold an annual fair and give. general
¦satisfaction. Measures are in progress, how
ever, to correct this evil by organizing two so
cieties." . .In the. volume of 1846, J. Lawrence;. Smith, .
president, writes under date of March 20" 1847,
that "the county society was dissolved in 1843,
and a new society formed from a smaller and
more thickly settled portion of the county.':' This
society was known as the "Western Branch of
the Suffolk County Agricultural -Society." Its
records show .that fairs were held each year
from 1843 to- 1852 (excepting 1844), respectively
at Comae, Smithtown, -Co-mac, Islip, Buntington,

Greenport, Babylon, Smithtown and Bunting
ton. The officers during this- period were as
follows, so far as recorded :
Presidents — W. C. Stout, 1843, l84S ; J- Law-'
rence Smith, 1846, T847; Joshua B. Smith, 1848;
Barvey W. Vail, 1849, 1850; Edward Benry
Smith, 1851; Dr. John R. Rhinelander; 1852;
Edwin A. Johnson, 1853.
Vice-Presidents — W. B. Ludlow, 1845; Les
ter FI. Davis, 1846; Samuel N. Bradhurst, 1847;
William Nicoll, 185 1 ; Samuel L. Thompson,
1852,1853. Secretaries-— Benry G. Scudder, 1845 ; Na
thaniel Smith, 1846, 1847, 185 1 ; Dr. Abraham
G. Thompson, 1848-50 ; Edward K. Briar, 1852 ;
J. fi. Carll, 1853.
Treasurers — R. B. Post, 1843 j ' Nathaniel
Smith, 1845; Richard Smith, 1846, 1847; Jarvis
R. Mowbray, 1848; Elbert Carll, 1849, 1850;
William Lawrence, 1851 ; David C. Brush, 1852;
William B. Ludlow, 1853.'
At the fair at Comae, October 16; 1843, pre
miums were awarded, amounting to $110. At
Smithtown in 1845 the premiums amounted, to
$95. An address was delivered by Dr. John
R. Rhinelander. In 1846 the premiums were
$79.. An -address was given by Samuel' A.
Smith. At a meeting (date not given) held between
the fairs of 1846 and 184.7 it was resolved "that
. this society be hereafter known and- called by
the name of "The Suffolk County Agricultural
Society." At the fair of 1847 mention is made
of "corn planted three feet apart,* four stalks in
each hill, showing that good corn may be pro
duced on much less ground, thaii is. usually re
quired;" and "fine fiat turnips' -grown since dap
were taken off." The address was by. William
FI..;L>udlow, and the premiums aggregated Jkm.
At Huntington, October 10, 1848, a" new consti
tution (prepared' by the secretary,- Dr. A. C.
Thompson, as instructed at a previous meeting)
was presented and adopted.- An address by Dr.
Thompson "reviewed -the -past and present opera
tions of the society, the benefits resulting from ¦
the formation of agricultural societies, and urged
the importance of system, of industry and econ- -
oinyiri managing agricultural matters."

RIVERHEAD.

391

The first fair was held in the eastern part of
the county was held at Greenport, October 2,
1849. The address was by John G. Floyd.
At a meeting of the managers, April 6, 1850,
it was resolved, "on condition that the residents
of Babylon and vicinity pay or secure to be paid
to the treasurer of the society, on or before Mav
1, 1850, the sum of $100, and that the necessary
cattle pens be erected, a suitable building or tent
be provided, and that arrangements be made for.
the conveyance of passengers to and from the
railroad free of all charge, that the fair will be
held in that village September 24, 1850." Also
resolved, "in the case the residents of Babylon
and its vicinity do not agree to the above reso
lution, the exhibition will be held in Islip in case
the said conditions are complied with." In addi
tion to those offered the year before, premiums
were offered for crops grown on the "Plain
lands." The fair was held at Babylon. "F. M.
A. Wicks, of Thompson's- Station, exhibited
oheese, pumpkins, citron, melons, fine potatoes
and Isabella grapes raised on the 'Plain lands,'
adjoining the Long Island railroad at Thomp
son's Station. Ira L'Hommedieu exhibited to
matoes, blood beets and egg plants raised on
land of Dr. E. F. Peck at Lake Road station.
These productions- show conclusively the error
of the idea that the lands' contiguous to the Long
Island Railroad are worthless." "The Society is
indebted to Mr. Francis M. A. Wicks and Dr.
E. F. Peck for proving beyond objection that
these desolate lands can be made productive un
der a proper course of cultivation. The per
severance shown by these two gentlemen is de
serving the highest commendation, and it is
hoped that success may attend their efforts."
The annual address was delivered by John Fow
ler, Jr.
At the winter meeting, December 4, 1850, a
premium was awarded to Samuel S. Thompson,
of Setauket, "for 84^ bushels, 4 quarts and 1
pint of Australian or 'Verplank' wheat, raised
on two surveyed acres, the weight being 63^
lbs. per bushel; the standard of 60 lbs. per
bushel being allowed, the yield of the crop was
89 bushels 2 pecks on the two acres. * * *

Deducting the expenses, the net profit was
$34i-75" "William Burling, of Babylon, raised 65
bushels of onions on one-eighth of an acre, be
ing at the rate of 520 bushels per acre." The net
profit was $24.65.
At Smithtown, September 25. 185 1, the ad
dress was delivered by Dr. Franklin Tuthill, of
New York City. Mr. Brush, the treasurer, dy
ing before the next fair, John D. Hewlett was
appointed treasurer in his stead. At the fair at
Huntington, October 21, 1852, the address was
by Benry J. Scudder, of New York City. It is
reported that another fair was held in 1852, at
Islip, but tlie record shows no further meeting
till February 1, 1865, when the Society was re
organized at Thompson's Station, with the title
"Suffolk County Agricultural Society." The of
ficers elected for the first year were as follows:
President, William Nicoll, Buntington; vice-
president, Robert W. Pearsall, Islip; secretary,
J. H. Doxsee, Islip; treasurer, William J. Weeks,
Brookhaven; directors, H. G. Scudder, Hunt
ington ; Caleb Smith, Smithtown ; Robert O.
Colt, Islip; Thomas S. Mount, Brookhaven'; D.
B. Osborne, Riverhead; David G. Floyd, South-
old. The first fair after the reorganization was
held at Riverhead, September i~ and 28, 1865.
"The board of managers are fully satisfied with
the results of the fair, both in the interest mani
fested by the people of the county and the pe
cuniary result arising therefrom." The receipts
were $1,600, and the disbursements $800. From
this time the fair has been held each year at
Riverhead, excepting 1867, when it was at Green
port. In 1866 the question of permanent location
came up and was discussed and laid over; also
"the propriety of uniting with Queens county
to form a Long Island Agricultural Society."
October 29, 1867, the managers accepted from .
the citizens of Riverhead a deed donating to the
Suffolk County Agricultural Society "lands ly
ing near and westerly of the Riverhead Cem
etery, for fair grounds, with this condition — if

392

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the Society shall fail for two consecutive years
to hold a fair thereon, the grounds shall revert
to the donors." The grounds are pleasantly lo
cated, conveniently near to the village and to
the depot of the Long Island Railroad, and of
very ready access from all directions.
The matter of fitting up the grounds was
referred to the President, Vice-President and
Treasurer, and it was "resolved that the sum

tee that supervised the erection of the Exhibition
Hall. The architect was George H. Skidmore,
of Riverhead. The contract for building was
awarded to Fielder, Skidmore & Company. The
building was completed in time for the next an
nual fair, October 6, 7 and 8, 1869. In the even
ing of the 6th a public meeting was held in the
court house, and papers were read by Robert
W. Pearsall, of Brentwood, and Bon. Benry P.

GOVERNOR'S DAY AT RIVERHEAD.
(By Permission of Long Island Railroad Company.)

of $200 be appropriated to pay the Treasurer
for his extra services in behalf of the Society."
The first fair on the new grounds was held Sep
tember 30, and October 1 and 2, 1868. Again
$200 was paid to the Treasurer for services.
B. D. Carpenter, Stephen C. Rogers, Joshua
L. Wells, John S. Marcy, William Nicoll and
Robert W. Pearsall were the building commit-

Bedges, of Bridgehampton, the latter upon
"Fertilizers and Their Application." "Mr. Will
iam Nicoll in a few appropriate remarks called
attention to the Exhibition Ball, and, with a
view of liquidating the debt incurred by its erec
tion, he moved that a committee be appointed
for soliciting life members of tlie Society upon
the payment of ten dollars each. The motion

RIVERHEAD.

393

having been passed and the committee appointed,
Mr. Nicoll manifested his earnestness in the
movement by the payment of seventy dollars,
making his wife and children life members.
Others immediately followed the example till
$400 had been contributed." The annual meet
ing in the evening of the 7th was addressed by
Mr. Nicoll.
On June 22 and 23, 1870, occurred the first
horticultural exhibition, a festival and reunion,
which was very successful, bringing together a
very large and pleasant company. Others were
held June 14, 1871, and June 19, 1872. There
being few if any professional florists in the
county and the strawberry growers being par
ticularly busy marketing their fruit, it was found
to be impracticable to attempt at present more
than one fair each year.
In 1876, besides the usual annual meeting
on Wednesday evening during the fair, meetings
were held at the court house on Tuesday and
Thursday evenings for discussion of matters of
interest to the county and its people ; but the at
tendance was so small that no- encouragement
was felt to repeat the experiment.
During this year the grounds were- improved
by planting trees, which were donated to the So
ciety by Isaac Hicks & Sons, of Old Westbury,
Queens county ; P. H. Foster, of Babylon ; E. F.
Richardson, of Brentwood, and Israel Peck, of
Southold. Adjoining Exhibition Hall was built
a cloak or package room, which proved a great
convenience to visitors and a source of profit
to the society. New features were introduced
into the exhibition, viz. : Centennial relics and
a display of antiquities. This being the Cen
tennial year this feature seemed to touch every
heart, bringing out a warm response throughout
the county, and, not stopping with the county
limits, was similarly responded to in several
other counties as a striking feature in their fairs.
The suggestion, coming as it did from this coun
ty, at once introduced this society to many sister
societies that before hardly knew of it. A dis
play of plans for farm buildings, etc., by Suffolk
county architects (which has been of much serv

ice by favorably introducing to visiting strang
ers such architects as exhibited, and also by
elevating the standard of architecture in the
county) and a collection of foreign curiosities
were very successful in themselves and added
much to the exhibit. A new and notable feature
of the fair was the gathering of the children of
the public schools of the county, — teachers and
pupils being admitted free on one specified day, —
the effect of which was so gratifying that it has
become one of the fixtures of each succeeding
fair, thereby cultivating in the rising generation
an interest in the Society. This year, too, more
largely than ever before, was the power of .the
county press shown in arousing throughout the
county a new and general interest in the Society,
and a strong desire to attend the fair. Alto
gether, notwithstanding the greater attraction
offered by the Centennial Exhibition at Phila
delphia, this year seems to have been a turning-
point in the history of the Society. Partly from
the geographical situation of the county, partly
from the difficulty experienced in reaching the
fair with articles for exhibition, and from vari
ous other reasons, a feeling of more than indif
ference seemed very largely to have possessed
the people of both east and west. This now gave
place to a desire to promote the success of the
local fair.
In 1877 the new features of the preceding
year were retained and a new departure, an "ex
hibit of school work," was introduced, whereby
the public schools became interested in the So
ciety; also exhibits of minerals and Indian relics.
This fair was made more attractive by a fine '
display from the Long Island Historical Society
of Brooklyn, through the kindness of Elias
Lewis, Jr. The attendance was larger, by rea
son of the improved railroad connections and
facilities, whereby people were brought from all
parts of the island and- returned at reduced rates.
Not only the Society, but many people through
out the county, were much benefited by a dona
tion from J. N. Ballock, formerly of Suffolk
county, then publisher of "The Christian at
Work," New York City, of subscriptions amount-

394

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ing to $100, which were largely used as pre
miums. This year $600 was paid on the debt,
and in 1878' $400.
In 1879 more new features were- introduced
— displays of decorated pottery, rare china, na
tive woods, and leaves and nuts of trees grow
ing in the county. Among the cattle exhibited
were a pair of immense oxen, weighing over
4,600 pounds, exhibited by Elbert Rose, of
Bridgehampton, and some superior Jerseys from
the well-known stock-yards of William Crozier
of Northport. Point judging on cattle and
horses was now introduced. The exhibit of
school work, first introduced in 1877, showed
gratifying progress. The hall was made more
cheerful by the exhibit of a large number of
the bills and posters of the different county so
cieties of ,the State. The debt was reduced $250
this year.
A very important feature of the fair of 1880
were the addresses of P. T. Barnum, the re
nowned showman, at the hall in the afternoon
and at the court house in the evening, replete
with humor and wisdom. Some very fine Early-
Rose potatoes, that took the first prize, were
grown in beach sand. One man reported a crop
of 500 bushels of potatoes raised on an acre of
ground. This year the debt was again reduced
$250. At a meeting of the board of managers held
at Riverhead, January 27, 1881, Austin Corbin,
the newly elected president and receiver of the
Long Island Railroad Company, and several of
the directors were present; also reporters from
the city papers. Mr. Corbin and others ex
plained the condition of the road and the com
pany and their plans and intentions for the fu
ture. Mr. Corbin, as a Suffolk county farmer,
made a donation to the Society of $250.
Before the fair, the railroad company of
fered $500 in special premiums for stock, grains,
fruit, etc., which greatly stimulated the exhib
itors and added much to the interest of the ex
hibition. H W. Maxwell, one of the directors
of the railroad company, offered five gold medals,
of the total value of $100, to be competed for
during the fair by the pupils of the public schools

of the county, in reading, arithmetic, United
States history, geography and English language.
Three of these were taken by pupils of the Green
port school, one by a pupil at Yaphank, and one
by a member of the school at Patchogue. Dur
ing this year the grounds were improved by
planting more trees. The addresses at the fair
were on fish culture, out of the regular course,
but of great interest to the whole county. The
debt was still further reduced $500.
Again a new departure : The officers of the
Society, not content with showing their coun
ty's products to those that might come to the
county fair, proposed to the farmers and others
of the county an exhibit of their good things
at the State fair at Elmira, which exhibit, al
though an experiment, was very encouraging
in its results, the first premium ($25) being
awarded to R. O. Colt, of Bay Shore, for the
best collection of vegetables, besides other pre
miums to different exhibitors ; while a new
wagon gear invented and exhibited by C. M.
Blydenburgh, of Riverhead, attracted great at
tention, as did also the wood of which the wagon
was built — Suffolk county oak. The exhibit.
brought the county into very prominent and fa
vorable notice.
For want of space, the narrative of progress
from year to year must here be curtailed. Suffi
cient to say that with the year 1881 the Society
had practically reached its present scope. Since
that time the improvement has been in the way
of erecting additional buildings and beautify
ing the grounds and increasing the division of
classes of exhibited goods, with an accompany
ing increase of premiums paid. The Society
held its fiftieth annual exhibition (dating from
the reorganization) on September 16, 17, 18 and
19, 1902. The total disbursements were $10,-
427.76. Of this amount, $2,597.27 was for per
manent premiums, and $2,021.00 was for pre
miums. The exhibits were classified as fol
lows: Class I, Cattle; Class II, Horses; Class.
Ill, Sheep; Class IV, Swine; Class V, Poultry;
Class AT, Domestic; Class VII, Grains; Class
VIII, Roots and Vegetables ; Class IN, Fruit ;>
Class N, Preserves, Honey, etc.; Class NI, Im-

RIVERHEAD.

395

plements and Utensils ; Class Nil, Carriages and
Harness; Class XIII, Flowers; Class XIV, Do
mestic Manufacture and Enterprise; Class XV,
Domestic Manufacture, etc. ; Class XVI, Needle
and Artistic Work ; Class XVII, Paintings, etc. ;
Class XVIII, Curiosities (including foreign
curios, collections- of natural objects,' of the nat
ural history of the county, of Indian relics, of
minerals, of war relics, etc.) ; Class XIX, Dis
cretionary; Class XX, School Work or Educa
tional, and Class XXI, Children's Department.
In 1902 the Society numbered about 425 life
members, of whom a number dated back in mem
bership to 1859. The officers were Henry A.
Reeves, of Greenport, president; William B.
Dayton, of Port Jefferson, vice-president;
George W.- Cooper, of Riverhead, treasurer;
Sylvester M.- Foster, of Riverhead, secretary;
and the following named directors : Nathan -H.
Dayton, Easthampton ; Walter L. Jagger, South
ampton; David Carll, Huntington; Henry A.
Brown, Wyandance; William O. Davids, Pe-.
conic; and Edward Thompson, Northport.
At some future day, the historian who is man
of intelligence sufficient, and who is possessed of
such store of this world's goods that he may
give his life time to so pleasant a task, un-
annoyed by the "demnition grind" of food earn
ing alone, will supplement such a narrative as
this out of the excellent material now being ac
cumulated by the Suffolk County Bistorical So
ciety, composed of resident gentlemen who have
entered upon their work with hearty enthusiasm
growing out of their pride in the accomplish
ments of honored ancestors. It may be said
here that, rich as is the collection already made,
those engaged in the work would seem to have
merely made a beginning, so fruitful is the field,
and so many are the unsuspected finds of ancient
documents and inanimate relics which have a
voice of their own after all.
The . splendid organization, to which our
reference has been made, and which has al
ready made for itself a prominent place among.
the "historical organizations of the entire land,
owes its founding to a meeting of the board of

trustees of the Riverhead Savings Bank, in 1886.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel E. Herrick, of Boston,
a native of Suffolk county, was a guest at the
usual luncheon, which was a feature of the trus
tees' meetings, and in the course of a most in
teresting address suggested the formation of an
organization which should gather up the records
of the past and preserve them. "Too many of
these have already been lost," he said, "because
such an institution has not existed. Suffolk
county may for all time rejoice in her illus
trious citizens. Who would forget Captain
Mercator Cooper, of Southampton, who, in the
whaleship 'Manhattan,' of Sag Harbor, first
carried the United States flag into Japanese wa
ters, at the same time returning to their homes
more than a score of shipwrecked sailors he
had rescued? Who would be willing to lose
record of the illustrious patriotism and devotion
of General XTathaniel Woodhull or of the valu
able services of Ezra LHommedieu and many
others? Shall the story of their brave and heroic
lives be lost, or shall they be saved to inspire
others to good works? Why, then, may not
something at once be done?"
Before the close of the year the Suffolk
County Bistorical Society was fully organized,
and the material for our account of its progress
has been contributed for this work by Mr. Nat
W. Foster, now its president.
The early members were : Bon. James B.
Tuthill, George F. Stackpole, Nat W. Foster,
Daniel W. Reeve, William C. Ostrander, Ahaz
Bradley, Professor Charles S. Stone, the Rev.
Samuel Whaley, Benjamin K. Payne, Dr. How
ard B. Young, William R. Duvall, Bolmes W.
Swezey, Henry W. Halsey, James L. Millard,
John Walsh, Jr., Gilbert H. Conklin and Samuel
Tuthill, of Riverhead ; Wilrriot M. Smith, Hon.
John S. Havens, William H. Newins and George
M. Ackerly, of Patchogue; Joseph H. Petty, of
Amityville ; Stuart T. Terry, the Rev. Epher
Whitaker, D. D., and N. Bubbard Cleveland, of
Southold; Richard. M. Bayles, of Middle Island;
Salem B. Wales, of New York, with a coun
try residence at Southampton; James Slater, of
Central Islip; Benry A. Brown, of West Deer

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Park; A. M. Salmon, of Peconic; Theodore W.
Smith, of Smithtown; Benjamin T. Robbins, of
Northport ; Charles E. Shepard, of Huntington ;
Sidney H. Ritch, of Port Jefferson ; and W. W.
Thompson, of Orient.
The officers for the first year
were : President, James B. Tut
hill, Riverhead ; vice-presidents,
the Rev. Dr. Epher Whitaker,
Southold, and Joseph B. Petty,
, Amityville; recording secretary,
Stuart T. Terry, Southold ; cor
responding secretary, Richard
M. Bayles, Middle Island; treas
urer, James B. Pierson, South
ampton ; custodian, George F.
Stackpole, Riverhead.
Mr. Tuthill was re-elected
president until his death, in Jan
uary, 1894. At the next annual
meeting after Mr. Tuthill's death,
January 20, 1894, Nat W. Foster
was elected as his successor, the
Rev. Dr. Whitaker declining the
position and continuing as vice-
president along with Augustus
Floyd, of New York, and all
those named are yet serving in the positions with
which their names respectively appear. At the
evening meeting special services, memorial of the
life of the late president were held, addressed by
the Rev. Dr. Whitaker, the Rev. William I. Chal
mers, B. K. Payne and Professor J. M. Belford.
In 1895 Orville B. Ackerly, now of New
York City, was made corresponding secretary,
and he is yet serving in that capacity.
In 1896 the Rev. Charles A. Stonelake, of
Aquebogue, was elected recording secretary, and
continued so to act until suddenly called out of
the State, when, at the next annual meeting,
February 15, 1898, Miss Ruth B. Tuthill, daugh
ter of the late president, was chosen for that po
sition. At a special meeting of the Society held on
July 1, 1893, the Riverhead Savings Bank build
ing at the corner of Main street and Griffing
avenue, was purchased for $4,000. One-half

was paid and $2,000 remained on bond and mort
gage. This mortgage has since been reduced
to $1,300. The building thus acquired had his
torical associations. It had been erected by Suf
folk county for the safe keeping of its priceless

HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUILDING.
records, the earliest being far older than the
county itself. It was designed also for the use
of the county clerk, and was occupied by one
officer after another for a series of years. The
building was eminently suitable for the uses and
purposes of the Bistorical Society.
Addresses have been delivered at the public
meetings of the Society as follows :
June, 1887.— The Rev. Dr. Whitaker, "Lnion
of Church and State, Past and Present."
June, 1888.— John R. Reid, 'Historic Stud
ies." October, 1889.— Henry P. Hedges, "Priority
of Settlement, Southold and Southampton."
October, 1890.— James H. Tuthill, "Proper
Work of an Bistorical Societv, and Bow It
Should be Done."
February, 1893.— The Rev. W. I. Chalmers.
Urging Deeper Interest in Historical Work and
the Suffolk Countv Historical Society."
February, 1895.— The Rev. Dr. Whitaker

RIVERHEAD.

397

"The Rise of Woman;" District Attorney W.
H. Jaycox, "The Value of Historical Knowl
edge;" George F. Stackpole, "What May be
Done in the Future in the Way of Developing
Long Island;" The Rev. R. M. Edwards, "Im
pressions of Long Island."
February, 1896— William Wallace Tooker,
"Cockinoo de Long Island ;" Edward P. Buffett,
Jr., "Fort Salonga."
February, 1897.— Augustus Floyd, "Suffolk
in Revolutionary Times." The Rev.A. C. Stone-
lake, "The Collections of the Society."
February, 1898.— R. C. McCormick, "Value
of Local Historical Societies." William S. Pelle
treau, "Richard Smith, of Smithtown."
February, 1900.— The Rev. Epher Whitaker,
"Suffolk County's Last Half-Century."
February, 1 901. —St. Clair McKelwav, LL.
D., "Makers of Modern America."
The objects of the Society as stated in Ar
ticle II of its constitution read, "To foster the
historical spirit in thought, study and purpose;
to encourage historical and antiquarian research ;
to disseminate historical knowledge; to collect
and preserve such autographs and other manu
scripts, maps, plans, charts, paintings, engrav
ings and other pictorial representations, books,
pamphlets, newspapers, curiosities and antiqui
ties of every kind as may have been or shall be
the products of Suffolk county, or of its several
towns, some of which are the oldest English
settlements and religious and civil organizations
within the bounds of the State of New York;
and also to discover, procure and preserve what
soever material of any kind may illustrate the
history of its several towns."
Four years ago the Society determined to
make special provision to perpetuate the memory
and the benign influence of prominent and wor
thy persons who had passed from sight. For
this purpose it instituted the order of "In Memo-
riam Members." A person is made a member
of this order by the gift of $100 to the society.
The money has been used so far to reduce the
mortgage on the Society's real estate.
The name and date of birth of each Mem-o-
riam Member will be annually and perpetually
printed in the Year Book of the Society. The
Year Book contains also the list of the officers,

the honorary and life members of the Society,
the acknowledgments of gifts to the Society,
and generally the address of the president, or of
some other person invited by him, delivered at
the Society's annual meeting.
The Year Book is renewed annually. It
meets the eyes of intelligent people in all parts
of the county and far beyond its bounds. It
goes into the homes of men, and into the great
libraries of universities, historical institutions
and genealogical societies ; and it remains there,
and is thus seen and consulted in many places.
This memorial is thus perpetually renewed,
and, unlike a memorial window or tablet, it is
seen in many places. It is both unpretentious and
effective for its high and laudable purpose. -
The society proposed that its first president
and its first recording secretary should have the
honor of standing at the head of the roll of the
In Memoriam Members. They were forthwith
made members by those who best knew their
worth and excellencies. Thus the roll begins
with the names of James H. Tuthill and Stuart
T. Terry. The first was a legislator of the Senate
and a Surrogate of the county, as well as promi
nent for a score of years in the religious and
benevolent organizations of the county. The
second was known on account of his interest in
genealogical affairs, concerns of business, hav
ing fiduciary qualities, and efficiency and promi
nence in religious bodies as, for instance, the
Synod of New York and the General Assemblv
of the Presbyterian Church in the United States
of America. The next name on the roll of this, memorial
order is that of William Sidney Smith of Long-
wood. He was distinguished by his attractive
person and manners ; by his prominence among
the descendants of Chief Justice William Smith,
the "Tangier" Smith ; by the wide extent of his
real estate ; by his ownership of half of the Great
South Bay ; by his public services as a legis
lator of the State and the treasurer of the coun
ty ; by the manifestation of his public spirit on all
fit occasions, and by his winsome courtesy and
high moral character.
Another worthy name on the memoriam roll

398

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

is that of Lewis A. Edwards, whose wise and
patriotic service in the Senate of the State of
New York was in accord with the excellence of
his whole, life as a generous citizen and Chris
tian gentleman. Fie was held in high esteem not
only as a ship owner and manufacturer, but as
a capable civilian and a generous man in all the
relations of life.
The Society, since its organization in 1886,
lias gathered a large quantity of valuable his
torical matter, and every year adds greatly to
these treasures, which include books, maps, plots
of villages, deeds and surveys of land, portraits,
genealogical, ethnological, archaeological, anti
quarian, biographical, genealogical, and other col
lections of kindred character. These treasures
already include extremely valuable unique maps
and rare and anciently printed books, as well as
modern volumes and paintings. Among the
valuable historical works are the following:
Records of Boston and New Haven, the former
comprising twenty-seven volumes, showing the
origin of many Long Island families, presented
by Orville B. Ackerly; Mailman's "History of
Shelter Island," "Early Long Island Wills," by
W. S. Pelletreau ; all the town records of the
several Long Island towns as published by the
town authorities ; Thompson's "History of Long
Island;" genealogical and biographical record
of New York; and a copy of the laws of the
Colony of New York from 1691 to 1799, pre
sented by Elbert Carll Livingston, containing in
its fly-leaves a family register. (Tbe first death-
recorded on the fly-leaf in manuscript is that
of "Captain Jacob Conklin in December ye 8
1754 on the ist day of the week at 9 o'clock at
night.") Among the rare documents and publications
are: Early Long Island wills of Suffolk coun
ty, known as the Lester Will Book ; manuscript
copy of the roster of soldiers stationed at Sag
Barbor under command of Major Benjamin
Case in war of 1812; proceedings of the New
England Historic Genealogical Society and of
the Massachusetts Historical Society, all pre
sented by Orville B. Ackerly; papers in the case
of trustees of Southampton against Frederick

H. Betts, giving a full history of the early set
tlement of the town and the partitioning of the
lands and meadow rights; unbound journal of
New York Assembly Journal, 1796, and Senate,
1806; the origin and meaning of English and
Dutch surnames of New York State families;
list of ancestors and descendants of John Bowell
Wells; seventy old almanacs between the years
181 1 and 1896; and "Long Island Journal of
Philosophy and Cabinet of Varieties," published
at Buntington in 1825.
Among the curiosities is a framed commis
sion by the Postmaster General to Elihu S.
Miller as postmaster at Wading River, February
1, 1869, to his father, Sylvester Miller, July 30,
1844, and to his grandfather, Zophar Miller,
February 26, 1825.
A letter from the Postmaster General to
Congress transmitting a statement of the net
amount of postage accruing at each postoffice
in the country for the year ending March 31,
1826, shows the following to have been the re
ceipts of various Long Island offices : Jamaica,
$164.27; Bempstead, $36.57; Buntington,
$64.50; Suffolk Court Bouse (now Riverhead),
$29.40; Wading River, $2.74; Bridgehampton,
$50.22; Cold Spring, $18.63; Cutchogue, $10.20;
Deer Park, $7. 37; Easthampton, $59.33; Islip,
$20.40; Jericho, $18.07; Jerusalem, $1.27; Matti-
tuck, $18.86; Oyster Bay, $23; Oyster Bay
South, $7.39; Oyster Pond (Orient), $25.32;
Patchogue, $24.31; Sag Barbor, $117.06; Se
tauket, $28.46; Smithtown, $56.16; Southamp
ton, $47.62; Southold, $35.35; and Westhamp-
ton, $9.61.
Among the other interesting documents are
the records of the First Strict Congregational
convention, held at the house of the Rev. Daniel
Young, Riverhead, August 26, 1791 : The Rev.
Daniel Young, pastor of the First Congrega
tional Church of Riverhead, organized March 26,
1758; the Rev. Jacob Corwin, the Rev. Noah
Ballock, Bridgehampton, and Deacons Daniel
Terry and Richard Robinson, delegates from
the churches at Riverhead and Wading River;
the Rev. Jacob Corwin, pastor of the Second
Congregational Church, founded at Aquebogue,

RIVERHEAD.

399

or East Riverhead, in 1787, and the Rev. Paul
Cuffee, a native Indian of the Shinnecock tribe,
located at Canoe Place, "a man of great influence
and reputation." His grave is prominent to-day
in the cemetery east of Good Ground Station.
The appointment of Calvin Cook as ensign of
'"the regiment of militia in Suffolk County,"
signed by Daniel D. Tompkins, is prominently
displayed. There is an interesting exhibit of
flax seed, a sheaf of the flax raised in Suffolk
county, unbetchelled and betchelled flax, thread
and linen cloth. There are also shown the vari
ous old-fashioned flax machines, including flax
hackler, flax wheel and swift reel. A relic of
historical interest is a piece of cedar from the
British sloop of war "Sylph," built in Bermuda
in 181 1 and wrecked on Southampton Bar on
January 17, 181 1, when, out of a crew of 121,
115 were lost, including- Captain George Dickens,
commanding officer ; Lieutenants George Butt
and H. S. Marsham, Surgeon James Still and
Thomas Atwell, master. This piece of cedar
was part of a fence post underground on a farm
at Quogue for seventy-five years, and is still
as fragrant as ever. Among the Indian relics are
arrow heads, stone axes, hoes, tomahawks, mor
tars, found mainly in Southold and Southamp
ton. Some of these were taken from a well
twenty feet underground, and the stone was of
a character such as is found only in the out
cropping ledges of Massachusetts. It puzzles
scientists to know how four of the preglacial
stone arrow and spear heads came to be found
on Long Island and at such a depth below the
surface, where they have evidently been buried
for ages past. Wampum and other Montauk In
dian relics are also displayed here. An old
plow with a wooden mould board, used in the
town of Southold a hundred years ago, and sev
eral British cannon balls fired over to Long Isl
and from British men-of-war of 1812-15 and
picked up by the farmers in their fields are
shown. Among other curiosities are : Curious fish
found in the waters of Suffolk county; "shin-
plasters" issued by local merchants in the war

of the Rebellion ; old merchandise bills and re
ceipts ; old State bank and Continental bills ;
piece of first flat rail used on the Long Island
Railroad in 1836, size of rail two and one-half
by three-fourths, ordinary tire iron, also the
chain used for holding the ends of the rails ;
ivory paper-cutter used by Daniel Webster and
presented to him by Charles Taylor, of Peconic ;
photographs of the exhibits at the Suffolk Coun
ty Agricultural Society's fair, by B. B. Fuller-
ton; a bear's skull, found at Great Pond many
years ago ; a ten-pound piece of meteor that came
down on the farm of R. M. Bowne at Glen Cove
in 1794 (the original piece weighing fifty
pounds) ; a Latin Vulgate and Greek text Bible,
printed in 1544 in Venice; assessment roll of
Riverhead in 1839, in an ordinary writing book;
a picture of tombstone of John Gardiner, pro
prietor of Gardiner's Island, who was born in
1752 and died in 1823, and of David Gardiner,
second proprietor of Gardiner's Island, in the
Hartford Cemetery, Connecticut.
Among the engraved portraits are those of
Thomas George Hodgkins, who was born in
England in 1703, and died in Setauket in 1792;
the Rev. Charles J. Knowles, former pastor of
the Congregational Church at Riverhead, who
died in 1880; Ezra L'Hommedieu, member of
Continental Congress in 1779-83, member of the
Senate of New York, clerk of Suffolk county,
1784-1810, and regent of the university, 1787-
1811. Another institution which has proved a
great service to the upward progress of River
head is the Savings Bank, which was estab
lished in 1872, mainly through the efforts of Mr.
Nat W. Foster and Orville B. Ackerly. The
latter, who was for many years a resident of
Riverhead, has been engaged in business in X'ew
York for a considerable time past. Be was
county clerk of Suffolk for six years and had
previously been deputy clerk for twelve years,
and not only proved a most capable official but
was one of the most popular men in the county,
and that popularity he still retains, although the

400

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

prosecution of his business, necessarily removes
him from his associations — at least to the same
extent as formerly.
The bank opened with the, following trus
tees : James F. Tuthill, John Downs, N. W.
Foster, Jeremiah M. Edwards, Gilbert H.
Ketcham, Daniel A. Griffing, J. Benry Perkins,
Moses F. Benjamin, Edwin F. Squiers, John R.
Corwin, Orville B. Ackerly, Richard T. Osborn,
Isaac C. Balsey, Simeon S. Hawkins, Richard
H. Benjamin, John F. Foster, Thomas Coles, J.
Halsey Young, John S. Marcy, Abraham B.
Luce, Jonas Fishel and John P'. Mills. It was a
success from the first, and during all the years
that have passed, in spite of periods of panic,
depression and financial restlessness, it has main
tained a clean and honorable record, and by its
wise management has done much to develop the
prosperity of the town. According to a late
report its resources amounted to $3,189,770, and
its deposits to $2,859,829, giving it a clear sur
plus of $329,941. But that report showed an
other detail which ought to be a matter of local
pride, showing as it does the thrifty character
of the people, and that was the average of each
account in 1900 was $457.93, an amount ex
ceeded by only two others of the savings banks
on Long Island.
But the Savings Bank rendered a most valu
able service to Riverhead and to the county in a
widely different direction from its finances, for
it was at a meeting of its board of trustees in
1886 that the organization of the Suffolk Coun
ty Historical Society was first broached.
Mr. Nathaniel W. Foster, conspicuously iden
tified with various important institutions — the
Bistorical Society, the Agricultural Society, the
Bible Society and the Savings Bank, is one of
the best known men as he is one of the most
useful in Suffolk county, and he is a native of
the village which has been the scene of his life
work. Aquebogue has more to boast of in the way
of antiquity than Riverhead. It seems to have
been the site of an Indian village of consider
able size, so it is possible that the early set

tlers in the district from Southold simply took
up the red man's improvements in the way of
clearances and trails, and the strange temple
and graves discovered in 1879 demonstrate the
affection and reverence which a primitive race
must have had for the territory — possibly an
older race than that which sold the ground to
the white pioneers from Southold. A Presby
terian Church seems to have been organized at
Upper Aquebogue, beside the now ancient cem
etery, but little concerning it has been learned
beyond the names of two of its early pastors, a
Mr. Lee and the Rev. Timothy Symmes, and as
the latter became a minister in New Jersey in
1746 the period of the beginning of the Aque
bogue congregation must have preceded that
date by several years. At Lower Aquebogue a
Presbyterian church was erected in 1731, and at
Baiting Bollow in 1803. None of these early
churches survive. A Congregational Church was
organized at Upper Aquebogue in 1758. In 1785
a congregation of the body known as the Strict
Congregational Convention of Connecticut
was organized at Wading River, and in 1791 a
similar congregation was formed at Baiting
Bollow, and these three bodies continue to the
present time. In 1815 a Swedenborgian Church
was established at Baiting Bollow and existed
up to a few years ago.
From Lower Aquebogue, which some sup
pose to have been settled before any other part
of the district, the comparatively modern village
of Jamesport was formed about 1830, seemingly
one of those paper cities which for a time was
so common in the story of American life, and
was ridiculed so mercilessly in Dickens' novel,
"Martin Chuzzlewit." Dr. Prime tells us that
in 1833 there was not a single house in the place..
and that it owed "its origin to the speculation
fever of a single individual who ruined himself
by the operation." The site was nicely mapped
out, streets were surveyed, a wharf was built
and a rather imposing hotel was erected. For a
year or two it seemed as if the hopes which cen
tered in it would be realized ; one or two whaling
ships made use of the wharf. But there was no
earthly reason why ocean boats should seek a

RIVERHEAD.

401

harbor at such a place, at the very extremity of
Peconic Bay, that was open to vessels larger
than coasters, and that was at all times difficult
of access. So the mariners, after a trial or two-,
sought other and more convenient headquarters,
and Jamesport's commerce fell away and its
hopes were blighted. A few years ago its beau
tiful situation began to attract "the summer peo
ple," and it has become quite popular with that
class, so much so that at the height of the sea
son it is rather difficult for all who desire ac
commodations to secure them. But that is a
matter, that can be remedied and there is little
doubt it will be. Under these circumstances
Jamesport can look forward to a brighter future
than was ever anticipated for it at its incep
tion or that seemed possible in 1843, when the
early glamour had passed and it boasted some
forty houses.
At the other extremity of the township, on
the boundary line dividing it from Brookhaven,
is the village of Wading River, the terminus,
for the present at least, of what is known as
the Port Jefferson branch of the Long Island
Railroad. It is supposed that a settlement was
effected about 1670, and in 1708 a mill was es
tablished by John Roe. Some four miles east
ward is the settlement of Baiting Hollow, which
is said to date from 1719. ' Like Wading River,
it did a considerable business in the first half

of the nineteenth century in cutting and market
ing firewood, but the source of supply did not
prove inexhaustible, and, when it passed, farming
remained the only industry, for even to the pres
ent day the- summer boarder has not discovered
this region to any great extent. During the
war of 1812 an exciting skirmish is said to have
been fought on the shore between Fresh Pond
Landing- and Jericho Landing. Several sloops
belonging to Baiting Bollow and engaged in
carrying firewood, were espied on the beach by
a British squadron cruising in the Sound, and
two boats' crews were dispatched to seize them.
The local militia, was, however, on the lookout,
and under Captain John Wells opened fire on the
invaders with such effect that although they had
landed and had boarded one of the sloops, they
were glad to effect a retreat. It is said that the
British had a cannon in each of their boats and
used them, but this part of the story may well
be doubted. Manorville (380) population, Calverton
(350), Northville (412), Roanoke (200), Bu-
chananville (200), Laurel (197), are all farming
centers, and there are a number of other still
more slenderly populated, of which nothing more
interesting can be said. In fact, outside of
Riverhead village, the township is almost wholly
given over to farming.

26

ON THE SOUND SHORE NEAR SOUTHOLD.

CHAPTER XVI.

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

nlike any other town in Suffolk county,
Southold was founded in a strict union of
church and state, and it seems to have
been the intention of its founders to have
all authority, temporal as well as spiritual, vested
in church officers and church members, and they
seemed to hope in this manner to anticipate the
millenium when Christ and his saints should rule
the earth.
This town occupies the eastern portion of the
north branch of Long Island, and includes Fish
er's and Plum Islands. Its length from the west
ern boundary, separating it from the town of
Riverhead, to the extremity of Orient Point, is
23 miles. Its greatest width is four miles, but
east of Southold village it is much narrower.

Prom a glance at the map it would seem as if
nature had intended to divide the town into many
islands, and had failed in the attempt. A short
distance from its western boundary a sheet of
water called Mattituck Bay puts in from the
sound and extends nearly three-quarters of the
distance across ; while nearly opposite a creek
known as Reeves Creek comes up from Peconic
Bay, and the distance between these two bodies
of water is quite limited. Here the Indians in
ancient times were accustomed to drag their ca
noes across, and this gave it the name, which
occurs in our oldest records, of Canoe Place. To
the east of Southold, Mill Creek conies up from
the south, and extends almost entirely across,
being separated from the sound by a beach a

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

403

few rods in width, and the creek separates South-
old proper from the region called "Hashamo-
mack." Still farther east is another isthmus,
connecting Orient Point and East Marion, or,
as they were called in ancient times, "Oyster
Ponds Lower and Upper Necks." This isth
mus is formed by a pond connected with Pe
conic Bay by a creek, and is a beach about three
rods wide and eighty rods along.
The soil is generally fertile, except a portion
of the region next Peconic Bay, including Little
Bog Neck. The central portion of the town is
especially fertile, and the farms of Cutchogue and
Mattituck are noted for their excellence and their
high state of cultivation. The peninsula of Or
ient is for the most part fertile, but rocky on the
north, and bears every indication of its glacial
origin. The north branch of the island termin
ates here in a long point or beach, around which
the tide through Plum Gut sweeps with resist
less power, and it is believed that this channel
was once much narrower, and some have thought
that Plum Island was originally connected with
the neighboring shore.
In early days the town was in almost all
parts covered with woods, but the untiring hands
of the industrious settlers have made the smiling
field where once the forest frowned. Few tracts
of woodland of much extent are now found, the
largest being on the south side, at Fleet's Neck,
and in one or two localities on the north shore.
To write the early history of this town is no
easy task, since all records prior to 1651 are lost
forever, with the exception of two brief notices
which will be given hereafter. _ Yet, the state
ment that it was settled in-1640 is generally ac
cepted, and as Southampton was settled in the
same year, the question has been agitated in
late years which town is entitled to' the honor of
being called the oldest English town on Long
Island. This question has been discussed with
great ability and high intelligence, the princi
pal contestants in the case being the Rev. Epher
Whitaker, D. D., of Southold, and the late
George R. Howell, of Southampton, each of
whom has found in this contest a foeman worthy
of his steel. We do not propose to enter into

this discussion with a view of deciding the ques
tion, but as public attention has been drawn to the
subject we will here give all the authorities that
have been discovered after most diligent search,
and present all the facts that can throw light
on this vexed point, and leave to the reader the
task of rendering judgment upon evidence pre
sented. The case as regards Southampton may be
briefly stated. On March 10, 1639, tne company
of first settlers entered into a combination at
Lynn, Massachusetts, to found a new plantation
on Long Island. One month later, April 17,
1640 (the year at that time beginning March 25),
they obtained a grant from James Farrett, agent
of the Earl of Stirling, who was then owner of
Long Island, authorizing them to take up eight
miles square of land "where best suiteth them."
In pursuance of the enterprise they sailed for
Long Island, and commenced a settlement at Cow
Bay in what is now the town of North Hemp
stead, but they were driven away by the Dutch.
"Upon this," says Governor Winthrop, June 4,
1640, "the Linne men, finding themselves too
weak, and having no encouragement to expect
aid from the English, deserted that place and took
another at the east end of the same island; and,
being now about 40 families, they proceeded in
their plantation, and called one Mr. Pierson, a
godly, learned man and a member of the church
of Boston to go with them." From this account,
written by one who had every opportunity to be
acquainted ' with the facts, there can no longer
be .any doubt that Southampton was settled in
June, 1640.
The earliest record we have of any purchase
of land within the present limits of Southold is
a deed from James Farrett to Richard Jackson,
dated August 15, 1640, a copy of which, with the
subsequent, transfers, is here appended, as taken
from the Southold records, and is all that re
mains of the records prior to 1651.

"This indenture witnesseth that I James
Faret, gent., deputie to the right honorable the
Earle' of Starling, Secretarie for the Kingdom
of Scotland, doe by these presents for him &

404

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

in his name as it may in any way concerne my
self, for & in consideration of a certain some of
money to me in hand paied, grant & make sale
unto Richard Jackson of ffiftie acres of mea
dow & upland lying and being uppon the North
of the River called Manhansuck, in Long Island,
to the eastward of the place called the ffive wig
wams, to gether with an hundred acres of up
land adjoyninge to the afore said fiftie acres to
the northwest of it; the same quietly to possess
and enjoy to him & his heirs forever, with all
the easements & accommodations thereunto be-
longinge. And morover it is agreed between
the said parties that bee the said Richard Jack
son, his heirs, executors or assigns, shall pay
unto the said Earle, his heirs or assigns an ac
knowledgement of a pep. corne every yeare for
the fiftie acres aforesaid; and also shall pay unto
the said James ffarret gent., or his assigns yeare-
ly a penny an acre for all the hundred acres
before mentioned. In witness Whereof wee
have sett to our bands & seales the 15th day of
August 1640.
James Farrett."
"Sealed, signed and delivered in the presence
of us Joshua Griffiths,
Robert Cannon."
Joshua Griffiths, whose name appears above,
was one of the witnesses to the Indian deed for
Southampton, December 13, 1640. Richard
Jackson, the grantee, proceeded to build a house
and improve the purchase, and in October sold
the same to Thomas Weatherby, who conveyed it
to Stephen Goodyear of New Haven, and the lo
cation and facts of transfer are very explicitly
noted in the following deed:
"This Indenture witnesseth that, whereas
James Farret, gent., Deputy to the honble Earle
of Starleing & Secretarie for the kingdome of
Scotland, hath by his Indenture in his owne
name & in the name of the Earle of Starling
aliened & sold unto Richard Jackson, carpenter,
a parcell of Land as by deed under his hande &
seale more particularly recited, lying & being
uppon a neck of Land called Hashamonrmuck
neck; also whereas the said Jackson past over
by deede under his hand and seale the said land
& his house to Thomas Witherby, marriner, for
the sum of ffiftecne pounds, as may by the said
deed more fully appeare. Now this prsnt In
denture or writeing doth publish and declare to
all people whom it may concerne that Stephen

Goodyeare of New Haven, merchant, doth for
himself, his heires and assignes, Alien, bargaine
& sell unto John Ketcham, of Southold on Long
Island, All that tract or piece of Ian d & meadow
weh was at first granted to the said Richard
Jackson as aforesaid, as being his of right &
belonging to him both from Jackson and
Weatherby and by tbe Indian title, and doth,
for and in consideration of £20 to him well and
truly payed & received, fully discharge & acquit
the said John Ketcham, his heires and assignes
for ever, of all & singular the aforesaid prem
ises, with all debts, dewes & demands what
soever to this present. In witness where of I
have hereunto sett my hand & seale this second
day of the 4th month 1653. Stephen Goodyeare.
"Sealed, subscribed and delivered to the use
of John Ketehum in the presence of us
"Benjamin Lynge,
"William Wells."
The next we hear of this piece of land is in
a deed dated "New England Long Island Setal-
cot 3 October 1661," by which "Thomas Ketch-
urn of the place aforesaid" sells to Thomas
Moore, sen., of Southold, all the premises in
Hashamomack Neck, described in the deed given
by Goodyear, as copied above.
It is interesting to be able to locate this tract
of land, as it is the first land sold in the town
which can be located with certainty. It lies upon
a neck west of Greenport, and on the shore of
"Pipes Cove." A portion of it belongs to the
estate of Jeremiah Moore, deceased, a descend
ant of Thomas Moore, mentioned above, and
a part belongs to the heirs of William Y. Brown.
The place called the five wigwams was probably
upon the small island of woods belonging to the
estate of Jeremiah Moore, at the head of Pipes
Creek. In the town records of Southold are recorded
two deeds given by James Farrett, the agent of
the Earl of Sterling, to one Matthew Sinderland
(or Sunderland) "seaman at Boston in New
England." In the first deed James Farrett re
cites his commission from vthe Earl of Stirling,
and his power to sell lands, and conveys to
Matthew Sinderland "One Island betwixt Oys
ter Bay and Sloops Bay, some half mile from the

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

405

main Island." The price was "£20 lawful 'money
of England," and the date June 18, 1639. The
witnesses are Sampson Salter and Robert Tur
ner. In another deed of same date, James Far
rett conveys to Matthew Sinderland "Free leave
and liberty to possess and improve two little
necks of land, one upon the east side of Oyster

In Liber I of Wills in the New York surro
gate's office, is recorded the following:
"John Conkling, Jr., of Hashamamock, neare
Southold, having married Sarah, late widow of
William Salmon, who had then divers young
children of which he hath had greate care and
been at considerable expense in bringing them

SOUTHOLD CREEK— LANDING PLACE OF FIRST SETTLERS.

Bay Harbor, and the other upon the west side of
said Harbor." The annual rent was to be 10
shillings. James Farrett, on September 4, 1639, ac
knowledges the receipt of 20 shillings for the
land at Oyster Bay, and on September 8, 1640,
he also acknowledges the receipt of 20 shillings
"for payment of two years rent due for the pro
portion of land belonging to him at Boston Bay
and that for the years 1640-1641."
It is quite evident that the above deeds con
vey no part of Southold.

up." Letters of administration were granted to
him on the estate of William Salmon, November,
1665. "Whereas John Conkling, Jr., of Hasha
mamock did intermarry with Sarah, widow of
William Salmon, late of Southold, with whom
he left six children, four of which he had by
Katharine his former wife, and the other two by
his wife Sarah. The said Katharine having been
the widow of -one Matthew Sunderland, a sea
man, who formerly improved some part of
Hashamamock as an agent of Mr. James Farrett,
deputy to the Earl of Stirling, of whom he pur
chased several tracts of land, one on the east
side, and another on the west side of Oyster

406

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Bay, and also an Island not far from the same,
all of which fell to his wife Katharine for her
maintainance, having very little to leave to her
for her livelihood, and this neck of Hashamam
ock, being the place of their residence, and' not
under any Jurisdiction until his Majesty's late
Letters Patent given to his Royal Highness
James Duke of York, were published in this
Island. Therefore the said John Conkling, Jr.,
in the right of Sarah his wife and the six chil
dren, petitions the Bon. Court for Letters of ad
ministration." These were granted by the Court
of Souhampton, November 16, 1665.
"At Court of Sessions held in Southold June
5, 1666, Concerning the petition of John Conk
ling, Jr., for settling the estate of William Sal
mon, to Sarah his wife and six orphans, one son
and five daughters, The Overseers of Southold
fixed the eldest son's portion to be £31, us, 4d
and the other children's portions to be £15, 15s,
8d each. They did not allow anything to John
Conkling- for bringing them up."
The six children were Mary, John, Sarah,
Rebecca, Elizabeth and Hannah. It was or
dered that John Conkling should give security
to pay to John £28 when of age, and to each of
the daughters £14 when of age. The oldest
daughter, Mary, had already received her por
tion. The only thing that we can learn with cer
tainty from the above is that Matthew Sunder
land was in possession and "improved" some part
of Hashamamock during the period when James
Farrett was agent for the Earl of Stirling. But
as no grant to him is on record the exact date is
quite unknown.
Tradition and history alike unite in awarding
to Rev. John Youngs the honor of being the
founder of this town. The first notice we have
of this remarkable man is found in the follow
ing entry, copied by Samuel G. Drake from the
original records in London and printed in his
"Founders of New England," p. 49 : "The ex
amination of John Yonge of St. Margaretts,
suff. minister, aged thirty-five years, and Joan
his wife, aged thirty-four years, with six chil
dren — John, Thqmas, Anne, Rachel, Mary and
Joseph. Ar desirous to passe for Salam in New

England to inhabitt." Against the above entry
in the place of the date is written : "This man
was forbyden passage by the commissioners and
went not from Yarmouth." This1 entry follows
six other entries, dated May 11, 1637, and is
followed by two entries of examination on May
12, 1637. Neal, in his "History of New Eng
land," published in London in 1720, mentions
Rev. Mr. Youngs of Southold among the list
of Puritan ministers "who were in orders in the
Church of England, but being disturbed by the
ecclesiastical courts for the cause of noncon
formity transported themselves to New England
before the year 1641.
In Lambert's "History of New Haven," which
is a work of original research and considered
good authority, it is stated: "Mr. Youngs re
organized his church at New Baven on the 21st
of October, 1640, and, with them and such others
as chose to accompany him, in the latter part of
the month passed over to the island and com
menced the settlement of the plantation." Moore's
"Index of Southold," an invaluable work, which
embraces in small compass the fruit of a vast
amount of patient research, speaks of him as or
ganizing a church in New Baven, to be located
at Southold, October, 1640. We have no posi
tive knowledge as to who the men were who con
stituted this church, and any attempt to make a
list of the early settlers must be based upon in
ference more than actual knowledge; but the
following list contains the names of those per
sons whom we believe to have been residents of
the town prior to 1654:
Robert Akerly, Richard Benjamin, Thomas
Benedict, John Bayley, John Booth, Thomas
Brush, John Budd, Benry Case, Roger Chester,
Richard Clark, John Conklin, Thomas Cooper,
Matthias Corwin, Philemon Dickerson, Jeffrey
Easty, John Elton,  Frost, Charles Glover,
James Baines, Peter Ballock, ( ?) John Ber
ber!, Josiah Flobart, Barnabas Borton, Thomas
Hutchinson, John Ketcham, Thomas Mapes,
Thomas Moore, Humphrey Norton, Thomas Os-
man, Isaac Overton, Peter Paine, Edward Petty,
John Peakiu, William Furrier, James Reeves,

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

407

Thomas Rider, William Salmon, Thomas Steven
son, John Swezy, Richard Terry, Thomas Terry,
Thomas Terrill, John Tucker, Henry Tuthill,
John Tuthill,* John Underhill, Jeremiah Vail,
William Wells, Abraham Whittier, Barnabas
Wines, Rev. John Youngs, Colonel John Youngs,
Joseph Youngs.
To give an account of each of these would take
us far beyond our limits, and a brief notice of a
few of the more important names must suffice.
The leader, Rev. John Youngs, had five sons —
Colonel John, Thomas, Joseph, Benjamin and
Christopher — and daughters Anne, Mary and
Rachel. Bis son, Colonel John, had arrived at
man's estate at the time of the settlement, and
until the end of his life was the foremost man
of the colony.
Barnabas fiortoii was without doubt one of
the original company who came with Mr.
Youngs. Be was born at Mousely, in Leicester
shire, England, in 1600. After coming to this
country he is said to. have lived at Bampton,
Massachusetts, until 1640, when he joined the
church organized by Mr. Youngs. Be had sons
Joseph, Benjamin, Caleb, Joshua and Jonathan,
and daughters, Bannah, Sarah and Mary. In
1654, 1656 and 1659 he was a deputy from
Southold to the court of New Baven. Be was
admitted freeman of the Connecticut colony in
1662, and was deputy in 1663 and 1664. Bis

*From this pioneer a recent local genealogical writer
traces the descent of the .late President Benjamin Har
rison, as follows :
I. John Tuthill, Jr., of Southold, son of Henry
Tuthill, of Tharston, England, and Hingham, Mass.,
was born July 16, 1635, and married Deliverance, daugh
ter of William and Dorothy King.
IT. Henry Tuthill, of Southold, born May 1, 1665,
married Bethia, daughter of Captain Jonathan Horton.
III. Henry Tuthill, of Southold, born 1690, mar
ried Hanna Bebee (or Crouch).
IV. Henry Tuthill, of Aquebogue, born before
1715, married Phoebe Horton.
'V. Anna Tuthill, iborn 1741, married John Cleves
Symmes. VI. Anna Symmes married President William
Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison, signer of
the Declaration of Independence, and for three terms
Governor of the State of Virginia.
VII. John Scott Harrison married Lucretia K.
Johnson. VIII. Benjamin Harrison, late President of the
United States, born August 20, 1833, died March 13,
1901.

name occurs as one of the patentees of the town
in 1676, and he was intimately connected with all
public affairs until his death. Bis tomb in the
churchyard in Southold is covered with a slab
of blue slate, said to have been imported from
bis native place, and bearing the following in
scription :
Here lieth buried the body of Mr. Barnabas Horton,
who was born at Mousely, Leicestershire, Old England,
and died at Southold on the 13th day of July, 1680,
aged eighty years.
Here lies my body tombed in dust,
Till Christ shall come and raise it with the just.
My soul ascended to the throne of God,
Where with sweet Jesus now I make abode:
1 Then hasten after me, my dearest wife,
To be partaker of this blessed life.
And you, dear children all, follow the Lord ; ,
Hear and obey His public sacred word,
And in your houses call upon His name,
For oft I have advised you to the same.
Then God will bless you with your children all,
And to this blessed place He will you call.
Heb. xi. 4 — He, being dead, yet speaketh.
William Wells, who was second to none in
influence, is said to have come from England
June 19, 1635, in the same ship with John Bay-
ley, another of the early settlers. The first no
tice of him. on Long Island is the following en
try in the records of Southampton: "March
15th, 1643, William Wells, Gent., was^ censured
for some unreverent speeches to Daniel Bowe,
who confessed his offense and promised refor
mation." In 1646 his name appears in the same
records among a list of, men who had evidently
abandoned the settlement. The exact time at
which he became a settler at Southold is un
known, but he was a resident here before 1649.
He was a native of Norwich, England, and was
born in 1608. Throughout his life he was the
legal authority of the town, and pre-eminently
the business man of the place, and it was through
him that the purchases were made from the In
dians of the region of Cutchogue, Mattituck and
Ockabock, including the town of Riverhead. As
the inscription on his tomb narrates, he was a
"justice of the peace and first sheriff of York
shire," being appointed to that position by Gov
ernor Nicolls in 1664. He died November 13,
1671, aged sixty-three years, and left a wife-
Mary, who afterward married Thomas Mapes.

4G8

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

His first wife, Bridget, was the widow of Henry
Tuthill, and had the following children: Will
iam, Joshua, Mary, Bethia and Mehitabel. Bis
tomb may still be seen in the old burial ground,
and after a lapse of two centuries is in a perfect
state of preservation. So far as we know it is
the oldest tombstone in Suffolk county.
John Budd, according to Moore's "Index,"
was in New Baven in June, 1639, and signed an
agreement as a freeman. Be is reputed to have
been one of the original company of settlers. The
first actual knowledge we have of his presence on
Long Island is in October, 1644, when we find
this entry in the Southampton records : "Mr.
Jones hath the lott granted unto him which was
formerly granted unto John Budd of Yeano-
cock" (Southold). This clearly indicates that
he was a dweller there at a very early date. In
1645 "it is ordered that John Budd shall have
graunted unto him 4 acres of new ground ad
joining to his other 4 acres, to make up an 8-
acre lott." In 1650 he is mentioned in South
ampton as the owner of a water-mill and as run
ning the same, and he is called "Lieutenant."
In 1 65 1 he appears as plaintiff in a suit against
John Bubbard, but after that his name occurs
no more. It is certain that he was a land owner
in Southold in 1649, and left a large estate to his
son John, who was one of the wealthiest men in
the town. In 1657 he was deputy from Southold
to New Baven. Be removed to Westchester
county about 1660, probably on account of some
difficulty with his neighbors, and died there pre
vious to 1670. Be had children, John, Joseph
and Judith. None of his descendants are now
found in this town.
Thomas Cooper was not, as some of the his
torians of Southold suppose, the same person
who was among the first settlers in Southamp
ton. Fie was probably a brother of John Cooper,
of Southampton. Thomas Cooper left a large
estate to his widow and daughter. The daughter
married Stephen Bailey and had three daughters,
Abigail, wife of Joshua Hempstead; Mary, wife
of I nomas Talmage ; and Hannah, wife of Will
iam Salmon, who divided the estate.
Matthias Corwin was doubtless an original

settler. Previous to his settlement here he was
a resident at Ipswich, Massachusetts. -He was a
man of the same rank as Colonel Youngs and Mr.
Wells, and in 1656 was one of the men appointed
to order town affairs, a position of great respon
sibility. Be died in 1658, leaving two sons,
John and Theophilus, and a daughter Mary, who
married Henry Case, the ancestor of the numer
ous family of that name. The descendants of
Matthias Corwin are widely spread, and among
them are to be found some who have t held the
highest positions in church and state.
John Conkling was not among the original
company, but came here previous to 165 1. Be
fore this he was a resident of Salem. There are
few -families on Long Island that have exerted a
wider influence. His brother, Ananias, was the
founder of the East Bampton family. From his
son Timothy are descended the families in the
town of Huntington and the western part of the
county; while from his sons John and Jacob are
sprung the families in this town, and the name is
found in all sections of our country. He is said
to have been a native of Nottinghamshire, Eng
land. Tradition states that he and William Sal
mon, the proprietor of Bashamomack, -were
neighbors and playmates in their boyhood days,
and this is supposed to have been the reason why,
after a short stay in Southold village, he re
moved to the neighborhood of his former com
panion. About 1661 he removed to Buntington,
and died there about 1683, at the supposed age
of eighty-three years.
Few of the early settlers have left more dis
tinguished descendants than Philemon Dicker-
son. In 1637 he came to America in the same
vessel in- which Minister Youngs had vainly at
tempted to obtain passage. In 1639 he appears
at Salem, Massachusetts, where in 1641 he was
admitted as a freeman. Be is supposed to have
come to this town in 1646, but the date is un
known. Be died in 1674, aged seventy-four
years, and left sons, Thomas and Peter. From
these are sprung a numerous posterity, embrac
ing some of the most noted public men of the
land. In 185 1 Bon. Mahlon Dickerson, Sec
retary of the Navy, erected in the ancient burv-

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

409

ing ground of this village a massive monument
to the memory of his ancestors.
John Goldsmith, though not one of the first
settlers, was a prominent citizen, and has left
a numerous and respected posterity. He is sup
posed to have been the son of Thomas Gold
smith, who was a resident of Southampton in
1651, arid was living there as late as 1677. In
1661 he bought of Richard Barrett his house and
land. It was a part of this land that John Gold
smith sold to widow Margaret Cooper in 1678,
in exchange for a lot in Cutchogue. The deeds
may be seen in Vol. I, printed records of South-
old, p. 209, 210. He moved to this town at that
time and died in 1703, leaving children, John,
Richard, Nathaniel, Mary, Thomas, Daniel and
Elizabeth. Thomas Moore left England in 1635. In
1636 he -and his wife Martha were admitted as
members of Salem church, and they came to
Southold about 1650. In 1658 he was deputy
from this town to the General Court at New Ha
ven. He was appointed magistrate by the Dutch
officers in 1673; he dealined, but accepted the
position under English rule in 1685.. He was a
large land owner and a prominent man during his
whole life. Be died in 1691, leaving children,
Thomas, Martha, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Bannah,
Jonathan, Mary and Sarah. Bis son Benjamin
married Anne, daughter of James Bampton, of
Southampton, who came from that place to Sa
lem. The descendants of this family are very
numerous. Among them none is more worthy of
respectful mention than Charles B. Moore, of
New York, whose genealogical indices must
ever be an authority of the greatest weight upon
the subject.
Colonel John Youngs, next to his venerable
parent, the minister, was justly considered the
foremost man in the town, and there are few
names in the early history of the county more
prominent than his. Be was born in 1623, early
became master of a vessel, and was in active
service against the Dutch. In 1654 he was ap
pointed by tbe commissioners, to cruise in the
Sound as a part of a naval force, and was ac
tively engaged in this service two years. In

1660 and 1661 be was a delegate to New Baven,
and after the union with Connecticut he was a
delegate to Bartford. He assisted in collecting
a military force to assist in the conquest of New
Amsterdam, and was one of the representatives
in the first assembly at Hempstead under the
Duke of York. Through him was obtained a
new deed from the Indians, confirming their pre
vious sales. He was one of the patentees in
1676, was made sheriff of Yorkshire, and was a
member of the. Colonial Council from 1683 to
1697. At the age of seventy years he was in com
mand, of the militia regiment of 533 men. We
have only time and space to briefly mention the
offices he filled and the acts he performed, but
the life and public services of this famous man
must ever be a bright page in Long Island his
tory. His eventful life closed -in 1698. Bis
tomb may still be seen in the ancient burial place,
and the stone that covers his remains bears the
following :
'Here lieth interred the body of Colonel
John Youngs Esquire, late one of His
Maiestie's Covncel of the Province of New York,
Who Departed this life ihe 12th day of April
Anno Domini 1698, Aged 75 years."

GOD'S ACRE.
In 1654 an order was made that each man
who had not already done so should bring in to
the recorder a description of his lands — "how
they ly East, west, north and South, between
whom, and in what places." Thanks to this or-

410

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

der, we have a pretty accurate knowledge as to
where each of our ancestors had his abode. Par
son Youngs and his little band landed at the head
of Town Creek, and here they established their
future home. That the minister's lot should
have been the best and most advantageously situ
ated was a thing to be expected. We will in
imagination turn back the wheels of time, and
endeavor to present a picture of the village in
the early days, and locate the homes of our hon
orable ancestors.
On the west side of the road that leads from
the main street to Town Creek was the home
lot of Minister Youngs. This lot extended west
ward as far as the western side of the deep
hollow west of the Methodist church. The pas
tor's dwelling was on the eastern part of the
lot and near where the house of Henry G.
Howell now stands. Here he lived and labored
and died.
Next west came the home lot of his neighbor,
Robert Akerly (now the "Cochran place"), but
in 1653 he had moved to another place, and his
home lot is described as "Twelve acres more or
lesse, the highway goeing into the old field ly
ing north, the land of Thomas Cooper lying at
the rear of his home lot south." This was near
the present residence of William Horton. Rob
ert Akerly moved to Brookhaven, and lived on
Crane's Neck. He has many descendants.
Next came the home lot of John Booth. His
lands were recorded in 1685, and at that time
his homestead was six acres, bounded west by
John Herbert and east by Benjamin Youngs.
These premises are. now the residence of the fam
ily of the late Israel Peck.
Next came John Herbert's homestead. This
descended to his son John, who in 1699 sold it
to "the inhabitants of the township of Southold"
for seventy-five pounds in silver. From that
time it has been used as a parsonage lot, and the
Presbyterian church stands upon it.
Next was the home lot of Richard Benja
min, and its western boundary was the present
easterly line of Richard Carpenter's lot.
The lot of Ananias Conkling, who after
ward removed to East Hampton, was next west,

and this was purchased by Richard Benjamin ;
his boundary then was "Benjamin's lane," a road
that ran from the town street by the east end
of Deacon Moses Cleveland's barn to Jockey
Creek Point, but was long since closed.
Upon the corner lot now the homestead of
Moses C. Cleveland, and upon which the Uni-
versalist church now stands, was the home of
George Miller in 1656. It was sold by him to
John Tuthill in 1658, and passed into the hands
of Joseph Sutton in 1660, which was probably
the time when John Tuthill went to Oyster
Ponds. In 1668 it belonged to John Swazey,
who sold the west part of it to Samuel King.
On the corner where the main street turns
to the south, the first lot was Samuel King's,
who owned it from 1658 to 1666. In the words
of Hon. j. Wickham Case : "John Tuthill, Rich
ard Brown and Samuel King formed a remark
able trio. They lived side by side for a score
of years in perfect harmony. They made pur
chases jointly; they divided, they exchanged
with and they sold to one another; entrusted
their property to each ©ther. King, only four
years before Tuthill's death, gave him a writ
ing of assurance for exchanges of land made-
forty years before, and for which no legal pa
pers had ever been executed." The lot of Sam
uel King is now in possession of the daughters
of Mrs. Sophronia Jennings.
Next south came the lot of John Elton, 1658.
This lot he obtained of William Purrier, who
bought it of Matthew Edwards. It now be-
lon-gis to the heirs of Sophronia Jennings.
The lot where Gilder S. Conkling now lives
was the original home lot of Thomas Mapes.
Be added to these the home lot of Jeffrey Esty,
who lived next north, and also that of John
Elton. This gave him a front of about fifty
rods from the south line of the present home
lot of Gilder S. Conkling. Thomas Mapes was
born about 1628, and could not have been one
of the original settlers. Be was a land sur
veyor and divided "Calves Neck," receiving for
his services the privilege of having his share next
his own home lot.
Next came the homestead of William Pur-

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

411

rier, who was repeatedly a delegate to New
Haven and filled many places of honor and trust,
but left no sons to perpetuate his name. His
lot is a part of the farm of Hiram Terry, and
is opposite the house of Edward Huntting.
Lastly, at the south 'end of Main street, at
the head of Jockey Creek, was the home lot of
Philemon Dickerson, now owned by Hiram Ter
ry, and Dickerson's house stood a few rods east
of Hiram Terry's barn, He is mentioned in old
deeds as a "tanner," and the remains of his tan-
vats have until recently been visible in the hollow
west of the barn.
The road running north from Main street
to the railroad station, and called in modern
phraseology Railroad avenue, was in ancient
times known as "Cooper's lane," and it is prob
able that Thomas Cooper, from whom it derived
its name, had his home lot on its east side. To
the west of this highway was the home lot of
William Wells, so prominent in all town af
fairs. This lot extended as far as the westerly
side of G. F. Hommel's lot, and the original site
of William Wells' house is now occupied by FI.
W. Prince. From the description of Thomas
Cooper's lot as given in the town records it
would seem as if Mr. Wells must at one time
have resided on the lot east of the road, now
owned by D. B. Wells, but probably this was only
for a short, time.
The next neighbor of William Wells on the
west was John Conkling, who owned the lot now
bounded on the west by the east line of D. F.
Conkling. This lot was in his possession but
a short time, when he gave it to his son and re
moved to Hashamomack.
Next was the lot of a man whose name was
famous in New England as well as upon Long
Island — Captain John Underhill. During his
short stay in this town, which was probably in
the years 1658 and 1659, he resided on this lot.
It is situated in the heart of the village, and
at the present time is owned by D. F. Conkling
and William B. Buckingham. Captain Under
bill's career is fully narrated - in Thompson's
'History of Long Island." Bis was an eventful
life — fighting with Indians at one time, and at

another with church authorities, he was in all
respects a "moving man." Southold was prob
ably too dull for him-, and in 1659 he sold his lot
to Thomas Moore and sought and found new
fields of action.
Thomas Brush owned the next lot, but sold
it in 1658 and removed to Buntington, where
his descendants are still to be found. Bis lot
is now owned by Bezekiah Jennings.
Matthias Corwin, whose claim, to be one of
the original company has never been disputed,
lived on the next lot. This was left by him to
his son John, who was the owner for many years
after his father's death, and then removed to
what was called the "Indian Field" farm, in what
is now the village of Peconic. This homestead
of Matthias Corwin is directly opposite the Pres
byterian church, and is now owned by David
A. Jennings and Mrs. M. A. Rose.
Barnabas Borton's home lot, the only one
which has come down to modern times through
an unbroken line of descendants, was next to
Matthias Corwin's. Bis homestead consisted of
two home lots, separated by what is called in
the old record "the highway leading toward the
North Sea," now called "Horton's Lane." The
Catholic church stands on the east lot, and also
the Presbyterian Chapel and the residence of
the late Ira Tuthill. Upon the west lot stood
until the last few years the original house of
Barnabas Horton, which was, at the time of its
destruction in 1873, me oldest house in Suffolk
county. It was here that the courts were held
in ancient times, and it was for this purpose
that the original house was enlarged in 1684.
After the death of the first settler it passed in
succession to five generations of his descendants,
all bearing the name of Jonathan Horton, and
after a brief ownership by Henry Buntting and
Dr. Sweet it has returned to its ancient line of
proprietorship, and is now in the possession of
D. Philander Horton, of the seventh generation
from Barnabas the first. Careful drawings of
this ancient mansion were made before its de
struction, and will perpetuate in time to come
the memory of one of the most noted land
marks on Long Island. The rear view of the

412

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ancient mansion, on another page, is given by
permission of Harpers, publishers. It was drawn
by the famous artist, E. A. Abbey.
At tbe angle of the town street, and bound
ed on the west by the road anciently known as
"Tucker's Lane," was the homestead of Lieu
tenant John Budd, and afterward of his son
John. The Budds were in that day the wealthy
family of the town, and upon this lot they erect
ed a mansion, yet standing, which must have
exceeded in- magnificence any of the other houses
of the early settlement. In '1679. John, Jr., sold
the west part, with the house upon it, to John
Hallock, and it is now owned by Jonathan W.
Huntting. The eastern part was sold to Jere
miah Vail, and is now in the possession of Sam
uel S. Vail.
The next lot was the homestead of John
Tucker, and was bounded north by the road
that bore his name. The lot seems at first to
have belonged to Roger Cheston, of whom we
know but little, and afterward to Nehemiah
Smith, of whom, we know still less. John Tucker
in 1659 removed to "Ockabock," and was the
first man who set up a sawmill on the stream
at Riverhead. Be was an officer in the early-
church, and is mentioned as "Deacon Tucker."
His home lot is now owned by Barnabas H.
Booth. Joseph Borton, oldest son- of the first Barna
bas, records his home lot as "lying between the
land of John Tucker east and Barnabas Wines
west." In 1665 he sold it to his father and re
moved to Rye, in Westchester county, where
his descendants are still remaining. The lot
continued in the Borton family for some gen
erations, and is now owned by Captain Benja
min Coles.
Next was the homestead of Barnabas Wines,
who recorded it in 1665. From him it descend
ed to his second son, Samuel. Bis first son,
Barnabas, went to Elizabethtown, New Jersey,
in 1665, but after some years returned and set
tled at Mattituck, on a farm still owned by his
posterity. The original home lot is now owned
by heirs of Moses Cleveland and Joseph Borton.

Thomas Scudder lived next, and recorded his
home lot with his other land in 1654. In 1656
he sold it to John Bayles and removed to Bunt
ington, with his brothers Benry and John. It is
now owned by Charles A. Case.
Benry Terry lived next. It is probable that
he was one of Minister Youngs' company. Bis
brother Thomas was either one of the first set
tlers in Southampton, or was at least a witness
to their agreement. Richard Terry, Jr., was
styled "recorder." About 1673 he removed to
Cutchogue, where he owned a large tract of
land, including a part of Pequash or "Quasha"
Neck. Richard, Sr., died in 1675, and his widow
Abigail and son John then continued on the old
homestead. It now belongs to Moses Cleveland,
Charles S. Williams and George B. Simons.
Between Richard Terry and his brother Thomas
lived Thomas Reeves, the ancestor of the fam
ilies of that name throughout the town. The
lot is now owned by Edward Buntting, who in
herited it from his father, the Rev. Jonathan
Buntting in 1850.
Last came the home lot of Thomas Terry,
which is mentioned as "next the bridge," and
doubtless there was a swamp or morass there in
early days ; even now a small bridge is deemed
necessary for the highway to cross the "run." Be
died in 1672, and the lot went to his son Daniel.
It was in after time the dwelling place of "Good
Jonathan Horton," a great-grandson of Barnabas.
It is now owned by Patrick May.
Colonel John Youngs, the right arm of the
settlement, had his homestead on the east side
of the road running from Main street to Town
Creek, and opposite the dwelling place of his
father, the minister. Here he lived until his
death, in 1697. The history of the lot subse
quent to this can not be traced, but about one
hundred years ago it came into the possession
of Richard Peters, a merchant, and the house
now occupied by Richard L. Peters, or a part of
it, is believed to be the identical mansion occupied
by Colonel Youngs during his long life. Upon
this lot also stands the dwelling hpuse of Hon.
J. Wickham Case, whose efforts to preserve the

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

413

relics of our early history have placed the town
under a debt of gratitude which can never be re
paid. To the east of Colonel Youngs lived John
Haynes in 1656, and on the south of these two
lots and next the creek was the home lot of Isaac
Arnold, one of the foremost men of the second
generation, and judge of the county from 1693
to 1706. To the east of John Haynes lived John Corey
and Peter Paine, while next the creek was the
home lot of Thomas Moore. This is described.
in the record of 1658 as "six acres more or lesse,
the widdowe Payne's habitacon Southwest, the
Creeke on the north east side." This is the
present residence of William T. Fithian. The
house which stood on this lot was famous as be
ing the place where the Dutch Commissioners
sent from New York in 1673 had their formal
meeting, and made their endeavors to bring the
town under the Dutch government.
At the east end of Main street, near the
residence of Mrs. Beulah Goldsmith, was the
home lot of Henry Case. - The first mention
of him occurs December 15, 1658, when the
town granted him a lot of four acres "next to
the east side of the lot late granted to Richard
Skydmore." It was provided that he should
remain and improve the same for three years.
In 1658 he married Martha, only daughter of
Matthias Corwin, He died in 1664, leaving two
sons, Henry and Theophilus. To give a record
of all his descendants would far exceed our
limits, but one branch deserves especial men
tion. Henry 2d had a son Samuel, who had
a son Lieutenant Moses, who died September
25, 1814, aged ninety-one years, leaving sons
Gilbert, Matthias and Luther. This last was the
father of Hon. J. Wickham Case, whose knowl
edge of the local history of the town was not
exceeded by that of any living man, and for
whose assistance the writer is under the deepest
obligations. The original Indian deed of sale given to
Minister Youngs and his associates has been lost,
but in 1665 a confirmatory deed was drawn up
and signed by the Indian chiefs, covering all

the purchases up to that time. It runs as fol
lows :
To all people to whom this present writing
shall come, greeting. Know yee that, whereas
the inhabitants of Southold, their predecessors,
or some of them, have, in the right and behalf
of the said Inhabitants and Township, pur
chased, procured and paid for, of the Sachems
and Indians our Ancestors, all that tract of land
situate, lying and being at the East ward end
of Long Island, and bounded with the river called
in the English toung the Weading Kreek, in the
Indian toung Pauquaconsuck, on the West to
and with Plum island on the east, together with
the island called Plum island, with the Sound
called the North sea on the north, and with a
River or arme of the sea weh runneth up be
tweene Southampton Land and the afore said
tract of land unto a certain Kreek, which fresh
water runneth into on ye South, called in English
the Red Kreek, in Indian Toyonge, together
with the said Kreek and meadows belonging
there to; and running on a straight lyne from
the head of the afore named fresh water to the
head of ye Small brook that runneth into the
Kreek called Pauquaconsuck; as also all necks
of land's meadows, Islands or broken pieces of
meadows, rivers, Kreeks, with timber, wood
lands, fishing, fowling, hunting, and all other
commodities what so ever unto the said Tract
of land and island belonging or in any wise
appertaining, as Curchaug and Mattatuck, • and
all other tracts of land by what name what so
ever named or by what name so ever called;
and whereas the now Inhabitants of the afore
named town of Southold have given unto us
whose names are under written, being true suc
cessors of the lawful and true Indian owners
and proprietors of all the aforesaid tract of land
and islands, fourty yards of Trucking cloth, or
the worth of the same, the receipt where of and
every part of the same we doe hereby acknowl
edge and thereof acquit and discharge the In
habitants, their heirs, successors or assigns, and
every of them by these presents.
Now these presents witnesseth that wee
Whose names are under written, for the con
sideration aforementioned, hath given, granted,
remised and confirmed, and doth by these pres
ents grant, remise and confirm unto Captain
John Youngs, Barnabas Horton and Thomas
Mapes, for and in behalf of the Inhabitants and
township of Southold and for the use of the
aforesaid Inhabitants, according to their and
every of their several dividends, to have and to

414

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

hold to them and their heirs forever, by virtue
of the afore recited bargain, bargains, gifts and
grants of what nature or kind soever made with
our predecessors, we under written doe confirm
all the afore named tract of land, contained with
the afore mentioned bounds, as also Plum island,
with warranty against us, our heirs or any of
us or them, or any other person or persons'
claime, or from, by or under us, them, or any of
us or them, or any other person or persons, as
our, theirs or any of our or their right, title or
interests ; as witness our hands and seals this sev
enth of December, 1665, in the Seventeenth
yeare of ye reigne of our Soveraigne Lord
Charles by the grace of God of England, Scot
land, France and Ireland King, defender of the
faith &c.
[Signed by Ambuscow, Hammatux and 41
others,] Sealed and delivered in ye presence of us
Benjamin Youngs.
Berwin Flint.
Some years since, the writer of this sketch
saw in the book store of Dodd & Meade, Broad
way, New York, the following document :
Know all whome it may concern, That
whereas I Mammawetough, Sachem of Corch-
auge scituate on Long Island adjoyning to the
English plantation called Southold, as well for
and in respect of my lowe and affection vnto
Theophilus Eaton, Esq., Gouvernor of the Juris
diction of Newhaven, Stephen Goodyeare Depu
ty gouvenor, & Captayne Malbon of 'Newhaven
afforesayd, as also in consideracon of six coats to
me by them given & paid, the receipt whereof
by- these presents I acknowledge, and thereby
doe fully hereby discharge them, their heires
and assigns for ever, have given granted bar
gained and sold vnto them the said Theophilus
Eaton, Stephen Goodyeare & Captayne Malbon,
their heirs and assigns for ever, all that tract
or neck of land by som called hashamomucke
neck, lying and being on Long Island aforesaid,
beginning at a creek called and knowne by name
of Paucackatum, bounded on the west by the
land in the occupation of William Salmon ex
tending itselfe to the Eastward towards plum
Island, the breadth thereof also to the North &
sea, and also Plum Island aforesaid, together
with theire & either of their Rights libertyes
Immunityes & appurtenances, To have and to
hold the said tract of land and Plum Island and
every part and parcell both of the said tract of

land and Island, with theire and all of their
appurtenances, to the said Theophilus Eaton,
Stephen Goodyeare & Captayne Malbon & their
heirs and assigns for ever, with waranty as in
a deed of bargaine and saile vnder my hand &
seale dated the sixth of this Instant May Anno
1648, doth and may appeare. Now know yee
that wharas another Sachem called Vxeoopesson
doth challenge an antient right to and in the said
lands or some part of them from his predecess
ors, I the said Mammawetough, Sachem of
Corchauge aforesaid do by these presents af-
firme declare and testifye that the said tract of
land & Island called plume Island are part of
my proper lands and inheritance, and that I have
the sole right in them to give, grant, sell and dis
pose as I see cause, and I hereby ratifye and con
firme the bargaine and sale above recited, to
them the said Theophilus Eaton, Stephen Good
yeare and Captayne Richard Malbon, their heirs
and assigns for ever, together with theire and
every of theire Rights libertyes & appurtenances,
of what kind or nature so ever, and by these
presents I promise and ingage my selfe, my
heires, &c, that I will satisfye and content the said
Vxcoopesson in such sort that hee shall also by
his deed and full grant pass over what ever right
and title he had or hath in the said lands or any
pt of them and ratifye and confirme the bar
gaine & sale I have made to them the said The
ophilus, Stephen & Richard, theire heires & as
signs for ever, equitting and discharging them
for ever, unto them all the right and tytle
he had or hath or that any may or shall claime
for or vnder him, and this at my proper cost and
charge, and lastly I the said Mammawetough
doe by these presents assure and warrant the
saide tract of land and Island called Plum island
unto the said Theophilus, Stephen and Richard,
and to theire heires and assigns forever, from
and against all and every person or persons In
dian or others who may plead or pretend by
any Indian or other, any right title propriety or
interest in the said trac of land or Island or any
portion or pt of them or either of them, or any
of their rights libertyes, immunities or appurte
nances what soever.
In Witness whereof I have hereunto sett my
hand and seale the sixteenth day of May, An.
1648. his
Mammawetough. X
mark.
Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of
Francis Newman
Samuel Eton

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

415

his
Pitch a mock X
mark
his
Warren \ X
mark his

his
Ausomosgh X
mark his
Taucodick • X
mark his

Wampeerocon X Quaxcucosh X
mark mr,rk
A true Copie of the Originall deed by mee
Rtchard Terry, Recorder.
Endorsed, "A copie of Mamawetough his deed
of Oysterponds and Plum Island 1648."
Richard Terry was recorder from 1662 to
1684, and the above copy was in his handwrit
ing. The original deed is probably lost for
ever. Mammawetough, Sachem of Corchaug, ad
joining to the English called Southold, sells to
Theophilus Eaton, Governor, Stephen Good
yeare and Captain Malbon, of New Haven, "for
six coats. All that tract of land lying at a
creeke commonly known by the name of Paw-
cuckatux, bounded on the west by the land in oc
cupation of Mr. Salmon, extending itself east to
wards Plum Island, the breadth thereof also to
ye north and south sea. Also Plum Island
aforesaid. Together with all," etc. May 6, 1648.
The above is recorded in the office of the Sec
retary of State.
As we have shown before, Matthew Sinder
land was the first owner or possessor of lands
within the limits of the town, and that they fell
to his widow who married William Salmon, and
after her death he married Sarah Horton. After
the death of William Salmon, hisi widow married
John Conkling, Jr., who bought the shares of
the children of William- Salmon, and became the
sole owner of Hashamamock, with the exception
of a portion which he had given to John Corey
to induce him to come and live there. To make
things sure, John Conkling obtained a new deed
from Wyacombone (or Wycombee as spelled
in the deed), who was the son and heir of Wyan
danch, the famous Sachem of Montauk. This
deed recites that William Salmon blacksmith,
had married Katherine, widow of Matthew Sin
derland, who was the possessor of Hashamam

ock "for and on the behalf of James Farrett, as
agent of the Earl of Sterling." It also recites
the two deeds for lands at Oyster Bay, and that
Matthew Sinderland "died not long after," and
that after the death of his first wife, William
Salmon married, Sarah Florton, and had issue by
both wives. That John Conkling, Jr., married
his widow, "and hath obtained a confirmation of
Bashamamock lands of Sarttaine Indians con
sidered to be the undoubted Proprietors thereof."
It also states that the Sachem of Montauk was
made the Chief Sachem of Long Island Indians.
The young chief Wycombee and his mother
therefore confirm the same. The bounds of this
tract as described in a deed from Paucump,
sachem of Corchaug, to William Salmon in 1660
were as follows: Toml's Creek (now Mill
Creek) was the line on the west and the sound
on the north. The northeast corner was to be
at a place called Minnapaugs, being as the deed
says "a little pond and a parcel of trees stand
ing by it;" and thence the east line ran "south
to a creek called Pawcuckatux." All the land east
of this belonged to the town, by purchase made
probably about 1649. In ancient times a fence
was made from the head of Stirling Creek to the
sound, and in February, 1662, the town gave
all the land between this fence and the bounds
of the tract above described to Captain John
Youngs, Thomas Moore, and the "Bashamamack
inhabitants"— that is, persons who by purchase
or otherwise had become owners of the Salmon
tract mentioned above. The fence above spoken
of ran along the west line of the lands late of J.
Newell Youngs and Jeremiah King (deceased).
In dividing this tract the Bashamamack people
took the east part of their own land. Thomas
Moore took his part east of that bounded north
by the sound and south by land he already owned
there. The east part next to the fence fell to
Captain Youngs. This grant embraced several
hundred acres and was given on condition that
they should maintain the fence.
Hashamamock being a separate purchase or
ownership, it was not at first a part of the town
of Southold, but in February 24, 1662, it was
voted "that the Inhabitants of Hashamamock

416

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

should be received as Inhabitants." The import
ance of the question as to the time of the first set
tlement justifies us as giving the following con
clusions :
First. Matthew Sinderland was in actual
possession of Hashamamock at some time after
the deeds for lands at Oyster Bay, as he is then
mentioned as "of Boston."
Second. No deed from Farrett was shown
or was known to exist. Otherwise it would sure
ly have been mentioned in the subsequent deeds.
Third. The date of Sinderland's occupancy
was prior to the purchase by Rev. John Youngs
and Company.
For the Indian deeds for the western part of
the town, the reader is referred to the History of
Riverhead. In 1662 the commonwealth of New Haven
became merged in that of Connecticut, and South-
old appears to have accepted that change with
reluctance, but the connection was a brief one,
for in 1664 Governor Nicolls asserted the author
ity for his patron, the Duke of York, and it was
not long thereafter that Governor Winthrop, of
Connecticut, acquiesced in that claim and virtu
ally told the English town on Long Island to
make peace with the agent of their new master.
After some unavailing remonstrance, the town
obtained the following patent, which from its
importance we give entire :
"Edmund Alndross, Esq., Seigneur of Saus-
maures, Lieut, and Governor Genl under his
Royal highness James, Duke of York and Al
bany, and of all his territory in America.
Whereas there is a certain Towne in the
East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island,
commonly called and known by the name of
South Hold, lying and being on the North side
of the said Island, towards the Sound, haveing
a certain Tract of land thereunto belonging, the
Western bounds whereof extend to a certain
river or creeke called the Wading Creeke, in the
Indian tongue Pawquacunsuck, and bounded to
the Eastward by Plum Island', together with ye
said island1: on ye North with ye sound or
North sea, and on ye South with an arm of ye
sea or River which runneth up between South
ampton land & ye aforesaid tract of land unto a
certain creek which fresh water runneth into,

called in English ye red creek, by ye Indians
Toyoungs, together with ye said creek and
meadows belonging thereunto (not contradict
ing ye Agreement made between their town and
ye town*of Southampton after their tryail at the
Court of Assizes) : soe running on a strait line
from ye head of ye aforenamed fresh water to
ye head of ye small brook that rurfneth into ye
creek called Pauquacunsuck ; including all ye
necks of land and islands within ye afore de
scribed bounds and limits.
"Now for a confirmation unto the present
freeholders Inhabitants, of the said Towne and
precincts, know yee that by virtue of his Majes-
tys Letters Patent, and the Commission and
authority unto me given by his Royal Highness,
I have Ratifyed confirmed and granted and by
these presents do hereby Ratify confirm and grant
unto Isaac Arnold Justice of the Peace, Capt.
John Young, Joshua Horton, Constable, Barna
bas Borton, Benjamin Young, -Samuel Glover
and Jacob Corey, overseers, as Patentees for and
on the behalf of themselves, and their associates:,
the freeholders and Inhabitants, of the said town,
their heirs Successors and assigns1, all that afore-
mencioned Tract of land with the neck and Isl
ands within the said bounds set forth and de
scribed as aforesaid. Together with all Rivers
Lakes, waters, Quarryes, Timber, woods, wood
lands, Plaines, meadows, broken pieces of mead
ows, Pastures, marshes, fishing, hawking, hunt
ing and fowling, and all other profits, commodi
ties emoluments and hereditaments to the said
Town, tract of land and premises within the Lim
mitts and bounds, aforemenconed, described, be
longing or in any wise appertaining. To Have
and to Hold, all and singular the said lands he
reditaments and premises with their and every
of their appurtenances and of every part and par-
cell thereof to the said Patentees and their as
sociates, their heirs Successors and Assigns for
ever. The tenure of said lands and premises to
bee according to tbe custom of the manor of East
Greenwich in the County of Kent in England in
free and Common Soccage and by fealty onely
Provided allwayes notwithstanding that the ex
tent of the Bounds before recited do no way prej
udice or infringe the particular propriety of any
person or persons who have right by patent or
other lawfull claime to any part or any parts or
parcell of land or tenements within the Limits
afore said, onely that all the said Lands and Plan-
tacons within the said Limits or bounds shall
have relacon to Town in generall for the well
government thereof, and if it shall so happen that
any part or parcell of the said lands within the

TOWN OF SOUTFIOLD.

417

bounds and Limits afore described be not already
purchased by the Indyans, it may bee purchased
(as occasion) according to Law. I do hereby
likewise confirm and grant unto the said Patent
ees and their associates their heires, Successors
and assigns all the priviledges and Immunities be
longing to a Towne within this Government, and
that the place of their present habitacon and abode
shall continue and retaine the name of South
Hold, by which name and stile it shall be dis
tinguished and known in all bargains and sales,
Deeds, Records and writings, they making im
provement on the said land and conforming them
selves according to Law, and yielding and pay
ing therefor yearly and every year unto his Royal
highness use as Quit rent, one fatt Lamb unto
such officer or officers there in authority, as shall
be empowered to receive the same. Given under
my hand and Sealed with the Seale of tbe Prov
ince in New York, the 31st clay of October in, the
28 yeare of his majestys Raigne, Annoque Dom
ini, 1676. "E. Andross."
On December 27, 1676, the patentees named
in the patent executed a deed of confirmation to
their associates, the freeholders of the town,
and confirmed to them their rights in all lands,
already divided, as well as their rights in com
mon, and this deed proved that the common lands
in the township did not of right belong to any
one simply because they held a residence in the
town. The first comers had bought the land and
had used as much as they wanted, but they never
had any idea that those who afterward settled
among them should enter into possession of any
of the land thus bought except by purchase or by
grant of the town meeting for some specified
purpose or public benefit. At the same time a
complete list of the Proprietors with their re
spective rights was made.
In 1796 an act of legislature was passed,
which empowered the proprietors to elect three
trustees to have the management of the undi
vided land. This Act was amended, and their
powers extended in 1847. The settlers were thus
confirmed in the possession of their lands, but
they had been under their improvement long
years before. It is supposed that the first at
tempt at cultivation, and the first division of
land excepting the home lots, were made in a
27

tract that is very frequently mentioned in the
old records as the Old Field. This was probably
cleared and cultivated by the Indians before the
advent of the white man, and from the aborigi
nal relics which have been from time to time
found there it seems probable that it was the
site of one of their villages. It was situated at
tbe extreme eastern part of the village of South-
old ; is bounded on the south by the harbor and
Peconic Bay, and on the east by Budd's Pond or
Creek; is separated from what was called Sau-
gust Neck by a small pond and stream, and in
early times had a belt of woods on its northern
border. It was about 100 acres in extent and was
divided into small lots', and each person had his
part, large or small in proportion to his share
in the commonage or public land. Thus we find
recorded to minister Youngs "two acres more or
lesse of arable land in the old field, the land of
Barnabas Horton on the north and the land of
Benjamin Borton on the south, which land hee
had of John Budd by vertu of an exchange."
Thomasi Mapes has "one acre in the old field of
earable land, the land of John Peaken on the
west and Arthur Smyth east." In the records
of lands as given in by the various freeholders
constant mention is made of the "Old Feld."
The lands north of the village were laid out
in lots of various sizes. Thus Philemon Dicker-
son records in 1654 "Twentie four acres of wood
land more or lesse lyinge betweene two high
ways leading from the Towne towards the North
sea; That is to saye one of the said high ways
adjoyning to Barnabas Borton's home lott, and
the other to Thomas Cooper's, The land of Mr.
Youngs, Pastor, lying on the South west and
John Conkling sen. north east." This tract is
north of the railroad, and extends from Railroad
avenue to the next highway west.
On the borders of the sound (called in old
times the "North Sea," in distinction from Pe
conic Bay) was laid out a tract called the North
Sea lots. A tract at the head of the Mill Creek
was called "Peaken's Neck," after John Peaken,
an early settler who owned most of it. The
creek itself was called "Thomas Benedict's
Creek," from one of the owners of Bashamo-

418

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

mack, and this was shortened first into "Thomas
Creek" and then into "Tom's Creek," by which
name it was for a long period' exclusively known.
Salt meadow with its never failing crop of grass
was highly prized, and small lots of this were of
greater value than large tracts of upland. Four
years' peaceable possession of land made a good
title, and thus all disputes were settled "in the
time of them." Any man who absented himself
from town meeting, or should depart before its
conclusion, was fined five shillings.
The fact that the early records of laying out
the lands are lost renders it difficult to deter
mine with exactness the bounds of the original
divisions, but the frequent notices and descrip
tions of lots give us data from which we can
draw conclusions with a reasonable degree of
certainty. The first actual information we have
is in 1658, when "itt was agreede uppon att a
towne meetinge of the ffreemen that Thomas
Mapes shall lay out the Calves' neck, every man
his portion as it shall fall out by lott to him.
And for and in consideration of the same the said
Thomas shall have his own share and portion
next at the reere of his owne lot." This is the
tract of land that constitutes the southeast part
of the heart of the village of South-old, extend
ing from Town Creek on the east to Jockey
Creek on the west. A large portion of the west
ern part was early bought from its various own
ers by Master John Booth. The Southold fair
grounds are on this part. The eastern section
was once owned by Hon. Ezra L'PIommedieu
and was late in the possession of Thomas S.
Lester. In 1661 we have the following record:
"It was then agreed and confirmed by a major
vote that all common lands att Oyster ponds,
Curchaug, Occabauk and Mattatuck should be
surveyed, and layed out to every man his due pro-
porcon in each place, as it was then agreed.
"Oyster ponds lands into fortie small lots, to
such persons only as have given in their names
for these dividends. Curchaug bounds1, from the
Towne's antient bounds to the Canoe place at
Mattituck, also into fortie small lots to those per
sons only as likewise have given in their names
in writing for the same; and Occabauk and the

rest of Mattituck lands, from the said Canoe
place as far as the Towne had any rights, to bee
divided into fortie small lotts also, and to re
mayne to such persons as in like manner had giv
en in their names in writinge to bee the soule pro
prietors thereof.
"The meadow front of Accabouk to bee di
vided to every inhabitant accordinge to bis pur
chase thereof and not according to the former
dividends." It will be noticed that this order for the di
visions was made before the final deed of con
firmation was obtained, and hence it was agreed
that if any persons were deprived of their rights
in any part it should be made up to them out
of the rest, and that all charges should be borne
by the inhabitants "proportionally to their divi-
dents." The following shows the original owners of
each of these great divisions :
"Oyster ponds Divident into Small lots. — Mr.
John Youngs, Pastor, 4; Captain Youngs, 6:
Tho. Moore Sen., 2 ; Lieut. Glover, 2 ; Richard
Browne, 2; Thomas Moore jr., 3; John Herbert,
2; John Payne, 1 ; Mrs. Youngs, widow, 8; John
Conkling Sen., 2 ; John Corey, 2 ; Tho. Osmond,
2 ; Tho. Conkling jr., 1 ; Geoff ry Jones, 1 ; Abram
Whittier, t ; Tho. Rider, 1 ; — 40.
"Curchaug Divident. — -William Wells, 3;
Barnabas Borton, 3 ; Wm. Purrier, 3 ; Barnabas
Wines sr., 2; Barnabas Wines jr., 2; John Elton,
3 ; Jeremiah Vale, 3 ; Richard Terry, 2 ; Thomas
Reeves, 2 ; Robert Smyth, 1 ; Mr. Booth, 2 ; John
Corwin, 2; Samuel King, 1 ; Joseph Youngs jr.,
1 ; Rich. Benjamin, 2 ; Thomas Mapes, 3 ; Thomas
Brash, 1 ; Philemon Dickerson, 2 ; Benjamin
Florton, 2 ; Wid. Cooper, 3 ; Tho. Terry, 1 ; — 44.
"Occabauk Divident. — Wm. Wells, 3 ; John
Budd. 4 ; John Swazy, 4 ; Joseph Borton, 3 ; John
Tuthill, 3; Wm. Ball-lock, 2; Barnabas Wines
sen., 1 ; Richard Terry, 1 ; Tho. Terry, 1 ; Ed
ward Petty, 2 ; John Tucker, 2 ; Thomas Mapes,
2: Barnabas Borton, 2; John Conkling jr., 2;
Widow Cooper, 2 ; Richard Clark, 1 ; Samuel
King, 1 ; Joseph Sutton, 1 ; Benry Case, 1 ; — 38.
A single lot in the Oyster Ponds was 50
acres, and the lots were bounded by the bay on
the south and the sound north. A person who
owned two lots was said to own a "second lot,"
a person with three a "third lot," etc. Thus we

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

419

find in 1682 "Tho. Moore sen. sells to Francis
Brinly a tract of land about 100 acres, being a
second lot lying across the neck (Oyster Ponds)
from sea to sea."
The Cutchogue dividend extended from the
fresh meadows, or the west bounds of the old
town, and went west to Mattituck Creek; it was
bounded south by the main road and north _by
the sound. The land south of the road was laid
out at different times. A single lot in this tract
was 112 acres.
The Occabauk dividend embraced all the land
from the canoe place at Mattituck Creek to Wad-

PRESENT VILLAGE OF SOUTHOLD.
(From a Photograph Furnished by Mrs. George Wilson Smith, of New York City.
ing River. Tbe lots ran from Peconic River to
the sound, and a single lot was about 250 acres.
The common lands, or lands which had not
been divided, were held on precisely the same
principle in all the eastern towns on Long Island.
The £50, £100 and £150 "lotments" in South
ampton, the "acres of commonage" in East
Hampton, and the ist, 2nd and 3d lots in South-
old are the same thing. There is nothing more
clearly established than the fact that when all
these towns were settled each man of the original

purchasers1 paid a certain amount in proportion
to his ability or inclination, and that his share
in the land so bought was exactly in proportion
to the amount he paid. It was only a blind mis
understanding- of the meaning of certain terms
and expressions that gave rise to the idea that
all inhabitants in the town had a right in the
public lands.
No episode in the early history of the town
has attracted mo-re attention than the "persecu
tion" of Bumphrey Norton the Quaker. The
following is the official account :
"At a court held at New Baven March 10th
1658 Bumphrey Norton, a Qua
ker, was sent here from Southold,
and being asked why he went
into the meeting-house at South-
old on the Lord's day and there
speaking in public against Mr.
Youngs, he refused to answer,
and desired the charges against
him might be read, and were in
substance : 1 — Be had griev
ously and in many fold wise tra
duced, slandered and misrepre
sented Mr. Youngs, pastor of the
church there. 2 — Be had en
deavored to seduce the people
from their attendance upon the
minister and the sound doctrines
of religion settled in the colony.
3 — That he had endeavored to
spread sundry heretical opinions,
with expressions that savor of
blasphemy. 4 — That he endeav
ored to vilify or nullify the full
authority of magistrates and gov
ernment here established ; and
5 — Bad endeavored to disturb
the peace of the jurisdiction. Be
was often by the court commanded silence, and to
speak in an orderly way, which he would not at
tend to, but go on in a boisterous bold manner ut
tering reproaches. He, being found incorrigible,
was fined £20, to be severely whipped, be branded
with the letter H on his hand, and banished the
jurisdiction, and the court declaring that it was
the least they could do and discharge a good con
science toward God."
This case has often been brought into need
less prominence as a reproach against the fair
fame of this ancient town, but in no sense can

420

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

this be construed as persecution for opinion's
sake. Instead of blaming our ancestors for not
seeing more clearly in the darkness of their night
we should be thankful that it is our fortune to
live in a day when the true light shineth.
Whatever doubt may exist as to the time
when the settlement was made, there can be none
whatever that the church organized at New Ha
ven on the 21 st of October, 1640, which, with
Minister Youngs at its head, as its acknowledged
leader, left at once for its new homie, is the oldest
religious organization on Long Island.
¦ The first church edifice was built upon the
north end of the present cemetery in the village
of Southold. How the town became possessed of
this land we do not know. It seems to have
been originally about an acre in extent, but has
been enlarged at various times to its present size.
The building itself stood near the northeast part
of the lot, and the exact place is marked by a de
pression in the soil, which is the place of a sub
terranean cell, or dungeon, made when the build
ing was transformed into a prison. Concerning
this transformation we have the following re
cord :
"December ye 15 1684. — Ther was then by
vote Samuel Youngs and Thomas Clarke, both
carpenters, to vewe and apprize ye old meeting
house, in order to make a County prison of said
house; and upon their returns they gave in they
valued the body of the house at Thirty five
pounds. Ye four cedar windows left out of ye
new meeting-house was sold to Jonathan Borton
for three pounds in town payment."
Cedar windows must have been expensive
things when we compare the price charged with
other articles at that date. Concerning the size,
shape, or date of building of the first church we
know nothing. The record as given above shows
the approximate time of the building of the sec
ond church. This was built on 'the north side of
the street and nearly opposite the first one. In
1699 it was found necessary to enlarge its ac
commodations by building a gallery, and the fol
lowing account is on record :

To Samuel Clark for building ye galere. .£15 10s,
Received of Samuel Clark for boards and nails
left of ye. galere  4s.
Paid Jacob Conkling for banesters  £1 5s.
Paid Samuel Conkling for bringing ye banes
ters  6s 9d.
Paid Joshua Wells for carting timber for ye
galere  .  9s.
We also find in 1701 Bannah Corwin allowed
£2 is. 8d. "for sweeping Meeting-house, and tend
ing with ye baptism basin."
The third church was built in 1761, and stood
on the site of the second. Very soon after its
erection it was voted "to build a flatter roof upon
the Meeting-house ;" and about the same time an
order was made to seat the people according to
rank, dignity, official duties and other consider
ations. Bow that was effected we do not know*
but if we follow the analogy of churches in other
towns we may -conclude that the following was
about the system adopted : The communion
table was directly in front of the pulpit, and be
tween them were seats for the magistrates, where
they in their dignity could overlook the congre
gation, and near them were the deacons of the
church. The seats in front and nearest the com
munion table would be occupied by prominent
officials of the town and the wealthiest men. The
men and women did not sit together, but on op
posite sides of the building, but the wife of each
man had a seat of equal honor and advantage.
The rear seats and the gallery were for the slaves
and young men who did not prefer to sit with the
older people. We may add here that probably
the last relic of these ancient usages is kept up>
in the church among the Shinnecock Indians,
where the deacons still have their seats by the
communion table, according to ancient style.
The fourth' and present church edifice was.
built in 1803.
An interesting and important part of the his
tory of this old church will be found in the fol
lowing sketches of its pastors :
Concerning the first pastor, Rev. John

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

421

Youngs, but little remains to be said. He contin
ued in the work of the ministry at the head of the
church until his death. The record shows him
to have been possessed of large amounts of
real estate, which he divided among his sons be
fore his decease. The inventory of his personal
property, which throws light upon the style of
living in those primitive days, is here given :
In wooden ware, and two old bedsteads, an
old chest and 3 chayres, 2 tables & a forme &
bottle and tray, £2 ; 2 kettles, 2 pots and pot hooks,
£3. In pewter, £2 ; 2 old beds & boulsters, blank
ets, one rugg and curtains and valancings, £4;
linen and sheets and pillow bars, £2 10s ; 5 oxen
and one lame steer, and one cow and 2 of 2 years
old, and one half steer, one yearling, £27 10s ;
one horse, £3^24 sheep, £12; 3 small swine,
£2 ; 3 chains, plow yrons and cart yrons, £4 ; house
and land, £30; old books by Mr. Hobart prized
£5 ; —£97.
Our knowledge of the personal characteristics
of Minister Youngs is exceedingly limited. He
was without doubt a scholar and well read in the
theological lore of his day. A copy of the works
of William Perkins, a writer upon Calvinistic
theology, which once belonged to Mr. Youngs,
is now in the library of the New Haven Colony
Bistorical Society.
In the ancient graveyard, and near the site of
the church in which for more than thirty years he
proclaimed the word of God, may be seen his
monument, bearing this inscription:
MR. IOHN YONGS MINISTER OF THE WORD AND
FIRST SETTLER OF THE CHVRCH OF CHRIST IN
SOVTH HOVI.D ON LONG ISLAND DECEASED THE 24
DAY OF FEBRUARY IN THE YEARE OF OVR LORD
1 67^ AND OF HIS AGE 74.
HERE LIES THE MAN WHOSE DOCTRINE LIFE
WELL KNOWEN
DID SHEW HE SOVGHT CHRISTS HONOVR NOT HIS
OWEN
IN WEAKNES SOWN IN POWER RAISD SHALL BE
BY CHRIST FROM DEATH TO LIFE ETERNALLY.
A town founded on the principles which actu ¦
ated the settlers of this village could not re
main long without a pastor, and soon after Mr.
Youngs's death we find the following action
taken :

" April ye I 1672. — At a plenary meeting then
held in Southold it was voted then and agreed
that the inhabitants would provide themselves
of an honest godly man to perform the offis of
minister amongst them, and that they would al
low and pay to the said minister sixty pounds
sterling- by the year. And that this pay should be
raised rate wise by estate, as other Rates are raised
upon all the inhabitants. To which end it was
agreed uppon bv vote that Capt. John Youngs
should go into the Bay, and use his best endeavor
for the obtaing of such a man above mentioned
to live amongst us. And also agreed that he the
said John Youngs should have five pounds for
his labors, and to dispatch this his trust some time
betwixt the date hereof and the 29th of the next
September; the which he promised to doe."

In pursuance of these directions Captain
Youngs went to Massachusetts and procured the
services of Rev. Joshua Bobart. Thanks to the
investigations of Bon. Solomon Lincoln, the his
torian of Bingham, Massachusetts, we have con
siderable information as to the personal history
of Mr. Bobart. Be was a son of Rev. Peter Bo
bart, the first minister of Bingham; was born in
England in 1629, and came to this country with
his parents and three other children in 1635. He
graduated at Harvard in 1650, and in 1655 went
to Barbadoes, and while there married Margaret
Vassal, daughter of William Vassal. Thence he
went to London, but returned to New England
in 1669. Bis wife Margaret having died in
1657, he married Mary Rainford at Boston, Jan
uary 16, 1671. In October, 1674, he was ordained
and settled at Southold, though he was there as
early as May of that year and preached as a sort
of supply. It is needless to say that the town
made liberal provision for his support. In ad
dition to the salary agreed upon there were voted
to him 30 acres of woodland "toward the North
Sea," a tract of land on Ballock's Neck, all the
meadow in Little Bog Neck, and a second lot (or
a double share) of commonage. Bis yearly pay
ments were to end on New Year's day (March
25. as it was then). Bis salary for the first four
vears was £80, so that he possessed quite an ad
vantage over Goldsmith's village pastor, who was
"passing rich with forty pounds a year." The

422

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

following may serve as a sample of the receipts
given by him to the town officials :
"Southold, November 19th 1679. — Know all
whom it may concern yt I ye under written, hav
ing received of Joshua Horton, Constable of said
town, ye sum of one hundred pounds currant
payment of this place, doe hereby acquit and dis
charge ye said town and Constable of said sum."
"Witness my hand, Joshua Hobart."
The town also agreed to lay out £100 on a
dwelling house. This house stood on his land on
Ballock's Neck, just north of the cove in which
Jockey Creek and Young's Creek unite and flow
into the bay. It was a few rods southeast of the
present residence of Robert Linsley. The old
mansion has long since vanished, and only a few
broken fragments of the materials of the chimney
remain to mark the spot ; but the well from which
the venerable pastor quenched his thirst still sup
plies the cooling draught, as it did two hundred
years ago. In 1685 the people at his request'
made an exchange of land, giving him in lieu of
his lots at the North Sea a tract of land on Pine
Neck, opposite and near his parsonage. This put
him in possession of a fine location, extending
from Jockey Creek to Goose Creek, and forming
the finest portion of the neck. He remained the
owner of the parsonage until 1701, when it was
sold to the town, and it was occupied by his suc
cessors in the sacred office until 1787.
The clergyman at that period had other duties
to perform than such as usually belong to the
sacred calling. He was most active in the po
litical and financial affairs of the town. As no
ticed before he was one of the committee to
adjust the relations between the town and the
colony of New York. Be was executor of wills
and referee in disputes between citizens of the
town, and also- acted as a sort of overseer of the
poor. In short he was called upon to perform
those duties which require not only a degree of
business knowledge to perform them correctly,
but also a reputation for justice and integrity
which will cause the decisions to be respected.
Bis life and ministry closed on the 28th of
February, 1716 (O. S.). Ten years after his

death the town voted that a tombstone be pur
chased to mark the last resting place of the man
of God, and on the record appears the bill, dated
October 31, 1732, "for building Mr. Bobart's
tomb with stone lime, & tendance, 16s. nd."
It still stands, a brown stone slab resting upon
four walls. Upon the face of it was originally a
tablet of some finer material, which bore the in
scription. The tablet, tradition says, was de
stroyed in the Revolution. Rev. Epher Whit
aker, D. D., the learned and venerable historian
of Southold, has after long search discovered a
copy of the original epitaph, which is well at
tested. It may be found entire in his carefully
prepared work and is part in prose and part in
verse. The former reads as follows :
"The Rev. Joshua Bobart, born at Bing
ham, July 1629, expired in Southold, February
28, 1716. Fie was a faithful minister, a skillful
physician, a general scholar, a courageous patriot
and, to crown all, an eminent Christian."
Near by is the tomb of his wife, whom he
survived 19 years. The inscription cut in the
stone has withstood the wear of time and the at
tack of vandal hands. She died April 19, 1698,
aged 56.
The third pastor, Rev. Benjamin Woolsey,
was born at Jamaica, L. I., November 19, 1687.
Be was a son of Captain George Woolsey, jr.,
and a descendant in the fourth degree of George
Woolsey of Yarmouth, who came to1 this country
in 1635. Be graduated at Yale College in the
class of 1700. Previous to this seven classes had
graduated, numbering all together 22 persons.
Of these 18 became ministers. After his gradu
ation he preached in several places. One in
stance, which may be especially noticed is that
at one time he preached in the Episcopal church
in Hopewell (now Pennington), New- Jersey.
His being allowed to do so was one of the
charges of wrong brought against Governor
Hunter in 1712.
In July, 1720, he was installed pastor of the
church, and he continued here sixteen years.
This period was an eventful one in the history
of the town. During its continuation new

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

423

parishes were formed, and a committee was ap
pointed to divide the parish lands proportion
ately, "that each minister may improve the same
in proportion according to the first purchase."
If the present generation were called upon to
suffer as much discomfort as their ancestors in
their attendance upon worship, we fear "the
sound of the church-going bell" would not call
forth so generous a response as was required by
the laws and customs of early times. To say
nothing of uncushioned seats, a much greater
source of discomfort was found in the fact that
no means were provided for warming the church
building and thus mitigating to some extent the
inclemencies of the winter weather. As two ser
vices were held each Sabbath the people "between
times" repaired to the dwellings of the neigh
bors, where the fireplaces, well supplied with
blazing logs, diffused a cheerful warmth. This
however could hardly fail to be a burden to those
whose proximity to the church rendered them
liable to frequent calls upon their hospitality. To
remedy this the town voted "to allow Isaac
Conkling- to build a house for convenience on the
Lord's day on the town lot." This was doubtless
provided with a fireplace, and others were erected
in after years.
In 1714 Mr. Woolsey married Abigail,
daughter of John Taylor. Mr. Taylor died in
1735 and left to Mrs. Woolsey a valuable estate
of several hundred acres, situated about two
miles north of Glen Cove, in Queens county. Mr.
Woolsey resigned his charge at Southold and re
moved to this estate in 1736. From the manner
in which it came into his possession he named
the estate Dos uxor is (wife's dower), and this
name, contracted into Dosoris, has continued
ever since. During the remainder of his life Mr.
Woolsey lived at this place, enjoying his estate
and dispensing an elegant hospitality, and fre
quently preached gratuitously in neighboring-
churches. He died August 15, 1756, and left an
unsullied memory, and his native island mourned
the loss of no common man. The inscription on
his monument, and an extended account of his
ancestry and posterity, may be found in Dr.
Epher Whitaker's. 'History of Southold."

Mr. Woolsey was succeeded by the Rev.
James Davenport, a man whose influence was in
after years felt throughout the length and
breadth of Long Island, but that influence was
not for good, and was the cause of the most bit
ter dissensions that ever agitated the churches of
Suffolk county.
He was a son of Rev. John Davenport of
Stamford, Connecticut, and great-grandson of
the first minister of New Baven. He was born
in 1710, and ordained at Southold, October 26,
1738. The wild and visionary enthusiasm which led
Mr. Davenport a few years later to- commit acts
which can only be attributed to a diseased brain
and an insanity which took its hue from the topic
of the hour does not seem to have been de
veloped during the first two years of his settle
ment. After that he was impressed with the idea
that "God had revealed to him that His kingdom
was coming with great power, and that he had an
extraordinary call to labor for its advancement."
As a result he soon became one of the wildest of
enthusiasts, and performed many acts which can
only be excused on the ground of insanity. In
other years it pleased Providence to restore him
to his senses, and with it came a lasting period
of sorrow and regret. His connection with
Southold ended in 1746, and he was afterwards
pastor at Hopewell, (now Pennington) New
Jersey, and died there November 10, 1757. An
eloquently written account of his last resting
place, with the inscription on his tomb stone may,
be found in Dr. Whitaker's valuable 'History."
The fifth pastor was the Rev. William
Throop, who belonged to the Throops of Rhode
Island, and especially to the Throops and Hun-
tingtons of Lebanon, Connecticut, and was con
nected by marriage with, the Rutherfords of New
Baven. Be was gradated at Yale College in
1743, and installed by the Presbytery of Suffolk
September 21, 1748. Be was a man of re
markable ability and excellence. Be died Sep
tember 29, 1756, aged 36 years and three
months. His grave is near that of the Rev.
Joshua Hobart, some rods northwest of the first
pastor's. His children, Benjamin Brinley, Daniel

424

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Rutherford and John Rutherford, were born and
baptized in Southold, and one of them1 died and
was buried there.
Mr. Smith Stratton was graduated at Prince
ton College in 1755. He preached as a licentiate,
and died there March 10, 1768, aged 30 years.
Bis grave is near Rev. William Throop's.
Rev. John Storrs, the sixth pastor here, was a
great-grandson of Samuel Storrs, of Sutton,
Nottinghamshire, England, and the eldest son of
John Storrs of Mansfield, Connecticut, where he
was born December 1, 1735. Be was gradu
ated at Yale College in 1756, standing higher
than his classmates, the Rev. Dr. Smalley and
Judge Simon Strong LL.D. He was a tutor
in Yale two years, 1761 and 1762. His ordina
tion occurred in Southold, August 15th, 1763.
He had recently been married to Eunice, daugh
ter of the Flon. Shubael Conant and widow of
Dr. Howe of Mansfield. She died March 27,
1767, aged 31 years, and is buried in Southold,
near the spot where the wife of the Rev. Joshua
Hobart is buried by the side of her husband. Mr.
Storrs was married to Hannah Moore, of South-
old, December 17, 1767. The British forces
compelled him to leave the parish in August,
1776, but he was active during the war as a
chaplain in the army. After the close of the war
of independence he returned to Southold and
continued his pastoral care until he was dismissed
at his own request by the Presbytery, April 13,
178-7. Be removed to Mansfield, where he died
October 9, 1799. Be was a man of superior
mental ability and literary accomplishments, as
manifested, for example, by his sermon preached
at the ordination of his son, the Rev. Dr. Richard
Salter Storrs of Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
The sermon was printed. The Rev. Dr. Storrs
of Long Meadow was the father of the Rev. Dr.
Richard Salter Storrs of Braintree, Massachu
setts ; and the latter was the father of the Rev.
Dr. Richard Salter Storrs, of Brooklyn.
The Southold church was supplied from 1787
to 1797 by not a few ministers and licentiates,
among them Nehemiah Baldwin Cook, Herman
Daggett and Elam Porter. The latter labored
in Southold from November, 1792, until his

death, January 5, 1794. His grave is near Mr.
Throop's. Several of his sermons were printed.
He received a unanimous call to settle as pastor
here in 1792, but being unwilling to subscribe to
the "half-way covenant" he declined and accept
ed a call to Southampton.
Another of those mentioned is worthy of
more than a passing notice. Rev. Nehemiah
Baldwin Cook was born at the village of Quogue,
in the town of Southampton, in 1767. Be was a
son of Jonathan Cook, who was one of the first
settlers in that place, and who died there March
7, l754, aged 54.
"Sacred to the memory of Nehemiah B. Cook,
upwards of two years a licentiate of Long Island
Presbytery, and a zealous and affectionate
preacher of the Gospel. He died of smallpox,
greatly lamented by his friends, May 4th, 1792,
in the 25th year of his age. The following lines
are inscribed at his request:
"Tho' poor, he desired
To make many rich."
Rev. Joseph Hazzard was the seventh pastor
and was ordained June 7, 1797, by the Presby
tery of Long Island, on the call of this -church.
Be had previously been licensed by the Presby
tery of Dutchess, as well as by the Presbytery of
Long Island. Be was released from bis pastoral
care of the church by the presbytery at his own
request on the 16th of April, 1806.
The eighth pastor was the Rev. Jonathan
Buntting. Be was born in East Bampton, Feb
ruary 13, 1778, a descendant of the Rev. Na
thaniel Huntting, the second pastor of that place.
Be was graduated at Yale College in 1804,
studied for the ministry with the Rev. David S.
Bogart, of South Bampton, commenced preach
ing in Southold in June, 1806, and was ordained
pastor August 20, 1807. Be faithfully ful
filled his duties for 21 years,_ and then requested
the Presbytery of Long Island to release him
from his pastoral care. This was done August
27, 1828. Be continued to reside in Southold
until his death, December 30, 1850, and was
generally preaching in some of the neighboring
churches. The membership of the church under
his ministry increased from 56 to 101.

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

425

The church had no pastor for eight years
after Mr. Huntting's resignation. It was sup
plied by the Rev. William Fuller from June,
1830, to June, 1833. T'he next two years the Rev.
Nehemiah B. Cook, a kinsman of the previously
mentioned minister of the same name, occupied
the pulpit.
Rev. Ralph Smith was the ninth pastor. His
parents were Epenetus and Rhoda Smith, and
he was born at Smithtown, Long Island, Novem
ber 27, 181 1 ; was prepared for college at Clin
ton Academy, East Hampton, by the Rev. Jo
seph B. Condit, its principal, and was graduated
at Williams College in 1830. He subsequently
studied medicine at New Haven, under Dr.
Knight, and was graduated as M. D. at Yale
College in 1833. Be commenced practice in Pat
chogue, but his attention was soon turned to
the ministry, and he entered the Presbyterian
Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey, where he
pursued his studies two years. Be was licensed
to preach by the Second Presbytery of Long
Island, and subsequently ordained by the Prasi-
bytery of Long Island, and installed pastor of
the Southold church June 15, 1836. Be was
released from his charge, at his own request,
April 18, 1838. After a short absence he re
sumed his ministry here, and continued it until
December, 1840. Be was thereafter active in the
ministry at various places in New England. Be
died at Saugerties, New York, November 1,
1867, and was buried at Smithtown, his native
village. Bis wife was Cornelia, daughter of
Francis Pelletreau, of Southampton.
Among the supplies, who preached here after
Mr. Smith's resignation, was the Rev. Alonzo
AVelton, who preached for more than three years.
The tenth pastor was the Rev. George F.
Wiswell, D. D., who was born at Whitehall, New
York, May 29, 1817, and graduated from Mid-
dlebury College and Union Theological Sem
inary. In 1844 he was licensed by the Third
Presbytery of New York, and was installed pas
tor in Southold, June 18, 1845. He served here
until November 12, 1850, when he was released
at his own request. Be was afterwards pastor
of the churches at Peekskill, New York, Wil

mington, Delaware, and of the Green Bill Pres
byterian church, Philadelphia.
The Rev. Epher Whitaker, D. D., the elev
enth pastor, is referred to at length in the pre
vious volume. Be is present Pastor Emeritus
of the Southold First church, and for many
years has been clerk of the Long Island Pres
bytery. In comparison with the First Presbyterian
church, the other churches, in Southold village,
are but as of yesterday. A Methodist Episcopal
church was organized in 1794, but the first
church edifice was not built until 18 19. This
church stood about half a mile east of the cen
ter of the village, on the north side of the road,
and at the corner of the road to Greenport.
It was in later years used as a grocery store.
The second church was built in 1850, and the
society having greatly increased, it was enlarged
and greatly improved in 1867.
The Roman Catholic church was formerly
the Southold Academy. It was purchased by an
agent of Bishop Loughlin, in April, 1863, and
was then moved and enlarged. It has a large
and increasing congregation.
The Universalist church1 was built in 1836.
Southold Academy was founded in 1834, the
lot being purchased and building erected by sub
scription. Four-fifths of the amount was paid
by members of the Presbyterian church, and it
was ifitended to be to some extent under the
control of that denomination. The first teacher
was Selah Barnmond. The property was then
sold to William H. Wells and then passed into
the hands of Daniel Dickinson, who the next
year sold it to- Cordello- D. Elmer, who was
afterwards school commissioner and prominent
in the educational affairs of the county. The
school was taught by him from 1859 to 1862.
Afterwards it was owned by William D. Coch
ran and Jacob A. Appleby, by whom it was sold
to William Wickham, agent for Bishop Lough
lin, and it was then used for a Catholic church.
The present academy was built in 1867, and is
held in the name of the trustees of the Presby
terian church. It was opened December 16th.
The first principal was E. Wilmot Cummings,

42(3

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

who after two years was succeeded by Martin D.
Kneeland, who was followed in 1870 by Thom
as A. Abort. James D. Robinson was princi
pal from 1871 to 1881, and he was succeeded
by Lemuel Whitaker, son of the honored pastor
of the church and a graduate of Hamilton Col
lege. In the year 1682 Captain John Youngs
among the list of his lands records the follow
ing: "One parcell of Woodland lyinge on the
west side of Starling harbour att the poynt there
of, being about thirtie or fortie acres given him
by the Generall Courte att New Haven in May
one thousand six hundred fforty nine, and
sythence converted to a ffarme." Such was the
piece of land now occupied by the village of
Greenport, two hundred years ago. The land
which fell to him as his part of the grant for
maintaining the general fence, as described un
der tbe head of Hashamamack, lay north of
this, so that Captain Youngs owned a large tract,
extending from the bay to the sound, and includ
ing all that is now covered by this flourishing
village. In addition to this he obtained a tract
of land on the east side of Stirling Creek, about
250 rods in width and also extending from the
sound to the bay, embracing an area of about
500 acres, and now owned by David G. Floyd
and others. In 1687 Captain Youngs sold to
William Booth a tract of 200 acres more or less,
bounded on the east by Stirling Creek and a
line from the head of it to the sound. The sound
lay on the north; the western boundaries were
somewhat indefinite, but it may be said to in
clude all 'of Greenport lying east of Germania
avenue and, north of the railroad and bay. There
were also eight acres of meadow sold, lying at
Orient, the price for the whole being £300.
The region took the ancient name of Stirling
in later years, but it was called in the early rec
ords "The Winter Harbor," owing to1 the fact
that it was never frozen and was thus accessible
when "Town Harbor" was closed with ice. In
the early part of the last century the eastern
part of the village was a farm owned by Cap
tain David Webb. His father, Orange Webb,

was an innkeeper, and lived in the house now
(or lately) owned by George H. Corwin, on
Stirling street. The writer was well acquainted
with an old man who told him he could remember
when there was "only one house in Stirling."
In early times there was a wharf or landing
near the mouth of Stirling creek, and the nar
row road (now Stirling street) led to it. At
the head of the street, a few rods east of the
Presbyterian church, was the "Booth Bouse,"
in olden times the inn of Lieutenant Constant
Booth. It was the place where Washington is
said to have stopped while on his way to New
London and Boston in 1757. The house of
Orange Webb is noted as the place where White-
field stopped in 1763, and while there he wrote
on one of the panes of glass with a diamond
"One thing is needful." This pane of glass is
now in the rooms of the Long Island Bistorical
Society. There were two or three other houses
on the south side of the road, but excepting these
there were none in what is now Greenport. After
the death of Captain David Webb, his farm was
divided into lots and sold at auction. The pur
chasers were Daniel T. Terry, Silas Webb and
Joshua Tuthill. The price bid was $2,300.
There were no roads througli it at the time.
Main street was laid out in 1827, and the first
set of marine railways was built the same year,
also the wharf, which has been several times
enlarged to accommodate a growing commerce.
The wharf at the foot of Central avenue was
commenced in 1838. Previous to and after the
Revolution there was some trade carried on with
tbe West Indies, and cargoes of molasses and
rum were landed at the old wharf on Stirling
creek. The following cut shows Greenport as it
appeared in 1843.
The first house was built by Lester Brooks,
and stood not far from the lumber yard west
of Main street. This house was afterwards
bought by John Ashby and was moved, and it
now (or lately) stood two doors north of the
corner of Main and Amity streets. The first
store, built in 1828 by Walter Bavens, stood
at the foot of Main street on the east side.
The name Greenport was adopted at a meet-

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

427

ing held in 1834. A postoffice was established
in 1832. John Clark was the first schoolmaster.
There were registered in the books of the sur
veyor of this port 228 sail vessels and 23 steam-

OLD SOUTHERN VIEW OF GREENPORT, IN SOUTHOLD
ers. These were engaged entirely in coasting
and fishing voyages. The surveyor of the port
was William Z. King, with B. F. Adams as
deptuy and inspector.
The First National Bank occupies a building
in a prominent locality. It was established in
April, 1864, with a capital of $50,000, which
was soon increased to $75,000. Grosvenor S.
Adams was first president and G. C. Adams,
cashier. The hotel of Captain John Clark was estab
lished in 1831, and the Peconic and Wyandank
Hotels in 1845.
The "Peconic House," at the corner of Front
street and Railroad avenue, was for a long time
the largest and leading hotel in this section of
Long Island. In after years it was practically
abandoned and fell into decay. In October,
1902, it was sold to be torn down.
The Peconic Lodge of Freemasons was or
ganized in 1854, and received its charter in
1855. The Sithra Chapter of Royal Arch Ma
sons was organized in 1876.
There is also a lodge of Odd Fellows, or
ganized in 1855 and numbering 75 members.
According to the census, in 1880, this village
had a population of 2,370. There were 651
families and 581 houses. In 1900 the population
was 2,366.
In 1844 a new era was introduced, and for

the first time the place was brought into con
nection with the outside world by railroad. The
first train of cars on the Long Island Railroad
ran to Jamaica on the 18th of April, 1839, in
23 minutes. The locomotive
was the "Ariel." In 1837 trains
ran to Hicksville, and in 1841
the track was extended to Suf
folk Station. On the 25 th of
July, 1844, the first train passed
over the road from Brooklyn to
Greenport, 95 miles, and the
event was duly celebrated. The
day after the road was finished
a special train came through,
bearing officers of the road and
their friends. A large tent was
erected north of the track about 30 rods west of
the present depot. Four tables a hundred feet
long were placed under the tent, and a dinner was
served to the parties who came on the train and a
few of the villagers. The provisions were brought
from New York, and included 40 baskets of
champagne and half a cask of brandy. As a
natural consequence many of the excursionists
were so stupidly drunk that it was necessary to
put them on board the cars, and the man who
was superlatively intoxicated was afterward
governor of the State. The affair was discredit
able in the extreme.
The Congregational church owes its origin
to a few who when the ancient church at South-
old become Presbyterian resolved not to change,
but to still keep up the church as founded by
the first pastor. Accordingly they resolved to
reorganize the "old church of Southold," and
invited Rev. William Lyel, of the church of
Aquebogue, attended with Deacon Youngs, and
they formed the new church, and administered
the Lord's Supper. The first members were
Calvin Moore, Thomas Youngs and wife Lydia,
Joshua P. Youngs and wife Hannah, William
Y. Brown and wife Lydia, and William H.
Wiggins. The church edifice was built in 1848.
The following ministers have been in charge :
Emerson Swallow, 1848-50; P B. Burghardt,
1851; B. T. Cheever, 1852-55; Albert Fitch,

428

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

1856; Mr. Hewling, 1858; Henry J. Acker, i860;
H. C. Easton 1862; S. Orcutt, 1864; O. C.
Morse, 1875 ; Otis Holmes, 1879 '> Stephen Haff,
1880, and Rev. Lorenzo Dow Place, 1880.
The Baptist church first had an existence
about 1 810. The few members worshiped in
private dwellings at East Marion, then called
Rocky Point, and sometimes in a schoolhouse.
After this they built a meeting house on the
road from Greenport to Orient, east of the resi
dence of the late Jeremiah King. This was
afterward moved into the village and was used
as a schoolhouse, and in 1882 was a part of
the house used by the Colored Methodist Society
in the western part of Greenport. This was
probably the first Baptist church on the east end
of Long Island. In September, 1831, a num
ber met at the house of Daniel Barris on Stir
ling street, and apparently organized a new
church; these were, David James, Benjamin
Clark, Silas Webb, Jonathan Truman, Francis
Clark, Elias T. King, Noah G. Beebee and James
Tuthill. It was there voted that "we do hold
our first regular church meeting in the place
of public worship in Stirling on the 24th in
stant at 2 p. m., and opportunity given to any
person who may feel disposed to unite in church
fellowship with us." This was done, and the
following new members were added: George
Tuthill, Terry F. Rackett, Melinda Webb, Ban-
nah Clark, Sophia Truman, Anna Tuthill, Lydia
Flart, Jemima Young, Jenetta Weldon, Nancy
Rackett, Polly Beebee, Deziah Rackett, Polly
Tuthill, Charlotte Beebee, Mehitabel Ryan and
Mary James.
Early in 1831 a meeting house was built at
the head of Main street. In 1844 it was moved
to its present site, and the church at East Ma
rion was constituted. The church was enlarged
in 1855. The Presbyterian church was dedicated De
cember 3, 1835, and the first pastor was the Rev.
Daniel Beers, who was also for some time min
ister in Southampton.
The Idethodist Episcopal church was built in
1834, and was partially destroyed by fire in 1847.
It was enlarged in 1858 and had a commodious

lecture room added. The Roman Catholic church
was built in 1856.
The Episcopal church services were first held
in a cottage in the rear of the Wyandank Botel.
The church was organized October 19, 1863, as
St. Agnes church, and an edifice was built in
1865 on a lot donated by A. M. C. Smith.
The first school building was erected in 1832,
and stood on the east side of First street, near
the center of the village. The same building is
now attached to a house standing near, and used
as a kitchen. A second schoolhouse was built
on the same site in 1845. The increasing at
tendance rendered its enlargement necessary,
and this was done in 1868.
In 1880 the citizens of this village did honor
to themselves by erecting the finest and most
convenient union school building in Suffolk coun
ty. The. erection of such a building, with the
increased facilities for obtaining a thorough edu
cation in all branches required for the ordinary
business of life, cannot fail to be productive of
the most beneficial results. This school was for
some years under the care of Edward R. Shaw,
a native of Bellport, Long Island, who as an
instructor stands foremost among the teachers of
this county.
In 1766 Jonathan Conkling owned 50 acres
of land which are described as "situated at a
place called Stirling, bounded east by Constant
Booth, west by Captain Thomas Moore, north
by sound, and south by highway." This is the
first mention we have found of Stirling.
The whole extent of land lying east of a
line running from the head of Stirling Creek to
the sound was called in ancient time Oyster
Pond, Upper Neck and Lower Neck. The
former is now known as East Marion and the
latter as Orient. The lands were surveyed and
divided among the freeholders or owners of
rights of commonage in 1661. The lots ran
north and south from bay to sound, and a single
lot was 50 acres. The Youngs family chose to
have their shares of the common lands in these
necks rather than in the great western division,
and part of their lands are still owned by their
descendants. We learn from a deed that the

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

429

extreme point next to Plum Gut was drawn by
Jerry Jones, who sold it to Giles Sylvester, who
sold it to Jeremiah Vail, Jr., in 168-7. If re
mained in his family for about 100 years, the last
owner of the name being Stephen Vail, who left
it about 1773. From 1800 to 1852 it was owned
by Captain Jonathan Latham.

AN OLD GRISTMILL AND WATER-WHEEL, ON
THE DYKE BETWEEN EAST MARION AND
ORIENT; REMOVED AT THE TIME OF THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE SEA WALL.
(From a Photograph furnished by Mrs. George Wilson Smith of New
York City.)
In 1670 Gideon Youngs owned "eight small
lots in the Oyster Pond and Lower Bay." This
tract, which was 400 acres, embraced almost all
the village of Orient, lying between the wharf
and Narrow River. The following are abstracts
of deeds for lands in the two necks as found re
corded :
Samuel King gives to his son Samuel King,
Jr., "One half of all ye land and meadows in
Oyster Pond lower neck, viz., y2 of my home lot
and orchard, being 5 acres. Also y2 of 10 acres,
at the rear of the same. Also y2 of 12 acres
where the barn stands. Also y2 of .50 acres,
bounded north by the North Sea or Sound, south

by Great Swamp, west by Thomas Terry, east by
Henry Tuthill. -Also ]/2 of 30 acres, bounded
east by Fresh Meadow creek, north by highway."
The other one-half of that tract he is to have at
the time of his father's decease, 1691.
John Youngs gives to his son, Thomas
Youngs "A parcel of woodland lying next within
the old fence, running north northwest and south
southeast, and separates Oyster Pond neck from
all on the east side of the general fence. The
said parcel going from sea to sea, being in
breadth at the North Sea 264 poles, and the
breadth at the common path or highway is 234
poles, and the south side extending itself to a
certain hole on the west side or end of the Plum
Beach, being like to an old cellar, and adjoining
on the east side of the Winter Harbor, as by Rec
ord may appear." January 22, 1691-2.
Among the persons who owned land here at
an early date was "Ralph Goldsmith, citizen of
London." Be was a transient resident, and
probably not connected with the well known fam
ily of that name in Southold. Be sold to Edward
Folweil the following:
Edward Folweil, "citizen of London, mer
chant" sells to John Tuthill, "A tract of land be
ing a First Lot, 50 acres, at Oyster Pond upper
neck, Bounded north by the sound', south by the
bay, west by Jonathan Brown." Price £13, 1701.
John Herbert, of Reading", Massachusetts,
sells to John Tuthill a Second Lot in Oyster Pond
upper neck, 100 acres, bounded north by Sound,
south by bay, east by John Tustin, west by John
Tuthill," 1700. John Tuthill, Jr., was living here
in 1699. In the division of the estate of Joseph Youngs,
who died intestate, Gideon Youngs, one of the
sons, has for his share "eight lots of meadow
at Oyster Pond low neck, bounded west by Sam
uel King and Thomas Terry, north by Richard
Brown, Sr., and south by Abraham Whittier and
the east river," 1695.
John Goldsmith sells to Daniel Tuthill "Twen
ty acres of woodland, being part of a first lot that
I purchased from Joseph Youngs, at a place
called Oyster Pond upper neck. Bounded west
by Capt. John Herbert, east by Joseph Youngs,
south by bay, north by road that leadeth to the
Oyster Pond." June 26, 1700.
John Berbert, "of Suffolk County in Massa
chusetts," sells to Joseph Petty "One third of a
Second Lot of upland, at a place called Oyster
Pond lower neck, 30 acres and formerly laid out
by order of said town to the said John Berbert.
Bounded southwest by Samuel King and John
Paine, Northeast bv the North Sea or Sound,

430

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

southeast by the meadow of Thomas Terry."
Nov. 2, 1697.
John Corey to Jonathan Brown, Nov. 4,
1697, K of a Second Lot of upland at a place
called Oyster Pond, Lower neck, bounded west
by Caleb Curtin, south by harbor or bay. Price,
£52, Nov. 4, 1697. The other y2 he sold to Will
iam King.
Edward Petty and his wife, Mary, give to
their son, Joseph Petty, "All ye lands lying in
Oyster Pond lower neck, on the north side of the
highway. Containing 30 acres, bounded west by
John Herbert, east by Nathaniel Moore, north by
the Sound, south by highway. Also one-third
and one-half of all my meadow at a place called
ye Fresh Meadow on Oyster Pond lower neck.
Bounded west by meadow of John Tuthill, Jr.,
and south by the Damme of said Tuthill." March
6, 1691. "Possession is given by turfe and
iwigge." Jonathan Brown and his brother Richard
Brown and Walter Brown were all living on Oys
ter Pond lower neck in 1697.
One of the first settlers here was Richard
Brown, who had a house and 80 acres of land
west of the Youngs tract. In 1668 he gave to
John Tuthill "six acres of land where his house
standeth," and this is the first mention of John
Tuthill at Oyster Pond. In 1670 Abraham
Whittier owned what is still called Hog Pond
Farm. In 1679 Thomas Rider gave to his son-in-
law, John Wiggins, all his land at Oyster Pond,
Upper Neck. This tract lies at East Marion
and is on the point opposite the extreme north
point of Shelter Island. It has been in the
Wiggins family ever since.
In 1650 there were six families here, and
in 1700 there were 24. In the census of 1880
the population of Orient was 786 and that of
East Marion 340.
A church was founded and a house for wor
ship built previous to 1717. The earliest record
we have found says: "David Youngs, in con
sideration of 5s. paid by the persons that have
builded a meeting-house in ye Oyster Ponds
Lower Neck, sells to them so long as they shall
keep up a meeting-house all that piece of land
that ye sd meeting-house stands upon; that is
s ?e. much of land as the sd meeting-house stands

upon, bounded west by Thomas Terry's land,
south by ye highway, north and east by land of
mee the sd David Youngs. — Jan. 1, 1717." Ac
cording to "Griffin's Journal" "It was about 30
feet square, two stories high, and on the top
another building about ten feet square and nine
feet high, and then a finish something alike the
lower part of a steeple, with an iron spire which
supported a sheet iron figure of a gamecock,
showing the course of the wind." This build
ing stood for a century, and was torn down and
a new one built on the same site in 1818.
This being inconvenient, a more elegant one
was built on the same place in 1843,
which still remains, a very neat and commodious
edifice. It was dedicated as a Congregational
church December 28, 1844. We have seen that
David Youngs in 1717 sold the site for five
shillings. When the present church was built,
a few rods of land were added at a cost of fifty
dollars. Griffin quaintly observes : "Thus we
see that five shillings in 1700 were .worth four
hundred shillings in 1843. How things change!"
The first clergyman who labored here of
whom we have any knowledge was the Rev. Jona
than Barber, who, according to Griffin, was here
m I735. and the records of the presbytery speak
of him in 1757 as having been here "some years."
At that time the church appears to have been in
a very weak condition, and could hardly be said
to be established.
Methodism was introduced in this village in
the autumn of 1802, and the first preacher of
that denomination- was Rev. John Finnagan, an
Englishman. As in many other places at that
time, there was much prejudice excited against
the new sect, whose religious exercises were in
those days not unfrequently conducted in a man
ner more likely to excite the ridicule of the pro
fane than the veneration of the righteous. The
first meetings were held in the school house,
contrary to the wishes of many, but before spring
some of the prominent families of the place
became more favorably inclined, and no further
opposition was made. From Mr. Finnagan's de
parture in 1803 until 1820 there was very little
preaching by any clergyman of this denomina-

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

431

tion, and the Rev. Cyrus Foss was the first who
made any stay. That the prejudice was fast
wearing away is shown by the fact that the
church was used by him when not occupied by
the regular pastor. The corner stone of the
Methodist church was laid June 3, 1836, the
services being conducted by the Rev. Samuel
W. King. From that time the pulpit has been
regularly supplied and the congregation is pros
perous and increasing.
The author of "Griffin's Journal" gives from
his own experience a description of a remark
able storm, which we quote as an undoubtedly
truthful account:
"On the afternoon of the 24th of December,
181 1, the wind was light, from the west; at 11
p. m. very moderate, and cloudy, gentle breeze,
S. E. ; at 12 o'clock nearly calm, with a little
sprinkle of rain. In one hour after it commenced
almost instantaneously blowing a gale with snow
and the most intense cold. A more violent and
destructive storm has not been known for the
last hundred years. Many young cattle froze to
death in the fields. Two vessels bound to New
York were lost and most of the crews perished."
Griffin also narrates the accounts he had

depth. This storm occurred in February. The
winter was remarkably cold, and the ice was so
thick that Noah Terry rode on horseback from
Orient Harbor to Shelter Island.
On the 23d of September, 181 5, occurred one
of the severest easterly storms of rain and wind
ever known, and it is still spoken of as the "Sep
tember gale." About 11 a. m. the wind blew
so violently as to unroof houses, blow down
barns and uproot trees. The tide rose to a won
derful height, and Griffin narrates that one of
the families living near the wharf came in a boat
and landed near his house. The Atlantic coast
was strewn with wrecks, and many a sailor sank
into a watery grave.
The year 1816 was remarkable as having a
frost every month. In the summer of 1849 this
place was visited by a very fatal epidemic, to
which • physicians gave the name of "cholera
dysentery." Within a space of half a mile there
were more than sixty cases in two weeks. In
the street leading to the wharf scarcely a house
escaped. Mr. Griffin records that within a hun
dred rods of his house there were twelve deaths,
and in -one district one-fourth of a mile square

heard of the great snow storm of 1717, which
was doubtless the most remarkable fall of snow
that has ever occurred in this country since the
settlement. Houses in Orient were buried to
the second story windows, and one on Plum Isl
and was entirely covered. Cotton Mather states
that the snow in Boston was twenty feet in

thirty persons died in two months. All business
was at a stand, and the place seemed almost de
serted. About 1740 a wharf was built by Richard
Shaw, who came from East Hampton. It was
70 feet long and 16 feet wide, built of logs and
was a heap of ruins in 1774. A new one was

432

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

built on the same site in 1829, by Captain Caleb
Dyer, but fell into decay in about nineteen years.
In 1848 a new one was built by a company which
obtained a grant from the legislature. The ne
cessities of the place caused a windmill to be
erected at an early day. This stood until 1760,
when another was built which remained till
1810, when a third was built on the same site
and still remains.
The ancient burying ground at Orient has an
interest not only as the last resting place of our
early settlers', but from the remarkable quaint-
ness of some of the tombstone inscriptions. The
oldest tombstone marks the grave of Gideon
Youngs, the original owner of the land now oc
cupied with the most flourishing and thickly set
tled part of the village. Below are some of the
epitaphs to be seen here:
"Here lyeth ye body of Gideon Youngs, who
departed this life in ye 61 st year of his age, ye
31 day of December in ye year 1699."
"Beneath this little Stone here lyes
The Wife of William King,
And tho' She's dead to Mortal Eyes
She will revive again.
Lived four and Fifty Years a Wife,
Dy'd in 'her Seventy seven,
Has now laid down her Mortal life
In hopes to live in heaven.
"May ye 7th A. D. 1764."
"In memory of Michel ye wife of nathan Tut
hill who died in ye 22 year of her age."
"Beneath this little stone
Does my beloved lie.
O Pity, pity me,
Whoever passes by;
Or Spend a sigh at least,
Or Else a tear let fall
On my Sweet Blooming Rose
, Whom GOD so soon Did call."
"Here Lyes Elizabeth,
Once Samuel Beebe's Wife,
Who once was made a living Soul,
But 's now Deprived of life ;
Yet firmly Did believe
That at her Lord's return
She should be made a living Soul
In his own shap and form.
Lived four and thirty years a wife,
Was Aged Fifty seven;
Has now laid down her mortal soul
In hopes to live in Heaven.
"June 10 1716."

"Here lyeth Interred the Body of Richard
King, who died May ye 20, 1735, In ye 24th
Year of his age."
"As you pass by behold and see;
As I am now so must you be.
Make sure of Christ to be your Friend,
And peace shall be your latter end."
The name of the locality was changed to
Orient by a vote of the people in 1836.
The western boundary of "the old town," or
the first purchase made in 1640, was at a place
called "Fresh Meadows," where Thomas Golden
lately lived. In 1649 Captain John Youngs in
formed the General Court at New Haven that
"they at Southold" had purchased the tract of
land extending from this place to the western
boundary of Riverhead. These lands lay vacant
(except some parcels of land on the necks south
of the main road) until 1661, when it was laid
out, and every man had his property according
to his right in commonage. What was called
the Corchauge Division extended west from
the Fresh Meadows to the Canoe Place, or south
end of Mattituck Creek. In this division the
lots were laid out running from the main road
to the sound. A "First Lot" contained 112 acres
of land. They were drawn by lot, and we find
frequent descriptions in old deeds, thus, "John
Goldsmith sells to Jonathan Reeves a certain
First Lot of upland in Corchaug Division,
bounded south by the highway and so runneth
to the North Sea Cliff."
In 1684 Sarah Youngs sells to Barnabas
Wines "A certaiue tract of land at Mattituck be
ing the first lot in Curchaug Divident, contain
ing 112 acres, bounded west by Mattituck Creek,
east by lot of Peter Dickinson, south by the high
way and north by the North Beach." This
tract after a lapse of two hundred years is still
owned by his descendants.
Barnabas Wines, in his will, November 23,
1675. gave to his- son Barnabas Wines, Jr., "his
dwelling house and lot, with accommodations of
Goose Creek meadow in Corchaug, and 100
acres of land in Quash Neck."
Probably one of the first settlers was Benja
min Horton, who had a house here in 1664.

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

433

By various sales and exchanges he secured a
large estate. His will is of such an extraor
dinary nature that we give it entire :
In ye name of God Amen, febr ye 19 1685-6,
according to the computation of ye Church of
England, I, Benjamin Horton, in ye County of
Suffolk in ye Province of N. Yorke on Long Isl
and, being in perfect memory, doe make & or
dain this my last will & testament.
Item. — I give to Caleb Horton & Joshua Hor
ton & to Jonathan Horton & Mersy Youngs 80
bushels of wheate & Indian, 20 swine, 20 sheep,
to be devided to them four alike.
Item. — I give my house & land & meadows
except my Meadow of Common over the River
to the Sacrament table yearly for evermore.
Item.-. — 1 give to my friend Thomas Tusten
one lot of the common meadows over the River,
and a coate cloth that is at Stephen Bayles, and
the corne that is more than the 80 bushels I give
to Thomas Tusten.
Item. — I give ten oxen for a bell for the meet
ing-house to call ye people together to worship
the Lord God.
Item. — I give the rest to1 the poore.
Item. — I give to -my man Joseph one sow, one
gun, one sheep & his time, to be out next may
day. Item. — I give to my sisters my wives cloathes
to be divided to them two.
Item. — I give all ye rest of my goods to my
brother Joseph Horton.
1 make my brother Joshua Borton sole execu
tor of this, my last will and testament, revoking
all other wills and testaments, to see all my debts
paid.
Benjamin Borton.
Joseph Borton, a brother of Benjamin, was
living at Rye, in Westchester county, in 1691,
and is probably the ancestor of the many fam
ilies of that name. Another of the early settlers
was Caleb Borton, son of Barnabas. In 1669
his father gave him a "third lot" at Cutchogue,
bounded by Samuel King east and Benjamin
Borton west ; this tract contained 300 acres. This
farm was then covered with woods; he cleared
a large part of it and became a wealthy farmer.
Bis homestead is now owned by the heirs of
William Wickham.
We mav add here that, after making his
singular will, Benjamin Borton married Mary
28

Mapham, daughter of John Mapham, of South
hampton. Be died in 1690. Bis older brother
Joseph -made a division of the estate with the
widow. A part of the estate was afterwards
owned by Parker Wickham, and was confiscated
after the Revolution.
In 1678 John Goldsmith, son of Thomas
Goldsmith, of Southampton, and ancestor of the
Southold families of that name, made an ex
change with widow Margaret Cooper, of South-
old. Be sold her three acres of land on the north
side of Toilsome Lane in Southampton, and re
ceived in exchange "half a third lot" at Cut
chogue, 168 acres. In 1684 he bought of Rob
ert Norris another tract of 168 acres, adjoining
the former on the west. This tract is in the
heart of the village of Cutchogue, and includes
the farm lots of Morgan Morgans, Dr. Benry
P. and Nathan Goldsmith, the Catholic church
lot and lots adjoining. The original tract ran
north of the sound. The three acres in South
ampton are now (1902) worth $1,500. The
168 acres in Cutchogue, it is needless to say,
are of vastly greater value.
The neck upon which New Suffolk is situ
ated was originally called "Robins' Island Neck,"
and was very early owned by "Master" John
Booth, as he was called by way of pre-eminence,
together with all the land on the main road be
tween the estates of Benry L. Fleet and Will
iam B. B. Case. It remained in his family for
some generations.
Fort Neck was so called in ancient times on
account of an Indian fortification which existed
here at the time of the settlement, the remains of
which are still to be seen on the east bank of the
creek. This neck is often mentioned as the
"Old Field," and was doubtless cultivated by its
aboriginal owners. It was originally divided in
to small lots, but these were bought by Caleb
Borton, until, as early as 1680, he owned al
most the entire neck. It remained in his family
as late as 1800, and was afterward owned by
John Downs.
The first meeting house was built here in
1732, the building being raised on the 26th of
May. The first pastor was Rev. Mr. Wooley,

434

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and the second Rev. Abram Reeves. The fol
lowing is a list of the later pastors :
Ebenzer Gould, 1740-47; vacancy ten years;
Thomas Payne, 1750-66; no regular ministration
till the pastorate of Zachariah Green, 1787-96;
temporary supplies, 1796-1810; Lathrop Thomp
son, 1810-26: Ezra Youngs, 1827-41 ; stated sup
plies, 1841-48; Amos Lawrence, 1848-58; James
Sinclair, 1851-61 ; Clark Lockwcod, 1862-66;
Eusebius Hale, 1866-76; Samuel Whaley, 1876.
During the interval between 1797 and 1810
a violent contention arose in this church con
cerning the management of funds belonging to
the society, which had been increased by private
contributions. In .this contest the church was
divided ; both parties became involved in a law
suit, and It seemed extremely probable that the
money which had been devoted to the service of
the Lord would be diverted to the service of the
devil in payment of lawyers' fees and court ex
penses. Happily the difference was adjusted
and the church onee more united. In 1848 the
congregation voted to adopt the Presbyterian
form of government.
The last sermon was preached in the old
church February 22, 1852, and it was demolished
after having stood 120 years. The present
building was dedicated December 8th of the same
year. It was in this church that Rev. Nathaniel S.
Prime, well known as one of the historians of
Long Island, began his labors as a preacher in
1805, as a supply; and forty years later he stood
in the same pulpit in the same capacity.
A Congregational church was built in 1862,
and a Methodist Episcopal church in 1830. This
proving too small, a new one was built in 1857.
There is also a Roman Catholic church organi
zation, under the care of the pastor of the South-
old church.
The Suffolk County Mutual Insurance Com
pany was incorporated April 30, 1836, for a
term of 20 years. The charter provided that no
policy should be issued until application should
be made for insurance to the amount of $50,000
at least. The incorporators were Seth B. Tut
hill, Joseph FI. Goldsmith, John Brown, Francis

R. Youngs, George Champlin, Augustus Griffin,
Marvin fiolmes, Joseph Terry, Samuel Bobart,
David Terry, William H. Tuthill, Caleb .Dyer
and Jonathan Latham. On the 30th of April,
1876, the charter was renewed for thirty years.
The creek or small bay which extends from
the sound across the town was called by the
Indians "Mattituck," and this has given its
name to the region lying on both sides of it and
embracing some of the most fertile and highly
cultivated lands in the town. The elevation
called "Manor Bill," on the main road, is usual
ly considered as the boundary between this vil
lage and Cutchogue. The comparatively narrow
strip between the head of the creek and Peconic
Bay was called in the early records the "Canoe
Place." The part of this division east of the
Canoe Place was a part of the great Cutchogue
division, the lots running from the main road
north to the sound. The land to the west of
Mattituck Creek belonged to the Occabaug di
vision, the lots running from the bay to the
sound, and- a single lot contained about 250
acres. About 1664 Thomas Mapes records among
his lands "one divident" (he owned two shares)
"at Occabauk, lying next and adjoyning to the
canoe place by Mattituck pond, being in breadth
eight score poles, in length from sea to sea,
the land of John Youngs jr. west." This tract
of over 500 acres runs from the creek as far west
as the land of Thomas Ballock. It is now sub
divided among many owners. The north part,
next the sound, was called Mapes Neck and re
mained in the Mapes family for three genera
tions. The neck called in the old records "Pesa
punk," bounded on the north by the main road
running west from "Manor Hill," and consid
ered among the choicest tracts of land in the
town, was originally owned by John Booth, who
sold it to Thomas Giles in 1677. Giles sold it
to David Gardiner of Gardiner's Island in 1682,
and it continued in the hands of his descendants
for some generations. About 1816 it passed into
the hands of Isaac Conklin, of East Hampton,

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

435

who lived upon it, with his son George L. Conk
lin, who was supervisor several years, and mem
ber 'of the Assembly. It is now principally owned
by John Wells.
The tract west of this neck, lately in pos
session of Hon. Francis Brill, was originally
owned by William Purrier, and transferred by
his executors to Thomas Mapes as equivalent to
a legacy of £20. The land around Mattituck
Pond originally belonged to William Purrier,
Thomas Reeves and William Wells.
The population of Mattituck in 1900 was
1 ,200. At what time a settlement was made we do
not know, but in 1684 John Osman had a house
west of the creek, and in 171 5 the population
had increased to such an extent that James
Reeves, who was probably one of the earliest
settlers, gave a half acre of land as a site for a
church, and an acre and a half adjoining for a
burving ground. This conveyance was dated
November 7, 171 5, and in the following year a
church was erected. This building was super
seded by a new church in 1830. In 1853, when
the Presbyterian society erected the present
church, the old one was bought by the Meth
odist society and moved a short distance west,
and the services of that church have been regu
larly sustained.
The first Presbyterian pastor in this village
was the Rev. Joseph Lamb, who was ordained
December 4, 1717. He removed, at what time
is not exactly known, but previous to 1749.
This parish was united with that of Lower
Aquebogue, and June 10, 1752, the Rev. Joseph
Parks was installed pastor of the church, the
total membership in both places being 7 men and
T5 women. Mr. Parks remained till 1756. We
may form some idea of the real state of religious
interest in this place at that day when we learn
that, altogether he administered 92 baptisms and
solemnized 23 marriages, only six persons were
admitted to the communion.
In June, 1756, the Rev. Nehemiah Barker
was settled here, and he remained as pastor of
both this village and Aquebogue till 1766; after
that time he confined his labors to Mattituck.

He died March 10, 1772, at the age of 52. Mr.
Barker baptized 133, admitted to communion 30,
and celebrated 57 marriages. For one year the
pastor was Rev. Jesse Ives.
The Rev. John Davenport was ordained June
.1, 1775, and remained ten years.
The Rev. Benjamin Goldsmith took charge
of this church, in connection with that of Aque
bogue, of which he was pastor, in 1777, and re
tained it until his death, in 1810.
The Rev. Benjamin Bailey was ordained No
vember 6, 181 1, and was dismissed May 18, 1816.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Nathaniel
Reeve, who- was a stated supply from 18 17 to
1823, when, through ill health, he was compelled
to desist from his ministerial labor. To the last
ing- credit of the congregation for whose ben
efit he had so long labored he still retained the
parsonage, and his support was continued till
his death. He died April 9, 1833, at the age
of 72. The Rev. Abraham Luce acted as a supply
for five years from 1825, preaching not only at
this place but also at West Hampton;- but after
1830 his labors were confined to this parish.
Be remained here till 1846, excepting two years
when his place was supplied by the Rev. Jona
than Buntting.
The Rev. James T. Bamlin came in the
spring cf 1847, and was ordained and installed
November 4th. Be continued in the faithful
discharge of his duties as pastor till June 14,
1879, when he resigned, and it was voted that
he remain as pastor emeritus, with the use of the
parsonage during life.
The present church was enlarged in 1871.
The parish was organized as separate from
Aquebogue August 29, 1853.
The Rev. William Bedges, son of Bon. Ben
ry P. Bedges, of Bridgehampton, began his la
bors in this place as a stated supply. The Rev.
Mr. Bedges remained until 1883, and was suc
ceeded by the Rev. George R. Garretson, who
resigned in 1887. The Rev. James W. Hillman
was pastor until 1894, and was succeeded by the
Rev. R. Howard Wallace as supply until 1895.
Since that time the Rev. Charles E. Craven

436

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

has been stated supply and his ability and useful
ness are fully recognized.
An Episcopal church was built in 1878,
through the instrumentality of the Rev. Thomas
Cook of Riverhead.
Peconic lies within the limits of the original
town purchase, and the original laying out is
not known. The tract lying between the two
branches of Hutchinson's Creek was known in
early times as the Indian Field, and was owned
by John Corwin, who was also the owner of the
tract of land on which the Peconic railroad depot
is situated, extending from the road which leads
to the depot, on the east, to the land of 'William
Horace Case on the west. The Indian Field is
now the property of the heirs of Alvin Squires.
This village was formerly known by the
name of "Hermitage," which was changed to
Peconic when the postoffice was established.
The population in 1900 was 550.
Franklinville is a village partly in the south
west corner of this town and partly in Riverhead.
A Presbyterian church was erected here in 1831.
The academy, which was then a noted institu
tion, was founded in 1832. The population in
1900 was 200.
The following deeds throw light upon the
earlier purchases of land in this town :
Lieut. John Ketcham, of Hunttington, and
wife Susan sell to Thomas Moore, of Southold.
"Whereas James Farrett agent for the Earl of
Sterling by deed dated August 15th, conveyed to
Richard Jackson, fifty acres of upland and mead
ow lying on the north side of the river called
Mabansock in Long Island, to the eastward of
the place called the Five Wigwams, and one hun
dred acres of upland adjoining. And James Jack
son by deed October 20th the same year, 1640 sold
to Thomas Weatherby, mariner, and Stephen
Goodyear became possessed of the same and he
sold to John Ketcham. June 2, 1652. The said
John Ketcham and wife Susan sell the same to
Thomas Moore. September 20, 1666. Recorded
in the Secretary of State's .office in Albany.
"These presents witness that Uxsquepossem,
otherwise called the Puamis Sachem, with his
three brothers, Weekwacup, Nowconnelling and
Neesantquaggus, for two fathoms of wampum,

one iron pot, six coats, ten knives, four hatchets
and forty needles, have sold to Mr. Theophilus
Eaton, Governor of New Haven and to Mr
Stephen Goodyear, Deputy Governor, in behalf
of the Jurisdiction. All that land lying between
Corchake and Ucquebaak, commonly called Mat
tituck, or what name soever it is called, Bounded
east with the creek Conegums, and the way lead
ing thence to Mattituck pond, for the drawing
over of their canoes. On the south with the
great [river] and on the north with the sea, and
westward to Licquebauk and beyond. The said
Sachem is to have the privilege of his ancestors,
namely the skins of such deer as are taken by the
Indians in the water and the Indian canoes drawn
upon the shore." March 21, 1648.
In this we have the earliest form of the In
dian names which, after many changes, are now
Aquebogue and Cutchogue.
In 1727 William Mapes and wife Tabitha
sell to Jonathan Bradley "All that my farm,
where I now dwell at Cutchogue, being two and
a half lots or 300 acres, bounded north by the
Sound, east by Caleb Borton, south by the street
or highway, and west by Barnabas Wines, ex
cept 2 acres adjoining the street with the houses
of Samuel Vail and Joseph King standing on
the same. Also 14 acres which I sold to Gideon
Wickham, on the east side of the farm." Also
6 lots of creek thatch, on the neck of land of
Colonel Joseph Wickam. Price £730 or $1,825.
James Farrett, the agent for the Earl of
Stirling, was granted the privilege of selecting
as his own property 12,000 acres of land, and
as a part he chose what is now called Robin's
Island. In '1641 he sold it to Stephen Goodyear,
who conveyed it to Nathaniel Sylvester and Com
pany. In 1665 the following- Indian deed was
given :
To all People to whom these presents Shall
come. We whose names are hereunder written
Send Greeting. Whereas Nathanniell Sylvester
of Shelter Island and company now are and for
divers years have been lawfully possessed of a
certaine Island called in tbe Indian tonge Anch-
annock in English Roberts Island Scittuat lying
and being in a branch of the Sea tnat runs up Be
tween Southampton and Southold right over

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

437

against that part of Long Island that is called
Corchauk the which Island was by the said Na-
thanniell Silvester and Company lawfully pur
chased from the reall alienation of Ty-ononcome
Sachem of Pammanock & Predecessors. Now
Know yee that we the said subscribers for clivers
good and sufficient causses hereunto especially
moving and also for and in consideration of three
yards of trading cloth to us in hand by the said
Nathanniell Silvester well and truly paid have
remised released and forever quit claimed unto
the said Nathaniell Silvester and Company and
to theire heires and assigns forever all the right,
title interest, use dame & demand whatsoever
which we the said subscribers now have or had,
or ought or may in any wise clame of in or to
the said Island, any of them at any time. To have
and to hold all the said Island called Roberts Isl
and with all & singular etc.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set
our hands and seales the — of the tenth month
called December 1665. Nowanneg his X mark
Nediohit his X mark
Hubantawa his mark
Pammatuk his mark
Ouaqugane his mark
and 19 others.
In presence of
Thomas Mapes.
John Youngs.
Barnabas Wines.
A memorandum states that the deed was de
livered to Captain John Youngs, Barnabas Hor
ton and others "for the use of the Inhabitants of
Southold." The next we know of it is from the will of
Joseph Wickham, who was a resident of Cut
chogue, to which place he removed from- South
ampton. Be died in 1734 and left it to his son
Joseph (and his heirs male), who died in 1749.
In 1779 the island was in possession of his son
Parker Wickham, whose adherence to the cause
of Great Britain caused its confiscation, and it
was sold by the commissioners of forfeiture Au
gust 5, 1784, to Benjamin Talmage and Caleb
Brewster for £1,250. They sold the island to
Ezra L'Bommedieu in 1794. Bis executors sold
it to Colonel Benjamin Borton and James
Reeves for $4,000. They sold shares of the isl
and to various parties, and in 1850 it seems to

have been owned by J. B. Wooster and James
F. Goodale, and in 1857 the whole was purchased
by Ira B. Tuthill. Be sold it to James H. Wil
son, of New York, for $20,000. After much
litigation it came once more into the hands of
Mr. Tuthill who, in 1881, sold it to a company
of sportsmen represented by Abraham Ingra-
ham, of New York, for $22,000, and it is now
used as a game preserve. The island contains
469 acres. Clay of the finest kind is found in
the northern part, and brick making was former
ly carried on to a great extent.
As the grant of King Charles II to his
brother James, Duke of York, conveyed Long-
Island and the islands adjacent, Fisher's Island
was a part of it. It was originally claimed by
Connecticut, and was for some time in the pos
session of John Winthrop, the Governor, and
was known as "the governor's farm of Fyshers
Island." After it was recognized as a part of
the Province of New York, a patent was grant
ed, March 28, 1668, to John Winthrop, Governor
of Connecticut, for "A certain Island near unto
New London, commonly called and known by
the name of Fisher's Island, containing 1,000
acres, as purchased by him of the Indian Pro
prietors." This was granted "on account of
services rendered in the taking of New Amster
dam." Governor Winthrop died in 1676, and the
island descended to his eldest son, Fitz John
Winthrop. He was governor of Connecticut in
1698, and died in 1707, and as he left no issue,
the island descended to his brother, Wait Still
Winthrop, who was chief justice of Massachu
setts Bay Colony. Be died in 1717, and it be
came the property of his only son, John Win
throp, who died in England in 1747, and left it
by will to his eldest son, John Still Winthrop,
and he, in turn, left it to his eldest son, John Win
throp, in 1776. Be died intestate in 1780, and
his brother, Francis Bayard Winthrop, succeed
ed to the property. He died in 1818, leaving the
island to his four sons, John Still, Francis Bay
ard, AVilliam Henry and Thomas Charles Win
throp. Between April 23, 1818, and February
28, 1825, three of the brothers sold their shares

438

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

to William Henry Winthrop, who thus became
the owner of the whole.
William H. Winthrop died in i860, and upon
the death of his wife, in 1863, his two sons,
William B. and Thomas R. Winthrop, inherited
the estate.
Fisher's Island thus remained in the Win
throp family for nearly 200 years, and it only
passed out of their hands in the year 1863,
when the two last-mentioned owners sold it to
George Chester, who immediately conveyed it to
its later owner, Robert R. Fox, who dwelt there
on from the time of his purchase, devoting large
sum's of money and untiring energy to its de
velopment and improvement, until his death,
which occurred September 24, 1871. Bis ex
ecutor sold it to James L. Lyles, and in 1889
three hundred acres were sold to various owners
for cottage sites, and the rest to James M. Fer
guson for . $250,000. Fisher's Island was the
scene of the wreck of the steamship "Atlantic,"
which occurred with great loss of life on No
vember 30, 1846.
Plum- Island was not included in the first
purchase of the town from the Indians. In 1659
the title was first acquired by Samuel Wyllys,
of Bartford, as appears by the following deed
from Wyandanch, the Montauk Sachem : '
"Know all men by these presents that I Wy
andanch, the Montauket Sachem, for me and my
heirs forever, for and in consideration of a coat,
a barrel of Biskitt, a 100 muxes or fish hooks,
at the subscribing by me, received of Samuel
Wyllys of Bartford, doe sell, alienate and make
over, all my right, title and interest unto Plumbe
Island, to the said Samuel Wyllys and his heirs
forever: I, the said sachem, hereby declaring to
bee the rightful owner of the sayd Island, And I
covenant with the said Samuel Wyllys, his heirs
and assigns, tbat 1 will never molest him or his
assigns in the possession of the same, and will
prohibit my men from doing so, by killing any of
the cattle that shall be put upon it, and for the
true performance hereof, I have set my hand at
Gardiner's Island, April 27, 1659."
It was considered as under the jurisdiction of
New York, and was undoubtedly included in

the grant to the Duke of York. In 1663 it was
assessed at £13 2s od. That it was claimed by
the town of Southold is apparent from the fol
lowing :
"28th of August 1663. Whereas in our pres
ent laws provision is made that four years peaca-
ble possession of any lands or in case there bee
noe clayme entered by any person to the same be
fore the first of September next ensuing after the
day of the date hereof shall bee a good title. It
is hereby declared to all persons it may con-
seorne that the Inhabitants of Southold doe make
and clayme an Island called Plum Island, as of
proper right belonging to them and their heires,
and assigns forever. And that they intend to
make a legal right appeare thereunto at the next
session held in the East Riding, where all present
any way consented having convenient notice here
of may make their defence against the same.
"For the preservation of all my right and
title in and to the moiety or half part of Cur
chaug meadows &c. I doe hereby lay clayme to
tbe same this present eight and twentieth day of
August 1665 above written. Witness the sub
scription of my name hereunto.
"William Wells."
September 22, 1665, "the constable and eight
men" crossed out the above from record "as
not just and legal" and as having been entered
by himself "without the knowledge of the Re
corder." In the new Indian deed of December 7, 1665,
Plum Island was included, but this did not pass
a good title, as the deed to Wyllys was prior in
date. The town, however, persisted in its claim,
for at a town meeting held March 19, 1665-6,
it was agreed that every man should have a
share on Plum Island. The dividends were ap
parently made, but the freeholders seem to have
been easily induced to. part with their new pos
sessions, for on May 22, 1666, twenty-one of
them sold their rights to John Youngs'. By an
other deed of same date, thirty-five shareholders
sold to Mr. Youngs, and this was tlie end of it.
In 1674 Governor Andros issued the follow
ing patent to Mr. Wyllys :
"Whereas Samuel Willis of Bartford in the
Colony of Connecticutt Gent hath made Appli-
cacon unto mee that hee may have a Patent for

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

439

Confirmation of a Certaine Island within these
his Royall Highnesse Territoryeas called Plnmme
Island together with a small Island adjacent
called Gull Island the which hee hath for many
yeares been in quiet Possession of without Inter
ruption the Island called Plumme Island lying
and being in the Sound to the Eastward of Con-
ecticott River having Gardners Island to the
East and Conecticott Colony to the West thereof
lying in Length F)ast and West between two and
three Miles and halfe a Mile in Breadth The Isl
and adjacent called Gull Island containing about
the quantity of twenty Acres onely Now for a
Confirmation unto the said Samuel Willis in his
Possession and enjoyment of the prmisses Know
Yee that by virtue of the Commission and Author
ity unto mee given by his Royall Bighnesse I
have Given and Graunted And by these prsents
do give Ratifye Confirme and Graunt unto the
said Samuel Willis his heirs and Assignes the
said Islands called Plumme Island and Gull Isl
and Together with all the Lands etc. And I do
likewise Graunt unto the said Samuel Willis his
Beirs and Assigns That the said Islands: shall
bee forever hereafter held deemed reputed and
bee an entire and enfranchised Mannor and Place
of itselfe. At an annual Quit rent of One Fatt
Lamb." Dated April 2, 1675.
The patent granted to the town of South-
old October 31, 1676, only goes to the length of
establishing the civil jurisdiction of the town
ship over the island, but did not disturb the al-
reading existing title.
June 7, 1686, Samuel Wyllys, of Bartford,
sold Plum Island and Gull Island, as described
in the patent, to Joseph Dudley, of Roxbury,
Massachusetts, for the sum of £250. The orig
inal deed is now in possession of Mrs. Charles
Lippitt, of New London.
Joseph Dudley appears to have sold the west
half of the Island to Joseph Beebee, and it was
in possession of his son, Samuel Beebee, in 1722.
The east half was sold to Isaac Schellinx, who
sold it to Daniel Tuthill, November 22, 1722.
This deed conveys the whole of Gull Island and
the east half of Plum' Island, "bounded west by
a line extending from the brick kiln, near north
west, across the island, which is the divident line
between Saml Beebee's land and this." The
price was £255, and Daniel Tuthill was to pay
"one-half of a fat lamb, on midsummer's day,"

as quit rent. Daniel sold the same to his son
Daniel Tuthill, Jr., June 4, 1746, for £400.
Daniel Tuthill, Jr., died in November, 1768, and
left his lands on Plum Island to his sons Peter
and Rufus. John Tuthill, the oldest son and heir
at law, quitclaimed all his right to his brother
Rufus, December 5, 1768. The two brothers
divided the same, Rufus taking the west part
and Peter the eastern half. Peter Tuthill died
in 1817, and his heirs sold his part to Benja
min Gardiner, January 10, 1819. By a regu
lar succession of deeds it came to Abram S.
Bewitt in 1892. Rufus Tuthill sold his part to
John Gardiner, and he sold to Benjamin Jerom
March 15, 1805. The western half of the isl
and was owned by Samuel Beebee in 1722. He
gave 50 acres to each of his sons, Theophilus and
Silas in 1761, and 40 acres to Amos Beebee in
1763. Samuel Beebee died in 1763, and directed
his lands on Plum Island to be sold. They were
divided- into five parts and were purchased by his
sons, Samuel, Elnathan, Theophilus, Silas and
Amon. By various purchases, Benjamin Jerom be
came the owner of all the western half (except
125 acres). In 1833 Richard Jerom owned the
whole Island, except the east part, which was
owned by Benjamin Gardiner, and 125 acres
which were owned by Noah G. Beebee, and he
sold them to James H. Brown, and he sold to
Richard Jerom in 1835.
August 29, 1826, Richard Jerom sold to the
United States three acres on the south side of the
west end of the island, and on it a light house
was built. Richard Jerom died in May, 1869,
leaving a wife, Mary, and children Richard M.,
Fanny S., Nancy L. (wife of Edward E. Town-
send) and Mary B. Jerome. By various deeds
the whole came in possession of Edwin F. Be
dell in 1883. On foreclosure of mortgage, the
whole was sold to Abram- S. Bewitt, January 13,
1890, and he sold the whole to the United States,
February 24, 1897, for $25,000. Extensive
fortifications to command the mouth of Long
Island Sound are now in process of erection.
The first persons who lived on the island were
Isaac Schellinx (or Schellinger) and Samuel

440

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Beebee, both of whom had houses there in 1722.
The following abstracts of the wills of some
of the early settlers are characteristic of the men
and the times :
John Elton, in his will, April 19, 1675, leaves
all his estate to his nephew "my sister's son"
Isaac Overton, his wife to have the use of half
of it during her life. He leaves to his "daugh
ter-in-law" (step-daughter) Anna Nicolls, £10.
The inventory of his lands mention: The dwel
ling house, barn and 4 acres of land, £45 ; 4 acres
more lying south of the house, £22 ; one acre and
a half at the rear of the house, lot £3; 21 acres
of land at North Sea, £12; 3 acres in the Old
field, £5 ; 3 lots of Commonage, £5 ; 21 acres in
Hog Neck, £5 ; 2 acres of meadow, Pine Neck,
£5 ; 'i acre of meadow at Goose Creek, £1 ; 1 acre
of meadow at Hog Neck, £2; 3 acres of meadow
at Corchaug; 30 acres of upland at Curchauk,
£4; 180 acres of woodland at Curchauk, £20.
This last tract of land, was equal to five Oxen,
which were appraised at the same value.
The will of Philemon Dickerson, dated June
20, 1665, leaves to his wife, "my house and
Home lott with all the accommodations belong
ing thereunto, within the old Town bounds, both
upland and meadow during her life, or widow
hood." She was also to have four cows "and
all the moveable goods that is within my house."
Also "my crop of corne, and my swine." The
rest of his cattle to be given to his two daugh
ters, Elizabeth and Mary, when 21 years of age.
"I give to my son Thomas, fourteen acres of
land- at North Sea, which I bought of John Bay-
ley. I doe give all the rest of my land at North
Sea and at Curchauk to my three sons, and my
house and home lot after my wife's decease." He
made his wife, Mary, his executor. This will
was proved June 5, 1672. Bis house and
land were appraised at £30, and the "outlands
at Curchauk, Accobauk and elsewhere at £20.
This included many acres of land and meadows,
and it is curious to compare the value with that
of four cows, which were valued at £15, while
"one poore ox & 2 steeres" were put at £8. But
"land was plenty" in those days and cattle were
not. Tbe term "North' Sea" in Southold meant

Long Island Sound. In Southampton it meant
Peconic Bay.
The will of Barnabas Windes, dated Novem
ber 27, 1675, gives to his daughter Prudence the
most of his "moveable goods within doors,"re-
serving to his son Samuel "a Flock bed and
boulster and a coverlet or blanket." Be gives
to his son Barnabas "my dwelling house and lot,
with all the accommodations belonging thereto,
and the meadow at Goose creek and Curchauk,
with 100 acres that lyeth on Squash Neck," join
ing to land of his son Samuel. This was proved
June 3, 1680, at which time the daughter Pru
dence was the wife of John Goldsmith.
The will of Barnabas Borton, May 10, 1680:
"calling to mind the uncertainty of this tem-
porall life, first of all I give unto my eldest son
Joseph Borton ten sheep'e kinde to what he
formerly had, for his full Porcon. To my second
son Benjamin Florton ten sheepe kinde of what
he formerly had for his full Porcon." Be also
leaves to his eldest daughter, Bannah Trevally,
ten sheep, and to Joseph Conclyne, the son of
his, daughter Sarah Conclyne, five sheep, and to
his third daughter, Mary Budd, five sheep. Be
leaves to his third son, Caleb Borton, one horse
kind and one half of all his right in Accobog,
to that he had in possession at Curchoge.
To his fourth son, Joshua Borton, "all
the House lands, meadows, orchards and
Common of Pasture which was mine and are
now in his possession at Curchoge, also one-
half of all my meadow and upland in Accobog,
and all my meadow at Oyster Pond." To his
youngest son, Jonathan Horton, he leaves all
his dwelling houses, barn, outhousing and home
lots and all other lands, not disposed of. But
the new house to remain solely to the use of his
wife during her life, with use of barn and out
housing "as need shall require," and she is to
have "the third bushell of all grain" grown upon
the lands, and she is to have "four cows, winter
and summer." He leaves to his youngest daugh
ter, Mercy Youngs, 3 cows and a heifer. All the
rest of his estate to his wife Mary Horton. This
was proved March 2, 1681.
The old house which was the home of Bar-

TOWN OF SOUTHOLD.

441

nabas Horton, remained as a very interesting
relic of antiquity until very recent years. The
march of improvement finally caused its de
struction, after having been the home of several
generations of this ancient and honored family.
In this house the County Courts were held for
many years.

OLD BARNABAS HORTON HOUSE, SOUTHOLD.

to my wife as her owne proper goods forever.
Alsoe I doe give unto my wife foure bushells
of apples during her life, yearly. And if my son
Daniel doe marry and thev like not to live togeth
er, then my son Daniel shall build my wife a con
venient house for her comfortable being. Alsoe
I give unto my wife the milk of one cow as long
as she lives. I give to my daughter Elizabeth one
cow at the day of her mar
riage, or when she comes to
age. I give to my daughter
Mary Reeve one cow or
steer. I give to my son
Daniel my house with all
the accommodations be
longing thereto within the
old bounds (of the town).
Also half of my lands at
Accobauk. I give to my
son Thomas Terry all my
lands at Curchauk and half
mv land at Accobauk."

For some reason the
will was not signed, but it
was proved 'upon the oath
of Barnabas Wynder, Bar
nabas Horton, Thomas
Hutchinson, Ma r-
tha Hutchinson and John
Elton, June 5, 1672. The
house and land were ap
praised at £50, the land and
meadow at Curchauk at
£20, and the land and
meadow at Accobauk at

The will of Thomas Terry, sr., is very char
acteristic of the early time, as may be seen by the
following abstract :
"Southold this 26th of November, 1671. I
Thomas Terry senr. of Southold, being very
sick and weak, yet in perfect memory, doe make
this mv last Will and Testament as followeth.
I doe give unto my beloved wife, fifteene bushells
of corne yearly, to be paid unto her, tenn bushells
to bee paid by my son Daniel Terry and five bush
ells to bee paid by my son Thomas Terry, and
this to be done yearly during my wife's life or
widowhood. And alsoe I give unto my wife my
bed and all that belongs to the same with all the
house hold goods within dores. These doe I give

£15. The will of William Halliock, dated Feb
ruary 10, 1682, "Being through God's blessing
of sound memory and in good health," he
leaves to his wife Margaret, "All that my third
lot in ye Town Plot, next to Tooker's land with
the meadow and accommodations thereto be
longing, during her natural life and not longer."
And she is to give my son William liberty to
set .up an house in some convenient place. Be
also leaves to her "the profit of the land now
improved in niy lot at Accabog, where I now
dwell, with full power to dwell in my dwelling
house there at any time." Also the use of four

442

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

cows, and all working cattle and household .
goods, and she can divide them when she pleases
with my three sons, Thomas, Peter and William.
He leaves to his son Thomas all the land except
the Swamp lot, "on ye western side of the lane or
way, by my dwelling house, but all the rest of
this lot is to be to my sons Thomas and Peter."
He also leaves to Thomas one-half of three
pieces^ of meadow, and on the east side of
Booth's meadow, another between Case's mead
ow and Mr. Wells, and the third on the west
side of Deep Creek. The other half of these
to his son Peter. He provides:

"If any of my sons shall Apostate from ye
Protestant doctrine and faith of ye Church of
England, or shall take upon them such doctrine
or faith whereby they shall be drawn away from
attendance upon ye public Worship of God,
practiced in this place, and warranted by Holy
Scripture, Or if any. of my sons or their suc
cessors, here after, shall espouse and contract
marriage with any Quaker, or to ye son or daugh
ter of any Quaker as they are now called, I doe
¦wholly and absolutely disown and disinherit
them, from any part of my estate."

He leaves to his son Peter the east part of the
land where he lives at Accobog and the Swamp
lot. He leaves to his son William Halliock his
house and lot in the town plot, mentioned above,
and a parcel of meadow on Squash Neck, with

the Commonge belonging thereto. His sons are
to pay certain legacies to his daughters. Alary,
Elizabeth and Abigail. He makes his wife ex
ecutrix, and desires his neighbors, James Reeve
and Caleb Horton, to be assistants. "Also my
will is that my son John Halliock, whom as an
obstinate apostate I doe reject and deprive of
all other of my estate. Yet I give him my sec
ond Lot at ye Wading Creek, which is all that he
is ever to have of my estate." Proved October
21, 1684.
No one can read the history of Southold
without seeing abundant evidence that the first
settlers were men of very superior character
and ability. If the earliest records should be
found, they would only corroborate what the
records in existence so1 plainly show. In our
opinion there is no better proof than the mem
orials they raised to their dead. When we com
pare the -plainest of plain tombstones which
mark the last resting places of the early settlers
of Southampton and East Hampton, with the
elaborate tombs and lengthy inscriptions which
we find in our ancient churchyards, we cannot
help thinking that the men themselves as well
as their tombs must have been superior, and the
lofty sentiments which they possesed were
transmitted to their offspring. There is nothing
to indicate that their financial means were
greater, but there is a great deal to indicate that
they were superior in mind and nature.

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CHAPTER XVII.
SHELTER ISLAND.
HE history of this town goes back to
the earliest days of Long Island set
tlement. In area and population it is
the smallest town in Suffolk County,
its area being about 8000 acres, and its popula
tion 1066. The aboriginal names for the Island
will appear in the various documents in this
sketch. Their meanings have been given as "An
Island sheltered by Islands," or "A fishing place
sheltered by islands." The theory stated by
some, that its present name is derived from the
fact that in early days it was a refuge for per
secuted Quakefs, is more fanciful than accurate.
In every history of Long Island allusion is
made to the Commission ,given by William
Earl of Stirling, the proprietor of Long Island,
to his agent, James Farrett. By this he gave
him full power to sell all or any part of his
lands, although in fact he disposed of only a
small part of them. The Earl of Stirling died in
1640, and his title to Long Island descended to
his grandson, who transferred it to the King
of England for £300. x\s the Commission has
never been printed we make no apology for giv
ing it in full :
"Too all Xristian people & to- all others to
whom these presents shall come or in any wise
apertaine Greeting. Know yee that I Wm Earle
of Sterling having for & upon divers good and
valuable causes & considerations therein more at
large & particularly contained & expressed by &
with ye Consent, direction appointment & com
mand of his most Sacred Majesty the king, ob
tained A patent or grant from ye Corporation for
New England under their common Seale Bearing
date the two & twentieth day of Aprill in the
Eleventh year of his sd Majestys Charles of Eng
land Scotland ffrance & Ireland King, or Anno
Dom. 1636, of a certaine Island called Long Isl
and with all & every ye islands thereunto Ad
jacent, lying or being sittuate or bounded be
tween ye degrees of forty and forty one of ye
northerly latitude or there abouts To have and tc
hold to mee the said Wm. Earl of Sterling my
heirs & assigns ffor ever as relation being there
unto had doth and may more at large appear, And
whereas I ye said Wm. Earle of Sterling am will
ing and desirous to improve ye same for ye En
largement of his sd Majesties vast dominion and
Empire in ye continent of America by planteing
& settling in these large and vacant tracts of wil
derness within the said grant specified and con
tained an Industrious & sober people vt may In
habit ye same to ye glory of God & the honour
of his Majesty as well as their own mutuall com-
444

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

fort & advantage. I have in order to ye said g-ood
end, & for divers other good causes & consider
ations me there unto specially moveing. made
ordained Constituted & appointed, & by these pres
ents doe make ordain constitute & appoint my
trusty and well beloved friend James ffarret Gent.
to bee my true & lawfull attorney or agent for me
and in my name to my only use & behoof e to
soe enter into & upon, & take possession of ye
afforesaid Long Island & other ye Islands there
unto Adjacent with all and every of their Rights
members & appurtenances & them cr any of them
soe entered into & upon or taken possession of to
plant & improve as providence shall offer and
afford opportunities allso for ye incuragement
and assurance of Settlement to all such persons
as shall bee willing- to plant & settle in any or all
of the Afforesaid Islands. Hee the said James
ffarret is empowered & authorized And I the said
Wm Earle of Sterling doe hereby impower &
authorize him for mee my heirs Executors & ad
ministrators and for every of us to lett Mortgage
sell or by any other way or means for a present
sum or sums of money or for yearly rent to dis
pose of ye said Islands every part or pts of them,
for such time and times tearnie and tearmes of
years, for life or lives or for ever & in fee as my
said Attorney or Agent shall judge most probably
conduceing to my profitt & behoofe & to ye other
end before specified, And after one or more sta
tions or Colloneys of people shall be theire in any
or all of ye afforesaid Islands settled to contrive
erect and establish such honest and wholesome or
ders and ordinances amongst and for ye benefit
of said planters and collonies as shall be judged
together & upon the advice of ye Right Wor-
shippfull John Winthrop Esq Gov. of Boston Col-
lony in ye said New England, most tending to
ye preservation of ye publique peace, ye improve
ment of trade & commerce and the execution of
Justice in obedience to ye lawes of God & as much
as may be Agreeable to ye laws of England, and
I doe like wise hereby desire and authorize my
said .Attorney or agent to take advice of ye said
Wm Winthrop how hee shall, and there upon ac
cordingly to demeane himself towards ye na
tives if they should att any tyme claime any right
title Interest or propriety to ye said Islands -or
any of them or to any pts of parcell of them or
any of them. And I the said Wm. Earle of Sterl
ing doe for ye better prosecution & management
of ye said affair as well as for due encouragement
to my said Attorney or agent for me my heires
executors & administrators, consent promise and
agree to & with ye sd James fferret his executors
Administrators & assigns yt I will from tyme

to tyme & at all tymes as there shall be need and
occasion shall secure send & transmit A full and
sufficient maintainance to him my said Attorney
or agent for him selfe and servants as shall be
come A person soe imployed, & if opportunity of
shipping from hence be wanting or any other un
expected casualty should fall out by which my
said Attorney or agent shall be reduced to
straights, it shall and may be lawfull for my
said Attorney or agent, and I doe hereby allow
him to change one or more bills of Exchange for
such sum or sums of money as his need shall re
quire, a supply of which said bill or bills I ye
said Wm Earle of Sterling doe hereby for my
self my heires executors and administrators
promise to accept satisfy & content provided nev-
erthe less and it is hereby intended yt hee my said
Attorney or agent shall not charge any such bill
or bills of exchange unless he can by noe lawfull
wayes and meanes raise such monies in about out
of touching or concerning ye premises or any of
them. Which that hee may the better doe & ac
complish I ye aforesaid Wm Eearle of Sterling
doe for my selfe my heires executors adminis
trators and assigns & every of us further coven
ant promise & agree to & with ye said James
ffarrett his executors administrators & as
signs & every of them that hee my attorney
or agent shall have full power & authority.
And I doe hereby for myself my heirs ex
ecutors administrators & assigns and every of
us (ffor the reasons afore said)' & for divers other
good considerations me thereunto especially mov
ing haveing ffully & absolutely impourd & auth
orised him ye said James ffarret my Attorney or
agent to treat bargaine Contract thereupon con
clude _& for such sum or sums or money as he
shall judge fitt or a valuable consideration for
which or any parte or parcell there of his receipt
or receipts shall bee a sufficient discharge against
me my heires Executors & administrators for
ever, to sell lett assign, mortgage alien bargaine
or sell or by any other way or meanes to dispose
for tyme and tymes tearme and tearmes of
years;, for life or lives, or for ever, and in fee,
of all the said Island or any -pt or parcell of them
or any of these to any persons or persons what so
ever that owe allegiance to the crown of Eng
land, by deed or deeds assurance & assurances
according to the customs and manner of ye place,
under his hand and seal or otherwise as fully and
absolutely as myself my heires executors Ad
ministrators or assigns or any of us might or
could have done in case all or any of us had bin
there personally present, Excepting and always
reserved out of the said grants of any estate, of

SHELTER ISLAND.

445

what kind soever and out of every of these his
Majesties Royalty, and ye Company s right of
Gold & Silver oare and all other rights and roy-
altyes whatsoever to his Majesty his heires &
assigns and to ye said Company & there succes
sors and due & rights belonging. And Because of
the unusual method of proceeding in this case
ye great distance betweene the premises & this
kingdom, & for the giving more full and ample
satisfactions to all and every such person and
persons as shall or may be inclined or conscerned
to deale with my said Attorney or agent for or
concerning ye premises or any pts or parcell of
them. I the said Wm Earle of Sterling doe fur
ther for myself my heires executors & administra
tors covenant promise & agree to & with my said
Attorney or agent, James Farrett his executors
Administrators & assigns and every of them that
what ever bargaine contract conclusion or estate
he the said James Farrett shall make of ye prem
ises or an}- part or parcell of them for tearm or
tearms of years, for life or lives or for ever and
in fee, with any person or persons what soever
as aforesaid shall be owned acknowledged and
made good to ye said person or persons by me my
heires executors administrators & assigns & every
of us as wee or any of us had bin personally pres
ent there and had done ye. same And yt I ye said
Wm Earle of Sterling my heirs executors & ad
ministrators will at any time or times hereafter
upon ye reasonable request of him ye said James
ffarrett or his Assigns or any other person or
persons as aforesaid yt have dealt with him for
anv part or parcell of ye premises doe and suffer
or' cause to bee done & suffered, any other or
ffurther act or acts thing or things what soever
ffor ye further, better, and more sure making
of ye premises according to ye true honest mean
ing and Intention of these presents and ye said
bargaine or bargains made pursuant thereunto by
my said Attorney or agent with any such person
or persons as aforesaid as shall be reasonably
devised advised or Required by them or any of
them, them or any of theire Councellors that to
ye doing thereof wee or any of us bee not com
pelled to goe further than the Cityes of London &
Westminster be it by new deed or deeds assur
ance or assurances more exactly and according
to forme and law, under our hand (or any of our)
& scales or any thing else whatsoever that shall
be judged requisite to supply the defect in law
(if anv such bee) of the former bargaines or any
of them which mv said attorney or agent made
and concluded the substance of them being cleare
accordng to ve intention & meaning of these pres
ents, And lastly I ve said Wm Earle of Sterling

doe hereby for me my heirs executors Adminis
trators & assigns Covenant promise agree &
grant unto my said Attorney and agent, James
ffarrett full pouer & authority in touching &
concerning ye said Long Island and other ye
Islands afforesaid together with ye patent right
there unto belonging to doe execute proceed and
finish in all things in as large & ample manner
and for me as I the said Wm Earle of Sterling
might or could doe if I were there and these pres
ent Ratifying and confirming whatsoever my said
Attorney or agent shall doe in ye premises accord
ing to the true intent & meaning of these present
In witness where of I ye said Wm Earle of Sterl
ing have hereunto sett my hand & Seale this 20th
day of Aprill in ye twelfth yeare of the Reigne
of our Soveraine Lord Charles, by the Grace of
God of England Scotland ffrance & Ireland King.
Defender of ye faith
Annoque Dom. 1637
Sterling (Seal)"
"Sealed and delivered
in presence of
"Matthew Huntley
"John Carr
"Robert Saint Cleare"
Among other powers granted to James Far
rett in his Commission from the Earl of Stirling,.
was the power to mortgage the said territory,
or any part of it, and, in accordance with this
power, a mortgage was given to Goodyear and
others, July 20, 1641, and it is supposed, that
bv the purchase of these islands, his claim was
satisfied. Stephen, Goodyear, the purchaser of the isl
and, was afterwards Deputy Governor of New
Haven, Connecticut. A few months after his
purchase, he proposed to sell it to the New
Haven Company, as their records show that on
August 30, 1641, "Mr. Goodyear propounded
his purchase of Mr. Farrett's' Island to the
town but it was not accepted."
The following deed shows very plainly the
subsequent transfers of the island :
"This Indenture made the eighth day of May
in the year one thousand six hundred fiftie and
six, between John Booth late of Shelter Island,
formerly called Menhansack, Gent, of the one
part and Captain Nathaniel Silvester of the same,
cf the other part. Witnesseth that whereas James

446

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Farrett Esqr Deputie for the Right honorable
William Earle of Starling was by purchase from
Ukenchie Sachem of Paumanack & the said Men
hansack possessed of Menhansack afore said, be
ing a member of Long Island called Pammanack
as afore said or lying nere unto the same as by
a deed of bargain and sale from the said Sach
em. Reference being thereunto had more largely
doth and may appeare. And whereas the said
James Farrett by deede under hand and seale
bearing date the eighteenth of May one thousand
six hundred fortie and one, for the consideration
therein expressed, conveyed unto Stephen Good
yeare of New Haven, Merchant, his heires and
assigns for ever, the afore said Island of Men
hansack, with all the Rivers, woods uplands,
meadows, harboursi & creekes & all other the ap
pertaining right liberties and conveniences what
soever, there unto in any wise belonging and
appertaining, with all that right title and interest
which the said William, Earle of Starlinge his
heires or assigns, or the said James Farrett and
his heires or assigns then did or at any time from
thenceforth should clayme or demand, together
with the aforesaid originall grant, as by the last
'mentioned & recited grant relacon thereunto be
ing had more fully may appeare. And whereas
alsoe the said Stephen Goodyeare by his bill of
sale from Robert Carmand did stand seised of
one Island commonly called by the name of
Roberts Island situate lying neare Menhansack
Hand aforesaid, hee the said Robert Carman hav
ing formerly purchased the same of Iyenancam,
Sachem of Pammanack aforesaid.
"The said Stephen Goodyeare by his deed
poll, bearing date the Ninth day of June one
thousand six hundred fiftie and one for the con-
•^ideracons therein expressed, did sell convey &
make over all his estate right title and interest
of in and to both the said Hands, together with
all rights liberties ymunities & privileges belong
ing or in any wise appurtaining to them or either
of them & their and either of their appurtenances,
unto Captaine Thomas Miiddletown, Thomas
Rous, Constant Silvester Gents, and the said Na
thaniel Silvester and their heires and assigns for
ever, as by the last menconed grant, more fully
may appeare. And whereas Yoko, Sachem of the
said Menhansack, formerly called Unkenchie, Ac-
toncocween, Captaine Jowoconogus Sonquoe-
quahesick, some of his chiefe men by their deede
bearing date the seaven & twentieth day of De
cember one thousand six hundred fiftie & two, for
such considerations as therein is expressed. Did
alien assigne bargaine & sell unto the said Thom
as Midclleton, Thomas Rous, Constant Silvester

& Nathaniel Silvester & their heirs and assigns
for ever. All that their Hands of Ahaquazu-
wansuck, otherwise called Menhansack, with all
the rivers woods, uplands, meadows, harbours
and creeks, with all other appertaining rights,
liberties and conveniences- whatsoever, thereunto
in any wise belonging & appurtaining as by the
same deed last mentioned may appeare. And
whereas the said Thomas Middleton for valuable
consideration purchased of the said Thomas
Rous all his fourth part in and throughout bothe
the said Islands, and joint stock there upon for
and to the use -of the above said John Booth &
his heirs and assigns for ever, by virtue whereof
bee tbe said John Booth became legally pos
sessed of the same, he the said John Booth for
and in consideracon of the some of seven hun
dred pounds sterling before the sealing and de
livery hereof in hand payd by the said Nathaniel
Sylvester to tlie said John Booth to full satis
faction according to agreement in that behalf,
hath granted bargained & sold & by these pres
ents cloth fully and absolutely grant bargaine and
sell unto the said Nathaniel Silvester and his
heirs and assigns, All his estate right tytle inter
est clayme and demand whatsoever, of in and to
one entire fourth part of the said Island soe bar
gained and sold, as above said, & all the dwelling
houses, barn and houses, fences, Orchard, yard,
gardens, earable land, meadows, marshes, har
bours', creeks, woods, underwoods, commons &
common of pasture, profits privileges, ymunities,
advantages and easements with their and every
of their appurtenances, and stock of cattle in and
upon the said Menhansack, thence called Shelter
Island, as above said in as large and ample -man
ner to all intents and purposes as hee the said
John Booth might or ought to have enjoyed the
same, as if these pesents had not been thereof had
or made. To Have and to hold the said intire
fourth part of both the said Hand, stock of cattle
and all other the above granted premises with
their and every of their appurtenances unto the
said Nathaniel Silvester his heires and assigns.
* * In witnes whereof the parties first above
named have hereunto sett their hands and seales
the day and year first above written.
"Witnesses, "John Booth.
"Giles Sylvester,
"David Gardiner,
"Thomas Mapes,
his
"George (X) Miller."
mark
February 20, 1656, the following articles of

SHELTER ISLAND.

447

agreement were made between Captain Nathan
iel Silvester, of Shelter Island, and Mr. John
Booth, of Southold :
ist. Nathaniel Silvester doth discharge the
said John Booth from all disbersements and
charges made by Nathaniel Silvester and Con
stant Silvester of Barbadoes, toward the said
John Booth, quarter part of Shelter Island.
2nd. Nathaniel Silvester discharges the said
John Booth from all debt left unsettled at his
coming from Barbadoes, for prise goods bought
of the Commissioners, provided the debt does
not exceed 18,000 pounds of sugar.
3d. Nathaniel Silvester is to give to John
Booth a bill of sale for one-half of Robert's Isl
and for him, his wife and his child's life time.

Barbadoes, "from his first coming to Barbadoes,
till his departure from thence in the shipp
Swallow." It was also agreed that John Booth "shall not
trouble or molest any Indians belonging to Shel
ter Island or shall come to Roberts Island to fish
for shells or catch any other fish whatsoever,
about Roberts Island."
Also that John Booth shall not put his share
in Roberts Island under any Government or
Jurisdiction, without the consent of Nathaniel
Silvester. Nathaniel Silvester.
John Booth.
Witness : Francis Brinley, Lion Gardener,
Thomas Talmage.
The first name of Shelter Island that appears

SHELTER ISLAND.
(By Permission of Long Island Railroad Company.)

But if John Booth removes from Long Island,
then the said half is to return to Nathaniel Sil
vester, and he is to pay 25 pounds to John Booth
and also pay for all improvements.
It was also agreed that John Booth should
make over to Nathaniel Silvester all debts due to
him from Mr. Silvester, and all other persons in

on record is Cot jewami nick, as in the deed from
the Sachem Yocco to Lion Gardiner. Afterwards
it is called Farrett's Island, then Goodyear's Isl
and, and it was called Shelter Island as early as
in 1652. Captain Thomas Middleton was one of the

448

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

prominent merchants of his day. Thomas
Rouse is said to have come from Southwold,
England, to the island of Barbadoes, where he
was extensively engaged as a sugar planter. In
religious belief and practice he was a Quaker.
The two brothers, Nathaniel and Constant
Sylvester, whose names -must always be an in
separable portion of tbe history of Shelter Isl
and, were the sons of Giles Sylvester, and emi
grated with their father from England, to Hol
land, where Giles Silvester, Sr., died. The
family then consisted of a widowed mother and
five sons, Nathaniel, Constant, Giles, Joshua
and Peter. The last remained in London. All
the others- went to Barbadoes, in the West In
dies, where Constant was a member of the Gov
ernor's Council. He died in 1671.
Nathaniel Sylvester was, the first, who lived
on Shelter Island. His brothers, Giles and
Joshua, followed him. ' Giles remained for a
few years, and then returned to England, where
he died. Joshua moved to Southold, where his
last days were passed.
Nathaniel Sylvester came to Shelter Island
in the ship "Golden Parrott," in 1652, and that
may be considered the date of the first settle
ment. The deed which is referred to as having been
given December 2J, 1652, was confirmed by the
following :
Wee whose names are here underneath sub
scribed doe hereby testify and declare, that Yohee,
formerly Sachem of Manhansick Ahaquatawa-
mock, now called Shelter Island, did on the three
and twentieth of March, 1652, give full posses
sions unto Capt. Nathaniel Silvester and Ensigne
John Booth of the aforesaid island of Ahaquata-
wamock, with all that was belonging to the same,
And hee the said Yohee delivered unto the afore
said Captaine Nathaniel Silvester and Ensigne
John Booth one turfe and twige in their hands ac
cording to the usual custome of England, after
which delivery and full possession given, the said
Yokec with all his Indians that were formerly be
longing to said island of Ahaquatawamoek did
freely and willingly depart the aforesaid island
leaving the aforesaid Captaine Nathaniel Silves
ter and Ensigne Booth in full possession of the

same. Unto which we Witnesse our hands the
date as above being the 2^ of March 165 2-3.
John Herbert, of Southold,
Capt. Robert Seelev of New Haven,
Daniel Lane, of New London,
Giles Silvester.
The following recorded in the Town Clerk's
office in Southampton shows the friendly spirit
of the first Proprietor :
This 6 of April 1687, Capt. Nathaniel Syl
vester for peace and good, neighborhood's sake
with the town of Southampton, desireth- to bee
here entered upon record as forthwith. That
whereas hee hath given serious intimation or no
tice of divers strange horses come over to his
Island, that are exceedingly troublesome and to
his great spoyle and damage, especially to his
meadows and mowing land, And yet people take
noe care to look after them and rid him of the
daily vexation & damage hee sustains by them,
And hee being very desirous to still continue the
good correspondence with this said town of
Southampton, and ver)- loth to offer violence to
any neighbors' horses or horsekind that may at
any time (unknown to them) make escape to his
island, thought good to record this and procure
the same to bee published, that in regard of tbe
present busie time of sowing and planting, hee
yet gives liberty to the neighbors of Southamp
ton, or any others concerned, until the last day
of the third month (called May) next ensuing,
to fetch off their horses from his said Island.
But if they shall still neglect, hee the said Syl
vester must and shall bee enforced to deliver and
rid himself of the said cumber and damage, by
reason of said horses, and horsekind by destroy
ing them, that which he doth declare he is ex
ceedingly loth to doe, if possible by any other
means hee could prevent it."
It seems incredible that horses could have
crossed from Hog Neck voluntarily if the chan
nel had not then been much narrower. The first
of April being spoken of as the "busie time of
sowing and planting," it would seem to indicate
that there has been no great change in the sea
sons, or, if anything, that they were a little earlier
than at present.
That the Shelter Island Indians claimed Hog
Neck (now North Haven) may be seen by the
following :

SHELTER ISLAND.

449

"Oct. 3, 1665, the Shelter Island Indians
have this day confirmed the purchase of Hog
Neck to Southampton forever, reserving liberty
of hunting and fishing & fowling upon the
same,- and have received six Indian coats upon the
confirmation hereof. In full satisfaction of all
their claims to Southampton men.
Before me in Fort James,
"Richard Nicolls."
The Pequot tribe of Indians, very warlike and
cruel in their nature, were very frequently at war
with the Long Island Indians. In the Indian
deed for Southampton it was part of the consider
ation that the English should defend the Shin
necock Indians against other tribes who should
assail them. In 1637 the Shelter Island Indians
sent their Sachems to Governor Winthrop, and
they carried twenty fathoms, of wampum as trib
ute. The power of the Pequots was forever de
stroyed in the great "Swamp fight," of which
Lyon Gardiner says :
"Three days after the fight with the Pequots,
came Wiandance to me to see if we were angry
with all Indians. I answered, :no ! but only with
such as killed Englishmen.' Then he inquired if
he, (that is, Lion Gardiner) would trade with
them, that is the Indians, adding 'I will go to- my
brother, for he is the great Sachem of Long Isl
and, and if we may have peace, and trade with
vou, we will give you tribute as we did to the
Pequots.' "
The "Great Sachem of Long Island," as
Wiandance called him, was his brother, and was
Sachem of the Manhasset tribe of Indians. His
name was spelled in various ways, — Yovowan,
Yenicoe,- Yennicock or Yennicolt, and Youco or
Yocow. The name of Yovowan appears in the
deed for Gardiner's Island, 1639. The Indian
chief or Sachem, Youglico or Yohee, died on
Shelter Island. From thence his remains were
carried to Montauk, borne upon the shoulders
of his warriors. On the journey, while passing
through the East Hampton woods, for once onlv
were the feet of the dead Sachem allowed to
touch the earth. Where his feet rested, his
bearers scooped out a small round hole. For long
years after, whenever an Indian passed the spot,
29

the hole was carefully cleared of leaves and
dirt. This was evidently to them a religious duty.
The place was visible as late as 1845. When the
Sag Flarbor turnpike was made the spot was ob
literated. It was at or near the place called
"Whooping Boys Hollow."
By the foregoing purchases and confirmation
the possession of the Island was vested in Con
stant and Nathaniel Sylvester, Thomas Middle-
ton having a share which will be referred to la
ter. For a full and final confirmation of their
title to the island the following patent was ob
tained :
A Confirmation of Shelter Island Granted
unto Constant Silvester and Nathaniel Silvester.
Richard Nicolls Es.qr. Governor, under his
Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke of all his
Territoryes in America
To all to whom these presents shall come
Sendeth Greeting: Whereas there is a certaine
Island Situate lying and being in a certaine Bite
Bay or Arme of the sea which runneth betweene
the lands belonging to ye Towns of East-fiamp-
ton South-Hampton and South-Hold in the East
Riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island by the
Indyans formerly called by the Name of Manhan-
sucke Ahaqnatzuwamock and now commonly
known by the name of Shelter Island weh. said
Island was heretofore Purchased from the In
dyans by James Ffarett Agent to William Earle
of Sterling (in whom ye Government then was
bv vertue of his Maties. Letters Patents.) And
since by Several Dedes Mean Conveyances and
Graunts derived from the said Earle of Sterling
James Ffarett and others as also from the Indyan
Proprietors for a valuable Consideration is come
unto the hands of Constant Silvester of the Isl
and of Barbadoes Esqr., And Nathaniel Silves
ter now Inhabiting and Residing in Shelter Is
land aforesaid Merchant Now know Yee that by
vertue of the commission and Authority unto mee
given by his Royall Highness James Duke of
Yorke &c upon whom (as well by ye Earle of
Sterling and also by lawful Graunts and Patent
from his Royall Maty. Charles the Second King
of England Scotland- France & Ireland &c The
Propriety and Government of Long Island and
all the islands adjacent amongst other things is
settled ; I do Ratify Confirme and allow of all the
aforesaid deedes and Purchasers and also do
hereby give Graunt and Confirme unto the said
Constant Silvester and Nathaniel Silvester Their
Heirs and Assigns the said Island heretofore

450

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

called Manhansucke Ahaquatwamock and now
knowne by the name of Shelter Island Together
with all the lands Soyles Woods Meadows Pas
tures Marshes Lakes Waters Fishing Hawking
Hunting and Fowling and all other proffitts Com
modityes Emoluments and Hereditaments to the
said island belonging with their & every
of their Appurtentnces and of every part
and parcel thereof and that the said Island
and premises now is & forever hereafter shall
be held deemed reputed taken and bee an
Intire Infranchized Township Manor & Place
of itselfe and shall allwayes from time to time
and at all times hereafter have and liold and en
joy like and equall Privileges and Immtinityes
with any Town Infranchized place or Manor
Within this Government and shall in no manner
of way bee Sub-ordinate or belonging unto have
any dependency upon or in any wise bee under
the Rule Jurisdiction upon Long Island but shall
in all cases things and Matters bee deemed re
puted and taken and held as an absolute Intire
Infranchized Township Manor and place of it
selfe in this Government and shall bee Ruled Or
dered and Directed in, all matters as to Govern
ment accordingly by the Governor and his Coun-
sell and the General Assizes onely Provided that
no Privileges or Immunities herein Graunted or
mentioned to be Graunted shall bee meant or in
terpreted to extend to the Protecting of any Tray-
tors Malefactors Fugitives or Debtors flying un
to the said Island to the damage of any particu
lar person or the obstruction of the Lawes and
the Common or Puhlick Peace of this Government
and ye Justice thereof To Have and To Flold the
said Island with all and singular the Appurten
ances and premises together with the Privileges
Tmmunityes Franchizes and Advantages herein
given and Graunted unto the said Constant Sil
vester and Nathaniel Silvester to the proper use
and behoofe of the said Constant Silvester and
Nathaniel Silvester their Heirs and Assigns for
ever fully freely and Clearly in as large and
ample Manor and Form and with such full and
absolute Immtinityes and Privileges as before is'
expressed as if they held tbe same Immediately
from his Maty the King of Engld &c and his Suc
cessors as of the Manor of East Greenwich in the
County of Kent in free and Common Soccage and
by fealty onely Yielding Rendering and Paying
Yearly and every Yeare unto his Royall Fiigh
ness the Duke of Yorke and his Heires or to such
Governor and Governors as, from time to time
shall bee by him Constituted and Appointed as an
acknowledgement one Lamb upon the first day
of May if the same shall be demanded ;

Given under my hand and seale at Fort James
in New Yorke on the Island of Manhatans the
31st day of May in the Eighteenth yeare of the
reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles the Sec
ond by the Grace of 'God King- of England Scot
land France and Ireland Defender of the Faith &c
And in the Year of our Lord God 1666.
Rich. Nicolls.
In consideration of their assistance in estab
lishing the English power, and in recognition
of their services, the following release was also
given :
Richard Nicolls1, Esq., Governor under his
Royoll Fiighness James Duke of Yorke and Al
bany &c of all his teritoryes in America, to all
to whom these presents shall come. Whereas
Nathaniel Sylvester of Shelter Island', Merchant,
ffor and on the behalfe of himselfe and of his
brother Constant Sylvester of Barbadoes, Esq.,
hath, of his own voluntary free will and good
affection to this government, advanced and paid
toward ye support and maintainance thereof the
sum of £150,- the receipt whereof I doe hereby
acknowledge, Now know yee that, by virtue of
commission and authority given unto me by bis
Royoll Highness James Duke of York, I, for and
m consideration of the afore said sum of £150
and for other good causes and considerations me
thereunto moving, doe hereby grant unto ye said
Nathaniel and Constant Sylvester, and to their
heirs and assigns forever, That ye said Island
called Shelter Island is and forever hereafter
shall bee by these presents discharged, exonerated
and acquitted from all taxes and rates either civil
or military, and from all traynings, setting forth
and keeping any souldiers, horses, arms, troops
or other warlike provisions, other than what they
shall voluntarily do for the defence of their said
island and- this government in case of a foreigne
invasion, or disturbance by the natives. Given
under my hand and seal in'ffort James- ye 25 day
of May in ye yeare Anno Dom. 1666.
Richard Nicolls.
In T673 the Dutch reconquered the territory
and Governor Colve declared Constant Silvester
and Thomas Middleton enemies of the govern
ment and confiscated the island. Nathaniel Sil
vester was at that time sole possessor of the isl
and, and lost no time in making some effort to
secure his title. lie delivered before the Dutch,
authorities "an extract from his Privileges," and

SHELTER ISLAND.

451

on examination they found that the heirs of his
brother, the late Constant Silvester, and one
Thomas Middleton, residing in England, were
copartners in the island, and their shares must
be confiscated in behalf of the state. To this
Nathaniel Silvester replied that a considerable
sum of money was due to him from the heirs of
Constant Silvester, and, after much discussion,
it was finally agreed that in compensation for the
action of said heirs and Thomas Middleton, and
for the confirmation of his privileges, Nathaniel
Silvester should pay to the Dutch government
"five hundred pounds in provision of this coun
try." August 28, 1673, a formal act of confiscation
was issued by "Cornelis Evertse, Jr., and Jacob
Benches, Commissioners, with our Military Coun-
sil of the Navy, in tbe service of their High and
Mighty Lords, the States General of the United
Netherlands, and Bis Serene fiighness the Lord
Prince of Orange." This rehearsed .the capture
of Fort James (which was then called Fort Will
iam Bendrick) and all the lands and' places de
pendent from it, among which was "a certain
island known by the name of Shelter Island, now
in possession of Nathaniel Silvester, to whom it
belongs with the heirs of Constant Silvester and
Thomas Middleton, residing in England, the Bar
badoes." This, implied that Thomas Middleton
was then residing in the island of Barbadoes, as
being a portion of England. This confiscation
was not to be enforced while he remained in
submission and allegiance to the Dutch Govern
ment, so far as his own rights extended. The
next day, August 29, 1673, Nathaniel Silvester
gave a bond for 500 pounds sterling and the Dutch
authorities made over to him all the right, title
and interest of the heirs of Constant Silvester
and Thomas Middleton. It was also agreed that
he and his heirs and posterity should not be
amenable before any inferior Courts of Justice,
"but shall be prosecuted before the Chief Mag
istrate, and they should not be obliged to attend
any training, nor maintain any soldiers nor supply
any necessaries of war, except what they should
voluntarily contribute for the defence of the said
isiland in time of danger, against foreign inva

sion or troubles with the Indians." And they
were to have liberty of conscience and all other
privileges. The second surrender of the Province to the
English changed all this, but prior to that time
the Dutch Governor sent to Shelter Island a ship
with fifty soldiers, who surrounded his house and
compelled the payment of the five hundred
pounds. The act of the Dutch government, while in
power, seems to have been accepted as giving to
Nathaniel Silvester a full title, and we hear noth
ing more of the claims of the heirs of Constant
Silvester or Thomas Middleton.
Nathaniel Silvester married Grissell, daugh
ter of Thomas Brinley, Esq. They were the par
ents of eleven children — Giles, Nathaniel, Con
stant, Peter, Benjamin, Joshua, Grissell, Patience,
Eliza, Ann and Mercy. Of these daughters, Pa
tience became the wife of Benjamin L'Homme-
dieu, a Buguenot and ancestor of an honored
race. Eliza married Jonathan Brown. Grissell
was affianced to Latimer Sampson, of New York,
but his death prevented their marriage. In his
will, dated "the sixteenth day of the month called
February 1668-9," ne speaks of himself as "of
Oyster Bay, upon Long Island," and as being
"about to travel to the Barbadoes, and knowing
the Casualty of man's life," he leaves all his es
tate upon Long Island, Shelter Island, and else
where, to Grizell Silvester, eldest daughter of
Nathaniel Silvester, of Shelter Island." She af
terwards married James Loyd, of Boston, who be
came tbe owner of Loyd's Neck.
When Nathaniel Silvester came to his island,
with him came Francis Brinley, who received a
grant of land in Rhode Island. Bis sister, Anne
Brinley, married Governor William Coddington.
He also brought with him several servants and
slaves who, with their master, constituted the
first settlers.
At a very early period, Nathaniel Silvester
became ver}- favorably impressed with the preach
ing and practice of the people calling themselves
"Friends," who were by the "world's people"
called in scorn "Quakers." It is somewhat doubt
ful if he actually joined that sect, but it is certain

452

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

that they had his strongest sympathies in their
persecution. James Bowden, in his "History of the
Society of Friends," states that, except this island
and the Colony of Rhode Island, there was not
a nook in the colonies of North America on which
a Friend could land without exposing himself
to heavy penalties. The island became a refuge
for the persecuted Quakers. Among them was
John Rouse (son of Thomas Rouse) whose ears
had been cut off ; also Lawrence and Cassandra
Southwick, an aged couple who had been pros
ecuted and banished, and who also died shortly
after coming to the island ; also the unfortunate
Mary Dyer, who was afterward hanged in Bos
ton ; and William Leddra, and Joseph Nicholson
and his wife. These were all kindly received and
befriended. Other prominent Quakers — John
Taylor, William Robertson and George Fox, the
famous preacher — were among those who vis
ited this island of refuge. For his kindness to
them, if for no other reason, the name of Nathan
iel Sylvester is worthy to be held in continual
veneration. That his brother, Giles Sylvester,
had expressed his views very strongly, is plain
from the following :
"Whereas I am accused to say that all the min
isters in New Fngland were worse than witches,
I owne I said soe, for which I am heartily sorrow-
full and owne to bee very inconsiderately spoken
and to ye folly and wickedness in it, and hope
the Lord shall guide my waves and words to bee
more circumspect and life to himself. Then the
parties that heard them finding themselves
grieved, I told them that I meane noe other than
those that were formall and not spirituall, such
was my meaning though not expressed till ex
ception was made : therefore I say as I sayed, it
is very evill in me or in any man to say any such
thing, for wee ought not to speak evil of any
man." 28 of the 11 in January 1657.
Giles Silvester."
Nathaniel Silvester remained the sole pro
prietor of the island until his death, which oc
curred in 1680. The following is an abstract of
his will, recorded in the New York Surrogate's
office: I Nathaniel Sylvester of Shelter Island, in

America, being sickly but of sound and perfect
memory. Whereas I am the true owner of one half of
all that Island whereon I now dwell, formerly
called Manhanseck Ahequasbeomack and now
Shelter Island, and also one half of the stock ne
groes etc., and also one half of the Island called
Robins Island, I hereby bequeath to my wife
Grissell Silvester, Francis Brinly, James Loyd,
Isaac Arnold, Lewis Morris and Daniel Gould the
said one half of the Island, Also the other half
or such parts as may be due me from my brother
Constant Silvester and Thomas Middleton by
reason of the great disbursements made by me,
and by reason of the confiscation of one half the
Island, and the bill of sale given me, The Dutch
Commander sending one of his men of war, with
about fifty soldiers taking possession of the one
half claimed by Constant Silvester and Thomas
Middleton, And to strike the greater dread in my
family they beset my house, the better to obtain the
mony on my bond, which they forced from me and
my wife, The same is, given to them in trust for
the benefit of my wife during her life, and she is
to enjoy the dwelling house and garden, and
about 40 acres of land bounded with the creek on
the west, north by a gully, and spring of meadow.
Also £ioo a year, She is to take care of the chil
dren and they are to be dutiful to her, I leave the
Planting field behind the orchard, 40 acres, and
the Planting field called Mananduck to all my
sons. ' '
All his lands except as reserved are left
equally to all his sons, fie makes arrangements
that his brother Joshua Silvester shall be properly
maintained. He leaves legacies to his son Na
thaniel, and to his daughters Patience, Elizabeth,
Ann, Mercy and to his son Benjamin. He leaves
to his son Peter land at Town Creek, and the
mill. To his son Giles, all his land at Plum Gut,
and to his sons Nathaniel and Constant "mv three
shares of land in the new county near New Jer
sey to the westward." To his sons Constant and
Benjamin "the land and orchard which I have at
Southold and my land on Block Island." He
makes his wife Grissell and his brother-in-law
Francis Brinley, and his son-in-law James Loyd,
and his cousins Isaac Arnold, and Lewis Morris
and Daniel Gould executors. "Dated this 19 of
the month called March 1679-80." This will was
proved Oct. 1, 1680.

SHELTER ISLAND,

453

A modern tombstone erected to his memory
by his descendants of the Horsford family bears
the inscription :
"To Nathaniel Sylvester, First Resident pro
prietor of the Manor of Shelter Island under
Grant of Charles II, A. D. 1666. An English
man intrepid. Loyal to Duty, Faithful to friend
ship. The soul of integrity and Honor, Hospit
able to Worth and Culture, Sheltering ever the
persecuted for conscience sake."
Peter Silvester, by his will dated February 22,
1695-6, left half his lands on Shelter Island, in
cluding the buildings, to his brother Constant,
and the other half to his brother Nathaniel. This
was proved April 16, 1696.
Constant Silvester, by his will, October 26,
1695, left all his lands on Shelter Island to his
brother Peter and his nephew Brinly Silvester,
the son of his brother Nathaniel. "Peter Silves
ter is to have the farm which I now dwell upon
with all the buildings, and so with that to make
up one half of the land." Brinley Silvester is to
have "that farm upon which Jacques the French
man is now settling with all the buildings." His
lands on Beach Island, and his share of Robin's
Island and Commonage in Southold, he leaves to
his sister. Proved November 9, 1696.
Nathaniel Silvester, by will, April 3, 1700,
left to his wife Margaret, daughter of Captain
Josiah Hobart, the use of all estate until his eld
est son Nathaniel came of age. He left to his son
Nathaniel all his share of Shelter Island, but if
he died without issue it' was to go to his son
Brinly, and if he died without issue, then to his
daughters, Grissell and Margaret. He was then
living in East Hampton, but in 1705 he was liv
ing in Newport, Rhode Island, where he died
before July 4'th.
Giles Silvester, by will March 12, 1706-7,
left to his wife Hannah "one-third of my estate
as the law allows." All the rest of his estate,
real and personal, he left to William Nicoll, Esq.,
for the payment of debts, "and all the surplus
is to be to him as he thinks best," and makes him
executor. Proved June 19, 1708.
In 1695 Giles Sylvester sold to William Nicoll,

of Islip, one-quarter of his estate, the rest he
obtained by the above will. In this manner the
Nicoll family became the owners of a large es
tate which, under the name of Sachem's Neck,
is still owned by his descendants.
"Giles Sylvester quitclaims to Nathaniel Syl
vester the tract of 1000 acres, left by Capt. Na
thaniel Sylvester to his second son (the said Na
thaniel) in. his will "which said land is situate
and being on ye South side of ye said Island,
bounded by ye salt water of ye Bay on ye South,
by a certain pond called Filers pond on ye west,
by a ditch running from a fresh pond down to a
creek on the South and soe with a Northwesterly
line from ye said ditch up into ye body of ye said
Island until there shall be 1000 acres." In witness
etc., this 21 day of Mch 1699. G. Sylvester.
Witnesses : Benjamin L'Homedieu, John Paine,
Francis Brinley.
Nathaniel Sylvester and his wife Margaret
sold the above tract to George Havens "of Con-
nanicutt Island, alias Jamestown in Rhode Isl
and and Providence Plantations in New Eng
land yeoman," on March 25, 1699-1700. It is
described as "100 acres of land on Shelter Isl
and and was bequeathed to me by my honored
father Nathaniel Sylvester, by his last will and
testament, which said thousand acres begineth
on ye west at a ditch .which was dugg out of ye
fresh pond and on ye east by a creeke, called
Filers creek and soe to continue running a full
mile in breadth between ye said boundaries until
ye said thousand acres be made good and meas
ured." George Havens, by deed Oct. 10, 1701, gave
to his son George Havens, "of Kingstown in
tbe Naragansett Country," 250 acres of his farm
on Shelter Island, at the northwest corner of
said farm. To be 200 rods in depth, "If he come
and live on said land." Witness, John Clarke,
W. Clarke. '
That tract of 1,000 acres sold to George Ha
vens covered the center of the island and in
cluded the place where the Presbyterian church
stands. George Havens, his son, probably did
not come to Shelter Island. His will is dated at

454

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Fisher's Island, October 3, 1726. The tomb
stone of George Havens, Sr., is in the ancient
burying ground at New London and bears the
inscription "George Havens, who deceased Feb
ruary 25, 1706, aged 53 years." He died intes
tate, and letters of administration were granted
to his wife Elinor, February 11, 1706-7. His
widow married Thomas Terry, of Southold, and
she died there in 1747, aged 93 years.
George Flavens, his oldest son and heir at
law, gave to his brother, John Havens, 250 acres
of the above tract, "bounded North by land of
my brother William Bavens, West by land of
my brother Jonathan Bavens, south by the salt
water, and East by the farthest extent of ye said
purchase." June 21, 1707. Be also conveyed to
his mother, Elinor Havens, "for 30 pounds paid
to his natural sister, Patience Loper," 50 acres
of the same tract.
The lands of William and Jonathan Havens,
as mentioned above, were given to them by their
father, George Havens, Sr., during his life time.
The family have ever since remained on tbe isl
and, and have been an inseparable portion of its
history. December 1, 1693, Giles Silvester leased to
Edward Downing, of Boston, "a house and farm
on Shelter Island, and the house called the Hall."
The rent was "one half of the cider and grain
and other -products." The witnesses were Jacques
Gillett, John Collins and John Peterson.
Edward Downing was probably the first ten
ant on the island. Jacques Gillett is doubtless the
same person mentioned on a preceding page as
"Jacques the Frenchman." John Collins and John
Peterson may have been servants, but they were
doubtless living on the island.
The following deed is the first mention of a
family who have ever since been prominently
connected with our history :
This Indenture made the 3d day of May,
1698, between Giles Sylvester of Shelter Island,
Gent, of ye one part and Cornelius Pain of ye Ile
of Wight (alias Gardiner's Island,) his- bond
man. Witnesseth that he ye said Giles Syfvester
in consideration of a sum of money * * *
doth by the presents give, grant and sell, unto

the said Cornelius Pain, two hundred acres of
upland and. meadow lying on Shelter Island, at
a certaine place called the haye beach rocky point
bounded by William Hopkins on ye South, the
water of ye bav twixt Shelter Island and Gardi-
nersi Island on ye east, and the channel coming in
from thence on ye north, and ye upland on the
west, to be laid out as followeth, to begin at the
north bounds of William Hobkins, and soe run
Northward 16 degrees easterly eight score poles,
through ye Neck of ye hay beach rocky point to
a certain rock by ye water side neare the channel
above said, and so-e westward fo make right angles
from the bounds above said, and [from] ye said
rock into ye upland soe many poles till it shall
comprehend soe many acres of upland as with
the meadow shall containe 200 acres."
G. Sylvester.
Witnesses : Nathaniel Parke, Edward Downing,
Mary Downing.
Cornelius Payne afterward lived on Hog
Neck, in Southampton, and was the ancestor of
the family of that name in that town.
February 8, 1687-8, Joshua Silvester, "late of
Shelter Island, now of Southold," made an agree
ment to deliver to Isaac Arnold "a deed for all
his visible estate" on Shelter Island, and all
monies and debts due to him, and Isaac Arnold
is to provide him a comfortable maintenance for
life. Joshua Silvester revokes all former acts
and deeds, "especially one writing made and now
in the custody of Grisell, the wife of James
Loyd, of Boston, sometime in June, 1687, which
in sickness I passed without consideration or ad
vice." Be allows to Isaac Arnold, for his yearly
maintenance, 30 pounds. If Isaac Arnold dies,
then all that is left is to return to Joshua Silves
ter, and shall go- to the female children of his
brother Nathaniel Silvester and Isaac Arnold. If
Joshua Silvester died first, then what is left is
to go to the daughters of Nathaniel Silvester and
his cousin Isaac Arnold, except Grisell Loyd,
who is to have "one piece of gold of 20 shillings."
In accordance with this, Joshua Silvester gave
to Isaac Arnold a deed for all his lands and
meadows on Shelter Island, and all his goods,
etc., "In consideration of an Honourable and
Comfortable maintaince during his life. And
he has put him in possession by delivering unto

SHELTER ISLAND.

455

him one piece of silver commonly called a shill
ing, English coyne, fixed into the Seal of these
Presents." He also gives Isaac Arnold full pow
er of attorney to collect all debts, "and espe
cially to call to account James Loyd of Boston,
merchant, and the executors of Nathaniel El-
dred, late of Brookhaven, for £800, paid to
him by my sister in law Madame Grisell Silves
ter Feb. 26, 1680."
April 30, 1694, Giles Silvester, "in considera
tion of a certain deed of release for one half of
Shelter Island, dated Oct. 3, 1693," agrees to give
to Joshua Silvester an annual rent of £15 "on all
the property left to Giles Silvester by his brother
Nathaniel Silvester, lying on the north side of
Shelter Island, and now in the possession of Ed
ward Downing, late of Boston, as tenant." This
rent was to be paid to Joshua Silvester during
his life, annually on May 5th, with the curious
provision that "if the said Joshua Silvester does
not spend the whole amount for his comfortable
maintenance but less will suffice, he is to pay
back the remainder.
On the same day Joshua Silvester conveys
to his "beloved friend Mr. Joshua Hobart, min
ister, and to his loving cousin, Isaac Arnold" all
his goods and chattels. And, in return, "he is to
have a comfortable maintenance according to his
Age and Quality."
We conclude from the foregoing that Joshua
Silvester was probably infirm in mind or body
and perhaps in both. He died in Southold a few
years later.
Thomas Shaw and wife Mary sold to Jona
than Havens, February 10, 1713-14, "one mes
suage or tract of land on Shelter Island, 256 acres,
bounded northwest by ye land formerly Mr.
Giles Sylvesters. Southerly by the land of ye
said Jonathan Havens. Easterly by ye land of
William Havens, and northeast by ye land late
Nathaniel Sylvesters, deceased. Being six rods
wide from the northeast corner down to ye Salt
water or harbor." This must have been a very
long and narrow strip of land, if the above de
scription is correct. It seems to have been a part
of the Havens tract, but how Thomas Shaw ob
tained it we do not know. Jonathan Havens left

this to his son Jonathan, in 1748. He describes
it as "six rods wide on the west side of my old
farm, beginning at the north west corner and
running east to a place called the Wolf Trap."
After the sale of 1,000 acres of land to Will
iam Havens, Nathaniel Sylvester had compara
tively a small estate on Shelter Island. By his
will he left what he had to- his son Nathaniel,
and, if he died without issue, then to his brother
Brinley Sylvester, to whom it afterward came.
By the wills of Constant Sylvester and Peter
Sylvester this was still more increased, and Brin
ley Sylvester became the largest land owner on
the island.
February 25, 1718-9, William Nicoll, "Gent,"
sold to Brinley Silvester, of Newport, Rhode Isl
and, "For money paid by Giles Silvester and Na
thaniel Silvester, uncle and father of said Brin
ley Silvester, All that messuge the late. mansion
house of Capt. Nathaniel Silvester, and 1,000
acres of land adjoining, on Shelter Island.
Bounded west by upland and creek, north by bay
or sound, East by Ram island beach and Ram isl
and bay, and southeast by the farm that John
Knowling now dwells on." It is quite probable
that a mortgage had been given on the estate,
and that the conveyance was a release from the
same. ' Brinley Sylvester, the owner of this ancestral
heritage, was born in East Hampton, November
28, 1694. December 2, 1718, he married Mary,
daughter of Thomas Burroughs, a merchant of
New York. He probably came here soon after
the death of his father and uncle. His estate is
said to have been all that part of the island north
of a line drawn from the head of Dering creek
to Cockle's Harbor. In 1737 he built a stately
mansion, which yet remains, a most elegant relic
of Colonial architecture. At the time of its
erection it is said to have been the largest man
sion on Long Island. It stand's near the spot
where the ancestor, Nathaniel Sylvester, had his
dwelling place. The doors and many other por
tions of the building were brought from England,
and were of a make and material impossible fo
procure in the early days. In this mansion Brin
ley Sylvester "lived like a lord." For long years

45b

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

he was surrogate for Suffolk county and judge
of the court of common pleas.. There being no
church on the island, he attended meeting in
Southold, sailing in a barge manned by well
trained negro slave rowers, Upon one occasion
the minister suggesting to his wife that she might
be proud of her silken gown and elegant barge,
she replied that she was not proud of these things,
but she was proud of the linen she could make
with her own hands. A private chaplain, the
Rev. William Adams, made his home in the
manor house. Mr. Sylvester was one of the
most important men of the county and the prov
ince, fie served as supervisor and town clerk
for several years, and did much to advance the
interests of the island. Fie died December 24,
1752, and with him the ancient name of Sylvester
perished from Shelter Island. He left two daugh
ters, Margaret, wife of Daniel Cheesebrough,
who died without issue, and Mary, born in 1724,
who married Thomas Dering, March 9, 1759.
During the Revolution, Thomas Dering and his
wife were, like many other patriots, compelled to
take refuge in Connecticut, and while living
there they executed the following deed :
Thomas Dering, Esq., and wife Mary of
Shelter Island, now resident in Middletown, Con
necticut, conveys to their son Silvester Dering
"one half of a messuge and lot of land where
they formerly resided on Shelter Island, and
which lately belonged to Brinley Silvester, Esq.,
and called Silvester's farm. Containing 1100
acres. Bounded east by Ram Island and by the
bay commonly called Cookolds bay or harbor.
West by Thomas Conkling, and land formerly of
Elisha Paine. North by Southold Bay. South
by land of Nicoll Havens, formerly belonging to
his father Jonathan Havens. Which said one
half lately belonged to Margaret Cheesbrough,
deceased, who was the only sister of said Mary
Dering." June 17, 1782.
Witness : John Alsop, Nicoll Floyd.
Thomas Dering and wife Mary Dering
"of Shelter Island, now residing in Middletown,
Connecticut," by deeds of lease and release, No
vember 9, 1779, convey to Ezra L'Hommedieu
one-half of the above premises, and Ezra L'Hom
medieu conveys the same to Thomas Dering, Esq.,

November 19, 1779. This was for the purpose
of vesting the title in Thomas Dering in fee.
Thomas Dering and his wife Mary sold the same
to their son, Silvester Dering, for £1,000, June 10,
1782. Thomas Dering, whose name is inseparably
connected with the history of this island, was the
son of Henry and Elizabeth Dering, and was
born in Boston, May 16, 1720. He was educated
for a merchant, and, his father dying in 1750,
he and his brother Flenry succeeded to the busi
ness, and March 9, 1756, he married Mary Syl
vester, at Newport, where Mrs. Sylvester had
moved for the education of her daughters. In
1760 he came to Shelter Island, occupied the
manor house, and engaged very extensively in
farming. He had a very large circle of acquaint
ances, especially among the ministers in the coun
ty. In May, 1776, he was delegate to the Provin
cial Convention which met at White Plains and
unanimously adopted tbe Declaration of Inde
pendence. In September, 1776, he removed with
his family to Middletown, Connecticut. In 1777
he was elected a member of a convention to frame
a constitution for the state of New York. In
1783 he returned to the island and resumed the
business of farming. Among his most intimate
friends was the Rev. George Whitefield, who- vis
ited the island. After a useful and honored life
he died September 26, 1785. His remains rest
in the cemetery at the rear of the church. Mr.
Dering- left three children — General Sylvester
Dering, Henry P Dering and a daughter, Eliza
beth, who married Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner.
General Sylvester Dering-, who thus, became
the owner of the ancestral estate, married Esther
Sarah, daughter of Nicoll Havens. He was gen
era! of militia, supervisor for many years and
member of assembly in 1804. He was killed
by a fall from his horse and died, lamented and
beloved, October 8, 1820, at the age of 61. He
left five children — Charles T., a merchant in Sag
Harbor, Nicoll FI., a physician in New York,
Henry S., a physician at Setauket, Margaret and
Sarah. After his death his estate was purchased
by Ezra L'Hommedieu, at whose death it passed
into the hands of his daughter, Mary, who mar-

SHELTER ISLAND.

457

ried Samuel S. Gardiner, and for a long time it
was widely known as the "Gardiner estate." The
offspring of this marriage were three daughters,
one of whom became the wife of Professor Lane,
of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and two who were
successively the wives of Professor Eben E.
Horsford, of the same place. LTpon the settle
ment of the estate it passed into the hands of
Professor Horsford, whose daughtersi are the
lineal descendants and present representatives of
the Sylvesters.
William Nicoll, who by deed and will of Giles
Sylvester obtained a very large estate on Shelter
Island, died in 1723, and by will left all his lands
here to his son, William Nicoll, who was elected
member of assembly in 1739, and served until
the time of his death in 1768. For the last nine
years he was Speaker of the House. He died
suddenly at a house on Hempstead plains, De
cember 3, 1768. He left no children, and his es
tate went to his nephew, William Nicoll, son of

his brother Benjamin. He was known as "Clerk
Nicoll," being county clerk for twenty-six years,
and was the last county clerk tinder the Colonial
Government. He succeeded his uncle in the As
sembly and served until the Revolution. His son,

Samuel Benjamin Nicoll, succeeded to the estate
on Shelter Island, and came here in 1787. He
was born September 4, 1764. He married Anne
daughter of Colonel Richard Floyd. They were
the parents of ten children — Richard Floyd,
William, Elizabeth Floyd, Anna Willett, Sam
uel Benjamin, Thomas Elbert Ellison, Maria
Cortland, John Cortland, Gloriana Margaretta
and Arabella Jones Floyd. The father of this
family passed his life on his large estate, as an
enterprising farmer, and died here September 19,
1828. Samuel Benjamin Nicoll, the third son, was
born on Shelter Island, March 25, 1794, and was
educated at Yale and Lmion Colleges. Adopting
the profession of law, he settled in Riverhead
and practiced with success for several years. On
July 1, T824, be married Sarah Brown, daughter
of Dr. Benjamin Payne, of Flushing, Long Isl
and, and subsequently resided at that place for
some years. In April, 1832, he returned to Shel
ter Island and settled upon
the family estate, and
passed here the remainder
of his life. Fie was super
visor for many years and
during tbe greater part of
the time was chairman of
the board. In 1843 lle
was a member of assem
bly, and was one of the
members of a commission
to revise the code of pro
cedure. Mr. Nicoll died
January 22, 1865, in the
same house in which he was
born, and was buried in the
family cemetery at Sachem
Neck. His widow died on
the 8th day of October,
1876. He left seven chh
dren — Samuel B., William C, Matthias, Char
lotte A., Sarah P., Gloriana M. and Anne.
In accordance with the custom of the times,
the Sylvesters and their immediate descendants
were owners of negro slaves, which Nathaniel

458

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Sylvester doubtless brought with him from the
West Indies. The well equipped barge which
was kept for very frequent visits to Southold,
was manned by slave rowers. In 1776 there were
33 slaves on the island. After the passage of the
"Manumission Act," in 1788, many slaves were
set free, and slavery came to an end in the early
part of the nineteenth century.
The Indians who inhabited the island re
mained in rapidly diminishing numbers for many
years. Tradition states that the point known as
Sachem's Neck was the dwelling place of the
great Sachem, whose influence was felt and ac
knowledged by all the neighboring tribes. Relics
of their villages in the shape of shell heaps are
still found, and the indestructible stone arrow
heads are frequently found. The last of the race
was an aged woman who died a sincere Christian,
in 1835. By the terms of the original patent, Shelter
Island was to remain entirely independent of any
other town or political organization. As a mat
ter of precaution, important deeds were recorded
in the clerk's offices of East Hampton or South-
old, but the island remained for long years as a
proprietary government. By act of the Pro
vincial Legislature, July 12, 1729, it was estab
lished as a town, and was to elect two assessors,
a collector, a constable and supervisor.
In 1730 the inhabitants were William Nicoll,
John Havens, Samuel Hudson, George Havens,
Elisha Paine, Joel Bowdich, Abraham Parker,
Samuel Havens, Samuel Vail, Thomas Conkling,
Samuel Oilman, Brinley Sylvester, Jonathan Ha
vens, Joseph Havens, Noah Tuthill, Sylvester
L'Hommedieu, Henry Havens, Samuel Hopkins,
John Bowdich and Daniel Brown.
The first town meeting was held April 7, 1730,
and the following officers were elected: Super
visor, William Nicoll; Assessors, John -Havens,
Samuel Hudson; Collector, Samuel Havens;
Constable, Samuel Gilman.
The following is the list of Inhabitants of
Shelter Island in 1771 :
Heads of Families. Males. Females
Jonathan Havens  I 3
Thomas Dering  4 2

Daniel Brown  3 1
William Nicoll  1
William Havens  4 2
James Sawyer  3 2
Thomas Conkling  3 1
Joel Bowdich  3 2
Nicoli Havens  2 3
Samuel Case  4 4
Abraham Parker  5 5
Joseph L'Hommedieu . . . . •  2 2
Benjamin Sawyer  4 2
Moses Sawyer  4 5.
Thomas Conkling, Jr  5 2
James Havens  7 2
Abraham King  3 2
Deliverance Paine  2 3
Walter Havens  2 3
John Duval  1 1
George Duval  3 3
Obadiah Havens  2 4
Jonathan Havens, Jr  2 2
George Havens  1 2
Samuel Case, Jr  1 2
Joseph Havens  j . 2 1
Moses Horton  2 3
Total whites, 140; blacks, 27.
In the early period of our history, a church
on this island can hardly be said to have an ex
istence, the whole district being nominally a part
of the parish of Southold. The first attempt fo
build a meeting house is told by the following
document :
We whose names are hereunto subscribed, hav
ing the Interests of our Common Lord at heart,
and being willing to contribute for the prom-oting
and Incouraging the cause and Interest of Re
ligion upon Shelter Island, and considering the
small number of the Inhabitants do covenant and
promise to pay or cause to be paid- the Several
sums Affixed to our names to Brinley Sylvester
or order at or before the first day of January
next ensuing the Date hereof for the erecting
building and completing a Meeting house for the
publick Worship of Almighty 'God and not other
wise. In witness whereof we have set to our
names together with ye Severall sums. Annexed
the 19 day of August Anno Dom. 1732.

Benjamin Woolsy, £2.
David Pierson, 10s.
Samuel Huntting, 5s.
Abraham Halsey, 6s.
Flugh Gelston, 15s.

Matthew Howell, 5s.
Josiah Pierson, 6s.
Job Pierson, 6s.
Jonathan Whitehead1, £1
James Smith, 15s.

SHELTER ISLAND.

459

Mrs. Stillwell, 14s. Miss Steer, 5s.
Edm — , 10s. James Sell, 33, iod.
Edward Huntting, 10s. Josiah Topping, 6s.
Nathaniel Buntting, £2. John Meray, 10s.
David Howell, 2s. John Ledyard, 12s.
Elnathan White, 4s. Morel Lester, 10s.
John Davis, is, 6d. Alexander Munn, 5s.
Theophilus Howell, 5s. Mat. Burnes, 10s.
Theophilus Pierson, 7s. S. Whitehead, 10s.
Edward Bowell, 6s. Thomas Chatfield, 10s.
Eleazor Miller, £1, 8s. Suton Grant, £1, 4s.
Thomas Robinson, 14s. Piatt Smith, 14s.
Benjamin L'Bommedieu, Jr., 10s.
Benjamin Youngs, Esq., 10s.
Francis Pelletreau, £1, 8s.
Theophilus Howell, £2, 6s.
Samuel Hutchison, Esq., 12s.
Ephraim Hopkins, Jr., work 13s.
Received of Dr. Bowell, 5s.
Of the above subscribers fifteen were from
the town of Southampton. The effort thus be
gun does not seem to have been carried into
effect until 1742, for in that year Jonathan Ba
vens, Jr., gave half an acre of ground near the
middle of the Island for a site for a meeting
house and for a burying ground, and the church
seems to have been built in the following year.
It was a small square building with four roofs
meeting in a point. It is stated that some of the
furnishings, such as the pulpit, sounding board,
stairs and a few of the pews, were brought from
the Rutgers street church in New York. Rev.
Mr. Mailman states in his excellent history, "It
stood on this very spot where we now worship,
until the beginning of the present structure,
when it was moved to the eastward, where the
parsonage now stands, being there used while
the new bouse of worship was being erected, after
which it was again moved to the westward, near
the middle of the lot opposite the grist mill,
where it served the purpose of a sheep fold until
time and decay had completed its destruction.
The first minister was the Rev. William
Adams, who, as we have mentioned, was chap
lain to Mr. Brinley Silvester and his family. Be
was the son of the Rev. Eliphalet Adams, of Con
necticut, and a graduate of Yaie in 1730. Be
was then a tutor for two years, and after that a
preacher for more than sixty years. Be was

never married or ordained, as he declared he
would not be encumbered either with a wife or
a parish. Fie first preached in the North Parish
of New London, and afterwards in North Gro-
ton. In January, 1737, he began to preach in
Guilford. fie came to Shelter Island in the
latter part of 1737, being then twenty-seven years
of age. He remained here until the death of
Brinley Sylvester in 1752. He then preached in
New London until February, 1756. He was at
Orient from 1758 to 1760. In that year, Mr.
Thomas Dering moved to this Island, and Mr.
Adams resumed his residence in the Manor
House, as private chaplain, and remained until
the breaking out of the Revolution caused Mr.
Dering and his family to flee to Connecticut,
In ail, he labored here for more than thirty years,
and was there when Whitefield visited the. island
in 1764. In person he was short and stout, wore
a white wig and a cocked hat, and usually walked
about the streets dressed in a black study gown.
He died after a long and useful life, September
25, 1798, in the 88th year of his age.
April 6, 1784, the first town meeting was held
after the Revolution, and, after choosing town
officers, a committee consisting of Sylvester Der
ing and Jonathan N. Havens was appointed to
inquire into and take charge of the money left
by Brinley Sylvester, Esq., toward the support of
the Gospel on Shelter Island. April 26, 1785,
the church was duly incorporated as a religious
corporation, and Jonathan N. Havens, Sylvester
Dering and William Bowdich were elected trus
tees. On April 21, 1789, the Presbytery of Long
Island appointed Mr. John Taylor to preach at
Sag Flarbor.
In 1794 a committee was appointed "to pro
cure a person to preach the Gospel in this place,
and to pay the same as they may agree, not ex
ceeding the rate of four dollars for each Sab
bath, a curious reminder of the limited finances
of the time.
We find a curious entry : At a "Special Town
meeting held April 29, 1794, called for the pur
pose of regulating the claim fishery, it was re-

460

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

solved that a tax of three pence should be 'paid
for every bushel of clams dug by non-inhabi
tants of the Island, and the proceeds (except
twenty per cent.) was to. be paid into the hands
of the Religious Society for the purpose of sup
porting the Gospel or maintaining a school on
said Island, as the inhabitants at Town meeting
shall direct." This, however, was repealed the
next year.
In 1796 the Rev. Whitfield Cowles preached
on four Sabbaths and was paid £4 for his serv
ices. In 1797 the Rev. Joel Cram preached one
Sabbath for £1 4s. In 1797 the Rev. Whitfield
Cowles preached for twenty-four Sabbaths and
received £9 12. The Rev. Dr. Buel, of East
Hampton, also preached here occasionally be
tween 1796 and 1798.
In 1 80 1 an offer was made to employ the
Rev. Herman Daggett, who had been minister in
Southampton for a number of years, "to come
and reside with us as Preacher of the Gospel and
for teaching our school for the term of ten years."
The salary offered was $350 per annum. In pro
portion to the number of inhabitants, this was the
largest minister's salary paid in Suffolk county
at that time. Mr. Daggett did not accept, as he
had a call to Middle Island. After this several
different clergymen acted for short times as spe
cial supplies. Among these was the Rev. Ly
man Beecher and Zachariah Green. In 1805 the
Rev. Benjamin Bell preached for one year, re
ceiving three dollars per Sabbath. During his
term the meeting house was repaired.
The first settled pastor was Rev. Daniel Hall,
who had been for eight years minister in Sag
Ffarbor. fie was called May 5, 1806, at a salary
of three dollars a Sabbath. The subscription list
is as follows :
Bowdich, William, £3, 18s.
Bowdich, John £1, 6s.
Bowdich, Win, Jr., 13s.
Bowdich, Samuel, 8s. 8d.
Boisseau, John, 8s.
Conkling Benjamin, £3, 18s.
Case, Joseph, 17s. 4d.
Case, Jacob, 13s.
Douglass, Jonathan, £1, 19s.
Dering, Sylvester, £7 16s.

Havens, Obadiah, £2 12s.
Havens, Ezekiel, 18s.
Havens, Ledowick, 17s. 4d.
Havens, Augustus, £2 12s.
Havens, Joseph, Jr., 17s. 4d.
Havens, Joseph, Sr., £1 14s.
Havens, David, 13s.
Havens, Remington, 13s.
Havens, Silvanus, 13s.
Hains, Henry, £1 16s.
Harlow, Daniel, 13s.
Harlow, Phebe, 4s. 4d.
Thomas, Mayo, £1, 19s.
Nicoll, Benjamin, £7 16s.
Pierson, Job. £1 6s.
Reeve, Jonathan, 8s.
Sawyer, Richard, 13s.
Tuthill, Thomas, 17s. 4c!.
Havens, James, Sr., £1.
Total, £49 gs. 4c!.
The call was accepted and Mr. Hall remained
until his death in 1812. In 1808 a confession of
faith and church covenant was adopted, accord
ing to the discipline of the Presbyterian church.
The persons subscribing were the pastor and his
wife Lucretia, Ephraim King and his wife Me-
hitabel, Sylvester Dering and wife E. Sarah,
Jonathan Douglass and wife Abigail, Mary Mayo.
Eunice Case, Anna Boisseau, Elizabeth Havens,
Abigail Sawyer, Lodowick Havens and Esther
Case. Mr. Hall died January 20, 1812, from te
tanus, caused by amputation of a cancerous foot,
at the age of 64.
"As a minister of Jesus, he was faithful tinto-
death." The original church building belonged to cer
tain freeholders, and all the pews belonged to
certain families who had the exclusive right to
the same. In 1806 the following resolution was
passed :
"Voted that the Pews occupied by Benjamin
Nicoll, William Bowdich, Sylvester Dering and
James Havens be made narrower so as to make
room for a Pew in front of James Havens' pew,
and the next seat, and another in front of William
Bowel idles' pew and the next seat, and that the
pews of Benjamin Nicoll, William Bowdich and
Sylvester Dering and James Havens be moved
back, at the expense of the Parish."
lt was also voted that the persons who wished
to build pews- in the vacant space might do so

SHELTER ISLAND.

461

at their own expense, and they and their heirs
might have the exclusive use of the same until
they were called for by the parish, and the cost
was then to be repaid. In 1808 the parish en
deavored to get possession of all the pews, for
it was "voted that the trustees consult the own
ers of pews in the meeting House, and know of
them if they will sell them, and at what price,
and if all the owners of pews will sell, to call a
parish meeting that the parish may determine to
purchase them or not." This plan, however, did
not succeed and the system of ownership contin
ued until the old building ceased to be used. In
1793 the funds of the church amounted to about
£940. The church became formally connected with
the Presbytery of Long Island on April 9, 1812.
Up to this time "Church and State" had been
practically united. In 181 5 a detemiined effort
was made to build a new church. A subscription
list shows 28 persons on the island, who con
tributed 81,277.50. A still longer list of 87 per
sons in New York and other places contributed
$1,320.50, making the whole amount $2,598.
The new church stands on the site of the old one.
The famous "September gale" prostrated a num
ber of large trees, and from them were 'hewn the
timbers of the present edifice. It was dedicated
July 17, 1817. Rev. Stephen Tracy preached for
six months from April 28, 1816. The sale of the
pews for one year brought $143. For many years
the church remained without a settled pastor,
various ministers acting as temporary supplies.
The Rev. Richard F. Nicoll served in 1821, at a
salary of $5 per Sabbath. The Rev. Ezra
Youngs preached from July, 1821, to the middle
of 1828. In 1826 a legacy of $8,000 was left to
the church by Mr. Benjamin Conkling, a retired
sea captain. He died February 21, 1826, and a
monument in the rear of the church marks his
resting place. The Rev. Jonathan Huntting
served as pastor from 1828 to the fall of 1832.
His successor was the Rev. David Lord, who be
gan his ministry in 1832 and continued until May,
1834. He, in turn, was succeeded by the Rev.
Randolph Campbell, who- began to preach the
last Sabbath in September, 1834, and remained

until September, 1837. The Rev. William Ing-
mire was called in 1838 and remained three vears.
For a while the Rev. Jonathan Huntting supplied
the pulpit on occasions, receiving $5 per clay "and
his ferriage." The Rev. Anson Sheldon received
a call August 1, 1842, and remained until June,
1847. After an interval of thirteen years from
his first pastorate, the Rev. Daniel Lord re
turned to the island and became pastor the sec
ond time, in September, 1847. He was installed
August 30, 1848. His pastorate was ended by
his sudden death, occasioned by being thrown
from his wagon, April 26, 1861. The Rev. Charles
H. Halloway began his services here in Septem
ber, 1861, and remained until August 2, 1864.
Bis successor was the Rev. Thomas B. Barries,
who first preached here November 19, 1864. Be
was installed June 8, 1865. His pastorate was
the longest of all, and continued until 1884. He
died in Brooklyn, August 4, 1888, aged 75 years.
The Rev. A. P. Bissell, D. D., became pastor De
cember 15, 1884, and remained until May 1, 1889.
His successor was1 the Rev. Benjamin E. Parli-
man, who began as stated supply in December,
1889, and continued until September, 1895. He
was afterward the pastor of the First Presbyte
rian church in Havers-traw, New York, the place
of his birth.
The Rev. Jacob E. Mallmann received a unan
imous call to the pastorate November 17, 1895,
and was duly installed in January, 1896. Be is
the son of Jacob and M. D. C. (Lehnert) Mall
mann, and was born in Brooklyn, New York,
September 29, 1858. Be graduated from Prince
ton in 1889, and for a year was the minister in
charge of Olivet Chapel, under the care of La-
favette Avenue Presbyterian church, and was or
dained there October 23, 1889. On May 8, 1890,
he was installed as pastor of the First Presby
terian church in Newtown, Long Island, and con
tinued to labor until the fall of 1895, when he
came to this church. During the moments of
leisure from his arduous duties, Mr. Mallmann
has written a most interesting and accurate his
tory of Shelter Island and its church, which is a
most valuable addition to the many volumes of
Long Island history and can not fail to perpet-

462

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

uate his memory for centuries to come. To- its
excellence and value the writer most gladly gives,
his testimony.
The first Episcopal service was held in the
town hall on May 14, 1871. In 1872 Dr. S. B.
Nicoll purchased from Charles D. Manwaring
a lot of one acre, and built a church upon it the
following year. His brother, Mathias Nicoll,
was the principal contributor, giving $1,000, and
afterward presented the church with stained glass
windows. The one behind the altar is a me
morial to his wife, Mary Alice, who died Janu
ary 5, 1873, and as- a tribute to her memory the
chapel is named St. Mary's Chapel. In 1881 a
bell was presented by Miss Julia King, of Sag-
Harbor. The congregation, though small at first,
has been regularly increasing.
A school, doubtless kept in some private
house, seems to have been in existence as early as
the church, and we find in several instances that
the minister also acted as teacher. A school
house was in existence in the early part of the
nineteenth century. This was burned in 1827,
and a new one was shortly afterward erected.
Among the schoolmasters of the olden time was
the notorious Stephen Burroughs, whose history,
written by himself, is a noted instance of a ras
cal telling his own side of his story. He was
afterward a teacher in Bridge Hampton. The
schoolhouse built in 1827 remained until 1868,
when the present commodious building was erect
ed and the old one was used as a town hall. The
school, under very efficient teachers, has a high
reputation and is a credit to the town.
For long years before the Revolution the reg
ular mail route on Long Island was by stage that

left New York and proceeded along the north
side of the island to Riverhead, and thence to
Southold. It crossed to Shelter Island by ferry,
and then across the island to another ferry to
Hog Neck, and from thence to Sag Harbor and
East Hampton. It then returned along the south
side of Long Island to New York, the trip tak
ing a whole week. The first highway officially
located on Shelter Island was in October, 1828.
It commenced at the Hog Neck ferry and extend
ed to Fresh Pond, and from thence to what was
formerly called Boisseau's ferry. A daily mail
by way of Greenport was established in 1854,
and a telegraph cable was laid in i860. The ferry
between the north shore and Greenport was in
corporated in 1868.
In 1879 a camp meeting association, under the
auspices of the Methodist Episcopal church, pur
chased a tract of 200 acres on the west side of
Dering's Harbor, and the camp meetings held
there have been largely attended.
On the northeast part of the island1, and as a
part of the estate handed down to the descend
ants of Brinley Sylvester, are the grounds of the
Shelter Island Park Association, embracing some
two hundred acres of land, purchased from Prof.
Eben G. Horsford, and intended for the purpose
of establishing a magnificent watering place and
summer resort. The tract is finely located and
from its highest elevation the view extends from
Greenport to the hills of Southampton and Mon
tauk and a vast expanse of ocean. The hotel
was built here in 1872, and the Prospect House,
an equally favorite resort, was built in the pre
vious year.

CHAPTER XVIII.

IN TIMES OF WAR.
The Revolution. — The War of 1812. — The War for the Maintenance of the Union.
The Spanish-American War.

"Then honor to the brave who nobly died,
And honor to the men who by their side
Survived the cannon's hail
With heart's that did not quail
When all our country's fate was cast
For life or death in War's fierce blast."

O wrote Dr. Epher Whitaker — clergyman,
antiquarian and author — in a tribute to
the patriot soldier during the Civil war,
and his fervent verse is appropriate meed
of praise to the soldier who gave to his
country his loyal endeavor, in whatever day or
generation. From the beginning of her history Long Isl
and contributed her full share to the fighting
forces of the country, and provided generously of
her means in every warlike epoch. During the
old Colonial French war, when the mother coun
try and France were contending for the posses
sion of the continent, Major Nathaniel Wood-
hull, of Mastic, in Suffolk county ; Colonel Isaac
Corsa, of Flushing, and Captain Richard Hew
lett and others led Long Island troops in the cam
paign under Abercrombie and took part in the
capture of Frontenac.
From a very early period a strong militia
force was maintained upon the island for home
defence. In 1693 the enrolled militia of Kings
county number 319 rank and file, under the com
mand of Colonel Stephanus Van Cortlandt; the

militiamen of Queens county numbered 580, un
der command of Colonel Thomas Willett; and
those of Suffolk county numbered 533, command
ed by Colonel John Young — a veritable little
army (as provincial armies went in those days)
of 1,432 men, very nearly one-half of the able-
bodied men in tbe province. In 1700 the militia
men in the various counties were as follows :
Kings county, 280; Queens county, 601; and
Suffolk county, 614. In that year the official re
turns gave the list of officers of the three regi
ments, and among those named are many whose
descendants bore a prominent part in other and
later wars, besides bearing a full and noble part in
peaceful pursuits and in the establishment of the
institutions of civilization. This honorable roster
appears in the appendix to this volume.
This martial spirit was well understood and
appreciated by the leaders on both sides — the
patriots and royalists — when the Revolutionary
war broke out, and its existence accounts in a
great measure for the importance which Long
Island assumed during that struggle. No mere
yokels were the island lads. They were
well able to handle their piece, and if their tac
tical movements were awkward from a military
view-point, they understood the utility of cohe-
siveness, and rendered a willing obedience to their
officers. Besides, they formed a force which

464

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

either army would gladly combine with its own.
Again, the ground to which they belonged was a
vantage point for either American or Briton. It
was an important approach to New York. The
Continental generals recognized its armsbearing
populace as a fighting force well worth the win
ning, and the British chieftains fully realized that
if not already won to the rebel cause it should
be prevented from being serviceable as far as
possible. And this idea on the part of the British
accounts for much of the completeness and se
verity of "the occupation" from the date of the
battle of Brooklyn until tbe sun went down upon
the last vessel flying the royal standard on the
day when New York was evacuated, .and the
American authority was established.
In large measure the British effort was suc
cessful. By the isolation of the Long Islanders
when the war was really begun, their fighting
strength was rendered of little avail, and their
divided councils practically made the entire isl
and a prey to- official or military or thieving Tory
or to Whig freebooter alike. And so the isl
and suffered terribly and the suffering, like the
rains from heaven, fell alike upon the just and
upon the unjust — upon the patriot and upon the
royalist. It was many years before the damage
was reducible to money values. Silas Wood es
timated that the loss sustained by the Long Isl
anders during the British occupation was a half
million dollars — certainly a very low estimate.
But the hardest blow administered to the people
came after peace had been declared, when the
New York legislature taxed them $195,000 (of
which the share of Suffolk county was nearly
$50,000) for not having been in a condition to
take "an active part in the war against the en
emy." Thus, so comments Dr. Prime, "their mis
fortune was interpreted a crime ; and because
they did not emancipate themselves from a mighty
army to whose power the whole Continental
force had abandoned them in the very commence;
ment of the contest, they must be subjected to a
very heavy fine ; and after being pillaged by a-re-
morseless enemy and tortured by their presence
for six gloomy years, they must be taxed to re
pair the losses of those who had been subjected

to occasional depredations." But this is in meaia
res, and we must return to the beginning.
The people of Long Island seem to have been
fairly divided when the great question which the
War of the Revolution decided first began to as
sume a critical phase. They were loud in their
protestation against the misgovernment and the
stupidity which brought the matter of separa
tion to an issue, but, when the time came to- take
the step one way or the other which was to de
termine her position, many seem to have hesi
tated. March 6, 1766, a town meeting was held in
Oyster Bay, at which the following .stirring pro
test against the stamp act was drawn up and
addressed to "The Committee of the Sons of Lib
erty in New York :"
"Gentlemen : By order of a committee of
the Sons of Liberty in Oyster Bay we are to
acquaint you that at a meeting of the inhabitants
on Saturday, February 22nd, 1766, it was unani
mously agreed and resolved :
"I. That the. person, crown, and dignity of
our rightful sovereign King George III. with
all his just and legal rights of government, we
will to the utmost of -our power support, main-
ain, and defend.
"II. That the liberties and privileges which
we as Englishmen have still enjoyed, particu
larly those of being taxed by representatives of
our own choosing and being tried by our own
juries, we will also support, maintain, and de
fend. "III. That the late Stamp Act is destructive
of these our liberties, and is by us deemed to
be arbitrary and unconstitutional ; that as such
we will to the utmost of our power endeavor to
oppose and suppress the same.
"IV. That the measures which you have
taken and the several noble efforts vou have made
in vindication of the general cause of liberty we
do heartily approve of, and that with our "lives
and fortunes we stand ready to assist you in the
same. "V That the committee now chosen do sig
nify these our resolutions to the Sons of Liberty
at New York, and elsewhere as they may think
proper; that the said committee do for the future
keep up appointed meetings, as may be thought
necessary, at the house of George Weeks, in Oys
ter Bay. and maintain a correspondence with

IN TIMES OF WAR.

465

your committee, in which we expect your con
currence." This shows that the good people of Oyster
Bay were not afraid to express their views in
plain language ; but when the question of separa
tion came before them in 1775 they were em
phatically opposed to it. At the annual town
meeting that year the clerk, Samuel Townsend,
stated that he had received a letter from the Com
mittee of Safety in New York recommending
that the people of Oyster Bay should get to
gether and elect deputies to the Provincial Con
vention. The letter and its purport were dis
cussed at considerable length, some urging the
immediate election of deputies, some advocating
delay, and still others contending that the matter
should be left severely alone. The whole dis
cussion finally resolved itself into the simple
question whether or not deputies should be se
lected, and, when the vote was taken, it was
found that 205 had voted against deputies and
only 42 were in favor of sending them. But when
the result was declared, tbe minority, who were
enthusiastic and active in the furtherance of their
views, at once met together and elected a deputy
in the person of Zebulon Williams. Field, the
historian of the battle of Brooklyn, characterizes
the entire proceedings as a bit of adroit politics.
However that may be, Williams went to the Pro
vincial Congress and was accepted as the repre
sentative of Oyster Bay. He bore with him the
following document :
v
"Whereas the unhappy dispute between the
mother country and the American colonies, we
humbly conceive, has arisen from assumed power
claimed by the British Parliament to pass laws
bindine on us in all cases whatsoever, and hath
given us great uneasiness ; and, as we conceive,
nnanimitv among the inhabitants of the colonies
is the only means under Providence to secure
the essential rights and liberties of Englishmen ;
and, in order that the inhabitants of the different
colonies should know each other's sentiments and
form general plans for the union and regulation
of -the whole, it is necessary there should be dele
gates appointed to meet in general Congress.
And whereas the committee of correspondence of
New York did request the people of Queens
30

county to choose deputies, in consequence thereof
there was a town meeting at Oyster Bay on April
4th, for the appointing of one deputy ; but there
appearing at said meeting a majority against it,
yet nevertheless we the subscribers, freeholders
of Oyster Bay, being determined to do all in our
power to keep in unity with you and the colonies
on the continent, and desirous of being in some
measure represented at the general Congress, do
hereby appoint Zebulon Williams as our deputy,
giving unto him full power to act in our behalf
in the premises aforesaid. In confirmation
whereof we have set our hands, respectively :
"George Townsend, Micajah Townsend, Will
iam Seaman, David Layton, George Bennet,
Joseph Carpenter, John Schenck, Peter Hegeman,
James Townsend, Jr., John Wright, Gilbert
Wright, Richard Weeks, James Townsend, Wm.
Townsend, Prior Townsend, Wm. Latting, B.
Latting, Joseph Thorney Craft, William Hop
kins, Joseph -Coles, Albert Albertson, John Luis-
ter, Rem Hegeman, Samson Crooker, Jacobus
Luister, Albert Van Nostrand, Jotham Town-
send, William Laton, Jr., William Laton, Peter
Mutty (x mark), Benjamin Rushmore, William.
Wright, John Carpenter, James Farley (captain),
Samuel Hare, Jr., Benjamin Birdsall, Joseph
Doty, Isaac Bogart, Samuel Townsend, Gideon
Wright, Gilbert" Hare. Benjamin Townsend, Jo>-
siah Lattin."
Emboldened by their success, the combined
results of patriotism and politics, the Whig ele
ment at once, on learning of their recognition by
the Provincial Congress, proceeded to carry out
their plans with a high hand. The Tory Jus
tices, Thomas Smith, John Hewlett and John
Townsend, protested against the rather high
handed doings at a town meeting; but in Decem
ber, 1775, they and twenty-six others were sum
moned before the Provincial Congress- to explain
their attitude, and a significant fact is that when
the Oyster Bay company of militia was ordered
to repair to headquarters there were more delin
quents — they should hardly be called deserters
— marked on the roll than the number of those
who personally responded.
The people of Hempstead seem to have been
averse to stringent measures, as is shown by the
following resolutions adopted by tbe inhabitants
April 4, 1775:
"First, That, as we have already borne true

466

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and faithful allegiance to his Majesty King George
the Third, our gracious and lawful sovereign, so
we are firmly resolved to continue in the same
line of duty to him and his' lawful successors," etc.
Notwithstanding these resolutions, at a meet
ing of freeholders of the county, held at Jamaica,
May 22. 1775, Thomas Hicks and Captain Rich
ard Tborne were elected tq represent Hempstead
in the Provincial Congress, and on June 26,
Thomas Hicks, of Little Neck, elected for Hemp
stead, declined taking his seat "because he was
informed by several leading men that the people
of Hempstead seemed much inclined to remain
peaceable and quiet."
Notwithstanding its far distance from the
early scenes of the Revolutionary struggle, Suf
folk county gave evidence of its patriotism and
devotion to the principles of liberty from the
very beginning. In nearly all towns and neigh
borhoods meetings were held and resolutions were
adopted expressive of the sympathy of the peo
ple with those who had already suffered, and of
their readiness to aid them in their resistance
to oppression. A committee of correspondence
was formed from the various towns, and this
bod)- met at Riverhead on November 15, 1774,
•and adopted the following:
"Toted, That we recommend it to the several
towns in this county that they set forward a
subscription for the employment and relief of the
distressed poor in the town of Boston, to be col
lected in such manner as the committees in each
town shall judge proper, to- be in readiness to be
forwarded early next spring.
"Voted, That John Foster have the care of
procuring a vessel to call at the several harbors
in this county, to receive and carry the above do
nations to Boston.
"Voted, That we fully approve of the pro
ceedings of the late -Continental Congress, and
recommend it to the committees of the different
towns to see that the association by them entered
into on behalf of themselves and their, constitu
ents be strictly observed.
"Ezra L'Hommedieu, Clerk."
The committees representing Huntington,
Smithtown, Islip and Southampton, with some
prominent individuals from Brookhaven, met in
convention at Smithtown, on February 23, 1775,

and adopted resolutions approving the action of
the late Continental Congress, and urging it upon
the representatives of the county in the Assembly
to aid in the appointment of delegates from that
body to the Continental Congress which was to
convene in Philadelphia in the following May.
The Assembly failing to appoint delegates, the
committees of the various towns assembled in
Riverhead on April 6th and appointed Colonel
William Floyd, Colonel Nathaniel Woodhull,
Colonel Phineas Fanning, Thomas Treadwell
and John S. Hobart to represent Suffolk coun
ty in a provincial convention called to select dele
gates. In the Provincial Congress of New York,
which convened May 22d, Suffolk county was
represented by Nathaniel Woodhull, John S. Ho
bart, Thomas Treadwell, John Foster, Ezra
L'Hommedieu, Thomas Wickham,. James Ha
vens and Selah Strong. In compliance with the
recommendations of this body, county and town
committees were appointed to conduct public af
fairs, and government was thus administered un
til the State organized for that task in 1777.
In the second Provincial Congress of New
York, which. met December 6, 1775, and the third,
which met in May, 1776, Suffolk county was rep
resented by John S. Hobart, Thomas Treadwell,
Selah Strong, Nathaniel Woodhull, Ezra L'Hom
medieu, David Gelston, Thomas Wickham and
Daniel Brown. William Floyd, of Suffolk coun
ty, was one of the four delegates from New
York in the Continental Congress which adopted
the Declaration of Independence, and he -ap
pended his signature to that immortal document.
In the fourth Provincial Congress of New York,
which assembled on July 9, 1776, Suffolk coun
ty was represented by Nathaniel Woodhull, Ezra
L'Hommedieu, John S. Hobart, Burnet Miller,
Thomas Dering, David Gelston, William Smith
and Thomas Treadwell. They were instructed
by their constituents to "establish a new form
of government,' which was accomplished in the
organization of the State in the following year,
the Provincial Congress having at its head dur
ing these stirring scenes, that sterling patriot
General Nathaniel Woodhull.

IN TIMES OF WAR.

467

Among the representatives from Suffolk coun
ty in the Continental Congress during the Revo
lutionary period were William Floyd, 1774-1782;
Ezra L'Hommedieu, 1779- 1783; and Zephaniab
Piatt, 1785. In the convention which assembled
at Poughkeepsie on June 17, 1778, Suffolk coun
ty was represented by Henry Scudder, John
Smith, David Hedges, Jonathan N. Havens and
Thomas Treadwell.
The story of Huntington presents a peculiar
ly stirring picture of the development of repub
lican principles and devotion to the cause of lib
erty. The annals of Fluntington, outside of a law
suit or two, each now an obsolete story, and a lit
tle grumbling at much of the Duke's Laws, might
be described as quiet and peaceful until the. ad
vent of the Revolution, calling for the recital of
nothing more than purely local and domestic in
point of interest. But then the history of the
Revolutionary movement began early in Hunting
ton. At a town meeting held on February 21,
1670, consideration of a demand by Governor
Lovelace for a "contribution" toward the cost of
repairing the fort at New York was discussed
with the following emphatic result: "We of
the town of Huntington can not see cause to
contribute anything toward the Repaireacon of
the forte for these following reasons : First,
because we conceive we are deprived of the lib
erties of Englishmen ; secondly, we conceive we
have little or no benefits of the law; thirdly, we
can not conceive of any benefit or safety we can
expect from the fort ; fourthly, we find ourselves
so much disenabled by manifold troubles when
we thought ourselves in peace that we can not
imparte with any such disbursement." A copy
of all this was sent to Lovelace, and he pro
nounced it "scandalous, illegal and seditious,"
and had the document publicly burned. But
Huntington did not pay, and so this spirited
protest was one of the earliest defiances against
"taxation without representation," and accom
plished its purpose.
This meeting, however, was the beginning
of the Revolutionary movement in the town.
When Governor Andros came in after Colve's

short reign, he made the usual array of glit
tering promises, and then the old restrictions
and the Duke's laws were enforced more rigid
ly than ever. The town meeting protested, An
dros sent several of the citizens to jail, but even
that did not cause the grumbling to cease. Gov
ernor Dongan tried to pacify every one by call
ing a meeting of deputies at New York, but the
meeting accomplished nothing practical. Don
gan pretended he saw a weakness in the old
patents of Huntington, and directed a new one
to be made. It was drawn up in such a way as
to meet the views of the local authorities, and
in their fullness of heart they offered to pay
£20 for the document, but Dongan fixed the
price at £29 4s 6d, and this -was eventually paid
with much grumbling. When the "Glorious
Revolution" of 1688 sent Governor Slaughter to
these shores, a greater need of liberty followed,
and popular representation in the affairs of gov
ernment was no longer a dead letter, but after
ward the blindness of Parliament and the un
fitness of many of the royal governors gradually
aroused the spirit of opposition and led to re
volt. In this Huntington was outspoken from
the first, and was most pronounced and de
termined in its adoption of the patriotic cause.
At a town meeting held June 21, 1774, it was
declared among other things :
"That every freeman's property is absolutely
his own, and no man has a right to take it from
him without his consent, expressed either by
himself or his representatives.
"That, therefore, all taxes and duties imposed
on His Majesty's subjects in the American col
onies bv the authority of Parliament are wholly
unconstitutional and a plain violation of the most
essential rights of British subjects.
"That we are of the opinion that our breth
ren of Boston- are now suffering in the common
cause of British America.
"That it is the opinion of this meeting that
the most effectual means of obtaining a speedy-
repeal of said acts will be to break off all com
mercial intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland
and the West India colonies.
"And we hereby declare ourselves ready to
enter into these or such other measures as shall
be agreed upon by a general congress of all the
colonies."

468

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

There was thus, so- far as the surface indi
cations go, no thought of separation ; but as
events unfolded themselves and militia com
panies were formed and drilled, independence
became the issue and one hundred pounds of
gunpowder was sent by the Provincial Congress
to Huntington in September, 1775. On June
29, 1776, a local war committee was chosen,
consisting of Joshua Ketcham, John- Buffet,
Piatt Conklin, Piatt Carll, Josiah Wood, Wil-
mot Oakley, Jesse Brush, Timothy Ketcham,
Gilbert Fleet, Richard Conklin, Jonas Rogers,
Thomas Wicks, Benjamin Y. Prime, Timothy
Conklin, Solomon Ketcham, David RuseO1, Hen
ry Smith, Gilbert Potter. The enrolling and
drilling of the troops continued, and prepara
tions were zealously prosecuted for meeting the
armed crisis which, it was felt, was near at hand.
In a general appendix to the story of Suffolk
county, the names of all her military heroes
are given, so there is no need of mentioning
any of them here, but, on January 24th, Chair
man William- Smith, of the Suffolk committee,
estimated the county's militia as 2,000 men. On
July 5, 1776, Congress sent one thousand pounds
of powder to the Huntington committee. By
that time the immortal Declaration of Independ
ence had been launched, and the fiat had gone
forth that "these United Colonies are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent States."
On July 22d the edict of independence was cele
brated in Huntington amid much rejoicing. A
letter from there, written the day after and pub
lished in Holt's "New York Journal," tells the
story :
"Yesterday the freedom and independence of
the thirteen United Colonies was-, with beat of
drum, proclaimed at the several places 'of parade,
by reading the Declaration of the General Con
gress, together with the resolutions of our pro
vincial convention thereupon ; which were ap
proved and applauded by the animated shouts of
the people, who were present from all the dis
tant quarters of this district. After which the
flag used to wave on the liberty pole, having
Liberty on one side and George III on the other,
underwent a reform, i. e., the union was cut off,
and the letters "George III" were discarded, be

ing publicly ripped off; and then an effigy of the
personage represented by those letters, being
hastily fabricated out of base materials, with its
face black like Dunmore's Virginia (negro) regi
ment, its head adorned with a wooden crown,
and its head stuck full of feathers, like Carieton's
and Johnson's savages, and its body wrapped in
the union instead of a blanket or robe of state,
and lined with gunpowder, which the original
seems to be fond of — the whole, together with
the letters above mentioned, was hung on a gal
lows, exploded and burnt to ashes. In the eve
ning the committee of this town, with a large
number of the principal inhabitants, sat around
the genial board, and drank thirteen patriotic
toasts, among which were : The free and inde
pendent States of America, the General Congress,
The Convention of the. Thirteen States, Our
Principal Military Commanders, and Success and
Enlargement of the American Navy. Nor was
the memory of our late brave heroes who have
gloriously lost their lives in the cause of liberty
and their country forgotten."
Smithtown, when the war for independence
began, had a population of 555 whites and 161
negroes. Town meetings had been held at least
from 1715, when the existing records commence,
but they had very little to- discuss except sur
veys, ear-marks, highways, the "disposition of
the claims in Stony Brook Harbour," and the
like, until the time of the great crisis was at
hand. Living to a great extent by themselves,
making their own little laws, and apparently re
gardless of whether the continent was in the
hands of the English, the Dutch or the Con-.
tinentals, one would have thought that the in
terest of Smithtown in the Revolutionary move
ment would have been passive. But the oppo
site was the case, and nowhere on Long Island
was there to be found a greater proportion of
patriots. In fact, when the time came for men
to declare themselves, only fifteen Loyalists were
to be found in the town. At a town meeting-
m 1774 the position of the people was clearly
stated, and its. representative in the Provincial
Congress, Thomas Treadwell, was one of the
most outspoken and determined patriots in that
body. From the beginning of the struggle for lib
erty, the people of East Hampton, although iso-

IN TIMES OF WAR.

469

lated from the center of events, eagerly watched
every movement in the. impending struggle, and,
when the crisis came, the people were unanimous
in favor of a change. As early as June, 1774,
a meeting was held and the people, declared by
resolution :
"ist. Voted, That we will to the utmost of
our abilities assert, and in a lawful manner de
fend the liberties and immunities of British
America ; that we will co-operate with our breth
ren in this colony in such measures as shall ap
pear best adapted to save us from the burdens we
bear and in a measure already feel, from the
principles adopted by the British Parliament re
specting the town of Boston in- particular and the
British colonies in North America in general.
"2d. Voted, That a non-importation agree
ment through the colonies is the most likely
means to save us from the present and future
troubles. ¦'3d. Voted, That John Chatfield, Esq., Col.
Abm. Gardiner, Burnet Miller, Stephen Hedges,
Thos. Wickham, Esq., John Gardiner, Esq., and
Daniel Mulford be a standing committee for
keeping up a correspondence with the city of
New York and the towns of this Colony, and, if
there is occasion, with other colonies, and that
they transmit a copy of these votes to the com
mittee of correspondence of New York.
"Voted unanimously, not one dissenting voice.
Burnet Miller, Clerk."
The feeling is clearly shown by the fact that
when tbe Provincial Congress sent out what were
called articles of association to the various com
munities, every adult signed the copy received.
The document is well, worthy of a place in
the annals of the township. It is, in effect, as
follows :
Persuaded that the salvation of the rights and
liberties of America depends, under God, on the
firm union of its inhabitants in a vigorous prose
cution of the measures necessary for its safety,
and convinced of the necessity of preventing an
archy and confusion, which attend the dissolu
tion of the powers of Government, we the free
men, freeholders and inhabitants of East Hamp
ton * * * do associate, under all the ties of
religion, honor and love to our country, to adopt
and endeavour to carry into execution whatever
measures may be recommended by the Conti

nental Congress or resolved upon by our Pro
vincial Convention, for the purpose of preserving
our constitution and opposing the execution of
the several arbitrary and oppressive acts of the
British Parliament, until a reconciliation between
Great Britain and America on constitutional
principles (which we most ardently desire) can
be obtained ; and that we will in all things follow
the advice of our general committee respecting
the purposes aforesaid, the preservation of peace
and good order and the safety of individuals and
private property.
The people of Southold were no laggards
when the distant horizon bore its tokens of im
pending war. As early as 1774 Ezra L'FIom-
medieu was clerk of a meeting held in River
head, called for the purpose of procuring- funds
"for the relief of the distressed poor in the town
of Boston." L'Hommedieu was one of the -most
ardent patriots and capable leaders of the times.
In 1775 he was a delegate in the Provincial
Congress, and he was a member of the Assembly
until the end of the war, and he was an in
spiring agent in all patriotic movements in
Southold as well as throughout the county. In
November, 1775, Moses Case was commissioned
captain, and tradition has it that he and his
companions wore upon their hats the words
"Liberty or Death." A company was organ
ized for Colonel Josiah Smith's regiment, early
in- August, 1776, and in the same month the
Southold Committee of Safety expended nearly
£25 for the mounting of four cannon "for the
protection of the east end of Long Island."
At Southampton, the people were ripe for
the great revolt, and its principal men took a
leading part in arraying them' for the coming
fray. Thomas Cooper and Dr. Silas Halsey
were the committeemen, and they led in various
movements for the relief of the people of Bos
ton, "suffering from the -effects of the Port
Bill," and for the organization of companies
of militia men. In 1775, so tradition has it,
Captain Hurlburt, a resident of Bridgehamp
ton, after the close of a 'Sunday morning service,
stood at the church door and made an appeal to
the people, calling upon them to rally for the de
fense of their liberties, with the result that a

470

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

company was formed before the day had closed,
and others were subsequently organized.
As a voice from the glorious past is the fol
lowing taken from a newspaper printed at a
somewhat later time :
"Southampton, Suffolk County, New York,
July 23, 1776. — Last Monday afternoon, (July
22d) was exhibited to view in this town a very
agreeable prospect. The old gentlemen, grand
fathers, to the age of seventy years and upwards,
met, agreeably to appointment, and formed them
selves into an Independent Company. Each man
was well equipped with a good musket, powder,
ball, cartridges, etc., and unanimously made
choice of Elias Pelletreau, Esq., for their leader
(with other suitable officers), who made a very
animating speech to them on the necessity of
holding themselves in readiness to go into the
field in time of invasion. They cheerfully agreed
to it, and determined at the risk of their lives to
defend the Free and Independent States of Amer
ica. May such a shining example stimulate
every father on Long Island in particular, and
America in general, to follow their aged brethren
here!" But this is anticipating, and we must hark
back to a somewhat earlier time. Events had
moved rapidly, and early -in 1776 the war cloud
was about to break. The Committee of Safety
at New York, having at its head that sterling
patriot, General Nathaniel Woodhull, was
keeping closely in touch with the Whig ele
ment, seeking to organize it for effectual re
sistance to the power of the British authority,
whose mailed hand was now upraised. Among
those to whom the committee looked with par
ticular confidence was Josiah Smith, of Smith-
tojwn, who was one of the most pronounced and
active of the Whigs. Fiis antecedents. have al
ready been noted in these pages. It has been
the habit of some historians to pay him scant
attention, while others have viewed his service
with absolute contempt. It would appear, bow-
ever, that he was of greater value to the patriot
cause than such writers would have us believe.
Early in 1776 (February 8th), the Conti
nental Congress proceeded to organize, in the
Colony of New York, four battalions for de
fensive purposes, and Josiah Smith, chairman,

and the members of the Suffolk County Com
mittee, were authorized by letter to raise three
companies "to prevent depredations on Long
Island." July 20th General Woodhull wrote to
Colonel Josiah Smith, notifying -him that the
congress had called out one quarter of the mili
tia in Suffolk, Queens and Kings counties for
the defense of the stock and inhabitants of Long
Island, and have "made one Regiment of the
Whole detachment, and have appointed You to
take tbe Command of it. You must not de
cline serveing, as You Was unanimously ap
pointed to the Command."
Under this authority Colonel Smith organ
ized the Suffolk' County Regiment, the full
roster of which appears in the appendix to this
volume. A side light upon the events of this period is
afforded by old family correspondence yet ex
tant. The call to arms was a real hardship to
the people. A letter written on February 3,
1776, from Bridgehampton, by Jonathan Hedges,
to Colonel David Mulford, wherein he expresses
the dissatisfaction of the minute-men, in their
scattered situations, to go to such great dis
tances in, order to attend the musters and drills
of their companies. Complaint was also made
as to the meager monthly pay — to a colonel, $50 :
a captain, $26.66; a lieutenant, $18; an ensign,
$J3-33; a sergeant $8; a -corporal, drummer and
fifer, $7.33 each; and a private $5.
It would appear that about the same time
Colonel Smith assembled his militia, John Sands,
one of the most active of the Whigs, organized
a skeleton regiment. At any rate he was known
as colonel, and was so addressed by Colonel
Smith. The records, however, fail to associate
his name with any regimental organization, but
do show that he was captain of the Great Neck
and Cow Neck company, under appointment
made October 12, 1775. But he was certainly
in evidence as a commander of some sort, for on
July 29, 1776, he issued the following order to
Jotham Townsend, and it is worthy of note as
directing one of the earliest military movements
(if not the earliest) made by the patriots in the
interior of Long Island:

IN TIMES OF WAR.

471

l. You are to take command of the recruits,
and march them down to Matinecock Point,
where you are to place sentinels in the most ad
vantageous places to discover the enemy; like
wise to be very careful there is no communica
tion to the ships of war. Should you discover
any persons attempting it, you are to put them
under guard.
2. You are to build a shelter if there be none
convenient. Should you want any materials,
take such as will answer your purpose best.
3. Charge your men that they insult nor
abuse any of the inhabitants, or destroy their
effects. "4. Should you discover the enemy attempt
ing to land, you are to send' off express to me,
and order the owners of stock to drive them off
with all expedition on the Great Plains.
"5. Should any of your men disobey orders,
steal, or abuse the inhabitants, you are to put
them tinder guard.
"6. Minute clown daily what happens, and
make a return Saturday next by 10 o'clock, at
my house. JnoA Sands, Col."
And Colonel Sands issued the following- sup
plementary order to Lieutenant Towns-end on
August 3d :
"Should you discover the enemy in sight vou
are to immediately hoist your signal, then send
off your express.
"You are not to suffer your men to play at
cards, dice, or any unlawful game, nor intoxicate
themselves with strong drink. You are to ob
serve that no- small craft passes and repasses
having any transient persons or negroes on
board. Should you discover any you are to take
them up. If, upon examination, you find them
clear, discharge them ; if guilty, put them under
guard till discharged by the town committee.
You are not. to let your men waste their cart
ridges by firing wantonly at game. You are to
exercise your men four hours every day."
This is all we have been able to discover
with reference to Colonel Sands' regiment. The
assertion has been made that it took part in the
battle of Brooklyn, but there is much about this
story that is not very clear, and its presence as
an organization is certainly doubtful, although
it is presumable that some of the members were
in the ranks of the defending forces.
Resuming the principal thread of our story,

and quoting the historian of the Battle of
Brooklyn, "Suffolk county had early given evi
dence of its hearty zeal for republican doctrines.
Out of its whole population of freeholders and
adult male inhabitants, numbering 2,834 between
the ages of sixteen and sixty, only 236 were
reckoned as being of loyalist proclivities. The
enrolled militia of the county exceeded 2,000,
of whom 393 officers and privates were in the
ranks of Colonel Smith's regiment, the best
disciplined and armed on the island. It was
the only one that could be considered in any
form to have survived the shock of the 27th
of August, and only a small part even of this
body ever did service after that fatal day."
On August 8, 1776, in the Convention, of
Representatives of New York, it was ordered
that Colonel Josiah Smith immediately march
all his new levies to the western end of Nassau
Island, and within two miles of iirigadier-Gen-
eral Greene's encampment, and that he obey such
orders as he may receive from time to time from
that officer. The next day (August 9-th) he re
ceived by carrier from General Greene' the fol
lowing order :
"Camp at Brookland, Aug. 9, 1776.
"Sir : Enclosed are the resolutions of the
Provincial Congress ordering you to join my
brigade immediately. On the receipt of this you
will march the troops under 'your command im
mediately to this camp. You will make all possi
ble expedition, as the enemy has embarked part,
if not all, the troops on Staten Island, and are
making dispositions as if they meant to land
here. You will send out scouts and parties to
get intelligence.. If the enemy should make their
landing good on anv part of the island and hear
of your coming they may send out a party to
intercept your march. Keep good front, flank
and rear guard to prevent being surprised.
I am, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant,
"Nathaniel Greene.
"Colonel Josiah Smith."
The part taken in the battle by this regiment
was for many years a subject of controversy,
and some investigators questioned if it was really
engaged. But about 1880 a manuscript diary
of Colonel Smith was discovered and printed

472

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

by Mr. William S. Pelletreau in his "History
of the Town of Southampton," and the nar
rative would seem to indicate the regiment as
having been fully as serviceable as could be ex
pected under the chaotic conditions.
The entries made by Colonel Smith between
July 23d and July 29th contain the names of
officers appointed in the various companies, and
note that he sent "expresses" ordering them to
assemble their men, and then as follows :
30 I was at Htintingtowne & Major Jeffry
Smith mustered Capt. John Wickes men, and
then I set oute with Col. Sands and Major Ram-
son to Queens County.
31 I went downe to Watch hill to see the
gard that (was) at the bottom of Cow neck.
August ye 1 1776 I spent in viewing a proper
place to Erect another gard on Great Neck.
2 I set oute from Col. Sands to Suffolk
county & got as far as Capt. Plats.
3 I wente from Capt. Plats, to Capt. Strongs
and staid with him: all night.
4 I went downe to South to meeting and went
home. 5 1 staid at home.
6 I staid at bome.
7 I set oute Eastward to Southold and gave
Capt. R.eeves orders and Ingaged Major Wick-
hams to secure the stock on Robins Island from
the Enemy.
8 I spente my time along the Oyster ponds
& ordered Lieutenant Youngs to- take the stock
off Plum island, and I staid with Col. Terry all
night. 9 I wente from Oysterponds to Shelter Isl
and and from thence to1 Sag Flarbour and lodged
with Mr. Foster.
10 I spent at Sag Harbor with Col. Liv
ingston and a number of the principle Inhabitants
of Shelter Tsland & Southampton & then went up
to Southampton & there met an Express from the
Convention directing me to' march all the new
levies up to the west end of the Island.
11 1 and Elias Mathews went to my bouse,
and the two men that came Express Richard
Buegan and John Sacket.
12 We set oute -on our march to the west
end of the Island and got as far as Htinting
towne. 13 We set oute from Huntingtowne & got
to Lieut Encrease Carpenters.
14 We went Down to the Ferry to General
Greenes and I took up Quarters for the Regi
ment and my self at Keen Cowenhoven.

15 I spent with a great dele of trouble.
16 I spent in Camp with trouble.
17 I spent in Camp with trouble.
18 Ditto.
19 Ditto.
20 Ditto.
21 Ditto.
22 The Regulars landed below Nue FJtrecht
5000 and 1 with my Regiment went downe to
Flat bush and we went within a small distance of
the Regulars and we were oute all night and our
advance killed severall of them.
23 AVe continued all day in the woods, and
there was an incessant fire the hull day. We
killed a number of them and they wounded four
of lis, we were relieved at night one of us killed.
(Note, — The words in italics are crossed out in
the original j.
24 I was in Camp and the gards wounded
several of the enemy & and they wounded seven
of us & shot Colonel Martin through the breast.
25 1 was oute on Sentry in the woods and
staid all night, & it was a Dreadful thunder
storm. 26 We was relieved of guard in the after
noon. 27 We was alarmed about 2 in the morn
ing and we had many skirmishes, and they at
tempted to force our lines, and they killed one
of my men & we suppose that wee killed a num
ber of them & wee drove them back and lay in
the trenches all night.
28 We lay in the lines all day & it was an
Exceeding heavy rain, & there was a continual
fire kept up between us and the Regulars all day
and we lay in the lines all nite.
29 We lay in the. lines until the middle of
the afternoon and then we had orders to march
over to York, and we staid in York all nite and
we was alarmed aboute 2 in the morning that our
army was- leaving our lines on Long Island.
30 We marched to Kingsbridge or West
chester. 31 We marched to Nue Rochell and tried
to get passage by water to the Island but could
not. September 1 We marched to Mamaroneck &
there we embarked on bord vessels to go 'home
& about 11 o'clock at nite I got ashore at Cap
tain Plats at Smithtowne.
2 I got home to my house.
3 I went over to Southold to see Col. Liv
ingstone and he was gone over to new England
before I got there.
4 I came here from Southold.
5 I staid at home sick.

IN TIMES OF WAR.

473

6 I went to Mrs. Woodhulls.
7 I heard Col. Livingstone was come back
to Sag Harbor & I set oute to go- there & when
I came to Davids I heard he was at Southold &
I went there and then I heard he and all his men
were gone to New England & I came home.
Putting the principal events into narrative
form, it is to be said that on August 12, 1776,
Colonel Smith marched from Smithtown for
Brooklyn, picking up the companies of his regi
ment on the way. Of these, Onderdonk records
that only the companies from Southampton and
East Hampton were "complete in arms." There
seems some doubt as to the number of men Smith
took with him into the brief campaign which
ended in the retreat of the Continental .forces
from Long Island. Mr. Henry P- Johnston, in
his "Campaign of 1776," estimates the whole at
two hundred and fifty, but other authorities seem
to think this an underestimate. The only rec
ord of the casualties of the regiment is found
in the diary quoted above, for nothing under
this head — killed, wounded or prisoners — ap
pears in the reports of the engagement made
by other officers on either side. Colonel Smith's
regiment, according to- his own statement, was
engaged with the enemy near Flatbush on three
occasions preceding the battle of Brooklyn. On
August 22d "our advance killed several of them"
(the British). On August 23d he was again
engaged, and -four of his men were wounded;
he also reports one man killed, but this entry
is erased. On August 24th he records "they
wounded seven of us," but it is not clear that
this refers only to his own regiment. On the
day of the battle (August 27th) he reports one
man killed.
That the regiment was in poor plight, even
before the battle, is attested by the records. On
August 2 ist the Convention of the Representa
tives of the State of New York recognized that
it was destitute of camp equipage, and took
measures to supply the deficiency. At the same
time "there being no adjutant or staff officer,"
Colonel Smith was authorized to appoint an ad
jutant and quartermaster, and to recommend to

the Convention a surgeon for the same. On
the 24th Colonel Smith issued an order calling
attention to the flagrant neglect of duty on the
part of some of the company commanders, and
to absence of officers and men without leave,
and cautions them that these offenses will be
visited by report to the Commander-in-Chief, of
commissioned officers, and by imprisonment and
trial by court martial of non-commissioned of
ficers or privates.
On August 29th Colonel Smith and his regi
ment, in compliance with orders, marched to
New York, there to await further directions
from the convention. But, according to Onder
donk, the regiment was soon disbanded (proba
bly September ist), "the Colonel giving leave
for every man to shift for himself in getting
their families and effects off Long Island." This
would appear, without other information than
that conveyed in the foregoing simple statement,
an inexcusable proceeding upon the part of a
military officer of so high rank as Colonel
Smith. But there is room for much allowance.
The probabilities are that he simply counten
anced or gave sanction to what was already a
wholesale desertion. And, again, he had re
corded (August 29th) his alarm in learning
that "our army was leaving our lines on Long
Island," and doubtless he considered the Revolu
tionary cause hopelessly lost — perhaps from the
moment when his ranks were broken at Brooklyn.
Nor were the men greatly blameable under
the circumstances, though such conduct in face
of an enemy would usually merit death. There
was little cohesiveness in their ranks, and discip
line was necessarily lax. Besides, they were
farmers and sons of farmers, without the en
thusiasm begotten of marching under a flag
which had been borne victoriously upon many a
glorious battle field, and, it may be said, without
a country to applaud their deeds and compensate
them for their sacrifices and sufferings. And,
it is presumable, they were moved by a con
sideration of' all-commanding importance — fears
for the safety of the families they had left, now
exposed to the dreaded presence of a foe flushed

474

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

with victory — whom they would protect, as far
as possible, or whose sufferings they would
share. Be this as it may, 'Smith and his men be
took themselves off, and incurred a new danger
in their journey. The Committee of Safety,
in session at Fishkill, was justly indignant at
being deprived of the services of so many men
( Remsen' s Queens County Regiment had been
similarly disbanded) "without permission of the
State," and ordered "that General Clinton de
tain as many of said levies as possible, even, if
they produce passes, it being of the utmost con
sequence' that so large a number of armed men
should not be added to the enemy's power on
Long Island, and that the committees of West
Chester, Horse Neck, Stamford and Norwalk
diligently watch all boats passing from the main
to Long Island."
These measures, however, do not appear to
have been particularly efficacious, and the sol
diers reached their homes, where the greater
number of them acknowledged alllegiance to the
British authorities in hope of saving their fam
ilies from persecution and their property from
confiscation. Others, not a few, went to Fish-
kill, or elsewhere, and joined the patriot forces,
with which they marched and fought until the
nation was established.
As to Colonel Smith: It does not appear
that he ever asked for a court of inquiry or was
ordered before a court martial, and he certainly
had not the latter-day opportunity of vindicat
ing himself through the press in a newspaper
or magazine article. But he came to1 grief at
the hands of the British, who took him from his
home at Moriches and threw him into the pro
vost prison, fiis daughter Hannah was a greater
sufferer even, than he, for, in her excursions and
exertions to procure his release, she contracted
a cold which brought on- a deafness from which
she never recovered. Colonel Smith was soon
liberated, but did not afterward perform mili
tary service, and was permitted to remain at
his home undisturbed. He was treasurer of
Suffolk county from 1746 to 1786, when he died.
After the battle of Brooklyn, Colonel Henry

B. Livingston, who had been stationed at South-
old, conceived the plan of rallying all the militia
of the county for an attempt to rid Long Isl
and of the enemy. His audacity and courage
however, proved ineffectual. Many of the mili
tia officers had taken refuge in Connecticut, and
their men, left without leaders, had scattered
to seek the safety of their families and them
selves. But we are now obliged to recur to a prior
period. As soon as it was evident that the crisis
was at hand, and that Long Island was to be
the scene of actual hostilities, the patriots pro
ceeded to stamp out the opposition to their cause,
and in this effort none was more persistent and
successful than was Colonel Sands. He raided
the country, annoying the Tories and seeing to it
that they were ousted from all public offices,
and, in brief, he introduced what was, on a small
scale, a bloodless (or almost so) reign of ter- ,
ror. In, this he, and others of his ilk, had the
countenance of the local Committee of Safety,
which was a law unto itself. Civil law prac
tically ceased to be enforced, and the committee
exercised all. powers which might claims, even
to the oversight of persons and regulation of
their coming and going. Thus, the Southamp
ton Committee, on August 31, 1776, issued a
written license permitting Major Uriah Rogers,
Captain Zophar Cooper, Captain Elias Pelle
treau, Captain Jeremiah Rogers, Abraham
Cooper and Benry Herrick to remove their
families for safety into part of Connecticut, but
"not absenting themselves." Many of the Tories,
in order to escape persecution, went into hid
ing, but on August 12, 1776, some twenty of
them, residents of Oyster Bay, were arrested and
deported to Connecticut. What with the Com
mittee of Safety and the armed bands of patri
ots, the adherents of King George were dread
fully harried.
But, following the battle of Brooklyn, a
change came o'er the spirit of their dreams —
both patriot and loyalist. Scarcely had the
cannon smoke on Gowanus Heights cleared
away, before General Erskine's proclamation was

IN TIMES OF WAR.

475

circulated, calling upon all the people to resume
their allegiance to the crown, this to the great
encouragement of the royalists, and to the cor
responding disheartenment of the patriots. Bet
ter for the one and worse for the other, the
General's pronunciamento was not a brutum ful-
men, for he had British sabers and bayonets to
give emphasis to the meaning. Colonel Sands,
the master of Tory hunters, was among the
first to come to grief, seized with gleeful haste,
and, with other Whigs, hurried off to- prison.
The Committee of Safety, then at Mattinicock,
disbanded in haste, and some of them departed
in haste to find personal security. Joost Mon-
fort ran away, but to the British camp, to give
himself up to General Robertson, who handed
him a certificate of loyalty and so saved him
further trouble. Many of the most prominent
patriots and the wealthiest sacrificed their prop
erty and crossed over to Connecticut, and among
these were Colonel David Mulford, Nathaniel
Gardiner, Abraham Hand, Jesse Dayton, John
Mulford, Aaron Isaacs, Jr., Elisha Osborn, Jere
miah Miller and Burnet Miller. Yet others
went within the Continental lines, and enrolled
themselves in regiments which marched with
Washington. Others, too, there were, who took
to the swamps where the Tories had so recently
been sheltered, and it was not long before British
cavalrymen were engaged in the ugly task of
hunting for them just as they themselves a short
time before had been engaged in "rooting out"
the Tories from the same hiding places. The
saddest lot befell George Townsend and John
Kirk, both of whom had made themselves par
ticularly obnoxious during the reign of the com
mittee. Townsend, in fact, was its chairman,
and seems to have been almost rabid at the
very name of Tory. Townsend and Kirk were
arrested and taken to New York, where they
were thrown into the provost prison, and en
dured its horrors for nine weeks — a sufficient
punishment, it would seem, for any conceivable
crime to be visited on men accustomed to the
refinements and decencies of life. While there,
Kirk contracted smallpox and died from its ef
fects. His wife and infant child died from the

same disease, so that virtually three lives were
thus made to pay the penalty of one man being
just a little too positive and premature in his
patriotism. Toward the close of 1776, General Oliver
DeLancey came with the Seventeenth Dragoons
and took up his headquarters at Oyster Bay
and assumed military control of the district.
The full force of martial law now began to be
felt, while, at the same time, all sorts of per
suasive methods were adopted to win the weak
and wavering back to the British fold. The
oath of allegiance was administered to all who
would accept it, and these were to be paid for
all supplies taken from them, whereas confisca
tion was threatened against persistent recal
citrants. The stringent measures adopted by the
British authorities were measurably efficacious.
The people seem to- have remained, outwardly
at least, quite passive, 'and Governor Try-on,
after a tour through Long Island, wrote to his
home government as follows, in a letter dated
December 16, 1776:
"On the 10th inst. I viewed the militia of
Queens county at Hempstead, when 820 men
were mustered, and on Thursday following I
saw the Suffolk militia at Brookhaven, where
nearly 800 appeared, to all of whom, as well as
to the militia of Queens county, I had in my
presence an oath of allegiance and fidelity ad
ministered. ;' * *
In 1777-8 Governor Tryon carried on, with
great industry, what would in these days be
termed a literary bureau. • Many of his let
ters are yet extant, and their purport may be
discerned in the many addressed to the Rev.
Dr. Buel. One was a petition expressive of
loyal sentiments, and this was ruled to admit
of a large number of signatures, which were
never appended ; and another asked the names
of two reputable persons in each township "to
correspond with me occasionally, and to receive
my orders and directions for the services I may
require from time to time from the inhabitants
thereof." It was out of such effort that grew the en-

476

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

listment of a small corps of royalists at Oyster
Bay, under the command of Captain Henry
Seton, who also established recruiting stations
at Huntington and Jericho-. In March, 1778, a
proclamation was issued calling for recruits and
promising increased bounty money and all sorts
of inducements to make up the strength of the
Queen's Rangers, while one dollar was promised
to each person instrumental in bringing in a
recruit. It would seem that 350 recruits were
obtained-, and the Rangers were stationed at
Oyster Bay and on Lloyd's Neck until May 16,
1779, when they left for King's Bridge, New
York. Under the rule of General De Lancey the
inhabitants who had belonged to the local mili
tia were compelled to do military duty, such
as guarding supplies, driving army wagons and
cattle, and cutting down timber for fuel to warm
the huts and tents of the hostile soldiery. Every
horse fit for troop or team work was seized, with
wagons, boats, grain, live stock, forage — all that
could be useful to an army — paid for at valua
tions fixed by the military authorities when the
victim was a royalist, or confiscated when he
was a pronounced or suspected patriot. Many
farmers were left with hardly enough fodder to
sustain their stock, and teams were impressed
without regard to their local necessity. Business
was paralyzed under such circumstances, and
farming was/ practically abandoned, for, al
though payment was sometimes made for what
was appropriated, it was not sufficient to com
pensate for the outlay and labor, and the pres
ence of the military guaranteed neither order or
safety. The gold paid for the produce was
really a burden to those who received it. They
could not spend it, they had no place in which
to deposit it, and so had to conceal it about their
premises, and a knowledge of this was an, in
centive to the thieves in the army and to the
large body of desperadoes which followed the
troops — as such men have followed all armies
from the beginning of history.
The methods by which the people were ter
rorized into an apparent loyalty, and to serving
the royal cause, may be discerned in the nar

rative showing how General De Lancey exer
cised his authority. July 10, 1779, he issued
an order in which he set forth that "peaceable
and inoffensive inhabitants (Tories) had been
carried off in the night to Connecticut, and rob
beries committed by sons of persons who had
pretended to be loyal, with the aid of the latter,"
and he gave notice that he would "send over
such fathers, mothers and their whole families
to Connecticut, and give possession of their
farms and property to be enjoyed by His Ma
jesty's true and faithful subjects, until they can
prevail upon the rebels to desist."
August 19th following, General De Lancey
ordered 210 of the Suffolk county militia to cut
75,000 pieces of timber — pickets, fascines, etc. —
and transport the same to Brooklyn, and labor
upon the construction of a fort at that place.
Captain Dingee, at South Huntington, to whom
the execution of this order was committed, re
plied that compliance was impossible, where
upon General De Lancey issued a more sweeping
order yet, in which he threatened
"If the requisition of men and materials for
the purpose above mentioned is not immediate!}?
complied with, a detachment of troops will be
sent into that district, and every person who shall
have refused to contribute his assistance toward
a work in which the king's service and the inter
est of the loyal inhabitants are so intimately
blended, shall be turned without distinction out of
Long Island, and their farms will be allotted for
the support of those who have suffered for real
attachment to government."
This forceful argument — ad hominem et a
baculo — was not to be answered except with ab
solute compliance.
The people suffered much from the troops
under General De Lancey, but when Fanning's
Loyalists came along they found, Whig and
Tory alike, that they had been hitherto compar
atively well 'treated, and were now in the hands
of a gang of thugs and cut-throats, the scum
of the population in the large cities. Robbery
and wanton destruction of property became the
rule, and all pretense of any law except that of
might and the drum-head was abandoned. The

IN TIMES OF WAR.

477

people were openly accused of being rebels, even
those who had taken the oath being regarded
with suspicion, and those who escaped that
declaration of lip loyalty were few, for Governor
Tryon had swept Suffolk county as with a drag
net and forced the acceptance of the declara
tion with the alternative of an enforced trip to
Connecticut. Corporal punishment was inflicted
on the slightest provocation; and soldiers, most
of them billeted in the villages, destroyed prop
erty, furniture and buildings without scruple.
The people, however they might be com
pelled to render unwilling service to the royal
cause, were, in large numbers, averse to sub
scribing to- the oath of allegiance, and this back
wardness so incensed Governor Tryon that he
issued an order requiring all male inhabitants
between the ages of fifteen and seventy years,
who had not already rendered allegiance, to at
tend upon him in New York for that purpose ;
all failing to attend within a given number of
days were to- be fined five pounds each, and

which lay on his route — and he marched through
the most fertile regions. He also administered
the oath of allegiance to numerous citizens (in
cluding 418 at Fluntington), giving them the
alternative of subscribing or removing with their
families from off the island. Of an original
copy of the oath referred to, yet in existence,
the following is a fac simile :
In October following, Tryon made another
"raid" — the word was not known then, but "raid"
it was, as in the later days, even in the United
States — and administered the oath of allegiance
to large numbers who had evaded him. during ,
his first missionary journey.
Four years passed by, and the inhabitants
who- had professed their loyalty addressed a pe
tition to Governor Tryon asking payment of the
vouchers which had been- given them when their
food supplies, grain, cattle, etc., were taken for
the use of the army. Admiral Digby made hon
orable payment for what had been taken for the
use of the seamen of his fleet, but a great mass
of the claims against the military authorities

I

Do hereby certify, that

t-tyyi

J^D

of Southampton Townfhip^has voluntarily Twore before me, to bear Faith
and true Allegiance to his Majeily King George the Third ; and that he
will not, directly or indirectly, openly or fecretly, aid, abet, counfel,
ihelter or conceal, any of his Majefly's Enemies, and thofe of his Go
vernment, or moleft or betray the Frie'nds of Government ; but that he
will behave himfelf peaceably - and quietly, as a faithful Subject of his
Majefty aad his Government. Given under my Hand on Long-Iiland,
this t^J stft^^y. - —  ~^~l77$-

Q^&ft^,

after such fine was levied were to be obliged to
quit the island with their families. Even this
stringent order did not have its desired effect,
and in September, 1778, Governor Tryon came
in person with twelve hundred soldiers and
swept the island from end to end, "as with a
dragnet," gathering up and sending to the army
at New York all the cattle, grain and provisions

went unsettled. In many cases, too, no vouch
ers had been given, for reasons thus set forth by
Colonel Simcoe:
"T do not give receipts to a great number of
people on account of their rebellious principles,
or absolute disobedience of the general order.
The inhabitants of the town of Huntington come
under both descriptions. The last order I re-

478

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ceived relative to tbe collection of forage was
to direct it all to be brought in, giving only an
allowance for working oxen, under penalty not
only of having it confiscated but their houses
given uo to plunder in case of disobedience."
During this period the Friends, who were
in conscience averse to war and violence, or even
resistance in defense of their own lives and
property, were great sufferers. Mr. Onderdonk
wrote :
March 3, 1777, Elias Hicks, their great
preacher, was deprived of a great coat worth
twenty-six shillings on a demand for twelve shill
ings to pay the hire of men to repair the British
forts at Brooklyn ; April 4th a pair of shoes worth
ten shillings was taken from him on his refusal
to stand guard ; on August 28th he was dis
trained of a pair of silver buckles worth eighteen
shillings, two pairs of stockings, worth fifteen
shillings, and a handkerchief worth five shillings,
all because he would not go on an alarm in armed
pursuit of the enemy; and in June, 1778, a pair
of stockings worth five shillings and a razor case
with two razors, worth four shillings, were taken
from him for some like cause.
Incidents of the occupation, gathered from
various sources, are of thrilling interest and
throw side lights — sometimes lurid, sometimes
soft and mellow — upon the stage settings of the
great drama which was being enacted. For
there were all sorts and conditions of men in
the British army, as there ever were and ever
will be in all armies. There were those who,
actually depraved and brutalized, took delight
in exercising -their power and in visiting upon
their unfortunate victims an unnecessary cruel
ty. Others there were who, in honest devotion
to their royal master, took all justifiable meas
ures to vindicate his authority, but tempered their
action with mercy, and drew a sharp line between
what was demanded by military duty and what
became persecution of the individual.
While in many instances British soldiers be
haved in a most reprehensible manner, it was
their Hessian allies who were accused' of the
most atrocious of the acts which were com
mitted. A local annalist described them as "an

ill-favored set of little men' — the gleanings of
German recruits." Peaceable citizens were re
peatedly fired upon, and, in some instances,
killed; promiscuous robbery was practiced con
tinually, and the wanton killing of domestic ani
mals was common.
When war broke, Hempstead was a mere
hamlet, and three of its nine houses were tav
erns. Here was made the camp of a well
equipped cavalry regiment, "the Queen's Own,"
which made forays into all the surrounding
region. The Presbyterian church was used as a
barracks, and gravestones were taken from the
churchyard and used for oven and hearth backs.
Barracks were also erected here out of the ma
terial in the Presbyterian churches at Islip and
Foster's Meadows, which were torn down for
that purpose. Along the brook were built sod
huts for some of the soldiers.
At Oyster Bay the Baptist church was used
as a barracks, and the Friends' meeting house
for commissary purposes. The citizens were im
pressed for all manner of duty which would
serve to aid the British soldiers or relieve them
of menial labor. A chronicle of the times says :
"Tunis Bogart and Andrew Hegemen were im
pressed to' cart ammunition for the British
army, and were present at White Plains and
Fort Washington. They also- saw the execu
tion of Captain Hale (September 26th) on an
apple tree near Colonel Rutgers." Nor was
personal violence unknown. Troops under the
command of Major Grant, which lay here one
summer, were rude and ill-behaved. One even
ing- a quiet and respectable young man, John
Weeks by name, when challenged upon the
street by a patrol, ran away. He was pursued
and overtaken, and was ordered to be flogged.
He was accordingly tied to a tree and the lash
applied, but, before he had received the pre
scribed number of strokes, the cries of the young
man and the distressed appeals of his mother
and sisters so wrought upon the people that a
high officer interposed and he was set at liberty.-
On one occasion a citizen, Stephen Lobden,
came to his door to ascertain the occasion for
a noisy crowd in the street, when he was fired

IN TIMES OF WAR.

479

upon- and killed by a Hessian. The impress
ment of domestic animals was exceedingly an
noying. No excuses were listened to, but the
horses were taken out of the plow, and from
the carriages conveying a family to church or to
the graveyard with their dead. Some British
troops out upon such an errand were discovered
by Charles Co-Iyer, a lad only twelve years old,
who had in charge two horses belonging to his
mother. He turned his animals and fled, happily
escaping the bullets which were fired at him,
and hid his horses out in the woods, for a week,
carrying forage to them every night.
In 1778 Huntington was strongly guarded,
for its position on the , sound made it a likely
place for landing parties of patriots. Fort
Franklin, at the west end of Lloyd's Neck, with
seven or eight guns and a British garrison gen
erally of 300 or more men, was supposed to
safeguard this bit of coast from attack, but it
became a place from whence marauding parties
fitted out expeditions for shore robberies, and
the pirates cared little when a chance for plunder
appeared about distinguishing whether their
victims were Loyalists or Whigs, whether the
booty was money, blankets or teaspoons. Even
the regular soldiers got up pillaging parties, and
"the Honorable Board of Associated Loyalists"
was simply a refined name for a gang of thugs
and cut-throats who, under the name of loyalty,
enjoyed a season of liberty and rascality, and
robbed whenever, wherever and whoever they
pleased. At Huntington there was no room for doubt-
¦ ing the sentiments of the great body of the peo
ple, as there might have been justly in Queens,
and so it seems that the troops carried on their
mission in a much more highhanded manner in
this township than even in Oyster Bay. Even
men were impressed to drive the teams or con
vey the live stock to Jamaica, or to cut down
wood for the use of the military. The require
ments of the troopers pressed heavily on all
classes, and many of the most pronounced patriots
abandoned their property and sought refuge in
Connecticut or service in the Continental army.
The oath of allegiance was ordered to be taken

by all of the adult population, and the records
show that 549 of the dwellers of Huntington
gave this evidence of their lip loyalty at least
to the dominant cause. Those who- had belonged
to the local militia were compelled to do military
duty, such as guard mounting, etc.
In the spring of 1777 the second and third
battalions of De Lancey's brigade were stationed
at Huntington. The officer in command made
his headquarters in the meeting house, and the
bell in the little building forms the theme of
an interesting little story. To1 save it from the
enemy, it was taken from the belfry and com
mitted to the custody of John Wickes, who some
days later surrendered it, at the point of a pistol,
to the captain of the British armed brig "Swan,"
who came ashore with a party in quest of it.
Gilbert Piatt subsequently testified that he was
compelled by the British officer to carry the bell
to the water side, whence it was taken by barge
to the vessel. In December (1777) following
Zebulon Piatt was taken by the enemy and held
a prisoner on board the "Swan," where he saw
the bell in question. It was subsequently traced
to the British man-of-war "Rhinoceros," then
lying in the dock near the shipyards in East
river, and the church authorities of Huntington
addressed to Admiral Digby a petition asking
for its return. Their request was subsequently
complied with, but the bell was so badly cracked
as to be useless. It was shipped to London,
where it was recast into one now in use, at a
cost of £75.
During the occupation, Smithtown was the
scene of several encounters, chief of which was
the fight at Fort Slongo, in which Colonel Tal
madge figured so heroically. Many of the lead
ing citizens, such as Richard Smith — the repre
sentative of the founder of the town, the third
in direct descent — the Rev. Joshua Hart, the
Presbyterian preacher — Zeplianiah Piatt and
others, were sent to prison in New York. Others
fled over into Connecticut, and all who remained
were compelled to take the oath of allegiance.
The coast line was a constant scene of turmoil
and pillage, and Whig and Tory alike proved
equally welcome prey to the marauders who,

480

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

under the guise of patriotism or loyalty, really
performed the crimes of shore pirates.
The year 1781 was one of much hardship
throughout the island. Owing to the number
of citizens performing enforced service in the
British camps and wagon trains, and the tak
ing of their horses for military uses, farm work
was abandoned almost entirely, no adequate
crops were raised, and provisions were so scarce
as to bring real suffering to many a home.
Yet, while Long Island was truly under the
heel of the oppressor, he was not left unmo
lested. At various times daring bands of patri
ots made their forays and disturbed his peace.
None of these various affairs may be properly
classed among the battles of the war, but a num
ber were of such a character as to be deserving
of mention. The most important — the affairs
at Fort St. George, at Lloyd's Neck and another
at Sag Harbor — have been mentioned in a pre
ceding chapter. That last mentioned has been
commemorated by a granite tablet erected by
the Historical Association in the original Pres
byterian cemetery at Sag Harbor, which bears
the following inscription:
A British Fort near this spot
Was captured by
THE AMERICANS
Under Lieut. Col. Meigs,
At the Battle of Sag Harbor, May 23, 1777.
Near by is another memorial which reads as
follows :
In memory of William Havens, captain of the
Privateers Beaver, Jay and Retaliation, during
the War of the Revolution. Died 1797.
One of the most remarkable features of the
story of the Revolution at Oyster Bay was what
is known as the Whaleboat campaign, which
resulted in much annoyance and loss to the loy
alists. The whaleboats were taken into the serv
ice of the Continental Congress, and the pur
pose was to1 cut off supplies being sent to Long
Island from the mainland, to capture prisoners
and the smaller boats in the service of the Brit
ish, to harass the coast of the island, and now
and again to make a descent and capture some

prominent I'ory who might thus be made to
serve his country by serving as a ready exchange
for some equally prominent Continental held as
prisoner in the camps or jails of the Royalists.
Sometimes, it must be confessed, that, especially
toward the close of the struggle, there was little
difference between the doings of many of the
crews of these whaleboats and the acts of or
dinary harbor thieves and coast pirates, but, on
the whole, they fulfilled their purpose credit
ably. In November, 1776, three or four hundred
patriot troops from New Haven crossed over to
Setauket, and had a sharp skirmish with a de
tachment of General Howe's command, which re
sulted in the killing of eight or ten of his men,
and the capture of 23 prisoners and seventy-five
stand of arms.
In August, 1777, General Parsons led an ex
pedition of about one hundred and fifty men
against a British force which had fortified the
Presbyterian church at Setauket by constructing
earthworks about it, whereupon they had mount
ed a number of pieces of light artillery. General
Parsons continued his attack for two or three
hours, and finally withdrew, fearing that a longer
stay would result in tbe loss of his vessels, and,
• ultimately, in the capture of himself and his men.
Fiis loss was four men. It is worthy of note that
one of the members of his little battalion was
Zacbariah Green, who, twenty years later, became
the minister of the same church which he had at
tacked with carnal weapons.
In T781 Count de Barras dispatched three
frigates and 250 troops against Fort Franklin, at
Lloyd's Neck. The fort originally mounted two
guns, but two more (twelve pounders) were put
in position the night before the attack was made.
The approaches to the work were guarded by a
stout abattis. The garrison numbered about 800
men (oi whom 500 were properly armed), chiefly
deserters from the American army and refugees.
In the harbor was- a little fleet comprising a
vessel of sixteen guns, two small privateers and
a -galley. Count de Barras' force was joined in the
Sound by several boatloads of Americans from

IN TIMES OF WAR.

.481

Connecticut. A landing was effected on the
morning of July 12th. Fleathcott Muirson, of
Setauket, who had made a secret reconnoisance
some days before, guided the French infantry
men to the point from which the attack was to be
made, and was viewing the works through a
glass when the two guns which had been mount
ed since his, first visit opened with grapeshot.
One of the shots took his arm off, and several of
the soldiers were wounded, whereupon the at
tack was abandoned. When Muirson- was
wounded he threw away his glass, which was
afterward recovered by his sister, whom he bad
accurately directed to the spot where it lay.
One of the most enterprising and daring par
tisan leaders of his day — he would have been a
"guerrilla" in civil war times, or a "rough rider"
in Cuba or. the' -Philippines — was Major Jesse
Brush, of Fluntington. A contemporary an
nalist describes him as " a small, well built man."
He had "red hair, sandy complexion and a
bright eye," and this sum of personal traits
would certainly lead us to expect him to be what
he was pronounced — "as bold as a lion." He
abandoned his farm rather than submit to the
military rule of the British, and proved himself
a veritable thorn in the side of the Tories of the
place and vicinity. The following from' the pen
of a Tory writer tells something of his exploits :
"A party of rebels have a place of resort at
Bread and Cheese Hollow, on a by-road that leads
from the house of two men now in rebellion, viz.,
Nath'l Piatt and Thos: Treadwell, to that of the
noted Sam'l Phillips, near the Branch. They ex
tend along the road from said Phillip's to the
well known Piatt Carll's, and have stopped sev
eral persons on horseback and in wagons and
robbed a number of houses in Smithtown and
Islip within the last ten days. They are said to
be commanded by a rebel Major Brush, formally
of Huntington." Of course Major Brush was hunted like a
wild animal (and such he was regarded to be) and
in September, 1780, while in concealment at
Smithtown, be was captured, in company with
Captain Joshua Rogers, Lieutenant Ketcham,
Timothy Williams and others, and was confined

in jail in New York. The prisoners were sub
sequently liberated, probably in October follow
ing, about which time Henry Scudder went to
New York to negotiate for their exchange.
At one time twenty-five loyalists from Con
necticut were quartered in a public house kept by
a widow Chichester, on East Neck, near the
shore of Huntington Bay. Mayor Ebenezer
Gray, with a detachment from Colonel Meigs'
regiment, came from Norwalk and attacked the
house. A sharp conflict ensued and the Tories
were routed with the loss of two men (Captain
Coffin and one Lyon) killed, one severely
wounded, and sixteen taken prisoners. About
the same time a party of patriots crossed over
from Connecticut, and ambuscaded a squad of
dragoons in the woods below Huntington Har
bor, killing one of the number, and then escaping
by their boats.
One of the most uncompromising patriots
of the time and one whose spirit was uncontroll
able, though he was sorely beset, was Captain
John Dayton, of East Hampton. His home was
two miles distant from the village, and he had
no near neighbors who could render him aid
when he was attacked, as he frequently was. On
one occasion, a band of the enemy stole upon his
dwelling by night, and, while he was in the act
of lighting a candle a musket was fired at him,
the ball narrowly missing him, and lodging in a
beam of the weaving loom. Dayton opened a
back door, and bade his little son, Josiah, escape
to a safe place of concealment. Seizing his gun,
he then plunged out into the deep snow, a short
distance from the house , and fired upon the
enemy, meantime giving loud commands to an
imaginary company of armed men. The ruse
was successful, for the British withdrew. The
morning light revealed traces of blood upon the
snow, leading Captain Dayton to conclude that
his shot had not been ineffective. Somewhat
later a British officer rode into the dooryard and
brandished his sabre over his head, threatening
him with instant death for having killed one of
his men. As the Captain afterwards told it, "his
blood boiled within him and his hair stood on

31

482

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

end." In his boundless rage, he seized a pitch
fork, and made for his assailant, who leaped his
horse over the fence and beat a retreat.
At another time, Captain Dayton gathered
together a company of about forty men for the
protection of their cattle, against the men of a
British fleet which had anchored off Montauk
Point. Having reached that neighborhood, he
marched his little command over a slight hill and
into a ravine, where they were concealed from
the enemy, and over the hill again, and they re
peated this march time after time, thus leading
the British to conclude that a considerable force
was awaiting their landing, and they remained
aboard their vessels, leaving the islanders un
molested. Captain Dayton died in 1825, at the
age of ninety-eight years.
It is to be regretted that the annals of the
times affords so little information as to the per
sonality of the rank and file — those who endured
the dreary march, the long night march and
stood the shock of battle during seven years of
war. What thrilling narrative could be written
did we know what was in the life of Christopher
Youngs, of Southold, whose military history is
contained only in the following suggestive docu
ments :
By His Excellency, George Washington, Esq.,
General and Commander in Chief of the Forces
of the United States of America:
These are to certify that the bearer hereof
Christopher Youngs, Corporal in the First New
York Regiment, having faithfully served the
United States Seven Years & five months and
being inlisted for the war only, is hereby dis
charged from the American Army.
Given at Headquarters, the 8 day of June,
1783. Go. Washington.
By His Excellency's Command,
P. Trumbull.
Registered in the Books of the regiment.
(name undecipherable) Adjutant.
Tlie above named Christopher Youngs Corpl
has been honored with the badge of merit for
Seven Years faithful service.
(name undecipherable) Adjutant.
Headquarters, June 8, 1783.
The within certificate shall not avail the bearer

as a discharge until the ratification of the defini
tive treaty of peace previous to which time and
until proclamation thereof shall be made he is to
be -considered as being on furlough.
Go. Washington.
While, as has been shown, excesses were
committed by soldiers, there were those of the
army of the invaders who behaved so well as
to gain the respect of those whom they came
amongst, and1, in some instances, genuine affec
tion grew out of the enforced association.- There
are good words to be said of even some of the
Hessians. And here it is .fair to remark that
many of them were bitterly indignant in being
sold away _ from home by their petty prince to
hazard their lives in a war with which they
had no concern. Many of these, when peace
was restored, remained in the country and be
came -exemplary citizens and the founders of
families which became useful and honored. Such
as these were usually devout Christians, and
some of them attended worship and partook of
the sacrament in the Dutch church near Andris
B-ogart's, at Oyster Bay. Colonel Von Janecke,
who commanded the battalion of Hessians in
that neighborhood, and a number oi his officers,
exerted themselves to the utmost to repress the
excesses of the vicious portion of their soldiery.
On one occasion a citizen, Jacobus Montford,
wounded a Flessian who was robbing his yard,
and was -arrested, whereupon the officer dis
missed him, saying if Montford had shot the
Hessian he would have given him a guinea. But,
as a general rule, the citizens did not escape so
easily when they attempted to defend their
property from, the blackguards who were ar
rayed on the side of King George, and who
disgraced their cause.
In the early winter of 1778 Sir William
Erskine, commander of the British forces on
Long Island, made his headquarters at South
ampton, in the old Pelletreau mansion, which
then belonged to Captain Elias Pelletreau. Elias
Pelletreau was born in 1730, a son of Francis
Pelletreau. Fie was appointed captain of militia
by Governor Cadwallader Golden, and he held
that rank at the beginning of the war. He was a

IN TIMES OF WAR.

483

goldsmith by trade, and he made the greater
part of the jewelry and silver ware then used
in Suffolk county. When the British came, the
owner (as did nearly all prominent Whigs) re
moved with his family to Connecticut. After
a long life, during which he merited and en
joyed the deep respect of the community, Cap
tain Pelletreau died in 1810, and his tombstone,
surrounded by those of his kindred, may be

SIR WILLIAM ERSKINE.
seen in the North End burying ground at South
ampton. The Pelletreau residence was an ancient
house which was familiar to some of the pres
ent generation, and was the last house on Long
Island with windows formed of rhomboidal
panes of glass set in lead, and was long known
as "the house with diamond windows." While
General Erskine occupied the house, a portion
of the premises were used for commissary pur
poses, and until the building was torn down, in
1880, a floor bore the marks made with axes
in cutting up meat for the use of the troops.
Mr. William S. Pelletreau (now the owner of
the old Pelletreau estate) yet preserves a ceil
ing panel from the old mansion, upon which a

British soldier had cut a rude representation of
a ship. It would not be outside the bounds of
reason to presume that the unskilled artist had
in mind his home in England, whence he had
been perhaps unwillingly brought and to which
he would gladly return— and, perhaps, never
did. Under the direction of General Erskine,
three forts (one of which is yet to be discerned
on the large lot of the late Captain George
White) were constructed upon the high ground
on West street, and in the ditches outside the
earthworks were thrown masses of cut hedge
thorn, which made a most efficient barricade.
Mr. William S. Pelletreau was informed, many
years ago, by an aged man who had been im
pressed to assist in the work, that the inhabi
tants were compelled to cut down the thorn
hedges (which were very numerous and of con
siderable growth) for- this purpose, and use
their oxen and carts in conveying them to the
places where needed, and there fill them into
the ditches in front of the works. The British
were quartered in the houses of the inhabitants.
Lord Erskine was not only a gallant soldier
and an honorable enemy, but he was a genteel
and humane man, and, if he lost his temper at
times, he may be pardoned — as was "My Uncle
Toby" for spasmodic profanity — for when his
gorge rose it was because of his soldiers mis
treating inoffensive inhabitants, and the offender
was the one upon whom- his ire was expended.
Anent this is told a well authenticated story.
One day two soldiers called at the house of
Stephen Reeves and demanded food, which was
given them, and they expressed their gratitude
by the theft of a pair of towels while the good
wife's back was turned. Complaint was made
to the commanding- officer at the fort, and, at
that moment, the thieves came in view. They
were identified on the moment, the stolen articles
were found on their persons, and they were tied
up and flogged so unmercifully that their suf
ferings excited the commiseration of Mr. Reeves
to such a degree that he bitterly repented hav
ing made a complaint against them.
The people of Southampton ever cherished

484

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

warm feelings personally for General Erskine,
and the history of the village preserves pleasant
recollections of his habit of riding his horse to
the hills at the edge of the woods to admiringly
view the sea and landscape of what he pro
nounced "the garden spot of America," and to
which he longed to return after "the rebellion"
should have been brought to an end. During
the stay of General Erskine, it would appear that
his requisitions for supplies and forage were
carefully measured by the resources at com
mand of the people and were generally paid for
at reasonable rates.
Some English officers who boarded at the
Townsend residence in Matinecock, when they
came to leave, presented to Mrs. Letitia Town-
send a castor, candlesticks and snuffers, as
souvenirs of their stay, and these have been
treasured in the family to the present day. And
there were, some really tender episodes, as when,
on Valentine Day, in 1779, Miss Sarah Town-
send, of the same family, received a poetical
lucubration suitable to the day, written by Lieu
tenant Colonel J. S. Simcoe, who delivered it in
person. But there were some even more susceptible
young officers who, while sons of Mars, were
also devotees at. the shrine of Venus, and paid
their devoirs to fair maidens of Long Island.
It is to be presumed "the girl I left behind me"
in "Merry England," or on the banks of "Bon
nie Doon," or by the Lakes of Killarney — for
what soldier leaving home but also leaves a
sweetheart? — kept repeating the pretty old line
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," and
cherished implicit confidence in the sly young
dog who was conquering by love the daughters
of those whom he came to conquer by force of
arms. So it ever was and ever will be, in some
cases, in all wars. In our own day we have
seen Hymen unite the "Blue and the Gray,"
and the Rough Rider and the Cuban senorita,
and — but we will not anticipate as to anything
that may occur in our "new possessions." Re
turning to our (or your) revolutionary for
bears, it is to be said that, in the same neigh
borhood which witnessed the candlestick pre

sentation and the Sf. Valentine Day effusion, a
bevy of fair young girls, Hannah Townsend,
Sarah Luys'ter and Patty Remsen, and a widow,
Mrs. Vashti Carr (or Kerr), were willingly
made life prisoners by some of those who came
to desolate the land.
Of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Buel, of East Hamp
ton, it was said that upon one occasion he
threw aside his priestly robe and shouldered a
musket. But he was a genial gentleman, and
habitually maintained pleasant personal relations
with those British officers with whom he fre
quently came in contact. It is related that, invited
to join a hunting party led by Sir William Erskine,
he came somewhat late, when $ir William ordered
his companions to dismount in order to receive
the reverend gentleman with suitable ceremony.
After mutual greetings had passed, the Doctor
addressed Lord Percy, one of the youngest of
the officers, and enquired what portion of His
Majesty's forces he had the honor to command.
The reply was, "A legion of devils just from
hell," which moved the Doctor to a grotesquely-
respectful bow, and the retort, "Then I suppose
I have the honor to address Beelzebub, the
prince of devils."
It is related' that, upon another occasion,
Sir William Erskine had ordered the people of
East Hampton to report at Southampton with.
their teams, on the following Sunday, to do work
upon the fortifications. Sir William and Dr.
Buel happened to meet on the morning prior to
the Sunday upon which the labor was to be per
formed, and the former named made mention
of the order he had given. Dr. Buel instantly
replied, "I am aware of it, but as I am myself
commander-in-chief on Sunday, I have annulled
your, order," whereupon Sir William pleasantly-
remarked that he would himself annul his own
order, which he did.
Major Andre, whose unfortunate fate has ex
cited commiseration, and that of Washington
himself, while the justice of and necessity for
his execution remains unquestioned, was at one
time quartered in the house of Colonel Abra
ham Gardiner, at East Hampton. During his.
stay, a son of Colonel Gardiner, Dr. .Nathaniel

IN TIMES OF WAR.

485

Gardiner, who was a surgeon in the Continental
army, came home upon a leave of absence. Be
ing within the enemy's lines, he was liable to
capture and death as a spy, and his terrified
parents and other relatives made anxious effort
to keep him in concealment, hoping that his
presence would not be discovered by tlieir un
welcome guest, the British officer. It soon trans
pired that Major Andre was in possession of the
knowledge they would have kept from him. But,
with a degree of chivalry and magnanimity
which could not have been expected of any one
under such circumstances, he affected ignor
ance of the presence of the Continental officer,
and, when he adverted to the circumstance, at a
much later time, he expressed his regret that
conditions had existed which forbade what he
would have regarded as a pleasant mutual ac
quaintance. It is only to be added that if any
sincerely deplored the fate of Major Andre, it
was this family which had been so greatly fa
vored through his humanity and gentle consid
eration. lt is narrated that while the British held
possession of Lloyd's Neck, the fort there was
visited by Prince William Henry, then eighteen
years of age, who afterward came to the Eng
lish throne as King William IV.
In the center of the village of Huntington is
a hill commanding a fine view of the sound. The
people of the village had selected it as a place
for the burial of their dead, and for over a cen-
turv it had been so used, and the stones which
marked its graves bore the names of every
family in the place. It was, in fact, to them,
holy ground, and we can imagine the indigna
tion that was felt when,"in 1782, Colonel Ben
jamin Thompson (afterward known as Count
Rumford) decided to build a fort on the hill,
and especially when his edict went forth that
the people of the village were to assemble with
spades, axes and teams and help in the work
of desecrating the graves of their ancestors.
The local militia were impressed into the un
hallowed work, and over a hundred tombstones
were removed and the ground leveled. For the
erection of tlie fort a church was torn down,

and even buildings in use were stripped of their
outer walls, while orchards, trees and fences
were cut down or carried away without the
slightest regard to personal property rights. The
tombstones were used as flooring, some went
into the construction of ovens, and bread was
often seen bearing part of the inscription on a
tomb from contact with one of tliese stones in
the oven. The fort was completed and bore
the appropriate name of Golgotha. Its remains
are yet discernible. Some of the old grave
stones left untouched by Thompson's troopers
and more or less unwilling helpers, are still to
be seen, or fragments of them, rather, for the
hill was often swept by cannon shot. The hill
itself is a veritable memorial of the Revolution,
more precious than mere human hands could
contrive. These cruelties and oppressions and rob
beries, however, belong to the past, and time
has helped to soften the sense of their miseries
and degradation. But the events of the Revolu
tion have left in Huntington one memory which
is as bright as ever, one hero who is and ever will
be held in the very foremost rank of American
patriots and whose dying declaration, "I regret
I have only one life to lose for my country," will
always be regarded as among the watchwords of
liberty. Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Con
necticut, in 1755, and was educated at Yale with
a view to entering the ministry. After he was
graduated, in 1773, he taught school at East
Haddam, and afterward at New London. He
was so engaged when the news reached New
London- of the engagement at Lexington, and
he was one of the speakers at the town meet
ing that was called at once to consider the sit
uation. He advised immediate aotion, saying,
"Let us march immediately, and never lay down
our arms until we have obtained our independ
ence." He at once enrolled and was given rank
as a lieutenant. After the siege of Boston, in
which his regiment participated, and where he
was promoted to a captaincy, he was ordered
with his command to New York. There he dis
tinguished himself by capturing one of the sup-

486

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

ply boats carrying provisions to the gubernato
rial -ship of refuge, the "Asia," and the pro
visions provided quite a feast for his soldiers.
In response to a call from General Washington,
Hale volunteered to pass the British lines in
search of data, and in the guise of a Loyalist
schoolmaster he entered most of the British
camps on Manhattan and Long Islands, esti
mating their forces, sketching their fortifications,
and acquiring other information which he
deemed might be useful. His work was almost
completed on Long Island. He had crossed
the sound from Norwalk, landed at Huntington

NATHAN HALE.
Harbor at a point called tbe Cedars, and tra
versed all through the British posts, returning
to Huntington according to- a date previously
arranged about two weeks later, to meet a boat
that was to take him back to Norwalk. He saw
a boat on the morning arranged approach the
shore of Huntington Bay, and, supposing it to
be the one he waited for, stood on the beach
until its crew was landed. Then he saw he

had made a terrible mistake, and the lowered
guns pointing at him made escape impossible.
He was taken on board a prisoner, and rowed
to the frigate 'Halifax," then in the bay, and
the -evidence found concealed in his boots left
no doubt of his guilt. Bale was taken to New
York and condemned to death as a spy. Bis
exexcution took place September 22, 1776, in
New York City. The exact place is not known,
although it is generally conceded to have been
elsewhere than in City Ball Park, where Mac-
Monnies' statue representing Hale just before
his execution now stands. Huntington is proud
of its association with
this hero. In 1894 a neat
fountain lamp was erect
ed in the village "to
commemorate the patri
otism of Nathan Hale,"
and on the shores of the
bay, near the scene of the
capture, a boulder weigh
ing forty-five tons was
laid from a field near by.
It bears three massive
bronze memorial tablets,
one of which repeats a part
of Hale's words when he
accepted the mission which
demanded his life, "I will
undertake it. I think I owe
to my country the accom
plishment of an object so
important and so much de
sired by the commander of
her armies. * * * Yet
I am not influenced by the
expectation of promotion or pecuniary reward. I
wish to be useful, and every kind of service for the
public good becomes honorable by being necessary.
If the exigencies of my country demand a peculiar
service, its claim to the performance of that serv
ice -is imperious."
The story of "Hale's Sacrifice" was told by
J. S. Babcock, in 1844, and his verses are an
appropriate tribute to the memory of the hero :

IN TIMES OF WAR.

487

"Full stern was his doom, but lull firmly he died,
No funeral or bier they made him,
Not a kind eye wept, nor a warm heart sighed,
O'er the spot all unknown where they laid him.
"He fell in the spring of his early prime,
With his fair hopes all around him;
He died for his birth-land — 'a glorious Crime'
E'er the palm of his fame had crowned him.
"He fell in her darkness — he lived not to see
The morn of her risen glory;
But the name of the brave, in the hearts of the free,
Shall be twined in her deathless story."
The general history of the war with Great
Britain in 1812 has been referred to in a pre
vious chapter, and does not possess particular
interest here. Some incidents of the time, how^
ever, not included in the former narrative, may
be mentioned. A romantic incident relating to two wars
is preserved by the descendants of Dr. Potter,
of Huntington. According to the story, during
the Revolutionary war, while sick British sol
diers and sailors were quartered upon the in
habitants, one of their number, a midshipman,
was taken to the home of Dr. Potter, whose wife
nursed him with tender care. During the war
of 1812 a vessel belonging to Dr. Potter was cap-
turned by the enemy. It turned out that the cap
tor captain was he who had been taken care qf
by Mrs. Potter, years before, and in grateful
recognition of her kindness he released his prize
on payment of a nominal ransom.
Desertions from the British war vessels
which infested the coast and sound waters were
numerous, and several of the deserters became
permanent residents upon Long Island.
The history of one, Thomas H. Deverell,
was a veritable romance. A very reticent man,
he confided nothing concerning his family save
to one very intimate friend, who never mentioned
the circumstance until after the death of Dever
ell. According to his statement, he was the nat
ural son of an English duke, whose name was
withheld. He was well educated, and had the
manners of a gentleman. He was a lieutenant
in the British navy, on board the "Endymion."
He became involved in a quarrel at the card
table in the cabin of the commander, whom he
struck in the face. This striking a superior of

ficer, no matter under what circumstances, was
an offense of the utmost gravity, and in order
to escape serious punishment, perhaps death, he
determined to desert, and came ashore in a small
boat, secretly aided by some of his shipmates.
From 1816 to 1818 he was a school teacher at
Babylon. He subsequently married, and passed
the greater part of his life at Patchogue, and
died at Port Jefferson, about i860.
Another deserter was William Ingraham,
who also made his home in Babylon. Accord
ing -to his own story he was a sailor on board
the "Saturn." He, with others of the crew who
had been- repeatedly and cruelly flogged, de
termined to -desert at the first opportunity, which
came in their being called to man a boat to- at
tempt the capture of an American merchantman.
At a convenient distance from the ship, the sail
ors rose at a given signal, overpowered the lieu
tenant in charge and undertook to row to land.
The boat was capsized in the surf, and the lieu
tenant, who was bound, was drowned. The de
serters asserted that they did not seek to ac
complish his death, but that it was impossible to
effect his rescue.
The part taken by the patriotic people of
Brooklyn and Kings during the Civil War has
been voluminously written. The density of
population in that city and county made it con
venient and easy to organize entire regiments
and companies out of their own people, and these
commands have always been closely identified
with their localities.
Such was not the case in Queensi and Suf
folk counties, where the population was compar-t
atively sparse, and scattered over a wide ex
panse of territory. For this reason there was
no large distinct organization of troops, but the
volunteers, for the greater number, formed in
squads and sunk their identity in a company or
regiment formed in larger part at more distant
points. «
The camps of rendezvous and instruction in
Queens county were Camp Wlnfield Scott, on
Hempstead Plains, and Camp Woodhull, in
Doughty's Grove, near the village of Queens.
During the first two years of the war the pa-

488

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

triotic and military spirit ran high, and every
call for volunteers was promptly met. But by
the summer of 1863 the enthusiasm- waned, and
a draft of 1,603 men was ordered for July 15,
which was postponed to September, owing to
the breaking out of an anti-draft riot in Jamaica,
When the equipment of the enrolling officers and
a quantity of government clothing were de
stroyed. The draft was practically abandoned,
but another was ordered and made September
24, 1864, the quota being 852 men. Many of
the men required for military service during the
latter years of the war were procured- by the
payment of bounties by villages and the county,
the amount per recruit amounting in some in
stances to $600. In all, Queens county expended
for war purposes the tremendous sum of more
than one and one-quarter million dollars.
The only distinctive military organization
formed in Queens county was what was gen
erally known as the Flushing (or Roemer's)
Battery, and its history is sufficiently notable to
command extended mention.
The Flushing Battery grew out of the Flush
ing Guards, the first uniformed military organ
ization formed in the town from which it took
its name. The Guards were a light infantry
company, attached to the old Ninety-third regi
ment of militia in 1839, and on the occasion of
the first public muster, on January 16, 1840, it
paraded twenty-six men. It attained a high de
gree of excellence in drill, and was the pride of
the village. In 1843 it was reorganized as a
company of artillery, and in 1845 ^ was desig
nated as light artillery, and was attached to
Storm's famous First Brigade, of which it- was
an important part. The rapidity and precision
of its evolutions attracted the admiring attention
of the most capable and critical tacticians in the
State, wbo termed it "the incomparable." At
the outbreak of the war with Mexico, the Bat
tery* offered its services to the government, but
it was not needed, and the men were obliged to
smother their military ardor. The first captain
was Charles A. Hamilton, and the Battery was
known by his name, as Hamilton Battery, even
after he had left it to accept promotion, and had

been succeeded by other commanders, William
O. Mitchell and Thomas L. Robinson, in turn.
The Hamilton Light Artillery, as it was
known, volunteered in response to President
Lincoln's first call for three years' service, in-
1861, and early in June was recruited to tbe
full complement of. 156 men. The officers were:
Captain T. L. Robinson; first lieutenant Jacob
Roemer; second lieutenant Standish; third lieu
tenant Bamilton, and fourth lieutenant Rowelle.
The battery soon departed for Washington.
Early in the spring of 1862, it was reor
ganized under Roemer as captain, with Rowelle,
Standish, Cooper and Beaseley as lieuten
ants, and was assigned to the Second Regi
ment, New York Light Artillery, as Battery
L. The battery first went under fire at Cedar
Mountain, August 9, 1862, where it lost a
number of horses killed. At the battle of
Manassas It was severely engaged, suffering,
however, no casualties on the first day, but re
ceiving deadly hurt on the day folio-wing, when
Captain Roemer and thirteen men were wound
ed and twenty horses were killed. In this severe
ordeal — being charged by an overwhelming
force of the enemy — the battery performed su
perb work, firing as many as fifty-six rounds in
five minutes. At Antietam, September 16-17
following, it covered the infantry force sent to
charge the bridge, and lost two men wounded
and three horses killed. During the months fol
lowing, the battery was engaged in the campaign
against Fredericksburg, Virginia, and later went
into winter quarters at Falmouth.
In February, 1863, Roemer's Battery was
transferred to the Military Division of the Missis
sippi, and joined the army of the Ohio, Major-
General Ambrose E. Burnside commanding, under
whom it campaigned through Kentucky in pur
suit of Mosby. On June 3, 1863, it inarched
for Vicksburg, arriving in front of that famous
stronghold on the 18th, and taking position at
Baines' Bluff. Tbe gallant Long Islanders wit
nessed on. that doubly historic Fourth of July,
the raising of the national flag over the city,
and saw the tremendous fleets of war vessels of
all descriptions and merchant craft - enter the

IN TIMES OF WAR.

489

harbor which had been closed to commerce and
had defied gun and mortar boats for upwards of
two years. The very same day Roemer's Battery
marched with Sherman to Jackson, Mississippi,
then held by an army commanded by General Jo
seph E. Johnson, and bombarded the enemy's
lines for six days and until the city was taken.
Immediately afterward the battery marched
to Lexington, Kentucky, and then, by way of
Cumberland Gap to Knoxville, Tennessee, and
served in all the operations about that place, in
resisting the advance of Longstreet, and during
this time the battery was almost constantly en
gaged, and Captain Roemer for five days and
nights went without sleep save as he dozed
in the saddle. During the dreadful siege of
Knoxville the battery was reduced to the point
of starvation, subsisting upon a daily ration of
one-fourth of a pound of hard bread, and con
stantly engaged with the enemy, at times at such
close range that short-time shells were used as
hand-grenades. In the final assault by the rebel
columns, a major reached one of Roemer's guns,
and, laying his hand upon the piece, shouted:
"Cease firing ! the gun is ours !" But the gunner
drew his lanyard, and the major and fourteen
of his men went down. Seven hundred of the
charging column threw down- their arms and
surrendered, and the remainder of the attack
ing force withdrew. By this time Sherman's
troops were in sight and the siege was over.
Until January 19, 1864, Roemer's Battery
was engaged in the pursuit of Longstreet, and
in other operations in Tennessee. In February it
was ordered to the east, and arrived on Feb
ruary 9th in Albany, New York, where it was
reviewed by Governor Morgan, and given a
new designation, that of the Thirty-fourth New
York Independent Light Battery.
It was during the wonderful dangers and
hardships of the Knoxville campaign that the
men of Roemer's Battery gave a splendid ex
hibition of their unflinching courage and superb
patriotism. The period of service of the great
bulk of the Union army was nearing its end, and
the government had made its appeal to the troops
in the field to re-enlist for another term, of three

years or during the war. Balf-starved, ragged
and barefoot, and constantly under the enemy's
fire, Roemer's gallant gunners re-enlisted almost
to a man. By the terms of their re-enlistment,
the men were to be permitted a thirty-days' fur
lough, and of this they now took advantage.
It was a gala day for soldiers and populace
when, after being reviewed by the Governor at
the State capital, Roemer's Battery, on February
10, 1864, proudly marched into Flushing, their
home town. But their ranks were sadly depleted
by the casualties of war. But two of the five
officers remained, and the 156 men were reduced
to 69. But theirs was a splendid record. They
had fought in some of the most hotly contested
battles of the war, in the west as well as in the
east, and they had journeyed nearly ten thou
sand miles during their two years' service.
The manner of their greeting by the people
of their home town was spontaneous and hearty.
The town was theirs and the fullness thereof,
and the most dignified of the men and the dainti
est of the women were eloquent in their praise
and their willing servants. Clergymen, judges,
lawyers and physicians, stately dames and splen
didly attired society damsels, dined them in pub
lic and in private, and hung upon their words
during their entire stay.
But Captain Roemer and his batt-erymen did
not give all their time to banquets and balls.
Each man was an earnest volunteer recruiting
officer, and, when the furlough had expired,
eighty-five new men went to the front with the
war-seasoned veterans: The Thirty-fourth New
York Battery, as it was now known, with the
Ninth Army Corps, to which it was attached,
crossed the Rapidan on May 4, 1864, and at once
engaged the enemy. On the 12th occurred the
battle at Spottsylvania Court Bouse, which was
one of the most desperate in which it was ever
engaged. At times, in repelling repeated charges,
its guns fired seven rounds per minute-^— ex
tremely rapid work in those days of muzzle load
ing and primer firing — and during the action it
expended a total of 1,800 rounds of ammunition,
short-range shell, grape and canister. Five of
the batterymen were wounded, among them Cap-

490

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

tain Roemer, who was not yet recovered from
his wound received at the west. But to- him
came such reward as the soldier covets, and his
men gladly rejoiced with him when he was noti
fied that President Lincoln had ordered his pro
motion to the rank of major by brevet, "for mer
itorious service on the field of battle, and par
ticularly on the 1 2th of May, 1864." March
25, 1865, the rebels, after a desperate night
attack, succeeded in capturing Fort Stead-
man. Turning its thirteen guns upon an adja
cent work, Fort McGilvery, the victorious en
emy, under cover of a heavy fire, undertook its
capture by a vigorous charge. Fort McGilvery
was manned by Roemer's Battery, whose guns
were so well served that the onslaught failed.
At the very moment of the repulse occurred the
explosion of a 32-pounder gun worked by the
rebels. One of Major Roemer's men was killed
by bis side, and he himself was savagely wound
ed, his collar bone being crushed in and his
shoulder severely bruised by a fragment of the
piece. A few days later and Lee surrendered.
Shortly afterwards Roemer turned his guns over
to the ordnance department, and he and his men
embarked for Hart's Island, where they were
mustered out of service on June 21, 1865. Dur-
its term of service, a few days more than four
years, the battery had traveled over 18,000 miles,
and had taken part in fifty-seven engagements,
and fired 10,073 rounds. It had gone into service
with 156 men, and its total enrollment by re-
enlistment and recruiting was 585 men ; of these
twenty had been killed, many more were wound
ed, and 118 were borne upon its rolls at the end. .
The splendid soldier who commanded this
battery throughout the war, Major Jacob
Roemer, was a German by nativity, born in
Hesse Darmstadt, April 3, 1818. He had a
military training, having served in the German
cavalry. He came to America when twenty-
one years of age, locating in New York City.
In 1842 he removed to Flushing. He enlisted
in the old Hamilton Battery oif Light Artillery
in 1845, and passed through the various grades
to that of captain, after a competitive examina

tion, when the battery was reorganized for war
service. He was for some time chief of artillery
on the staff of Major-General Wilcox, and as
during this period, his own battery was included
among those of which he had charge, he was
practically its commander during the entire
Civil war. After peace was restored he en
gaged in the boot and shoe business in the city
which had previously been his home.
No complete regiment was formed in Suffolk
county, but the greater part of the One Bun-
dred and Twenty-seventh Regiment came from
it, the larger number from the towns of Southold,
Buntington, East Bampton and Southampton.
The two towns last named also contributed a
considerable number to the Eighty-first New
York Regiment. A company in the Twelfth
New York Regiment was from Patchogue. In
the One Hundred and Second New York Regi
ment were a number of men from Huntington
and elsewhere in the county. The county was
also represented in the Second, Sixth and Elev
enth Regiments of New York Cavalry, and in
other commands.
In Buntington Captain Walter R. Bewlett
organized a company at Cold Spring early in
1862, chiefly made up of young men from the
town and from Oyster Bay. Company E, of the
One Bundred and Twenty-seventh New York
Regiment, was also from this town, and was
commanded by Captain Bewlett J. Long, with
George S. Sammis as first lieutenant. The war
also brought into active service, after he had
been officially retired, a veteran whose home
had been in Buntington for many years. This
was Admiral Biram K. Paulding, a son of John
Paulding, one of the trio which captured Major
Andre. On July 16, 1862, he obtained the rank
of rear admiral and was in command of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard until May, 1865, when he
returned to Buntington and again resumed the
pleasures of private citizenship. Be died there
October 20, 1878.
Buntington manifested splendid patriotism
from the very outset. The entire expenditures of
the town, for war purposes, amounted to about a
quarter million dollars, and all the bonds issued

IN TIMES OF WAR.

491

were redeemed within four years after peace was
restored. In 1865 Bon. Benry G. Scudder, who
had been among the foremost at every stage of the
great war drama in rendering aid to the govern
ment, in providing for its defenders, and in hon
oring the memory of those of their number who
had yielded up their lives for the Union, deliv
ered an intensely patriotic address before a pub
lic meeting in Huntington, and moved the begin
ning of a popular subscription for the erection
of a soldiers' monument. Eventually the project
took the form of a library establishment, and
this was ultimately brought to success and the
Soldiers' Memorial Library now stands an en
during tribute to the memory of the patriot
dead, whose remains, in some instances, lie far
away in unmarked and now obliterated graves.
Smithtown responded- patriotically to every
call made for troops, and made provision for
filling all its draft quotas and for the mainten
ance of the families of volunteers. The town of
Southampton and particularly the village of that
name and that of Bridgehampton, contributed a
number of men to the Eighty-first New York
Regiment. This fine body of men went out un
der the command of Colonel Edwin Rose, of
Bridgehampton, who had been1 elected supervisor
in 1 861, and who had resigned that office to
enter the army, and who died January 12, 1864,
at Jamaica, Long Island, where he was serving
as provost marshal, having been incapacitated
for field duty. The military record of the town
ship and of the localities named, is, however,
more intimately connected with the One Hun
dred and Twenty-seventh Regiment, New York
Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Stewart L.
Woodford. His mother (Susan Terry) was born in South-
old, whither her ancestors had come in 1690.
With a sentimental regard for the region, and
with an acquaintance there which assured him a
favorable reception, he went to Southampton, and
attended a special town meeting on October 23,
1862, called to take action with reference to
securing 212 volunteers in order to avoid an
expected draft. At this meeting Colonel Wood
ford -made a patriotic appeal to the young men

of the place and neighborhood, and he was
strongly instrumental in enlisting almost one-
half the number of recruits required. The first
to respond was Peter Whittle, a young man who
had been in the employ of Joseph Horton, at
Southampton; he served- creditably until the end
of the war, and was lately living in Sag Barbor.
The remaining number of recruits necessary
were obtained in New York City. The regi
ment made a splendid record during its term
of service, but it was not long to be commanded
by the gallant Woodford, who was rapidly ad
vanced to more important positions, eventually
winning for himself a fame which was and is
national, and of which the few survivors of his
old command yet living upon Long Island are
justly proud.
The great majority of the soldiers were
honorable and patriotic men, who gave their
services to their country without pecuniary con
siderations. Indeed, at the outset, the volun
teers went entirely without bounty, and in ignor
ance of whether they were to receive pay at all.
The writer knows, from1 his own experience, that
when a paymaster came into camp, early in 1861,
and the men were assembled, each to receive
$26 for two months' service, they were really
surprised. They had enlisted as a high duty,
which they esteemed it a privilege to discharge.
Of such stuff were the gallant fellows -who,
Long Islanders among them, took the dreadful
four-years hammering borne by the Army of
the Potomac, to conquer at the end, and others
who went west to succor Grant and Sherman,
and fought at Vicksburg and Atlanta, and scaled
nature's giant work, Lookout Mountain, with
its belching artillery and tornado of rifle balls.
Be who so fought, and, as did thousands, gave
up his life in the splendid endeavor, is he who
has been idealized in song and story and in
marble and bronze, and his example is held up for
perpetual inspiration to succeeding generations.
After more than four years of horrible war
came the sunshine of peace. The armies of the
Union were disbanded. The real soldier re
turned a broadened man, filled with a new en
thusiasm. Be resumed his place in the business

492

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

world or in such occupation as he was fitted for,
or pushed out into new fields of enterprise. To
him was due the mlarvelous building up of the
Trans-Mississippi region. He led the vanguard of
civilization in the unexplored places of the land,
building up communities and creating States,
planting everywhere the schoolhouse, the
church and the printing press, and leading into
channels of thrift and enterprise all who gath
ered about him or he passed beyond the confines
of his own land, traveling beyond the seas,
spreading commerce and invention, to the ad
vancement of his own fortune and to the honor
of his country.
But there, was prouder distinction for him —
pride of ancestry and pride in his posterity.
Albeit remotely, his grandsire had been his
schoolmaster and drill sergeant. The story of
the achievements of that grandsire had been re
cited in every schoolhouse in the land for more
than three-quarters of a century. The gun which
he handed down was obsolete, and so were his
awkward manual of arms and tactical move
ments. But he had transmitted to1 his descend
ants the flag of a nation of his own making, 'and
his own brilliant courage, remarkable endurance
and indomitable resolution. Splendid was the
inheritance, and splendidly did he who became
the Patriot Veteran of 1861-5 make use of the
spirit and talents with which he had been en
dowed by him who had fought at Brooklyn, at
Monmouth, at Saratoga and at Yorktown. But,
proud as he was of his ancestor and of himself,
he was far more proud of his own boy, who,
moved by intensest patriotism, entered the ranks
with cheerful alacrity. That there was little op
portunity for the American Volunteeer of 1898
to display his prowess in the war with Spain,
detracts nothing from the honor belonging to
him. Indeed, in his own person, he well nigh
completed the work which had engaged his sire
in the years before — the complete welding of the
States into a truly indissoluble Union. For he,
son of one who had fought under Grant and
Sherman, marched side by side with the son of
another who had fought tinder Lee and Johns
ton, and the two lads were as close friends and

as enthusiastic followers of a common flag as
their fathers had been of hostile banners.
Following after the blowing up of the battle
ship "Maine," in the harbor of Bavana, Cuba,
President McKinley, on April 23, 1898, issued
his proclamation calling out 75,000 volunteers.
The response of the State of New York was
gratifyingly prompt. On the 27th, but two days
later, Camp Black (named in honor of Gover
nor Frank S. Black), was established on Bemp-
stead Plains, near Bempstead, Long Island,
and placed under the command of Major-Gen
eral Charles F. Roe, commanding the National
Guard of the State of New York. By May 2,
there were in camp 8,000 men, the total call upon
the State being for twelve regiments of infantry
and two troops of cavalry, approximately some
thing more than twelve thousand men. The
commands thus prompt to respond were the ist,
2d, 3d, 13th (fourth battalon), 14th, 65th, 69th
and 71st Regiments, which were formed into
three brigades. May 2, President McKinley
called upon the State for an additional force of
4,308 men. May 3 a postoffice and telegraph
office were established. On the same evening the
47th Regiment arrived, and on the 9th the in
complete 22d Regiment came into camp and
was filled up by having assigned to it the four
battalions of the 13th Regiment.
On May 10, the 71st Regiment was mus
tered into the service of the United States, and
went to Key West, Florida, whence it sailed for
Cuba, and was soon heard of for its gallant
achievements at San Juan Bill and the siege of
Santiago de Cuba. On May 12, Governor
Black reviewed the troops in camp, nine regi
ments of infantry and two troops of cavalry.
The 71st was the only New York regiment en
gaged in active service. The others were sent to
various points— Camp Alger, Virginia, and else
where, holding themselves ready for orders to
take the field — orders which were not given,
there being no necessity, in view of the startling
rapidity with which the war was brought to an
end. After May 25, Camp Black was commanded
by Brigadier-General Pennington, U. S. V. The

IN TIMES OF WAR.

493

health of the troops was excellent during their
stay in camp, and, as a general thing, the best of
order was maintained, the breaches of the peace
being of a minor character, but only such as
might be expected at the sudden assembling of

thousands of high spirited young men released
from all social restraints, and unaware of the
stern discipline necessary to perfect them in the
school of the soldier. Their only regret was want
of opportunity to take the field.

WHALE KILLED AT SOUTHAMPTON, FEB. 17, 1832.

CHAPTER XIX.

WHALE FISHING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

EXT to farming, the oldest business in
this country is catching whales, and the
towns on the south side of Long Island
from the earliest times enjoyed from
the pursuit a source of revenue which the inland
towns did not possess. At the time of the settle
ment, whales were very plentiful, and dead ones
were frequently found drifted upon the shores,
and were considered the especial gift of Provi
dence. On March 7, 1644, it was -ordered by the
court in Southampton "That yt by the provi
dence of God, there shall be henceforth within
the bounds of this plantacon any whale or
whales cast up For the prevention of disorder
yt is consented unto that there shall be foure
wards in this towne. Eleven persons in each
ward, and by lott two of each ward (if any such
Whales shall be cast up) shall be employed for
the cutting out of the sayde whales, who for
their paynes shall have a double share. And
every inhabitant with his child or servant that is
above sixteene years of age shall have in the di
vision of the other part an equal proportion."

It was also added that, after every storm, two
persons should go along the beach from the
"south harbor" (which was doubtless an inlet
from the ocean to Shinnecock Bay) to the third
pond beyond Mecox, to see if any whales were
drifted up. To ensure their fidelity, it was also
added that if they did not "faythfully perform
their duty" they should "either pay ten shillings
or else be whipped."
In 1645 it was "ordered by the General Court
that yt by the providence of God any whale or
whales or any part of a whale should be cast up
within the limits of this towne, noe man shall
presume to take or carry away any part thereof,
upon the forfeiture of Twentie shillings." "And
whosoever shall find or espie eyther whale or
whales, upon notice given to the magistrates shall
have for his paynes five shillings." It was very
characteristic of the Puritan times that it was or
dered that if any one found a whale on the
Lord's day the five shillings should not be paid.
They did not think it proper for people to be
look'']", out for whales on Sunday.
1 the first whaling company was form-

WHALE F1SFIING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

495

ed, the town voting that Mr. John Ogden, Sr.,
and his company have the privilege of killing
whales upon the south sea (the ocean) for the
space of seven years. This was on the condition
that he "should proceed in the same designs and
do not delay, but do something effectual in the
business within a year," and he was not to have
any claim to the dead w'hales that floated upon
the shores. At that time, whales sometimes
came into Shinnecock Bay, for it was expressly
agreed that the company "should not meddle
with them." What success this company had we
do not know.
In 1653 the male inhabitants of the town were
divided into four "Squadrons" for cutting out
the whales that drifted on shore. Each "Squad
ron" was -to take its turn and draw the blubber
above highwater mark. It was then carted to the
town pond and tried into oil.
Shortly after this it seems that boats were
built and whaling companies were regularly or
ganized for killing whales along the coast. The
lack of white men to man the boats was made up
by hiring Indiana. In November, 1670, two In
dians, Towsacon and Philip, made a regular con
tract to go to sea for Josias Laughton "for the
term of three compleat seasons" "for ye killing
and striking of whales and other great fish."
They also agreed "to attend all opportunities to
goe to sea for ye promoting ye said design. In
consideration of their services, Josias Laughton
agrees to pay them for every season, "three In
dian coats, and one pair of shoes ( or a buck neck
to make them), one payre of stockings, three
pounds of shot, half a pound, of powder and a
bushel of Indian corne."
In June, the same year, Atungquion, an In
dian, agrees "to go whaling for Anthony Lud
lam, and his company for the next season, and is
to receive one coat before going to sea, one when
the season is half over, and one at the expiration
of the term (or a pot instead of one coat) and a
pair of shoes and stockings, one-half pound of
powder and three pounds of shot." Akuctatus,
another Indian, agrees to whale for Arthur
Howell "during the next whaling season" and he

is to have 4 coats, one pair of shoes and stock
ings, one bushel of Indian corne, one-half pound
of powder and 3 pounds of shot."
These whaling companies had each their own
station, along the shore, the whole length of the
town, and a great many contracts like the above
are on record. The result was that large num
bers of whales were taken, from which a great
many barrels of oil were obtained. This was
shipped on sloops to New England and New
York, and from thence to England. The second
church bell in Southampton was paid for in
whale oil, and the business soon assumed dimen
sions out -of all proportion to the number of in
habitants. Indeed, the fame of these shores ex
tended to the older countries, and many
fishermen came from the British and adjacent
waters. It seems that before the coming of the whites
the Indians had made some use of the drifted
whales, for, dn 1658, Wyandance, the Indian
Sachem, granted to Lion Gardiner, the South
beach, west of Southampton, but makes the res
ervation, "But the whales that shall -be cast upon
the beach shall belong to me, and the rest of the
Indians, in their bounds, as they have been an
ciently granted to them by my forefathers."
In 1675 Richard Howell and Joseph Raynor
hire Jonaquam and six other Indians to- whale
for the season "for a half share of blubber and
whalebone, and Richard Howell is to provide
craft and boats." All these contracts were
signed before many witnesses, for the Indians
were very fickle and ready to "back out" from
their agreements on the slightest pretext.
In 1677 James Herrick and another hire
twelve Indians to whale for them "for the season,
for one-half a share " In 1680 Sequanah, an
Indian, agrees with Jonathan Hildreth and John
Carwithy "to try all the blubber they can procure.
They are to cart the pots and wood, and he is to
cut the wood, and is to have 2 shillings six pence
a barrel for trying the oil."
In 1687 there were fourteen whaling com
panies of twelve men each in the town of South
ampton, as follows:

496

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Barrels.
At Ketchapanack, John Jessup and Co  96
At Quaquanantuck, Thomas Stephens & Co. 264
At Quaquanantuck, James Cooper & Co-. . . 144
At ye Pines, Joseph Pierson & Co  240
At ye Pines, John Post & Co  228
Tt Towne, Francis Sayre & Co  132
At Wickapogue, Isaac Raynor & Co  48
At Wickapogue, Abraham Howell & Co. .-. 36
At Meacocks, John Cooke & Co  72
At Meacocks, Joseph Moore & Co  120
At Saggaponack, Lieut. Henry Pierson & Co. 276
At Saggaponack, Robert Norris & Co  108
At Saggaponack, James Topping & Co. ... 84
At Saggaponack, Shamgar Hand & Co. . . . 300
2,148
The same year East Hampton reports 1,456
barrels of oil on hand. In 171 1 the total amount
on hand in Southampton and East Bampton on
April 18, was 252 barrels, but probably the great
est part of the catch for that season had been ship
ped to New York or London.
From a letter written by Francis Pelletreau, of
Southampton, to Stephen De Lancey, merchant,
in New York, dated- February 17, 1732, we learn
that eleven whales had been killed that season.
Six of them made 220 barrels of oil and 1500
pounds of whalebone. We also learn incidentally
that it was not customary to tow the dead whales
ashore, but, as the prevailing winds were favor
able, they generally drifted on shore.
The Royal Governors claimed the right to
license the whaling companies. It. appears by
record at Albany that, in 171 1, Governor Robert
Bunter claimed and took one-half of the oil and
bone captured by the companies in Southampton
licensed by himself. The same year he granted
to Richard Wood the sole privilege of claiming
the chance whales stranded on the beach, the
Governor reserving as before one-half of the oil
and bone. To obtain relief from the burdens,
Samuel Mulford, of East Bampton, as agent for
the two towns, went to England and made appli
cation to Parliament for relief and was fortun
ately successful.
In the town of Brookhaven the business was
not carried on as extensively as in the eastern

towns. On June 17, 1667, the town of Brook-
hayen instructed Daniel Lane "to speke to his
Bonor the Governor, concerning the whales at
the south, that comes within our bounds, to be at
our disposing." On the 23d of March following,
the inhabitants of the town bought of Tobacus,
the Sachem of Unkachaug, the right to all the
whales that should come upon the beach within
the bounds of their patent. For this right they
agreed to pay five pounds in wampum, or some
other commodity for each whale they received.
A convenient place was designated as a place for
trying out the oil, and they agreed to give three
fathoms of wampum to anyone that should in
form them' of the coming of a whale upon the
beach, and ten fathoms for bringing a whale
round to the place agreed upon. In 1687 the
town trustees directed the assessors to raise a tax
a part of which was to be paid in whale oil (39
barrels) at 20 shillings a barrel. Some idea of the
magnitude of the source of profit may be gained
from the Report of Earl Bellmont, July 22, 1699,
in which he declares that Colonel William Smith,
of the Manor of St. George, admitted to him
that he had in a single year cleared £500 from the
whales taken along the beach claimed by him.
A company of men under the direction- of Ste
phen Bayley, previous to 1693, were engaged in
whaling from the shore and had a station which
appears to have been very near the bounds be
tween Brookhaven and Southampton, and was
called "Bayley's Stage," which was a look-out
from whence they could, discover a whale some
distance at sea. This continued in use for many
years. When vessels were first fitted out for the
enterprise, we do not know, but, as early as 1761
Nathan Fordham, Jr., and James Foster obtained
the privilege of building a wharf and setting up a
try house at Sag Barbor. Sloops which cruised
along the shore after killing whales, carried the
blubber to these try works, and this practice con
tinued until vessels of greater size and fully
equipped ventured upon longer voyages, which
in after years extended to the most distant por
tions of the globe. After the Revolution, the
business very rapidly increased, and Sag Barbor

WHALE FISFIING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

497

became one of the greatest whaling ports in the
United States. The following is a list of the first
vessels employed in whaling and sailing from
Sag Harbor:

YEAR

NAME

TONS

OWNERS

1790

150

Benjamin Huntting

1791

Betsv 

212

Stephen Howell & Co.

1792

Commerce 

170

Benjamin Huntting

1796

Hetty 

256

Benjamin Huntting

1796

215

Stephen Howell & Co.

1798

229

Benjamin Huntting

1798

Mary 

215

Benjamin Huntting

1800

215
Stephen Howell & Co.
1801
202
Benjamin Huntting
Arrival of the whaling vessels at Sag Harbor,
1804-1816 :
180418041804180518051805 1805
180618061806 1806
1806 1807
18071807 18071807
18071808
1808 1809
1809 1809
18091810 1810
18101810181018101811
18121814181618161816 18161816
NAME
Nancy 
Minerva 
Abigail 
Alknomack . . .
Abigail 
Minerva 
Nancy 
Minerva 
Alknomack . . .
Abigail 
Warren 
Brazil 
Jefferson 
Abigail 
St. Lawrence.
Warren 
Brazil 
Minerva 
Abigail 
Minerva 
Alknomack . . .
Washington. . ,
Warren 
Brazil 
Warren 
Washington. ..
Jefferson 
Abigail 
Alknomack . . .
Lovinia 
Abigail 
Abigail 
Warren 
Abigail 
Argonaut 
Warren 
Abigail 
Argonaut 
CAPTAIN
John Godbee...
Wm. Fowler 
Barnard 
John Hildreth...
Barnard 
Wm. Fowler . . .
Sanford . .' 
Wm. Fowler . . .
James Post 
Topping 
Folger 
A. Folger 
J. Godbee 
Topping 
James Post ....
Wm. Fowler. ..
A. Folger 
Francis Sayre..
Bunker .......
F. Sayre 
Elias Jones ....
Wm. Fowler. ..
F. Sayre 
Oliver Fowler .
F. Sayre 
Wm. Fowler. . .
James Post —
Bunker 
Elias Jones 
O. Fowler 
Bunker 
George Post . . .
Edward Halsey
James Post ....
E. Halsey 
Wm. Fowler . . .
James Post 
Ed. Halsey ....
S. Howell & Co..
S, Howell & Co...
B. Huntting 
B. Huntting 
B. Huntting 
S. Howell & Co. . .
Howell & Co 
Howell & Co 
B. Huntting 
B. Huntting 
Howell & Co 
G. &T. Havens..
B. Huntting 
B. Huntting 
B. Huntting 
HowelJ & Co 
G. & T. Havens. .
Howell & Co 
S. Huntting & Co
Howell & Co....
S. Huntting & Co
Howell & Co....
Howell & Co....
Havens & Co 
Howell & Co....
Howell & Co....
Hunttings 
Hunttings 
Hunttings 
Havens & Co 
Hunttings 
Hunttings 
Howell & Co....
Hunttings 
Howell & Co....
Howell & Co....
Hunttings 
Howell & Co....
Bbls. Oil
800
1309130013501200 700Sill)
120013001300 170013001600 500
1300160O12001200 450
1200100017001700 1100 700
115013501120 500 850800
1000
1800 1200 131 II)
750
1200 1700
The oil brought home in the "Abigail" in 1812
was sent to New York and sold for a dollar a
gallon. In 1846 Sag Harbor as a whaling port was
in the height of its glory, and that year the fol
lowing ships sailed :
32
NAME
CAPTAIN
NAME
CAPTAIN
Pierson 
Ryder 
M. Cooper 
D. R. Drake ...
Sleight 
Nichols 
Manhattan 
Harlow 
Babcock 
Noble 
J. M. Green. . ..
B. R Green ...
Columbia 
S. B. Pierson . .
Loper 
Miller 
Ontario 2d 
Brings 
L. B. Edwards.
Wade 
P. Winters
Hand 
Dering 
Mulford 
Vail 
James Bishop..
Wm. Lowers. ..
Elizabeth Frith. . . .
John Bishop . . .
Edwards 
Halsey 
Worth 
Babcock 
Brown 
B. C. Payne ...
Nickerson 
D. Jagger 
Wild 
Plymouth 
Romulus 
S. Richards 
St. Lawrence. . . .
Sabina 
Thos. Dickason. .
Washington ....
Wiscassett 
Wm. Tell 
C. Goodale 
Illinois 
Italy 
Jefferson 
Smith 
Glover 
John Wells 
T. B. Worth ...
Eldridge 
Several ships sailed from Greenport:
NAME
CAPTAIN
NAME
CAPTAIN
J. W. Fordham
Halsey 
D. Wee'ks
Brown 
Philip 
Sarah & Esther. .
Triad 
Nile 
Two ships sailed from New Suffolk — the
"Gentleman" Captain A. G. Post, and the
"Noble," Captain Sweeny. One whale ship, the
"Xenophon," was built at Sag Harbor.
The decline of the whale fishing was sudden
and rapid, and, from being one of the most pros
perous villages on Long Island, Sag Harbor be
came the poorest. The fall in- value in real estate
was immediate and disastrous. But other enter
prises are taking the place of whaling, and give
promise of renewed prosperity.
The business of "longshore whaling," once so
extensive, is now entirely confined to Southamp
ton and Amagansett. At these places, whale
boats are still kept, and occasionally a whale is
captured. As in a very few years it will be en
tirely a matter of the past, a few words of de
scription may be of interest in the future.
498

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

At the foot of the main street of Southamp
ton there were for many years two high poles
standing on the beach banks. These were "look
outs/" for whales. It was the custom, for per
sons who felt so inclined to mount these look
outs during the whaling season, and scan the
horizon. Any person who "raised a whale"
would give notice by vigorously swinging his
coat. This would quickly attract attention-, and a
"rally to the beach" wo.uld follow. Horns were
blown, whalemen mounted horses and rode in hot
haste, and men ran who never ran on any other oc
casion. The boats were quickly dragged down to
the ocean. These boats all had regular crews,
but, if any were absent, there were plenty of
young men only too eager to take their places.
An experienced whaleman1 took the steering oar,
and in an incredibly short time the boats were
afloat. It was the rule that any boat that was
afloat when the whale was struck should have a
share in the whale if captured, while the person
who first discovered, or "raised" the whale, had
ten gallons of oil. Under favorable circum-
•Btances the whale was soon "struck," or har
pooned, and speedily killed. Tow-lines were
then passed from' boat to boat, and the dead
whale was towed to the shore. If the distance
was great, it wias a long and hard task. Tor
long years the try works were on the west side
of the town pond, opposite the "Point" that
projects into the pond. There were three or
four large try-pots set in brick. The blubber in
large pieces was carted here, and cut into
strips about three or four feet long, called
"horse-pieces." These placed on a rude table
were quickly "minced" or cut into thin slices,
and tossed into the pots. The fires were started
with dry wood, but as soon as the first batch
of "scraps" were thrown out the fire was fed
with them and burned fiercely. The "trying-
out" was kept up night and day. A good whale
made about thirty barrels of oil, and the whale
bone was very valuable. When bone and oil were
sold, the money was divided in these propor
tions : The owners of the boats and the "ends-
men" took one-half, and the oarsmen the other
half. In the year 1847 f°ur whales were on

the beach at one time. This was the largest
number killed in any one year in recent times.
In the year 1884 a dead -whale was washed
ashore at Cooper's Neck, which measured eighty-
four feet in length, the largest whale ever seen
here. It was not a "right whale," and from its
condition very little oil was obtained. The
whale of which a view is given, at the head of
this chapter was killed near Bridgehampton,
February 17, 1882, and made about thirty bar
rels of oil.
The last whaling vessel that mailed from Sag
Barbor was the brig "Myra." The ship "Sa
bina" sailed in 1849 for California with a load
of passengers eager to try their fortune in the
land of gold. At the outbreak of the war of
the 'Rebellion a large number of old whale ships
were bought by the government, and, loaded
with stone, were sunk in the harbor of Charles
ton, South Carolina, making a very effectual

NEKUAHEN-FISUING OFF MONTAUK TOINT.
blockade, and it is believed that not one of the
old whaling fleet of Sag Barbor is now in ex
istence. The fish popularly known as "Bunkers," but
in late years dignified by the scientific name of

WHALE FISHING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

499

Menhaden, are mentioned by very early writers
as having been used by the Indians as fertilizers
for their fields of corn. It may well be that the
English settlers first learned from them their
great value for agricultural purposes. In early
days, immense schools of them entered the bays
for the purpose of spawning. At first the means
for capturing them were very limited, as the only
twine for nets had to be made from linen thread,
and to make nets of any size was out of the ques
tion. The introduction and manufacture of cot
ton twine furnished facilities for making nets of
any size, and the business very soon assumed
large proportions. Among the first to use his
great influence to develop this means of restor
ing the fertility of wornout lands was- Hon. Ezra
L'Hommedieu, of Southold, and, once started,
the practice was adopted by all the towns in Suf
folk county. Seines were made which would
extend nearly half a mile in length and, as the
fish were abundant, the quantities captured were
immense. Upon one occasion, the fish having
swarmed into a creek, a seine was cast across its
mouth and- nearly a million of fish were taken
at one time. On the ocean shore at South
ampton, Bridgehampton and East Bampton', a
great number of fishing companies were or
ganized, and during the- summer the business
was carried on with great success. The finan
cial prosperity of those places for the farmers
began with this. With the aid of fish for a
fertilizer, large crops of wheat were raised, the
money received therefor was invested in stock
in whale ships, and many a farmer who would
otherwise have passed his entire life "with his
nose on a grindstone," became comfortably sit
uated in his later days.
As the business of "longshore fishing" has
now become obsolete, a description of it may not
be amiss. The company usually comprised
twelve ot fifteen men, each of whom owned a
share. A large boat, strongly built, was pro
cured. The agent of the company purchased a
large quantity of cotton twine, and, during the
winter, each owner was required to knit a cer
tain number of pounds, and thus each would
make an equal length of seine. The meshes of

the seine were an inch and a quarter square.
Seine knitting was a regular business during
the winter, and the women of the families, with
their deft fingers, soon became very skillful knit
ters. The net was about five feet deep, with a
cork line on top supported with wooden corks,
and a lead line below, weighted with small leaden
rings. There was also an abundance of strong
line which led to a long distance from shore.
In the early days of the business, the seine was
simply a long straight line of net. It was piled
in the stern of the boat, which was rowed swiftly
around a school of fish that was within "reach
ing distance" of the shore. One line was left
on shore, while the other came ashore in the boat.
This done, the first thing was to pull the boat up
on shore out of reach of the tide and waves.
Then all hands manned the the lines, and the
seine was drawn to shore, gradually enclosing
the fish as - the ends of seine were brought to
gether. When brought close to shore, part of
the men held large corn baskets, while others
bailed the fish into them with scoop nets, and
they were carried to the height of the beach and
dumped into large piles. The whole operation
was long, tedious and severe, and required
strong and hardy -men. The first improvement
made was adding a "cod" to the seine. This
was a long bag made of the coarsest and strong
est twine, and large enough to hold 100,000 fish.
This was placed in the center of the seine, the
opening or mouth being strung on a strong rope.
This extended the entire length of the "cod,"
and the net on either side was strung upon it.
When the seine was cast around a school of fish
and drawn to the shore, the fish looking for
any chance to escape would rush through the
opening into the "cod," and were thus captured
without any chance of escape, and to land them
safely became a much easier matter. The next
improvement was the fish cart. This was a
large two-wheeled vehicle, the wheels being
made very wide to- prevent sinking in the soft
sand on the beach. The cart held, when level full,
about 2,000 fish, and this became a very easy way
of landing them on the beach, and obviated the
necessity of counting them, as had previously

500

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

been done, in order to insure each man an equal
share. With these two improvements, fishing
became much easier, but any one who has stood
behind a bunker seine in the surf for two- or
three hours, with the seas dashing over him,
would not under such circumstances consider
fishing as an amusement.
The number of fish caught at a haul, varied,
as a matter of course, but 30,000 or 40,000 was
no uncommon catch. The largest number caught
at a single haul of which the writer has positive
knowledge, was 212,000. These were caught at
Southampton by what was known as the "Tucka-
hoe seine," in the fall of i860. Long seines
which were drawn in Peconic Bay captured vast
ly greater numbers.
The first establishment for -manufacturing
fish oil on an extensive scale, so far as we know,
was started by Jesse Terry, at Red Creek, on
Peconic Bay, in Southampton. Immense quan
tities of fish were taken and large amounts of oil
were produced.
At the outbreak of the Civil war, the scarcity
of cotton rendered cotton twine so costly that all
the fishing companies on the ocean shore gave up
the business almost simultaneously, and the
business has never been revived. The boats and ;
what was left of the seines were sold, and soon
the only relic of what had once been a source
of profit and prosperity, were the small seine
houses which were seen in every village, stand
ing generally in the street.
One reason for the discontinuance of seashore
fishing was the fact that fish had begun to be
much scarcer. The constant catching of them
by the millions had produced the very natural
result. They were no> longer seen in immense
schools off shore, and the bays did not swarm
with them, as they once did. It was about this
time that fishing steamers began their work.
These steamers carried large purse nets so ar-
anged that, when a school of fish was surrounded,
there was no chance for escape. At a secluded
place on the shore of some bay their fishing es
tablishment was prepared. A long row of rough
ly and plainly made sheds furnished protection
to the try works, and shelter for the men who

operated them. The try works consisted of a
row of very large kettles or try pots set in ma
sonry. Large baskets made of hoop-iron filled
the inside of the kettles and were large enough
to contain 1,000 fish. The baskets were fitted
with strong iron bails, by which they could be
hoisted out and in. These baskets, filled with
fish, were placed in the try pots and flooded
with water. Fires were then lighted, and when
the whole mass was boiling the baskets of fish
were hoisted out and swung over a press into
which they were dumped. Pressure was then
applied by means of a powerful screw, and the
water and oil, thoroughly pressed out, ran into a
large shallow tank made of pine boards. Near
one end, a tight partition was made reaching to
within one inch of the top of the tank. When
run into the tank, the oil and water separated
immediately, the former rising to the top, and
ran over the partition, so that in one end the pure
oil was by itself. By various processes it could
be bleached and refined. But it is to be feared
that no small quantity of it was'used to adulter
ate linseed oil. It was frequently used for paint
ing by itself, and for rough work and colored
paints answered every purpose. When used for
white paint, it was far from being satisfactory.
As a fair day's work would load one of the fish
ing steamers, other vessels sometimes accom
panied them, -on board of which the fish were
loaded and carried to the try works, leaving the
steamers to pursue their part of the business.
These cruised a long distance from the shore,.
and, as they were not dependent upon the wind,,
everything was in their favor.
In 1878 a tract of worthless sand beach ad
joining Peconic Bay, at the region between Mon
tauk and East Bampton, sprang into notoriety,.
and what was once a desolate and uninhabited
place became a village of fish factories, under
the somewhat whimsical name of Promised
Land. A business at once sprang up employing
more than $500,000 capital and affording em
ployment to hundreds of men. To this place
millions of fish were yearly brought and rendered
into oil, and the solid part, under the name of"
fish guano, was in great demand as a fertilizer,.

WHALE FISHING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

501

not only in this country, but large quantities were
exported to Europe and extensively used for
the vineyards of Italy, and a still greater
amount was used in the cotton fields of the
Southern States. The first factory here was
started in 1878 by Hiram R. Dixon & Brother.
This was quickly followed by others, and in a
few years ten companies were in full blast, with
factories fitted with all modern implements, and
with an assessed value of $104,000. At one
time a fleet of thirty fishing steamers brought to
this place their daily catch, which in a season
were numbered by hundreds of millions. The
number of fish caught in 1881 was 211,000,000;
fish oil made, 1,013,350 gallons, tons of scrap,
22,100. The estimated catch of fish within the
collector's district by bay and other fisheries is
400,000,000, with a value of $975,000.
The following are the complete figures of
the catches of steamers for the season ending
November 10, 1900:

Stand ing

1011
12 13
14
15 1617
1819
20 21
22 23
24
25 26
27 28
2930
31

STEAMER

Walter Adams 
Samuel S. Brown...
Nat. W. Strong 
Quickstep 
George Hudson 
George F. Morse . . ,
Geo. W. Humphrey
Arizona 
A. M. Hathaway...
Ranger 
Peconic 
J. W. French 
George Curtis 
Montauk 
Esteli 
Seaconnet 
Sterling 
Cora P. White 
Falcon 
Joseph Church 
Amagansett 
Annie E. Gallup. . . .
Mabel Bird 
Alaska 
John L. Lawrence. .
Fearless 
Eugene F. Price. . . .
Portland 
G. S. Allyn 
Vester 
William A. Wells...

Catch in
Bbls.

43,00042,433
39,91039,66739,33538,52838,17337,32035,20732,682
31,67531,50429,91229,57329,001
28,07127,594
27,189 27,015
26,733 96,558
26,11925,50923,966
23,931
22,503 20,377 18,23016.259 4,938 532

In 1889, 36 steamers, working 27 weeks,
caught and purchased 893,938 barrels, while an
other season 31 steamers, fishing- 24 weeks, caught
and purchased 894,359 barrels. All fish are
weighed and weigh 200 pounds to the barrel.
Following is the result of the fishing and the
output at the various factories:

T3 >
'53 cn
El

1
S g
¦- ri
0.0

p. </>
« H
52
-o a)
"u ri
pa

ft a
rf 0
"Tcn 1
"0 ri
< a

s «
•r- w
* 1
S3S u
< a

Promised Land 

338,780 91,618
384,716 79,245

14,498 3,522
12,720 1,856

2,850 0
1,9071,353

7,365 2,974
11,145 329 v-

2.13 1.94 1.64
1.17

894,359
32,596
6,110
21,813
1.81
Total.
883,448
On September 17, 1899, a destructive fire
destroyed three of the largest factories at
Promised Land, with a great ioss of property.
The increasing scarcity of fish and the establish
ment of factories at other place-si rendered the
business here less productive, but it is still car
ried on to a large extent. This is one of the
few lines of business where nothing of the raw
material is lost, the oil being extracted and the
entire remaining part of the fish making a fer
tilizer of the finest and most valuable kind.
The use of the oyster came to us from the
savages, and this edible was one which they
were loath to abandon when they came to be
dispossessed of their lands contiguous to the
coast, and they reserved the right, in many lo
calities, to return to the shore to- hunt and fish
on unoccupied lands. There they roasted oysters
and clams, which they dried in the sun, and
carried back to their reservation on strings of
bark. The earlier chronicler displayed the spirit of
the true "promoter" in exploiting the resources
of the new country, and the contributions of
the water were glowingly described. In 1631
mention is made of "oysters, some a foot long,
containing pearls." One writer — William Wood,
in a little volume entitled "New England's
Prospects," printed in London — dropped into
verse :
502

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"The luscious lobster, with the crab-fish raw,
The brinish oyster, mussel, perwigge,
And tortoise sought by the Indian Squaw,
Which to the flatts dance many a winter's jigge,
To dive for cockles and to dig for clams,
Whereby her lazy husband's guts she cramms."
In 1681 Sir George Carteret, in enumerating
the advantages which he considers attractive to
immigrants, mentions oysters "in great plenty
and easy to take."
In the early days, wonderfully prolific natural
seeding oyster beds were found at the mouth of
of the rivers and creeks emptying into salt water
bays. But, after a time, there was occasion for
fear that the oyster was in course of extermina
tion, and in 1719 the General Assembly -of the
Province passed the first oyster protective meas
ure of record. It was recited in the preamble
that the oyster beds are "wasted and destroyed
by strangers and others at unseasonable times
of the year, the preservation of which will tend
to great benefit of the poor people and others in
habiting this province." It was therefore en
acted that no person should rake or gather up
oysters or shells from May 10th to September
ist; and that non-residents should not gather
them up at any time to take away with them, un
der a penalty of forfeiting their vessels and equip
ments. Commissioners were appointed to exe
cute the provisions of the law, and were author
ized to inspect oyster boats and to seize any
which -might be under suspicion. The fees of
the officers were one-half of the forfeitures while
the remainder went to the provincial treasury.
During very many years continued effort
was made to foster the oyster industry through
legislation designed to protect the oyster fields
against a too close expoliation which would lead
to extermination. The fields were threatened by
two classes of enemy — those who lived in their
immediate neighborhood and derived their live
lihood from marketing oysters, many of whom,
intent only upon immediate gain, were regard
less of the future; and those who came from a
distance to poach upon property in which they
had- no rightful interest.
Oystering did not develop into much of a
business until about the middle of the last cen

tury. The oysters of the Long Island Sound
front had been famous among the Indians, and
the white settlers prized them as food. So did
others, for we find, in 1784, at Oyster Bay (and
this town is taken, as an example, for similar
restrictions were made in other towns), a special
town meeting declared that outsiders should not
be permitted to "take or carry away any of the
oysters from off the oyster beds lying in the town
on penalty of five pounds, to be recovered by the
persons hereafter named (Samuel Youngs, James
Farley, Amaziah Wheeler), and to be paid to the
Overseers of the -poor." In 1801 a town meet
ing came to the protection of the oyster by de
claring "that no oysters be caught in the harbor
of Oyster Bay with rakes or tongs from the
first day of May next to the ist day of Septem
ber following, under the penalty of five pounds
for each and every offence." There was prob
ably grave reason for this, for the quality of
the oysters and the demand for them evidently
threatened a shortage in the supply. Up till
then the oyster fishing had been one of the
privileges of the township and seemed to be part
of the common property of the people, but in
1807 the -beginning of a system of private prop
erty in- the bivalve was inaugurated, when a
town meeting granted Robert Feeks ten square
rods under water "for the purpose of making an
oyster bed where no valuable bed has been
known." This was a beginning, and private ownership
in oyster beds soon became so widespread as
to threaten the occupancy of the entire harbor
and remove from the people a right which they
had enjoyed since the settlement. The courts
were appealed to, but decided that any inhabi
tant could plant an oyster bed in a spot not pre
viously occupied, and the bed should be regarded
as private property. Thereafter there ensued a
long struggle between the people and those who
had thus acquired property rights, and the bat
tle was waged for years. The people could pass
and did pass resolutions regulating the trade,
protecting the growth of the oysters, and laying
down laws for close or open seasons, but when
the question came to be an invasion of private

WHALE FISHING— MENHADEN FISHING— OYSTERING.

503

property Tights the courts sternly interfered. In
1843 a meeting declared "we will defend the
rights o-f the town to the exclusive ownership
of the oysters in Oyster Bay," but that gallant
defense went practically no further than the
paper on which it was written. In 1847, how
ever, they got down to a tangible issue when
they declared that "the oysters in the bay or
waters of the town be free to all of the inhab
itants of the said town the ensuing year." The
owners of the oyster beds at once took issue
with this, the law was appealed to, and the rights
of the planters to the exclusive use of their
property was sustained.
Oyster planting and culture may now be re
garded as a science, so- much have observation
and experimentation been practiced. The neces
sity for planting was discovered so long ago as

in 1810, when it was begun at Bergen Point, in
New York Bay. A quarter of a century later
the planting of native oysters came into- vogue in
Raritan Bay, first at Keyport, and afterwards in
the vicinity of Perth Amboy, and thence extend
ed to the other oyster fields. In later years
the natural supply of seed oysters proved too
small to meet the demand, and supplies were
drawn from the Chesapeake and the small bays
and rivers on the coasts of Delaware and Mary
land, and the consumption is annually increas
ing. Dependent upon the oyster industry are hun
dreds of men engaged in boat-building, sail-
making and turning fish offal into fertilizers, to
isay nothing of the many others engaged in cler
ical and other capacities in connection with the
distribution of products.

N£ >\ ^ >\

CHAPTER XX.

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

HE first newspaper in the United States
was the "Boston News Letter," estab
lished in 1704. The following is the
first advertisement of Long Island real
estate that ever appeared in print, and is found in
the issue of May 8, 1704 :
"At Oyster Bay on Long Island, in the
Province of New York. There is a very good
Fulling Mill to be let or Sold, as also a Plan
tation having on it a large new Brick house,
and another good house by it for a kitchen, &
work house, with a Barn, Stable &c. a young
Orchard and 20 Acres clear land. The Mill
is to be Let with or without the Plantation.
Enquire of Mr. William Bradford, Printer, in
New York and know further."
The pioneer in this field on Long Island was
David Frothingham, a son of David Frothing
ham, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, whose fam
ily history is fully set forth in "Wyman's Gene
alogies and Estates of Charlestown." David
Frothingham learned the printer's trade in Bos
ton, and came to Sag Harbor in 1790, or early in
1791. Be was then twenty-five years of age, of
limited means, but full of ambition. With him
came his wife, Nancy Pell, a daughter of Joseph
Pell, of the Manor of Pelhani, whom he had run
away with and married, contrary to the wishes of
her aristocratic family. It was the old story of
parental opposition, followed by forgiveness, and
some of her children were afterwards adopted

by her father's family. On his arrival in Sag
Barbor he established a printing office, a book
store and a book bindery near the "Landing," at
the foot of Main street. In exchange for the
products of his press and store, besides the
limited amount of cash, he took in pay hog's
bristles, goose quills, old sailcloths, sheepskins,
rags and other old junk, a barter that reveals the
necessities of that period. It was under these
circumstances that he started "Frothingham's
Long Island Berald," the first paper on Long
Island. The first issue was dated May 10, 1791,
and the editor introduces himself thus :
"To the Public. With the greatest deference
the first number of the Berald is laid before
the public, on whose smiles the Editor founds
his hope of patronage, and expects so laudable
an undertaking will meet with encouragement
tantamount to its merits. Too much puffing is
frequently on this occasion made use of by
publishers; but when the Editor shall cease to
merit applause, he will no longer wish the favor
of the public extended to him. Neither dil
igence nor labor shall be wanting to render this
paper a useful repository of knowledge and en
tertainment, while vice, the bane of society, with
its concomitant attendants, though clothed with
the garb of authority, will be branded with every
mark of infamy. Whatever has a tendency to
expand the mind and embelish the understand
ing will be prosecuted with indefatigable zeal ;
and every branch of literature ransacked to en
lighten the human mind ; in a word, we shall

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY

505

" Eye nature's walks, shoot folly as its flies,
And catch the manners living as they rise."
In the course of this publication a corner
will be devoted to the treasure of those in the
poetic line, whose correspondence, together with
those in the prosaic walk, are earnestly request
ed." — David Frothingham.
Thus in this rather quaint and heavy style
did the editor make his; promises to his readers,
all of which were faithfully carried out to the
full extent of his power and means, with varying
success for eleven years, the papers being de
livered throughout the Island regularly every
week by a post rider employed by Frothingham.
The first number had nine local advertisers,
among whom were: Silas Raymond, who
calls attention to his tailoring establishment;
Asa Partridge is about to open a young ladies'
school; Ephraim L'Hommedieu runs a packet to
New London every week; and Phineas Duvall
has lost a dog with a white ring round his neck,
white breast and feet, for which he offers a hand
some reward. These are all the individuals whose
memory survives among the traditions of our
village — anecdotal or otherwise. Among the
literary treasures are essays on philosophy, phil-
anthrophy, happiness, how to prevent unhappy
marriages, European intelligence, news from
Newburyport, Exeter, Boston, Worcester, New
port and other places, and a column of poetry.
The. quotation, "Eye Nature's walk, shoot
folly as it flies, and catch the manners living as
they rise," is taken from Pope's "Essay on Man,"
and was employed as his motto in every issue
I have seen ; and taking it altogether, and allow
ing for the difficulties of the period, the paper
must be considered a model of typographical ex
cellence and neatness. In the fiftieth number,
dated May 3, 1792, he makes; the following re
marks : "This week completes twelve months
since the commencement of this paper, but as the
printer was deficient (owing to being out of
paper), it will be two weeks before the first vol
ume of the Herald' will be completed. With
a grateful heart he returns thanks to his custom
ers for the encouragement of the year past, and
assures them that nothing shall be wanting on his

part to render his paper a useful and entertaining
repository." This number has larger type.
No complete file of this paper is in existence.
Mr. Ivan Byram, of Sag Harbor, has nineteen
numbers of Volume I, including No. 1. The
Long Island Historical Society has a nearly com
plete file for 1797 and 1798 and odd numbers of
some of the preceding volumes.
As a curious illustration of the change in pub
lic sentiment as regards decency, we may men- '
tion that in one of the earliest numbers appears a
little poem, an "Epigram," bordering very closely
on the obscene. In Frothingham's time it would
be considered merely a broad joke, but to-day
there is not a newspaper in Suffolk County
that would venture to reprint it.
The paper continued under the management
of Frothingham until June 2, 1802, when he
transferred it to Sell-eck Osborn, who changed
the name to the "Suffolk County Berald." Mr.
Frothingham's residence in Sag Harbor was on
the east side of Main street, near the junction of
the Sagg road. One of his daughters married
Hubbard L. Fordham, the grandfather of Will
iam Wallace Tooker, the well known antiquarian
and student of Indian language and to whom we
are indebted for much of our information.
Selleck Osborn did not make a financial suc
cess of the paper and he sold out to a company
who, in turn, sold it to Alden Spooner, in Feb
ruary, 1804, and he changed the name to "Suf
folk Gazette." Osborn was a man of consider
able literary acquirements, but of limited business
qualifications. Be moved .to Litchfield, Con
necticut, and established a paper called the "Wit
ness." At a later date he established a paper at
Wilmington, Delaware, and died in poor circum
stances in Philadelphia, October 1, 1826.
Alden Spooner came from a family for many
years honorably associated with the history of the
press in New England. Having learned the
printing trade with his cousin, Samuel Green,
the well known printer of New London, he came
to Sag Harbor, then only twenty-one years of
age, and assumed the publication of the "Suffolk
Gazette." In a brief sketch of his life, written
for the instruction and information of his chil-

£06

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

dren and their descendants, but not printed, he
wrote : '
"My whole fortune consisted of about five or
six dollars in my pocket and scarcely a decent
suit of clothes to my back. My mother and sis
ter were wanting immediate relief, which was
the main reason of my going to Sag-Harbor.
Thus I commenced the world. My uncle, Charles
Douglas, and his excellent wife received me at
Sag-Harbor. I established my office over the
store of Jesse Hedges, and became a boarder in
his family. The printing materials were
wretched indeed and of very little value. The
press in particular required the aid of the black
smith very often, and the types were very un
suitable. The files of the Suffolk Gazette, now
in my possession, will show the types with which
all my work was executed. My first Suffolk
Gazette was dated February 20, 1804. My prin
cipal patron was the Collector of the Port, Henry
P. Dering — a proud man — 'liberal, feeling sen
sitive, nervous. Be informed me that the press
and types were owned by about twenty persons
whose names he gave. Some gave five, some
ten, and one twenty dollars. If I would furnish
each of these my paper for four years, then the
materials would be mine, These terms were
easy in the mode of payment, and I agreed. It
will appear curious to any printer to be told
that I printed the Suffolk Gazette about two
years without the assistance of any person what
soever, not even a boy; every small duty was
done by myself alone. I was editor, printer,
publisher, clerk and errand boy. My family also
claimed some of my time. During this time I
printed many custom house jobs for Mr. Dering
and sermons for the Rev. Lyman Beecher, and the
Rev. D. S. Bogart, of Southampton. The busi
ness was very small and I had but a few sub
scribers at $1.50. I had but a scanty supply of
pica type, just enough for eight or ten pages,
and the same type was used for my newspaper.
I was thus cramped in my operations and often
had to work all the night to get clear of my jobs
in order to print my newspaper."
Notwithstanding his poverty, as soon as he
was established in his humble business he brought
his mother and sister here from New London.
Bis mother died here and a stone to her memory
can be seen in the old burying ground.
Mr. Spooner continued the paper under every
discouragement until May 25, 1810, when he
sold out to -a company. Be continued to conduct

it, however, until February 23, 181 1, when it was
abandoned. In the last issue, the editor gives
the following pathetic farewell:
"This event long foreseen and too long pro
crastinated for the interest of the subscriber,
who, at length, reluctantly announces the Suffolk
Gazette's discontinuance with the present num
ber. Many circumstances have contributed to
deny the Gazette that portion of patronage nec
essary to insure its permancy.
"Our insular situation, our scanty popula
tion [Sag-Barbor, which then included North
Baven and North Side, only numbered 1,168
souls] and the very economical habits of the
country, and the difficulty of receiving and dis
seminating intelligence before the county would
be supplied through other channels, are* unsur-
mountable obstacles. I had the hardihood to
make the attempt, notwithstanding two previous
failures in his place. I have persevered during
seven years and now reluctantly relinquish it,
to seek a more lucrative establishment. This
county has many enlightened and patriotic citi
zens whose friendship I shall long remember;
but they are indeed too few for the support of
a newspaper." Mr. Spooner then went to Brooklyn, and
purchased the "Long Island Star," and his later
life is an important part of the history of that
city. Such is the history and the fate of the first
Long Island newspaper. There was no news
paper printed in the county during the interesting
period that included the war of 1812, nor any
until the 19th of October, 1816, when Samuel A.
Seabury, who was born in Sag Harbor, January
J3, U95, and learned his trade from Alden
Spooner, came into the field with -the "Suffolk
County Recorder." He seems to have started
under rather discouraging circumstances, al
though he remarks in the first number "that the
subscriptions already received equals his most
sanguine expectations"; but he had only two
local advertisements to begin with, and one of
these was inserted by Silas Raymond, who helped
start Frothingham twenty-five years previous.
The "Recorder" was the same size of the two
previous papers, and was a well edited and printed
sheet. Seabury discontinued the "Recorder"
after publishing one volume, on October 11, 1817,

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

507

and launched the "American Eagle and Suffolk
County General Advertiser," a week later, Octo
ber 1 8, 1817. T»his was a larger and better
printed paper than any of its predecessors, and
for the time and place deserves commendation.
He published nearly four volumes, the last num
ber being dated August 4, 1821, when it was
moved to Huntington, Long Island, and contin
ued under the same name. -Seabury afterwards
sold out and moved to Stonington, where he died
in 1825. A full file of "The Recorder" is in posses
sion of Mr. Ivan Byram, and a few numbers of the
"American Eagle." They contain some local
news, like the great fire of 1817, May 24th, and
raising of the new church, now the Masonic hall,
in June of the same year. At this time Sag Har
bor had but one hundred and fifty houses with
only seven hundred and fifty inhabitants.
The next paper in Sag Barbor was the "Cor
rector," established August 3, 1822, by Benry
W. Bunt, who died in the spring of 1857, and
in June, 1859, it was sold to Alexander A. Bunt
and Brinley D. Sleight. The former afterwards
removed to Scoharie, and died there. Bon.
Brinley D. Sleight has continued it ever since,
and it is now the oldest paper in Suffolk County.
The next newspaper was the "Republican
Watchman," edited by Samuel Phillips. The first
number was issued September 16, 1826. In 1844
it was moved to Greenport. In 11852 the manage
ment was transferred to S. Wells Phillips, a son of
the former editor. The paper was sold to Bon.
Henry A. Reeves, December 4, 1858. Since then
it has been the recognized organ- of the Demo
cratic party. Mr. Reeves was elected to Congress
in 1869. In the opinion of the writer, he is the
hardest working man in Suffolk county. For
many years he has been supervisor of South-
old and held other positions of honor and trust
too numerous to mention. He is the second oldest
editor in the county, Bon. B. D. Sleight being
the first.
The next paper in Sag Harbor was the "Sag
Harbor Express," which was established by John
H. Hunt, July 14, 1859, and he still continues
the editor and proprietor. It is the leading Re
publican paper, and is a well recognized power

in the politics of that party. The only reason
that Mr. Hunt has never held high political office,
is that he never had any desire to do so. It is
one of the very few local papers every word of
which is printed in the office, very much to the
advantage of its readers. The books and pamph
lets printed here are models of neatness. Mr.
Bunt is the third oldest editor in the county.
Among the papers of Benjamin Thompson,
the author of the 'History of Long Island," is
Volume I, <No. 1, of the "Nautilus," August,
1845, a monthly of sixteen small pages, printed
at Sag Harbor, by Charles Volney Bunt, who
was a son of Colonel Barry Bunt and worked in
the office with him. Only a few numbers of this
little magazine were printed.
The first newspaper in the county, printed
outside of Sag Barbor, was the "American
Eagle," which was moved from Sag Barbor to
Buntington by Samuel Seabury in 1821. In
May, 1825, the name was changed to the "Long
Island Journal of Philosophy and Cabinet of
Variety," and was published by Samuel Fleet.
The high sounding name was changed to the
"Portico" in 1827, and this was discontinued in
1829. The "Long Islander" was started in 1838
by Walt Whitman, a native of West Bills, in
Buntington, and who in later years became fa
mous as a poet. It was afterwards owned in suc
cession by Edward O. Cro-well, B. R. Piatt, Fran
cis A. Teal and George B. Shepard. At a later
date it was transferred to- a company, and was
then managed and edited by Charles E. Shepard.
In 1897 the majority of the stock was purchased
by Biram A. Baylis, who was born in Bunting
ton, February 3, 1870.
The "Suffolk Democrat" was established in
Buntington in 1847 by Edward Strayhan, a
young man of great ability, who died soon after.
After this it was conducted by David C. Brush
and Stephen C. Rogers. In 1859 it was pur
chased by Bon. John R. Reid and moved to
Babylon, the first number being printed April 8th.
During the editorship of Judge Reid the paper
obtained a large circulation, and, next to the "Re
publican Watchman," was the leading Demo
cratic paper. Afterwards it was published for

508

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

about a year by Charles, Jayne, and in 1865 it
was again moved to Huntington and published by
Charles R. Street until 1871. Since that time it
has been published in succession by J. H. Wool-
hiser, Jesse L. Smith and Frank T. Downs. When
moved to Buntington the name was changed to
"Suffolk Bulletin." The present editor is Mr.
W. B. Trainer.
The "Suffolk Times" was -established in
Greenport by John J. Riddell in 1856. In 1862 it
was purchased by Cordello D. Elmer, who was
afterward school commissioner, and he resold
it in 1865 to Mr. Riddell, who, in the following
year, sold it to Buel Davis, and in 1870 it was
sold to William R. Duvall, who transferred it to
Lucius C. Youngs. In 1875 it became the prop
erty of Llewellyn F. Terry, who still conducts it
with great ability. In politics it is strongly Re
publican, and a good offset to its neighbor, the
"Republican Watchman." The editor has for
many years held the office of justice of the peace
and other town offices.
The "Suffolk Gazette" was established at Riv
erhead, by John Hancock, in August, 1849. In
the early part of 185 1 it was moved 'to Sag Har
bor, but returned to Riverhead in December,
1854, and soon after suspended.
The "Suffolk Union" was started by Wash
ington Van Zandt, who was also an eloquent lec
turer. It began in 1859, and in the winter of
1862-3 fh'e office was destroyed- by fire and the
publication ceased. In 1865 Buel G. Davis started
the "Suffolk County Monitor," but it only lasted
for one year.
The "Riverhead Weekly News'' was started
by James B. Slade, March 3, 1868. He continued
the editor until May 26, 1875, when it was sold to
William R. Duvall, who died in 1882. Bis son,
William R. Duvall, then continued the manage
ment until January, 1895, when he was elected
county clerk, and sold a half-interest in the
paper to Mr. B. B. Williamson, who assumed
complete charge. On January 1, 1898, Mr. Will
iamson purchased Mr. Duvall's remaining inter
est, and is now sole proprietor. The paper is
strongly Republican, and is very successful.
The "Riverhead Courier" was founded in

1895 by Mr. Walter R. Burling as an independent
paper. After running it successfully for a year
he sold it to a Mr. Clark, who in turn disposed of
it to some Democratic politicians, by whom it
was made a party organ for about a year. The
editor became involved in a libel suit and was-
compelled to leave. The paper was discontinued,
and the plant was sold, or given, to Hon. Henry
A. Reeves and moved to Greenport.
The first paper in Patchogue was the "Suf
folk Herald," started about 1862 by Washington
Van Zandt. It was afterwards edited by A. D.
Bawkins. In 1864 it was sold to Barrison Doug
lass, who after a few months abandoned it, and
for a while it was edited by A. V. Davis, M. C.
Sweezy and others. Not long after it was sus
pended. In the summer of 1870 the "Long Isl
and Star" was moved here from Port Jefferson,
but after a few issues came to an end. "The
Patchogue Advance" was founded on the ruins
of the "Long Island Star." When the office ma
terials were sold they were purchased by Tim
othy J. Dyson, who started the "Advance," Sep
tember 1, 1 87 1. In September, 1876, it was pur
chased by Thomas S. Beatley, who was the edi
tor for many years. The present editor and pro
prietor is Mr. James A. Canfield, who purchased
the paper about 1896. He is a native of Fre
mont, Ohio, and for a number of years was en
gaged in extensive business in St. Joseph, Mis
souri. The "Advance" is a well equipped paper,
with a large circulation and of great political in
fluence. A newspaper called the "Independent Press"
was started at Setauket by Harvey Markham in
1865. It was a small four-page paper, and was
first printed August 17th. In the course of a year
it was greatly enlarged, and in the spring of
1868 it was moved to Port Jefferson. It was still
further enlarged, and was continued by its
founder until August, 1874, when it was sus
pended. "The Long Island Star" was started in
Setauket by a company in 1866. The editor and
manager was James S. Evans, Jr. Tn 1869 it was
moved to Port Jefferson, and the following- year
to Patchogue, where it came to an end.
A monthly sheet called "Our Own," devoted

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

509

to the temperance cause, was printed' in Port Jef
ferson for a few months in 1870. "The Long-
Island Leader," a nine-column paper, was started
in Port Jefferson by William A. and Winfield S.
Overton, April 12, 1873. In September, 1874,
the office equipments, which were elaborate and
costly, were sold and removed to Panama, South
America, and the paper was suspended. During
the following year it was printed at Babylon, and
in 1876 it was partly printed in Port Jefferson,
but was discontinued.
"The Bay Shore Journal" was established
July 4, 1873. On May 1, 1897, it was purchased
by Mr. Benjamin F. Ashley, a native of Rhode
Island, who conducts it with ability and success.
"The Suffolk County News" was founded in
July, 1884, by Walter R. Burling, and was
sold by him to Mr. A. D. Hawkins in September,
1886. Mr. A. L. Cheney purchased it in Janu
ary, 1888, and continued to manage it until June,
1893, when he sold it to Mr. Charles L. Grubb,
of Pennsylvania, and he in turn disposed of it to
Mr. Francis Boag, a native of Albany, where he
was born in 1867. Be has had a long experience
as editor of various papers, and under his charge
the "News" has an extended circulation. It is
independent in politics.
The "Long Island Traveler" was first estab
lished at Cutchogue, September 1, 187 1, by
Llewellyn F. Terry. Soon afterward it was
moved to Southold and sold to the late M. B.
Van Dusen, and he sold it to E. F. Taber. In
April, 1889, it was purchased by Joseph N. Bal
lock, who has conducted it to the present time.
As an inducement to obtain new subscribers, Mr.
Hallock bought up all the unsold copies of Rich
ard M. Bayles' "Sketches of Suffolk County"
and offered them as premiums. This had the
desired effect, and also circulated a very valuable
book. The paper is an able champion of the Re
publican party, and the editor has been three
times elected to the Legislature, where his abil
ity was fully recognized. A prominent feature of
the "Traveler" is a column devoted to genealogi
cal inquiry."The Port Jefferson Times" was established
by Walter R. Burling, December 14, 1878. In

October, 1879, it was purchased by T. B. Hawk
ins and Lyman Beecher Homan, the latter hav
ing been the editor from the outset. In June,
1 881, Mr. Boman became sole owner, and re
mained the editor until 1898, when he sold it to
Wilson Rich, the present editor.
"The Port Jefferson Echo" was established by
Charles A. Squires, a native of Good Ground,
Long Island, August 6, 1892, and was successful
from the beginning. In 1894 it was indorsed as
an official Republican paper by the Board of
Supervisors, and has ever been loyal to that
party. The paper was enlarged August 6, 1895.
In May, 1899, it was purchased by Mr. A. Jay
Tefft, by whom it was still further enlarged in
November. Mr. Tefft was born in New York,
May 15, 1858, and has had extensive experience
as an editor on various papers. Under his man
agement the "Echo" has become one of the best
paying newspapers in the county.
"The Moriches Messenger" was started in
April, 1890, as an amateur paper, by Mr. Joseph
R. Robbins. A few years later it was purchased
by a Mr. Thomas, who made it a fair local paper.
After about a year's experience he abandoned it,
and Mr. Robbins again came in possession and
still conducts it. In its politics it is Democratic.
"The Northport Journal" was established in
1885 by Mr. Daniel A. Arthur, who is the pres
ent editor. It is the only paper now published in
Northport. It is Democratic in politics.
"The Islip Berald" is one of the many papers
started by Mr. Walter R. Burling, and was estab
lished in 1900. It was shortly after sold to W.
S. Cartwright, who suddenly disappeared about
October, 1901, and the paper was sold to B. H.
Hall and Frank Parker, the present proprietors.
The "Babylon Budget" was founded by Hon.
John R. Reid, March 25, 1876, and while under
his management was noted for the brilliancy of
its editorials. It passed in succession to W. S.
Overton, Jesse S. Pettit, John Lo-wden, Charles
T. Duryea and again to John R. Reid. It was
afterwards very successfully conducted by Ste
phen A. Titus and A. L. Cheney. The paper and
material were sold to Henry Livingston in 1889,
and it was merged in the "South Side Signal."

510

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

"The South Side Signal" was founded by
Henry Livingston, and the first number ap
peared July 7, 1869, and has been owned continu
ously by its founder. It was entirely a new fea
ture in local journalism. It was independent in
politics, and had no editorials. In every village
of importance a local editor was appointed, who
sent a weekly list of passing events, and his own
name was prefixed to it. This very greatly ex
tended its popularity and interest. In all that
makes a local newspaper the "Signal" stands at
the head. Mr. Simon W. Cooper, who was for
many years connected with it, is one for whom
the writer has reason to feel the deepest respect.

WALTER R. BURLING.
The "Sea Side Times" was founded by Walter
R. Burling, December 15, 1881, when Southamp
ton was beginning its rapid growth. November
27, 1895, a half interest was sold to Charles A.
Jagger, who purchased the remaining part Janu
ary 1, 1897, and still remains in control. Mr.
Jagger is a graduate of Princeton College, and
continued his studies in Europe, and is probably
the best educated editor in Suffolk County. Be
is a native of Southampton, and is descended
from one of the ancient families. This was the
first paper on the south side, east of Patchogue.
The "Southampton Press" was established by
George H. Burling (a son of Walter R. Bur
ling), and the first number was issued May 29,

1897. The long experience of the son under the
direction of his father well fitted him for the po
sition, and the paper has a wide circulation.
The "Bridgehampton News" was founded by
Frank W. Burling (another son of Walter R.
Burling), February 2, 1895, and is well con
ducted. The "East Hampton Star" was founded De
cember 25, 1885, by George H. Burling, who at
first met with difficulties and opposition. In
June, 1890, he sold the paper to Mr. E. S. Bough-
ton, who was born in Danbury, Connecticut, July
18, 1863, and learned the trade of a printer in that
city. Since then he has had an extensive experi
ence as an editor and manager. Under his con
trol the "Star" has attained a wide and increasing
circulation. It is one of the few papers which
make a feature of local illustration.
"The Argus" was established in Patchogue,
September 6, 1884, by Mr. L. B. Green, who was
born at Ocean Beach, New Jersey, January 26,
1856. The paper was at first a seven-column
folio, and was printed on an Adams hand press,
the office force consisting of the editor and a
boy. It is now one of the best equipped offices
in the county, and the -paper is a six-column
quarto. It is a supporter of the Democratic
party, and contains all the news of a local and
general interest. The editor is probably more
closely connected with local societies than any
other man. As an example of the enterprise of
the paper and its editor, it may be mentioned that-
it was the only county paper to issue an "extra"
on the arrival of the news of the death of Presi
dent McKinley, Saturday, September 14, 1901.
The "Center-Moriches Record" was founded
by Walter R. Burling, October 30, 1899, and is
"independent but not neutral."
The "Smithtown Star," the first newspaper
in Smithtown, was established December 28,
'1901, by L. Beecher Boman, of Port Jefferson.
The office is at Smithtown Branch.
"The Long Island Berald" was started at
Islip, about 1874, by William L. Cook, a son of
Luther D. Cook, of Sag Barbor. It was the first
paper that contained illustrations, and among
them were pictures of the old Sayre house and

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

511

Pelletreau house in Southampton. It was after
ward purchased by a company, moved to Babylon
and became the "Budget."
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.
In such a sketch as this, it is manifestly im
possible to give an account of every publication
relating to the county, or that has been printed
within its limits, but it is believed that all of the
important works will be mentioned. For much
of the information we are indebted to William
Wallace Tooker, of Sag Harbor, and papers
written by him and printed in the "Sag Harbor
Express." Outside of the newspaper printed by Daniel
Frothingham, the first output of a separate im
print from the Frothingham press was entitled
"Verses occasioned by the loss of the brig Sally,
on Eaton's Neck, January 16, 1791, together with
some reflections said to have been made by Capt.
Keeler during the storm." This was probably a
broadside and was advertised in No. 14 of the
"Herald," and in several issues following, "to
be bad at the printing office, or -to be had of the
Post-rider, price 3 d. In No. 7, June 12, 1791, it
is stated that a post-rider had been employed to
travel through the Island, with headquarters in
New York City at Benjamin Strong & Co., 37
Water street." I have never seen a copy of this
imprint. The next issue from this press was struck off
the latter part of the year and is entitled "A plain
and serious address to the Master of a Family on
the important subject of Family Religion," by
Phillip Doddridge, D. D., Sagg-Harbour, printed
by David Frothingham, mdccxci, pp. 36. This
was written by Dr. Doddridge at Northampton,
Massachusetts, December, 1740, and is a recom
mendation for family worship, containing also a
morning and evening prayer. It is advertised in
several issues of the "Herald" beginning with
that of December 20, 1791, and it no doubt had a
fair sale at the price of sixpence, as it had been
through several editions elsewhere before being
published by Frothingham. The only copy I

have seen or heard of is in my own possession
and is one of the rarest examples from this press.
It will be noticed by this and other imprints
of the period, that religious books and ser
mons were in more active demand in those days,
especially in the country, than any other class of
reading. Indeed, it was very many years later
that any other description of literature was at
tempted. Fac-similes of the title page and of the text
page immediately following it are given on this
and the next pages. This little volume, with its
badly worn type of ancient cut, is famous as the
first book printed on Long Island.

Plain and Serious

AD DRESS

T O T H E

Mafter of a Famify,

ON THE IMPORT ANT SUBJECT Ol

FA MILT RELIGION,

BY PHILIP DODDRIDGE, D. D.

SAGG-H ARBOOR :
Primed" by DAVIDFROTH1NGHAM. M.DCCXCI.

512

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

A plain and ferious
Addrefs^ &c.

8IR1
ySJr OV taay ezfflj apprehend, that the fiiMy fnferrtrg,
¦*¦ .tions to which pergonal Viiits are JhhU, rhaksitdTP'
fi^vift /or Miniflm to find a convenient Tim?, in jshich
1hcy nuy apply themfelTes faitably and largely to ihaie
committed to their Care ; or at.Ieaft, if they refolve to do
U* will nereffarily.nrake their Progreri throagh large
Congregations very flow, f therefore take this MetTio,j
ofvifiting you while alone, and of addre'ffing yoa on the
very important Safojea of family-Religion. Far yofif
ownS^ke, and. theSakeof thofe dearefl to yoo> Ientreat
yoa to give a csIm attentive Hearing. And I would par*
ticukrly dtiite, that if it bs by any Means prafAicabfc,
as with a little Contrivance and Reflation Ihopeit
nuy,) you .would fecirre- ace Hour on the Morning of
tr.e iord's-Day after you receive it, not merely to run
over this Letter ina curfory Manner, but deliberate!/
to weigh and cenfidet it,.and to come to fome,D9tetrn*rna.^ tion,
The next book printed by Frothingham bears
the following title: The
Rights of Animals
An
Oration
Delivered at the
Commencement
of Providence College
September 7th 1791.
By Herman Daggett.
Candidate for the Master's Degree
"A merciful man, regardeth
the life of his beast." Solomon.
Sagg Harbor. Printed by
David Frothingham
M D C C N C I I.

Probably no text of Scripture has been so
universally misquoted as the one on this title
page. This work is advertised in the "Herald"
for February, 1792, price 6d, 14 pp., and was
issued January 19, 1792. Herman Daggett was
ordained as minister at Southampton, April 12,
1792, where he was previously located as a licen
tiate, and it was probably from this fact that
Frothingham published this thesis. Providence
College is now Brown University. It has been
stated by several bibliophiles that this was the
first book published on Long Island, but this is a
mistake, as it was antedated, as has been noticed,
by the two previous titles,. A bound copy of this
pamphlet lately sold in New York City at auction
for a good price, which shows its rarity.
An advertisement in the "Herald" of April
12 and 19, 1792, and perhaps in other issues:
"Proposals for printing (at the printing office
Sagg-Harbour) on elegant large type and good
paper. 'The Poor Man's Belp and Young Man's
Guide,' by William Bartlett, M. A. As soon as
400 subscribers are obtained the work would be
put to press." Then follows a collation of the
contents of the book. I cannot recall ever seeing
a copy of this work, or hearing any mention of
it. It may not have been printed, owing to lack
of subscribers, as four hundred advance subscrip
tions were a good many for that day, besides the
work was quite an undertaking for Frothingham.
This is however simply negative evidence, as it
may have been published and the copies destroyed
or overlooked. The next issue of an imprint from his press
was probably "The Life of Joseph, the son of
Israel. In eight books, chiefly designed to allure
young minds to a love of the sacred Scriptures."
By John Macgowan, a new edition; (D. F.) in a
fancy script monogram; a frontispiece engrav
ing of Joseph and his brethren. Sagg Barbor,
printed and sold by David Frothingham. No
date, but undoubtedly 1792, pp. 131. Generally
well preserved on account of being bound in
sheep. I have seen five or six copies of this work,
and it is the most common of the Frothingham
imprints. In the copy of the "Berald" for May
3d, 1792, he advertises "Food for the Mind. The

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

51a

printer has received a considerable assortment
of books which he is determined to sell at the
New York price." Heading the list of books is
"The Life of Joseph, Son of Israel." From this
I believe that he did not print this book, but
bought them in sheets, bound them up, and in
serted the title page. Thfe seems to be proven
also by the title page, which is of different paper
and slightly smaller than the other pages, and is
pasted in.
The next issue appeared a year later, on "The
Evil' of Lying; a Sermon delivered at Bridge
hampton, January 13th, 1793, by Aaron Wool-
worth, M. A., pastor of the church at that place."
Sagg-Harbor, printed by David Frothingham,
mdccxcii, pp. 15. Rev. Aaron Wool worth mar
ried Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. Samuel Buel,
which accounts for the next issue from this press.
This was "The Life of Christ as Lord and
Redeemer; Lasting as Eternity, the Believers'
Consolation," and worthy of the greatest atten
tion, illustrated in a sermon preached at Bridge
hampton on the Lord's Day, September 14, 1794',
immediately after the funeral of Samuel Buell
Woolworth, who died September 13, 1794, in the
third year of his age, by Samuel Buel, D. D.,
pastor of the Church of Christ in East-Bampton ;
Sagg-Barbour, printed by David Frothingham,
pp. 42. There is a contemporaneous portrait of
Dr. Buel in possession of Jonathan Gardiner,
Esq., at East-Hampton. Several engravings have
been made from this portrait.
The next imprint was the "Rules and regula
tions for the government of the academy in East-
Hampton, Sagg-Harbour, printed by David
Frothingham, MDCCXCIV, pp. 12."
This was followed in the next year by "a
Sermon on Covetousness," delivered at Southold,
Long Island, February 1, 1795, by Jonathan Bird,
A. M. Sagg-Barbour, printed by David Froth
ingham, MDCCXCV, pp. 15.
The next year appeared "An Attempt to De
lineate the Character and Services of the Faith
ful Servant of Christ," in a sermon preached at
the funeral of the Rev. Noah Wetmore, A. M.,
late minister at Brookhaven, March 10, 1796, by
William Schenck, A. B. and M. V. D., at Bunt
ington, Long Island (quotation from St. Paul),
33

published at the request and by the widow and
children of the deceased. Sag Harbor, printed
by David Frothingham, (no date).
Frothingham's most ambitious effort appeared
this year, which was "The Long Island Maga
zine," or "Universal Repository," for June, 1796,
(table of contents). Sag Harbor, printed by-
David Frothingham, MDCCXCVI, pp. 56. It
contains an "Address to the Public ; twenty-eight
articles on various subjects; ten poetical essays,
news, foreign and domestic, remarkable occur
rences, etc., etc. This magazine was undoubtedly
made up in the office, and perhaps from selections
taken from the "Herald." The type, being identi
cal with that used on the paper, is of a poor qual
ity and somewhat worn. I doubt if any other
numbers were issued, and, so far as I am aware,
but one copy of this magazine is in existence.
The copy from which this description and title
was taken is in the library of Frederic H. Betts,
Esq., of New York City and Southampton, Long-
Island, to whom I am indebted for the opportunity
of describing it. Mr. Betts. found it about twenty
years since in the attic of a farmhouse near South
ampton. It was then stitched to a copy of the
"Massachusetts Magazine" for July, 1796, but
there is no similarity between the two magazines,
typographically or otherwise.
After the newspaper founded by Frothing
ham was sold to Alden Spooner, in 1809, he also
published a few works ; whether any were printed
by Selleck Osborn, who owned the paper from
1802 to '1804, is not known. The first book of
which we 'have any knowledge, printed by Alden
Spooner, was "The Voice of Gratitude — a dis
course delivered on the 22d of November, 1804,
being the anniversary thanksgiving in the Pres
byterian church at Southampton, Long Island,"
by David S. Bogart, A. M., Sag Barbor, printed
by Alden Spooner, 1805, pp. 24. This was fol
lowed by "The Duty of Parents and Children,"
a sermon addressed to the school in Smithtown,
December 26, 1803, by Luther Gleason, pastor of
the church in that place. "Train up a child in
the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not depart from it." — Solomon; pp. 15, Sag Baf-
bor, New York, printed by Alden Spooner, 1805.
Rev. Lyman Beecher, father of the celebrated

514

HISTORY" OF LONG ISLAND.

Henry Ward Beecher, is responsible for the next
issue, which was "A Sermon Containing a Gen
eral History of the Town of East-Hampton, (L.
I.), from its First Settlement to the Present
Time, Delivered at East-Hampton, Jan. I, 1806,
by Lyman Beecher, pastor of the Church in that
place," pp. 40. Sag Harbor, printed by Alden
Spooner, 1806.
In the same year appeared "A Dialogue Ex
hibiting some of the Principal and Practical
Consequences of Modern Infidelity," pp. 24. Sag
Harbor, printed by Alden Spooner, 1806. Ac
cording to a note this dialogue was prepared for
an exhibition at the Clinton Academy, East
Hampton, by R. S. Storrs, the teacher. It
caused quite a furor at East Hampton, as there
was an Atheistic Club there and they would not
permit this dialogue to be performed, so it was
printed and had a wider circulation.
Another sermon by Beecher was printed this
year, "A Sermon Occasioned by the Lamented
Death of Mrs. Frances M. Sands, of New Shore-
ham, formerly an inhabitant of East Bampton
(L. I.), composed and now made public at the
request of her afflicted parents and delivered at
East-Hampton, October 12, 1806," pp. 20. Sag
Harbor, printed by Alden Spooner, 1806.
Another little work this year was "An Affect
ing Bistory of the Captivity and Sufferings of
Mrs. Velnet, an Italian lady, who was seven
years a slave in Tripoli ; three of which she was
confined in a dungeon loaded with irons ; at times
put to the most cruel tortures ever invented by
men." Written by herself, .second American
edition. Sag Barbor, New York, printed by
Alden Spooner, 1806. This is advertised in the
"Gazette" of 1810 among a list of books for sale.
The next was probably a job print and copies
must be sought for at Setauket, Long Island.
This was "Books contained in the Franklinean
library of Setauket, instituted June 7, 1806."
Sag Barbor (N. Y.), printed by Alden Spooner,
1807, pp. 12.
A similar theme to this was "Constitution, of
the Literary Society of Sag-Barbor, adopted
February 9, 1807." Sag Barbor, printed by Al
den Spooner, 1807.

The next seems to have been evolved from
the celebrated duel between Col. Alex. Bamilton
and Aaron Burr, occurring two years previous.
"The remedy for dueling, a sermon delivered be
fore the Presbytery of Long Island, at the open
ing of their session at Aquebogue, April 16, 1806,
by Lyman Beecher, pastor of the church in East-
Bampton,- published by request of the Presby
ter}'." Sag Barbor, printed by Alden Spooner,
1808, pp. 44.
This was followed in the next year by "A
Faithful Narrative of the Remarkable Revival of
Religion in the congregation of East-Bampton,
on Long Island, in the year of our Lord 1764;
with some reflections by Samuel Buell, D. D., late
minister of the Gospel at that place : to which are
added sketches of the author's life memoirs of
his daughter, Mrs. Conkling, and his son, Sam
uel Buell, which were annexed to the sermon.
published on their death, and also an account of
the revival of religion in Bridge-Bampton and
East-Bampton, in the year 1800." Sag Barbor,
printed by Alden Spooner, 1804, pp. 141, en
graved portrait of Rev. Samuel Buell, D. D.
This work was edited by his son-in-law, Rev.
Aaron Woolworth, D. D. This is the most com
mon of the Spooner imprints and it had a large
circulation and a large edition.
This was followed by a story of a church
row. "An Impartial Narrative of the trial of
Mr. Luther Gleason before the Congregational
Convention of Long Island, holden at Old
Man's, Brookhaven, April 13, [803 ; to which is
prefixed a brief account of said Luther Gleason,
from the time of his coming into the pulpit of
the church, by the prosecutor.'' Sag Barbor,
printed by Alden Spooner, 1808, pp. 100.
Same year appeared "Sketches of the Life of
Joseph Mountain, a negro, who was executed on
the 20th of October, 1790," printed for the pur
chasers. Sag Barbor, printed by Alden Spooner,
1808. Also "Parker's American Citizens' Sure Guide
or Ready Reckoner," etc., by Solomon Parker.
Sag Barbor, printed by Alden Spooner for the
author, 1808, 287 pp.
Tbe next is of interest in a political way, and

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

515

had, no doubt, a wide circulation. This was "A
letter from the Hon. John Quincy Adams, a
member of the -Senate of the United States from
the state of Massachusetts, on the present state of
our National affairs, with remarks on Mr. Pick
ering's letter to the Governor of Massachusetts."
Sag Barbor, printed by Alden Spooner, 1808,
PP- 35-
A rare and interesting example appeared the
following year, which was "A collection of
hymns, original and select. For the use of small
assemblies and private Christians by Nathaniel
S. Prime, "I will sing with the spirit, and I will
sing with the understanding, also." Sag Barbor,
printed by Alden Spooner, 1809. This little
book contains 112 hymns, including Rev. Sam
son Occum's "Awaked by Sinai's awful sound,"
and are chiefly of a revival character. The first
line of first hymn is "To-day if ye will hear his
voice," and the last hymn began "The Lord my
pasture shall prepare." It contains, including
the doxologies, note to the reader and index,
144 pages and is bound in sheep. The note
states, No selection was made from Dr. Watt's
psalms and hymns, as they were so universally
disposed. This little volume was probably the
base .of the village hymn by Nettleton, which
was of similar character.
The Rev. Nathaniel S. Prime, then a licenti
ate, commenced to preach in Sag Barbor, Oc
tober 26, 1806, and continued here until the au
tumn of 1809. The peculiar circumstances of
the congregation at that time were assigned as
the reason for not making a permanent settle
ment for the ministry, and Mr. Prime, though
afterward ordained by the Presbytery, was not
settled here. Mr. Prime and Mr. Spooner mar
ried sisters, daughters of Major John Jerniain,
hence were connected by marriage ties.
Another was : "An inquiry into the cause
of the prosperity of the Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States;" to which is an
nexed an appendix containing a statement of the
peculiar doctrines of the Calvanists and Method
ists, contrasted by James Snowden. Sag Bar
bor, printed by Alden Spooner, 1809, 120
PP- 36.

Early in the next year followed "The con
trast, or the death bed of a Free Thinker and
the death bed of a Christian, exemplified in the
last hours of the Bon. Francis Newport and the
Rev. Samuel Finley, D. D.," Sag Barbor,
printed by Alden Spooner, 1810, pp. 32. This
imprint is also well advertised in Volume 7 of
"The Gazette," beginning with the number for
April 28, 1810.
Politics, interspersed with religion, seems to
be the order, as the foregoing was followed by
"An address of the Republican Committee of
Nomination, To the Electors of the County of
Suffolk, on the affairs of the general govern
ment and objects of importance connected with
the ensuing election." Cut of a spread eagle.
Sag Barbor, printed by Alden Spooner, pp. 16.
Another religious work for that year was
"An entertaining controversy between Rev.
Samuel Haynes, minister of a Congregational
church in Rutland (Vt.) and the Rev. Hosea
Bellows, preacher of the Dogma of Universal
Salvation." Sag Harbor, printed by Alden
Spooner, 1810. This imprint is advertised in
several numbers of the "Gazette" for that year,
price i6d.
The same year he issued "An Abridgement
of L. Murray's Grammar, with an appendix
containing an exemplification of the parts of
speech and exercises in syntax, designed for the
younger classes of learners, by Lindley Murray."
Sag Harbor, printed by Alden Spooner, 1810,
pp. 107. This little work is quite rare, owing to
the fact they were mostly used up by wear in the
schools. Title from copy in my possession. It is
advertised in many copies of the "Gazette" for
that year.
This is the last title of which I have any
knowledge from the Spooner press.
The paper was discontinued in 181 1, and no
printing was done in Sag Harbor until 1816,
when Samuel A. Seabury started the "Suffolk
County Recorder."
I have been told that Seabury moved to
Sagg, where he ran the press for a time in job
printing. Whether it was while the "Eagle"
was on the press or not, I have been unable to

516

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

learn, as they all bear the Sag Barbor imprint.
The separate imprints from the Seabury press
do not seem to be numerous, and probably were
not. I have only three to note.
The first is a "Prayer for ministers, a Chris-
ian duty, a sermon delivered October 23, 1816,
at the ordination of the Rev. Henry Fuller, as
the pastor of the united congregations of Smith-
town and Fresh Ponds, by Aaron Woolworth,
D. D., pastor of the church in Bridge-Hampton,
Published by request." Sag Barbor, printed by
Samuel A. Seabury, 1817, pp. 18. It is adver
tised also in tbe "Recorder," pric,e i6d.
The next title was "A sermon occasioned by
the death of Miss Mary Bill, who died of a
consumption January 19, 181 7, aged 26 years,
written and published by the request of her af
flicted friends and delivered January 26, 18 17,
by John D. Gardiner, pastor of the Presbyterian
'Church in this place," price 15 cents. Sag Bar
bor, printed by Samuel A. Seabury, 1817. This
is also advertised in many numbers of the "Re
corder." The third was two years later from the
"American Eagle" press. "Rules and orders of
the Court of Common Pleas of Suffolk County,
New York. Printed by Samuel A. Seabury,
1819." This was probably a job contract, and
consequently did not have general circulation.
This closes the history of the Sag Barbor
press for the first thirty years of its existence.
There were many sermons printed by Long Isl
and minsters, upon Long Island subjects, long
before the time when Frothingham began print
ing in Sag Barbor, but all these were printed in
New England or in New York City. We give
the titles of such as we have been able to dis
cover. Rev. Samuel Buel, D. D., of East Hampton,
printed the following sermons :
"Sermon preached at the ordination of Rev.
Benjamin Talmadge of Brookhaven," October
23, 1754. A pamphlet of 62 pages;
"A sermon on the death of Mrs. Esther
Darbie," September 24, 1757; P. 34;
"A sermon on the death of Mrs. Catherine
Davis," April 11, 1759. P. 38;

"A sermon preached at the ordination of
Sampson Occum, at East Hampton, April 29,
I759i" P- 38- Occum was the famous Indian
preacher whose hymn "Awaked by Sinai's
Awful Sound," is well known ;
"Account of the late success of the Gospel
in the Province of New York, contained in
letters from Messrs. Buel, Hazzard and
Prime," 1765, P. 16. These three men were
famous country ministers at that time.
"A letter to Rev. Mr. Barber of Groton,"
March 19, 1764, P. 8 ;
"Sermon on the death of Rev. Charles Jeff
rey Smith," August 10, 1770, P. 42. He was
one of the "Tangier Smith" family and was
killed while hunting, supposedly by the acci
dental discharge of his gun, but, many years
after, a negro in the South, who was about to
be executed for a crime, confessed that he was
not only guilty, but that he had also killed a
minister named Smith, at Brookhaven, Long
Island ;
"A New Year's Sermon, preached at East
Bampton, with a poem on Youths' Triumph,"
1775- P. 54;
"Sermon on the death of Mrs. Jerusha
Conkling," East Bampton, February 29, 1782.
Mrs. Conkling was a daughter of Mr. Buel.
"Sermon on the death of his only son, Sam
uel Buel," 1787. P. 52 ;
"Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Aaron
Woolworth, Bridge Bampton," August 30,
1787. P. 46;
"Balf Century Sermon," preached at East
Bampton, 1792. P. 40;
"Sermon at ordination of Rev. Joseph Baz-
zard, Southold," 1797. P. 30;
There is also in existence a manuscript cor
respondence between Dr. Buel and Governor
William Tryon, 1776-8, concerning the condi
tion of things in East Bampton during the Brit
ish occupation. It contains, however, very few
facts of interest. It is in the New York State
library. The following titles are from various;
sources :
"Letter on Mr. Fletcher's Doctrine," bv Rev.
Piatt Buffett, of Smithtown, 1794. P. 35'. Mr.
Buffett was an uncle of late Judge Buffett, ancf
preached at Stanwick, Connecticut.
"Thomas Chalkley's Journal," 1741. Be was.
a Quaker preacher on Long Island, and his-
journal has much that is of interest.

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY

517

"Sermon on the death of Rev. Samuel Buel,
D. D.," by Rev. Berman Daggett, July 22, 1798.
P. 23. Rev. Mr. Daggett was minister at South
ampton and other places on Long Island. Be
died at Cornwall, Connecticut.
"American Reader, for the use of Schools,"
by Rev. Herman Daggett. This is one of the
earliest of American "School Readers."
"Travels in New England and Long Island,
by Rev. Timothy Dwight, D. D." These travels
were made in 1804-5, and being made with
horses and carriage, he had abundant time to
notice the various villages through which he
passed, and his remarks, as being made by a
learned man, aud careful observer, are of great
value and contain much valuable information
concerning Long Island at that time. They
were printed in four volumes, 181 1.
"Sermon at the Installation of Rev. Samuel
Buel at East Hampton," September 16, 1746, by
Rev. Jonathan Edwards, D. D., 16 pages.
"Religious Notions of the Montauk Indian, by
Rev. Sampson Occum." This is printed in the
Massachusetts Historical Society's collection. It
is doubtless the first work written about In
dians by an Indian.
"Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Daniel
Ball, Sag Barbor," September 21, 1797, by Rev.
Walter King. P. 37.
"Sermon of the ordination of Rev. Zacharich
Greene, at Setauket," June 28, 1787, by Rev.
Amzi Lewis. Rev. Mr. Greene was the father-
in-law of Benjamin F. Thompson, author of
"Bistory of Long Island. "A fine portrait of Mr.
Greene is in possession of the family of Mr.
Thompson. In Volume I, Transactions of New York
Agricultural Society, 1795, is a paper "On Man
ures," by Hon. Ezra L'Hommedieu, of South-
old. This paper did much to advance the cause
of agriculture on Long Island.
"Sermon on the death of Rev. Noah Wet
more, of Setauket," September 13, 1797.
"Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Walter
Wilmot at Jamaica," 1738, by Rev. Ebenezer
Pemperton. Mr. Wilmot was a native of
Bridge Hampton, Long Island. He died at
Jamaica, at an early age.
"Sermon on the death of Rev. Aaron Wool-
worth, D. D.," of Bridge Hampton," by Rev.
Ebenezer Phillips. This bears no date, but Dr.
Woodworth died in 182 1.
"Sermon on death cf Mrs. Martha Horton,
of Southold," December 18, 1792, by Rev. Elam
Potter. "Sermon at ordination of Rev. Abner Brush,

Brookhaven," July 15, 1758, by Rev. Ebenezer
Youngs Prime. P. 60.
"Sermon at ordination of Jonas Barber and
John Darbie at Oyster Ponds," November 10,
1757, by Rev. Ebenezer Prime.
"Sermon to Provincial Soldiers at Huntting
ton," May 7. 1759, by Rev. Ebenezer Prime.
Sermon "On Government of God Desirable,"
Mat. vi, 10, 1809, by Rev. Lyman Beecher.
Rev. David S. Bogart, of Southampton,
preached "a Thanksgiving Sermon" November
22, 1804, which was printed. Also, at a later
date, "Sermon on the death of Rev. Thomas
DeWitt, D. D., New York, August 4, 1839. Bis
daughter, Elizabeth Bogart, published a volume
of "Fugitive Poems," 1866. P. 307, 12 mo.
Among them was a "Poem on Southampton."
Rev. Joshua Bart, who was pastor at Hunt
ington and Southampton and other places,
preached "A Fast. Sermon at Hunttington," on
January 12, 1813. Also "a Sermon at Huntting
ton," July 4, 1813. Much more valuable is his
manuscript list of marriages performed by him
during his pastorates, which is in the possession
of one of his descendants. A complete copy is
in possession of Orville B. Ackerley, late clerk
of Suffolk county.
In 1815 was' published the "Life and Ad
ventures of Joshua Penney," of Southold. This
is a very interesting memoir of experience on
the east end of Long Island during the war of
1812. "Sermon on Intemperance/' by Rev. Na
thaniel S. Prime, at Aquebogue, November 5,
1811. Among the books printed in the early part of
the late century was "Memoirs of Stephen Bur
roughs, containing incidents never Before Pub
lished.' Printed in New York (no date). This
curious book is the work of a rascal, telling his
own side of the story. Be was of New England
parentage and tbe son of a minister, but wandered
very far from parental teachings. About 1794
he was schoolmaster in Bridgehampton, having
been obliged to leave 'New England on account
of numerous escapades. While in Bridgehamp
ton he soon incurred the suspicion and dislike of
Rev. Aaron Woolworth and Deacon David Hed
ges, the two leading men of the community. Of
the latter he gives an amusing and unfavorable
account. The truth is, that they saw through the
man, and dreaded his influence among the

518

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

younger people of the place. Among other
things, he was instrumental in introducing and
circulating books of an irreligious 'tendency.
Among them was Volney's "Meditations on the
Ruins of Empires," better known as "Volney's
Ruins." This was one of the most brilliant books
ever written by a Frenchman. It was; translated
into English, by Joel Barlow, and the translation
was more brilliant even than the original. It was
one of the many books written at the time to
supplant the Bible, and was expected to be an
authority when the Scriptures had been relegated
to the realm of "old wives' fables." But time
tries all things. To-day, "Volney's Ruins" is
simply a literary curiosity of a past age,, and
abounds in theories that have long since been ex
ploded, and filled with reasoning that has long
been proved fallacious. So far from being au
thority, a scholar would as soon think of quoting
"Jack the Giant Killer," and it would be a much
easier task to find two hundred bibles in Bridge
hampton, than it would be to find two copies of
"Volney's Ruins." Burroughs afterward went to
Canada, but what became of him is not known.
Up to 1824, almost all the books printed on
Long Island were sermons and small pamphlets,
but in that year appeared a work that has immor
talized the name of its author.
Silas Wood was a descendant of Jonas Wood,
who came from Halifax, England, and was
among the first residents of Hempstead, in 1644,
Be removed to Southampton about 1649, and
from thence to Buntington, about 1655. Be was
born at West Bills, Buntington, September 14,
1769. At the early age of sixteen he entered
Princeton College and graduated with high hon
ors. In 1795 he was elected member of the As
sembly and served four years. Be afterward be
came the owner of a large tract of land at Johns
town, New York, and spent several years in es
tablishing a settlement. In 1802 he married
Catharine Buyck, a descendant of one of the
Dutch families on the Mohawk river. She died
suddenly while they were on a journey through
the wilderness, now Montgomery county, New
York. After this he studied law, and was ad
mitted to the practice, February 15, 1810, and

was later master in chancery. In November,
1817, he was elected member of Congress and
held that position for ten years. From 1818 to
1821 he was District Attorney for Suffolk county,
and as a lawyer he was the recognized leader of
the Suffolk County Bar. Bis "Sketch of the
Early Settlements of Long Island," which has
made his name famous, was the work of his
leisure time for many years. His journeys to the
various towns in pursuit of information were
made in a plain box wagon as plain as himself.
In this humble vehicle he traveled through the
Island, and he visited the clerk's offices of every
town and county. The first edition of this
"sketch" was printed in 1824, and was a small
volume of 66 pages. A second edition contain
ing 112 pages was published in 1826. A third
edition of 183 pages appeared in 1828. This was
printed for the sole purpose of doing honor to the
memory of General Nathaniel Woodhull. The
first edition of this work was limited to 250 cop
ies, while of the second and third only 100 copies
were printed. Even of these small editions quite
a number remained unsold, and were found in

SILAS WOOD.
later years. A fine reprint of this work, with a
brilliantly written life of the author, by his friend
and admirer, Alden J. Spooner, was issued in
1865. This contained photographic views of the

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

519

birthplace of Silas Wood and his residence in
Huntington village, and a portrait. While a
member of Congress he wrote "A Sketch of the
Geography of the Town of Huntington." Of
this work only a limited edition was printed, and
a large portion of that was destroyed by fire.
Copies of the original pamphlet are exceedingly-
rare, and a copy was sold in late years for fifty
dollars. This work was reprinted, with a bio
graphical sketch and historical notes by William
S. Pelletreau, in 1898. It was published by
Francis P. Harper, New York, to whom we are
indebted for the use of the portrait here given.
In the spring of 1830 Silas Wood withdrew
entirely from the world of politics and business,
and his last days were spent in religious contem
plation. In 1829 he married Elizabeth, daughter
of Josiah Smith, of Huntington, but left no de
scendants to inherit his fortune and his fame. He
died in peace with God and man, March 2, 1847,
and his remains were buried in the Old Hill bury
ing ground in Huntington, and one of the plain
est of plain tombstones marks his resting place.
Benjamin Franklin Thompson, whose name
is inseparably connected with the history of Long
Island, was the eldest son of Dr. Samuel Thomp
son, of Setauket, where he was born May 15,
1784. He entered Yale College, but did not gradu
ate. He afterward studied medicine with Dr.
Ebenezer Sage, of Sag Barbor, and practiced his
profession for ten years. . Be then studied law,
and in 1824 established an office at Hempstead
and obtained a wide practice. From 1826 to 1833
he was district attorney for Queens county.
Previous to this, from 1812 to 1817, he was mem
ber of the legislature. He pursued with great
enthusiasm the work of collecting information
concerning the history of the island, the results
of which appeared in his 'History of Long Isl
and," which made his name famous. This ap
peared in a single volume of 536 pages, in 1839.
Continuing his researches, a second edition in
two volumes appeared in 1843. These volumes
are so well known that it is needless to give a
detailed description. At the time of his death he
had a third edition ready for the press. This edi
tion was made by taking two copies of the second

edition, cutting each leaf separate, and pasting
each page in the center of a large sheet of paper,
and writing his additional history on the top,
bottom and sides. Bis life of usefulness was
cut short by sudden death. The following notice
appeared in the "Monthly Register," for June,
1849: Died — March 21, 1849, at Brooklyn, L. I.,
Benjamin F. Thompson, Esqr., author of the
"History of Long Island," and distinguished for
his acquaintance with local and family history.
He had just risen from the tea table and taken
his seat on a sofa, feeling fatigued with a long
walk, when he complained of not feeling well,
and in fifteen minutes was a corpse. He was
in his sixty-fifth year.
Mr. Thompson married Mary B., daughter of
Rev. Zachariah Greene. Their children were
Benry R., Mary I., Barriet S. and Edward Z.
His mortal remains rest in one of the cemeteries
in Hempstead. The next important work was "A Bistory of
Long Island from its First Settlement by Euro
peans, to the Year 1845," by Rev. Nathaniel S.
Prime. This work was written with especial
reference to its ecclesiastical history, and con
tains much information not to be found else
where. Like Thompson's "Bistory," it is too
well known to require description.
In 1837 was published a "Church Manual of
the Congregational Church at Wading River,"
containing a very interesting account of the his
tory of the church, with list of members.
In 1839 was printed "A Brief Bistory of the
Strict Congregational Convention of Long Isl
and from its organization in 1791 to the present
time." This is exceedingly valuable, and con
tains among other things an extended biograph
ical sketch of Rev. Paul Cuffee, who was the last
native preacher to the Long Island Indians. Be
was an Indian of the Shinnecock tribe, but was
born in Brookhaven, March 4, 1757. His mater
nal grandfather was Peter John, an Indian
preacher, who founded a church at Poosepatuck,
in 1812. Other titles are to be named. "Historical

520

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Collections of New York," by J. W. Barber,
is a well known illustrated work, and was
printed in 1841. "Legends of Montauk," a
poem, by J. A. Ayres, was a small octavo volume
of 127 pages, published in 1849. Micah Haw
kins, of Brookhaven, composed "Music Songs
and Plays" about 1825, but we have seen no
copies. The "Journal of Elias Hicks," the fam
ous Quaker preacher, is a part of the bibliography
of Suffolk county, as he visited almost every part
of it. Published in 1832, The "Journal of Aza-
riah Borton," who was a missionary to the Long
Island Indians, was printed in 1742-4. William
Jagger, of Riverhead, published in 1836 "An
Address to the People of Suffolk County on
National Policy," and in 1838, "An Address to
People of ail Parties." In 1848 a project was
started for constructing a canal from Coney Isl
and to Bridge Bampton, and a "Report" of 22
pages was printed. In 1844 Luther R. Marsh, a
noted lawyer of New York, published a pamphlet
of 33 pages, on "General Nathaniel Woodhull
and his Monuments." This was illustrated by
plates of monuments proposed but never erected.
In 1849 Benry Onderdonk, Jr., of Jamaica, a
name which should be held in everlasting remem
brance, published his "Revolutionary Incidents
of Suffolk and Queens Counties." Be placed a
copy in every school district library in the county,
but it is needless to say that most of them have
been "lost, strayed or stolen." Its value is well
known to every student of Long Island Bistory.
In 1840 he published his "Letters to J. Fenimore
Cooper on the capture and death of General Na
thaniel Woodhull." In 1866 appeared his work
"Suffolk and Kings County in Olden Times."
In 1838 an article on East Bampton, written
by the famous John Boward Payne, appeared in
the "Democratic Review." Rev. F. W. Shelton
delivered two lectures before the Buntington
Literary Association, which were printed in 1850.
Be was the author of a romance, "Solander and
the Dragon," a legend of the Bartz prison, in
Germany. Mr. John Ingram, the first teacher of
Southampton Academy, delivered a lecture on
"Geography," which was printed in 1834. Bon.
Egbert T. Smith delivered a speech in Assembly

on "Union Resolutions," printed in 1851. "A
Common School Arithmetic" was printed in
Riverhead in 1850. So far as we know that was
the first school book printed in the county. The
"M-emoir of Col. Benjamin Talmadge," written
by himself, was published in 1858. It contains a
very spirited likeness drawn by Trumbull. "Ser
mon on the Death of Rev. John Gile, of Setau
ket," was printed in 1850 by Rev. James C. Ed
wards, of Smithtown. Be started to sail a boat
from Smithtown harbor to Stony Brook and was
drowned. It is said that his body was never
found. "Sermon at ordination of Rev. Benry
Fuller," preached at Smithtown, by Rev. Aaron
Woolworth, October 21, 1816. Among the writ
ings of Bon. Silas Wood which should have been
mentioned above, was a pamphlet on "The
Claims of Buntington to the Islands in the South
Bay," 1816.
No sketch of this nature would be complete
without a notice of the book well known as
"Griffin's Journal." This book was written by
Augustus Griffin, of Orient, when he had reached
a very advanced age. So far as he relates his
own experience and knowledge, it is of the great
est value, but he wanders very far from facts
when he relates tradition and what he heard from
"old folks. It was published in 1856.
Rev. Epher Whitaker, of Southold, published
in 1865 a volume of essays and sermons under
the name of "New Fruits from an Old Field."
Bis "Bistory of Southold and its Church, during
its First Century," is a work of the deepest re
search and of lasting value, and worthy of its
venerable and venerated author.
The "Sagg Mill Case" was printed at the
"Corrector" office, Sagg Barbor, in 1843. It was
the report of a law suit tried at Riverhead in
September, 1842. Up to that time all highways
in the town of Southampton were considered
"Proprietor lands." The Proprietor of the "un
divided lands" gave permission to a certain party
to set a windmill in the highway in Sagg, oppo
site to the house of Paul Topping, now Wallace
Ilildreth. Be sued for trespass and won. This
case established the principle that highways are
simply an easement, and persons whose lands are

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY

521

bounded by the highways own to the middle of
the road. It was printed by Hon. Abraham T.
Rose. The Dongan Patent to Southampton and the
Act incorporating the Proprietors of the undi
vided lands, were printed at the "Corrector"
office in 1818. This was the first printed pamph
let relating to this town.
In 1863 William S. Pelletreau, town clerk,
printed in the "Sag Harbor Express" a series of
articles, "Reminiscences of Southampton," giving
copies of some of the oldest documents in the
clerk's office. A year or two later he printed as
a venture the "Survey of. the Little South Di
vision," a pamphlet of about ten pages. This
was the first printed document after the Dongan
Patent. The first volume of "Southampton Town Rec
ords" was printed in 1874 by a committee con
sisting of Bon. Benry P. Bedges, Edward H.
Foster, town clerk, and William S. Pelletreau.
All the labor of copying the manuscript and pre
paring notes and introduction was done by Mr.
Pelletreau. This was the first work of the kind
ever done on Long Island, and the example has
been followed by almost every town. The second
volume was printed in 1877, and the third in
1878. A fourth volume, prepared by William J.
Post, town clerk, has been lately printed.
On July 4, T876, the Centennial of American
Independence was celebrated at Southampton,
and an Historical Address was delivered by
William S. Pelletreau. Two editions of this were
printed at the office of the "Sag Barbor Ex
press." A small pamphlet, "Bistory of the
Canoe Place Inn," was written by Mr. Pelletreau
for Aides B. Carpenter about 1879.
George Rogers Howell was born in South
ampton, June 15, 1833, and graduated from Yale
College in 1854. His ancestor, Edward Howell,
being the founder of Southampton, he naturally
took an interest in its history. All of his leisure
time for two years was spent in collecting gen
ealogical and historical information concerning
his native town. In 1865 he delivered an address
on the 225th anniversary of the settlement of
Southampton. In 1866 he published "The Early

History of Southampton with Genealogies." This
work was published under the most disadvant
ageous circumstances, and was much criticized
by a class who know nothing of the difficulties
surrounding such an enterprise. A second edi
tion, improved and greatly enlarged, was printed
at Albany, in 1887. Mr. Howell was for many
years Archivist in the State Library, and he died
in Albany, April 5, 1899. His remains were bur
ied at Mount Morris, Livingston county, New
York. The writer gladly adds a tribute of re-

GEORGE R. HOWELL.
spect and honor to his memory, and a fond re
membrance of him will continue while life re
mains. "Chronicles of the Town of East Bampton"
were a series of articles printed in the "Correct
or," Sagg Barbor, in 1840, by David Gardiner.
They were reprinted in book form in 1871. Very

522

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

few books on Long Island history are of greater
value, and they are a lasting monument to the
memory of the author.
"Bistorical and Descriptive Sketches of Suf
folk County," an excellent work, was written by
Richard M. Bayles, a native of Brookhaven, and
was published at Port Jefferson, for the author,
in 1874. It contains a very interesting account
and description of all the villages and localities
in the county. Mr. Bayles, who now resides at
Middle Island, is the author of many historical
works, including an elaborate "Bistory of Staten
Island." The "Town Records of Brookhaven" first ap
peared in printed form in a small volume of cop
ies of various documents, about 1879. In 1885
the Records were printed in extensive volumes,
most of the work being done by Miss Cyn
thia Hutchinson, the daughter of a former town
clerk. The "Records of Southold" were printed in
1884-7, with very extensive notes by J. Wickham
Case, Esq., adding greatly to their value. These
records include, of course, the early history of
Riverhead. The "Records of Hunttington," including
Babylon, were printed in 1887, and are a lasting
monument to the memory of Charles R. Street,
Esq., by whom' they were prepared.
The "Records of East Bampton" were
printed in 1887, and prepared by Joseph S. Os
borne, Jonathan Baker and Jonathan T. Gar
diner, men whose fitness for the work could not
be excelled. Very elaborate introductions were
written by Hon. H. P. Bedges, from his abund
ant store of knowledge on the subject.
No person in Suffolk county has done more to
preserve its early history than Boil. Benry P.
Bedges, as the following list of his works will
show :
Address delivered December 26, 1849, on the
celebration of the 200th anniversary of the settle
ment. Printed at "Corrector" office, 1850.
Address, delivered September 15, 1850, in
the Presbyterian church. Sag Barbor, on the
"Claims of the Sabbath School." "Corrector"
office, 1850.

Address delivered January 25, 1853, at Islip,
before the Suffolk County Temperance Society
as "The Bistory of the Excise Law." Printed
in New York.
Two addresses delivered before the Suffolk
County Agricultural Society, September -30,
1868, and October 3, 1883. Printed in New
York. Two historical addresses, delivered in the
Presbyterian church, Bridge Bampton, July 4,
1876, and November 16, 1886, the latter being the
200th anniversary of the founding of the church.
Both printed by John B. Bunt.
Address delivered at Riverhead at meeting
of Suffolk County Historical Society, October
1, 1889, 011 "the Priority of Claim of Southamp
ton to be the first settled town in the County."
Printed by John H. Bunt.
Address delivered June 12, 1890, at South
ampton, on the "Celebration of the 250th anni
versary of the settlement of the Town." Printed
by John B. Hunt
Address delivered at Riverhead, November
15, 1883, on the Bi-centennial of Suffolk County.
Printed at Babylon, 1885.
Address delivered February 4, 1896, before
Historical Society, Sag Barbor. Printed in
1902 as a "Bistory of Sag Barbor."
Address at East Bampton, August 23, 1899,
on the celebration of the 250th anniversary of
the settlement. Printed by E. S. Boughton,
East Bampton.
Address on "The Sea," delivered before the
Board of Agriculture of Connecticut, December
14, 1899. This address for descriptive elo
quence is not excelled by any of the distinguished •
author's works.
"A Bistory of the Town of East Bampton."
Printed by John B. Bunt, 1897. This work, of
great research and labor, is a masterpiece of his
torical investigation.
At the celebration of the 250th anniversary
of the settlement of Southampton, historical ad
dresses were delivered by Bon. H. P. Hedo-es,
George R. Bowell, M. A., Rev. Samuel E. Ber
rick, D. D., and William S. Pelletreau, A. M.,
June 12, 1900. Printed by John B. Bunt.
Of the 'History of Shelter Island," a full ac
count will be found in the sketch of that town.
Of the "Romance of Suffolk County," the first
place must be given to "Sea Spray," by "Mar
tha Wickham," a nom de plume for Miss Cor
nelia Huntington. This is a most vivid des-

NEWSPAPERS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SUFFOLK COUNTY.

528

scription of East Hampton life in recent times,
but before the advent of New York fashion and
style. It was published in 1857. The talented
authoress was a daughter of Abel Huntington.
She was born in East Bampton, June 24, 1809,
and died there Aoril 15, 1890.
Miss Mary B. Sleight, the well known au
thoress of "The Flag on the Mill," and "An Isl
and Beroine," was born in New York. Ber
father was Benry C. Sleight, a nephew of Cor
nelius Sleight, a well known citizen of Sag Bar
bor. "The Flag on the Mill" derives its .title
from the custom of hoisting a flag on the wind
mill that stood on Sherry's hill, and was a very
conspicuous landmark whenever a ship was re
ported as in the bay. In the old whaling days
this was a very frequent occurrence. The old
mill was afterward removed to Bridgehampton,
and is now standing near the railroad station.
This book is a vivid description of Sag Barbor
life. "The Island Beroine" is a description of
life in East Bampton in the days of the Revo
lution. It is forcibly written, and seems more
like a history than a romance, for probability is
never violated. Miss Sleight's mother was a
daughter of the late John D. Vreese, of New
York, whose father was on the staff of General
Washington. Among works relating to the Indians of Suf
folk county, a very prominent place must be
given to the works of William, Wallace Tooker,
of Sag Barbor, who has written a series of
volumes on the Indian language and local names
on Long Island. This is called the "Algonquin
Series." The first of these valuable works is a
biographical and historical sketch of Checanoe,
an Indian, who was very prominent as an agent
of Wyandanch, the great sachem, and also, an
assistant of Eliot in preparing his translation
of the Bible. There is no man in the state of
New York who excels Mr. Tooker in his learn
ing and investigation on this subject.
On July 4, 1892, was the 100th anniversary
of the establishing of the town of Riverhead.
An historical address was delivered by Orville

B. Ackerley, Esq., for many years clerk of Suf
folk county. This address contains a large
amount of historical research and is very care
fully prepared.
Several sermons preached by Rev. Bugh N.
Wilson, of Southampton, were printed. Among
them was "The Coronation of the Year," a
Thanksgiving sermon. Another sermon, "The
Duty of the Christian Church to Its Poor Mem
bers," had a lasting effect. A colored woman, a
member of the church, had become very poor and
was taken to the poorhouse by one of the Elders
of the church. Dr. Wilson's indignation was
aroused, and the preaching of this sermon has
prevented such a scandal being repeated.
While Rev. William N. Cleveland (a brother
of President Grover Cleveland) was pastor of the
Presbyterian church in Southampton, he preached,
at the beginning of the Civil war, two sermons
"On African Servitude," in which he strongly
supported the institution of slavery, and which
were printed at the expense of those who sym
pathized with his views. They were the cause
of his leaving Southampton.
A just tribute is due to Walter R. Burling as
the most prominent of all the newspaper publishers
in Suffolk county. Mr. Burling has been in the
printing business since 1848, and he has been the
founder of not less than eleven newspapers on
Long Island. The first was the "Long Island
Times," established in Flushing, March 1, 1855.
During the first year he had no help except a
young office boy. Be afterward founded the
"Flushing Daily Times." In marked contrast to
the condition of the business when he began, at
the time when he disposed of the paper thirteen
workmen were regularly employed. A notice of
the papers founded by him in Suffolk county will
be found on a foregoing page. Mr. Burling's
home is in Southampton, and he has seen the place
grow from a plain country village to its present
proportions.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
Part i. — The Pre-Diocesan Period.

T MAY be a matter of no little surprise to
Long Islanders to know that their isl
and was colonized by Catholics as far
back as 1634, and that it is almost co
eval with Maryland in giving Catholics shelter
from non-Catholic persecution and at the same
time offering an asylum1 to non-Catholics fleeing
from the persecutions of their co-religionists, yet
such is a fact.
The first constitution of the colony of New
Jersey, or, as it is known in its. first charter, the
province of New Albion (which comprised
New Jersey and Long Island, in the present
state of New York) , proclaimed religious tolera
tion to all, in these words :
"No persecution to any dissenting,. and to all
such, as the Walloons, free chapels ; and to punish
all as seditious, and for contempt, as bitterly rail
and condemn others of the contrary ; for the argu
ment or persuasion of Religion, Ceremonies, or
Church Discipline, should be acted in mildness,
love, and charity, and gentle language, not to dis
turb the peace or quiet of the inhabitants."
The Catholic leader of this Colony, and per
haps the first Englishman that settled New
Jersey, was Sir Edmund Plowden, a member
of an old Saxon family of Shropshire, Eng
land, whose antiquity is amply established by
the meaning of the surname "Kill-Dane." This
gentleman, with other noble "adventurers," pe

titioned King Charles I for .a patent under His
Majesty's seal of Ireland for "Manitie, or Long
Isle," and "thirty miles square of the coast next
adjoining, to be erected into a County Palatine
called Lyon, to be held of 'His Majesty's Crown
of Ireland,' " etc.
The island of "Manitie or Long Isle" was
also known as the Isle of Plowden, for in the
charter of Charles I the King gives to Ed
mund Plowden "all that entire island near the
continent of terra firma, * * * called the
Isle of Plowden or Long Island, and lying near
or between the 39th and 40th degree of north
latitude." There were "four Kings on Long
Isle, with about eight hundred bowmen;" and
a chivalric order, the "Albion Knights," was
established "for the conversion of the twenty-
three Kings" or twenty-three Indian tribes re
siding within the entire limits of Sir Edmund
Plowden' s grant.
The number of persons who resided in New
Albion, and especially on, Long Island, under
the rule of the Plowdens, is difficult to ascer
tain. That there were settlers on the Isle of
Plowden is sufficiently established, but how
many and what became of them is shrouded
in mystery. Religious persecutions and civil
commotions in England contributed largely to
preventing Sir Edmund Plowden and his Cath
olic associates from realizing their plans for

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

525

colonizing New Albion, as they had fondly
hoped to do, but the fact remains that Long-
Island formed part of a province founded by
a Catholic, with the purpose of securing entire
freedom of religion to all within its limits.
"Calvert and Roger Williams," says Mulford
in his "History of New Jersey," "have been rep
resented as standing entirely alone" as the ex
ponents of religious liberty to all, "until the
appearance of Penn. This is not just or true.
* * * Though Plowden's designs were not
successful, though the work he projected fell
short of completion, yet he deserves to be
ranked with the benefactors of our race, and
New Albion is entitled to a higher place in
the history of human progress than is often al
lotted to older and greater and more fortunate
States." We have seen above that there were Cath
olic settlers on Long Isle as far back as 1648.
Father Jogues, in his "Novum Belgium" (1643-
44), mentions the existence of some Catholics
in the vicinity in his time; in 1654 the Jesuit
LeMoyne visited New York from time to time
and administered to the wants of the Catholics
in the vicinity; in 1657 we find a Frenchman,
Nicholas by name, living in Walebrocht, who
refused to pay an assessment of six guilders
for the support of Dominie Polhemus on the
"frivolous excuse" that he was a Catholic. The
poor fellow was obliged to pay twelve guilders
instead of six! In 1756 Long Island received
quite an accession of Catholics in the Acadian
exiles who found homes in Kings, Queens and
Suffolk counties.
The earliest Catholic of distinction connect
ed with Long Island, and whose name has come
down to us, was Thomas Dongan, Governor of
New York, who in 1683 convoked the first Gen
eral Assembly of New York, which granted the
celebrated Charter of Liberties recognizing free
dom of conscience. Governor Dongan "and his
fellow worshippers met in a "little chapel" for
religious purposes. Here no doubt mass was
offered up by the English Jesuit Fathers that
the Governor had brought with him to counter
act the influence of the French Jesuits among

the Indians in the upper part of the State. The
early Brooklyn Catholics were obliged to cross
the East river in order to hear mass on Sundays.
There were no ferry boats then, nor great
bridges, and crossing the river in rowboats or
flat-boats was often attended with danger, es
pecially in winter, when the river was filled with
floating ice.
Old St. James'. — Prior to 1822 there was
not a Catholic church on Long Island, but in
that year (on January ist) the Catholics of the
village of Brooklyn resolved that "whatever
they did in word or work" should be done "all
in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks
to. God the Father, through Him " They want
ed "their children instructed in the principles
of our Holy Religion," and "more convenience
in hearing the word of God themselves."
A society was formed with the approbation
of the Rt. Rev. John Connolly, O. P., D. D.,
then Bishop of New York, for the purpose of
securing the ends in view, and on January 7th
the first meeting was held at the residence of
Peter Turner. Associated with Peter Turner
were James M. Laughlin and William Purcell.
After a careful examination it appeared that
only seventy men were able to give any assist
ance to the good work undertaken, and some
of these, not being able to contribute money,
generously offered the labor of their hands. On
March 2d eight lots of ground were bought at
the corner of Jay and Chapel streets, for $800;
of this amount $500 was paid in cash and a
mortgage was given for the balance. It must
be borne in mind that these good men, while
acting with the approval of the Bishop of New
York, under whose jurisdiction Brooklyn was
at that time, were also working under great
disadvantages. They were without the aid or
guidance of a pastor, and although they made
many earnest and repeated requests, for one, the
Bishop had none to give them. They were en
tirely dependent on the kindness of the Very
Rev. John Power, of St. Peter's church, Barclay
street, New York, who, whenever opportunity
offered, crossed the East river in a row-boat
and said mass for them in a private house.

526

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Sometimes his place would be taken by Fathers
Richard Bulger, Auley McCauley, Michael
O'Gorman^, Patrick McKenna and others, and
these good Fathers would offer up mass in Mr.
Depsey's "Long Room" in Fulton street. The
first mass celebrated in Brooklyn was by the
Rev. Philip Lariscy, O. S. A., at the residence
of Mr. William Pureed, at the northeast corner
of York and Gold streets.
Perseverance, such as these good people dis
played in the face of so many difficulties, could
not go unrewarded. They had purchased ground
for the erection of a church and also for a burial
ground; they had this ground blessed on the
feast of St. Mark (April 25) by the Rt. Rev.
Dr. Connolly, and they had taken courage from
the kind word's of Rev. Richard Bulger, who
preached on that occasion. Slowly but surely
the first Catholic church in Brooklyn advanced
toward completion. On December 31, 1822, the
following trustees were incorporated under the
general act: George S. Wise, Peter Turner,
William Pureed, D. Dawson, P. Scanlan, W.
McLaughlin and J. Rose. The work went on,
but it was still impossible to give them a resident
pastor, as there were only eight priests in the
entire diocese of New York at that time. On
the 28th of August, 1823, Bishop Connolly dedi
cated the new church to the honor and glory
of God under the invocation of St. James. The
interior of the church was yet unfinished, and
upon an altar constructed of a few boards
roughly put together the Rev. John Shanahan
said the first mass. The sermon was preached
by Very Rev. Dr. Power. The children of the
new and still pastorless parish required atten
tion, and on the 12th of the following month,
J. Mehaney, the first Catholic schoolmaster in
Brooklyn, was appointed schoolmaster, sexton,
and caretaker of the graveyard which had just
been le.veled and fenced in. The amount of
money expended up to this time was $7,118.16,
quite an amount for those days. The most stren
uous efforts were still made to secure a resident
pastor. The Rev. Patrick M. Kenna, who had min
istered to these persevering and energetic Cath

olics with some degree of regularity, died on
October 4, 1824, and was buried in St. James'
churchyard. It was not until the following
April that Dr. Power, acting as Administrator
of the Diocese of New York, the Bishop being
in Europe at the time, was able to send a pastor
to St. James'. This was the Rev. John Farnan,
who became "the first resident clergyman and
who received $600 a year and house rent free,"
During his pastorate he introduced the Sisters
of Charity, who took charge of a school opened
in the basement of the church, and in other ways
advanced the condition of a parish which was
only too ready to' second him in every good work
undertaken. But his pastorate did not last very
long. In 1832 Father Farnan was succeeded by
Rev. John Walsh, a student of St. Mary's, Mon
treal, and who had been ordained five years be
fore (1827) by Bishop Dubois. Father Walsh
is regarded by many of the old St. James' peo
ple as the real founder of the mission. His
pastorate lasted over ten years, and was marked
by great zeal for the welfare of his people.
While at St. James' Father Walsh visited the
Catholic families at Sag Harbor, Flushing and
Staten Island.
In 1834 an act was passed "incorporating
the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Society in
the City of Brooklyn in the County of Kings."
From this we see that lite building of old St.
James' was soon followed by a move toward
the education of Catholic children and a tender
care for tbe orphans.
During his pastorate Father Walsh was as
sisted successively by Rev. James Dougherty,
who died March 29, 1841 ; Rev. Philip Gillick,
Rev. Patrick Danahar, and Rev. James Mc-
Donough. Father Walsh died at Harlem, Au
gust 8, 1852, aged sixty-seven years. As an evi
dence of the high esteem in which he was held
by his superiors it may be stated that "Bishop
Dubois, who ordained him, had affirmed of him
years before that of all clergy of the diocese
Father Walsh was primus inter optimos." For
ten years or so, until 1841, he labored through
out the whole extent of Long Island, building

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

527

churches, and then resigned in order to become
a Trappist, in Mount Melleray, Ireland. But
his love for souls led him back again to mis
sionary life, and on his return to the United
States he became pastor of St. Paul's church,
Harlem. Bis successor at St. James' was the
Rev. Charles Smith, who remained there until
1847, and enlarged the old church.
St. Paul's. — In the meantime the number of
Catholics in. Brooklyn had been increasing in
number. Cornelius Beeney, a man of means
and of heart, too, was ready to do his part to
wards the erection of another church. In 1835
he gave the piece of land valued at $8,000 at
the corner of Court and Congress streets, and
in the following year St. Paul's was erected
upon it. It was built of brick, at a cost of about
$20,000. The debts incurred in its erection were
generously shared in by the good people of St.
James'. St. Paul's church was dedicated by
Bishop Dubois and his coadjutor, the Rt. Rev.
John Bughes, D. D. The first regular pastor
was Rev., Richard Waters, who remained only
two years, 1838-1840; but during that time he
established a parochial school, which he placed
under the care of the Sisters of Charity, and
began several other good works. Be was suc
ceeded by Rev. Nicholas O'Donnell, O. S. A.
Father Nicholas O'Donnell was a man of learn
ing and literary tastes. It was under his edi
torial management that the first issue of the
Catholic Berald, the first Catholic paper pub
lished in Philadelphia, appeared on January 3,
1833. In 1846 he was. recalled to Rome, much
to the regret of his parishioners of St. Paul's.
Father O'Donnell was succeeded by Rev. Jo
seph A. Schneller. Be was a man of literary
tastes and was for a time on the staff of the
New York Weekly Register and Catholic Diary.
Father Schneller died September ,18, 1862, and
was succeeded by Rev. Robert Maguire.
St. Mary's. — In the meantime Father James
O'Donnell had been extending the field of his
labors to Williamsburg. In 1841 he built St.
Mary's church. Three years before Father
Dougherty went over from St. Mary's church,
New York, and said mass in a stable on Grand

stree. This was not, as some suppose, the first
mass said in Williamsburg. Father John Walsh,
of St. James', and his assistant, Father Bradley,
visited Flushing, Staten Island and Williams
burg in 1837, and it is probable that they went
there as early as 1836. In 1839 Flushing was
visited once a month by Rev. Michael Curran,
who also attended Harlem and Throgg's Neck.
Father O'Donnell remained at St. Mary's church
until 1844, and while here visited the Catholics
at various, points on Long Island.
Father James O'Donnell was a remarkable
man. It was just after the disastrous decline
in all real estate, that in February, 1840, he se
cured an eligible site and set to work to obtain
contributions towards the erection of a church.
A small building was erected during the year
and it was dedicated as St. Mary's.
Father O'Donnell was succeeded in Will
iamsburg by the Rev. Sylvester Malone. He
found an eligible site on Second street, between
South Second and Third streets, and plans for
a fine church were prepared by Mr. P. J. Keily.
A beautiful church, the finest in Williamsburg,
and in those days surpassed by few in the coun
try, facing the East river, soon rose with its
spire towering one hundred and fifty feet. On
May 7, 1848, the church was dedicated.
In 1841 Rev. John Raffeiner, the "apostle
of the Germans" in this section of the country,
gathered his scattered countrymen around him,
and out of his own purse bought ground and
erected a church which his pious soul led him to
dedicate to the Most Holy Trinity.
The Assumption. — Old St. James' church
had been growing all these years, and another
division of the parish was made, in 1842. This
time the new church was dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin, under the title of the Assumption. This
church had been commenced some years before
by Father Farnan, while under ecclesiastical cen
sure. It was his intention to establish an inde
pendent Catholic church, but, as his congrega
tion did not respond to his needs, the church re
mained in an unfinished condition for some years.
In 1841 it was bought by Bishop Bughes, who
placed it under the pastoral charge of Rev.

528

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

David W. Bacon. He completed the building
and had it dedicated on June io, 1842. Father
Bacon was a hard worker and hesitated at noth
ing. - He would dress the altar himself, and he
was known to have cut the cassocks made for
and worn by the altar boys. Bis congregation
grew rapidly and demonstrated the necessity
for further church extension. Be was largely
instrumental in the erection of the church of
St. Mary's Star of the Sea, but before its com
pletion he was called to a higher dignity and a
broader field. Be was consecrated Bishop of
Portland, Maine, in 1855.
Bis successor was the Rev. William Keegan,
who had been his assistant for some time. It
was not long before he enlarged and beautified
the church. Some time later he erected what
was then one of the finest parochial school-
houses in the country. In 1880 he was made
vicar general of the diocese, and held that po
sition to the time of his death, May 10, 1890.
While rector of the Assumption, the Rev.
David W. Bacon interested himself in the erec
tion of a new church on Court street, between
Luqueer and Nelson streets. But before he had
time to get the building fully under way he was
called (1855) to preside over the newly erected
See of Portland, Maine. Be was succeeded by
Rev. Edward Maginnis, whose pastorate was
very short. In 1856 Rev. Eugene Cassidy be
came pastor, and continued in that capacity for
twenty years. In 1867 he built a school house.
It now contains some five hundred and sixty
boys, taught by the Franciscan Brothers, and six
hundred and seventy girls, taught by the Sisters
of St. Joseph. In 1876 Father Cassidy was suc
ceeded -by Rev. Benry O'Loughlin, who re
mained for ten years. On March 9, 1888, the
Rev. Joseph J. O'Connell, D. D., became pastor
In 1893 he built a large hall for literary and
social purposes. Pope Leo XIII raised him to
the dignity of a Monseignor, and he is one of
Bishop McDonnell's Diocesan Consultors, holds
the position of Defensor Matrimonii, is one of
the Urban Deans and is a member of the Cath
olic school board for Kings county.
Old St. Mary's church, Williamsburg, was

commenced in 1841 by Father James O. Donnell.
It was an unpretentious wooden structure, and
the Catholics were wont to bur}- their dead in
its immediate vicinity. The little church has
long since disappeared, but the old tombstones
stood for fifty years. In 1890 tbe dead were
removed to- Holy Cross cemetery and the ground
has been devoted to business purposes. The
old church was dedicated in 1843 by Bishop Du
bois and the sermon was preached by Father
O'Donnell. On the same day a temperance so
ciety was established, the first in Brooklyn, by
the Very Rev. Dr. Felix Varela, V. G., of New
York. In 1844, just after his ordination, Rev.
Sylvester Malone became the pastor. He found
a debt of $2,300 — no small amount in those
days — staring him in the face. Before the end
of three years he secured not only the payment
of this debt but the purchase of a site for a new
church. In 1849 Father Malone fell a victim to the
smallpox, contracted while attending to the sick
of his parish. Scarcely had he recovered when
the cholera broke out among his people. The
good priest was at his post, and he again shared
the maladies of his people as well as their
troubles. Bardly had he recovered from his
second attack when ship-fever fastened its grip
upon him. But he was permitted to live on to
bless a flock by whom he was revered. Be held
as warm a place in the hearts, of non-Catholics
as in the hearts of his own people. In 1854 he
went to Rome to be present at the definition of
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Dur
ing his absence the anti-Catholic prejudice
reached Williamsburg and threatened Father
Malone's church. As the Know-Nothing riot
ers advanced they were met at the church door
by Mayor Wall (a non-Catholic) who declared
that he would protect the church of his absent
friend if it cost him his life. The church was
saved and stands to-day as a noble monument of
charity and good will among men.
Father Malone was noted for his devotion to
the American flag, and he was honored before
his death by being made a member of the board
of Regents of the University of the State of

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

529

New York. He died, universally regretted, De
cember 29, 1900.
As far back as 1846 the Catholics of Go
wanus and vicinity were attended by the clergy
of other parishes. Father Peter McLaughlin
gathered them in a small wooden structure and
organized a parish. The old church was re
placed by a more suitable edifice in 1850. St.
Patrick's church at Fort Hamilton was built in
1849. The corner-stone of the present beautiful
edifice was laid on November 5, 1854, and the
new St. Patrick's church was dedicated in 1856.
The old church was turned into a school house
and was used as such for many years and gave
way to the splendid academy for boys, which
was placed under care of the Franciscan Broth
ers. The girls were provided for in the large
asylum back of the school and conducted by the
Sisters of Mercy. After a pastorate of nineteen
years Father Maguire was succeeded by Rev.
P. C. Fagan (1862-65), Rev. E. G. Fitzpatrick
(1865- 1 872), and the present pastor (1901), the
Rev. Thomas Taaffe.
The German Catholics in Williamsburg had
been growing to such an extent that their old
church had become too small to accommodate
them, and on June 29, 1853, Archbishop Hughes
laid the corner-stone of a larger church, the
Most Holy Trinity. Father Raffeiner labored
here until 1861, when he went to his reward.
At the time of his death he. could point to thirty
ohurches in the State of New York that owed
their origin and prosperity in one way or an
other to his zeal and devotion. Bishops Dubois
and Hughes appointed him Vicar General for
the Germans, and Bishop Loughlin continued
him in the same capacity for the new diocese
of Brooklyn. Be died on July 16, 1861, in the
arms of his devoted assistant, Rev. Michael May,
who succeeded him as pastor of the church of
the Boly Trinity.
Rev. Michael May was born in Bavaria, June
2, 1826, and was ordained July 19, 185 1. After
eight years of service in his native land, he ar
rived in New York March 2, 1859. Bishop
Loughlin assigned him to do duty at the church
34

of the Most Boly Trinity as assistant to Father
Raffeiner. Bis wisdom and prudence may be
seen in the magnificent church he has reared,
a church costing some $300,000 ; in the flourish
ing schools with their 800 children; in the Or
phan' Asylum, with its four or five hundred in
mates; and in the hospital which has opened its
doors to thousands of unfortunate men and
women. Bishop Loughlin fully appreciated Fa
ther May's work by making him Vicar General,
and shortly before his death Father May was
honored by Pope Leo XIII with the dignity of
a Monseignor. Father May died, universally re
gretted, on the nth of February, 1895.
St. Charles Borromeo. — Rt. Rev. Bishop
Hughes organized this parish, which he placed
under the charge of the Rev. Charles Constan
tine Pise, D. D. Near the corner of Sydney
Place and Livingston street stood the old Church
of the Emmanuel, which the Episcopalians had
built ten years before. Dr. Pise bought it and
on December 30, 1849, after having been re
modeled and renovated, it was dedicated. It
was here that the Rt. Rev. Levi Silliman Ives,
Episcopal Bishop of North Carolina, ordained
the Rev. Donald McLeod. Some years later
bishop and minister met again in this same
church, but the church had become a Catholic
church, the bishop had become a- Catholic lay
man, and the minister had become a Catholic
priest. Dr. Pise was born at Annapolis, Maryland,
November 22, 1801. After graduating at George
town College, he began his novitiate as a Jesuit,
and was sent to the Roman College of the Propa
ganda. Soon afterward he became professor
of rhetoric at Mount St. Mary's College, Em-
mittsburg. In 1825 he was ordained by the Most
Rev. Ambrose Marechal, Archbishop of Balti
more. After serving as assistant at the Cathed
ral in Baltimore, he was assigned to St. Mat
thew's church, Washington. While there his
brilliant talents and courteous manners attract
ed the attention of Henry Clay, at whose in
stance he was unanimously elected chaplain to
the United States senate. In 1832 Dr. Pise
visited Rome and earned the degree of Doctor

530

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

of Divinity, and received the insignia of his of
fice at the hands of Pope Gregory XVI. His
writings merited for him the Cross and Spur
and the title of Knight of the Holy Roman Em
pire". Bishop Dubois invited him to New York
and made him rector of St. Joseph's church.
Be was transferred to old St. Peter's, and from
there to the Church of St. Charles Borromeo,
Brooklyn, where he labored until his death, in
May, 1866. Few men, if any, have done as
much work for Catholic literature as Dr. Pise.
In 1830, while in Baltimore, he was editor of
the Metropolitan, the first Catholic magazine
published in this country. In 1842 he was as
sociated with Very Rev. Felix Varela, D. D.,
in the publication of the Catholic Expositor, of
New York, and he wrote several excellent the
ological treatises and made numerous masterly
translations. In 1858 Dr. Pise established a parochial
school, with over two hundred pupils. There
is now a flourishing school of over 600 pupils.
The girls are under the care of the Sisters of
Charity and the boys tinder the Franciscan
Brothers. Dr. Pise was succeeded by the Rev. Francis
J. Freel, D. D., one of the assistants at St.
James' Cathedral. In December, 1866, he pur
chased seven lots, on Livingston street, for
which he paid $22,000. It was his, intention
to erect a larger and more imposing edifice than
the one his congregation then occupied. This
determination was hastened by an unexpected
event. On the night of March 7, 1868, the
church took fire from a defective flue, and the
entire building with its valuable furnishings was
reduced to ashes. Dr. Freel, at the risk of his
life, rescued the Ciborium and its sacred con
tents, some other sacred vessels and some of
the most valuable of the vestments. In less than
three weeks after the disaster, ground was brok
en for a splendid new church, of brick, with a
frontage of seventy feet on Sydney Place, and
a depth of one hundred and thirty feet on Liv
ingston street. The corner-stone was laid in
August, 1868. For eighteen years Dr. Freel
carried on the work entrusted to him. Be looked

after the education of the children of his parish,
and was also particularly devoted to the sailors
at the Navy Yard, and became the first Cath
olic chaplain at the Navy Yard, and a small
chapel was built at his request. Dr. Freel died •
on April 5, 1884.
The successor of Dr. Freel was the Rev.
Thomas F. Ward. Be reduced the church debt,
enlarged tbe school building and made needed
improvements in other directions. With all his
parochial work Father Ward found time to de
vote to literature, and in 1892 he published his
"Thirty-two Instructions for the Month of May"
— a translation from the French. Be died on
October 21, 1898, and was succeeded by the Rev.
James E. Bobier.
St. John's church (Gowanus), now Twenty-
fifth street, near Fifth avenue, was opened in
1850 by the Rev. Peter McLoughlin. Be se
cured three lots on Twenty-first street, upon
which he erected an unpretentious frame church.
In 1852 Father McLoughlin was transferred to
Westchester county and he .was succeeded at St.
John's by the Rev. John McKeon. This pastor
built the first parochial school in that part of
the city. Father McKeon had been but three
years at St. John's, when he was transferred
to another mission. Be died in 1857. Bis suc
cessor (1855) was the Rev. Patrick McGovern,
a patriotic priest, who, when the Civil war broke
out, was not slow in telling the men of his
flock their duty to their country. A cavalry regi
ment was organized in his parish, and before
setting out for the front the men attended mass
and received Boly Communion. In 1862 Fa
ther McGovern was transferred to St. Paul's.
Rev. Bugh McGuire became the next pastor of
St. John's. In May, 1867, the Bishop sent him
an assistant in the person of the Rev. Peter
Daly, who died the following year. He was
succeeded by the Rev. John McGuire. These
two namesakes enlarged and improved the church
in 1872, so as to accommodate 1,300 persons.
Father Hugh died in 1872 and Father John
acted as pastor until March, 1873, when the
Rev. James O'Beirne became pastor. Born in
Ireland, he made his ecclesiastical studies at May-

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

531

nooth College, where he was ordained in 1852.
He came to New York, and when Bishop Lough
lin came to Brooklyn, Father O'Beirne was ap
pointed to Flushing, where he labored for twen
ty-one years. During that time he built St.
Michael's church. In 1864 he purchased the
ground upon which the Convent and Academy
of the Sisters of St. Joseph now stands. While
at St. John's, Father O'Beirne erected a hand
some parochial school, in 1885. He died, uni
versally regretted, in 1888, and was succeeded
by the Rev. Bernard J. McHugh, formerly of
the Church of the Boly Cross, Flatbush.
St. Benedict's. — In 1852 eight German Cath
olic families settled in what was then known
as New Brooklyn, between Bedford and East
New York. They were poor but industri
ous people, and anxious to secure homes for
their growing families while property was cheap.
They had little money, but they had willing
hands; and, having secured a lot on Berkimer
street, near Ralph avenue, a small frame build
ing was erected. The church was ready in
March, 1852, and was attended for a time by the
priests from St. Francis' or from Boly Trinity.
In January, 1853, Bishop Dubois sent the Rev.
Maurus Ramsauer to take charge of this parish.
He did not remain long, however, and was suc
ceeded by Father Peter Hartlaub, who remained
only a few months. The next pastor was Rev.
Bonaventure Keller, who remained for over
three years. On October 25, 1857, Bishop
Loughlin sent the Rev. Aloys Enders to St. Bene
dict's, but after a stay of thirteen months he
sought missionary work in the west. The next
pastor, the Rev. James Tuboby, came in Decem
ber, 1858, and remained nearly two years. Be
was succeeded in i860 by Rev. Father Peine, who
also attended St. Francis'. Ill health forced
him, after a few months, to giv.i up his charge,
and in May, 1861, the Rev. Franz Sales Klos-
terbauer became pastor, who determined to build
a new church, but did not remain long enough
to realize his hopes. Bis successor, however, the
Rev. M. Kochren, arriving May 25, ,1873, car
ried out his plans, and the present beautiful St.
Benedict's owes its commencement and comple

tion to Father Kochren. The new church is built
of brick, with slate roof, and surmounted by a
tower 130 feet high. It faces Fulton street.
The old church on Herkimer street was altered,
made two stories high, and was given over to
the school. Father Kochren also erected a com
modious brick pastoral residence. He remained
at St. Benedict's until September, 1875, and died
not long aftewards. Bis successor, Rev. Fran
cis Duermayer, remained until January, 1876,
when Rev. Benry J. Zimuier became Pastor.
Before the year was out he was ordered to St.
Patrick's church, and was subsequently trans
ferred to Far Rockaway, where he built a very
beautiful church. On October 1, 1876, Rev.
Ignatius Zeller came to St. Benedict's. Be had
been a Lutheran minister and became a Cath
olic under the instruction of the good Father
Goetz. When he came to St. Benedict's he found
a debt of over $44,000, and during the ten years
of his pastorate he reduced this to $26,000, be
sides having built a new rectory. The old pa
rochial residence he turned into a convent for
the Sisters of Christian Charity. Father Zeller
resigned in January, 1886, as he desired to see
the parish in the hands of a younger man. Be
went to Jamaica and built a new church for his
countrymen there.
The Rev. John M. Banselmann assumed
charge of St. Benedict's on July 3, 1886. He
is one of four brothers who devoted their lives
to the service of God at the altar. He was born
on August 5, 1854, in Holy Trinity parish, made
his studies in Montreal, and was ordained De
cember 21, 1878. Bis first work was under Fa
ther May, whose assistant he was until January
13, 1880, when he became chaplain of St. Cath
erine's Bospital. In 1893 he began the erection
of a new school. It is attended by some 300
children, under the care of six Sisters of Christian
Charity. St. Benedict's church property is esti
mated to be worth $130,000, with a debt of a little
over $20,000. Father Hanselmann is assisted by
Rev. George M. Schaaf and Rev. Jacob A. Kunz.
The present number of parishioners is estimated
at 1,800. St. Joseph's church, on Pacific street, near

532

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Vanderbilt avenue, was founded in 1853, by the
Rev. Patrick O'Neill. Fifty families contributed
$500, and an equal amount was contributed by
Messrs. Charles and Edward Harvey. A small
brick church was erected on Pacific street, in
which mass was first said by Father Cassidy in
April, 1853. In October Father O'Neill took
charge of the parish, and soon built a larger
church, and in its tower was placed the first
clock in a Catholic church in Brooklyn. In 1857
Father O'Neill established a school of 200 pu
pils, under the care of Mr. and Mrs. Garvey,
who continued to> teach until the advent of the
Franciscan Brothers, in 1859. This was the first
school in Brooklyn to have the Franciscan Broth
ers. In February, 1864, the Rev. Edward Cor
coran became Father O'Neill's assistant. In
1867 Father O'Neill was called to his heavenly
reward, and it devolved upon Father Corcoran
to continue the work.
Father Corcoran was born in Ireland, and
was ordained at All Hallows College, Dublin,
in June, 1863. Be volunteered for the Amer
ican missions, and on being adopted by Bishop
Loughlin was assigned as assistant at the church
of the Immaculate Conception. After a service
of seven months he was transferred to St. Jo
seph's. The parish was growing; it had a debt
of some $30,000. It was not long before he be
gan making improvements upon the church ; next
he erected an academy and a hall for literary
purposes, and enlarged the parish schools. In
a few years the church property was the admira
tion of passers-by. It was 300 feet wide and
extended from1 street to street. The church,
school, academy and hall were surrounded by
beautiful lawns and ornamented with statues.
Father Corcoran died in 1893, and was succeed
ed by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. P. J. McNamara, V. G.
Part ii. — The Diocesan Period.
bishop loughlin.
The second period in the history of Cath
olicity on Long Island begins with the year 1853,
when it became organized into a diocese. At
that time Long Island had in all only twelve

churches, eight of which were in Brooklyn
proper, two in Williamsburg and two in remote
parts of the island. There was but one institu
tion of charity, and that was situated on the cor
ner of Congress and Clinton streets. It was
an orphan asylum, the Congress street wing be
ing occupied by the boys and *he Clinton street
wing by the girls. This structure was erected
by the Roman Catholic Orphan Society, which
was incorporated in 1836, for the purpose of
receiving the legal transfer of a house on Jay
street from the Rev. Father Walsh, second pastor
of St. James'. That house, which then had but
two stories and a basement, was the first orphan
asylum in Brooklyn. Later, another story was
added, and an equally large building adjoined
to it. This house, which was the Episcopal
residence for thirty-five years, is now used as the
rectory of St. James' Cathedral.
The diocese of Brooklyn was established by
Pope Pius IX in 1853. It comprises, the whole
of Long Island, which a legend says was known
to the early Catholic explorers (Gomez, 1525)
as the Island of the Boly Apostles, because it
is said that they discovered it on the feast of
St. Peter and St. Paul.
October 18, 1840, three young men, class
mates at old Mount St. Mary's, Emmittsburg,.
Maryland knelt in old St. Patrick's Cathedral,
New York, before Bishop Bughes, and received
at his hands the grand commission that sent
them forth to preach Christ and Him crucified-
They were Edward O'Neil, Francis Coyle and
John Loughlin. Father Coyle was assigned to
the missions of Sandy Hill, Lansingburg and
Waterford. Father O'Neil became treasurer
and professor of natural philosophy at St. John's
College, Fordham; while Father Loughlin was
assigned to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Mulberry
street, New York, of which he became rector in
1848. While attached to the cathedral, he went
for a time to Utica to assist the Rev. Father
Quarter. John Loughlin was born near Rostrevor, in
the County Down, Ireland, December 20, 1817.
When six years of age he was brought to Amer
ica by his parents, who settled in Albany. He

RT. RB¥. JOHH LOUG-HLIH, D. D.
FIRST BISHOP OF BROOKLYN.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

533

entered the Albany Academy, where he had for
professor the distinguished Latinist, Dr. Bullion,
At the age of fourteen he was sent to a col
lege near Montreal, where he acquired a knowl
edge of the French language. Three years later
he returned to the United States and entered
Mount St. Mary's Seminary, at Emmittsburg,
Maryland. Here his remarkable talents were
soon discovered, and he was, while yet a the
ologian, made tutor in the classics. Having
completed his studies, he repaired to New York
to receive the Holy Order of Priesthood.
While laboring at St. Patrick's Cathedral,
Father Loughlin had as his fellow assistants :
Rev. John McCloskey, a distinguished son of
Brooklyn, and the first American raised to the
dignity of the Cardinalate ; and Rev. James R.
Bayley, the future bishop of Newark and later
archbishop of Baltimore. When Bishop Hughes
went to Rome in 1850 he appointed Father
Loughlin Vicar General of New York, this ap
pointment making him administrator of the dio
cese in the Bishop's absence. It was during this
time that Father Loughlin gave evidence of that
peculiar wisdom, prudence and administrative
ability that characterized him through life. In
1849 we find him at the Seventh Provincial
Council of Baltimore, acting as theologian to
Bishop Hughes. He served in the same ca
pacity at the First Plenary Council of Baltimore,
in 1852, and when the Fathers at this Council
proposed the creation of several new dioceses,
among them the diocese of Brooklyn. Pius IX
approved their designs. By an Apostolic letter,
dated July 29, 1853, the new Sees of Brooklyn,
Newark and Burlington, Vermont, in the ecclesi
astical province of New York, were erected.
When it became necessary to make a choice of a
ruler for the new See of Brooklyn, the eyes of
the assembled Fathers fell upon the Vicar Gen
eral of New York.
On October 30, 1853, at old St. Patrick's
Cathedral, three worthy laborers in the vineyard
of the Lord were elevated to the episcopate.
They were Very Rev. John Loughlin, Vicar Gen
eral of New York, for the new diocese of Brook
lyn ; Very Rev. Louis de Goesbriand, Vicar Gen

eral of the diocese of Cleveland, for the new
diocese of Burlington, Vermont, and the Rev.
James Roosevelt Bayley, secretary to Archbishop
Hughes, for the new See of Newark, New Jer
sey. The consecrator of these bishops was the
Most Rev. (afterwards Cardinal) Cajetan Be-
dini, Papal Nuncio to the Brazils, and, at that
time, on a special mission to the United States.
The consecration sermon was preached by Arch
bishop Bughes.
Bishop Loughlin lost no time in entering
upon his new field of labor, and on November
9 his installation took place in old St. James',
which he selected for his future cathedral. It
is interesting to note that among the first
churches the new bishop blessed in his diocese
was St. Patrick's church, which he worked so
hard to complete. Be at once began the work
which before long gained for him the name of
"the great church builder of America." Be had
a quickness in comprehending . the necessary
growth of his episcopal city, and his promptness
for recognizing and securing eligible sites for
new- churches is something remarkable. We
have seen, how poor the church in Brooklyn was
when he became its bishop, yet, on the occasion
of the celebration of his golden jubilee, in 1890,
he had acquired church property to the amount
of $6,000,000. In the course of thirty-seven years
he had built 120 churches and chapels, 93 parish
schools, two colleges, nineteen select schools and
academies, five hospitals, two homes for the
aged, one home for newsboys, and lastly, as the
crowning of them all, a magnificent seminary for
the education of the priests of the diocese.
Bis first official act as bishop-elect may be
said to have been the laying of the corner-stone.
of the church of the Immaculate Conception, Au
gust 1, 1853. This church was commenced by the
Rev. Peter McLoughlin, but his pastorate, like
that of his successor, the Rev. Anthony Farrelly,
lasted only one year. The church was a substan
tial brick building with stone foundation, to seat
some 1,200 persons. Father Farrelly was suc
ceeded by Rev. Andrew Bohan, who ministered
for more than ten years. Father Bohan opened
a parochial school in the basement of the church.

334

HISTORY' OF LONG ISLAND.

During part of his pastorate he was assisted by
the Rev. John McKenna. Father Bohan died in
1867. Rev. John Crimmins, who was pastor
from 1879 to 1883, made some improvements in
the old church ; and his successor, Rev. M. F.
Murray, erected the present pastoral residence.
The next pastor was the Rev. James Taaffe,
brother of the Rev. Thomas Taaffe, of St.
Patrick's church. He took charge of the par
ish in 1888. Father James was born in Ireland.
He was ordained in 1878, and on his arrival in
this country in 1879 was appointed as assistant
at St. Patrick's. Bere he labored until his ap
pointment as pastor of the church of the Im
maculate Conception, in 1887. Bis first care was
the erection of an academy, which was placed in
charge of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Father
Taaffee also made a very material reduction in
the church debt. Bis pastorate was not very
long, as he was in a short time to succeed the
Rt. Rev. P. J. McNamara as pastor of Our
Lady of Mercy. In less than a year afterwards,
Father James Taaffe died of a cold contracted
while in the discharge of his duties. Be was
succeeded at the Church of the Immaculate Con
ception by the Rev. James F. Crowley, who on
Sunday, December 29, 1901, burned the last
mortgage (of $40,000) against the church, and
now rejoices in a church free from debt.
In 1853 St. Thomas' Episcopal church,
Bridge street, near Willoughby street, was pur
chased by a new German congregation and dedi
cated under the invocation of St. Bonifacius, Jan
uary 29, 1854. The pastor was the Rev. Moritz
Ramsauer. The congregation numbered about
200, and the children were cared for in a school
opened in the basement and taught by a lay
teacher. A new church was dedicated in 1872.
Father De Berge soon after purchased additional
property for a convent and school for the Sisters
of St. Dominic. In 1877 Father J. B. Will-
man became pastor. Be soon tore down the old
frame buildings and replaced them with substan
tial brick houses. One of these became the pas
toral residence and the other is a school house,
on the upper floor of which is a large hall suit

able for lectures, meetings and entertainments.
The present pastor (1903) is the Rev. George
Feser. Church of the Visitation. — The Church of
the Visitation, on Verona street, was founded
in 1854, by the Rev. Timothy O'Farrell. It
was a brick building of modest proportions and
was replaced in 1880 by a very fine structure of
blue-stone. This splendid church was finished
during the pastorate of the Rev. John M. Kieley,
and was dedicated in March, 1880, by Bishop
Loughlin. St. Anthony's Parish, Greenpoint, now Sev
enteenth Ward, Brooklyn, has an interesting
history. The first mass was celebrated in 1853
at the house of a Mr. Rider. Prior to this the
Catholics of Greenpoint were attended by Rev.
Sylvester Malone, of Williamsburg. In 1855 the
Rev. Joseph Brunnemann said mass in a hall at
the corner of Franklin and Eagle streets. In
1856 Father Brunnemann purchased two lots on
India street, and on December 21, of that year,
Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone of a new
church to be known as the Church of St. An
thony of Padua. In 1858, the year of the dedi
cation, Bishop Loughlin sent Rev. John Brady
to take charge of the parish. Before the year
was out he had established a parochial school of
some five hundred children. In the fall of 1859
a pastoral residence was purchased on Manhat
tan avenue.
Bishop Loughlin purchased from Samuel J.
Tilden a piece of ground on the east side of
Manhattan avenue, at the head of Milton street,
and an additional piece of ground from Mr.
Edward Crawford. This gave the church prop
erty the full depth of the block, extending from
Manhattan avenue to Leonard street. In the
meantime Father Brady had gone to his reward,
and Father Lane took up the work. The corner
stone of a beautiful new church, a model of
Gothic architecture 164 feet by 72 feet, was laid
on August 24, 1873, and March 8, 1874, Bishop
Loughlin had the happiness of celebrating the
first mass said within its walls, in the basement.
On June 13, following, the feast of St. Anthony,

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

535

the new church was dedicated. In October fol
lowing Father Lane moved into the new pa
rochial residence adjoining the church.
July 22, 1884, Father OHara was sent to
St. Anthony's church. One of his first cares
after redeeming the church from its financial
difficulties was the education of the children of
the parish. The parish school had been held for
some time in the old church on India street. Fa
ther OHara at once replaced it by a suitable
two-story building capable of accommodating
700 pupils. In 1885 he purchased five lots ad
joining the church property, and erected a spa
cious parish hall, which later on gave place to
a magnificent school building, costing over $60,-
000, exclusive of the ground.
Father OHara is a man of strong convic
tions, as evinced in his war upon the illicit
liquor traffic, upon intemperance and upon the
violation of the Sabbath day. Bis temperance
society is one of the largest in the diocese, and
his Boly Name Society one of the most exem
plary. Be has also found time to do good work
in the field of controversy and of literature.
We cannot follow Father OHara's work
at St. Anthony's in all its details. Suffice it to
say that when he took charge of the parish in
1884 he had to face a debt of $140,000. Be not
only reduced this debt to less than $50,000, but
he has increased the valuation of his property
to $350,000. Be has built a new parochial resi
dence, giving the old one to the Sisters of St.
Joseph for. an academy. Be has more than
once renovated the church, introduced magnifi
cent stained-glass windows, erected costly mar
ble altars, provided a chime of bells of great
power and sweetness of tone, organized societies
to meet every necessity of his people and tending
to their spiritual and temporal welfare.
St. Peter's.— The corner-stope of St. Peter's
church, Bicks and Warren streets, was laid by
Bishop Loughlin on September 4, 1859. The
task of building this church was .entrusted to
Rev. Joseph Fransioli. The wisdom of the con
fidence placed in him by the Bishop is mani
fested to-day in the beautiful church, the flour
ishing schools with some 2,000 children, the

kindergarten, the parish library, the splendid hos
pital, the public hall and the endless societies
for old and young, for males and females, with
which Father Fransioli's energy and foresight
have adorned the parish. After a pastorate qf
nearly a third of a century, Father Fransioli
passed to his eternal reward, in October, 1890.
St. Ann's. — On August 20, i860, the Rev.
Bartholomew Gleeson broke ground for the erec
tion of St. Ann's church, at the corner of Front
and Gold streets. The first mass was celebrated
on Christmas day, i860, but the dedication of
the church did not take place until September 8,
1 86 1. St. Ann's is a brick building 130 feet
by 60 feet, surmounted by a tower 135 feet
high, and has a seating capacity of 1,100. In No
vember, 1869, a parochial school was opened in
the basement. In 1871 it became necessary to
erect a separate school building,' which was
opened in September, 1872. This building will
accommodate 1,000 pupils. ,
St. Vincent de Paul's. — The year 1863 saw
the erection of two new churches, St. Vincent de
Paul's, at North Sixth street, near Fifth, and the
German Church of the Annunciation. Father
McGorisk secured a frame structure and dedi
cated it to St. Vincent de Paul. Be iabored for
six years and was succeeded by the Rev. David
O'Mullane, who built a. very- handsome church.
Be was succeeded in 1872 by the Rev. Martin
Carroll, the present Pastor. Father Carroll has
had the church beautifully frescoed and decor
ated, and marble altars have taken the place of the
original wooden ones. In 1873 he transformed
the old frame church into a parochial school — the
first in the parish — and fitted up to accommodate
500 pupils. In 1885 he erected a magnificent
schoolhouse, one of the finest in the city, accom
modating from 1,500 to 1,800 pupils.
The German Church of the Annunciation was
founded by the late Rt. Rev. Monseignor Michael
May, in 1863. The building of ihe church was
entrusted to the Rev. John Bauptmann, who ad
ministered to the people of this parish until 1891.
In 1870 he replaced the old church by a hand
some brick structure, and made other improve
ments. In 1891 Rev. George Kaupert became

536

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Pastor, who in 1892 erected a fine three-story
schoolhouse, and when completed he placed it
under the care of six Dominican Sisters.
Rt. Rev. Monseignor May in 1865 founded the
new church of St. Nicholas, at the corner of
Olive and Powers streets. The first mass was
celebrated in the old church on May 14, 1866, by
the Rev. Charles Peine. Rev. John P. Boffmann
built a new church at the corner of Olive and
Devoe streets and turned the old building into a
school. The school has between five and six
hundred -pupils. There is also a Convent of the
Sisters of St. Dominic dedicated to St. Catherine
of Sienna, erected in 1867.
During Bishop Loughlin's episcopate the
Diocese of Brooklyn had but two Congregations
of priests within its limits. The first to come
were the Lazarista, or Priests of the Congrega
tion of the Mission. In 1868 the Rev. Edward
M. Smith was sent to Brooklyn to open a new
field for the special work of his community. Be
secured an entire block of ground, bounded by
Lewis, Stuyvesant and Wflloughby avenues and
Bart street. There was a little cottage upon this
ground and it was soon transformed into a com
munity house. A room was fitted up as a chapel,
and here, on July 12, 1868, the first mass was
celebrated. On the same day the corner-stone
of the temporary wooden church was laid, by
Bishop Loughlin. In the following year, 1869,
the Bishop laid the corner-stone of the new Col
lege of St. John the Baptist, and in September,
1870, it. was opened, under the presidency of the
Rev. John T. Landry.
In 1882 the Rev. Jeremiah A. Bartnett be
came President of St. John's College and Pastor
of the church. On June 24, 1888, Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of one of the
largest and "finest church edifices in the State.
It is 208 feet long; nave, including side chapelsi,
85 feet; width of transept, 135 feet; depth of
chancel, 50 feet; and height of ceiling from
floor, 95 feet. The material used in the construc
tion of the church is blue granite; the style of
architecture is Roman, and the building was
under roof before there was a cent of debt upon

it. The new St. John's was dedicated in May,
1894. Besides the Lazarists the only congregation
or community of priests allowed in Brooklyn
up to this time were the Fathers of Mercy, or
"Peres de la Miserecorde." In 1873 they estab
lished themselves at No. 1575 Broadway, Brook
lyn, where they secured a private house, which
became their novitiate, parish church and pa
rochial school. Mass was said in the parlors of
this house until 1875, when a neat brick church
was erected and placed under the patronage of
St. Francis de Sales. Considerable improve
ments were made by Rev. E. B. Porcile, the
present Superior, and a year or two ago the
original church was replaced by a very hand
some structure dedicated to Our Lady of
Lourdes. The Fathers of Mercy have a flourish
ing parochial school attended by over four hun
dred children, under the care of the Sisters of
St. Joseph.
St. Francis'-in-the-Fields. — Father Raffeiner,
justly styled the Apostle of the Germans, was a
great church-builder, but it is a question whether
he ever erected a more quaint or a more interest
ing church than that of St. Francis, built in
1850 on Putnam avenue, near Bedford. This
little two-story church stood about the middle of
a fine lot, surrounded by a high board fence,
with an entrance on Putnam avenue. The
church was built of brick, with shingled roof,
and was surmounted by a little, slender steeple,
in which was a bell, the tones of which, if not as
melodious as some of larger proportions, were
dear to those who frequented St. Francis'. Rev.
Maurus Ramsauer was its first Pastor; he was
succeeded in 1855 by Rev. Bonaventure Keller.
In 1857 he became superior of a house of his or
der in Philadelphia and St. Francis' was 'at
tended from Boly Trinity until 1861, when
Father Raffeiner died, and the church was
closed for a time. In 1866 Rev. Nicholas Bal-
leis took charge and made it his home up to the
time of his death, December 13, 1891.
Father Balleis was a most lovable character, •
generous with the little he possessed, and con-

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

537

siderate with everybody. He would baptize,
hear confessions, and attend "sick calls," but he
would' not perform' marriage ceremonies. The
old-time custom of the men sitting on one side
of the church and the women on the other was
followed in this church. The grounds around
the church were ample. From the grapes
Father Balleis used to make his altar wine. For
a quarter of a century this good man was seen
at the altar every morning with scrupulous regu
larity. A short time before his death his Bene
dictine confreres came from Newark and per
suaded him to return to his convent and die with
his brethren. He consented and went to New
ark, where, on December 13, 1891, in the eighty-
third year of his age and the sixtieth of his
priesthood, he "gave his better part to God and
slept in peace." "St. Francis-in-the-Fields" did
not survive its Pastor. The property on which
it stood passed into the hands of the Sisters
Adorers of the Precious Blood and their beauti
ful monastery now occupies the site of the quaint
yet historic old St. Francis.
Our Lady of Victories. — On July 26, 1868,
the new Church of Our Lady of Victories, on
McDonough street, corner of Throop avenue,
was opened for divine service, under the pastoral
care of the Rev. Patrick Creighton. This edifice
was built of wood, and four years later was
turned into a school-house, as a new structure,
in course of erection, was then so far completed
as to be used for church purposes. The build
ing is of granite and is one of the most imposing
in the citv. It fronts on Ralph avenue. The
pastoral residence, a handsome brick building,
adjoins the church.
New Cathedral. — In i860 Bishop Loughlin
began to look about for a location upon which
to build his new Cathedral. He found it near
the summit on the "Hill," and in one of the most
aristocratic quarters of the city. The property
purchased extended 470 feet on Clermont ave
nue, 200 feet on Greene avenue, 470 feet on Van
derbilt avenue, and 200 feet on Lafayette avenue.
On June 21, 1868, the corner-stone of the new
edifice was laid with impressive ceremonies by

the Bishop. The sermon was preached by Arch
bishop McCloskey, of New York. In his ser
mon, referring to the grandeur of the new
Cathedral, he said the edifice "will stand as a
monument to Catholic genius, Catholic architec
tural taste and skill and to be, besides, looked
upon, as it will be, as adding a newer beauty
and another glory and another honor and another
source of pride to what is already the renowned
City of Churches."
The new Cathedral is to be dedicated to
Almighty God under the invocation of the Im
maculate Conception : the style of architecture is
to be Renaissance-Gothic of the thirteenth cen
tury, revised by Pugin. The entire length will
be 354 feet ; extreme breadth at the transept, 180
feet; the largest chapel, St. John's, is 90 feet
long and 40 feet wide; the whole frontage is 160
feet, the large towers at the front will be 50 feet
square at the base and 350 feet high. The en
tire structure will be of blue granite. The build
ing is far from completion, as work has been sus
pended for years, owing to the greater need of
churches, schools and institutions.
But the building was not left entirely un
finished. The end towards Greene avenue will
give an idea of what the Cathedral is to be. St.
John's Chapel was opened in 1879. It is hand
somely decorated with frescoes representing
Scriptural scenes; the altar is of pure white
marble and the body of the chapel is furnished
with newly carved walnut pews. The opening
of this Chapel formed the nucleus of the con
gregation that will some day worship in the
magnificent structure when completed.
Our Lady of Mercy. — Up to 1869 there was
no Catholic church between St. Paul's and St.
Patrick's. The Catholics of that section of the
city were divided between St. Paul's and St.
James', but in 1869 a new parish was formed
in Debevoise Place, near DeKalb avenue. Rev.
John McKenna ministered to his growing flock
until 1868, when he went to Flushing. Before
going, however, he began the erection of the
present church of Our Lady of Mercy, the cor
nerstone of which was laid in September, 1867.

538

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

It was finished by his successor, the Rev.
Thomas Taaffe, and dedicated by Bishop Lough
lin, February 7, 1869. A school was started in
Father McKenna's time, and in 1864 numbered
290 boys, under the Franciscan Brothers, and
some 200 girls. The school, which is opposite
the church, is built of brick and is three stories
high, and the class-rooms are well lighted and
well ventilated. Adjoining the school is a se
lect academy under the care of the Sisters of St.
Joseph, who also have charge of some 300 girls
in the parochial school. The present convent
was built in 1890 by Father McNamara. Father
Taaffe built the present pastoral residence and
placed the church upon a solid basis, and was
then called to rescue St. Patrick's church from its
financial embarrassments.
In 1866 a small frame church on Carroll
street, now Hicks, was purchased from the
Epicopalians by the Rev. O. J. Dorris and dedi
cated under the invocation of St. Stephen. In
1873 the Rev. E. J. O'Reilly began the erection
of a new church, and in October, 1875, the new
St. Stephen's was dedicated by Bishop Lough
lin. This is a beautiful structure, surmounted
by a magnificent spire, on the summit of which
is a cross that may be seen far out upon the
waters of New York Bay. In years gone by this
cross was illuminated at night, and was a beacon
to mariners entering the "bellissimo lago of St.
Germano," as the Catholic explorer, Verrazano,
was wont to call our bay. The old church was
turned into a school and placed under the care
of the Sisters of Charity. The pastor is the Rev.
Nicholas J. Doran.
In 1869, on July 18, Bishop Loughlin
laid the corner-stone of a new church for the
French-speaking Catholics of the Eastern Dis
trict. This church was later on dedicated to
God, under the patronage of St. Louis. The
Pastor was the Rev. Jules Jollon. In 1889
Father Jollon removed his congregation to
Ellery street near Nostrand avenue. Here a
handsome frame church with parochial school
and pastoral residence has been erected. The
church has a seating capacity of 1,700. The
French element, which at one time was largely

from Alsace and Lorraine, is gradually dimin
ishing, and the bulk of the congregation is now
composed of English-speaking people.
In 1870 two new churches were begun, one
in the Eastern District under the invocation of
St. Cecilia, and the other in the Western Dis
trict dedicated to St. Augustine. The old St.
Cecilia's, a small frame building, and the frame
pastoral residence, were about as primitive as it
was possible to make them. The congregation
started as a mission of old St. Mary's. -In 1870
a small frame church was built by the Rev.
Father John R. McDonald. Rev. Florence Mc
Carthy was the first resident Pastor, in 1874, and
he built a second church, also a frame structure.
In 1888 Father McGoldrick became pastor.
In a short time the old debt was paid off, and on
September 27, 1891, Bishop Loughlin laid the
corner-stone of the new St. Cecilia's, a white
marble structure, in the Romanesque style of
architecture, and with a seating capacity of 1,-
400. The church property is now valued at
some $250,000. In time Father McGoldrick ex
pects to build a school that will accommodate
the children of his 6,000 parishioners.
The corner-stone of the original St. Au
gustine's church was laid in November, 1870, by
the Very Rev. J. F. Turner, then Vicar General
of the Diocese of Brooklyn. The church was
situated at the corner of Fifth avenue and Ber
gen street. Rev. Louis J. Rhatigan was its pas
tor, and his church was completed and dedicated
in March, 1871.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Edward W.
McCarty, the present (1902) pastor. The
church property — 200 feet on Fifth avenue and
169 feet on Bergen street, and 100 feet on St.
Mark's avenue, together with the old church and
parochial house — were sold, for $70,000, to the
Brooklyn Elevated Railroad Company. A new
site wasi purchased, 200 feet on Sixth avenue by
245 feet on Sterling Place, by 145 feet on Park
Place, and on it the present magnificent building
was erected at a cost of about $350,000. The
church is now practically free from debt, and
plans are now in hand for the erection of a
chapel, school house and rectory.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

539

St. Leonard's is situated at Hamburgh avenue
and Jefferson street, and was erected during the
pastorate of the Rev. John J. Raber. He secured
nearly the whole square block bounded by Jef
ferson and Melrose streets and Hamburgh ave
nue and DeKalb street. He built a church suit
able to the needs of his day and made it es
pecially attractive on account of the beautiful
paintings which decorated its walls. He erected
a school, attended by some 730 boys and girls,
and placed it under the care of the Sisters of
St. Dominic. Under Father George D. San
der, in July, 1896, ground was broken for the
new building, costing some $200,000. Father
Sander has had the satisfaction of reaping the
reward of his labors. Bis school has also in
creased, so that in 1901 he had some 1,400 chil
dren under the care of twenty-four Sisters of
St. Dominic.
The church of the Sacred Beart, Clermont
avenue, near Park, was started in the old pri
mary school building on Vanderbilt avenue in
1871. Father McCullum set to work to organ
ize the new parish. His first effort was the hold
ing of a fair, which proved to be one of the most
successful ever held in the city. A magnificent
new church was soon erected. By the side of the
church was erected a parochial school.
October 1, 1871, Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev.
Michael J. Moran to form a new parish between
St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's. He secured a
most advantageous site, and on the feast of St.
Patrick, 1872, he said his first Mass in the new
parish, in the present parochial residence. On
the 19th of May Father Moran had the happi
ness of seeing the corner-stone of the present
church laid, and on the 21st of October of the
same year the church was solemnly dedicated to
the Nativity of Our Blessed Lord. In the mean
time Father Moran has provided for the educa
tion of the children of the parish by the erection
in 1885 of a commodious school house, and
about the same time he purchased a property ad
joining his own and opened a convent and
academy, which he placed under the care of the
Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1888 Father Moran
secured a valuable property at the southwest

corner of Gates and Franklin avenues, which
eventually will be used for educational purposes,
but which in the meantime is used by the literary
and benevolent societies of the parish.
In 1872 the Rev. John J. Ammann gathered
together the Catholic Germans living in South
Brooklyn, and two' years later he succeeded in
obtaining a church which had been used by the
Baptists and which he dedicated to God under
the invocation of St. Bernard. In 1891 a four-
story brick dwelling near the rear of the church
was purchased for a parish school. The school
is under the care of six Sisters of St. Dominic.
While the Germans of South Brooklyn were
organizing St. Bernard's, their fellow country
men in Greenpoint, under the guidance of the
Rev. Wendelin Guhl, were laying the founda
tions of St. Alphonsus' church on Kent street,
near Manhattan avenue. The church was a frame
building, the corner-stone of which was laid by
Bishop Loughlin in March, 1873. It was dedi- •
cated on August 8, of the same year. In the rear
of the church Father Guhl has a parochial
school, opened in January, 1892, and taught by
Sisters of Notre Dame.
The year 1874 saw the foundation of four
churches : St. Michael's, at Fourth avenue and
Forty-second street; St. Casimir's (for the Poles)
on Green avenue, near Adelphi street; St. Tere
sa's, on Classon avenue and Butler street ; and the
church of the Transfiguration, Marcy avenue and
Flooper street.
St. Michael's congregation was first organ
ized in a private house, by the Rev. Michael J.
Hickey. Later on a church was built on Fourth
avenue. Father Hickey was succeeded in 1875
by the Rev. Joseph P O'Connell, D. D. (now
Monseignor O'Connell), who on January 3, 1886,
opened a fine school. In September of the same
year he opened a convent for the Sisters of St.
Joseph, who have charge of the school, which
now numbers 500 pupils. On March 9, 1896,
Rev. Henry A. Gallagher became pastor of St.
Michael's. He made some very important im
provements and enlarged the church.
The Rev. Joseph McNamee was sent in April,
1874, to organize a new parish in the neigh-

540

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

borhood of Classon avenue and Butler street.
On the 4th day of May, 1874, the nucleus of the
new St. Teresa's parish assembled at the resi
dence of Mr. D. Gallagher. On the same day
ground was broken. The corner-stone was laid
on August 2, 1874. By the following January
(1875) the building had progressed so far that
Bishop Loughlin was able to open the basement
for divine service, but the beautiful church was
not entirely finished and dedicated until October
16, 1887. On September 1, 1883, Father Mc-
Namee opened a fine school house, which was
taught by thirteen Sisters of St. Joseph and two
lay teachers. In November, 1883, he opened a
convent for the Sisters ; so that St. Teresa's is
now a thoroughly equipped parish.
At the corner of Marcy avenue and Hooper
street stands a beautiful structure of the Roman
style of architecture, erected in honor of the
Transfiguration of our Blessed Redeemer. In
1874 one hundred and ten Catholics of the
neighborhood assembled to hear Mass by the
Rev. John Fagan, in a carpenter shop at No.
208 Hooper street. In 1875 Father Fagan moved
his congregation into a neat brick structure,
which was intended ultimately for a parochial
school. In 1881 Rev. John M. Kiely assumed
charge and began to build the -present church,
a magnificent structure, 140 feet by 73. feet, and
made it one of the largest and handsomest
churches in the city. He also built the large and
commodious pastoral residence adjoining the
church. In 1876 the Rev. James J. Hanselman erected
a church for the Germans on Thirteenth street
between Fourth and Fifth avenues, and dedi
cated it to the Boly Family. Some time after
ward he erected a fine school, which he placed
under the care of the Sisters of St. Dominic.
Three new churches were added to the city
of Brooklyn in 1878. The most prominent of
these was St. Agnes', tinder the pastoral charge
of the Rev. (now Mgr.) James Duffy. It began
in a modest frame structure on Boyt street, nea'r
Sackett street. The corner-stone of the new
church was laid in the spring of 1881. It was
a massive Gothic structure of brick, brown stone

and polished marble, 180 feet by 90 feet. The
windows, which were very fine, were made in
Munich, and the grand organ was said to have
cost $20,000. In the summer of 1901 this beau
tiful church was struck by lightning and totally
destroyed. This was a terrible blow to Mgr.
Duffy and his people, but they have set to work
to rebuild their church, and in time a new St.
Agnes' will rise from the ashes of the old one.
Mgr. Duffy also erected a magnificent school
building, which is attended by over 1,300 pupils,
under the care of six Sisters of St. Joseph and
sixteen lay teachers.
The next house of worship, built in 1878, was
the Church of the Holy Name. The Rev.
Thomas J. O'Reilly gathered together the first
congregation in "McCann's stable," at the corner
of Eighteenth street and Eleventh avenue. On
August 11 of the same year Bishop Loughlin
laid the corner-stone of a new church on the cor
ner of Ninth and Prospect avenues, and Father
O'Reilly had the happiness of seeing it dedicated
on Christmas day of the same year. It is a neat
brick edifice capable of seating a thousand peo
ple. In addition to this Father O'Reilly has
ereced a school that now accommodates some 500
children, under the care of the Sisters of St.
Joseph. The Church of the Fourteen Holy Martyrs,
erected for the Lithuanians, is situated at Central
avenue and Covert street. The first Mass was
said in a house on Central avenue and Cooper
street. Soon after a church was built and dedi
cated in 1878. The Rev. Bernard F. Kurz was
its first pastor and is still in charge. Be has also
a parochial school.
Rev: B. J. McBugh was commissioned to
build St. Matthew's church on Utica avenue near
the boulevard. A fine brick building was
erected, which for a time answered the needs of
both church and school. Father McGlinchey,
who succeeded Father McBugh, erected a new
church and also a school, which is conducted
by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
The parish of St. Bridgid, Linden street and
St. Nicholas avenue, was formed in October,
1882, by the Rev. John McCloskey. The corner-

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

541

stone of the new church was laid in June, 1883,
and the church was dedicated on Christmas day
of the same year.
In the year 1883 the Rev. Daniel J. Sheehy
was directed to build a new church. at the corner
of DeKalb and Tompkins avenues. An old
frame house stood upon this corner and here
Father Sheehy said his first Mass for the little
congregation that was soon to be placed under
the patronage of St. Ambrose. Before a year
had passed he had erected a neat frame church to
be replaced in time by a larger and more pre
tentious edifice. He also erected a large and
commodious pastoral residence in the rear of the
church. Father Sheehy secured the large double
house on DeKalb avenue, just below the church,
and converted it into a flourishing academy
under the care of the Sisters of St. Joseph. The
church property is valued at $120,000.
The Church of St. Thomas Aquinas is the
forty-seventh Catholic church in the city of
Brooklyn. In the winter of 1884' the Rev. James
Donohue was sent by Bishop Loughlin to or
ganize a parish in Gowanus. The wigwam on
Ninth street, near Fifth avenue, which had been
used by the Democrats during the presidential
campaign, was used for church purposes until
Passion Sunday, 1886, when the first Mass was
said in the basement of the new church. The
corner-stone of the church had been laid June
28, ,1885. The style of the church is foliated
Gothic ; the nave is 75 feet by 100 feet, the tran
sept 37 by 78, and the apse 16 feet by 32 feet.
The upper part of the structure is Of Philadelphia
brick, the interior is finished in hard wood. It
was dedicated on Sunday, May 16, 1887, by
Bishop Loughlin, who also preached.
The church of St. Francis Xavier, on Sixth
avenue, corner of Carroll street, and of which
the Rev. David J. Bickey is happily still the
Pastor, was organized in 1886. September 17,
1886, he rented the house No. 243 Sixth avenue,
and by the following Sunday he had fitted up
the parlors into a temporary chapel, and here two
Masses were said. Ten vacant lots on the opposite
corner of the house just mentioned were se
cured for the needs of the new parish, and these

lots were subsequently supplemented by five
more on Carroll street. On October 3 Father
Hickey turned up the first spadeful of earth, and
by Christmas he had the happinesss of seeing the
work in his new church so well advanced as to
enable him to celebrate the birth of Christ within
its walls. Twelve hundred persons gathered
in the basement to hear Mass "in their own
church." Father Hickey did not feel that he
could, at that time, build such a church as he
desired, but he did build a very neat and sub
stantial church of wood and iron that was ade
quate for the immediate wants of his people, and
he is now erecting a more lasting building. Al
though he began in 1886 without a cent in hand,
he had the happiness, on Sunday, June 28, 1896,
of announcing that his parish, church house,
academy and all, valued at $150,000, were free
from debts of any kind.
The Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel,
on Madison street was built in 1886 by the Rev.
Eugene P. Mahony. This building has since
been replaced by a handsome new edifice on Put
nam avenue, which was dedicated by Bishop
Loughlin on Sunday, October 4, 1891. The
building is of Norwegian granite, English
Gothic in style, and cost some $80,000.
In 1887 Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev. Hugh
Hand to organize a new parish at the corner of
Rockaway avenue and St. Mark avenue. It was
called in honor of the Presentation of the B. V.
M. In a short time Father Band erected a
church building, which he enlarged and improved
in 1896. St. Nicholas'. — The Rev. John Boffman in
1886 built a new church for the German congre
gation in Bushwick. On July 4th of that year
Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone. The edi
fice is Gothic in style, without transept, and ac
commodates 1,000 persons on the floor and 200 in
the gallery. The complete cost of the church is
estimated at $100,000.
The church of our Lady of Sorrows, at the
corner of Morgan avenue and Barrison Place,
was founded for the Germans in 1890 by the Rev.
John Willmann and Rev. John B. Zentgraf.
Father Willmann remained only two or three

542

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

weeks, and its organization devolved upon Father
Zentgraf. A two-story frame building constituted
the first house of worship. In October, 1892,
Father Zentgraf added forty feet to the length of
the building and improved it, both interiorly and
exteriorly. He also built a school which is under
the care of eight Sisters of St: Dominic, who teach
180 boys and 190 girls. In 1893 Father Zentgraf
erected a fine brick Orphans' Home, four stories
high, and supplied with all modern improvements,
and placed it under the patronage of Our Lady of
Sorrows. Here are lodged some three or four
hundred boys and girls who are cared for by
twenty-four Sisters of St. Dominic.
The New Theological Seminary. — The year
1890 was also marked by the opening of the New
Theological Seminary of St. John. This building
adjoins the College of St. John the Baptist, at the
corner of Lewis avenue and Bart street. This
building was designed by the clergy of the Dio
cese as a testimonial of their regard for their
Bishop on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of his
priesthood. The Bishop selected the ground ad
joining the college as the site for his future semin
ary. The Lazarist Fathers were to be the trainers
of his future clergy and upon Father Bartnett fell
the task of erecting the building. The corner
stone was laid on Sunday, September 29, 1889.
The style of the building is Romanesque; it is
built of brick, with terra-cotta and stone trim
mings and is three stories high, with a Mansard
roof. The Lewis avenue front is sixty feet in
length and the depth on Bart street is one hundred
and eighty-five feet. At the extremity of this wing
is a beautiful chapel adorned with stained glass
windows and handsome frescoes, representing St.
Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine. The altar is
of white marble and of beautiful design. Over
the chapel is the Diocesan Library. The class
rooms, dormitories, halls and refectory are large,
well ventilated and finished in hard wood,, and are
all heated by steam. The seminary was opened in
the fall of 1 89 1.
In June, 1889, Bishop Loughlin decided upon
the formation of a new parish, to be placed under
the patronage of the Boly Rosary, on Chauncey
street, between Stuyvesant street and Reid ave

nue. Bis choice for its Pastor fell upon Rev.
Dominic Monteverde. In 1889 he set to work at
once to survey the ground and lay his plans.
Having no residence of his own, he accepted the
hospitality of Father Corcoran, at St. Joseph's
rectory, and before many days secured a building
at No. 1747 Fulton street, near Reid avenue,
Here he said his first Mass. A week later he pur
chased a piece of ground for $9,000, and upon
it he built the church that to-day owes its existence
to his unceasing labors, and on May 4, 1890, it
was dedicated.
The Church of the Blessed Sacrament. — In
February, 1891, Rev. Joseph E. McCoy was sent
by Bishop Loughlin to found a new parish in the
Twenty-sixth Ward. Be gathered his flock in
Pflalman's Ball, Atlantic avenue and Crescent
street, said Mass for them, and announced his in
tention of building a church for their use. In a
little while Father McCoy purchased ground for
a new church, at a cost of $5,000. This lot has a
frontage of 125 feet on Market street and runs
back 150 feet. On this lot, on July 19th, Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of a frame church.
The design is Gothic, the foundation is of stone
and brick and it has a seating capacity of over 600.
On November 22 Father McCoy had the happi
ness of seeing his church dedicated by Bishop
Loughlin. This was the last of the many churches
founded and dedicated by that venerable prelate.
In May, 1891, Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev.
J. F. Mealia to establish a new parish at the cor
ner of Canton and Division streets (now known
as St. Edward's street and Leo place. A suitable
site was secured, ground broken, and on Septem
ber 13 Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone of
the new St. Edward's Church. On December 8,
1891, work on the new church had so far pro
gressed that the basement was opened and Mass
has been said there ever since. The new church
was completed during 1901. This parish claims
to be the last one founded by Bishop Loughlin.
It is estimated that the church and pastoral resi
dence cost some $100,000. The style of architec
ture is Romanesque, with rounded front flanked
by two towers.
The village of Bay Ridge, now a part of the

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

543

borough of Brooklyn, was a long time without a
church. In 1890 Bishop Loughlin conceived the
idea of establishing a new parish for their relief.
In September, 189 1, he sent the Rev. Martin J.
Loftus to set the work in motion. A lot of ground
was secured on Seventy-third street, near Third
avenue, and $1,700 was subscribed toward a build
ing fund. Father Lofttis found some three or four
hundred Catholics, and he got them together in
an engine house in Sixty-seventh street, where on
Sunday morning, September 20, he said two
massses. Father Loftus secured additional
ground, and it was not lorig before the corner
stone of a beautiful church, to be placed under the
patronage of Our Lady of Angels, was laid by
Bishop Loughlin. The structure is in the Italian
Romanesque style of architecture, of washed
brick with terra cotta trimmings, and a basement
of blue stone. The tower is eighty feet high and
the interior affords a seating capacity for 600 or
700 persons. The church was dedicated by
Bishop McDonnell, on Sunday, September 21,
1893. Adjoining the church is a neat and com
modious rectory. Today the church property is
valued at $60,000, three-fourths of which has been
paid. On October 17, 1890, Rt. Rev. John Loughlin,
D. D., celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his
priesthood. It is estimated that no less than 10,000
persons were present at the Clermont Avenue
Pink and its immediate surroundings that night.
Mr. James H. McMahon, chairman of the
Central Committee, read the opening address. It
was very brief,' and expressed the love of the peo
ple of Brooklyn for their bishop. This was fol
lowed by congratulatory addresses by Mr. Ed
ward J. Dooley, of the St. James' Catholic Club,
of Brooklyn; Mr. Thomas W. Bynes, of the St.
Vincent de Paul Society ; Mr. Edward Feeney, of
the State Council of the Catholic Knights of
America; Mr. John Greene, on behalf of the
alumni of St. Francis' College ; Mr. John C. Mc
Guire, of the Catholic Benevolent Legion; and
Major John D. Keiley, Jr., on behalf of the laity.
Following these addresses Mr. Jacob Zimmer,
Treasurer of the Jubilee Fund, presented the

Bishop with a check for $25,000, the offering of
the different parishes of the diocese.
The Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D., Archbishop
of New York, was the next speaker. Be made a
hasty review of the church in the past fifty years.
At the time of Bishop Loughlin's consecration
Brooklyn contained but two Catholic churches.
"The diocese then embraced the State of New
York and the greater part of the State of New Jer
sey. There were but sixty priests and fifty-four
churches, in whose territory there are now over
1,000 priests, 1,500 churches and 1,500,000 Cath
olics." The Archbishop concluded with a justly
eulogistic tribute to Bishop Loughlin, which was
most heartily endorsed by Bis Eminence, Cardinal
Gibbons. Bishop Loughlin's reply to all this was charac
teristically brief and characteristically modest:
"I can not take to myself any of the glory
that has been ascribed to my labors, for in
asmuch as we are in the hands of. Almighty
God, we must accord to Bim all the glory ;
next, to the clergy of the diocese, who have
manifested such untiring energy in the dis
charge of their duties. Wonderful, indeed,
has been their work. Nor can the glorious
religious communities be overlooked. What
could we do without them? Nothing. To
these and to the faithful laity, who have al
ways joined with the clergy in their beneficent
suggestions, and to whom God has given the
dispositions as well as the means to carry out
these suggestions, — to these, but above all to
God the Father, be honor and praise and glory
and benediction forever and ever."
On the following day, October 18th, took
place the Ecclesiastical celebration. It was held
in old St. James', which had been the Bishop's ca
thedral for so many years, around which clustered
all the memories of his early episcopate and among
the people who had been his direct parishioners
for so many years. Is it any wonder that "old St.
James' was decked out in holiday attire ?" At ten
o'clock the procession moved out of the quaint old
building that adjoins what had been Bishop
Loughlin's home for so many years, and which he
left so reluctantly.
The sermon was preached by Bis Eminence,

544

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Cardinal Gibbons, who took his text from St.
Luke, x, i-o. In speaking of the work of Bishop
Loughlin His Eminence said :
"Do you ever reflect, my brethren, on the
immense weight of monetary obligations that
has been resting all these years on the shoul
ders of your Bishop? During the last forty
years, how many powerful corporations, how
many princely merchants, who have been re
garded as the Napoleons of finance, have been
crushed beneath the ruins occasioned by some
financial crisis! During all that time your
Bishop has been in business transactions for
religious and charitable purposes. The prop
erty he has accumulated has amounted to thou
sands and tens of thousands, and hundreds of
thousands, and even millions of dollars. He
has come out of the ordeal with clean hands
and a clean heart, without a single note of his
protested. Now, I ask you to consider what
foresight and tact and sound judgment must
have been displayed by your chief pastor in
passing through these financial operations with
so much credit to himself and so- much honor
to the diocese over which he presides."
After the reading of the addresses of the
Clergy, the Rev. Thomas Taaffe, pastor of St.
Patrick's Church, advanced toward the Bishop
and presented him, in the name of the Clergy, with
a beautifully illuminated check for $12,000.
Later in the day the Clergy gave their Bishop
a banquet in the Academy of Music. About 200
participated in the ovation. Through deference
to the Bishop's wishes, there were no speeches
made at the banquet. In the evening a grand
torchlight procession, took place, in which 50,000
men participated, under the command of General
James McLeer and his efficient marshals.
The third day was devoted to the children's
procession. Every Sunday-school and parochial
school in the city turned out its hundreds and
thousands, except St. Peter's, whose devoted Pas
tor, Father Fransioli, had gone to his reward pn
the previous day.
The fourth and last day of the celebration was
marked by a grand banquet in the Academy of
Music, in which 250 guests participated. Among
the guests were Bis Eminence, Cardinal Gibbons ;
the Archbishops of New York, Cincinnati and St.

Paul ; the Bishops of Lincoln, Nebraska ; Trenton,
Albany, Buffalo, Burlington, Springfield, Og-
densburg, Syracuse, Duluth ; Rt. Rev. Dr. John J.
Keane, the President of the Catholic University of
America; the Vicar General of Brooklyn; and
many of the Clergy. Besides these were Mayor
Chapin, Murat Balstead, Andrew McLean, and a
large number of distinguished laymen, both
Catholic and non-Catholic.
Whatever Bishop Loughlin's feelings may
have been regarding all this, he continued doing
the work of the Master in the same quiet, unos
tentatious manner that had characterized his
whole life. The money offerings he received on
this occasion soon found their way to needy chari
ties, so that, when Bishop Loughlin laid down the
crozier he had so wisely and prudently wielded for
so many years, his personal property was little
more than that of the poorest of his flock. Be
left to his heirs — his clergy and people — a legacy
of nearly one hundred churches and chapels, a
seminary for the education of the future priests of
the diocese homes for the aged and the orphans,
hospitals for the sick, and refuges for the fallen
and forsaken.
Bishop Loughlin died at the episcopal resi
dence on Tuesday, December 29, 1891, deeply la
mented by clergy and laity. At the time of his
death he was the oldest priest ordained in the Dio
cese of New York, and with one exception, Arch
bishop P. R. Kenrick, of St. Louis, the oldest
Bishop in the United States.
Bis funeral took place on New Year's Day,
1892. Tbe remains were taken from the episcopal
residence adjoining the new but unfinished Ca
thedral in Clermont avenue to old St. James' Ca
thedral. The streets along the route of the pro
cession were lined with crowds of respectful citi
zens of every shade of religious.belief, anxious to
testify to the veneration in which the lamented
dead was held by them. The Solemn Pontifical
Mass of Requiem was celebrated by Archbishop
Corrigan, of New York, and the funeral oration
was delivered by the Rev. Frederick Way rick,
rector of St. Alphonsus' Church, New York. The
Bishops of the province and many distinguished

RT. REY. CHARLES E. McDOHHELL.
SECOND BISHOP OF BROOKLYN,

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

545.

clergymen and laymen were present. After the
ceremonies the remains of the deceased Bishop
were deposited in a vault prepared for them, under
the Sanctuary of old St. James', which he loved so
well.
Part hi. — Bishop McDonnell.
The third period in the history of Catholicity
on Long Island begins with the year 1892, when
the Rt. Rev. Charles Edward McDonnell, D. D.,
became the second Bishop of Brooklyn.
Bishop McDonnell was born in the city of New
York, on February 1, 1854, and his early life was
spent in the Seventh Ward. In his youth his pa
rents moved to Brooklyn. After studying for a
time under the tuition of the Christian Brothers in
old De La Salle Institute, on Second street, New
York, he entered the College of St. Francis
Xavier. In 1872 Cardinal McCloskey sent him to
Rome to pursue his studies in the American Col
lege. He was then scarcely eighteen years of age.
On the completion of his theological course he
took the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Be was or
dained priest by the Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatard, D. D.,
on May 19, 1878, in the Chapel of the American
College, where the Bishop himself had been con
secrated only a week before. In the fall of 1878
Dr. McDonnell returned to the United States and
was assigned, by the late Cardinal McCloskey, as
an assistant at St. Mary's Church, Grand street.
In January, 1879, he was transferred to St.
Stephen's to assist the Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn,
then pastor of that church. In May of the same
year St. Patrick's Cathedral, on Fifth avenue, was
opened and Dr. McDonnell became one of the Car
dinal's household, the Cardinal recognizing the
necessity of having some one near him who was
especially acquainted with the liturgy of the
church, and Dr. McDonnell had been trained in
this direction while in Rome by Mgr. Cataldi. In
1884 Mgr. John M. Farley, who had been secre
tary to Cardinal McCloskey, was made pastor of
St. Gabriel's Church, in East Thirty-seventh
street. Dr. McDonnell became his successor, and
on the death of Cardinal McCloskey, when Arch
bishop Corrigan succeeded to the See of New
35

York, he retained Dr. McDonnell in the Secre
tarial, and later on made him Chancellor also. Be
retained these offices until called to the dignity of
the episcopate. In 1890 he accompanied Arch
bishop Corrigan to Rome, and while there Pope
Leo XIII conferred upon him the dignity of Pri
vate Chamberlain, with the title of Monseignor.
In the fall of 1890 Mgr. McDonnell was appointed
Spiritual Director of the Catholic Club, in place of
the late A'icar General Donnelly.
On April 25, 1892, Mgr. McDonnell was con
secrated Bishop of Brooklyn in St. Patrick's Ca
thedral, New York, by Archbishop Corrigan..
After the Mass of Consecration the clergy
were entertained at a dinner, during which Mgr..
Farley read the address of the clergy of New
York, congratulating the new Bishop on his ele
vation to the sublime dignity of the episcopate and
in their name presenting him with a check for $7,-
490. On Monday, May 2, Bishop McDonnell
took formal possession of the See of Brooklyn.
Never did a. Bishop enter a diocese under more
auspicious conditions. No diocese in a purely
Catholic country, ever received its Bishop in a
more Christian or more respectful manner.
At the Cathedral of old St. James' the cere
mony of the installation took place. At and im
mediately after the installation the clergy, headed
by Vicar General May, until now administrator
of the diocese, and Chancellor James H. Mitchell,
gathered around the new Bishop and kissed his
ring in token of their loyalty to his person and to
his holy office, and to receive a blessing from his
newly annointed hands. The faithful laity fol
lowed the example of the clergy, and soon after
ward Bishop McDonnell was escorted to the
episcopal residence in Clermont avenue, which was
to be his future home.
The first official act of Bishop McDonnell was
the dedication of the new St. Augustine's Church,
on Mav 15, 1892. The ceremony was witnessed
by a vast concourse of people. After the dedi
cation, Solemn Pontifical Mass was celebrated by
Bishop Ludden, of Syracuse. The sermon was-
preached by Bishop Chapelle, of Santa Fe (now
Archbishop of New Orleans and Apostolic Dele
gate Extraordinary for Cuba, Puerto Rico, and.

546

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

the Philippine Islands). Bishop O'Farrell, of
Trenton, was also in the Sanctuary. On the
Wednesday following Bishop McDonnell admin
istered the Sacrament of Confirmation to 600 per
sons, at the Church of the Sacred Heart, in Cler
mont avenue. On Sunday, June 5, he celebrated
his first Pontifical Mass in Brooklyn, in old St.
James' Cathedral, and on the Sunday following,
June 11, he conferred Holy Orders for the first
time in his diocese, by raising the Rev. William J.
Dunne, of Niagara University, to the dignity of
the priesthood.
The Fathers of Mercy who have charge of the
old Church of St. Francis of Sales, now known
as the new Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, in
1892 founded another church at the corner of
Fifty-seventh street and Thirteenth avenue. This
church was placed under the patronage of St.
Frances de Chantal. The church is a modest
structure with a seating capacity of 400.- It was
first atteneded by Father Michael Maloy.
The Brooklyn foundation of the Congregation
of the Most Boly Redeemer (as the Redemptorist
Fathers are called officially) was formally estab
lished on Easter Sunday, April 2, 1893. Rev. F.
W. Wayrick, rector of St. Alphonsus' Church,
New York City, acting in the name of the Pro
vincial, bought the entire block bounded by Fifth
and Sixth avenues and by Fifty-ninth street and
Sixtieth street. The formal opening of the
church was deferred until the following spring.
On April 2, 1893, Rev. J. B. Daily, of St. Al
phonsus' Church, New York, said mass for the
first time in this parish at what was called Pro
fessor Moss' house, at the corner of Fourth ave
nue and Fifty-fourth street. On April 22d the
Fathers rented a house at the corner of Fifty-
seventh street and Fourth avenue, near the site of
the projected church. On October 29th the cor
ner-stone of a new church was laid by Bishop Mc
Donnell, and Father Wayrick preached the ser
mon. The new residence for the Fathers was
ready for occupation and they moved into it on
December 7th.
On January 14, 1894, the new Church of Our
Lady of Perpetual Belp was dedicated by Bishop

McDonnell. The community now consists of
seven Fathers and two lay Brothers. It has be
come a missionary center, and some of the Fathers
are constantly engaged during the season, in giv
ing missions.
St. Barbara. — A new parish for the Germans,
under the invocation of St. Barbara, was founded
in 1893 > the church is situated on Bleeker street.
between Central and Bamburg avenues. It was
placed in charge of Rev. Isidore Wunch. The
first mass was celebrated in a small building
which was subsequently used as a school room.
The corner-stone of a temporary church was laid
on August 27, 1893, and it was dedicated on
Thanksgiving Day of the same year by Bishop
McDonnell. The new church is a neat Gothic
frame building with a seating capacity of 600.
Church of the Immaculate Beart. — In Oc
tober, 1893, Bishop McDonnell called the Rev.
James J. McAteer to the pastorate of a new
church to be erected in the neighborhood of
Windsor Terrace. A plot of ground was secured
near Ocean Parkway, and the corner-stone was
laid September 26th. The building will accom
modate about 600. The congregation now num
bers about 1,200, and the church property is
valued at $35,000.
In the year 1893 a new church dedicated to
St. Mark, the Evangelist, was opened at Sheeps-
head Bay, now East Fourteenth street and
Sheepshead Bay road. It was intended to accom
modate the summer guests who lingered around
the popular resort until late in September. The
old church was destroyed by fire. The new St.
Mark's Church was built by Rev. J. J. Befferman,
who attended the mission and became resident
pastor in 1889. It is a very pretty frame struc
ture with a neat rectory adjoining. The new
church was dedicated by Bishop McDonnell on
Sunday, August 20, 1893.
On Sunday, October 23, 1893, Bishop Mc
Donnell laid the corner-stone of the new Church
of St. Simon and St. Jude, Van Sicklen street and
Avenue T, of which the Rev. William A. Gar
diner is Pastor. Be now has a neat little church,
with a seating capacity of about 600.
On Tuesday, May 30, 1893, Bishop McDon-

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

547

nell dedicated the new Church of St. Aloysius, for
the German Catholics residing in the vicinity of
Onderdonk avenue and Stanhope street. The
Pastor is the Rev. John W. Hauptman.
The Catholics of Bath Beach go back to the
early eighties for the foundation of their parish.
As the name of their church implies, the first
Catholics in this vicinity were Irish, for St. Fin-
bar was an Irish Saint. The old church was a
very modest edifice, which gave way in 1893 to a
renovated St. Finbar's and a church property
valued at $25,000. Under the pastorship of the
Rev. Hugh B. Ward (1893) the old church was
enlarged to nearly twice its former dimensions.
Mass was celebrated for the first time in the new
- church on Sunday, June 25, 1893.
St. Francis of Assisi. — In the portion of the
Twenty-ninth Ward bounded by the parishes of
St. Teresa's, St. Matthew's and the Church of the
Boly Cross, it became necessary to build another
church. The site chosen was at Nostrand avenue
and Lincoln road, and th& erection of that church
was entrusted to the Rev. Francis Ludeke. Au
gust 28, 1898, Bishop McDonnell laid the corner
stone of the new Church, and on Sunday, October
22, came to dedicate it. The church is valued at
$35,000, and the congregation numbers 900.
The Lithuanian parish of St. Mary of Angels
was started on December 25, 1895, on Grand
street, in a building that had been a Methodist
Church, then a court room and next a skating
rink. Later on the Rev. George W. Mundelein
secured old Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church,
and it was soon remodeled and dedicated by
Bishop McDonnell in October, 1899.
The Church of the Boly Name of Jesus, cor
ner of Ninth and Prospect avenues, was founded
in 1878, by the Rev. Thomas S. O'Reilly. The
church is 84 by 96 feet, with a congregation of
over 2,000. It was founded March 17, 1898. In
1885 Father O'Reilly built a school-house, which
is now attended by nearly 500 children, tinder the
care of six Sisters of St. Joseph.
On Leonard street, Greenpoint, just in the
rear of St. Anthony's Church, is a neat frame
church, surmounted by a steeple, at the top of
which is a cross with three cross-pieces. This in

dicates that the church belongs to the Greek rite,
though in communion with the Catholic Church
and subject to the Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn.
It is known as the Greek Catholic Church of St.
Elias. The congregation was founded January
1, 1 89 1, and the first mass was celebrated in St.
Bridgid's Church, New York. In the course of
_time the congregation moved to Greenpoint.
The Italian population of Brooklyn has grown
very rapidly within the last ten years. Bishop
Loughlin and Bishop McDonnell have both taken
a deep interest in a people who are destined before
very long to be a very important factor in our
population. Care has been taken to place all
priests educated in Rome in districts in which is
an Italian population. Then, too, Italian priests
have been received into the diocese of Brooklyn
that they might labor among their countrymen.
Besides these, a band of Italian Lazarist Mission
aries have taken up their residence in Brooklyn
and are engaged in giving missions and retreats to
the Italians, not only in churches strictly of their
own nationality, but in all parishes having a con
siderable Italian attendance. At St. Patrick's
Church, Kent avenue, for instance, there are 3,000
Italians receiving the ministrations of the reverend
clergy attached to this church. The Rev. Dr. Will
iam J. White devotes himself almost entirely to
Italians, and his services are gratefully appre
ciated by them. Be has within the last year opened
a kindergarten school for the little children, and it
is growing rapidly. There is another kindergarten
connected with St. James' pro-Cathedral, estab
lished some years ago under the direction of the
Rev. William B. Farrell. In November, 1894,
Father Pasquale De Nisco opened an industrial
school in this parish and furnished the means for
starting the work. Be was anxious that Italian
children should be brought up with a thorough
knowledge of American institutions.
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel, at
the corner of Laurence and Tillory streets, was
founded in 1891. The edifice was originally a
Presbyterian Church. In 1880 the Polish Cath
olics purchased it from the Presbyterians and
dedicated it to God under the invocation of St.
Casimir. T11 i8qi thev sold it to the Italians, and

548

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

Father Serafino Santi became its first Italian pas
tor, and he placed it under the invocation of St.
Michael the Archangel.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. — In
1887 the Rev. Peter Saponara arrived from Italy
and was appointed by Bishop Loughlin to organ
ize an Italian congregation, which was to worship
for the time in the Church of the Most Holy
Trinity. The church was then started where the
school now stands. During the same year Father
Saponara moved with his people to the school hall
of the German Church of the Annunciation, in the
vicinity of which the Italian colony in the Eastern
District had settled. Finally a suitable location
was found and a lot was purchased on North
Eighth street, near Havermeyer street, but, as a
more eligible site was found to be available on
North Eighth street and Union avenue, the lot
was sold for $5,000. The new site was secured,
but it was only after numerous difficulties had
been overcome that Father Saponara was able to
invite Bishop Loughlin to lay the corner-stone
for his new church. This occurred on July 31,
1887. It was dedicated on November 20, 1887.
The Church. of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary owes its origin, in a great measure, to
the Rev. Father Joseph Fransioli. In 1882 he
rented a hall on Warren street, and, with Bishop
Loughlin's consent, placed it in charge of Rev.
Father Defini, who after a brief period was suc
ceeded by Rev. John Baptist Volpe. After a
year's trial the mission was moved to No. 30
President street, and placed under the care of
Father Paccason.
In 1884 Rev. Pasquale De Nisco arrived in
Brooklyn, and under the direction of Father
Fransioli two lots were purchased, and the cor
ner-stone of the present church was laid by
Bishop Loughlin in 1885. This church, though
inadequate to meet the wants of the growing, con
gregation, has nevertheless realized the hopes of
good old Father Fransioli. Father De Nisco has
been followed by other priests of the Society of
Pious Missions, until now it requires three
Fathers to minister to the Italian population of
that parish.
The Church of Our Lady of Loretto, Powell

street, between Liberty and East New York ave
nues, is the fourth church in Brooklyn for the use
of Italians. The structure was originally a hall
used by the Salvation Army. In June, 1896,
Father Stephen Gesualdi was assigned by Bishop
McDonnell to form a new parish. He secured
this hall, enlarged it and otherwise changed it
until now it presents the appearance of a Greek
cross, 30 by 100 feet in dimensions, and its esti
mated value is set down at $10,000.
The parish of St. Rose of Lima (Parkville)
was founded in 1870, by the Rev. Michael J. Mo
ran. The corner-stone was laid by the Very Rev.
John F. Turner, V. G., on Sunday, August 21. It
was a simple but very neat structure, and was
dedicated by Bishop Loughlin on Sunday, No
vember 27, 1870.
The parish of St. Mary, Mother of Jesus, at
Bensonhurst, was founded in 1888. Mass was
said by Rev. J. McAleese, of Parkville, in a va
cant house until 1892. On June 26th of that year
the Rev. Charles Wightman, who is now rector of
the church, laid the corner-stone of a new edifice,
privately. There is no record of any ceremony.
The number of German Catholics in the town
of New Lots, East New York, has been steadily
growing for several years, and the need of a.
church for their accommodation was keenly felt,
but it was not until January 25, i860, that Father
Philip Albrecht, Pastor of St. Benedict's Church,
felt that he could take steps to provide one for
this portion of his flock. Four lots were pur
chased on John street between Liberty and At
lanta avenues. So rapidly did work progress that
the corner-stone of the new St. Michael's Church
was laid by Bishop Loughlin on April 18, i860.
The building was small, a plain frame structure,
surmounted by a modest steeple. By the 3d of
June, i860, it was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin
and placed tinder the invocation of St. Michael
the Archangel, and on the following Palm Sun
day a bell was blessed and placed in the steeple.
The Rev. Charles Peine became the first Pastor
of this congregation.
In August, 1863, the Rev. M. I. Decker took
charge of the parish and began the erection of a
pastoral residence, a part of which was to be used

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

549

for school purposes. The building was finished
by Father Peine, who returned to St. Michael's
in May, 1864, This time Father Peine remained
with his old parishioners for two years. In July,
1866, he was succeeded by Rev. Casper Mulier,
who, in February, 1868, purchased two lots ad
joining the pastoral residence, on which it was
proposed to erect a new school building. A con
siderable addition was built in September, 1875.
Before the advent of Bishop Loughlin to the
Diocese there were very few Catholic families in
the vicinity of Cypress Hills. In 1853 Father An
drew Bohan, of the Church of the Holy Cross in
Flatbush, found at the corner of Atlantic and
Vermont avenues, a two-story frame building,
then known as Altenbrand's Hotel. Father
Bohan rented the dining-room of this inn, which
was connected with' a bar-room — but having also
a door leading to the street; and here Father
Bohan offered up the adorable sacrifice of the
Mass. Father Bohan soon found six lots on the
east side of Van Sicklen Avenue, near the north
side of Atlantic Avenue, and he secured them,
and so rapidly was the church completed that on
April 9, 1854, Bishop Loughlin had the happiness
of dedicating it to the service of God under the
patronage of St. Malachy.
Father Andrew O'Connell (1872) enlarged
the church, erected a splendid new schoolhouse,
and established the Catholic Benevolent Legion
and the Young Men's Catholic Lyceum.
Church of the Holy Cross, Flatbush. — The
Catholics in the early '40s were obliged to go to
St. Joseph's, the pro-Cathedral, and St. Paul's.
Finally, through the efforts of the Rev. James
McDonough, of St. James', a small frame church
was built in 1848 in that part of the town known
as the English settlement, located on Erasmus
street, near Prospect street. The first resident
priest was the Rev. Andrew Bohan.
Father James J. Dougherty procured the
building of the present Church of the Holy Cross.
The corner-stone was laid in 1872 and the church
was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin in 1873. The
old frame chur.ch was transformed into a school
and it was placed under the care of the Sisters of
St. Joseph. After a pastorate of ten years, Father

Dougherty was replaced (in 1881) by the Rev.
Bernard McHugh. During his pastorate of five
years he built the church at Flatlands, and an
other church, since destroyed by fire, in that sec
tion, now comprising St. Matthew's parish. De
cember 19, 1892, the Rev. John T. Woods took
charge of the parish, which was then encumbered
with a mortgage of $18,000, and he succeeded in
five years in wiping out this debt. Bis next step
was the decoration of the church, and this was ac
complished at a cost of $8,000. Father Woods,
in 1898, erected a new convent, costing $16,000.
The following year the estates of Clayton and
McCrory, to the west of the church, were pur
chased, for $8,000, and a new rectory, costing
$16,000, and a parochial school costing $55,000,
were built on the acquired estates. The old
school-house is now (1901) being fitted up for a
Young Men's Lyceum. The church property is
estimated to be worth something like $175,000,
on which there is a comparatively small debt.
In February, 1891, the Rev. Claudius Dumahut
was authorized by Bishop Loughlin to found a
church for Catholic Scandinavians. Be leased
a house on Fifteenth street, between Fifth and
Sixth avenues, and this house became a chapel as
well as pastoral residence. On Sunday, Febru
ary 15, Catholic Scandinavians from Brooklyn,
New York and Jersey City filled the parlors in
which the services were held. Since that time
Father Dumahut has succeeded in building a
church and rectory and his parish is in a flourish
ing' condition. The number of Catholic Scandi
navians is not very large, but with the help of the
English-speaking Catholics who frequent the
church they have succeeded in building a very
handsome church edifice.
Prior to 1834 there appear to have been few
Catholics beyond the confines of Brooklyn proper.
But in that year the faithful in the vicinity of Sag
Barbor, near the eastern end of the island, began
to be visited by priests from New York and
Brooklyn. Later on, Flushing and Jamaica be
came mission stations. In 1843 Astoria had its
church, dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel ;
Flushing rejoiced in St. Michael's; and Jamaica

550

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

and Sag Harbor had been placed tinder the pro
tection of St. Monica and St. Andrew. From this
time forth Catholics began to settle in different
parts of the island, and churches sprang up al
most "wherever two or three gathered together in
His name."
In October, 1838, the Rt. Rev. John Dubois,
D. D., Bishop of New York, sent the Rev.
Michael Curran, Jr., of Astoria, to found a parish
at Jamaica. He built a small frame church on
Washington street, on what is now known as St.
Monica's Cemetery property. The little church
was 80 feet long and 25 feet wide. In this quaint
structure some 200 Catholics gathered together
from miles around and assisted at Mass as they
could, some having to kneel outside the door.
In 1854 the Rev. Anthony Farley, Sr., became
Pastor of St. Monica's, and in 1856 he erected a
new and more suitable building. In 1879 Father
Farley opened a parochial school and placed it
under the care of the Sisters of Charity from
Mount St. Vincent's on the Budson. It is at
tended by 300 pupils. Father Farley ministered
to the Catholics of Jamaica for thirty-five years,
and died late in 1890.
In the following January the Rev. Michael J.
Dennison, of Sag Barbor, came to Jamaica, and
his pastorate, which extended over a period of ten
years, was- a very successful one. Be purchased
a lot in Prospect street, and before his death he
erected a new convent. Father Dennison was
very highly esteemed by his parishioners, and
even by people who were not of his religion. Be
died on March 1, 1900, and was succeeded by the
present Pastor, the Rev. Maurice P., Fitzgerald,
who is carrying on the good work with much zeal.
In the meantime the German population of
Jamaica had been growing, and a piece of ground
was secured at the corner of Shelton and Flush
ing avenues, and on March 19, 1886, Rev. Ig
natius Zeller laid the corner-stone of his new
church, which he placed under the auspices of the
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin. Prior to this
time Mass was. said in an old farm house built in
1767, and which is still standing on the church
property. The church was enlarged in 1894 by
Father Zeller, and, with the rectory, is now 125

feet by 50 feet in dimensions. In 1893 Father
Zeller erected a two-story school-house. It is
taught by nine Sisters of St. Dominic. Besides all
this there is a convent and orphan asylum, dedi
cated to St. Fllizabeth (widow), under the care of
ten Sisters of St. Dominic.
Sag Barbor was visited back in the early '30s
by priests from Brooklyn and elsewhere. In
1836 it was attended by Rev. John Wastl and
Rev. Patrick Dougherty. In 1839 the church of
St. Andrew was not yet dedicated, but the mis
sion ,was visited by Rev. J. Cummisky and the
Rev. James O'Donnell, the latter of whom con
tinued his ministrations until 1845, when Father
Curran, from Astoria, took his place. During
the next two years the Rev. James McGinness,
from St. Peter's, New York, used to attend to the
Catholics of Sag Barbor. In 1848 Father Mc
Ginness, who was now resident Pastor of Flush
ing, continued his ministrations, until 1855, when
he was relieved by the Rev. M. O'Neill, of Green
port. From i860 to 1866 Sag Barbor was at
tended by Father Brunneman, from Southold.
Be was succeeded by Rev. John McCarthy. It
was not until 1870 that St. Andrew's had a resi
dent Pastor. This was the Rev. Felix O'Cal-
laghan, but ill health compelled him to resign be
fore a year had elapsed, and he was succeeded by
Rev. J. J. Beffernan. In February, 1892, the
Rev. Laurence Guerin made important repairs on
the church, enlarged it and improved the pa
rochial residence.
Back in the '30s, Samuel Leggett, a member
of the Society of Friends, erected a union church
for the use- of all denominations in Whitestone
and vicinity. After the' death of Mr. Leggett, it
was used jointly by the Episcopalians and the
Methodists. On October 11, 1866, the property
was sold to Bishop Loughlin, and in a short time
after it was dedicated to the service of God under
the invocation of St. Luke. It was Father James
O'Beirne who first ministered to the Catholics of
Whitestone. Be was followed by the Rev. Will
iam McCloskey ; Rev. F. J. Blake, who came from
the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware ; Rev. Will
iam Connolly, who died in September, 1886; Rev.
Peter Kearney, now rector of St. Raphael's

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

551

Church, Blissville, who made quite a number of
needed improvements in both church and rectory ;
and, finally, the present rector, the Rev. John. F.
O'Hara. Father O'Hara soon saw the need of
a new church, and in due time he set to work.
The new church is of brick, 50 feet by 123 feet in
dimensions, the style is English Gothic and is sur
mounted by towers.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria. — As
toria is one of the oldest parishes on Long Island.
It was founded as far back as 1841. One of the
earliest pastors, if not the earliest, was the Rev.
Michael Curran, who attended Sag Harbor and
some other out-missions. The first church was
dedicated to St. John, and the congregation con
sisted of fourteen members. The corner-stone of
the present church was laid on September 9, 1871,
and the edifice was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin,
August 7, 1873. In 1883 the present Pastor, Rev.
P. A. Walsh, assumed charge of the parish. Dur
ing his pastorate he has erected a splendid
parochial school, rebuilt the old church and made
many valuable and needed improvements.
St. Bridget's, Westbury. — Westbury mission
was founded in 1850. The original St. Bridget's
was an old farm house, one of the first houses
erected in Westbury. It was attended from
Hempstead and elsewhere, by Rev. Father Mc
Enroe and other priests. On February 11, 1893,
the Rev. Thomas McGronen, of Greenpoint, was
assigned by Bishop McDonnell to take charge of
Westbury. Be was able in February, 1894, to lay
the foundations of a new church, 40 feet by 79
feet, on the south side of the old church. People
began to gather around the new church, until in a
short time Westbury came to be a flourishing
parish. Byde Park was one of its out-missions.
In 1895 the Rev. Berbert F. Farrell became Pas
tor, and he has continued the good work com
menced by Father McGronen. Westbury has
now acquired the dignity of a deanery, and Father
Farrell is the Dean for the county of Nassau.
It was at Winfield that appeared the first
dawn of the faith in northwestern Long Island.
In 1854 a Mr. Anderson presented to Bishop
Loughlin two lots with the understanding that
thev should be used for church purposes. They

were accepted and the Church of St. Mary, Belp
of Christians, was erected during the following
year. The priests in charge of this church estab
lished missions at Maspeth, Greenpoint, Laurel
Bill, Middle Village, Dutch Kills, Corona and
Hicksville,- all of which were attended as oppor
tunity offered, and nearly all of which are inde
pendent parishes to-day. Rev. Joseph Brunne
mann took charge of the*new parish and founded
St. Anthony's parish, Greenpoint. In 1868 the
church, school and rectory were destroyed by fire.
Fortunately they were fully insured.
The first Mass was said in Ravenswood as far
back as 1833, by Rev. Father Phelan. For some
months Mass was said in a store owned by Pat
rick Fitzgerald, and later on in a hall on Hancock
street. Ground for a church building was broken
in March, 1900, by the Rev. Thomas F. Mc
Gronen ; and the corner-stone was laid on April
22, 1900, by Bishop McDonnell. The new church,
45 by 105 feet, was dedicated by Bishop Mc
Donnell on September 6, 1900. St. Rita's is an
out-mission attended from St. Patrick's church.
In 1868 Father Goetz, pastor of St. Raphael's
church, Laurel Bill, near Blissville, founded the
present St. Patrick's parish, at Dutch Kills (as
an out-mission from Laurel Bill), at the corner
of Benry and William streets. The original
church was a modest frame building and no cor
ner-stone was laid. In 1870 the church was
moved to Crescent street, between Wilbur and
Payntar avenues, and an addition built. It was
dedicated by Bishop Loughlin. In the fall of 1889
the church was partly destroyed by fire. In the
spring of 1898 the present hand?ome brick
church, 80 by 135 feet, was begun, the Rev.
Thomas F. M. McGronen turning the first sod.
The corner-stone was laid September 75, "1898, by
Bishop McDonnell, assisted by Rt. Rev. Mgr.
McNamara. The dedication of this church took
place September 9, 1899, Bishop McDonnell of
ficiating. A new rectory was completed and oc
cupied on March 17, 1901.
St. Patrick's church, Glen Cove, dates back
to 1856, when the Rev. Patrick Kelly said the
first mass in this place, in a hall. The original
church was 60 feet by 30 feet. In 1876 the Rev.

552

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

James McEnroe enlarged and otherwise im
proved it. Father McEnroe became pastor on
November i, 1858, and continued to minister to
the faithful of Glen Cove for nearly forty years.
Be is now pastor of the Church of the Boly Ros
ary, Brooklyn. The present pastor of St. Patrick's
is Rev. Bernard O'Reilly.
St. Fidelis', College Point. — The history of
this parish goes back to- 1856, when College Point
was known as Strattonport. In that year the
Rev. Joseph Buber was sent to open a new church.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Ambrose Schti-
mack, the present incumbent. The present church
will seat between 700 and 800 persons, and the
parish numbers some 1,300 souls. A fine school,
attended by 125 boys and no girls, is conducted
by six Sisters of St. Dominic. The entire church
property is estimated to be worth some $100,-
000, on which there is merely a nominal debt.
The first mass said in Hempstead was in 1849,
in the house of Mr. Powers. Before that time the
people had to walk across the great Hempstead
Plains to Westbury, and then they were sure of
mass only once a month. The congregation was
very small, and the priest, Father McKenna, came
from Jamaica.
In 1 85 1 the Catholics living in the territory
now comprised within the limits of Nassau coun
ty held a meeting and resolved lo build a church
in a central location. Westbury was chosen and
a very humble frame structure, valued at $200,
was erected. In 1853 a church was built. It is
now used as a rectory by the pastor at Westbury.
in 1861 Rev. James McEnroe attended the church
from Glen Cove. In 1872 the Rev. Eugene Mc-
Sherry was appointed to Westbury, but made
Hempstead his residence. The present Church
of Our Lady of Loretto was built by him and it
•was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin. The money
.-subscribed for the building of the church came
-largely from the Irish laborers then employed
- on the water works and in > laying out Garden
' City. On June 22, 1872, the corner-stone of the
-.present church was laid. It is a beautiful edifice
^and is said to have cost $15,000.
Father McSherry died in 1879, when he was
succeeded by Rev. Peter Kearney. Fie was suc

ceeded alternately by Rev. Peter Plunkett, Rev.
J. J. McCusker, Rev. Robert Boyce, and finally
the Rev. William B. Farrell, the present pastor.
In spite of many difficulties, Father Farrell has
greatly improved, the appearance of the church.
He has devoted himself to the moral and intel
lectual improvement of his people, and during
the recent Spanish war he was unremitting in
his ministrations to the soldiers encamped upon
the plains and within the limits of his parish.
The following parishes are the outgrowth of
mustard seed planted in Hempstead : Westbury,
Mineola, Byde Park, Queens, Rockville Centre
and Freeport. Freeport is an out-mission of
Hempstead and is attended by Father Farrell.
The Church of , the Holy Redeemer was founded
in 1899. Quite a German population began to settle
around Middle Village in 1858. Many of the
early German settlers were buried in the Luther
an Cemetery near by, the Catholics having no
burial places of their own at that time. In 1862
St. Margaret's church was founded. It was at
first attended from Winfield by the Rev. Ignatius
Theodore Goetz. In 1863 this church was at
tended by the Rev. J. M. Decker, of St. Michael's
church, East New York. The present pastor is
the Rev. Francis O. Siegelack. The parochial
school is under the care of six Dominican Sisters.
The church will seat about 300 persons, and the
property is valued at about $25,000, with .little
or no debt upon it. Besides the church property
there is a very large and well situated cemetery
known as St. John's, and which is destined at no
distant day to rival Calvary and Holy Cross cem
eteries. Between sixty and seventy acres are now
under improvement and Bishop McDonnell is
having this laid out and the roads macadamized,
so that St. John's will soon become the Catholic
cemetery of Brooklyn.
St. Mary's church, Long Island City, was
founded in 1868, by the Rev. John Crimmins.
The first mass was said in an old public-school
house on Sixth street. The original church was
45 feet by 90 feet in dimensions. Rev. John Mc
Guire, who became pastor on January 1, 1879,
enlarged and improved the church, but in 1893

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

553

a fire destroyed both church and school. Father
McGuire immediately went to work to rebuild
his church, and in 1899 he improved the new
church and it may be said with truth that he
built this church twice. The sciiool destroyed
by fire was a four-story and basement building,
and a new building is now in course of erection.
In 1897 Father McGuire opened a new lyceum
building for young men on Fifth street, and had
it dedicated by Bishop McDonnell. In 1891 St.
John's Hospital was founded. In 1896 the cor
ner-stone of a new and much larger hospital was
laid. It is conducted by the Sisters of St. Jo
seph, and will accommodate 150 patients. Pa
tients are admitted regardless of race or religion.
St. Stanislaus', Maspeth. — In January, 1872,
the Rev. Ignatius Zeller was deputed to establish
a new parish at Maspeth, which was to be de
tached from Winfield. The first mass was said
in the new church. In June, 1872, the Rev. John
McElhinney was appointed pastor. Be improved
the church and built a rectory. Rev. John Baxter
was pastor from 1877 to 1880, when Father Ma
lone came, and ministered to the parish until De
cember 17, 1881, when he was succeeded by Rev.
F. X. Pauletigi. The present pastor is Rev. Jo
seph A. Bennett. The congregation now num
bers some 1,300, and the church property is es
timated to be worth about $10,000.
Great Neck was for a time a dependency of
Roslyn, and in February, 1876, the Rev. P. F.
Sheridan, pastor of the latter place, founded the
Church of St. Aloysius at Great Neck. The first
mass was said in the new church on May 20, 1876.
In 1896 the church was enlarged from 45 feet by
30 feet to 60 feet by 30 feet. The succession of
pastors is as follows : Rev. P. F. Sheridan, from
1*876 to 1880; Rev. Edward J. Smith, from April
25, 1880, to 1898; and the Rev. Daniel F. Cherry,
the present incumbent.
In 1859 the Rev. Joseph Buber, of Stratton-
port, was sent to organize a new mission at Bicks-
ville. The corner-stone was laid on August 31,
of that year, on the site of the present church.
The ground was donated by Adolph Pasker. Fa
ther Theodore I. Goetz was the first resident pas
tor. He was succeeded by the Revs. Casper

Miller, Joseph Huber and L. Schneider. Very
Rev. Lawrence Fuchs, V. F., the present pastor,
took charge on September 1, 1872. Under his
care the congregation has grown and the church
property has been improved. On May 12, 1891,
the corner-stone of a new edifice, 40 feet by 96
feet and surmounted by a spire 1 10 feet high, was
laid by Bishop Loughlin, and on December 15,
1 89 1, it was dedicated. The older building has
been remodeled and otherwise improved and
turned into a parochial school.
The first parish founded by Bishop Mc
Donnell on Long Island was at Morris Park
(Clarenceville). It was placed under the patron
age of St. Benedict Joseph Labre, and the Rev.
William J. McGuire was its first Pastor. Some
time in August, 1892, Bishop McDonnell pur
chased a number of city lots, and the new church
was dedicated on October 8, 1892. Father Mc
Guire labored hard to raise the necessary means
to start his church and God rewarded his efforts.
When removed to a more responsible cure he was
succeeded by the Rev. Patrick J. Fahey, the pres
ent Pastor. The parish was formerly a part of
St. Monica's.
In 1893 the Catholics of Byde Park, under the
pastoral care of Rev. Thomas F. McGronen, be
gan to think of having a house of worship of their
own. In August of that year, they raised $1,500.
This amount steadily increased until May, 1854,
when Bishop McDonnell laid the corner-stone of
the new church of the. Boly Ghost. On August
15 of the same year a very pretty church edifice
was dedicated by Bishop McDonnell. The ser
mon was preached in Polish by Rev. Father Leo.
The church commands an imposing site on the
Jericho turnpike. The interior is in Gothic style,
and will seat. 420 persons. It is heated with hot
air, and is lighted by seven stained-glass win
dows on each side. The altars, pews and win
dows were presented by the Church of St. John
the Baptist, Brooklyn, and the organ by Father
Zeller, of Jamaica. The present pastor is the
Rev. Thomas Videnz. Over 100 children attend
a school conducted by the Sisters of St. Dominic.
In September, 1893, ground was broken for
a new church at Cedarhurst. It was placed in

554

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND

charge of the Rev. Patrick McKenna, of Hew
lett's Station, and on October 24 following, the
corner-stone was laid by Bishop McDonnell. The
church was dedicated in June, 1894, by Bishop
McDonnell. The church was destroyed by light
ning on July 12, 1899 and rebuilt in, 1900.
Father McKenna still attends St. Joseph's
Church, Hewlett's, but has for some years past
resided at Cedarhurst, where he has the gratifi
cation of seeing his congregation rapidly increas
ing under his fostering care.
In 1871 seventeen Catholics gathered to
gether in and near Bewlett's and formed them
selves into a congregation and for nine months
heard Mass said by Father Doris in the house of
Mr. Daniel Longworth, who later on donated a
plot of ground on Broadway, upon which, in
May, 1872, the corner-stone of the present St. Jo
seph's Church was laid by Bishop Loughlin. The
new church was dedicated in May of the same
year. St. Mary's Church, Bryant avenue, Roslyn,
was founded by the Rev. Father O'Donnell in
the latter part of the '60s. In November, 1872,
the Rev. P. F. Sheridan became Pastor, and dur
ing the four years of his pastorate he improved
the church and built the rectory adjoining the
church. Father Sheridan died in May, 1876, and
was succeeded by the Rev. Mortimer C. Brennan.
The parish grew, in the meantime, so that some of
its out-missions were detached and formed with
separate parishes. In July, 1886, the Rev. N. J.
Doran became pastor. On the death of Rev. Dr.
Mitchell, in 1898, he was transferred to St,
Stephen's, Brooklyn, and was succeeded here by
Rev. Myles J. O'Reilly, in July, 1898. The pres
ent Pastor is Rev. M. J. Bogan.
By the year 1894 the Catholic population of
Woodside had so far increased as to warrant the
erection of a church of their own. The organiza
tion of the new parish was entrusted by Bishop
McDonnell to Rev. Edward W. Gannon. A tract
of land was bought in one of the most desirable
parts of the town, and on June 14, 1896, he had
the happiness of having his church dedicated by
Bishop McDonnell. The church will accommo
date some 800 people.

The corner-stone of the Church of the Sacred
Beart at Bayside was laid on Sunday, September
1, 1895, by Very Rev. P. J. McNamara, V. G. It
is a neat frame structure of Gothic architecture,
and together with the parochial residence the
church property is valued at some $18,000. The
pastor is the Rev. Matthew J. Tieniey, who also
attends to the needs of the Catholic soldiers at the
military post at Willet's Point.
In December, 1891, the Rev. Joseph Fyda was
sent by Bishop Loughlin to found a church at
Elmhur.st for the Poles. In the following year he
gathered together about 150 of his countrymen,
in St. Mary's Church, Winfield, and said Mass
for them. Later on he erected a church at Elm-
hurst, the basement of which he utilized as a
school, which he placed under the care of the
Sisters of Nazareth. The present Pastor is the
Rev. Felix Baran, O. M. C, who is assisted by
Rev. Benedict Langa, 0„ M. C, and two lay
Brothers. Corpus Christi, Mineola, is a comparatively
new mission, although Mass was said in Mineola
some years before by the clergy of Hempstead.
In 1897 the Rev. Herbert Farrell, of Westbury,
of which Mineola is still an out-mission, invited
two Paulist Fathers from New York to give a
retreat. The result of the mission was the for
mation of a little congregation of some eighty
Catholics, who resolved upon building a church
of their own. On Sunday, August 14, 1898,
Bishop McDonnell dedicated the new chapel or
church, which will seat 200 persons.
The first Mass said at Rockville Centre was
by Rev. Thomas V. Robinson, in a private house.
Later on, through the exertions of a Mr. Vincent,
the Rockville Institute was secured and converted
into the present St. Agnes' Church. It was first
attended by the Rev. Patrick McKenna. In
1894 the Rev. Thomas Carroll was appointed
Pastor. He was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick
M. Fitzgerald; the present Pastor.
Farmingdale has the honor of being the first
parish on Long Island tinder the care of the Sons
of St. Benedict. In 1896 Bishop McDonnell in
vited the Benedictine Fathers of the Bahama Isl
ands to establish themselves in the Diocese of

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

555

Brooklyn. Accordingly a band of Benedictine
Fathers, under the Rev. Gerard Spielmann, went
to Farmingdale, and on Sunday, October n,
1896, they said Mass for the first time in a build
ing which had formerly been a Protestant house
of worship. In February, 1897, the Fathers se
cured a beautiful mansion with four acres of
land, in the heart of the village, for their mon
astery, church and school. The new church was
dedicated on July 4, 1898, by Bishop McDonnell,
and the ceremony was participated in by a large
concourse of people. Besides the Benedictine
/monastery, Farmingdale has the Nazareth Trade
School, which is attended by 300 orphan boys,
who are cared for by 28 Sisters of St. Dominic.
On a plot of ground at the junction of Hollis
and Franklin avenues, village of Queens, is the
Church of St. Joachim and St. Ann's. The
corner-stone was laid on Sunday, September 12,
1S97, by Very Rev. P. J. McNamara, V. G. The
church is a frame structure, Gothic in style, and
has a seating capacity of about 600. The parish
was organized in 1896 by the Rev. Ignatius Zeller,
of Jamaica. A small building on Bennett street,
formerly used by the Episcopalians of Queens,
was secured, and is still used. About one month
after the organization of the parish the present
Pastor, the Rev. Frederick W. Dotzauer, was ap
pointed Pastor. Be has about one hundred famil
ies tinder his charge, and his Sunday-school num
bers about one hundred -children. The congre
gation is drawn from Queens, Elmont and adja
cent places-. In its- early days Queens was a de
pendency of Flempstead.
St. Martin's, Amityville, is a comparatively
new parish, and dates from June, 1897. A plot
of ground of two acres on Union avenue was se
cured, and Father Gerard Spielmann, from St.
John's Benedictine Abbey, Collegeville, Minne
sota, was entrusted with the erection of a new
church, rectory and school. Mass was first said
in Liberty Ball. The present Pastor is Rev. Ben-
no Ferstl, O. S. B., who also attends Massepequa
and YVantagh.
St. Michael's Church, Flushing, is among the
oldest foundations on the island. The original

church building, a small frame structure, was
erected when Father Michael Curran, of Astoria,
visited this and a number of other missions on the
island. In 1853 Rev. James O'Beirne was ap
pointed Pastor and continued to minister for
twenty-one years. Be built the present St.
Michael's church, and, in 1864, he purchased the
ground upon which the convent and academy of
the Sisters of St. Joseph now stands. In 1874
Rev. Benry O'Laughlin became Pastor. After
a pastorate of a few years he >vas succeeded by
Rev. John R. McKenna, who died in 1893. Bis
successor was the Rev. Eugene Donnelly, the
present Pastor, who built the present parochial
residence and • otherwise improved the church
property. The church will seat about 800 persons,
and the church property is valued at $150,000.
St. Boniface, Foster Meadow, was founded in
1854 and was attended by the Rev. B. Keller, and
later on by Rev. Joseph Buber, of Strattonport.
The church, which was placed tinder the patron
age of St. Boniface, was not dedicated until 1858.
The congregation numbers 800, and the church
property is estimated to be worth about $25,000,
with little or no debt upon it.
In 1 87 1 Oyster Bay was attended from Glen
Cove by the Rev. James McEnroe, who built and
paid for the little church tbat was used for many
years. In 1883 Oyster Bay became an out-
mission of Buntington and was attended by Rev.
Jeremiah J. Crowley. Be collected some $9,000
for a new church, and the mission was in a pros
perous condition, when, in 1895, Bishop Mc
Donnell sent Rev. John L. Belford to become its
first resident Pastor. Father Belford built and
paid for a handsome rectory, and then set to work
on a new church, with a seating capacity of 450.
Father Belford gave a new impetus to religion at
Oyster Bay, and its proximity to the sea has made
it quite a summer resort. On the death of Father
Malone, Father Belford was promoted to the pas
toral charge of the church of St. Peter and St.
Paul, Brooklyn, and he was succeeded at Oyster
Bay by Rev. Walter J. Power.
In 1895 the Catholics of Sayville came to
gether to discuss the prospects of having a church
in their village. The Rev. Thomas S. Duhigg

556

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

was assigned by Bishop McDonnell to form a new
parish in Sayville. An old Methodist church was
rented, and on June 2, 1895, Mass was said for
the first time in Sayville. Ground was purchased
at the corner of Handsome avenue and Main
street, and on Sunday, October 1, 1896, Father
Duhigg had the happiness of seeing his new
church dedicated to St. Laurence, by Bishop Mc
Donnell. The church is pure Gothic in style,
with gallery and organ loft. It will seat 500 per
sons. Father Duhigg has been honored by the
Bishop with the title of Rural Dean for Suffolk
county. Ronkonkoma, which has long been an out-
mission of Sayville, was organized into a separate
parish in 190 1, and placed under the charge of
the Rev. M. P. Hefferman. The mission was
opened in 1884.
Until 1870 the Catholics of Islip were attend
ed from Greenport. Up to 1876 they were at
tended from Huntington, by the Rev. Jeremiah
J. Crowley. In 1882 St. Mary's church was
built, and the mission continued to be attended
from elsewhere. Rev. J. E. Bobier, of Bayshore,
attended it during the '80s. It is now under the
pastoral charge of the Rev. E. A. Duffy, who re
sides in Islip.
Southold and Cutchogue. — In 1854 the Rev.
Joseph Brunnemann organized old St. Patrick's
parish when there were very few Catholic fam
ilies in the neighborhood. Mr. Jacob Apley pur
chased the old Southold Academy, which had be
come financially involved, and presented it to the
Catholics. It was remodeled and converted into
a church, and Father Brunnemann erected a rec
tory adjoining it. In 1870 Rev. John R. Mc
Kenna succeeded Father Brunnemann, and re
mained until 1876, when he went to Flushing.
He was succeeded by Rev. Richard S. Foley. In
the meantime Southampton-, Cutchogue, Matti
tuck and other places looked fo Southold for
spiritual attendance. Southold was growing in
importance as a summer resort. Rev. James B.
Lynch became pastor of St. Patrick's after Fa
ther Foley, and in September, 1901, having built
the Church of the Sacred Beart at Cutchogue,
he took up his residence in that village and was

succeeded at Southold by Rev. Peter F. Mathews,
formerly of Fort Bamilton.
St. Patrick's, Buntington, was founded as an
out-mission in 1849, and was attended by Rev.
J. McGinnes, and later on by Rev. John Mc
Carthy. The first mass was said in a private
house about a mile and a quarter from the vil
lage. Nearby was the little country burying-
grOund. The first baptism of which there is any
record was performed by Father McCarthy in
December, 1854. This clergyman attended Bunt
ington until 1857, when he was succeeded by Rev.
Father O'Neil. On November n, i860, Rev.
Jeremiah J. Crowley succeeded him. Father
Crowley lived at Bay Shore, from which place
he attended a number of mission stations. On
April 4, 1864, he moved to Buntington and be
came its first resident pastor. Prior to this time
Father Crowley said mass in Huntington* once
in three or four weeks. Like the country pastors
of those days he would say mass in one place
early in the morning and then drive fifteen or
twenty miles, fasting, to say mass at another
mission. In the meantime the church was used
during the week as a school, which was attended
by about 60 children.
In February, 1867, the church was destroyed
by fire. Father Crowley rented a hall in the vil
lage and at once set to work to build a new church.
He secured a lot in a most central position in the
village, and the corner-stone of the new St. Pat
rick's church was laid on Thanksgiving Day, 1867.
The new church was to be of brick, with stone -
foundation, 114 feet by 45 feet, and on June 21,
1871, Bishop Loughlin dedicated the beautiful
new edifice. It was Father Crowley's ambition
to secure good ground .for school purposes or
for an academy, but he was unable to do so. After
a successful pastorate of forty-one years, Father
Crowley was promoted to the pastorate of St. Am
brose's church, Brooklyn, in November, 1895.
While at Huntington he attended Oyster Bay,
Islip, Cold Spring, Penataquit, Patchogue and
Smithtown. Bis successor at Buntington was
the Rev. John C. York, the present pastor, who
also attends West Neck. Father 'York has pur
chased a large plot of ground for a new cern-

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.

557

etery and had it blessed on Memorial Day of
1896. Up to eight or nine years ago a Catholic was
almost unknown around Brentwood. In 1895
the Rev. Edward F. Hannigan said the first mass
in that village. Since that time Catholics have
settled in the village, and now they are quite nu
merous. In the summer of 1895, Mr. Charles
B. Van Nostrand, whose father was a convert to
the faith, called a meeting of Catholic residents
to consider the best means of securing a priest to
minister to them. The Sisters of St. Joseph had
purchased Botel Austral and its annex, Botel
Brentwood, and several cottages which had been
built on speculation when Brentwood was consid
ered a promising summer resort. The advent of
the Sisters gave an impetus to religion. Mr.
Van Nostrand and his friends gathered the chil
dren of the neighborhood together on Sundays
that they might be instructed in their catechism.
Mr. Van Nostrand and his friends applied to
Mgr. McNamara, the Administrator of the dio
cese, in the bishop's absence. Be sympathized
with these good people and sent them a priest
from his own household, until the Bishop's re
turn. A small store adjoining the postoffice was
rented and mass was said in it on Sundays.
Bishop McDonnell, on his return from Europe,
approved of the formation of a parish, and in
October, 1895, appointed Rev. Benry F. Mur
ray to take charge of it. Father Murray col
lected a sufficient amount among his friends in
the city to build a church, and the present St.
Anne's was erected. Father Murray was suc
ceeded by the Rev. John M. Kiely, who also at
tends Central Islip. Brentwood has of late be
come the seat of the Annual Retreat of the Rev
erend Clergy of the Diocese of Brooklyn.
In 1848 Far Rockaway was visited by clergy
men from the city and from older and stronger
missions on the island. In time, St, Mary's be
came an independent parish and was very nu
merously attended, especially during the summer
months. Rev. Benry J. Zimmer was pastor here
for a time and he erected a fine Gothic church,
the interior of which is handsomely decorated.
The marble altar is the gift of the parishioners,

the onyx altar railing and brass pulpit are the
gifts of Messrs. William and James Caffrey in
memory of their parents. Father Flannery has a
flourishing school under the care of the Sisters of
St. Joseph.St. Philip Neri, Northport, was founded
about 1868, by the Rev. Jeremiah J. Crowley, of
Buntington. Mass was first said here in an old
hall at the foot of Main street. In 1875 F'ather
Crowley purchased a site on which stood a Pres
byterian church, for some $4,000. The building
was transformed into a Catholic church and was
used until about 1878. At this time Father Crowley
was attending Bay Shore and Islip, besides Bunt
ington and Northport, and circumstances were
such that he was unable to continue his minis
trations at Northport. The church here was pur
chased by Mr. Robert Murray, who moved it to
his own property and turned it into a carriage
house. In 1893 the Rev. P. J. Tuhigg reor
ganized the parish, secured the old church, still
a carriage house, and mass was said in it for some
time. The mission was attended by the Lazarist
Fathers, of Brooklyn, from Christmas, 1893, un
til May, 1894, when the Rev. Maurice Fitzgerald
was appointed to Northport, and from this time
the parish took on new life. The land on which
the first church had stood was in the market for
fifteen years, when it was repurchased by the
Catholics and the present church was built upon
it. The corner-stone was laid September 9, 1894,
by Bishop McDonnell, and the dedication took
place November 3, 1895. It is a wooden build
ing, Gothic in style, and is 50 feet by 100 feet
in dimensions. The present pastor is the Rev.
Francis A. McCarthy, S. T. D.
The progress of Catholicity on Long Island
has been truly marvelous. Besides the churches
already mentioned there is the Church of Our
Lady of Sorrows at Corona, of which the Rev.
James J. Corrigan, D. D., is pastor. It was found
ed in 1870, and now has a congregation of nearly
1,000 souls.
St. Elizabeth's, at Woodhaven, was founded
in 1873. The present pastor is the Rev. Joseph
Ernst. Attached to this church is a school of

558

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

nearly 250 children taught by the Sisters of St.
Dominic. St. Joseph's church, Schutzen Park (As
toria), under the care of the Rev. C. Eisele, is a
flourishing German parish, with about 7,000
souls. St. Agnes', Greenport, dates back to 1855,
when it began as a little out-mission. It is now
under the care of the Rev. Patrick J. Farrelly,
Rural Dean, who attends Orient and Shelter
Island. St. John's church, at Riverhead, is under the
pastoral care of the venerable Father Patrick
Creighton, so long known in Brooklyn as the
pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Victories.
This parish was founded in 1870. Attached to
it as an out-mission is the Church of the Immacu
late Conception at Quogue.
Centre Moriches and Babylon were both
founded in 1875 ; the latter is under the pastoral
charge of the Rev. Joseph Kilpatrick. Attached
to St. John's church, Father Kilpatrick has a
school taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph.
Kings Park (1884) is under the pastoral care
of Rev. William Donaldson, S. T. D., assisted
by Rev. Nicholas Keating. They also attend Port
Jefferson. The Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary, at Southampton, was dedicated on
July 3, 1893. The Rev. Lawrence J. Guerin was
its first pastor, and he has been succeeded by the
Rev. William S. Kirby, the present pastor.
Space will not permit a detailed account of
the religious orders or communities in the dio
cese, nor of the colleges, academies, hospitals, or
phanages or asylums and homes directed by them.
They can be referred to only in the following sum
mary: St. Vincent's Home for Boys is under the
supervision of the St. Vincent de Paul Society,
with Rev. William L. Blake as chaplain. The
Benedictine Fathers have foundations at Farm
ingdale and Amityville; the Fathers of Mercy,
the Redemptorist Fathers, the Fathers of the
Pious Missions, the Lazarist Fathers and the
Capuchin Fathers all have foundations in Brook

lyn; the Franciscan Minor Conventuals are at
Elmhurst, while the Christian Brothers and the
Franciscan Brothers have colleges and academies,
and conduct the boys' departments of the parochial
schools of the city.
The Sisters of Charity have charge of St.
Joseph's Orphan Asylum, St. Mary's Female
Hospital, St. Mary's Maternity, St. Mary's Gen
eral Hospital, St. Paul's Industrial School and a
number of parochial schools in Brooklyn.
The Sisters of Christian Charity from Wilkes-
barre, Pennsylvania, have charge of the school of
St. Benedict's church.
The Sisters of St. Dominic have their mother
house at Montrose and Graham avenues, Brook
lyn, and their novitiate at Amityville. They con
duct St. Catharine's Hospital and two asylums
in Brooklyn ; St. Catharine's Infirmary at Amity
ville ; St. Joseph's German Orphan Asylum, Long
Island City; St. Elizabeth's Orphan Asylum, Ja
maica, and St. Dominic's Home, Byde Park. Be
sides these they have charge of the German pa
rochial schools of the diocese.
The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis con
duct St. Peter's Bospital, Brooklyn.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have charge
of the Bouse of the Good Shepherd, for fallen
women and wayward girls.
The Sisters of the Boly Family of Nazareth
provide for the wants of sick, destitute and or-
, phaned Poles in Brooklyn and at Elmhurst.
The Sisters of St. Joseph have their mother
house and an academy at Flushing, St. John's
Bome for Boys, Bome for Females Seeking Em
ployment and some ten or twelve academies in
Brooklyn ; a seminary for boys at Bayside ; acad
emies at Brentwood, Far Rockaway; St. John's
Bospital, Long Island City, and various other
charitable works.
The Little Sisters of the Poor have two homes
for aged men and women in Brooklyn.
The Sisters of Mercy have their mother home
in Brooklyn, where they also conduct St. Francis
Orphanage, and take charge of three parochial
schools and of similar schools at Blythebourne
and Syosset.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame have

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON -LONG ISLAND.

559

charge of the German school of St. Alphonsus'
church, Greenport.
The Salesian Missionary Sisters look after the
wants of Italian children.
The Soeurs du Sacre Coetir de Marie Yierge,
from France, have a convent and boarding acad
emy for girls at Sag Harbor.
The Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Mary
have charge of St. Joseph's Institute for Deaf
Mutes on Buffalo avenue, Brooklyn.
The Visitation Nuns have a convent and
flourishing academy on Clinton avenue, Brooklyn.
Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood, a con
templative community, have a monastery on Put
nam avenue, Brooklyn.
In fine, the diocese of Brooklyn comprises :
RECAPITULATION.
Bishop  1
Secular Priests  273
Priests of Religious Orders  47
Total  320
Churches with resident priests  133

Missions with Churches  12
Total  145
Stations  11
Chapels  14
Seminary for Secular Clergy  1
Students  34
Colleges for boys  3
Students  570
Academies and Select Schools for young ladies. . 15
Pupils  1,017
Boys in Academies  317
Parishes with Parochial Schools  65
Pupils  32,221
Orphan Asylums  12
Orphans  3,695
Infant Asylum  1
Infants cared for  454
Industrial School for girls  1
Pupils  143
House of Good Shepherd  1
Inmates  427
Total of young people under Catholic care  38,417
Hospitals  6
Patients treated during the year, over  18,020
Homes for Aged Poor  2
Inmates during the year  480
Catholic population about  500,000

*L

x\i &

xs to V ti

APPENDIX.

THE COLONIAL MILITIA.

In 1693 the enrolled militia of Kings county
numbered 319 commanded by Colonel Stephanus Van
Cortlandt, of Queens county; 580 commanded by
Colonel Thomas Willett, and of Suffolk county, 533
commanded by Colonel John Young, a total of 1,432
men. In 1700 Kings county militia had 280 men,
Queens, 601, and Suffolk, 614. In that year the official
returns gave the names of the officers of the three regi
ments and the various companies, as follows :
Of ye Regiment of Militia of ye County of Suffolk on
ye Island Nassaw.
FIELD OFFICERS.
Isaac Arnold  Colonel
Henry Pierson  Lieut. Col.
Matthew Howel  Majr
THE SEVERAL COMPAS IN YE SAID REGT.
The Foot Compa in the town of Brookhaven.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Sam. Smith  Captain
Richd Floyd  Lieut.
Joseph Tucker  .'  Ensigne
Of ye Foot Compa in ye town of Huntington.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Thos. Wicks  Capt.
Jon Woods  Lieut.
Epenetus Plat  Lieut.
Of ye Foot Compa in ye town of Southampton.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Abra. Howell  Capt.
Joseph Fordham  Lieut.
Isaac Halsey  Ensigne
Of another Compa in ye said Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
 Capt.
Jon Lupton »  '  Lieut.
Joseph Moore  Ensigne

Of another Compa in ye said Town.
, COMMON OFFICERS.
Tho. Stephans  Capt.
Joseph Pierson  Lieut.
Jerem. Scot  Ensigne
Of ye Foot Compa in ye Town of Southold.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Tho. Young  Capt.
Sam. Glover  Lieut.
Rich. Brown  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Jonathan Harlow  Capt.
 Griffin  Lieut.
 Emens  *•. Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Thos. Mapas  Capt.
Joshua Harlow . . .  ; . Lieut.
Jon Booth ;  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye town of East Hampton.
 Capt.
 Lieut.
 -.  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
John Wheeler  Capt.
Enoch Fithian  Lieut.
Corn. Conchling  Ensigne
OF THE REGIMT OF MILITIA IN QUEENS
COUNTY ON YE SAID ISLAND.
FIELD OFFICER.
 Colonel
John Jackson  Lieut. Col.
 Majr

APPENDIX.

561

Of the Foot compa in the town of Jamaica.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Hope Carpenter  Capt.
Benjamin Thurston  Lieut.
Richd Oldfield  :  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Sam. Carpenter  Capt.
Joseph Smith  Leiut.
Dan. Smith  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Content Titus  Capt.
Sam. Kecham  Lieut.
' Sam. Morrell  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Robt Coe  Capt.
Jon Berian  Leiut.
Jonathan Coe  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Hampstead.
Jerem. Smith  Capt.
Richd Hubbs  Leiut.
Isaac Smith  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Joseph Smith  Capt.
 Lieut.
Thos. Gildersleive  Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Tho. Tredwell  Capt.
Jon. Pine  Leiut.
Jon Foster  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Flushing.
Robert Hinchman  Capt.
 Harrington  Leiut.
Daniel Wright  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Oysterbay.
Robt Coles  Capt.
Josia Latten  Leiut.
Nath : Coles Junr  Ensigne
Of the Troope of Horse in ye said Regimt.
John Lawrence  Capt.
Jonath : Smith  Leiut.
Daniel Lawrence  Cornet
Jon Finne  Quartermaster
36

OF THE REGIMENT OF MILITIA IN KING'S
COUNTY ON YE SAID ISLAND.
FIELD OFFICERS.
Stephen Cortland  Colonel
Gerrardus Beekman  Leiut. Col.
Corn : Van Brunt  Ma j r
Of the Foot Compa in the town of Amersfort.
Jon Terhermon  Capt.
Peter Mansford  Leiut.
Corn. Van Voorhuyen  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Gravesend.
John Lake  Capt.
Chr : Bemoyn  Leiut.
Albert Coerten  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in the town of Brookland.
Joris Hansen  Capt.
Daniel Repalie  Leiut.
Teunis Repalie  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New Uytregt.
' John Van Dyke  Capt.
Joost Van Brunt  Leiut.
Matys Smake  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Midwout.
Arie Van de Bilt  Capt.
Symon Hansen  Leiut.
Isaac Hegeman  Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Boswick.
Peter Pra  :  Capt.
Michill Parmyter  Leiut.
Jochem Vouchnewen  Ensigne
Of the Troop of Horse in ye said Regiment.
Dan. Polhemius  Capt.
Roeloft Verkirk  Lieut.
Jerominus Remse  Cornet
Gysbert Bayard  Quarter Master

LONG ISLAND TROOPS IN THE REVOLUTION.
(From Fernow's "New York in the Revolution,"
Albany, 1887.)
The people of Long Island responded to the call
of the Provincial Congress, asking them to organize in
military bodies as early as the inhabitants of the other
counties, and below are given the earlier organizations.
The fortunes of war severing the connection between
the island and the main land, these organizations could
not be kept up, hence the list of Long Island officers is
necessarily small. The Council of Appointment made
no appointment.1 for Long Island until 1784.

562

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

KINGS COUNTY.
Col. Richard Van Brunt.
Lieut. Col. Nich's Covenhoven.

Light Horse Company.
Capt. Rich'd Lawrence, resigned on account of ill
health.

Light Horse,
Troop of Horse.
Flatlands,Gravesend,
Half of Brooklyn,
do do
Flatbush,
Bushwick,New Utrecht,

Captains
Adolph Waldron,
Lambert Suydam,
Jere'h V. D. Bilt,
Rem. Williamson,
Barent Johnson,
Ferd's Suydam,
Corn's V. D. Veer,
John Titus,
Abr. Van Brunt,

1st Lieuts.
Wm. Boerum,
Dan'l Rapyle,
Ab't Stothoff,
Sam'l Hubbard.
Barent Lefferts,
Simon Bergen,
Peter Lefferts,
Abr. Van Ranst,
Ad'n Hegeman,

2nd. Lieuts.
Thos. Everett,
Jacob Bloom,
Thos. Elsworth,
Garrett Williamson,
Joost D. B. Vooise,
Wm. Brower,
John Van Duyn,
Peter Colyer,
Harm's Barkulo,

Jacob Sebring, Jun.
Peter V. D. Voort,
Peter V. D. Bilt,
John Lane,
Martin Schenck,
Ja'b Stillenwert,
John Bennem,
John Skillman,
Wm. Barre.

Quarter Masters
Isaac Sebring,
Peter Wyckoff.

Rem. A. Remsen, ist Lieut, of Waldron's Light
Horse, had been elected, but declined, whereupon the
company was officered as above.
QUEENS COUNTY.
No record of any regimental organization has been
found. The following names are of company officers of
an early period of the war :
Great Neck and Cow Neck Company.
Capt. John Sands, appointed October 12, 1775.
ist Major Joh's Titus.
2d Major John Van Debilt.
Adj. George Carpenter.
Q. M. Nich's Covenhoven.
All commissioned March 11,

1776.

Captains.

Joh's Vanderbilt.
Lambert Suydam.
B. Johnson.
John Titus.

Corn's V. D. Veer.
Rem. Williamson.
Barnard Suydam.
Adrian Van Brunt.

A return of the officers chosen by the different
companies in Kings county who have signed the Decla
ration and taken their commissions, 1776 :
ist Lieut. Henry Allen, declined.
2d Lieut. Thos. Mitchell, promoted ist Lieut. March
8, 1776, vice Allen.
Ensign Aspinwall Cornwell (Cornell) promoted 2d
Lieut, vice Mitchell.
Ensign Andrew Onderdonk, appointed April 15,
1776. New Town District, Southernmost Beat.
Capt. Abr'm Remsen.
ist Lieut. Benj'n Coe, promoted Captain June 17,
1776. 2d Lieut. Robt. Furman, promoted ist Lieut.
Ensign Benj. North, promoted 2d Lieut.
Ensign Jonah Hallett, appointed June 18, 1776.
New Town District, North Beat.
Capt. John Lawrence, promoted Brig. Major.
ist Lieut. Wm. Lawrence, promoted Captain Au
gust 14. _ 1776.
Ensign Jesse Warner.

ist Lieut. Dan'l Lawrence, promoted Captain, etc.
2d Lieut. Samuel Riker, promoted ist Lieut.
Cornet, John Coe, superseded by Jon'n Lawrence.
Q. M. Peter Rapalje.
Original commissions issued May 10, 1776.
Flushing Company.
Capt. Nath'l Tom.
ist Lieut. Mathias Van Dyck.
2d Lieut. Jeffry Hicks.
Ensign Nich's Van Dyck.
Commissioned June 8, 1776.
Jamaica Company.
Capt. Ephraim Baylies.
ist Lieut. Increase Carpenter.
2d Lieut. Abr'm Vanausdale.
Ensign Othniel Smith.
Commissioned March 27, 1776.
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
First Regiment.
Col. Wm. Floyd, of St. George's Manor, vice Piatt
Conkling, who declined.
Lieut, Col. Dr. Gilbert Potter, of Huntington.
ist Major Nathan Woodhull, of Brookhaven.
Huntington and Smithtown Companies.
Capt. John Wickes.
ist Lieut. Epenetus Conkling.
2d Lieut. Jonah Wood.
Ensign Ebenezer Prime Wood.
Capt. Jesse Brush.
ist Lieut. Jon'n Titus.
2d Lieut. PhilliDD Conckling.
Ensign Joseph Titus.
Capt. Timothy Carll.
ist Lieut. Gilbert Fleet
2d Lieut. Joel Scudder.
Ensign Nath'l Buffet, Jun'r.
First Brookhaven Company.
Capt. Samuel Thompson.
ist Lieut. Ab'm Woodhull,
2d Lieut. Isaac Davis.
Ensign. Daniel Satterly.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.

APPENDIX.

568

Second Brookhaven Company.
Capt. Ebenezer Miller.
ist Lieut. Caleb Woodhull.
2d Lieut. James Davis.
Enisgn Davis Davis.
2d Major Edmund Smith, Jun'r., of Smithtown.
Adjutant Philipp Roe, of Brookhaven.
Q. M. James Roe, of Brookhaven.
Third Brookhaven Company.
Capt. Wm. Brewster.
ist Lieut. Isaac Davis.
2d Lieut. Uriah Smith.
Ensign Benj'n Woodhull.
Commissioned September 13, 1776.
Smithtown Company.
Capt. Philetus Smith.
ist Lieut. Edmund Smith, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Daniel Tillotson.
Ensign Richard Smith.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.
Islip Company, formed from east part of Smith-
town and west part of Brookhaven.
Capt. Benijah Strong.
ist Lieut. Jeremiah Terj-y.
2d Lieut. Samuel Oakley.
Ensign Annen Mowbrey.
Commissioned February 13, 1776.
Southold Company.
Capt. Nathan Rose.
ist Lieut. Hugh Smith.
2d Lieut. David Fanning.
Ensign John Smith.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.
CHANGES IN THE REGIMENT.
December 12, 1775— Joh'n Titus, Capt. 2d Comp.,
vice Jesse Brush, promoted Major; Joshua Rogers, ist
Lieut. ; Thos. Brush, 2d Lieut.
February 7 and 8, 1776— Piatt Neal (Vail), Capt.,
Cow Harbour, or Fifth Huntington Company; Michael
Hart, ist Lieut. ; Isaac Dennis, ,2d Lieut. ; Jacob Conck-
ling, Ensign ; John Buffet, Capt. South or Fourth Hunt
ington Company; .Isaac Thompson, ist Lieut.; Zebulon
Ketcham, 2d Lieut. ; Joseph Ketchum, Ensign.
A return of this Regiment, dated April 5, 1776, gives
the following changes : Majors Jesse Brush and Jeffry
Smith; Q. M. John Roe; Captains Samuel Tomson,
Eben'r Mailer, Nathan Rose, Wm. Brewster, Philetus
Smith, Joshua Rogers, Epenetus Conckling, Joel Scud
der, John Buffet, Plat Vail, Gilbert Carle and Benijah
Strong. Second Regiment.
Col. David Mulford.
Lieut. Col. Jon'n Hedges.
ist Major Uriah Rogers.
^d Major George Herrick.
Adjutant John Gelston.
Q. M. Phineas Howelk
Sergt. Major Lemuel Peirson.
Drum Major Elias Matthews.
These officers were so returned February 10, 1776.

A return of the names of the persons for the offi
cers of the Second Battalion in Suffolk county, taken
according to the Directions of the Provincial Congress
by the Committees of Easthampton and Southampton:
First Company.
Capt. David Howell.
ist Lieut. Jeremiah Post.
2d Lieut. Paul Jones.
Ensign Zephaniah Rogers.
Second Company.
Capt. John Dayton.
ist Lieut. Isaac Mulford Hunting.
2d Lieut. John Miller, Jun'r.
Ensign Wm. Heges. Third Company.
Capt. David Peirson.
ist Lieut. Daniel Heges.
2d Lieut. David Sayre.
Ensign Theophilus Peirson.
Fourth Company.
Capt. David Fithian.
ist Lieut. Sam'l Conckling.
2d Lieut. Thomas Baker.
Ensign Daniel Conckling. Fifth Company.
Capt. Stephen Howell.
ist Lieut. John White, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Lemuel Wick.
Ensign Isaah Hallsey. Sixth Company.
Capt. Wm. Rogers.
ist LieUt. Jesse Halsey.
2d Lieut. Henry Halsey.
Ensign Nath'l Rogers. Seventh Company.
Capt. Josiah Howell.
ist Lieut. Nathaniel Howell.
2d Lieut. Matthew Howell.
Ensign Wm. Stephens. Eighth Company.
Capt. Sam'l L'Hommedieu.
ist Lieut. Silas Jessup.
2d Lieut. Edw. Conckling.
Ensign Daniel Fordham. Ninth Company.
Capt. John Sandford.
ist Lieut. Edw. Topping.
2d Lieut. Phillip Howell.
Ensign John Hildreth.
Commissions issued September 13, 1775.
[According to a return, presenting "A true state
of the 2d Regiment of Militia in Suffolk county, 10th
February, 1776," the total number of men and officers
was 768.— Editor.]

564

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

THIRD REGIMENT.

A ''Third Regiment'' of Suffolk county is men
tioned and commissions were issued to officers of the
same, but no record of its roster has been found.

Capt. Israel Scudder.
ist Lieut. Nath'l Buffet.
2d Lieut. Epenetus Smith.
Ensign John Hart.
Commissioned December 12,
pany, Third Regiment.

1775, for Third Com-

ist Lieut. Edmund Howell.
2d Lieut. Selah Reeve.
Ensign James Wells.
Commissioned June 29, 1776, for Second Company,
Third Regiment. REGIMENT OF MINUTE MEN.
Col. Josiah Smith.
Lieut. Col. John Hulbert.
ist Major Isaac Reeve.
2d Major Jon'n Baker.
Easthampton Company.
Capt. Ezekiel Mulford.
1st Lieut. John Miller.
2d Lieut. Nath'l Hand.
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
First Southampton Company.
Capt. Zephaniah Rogers.
ist Lieut. Nath'l Howell, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Matthew Sayer.
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
Second Southampton Company.
Capt. David Pierson.
ist Lieut. John Foster, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Abr. Rose.
Ensign Edward Topping.
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
The return of this regiment, of May 30, 1776, gives :
Isaac Overton, 2d Major, vice Baker; and Captains
Nath'l Piatt and Thos. Wicks, in addition to the above ;
Adjutant, Ephraim Marvin, April 4, 1776, vice Isaac
Overton, declined; Q. M. Eben'r Dayton.
First Southold Company.
Capt. John Bayley.
ist Lieut. Joshua Youngs.
2d Lieut. John Tuthill.
Ensign James Reeves.
Commissioned May 3, 1776.
Second Southold Company.
Capt. Paul Reeves.
ist Lieut. John Corwin.
2d Lieut. David Horton.
Ensign Nath'l Hodson. >
Commissioned May 3, 1776.

Brookhaven, Smithtown, Manor of St. George and
Moriches Companies.
Capt. Selah Strong.
ist Lieut. Wm. Clark.
2d Lieut. Caleb Brewster.
Ensign Nath'l Brewster.
Commissioned April 4, 1776.
Benjamin Coe, Capt., mentioned October 9, 1776.
Capt. Wm. Ludlum and 2d Lieut. Ephraim Mars-
ton, mentioned December 2, 1776.
Artillery Company.
(Belonging to Col. Smith's Minute Regiment.)
Capt. Wm. Rogers.
Capt. Lieut. John Franks.
ist Lieut. Jeremiah Rogers.
2d Lieut. Thos. Baker.
Lieut. Fireworker John Tuthill.
Commissioned February 20, 1776.

(From "New York in the Revolution," by James
A. Roberts, Comptroller, Albany, 1898.)

Josiah Smith.

SUFFOLK COUNTY MILITIA.
Colonel.
Captains.

Clarkson.Benj. Coe.
Jno. Dayton.
David Fithian.
Danl. Hedges.
David Howell.
Josiah Howell.
Sam'l L'Hommedieu.
Wm. Ludlam.
R. Manne.
Ezekiel Mulford.
Peter Nostrand.

David Pierson.
Nathaniel Piatt.
Paul Reeve.
Wm. Rogers.
Zephanniah Rogers.
Jno. Sanford.
Selah Strong.
Thos. Weeks.
Jno. White.
Jno. Wickes.
Thos. Wickes.

Lieutenants.

Joshua Benjamin.
Calber Brewster.
Thos. Brush.
Wm. Clark.
Timothy Conkling.
Jno. Corwin.
John Foster.
Nathaniel Hand.
David Horton.
Nathaniel Howell.

Benj. Blatsley.
Nathaniel Brewster.

Paul Jones.
Carl Isaac Ketcham.
Ephraim Marston.
Jno. Miller.
Abr. Rose.
Matthew Sayre.
Hy. Scudder.
Saml. Smith.
Edw. Topping.
Joshua Youngs.

Ensigns.

Nathaniel Hudson.
Nathaniel Williams, Jr.

Enlisted Men.

Abbet, James.
Akerly, John
Albertsob, John Parker.

Aldeich, Jacob, Jr.
Aldridge, Joshua*.
Allen, Nathaniel.

APPENDIX.

565

Armstrong, Bishop.
Askly, John.
Bailey, Joseph.
Baker, Samuel.
Barker, Henry.
Baley, John.
Barnes, Jeremiah.
Barnes, Jonathan.
Barrett, William.
Barts, Francis.
Bassett, Cirnelius,
Baykey, John.
Bayley, Philip.
Baylis, John.
Baylis, Nehemiah.
Baybecks, Israel.
Beale, George.
Beale, Matthew.
Beckwith, Ohineas.
Benjamin, Azariah.
Benjamin, David.
Benjamin, James.
Benjamin, Nathan.
Benjamin, Richard.
Benjamin, William.
Bennet, Edward.
Bennett, Ganakiel.
Bennett, John.
Betts, Richard.
Biggs, Silas.
Bishop, David.
Bishop, Enoa.
Bishop, John.
Bishop, Samuel.
Blatsley, Daniel.
Blindenburgh, Daniel.
Booth, Wheelock.
Bower, David.
Bower, Hezekiah.
Bower, Zephaniah.
Bower, Jeremiah.
Brewster, John.
Brian, James.
Brian, Lemuel.
Brown, Caleb.
Brown, Daniel.
Brown, David.
Brown, Henry.
Brown, Henry, Jr.
Brown, Reuben.
Brown, Richard.
Brush, Eliphalet.
Brush, Gilbert.
Brush, James.
Brush, Nehemiah.
Brush, Nehemiah, Jr.
Brush, Robert.
Bryan, Jesse.
Bryant, Alexander.
Buchanan, William.
Bunce. Jesse.
Burnett. Joseph.
Carle, Jesse, Jr.
Carl, John,
Carl, Scudd.
Carpeter. Nehemiah.
Case. Ichabod.
Chatifield, Henry.
Chichester, Eliphalet.
Clark, Elisha.

Clark, Stephen.
Cleaveland, Joseph.
Coan, Abraham.
Conklin, Jacob.
Conkling-, Benjamin.
Conkling, Ezra.
Conkling, Jacob.
Conkling, Jeremiah.
Conkling, John.
Conkling, Joseph.
Cor.kling, Nathaniel.
Conkling, Samuel.
Conkling, Silvanus.
Conklin, William.
Conkling, William, Jr.
Conkling, Thomas.
Conn, William.
Cook, Calvin.
Cook, John.
Cook, Jonathan.
Cook, Nathan.
Cook, Silas.
Cooper, Benjamin.
Cooper, Charles.
Cooper, David.
Cooper. Matthew.
Corey, Isaac.
Corwin, Gershom.
Corwin, Jacob.
Corwin, Jeremiah.
Corwin, Jonathan.
Corwin. Joshua.
Corwin, Nathan.
Corwin, Nathan, Jr.
Corwin, Simeon.
Corwin, Thomas.
Corwithe, Caleb.
Corwithe, Henry.
Corwithe, John.
Cook, Benjamin.
Dains, Paul.
Davall Samuel.
Davis, Daniel.
Davis, Matthias.
Davis, Timothy.
Davis, William.
Davison. Isaac.
Dayton, Jacob.
Dayton, Jeremiah.
Dayton. Samuel.
Denton, Benjamin.
Dibble, Isiah.
Dickerson. Abraham.
Ditmas, Garret.
Doming, Henry.
Downs. Peter.
Drake, Richard.
Duree, Charles.
Edwards, Daniel.
Edwards, David.
Edwards, Henry.
Edwards. Isaac.
Edwards. John.
Edwards, Silas.
Edwards, William.
Ennis. George.
Everett, Georg-e. _
Fanning. Nathaniel.
Fleet. Alexander.
Fordham, Stephen.

Foster, Asa.
Foster, David Hains.
Foster, James.
Foster, Jedediah.
Foster, John.
Foster, Wakeman.
Foster, William.
Fowler, Richard.
Gardiner, Jeremiah.
Garrard, Zopher.
Gates, William.
Gau, John.
Gear, John M.
'Gelston, Hugh.
Gelston, William.
Gerrard. Benjamin.
Gerrard, John.
Gerrard, Joseph.
Gerrard, William.-
Gildersleeve.Gildersleeve. John.
Gildersleeve, Philip.
Gladin, George.
Goldsmith, John.
Goldsmith, John, Jr.
Goldsmith, William.
Goodale. Joseph.
Gould, John.
Gray. Daniel.
Griffing, John.
Griffis, James.
Cuyer, Lazarus.
Haff, Isaac.
Haff, James.
Hallock, Daniel.
Hallock, John.
Hallock, Peter. .
Hallock, Richard.
Hallock, William.
Hallock, Zachariah.
Halsey, Abraham.
Halsey, Daniel.
Halsey. Dsvid Fithian.
Halsey, Ethan.
Halsey, James.
Halsey, Job.
Halsey. Philip.
Halsey, Silas.
Halsey, Silvanus.
Halsey, Stephen.
Halsey, Thomas.
Halsey, Timothy.
Halsey, William.
Hand, David. Jr.
Hand, Jno., Jr.
Hand, Jonathan.
Hand, Joseph.
Hand, Josiah.
Hand, Nathan.
Harcus, Selah.
Harris, George.
Harris, Henry.
Harris. Stephen.
Hart, John.
Hart, Nehemiah.
Hart, Samuel.
Haven. Constant.
Hawkings, Alexander.
Hawkings, Eleazer.
Hawkings, Gershorn.

Hawkings, John.
Hawkings, Jonas.
Hawkings, Zophar.
Hawks, John.
Hedges, Christopher.
Hedges, Eleazer.
Hedges, Elihu.
Hedges, Job.
Hedges, Jonathan.
Hedges, Nathan.
Hedges, Timothy, Jr.
Herrick. Micaiah.
Hicks, Zachariah.
Higbee, Jonas.
Higbie, Stephen.
Hildreth, Joshua.
Hildreth, Luther.
Hill, William.
Homan, Joseph.
Homan, Phineas.
Hopkins, Samuel.
Honoin, Daniel.
Horton, Calvin,
Howell, David.
Howell, Edmund.
Howell, Edward.
Howell, James.
Howell, Jehiel.
Howell, John.
Howell, Jonathan.
Howell, Matthew.
Howell, Mathew, Jr.
Howell, Mose.
Howell, William.
Hubbard, Richard Steers.
Hubbard, Samuel.
Hubbell. James.
Hubbs, James.
Hudson. Ebenezer.
Hudson, Henry.
Hudson, John.
Hudson, John, Jr.
Hudson, John Fred.
Hudson. Samuel.
Huffff, John.
Hulse, David.
Hulse, Richard.
Hunt, Benjamin.
Ireland, Joseph.
Isaac, Aaron, Jr.
Jackson, David.
Jackson, Richard.
Jackson, Samuel.
Jagger, Abraham.
Jagger, Jeremiah.
Jagger, Matthew.
Jarvis, Joseph.
Jarvis, Nathaniel.
Jarvis, Seth.
Jayne, Robert.
Jayne, Shadiack.
Jennings, Silvanus.
Jennings, Stephen.
Jennings, Thomas.
Jennings. Zebulon.
Jevis. Isiah.
Jessup, I=aac.
Jessup, Zebulon.
Johnes, Thomas.
Jones, Benjamin.

566

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Jones, Elisha.
Jones, Jeremiah.
Jones, Obadiah.
Jones, Thomas.
Kellum, Jesse.
Kellum, Obadiah.
Kelly, Stephen.
Ketcham, Daniel.
Ketcham, Jesse.
Ketcham, John.
Ketcham, Joshua, Jr.
Ketcham, Stephen.
King, Abraham.
King, Alexander.
King, Gilbert.
King, Samuel.
Lewis, Samuel.
L'Hommedieu, Benjamin,
Jr.
L'Hommedieu, Ephraim.
L'Hommedieu, Grover.
L'Hommedieu, Henry
L'Hommedieu, Hudson.
L'Hommedieu, John.
L'Hommedieu, Miulford.
Liscom, Isaac.
Lockwood, John.
Longbottam, Jacob.
Longbottom, Samuel.
Loper, Abraham.
Loper, James.
Loper, John.
Ludlam, George.
Ludlam, Jeremiah.
Ludlam, Parsons.
Lupton, David.
Lyon, Henry.
Maccolum, Malcom.
Makes, Joseph.
Marvin, Ephraim.
Maynor, Josiah.
Messenger, Oventon.
Miller, David.
Miller, Ezekiel.
Miller, Hunting.
Miller, Joel.
Miller, Nathan.
Miller, Peleg.
Miller, William.
Mills, Israel.
Mills, Jedidiah.
Mills., Jonas, Jr.
Mills, William.
Monroe. David.
Moore, Henry.
Moore, Thomas.
Morgan, John.
Mulford, David.
Mulford, Elisha.
Mulford, John,
Mulford. Jonathan.
Mulford, Matthew.
Mulford, Samuel.
Newman, William.
Nicoll, Benjamin, Jr.
Nicoll, Robert.
Nicolls. Stephen.
Norris, James.
Norton, George.
Nostram, Jacobus.

Nostram, Samuel.
Oakes, Simon.
Osborn, Abraham.
Osborn, Cornelius.
Osborn, Joseph.
Osborn, Smith Stratton.
Osburn, James.
Osman, Jacob.
Osman, Jonathan.
Oventon, James.
Oventon, John.
Overton, Joel.
Overton, Nathaniel.
Packin, Andrew.
Pain, John.
Pain, Silas.
Paine, James,
Parshall, James.
Parshall. John.
Parsons. Samuel.
Patty, Ezekiel.
Patty, James.
Payne, Paul.
Payne, Peter.
Peas, Matthew.
Pelletreau, John.
Perry, Edmund.
Petty, James, Jr.
Pierson, Abraham.
Pierson, Elias.
Pierson, Isaac.
Pierson, Job.
Pierson, John.
Pierson, Lemmuel.
Pierson, Zachariah.
Pike, Amasa.
Piatt, Amos. '
Piatt, Arthur.
Piatt, Ebenezer.
Piatt, Jeremiah-
Post, Jeremiah.
Ramsons, Auris.
Raynor, Ichabod.
Raynor, Joseph.
Raynor, Josiah.
Raynor, Stephen.
Raynor, William.
Reeve, Ishmael.
Reeve, James.
Reeve, Jonathan.
Reeve, Luther.
Reeve, Obadiah.
Reeve, Stephen, Jr.
Reeve, William.
Reeve, Barnabas.
Reeves, Purr, Jr.
Reeves, Purryor.
Reigner, Ichabod.
Revnolds, Israel.
Rider, Jesse.
Robinson, Edmund.
Robinson. David.
Rogers, Abraham.
Rogers, Abraham, Jr.
Rogers, Caleb.
Rogers, Jarvis.
Rogers, Job.
Rogers, John,
Rogers, Stephen.
Rogers, Topping.

Rogers, William'.
Rolph, Benjamin.
Rose, David.
Rose, Lemuel.
Rugg, Silas.
Ruland, David.
Ruland, John.
Ruland, Luke.
Ruland, Zophar.
Rusco, David.
Rusco, Nathaniel.
Russell, David.
Russell, Jonathan.
Ryder, Stephen.
Sammis, Nathaniel.
Sammis, Philip.
Sammis, David.
Sammis, Ebenezer.
Sammis, Joseph.
Sammis, Piatt.
Sammis, Timothy.
Sammis, William.
San.ford, Abraham.
Sanford, Benjamin.
Sanford, Daniel.
Sanford, David Howell.
Sanford, Lewis.
Satterly, Josiah.
Satturly, Samuel.
Sayre, Abraham.
Sayre, Stephen.
Schellenger, Isaac.
Schellenger, Isaac.
Schellinger, Jacob. *
Scribner, Seth.
Scudder, Timothy, Jr.
Shaddain, Henry.
Shearman, Anthony.
Sherrill, Daniel.
Sherrill, Henry.
Sill, Wessell.
Simmons, Samuel.
Simons, Moses.
Snalling, William.
Smith, Abner.
Smith, Arthur.
Smith, Charles.
Smith, Daniel.
Smith, David.
Smith, Epenetus.
Smith, Fioyd.
Smith, Gilbert, Jr.
Smith, Hezekiah.
Smith, James.
Smith, Jeremiah.
Smith, Jesse.
Smith, Job.
Smith, John.
Smith, Joseph,
Smith, Josiah.
Smith, Lemuel, Jr.
Smith, Matthew.
Smith, Nathan. '
Smith, Nathaniel.
Smith, Noah.
Smith, Obad.
Smith, Obadiah.
Smith, Peleg.
Smith, Philip.
Smith, Silas.

Smith, William.
Smyth, Sylvester.
Soaper, Gilbert.
Soaper, Jesse.
Soaper, Jonah.
Soaper, Mioses.
Solomon, Jonathan.
Stanbrough, Josiah,
Stanbrough, Thomas. ,
Stephens, Thomas.
Still, William.
Stratton, Daniel.
Stratton, John.
Stratton, Samuel.
Stratton, Stephen.
Strong, Selah.
Sweasey, Daniel.
Sweasey, Isaac.
Sylls, Phineas.
Talmage, Enos.
Talmage, Joseph.
Tanner, Benjamin.
Tarbel, David.
Taylor, George.
Taylor, Nathaniel.
Taylor, William.
Terril, James.
Terry, Daniel.
Terry, Daniel, Jr.
Terry, Elijah.
Terry, James.
Terry, John.
Terry, Joseph.
Thompson, Jonathan.
Thompson, Zebulon.
Titus, Timothy.
Topping, Henry.
Topping, Jeremiah.
Topping, Matthew.
Topping, Silas.
Topping, Zaphaniah.
Totten, John.
Totten, Losse.
Tredwell, Thomas.
Turner, Henry.
Tuthill, John.
Tuthill, Nathan.
Tuttle, Jonathan.
Tuttle, Joshua.
Udali, Nathaniel.
Udell, Nathaniel."
Udke, Nathaniel.
Vail, Christopher.
Vail, John.
Vail, Piatt, Jr.
Vail, Samuel.
Weed, Jehiel.
Weeks, Jesse.
Wells, David.
Wells, Isaac
Wells, Isiah.'
Wells, John Calvin.
Wells, Joseph.
Wells, Joshua, Jr.
Wells, Mlanley.
Wells, Nathaniel.
Wells, Youngs.
Wheller. John.
Wheller, Thomas.
Wheller. William.

APPENDIX.

567

Weldon, Jonathan.
White, Ephraim.
White, Memucan.
White, Samuel.
White, Stephen.
Whotman, Nathaniel.
Wick, Silvanus.
Wickes, Samuel.
Wicks, Josiah.
Williams, John.
Williamson, James.
Williamson, Jeddiah.
Wilmot, Jesse.
Wilmot, Nathaniel.
Wood-, Epenetus.

Wood, Epenetus, Jr.
Wood, Jeremiah.
Wood, Jonas.
Wood, Joseph.
Wood, Richard.
Woodhull, Abelenus.
Woodhull, James.
Woodhull, John.
Woodhull, Nathan.
Woodruff, David.
Woodruff, Joshua.
Woodruff, Silas.
Wooley, Charles.
Youngs, Nathan.

SUFFOLK COUNTY MILITIA, THIRD REGIMENT OF MINUTE
MEN.

Col. Thomas Terry.
Capt. Jonathan Bayley.
Lieut. John Tuthill.

Lieut. Joshua Youngs.
Ensign James Reeve.

Enlisted Men.

Beebe, Lester.
Booth, Prosper.
Browai, Daniel.
Brown, James.
Conkling, Thomas.
Demmon, Jonathan.
Dickerson, Nathaniel.
Drake, Richard.
Gardener, James.
Glover, Ezekiel.
Glover, Joseph.
Goldsmith, John.
Griffing, Peter.
Havens, John.
Hemsted. Thomas.
Horton, Benjamin.
Horton, Calvin.
Horton, David.
Horton, James.
King, Benjamin.
King, Jeremiah.
King-, John.
King, Jonathan.
Newbury, Samuel.
Overton, Aaron.
Pain,, Benjamin.
Prince, Thomas.

Racket, Absalom K.
Racket, Noah.
Rogers, William.
Rogers, William.
Roghers, William.
Samon, Jonathan.
Salmon, Joshua.
Tabor, Ammon.
Tabor, Frederick.
Terry, David.
Terry, Elijah, Jr.
Terry, Thomas.
Truman, David.
Truman, Jonathan.
Tuthill, Christopher.
Tuthill, David.
Tuthill, James, Jr.
Vail, Benjamin, Jr.
Vail, Daniel.
Vail, Elisha.
Vail, Jonathan,
Vail, Thomas.
Wells, Jonathan.
Wiggins, David.
Wiggins, William.
Youngs, John.
Youngs, Joseph.

As has been shown in the chapter pertaining to the
Revolutionary War, interest centers principally in
Colonel Josiah Smith's Regiment. The following ros
ters afford the most authentic information as to the
constitution of that command. They are taken from
original returns found some years ago, by M,r. William
S. Pelletreau, in the possession of Mr. J. Conkling
Havens, of East Moriches, who (yet living) is a lineal
descendant of Colonel Josiah Smith.
CAPT. PEIRSON'S COMPANY.
A Return of the. extraordinary musterings of the
Company of Minute men of Bridgehampton according

to the Regulations of the Provincial Congress of New
York and they are Dr. as follows :
N. B.— The training of the 29 of May was by order
of Col. Josiah Smith whereby we are exempted traing
on the 3rd Monday in June.

David Peirson, Capt.
John Foster, ist Lieut.
Abraham Rose, 2nd Lieut.
Edward Topping, Ensign.
Samuel White, Serj.
David Woodruff, Serj.
Silvanus Wick, Serj., En
ter, into Continent! Serv
ice.
David Lupton, Serj.
Isaac Pierson, Corprl.
Philip Gildersleeve, Corpr.
Joshua Hildreth, Corpl.
Anthony Shearman, Corp.,
Entered into Conl. Serv
ice.
William Gelston, Fifer.
James Foster, Drummr.,
entered into Continetl.
Service.
Hugh Gelston Clark.
Zachariah Pierson.
Matthew Topping.
Abraham Pierson.
Armstron Bishop.
Job Pierson.
Grover Lhommedieu, Serj.
Jeremiah Bower.
Silvanus Conkling.
Alexander King.
Benjamin Crook.
Samuel King.
John Corwithe.
Topping Rogers.
Daniel Sandford.
Matthew Cooper.
David Edwards.
Caleb Brown.
David Tarbel.
David Bower.
Zephaniah Topping.
David Howell Sandford.
Abraham Halsey.
Thomas Halsey.
Henry Corwithe.
Ephraim White.

Stephen White.
William Conn.
Henry Edwards.
Jeremiah Gardiner.
Joseph Hand.
John Hand, Jur.
Silas Pain.
Christopher Vail.
Jonathan Cook.
David Inthen Halsey.
Hezekiah Bower.
Benjamin. Hunt.
Henry Moore.
Henry Gildersleeve.
John Hudson.
David Hand, Jur.
Abraham Dickerson.
Timothy Hedges, Jur.
Silvanus Halsey.
Benjamin Sandford.
Luther Hildreth.
Daniel Halsey.
James Terry.
Abraham Sanford.
David Smith.
Lewis Sandford.
Moses Howell.
David Howell.
Henry Brown.
Josiah Rayner.
Josiah Stanbrough.
Jonathan Hand.
Daniel Skellinger, Jur.
David Russell.
John Edwards.
Nathan. Hedges.
Phineas Homan.
Jeremiah Bower, Fifer.
Jeremiah Topping.
Edward Howell.
Josiah Hand.
Jonathan Russell.
Henry Topping.
Job Hedges.
Caleb 'Corwithe.

Appeared before Me and gave in upon Oath that
the above Persons as Named above Did apear and
were under arms four hours according to the Rules and
orders by Congress Delivered out for that End and
Purpose. David Peirson, Captn.
Daniel Howell, Chairman.
June 17th, 1776. CAPT. ROGERS' COMPANY.
A Muster Pool of Capt. Zephaniah Rogers' Com
pany Whereof: Josiah Smith being first Colonel Raised
for the protection of the Inhabitants and Stock of Long
Island Zephaniah Rogers being Capt. Edward Topping
and Paul Jones being Lieutenants.

568

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Hugh Gelston, Sergeant; age 21; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southampton;.
occupation, cordwainer.
Timothy Halsey, Sergeant; age 22; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 10 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, youman.
David Lupton, Sergeant; age, 26; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, blacksmith.
Jehial Howell, Corporal ; age, 25 ; born, Southamp
ton; height, s feet 10 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, cooper.
Elias Peirson, Corporal ; age, 28 ; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 6 feet 6 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Jonathan Cook, Corporal ; age, 22 ; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 5 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Jeremiah Post, Drummer; age, 17; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, yeouman.
Nathan Cook, Fifer; age, 14; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet; residence, Southampton; occupation,
cordwainer. Stephen Sayre, private; age, 27; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
Jonthan Whelden, private ; age, 44 ; born, Nan
tucket ; height, 5 feet 4 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, cooper.
George -Harris, private ; age, 45 ; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 10 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
Memucan White, private; age, 17; born, South
ampton; height, S feet 1 inch; residence, Southampton;
occupation, yeoman.
Silas Topping, private; age, 30; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 6 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, yeoman.
Charles Cooper, private; age', 17; born, Southamp-'
ton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occuoation, blacksmith.
Thomas Johns, private: age, 30; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, joiner.
Stephen Harris, private; age, 17; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, weaver.
William Halsey, private ; age, 21 ; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, joiner.
Jeremiah Jagger, private; age, 16; born, South
ampton; height, S feet 7 inches; residence, South-
ton ; occupation, blacksmith.
Abraham Rogers, private; age, 19; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, joiner.
Ephraim Lhommedieu, private ; age, 21 ; born,
Shelter Island; height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence!
Southampton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Elisha Clark, private; age, 32; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 10 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, yeouman.
Silas Woodruff, orivate; age, 31; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occuoation. weaver.
John Foster, private; age, 16; horn, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 6 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, youman,

John Looper, private ; age, 36 ; born, Southampton ;
height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, yeoman.
James Norris, private; age, 26; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
pation, youman,
John Tuthill, private ; age, 21 ; born, Southold ;
height, 5 , feet 9 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, youman.
Israel Rayneis, private ; age, 17 ; born, Norwark ;
height, s feet 3 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, yeoman.
Stephen Jinnings, private; age, 17; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, cojdwainer.
John Bishop, private ; age, 25 ; born, Southampton ;
height, s feet 10 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, joiner.
Calvin Cook, private ; age, 34 ; born, Southampton ;
height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, taylor.
Stephen Fordham, private ; age, 30 ; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, yeoman.
Barnabas Reeves, private ; age, 30 ; born, Southold ;
height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu-
occupation, youman.
James Howell, private; age, 27; born. Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occuoation,. hatter.
Joseph Burnett, private; age, .38; born Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occuoation yeoman.
Isaac Liscomb. private; age, 17; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 1 inch; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
Matthew Jagger, private; age, 26; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
James Halsey, private ; age, 23 ; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, yeoman.
Joshua Woodruff, private; age, 16; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, yeoman.
Daniel Stratton, private; age, 23; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southampton;
occuoation, cordwainer.
David Woodruff, private; age. 28; born, South
ampton; height, 6 feet; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, joiner.
Jeremiah Ludlam, private; age, 29; born, South
ampton; height S feet 9 inches; residence Southamp
ton ; occuoation, weaver.
Silas Halsey, private ; age, 24 ; born, Southamtpton ;
height, s feet 10 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, weaver.
Matthew Cooper, private; age, 19; born, South
ampton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Abraham Roger, Junr.. private; age, 17; born
Southampton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, South
ampton ; occupation, weaver.
Stephen Halsey, private; age, 19; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feef 8 inches ; residence, Southampton •
occuoation, weaver. '
Mulford Lhommedieu. orivate; age. 19- born
Southampton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence,' South
ampton ; occupation taylor.

APPENDIX.

569

David Cooper, private ; age, 39 ; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, weaver.
James Terry, private ; age, 17 ; born, Southampton ;
height, S feet 6 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, weaver.
John Cook, private ; age, 21 ; born, Southampton ;
height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, weaver.
Topping Rogers, private ; age, 16 ; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Moses Howell, private; age, 24; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
James Halsey, private; age, 20; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, shoemaker.
Ethan Halsey, private; age, 22; born, Southamp
ton ; height, 6 feet 1 inch ; residence, Southampton ; oc
cupation, yeoman.
Job Halsey, private ; age, 16 ; born, Southampton ;
height, 5 feet 6 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, yeoman.
Mallom Maccolum, private; age, 21; born, Scot
land ; height, 5 feet 3 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Stephen Clark, private; age, 16; born, Southamp
ton; height, S feet; residence, Southampton; occupa
tion, yeoman.
Elias Matthews, private; age, 27; born, Southamp
ton : height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, yeoman.
Matthew Howell, private; age, 16; born, South
ampton; height, s feet 3 inches; residence, South-
amoton ; occupation, weaver.
" I do hereby Certify the within named Officers and
Soldiers belonging to' Capt. Zephaniah Rogers' Com
pany have been Mustered by me and examined and
according to the best of my knowledge the; are sound
Healthy & able bodied.
Southampton, July 26th, 1776.
David Mulford, Muster Master for Sd Company.
CAPT. MULFORD'S COMPANY.
A Muster Roll of Capt. Ezekiel Mulford's Company
in Col. Josiah Smith's Regiment, raised for the pro
tection of the Inhabitants ' and Stock on Long Island.
David Sayre, first Lieutenant; Nathaniel Hand, 2nd
Lieut. , ,
Matthew Mulford, Sergeant; age, 19; born, East
hampton; height, S feet 9 inches; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Lemuel Pierson, Sergeant; age, 32; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; c ccupation, weaver.
Henry Dominy, Sergeant ; age, 29 : born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 6 feet 1 inch ; residence, Easthampton ; oc
cupation, yeoman.
Henry Sherrill, Corporal; age, 22; born, East
hampton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occuoation. carpenter.
Benjamin Crook, Corporal; age. 32; born, Oyster-
ponds; height, S feet 10 inches; residence, Southamp
ton; occupation, yeoman.
Ludlam Parsons, Corporal; age. 29; born, East
hampton: height, S feet n inches; residence, Easthamp
ton; occupation, weaver.

Thomas Jones, Drummer ; age, 21 ; born, East
hampton ; height, 5 feet 5 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Zechariah Bower, Fifer; age, 17; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet; residence, Southampton; occupa
tion, taylor.
David Miller, private ; age, 19 ; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, farmer.
Abraham Osborn, private; age, 19; born, East
hampton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Daniel Hoppin, private ; age, 17 years ; born, East
hampton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, farmer.
Jeremiah Dayton, private; age, 31: born. East
hampton ; height, 6 feet 2 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, farmer.
Joel Miller, private; age, 17; born. Easthampton;
height, 5 feet 3 inches ; residence, Easthampton ; occu
pation, weaver.
Samuel Stratton, private ; age, 17 ; born, Easthamp
ton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Easthampton;
occupation, taylor.
Nathan Hand, private; age, 29; born. Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence, Easthampton;
occupation, cordwainer.
Daniel Baker, private ; age, 21 ; born, Easthampton ;
height, 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Easthampton ; occu
pation, taylor.
Samuel Conkling, private ; age, 22 ; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 6 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Zachariah Hicks, private ; age, 26 ; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, taylor.
Peleg Miller, private; age, 19; born. Easthampton;
height, 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Easthampton ; occu
pation, blacksmith.
Elihu Hedges, private; age, 27; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, mariner.
Joseph Osborn, private; age, 21; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence Easthampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Jeremiah Barns, private; age, 20; born. Fasth?mn-
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occuoation, cordwainer.
Jonathan Mulford, orivate; age. 20; born. East
hampton; height, 5 feet 6 inches; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Samuel Parsons, private ; age. 22 ; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 9 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, cordwainer.
William Conkling, private ; age. 18 ; born, East
hampton ; height, 5. feet 7 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Samuel Mulford. private ; age. 19 ; born. Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet g inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, weaver.
Benjamin Conkling, private; age. 18; born, East
hampton ; height 5 feet 10 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Joseph Talmage, private ; age, 20 ; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occuoation, weaver.
William Miller, orivate; age, 16; born, Easthamp
ton; height, S feet 8 inches; residence, Ea =
occupation, weaver.

570

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Aaron Isaac, Junr., private; age, 23; born, East
hampton ; height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Smith Stratton Osborn, private; age, 17; born,
Easthampton ; height, 5 feet 4 inches ; residenoe, East
hampton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Isaac Edwards, private; age, 17; born, Easthamp
ton; height, s feet 7 inches; residence, Easthampton;
occupation, yeoman.
Nathan Miller, private; age, 17; born,, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 7 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, cordwainer.
Cornelius Bassett, private ; age, 21 ; born, East
hampton; height, s feet 11 inches; residence, Easthamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Daniel Edwards, private; age, 21; born, Easthamp
ton; height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence, Easthampton;
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Jacob Skellinger, private; age, 17; born, Easthamp
ton ; height, 5 feet 3 inches ; residence, Easthampton ;
occupation, weaver.
John Hawks, private; age, 19; born, Easthampton;
height, 5 feet 4 inches; residence, Easthampton; occu
pation, weaver.
Edward Bennet, private; age, 37; born, Easthamp
ton; height, S feet 7 inches; residence, Easthampton;
occupation, yeoman.
Gamaliel Bennet, private ; age, 25 ; born, Easthamp
ton; height, s feet 5 inches; residence, Easthampton;
occupation, blacksmith.
Henry Moore, private; age, 26; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, cordwainer.
Jonathan Hedges, private; age, 27; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, weaver.
Job Pierson, private; age, 17; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 8 inches ; residence, Southampton ; occu
pation, blacksmith.
William Halliock, private; age, 26; born, Southold;
height, 5 feet 5 inches; residence, .Southampton; occu
pation, cordwainer.
Thomas Stanbrough, private; age, 26; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 7 inches; residence, Southamp
ton; occupation, weaver.
Nathan Hedges, private; age, 17; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
Paul Dains, private; age, 34; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 7 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, mariner.
John Pain> private; age, 39; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, yeoman.
Paul Payne, private; age, 25; born, Southampton;
height, 6 feet; residence, Southampton; occupation,
yeoman. Samuel Davall, private ; age, 21 ; born, Southamp
ton; height, s feet 10 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, weaver.
Henry Edwards, private; age, 19; born, Easthamp
ton; height, S feet 8 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, blacksmith.
Edmund Perry, private; age, 30; born, Massachu
setts; height, 5 feet 10 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, yeoman.
Silas Edwards, .private; age, 24; born, Southamp
ton; height, 5 feet 7 inches; residence, Southampton;
occupation, yeoman.

Zebulon Thompson, private; age, 42; born, Se
tauket ; height, 5 feet 1 inch ; residence, Southampton ;
occupation, taylor.
Joseph Hand, private ; age, 20 ; born, Easthampton ;
height, 5 feet 8 inches; residence, Easthampton; occu
pation, weaver.
Peter Payne, private; age, 28; born, Southampton;
height, 6 feet; residence, Southampton; occupation, yeo
man. James Loper, private; age, 39; born, Southampton;
height, 5 feet 11 inches; residence, Southampton; occu
pation, yeoman.
Matthew . Howell, private ; age, 20 ; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 9 inches; residence, Southamp
ton ; occupation, cordwainer.
Wakeman Foster, . private ; age, 22 ; born, South
ampton; height, 5 feet 6 inches; residence, Southamp
ton; occupation, yeoman.
I do hereby, Certify that the within named Officers
and Soldiers belonging to Capt. Ezekiel Mulfords
Company have been Mustered by me and Examined
and According to the 'best of my knowledge they are
sound Healthy and Able Bodied.
Easthampton, July 26th, 1776.
David M'ulford, Muster Master for Sd. Comp.
CAPT. PLATT'S COMPANY.
A Return of a Company of Minute-men raised in
Smithtown and the eastern Parts of Huntington. Their
Enlistment to commence the 7th Day of April, 1776,
at which time they chose the following Officers (viz.) :

junr.

junr.

Nathaniel Piatt, Capt.
Samuel Smith, ist Lieut.
Henry Scudder, 2nd Lieut.
Benjn. Blatsley, Ensign.
John Lock wood, ist Sergt.
Jonas Mills, junr., 2nd
Sergt.
John Vail, 3d Sergt.
Abner Smith, 4th Sergt.
Jesse Soaper, ist Corporl.
Nathaniel Smith, 2nd Cor
porl.
Benjamin Nicoll, junr., 3d
Corporl.
Joseph Smith, 4th Corporl.
William Newman, Drum
mer, .n
 , Fifer.
Thomas Tredwell, Clerk.
Jeremiah Piatt.
Epenetus Smith.
Jacobus Hubbs.
Stephen Nicolls.
John Gerrard.
John Lhomedieu.
Daniel Blidenburg.
Piatt Arthur.
Stephen Rogers.
Robert Nicoll.
Jacob Longbottom.
A later return is as follows:
Pay Roll of Capt. Nathaniel Piatt's Company in
Col Josiah Smiths Regiment of New York Militia,
1776. Pay drawn from July 26 to Dec 2
Nathaniel Piatt, Captain. Pay per month £10, 13 4
Samuel Smith, ist Lieut., £7 4 o

Lemuel Smith, junr.
William Gerrard.
William Wheeler.
Gilbert Smith, junr.
Jonah Soaper.
Jacob Conklin.
David Sammis.
Epenetus Wood,
James Hubbel.
Jesse Carle, junr.
John Huff.
William, Davis.
Stephen Ketcham.
Totten,
Daniel Blatsley.
Silas Smith.
Nehemiah Brush,
James Brian.
Phinehas Sylls.
Lemuel Brian.
Moses Soaper.
Jeremiah Smith.
John Ruland.
Timothy Scudder,
Gilbert Soaper.
Jeremiah Wood.
John Totten.
Zophar Ruland.
William Buchannan.

junr.

APPENDIX.

571

Henry Scudder, 2nd Lieut., £7, 4, o.
John, Hadden, Sergeant, £3, 4, o.
John Carl, Sergeant, £3, 4, o.
Jesse Bunts (?), Sergenat, £3, 4 o.
Jacobus Hubbs, Corporal, £2, 18, 8.
John Hart. Corporal, £2, 18, 8.
Jedediah Mills, Corporal, £2, 18, 8.
Wm. Nemwan, Drummer, £2, 18, 8.
Matthew Smith, Fifer, £2, 18, 8.
Daniel Smith, Private, £2, 13, 4.

Nathaniel Tayler.
Ebenezer Wood.
Israel Mills.
Nathaniel Smith.
Nathaniel Sammis.
Nehemiah Brush.
Wm. Mills.
Job Smith.
David Smith.
Henry Chadayne.
Thomas Wheeler.
Silas Briggs.
Floyd Smith.
James Hubbell.
Moses Soper.
Straton Brien.
Hezekiah 'Smith.
Nahan Smith.
Philip Bayley.
Wm. Gates.
Jonas Wood.
James Smith.
Seth Jarvis.

John Bayley.
John Gildersleve.
Isaac Hoff.
Jesse Weeks.
James Abbott.
Simon Oakes.
James Hoff.
Scudder Carl.
Lemuel Rose.
Luke Ruland.
Matthew Beal.
Wm. Tayler.
Wm. Smalling.
Nehemiah Hart.
James Griffiths,
George Beal.
John West.
Joseph Skidmore.
Eliphalet Hill.
Reuben Arthur.
Alex. Fleet.
Thomas Peters.
David Munro.

CAPT. JOHN WICKES' COMPANY.
Return of Capt. John Wickes' Company from
Huntington for serveing in Coll. Josiah Smith's Regi
ment from July the 29th to August 31st, 1776.
Capt  1
First Lieutenant  1
Second Lieutenant  1
Sergeants  3
Corporals  3
Drummer  1
Fifer  I
Privates  36
Total 

John Wickes, Capt.
Thomas Brush, ist Lieut.
Nathaniel Whitman, 2d
Lieut.
Jesse Ketcham, Segt.
Timothy Sammis, Segt.
Samuel Vail, Segt.
Nathll. Rusco, Corporal.
Ezra Conkling, Corpl.
Stephen Keley, Corpl.
John Williams. Drum.
John Bennett, Fifer.
William Sammis.
Samuel Nostran.
Robert Brush.
Jonas Sammis.
Thomas Conkling.
Joseph Wood.

Jesse Smith.
Alexander Bryant.
Josiah Smith.
Joseph Ireland.
George Everit.
Nathaniel Allen.
Isaiah Jervis.
Peleg Smith.
Nathaniel Udale.
Jonas Higbee.
Nathaniel Jarvis.
Joseph Jarvis.
Caleb Rogers.
Samuel Wickes.
Stephen, Stratten,
Obediah Kellum.
John M. Gear.
Piatt Sammis.

Benjamin Denton.
Philip Sammis.
James Brush.
Ebenezer Sammis.
Gilbert Brush.
Joseph Conkling.

David Ruland.
Nathel. Sammis.
Eliphalet Chichester.
Samuel Hart.
EnoB Bishop.
Jesse Wilmot.

CAPT. THOMAS WICKES COMPANY.
Capt. Thomas Wickes, Esq.
Lieut. Timothy Cokling.
Second Lieut. Isaac Carl Ketcham.
Ensign Nathaniel Williams, Junr.

Jeams Brush.
John Ketcham.
John Gould.
Obediah Smith.
George Norton.
Amos Piatt.
Daniel Ketcham.
Philip Sammis.
Robert Brush.
Samuel Nostran.
John 'Morgan.
John Wheeler.
Jarvis Rogers.
Gilbert Brush.
Ezra Conkling.
Silas Smith.
Josiah Smith.
David Rusco.
Nathaniel Rusco.
Benjamin, Rolph.
Jesse Kellum.

Isaac Davison.
Charles Durree.
Ebenezer Piatt.
Piatt Vail, Junr.
Caleb Rogers.
Joseph Jarvis.
William Rogers.
Nathaniel Hole.
Josua Ketcham, Junr.
Joseph Smith.
Timothv Titus.
Jeams Smith.
Nathaniel Whitman.
Jacobus Nostran.
Nathaniel Wilmot.
John Conkling.
Samuel Jackson.
David Jackson.
Samuel Lewis.
Eliphalet Brush.

Sir, this is a List of the men that Belong to my
Company and all Except one are Equipt and have got
some Amunition as to make a Compleat Return at
Present I Cannot for their is a Considerable Number
that have not yet turn'd out General Woodhull &
Coll Floyd you may Remember told the officers that
they Need not be Exact about the Number & from
that the Oficers have Done nothing about Compleating
their Compliment & the Draft ,that Way made ito
Smith town makes this Company So Small.
CAPT. SELAH STRONG'S LIST.

Selah Strong, Captain.
Willm. Clark, 1st Lieut.
Caleb Brewster, 2d Lieut.
Nathaniel Brewster, Ensign
Selah Strong, ist Sergt.
Jahiel Weed, 2d.
Joseph Gerrard, 3d.
James Woodhull, 4th.
Nathan Woodhull Clark.
Benjm. Gerrard, Corporal.
Henry Lyon, Corporal.
Richard Huls, Corporal.
Daniel Davis, drummer.
Lazarus Guyer, fifer.
Zopher Hawkings.
David Gray.
Abelenus Woodhull.
Arthur Smith.
Abner Smith.
Robert Jayne.

John Oventon.
William Davis.
Henry Turner.
James Orsburn.
Wessel Sill.
John Woodhull.
Samuel Hopkins.
Edmund Robinson.
Timothy Davis.
Joshua Tuttle.
Benjm. Jones.
Jesse Rider.
Shadrack Jayne.
Seth Scribner.
Andrew Pachin.
Obediah Reeve.
Gersham Hawkings.
David Robinson.
Joseph Raner.
Jonathan Thompson,

572

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Joseph Terry.
Joseph Homan.
Francis Barto.
Daniel Brown.
Selah Havens.
Isaiah Mosier.
John Smith.
Philip Smith.
Joseph Wells.
Daniel Smith.
Jonas Hawkings.
John Hawkings.
Samuel Longbottom.
Eleazer Hawkings.
John Akerly.

Jeddediah Williamson.
David Hulse.
Alexand. Hawkings.
John Baley.
John Brewster.
Samuel Satturly.
Willm. Edwards.
Mathias Davis.
Isaac Sweasey.
Willm. Still.
Zophar Garrard.
Josiah Satturly.
James Oventon.
Jonahan Howel.
Daniel Sweasey.
Messenger Oventon.
the number of privets 59.
CAPT. LUDLAM's RETURN.
Captain  i
Lieutenants  2
Sergeants  2
Corporals  2
Drummer  1
Fifer  1
Effective Men  -  26
Sick  4
Deserters  t  8
1 absent Being a Committee man.
Total 
A List of Capt. Ludlam's Men Belonging to Coin.
Smiths Ridgment August 22th, 1776.
(Signed) Capt. Ludlam.
Stephen Higbie. John 'Goldsmith, Jr.
Charles Smith. Joel Overton, Dead.
Willm. Smith. Richard Drake.
George Ennis. Naban Corwin.
Benjm. Tanner. John Halliock.
Samuel Simmons. Ruben Brown.
Auris Ramson. Nathan Benjamin.
Garrit Ditmas. Richard Halliock.
Drum. James Parshall. David Brown. Dead.
Gilbert King. John Parshall.
The above have Received their pay for the whole
of their Service. Capt. Reeves.
CAPT. PAUL REEVE'S COMPANY.
A Muster Role of Capt. Paul Reeve' Company
Draughtd out of Coll. Thos. terry' Rigment Mustrd
by the Sd Coll. Whareof Josiah Smith is Coll.
Southold, Augst sth, 1776.
Paul Reeve, Captain ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; coni-
plection, dark ; age, 42 ; acutriments compleat.
John Corwin, Lieutenant ; statture 5 feet 9 inches ;
complection, light ; age, 41 ; acutriments compleat.
Joshua Benjamin, Lieutenant; statture, 5 feet 8
inches ; complection, dark ; age, 28 ; acutriments com
pleat. Whelock .Booth, Sergeant; statture, 5 feet 6 inches;
complection, dark ; age, 34 ; acutriments compleat.
Nathl. Conkling, Sergeant ; statture 5 feet 10
inches; complection, dark; age, 36; acutriments com
pleat.

Steers Hubbard, Sergeant ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ;
complection, dark ; age, 23 ; acutriments compleat.
Jonathen Sollomon, Corporal ; statture, 5 feet 10
inches ; complection, dark ; age, 33 ; acutriments com
pleat. Constant Haven, Corporal; statture, 5 feet 10
inches ; complection, dark ; age, 45 ; acutriments com
pleat. Joshua Well, Corporal; statture,. 5 feet 10 inches;
complection, dark ; age, 34 ; acutriments compleat.
James Pershall, Drummer ; statture, 5 feet 7 inches ;
complection, dark ; age, 22 ; acutriments compleat.
John Fradrik Hudson, Fifer ; statture, 5 feet 9
inches; complection, dark; age, 20; acutriments com
pleat. Nathl. Overton ; statture, 6 feet ; complection, dark ;
age, 24; acutriments compleat.
John Goldsmith ; statture, 5 feet 7 inches ; complec
tion, dark ; age, 29 ; acutriments compleat.
Gilbert King : statture, 5 feet 6 inches ; complection,
light ; age, 18 ; acutriments compleat.
John Goldsmith Jr. ; statture, 5 feet 1 inch ; com
plection, dark; age, 19; acutriments compleat.
Joil Overtorn ; statture, 6 feet ; complection, dark ;
age, 21 ; acutriments "compleat.
Richard Drake; statture, 5 feet 10 inches; complec
tion, leight; age, 19; acutriments compleat.
Stephen Halsey; statture, 5 feet 7 inches; complec
tion, dark ; age, 19 ; acutriments compleat.
Joseph Cleavland; statture, 5 feet 7 inches; com
plection, dark; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
Ishmel Reeve; statture, 5 feet 11 inches; complec
tion, leight ; age, 23 ; acutriments compleat.
Ichobod Case ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, leight ; age, 24 ; acutriments compleat.
Elijah Terry ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complection,
dark ; age, 19 ; acutriments compleat.
Calven Horton ; statture, 5 feet 10 inches ; com
plection, leight; age, 20; acutriments compleat.
David Benjamin; statture, 5 feet; complection,
leight; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
Luther Reeve; statture, 5 feet 7 inches; complec
tion, dark; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
John Calven Wells; statture, 5 feet 4 inches; com
plection, dark; age, 16; acutriments compleat.
George Taylor; statture, 5 feet 4 inches; complec
tion, leight; age, 48; acutriments compleat.
James Reeve; statture, 5 feet 6 inches; complection,
dark; age, 24; acutriments compleat.
_ Joshua Corwin ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 42; acutriments compleat.
_ John Griffing; statture, 5 feet 7 inches; complec
tion, leight; age, 38; acutriments compleat
Joshua Wells jr.; statture. 5 feet; complection
dark; age, 16,; acutriments compleat.
Peter Downs ; statture. 5 feet 5 inches ; complection
dark; age, 47; acutriments compleat.
Jeremiah Corwin; statture, 5 feet 4 inches; com
plection, dark ; age, 41 ; acutriments compleat
Isaac Wells; statture, 6 feet; complection dark-
age, 30: acutriments compleat.
Joshua Aldridge; statture, 5 feet 9 inches; com
plection, dark ; age, 25 ; acutriments compleat
Peter Hallock ; statture, 5 feet 10 inches ; complec
tion dark ; age, 22 ; acutriments compleat
Hn„ I-'V? Corwin; statture, 5 feet 8 inches; complec
tion leight; age, 27; acutriments complete
Thomas Corwin ; statture, 5 feet 10 inches ; com
plection, leight; age, 22; acutriments compleat

APPENDIX.

573

Nathen Youngs; statture, 5 feet 10 inches; com
plection, dark; age, 22; acutriments compleat.
Nathen Corwin, jr.; statture, 5 feet; complection,
dark; age, 16; acutriments compleat.
Samuel Hudson; statture, 5 feet 10 inches; com
plection, dark; age, 37; acutriments compleat.
Richard Benjamin; statture, 5 feet 4 inches; com
plection, leight ; age, 18; acutriments compleat.
John Hallock; statture, 5 feet 6 inches; complec
tion, leight; age, 23; acutriments compleat.
Jonathen Reeve ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 32; acutriments compleat.
Ruben Brown ; statture, 5 feet 10 inches ; complec
tion, leight ; age, 39 ; acutriments compleat.
John Terry; statture, 5 feet 9 inches; complection,
leight ; age, 22 ; acutriments compleat.
Nathen Benjamin; statture, 6 feet; complection,
dark; age. 17; acutriments compleat.
Ebenezer Hudson ; statture, 5 feet 3 inches ; com
plection, leight; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
John Tuthill ; statture, 5 feet 6 inches ; complection,
dark ; age, 46 ; acutriments compleat.
Richard Wood ; statture,- 5 feet 7 inches ; complec
tion, dark ; age, 36 ; acutriments compleat.
Richard Hallock; statture, 5 feet 5 inches; complec
tion, dark; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
Amaziah Benjamin; statture, 5 feet 3 inches; com
plection, dark; age, 35; acutriments compleat.
Richard Brown; statture, 5 feet 11 inches; com-
plecton, dark ; age, 23 ; acutriments compleat.
David Brown ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 29; acutriments comoleat.
William Reeve ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, leight ; age, 21 ; acutriments compleat.
Nathl. Fanning; statture, 5 feet 11 inches; com
plection, leight ; age, 21 ; acutriments compleat.
Amasa Pike ; statture, 5 feet 5 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 17; acutriments compleat.
Daniel Terry ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 19; acutriments compleat.
John Pershall ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 19; acutriments compleat.
James Detty jr.; statture, 5 feet 11 inches; com
plection, leight ; age, 24 ; acutriments compleat.
57 Men.

LIEUT. JOSHUA YOUNGS COMPANY.
Draughtd and Mustrd as above, into Col. Smith's
Regiment :
Joshua Youngs, Lieutenant ; statture, 5 feet 7 in
ches ; complection, dark ; age, 25 ; compleat.
Jeremiah King, Sergeant ; statture, 5 feet 10
inches ; complection, dark ; age, 38 ; compleat.
Absolom K. Racket, Corporal ; statture, 5 feet 8
inches ; complection, leight ; age, 33 ; compleat.
Jonathen Dimmon ; statture, 5 feet 9 inches ; com
plection, leight ; age, 20 ; compleat.
Jonathan Vail ; statture, 5 feet 6 inches ; complec
tion, leight ; age, 16 ; compleat.
Lester Beebee; statture, 5 feet 8 inches; complec
tion, dark ; age, 22 ; compleat.
John King ; statture, 5 feet 9 inches ; complection,
dark ; age, 20 ; compleat.
Christopher Tuthill; statture, 5 feet; complection,
dark; age, 16; compleat.
David Tuman ; statture, 5 feet 1 inch ; complection,
dark ; age, 16 ; compleat.

Anion Tabor ; statture, 5 feet 6 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 30; compleat.
Fradrik Tabor; statture, 5 feet 4 inches; complec
tion, dark ; age, 26 ; compleat.
Jonathen Truman ; statture, 5 feet 9 inches ; com
plection, dark; age, 30; compleat.
David Tuthill ; statture, 5 feet 7 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 19; compleat.
Noah Racket ; statture, 5 feet 5 inches ; complec
tion, leight; age, 18; compleat.
Samuel Newbury; statture, 5 feet 8 inches; com
plection, leight; age, 25; compleat.
William Wiggins ; statture, 5 feet 5 inches ; com
plection, dark; age, 16; compleat.
John Youngs ; statture, 5 feet 2 inches ; complec
tion, dark; age, 16; compleat.
Daniel Vail; statture, 5 feet 7 inches; complection.
dark ; age, 25 ; compleat.
Jonathen Conkling; statture, 5 feet 10 inches; com
plection, dark ; age, 22 ; compleat.
William Webb ; statture, 5 feet 7 inches ; complec
tion, dark ; age, 33 ; compleat.
Thomas Vail; statture 5 feet 10 inches; complec
tion, leight ; age, 30 ; compleat.
Daniel Brown ; statture, 5 feet 9 inches ; complec
tion, leight ; age, 18 ; compleat.
John Havens ; statture, 5 feet 8 inches ; complec
tion, light ; age, 20 ; compleat.
22 Men.
Lieut. Joshua Youngs Company Mustrd as above.
Thos. Terry, Coll.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Captain Selah Strong was born December 25th,
1737. He was delegate to the Provincial Congress in
1775. After the war he served as State Senator, 1792-
96, and as first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,
1783-93. He was married. November 9, 1760, to Anna,
daughter of William Henry Smith, of Mastic. Their
children were : Keturah, wife of James Woodhull ;
Thomas S., Judge of Suffolk County; Margaret, wife
of Joseph Strong; Benjamin; William S. ; Joseph; and
John W. Strong. After a long and useful life, Mr.
Strong died at his homestead on St. George's Manor,
near Setauket. His monument in the village cemetery
bears the following inscription:
"Selah Strong, born 25th December, 1757. Died
4th July, 181 5.
"Possessing by nature strong intellectual endow
ments, a vigorous and active constitution, he was useful
in the various offices of life. To the public he rendered
important services, and by the poor, his neighbors and
his children, his virtues will be held in long and affec
tionate remembrance."
Captain Thomas Wickes was born at Huntington,
August 10, 1744. His great-great-grandfather, Thojnas
Weekes, came to America in 1635, and was one of the
settlers of Wethersfield, Connecticut, and moved to
Oyster Bay, Long Island, before 16.S4. He was one of
the patentees of Huntington in 1666. He married Isa
bel, daughter of Richard Harcut, of Oyster Bay, and
died in 1691, leaving seven children — Thomas (2),
John, Rebecca, Martha. Elizabeth, Mlary and Sarah.
Thomas (2) was born about 1651, and left sons, Philip,
Samuel Joseph and Thomas (3). Thomas (3) had
son Eliohalet (born 1708, died 1761), who married
(ist) Hannah Piatt and (2nd) Jemima, daughter of

574

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Jonathan Scudder, and left children, Margaret, wife of
Dr. Samuel Allen; Plannah, wife of John Brush;
Mary, wife of the Rev. John Close; and Captain
Thomas Wickes, the subject of this sketch.
Captain Wickes was a man of influence in Suf
folk County, and took a decided stand in favor of the
Revolution. He was Chairman of the Committee of
Safety, and captain of a company in Colonel Smith's
regiment. After the battle of Long Island he moved
with his family to Norwalk, Connecticut. An epidemic
of dysentery was then raging, and three of his children
died and were buried in one grave. He was also at
tacked, and barely escaped with his life. After his re
covery he went with the troops to Fishkill, and served
in the quartermaster's department with the rank of
major, and remained until the end of the war. He was
a member of the legislature of New York from 1776
until the end of the war. As no elections could be
held on Long Island, the members were appointed by
ordinance, and. were called "ordinance members." He
was a valuable agent to Washington and Governor
Clinton, and was frequently sent to Long Island to
obtain information, and he was also commissioned by
Governor Clinton to borrow money for the use of the
Government, -which he obtained to a considerable
amount. During the war his property at Huntington
was appropriated by his brother-in-law, a Tory, and
Captain Wickes, on his return, found it greatly dilapi
dated and run down. He sold it and removed to a
farm at Babylon. He was appointed High Sheriff of
Suffolk County, and held the office for eight years. In
1795 he sold his farm at Babylon and purchased Lit
tle Neck, a tract of 300 acres at Flushing. Here he
remained until 1813, when he sold it and removed to
Jamaica, where he died November 30, 1819, and resits
in the old burial ground of that village. He died in
the peace of the gospel.
_ Captain Wickes married (ist) Sarah Brush, (2nd)
Abigail, daughter of Barent Van Wyck. He left four
children — Van Wyck, Hannah, Eliphalet and Harriet.
Eliphalet Wickes was born in 1769, and his boyhood
was spent in the army with his father. At the time
of the storming of Stony Point he carried dispatches
announcing the event to General Gates, at Providence,
and was highly praised for his energy. He chose the
profession of law, and studied in the office of Abraham
Skinner, of Jamaica, where he passed his entire pro
fessional life. He was the first postmaster of that
place, and held the office many years. In 183S he re
moved to Troy, where he died June 7, 1850. The chil
dren of Eliphalet Wickes were the Rev. Thomas Scud
der, born 1795, died at Poughkeepsie, November 30,
1876; Eliza, wife of Dr. Alden Allen; Frances, wife

of the Rev. John Blatchford, D. D. ; Harriet, wife of
Henry Punnett; and the Rev. Thomas W. Wickes.
Van Wyck Wickes was born April 29, 1779, and
returned to Long Island with his father. He was edu
cated at the Academy in Jamaica. Preferring a country
life, he lived at his father's estate at Little Neck until
1813, when he removed to Jamaica and resided there
until 1836, removing to Troy, New York. In 1851 he
went to reside with his eldest son, in Orange, New
Jersey, and died there June 13, 1865. His remains
were buried at Jamaica, Long Island, with his kindred.
He was a captain in the war of 1812, and was major
general of militia. He married Eliza, daughter of
Stephen Herriman, of Jamaica. His. children are Dr.
Stephen B., of Orange, New Jersey; Thomas (Rev.,
D. D.) ; Mary, wife of Lucius T. Rossiter; William
W. ; Henry (Rev.) ; John (Rev.) ; and Van Wyck.
Captain Zephaniah Rogers, who commanded one
of the companies of Colonel Smith's Suffolk County
Regiment, was son of Captain Obadiah Rogers, of
Southampton, and was born June 25, 1742. After the
battle of Long Island he fled to Connecticut, but re
turned after the war to his native village, where he
lived an uneventful life. He died October 29, 1796,
and rests in the North end burying ground of South
ampton. His great-grandson, Captain Jetur R. Rog
ers, lately lived upon the old homestead.
Captain Thomas Terry, who commanded a com
pany in the Third Suffolk County Regiment, was a
son of Thomas (4), son of Thomas (3), son of Thomas
(2), son of Thomas Terry, who came from England
in 1635. He was born at Oysterponds (now Orient),
Long Island, in 1726, and served as captain of a com
pany in the French 'war in 1758. After the battle of
Long Island he went to Saybrook, Connecticut, where
his family had removed, and died there in 1777. No
tombstone marks his resting place. Capt. Terry mar
ried (ist) Sybil King, May, 1748, (2nd) Abigail Hav
ens, 1752, and (3d) Mary, widow of Luther Moore.
His children were Sybil, wife of Amos Taber; Thomas,
who married Julia Wiggins ; Ruth, -wife of Daniel Tut
hill ; Abigail, who married (ist) Benjamin, King, of
Orient, and (2nd) John C. Terry, of Aquebogue; Me-
hitabel, wife of Richard Chadwich, of Connecticut;
Constant, who married Sybil Case, of Goshen, New
York; Elizabeth, wife of Christopher Tuthill; Samuel,
\vho_ was murdered at the massacre of St. Domingo ;
David, who was lost at sea ; Bethiah ; and Mary. His
grandson, George W. Chadwich, resides at Lyme, Con
necticut. Another grandson, Noah T. Terry, lives at
Holtsville, Suffolk County, New York.

APPENDIX.

n.
SUFFOLK COUNTY SOLDIERS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

[Unless otherwise stated the regiment given was an organization
belonging to New York State.]

REGIMENT

NAME.

RESIDENCE.

OR SERVICE.

Acker, JohnD.,

Babylon,

Sharpshooters.

Ackerly, Ira W.,

Huntington,

127th.

Ackerly, Nathan S.,

Northport,

48th.

Ackerly, Samuel,

Northport,

40th.

Ackerly, Edwin,

Northport,

Navy.

Ackerly, Wm. N.,

Brookhaven.

Ackerly, Hy E. ,

Patchogue,

12th.

Adriance, Francis,

Hauppauge,

139th.

Alberson, Wm. G.,

Riverhead,

127th.

Albin, Ebenezer,

Brookhaven,

2nd Cav.

Albin, John W.,

E. Moriches,

102nd.

Albin, James M,

Patchogue,

145th.

Albin, Jeremiah,

Babylon,

127th.

Albin, John E.,

Babylon,

127th.

Albin, Daniel E.,

Riverhead,

52nd.

Albin, Geo. Thos. B.,

Brookhaven,

Albin, Wm. J.,
Brookhaven.
Albin, Samuel,
Brookhaven.
Albin, John E., Jr.,
Brookhaven,
12th.
Aldrich, Daniel W.,
Sayville,
2nd Metropol.
Aldrich, James B.,
127th.
Alexander, Wm.,
Huntington,
127 th.
Allen, Jonathan,
Fort Wagner,
48th.
Allen, Jeremiah,
Amangansett,
48th.
Allen, John,
Amityville,
127th.
Allyn, George H.,
165th.
Anderson, Benjamin,
Brookhaven,
99th.
Anderson, John J.,
Brookhaven,
2nd Cav.
Arch, Ephraim (colored),
Quogue,
Navy.
Armstrong, Robert,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Arnold, John-E.,
Babylon,
127th.
Austin, Wm. E.,
Huntington,
Navy.
Austin, Sineus R.,
Huntington,
Navy.
Avery, Thos. D. ,
Greeoport,
165th.
Babcock, Lodowick,
Sag Harbor.
Babcock,' Gilbert A. ,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Bachelor, Jos. S ,
Bacon, James,
Bridgehamp. ,
81st.
REGIMENT
NAME.
RESIDENCE.
OR SERVICE.
Bailey, Wm. B.,
Springs,
127th.
Bailey, John,
Babylon,
Sharpshooters.
Bainer, Jacob,
Huntington,
54th.
Baker, James,
Sayville,
2nd Cav.
Baker, Hy. L.,
Easthampton
, 127thand54th.
Baker, David J.,
Easthampton
, 1st Me. Art.
Baker, Wm. H.,
Baldwin, Jacob,
Baldwin, David,
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Bancker, Abram,
Patchogue,
5 th.
Barber, George L.,
Centerville,
127th.
Barclay, James,
Southampton
, 6th Cav.
Barrett, George W.,
Huntington,
Navy.
Barto, Edw. A.,
Babylon,
Sharpshooters.
Batcher, John,
E. Setauket,
57th.
Batcher, Theodore,
E. Setauket,
57th.
Batcher, Wm. J.,
Mattituck,
5th Conn.
Baxter, Thos.,
Southold,
6th Cav.
Bayles, Albert E.,
Middle Island
, 139th.
Bayles, Edw. F.,
Middle Island
, 139th.
Baylis, John S,,
Huntington,
127th.
Beale, David B.,
Patchogue,
139th.
Beale, John H.,
Patchogue,
Navy.
Beale, David F.,
139th.
Beale, Theodore F. ,
Patchogue,
12th.
Becker, Lewis,
Huntington,
127 th.
Becktill,
Watermill,
127th.
Beckwith, Thomas,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Bedell, Smith,
Amityville,
127th.
Bedell, William,
Amityville,
127th.
Bedell, Terry,
Sayville,
95th and Navy.
Beebe, Daniel F.,
Southampton,
127th.
Beekman, James,
Bridgehamp. ,
81st.
Beers, William H.,
Elwood,
127th.
Bell, George A.,
Bridgehamp.,
11th Cav.
Benedict, Robert F.,
Watermill,
127th.
Benjamin, John P.,
E. Moriches,'
17th.
Benjamin, Selah,
Bay Shore,
9th N. J.
Benjamin, John F.,
Riverhead,
9th N. J.
Benjamin, Jas. S.,
Riverhead,
Navy.
Benjamin, Hiram E.,
Riverhead,
127th. '
576

APPENDIX.

Benjamin, John H.,
Bennett, Andrew J.,
Bennett, Lyman M.,
Bennett, Gilbert,
Bennett, Milton,
Bennett, George,
Bennett, Myron T. ,
Bennett, Nathan M.,
Bennett, W. J.,
Bennett, George E.,
Bennett, Sylvester H.,
Bennett, Chas. G.,
Bennett, Albert L.,
Bennett, Theodore,
Bennett, Jonathan A.,
Bennett, Selden S.,
Bennett, William E. ,
Bennett, Robert,
Berls, Hammond,
Berry, John,
Betts, George,
Betts, John,
Biggs, Charles F.,
Biggs, Alden,
Bill, Edw.,
Bill, Robert,
Billard, Barnabas T. ,
Birch, William E.,
Bishop, William H.,
Bishop, Harry S.,
Bishop, Charles H.,
Blacker, Frank E. ,
Black, Hannibal,
Black, Jonathan,
Blake, Hy,
Blake, James,
Bloxsom, George W. ,
Bloxsom,
Blydenburg, Ichabod,
Bogue, Andrew B.,
Bond, E. S. L.
Bone, Daniel E.,
Bone, Josephs.,
Bone, John J.,
Booth, Horation N.,
Booth, George L. ,
Bostwick, James, Jr.,
Bouton, David,
Bowers, William H.,
Bowles, James L.,
Box, George,
Boyenton, John W.,
Boyle, George,
Bradley, Giles,
Brady, Philip,
Brewin, George,
Brewster, Charles D.,
Brewster, Zachariah,
Brewster, Governeur(col.
Brigs, James,
Brittain, Thomas,
Brooker, John R. ,
Brown, George B.,
Brown, George D.,
Brown, Charles H.,
Brown, William H.,
Brown, John J.,
Brown, George W.,
Brown, John A. ,
Brown, Silas E.,

RESIDENCE.
Mattituck, Cutchogue, Springs,
Springs,Springs Springs,
Amagansett,Amagansett,
Amagansett, Amagansett,
Amagansett Amagansett,
Oregon, Easthampton.
Easthampton, Paconic,
Huntington, Huntington,Greenport, Huntington,
Huntington,
Flanders, Riverhead, Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Cutchogue,
Huntington. Bayport,
Bayport, Brentwood, Amityville, Amityville.
Lakeland, Lakeland, Huntington,
Huntington, Selden,

Easthampton,
Easthampton, Easthampton,
Southold,
Cutchogue, Babylon,
Pt. Jefferson,
Brookhaven,
Babylon, Sag Harbor,
Islip,Moriches,
Speonk,
Bridgehamp.,
Amityville, Amityville. Mattituck,
Riverhead,
Southampton. Islip,
Islip, Bridgehamp. .
Bridgehamp. ,
Red Creek,
Elwoos,
Riverhead, Springs

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
127th.
127 th.
127th.
127th.
6th Cav.
11th Cav.
127th.
127th. 127th.
9th Cav.
6th Cav.
48th. 127th.127th.
127th. 127th.
127th.
5th. 165th. 127th.
10th.10th.10th. 127th.11th. 127th.
44th. 2nd Cav.
2nd Cav.
5th N. J.
Navy. 2nd.
2nd. 127 th.
127th.
133rd.
81st.
2nd. 81st.
81st. 127th.
127th. 127th.
Navy. 101st.127th.
81st. 11th.
12th. 81st.
20th. 26th. 2nd.
57th.
159th. 2nd.159th. 11th.
127th. 11th.
31st.
Wth. 127th.

NAME.

RESIDENCE.

OR SERVICE.

Brown, George W.,

Huntington,

127th.

Brown, John J.,

Huntington,

127 th.

Brown, Buel A.,

Riverhead,

176th.

Brown, James Ira,

Centerville,

5th.

Brown, Zebulon H.,

Southold,

127 th.

Brown, John,

Babylon,

127th.

Brown, George G.

Babylon,

127th.

Brown, David E.,

Sag Harbor,

Navy.

Brown, Charles L.,

Southampton

, 127th.

Brown, Gilbert A.,

Southold,

127th.

Brudgeworth, Fredk.,

Bridgehamp. ,

Navy.

Brudgeworth, Hy. ,

Bridgehamp.,

11th.

Brush, Theo. S.,

Elwood,

127th.

Brush, Van Renselaer,

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Brush, George,

Huntington,

48th.

Brush, George R.,

Sayville,

Navy.

Bryant, George H.,

Northport,

127th.

Buckingham, George A.,

Riverhead,

12th.

Buckly, William J.,

Greenport,

127th.

Bumpstead, Edw. H. ,

Patchogue,

2nd.

Bumstead, Jacob,

Patchogue,

12th.

Bunce, Israel,

Northport,

Navy.

Bunce, Edgar P.,'

Huntington,

127th.

Bunce, Albert J.,

Brookhaven,

124th.

Burke, John W. ,

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Burnett, Whitford,

Smithtown,

102nd.

Burns, George T.,

Riverhead,

176th.

Burns, Robert,

Riverhead,

12th.

Burr, Andrew J.,

Bayshore,

U. S. Sharpshooters.

Burr, William E.,

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Bush, David,

Patchogue.

Bushnell, Charles,

Sag Harbor,

Busannah, John,

Riverhead,

127th.

Butler, Leonard T.,

Southold,

127th.

Butler, Samuel C,

Easthampton,

29th.

Bryon, John,

Bridgehamp.,

6th.

Campbell, James,

BabyloD,

Sharpshooters,

Campbell, George,

Babylon,

Sharpshooters,

Carll, James,

Babylon,

127th.

Carll, Wm. (colored),

Brookhaven,

Navy.

Carmick, Edw. J.,

Sayville,

124th.

Carmick, Stephen J.,

Sayville,

2nd.

Carpenter, George W.,

Babylon,

4th Artillery.

Carpenter, William,

Babylon,

31st Colored.

Carpenter, Walter,

Southold,

127th.

Carpenter, Charles T.,

Moriches,

89th.

Carr, John S.,

Huntington,

127th.

Carr, Hosea V. ,

Huntington,

127th.

Carr, Severn,

Amityville,

8th.

Carrington, Bernard,

Easthampton.

Carroll, John,

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Carroll, Thomas J.,

Easthampton

, Navy.

Carroll, James,

Huntington,

127th.

Carroll, Martin,

Huntington,

127th.

Carroll, Michael,

Carroll,
Easthampton,
Marine.
Carter, David,
Moriches,
2nd.
Carter, Ichabod G.,
Manor,
133rd.
Carter, Gilbert H.,
Patchogue,
12th.
Cartright, Nicholas O.,
Amityville,
90th.
Cartwright, Edmund A.,
Shelter Island, 14th N. J.
Case, Albert W.,
Peconic,
127th.
Case, Jesse G.,
Peconic,
127th.
Case, George C,
Shelter Island
., 57th.
Case, George,
Greenport,
57th.
Cash, Michael,
Cold Spring.
Cass, Albert,
Sag Harbor,
4th.
Cayton, James,
Shelter Island.
Cessman, Edw.,
Mastic.
Champlin, George H.,
Orient,
165th.
APPENDIX.

577

Cheron, Emile,
Chester, William H.,
Chichester, Charles H.,
Chichester, Andrew,
Chichester, Israel,
Chichester, George,
Chichester, Charles W.
Chissell, Hy,
Clark, Avlyn S.,
Clark, Robert,
Clark, Ezra,
Clemence, Ezra B.,
Cleveland, John D.,
Clock, Lawson,
Coats, Chas. ,
Coats, Charles R.,
Codman, Charles,
Coffee, Michael,
Colbert, William,
Coles, Jeremiah,
Collet, William H.,
Collins, John,
Collum, William W.,
Colvin, Samuel P.,
Conant, William L.,
Congdon, Robert C,
Conklin, Gilbert,
Conklin, James D.,
Conklin, David T.,
Conklin, George W. ,
Conklin, John A.,
Conklin, JohnH.,
Conklin, Francis,
Conklin, Hy. C,
Conklin, William H.,
Conklin, Benjamin K.,
Conklin, James B.,
Conklin, Lewis O.,
Conklin, Edw. S.,
Conklin, Samuel S.,
Conklin, George,
Conklin, William C,
Conklin, David S.,
Conklin, Hy. T.,
Conklin, Howard,
Conklin, Melville R.,
Conner, Hickford,
Connell, William,
Cook, Charles P. ,
Cook, Edw. D.,
Cook, William,
Cooney, Michael.
. Cooper, Edw. T.,
Cooper, Edw. M.,
Cooper, James H.,1
Cooper, Michael,
Cooper (colored),
Corey, William,
Corey, Hy. J.,
Corey, Daniel B.,
Cornelius, Jacob,
Corwin, George E.,
Corwin, George W.,
Corwin, Egbert C,
Corwin, Theodora,
Corwin, Hannibal,
Corwin, Addison,
Corwin, Chatham,
Corwin, John L.,
Cowan, William, 37

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

NAME.

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

Bayshore,

139th.

; Cox, Daniel R.,

Mattituck,

57th.

Sag Harbor,

Navy.

Crawford, Elbert,'

Centreport,

127th.

Amityville,

127th.

Crees, Jacob,

Blue Point,

4th.

Amityville,

127th.

Cromwell, Gilbert,

Half Hollow

Hills.

Amityville,

Navy.

Crowell, Stephen H.,

Sag Harbor,

127th.

Huntington,

173rd.

Crowell, George P.,

Islip.

Brookhaven,

57 th.

Crowell, Benjamin E.,

Sag Harbor,

11th.

Patchogue,

90th.

Crum, John A.,

Sayville,

1st.

Springs,

127th.

Cuffee, Joshua A. (col.),

Bayshore,

26th.

Smithtown.

Cuffee, Warren N. (col.),

Easthampton,

20th.

Greenport,

165th.

Cuffee, Stephen N. (col.)

, Easthampton

14th.

Patchogue.

Culver, George C,

Peconic,

127th.

Southold,

127th.

Culver, George,

Southampton,

127th.

Islip,

9th.

Culver, Josiah H.,

Easthampton.

Central Islip,
12th.
Curtiss, John,
165th.
Central Islip,
73rd.
Cutting, Leonard M.,
Babylon,
54th.
Islip,
102nd.
Cyphers, Manuel,
Huntington,
127th.
Islip,
14th.
Dahlems, Henry,
Brentwood,
39th.
Elwood,
87th.
Danes, Augustus E. ,
Blue Point.
Easthampton,
Navy.
Daily, Jeremiah,
Northport,
127th.
Southampton,
81st.
Dare, Samuel,
Selden,
165th.
Mattituck,
127th
Darrough, John,
Riverhead,
127th.
Easthampton,
127th.
Davis, Albert L.,
Yaphank,
133rd.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Davis, Thomas J.,
Springs,
Navy.
Huntington,
127th.
Davis, Charles H.,
Riverhead,
11th.
Shelter Island
, 139th
Davis, Charles W. ,
Rocky Point.
Calverton.
Davis, Edw.,
Babylon,
127th.
Shelter Island
, Navy.
Davis, John B.,
Babylon,
127th.
Southold,
127th.
Davis, Jeremiah,
Ronkonkoma.
Babylon,
127th.
Davis, Edwin,
Greenport,
Colored Reg.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Davis, Smith R.,
Brookhaven.
Greenport,
32nd.
Davis, Samuel,
Coram,
Navy.
Northport,
48th.
Day, Sylvester,
Amityville,
127th.
Huntington,
127th.
Day, Silas C,
Huntington,
Navy.
Huntington,
48th.
Dayton, Daniel E.,
Centreville,
5th.
Huntington,
127th.
Dayton, William H.,
Centreville,
5 th.
Easthampton,
102nd.
Dayton, John H.
Port Jefferson
, 102nd.
Dayton, Charles B.,
Easthampton,
127th.
Brookhaven,
12th.
Dayton, Andrew,
Atlanticville,
11th.
Brookhaven,
12th.
Dayton, George W.,
Patchogue.
Riverhead,
Dayton, Charles,
Patchogue,
12th.
Good Ground,
99th.
Dayton, Smith A.,
Brookhaven,
Navy.
Greenport,
4th.
Dayton, George,
Brookhaven,
7th.
Easthampton,
81st.
DeBevoise, Abraham,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Greenport.
Delone, Pattern (col.),
Islip,
26th U. S .
Northport,
48th.
Denning, Daniel,
Amityville,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Dennis, Charles J.,
Bay Shore,
9th.
Huntington,
127th.
Dennis, Daniel,
Bay Shore,
9th.
Sag Harbor.
.
Dennis, George W. ,
Bay Shore,
15Sth.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Dennis, Nathaniel,
Bay Shore,
158th.
Greenport,
57th.
Dickerson, William,
Wading River.
Dickerson, Benjamin,
Wading River.
Bellport,
92nd.
Dickerson, Samuel G.
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Dickerson, Charles L.,
Greenport,
176th.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Dickinson, Daniel,
Orient,
165th.
Huntington,
Navy.
Dilon, Tobias,
Centreport,
48th.
Springs.
Dimon, N. H., Sen. & Jr.
, Bridgehamp.,
81st.
Bridgehamp.,
11th.
Divine, John,
Springville,
6th.
Bridgehamp.,
127th.
Dix, John,
Bridgehamp.,
6th Cav.
Patchogue,
Navy.
Dolan, Michael,
Blue Point,
2nd Cav.
Huntington,
127th.
Dolan, Patrick,
Brookhaven.
Bellport,
131st.
Doolittle, Harvey,
Babylon,
127th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Dombey, Frank,
Brookhaven.
Riverhead,
127th.
Dorman, William,
Huntington,
127th.
Riverhead,
12th.
Dow, Edw.,
Brentwood,
9th.
Riverhead,
Navy.
Dowd, Michael,
Greenport,
165th.
Greenport,
127th.
Downing, John,
Huntington,
14th.
Greenport,
127th.
Downs, John A.,
Riverhead,
127th.
Easthampton,
11th.
Downs, Isaac S. ,
Brookhaven.
Huntington,
127th.
Downs, George W. ,
Good Ground
, 9th.
578

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

NAME.

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

Downs, John,

Southampton

Downs, William L.,

Huntington,

' 2nd.

Downs, James B.,

Middle Island

., 5th.

Doxsee, Francis AV. ,

Islip,

Navy.

Doyle, John,

Brookhaven.

Drake, Richard,

Calverton.

Drinning, Daniel,

Huntington.

127th.

Drislane, Michael,

Holbrook,

5 th.

Duff, James B., Jr.,

Patchogue,

131st.

Dunn, John,

Greenport,

127th.

Durham, Dwight F. ,

Sag Harbor,

127th.

Dutcher, Samuel B.,

81st.
Earl, Elias E. ,
Lakeland.
Earl, Joseph.
Eath, Jacob,
Rocky Point.
Eaton, Garrett F. ,
Islip,
127th.
Eaton, William B.,
Islip,
127th.
Ebbitts, Robert,
Orient,
127th.
Edgar, Jonathan,
Babylon,
20th U. S. Cc
Edgar, Hy. A.,
Brentwood,
102nd.
Edon, A.,
Huntington,
127th.
Edon, G. F.,
Huntington,
127th.
Edwards, Joseph S.,
Amityville,
127th.
Edwards, Orlando B.,
Bridgehamp. ,
127th.
Edwards, Lewis J.,
Bridgehamp.,
48th.
Edwards, Charles M.,
Bridgehamp.,
6th Cav.
Edwards, Edmund B.,
Bridgehamp.,
127th.
Edwards, Elbert P. ,
Bridgehamp.,
6th.
Edwards, Charles N.,
Bridgehamp.,
127th.
Edwards, Silas C,
Bridgehamp. ,
127th.
Edwards, Charles B.,
Amagansett,
Navy.
Edwards, Edwin H.,
Amagansett,
81st.
Edwards, Roger,
Sag Harbor,
48th.
Edwards, Hy. L.,
Sag Harbor,
2nd Cav.
Edwards, Benjamin W. ,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Edwards, Hy. G.,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Edwards, Eli,
Navy.
Edwards, William W. ,
Easthampton,
15th.
Edwards, Edw. C. (col.),
Moriches.
Edwards, Jefferson,
Brookhaven,
Navy.
Eichel, Auguste C,
Southampton
, 44th.
Eldridge, George A.
Eldridge, J. W.,
Huntington,
127th.
Ellison, Joshua,
Southampton,
81st.
Ellison, Joseph,
Southampton,
81st.
Ellison, John,
Bridgehamp. ,
11th.
Elsetough,
Smithtown,
139th.
Ellsworth, Robert M.,
Southampton
81st.
Ellsworth, Jesse,
81st.
Ellsworth, Samuel,
Stony Brook,
Navy.
Engler, Antoine,
Orient,
7th.
Enos. Abraham (colored)
. Quogue,
Navy.
Eshoe, Peter,
Orient,
45th.
Evarts, Smith,
Peconic,
127th.
Evarts, Charles W.,
Bayport,
10th.
Ewald, Frederick,
Southold,
127th.
Fagan, William,
Northport,
90th.
Fallman, Isaac,
Selden,
13th.
Fanning, Wesley,
Atlanticville,
8th.
Farley, James,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Farley, Thomas.
Field, Samuel,
Springs.
Fields, James,
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
^Fielder, Benjamin H.,
Islip,
14th.
Filer, George E. ,
Easthampton,
81st.
Filer, Charles W.,
Easthampton,
4th.
Finlayson, Henry.
Fish, Henry,
Brentwood,
84th.
Fisher, Andrew,
Huntington,
127th.
Flandun, Smith,
Cold Springs,
8th.
Fleet, Augustus,
Fleet, George W. ,
Fleet, William,
Fletcher, James A. ,
Flynn, Edw.,
Floyd, John G., Jr.,
Floyd, Philip (colored),
Fodell, Charles T.,
Fogerty, William,
Foley, Francis,
Ford, William,
Ford, Edw. L.,
Fordham, Isaac,
Fordham, Charles H.,
Fordham, Elbert,
Fordham, William,
Fordred, William,
Fordred, Drayson,
Fosbert, Albert,
Foster, Aclyn,
Foster, James R.,
Foster, Austin A..
Foster, William B.,
Fountain, Edw. L.,
Fox, Charles C,
Fox, Charles,
Francis, Roger A.,
Frazier, John,
Frederick, Charles A.,
French, Peter,
Frisbee, Decatur H,
Frost, Lewis,
Frost, Emery,
Ferguson, John,
Furman, Lewis,
Gaffga, Hy.,
Gaffga, Peter,
Galveston, Hy. M.,
Galvin, Michael,
Gammage, John H.
Gammage, Theo. K.,
Gammage, Smith P.,
Gragham, Henry T.,
Gardiner, Hy. W.,
Gardiner, Hy.,
Gardiner, Harvey,
Gardiner, Smith F. ,
Gardiner, BarbardC,
Gardiner, James,
Gates, William,
Gatz, George A.,
Geehring, John,
George, Thomas C,
Gerard, Martin,
Gerard, Edw.,
Gerard, Edmund S.,
Gerard, John W.,
Germain, John,
Gettze, George,
Gilchrist, William H,
Gildersleeve, Piatt,
Gillette, L. Wellington,
Gillian, Reuben,
Gilmartin, Michael,
Gilmore, Robert,
Ging, Edw.,
Glines, William,
Glover, James R.,
Glover, Zebulon B.,
Goldsmith, Franklin B.,
RESIDENCE.
REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
Northport.
Huntington.
Huntington,
102nd.
Riverhead,
Navjr.
Southold,
2nd.
Mastic.
Mastic.
S-weet Hollow
', 127th.
Islip,
70th.
Quogue,
47th.
Ronkonkoma,
5 th.
Ronkonkoma
, 99th.
Selden,
139th.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Sag Harbor,
3rd.
Northport,
40th.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Sag Harbor,
Slst.
Sag Harbor.
Springs,
Navy.
Watermill,
2nd.
Ponquogue,
6th.
Ponquogue,
Slst.
Holtsville,
12th.
Northport,
127th.
Huntington,
48th.
Bridgehamp.,
Slst.
Islip.
Speonk,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Lakeland,
133d.
Babylon,
127th.
Babylon,
127th.
Patchogue,
12th.
Babylon,
127th.
Southold,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
165th.
Southold,
127th.
Centerport,
127th.
Holtsville,
79th.
Patchogue,
75th.
Sag Harbor,
48th.
Orient,
20th.
Islip;
8th N. J.
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Cold Spring,
127th.
Babylon,
1st.
Jamesport,
165th.
Stoney Brook.
4th.
East Marion,
165th.
Greenport,
165th.
Brentwood,
84th.
Baiting; Hollow,
5 th.
Hauppauge,
139th.
Sayville,
2nd Cav.
E. Setauket,
57th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Orient,
165th.
Islip,
8th U. S., Col.
Port Jefferson
, 127th.
Orient,
127th.
Sayville,
5th.
Huntington,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
127 th.
Patchogue,
12th.
Huntington,
5th.
Orient,
165th.
Shelterlsland
. 159th,
Southold,
li7th.
APPENDIX.

579

Goldsmith, Austin B.
Good, James E.,
Good, W. H.,
Goodall, Charles E. ,
Goodall, James M.,
Goodman, James D. ,
Gordon, George,
Gordon, Isaac L.,
Gordon, William H.,
Gordon, Milton.
Gordon, Samuel,
Gough, John D.,
Gould, Theo. P.,
Gould, Alexander,
Gould, Richard N.,
Gould, William E. ,
Graham, Jerome B.,
Graham, David,
Gray, William C,
Green, James M.,
Green, James R.,
Green, Obadiah,
Green, William D.,
Green, Henry,
Green, Nathan F.,
Green, Charles H.,
Gregory, John H.,
Gregory, Dennis,
Gregory, George,
Griffing, Randolph C,
Griffing, Charles Marcus,
Griffing, Charles C,
Griffing, James E.,
Griffing, Thomas H. ,
Gritman, William H.,
Grossman, Herman,
Grundy, Robert J.,
Gullen, G. S.,
Haff, Stephen J.,
Haff, Silas C. ,
Haff, George W. ,
Haff, Philip,
Haff, Paul,
Haggerty, John,
Haight, William,
Haines, Isaac S. ,
Haines, Theo. F.,
Haines, Henry,
Hall," George Buel,
Hall, William H.,
Hallock, Hy. M.,
Hallock, Franklin B.,
Hallock, DaDiel Y.,
Hallock, Joshua T. ,
Hallock, John M.,
Hallock, Alfred B.,
Hallock, E. M..
Halsey, William F.,
Halsey, Jesse C,
Halsey, Dennis,
Halsey, C. E.,
Halsey, S. E.,
Halsey, Albert Asbury,
Halsey, Erastus E.,
Halsey, William M.,
Halsey, Oliver,
Halsey, Hy.,
Halsey, Charles A.,
Halsey, Silas E.,
Halsey, Abraham,

RESIDENCE.
Peco'hic, Huntingtonr"* Huntington,Southampton,
Southampton,
Westhampton, Eastport,
.Satville, Riverhead
Manor. Riverhead, Bridgehamp.,
Easthampton,Easthampton,
Smithtown, Mattitucc,
Easthampton, Huntington, Patchogue.Southampton,
Southampton, Sayvill?,
Wading Riv.
Sag Harbor.
Brookhaven.Easthampton, Sag Harbor,
Bridgehamp. ,
Brookhaven.
Shelte/Island, Shelterlsland, Sheber Island
WesthamptonBrookhaven, Patchogue, Melville,
Lakeland, Bricfkhaven. Amityville,
Amiryville, Sav -ille,
We it Islip,
Brookhaven.Elwood,
Huntington, Brentwood, Bridgehamp. ,
Peconic,
Melville, Sag Harbor,
Mattituck,
Quogue,
Centreville, Blue Point,
Middle Island
Huntington,
Huntington, Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Bridgehamp. Bridgehamp.
Bridgehamp. Bridgehamp.
Bridgehamp. Bridgehamp,Bridgehamp.,
Watermill, Watermill,
Cold Spring

REGIMENT

NAME.

OR SERVICE.

165th.

Halsey, Hy. W.,

127th.

Halsey, Oliver, Jr.,

Navv.

Hamilton, Claudius H.,

12 th".

Hammond, Edwin C,

5 th.

Hammond, Albert O.,

127th.

Hammond, Wilbur F. ,

11th.

Hammond, Bernard J.,

9th.

Hammond, Daniel E.,

8th.

Hammond, William P.,

Hammond, Lewis E.,

6th.

Hand, Orlando,

Slst.

Hand, E. C,

127th.

Hand, Samuel,

Slst.

Hand, George M.,

9th X.J.

Hand, John A.,

Navv.

Handy, Aaron,

1st. "

Haney, '

1st.

Hannahan. William D.,

Hardy, Edw.,

2nd.

Harned, William M.,

Slst.

Harper, George,

12th.

Harper, Francis,

Harries, Thomas H.,
Harris, Cornelius,
Harris, William P.,
29th.
Harris, Samuel E.,
11th.
Harris, Joseph C,
17th.
Harris, Charles C.
Harris, Edwin A.,
, 48th.
Hart, Clark,
, 5th.
Hartered, Peter,
..
Hartt, La. Maltby,
..
Hassenger, Christian,
13th.
Havens, Charles,
158th.
Havens, Jeremiah,
4th Cav.
Havens. Harrison,
73rd.
Havens, Joseph A.,
Havens, Austin,
90th.
Havens, Charles E.,
145th.
Havens, Ripley F.,
127th.
Havens, Hy. fl.,
2nd.
Haverstrite, Charles B.
Hawkins, Charles A.,
6th.
Hawkins, Richard A.,
127th.
Hawkins, Alfred C,
5th.
Hawkins, M. Smith,
, 127th.
Hawkins, A. F. ,
165th.
Hawkins, George,
127th.
Hawkins, John H.,
127th.
Hawkins, Nelson,
127th.
Hawkins, George,
11th.
Hawkins, George M.,
4th.
Hawkins, JohnW.,
2nd.
Hawkins, Stewart G.,
1, 1st.
Hawkins, W. W.,
127th.
Hawley, Edw.,
Navy.
Hayens, Reeves H.,
California Cav.
Hayes, William,
Slst.
Hayes, Peter,
11th.
Hayner, Luther,
, 40th.
Headley, Hy. ,
, 127th.
Heanne, Anthony,
, 127th.
Hedge, John S.,
, 127th.
Hedge, Frederick B.,
, 127th.
Hedge, David H.,
, 6th.
Hedges, Lyman G.,
, 5th.
Hedges, Jeremiah I.,
36th.
Helfrich, Sebastian L.,
127th.
Hellens, Charles A. ,
102nd.
Hempstead, Nathaniel,
RESIDENCE.
REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
Greenport,
165th.
Riverhead,
Navy.
Amagansett,
127th.
New Village,
6th.
New Village,
6 th.
New Village,
6th.
Sag Harbor,
12th.
Greenport,
165th.
Greenport,
l-65th.
Greenport,
lGSth.
Bridgehamp.,
11th.
Bridgehamp.,
11th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Good Ground,
2nd.
Cutchogue,
170th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Mattituck,
127th.
Huntington,
102nd.
Brookhaven,
107th.
Patchogue,
2nd.
Huntington,
13th.
Huntington,
87th.
Shelterlsland,
93rd
West Islip,
2UthU. S.,Col
Bridgehamp.,
127th.
Cutchogue,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Brookhaven,
44th.
Huntington,
Navy.
Orient,
165th.
Northport.
Middle Island
..
Shelterlsland, 127th.
Moriches.
Greenport,
176th.
Easthampton
, Navy.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Sag Harbor,
Slst.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Sag Harbor.
Southampton
, 127th.
Brookhaven,
158th.
Stony Brook,
39th.
Sayville,
107th.
Sayville,
133rd.
New Village,
Ip9th
Mastic.
Bellport,
92nd.
Bellport,
96th.
Cutchogue,
Navy.
Brookhaven,
Navy.
Brookhaven,
Navy.
Brookhaven,
12th.
West Islip,
48th.
Islip,
Navy.
Atlanticville,
11th.
Bridgehamp.
, Slst.
Islip,
Navy.
Rocky Point.
Islip,
9th.
Mattituck,
127th.
Brookhaven,
127th.
Brookhaven,
35th.
Brookhaven,
13th.
Bridgehamp.
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Greenport,
165th.
Huntington,
127th.
Riverhead,
10th.
580

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

Hempstead, Jas. Madison,
Hempstead, John,
Hempstead, Clement M.,
Henderson, Peter,
Henderson, Isaac W.,
Hendrickson, David,
Hendrickson, Daniel,
Hennegar, Charles,
Hennesey, James,
Henry, Robert,
Herron, Alfred W. ,
Hewlett, Walter R.,
Hicks, Charles,
Higbee, James S.,
Hildreth, Oscar A.,
Hildreth, I. N.,
Hildreth, Curtis,
Hill, Eliphalet,
Hill, Lester S.,
Hill, Harvey.,
Hill, Seth R.,
Hine, George,
Hoffansack, John,
Honan, Gilbert,
Honan, Charles O.,
Honan, John G.,
Honan, ifichard S.,
Honan, William H.,
Honan, Selah H.,
Honan, Daniel L.,
Hohan, Charles,
Honan, Luther,
Hona, William W.,
Homan, Benjamin S.,
Hommel, G. Frank,
Hopkins, Thomas,
Horton, Hy. O.,
Horton, Edw.,
Horton, Benjamin A.,
Horton, John,
Horton, James H.,
Horton, Francis,
Horton, Floyd B.,
Horton, Sylvester E.,
Howell, George,
Howell, George B.,
Howell, Hiram C,
Howell, Orlando J.,
Howell, Samuel H.,
Howell, Charles R.,
Howell, John H.,
Howell, James L. ,
Howell, John A.,
Howell, James,
Howell, William G.,
Howell, Hy. B.,
Howell, Israel,
Howland, Addison,
Howland, Erastus R.,
Hubbard, Seth R.,
Hubbs, Daniel O.,
Hubbs, John A.,
Hubert, Charles,
Hulse, William B.,
Hulse, Albert,
Hulse, William F.,
Hulse, George W.
Hull, Albert,
Humphries, Arthur,
Hunker, Flora,

RESIDENCE.
Shelterlsland
Riverhead,
Riverhead,Coram. Northport,
Cold Spring,
Bay Shore,
Sag Harbor,
Bridgehamp., Southampton,
Northport.
Cold Spring,
Babylon, :
Northport, Southampton.
Watermill, Stoney Brook,
Bay Shore,
Riverhead,Islip,
Islip,
Greenport, Sag Harbor.
Bellport, Sayville,
Yaphank,Yaphank, Mount Sinai,
Brookhaven.
Easthampton, Mount Sinai.
Blue Point,
Brookhaven,
Southold,Coram.
Cutchogue, Cold Spring,
Cutchogue;
Cutchogue, Patchogue,
Brookhaven.
Patchogue,Patchogue,
Sweet Hollow,
Islip,
Islip, Bridgehamp.,
Bridgehamp.,
Yaphank, Southampton,
Atlanticville,Cutchogue, Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor.
Huntington, Sag Harbor,
Good Ground,
Bay Shore,
Smithtown,
Cold Springs,
Brookhaven.Moriches, Moriches,
Huntington,
Port Jefferson,
Easthampton,Bridgehamp,Bridgehamp,

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
29th.127th.27th. 127th.
127th.Navy.139th. 127th.
47th. 102nd. Sharpshooters.
Navy.
127th. 12 7th.
170th.Sharpshooters.
127th.Navy. Spinola'sBrig.
127th.
92nd. 12th. 2nd.
57th.84th. 48 th and Navy.
(ith. 9th. 127th.
127th. 8th.
127th.
170th. 2nd.
12th.12th. 127th.
158th.
2nd. Slst. Navy.
2nd.
2nd. 11th.
170th.127th.
5th. 139th.
81st. Navy.
9th. Navy. •
127th.
Navy.145th & 107th
127th. 145th.
24 th.
1 27th.
Navy.

Hunt, E. Z.,
Hunt, Robert,
Huntington, Charlos,
Hunting, Benjamin,
Huntington, Hy, H.,
Huntington, Edw. Foster,
Hutchinson, Elbert,
Ingraham, Henry,
Irwin, John,
Jackson, Leonard T.,
Jackson, Charles A.,
Jackson, Barzilla,
Jackson, Patrick?i
Jackson J. (colored), ;¦,
Jackson, M. (colored), \
Jackson, Lyman,
Jacobs, John H.,
Jacobs, Joseph W.,
Jacobs, William S.,
Jagger, Oscar L. ,
Jagger, William S.,
James, Benj. (colored),
James, Stephen D.,
James, Richard,
James, Riker R.,
January, John,
Jarvis, Ebenezer N.,
Jarvis, Ira F.,
Jarvis, John E.,
Jarvis, William H.,
Jayne, John S.,
Jayne, George,
Jayne, Charles E.,
Jayne, Richard,
Jayne, George E.,
Jayne, William C,
Jayne, Isaac,
Jayne, Joseph H,
Jayne, Robert,
Jefferson, Robert,
Jenkins, William M ,
Jenkins, David,
Jenkins, Horace,
Jennings, Samuel B.,
Jennings, Gilbert W,
Jennings, John Terry,
Jennings, James F.,
Jennings, William M.,
Jennings, Stephen J.,
Jennings, William T.
Jeroddette, Jacob A.,
Jessup, John H.,
Jessup, William P.,
Jessup, Charles L.,
Jessup, Edmund,
Jessup, Samuel D.,
Jewesbury, John,
Jewett, William,
Johnson, Richard M.,
Johnson, James,
Johnson, William C,
Johnson, Thomas,
Jones, George,
Jones, William (colored),
Jones, William H.,
Jones, William H. H.,
Jones, Thomas,
Jolry, George F.,
Jupiter, George (colored),
Kaler, William O.,

REGIMENT

RESIDENCE.

OR SERVICE.

Sag Harbor,

2nd.

Mattituck,

150th.

Huntington,

127th.

Southampton,

3rd.

Sag Harbor.

Southold,

127th.

East Marion,

127th.

Bridgehamp.

Centreport,

91st.

Cutchogue,

127th.

Good Ground,

6th.

Flanders,

127 th.

Brookhaven.

Huntington,
26th. -
Huntington,
Navy.
Riverhead,
45th.
Southampton,
127th.
Good Ground
, 127th.
Southampton,
127th.
Southampton,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Central Islip,
20th.
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Ronkonkoma,
5th.
Ronkonkoma,
40th.
Bay Shore,
29th.
Melville,
74th.
Centreport,
94th.
Babylon,
127th.
Huntington,
127th.
Bay Shore,
9th.
Bay Shore,
8th U. S., C(
Stony Brook,
102nd.
Cold Spring,
127th.
Babylon,
127 th.
Eastport,
57th.
Brookhaven.
Smithtown,
5th.
Patchogue,
13th.
Southold,
127th.
3rentwood,
5th.
3rookhaven,
47th.
Brookhaven,
173rd.
Shelterlsland
, 165th.
Southampton,
75th.
V. Aquebogue
159th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Patchogue,
5th.
Patchogue,
12th.
127th.
Westhampton
,127th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
48 th.
Sag Harbor,
48th.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Brookhaven,
31st.
Bridgehamp.,
Slst.
Spriiigs, Huntlington,
11th.
127th.
Baby]on.
Sag Harbor,
90th.
Setauket,
26th U. S.,C
E. Moriches,
6th.
Huntington,
102nd.
Huntirigton,
102nd.
Cold Spring,
127th.
Smithtown,.
31st.
\
29th.
Morichfes,
102nd.
t^-rrrpie, Joseph I.,
Kane, James,
Kappel, Francis,
Kasson, John H.,
Kearns, Michael,
Kelley, Sylvester S.,
Kelley, Edw.,
Kelley, Peter,
Kennard, Harvey C,
Kennedy, Patrick,
Kennedy, James.,
Kentz, Andrew,
Kentz, Frank,
Kernon, Patrick,
Ketcham, Warren,
Ketcham, Bunce R.,
Ketcham, Fleet,
Ketcham, Ira P.,
Ketcham, Smith,
Ketcham, Tesse,
Ketcham, Henry,
Ketcham, Charles A.,
Ketcham, Thomas B.,
Ketcham, Luther S.,
Kiesling, Charles M.,
King, Venus E.,
King, Wilson B.,
King, Horace P.,
King, Oliver G.,
King, George C,
King, Harvey B.,
King, William P.,
King, Samuel R.,
King, Charles E.,
King, Lodowick,
King, Parker D.,
King, Thomas,
Kingsland, Oscar R.,
Kingsland, William W.,
Kiner, George W.,
Klopp, John W.,
Knapp, Sylvester,
Knapp, George M.,
Kockendoeffer, Frank,
Lake, John C,
Lake, Thrastus C,
Lamb, Elisha R.,
Lamphier, David,
Lane, George W. ,
Lane, Abraham,
Lane, George F.,
Lane, Charles H.,
Lane, Hy. J.,
Lane, John,
Lane, Warren T.,
Lane, Gilbert,
Lane, Charles E.,
Larrison, James,
Larry, Edwin,
Latham, Eldridge P.,
Latham, George E.,
Latham, James N.,
Latin, George,
Latin, William,
. Laughlin, James E.,
Lawrence, John B.,
Lawrence, Wm. H., Jr.
Laws, Amos B.,
Laws, John G.,
Lawton, Gro. J.,

REGIMENT

\

ivKSIDENCE.

OR SERVICE.

NAME. "--

Huntington,
127th.
Lawton, John,
ui.
Southampton,
Navy.
Learie, John J.,
Speonk,
50th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Leary, Peter,
Brookhaven.
Greenport,
127th.
Ledyard, George B.,
Southold,
127th.
Bay Shore,
2nd.
Lee, George D.,
Port Jefferson
,102nd.
Islip,
66th.
Lee, Edw.,
Huntington,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Lee, David R.,
Brookhaven.
Brookhaven.
Leek, John D.,
Babylon,
10th.
Islip,
25th,
Leek, David H,
Easthampton,
8th.
Bridgehamp.,
11th.
Leek, James H.,
Babylon,
127th.
Huntington,
20th.
Lent, Rufus,
Moriches.
Islip,
7th.
Leodham, David,
Manor,
5th.
Islip,
159th.
Leodham, Charles,
Riverhead,
10th.
Patchogue,
12th.
Leslie, Robert,
Cutchogue,
6th.
Elwood,
40th.
Lester, William,
Springs,
5th.
Elwood,
127th.
Lester, George F. ,
Springs,
11th.
Elwood,
127 th.
Lester, James W.,
Springs,
127th.
Elwood,
48th.
Lester, Charles,
Springs,
11th.
Amityville,
127th.
Lester, Gilbert,
Springs,
11th.
Amityville,
90th.
Lester, George O.,
Setauket.
Bridgehamp.,
81st.
Lewis, Isaac B.,
Selden,
11th.
Babylon,
2nd.
Lewis, George W.,
Huntington,
127th.
Babylon,
127th.
Lewis, Thomas,
Northport.
Huntington,
48th.
L'Hommedieu, L. Long'
t, Centreville,
127th.
Brookhaven,
133rd.
L' Hommedieu, Lyman B
. , Riverhead,
127th.
Springs,
127th.
L'Hommedieu, Lewis,
Bay Shore,
Navy.
Springs,
127th.
L'Hommedieu, Charles,
Islip,
Navy.
Springs,
11th.
L'Hommedieu, R. W.,
Stony Brook,
139th.
Springs,
Navy.
L'Hommedieu, James,
Middle Island, 127th.
Springs,
11th.
Liscomb, Joseph,
Bridgehamp.,
1st.
Springs,
127th.
Lobert, William,
Islip.
Amagansett,
127th.
Lockwood, John E.,
Bay Shore,
139th.
Amagansett,
10th.
Loncker, George,
Northport,
15th.
Patchogue,
12th.
Long, Hewlett J.,
Huntington,
127th.
Amagansett,
15th.
Longworth, John,
Sayville,
12th.
127th.
Loper, Benjamin,
Bridgehamp.,
127th.
Patchogue,
Navy.
Loper, Hy. J.,
Bridgehamp.,
81st.
Westhamptor
i, 112th.
Loper, Daniel B.,
Easthampton,
, 127th.
Moriches,
1st.
Loper,
Southampton,
, 127th.
Port Jefferson, 139th.
Loper, Oliver L.,
Amagansett,
9th.
Greenport,
127th.
Loper, Charles G.
Sayville,
2nd.
Loper, Charles.
81st.
Loper, Thomas,
81st.
Orient,
165th.
Lovejoy, John F.,
81st.
Lake "Islip,
8th N. J.
Lowen, William, Jr.,
Easthampton
, 15th.
Islip,
Navy.
Lucy, Cornelius,
Orient,
165th.
Moriches,
145th.
Ludlow, William H,
Sayville,
(Colored)
Brookhaven,
133rd.
Ludlow, William,
Sayville.
Bayport,
2nd.
Ludlow, Nicoll,
Sayville,
Navy.
Wading Riv.
Lynch, Matthias,
Huntington,
127th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Lynch, Michael,
Easthampton,
11th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Lynch, Dennis,
Riverhead,
127th.
Brookhaven.
Lyons, Samuel,
Amityville,
Navy.
Northport,
90th.
Lyons, Daniel E. (col.),
Amityville,
Navy.
Riverhead,
13th.
Lyons, James.
Riverhead,
12th.
Lyons, David H. (col.).
Amityville,
Navy.
Riverhead,
47 th.
McCabe, James E.,
Navy.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters.
McCloskey, Frank,
Islip,
3rd.
Southampton
McDonnell, Michael,
Bridgehamp.
, 6th.
Orient,
6th.
McGinley, Daniel,
Smithtown,
Navy.
Orient,
127th.
McGinn, Michael,
Mattituck,
47th.
Northport,
Slst.
McGregor, John,
Northport,
127th.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters.
McGregor, Andrew J.j
Huntington,
127th.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters.
McGregor, James N.,
Huntington,
127th.
Hauppauge,
9th.
McGurk, Frank,
Bridgehamp.
, 165th.
Amagansett,
Navv.
McGurk, John,
Bridgehamp.
, Navy.
Sag Harbor,
127th.
McKerman, Gustasus,
Easthampton
, Navy.
Rocky Point,
159th & Navy.
McKinley, William,
Riverhead,
8th.
Rocky Point,
159th.
McMahon, John,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Central Islip,
9th.
McManes, William P.,
Shelter Island, 127th.
McMin_,
McNamee, Joseph-,
McNeil, David,
McNeil, John,
McWilliams, Joseph,
Mahan, Furman S.,
Maloney, Dennis,
Maloney, James,
Mapes, Walter F.,
March, Allen,
Marion, Thomas,
Martin, Matthew,
Matthias, Jeremiah,
Mayo, Oliver A.,
Mead, John,
Meigs, Edgar C,
Mencee, Joseph,
Merchant, Charles,
Merrill, Jonathan C.,
Meyer, John W. ,
Middleton, Thomas,
Miller, James,
Miller, Henry,
Miller, Frederick E.,
Miller, John (colored),
Miller, Robert (colored),
Miller, Nathaniel J.,
Miller, Elias H.,
Miller, Nathaniel,
Miller, William B.,
Miller, Jonathan A.,
Miller, Josiah P.,
Miller, David K.,
Miller, Charles G.,
Miller, Gilbert,
Miller, Abram H.,
Miller, Thomas W.,
Miller, Lewis B.,
Miller, Samuel A.,
Miller, Philander B.,
Miller, James J.,
Miller, Frederick F.,
Mills, Hy. R.,
Mills, Bryon,
Mingo, Horace J. (col.),
Mist, James B.,
Moddle, Frederick W.,
Moger, Wilson,
Moger, Lorenzo D.,
Moger, Benjamin,
Montcalm, John A.,
Moon, Augustus,
Mooney, Dingenus,
Mooney, Francis J.,
Mooney, John F.,
Moore, Charles B.,
Moore, Thomas,
Moore, Silas H.,
Moore, Isaac T. ,
Moore, Benjamin F.,
Moore, Orrin G.,
Moore, Christopher B.,
Moore, Cornelius L. ,
Moore, John,
Moore, Andrew B.
Moore, Hy.,
Moore, Thomas,
Morgan, Henry,
Morris, George C,
Morris, Thomas,

..lampton,
Greenport,Bay Shore,
Brookhaven.
Easthampton, Cold Spring,
Huntington,
Huntington, Smithtown,Elwood,
Bridgehamp.,
Stony Brook,
Northport,Mattituck, Islip.Sag Harbor,
Mattituck,
Sag Harbor.
Southold,Sag Harbor,
Huntington,Sag Harbor,
Babylon,Miller's Place
Amityville, Amityville,Amagansett,
Amagansett, Amagansett,
Amagansett, Springs,
Springs,
Greenport, Brentwood,
Southaven. Easthampton,
Easthampton,Easthampton,Babylon,Brookhaven,
Brookhaven, Brookhaven.
Smithtown,Brookhaven. Bay Shore.
Moriches,Huntington,Sayville,
Patchogue, Patchogue, Sag Harbor,
Islip, Amityville,
Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Orient,
Quogue,Southaven,
Cutchogue, Cutchogue, Cutchogue,
Greenport, Greenport,Huntington,

' REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
, 46th.127th.
127th.

Sth. 102nd.
127th.127th.
3rd.
87th.127th. 38th.
49th.
127th. Slst. 127th.127th.
11th.127th.
Regular Army.
48th. 1st.
Navy.
20th. 127th.
127th.
11th. 127th.
Navy.127th. 165th.
Sth. 127th.127th.11th.127th.12th.
57th. 29th.

4th. 127th. 173rd.
8th.12th. 127th. Navy.
127th.127th. 127th.
127th.
127th. 170th.127th.
127th.44 th.
165th.
57th. 127th.

Bridgehamp., 14th.
Huntington, 127th.
Springs, 127th.
Sag Harbor, Kith.
Huntington, 127th.

Mosier, Francis D.,
Mott, James O.,
Mott, George,
Mott, Edgar S.,
Mott, Horatio,
Mott, David.
Mott, Charles W.,
Mott, John A.,
Mott, Alonzo A.,
Mulford, E. Hampton,
Mulford, W. E.,
Mulford, Charles J.,
Mullen, John,
Mulrooney, John,
Muncey, Jesse,
Munsell, Jesse,
Munsell, Nathaniel N.,
Munsell, Alexander,
Murdock, Daniel H.,
Murphy, Peter,
Murphy, Morgan,
Murphy, Edward,
Murray, William H.,
Murray, John J.,
Murthur, John,
Nash, Thomas S.,
Nash, Hy. T.,
Nash, Abram H.,
Nelson, Horatio,
Neville, Michael,
Newart, John,
Newton, Joseph,
Nichols, William H.,
Nichols, Charles Hy.,
Nichols, Stephen,
Nichols, James,
Nichols, James R.,
Nichols, Floyd C,
Nichols, Joel,
Nichol, George W. ,
Nicoll, Sylvester,
Nicoll, Edw. T.,
Noe, Smith J.,
Noe, Lewis H.,
Norton, B. B.,
Norton, Elbert N.,
Norton, Harrison,
Norton, John R.,
Nye, Charles N.,
Oakley, John,
Oakley, Oscar J.,
Oakley, James M.,
O'Brien, John,
O'Keefe, John, Jr.,
Oldershaw, Absalom E.
Oldershaw, Thomas H,
Oldrim, Edw.,
Oliver, Adolph,
Oliver, William H.,
Osborn, William,
Osborn, Hy. N.,
Osborn, Lewis W.,
Osborne, William,
Overton, Richard H.,
Overton, Josiah W.,
Overton, Charles E.,
Overton, Elisha W.,
Overton, J. Theodore,
Overton, Warren R.,
Overton, Joel,

Centreville,

Sth.

Selden,

133rd.

Babylon,

127th.

Patchogue,

2nd.

Patchogue,

2nd.

Patchogue,

159th.

Northport,

127th.

Selden,

16th.

Orient,

165th.

Northport,

57th.

Easthampton

, 81st.

Cold Spring,

102nd

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Babylon,

127th.

Bellport,

92nd.

Middle Island

1, 10th.

Middle Island

,1st.

Moriches,

90th.

Melville,

127th.

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Greenport,

127th.

Islip,

26th.

Islip,

26 th.

Middle Island

, 32nd.

Islip.

Islip.

Islip,

2nd.

Cutchogue,

132nd.

Deer Park,

99th.

East Marion,

165th.

Greenport,

127th.

Northport,

127th.

Greenport,

31st.

Islip,

9th.

Smithtown,

102nd.

Middle Island

, 165th.

Middle Island

, 159th.

Centreport,

91st.

Mattituck,

165th.

Shelter Island

Sag Harbor,

' 127th.

Sayville,

159th.

Sayville,

Navy.

Selden,

57th.

Selden,

3rd.

Riverhead,

127th.

Mattituck,

127th.

Navy.
Babylon,
127th.
Coram,
139th.
Coram,
12th.
Babylon,
127th.
Islip,
5 th.
Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Sag Harbor,
16th.
Cutchogue,
127 th.
Hauppauge.
Riverhead,
12th.
Bellport,
11th.
Bellport,
92nd.
Moriches,
139th.
Peconic,
127th.
Bridgehamp. ,
176th.
Moriches,
145th.
Southold,
127th.
Coram,
1st.
Peconic,
127th.
Peconic,
127th.
Middle Island
, 32nd.
APPENDIX.

583

Overton, Moses W.,
Overton, Joseph A.,
Painter, George H.,
Palow, Frederick,
Parish, Joseph,
Parker, Henry,
Parker, Silas M.,
Parks, Richard H.,
Parsons, T. Augustus,
Parsons, Theodore,
Payne, Elias H.,
Payne, Edwin E.,
Payne, Valentine,
Payne, Albert M.,
Payne, Charles,
Payne, Elias R.,
Payne, Wesley,
Payne, James S.,
Payne, Jeremiah,
Payne, Thomas B.,
Payne, Baldwin T. ,
Payne, Benjamin S.,
Payne, Charles,
Payne, Robert H.,
Payne, Huntington,
Pearsall, Ezra,
Pearsall, Silas C,
Pearsall, John,
Pease, Grove,
Peck, Charles H.,
Pedrick, Piatt,
Pedro, Joseph H.,
Penney, B. Riley,
Penney, Oliver F. ,
Penney, Jonathan R.,
Penney, Alexander H.,
Penney, Benjamin L.,
Perdue, Charles,
Perkins, George,
Petty, Sidney B.,
Petty, William E.,
Pharaoh, Stephen,
Phillips, W. H. H.,
Phillips, Stephen,
Phillips, Clinton R.,
Phillips, William E.,
Pickett, Andrew,
Pidgeon, Stephen,
Pidgeon, George,
Pidgeon, John,
Pierce, Edw. C,
Pierson, David,
Pierson, Alanson,
Pierson, Nathan H.,
Pierson, Enoch,
Pike, Osias,
Pike, Horace J.,
Pike, Calvin,
Pike, Christopher,
Pillington, John,
Pinckney, George E.,
Pitts, Charles E.,
Pitts, Hy. R.,
Place, Richard L.,
Piatt, Jesse,
Play, Eben G.,
Piatt, Ezra W.,
Piatt, D.,
Pokoming, Gustavus H.
Foley, Treadwell,

RESIDENCE.
Riverhead,
Riverhead, Huntington,Brookhaven, Shelterlsland.
Easthampton. Sag Harbor,
Patchogue,
Orient, Springs.
Shelterlsland,
Amityville,Amityville, Springs,
Springs,
Amagansett, Hauppauge,
Bridgehamp. ,
Bridgehamp.,
Southold, Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Amityville, Amityville, Amityville,
Mattituck,
Port Jefferson,
Cold Spring,
Sag Harbor,
Peconic,
Flanders.
Bay Shore,
Good Ground,
Peconic, Moriches,Orient,Springs, Montauk,
Southampton.Northport,
Westhampton, Southampton,
Orient, Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Northport,
Brentwood,
Bridgehamp., Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Sag Harbor,
Central Islip,
Central Islip,
Ronkonkoma,
Ronkonkoma, Huntington,
Brookhaven, Babylon,
Riverhead,
Amityville,Huntington, Huntington,
Bellport.
Huntington, Islip,
Cold Spring,

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

12th.Navy.
127th. 178th.

11th. 127th.
165 th.
Slst. 20th.Sth.
48th. Navy. 127th.139th.139th.
127th. 127th.
127th.
81st. Slst.
Navy. 11th.
127th. 127th.
127th. 127th. 139th
127th
48th. 127th
9th.
6th. 127th. 1st Colored.
127th. 127th. Navy. (Indian).
48 th.
12th.Navy.6th. 127th.
Navy.Navy.14th. 127th.
14th. 81st.
127th.
2nd. 2nd.
7th.Sth.
35th. 131st.127th.127th. 127 th.
127th.1st.
1st.4th.102nd.

Pollard, George H,
Polly, William L.,
Polly, Samuel M.,
Pounder, Edw.,
Post, James H.,
Potter, John,
Potter, Delone,
Preston, Hy. H,
Price, Solomon,
Price, George,
Price, William E.,
Price, James H., Jr.,
Prince, Hy. ,
Prince, George S.,
Quinn, Isaac,
Quinn, John,
Racket, George C,
Rafferty, Joseph,
Ranger, Samuel M.,
Raynor, Warren,
Raynor, Leander,
Raynor, J. Ivison,
Raynor, Preston,
Raynor, Laban, jr.,
Raynor, John W.,
Raynor, Hy. S.,
Raynor, Jesse,
Raynor, William C,
Raynor, Jonah, Jr.,
Raynor, William S.,
Reade, John R.,
Ready, James,
Reardon, Michael J ,
Reason, Thomas,
Redfield, Charles A.,
Redfield, Hy. J.,
Reeve, Jehial B.,
Reeve, Edmund P.,
Reeve, Oliver F.,
Reeve, John W.,
Reeve, Thomas H.,
Reeve, Thomas E.,
Reeve, Miner B.,
Reeve, George B.,
Reeves, Egbert,
Reeves, William H.
Reise, Jacob,
Reney, John, Jr.,
Rhodes, William,
Rhodes, Alfred,
Rhody, Hugh
Rice, Henry W.,
Richmiller, Albert,
Rick, John,
Riddell, John J.,
Riggs, John,
Riker, William,
Ricker, Frederick,
Ritch, Sidney H.,
Ritchie, Hy. T.,
Robbins, Smith W.,
Robbins, Charles,
Roberts, Edw.,
Robinson, George,
Robinson, Carman,
Robinson, Robert C,
Robinson, Eckford J.,
Robinson, John G.,
Robinson, Edw. V.,

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT

OR SERVICE.

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Bridgehamp.,

6th.

Easthampton,

, 4th.

Bridgehamp.,

11th.

Southampton,

44th.

Sag Harbor.

Islip,

26th.

Shelter Islanc

1, 6th.

Hauppauge,

139th.

Babylon,

127th.

Greenport,

127th.

Easthampton,

53rd and 81s

Southold,

127th.

Southold,

6th.

Springs,

Conn. Reg't.

Atlanticville,

11th.

Cutchogue,

126th.

Mattituck,

127th.

Eastham:,t'n

, 127th.

Wading Riv.

, 165th.

E. Moriches,

102nd.

Eastport,

133rd.

Manor,

133rd.

Moriches,

102nd.

Riverhead,

127th.

Atlanticville,

11th.

Huntington,

127th.

Westhampt'n

,47th.

Manor,

2nd.

Riverhead,

5th.

Easthampt'n

, 11th.

Quogue,

128th.

Patchogue,

12th.

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Bridgehamp.

, 81st.

Sag Harbor,

127th.

Moriches.

133rd.

Moriches,

133rd.

Centreville,

5th.

Centreville,

5th.

Moriches,

145th.

Mattituck,

127th.

Riverhead,

57th.

Mattituck,

127th.

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Orient,

127th.

Sag Harbo-,

81st.

Sayville.

Bay Shore,

158th.

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Orient,

1st.

Huntington,

127th.

Manor,

117th.

Greenport,

127th.

Huntington,

176th.

Holtsville,

Sth.

Sag Harbor,

176th.

Mid. Island,

127th.

Huntington,

127th.

Amityville,

127th.

Cold Spring,

102nd.

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Islip,

158th.

Bellport,

11th.

Springs,

158th.

Eastport,

102nd.

Westhamp.,

127th.

Westhamp.,

12th.

584

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

RESIDENCE.

Robinson, Edw. V.,
Robinson, George G.,
Robinson, Timothy W.
Robinson, Floyd,
Robinson, Jeremiah J.,
Robinson, Willet H.,
Robinson, Richard E.,
Rockwell, Henry,
Rockwell, Frank,
Roe, William P.,
Roe, Thomas,
Roe, Smith,
Rogers, Benjamin,
Rogers, George,
Rogers, James H.,
Rogers, William W.,
Rogers, Charles A.,
Rogers, Israel,
Rork, Patrick,
Rose, Edwin,
Rose, Edward,
Rose, Frederick H,
Rose, George T.,
Rose, Elbert B.,
Rose, David J.,
Rowland, Edward,
Rowland, Sylvester,
Rowland, Gilson,
Rowley, William,
Rudd, John,
Rugg, George B.,
Ruland, J. Edwin,
Ruland, Nelson S.,
Ruland, William,
Ruland, Manly F.,
Rumbles, George W.,
Russell, Miner B.,
Russell, James B.,
Russell, Bartlett,
Russell, James S.,
Ryan, Thomas,
Ryder, William,
Ryder, Smith,
Ryder, William H,
Ryerson, George,
Rylands, William,
Saddington, George,
Sammis, Cornelius,
Sammis, Theodore,
Sammis, John A.,
Sammis, Gilbert,
Sammis, Franklin,
Sammis, Cornelius M.,
Sammis, Charles,
Sammis, Charles A ,
Sammis, George S.,
Sands, Theodore,
-Sanford, Hy. H..
Satterley, Selah K.,
Satterley, William R.,
Satterley, Charles,
Satterley, William H,
Satterley, William,
'Saunders, Hy. C,
^Saxton, Benu F.,
Saxton, George S.,
Saxton, Wm. Wallace,
Sayre, James S.
Sayre, Matthew H.

Moriches. Southampton, 145th.
Westhamp'tn.Southampton, 13th.
Patchogue, Navy.
Patchogue, Navy.
Riverhead, 8th.
Patchogue, 95th.
Patchogue, 12th.
139th.
Sag Harbor, 127th.
Brookhaven.
Brookhaven, 81st.
Brookhaven.
Easthampton, 16th.
Islip, 12th.
Pt. Jefferson, Navy.
Moriches, 65th.
Cold Spring, 102nd.
Bridgehamp., 81st.
Southampton, Slst.
Watermill, 127th.
Brookhaven, 92nd.
Brookhaven, 145th.
Moriches, 54th.
Southaven. Brookhaven, Navy.
Patchogue, 13th.
Selden.
Good Ground, 25th Battery.
Bridgehamp., Navy.
Moriches, 57th.
Selden. Ishp, 8th.
Brookhaven. 165th.
Lakeland, 2nd.
Sayville, 2nd.
Bayport, 2nd.
Setauket, 159th.
Islip, 139th.
Bridgeh'm'tn, 168ih.
Moriches, 145th.
Sag Harbor, 133rd.
Huntington, 127th.
Bridgehamp., 81st.
Central Islip, 20th.
Huntington, 127th.
Babylon, 100th.
Babylon, 127th.
Northport, 48th.
Northport, 48th.
Centreport, 48th.
Northport, 127th,
Huntington, 127th.
Huntington, 127th.
Babylon, Sharpshooters
Bridgehamp., 81 st.
Cutchogue. 6th.
Bay Shore, 158th.
Bay Shore, 6th.
Bay Shore, 66th.
East Marion.
Islip, Spinola's Brig.
Bav Shore, 2nd.
Pt.' Jefferson, 10th.
Pt. Jefferson, 5th.
Watermill, 127th.
Watermill, 127th.

Schafer, Christy,
Schellenger, George R.,
Schoomaker, Hy.,
Schoor, Nicholas,
Schoor, Matthias,
Schumacker, John,
Scofield, Titus,
Scott, James G.,
Scudder, Stephen B..
Scudder, William S.,
Seaman, Silas C, Jr.,
Seaman, Jacob,
Seaman, William,
Seaman, Uriah,
Searles, William,
Sears, George H,
Secor, John W.,
Seymour, Charles,
Seymour, C. 15.,
Sharp, John B.,
Shattuck, Francis J.,
Shaw, John,
Sheffield, William,
Sheppard, Samuel,
Sheppard, Thomas,
Sheriden, John,
Sherman, George R.,
Sherry. David S.,
Sherwood, William H.,
Sherwood, Joseph,
Shipman, James F.,
Shipman, William E.,
Shore, Nicholas,
Shore, Ferdinand,
Shotwell, David,
Simons, John,
Simons, John P.
Silsby, Smith,
Silveira, W. W.,
Simpson, James,
Skidmore, Theodore,
Skidmore, Hy. A.,
Skidmore, Albert F ,
Skinner, Barton D.,
Smalling, Joshua,
Smith, Jonathan,
Smith, Jarvis W ,
Smith, Daniel,
Smith, Herman,
Smith, Egbert T.,
Smith, Wallace,
Smith, Lorenzo H.,
Smith, John H,
Smith, David,
Smith, John H.,
Smith, Lorenzo D.,
Smith, Samuel D„
Smith, Joel B.,
Smith, Hy.,
Smith, William H.,
Smith, Medad,
Smith, Ellis,
Smith, Charles,
Smith, A. Judson,
Smith, John C,
Smith, Charles L.,
Smith, Nelson P.,
Smith, John H.,
Smith, Mordant,

Sag Harbor,

27th.

Sag Harbor,

81st.

Brookhaven,

2nd.

Huntington,

127th.

Huntington,

15th.

Huntington,

157th.

Cold Spring,

127th.

Miller's Place.

Northport,

48th.

Northport,

48th.

Sayville,

12th.

Babylon,

127th.

Babylon,

127th.

Eastport,

1st M. Rifles.

Patchogue,

12th.

Sag Harbor,

127th.

Northport,

127th.

Cutchogue,

47th.

Huntington,

Navy.

Setauket,

1st.

Brookhaven,

12th.

U.Aquebogue,12th.

Islip,

14th.

Central,

'31st.

Islip,

Navy.

Brookhaven.

Sag Harbor,

7th.

Sag Harbor.

Sag Harbor,

Navy.

Sag Harbor.

Sweet Holl'w

, 155th.

Greenport,

127th.

Huntington,

127th.

Huntington,

127th.

Huntington,

127th.

Sag Harbor,

8th.

Patchogue.

Sag Harbor,
Navy.
Elwood,
87th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Good Ground
, 127th.
E. Setauket,
139th.
Greenport,
127th.
Babylon,
127th.
Hauppauge,
139th.
Islip,
2nd.
Peconic,
127th,
Sayville,
159th.
•Mastic,
Delaware Rgt.
Patchogue.
Amityville,
90th.
Baiting H'lw
,2nd.
Sweet Holl'w
, 127th.
Stony Brook,
5th.
Sayville,
12th.
Sayville,
Navy.
Babylon,
127th.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters
Babylon,
127th.
Babylon,
127th.
Patchogue,
12th.
Blue Point.
Greenport,
127th.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Huntington,
38th.
Huntington,
127th.
Huntington,
127th.
Huntington,
127th.
APPENDIX.

•jSd

RESIDENCE.

Smith, Walter,
Smith, Jesse,
Smith, James R.,
Smith, Charles A.,
Smith, Robert A.,
Smith, George R ,
Smith, William H.,
Smith, Thomas M.,
Smith, Montville,
Smith, Jacob,
Smith, Theodore,
Smith, Amos,
Smith, William H.,
Smith, Phillip (colored!,
Smith, Nehemiah O.,
Smith, Orin,
Smith, William M.,
Smith, George H.,
Smith, Robert,
Smith, George,
Snedicor, John H.,
Snedicor, Charles,
Snooks, John O.,
Snow, Charles E.,
Snow, Elisha,
Soper, Theodore,
Soper, Charles D.,
Soper, Mrong,
Soper, Ebenezer,
Soper, Ezra,
Soper, Ira T.,
Southard, Matthew,
Southard, Walter,
Southard, Nelson,
Southard, William,
Spencer, Daniel,
Sprague, Hamilton R.,
Sprague, Edw.,
Sprague, Frederick W.,
Sprague, Charles,
Squires, George P.,
Squires, Edw.,
Squires, Lender,
Squires, J. Hampton,
Squires, Hy.,
Squires, Edw. L.,
Squires, Stephen L.,
Squires, Charles,
Stanbrough, Isaac,
Stanbrough, James,
Stanton, Joseph B.,
Stanton, Oscar F.,
Stanton, William C,
Stanley, William H..
Steams, Thomas,
Steele, John,
Steele, David H.,
Stephens, David,
Sterling William W ,
Stevens, Edw.,
Still, Hy.,
Stillwell, Andrew,
Stilwell, William H.,
Stillwell, Isaac D.,
Stillwell, James,
Strickland, John R.,
Strong, Arthur J.,
Strong, Silas P.,
Strong, James M.,

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

RESIDENCE.

Huntington, 4*th.
Huntington, 48th.
Brookhaven. Moriches, 139th.
Pt. Jefferson, 159th & Navv.
Brookhaven, 2nd.
Easthampt'n, Navy.
Westh'm'tn.Northport, Navy.
Huntington, 5th/
Huntington, 145th.
Islip, Navv.
Pt. Jefferson, 12th:
Moriches.
Patchogue, 59th,
Brookhaven, Sharpshooters
Patchogue, 4th.
Brookhaven, 12th.
Greenport, 6th
Southold, 127th.
Bay Shore, 131st,
Babylon, 127th.
Sag Harbor, 81st.
Southaven, Navv.
Sag Harbor, 81st.'
Elwood, 127th.
Elwood, 9th.
Smithtown, 102nd.
Smithtown, 102nd.
Babylon, Sharpshooters
Huntington,* 127th.
Islip, Sth.
Islip, 139th.
Babylon, 6th.
Babylon, 127th.
Sag Harbor, 81st.
127th.
127th,
Bay Shore, 139th.
Huntington, 54th.
Red Creek, 127th.
Amityville, 20th.
Amityville, 11th.
Watermill, 95tb.
Southampton, 81st.
Good Ground, 127th.
Sag Harbor, 127th.
Sag Harbor.
Sag Harbor.
Sag Harbor, 11th.
Sag Harbor, Slst.
Sag Harbor, Navy.
Sag Harbor.
Southampton, 4th.
Centreport, 1st.
Amityville, 20th.
Huntington, 20th.
Pt. Jefferson, Navy.
Cutchogue, 127th.
Quogue, 127th.
Brookhaven, 102nd.
Huntington, 127tb.
Huntington, 102nd.
Brookhaven. Babylon, 2nd.
Bayport, 2nd.
Islip, 8th U. S., Col.
Bay Shore, 9tb.
Bridgehamp., 127 th.

Strong, Charles H,
Strong, Thomas H ,
Sullivan, Jeremiah,
Sullivan, Patrick,
Sutton, L. W.,
Sutton, Jacob,
Suydam, Hy. H.,
Suydam, Nathaniel,
Swezey, Warren W.,
Swezey, Richard M.,
Swezey, Moses,
Swezey, Stephen J.,
Swezey, Evi,
Sylve, Joseph,
Sythes, William,
Tabor, Elbert W.,
Tabor, William T..
Taney, Richard,
Talmage, Nathaniel M,
Talmage, William H.,
Taylor, Edw. C,
Teal, George F.,
Terrell, Thomas S.,
Terrell, Charles S.,
Terrell, Lafayette,
Terrell, Walter,
Terry, George H.,
Terry, Brewster,
Terry, George W.,
Terry, Leander,
Terry, Scudder H.,
Terry, Columbus F.,
Terry, James B ,
Terry, Charles E.,
Terrv, Benjamin H.,
Te-ry, Albert H.,
Terry, Parmenas,
Terry, James M.,
Terry, George A,,
Terry, Jesse A.,
Terry, Gideon H.,
Terrv, Bryant B.,
Terrv, Sidnev,
Thatford, Hy. C,
Thompson, Robert H.,
Thompson, Alonzo F.,
Thompson, George F.,
Thorne, Walter,
Thurber, Jacob B.,
Thurber, John R.,
Thurber, Daniel J.,
Thurber, Stephen VV.,
Thurber, John W.,
Thurber, Smith R.,
Tichenor, Elias H..
Tichenor, Benjamin E.,
Tichenor, John B.,
Tillinghast, Charles S.,
Tillinghast, Charles E.,
Tilotson, Alfred C,
Tillotson, Jacob P.,
Tobias, Abraham (col.),
Tooker, Erastus,
Tooker, Floyd,
Topping, M. Howell,
Topping, William O.,
Topping, Edw.,
Topping, Albert E.,
Topping, James R.,

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
Sag Harbor, Navy.
Sag Harbor, Navv.
Shelter Isl'nd, 127th.
Babylon, 117th.
Greenport, 127th.
Brookhaven.Babylon, 127th.
Huntington, Navv.
Islip, 9th.'
Sag Harbor, 81st.
Brookhaven, 2nd.
Huntington.
Patchosue.
Sag Harbor, Navv.
Sag Harbor, 13th.'
Orient, 6th.
Orient, 6th.
Northport, 127th.
Springs, 5th.
Sa? Harbor, 127th. 81st.
Brookhaven. 2nd.
Islip, 99th.
Patchogue, 145th lV 107th.
Atlanticville, 127th.
Patchogue, 12th.
E. Moriches, 102nd.
Holtsville, 159th.
Moriches, 102nd.
Jamesport, 165tn.
Holtsville, 13th.
Centreville, 5th.
Bridgehamp., 127th.
Southold, 127th.
Southold, 127th.
Riverhead, 127th.
Riverhead, 127th.
Brookhaven. Easthampt'n, 112th.
Southampt'n, Navy.
Moriches, 102nd.
Patchogue, 4sth.
Holtsville, 133rd.
Sag Harbor, 6ih.
Orient. 165th.
Brentwood, 84th.
Islip, 15*th.
Central Islip, 116th U.S. Col.
Patchogue, 2nd.
Bay Shore, Sth.
Patchogue, 2 nd.
Islip, Navv.
Islip, Navy.
Islip, Navy.
Amityville, 127th.
Amityville, 127th.
Huntington, 61st.
Southold, 127th.
Easthampt'n, 71st,
Babylon, 127th.
Huntington, 127th.
Setauket, 26th.
Babylon, Sharpshooters
Babylon, 127th.
Bridgehamp., 100th.
Bridgehamp., 7th.
Easthampt'n, Slst.
Bridgehamp., Navy.
Bridgehamp., Navy.

586

HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

NAME.

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

Townsend, Joshua,

Cold Spring,

20th U.S., Col

Tredwell, Wm. H. (col.;

i, Islip,

14th.

Tredwell, Theodore,

Rocky Point,

Tremblv, Oliver R.,

Amityville,

127th.

Tully, Walter,

Bridgeh'm'tn

, 11th.

Turbush, Arthur W.,

Peconic,

127th.

Tuthill, Halsey C,

Jamesport,

8th.

Tuthill, George H.,

Jamesport,

127th.

Tuthill, Lutner M.,

Orient,

165th.

Tuthill, Thomas P.,

Huntington,

127th.

Tuthill, Erastus W.,

Cutchogue,

127th.

Tuthill, Orin 0.,

New Suffolk,

170th.

Tuthill, Cyrus D.,

Westhamp.

Tuttle, Preston,

Westhamp.,

11th.

Tuttle, William J.,

Speonk,

127th.

Tyler, George H,

New Suffolk,

158th.

Vail, Oliver E.,

Peconic,

127th.

Vail, Hy. F„

Riverhead,

127th.

Vail, Thomas H.,

Sag Harbor,

Slst.

Vail, William H„

Brookhaven.

Valentine, Edw.,

Cold Spring,

127th.

Valentine, W. H.,

Huntington,

127th.

Valentine, Oliver,

Huntington,

127th.

Van Cott, Samuel A.,

Bay Shore,

2nd.

Van Cott, Hy.

Babylon,

127th.

Van Cowin, Peter,

Mid. Island.

Van Houton, James A.,
Sag Harbor,
8th.
Van Nostrand, S.,
Blue Point,
27th.
Van Stephtnburgh, Geo
., Brookhaven,
12th.
Velsor, Andrew J. ,
Centreport,
127th.
Velsor, Daniel S.,
Huntington,
127th.
Velsor, Jonas A.,
Huntington,
127th.
Verity, James E.,
Islip,
2nd.
Verway, Anthony,
Lakeland,
2nd.
Vincent, John,
Riverhead,
131st.
Wade, Jared,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Wade, Charles B.,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Wadlev, Frederick J.,
Southampt'n,
6th.
Wagstaff, Alfred, Jr.,
West Islip,
91st.
Walker, John H.,
Southampt'n,
20th U.S., Col.
Walker, John A.,
BaDylon,
Navy.
WaLh, John,
Cold Spring,
1st.
Walsh, William,
Riverhead,
158th.
Walters, Max,
Shelter Islnd,
, 132nd.
Walters, Andrew C,
Amityville,
90th.
Walters, George S.,
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Walters. J. Conklin,
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Walters, C. C,
Huntington,
6th.
Walters, Charles M.,
Smithtown,
139th.
Ward, Thomas,
Riverhead,
39th.
Ware, George W.,
Southampton
,6th.
Warren, Timothy,
Watermill,
127th.
Warren, Washington.
Warren, Washington,
Northport,
120th.
Warner, Alfred,
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Warner, John T.,
Southold,
165th.
Wasson, John,
Moriches,
90th.
Waterbury, Edwin A.,
Huntington,
127th.
Watts, Alexander,
Bay Shore,
158th.
Webb, Job,
Sag Harbor,
127th.
Webster, William,
Elwood.
6th.
Weed, George A.,
Bridgehamp.
, 127th.
Weed, W. H.,
Huntington,
Navy.
Weeks, George,
Islip,
Navy.
Weeks, George S.,
Sayville,
127th.
Weeks, Jesse,
Huntington.
Weeks, James,
Huntington,
102nd.
Weidner, John,
Bellport,
107th. '
Weidner, Edw.,
Brookhaven.
Welch, Thomas,
Weller, John,
Wells, George B.,
Wells, William H.,
Wells, Elisha,
Wells, George C,
Wells, Calvin H.,
Wells, William T.,
Wells, Ellsworth E.,
Wells, Hy.,
Wendling, Edw. T.,
Wench, Michael.
Wescott, Charles,
Wetzel, Jacob,
Wheeler, James,
Wheeler, E. F.,
Whitebeck, Franklin A.,
White, Robert,
White, George H.,
White, Hubert,
White, Charles H.,
White, William,
White, John,
White, Andrew,
White, Lewis L.,
White, Edw. L., Jr.,
Whittemore, George,
Whittle, Peter,
Whitney, George,
Whitney, George,
Whitney, Charles,
Wick, William H.,
Wicks, Sidney S.,
Wicks, L. B.,
Wicks, John E.,
Wicks, Samuel C,
Wicks, George,
Wier, Joseph Keenan,
Wiggins, George W.,
Wiggins, John,
Wiggins, Thomas A.,
Wiggins, William S.,
Wiggins. Joseph C,
Wilbur, A. H.,
Wilcox, Nathan T.,
Wilkins, Theodore,
Wilkinson, Albert,
Willitt, Marion,
Willetts, Samuel V„
Wiley, Hy. J.
Williams, Wm. E. (col.),
Williams, William E.,
Williams, John,
Williams, Hy.,
Williams, Evi.,
Williams, Julius W.,
Williams, Richard,
Williams, Charles E.,
Wi liams, Horace,
Williams, Jeremiah,
Williamson, William N.,
Williamson, Edw. J.,
Williamson, Fredk. B.,
Williamson, Halsey,
Williamson, George O,,
Willis, Charles M.,
Wilmartin, Daniel S.,
Wilson, Alfred D.,
Wilson, Albert,
REGIMENT
RESIDENCE.
OR SERVICE.
Riverhead.
Northport,
3rd U. S.
Peconic,
127th.
Stony Brook.
U.Aquebog'e
,2nd.
Southold,
127th.
Greenport,
127th.
Pt. Jefferson,
159th.
Riverhead,
127th.
Greenport,
127th.
Yaphank,
2nd.
Brookhaven.
Orient,
165th.
Cold Spring,
102nd.
Sag Harbor,
81st.
Yaphank,
158th.
Brentwood,
9th.
Sagg,
Navy.
Southampton
,2nd.
Rocky Point.
Manor,
165th.
Wading Riv.
Cold Spring,
8th.
Stony Brook,
26th U. S. Col.
Riverhead,
127th.
Huntington,
Navy.
Southampton
, 127th.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters
Southampton
,11th.
Southampton
,11th.
Southampton
, 89th.
Patchogue,
Spinola's Brig
Brookhaven.
Brookhaven.
Brookhaven.
Huntington,
127th.
Middle Island.
Babylon,
Sharpshooters
Centreport,
48th.
Peconic,
127th.
Greenport,
12th.
Mattituck,
127th.
Huntington,
1st.
Shelter Islnd,
1st.
Brookhaven.
Southaven,
145th.
Huntington.
Brookhaven,
I2th.
Southampton
, 20th.
Greenport, '
165th.
Brookhaven.
Brookhaven.
Northport,
26th.
Northport,
26th.
Huntington.
Brookhaven,
1st.
Patchogue,
Navy.
Greenport,
Navy.
Sag Harbor,
12th.
Sag Harbor.
Sag Harbor,
16th.
165th.
Riverhead,
12th.
Sag Harbor,
Harrison's L. A.
Amityville,
127th.
Pt. Jefferson,
3rd.
Coram,
145th.
APPENDIX.

587

Wines, Hiram H.,
Winters, George W.,
Wood, George,
Wood, Ira,
Wood, Hy. H„
Wood, Hy.,
Wood, George S.,
Wood, Arnold,
Wood, John F.,
Wood, Daniel,
Wood, William H.,
Wood, Havens W.,
Wood, John M.,
Wood, John M.,
Woodbury, Levi N.,
Woodbury, Francis,
Woodhull, Joseph H.,
Woodward, Alfred,
Woodworth, Ephraim,
Worth, William H.,
Worth, Sylvester,
Worth, Sylvester H.,
Worthington, Edwin F.,
Worthington, Hy. M.,

RESIDENCE.
Westham't'n, Brookhaven,
Babylon, Cold Spring,
Peconic,
Peconic,
Cutchogue, Huntington. Huntington, Northport,
Huntington, Patchogue,
Patchogue, Patchogue, Holtsville,
Holtsville,
Jamesport, Sag Harbor,
E. Moriches,
Sayville, Sayville, Pt. Jefferson,
Bridgehamp.,Riverhead,

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.
127th. Navy.
20th U.S., Col.
127th.
127th.
127th. 163rd.Navy.
127th.
26th U. S. Col.
12th.12th.
12th.
35th.47th.
Sth. 66th.130th.
Navy. Navy.
56th. Navy.
169th.

RESIDENCE.

REGIMENT
OR SERVICE.

Worthington, John F.,
Worthington, Geo. W.,
Wright, Nathan H.,
Wright, Fred., Sen. & Jr.
Wright, Lee,
Wright, Joseph C,
Wright, Isaac,
Wright, Jeremiah S.,
Young, Julius B.,
You'ig, George W.,
Young, James H.,
Young, John H.,
Young, John S.,
Young, Joseph C,
Young, Johnson H.
Young, Thomas,
Youngs, James F.,
Youngs, Charles,
Youngs, Harrison,
Youngs, George,
Youngs, John Elliott,
Youngs, John F.,
Yack, John,

Riverhead, 164th.
Riverhead, Navy.
Bridgehamp., 10th.
Islip, 2nd.
Islip, 2nd.
Babylon, 127th.
Easthampton, Navy.
Easthampton, Navy.
Orient, 6th. '
Orient, 6th.
Orient, 127th.
Orient, 127th.
Orient, 127th.
Cutchogue, 165th.
Cutchogue, 8th U. S., Col.
Baiting Hoi., 2nd.
Hauppauge, 139th.
Hauppauge, 139th.
Speonk, 15th.
Middle Road, 8th.
Bridgehamp., 81st,
Orient, 165th.

iii vW
vtt. M