^^i^,f'<: ^^y^iv .^ YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 05350 551b ^<^W^' -f- „^ Brush, Frank E. The records of Smithtown, Suffollc County. Albany, 1917. s*.r: . i*^'.' m>f{,^^^-- ' f ^ ^S"* It , ¦ '-k rngfT/ r*>?< . JSpi . ^xY" ' JKF-iaI ' jj^ -^ t BW^MT HR^5l>^ ¦'•" WSSmr^B^'^AJtiAi '*•' p' ' ^HnEb. ' wsSRrtSCr^'tf J "^^ IHlSfi>Ss^£'Vwv^%.&J£> ^ ' ' H^ffiSn^^^^^T'.^ t-^ ' - '-^^¦''^* ^^^^S5^""''" ^B^^hSb^&hI^Sm^^4^ ^J'Xr^t' ¦HBBI^KBls^^ib.'-^^ .-^ 0)28. B^^^^^^^Bnm^^yfMf^!^fltt?|g-Hrj UtL . - ,'.-:-::^-^^^W$lMI^ "igivethifi JBoaks \ for the fsundrxg j)f a. CoUigt in, tHis Cajotiy jii® NEW YORK STATE LOCAL HISTORY TOWN RECORDS PREPARED BY THE DIVISION OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY THE RECORDS OF SMITHTOWN, SUFFOLK COUNTY FRANK E. BRUSH, TOWN CLERK Reprinted from ihe annual report of the State Historian ALBANY THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK I917 Yi2r-Jai8-20O0 (7-287-H) (i;i..^. o NOTE The history of the State of New York, whether from its political, social, industrial or institutional aspects, can never be well written until the records in our local archives are suit ably housed, cataloged and made easily ac cessible to the historical student. This Mr Frank E. Brush, town clerk of Smithtown, has done for his own town in Suffolk county. Every town, village, city and county in our State should have made for it a similar inventory. Town hall, town of Smithtown, Suffolk county SMITHTOWN RECORDS The town of Smithtown is on the north side of Long Island, bounded on the north by the state of Connecticut (the state line run ning through Long Island sound), on the east by the town of Brook- haven, on the south by the town of Islip, and on the west by the town of Huntington. At the time of its settlement by the whites from Connecticut in 1650 it was inhabited by a tribe of Indians called the Nesaquake (now spelled Nissequoque) who dwelt on both sides of the Nisse quoque river from its mouth at Long Island sound to its source at Hauppauge. Richard Smythe (Smith), from whom Smithtown received its name, originally lived in Southampton, Long Island. About 1663, he acquired from Lyon Gardiner the rights which the latter had to the lands of the Nissequoque Indians by virtue of an Indian deed and in June 1664, commissioners authorized by the general court of the colony of Connecticut at Hartford, made an agreement to let Smith have the lands provided he settled twenty families upon them. In the same year the town passed under the jurisdiction of New York and on March 3, 1665, Richard Nicolls, governor for the Duke of York, confinned this agreement and made the land free from dependence upon any other place and gave to it " like and equal priviledges with any Town within this Government." Notwithstanding this grant settlers from the town of Hunting ton went on to Smith's land and a long litigation with that town followed. It was won by Smith in 1675, but in the decree awarding the decision to him (Huntington Town Records (1887) i: 213) the court ruled : " However The said Land to bee within the juris diction of Huntington, as within their patent, though the Property adjudged to the Plaintiff e." On March 25, 1677, Governor Andros confirmed Smith's claims : "As also that the said place bee established as a township and be called and known by the name of Smithfield or Smithtown." It was also recognized as one of the towns by the legislative act of 1683, being there designated as Smithfield. Whether a town government was set up and when it was are very difficult questions to answer. The court order of 1675 would seem to have kept the town under the jurisdiction of Huntington until 1677, but Smithtown was legally entitled to a town government from 1665-75- If one was set up, the question is, " Where are the records for that period " ? On November 12, 1682, an agreement between two Smithtown citizens is recorded in the records of the town of Brookhaven. If after the confirmation of the township's existence by Andros in 1677 and by the legislative act of 1683 a town government was set up, there are no records to show it. Even as late as March 17, 1687/8 we have two citizens of Smithtown recording an agreement in the town record books of Huntington. This seems very excep tional, if they had a government and record books of their own in Smithtown. (See Pelletreau, Records of Smithtown, p. 75-6.) The first book of records which we have for Smithtown, how ever, opens with the entry: "At a Publick Town meeting holden att Smithtown on tuesday the third of may, Annoq. Dora. 1715, was nominated and legally chosen the Town officers in manner fol- ' lowing." Though in subsequent meetings the work "Publick" is omitted, there is no significance in that. The various controversies in which the town was engaged prob ably made its government somewhat uncertain. The giving of jurisdiction to Huntington in 1675 would have suspended its town government if there was one. On the other hand the general absence of the names of Smithtown residents from the Huntington records would seem to imply that Smithtown was conducting its own affairs. In spite of the recording of agreements in the Brookhaven and Huntington records, therefore, it seems a very improbable statement to say that Smithtown did not have a regular town government and officers previous to 1715. It also seems incredible that no records were kept. The most reasonable conclusion to draw is that there was a town government previous to 171 5, that records were kept and that they have been lost. Entries found in the " Colonial Manu scripts," and in the " Council Minutes " in the State Library lead to the same conclusion. The date of the first meeting and the names of the officers previous to 1715 must remain vmcertain and unknown. The present town records are cared for in a fine town hall of semifireproof construction (see illustration), the records them selves being carefully guarded and arranged in a fireproof vault (see illustration). The earlier records were published in 1898 by William S. Pelletreau in a volume entitled " Records of the Town of Smithtown." Vault of the town hall, town of Smithtown, Suffolk county Inventory of Records^ I Town meeting records and town board minutes 1715 to date 2 Health board minutes 1887 to date 3 Fall election canvasses None in this office 4 Naturalization register 1898 to 1906 inc. 5 Justices dockets 1895 to date (all previ ous missing) 6 Tax or assessment rolls i797, i799, 1804, i8o6, 181 3, 1833, and 1853 to date except 1855, 1859, 1863, 1898 7 Town accounts 1832 to date, all previ ous missing 8 Poor accounts : 1767 and onward, 1789 to 1796 and 1899 to 1903 missing 9 Road survey records June 12, 1717 to date 10 Road maps and surveys Nos. 1-78 (Nos. 22, 23, 38, 47 are missing) 1855 to date II Road district records 1788 to 1888 12 School money accounts 1829 to 1890 inc. 13 School district records 1814 to datC 14 Register of school officers 1909 to date 15 Census returns None in this office 16 Vital statistics 1881 to date 17 Chattel mortgages 1877 to date 18 Estray record 1842 to 1847 19 Other records not usually found in town offices : a Minutes of the commissioners of excise 1830 to 1855 inc. h Records of division of lands and thatch beds i735. March 13 c Records of survey of thatch beds.. 1757 d Records of survey of thatch beds. . 1760-61 e Records of manumission of slaves. . 1809 to 1836 inc. / Records of ear marks of cattle 1725 g Original patent of Governor Andros to Richard Smith 1677, March 25 ' It seemed best to arrange the records by classes and not chronologically h Minutes of Union Society 1792, Oct. 11, to 1795, March 19, with a list of membership i Records of birth of slave children born from 1808 to 1819 Remarks: The first book used for records was purchased by Timothy Mills for 16 shillings and 6 pence of William Bradford, printer in New York, 1715. - We are unable to say what other records are missing except those noted. ^„t ^ ' ^'A..' Ml,. ¦ ''"-'Mi J,. :v"=-^^^-^ ^ ''•'' «• -} «.*¦ /*?,? -