Skip to main content

Full text of "Antiquities of Long Island;"

See other formats


^   "^6^ 


-     0  ^^  ^-  * 


■' ,  X'-T.^^T^v^^  V^>'  %/»r.> 


^  • •  '  '      v^ 

o  "  a  ,       •n.  A> 


<. '•'■.'^•' .0^"   -<^,^-.:^v 


V*. 


°o 


»^- 


-^^ 


'o   ,    * 


^c^ 


ANTIQUITIES 


LONG      ISLAND 


By     GABRIEL     F  U  R  jM  A  N 


TO     WHICH    IS    ADDED 


A   BIBLIOGRAPHY    BY    HENRY   ONDERDONK,   JR. 


EDITED      BY       FRANK       MOORE 


NEW     YORK 
J.  W.    BOUTON,   706    Broadway 


Enleied  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by  Frank  Moore, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  \\^ashington. 


John  F.  Trow  &  Son, 

Pkinteks  anu  P.ookbinders, 

205-213  East  I'ltk  St., 

NEW  ^■ORl•:.  . 


.'V. 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  volume  contains  tlie  notes  of  Mr. 
Gabriel  Furman,  on  "  Long  Island  Antiqui- 
ties and  Early  History  ;  with  the  Manners 
and  Customs  of  its  Inhabitants  ;  "  "  Notes 
Geographical  and  Historical,  relating  to 
the  Town  of  Brooklyn,  in  Kings  Ccunty, 
on  Long  Island,"  by  the  same  laborious  and 
enthusiastic  collector,  and  a  Bibliography 
of  Long  Island,  by  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr., 
of  Jamaica,  New  York. 

Of  the  preparation  of  the  Antiquities, 
with  which  the  volume  is  opened,  Mr.  Fur- 
man  has  left  no  account.  The  manuscript 
from  which  it  is  printed  is  fragmentary, 
and  seems  to  have  been  put  together  at 
odd  times  during  the  period  embraced 
Avithin  the  years  1824  and  1838.  It  was 
discovered  by  the  editor,  among  the  gather- 


iv  INTKODUCTION. 

ings  of  a  quaint  and  popular  dealer  in  old 
books,  j^ictures  and  hric-a-braG  on  Universi- 
ty Place,  in  this  city,  and  was  tliouglit  valu- 
able enough  to  merit  multiplication.  A 
few  errors  of  date,  but  none  of  judgment, 
have  been  corrected,  and  some  obscurities 
made  plain.  Otherwise  the  work  is  given 
as  it  was  left  by  its  industrious  author. 

The  notes  relatino;  to  the  Town  of  Brook- 
lyn,  by  the  same  author,  which  necessarily 
contain  some  slight  repetitions  of  material 
found  in  the  Antiquities,  are  republished 
from  the  edition  issued  in  1824.  The  ex- 
treme scarcity  of  this  little  volume  causes 
its  reproduction  here. 

"^  The  Bibliography  of  Mr.  Onderdonk,  to 
wdiom  I  am  indebted  for  permission  to 
publish,  is  printed  from  a  manuscript,  pre- 
pared by  that  historical  scholar  and  gentle- 
man in  1866,  and  presented  to  the  New 
York  Historical  Society. 

Frank  Moore. 

New  Yokk,  October,  1874. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Indians  and  their  History ^ 

The  Devil's  Stepping  Stones 56 

Ronkonkama  Pond "^  ♦ 

John  Bull's  Talk.  .  -. ^^ 

Mongotucksee's  Canal ''^"^ 

Manitou   Hill ^^ 

Changes  in  the  Aspect  of   the  Country 'i'4 

Buttermilk  Channel '  ^ 

Israel   CarlVs  Well 85 

Long  Island  Agricultural  Society 91 

Ancient  Fortifications  and  Remains 93 

Fort  on  Fort  Neck 95 

Situation  of  the  Sand  Hill 99 

Foundation  of  Churches 100 

The  Dutch  Reformed  Churches 102 

The  Case  of  Bo\vne  the  Quaker 119 

The  Episcopal  Churches 1^''' 

St.  Ami's   Church l'^9 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches 140 

Roman  Catholic  Churches 1^1 

Old   Houses If-^ 

Governor  Martin's  House 1^0 

Paintings  by  Copley 1^1 

Monumental  Stones  and  Funeral  Customs 155 

Schools  and  Education 1^9 

Service  of  the  Churches 1'^'^ 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Ancient  Names  of  Places 178 

Names  of  Families 183 

Dutch  Nicknames 186 

Manners  and  Customs 195 

The  Duke's  Laws 205 

Growth  of  New  York 213 

Andros'  Proclamation 219 

Slavery  in  New  York 221 

Samp  Porridge 226 

* '  Niggering  Com  " 228 

Home  Habits  of  the  Dutch 229 

Dutch  Drinks  and  Table  Service 231 

Food  and  Labor 235 

Knickerbocker  Smoking  Parties 239 

Journeying  in  Olden  Time 243 

The  Whale  Fishermen 247 

Publishing  the  Banns 251 

Smoked  Goose  and  Kolichees 253 

Christmas  and  New  Years 255 

Festival  of  Santa  IQaas 257 

St.  Valentine's  Day 263 

Easter  and  Easter  Monday 265 

Pinckster  Day 267 

"  King  Charlie,"  the  Guinea  Negro 268 

Evacuation  Day 269 

Independence  Day 269 

"  Squeak  the  Fife  and  Beat  the  Drum  " 270 

Notes  on  the  Town  of  Brooklyn 275 

Ancient  Names  and  Hemains 276 

Soil  and  Climate 278 

Kieft's  Grants  and  Patents 280 

The  Nicolls  Patent 284 

Governor  Lovelace's  License 289 

The  Deed  from  the  Indians 290 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

PAGE 

Governor  Dongan's  Patent 293 

Town  Rights  and  Ferries 298 

Montgomery's  Charter 303 

Hendrick  Remsen's  Ferry 305 

Breede  Graft  Ferry 309 

Ancient  Rights  and  Freehold 313 

The  First  Steam  Ferry 317 

Roads  and  Public  Lauding  Places 319 

Common   Lands 325 

Differences  as  to  Boundaries 331 

Difference  with  Bushwick 332 

Difference  with  Flatbush 333 

Difference  with  New  Utrecht 336 

Revolutionary  Incidents 338 

Battle  of  Long  Island 339 

Charles  Loosley's   Lottery 343 

Descent  of  the  Northern  Indians 347 

List  of  Constables 349 

The  Duke's   "  Overseers  " 351 

The  Town  Commissioners 355 

Case  of   Henry  Claes  Vechte 361 

The  TowTi  Government 363 

The  Village  Government 367 

The  Board  of  Health 369 

Account  of  the  Churches 371 

Destruction  of  Esopus 373 

List  of  Dutch  Ministers 375 

Trustees  of  Dutch  Churches 379 

The  First  Baptist  Church 385 

Public  Institutions   389 

Population  and  Increase 390 

Growth  of  Brooklyn 393 

Value  of  Real  Estate 395 

Schools  and  Schoolmasters 397 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Newspapers  and  Moral  Character 399 

The  Fire  Department 401 

Miscellaneous 407 

Slavery  in  New  York 409 

William  Morris'  Deed 411 

The  Brookland  Patent 415 

Petition  of  Volkert  Brier 417 

Letter  of  Justice  FUkin 417 

Address  of  the  Deputies 420 

Lord  Combury's  Charter 423 

Division  of  Common  Lands 432 

Advertisement  of  the  Author 434 

Bibliography  of  Long  Island,  by  Henry  Onderdonk,  Jr. .  435 


LONG  ISLAND  ANTIQUITIES. 


Although  Indian  history  in  our  day  seems  to 
have  lost  many  of  its  charms,  by  reason  of  tlie 
numerous  other  more  highly  interesting  subjects 
which  the  advance  of  science  and  the  recent  in- 
crease of  knowledge  have  presented  to  our  minds, 
We  cannot,  in  treating  of  the  antiquities  and  early 
history  of  this  Island,  avoid  giving  some  account 
of  the  aboriginal  tribes  which  formerly  lived  upon 
it,  intimately  connected  as  they  were  with  that 
period  in  the  history  of  our  own  race.  We  shall, 
however,  as  far  as  possible,  avoid  giving  mere 
dry  historical  details,  which  at  the  same  time 
afford  but  little  information  in  the  case  of  an 
uncivilized  people,  and  fatigue  the  mind  of  the 
reader.  And,  also,  so  far  as  we  can  do  it,  we  will 
endeavor  to  strike  out  a  somewhat  new  path,  by 
giving  sketches  of  their  history,  and  points  of  their 
general  character,  which  seem  to  promise  a  more 
accurate  idea  of  them  as  a  race,  in  preference  to 
following  in  the  usual  beaten  track. 


10  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

Governor  De  Witt  Clinton,  who  devoted  mucli 
time  to  the  aboriginal  liistory  of  this  continent, 
and  esjjecially  of  tlie  State  of  New  York,  in  his 
anniversary  discourse  delivered  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  in  December,  1812,  when 
speaking  of  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  New  York  and  Connecticut,  including, 
of  course,  those  upon  Long  Island,  observes: 
"  In  1771  the  Government  of  Connecticut,  in  an 
official  statement  to  the  British  Secretary  of 
State,  represented  the  original  title  to  the  lands 
of  Connecticut  as  in  the  Pequot  Nation  of  In- 
dians, wdio  were  numerous  and  warlike;  that 
their  great  sachem,  Sassacus^  had  under  him. 
twenty-six  sachems,  and  that  their  territory  ex- 
tended from  Narragansett  to  Hudson's  Kiver, 
and  over  all  Long  Island." 

Samuel  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Oyster  Bay,  South, 
upon  Long  Island,  a  gentleman  of  much  learn- 
ing, in  some  criticisms  on  this  discoui'se,  which 
he  addressed  to  John  Pintard,  Esq.,  Secretary 
of  the  New  York  Ilistoric^al  Society,  and  which 
are  printed  in  the  third  volume  of  the  collections 
of  that  society,  thinks  the  statement,  thus  cited 
by  Governor  Clinton,  erroneous,  and  he  remarks: 
"Tliis  must  be  a  mistake,  unless  the  Long  Island 
Indians  were  part  of  the  Pequot  Nation ;  for  it 
is  certain,  that  when  the  Europeans  first  began 


INDIANS,    AND    THEIR    HISTORY.  H 

their  settlements  on  tlie  island,  the  Indians  on 
the  western  part  of  it  were  tributary  to  the  Mo- 
hawks." 

As  happens  in  many  other  cases  of  historical 
and  literary  controversy,  in  this  instance  the  dis- 
pute is  more  imaginary  than  real,  and  there  is 
really  no  difference  between  the  two  gentlemen, 
except  what  is  caused  by  the  use  of  a  name  only. 
The  Indians  upon  the  mainland  of  Connecticut, 
and  to  the  Hudson  Kiver,  and  also  upon  Long 
Island,  were  of  one  people  or  nation,  the  great 
Mohegan  Nation  ;  which  was  divided  into  several 
tribes,  who  were  sometimes,  but  erroneously, 
called  by  the  whites,  nations ;  and  these  several 
tribes  had  a  species  of  union  among  themselves, 
recognizing  a  common  descent,  and  arising  from 
that  cause.  It  was  this  circumstance  that  caused 
so  much  appreliension  among  tlie  inhabitants  of 
this  colony,  during  King  Philip's  celebrated  In- 
dian war  with  the  United  Colonies  of  N'ew  Ens:- 
land,  lest  the  Indians  upon  Long  Island,  who 
w^ere  then  l)oth  numerous  and  powerful,  might 
not,  from  being  of  the  same  blood  and  nation, 
feel  themselves  bound  to  take  part  in  that  con- 
test. The  Pequots  were  one  of  the  largest  and 
most  powerful  of  the  Mohegan  tribes,  and  their 
name  has  been  erroneously  used  in  this  instance 
for  that  of  the  whole  people ;  both  writers  con- 


12  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

sidering  and  admitting  the  aborigines  upon  Long 
Island,  to  be  of  the  same  race  with  those  upon 
the  mainland  of  Connecticut. 

The  writers  on  the  Indian  history  of  this 
country,  and  especially  that  of  the  tribes  for- 
merly upon  our  Atlantic  coast,  previous  to  the 
last  thirty  years,  have  fallen  into  many  eri-ors 
from  this  same  cause  to  which  we  have  just  be- 
fore adverted. 

Charles  Thomson,  Esq.,  late  Secretai-y  to  Con- 
gress, and  also  Samuel  Jones,  Esq.,  believed  the 
Lenni  Lenajpi^  called  the  Loiijjs  by  the  French, 
and  the  Delaivares  by  the  English,  occupied 
Manhattan  Island,  Staten  Island,  and  that  part 
of  Kew  York  and  Connecticut  which  lies  be- 
tween the  Hudson  and  Connecticut  Rivers,  from 
the  Highlands  down  to  the  Sound.  But  Gov- 
ernor De  Witt  Clinton  thinks  the  statement  of 
Smith,  the  historian  of  New  York,  that  all  the 
Indians  w^ithin  the  territory  thus  desci-ibed  were 
tributar}^  to  the  Five  Nations,  or  the  Iroquois, 
when  the  Dutch  commenced  their  settlement  of 
this  colony,  inconsistent  with  the  view  thus  taken 
by  Mr.  Thomson,  and  subsequently  by  Mr.  Jones. 

This  difference  in  opinion,  like  that  before  re- 
ferred to,  has  but  little  real  basis  in  the  history  of 
those  Indian  nations.  The  course  of  aboriginal 
emigration  was  directly  the  reverse  of  that  of  the 


13 

white  man,  being  from  west  to  east ;  and  the 
Mohegaiis  and  Lenni  Lenajpi  were  of  the  same 
orio-in,  tlieir  ancestors  formino^  the  first  Indian 
emigration  to  tlie  Atlantic  coast ;  where,  after- 
wards, in  consequence  of  their  great  increase  in 
popnlation,  being  in  a  fertile  region  where  their 
necessary  wants  were  more  than  snpplied  by 
slight  labor,  both  from  the  earth  and  the  ocean, 
they  became  divided  into  two  nations,  retaining 
the  evidences  of  their  common  origin,  not  only  in 
their  traditions,  but  also  in  their  language,  habits, 
manners  and  customs.  Thus  divided,  they  be- 
came permanently  seated  on  this  coast,  the  Mo- 
hegans  occupying  the  country  east  of  the  Hudson 
River,  inchiding  Manhattan  Island,  Staten  Island, 
and  Long  Island,  and  the  Lenapi  holding  the 
country  west  of  that  river. 

The  Irocpiois,  or  Five  Nations,  were  an  entirely 
different  race  of  people,  and  a  subsequent  migra- 
tion to  the  east ;  and  the  same  spirit  which 
bi-ought  them  to  the  banks  of  the  Hudson  River, 
and  there  seated  one  of  their  tribes,  the  Mo 
liawks,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  present  city  of 
Albany,  also  induced  them  to  extend  their  in- 
cursions down  that  noble  stream,  the  Hudson, 
and  also  to  the  east  of  it,  until  they  had  rendered 
the  Mohegan  tribes  below  them,  and  upon  Long 
Island,  their  tributaries. 


14  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  ease  with  which  the  white  men  fell  into 
the  error  of  applying  the  name  of  a  single  tribe 
to  a  whole  people  is  shown  in  tlie  case  of  the 
MohawJcs,  a  single  tribe  of  the  Iroquois  ;  bnt 
which  for  very  many  years  was  the  name  by 
which  the  whole  five  nations  was  known  to  the 
white  population  of  this  country,  and  also  to  Eu- 
ropeans. And  the  tenacity  with  which  the  In- 
dian tribes  held  on  to  the  history  of  their  com- 
mon origin,  and  the  extent  to  which  they  not  only 
recognized  it,  but  also  acted  upon  it,  is  shown  in 
the  union  effected  between  the  Five  Nations  of 
this  State  and  the  Tuscaroras  of  North  Carolina. 
These  Tuscaroras  originally  formed  part  of  the 
same  people  with  the  Five  Nations,  and  in  their 
first  emigration  from  west  to  east,  they  separated 
from  the  others  on  the  great  prairies  of  the  West, 
and  migrated  down  farther  south  until  they 
eventually  seated  themselves  in  North  Carolina, 
where  they  were  found  by  the  first  European  set- 
tlers ;  while  their  other  brethren  turned  their 
course  towards  the  north,  and  fought  their  way 
through  the  previous  occupants  of  the  lands,  in 
some  instances  exterminating  whole  nations,  as  is 
the  traditionary  history  of  the  Eries,  until  they  be- 
became  seated  in  the  western  part  of  New  York, 
and  along  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Mohawk  Kiver. 
Althouo;h  so  far  removed  from  the  descendants 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIR    HISTORY.  15 

of  their  conmion  ancestors,  by  interveniiio^  forests 
of  hundreds  of  miles  and  numerous  hostile  tribes, 
the  remembrance  of  their  being  of  the  same  blood 
was  sedulously  preserved,  and  our  records  afford 
frequent  evidence  of  the  Five  Nations  sending 
assistance  to  the  Tuscaroi-as  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  wars.  And  at  last  when  the  Iroquois  feared 
they  were  too  much  reduced  by  their  frequent 
wars  for  their  safety,  as  well  as  the  maintenance 
of  their  predominance  among  the  surrounding 
Indian  tribes,  they  invited  the  Tuscaroras  to  re- 
move to  western  Xew  York  and  to  settle  with 
them ;  wliich  invitation  was  accepted,  and  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century  the  Tuscaroras  mi- 
grated to  that  portion  of  this  State  where  they 
now  are  located,  and  thus  was  formed  the  Six 
Nations  of  Indians  ;  this  being  the  last  of  those 
aboriginal  migrati(jns  which  had  continued  upon 
this  continent  for  very  man}^  ages,  and  bringing 
it  within  the  period  of  our  colonial  history. 

There  were  many  tribes  of  Indians  on  this 
island,  who  were  seated  at  the  following  places,  as 
far  as  can  be  ascertained  at  this  distant  day : 

In  Kings  County. — In  this  county  the  most 
powerful  and  extensive  tribe  was  the  Canarse, 
who  were  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  New  World 
to  welcome  the  arrival  of  Ilendrick  Hudson,  the 
European,  who  first  discovered  and  explored  the 


IG  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

fine  river  now  justly  bearing  liis  name.  The  ac- 
count which  he  gives  in  liis  journal  of  this  wel- 
come, and  tlie  appearance  which  the  western 
extremity  of  this  island  presented  to  his  men  upon 
their  first  landing,  is  truly  beautiful,  and  as  it 
affords  ns  a  much  better  idea  of  these  Indians, 
and  of  tlieir  mode  of  living,  than  anything  we 
can  obtain  from  any  other  source,  we  sliall 
substantially  give  the  description  whicli  he  has 
left  us. 

When  Hudson  came  to  anchor  in  Gravesend 
Bay  on  the  fourth  day  of  September  in  the  year 
1609,  the  Canarse  Indians  visited  him  and  came 
on  board  his  vessel,  apparently  without  any  ap- 
prehension, and,  as  Hudson  says,  seemed  very 
glad  of  their  (the  Europeans)  coming.  They 
l)rouglit  with  them  green  tobacco,  and  exchanged 
it  for  knives  and  beads.  They  were  clad  in  deer- 
skins, well  dressed^  and  desired  clothing,  a  rather 
nnusiial  request  for  the  aborigines  to  make  on 
th.eir  first  intercourse  with  white  men,  and  exhib- 
iting an  advance  in  the  arts  of  life  which  we  have 
not  been  accustomed  to  attribute  to  the  Indians 
of  Long  Island ;  and  they  were  "  very  civil." 
When  they  visited  him  on  the  ensuing  day,  Hud- 
son says,  some  of  them  were  dressed  in  "  mcuitles 
of  feather  s^^"^  and  some  in  skins  '''' of  divers  sorts 
of  good  fur  sP     He  also  states  that  they  had  yel- 


17 

low  copper,  red  copper,  tohacco  pipes,  and  orna- 
ments of  copper  about  their  necks ;  it  was  the 
abundance  of  instruments  of  this  yellow  copper 
that  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Spaniards 
when  they  originally  landed  upon  the  coast  of 
Mexico ;  and  which  they,  believing  to  be  gold, 
purchased  in  great  numbers. 

Does  this  show  an  intercourse  between  these 
Indians  of  Long  Island,  and  the  more  civilized 
race  found  by  the  Sp)aniards  in  Mexico  ;  or  did 
the  Canarse  Indians  understand  the  art  of  manu- 
facturing these  different  kinds  of  copper  ? 

The  solution  of  these  inquiries  affords  matter 
not  only  of  curious,  l)ut  also  of  a  highly  interest- 
ing nature  ;  and  which,  singular  as  it  may  appear, 
seems  never  to  have  attracted  the  notice  of  a  soli- 
tary writer  on  Indian  history,  or  on  the  Antiqui- 
ties of  America. 

Hudson  also  represents  these  Long  Island. In- 
dians as  having  (jreat  store  of  maize,  ox:  Indian 
corn,  "  wherecjf  they  make  good  bread,"  and  cur- 
rants, some  of  which,  dried,  his  men  brought  to 
liim  from  the  land  on  the  second  day,  and  which, 
lie  says,  were  "  sweet  and  good."  Some  of  the 
Indian  women  also  brought  him  Jieinp,  wdiich 
they  must  have  known  the  use  of,  and  highly 
valued,  or  they  would  not  have  thought  of  bring- 
ing it  as  a  present. 


18  LONG    ISLAND    A:sITIQUn  lES. 

Some  of  his  men  landed  npon  this  island  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Gravesend,  and  they 
there  saw  "great  store  of  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren," who  gave  them  tobacco  upon  their  land- 
ing ;  they  also  described  the  country  to  Hudson, 
as  being  full  of  great,  tall  oaks,  and  "  the  lands 
w^ere  as  pleasant  with  grass,  and  flowers,  and 
goodly  trees  as  ever  they  had  seen,  and  very  sweet 
smells  came  from  them." 

Unfortunately  this  pleasant  and  peaceful  in- 
tercourse between  the  Indians  and  their  Euro- 
pean visitors  was  not  long  preserved.  On  the 
third  day  a  party  of  Hudson's  crew  again  landed 
at  the  same  place.  Among  them  was  John  Col- 
man,  an  Englishman ;  and  although  nothing  is 
said  in  Hudson's  journal  about  any  provocation 
to  the  Indians,  yet  it  is  certain  some  must  have 
been  given,  and  most  probably  not  of  a  trivial 
character,  or  the  people  who  had  welcomed  their 
arrival  in  such  a  friendly  manner  would  not  have 
become  so  immediately  changed  as  to  attack  this 
party  of  the  crew  on  this  occasion.  The  result 
of  this  contest  was,  that  John  Colman  was  killed 
by  an  arrow  shot  into  his  throat,  he  probably  be- 
ing the  principal  offender  in  this  instance,  as  the 
[ndians  shoot  no  chance  shot,  but  invariably  aim 
at  a  particular  object ;  and  two  others  were 
^vounded.    Colman  was  buried  upon  the  point  of 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIE    HISTORY.  19 

Coney  Island,  which  Hudson  from  that  circum- 
stance named  Colman^s  Point 

This  serious  occurrence  terminated  Hudson's 
intercourse  with  the  shore  of  this  ishind,  al- 
thou2:h  the  ahorio-ines  came  and  visited  him  the 
next  day,  as  he  says,  in  the  same  manner  as  if 
notliing  had  happened ;  they  evidently  regarding 
Colman's  death  in  no  other  light  than  as  a  just 
punishment  f(^r  some  offence  he  had  committed ; 
and  the  next  day  Hudson  pursued  his  course  up 
the  river. 

The  old  Dutch  inhabitants  of  King's  county 
have  a  tradition  that  tlie  Canarse  tribe  was  subject 
to  the  Mohawks,  as  all  the  Iroquois  were  formerly 
called,  and  paid  them  an  annual  tribute  of  driea 
clams  and  wampum.  When  tlie  Dutch  settled  in 
this  county  they  persuaded  the  Canarses  to  keep 
back  the  tribute;  in  consequence  of  which  a 
party  of  the  Mohawks  came  down  and  killed 
their  tributaries  wlierever  they  met  them.  The 
Canarse  Indians  are  at  this  time  totally  extiuct ; 
not  a  single  member  of  that  ill-fated  race  is  now 
in  existence. 

We  ha^'e  still  preserved  in  the  records  of  the 
Dutch  Government  of  this  colony  historical  evi- 
dence of  the  trutli  of  this  tradition,  and  some  ac- 
count of  this  extraordinary  incursion  of  the  Iro- 
quois or  the  Five  Nations  of  Indians  uj)on  Long 


20  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Island.     TliGY  seemed  to  have  regarded  all  the 
Indians  of   the  great   Mohegan    faniih^,  in   the 
southern  part  of  this  colony,  as  their  tributaries ; 
and  they  probably  were  so  long  anterior  to  the 
Dutch   settlement   of   this   country.     After   the 
Dutch  colonization  the  Indians  upon  Long  Island 
appear  to  have  discontinued  the  payment  of  the 
usual  tribute  to  the  Iroquois,  or  to  the  Mohawks, 
as  they  were  generally  called,  that  being  the  Iro- 
quois tribe  most  contiguous  to  the  European  set- 
tlements, being   located   then  a   little   south   of 
Albany,  upon  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson  Elver, 
and  thus  for  a  long  period  with  the  European 
colonists  the  name  of  Mohawk  was  used  to  desig- 
nate the  whole  Iroquois  Confederacy  ;    and  the 
Long  Island  Indians  did  this  probably  from  the 
belief   that   the  Iroquois  would  not  dare  come 
down  and  attack  them  among  the  European  set- 
tlements.    But  in  this  they   were   greatly  mis- 
taken.    For  in  the  3'ear  1655,  with  the  view  of 
chastising:   all    their   former    tributaries   in    the 
southern  part  of  this  colony,  a  large  body  of  these 
northern   Indians  descended  the  Hudson  Kiver 
and  made  a  landing  upon  Staten  Island,  where 
they  massacred  sixty -seven  persons — a  very  great 
number,  considerino;  the  state  of  the  colonv  at 
that  period  ;  whether  they  were  white  people  or 
Indians  who  were  thus  slain  is  not  stated,  but 


21 

probably  a  large  portion  of  tliem  were  in  the  first 
class,  and  were  killed  in  attempting  to  prevent 
tlie  landing  of  this  hostile  force.  After  this,  this 
Indian  army  crossed  to  Long  Island,  and  invested 
the  town  of  Gravesend,  which  they  threatened  to 
destroy ;  but  which  was  relieved  by  a  detach- 
ment of  Dutch  soldiers  sent  from  Xew  Amster- 
dam (New  York).  Upon  their  abandoning  the 
siege  of  Gravesend,  the  Dutch  records  give  no 
further  account  of  them,  than  to  mention  that  all 
this  was  done  when  those  northern  Indians  were 
upon  their  waj^  to  wage  war  against  the  Indians 
upon  the  east  end  of  Long  Island.  It  was  un- 
doubtedly directly  after  leaving  Gravesend  that 
they  fell  upon  and  destroyed  tlie  Canarse  tribe, 
and  afterwards  proceeded  down  through  the 
island  with  that  terrible  foray  of  murder  the  ac- 
count of  which  has  been  preserved  in  tradition 
to  this  day  ;  and  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  which 
the  Consistory  of  the  Dutch  Church  at  Albany 
undertook  to  be  the  agents  to  see  that  the  re- 
quired tribute  was  regularly  paid  by  the  Long 
Island  Indians  to  the  Five  Nations.  So  great 
was  the  dread  of  the  Iroquois  among  the  Indians 
of  this  island,  arising  from  the  tradition  preserved 
of  this  terrible  incursion,  that  a  very  aged  lady, 
who  was  a  small  girl  of,  eight  or  nine  years  before 
the  commencement  of  the  lievolationary  war,  tells 


22  LONG    ISIAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

US  that  five  or  six  Indians  of  the  Iroquois  Nation 
were  for  some  offence  brought  to  Kew  York  and 
sent  to  Jamaica,  upon  Long  Island  ;  and  that,  al- 
though they  were  23risoners,  not  one  of  the  Long 
Island  Indians  could  be  induced  to  look,  with  liis 
person  exposed,  npon  one  of  these  terrible  "  Mo- 
hawks," as  they  called  them  ;  but  very  many  of 
them  would  be  continually  peeping  around  cor- 
ners, and  from  behind  other  people,  to  get  a 
sight  at  those  northern  Indians  ;  at  the  same  time 
expressing  the  utmost  fear  and  dread  of  them. 

Mrs.  Eemsen,  the  widow  of  Anthony  Eemsen, 
deceased,  formerly  of  Brooklyn,  on  Long  Island, 
says  that,  soon  after  she  was  married,  the^^  moved 
to  Canarse  on  that  island,  now  (1832)  about  forty 
years  since,  where  she  made  the  shroud  in  which 
to  bury  the  last  individual  of  the  remnant  of  the 
Canarse  tribe  of  Indians.  This  last  member  of 
that  tribe  also  told  her  the  tradition  before  men- 
tioned, of  the  destruction  of  the  greater  portion 
of  the  Canarse  tribe  by  the  Mohawks,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  failure  to  pay  the  required  tribute. 
This  Indian  told  her  that  three  or  four  families 
of  them,  having  become  alarmed  by  the  shrieks 
and  gi-oans  of  their  murdered  friends,  fled  for 
the  shore  of  the  bay,  got  into  their  canoes,  and 
paddled  off  to  Barren  Island,  forming  part  of  the 
great  south  beach,  whither  the  Mohawks  could  not, 


33 

or  did  not,  follow  them.  They  returned  late  on 
the  following  day,  and  soon  ascertained  that  tliey 
constituted  the  only  living  representatives  of  their 
entire  tribe,  who  liad  the  night  previous  laid 
them  down  to  rest  in  a]:)parent  security ;  and  that 
no  ti'ace  was  to  be  discovered  of  their  vindictive 
and  ba-rbarous  enemies.  It  was  some  days,  how- 
ever, before  they  ventured  to  return  permanently 
to  their  old  residences,  and  not  before  they  be- 
came entirely  satisfied  that  the  Mohawks  had  re- 
turned to  their  homes. 

This  Indian  incursion  caused  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernment to  feel  much  apprehension  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Indian  attacks  upon  the  towns  of  the 
western  part  of  this  island  for  a  long  time  sub- 
sequent. The  inhabitants  of  Flatbush  were  or- 
dered by  Governor  Stuy\'esant,  in  1656,  a  short 
time  after  that  foray,  to  enclose  their  village  with 
palisadoes,  to  protect  them  from  the  Indians. 

And  .again,  to  prevent  the  incursions  of  In- 
dians, the  Governor,  in  1660,  ordered  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Brooklyn  to  put  tlieir  town  in  a  state  of 
defence,  and  also  commanded  the  farmers  to  re- 
move within  the  fortifications  under  the  penalty' 
of  forfeiting  their  estates. 

The  Dutch  colonists  seem  to  have  lived  in  al- 
most continued  apprehension  of  the  Iroquois. 
On  the  26th  of  June,  1663,  Governor  JStuyvesant 


24  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

informed  tlie  churcli  of  Brooklyn  that  the  Esopus 
Indians,  who  were  then  in  league  with  the  Iro- 
quois, had  on  the  7th  of  that  month  attacked  and 
burnt  the  town  of  Esopus  (Kingston),  "  killing 
and  wounding  a  number  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
taking  many  prisoners;  burning  the  new  town, 
and  desolating  the  place."  July  4,  1663,  was  ob- 
served as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  on  account  of  a 
treaty  of  peace  with  the  Indians,  the  release  of 
the  prisoners,  and  the  defeat  of  the  English  at- 
tempt to  take  the  whole  of  Long  Island. 

And  good  reason  the  Dutch  had  for  their 
fears  of  the  Iroquois,  for  a  more  enterprising  and 
vindictive  nation  never  existed  among  the  abori- 
gines of  this  continent.  Immense  extents  of  wild, 
unsettled  country  seem  to  have  afforded  no  pro- 
tection against  their  incui-sions.  They  not  only 
made  regular  expeditions  to  the  southern  part  of 
this  colony,  and  even  to  its  utmost  extremity ; 
they  not  only  invaded  Canada  and  subjugated  all 
the  region  north  of  Lake  Erie,  and  between  lakes 
Ontario  and  Huron,  and  nearly  exterminated  its 
former  population,  but  they  also  made  frequent 
incursions  throiio;h  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky,  and  claim  to  have  acquired  that  country 
by  right  of  conquest,  and  also  upon  the  back 
settlements  of  South  Carolina.  In  the  South 
jOavolina  Gazette  of  April  11,  1753,  we  have  tho 


25 

evidence  of  one  of  their  expeditions  to  that  re- 
gion, in  a  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  and  a 
vote  of  the  Assembly  of  that  Province,  offering 
a  reward  of  one  hundred  ponnds  currency  to  any 
person  who  should  kill  or  take  alive  any  one  of 
the  body  of  northern  Indians  that  had  lately 
come  into  that  province,  and  "  committed  sundry- 
robberies  and  other  acts  of  violence." 

The  Iroquois  preserved  their  power  and  influ- 
ence upon  this  continent  by  the  union  of  five 
small  tribes,  which  but  for  this  confederacy 
would  have  been  destroyed  or  obliged  to  merge 
themselves  into  their  more  powerful  neighbors. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  to  them  we  owe  our 
present  form  of  government  in  the  United  States. 
Their  chiefs  had  for  years  observed  that  the 
French  in  Canada,  although  not  the  one-tenth  of 
the  English  colonies  in  either  power  or  resources, 
owed  their  success  mainly  to  a  want  of  union  in 
the  colonies.;  and  that  the  only  colonies  that 
offered  them  any  effectual  resistance  were  the 
United  Colonies  of  l^ew  England,  and  they  urged 
upon  the  Governor  of  ^ew  York,  and  the  British 
commanders  of  the  forces,  the  necessity  of  a 
union.  Their  suggestion  w^as  sent  to  England, 
approved  there,  and  resulted  in  the  congress  held 
at  Albany  in  ITott,  at  which  the  Privy  Council  of 
England  directed  the  chiefs  should  be  invited,  and 
3 


26  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

their  advice  taken.  This  policy  of  a  strict  con- 
federation was  adhered  to  by  the  Iroquois  through 
out  their  history;  and  when,  about  tlie  commence- 
ment of  the  eighteenth  century,  they  found  them- 
selves by  their  frequent  wars  reduced  below  the 
number  they  regarded  necessary  for  their  safety 
and  preponderance  among  their  Indian  neighbors, 
they  invited  the  Tuscaroras  from  I^orth  Carolina 
to  remove  to  the  western  part  of  New  York,  and 
"become  a  member  of  their  league  ;  which  invita- 
tion was  accepted,  and  the  Tuscaroras  gradually 
moved  up  to  their  present  location,  and  became 
the  sixth  nation  of  the  Iroquois  confederacy, 
which  afterwards  was  known  as  the  Six  instead 
of  the  Five  Nations.  The  Tuscaroras  retained 
their  lands  in  North  Carolina,  on  which  they  were 
formerly  settled,  until  within  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years,  when  they  sold  the  same  and  di- 
vided the  proceeds  among  their  tribe.  This  does 
not  look  very  much  like  that  robbing  Indians  of 
their  lands,  of  which  we  hear  so  much  from  the 
English  press.  So  late  as  1820  the  Seneca  and 
other  tribes  forming  the  Six  Nations  in  this  State, 
assumed  the  power  of  trying  and  punishing,  and 
in  some  cases  ca]3itall3',  members  of  their  respec- 
tive tribes  for  crimes  by  them  committed  within 
the  Indian  reservations.  The  question  of  con- 
flict between  this  assumed  jurisdiction,  and  that 


INDIANS,  AND   THEIR   HISTORY.  27 

claimed  by  the  State  over  them  in  common  witli 
all  others  its  inhabitants,  was  brought  up  by  the 
case  of  Soo-non-gize,  otherwise  called  Tommy 
Jemmy,  an  Indian  of  the  Seneca  tribe,  who  in 
1821  was  indicted  for  the  ninrder  of  an  Indian 
woman  of  the  same  tribe  committed  within  the 
Seneca  reservation  near  Buffalo,  in  this  State. 
On  the  trial  the  defence  set  up  was,  that  the 
alleged  murder  was  connnitted  by  authority  de- 
rived from  the  councils  of  the  chiefs,  sachems, 
and  warriors  of  that  tribe,  who  were  an  indepen- 
dent nation,  and  had  full  power  aud  jurisdiction 
in  the  premises,  and  were  competent  to  grant  the 
authority  upon  which  the  alleged  act  was  com- 
mitted. The  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  at 
which,  we  think.  Chief -Justice  Spencer  presided, 
refused  to  entertain  this  defence,  and  held  that 
the  Indians  of  this  tribe,  as  well  as  all  others 
within  this  State,  were  subject  to  the  laws  of  this 
State;  and  the  Indian  was  thereupon  convicted 
of  the  murder,  and  sentenced  to  be  executed. 
The  court,  however,  under  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances, commended  his  case  to  the  favorable 
notice  of  the  Governor,  and  the  Governor  commu- 
nicated it  to  the  Legislature,  upon  which  the 
Legislature,  on  the  12th  of  April,  1822,  passed 
"An  Act  declaring  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts 
of  this  State,  and  pardoning  Soo-non-gize,  other- 


28  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

wise  called  Tommy  Jemmy."  That  act,  after 
reciting  the  claim  of  the  Indians  to  jurisdiction, 
proceeds  to  declare :  "  And  whereas  the  sole  and 
exclusive  cognizance  of  all  crimes  and  offences 
committed  within  this  State  belongs  of  right  to 
the  courts  holden  under  the  constitution  and  laws 
thereof,  as  a  necessary  attribute  of  sovereignty, 
except  only  crimes  and  offences  cognizable  in  the 
courts  deriving  jurisdiction  under  the  constitution 
and  laws  of  the  United  States ;  and  whereas  it 
has  become  necessary  as  well  to  protect  the  said 
Indian  tribes  as  to  assert  and  maintain  the  juris- 
diction of  the  courts  of  this  State,  that  provision 
should  be  made  in  the  premises  " — they  then 
enact  that  the  sole  jurisdiction  is  in  the  State 
courts,  w^ith  the  exception  above  mentioned  ;  and 
that  Soo-non-gize,  otherwise  called  Tommy  Jem- 
my, is  "fully  and  absolutely  pardoned  of  said 
felony."  And  thus  terminated  the  last  effort  on 
the  part  of  the  Six  Nations  to  maintain  their 
standing  as  an  independent  government ;  a  mea- 
sure that  would  have  been  very  injurious  to  them 
as  a  people  if  they  had  been  successful,  as  it 
would  have  left  them  without  the  protection  of 
the  State  government. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Bassett,  the  minister  of  the 
Dutch  Eeformed  Church  in  Bushwick,  on  this 
island,  and  who  was  formerly  a  minister  of  the 


29 

same  Church  in  Albany,  states  that  the  Montauk 
Indians  npon  the  east  end  of  Long  Island  for  a 
long  period  paid  a  tribute  to  the  Six  Nations  of 
Indians  (tlie  Five  Nations  of  Golden,  the  Iroquois) ; 
and  that  the  consistory  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  Albany  were  the  agents  for  receiving 
and  paying  over  this  tribute. 

We  recollect  to  have  heard,  about  ten  years 
ago,  that,  fifteen  or  twenty  years  previous  to  that 
time,  it  was  usual  for  the  farmers  coming  to  the 
city  of  New  York  from  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island,  in  the  fall  of  the  year,  to  bring  w^ith  them 
to  the  city  a  quantity  of  w^ampum  (Indian  money), 
which  was  to  be  sent  to  x\lbany.  What  its  ulti- 
mate destination  was  we  were  not  then  informed, 
but  we  now  have  little  doubt  that  it  formed  in 
part,  if  not  entirely,  the  tribute  in  question  to  be 
paid  to  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians. 

It  is  not  a  little  strange  that,  after  all  we  have 
on  tliis  subject  in  our  public  records  and  histories, 
and  also  the  fact  that  the  consistory  of  the  Dutch 
•Reformed  Church  at  Albany  were  for  many  years 
the  agents  for  the  receipt  of  this  tribute  from 
the  Montauks  and  other  Indians  on  the  eastern 
part  of  Long  Island  and  its  transmission  to  the 
Iroquois,  Samuel  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Oyster  Bay, 
South,  should  have  expressed  it  as  his  belief,  in 
1817,  that  there  was  no  evidence  that  the  Indians 


30  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Oil  Long  Island,  eastward  of  about  thirty  miles 
from  Xew  York,  were  tributary  to  the  Five  Na- 
tions. And  he  makes  the  further  extraordinary 
statement,  directly  opposed  to  the  evidence  af- 
forded us  by  the  extracts  from  the  Dutch  rec- 
ords which  we  have  previously  cited,  that  "  we 
have  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Five  Nations 
had  any  war  with  the  Indians  on  Long  Island 
after  it  was  settled  by  Europeans  "  (New  York 
Llist.  Society's  Collections,  vol.  iii.,  page  324). 

In  these  statements  Mr.  Jones  is  evidently  giv- 
ing us  the  results  of  his  own  thoughts,  without 
having  examined  the  original  documents,  which 
should  alone  determine  such  a  question,  or  other- 
wise he  would  soon  have  found  evidence  enough 
of  their  incursions  upon  this  island  after  the 
Dutch  settlement. 

A  small  tribe  of  Nyack  Indians  was  settled  at 
Nyack,  on  Long  Island,  in  1646  ;  and  they  are 
mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  Dutch  Colonial 
Government  of  the  New  Netherlands  (now  New 
York)  of  that  year. 

It  is  said  there  is  a  tradition  that  a  small  tribe 
of  Indians  formerly  inhabited  the  valley  between 
the  Brooklyn,  Jamaica,  and  Flatbush  Turnpike 
road,  and  the  Gowanus  mill-ponds  in  the  town 
of  Brooklyn.  On  the  arrival  and  settlenKiur  of 
the   Europeans    here  a  quarrel  ensued  between 


INDIANS,  AND   THEIR   HISTOEY.  31 

them  and  this  tribe,  in  which  one  of  the  settlers 
was  killed.  In  order  to  avoid  the  vengeance  of 
the  whites,  the  little  tribe  moved  to  the  Jersey 
shore  not  far  from  Communipaw,  where  they  had 
scarcely  seated  themselves  before  the  whites  at- 
tacked them  in  the  night  and  slaughtered  tliem 
all.  (This  tradition  I  had  from  Mr.  Jacob  Ilicks, 
set.  58.)  The  tradition,  however,  we  do  not  put 
much  faith  in.  There  were  undoubtedly  several 
small  tribes  scattered  over  different  j^^i'ts  of  the 
island  of  which  we  know  little  or  nothing  at  pres- 
ent. 

At  the  first  settlement  of  the  white  inhabitants 
there  was  a  very  numerous  Indian  population  on 
this  island,  as  is  evident  from  the  large  portion 
wdiich  Daniel  Denton,  in  his  description  of  l^ew 
York,  printed  at  London  in  1670  (the  first  work 
on  this  colony  in  the  English  language,  and  he 
an  inhabitant  of  this  island),  devotes  of  his  work 
to  describing  their  manners  and  customs.  We 
have  also  preserved  tlie  names  of  fourteen  of 
their  tribes  who  were  formerly  located  upon 
Long  Island. 

Every  few  years  some  discoveries  are  made  in 
various  parts  of  this  island  of  the  remains  of 
these  aborigines.  On  dii2:2:ino;  a  few  feet  below 
the  surface  recently  at  the  Narrows,  in  Kings 
County,  more  than  a  wagon-load  of  Indian  stone 


32  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

arrow-lieacls  were  found  lying  together,  niider 
circumstances  calculated  to  induce  the  belief  that 
a  large  manufactory  of  those  articles  once  ex- 
isted at  this  place ;  tliey  were  of  all  sizes,  from 
one  to  six  inches  long,  some  perfect,  others  partly 
finished.  There  were  also  a  number  of  blocks  of 
the  same  kind  of  stone  found  in  the  rough  state, 
as  when  brought  from  tlie  quarry ;  they  had  the 
appearance  of  ordinary  flint,  and  were  nearly  as 
hard ;  not  only  arrow-heads,  but  axes  and  other 
articles  of  domestic  use  were  made  from  these 
stones. 

In  Queens  County. — In  this  county  the  Iwock- 
away,  Merrikoke,  and  Marsapeague  tribes  of 
Indians  were  settled  on  the  south  side ;  and  the 
Matinecoc  tribe  on  the  north  side.  The  middle  of 
the  island  seems  to  have  been  by  common  consent 
the  acknowledged  boundary  between  the  tribes 
on  the  north  and  south  sides.  In  this  county, 
about  the  year  1654,  a  battle  was  fought  between 
the  English,  under  Captain  John  Under]] ill,  and 
the  Marsapeague  Indians.  This  is  the  only  con- 
test of  any  importance  between  the  English  and 
Indians  on  Long  Island,  of  which  we  have  any 
account.  The  Indians  were  defeated  with  con- 
siderable loss. 

In  Suffolk  County. — In  this  county  were  the 
^Nissacpiage,  Setauket,  Corchaug,  Secataug,  Patch- 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIR   HISTORY.  33 

ogue,  Shinecoc  and  Montauk  tribes  of  Indians. 
The  Manhanset  tribe  was  on  Shelter  Island, 
Earn  Island,  and  Hog  Island.  Tradition  asserts 
they  conld  bring  500  warriors  into  the  field. 
Most  of  the  tribes  of  Indians  have  totally  disap- 
peared like 

"  The  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision." 

The  Montank,  which  occnpied  Montauk  Point 
and  Gardiner's  Island,  is  the  only  tribe  which  has 
any  number  in  it,  except  the  Shinecoc  tribe. 

In  this  decrease  of  the  Indian  tribes  the  white 
population  has  not  had  tlie  extensive  agency 
which  many  persons  in  our  day  seem  to  imagine ; 
and  a  minute  inquiry  into  the  circumstances  of 
the  case  could  scarcely  fail  to  satisfy  them  that, 
even  where  the  utmost  exertions  were  honestly 
used  to  prevent  it,  tliis  decrease  could  not  be 
stayed  or  retarded,  much  less  arrested  in  its  pro- 
gress. The  Dutch  Government  believed  in  the 
possibility  of  converting  the  Indians,  and  also  of 
forming  them  into  civilized  communities,  and 
with  that  view  were  very  rigid  in  their  enact- 
ments against  all  courses  and  practices  which  they 
thought  would  interfere  with  the  attainment  of 
that  end.  Thus  it  was  that  Governor  Stuyvesant, 
in  164:7,  prohibited  the  sale  of  strong  drink  to 
the  Indians,  under  the  heavy  penalty  of  live  hun- 


34  loinG  island  antiquities. 

dred  Oarolus  guilders  "  and  the  further  respon- 
sibility for  all  the  misdemeanors  that  may  result 
therefrom  ;  "  a  law  which  was  strictly  enforced. 
In  addition  to  this  he  directed  that  in  all  cases 
justice  should  be  done  to  the  aborigines  ;  that 
their  lands  shonld  not  be  taken  without  a  fair 
compensation,  and  that  the  inhabitants  should  pay 
them  for  any  work  which  the  Indians  should  do 
for  them ;  nnder  "  the  penalty  of  such  a  iine 
as  according  to  the  occasion  shall  be  deemed 
right." 

These  regulations  were  substantially  continued 
by  the  English  Government  for  many  years  after 
they  came  into  possession  of  the  colony.  Many 
exertions  were  used  both  by  the  Dutch  and  Eng- 
lish Colonial  Governments  to  Christianize  the  In- 
dians upon  this  island,  but  with  little  success ; 
the  restraints  which  religion  imposed  were  not 
suited  to  their  feelings  or  dispositions.  The  at- 
tempt, however,  was  not  abandoned.  In  the 
year  1741,  the  Eev.  Azariah  Horton  was  the  mis- 
sionary to  the  Long  Island  Indians,  a  duty  which 
he  assumed  in  the  month  of  August  of  that  year. 
He  states  that  then  at  the  east  end  of  the  island 
there  were  two  small  towns  of  the  Indians,  and 
lesser  companies  settled  at  a  few  miles  distance 
from  one  another,  for  the  length  of  above  one 
hundred  miles  between  the  extremities  of  the 


INDIANS,   AND  TIIEIK    HISTORY.  35 

island.  At  liis  first  coming  he  was  well  received 
by  most  of  them,  and  heartily  welcomed  by  some ; 
the  Indians  at  the  east  end  especially  gave 
diligent  and  serious  attention  to  his  instructions, 
and  a  general  reformation  of  manners  was  soon 
observable  among  them.  Up  to  the  close  of  the 
year  1743,  he  had  baptized  thirty-five  adults  and 
forty-four  children.  "  He  took  pains  with  them 
to  teach  them  to  read,  and  some  of  them  have  made 
considerable  proficienc}^"  But  notwithstanding 
all  this,  Mr.  Ilorton,  in  the  early  part  of  1744, 
complains  of  a  great  defection  of  some  of  these 
Indians  from  their  first  reformation,  caused  by 
"  a  relapse  into  their  darling  vice  of  drunkenness ; 
a  vice  to  which  the  Indians  are  everywhere  so 
greatly  addicted,  and  so  vehemently  disposed,  that 
nothing  but  the  power  of  Divine  grace  can  restrain 
that  impetuous  lust,  when  they  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  gratifying  it."  Under  these  discourag- 
ing circumstances  the  mission  was  still  continued ; 
and  we  are  under  the  impression  that  it  was  not 
abandoned  until  after  the  commencement  of  the 
Revolutionary  war,  which  broke  up  most  of  the 
churches  in  this  colony. 

To  show  how  extremely  difficult  it  was  to  pre- 
vent the  Indians  from  drinking,  notwithstanding 
all  the  restrictions  imposed  ]:)y  the  Government, 
we  refer  to  the  case  of  the  Rev.  Samson  Occom, 


3G  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

the  celebrated  Mohegan  minister,  and  a  man 
who  the  Eev.  Dr.  Buell,  in  a  letter  of  May  9, 
1761,  characterizes  as  a  "  preacher  of  the  Gospel 
who  seems  always  to  have  in  view  the  end  of  the 
ministry,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of 
man,"  and  who  he  also  speaks  of  as  "  the  glory  of 
the  Indian  nation."  Yet  this  Indian  clergyman, 
learned  and  good  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  could 
not  avoid  the  curse  of  his  race,  and  in  a  letter 
which  he  addressed  to  the  Presbytery  of  Long 
Island  on  the  9th  of  June,  1764,  confesses  himself 
"  to  have  been  shamefull}^  overtaken  by  strong 
drink,  by  which  (he  says)  I  have  greatly  wound- 
ed the  cause  of  God,  blemished  the  pure  religion 
of  Jesus  Christ,  blackened  my  own  character, 
and  hurt  my  own  soul." 

This  Indian  avidity  for  strong  drink  is  thus 
portrayed  by  a  chief  of  the  Six  N^ations,  in  a 
speech  he  made  to  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  the  year  1788. 
He  observed  :  "  The  avidity  of  the  white  people 
for  land,  and  the  thirst  of  the  Indians  for  spii-itu- 
ous  liquors  were  equally  insatiable  ;  that  the  white 
men  had  seen  and  fixed  their  eyes  upon  the 
Indian's  good  land  and  the  Indians  had  seen  and 
fixed  their  eyes  upon  the  white  men's  keg  of  rum. 
And  nothing  could  divert  either  of  them  from 
their  desired  object ;  and  therefore  there  was  no 


87 

remedy,  but  the  white  men  must  have  the  land 
and  the  Indians  the  keg  of  rum." 

This  speech  affords  a  correct  view  of  the  case. 
The  Indians  could  not  be  prevented  from  drink- 
nio^,  allhouo'h  o^reat  exertions  were  used  to  ac- 
complish  that  end  ;  notliing  human  could  effect 
it ;  it  was  alone  (to  use  the  words  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Horton,  in  174:4)  tlie  power  of  Divine  Grace 
that  could  restrain  this  impetuous  lust. 

This  account  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Horton's  mission 
in  1744  was  unfortunately  the  history  of  every 
attempt  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  these  poor 
tribes.  So  long  as  they  were  in  the  course  of 
instruction,  and  everything  was  done  for  them, 
or  they  were  assisted  in  doing  matters  in  order  to 
teach  them,  things  went  on  tolerably  well ;  but  the 
moment  they  were  left  to  themselves  to  put  in 
practice  the  instructions  they  had  received,  in 
governing  their  own  towns,  in  conducting  their 
own  church  service,  teaching  their  own  schools, 
and  in  cultivating  their  own  fields,  they  began  to 
retrograde ;  the  benefits  which  they  had  received 
were  not  communicated  by  them  to  their  chil- 
dren, and  of  course  the  next  generation  was 
almost  as  much  of  savages  as  were  their  fathers 
before  the  advantages  of  civilization  were  intro- 
duced among  them.  Notwithstanding  tliese  dis- 
couraging circumstances,  oft-repeated    attempts 


38  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

were  made  to  induce  the  remnants  of  these  abori- 
gines to  adopt  the  habits  and  practices  of  civil- 
ized life,  but  with  very  limited  and  partial  suc- 
cess, and  laws  were  enacted  by  the  State  Legisla- 
ture to  facilitate  these  benevolent  efforts,  and  to 
prevent  trespasses  upon  the  lands  of  the  Indians, 
in  order  to  induce  them  to  resort  to  its  cultivation 
for  their  support.  It  seems  to  have  been  impos- 
sible to  satisfy  tlie  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this 
island  as  to  the  value  of  education,  or  to  convince 
them  that  it  was  not  a  disadvantage  for  them  to 
possess  it.  This  trait,  however,  is  not  peculiar  to 
the  Indians  of  this  island  ;  it  is  now  found  in  full 
operation  in  the  minds  of  great  numbers  of  the 
aborigines  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  a  most 
serious  bar  to  their  advancement  in  the  arts  of 
civilized  life.  Thej  esteem  their  own  education 
(if  it  may  be  so  called)  as  immensely  superior  to 
that  which  we  offer  them,  for  the  life  which  they 
lead,  and  which  they  desire  to  continue  in  ;  and 
they  look  upon  the  learning  and  knowledge 
which  we  tender  to  them  as  only  calculated  to  be 
of  use  alone  to  the  white  men.  Notliing  effectual 
can  l)e  done  towards  civilizing  and  instructing 
the  Indians  until  this  idea  is  removed  from  their 
minds,  and  until  they  become  cultivators  of  the 
soil  for  a  subsistence, — until  they  look  to  the 
grain  Avhich  they  raise,    and   to  the   cattle  and 


39 

stock  which  they  rear  for  a  living,  in  place  of 
seeking  it  by  the  chase,  and  in  fishing  npon  the 
lakes  and  rivers.  The  moment  they  become 
truly  fixed  to  the  soil  (and  that  will  probably  not 
be  until  one  generation  of  cultivators  shall  have 
passed  away),  they  will  see  and  feel  the  necessity 
of  knowledge,  and  they  will  then  of  their  own 
motion  seek  for  it ;  until  that  time  arrives  all 
efforts  to  impart  education  to  them  are  thrown 
away,  they  place  no  value  on  it,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, regard  it  as  an  impediment  to  the  course  of 
life  on  which  they  depend  as  a  means  of  exist- 
ence. 

There  has  always  been  a  very  great  and  seri- 
ous difiiculty  which  we  have  had  to  contend  with 
in  all  attempts  to  Christianize  the  aborigines, 
to  which  sufficient  attention  has  not  been  paid. 
We  refer  to  their  religious  belief.  They  believe 
in  one  God,  whom  they  call  the  Great  Spirit ;  and 
who  they  believe  controls  and  orders  all  things. 
They  also  recognize  the  existence  of  an  evil  spirit, 
and  have  their  system  of  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments. It,  therefore,  often  becomes  extremely 
difficult  for  the  missionary  to  convince  them  that 
he  is  preaching  a  new  religious  faith.  To  their 
untutored  minds  the  variances,  so  marked  and  pal- 
pable to  us,  do  not  present  themselves ;  and 
often  has  the  sincere  teacher  of  the  Gospel  been 


40  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

obliged  to  confess  that  his  prospect  of  success 
would  be  very  much  better  with  a  people  who 
wei-e  the  avowed  worshippers  of  idols,  stocks,  and 
stones,  than  with  the  Xorth  American  Indians, 
and  arising  from  the  circumstances  before  re- 
ferred to.  It  is  true  our  Indians  believed  in  a 
pbirality  of  gods,  but  they  were  all  subordinate 
to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  could  not  be  distin- 
guished by  them  from  the  angelic  host  of  the 
Christian  faith ;  for  their  subordinate  gods  were 
the  miuisteriug  spirits  of  their  superior  god.  The 
religious  faitli  of  the  Long  Island  Indians  is  de- 
scribed by  the  Rev.  Samson  Occom,  an  educated 
Mohegan  Indian  ]ninister,  as  follows :  "  They 
believe  in  a  plurality  of  gods,  and  in  one  great 
and  good  Being,  who  controls  all  the  rest.  They 
likewise  believe  in  an  evil  spirit,  and  have  their 
conjurers  or  pawaws."  Occom  was  perfectly 
conversant  with  their  old  religion,  and  one  who 
had  great  influence  with  them ;  and  when  he  re- 
moved to  Western  Kew  York  with  the  remnants 
of  some  of  the  New  England  tribes,  a  consider- 
able number  of  the  Montauks  from  this  island 
accompanied  him. 

i\\  the  year  1792,  in  the  hope  that  it  would 
benefit  them,  the  Legislature  of  this  State  con- 
ferred upon  the  Shinecoc  Indians  upon  the  east 
end  of  this  island,  the  power  of  electing  three 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIR    HISTORY.  41 

trustees  from  their  own  tribe  to  manage  and  ap- 
portion their  lands  among  the  members  of  their 
tribe,  with  a  view  to  its  improvement.  At  these 
elections,  each  male  Indian  above  twenty-one 
years  of  age  was  a  voter ;  and  the  elections  were 
to  be  held  annually  in  Southampton,  on  the  iirst 
Tuesday  in  April,  at  the  place  of  holding  the 
annual  town  meeting ;  and  the  town  clerk  of 
Southampton  was  required  to  be  present,  and  to 
preside  at  these  Indian  elections.  But  the  Legis- 
lature would  not  permit  these  trustees  to  lease 
out  the  lands  of  the  tribe  to  any  one  without  the 
consent  of  three  Justices  of  tlie  Peace  residino^ 
next  to  them,  and  then  not  for  a  longer  period 
than  three  years. 

In  order  to  promote  friendship  and  a  future 
good  understanding  between  the  Montauk  In- 
dians and  the  white  settlers,  an  agreement,  in 
writing,  was  entered  into  between  them  on  the 
3d  day  of  March,  1702-3,  by  which  all  previous 
differences  were  declared  settled,  and  the  respec- 
tive rights  of  the  Indians  and  the  wliite  inhabi- 
tants to  the  lands  in  that  vicinity  adjusted. 
Under  this  agreement  they  continued  to  live  in 
peace  with  each  other,  until  about  the  year  1787, 
when  the  Indians  began  to  imagine  that  the 
white  proprietors  were  in  possession  of  much 
more  land  than  had  been  declared  to  belong  to 


43  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

them  by  the  agreement  of  1703  ;  and  to  test  this 
question  they  turned  their  cattle  into  some  of  the 
fenced  fields  of  the  white  people,  which  caused 
their  impounding.  Upon  the  trial  which  result- 
ed from  this  act,  it  was  shown  that  the  white 
proprietors  held  the  same  lands  that  were  award- 
ed them  by  that  agreement  and  no  more.  Then 
the  Indians  came  to  regard  the  agreement  itself, 
under  which  the}^  had  so  long  lived  in  peace,  as  a 
serious  grievance ;  and  in  1807  they  petitioned  the 
Legislature  of  this  State  for  relief  in  respect  to 
certain  grievances  which  they  said  had  been  im- 
230sed  upon  them  by  the  proprietors  of  the  lands 
on  Montauk  in  reference  to  the  improvement  of 
their  lands  ;  and  they  prayed  the  interference  of 
the  Legislature  to  procure  an  alteration  of  the 
agreement  made  by  their  ancestors  with  those 
proprietors.  The  Legislature  saw  that  these  poor 
Indians  could  not  be  referred  to  the  courts  of  law 
to  test  the  validity  of  their  agreement,  as  would 
have  been  the  course  if  that  petition  had  em- 
anated from  anj^  other  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
State,  and  they  therefore  appointed  Ezra  L'Hom- 
medieu,  John  Smitli  and  Nicoll  Floyd,  Esq.,  of 
Suffolk  County,  commissioners  to  inquire  into 
the  grievances  complained  of  by  those  Indians ; 
and  authorized  them,  with  the  consent  of  tlie  pro- 
prietors and  the  Indians,  to  make  such  arrange- 


43 

ment  as  they  might  judge  equitable,  for  the 
future  improvement  of  the  land  at  Montauk  hy 
the  Indians,  notwithstanding  the  agreement  made 
by  their  ancestors ;  and  to  report  their  proceed- 
ings to  the  Legislature  at  their  next  meeting. 

These  commissioners  made  their  report  to  the 
New  York  Legislature  on  the  30th  of  January, 
1808,  from  which  it  clearly  appeared  that  the 
Indians  were  in  error  in  believing  their  ancestors 
had  not  conveyed  to  the  white  proprietors  all  the 
lands  they  were  then  in  possession  of ;  and  they 
also  appended  to  their  report  the  original  agree- 
ment which  was  i:&ade  on  the  3d  of  March,  1702-3, 
which  the  Legislature  ordered  to  be  filed  in  tlie 
office  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  By  their  report 
the  commissioners  state  that  "  the  uneasiness  of 
the  Indians  in  respect  to  their  rights  to  land  on 
Montauk  has  been  occasioned  principally  by 
strangers  (not  inhabitants  of  this  State),  who,  for 
a  nunal)er  of  years  past,  have  made  a  practice  of 
visiting  them,  and  have  received  from  them  pro- 
duce and  obligations  for  money  for  counsel  and 
advice,  and  their  engagements  to  assist  them  in 
respect  to  their  claims  to  lands  on  Montauk, 
other  than  those  now  held  by  the  aforesaid  agree- 
ment." And  the  commissioners  further  state, 
that  "  the  neck  of  land  they  (the  Indians)  live 
on  contains  about  one  thousand  acres  of  the  first 


44  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

quality,  on  which,  by  the  aforesaid  agreement, 
they  have  a  right  to  plant  Indian  corn  without 
restriction  as  to  the  number  of  acres,  besides  im- 
proving thirty  acres  for  wheat  or  grass ;  to  keep 
two  hundred  and  fifty  swine,  great  and  small,  and 
fifty  horse,  kind  and  neat  cattle,  and  to  get  hay 
to  winter  them.  They  now  enjoy  privileges 
equal  with  their  ancestors,  since  the  date  of  the 
said  agreement,  although  their  numbers  have 
greatly  diminished ;"  and  the  commissioners  con- 
clude with  expressing  it  as  their  opinion  that 
"  there  is  no  necessity  of  any  further  legislative 
interference  respecting  them." 

The  explanations  made  by  these  commissioners 
appear  to  have  been  satisfactory  to  the  Indians, 
and  we  hear  nothing  further  from  them  until 
1816,  when  they  complained  to  the  Governor  aiid 
the  Legislature  of  som.e  trespasses  committed 
upon  their  lands  by  the  white  people,  which 
complaint  w^as  answered  by  the  appointment  of 
another  commission  to  inquire  into  their  condi- 
tion, and  to  remedy  the  evils  of  which  they  com- 
plained, w^hich  is  hereafter  mentioned. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  Montauk  In- 
dians appear  to  have  emigrated  in  1783,  together 
with  some  other  fragments  of  the  great  Mohegan 
nation,  of  which  they  formed  a  part,  into  the  w^est- 
ern  part  of  this  State  under  the  direction  of  the 


45 

Rev.  Samson  Occom,  where  they  all  together 
merged  into  one  tribe  and  became  known  as  the 
Brotliertown  Indians.  Thej  were  also  some- 
times called  the  N^ew  England  Indians,  and  con- 
sisted of  the  following  tribes — the  Mohegan  (em- 
bracing all  whose  particular  tribe  was  unknown, 
and  therefore  the  general  national  name  was  ap- 
plied to  them),  the  Montocks  (or  Montanks),  the 
Stonington  and  Narragansett  Indians,  the  Pe- 
qnots  of  Groton,  and  the  Nehanticks  of  Far- 
mington. 

The  Legislature  of  this  State,  in  1813,  con- 
firmed to  these  Indians  the  land  previously 
set  apart  for  their  use,  and  declared  that  it  should 
remain  to  tliem  and  their  posterity,  without  the 
power  of  alienation,  and  that  the  said  tract 
should  be  called  Brothertown.  They  also  pro- 
vided that  a  school  should  be  established  there 
for  the  Indians,  to  be  supported  out  of  the  annual 
sum  of  $2,160.79,  to  be  paid  out  of  the  State 
treasury,  and  that  after  also  deducting  the  salary 
of  their  attorney  to  look  after  their  interests,  the 
balance  should  be  applied  to  the  use  of  those  In- 
dians as  should  be  judged  most  beneficial  to  them. 

In  1816,  Govern.or  Tompkins,  at  the  request  of 
the  Montauk  Indians,  appointed  Richard  Ilubbel 
and  Isaac  Keeler,  Esqrs.,  commissioners  to  inquire 
into  the  trespasses  committed  upon  their  property, 


46  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

and  as  far  as  practicable  to  have  them  redressed. 
In  their  report  the  commissioners  state :  "  That 
about  fifty  families,  consisting  of  148  persons, 
men,  women,  and  children,  inhabit  said  point — 
that  fourteen  of  the  women  are  widows,  and 
that  they  all  live  in  about  thirty  huts,  or  wig- 
wams, nearly  in  the  same  style  as  Indians  have 
for  centuries  past."  These  Indians,  at  present, 
obtain  their  living  principally  from  the  sea, 
although  they  till  some  land  for  raising  corn, 
beans,  and  potatoes,  in  small  patches  or  lots.  They 
are  in  possession  of  about  500  aci-es  of  land  of  the 
best  quality.  They  keep  cows,  swine,  poultry, 
one  horse  and  one  pair  of  oxeii.  Their  land, 
through  bad  tillage,  is  unproductive.  Civilization 
and  education  appear  to  be  much  on  the  decline, 
and  their  house  of  worship,  which  was  formerly 
in  a  flourishing  state,  is  now  going  to  ruin.  The 
elder  inhabitants  have  learning  sufficient  to  read 
and  write,  but  the  children  are  brought  up  in  a 
savage  state.  The  Montauk  and  Shinecoc  Indians 
are  the  only  tribes  now  remaining  on  this  island. 
There  are  a  few  miserable  individuals  the  rem- 
nants of  some  eastern  tribes  of  this  island,  but  no 
great  number  of  them. 

About  the  year  1819,  Stephen,  the  king  or 
sachem  of  the  Montauk  Indians,  died,  and  was 
buried  by  a  contribution.     This  Indian  king  was 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIR    HISTORY.  47 

only  distinguislied  from  others  of  his  tribe  by 
wearing  a  hat  with  a  yellow  ribbon  on  it  (E.  S. 
King,  iet.  22,  Jan.,  1825). 

The  Sag  Harbor  newspaper,  in  1830,  mentions 
that  on  the  5th  of  January  of  that  3'ear,  there 
died  at  Poospatuck,  near  Moriches,  on  Long  Island, 
Elizabeth  Job,  aged  seventy-two  years,  relict  of 
Ben  Job,  and  queen  of  the  Indians  in  that  place, 
"  leaving  but  two  females  of  her  tribe,  both  well 
stricken  in  years.  Thus  ends  the  custom,  for 
many  ^^ears  kept  up,  of  paying  a  yearly  tribute  of 
a  handful  of  rushes  to  their  queen." 

^Notwithstanding  the  Indians  upon  the  east  end 
of  Long  Island  were  so  much  reduced  in  num- 
bers, the  State  Government,  in  1831,  made 
another  attempt  to  elevate  them  in  the  scale  of 
life,  and  on  the  19th  of  April  of  that  year,  the 
Legislature  passed  an  act  directing  the  SujDcrin- 
tendent  of  Common  Schools  annually  to  pay  the 
additional  sum  of  eighty  dollars  from  the  school 
fund  to  the  treasurer  of  the  county  of  Suffolk, 
to  support  a  school  among  the  Shinecoc  Indians, 
for  the  instruction  of  their  children.  And  they 
require  the  Commissioners  of  Common  Schools 
in  Southampton  to  include  in  their  annual  re- 
port "  a  statement  of  the  length  of  time  that  a 
school  has  been  taught  in  pursuance  of  this  act ; 
the  number  of  children  taught  in  said  school ; 


48  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

the  manner  in  wliich  such  moneys  have  been  ex- 
pended; and  whether  any  and  how  much  re- 
mains unexpended,  and  for  what  cause." 

This  law  was  limited  to  three  years,  but  by 
another  act  passed  March  1st,  1845,  it  was  re- 
newed for  four  years,  from  April  28th,  1844,  ^*  and 
no  longer,  nnless  the  same  shall  be  extended  by 
the  Legislature." 

Thus  we  see  the  Indians  upon  Long  Island 
dwindling  away  notwithstanding  all  the  exer- 
ticais  used  by  the  Government  for  their  support 
and  advancement.  The  Indian  and  the  white 
man,  it  seems,  cannot  live  together ;  the  former 
insensibly  waste  away  before  the  latter,  even 
w^iere  they  are  well  and  kindly  treated,  and  the 
utmost  care  taken  for  their  preservation.  At 
Eastham,  on  Ca23e  Cod,  in  1674,  Rev.  Mr.  Treat, 
the  minister  settled  there,  states  that  there  were 
four  Indian  villages  under  his  care.  They  had 
teachers  and  magistrates  of  their  own  people,  and 
they  were  so  kindly  and  affectionately  treated  by 
him  that  they  venerated  him  as  their  pastor,  and 
loved  him  as  their  father.  There  were  then  five 
hundred  adult  persons  in  their  four  villages,  all 
of  whom  attended  public  worship.  But  all  these 
exertions  made  for  their  benefit  were  of  no  avail, 
they  wasted  away  by  fatal  diseases  and  other 
causes  not  easily  explained,  so  that  in  1693  they 


INDIANS,  AND   THEIR   HISTORY.  49 

Vv'ere  reduced  to  only  foui'  individuals.  So  it 
was  also  on  Long  Island,  as  we  have  learned  from 
the  old  inhabitants  who  were  born  on  that  island 
and  resided  upon  it  all  their  lives ;  here  the  In- 
dians, although  permitted  to  erect  their  wigwams 
where  they  pleased  upon  the  farms  of  the  pro- 
prietors, not  in  the  grain  fields,  and  one  family 
of  them  passed  their  whole  lives  upon  the  farm 
of  our  grandfather,  free  of  rent,  and  were  em- 
ployed about  farming  duties,  and  paid  for  their 
services,  and  treated  ^ith  kindness,  yet  they 
seemed  to  die  away  in  an  unaccountable  manner; 
no  Hocks  of  children  were  to  be  seen  playing 
about  their  huts.  Their  destruction  cannot  be 
attributed,  as  some  now  imagine,  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  ardent  spirits  among  them  by  the  white 
men,  for  old  people  will  tell  you  that  many  of 
them  did  not  indulge  that  way,  and  our  Pilgrim 
fathers  and  Dutch  ancestors  made  many  very  strict 
regulations  to  prevent  the  sale  of  those  liquors  to 
the  Indians.  There  were  indeed  numerous  cases 
of  inebriation  among  them,  for  this  seems  to  be  a 
vice  which  the  Indian  cannot  well  avoid.  We 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  liquors  then  in  use 
throughout  the  country  were  pure  and  unadul- 
terated, the  people  having  not  then  learned  the 
art  of  making  the  noxious  compounds  now 
vended  under  those  names,  so  that  they  would  not 
3 


50  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

produce  the  deleterious  effects  which  we  witness 
in  those  who  now  use  them.  But  the  real  truth 
of  the  case  is^  the  Indians  had  performed  tlieir 
duty,  and  fulfilled  their  destiny  in  this  world, 
and  Providence  designed  that  their  place  should 
be  supplied  bja  different  race  and  order  of  men, 
and  had  so  ordered  matters  that  portions  of  this 
continent  became  gradually  no  longer  fitted  for 
their  state  of  existence,  and  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence tliey  faded  away.  If  we  would  accustom 
ourselves  to  look  upon  such  things  in  a  different 
and  more  extended  point  of  view,  and  not  at- 
tempt to  explain  them  from  our  finite  political 
considerations,  we  w^ould  be  more  frequently 
much  nearer  the  truth. 

Lewis  and  Clarice's  2 ravels  (Svo,  Phila.,  IS  14) 
shows  us  that  the  small-pox,  which  had  then  be- 
come an  epidemic  disease  in  civilized  countries, 
also  raged  with  almost  unparalleled  malignity  on 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri  river  among  the  Indian 
tribes  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  cen- 
tury ;  whole  villages  and  nations  were  swept 
away  by  it. 

The  following  account  of  its  effect  upon  the  na- 
tion of  the  Mahas  will  exhibit  one  of  the  causes  in 
progress  for  the  destruction  of  the  Indian  tribes. 

"  The  ancient  village  of  Mahas  consisted  of 
three  hundred  cabins,  but  was  burned  about  four 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIK    HISTORY.  51 

years  ago  (in  1800),  soon  after  the  small-pox  had 
destroyed  four  hundred  men,  and  a  proportion  of 
women  and  children.  On  a  hill  in  the  rear  of 
the  village  are  the  graves  of  the  nation." 

"  The  accounts  we  have  had  of  the  effects 
of  the  small-pox  on  that  nation  are  most 
distressing  ;  it  is  not  known  in  what  way  it  was 
first  communicated  to  them,  though  probably  by 
some  war  party.  They  had  been  a  military  and 
powerful  people ;  but  when  these  warriors  saw 
their  strength  wasting  before  a  malady  which 
they  could  not  resist,  their  frenzy  was  extreme ; 
they  burnt  their  village,  and  many  of  them  put  to 
death  their  wives  and  children  to  save  them  from 
BO  cruel  an  affliction,  and  that  all  might  go  to- 
gether to  some  better  country." 

At  various  periods  of  our  history  the  fell  pesti- 
lence has  swept  before  it  whole  tribes  and  nations 
of  the  red  men  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Thus  it  was  the  year  before  the  pilgrims  landed 
in  ]^ew  England,  the  country  had  been  nearly 
depopulated  by  some  fell  disease  among  the  abo- 
rigines. The  first  white  settlers  upon  landing 
found  nothing  but  the  graves  of  the  previous  in- 
habitants, and  their  corn-fields  with  the  crop  un- 
gathered.  It  was  in  this  way  that  Providence 
opened  the  country  for  its  settlement  by  a  civil- 
ized race,  which,  in  all  human  probability,  would 


52  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

not  have  been  effected  by  the  small  number  of 
pilgrims  who  made  their  landing  at  Plymouth,  if 
the  native  tribes  had  existed  in  their  pristine 
strength.  And  again,  within  our  own  time,  about 
twenty -five  years  since,  the  small-pox  made  its 
appearance  amongst  the  Marden  Indians,  one  of 
the  most  numerous,  and  the  most  civilized,  as 
well  as  the  most  powerful  tribe  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  entirely  destroyed  them.  Their 
manners,  habits  and  customs  are  preserved  to  us 
by  the  sketches  of  George  Catlin,  Esq.,  who  visited 
their  villages,  and  remained  with  them  some 
months,  about  two  years  previous  to  their  de- 
struction. 

A  singular  natural  phenomenon  appears  when 
the  Indian  blood  is  mixed  with  that  of  the  white 
man  ;  it  scarcely  ever  lasts  beyond  the  second 
genei-ation  ;  and  is  very  rarely  met  with  beyond 
the  third  generation,  but  gradually  wastes  away, 
so  that  it  is  a  common  remark  that  the  half- 
breeds  soon  run  out.  All  these  things  melt  away 
the  Indian  tribes  from  before  the  face  of  the 
white  man ;  and  yet,  notwithstanding  all  this, 
the  Europeans,  and  especially  the  English,  are 
often  reading  us  homilies  on  our  treatment  of  the 
Indians,  in  which  they  only  exhibit  their  ignor- 
ance of  the  entire  subject. 

A  writer  in  the   Gentlemanh  Magazine^  Lon- 


1 


INDIANS,  AND    THEIR    HISTORY.  53 

don,  for  December,  1846,  nnder  the  head  of  Ex- 
tra-ts  from  the  Portfolio  of  a  Man  of  the  World, 
seems  to  think  he  lias  found  a  panacea  for  all 
the  evils  attending  this  decrease  of  the  Indian 
race,  in  a  project  which  he  admits  cannot  now  be 
tried ;  it  is  this : 

"  Had  settlements  of  the  Europeans  been  made 
at  once  in  the  far  West  by  a  set  of  bachelor 
soldiers,  and  the  Roman  and  Sabine  mariages 
forces  been  effected  in  a  civil  way,  the  two  races 
might  have  melted  into  one  another  miperceived, 
and  spread  their  civilization  backwards  to  the 
East,  and  red  men  and  white  men  become  as 
little  distinguishable  as  a  Sabine  from  a  Roman 
in  the  time  of  Cicero." 

Nothing  but  a  want  of  knowledge  could  induce 
such  a  proposition,  otherwise  he  would  have 
known  that  this  mixed  race,  so  far  from  spreading 
civilization  over  the  continent,  would  have  been 
in  every  respect  a  more  debased  and  worthless 
race,  and  less  likely  to  communicate  any  of  the 
benefits  they  had  received  from  their  European 
fathers  than  even  the  pure  Indian  race. 

And  who  is  there  accustomed  to  take  enlarged 
and  extended  views  upon  such  subjects,  that 
when  he  looks  upon  the  Indian  race  and  the 
mode  practised  by  them  in  obtaining  their  food, 
can  help  but  be  struck  with  the  idea,  that  Provi- 


54  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

dence  is  by  this  means  prej)aring  the  way  for  the 
extinction  of  that  race  of  men,  and  for  having 
their  phice  supplied  by  one  of  an  entirely  dif- 
ferent character.  Nothing  in  om*  j iidgment  shows 
this  more  clearly  than  the  common  Indian  prac- 
tice of  setting  fire  to  the  prairie,  and  even  to  the 
forest,  in  order  to  drive  to  them  their  game.  Sir 
Francis  Head,  in  his  Emigrant,  on  this  point 
observes,  that  the  aborigines  for  many  years  have 
been  and  still  are  in  the  habit  of  burning  tracts 
of  wood  so  immense,  that,  from  very  high  and 
scientific  authority,  he  was  informed  that  the 
amount  of  land  thus  burned  has  exceeded  many 
millions  of  acres,  and  that  it  has  been  and  still  is 
materially  changing  the  climate  of  North  Amer- 
ica. But  besides  this  effect  it  is  simultaneously 
working  out  another  great  object  of  nature.  This 
improvident  mode  of  obtaining  game,  by  the  de- 
struction it  brings  upon  all  the  small  game  and 
the  young  of  the  larger  variety,  while  it  for  a 
short  time  affords  the  Indian  an  abundance, 
eventually  afflicts  with  famine  and  destitution  all 
engaged  in  it,  to  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
Indian  tribes  ;  an  instance  of  which  is  given  in 
the  Beaver  Indians  of  Canada,  who  forty  years 
ago  were  a  numerous  and  powerful  tribe,  and  are 
now  reduced  to  less  than  one  hundred  men,  w^ho 
can  scarcely  find  wild  animals  enough  to  keep 


55 

themselves  alive.  Tlie  red  population  all  over 
this  continent  have,  from  the  period  of  its  first 
discovery  to  the  present  day,  been  diminishing  in 
the  same  ratio  as  the  destruction  of  the  moose 
and  the  buffalo,  upon  wliich  they  and  their  fore- 
fathers have  subsisted ;  and  thus  it  is  tliat  we  see, 
under  a  dispensation  of  Providence,  by  the  agency 
of  the  aboriginal  race,  this  continent  is  gradually 
undergoing  a  process  which,  with  other  causes, 
will  assimilate  its  climate  to  that  of  Europe,  and 
that  the  Indians  themselves  are  clearing  and  pre- 
paring their  own  country  for  the  reception  of 
another  and  different  race,  who  will  in  subse- 
quent ages  gaze  upon  the  remains  of  the  elk,  the 
bear,  the  buffalo,  and  the  beaver,  with  the  sam-e 
feeling  of  astonishment  with  which  similar  ves- 
tiges are  now  regarded  in  portions  of  Europe, 
the  monuments  of  a  state  of  existence  that  has 
passed  away.  AVliat,  let  us  ask,  has  the  civilized 
race  in  America  to  do  with  this  certain  and  un- 
erring cause  of  extinction  operating  upon  the 
nations  of  the  aborigines  on  this  continent  ?  It 
is  indeed  curious  and  worthy  of  note,  that  English 
writers,  in  treating  of  Canada,  can  both  readily 
see  and  recognize  the  operation  and  effect  of  this 
great  law  of  Providence ;  but  when  they  turn 
their  eyes  to  the  United  States  and  observe  the 
same  effects  .produced  and  operating   upon  our 


56  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Indian  tribes,  they  insist  upon  their  being  the 
result  of  oitr  policy  towards  the  aborigines,  and 
that  we  are  driving  them  before  us  out  of  exist- 
ence. So  little  qualified  are  the  English,  as  a 
peoplfe,  to  judge  correctl}^  in  matters  affecting 
other  nations,  and  especially  if  they  are  pleased 
to  regard  them  in  any  light  as  rivals. 


TRADITIONS. 

The  Devil's  Stepping  Stones. — It  is  said  that, 
at  a  certain  time,  doubtless  some  ages  ago,  the 
devil  set  up  a  claim  against  the  Indians  to  Con- 
necticut as  his  peculiar  domain  ;  but  they  being 
in  possession,  were  determined,  of  course,  to  try 
to  hold  it.  The  surfaces  of  Connecticut  and  Long 
Island  were  at  that  time  the  reverse  of  what  they 
are  at  present.  Long  Island  was  covered  with 
rocks,  and  Connecticut  was  free  from  them.  The 
Indians  refused  to  quit  on  so  short  a  notice,  and 
accordingly  both  parties  prepared  for  the  contest. 
His  Satanic  majesty  crossed  to  Connecticut,  to 
enforce  his  claim  by  dispossessing  the  Indians  ; 
but  he  was  disappointed,  the  Indians  were  too 
much   for  him,   and   forced   him   to   retreat  to 


57 

Throg's  Point.  The  tide  being  low  and  the  pas- 
sage not  very  wide,  the  demon  secured  his  retreat 
})j  stepping  from  rock  to  rock  until  he  reached 
Lono^  Island.  After  havino^  seated  himself  in  the 
middle  of  the  island  at  Coram  and  brooding  over 
his  defeat  in  a  sullen  humor,  he  suddenly  roused 
himself,  and  collecting  together  all  the  rocks  he 
could  conveniently  get  at  on  the  island,  lie  de- 
posited them  in  heaps  at  Cold  Spring,  where  he 
amused  himself  with  hurling  them  across  the  sound 
on  the  fertile  plains  of  Connecticut.  The  Indians 
who  last  remained  in  that  part  of  the  country,  not 
only  undertook  to  show  the  spot  where  he  stood, 
but  also  insisted  that  they  could  discern  the  prints 
of  his  feet. 

RoNKONKAMA  FoND. — This  piccc  of  watcr, 
from  its  lonely  and  secluded  situation,  was  often 
the  theme  of  Indian  story.  Among  the  many 
traditions  respecting  this  interesting  little  lake, 
the  following  is  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  ob- 
tain at  this  distant  day.  The  aborigines  appear  to 
have  regarded  it  with  a  sort  of  awful  veneration. 
They  considered  its  depths  as  unfathomable,  and 
believed  that  the  fish  were  specially  placed  there 
by  the  Great  Spirit.  Under  this  impression,  at 
the  time  of  the  first  settlement,  they  refused  to 
eat  them,  regarding  them  as  superior  beings. 

John  Bull's  Talk  to  the  Indians. — King  Ben, 


58  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

wlio  Styled  himself  one  of  the  last  of  the  Indian 
chiefs  on  Long  Island,  often  resided  on  Whale's 
Neck,  Qneen's  County.  lie  nsed  to  relate  many 
wonderful  stories  about  the  first  settlers,  and  often 
told  the  story  of  John  Bull  speaking  to  the  In- 
dians, wliich  was  as  follo\\'S  :  The  English  had  a 
large  cannon  which  they  told  the  natives  was 
John  Bull,  and  that  on  a  certain  day  he  would 
make  a  talk  to  them.  Accordingly,  on  the  day 
appointed,  the  poor  Indians  were  placed  in  a  line 
fronting  the  mouth  of  the  gun,  which  being 
shotted  was  fired  off  to  their  destruction.  King 
Ben  says  that  the  wrath  of  the  Great  Spirit,  by  rea- 
son of  this  outrage,  was  so  great  that  at  the  sea- 
son of  the  year  when  this  foul  murder  was  com- 
mitted, no  grass  wiU  grow  upon  that  accursed 
spot,  which  still  bears  the  stain  of  human  blood. 
The  fact  is,  that  the  place  where  this  wicked  deed 
is  alleged  to  have  been  committed  is  a  rido^e  of 
red  gravelly  soil,  on  which  in  the  dry  season 
nothing  can  grow  for  want  of  moisture. 

MoNGOTucKSEE. — Caiioe  place,  on  the  south  side 
of  Long  Island,  derives  its  name  from  the  fact, 
that  more  than  two  centuries  ago,  a  canal  was 
made  there  by  the  Indians,  for  the  purpose  of 
passing  tlieir  canoes  from  one  bay  to  the  other, 
that  is,  across  the  island  frcm  Mecox  bay  to 
Peconic  bay.     Although  the  trencliTTarijeen  in 


MONGOTUCKSEE  S    CANAL.  59 

a  great  measure  filled  np,  yet  its  remains  are  still 
visible  and  partly  flowed  at  high  water.  It  was 
constructed  by  Mongotuc'isee  (or  Long  Knife), 
who  then  reigned  over  the  nation  of  Montank. 

Although  that  nation  has  now  dwindled  to  a 
few  miserable  remnants  of  a  powerful  race,  who 
still  linger  on  the  lands  which  were  once  the  seat  of 
their  proud  dominion,  yet  their  traditional  history 
is  replete  with  all  those  tragical  incidents  which 
usually  accompany  the  fall  of  power.  It  informs 
us  that  their  chief  was  of  gigantic  form,  proud 
and  despotic  in  peace,  and  terrible  in  war.  But 
although  a  tyrant  of  his  people,  yet  he  protected 
them  from  their  enemies  and  commanded  their 
respect  for  his  savage  virtues.  The  praises  of 
Mongotucksee  are  still  chanted  in  aboriginal 
verse  to  the  winds  that  howl  around  the  eastern 
extremity  of  this  island.  The  Narragansetts  and 
the  Mohocks  yielded  to  his  prowess,  and  the  an- 
cestors of  the  last  of  the  Mohicans  trembled  at 
the  expression  of  his  anger.  He  sustained  his 
power  not  less  by  the  resources  of  his  mind  than 
by  the  vigor  of  his  arm.  An  ever  watchful  po- 
licy guided  his  counsels.  Prepared  for  every 
exigency,  not  even  aboriginal  sagacity  could  sur- 
prise his  caution.  To  facilitate  communication 
around  the  seat  of  his  dominion  for  the  purpose 
not  only  of  defence  but  of  annoyance,  he  con- 


CO  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

structed  this  canal,  which  remains  a  monument  of 
his  genius,  while  other  traces  of  his  skill  and 
prowess  are  lost  in  oblivion,  and  even  the  nation 
whose  valor  he  led  may  soon  furnish  for  our 
country  a  topic  in  contemplating  the  fallen  great- 
ness of  the  last  of  the  Montauks.  After  his  death 
the  Montauks  were  subjugated  by  the  Iroquois  or 
Five  Nations,  and  became  their  tributaries,  as  did 
all  the  tribes  on  this  island.  The  strong  attach- 
ment and  veneration  which  the  Montauk  Indians 
entertained  for  their  chief  is  evidenced  by  the 
following  fact :  Within  a  short  distance  of  Sag 
Harbor,  in  the  forest  by  the  roadside,  is  a  shal- 
low excavation,  which  the  Indians  were  formerly 
very  particular  in  keeping  clean  ;  each  on  pass- 
ing stopped  to  clean  it  out.  The  reason  they 
gave  for  their  so  doing,  was,  that  a  long  time  ago 
a  Montauk  chief  having  died  at  Shinecoc,  the 
Indians  brought  him  from  that  place  to  Amma- 
gansett  to  be  interred  in  the  usual  bury iiig-pl ace, 
and  during  their  journey  they  stopped  to  rest,  and 
placed  the  body  of  their  dead  chieftain  in  that 
excavation  during  the  meanwhile ;  in  consequence 
of  which  the  spot  had  with  them  acquired  a  spe- 
cies of  sacred  character. 

About  forty  years  ago,  there  were  upwards  of 
130  families  of  Indians  on  Montauk  ;  now  (1827) 
they   have   dwindled   to  four   or  five   families. 


THE    SACHEM    WACOMBOUND.  61 

Some  of  their  squaws  are  very  handsome  women. 
The  royal  familj-  of  the  Montauks  were  distin- 
guished among  tlie  Engh'sh  by  the  name  of  Faro. 
The  last  of  the  family,  a  female,  died  a  year  or 
two  ago.  The  authority  or  pre-eminence  of  the 
Montauk  chieftain,  as  the  head  of  the  Mohegan 
family  on  this  island,  appears  not  only  to  have 
been  claimed  by  them,  but  also  to  have  been  ac- 
knowledged by  the  other  tribes,  and  his  assent 
seems  to  have  been  required  to  any  treaty  or  con- 
veyance made  by  any  of  tlie  tribes  upon  Long 
Island  with  or  to  the  white  men.  In  the  deed 
of  confirmation  given  to  the  white  settlers  of 
Hempstead  on  the  4th  of  July,  1647,  by  tlie  Mas- 
eapeage,  Merioke,  and  Rockaway  tribes  of  In- 
dians, they  mention  the  fact  of  the  Montauk 
Sachem  "being  present  at  the  contirmation." 
And  again,  in  another  deed  of  May  11th,  1658, 
by  which  the  Indians  acknowledge  to  have  re- 
ceived full  payment  of  the  balance  due  for  the 
lands  purchased  by  the  settlers  of  Hempstead, 
the  payments  being  made  by  instalments,  at  the 
bottom,  after  signatures  of  all  the  chiefs  of  the 
tribes,  it  is  said,  "  Subscribed  by  Wacombound, 
Montauk  Sachem,  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
this  14th  of  February,  1660,  being  a  general  town 
meeting  at  Hempstead."  Plis  allowance  or  con- 
firmation of  the  deed  appearing  to  be  esteemed 


62  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

necessary  to  its  validity.  The  Montauk  chief 
was  also  styled  the  Grand  Sachem  of  Paunian- 
acke,  or  Long  Island  ;  no  inconsiderable  dignity 
in  that  day. 

Manetta  Hill. — About  thirty  miles  from 
Brooklyn,  and  midway  between  the  north  and 
south  sides  of  this  island,  is  a  hill  known  by  the 
name  of  Manet ^  or  Manetta  Hill.  This,  however, 
is  a  corruption  of  the  true  name,  which  was  Man- 
itou  Hill^  or  the  Hill  of  the  Great  Spirit ;  which 
appellation  is  founded  on  the  tradition,  that  many 
ages  since,  the  aborigines  residing  in  those  parts 
suffered  extremely  from  the  want  of  water.  Un- 
der their  suffering  they  offered  up  prayers  to  the 
Great  Spirit  for  relief.  That  in  reply  to  their 
supplications,  the  Good  Spirit  directed  that  their 
principal  chieftain  should  shoot  his  arrow^  into  the 
air,  and  on  the  spot  where  it  fell  they  should  dig, 
and  would  assuredly  discover  the  element  they 
so  much  desired.  They  pursued  the  direction, 
dug,  and  found  water.  There  is  now  a  well  situ- 
ated on  this  rising  ground,  w^hich  is  not  deep,  and 
the  tradition  continues  to  say  that  this  w^ell  is  on 
the  very  spot  indicated  by  the  Good  Spirit.  This 
hill  was  undoubtedly  used  in  ancient  times  as 
the  place  of  general  offering  to  the  Great  Spirit 
in  the  name  and  behalf  of  all  surrounding  peo- 
ple ;  and  was  of  the  character  of  the  hill-altars 


SLOrGHTER   AND   THE   INDIANS.  63 

SO  common  among  the  early  nations.  It  is  from 
this  circumstance  that  the  name  was  most  proba- 
bly derived. 

This  is  another  of  oar  Long  Island  Indian 
traditions,  all  of  which  are  now  fast  fading  from 
the  recollections  of  our  oldest  inhabitants,  and 
which,  most  generally,  are  not  deemed  of  suffi- 
cient importance  by  tlie  younger  portion  of  the 
community  to  be  preserved  in  memory.  This  is 
the  reason  why  we  have  sought  to  preserve  those 
of  which  we  have  heard,  in  our  plain  and  homely 
language. 

The  Long  Island  Indians  possessed  all  that  pe- 
culiar eloquence  which  has  so  long  distinguished 
the  aborigines  of  the  West ;  and  it  was  mainly 
from  them  that  the  Europeans  first  obtained  their 
ideas  of  Indian  oratory,  and  of  the  strong  and 
bold  imagery  which  characterize  tlie  Indian 
speeches.  The  aborigines  of  this  island  had  all 
that  singular  tact,  which  still  marks  the  Indian, 
of  discovering  at  once,  in  their  intercourse  with 
white  men,  wdio  are  really  the  men  of  power  and 
consequence,  and  wdio  are  not ;  and  to  the  former 
they  pay  their  respects,  taking  no  notice  of  the 
others.  The  following  official  account  of  an  inter- 
view which  took  place  at  Flatlands,  upon  Long 
Island,  between  Governor  Sloughter  and  a  Long 
Island  Indian  Sachem  and  his  sons,  will  afford 


64  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

an  instance  of  their  eloquence  and  their  sagacity 
— they  saw  that  Leisler,  however  powerful  he 
might  have  been  only  a  few  weeks  previous,  was 
then  a  fallen  man,  without  power,  and  at  the 
mercy  of  his  inveterate  enemies. 

This  extraordinary  interview  took  place  on  the 
2d  of  April,  1691,  between  the  Governor  of  New 
York  and  a  Sachem  of  Long  Island,  attended  by 
two  of  his  sons  and  twenty  other  Indians.  The 
Sachem,  on  being  introduced,  congratulated  Gov- 
ernor Sloughter  in  an  eloquent  manner  upon  his 
arrival,  and  solicited  his  friendship  and  protec- 
tion for  himself  and  his  people ;  observing  that 
he  had  in  his  own  mind  fancied  his  Excellency 
was  a  mighty  tall  tree,  with  wide-spreading 
hranches,  and  therefore  he  prayed  leave  to  stoop 
under  the  shadow  thereof.  Of  old  (said  he)  tlie 
Indians  were  a  gi-eat  and  mighty  people,  but  now 
tliey  were  reduced  to  a  mere  handful.  He  con- 
cluded his  visit  by  presenting  the  Governor  with 
thirty  fathoms  of  wampum,  which  he  graciously 
accepted,  and  desired  the  Sachem  to  visit  him 
again  in  the  afternoon.  On  taking  their  leave, 
the  youngest  son  of  the  Sachem  handed  a  bundle 
of  brooms  to  the  officer  in  attendance,  saying,  at 
the  same  time,  that,  "  as  Leisler  and  his  party  had 
left  the  house  very  foul,  he  brought  the  brooms 
with  him  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  clean  again." 

P. 


REVEREND  PAUL  CUFFEE.  65 

In  the  afternoon  the  Sachem  and  his  party 
again  yisited  the  Governor,  who  made  a  speech 
to  them,  and  on  receiving  a  few  presents  they 
departed.  Some  of  the  Indians  npon  this  island 
have  evinced  considerable  talent  in  other  respects 
as  well  as  in  oratory.  The  Rev.  Samson  Occom, 
the  celebrated  Mohegan  minister,  was  for  a  con- 
siderable time  a  missionary  among  the  Indian 
tribes  on  this  island.  Some  of  his  sermons  and 
other  pieces,  which  have  been  printed,  are  well 
written,  and  exhibit  an  edncated  mind,  to  snch 
an  extent  as  wonld  nnqnestionably  snrprise  those 
who  have  not  thought  mnch  upon  the  subject  of 
these  people. 

Paul  Cuffee  was  also  an  Indian  minister,  a 
native  of  tlie  Shinecoc  tribe,  and  a  man  of  con- 
siderable powers  of  mind,  with  some  elocpience, 
who  formei-ly  labored  among  the  Indians  of 
Montauk  and  his  native  tribe  ;  and  although  not 
possessing  mnch  education,  he  was  a  useful  and 
respectable  man.  lie  was  buried  about  a  mile 
west  of  Canoe  place,  where  the  Indian  church 
then  stood,  and  over  his  grave  a  neat  marble  slab 
has  been  placed,  having  upon  it  the  following  in- 
scription :  "  Erected  by  the  Missionary  Society  of 
New  York,  in  memory  of  the  Rev.  Paul  Cuffee, 
an  Indian  of  the  Shinecoc  tribe,  who  was  em- 
ployed by  that  society  for  the  last  thirteen  years 


66  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

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  finished  his 
course  with  joy  on  the  7th  day  of  March,  1812, 
aged  55  years  and  3  days." 

In  the  early  period  of  the  settlement  of  this 
colony  under  the  Dutch  Government,  the  In- 
dians upon  Long  Island  were  far  from  preserv- 
ing uniformly  peaceful  relations  with  the  colo- 
nists, and  the  latter  suffered  from  their  incursions 
upon  their  settlements,  and  were  not  unfre- 
quently  under  serious  apprehensions  from  attacks 
by  the  Indians. 

This  fact  is  abundantly  shown  by  a  reference 
to  the  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Dutch 
Colonial  Government,  still  preserved  in  the  ofiice 
of  our  Secretary  of  State,  at  Albany.  The 
Council  minutes  of  March  25,  1643,  has  the 
following  entry,  narrating  a  previous  state  of 
hostility,  and  the  concluding  of  a  peace  between 
the  Long  Island  Indians  and  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment. 

"  Whereas,  in  some  time  past,  several  misun- 
derstandings have  taken  place  between  the 
savages  of  Long  Island  and  our  nation,  by  which, 
from  both  sides,  blood  has  streamed  upon  the 
land,  the  houses  have  been  robbed  and  burned, 


67 

with  the  killing  of  the  stock  and  carrying  off  the 
corn  by  the  Indians,  so  it  is,  that  between  us  and 
them  who  already  follow  the  banner  of  their 
great  chief,  Pennowits^  a  solid  peace  has  been 
established,  so  that  all  injuries,  from  whatsoever 
side,  are  hereby  forgiven  and  forgotten." 

The  hostile  spirit  manifested  by  the  Indians 
in  what  is  now  Kings  County,  in  the  year  1644, 
was  such  that  the  Dutch  government  stationed 
soldiers  in  the  town  of  New  Utrecht  to  defend 
the  inhabitants  from  the  aborigines.  The  "Eng- 
lish soldiers"  mentioned  in  the  following  official 
document,  describing  an  Indian  attack  upon  New 
Utrecht,  in  which  their  conduct  is  complained  of, 
were  not  foreign  soldiers  brought  into  the  colony, 
but  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  English 
toion  of  Gravesend,  who  had  been  enrolled  by  the 
Dutch  authorities  in  this  emergency. 

"  March  9th,  1644:,  appeared  before  the  Se- 
cretary, Cornells  Cornelissen,  from  Utrecht, 
twenty-two  years  old,  and  declares  that  being  a 
sentinel  at  night  before  the  house  of  Jochem 
Pietersen;  being  about  two  o'clock,  near  the 
cow-rick,  about  fifty  paces  from  the  barn,  he 
saw  approaching  a  burning  pile  "^  (an  arrow),  the 

*  The  Indians  are  still  in  the  habit  of  shooting  arrows  hav- 
ing tow,  hemp  or  other  inflammable  substance  on  fire  against 
buildings,  so  as  to  destroy  them,  in  their  wars. 


68  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

flames  as  blue  as  the  flame  of  brimstone,  about 
twenty  paces  from  the  house,  between  the  dung- 
hill and  cherry-tree  door,  which  pile  or  arrow 
fell  on  the  reeden  cos-er  of  the  house,  which  was 
soon  in  full  flame  by  the  violence  of  the  wind. 
A  little  after  he  heard  the  firing  of  a  gun  from 
the  same  spot  from  which  the  arrow  came.  The 
English  soldiers  would  not  leave  the  cellar  where 
they  slept,  wherefore  obtaining  no  assistance  the 
house  was  consumed. 

"  Jacob  Lambertsen,  aged  twenty,  declares  that 
going  at  night,  about  two  o'clock,  on  patrol,  around 
the  house  of  Jochem  Pietersen,  he  saw  a  flaming 
arrow,  the  flame  resembling  much  the  color  of 
brimstone,  etc.  When  the  house  was  in  full  flame 
he  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  which  they  suspect- 
ed was  fired  by  the  Indians  whom  they  heard  yet 
the  next  morning  hallooing  and  firing.  During 
the  fire  the  English  soldiers  did  not  stir  from  the 
cellar  where  they  slept. 

'^  John  Hagaman,  Peter  Jansen,and  Dirk  Ger- 
ritsen  also  declared  that  the  English  soldiers 
offered  not  the  least  assistance." 

The  Dutch  government  seem  to  have  considered 
this  Indian  attack,  and  the  circumstances  attend- 
ing it,  a  very  important  matter,  and  had  the  same 
under  advisement,  and  were  collecting  testimoiiy 
about  it  late  in  the  month  of  May  following.    <  ^w 


THE  FORT  ON  FOKT  NECK.  69 

tlie  19tli  of  May,  1644,  Cornelis  Cornelissen  was 
aorain  exainiiied,  and  he  "  certifies  that  some  time 
before  the  house  was  burned  he  asked  Jochem 
leave  to  go  to  the  Manhattan,  etc." 

The  only  battle  which  the  English  settlers  upon 
Long  Island  had  with  the  Indians  was  in  1653,  in 
the  storming  of  the  Indian  fort  upon  Fort  Neck, 
in  Queens  County.  The  Indians  had  for  some 
little  time  previous  shown  a  very  unfriendly  dis- 
position towards  the  English  settlers  in  that  part 
of  the  island ;  at  last  they  garrisoned  tliis  fort 
upon  Fort  Keck,  from  which  they  at  times  issued 
forth  in  parties,  destroying  the  crops  of  the  colo- 
nists and  driving  off  their  cattle  and  horses,  and 
eventually  killed  some  two  or  three  of  the  set- 
tlers. The  colonists  at  once  assembled,  and  all  of 
them  being  armed,  they  put  themselves  under  the 
command  of  Capt.  John  Underbill ;  who  at  once 
stormed  the  Indian  fort,  and  in  doing  which 
destroyed  so  many  of  their  people  that  the  Indians 
were  very  peaceful  towards  the  English  colonists 
on  Long  Island  ever  after. 

The  following  extraordinary  circumstance  con- 
nected with  the  battle  is  related  by  Samuel  Jones, 
Esq.,  in  his  communication  addressed  to  John 
Pintard,  Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Histor- 
ical Society,  and  printed  in  the  third  volume  of 
the  collections  of  that  Society. 


70  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

"  After  the  battle  at  Fort  I^eck,  the  weather 
being  very  cold,  and  the  wind  northwest,  Capt. 
Underbill  and  his  men  collected  the  bodies  of  the 
Indians,  and  threw  them  in  a  heap  on  the  brow 
of  the  hill,  and  then  sat  down  on  the  leeward  side 
of  the  heap  to  eat  their  breakfast. 

"  When  this  part  of  the  country  came  to  be  set- 
tled, the  highw^ay  across  the  Neck  passed  directly 
over  the  spot  wdiere  it  was  said  the  heap  of  Indi- 
ans lay,  and  the  earth  in  that  spot  was  remarkably 
different  from  the  ground  around  it,  being  strongly 
tinged  with  a  reddish  cast,  w^hich  the  old  people 
said  was  occasioned  by  the  blood  of  the  Indians." 

Mr.  Jones,  speaking  of  this  tradition,  observes  : 
"  This  appearance  was  formerly  very  conspicuous. 
Having  heard  the  story  above  sixty  years  ago 
(that  is  before  the  year  1752),  I  frequently 
viewed  and  remarked  the  spot  with  astonishment. 
But  by  digging  down  the  hill  for  repairing  the 
highway  the  appearance  is  now  entirely  gone." 

The  ancient  Indian  name  of  Long  Island  is 
said  to  have  been  Mattenwake  /  and  that  this 
word  is  compounded  of  the  word  Mattai^  which 
in  the  Delaware  or  Lenape  language  signifies  an 
island  (see  Heckewelder),  and  the  word  wake 
marking  its  peculiar  characteristic.  All  the  In- 
dian names  of  places,  so  far  as  we  know  them,  de- 
rive their  origin  from  local  circumstances;  are 


THE    NAME    OF    L02sG    INLAND.  71 

peculiarly  and  graphically  characteristic  of  the 
places  to  which  they  were  applied,  and  were  there- 
fore composed  of  two  or  more  words. 

It  is,  however,  a  difficult  matter  to  ascertain  at 
the  present  day,  what  the  true  Indian  name  of 
this  island  was.  In  the  early  settlement  of  the 
eastern  part  of  the  island,  the  Montauk  chieftain 
in  his  deed  to  the  settlers,  styles  himself  Sachem 
of  "  Paumanacke^  or  Long  Islmuir  Hubbard, 
in  his  History  of  Xew  England,  says  :  "  That  at 
the  time  of  the  grant  to  the  Earl  of  Stirling  in 
1G35,  it  was  called  by  the  Indians  Mattan- 
wakeP 

In  Beauchamp's  "  Description  of  the  Province 
of  Kew  Albion,"  etc.,  London,  164:8,  this  island  is 
called  by  the  Indian  name  of  Pamiinhe  ;  and  in 
the  patent  of  Charles  11.  to  his  brother  the  Duke 
of  York  in  1664,  it  is  called  Meitowax^  as  being 
its  Indian  name.  It  is  probable  that  the  name 
as  given  by  Hubbard  is  the  true  one.  In  the  jS^arra- 
gansett  language,  Mattan  was  a  term  used  to 
signify  anything  fine  or  good,  and  duhe^  or  ahe^ 
meant  land  or  earth,  thus  the  whole  w^ord  would 
mean  the  good  or  pleasant  land,  which  was  cer- 
tainly highly  characteristic  of  Loiig  Island,  even 
at  the  period  of  its  early  settlement,  as  abundantly 
appears  from  the  description  of  it  by  Yander- 
donck,  Denton,  and  other  writers. 


72  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

The  celebrated  Indian  war  in  ISiew  England, 
called  ^'  King  Philip's  War,"  caused  much  excite- 
ment and  apprehension  in  this  city  and  colony, 
from  the  fear  lest  the  Indians  upon  Long  Island 
and  near  'New  York,  being  of  the  same  great  Mo- 
hegan  family  with  the  Peqnots  and  Narragansetts, 
might  be  induced  to  join  Philip's  league  against 
the  English,  as  they  knew  he  had  sent  his  envoys 
among  them  for  that  purpose. 

Under  this  view  of  the  case  the  Court  of  As- 
sizes of  this  Colony,  then  being  the  legislative 
power,  at  their  term  held  in  New  York  on  the 
18tli  day  of  October,  1675,  "ordered,  that  in  case 
there  should  happen  a  war  with  the  Indians  in 
this  Government  (which  God  forbid),  for  the  bet- 
ter carrying  on  of  the  same,  one  or  more  rates 
shall  be  levied,  according  as  there  shall  be  occas- 
ion, an  account  whereof  to  be  given  to  the  follow- 
ing Court  of  Assizes."  To  take  away  all  excuse  for 
any  such  war  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  within 
this  colony,  they  also  ordered : 

"  That  in  all  cases  the  mao^istrates  throup:h  the 
whole  government  are  required  to  do  justice  to 
the  Indians  as  well  as  Christians." 

At  the  same  session  this  Court  of  Assizes,  to 
prevent  if  possible  all  excitement  among  the  Long 
Island  Indians,  ordered,  "  That  the  law  be  ob- 
served which  prohibits  selling  strong  liquors  to 


THE    colonists'    PRECAUTION.  73 

tlie  Indians  in  Yorkshire,  upon  Long  Island  and 
Dependencies." 

*■'  And  that,  pursuant  to  the  law,  the  constables 
of  the  several  towns  take  care  no  powder  or  lead 
be  sold  to  the  Indians,  but  by  them  as  directed, 
or  by  their  consent." 

It  then  became  a  question  of  the  utmost  mo- 
ment how  these  two  great  branches  of  the  Mohe- 
gan  family  should  be  separated,  and  the  branch 
upon  Long  Island  kept  from  uniting  with  that  in 
New  England,  and  the  Court  of  Assizes  at  this 
session  adopted  the  following  regulations  : 

"  Upon  a  proposal  whether  it  will  not  be  con- 
venient at  this  juncture  of  time  of  the  Indians' 
disturbance  to  the  eastward,  to  bring  all  tlie  ca- 
noes on  the  north  side  of  Long  Island  to  this 
place,  or  to  have  them  all  destroyed,  to  prevent 
any  intercourse  with  the  Indians  on  the  main  and 
our  Indians  ;  or  that  these  canoes  be  brought  to 
the  next  towns  and  secured  by  the  officei's  :  It  is 
resolved  that  all  canoes  whatsoever  belonging  to 
Christians  or  Indians  on  the  north  side  of  Long 
Island  to  the  east  of  Hell  Gate,  shall,  within  three 
days  after  the  publication  hereof,  be  brought  to 
the  next  town  and  delivered  into  the  constables' 
(custody,  to  be  laid  up  and  secured  by  them  near 
their  block  houses  ;  and  that  whatever  canoe  shall 
be  found  upon  the  sound  after  that  time  be  de- 
stroyed." 

4 


74  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  enforcing  of  these  regulations  prevented 
the  apprehended  Indian  war  in  this  colony,  and 
secured  the  neutrality  of  the  Long  Island  Indi- 
ans during  the  Indian  war  of  Khig  Philip  in 
New  England. 

CHANGES   IN    THE   ASPECT   OF   THE   COUNTET. 

That  the  greater  part,  if  not  all,  of  this  island 
on  the  south  side  of  the  range  of  hills  called  the 
Backbone  of  Long  Island,  is  that  kind  of  soil 
called  alluvial,  and  has  been  formed  from  the 
ocean's  bed,  must  be  apparent  to  attentive  observ- 
ers of  the  face  of  the  country,  and  its  geological 
formation. 

Several  years  since,  in  di^rsfino;  a  well  on  some 
of  the  highest  ground  in  Brooklyn,  a  hemlock 
board  was  found  at  the  depth  of  thirty  feet ;  and 
again  at  the  depth  of  seventy-three  feet  oyster 
and  clam  shells  were  met  with,  which  crumbled 
on  being  exposed  to  the  air. 

It  is  l)elieved  that  Governor's  Island  and  Red 
Hook  Point,  on  this  island,  were  connected  to- 
gether. It  is  said  to  be  an  established  fact  tliat 
inany  years  since  cattle  were  driven  from  Bed 
Ilook  to  Governor's  Island,  which  places  at  that 
time  were  only  separated  by  a  very  narrow  chan- 
nel, which  is  called  Buttermilk  Channel,  and  is 


THE    BUTTERMILK   CHANNEL.  75 

now  wide  and  deep  enough  to  admit  the  passage 
of  merchant  vessels  of  the  largest  size.  '  Mr. 
Charles  Donghty,  formerly  a  very  respectable  in- 
habitant of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  who  has  been, 
dead  about  twenty-live  years,  and  was  about 
eighty-five  years  of  age  when  he  died,  used  to  say 
that  when  he  was  a  young  man  he  had  been  told 
by  old  people  that  they  recollected  when  an  In- 
dian squaw  waded  from  Governor's  Island  to 
Long  Island  with  her  papoose. 

This  is  rendered  the  more  probable  from  a  state- 
ment we  received  from  a  gentleman  in  the  close 
of  the  year  1846,  now  residing  in  the  city  of 
Xew  York,  who  informed  us,  the  summer  of  1821 
he  crossed  from  the  extensive  flats  south  of  Cor- 
nell's Red  Mills,  and  between  those  Mills  and 
Red  Hook  in  Brooklyn,  to  Governor's  Island,  and 
back  again,  and  that  he  walked  the  whole  dis- 
tance except  about  twenty -five  feet,  which  he  was 
obliged  to  swim.  He  says  he  is  certain  it  was 
not  over  twenty-five  feet,  and  he  thinks  it  was 
less. 

Gravesend,  in  Kings  County,  was  at  its  first  set- 
tlement laid  out  in  streets  crossing  each  other  at 
right  angles  and  intended  for  a  city,  and  had  a 
bold  shore  with  a  good  depth  of  water.  Old  Mr. 
Barry,  an  inhabitant  of  N^ew  Utrecht,  now  (1822) 
eighty-nine  years  of  age,  says  that  he  perfectly 


76  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

recollects  of  old  people  telling  him  when  he  was 
young,  that  they  remembered  when  the  sea  broke 
against  the  land  at  Gravesend,  which  now  breaks 
upwards  of  a  mile  distant ;  the  beach  having  been 
formed  since  that  time,  as  well  as  the  meadow 
between  the  beach  and  the  main  land.  Mr.  Kiit- 
gert  Yan  Brunt,  who  is  now  about  sixty  years  of 
age,  says  that  the  beach  is  decreasing,  and  he 
doubts  not  but  the  time  will  arrive  when  both 
the  beach  and  meadow  will  be  washed  away, 
and  the  sea  again  break  on  the  land. 

In  the  township  of  Flatbush  (which  is  very 
level),  in  sinking  a  well  on  the  place  of  William 
I.  Furman,  Esq.,  distant  about  five  miles  from 
the  Jamaica  Bay,  at  the  depth  of  one  hundred 
feet  two  petrified  clams  were  found,  one  of  which 
appears  to  be  of  the  species  called  sand  clams, 
and  is  in  the  cabinet  of  Judge  Furman  of  l^ew- 
town.  The  other  is  of  the  species  called  the  mud 
chim,  and  is  in  the  possession  of  the  compiler. 

Hempstead  Plains  is  composed  of  small  pebble 
stones,  such  as  are  found  on  the  seashore,  and 
there  is  not  a  stone  larger  than  your  fist,  if  so 
large,  to  be  found  in  all  Hempstead.  All  their 
biiildino:  stone  is  brousfht  from  the  rids^e  of  hills 
before  referred  to  as  the  Backbone  of  Lono' 
Island. 

There  is  a  tradition  (whether  correct  or  not,  I 


OYSTERS    OF    BLUE    POIXT    BAY.  77 

am  unable  to  say)  that  Blue  Point  Bay  Avas  for- 
merly a  swamp,  in  which  wild  allspice  grew  in 
large  quantities ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  oy stern len 
frequently  draw  up  with  their  rakes  decayed  pieces 
of  that  wood.  This  l)ay  was  formerly  famous  for 
its  very  large  and  very  line  oysters. 

The  people  on  this  island  have  a  curious 
account  of  the  disappearance  of  these  oysters. 
They  say,  that  the  poor  people  from  all  the  coun- 
try round  used  to  support  themselves  in  a  great 
measure  by  the  oysters  which  they  took  here  for 
their  owm  consum])tion  and  to  sell.  The  town  of 
Brookhaven,  in  which  the  bay  is  situated,  at  last 
determined  they  would  derive  a  revenue  from 
these  oysters,  and  passed  a  law,  in  town  meeting, 
that  no  one  should  take  them  without  a  license, 
for  which  they  should  pay  a  certain  sum.  This 
was  resisted  for  some  time,  but  at  last  the  town 
raised  a  body  of  armed  men  and  fitted  out  two  or 
three  armed  boats,  and  drove  off  the  poor  people : 
and  that  as  soon  as  this  was  consummated,  not 
an  oyster  was  taken,  the  rakes  brought  up  noth- 
ing but  empty  shells.  And  this  continued  to  be 
the  case  until,  about  1839,  when  the  whole  bottom 
of  the  bay,  for  some  feet  in  thickness,  was  found  to 
be  covered  with  young  oysters  about  the  size  of  a 
dollar,  which  the  poor  now  take  up  in  great  quan- 
tities.    A  similar  circumstance  also  occurred  in 


78  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITLES. 

Southampton  Bay.  The  town  there  laid  a  tax  on 
the  taking  of  oysters  by  the  poor  people,  and  the 
oysters  which  were  before  very  abundant  at  once 
disappeared.  And  the  people,  to  this  day,  in 
both  instances,  say  that  God  killed  the  oysters 
because  they  would  not  let  the  poor  have  them. 

The  town  of  Southampton  seems  to  have  been 
anxious  to  secure  that  and  similar  powers  to 
themselves  beyond  the  possibility  of  dispute, 
and  although  they  claimed  to  exercise  them  as  a 
corporation,  under  their  charter  from  Governor 
Dongan  in  1686,  yet  they  sought  a  confirmation  of 
them  under  an  act  of  the  State  Legislature,  declar- 
ing the  powers  and  duties  of  "  the  trustees  of 
the  freeholders  and  commonalty  of  the  town  of 
Southampton,"  passed  April  25,  1831,  which  act 
declares  that  they  "  are  and  shall  continue  to  be 
a  corporation,"  to  be  elected  at  the  annual  town 
meeting.  And  it  further  provides  that,  "  the 
said  trustees  shall  have  the  sole  control  over  all 
the  fisheries,  fowling,  seaweed,  waters  and  pro- 
ductions of  the  waters,  within  said  town,  not  the 
property  of  individuals,  and  all  the  property, 
connnodities,  privileges  and  franchises  granted  to 
them  by  the  charter  of  Governor  Dongan  in  1686, 
except  so  far  as  abrogated,  changed  and  altei-ed 
by  the  laws  of  this  State,  passed  in  conformity  to 
the  Constitution,  and  not  now  belonging  to  indi- 


CHANGES    IN    THE    SHORE    OF    THE    ISLAND.  79 

viduals  nor  to  tlie  proprietors,  by  virtue  of  an 
act  entitled  '  an  act  relative  to  the  common  and 
undivided  lands  and  marshes  in  Southampton,  in 
the  County  of  Suffolk,'  passed  April  15,  1818  ; " 
and  also  gives  them  authority  to  make  rules  and 
bye-laws  in  the  premises,  under  penalties  not  to 
exceed  fifty  dollars  for  any  one  offence,  to  be 
sued  for  and  recovered  by  said  trustees.  We 
never  before  saw  a  charter  so  loosely  referred  to 
in  an  act  or  public  document ;  not  even  its  date, 
or  the  full  name  of  the  Governor,  is  given ;  we 
should  think  from  this  that  the  charter  itself  is 
not  in  existence. 

Mr.  John  Yelsor,  who  lives  about  two  miles 
southwest  of  Cold  Spring  Harbor  in  0/ster  Bay, 
in  digging  a  well  some  years  since,  at  the  depth 
of  one  hundred  and  ten  feet,  found  part  of  a  tree 
about  four  feet  in  length  and  several  inches  in 
diameter,  entire,  with  the  usual  marks  distinct, 
but  which  soon  decayed  on  its  being  exposed  to 
the  open  air. — See  Wood's  Geograiyhy  of  Hun- 
tington. 

The  shores  of  Loner  Island  have  undergone 
frequent,  and  at  times  very  rapid,  changes. 
This  arises  from  their  consisting  of  a  loose  sand- 
beacli  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  waves  of  the 
ocean.  In  the  case  of  Nicoll  vs.  the  Trustees 
of  Huntington,  tried  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  of 


80  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

this  State,  in  1814,  the  following  testimony  was 
given  :  Jacob  Seaman  says  that  about  fifty  years 
ago  the  ocean  broke  through  the  beach,  betw^een 
Fire  Island  Gut  and  Gilgo  Gut,  with  great  vio- 
lence, and  formed  what  was  called  Cedar  Island 
Gut,  but  w^hich  in  a  few  years  w^as  filled  up  and 
gone.  Isaac  Thompson  speaks  also,  but  loosely,  of 
a  gut  called  Huntington  Gut,  between  Cedar  and 
Oak  Islands,  now  disappeared  ;  and  he  says  that 
within  his  memory  the  water  has  several  times 
broke  through  the  beach,  and  that  the  inlets  after- 
wards closed  up.  John  Arthur  says  he  lias 
always  undei^tood  from  a  boy  (he  said  this  in 
1770,  and  was  then  seventy-four  years  old)  that 
Fire  Island  inlet  broke  through  after  Nicoll  set- 
tled there  (which  was  in  1688),  and  that  it  used 
to  be  called  the  New  Gut. 

Eichard  Udall  says  that  old  Mr.  AVillis  told 
him  that  he  had  been  informed  by  his  ancestors 
that  Fire  Island  Gut  broke  tln-ough  in  the  winter 
of  1690  or  1691,  in  a  storm.  The  Chancellor 
said  tliat  this  Gut  w^as  a  passage  for  the  priva- 
teers during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

About  a  century  ago,  the  father  of  Samuel 
Jones,  the  late  Chancellor  of  this  State,  accom- 
panied some  old  people,  he  being  then  a  boy,  to 
the  south  side  of  this  island,  to  view  a  new  inlet 
which  had  then  just  broke  through  the  beach  dur- 


FORMATION    OF    JONES     INLET.  81 

ing  a  very  heavy  storm.  This  inlet  was  afterwards 
known  as  "  Jones  inlet,"  and  was  in  Oyster  Bay 
south.  When  they  came  to  the  spot  it  was  low 
water,  and  where  the  sand  was  washed  away 
they  discovered  a  meadow  soil  very  many  feet 
below  high- water  mark,  and  which  had,  appar- 
ently, been  covered  by  the  beach  sands  for  many 
ages.  The  most  extraordinary  fact  connected 
with  it  was,  that  on  this  meadow  soil  they  found 
the  tracks  of  cloven-footed  animals,  which  it  was 
impossible  could  have  been  made  after  the  inlet 
was  washed  through,  for  they  could  not  by  any 
means  get  there,  and  which  they  supposed  at  the 
time  were  buffaloes'  tracks,  there  having  been  no 
neat  cattle  on  this  island  at  the  period  when 
they  thought  those  tracks  must  have  been  made. 
At  which  period  the  large  expanse  of  water 
between  the  outer  beach,  through  which  the  inlet 
was  formed,  and  the  mainland  must  have  been  an 
extensive  meadow,  exhibiting  a  most  extraordin- 
ary change. 

This  inlet  is  now  nearly  closed,  and  it  is  proba- 
ble that  in  a  few  years  it  will  again  be  a  sand 
beach.  For  a  long  time  after  it  was  thus  opened 
it  was  navigable  for  small  schooners.  On  the 
north  side  of  this  island,  in  the  town  of  Oyster 
Bay,  Queens  County,  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  upland,  is  a  small  island  of  salt-mea- 
4* 


82  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

dow  called  Squaw'^s  Island.  There  is  now  be- 
tAveen  it  and  the  main  meadow  a  channel  which 
is  navio-able  for  the  small  schooners  which  usu- 
ally  navigate  the  bays  and  inlets  of  Long  Island, 
and  which  at  the  lowest  water  is  too  deep  for  a 
man  to  wade  across.  The  tradition  is,  that  it  ac- 
quired its  name  from  the  fact  that  when  the  In- 
dians inhalnted  this  part  of  the  country,  the 
squaws  were  accustomed  to  wade  across  this  chan- 
nel, which  was  then  very  shallow,  with  their  pa- 
pooses on  their  backs,  to  this  small  island,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  clams  on  the  flats  and  sand 
bars  which  were  around  it. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  shell  banks  on 
this  main  meadow,  on  the  banks  of  the  creeks^ 
many  of  which  shell  banks  are  from  five  to  six 
rods  in  length.  They  are  formed  principally  of 
clam  shells,  many  of  which,  from  the  great  length 
of  time  they  have  lain  there,  are  broken  up  quite 
fine.  They  form  an  excellent  manure  foi*  land, 
and  from  these  beds  have  been  carted  many 
thousands  of  wagon-loads  for  that  purpose,  and 
they  still  continue  to  use  them. 

The  laro-est  of  the  shell  banks  in  this  county 
are  situated  in  a  southerly  direction  below  Mer- 
rick, on  a  creek  in  Hempstead  Township.  The 
inhabitants  have  been  digging  for  very  many 
years  from  these  banks,  and  say  they  have  never 


THE    GREAT    SOUTH    BEACH.  83 

as  yet  come  to  the  bottom  of  tliem.  Thousands 
and  thousands  of  loads  have  been  taken  away, 
and  still  remains  a  sufficient  quantity  for  many 
generations. 

The  best  wampum  is  formed  of  the  heart  of 
the  clam  shell,  and  even  at  this  day  wampum  is 
manufactured  on  this  island  to  be  sent  to  the 
Indians  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories 
for  the  purposes  both  of  a  circulating  medium 
and  of  conventions  and  treaties.  In  the  summer 
of  1S31,  several  bushels  of  wampum  were  brought 
from  Babylon,  on  this  island,  and  the  person  who 
had  them  stated  that  he  had  procured  them  for 
an  Indian  trader,  and  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
supplying  them.  This  wampum  was  bored,  but 
not  strung. 

Extraordinary  changes — extraordinary  in  their 
extent  and  character — are  frequently  occurring 
upon  Long  Island ;  and  especially  upon  that  part 
of  it  known  as  the  Great  South  Beach,  extend- 
ing from  Southampton  to  Sandy  Hook.  At  that 
part  known  as  Fire  Island,  one  of  these  changes 
has  happened  within  the  last  few  years,  and  is 
still  in  progress.  This  island,  at  the  southerly 
end,  where  the  channel  of  the  inlet  is,  is  contin- 
ually washing  away,  and  the  channel  continually 
progressing  slowly  to  the  northward  ;  while  the 
beach  on  the  opjiosite  side  of  the  inlet  is  as  con- 


84  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

tinually  receiving  additions  to  it,  the  effect  of 
which  has  been  snch  tliat,  where  forty  3'ears  ago 
there  was  depth  of  water  sufficient  to  navigate  one 
of  the  coasting  schooners  that  trade  along  the  south 
side  of  Long  Island,  is  now  a  solid  sand  bea(;h,  in 
some  places  elevated  from  twenty  to  twenty-fivo 
feet  above  the  ordinary  wash  of  the  ocean. 

The  northei'n  extremity  of  Fire  Island  has 
within  that  period  received  an  addition  of  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  acres;  and  what  is  still 
more  curious  is,  that  this  new-made  ground, 
which,  forty  years  ago,  was  under  the  waves  of  the 
ocean,  is  now  covered  with  a  scrnbby  white  oak 
tree,  and  there  are  no  trees  of  the  kind  at  any 
other  place  witliin  many  miles  of  that  spot.  How 
did  they  come  there  ?  Some  will  say  tlie  seed 
was  carried  there  by  birds.  But  if  that  be  so, 
why  do  we  not  find  some  other  trees  and  plants 
there ;  the  birds  do  not  live  alone  upon  the  seed 
of  the  scrub  white  oak,  and  the  soil  is  quite  as 
well  adapted  for  the  growth  of  several  other 
kinds  of  plants  as  it  is  for  that  species  of  tree? 
But  that  is  not  the  explanation  of  that  phenome- 
non. The  earth  is  filled,  even  under  the  sea, 
and  at  very  great  depths,  with  the  seeds  of  nu- 
merous trees  and  plants,  which  will  retain  their 
germinating  properties  for  an  indefinite  period 
of  time  ;  and  it  may  even  be  from  a  period  an- 


ISRAEL   CAELl's    WELL.  85 

terior  to  the  great  deluge ;  and  they  require  only 
to  be  brought  up  to  within  a  certain  depth  of 
the  surface  to  have  the  vivifying  principles  of 
the  sun  and  air  to  operate  upon  tliem  to  develop 
those  germinating  properties. 

This  continual  progressing  of  the  beach  and 
inlets  from  south  to  north  affords  the  oppcM'tuni- 
ties,  at  long  intervals  of  time,  of  tlie  land  becom- 
ing submerged  by  the  ocean,  with  all  its  seeds  of 
trees  and  plants  in  it,  and  of  being  cast  up  again 
to  reproduce  them. 

That  seeds  will  retain  their  power  of  germi- 
nating wlien  not  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat, 
is  within  the  knowledge  of  gi-eat  numbers  of 
people,  who  often  see  it  without  thinkiiig  at  all 
about  it.  Kot  to  refer  to  the  instance  of  the 
Egyptian  wheat,  which  after  being  buried  with 
a  mummy  in  air-tight  enclosure,  for  a  period  of 
three  thousand  years,  was  found  to  germinate 
and  grow  well,  and  is  now  cultivated  in  many 
parts  of  Europe,  and  also  in  this  country;  you 
may  dig  down  a  hill  of  mere  sand,  fifty  or  an 
hundred  feet,  and  the  year  subsequent  to  the  ex- 
posure of  this  new  surface  to  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere,  it  will  be  covered  with  a  growth  of 
plants  and  grasses  peculiar  to  itself.  Some  years 
since,  Israel  Carll,  Esq.,  of  Suffolk  County,  hav- 
ing a  large  number  of  young  cattle,  which  he 


86  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

kept  in  an  extensive  pasture  by  themselves,  find- 
ing it  very  inconvenient  to  his  herdsmen  to  drive 
them  some  distance  for  water,  determining  to 
sink  a  well  on  that  pasture  lot,  near  its  centre, 
did  so.  They  obtained  water  sufficient  at  the 
depth  of  about  forty  feet ;  but  several  feet  before 
obtaining  that  depth,  they  passed  through  noth- 
ing but  gravel ;  this  gravel  was  spread  out  in  a 
circle  around  the  well  at  a  regular  declination 
from  it  on  every  side.  The  summer  of  the  second 
season,  after  digging  that  well,  the  circle  thus 
covered  with  that  gravel  stood  as  thick  with  a 
luxuriant  crop  of  white  clover  as  possible,  and 
not  a  blade  of  that  grass  could  be  seen  in  any 
other  part  of  that  field.  We  have  heard  Mr. 
Carll  say,  that  he  could  stand  at  his  well  and 
point  out  the  circle  in  which  that  gravel  was 
strewn  by  the  circle  formed  by  that  white  clover, 
none  of  it  being  seen  beyond  the  line  of  the 
gravel.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  sense  and 
much  observation,  and  at  once  explained  this 
phenomenon  by  stating,  that  the  seeds  of  the 
white  clover  had  been  buried  in  the  earth  among 
this  gravel  to  the  depth  of  between  thirty  and 
forty  feet;  and  that  when  the  gravel  was  thus 
cast  up  and  spread,  the  germinating  principle  of 
the  seeds  was  brought  into  activity,  which  had 
before  been  dormant  for  a  Ion 2^  and  an  indefinite 
j)oriod  of  time. 


.     SAND   BATHS    OF   FIKE    ISLAND.  87 

This  Fire  Island  is  a  place  of  great  resort  in 
the  pleasant  season  of  the  year,  both  for  the 
sportsman,  the  pleasure  seeker  and  the  valetudi- 
narian. The  latter  go  there  in  search  of  relief 
from  the  healthful  breezes  of  the  ocean ;  and 
those  affected  with  rheumatic  complaints  to  en- 
joy the  benefit  of  the  sand-bath.  The  patient  if 
able  to  help  himself  walks,  otherwise  he  is  car- 
ried down  to  the  beach  just  as  the  water  is  fall- 
ing ;  and  four  or  five  feet  above  the  water-line, 
a  hole  is  excavated  large  enough  to  bury  him,  all 
but  the  head,  and  the  right  arm  if  that  is  not 
affected  is  left  out.  He  then  strips  his  clothes 
and  gets  into  the  hole  and  is  covered  over  with 
the  sand.'  Yery  soon  he  is  in  a  profuse  perspira- 
tion, and  continues  so  as  long  as  he  remains  thus 
covered ;  they  are  advised  not  to  continue  in  this 
bath  longer  than  fifteen  minutes,  the  action  is  so 
violent ;  but  ver^^  few  would  be  willing  to  con- 
tinue even  that  time,  unless  it  was  deemed  neces- 
sary, the  heat  is  so  great,  and  the  pricking  sensa- 
tion through  the  limbs  so  intense.  There  is  no 
instance,  I  believe,  where  it  has  been  used  with- 
out effecting  a  cure.  It  is  necessary  to  be  very 
careful  and  to  go  warmly  clad  for  a  day  or  two 
after  taking  this  sand-bath,  because  the  pores  of 
the  body  are  so  open,  and  the  whole  system  so 
relaxed,  that  they  would  be  very  liable  to  take  a 


88  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

severe  cold,  and  to  be  again  laid  up  with  their 
old  complaint  much  worse  than  they  had  it 
before. 

We  heard  a  gentleman  about  sixty  years  old 
say,  that  he  had  been  much  troubled  with  rheu- 
matism so  that  he  could  scarcely  move.  He 
went  down  to  Fire  Island  and  tried  this  sand- 
bath,  and  was  at  once  relieved.  But  that  was 
not  all :  he  said  the  next  day  he  felt  in  such  spir- 
its and  so  Hght,  that  he  was  continually  wanting 
to  jump  and  skip  like  a  boy. 

A  ver}'  striking  alteration  in  the  coast  since 
the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  is  mentioned 
in  Smith's  History  of  New  Jersey  (see  page  58). 
But  as  this  does  not  refer  particularly  to  Long 
Island,  we  only  mention  it. 

The  State  Legislature  found  it  necessary,  very 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  contest, 
to  make  provision  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Great  South  Beach  of  Long  Island.  And  on  the 
24th  of  April,  1784,  they  passed  an  act  to  pre- 
vent feeding  the  grass,  or  burning  it,  or  cutting 
the  timber,  "on  any  of  the  beaches  or  islands 
lying  between  a  certain  gut  or  inlet,  called 
Mastick  Gut,  to  the  eastward,  and  another  certain 
gut  or  inlet  called  Huntington  West  Gut,  to  the 
westward,"  under  the  penalty  of  five  pounds  to 
any  one  who  would   sue  for  it,  to   their   own 


THE    GREAT    SOUTH    BEACH.  89 

proper  use.  The  reason  of  this  enactment  was, 
that  the  sand  forming  those  beaches  and  isLmds 
is  so  loose,  and  the  particles  have  so  little  adhe- 
sion to  each  other,  tliat  if  the  grass  is  remove  1, 
either  by  cattle  eating  it,  or  by  burning  it,  or  the 
tind3er  is  cut  off  so  that  the  surface  is  exposed  to 
the  action  of  the  terrible  gales  of  wind  which 
often  blow  there,  the  beach  or  island  would  soon 
blow  away  to  near  the  water-level,  and  then  very 
soon  after  be  washed  away  hj  the  sea  in  a  storm. 
With  the  same  view  the  State  Legislature 
again,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1831,  passed  "  An 
act  respecting  the  Great  South  Beach  of  Long 
Island,"  by  which  they  authorize  any  three  or 
more  persons  owning,  or  thereafter  to  own,  "  that 
part  of  the  Great  South  Beach  on  the  south  side 
of  Long  Island,  in  the  County  of  Suffolk,  lying 
between  the  South  Bay  on  the  north  and  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  south,  and  extending  from 
the  United  States  line  near  the  light-house  at 
Fire  Island,  on  the  west,  easterly  to  Ilorsefoot 
Creek,"  to  maintain  suits  at  law  or  in  equity  in 
their  own  names,  in  behalf  of  themselves  and  all 
other  joint  owners  and  tenants  in  common  of  the 
premises,  for  any  injury  done  thereto,  or  for  the 
protection  of  the  rights  of  the  owners  thereof. 
But  this  act  provides  that  nothing  in  it  "  shall  au- 
thorize any  suit  to  be  brought,  as  herein  provided, 


00  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

against  aii}^  person  or  persons  who  shall  come  or 
remain  iijDon  the  premises  aforesaid  for  the  pur- 
pose of  rendering  assistance  to  any  vessels  driven 
ashore,  or  wrecked,  or  to  any  persons  or  property 
in  such  vessels,  or  to  secure  any  property  driven 
ashore." 

Again,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1834,  they  found  it 
necessary  to  pass  another  "  Act  to  preserve  the 
grass  on  part  of  the  South  Beach  in  the  County 
of  Suffolk,"  which  part  they  defined  to  be  that 
lying  between  Ilorsefoot  Creek^  otherwise  called 
Long  Cove  J  on  the  west,  and  Smith's  inlet  on  the 
east.  The  object  of  this  act  was  to  protect  the 
grass  on  a  still  greater  extent  of  the  South  Beach, 
and  on  a  part  not  included  in  the  act  of  April  21, 
1831  ;  the  proprietors  having  experienced  the 
beneficial  effects  of  that  act  upon  that  portion 
comprised  within  its  operation.  Timber  is  not 
protected  by  this  last  act,  because  there  is  none 
upon  this  last  mentioned  extent  of  the  South 
Beach. 

Under  this  head,  referring  more  particularly  to 
the  natural  history  of  Long  Island  than  any 
otlier,  we  have  thought  it  best  to  introduce  the 
following  interesting  facts  connected  with  the 
early  history  of  this  island  : 

In  the  year  1762,  no  rain  fell  on  this  island  or 
in  the  city  of  New  York  from  early  in  the  month 


THE    AGRICULTURAL    SOCIETY.  91 

of  May  until  November  ;  and  this  is  recorded  as 
the  most  remarkable  drought  ever  known  in  this 
collntr^^  It  of  course  caused  great  distress  not 
only  upon  this  island  but  throughout  the  province 
of  N'ew  York,  as  Long  Island  then  produced 
more  of  the  means  of  human  sustenance  than  all 
the  rest  of  the  province  put  together;  and  it  was 
this  unlooked-for  event  which  probably  gave 
birth  to  the  first  association  established  in  this 
colony  for  improving  its  agriculture.  A  society 
mainly  for  that  purpose,  but  also  embracing 
within  its  scope  the  encouragement  of  domestic 
industry  and  manufactures,  was  formed  in  the 
city  of  Ts^ew  York  the  following  year,  1763,  em- 
bracino'  the  most  talented  and  distino^uished  nien 
of  the  colony.  We  have  now  before  us  the  cir- 
cular issued  by  that  association  upon  its  organi- 
zation, signed  in  their  proper  handwriting,  by 
William  Smith,  the  historian  of  New  York;  John 
Morin  Scott,  afterwards  major-general  in  the 
Continental  Army ;  James  Duane,  the  celebrated 
banker,  and  others.  At  a  meeting  of  this  society 
held  in  the  city  of  New  York  on  the  21st  of 
December,  1767,  ten  pounds  premium  was 
awarded  to  Thomas  Young  of  Oyster  Bay,  on 
Long  Island,  for  a  nursery  of  27,123  apple 
trees.  And  at  the  same  meeting  the  fact  was  es- 
tablished to  the  satisfaction  of  the  society  that 


93  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Joshua  Clark  and  Francis  Furnier,  both  of  Suf- 
folk County,  had  been  very  successful  in  setting 
out  the  grape,  and  making  it  grow  in  the  eastern 
part  of  this  island ;  that  from  the  year  1762,  to 
the  first  day  of  April,  1767,  Clark  had  set  out 
three  thousand  two  hundred  grap)e  vines,  and 
Furnier  had  set  out  fifteen  hundred  and  fifty-one 
grape  vines — the  description  of  these  grapes  is 
not  stated.  The  society  had  not  offered  any 
premium  for  raising  the  grape,  no  one  then  be- 
lieving it  possible  to  do  so  with  any  success,  they 
having  already  forgotten  that  their  Dutch  ances- 
tors in  and  about  New  York  had,  at  the  early 
settlement  of  the  colony,  been  very  successful  in 
th*eir  attempt  to  introduce  the  vine ;  and  having 
no  discretionary  premium  at  their  command,  they 
did  the  next  best  thing  in  their  power — they  gave 
Messrs.  Clark  and  Furnier  certificates  of  the  fact, 
commending  them  to  the  favorable  notice  of  a 
similar  association  then  existing  in  England,  at 
London,  which  had  among  their  more  extended 
list  of  premiums,  offered  one  or  more  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  grape. 

That  the  vine  was  cultivated  in  l^ew  IN'ether- 
land,  we  have  the  evidence  of  Yanderdonck,  in  his 
history,  who  tells  us  that  several  persons  in  this 
colony  had  vineyards  and  "  wine  hills "  under 
cultivation ;  and  also  that   "  Providence  blessed 


ANCIENT   FORTIFICATIONS   AND    REMAINS.  93 

their  labours  with  success,  by  affording  fruit  ac- 
cording to  the  most  favorable  expectation."  They 
introduced  foreign  grape  stocks,  and  induced 
men  to  come  over  from  Heidelberg,  who  were 
vine-dressers,  for  the  purpose  of  attending  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  vineyards  and  the  manufacture 
of  wine. 

ANCIENT   FORTIFICATIONS    AND   REMAINS. 

The  most  ancient  fortification  on  this  island  is 
one  on  Fort  Neck,  which  was  garrisoned  by  the 
Indians  in  1653,  and  taken  from  them  by  the 
English,  under  the  command  of  Captain  John 
Underhill,  during  that  year.  The  storming  of 
this  fort  was  the  only  battle  between  the  English 
and  Indians  on  this  island. 

On  the  subject  of  this  fortification,  or  rather 
these  fortifications,  for  there  were  more  than  one 
of  them,  Samuel  Jones,  Esq.,  of  Oyster  Bay  South, 
on  this  island,  addresses  a  letter  to  John  Pintard, 
Esq.,  Secretary  of  the  New  York  Historical  So- 
ciety, enclosing  the  following  memoranda,  writ- 
ten by  him  in  the  year  1S12  (see  Collections  of 
New  York  Hist.  Society,  vol.  3). 

"  When  this  part  of  Long  Island  was  first  set- 
tled by  the  Europeans  they  found  two  fortifica- 
tions in  this  neighborhood,  upon  a  neck  of  land 


94  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

ever  since  called,  from  that  circumstance,  Fort 
Keck.  One  of  them,  the  remains  of  which  are 
yet  very  conspicuous,  is  on  the  southernmost 
point  of  land  on  the  neck,  adjoining  the  salt 
meadow.  It  is  nearly,  if  not  exactly  a  square, 
each  side  of  which  is  about  thirty  yards  in  length. 
The  breastwork  or  parapet  is  of  earth  ;  and  there 
is  a  ditch  on  the  outside  which  appears  to  have 
been  about  six  feet  wide.  The  other  was  on  the 
southernmost  point  of  the  Salt  Meadow,  adjoining 
the  Bay,  and  consisted  of  palisadoes  set  in  the 
meadow.  The  tide  has  worn  away  the  meadow 
where  the  fort  stood,  and  the  place  is  now  part 
of  the  bay  and  covered  with  water ;  but  my 
father  lias  often  told  me,  that  in  his  memory,  part 
of  the  palisadoes  were  standing." 

This  last  described  work  was  a  true  Indian  fort, 
as  is  shown  by  all  the  plates  and  sketches  of  snch 
works  accompanying  Smith's  History  of  Vir- 
ginia, De  Bry's  Voyages^  and  all  the  early  works 
on  this  country ;  but  no  instance  has  ever  been 
shown  of  the  Koilh  American  Indians  having, 
either  in  ancient  or  modern  times,  erected  for  the 
purposes  of  defence,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  a 
four-square  fort  of  earth,  with  regular  walls  and 
ditch,  or  such  a  work  of  such  materials  in  any 
other  form.  When  the  ancient  fortifications,  and 
other  erections  of  this  character,  scattered  over 


ANCIENT    FOKTIFICATIONS    AND    KE^NIAINS.  95 

onr  country,  first  attracted  public  attention,  they 
were,  without  any  examination,  or  much  thought, 
attributed  to  the  Indians,  and  were  called  Indian 
FuHs  j  for  then  no  idea  existed  in  the  niiuds  of 
any  that  there  had  ever  been,  at  any  time,  any 
other  people  upon  this  continent  but  the  Indians 
and  the  modern  European  settlers.  With  this 
belief  evidently  operating  upon  his  mind,  Mr. 
Jones  regards  these  fortifications  upon  Fort  ISTeck 
as  a  strong  proof  that  the  extensive  and  syste- 
matic works  of  the  AVest  (some  of  which  Carver, 
himself  a  military  officer,  in  his  travels,  charac- 
terizes as  evincing  a  skill  in  engineering  that 
would  not  have  discredited  even  Yauban)  were 
erected  by  our  aborigines.  lie  seems  not  to  have 
seen  any  of  these  ancient  Western  works,  or  his 
error  would  have  been  apparent  to  him  at  once ; 
and  he  would  have  realized  the  utter  impossibility 
of  keeping  together  a  sufficient  number  of  people, 
who,  like  the  Indians,  subsist  by  the  chase,  the 
length  of  time  that  must  have  been  required  for 
the  erection  of  those  fortifications.  This  fact, 
together  with  their  character  and  the  ability 
manifested  in  tlieir  construction,  have  satisfied 
all  who  have  visited  them,  and  reasoned  in  the 
least  degree  upon  the  question  involved  in  their 
existence,  that  they  are  the  results  of  the  labor 
of  a  race  of  men  who  were  numerous  in  popula- 


£6  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

tion,  and  who  subsisted  by  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil. 

All  this  view  of  the  case  brings  us  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  two  forts  upon  Fort  Neck  were 
constructed  at  different  periods  of  time,  and  it 
may  be  far  remote  from  each  other ;  tliat  the  one 
first  described,  regular  in  its  form,  and  built  of 
earth,  was  the  work  of  a  people  entirely  different 
in  the  modes  of  living  and  in  other  respects 
from  the  aboriginal  race  found  here  by  our  fore- 
fathers ;  and  the  last  described  work  was  a  true  In- 
dian fort,  such  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of  build- 
ing long  before  the  European  settlement  of  this 
hemisphere,  and  which  they  continued  to  erect 
long  after  that  event ;  and  that  the  two  have  only 
been  confounded  together  from  the  want  of  the 
proper  knowledge  to  enable  us  to  discriminate 
between  them. 

There  are  many  remains  of  fortifications  erected 
by  the  Americans  and  English  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war ;  the  most  of  them  are  in  the  town 
of  Brooklyn,  on  the  west  end  of  the  island.  In 
1782,  a  fortification  was  erected  in  the  centre  of 
the  public  burying-ground  of  Huntington,  by 
Colonel  Thompson  (since  Count  Rumford),  who 
commanded  the  British  troops  there  at  that  time. 
Throughout  the  island  are  scattered  relics  of  the 
aborigines.    At  Bergen's  Island,  in  Kings  County, 


ANCIENT    FORTIFICATIONS    AND    REMAINS.  97 

an  excellent  road  has  l)een  formed  of  clam-shells 
and  oyster  shells.  At  Maspeth  Kills,  in  Queens 
County,  Indian  corn-grinders,  axes,  and  arrow- 
heads have  been  frequently  ploughed  up.  In  Suf- 
folk County  there  are  numerous  shell  banks  and 
other  remains,  as  axes,  arrow-heads,  etc.  The 
shell  banks  in  the  western  towns  of  Suffolk 
County  are  much  larger  and  more  numerous 
than  in  the  eastern  towns,  where  shell-fish  are  as 
abundant,  which  pi-oves  that  the  western  part  of 
the  island  had  been  the  longest  settled,  and  that 
the  Indian  emigration  proceeded  from  west  to 
east. — See  Wood^s  History/. 

Among  other  ancient  remains  may  be  reckoned 
the  two  venerable  oak-trees  at  Flushing,  in 
Queens  County,  under  the  shade  of  which  the 
famous  George  Fox  preached  in  the  year  1672. 
I  visited  these  trees,  August  4th,  1825,  in  com- 
pany with  Messrs.  Spooner  and  Bruce,  and  as- 
sisted Mr.  Bruce  in  measuring  them,  which  we 
did  around  the  trunk,  six  feet  from  the  ground. 
We  found  one  to  be  thirteen  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence, and  the  other  to  be  twelve  feet  four  inches 
in  circumference. 

In   the   month  of   July,   1841,  eleven   human 

skeletons  were  unearthed  in  excavating  the  ground 

to  run   a  road   through  the  LinnoBU   Garden,  at 

Fhishing,  in  Q.ieens  County.     The  place  where 

5 


98  -  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

they  were  found  has  been  for  fifty  years  used  as  a 
horticultural  nursery.  They  were  within  a  circle 
of  thirty  feet,  their  heads  all  lay  to  the  east,  and 
some  nails  and  musket-balls  were  found  with  them. 
Conjecture  has  been  foiled  in  speculating  upon  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  w^ere  inhumed. 

In  the  Tillage  of  Brooklyn,  in  Kings  County, 
upon  Long  Island  (1826)  is  a  barren  sand  hill 
which  exhibits  many  interesting  curiosities  to  the 
antiquary  as  well  as  the  natural  philosopher. 
This  hill  scarcely  affords  support  for  even  the 
coarsest  and  most  hardy  kind  of  grass,  but  on  the 
top  of  it  are  three  old  Buttonwood  or  plane  trees, 
and  on  each  side  of  it  the  hills  are  covered  witli 
verdure.  The  surface  of  this  sand  hill,  which  is 
about  seveiity  feet  high,  is  covered  w^ith  stones, 
many  of  which  are  completely  vitrified,  and 
others  nearly  decomposed,  l)y  the  action  of  fire ; 
and  about  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  in  some  places 
between  three  and  four  feet,  below  the  surface  is 
a  distinct  layer  or  stratum  of  ashes  and  cinders, 
interspersed  with  pieces  of  coarse  earthenware 
and  the  stone  heads  of  Indian  arrows.  Among 
the  other  articles  found  here  have  been  the  rem- 
nants of  rough  tobacco  pipes  formed  of  clay,  and 
we  have  had  in  our  possession  one  of  these  to- 
bacco pipes  almost  entire,  which  we  found  in  the 
sand   on   this   hill.      The   oldest  inhabitants   of 


ANCIENT   FORTIFICATIONS   AND    REMAINS. 


99 


Brooklyn  have  no  tradition  that  there  was  ever 
any  building  erected  on  this  spot.     For  a  long 

w 


HAMILTON  STREET. 


time  previous  to  the  American  Kevolutionary 
war,  it  constituted  part  of  the  farm  of  the  Ka- 
palye  family. 


100  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  preceding  diagram  will  show  the  situa- 
tion of  this  hill  with  reference  to  the  streets  of 
the  village  of  Brooklyn,  as  they  are  laid  out 
upon  the  village  map,  and  intended  hereafter  to 
be  opened. 

This  sand-hill  extended  beyond  and  east  of 
Bridge  street,  which  was  dug  through  it  nearly 
at  its  highest  elevation ;  but  the  part  exhibiting 
the  appearances  above  described,  and  containing 
the  articles  above-mentioned  as  having  been 
found,  is  that  bounded  by  Jay  street,  Front  street, 
Bridge  street  and  York  street.  Similar  remains 
may  have  existed  to  some  extent  east  of  Bridge 
street,  but  the  examination  was  not  made  there. 

FOUNDATION  OF    CHUKCHES. 

The  first  church  founded  on  this  island  was 
Congregational  or  Preshyterian,  and  w^as  built 
by  the  English  at  Southampton  in  1645.  In 
16S0,  the  salary  of  the  minister  of  that  church 
(Rev.  Joseph  Whiting)  was  £100.  Congregational 
or  Presbyterian  churches  were  founded  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  this  island  at  the  following  times. 
The  first  church  in  Hempstead  was  also  raised  in 
lG-15,  but  not  completed  until  1648.  It  was  a 
four-square  edifice,  like  some  of  the  early  churches 
in  the  Kew  England  towns.     Their  first  minister 


THE    DUTCH    REFORMED    CHURCHES.  101 

was  the  Rev.  Richard  Denton,  the  father  of  the 
first  historian  of  Xew  York.     Cotton  Mather  de 
scribes  this  Rev.  Mr.  Denton  as  "  a  little  man,  yet 
he  had  a  great  soul ;  liis  well  accomplislicd  mind 
in  his  lesser  body  was  an  Iliad  in  a  nnt-shell,'' 

Salary  of  the  minister  in  1682  (Jeremiah  IIo- 
bart),  £66,  14s.  Od. 

At  East  Hampton  in  1651.  Salary  of  the 
minister  in  1659  (Thomas  James),  £60. 

The  church  in  East  Hampton,  finished  in  the 
year  1717,  being  the  second  one  built  in  tliat 
town,  \vas,  when  erected,  the  largest  and  liaiid- 
somest  building  of  the  kind  on  this  island,  and 
it  is  still  a  noble  structure  ;  althougli  more  than 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years  old,  it  promises  to 
continue  in  use  for  very  many  years  to  come.  It 
had,  what  is  not  very  common,  a  sccoiid  gallery, 
and  was  furnished  with  a  bell  and  a  clock  more 
than  one  hundred  years  ago. 

At  Jamaica  in  1662.  Salary  of  the  minister 
in  1663  (Zachariah  AValker),  £60. 

At  Huntington  in  1665.  The  first  minister  of 
this  church  w^as  William  Leveridge.  These 
churches  weie  not  large  buildings,  in  consequence 
of  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  proper  materials. 

The  first  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  County 
of  Kings  dates  its  foundation  no  further  back 
than  the  year  1822.     It  was  established  in  the 


102  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

village  of  Brooklyn,  and  incorporated  on  the  13th 
of  March,  1822,  under  the  name  of  the  "  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Brooklyn,"  and  placed 
under  the  government  of  nine  trustees.  The 
corner-stone  of  the  first  church  edifice  was  laid 
on  the  15th  of  April,  1822.  The  church  is  of 
brick,  and  stands  on  Cranberry  sti-eet.  When  it 
Avas  erected,  a  large  portion  of  the  ground  in  the 
innnediate  vicinity  was  vacant  lots';  Orange,  the 
next  street  south  of  Cranberry  street,  w^as  only 
opened  a  short  distance  ;  and  the  ground  south  of 
it  was  in  large  lots,  used  for  agricultural  purposes, 
surrounded  by  posts  and  rail  fences.  Hicks  street 
was  opened  up  to  the  northerly  line  of  Clark 
street,  wdiere  a  fdnce  crossed  it.  Henry  street 
was  partially  opened  to  Orange  street.  All  the 
other  streets  south  of  Orange  street,  and  to  Jorale- 
mon  street,  were  unopened. 

FOIJNDATION   OF   DUTCH   REFORMED    CHURCHES. 

Dutch  Reformed  churches  were  founded  on 
this  island  at  the  following  dates : 

The  first  indication  of  the  establishment  of  any 
chui-ch  of  any  denomination  on  the  western  end 
of  Long  Island  is  an  entry  in  the  Dutch  Colonial 
Government  Kecords,  now  preserved  in  the  oftice 
of  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Albany,  under  the 


THE  DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCHES.      lO'd 

date  of  October  loth,  1654,  that  the  Rev.  Joannes 
Theodorus  Polhenuis,  a  minister  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  was  permitted  by  the  Gov- 
ernor to  preach  at  Midwout  (now  Flatbush),  and 
Amersfort  (now  Flatlands).  And,  subsequently, 
on  the  17th  of  December,  1651,  the  Governor  or- 
dered a  church  to  be  built  at  Midwout  (Flat- 
bush),  to  be  sixty  feet  in  length,  twenty-eight  in 
breadth,  and  fourteen  feet  in  height  below  the 
beams. 

As  this  church  was  designed  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  colonists  in  Brooklyn  and  Amers- 
fort, as  well  as  those  in  Midwout,  the  Governor, 
on  the  9th  of  February,  1655,  ordered  the  people 
of  J3rooklyn  and  Amersfort  to  cut  timber  to  aid 
Midwout  in  building  that  church.  The  cost  of  it 
was  4,637  guilders,  of  which  sum  3,437  had  been 
collected  in  New  Amsterdam,  Fort  Orange,  and 
on  Long  Island.  The  Go\ernor  added  400  more, 
and  800  remained  to  be  raised  to  discharo:e  the 
debt.  The  fii^t  minister  was  the  Rev.  Joannes 
Theodorus  Polhemus. 

The  year  following  the  erection  of  this  church 
at  Flatbush,  it  was  found  not  to  afford  the  conve- 
nient accommodation  anticipated  to  Brooklyn 
and  the  other  towns,  and  on  the  15th  of  March, 
1656,  tlie  Governor,  to  accommodate  the  four  vil- 
lages of   Gravesend,   xlmersfort,  Midwout,   and 


104  LONG    I -LAND    AJVTIQUITUJS. 

Bi'ooklyii,  directed  that  the  E-ev.  Mr.  Polheiiins 
should  preach  every  Sunday  morning  at  Mid- 
wont,  and  Sunday  evenings,  aUernately,  at  Anaers- 
fort  and  Brooklyn. 

Tlie  inconveniences  attending  even  this  latter 
arrangement  became  more  apparent  every  year, 
until  at  last,  in  1659,  the  colonists  in  Brooklyn 
determined  that  they  would  establish  a  churc^li 
for  themselves  ;  and  they  petitioned  Governor 
Stuyvesant  for  leave  to  call  a  minister,  assigning 
as  a  reason  for  their  request,  the  badness  of  the 
road  to  Flatbnsh,  the  difficulty  of  attending  Di- 
vine service  at  New  York  because  of  the  East 
Kiver,  and  the  old  age  and  inabilit}^  of  the  Bev. 
Mr.  Polhemus  to  perform  his  services  at  Brook- 
lyn. The  Governor,  upon  this  petition,  sent  Ni- 
casius  de  Sille,  Fiscal  of  New  Netherland,  and 
Martin  Kregier,  Burgomaster,  of  New  Amster- 
dam (New  York),  as  a  committee  to  Brooklyn  to 
examine  into  the  matter ;  and  upon  their  favor- 
able report,  he  granted  the  desired  permission  ; 
upon  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  prepared 
the  necessary  call,  and  sent  it  to  Holland  for  a 
minister.  The  Bev.  Ilenricus  Selwyn,  or  Solinus, 
was  sent  out  to  the  New"  Netherlands  pursuant  to 
this  request — one  of  the  best  scholars  ever  in  this 
country,  and  one  of  the  best  preachers  in  his 
day.     Tie  afterwards  became  the  personal  friend 


THE   DUTCH   REFORMED    CHURCHES.  105 

of  the  celebrated  Cotton  Mather  of  ^ew  Eng- 
land ;  and  a  Latin  poem,  of  much  elegance,  writ- 
ten by  Selwyn,  addressed  to  Mather,  is  in  the 
Magnalia  Christi  Americana.  The  Rev.  Hen- 
ricns  Selwyn,  in  1660,  was  installed  as  the  min- 
ister at  Brooklyn  by  order  of  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant,  by  the  Fiscal  de  Sille  and  Burgomaster 
Kregier,  at  a  salary  of  six  hundred  guilders  a 
year ;  three  hundred  of  which  were  to  be  paid  by 
tlie  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  and  three  hundred 
by  the  fatherland,  Holland. 

On  the  7th  day  of  September,  16G0,  four  days 
after  the  installation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Selwyn,  a 
letter  was  written  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Polhemus  of 
the  fact,  and  thanking  him  for  his  labors  and  at- 
tention to  the  congregation.  This  letter  was  sent 
by  a  "  respectable  person,"  to  whom  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Polhemus  returned  his  thanks  for  the  atten- 
tion which  the  church  of  Brooklyn  had  paid  him, 
and  furnished  the  messenger  with  a  list  of  the 
names  of  the  church  members  in  that  town,  twen- 
ty-five in  number.  The  popularity  of  Mr.  Sel- 
wyn's  preaching  soon  became  such  that  the  Gov- 
ernor was  anxious  to  have  him  preach  at  his 
chapel  on  his  Bowery  or  plantation  (New  York), 
and  he  offered,  on  consideration  that  Mr.  Selwyn 
should  preach  at  the  Bowery  on  Sunday  evenings, 
to  pay  two  hundred  and  fifty  guilders  of  that 


103  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

part  of  his  salaiy  which  was  to  be  paid  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Brooklyn. 

The  proposition  was  acceded  to,  but  Mr.  Sel- 
wjii  had  preached  at  the  Bowery  only  a  short 
period  before  the  ^^eople  of  Brooklyn  became  dis- 
satisfied with  the  arrangement,  and  desired  to 
have  him  to  themselves.  And  on  the  25th  of 
May,  1662,  the  inhabitants  of  that  town  peti- 
tioned the  Governor  that  Mr.  Selwyn  should  re- 
side permanently  with  them. 

When  the  first  church  was  erected  at  Brooklyn 
in  which  Mr.  Selwyn  ofiiciated,  it  is  now  impossi- 
ble to  say,  no  record  existing  which  speaks  of  it. 
But  the  old  stone  Dutch  Church  which  stood  in 
the  middle  of  the  public  highway,  now  Fulton 
Street,  in  the  City  of  Brooklyn,  just  one  mile  from 
the  old  or  Fulton  Ferry,  opposite  the  present 
Dutch  church  burying-ground  on  the  southerly 
side  of  that  street,  was  built  in  the  year  1666.  It 
was  a  square  edifice  with  very  thick  walls,  and 
small  high  windows,  filled  with  stained  glass,  rep- 
resenting large  flower-pots  at  the  base  of  the  win- 
dows, from  which  ran  up  through  the  panes,  to 
the  top  of  the  windows,  numerous  vines  laden 
with  a  profusion  of  brilliant  flowers  of  every  im- 
aginable hue.  On  the  top  of  the  church  was  a 
short,  open  steeple,  in  which  hung  a  small  bell 
brought  from  Holland,  as  was  also  the  window 


THE    DUTCH    REFOKMED    CHtlKCUES.  107 

glass.  The  inside  of  the  chureh  was  panneled  to 
a  great  height,  and  that  work,  together  with  the 
pews  and  pulpit,  were  of  oak  and  were  either 
very  dark  from  age  or  painted  some  sombre  col- 
or, probably  the  former.  The  effect  of  which 
was,  in  connection  with  the  s;iiall  windows,  that 
even  in  midsummer,  after  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  it  was  extremely  difficult  to  see  to  read 
in  that  church ;  in  consequence  of  which  their 
m(jrning  service  in  the  summer  was  at  nine  a.m., 
and  their  afternoon  service  at  two  p.m.,  and  be- 
tween the  first  of  September  and  the  first  of  May 
the  morning  service  was  at  half  past  ten  o'clock, 
and  there  was  no  afternoon  service.  This  church 
continued  to  be  used  until  about  1810 ;  the  peo- 
ple seemed  reluctant  to  abandon  their  ancient 
edifice  ;  but  the  incorporation,  by  the  State  Legis- 
lature, of  a  company  to  convert  the  old  highway, 
filled  as  it  then  was  with  ruts,  holes,  small  ponds 
of  water,  immensely  large  rocks,  and  tortuous 
windings  to  avoid  them,  rendered  the  removal  of 
the  old  church  imperatively  necessary.  So  they 
built  a  new  stone  church  on  Joralemon  street, 
partly  on  the  site  of  the  present  edifice  ;  which 
they  continued  to  use  until  a  few  years  ago,  when, 
not  being  suited  with  its  appearance  and  condi 
tion,  they  erected  the  present  beautiful  edifice,  in 
the  form  of  a  Grecian  temple,  on  the  square  of 


108  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

gronnd  formed  by  Joralemon,  Court,  and  Living- 
ston streets. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Selwyn,  on  the  23d  of  July, 
1664,  took  leave  of  his  congregation  at  Brooklyn, 
and  sailed  in  the  ship  Beaver,  for  Holland,  from 
whence  he  designed  never  to  have  returned.  Af- 
ter his  departure  Charl6s  Debevoise,  the  school- 
master of  the  town,  and  sexton  of  the  church, 
was  ordered  to  read  prayei-s,  and  a  sermon  from 
an  approved  author,  every  Sabbath  in  the  church, 
for  the  improvement  of  the  congregation,  until 
another  minister  was  called. 

During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Selwyn  the  mar- 
riage fees  do  not  seem  to  liave  been  a  perquisite 
of  the  minister,  as  appears  by  an  account  rendered 
by  him  to  the  Consistory  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1662,  when  he  paid  over  to  the  Consistory  the  sum 
of  78  guilders  and  10  stuyvers  for  fourteen  mar- 
riage fees  received  by  him. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  English  govern- 
ment in  this  colony,  the  Dutch  congregation  in 
that  city  remembering  Mr.  Selwyn's  acceptable 
services  iuthis  country,  sent  him  an  invitation  to 
come  over  and  take  charge  of  their  churcli  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  which  he  declined  accepting. 
Again,  in  the  year  1681,  that  church  sent  him  an- 
other call,  with  many  ui-gent  solicitations  that  he 
would  accept  it ;  to  which  he  assented,  and  came 


THE   DUTCH    KEFOKMED    CHURCHES.  100 

to  ~New  York  in  16S2,  and  continued  the  pastor 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  church  in  that  city  until 
his  death  in  1701. 

A  catalocrue  of  all  the  members  of  the  Dutch  He- 
formed  church  in  the  citj  of  IN'ew  York,  in  the 
year  1686,  with  the  names  of  the  sti*eets  in  which 
thev  resided,  taken  from  the  oric^inal  manuscript 
of  the  Ilev.  Ilenricus  Selwyn,  their  pastor,  will 
be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the  second  series 
of  the  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society.  To  those  who  derive  their  ancestry  from 
the  old  Dutch  burghers  of  this  venerable  city, 
this  record  will  be  looked  upon  with  something 
of  the  pride  and  attachment  manifested  for  the 
roll  of  Battle  Abbey. 

At  the  period  of  his  ministry  tliere  were  but 
two  Dutch  Reformed  churches  in  that  city,  the 
Soutli  Dutch  or  Garden  street  church,  and  the 
chapel  at  Governor  Stuyvesant's  Bowery  (on  the 
site  of  the  present  St  Mark's  church) ;  the  Dutch 
church  in  the  Fort  being  considered  government 
property,  went  w^ith  the  Fort  to  the  English,  and 
became  an  Episcopal  church.  With  it  there  w^ere 
then  five  churches  in  the  city,  two  Episcopal,  two 
Dutch  Reformed,  and  one  French  Huguenot. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1708,  fifty-seven  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  being  probably  all  the 
meml^ers  of  the  church,  entered  into  an  agree- 


no  I-ONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

ment  (which  is  written  in  Dutch)  to  call  a  minis- 
ter from'  Holland,  to  preach  in  the  church  of 
this  town.  The  elders  of  the  church  at  that 
time  w^ere  Daniel  Rapalje  and  Jores  Hanse. 
This  connection  with  the  classis  of  Holland  con- 
tinued long  after  this  period. 

Kotwithstandinfy  the  establishment  of  the  new 

o 

church  in  Brooklyn,  the  church  at  Flatbush  con- 
tinued to  flourish,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Polhemus 
found  full  emjDloyment  for  all  his  services  in  the 
ministry. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  1658,  Midwout  pe- 
titioned the  Governor  that  the  one  hundred 
morgen  of  land  reserved  in  that  town  for  the 
public  use  might  be  appropriated  as  follows: 
Twenty-live  morgen  to  complete  the  church. 
Twenty-five  morgen  for  a  school.  Fifty  morgen 
for  the  minister's  house  and  other  purposes.  The 
first  two  the  Governor  granted  ;  the  other  he  de- 
nied, and  reserved  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  the 
vicarage. 

In  every  town  patented  by  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment in  the  New^  Netherlands  (now  New  York 
and  New  Jersey),  there  was  one  hundred  morgen 
of  land  reserved  for  the  public  use.  In  some 
cases,  like  that  above  mentioned,  the  Dutch 
Colonial  Government  authorized  the  disposition 
of  it,  but  always  for  some  use  considered  a  pub- 


THE    DUTCH    KEFOKMED    ClIUECIIES.  Ill 

lie  use  at  that  time.  The  English  Colonial  Gov- 
ernment do  not  seem  to  liavebeen  ever  aware  of 
the  existence  of  this  public  property,  and  they 
made  no  regulations  or  disposition  of  it ;  and  the 
probability  is  that  in  very  many  cases  these  pub- 
lic lands  have  by  long  continued  possession  be- 
come private  property. 

The  church  at  Flatbush  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  entirely  finished  at  the  time  when  the  new 
church  was  established  in  Brooklyn,  although  it 
liad  been  used  for  three  years  or  over.  On  tlie 
20th  of  December,  1659,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Polhemus 
requests  of  Governor  Stuyvesant,  that  paint  may 
be  furnished,  at  the  expense  of  the  Government, 
to  paint  the  church  at  Midwout.  And,  again,  in 
September,  1660,  the  Kev.  Mr.  Polhemus  and 
Elder  Stryker  petition  the  Governor  for  glass  for 
a  window  for  the  same  churcli.  This  was  un- 
doubtedly stained  glass  they  wished  the  Gover- 
nor to  send  to  Holland  for,  for  the  pi'incipal  win- 
dow of  the  church ;  for  then  all  the  windows  were 
of  glass,  unless  it  might  be  in  the  poorest  small 
houses  and  cottages,  set  in  lead  in  small  diamonds ; 
and  "  a  glass  window "  for  the  church  meant 
something  different  from  those  in  common  use ; 
which  could  be  nothing  other  than  stained  glass, 
there  being  then  only  those  two  modes  of  glazing 
windows. 


112  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIER. 

In  this  application  for  the  window  thej  state 
that  the}^  had  received  3,437  guilders  and  12  stny- 
vers  towards  the  cost  of  erecting  that  church,  in 
New  Amsterdam  (New  Yoi'k),  Fort  Orange  (Al- 
bany), and  on  Long  Island ;  and  that  they  still 
wanted  1,200  guilders  to  discharge  the  expenses 
attending  the  completion  of  that  edifice.  Upon 
which  Governor  Stuyvesant  gave  them  400  guil- 
ders.— The  Rev.  Mr.  Polhemus  died  in  June,  1676. 

The  people  in  Flatbush  have  a  tradition  that 
their  secoiid  church  in  that  town  was  erected  in  the 
year  1663.  This  can  scarcely  have  been  the  fact, 
unless  the  first  edifice  was  destroyed  by  fire,  or 
the  elements,  which  is  not  said  to  have  been  the 
case;  for  the  first  church  was  still  in  an  unfin- 
ished state  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1660 — 
only  two  years  before.  It  may  be  that  an  addi- 
tion was  made  to  the  church  in  1663,  but  I  do 
not  even  think  that  was  done,  and  am  rather  in- 
clined to  the  opinion  that  this  first  church  was  not 
entirely  finished  and  did  not  get  up  its  stained- 
glass  window  until  the  year  1663,  and  that  the 
people,  many  years  after,  not  bearing  in  mind 
how  long  this  first  church  was  in  building,  and 
w^hat  a  long  period  intervened  before  it  was  com- 
pleted, the  Government  records  showing  over  six 
years,  they,  when  the  date  of  its  completion  was 
referred  to,  came  to  believe  it  the  time  when  a 


THE    DTJTCIT    REFORMED    CIIURCilES.  113 

second  church  was  built,  and  subsequently  to 
speak  of  it  as  such. 

The  Dutch  Colonial  Government,  as  a  general 
rule,  followed  the  practice  of  their  liome  govern- 
ment in  the  Fatherland  in  allowing  the  fi-ee  exer- 
cise of  all  forms  of  religion,  so  long  as  they  did 
not  endanger  tlie  public  peace.  But  the  excite- 
ment in  New  England  against  the  Quakers  liad 
arisen  to  such  a  high  pitch,  and  so  much  had  been 
said  and  written  and  printed  by  the  leading  men 
of  those  colonies  against  the  principles  and  prac- 
tices of  the  Quakers  as  being  highly  dangerous  to 
all  forms  of  civilized  government,  and  utterly 
subversive  of  Christianity,  that  it  was  next  to  an 
impossibility  that  some  of  their  feeling  and  tem- 
per should  not  manifest  itself  in  the  Xew  Neth- 
ei'lands,  an  adjoining  colony,  and  one  with  which 
they  had  frequent  intercourse  ;  it,  however,  show- 
ed itself  in  a  very  mild  and  modified  form  in 
this  colony.  In  this  spirit  Governor  Stuyvesant 
had,  in  the  year  1662,  directed  a  Quaker,  by  the 
name  of  John  Bowne,  to  be  transported  from  the 
colony  to  Holland,  on  account  of  his  religious 
tenets. 

The  Dutch  West  India  Company,  to  whom 
Governor  Stuyvesant  was  subject,  writes  thus  to 
the  Governor  in  a  letter  from  Amsterdam,  dated 
in  1663  : — "  We  perceive,  from  your  last  letter, 


114  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

that  you  had  exiled  and  transported  hither  a  cer- 
tain Quaker  named  John  Bowne.  Although  it 
is  our  anxious  desire  that  similar  and  other  sec- 
tarians may  not  be  found  among  you,  yet  we 
doubt  extremely  the  policy  of  adopting  rigorous 
tneasaies  against  them.  In  the  ^^outli  of  your  ex- 
istence, you  ought  rather  to  encourage  than  check 
the  population  of  the  colony.  The  consciences 
of  men  ought  to  be  free  and  unshackled,  so  long 
as  they  continue  moderate,  peaceable,  inoffensive, 
and  not  hostile  to  the  government.  Such  have 
been  the  maxims  of  prudence  and  toleration  by 
which  the  magistrates  of  this  city  (Amsterdam) 
have  been  governed,  and  the  consequences  have 
been,  that  the  oppressed  and  persecuted,  from 
every  country,  have  found  among  us  an  asylum 
from  distress.  Follow  in  -the  same  steps  and  you 
will  be  blessed." 

These  are  certainly  noble  sentiments,  worthy 
of  being  written  in  letters  of  gold,  and  while  we 
cannot  but  feel  high  pleasure  in  awarding  the 
meed  of  applause  to  men  who  could  thus  think 
and  act  worthy  of  the  station  in  which  they  were 
placed,  we  cannot  at  the  same  time  avoid  la- 
menting that  the  same  liberality  of  sentiment 
had  not  distinguished  the  early  settlers  of  the 
Kew  England  Colonies,  who,  if  they  fled  from 
persecution,  were  themselves  the  first  to  persecute 


THE    DUTCH    REFOKMED    CHURCHES.  115 

in  this  new  empire  of  freedom  of  conscience, 
which  they  claimed  to  have  founded. 

This  Joim  Bowne  the  Quaker,  thus  exiled  by 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  resided  at  Flushing,  upon 
Long  Island,  and  his  house  is  now  in  existence, 
or  was  very  recently.  The  tradition  is,  that  when 
he  landed  in  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1665, 
after  having  remained  abroad  several  years,  upon 
his  return  from  his  exile  to  Holland,  he  waited 
upon  Governor  Stuyvesant,  then  a  private  citizen, 
the  colony  having  passed  to  the  English,  who 
welcomed  him  back,  and  expressed  his  regret  for 
having  used  so  much  severity  towards  him  and 
some  others  of  his  particular  faith,  some  of  whom 
he  frankly  admitted  to  be  among  the  most  valu- 
able citizens  of  the  colony  ;  and  assured  him  that 
the  course  of  policy  which  he  had  theretofore  felt 
it  his  duty  to  pursue  had  been  based  upon  what 
he  had  ascertained  to  be  an  erroneous  representa- 
tion of  the  view^s  and  intentions  of  Bowne  and 
his  friends,  and  that  he  felt  it  an  act  of  conscien- 
tious duty  to  make  such  declaration  to  him. 

This,  if  it  be  true  (which  it  has  always  been 
asserted  to  be),  is  highly  honorable  to  Governor 
Stuyvesant  as  a  man ;  who  must  indeed,  from  the 
accounts  of  him,  have  been  very  high  souled  and 
honorable,  one  well  calculated  for  the  important 
and  dignified  office  he  held. 


116  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Great  injustice  will  be  done  to  the  memory  of 
Gov.  Stnyvesaiit  if  he  is  ranked  as  a  persecntor 
of  the  Quakers,  and  others  differing  from  him  in 
religions  sentiments.  No  ruler  was  ever  more 
tolerant  of  the  religious  opinions  of  others  than 
was  Stu}' vesant ;  and  if  in  any  case  he  appeared 
to  deal  harshly  with  any  man,  or  any  set  of  men, 
differing  from  the  Dutch  Established  Church,  it 
will  be  found  on  examination  not  to  have  been 
from  their  religions  faith,  but  for  the  political 
tise  which  they  w^ere  believed  to  make  of  it.  And 
we  should  bear  in  mind  that  very  many  of  the 
Quakers  of  his  daj^  were  a  very  different  kind  of 
peojDle  from  those  of  onr  time,  and  men  who 
were  almost  the  opposite  of  George  Fox  in  every- 
thing but  name.  In  place  of  the  mild,  inoffensive 
conduct  and  strict  attention  to  their  own  business, 
without  intermeddling  with  the  concerns  of  others, 
wliich  now  characterize  them  as  a  sect,  and  as 
amono:  the  most  useful  and  valuable  of  our  citi- 
zens,  there  were  then  too  many  of  them  who  were 
fond  of  seeking  eveiy  opportunity  to  abuse,  in 
public  assemblies,  by  the  most  pointed  language, 
the  magistracy  and  laws  of  the  land  ;  represent- 
ing them  not  only  as  anti-Christian,  but  as  origi- 
nating from  the  Evil  One,  and  of  declaring  all 
the  ministers  of  religion  out  of  their  own  creed, 
to  be  hirelings,  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  base, 


THE    DUTCH    EEFORMED    CITURCITES.  117 

Avicked  creatures,  who  were  leading  the  people 
astray ;  and  at  the  same  time  declaring  it  their 
settled  intention  to  resist  the  laws  which  they 
asserted  had  no  controllinoj  force  or  effect  over 
them,  who  were  governed  by  a  new  light  which 
they  received  from  Heaven  itself  as  their  guide 
and  law-giver,  and  which  was  confined  within 
their  own  bosoms  ;  and  that  they  actually  reduced 
these  principles  to  practice,  by  refusing  obedience 
not  only  to  the  laws  in  relation  to  an  uniformity 
of  religious  worship,  but  also  to  all  civil  regula- 
tions, whether  made  by  the  superior  government 
of  the  colony,  or  the  towns  in  which  they  resided  ; 
refused  the  payment  of  taxes,  or  the  performance 
of  any  of  the  duties  of  citizens,  unless  matters 
were  done  according  to  their  peculiar  notions. 
All  this  is  lost  sight  of  by  those  who  condemn 
Guv.  Stuyvesant  for  his  proceedings  against  the 
Quakers.  The  ei'ror  he  committed  was  in  notic- 
ing them  at  all ;  but  in  the  principles  and  policy 
of  government,  he  had  not  then  the  experience 
to  guide  him  which  we  now  possess,  and  it  is 
therefore  unjust  to  judge  him  not  only  by  the 
light  of  the  present  day,  but  also  by  assuming 
that  the  Quaker  character  of  his  time  possessed 
the  same  estimable  uniformity  which  marks  it  in 
our  age,  which  is  very  far  from  being  truth. 
Governor    Stnyvesant's   character   appears   to 


118  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

have  been  siiigiilarlj  misiiiiderstood  by  some  mo- 
dern writers;  and  which,  in  onr  judgment,  has 
mainl}^  arisen  from  the  error  of  regarding  it  in 
the  lights  and  principles  of  the  science  of  govern- 
ment as  nnderstood  and  practised  in  our  day, 
rather  tlian  in  tliose  which  were  common  and  re- 
ceived in  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  It  could 
alone  be  from  an  opinion  thns  formed  that  the 
talented  author  of  Thompson's  History  of  Long 
Island  (second  edition,  vol.  i.,  page  108)  charges 
that  Governor  Stuyvesant  persecuted  and  dis- 
couraged those  whose  religious  tenets  differed 
from  his  own,  and  that  he  exercised  his  preroga- 
tive in  a  capricious  and  arbitrary  manner. 
Charges  w^hich  are  certainly  scarcely  supported 
by  the  fact  mentioned  by  the  same  author,  that 
the  Knglish  who  settled  the  towns  of  Gravesend, 
Newtown,  Flushing,  Jamaica,  and  Hempstead, 
and  who  reluctaiitly  hecciTne  Dutch  subjects,  icere 
allowed  to  hold  their  lands\  to  enjoy  liberty  oj 
conscience,  and  to  em/ploy  their  own  ministers  / 
rights  which  they  w^ould  not  have  been  permitted 
to  enjoy  at  home  in  England,  and  those  which 
they  had  little  reason  to  expect  here,  from  their 
reluctance  to  submit  to  the  Dutch  Government, 
the  then  undoubted  authority  of  the  country,  and 
made  so  by  a  treaty  between  the  Commissioners 
of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England  and  the 


THE    CASE    OF    BOWNE    THE    QUAKER.  119 

Dutch  Colonial  Government.  All  which  affr,Tcls 
an  evidence  of  tolerant  principles  on  the  part  of 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  and  a  forbearance  for  the 
views  and  tenets  of  others  conflictino;  with  his 
own,  not  onlj  in  religion  but  also  in  government, 
rarely  found  in  any  age,  and  certaiidy  not  to  be 
discovered  in  the  proceedings  of  the  most  civil- 
ized nations  of  Europe  in  his  time,  except  it  might 
be  in  the  case  of  Holland. 

This  house  of  Bowne,  in  Flushing,  is  built  of 
wood,  in  the  old-fashioned  Dutch  style,  and  w^as 
said  to  have  been  erected  in  the  year  1661,  only 
one  year  previous  to  his  exile. 

Opposite  this  house,  in  front  of  it,  are  two  large 
old  oak  trees,  under  the  shadow  of  which  the 
celebrated  George  Fox,  a  preacher  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  or  Quakers,  in  1672,  preached  a  ser- 
mon to  the  people  assembled  around  them. 
These  trees  are  still  standing.  Fox  was  then  on 
a  preaching  tour  from  Yorkshire,  in  England, 
and  was  travelling  through  the  colonies ;  he  was 
then  stopping  at  Bowne's  Tiouse. 

The  case  of  Bowne  the  Quaker  was  the  only 
instance  in  which  the  Dutch  Colonial  Govern- 
ment attempted  to  exile  a  man  for  his  religious 
opinions.  But  its  general  course,  and  particu- 
larly the  administration  under  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant, was  marked  by  a  series  of  measures  cal- 


120  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

dilated  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  settlers, 
and  to  build  np  the  little  insignificant  colon}^  on 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson  into  a  city  of  that  char- 
acter and  importance,  and  a  colony  of  that  value 
as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  English  Govern- 
ment, and  upon  the  first  opportunity  that  offered 
to  induce  them  to  fit  out  an  expedition  for  its  cap- 
ture. 

To  t'he  encouragement  offered  by  Governor 
Stuyvesant  is  to  be  attributed  the  first  emigration 
of  the  French  Huguenots  to  this  country,  whose 
descendants  now,  and  for  many  generations  past, 
have  been  some  of  our  most  respectable  and  in- 
telligent citizens.  It  appeal's  from  the  Council 
records  that  on  the  24tli  of  January,  1664,  M. 
Yan  Beeck,  a  merchant  in  New  Amsterdam,  in- 
formed the  Governor  that  he  had  received  letters 
from  Rochelle,  in  France,  signifying  the  wish  of 
several  persons  professing  the  Protestant  religion 
to  emigrate  to  New  Netherland,  as  their  churches 
had  been  burnt,  etc.  Upon  which  the  Governor 
and  Council  resolved  to  receive  them  hospitably, 
and  to  allow  them  land  gratuitously.  They  at 
once  came  over  upon  receiving  this  information, 
and  a  considerable  number  of  them  received 
grants  of  land  in  what  is  now  Westchester  county, 
and  settled  a  town  there,  which  they  named  after 
their  old  home  in  France,  New  Rochelle.     This 


THE    DUTCH    REFORMED    CHURCHES.  121 

was  in  accordance  with  the  settled  policy  of  the 
Dutch  AVest  India  Company;  which  evinced  a 
more  enlightened  view  of  the  advantages  to  re- 
snlt  from  the  commerce  of  the  Fatherland,  from 
the  establishment  of  a  prosperous  colonial  system, 
than  appear  to  have  been  eritertained  by  any  other 
nation  of  Europe,  and  it  was  the  success  whicli  at- 
tended this  Dutch  commercial  policy  that  led  to 
the  celebrated  navio^ation  act  of  Eno-land.  To  the 
good  character  which  this  colony  thus  obtained 
abroad,  throughout  Europe,  we  may  attribute  the 
continuance,  in  some  measure,  of  the  same  policy 
under  the  English  Colonial  Government,  although 
a  different  policy  was  at  the  same  time  pursued 
in  England  itself.  Thus  in  1710,  3,000  Palatines, 
who  had  the  yeai*  previous  fled  into  England  from 
persecution  in  Germany,  emigrated  to  Xew  York 
under  the  guidance  of  Gov.  Robert  Hunter ;  some 
of  them  settled  in  JSTew  York  City,  others  on 
Livingston  Manor,  and  the  remainder  in  Pennsyl- 
A'ania,  where  their  descendants  continue  to  this 
day. 

During  the  prevalence  of  the  terrible  witch 
mania  in  New  England,  great  exertions  were 
made  to  enlist  the  officers  of  this  government 
and  the  clergy  of  this  colony  in  that  horrible 
persecution  of  poor  infirm  old  men  and  women. 
They,  however,  refused  to  entertain  the  sul)ject 


123  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

in  any  manner,  and  were  in  consequence  of  that 
refusal  very  freely  denounced  as  infidels  by  the 
wise  leaders  in  Kew  England,  wlio  were,  accord- 
ing to  tlieir  own  showing,  almost  daily  receiving 
and  acting  upon  the  evidence  of  the  evil  one 
against  their  neighbors  and  fellow-Christians, 
members  of  the  same  church  with  themselves, 
and  whose  walk  in  life  had  been  consistent  with 
their  Christian  professions.  There  was  then  no 
Presbyterian  church  in  the  City  of  Kew  York, 
and  the  whole  population  was  nominally  divided 
among  the  Episcopalian,  the  Dutch  Reformed, 
and  the  French  Protestant  Churches — the  latter 
was  also  under  the  ecclesiastical  government  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  The  clergy  in  New  Eng- 
land, who  had  been  active  in  the  mattei-  of  witch- 
craft, addressed  a  letter  to  the  Butch  Reformed 
ministers  of  this  colony,  as  approaching  nearest 
to  them  in  form  of  church  government,  desiring 
their  judgment  in  reference  to  spectral  evidence, 
and  other  matters  connected  with  prosecuti(jns 
for  witchcraft ;  and  the  Dutch  clergy,  in  reply, 
cautioned  them  against  the  use  of  such  testimony, 
as  coming  from  an  improper  and  evil  source,  and 
more  likely  to  be  available  against  good  than 
against  bad  persons  of  evil  lives ;  it  is  very 
strange  that  this  did  not  occur  to  them  before. 
The  only  trial  for  witchcraft  which  ever  took 


THE    DUTCH    REFORMED    CHURCHES.  123 

place  in  this  colony  was  that  of  Ralph  Hall,  and 
Alaiy  his  wife,  from  the  eastern  part  of  Long 
Island,  in  the  conrt  of  assizes  held  in  the  City  of 
New  York,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1GG5.  The 
jury  who  tried  them  for  this  alleged  offence,  con- 
sisted of  twelve  men,  five  of  whom  were  selected 
from  this  island,  and  seven  from  the  Cit}^  of  New 
York  ;  and  they  fonnd  a  special  verdict,  "  ac- 
quitting the  man,  and  that  there  were  some  sus- 
picions against  the  woman,  but  nothing  to  take 
away  her  life."  Upon  which  Hall  was  dis- 
charged, and  his  wife  also,  on  his  giving  security 
for  her  good  behavior,  and  that  she  should  appear 
at  the  next  assizes ;  and  at  the  following  term  the 
recognizance  was  discharged,  and  this  ended  the 
first  and  only  trial  for  witchcraft  in  this  colony 
or  state. 

Although  the  New  York  government  exhibits 
but  this  solitary  instance  of  a  trial  for  witchcraft, 
yet  w^hen  some  of  the  eastern  towns  on  this 
island  annexed  themselves  to  the  United  Colonies 
of  New  England,  and  came  under  the  Govern- 
ment of  Connecticut,  as  a  necessary  consequence, 
all  the  peculiar  notions  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
mainland  in  reference  to  demonology  and  witch- 
craft began  to  manifest  themselves  in  that  part 
of  the  island.  And  in  the  year  1657,  the  wife  of 
Joshua  Garlick  being   suspected  of   witchcraft, 


124  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

was  arrested  iijion  that  charge  in  Easthampton,  a 
proceeding  which  caused  great  excitement  in 
that  town ;  as  usual,  in  most  other  cases  of  a 
simihir  character,  witnesses  were  not  wanting  in 
this  instance  who  deposed  to  facts,  which,  in  the 
minds  of  an  excited  and  credulous  people,  fully 
established  the  truth  of  the  accusation.  But  the 
town  court  before  whom  she  was  brought,  being- 
composed  of  persons  not  very  deeply  versed  in 
the  science  of  demonology,  and  feeling  them- 
selves incompetent  to  decide  upon  so  grave  a 
question,  sent  the  unhappy  woman  a  prisoner  to 
Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  to  be  tried  by  the  Gen- 
eral Court  at  that  place.  AYhat  became  of  her  is 
not  known,  but  she  was  probably  subsequently 
discharged,  or  her  name  would  appear  among 
those  who  fell  victims  to  that  awful  mania. 

Prior  to  the  American  Revolution,  sermons 
were  preached,  and  also  printed,  in  the  Dutch 
language,  in  the  City  of  Kew  York.  We  have 
seen  two  sermons  which  were  printed  in  the 
Dutch  language,  in  4:to  form,  at  Xew  York,  by 
"  Ilendricus  De  Foi-est,  in't  Jaar  1752."  In  Kings 
County,  upon  Long  Island,  sermons  in  Dutch 
were  preached  in  the  towns  of  Flatbush,  Kew 
Utrecht,  Gravesend  and  Bush  wick,  until- about 
the  year  1818.  The  last  Dutch  clergyman,  or 
parson,  as  the  English  called  him,  or  dominie,  as 


THE    DUTCH    REFOEMED    CHUKCHES.  125 

the  Dutch  styled  him,  for  tliose  towns,  was  old 
Dominie  Martinus  Schoonmaker,  who  officiated 
alternately  in  the  churches  of  those  towns  until 
he  was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  ninety  years  of  age  ; 
he  also  used,  about  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century,  occasionally  to  preach  a  Dutch 
sermon  in  the  church  at  Brooklyn.  lie  was  the 
last  connecting  link  of  the  chain  which  had 
bound  together  the  churches  of  Flatbush  and 
Gravesend  from  the  year  1654,  and  which  had 
united  the  other  churches  named  with  that  of 
Flatbush  from  a  period  long  anterior  to  the 
American  Revolution ;  at  his  death  this  tie  was 
severed,  and  ever  since  the  churches  have  each 
had  their  ministers  and  formed  independent  con- 
gregations. 

Before  the  commencement  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, it  was  v^ery  common  on  the  west  end  of 
Long  Island,  in  the  burying-grounds  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  congregations,  to  put  Dutch  inscrip- 
tions on  the  monumental  or  grave-stones,  both 
prose  and  poetical ;  but  this  has  now  ceased  to 
])e  the  practice.  Inscriptions  in  this  language  on 
grave-stones,  are  in  the  Bush  wick  burying-ground 
of  as  late  date  as  the  year  17S0. 

The  Dutch  Reformed  church  of  Flatbush,  in 
Kings  County,  was  incorporated  July  31,  1784, 
under  a  2:eneral  act  of  Leo-islature  of  the  State  of 


12()  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUiriES. 

X ew  York,  entitled,  "  An  act  to  enable  all  the 
religious  denominations  in  this  state  to  appoint 
trustees,  who  shall  be  a  body  corporate,  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  care  of  the  temporalities  of 
tlieir  respective  congregations,  and  for  other  pur- 
poses therein  mentioned,"  passed  April  6th,  1784. 
The  first  trustees  of  this  church,  named  in  the 
certificate,  were  Jeremias  Yander  Bilt,  Joris  Mar- 
tense,  Cornelius  AVyckoff,  Hendrick  Suydam,  and 
Peter  Lifferts.  This  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not 
the  first  church  upon  Long  Island,  incorporated 
under  this  general  law. 

A  Dutch  Reformed  church  was  erected  in 
Jamaica,  on  this  island,  in  1715 ;  in  Newtown 
shortly  after ;  and  in  the  towns  of  Xorth  Hemp- 
stead and  Oyster  Bay  about  the  year  1732.  These 
churches  were  supplied  with  ministers  from 
Kings  County  until  about  the  middle  of  last  cen- 
tury. 

Many  of  the  Dutch  churches  on  this  island 
w^ere  of  a  curious  style  of  architecture ;  either 
circular,  six-square,  or  eight-square,  with  high 
roofs,  and  a  belfry  or  cupola  springing  from  the 
top  of  the  six-square  or  octagon  roof,  with  a  small 
bell  in  it.  The  churches  at  Jamaica,  ^ew 
Utrecht,  and  Bushwick,  were  of  this  character. 
The  latter,  which  was  six-square,  was  taken  down 
in  the  year  1827.     A  few  months  previous  to  its 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CHURCHES.  137 

destruction,  a  lady  of  our  acquaintance,  who  liad 
a  fine  taste  for  sketching,  at  our  request  made  a 
drawing  of  this  antique  church,  which  we  now 
possess,  and  prize  highly  as  an  accurate  represen- 
tation of  those  curious  old  churches  which  have 
now  all  disappeared  from  our  island  before  the 
march  of  modern  improvements. 

FOUNDATION    OF    EPISCOPAL    CHURCHES. 

It  is  generally  supposed,  and  so  stated,  that 
the  first  attempt  to  establish  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  colony  was  by  the  act  of  1693.  This  is 
an  error.  The  code  of  laws  for  the  government 
of  the  colony  of  l^sew  York,  known  as  the  Du/ce^s 
Xaws,  adopted  by  the  convention  of  deputies  at 
Hempstead,  on  Long  Island,  March  1,  1664,  evi- 
dently contemplated  the  establishment  of  that 
church,  as  will  be  seen  upon  reference  to  its  pro- 
visions. This  code,  after  stating  that  "  the  pub- 
lic worship  of  God  is  much  discredited  for  want 
of  painful  and  able  ministers  to  instruct  the  peo- 
ple in  the  true  religion,  and  for  want  of  conven- 
ient places  capjible  to  receive  any  number  or 
assembly  of  people  in  a  decent  manner  for  cele- 
brating God's  holy  ordinances,"  then  proceeds  to 
provide  that,  ^' in  each  parish  within  this  gov- 
ernment, a  church  be  built  in  the  most  convenient 


128  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

pai't  thereof,  capable  to  receive  and  accommodate 
two  hundred  persons." 

"  That,  for  the  making  and  proportioning  the 
levies  and  assessments  for  building  and  repairing 
the  churches,  provision  for  the  poor,  maintenance 
for  the  minister,  as  well  as  for  the  more  orderly 
managing  of  all  parochial  affairs  in  other  cases 
expressed,  eight  of  the  most  able  men  of  each 
parish  be,  by  the  major  part  of  the  householders 
of  said  parish,  chosen  to  be  overseers." 

Out  of  this  number  of  overseers,  the  constable 
and  the  eight  overseers  were  annuall}^  to  make 
choice  of  two  to  be  churchwardens.  These 
churchwardens  had  very  much  the  same  powers 
possessed  by  those  ofhcers  in  England  ;  and  were 
recpiired  twice  in  each  year  to  make  written 
presentments  to  the  court  of  sessions  of  all  of- 
fences coming  within  their  knowledge  against 
good  morals. 

"  To  prevent  scandalous  and  ignorant  j)1'g- 
tenders  to  the  ministry  from  intruding  them- 
selves as  teachers,  no  minister  shall  be  admitted 
to  officiate  within  the  government  but  such  as 
shall  produce  testimonials  to  the  Governor  that  he 
hath  received  ordination,  either  from  some  Pro- 
testant bishops  or  minister  within  some  part  of 
His  Majesty's  dominions,  or  the  dominions  of  any 
foreign  Prince  of  the  Keformed  Peligion ;  upon 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CHITECriES.  129 

which  testimony  the  Governor  shall  induct  the 
said  minister  into  the  parish  that  shall  make  pre- 
sentation of  him,  and  as  duly  elected  by  the  major 
part  of  the  inhabitants,  honseholders." 

It  is  not  a  little  curious  that  this  code  of  laws, 
which  are  understood  to  have  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  tlie  Duke  of  York,  afterwards  King 
James  II.  of  England,  and  which  were  framed 
for  the  government  of  a  colony  of  which  he  was 
the  proprietor,  should  have  so  i-igidly  excluded 
the  Koman  Catholic  religion,  and  allowed  no 
ministers  from  any  part  of  the  world  to  exercise 
their  calling  here  unless  the}'  were  Protestants  ; 
and  not  even  Protestants  who  had  been  ordained 
in  a  foreign  country  under  a  Poman  Catholic 
monarch  ;  and  that,  too,  when  James  himself  was 
such  a  rigid  Poman  Catholic,  and  made  such  ex- 
traordinary exertions  to  introduce  that  faith  into 
England,  where  he  had  the  opposition  of  a  power- 
ful and  wealthy  Establishment  to  contend  with, 
and  eventuall}^  lost  his  crown  in  the  contest ;  and 
here,  where  he  had  no  Establishment  to  encounter, 
and  might  easily  have  introduced  it  under  the 
general  toloration  which  was  from  the  establish- 
ment of  his  government  here  allowed,  it  is  truly 
strange  and  wonderful. 

The  same  code  declares  that :  "  Ko  person 
shall  be  molested,  fined,  or  imprisoned,  for  differ- 


130  LONG   ISLAND   AKTIQriTIES. 

inty  in  judgment,  in  matters  of  religion,  who  pro- 
fesses Christianity." 

The  regulations  in  relation  to  the  ministers, 
as  established  by  this  code,  were  as  follows ; 

"  The  minister  of  every  parish  shall  preach 
constantly  every  Sunday,  and  shall  also  pray  for 
the  King,  Queen,  Duke  of  York  and  the  Royal 
family."  ''  Xo  minister  shall  refuse  the  sacra- 
ment of  baptism  to  the  children  of  Christian  pa- 
rents, when  they  shall  be  tendered,  under  pen- 
alty of  loss  of  preferment."  "  Ministers  are  to 
marry  persons  after  legal  publication,  or  sufficient 
license.  Legal  publication  shall  be  so  esteemed 
when  the  persons  to  be  married  are  three  several 
days  asked  in  the  church,  or  have  a  special  license." 

"  'No  person  of  scandalous  or  vicious  life  shall 
be  admitted  to  the  holy  sacrament,  who  hath  not 
given  satisfaction  therein  to  the  minister."  The 
court  of  assizes,  which,  previous  to  1683,  formed 
the  legislative  authority  of  the  colony  under  t]ie 
Duke  of  York,  at  their  term  commencing  Sep- 
tember 28,  1665,  ordered  the  churches  in  each 
parish  to  be  erected  within  three  years  after  that 
term,  and  provided  "  to  which  end  a  town  rate 
may  be  made  to  begin  this  year." 

The  same  authority,  the  court  of  assizes,  at  a 
term  commencing  October  2,  1672,  ordered 
"  that  the  laws  of  the   government  be  duly   ob- 


THE   EPISCOPAL   CHUKCHES.  131 

served  as  to  parish  cliiirclies ;  and  that  although 
divers  persons  may  be  of  different  judgments, 
yet  all  shall  contribute  to  the  minister  established 
and  allowed  of  ;  which  is  no  way  judged  to  be  an 
infringement  of  the  liberty  of  conscience  to  which 
they  may  pretend." 

Again,  this  court  of  assizes,  at  the  term  of  Octo- 
ber 13,  lG75,had  the  establishment  of  the  church 
under  their  consideration,  and  seem  particularly 
desirous  that  some  maintenance  for  the  minis- 
try in  each  town  or  parish  should  be  actually  real- 
ized. The  record  of  their  j)roceedings  upon  this 
point  is  to  the  following  purport : 

"  The  church  affairs  being  taken  into  consid- 
eration, and  particularly  the  maintenance  of  the 
ministry,  it  is  ordered,  that  towards  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  ministry',  besides  the  usual  country 
rate,  there  shall  be  a  double  rate  levied  npon  all 
those  towns  that  have  not  already  a  sufficient 
maintenance  for  a  minister." 

The  Government  appears  to  have  been  truly 
anxious  that  churches  should  be  established,  and 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  called  and  settled  in 
each  town  of  the  colony ;  and  the  difficulties 
wdiich  they  encountered  in  effecting  this  object 
seem  to  have  mainly  arisen  from  the  disrelish  of 
the  people  to  subject  themselves  to  the  neces- 
sary taxation  for  those  purposes* 


132  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

All  these  provisions  and  regulations  show  that 
while  the  colonial  government  intended  to  allow 
the  free  exercise  of  any  particular  form  of  the 
Christian  religion  used  by  Protestants,  it  was  at 
the  same  time  their  wish  that  the  churches  to  be 
erected  in  each  parish  might  be  supplied  with 
clergymen  of  the  Established  Church  of  England, 
and  they,  therefore,  to  facilitate  that,  gave  those 
churches,  as  near  as  possible,  the  officers  and 
form  of  government  of  the  parish  churches  of 
Eiigland  ;  and  when  such  a  minister  should  be 
settled  in  any  church  they  intimated  it  to  be  their 
intention  to  compel  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
parish  to  contribute  to  his  support,  however  much 
they  might  difPer  from  him  in  judgment  upon  the 
matters  of  religion ;  and  stated  it  as  the  conclu- 
sion which  they  had  arrived  at,  that  this  was  no 
infringement  of  the  liberty  of  conscience  j)i'evi- 
ously  granted.  They  had  precedent  for  this 
regulation  in  the  uniform  practice  of  the  ^ew 
England  colonies,  which  had  then  uniformly  for 
years  obliged  the  Episcopalians,  or  members  of 
the  Church  of  England,  to  contribute  rateably 
to  the  support  of  their  Congregational  and  Pres- 
byterian ministers,  and  that  even  where  they  had 
a  church  and  ministry  of  their  own  to  support. 
The  first  Episcopalian  minister  upon  this  island 
was  the  Rev.  George  Keith,  who  had   formerly 


THE   EPISCOPAL    CHUKCHES.  133 

been  a  Quaker.  He  was  sent  here  by  the  Eng- 
lish Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign 
Parts,  soon  after  its  formation  in  1701,  in  order 
that  he  might  ascertain  the  best  mode  of  fulfill- 
ing the  object  of  the  association.  He  was  styled 
the  Rector  of  Queens  County,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  the  Rev.  Peter  Gordon,  as  a  missionary 
for  this  island,  who  was  afterwards  settled  at 
Jamaica  in  1702. 

The  act  of  1693,  in  place  of  being  tJie  first 
attempt  to  establish  the  Episcopal  Church  on  this 
island,  was  in  some  measure  a  revival  of  the 
regulations  of  1601:,  somewdiat  extended  ;  but  this 
a':t,  in  its  operation,  was  confined,  on  this  island, 
to  Queens  County.  In  the  year  1700,  the  peo2:)le 
of  Jamaica,  in  that  county,  who  were  then  gen- 
erally Presbyterians  or  Independent,  erected  a 
aUme  edifice  for  public  worship,  by  a  general 
subscription  throughout  the  town,  without  re- 
stricting it  to  any  particular  denomination.  After 
a  year  or  more,  they  having  no  minister,  the 
church  was  not  used  for  Divine  service ;  and 
Governor  Cornbury  considering  it,  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  cost  of  its  construction  had 
been  raised,  as  one  of  the  parish  churches  which 
had  previously  been  required  to  be  erected  at  the 
public  expense,  delivered  possession  of  it  to  the 
Episcopalians,  w^ho  continued  to  use  it,  very  much 


134  XONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

against  the  will  of  the  Presbyterians,  until  the 
year  1735,  wlien  they  abandoned  it,  and  erected 
themselves  another  church  in  that  town,  which 
new  church  was,  in  1761,  incorporated  by  the 
name  of  Grace  Church.  When  the  seats  in  this 
new  church  were  sold,  in  the  year  1737,  the  con- 
gregation consisted  of  twenty-four  families. 

The  above  is  one  way  in  which  the  history  of 
this  church  is  narrated.  Another  is,  that  the 
stone  church  was  actually  occupied  in  1702  by 
the  Itev.  John  Hubbard,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  his  congregation ;  and  that  on  Sunday  after- 
noon, coming  to  the  church,  he  found  the  pulpit 
occupied  by  the  Pev.  Peter  Gordon,  an  Episco- 
palian minister,  and  the  body  of  the  church  in 
possession  of  a  number  of  Gov.  Cornbury's  friends 
and  others,  from  the  City  of  New  York  ;  that  this 
led  to  a  bitter  controvei*sy,  which,  after  a  pro- 
tracted and  expensive  litigation  on  the  trial  of 
the  cause  before  Chief  Justice  Lewis  Morris,  re- 
sulted in  favor  of  the  Presbyterians,  and  restored 
the  church  to  them  in  1728.  Whichever  is  the 
true  history  of  this  matter,  it  is  certainly  to  be 
regretted  that  any  such  controversy  ever  took 
place. 

The  Episcopalians  were  established  and  a 
church  built  in  Hempstead  in  1704;  and  the 
Pev.  John  Thomas,  a  missionary  of  the  Society 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CHI  IICIIES.  135 

for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  (of 
England),  was  their  first  minister.  They  erected 
a  new  church  at  that  place  in  1734,  and  were  then 
incorporated,  and  constituted  a  parish,  by  the 
name  of  "  St.  George's  Church,  Hempstead." 

On  a  tombstone  now  standing  in  the  burying- 
ground  of  this  church  is  the  following  inscription : 

"  11  June  1764  Died  Samuel  Seabury  Eector 
of  St.  George's  Church  at  Hempstead  set.  64." 

This  Rector  Seabury  was  the  father  of  the 
Right  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury,  the  first  Bishop  of 
Connecticut,  and  the  first  who  was  consecrated 
for  the  United  States.  He  was  consecrated  by 
the  bishops  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church, 
before  the  English  bishops  were  authorized  by 
act  of  Parliament  to  consecrate  any  bishops  for 
the  United  Colonies. 

The  old  church  of  St.  George  at  Hempstead  is 
still  (1846)  standing,  and  is  one  of  the  most  ven- 
erable churches  in  our  country ;  it  is  beautifully 
situated,  few  more  so. 

Other  Episcopal  churches  were  founded  on 
this  island  at  the  following  named  places,  and  at 
the  periods  mentioned : — 

At  Brookhaven,  Caroline  church,  in  1730. 

At  Xewtown,  St.  James'  church,  in  1734. 

At  Flushing,  St.  George's  church,  in  1734. 

At  Huntington,  St.  John's  church,  in  1784. 


136  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  first  Episcopal  church  in  the  town  of 
Brooklyn  (which  now^,  1846,  lias  in  it  eleven 
Episcopal  churches,  and  two  of  them  among  the 
most  splendid  in  the  country),  and,  indeed,  the 
first  in  Kings  County,  w^as  established  in  the 
year  1784,  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  It  scarcely  took  the  form  of  a 
church ;  there  were  but  few,  very  few.  Episcopa- 
lians in  this  town  or  county  at  that  period,  so  few 
that  they  were  not  able  to  settle  ,a  minister 
among  them,  and  were  supplied  with  occasional 
services  from  the  clergymen  of  the  City  of  New 
York;  for  which  purpose  they  assembled  in  a 
room  of  the  old  one-and-a-half  story  brick  house, 
known  as  ]N"o.  40  Fulton  street,  Brooklyn,  then 
called  the  Old  Ferry  Road,  owned  by  Abiel 
Titus,  Esq.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
this  little  congregation  was  ever  incorporated  as 
a  church,  or  had  any  regular  ofiicers.  The  first 
regularl}^  established  Episcopal  church  in  this 
town  or  county  w^as  that  formed  in  the  year 
1786.  The  congregation  was  at  first  very  small, 
not  having  in  it  more  than  fifteen  or  sixteen 
families,  and  they  were  not  al^le  to  go  to  much 
expense  about  erecting  a  church.  They  there- 
fore hired  the  old  and  long  one-story  house, 
owned  by  Marvin  Richardson,  on  the  north-west- 
erly corner  of  Fulton  street  and  Middagh  street, 


THE    EPISCOPAL    CHUKCIIES.  137 

(which  old  building,  or  a  considerable  portion  of 
it,  still  remains  in  the  interior  of  the  frame  build- 
ings now  upon  that  corner,)  and  taking  out  the 
partitions,  they  seated  it  with  seats  with  backs  to 
tliem,  and  put  in  a  pulpit.  The  pews  they  sold, 
and  the  tradition  is,  that  a  dispute  which  arose 
about  the  sale  of  one  or  two  particular  pews  in 
this  little  church,  was  the  origin  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  Brooklyn ;  and  they  con- 
tinued in  this  edifice  about  a  year  or  a  little  over, 
and  their  first  minister  was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright. 
This  chui'cli  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any 
paiticular  name. 

A  few  months  before  the  establishment  of  the 
Episcopal  church  in  Brooklyn,  a  frame  building 
of  considerable  size  for  that  day  had  been  erected 
on  the  present  Fulton  street,  upon  what  is  now 
the  Episcopal  burying  ground,  and  was  used  by 
a  congregation  of  "  Independents."  It  was  in- 
corporated on  the  ISth  of  September,  1TS5, 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Independent  Meeting 
House,"  with  John  Matlock,  pastor ;  George 
Wall,  assistant;  John  Carpenter,  treasurer; 
Georo-e  Powers,  secretary  ;  and  five  trustees. 

After  they  had  used  it  for  Divine  worship 
something  over  a  year,  Mr.  John  Carpenter,  and 
two  or  three  other  gentlemen  who  had  a  claim 
upon  the  land  and  building  for  the  money  ad- 


138  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

vanced  for  its  purchase  and  erection,  ejected  the 
Independent  congregation  bj  fastening  up  the 
church,  and  refusing  them  admission ;  and  they 
subsequently  transferred  the  land  and  chur{;h  to 
the  Episcopalian  congregation,  who  thereupon 
left  their  room  on  the  corner  of  Fulton  and  Mid- 
dagh  streets,  and  occupied  it  as  their  church, 
upon  which,  on  the  23d  of  April,  1787,  they  were 
incorporated  under  the  name  of  "  The  Episcopal 
Church  of  Brookl^m,"  and  their  temporalities 
placed  under  tlie  direction  of  seven  trustees^  the 
first  of  whom  were  Whitehead  Cornell,  Joshua 
Sands,  Joseph  Sealy,  Aquila  Giles,  Matthew 
Gleaves,  John  Van  Xostrand  and  Henry  Stan- 
ton. 

The  form  of  government  which  they  had  thus 
inadvertently  adopted,  not  being  that  suited  to 
the  churches  and  congregations  of  the  Episco- 
palian church,  but  intended  for  the  Presbyterian 
and  other  congregations,  the  church  was  reorgan- 
ized, and  the  22d  of  June,  1795,  newly  incorpo- 
rated, under  the  name  of  "  St.  Ann's  Church," 
and  placed  under  the  government  of  church- 
wardens and  vestrymen. 

Many  have  supposed,  and  now  believe,  that 
the  name  of  "  St.  Ann's  Church  "  was  for  the 
first  time  applied  to  the  stone  church  erected  on 
Sands  street ;  but  this  is  an  error :  it  was  applied 


ST.  Ann's  ciiuecii.  139 

to  the  old  frame  cliurch  about  nine  years  before 
the  stone  church  was  built. 

They  remained  in  this  church  until  the  stone 
Episcopal  church  on  Sands  street  was  erected; 
also  known  as  St.  Ann's  church,  when  the  old 
frame  church  was  taken  down  about  1805,  and 
from  its  materials  the  dwelling  house  'No.  11 
Prospect  street  was  erected. 

The  first  organ  in  any  church  in  Kings  County 
was  that  in  St.  Ann's  church,  Brooklyn,  which 
was  first  opened  April  11th,  1810,  and  a  number 
of  fine  pieces  of  music  performed  and  anthems 
sung.  A  sermon  was  delivered  on  the  occasion 
by  tlie  Rev.  R.  C.  Moore,  on  the  importance  of 
church  music.  St.  Ann's  Episcopal  church  was 
occupied  until  the  close  of  the  summer  of  1825, 
when  it  was  taken  down  in  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber of  that  year.  The  first  clergyman  wdio  ofiici- 
ated  in  that  church  was  the  Rev.  John  Ireland,  a 
man  of  a  most  violent  temper,  and  who  was  event- 
ually silenced  from  preaching,  or  acting  as  a 
minister,  for  some  very  unseemly  exhibitions  of 
it,  a  restriction  after  some  years  removed,  and  he 
was  appointed  chaplain  to  the  United  States 
Xavy  Yard  in  this  town,  w^hich  situation  he  held 
until  his  decease. 

The  new  St.  Ann's  cliurch,  constructed  of 
brick,  on  Washington  street,  in  the  rear  of  the 


140  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

old  charch,  was  consecrated  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  suinnier  of  1S25,  by  the  Kight  Rev.  John 
Croes,  Bishop  of  New  Jersey,  assisted  by  the 
Bishops  of  Pennsylvania  and  Rhode  Island.  At 
that  time  it  was  the  only  Episcopal  church  in  the 
town  of  Brooklyn,  or  in  the  County  of  Kings,  ex- 
cept that  the  chaplain  of  the  Navy  Yard  then  be- 
ing an  Episcopalian,  the  service  in  that  chapel 
was  of  the  Episcopal  form. 

At  North  Hemj)stead,  in  Queens  County,  an 
Episcopalian  church  was  founded  by  the  name  of 
"  Christ  Church  "  in  the  year  1803. 

FOUNDATION    OF    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCHES. 

The  first  congregation  of  this  denomination 
was  formed  in  Brooklyn  about  the  year  1787, 
but  it  was  some  three  or  four  years  before  they 
became  sufficiently  numerous  to  erect  a  church 
or  meeting-house,  but  they  had  frequent  preach- 
ing supplied  by  the  itinerant  preachers  of  their 
connexion,  in  a  small  building  of  one  story  about 
thirty-five  feet  long,  and  twenty  feet  broad, 
which  they  built  on  the  northerly  side  of  High 
street,  and  afterwards  used  for  many  years  as  a 
school-house. 

Their  first  church  on  Sands  street,  near  Fulton 
street,  was  probably  erected  in  the  autumn  of  the 
year  1793,  as  we  find  it  to  have  been  incorporated 


EOlklAN    CATHOLIC    CHUECHES.  141 

on  the  19th  of  May,  1794,  iiiicler  the  name  of  the 
"  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Clmrch,"  and  placed 
under  the  government  of  six  trustees.  This 
cl lurch  continued  to  be  used  until  tlie  year  1810, 
when  being  found  much  too  small  for  the  con- 
gi-egation  attending  there,  it  was  taken  down, 
and  a  temporary  slied  of  large  dimensions  erected 
in  the  burying-ground  immediately  in  the  rear  of 
the  cliurch ;  under  wdiich  the  pnlpit  and  seats 
were  placed,  and  Divine  service  performed  tiiere 
until  the  new  cliurch  was  erected.  Which  new 
church  was  erected  upon  the  site  of  the  old  one, 
and  extending  much  beyond  it,  both  in  length 
and  breadth — it  was  also  a  frame  building,  as 
well  as  the  old  church. 

This  new  Methodist  church  was  opened  for  the 
first  time  after  its  completion,  on  the  18th  of 
August,  1811,  and  a  dedication  sermon  preached 
on  the  occasion. 

This  Methodist  church  erected  on  Sands  street, 
Brooklyn,  in  1793,  was  not  only  the  first  church 
of  that  denomination  in  this  town,  but  also  the 
first  erected  in  Kings  County. 

FOUNDATION    OF    ROMAN    CxVTIIOLIC    CHURCHES. 

The  first  Komaii  Catholic  church  founded  upon 
Long  Island  takes  its  date  from  the  year  1822. 


143  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Tlie  corner-stone  of  this  church  was  laid  in  the 
yiljage  of  Brooklyn,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1822, 
on  the  corner  of  Jay  street  and  Chapel  street, 
which  was  then  a  large  extent  of  vacant  ground, 
there  being  then  no  buildings  nearer  that  spot 
than  High  street,  and  not  a  single  building 
between  the  site  of  the  church  and  the  mead- 
ows of  Wallaboght  mill-pond. 

This  church  was  incorporated  on  the  20th  of 
November,  1822,  by  the  name  of  "  St.  James 
Roman  Catholic  Church,"  and  placed  under  the 
government  of  seven  trustees.  The  church  has 
been  very  much  enlarged  every  way ;  the  nave 
of  the  church,  as  now  used,  was  all  that  consti- 
tuted the  original  edifice ;  the  front,  the  tower 
and  sj^ire,  the  transept  and  the  chancel  have  all 
been  added.  The  church,  as  first  erected,  was  a 
plain  brick  edifice,  with  unfinished  walls  inside ; 
now  it  is  a  very  showy  building. 

OLD    HOUSES. 

There  are  several  houses  still  remaining  on 
this  island  venerable  for  their  antiquity,  and  for 
incidents  connected  with  their  history.  One  of 
them  is  the  house  in  Southold,  known  as  the 
"  old  Young's  place,"  which  was  built  in  1688. 
It  was  the  mansion  house  of  the  descendants  of 


THE    PIRATE  S    GKAVE.  143 

the  Rev.  John  Youngs,  the  first  Christian  minis- 
ter in  that  part  of  Long  Island.  In  the  same 
town  is  also  the  edifice  known  as  "  Cochran's 
Hotel,"  which  was  erected  in  the  year  1700 ;  and 
there  are  several  others  in  the  eastern  part  of 
this  island  which  might  be  noticed,  if  time  and 
space  permitted.  Approaching  westwardly 
through  the  island,  we  meet,  on  Fort  N'eck,  with 
an  old-fashioned  brick  house,  which  was  many 
years  ago  owned  and  occupied  by  a  Captain 
Jones,  wlio  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  pirate,  and 
in  it  he  died.  Tradition  says  that  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  a  large  black  crow  (which  the  people 
supposed  to  be  a  demon)  hovered  over  his  bed, 
and  when  life  was  extinct,  the  crow  made  his 
exit  through  the  west  end  of  the  house.  This 
story  is  still  told  by  the  oldest  inhabitants  as  a 
fact,  and  they  also  state  that  the  hole  through 
which  the  crow  made  his  departure  cannot  be 
stopped,  and  that  as  often  as  it  is  closed  it  is 
opened  by  some  unknown  means. 

I  saw  the  house  in  Julj^,  1827  ;  it  was  a  venera- 
ble-looking building,  but  fast  hastening  to  ruin. 
It  was  then  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  "  haunted 
house,"  by  persons  in  the  vicinit}^  Capt.  Jones 
was  buried  not  far  from  the  house,  and  his 
grave  is  designated  to  this  day  as  the  "  Pirate's 
Grave." 


144  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

This  grave  is  about  half  a  mile  south  of  the 
house,  on  the  banks  of  a  creek,  in  a  small  piece 
of  p-round  surrounded  bv  an  earth  wall.  The 
tombstone  is  of  red  freestone.  The  ground  also 
contains  the  graves  of  his  wife,  his  sou,  and  his 
son's  wife.  There  are  no  other  persons  interred 
there  but  these  four.     It  is  quite  a  solitary  spot. 

The  mansion  of  the  Hon.  George  Duncan 
Ludlow,  at  Hempstead  Plains,  now  called  Ilvde 
Park,  was  one  of  the  largest  and  best  houses  of 
its  da}^  on  this  island.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire 
accidentally,  in  the  month  of  December,  1773, 
and  the  loss  sustained  was  estimated  at  not  less 
than  £3000.  With  it  was  also  consumed  a 
library  estimated  to  be  worth  twelve  hundred 
pounds,  which  must  have  been  a  very  large  and 
valuable  library  for  the  colonies.  This  house 
was  immediately  rebuilt  upon  the  same  spot, 
and  again  destroyed  by  fire  in  1817,  while  in 
the  occupation  of  the  celebrated  William  Cob- 
bett. 

In  the  town  of  Flatbush  are  several  of  these 
relics  of  former  days  ;  among  them  is  an  old  one- 
story  brick  dwelling-house  erected  in  the  year 
1G96,  situate  at  the  corner  of  the  Flatbush  turn- 
pike road  and  the  road  leading  to  New  Lotts. 
This  house  has  the  following  figures  and  devices, 
containing  the  date  of  its  erection,  and  the  initials 


THE    OLDEST    HOUSE    IN    BROOKLYN.  145 

of  its  original  proprietor,  on  its  front,  formed  with 
bine  bricks  inserted  between  tlie  red  bricks. 


c? 

Q 

<S.P 

S.5><$. 

o 

Q 

In  the  same  town  is  a  very  old  frame  house, 
covered  with  cedar  sliingles,  the  date  of  which  is 
unknown,  but  we  should  not  be  surprised,  judg- 
ing frOm  its  appearance,  if  the  date  of  this  build- 
ing was  prior  to  tliat  of  the  one  above  mentioned. 

The  oldest  liouse  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn  is 
supposed  to  be  the  house  which  was  known  as 
Tn^o.  ()4  Fulton  street,  in  the  village  of  Brooklpi, 
and  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Jacob  Patchen. 
Mr.  Charles  Doughty,  who  has  been  dead  about 
twenty-five  years,  and  was  about  eighty-five  years 
of  age  when  he  died,  said  that  this  was  an  old 
liouse  when  he  Avas  a  bo}^  Mrs.  Eapalje,  the 
mother  of  John  E-apalje,  whose  property  in 
Brooklyn  was  confiscated  during  the  Iwevolution- 
ary  wai-,  said  that  this  house  was  built  by  a  family 
of  the  Hemsens  who  came  from  Holland.  This 
7 


146  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUFJIES. 

house  was  removed  by  order  of  the  corporation 
of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  for  the  purpose  of 
opening  Market  street  in  that  village,  and  now 
stands  on  Jackson  street  in  said  village,  now  city. 

There  was  also  recently  an  old  brick  honse 
standing  on  Fulton  street,  in  Brooklyn,  near  tlie 
corner  of  Nassau  street,  which  was  occupied  by 
the  Colonial  Legislature  as  a  sessions  house  dur- 
ing the  prevalence  of  the  small-pox  in  New  York 
in  1752  ;  and  at  this  house,  on  the  4th  of  June, 
1752,  2,541  bills  of  credit  issued  by  this  Colony, 
amounting  to  £3,G02.  ISs.  3d.,  were  cancelled  by 
the  Colonial  Connnissioners.  This  house  was  sub- 
sequently occupied  by  General  Israel  Putnam  as 
his  headquarters  during  the  stay  of  the  American 
army  on  Long  Islaiid,  in  the  summer  of  1776. 

The  house  was  taken  down  in  May,  1S32,  and 
its  timbers,  which  were  all  of  oak  (as  were  those 
of  all  the  old  buildings  of  that  early  period),  were 
so  perfectly  sound  and  hard  that  they  could  not 
be  cut  without  much  difficulty  ;  and  most  of  them 
were  worked  into  the  new  brick  buildings  which 
now  occupy  the  same  site. 

What  an  idea  does  this  simple  fact  afford  us  of 
the  strength  and  permanency  with  which  every 
thing  was  done  by  our  ancestors.  They  did  not 
build  in  haste,  or  run  up  houses  during  the  frosts 
of  winter,  but  all  was  done  \7ith  muph  care  and 


Washington's  headquarters.  147 

forethoTiglit ;  tliey  were  building  for  their  pos- 
terity as  well  as  for  themselves.  In  building,  as 
in  every  other  matter,  much  time  was  spent  in 
examining  the  project  in  all  its  probable  bearings 
before  it  was  adventured  upon  ;  and  wlien  once 
undertaken,  it  was  persisted  in  with  a  force  and 
spirit  almost  unknown  to  the  present  age.  To 
this  peculiar  characteristic  of  our  foi-efathers  we 
owe  all  the  blessings  arising  from  our  institutions 
of  government.  A  slight  and  even  partial  exam- 
ination of  the  history  of  the  United  States  for  the 
half  century  preceding  the  Kevolntion  of  1776, 
will  show  us  how  many  years  of  patient  thought 
and  unwearied  toil  were  deemed  necessary  by  the 
patriots  of  that  day  to  precede  the  great  event  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  to  give  to 
it  the  desii-ed  stability.  They  did  not  dream  of 
getting  up  a  revolution  in  a  few  hours,  days  or 
months,  now  so  common  in  tliis  world,  and  whose 
effects,  of  course,  are  as  evanescent  as  were  the 
deliberations  which  gave  them  birth.  The  house 
on  Brooklyn  Heights  recently  owned  by  Henry 
AVaring,  Esq.,  was  at  the  same  time  occupied  by 
General  AVashington  as  his  headquarters. 

There  is  a  very  old  stone  dwelling  house  near 
the  water  at  Gowanus  Bay,  and  next  to  tiie  house 
of  Simon  Bergen.  It  was  formerly  the  old  Ber- 
gen mansion  house,  and  near  the  well  of  tliis 


148  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

house,  Mr.  Bergen,  the  proprietor,  was  shot  dur- 
ing the  Revohitionary  war  by  an  English  soldier. 
Another  memorial  of  antiquity  which  still  remains 
to  us  in  Brooklyn  is  an  old  stone  house  owned  by 
the  family  of  Cortelyou,  at  Gowanus,  which 
bears  on  its  gable  end,  in  iron  figures,  the  date  of 
1699.  It  is  a  venerable  looking  edifice ;  and 
when  A^ewing  it,  our  minds  are  imperceptibly  led 
to  think  how  much  of  human  joy  and  sorrow, 
wdiat  scenes  of  happiness  and  misery,  must  have 
occurred  under  the  roof -tree  of  that  old  mansion 
since  the  date  of  its  erection ;  and  if  it  were  in 
our  power  to  learn  its  entire  history  without  the 
slightest  embellishment,  what  a  strange  romance 
would  even  the  plainest  narrative  of  the  facts 
which  have  transpired  within  its  walls  now  ap- 
pear to  us !  So  true  it  is  that  fact  is  often  much 
stranger  than  any  romance  which  the  mind  of 
man  ever  conceived.  This  house  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  American  general.  Lord  Stirling, 
prior  to  his  capture  by  the  British  forces  in  the 
battles  of  Long  Island. 

The  house  'No.  27  Fulton  street,  opposite  Front 
street,  in  Brooklyn,  and  for  many  years  occupied 
as  a  tavern,  was  built  in  1780,  entirely  of  Long 
Island  timber,  and  the  frame  of  oak,  as  was  for- 
merly the  case  with  many  houses  ;  it  was  taken 
down  about  the  year  1830.     In  digging  the  cellar 


THE    DUTCH    MODE    OF    BUILDING.  149 

of  this  house  a  Large  rock  was  found,  which  in 
endeavoring  to  sink  slipped,  and  one  of  the  men 
fell  under  it  and  was  crushed  to  death,  and  his 
bones  reraam  under  it  to  the  present  day :  so  says 
tradition. 

The  houses  mentioned  were  amono;  the  larfi:est 
and  most  important  dwellings  in  the  colony  at 
tlie  time  of  their  erection,  and  serve  to  show  us 
what  the  more  wealthy  and  noble  of  the  land 
then  thought  sufficient  for  all  their  wants,  and  for 
the  accommodation  of  their  families  and  friends. 
In  the  centui'V  followino-  there  was  an  evident 
change  in  sentiment  in  this  respect ;  the  houses 
were  lariJ^er,  and  from  beino^  lono-  and  narrow, 

o      "  o  Id  ' 

with  two  front  doors,  not  unfrequently  side  by 
side,  and  one  or  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  they 
became  square  and  two  stories  in  height,  aiford- 
ing  double  the  amount  of  room,  and  often  more, 
than  in  the  old  st3de  of  building  in  the  century  im- 
mediately preceding.  Of  this  more  modern  style, 
many  of  the  houses  would  even  now  be  regarded 
highly  respectable  in  appearance  ;  it  was  an  adap- 
tation, to  some  extent,  of  the  English  style,  as  its 
predecessor  was  of  the  Dutch  mode  of  building ; 
there  are  however  but  few, very  few,  of  this  second 
order  of  our  old  mansions  now  in  existence  :  a  few 
of  them  are  mentioned  in  the  following  pages. 
The  first  Lighthouse  erected  on  Long  Island 


150  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

was  tlie  Lighthouse  on  Montauk  Point,  which 
was  built  in  1796.  It  is  a  very  massive  and  dur- 
able tower  of  stone,  and  it  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
best  lights  in  the  United  States. 


Prior  to  the  Revolution  of  1776,  Governor 
Martin,  of  the  province  of  South  Carolina,  came 
on  from  that  province  to  Xew  York,  and  built 
the  large  old  house  at  Rockaway  Beach,  now 
(1S38)  occupied  as  a  boarding-house,  where  he 
resided  with  his  family.  In  the  large  room  on 
the  lower  floor,  now  used  as  a  dining-room, 
there  is  a  painting  on  a  panel  over  the  fire-place, 
representing  a  child  playing  with  a  dog.  It  is  a 
splendid  piece  of  painting,  the  dog  especially  is 
admirable :  it  is  a  spotted  dog.  This  painting 
was  done  by  Sir  John  Copley,  then  without  his 
title,  and  an  inhabitant  of  Boston,  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  the  child  represented  a  member  of 
Governor  Martin's  family.  The  house  is  a  very 
fine  specimen  of  the  old  style  of  mansion-house 
building.  Mrs.  Martin,  the  widow  of  Governor 
Martin,  lived  and  died  in  the  city  of  Kew  York, 
in  Broadway,  on  part  of  what  is  now  the  site  of 
Astor's  great  hotel ;  she  was  a  daughter  of  Sir 
John  Copley,  and  sister  of  Lord  Lyndhurst,  the 


PAINTINGS    BY    COPLEY.  151 

English  Lord  Chancellor ;  she  says  the  painting 
before  mentioned  was  from  the  pencil  of  her 
father.  She  died  about  the  year  1825,  and  quite 
wealthy  ;  she  gave  eight  thousand  dollars  by  her 
will  to  Bishop  Ilobart  of  New  York.  In  the 
com]3troller's  office  of  Trinitj^  Church,  on  the 
corner  of  Fulton  and  Church  streets,  New  York, 
is  another  painting  by  Sir  John  Copley.  It  is  a 
likeness  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Ogilvie  of  Trinity 
Church,  assistant  minister  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Auchnmty,  tlie  rector  of  that  church.  Mr. 
Ogilvie  died  before  the  Eevolutionary  war,  on 
Fulton  street,  in  Brooklyn,  near  its  junction  with 
Jackson  street,  and  about  fifty  feet  southerly  of 
that  junction,  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  is 
(1830)  a  relic  of  the  olden  time  which  has  been 
there  some  considerable  time  before  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  It  is  a  wood  medallion,  but  profile 
likeness  of  King  George  III.,  of  England, 
crowned  with  a  laurel  wreath.  It  is  well  done 
and  a  creditable  specimen  of  wood  carving  not 
only  for  that  day,  but  for  any  day,  and  judging 
from  the  engraved  likeness  of  that  monarch,  it 
is  a  very  good  representation  of  him.  It  is  now, 
and  I  believe  always  has  been,  on  tlie  front  of  tlie 
hay  scales,  near  the  top,  which  are  now  kept  by 
Charles  Poling.  It  should  be  preserved  as  a 
memento  of  our  ante-lie  vol  utionary  history.     In 


153  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

1820  there  was  another  of  these  old-fasliioiied 
haj-scales  in  Brooklyn ;  it  stood  on  the  westerly 
side  of  Fidton  street,  a  little  southerly  of  the 
corner  of  that  street  and  Buckbee's  alley,  and  be- 
tween the  front  of  those  hay-scales  and  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  street  was  only  about  thirty-five 
feet.  On  the  top  of  these  hay-scales  was  a  small 
cupola  in  which  hung  the  fire-bell  of  Brooklyn, 
then  the  only  bell  in  the  village  for  an  alarm  in 
such  cases,  except  the  bell  of  St.  Ann's  churcli, 
which  was  bnt  a  poor  one,  and  the  small  bell  of 
the  old  Dutch  Church,  which  then  hung  in  the 
belfry  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Lecture-room  in 
Middagh  street.  At  this  period  all  the  houses  on 
Fulton  street,  between  the  corner  of  Front  street, 
and  the  junction  of  Fulton  street  and  Main  street, 
were  old  frame  buildings  of  one  and  tw^o  stories 
high,  with  the  exception  of  the  stone  dwelling- 
house  of  two  stories,  occupied  by  Jacob  M.  Hicks 
and  John  M.  Hicks,  on  the  corner  of  Hicks  street 
and  Fulton  street ;  and  the  two-story  brick  dwell- 
ing of  Burdett  Stryker,  opposite  Front  street ; 
and  the  long  old  one-story  brick  dwelling  of  Abiel 
Titus,  on  the  east  side  of  Fulton  street.  Hicks 
street  then  was  only  about  fifteen  feet  wide  at  its 
junction  with  Fulton  street,  and  was  a  steep,  ugly 
hill  to  get  up  with  a  loaded  cart,  and  gullying 
very  much  with  every  rain.     About  this  time  the 


THE   "COEPORATION    HOUSE.  153 

trustees  of  the  village  attempted  its  first  regula- 
tion, by  building  a  high  stone  wall  along  from 
the  rear  of  the  Messrs.  Hicks'  house  for  600  or 
700  feet  (outside  of  it  being  then  all  vacant 
ground,  used  for  garden  purposes),  and  then 
cutting  off  the  top  of  the  hill  some  four  or  five 
feet,  they  filled  in  the  bottom  and  along  even 
with  that  stone  wall;  and  then,  to  prevent  its 
gullying,  paved  it  with  a  gutter  in  the  centre  of 
the  street. 

On  the  westerly  corner  of  Front  and  Fulton 
streets  stood  the  old  Rapalje  mansion-house,  a 
large  stone  building  of  two  stories,  about  forty 
feet  front  on  the  street.  This  house  was  second 
to  none  upon  Long  Island,  when  it  was  built,  for 
size  and  elegance.  It  was  taken  down  about 
1807. 

The  next  house  west  of  that  upon  the  Old  Ferry 
street,  now  Fulton  street,  was  the  large,  old,  stone 
two-story  building,  occupied  as  a  tavern,  known 
as  the  "  Corporation  House  ;  "  it  belonged  to  the 
Corporation  of  the  City  of  IN'ew  York,  and  was 
originally  erected  by  them  as  an  iim  or  tavern 
some  twenty  or  thirty  years  l:)ef()re  the  He  volu- 
tion, and  was  occupied  as  such  all  through  that 
war,  and  was  a  noted  resort  of  the  British  officers 
stationed  in  New  York,  and  many  of  them  men- 
tion it  in  their  published  travels  in  this  country. 


154  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

That  house  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  the  year 
1815,  and  its  desolate  walls  remained  standing 
for  some  two  or  three  years  after,  when  the  Cor- 
poration of  Xew  York  had  a  new  survey  made  of 
their  property  there,  and  new  division  of  lots, 
upon  which  they  leased  the  same,  and  brick 
stores  and  dwellings  were  erected. 

Another  noted  house  in  Brooklyn  was  the 
mansion-house  of  Philip  I.  Livingston,  afterwards 
a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress.  This 
was  a  large  frame  building,  actually  forming  two 
dwellings.  The  larger  part,  wdiich  was  about 
forty  feet  square,  Mr.  Livingston  erected  for  his 
son,  who  was  a  young  man  then  travelling  in 
Europe  ;  who,  upon  his  return,  was  to  be  married 
to  a  lady  to  whom  he  w^as  engaged  before  he  left 
liome,  and  occupy  that  new  house ;  but  he  was 
taken  sick,  and  died  abroad  only  a  few  months 
before  his  return  was  expected. 

This  mansion,  both  the  old  and  the  new  part, 
was  finished  throughout  in  the  best  and  most 
costly  style  of  that  period,  having  much  beautiful 
carved  wood-work  and  ornamented  ceilings,  and 
also  Italian  marble  chimney-pieces  sculptured  in 
Italy.  Most  beautiful  specimens  they  were  ;  we 
have  often  admired  them.  This  house,  upon  tht^ 
death  of  its  last  owner  and  occupier,  Judge  Jorale- 
moii,  in   181:2,  was  about  to  be  taken  down,  and 


MONUMENTS    AND    FUNERAL   CUSTOMS.  155 

these  marble  chimney-pieces  were  packed  up  for 
removal,  when  it  took  fire,  and  they,  with  the 
house,  were  destroyed.  The  gardens  attached  to 
this  mansion,  when  the  British  took  possession  of 
it  and  converted  it  into  a  naval  hospital  in  1776, 
are  said  to  have  been  among  the  most  beautiful 
in  America. 


OLD    MONUMENTAL    STONES    AND     FUNERAL    CUSTOMS. 

The  oldest  monumental  tombstones  bearing 
inscriptions  are  to  be  found  on  the  east  end  of 
the  island,  although  there  were  settlements  made 
on  the  west  end  at  an  earlier  date  than  on  the 
east.  The  reasons  for  this  we  conceive  to  be 
these :  Among  the  Dutch  settlers  the  art  of 
stone-cutting  does  not  appear  to  have  been  used 
until  within  comparatively  a  few  years,  with  but 
few  exceptions,  and  their  old  burying-grounds 
ai-e  strewn  with  rougli  headstones  which  bear  no 
inscriptions ;  whereas  the  English  people  imme- 
diately on  their  settlement  introduced  the  pirac- 
tice  of  perpetuating  the  memories  of  their  friends 
by  inscribed  stones.  Another  reason  for  not  find- 
ing any  very  old  toinbstones  in  the  Dutch  settle- 
ments is,  that  they  early  adopted  the  practice  of 
having  family  burial-places  on  their  farms,  without 
monuments,  and  not  uufrequently  private  burials, 


lod  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

both  of  which  the  Governor  and  Colonial  Legis- 
lature, in  1664  and  1684,  deemed  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  merit  legislative  interference,  and 
declared  that  all  persons  should  be  publicly 
buried  in  some  parish  burial-place  ;  but  as  there 
was  no  specific  penalty  attached  to  the  l)reach  of 
these  laws,  the  custom  of  burying  in  private 
burial-places  still  continued,  and  is  practised  to  a 
considerable  extent  at  the  present  day. 

In  the  old  grave -yard  at  East  Hampton  are 
said  to  be  several  ancient  tombstones,  and  that  in 
that  grave-yard  are  buried  many  of  the  first  set- 
tlers. 

The  first  English  settlement  in  the  town  of 
East  Hampton  (excepting  Gardiner's  Island)  w^as 
made  in  the  spring  of  1648,  and  the  first  intei-- 
ments  were  made  in  the  south  bui-ial-ground  of 
that  town,  where  yet  nmy  be  seen  monuments  of 
red  (-edar  wood,  which  are  probably  as  ancient  as 
any  other  now  existing. 

The  public  cemeteries  on  the  east  end  of  the 
island  were  uninclosed,  indicating  that  the  set- 
tlers regarded  with  no  religious  veneration  the 
resting-jDlaces  of  the  dead  ;  not  that  they  had  no 
respect  for  t/ie  rnemories  of  their  deceased  rela- 
tives and  friends,  but  that  they  esteemed  all 
measures  for  setting  apart  the  final  resting-place 
of  the  body,  by  enclosures  and  other  acts,  as  relics 


WILLIAM    WELLS    OF    SOUTHOLD>  157 

of  superstitious  observances,  which  should,  as  an 
act  of  duty,  be  avoided,  and  they,  therefore,  in 
their  great  care  to  abstain  from  anytliing  wliich 
might  have  the  appearance  of  acceding  to  the 
ceremonies  and  requirements  of  Prelacy  and 
Papacy,  ran  into  the  opposite  extreme. 

On  the  west  end  of  the  island,  on  the  con- 
trary, care  was  taken  to  secure  the  burial-places 
from  all  intrusion,  by  fencing  them,  and  allowing 
but  one  place  for  their  entrance ;  and  although 
no  particular  ceremony  was  used  in  setting  them 
apart,  or  upon  interring  the  dead  in  them,  except 
b}'  the  few  members  of  the  Church  of  England, 
or  Episcopalians,  yet  all  here  regarded  the  grave- 
yard as  a  species  of  hallowed  ground,  not  to  be 
trod  upon  lightly  or  without  caiise. 

In  the  church  burying-ground  at  Southokl  is 
a  tombstone  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Here  lies  ye  body  of  William  AYells  of  South- 
old,  gent,  justice  of  ye  peace,  and  fii-st  Sheriff e  of 
New  Yorkshire  upon  Long  Island,  who  departed 
this  life  November  13th,  1671,  aged  63." 

"  Yea  here  hee  lies,  who  speaketh  yet,  tho'  dead, 
On  wings  of  faith  his  soule  to  Heaven  is  fled, 
His  pious  deedes  and  charity  was  such, 
That  of  his  praise  no  pen  can  write  too  much. 
As  was  his  life  so  was  his  blest  decease. 
He  lived  in  love  and  sweetly  dy'd  in  peace." 


158  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  oldest  tombstone  in  the  Dntch  church-yard 
at  Biooklyii,  having  any  mark,  is  one  which  bears 
the  date  of  1730. 

The  oldest  tombstone  at  present  in  the  Bush- 
wick  buiying-ground  is  one  erected  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Cornelius  Bogart,  and  bears  the  date  of 
1769.  There  are  inscriptions  in  Dutch  on  tomb- 
stones in  this  burial-place  bearing  date  as  late  as 
1780. 

In  the  burying-ground  in  Flatbush  \dllage, 
among  the  earliest  grave-stones,  is  one  now  stand- 
ino^  about  eiu^hteen  inches  in  heia^ht  from  the 
ground,  made  of  the  white  sandstone  which  is  nsu- 
ally  found  in  the  woods.  It  is  inscribed  to  the 
memory  of  Helen  Yanderbilt,  wife  of  one  of  the 
Martenses,  and  has  cut  on  it,  near  the  top,  a  rough 
representation  of  a  chernb's  head.  There  is  a 
tradition  in  the  Martense  family,  that  this  monu- 
mental stone  cost  ten  pounds  of  the  currency  of 
the  colony  at  that  period.  A  most  enormous 
sum,  being  equal  to  the  whole  salary  of  the  Clerk 
of  Kings  County  for  a  3'ear,  that  being  also  ten 
pounds  currency  at  that  time,  and  explaining  to 
a  certain  extent  the  reason  why  so  few  grave- 
stones of  an  ancient  date  are  to  be  found  in  the 
burying-grounds  on  the  west  end  of  the  island  ; 
and  taken  in  connection  with  the  fact  of  the  pri- 
vate burial-places,  affords,  perhaj^s,  a  complete 


THE   FLATBUSII    NIGIIT-WATCII.  159 

solution  to  the  whole  question.  There  were  un- 
questionably but  few  persons  who  here  followed 
the  business  of  stone-cutting,  and  consequently 
the  price  was  too  high  for  any  but  those  w4io 
were  comparatively  wealthy,  and  the  most  of 
tliose  having  been  interred  in  their  private  ceme- 
teries, but  few  of  those  stones  are  to  be  found  in 
the  public  grave-yards. 

The  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Kew  York,  on 
the  6th  of  April,  1796,  passed  an  Act  authorizing 
the  inhabitants  of  Flatbush  to  establish  a  night 
w^atch  in  that  town.  The  object  designed  by  this 
watch  was  to  prevent  the  taking  up  of  recently 
buried  dead  bodies  from  their  graves  in  the  church- 
yard, to  be  used  for  anatomical  examinations  in 
the  city  of  IN^ewYork  and  elsewhere ;  which  it  was 
said  had  been  previously  done  in  some  instances, 
and  caused  much  excitement  in  the  community, 
as  well  as  grief  to  the  surviving  relatives ;  for 
there  is  nothing  that  the  old-fashioned  Dutch 
people  so  much  dread  and  abhor  as  the  idea  of 
having  their  own  bodies,  or  those  of  their  friends 
and  relatives,  subjected  to  the  dissecting  knife  of 
the  surgeon  for  any  such  purpose. 

This  watch  was  usually  kept  every  night  in  the 
burying-ground,  for  eight  or  ten  days  after  the 
interment,  depending  on  the  season  of  the  year. 
The  friends  of  the  deceased  supplied  the  watch 


160  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

each  night  with  provisions  and  refreshments  to  be 
consnmed  during  their  vigils. 

Formerly  the  funerals  upon  this  island  were  of 
a  very  expensive  character,  and  it  was  a  custom 
in  the  old  families  to  lay  up  a  stock  of  superior 
wine  to  be  used  on  such  occasions ;  and  fre- 
quently at  those  funerals  you  would  meet  with 
wine  so  choice  and  excellent  that  it  could  scarcely 
be  equalled  by  any  in  the  land,  although  our 
country  has  always  been  celebrated  throughout 
the  world  for  its  excellent  Madeira  wine.  Chris- 
topher Smith,  Esq.,  of  Jamaica,  on  this  island, 
who  died  about  half  a  century  since,  had  stored 
away  a  large  quantity  of  the  most  superior  wines 
in  the  country,  which  were  used  at  his  funeral ; 
and  an  old  friend  of  ours  who  attended  the  fun- 
eral of  General  Curtenius,  in  the  city  of  Xew 
York,  several  years  ago  informed  us  that  from 
the  great  profusion  of  excellent  wines,  liquors, 
segars,  etc.,  it  resembled  more  a  wedding  feast 
than  it  did  a  funeral ;  this,  however,  was  not  pe- 
culiar to  this  instance ;  it  was  the  general  custom  at 
that  period  and  for  a  very  longtime  previous  upon 
Long  Island  and  in  the  cit}'  of  ~New  York.  Also, 
and  not  very  many  years  since,  among  us  a  cus- 
tom universally  existed  of  handing  around  w^ine 
to  all  persons  attending  a  funeral ;  and  it  was 
also  usual,  when  the  estate  of  the  deceased  would 


THE    EAKL    OF    BELL  AMOUNT.  IGl 

afford  it,  and  even  in  many  cases  where  it  could 
not,  to  give  to  each  of  the  pall-bearers,  clergymen 
and  physicians  attending,  a  scarf  of  white  linen 
(sufficient  in  quantity  to  make  a  shirt),  which  was 
worn  by  them  across  the  shoulder;  and  also  a 
pair  of  gloves,  either  of  silk  or  kid.  If  the  de- 
ceased was  old  or  married,  the  scarf  was  tied 
with  a  black  ril)l)on,  and  the  gloves  were  black; 
but  if  the  deceased  was  young  and  unmarried, 
the  scai-f  was  fastened  with  a  white  ribbon  and 
the  gloves  were  white.  The  custom  of  giving 
gloves  and  scarfs  at  funerals  is  not  yet  entirely 
gone  out  of  existence.  At  a  still  earlier  period 
it  was  the  custom,  at  the  more  superior  order  of 
funerals,  to  give  gold  mourning  rings  to  each 
person  who  attended,  and  we  have  seen  still  pre- 
served on  Long  Island,  in  the  family  of  the  gen- 
tleman to  whom  it  was  presented,  a  ring  which 
was  thus  given  at  the  funeral  of  the  Earl  of  Bel- 
lamont,  who  died  the  Governor  of  the  Colony  of 
New  York;  it  was  a  very  heavy,  massive  gold 
ring,  and  lias  upon  it  the  inscription,  "  Comes  De 
Bello-mon." 

And  even  within  the  present  century  it  was 
likewise  the  custom  at  funerals  in  the  country 
parts  of  Long  Island,  for  the  relatives  of  the  de- 
ceased, at  the  house  from  which  the  funeral  was 
to  proceed,  to  prepare  a  large  quantity  of  cold 


162  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

provisions,  such  as  roast  turkeys,  boiled  hams, 
roast  beef,  etc.,  which  were  set  upon  a  table  in  a 
room  opened  for  the  purpose,  and  every  one  went 
there  and  helped  himself  as  he  pleased.  Also 
rum,  brandy  and  gin,  with  23ipes,  tobacco  and 
segars,  were  handed  around  among  the  people 
during  their  stay  at  the  house,  it  being  considered 
inhospitable  not  to  do  so ;  and  it  was  not  an  un- 
usual thing  to  see  the  farmers  congregate  together, 
in  warm  weather,  under  the  shade  of  trees,  about 
the  vicinity  of  the  house,  smoking  their  long  pipes 
and  drinking,  hearing  and  telling  the  news,  and 
lautyhinp:  and  talkino-  too:ether  for  two  or  three 
hours  before  the  funeral  would  move.  This  long 
stay  at  the  house  previous  to  proceeding  to  the 
place  of  interment,  together  with  the  great  plenty 
of  spirituous  liquors  distributed  about,  sometimes 
occasioned  scenes  of  much  noise,  and  very  inap- 
proj)riate  to  the  purjDose  for  which  they  had  as- 
sembled. The  change  which  has  since  been  pro- 
duced in  this  practice  is  mainlj^  to  be  credited  to 
the  exertions  of  one  gentleman,  the  Kev.  Evan 
M.  Johnson,  then  the  Rector  of  the  Episcopal 
church  at  ^N^ewtown,  who  some  years  since  pro- 
posed to  the  vestry  of  that  church,  that  thereafter, 
at  all  funerals  in  that  congregation,  the  friends 
should  be  bidden  or  invited  at  one  hour,  and  the 
interment  should  take  place  the  next  succeeding 


LUCAS  WYNGAARd's  FUNERAL.        163 

hour,  so  as  to  allow  them  sufficient  time  to  as- 
semble and  no  more,  and  to  induce  its  accep- 
tance the  rector  agreed  to  relinquish  his  claim 
to  a  scarf  on  such  occasions ;  he  also  proposed 
that  the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  at  funerals 
should  be  discontinued ;  to  all  these  propositions 
the  vestr}"  assented,  recommending  that  in  place 
of  spirituous  liquors,  wine  should  be  handed 
around  among  tlie  people;  this  was  a  great  reform, 
when  we  consider  that  it  was  long  before  the  tem- 
perance movement  commenced.  This  plan  being 
seen  to  work  well  in  that  congregation,  was  also 
adopted  bj  other  congregations  in  other  parts  of 
the  island,  and  after  a  while  the  use  of  wine  itself 
at  funerals  was  dispensed  with. 

But  expensive  as  was  the  character  of  the 
funeral  on  this  island,  and  in  New  York,  thej 
could  not  compare  in  that  respect  with  those 
among  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  the  city  of 
Albany.  Judge  Benson,  in  his  memoir  read 
before  the  Xew  York  Historical  Society,  describes 
the  funeral  of  Lucas  Wyngaard  who  died  in  that 
city  in  the  year  1756,  a  bachelor,  leaving  some 
estate.  The  invitation  to  that  funeral  was  verv 
general,  and  those  who  attended  returned  after 
the  interment,  as  the  custom  then  was,  to  the 
house  of  the  deceased,  towards  the  close  of  the 
day  ;  and  a  large  number  of  them  never  left  it 


164  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

until  the  dawn  of  the  ensuing  day.  In  the  course 
of  the  night  a  pipe  of  wine,  which  had  been  stored 
in  the  cellar  for  some  years  before  the  occasion, 
was  drank  ;  dozens  of  papers  of  tobacco  were  con- 
sumed ;  grosses  of  pipes  broken  ;  scarce  a  whole 
decanter  or  glass  was  left ;  and,  to  crown  the  whole, 
the  pall-bearers  made  a  bonfire  of  their  scai-fs 
upon  the  hearth  of  the  room  where  they  were  car- 
ousing. This  may  have  been  a  little  more  uproari- 
ous than  most  of  the  funerals  of  that  period,  as  the 
deceased  was  a  bachelor,  and  had  no  widow  and 
children  in  the  same  house  to  control,  and,  in 
some  degree,  to  modify  their  proceedings;  bat 
jet  all  the  funerals  of  that  time  were  more  than 
enough  so  under  any  circumstances.  Even  down 
to  within  the  last  fifty  years  Albany  was  noted 
for  the  expensive  character  of  its  funerals ;  a 
funeral,  in  a  respectable  old  Dutch  family  at  that 
place  and  especially  of  the  head  or  any  principal 
member  of  it,  often  cost  from  three  to  four 
thousand  dollars.  That  of  the  first  wife  of  the 
late  Patroon,  Hon.  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  it  is 
said,  cost  him  not  less  than  twenty  thousand  dol- 
lars !  All  his  tenants  were  invited,  and  most  of 
them  were  in  Albany  two  or  three  days  at  his 
expense,  and  tw^o  thousand  linen  scarfs  were 
given  on  that  occasion.  It  was  formerly  the 
custom  there  for  a  young  man  immediately  pre- 


165 

vions  to  his  raarriao^e,  to  send  to  the  Island  of 
Madeira  for  a  pipe  or  two  of  the  best  wine  ;  a 
portion  of  which  being  used  in  the  rejoicings 
consequent  upon  his  marriage,  and  the  remainder 
stored  away  for  his  funeral  and  that  of  his  wife. 
It  was  also  the  practice  in  that  city  to  send  out 
special  funeral  invitations  for  all  the  friends  and 
acquaintances  of  the  deceased,  being  about  the 
same  age,  and  likewise  for  all  the  clergy  and 
professional  men  of  the  city  and  neigliboring 
country,  and  general  invitations  from  the  pulpits 
of  the  churches  for  the  citizens  at  large.  To  the 
house  of  each  person  thus  specially  invited  was 
sent  a  linen  scarf,  a  pair  of  black  silk  gloves,  a  bot- 
tle of  old  Madeira  wine,  and  two  ^^  funeral  cahes^'' 
which  were  round,  and  about  the  size  of  a  dinner 
phite  ;  this  was  done  previous  to  the  funeral,  and 
was  in  addition  to  the  great  quantity  of  spiced 
wine  and  other  liquors,  which,  with  tobacco  and 
pipes,  were  distributed  and  used  at  the  hous'  of 
the  deceased  immediately  preceding  and  after  tlie 
interment.  Wlien  General  Schuyler  died  in  that 
city,  all  the  clergy,  lawyers,  physicians,  and  even 
students,  in  Albany  and  its  neighborhood  for 
many  miles,  were  invited  speciall}^,  and  a  scarf, 
gloves,  a  bottle  of  wine,  with  funeral  cakes,  given 
to  each  one  of  them.  So  particular  were  they 
about  the  linen  of  which  to  make  these  scarfs. 


166  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

that  ill  several  instances  they  sent  down  by  land 
to  Kew  York,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  purchase 
it,  and  paid  two  dollars  a  yard.  Common  linen 
would  not  answer;  the  finer  it  was  the  better  it 
was  liked  for  that  purpose.  These  customs  have 
now  all  died  away  in  that  city  ;  the  only  relic  of 
them  remaining  we  noticed  at  a  funeral  there  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1840,  when  the  persons  attend- 
ing in  large  numbers,  after  the  interment,  accom- 
panied the  relatives  of  the  deceased  in  procession 
on  their  return  to  the  house,  and  when  they  had 
arrived  at  the  door  they  all  dispersed  without 
going  in. 

Among  the  Dutch  inhabitants  on  Long  Island, 
it  was  recently,  and  had  been  from  time  im- 
memorial, if  it  is  not  even  yet,  customary  to  con- 
vert the  first  money  that  a  young  man  obtained 
by  his  labor  or  services,  after  he  became  of  age, 
into  gold  coin,  and  then  lay  it  by  for  the  purpose 
of  burying  him,  until  a  sufiicient  sum  was  thus 
procured  to  bear  the  expense  of  a  "  respectable 
funeral " — they  esteeming  it  a  great  reproach  to 
have  it  said  that  either  of  them  died  after  attain- 
ing about  the  age  of  twenty -three  years,  without 
leaving  money  sufficient  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
their  burial,  unless  under  very  peculiar  circum- 
stances. We  have  seen  a  large  number  of 
guineas  of  the  reign  of  George  II.,  and  Spanish 


FUNERAL    OF    A    DUTCH    FARMER.  1G7 

gold  pieces  of  a  later  date,  which  had  in  one 
family  been  collected  from  one  generation  to 
another,  and  laid  by  for  that  purpose,  being 
esteemed  as  something  sacred,  and  not  to  be  dis- 
posed of  in  any  other  way,  but  to  be  preserved 
for  the  emergency,  if  required.  It  was  also 
formerly  the  custom  w^ith  them,  the  Dutch  far- 
mers, when  the  head  of  a  family  died,  to  kill  an 
ox  or  steer,  and  to  buy  a  barrel  of  wine,  upon 
which  they  had  a  great  feast  among  the  relatives 
and  friends.  We  have  been  informed  by  a  gen- 
tleman now  living,  that  some  years  ago,  he  had 
charge  of  the  funeral  of  one  of  the  old  Dutch 
inhabitants  of  this  island,  a  very  respectable 
farmer,  and  that  the  expense  attending  that 
funeral  was  between  seven  and  eight  hundred 
dollars,  and  that  it  w^as  the  particular  request  of 
the  surviving  relatives  that  it  should  be  so,  their 
attachment  for  the  deceased  impelling  them  to 
desire  that  liis  funeral  sliould  be  a  generous  one, 
and  have  nothing  mean  or  inhospitable  about  it. 
It  was  also  the  practice  on  this  island,  and  still 
is  so,  to  appropriate  a  new  linen  shirt,  handker- 
chief, etc.,  for  each  member  of  the  family,  for 
the  purpose  of  burying  them  in,  and  which  arti- 
cles are  never  worn,  but  are  left  clean  for  that 
use.  And  in  the  country  parts  of  Long  Island 
it  is  usual,  or  was  until  very  recently,  when  a 


K)8  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

woman  died  in  childbed,  to  carry  the  corpse  to 
the  grave,  with  a  white  sheet  spread  over  the 
coffin,  in  place  of  a  pall. 

This  last-mentioned  custom  gave  rise  to  tlie 
onl}^  instance  of  second-sight  we  have  ever  heard 
of  upon  this  island.  A  gentleman,  who  is  now 
deceased,  a  man  of  veracity  and  high  standing  in 
the  community,  and  who  for  many  years  of  his 
life  was  in  public  office,  informed  us  that  some 
years  previous,  coming  up  a.  road  leading  into 
the  village  of  Flatbush  (we  think  that  from  Xew 
Utrecht),  he  met  or  rather  overtook,  within  about 
a  mile  of  the  village,  a  funeral  of  a  female  who 
had  died  in  childbed,  for  the  white  sheet  was 
spread  over  the  coffin ;  the  road  being  quite  wide 
he  passed  them,  and  some  time  after,  in  the  same 
day,  he  inquired  what  female  had  been  buried  in 
the  church-yard  that  day.  He  was  told  there 
liad  been  no  interment  on  that  day,  and  that  ii<:> 
funeral  had  passed  through  the  village ;  he  also 
inquired  along  the  road  on  which  he  had  seen 
the  funeral  procession  moving,  and  all  the  people, 
to  his  great  surprise,  declared  that  no  funeral 
liad  passed  on  that  day,  or  they  would  have  seeu 
it,  nor  was  any  one  dead  in  the  neighborhood,  or 
they  would  have  heard  of  it.  He  now  began  to 
think  his  eyes  might,  have  deceived  him,  but 
could  not  imagine  how  that  could  be,  when  the 


SCHOOLS    AND    EDUCATION.  169 

following  day  he  heard  of  the  death  of  the  w'Pe 
')f  otie  of  his  friends  not  far  from  Flatbiishj  who 
liad  died  that  morning  in  childbed ;  and  the  next 
day  at  the  same  hour  in  which  he  had  seen  it, 
the  funeral  procession  did  come  akmg  the  same 
road  on  which  he  had  thus  before  seen  it,  with  the 
wliite  sheet  spread  over  the  coffin ;  and  then 
he  began  to  conclude  that  he  had  experienced  an 
instance  of  that  nature  called  by  tlie  Scotch  second- 
sight,  lie  said  he  was  in  good  liealth  at  the 
time,  and  was  in  no  way  excited,  for  he  had  no 
idea  it  was  a  vision  he  was  looking  upon,  but  be- 
lieved it  to  be  a  real  funeral. 

SCnOOLS    AND    EDUCATION. 

The  reputation  of  the  schools  in  Xew  York 
under  the  Dutch  government  was  so  high  that 
it  was  not  an  unfrecpient  occurrence  for  the  Eng- 
lish settlers  in  Virginia,  and  other  southern  colo- 
nies, to  send  their  children  to  ^ew  Amsterdam, 
now  New  York,  for  the  purposes  of  education. 

One  of  the  very  first  regulations  made  by  the 
Dutch  government  upon  the  settlement  of  the 
colony  of  the  New  Netherlands  was  to  provide 
for  the  education  of  the  youth,  as  well  as  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  colonists.  In  the 
"  Conditions  offered  by  the  Burgomasters  of  the 
City  of  Amsterdam,  etc.,  to  all  who  are  willing 
8 


170  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

to  settle  in  Kew  I^etherland,"  that  city  having, 
under  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  terms  and  conditions  upon 
which  the  colonists  should  he  transported  to,  and 
seated  in  the  new  colony,  was  the  following  on 
the  subject  of  schools: — 

"  The  City  of  Amsterdam  shall  send  there  a  pro- 
per person  for  a  schoolmaster,  who  shall  also  read 
the  Holy  Scriptures  in  public,  and  set  the  Psalms." 

"  The  City  of  Amsterdam  shall  also,  as  soon  as 
they  conveniently  can,  provide  a  salary  for  the 
said  schoolmaster." 

The  colonists  were  probably  very  soon  after 
their  settlement  in  a  situation  to  relieve  the  Fath- 
erland from  this  engagement  on  their  behalf,  and 
to  provide  a  salaiy  for  their  schoolmaster  them- 
selves. For  we  find  that  by  1G50,  and  probably 
some  time  earlier,  thei-e  was  a  school  estal)lished 
in  each  town  under  the  Dutch  government,  and 
the  schoolmaster's  salary  formed  part  of  the  re- 
gular town  expenses. 

In  each  of  these  towns  the  schoolmaster  was 
also  the  chorister  and  sexton  of  the  church,  and 
in  the  absence  of  the  minister  was  required,  by 
the  terms  upon  which  he  was  engaged,  to  read 
prayers  and  a  sermon  in  the  church  to  the  con- 
gregation. Thus,  when  the  Rev.  Henricus  Sel- 
wyn,  on  the  23d  of  July,  1664,  took  leave  of  his 


THE    DUTCH    SCHOOLMASTER.  171 

cliiirch  at  Brooklyn,  on  this  island,  to  return  to 
Holland,  after  his  departure  Charles  Debevoise, 
the  schoolmaster  of  this  town,  was  required  to 
read  prayers  and  a  sermon  from  an  approved 
author  every  Sabbath,  in  the  church,  for  the  im- 
provement of  the  congregation,  until  another 
minister  was  called. 

This  connection  between  the  schoolmaster  and 
the  church  in  the  Dutch  towns  existed  not  only 
under  the  Dutch  administration  in  this  colony, 
but  was  also  continued  under  the  English  govern- 
ment for  a  long  period  after  its  establishment  in 
the  colony,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  reference  to  the 
agreement  made  between  the  Consistory  of  the 
Dutch  Keformed  church  at  Flatbush,  and  Johan- 
11  is  Yan  Eckellen,  the  schoolmaster  of  that  town, 
on  the  Sth  of  October,  1682. 

Who  is  it  that  does  not  see  that  the  peculiar 
aptitude  always  manifested  by  our  people  for 
self-government,  from  a  period  long  anterior  to 
our  Revolutionary  contest,  resulted  mainly,  under 
Providence,  from  the  c^reat  care  manifested  bv 
our  forefathers  for  the  establishment  of  schools, 
and  their  support  in  each  town,  both  under  the 
Dutch  and  English  governments  ? 

Long  Island,  at  a  very  early  period  of  its  set- 
tlement, was  peculiarly  blessed  in  this  respect. 
By  the  articles  of  agreement  for  establishing  the 


172  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

boiiiidarv  line  between  the  United  English  Colo- 
nies of  ^ew  England  and  the  New  Netherlands, 
made  at  Hartford  by  the  Commissioners  of  tlie  New 
England  Colonies  and  Governor  Stnyvesant,  on 
the  19th  of  September,  1650,  and  which  was  rati- 
fied and  confirmed  by  the  States  General  of  Hol- 
land, on  the  22d  of  Febrnarj^,  1656,  it  was  agreed 
that  the  boundary  line  on  Long  Island,  between  the 
Dutch  and  English,  should  be  "  a  line  drawn  from 
the  westermost  part  of  Oyster  Bay,  and  thence 
in  a  dii^ct  course  of  the  sea-shore,  shall  be  the 
line  of  division  between  the  Dutch  and  English 
on  Long  Island,  the  eastern  part  for  the  English, 
and  the  western  part  for  the  Dutch." 

By  this  arrangement,  the  eastern  part  of  this 
island  came  under  the  government  of  the  colony 
of  Connecticut,  and  received  the  benefit  of  the 
New  England  common-school  system,  which  was 
established  at  that  early  peri(Kl ;  and  the  western 
part,  remaining  under  the  Dutch  government,  had 
the  advantage  of  their  system  of  establishing  a 
school  in  each  town. 

Few,  and  indeed  none  but  those  who  have 
niade  our  early  history  their  study,  can  duly  ap- 
preciate the  causes  which  led  to  the  American 
Hevolution,  and  gave  us  existence  as  an  indepen- 
dent nation.  None  tended  more  to  that  event 
than  the  universal  diffusion  of  education  among 


SCHOOLS    AND    EDUaVTION.  V/i 

onr  people,  which  enabled  them  to  judge  accu- 
rately of  public  measures  and  foresee  their  conse- 
quences. 

With  any  other  people  upon  earth  at  that  pe- 
riod the  British  Ministry  might  have  success- 
fully tried  their  experiments  of  arbitrary  govern- 
ment without  meeting  with  resistance,  and  have 
effectually  enslaved  a  whole  country  before  its 
inhabitants  would  have  been  aware  of  their  nlti- 
mate  design. 

That  the  Dutch  colonists  were  very  particnlar 
in  all  their  arrangements  about  their  schools,  and 
in  makinfT  their  asrreements  with  their  school- 
masters,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  following: 

"  Articles  of  agreement  made  with  Juhannis 
Yan  Eckellen,  schoolmaster  and  clerk  of  the 
church  at  Flatbush,"  translated  from  the  Dutch 
lano^nao-e. 

"Art.  1st.  The  school  shall  begin  at  8  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  go  out  at  11  o'clock.^  It 
shall  begin  again  at  1  o'clock,  and  end  at  4 
o'clock.  The  bell  shall  be  rung  before  the  school 
begins. 

''  2d.  AV.hen  the  school  opens,  one  of  the  chil- 
dren shall  read  the  morning  prayer,  as  it  stands 
in  the  catechism,  and  close  with  the  prayer  before 
dinner.  In  the  afternoon  it  shall  begin  with  the 
prayer  after  dinner,  and  close  with  the  evening 


174  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

prayer.  The  evening  school  shall  begin  with  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  and  close  by  singing  a  Psalm. 

"  3d.  He  shall  instruct  the  children  in  the  com- 
mon prayers  and  the  questions  and  answers  of  the 
catechism,  on  Wednesdays  and  Saturdays,  to  en- 
able tliem  to  say  their  catechism  on  Sunday  after- 
noons in  the  church  before  tlie  afternoon  service, 
otherwise  on  the  Monday  following,  at  which 
the  schoolmaster  shall  be  present.  He  shall  de- 
mean himself  patiently  and  friendly  towards  the 
children  in  their  instruction,  and  be  active  and 
attentive  to  their  improvement. 

"  4th.  lie  shall  be  bound  to  keep  his  school 
nine  months  in  succession,  from  September  to 
June,  one  year  with  another,  or  the  like  period 
of  time  for  a  year,  according  to  the  agreement 
with  his  predecessor ;  he  shall,  however,  keep  the 
school  nine  months,  and  always  be  present  him- 
self." 

His  predecessor,  John  Tebout,  was  not  bound 
to  keep  the  school  the  three  summer  months,  un- 
less twenty  scholars  attended  ;  he  was,  however,  at 
liberty  to  keep  the  school  for  ten  or  a  less  num- 
ber at  the  stated  price. 

CHUKCH    SEKVICE. 

Art.  1st.  He  shall  be  chorister  of  the  church, 
ring  the  bell  three  times  before  service,  and  read 


DUTIES    OF    tup:    SCHOOLMASTER.  175 

a  chapter  of  the  Bible  in  the  church,  between  the 
second  and  third  ringing  of  the  bell ;  after  the 
third  rino^in^:  he  shall  read  the  ten  command- 
ments  and  the  twelve  articles  of  Faith,  and  then 
set  the  Psalm.  In  the  afternoon,  after  the  third 
ringing  of  the  bell,  he  shall  read  a  short  chapter, 
or  one  of  the  Psalms  of  David,  as  the  congrega- 
tion are  assemblino-.  Afterwards  he  shall  asrain 
set  the  Psalm. 

2d.  When  the  minister  shall  preach  at  Brook- 
lyn or  New  Utrecht,  he  shall  be  bound  to  read 
twice  before  the  conc^reo-ation  a  sermon  from  the 
book  used  for  the  purpose.  The  afternoon  ser- 
mon will  be  on  the  catechism  of  Dr.  Yander  Ha^ 
gen,  and  thus  he  shall  follow  the  turns  of  the 
minister.  lie  shall  hear  the  children  recite  the 
questions  and  answers  of  the  catechism,  on  that 
Sunday,  and  he  shall  instruct  them.  When  the 
minister  preaches  at  Flatlands,  he  shall  perform 
the  like  service. 

3d.  He  shall  provide  a  basin  of  water  for  the 
baptisms,  for  which  he  shall  receive  twelve  stuy- 
vers,  in  wampum,  for  every  baptism,  from  the 
parents  or  sponsors.  lie  shall  furnish  bread  and 
wine  for  the  communion,  at  the  charge  of  the 
church.  He  siiall  furnish  the  minister,  in  writ- 
ing, the  names  and  ages  of  the  children  to  be  bap- 
tized, together  with  the  names  of  the  parents  and 


176  LOXG    ISI.AND    ANTIQUITIES. 

sponsors  ;  he  shall  also  serve  as  a  messenger  for 
the  consistories. 

4th.  He  shall  give  the  funeral  invitations,  and 
toll  the  bells,  for  which  service  he  shall  receive, 
for  persons  of  fifteen  years  of  age  and  upwards, 
twelve  guilders  ;  and  for  persons  under  fifteen, 
eight  guilders.  If  he  shall  invite  out  of  the  town 
he  shall  receive  three  additional  guilders  for 
every  town  ;  and  if  lie  shall  cross  the  river  to 
New  York,  he  shall  have  four  guilders  more. 

SCHOOL    MONEY. 

He  shall  receive  for  a  speller,  or  reader,  in  the 
day  school,  three  guilders  for  a  quarter,  and  for 
a  writer,  four. 

In  the  evening  school,  he  shall  receive  for  a 
speller  or  reader  four  guilders,  and  five  guilders 
for  a  writer,  per  quarter. 


SALARY. 

The  residue  of  his  salary  sliall  be  four  hundred 
guilders  in  wheat,  of  wampum  value,  deliverable 
at  Brooklyn  Ferry ;  and  for  his  service  fi-om 
October  to  May,  two  hundred  and  thirty-four 
guilders,  in  wheat,  at  the  same  place,  with  the 
dwelling,  pasturages,  and  meadow  appertaining 


CHARLES    DEBEVOISE,  S(  IIOOLMASTEK.  177 

to  the  school,  to  begin  from  the  first  day  of  Octo- 
ber. Signed  by  the  Constable  and  Trustees. 
Done  and  agreed  on  in  Consistory,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Constable  and  Trustees,  this  8tli  day 
of  October,  1682.  Signed  by  Casper  Yan  Zuren 
M.  and  the  Consistory. 

I  agree  to  the  above  articles,  and  promise  to 
observe  the  same  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

JoHANNis  Yan  Eckellen. 

Under  the  Dutch  government  of  this  colony, 
great  care  was  used  in  the  selection  of  the  school- 
master for  each  town  ;  and  no  man  was  appointed 
to  that  office  unless  upon  the  recommendation  of 
the  Governor.  Thus  we  find,  in  the  month  of 
May,  1661,  Governor  Stuyvesant  recommended 
Charles  Debevoise  as  a  suitable  person  for  the 
schoolmaster  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  and  clerk 
and  sexton  of  the  church  in  this  town  ;  and  upon 
that  recommendation  he  was  employed  in  those 
ofiices.  It  may  seem  a  matter  of  surprise  to  us, 
that  the  Governor  of  the  colony  should  employ 
his  time  in  selecting  suitable  persons  for  such  an 
ofiice  as  a  schoolmaster  ;  but  our  Dutch  ancestors 
entertained  a  different  view  of  the  matter  ;  they, 
from  the  first  period  of  their  settlement,  were 
fully  convinced  that  an  intelligent  and  educated 
community  could  alone  make  the  colony  of  any 


173  lo:;g  island  antiqitities. 

value  to  themselves  or  to  the  Fatherland  ;  and 
that  crime  and  nnhappiness  among  a  people  re- 
sulted in  a  great  measure  from  ignorance.  AVitli 
them,  therefore,  it  was  a  cardinal  principle  to  dif- 
fuse tlie  means  of  education  as  widely  as  possi- 
ble ;  but  to  establish  schools  was  not  of  itself 
sufficient,  unless  they  also  secured  the  services  of 
the  jDroper  men  to  conduct  them.  To  effect  this 
latter  pui-pose,  which  they  regarded  as  all  impor- 
tant to  the  successful  advaucement  of  the  colony, 
the  policy  was  adopted  of  employing  no  one  as  a 
schoolmaster  who  did  not  previously  satisfy  the 
Governor  as  to  his  competency,  and  procure  his 
recommendation  for  his  appointment  to  that 
office.  When  once  appointed  the  records  show 
that  the  schoolmasters  retained  their  situations, 
almost  without  exception,  for  a  number  of  years 
in  succession. 

ANCIENT    NAMES    OF    PLACES. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  ancient  names  upon 
Long  Island,  with  the  dates  affixed  opposite  to 
them,  of  the  time  when  they  were  used,  viz. : 

IN  THE    TOWN  OF    BROOKLYN. 

1667.      GowanuSy  which  still  retains   the  same 
name. 


ANCIENT    NAMES    OF    PLACES.  179 

1667.     Cripplehush.  which  still  retains  the  same 

name. 
1686.      Wallaboghtj  which  still  retains  the  same 

name. 
1686.     MarchwiGh,  and  in  1722  called  Martyrs 
Hook,  which  was  the  point  of  land  forming 
the  present  United  States  Navy  Yard. 
1689.     Luhhertse^s  N'eck,   which   was    sold     by 
Peter  Corsen  to  Cornelius   Sebringh,  March 
28,  1698,  for  £250,  and    Sebringh  to   find 
Corsen   in    meat,   drink,   washing,   lodging, 
and  apparel  daring   his   life.     In  1690   the 
same  place  was  called  Graver'^ s  Kill.     This 
place  was  recently  known  as  CornelVs  Red 
Mills,  and  is  about  five  hundred  feet  north 
of  the  Atlantic  dock. 
1700.     Gowaniis   Mill   Neck,  sometimes  called 
Mill  Neck,  and  known  by  this  latter  name 
in  1785.     In  1680,  a  lot  of  land  in  this  town 
was  called  an  Erffe, 
About  the  period  of  the  Revolution  the  people 
were  in  the  habit  of  distinguishing  the  large  lots 
into  which  their  farms  or  plantations  were  divided, 
by  particular  names,  and  these  names  they  re- 
tained for  many  years.     Thus  in  this  town,  near 
the  road  leading  from  Brooklyn  Ferry   to  Flat- 
bush,  were  the  "  Geele  Water's  Caump,"  the  "  Erste 
Caump  of  Derrick's  land,"  the  "  Kline  Caump," 


180  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

the  ^'Twede  Caump  of  Derrick's  land,"  the 
"  Middleste  Caump,"  the  "  Eenen  Caump,"  and 
the  "  Agterse  Caump." 


1660.     Canarsee     Landing,     Canarsee     Woods, 

which  places  still  retain  the  same  names. 
1679.     Third  Kill. 
1687.     Minsehoele  Hole. 
1698.     Kush  Swamp. 

IN    THE    TOWN    OF   BUSHWICK. 

1690.     The  Norman  Kill. 

IN    THE    TOWm     OF   AIVIERSFOKT,  OK  FLATLANDS. 

1636.  Kashiitenstikin^  the  westernmost  flat  of 

land  of  the  three  flats. 

1646.  Mutelar's  Island. 

1687.  Stroom  Kill. 

1687.  Jurianses  Hook. 

1687.  Fries  Hook. 

1690.  Hogg's  Neck. 

1694.  Albertse's  Island. 

1695.  Majise  laud. 
1704.  Fresh  Kill. 

1711.  Bestevaar's  Kill. 

1712.  Craven  Yalley. 


ANCIENT   NAMES    OF   PLACES.  181 

IN  THE    TOWN    OF    NEW    UTKECHT. 

1660.     Na3^ack,  which  name  it  still  retains. 
1685.     The  Fountain  at  Yellow  Ilook. 
1690.     Turk's     Plantation,     afterwards     called 
Brujnenbergh. 

IN   THE    TOWN    OF    GRAVESEND. 

1692.  Hoogh  Penne  Keck. 

1693.  Gysbert's  Island. 
1695.  Ambrose  Strand. 
1697.  Garretsen's  Neck. 
169S.  Cellars  Neck. 
1704.  Great  Woods, 
1718.  ITarbie's  Gat. 
1718.  Brown's  Creek. 

1718.     Kobin  Poyneer's  Patent. 

IN   THE     TOWN     OF     NEWTON. 

1656.     The  west  branch  of  Mespatt  JTillSjCSiWed 
Quandus  Quobricus. 

Dosaris^  the  name  of  a  place  on  this  island, 
has  its  origin  from  the  circumstance  of  the 
original  owner  of  it,  as  a  farm,  or  plantation, 
having  obtained  it  through  his  wife,  and  he  being 
a  scholar,  called  it  Dos  uxoris,  the  Wife^s  Gifiy 


183  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

which  the  people  subsequently  corrupted  to  its 
present  name  of  Dosoris. 

Quogtte,  in  Suffolk  County,  is  probably  a  cor- 
ruption of  the  Indian  name  of  a  favorite  shell-fish 
known  to  us  as  the  clam,  Quohaiuj — these  shell- 
fish having  been  verj  abundant,  and  probably  of 
a  choice  kind,  as  is  indicated  by  the  immense  an- 
cient shell  banks  in  all  the  surrounding  region. 
A.t  this  place  is  the  only  point  from  wdiich  the 
Great  South  Beach  can  be  reached  on  foot  from 
the  mainland  of  the  island,  for  the  immense 
stretch  of  coast  reaching  from  Fire  Island  to  the 
inlet  of  Shinecoc  Bay.  In  all  other  places  you 
have  to  pass  in  a  boat  over  many  miles  of  water ; 
and  it  is  this  circumstance  which  renders  a  ship- 
wreck upon  that  beach  in  winter  so  frequently 
dreadful  in  its  consequences  from  the  loss  of  life  ; 
for  even  if  the  crew  and  passengers  should  suc- 
ceed in  reacliing  the  beach  alive,  they  will  find 
no  shelter  there,  and  having  from  ten  to  twenty 
miles  of  water  to  cross  before  they  can  experience 
any  relief,  and  their  boats  being  almost  invariably 
destroyed  or  lost  in  the  shipwreck,  if  the  storm  is 
very  heavy  and  the  cold  severe,  as  is  frequently 
the  case,  they  perish  from  the  exposure.  It  may 
be  asked  by  those  not  acquainted  with  this  beach, 
Why  is  this  not  provided  against  ?  The  answer  is. 
It  is  almost,  if  not  quite  impossible  to  do  so,  the 


THE    NAMES    OF    FAMILIES.  188 

character  of  the  beach  being  such,  and  the  dis- 
tance from  the  mainland,  and  the  difficnlties  and 
dangers  of  communication  often  so  great  that 
men  could  not  live  there  at  the  times  when  their 
services  would  be  most  required.  The  formation 
and  position  of  this  beach  is,  however,  such  that 
the  great  loss  of  life  is  usually  sustained  before  the 
shipwrecked  persons  have  the  chance  of  reaching 
the  land,  from  the  immense  seas  thrown  over  them 
by  the  whole  swell  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  which, 
by  the  rapid  evaporation  it  causes,  comparatively 
soon  chills  them  to  death. 

NAMES    OF   FA^riLIES   IN   BKOOKLTCf. 

Ancient.  Modern. 

Courten. 

Defforest,  Deforest. 

Ffilkin. 
Gulick. 

Hansen,  Johnson. 

Harsen. 

Houghawout,  Lefferts. 

Abranse. 
Aerson. 

Amertman,  Amerman. 

Blaw. 

Beeckman,  Beekman. 

Casperse. 


184 


LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 


Ancient. 
Deliart. 
Depotter. 
Ewetse. 
Hooghland. 
Jaiise, 
Jarisse. 
Jurianse. 
Lambertse, 
LeFoy. 
Lubbertse. 

Middagh. 

Scliaers. 

Seberingh. 

Symonse, 

Staats. 

Van  Cortlandt. 

Yan  Eckellen. 


Modern, 


Johnson. 


Lambertson  and  Lamberson. 


Simonson. 


Of  all  these  families  there  are  now  but  seven 
remaining  in  Brooklyn,  viz.  :  Beekman,  Deforest, 
Johnson,  Lambertson,  Lefferts.  Middagh  and  Sim- 
onson. Within  the  last  five  or  six  years  the  emi- 
gration from  Continental  Europe  has  brought 
back  some  of  the  old  names  as  in  Kew  York, 
merchants  of  the  name  of  Courten.  The  name 
of  Middagh  is  Dutch,  and  means,  in  English,  mid- 
day or  noon. 


NAMES    OF    FAMILIES. 


185 


Ancient. 
Yan  Westervelt. 
Mattjse, 
Coorteu. 
Saloin. 
Smack, 
Van  Thinhoven. 


NEW    UTKECHT. 

Modern, 
Martense. 


original  of  Martense. 


GRAVESEND, 

Garretse,  Garretson  and  Gerritson. 

Remmerson,  Henison. 


Tiehuynon, 

Lncasse. 

Kenne. 

Elbertse. 

Harmanse. 


FLATLANDS. 

Terhune. 


Yanderschaez. 

Schainp. 

Loysen. 


Ditinarse, 


BTJSHWICK. 


FLATBUSH. 

Ditmas. 


186  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

The  practice  of  giving  people  what  would 
now  be  called  niciaiames^  by  which  they  became 
known,  not  only  to  the  public  generally,  but  also 
in  the  official  records,  was  very  common  under 
the  Dutch  Colonial  Government,  and  it  also  con- 
tinued for  a  considerable  period  under  the  Eng- 
lish administration  in  this  colony.  In  1644,  in 
the  Dutch  records  we  have  John  Pietersen,  alias 
Friend  John.  In  the  INewton  purchase  from  the 
Indians,  dated  April  12,  1656,  one  of  the  bound- 
aries is,  "  by  a  Dutchman's  land  called  Hans  the 
Boore  /  "  and  in  tlie  Bushwick  patent,  dated  Oc 
tober  12, 1667,  one  of  the  boundaries  is  "  John  the 
Swedes  Meadow."  In  1695,  in  the  Kings  Coun- 
ty records  a  man  is  named  living  at  Gowanus,  as 
"  Tunis  the  Fisher." 

And  we  also  find  that  by  the  records  of  the 
Common  Council  of  the  City  of  New  York,  on 
the  25th  of  March,  1691,  they  ordered  that  "  fish 
be  brouglit  into  the  dock,  over  against  the  City 
Flail  [then  standing  in  Pearl  street,  at  the  head 
of  Coenties  slip],  or  the  house  that  Long  Mary 
formerly  lived  in." 

And  also  on  the  9th  of  April,  in  the  same  year, 
they  directed  "  that  Old  Bush  deliver  into  the 
hands  of  the  treasurer,  the  scales  and  w^eights 
that  he  hath  in  his  liands  belonging  to  the  city, 
being  first  satisfied  for  the  making  of  them." 


DUTCH    NICKNAMES.  187 

Again,  on  the  same  day,  the  order  "  that  Tup 
Knot  Betty  and  her  children  be  provided  for 
as  objects  of  charity,  and  four  shilhngs  a  week 
allowed."  And  further,  that  "the  treasurer  let 
Scarehouch  have  a  new  suit,  and  assist  him  in 
what's  wanting." 

All  the  preceding  orders,  from  the  date  of 
April  9th,  inclusive,  were  made  in  one  day,  so 
that  our  city  functionaries  of  that  period  seem  to 
have  had  a  most  charitable  disposition,  as  well 
as  a  strange  propensity  for  giving  nicknames  to 
people.  But  we  are  not  yet  done  ;  this  Common 
Council  were  not  so  mean  as  to  apply  such  nick- 
nanjes  to  those  only  to  whom  they  afforded  charit- 
able relief,  as  some  might  otherwise  suppose — • 
they  also  used  them  when  discharging  their 
debts.  Tims,  on  the  Sth  of  December,  1691,  the 
city  records  contain  an  order  that  "  the  treasurer 
pay  English  Smith,  £1,  13s.  for  three  cords  of 
wood,  which  he  bought  for  the  use  of  the  city 
this  day." 

Strange  as  it  may  now  seem  to  us  for  the  Com- 
mon Council  of  a  city  to  place  such  names  upon 
the  public  records,  yet  we  have  seen  that  this 
practice  extended  to  the  highest  functionaries  of 
the  Colonial  Government,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ors, both  Dutch  and  English,  used  it  in  their 
patents  for  towns,  and  other  official  documents. 


188  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

The  explanation  of  it,  in  many  cases,  undoubt- 
edly was,  that  in  many  instances  the  parties 
either  had  no  surname,  or  family  names  (for 
family  names  were  not  so  common  then  as  now), 
or  if  they  had,  they  did  not  themselves  know  it, 
and  that  which  now  appears  like  a  nickname  was 
from  necessity  adopted  as  a  means  of  distinguish- 
ing them,  and  was  usually  taken  from  some 
personal  characteristic,  and  which  subsequently 
became,  some  part  or  other  of  it,  the  surname  of 
the  children  as  Long  and  Betty. 

The  manner  in  which  names  of  families  some- 
times become  changed  in  this  country  is  truly 
curious.  There  was  previous  to  tlie  middle  of 
the  last  'century,  among  the  Dutch  settlers  in  the 
southern  part  of  this  colony,  and  particularly 
upon  Long  Island,  a  regular  systematic  change 
of  the  family  name  with  every  generation,  so 
that  the  son  never  bore  the  family  name  of  his 
father;  thus,  if  the  father's  name  was  Lefiert 
Jansen,  and  he  had  a  son  named  Jacobus,  this 
son's  name  would  not  be  Jansen,  but  it  w^ould  be 
written  Jacobus  Leffertsen — suppose  the  old  gen- 
tleman would  have  a  grandson  by  his  son,  who 
was  christened  Gerrit,  his  whole  name  would  be 
Gerrit  Jacobsen.  Tlius  we  would  have  in  the 
three  generations  of  that  one  single  family,  the 
following  different  names,  viz. : 


CHANGE    IX   FxOIILY   NAMES.  189 

1.  The  father,  named  Leffert  Jansen. 

2.  The  son,  named  Jacobus  Leffertsen. 

3.  The  grandson,  named  Gerrit  Jacobsen. 
This  strange  custom  does  not  seem   to   have 

prevailed  among  the  Dutch  in  Albany;  there 
tliey  preserved  their  family  names  from  the  first 
settlement,  and  many  of  them  may  therefore  be 
traced  back  without  difSculty. 

In  other  parts  of  our  country,  as  well  as  among 
the  Dutch,  great  changes  have  occurred  in  family 
names.  Edward  Livingston,  Esq.,  in  his  answer 
to  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  the  case  of  the  New  Orleans 
Batture,  furnishes  us  with  the  following  singular 
instance  of  this  nature  : 

An  unfortunate  Scotchman,  whose  name  was 
Eeyerston,  was  obliged,  in  pursuit  of  fortune,  to 
settle  amongst  some  Germans  in  the  western  ]>art 
of  the  State  of  New  York.  They  translated  his 
name  literally  into  German  and  called  him  Four- 
stein.  On  his  returning  to  an  English  neighb(>r- 
hood  his  new  acquaintances  discovered  that  Four- 
stein,  in  German,  meant  Flint  in  English;  they 
translated,  instead  of  restoring  his  name,  and  the 
descendants  of  Feijerston  go  by  the  name  of 
Flint  to  this  day.  I  ought,  however,  says  Mr. 
Livingston,  to  excej^t  one  of  his  grandsons  who 
settled  at  the  Acadian  coast,  on  the  Mississippi, 
whose  name  underwent  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  the 


190  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

fainily  ;  he  was  called,  by  a  literal  translation  into 
French,  PievTe-a-fusil^  and  his  eldest  son  returning 
to  the  family  clan,  his  name  underwent  another 
transformation,  and  he  was  called  Peter  Gun  ! 
This  is  about  equal  to  the  Dutch  transmutation 
of  names,  although  wanting  its  system.  Here 
we  have  the  following  result : 

1.  The  father's       1st  Name,  Feyerston. 

2d  Name,  Fourstein. 
3d  Name,  Flint. 

2.  The  son's  Name,  Flint. 

3.  The  grandson's  1st  Name,  Flint. 

2d  Name,  Pierre-a-fusil. 
3d  Name,  Peter  Gun. 

The  old  practice  formerly  so  common  among 
the  Dutch  settlers  on  Long  Island,  seems  a^^o  to 
have  been  at  one  time  in  use  in  Iceland.  Mr. 
Hooker,  who  was  there  in  the  summer  of  1809, 
speaking  of  the  family  of  Olaf  Stephenso)  -,  the 
former  ofovernor  of  that  island,  observes  :  "  In 
naming  his  children,  the  Stiftsamptman  (gov- 
ernor), as  well  as  his  sons,  have  abolished  the 
custom,  which  is  otherwise,  I  believe,  ver}^  gen- 
eral in  Iceland,  of  calling  the  child  after  the 
Christian  name  of  the  father,  wath  the  addition 
sen  or  son  to  it ;  thus  the  son  of  the  Etatsrced 
j[chief  justice)  Magnus  Stephenson  ought  by  this 


ORIGINAL    DUTCH    NAMES.  191 

rule  to  have  been  Magnusen^  to  which  any 
Christian  name  might  be  subjoined.  If  it  had 
been  Olaf  JSLtgnusen^  his  son  would  bear  the 
name  of  Olavsen^  or  j-ather  Olafsen,  as  I  believe 
it  is  generally  written.  The  females  had  the  addi- 
tion of  flatter  to  the  Christian  name  of  the  father." 
This  was  precisely  the  old  Dutch  custom  in 
this  colony  ;  and  it  has  led  to  great  difficulty  in 
tracing  the  descent  of  our  early  Dutch  families, 
and  also  in  examining  our  old  records,  as  there 
are  but  few  who  are  conversant  with  this  peculi- 
arity in  their  change  of  names.  Thus,  amongst 
the  Dutch  the  original  name  of  the  present 
family  of  the  Lefferts  was  Hoiighawout .  Leffert 
Houghawout's  son  James  was  called  Jacobus 
Leifertsen,  or  Leffertse,  as  it  was  often  written, 
dropping  the  letter  n ;  and  when  this  custom 
was  al)olished  about  the  middle  of  tlie  last  cen- 
tury, this  latter  name  Leffertse  was  retained  as 
the  family  name.  So  also  the  original  family 
name  of  the  Martenses  was  Smack.  Mattyse 
Smack's  son  received  Mattyse  as  his  surname, 
which  eventually  became  the  present  name  of 
Mnr tense,  although  as  now  written  only  within  the 
last  half  century.  This  is  also  the  origin  of  the 
present  family  names  of  Johnson,  or  Jansen 
(which  are  both  the  same  name),  Remsen,  Gerrit- 
seu,  etc.     It  is  strange  that  such  a  custom  should 


192  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

have  been  identically  the  same  with  those  two 
different  nations ;  but  it  shows  their  common 
origin. 

Upon  this  island,  and  especially  in  the  cential 
portions  of  it,  are  very  many  families  of  the  name 
of  Smith,  and  so  numerous  did  they  become  at 
an  early  period  of  the  settlement,  that  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  distingiiish  the  various  ori- 
ginal ramilies  by  some  peculiar  name.  Thus  we 
have  the  Rock  Smiths ;  the  Blue  Smiths ;  the 
Bull  Smiths  ;  the  Weight  Smiths,  and  the  Tan- 
gier Smiths.  Of  the  Kock  Smiths  there  are  two 
distinct  families  :  one  originally  settled  between 
Kockaway  and  Hempstead,  some  ten  or  fifteen 
years  before  the  settlement  of  the  first  white  in- 
habitant in  Setauket,  who  derived  their  name 
from  their  contiguity  to  Hockaway ;  and  the 
other  located  themselves  in  Brookhaven,  and  ob- 
tained their  appellation  from  their  ancestor  erect- 
ing his  dwelling  against  a  large  rock  which  still 
remains  in  the  highway  of  that  town.  The  Blue 
Smiths  were  settled  in  Queens  County,  and  obtain- 
ed their  peculiar  designation  from  a  blue  cloth  coat 
Avorn  by  their  ancestor ;  whether  because  a  cloth 
coat  was  then  an  uncommon  thins;  in  the  nei£:h- 
boi-hood,  or  that  he  always  dressed  in  a  coat  of 
that  color,  does  not  appear.  The  Bull  Smiths  of 
Suffolk  County  are  the  most  numerous  of  all  the 


THE    SMITHS    OF    LONG    ISLAND.  193 

families  of  the  name  of  Smith  upon  tliis  island; 
it  is  said  there  are  now  at  least  one  thousand 
males  of  that  branch  on  this  island.  The  ances- 
tor of  this  branch  of  the  Smith  family  was  Major 
Richard  Smith,  who  came  from  England  to  New 
England,  with  his  father  Richard,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  and  afterwards 
came  to  this  island,  and  became  the  patentee  of 
Smithtown.  The  sobriquet  of  this  class  of  Smiths  is 
said  to  have  arisen  from  the  circumstance  of  the 
ancestor  having  trained  and  used  a  Ball  in  place 
of  a  horse  for  riding.  The  Weight  Smiths  de- 
rived their  name  from  being  possessed  of  the 
only  set  of  scales  and  weights  in  the  neighborhood 
of  theii"  residence,  to  which  all  the  farmers  of  the 
country  around  resorted  for  the  purpose  of  weigh- 
ing anything  they  wished  to  sell  or  buy ;  at  least  so 
says  the  tradition.  The  Tangier  Smiths  owe  their 
origin  to  Colonel  William  Smith,  who  had  been 
the  English  Governor  of  Tangier,  in  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  Second,"^  and  emigrated  to  this  colony 
in  the  summer  of  the  year  16S6,  where  he  settled 
in  the  town  of  Brookhaven,  on  the  Xeck  known 

*  Tangier,  in  Africa,  was  about  that  period  an  English 
colony,  having  come  to  the  British  Crown  as  part  of  the 
dowry  of  Queen  Catharine  of  Portugal;  and  was,  in  1683, 
tibaudoned  hj  the  English  to  the  Moors,  in  consequence  of  the 
gL-eat  expense  and  small  value  of  the  colony. 
9 


194  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

as  Little  Keck,  and  afterwards  as  Strong's  Neck, 
which,  together  with  his  other  j^urchases,  were 
e:iected  into  a  manor  by  the  name  of  St.  George's 
Manor,  by  a  patent  granted  to  him  in  1693,  by 
Governor  Fletcher.  Most  of  the  Tangier  Smiths 
are  now^  in  that  town,  scattered  throngh  it  from 
the  north  to  the  south  side  of  the  island. 

These  different  appellations  of  the  families  of 
the  Smiths  became  as  firmly  settled  as  if  they 
w^ere  regular  family  names  ;  so  that  ^vhen  any  in- 
quiiy  was  made  of  any  person  on  the  road,  man, 
woman,  or  child,  for  any  particular  Smith,  they 
would  at  once  ask  whether  he  was  of  the  Hock 
breed,  or  the  Bull  breed,  etc. ;  and  if  the  person 
desiring  the  information  could  say  w^hich  hreed^ 
he  at  once  was  told  of  his  residence.  In  truth 
there  are  so  many  of  the  same  name  in  that  most 
numerous  family  of  the  Smiths  upon  this  island, 
that  without  adopting  some  such  plan  it  would 
be  almost  impossible  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other.  Among  these  Smiths,  and  at  Smithtown, 
upon  this  island,  have  occurred  two  of  the  most 
marked  instances  of  longevity  known  in  this 
country. 

Richard  Smith,  the  patentee  of  Smithtown,  of 
the  Bull  breed,  purchased  at  Kew^  York  a  negro 
man  named  Harry,  w^ho  lived  wdth  him,  with  his 
son,  and  then  with  his  grandson,  and   died   at 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  195 

Sinithtown  in  the  mouth  of  December,  1758,  aged 
at  least  one  hundred  and  twenty  years.  This  re- 
markable individual  said  he  could  remember 
wlien  there  were  but  very  few  houses  in  the 
city  of  New  York ;  his  memor}^  must  have  extend- 
ed back  to  the  administration  of  the  Dutch  Gov- 
ernor Kieft.  His  health  and  strength  of  body 
continued  almost  unimpaired  until  very  near  his 
death,  and  he  could  do  a  good  day's  work  when 
he  had  passed  one  hundred  years. 

There  appears  to  have  been  another  negro  man 
in  the  same  town,  who  even  exceeded  him  in  the 
point  of  age.  In  a  note  to  Moulton's  History  of 
JS'ew  Yorh^  it  is  stated,  that  an  obituary  article 
appeared  in  a  newspaper,  printed  in  1739,  of  the 
death  of  a  negro  man  at  Smithtown,  on  Long 
Island,  reputed  to  have  been  one  hundred  and 
forty  years  old  ;  who  declared  that  he  well  re- 
membered when  there  were  but  three  houses  in 
New  York.  The  memory  of  this  man  must  there- 
fore have  extended  back  to  the  founding  of  New 
Amsterdam,  in  the  year  1626,  as  New  York  was 
then  called,  and  he  must  have  come  into  this 
country  with  some  of  the  first  Dutch  settlers. 

MxVNNEES    AND    CUSTOMS. 

There  are  a  number  of  interesting  facts  con- 
nected with  the  antiquities  of  tliis  island,  which 


196  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

are  not  easily  reducible  under  any  of  the  pre- 
vious heads,  which  we  have  thought  should  be 
preserved,  as  matters  of  considerable  moment 
connected  with  the  first  settlement  and  condition 
of  Long  Island,  and  we  have  therefore  made 
for  them  this  distinct  head.  Among  them  is  the 
fc^llowing  extract  from  the  official  records  of 
Rhode  Island,  which  show  how  early  a  jealous 
and  unfriendly  feeling  sprang  up  between  the 
English  and  Dutch  colonies  in  this  country.  We 
have  alwa^'s  viewed  it  as  an  unfortunate  circum- 
stance for  the  preservation  of  this  colony  to  the 
Dutch,  that  Peter  Stuyvesant  was  not  the  gover- 
nor here  when  that  ill-feeling  began  first  to  mani- 
fest itself,  some  considerable  time  anterior  to  the 
period  referred  to  in  the  following  record.  His 
mode  of  conductino^  the  difficult  neo^otiation  with 
the  English  commissioners  at  Hartford ;  the 
manner  in  which  he  settled  the  disputes  between 
the  Dutch  and  English  colonists,  and  also  between 
their  respective  governments  in  this  country,  in 
reference  to  the  settlement  at  Hartford  and  in  its 
vicinity,  which  had  been  for  years  a  serious  and 
acrimonious  controversy  between  his  predecessor 
hi  the  Colonial  government  and  the  United  Colo- 
nies of  Kew  England ;  and  his  settlement  and 
defining  of  an  established  boundary,  in  which  all 
acquiesced,  between  the  New  Netherlands  and 


STU  YVES  ANT'S    CHARACTER.  197 

the  English  colonies,  all  serve  to  show,  in  our 
judgment,  that  if  he  had  had  the  control  and 
management  of  those  controversies  in  the  first 
instance,  they  would  have  been  all  adjusted  in 
an  amicable  and  satisfactory  manner  long  before 
they  attained  that  violent  and  hostile  character 
which  had  induced  in  the  minds  of  the  leading 
men  of  New  Eno-land  the  settled  conviction  that 
it  was  necessary  to  theii*  peace  to  get  rid  of  the 
Dutch  government  in  the  colony  next  adjoining 
them  ;  and  by  such  a  course  the  colony  ^vo^ld 
have  been  preserved  to  Holland,  at  least  for  very 
many  yeai's  to  come.  But  Governor  Stuyvesant 
unfortunately  arrived  here  after  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  United  Colonies  of  New  England 
had  not  only  come  to  that  conclusion,  but  had 
also  made  representations  to  that  effect  to  their 
home  government,  and  the  whole  effect  of 
Governor  Stuyvesant's  peaceful  and  wise  admin- 
istration of  affairs  was  to  procrastinate  for  some 
few  years  the  English  attempt  at  the  subjugation 
of  this  colony;  a  design  which  the  latter,  how- 
ever, never  abandoned,  as  is  clearly  shown  from 
the  communication  which  Gov.  Stuyvesant  made 
to  the  church  of  Brooklyn,  on  this  island,  on  the 
last  of  June,  1663,  directing  tire  fourth  day  of 
July  following,  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of 
thanksgiving,  because,  among   other  things,  the 


198  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

English  had  been  defeated  in  their  attempt  to 
take  possession  of  the  whole  of  Long  Island  bj  the 
timely  arrival  of  a  Dutch  fleet  of  armed  ships  in 
the  bay  of  New  Amsterdam  (Xew  York) — this 
occnrrence,  it  will  be  observed,  is  more  than  a 
year  anterior  to  the  actual  capture  of  New 
Netherland  and  the  taking  of  New  Amsterdam 
(New  York)  by  the  English  fleet  and  forces 
under  Gov.  Richard  Nieolls.  Here  follows  the 
Rhode  Island  record,  above  mentioned  : 

"Acts  and  orders  of  the  General  Assembly, 
held  at  Newport,  May  17,  18,  19,  1653— Mr. 
Nich.  Eaton,  moderator." 

11.  A  committee  of  two  men  of  each  town,  or 
eight  men,  be  chosen,  for  ripening  matters  that 
concern  Long  Island,  and  in  the  case  concerning 
the  Dutch.  Mr.  Rich.  Eaton,  Mr.  John  Eaton, 
Mr.  Rich.  Burden,  Mr.  Randall  Ilolden,  Mr. 
John  Smith,  Mr.  Robert  Eield,  Richard  Few, 
John  Roome,  act  upon  these. 

"  12.  First,  That  we  jndge  it  to  be  our  duty  to 
afford  our  countrymen  on  Long  Island  what  help 
we  can  safely  do,  by  virtue  of  our  commission 
from  the  Right  Honorable  the  Council  of  State, 
either  for  defending  themselves  against  the  Dutch, 
the  enemies  of  the  commonwealth,  or  for  offend- 
ing them,  as  by  us  shall  be  thought  necessaj-y. 

"  Second,  That  they  shall  have  two  great  guns, 


RHODE    ISLAND    AID.  199 

and  what  murtlierers  are  with  us,  on  promise  of 
returning  tlieni,  or  the  due  vahiation,  and  to  be 
improved  as  by  instructions  given  by  this  As- 
sembly's authority,  this  or  wliat  else,  provided 
they  engage  to  the  Connnonwealth,  and  confirm 
by  subscription  to  do  their  utmost  to  set  them- 
selves in  a  suitable  posture  of  defence  against  all 
enemies  of  the  Commonwealth  of  England,  and 
to  offend  them,  as  shall  be  ordered. 

"  Third,  That  there  be  allowed  twenty  volun- 
taries out  of  the  colony,  provided  they  be  such 
as  be  under  no  fixed  relations  or  engagements. 

"  13.  That  for  trial  of  prizes  brought  in  ac- 
cording to  law,  the  general  ofiicer,  with  three 
jurors  of  each  town,  shall  be  authorized  to  try  it; 
the  President  and  two  assistants  shall  have  au- 
thority to  appoint  the  time,  but  if  any  fail  at  the 
time  appointed,  either  officers  or  jurors  shall  be 
made  up  in  the  town  of  Newport  (where  they 
shall  be  tried) ;  in  case  any  of  the  officers  fail, 
then  they  that  appear  shall  proceed  according  to 
the  law  of  allaroon. 

"13.  Commissions  granted  to  Capt.  John  Ui> 
derhill  and  Mr.  William  Dyre. 

"  14.  Tiiat  Edward  Hall  shall  have  a  commis- 
sion, granted  him  to  go  against  the  Dutch,  or 
any  enemies  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Eng- 
land." 


200  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

Tl:e  following  notes  are  necessary  to  a  full 
understanding  of  this  interesting  record: — 

The  two  great  guns  here  spoken  of  were  can- 
non, and  the  mnrtherers,  or  murderers^  were 
pieces  of  small  cannon,  fitted  into  a  wooden  stock 
for  the  convenience  of  being  carried  about,  and 
were  used  for  firing  stones  instead  of  balls.  Thej 
are  also  sometimes  called  in  the  old  record  "  stone- 
piece  s.*' 

The  muskets  of  that  day  were  of  a  very  mnch 
heavier  and  more  clumsy  make  than  those  of  the 
present  day,  and  of  a  larger  bore ;  they  were  at 
this  period  fired  by  laying  upon  a  rest,  with  a 
slow  match,  as  they  had  no  locks ;  the  rest  was 
an  upright  rod  of  iron,  about  five  feet  long,  with 
a  pike  end  to  stick  into  the  ground,  and  a  crotch 
at  the  other  end  for  the  musket  to  lie  in.  The 
soldier,  when  marching,  carried  this  rest  in  his 
right  hand,  and  the  musket  upon  his  left  shoulder. 
The  present  cartridge-box  was  supplied  by  a 
bandalier,  as  it  was  called,  being  a  belt  over  the 
shoulder  and  across  in  front ;  attached  to  it  hung 
a  dozen  small  leather  or  copper  cases,  each  con- 
taining one  charge  of  powder  and  ball  for  the  mus- 
ket :  he  also  carried  a  sword.  A  man  thus  armed 
was  considered  a  part  of  the  stationary  or  heavy 
force  of  an  army  of  that  day,  as  much  so  as  the 
■artillery,  and  they  were  both  certainly  sufticiently 


EITODE    ISLAND    YOLUNTARII^S.  201 

iiinvieldy.  It  is  only  in  comparatively  modern 
times  that  soldiers  armed  with  muskets  have  been 
considered  as  infantry,  or  light  troops. 

The  "engagement  to  the  Commonwealth" 
means  the  Commonwealth  of  Eno-land,  under  Oli- 
ver  Cromwell;  and  they  also  required  that  the 
Long  Islanders  should  enter  into  a  similar  written 
subscription  as  that  required  from  all  the  func- 
tionaries in  England,  to  support  the  Cromwellian 
administration. 

The  meaning  of  the  provision  cciicerning 
"  twenty  voluntaries "  is  that  twenty  volunteers 
were  authorized  to  be  raised  in  Rhode  Island  for 
this  service  upon  Long  Island;  but  that  they 
must  be  particular,  and  enlist  no  men  who  were 
married,  or  engaged  to  be  married,  or  who  were 
bound  to  service. 

The  "  trial  of  prizes  "  is  believed  to  be  the  first 
admiralty  court  established  in  the  New  England 
colonies ;  the  establishment  of  which  courts  by 
the  English  government  about  a  century  later, 
was  a  source  of  great  dissatisfaction  in  those 
colonies.  But  there  was  this  difference  between 
the  two  cases ;  in  tlie  first,  the  people  themselves, 
by  their  own  immediate  representatives,  organized 
and  made  choice  of  its  judges  and  officers  from 
their  own  people,  and  directed  that  it  should 
proceed  with  a  jury  ;  and  in  the  last  case  tlie 


203  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

courts  were  organized  by  the  British  Parliament, 
in  which  the  colonies  had  no  representation  what- 
ever; the  judges  and  officers  were  most  of  them 
strangers,  selected  and  chosen  by  the  King  in 
Council  from  abroad,  or  from  other  colonies,  and 
they  were  required  to  proceed  without  the  inter- 
vention of  a  jury ;  differences  enough  assuredly 
to  give  reason  for  dissatisfac^tion  to  the  full  as 
strong  as  anj-  shown  on  the  subject.  The  laws  of 
Allaroon  referred  to  as  tlie  code  for  the  govern- 
ment of  this  admiralty  court  in  its  proceedings, 
is  undoubtedly  meant  for  the  laws  of  Oleron. 

It  was  undoubtedly  under  the  Edward  Hall 
Commission  from  Rhode  Island,  and  with  the 
volunteer  force  from  that  colony,  joined  by  some 
of  the  Long  Islanders,  that  Caj)t.  John  Underhill, 
in  this  same  year,  1658,  stormed  and  captured 
the  Indian  fort  upon  Fort  Neck,  in  Queens 
County,  and  broke  up  and  dispersed  the  Indian 
force,  which  had  seriously  threatened  the  desola- 
tion of  this  part  of  Long  Island. 

William  Dyre  seems  to  have  remained  upon 
Long  Island  until  near  the  period  of  the  arrival 
of  the  English  expedition  under  Gov.  Richard 
Nicolls,  when  he  joined  that  force  and  accom- 
panied it  to  the  capture  of  New  Amsterdam 
(New  York).  After  which  he  settled  in  tliis 
colony,  and  became  one  of  its  distinguished  men. 


I 


THE   DUKES    LAWS.  203 

He  was  for  a  long  period  one  of  the  Governor's 
council,  and  frequently  acted  as  the  President  of 
the  Court  of  Sessions  for  the  West  Eiding  of 
Yorkshire  upon  Long  Island. 

The  Convention  of  Deputies  assembled  at 
Hempstead,  on  this  island,  during  the  year  1664, 
for  the  adoption  of  the  code  of  laws  afterwards 
known  as  the  Duke's  Laws^  after  concluding 
their  labors,  adopted  the  following  address,  which 
they  sent  to  James  the  Duke  of  York  and  Albany, 
subsequently  King  James  II.  of  England :  "  We, 
the  deputies  duly  elected  from  the  several  towns 
upon  Long  Island,  being  assembled  at  Hempstead 
in  general  meeting,  by  authority  derived  from 
your  Itoyal  Highness  unto  the  Honorable  Colonel 
Nicolls,  as  Deputy-Governor,  do  most  humbly 
and  thankfully  acknowledge  to  your  Koyal  High- 
ness the  great  honor  and  satisfaction  we  receive 
in  our  dependence  upon  your  Royal  Highness, 
according  to  the  tenor  of  his  sacred  Majesty's 
patent,  granted  the  12th  day  of  March,  1664, 
wherein  we  acknowledge  ourselves,  our  heirs  and 
successors  forever,  to  be  comprised  to  all  intents 
and  purposes  as  therein  is  more  at  large  expressed. 
And  we  do  publicdy  and  unanimously  declare  our 
cheerful  submission  to  all  such  laws,  statutes,  and 
ordinances  which  are  or  shall  be  made,  by  virtue 
of  authority  from  your  Royal   Highness,  your 


204  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

heirs  and  successors  forever ;  as  also  that  we  will 
maintain,  uphold,  and  defend  to  the  utmost  of 
our  power  and  peril  of  us,  our  heirs  and  succes- 
sors forever,  all  the  rights,  title,  and  interest 
granted  by  his  sacred  Majesty  to  your  Royal 
Highness,  against  all  pretensions  or  invasions, 
foreign  or  domestic,  we  being  already  well  assured 
that  in  so  doing  we  perform  our  duty  of  alle- 
giance to  his  Majesty,  as  free-born  subjects  of  the 
kin«;dom  of  England,  inhabitino;  in  these  his 
Majesty's  dominions.  We  do  further  beseech 
your  Royal  Highness  to  accept  of  this  address  as 
the  first-fruits  in  this  general  meeting,  for  a 
memorial  and  record  against  us,  our  heirs  and 
successors,  when  we  or  any  of  them  shall  fail  in 
our  duties.  Lastly,  we  beseech  your  Royal  High- 
ness to  take  our  poverties  and  necessities,  in  this 
wilderness  country,  into  speedy  consideration ; 
that  by  constant  supplies  of  trade,  and  youi-  Royal 
Highness'  more  particular  countenance  of  grace 
to  us,  and  protection  of  us,  we  may  daily  more 
and  more  be  encouraged  to  bestow  our  labors  to 
the  improvement  of  these  his  Majesty's  western 
dominions  under  your  Royal  Highness,  for  whose 
health,  long  life,  and  eternal  happiness  we  sliall 
ever  pray,  as  in  duty  bound." 

The  people  of  Long  Island  were  so  much  ex- 
asperated against  the  deputies  of  the  convention 


205 

at  Hempstead,  for  making  that  address  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  which  tliey  regarded  as  too  base 
and  servile  to  come  from  representatives  of  free- 
men, and  expressed  their  d'sgiist  in  such  a  plain, 
open  manner,  that  the  court  of  assizes  (compos- 
ed of  the  governor  and  his  council,  and  a  justice 
of  the  peace  of  each  town),  at  a  term  held  at  New 
York,  in  1666,  in  order  to  save  those  de[)uties 
from  abuse,  if  not  in  some  instances  from  person- 
al violence,  deemed  it  expedient  to  declare,  that, 
"  AYhosoever  hereafter  shall  any  ways  detract  or 
speak  against  any  of  the  deputies  signing  the  ad- 
dress to  Ris  Hoyal  Highness,  at  the  general  meet- 
ing at  Hempstead,  they  shall  be  presented  to  the 
next  court  of  sessions,  and,  if  the  justices  shall 
see  cause,  they  shall  from  thence  be  bound  over 
to  the  assizes,  there  to  answer  for  their  slander, 
upon  plaint  or  information." 

The  deputies,  also,  subsequent  to  their  address 
to  the  Duke  of  York,  made  one  to  the  people,  in 
which  they  set  forth  their  reasons  for  agreeing  to 
the  code  called  the  Duke's  Laws,  and  endeavor 
to  show  that  they  had  done  nothing  in  that,  or  in 
their  address,  incompatible  with  the  duty  they 
owed  to  their  country  as  freemen ;  they  were  not, 
however,  veiy  successful  in  this  attempt  to  ward 
off  the  public  indignation,  which  they  certainly 
r'clilv  merited  for  their  address  to  the  Duke. 


206  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

Ill  consequence  of  a  serious  dispute  wliich  ex- 
isted between  Governor  Nicolls  and  the  colony  of 
Conuecticut  relative  to  the  boundary-line  between 
New  York  and  Connecticut  (Connecticut  seems  to 
have  thought  if  she  and  the  other  colonies  of  New 
England  could  dispossess  the  Dutch,  she  could 
then  extend  her  boundary  towards  the  south, 
which  she  much  desired  to  do),  in  the  month  of 
December,  1664,  Connecticut  sent  commissioners 
to  New  York  to  settle  this  difference,  which  ap- 
peared materially  to  affect  the  peace  of  both  col- 
onies. By  the  arrangement  entered  into  on  this 
occasion,  the  eastern  part  of  Long  Island,  which 
became  a  part  of  Connecticut  by  the  treaty  made 
with  the  Dutch,  on  the  19th  of  September,  1650, 
was  surrendered  by  Connecticut  to  New  York, 
and  the  Mamaroneck  river,  and  a  line  drawn  from 
it  north-northwest  to  the  boundary  line  of  Massa- 
chusetts, w^as  declared  to  be  the  eastern  boundary 
of  New  York.  So  that  Connecticut,  instead  of 
being  the  gainer,  was  the  loser,  by  dispossessing 
the  D 11  tell  from  the  government  of  the  colony  of 
New  Netherlands. 

Govei-nor  Richard  Nicolls,  in  the  month  of  No- 
vember, 1665,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  York, 
in  which  he  informed  him  :  "  My  endeavors  have 
not  been  wanting  to  put  the  whole  go\ernmeiit 
into  one  frame  and  policy,  and  now  the  most  fac- 


NICOLLS    AND    THE    SOLDIEES.  207 

tioiis  republicans  cannot  but  acknowledge  them- 
selves fully  satisfied  with  the  way  and  method  they 
are  in.  My  resolutions  are,  to  send  over  to  your 
Koyal  Highness  this  winter,  a  copy  of  the  laws  as 
they  now  stand,  with  the  alterations  made  at  the 
last  general  assizes,  which,  if  you  shall  confirm  and 
cause  to  be  printed  at  London,  the  country  will  be 
infinitely  obliged  to  you."  The  laws  were  ac- 
cordingly sent  and  confirmed  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  being  the  code  adopted  by  the  convention 
at  Hempstead,  and  the  alterations  and  amend- 
ments made  to  that  code  by  the  court  of  assizes,  in 
September,  1665,  but  whether  they  were  printed  or 
not,  we  do  not  know,  never  having  seen  or  heard 
of  a  copy  ;  if  they  were  printed,  it  must  be  a  very 
rare  book,  indeed. 

Governor  Xicolls,  in  a  letter  which  he  addressed 
to  the  Duke  of  York  two  or  three  months  after 
the  capture  of  New  York  in  August,  1661,  says : 
"  Such  is  the  mean  condition  of  this  town  (New 
York)  that  not  one  soldier  to  this  day  has  lain  in 
sheets,  or  upon  any  other  bed  than  canvas  or 
straw."  Soldiers  must  have  had  much  more 
dainty  lodgings  in  those  days,  and  must  have 
been  much  nicer  in  their  taste  than  at  present,  if 
a  bed  of  canvas  and  straw  in  the  warm  season 
of  the  year  is  complained  of,  as  from  this  letter 
seems  to  have  l^een  the  fact.     It  is  not,  however, 


208  LO^'G    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

in  this  view  of  the  case  that  we  have  adduced 
this  extract  from  Gov.  Ni colls'  letter,  but  to 
show  something  of  the  situation  of  the  citj  when 
it  passed  from  the  liands  of  the  Dutch,  and  came 
under  the  English  government.  The  changes 
which  have  taken  place  since  that  period  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  on  the  west  end  of  Long 
Island,  are  without  example  in  history ;  and 
these  become  the  more  marked  and  strikhig  when 
we  extend  our  comparison  some  twenty-five 
years  further  back,  when  Kieft  became  the 
Dutch  governor  of  this  colony,  and  a  full  and 
minute  examination  into  its  condition  was  made 
and  recorded,  showing  us  changes  truly  wonder- 
ful, and  all  occurring  in  about  two  centuries,  a 
period  during  which  many  of  the  important 
cities  and  towns  in  Europe  and  Asia  have  re- 
mained, in  comparison,  almost  stationary.  Here, 
on  this  little  spot,  then  known  as  New  Amster- 
dam, where  in  the  year  1639  there  w^as  but  one 
magazine,  or  store-house,  for  wares  and  merchan- 
dise, but  one  small  church,  one  blacksmith  shop, 
two  saw-mills  and  a  grist  mill,  and  whei-e  one 
hundred  and  twelve  years  later  there  were  but 
ten  thousand  souls,  is  now  congregated  a  popula- 
tion of  about  four  hundred  thousand,  engaged 
in  a  commerce  w^hich  sends  its  messengers  to  the 
ends  of  tlie   earth,  and  is  now  a   place  which 


THE    GROWTH    OF    ^'EW    YOliK.  209 

might  well  be  characterized,  as  was  ancient 
Egypt  by  the  inspired  prophet  and  poet  Isaiah, 
as  '*the  land  shadowing  with  wings,"  ''that  send- 
eth  ambassadors  by  the  sea; "  for  the  sails  of  its 
shipping  overshadow  the  ocean,  and  there  is  no 
part  of  the  habitable  globe,  and  scarcely  of  that 
portion  locked  np  in  the  eternal  frosts  of  the 
arctic  and  antarctic  zones  that  is  not  visited  l)y 
tliose  sent  on  missions  of  trade  or  peace  from  this 
city.  The  immense  increase  of  the  trade  or  com- 
merce of  this  city  has  occnrred  in  such  a  short 
space  of  time,  that  we  now  have  its  whole  history 
in  our  existing  public  records.  We  find  that  at 
the  period  first  referred  to,  1639,  the  revenue  of 
the  entire  colony  amounted  to  $31,220  per  an- 
num, wiiile  the  annual  expenses  of  the  colonial 
government,  civil  and  military,  were  $10,500,  leav- 
ing a  yearly  deficit  of  about  nine  thousand  dol- 
lars to  be  made  up  by  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,  and  which  they  could  well  afford  to 
bear,  as  they  had  all  the  commerce  of  the  colony 
in  their  own  hands,  and  from  the  single  article  of 
beaver  alone  (then  exported  in  large  cpiantities) 
were  realizing  a  profit  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
per  cent.  Xow  this  city  carries  on  more  than 
half  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  whole 
United  States,  and  now  collects  more  than  half 
of  all  the  duties  paid  upon  imports  into  the  same, 


210  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

being  the  main  revenue  of  the  general  govern- 
ment. This  will  become  apparent  from  the  fol- 
lowing statement  derived  from  official  sources : 

In  1836  the  whole  amount  of  im- 
ports into  the  United  States 
was $189,980,035 

Of  which  amount  there  was  im- 
ported at  JSTew  York 118,253,416 

Leaving  to  be  imported  in  all  the 

other   j)ortions   of   the  United 

States 71,726,619 

In  1837  tlie  whole  amount  of  im- 
ports into  the  United  States  was     $140,989,217 

Of  which  amount  there  was  im- 
ported at  Xew  York 79,301,772 

Leaving  to  be  im23orted  in  all  the 

other   portions   of   the   United 

States 61,687,445 

This  great  commercial  preponderance  of  l^ew 
York  has  grown  up  within  the  last  thirty-five 
years.  At  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  New- 
port, in  Rhode  Island,  was  a  much  more  impor- 
tant place  in  a  commercial  point  of  view  than 
New  York  ;  and  Boston  was  very  much  its  supe- 
rior in  ever}'  resj)ect.     As  regards  Philadelphia, 


PIIILADELPIIIA    AND    NEW    YORK.  211 

ill  point  of  size,  appearance  or  trade,  there  was 
then  no  comparison,  and  no  one  thought  of  mak- 
ing any  ;  Philadelphia  was  then  a  city,  and  New 
York,  in  comparison,  but  a  village.  And  thus 
continued  the  relative  positions  of  the  two  places 
until  some  time  after  the  close  of  the  Kevolution- 
ary  war  ;  evidence  of  any  jealousy  on  the  part  of 
the  former  did  not  begin  to  manifest  itself  until 
about  1806,  and  even  then  no  Philadelphian 
would  ever  believe  that  Xew  York  could  ever 
equal  Philadelphia  in  population.  But  when 
every  succeeding  census  of  the  General  and  State 
Governments  show^ed  a  rapid  and  steady  increase 
of  New  York  in  population,  in  a  ratio  far  beyond 
that  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  reports  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury  showed  an  annual  and 
great  increase  of  her  trade,  so  that  at  last  she 
equalled  and  then  far  outstripped  Philadelphia 
in  both  cases,  the  Philadelphians  at  first  vented 
their  mortification  in  bitter  sarcasms  against  New 
York  and  its  inhabitants,  and  in  ill  liberal  com- 
parisons between  the  two  cities.  But  finding 
these  unheeded  and  disregarded  both  by  the 
New  Yorkers  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  great 
West  who  went  to  New  York  to  trade,  that  city 
from  its  immense  foreign  commerce  offering 
them  a  better  market  to  make  their  choice  in, 
Philadelphia  induced  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 


212  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

to  embark  in  the  immense  system  of  railroads 
and  canals  traversino^  that  State  in  various  direc- 
tions,  and  which  ahnost  entirely,  from  their  great 
cost,  prostrated  the  credit  of  that  powerful  State, 
and  has  crippled  their  resources  for  a  long  period 
of  time  yet  to  come,  in  order  to  divert  that  West- 
ern trade  from  New  York,  and  to  bring  it  to 
Philadelphia,  where  the  nu^st  of  it  formerly  was 
transacted  ;  and  yet,  strange  as  that  may  seem, 
although  those  works  have  undoubtedly  bene- 
iited  both  that  State  and  city,  scarcely  a  rail- 
road or  canal  has  been  made  by  them  that  has 
not  materially  increased  the  trade  of  l\ew  York  ; 
has  brought  their  coal  to  New  York  at  a  cheap 
rate,  where  it  was  much  wanted,  and  by  coimect- 
ing  with  the  Ohio  river,  has,  by  means  of  the 
Alleghany  river  and  the  Ohio  canal,  opened  the 
western  part  of  their  own  State  to  the  trade  of 
New  York. 

But  these  are  all  changes  in  our  own  days : 
when  we  look  back  for  about  a  century  and  a 
half,  a  period  scarcely  recognized  by  change  in 
many  portions  of  the  old  world,  and  we  find  our 
Dutch  progenitors  assembled  in  this  goodly  city 
of  New  Amsterdam,  goodly  then  in  prospect,  if 
not  in  fruition,  declaring,  in  1G56,  that,  "  The 
widow  of  Hans  Hansen^  the  first-horn  Christian 
daxighter   in   New   Netherlands  burdened   with 


THE    GROWTH    OF    NEW  YOEK.  213 

seven  children,  petitions  for  a  grant  of  a  piece 
of  meadow,  in  addition  to  the  twenty  morgen 
granted  to  her  at  the  AVaale-Boght,"  in  the  town 
(now  city)  of  Brooklyn,  opposite  Usew  York,  we 
can  scarcely  realize  that  in  this,  and  the  examina- 
tions made  into  tlie  state  and  condition  of  ^ew 
Amsterdam  in  1639,  before  referred  to,  we  are 
looking  npon  the  beginning  of  the  great  City 
and  State  of  New  York ;  and  when  we  cast  our 
eye  over  the  assessment  roll  of  that  city  for  rais- 
ing the  sum  of  five  thousand  and  fifty  guilders 
from  her  wealthier  citizens  in  1653,  and  com- 
pare it  with  the  assessed  value  of  her  real  and 
personal  estates  in  1838,  amounting  to  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  millions  of  dollars,  it  seems 
more  like  the  story  of  some  minstrel  of  Arabia 
or  Ilindostan,  than  sober  matter  of  fact. 

All  this  immense  increase  of  New  York  City, 
and  the  western  extremity  of  this  island,  dates 
from  the  year  1817 — its  main  commencement. 
From  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  to  1812, 
Boston  was  the  first  importing  city  of  the  United 
States,  and  there  it  was  that  the  New  York  mer- 
chants purchased  the  most  of  their  goods  of 
British  and  India  manufacture.  From  1812  to 
1815,  that  city  maintained  its  commercial  pre- 
ponderance, from  the  policy  which  the  British 
(xovernment  imagined  it  their  interest  to  adopt, 


214  LONG-    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

in  leaving  Boston  comparatively  a  free  port. 
Whatever  may  have  been  their  reasons  for  this 
policy,  or  the  canses  operating  to  produce,  which 
it  is  no  part  of  our  object  or  design  to  inquire 
into,  it  is  certain  that  Boston  during  the  war  was 
the  market  from  whence  the  Union  principally 
derived  their  supplies  of  European  and  East  India 
goods.  After  the  peace  of  1815,  the  foreign 
trade  of  our  entire  country  manifested  a  ten- 
dency to  centre  in  that  city,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  capital  of  the  United  States  engaged  in 
commerce  collected  in  Boston  and  its  vicinity. 
The  general  decrease  of  business  in  the  City  of 
^ew  York,  caused  by  the  accumulation  of  this 
trading  capital  in  Boston,  induced  the  merchants 
of  our  city  to  inquire  into  the  reasons  of  this 
state  of  affairs;  and  upon  making  this  inquiry 
they  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  auction 
business  w^as  highly  injurious  to  the  trade  of 
New  York,  and  that  if  this  branch  of  business 
was  destroyed,  the  trade  and  commerce  of  this 
city  would  become  prosperous,  and  with  that 
view  they  petitioned  the  Legislature  to  impose  a 
duty  of  ten  per  cent,  on  all  auction  sales,  which 
would,  in  fact,  amount  to  a  prohibition  of  them. 
There  were  some  few  j)ersons,  however,  who  en- 
tertained a  different  opinion  as  to  the  causes  of 
this  depression  of  trade  in  New  York ;  and  among 


BOSTON    AND    NEW    YORK.  ^  215 

them  one  of  the  promuieiit  was  Abraham  G. 
Thompson,  Esq.,  who  had  been  for  many  years 
an  enterprising  and  successful  merchant  in  tliat 
city.  lie  saw  that  one  reason  operating  in  favor 
of  Boston  was  that  India  goods  could  be  sold  in 
that  city  and  pa}^  a  duty  of  only  one  per  cent., 
while  at  the  same  time,  if  those  goods  were  sold 
at  New  York,  they  would  be  obliged  to  pay  a 
duty  of  two  and  a  half  per  cent.,  and  that  to  in- 
crease the  duty  upon  auction  sales  was  only  to 
increase  more  widely  tlie  difference  in  favor  of 
Boston  and  against  Xew  York,  and  the  existing 
duties  should  be,  on  the  contrary,  diminished  in 
this  State.  With  that  view  he  went  to  Albany 
and  submitted  the  result  of  his  experience  and 
judgment  to  the  Legislature,  assuring  them  that 
by  establishing  the  duties  at  one  per  cent,  upon 
East  India,  and  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  on 
European  goods,  the  interests  of  tlie  City  of  ^ew 
York,  and  also  of  the  State,  would  be  greatly  pro- 
moted, and  the  revenue  increased  by  this  reduc- 
tion. It  was  difficult  at  first  to  satisfy  those  with 
Avhom  the  matter  rested  that  this  effect  would 
result  from  the  proposed  change;  so  many  hun- 
dreds of  the  mercliants  and  citizens  of  Xew  York 
had  petitioned  for  this  great  increase  of  duties 
upon  auction  sales,  that  it  was  ahnost  impossible 
to  think  that  they  could  be  mistaken  in  their  view 


216  ,      LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

of  the  subject.  Eventually,  however,  Governor 
Tompkins  did  become  satisfied  that  the  project 
of  Mr.  Thompson  was  the  correct  one,  and  gave 
his  influence  to  secure  the  enactment  of  the  law 
reducing  the  rates  of  duties  as  j)]-oposed,  in  place 
of  increasing  them.  Previous  to  the  passage  of  the 
law  reducing  the  rates  of  duties,  for  the  two  best 
years  between  1783  and  1812,  this  State  had  re- 
ceived from  duties  upon  auction  sales  of  India 
goods  between  five  and  six  thousand  dollars,  aver- 
aging between  twenty-five  hundred  and  three 
thousand  dollars  per  annum  ;  and  to  show  his  con- 
fidence in  the  opinions  he  had  expressed,  Mr. 
Thompson  offered  the  Governor,  that  upon  the 
passage  of  the  law  reducing  the  rate  of  duties, 
if  the  State  would  convey  to  him  the  duties 
alone  upon  India  goods,  he  would  pay  into  the 
State  treasury,  in  advance,  for  the  first  year  the 
sum  of  six  thousand  dollars,  being  more  than 
the  State  had  received  for  duties  for  any  two 
years  subsequent  to  1783.  The  results  following 
that  reduction  of  duties  more  than,  justified  all 
his  antici23ations,  and  more  than  fulfilled  all  his 
l)redictions;  for  soon  after  the  passage  of  that 
law,  in  place  of  selling  all  East  India  cargoes  in 
Boston,  as  had  been  previously  the  case,  a  Boston 
r.hip  from  the  East  Indies  was  sent  to  New  York, 
Mud   the   auction   duties   upon   hei*  cargo  alone 


THE    EAST    IXDIA    TRADE.  217 

amounted  to  upwards  of  six  thousand  dollars ; 
and  the  revenue  received  bv  this  State  upon  India 
goods,  for  the  first  year  after  that  reduction  of 
duties,  amounted  to  between  thirtj-two  and  thii-- 
tj'-three  thousand  dollars.  All  tlie  India  ships 
after  the  enactment  of  that  law  were  sent  to  New 
York ;  and  from  that  time  to  within  the  last  four 
years,  but  one  attempt  has  been  made  to  sell  a 
cargo  of  India  goods  east  of  Kew  York,  and  that 
was  a  failure,  nothing  being  sold  but  the  sample 
packages,  and  the  bulk  of  the  cargo  was  after- 
wards sent  to  this  city  and  sold  here.  The  re- 
duced rate  of  duties  being  still  continued,  the 
revenue  arising  from  that  source  to  tlie  State 
treasury  has  gradually  increased  until  it  has 
reached  to  between  two  hundred  and  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  The  effect  of  this  reduc- 
tion of  the  duties  upon  auction  sales  has  not  only 
multiplied  the  business  of  this  city  to  the  ship- 
per, tlie  importer,  tlie  jobber,  and  the  mechanic ; 
it  has  not  only  by  this  increase  of  business  made 
^e\v  York  the  commercial  emporium  of  the  na- 
tion, and  thus  has  drawn  to  us  merchants  and 
purchasers  from  all  parts  of  our  widely  extended 
country;  and  tended  directly  to  enhance  the 
\  alue  of  houses,  stores,  and  lots,  and  filled  our 
city  with  palaces,  and  made  our  merchants 
l)rinces  ;  it  has  not  only  materially  aided  the 
10 


218  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

State  in  the  payment  of  lier  debt  incurred  from 
the  system  of  .internal  improvements  ;  bat  it  also 
afforded  an  impetus  to  the  prosecution  of  the 
project  for  the  gi-eat  Erie  canal,  without  which 
it  would  probably  have  been  delayed  for  very 
many  years.  When  the  friends  of  the  Erie 
canal  urged  the  comiecting  of  the  waters  of  Lake 
Erie  with  those  of  the  Hudson  river,  they  were 
met  not  only  with  the  sarcasms  and  ridicule  of 
those  who  would  not  bestow  the  time  requisite  to 
a  proper  examination  and  understanding  of  the 
subject,  but  also  b}^  the  unanswerable  objection, 
that  the  State  had  no  settled  revenue  upon  whicii 
it  could  rely  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  of 
the  debt  that  must  be  incurred  in  the  making  of 
this  canal ;  and  that  it  would  be  an  unwise  step 
to  rely  alone  upon  tlie  prospective  revenues  of 
an  untried  project,  and  that,  too,  through  a  region 
of  country  entirely  unsettled  and  in  its  native 
forest  state,  as  was  a  large  portion  of  the  coun- 
try at  that  period  now  traversed  by  the  Erie 
canal.  When  this  act  was  passed  reducing  the 
auction  duties,  and  the  successful  result  that 
iiumediately  followed,  placed  into  the  State  treas- 
ury such  an  immensely  increased  amount  of 
duties,  compared  with  the  previous  receipts  from 
the  same  source,  that  objection  was  obviated,  and 
the  State  at  once  embarked  upon  the  prosecution 


219 

of  this  canal,  which  has  poured  and  continues  to 
pour  untold  wealth  into  the  city  and  State  of 
Isew  York. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  Governor  Sir  Ed - 
mond  Andros'  proclamation,  issued  upon  taking 
the  surrender  of  the  colony  of  New  York  from 
the  Dutch  authorities  in  November,  1674,  taken 
from  an  official  copy  sent  to  Long  Island. 

^'  By  the  Goverxor.  Whereas  it  hath  pleased 
his  Majesty  and  his  Royal  Highness  to  send  me 
with  authority  to  receive  this  place  and  govern- 
ment from  the  Dutch,  and  to  continue  in  the 
command  thereof,  under  his  Royal  Highness, 
who  hath  not  only  taken  care  for  our  future 
safety  and  defence,  but  also  given  me  his  com- 
mands for  securing  the  rights  and  properties  of 
the  inhabitants ;  and  that  I  should  endeavor  by 
all  fitting  means  the  good  and  welfare  of  this 
province  and  dependencies  under  his  govern- 
ment. That  I  may  not  be  wanting  in  any  thing 
that  may  conduce  thereunto,  and  for  the  saving 
of  the  trouble  and  cliarge  of  au}^  coming  hither 
(to  New  York  City)  for  the  satisfying  themselves 
in  such  doubts  as  might  arise  concerning  their 
rights  and  properties  upon  this  change  of  gov- 
ernment, and  wholly  to  settle  the  minds  of  all  in 
general,  I  have  thought  fit  to  publish  and  declare 
that  all  former  grants,  privileges  or  concessions 


320  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

heretofore  granted,  and  all  estate  legally  pos- 
sessed bv  any  under  his  Hoyal  Highness,  before 
the  late  Dutch  government,  as  also  all  legal  judi- 
cial proceedings  during  that  government,  to  my 
arrival  in  these  parts,  are  hereby  confirmed  ;  and 
the  possessors  by  virtue  thereof  to  remain  in 
quiet  possession  of  their  rights.  It  is  hereby 
further  declared,  that  the  known  book  of  Laws, 
formerly  established  and  in  force  under  his  Roy- 
al Ilighness's  government,  is  now  again  confirmed 
by  his  Royal  Highness,  the  which  are  to  be  ob- 
served and  practised,  together  with  the  manner 
and  time  of  holding  courts  therein  mentioned,  as 
heretofore ;  and  all  magistrates  and  civil  ofiicers 
belono^ins:  thereunto  to  be  chosen  and  established 
accordingly.  Given  under  my  hand,  in  New 
York,  this  ninth  day  of  November,  in  the  twenty- 
sixth  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign,  Annoque  Domi- 
ni 1674. 

"  E.  Andkos." 

The  first  general  market  for  the  sale  of  com- 
modities, upon  the  principle  of  the  English  fairs 
and  Markets  overt ^  was  established  at  Brooklyn 
on  this  island  in  1675,  by  an  order  of  the  court  of 
assizes  (then  the  legislative  authority  of  the  col- 
ony) at  their  session  held  in  the  City  of  New  York 
on  the  13th  of  October,  in  that  vear,  as  follows : 


BROOKLYN    FAIR    AND    MARKET.  221 

"  Upon  a  proposal  of  having  a  fair  and  mar- 
ket in  or  near  tliis  citv,  it  is  ordered  that  after 
this  season  there  siiall  yearly  be  kept  a  fair  and 
mai'ket  at  Brooklyn,  near  the  ferry,  for  all  grain, 
cattle,  or  other  produce  of  the  country,  to  be  held 
the  first  Monday,  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  in 
Xovember ;  and  in  the  City  of  Kew  York  the 
Thursday,  Friday  and  Saturday  following." 

Slavery  :  The  following  exhibits  one  of  the 
regulations  which  the  existence  of  slavery 
amongst  us  rendered  necessary  npon  tlie  x  e^t 
end  of  this  island,  as  early  as  the  summer  of 
1706: 

"  By  his  excellency,  Edward  Lord  Yiscount 
Cornbury,  Captain-General  and  Governor  in 
Chief  of  the  ProNinces  of  ^ew^  York,  New  Jersey, 
and  the  territories  depending  thereon,  in  America, 
and  Yice- Admiral  of  the  same,  etc.  Whereas,  I 
am  informed  that  several  neo-roes  in  Kinoes 
County  have  assembled  themselves  in  a  riotous 
manner,  which,  if  not  prevented,  may  prove  of 
ill  consequence;  you  and  every  of  you  are  there- 
fore hereby  recpiired  and  commanded  to  take  all 
proper  methods  for  the  seizing  and  apprehending 
all  such  negroes  in  the  said  county  as  sliall  be 
found  to  be  assembled  in  such  manner  as  afore- 
said, or  have  run  away  or  absconded  from  their 


223  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

masters  or  owners,  whereby  there  may  be  reason 
to  suspect  them  of  ill  practices  or  designs,  and  to 
secure  them  in  safe  custody,  that  theii-  crimes 
and  actions  may  be  inquired  into ;  and  if  any  of 
them  refuse  to  submit  themselves,  then  to  fire  on 
them,  kill  or  destroy  them,  if  they  cannot  otherwise 
be  taken ;  and  for  so  doing  this  shall  be  your  suffi- 
cient warrant.  Given  mider  my  hand  at  Fort 
Anne  in  New  York,  the  22d  day  of  July,  1706. 

"  CoFvNBUEY. 

*'  To  the  Justices  of  the  Peace 
in  Kings  County,  and  to  any 
or  every  of  them." 

Although  there  were  some  instances  of  unruly 
slaves  upon  this  island,  as  is  indicated  by  the 
preceding  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  yet  as 
a  general  thing  they  were  a  peaceable,  orderly 
race,  much  attached  to  the  families  in  which  they 
were  owned,  and  where  they  would  remain  from 
generation  to  generation ;  the  only  separation 
that  was  known  was  when  some  of  the  younger 
members  of  the  family  would  marry  and  leave 
the  homestead  to  keep  house  for  themselves,  one 
or  two  of  the  younger  slaves  would  voluntarily 
accomj^any  them  to  form  tlie  new  household,  and 
in  some  instances  where  an  old  negro  wencli  had 
acted  as  the  dry  nurse  of  her  young  master  or 


d 


SLAVERY    IN    NEW    YORK.  223 


» 


mistress,  she  would  insist  upon  accompanying 
them,  Avhich  was  almost  invariably  consented  to, 
althouirh  her  services  would  be  of  little  value,  un- 
less  it  might  be  as  a  kind  of  oracle  for  the  family 
in  all  matters  of  old  family  history,  or  of  the 
weather,  which  she  w(jidd  deliver  with  great 
show  of  importance  and  no  little  pri  h-,  from  the 
kitchen  chimney-corner,  a  seat  appropriated  to 
her  use,  knowing  that  all  the  other  members  of 
the  household  were  too  young  to  know  much,  if 
anything,  about  it.  And  she,  together  with  the 
other  old  negroes  of  the  family,  would  become 
high  authority  in  all  the  numberless  superstitions 
which  are  accustomed  to  congregate  about  a  far- 
mers kitchen  fireside ;  where  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  household,  white  and  colored,  would 
delio:ht  to  assemble  on  the  lono;  winter  evenino-s 
to  hear  their  stories. 

'  An  intimate  association  with  nature,  with  an  ex- 
clusion from  the  more  busy  haunts  of  men,  insensi- 
bly tends  to  make  people  superstitious,  as  the  world 
calls  it,  and  we  have  observed  that  the  more  pure 
and  virtuous  the  mind  under  such  an  association 
of  circumstances,  the  more  likely  it  is  to  be  su- 
perstitious. So  that  we  have  learned  to  look 
with  great  respect  on  this  trait  of  human  charac- 
ter, as  an  indication  that  the  heart  is  right,  and 
most  pi'(>1)ably  worthy  of  our  high  esteem. 


234  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

This  is  no  imaginary  picture,  as  any  one  can 
assure  us  who  has  been  brought  up  on  the  west- 
ern part  of  Long  Island,  even  within  the  last 
forty  years.  The  general  docility  of  these  slaves, 
and  their  long  coimection  with  the  families, 
caused  them  to  be  highly  valued  when  an  occa- 
sion did  offer  for  a  sale  or  a  valuation,  as  upon  the 
event  of  the  death  of  the  proprietor.  In  an  in 
ventory  taken  on  the  16th  of  December,  1719,  in 
Kings  County,  on  this  island,  of  the  estate  of  a 
deceased  person,  a  negro  wench  and  child  are 
valued  at  £60,  while  five  milch  cows,  five  calves, 
three  .young  bulls  and  two  heifers  were  collectively 
valued  at  £20. 

Previous  to  our  Revolutionary  war  there  were, 
besides  negro  slaves,  a  species  of  white  servants 
from  Europe,  who,  upon  emigrating  to  this  coun- 
try, sold  their  services  for  a  certain  number  of 
years.  By  some  they  were  called  apprentices, 
but  that  term,  as  now  used,  will  not  convey  a 
proper  idea  of  the  situation  of  those  persons. 
They  were  as  much  the  subject  of  sales  during 
the  period  of  tlieir  service  as  the  negro  slaves. 
So  we  find  in  the  New  York  Gazette  of  Decem- 
ber 24,  1767,  the  following  advertisement :  "  To 
be  disposed  of,  the  remaining  time,  being  about 
three  years,  of  three  German  servants,  one  a  baker 
by  trade,  one  a  butcher,  and  the  other  a  laborer. 


SOLD    INTO    SEKVICi:.  225 

They  are  very  iiidustrions,  good  men,  whose  hon- 
esty has  been  tried,  and  may  be  had  on  reasonable 
terms.  Inquire  of  the  printer  hereof."  (3n  ex- 
amining the  old  journals  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  Province  of  New  York,  from  161)1  to 
1763,  I  found,  particularly  between  1691  and 
1725,  many  regulations  in  relation  to  "  negro  and 
Indian  slaves."  Before  meeting  with  these  pro- 
visions we  had  no  idea  that  the  Indians  were  ever 
made  slaves,  and  indeed  had  all  along  supposed 
the  Indian  character  would  not  brook  slavery. 
We  are  satisfied  that  they  were  never  treated  as 
slaves  under  the  Dutch  government  in  this  colony, 
and  that  they  were  not  subjected  to  that  state  un- 
til man}^  years  after  the  conquest  of  this  colony 
by  the  English,  in  August,  1661: ;  and  we  still  be- 
lieve that  none  of  the  Indians  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  New  York,  or  under  the  English  gov- 
ernment, were  ever  made  slaves,  as  that  would 
have  been  contrary  to  the  policy  which  they  pur- 
sued toward*  the  aborigines  in  conciliating  them, 
and  forming  alliances  with  them  for  the  j^rotection 
of  their  frontiers  from  the  French  in  the  Canadas, 
and  through  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi rivers;  and  that  these  slaves  were  probably 
French  Indians  captured  by  the  Iroquois  iu  their 
excursions,  and  sold  by  them  to  the  English  in- 
habitants.    If  so,  it  was  a  humane  arrangement, 


220  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

by  which  the  lives  of  the  captives  were  preserved, 
and  tliej  were  saved  from  a  death  of  the  most 
excruciating  torture,  which,  as  is  well  known,  it 
was  then  the  custom  of  the  Iroquois  and  many 
other  Indian  nations,  to  inflict  upon  their  captives 
unless  redeemed. 

Samp  Porridge. — It  is  now,  and  has  been  for 
very  many  years  j^ast,  customary  on  Long  Island, 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  week  in  autumn,  to  pound 
their  Indian  corn  in  samp  mortars.  The  corn 
thus  pounded  is  called  samjp  j  they  put  the  corn 
the  night  before  in  a  weak  ley  of  w^ood  ashes,  to 
take  off  the  husk  of  the  grain.  This  preparation 
they  use  in  making  their  celebrated  "  samp  por- 
ridge," a  high  favorite  among  culinary  articles 
on  this  island.  It  is  formed  by  boiling  the  samp 
with  salted  beef  and  pork,  with  potatoes,  and 
such  other  vegetables  as  may  be  desired,  accord- 
ing to  the  taste.  It  requires  much  boiling  to 
make  it  perfect,  and  is  said  to  be  better  on  the 
second  day,  after  another  cooking,  tlian  it  is  on 
the  first,  and  that  it  even  improves  in  taste  and 
goodness  to  the  third  or  fourth  day,  being  heated 
up  and  partially  re-cooked  on  each  day.  In 
order  to  provide  for  this,  they  make  it  in  a 
very  large  pot  or  kettle ;  and  we  have  heard  of 
people  having  enough  cooked  for  a  week.  By 
these  various  processes  of  cooking,  the  porridge 


SAMP   MORTARS    AND   PORRIDGE.  227 

acquires  a  very  stout  crust  on  the  outside  next 
the  pot ;  so  much  so  that  we  have  been  told  of 
the  porridge,  towards  the  end  of  the  week,  being 
lifted  out  of  the  pot  bodily  by  the  crust,  which 
was  then  nsed  as  a  dish  or  bowl  to  eat  the  interior 
from. 

The  samp  mortar  is  constructed  by  selecting 
the  sound  stump  of  a  large  white  oak  tree — if 
rooted  in  the  ground,  so  much  the  better;  then 
burning  it  out  until  the  cavity  is  formed  of  the 
desired  size  and  shape,  which  is  carefully  scraped 
U)  remove  all  the  charcoal.  This  being  done,  a 
block  of  ^vhite  oak,  weighing  some  fifty  pounds, 
is  selected,  which  is  rounded  at  the  lower  end  to 
fit  the  mortar,  through  which  block  a  hole  is 
bored  near  the  top,  and  through  it  is  a  pin,  pro- 
jecting about  a  foot  on  each  side,  by  wdiich  to 
take  hold  of.  A  sapling  is  then  selected  conti- 
guous to  the  mortal',  which  is  bent  over  without 
breaking,  and  its  top  attached  by  a  strong  wythe 
or  cord  to  the  upper  end  of  that  block,  and  this 
completes  the  pestle.  The  spring  of  the  sapling 
assists  in  raising  the  pestle,  but  is  not  so  strong 
as  to  prevent  a  man  or  a  stout  boy  from  bringing 
down  the  block  or  pestle  with  sufficient  force 
upon  the  Indian  corn  in  the  mortar,  to  break  it 
and  pound  it  fine  enough  for  the  purpose  designed. 

Some  captains  of  vessels,  well  acquainted  with 


228  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

the  harbor  of  Kew  York  and  the  sniTou]idii]g 
c(;uiitry,  and  with  the  manners  and  cnstoms  of 
the  people,  j(3cnlarl3'  say  they  can  tell  when  they 
are  coming  upon  the  .Long  Island  coast  during  a 
fog  in  autumn,  by  hearing  the  sound  of  the  sam/p 
mortars  when  the  breeze  is  wafted  oif  the  shore. 
Their  faculty  of  hearing  is  equally  acute  with 
that  of  the  strollei'S  on  the  Battery  in  the  City  of 
Kew  York,  mentioPxed  by  the  worthy  Diedrich 
Knickerbocker  in  his  veritable  History  of  the 
JYeiv  ^Netherlands,  who,  on  a  calm  summer  even- 
ing, just  after  the  sunset  had  dyed  our  westei-n 
horizon  with  all  the  gorgeous  colors  of  the  famed 
Italian  skies,  could  hear  the  joyous  laugh  of  the 
negioes  at  the  little  primitive  Dutch  settlement 
of  Comnumipaw  wafted  across  the  bay  when  its 
waters  were  scarcely  disturbed  by  a  ripple. 

When  the  w^estern  and  south-western  portions 
of  this  State  were  tirst  settled,  there  being  but 
very  few  mills,  and  in  many  places  none  for 
grinding  the  grain  of  the  inhabitants,  they  adopted 
as  a  substitute  these  samp  mortars,  which  were 
found  to  answer  a  valuable  purpose.  This  pro- 
cess, however,  was  slow,  it  being  a  day's  work  to 
convert  half  a  bushel  of  corn  into  coarse  meal. 
The  settlers  who  owned  a  few  slaves  employed 
them  in  this  work  ;  and  hence,  this  process  was 
vulgarly  called  in  that  part  of  the  State  "  nigger 


HABITS  AT  iio:me.  229 

ing  corn."  On  Long  Island,  however,  this  clutj 
was  performed  by  the  young  men  and  stont  boys 
in  the  family,  although  in  some  cases  there  it 
was  also  done  by  the  negroes.  Slavery  existed 
upon  Long  Island,  and  also  in  most  other  parts 
of  this  State,  only  in  name,  for  no  distinction  as 
to  the  kind  of  work  to  be  perfoi-med  Avas  made 
between  the  slaves  and  the  white  young  men  and 
boys  of  the  houseliold.  Tliey  were  almost  uni- 
versally treated  with  great  kindness,  and  were  a 
careless,  happy  race  of  moj-tals,  and  when  they 
became  too  old  for  work,  they  were  not  cast  off, 
but  cherished  and  taken  care  of  by  the  family,  in 
whose  service  they  had  spent  their  best  days. 

Home  Habits. — For  a  long  period  anterior  to 
the  Revolution,  and  down  to  within  the  last  forty 
vears,  the  stvle  of  furnishino;  their  houses  aniono; 
the  most  wealthy  and  the  most  respectable  on 
this  island,  was  the  acme  of  simplicity  compared 
with  the  present  style.  Then  a  white  floor 
sprinkled  with  clean  sand  drawn  into  various 
figures  by  the  broom,  large  tables,  and  heavy 
high-backed  chairs  of  walnut  or  mahogany,  de- 
corated with  brass  nails  along  the  edge  of  the 
leathern  back  and  cushioned  seat,  furnished  the 
parlor  genteelly  enough  for  anybody  ;  and  most 
comfortable  chairs  they  were  truly,  as  all  know 
wlio  have  ever  seen  or  tried  them.     Sometimes  a 


230  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

carpet  was  seen  upon  the  dining-room,  not,  how- 
ever, covering  the  whole  floor.  This  room, 
although  called  the  dining-room^  was,  in  reality, 
a  show  parlor,  and  only  used  on  great  occasions, 
and  then  not  to  dine  in.  The  houses,  then, 
were  abundantly  provided  with  necessary  and 
substantial  furniture  ;  but  with  nothing  that  was 
merely  for  show,  and  not  for  use.  Pewter-plates 
and  dishes  were  in  general  use,  and  it  was  a  long 
time  after  china  and  earthenware  had  been  in- 
troduced into  this  country  before  they  super- 
seded the  pewter;  very  many  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  especially  among  the  elderly  and  old-fash- 
ioned, preferring  their  pewter  dining-sets,  and 
urging  as  a  reason  for  that  preference  that  they 
could  not  keep  their  knives  sharp  and  in  good 
order  if  they  used  the  new-fangled  plates  and 
dishes,  but  it  was  otherwise  if  they  continued  the 
pewter.  It  does  one's  heart  good  to  see  the  sets 
of  bright  pewter-plates,  dishes,  porringers,  tank- 
ards, etc.,  still  kept  among  some  of  the  old  Dutch 
families. 

There  was  no  trade  f]-om  the  colonies  to  China 
or  the  East  Indies,  and  the  porcelain  of  the  former 
country  came  from  Europe,  and  mux^h  of  it  had 
been  preserved  in  the  families  for  several  gener- 
ations. It  was  not  unfrequently  in  the  shape  of 
beautiful  plates,  highly  ornamented  ;  of  which  a 


BEVEKAGES    OF    THE    DL'TCn.  2;U 

strange  use  was  sometimes  made  hy  dnlVmo^  twv> 
lioles  ill  the  edge  of  the  plate,  through  which  a 
ribbon  was  passed,  and  it  was  hung  np  against 
the  wall  as  a  picture ;  we  have  seen  over  half  a 
dozen  beautiful  china  plates  thus  hanging  in  a 
single  room.  Occasionally  a  very  beautiful  ar- 
ticle, known  in  that  early  period  as  burnt  China, 
was  to  be  seen  in  some  families,  but  always  in 
the  form  of  plates ;  all  the  [)orcelain,  if  seen  at 
all  on  the  dinner  table,  was  only  displaj^ed  on 
very  extraordinary  occasions.  Silver-plate,  more 
or  less,  was  to  be  seen  in  every  family  in  any- 
thing like  easy  circumstances  ;  it  was  a  matter  of 
pride  to  possess  it,  and  once  in,  it  scarcely  ever 
went  out  of  the  family,  but  descended  as  an 
heirloom.  This  plate  was  not  in  all  the  various 
shapes  you  will  now  see  it,  but  in  massive  wait- 
ers, b<.)wls,  tankards,  cans,  etc.  Glass  was  then 
but  little  used.  Punch  was  the  most  common 
beverage,  and  was  drank  by  the  company  from 
one  large  bowl  of  china  or  silver;  and  beer  or 
cider  fi*om  a  silver  tankard.  Many  of  the  wealthy 
old  Dutch  families  on  this  island  had  casks  ex- 
pressly^ made  to  contain  their  wines  and  liquors, 
with  bi'ass  hoops  and  much  ornamented,  which 
were  placed  upon  permanent  racks  in  their  cel- 
lars ;  and  when  they  bought  a  cask  of  Holland 
gin,  Jamaica  rum,  sherry  and  Bordeaux  wines, 


233  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

and  English  beer  or  porter,  or  the  latter  from 
Philadelphia,  where  it  was  made  very  good  long 
before  the  Revolutionary  war,  it  was  turned  into 
tlie  cask  appropriately  marked  ;  for  all  liquors 
were  then  used  from  the  wood,  and  they  did  not 
know  the  distinction  of  wines  in  wood,  and  wanes 
in  glass.  The  preceding  w^ere  the  liquors  in  com- 
mon use ;  Madeira  wine  was  only  used  on  extra- 
ordinary occasions,  as  on  the  birth  of  a  child,  a 
marriage,  and  at  a  funeral.  When  a  young  man 
of  any  wealth  among  the  Dutch  settlers  was 
about  to  be  married,  the  first  thing  to  be  done 
was  to  send  to  Madeira  for  a  pipe  of  the  best 
Madeira  wine,  a  portion  of  which  was  drank  on  the 
occasion  of  his  marriage,  another  portion  on  the 
birth  of  his  first  son,  and  the  remainder  was  stored 
away  in  the  cellar,  to  be  consumed  at  his  funeral. 
At  the  close  of  the  last  century,  on  the  west 
end  of  this  island,  at  an  invitation  to  dinner  at 
the  house  of  the  wealthy  and  respectable  inhab- 
itants, the  entertainment  w^ould  be  as  follows  : 
Punch,  warm  and  cold,  before  dinner,  excellent 
beef  and  pork,  with  the  table  abundantly  and 
solidly  served  in  other  res})ects  ;  and  at  the  din- 
ner, spruce  beer,  cider  and  Philadelphia  porter 
were  the  drink.  After  the  meats  a  dessert  of 
puddings  and  pies,  with  sherry  and  Bordeaux 
wines. 


INTKODUCTION    OF    TEA-DKINKING.  233 

About  tlie  period  alluded  to  a  matron  would 
driuk  tea  with  her  friends,  return  home  by  can- 
dle-light in  rr,  tie  on  her  check  cqyron,  and  put  her 
children  to  bed,  and  then  pass  lier  evening  by 
her  fireside  in  company  with  her  husband,  to- 
gether with  some  friend  or  neighbor  who  might 
casually  drop  in  to  chat  away  an  hour  with 
tliem. 

Tea-drinking  in  our  cities  was  a  great  favorite 
among  the  ladies  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  Its  introduction  and  progress  in  this 
country  are  easy  to  be  traced  ;  in  1720,  Bohea  tea 
was  selling  at  Philadelphia  for  fifty  shillings  a 
pound,  and  for  some  time  after  it  was  varying 
in  price,  from  twenty  to  thirty  shillhigs  a  pound, 
so  that  it  is  evident  but  little  of  it  could  have 
been  used  in  this  country  at  that  time.  It  was 
not  until  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  later 
that  its  use  became  anyway  general  in  the  com- 
nmnity.  It  may  with  some  be  difficult  to  imagine 
what  substitute  they  used  in  its  place ;  they  in- 
deed used  no  substitute ;  our  ancestors  had  no 
such  meal  as  we  know  by  the  name  of  tea.  An 
old  gentleman,  wdio  was  living  on  Long  Island  in 
1820,  aged  eighty-seven,  recollected  perfectly 
well  that  when  he  was  a  young  man,  just  grown 
up,  tea-drinking  was  first  introduced  in  the  town 
of  Gravesend  an.d  its  vicinitv  on  this  island.    The 


234  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

original  china  tea-cups,  then  first  brought  there, 
were  some  of  them  still,  preserved  in  that  year. 
They  Avere  for  some  considerable  time  after 
their  introduction  passed  around  from  r.eighbor 
to  neighbor  when  their  friends  visited  them,  for 
the  convenience  of  tea-drinking  ;  for  tea  was  then 
considered  the  greatest  treat  which  could  be  offer- 
ed by  one  friend  to  another.  These  cups,  as  were 
all  other  tea-cups  of  that  period,  were  very  small, 
being  not  much,  if  any,  larger  than  an  egg- 
shell. 

From  a  very  early  period  until  within  the  last 
twenty-five  years,  a  custom  existed  on  Long 
Island  of  visiting  each  other  in  parties  on  Sunday 
afternoon  ;  wdiicdi,  coming  to  be  regarded  as  an 
evil  demanding  a  speedy  change,  and  the  clergy 
and  some  of  the  strictest  of  the  sect  insisting 
upon  it,  a  change  was  effected,  and  the  custom 
is  now  to  a  great  extent  broken  up,  if  not  entirely 
so.  In  extenuation  of  this  practice  it  may  be 
observed  that  the  people,  necessarily  engaged  in 
their  agricultural  pursuits  during  the  week  for  a 
large  portion  of  the  year,  had  little  time  to  visit 
their  relatives  and  friends,  who  not  unfrequently 
lived  at  a  considerable  distance  from  them;  and 
that,  after  attending  to  the  religious  services  of 
the  day,  being  dressed  in  tlieir  best  apparel,  and 
havinic  been  obbVed  to  use  their  vehicles   and 


PRICES    OF    FOOD    AND    LABOR.  235 

liorses  in  traiis}30rting  the  family  to  church,  it 
seemed  almost  natural,  in  meeting  their  friends, 
that  they  should  go  with  them,  or  take  them  to 
their  own  residences,  to  enjoy  the  pleasant  and 
important  meal  in  the  country  of  taMng  tea^  and 
also  to  pass  the  early  evening  in  social  inter- 
course ;  and  it  might  also  be  urged  that  consider- 
ing the  manner  in  which  the  Sabbath  had  been 
kept  under  the  wdiole  Jewish  economy,  and  also 
its  observance  by  the  entire  Christian  Churclifrom 
the  earliest  period  of  the  Church  down  to  the 
sixteenth  century,  it  seems  more  like  modern 
Pni'itanic  rigor,  than  as  an  exhibition  of  Christian 
feeling,  to  break  up  such  kindly  and  social  meet- 
ings as  these,  after  the  religious  services  of  the 
day  have  been  performed.  It  may  probably  be 
said  that  it  was  not  so  much  this  j^art  of  the  cus- 
tom which  induced  this  visiting  to  be  regarded  as 
an  evil,  as  it  was  the  later  evening  visits  of  the 
young  men  to  see  the  girls,  which  had  been  en- 
grafted on  it.  If  this  be  so,  why  was  not  the  dis- 
tinction made;  there  was  certainly  ample  room 
for  it  'i 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  prices  at  which 
the  articles  enumerated  were  sokl  on  this  island 
at  the  various  periods  mentioned,  and  will  enable 
the  reader  to  form  some  idea  of  the  expense  of 
living  in  former  times. 


236 


LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 


Mason's  work,  per  day 

Carpenter's  work,  do 

Common  laborers,  do 

Beef,  per  pound 

Pork,       do 

Butter,    do 

Eggs,  per  dozen 

Labor,  per  day,  for  mowing  and  getting 

in  hay 

Labor,  per  day,  in  harvest 

Wheat,  per  bushel 

Indian  corn,  per  bushel 

Rye,  per  bushel 


In  1770. 

In  1 

790. 

$0  44 

$0 

60 

40 

56 

25 

37 

03 

04 

03 

04 

06 

09 

04 

06 

30 

37 

37 

50 

50 

75 

30 

37 

37 

50 

In  1815. 


$1  75 


50 
1  00 

10 
30 
18 

1  00 

1  25 

2  00 
1  12 
1  25 


At  the  beginning  of  the  present  centnry  a  very 
large  tulip,  or  white  wood  tree,  existed  in  Brook- 
lyn, on  the  bank  of  the  East  river,  a  short  dis- 
tance northeasterly  from  the  Main  street  ferry. 
It  was  a  very  old  tree  and  hollow,  large  enongh 
inside  to  hold  eight  men  comfortably  ;  and  was  a 
sjjlendid  sight  in  the  spring  when  in  blossom,  with 
its  large  flowers  evaporating  their  perfume  over 
most  of  the  then  little  settlement  of  Brooklyn. 
Under  this  tree  was  a  beautiful  green  sward,  and 
the  tree  being  full  of  large  lea^'es  it  cast  a  most 
extensive  and  grateful  shade  in  the  warm  season. 
It  was  so  well  known  in  the  city  of  INew  York, 
that  it  was  usual  among  the  old-fashioned  inhabi- 


THE    OLD    TULIP    TREE.  237 

taiits  of  that  city,  to  make  np  parties  of  three  or 
fonr  families,  to  cross  the  East  river  in  their  own 
boats,  carrying  their  provisions  with  them,  di- 
rectly after  their  early  dinner  hour  of  tw^elve  or 
one  o'clock,  and  to  pass  the  long  summer  after- 
noon in  laughing,  talking,  smoking,  and  drinking 
under  the  shade  of  this  ti*ee.  The  women  would 
boil  their  tea  kettle  in  the  hollo w"  of  the  tree  ;  and 
then  between  four  and  five  o'clock  they  would 
sit  down  to  drink  tea,  with  the  smooth  grass  for 
their  tea-table,  after  which  the  men  would  again 
smoke  their  long  pipes,  and  after  some  social 
chat,  and  planning  another  excursion  into  the 
conntry  (as  it  was  then  called,  but  how  different 
now  !),  they  would  return  to  the  city  about  sunset, 
without  the  fear  of  being  run  o^er  by  steamboats 
in  their  long  and  slow^  row  across  the  river,  amus- 
ing themselves  with  looking  at  the  gentlemen 
playing  at  bowling  upon  the  smooth  lawn  in  tlie 
front  of  the  Belvidere  club-house,  on  the  height 
of  land  south  of  Corlears  Hook  ;  and  w'ondering 
whether  the  fishermen  in  the  small  boats,  anchored 
a  little  way  fi-om  the  beach,  between  the  foot  of 
George  street  (now  Market  street)  and  Corlears 
Hook,  had  caught  any  fish ;  also  admiring  the 
gorgeous  beauties  of  the  sunset ;  but  at  times 
they  would  hasten  their  S2:>eed  as  they  looked 
upon  this  splendid  scene,  because  the  lower  cloud 


238  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

that  the  sun  has  just  disappeared  behind,  ard 
tinged  its  edges  with  living  gold,  exhibited  a  ve^y 
black  and  ominous  appearance,  as  if  it  had  a 
thunder  shower  in  its  bosom,  which  idea  became 
strengthened  by  seeing,  almost  directly  after,  the 
crinkling  lightning  playing  along  its  surface ; 
and  they  were  also  startled  by  the  rushing  past 
them  of  several  porpoises,  every  few  miuutes 
showino:  their  curved  backs  far  above  the  surface 
of  the  Avater,  which,  smooth  and  still  as  if  it  were 
glass,  reflected  upon  its  surface  all  the  heights  of 
land,  the  wharves,  buildiugs,  and  even  lamps  of 
the  neighboring  city,  all  which  they  say  to  each 
other  is  a  sign  that  the  storm  is  near  at  hand  ; 
but  they  reach  home  in  safety  just  as  the  first 
drops  of  rain  begin  to  fall.  Snch  parties  as  these 
were  of  very  frequent  occurrence  during  the  sum- 
mer. Some  may  feel  an  interest  in  knowing 
what  became  of  this  interesting  tree,  so  identified 
as  it  was  with  many  of  the  purest  and  most 
pleasurable  enjoyments  of  our  ancestors.  One 
Sunday  morning,  in  the  early  part  of  summer, 
about  forty  years  ago,  wdien  the  few  people  who 
lived  at  "  Brooklyn  feVry"  (as  a  large  part  of  the 
present  city  was  then  called)  were  at  church,  an 
alarm  of  fire  was  given  by  the  only  bell  in  the 
place  (the  Dutch  church  was  then  at  Brooklyn 
parish,  or  Brooklyn  proper),  which  was  the  fire 


KNTCKERBOCKEK    SMOKING    PARTIES.  239 

bell  hanging  on  the  Old  Ferry  road.  All  ran  out 
to  see  wliere  the  fire  was,  and  observing  a  smoke 
in  that  direction,  they  passed  on  until  they  dis- 
covered it  was  the  great  tree  in  flames.  For  a 
long  time  no  one  dared  go  near  it,  under  the  ap- 
prehension that  a  powder  magazine,  which  then 
stood  in  the  vicinity,  would  blow  up.  The  tree 
was  so  large  and  the  smoke  so  great,  that  for  near 
an  hour  the  inhabitants  were  much  alarmed  lest 
the  fire  might  be  connnunicated  to  the  magazine, 
and  all  their  houses,  if  not  their  lives,  destroyed 
by  the  explosion,  they  believing  a  large  quantity 
of  gunpowder  to  be  stored  there.  After  some 
time,  four  or  five  of  the  most  courageous  taking 
pails,  and  dipping  water  from  the  river,  threw  it 
into  the  hollow  of  the  tree  and  extinguished  the 
fire.  It  was  supposed  to  have  originated  from 
the  carelessness  of  some  fishermen,  who,  having 
cooked  their  breakfast  there,  as  was  then  not  an 
imf i-equent  occurrence,  had  neglected  afterwards 
to  put  out  tlie  fire  with  as  much  care  as  was 
usual.  This,  however,  did  not  destroy  the  old 
tree  ;  it  still  continued  in  leaf,  and  was  resorted 
to  during  the  warm  season  by  the  Knickerbock- 
ers for  their  accustomed  tea  and  smoking  parties. 
But  when  the  gales  and  storms  came  in  the  au- 
tumn, the  tree  was  so  much  weakened  by  the  loss 
of  tlie  wood  wdiich  had  been  burnt  from  the  in- 


240  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

side,  that  it  was  blown  down,  to  the  great  regret 
01  all  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  and  also  of 
ISTew  York,  to  whom,  and  especially  the  latter,  it 
had  long  been  a  very  pleasant  resort. 

The  habits  and  manners  of  the  people  on  this 
-island  were  qnite  pi-imitive  nntil  a  very  recent 
period.  This  arose  in  a  great  measure  from  their 
seclusion  from  the  travelling  world,  by  reason  of 
the  imperfect  modes  of  conveyance  throughout  a 
large  portion  of  the  island.  Old  Mr.  John  Moore, 
of  Newtown,  in  Queens  County,  who  was  aged 
ninety-seven  years  in  1826,  says,  that  his  mother 
was  the  lirst  white  woman  who  came  by  land 
fi'om  Newtown  to  Brooklyn.  She  came  with  her 
husband  on  horseback,  riding  on  a  pillion  behind 
him  (as  was  then  the  custom),  through  an  Indian 
path,  then  the  only  road,  and  at  that  time  this 
journey  was  considered  a  very  arduous  under- 
takincr,  and  her  friends  wondered  much  that  she 
should  have  the  courage  to  think  of  it.  As  late 
as  1793,  there  was  no  post-office  on  any  part  of 
Long  Island  and  no  mail  carried  on  it ;  the  people 
on  the  west  end  received  all  their  letters  and  sent 
them  (and  few  they  were)  through  the  post-office 
in  New  York,  except  those  on  the  east  end  of 
the  island  who  used  the  tri-weekly  mail  from 
New  London  to  New  York,  they  having  frequent 
communication    with    New    London   and    other 


MR.    DUNBAR,  THE    POST    RIDER.  241 

parts  of  Connecticut,  by  means  of  their  small 
sailinoj  vessels,  a  communication  kept  up  to  the 
present  day. 

The  first  post-route  upon  Long  Island,  with  the 
first  post-ofhcGS,  was  established  on  the  memorial 
i)i  Abraham  G.  Thompson  and  Jonathan  Thomp- 
son, Esqs.,  with  a  few  others  of  the  other  inhabi- 
tants of  this  island,  about  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century ;  and  Abraham  G.  Thompson, 
Esq.,  was  the  first  postmaster  at  Babylon,  and 
held  that  office  for  about  six  years,  until  he  re- 
moved to  the  city  of  Kew  York  and  commenced 
his  successful  mercantile  career  in  that  city. 
About  ten  or  twelve  years  previous  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  post-route  on  this  island,  a  re- 
spectal)le  old  Scotchman,  named  Dunbar,  was  in 
the  habit  of  riding  a  voluntary  post  betw^een  the 
city  of  Xew  York  along  the  south  road  to  Baby- 
lon, and  from  thence  a  few  miles  to  the  east,  and 
then  across  the  island  to  Brookhaven.  lie  thus 
brought  the  inhabitants  of  the  central  p.ortion  of 
this  island  their  letters  and  newspapers  about 
once  a  week  or  once  a  fortnight,  depending  upon 
the  state  of  the  weather. 

Mr.  Dunbar  appears  to  have  ridden  his  volun- 
tary post  even  as  early  as  near  the  commencement 
of  the  Revolution.  Rivingtoii's  Royal  Gazette^ 
l)rinted  in  Xew  York,  for  February  16tli,  1778. 
11 


243  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

establishes  this  fact  by  the  following  article  of 
news  :  "  At  two  o'clock  last  Thursday  morning  a 
party  of  twelve  rebels  seized,  at  Coram,  in  Suf- 
folk County,  two  wagons  loaded  witli  dry  goods, 
the  property  of  Obediah  Wright  of  Southampton, 
These  maurauders  had  been  several  days  on  the 
island,  visited  most  parts,  and  committed  many 
robberies,  especially  at  the  house  of  Colonel  Floyd, 
Setauket,  which  they  robbed  of  goods  and  cash 
to  a  considerable  amount,  and  took  some  property 
of  Mr.  Dunhar,  who  rides  down  the  island  oc- 
casionaUy^  and  happened  to  lodge  in  the  house 
that  night." 

It  would  not  answer  to  be  more  explicit  about 
Mr.  Dunbar,  for  although  there  was  no  mail-route 
upon  the  island,  yet  the  king  had  his  deputy 
postmasters  for  JSi  ortli  America,  who  were  alone 
authorized  to  transmit  letters  to  any  part  of  the 
country,  and  the  people  of  Long  Island,  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  were  pi-esumed  to  receive 
their  letters  at  the  post-office  in  the  city  of  New 
York;  Mr.  Dunbar's  business  being  an  illegal 
one  subjected  him  to  severe  penalties,  and  was 
only  winked  at  by  reason  of  its  absolute  neces- 
sity. 

A  mighty  change  has  been  produced  in  Long 
Island  within  the  last  few  years,  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  railroad ;  now  by  its  means  travellers 


JOIJKNETING   IN   OLDEN   TIME.  243 

leave  IN^ew  York  citj^,  after  breakfasting,  and 
arrive  in  Boston  between  five  and  six  o'clock  the 
same  evening.  Only  as  late  as  1835,  the  regular 
mail-stage  left  I>rooklyn  once  a  week,  on  Thurs- 
day, having  arrived  from  Easthampton  and  Sag 
Harbor  the  afternoon  of  the  previous  day ;  and 
this  was  the  only  conveyance  travellers  could 
then  have  through  this  island,  unless  they  took  a 
private  carriage.  The  practice  then  was  to  leave 
Brooklyn  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning — they 
were  not,  however,  pai-ticular  as  to  a  half  hour — 
travel  on  to  Hempstead,  where  they  dined ;  and 
after  that,  jog  on  to  Babylon,  where  they  put  up 
for  the  night.  A  most  delightful  way  this  was 
to  take  a  jaunt — there  was  no  hurry,  no  fuss  and 
bustle  about  it ;  no  one  was  in  haste  to  get  to  his 
journey's  end,  and  if  he  was,  and  intended  going 
the  whole  route,  he  soon  became  effectually  cured 
of  it.  Every  thing  went  on  soberly  and  judici- 
ously, and  you  could  see  all  there  was  to  be  seen, 
and  hear  all  that  was  to  be  heard,  and  have  time 
enough  to  do  it  all  in  ;  no  mode  of  travelling  ever 
suited  our  taste  better ;  it  was  the  very  acme  of 
enjoyment.  The  next  morning  you  left  Babylon 
just  after  daylight — which  in  the  summer  was  of 
itself  worth  living  for — journeyed  on  to  Patch- 
ogue,  where  you  got  your  breakfast  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock,  with  a  good  appetite  for  it,  we 


244  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

warrant  you.  You  would  get  no  dinner  this  day, 
nor  would  you  feel  the  want  of  it  after  your  late 
and  hearty  breakfast;  but  travel  along  slowly 
and  pleasantly  until  you  reached  the  rural  post- 
office  at  Fire  Place,  standing  on  the  edge  of  a 
wood ;  here,  if  you  have  a  taste  for  the  beautiful 
in  Nature,  you  would  walk  down  the  garden  to 
look  at  the  trout  stream  filled  with  the  speckled 
beauties.  Here  you  need  give  yourself  no  un- 
easiness about  being  left  by  the  stage,  as  is  the 
case  in  some  of  the  go-ahead  parts  of  our  country 
— in  this  particular  region  the  middle  of  the  road 
is  sandy,  and  the  driver,  like  a  considerate  man, 
gives  his  horses  an  opportunity  to  rest,  so  that 
they  may  the  better  travel  through  this  piece  of 
heav}^  road.  You  might,  therefore,  after  enjoy- 
ing yourself  at  this  spot,  walk  on  leisurely  ahead 
of  the  stage,  with  a  friend,  and  some  one  who  is 
conversant  with  the  country  and  its  legends,  and 
this  walk  would  prove  by  no  means  the  least 
pleasant  part  of  your  excursion,  for  many  are  the 
tales  that  you  would  hear  of  awful  shipwrecks,  of 
pirates  and  their  buried  wealth,  of  treasures  cast 
u]^  by  the  sea,  and  of  all  those  horrors  and  won- 
ders of  which  the  ocean  is  the  prolific  parent. 
After  walking  for  some  two  or  three  miles  upon 
the  green  sward  at  the  edge  of  the  road,  gather- 
infy  and  eating  the  berries  as  you  strolled  along, 


THE    COACH    TO    EASTHAMPTON.  245 

until  YOU  were  tired,  you  would  find  the  stage  a 
short  distance  behind  you,  the  driver  very  com- 
plaisant, for  you  have  much  eased  his  horses  in 
their  journey  tln-ongh  the  heavy  sand,  and  the 
passengers  pleased  to  see  you  back  in  your  seat 
again,  that  is,  if  you  have  done  as  every  ti-aveller 
ought  to  do,  studied  the  comfort  and  convenience 
of  your  fellow-passengers  as  well  as  y<jur  own. 
Shortly  after  sunset  you  would  stop  for  the  night, 
the  second  one  of  your  journey,  at  a  place  called 
Quagg  or  Quogue.  Here  you  might,  after  sup- 
per, on  a  moonlight  night  in  the  beginning  of 
August,  if  you  were  so  fortunate  as  to  be  there 
at  such  a  time,  as  we  were,  cross  the  meadows 
with  a  guide,  and  walk  down  to  the  sea-beach, 
where,  with  no  sound  but  the  beating  of  the 
waves  upon  the  shore,  swelling  in  from  a  waste 
of  waters  of  three  thousand  miles,  and  making 
the  earth  tremble  under  your  feet,  with  scarcely 
a  breath  of  air  to  move  the  hair  upon  your  fore- 
head, and  nothing  in  sight  for  miles  upon  miles 
but  the  white  sand  hills  srlistenincr  in  the  moon- 
beams  on  one  side,  and  this  world  of  waters  on 
the  other,  y(Hi  would  more  than  at  any  other  time 
realize  the  immensity  of  creation,  and  your  own 
comparative  insignificance.  The  following  morn- 
ing you  would  breakfast  at  Southampton,  after 
passing  through  a  pine  forest,  in  a  portion  of 


X 


246  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

which,  from  the  earlj  hour  and  blindness  of  the 
road,  you  would  probably  require  a  guide  to  go 
ahead  of  the  horses  with  a  lighted  lantern.  You 
would  also,  this  morning,  before  arriving  at  South- 
ampton, cross  the  remains  of  the  first  canal  con- 
structed in  what  is  now  the  United  States,  by 
Mongotuclvsee,  the  chief  of  the  Montauk  Indians, 
long  before  the  white  settlement  of  the  country, 
and  also  traverse  a  region  of  hills  known  as  the 
^  Shinecoc  Hills,  on  which  not  a  tree  has  grown 
since  they  were  known  to  man,  certainly  not 
since  the  European  settlement  of  this  island ; 
and  if  you  are  wise,  you  would  leave  the  stage 
near  this  canal,  and  w^ith  your  friend  cross  these 
hills  on  foot,  for  the  stage  has  to  make  a  long  cir- 
cuit around  their  base,  and  you  may  leisurely 
walk  over  them  in  nearly  a  straight  line,  enjoying 
some  most  delightful  views,  wdiich  are  not  to  be 
seen  from  any  part  of  the  road,  and  reach  the 
road  on  the  opposite  side  before  the  stage  has 
completed  the  circuit.  Sag  Harbor  would  be 
reached  in  time  for  dinner,  after  which  the  mail 
stage  would  travel  on  to  its  final  destination  at 
Easthampton,  arriving  there  just  before  sunset  on 
Saturday  afternoon  ;  thus  occupying  nearly  three 
days  to  traverse  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
ten  miles ;  but  most  pleasant  days  they  were,  and 
no  one  has  ever  tried  this  mode  of  journeying 


THE    WHALE    FISHERMEN.  247 

through  Long  Island  who  had  pleasure  in  view, 
wlio  did  not  wish  to  try  it  again.  It  would  afford 
recollections  for  a  life  to  make  such  a  tour  of  this 
island  to  Montauk  Point,  going  by  the  south 
road  and  returning  by  the  north  side ;  to  stroll 
along  the  great  south  beach  near  Ammagansett, 
on  the  hard  level  sand  near  the  waters  edge, 
with  nothing  in  view  but  the  white  sand  hillocks 
crowned  with  scrubby  bushes,  and  occasionally, 
at  long  intervals,  small  thatched  huts  or  wigwams 
on  the  highest  elevations,  with  a  staff  projecting 
from  the  top.  These  huts  were  occupied  at  cer- 
tain seasons  by  men  on  the  watch  for  whales,  and 
when  they  saw  them  blowing,  a  signal  was  hoisted 
on  this  staff".  Innnediately  the  people  would  be 
seen  coming  from  all  directions  with  their  whaling 
boats  upon  wagon-wheels,  drawn  by  horses  or 
oxen,  launch  them  from  the  beach  and  be  off  in 
pursuit  of  the  great  fish.  You  would  see  all 
throuo'h  this  reo^ion  these  whalinoj-boats  turned 
upside  down,  lying  upon  a  frame  under  the  shade 
of  some  trees  bv  the  road-side,  this  beinsr  the 
only  way  in  which  they  could  keep  them,  having 
no  harbors ;  four  or  five  families  would  club  to- 
gether in  owning  one  of  these  boats  and  in  man- 
ning them. 

This  journey  was  then  a  most  interesting  one, 
from  the  variety  of  scenery  and  curious  out-of -the- 


248  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

way  occurrences.  The  whole  south  side  of  the 
island,  and  also  portions  of  the  northern  side, 
are  full  of  legends  and  stories  of  pirates,  ship- 
wrecks, and  strange  superstitions,  of  murders  and 
buried  treasures,  which  are  revived  from  time  to 
time  by  the  actual  discovery  of  Spanish  dollars 
along  the  beach,  after  unusually  heavy  storms  ;  a 
large  amount  was  found  in  this  way,  as  late  as 
March,  1842.  It  was  worth  the  trouble  of 
such  a  journey  then,  to  witness  the  primitive 
manner  of  the  post-office  arrangements  in  various 
parts  of  the  island,  manifesting  a  degree  of  hon- 
esty in  the  whole  community,  and  confidence  in 
each  other,  to  be  met  with  in  few  other  places  in 
this  world.  The  villages  were  in  some  instances 
a  mile  or  two  off  the  post  road ;  in  such  cases  the 
driver  would  stop  and  lay  his  package  for  the 
place  intended  on  a  particular  rock  inside  of  the 
fence  by  the  road-side,  and  would  take  up  any- 
thing left  there  for  him ;  at  other  times,  as  he 
was  jogging  along,  he  would  throw  out  two  or 
three  newspapers,  under  a  certain  tree  or  shrub, 
all  of  which  were  sure  to  find  their  true  destination. 
One  morning  on  our  journey  down  the  island,  we 
came  to  an  old  tree  standing  at  the  intersection 
of  two  roads,  with  a  box  fastened  to  it  without  a 
lock  ;  this  was  the  post-office  of  that  district ;  our 
driver  deposited  in  it  the  letters  and  papers  for 


RUINED    BY   RAILROADS.  249 

that  place,  and  took  out  those  intended  for  car- 
riage further  east.  These  were  the  mail  arrange- 
ments on  Long  Island  even  at  that  late  period, 
and  yet  no  instance  was  known  of  any  letter  or 
paper  having  miscarried.  But  those  things  are 
Jill  now  passed,  and  such  a  jaunt  can  never  again 
be  taken  ;  the  old  mail  route  is  broken  up,  and 
now,  in  place  of  travelling  soberly  along,  we,  by 
means  of  railroads  and  turnpikes,  fly  rapidly 
through  the  island.  Now  we  will  meet  with  hun- 
dred^ of  tourists  for  pleasure,  where  we  met  one 
at  that  period.  It  was  then  something  of  an  un- 
dertakino;  to  2:0  to  Montauk  Point — now  almost 
everybody  goes  there.  Then  there  were  few  tav- 
erns, and  in  mau}^  places  none ;  the  inhabitants 
were  delighted  to  see  strangers,  and  learn  from 
them  the  news  of  the  world  ;  they  were  plain  and 
hospitable  in  their  manners,  so  that  it  was  a  pe- 
culiar pleasure  to  visit  them.  Now  there  are 
taverns  or  hotels  everywhere,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer they  are  filled.  The  people  have  ceased  to 
offer  their  hospitalities,  except  to  those  with  whom 
they  are  somewhat  acquainted,  otherwise  from 
the  great  influx  of  strangers  tliey  might  be  much 
imposed  upon.  In  place  of  that  kind,  open- 
hearted  reception  which  you  then  met  with  from 
all  the  girls  and  young  men  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  island,  you  will  find  they  have  now  the 
11* 


5,")0  LONG    ISLAIsD    ANTIQUITIES. 

manners  of  the  young  people  of  our  towns ;  and 
in  order  to  have  any  intercourse  with  either  sex, 
a  previous  formal  introduction  is  necessar}^,  and 
even  after  that,  the  frolicking,  kind,  good-humor- 
ed attention  you  then  received  are  now  supplied 
by  manners  tinctured  with  distance  and  reserve. 
This  change  may  have  been  inevitable,  and,  in 
fact,  absolutely  necessary,  from  their  change  of 
circumstances  and  situation,  with  reference  to  the 
travelling  world,  but  yet  it  is  much  to  be  re- 
gretted. 

From  1664,  down  to  the  close  of  the  British 
government  in  tliis  colony,  a  period  of  more  than 
a  century,  almost  all  the  marriages  upon  this 
island  (which  were  not  of  un frequent  occurrence, 
judging  from  the  statement  of  Major  Rogers, 
that  more  than,  a  hundred  ladies  from  this  island 
were  annually  married,  about  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  into  the  neighboring  plantations), 
and  also  in  New  York,  took  place  under  the 
Governor's  license,  thus  adding  very  much  to  his 
income  ;  it  was,  in  fact,  esteemed  rather  disrepu- 
table to  be  married  by  the  publication  of  the  banns 
for  three  Sabbaths,  in  church,  or  by  putting  up  the 
notices  required  bylaw.  The  following  extract 
from  a  New  York  newspaper,  under  the  date  of 
December  13,  1765,  will  show  how  strongly  that 
prejudice  existed  in  the  community,  and  that  the 


PUBLISHING    THE  BANNS.  251 

occurrence  of  a  marriage  by  the  publication  of 
the  banns,  even  at  that  late  period,  was  so  uncom- 
mon as  to  call  forth  a  special  notice  in  the  public 
journals  of  the  day : 

"  We  are  credibly  informed  (says  the  editor) 
that  there  were  married  last  Sunday  evening,  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Auchmuty,  a  very  resj)ectahle  couple, 
til  at  had  been  published  three  different  times,  in 
Trinity  Church.  A  laudable  example  and  worthy 
to  be  followed.  If  this  decent,  and,  for  many 
reasons,  proper  method  of  publication,  was  once 
generally  to  take  place,  we  should  hear  no  more 
of  clandestine  marriages,  and  save  the  expense  of 
licenses,  no  inconsiderable  sum  these  hard  and 
depressing  times." 

At  the  same  time  that  our  ancestors  provided 
all  the  necessary  facilities  for  entering  the  mar- 
riage state,  a  state  of  peculiarly  high  moment 
to  a  newly  settled  colony,  they  also  made  provi- 
sion for  arranging  and  disposing  of  the  disputes 
which  sometimes  arise  from  that  condition  of  life, 
and  we  find,  in  1673,  at  New  York  City,  an  offi- 
cer styled,  ''  Tlie  first  commissary  of  marriage 
affairs," — whose  duty  it  was  to  hear  and  deter- 
mine all  matrimonial  controversies,  and  whose 
jurisdiction  extended  to  Long  Island.  Notwith- 
standing there  was  undoubtedly  some  business 
for  this  officer  and  his  successors  to  perform,  yet 


252  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

our  history  from  the  first  settlement  of  this  colon j 
to  tlie  year  1786,  presents  no  instance  of  divorce 
a  m.ensa  et  thoro,  and  but  one  single  instance  of  a 
divorce  a  vinculo  inatriinonii^  and  that  was  ob- 
tained by  Rebecca  Leveridge  from  her  husband 
,  Eleazer,  in  the  Court  of  Assizes,  held  in  the  City 
of  IS^ew  York  on  the  22d  of  October,  1670.  This 
certainly  speaks  well  for  the  morals  of  our  ances- 
tors. And  they  were  indeed  a  moral,  honest  race, 
notwithstanding  they  were  fond  of  good  livings 
and  indulged  in  many  sports  and  amusements, 
which  we  have,  from  the  requirements  of  fashioa 
suffered  to  become  obsolete.  Our  records  show 
tlie  extraordinary  fact,  that  from  the  year  1786 
there  lias  not  been  a  single  instance  of  any  per- 
son executed  for  a  capital  offence  in  Kings  Coun- 
ty;  which,  considering  its  numerous  population, 
and  its  immediate  proximity  to  one  of  the  great- 
est commercial  cities  in  the  world,  is  a  pheiKmie- 
non  in  the  history  of  morals.  We  cannot  form 
a  correct  opinion  as  to  the  inhabitants  of  this 
island,  or  indeed  of  any  country,  without  looking 
into  their  festival  amusements,  their  sports,  and 
the  manner  in  which  their  fireside  enjoyments 
were  conducted.  In  this  we  have  the  advantage 
of  almost  any  other  people,  for  we  were  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  have  a  "  Fcvtherland^^  Vaderlandt  as 
well  as  a  "  IlotJur  Country^''  and  our  ancestors 


SMOKED   GOOSE   AND   KOLICHEES.  253 

coming,  in  the  good  "  olden  time,"  from  those 
countries,  introduced  with  them  tlie  customs  and 
festivities  of  their  different  nations,  which  have 
since  become  domesticated  among  us,  and  witli 
some  others,  originating  in  our  own  land,  now  of 
right  form  a  portion  of  our  history  as  a  people. 
It  is  true  that  at  first  there  was  not  so  good  a 
state  of  feeling  existing  between  the  Dutch  and 
English  settlers  as  might  have  been  desired,  but 
this  feeling  has  all  died  awa}'  long  since,  and  the 
Dutch  and  English,  by  living  as  neighbors  and 
coming  better  to  understand  each  other's  charac- 
ters, and  by  frequent  intermarriages,  have  become 
one  people  ;  and  the  Dutch  talked  English,  and 
the  English  talked  Dutch;  and  they  eat  sour- 
krout,  smoked  goose  and  kolichees,  and  roast 
beef  and  plum  pudding  togethei-,  and  everything 
has  since  gone  as  comfortably  as  could  be  wished. 
Christmas  was  a  season  of  great  festivity  on 
Long  Island  from  its  first  settleuient.  Formerly 
among  the  English  families  on  this  island  it 
was  customary  on  Christmas  eve  to  place  on  the 
fire  a  large  log  of  hickory  wood,  which  had  been 
previously  selected  and  prepared  for  the  occasion, 
called  the  "Christmas  log;"  this  was  the  '''Yule 
den,gh  "  of  the  Saxons.  Etymologists  have  long 
puzzled  themselves  to  find  the  meaning  of  this 
expiession  as  a]3plied  to  this  log  of  wood  burnt 


354  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

upon  the  hearth  on  Christmas  eve,  and  during 
Christmas  day.  It  was  formerly  the  general  be- 
lief from  a  very  early  period,  that  on  Christmas 
eve  the  evil  spirits,  by  reason  of  their  spite 
and  malice  being  increased  by  the  birth  of  the 
Saviour,  who  was  destined  ultinjately  to  destroy 
their  power,  were  unusually  busy  in  their  efforts 
to  injure  mankind;  and  that  it  was  necessary  to 
use  some  extraordinary  precautions  to  thwart 
their  designs.  These  logs  being  cut  some  time 
before,  and  destined  for  the  hearth  on  that  par- 
ticular occasion,  were  supposed  to  acquire  a  degree 
of  sanctity  from  that  fact,  and  also  being  suffi- 
ciently large  to  burn  through  the  night  and  the 
succeeding  day,  the  light  from  their  burning  was 
believed  to  drive  away  all  evil  influences  of  a 
supernatural  character,  such  spirits  fearing  light 
and  loving  darkness  ;  the  expression  as  thus  used, 
therefore,  means  a  log  burnt  to  drive  away  the 
evil  spirits.  In  Kolle's  translation  of  some  of  the 
Psalms  of  David,  made  in  the  fourteenth  century, 
we  have  the  word  Yule  used  in  that  sense,  viz. : 
''  I  shal  not  dreede  Yueles,"  which  we  now 
translate,  "  I  will  fear  no  evil "  (see  Psalm  23). 
This  word,  Yuele,  is  evidently  the  same  as  that 
written  Yide^  the  orthography  of  the  language 
not  being,  by  any  means,  in  a  settled  state  at  that 
early  period. 


THE   CHRISTMAS    LOG.  255 

So  universal  is  this  belief  that  the  evil  spirit 
fears  light,  that  even  the  aborigines  of  Xew  Hol- 
land, v/ill  never  venture  from  their  fires  at  niofht 
because  of  the  horror  they  entertain  of  an  evil 
spirit,  whom  they  represent  as  a  gigantic  black 
man,  always  prowling  about  at  night,  ready  to 
seize  and  devour  any  unfortunate  wanderer, 
except  from  the  most  urgent  necessity,  when  they 
always  carry  a  firebrand  to  intimidate  the  monster. 
(^7ilkes'  United  States  Ejcjploring  Expedition^ 
vol.  II.,  page  198.) 

All  nations  appear  to  have  the  idea  of  repelling 
their  spiritual  enemies  by  means  of  light ;  and  it 
is  certainly  a  very  curious  circumstance  that  the 
declaration  of  Scripture  that  evil  loves  darkness 
and  hates  light,  should  find  such  a  full  confirma- 
tion in  the  belief  of  all  nations,  as  well  the  low- 
est and  most  ignorant,  as  the  most  civilized  and 
intelligent. 

This  Christmas  log  has  been  several  times 
placed  upon  the  hearth,  in  our  family,  within 
onr  memory,  but  the  custom  is  now  nearly  dis- 
continued. The  children,  also,  formerly  had 
their  candles,  made  in  different  shapes,  at  that 
season,  often  three  branches  from  one  body, 
called  "  Christmas  candles,"  and  which  they  burnt 
on  Christmas  eve,  and  were  allowed  to  sit  up  un- 
til they  were  burnt  out. 


256  LONG    ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

Among  the  Dutch  settlers,  Christmas  was  al- 
ways a  great  festival ;  and  a  clay  on  which  Saint 
Nicholas  was  in  high  repute,  who,  according  to 
the  belief  of  the  children,  on  Christmas  eve,  came 
down  the  chimney  in  his  little  wagon,  and  dep(js- 
ited  his  gifts  in  their  nice,  clean,  woollen  stock- 
ings, hung  in  a  row  near  the  fire-place,  for  the 
good  saint's  convenience  ;  for  he  was  mighty  busy 
on  that  night,  and  had  no  time  to  waste  in  hunt- 
ing about  the  room  for  their  stockings.  A  firm 
belief  in  these  annual  domiciliary  visits  of  St. 
jN^icholas  was  formerly  universal  among  the  chil- 
dren on  this  island  and  vicinity ;  and  even  now 
exists  to  a  very  considerable  extent.  Formerly, 
if  any  child  should  ha];)pen,  in  the  presence  of 
other  children,  to  express  a  disbelief  in  this  an- 
nual visit  of  the  saint,  he  was  sure  to  be  looked 
upon  by  the  others  as  little  better  than  a  heretic, 
or  anything  that  was  bad,  and  he  would  be  re- 
ferred at  once  to  the  indisputable  evidence  of 
Santa  Klaas'  veritable  existence  afi:'orded  by  the 
tracks  of  his  wagon -wheels  upon  the  ashes  of  the 
hearth.  'No  persons  but  those  who,  in  their  youth- 
ful days,  have  experienced  it,  can  realize  the  anx- 
iety with  which  the  youngsters  look  forward  to 
the  eves  of  Christmas  and  New  Year,  when  they 
could  hang  up  their  stockings.  After  which  they 
went  to   bed,   and   dreamed,   if  they   could  get 


THE    FESTIVAL    OF    SANTA    XLAAS.  257 

asleep,  which,  at  such  times,  was  a  very  difficult 
matter  to  accomplish,  about  St.  Nicholas,  in  the 
form  of  a  pleasant  little  old  gentleman  in  a 
cocked  hat  and  breeches,  with  a  large  bag  full  of 
sugar-plums  and  toys.  When  they  got  up  in  the 
morniug,  for  they  were  all  early  risers  on  that 
morning,  the  first  thing  was  to  go  to  the  stock- 
ings, which,  if  they  had  been  good,  they  would 
Und  full  of  cakes,  sugar-plums,  toys,  and  some 
small  pieces  of  money ;  but  if  they  had  been  bad, 
they  tremblhigly  expected  to  find  a  small  birch 
twig,  synibolical  of  what  they  deserved.  We 
have  no  doubt  but  that  this  belief,  where  it  was 
prevalent  among  children,  had  a  considerable 
tendency  to  check  any  vicious  dispositions  or  in- 
clinations which  tliey  might  have. 

The  Dutch  children  upon  this  island  used  to 
have  a  hymn,  written  in  the  Dutch  language,  in 
praise  of  St.  Nicholas  or  "  Santa  Klaas,"  as  they 
call  him;  which  hymn  commences  with: 

"  Sanctus  Klaas,  goedt  heyligh  man;  " 
Saint  Nicholas,  good  holy  man  ; 

and  which  hymn  they  sang  on  Christmas  eve  and 
Christmas  day. 

The  New  Year's  eve  and  New  Year's  day  were 
also  seasons  of  great  festivity  upon  this  island, 
and  still    continue   to    be  ;  in  few  parts  of  the 


258  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

world  are  they  oljserved  with  more  hospitality 
and  kind  feeling  than  among  us.  Paulding,  in 
his  New  Mirror  for  Travellers^  speaking  of  the 
celebration  of  New  Year's  eve  in  the  good  old 
Dutch  way,  and  observing  that  it  also  is  under 
the  especial  patronage  of  St.  Nicholas,  exclaims: 
"  To  whom  (St.  Nicholas)  whoever  fails  in  due 
honor  and  allegiance,  be  his  fate  never  to  sip  the 
dew  from  the  lips  of  the  lass  he  loveth  best  on 
New  Year's  eve  or  New  Year's  morn ;  never  to 
taste  of  hot-spiced  Santa  Cruz ;  never  to  know 
the  delights  of  mince  pies  and  sausages,  swim- 
ming in  the  sauce  of  honest  mirth  and  homefelt 
jollity." 

The  New  Year's  day  with  us,  almost  from  time 
immemorial,  was  ushered  in  with  great  noise  and 
rejoicing,  which  was  formerly  continued  through- 
out the  day  and  even  the  day  following.  The 
inhabitants  used  to  go  from  house  to  house  with 
their  guns  and  fire  salutes ;  and  at  every  house 
thus  saluted,  it  was  customary  to  invite  them  in 
to  partake  of  the  good  things  of  the  season. 
After  enjojang  themselves  for  a  time,  in  eating 
and  drinking,  they  would  depart  accom^^anied  by 
the  men  of  the  house,  and  thus  they  would  pass 
thnjiigh  the  whole  neighborhood,  until  every 
house  was  saluted,  and  all  the  men  of  the  vicinity 
were  collected  together — then  they  would  go  to 


ST.    NICHOLAS    FESTIVAL.  259 

some  convenient  spot  and  pass  the  remainder  of  the 
day  in  firing  at  the  mark  and  in  athletic  sports. 

Tliis  custom  of  firing  guns  on  this  occasion, 
was  attempted  to  be  stopped  by  an  act  passed  by 
the  Colonial  Legislature,  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1773,  in  which  they  state  that  "  great  damages 
are  frequently  done  on  the  eve  of  the  last  day  of 
December,  and  on  the  first  and  second  days  of 
January,  by  persons  going  from  house  to  house 
with  guns  and  other  firearms."  And  after  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  and  on  the  22d  of  April, 
1785,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Kew  York 
found  it  necessary  to  revive  that  enactment  of 
the  Colonial  Legislature,  and  they  further  ex- 
tended it  to  prevent  the  firing  of  guns,  pistols, 
rockets,  squibs,  and  other  fireworks  on  Ohristmas 
eve  /  for  about  this  period  the  people  began  also 
to  celebrate  the  eve  of  Christmas  in  this  noisy 
manner — this  last,  however,  continued  but  a  short 
time,  and  never  became  very  prevalent. 

It  has  been  with  us,  for  very  manj-  years  past, 
and  is  }et  customary  with  the  clergy,  to  visit 
their  congregations  during  the  holidays,  and  to 
partake  with  tliem  of  the  good  cheer  of  tlie 
festal  season.  This  is  a  good  custom  ;  it  brings 
the  pastor  and  his  flock  more  intimatel}'  con- 
nected, and  endears  them  to  each  other. 

About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  for 


260  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

some  time  previous,  it  was  the  custom  among  tho 
Dutch  inhabitants,  when  a  negro  woman's  child 
attained  the  age  of  three  years,  solemnly  to  pre- 
sent it  to  a  son  or  daugliter,  or  other  young  rela- 
tive of  the  master's  family,  who  was  of  the  same 
sex  as  the  child  thus  presented.  The  child  to 
whom  the  young  negro  was  given,  immediately 
presented  it  with  some  piece  of  money  and  a 
pair  of  shoes;  and  from  that  day  the  strongest 
attachment  existed  between  the  domestic  and  the 
destined  owner.  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  meet 
with  instances  of  friendship  more  tender  and 
generous  than  that  which  often  existed  in  this 
colony  between  the  slaves  and  their  masters  and 
mistresses ;  extraordinary  proofs  of  which  were 
not  unfrequently  given  in  the  course  of  hunting 
and  Indian  trading,  then  matters  of  common 
occurrence. 

About  the  same  period,  when  the  change  of 
the  Style  took  place  in  1752,  and  in  1753,  many 
people,  and  it  may  be  said,  the  larger  portion  of 
them,  refused  to  observe  the  Christmas  and  ^ew 
Year  according  to  the  new  Style,  and  insisted 
upon  keeping  those  festivals  eleven  days  later, 
according  to  the  good  old  style,  as  they  called  it ; 
for,  said  they.  Parliament  may,  if  they  please, 
alter  the  names  of  the  months  and  of  the  days, 
but   it  is   out  of   their  power    to    change    the 


CHRISTMAS    AND    THE    NEW    YEAR.  2G1 

seasons.  It  has  been  frequently  asserted,  and 
witli  Hindi  truth,  tliat  in  no  part  of  the  Union 
is  the  New  Year  celebrated  with  greater  cor- 
diality and  more  hospitality  than  with  us, 
which  continues  to  be  the  case  even  to  the 
present  period.  Private  families  are  prepared  to 
receive  visits  of  congratulation  on  this  day  from 
all  who  have  even  the  slightest  acquaintance, 
and  indeed  also  from  those  who  have  none,  and 
who  are  obliged  to  be  introduced  for  the  first 
time,  and  sometimes  to  introduce  themselves. 
These  visits  are  understood  to  be  tokens  of  re- 
spect to  the  ladies ;  unless  in  the  case  of  some 
gentlemen  of  high  official  rank,  or  of  some  poor 
fellow  of  a  baclielor  who  has  no  lady  to  do  the 
honors  of  his  house.  This  is  a  blessing  which  we 
derive  from  our  honest,  good-natured  Dutch  an- 
cestors, who  in  their  time  were  satisfied  with 
the  Oly  CooJies,  Prctzies,  Kiskatomas-mits  and 
Spitzenhurgs^  with  hot  spiced  Santa  Cruz,  good 
strong  Christmas  heer  and  cider,  with  which  their 
ample  oaken  tables  were  filled  on  New  Year's 
day.  Ill  place  of  these,  it  is  true,  we  have  sub- 
stituted the  splendid  iced  and  ornamented  plum 
cake,  with  almost  numberless  other  cakes,  confec- 
tionaries  and  fruits,  not  forgetting  the  true  I^eio 
Yearns  cake,  and  a  variety  of  other  choice  edi- 
bles, together  with  Madeira  and  other  wines,  cor- 


262  LONG   ISLAND   ANTIQUITIES. 

dials  and  liquors,  yet  we  have  retained  much  of 
the  kind  feelins^  and  heartfelt  welcome  which  so 
much  distinguished  them  on  this  jubilee  of  the 
year.  The  temperance  reformation  has  worked 
some  change  in  our  holiday  customs  recently,  in 
causing  wines  and  cordials,  and  indeed  all  kinds 
of  liquor,  to  be  banished  from  the  social  board 
in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  on  this  occasion, 
and  hot  coffee  and  lemonade  have  been  substituted 
in  their  places.  That  it  may  be  long,  a  very  long 
time,  ere  we  shall  forget  to  keep  up  our  holiday 
customs,  should  be  the  sincere  wish  of  all  who  de- 
sire the  happiness  of  our  people.  It  is  a  good 
thing  for  us  all  to  have  a  day  of  mutual  friend- 
ship and  forgiveness  when  those  who  have  been 
estranged  from  each  other  for  months  by  wide 
separation  or  some  foolish  misunderstanding,  are 
expected  to  meet  each  other  with  the  kind  feel- 
ings adapted  to  the  season,  and  when  friends  and 
relatives,  whose  business  and  vocations  have 
parted  them  asunder  for  a  long  period,  meet  and 
revive  the  best  affections  of  the  human  heart. 

In  enumei'ating  our  holidays  and  festivals,  the 
14th  day  of  February,  St.  Valentine's  day,  can- 
not be  omitted.  No  !  St.  Yalentine,  thou  love- 
making  prelate,  though  most  writers  do  unwor- 
thily unsaint  thee,  thou  must  not  be  forgotten. 
For  thou,  with  our  fair  countrywomen,  art   an 


ST.    VALENTINE  S    DAY.  233 

es]3ecial  favorite,  and  tliy  festival  is  duly  ob- 
served by  making  of  true-love  knots,  which  are 
often  niore  difficuU,  than  tlie  Gordian  knot  to  un- 
tie, in  the  writing  of  valentines;  by  the  seeking 
for  favorable  dreams ;  by  throwing  whole  ap- 
ple parings  (which  are  taken  off  from  a  fair 
apple,  standing  before  a  looking-glass)  over  the 
right  shoulder,  thereby  to  show  by  its  formation 
on  the  floor  the  first  letter  of  the  future  husband's 
name,  and  by  many  other  rites  and  mysteries 
which  are  known  alone  to  and  practised  by  the 
gentle  lover. 

Among  our  early  Dutch  settlers  this  day  was 
called  "  V/'ouwen  dagli^^  ^YomenbS  day,  and  was 
celebrated  in  the  following  singular  manner: 
Every  girl  provided  herself  with  a  cord,  without 
a  knot  in  the  end,  and  on  the  morning  of  this 
day  they  would  sally  forth,  and  every  lad  whom 
they  met  was  sure  to  have  three  or  four  smart 
strokes  from  the  cord  bestowed  on  his 
shoulders.  These,  we  presume,  were  in  those 
days  considered  as  "  love-taps,"  and  in  that  light 
answered  all  the  purposes  of  the  "  valentine  "  of 
more  modern  times,  as  the  lasses  were  not  very 
likely  to  favor  those  with  their  lashes  whom  they 
did  not  otherwise  prefer. 

Easter  among  our  Dutch  ancestors  was  a  fes- 
tival of  high  note,  and  as  such  observed  by  them 


264  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQIHTIES. 

with  religions  services,  as  well  as  by  merr3'-mak- 
ing.  In  a  volnme  of  sermons  by  Iladrianns  Vis- 
scherns  (Adrian  Fisher),  printed  in  Dntch,  4to, 
Amsterdam,  1667,  is  one  entitled  "  Ilet  Paess- 
chen-Feest  der  Christelijcke  Kercke,  ofte  de 
Evangelische  historic  van  Jesu  Christi  Tri- 
ll mphante  opstandinge,"  etc.,  being  a  disconrse 
preached  on  the  feast  of  Easter.  Easter  day  was 
called  among  our  Dutch  inhabitants,  and  also  by 
many  of  the  English,  until  the  last  twenty-five 
years,  Paessoh,  pronounced  Paas ;  and  from 
thence  the  same  appellation  became  transmitted 
to  Easter  Monday,  to  which  it  was  applied  even 
after  the  word  Easter  became  generally  adopted. 
Anciently,  the  Dutch  people,  and  also  some  of 
the  English,  were  in  the  habit  of  making  presents 
of  eggs  to  each  other  on  Easter  day  and  Easter 
Monday — the  ^g^  being  considered  an  emblem 
of  the  Resurrection,  from  the  fact  of  its  yielding 
animal  life,  after  remaining  for  a  considerable 
space  of  time  in  an  inert  and  apparently  dead 
condition.  The  only  relic  of  this  custom  now  is 
that  observed  by  the  boys  on  Easter  Monday,  and 
which  a  few  years  ago  was  general  among  them, 
of  cracking  the  points  and  butts  of  eggs  together, 
and  whoever  cracked  the  other's  ^2^%  won  it. 
This  sport  was  followed  up  with  great  zeal,  and 
sometimes  with   a  little   knavery ;  as  in  getting 


EASTER    DAY    AND    EASTER    EGGS.  2(55 

the  Guinea  hen's  eggs,  which  have  a  harder  shell 
than  the  common  hen's-egg,  and  taking  off  the 
spots  with  vinegar,  and  thus  by  those  winning 
tlie  eggs  of  their  opponents,  and  also  byempt^'ing 
through  a  small  hole  and  then  filling  it  up  with 
rosin  ;  and  at  other  times  by  getting  a  piece  of 
white  marble,  fashioned  like  a  hen's  egg;  this 
last  trick,  however,  was  easily  detected.  The 
boys'  eggs  at  this  season  were  frequently 
stained  various  colors;  and  these  colored  eggs 
were  invariably  exhibited  for  sale  at  the 
small  shops  during  Easter  week,  and  for  some 
days  previous.  This  is  a  sport  which  excites 
much  more  interest  in  the  boys  than  can  be  well 
imagined  b}^  those  who  are  unac(piainted  with 
it ;  this  we  say  from  experience,  having  been  an 
adept  in  this  species  of  amusement  when  a  school- 
boy. 

The  first  Monday  in  June,  or  as  the  Dutch  call 
it,  jRinckster,  was  formerly  considerable  of  a 
festival  among  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  Long 
Island  ;  and  they  celebrated  it  by  treating  their 
friends  to  an  abundance  of  good  cheer,  among 
which,  and  peculiar  to  this  festival,  was  the 
"  Soft  Trr(/<?/,v,"  and  by  riding  in  parties  about 
the  country  making  visits.  But  now  poor  Pinch- 
ster  has  lost  its  rank  among  the  festivals,  and  is 
only  kept  by  the  negroes ;  with  them,  however, 
12 


2QQ  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

especially  on  the  west  end  of  this  island,  it  is  still 
much  of  a  holiday.  For  many  days  before  it 
arrives,  the  negroes  come  into  the  City  of  Kew 
York  with  tlieir  sassafras  and  swing] ed  tow  for 
sale,  in  order  to  raise  money  with  which  to  keep 
this  da3^  Tlie  day  has  sunk  lamentably  low,  and 
without  any  apparent  reason ;  to  ridicule  whist- 
ling ^  it  is  called  Negro  PincJcster  Miisio. 

"  With  hurried  step  and  nodding  knee, 
The  negroes  keep  their  jubilee  ; 
While  Cuffee,  with  protruding  lip, 
Bravuras  to  the  darky's  skip." 
[WMstles.^ 

Considering  its  origin,  this  festival,  from  its 
singular  mode  of  observance,  was  one  of  the' 
strangest  of  the  American  customs.  From  a 
very  early  period,  probably  from  the  first  set- 
tlement of  the  country,  until  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  century,  Pinchster 
was  a  holiday  among  our  Dutch  inhabitants.  It 
was  celebrated  as  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  day 
upon  which  occurred  the  miraculous  descent  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  apostles.  In  the 
volume  of  sermons  by  Adrian  Fisher,  before 
referred  to,  when  treating  of  Easter,  printed  in 
4to,  at  Amsterdam,  in  1()67,  is  one  entitled, 
''  Het  Eerste  Trac^tact :  Yan  de  Uystortinge  des 
lleyligen     Geests   over    de    Apostelen    op   den 


THE   PmCKSTER    SATURNALIA.  207 

PincJcster  clagh."  (A  Discourse  on  the  Descent  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  Apostles  on  Pinckster 
(lay.) 

Although  this  day  was  a  species  of  negro 
jubilee  upon  Long  Island  at  the  same  time  that  it 
was  observed  as  a  festival  by  the  w^hite  popula- 
tion, and  eventually  became  entirely  left  to  the 
former,  yet  it  never  was  with  us  the  perfect 
saturnalia  that  was  for  a  long  period  exhibited 
in  its  observance  at  Albany.  In  that  city,  about 
forty  years  ago,  and  for  ages  previous,  it  w^as  a 
day  of  much  note,  and  the  negroes  used  to  assem- 
ble from  the  city  and  the  surrounding  country 
for  a  long  distance,  to  celebrate  it  in  booths 
upon  the  hill  at  the  head  of  State  street,  where 
the  Capitol  now  stands.  These  booths  were  filled 
with  edibles,  cakes,  and  fruits  of  every  description 
which  could  then  be  procured  at  the  season  of 
the  year,  and  also  liquors ;  and  the  carousal  con- 
tinued for  the  space  of  three  days  and  nights.  It 
was  indeed  a  real  saturnalia  ;  about  these  booths 
on  the  green,  the  negroes  were  in  the  habit  of 
dancing  what  was  then  known  as  the  "  Toto 
dance,"  which  is  described  by  those  who  have 
witnessed  its  performance  as  having  been  the 
most  indecent  dance  that  can  well  be  imagined ; 
and  yet  such  was  the  state  of  public  sentiment, 
and  the  liberty  allowed  to  their  slaves  at  that 


2G8  LONG    ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES 

time,  for  they  were  so  then  that  respecta1)le 
females  would  stand  by  and  witness  this  dance  as 
a  mere  matter  of  course.  Some  may  say,  on 
reading  this,  that  the  state  <.)f  public  morals  has 
greatly  improved  since  that  period  ;  that  how- 
ever is  questionable,  for  we  must  bear  in  mind 
that  there  is  a  possibility  of  being  so  virtuous  as 
not  to  see  evil  in  that  which  would  bring  the 
blush  at  once  to  the  cheek  of  a  female  of  immoral 
heart,  although  of  outwardly  moral  conduct. 

The  music  which  usually  accompanied  this 
dance  was  the  "  banjo  drum,"  formed  of  a  hol- 
low log,  with  a  skin  of  parchment  stretched  over 
one  end,  the  other  being  left  open,  on  which 
they  beat  with  a  stick,  making  a  rough,  discord- 
ant sound.  Both  the  dance  and  the  drum  were 
most  probably  introduced  from  Africa  by  the 
Guinea  negroes.  They  had  also  a  great  proces- 
sion through  the  public  streets  of  the  City  of 
Albany  during  those  three  days.  The  head  man 
in  all  these  dances  and  processions  was  an  old 
Guinea  negro,  aged  eighty -five  years,  whom  they 
called  King  Charlie.  His  official  costume  on 
such  occasions  was  a  scarlet  coat  and  an  old- 
fashioned  cocked  hat,  and  lie  rode  a  horse  at  the 
head  of  his  array.  His  will  was  law  among  all 
the  negroes,  and  if  there  was  any  dispute,  as 
would    frequently  be   the  case   in   so   large   an 


INDEPENDENCE    DAY.  239 

asseniblai^e  of  such  people  kept  together  for  so 
long  a  period,  he  had  only  to  decide,  and  the 
matter  was  settled,  and  his  fiat,  whatever  it  might 
be,  was  quietly  submitted  to. 

The  frolickings  on  that  occasion  were  not  con- 
fined to  the  negroes,  but  the  younger  portion  of 
the  white  population  also  shared  in  them,  and 
had  frequent  balls  and  dances,  not  with  the 
blacks,  however,  although  at  the  same  time. 

The  Evacuation  day,  Noveml)er  25th,  the  day 
on  which  the  British  army  left  Brooklyn,  on  this 
island,  and  also  the  City  of  Xew  York,  in  the 
year  1783,  has  been  observed  as  a  species  of  holi- 
day on  the  west  end  of  Long  Island  ;  and  good 
cause  they  had  to  rejoice  at  it,  for  Brooklyn  at  that 
time  was  little  more  than  a  garrison,  being  covered 
witli  fortifications,  there  being  no  less  than  five 
distinct  forts,  and  also  a  line  of  fortifications 
more  than  six  miles  in  length,  within  the  present 
City  of  Brooklyn,  which  were  occupied  by 
British  and  Hessian  troops. 

The  4th  day  of  July,  the  national  festival,  is 
observed  among  us  with  great  spirit ;  in  describ- 
ing: it  we  are  oblio:ed  to  extend  our  view  bevond 
the  region  of  this  island,  the  customs  attending 
its  celebration  with  us  being  so  mixed  np  with 
those  other  sections  as  to  render  this  unavoidable. 
This  birthday  of  our  nation  is  celebrated  with 


270  LONG   ISLAND    ANTIQUITIES. 

all  "the  pomp  and  circumstance  of"  martial 
display  and  civic  lionors  from  Maine  to  Texas ; 
but  the  manner  and  mode  of  its  observance  in 
some  parts  of  our  country  sometimes  has  that 
about  it  which,  although  it  manifests  honorable 
feelings  and  stern  independence  in  the  people,  is 
yet  calculated  to  excite  mirth.  The  following 
ode,  though  a  little  distorted,  is,  withal,  a  pretty 
fair  description  of  some  country  celebrations ;  it 
is  said  to  be  "  composed  for  the  4th  of  July,  cal- 
culated for  the  meridian  of  some  country  towns  in 
Massachusetts,  and  Rye,  in  N^ew  Hampshire  ; "  it 
was  written  about  the  year  1800,  and  made  its 
appearance  in  the  Farmer's  Museum^  printed  in 
Massachusetts : 


Squeak  the  fife  and  beat  the  drum, 
Independence  day  is  come  ! ! 
Let  the  roasting-  pig  be  bled, 
Quick  twist  off  the  rooster's  head, 
Quickly  rub  the  pewter  platter, 
Heap  the  nut  cakes  fried  in  butter, 
Set  the  cups  and  beaker  glass, 
The  pumpkin  and  the  apple  sauce. 
Send  the  keg  to  shop  for  brandy  ; 
Maple  sugar  we  have  handy. 
Independent^  staggering  Dick, 
A  noggin  mix  of  swinging  thick  ; 
Sal,  put  on  your  russel  skirt, 
Jotham,  get  your  boughten  shirt, 


THE    FOURTH    OF    JULY.  271 

To-day  we  dance  to  tiddle-diddle — 

Here  comes  Sambo  with  his  fiddle ; 

Sambo,  take  a  draw  of  whiskey, 

And  play  up  Yankee  Doodle  frisky — 

Moll,  come  leave  your  witched  tricks, 

And  let  us  have  a  reel  of  six — 

Father  and  mother  shall  make  two ; 

Sail,  Moll,  and  I  stand  all  a  row, 

Sambo,  play  and  dance  with  polity; 

This  is  the  day  of  blest  equality, — 

Father  and  mother  are  but  men, 

And  Sambo  is  a  citizen. 

Come,  foot  it,  Sal ;  Moll,  figure  in, 

And,  mother,  you  dance  up  to  him; 

Now  saw  as  fast  as  e'er  you  can  do, 

And,  father,  j^ou  cross  over  to  Sambo. 

— Thus  we  dance  and  thus  we  play, 

On  glorious  Independen(^e  Day. 

Rub  more  rosin  on  your  bow. 

And  let  us  have  another  go — 

Zounds !  as  sure  as  eggs  and  bacon. 

Here's  Ensign  Sneak  and  uncle  Deacon, 

Aunt  Thiah,  and  their  Bet's  behind  her 

On  blundering  mare,  than  beetle  blinder — 

And  there's  the  Squire,  too,  with  his  lady — 

Sal,  hold  the  beast !  I'll  take  the  baby  ! 

Moll,  bring  the  Squire  our  great  arm-chair, 

Good  folks,  we're  glad  to  see  you  here — 

Jotham,  get  the  great  case  bottle. 

Your  teeth  can  draw  the  corn-cob  stopple—  ' 

Ensign,  Deacon,  never  mind  ; 

Squire,  drink  until  you're  blind." 


NOTES 

GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  HISTORICAL, 


KELATING    TO   THE 


TOWN   OF  BROOKLYN 

IN  KINGS   COUNTY,    ON  LONG  ISLAND. 


By   Gabriel   Furman. 


"They  are  worthy  of  reprehension  who  contemn  the  study  of  antiquity,  (which 
Is  ever  accompanied  with  dignity,)  as  an  arid  curiosity." — LORD  COKH. 


BROOKLYN: 
PRINTED      BY      A.      SPOONER, 

1824. 


ADVEETISEMENT. 

The  Compiler  offers  these  notes  to  the  inhabitants  of  his  native  town, 
in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  in  some  small  degree  useful  and  entertaining 
in  discussions  relating  to  the  history  and  rights  of  this  thriving  place. 
He  claims  no  merit  for  this  performance,  and  neither  does  he  write  from 
the  vanity  of  being  considered  an  author,  but  is  only  actuated  by  a  desire  to 
rescue  from  oblivion  such  facts  as  may  be  interesting  to  his  fellow-citizens. 
The  Compiler  would  consider  himself  guilty  of  ingratitude,  if  he  did  not  in 
this  public  manner,  acknowledge  the  obligations  he  rests  under  from  the 
kind  assistance  afforded  him  whilst  collecting  these  notices,  by  Jeremiah 
Johnson,  Abraham  Vanderveer.  Silas  Wood,  and  John  Doughty,  Esqrs. 


I^OTES,    ETC., 


OF  THE 


TOWN  OF  BROOKLYN. 


SITUATION. 


This  town  is  situated  in  Kings  County,  on  the 
west  end  of  Long  Island,  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  It  is  bounded  north  by  the  City  and 
County  of  New  York ;  east  by  the  township  of 
Bushwick;  south  by  the  township  of  Flatbush 
and  Xew  Utrecht ;  and  west  by  New  York  Bay ; 
and  contains  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  which  is 
about  a  mile  square.  This  town  formerly  com- 
posed part  of  a  powerful  Indian  Sachemdom ; 
and  with  the  other  parts  of  the  Island  bore  the 
Indian  name  of  Matowcas. 

This  part  of  the  island,  as  far  as  Jamaica,  was 
inhabited  by  the  Canarsee  tribe  of  Indians.  The 
old  Dutch  inhabitants  in  this  county  have  a  tra- 
dition, that  the  Canai'see  Indians  were  subject  to 
the  Mohawks,  as  all  the  Iroquois  were  called,  and 
paid  them  an  annual  tribute  of  dried  clams  and 


376  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BKOOKLYN. 

wampum,  When  the  Dutch  settled  hei-e,  tiiey 
persuaded  the  Canarsees  to  keep  back  the  tribute ; 
ill  consequence  of  wdiich  a  party  of  the  Mohawdvs 
came  down  and  killed  their  tributaries  wherever 
they  met  them.  So  great  was  the  dread  that 
these  Indians  afterwards  entertained  of  the  Iro- 
quois, that  w^hen  a  party  of  the  Iroquois,  during 
the  French  war,  were  taken  prisoners  and  im- 
prisoned in  the  Jail  of  this  county,  the  Canarsees 
avoided  them  with  the  greatest  care,  and  seemed 
to  be  afraid  even  to  come  where  they  should  see 
them.  The  Canarsee  Indians  are  at  this  time 
totally  extinct ;  not  a  single  member  of  that  ill- 
fated  race  is  now  in  existence. 

There  was  also  a  small  tribe  of  the  Kyack 
Lidians  near  the  Xarrows. 

lu  this  town  is  also  the  United  States  Navy 
Yard,  containing  about  40  acres,  wdiich  was  pur- 
chased of  John  Jackson,  Esq.,  by  Francis  Childs, 
Esq.,  for  $40,000,  and  on  the  23d  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1801,  was  conveyed  by  said  Childs  to  the 
United  States. 


ANCIENT   NAMES   AND    REMAINS. 

In  1G67,  this  town  was  known  by  the  name  of 
J3reucklen.  In  the  act  to  divide  the  province  of 
J^ew  York  into  shires  and  counties,  passed  Nov. 


ANCIEKT    NAMES    AND    EEMAINS.  277 

1,  1688,  it  is  mentioned  bj  the  name  of  Brenck- 
lyn.  It  is  also  called  Broucklyn  in  the  act  to 
divide  the  province  into  shires  and  connties, 
passed  Oct.  1,  1691.  The  present  name  Brook- 
lyn does  not  appear  to  have  been  generally 
adopted  until  after  the  Bevolutionary  war. 

Heads  of  Indian  arrows,  beds  of  oyster  and 
clam  shells,  denoting  the  former  residence  of  the 
aborigines,  are  frequently  found  in  different  parts 
of  this  town. 

Among  the  most  ancient  remains  are  two 
houses,  one  owned  by  the  family  of  Cortelyou, 
built  in  1699 ;  the  other  standing  on  Fulton- 
street,  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  The  last 
mentioned  house  was  occupied  by  the  Colonial 
Legislature  as  a  Sessions-house,  during  the  prev- 
alence of  the  small-pox  in  'New  York,  in  1752  ; 
and  at  this  house  on  the  4th  of  June,  1752,  2,51:1 
bills  of  credit,  issued  by  this  Colony,  amounting 
to  £3,602,  18,  3,  were  cancelled  by  the  Colonial 
Commissioners.  This  house  was  also  occupied 
by  Gen.  Putnam  as  his  head-quarters  during  the 
stay  of  the  American  Army  on  Long  Island,  in 
1776.  But  the  oldest  house  in  the  town  of 
Brooklyn  is  supposed  to  be  the  house  known  as 
Ko.  61  Fulton-street,  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn, 
and  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Jacob 
Patchen.     Mr.  Charles  Doughty,  who  has  been 


278  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

dead  about  twentv-five  years,  and  was  about 
eighty-five  years  of  age  when  he  died,  said  that  this 
was  an  old  house  when  he  was  a  boy.  Mrs.  Rap- 
alye,  the  mother  of  John  Rapalye,  whose  property 
in  Brooklyn  was  confiscated  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  says  that  this  house  was  built  by  a 
family  of  the  Remsens,  who  came  from  Holland. 

SOIL    AND    CLLSIATE. 

The  soil  of  this  town  appears  to  be  mostly  allu- 
vial, though  some  few  primitive  rocks  are  to  be 
met  with.  Several  years  since,  in  digging  a  well 
on  some  of  the  highest  ground  in  Brooklyn, 
a  hemlock  board  was  found  at  the  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  and  again  at  the  depth  of  seventy- 
three  feet  oyster  and  clam  shells  were  met 
with,  which  crumbled  on  being  exj)osed  to  the  air. 

The  shores  of  Brookl^ni,  where  they  are  not  de- 
fended by  wharves,  are  undergoing  continual  and 
rapid  changes,  in  consequence  of  the  velocity  of 
the  current  in  the  East  River.  The  tide  rises 
here  about  five  feet. 

There  is  very  little  doubt  but  that  Governor's 
Island  was  formerly  connected  with  Red  Hook 
point  in  this  town.  It  is  an  established  fact,  that 
previous  to  the  Revolutionary  contest,  cattle  were 
driven  from   Red   Hook   to   Governor's   Island, 


THE    SOIL   AND   CLMATE.  279 

which  places  at  that  time  were  only  separated  by 
a  veiy  narrow  channel,  which  is  called  Butter- 
milk channel,  and  is  now  wide  and  deep  enough 
to  admit  of  the  largest  size  of  merchant  vessels 
passing  through. 

The  climate  is  very  changeable,  but  cannot  be 
called  unhealthy.  People  in  this  town  live  to  as 
great  age  as  in  almost  any  other  part  of  the 
United  States  ;  as  instances  of  which,  April,  1823, 
Mr.  Tiebout  died  in  this  town,  aged  one  hundred 
years  and  ten  months.  The  same  year,  Mr. 
Schoonmaker  died,  aged  eighty-four  years; 
and  in  1824,  Mary  Peterson,  a  colored  woman, 
died,  aged  one  hundred  and  three  years.  It 
is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the  inhabitants 
to  live  beyond  the  "  three  score  years  and  ten." 

This  town  has  at  different  periods  been  visited 
by  the  yellow  fever.  Between  July  10th  and  Sep- 
tember 10th,  1809,  twenty-eight  persons  died  of 
that  disease.  During  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow 
fever  in  the  city  of  ^ew  York,  in  the  summer  of 
1822,  seven  persons  died  of  that  disease  in  Brook- 
lyn. In  the  summer  of  1823,  the  yellow  fever  made 
its  appearance  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  and 
nine  persons  fell  victims  to  that  dreadful  pesti- 
lence in  the  space  of  one  month,  during  which 
time  its  ravages  continued.  Every  year  that  this 
disease  made  its  appearance  amongst  us,  it  could 


280  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

be  distinctly  traced  to  some  foreign  cause;  as^  in 
1809,  it  was  brought  in  the  ship  Concordia,  Cap- 
tain Coffin,  on  board  of  which  vessel  the  first  case 
and  death  happened.  In  1822,  it  was  introduced 
from  the  City  of  New  York — and  in  1823,  it  was 
traced  to  two  or  three  vessels  which  had  arrived 
a  short  time  previous  from  southern  latitudes. 
Indeed,  the  high  and  airy  situation  of  Brooklyn 
almost  precludes  the  idea  of  its  being  engendered 
among  us. 

ANCIENT    GRANTS   AND    PATENTS. 

In  the  year  1638,  William  Kieft,  Director  Gen- 
eral and  Counsellor  for  their  high  mightinesses 
the  States  General,  and  his  highness  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  granted  to  Abraham  Kycken,  a  tract  of 
land  in  the  present  towii  of  Brooklyn. 

September  11,  1642,  William  Kieft,  Director 
General,  &c.,  patented  to  Jan  Manje,  a  piece  or 
parcel  of  land  containing  twenty  morgan,  or  forty 
acres,  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn.  A  copy  of  which 
patent  is  hereto  annexed  as  a  specimen  of  those 
ancient  instruments : 

By  William  Kieft,  Director  General  and  Coun- 
sellor, about  the  high  and  mighty  Lords,  the  States 
General  of  the  United  Low  Country,  and  his  high- 
ness of  Orange,  and  the  Lords  Commanders  of 
the  privileged  West  India  Company,  residing  in 


GRANTS    AND    PATitNTS.  281 

the  New-Netherlaiicl,  do  ratify  and  declaie  by 
these  presents,  that  we  upon  the  date  hereinafter 
written,  did  give  and  grant  to  JanManje,  a  piece 
of  Lmd,  greatly  twenty  morgan  stretching  about 
south-east  one  hundred  and  ninety  rods  inward 
the  woods  towards  to  Sassians  maise  land — long 
is  the  limits  of  the  said  maise  land  fifty  rod,  and 
then  again  to  the  water  side,  two  hundred  and 
twenty  rod,  about  north  north-west,  well  so  north- 
erly and  along  the  strand  or  water  side,  seventy 
rod.  AVhich  abovesaid  land  is  lying  upon  Long- 
Island,  between  Andries  Iludde  and  Claes  Janse 
Ruyter. — With  express  conditions,  &g.  Dated 
at  Fort  Amsterdam,  in  the  Xew-Xetherland, 
the  11th  day  of  September,  1042. 

WILLIAM  KIEFT. 

By  order  of  the  Lord  the  Director  General, 
and  Counsellor  of  New-Ketherland. 

CoKNELius  Yantienhoven,  Sec'ry. 

January  29, 1652,  Pieter  Linde,  having  married 
the  widow^  of  Jan  Manje,  transported  or  sold  the 
above  tract  of  land  to  Barent  Janse.  August  23, 
1674,  before  Nicasius  de  Sille,  admitted  Secretary 
of  the  Dutch  towns  appeared  Jan  Barentse,^  and 

*  The  custom  of  changing  the  names  of  sons,  or  rather  sub- 
stituting the  surnames  for  the  Christian  name,  prevailed  at 


282  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

Alike  Janse,  with  Simon  Hansen  as  Gnardian  of 
the  other  children  of  Barent  Janse,  deceased, 
"  procnred  by  his  wife  Styntie  Pieterse  deceased, 
all  living  within  the  town  of  Mid  wont  Fflack- 
bnsh,"  and  declared  that  they  transported  the 
above  tract  of  land  to  Dirck  Janse  Woert- 
man. 

September  12,  1645,  William  Kieft,  Director 
General,  &c.,  patented  to  Andries  Hndden,  "  a 
piece  of  land  lying  npon  Long-Island  against 
over  the  fort,  lying  to  the  sonth-west  to  Jan  Man- 
je,"  containing  37  morgan.  December  10,  1651, 
"  Pieter  Cornelissen,  by  virtne  of  a  procnratie  of 
Andries  Iludden,"  for  the  consideration  of  400 
gnilders,  transported  to  Lodewyck  Jongh  the  above 
tract.  Jnly  19,  1676,  Lodewyck  Jongh  trans- 
ported to  Jeronimns  de  Rapalje,  eight  morgan  of 
the  above  tract.  Febrnary  12,  1679,  Harmatie 
Jansen,  relict  of  Lodewyck  Jongh,  transported  to 
Dirck  Janse  Woertman,  12  morgan  of  the  above 
tract.  May  3,  1685,  "Dirck  Janse  Woertman, 
transported  to  the  heirs  of  Jooris  Dirckse,  a  small 
stroke  off  land  lying  at  the  east  side  off  the  high- 
way being  all  the  claime  they  can  pretende  by 
virtue  off  the  abovesaid  Pattent." 


this  period ;  as  in  the  above  instance,  the  father's  name  was 
Barent  Janse,  and  the  son  was  called  Jan  Barentse. 


GRANTS    AND    PATENTS.  283 

September  30,  1645,  'William  Kieft,  Director 
.General,  &c.  patented  to  Claes  Janse,  from  ^N^aer- 
der,  a  piece  of  land,  containing  20  morgan,  l^'ing 
south-east,  a  little  easterly,  just  over  against  the 
Fort,  upon  Long  Island.  March  11,  1660,  the 
above  tract  of  land  was  transported  by  Claes  Janse 
Ruyter,  to  Machiell  Tadens,  who  transported  the 
same  to  Machiell  Hainielle. 

The  three  patents  to  Manje,  Hudde,  and  Janse, 
from  Naerder,  were  located  near  the  Ferry 
in  this  town,  and  all  subsequently  were  pur- 
chased by  Derick  Woortman,  alias  Dirck  Janse 
Woertman,  and  were  by  him  sold  to  Joras 
Remsen,  on  the  10th  day  of  October,  1706, 
for  the  sum  of  £612  10s.  current  money  of 
New- York. 

There  is  great  reason  to  believe  that  there  was 
a  General  Patent  of  this  town  under  the  Dutch 
Government,  which  patent  is  now  lost.  What 
strengthens  this  idea  is,  that  the  first  by  Governor 
Nicolls  under  the  English  is  confirmatory  of  some 
former  grant. 

August  10th,  1695.  The  Patentees  and  fi-ee- 
holders  of  this  town  sold  unto  Stephanus  Yan 
Cortlandt,  the  neck  of  land  Called  Red  Hook, 
containing  by  estimation  50  acres  ;  which  they 
state  in  their  deed  "was  formerly  given  and 
granted  to  the  town  of  Broocklyn,  in  the  year 


284  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BKOOXLYN. 

1657,  by  Governor  Stiiyvesaiit,  the  Dutch  Gover- 
nor then  at  that  time,  and  since  confirmed  by  the 
English  Governors,  Governor  Nicolls,  and  Gover- 
nor Dongan."  Which  is  very  strong  proof  of 
there  having  been  a  general  Dutch  Patent  for 
this  town. 

October  18,  1667,  Eichard  Mcolls,  the  first 
Englisli  Governor  of  ISTew  York,  granted  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  the  following  full  and 
ample  patent,  confirming  them  in  their  rights  and 
privileges. 

Z.  >^.  "  Kichard  Nicolls,  Esq.  Governor  Gene- 
ral under  his  Hoyal  Highness  James  Duke  of 
Yoi-ke  and  Albany,  &c.  of  all  his  Terretorys  in 
America,  To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall 
come,  sendeth  Greeting. — Whereas  there  is  a  cer- 
tain town  within  this  government,  situate  lying 
and  being  in  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  upon 
Long-Island,  commoidy  called  and  known  by 
the  name  of  Breuckelen,  which  said  town,  is  in 
the  tenure  or  occupation  of  several  freeholders 
and  inhabitants  who  having  heretofore  been 
seated  there  by  authority,  have  been  at  very  con- 
siderable charge,  in  manuring  and  planting  a 
considerable  part  of  the  lands  belonging  there- 
unto and  settled  a  competent  number  of  families 
thereupon.     Kow  for   a   confirmation    unto  the 


THE    NICOLLS    PATENT.  285 

said  freeholders  and  inhabitants  in  their  })os- 
sessions  and  enjoyment  of  the  premises,  Know 
ye,  That  by  virtue  of  the  commission  and  autho- 
rity nnto  me  given  by  his  E,oyal  Highness,  I 
have  given,  ratified,  confirmed,  and  granted,  and 
by  these  presents,  do  give,  ratify,  and  (confirm  and 
grant,  nnto  Jan  Everts,  Jan  Daman,  Albert 
Cornelissen,  Panlns  Yeerbeeck,  Michael  Eneyl, 
Thomas  Lamberts,  Tuenis  Guysbert  Bogart  and 
Joris  Jacobson,  as  patentees,  for  and  on  the  be- 
half of  themselves  and  their  associates,  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  their 
heirs  successors  and  assigns,  all  that  tract  to- 
gether with  the  several  parcels  of  land  which 
already  have  or  hereafter  shall  be  purchased  or 
procured  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  said  town, 
whether  from  the  native  Indian  proprietors,  or 
others,  within  the  bounds  and  limits  hereafter 
set  forth  and  exprest,  viz.  that  is  to  say,  the  town 
is  bounded  westward  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
land  of  Mr.  Paulus  Yeerbeeck,  from  whence 
stretching  south-east,  they  go  over  the  hills,  aud 
so  eastward  along  the  said  hills  to  a  south- 
east point  which  takes  in  all  the  lotts  behind  the 
swamp,  from  which  said  lotts  they  run  north-west 
to  the  Tliver"^  and  extend  to  the  farm,  on   the 

♦According  to  the  New- York  doctrine,  this  boundary  of 
the  town  can  only  be  correct  when  the  tide  is  flood,  for  when 


286  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

t'other  side  of  the  hill  heretofore  belonging  to 
Hans  Hansen  over  against  the  Kicke  or  Looke-out, 
including  within  the  said  bounds  and  limitts  all 
the  lotts  and  plantations,  lying  and  being  at  the 
Gowanis,  Bedford,  Wallaboncht  and  the  ferry. — 
All  which  said  parcels  and  tracts  of  land  and 
premises  within  the  bounds  and  limitts  afore- 
mentioned, described,  and  all  or  any  plantation 
or  plantations  thereupon,  from  henceforth  are  to 
bee  appertaine  and  belong  to  the  said  town  of 
Breucklen,  Together  with  all  havens,  harbours, 
creeks,  cpiarryes,  woodland,  meadow-ground,  reed- 
land  or  valley  of  all  sorts,  pastures,  marshes,  runs, 
rivers,  lakes,  hunting,  fishing,  hawking,  and  fowl- 
ing, and  all  other  profitts,  commodities,  emolu- 
ments, and  hereditaments  to  the  said  land,  and 
premises  within  the  bounds  and  limits  all  forth 
belonging,  or  in  any  wise  appertaining, — and 
withall  to  have  freedome  of  commouaofe  for 
range  and  feed  of  cattle  and  horse  into  the  woods 
as  well  w^ithout  as  within  these  bounds  and 
limitts  with  the  rest  of  their  neio^hbours  * — as 

the  water  is  low,  the  town  is  bounded  by  property  belonging 
to  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New- York,  and  not  by  the 
River. 

*  This  town  enjoyed  this  privilege  in  common  with  the 
other  towns  on  Long-Island,  and  their  cattle  which  ran  at 
large  were  marked  with  the  letter  N. 


THE    NICOLLS    PATENT.  287 

also  one-tliird  part  of  a  certain  neck  of  meadow 
ground  or  valley  called  Sellers  neck,  lying  and 
being  within  the  limits  of  the  town  of  Jamaica, 
purchased  by  the  said  town  of  Jamaica  from  the 
Indians,  and  sold  by  them  unto  the  inhabitants 
of  Brencklen  aforesaid,  as  it  has  been  lately  laid 
out  and  divided  by  their  mutual  consent  and  my 
order,  whereunto  and  from  which  they  are  like- 
wise to  have  free  egress  and  regress,  as  their  oc- 
casions may  require."^  To  have  and  to  hold  all 
and  singular  the  said  tract  and  parcell  of  land, 
meadow  ground  or  valley,  commonage,  heredita- 
ments and  premises,  with  their,  and  every  of 
their  appurtenances,  and  of  every  part  and  par- 
cell  thereof  to  the  said  patentees  and  their  asso- 
ciates, their  heirs,  successors  and  assigns,  to  the 
proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  said  patentees  and 
their  associates,  their   heirs,  successors    and    as- 


*  At  the  annual  town  meeting,  Ai^ril,  1823,  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  inquire  if  this  town  at  present  had  any,  and 
if  any,  what  right  to  the  above-mentioned  tract  of  meadow 
ground  called  Sellers  neck ;  what  progress  this  committee 
made  in  their  investigation,  the  Compiler  is  uninformed. 
This  meadow  called  Sellers  neck,  the  Compiler  thinks  was 
apportioned  among  the  patentees  and  freeholders,  and  what 
leads  him  to  this  conclusion  is,  that  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1G95,  John  Damen,  who  was  one  of  the  patentees  of  this 
town,  sold  to  William  Huddlestone  all  his  interest  in  the  said 
meadow. 


288  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

signs  forever.  Moreover,  I  do  hereby  give, 
ratify,  confirm  and  grant  nnto  the  said  Patentees 
and  their  associates,  their  heirs,  snccessors,  and 
assigns,  all  the  rights  and  privileges  belonging  to 
a  town  within  this  government,  and  that  the 
place  of  their  present  habitation  shall  continne 
and  retain  the  name  of  Breuckelen,  by  which 
name  and  stile  it  shall  be  distingnished  and 
known  in  all  bargains  and  sales  made  by  them 
the  said  Patentees  and  their  associates,  their 
heirs,  successors  and  assigns,  rendering  and  pay- 
in  o-  such  duties  and  acknowledo:ments  as  now 
are,  or  hereafter  shall  be  constituted  and  estab- 
lished by  the  laws  of  this  government  under  the 
obedience  of  his  Royal  highness,  his  heirs  and 
successors.  Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at 
Fort  James,  in  New  York,  on  the  Island  of  Man- 
hattat,  this  18th  day  of  October,  in  the  nineteenth 
year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lord,  Charles 
the  second,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England, 
Scotland,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender 
of  the  faith,  &c.     Annoque  Domini,  1667. 

RICHARD  KIGOLLS. 

Recorded  by  order  of  the  Governor,  the  day 
and  year  above  written. 

Matthias  Nicolls,  Sec'ry. 


LOVELACE'S    LICENSE.  289 

1670.  The  inhabitants  uf  this  town  desirous  of 
enlarging  the  bounds  of  tlieir  common  hinds,  and 
extinguishing  the  Indian  claim  to  the  same,  ap- 
plied to  Governor  Lovelace,  and  obtained  f  rum 
him  the  following  permission  to  purchase  of  the 
Indians. 


^'Z.  S.  AVhereas  the  inhabitants  of  Breuck- 
lyn,  in  the  west  Hiding  of  Yorkshire  upon  Long- 
Island,  who  were  seated  there  in  a  township  b}^ 
the  authority  then  in  being,  and  having  bin  at 
considerable  charo-es  in  clearing:  ifencino;  and 
manuring  their  land,  as  well  as  building  If  or  their 
convenience,  have  requested  my  lycense  for  tlieir 
further  security  to  make  purchase  of  the  said 
land  of  some  Indians  wdio  lay  claim  and  interest 
therein  ;  These  are  to  certify  all  whom  it  may 
concerne,  that  I  have  and  doe  hereby  give  the 
said  inhabitants  lycense  to  pui'chase  their  land 
according  to  their  request,  the  said  Indians  con- 
cerned appearing  before  me  as  in  the  law  is  re- 
quired, and  making  their  acknowledgments  to  be 
fully  satisfyed  and  payed  for  the  same.  Given 
under  my  hand  and  seal  at  ffort  James,  in  !New- 
Yorke,  this  ffirst  day  of  ^fay,  in  the  22nd  yeare 
of  his  Majesty ies  reigne,  Annoque  Dom.  1670. 

FFKANCIS  LOVELACE." 
13 


290     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BROOKLYN. 

The  purcliase  was  accordlnp^ly  iimde  and  the 
following  is  a  copy  of  the  deed  from  the  Indians 
for  the  same. 

''  To  all  people  to  whom  this  present  writing 
shall  come,  Peter,  Elmohar,  Job,  Makaqniquos, 
and  Shamese,  late  of  Staten  Island  send  Greet- 
ing :  Whereas,  they  the  said  Peter,  Elmohar,  Job, 
Makaqniquos,  and  Shamese,  afore-mentioned,  doe 
lay  claime  to  the  land  now  in  the  tenure  and  oc- 
cupation of  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Ereuck- 
lyn,  as  well  as  other  lands  there  ad j ascent  as  the 
true  Indian  owners  and  proprietors  thereof,  Know 
Yee,  that  for  and  in  consideration  of  a  certaine 
sum  of  wampum  and  diverse  other  goods,  the 
which  in  the  Schedule  annext  are  exprest  unto 
the  said  Sachems  in  hand  payd  by  Monsieur 
Machiell  Ilainelle,  Thonuis  Lambertse,  John 
Lewis,  and  Peter  Darmantier,  on  the  behalf  of 
themselves  and  the  inhabitants  of  Breuckly]i,  the 
receipt  whereof  they  doe  hereby  acknowledge, 
and  themselves  to  be  full}'  satisfyed  and  payed 
therefore ;  have  given,  granted,  bargained  and 
sold,  and  by  these  presents  doe  fully,  freely  and 
absolutely  give,  grant,  bargain  and  sell,  unto  the 
said  Monsieur  Machiell  Ilainelle,  Thomas  Lam- 
bertse, John  Lewis  and  Peter  Darmantier,  ffor 
and  on  behalf  of  themselves,  and  the  inhabitants 
aforesaid,  their  lieyrs  and  successors ;    all   that 


THE    INDIAN    DEED.  391 

parcell  of  land  and  tract  of  land,  in  and  about 
Bedford,  within  the  jnrisdiction  of  Brucklyn,  be- 
ginning ffrom  Ilendrick  Van  Aarnheras  land  by 
a.swamp  of  water  and  stretching  to  the  hills,  then 
going  along  the  hills  to  the  port  or  entrance 
thereof,"^  and  soe  to  Rockawaj  ffoot  path  as  their 
purchase  is  more  particularly  sett  fforth  ;  To  have 
and  to  hold  all  the  said  parcell  and  tract  of  land 
and  premises  within  the  limits  before  described 
unto  the  said  Monsieur  Machiell  Ilainella, 
Thomas  Lambertse,  John  Lewis,  and  Peter 
Darmaiitier,  ffor  and  on  the  behalf  of  the 
inhabitants  aforesaid,  their  heyres,  and  suc- 
cessors, to  the  proper  use  and  behooff  of 
the  said  inhabitants,  their  heyers  and  succes- 
sors forever;  In  witness  whereof  the  partyes 
to  these  presents  have  hereunto  sett  their 
hands  and  scales,  this  14th  day  of  May,  in 
the  22nd  yeare  of  his  Majestyes  reigne,  An- 
noque  Dom.  1670. 

Sealed  and  Delivered  in  the  presence  of  Ma- 


*  This  "  port  or  entrance,"  as  it  is  called,  is  situate  in  the 
valley  on  the  Flatbush  Turnpike,  near  the  "Brush"  or 
"Valley  Tavern,"  and  a  short  distance  beyond  the  3  mile 
post  from  Brooklyn  ferry. — A  freestone  monument  has  been 
placed  here,  to  designate  the  patent  line  between  Brooklyn 
and  Flatbush. 


292  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

tliias  I^icolls,  E.  Longh,  Samuel  §  Davies,  John 
Garland.  his  marke 

The  mark  of  P  Peter.  (l.  s.) 

The  mark  of  o  Elmohar.  (l.  s.) 

The  mark  of  x  Job.  (l.  s.) 

The  mark  of  ^  Makaquiquos.  (l.  s.) 
The  mark  of  7  Shamese.  (l.  s.) 

"  This  Deed  was  acknowledged  by  the  within 
written  Sachems,  before   the    Governor   in   the 
presence  of  us,  the  day  and  jesiY  within  written. 
MATHIAS   NICOLLS,  Secretary. 
The  mark  of  §  SAMUEL   DAYIES. 
"  Recorded  by  order  of  the  Governor. 

MATHIAS   NICOLLS,  Secretary. 

The  Inventory^  or  Schedule  referred  to  in  the 
Deed. 

'^  The  payment  agreed  upon  ffor  the  purchase 
of  the  land  in  and  about  Bedford,  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Breucklyn,  conveyed  this  day  by 
the  Indian  Sachems,  proprietors,  is,  viz. : — 

100  Guilders  Seawant, 

Half  a  tun  of  strong  Beer, 

2  half  tuns  of  good  Beer, 

3  Guns,  long  barrells,  with  each  a  pound  of 
powder,  and  lead  proportionable — 2  bars  to 
a  gun, 

4  match  coates." 


GOVERNOR    DONGANS    PATENT.  293 

May  13,  1686.  Governor  Dongan  granted  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  the  following  con- 
firmatory patent : 

L.  8.  "Tliomas  Dongan,  Lientenant  Gover- 
nor, and  Vice  Admiral  of  Kew  York,  and  its  de- 
pendencies under  his  Majesty  James  the  Second, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scotland, 
France  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the  Faith, 
&c. — Supreme  lord  and  proprietor  of  the  Colony 
and  province  of  Kew  York  and  its  dependencies 
in  xlmerica,  &c.  To  all  to  whom  this  shall  come 
sendeth  greeting,  whereas  tlie  Honorable  Richard 
Nicolls,  Esq.  formerly  Governor  of  this  province, 
did  by  his  certain  writing  or  patent  under  his 
hand  and  seal,  bearing  date  the  eighteenth  day 
of  October,  Annoque  Domini,  one  thousand  six 
hundred  and  sixty-seven,  ratifie,  confirm  and 
grant  unto  Jan  Evarts,  Jan  Damen,  Albert  Cor- 
nelissen,  Paulus  Yerbeeck,  Michael  Enyle,  Thom- 
as Lamberts,  Tunis  Gisberts  Bogart,  and  Joris 
Jacobsen,  as  patentees  for  and  on  behalf  of  them- 
selves and  their  associates,  the  freeholders  and 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  J>reucklen,  their  heirs, 
successors,  and  assigns  forever,  a  certain  tract  of 
land,  together  with  the  several  parcels  of  land 
which  then  were  or  thereafter  should  be  purchased 
or  procured  for  and  on  behalf  of  the  said  town, 


294-     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BEOOKLYN. 

vvliether  from  the  native  Indian  proprietors,  or 
others  within  the  bounds  and  limitts  therein  sett 
forth  and  expressed,  that  is  to  sav,  the  said  town 
is  bounded  westward  on  the  further  side  of  the 
land  of  Mr.  Pauhis  Yerbeeck,  from  whence 
stretching  south  east  they  go  over  the  hills,  and 
so  eastward  along  by  the  said  hills  to  a  south-east 
point,  which  takes  in  all  the  lotts  behind  the 
swamp,  from  which  said  lotts  they  run  north-west 
to  the  River,  and  extend  to  the  farm  on  the  other 
side  of  the  hills  heretofore  belono^ino-  to  Hans 
Hansen,  over  against  Keak  or  Look-out,  includ- 
ing within  the  said  bounds  and  limitts  all  the  lots 
and  plantations,  lying  and  being  at  the  Gauwanes, 
Bedford,  Wallabocht  and  the  ferry,  all  which 
said  parcells  and  tract  of  land  and  premises  with- 
in the  bounds  and  limitts  aforementioned  de- 
scribed, and  all  or  any  plantation  or  plantations 
thereupon,  from  henceforth  are  to  be,  appertain 
and  belong  to  the  said  town  of  Breucklyn,  To- 
gether with  all  harbor,  havens,  creeks,  quarries, 
woodland,  meadow  ground,  reed  land  or  valley  of 
all  sorts,  pastures,  marshes,  waters,  rivers,  lakes, 
fishing,  hawking,  hunting,  fowling,  and  all  other 
profits,  commodities,  emoluments  and  heredita- 
ments to  the  said  lands  and  premises  within  the 
bounds  and  limitts  set  forth,  belonging,  or  in  any 
wise  appertaining,  and  with  all  to  have  freedom 


GOVERNOR    DONGAN  S    PATENT.  295 

of  commonage  for  range  and  feed  of  cattle 
and  horses,  into  the  woods  with  the  rest  of  their 
neighbours,  as  also  one  tliird  part  of  a  certain 
neck  of  meadow  ground  or  valley,  called  Seller's 
neck,  lying  and  being  within  the  town  of  Jamaica, 
purchased  by  the  said  town  of  Jamaica  from  the 
Indians,  and  sold  by  them  unto  the  inhabitants  of 
Breucklen  aforesaid,  as  it  was  laid  out  aforesaid, 
and  divided  by  their  mutual  consent  and  order  of 
the  Governor.  To  have  and  to  hold  unto  them 
the  said  patentees  and  their  associates,  their  heirs, 
successors  and  assigns  forever,  as  by  the  said 
patent  reference  being  thereunto  had,  doth,  fully 
and  at  large  appear.  And  further,  in  and  by  the 
said  patent,  the  said  Governor,  Hichard  Nicolls, 
Esq.,  did  erect  the  said  tract  of  land  into  a  town- 
ship by  the  name  of  Breucklen  aforesaid,  by  that 
name  and  style  to  be  distinguished  and  known  in 
all  bargains,  sales,  deeds,  records  and  writings 
whatsoever  ;  and  whereas  the  present  inhabitants 
and  freeholders  of  the  town  of  Breucklen  afore- 
said, have  made  their  application  to  me  for  a  con- 
firmation of  the  aforesaid  tract  of  land  and  prem- 
ises in  their  quiet  and  peaceable  possession  and 
enjoyment  of  the  aforesaid  land  and  premises. 
Kow  Know  Ye,  That  I,  the  said  Thomas  Dongan, 
by  virtue  of  the  commission  and  authority  derived 
unto  me.  and  power  in  me  residing,  have  granted, 


896  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BKOOKLl'N. 

ratified  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents  do 
grant,  ratifie  and  confirm,  unto  Tennis  Gjsberts, 
Thomas  Lamberts,  Peter  Jansen,  Jacobus  Yan- 
der  Water,  Jan  Dame,  Joris  Jacobs,  Jeronimus 
Rapelle,  Daniel  Kapelle,  Jan  Jansen,  Adrian 
Bennet,  and  Michael  Hanse,  for  and  on  the  be- 
half of  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  present 
freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  said  town  of 
Ereucklen,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  all  and 
singular  the  afore-recited  tract  and  parcels  of  land 
set  forth,  limited  and  bounded  as  aforesaid  ;  to- 
gether with  all  and  singular,  the  houses,  mes- 
suages, tenements,  fencings,  buildings,  gardens, 
orchards,  trees,  woods,  underwoods,  ])astures, 
feedings,  common  of  pasture,  meadows,  marshes, 
lakes,  ponds,  creeks,  harbors,  rivers,  rivulets, 
brooks,  sti-eams,  highways  and  easements  what- 
soever, belonging  or  in  any  wise  appertaining  to 
any  of  the  afore-recited  tract  or  parcells  of  land 
and  divisions,  allotments,  settlements  made  and 
appropriated  before  the  day  and  date  hereof. 
To  Have  and  To  Hold,  all  and  singular,  the  said 
tract  or  parcels  of  land  and  premises,  with  their, 
and  every  of  their  appurtenances  unto  the  said 
Tunis  Gysberts,  Thomas  Lamberts,  Peter  Jansen, 
Jacobus  Yander  Water,  Joris  Jacobs,  Jeronimus 
Pappelle,  Daniel  Pappelle,  Jan  Jansen,  Adrian 
Bennet  and  Michael   Hanse,  for  and  on  behalf 


297 

of  themselves  and  the  present  freeliolders  and 
inhahitauts  of  the  town  of  Breucklen,  their  and 
every  of  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever,  as  ten- 
ants in  common  without  any  let,  hindrance,  mo- 
lestation, rig] it  of  survivorship  or  otherwise,  to  be 
hoklen  in  free  and  common  socage  according  to 
tlie  tenure  of  East  Greenwich,  in  tlie  county  of 
Kent,  in  his  Majesty's  kingdom  of  England. 
Yielding,  rendering  and  paying  therefor  yearly, 
and  every  year,  on  the  five  and  twentyeth  day  of 
March,  forever,  in  lieu  of  all  services  and  demands 
whatsoever,  as  a  quit  rent  to  liis  most  sacred  Ma- 
jesty aforesaid,  his  heirs  and  successors,  at  the 
city  of  New  York,  twenty  bushels  of  good  mer- 
chantable wheat.  In  testimony  whereof,  I  have 
caused  these  presents  to  be  entered  and  recorded 
in  the  Secretary's  office,  and  the  seal  of  the  Pro- 
vince to  be  hereunto  affxed  this  thirteenth  day  of 
May,  Anno.  Domini,  one  thousand  six.  hundred 
and  eighty-six,  and  in  the  second  year  of  his 
Majesty's  reign. . 

THOMAS   DONGAK" 

Quit  rents  to  the  following  amounts  and  at  the 
follow^ing  periods  have  been  paid  on  the  Brook- 
lyn patents. 

June  8,  1713.  Paid  to  Benjamin  Yan  de 
13* 


298  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

Water,  Treasurer,  the  sum  of  £96  7s  Id.  for  up- 
wards of  16  years  quit  rent. 

April  6,  1775.  Charles  Debevoise,  Collector  of 
the  town  of  Brooklyn,  paid  to  the  Keceiver  Gen- 
eral of  the  Colony  of  New  York,  20  bushels  of 
wheat,  for  one  year's  quit  rent,  due  from  said 
town. 

November  9,  17S6.  Fernandus  Suydam,  and 
Charles  C.  Doughty,  two  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
town  of  Brooklyn,  paid  to  the  Treasurer  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  the  sum  of  £105  10s.  in  full 
for  arrears  of  quit  rent  due  from  the  said  town. 

TOAVN    EIGHTS    AND    FERRIES. 

The  difference  between  this  town  and  the  city 
of  New  Yoi-k  relative  to  the  water  rights  of  the 
former,  has  deservedly  excited  the  attention  and 
interest  of  our  inhabitants,  as  involving  property 
to  a  great  amount,  and  unjustly  withholding  from 
our  town  a  revenue  which  would  enable  it  to 
improve  with  almost  unparalleled  rapidity.  In 
order  tliat  each  person  so  interested  may  form  a 
correct  opinion  of  the  subject  matter  in  dispute, 
the  Compiler  has  thought  proper,  under  this 
head,  to  lay  before  them  the  foundations  of 
the  claims  on  both  sides  of  the  question. 

October  18,  1667.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  2d 
Kichard  Ni<iolls,  Esq.,  Governor  General  of  the 


TOWN    EIGHTS    AND    FERRIES.  299 

Province  of  Xew  York,  under  his  Royal  High- 
ness James,  the  Duke  of  York,  &c.,  afterwards 
James  2d  of  England,  granted  to  the  inhabitants 
of  this  town  a  confirmatory  patent,  acknowledg- 
ing that  they  were  rightfully,  legally  and  by 
authority  in  possession  of  the  property  and  privi- 
leges they  then  enjoyed.  The  patent  after  nam- 
ing the  patentees,  and  describing  the  bounds  of 
the  town,  and  binding  by  the  River  and  not  by 
high  water  mark,  proceeds  to  say,  "  Together 
M^ith  all  havens^  harljors^  creeks,  marshes,  vmters^ 
rivers^  lakes,  fisheries,"  "  Moreover,  I  do  hereby 
give,  ratify  and  confirm  unto  the  said  j^atentees 
and  their  associates,  their  heirs,  successors  and 
assigns,  all  the  rights  and  privileges  belonging 
to  a  town  within  this  government."  Under  this 
patent  the  town  of  Brooklyn  justly  claims  the 
land  between  high  and  low  water  mark  on  their 
shore,  in  opposition  to  the  claims  of  the  Corpora- 
tion of  the  City  of  I^ew  York ;  and  an  equal 
right  with  them  to  erect  ferries  between  the  town 
of  Brooklyn  and  the  City  of  IN'ew  York. 

It  does  not  appear  that  there  was  any  adverse 
claim  on  the  part  of  New  York,  until  the  27th 
of  April,  1686,  nineteen  years  after  the  date  of 
the  Brooklyn  patent,  when  the  Corporation  of 
New  York  obtained  a  charter  from  Governor 
Dongan,  by  which  the  ferries  were  granted   to 


300  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYX. 

them,  but  not  a  word  mentioned  abont  the  laud 
between  high  and  low  water  mark  on  the  Brook- 
lyn side.  From  the  reading  of  this  charter  it 
appears  as  if  the  Governor  was  doubtful  as  to  his 
right  even  to  grant  the  feriy,  for  it  contains  an 
express  saving  of  all  the  rights  of  all  other  per- 
sons, bodies  politic  and  corporate,  their  heirs, 
successors  and  assigns,  in  as  ample  a  manner,  as 
if  that  charter  had  not  been  made. 

May  13,  168G.  The  freeholders  and  inhabit- 
ants of  Brooklyn  somewhat  apprehensive  of  en- 
croachments by  Kew  York,  obtained  from  Gover- 
nor Dongan,  a  patent  under  the  seal  of  the 
Colony,  fully  confirming  that  granted  them  by 
Governor  Nicolls. 

May  6,  1691.  An  act  was  passed  by  the  Gover- 
nor, Council  and  General  xlssembly  of  the  Col- 
ony of  'New  York,  "  for  settling,  quieting  and 
confirming  unto  the  cities,  towns,  manors,  and 
freeholders  within  this  Province,  their  several 
grants,  patents  and  rights  respectively."  By  this 
act  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Brooklyn  were  confirmed  in  the  rights  they 
possessed  and  enjoyed  under  their  two  sevei-al 
patents. 

October  12,  1694.  The  Corporation  of  New 
York,  not  thinking  their  foothold  on  the  Brook- 
lyn side    sufficiently  secure,  purchased  of    one 


THE   NEW    YOEK   PUECHASE.  301 

William  Morris,  for  no  specific  consideration,  a 
piece  of  land  in  Brooklyn  near  the  ferry.  This 
deed  is  the  foundation  of  the  Corporation  claim 
to  their  land  in  the  village  of  Brooklyn.  A  copy 
of  which  will  be  found  in  the  appendix  marked 
with  the  letter  A. 

Bent  on  unjustly  wresting  from  the  town  of 
Brooklyn  their  water  right,  the  Coi'poration,  on 
the  19th  of  April,  1708,  obtained  from  Governor 
Coi'nlniry,  a  man  infamous  for  his  vices  and  dis- 
regard of  justice,  another  charter,  in  which  they 
came  out  more  opeidy  tlian  before,  and  claimed 
the  vacant  land  to  high  water  mark,  on  Nassau 
Island,  reserving  to  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn 
the  right  of  transporting  themselves  in  their  own 
boats  ferriage  free,  to  and  from  New  York. "  By 
this  charter,  no  matter  how  ample  soever  they 
might  have  considered  it  at  the  time,  they  ob- 
tained nothing  but  vacant  land  to  liigli  water 
mark  ;  that  is  the  land  which  was  not  already 
granted,  and  in  the  possession  of  some  other  per- 
son or  persons,  which  was  not  the  fact  as  to  the  land 
on  the  Brooklyn  side,  it  being  vested  in  the  paten- 
tees, their  heirs,  successors,  and  assigns  forever  ; 
so  that  the  only  power  or  authority  remaining  in 

*  Although  the  bounds  of  this  grant  commences  about  200 
yards  in  the  town  of  Bush  wick,  the  Corporation  of  New  York 
have  made  no  claim  to  land  beyond  the  Wallabought. 


D02     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BROOKLYN. 

tiie  Governor  was  to  grant  tlie  Corporation  of 
Xew  York,  the  privilege  of  baying  the  water 
rights  of  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn.  But  that 
would  not  answer  their  purpose,  for  those  rights 
could  be  bought  cheaper  of  Governor  Cornbury 
than  they  could  of  this  town. 

This  proceeding  on  the  part  of  l^ew  York  stim- 
ulated the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  to  obtain  from 
tlie  Colonial  Legislature,  in  1721,  an  act  confirm- 
ing their  patent  rights. 

To  obviate  the  effects  of  this  law,  and  strengthen 
the  charter  of  Cornbury,  which  from  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was  obtained,  the  Corpo- 
ration feared  was  invalid,  on  the  15th  of  January, 
1730,  they  procured  from  Governor  John  Mont- 
gomerie,  a  new  charter  confirming  their  pre- 
tended right  to  the  land  to  hir/h  water  raarh  on 
our  shore f^ 


*  There  was  some  peculiar  circumstances  attending  the 
consummation  of  this  charter,  which  the  Compiler  thinks 
ought  to  be  known.  A  short  time  previous  to  obtaining  the 
charter,  the  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  New-York  re- 
solved that  the  sum  of  £1400  was  necessary  for  the  pro- 
curing of  that  instrviment ;  £1000  of  which  sum  they  deter- 
mined to  raise  immediately  by  a  loan  on  interest  for  one  year  ; 
which  they  accordingly  did,  and  gave  a  mortgage  for  that 
amount  to  James  De  Lancey,  Esq.,  dated  January  14,  1730. 
Directly  after  the  execution  of  this  mortgage  they  resolved 
to  address  the  Governor,  •  for  the  great  favour  and  goodness 


303 

The  grants  from  the  Corporation  of  Xew-York, 
under  their  two  charters  for  the  water  lots  on  the 
Brooklyn  side,  are  very  artfully  and  ingeniously 
drawn.  By  those  grants  are  only  conveyed  "  all 
the  estate,  right,  title,  interest,  property,  claim, 
and  demand  whatsoever,  in  law  and  equity  "  of 
them  the  said  Corporation  ;  and  their  covenant  for 
quiet  possession  only  extends  to  them  and  their 
successors,  and  not  against  any  other  persons  law- 
.  fully  claiming  premises.  These  grants  in  order 
to  save  the  Corporation  harmless  against  the 
claims  of  Brooklyn,  also  contained  a  covenant  to 
the  following  effect:  "It  is  hereby  covenanted, 
granted  and  agreed  upon  by  and  between  the  par- 
ties to  these  presents  (that  is  the  Corporation  of 
New  York  and  the  person  to  whom  they  give  the 
grant),  and  the  true  intent  and  meaning  hereof  also 
is,  and  it  is  hereby  declared,  that  this  present  grant, 

shown  to  this  Corporation  in  granting  their  petition,  in  or- 
dering and  directing  his  Majesty's  letters  patent  for  a  new 
charter  and  confirmation  to  this  Corporation,"  and  probably 
informing  him  that  they  had  obtained  the  money.  The  con- 
sequence was,  that  on  the  next  day,  January  15,  1730,  the 
charter  was  completed  ;  and  on  paying  the  £1000  was  de- 
livered to  them  on  the  11th  day  of  February,  1730,  almost  a 
month  after  its  date.  By  which  it  appears  that  the  Corpora- 
tion of  New  York  still  continued  purchasing  the  right  of  the 
town  of  Brooklyn  from  the  Colonial  Governors.  See  list  of 
Corporation  Charters  and  grants,  1747. 


304  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

or  any  words,  or  any  thing  in  tlie  same  expressed, 
or  contained,  shall  not  be  adjudged,  deemed,  con- 
strued or  taken  to  be  a  covenant  or  covenants  on 
the  part  and  behalf  of  the  said  parties  of  the  first 
part  (that  is,  the  Corporation  of  New  York),  or 
their  successors  for  any  purpose  or  purposes  what- 
soever, but  only  to  pass  the  estate,  right,  title,  and 
interest  they  have  or  may  lawfully  claim  by  virtue 
of  their  several  cliarters,  of,  in,  and  to  the  said 
premises.  Which  covenant  evidently  shows  a 
w^ant  of  confidence  in  the  validity  of  their  title  on 
the  part  of  the  Cojrporation. 

October  14,  1732.  An  act  was  passed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  Colony,  "  confirming 
unto  the  City  of  New  York  its  rights  and  privil- 
eges." By  this  act  no  addition  was  made  to  their 
former  pretended  rights. 

November  14,  1753.  The  freeholders  and  in- 
habitants of  this  town  appointed  Jacobus  Lefferts, 
Peter  Yandervoort,  Jacob  Remsen,  Rem  Remsen, 
and  Nicholas  Yechte,  Trustees,  "  to  defend  our 
patent  where  in  any  manner  our  liberties,  privi- 
leges, and  rights  in  our  patent  specified  is  en- 
croached, lessened,  or  taken  away  by  the  common- 
ality of  the  City  of  New  York."  A  copy  of  the 
proceeding  of  the  town  meeting  at  which  the 
above  trustees  were  elected,  will  be  found  in  the 
ppendix  marked  B. 


HENDRICIv    RKMSKN  S    FEKIiY.  SO-i 

Not  satisfied  with  the  encroachments  tliey  had 
made,  the  Corporation  began  to  question  the 
right  of  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  to  ci-oss  to 
and  from  New  York  ferriage  free  in  their  own 
boats,  and  to  carry  over  the  inhabitants  in  tliose 
boats  ; — the  result  was,  that  in  July,  1745,  a  suit 
was  commenced  by  one  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Brooklyn,  named  Hendrick  Kemsen,  ao-ainst  the 
Corporation  of  New  York,  which  was  tried  before 
a  jury  in  Westchester  County.  A  special  verdict 
was  found  setting  forth  all  its  patents  and  char- 
ters, and  among  other  things,  that  the  road  from 
which  the  said  Hendrick  Remsen  ferried  tlie  in- 
habitants of  Brooklyn  to  and  from  New  York, 
"  then  and  long  before  was  laid  out  for  a  public 
highway  leading  down  to  low  water  mark  on  the 
East  Itiver,  between  the  places  aforesaid  called  the 
Wallaboucht  and  the  Red  Hook  on  Nassau 
Island,  and  the  jurors  aforesaid,  upon  their  oath 
aforesaid,  do  further  say,  that  the  rivei*  called  the 
East  River,  over  which  the  said  Hendrick  did 
carry  the  persons  and  goods  aforesaid,  from  the 
said  lands,  between  the  Wallabocht  and  the  Red 
Hook,  is  a  large  and  public  and  navigable  rivei* 
used  by  his  Majesty's  ships,  and  otliei'  ships,  and 
smaller  vessels  employed  in  trade  and  connnerce, 
and  hath  always  been  so  used  from  the  first  set- 
tlement of  this  Colony."    On  argument,  judgment 


306  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

was  rendered  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  tliis 
Colony  in  the  month  of  October,  1Y75,  in  favor  of 
Hendrick  Remsen,  that  he  recover  his  damages 
against  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonality 
of  the  City  of  l^ew  York,  and  the  sum  of  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  pounds,  fourteen  shillings 
and  tenpence  half -penny  for  his  costs  and  charges. 
An  appeal  to  the  King  and  Council,  from  this  de- 
cision, was  brought  by  the  Corporation,  which 
was  not  determined  in  consequence  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  There  is  a  tradition  in  this  town 
that  the  Corporation  of  New  York  were  so  ap- 
prehensive of  this  claim  on  the  part  of  the  town 
of  Brooklyn,  that  in  order  to  disengage  Hendrick 
Remsen  from  the  interest  of  the  town,  they  gave 
him  a  house  and  lot  of  land  near  Coenties  Slip,  in 
the  City  of  New  York.  How  far  this  tradition  is 
correct,  the  Compiler  is  unable  to  say.  It  ap- 
pears, however,  that  he,  about  that  time,  became 
in  possession  of  such  property,  and  the  same  re- 
mained in  his  family  within  the  memory  of  some 
of  our  inhabitants. 

Our  two  Patents  are  confirmed  by  the  Constitu- 
tion of  this  State,  which  confirms  all  grants  of 
land  within  the  State,  made  by  the  authority  of 
the  King  of  Great  Britain,  or  his  predecessors, 
prior  to  the  1-ith  of  August,  1775. 

The  Compiler,  thinking  it  would  not  be  uniu- 


WATER    LOT    RENTS.  307 

terestiiig  to  his  fellow-citizens  to  see  a  stateineiit 
of  the  amount  received  by  the  Corporation  of 
New  York  for  quit-rent  on  the  water  lots 
claimed  by  them,  has  given  the  following  short 
statement : 

The  Commissioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund  of  the 
City  of  New  York  have  received,  from  An  gust 
23d,  1813,  to  Dec.  31,  1824, 

For  water  lot  rents $17,635  24 

Commutation  for  water  lot  rents.     17,275  41 


$34,910  65 

The  Corporation  of  New  York  during  the 
present  year  1824,  have  received  for  water  lot 
rents  the  sum  of $8,862  97 

Within  a  short  time  the  jurisdiction  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Brooklyn  has  been  extended  beyond  low 
water  mark,  leaving  the  pretended  right  of  soil 
still  in  tlie  Corporation  of  New  York."^^  August 
term,  1821,  in  the  case  of  Udall  vs.  the  Trustees 
of  Brooklyn,  the  Supreme  Court  of  this  State  de- 
cided that  Kings  Connty,  of  which  the  village  of 

*  The  jurisdiction  of  New  York  by  their  first  charter  in 
1686,  was  limited  to  low  water  mark  around  Manhattan  Is- 
land ;  but  was  extended  to  low  water  mark  on  the  Brooklyn 
side  by  G-overnor  Montgomery's  charter  in  1730. 


308  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

Brooklyn  is  part,  includes  all  the  wliarves,  docks, 
and  other  artificial  erections  in  the  East  River, 
opposite  to  the  City  of  New  York,  though  west  of 
the  natural  low  water  mark  on  the  Nassau  or 
Long  Island  shore;  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
village  extends  to  the  actual  line  of  low  water, 
whether  formed  by  natural  or  artificial  means. 
Same  term,  in  the  case  of  Stryker  vs.  the  Mayor, 
etc.,  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  Supreme 
Court  decided  that  the  City  and  County  of  New 
York  includes  the  whole  of  the  Hivers  and  har- 
bour adjacent  to  actual  low  water  mark,  on  the 
opposite  shores,  as  the  sauie  may  be  formed,  h'om 
time  to  time,  by  docks,  wharves  and  other  per- 
manent erections;  and  although  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  city  does  not  extend  so  as  to  include  such 
wharves  or  artificial  erections,  yet  it  extends  over 
the  ships  and  vessels  floating  on  the  water,  though 
they  be  fastened  to  such  wharves  or  docks. 

April  9,  1824  The  Legislature  of  the  State 
of  New  York  in  the  act  to  amend  the  act  entitled 
"  an  Act  to  incorporate  and  vest  certain  powers 
in  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  village 
of  Brooklyn  in  the  County  of  Kings,"  granted 
this  town  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  City 
of  New  York  in  the  service  of  process,  in  actions 
civil  and  criminal,  on  board  of  vessels  attached 
to  our  wharves ;  and  in  the  act  for  the  establish- 


BREEDE    GRAFT   FERRY.  309 

ment  of  a  Board  of  Health  in  the  village  of 
Brooklyn,  authority  is  given  to  the  said  Board  to 
remove  all  infected  vessels  from  the  wharves 
within  the  said  village. 

The  ferries  have  been  unavoidably,  in  some 
degree,  taken  into  consideration  when  speaking 
of  our  town  rights.  The  Compiler  will  therefore 
confine  himself  to  such  historical  facts,  and  laws, 
and  such  proceedings,  passed  and  had  by  the 
Colonial  and  State  Legislatures  as  may  relate  par- 
ticularly to  them. 

During  the  early  years  of  this  Colony,  the  old 
ferry  was  from  near  the  foot  of  Joralemon  street, 
to  the  Breede  Graft,  now  Broad  street,  in  the 
City  of  Xew  York.  At  that  period  a  creek  ran 
through  the  middle  of  Broad  street,  up  which 
the  boats  ascended  to  a  ferry -house  which  is  still 
standing.  At  this  time  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain 
the  exact  period  when  the  okl  ferry  was  estab- 
lished at  its  present  situation  on  the  Brooklyn 
side.     In  1697,  John  Aeresen  was  ferry  master. 

It  appears  from  the  following  order,  that  the 
Court  of  Sessions  of  Kings  County,  exercised 
some  authority  over  the  ferry  between  Brooklyn 
and  Xew  York.  October  7,  1690.  "Whereas 
much  inconvenience  does  ai'ise  by  several  negroes 
comino^  on  this  island  from  ~Ne\v  York  and  other 
places,  and  from  this  island  to  New  York.     It  is 


310  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

ordered,  that  the  ferrymen  shall  not  bring  or  set 
over  any  negroes  or  slaves  npon  the  Sabbath  day, 
withont  a  ticket  from  their  masters." 

Acts  have  been  passed  by  tlie  Colonial  and 
State  Legislatures  for  the  pnrpose  of  regulating 
the  ferries  between  this  town  and  the  City  of 
New  York,  in  the  following  chronological  order : 

I^ovember  2d,  1717,  an  act  was  passed,  which 
was  revived  in  the  year  1726,  and  again  in  1727. 
October  14,  1732,  another  act  was  passed  for 
the  same  purpose.  By  this  act  it  was  provided, 
"  That  the  ferryman  for  the  time  being,  shall 
not  impose,  exact,  demand,  or  receive  any  rates 
or  ferriage  for  any  goods  or  things  whatsoever, 
transported  by  any  of  the  inhabitants  living 
alongst  the  River,  at  or  near  the  Ferry  on  Nas- 
sau Island,  in  their  own  boats  or  canoes,"  pro- 
vided that  the  same  be  their  own  goods  or  coui- 
modities.  This  act  continued  in  force  until  the 
28th  of  February,  1789,  when  another  act  was 
passed  regulating  the  ferriage,  and  containing  a 
similar  proviso.  April  9,  1813.  The  last  men- 
tioned law  was  re-enacted,  with  the  same  pro- 
vision. 

The  winter  previous  to  the  prosecution  of  the 
suit  between  Hendrick  Kemsen,  and  the  Corpo- 
ration of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  inhabitants 
of  Brooklyn  made  an  attempt  to  obtain  from  the 


MAJOK    VAN    IIOKNE  S    MOTION.  SU 

Colonial  Legislature,  a  further  confiriuation  of 
some  of  their  rights,  particularly  relating  to  the 
ferrj ;  on  which  application  the  following  pro- 
ceedings were  had. 

January  30, 1745-6.  In  General  Assembly,  a 
l^etition  of  the  Trustees  of  the  town  of  Brook- 
land,  in  Kings  County,  in  behalf  of  themselves, 
and  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  said 
township,  was  presented  to  the  House  and  read, 
setting  forth.  That  a  great  number  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  said  township,  living  near  the 
ferry  from  l^assau  Island  to  New  York,  and  hav- 
ing their  chief  dependence  of  supporting  their 
families  by  trading  to  the  Kew  York  markets,  are 
by  one  act  of  the  General  Assembly,  entitled,  an 
act  to  regulate  the  ferry  between  the  City  of  New 
York  and  tlie  Island  of  Xassau,  and  to  establish 
tlie  ferriage  thereof,  passed  in  the  sixth  year  of 
his  Majesty's  reign,  debarred  from  transporting 
their  goods  in  their  own  vessels,  to  the  said  mar- 
kets, which  exposes  them  to  very  great  hard- 
ships, difficulties  and  expenses,  and  therefore 
humbly  praying  that  tliey  may  have  leave  to 
bring  in  a  bill  to  relieve  them  from  the  afore- 
said hardships.  Upon  a  motion  of  Major  Yan 
Home  (of  New  York),  ordered  that  the  clerk  of 
this  House  serve  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  with  a  copy  of  the  said  petition  forthwith. 


312  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

lu  General  Assembly,  April  12th,  1746,  Mr. 
Abraham  Lott,  accordhig  to  leave,  presented  to 
the  House,  a  bill  entitled,  "  an  act  to  repeal  an  act 
therein  mentioned,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  the  township  of 
Brooklyn,  in  Kings  County,  within  this  colony;" 
which  was  read  the  first  time,  and  ordered  a 
second  reading. — Ordered,  that  the  Corporation 
of  the  City  of  New  York  be  served  with  a  copy 
of  the  said  bill. 

April  18,  1746.  In  General  Assembly.  The 
bill  entitled,  an  act  to  repeal  an  act  therein  men- 
tioned, so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  freeholders  and 
iidiabitants  of  the  township  of  Brooklyn,  in 
Kings  County,  within  this  colony,  being  offered 
to  be  read  a  second  time,  Capt.  Richards  (of  New 
York)  moved,  that  the  seccjnd  reading  of  the  said 
bill  micrht  be  deferred  until  the  next  meetino:  of 
the  House,  after  the  first  day  of  June  next ; 
which  was  agreed  to  by  the  House,  and  ordered 
accordingly. 

June  20,  1716.  In  General  Assembly.  A  pe- 
tition of  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Commonalty, 
of  the  City  of  New  York  was  presented  to  tlie 
House  and  read,  setting  forth,  That  the  Corpora- 
tion having  been  served  with  a  copy  of  a  bill 
now  before  this  House,  entitled,  an  act  to  repeal 
an  act  therein   mentioned,  so  far  as  it  relates  to 


ANCIENT   RIGHTS   AND    FKEEIIOLD.  313 

the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  township 
of  Brooklyn,  in  Kings  County,  withhi  this  colony; 
do  conceive  that  the  passing  the  oaid  bill  into  a 
law  may  affect  their  ancient  rights  and  free- 
hold, and  therefore  humbly  praying  that  they 
may  be  heard  by  their  counsel  against  the  said 
bill,  at  the  bar  of  this  House,  on  Friday  next, 
ordered  that  the  Trustees  of  the  township  of 
Brooklyn  be  heard  by  their  counsel  in  support 
of  the  said  bill,  at  the  bar  of  this  House,  on  Fri- 
day next,  and  that  Mr.  William  Smith  appear  for 
them.  Ordered,  that  the  clerk  of  this  House 
serve  the  parties  with  a  copy  of  these  orders 
forthwith. 

June  27,  1746.  In  General  Assembly.  The 
House  being  informed  that  the  Corporation  of  the 
City  of  New  York  were  attending  with  their 
counsel  to  be  heard  against  the  bill ;  and  that  the 
trustees  of  the  township  of  Brooklyn  were  also 
attending  with  their  counsel  to  be  heard  in  sup- 
port of  the  said  bill ;  both  parties  were  called  in, 
and  the  counsel  on  both  sides  having  been  fully 
heard,  for  and  against  the  said  bill,  they  were  di- 
rected to  withdraw  ;  and  the  bill  being  read  the 
second  time,  the  question  was  put, — whether  the 
said  bill  should  be  committed,  and  carried  in  the 
affirmative  in  the  manner  following : — Affirma- 
tive, Messrs.  Lott,  Chambers,  Stillwell,  Living' 
14 


314  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

ston,  Ilarring,  Cornell,  Abraham  Lott,  Lecount, 
Bradt,  Nicoll,  Hardenbergh,  and  Grale,  12. — 
Kegative,  Messrs.  liichards,  Crnger,  Clarkson, 
Van  Home,  Philipse,  Mori-is,  Yerplank,  and 
Thomas,  8. 

July  4,  174:6.  In  General  Assembly,  the  en- 
grossed Bill  entitled,  an  act  to  repeal  an  act 
therein  mentioned,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  tlie  township  of  Brook- 
lyn, in  Kings  County,  within  this  colony,  was 
read  the  third  time,  and  upon  Mr.  Speaker's 
putting  the  question,  whether  the  Bill  should 
pass,  a  motion  was  made  by  Col.  Morris  in  the 
w^ords  followino:,  viz. — As  this  Bill  has  been 
already  ordered  to  be  engrossed,  by  a  majority 
of  the  House,  and  tl>e  question  that  now  is  put, 
is,  whether  this  Bill  shall  pass ;  I  must  beg  leave 
to  give  my  reasons  for  opposing  its  passage. 
The  first  is,  it  is  alleged  by  this  bill,  that  the 
people  of  Brooklyn  had  a  right,  prior  to  the  act 
passed  in  the  year  171:2,  which  was  not  proved, 
nor  attempted  upon  the  hearing  before  this  House ; 
but  if  we  pass  this  Bill,  we  allow  that  right  to  be 
proved,  and  then  it  becomes  our  allegation, 
which  I  conceive  inconsistent  with  the  honor 
and  justice  of  this  House,  to  allege  anything  in 
such  a  case,  but  what  has  been  proved.  The 
second  is,  it  implies  that  the  act  in  1732,  took 


COLONEL   MORRIS     MOTION.  315 

away  unjustly,  a  right  from  the  people  of  Brook- 
lyn, that  they  were  entitled  to.  Thirdl}^,  it  im- 
plies, that  the  House  have  fixed  the  two  points 
before  mentioned,  and  then  it  will  necessarily 
follow,  that  we  have  considered  the  rights  of  the 
Corporation,"^  as  well  as  those  of  the  people  of 
Brooklyn ;  that  we  have  not,  I  appeal  to  the 
House,  who  must  allow  that  no  such  right  ever 
appeared  to  us,  at  least  as  a  House,  and  for  us  to 
declare  certain  facts  by  a  bill,  which  has  never 
been  proved,  will  be  doing  what  I  conceive  we 
ought  not  to  do,  if  we  make  justice  and  equity 
the  rule  of  our  conduct.  For  these  reasons,  I 
move,  that  the  Bill  may  be  rejected.  The  ques- 
tion being  put  thereon  it  was  carried  in  the 
negative,  in  the  manner  following,  viz. — For 
the  negative,  Messrs.  Chambers,  Lott,  Cornell, 
Hardenberg,  A.  Lott,  Bradt,  Lecount,  Gale,  and 
Harring,  9.  Affirmative,  Messrs.  Cruger,  Morris, 
Richards,  Van  Home,  Clarkson,  Verplank,  Phil- 
ipse,  and  Thomas,  8. 

Eesolved,  That  the  Bill  do  pass.      Ordered, 
that  Colonel  Harring,  and  Mr.  Hardenberg  do 


*  For  what  purpose  was  it  that  the  Coi-p ovation's  counsel 
was  heard  at  the  bar  of  the  House,  if  not  to  advance  and 
support  their  rights?  If  it  was  not  done  at  that  time,  the 
plain  inference  would  be,  that  they  were  aware  they  had  no 
right. 


316  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

carry  the  Bill  to  the  Council  and  desire  their 
concurrence.  By  which  it  appears  that  it  was 
considered  by  the  House,  as  well  as  subsequently 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  that  the  right  of  the 
town  was  sufficiently  proved,  notwithstanding  the 
assertions  of  Colonel  Morris. 

This  Bill  by  some  means  was  stifled  in  the 
Council,*  and  never  became  a  law. 

During  the  Revolution  the  Old  ferry  was  kept 
by  Messrs.  Yan  Winkle  and  Bukett;  at  which 
period  the  usual  charge  for  crossing  was  six 
pence  for  each  passenger. 

August  1,  1795.  The  ferry  from  the  foot  of 
Main  street,  Brooklyn,  to  the  foot  of  Catharine 
street,  ]N"ew  York,  commonly  called  the  New 
ferry,  was  established  by  Messrs.  William  Fur- 
man  and  Theodosius  Hunt,  lessees  from  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  City  of  New  York. 

In  consequence  of  the  prevalence  of  tlie  Yel- 
low fever  in  Brooklyn,  in  the  month  of  August, 
1809,  the  old  ferry  was  removed  to  the  foot  of 
Joralemon  street,  and  the  boats  plied  from  there 
to  Whitehall,  New  York. 

*  The  Council  was  appointed  by  the  King's  mandamus 
and  sign  manual,  and  all  their  privileges  and  powers  were 
contained  in  the  Governor's  instructions.  The  tenure  of 
their  places  was  extremely  precarious, — See  Smith's  Hktory 
of  New  York,  p.  364. 


THE    FIKST    STEAM   FEKRY.  317 

Oil  the  4th  clay  of  March,  1814,  the  Legisla- 
ture of  tliis  State  passed  an  act  allowhig  William 
Cutting  and  others  his  associates,  to  charge  four 
cents  for  each  passenger  crossing  in  the  Steam-boat 
to  be  by  them  placed  on  the  Old  ferry.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  the  fare  was  two  cents  for  each 
passenger.  May,  1814,  the  Steam-boat  com- 
menced plying  on  the  old  ferry  between  Brook- 
lyn and  'New  York. 

This  Ferry  Company  derive  their  interest  in 
the  old  or  Fulton  ferry,  from  a  lease  executed 
January  24tli,  1814,  by  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 
Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New  York,  to  Robert 
Fulton  and  William  Cutting.  The  rent  reserved 
l)y  the  Corporation  on  this  lease  is  $4,000  per 
annum  for  the  first  18  years,  and  $4,500  per  an- 
num for  the  remaining  7  years.*  It  is  a  difficult 
matter  to  speak  correctly  of  the  present  income 
of  this  ferry.  At  its  first  establishment  the  divi- 
dends were  made  on  a  capital  estimated  at  $45,- 
000,  divided  into  shares  of  $1,000  each,  and  were 
made  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent,  for  six  months, 
and  what  remained  after  this  5  per  cent,  taken 
out,  formed  the  surplus  dividend.     From  May, 

*  The  Corporation  of  New  York,  during  the  year  1824, 
have  received  from  the  ferries  the  sum  of  $12,003.75 — more 
than  three -fourths  of  which  sum  is  from  the  ferries  on  the 
East  River. 


318  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BKOOEXYN. 

1814,  to  November,  1815,  tlie  regular  dividends 
on  one  share  amounted  to  $157.11|,  and  during 
tlie  same  period  the  surplus  dividend  amounted 
to  $228.21-1-,  making  a  dividend  of  $385.33,  on 
one  share  for  about  18  months,  equal  to  about  25 
per  cent,  per  annum. 

At  the  Session  of  the  Legislature  in  the  winter 
of  1818,  the  Corporation  of  Kew  York  presented 
a  petition  praying  that  they  might  have  the  regu- 
lation of  the  rates  of  ferriage  between  this  town 
and  the  city  of  New  York — against  which  the 
Trustees  of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  this  town  strongly  remonstrated, 
statin o"  that  "  thev  had  full  confidence  that  the 
Legislature  of  this  State  would  never  increase  the 
rates  of  ferriage,  nor  permit  the  same  to  be  in- 
creased, beyond  what  is  necessary  to  support  the 
ferries  in  the  best  manner ;  they  therefore  prayed 
that  the  Legislature  would  not  surrender  to  the 
Corporation  of  New  York  a  right  which  had 
been  reserved  by  the  Legislature,  and  which  the 
petitioners  deemed  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Nassau  Island." 

EOADS   AND   PUBLIC   LANDING   PLACES. 

This  town  appears  to  have  entered  early  into 
the  contest  respecting  roads.     There  are  many 


ROADS    AND    PUBLIC   LANDING   PLACES.  319 

instances  on  record  previous  to  1683,  of  tlie  Con- 
stable of  Brooklyn  being  ordered  to  repair  the 
roads,  and  in  case  of  neglect,  fined ;  and  in  one 
instance  he  was  ordered  by  the  Court  not  to  de- 
part until  further  order. 

The  main  road,  or  as  part  of  it  is  now  called, 
Fulton  street,  in  the  village  of  Brooklpi,  was  laid 
out  March  28th,  1704,  by  Joseph  Hagaman,  Peter 
Cortelyou,  and  Benjamin  Yandewater,  Commis- 
sioners, appointed  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  colony  of  New  York,  for  the  laying 
out,  i-egulating,  clearing  and  preserving  of  public 
highways  in  the  colony.  The  record  of  this  road 
is  as  follows  : — "  One  publique,  common  and  gen- 
eral highway,  to  begin  ffi-om  low  water  marine  at 
the  ferr}^  in  the  township  of  Broockland,  in  Kings 
county,  and  ffrom  thence  to  run  ffour  rod  wide 
up  between  the  houses  and  lands  of  John  Aerson, 
John  Coe,  and  George  Jacobs,  and  soe  all  along 
to  Broocklaiid  towne  aforesaid,  through  the  lane 
that  now  is,  and  fProm  thence  straight  along  a 
certaine  lane  to  the  Southward  corner  of  John 
Yan  Couwenhoven's  land,  and  ffrom  thence 
straight  to  Bedfford  as  it  is  now  staked  out,  to  the 
lane  where  the  house  of  Benjamin  Yandewater 
stands,  and  ffrom  thence  straight  along  through 
Bedfford  towne  to  Bedfford  lane,  running  between 
the  lands  of  John  Garretse,  Dorlant  and  Claes 


■d20  NOTES    ON    TOE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

Barnse,  to  the  rear  of  the  lands  of  the  said  Cloyse, 
and  ffrom  thence  southerly  to  the  old  path  now  in 
use,  and  soe  all  along  said  path  to  Philip  Vol- 
kertses  land,  taking  in  a  little  slip  of  said  Philip's 
land  on  the  south  corner,  soe  all  along  said  road 
by  Isaack  Greg's  house  to  the  Filackbush  new 
lotts  ffence,  and  soe  all  along  said  ffence  to  the 
eastward,  to  the  north-east  corner  of  Eldert  Lu- 
cas's land,  lying  within  the  IN'ew  lotts,  of  Fflatt- 
bush  aforesaid,  being  ffour  rod  wdde  all  along^  to 
be  and  continue  forever." 

This  road,  or  "  king's  highway,"  as  it  was  then 
called,  leading  from  the  ferry  to  the  old  Dutch 
Church,  or  Brooklyn  parish,  was  the  cause  of 
much  contention.  At  the  April  term  of  the  Gen- 
eral Sessions  of  tlie  Peace  for  Kings  County,  in 
1721,  indictments  were  found  for  encroaching  on 
the  "  common  high  way  of  the  King,  leading 
from  the  ferry  to  the  Church  at  Brookland," 
against  John  Rapalje,  Hans  Bergen  and  James 
Harding,  and  others. — By  which  indictments  it 
appears  that  the  road  should  have  been  four  rods 
Avide. 

These  indictments  appear  to  have  been  predi- 
cated as  well  on  the  following  application  of 
John  Rapalje  and  Hans  Bergen,  as  on  complaints 
from  several  of  tlie  inhabitants : 

"  Filatbush,  April  19, 1721.     John  Eapalje  and 


331 

Hans  Bergen  of  the  fferry,  desires  of  tne  grand 
jury  that  the  Commissioners  now  being  should  be 
presented  for  not  doing  their  duty  in  laying  out 
the  king's  highway  according  to  ye  law,  being 
the  King's  highway  is  too  narrow  from  the  ferry 
to  one  Nicalus  Cowenhoven,  living  at  Brooklyn 
and  if  all  our  neighbours  will  make  ye  road 
according  to  law,  then  ye  said  John  Rapel}e  and 
Hans  Bero^en  is  willing:  to  do  the  same  as  afore- 
said,  being  they  are  not  willing  to  suffer  more 
than  their  neighbours.  As-  witness  our  hands 
the  day  and  year  first  above  written. 

JAN  KAPELJE, 
HANS  BERGEN." 

Some  of  the  persons  indicted  considering  them- 
selves aggrieved,  and  others  who  feared  being 
placed  in  the  same  situation,  applied  to  the 
Colonial  Legislature,  and  July  27th,  1721,  ob- 
tained the  passage  of  a  law  to  "  continue  the 
conmion  road  or  king's  highway,  from  the  ferry, 
towards  the  town  of  Breuckland,  on  the  Island 
of  Nassau,  in  the  Province  of  New-York,'^  with 
the  following  preamble :  "  Whereas  several  of 
the  inhabitants  on  the  ferry,  on  the  Island  of 
Nassau,  by  their  petition  preferred  to  the  General 
Assembly,  by  setting  forth,  that  they  have  been 
molested   prosecutions,  occasioned    by  the   con- 


323  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN   OF   BROOKLYN. 

trivance  and  instigations  of  ill  and  disaffected 
persons  to  the  neighbourhood,  who  would  encroach 
upon  the  buildings  and  fences  that  have  been 
made  many  years,  alledging  the  road  was  not 
wide  enough,  to  the  great  damage  of  several  of 
the  old  inhabitants,  on  the  said  ferry ;  the  said 
road  as  it  now  is,  has  been  so  for  at  least  these 
sixty  years  past,  witliout  any  complaint,  either  of 
the  inhabitants  or  travellers." 

The  law  then  proceeds  to  establish  the  road 
"  forever,"  as  it  then  was,  from  the  ferry  upwards 
to  the  town  of  Breuckland,  as  far  as  the  swinging 
gate  of  John  Rapalje,  just  above  the  house  and 
land  belonging  to  James  Harding.  These  pro- 
ceedings will  readily  account  for  Fulton-street, 
in  the  present  village  of  Brooklyn,  being  so  nar- 
row and  crooked  in  many  places. 

Tlie  point,  however,  to  which  the  Compiler 
wishes  to  draw  the  attention  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
is  to  the  existence  and  location  of  several  public 
highways  and  landing-places  in  this  town  which 
at  present  are  known  to  very  few. 

There  is  a  public  landing-place  at  or  near  the 
mills  of  Neliemiah  Denton,  Esq.,  and  a  public 
highway  leading  thereto. — The  record  of  which 
is  as  follows  : — *'  One  common  highway  to  Ga- 
wanus  mill,  to  begin  ffrom  the  north-east  corner 
of  Leffert  Peterses  ffence,  and  soe  along  the  roade 


THE    ROAD   TO    GOWANUS.  323 

westerly,  as  it  is  now  in  use  to  the  lane  }i:  parts 
tlie  lands  of  Ilendrick  Yeclite,  and  Abraham 
Bi'ower,  and  Nicholas  Brower,  and  soe  all  along 
said  lane  as  it  is  now  in  ffence  to  the  house  of 
Jurian  Collier,  and  from  thence  all  along  the 
roade  now  in  use  to  the  said  Gowanos  mill,  being 
in  all  four  rod  wide  to  the  said  lane ;  and  that 
there  be  a  convenient  landing  place  for  all  per- 
sons whatsoever,  to  begin  ffrom  the  southermost 
side  of  said  Gowanus  mill  house,  and  ffrom  said 
house  to  run  ffour  rod  to  the  southward,  ffor  the 
transportation  of  goods  and  the  commodious  pass- 
ing of  travellers;  and  that  said  highway  to 
said  Gowanos  mill  ffrom  said  house  of  said  Jurian 
Collier  shall  be  but  two  rod  only  and  where  it  is 
now  in  use ;  said  common  highway  to  be  and 
continue  forever;  and  ffurther  that  the  ffence 
and  gate  that  now  stands  upon  the  entrance  into 
said  mill  neck,  ffor  the  inclosing  and  securing  of 
said  neck,  shall  soe  remaine  and  be  alwayes  kept 
soe  inclosed  with  a  ffence  and  hano^ino^  srate  :  and 
the  way  to  said  mill  to  be  thorow  that  gate  only 
and  to  be  alwayes  shutt  or  put  to  by  all  persons 
that  passes  thorow."  The  Commissioners  laid 
out  the  above  road  and  landing  place,  March 
28th,  1704. 

In  1709,  the  Commissioners  laid  out  another 
road  and  landing  place,  at  or  near  the  mill  of 


834  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

John  C.  Freeke,  Esq.  The  record  of  Avhich  is  as 
follows : — "  One  common  hio-hwav  to  bes^in  ffrom 
the  honse  of  Jurian  Collier  to  the  New  mill  of 
Nicholas  Brower,  now  sett  np  on  Gowanos  mill 
neck  soe  called,  as  the  way  is  now  in  nse  along 
said  neck  to  said  mill  to  be  of  two  rod  wide  ;  and 
that  there  shall  be  a  landing  place  by  said  mill 
in  the  most  convenient  place  ffor  the  transporta- 
tion of  goods  and  the  commodious  passing  of 
travellers ;  and  said  highway  and  landing  place 
to  be,  remaine  and  continue  forever." 

This  town  has  a  public  landing  place  seven  rods 
in  length,  near  the  foot  of  what  is  now  called  Dis- 
trict-street, in  the  village  of  Brooklyn. — This 
landing  place  is  mentioned  in  the  record  of  a 
road  three  rods  wide,  leading  to  the  same,  which 
record  the  Compiler  omits  inserting  in  conse- 
cpience  of  its  length  and  the  multitude  of  entries 
connected  therewith. 

It  is  believed  by  many,  and  not  without  very 
good  reason,  that  this  town  has  a  public  landing 
place  a  short  distance  to  the  North  of  the  Old  or 
Fulton  ferry,  and  which  landing  place  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  the  Corporation  of  New- York. 

There  is  a  very  distinct  tradition  of  a  road  to 
near  where  this  landing  place  is  supposed  to  have 
been,  at  the  foot  of  which  road  w^as  the  public 
slaughter  house,  where  the  butchers  of  Brooklyn 


DIVISION  OF   COMIVION   LANDS.  325 

dressed  their  meats.  The  road  referred  to,  came 
out  where  the  hoiise  of  the  Fire  Engine  No.  4 
now  stands,  and  the  existence  of  that  road  gives 
the  town  its  title  to  that  small  piece  of  ground. 

COMMON    LANDS,    AND    THE    DIVISION    THEREOF. 

The  town  having  acquired  so  great  an  extent 
of  Common  land  bj  the  purchase  of  1670,  from 
the  Indians,  the  inhabitants  thought  proper  to 
take  some  order  for  the  division  and  defending 
thereof,  together  with  their  other  lands — accord- 
ingly, "  at  a  town  meeting  held  the  25th  day  of 
February,  109f,  att  Breuklyn,  in  Kings  County. 
Then  Kesolved  to  divide  their  common  lands  and 
woods  into  three  parts,  in  maimer  following  to 
witt. 

1.  All  the  lands  and  woods  after  Bedford  and 
Cripplebush,  over  the  hills  to  the  path  of  New- 
lotts  shall  belong  to  the  inhabitants  and  free- 
holders of  the  Gowanis,  beginning  from  Jacob 
Brewer  and  soe  to  the  uttermost  bounds  of  the 
limits  of  New  Utrecht. 

2.  And  all  the  lands  and  woods  that  lyes  be- 
twixt the  abovesaid  path  and  the  highway  from 
the  ferry  towards  Flattbush,  shall  belong  to  the 
freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  Bedford  and  Crip- 
plebush. 

3.  And  all  the  lands  that  lyes  in  common  after 


323  NOTES    ON^   THE    TOWN   OF    BROOKLYN. 

the  Gowanis,  betwixt  the  limits  and  bounds  of 
Flattbush  and  N'ew  Utrecht  shall  belong  to  the 
freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn,  fred. 
neck,  the  ferry  and  the  Wallabont."  This  pro- 
ceeding of  the  Town  meeting  was  allowed  of  by 
the  Court  of  Sessions,  held  at  Flatbush,  on  the 
10th  day  of  May,  1693. 

The  following  will  serve  to  shew  the  manner 
in  which  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  elected  the 
Trustees  of  their  common  lands,  and  the  duties 
of  those  Trustees.  "  Att  a  towne  meeting  held 
this  29th  day  off  Aprill,  1699,  at  Breucklyn,  by 
order  off  Justice  Machiel  Hanssen,  ffor  to  chose 
townsmen  ffor  to  order  all  townes  business  and  to 
deffend  tlieire  li  mitts  and  bounds  and  to  dispose 
and  lay  out  sum  part  thereoff  in  lotts,  to  make 
lawes  and  orders  ffor  the  best  off  the  inhabitants, 
and  to  raise  a  small  tax  ffor  to  defray  the  towne 
charges,  now  being  or  hereaffter  to  come,  to 
receive  towns  revenues  and  to  pay  townes  debts, 
and  that  with  the  advice  off  the  Justices  off"  this 
said  towne  standing  the  space  and  time  off  two 
years.  Chosen  ffor  that  purpose  by  pluralitie  off 
votes.  Benjamin  Yande  Water,  Joores  Hanssen, 
Jan  Garretse  Dorian  t. 

By  order  of  inhabitants  affbresaid. 

J.  YANDE  WATEE,  Clarke." 


PRESERVATION   OF   PUBLIC   WOODS.  827 

These  proceedings  were  recorded  by  order  of 
tlie  Court  of  Sessions,  on  the  9tli  day  of  May, 
1699. 

The  following  proceeding  is  cnrions,  setting 
forth  the  ancient  practice  of  tradesmen  cutting 
down  timber  in  the  public  woods,  and  the  regu- 
lations made  respecting  the  same.  It  appears 
that  directly  after  the  Trustees  were  chosen  by 
the  above  meeting  they  together  with  the  Jus- 
tices, lield  the  following  meeting.  ''  Att  a  meet- 
ing held  this  29th  day  off  Aprill  (1699)  in 
Breucklyn,  Present,  Benjamin  Yande  Water, 
Jooris  Ilanssen,  Jan  Geritse  Dorlant,  being 
choisen  townsmen  in  the  presence  and  with  the 
advice  off  the  Justices  off  this  towne. 

Considering  the  greate  inconvenience,  lose  and 
intrest  that  the  inhabitants  off  this  towne  have 
by  reason  that  the  tradesmen  here  living  in  this 
towne  doe  ffall  and  cutt  the  best  trees  and  sully 
the  best  of  our  woods  and  sell  the  worke  thereoff 
made  the  most  part  to  others  living  withoute  the 
towne,  and  that  the  shoemakers  and  others  doe 
cutt  and  fall  all  the  best  treese  ffor  the  barke, 
and  the  wood  lyes  and  rott,  and  that  some  per- 
sons doe  cutt  and  ffall  trees  for  timber  and  ffens- 
ing  stuff,  and  leave  the  trees  in  the  woods  soe 
cutt  until  they  are  spoilt,  and  that  people  off 
other  towns  come  and  cutt  and  fall  trees  ffor 


328  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF    BKOOKLYN. 

timber,  ffensing  stuff,  and  ffire  woods,  and  trans- 
port the  same  away  out  off  our  townes  bounds  and 
li mitts,  and  that  without  leave  or  consent  off  the 
towne,  soe  that  in  tlie  time  off  ffew  veares  there 
shall  bee  no  woods  leaved  ffor  the  inhabitants 
ffor  timber  or  ffensing  stuff  to  the  mine  off  the 
said  towne.  It  is  thereffore  ordered.  That  ffrom 
the  date  hereoff  no  tradesman  shall  make  any 
worke  ffor  to  sell  to  others  without  thee  towne, 
ffrom  wood  soe  cutt  as  afforesaid  as  only  ffrom 
old  wood. 

That  no  shoemaker  or  others  shall  cutt  or  ffall 
any  trees  ffor  to  barke  in  the  common  woods 
upon  the  penaltie  off  fiive  pound  ffor  every  tree 
soe  cutt. 

That  no  men  shall  leave  any  timber,  ffensing 
stuffe,  or  other  wood  in  the  woods  longer  as  six 
weeks  affter  itt  is  cutt,  uppon  the  penaltie,  that  itt 
shall  be  ffree  ffor  others  to'  take  and  carry  the 
same  away  as  theire  owne  wood.  And  that  iff 
any  one  off  other  townes  shall  be  ffounden  within 
our  townes  limitts  to  cutt  or  carry  away  any 
sorts  off  woods  ffor  timber,  ffensing  stuff  or  ffire 
wood,  that  itt  shall  bee  ffree  ffor  any  one  off  this 
towne  to  take  it  away  and  to  take  out  writt  to  ar- 
rest, or  to  apprehend  such  offender  or  offenders 
presently,  and  that  the  Justices  off  this  towno  shall 
answer  the  action  as  iff  itt  were  done  by  theirt> 


DIVISION    OF    COMMON    LANDS.  329 

• 

owneselves.*  These  proceedings  were  also  re- 
corded by  order  of  the  Court  of  Sessions. 

''  Towne  meeting  held  this  5th  day  off  May, 
1701,  by  order  off  Justices  Cornel  is  Sebringh  and 
Machiell  Ilanssen.  We  the  major  part  off  the 
ffVeeholders  off  Breucklyn  doe  hereby  nominate, 
constitute  and  appoint  Capt.  Jooris  Hanssen, 
Jacob  Ilanssen  and  Cornells  Yan  Dnyn,  to  bee 
trustees  of  our  Common  and  undivided  lands,  and 
to  deffend  and  maintaine  the  rights  and  privileges 
off  onr  General  pattent,  as  well  within  as  without.*' 

"  Towne  meeting  held  this  2d  day  off  Febru- 
ary, 1701-2,  by  order  off  Justice  Cornelis  Se- 
bringh. Purposed  iff  the  order  off"  Bedford, 
made  tlie  12th  day  off  Apiil,  1G97,  shall  bee  con- 
fiirmed  concerning  the  lying  out  of  the  common 
or  undivided  lands  or  that  the  said  land  shall  bee 
lyed  out  according  to  the  last  tax,  concerning  the 
deffending  off  our  limitts. 

Resolved  by  the  ffreeholders  aforesaid,  that  the 
chosen  townsmen  shall  ley  out  the  commens  ac- 
cording as  by  the  said  order  off"  Bedford  was  con- 
cluded, with  the  fiirst  opportunitie,  and  that  all 


*  The  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed  by  this  regulation,  I 
understand  to  be,  that  the  justices  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn 
shall  have  cognizance  of  the  offence,  as  much  as  if  the  offend- 
ers resided  within  the  town. 


330  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BEOOKLYN. 

the  lotts  joyning  to  the  common  woods  shall  be 
surveyed  according  to  their  grants." 

The  following  Resolution  was  passed  for  de- 
fending those  inhabitants  to  whom  portions  of 
the  Common  lands  were  allotted,  in  their  enjoy- 
ment of  the  same.  "  Att  a  Towne  meeting  held 
att  Brookland,  in  Kings  County,  this  14:th  day  of 
March,  1701-2.  Present,  Machiel  Ilanssen,  Cor- 
nells Sebringh,  and  Hendrick  Yechten,  Esquires, 
Justices. — Eesolved,  by  the  major  part  of  the 
freeholders  of  the  said  towne  of  Brookland,  that 
every  man  that  lias  now  a  right,  lott,  or  lotts  laid 
out  in  the  quondam  Common  and  undivided 
lands  of  Brookland  aforesaid,  shall  forever  free 
liberty  have  for  egress  and  regress  to  his  said  lotts 
for  fetching  off  wood  or  otherwise,  over  all  or 
any  of  the  said  lott  or  lotts  of  the  said  free- 
holders in  the  lands  aforesaid.  And  further, 
that  if  any  of  the  said  freeholders  shall  at  any 
time  or  times  hereafter,  come  by  any  loss  or 
trouble,  cost  or  charges  by  lawe  or  otherwise,  of, 
for  or  concerning  the  title  of  any  of  their  said 
lott  or  lotts,  by  any  person  or  persons,  either 
within  the  township  of  Brookland  aiforesaid,  or 
without,  that  it  shall  be  defended  and  made  goode, 
(if  lost)  att  all  the  proper  costs  and  charges  of  all 
the  freeholders  of  said  towne  equally." 

It  appears  that  all  the  Common  lands  of  this 


DIFFERENCES   AS   TO   BOUNDS.  331 

town  had  been  divided  among  the  freeholders, 
and  a  portion  annexed  to  each  house  in  the  town. 
— A  deed  dated  the  17th  of  April,  1705,  after 
conveying  a  house  and  lot  of  land  in  this  town, 
conveys  "  alsoe  all  the  rights  and  priviledges  in 
tlie  common  woodlands  of  the  towne  of  Broock- 
land  aforesaid,  to  said  house,  belonging  as  j)er 
record  of  said  towne  may  appear."^ 

These  lands,  in  the  month  of  February,  1701- 
2,  were  surveyed  by  Fieter  Corteljeu  and  S. 
Clowes,  two  surveyors,  and  divided  by  them  into 
three  divisions.  The  first  or  west  division  consisted 
of  62  lots,  containing  about  5  acres  each,  about 
310  acres.  The  second  or  middle  division  of  62 
lots,  containing  about  10  acres  each,  about  620 
acres ;  and  the  third  or  east  division  also  of  62 
lots,  containing  about  10  acres  each,  about  620 
acres. — Total  number  of  acres  about  1550. 

DEFFEKENCES   AS    TO   BOUNDS. 

The  difference  between  this  town  and  the  city 
of  New  York,  having  been  treated  of  under  the 
head  of  Town  Rights  and  Ferries,  the  compiler 
will  confine  himself  to  the  disputes  which  for- 
merly existed  between  this  town,  and  the  towns 

*  The  records  referred  to,  together  with  all  our  other  town 
records,  were  destroyed  during  the  Revolution. 


333  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

of,  Bnshwick,  Flatbush  and  Is"ew- Utrecht,  re- 
specting their  bounds. 

The  following  proceeding  relates  generally  to 
the  defence  and  settling  of  the  limits  of  this  town. 

"  Towne  meeting  held  this  7th  day  of  February, 
1701-2,  by  order  of  Ilendrick  Yechten,  Justice. 
— The  Justice  Ilendi-ick  Yechten,  brings  in  that 
the  towns  men  were  nott  well  authorised  con- 
cerninge  the  lying  out  and  defending  of  our 
bounds  by  reason  that  they  have  no  power  to 
compounde  or  agree  with  any  of  the  neighbouring 
townes,  &c. — These  are  thereifore,  that  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  doe  give  full  power  to 
the  said  Intrusties,  for  to  agree  and  compounde 
with  any  of  the  neighbour  townes  concerning 
our  bounds,  and  all  what  our  said  Intrusties  shall 
doe  and  agree  with  them,  we  shall  stand  to  itt." 
This  proceeding  was  recorded  by  order  of  the  Court 
of  Sessions,  on  the  13th  of  May,  1702. 

DIFFERENCE    AVFTH    BUSHWICK. 

The  difference  as  to  the  bounds  of  these  two 
towns  seems  generally  to  have  been  contested 
between  individuals.  The  following  is  the  only, 
general  order  on  record  respecting  the  same  : 

At  a  Court  of  Sessions,  held  at  Flatbush  for 
Kings  County,  May  10,  1699.  ''  Uppon  the  de- 
sire of  the  inhabitants  of  Breucklyn,  that  accord- 


DIFFERENCE    WITH    FLATBISH.  383 

ing  to  use  and  order  every  three  jeare  the  lim- 
mitts  betweene  towne  and  towiie  must  be  riimi, 
tliat  a  warrant  or  order  may  be  given,  that  upon 
the  17th  off  May,  the  line  and  bounds  betwixt 
said  townes  of  Breucklyn  and  Boswyck,  shall  be 
runn  according  to  their  pattents  or  agrements." 
Ordei-ed,  "  That  an  order  should  be  past  accord- 
ing to  theire  request." 

DIFFEEENCE    WITH    FLATBUSH. 

The  dispute  between  this  town  and  Flatbush, 
respecting  their  bounds  appears  to  have  been  of 
more  importance  than  that  with  any  other  place, 
excepting  New- York. 

At  a  Court  of  Sessions,  held  for  the  West  Eiding 
of  Yorkshire,  upon  Long-Island,  the  18th  of  De- 
cember, 1678,  the  following  order  was  made : 

"  There  being  some  difference  between  the 
townes  of  Flat  Bush  and  Breucklyn  concerning 
their  bounds,  the  which  thev  are  both  willino-  to 
refer  to  Captain  Jaques  Cortelyou  and  Captain 
Richard  Stillwell  to  decide.  The  Court  doth 
approve  thereof,  and  order  their  Report  to  be  de- 
terminative." 

Messrs.  Cortelyou  and  Stillwell  complied  with 
the  requisition  of  the  above  order  a«  will  appear 
by  the  following  report :  but  subsequent  disputes 
shew  that  the  same  was  not  "  determinative." 


334  NOTES    ON   TPIE   TOWN    OF   BEOOKLYN. 

"  To  the  worsliipf  nil  Court  of  Sessions,  now  sit- 
ting at  Gravesencl,  June  21,  1683.  These  may 
certiffie  that  in  obedience  to  an  order  from  said 
Court,  and  by  consent  of  both  towns  of  Breuck- 
lyn  and  Flatbush,  to  runn  the  line  betwixt  the 
said  townes  which  are  we  underwritten  have  done 
and  marked  the  trees  betwixt  towne  and  towne, 
as  wittnesse  our  hands  the  daye  and  yeare  above 
written. 

JACQUES  COETELYOU, 
.     RICIIAED  STILLWELL." 

It  appears  by  the  following  Certificate,  that  a 
subsequent  survey  was  made  in  1684,  of  the  divi- 
sion line  between  this  town  and  Flatbush. 

"  To  satisffie  whom  itt  may  concerne,  that  I  be- 
ing with  Mr.  Jacobus  Cortland,  about  the  twenty- 
eth  day  off  November,  1684,  employed  by  Breuck- 
land  and  Fflackbush,  to  vew  and  run  out  the  line 
between e  the  two  towns  to  the  south  of  the  hills 
found  that  the  line  run  fformerly  by  Capts. 
Jaques,  Cortelyou  and  Mr.  Stillwell,  is  right  and 
just,  which  wee  both  being  agreed,  gave  in  our 
approbation  of  the  same. 

PHILIP  WELLS,  Surveyor." 

Staaten-Island,  in  the  County  of  Rich-  "> 
mond,  this  4th  day  of  April,  1687."  > 


DIFFEIIENCE    ^^^TH    FLATBUSH.  335 

The  above  Certificate  was  recorded  bj  order  of 
several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn. 

At  a  Court  of  Sessions  for  Kings  Comity,  held 
the  4th  day  of  October,  16S7,  the  following  pro- 
ceeding was  had  : 

"  Complaint  off  Jan  Oake,  and  Cornelis  Bar- 
dnff,  anthorised  by  the  inhabitants  of  Fflackbush 
being  read  against  Pieter  Cronwer,  concerning 
the  building  uppon  the  land  in  question,  betwixt 
Breucklyn  and  Fflackbush,  Itt  is  ordered,  that 
none  off  the  partys  shall  meddle  themselves  with 
the  said  land  before  the  question  off  the  said  land 
shall  be  finished." 

December  4,  IGSO.  Jooris  Bergen,  Jan  Dorlant 
and  11.  Claes  Yechte,  Commissioners  of  this 
town,  together  with  Jurrian  Bries,  Constable, 
granted  to  Jeronimius  Bemsen,  a  piece  of  land 
lying  at  Bedfoi'd,  in  lieu  of  a  piece  of  land  which 
they  had  formerly  sold  him,  lying  at  the  Port  or 
entrance,  and  which  was  claimed  by  the  town  of 
Flatbush. 

At  a  town  meeting,  held  in  this  town  the  11th 
day  of  April,  1702,  by  order  of  Justices  Machiel 
Ilanssen,  and  Cornelis  Seberingh  ;  it  was 

"  Purposed  to  choise  townsmen  in  place  off 
George  Ilanssen,  Jacob  Ilanssen,  and  Cornelis 
Yan  Duyn,  by  cause  theire  times  being  past  the 
29th  off  this  instant.     Besolved  to  prolong  the 


836  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

old  townsmen's  time  to  tlie  twenty-fifth  of  May 
next,  by  reason  they  are  in  action  off  lawe  with 
them  off  Fflackbush,  to  be  tryed  this  May  court." 
The  differences  between  these  two  towns  have 
been  amicably  settled,  and  proper  monuments 
placed  on  the  boundary  lines,  to  prevent,  if  pos- 
sible, all  future  disputes. 

DIFFERENCE   WITH   NEW  UTRECHT. 

February  14,  1702,  George  Hansen,  Jacob 
Hansen  and  Cornelius  Yan  Huyn,  Trustees  on  the 
part  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn,  and  Cornelius  Yan 
Brunt,  Peter  Cortelyou,  and  Aert  Yan  Pelt, 
Trustees  on  the  part  of  the  town  of  ]S"ew  Utrecht, 
entered  into  an  agreement,  which,  after  setting 
forth  the  said  Trastees'  powers  to  enter  into  the 
same,  proceeds  to  say,  "  that  the  courses  and  lines 
hereafter  specified  shall  be  the  exact  bounds  be- 
tween the  said  two  towns  of  Brooklyn  and  New- 
Utrecht  and  soe  to  continue  to  perpetuity  without 
any  alteration  ;  viz.  The  bounds  to  begin  in  the 
sloott  or  pond  lying  and  being  by  and  between  the 
house  of  Argyes  Yan  dyke,  of  the  said  towne  of 
Brookland  and  the  house  of  Thomas  Sharax,  of 
the  said  towne  of  N"ew  Utrecht,  where  the  water 
runns  into  the  salt  water  Kiver,  by  a  certaine 
fence  from  thence  stretching  away  south-east  one 


DITTERENCE    WITH    NEW    UTRECHT.  337 

degree  southerly,  two  hundred  eighty  and  eight 
Engh'sh  rod,  to  a  winter  white  oake  tree  markt 
on  the  south  and  north-west  side  ;  and  from 
thence  running  east  eight  and  twenty  degrees 
northerly  to  a  white  oake  tree,  heing  on  tlie  east 
side  of  the  path  leading  to  Kew-Utrccht,  afore- 
said, to  the  Gowanos  soe  called  in  the  towneship 
of  Brookland  abovesaid,  said  tree  being  markt 
on  two  sides,  and  being  formerly  the  old  markt 
tree  betweene  the  said  towns,  tfec." 

At  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the  above- 
mentioned  agreement,  the  Trustees  of  the  town 
of  Brookland,  gave  a  bond  to  the  Trustees  of  the 
town  of  New  Utrecht,  in  the  sum  of  one  thousand 
pounds  "  currant  money  of  Kew  Yorke." — The 
condition  of  which  Bond  or  obligation  was, 
"  That  if  the  above  bounden  George  Hansen, 
Jacob  Hansen  and  Cornelius  YanDuyn,  severally 
and  their  severall  heires  and  assigns,  doe  and  shall 
from  time  to  time  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  well 
and  truly  observe,  performe  and  keepe,  all  and 
every  the  covenants,  articles  of  agreements, 
which  on  their  and  every  of  their  parts,  are  or 
ought  to  be  observed,  performed  and  kept,  con- 
tained and  specified  in  and  by  certain  articles  of 
agreements  of  the  date  hereof  and  made  betweene 
the  above  bounden  George  Han-sen,  Jacob  Han- 
sen and  Cornelius  Yan  Huyn  of  the  one  part,  and 
15 


338  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BKOOKLYN. 

the  above-named  Cornelius  Yan  Briint^  Peter  Cor- 
tilljon  and  Aert  Yan  Pelt  of  the  other  part,  of, 
in  and  concerning  the  linimitts  and  bonnds  of 
their  townes  pattents,  and  that  in  and  by  all 
things  according  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  said 
articles  of  agreement  in  snch  wise  that  no  breache 
be  made  of  the  premises  in  said  articles  of  agree- 
ment by  the  towne  of  Brookland  aforesaid,  at  any 
time  or  times  hereafter,  then  this  obligation  to 
be  void  and  of  none  effect,  otherwise  to  stand 
and  remain  in  full  force,  virtue  and  power  in 
law." 

In  the  year  1797,  a  survey  was  made  of  all  the 
bonnds  of  this  town,  and  a  map  thereof  trans- 
mitted to  the  Surveyor  General  of  this  state. 


EEVOLU'nONAKY   INCIDENTS. 

This  town  had  a  full  share  of  the  militar}^  op- 
erations during  the  Pevolutionary  war ;  and  was 
for  a  long  time  in  the  possession  of  the  British 
army.  It  is  covered  with  the  remains  of  for- 
tifications which  were  thrown  up  by  the  Ameri- 
cans'^ and  English  for  their  defence  against  each 
other.     In   this  town  was  fouc^ht  the  most  san- 


*  The  fortifications  at  Red  Hook  were  erected  by  a  regi- 
ment of  Continental  troops,  the  night  of  April  8,  1776. 


INCIDENTS    OF    THE    REVOLUTION.  339 

guinarj  part  of  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  August 
27,  1776  ;  wliicli  took  place  on  the  retreat  of  the 
American  army  within  their  lines,  and  the  at- 
tempt of  a  portion  of  them  to  ford  the  mill  ponds 
at  Gowanus ;  in  which  attempt  nearly  the  whole 
of  a  Regiment  of  young  men  from  Maryland 
were  cut  off. 

Many  of  the  minor  events  connected  with  this 
battle,  and  the  Revolutionary  contest,  are  fast 
sinking  into  the  shades  of  oblivion  :  the  compiler 
has  therefore  thought  proper  to  give  place  to  the 
following  piece  of  history,  not  with  an  idea,  that 
he  can  immortalize  any  event  w^hich  he  relates  ; 
but  with  a  hope,  that  his  efforts  will  call  forth 
some  nobler  pen  to  do  justice  to  the  memories  of 
many  of  the  almost  forgotten  heroes  of  those  hard 
fought  battles  and  arduous  contests.  In  the 
battle  above-mentioned,  part  of  the  British  army 
marched  down  a  lane  or  road  leading  from  the 
Brush  tavern  to  Gowanus,  pursuing  the  Ameri- 
cans. Several  of  the  American  riflemen,  in  order 
to  be  more  secure,  and  at  the  same  time  more 
effectually  to  succeed  in  their  designs,  had  posted 
themselves  in  the  high  trees  near  the  road.  One 
of  them,  whose  name  is  now  partially  forgotten, 
shot  tlie  English  Major  Grant ;  in  this  he  passed 
unobserved.  Again  he  loaded  his  deadly  rifle, 
and  fired — another  English  oflicer  fell.     He  was 


340  NOTES   ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BEOOKLYN. 

then  marked,  and  a  platoon  ordered  to  advance, 
and  fire  into  the  tree  ;  which  order  was  immedi- 
ately carried  into  execution,  arid  the  rifleman  fell 
to  the  ground,  dead.  After  tlie  battle  was  over, 
the  two  British  officers  were  buried  in  a  field,  near 
where  they  fell,  and  their  graves  fenced  in  with 
some  posts  and  rails,  where  their  remains  still 
rest.  But  "  for  an  example  to  the  rebels,"  they 
refused  to  the  American  rifleman  the  rites  of 
sepulture ;  and  his  remains  were  exposed  on  the 
ground,  till  the  flesh  was  rotted  and  torn  off  his 
bones  by  the  fowls  of  the  air.  After  a  considera- 
ble length  of  time,  in  a  heavy  gale  of  wind,  a 
large  tree  was  uprooted  ;  in  the  cavity  formed  by 
which,  some  friends  to  the  Americans,  notwith- 
standing the  prohibition  of  the  English,  placed 
the  brave  soldier's  bones  to  mijigle  in  peace  with 
their  kindred  earth. 

August  28, 1776.  Before  day  break,  in  a  very 
thick  foo:,  General  Washinorton  retreated  with  his 
army  from  near  the  old  ferry,  Brooklyn,  to  Xew 
York.  As  the  last  boat  of  the  Americans  left 
the  shore,  the  fog  dissipated,  and  the  British  made 
their  appearance  on  the  hills  above  the  place  of 
embarkation,  when  a  shot  or  two  from  an  Ameri- 
can Battery  on  the  hill  near  the  house  of  Col. 
Henry  Rutgers,  in  New  York,  compelled  the 
British  to  desist  in  their  march  to  the  ferry. 


CAPTx\IN    KATIIAN    IIALP:.  341 

A  short  time  after  the  retreat  of  the  Americans, 


Captain  Hale,  of  the  American  army,  was  dis- 
patched by  General  AYashington,  to  see  if  the 
English  had  taken  possession  of  his  camp  at 
Brooklyn,  and  what  their  situation  was.  This 
unfortunate  young  officer  was  taken  by  the  Eng- 
lish and  hung  as  a  spj^,  without  even  a  form  of 
trial ;  and  not  allowed  a  clergyman  at  his  execu- 
tion. It  is  believed  he  was  executed  somewhere 
along  the  Brooklyn  shore,  to  the  south-west  of  the 
old  ferr}'.  In  our  pity  for  Major  Andre  we  have 
almost  entirely  lost  sight  of  this  meritorious 
officer,  whose  claims  on  our  gratitude  ought  ever 
to  be  remembered,  in  proportion  as  his  sufferings 
were  greater  than  those  of  the  former. 

During  the  stay  of  the  American  army  on 
Long  Island,  the  head  quarters  of  General  Wash- 
ington were  at  the  house  on  Brooklyn  Heights, 
now  owned  and  occupied  by  Henry  Waring,  Esq. 
The  house  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Tennis 
Joralemon,  Esq.,  was  used  by  the  English  as  a 
Hospital  during  the  Bevolution,  and  in  its  vicinity 
hundreds  of  British  soldiers  and  sailors  are  buried. 

Most  of  the  records  of  this  town  w^ere  destroyed 
by  the  English  when  they  came  in  possession  of 
it  after  the  battle  of  Long  Island. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1776,  one  of  the 
British   prison   ships,   called    the   Whitby,   was 


342  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BKOOKLYN. 

moored  in  the  Wallaboglit,  near  Eemsen's  mills. 
On  board  this  vessel  great  mortality  prevailed 
among  the  prisoners,  and  many  of  them  died. 
Those  of  the  prisoners  who  died  from  this  ship, 
and  from  the  others,  which  were  afterwards 
brought  to  this  place,  were  interred  in  the  hill  at 
the  present  Navy -Yard  ;  where  their  remains 
were  found,  and  in  the  year  1808,  deposited  in  a 
vault  erected  for  that  purpose.  March,  17Y7,  two 
other  prison  ships  anchored  in  the  Wallaboght, 
one  of  which  bore  the  name  of  Good  Hope ; 
which  vessel,  in  the  month  of  October,  in  the 
same  year,  took  fire  and  was  burnt.  The  prison- 
ers were  saved  and  transferred  to  the  other  ves- 
sels.— The  hull  of  this  ship  lies  under  a  dock  at 
the  Navy- Yard,  in  this  town.  In  the  month  of 
February,  1778,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  another 
British  prison  ship  was  burnt  in  the  Wallaboght. 
The  hull  of  this  vessel  lies  in  the  mud  in  that 
Bay.  1778,  the  Jersey  ship  of  the  line,  having 
arrived  at  New  York,  was  condemned  as  unfit  for 
the  service,  and  converted  into  a  prison  ship.  As 
such  she  anchored  in  the  Wallaboo-ht  durino^  the 
month  of  April,  in  the  same  year,  together  with 
the  Falmouth  and  Hope,  for  Hospital  ships ; 
where  they  remained  till  the  close  of  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  war. 

October  22,  1779,  An  act  of  attainder  was 


LOOSLEY'S   LOTTERY.  343 

passed  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  against 
John  Rapalje,  Esq.,  of  this  town,  by  which  his 
property  was  confiscated  to  use  of  the  State. 
That  part  of  his  property  lying  within  the  bounds 
of  the  present  village  of  Brooklyn,  was  on  the 
13th  of  July,  1784,  sold  by  the  Commissioners  of 
Forfeitures,  to  Comfort,  and  Joshua  Sands,  Esqrs. 
for  £12,430. 

In  the  year  1780,  the  British  being  apprelien- 
sive  of  an  attack  from  the  American  army  under 
General  Washington,  commenced  fortifying  the 
high  grounds  about  Brooklj'n ;  which  works  they 
continued  until  the  peace  in  1783.  In  this  town 
the  British  had  their  army  yard,  where  their  for- 
age department,  and  blacksmith's  shops,  &c.  were 
kept.  The  enti-ance  to  this  yard  was  near  the 
junction  of  Main-street  with  Fulton-street,  in  the 
present  village  of  Brooklyn. 

During  the  Bevolution,  this  place,  was  much 
resorted  to  by  the  officers  of  the  English  army, 
and  the  fashionables  of  the  day,  as  a  scene  of 
amusement.  In  the  Boyal  Gazette  of  August 
Sth,  1781,  published  at  IS^ew-York,  Charles  Loos- 
ley  advertises  a  Lottery  of  $12,500,  to  be  drawn 
at  "  Brooklyn  Ilall."  The  same  paper  contains 
the  following  advertisement :  ^*  Pro  bono  publico. 
Gentlemen  that  are  fond  of  fox  hunting,  are  re- 
quested to  meet  at  Loosley's  Tavern,  on  Ascot 


344  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

Heath,  on  Friday  morniiig  next,  between  the 
hours  of  five  and  six,  as  a  pack  of  hounds  will  be 
there  purposely  for  a  trial  of  their  abilities : 
Breakfasting  and  Relishes  until  the  Races  com- 
mence.— At  eleven  o'clock  will  be  run  for,  an 
elegant  saddle,  &c.,  value  at  least  twenty  pounds, 
for  which  upw^ards  of  tw^elve  gentlemen  will  ride 
their  own  horses. — At  twelve,  a  match  wdll  be 
rode  by  two  gentlemen.  Horse  for  Horse. — At 
one,  a  match  for  thirty  guineas,  by  two  gentle- 
men, who  will  also  ride  their  own  horses. — Din- 
ner will  be  ready  at  two  o'clock,  after  which,  and 
suitable  regalements,  racing  and  other  diversions, 
Avill  be  calculated  to  (;on(Jude  the  day  with  pleas- 
ure and  harmouy.  Brooklyn  Hall,  6th  August, 
1781." 

Lieutenant  Anberry,  in  a  letter  from  ^N'ew- 
York,  to  a  friend  in  England,  dated  October  30th, 
1781,  saySj  "on  crossing  the  East  River  from 
Tsew  York,  you  land  at  Brooklyn,  which  is  a 
scattered  village,  consisting  of  a  few  houses.  At 
this  place  is  an  excellent  Tavern,  whei'e  parties 
are  made  to  go  and  eat  fish ;  the  landlord  of 
which  has  saved  an  immense  fortune  this  war." 
The  public  house  referred  to  in  the  above  adver- 
tisements, and  letter,  was  the  same  house,  which 
after  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  Compiler's  re- 
collection, was  called  the  "  Corporation  House." 


THE    FIKST    PUBLIC    OFFICER.  345 

It  was  a  large,  gloomy,  old  fashioned  stone  edi- 
fice ;  and  was  destroyed  by  fire,  September  2od5 
1812. 

This  town  was  left  by  the  British  troops,  the 
same  day  that  they  evacnated  ^ew-York. 


ANCIENT    GOVERNMENT. 

The  first  public  officer  appointed  by  the  Dutch 
Government  for  this  town  after  its  settlement  in 
1625,  was  a  "  Superintendant,"  whose  duties  w^ere 
to  preserve  the  peace,  and  regulate  the  police  of 
the  town.  A  few  years  after  the  office  of  Super- 
intendant was  abolished,  and  the  offices  of  Schout, 
Secretary,  and  Assessor,  created ;  these  officers 
were  also  appointed  by  the  Governor.  In  16-10, 
the  town  having  considerably  increased,  the  in- 
habitants w^ere  permitted  to  elect  two  magistrates; 
subject,  however,  to  the  approval  or  rejection  of 
the  Governor.  These  magistrates  had  increased 
powers :  they  were  authorised  to  give  judgment 
in  all  cases  as  they  might  think  proper ;  provided 
that  the  judgment  so  given  be  not  contrary  to  the 
charter  of  IS^ew  IS^etherland.  Subsequently  this 
Town  Court  was  new  modelled  by  the  Dutch 
Government,  and  its  power  and  authority  more 
clearly  defined. 
15* 


346  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BKOOEXYN. 

The  inhabitants  suffering  very  much  under  the 
arbitrary  exercise  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
government,  frequently  remonstrated  against  the 
same.  Finally  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
this,  and  the  other  towns  under  the  Dutch  gov- 
ernment assembled  at  Xew  Amsterdam,  Novem- 
ber 26th,  1653,  on  an  invitation  from  the  Gover- 
nor. Where  they,  on  the  11th  of  December, 
following,  entered  into  a  remonstrance  against 
the  exclusion  of  the  people  from  their  share  in 
legislation,  and  generally  against  their  mode  of 
government.  The  Governor  and  his  Council  sent 
them  no  answer,  but  entered  one  on  the  minutes ; 
in  which  they  denied  the  right  of  this  town, 
Flatbush,  and  Flatlands,  to  send  deputies,  and 
protested  against  the  meeting,  notwithstanding 
the  same  was  held  at  the  Governor's  request. 
Entertaining  a  just  sense  of  the  responsibility 
attached  to  them,  the  deputies  made  another,  but 
ineffectual  attempt,  to  obtain  a  recognition  of 
their  rights,  and  on  the  13th  of  the  last  mentioned 
month,  presented  another  remonstrance,  in  which 
they  declared,  that  if  they  could  not  obtain  them 
from  the  Governor  and  Council,  they  would  be 
under  the  necessity  of  appealing  to  their  su- 
perior, the  States  General. — The  Governor  in  a 
fit  of  anger  dissolved  their  meeting,  and  sent 
them  home. 


DESCENT   OF   THE   NORTHERN   INDIANS.  347 

In  1654,  it  appears  that  the  country  was  very 
much  infested  with  robbers ;  to  disperse  whom, 
April  7,  1654,  the  magistrates  of  this  town,  to- 
gether with  those  of  Midwont  and  Amersfort, 
united  in  forming  a  company  of  soldiers  to  act 
against  ^'robbers  and  pirates,"  and  determined 
that  there  should  be  a  military  officer  in  each 
town,  called  a  Sergeant. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  depredations  of  the  In- 
dians, the  Governor  in  1660,  ordered  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Brooklyn  to  put  the  town  in  a  state  of 
defence ;  and  commanded  the  farmers  to  remove 
within  the  fortifications,  on  the  pain  of  forfeiting 
their  estates."^ 


*  In  1655,  a  large  body  of  Northern  Indians  raade  a  descent 
on  Staten  Island,  and  massacred  67  persons;  after  which 
they  crossed  to  Long  Island,  and  invested  Gravesend ;  which 
place  was  relieved  by  a  party  of  soldiers  from  New  Amster- 
dam. It  appears  from  the  records  that  these  Indians  were 
on  their  way  to  commence  a  war  against  the  Indians  on  the 
east  end  of  Long  Island. 

The  inhabitants  of  Flatbush  were  ordered  by  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  in  1656,  to  enclose  their  village  with  palisadoes 
to  protect  them  from  the  Indians.  These  fortifications  were 
required  to  be  kept  under  the  English  government,  as  will 
appear  by  the  following  record  of  the  Court  of  Sessions  for 
the  West  Riding  of  Yorksliire  upon  Long  Island,  December 
15th,  1675.  "  The  towne  of  Fflatbush  having  neglected  the 
making  of  ffortifications,  the  Court  take  notis  of  it,  and  reffer 
the  censure  to  ye  Governor. " 


348  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

For  the  first  two  or  three  years  under  the  Eng- 
lish government,  the  magistrates  of  this  town 
were  but  temporary  officers.  Nearly  all  that  we 
know  about  the  government  previous  to  1G69,  is, 
that  Town  Courts  were  established  in  this  Colony. 
The  inference  would  be,  that  as  this  town  was 
granted  "  all  the  rights  and  privileges  belonging 
to  a  town  within  this  government,"  a  Town  Court 
was  also  organized  here. 

The  Town  Clerk  of  this  town  was  appointed  by 
tlie  Governor,  and  confirmed  by  the  Court  of  Ses- 
sions, as  will  appear  by  the  following  record :  At 
a  Court  of  Sessions  held  at  Gravesend  for  the 
AYest  Riding  of  Yorkshire  upon  Long  Island, 
December  15,  1669.  "  Whereas  Derick  Storm 
presented  an  order  from  his  Hon.  the  Governor, 
for  tlie  approbation  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  to 
allow  him  to  be  towme  clerk  of  Breucklen,  taking 
his  oath,  the  Court  having  allowed  thereof, 
and  doe  hereby  confirme  him  of  Gierke  of  said 
towne." 

In  tlie  year  1669,  the  first  mention  is  made  in 
the  records  of  the  "  Constable  of  Breucklen  ;  " 
which  office  at  that  period  was  held  by  Michael 
Lenell.  The  duties  of  constable  as  laid  down  in 
the .  Duke's  laws  were,  holding  town  courts  wuth 
the  overseers,  and  with  them  making  assessments, 
&C.5  whipping,  or  punishing  offenders,  raising  the 


LIST    OF    CONSTABLES.  349 

hue  and  cry  after  murderers,  manslayers,  thieves, 
robbers,  burglars  ;  and  also  to  apprehend  without 
warrant  such  as  were  overtaken  with  drink,  swear- 
ing, Sabbath  bi-eaking,  vagrant  persous,  or  night- 
walkers  ;  "  provided  they  bee  taken  in  the  man- 
ner, either  by  the  sighte  of  the  constable,  or  by 
present  imformacon  from  others ;  as  alsoe  to 
make  searche  for  all  such  persons  either  on  ye 
Sabbath  daye,  or  other,  when  there  shall  bee  oc- 
cation  in  all  houses  licensed  to  sell  beere  or  wine, 
or  any  other  suspected  or  disordered  places,  and 
those  to  apprehend  and  keepe  in  safe  custody 
till  opportunity  serves  to  bring  them  before 
the  next  Justice  of  ye  Peace  for  further  exani- 
inacon."  The  Constable  was  chosen  out  of 
the  number  of  Overseers,  whose  term  of  service 
had  expired. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Constables  of 
Brooklyn,  from\669  to  1690  : 

1669.  Michael  Lenell. 

1671.  Lambert  Johnson. 

1675.  Andries  Juriaensen. 

1676.  Cornelius  Corsen. 

1678.  Thomas  Lambertse. 

1679.  John  Aeresen. 

1680.  Andries  Juriaensen. 
1682.  Martin  E-yersen. 


350  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BKOOEXTN. 

Brooklyn  and  l^ewtown  were  ordered  to  make 
a  new  clioice  according  to  law. 

1683.  Jan  Cornells  Dam. 

1684.  Thomas  Ffardon. 
1687.  John  Aertsen. 
1668.  Yolkert  Andriese. 
1689.  Jacobus  Beavois. 

1689.  Jurian  Bries. 

1690.  Jurian  Hendrickse. 

Shortly  after  the  conquest  of  this  Colony  by  the 
English  from  the  Dutch,  the  towns  of  Brooklyn, 
Bushwyck,  Midwout,  or  Flatbush,  Amersfort,  or 
Flatlands,  and  New  Utrecht,  were  formed  into  a 
separate  district  for  certain  purposes,  by  the  name 
of  the  "  Five  Dutch  towns."  A  Secretary  was 
specially  apj^ointed  for  these  five  towns,  whose 
duties  appear  to  have  been  confined  to  the  taking 
acknowledgment  of  transports,  and  marriage 
settlements,  and  proof  of  wills,  &g.  This  ofiice, 
in  1674,  was  held  by  "  Nicasius  De  Sille,  in  the 
absence  of  Sir  Ffrancis  De  Brugh."  This  same 
Mr.  De  Sille,  was  in  authority  under  the  Dutch 
government,  in  the  year  1658,  as  Schout  of  the 
city  of  New-Amsterdam.  He  was  styled,  "  Heer 
Nicasius  De  Sille."  There  was  no  uniformity  in 
the  title  of  those  acknowledging  ofticers  of  the 


THE    OVERSEERS.  351 

Five  Dutch  towns.  In  1675,  Michiel  Hainelle 
exercised  that  office,  and  styled  himself  *'  Clerk." 
In  the  same  year  the  Court  of  Sessions  for  this 
Hiding,  after  setting  forth  the  appointment  of 
Hainell,  and  calling  him  "  Secretary,"  said,  "  It 
is  the  opinion  of  the  Court  that  for  what  pub- 
lique  or  private  business  he  shall  doe  he  ought  to 
have  reasonable  satisfaction."^ 

There  were  also  in  this  town,  officers,  w^ho  were 
called  "  Overseers."  The  Duke's  Laws  provide 
for  their  appointment  in  the  following  manner. 
"  Overseers  shall  be  eight  in  number,  men  of 
good  fame,  and  life,  chosen  by  the  plurality  of 
voyces  of  the  freeholders  in  each  towne,  whereof 
foure  shall  remain  in  their  office  two  yeares  suc- 
cessively, and  foure  shall  be  changed  for  new 
ones  every  yeare  ;  which  election  shall  preceed 
the  elections  of  Constables,  in  point  of  time,  in 
regard  the  Constable  for  the  year  ensuing,  is  to 
bee  chosen  out  of  that  number  which  are  dismist 
from  their  office  of  Overseers." 


*  There  were  also  a  "  Clerk  "  in  most  if  not  in  all  of  these 
towns,  who  seems  to  have  been  authorised  to  take  proof  of 
the  execution  of  wills ;  whether  he  was  the  Town  Clerk 
does  not  appear.  This  officer  was  differently  appointed  in 
the  different  towns.  In  Bushwick  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Commissioners  of  the  town,  and  in  New  Utrecht  he  was 
elected  by  the  people,  and  approved  of  by  the  Governor. 


353  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BROOKLYN. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  oath  which  was 
administered  to  the  overseers  elect. 

"  Whereas  you  are  chosen  and  appointed  an 
Overseer  for  the  Towne  of  Breucklen  you  doe 
sweare  by  tlie  Ever-living  God,  that  you  will  faith- 
fully and  diligently  discharge  the  trust  reposed  in 
you,  in  relation  to  the  publique  and  towne  affaires, 
according  to  the  present  lawes  established,  with- 
out favour,  affection  or  partiality  to  any  person 
or  cause  which  shall  fall  under  your  cognizance  ; 
and  at  time  when  you  shall  bee  required  by  your 
superio]"S  to  attend  the  private  differences  of 
neighbours,  you  will  endeavour  to  reconcile  them: 
and  iu  all  causes  conscientiously  and  according  to 
the  best  of  your  judgment  deliver  your  voice  in 
the  towne  meetings  of  Constable  and  Overseers, 
So  helpe  you  God."  These  officers  were  com- 
monly sworn  by  the  Court  of  Sessions  ;  but  in  the 
year  1671,  the  Constable  of  N"ewtown  objected  to 
the  Court's  swearing  the  overseers  of  that  town, 
"  alledginge  that  accordinge  to  the  amendments  of 
the  law  iff  special  occation  required,  itt  is  in  the 
power  of  the  Constable  to  sweare  them,  otherwise 
not,  which  is  left  to  his  Honor  the  Governor  to 
decide."  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  for  which 
the  overseers  were  elected  were  authorised  to  de- 
termine by  a  major  vote  whether  the  said  over- 
seers  should,  on   admission   to   office,   take   the 


DUTIES    OF    THE    OVEKSEERS.  353 

oath  prescribed  as  above  ;  and  in  case  the  said 
overseers  were  not  sworn,  it  was  a  legal  objection 
against  their  proceedings  on  the  part  of  any  per- 
son prosecuted  in  their  court,  unless  the  overseers 
immediately  on  objection  being  made,  took  the 
oath,  which  the  Constable  was  permitted  to  ad- 
minister. 

It  was  the  dutv  of  the  Overseers,  tos^ether  with 
the  Constable,  to  hold  Town  Courts,  for  the  trial 
of  causes  under  £5.  Their  other  duties  are  con- 
tained in  the  following  summary.  On  the  death 
of  any  person,  tliey  were  to  repair  with  tlie  Con- 
stable, to  the  house  of  the  deceased,  and  inquire 
after  the  manner  of  his  death,  and  of  his  will  and 
testament  ;  and  if  no  will  was  found,  the  Consta- 
ble in  the  presence  of  the  Overseers  was,  witliin 
48  hours,  to  search  after  the  estate  of  the  de- 
ceased, and  to  deliver  an  account  of  the  same  in 
writing,  under  oath,  to  the  next  Justice  of  the 
Peace.  They,  together  with  the  Constable  made 
all  assessments.  If  any  Overseer  died  during  his 
term,  the  rest  of  the  Overseers  by  a  major  vote, 
made  choice  of  another  in  his  place  ;  and  if  the 
person  so  cliosen  refused  to  serve,  he  forfeited  the 
sum  of  £10,  tow^ards  defraying  tlie  town  charges. 
They  were  to  settle  the  bounds  of  the  town, 
within  twelve  months  after  the  bounds  were 
granted.      They  had   tlie  power   of   regulating 


354  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BEOOKLTN. 

fences.  They  were  authorised  together  with  the 
Constable  to  make  choice  of  two  out  of  the  eight 
overseers  of  the  Church  affairs. 

They  and  the  Constable,  were  frequently  to 
admonish  the  inhabitants  "  to  instruct  their  chil- 
dren and  servants  in  matters  of  religion,  and  the 
lavves  of  the  country."  They,  with  the  Constable, 
appointed  an  officer  "  to  record  every  man's  par- 
ticular marke,  and  see  each  man's  horse  and  colt 
branded."  The  Constable  and  two  of  the  Over- 
seers were  to  pay  the  value  of  an  Indian  coat  for 
each  wolf  killed ;  and  they  were  to  cause  the 
wolf's  head  to  be  '^  nayled  over  the  door  of  the 
Constable,  their  to  remaine,  as  also  to  cut  of  both 
the  eares  in  token  that  the  head  is  bought  and 
paid  for." 

The  following  is  the  only  list  that  the  Compiler 
could  obtain  of  the  Overseers  of  this  town. 

1671.  Frederick  Lubertse  and  Peter  Pernied- 
eare. 

1675.  John  Peterson  Mackhike,  and  Jerome 
De  Rapostelley. 

1676.  Tunis  Guis  Bergen,  and  Thomas  Lam- 
bertson. 

1679.  John  Harrill,  and  Martyn  Peyandsen. 

1680.  Symon  Aeresen,  and  Michael  Ilarsen. 
1683.     John  Aeresen,  and  Daniel  Papellie. 
In   the   year    1683,   the    "  Overseers "    were 


THE   TOWN    COMMISSIOKERS.  355 

chano^ed  to  "  Commissioners."  The  "  act  for  de- 
fraying  the  publique  and  necessary  charge  of 
each  respective  citty,  towne,  and  county  through- 
out this  province  ;  and  for  maintaining  the  poore 
and  preventing  vagabonds."  Passed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  this  colony,  November  1st,  1683, 
provides — "  That  annually  and  once  in  every 
yeare  there  shall  be  elected  a  certaine  number 
out  of  each  respective  citty,  towne,  and  county 
throughout  this  province ;  to  be  elected  and 
chosen  by  the  major  part  of  all  the  ffreeholders 
and  ffreenien  ;  which  certaine  number  so  duely 
elected  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to 
make  an  assessment  or  certaine  rate  within  their 
respective  cittys,  townes  and  countys  annually, 
and  once  in  every  yeare,  which  assessment  and 
certain  rate  so  established  as  aforesaid,  shall  bee 
paid  into  a  certaine  Treasurer,  who  shall  be  chosen 
by  a  major  part  of  all  the  ffreemen  of  each  re- 
spective citty,  towne,  and  count}^ ;  which  Trea- 
surer soe  duly  chosen,  shall  make  such  payment 
for  the  defraying  of  all  the  publique  and  necessary 
charges  of  each  respective  place  above-menconed, 
as  shall  bee  appointed  by  the  commissioners,  or 
their  President,  that  shall  be  appointed  in  each 
respective  citty,  towne,  and  county  within  this 
province,  for  he  sujyervising  the  jpxiblique  affaires 
and  charge  of  each  respective  citty,  towne  and 


356  NOTES    OX    THE    TOWN    OF    BEOOKLYN. 

county  aforesaid."  And  tlie  said  act  proceeds 
further  to  say,  "  And  whereas  it  is  tlie  custome 
and  practice  of  his  Majesties  realme  of  England, 
and  all  the  adjacent  colonjes  in  America,  that 
every  respective  county,  citty,  towne,  parrish, 
and  precinct,  doth  take  care  and  provide  for  the 
poore  who  doe  inhabit  in  their  respective  pre- 
cincts aforesaid  ;  Therefore  it  is  enacted,  &c.,  that 
for  the  time  to  come  the  respective  commis- 
sioners of  every  county,  citty,  towne,  parish,  pre- 
cinct aforesaid,  shall  make  provision  for  the 
maintainance  and  support  of  their  poore  respect- 
ively." ^ 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  Commissioners  of 
this  town  from  16S4,  to  1690,  inclusive. 

1684:,  Thomas  Lambertson,  Randolph  Emans, 
and  John  Aeresen. 

1685.  Tunis  Guis  Bergen,  and  Daniel  Ea- 
palie. 

*  This  law  provides,  that  any  person  not  having  a  visible 
estate,  or  a  manual  craft  or  occupation,  coming  into  any- 
place within  this  province,  should  give  security,  not  to  be- 
come chargeable  within  two  years  ;  and  the  captains  of  ves- 
sels bringing  passengers  into  this  j)rovince,  were  required  to 
report  them  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  place  within 
24  hours  after  their  arrival.  Under  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment the  poor  were  supported  out  of  the  fines  imposed 
for  offences  committed,  and  by  contributions  taken  up  in. 
the  Churches. 


LIST    OF   COMMISSIONERS.  357 

16S6.  Michael  Hansen,  and  Jeromus  De 
Ivapalie. 

The  town  made  choice  of  Hansen  and  De  Eap- 
alie  ;  and  were  ordered  bj  the  Court  of  Sessions 
to  make  a  new  selection  by  the  12th  of  April, 
1686,  and  return  the  same  to  one  of  the  Justices 
of  the  Peace  for  Kings  County. 

1687.  Adriaen  Bennet,  Thomas  Lambertson, 
and  Tunis  Guysbert. 

The  Court  of  Sessions  ordered  the  town  to  make 
choice  of  a  new  Commissioner  in  the  place  of 
Tunis  Gnysbert ;  which  they  according  did,  and 
elected  Jan  Gerritsen  Dorland. 

1688.  Simon  Aertsen,  Michael  Hansen,  and 
Claes  Barense. 

The  Court  of  Sessions  refused  to  swear  Michael 
Hansen. 

1690.  Joris  Hansen,  Hendrick  Claasen,  and 
Jan  Gerbritse. 

The  office  of  "Commissioner"  continued  until 
1703,  when  a  '^Supervisor"  was  elected.  The 
Supervisors  of  Kings  County  had  their  first  meet- 
ing on  the  first  Tuesday  of  October,  1703 ;  at 
which  meeting  Captain  Joras  Hansen  was  the 
Supervisor  from  Brooklyn.  The  duty  of  the 
Supervisors  was,  "to  compute,  ascertaine,  ex- 
amine, oversee,  and  allow  the  contingent,  pub- 
lick,  and  necessary  charge  of  each  county."   Two 


358  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF   BROOKLYN. 

assessors  were  also  elected  for  this  town,  whose 
names  were,  Peter  Garabrantse  and  John  E. 
Bennett ;  and  one  Collector.  This  is  not  the 
first  mention  of  the  assessors  and  collectors  of  this 
town  in  our  County  Records.  In  1688,  Michael 
Hansen  and  Daniel  Rapalie  were  chosen  assess- 
ors, for  the  purpose  of  assessing  this  town's  pro- 
portion of  a  tax  of  £308  83  Od,  which  was  im- 
posed on  King's  County.  It  is  the  opinion  of 
the  Compiler,  that  these  were  distinct  officers 
from  the  Commissioners,  whose  duty  it  was 
to  assess  the  ordinary  rates ;  and  that  these 
assessors  were  but  temporary  officers,  appoint- 
ed to  assess  this  particular  tax.  In  1699,  Jan 
Garretse  Dorlant  is  mentioned  as  Collector  of 
Brooklyn ;  and  in  1701,  John  Bybout  held  the 
same  office. 

In  1691,  a  majority  of  the  freeholders  of  the 
town  were  empowered  to  make  orders  for  the 
improvement  of  their  public  lands ;  and  annually 
to  elect  three  surveyors  of  liighways.  The  duties 
of  these  surveyors  were  to  amend  and  lay  out 
highways  and  fences.  The  town  meeting  at 
which  these  orders  were  made,  and  officers  elected, 
were  held  by  the  direction  and  under  the  super- 
intendence of  one  or  more  justices  of  the  peace. 

November  8,  1692.  The  court  of  sessions  for 
Kings  County  ordered  that  each  town  within  the 


LIST    OF    CONSTABLES.  359 

county  should  erect  "  a  good  pair  of  stocks,  and 
a  good  pound  ; "  and  tliat  the  clerk  of  the  court 
should  issue  a  warrant  to  the  constable  of  every 
town,  requiring  them  to  see  this  order  complied 
witli  "  at  their  peril."  The  following  is  a  list  of 
the  constables  of  this  town,  from  the  new  organi- 
zation of  the  colony  in  1691  to  1711,  as  far  as  the 
Compiler  has  been  able  to  ascertain  the  same : 

1693.  Yolkert  Brier. 

1697.  Volkert  Brier. 

169S.  Jacob  Hansen.  [This  man  was 
complained  of  by  the  last  constable  for  not  making 
his  appearance  at  court ;  and  the  sheriff  was  or- 
dered to  summon  him  to  appear  at  the  next  court.] 

1699.  Jacobus  Beauvois. 

1700.  Cornelius  Yerhoeven. 

1701.  Jacob  Yerdon. 

1702.  Thomas  Davies. 

1703.  Thomas  Davies. 

1704.  William  Brower. 

1705.  Jacob  Ffardon.  [This  con- 
stable refused  to  call  a  town  meeting  in  1706,  in 
compliance  with  the  requisitions  of  a  warrant  he 
had  received  from  Justice  Ffilkin,for  the  election 
of  town  officers ;  and  the  inhabitants  complained 
of  him  to  the  court  of  sessions,  who  ordered  that 
a  town  meeting  should  be  held  for  the  election 
of  town  officers,  and  that  Ffardon  should  hold 


360  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN   OF   BROOKLYN. 

over  until  a  new  constable  was  elected  and  sworn 
in  his  stead.] 

1707.  Abram  Sleghter. 

1708.  Cornelius  Collier. 

1709.  William  Brower. 
1711.  Thomas  Davies. 

For  some  time  previous  and  subsequent  to  the 
year  1693,  the  colony  was  in  a  very  disordered 
state,  arising  probably  from  its  new  organization 
after  the  Revolution  in  Great  Britain. 

At  the  same  period,  both  the  civil  and  military 
governments  in  this  town,  and  also  in  the  county, 
were  very  unpopular.  In  order  to  support  their 
authority,  the  justices  of  the  peace  resorted  to  the 
exercise  of  very  arbitrary  measures:  arresting 
and  confining  many  persons  under  the  pretence 
of  their  having  uttered  scandalous  words  against 
them  and  the  government ;  by  which  proceedings 
they  completely  alienated  the  jjeople's  affections, 
and  exasperated  them  to  such  a  degree  that  they 
committed  many  excesses :  all  which  will  appear 
by  the  following  extracts  from  the  records : 

"  October  11, 1693.  At  a  meeting  of  the  justices 
of  Kings  County,  at  the  county  hall.  Present, 
.Roeleff  Martense,  Nicholas  Stillwell,  Joseph  liege- 
man, and  Henry  Ffilkin,  esqrs.,  justices.  John 
Bibout,  of  Broockland,  in  the  county  aforesaid, 
we  aver,  being  committed  by  the  said  justices  to 


CASE    OF    HENDEICK   CLAES    VECIITE.  361 

tlie  common  jail  of  Kings  County,  for  divers 
scandalous  and  abusive  words  spoken  by  the  said 
John  against  their  majesties  justices  of  the  peace 
for  the  county  aforesaid,  to  the  contempt  of  their 
majesties  authority  and  breach  of  the  peace;  the 
said  John  having  now  humbly  submitted  himself, 
and  craves  pardon  and  mercy  of  the  said  justices 
for  his  misdemeanour,  is  discharged,  paying  the 
officer's  fees,  and  being  on  his  good  behaviour 
till  the  next  court  of  sessions,  in  November  next 
ensuing  the  date  hereof." 

In  another  instance,  during  the  same  year,  in 
the  month  of  October,  in  the  town  of  Bushwyck, 
a  man  named  Urian  Hagell,  was  imprisoned  for 
having  said  on  a  training  day,  speaking  jestingly 
of  the  soldiers,  ''  Let  us  knock  them  down,  we 
are  three  to  their  one."  The  justices  called  these 
"  mutinous,  factious,  and  seditious  words  ; " 
which,  with  the  like,  appear  to  have  been  favourite 
terms  with  them.  Again,  in  the  same  month  and 
year,  Ilendrick  Claes  Yechte,  of  the  town  of 
Brooklyn,  was  imprisoned  by  the  justices,  on  a 
charge  of  "  raising  of  dissension,  strife,  and  mu- 
tiny, among  their  majesties  subjects."  And  May 
8,  109:1:,  two  women  of  Bushwick  were  indicted 
at  the  sessions,  for  having  beat  and  pulled  the 
hair  of  Captain  Peter  Praa,  whilst  at  the  head  of 
his  company  of  soldiers  on  parade.  One  of  them 
16 


m2  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OP^    BROOKLYN. 

was  fined  £3,  and  tlie  cost,  £1  19.5.  9d. ;  and  the 
other  406'.  and  the  cost,  £1  19.5.  9d.  In  the  last 
mentioned  year  (1694)  Yolkert  Brier,  constable  of 
Brooklyn,  was  fined  £5,  and  the  costs  of  court 
amounting  to  £1,  by  the  sessions,  "  for  tearing  and 
burning  an  execution  directed  to  him  as  consta- 
ble." ^  Brier  afterwards  petitioned  the  govern- 
or to  have  the  fine  remitted  ;  a  copy  of  which  pe- 
tition is  in  the  appendix,  marked  C. 

This  town  with  respect  to  legal  mattere  was  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  of  sessions  held 
at  Gravesend,  for  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire, 
upon  Long  Island,t  until  the  year  1683 ;  when 
an  act  was  passed  by  the  first  legislative  assembly 
of  this  colony,  dividing  the  province  into  counties 
by  which  the  ridings  were  abolished.  The  court 
however,  continued  to  be  held  at  G-ravesend  until 
1686,  when  it  was  removed  to  Flatbush,  in  con- 
formity to  an  act  of  the  colonial  assembly,  passed 

*  Sept.  14,  1696,  about  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  John 
Rapale,  Isaac  Bemsen,  Joras  Yannester,  Joras  Danielse  Ra- 
pale,  Jacob  Reyersen,  Aert  Aersen,  Tunis  Buys,  Garret 
Cowenhoven,  G-abriel  Sprong,Urian  Andriese,  John  Williamse 
Bennet,  Jacob  Bennet  and  John  Meserole,  Jr.  met  armed  at 
the  court-house  of  Kings,  where  they  destroyed  and  defaced 
the  king's  arms  which  were  hanging  up  there. 

f  The  West  Riding  was  composed  of  the  towns  of  Brook- 
lyn, Bushwick,  Flatbush,  Flatlands,  New-Utrecht,  and 
Grravesend,  together  with  Staten  Island  and  Newtown. 


THE    TOWN    GOVERNMENT.  363 

in  the  year  1685.  This  town  continued  under 
the  jurisdiction  o£  that  court  and  the  court  of 
common  pleas,  which  was  afterwards  establislied, 
until  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  At  tlie 
close  of  the  war  the  courts  were  re-organized, 
and  this  town  still  continues  under  their  jurisdic- 
tion. 

PRESENT   GOVERKMENT. 

In  1816  the  village  of  Brooklyn  was  erected 
out  of  the  town,  and  constituted  a  distinct  govern- 
ment ;  thereby  forming  an  hnperium  in  i7nperio. 

The  present  government  both  of  the  town  and 
village,  approach  as  near  a  pure  democracy  as 
that  of  any  other  place  in  this  State.  JSTo  business 
of  importance  is  undertaken  without  first  having 
the  sanction  of  a  public  meeting.  Here  these 
sterling  principles,  that  all  power  emanates  from 
the  people,  and  that  public  officers  are  but  public 
servants,  are  fully  recognized  and  acted  upon. 

This  head  the  Compiler  will  divide  into  two 
divisions,  in  order  to  avoid  confusion :  First,  the 
Town  Government,  and  second,  the  Tillage  Gov- 
ernment. 

First — the  Town  Government. 

The  government  of  the  town  is  administered  by 
A  Supervisor,  elected  by  the  people,  at  the  an- 
nual town-meeting,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  April. 


3G4  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

The  duties  of  this  officer  are  principally  coniiDed 
to  the  apportionment  of  taxes,  presiding  at  elec- 
tions, &c.  He  is  also  ex-officio  a  commissioner 
of  excise  for  granting  tavern  licenses  in  the  town, 
and  the  general  guardian  of  the  town  rights. 
There  is  no  salary  attached  to  this  office  :  the  su- 
pervisor receives  a  compensation  of  two  dollars 
per  day,  for  attending  the  general  meeting  of 
the  supervisors  of  the  different  towns  in  the 
county,  and  a  trifling  amount  for  granting  licenses. 
The  present  supervisor  is  William  Furman,  esq. 

A  Town  Clerk,  also  elected  by  the  people. 
The  duties  of  this  officer  are  to  call  special  town- 
meetings  on  the  request  of  twelve  freeholders,  re- 
cord the  proceedings  of  town-meetings,  and  pre- 
serve the  records  of  the  town.  In  1G9S,  Jacob 
Yandewater,  town  clerk  of  this  town,  received 
the  sura  of  £6  5^.  for  two  years  and  six  months 
salary."^  In  1822,  in  order  to  make  the  town 
clerk's  salary  in  some  degree  proportionate  to  the 
increase  of  business,  the  town  voted  him  a  salary 
of  $50.  In  1824,  the  town  clerk's  salary  was  in- 
creased to  $75.  The  office  is  at  present  held  by 
John  Doughty,  Esq.,  who  has  been  successively 
elected  since  the  year  1796. 

*  At  the  same  period,  the  salary  of  the  clerk  of  the  county 
was  £10  per  annum. 


THE    TOWN    JUDICIAKY.  365 

Five  Assessors,  also  elected  by  the  people — 
whose  duties  are  to  assess  all  real  and  personal 
estate  liable  to  taxation  within  the  town,  and  to 
forward  such  assessment  to  the  supervisors,  that 
they  may  apportion  the  amount  of  tax  on  the 
same.  The  present  assessors  are  Messrs.  John  S. 
Bergen,  Richard  Stanton,  John  Spader,  Joseph 
Moser,  and  Andrew  Demarest.  Their  compen- 
sation is  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  day 
during  the  time  they  are  employed  in  making 
and  completing  the  assessment. 

There  are  also  elected  two  overseer's  of  the 
poor,  Messrs.  AA^illiam  Corn  well  and  Isaac  Moser ; 
one  constable  and  collector^  Mr.  John  McKenney  ; 
two  constahles,  Messrs.  John  Lawrence  and  Sam- 
uel Doxsey ;  and  several  other  ofticers,  whose 
names  and  duties  w^ill  be  set  forth  in  the  subse 
quent  parts  of  this  work. 

The  judicial  business  of  this  town  is  at  present 
transacted  by  three  justices  of  the  peace,  viz., 
John  Garrison,  John  C.  Murphy,  and  Sanmel 
Smith,  Esqs.  These  magistrates  are  appointed 
by  the  judges  of  the  com]non  pleas  and  the  super- 
visors of  the  county. 

Second — the  Village  Government. 
April  12,  1816,  the  village  of  Brooklyn  was  in- 


336      NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BKOOKLYN. 

corporated  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  this 
state.  By  this  act  the  freeholders  and  inhabi- 
tants are  authorized  annually  to  elect,  on  the  first 
Monday  of  May,  *'  Five  discreet  freeholders,  resi- 
dent within  the  said  village,  Trustees  thereof ;  " 
and  these  trustees  are  authorized  to  appoint  a 
president  and  clerk.  The  first  trustees,  Messrs. 
Andrew  Mercein,  John  Garrison,  John  Doughty, 
John  Seaman,  and  John  Dean,  were  appointed 
by  the  legislature,  and  continued  in  ofiice  until 
the  first  Monday  of  May,  1817;  when  the  first 
election  was  made  by  the  people,  and  they  made 
choice  of  Messrs.  William  Furman,  Ilenrj^  Stan- 
ton, William  Henry,  Tunis  Joralemon,  and  Noah 
Waterbury.  The  present  trustees  are  Messrs. 
Joshua  Sands,  John  Doughty,  Joseph.  Moser, 
John  Moon,  and  Samuel  James.  Joshua  Sands, 
Esq.,  president,  and  John  Dikeman,  Esq.,  clerk  of 
the  board.  Tlie  president,  previous  to  1824,  re- 
ceived no  salary ;  at  present,  his  salary  is  $300. 
The  clerk  formerly  received  a  salary  of  $100, 
which,  in  consequence  of  the  great  increase  of 
business,  is  now  raised  to  $200.  The  powers  of 
the  trustees  are  principally  "to  make,  ordain, 
constitute,  and  publish,  such  prudential  by-laws, 
rules  and  regulations,  as  they  from  time  to  time 
shall  deem  meet  and  proper ;  and  such  in  par- 
ticular as  relate  to  the  public  markets,  streets,  al- 


THE    TILLAGE    GOVERNMENT,  367 

leys,  and  highways  of  the  said  village  ;  to  di-aiiiiiig, 
tilling  up,  levelling,  paving,  improving,  and  keep- 
ing in  order  the  same  ;  relative  to  slanghter- 
houses,  houses  of  ill-fame,  and  nuisances  gene- 
rally ;  relative  to  a  village  watch,  and  ligliting 
the  streets  of  said  village  ;  relative  to  restraining 
geese,  swine,  or  cattle  of  any  kind  ;  relative  to 
the  better  improvement  of  their  common  lands  ; 
relative  to  the  inspection  of  weights  and  mea- 
sures, and  the  assize  of  bread  ;  relative  to  erect- 
ing and  regulating  hay-scales ;  relative  to  the 
licensing  of  public  porters,  cartmen,  hackney- 
coachmen,  gangers,  weigh-masters,  measurers,  in- 
spectors of  beef  and  pork,  of  wood,  of  staves  and 
heading,  and  of  lumber  ;  relative  to  public  wells, 
pumps,  and  reservoirs  or  cisterns  of  water  to  be 
kept  filled  for  the  extinguishment  of  fires ;  rela- 
tive to  the  number  of  taverns  or  inns  to  be 
licensed  in  said  villao^e;  and  relative  toanv  thino^ 

0        7  f  O 

whatsoever  that  may  concern  the  public  and  good 
government  of  the  said  village ;  but  no  such  by- 
laws shall  extend  to  the  reornlatino;  or  fixino:  the 
prices  of  any  commodities  or  articles  of  provision, 
except  the  article  of  bread,  that  may  be  ofiered 
for  sale."  The  powers  of  the  trustees  in  open- 
ing, regulating,  and  widening  streets,  are  enlarged 
and  defined  by  an  act  passed  by  the  legislature 
of  this  state,  April  9,  1824. 


3G8  KOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOEXYN. 

The  board  of  trustees  have  the  appointment 
of  several  officei-s.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the 
names  of  the  officers  at  present  holding  under  them. 

John  Lawrence,  Collector. 

Samuel  Watts,  1 

John  Titus,  K.,.  .  , 

A     1         mi  r  VVei^rhers. 

Andrew  Tombs,  ^ 

Robert  W.  Doughty,  j 

Burdet  Striker,  Measurer. 

William  A.  Sale,  Measurer  of  Lime. 

Three  village  Assessors  are  also  elected  by  the 
people,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  assessment 
on  which  to  apportion  the  village  tax.  The  pres- 
ent assessors  are  Losee  Yan  l!sostrand,  Gamaliel 
King,  and  John  D.  Conklin. 

The  Trustees,  by  an  act  passed  April  9th, 
1824:,  are  constituted  a  Board  of  Llealth.  The 
President  and  Clerk  of  the  Trustees  are  ex- 
officio  President  and  Clerk  of  the  Board  of 
Health.  The  salary  of  the  President  of  this 
Board  is  §150. 

A  Health  Physician  is  appointed  by  the  Board 
of  Health ;  which  office  is  at  present  held  by  Dr. 
J.  G.  T.  Hunt,  with  a  salary  of  $200. 

The  duties  of  the  Board  relate  to  the  general 
conservation  of  the  health  of  the  village. 

As  early  as  1809,  during  the  prevalence  of  the 


THE    BOARD    OF    HEALTH.  309 

yellow  fever  in  this  town,  the  inhabitants  met  to- 
gether in  conseqnence  of  repeated  solicitations 
from  the  Common  Council  of  New  York,  and 
after  stating  in  their  proceedings  that,  "  reports 
prevailed,  that  disease  exists  to  an  alarming  ex- 
tent in  the  town  of  Brooklyn,"  they  appointed 
the  following  gentlemen  a  committee  "for  the 
purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  state  of  the  health 
of  the  inhabitants  of  said  town,  and  to  act  as  the 
case  in  their  opinion  may  require,"  viz.,  William 
Furman,  John  Gari'ison,  Burdet  Stryker,  Henry 
Stanton,  and  Andrew  Mercein.  A  sum  of  money 
was  raised  by  subscription  to  meet  the  expense  of 
this  Committee. 

In  the  year  1819,  the  Trustees,  although  not 
strictly  invested  with  power,  yet  feeling  the 
necessity  of  acting  with  some  degree  of  energy, 
in  order  to  quiet  the  fears  of  the  inhabitants, 
arising  from  reports  of  the  existence  of  a  pesti- 
lential disease  in  New  York,  published  an  address, 
in  which  they  state,  "that  during  this  season  of 
alarm,  they  have  not  been  unmindful  of  that  part 
of  their  duty  incumbent  on  them  as  a  Board  of 
Health  for  the  village,"  and  that  "  measures  have 
been  taken  to  obtain  from  time  to  time  a  report 
of  the  state  of  health  throughout  the  village,  that 
the  inhabitants  may  be  early  apprised  of  any 
change  affecting  their  welfare." 
16* 


370  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF   BKOOKLTN. 

PUBLIC   BUILDINGS   AND   INSTITUTIONS. 

This  head  will  be  divided  into  three  divisions 
— first,  Churches;  second,  Markets;  and  third 
Public  Institutions. 

Mrst,  Churches. 

The  first  Church  established  in  Kings  County, 
was,  October  13,  1654,  when  the  Rev.  Joannes 
Theodoras  Polhemus,  a  minister  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  was  j^enniUed  by  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  to  preach  at  Midwout  (Flatbush)  and 
Amersfort  (Flatlands).*  The  congregation  was 
gathered  at  this  time ;  but  the  order  of  Governor 
Stuyvesant  for  building  the  Church  is  dated 
December  15,  1654.  February  9,  1655,  the 
Governor  ordered  the  inhabitants  of  Brooklyn 
and  Amersfort,  which  at  that  period,  together  with 
Gravesend,  were  one  congregation,  to  cut  timber 
for  the  erection  of  the  Church  at  Midwout;  which 
building  was  to  be  60  feet  in  length,  28  feet  in 
breadth,  and  14  feet  in  height  below  the  beams. 

In  order  to  accommodate  the  four  towns  of 
Gravesend,  Amersfort,  Midwout,  and  Brooklyn, 
the  Governor  ordered  that  Mr.  Polhemus  should 
preach  every  Sunday  morning  at  Midwout,  and 

*  This  minister  died  in  the  month  of  June,  1676. 


ACCOUNT   OF    CIIUKCIIES.  371 

Sunday  afternoons  alternately  at  Amersfort  and 
Brooklyn. 

In  the  year  1659,  the  inhabitants  of  this  town 
applied  to  Governor  Stnyvesant  for  permission  to 
call  a  minister  for  their  congregation,  assigning 
as  their  reason  for  their  application,  the  badness 
of  the  road  to  Flatbush,  the  difficulty  of  attend- 
ing divine  service  at  'New  York,  and  the  extreme 
old  age  and  inability  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Polhemus 
to  perform  his  services  at  Brooklyn. 

The  Governor  deemed  the  request  reasonable, 
and  sent  Nicasius  de  Sille,  Fiscal  of  New  Neth- 
erlancl,  and  Martin  Kregier,  Burgomaster,  of 
New  Amsterdam,  to  this  town,  as  a  committee  of 
inquiry,  who  reported  in  favor  of  the  application ; 
whereupon  the  request  of  the  inhabitants  was 
granted.  The  inhabitants  prepared  a  call  for  the 
Rev.  Ilem-y  Solinus,  alias  Ilenricus  Selwyn,  from 
Holland,  who  was  approved  of  by  the  classis  of 
Amsterdam,  on  the  16th  of  February,  1660,  when 
the  classis  also  gave  the  Rev.  Mr.  Solinus  a  dis- 
mission, wishing  hitn  a  safe  and  prosperous  jour- 
ney by  land  and  by  water  to  his  congregation  in 
the  New  Netherland.  The  time  of  the  arrival  of 
this  minister  is  not  known.  He  was  installed  in 
his  church  on  the  3d  of  September,  1660,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Fiscal,  and  Burgomaster  Kregier, 
by   the  order  of  Governor  Stuyvesant,  who  ap- 


372  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

pears  to  have  been  at  the  head  of  the  eccleslastic^al, 
as  well  as  the  civil  and  military  government  of 
the  colony. 

On  the  7th  of  September,  1660,  a  letter  was 
written  to  the  E-ev.  Mr.  Polhemns,  informing  him 
of  the  installation  of  the  Kev.  Mr.  Solinus  in  the 
Church  of  Brooklyn,  and  thanking  him  for  his 
labom-s  and  attention  to  the  Congregation.  The 
letter  was  sent  by  a  respectable  person,  to  whom 
the  Rev.  Mr.  PoUienius  returned  his  thanks  for 
the  attention  which  the  Church  at  Brooklyn  had 
paid  him,  and  furnished  the  messenger  with  a  list 
of  the  names  of  the  Church  menibers,  twenty- 
iive  in  number. 

Mr.  Solinus'  salary  was  600  guilders  per  an- 
num, equal  to  $200.  Three  hundred  guilders  of 
which  \vas  to  be  paid  by  Brooklyn,  and  three 
hundred  by  Fatherland  (Holland).  Some  time 
after,  the  inliabitants  of  Brooklyn  objected  to 
raising  their  proportion  of  the  salary ;  and  May 
25,  1662,  petitioned  the  Governor  that  Mr. 
Solimis  should  reside  amonor  them;  settins^  forth 
as  a  reason,  that  if  their  minister  resided  with 
them  more  people  would  go  to  church,  and  they 
would  be  better  able  to  raise  the  salary.  Gover- 
nor Stuyvesant,  in  order  to  accommodate  this 
dispute,  proposed  to  pay  250  guilders  towards 
Mr.  Solinus'  salary,  on  condition  that  he  would 


DESTKUCTION    OF   ESOPUS.  373 

preach  in  the  Bonweiy  on  Sunday  afternoons. — 
This  arrangement  appears  to  have  been  entered 
intOy  for  a  short  time  after  Mr.  Solinus  preached 
at  the  Bouwery  half  the  time. 

The  Indians  having  on  the  7th  of  June,  1663, 
attacked  the  town  of  Esopus,  burnt  the  same, 
and  destroyed  many  of  the  inhabitants,  and  took 
many  prisoners;  the  event  was  communicated  by 
Governor  Stuyvesant  to  the  church  at  Broolvlyn, 
in  the  following  manner. 

"  As  a  sorrowf  ull  accident  and  willf  ull  massaci-e 
has  been  committed  by  the  Esopus  Indians,  who 
have  with  deliberate  design  under  the  insidious 
cover  of  friendship,  determined  to  destroy  Eso- 
pus, which  they  effected  on  the  Tth  instant, 
killing  and  wounding  a  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  taking  many  prisoners,  burning  the 
new^  town,  and  desolating  the  place.  Whereupon 
the  congregation  is  directed  and  desired  by  his 
Excellency  the  Governor  General  to  observe  and 
keep  the  ensuing  AV'ednesday  as  a  day  of  fasting, 
humiliation  and  prayer  to  the  Almighty,  hoping 
that  he  may  avert  further  calamities  from  the 
ISTew  Netherlands,  and  extend  his  fatherly  pro- 
tection and  care  to  the  country.  And  it  is  fur- 
ther ordered,  that  the  first  Wednesday  in  every 
month  be  observed  in  like  manner.  By  order  of 
the  Director-General,  and  Council,  &c.     Dated  at 


874  NOTES    ON   THE   TOW^N-   OF   BROOKLYN. 

Fort  Orange,  June  26,  1663."  Wednesday  the 
4tli  of  July,  1663,  was  observed  as  a  day  of 
thanksgiving  on  account  of  a  treaty  of  peace 
having  been  made  with  the  Esopus  Indians,  and 
the  release  of  the  inhabitants  who  had  been  taken 
prisoners ;  and  also  for  the  success  obtained  over 
the  British,  who  attempted  with  flj'ing  colours  to 
take  possession  of  all  Long  Island  for  the  King 
of  England,  which  was  prevented  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  the  Dutch  fleet. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  1664,  the  Kev.  Henry 
Solinus  took  leave  of  his  congregation  and  sailed 
in  the  ship  Beaver  for  Holland.  After  his  de- 
parture, Charles  Debevoise,  the  schoolmaster  of 
the  town,  and  sexton  of  the  church,  was  directed 
to  read  prayers,  and  a  sermon  from  an  approved 
author,  every  Sabbath  day  in  the  church  for  the 
improvement  of  the  congregation,  until  another 
minister  was  called. 

The  first  Dutch  church  in  Brooklyn  was  built 
in  the  year  1666,  although  a  minister  had  been 
settled  to  preach  here  for  some  years  previous. 
— A  second  church  was  erected  on  the  site  of  that 
built  in  1666;  which  second  church  continued 
standing  until  about  1810,  when  a  new  and  sub- 
stantial church  was  erected  on  Joi-alemon  street, 
and  the  old  one  taken  down.  This  old  church 
was  a  very  gloomy  looking  building,  with  small 


LIST    OF   DUTCH   MINISTERS.  375 

windows,  and  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  highway, 
about  a  mile  from  Brooklyn  ferry.  In  removing 
it  the  workmen  found  the  remains  of  a  Hessian 
officer,  who  had  been  buried  there  in  his  uniform, 
during  the  Kevolutionary  war. 

The  Dutch  congregations  on  this  island  formed 
but  one  church,  although  they  had  different  con- 
sistories. 

The  ministers  under  the  Dutch  government 
were  not  permitted  to  marry  any  persons  without 
making  the  marriage  proclamation  on  three  suc- 
ceeding Sabbaths  in  their  churclies.  The  same 
practice  was  observed  after  the  Colony  came  un- 
der the  British  government.  The  last  mentioned 
government  however  sold  marriage  licenses,  which 
were  granted  by  the  Governor's  Secretary  in 
New  York,  for  the  sum  of  eight  dollars  each. 
The  inhabitants  generally  preferred  purchasing  a 
marriage  license,  and  thus  contributed  to  the 
revenue  of  the  Governor  and  Secretary. 

During  the  ministry  of  the  Kev.  Mr.  Solinus, 
the  marriage  fees  were  not  the  perquisite  of  the 
Minister,  as  appears  by  his  account  rendered  by 
him  to  the  Consistor^^,  on  the  29th  of  October, 
1662,  when  he  paid  over  to  the  consistory  the  sum 
of  seventy-eight  guilders  and  ten  stivers,  for  four- 
teen marriage  fees  received  by  him. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  ministers  of  the  Dutch 


876  N()Tp:3  on  the  town  of  Brooklyn. 

Reformed  Church,  who  officiated  in  the  church 
on  tliis  island  (with  the  exception  of  Poliiemus 
and  Solinus),  taken  from  a  manuscript  of  the 
Eev.  Peter  Lowe. 

Joannes  Magapolensis,  probably  died.  1668 
Casper  us  Van  Zuren  "  "     .   1677 

Clark  "  "     .   1695 

William  Lupardus  "  "     .    1709 

Bernardus  Freeman,*  from  1702  to.  ..  1741 
Yincintius  Antonides,  from  1715  to. . .  1744: 
Joannes  Arondeus,  probably  died.  .  . .   1742 

Anthony  Curtenius,  from  1730  to 1756 

Ulpianus  Yan  Sinderin,  from  1747  to.  1796 
John  Casper  Rubeb,  from  1760  to.  .  . .   1797 
Martinus  Schoonmaker,  from  1785  to  1824 
[This  venerable  pastor  was  eighty-eight  years 
of  age  at  his  death  ;  and  a  short  time  previous  of- 
ficiated in  four  congregations.] 

Peter  Lowe,  from  1787  to 1818 

In  the  month  of  April,  1708,  fifty-seven  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Brooklyn  entered  into  an  agree- 
ment (which  is  written  in  Dutch)  to  call  a  minis- 
ter from  Holland  to  preach  in  the  church  of  this 
town.  The  elders  of  the  church  at  that  time 
were  Daniel  Bapalie  and  Jores  Hanse. 

*  This  minister  was  naturalized  in  the  Court  of  Sessions 
for  Kings  County,  November  8,  1715. 


CASE    OF    IIENDEICK    YECIiTE.  377 

The  salary  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Clmrch  in  tliis 
town  was  f(jrmerly  raised  by  a  tax  on  the  whole 
town.  At  a  town  meeting,  held  February  1, 
1568,  It  was  resolved,  that  the  sum  of  £20  10s. 
should  be  raised  and  paid  into  the  hands  of  the 
"  church  masters  "  for  "  the  widow  of  Ilendrick 
Sleght,  ffor  1  year  and  8  months  salary,  and  being 
Clarke  off  the  churche." 

The  following  singular  proceediug  may  be 
amusing  to  some  readei'S,  and  will  serve  to  show 
to  what  exti-emes  both  the  people  and  the  magis- 
trates carried  themselves  in  former  times.  Ilen- 
drick Yechte,  Esq.,  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  was 
pi-esented  at  the  Kings  County  Sessions,  May  11:, 
1710,  for  coming  into  the  Brooklyn  Church,  on 
Sunday,  August  10,  1709,  "  with  his  pen  and  ink 
in  his  hand,  taking  of  peoples  names,  and  taking 
up  one  particular  mans  hatt  up,  and  in  disturbance 
of  the  minister  and  people  in  the  service  of  God, 
&c."  Yechte's  plea  was  that  in  obedience  to  an 
order  of  the  Gover^ior  he  did  go  into  the  church 
as  alledged,  "  to  take  notice  of  the  persons  that 
were  guilty  of  the  forcible  entry  made  into  the 
Church,  that  by  Abrom  Brower,  and  others,  by 
breaking  of  said  Church  doore  with  force  and 
arms,  forcibly  entering  into  said  Church,  not- 
withstanding the  forewarning  of  Mr.  Freeman 
the  minister,  and  his  people  to  the  contrary." 


378  NOTES    ON"   THE   TOWN   OF    BROOKLYN. 

The  Court  found  that  Justice  Yechte  was  not 
guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  peace,  and  discharged 
him.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Justice  Yechte 
was  a  member  of  the  Court.  There  was  a  con- 
siderable difference  of  opinion  and  m.any  disputes 
among  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  and  of  the 
County,  as  to  the  right  of  the  Hev.  Mr.  Freeman 
to  preach  ;  into  the  merits  of  which  controversy 
it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Compiler  can 
enter  at  this  distant  day.  Excepting  the  above 
proceeding  of  the  Court,  the  only  document  which 
the  Compiler  has  been  able  to  obtain  relative  to 
this  controversy  is  a  letter  from  Henry  Ffilkin, 
Esq.,  to  the  Secretary  at  New  York,  which  will 
be  found  in  the  Appendix  marked  with  the  let- 
ter D. 

December  18,  1814,  the  Trustees  of  the  Dutch 
E-eformed  Church  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn  were 
incorporated.  At  which  time  the  following  gen- 
tlemen were  officers  of  the  Church. 

Martinas  Schoonmaker, )  ^^^^^^^^^^ 

reter  Lowe,  j 

Elders. 

Fernandus  ^uydam,        Walter  Berry, 
Jeremiah  Johnson,  John  Lefferts. 


TKUSTEES    OF   DUTCH   CHURCHES.  379 

Deacons. 

Jeremiah  Brower,  Lambert  Schenck, 

Abraham  De  Bevoise,     Abraham  Eemsen. 

The  present  officers  of  this  Church  are, 
Eev.  S.  S.  Woodhull,  D.D.,  Pastor. 

JElders. 

Leffert  Lefferts,  Tunis  Joralemon, 

David  Anderson,  Nehemiah  Denton. 

Deacons. 

Theodorus  Polhemus,       James  De  Bevoise, 
Adrian  Hegeman,  Adriance  Yan  Brunt. 

September  18, 1Y85,  an  "  Independent  Meeting 
House"  was  incorporated  at  this  place.  The 
officers  of  which  were  : 

John  Matlock,  Pastor, 
George  Wall,  Assistant, 
John  Carpenter,  Treasurer, 
George  Powers,  Secretary. 

Trustees. 
William  Bunton,  John  Emery, 

Eobert  Steath,  William  Hinson. 

Barnard  Cordman, 


380  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF     BROOKLYN. 

Their  place  of  worship  was  a  frame  building 
Oil  what  is  now  the  Episcopalian  burying  ground 
in  Fulton  street.  This  conOTCP-ation  continued 
but  a  short  time,  in  consequence  of  the  seceding 
of  its  members  to  the  Episcopalian  Cliurch,  which 
was  soon  after  established  in  this  place. 

The  hrst  celebration  of  Divine  Service  after 
the  inanner  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
in  this  town,  subsequent  to  the  Kevolution,  was 
at  the  old  brick  house  known  as  Ko.  40  Fulton 
street,  and  now  owned  by  Mr.  Abiel  Titus. 

About  the  year  17S7,  the  Episcopal  Church 
was  established  in  Brooklyn,  under  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  at  the  house  on  the 
north-east  corner  of  Fulton  and  Middagh  streets; 
which  house  was  fitted  up  with  pews,  etc. 

April  23,  17ST.  "The  Episcopal  Church  of 
Brooklyn"  was  incorporated.  The  following  are 
the  names  of  the  first 

Trustees. 

Whitehead  Cornell,  Joshua  Sands, 

Joseph  Sealy,  Aquila  Giles, 

Mathew  Cleaves,  Henry  Stanton, 
John  Yan  Nostrand. 

This  congregation  afterwards  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  place  of  worship  before  used  by  the 


THE    METHODIST    CHUECHES.  381 

Independent  Congregation,  and  continued  to  wor- 
sliip  in  that  edifice  until  they  erected  the  Stone 
Chnrch  called  "  St.  Ann's  Church,"  Sands  street. 
June  22,  1795.  The  Episcopal  Church  in  this 
town  was  re-organized  and  incorporated  by  the 
name  of  "  St.  Ann's  Church." 

Church  Wardens. 
John  Yan  Nostrand,  and  George  Powers. 

Yestrymen. 

Joshua  Sands,  Aquila  Giles, 

Paul  Durel,  John  Cornell, 

Jose}>li  Fox,  Gilbert  Yan  Mater, 

William  Carpenter,  Robert  Stoddard. 

The  congregation  at  the  same  time  resolved 
that  Monday  in  Easter  week  should  be  the  time 
of  their  future  elections  for  Church  officers. 

The  stone  church  which  was  erected  on  Sands 
street,  has  continued  to  the  present  time ;  but  is 
now  in  bad  repair,  in  consequence  of  the  walls 
not  liaving  been  properly  erected.  The  Yestry 
passed  a  vote  for  erecting  a  new  church  to  front 
on  Washington  street,  the  corner  stone  of  which 
was  laid  March  31,  1824.    The  new  edifice  is  fast 


882  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

progressing,  and  promises  to  be  a  great  ornament 
to  the  place. 

The  present  officers  of  St.  Ann's  Church  are, 
Rev.  Henrv  U.  Onderdonk,  Rector. 

Church   Wardens. 
William  Cornwell,  and  Joshua  Sands. 

Yestrymen. 

James  B.  Clarke,  John  H.  Moore, 

Robert  Bach,  Robert  Carter, 

Adam  Tredwell,  Losee  Yan  Nostrand, 

Fanning'  C.  Tucker,         A.  H.  Yan  Bokkelen. 
William  Cornwell,  Treasurer. 

May  19,  1794,  the  "  First  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  "  in  this  town  was  incorporated.  The 
Trustees  at  which  period  were, 

John  Garrison,  Stephen  Hendrickson, 

Thomas  Yan  Pelt,  Richard  Everit, 

Burdet  Stryker,  Isaac  Moser. 

The  present  Meeting-house  of  this  denomina- 
tion is  erected  on  the  site  of  their  first  place  of 
worship,  on  Sands  street ;  and  is  a  neat,  plain 
edifice.     The  present  officers  are. 

Rev.  William  Ross,  Pastor  in  charge. 


FIRST   PRESBYTERIAN   CHTJECH.  383 

Trustees. 
John  Garrison,  George  Smith, 

Isaac  Moser,  Isaac  Nostrand, 

William  Foster,  John  G.  Miirph}^, 

Jacob  Brown,  R.  Van  Yoris. 

Andrew  Mercein, 

Isaac  Moser,  Treasurer. 

January  12,  1818,  the  "African  Wesley  an  Me- 
thodist Episcopal  Church  in  the  village  of  Brook- 
lyn," incorporated. 

First  Trustees. 
Peter  Croger,  Benjamin  Crogcr, 

Israel  Jemison,  John  E.  Jackson, 

Ceasar  Sprong. 


The  place  of  worship  of  this  congregation  is  a 
frame  meeting  house  situate  on  High  street. 

March  13,  1822.  The  "  First  ^  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Brooklyn  "  was  incorporated. 

First  Trustees. 

Jehiel  Jaggar,  Elkanah  Doolittle, 

Nathaniel  Ilowland,  Joseph  Sprague, 

Silas  Butler,  Alden  Spooner, 

John  B.  Graham,  George  Hall, 
Charles  H.  Pichards. 


384  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

The  corner  stone  of  this  church  was  laid,  April 
15,  1822.  The  Church  is  situate  on  Cranberry 
street ;  and  is  a  very  handsome  brick  building, 
something  in  the  Gothic  style.  The  present  offi- 
cers are : 

Hev.  Joseph  Sanford,  Pastor. 

Elders. 
Zechariah  Smith,  Selden  G-ates, 

Ezra  C.  Woodhull. 

Trustees. 
Alden  Spooner,  George  Ilall, 

Edward  Coope,  Nathaniel  Howland, 

Henry  W.  Warner,         Benjamin  Meeker, 
Elkanah  Doolittle,  Joseph  Sprague, 

Silas  Butler. 

Elkanah  Doolittle,  President  of  the  Board, 
Silas  Butler,  Clerk,  do 

Nathaniel  W.  Sandford,  Treasurer. 

November  20,  1822.  "St.  James  Eoman 
Catholic  Church,"  incorporated. 

First  Trustees. 
George  S.  Wise,  Jr.        William  Purcell, 
Peter  Turner,  James  Pose, 

Patrick  Scanlan,  Darby  Dawson, 

William  M'Laughlin. 


FIRST   BAPTIST   CHUECn.  385 

The  corner  stone  of  this  Church  was  laid,  June 
25,  1822.  The  edifice  is  of  brick,  and  ap- 
proaches nearer  to  the  Gothic  architecture  than 
any  other  building  in  this  town.  It  is  yet  un- 
finished. This  is  the  first  Eoman  Catholic  Church 
erected  on  Long  Island.  The  present  Trustees 
are : 

,  President,* 

Peter  Turner,  Secretary, 

William  Purcell,  Treasurer, 

James  Kose, 

Darby  Dawson, 

William  M'Laughlin, 

Patrick  Scanlan. 

October  15,  1823.  The  "  First  Baptist  Church 
in  Brooklyn,"  incorporated. 

Trustees. 

Eliakim  Kaymond,         Elijah  Lewis, 
John  Brown,  Richard  Poland, 

Charles  P.  Jacobs. 

March  24,  1824.  Rev.  William  C.  Hawley 
was  ordained  Pastor  of  this  Church.  This  con- 
gregation have,  as  ^^et,  erected  no  building  for 

*  This  office  was  held  by  Greorge  S.  Wise,  Jun.,  Esq., 
until  his  death  in  November,  1834. 
17 


386  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

public  worship;  but  assemble  for  that  purpose 
in  the  District  School  room,  IsTo.  1. 

There  are  also  in  this  town  some  of  the  de- 
nomination of  Friends,  and  a  small  congregation 
of  [Jniversalists ;  neither  of  which  have  estab- 
lished places  of  public  worship.  The  Universal- 
ists  are  nnder  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Hev.  AVil- 
liam  Mitchell,  aiid  assemble  for  Divine  service  in 
the  District  School-room,  No.  1. 

In  the  present  year,  this  town  purchased  ol 
Leffert  Lefferts,  Esq.,  a  small  farm  situate  at  the 
"Wallaboght ;  a  portion  of  which  was  set  off  for 
a  burying  ground,  and  divided  into  convenient 
parcels;  which  were  allotted  in  the  following 
manner  to  the  different  congregations  worship- 
ping in  the  town,  viz. 

No.  1.  Dutch  Keformed,  6.  Universalist, 

2.  Friends,  7.  Episcopalian, 

3.  Presbyterian,  8.  Baptist, 

4.  Roman  Catholic,  9.  Common. 

5.  Methodist  Episco- 

palian, 

Second,  Markets. 

A  market  was  established  in  this  town  as  early 
as  the  year  1676,  which  will  appear  from  the  fol- 


THE   BROOEXTN   MARKETS.  387 

lowing  order  of  tlie  General  Court  of  Assizes, 
made  in  the  month  of  October,  1675.  "  Upon 
proposall  of  having  a  fayre  and  Markett  in  or 
neare  this  City  (Kew  York),  It  is  ordered.  That 
after  this  season,  there  shall  yearely  bee  kept  a 
fayre  and  markett  at  Breucklen  near  the  ferry, 
for  all  grayne,  cattle,  or  other  produce  of  the 
countrey,  to  be  held  the  first  Munday,  Tuesday, 
and  Wednesday,  in  November ;  and  in  the  City 
of  New  York,  the  Thursday,  Friday,  and  Satur- 
day following." 

Previous  to  the  year  1814,  there  were  two  mar- 
kets in  this  place ;  one  of  w^hich  was  situate  at 
the  foot  of  the  old  ferry  street ;  and  the  other  at 
the  foot  of  Main  street.  Both  these  markets 
were  taken  down  in  1814. 

At  present  we  have  no  public  market ;  the  in- 
habitants are  supplied  from  several  butchers' 
shops  for  the  sale  of  meat,  and  stands  for  vege- 
tables, scattered  about  in  different  parts  of  the 
village.  The  people  have  been  for  some  time 
past  endeavouring  to  obtain  a  public  market,  and 
the  great  difficulty  appears  to  be  the  location  of 
a  proper  site.  At  a  village  meeting,  held  June 
26,  1824,  the  sum  of  $10,000  was  voted  to  erect 
a  brick  market  liouse  and  Village  Hall,  with 
other  offices.  This  amount  it  was  resolved,  should 
be  raised  by  a  loan  for  not  less  than  ten  years,  at 


388  NOTES    ON   TBffi   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

six  per  cent;  that  the  proceeds  of  the  market 
arising  from  the  letting  of  stalls,  etc.,  should  be 
appropriated  to  paying  tlie  interest  of  said  loan  ; 
and  that  if  in  process  of  time  there  should  be  a 
surplus,  after  paying  the  interest,  the  same 
should  be  converted  into  a  sinking  fund  for  ex- 
tinguishing the  principal.  These  resolutions  have 
not  as  yet  been  carried  into  effect. 

Third,  Public  Institutions, 

Of  public  institutions  we  have  not  many  to 
boast — they  may  be  strictly  confined  to  one  Bank, 
a  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  an  Apprentices' 
Library. 

The  "  Long  Island  Bank "  was  incorporated, 
April  1st,  1824,  with  a  capital  of  $300,000,  di- 
vided into  six  thousand  shares  of  $50  each.  The 
present  officers  are,  Leffert  Lefferts,  Esq.,  Presi- 
dent, and  D.  Embury,  Cashier. 

The  "  Brooklyn  Fire  Insurance  Company " 
was  incorporated,  April  3,  1824,  with  a  capital 
of  $150,000,  divided  into  six  thousand  shares  of 
$25  each.  The  present  officers  of  this  institution 
are  William  Furntan,  President,  and  Freeman 
Hopkins,  Secretary. 

There  is  also  in  this  village  a  branch  of  the 
"  Equitable  Fire  Insurance  Company ;  "  of  which 
Abraham  Yanderveer,  Esq.,  is  Agent. 


THE   MxiSONIC   LODGES.  389 

The  Apprentice's  Library  Association,  which 
has  been  formed  but  a  short  time,  promises  to  be 
of  great  benefit  to  the  apprentices  of  the  phice, 
by  introducing  among  them  habits  of  reading 
and  reflection,  which,  if  properly  attended  to, 
will  enable  them  to  support  the  honourable  char- 
acter of  good  citizens. 

The  Library  at  present  consists  of  about  twelve 
hundred  volumes,  which  have  been  presented  by 
different  individuals.  About  one  hundred  ap- 
prentices take  books  from  it,  regularly  once  a 
week.  This  institution  was  incorporated  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  in  November,  1S24:. 
The  present  officers  are  : 

Robert  Snow,  President ;  Thomas  Kirk,  Yice- 
President ;  Andrew  Mercein,  Treasurer ;  Robert 
Nicholls,  Secretary. 

Under  this  head  it  may  be  proper  to  notice, 
that  there  are  two  Masonic  Lodges  in  this  town, 
and  a  Post  office. 

Fortitude  Lodge,  ]^o.  81. — W.  Levi  Porter, 
Master. 

Ilohenlinden  Lodge,  N"o.  338. — W.  Abiathar 
Young,  Master. 

The  Post  office  is  kept  at  Is'o.  97  Fulton  street, 
by  George  L.  Birch,  Esq.,  Post  Master.  The 
mail  is  carried  daily  (Sundays  excepted)  between 


390  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

Bi'ooklyn  and  I^ew  York,  and  closes  at  Brooklyn 
at  8  A.  M.  and  arrives  at  4c  P.  M. 


POPULATION  AND   INCKEASE. 

Within  a  few  years  this  town,  and  particularly 
the  village  has  increased  very  rapidly.  In  1814, 
the  town  of  Brooklyn  contained  3805  inhabitants  ; 
and  in  1816,  the  town  contained  4402  inhabitants. 
In  1820,  the  census  was  as  follows  (being  almost 
two-thirds  of  the  population  of  the  Count}-). 


White  males 

i,  under  10  years  of  age,    876 

do. 

between  10  and  16            376 

do. 

between  16  and  26            717 

do. 

between  26  and  45            961 

do. 

between  45  and  upwards,379 

3309 

White  females,  under  10  years  of  age,  876 

do. 

between  10  and  16            398 

do. 

between  16  and  26            705 

do. 

between  26  and  45            961 

do. 

between  45  and  upwards,379 

3319 

Free  blacks, 

657 

Slaves, 

190 

7475 


POPULATION   AND   INCREASE.  391 

Foreigners  not  naturalized       -         .       -       252 
Persons  engaged  in  Agriculture,         -       -  264 
do.  in  Commerce,       -       -         67 

do.  in  Manufactures,     -       -  497 

The    following  account  of  the  population  of 
Kings  County  at  different  periods,   may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  many  readers. 
The  population  of  Kings  Coun- 
ty in  1731  was     2150 


1756 

2707 

1771 

3623 

1786 

3966 

1790 

4495 

1800 

5740 

1810 

8303 

1820 

11187  ^ 

*  Governor  NicoUs,  in  a  letter  to  the  Duke  of  York,  No- 
vember, 16G5,  informed  him  "that  such  is  the  mean  condi- 
tion of  this  town  (New  York),  that  not  one  soldier  to  this 
day  has  lain  in  sheets,  or  upon  any  other  bed  than  canvas 
and  straw." 

1678.  New  York  contained  843  houses,  and  3430  inhabi- 
tants ;  and  there  were  owned  in  the  city  three  ships,  eight 
gloops  and  seven  boats. 

1686.  The  City  of  New  York  contained  594  houses,  and 
6000  inhabitants ;  and  there  were  owned  in  it  10  three-masted 
vessels  of  between  80  and  100  tons;  3  ketches  or  barques,  of 
about  40  tons  ;  and  about  20  sloops,  of  25  tons.  In  the  same 
year  the  militia  of  the  colony  consisted  of  4000  foot,  800 
horse,  and  one  company  of  drag'oons. 


392  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF   BEOOIvLYN. 

In  1706,  there"  were  64  f  eeholders  in  the  town 
of  Brooklyn.  In  1802  their  number  had  only  in- 
creased to  S6,  as  appears  from  the  list  of  Jurors 

1696,  There  were  owned  in  the  City  of  New  York,  40 
ships,  62  sloops,  and  62  boats. 

In  1697,  the  population  of  New  York  has  considerably  de- 
creased, from  what  it  was  in  1686  ;  the  census  taken  thia 
year  was  as  follows : 

f  Men,         -         -         -      946 

'   Women,        -         -          1018 

Whites   I  Young  men  and  boys,    864 

I  Young-  women  and  girls  899 

3727 

(Men,         -        -         -      209 
Blacks  ]  Women,         -         -       -  205 

( Boys  and  girls,  -      -      161       575 

Total,     4303 

1731.     The  City  of  New  York  contained 

White  males,        -        -        -        3771 
White  females,         -        -        -   3274    7045 

Black  males,        -         -        -  785 

Black  females,         -        -        -      792     1577 

Total,    8622 

1756.  The  City  contained  10,881  inhabitants. 

1771.  It  contained  21,863  inhabitants. 

1736.  It  contained  3,340  houses,  and  23,614  inhabitants. 

1790.  It  contained  33,131  inhabitants 

1800.  60,489 

18ia.  96,373 

1820.  139,000 


GROWTH    OF    BEOOKLYN.  393 

at  that  period.  In  the  year  1800,  there  were 
253  votes  given  in  this  town,  at  a  contested  elec- 
tion for  assemblyman.  In  1824,  on  the  same 
occasion  1013  votes  were  taken. 

At  the  close  of  the  Eevolutionary  war,  the 
town  of  Brooklyn  within  the  bounds  of  the  pres- 
ent village  contained  56  buildings.  In  1821,  the 
village  contained  867  buildings;  of  which  96 
were  Groceries  and  Taverns,  and  several  store- 
houses. These  store-houses  depend  principally, 
on  the  operations  of  the  Quarantine  laws,  in  the 
months  of  June,  July  and  August,  for  business. 
On  the  23d  of  July  in  the  same  year,  there  were 
lying  at  the  wharves  in  this  village,  13  ships,  9 
brigs,  8  schooners,  and  14  sloops.  July  1,  1824, 
there  were  lying  at  the  wharves  in  this  village,  8 
ships,  16  brigs,  20  schooners,  and  12  sloops. 

In  1822,  50  dwelling-houses  were  erected  in 
this  village.  In  1823,  122  frame  dwellings  and 
32  brick  and  brick  front  buildings  were  erected. 
January  1,  1824,  the  village  of  Brooklyn  con- 
tained 113  stone,  brick  and  brick  front  buildings. 
During  the  present  year  143  frame  dwelling- 
houses  have  been  built  in  this  village. 

The  town  contains  8  Ropewalks,  which  manu- 
facture 1130  tons  of  cordage  annually  ;  4  Distil- 
leries ;  2  Spirits  of  Turpentine  Distilleries ;  1 
Glue    factory ;  1  Chain    cable  manufactory ;  2 


17 


394     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BUOOKLTN. 

Tanneries ;  2  White  lead  works ;  1  Whiting 
manufactory ;  1  Glass  factory  and  1  Furnace  for 
casting  iron.  The  manufacture  of  Hats  is  con- 
ducted on  a  large  scale  in  this  place. 

In  the  year  1703,  a  survey  was  made  of 
"  Broocklands  improveable  lands  and  meadows 
within  fence,"  and  the  same  was  found  to  amount 
to  51Y7  acres.  At  that  period  the  greatest  holder 
of  that  description  of  land  was  Simon  Aersen, 
who  owned  200  acres.  In  1706,  all  the  real  and 
personal  estates  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn  were  as- 
sessed at  £3122  12s.  Od.  The  tax  on  which  was 
£41  33.  7^(1.,  and  the  whole  tax  of  the  county 
£201  16s.  lid.  In  1707,  the  real  and  personal 
estates  of  this  town  assessed  at  £3091  lis.  Od., 
the  government  tax  on  which  was  for  the  same 
year  £116  7s.  3d.,  payable  in  two  payments ;  and 
the  whole  tax  of  the  county  £448  3s.  7d.  The 
present  year  the  real  estate  in  this  town  was  as- 
sessed at  $2,111,390.  And  the  personal  estate 
at  $488,690 ;  being  considerably  more  than  one 
half  of  the  whole  value  of  the  county.  The  State, 
county  and  town  tax  on  which  amounts  to  $6,- 
497.71.  At  this  period  there  are  in  the  village 
1149  taxable  persons,  and  the  village  tax  amounts 
to  $2,625.76,  averaging  about  $2.29,  each  taxable 
person.  This  village  tax  includes  $450  raised  to 
meet  the  expenses  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and 


VALUE   OF   REAL   ESTATE.  395 

is  exclusive  of  all  local  assessments  for  opening 
and  improving  streets,  &c. 

The  receipts  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor  of 
this  town  for  the  year  1823,  amounted  to  §3108.- 
Y7,  and  their  expenditures  to  $3469.49,  leaving  a 
balance  of  $360.72  against  the  town. 

On  the  22d  of  March,  1823,  there  were  54 
persons  in  the  Almshouse;  51  persons  were  ad- 
mitted during  the  year  ending  March  30,  1824. 
During  the  same  period  34  were  discharged,  and 
10  died.  March  30,  1824,  there  w^ere  in  the 
almshouse  40  persons,  viz.,  11  men,  16  women,  5 
girls,  and  8  boys.  In  the  winter  of  1823-4,  93 
loads  of  wood  were  distributed  from  this  institu- 
tion among  the  poor  of  the  town.* 

April  21,  1701,  a  piece  of  land  about  100  feet 
square,  lying  within  the  present  bounds  of  the 
village  of  Brooklyn,  was  sold  far  £75,  "  current 
money  of  the  Province  of  ISTew  York."  1720,  a 
dwelling-house  and  lot  of  ground,  containing  62 
feet  front,  61  feet  rear,  and  111  feet  deep,  near 
the  ferry,  on  the  north-east  side  of  what  is  now 
called  Fulton  street,  sold  for  £260,  ''  current 
money  of  New  York."  In  the  year  1784,  all  the 
property  owned  by  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 

*  The  town  is  now  erecting  a  very  neat  building  for  an 
almshouse,  on  the  property  lately  purchased  from  Leffert 
Lefferts,  Esq. 


396  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    EKOOKLTN. 

New  York  in  this  town  was  assessed  at  £365, 
New  York  currency,  which  property  is  now 
worth  $50,000  at  the  lowest  calculation. 

August  30,1701,  John  Bybon  sold  to  Cornelius 
Yanderhove,  for  £37  10s,  the  one  equal  half- 
part  of  a  brew-house,  situate  at  Bedford,  in  the 
town  of  Brookland,  fronting  the  highway  leading 
from  Bedford  to  Cripplebush ;  together  with  one 
equal  half- part  of  all  the  brewing  vessels,  &c. 

In  1685,  a  windmill  was  erected  in  this  town 
by  John  Yannise  and  Peter  Hendricks,  for 
Michael  Ilainell.  There  is  a  great  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  this  was  the  first  mill  erected  in  this 
town.  August  19,  1689,  an  agreement  was  en- 
tered into  between  Cornelius  Seberingh,  of 
Brookland,  and  John  Marsh,  of  East  Jersey, 
relative  to  building  a  watermill  on  Graver's 
kill,  in  this  town.  At  present  there  are  in  this 
town  seven  watermills  and  two  windmills.  From 
February  16,  1823,  to  February  15,  1824,  5,825 
barrels  of  superfine  flour,  260  barrels  of  fine  flour, 
and  124  hogsheads  of  cornmeal  were  inspected  in 
this  county.  The  most,  if  not  all,  of  which  flour 
and  meal  was  manufactured  at  the  mills  in  this 
place. 


May,    1661,    Charles    Debevoise   was    recom- 
mended by  Governor  Stuyvesant  as  a  suitable 


SCHOOLS    AND    SCHOOLMASTEES.  397 

person  for  schoolmaster  of  this  town,  and  also  for 
clerk  and  sexton  of  the  church,  who  was  employ- 
ed and  received  a  good  salary. 

Immediately  previous  to  the  Revolutionary  war, 
that  part  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn  which  is  now 
comprised  in  the  bounds  of  tlie  village,  and  for 
some  distance  without  those  bounds,  supported 
but  one  school  of  nineteen  scholars,  five  of  whom 
were  out  of  the  family  of  Mr.  Andrew  Patchen. 
The  school-house  was  situated  on  the  hill,  on 
property  which  was  then  owned  by  Israel  IIoi-s- 
field,  but  now  belongs  to  the  heirs  of  Carey 
Ludlow,  deceased.  The  teacher  was  Benjamin 
Brown,  a  staunch  whig  from  Connecticut. 

District  School,  No,  1. — This  school  was  or- 
ganized at  a  public  meeting  held  January  2, 
1816,  at  which  meeting  Andrew  Mercein,  John 
Seaman  and  Robert  Snow  were  elected  trustees, 
and  John  Doughty  clerk  of  the  school.  The 
trustees  were  appointed  a  committee  to  ascertain 
a  proper  site  for  building  a  school-house,  and  re- 
port the  probable  expense  thereof.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  January  12,  1816,  the  trustees  reported 
that  they  could  purchase  four  lots  of  ground  on 
Concord  street,  of  Mr.  Noah  Waterbury,  for  $550. 
The  meeting  thereupon  resolved,  that  "  the  sum 
of  $2,000  should  be  raised  by  tax  on  the  inhkbi- 
tants  of  the  said  district,  to  purchase  said  lots  and 


398  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

to  build  a  school-lionse  thereon  ; "  and  that  in  the 
meantime  the  ^'Loisian  school  be  the  common 
school  of  the  said  district;"  and  that  "the 
trustees  of  the  district  be  authorized  to  ex- 
onerate from  payment  of  teacher's  wages  all 
such  poor  and  indigent  persons  as  they  shall 
think  proper,  pursuant  to  the  act  of  the  legisla- 
ture ; "  and  that  "  it  be  recommended  by  this 
meeting,  that  the  common  school  to  be  taught 
in  this  district,  be  on  the  Lancastrian  plan  of 
instruction." 

In  the  school  of  this  district,  which  includes 
the  village  of  Brooklyn,  upwards  of  200  children 
are  taught.  The  price  of  tuition  does  not  exceed 
four  dollars  per  annum,  and  from  that  amount 
down  to  nothing,  in  proportion  to  the  abilities  of 
the  parent.  The  School  District  No.  1,  at  present 
contains  1,607  children  between  the  ages  of  five 
and  fifteen  years,  of  whom  1,157  go  to  the  public 
or  private  schools. 

In  1821  there  were  eight  private  schools  in  the 
village  of  Brooklyn. 

In  1823  the  town  received  from  the  State 
$418.13  for  the  support  of  common  schools. 

The  present  officers  connected  with  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  town  are : 

Commissioners :  Jordan  Coles,  Robert  Nichols, 
Josiah  Noyes. 


BROOKLYN   NEWSPAPEES.  399 

Inspectors  :  Charles  1.  DoTighty,  Evan  Beynon, 
Robert  Snow. 

Trustees  of  District  School  Bo.  1 :  "William 
Cornwell,  Joseph  Sprague,  Charles  I.  Doughty. 
Clerk:  Ralph  Malbone. 

Newsjpajpers, 

Four  newspapers  have  been  published  in  this 
town  in  the  following  chronological  order : 

June  26,  1T99.  Tlie  first  number  of  The  Cou- 
rier and  New  York  and  Long  Island  Adver- 
tiser^ published  by  Thomas  Kirk,  Esq.  This 
was  the  first  newspaper  established  on  Long 
Island. 

May  26,  1806.  The  first  number  of  The  Long 
Island  Weekly  Intelligencer^  published  by  Messrs. 
Robinson  and  Little. 

June  1,  1809.  The  first  number  of  The  Long 
Island  Star,  published  by  Thomas  Kirk,  Esq. 

March  7,  1821.  The  first  number  of  The  Long 
Island  Patriot,  published  by  Geo.  L.  Birch,  Esq. 

In  the  month  of  E^ovember,  1810,  proposals 
were  issued  by  Benjamin  F.  Cowdrey  &  Co.  for 
establishing  in  Bix)oklyn  a  weekly  newspaper,  to 
be  entitled  The  Long  Island  Journal  and 
American  Freeman.  For  some  reason  unknown 
to  the  Compiler  this  paper  was  not  published. 


400     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BROOKLYN. 

During  the  month  of  May,  1820,  Erockholst 
Livingston,  Jun.,  issued  proposals  for  publishing  a 
weekly  newspaper  in  this  village,  to  be  entitled 
The  Long  Island  Hepiiblican.  J^Tot  meeting 
with  sufficient  encouragement,  this  attempt  was 
abandoned. 

The  only  two  papers  now  in  existence  in  this 
town  are  The  Star,  published  by  Alden  Spooner, 
Esq.,  and  The  Long  Island  Patriot,  by  George 
L.  Birch,  Esq. 

Moral  Character. 

It  is  a  delicate  subject  for  a  writer  to  treat  of 
the  morals  of  a  people  among  whom  he  is  a 
resident,  lest  by  telling  the  truth  too  plainly,  he 
awaken  unpleasant  feelings  in  the  breasts  of  some 
whom  perhaps  he  would  not  wish  to  offend.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  glaring  faults  are  slightly 
passed  over,  or  palliated,  it  calls  down  on  his  de- 
voted head  all  the  envenomed  attacks  of  malicious 
criticism.  The  Compiler,  however,  flatters  him- 
self that  neither  will  be  the  case  in  this  instance. 

The  people  of  Brooklyn,  it  is  true,  cannot  be 
considered  as  rigid  in  religious  matters  as  the 
saints  of  Oliver  Cromwell's  army,  whose  very 
cannon  had  on  the  inscription  of  "  O  Lord,  open 
thou  our  lips,  and  our  mouth  shall  show  forth  thy 


THE    FIEE    DEPARTMENT.  401 

praise ! "  But  they  are  far  from  being  irre- 
ligious ;  the  churches  are  well  filled,  religious  so- 
cieties are  liberally  supported,  vice  discounten- 
anced ;  and  for  the  more  effectual  suppression 
thereof,  in  1815,  a  society  for  the  suppression  (if 
vice  and  immorality  was  formed,  consisting  of 
many  of  tlie  most  respectable  inhal)itants  of  the 
town.  By  the  exertions  of  our  Sunday-school  so- 
cieties, attached  to  the  different  congregations,  the 
morals  of  the  younger  part  of  the  community 
have  been  greatly  reformed  ;  and  it  is  highly  gra- 
tifying to  observe  the  improvement  made  in  the 
general  morals  of  the  town,  in  consequence  of 
their  benevolent  exertions. 


FIKE   DEPARTMENT. 

Although  this  might  with  some  propriety  be 
placed  under  the  head  of  Public  Institutions,  the 
Compiler  has  thought  proper  to  make  it  a  head  of 
itself ;  and  he  hopes  that  the  following  few  his- 
torical facts  relative  to  this  valuable  depai'tment, 
may  be  useful  to  such  as  feel  an  interest  in  its 
progression  and  improvement. 

By  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  this 
State,  March  15,  17S8, ''  for  the  better  extinguish- 
ing of  fires  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn,"  the  number 


402     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BROOKLYN. 

of  firemen  was  limited  to  eiglit,  who  were  nomi- 
nated and  appointed  by  the  freeholders  and  in- 
habitants of  the  fire  district,  which  was  comprised 
within  nearly  the  same  bounds  with  the  present 
village. 

In  the  year  1794  the  smn  of  £188  19^.  lOcl 
was  raised  by  subscription  in  this  town,  for  pur- 
chasino^  a  fire  engine.  On  the  24tli  March  in  the 
following  3'ear,  an  act  was  passed  by  tlie  legisla- 
ture "  for  the  better  extinguishing  of  fires  "  in  this 
town ;  by  which  act  the  number  of  firemen  was 
increased  to  thirty. 

1796.  The  sum  of  £49  4:S.  was  raised  by  sub- 
scription for  purchasing  "  a  suitable  bell  for  the 
use  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn."  This  is  the 
present  fire  bell. 

March  21,  1797,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legis- 
lature "  for  the  prevention  of  fires,  and  for  regu- 
latino^  the  assize  of  bread  in  the  town  of  Brook- 
lyn."  This  act  authorized  the  inhabitants  to 
choose  not  less  than  three,  nor  more  than  five 
freeholders,  who  might  from  time  to  time  make 
such  prudential  by-laws  as  they  judged  necessary 
for  the  prevention  of  fires  by  the  burning  of 
chimneys,  and  for  sweeping  and  otherwise  cleans- 
ing the  same.  The  inhabitants  accordingly  met 
on  the  second  Tuesday  of  May,  in  the  same  year, 
and    appointed    Messrs.    Henry   Stanton,    John 


THE    ''WASHINGTON'     FIRE-ENGINE.  403 

Doiightj,  Martin  Boerum,  John  Yan  Nostrand, 
and  John  Fisher,  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions 
of  the  above  act.  In  the  execution  of  which  duty 
the  persons  so  appointed  ordained,  that  from  and 
after  the  11th  day  of  July,  1797,  a  fine  of  ten 
shillings  should  be  levied  on  each  person  whose 
chimney  should  take  fire  through  carelessness,  or 
be  set  on  fire  for  the  purpose  of  cleansing ;  and 
that  "  all  penalties  shall  be  received  and  recovered 
by  tlie  clerk  of  the  fire  company  for  the  time 
being,  if  he  be  one  of  the  persons  so  chosen ;  if 
not,  the  said  persons  elected  shall  nominate  and 
appoint  one  of  their  number  to  serve  for  and  re- 
ceive in  the  same  maimer  that  the  clerk  is  at 
present  authorized."  From  1798  to  August  6, 
1806,  the  sum  of  £20  7s.  was  received  for 
chimney  fines. 

For  a  considerable  length  of  time  this  town 
had  but  one  small  fire  engine  ;  they  subsequently 
purchased  another,  which  was  called  Xo.  2. 
About  1810,  Ko.  3,  now  styled  the  "  Franklin," 
was  purchased  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Fire  Dis- 
trict. The  Fire  Department  of  the  village  at 
present  consists  of  four  Fire  Engines  (of  which 
three  are  new,  namely,  IN^os.  1,  2,  and  4),  and 
a  Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  viz. : 

No.  1.  "Washington,"  full  complement  30 
men.      Foreman,  Joshua  Sutton. 


404  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

No.  2.  "  Keptuiie,"  full  complement  30  men, 
Foreman,  Gamaliel  King, 

No.  3,  "  Franklin,"  full  complement  30  men, 
Foreman,  Jeremiah  Wells. 

No.  4,  "  Eagle,"  full  complement  30  men,  Fore- 
man, George  Fricke. 

Hook  and  Ladder  Company,  full  complement 
30  men.  Foreman,  John  Smith. 

There  are  also  in  the  Navy  Yard,  two  excellent 
fire  engines,  well  manned,  and  which,  together 
witli  those  from  New  York,  generously  come  to 
our  assistance  whenever  our  place  is  visited  by 
that  dreadful  calamity,  fire. 

The  receipts  of  the  Fire  Department,  from 
1794  to  1815,  amounted  to  £89S  10s.  Id.  and 
the  expenditures  from  July  7,  1795,  to  November 
15,  1816,  amounted  to  £964  3s.  3d. 

The  office  of  Clerk  and  Treasurer  of  the  Fire 
Department  of  this  town,  was  held  by  John 
Ilicks,  Esq.,  until  1796 ;  at  which  time  Jolm 
Doughty,  Esq.,  was  appointed,  and  held  that 
office  until  the  incorporation  of  the  village  in 
1816,  when  he  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  Fire  Department  of  the  village,  which  office 
he  held  for  one  year.  In  1817,  William  Furman, 
Esq,  was  appointed  Chief  Engineer,  and  of- 
ficiated in  that  capacity  until  1821,  when,  on  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  Furman,  John  Doughty,  Esq., 


THE   FIRE    DEPARTMENT.  405 

was  again  appointed,  and  continues  to  hold  the 
office.  The  present  officers  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment are  : 

John  Doughty,  Chief  Engineer. 

Fire  Warde?is,  Joseph  Moser,  Edward  Coope, 
Joseph  Sprague. 

April  16,  1823,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legis- 
lature of  this  State  to  incorporate  the  firemen  of 
this  village,  by  the  name  of  the  "  Fire  Depart- 
ment of  the  Village  of  Brooklyn."  The  act  al- 
lows this  corporation  to  hold,  purchase,  and  con- 
vey any  estate,  real  or  personal,  for  the  use  of  the 
corporation,  provided  such  real  or  personal  estate 
shall  not  at  any  time  exceed  the  yearly  value  of 
$1,000.  The  following  officers  were  appointed  by 
the  act  of  incorporation,  viz.  : 

John  Doughty,  President. 

Josliua  Sutton,  Yice-President. 

Richard  Cornwell,  Secretary. 

Trustees :  Jeremiah  Wells,  Morris  Simonson, 
Michael  Trapple,  Joseph  Moser,  George  Fricke, 
Gamaliel  King,  Simeon  Back,  Parshall  Wells, 
George  L.  Birch. 

The  laudable  object  proposed  by  this  institu- 
tion is  to  raise  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  widows 
and  children  of  deceased  firemen. 

By  an  amendment  to  the  act  of  Incorporation 
of  the  village  of  Brooklyn,  passed  April  9,  1824, 


406  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

it  is  provided,  "  That  all  fines  and  penalties  under 
any  bj-law  of  the  said  village,  in  relation  to  the 
burning  of  chimneys,  and  for  the  preventing  and 
extinguishing  of  fires,  and  also,  all  fines  and  pen- 
alties, either  under  such  by-laws,  or  under  any 
statute  of  this  State,  in  relation  to  the  manner  of 
keeping  and  transporting  gun-powder  within  the 
said  village,  shall  be  sued  for  in  the  name  of  the 
said  Trustees  (of  the  village  of  Brooklyn)  by  the 
fire  department  of  the  said  village,  and  when  re- 
covered shall  be  paid  to  the  said  fire  department, 
for  theii'  own  use. 


MISCELLANEOrS. 

June  7,  1625,  Sarah  De  Eapalje,  born  in  this 
town.  Tradition  says  that  she  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  the  colony.  Her  parents  were 
Walloons  ;  from  whence  is  derived  the  name  of 
Wallaboght,  or  Walloons  Bay,  where  they  lived.* 
She  was  twice  married.  Iler  first  husband 
was  Hans  Hanse  Bergen,  by  wliom  she  had  six 
children,  viz.  Michael  Hanse,  Joris  Hanse,  Jan 

*  The  first  settlement  in  tMs  town  was  made  by  George 
Jansen  De  Rapalje,  the  father  of  Sarah,  in  1625,  on  the  farm 
which  is  now  owned  by  the  family  of  the  Schencks  at  the 
WaUaboght. 


TKANSPORTATION    OF    WHEAT.  407 

Hanse,  Jacob  Ilanse,  BrechjeHanse,  and  Marytje 
Hanse.  Her  second  husband  was  Tennis  Gnys- 
bertse  Bogart,  by  whom  she  also  had  six  children, 
viz.  Aurtie  Bogart,  Antje  Bogart,  Neeltje  Bo- 
gart, AnUje  Bogart,  Catelyntje  Bogart,  and  Gnys- 
bert  Bogart.  The  account  of  Sarah  De  Bapelje, 
in  the  archives  of  the  New  York  Historical  So- 
ciety, contains  the  names  of  the  persons  to  whom 
eleven  of  her  children  were  married,  and  tells  the 
places  where  they  settled.  The  twelfth,  Brechje 
Hanse,  went  to  Holland. 

March  1, 1665,  Hendrick  Lubbertson  and  John 
Evertsen,  appeared  as  deputies  from  the  town  of 
Brooklyn,  at  the  Assembly  convened  at  Hemp- 
stead, by  order  of  Richard  IN^icolls,  Deputy 
Governor  under  the  Duke  of  York ;  at  which 
assembly  the  code  of  laws  called  the  "Duke's 
laws"  were  adopted  and  published.  In  the 
appendix  marked  E.  will  be  found  the  address 
which  these  deputies,  together  with  the  others, 
sent  to  the  Duke  of  York ;  and  which  occa- 
sioned so  much  excitement  in  the  Colony  at  that 
period. 

1671,  This  town,  with  five  other  towns  in  the 
West  Biding  of  Yorkshire  upon  Long  Island, 
petitioned  the  Court  of  Sessions  "  for  liberty  to 
transporte  wheate,"  which  petition  was  referred 
to  the  Governor. 


408  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN   OF   BEOOKLTN. 

1687.  The  Clerk's  office  of  Kings  Comity  was 
kept  in  this  town,  by  the  Depntj  Register,  Jacob 
Yandewater,  who  was  also  a  Notary  Public  in 
this  town  at  the  same  period.  The  Register, 
Samuel  Bayard,  Esq.,  resided  in  the  city  of  New 
York. 

About  the  year  1691,  there  was  a  custom  prev- 
alent in  this  town  of  calling  a  widow  the  "  last 
wife  of  her  deceased  husband,"  and  a  widower 
"  the  last  man  "  of  his  deceased  wife. 

The  following  is  an  Inventory  of  the  estate 
which  a  bride  in  this  town  brought  with  her  to 
her  husband  in  the  year  1691.  The  husband  by 
various  records  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of 
considerable  wealth  ;  notwithstanding  which,  the 
following  inventory  was  thought  by  both  of  them 
of  sufficient  importance  to  merit  being  recorded, 
viz. 

"  A  half  worn  bed,  pillow,  2  cushions  of 
ticking  with  feathers,  one  rug,  4  sheets,  4 
cushion   covers,   2   iron   pots,   3   pewter   dishes, 

1  pewter  bason,  1  iron  roaster,  1  schuryn  spoon, 

2  cowes  about  five  yeares  old,  1  case  or  cupboard, 
1  table." 

November  12,  1695,  the  Court  of  Sessions  for 
Kings  County,  ordered  that  the  Constable  of  this 
town,  "  shall  on  Sunday  or  Sabbathday  take  law 


king's  county  coukt  house.  409 

for  the  apprehending  of  all  Sabbath  breakers," 
and  '^search  all  ale  houses,  taverns,  and  other 
suspected  places  for  all  prophaners  and  breakers 
of  the  Sabbath  daye,"  and  bring  thcni  before  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace  to  be  dealt  with  according  to 
law.  This  was  to  be  done  by  the  Constable  un- 
der the  penalty  of  six  shillings  for  each  neglect 
or  default. 

The  same  Court  also  made  an  order, "  that  Mad 
James  be  kept  by  Kings  County  in  general,  and 
that  the  deacons  of  each  towne  within  the  said 
county  doe  forthwith  meet  togetlier  and  consider 
about  their  propercons  for  maintainence  of  said 
James."  This  is  the  first  instance  which  has 
come  to  the  Compiler's  knowledge  of  tlie  Court 
making  an  order  for  the  county  generally  to  sup- 
port a  pauper. 

In  the  year  1758,  the  sum  of  £122  18s.  7d.  was 
assessed  in  two  assessments,  by  the  Justices  of  the 
Peace,  on  this  town,  towards  building  "  a  new 
Court  house  and  gaol "  for  Kings  County.  The 
whole  amount  assessed  on  the  County  was  £41:8 
4s.  Id. 

The  present  Court  house  of  Kings  County,  was 
built  by  contract  in  the  year  1792,  at  an  expense 
of  $2944.71,  under  the  superintendance  of  John 
Vanderbilt,  Johannes  E.  Lott,  and  Charles 
Doughty,  Esq'rs.  The  contractor  was  Thomas 
18 


410  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

Fardon,  and  plans  were  furnished  for  the  build- 
ing by  Messrs.  Stanton  and  Newton,  and  James 
E-obertson.* 

*  In  1700  the  Court  House  was  let  to  James  Simson  for 
one  year,  at  £3  "in  money."  In  this  agreement,  "the 
Justices  reserved  for  themselves  the  Chamber  in  the  said 
house,  called  the  Court  Chamber,  at  the  time  of  their  pub- 
lique  Sessions,  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  and  private  meet- 
ings ;  as  also  the  room  called  the  prison  for  the  use  of  the 
Sheriff  if  he  hath  occasion  for  it." 


APPENDIX. 


A. 


Deed  from  'William  liorris   and  wife  to  the 
Corjporation  of  New-Yorh, 

This  Indenture  made  the  twelfth  day  of  Oc- 
tober, in  the  sixth  year  of  the  reign  of  our  Sov- 
ereign Lord  and  Lady  William  and  Mar}^,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scotland,  France  and 
Ireland,  King  and  Queen,  defenders  of  the  faith, 
&c.  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand 
six  hundred  and  ninety-four,  between  William 
Morris,  now  of  the  ferry,  in  the  bounds  of  the 
town  of  Bi-euchlen,  in  Kings  County,  on  Long- 
Island,  Gentleman,  and  Kebecca  his  wife  of  the 
one  part,  and  the  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Com- 
monalty of  the  City  of  Kew  York,  of  the  other 
part,  Witnesseth,  that  the  said  William  Morris, 
by  and  with  the  consent  of  Rebecca  his  said  wife, 
testified  by  her  being  a  party  to  the  sealing  and 
delivery  of  these  presents,  for,  and  in  consider- 
ation of  a  certain  sum  of  good  and  lawful  money 


412  NOTES    ON   THE    TOWN    OF    BKOOKLYN. 

to  him,  at  and  before  the  sealhio-  and  delivery 
liereof,  by  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Com- 
monalty, in  hand  well  and  trul}^  paid,  the  receipt 
whereof  he  the  said  William  Morris  doth  hereby 
acknowledge,  and  thereof  and  therefrom  and  of 
and  from  all  and  every  part  thereof,  he  doth 
hereby,  acqnit,  exonerate  and  discharge  the  said 
Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Commonalty,  and  their 
successors  forever,  hath  granted,  bargained,  sold, 
assigned,  conveyed  and  confirmed,  and  by  these 
presents  doth  grant,  bargain,  sell,  assign,  convey 
and  confirm  unto  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 
Commonalty  of  the  said  city  of  New  York,  and 
their  successors  forever,  All  that  messuage  or 
dwellino^  house  and  lot  of  p^round  thereunto  ad- 
joining  and  belonging,  with  the  appurtenances, 
situate,  lying  and  being  at  the  ferry,  in  the 
bounds  of  the  town  of  Breucklen,  in  Khigs 
County  aforesaid,  now  and  late  in  the  possession 
of  him,  the  said  William  Morris;  as  also  one 
small  house,  now  in  the  possession  of  one  Thomas 
Hock,  lying  in  the  said  City  of  New  York,  over 
against  the  ferry  aforesaid.  Together  with  all  and 
singular  houses,  barns,  stables^  yards,  backsides, 
wharfs,  easements,  benefits,  emoluments,  heredit- 
aments, and  appurtenances  to  the  same  messuage 
or  dwelling  house  and  premises  belonging,  or  in 
any  wise  appertaining,  and  the  reversion  and  re- 


413 

versions,  remainder  and  remainders,  rents,  issues, 
and  profits  of  all  and  singular  the  premisses  and 
the  appurtenances,  and  all  the  estate,  right,  title, 
interest,  property,  possession,  claim  and  demand 
of  him  the  said  William  Morris  and  Kebecca  his 
said  wife,  of,  in,  unto  or  out  of,  the  said  messuage 
or  dwelling  house  and  premises,  or,  of,  in,  unto, 
or  out  of,  all  or  any  part  or  parcel  thereof,  and  all 
and  singular  grants,  deeds,  escripts,  minuments, 
writings  and  evidences,  touching,  relating  to  or 
concerning  the  above-mentioned,  to  be  bargained, 
messuao-e  or  dwellino-  house  and  all  and  sino^ular, 
the  premises  with  the  hereditaments  and  appur- 
tenances to  the  same  belonging,  or  any  part 
thereof,  unto  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen  and 
Commonalty  of  the  city  of  Xew  York,  aforesaid, 
and  their  successors  unto  the  only  proper  use,  be- 
nefit and  behoof  of  the  said  Mayor,  Aldermen 
and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New  York  afore- 
said, their  successors  and  assigns  forever.  In 
witness,  &c.^ 

*  The  above  deed  to  the  Corporation  of  New  York  did  not 
extend  to  the  River.  January  15,  1717,  Samuel  Garritsen, 
of  Gravesend,  quit-claimed  to  David  Aersen  of  Brooklyn,  all 
his  right  and  title  to  a  piece  of  land,  ' '  lying  next  to  tho 
house  and  land  belonging  to  the  City  of  New  York,  bounded 
north-west  by  the  River,  south-east  by  the  highway  that 
goes  to  the  ferry,  south-west  by  the  house  and  land  belong- 
ing to  the  City  of  New  York,  and  north-east  by  the  houso 


414  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

A    Warra7it  for   enforcing   the  payment  of  a 
town  tax  in  the  town  of  Brooklyn. 

"Whereas  there  was  an  order  or  towne  lawe  bj 
the  ^Freeholders  of  the  towne  of  Brooklyn,  in 
Kinoes  County  aforesaid,  the  5th  day  of  May, 
1701,  ffor  constituting  and  appointing  of  Trus- 
tees to  defend  the  rights  of  their  quondam  com- 
mon wood  lands,  and  to  raise  a  tax  ffor  the  same 
to  defray  the  charge  of  that  and  theire  towne 
debts,  &c.  which  said  lawe  has  bin  since  ffurther 
confirmed  by  said  ffreeholdei-s  at  a  towne  meet- 
ing at  Bedford,  the  11th  of  April,  1702,  and 
since  approved  of  and  confirmed  by  a  Court  of 
Sessions,  held  at  Fflatbush,  in  said  County  the 
13th  day  of  May,  1702.  And  whereas  by  virtue 
of  said  lawe,  a  certaine  small  tax  was  raised  on 
the  ffreeholders  in  said  towne  proportionably  to 
defray  the  charges  aforsaid :  And  now  upon 
complaint  of  the  said  Trustees  to  us  made,  that 
A.  B.  has  refused  to  pay  his  juste  and  due  pro- 
porcon  of  said  tax  wch  amounts  to  L\  16s  Od, 
current  money  of  New- York.     These  are  there- 

and  land  belonging'  to  the  said  John  Rapalje,  containing  one 
acre  be  the  same  more  or  less."  On  the  16th  day  of  the  same 
month,  David  Aersen  sold  this  property  to  Gerrit  Harsura  of 
New  York,  Gunsmith,  for  the  sum  of  ilOS  current  money  of 
New  York. 


BROOKLYN    AND    NEW    YOKK.  415 

fore  in  her  Majesty's  name,  to  command  you  to 
summons  A.  B.  personally  to  be  and  appeare  be- 
fore us,  &c.,  then  and  there  to  answer  C.  D.  E.  F. 
Trustees  of  said  towne  of  Brooklin,  in  an  action 
of  tresspass  on  the  case,  to  the  damage  of  the 
said  C.  D.  E.  F.  LI  16s  Od,  current  money  as 
aforesaid,  as  it  is  said,  and  have  with  you  then 
there  this  precept.     Given,  &c. 

B. 

Brookland,  November  14,  1Y53.  A  Town 
meeting  called  by  warrant  of  Carel  Debevois, 
Esq.  and  Jacobus  Debevois,  Esq.  two  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Justices  for  the  township  of  Brookland,  in 
the  County  of  Kings,  to  elect  and  chuse  Trustees 
to  defend  our  Patent  of  Brookland  against  the 
Commonalty  of  the  City  of  New  York. — And  the 
Trustees  so  elected  and  chosen  by  the  freeholders 
and  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Brookland 
aforesaid,  are  as  follows:  Jacobus  Lefferts,  Peter 
Yandervoort,  Jacob  Pemsen,  Pem  Pemsen,  and 
Kicholas  Yechte.  And  we  the  hereunder  sub- 
scribers behig  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the 
township  of  Brookland,  by  these  presents  do  fully 
empower  and  authorize  the  abovesaid  Trustees, 
Jacobus  Lefferts,  Peter  Yandervoort,  Jacob  Pem- 
sen, Pem  Pemsen.  and  Nicholas  Yechte,  elected 


416  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

and  chosen  by  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of 
the  township  of  Brookland  aforesaid,  to  defend 
our  patent  where  in  any  manner  our  liberties,  pri- 
vileges and  rights  in  our  patent  specified  is  in- 
croached,  lessened  or  taken  away  by  the  Com- 
monalty of  the  City  of  New- York.  And  that  we 
hereunder  subscribers  of  the  township  of  Brook- 
land,  oblige  ourselves,  our  heirs,  executors  and 
administrators  to  pay  to  the  abovesaid  Trustees, 
all  cost  that  they  are  at  in  protecting  of  the  pro- 
fits of  our  patent,  and  that  money  sliall  be  col- 
lected in  by  the  constable  of  our  town.  And 
that  the  abovesaid  Trustees  do  oblige  themselves 
to  render  upon  oath  a  true  account  of  all  such 
moneys  they  have  expended  in  protecting  or  de- 
fending our  patent,  to  any  person  or  persons,  as 
the  hereunder  subscribers  shall  appoint  for  that 
purpose.  And  in  defending  our  patent  so  that 
verdict  shall  come  in  our  favour,  where  incon:ie 
of  money  or  other  profits  should  arise  concerning 
the  premises,  all  such  profits  or  income  should  be 
kept  towards  defraying  of  all  the  necessary  cost 
and  chai'ge  of  our  township  of  Brookland,  till 
such  time  as  it  is  altered  by  the  majority.  And 
that  the  Trustees  should  have  three  shillings  per 
day  for  their  service  and  no  more. 


^-^ 


JUSTICE    FILKIN  S    LETTER.  417 

C. 

The  Petition  of  VolJcert  Brier. 

To  HIS  Excellency. — The  humble  peticon  of 
Volkert  Brier,  inhabitant  of  the  towne  of  Broock- 
lancl,  on  the  island  of  Nassau. 

May  it  please  3-our  Excellency  your  peticoner 
being  lined  five  pounds  last  Court  of  Sessions,  in 
Kings  County  for  tearing  an  execucon  directed 
to  him  as  Constable.  Your  peticoner  being 
ignorant  of  the  crime,  and  not  thinking  it  was  of 
force  when  he  was  out  of  his  office,  or  tliat  he 
should  have  made  returne  of  it  as  the  lawe 
directs,  he  being  an  illiterate  man  could  not  read 
said  execucon  nor  understand  any  thing  of  lawe : 
humbly  prays  yr  Excellency  yt  you  would  be 
pleased  to  remit  said  fine  of  five  pounds,  yr  peti- 
coner being  a  poore  man  and  not  capaciated  to 
pay  said  fine  without  great  damage  to  himself 
and  family.  And  for  yr  Excellecy  yr  peticoner 
will  ever  pray,  &c. 

D. 

A  Letter  from  Justice  Ffilhin  to  the  Secretary  at 
Neio  TorJi. 

Sir, — I  am  in  expectation  of  a  complaint  com- 
ing to  his  Excellency  by  Coll.  Beeckman  against 
18^ 


418     NOTES  ON  THE  TOWN  OF  BROOEXTN. 

me,  and  that  his  Excellency  may  be  rightly 
informed  of  the  matter,  my  humble  request  to 
you  is,  that  if  such  a  thing  happen,  be  pleased  to 
give  liis  Excellency  an  account  thereof,  which  is 
as  follows :  A  Ffriday  night  last,  the  Justices  of 
the  County  and  I  came  from  his  Excellency's ; 
Coll.  Beeckman  happened  to  come  over  in  the 
fferry  boat  along  with  us,  and  as  we  came  over 
the  iferry.  Coll.  Beeckman  and  we  went  into  the 
fferry  house  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine,  and  being 
soe  in  compau}^,  there  happened  a  dispute  be- 
tween Coll.  Beeckman  and  myself,  about  his 
particular  order  that  he  lately  made  to  Mr.  Ffree- 
man,  when  he  was  President  of  the  Councill, 
without  the  consent  of  the  Councill ;  Coll.  Beeck- 
man stood  to  affirm  there,  before  most  of  the 
Justices  of  Kino;s  Countv,  that  said  order,  that  he 
made  then  to  Mr.  Ffreeraan  as  President  only, 
was  still  in  fforce,  and  that  Mr.  Ffreeman 
should  preach  at  Bi-oockland  next  Sunday 
according  to  that  order ;  whereupon  I  said  it 
was  not  in  fforce,  but  void  and  of  noe  effect,  and 
he  had  not  in  this  County,  any  more  power  now 
than  I  have,  being  equall  in  commission  with  him 
in  the  general  commission  of  the  peace  and  one 
of  the  quorum  as  well  as  he  ;  upon  which  he 
gave  me  affronting  words,  giving  me  the  lie  and 
calling  me  pittifull  fellow,  dog,  rogue,  rascall, 


419 

&c.  wliich  caused  me,  being  overcome  with  pas- 
sion, to  tell  him  that  I  had  a  good  mind  to  knock 
him  off  his  horse,  we  being  both  at  that  time  get- 
ting upon  our  horses  to  goe  home,  but  that  I 
would  not  goe,  I  would  light  him  at  any  time 
with  a  sword.  I  could  wish  that  these  last  words 
had  bin  kept  in,  and  I  am  troubled  that  I  was 
soe  overcome  with  passion  and  inflamed  with 
wine.  The  works  of  these  Dutch  ministers  is 
the  occasion  of  all  our  quarrells.*  And  this  is 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  there  was  no  blows 
offerred,  nor  noe  more  done.  Mr.  Ffreeman  has 
preached  at  Broockland  yesterday  accordingly, 
and  the  church  doore  was  broke  open,  by  whom 
it  is  not  yet  knowne.  Soe  I  beg  your  pardon  ffor 
this  trouble,  crave  your  favour  in  this  matter,  and 
shall  alwayes  remaine. 

Sir,  your  ffaithful  and  humble  servant, 

H.  FFILKm. 


*  The  Compiler  congratulates  his  fellow  citizens  on  the  ex- 
tinction of  those  national  animosities  which  in  former  times 
existed  between  the  Dutch  and  English  in  this  our  happy 
country.  We  may  now  truly  ask,  with  Sterne,  "are  we  not 
all  relations  ?  " 


420  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF    BROOKLYN. 

E. 

The  Address  of  the  Deputies^  assemhled  at 

Hemjpstead. 

"We  the  depnties  duly  elected  from  the  several 
towns  upon  Long-Island,  being  assembled  at 
Hempstead,  in  general  meeting,  by  authority 
derived  from  your  royal  highness  unto  the  honor- 
able Colonel  Nicolls,  as  deputy  governor,  do  most 
humbly  and  thankfully  acknowledge  to  your 
royal  highness,  the  gi-eat  honor  and  satisfaction 
we  receive  in  our  dependence  upon  your  royal 
highness  according  to  the  tenor  of  his  sacred  ma- 
jesty's patent,  giJ^nted  the  12th  day  of  March, 
1664 ;  wherein  we  acknowledge  ourselves,  our 
heirs  and  successors  forever,  to  be  comprized  to 
all  intents  and  purposes,  as  therein  is  more  at 
large  expressed.  And  we  do  publickly  and  un- 
animously declare  our  cheerful  submission  to  all 
such  laws,  statutes  and  ordinances,  which  are  or 
shall  be  made  by  virtue  of  authority  from  your 
royal  highness,  your  heirs  and  successors  forever: 
As  also,  that  we  will  maintain,  uphold,  and  de- 
fend, to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  and  peril  of  us, 
our  heirs  and  successors  forever,  all  the  rights, 
title,  and  interest,  granted  by  his  sacred  majesty 
to  your  royal  highness,  against  all  pretensions  or 


ADDRESS    OF   THE   DEPUTIES.  421 

invasions,  foreign  or  domestic;  we  being  already 
well  assured,  that,  in  so  doing,  we  perforin  onr 
duty  of  allegiance  to  his  majesty,  as  freeborn  sub- 
jects of  the  kingdom  oi  England  inhabiting  in 
these  his  majesty's  dominions.  We  do  fartlier 
beseech  your  royal  highness  to  accept  of  this  ad- 
dress, as  the  first  fruits  in  this  general  meeting, 
for  a  memorial  and  record  against  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  when  we  or  any  of  them  shall  fail 
in  our  duties.  Lastly  we  beseech  your  royal  high- 
ness to  take  our  poverties  and  necessities,  in  this 
wilderness  country,  into  speedy  consideration  ; 
that,  by  constant  supplies  of  trade,  and  your  royal 
highnesses  more  particular  countenance  of  grace 
to  us,  and  protection  of  us,  we  may  daily  more 
and  more  be  encouraged  to  bestow  our  labors  to 
the  improvement  of  these  his  majesty's  western 
dominions,  under  your  royal  highness  ;  for  whose 
health,  long  life,  and  eternal  happiness,  we  shall 
ever  pray,  as  in  duty  bound. 

List  of  the  Dejputies. 

New  Utrecht  Jaques  Cortellean  Younger  Hope 

Gravesend  James  Hubbard  John  Bowne 

Flatlands  Elbert  Elbertsen  Roeloffe  Martense 

Flatbush  John  Striker  Hendrick  Gucksen 

Bvishwick  John  Steahnan  Gisbert  Tunis 

Brooklyn  Hendrick  Lubbersten  John  Evertsen 

Newtown  Richard  Betts  John  Cos 


433 


NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN   OF    BROOKLYN. 


Flushing 

Jamaica 

Hempstead 

Oysterbay 

Huntington 

Brookhaven 

Southold 

Southampton 

Easthampton 

Westchester 


Elias  Doughty 
Daniel  Denton 
John  Hicks 
John  Underhill 
Jonas  Wood 
Daniel  Lane 
William  Wells 
Thomas  Topping 
Thomas  Baker 
Edward  Jessup 


Richard  Comhill 
Thomas  Benedict 
Robert  Jackson 
Matthias  Harvey 
John  Ketcham 
Roger  Barton 
John  Youngs 
John  Howell 
John  Stratton 
Quinby 


The  people  of  Long  Island  considered  the 
language  of  this  address  as  too  servile  for  free- 
men ;  and  were  exasperated  against  tlie  makers 
of  it  to  such  a  degree  that  the  court  of  assizes,  in 
order  to  save  the  deputies  from  abuse,  if  not  from 
personal  violence,  thought  it  expedient,  at  their 
meeting  in  October  1666,  to  declare  that  "who- 
soever hereafter  shall  any  wayes  detract  or  speake 
against  any  of  the  deputies  signing  the  address  to 
his  royall  highnes,  at  the  general  meeting  at 
Hempstead,  they  shall  bee  presented  to  the  next 
court  of  sessions,  and  if  the  justices  shall  see 
cause,  they  shall  from  thence  bee  bound  over,  to 
the  assizes,  there  to  answer  for  the  slander  upon 
plaint  or  information. 

The  deputies  subsequently  to  the  address  made 
to  the  duke  of  York,  made  one  to  the  people,  in 
which  they  set  forth  their  reasons  for  agreeing 
to  the  code  styled  the  duke's  laws. 


423 


APPENDIX,  1^0.  2. 


The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  first  charter  by 
which  the  corporation  obtained  any  color  of  title 
to  the  land  between  high  and  low  water  mark,  on 
the  Brooklyn  side. 

"Anne,  by  the  grace  of  God,  of  England,  Scot- 
land, France  and  Ireland,  Queen,  defender  of 
the  Faith,  (fee.  To  all  whom  these  presents  may 
in  any  wise  concern,  sendeth  greeting.  AYhereas 
the  Ma^'or,  Aldermen,  and  Commonalty  of  the 
city  of  'New  York,  by  their  petition  to  onr  trusty 
and  well-beloved  cousin  Edward,  Yiscount  Corn- 
bury,"^  our  captain-general  and  governor-in-chief 
in  and  over  our  province  of  New  York,  and  ter- 
ritories depending  thereon  in  America,  and  Yice 

*  "  Lord  Combury  came  to  this  province  in  very  indigent 
circumstances  ;  hunted  out  of  England  by  a  host  of  hungry 
creditors,  he  was  bent  on  getting  as  much  money  as  he 
could  squeeze  out  of  the  purses  of  an  impoverished  people." 
He  was  infamous  for  his  "  excessive  avarice,  his  embezzle- 
ment of  the  public  money,  and  his  sordid  refusal  to  pay  his 
private  debts."  Combury  became  so  obnoxious  to  the  in- 
habitants of  this  province,  that  they  sent  a  complaint  to  Eng- 
land against  him.  The  Queen,  in  consequence  of  this  com- 
plaint displaced  him.  ' '  As  soon  as  his  lordship  was  super- 
seded, his  creditors  threw  him  into  the  custody  of  the  sheriff 
of  New  York."  See  Smith's  History  of  New  York.  Such 
was  the  man  from  whom  the  corporation  of  New  York  ob- 
tained the  rights  of  the  town  of  Brooklyn. 


424  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BROOIvLYN. 

Admiral  of  the  same,  &c.,  preferred  in  council ; 
therein  setting  forth,  that  they  having  a  right 
and  interest,  under  divers  antient  charters  and 
grants,  by  divers  former  governors  and  com- 
manders in  chief  of  our  said  province  of  New 
York,^  under  our  noble  progenitors  in  a  certain 
ferry  from  the  said  city  of  New  York,  over  the 
East  River,  to  Nassau  Ishmd  (alias  Long  Island), 
and  from  the  said  island  to  the  said  city  again, 
and  have  possessed  the  same,  and  received  all 
the  profits,  benefits,  and  advantages  thereof  for 
the  space  of  fifty  years  and  upwards ;  and  per- 
ceiving the  profits,  advantages,  and  benefits  usu- 
ally issuing  out  of  the  same,  to  diminish,  de- 
crease, and  fall  short  of  what  might  be  reason  a; 

*  These  "divers  former  governors,"  &c.,  are  limited  to 
two,  viz.  :  McoUs,  who  in  1665  granted  them  a  charter,  if 
that  may  be  strictly  called  so,  which  only  altered  their  form 
of  government  from  scout,  burgomasters,  and  schepens,  to 
Mayor  and  Aldermen,  without  a  word  about  ferries  or  water 
rights,  or  indeed  any  other  matter — the  original  of  which 
paper  is  not  in  existence.  There  is  nothing  to  warrant  a 
belief  that  there  was  a  charter  of  any  kind  granted  to  the 
corporation  between  Nicolls  and  Dongan,  who  is  the  second 
of  these  "divers  former  governors,"  <fec.,  and  who  in  1686 
granted  them  the  ferry  (as  is  mentioned  in  a  former  part  of 
this  work)  with  an  express  reservation  as  to  the  rights  of  all 
others.  The  charter  of  Dongan  notwithstanding  all  their 
pompous  recitals,  is  the  oldest  they  can  produce,  which  in 
any  manner  affects  the  interest  of  this  town. 


425 

bly  made  of  the  same,  for  the  want  of  the  bounds 
and  limits  to  be  extended  and  enlarged  on  the 
said  Island  side,  whereby  to  prevent  divers  per- 
sons transporting  themselves  and  goods  to  and 
from  the  said  Island  Xassau  (alias  Long  Island) 
over  the  said  river,  without  coming  or  landing  at 
the  nsual  and  accustomed  places,  where  the  fer- 
ryboats are  usnally  kept  and  appointed,  to  the 
great  loss  and  damage  of  the  said  city  of  Kew 
York;  have  humbly  pi-ayed  our  grant  and  con- 
firmation under  the  great  seal  of  our  said  pro- 
vince of  Xew  York,  of  the  said  ferry,  called  the 
Old  Ferry,  on  both  sides  of  the  East  Eiver  for 
the  transporting  of  passengers,  goods,  horses  and 
cattle,  to  and  from  the  said  city,  as  the  same  is 
now  held  and  enjoyed  by  the  said  mayor,  alder- 
men and  commonalty  of  the  said  city  of  Kew 
York,  or  their  under  tenant,  or  under  tenants ; 
and  also  of  all  that  vacant  and  unappropriated 
land,  from  high  w^ater  mark  to  low  water  mark, 
on  the  said  Xassau  Island  (alias  Long  Island), 
lying  contiguous  and  fronting  the  said  city  of 
INew  York,  from  a  certain  place  called  the  Wall- 
about,  unto  the  lied  Hook,  over  against  Xutten 
Island,  for  the  better  improvement  and  accom- 
modation of  the  said  ferry ;  with  full  power, 
leave  and  license  to  set  up,  establish,  maintain, 
and  keep  one  or  more  ferry,  or  ferries,  for  the 


426  NOTES    ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BEOOEXTN. 

ease  and  accommodation  of  all  passengers  and 
travellers,  for  the  transportation  of  themselves, 
goods,  horses  and  cattle,  over  the  said  river, 
within  the  bounds  aforesaid,  as  they  shall  see 
meet  and  convenient,  and  occasion  require ;  and 
to  establish,  ordain,  and  make  bye  laws,  orders, 
and  ordinances  for  the  due  and  orderly  regula- 
tions of  the  same :  The  which  petition  we  being 
minded  to  grant,  Know  Ye,  That  of  our  especial 
grace,  certain  knowledge  and  meer  motion,  we 
have  given,  granted,  ratified  and  confirmed,  and 
in  and  by  these  presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and 
successors,  we  do  give,  grant,  ratify  and  confirm, 
unto  the  said  mayor,  aldermen  and  commonalty 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  to  their  successors 
and  assigns,  all  that  the  said  ferry,  called  Old 
Ferry,  on  both  sides  of  the  East  River,  for  the 
transportation  of  passengers,  goods,  horses  and 
cattle,  over  the  said  river,  to  and  from  the  said 
city  and  island,  as  the  same  is  now  used,  held 
and  enjo3^ed,  by  the  said  mayor,  aldermen  and 
commonalty  of  the  city  of  New  York,  or  their 
under  tenant  or  under  tenants,  with  all  and  sin- 
gular the  usual  and  accustomed  ferriage,  fees, 
perquisites,  rents,  issues,  profits,  and  other  bene- 
fits, and  advantages  whatsoever,  to  the  said  Old 
Feri-y  belonging,  or  therewith  used,  or  thereout 
arising;  and  also  all  that  the  aforesaid  vacant 


COENBUKT  S    CHAETER.  427 

and  unappropriated  ground,  lying  and  being  on 
tlie  said  Nassau  Island  (alias  Long  Island),  from 
high  water  mark  to  low  water  mark  aforesaid, 
contiguous  and  fronting  the  said  city  of  Xew 
York,  from  the  aforesaid  place  called  the  "Wall- 
about  to  Red  Hook  aforesaid ;  that  is  to  say, 
from  the  east  side  of  the  Wallabout,  opposite  the 
new  dwelling  house  of  James  Bobine,  to  the  west 
side  of  the  Ked  Hook,  commonly  called  the  Fish- 
ing place,  with  all  and  singular  the  appurten- 
ances and  hereditaments  to  the  same  belonging, 
or  in  any  wise  of  right  appertaining  ;  together 
with  all  and  singular  the  rents,  issues,  profits, 
ad^•antages,  and  appurtenances,  w^hicli  heretofore 
have,  now  are,  and  which  hereafter  shall  belong 
to  the  said  ferry,  vacant  land  and  premises, 
herein  before  granted  and  confirmed,  or  to  any 
or  either  of  them,  in  any  wise  appertaining,  or 
which  heretofore  have  been,  now  are,  and  w^hich 
hereafter  shall  belong,  be  used,  held,  received, 
and  enjoyed ;  and  all  our  estate,  right,  title  and 
interest,  benefit  and  advantage,  claim  and  de- 
mand of,  in  or  to  the  said  ferry,  vacant  land  and 
premises,  or  any  part  or  parcel  thereof,  and  the 
reversion  and  reversions,  remainder  and  remain- 
ders ;  together  with  the  yearly,  and  other  rents, 
revenues  and  profits  of  the  premises,  and  of  every 
part  and  parcel  thereof,  except  and  always  re- 


428  NOTES    ON    THE    TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

served  out  of  this  our  present  grant  and  confirma- 
tion, free  liberty,  leave  and  license  to  and  for  all 
and  every  person  or  persons,  inhabiting  or  hav- 
ing plantations  near  the  said  river,  by  the  water 
side,  within  the  limits  and  bounds  above  men- 
tioned, to  transport  themselves,  goods,  horses  and 
cattle,  over  tlie  said  river,  to  and  from  the  said 
city  of  New  York,  and  Nassau  Island  (alias  Long 
Ishmd)  to  and  from  their  respective  dwellings  or 
plantations,  without  any  ferriage,  or  otlier  ac- 
count to  the  said  ferry,  hereby  granted  and  con 
firmed,  to  be  paid  or  given;  so  always  as  the 
said  person  or  persons  do  transport  themselves 
only,  and  their  own  goods,  in  their  own  boats 
only,  and  not  any  stranger  or  their  goods,  horses 
or  cattle,  or  in  any  other  boat.  To  have  and  to 
hold,  all  and  singular  the  said  ferry,  vacant  land 
and  premises,  hereinbefore  granted  and  confirm- 
ed, or  meant,  mentioned  or  intended  to  be  hereby 
granted  and  confirmed  (except  as  is  herein  before 
excepted)  and  all  and  singular  the  rents,  issues, 
profits,  rights,  members  and  appurtenances,  to 
the  same  belonging,  or  in  any  wise  of  right  ap- 
j^ertaining,  unto  the  said  mayor,  aldermen  and 
commonalty  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  their 
successors  and  assigns  forever ;  to  the  only  pro- 
per use  and  behoof  of  the  said  mayor,  alclermen, 
and  commonalty  of  the  city  of  New  York,  and 


429 

their  successors  and  assigns  forever  ;  to  beholden 
of  US,  our  heirs  and  successors,  in  free  and  com- 
mon soccage,  as  of  our  manour  of  East  Green- 
wich, in  the  county  of  Kent,  within  our  kingdom 
of  England ;  yielding,  rendering,  and  paying 
unto  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  for  the  same, 
yearly,  at  our  custom  house  of  Kew  York,  to  our 
collector  and  receiver  general  there  for  the  time 
being,  at  or  upon  the  feast  of  the  nativity  of  St. 
Joim  the  Baptist,  the  yearly  rent  or  sum  of  five 
shillings,  current  money,  of  Xew  York.  And 
we  do  further,  of  our  es])ecial  grace,  certain 
knowledge  and  meer  motion,  for  us,  our  heirs 
and  successors,  give  and  grant  unto  the  said 
mayor,  aldermen  and  commonalty,  and  their  suc- 
cessors, full  and  free  leave  and  license  to  set  up, 
estal)lish,  keep,  and  maintain  one  or  more  ferry 
or  fei-ries,  as  they  shall  from  time  to  time  think 
fit  and  convenient,  within  the  limits  and  bounds 
aforesaid,  for  the  ease  and  accommodation  of 
transporting  of  passengers,  goods,  horses  and  cat- 
tle, between  the  said  city  of  Xew  York  and  the 
said  island  (except  as  is  herein  before  excepted) 
under  such  reasonable  rates  and  payments  as 
have  been  usually  paid  and  received  for  the 
same ;  or  which  at  any  time  hereafter,  shall  be 
by  them  established,  by  and  with  the  consent 
and  approbation  of  our  governor  and  council  of 


430  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

OTir  said  province,  for  the  time  being.  *  And 
we  do  further,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain 
knowledge  and  meer  motion,  give  and  grant  unto 
the  said  mayor,  aldermen  and  commonalty  of 
the  city  of  New  York,  and  their  successors,  full 
and  absolute  power  and  authority,  to  make,  or- 
dain, establish,  constitute  and  confirm,  all  man 
ner  of  by-laws,  orders,  rules,  ordinances  and 
directions,  for  the  more  orderly  keeping,  and 
regularly  maintaining  the  aforesaid  ferry  that 
now  is  kept,  or  any  ferry  or  ferries  which  shall 
at  any  time  or  times  hereafter  be  set  up,  estab- 
lished, or  kept  within  the  bounds  aforesaid,  by 
virtue  hereof,  or  of,  for,  touching  or  concerning 
the  same  (so  always  as  the  same  be  not  contrary 
to  our  laws  of  England,  and  of  our  province  of 
New  York)  and  the  same  at  all  times  hereafter 
to  put  in  execution,  or  abrogate,  revoke,  or 
change,  as  they  in  their  good  discretion  shall 
think  fit  and  most  convenient,  for  the  due  and 
orderly  keeping,  regulating  and  governing  the 
said  ferry  or  ferries  herein  before  mentioned. 
And  lastly,  our  will  and  pleasure  is,  and  we 
do  hereby  declare  and  grant,  that  these  our  let- 

*  The  corporation  of  New  York  appear  to  have  abandoned 
the  right  of  regulating  the  rate  of  ferriage  very  ear^y ;  for 
in  1717,  nine  years  after  the  date  of  this  charter,  an  act  was 
passed  by  the  colonial  legislature  for  that  purpose. 


431 

ters  patent,  or  the  record  thereof,  in  tlie  secre- 
tary's office  of  our  said  province  of  New  York, 
shall  be  good  and  effectual  in  the  law,  to  all  in- 
tents and  purposes  whatsoever,  notwithstanding 
the  not  true  and  well  recitintr  or  mentionino^ 
of  the  premises,  or  any  part  thereof,  or  the 
limits  and  bounds  thereof,  or  of  any  former 
or  other  letters  patents  or  grants  whatsoever, 
made  or  granted;  or  of  any  part  thereof,  by 
us,  or  any  of  our  progenitors,  unto  any  person 
or  persons  whatsoever,  bodies  politic  or  corpo- 
rate,* or  any  law  or  other  restraint,  incertainty 
or  imperfection  whatsoever,  to  the  contrarj^  in 
any  wise  notwithstanding  and  although  express 
mention  of  the  true  yearly  vahie,  or  certainty  of 
the  premises,  or  any  of  them,  or  of  any  other 
gifts  or  grants  by  us  or  by  any  of  our  progeni- 
tors, heretofore  made  to  the  said  mayor,  alder- 
men, commonalty  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in 
these  presents  is  not  made,  or  any  other  matter, 
cause  or  thing  whatsoever,  to  the  contrary  there- 
of in  any  wise  notwithstanding.  In  testimony 
whereof  we  have  caused  these  our  letters  to  be 
made  patent,  and  the  seal  of  our  said  province  of 
New  York,  to  our  said  letters  patent  to  be  af- 

*  This  clause  was  undoubtedly  inserted  to  obviate  if  pos- 
sible the  claim  under  the  two  Brooklyn  patents,  both  of 
which  were  many  years  older  than  this  charter. 


432  NOTES    ON    THE   TOWN    OF   BROOKLYN. 

fixed,  and  the  same  to  be  recorded  in  the  secre- 
tary's office  of  our  said  province.  Witness  our 
right  trusty  and  well  beloved  cousin,  Edward 
Viscount  Cornbury,  captain-general  and  govern 
or-in-chief  in  and  over  our  province  of  New 
York,  aforesaid,  and  territories  thereon  depend- 
ing in  America,  and  vice  admiral  of  the  same, 
&c.,  in  council,  at  our  Fort  in  New  York,  tlie 
nineteenth  day  of  April,  in  the  seventh  year  of 
our  reign,  Annoq.  Domina,  one  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eight. 

CoKNBTJKr. 

At  the  time  of  printing  that  part  of  this  work 
under  the  head  of  "  Common  lands  and  the  di- 
vision thereof,"  the  Compiler  was  not  aware  of 
the  existence  of  the  following  proceeding  relat- 
ing to  the  division  of  said  lands,  he  has  therefore 
placed  the  same  in  this  appendix. 

"  At  a  towne  meeting  held  this  twentieth  day 
of  Aprill,  1697,  at  Bedford,  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  Brookland,  in  Kings  County,  upon  the 
Island  of  Nassau,  Ilesolved  by  all  the  ffreehold- 
ers  of  the  townes  of  Brookland,  aforesaid,  that 
all  their  common  land  not  yet  laid  out  or  divided, 
belonging  to  their  whole  patent  shall  be  equally 
divided  and  laid  out  to  each  freeliolders  of  said 
towne,   his   just  proporcon   in   all  the  common 


DIVISION   OF    COIMMON    LANDS.  433 

lands  abovesaid,  except  those  tliat  have  but  an 
house  and  a  home  lott,  which  are  only  to  have 
but  half  share  of  the  lands  aforesaid.  And  for 
the  laying  out  of  the  said  land,  there  are  chosen 
and  appointed  by  the  freeliolders  abovesaid, 
Capt.  Henry  Filkin,  Jacobus  Yanderwater,  Dan- 
iel Rapalje,  Joris  Hansen,  John  Darlant,  and 
Cornelius  Yanduyne.  It  is  further  ordered  that 
no  men  within  the  tow^nship  abovesaid,  shall  have 
privilege  to  sell  his  part  of  the  undivided  lands 
of  Brookland  not  yet  laid  out,  to  any  person  liv- 
ing without  the  township  abovesaid.  It  is  like- 
wise ordered,  consented  to,  and  agreed  by  the 
towne  meeting  aforesaid,  that  Capt.  Henry  Fil- 
kin shall  have  a  full  share  with  any  or  all  the 
freeholders  aforesaid,  in  all  the  common  land  or 
woods  in  the  whole  patent  of  the  towne  of  Brook- 
land  aforesaid,  beside  a  half  share  for  his  home 
lott ;  To  liave  and  to  hold  to  him,  his  heirs  and 
assigns  forever.  It  is  likewise  ordered,  that  no 
person  whatsoever  within  the  common  woods  of 
the  jurisdicon  of  Brookland  aforesaid,  shall  cutt 
or  fall  any  oake  or  chesnut  saplings  for  firew^ood 
during  the  space  of  foure  years  from  the  date 
hereof  upon  any  of  the  said  common  lands  or 
woods  within  the  jurisdicon  of  Brookland  pat- 
ent, upon  the  penalty  of  six  shillings  in  money, 
for  every  wagon  load  of  saplings  abovesaid  soe 
'  19 


434  NOTES   ON   THE   TOWN    OF   BKOOKLYN. 

cntt,  besides  the  forfeiture  of  the  wood  or  timber 
soe  cntt  as  abovesaid,  the  one-half  thereof  to  the 
informer,  and  the  other  half  for  the  nse  of  the 
poor  of  the  towne  of  Brookland  aforesaid. 

By  order  of  the  towne  meeting  aforesaid,  and 
Justice  Henry  Efilkin. 

Jacobus  Yanderwater,  Towne  Clerk." 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  Compiler  here  closes  his  notes,  and  has 
only  to  remark,  that  throughout  the  whole  of  this 
little  work,  he  has  been  less  solicitous  about  his 
reputation  as  an  author,  than  a  correct  compiler. 
Studies  of  this  nature  are  but  ill  calculated  to 
admit  of  a  luxuriance  of  diction  or  sentiment, 
and  to  these  he  has  in  no  place  aspired.  His 
business  was  to  collect  authentic  information  con- 
cerning subjects  at  once  obscure  and  interesting, 
and  in  what  degree  he  has  effected  this  object  he 
leaves  his  readers  to  determine,  feeling  conscious 
himself  that  however  imperfectly  he  may  have 
executed  his  design,  his  only  aim  was  the  public 
good. 


^/i  y 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  LONG  ISLAND. 

By  Henry  Ondeedonk,  Jk. 

Alvord,  J.  W.     His  Address  in  First  Church,  Stamford, 

Dec.  22,  1841.     Pp.  40. 
Andros,  Thos.     Captivity  and  Escape  from  Jersey  Prison- 
ship.     1833.     24mo,  pp.  80. 
Armstrong,  John  J.      Oration  at  Queens,  July  4,  1861. 
8vo,   pp.  28. 
Oration  at  Flushing,  July  4,  1862.     8vo,  pp. 

24. 
Oration  at  Jamaica,  July  4,  1865.     8vo,  pp. 
31. 
Ayres,  J.  A.     The  Legends  of  Montauk.    A  Poem.     1849. 

8vo,  pp.  127. 
Ayres,  Dr.     Case  of  Membraneous  Croup.     1853. 
Contributions  to  Surgery.     1857. 

Bailey,  J.  T.  His.  Sketch  of  Brooklyn  and  its  Neighbor- 
hood.    1840.     12mo,  pp.  72. 

Barber,  J.  W.  His.  Coll.  of  K  Y.  1841.  8vo.  Pict. 
His.  of  the  State  of  N.  Y.     1846.     8vo,  pp.  376. 

Barclay,  Sidney.     See  Post, 

Bard,  Dr.  John.  Malignant  Pleurisy  of  L.  I.  in  Winter  of 
1749. 

Barroll,  Wm.  H.     Oration  at  Hempstead,  July  4,  1835. 

Beecher,  Lyman.  Ser.  on  Duelling,  at  Aquebogue,  April 
16,  1806.     8vo,  pp.  44. 


436  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND. 

Beecher,  Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  F.  M.    Sands,  E.  Hamp- 
ton, Oct.  12,   1806.     8vo,  pp.  20. 
Ser.  on  His.  of  E.  Hampton,  1806.     pp.  40,  8vo. 
Ser.  on  G-overnment  of   God  Desirable  (Matt.  vi. 

10).     1809. 
Ser.  on  Reformation  in  Morals. 
Beers,  And.  (of  Danbury).     L.  I.  Almanac  and  Register, 

1823.     12mo. 
Bedell,    Rich.,    and   others  vs.   Saml.  Denton  and  others. 
Chancellor's   Opinion,  filed  Dec.   27,  1824.     A. 
Spooner,  printer,  Br.     8vo,  pp.  12. 
Case  of   (Respondent's   Case),    1818.       8vo,   pp. 
584. 
Bennett,  Jas.  A.  (N.  Utrecht).     Bookkeeping  (1846),  and 

Arithmetic  (1835)  :  On  Swimming. 
Benson,  Egbert.     Dutch  Names.     Read  before  N".  Y.  His. 

Soc,  Dec.  31,  1816.     Reprint. 
Bergen,   Tunis   G.     Translator  of  De  Sille's  His.  of  New 
Utrecht. 
Genealogy  of  the  Bergen  Family,  1866.  8vo,  pp. 
298. 
Betts,  Wm.,  LL.D.  (Jamaica).  Oration,  July  4,  1838.    8vo, 

pp.  16. 
Bishop,  A.  H.      Ser.  on  Deaths  of  Abm.  Remsen  and  A. 

R.  Schenck.     8\ro,  1849,  pp.  35. 
Bogart,  David  S.     Ser.  before  a  Religious  Society,  N.  Y., 
Dec.  17,  1787.     12mo,  pp.  14. 
Thanksgiving  Ser.,  Southampton,  Nov.  22,  1804. 

8vo,  pp.  24. 
Ser.  at  Clerical  Bee,  at  the  Parsonage,  Hempstead 

Harbor,  Ap.  6,  1814.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Ser.  on  his  Death,  by  Thos.  DeWitt,  D.D.,  N.  Y., 
8vo,  pp.  22. 


BIBLTOGRAPIIT   OF   LONG    ISLAND.  437 

Bogart,  Miss  Elizabeth.     Fugitive  Poems.     1866,     12mo, 

pp.  307. 
Bokee,  David  A.  (Br.).     Oration,  July  4,  1851.     8vo,  pp. 

11. 
Bowden,  Jas.     His.  of  Friends  in  America  (and  on  L.  I.). 

2  V.     8vo.     London,  1850. 
Bownas,  Samuel   (Quaker).    Life  and  Travels  (imprisoned 

at  Jamaica).     1756.     8vo. 
Brenton,   Jas.  J.  (Jam.).     Voices  from   the   Press,    1850. 

8vo,  pp.  312. 
Brinckerhoff,  John   K    (Jam.).      Oration,  July  4,  1838. 

12mo,  pp.  14. 
Brood,  Amos.      Discourse  to  U.  S.  Army,   at  Brooklyn, 

Sept.  3,  1814.     12mo,  pp.  18. 
Brodhead,  Jacob,  D.D.     His  Ser.  in  Central  Ref.  D.  Ch., 
Br.,  July  27,  1851.     8vo,  pp.  25. 
Jno.  Romeyn.     Hist,  of  K  Y.,  1609-64.     8vo, 
1853. 
Brooklyn.     All  Procedings  relative  to  South  Ferry,  from 
Dec,  1825,  to  Jan.,  1835.     8vo,  pp.  100. 
Directories,  1797,  and  to  date. 
East  New  York  and  Rockaway  Railroad  Char- 
ter, 1864.     8vo,  pp.  28. 
Battle  of.     A  Farce  in  2  Acts,  as  played  by  the 
Rebels,  Aug.  27, 1776.    Rivington,  printer,  N. 
Y.,  1776. 
Act  of  Incorporation,  1816.     8vo,  pp.  12. 
Policy  of  the  Nation  respecting  a  Navy,  1814, 

8vo.    (Price  25  cts.). 
Militiaman's  Guide  and  His.  of  Gen.   Stevens' 

Officers,  Oct.  20,  1814.     (Price  37^  cts.) 
Height's  "  Patriotic  Diggers."   A  Song.    (Price  6 
cts.)     Aug.  23,  1814. 


438  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAJS^D. 

Brooklyn.   Expenses  and  Receipts  of  Fire  Department  from 

1784  to  1817. 
Management  of  the  Old  or  Fulton  Ferry,  1822. 

8vo,  pp.  80. 
Reply  to  Pamphlet  on  Steamboat  Ferry,  1822. 

8vo,  pp.  46. 
Law  Papers  relating  to  Fulton  Ferry,  1 822.    8vo, 

pp.  80. 
Act  to  amend  Act  of  Incorporation,  passed  Ap. 

9,  1824.     8vo,  pp.  8. 

Act  Incorporating  the  City  as  reported,  Nov. 

10,  1825.     8vo,  pp.  32. 

Memorial  to  Corporation  of  N.  Y.,  1825.  8vo, 
pp.  19. 

Bible  Society,  1825,  pp.  7.  Officers  of  Bible  So- 
ciety.   1847,  pp.  4. 

On  Removal  of  Jail  and  Court-House  of  Kings 
Co.,  Feb.  1825.     8vo,  pp.  8. 

South  Ferry  Question,  by  a  Freeman,  1826.  8vo, 
pp.  63. 

Young  Men's  Miss.  Soc.  of  Ref.  Dutch  Church. 
First  Report,  1827.     12mo,  i^p.  11. 

Lyceum  By-Laws,  1833. 

Conference  on  Incorporating  N.  Y.  and  Brook- 
lyn, Jan.,  1834.    8vo,  pp.  14. 

Wealthy  Men  and  Women  of.  By  Lomas  & 
Pearce,  1847.     12mo,  pp.  48. 

Constitution  of  St.  Nicholas  Society  of  Long 
Island,  1848.     12mo,  pp.  15. 

Manual  of  Clinton  Av.  Cong'l  Church,  Jan., 
1851.     18mo,  pp.  32. 

Report  of  Standing  Com.  on  Water,  Dec.  22, 
1851.     8vo,  pp.  24. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAND.  439 

Brooklyn.    By-Laws  of  Atheneum,  May  2,  1853.  First  Ann. 
Report,  Jan.  10,  1854. 

Atheneum    and    Reading-Room    Report    (2d), 
1855.     8vo. 

City  and  Kings  Co.   Record,   pub.  by  Wm.  C. 
Smith,  1855.     12mo. 

Heights  Seminary.     Cat.  of  1854-5-6.     8vo. 

Rejjort  of  Water  Commissioners,  1850.    Propo- 
sals for  Water  Loan,  1857. 

Debate  on  Water  Question  in  Com.  Council,  1853. 

Manual  of  First  Presb.  Ch.  (Van  Dyck's).   Mem- 
bers' Names.     18mo. 

Young  Men's   Christian   Association.      Foui'th 
and  Fifth  Reports,  1858-9.     8vo. 

Cat.    of   Collegiate   and   Polytechnic  Institute, 
1858.     8vo. 

Memorial  to  Legislature  against  Local  Assess- 
ments, 1858.     8vo,  pp.  12. 

Atlantic   St.  Railroad  Assessment,  1858.     8vo, 
pp.  12. 

City  Hospital,  and  Address  by  Dr.  J.  C,  Hutch- 
inson, 1859.     8vo,  pp.  39. 

Reports  on  the  District  that  Supplies  Br.  with 
Water.     By  T.  Weston,  1861.     8vo. 

Dummy    Engine    from    Bedford    to    Jamaica 
(plate),  Jan.  1863.     Svo,  pp.  15. 

Manual  of  Com.  Council  from  1861  to  date. 

City  Hospital  Charter  and  Statistics  for  1859. 
8vo,  pp.  38;    Re})ort  for  1850.     8vo,  pp.  11. 
Buell,  Sam'l,  D.D.     Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Benj.  Tallmadge,  Br. 
Haven,  Oct.  23,  1754,  pp.  62. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  Esther  Darbe,  Sept.  24, 1757, 
pp.  34. 


440  BIBLTOGKAniY    OF    LONG    ISLAND. 

Buell,  Samuel,  D.D.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  Cath.  Davis, 

April  11,  1759,  pp.  38. 
Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Mr.  Occom,  at  E.  Hampton,  Aug. 

29,  1759,  pp.  38. 
Account  of  the  late  Success  of  the  Gospel  in  the 

Province    of  N.  Y.,  contained  in  Letters  from 

Messrs.  Buell,  Hazard  &  Prime.    1765.    8vo,  pp. 

16; 
Letter   to  Rer.  Mr.  Barber,   of    Groton,  Mar.  17, 

1764.     16mo,  pp.  8. 
Ser.  on  death  of  Rev.  Chas.  Jeffery  Smith,  Aug.  10, 

1770,  pp.  42. 
Ser.  at  Enfield  on  Spiritual  Knowledge  of   God, 

1771. 
New  Year's   Ser.  at   E.  Hampton,  with  Poem    on 

"Youth's  Triumphs,"  1775,  pp.  54. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  his  Daughter,  Mrs.  Jerusha  Conk- 

lin,  Feb.  24,  1782. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  his  only  Son  Samuel,  1787.    8vo, 

pp.  52. 
Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Aaron  Woolworth,  Bridgehampton, 

Ang.  30,  1787,  pp.  46. 
Half-century  Ser.  at  E.  Hampton,  1792.     8vo,  pp. 

40. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Saml  B.  Woolworth,  1794. 
Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Jos.  Hazard,  Southold,  1797.    8vo, 

pp.  30. 
Correspondence  with  Gov.  Tryon,    1776-80.       (A 

MS.  vol.  in  N.  Y.  State  Library.) 
Correspondence  with  Gov.  Trumbull  (in  Library  of 

Mass.  Hist.  Soc,  Boston). 
BufPet,  Piatt,  Smithtown.     Letter  on  Mr.  Fletcher's  Doc- 
trine, 1794.     12mo,  pp.  35. 


BIBLIOGKAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND.  441 

Burnet,  Mattliias.  Ser.  at  Jamaica,  1790.  (In  American 
Preacher.) 

Burr,  Aaron.  Ser.  at  Ord.  of  David  Bostwick,  Jam. ,  Oct. 
9,  1745.     18mo,  pp.  87. 

Buslmell,  Chas.  J.  Adventures  of  Christ.  Hawkins  (in 
Prison  Ship),  1864.     Svo,  pp.  316. 

Busteed,  Rich.  (Jam.)  Oration,  July  4,  1861 :  at  Hunt- 
ington, July  4,  1863.     8vo,  pp.  21. 

Callicot,  T.  C.    (Br.).      Speech   against   Negro  Suffrage, 

Feb.  10,  1860.     8vo,  pp.  12. 
Campbell,  Wm.  H.,   D.D.      Ser.   on   Death    of  Thos.  M. 

Strong,  D.D.,  June  30,  1861.     8vo,  pp.  12. 
Carmichael,  Wm.  H.,  D.D.      Rise   and  Progress  of   St. 
George's  Ch.,  Hemp.,  1841.     8vo,  pp.  59. 
Threefold   Ministry  of    the    Church.      1844. 
12mo. 
Carver,  Dr.  Jas.,  of  Oyster  Bay.  The  Veterinary  Art.    1816. 

8vo,  pp.  32. 
Chalkley,  Thos.      Journal,    1741.     12mo.      (A  travelling 

Quaker  preacher  on  L.  I.). 
Chandos,  Wm.  A.     Legends  of  L.  I. 
Cleaveland,  N.    Add.  before  New  England  Soc,  Br.,  Dec. 
21,  1849.     Svo. 
Descriptive    Notices    in    "Greenwood    Illus- 
trated." 
Clowes,  Tim.,  LL.D.  (Hemp.).       Sermons  at  St.  Peter's 
Ch.,  Albany,  1816.     12mo,  pp.  282. 
Prospectus    of    Hemp'd   Academy,    Ai3ril,    1818. 

8vo. 
The  Tachymathist,  Nos.  1  and  2.    1845.     8vo,  pp. 

32. 
The  Schoolmaster,  folio.     Started  July  5,  1830. 
19* 


442  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Cobbet,  Wm.  A.     A  Year's  Residance  in  U.  S.  (chiefly  on 

L.  L).     3  parts.     1818-19.     8vo. 
Congregational  Church  of  L.  I.     His.  of  from  1791-1839. 

12mo,  pp.  36. 
Crane,  Elias  W.  (Jam.).      Add.  on  Sacred  Music.    1839. 

8vo,  pp.  8. 
Cross,  Robt.   (Jam.).      Ser.   before  Presbyterian  Synod, 

Phil.,  1735. 
Currie,  R.  O.,  D.D.  (N.  Utrecht).      Ser.  at  Death  of  Drs. 
Crane  and  Dubois.    1856.     12mo,  pp.  15. 
Memoirs  of  Rev.  R.  Sluyter,  of  Claverack,  1846. 

18mo,  pp.  132. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Shelton,  Nov.  15, 
.1864.     8vo,  pp.  21. 
Curtenius,  Antonius  (Flatlmsh).      His  Eulogy  in  Dutch 
Pub.    by    H.   Goelet,    K    Y.,    price    3    coppers, 
1756. 
Cutler,  B.  C,  D.D.  (Br.).      Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  Mary 
Augusta  Greene,  July  17,  1849.     8vo,  pp.  24. 
Ser.  at  Funeral  of  Rev.  F.  C.  Clements,   Jan.  23, 
1853.     8vo,  pp.  43. 
Cypress    Hills    Cemetery,  1842.      12mo,   pp.  14.      Same, 
1857.  8vo,  pp.  72.   (With  names  of  lot  owners.) 

Daggert,  Herman.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Sam'l  Buell,  D.D., 
July  22,  1798.     8vo,  pp.  23. 
The  American  Reader  for  the  use  of  Schools. 
Davidson,  Robt.,  D.D.     Two   Centuries  of  Presbyt.  Ch., 

Huntington.     1866.     8vo,  pp.  64. 
Dawson,  Henry  B.     Battle  of  L.  I. 
Degraw,  J.  W.     Agricultural  Address. 
De  Kay,  Jas.  E.,  M.D.  (Oyster  Bay).     Indian  Names  on 
L.  I.    1851.     12mo,  pp.  12. 


BtBLIOGKAPIIY    OF    LONG    ISLAND.  443 

Demarest,  Cor.  T.     Lamentation  over  Sol.  Froeligh,  D.D. 

•     1827.     8vo,  pp.  70.     (Min.  of  Queens  Co.) 
Denton,  Rev.  Rich.  (Hemp.).     "  Soliloquia  Sacra." 
Denton,  Daniel.  Brief  Description  of  N.  Y.  (and  of  Queens 

Co.).     London,  1701;  N.  Y.,  1845.     8vo,  pp.  57. 
De  Sille,  Nicasius.      His.  of  Settlements  of  N.  Utrecht. 

Poems.     (See  Murphy's  Anthologie.) 
Devereux,  Jno.  C.     Oration  on  Wm.  Penn,  July  4,  1852, 

at  Jamaica.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Dring,  Capt.  Thos.     Recollections  of  the  Jersey  Prison 
Ship,  1829.     18mo,  pp.  167. 
Enlarged  edition  wdth  notes  and  portraits,  by  H. 
B.  Dawson.     8vo,  1865,  pp.  201. 
Drowne,  T.  Stafford.     Ser.  in  the  Holy  Trinity,  Br.,  July 

24,  1853.     8vo,  pp.  24. 
Dunlop,  Wm.     His.  of  New  Netherland  and  N".  Y.,  2  v. 

8vo,  1839-40. 
D wight,  Timothy,  D.D.     Travels  in  N.  England  (and  on 

L  J.),  4  V.  8vo.     1821-22. 
Dwight,  Maurice  W.,  D.D.     Ser.  on  Death   of  Gen.  Jer. 
Johnson,  1853.     8vo. 
Ser.  to   Young   Men   in  Ref.  D.    Ch.,   Brooklyn, 

May  21,  1837.     8vo,  pp.  23. 
Ser.    on  Death  of  Gen.  Zach,  Taylor,  July  14, 
1850.    8vo,  pp.  19. 

Eames,  Theodore.     Add.  at  opening  of  Class.  Hall,  Br., 
Mar.  24,  1831.     8vo,  pp.  32. 
Lect.  before  Brooklyn  Lyceum,  Nov.  7, 1833.  8vo. 
East  Hampton.     Add.  of,  to  Messrs.  Tapping  &  Corwith. 
18mo,  pp.  14.     No  date. 
Dialogue  on    Free  Thinking,   by  Prin- 
cipal of  the  Academy.  1807. 


444  BIBLIOGEAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND. 

East  New  York.     Map  of  Lots,  Aug.,  1843. 

Eclii^se.     His.  and  Pedigree  of  that  noted  Race-Horse. 

1823.     8vo,  pp.  37. 
Edwards,  Jas.  C.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev.  Jno.  Gile,  of  Se- 
tauket  (drowned),     1850.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Add.  before  Synod  of   Presby'n  Church,  1848. 
8vo,  pp.  8. 
Edwards,  Jona,  D.D.      Ser.  at  Installation  of   S.  Buell, 

Sept.  19,  1746.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Embury,  Emma  C.     Add.  on  Female  Education,  read  by 
F.    Tucker,    at     Br.    Coll.    Institute,    1831.      8vo, 
pp.  19. 
Evergreens  Cemetery.     Rules,  1850.     12mo,  pp.  22. 

Faitoute,  Geo.  (Jam.).     Ser.  on  Amer.  Preacher. 
Farley,  Rev.  F.  A.     Discourse  Br.  Lyceum,  Ap.  9,  1843. 
8vo. 
Dangers  of  Business  Life,  Sept.  19,  1847.     8vo. 
and  S.  H.  Cox,  D.D.     Addresses  on  laying  corner- 
stone of  Br.  City  Hospital,  June  11,  1851.     pp. 
20,  8vo. 
Ferris,  Isaac,  D.D.    Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev.  Tlios.  M.  Strong, 

D.D.,  Flatbush,  July  17,  1861.     8vo,  pp.  26. 
Field,  Thos.  W.     Editor  of  Garden's  Anecdotes  of  Rev. 

3  V.  folio.     1865. 
Fish,  T.  G.     St.  Ann's  Church,  Br.,  1 784-1 845v      12mo, 

1845. 
Flatbush  &  Flatlands.     First  Report  of  Female  Religious 

Tract  Soc,  Nov.  3,  1816. 
Flushing.     Celebration  of  Linna?us'  Birthday,  May,  1824. 
8vo,  pp.  16. 
Utility  of  Turnpike  across  the  Necks  to  Hunt- 
ington.    1826.     18mo,  pp.  11 


BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAND.  445 

Flushing.     Journal  of  the  Institute  (vol.  iii.,  No.  2).     pp. 
13-56,  8vo.     1834-5. 
St.  Paul's  College,  Fund  to  educate  Teachers. 

1838.     8vo. 
Cat.  of  Wilcomb  &  King's  Nursery  (successors 

to  Bloodgoodj,  1840.     8vo,  pp.  47.  . 
Gram.  School  of  St.  Paul's  College,  1842.     pp. 

36,  12mo. 
Circular  of  St.  Thomas  Hall,  G.  B.  Docharty, 

LL.D.,  rector.     1844.     pp.  11,  8vo. 
Constitution  and   By-laws  of   Pacific  Lodge, 
No.   85,  I.   O.  of   O.  F.     1844.     18mo,  pp. 
24. 
Cat.    of   Greenbrook    Family   School.      1846. 

8vo,  pp.  16. 
First   Ann.    Report   of   Board   of    Education 

(Dis.  No.  5).     1849.     8vo,  pp.  47. 
Annual  Report  of  Bible  Society  to  date. 
Address  of  Trustees  of  School  Dis.  No.  1  to 
Parents  and  Guardians.     8vo,  pp.  11.     No. 
date. 
Cat.  of  Officers  and  Students  of  the  Institute. 
Dec,  1849.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Force,  Peter.     American  Archives,  1774-6,  folio.     (Revo- 
lutionary affairs  on  L.  I.) 
Foster,  Nathaniel.     Address  to  St.   All:)an's  Lodge,  Br., 

Dec.  27,  1797.     8vo,  pp.  23. 
Fowler,  Jno.     Oration,  July  4,  in  Presby.  Cli.,  Jam.,  1850. 

8vo,  pp.  16. 
Fox,    Ebenr.    (Roxbury).     Rev.    Adventures    (in    Prison 

Ships).     1838.     18mo,  pp.  238. 
Fox,  George.     Journal  (Quaker  preacher  on  L.  I.)     1694. 
Folio. 


446  BIBLIOGEAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Franklinville,  3d  Ann.  Report  of  Academy.     1859.     8vo, 

pp.  8. 
Freeman,  Bernardiis.   (Flatbush.)   Balances  of  God's  Grace 
(in  Dutch).     1721.     12mo,  pp.  583. 
The  Mirror  of  Self-knowledge.     1720.      18mo, 

202.      (In  Dutch.) 
The  Defence  against  Complaints  of  Dutch  Ch.  in 
N.  J.     1726.     18mo,  pp.  126.     (In  Dutch.) 
French,  J.  H.     Gazetteer  of  N.  Y.     1860.     8vo,  pp.  739. 

(It  has  historical  notes  on  Long  Island.) 
Freneau,  Philip.     Poem  on  the  Prison  Ships  at  N.  Y., 

with  Duyckink's  notes.     1866. 
Fulton,  W.  A.  C.     His.  of  Br.  Newspapers.     1865. 
Furman,  Gabriel,  LL.D.     Notes  Geographical  and  Hist, 
relative  to  Br.     1824.     12mo,  pp.  116. 
Gerrit-Maspeth.     Poems.    1837.    18mo,  pp.  128. 
Long    Island  Miscellanies   by 
Rusticus  Gent.  1847.    18mo, 
pp.  185. 

Gardiner,  Jno.  D.     Ser.  at  Sag  Harbor.     Sept.  9,  1812. 
18mo,  pp.  20. 
Jno.  L.     Notes  on  E.  Hampton  (in  Doc.  His.  i., 

683). 
Mrs.  Mary  L,      Prose  and  Poetical  Writings. 
1843.     12mo,  pp.  359. 
Garretson,  G.  J.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Abm.  Skidmore  Rapel- 
ye.     1847.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
The  Christian  Citizen.     1842.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
(Newtown.)     Quadragenian  Arm.   of  Rev.   J. 

Schoonmaker,  D.D.     1842.     8vo,  pp.  29. 
Investigation  of  his  Case.     1853.     8vo,  pp.  76. 
Giraud,  J.  P.,  Jr.     Birds  of  L.  L     1844.     8vo. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG    ISLAND.  447 

Gleason,  Luther  (Smitlitown).     Duty  of  Parents  to  Chil- 
dren.    1803.     12nio,  pp.  15. 
Trial  of,  by  Presbytery  at  Br.  Haven,  Ap.  13, 1808. 
12mo,  pp.  100. 
Goetschius,  J.  H.     Ser.  at  Newtown  on  "The  Unknown 

God,"  Aug.  22,  1742.     18mo,  pp.  57. 
Goodenow,  Sterling.     Topogl  and  Statis'l  Manual  of  K 

y.  state.     1822.     8vo,  pp.  88. 
Goodwin,  F.  J.    (Flushing.)   Farewell  Ser.  in  St.  George's 

Ch.     1844.     8vo,  pp.  15. 
Gordon,  Thos.  F.     Gazetteer  of  State  of  N.  Y.     1836. 
8vo. 
Wm.    R.,  D.D.      Rebuke   of  High   Churchism. 
1844.     8vo,  pp.  32. 
Gray,  Rev.  Horatio.     Memoirs  of  B.  C.  Cutler,  D.D.,  Br. 

1865.     8vo,  pp.  439. 
Greenwood  Cemetery.     Report  of  Vice-Pres.  J.  A.  Perry, 
Dec.  4,  1848.     12mo,  pp.  12. 
Rules,  Names  of  Lot  Owners,  etc.   1852.    8vo, 
pp.  63  and  pp.  65. 
Griffing,  Augustus,   (Orient).     First  Settlers  of  Southold 
and  Orient.     1857.     12mo,  pp.  312, 

Hall,  Rev.  Edwin.      His.    of  Norwalk.      1847.      12mo. 

(It  contains  Jamaica  names.) 
Hammon,  Jupiter.     (Slave  of  Jos.  Lloyd,  Queen's  Village.) 
Parable  of  10  Virgins.     Hartford,  Dec,  1779. 
Address  to  Negroes  of  State  of  N.  Y.     1787. 

8vo.     Ditto,  1806.     18mo. 
A  Winter  Piece,  being  a  serious  Exhortation,  with 
a   Call  to   the    Unconverted.      1782.      8vo, 
pp.  24. 
Halsey,  Daniel  (Southampton).  Fourth  of  July  Ode,   1831. 


448  BrBLIOGRAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Hart,  Rev.   Joshua.     Ser.  at  Huntington,  July  4,   1813. 
8vo,  pp.  20. 
Fast  Ser.  at  Huntington  (Luke  xxii.  36).      Jan.  12, 

1815. 
Seth.   Ser.  to  Freemasons  in  St.  George's  Ch.,  Hemp'd. 
1801.     12mo,  pp.  23. 
Ser.  on  1st  Sunday  after  Consecration  of  St. 
George's  Ch.     1823.     8vo,  pp.  14. 
Hastings,  H.  P.     On  Selah  B.  Strong's  management  of  a 

Law-suit,  Oct.  27,  1851.     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Hawkins,  Micah.     Brookhaven.     Composed  music,  songs 

and  plays,  about  1825. 
Hawks,  F.  L.     Flushing.     The  Church  Record.     1840-2. 

2  vols.,  4to  (weekly). 
Hazard,  Jos.    Poems.     1814.     8vo,  pp.  187.    (A.  Spooner, 

Br.,  printer.) 
Hedges,  Henry  P.     The  200th  Ann.  of  Settlement  of  E. 

Hampton.     1850.     8vo,  pp.  101. 
Hegeman,  Adrian,  Esq.     Oration  in  town  of  Oyster  Bay. 

July  4,  1801.     8vo,  pp.  15. 
Hempstead.     Case  of  Appeal  from  Court  of  Chancery. 
1818.     8vo,  pp.  504. 
In  error.      Appellant's  case.      1825.      8vo, 

(Suit  for  the  Marshes.) 
Annual  Reports  of  Bible  Society. 
Hicks,  Jno.  J.     Order  of  Lepidoptera,  the  White- winged 

Moth  or  Measurer.     1866.     8vo,  pp.  10. 
Hicks,  Elias.     (Quaker  Preacher,  Jericho.)     On  Slavery. 
1811.     18mo,  pp.  24. 
Two  discourses  in  N.   Y.,   Dec.   17,  1824.      8vo, 

pp.  21. 
Sermons  in  N.  Y.  taken  in  short  hand,  May,  1825. 
8vo. 


BIBLIOGEAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND.  449 

Ilicks,    Defence   of   the  Christian   Doctrine   of    Friends. 
1825.     8vo. 
Discourse  at   Rose    St.    Meeting-House,    April   5, 

1829.     8vo,  pp.  20. 
Six  Queries  and  his  Reply.     1830.     12mo,  pp.  8. 
Testimony  of  Jericho  Monthly  Meeting.       1830. 

8vo,  pp.  8. 
Journal  of  his  Life  and  Labors,  by  himself.     1832. 
8vo,  pp.  451. 
Higgins,  Daniel.     Flushing.     2d  Ann.  Cat.  of  Fruit  and 

Ornamental  Trees.     1843.     12mo,  pp.  20. 
Hinman,  R.  R.    Names  of  Puritan  Settlers  of  Conn.,  1635- 

65.     1846.     8vo,  pp.  256.     (It  has  L.  I.  names.) 
Hoadly,  Chas.  J.     Records  of  the  Colony  of  N.   Haven. 

1638-65.     2  v.,  8vo.     1857-58. 
Horton,   Azariah.      Journal  of.     (He  was  Missionary  to 

L.  I.  Indians,  1742-4.) 
Howell,   George  R.       Early  His.   of  Southampton,  with 
genealogies.     1866.     12mo,  pp.  318. 

Ireland,  Rev.  Jno.  (Br.).     Proceedings  of  Body  of  Clergy 
against.     1810.     8vo,  pp.  23. 
Second  solemn  Appeal  to  the  Church.  1811.  8vo, 
pp.  74.     (He  was  degraded.) 

Jacobus,  M.  W.,  D.D.      Fast   Ser.    at  Brooklyn,    1841. 
8vo,  pp.  24. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Adrian  Van  Sinderen,  Br.,  1843. 
8vo,  pp.  16. 
Jaggar,  Wm.     Address  to  People  of  Suffolk  Co.  on  Na- 
tional Policy.     1836.    8vo,  pp.  59. 
Address  to  People  of  all  Parties.      1838.     8vo, 
pp.  16. 


450  BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Jamaica.     Second  Ann.  Report  of  Soc.  for  Ameliorating 
Condition  of  Jews.    1824.     12mo,  pp.  10. 

Manual  of  1st  Presb.  Church  (names  of  mem- 
bers).    1840.     18mo,  pp.  32. 

Assembly  Report  on  Union  Hall  Academy. 
1846.     8vo,  pp.  55. 

Constitution  and  By-laws  of  Sons  of  Temper- 
ance.    Feb.  13,  X844.     18mo,  pp.  24.     1846. 

By-laws  of  Protection  Co.,  having  charge  of 
Engine  No.  1,  org'd  May  14,  1849.  18mo, 
pp.  12. 

Constitution  of  Jamaica  Lodge,  No.  81,  I.  O. 
of  O.  F.,  instituted  Jan.  21,  1843.  18mo, 
pp.  43.     1849. 

Rules  and  By-laws  of  Scott  and  Graham  Club, 
1852.     18mo,  pp.  8. 

First  and  Second  Reports  of  Board  of  Educa- 
tion,    pp.  12  and  18.     8vo.     1854-5. 

Add.  of  Trustees  to  Parents,  1854.    8vo,  pp.  16. 

Const,  of  Order  of  U.  A.,  and  By-Laws  of 
Woodhull  Chap.,  No.  24.  1856.  18mo,  pp. 
67. 

Const,  and  By-Laws  of  Neptune  Fire  Eng.  Co. 
No.  2.  (Org.  April  9,  1849.)  1856.  18mo, 
pp.  24. 

Bank  of,  Ai-ticles  of  Agreement.    1861.    18mo, 
pp.  13. 
Johnson,  Evan  M.,  D.D.  (Br.).     Ser.  on  Church  and  Dis- 
sent, Dec.  6,  1846.     8vo,  pp.  19. 
Ser.  on  Church  Union  (Br.),  Jan.  18,  1846.     Svo, 

pp.  25. 
Ser.  on  Communion  of  Saints  (Br.),  March  26, 

1848.     8vo,  pp.  27. 


BIBLIOGKAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAND.  451 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  (Jam.).    Christ's  Fast  and  Tempta- 
tion.    1848.     8vo,  pp.  52. 

Jeremiah.  Three  Articles  on  Rev.  Incidents  of 
Kings  Co.,  in  Nav.  Mag.     1836.     8vo. 

Rev.  John  B,,  Oration  before  Tammany  Soc, 
N.  Y.,  May  12,  1794.     8vo,  pp.  24. 

Sam'l  R.,  D.D.  Ser.  in  Grace  Ch.,  Jamaica,  Oct. 
11,  1835.     8vo,  pp.  15. 

Samuel  R.,  D.D.  Ser.  in  Br.,  Nov.  25,  1847. 
8vo,  pp.  10. 

Samuel  R.,  D.D.  Eulogy  on  Gen.  Jeremiah 
Johnson,  Oct.  20,  1853.     8vo,  pp.  34. 

Wm.  Lupton,  D.D.  (Jamaica).  National  Bless- 
ings, Dec.  10,  1829.     8vo,  pp.  22. 

Wm.  Lupton,  D.D.  Descent  of  the  Holy  Spiiit. 
1855.     8vo,  pp.  40. 

Wm.  Lupton,  D.D.  Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  Eliza 
Poole,  wife  of  Wm.  S.  Smith,  May  7,  1855. 
8vo,  pp.  13. 

Wm.  Lupton,  D.D.  The  Rector's  Offering,  an- 
nually.   1840-54.     8vo. 

Wm.  Lupton,  D.D.  Ser.  before  Annual  Con- 
vention, K  Y.,  Sept.  27,  1848.  8vo,  pp. 
32. 

Wm.  Lupton,    D.D.       Ser.    on    Re-opening   of 
Grace  Church,  Jam.,  Aug.  26,  1860.     8vo, 
pp.  31. 
Jones,  Dr.  John  (native  of  L.  I.).     On  Wounds  and  Frac- 
tures.    1776. 
Samuel  (O.  Bay).     Notes  on  Smith's  Hist,  of  N.  Y., 

and  Remarks  on  Spofford's  New  York  Gazetteer, 

in  Collections  of  N.  Y.  Hist.  Soc,  vol.  iii.,  350- 

65,  and  328-40.     8vo. 


452  BIBLIOGKArilY    OF   LOIS-G    ISLAND. 

Jones,  Wm.   Alfred  (N.  Y.).      Memorial  of  Hon.  D.   S. 
Jones.     1849.     18mo,  pp.  90. 
Wm.  Alfred  (N.  Y.).     Life  of  Mount  and  of  Wal- 
ter R  Jones  in  Hunt's  Magazine. 

Keith,  Geo.     Journals  of  Travels,  1706.     4to.     Reprinted 

1851.     (He  preached  on  L.  I.,  1702-3.) 
Keteltas,  Rev.  Abm.  (Jam.).     Charity  Ser.  in  French  Ch., 
K  Y.,  Dec.  27,  1773.     8vo,  pp.  24. 
Ser.    at   ElizabethtoNvn    to    Canadian    Soldiers, 

March  8,  1759. 
Evening  Lecture  at  Newburyport,  Oct.  5,  1777. 
Ser.  on  Extortion  at  Newburyport,  Feb.  15,  1778, 
King,  Rufus  (Jam.).     Speech    on  American    Naval  Act. 
1818.     8vo. 
Speech  on  the  Missouri  Bill.    1819.     8vo. 
John  A.,  LL.D.     Letter  to  his  Constituents,  April, 

1851.     8vo,  pp.  15. 
John  A.,  LL.D.     Message  while  Gov.  of  the  State. 
Walter,     Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Danl  Hall,  Sag  Harbor, 
L.  L,  Sept.  21,  1797.     8vo,  pp.  37. 
Kings  County.     Annual   Reports   of   Superintendents   of 
Poor.     1851.     12mo,  pp.  35. 
Constitution  of  Agricultural  Soc,  adopt- 
ed Aug.  17,  1819.     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Constitution  of  Med.  Soc,  adopted  April 
8,    1822.       8vo,    pp.    32  ;     and    1829, 
12mo,  pp.  32. 

Lambert,  E.  R.     Hist,  and  Description  of  Southold  (in  his 

Hist,  of  K  Haven).     1838.     12mo. 
Lawrence,  E.  A.      Flushing,    Speech   on   Gov.   Message, 

Jan.  20,  1860.     8vo,  pp.  28. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG    ISLAND.  453 

Leclyard,  Isaac.     Oration  at  Jamaica,  July  4,  1795. 
Letter  from  L.  I.  Farmer,  in  a  Pamphlet  called  Doctrines 
of  the  Church,  or  Methodism  Displayed.     (Printed 
by    H.   Gaine,   price    6(^.)    by   a  member  of  Epis- 
copal Church.     Price,  Is.  6d.     March,  1793. 
Lewis,   Amzi.     Ser.   at  Ord.   of  Zach,   Greene,   June  28, 

1787.     8vo,  pp.  28. 
L'Hommedieu,  Ezra.     On  Manures  (in  vol.  i.  Trans.  N.  Y. 

Ag.  Soc.     1795). 
Livingston,  Wm,  (N.  Jersey).    Descrip.  of  Queens  Village 

in  his  Poem  on  Philosophic  Solitude.    1790. 
Long  Island  Bible  Society  Reports  from  1816  to  date. 

Bible  and  Common  Prayer-Book  Soc.  Con- 
stitution.   1815.     8vo,  pp.  G. 
Bible  and  Common  Prayer-Book  Soc.     First 
and    Second   Annual   Reports.     1816-17. 
Svo,  pp.  12. 
Presbytery.    Circular  Letter  to  the  Churches, 

April  15,  1807.     pp.  12. 
Journal    of    Philosophy    (monthly),    Oct., 
1825.     8vo,  pp.  241-88,  by  S.  Fleet,  Hun- 
tington. 
Railroad  Engineers'  Report.    1834.     12mo, 

pp.  24. 
Railroad  Report  when  completed  to  Green- 
port.     8vo. 
Railroad  Report.     1845.     Svo. 
Report  Uniting   the  South  Bays  by  Canal 
from  Coney  Island  to  Br.  Hampton.   1848. 
Svo,  pp.  22. 
Documents  Relative  to  Conveyance  of  Lands. 
1850.     Svo,  pp.  42.     (BeUifc  Gould,  piin- 
ters.) 


454  BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF    LONG   ISLAND. 

Long  Island   Railroad   Special  Committee's  Report,  and 
Opinion    of  Counsel,    May  19,  1851,   pp. 
24. 
North  Side  Railroad.     Report  of  Engineer. 

1854.     8vo,  pp.  24. 
North  Shore  Railroad.     1st  Annual  Report, 

Sept.  22,  1866.     8vo. 
Fish,  Guano  and  Oil  Works  at  Southold. 

1858.     12mo.     (Printed  at  Wmsburg.) 
Hist.  Soc.     1863.      8vo,  pp.  21.     Constitu- 
tion, By-Laws  and  Officers. 
Hist.    Soc.      First,    Second  and   Third  An- 
nual Reports.     8vo.     1864-5-6. 
Lossing,  B.  J.     Field-Book  of  Rev.     2  v.  8vo,  2d  edition. 
1855. 
Diary  of  Washington  on  L.  L     1861.     12mo. 
Lowe,  Peter  (Flatbush).     Ser.  at  Org.  of  Classis  of  L.  L, 

June  1,  1813.     8vo,  pp.  24. 
Lyman,  Huntington.    Add.  to  Temperance  Soc.  at  Frank- 
linville,  Sept.,  1830,  pp.  55. 

McCormick,  R.  C.     Oration  at  Jam.,  July  4,  1864.     8vo, 

pp.  36. 
Macdonald,  Jas.  M.,  D.D.     Lecture  on  Credulity  before 
Jamaica  Lyceum.     18mo. 
Sketch  of  Presby'n  Church,  Jamaica.    1847. 

12mo,  pp.  138. 
Two  Centuries  of  Presby'n  Church,  Jamaica. 
1862.     12mo,  pp.  329. 
Makemie,  Rev.  Francis.     Lnprisonment  and  Trial  of  two 

Presb.  Ministers.     (Reprint.)     1755.     pp.  52. 
Mancur,  John  H.     Chiistine,  a  Tale  of  the  Rev.    (Scene 
Flatbush.)     1843. 


BIBLIOGKAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND.  455 

Mancur,  John  H.    The  Bride  of  Gowanus  (in  Arthur's  Mag., 

March,  1846).     8vo,  pp.  7. 
Mandeville,   Rev.    G.    H.      Flushing,   Past   and   Present. 
ISmo,  plates,  1860,  pp.  180. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Benj.  R.  Hoogland.     1858. 
8vo. 
Marcus,  ]Moses.     Val.  Add.  at  Parsonage  of  Christ  Ch., 

Manhasset,  1837.     8vo,  pp.  38. 
Marsh,  Luther  R.     Gen.  WoodhuU  and  his  Monuments. 

(Plates.)     1844.     8vo,  pp.  33. 
Martin,  Jas.  S.     Adventures  of  a  Rev.  Soldier  (in  Battle 

of  L.  L).     Halliwell,  Me.,  1830.     12mo,  pp.  213. 
Massachusetts  Records  of  Plymouth  Col.,  1628-86,  4to, 

1851-61. 
Mershon,  St.  L.     Twelve  Years'  Ministry  at  E.  Hampton, 

April  29,  1866.     8vo,  pp.  27. 
Minto,    Walter,    LL.D.    (Principal   of  Acad.,    Flatbush). 

Theory  of  Planets,  1787.     (Printed  in  K  Y.) 
Meriam,  E.  (Br.  Heights).     Protection  against  Lightning, 

1859.     4to,  pp.  15. 
Mitchell,  S.  L.,  LL.D.      Picture   of  N.  Y.    (and  L.   I.), 
1807. 
Many  essays  in  the  Periodicals. 
Moore,   Thos.    Lambert  (Hempd.).     Ser.    in   Convention, 
Nov.  3,  1789.     8vo,  pp.  20. 
Ser.  on  Religious  Divisions,  1792.     8vo,  pp.  14. 
Mott,  Robt.  W.     Report  on  North  Hempstead  Turnpike, 

June,  1845.     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Mulhenberg,   Wm.    A.,    D.D.    (Flush.).      Rebuke   of  the 

Lord.     1835.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Murphy,  H.  C.  (Br.).      Translation  of  Jacob  Steendam's 
Poems.     1861.     8vo,  pp.  69. 
Translation  of  De  Vries'  Journal.     4to. 


456  BIBLIOGEAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Murphy,  H.  C.  Speech  in  Senate  on  Ecclesiastical  Tenures. 

1863.    8vo,  pp.  20. 
Anthologia  of    New  Netherland    (Selyn's,  De- 

sille's   and    Steendam's   Poems).    1865.     8vo, 

pp.  209. 
Oration  at  Tammany  Hall,  July  4,  1863.     8vo, 

pp.  67. 
Translation  and  Notes  to  *•  Journal  of  a  Voyage 

to  New  Netherland,  1679-80.-'     8vo,  1867. 

New  Utrecht     Second  and  Third  Reports  of  Female  Bible 

and  Miss.  Soc,  1827-8.     12mo,  pp.  11. 
Kew  York.     Journal  of  the  Council   of   the  Colony.     2 
vols,  folio.     1691-1775-1861. 
Journal    and    Coriespondence    of    Provin- 
cial  Congress,       2   vols,   folio.     1775-7- 
1842. 
Marriage  Licenses  to  1784.     8vo,  1860,  pp. 
480. 
Kicholl,  Henry,     Early  His.  of  Suf.  Co.,  Nov.  16,  1865. 

pp.  18,  8vo.    (Read  before  L.  I.  His.  Soc.) 
Nicholls,  Walter  (Hemp.).  Essays  and  Miscellaneous  Writ- 
ings.    12nio,  1826,  pp.  179. 
North  Hempstead,  Catalogue  of  Library  of. 

Case  of  vs.  Hempstead.  Suit  for  Marshes, 

1825.     8vo,  pp.  400. 
Case  of  Appellants.     Same  suit.    1825. 
8vQ^  pp.  15,0. 

Oakey,  Rev.,  P.  Y.  (Jamaica).  The  War,  its  Origin,  Pur- 
pose audi  our  Duty.     8vo^  18G1,  pp.  23. 

O'CallagliAU,  Dr.  E.  B.  (Albajay).  His.  of  New  Nether- 
land,  2  vol.  8vo,  1846^8. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG    ISLAND.  457 

O'Callaghan,  Dr.  E.  B.  (iUbany).     Documentary  History 
of  K  y.     4  vols.  4to  and  8vo.     1849-51. 
Colonial  History   of  N.  Y.     13   vols.   4to, 

1853-61. 
Calendar  of  Land  Papers,  1043-1803.     8vo, 

pp.  1087.     1864. 
Register  of  New  Netherland,  1626-74.     8vo. 

1865. 
Calendar  of  N.  Y.  His.  MSS.  (Dutch),  1630- 

64.     4to.     1865. 
Calendar   of    N.  Y.    His.    MSS.    (English), 
1664-1776.     4to.     1866. 
Occum,  Rev.,  Samson  (Indian  preacher).     Religious  no- 
tions of  Montauk  Indians  (in  Mass.  His.  Soc.  Coll.). 
Ogden,  Dr.  Jacob  (Jam.)  Malignant  Sore  Throat  on  L.  I. 
(in  N.  Y.  Mer.,  Oct.  28,  1769). 
Jas.  Depeyster.  Add.  at  50th  Ann.  of  Union  Hall 

Acad,  1842.     8vo,  pp.  19. 
James  Depej'ster.  Lecture  before  Jamaica  Lyceum 
on  National  Character,  1843.  8vo,  jjp.  32. 
Onderdonk,  Henry,  Jr.    Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Queens 
County.     1846.     12mo,  pp.  264. 
Revolutionary  Incidents  of  Suffolk  and  Kings 
Cos.,  Battle  of  L.  I.,  Prison  Ships.     1849. 
12mo,  pp.  268. 
Capture  and  Death  of  Gen.  Nathl  Woodhull. 

(Letters  to  J.  F.  Cooper.)     1848. 
Long  Island  in  Olden  Times.    1851.    8vo.  This 

was  merged  into 
Queens  County  in  Olden  Times.     4to.     1865. 

pp.  122,  and 
Suffolk  and  Kings  Cos.  in   Olden  Times  (with 
His.  of  Dutch  churches).     4to.     1866. 


458  BIBLTOGEAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Onderdonk,  His.  Notices  of  Agriculture  of   Queens  Co. 
1862.     8vo,  pp.  6.     (Reprinted  iu  Trans,  of 
State  Ag.  Soc.) 
Names  of  Persons  and  Places,  also  Surnames 

and  Nicknames,  with  Bibliography.    1863. 
Bibliography  of    Long    Island.     4to.     1866. 

(In  MSS.) 
Brief  Notices  of  the  Dutch  Churches  and  Min- 
isters in  Queens  and  Kings  Cos.,   published 
in  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  1865-6-7. 
Horatio  Gates  (Manhasset).     Add.  to  the  Peo- 
ple  of  Queens  Co.,  April,  1846.     Bvo,  pp. 
16. 
The  Income  Tax.     What  is  "  Income  "  ?    &c., 
«fec.,  July,  1864.     4to,  pp.  4. 
Ordron|fe,ux,  Dr.  Jno.  (Roslyn).     Eulogy  on  Rev.  Zach. 
Greene,  Feb.  10,  1859.     8vo,  pp.  50. 
Eulogy  on  Dr.  Jno.  D.  Shelton,  of  Jamaica, 
1863.     8vo. 
Osbom,  David.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Jane  Augusta  Seabury 

(Jam.),  Feb.  2,  1851.     8vo,  pp.  22. 
Oyster  Bay .  Statement  of  Yearly  Accounts  for  1845.  18mo, 
pp.  34. 
Proceedings  of  Soc.  for  Suppressing  Vice  and 

Immorality,  July  1,  1815. 
Proceedings  of  Meeting   opposed  to   Change 
of  Name,  June  22,  1848.     8vo,  pp.  15. 

Parsons,  S.  B.  (Flush.).     History  and  Culture  of  the  Rose. 

1847.     8vo. 
Payne,  Jno.  Howard  (East  Hampton).     Brutus  and  other 

Plays.        On     " E.    Hampton"     (in    Dem.   Rev., 

1838). 


BIBLIOGKAPnY    OF   LONG    ISLAND.  459 

Pemberton,  Eben'r.    Ser.  at  Orel,  of  Walter  Wilmot  (Jam.), 
1738.     8vo,  pp.  39. 
Exhortation     to     Minister     and    People    of 
Jamaica,  Oct.  9,  1745.     ISmo,  pp.  54. 
Penny,  Joshua  (Southold).     Life  and  Adventures.    1815. 

8vo,  pp.  60  (carried  off  by  the  British). 
Peterson,  F.  A.     On  Maj.  Gen.  McClellan  from  1861  to 
1862.     8vo,  pp.  26. 
Military  Review  of  the  Campaign  in  Virg.  and 
Maryland  in  1862.     8vo,  pp.  55. 
Phillips,  Ebenr.  (E.  Hampton).      Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev. 

Aaron  Wool  worth,  D.D. 
Pitkins,   Jno.  R.     Price  List  and  Gruide  Map  of  Wood- 
haven.     1854.     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Porter,  E.  S.,  D.D.     Ser.    at  Williamsburg,   1850.     8vo, 
pp.  29.     On  Domestic  Missions,  1851.    8v(),  pp. 
30  (at  Albany). 
Historical  Discourse  on  leaving  the  old   church, 
Nov.  4,  1866.     8vo,  pp.  30.  (At  WilUamsburg.) 
Post,   Mrs.   Lydia  Mintum.     Personal  Recollections   of 

Amer.  Revolution.     1859.     12mo,  pp.  251. 
Potter,  Elam.     Ser.  at  Southold  on  death  of  Mrs.  Martha 

Horton,  Dec.  18,  1792.     8vo,  pp.  15. 
Price,  Nath'l  (of  Br.).      Trial  for  Rape  on  Eunice  Wil- 
liamson, Aug.  29,  1797.     8vo,  pp.  5. 
Prime,  Benj.  Youngs.  Columbia's  Glory,  1791.  8vo,  pp.  42. 
Ebenr.     Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Abner  Brush  (Br.  Haven), 

Ju.  15,  1758.     pp.  60. 
Ebenr.     Ser.  at  Funeral  of  Mrs.  Freelove  Wilmot 

(O.  Bay),  Feb.  27,  1744.     18mo,  pp.  95. 
Ebenr.     Ser.  at  Ord.   of  Jonas  Barber  and  Jno. 
Darbie,  Nov.  10,  1757  (at  Oyster  Pond).     12mo, 
pp.  63. 


460  BIBLIOGRAPHT    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Prime,  Ebner.     Ser.  to  Provincial  Soldiers  at  Huntington, 
May  7,  1759. 

Nathaniel    S.      Ser,  on  Intemperance,    at    Aqu3- 
bogue,  Nov.  5,  1811.     8vo,  pp.  40. 

Nathaniel  S.     His.    of  Long  Island  (in  its  Reli- 
gious Aspects)  to  1845.     12mo,  pp.  420. 
Prince,  Wm.  &  Sons.     Annual  Catalogue  of  Fruit  and  Or- 
namental Trees,  1823.     18mo,  and  1832.     pp. 
98. 

Wm.  R.     Oration  at  Hempstead,   July  4,    1831. 
12mo,  pp.  15. 

Wm.  R.     Treatise  on  the  Vine,  1830.     8vo. 

Wm.  R.    Pomological  Manual  (2d  ed.),  1832.    8vo. 

Wm.  R.     Cat.  of  Fruit  Trees  (33d  ed.),  1843.   8vo, 
pp.  60. 

Wm.  R.     Select.  Cat.  of  Trees  (87th  ed.),  1849-50. 
8vo,  pp.  22.   . 

L.    Bradford.       Sketch    of   Agricultural    His.    of 
Queens  Co.,  1861.     8vo,  pp.  15. 

Queens  Co.  Lyceum  By-Laws,  1832.     8vo,  pp.  7. 

Journal  of  Proceedings  of  Supervisors,  from 

1854  to  date. 
Constitution  and  Officers  of  Agricultural  So- 
ciety, 1819.     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Proceedings    of   Agricultural    Society,    1862 

(and  other  years).     8vo,  pp.  8. 
Twenty-fifth  Ann.  Report  of  Ag,  Soc.   (jDlate), 

by  Jno.  Harrold,  18G6.     8vo,  pp.  39. 
Agricultural  Society  has  had  Addresses  as  fol- 
lows : 
Wm.  T.  McCoun,  Hempstead,  Oct.  13,  1842. 
8v(),  pp.  16. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG    ISLAND.  461 

Agricultural  Society  Addresses.  —  Continued. 

Queens  Co.  D.  S.   Dickinson,    Hempstead,   Oct.  17,  1843. 

8vo,  pp.  28. 
Gab.  Furman,  Jamaica,  Oct.  10,  1844.       8vo, 

pp.  24. 
John  S    Skinner,    Hempstead,   Oct.  9,     1845. 

8vo,  pp.  18. 
D.  P.  Gardner,  Flushing,   Oct.  9,   1846.     8yo, 

pp.  20. 
John  A.  King,  LL.D.,  Jamaica,  Oct.  6,  1848. 

8yo,  pp.  24. 
John  A.  Dix,  Jamaica,  Oct.    2,    1851.      8vo, 

pp.  20. 
Chas.  King,  LL.D.,  Flushing,   Sept.  29,  1852. 

8vo,  pp.  23. 
James  J.  Mapes,    Hempstead,    Oct.    6,    1853. 

8vo,  pp.  18. 
Caleb  Lyon,   Jamaica,  Sept.   28,  1854.       8vo. 

pp.  11. 
Geo.  W.  Clinton,  Flushing,    Sept.    20,    1855. 

8vo,  pp.  16. 
D.  R.  F.  Jones,     Flushing,    Sept.    22,    1858. 

8vo,  pp.  21. 
"Wm.  H.    Onderdonk,    Hempstead,   Sept.    15, 

1859.     8vo,  pp.  22. 
Maj.  M.  R.  Patrick,  Jamaica,    Sept.   19,  1860. 

8vo,  pp.  28. 
R.  C.   McCormick,    Flushing,    Oct.    3,    1861. 

Svo,  pp.  21. 
A.  B.  Conger,  Jamaica,  Oct.  5, 1864.  8vo,  pp.  22. 

Ralph,  G.  W.  (Flush.)  Add.  to  1st  Congressional  District, 
July,  1852.     8vo,  pp.  14. 


463  BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   LONG   ISLAOT). 

Reclfield.     A  Tale  of  Long  Island.     1824. 

Ref.  D.  Ch.  on  L.  I.     Const,  and  Add.  of  Education  Soc. 

of.     Instituted  May  1,  1828.     12nio,  pp.  18. 
Renne,  T.  W.  (Newtown).     Add.  to  Young  Men's  Deba- 
ting Society,  Feb.  22,  1825.     pp.  12. 
Reynolds,  Sam'l.     His.   of  Williamsburg,    1852.     12mo, 

pp.  137  (reprint  from  Directory). 
Rhode    Island   Colony   Records,    1636-1776.     8vo,    9  v 

1856-64. 
Riker,  Jas.,  Jr.     Annals  of  Newton,  1852.     8vo,  pp.  437. 
Riverhead  Temp.  Soc.     First  Annual  Report,  Jan.  1,  1831, 

8vo,  pp.  10. 
Rubel,  J.  C.  (Minister,  of  Flatbush).     On  Unlawful  Pro 

ceedings  of  Church  Meetings  in  N.Y.,  1784.    12mo, 

pp.  19. 
Romeyn,  Benj.  (Review).  "  Tombs  of  the  Martyrs  "  (plate), 

July  4,  1839.     8vo,  pp.  7. 

Sabine,  Lorenzo.     Lives  of  the  Loyalists,  1847.      8vo,   2d 

ed.,  2  V.     8vo,  1864.     (L.  L  Tories.) 
Sag  Harbor.     Report  of  Bible  Society,  Nov.  1,  1857.  8vo, 
pp.  11. 
Constitution  of  Literary  Society,  adopted 
Feb.  9,  1807.     18mo,  pp.  11. 
Sands,  Joshua  (Br.).     On  Filling  up  a  Pond  (Wallabout), 
1826-7.     12mo,  pp.  11. 
Elisha  (Jamaica).     Ser.  on  the  Ironsides,  July  19, 
1863. 
Savage,  Jas.,  LL.D.     Genealogical  Diet,  of  New  England 

Settlers.     4  v.     8vo,  1860-2. 
Sayres,  Sam'l  W.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Mrs.  Betsy  Cunning- 
ham, Dec.  29,  1861.     8vo,  pp.  14. 


BIBLIOGKAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND,  4G3 

Sclienck,  Wm.     Ser.  on  Death  of  Noah  Wetmore,  Mar.  10, 

1796,  Sag  Harbor. 
Schooumaker,    R.    L.     Ser.   on  Death  of   Mrs.    Sarah  J 

Tread  well,  1851,     8vo,  pp.  9. 
Schroeder,  Rev.  J.  F.  (Flushing).     Oration  at  St.  Paul's 

College,  July  5,  1841.     8vo. 
Schroedei-,  J.  F.     Circular  of  St    Ann's    Hall,    Flushing, 

1840.     8vo. 
Seabury,    Samuel   (Flusli.).     Study  of  the  Classics,  April 

18,  1831.     12mo. 
Seaman,  Arden  (Jerusalem).     Genealogy  of  the  Seaman 

Family.     Folio,  1866. 
Selyns,  Henry  (Minister  at  Br,).     Poems.     See  Murphy's 

Anthologia. 
Shelton,  Rev.  F.  W.    (Jam.).    Two  Lectures  before  Hun- 
tington Library  Association.  1850.  12mo,  pp.  36. 
Kushow   property ;    Tinnicum   Papers ;     Trollo- 

piad,  1837. 
Rector  of  St.  Bardolphs.     1852;    Peeps  from  a 

Belfry.     1855. 
Crystalline  ;  Up  the  River ;  Salander  and  the  Dra- 
gon.    1850. 
Sherbum,  And.     Memoirs  of  a  Pensioner  of  the  Navy  of 

Rev.  1828.     12mo,  pp.  262. 
Sleight,  H.  C.  (Editor  of  L.  I.  Farmer).     Cat.  of  his  Cir. 

Library.     Jam.,  12mo,  pp.  24.     No  year. 
Smith,  Wm.     History  of  Province  of  K  Y.  to  1762.     2  v. 
8vo.   1829. 
Egbert.  Tangier.     Speech  in   Assembly  on   Union 

Resolutions.     1851. 
Rev.  J.    Caq^enter   (Flush.).      Thanksgiving    Ser., 
Nov.  28,  1861.    18mo,  pp.  16. 


464  BIBLTOGEx\PHY    OF    LONG    ISLA:ND. 

Southampton,  Notice  of,  in  Literary  AVoiid.     Oct.  2, 1847. 

4to. 
Spafford,  H.  G.     Gazetteer  of  State  of  N.  Y.     1813.    8vo. 

2d  Ed.     1824.     8vo.     Maps. 
Spear,    T.,    D.D.    (Br.).       Two    Sermons   for  the   Times. 

1861.     8vo,  pp.  56. 
Spencer,  Icliabod  S.,  D.D.      A  Pastor's  Sketches.     12mo. 
1851.     2d  Series,  1853.     12mo. 
Sermons.     2  v.     12mo.     1855. 
Elihu  (Jam.).     The  Dissenting  Interest  in  Mid- 
dle Colonies:  Origin  and  Growth  of  Episco- 
pacy. 
Spooner,  Alden  (Br.).     Cat.  of   his   Cir.  Library.     12mo, 
pp.  24. 
Br.  Cir.  Lib.     1821.     12mo,  pp.  34. 
Cultivation  of  the  Vine,  and  Wine  Making.    1846. 
12mo  ;  On  taking  a  Newspaper. 
Sprague,  Wm.  B.,  D.D.     Add.  at  opening  of  Br.  Female 
Academy,  May  4,  1846.     8vo. 
Annals  of  Amer.  Pulpit.     7  v.     8vo.     1856-65. 
(It  has  Lives  of  L.  I.  Ministers.) 
Spooner,  Alden  J.     Memorial  in  relation  to  Ferries. 

Wood's,  L.  I.   With  Memoirs  of  the  Author.    4to, 

&  folio,  pp.  208.     1865. 
Furman's  Brooklyn,  with  Memoirs  of  the  Author. 
4to,  pp.  xxxiv.  117;  xxxix.     1865. 
Steendam,   Jacob.      Flatlands.      Poems.      See  Murphy's 

Anthologia. 
Stiles,  Dr.  11.  R.     Interment  of  Amer.  Patriots  who  died 
in  Prison  Ships.     1865.     8vo,  pp.  246. 
Letters  from  Prison  Ships  and  British  Prisons  of  the 
Revolution.     1865.     8vo,  pp.  49. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LOXG   ISLAND.  465 

Storrs,  R  S.,  Jr.,  D.D.    Lectures  before  Brooklyn  Institute. 
8vo.     1857.     pp.  338. 
Miss.  Ser.  at  Cleveland,  Oct.  1,  1861.     8vo,  pp.  45. 
St.  John,  Peter.    Poetic  Relation  of  Capture  of  the  Congre- 
gation of  Middlesex,  July  22,  1781.     18mo. 
Strong,  Thos.  M.,  D.D.    His.  of  Flatbush.    Map  &  Plates. 
12mo.     1842.     pp.  178. 
Thos.    C.  (Newtown).      Ser.    on    Death    of    Dr. 
Stoothoff. 
Stuart,  Isaac  W.    Life  of  Nathan  Hale.    (Taken  on  L.  L) 

1856.     12mo,  pp.  230.     2d  Ed. 
Suffolk  Co.     Constitution  of  Bible  Soc.    Adopted  Oct.  3, 
1815.     12mo,  pp.  5. 
Qualification   of  a  Dancing  Master.     12mo, 

pp.  8.     JVo  date. 
Com.  School  Arithmetic.     Riverhead,  1850. 

12mo,  pp.  252. 
Confession   of  Congregational  Churches  of 

L.  L     1823. 
Sabbath  School  Association  &  Ann.  Meeting. 
Ju.  14,  15,  and  16,  1864.     8vo,  pp.  16. 

Talbot,  Silas.    Life  (in  Prison  Ship).    1803.    18mo,  pp.  147. 
Talmadge,  Benj.     Memoir  of,  prepared  by  himself.    1858. 

8vo,  pp.  70. 
Taylor,    Geo.      (Br.)      Martyrs   on   Prison   Ships.      Map, 

1855.     8vo,  pp.  64. 
Teale,  Thos.  P.     Add.  on  bat.  of  Br.  before  Marion  Chap. 

Aug.  29,  1848.     (In  L.L  Star.) 
Thompson,  A.  G.     Petition   for  L.  I.  Canal.     With  Map, 
May  25,  1825.     18mo,  pp.  5. 
Documents  on  L.  L  Canal  for  Legislature,    pp. 

ix.  ;  27      1826.     18mo. 
20* 


4G6  r.IBLIOGKAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND. 

Thompson,  B.  F.     His.  of  L.  I.     1839.     8vo,  pp.  536.    2d 

Ed.     2  V.  Svo.     1843. 
Titus,  Rev.  Jacob  (negro).      Oration  before  Af.  Ben.  Soc. 

Br.      In  L.  I.  Star,  Feb.  18,  1818. 
Townsend,  Jas.  C.  (O.  Bay).     Memorial  of  Jno.  Henry  & 
Richard  Townsend.     12mo.      1865. 

Union  Hall  Gazette.     Jamaica.     Fortnightly. 

Valentine,  D.  T.     Manual  of  Corporation  of  K  Y.     1842, 

to  date. 
Yalk,   Dr.    Wm.    (Flush.)     On  the  Non-organization  of 
Congress.     Feb.  21,  1856.     8vo,  pp.  14. 
Remarks  on  Diet  for  Convalescents.    1843.    8vo,  pp. 
49. 
Van  Cott,  J.  M.  (Br.)     Discourse  on  Jas.  Madison,  July 

28,  1836.     8vo. 
Van  Doren,  Rev.  Isaac.     Prospectus  of  School  in  Brook- 
lyn.    12mo,  pp.  12. 
W.  H.     Ser.  on   Death  of  Rich.  W.  Redfield. 
1847.     12mo,  pp.  26. 
Van  Dyke,    H.  J.    (Br.)     Moses,    servant   of  God.     Ser. 
Aug.  15,  1858.     Svo,  pp.  24. 
Thanksgiving  Ser.,  Nov.  29,  1860.     Svo,  pp. 

24. 
Ser.  on  Abolitionism  in  1st  Pres.  Ch.,  Dec.  9, 
1860.     Svo,  pp.  38. 
Vanderbilt,  Jno.,  Jr.     Masonic  Oration  at  Br.,  on  present- 
ing Vase,  Dec.  28,  1807.     Svo,  pp.  41. 
Vanderbilt,  Jno.,  Jr.     Add.  in  N.  Y.  for  50  Orphans  of 

Masons,  Dec.  27,  1809.     Svo. 
Van  Pelt,  Peter.     Oration  on  Washington,  Feb.  22,  1800. 
Svo,  pp.  24  (in  Ch.  at  Flatbush). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY   OF   LONG    ISLAND.  467 

Wallabout.      Interment  of  Remains  of  11,500  Martyrs. 

1808.     12mo,  pp.  96. 
Ward,   G.   A.     Battle  of  L,  L,  with  Map,  in  Knicker- 
bocker Mag,,  xiii.,  297.     8vo. 
Washington,  Geo.      Agricultural   Tour   on  L.   I.,   AxDril 

20-5,  1790.     See  Lossing. 
Watson,  Winslow  C.     The  Plains  of  L.  I.     1860.     Svo, 

pp.  23. 
Webb,  Edwin,  M.D.  (Hemiyd).     Oration,  July  4,  1830. 

12mo,  pp,  14. 
Weeks,  Refine.      Wm.  Penn   and   other  Poems.      1824. 

12mo,  pp,  192. 
West,  N.,  Jr.  (Br.).      Ser.  in  2d  Presb.  Ch.,  Nov.   28, 

1861,     8vo,  pp.  39, 
Wetmore,  Noah,  of  Setauket,  ^r,  on  Death  of.    Sept.  13, 

1797. 
Whitaker,  Epher  (Southold).     New  Fruits  from  an  Old 

Field.     1866.     (Essays.) 
Whitman,  Walter,     Leaves  of  Grass.     18mo,  1856;  new 

edition,  1867,  with  additions,  12mo,  $3, 
Wickham,   Martha.     Sea  Spray,  a  Long  Island  Village. 

1857.     12mo,  pp.  460, 
Williams,  Mrs.  Oath.     Life  of  Lt.  Olney  (in  Bat.  of  Br.). 

1839.     12mo,  pp.  312. 
WiUiamsburg.     By-Laws  of  Farmers'  and  Citizens'  Bank. 
1852.     18mo,  pp.  19. 
Third  Ann.  Report  of  Bible  Soc.  (names). 
1847,  pp,  12. 
Willis,  Thos,   (Jericho).     Doctrine  of  Quakers,  in  Reply 

to  Hibbard.     1812.     18mo,  pp.  141. 
Wilson,  Hugh  N.    (S.    Hampton).      Manual   of  Church 
Membership .     1 843. 


468  BIBLIOGKAPHY    OF    LONG    ISLAND. 

Wilson,  Hugh  N".  (S.  Hampton).  Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev.  Amzi 
Francis  (Br.  Hampton).     1846.     8vo,  pp.  16. 
Sabbath-School  Add.  at  Sag  Harbor. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  President  Harrison. 
Ser.  on  Death  of  Rev.  Sam'l  Huntting. 
Thanksgiving  Sermon. 
Duty  of  the  Church  to  her  Poor  Members. 
Wilmot,  Mrs.  Freelove  (Jam.).     Journal.     (See  Prime.) 

1744.     18mo. 
Winter,  Gale   &   Co.'s   Catalogue   of  Trees  in  Flushing 

Nursery.     1843-4.     8vo,  pp.  92. 
Wood,  Silas.     Sketch  of  First  Settlement  of  L.  I.     1824. 
8vo,  pp.  66. 
Enlarged  edition.     1828.     8vo,  pp.  184. 
Sketch  of  Greograpjiy  and  Rev.  Hist,  of  Huntington. 
1824.     8vo,  pp.  30.     (Printed  at  Washington.) 
Claims  of  Huntington  to  Islands  in  South  Bay. 

1816.     12mo,  pp.  16. 
Speech  on  Bill  to  amend  Constitution  of  U.  S. 

1826.     8vo. 
Speech  on  Panama  Mission.     1826.     8vo. 
Letter  to  1st  Electoral  Dist.  of  N.  Y.    1826.    8vo. 
Woodbridge,  Sylvester.      Hist,  of  Presb.  Ch.,  Hemp'd. 

1840.     8vo,  pp.  23. 
Woodhaven,  Plan  of  Lots  in.     Map  No.   2.     Amended 

April  10,  1855. 
Woodward,  A.  B.     On  Executive  Govt,  of  U.  S.     1809. 

8vo.  (Printed  at  Flatbush.) 
Woolworth,  Rev.  Aaron,  D.D.  Revival  of  Religion  in 
E.  Hampton,  1764,  by  Buell,  his  Life,  his 
Sons,  his  Daughters,  and  Revival  in  East 
and  Bridge  Hampton  in  1800.  12mo, 
pp.  144.     1808. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY    OF   LONG   ISLAND.  4G9 

Wool  worth,  Rev.  Aaron,  D.D.  Ser.  at  Ord.  of  Henry  Ful- 
ler, Smithtown,  Oct.  23,  1816. 

Worthington,  Wm.  Catalogue  of  his  Cir.  Lib.,  Br.  1832. 
12mo,  pp.  20. 

Youngs,  Daniel  K.  (O.  Bay).  Culture  of  Onions.  1862. 
8vo,  pp.  6.     Premium  Essay. 


INDEX 


Admiralty  Court,  the  first,  201. 

Aersen,  David,  413. 

Agricultural  Society  of  Long  Island, 
91. 

Almshouse  of  Brooklyn,  395. 

Ammagansett,  the  Execution  at,  60. 

Andre,  Major,  noticed,  841. 

Andros,  Gov.  Sir  Edmund,  Procla- 
mation of,  219. 

Arthur,  John,  noticed,  80. 

Apples,  large  Orchard  of,  91. 

Apprentices'  Library  Association,  the, 
389. 

Astor  House,  the,  noticed,  150. 

Backbone  of  Long  Island,  the,  74,  76. 

Banks  in  Brooklvn,  388. 

Baptist  Church,  "the  first,  385. 

Bari-ntse.  Jan,  281. 

Barry,  "Old  Mr.,"'  noticed,  75. 

Bas.sett,  Rev.  Dr.  John,  on  the  Tri- 
bute to  the  Si.K  Nations,  29. 

Beauchamp,  his  Description  of  the 
Province  of  New  Albion,  quoted,  71. 

Beaver  Indians,  of  Canada,  the,  54. 

Bedford,  L.  I.,  the  Indian  Price  of, 
29^. 

Beeckman,  Col.,  account  of  trouble 
with  Justice  Filkin,  417. 

Bellamont,  Earl  of.  Funeral  of,  161. 

Benson,  Egbert,  noticed,  163. 

Benyon,  Evan,  399. 

Bergt-n,  Simon,  147. 

Bii)Uogra^3hy  of  Long  Island,  by 
Henry  Onderdonk.  Jr.,  435. 

Birch,  Greor.ire  L..  noticed,  400. 

Blue  Point  Bay  Oysters,  Tradition  of 
the,  77. 

Board  of  Health,  the,  369. 

Boerum,  Martin,  noticed,  403. 

Bogart,  Cornelius,  noticed,  158. 
Tueuis  Guysbert,  285, 


Boston,  Mass.,  the  Commercial  Em- 
porium, 212,  215. 
Boundaries,   differences    as  to    the, 

331. 
Bowne,  John,  the  Quaker,  the  Case 

of,  114. 
Breede  Graft  Ferry,  the,  309. 
Brier,  Volkert,  Petition  of,  417 
Brookhaven,    Episcopal  Chiu-ch    at, 

135. 
Brooklyn,  account  of  Churches  in, 
370. 
Ancient  names  of,  376. 
Apprentices'   Library  Associa- 
tion, 389. 
Defence  of  the  Patent  of,  415. 
Moral  Character  of,  400. 
Fire  Department  of.  401,  403. 
The  Sand  Hill  at.  98. 
Diagram  of  a  Portion  of,  99. 
Growth  of,  393. 
Value  of  Real  Estate  in,  395. 
Indian  Deed  of,  290. 
"Independent  Meeting  House" 

in,  137. 
Notes  on  the  Town  of,  275. 
Oldest  House  in,  145. 
The  First    Episcopal    Church 

in,  136. 
The  Town  Government  of,  363. 
Village   Government  of,    365, 

367. 
Town  Justices  of,  365 
The  Almshouse  of,   395. 
Town  Rights  and  Ferries,  299. 
Population  and  Increase,  3!K). 
Put  in  a  state  of  Defense,  23. 
Mills  in.  396. 

Warrant  for  Payment  of  Town 
tax  in,  414. 
Brothertown  Indians,  the,  45. 
Burying  Grounds  on  Longlsland,  125. 


472 


INDEX. 


Bushwiclc.  noticed,  332. 

The  Two  Fighting  Women  of, 
363. 
Bntterm  Ik    Channel,    its   Depth    in 
olden  time,  73,  278. 

Canal  built  at  Mongotucksee  by  the 
Indians,  58. 

Can  arse  Indians,  the,  15.  275. 

Carll,  Israel,  account  of  his  Well,  85. 

Carpenter,  John,  noticed,  137. 

Catharine  Street  Fen-y,  316. 

Cat] in,  George,  noticed,  52. 

Cedar  Island  Gut,  some   account  of, 
80. 

Christ  Chixrch,    North    Hempstead, 
140. 

Christmas  Festivities,  253,  256. 

Churches,  Service  of  the.  174. 

Foundation  of,  on  Long  Island 
lUO. 

Clams,  petrified,  found  at  Flatbush. 
76. 
Tribute  of  dried,  275. 

Clark,  Joshua.  Grape  Calturist,  92. 

Clinton,    DeWitt.   Discourse    of,   De- 
cember, 1812,  10. 

Clover,  spontaneous  Growth  of,  86. 

Cobbett,   William,   his    Residence  at 
Hempstead  Plains,  144. 

Cochran's  Hotel,  account  of,  143. 

Cold  Spring  Harbor,  Relics  of,  79. 

Coles,  Jordan,  398. 

Collier,  Jurian,  323. 

Colman,  John,  Death  of,  18. 

Colman's  Point,  L.  I.,  19, 

Commerce  of  Brooklyn,  39?. 

Common  Lands,  the  Division  of,  432. 

Congregational  Church,  first  found- 
ed, 100. 

Connecticut  Boundary,  the,  172. 

Constables,    List    of,    from   1669    to 
1690,  349 
from  1693,  359. 

Cooking  Utensils  and  Table  Service, 
230. 

Copley,  Sir  John,  Paintings  by,  151. 

Copper  in  u=e  among  the  Indians,  17. 

Corchang  Indians,  the,  32. 

Cornbury,    Governor,    Lord,    Procla- 
mation concerning  Slavery,  221. 
Charter  of,  423. 
Noticed,  133. 

Cornel issen,  Albert,  285. 

Cornelissen,  Cornelius,  Testimony  of, 
67. 

Cortielissen.  Picter,  282. 

Cornell,  Whitehead,  notiaed,  138. 


Comwell,  William,  399. 
Corporation  House,  the,  153. 
Cortelyou,  the  Family  of,  148,  276. 
Jacques,  334. 
Peter.  319. 
Couwenhoven,  J<hn  Van,  319. 
Cowdrey.  B.  F.,  399. 
Croes,    Right    Rev.    John,    noticed, 

140. 
Cromweirs,  Oliver,  his  Cannon,  400. 
Cuffee.  Paul,  the  Indian  Minister,  65. 
Curtenius,  Samuel,  Funeral  Expenses 

of,  160. 
Cutting,  William,  noticed,  317. 

Daman,  Jan,  285. 

Darmantier,  Peter,  290. 

Debevoise,     Charles,    Schoolmaster, 

108,  ni. 
De  Bry,  Voyages  of,  94. 
De  Forest,  Hendricus,  Printer,  124. 
De  Lancey,  James,  noticed,  302. 
Delaware  Indians,  12. 
Denton,  Daniel,    his  Description  ol 

New  York,  31. 
Denton,  Nehemiah,  322. 
Denton,  Rev.  Richard,  noticed,  101. 
De  Sille,  Nicasius,  noticed,  104,  281, 

371. 
DeviFs  Stepping  Stones,  the,  56. 
Devil,  the,  throws  Stones  from  Long 

Island  into  Connecticut,  56. 
Dirckse,  Jooris,  282. 
"Discreet    Freeholders,"   the   Five, 

366. 
District  Schools,  398. 
Divorce,  one  case  of,  252. 
Dongan.  Governor,  noticed,  78,  284, 
424. 
His  Patent  and  Grant,  293. 
Dorlant,  John,  433. 
Dosaris.  Origin  of  the  Name,  181. 
Doughtv,  Charles,  noticed,  75,  145. 
Charles  J.,  399. 
John,  402. 
Drought,  gi-eat  on  Long  Island,  90. 
Duane,  Jame.s,  91. 

Duke's    Laws,  Troubles   concernmg 
the,  127. 
203,  351.  407,  420. 
Dunbar,  Mr.,  the  Post  Rider,  241. 
Dutc;h    and    English,    Disputes    be- 
tween. 196. 
Dutch    Churches  Agents  of  the   In- 
dians, 21. 
Officers  of  the,  1814,  378. 
Clergyman,  the  last  one,  124. 
Colonization  of  Indians,  20. 


INDEX. 


473 


Dutch  Churches,  Ministers,  List   of, 

3TH. 
Mode  of  buildin?,  1-19. 
Peace  with  the  Indians,  66. 
Precaution,  IH. 
Reformed  Churches,  founding 

of,  102. 
Reforiuei  Churches,  Members 

of  the,  109. 
Dyre,  William,  l'J9. 

Easter,  the  Celebration  of,  263. 

Mock  Eggs  of,  2()4. 
Eastham,  Cape  Cod,  Indian  Villages 

at,  48. 
East  Hampton,  Church  at,  101. 

Burial-ground  at,  156. 
East  India,  the  Trade  of,  216,  217. 
Education  on  Long  Island,  169. 
Eloquence  of  the  Indians,  63. 
Euej'l.  Michael,  285. 
English,  Cowanlice    of    the,  at  the 
Burning      of        Pieterson's 
House,  68. 
Defeat  of  the,  198. 
English  and  Dutch,  Disputes  between, 

196. 
En,'lish  Soldiers  in  New  Yorlc.  207. 
Episcopal    Churches,  Foundation  of, 

127. 
Erie  Tribe  of  Indians,  14. 
Esopu-i,  the  Earning  of.  24,  373. 
European  Writers,  Ignorance  of,  on 

the  Subject  of  American  Indians, 

53. 
Evacuation  Day,  the  Celebration  of, 

269. 
Everts,  Jan,  285. 

Family  Names.  Changes  in,  188. 
Faro,  the  Royal  Family  name  of  the 

Montauks.  61. 
Ferries  between    Brooklyn  and  New 

York,  430. 
Feyerston,  the  case  of,  189. 
Filkin,  H.,  Letter  from,  to  Secretary 

of  New  York,  417. 
Fire  Bell,  flrst  in  Brooklyn,  152. 
Fire  Engine,  the  first  in  Brooklyn, 

402. 
Fire  Insurance  Companies,  .388. 
Fire  Island.   Ch  inges  in,  S3. 

the  Sand  Baths  of.  87,  88. 
Fire  Island  (xut,  some  Account  of,  80. 
Fisher.  Adiian,  his  Dutch  Sermons, 

264.  •    I 

Fisher,  John,  403.  j 

Five  Dutch  Town.s,  the,  350.  I 


Five  Nations,  the,  19. 

Flatbush,  L.  I.,  '-Palisadoed,"  23. 

the  Dutch   Reformed    Church 
at.  112.  12.5. 

the  Old  H.use  at,  144. 

Accounts  of,  77,  33^3. 
Floyd.  Niroli,  noticcl,  42. 
Flushing,  Venerable  Oaks  at.  97. 

Episcopal  Cliuri:h  at.  135. 
Forfeitures,    Property    Sold   Under, 

343. 
Fortifications,  Account  of,  93. 
Fort  Neck,  the  Battle  of,  69,  93. 
Fourth  of  July,  Celebration  of,  269. 
Fox,  George,  the  Quaker,  Noticed,  97 

116,  119. 
Fox  hunting.  Notice  for,  343. 
Freeke,  John  C,  324. 
Fulton,  Robert,  ol7. 
Fulton  Street,  Condition  of,  152. 
Funeral  Customs,  155. 

great  Expense  of,  160. 

Baked  Meats,  162. 

a  "  Respect. ible"  One.  166. 

a  Case  of  Second  SiAt,  KiS. 
Furmin,  W.  I.,  noticed,  76. 
Furnier,    Francis,    Grape  Culturist, 


Garabrantse,  Peter,  noticed,  358. 
Garlick,  John,  Wife  of,  sent  to  Con- 
necticut for  Trial  as  a  Witch,  123. 
Garretse,  John.  319. 
Garritsen,  Simuel,  413. 
Gentleman's  Magazine,  quoted,  .52 
Geritsen,  Dirlc,  Testimony  of,  68. 
Germans  Sold  into  Slavery,  224. 
Giles,  Aquila,  noticed,  138. 
Gleaves,  Mitthew,  noticed,  138. 
Gordon,  Rev.  Peter,  noticed,  133. 
Gowanus.  the  Road  to,  328. 
Grapes,  the  Cultivation  of,  92. 
Grant,  Major,  the  Death  of,  339. 
Grave  Robbing  on  Long  Island.  1.59. 
Gravesend,  the  Laying  out  of.  75. 
Great  South  Beach,  the,  Account  of 
Changes  in,  8-3.  . 

Act  for  the  Preservation  of,  38, 
90. 
Guysbert,  Tuenis,  285. 

Habits,  Domestic,  of  the  Dutch,  229. 
HMgiman,  John,  Testimony  of,  68. 

Joseph,  319. 
Hainelle,     Michael,     "Clerk,"    283, 

351. 
Hale,  Nuthan,  noticed,  341. 
Hall,  Edward,  199. 


474 


INDEX. 


Hall,   Mary,    Tried    for   Witchcraft, 
123. 

Ralph,   Tried  for  Witchcraft, 
123. 
Hans  the  Boore,  noticed,  180. 
Hanse,  Jores,  noticed,  110. 
Hansen  Simon,  2^2. 
Hanssen  Jooris,  327. 
Hansen,  Hans.  Widow  of.  the  First 
Born  Christian  Daughter  in  New 
Netherland,  212. 
Hansen,  Hans,  286. 
Harsum,  Gerrit,  noticed,  414. 
Hawley,  Rev.  W.  C,  385. 
Head,  Sir  Francis,  quoted,  54. 
Headstones,  Cost  of,  155. 
Heclievvelder,  Narrative,  quoted.  70. 
Hempstead,  first  Church  at,  100. 

Episcopal  Church  established, 
134. 

Address  of  Deputies  at,  420. 
Hempstead  Plains,  Accounts  of,  76. 
Hessian  Officer,Ilemains  of  found,375. 
Hicks,  Jacob,  his  Tradition.  31. 

Jacob  M.,  noticed,  152. 

John  M.,  noticed,  152. 
Hobart,  Bishop  of  New  York.  151. 
Hobart,  Jeremiah,  Rev.,  noticed,  101. 
Houses,  Old,  noticed,  145,  149. 
Horton,  Azariah,  Rev.,  Missionary  to 

Long  Island  Indians,  34,  37. 
Hubbard,  Rev.  John,  noticed,  134. 
Hubbel,  Richard,  45. 
Hudden,  Andnes,  282. 
Hudson,   Henry,  Description  of   the 

Canarse  Indians,  16. 
Huguenots,  the  French,  109,  120. 
Hunt,  J.  S.  T.,  Health  Officer,  368. 
Hunt,  Theodosius,  316. 
Hunter,  Robert,  Gov.,  noticed,  121. 
Huntington,  Churches  at,  101. 

Episcopal  Church  at,  135. 
Huntington  Gut.  some  Account  of,  80. 
Huntington  West  Gut,  noticed,  88. 

Iceland,  Family  Names  in,  190. 
Independence   Day,    Celebration    of, 

269,  270. 
"Independent    Meeting   House"  at 

Brooklyn,  137. 
India  Goods.  Auction  Sales  of,  216. 
Indian  History.  10. 
Indians,  their  Fondness  for  Rum,  36. 
religious  Belief  of  the,  40. 
empowered  to  vote,  40. 
Condition  of,  in  1831,  47. 
Results  of   Intermarriage  with 
the  Whites,  52. 


Indians,  Policy  to  be  pursued  towards 
the,  55. 

Condition  of,  in  1827,  60. 

Justice  to  be  done  to  the,  72. 

Slavery  of  the,  225. 

Deed  of  Brooklyn,  290. 
Indian  Forts,  94. 

Ireland,  John,  Rev.,  Account  of,  139. 
Iroquois,  the,  noticed,  12. 

Invasion  of  the,  19. 

the  Power  and  Influence  of,  25. 
Irving,  Washington,  quoted,  228. 

Jacobson,  Joris.  285. 

Jamaica,  Churches  at,  101,  126. 

Grace  Church  incorporated  at, 
134. 

Church  Troubles  at,  134. 
Jansen.  Peter.  Testimony  of,  68. 
I  Janse  Anke,  282. 

Barent,  noticed,  281. 

Claes,  283. 
Jersey  Prison  Ship,  342. 
Job,  Elizabeth,  Death  of,  47. 
John  Buirs  Talk,  57. 
Johnson,    Rev.   Evan    M.,    noticed, 

162. 
Jones,  Captain,  the  Pirate,  Tradition 
of.  143. 

Samuel,  noticed,  10,  69,  80,  93. 
"Jones  Inlet,"  account  of,  81. 
Jongh,  Lodewyck,  282. 
Joralemon,  Judge,  154. 
Journeying  on  Long  Island,  244. 

Keak,  L.  I.,  or  Lookout,  294. 
Keeler,  Isaac,  45. 

Keith,  Rev.  George,  the  First  Episco- 
pal Minister  on  Long  Island,  1.32. 
Kieft,  William,   Gov.,    his  Patent  to 

Jan  Manje,  280;  noticed,  208. 
'•  King,  Ben,"  the  Indian  Chief,  57. 
"King  Charlie,"  the  Guinea  Negro, 

268. 
King,  Gamaliel,  404. 
King  George  III.,  Medallion  of,  151. 
"  King  Philip's  War,"  fear  of  the,  on 

Long  Island,  72. 
Kings  County,  N.  Y.,  Indians  in,  15. 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in, 

101. 
Court  House,  the  Buildmg  of, 

409. 
Destruction  of  the  King's  arms 
there,  362. 
King's  Highway,  the  making  of,  321, 
Kingston,  the  Burning  of,  24. 
Kirk,  Thomas,  399. 


INDEX. 


475 


Knickerbocker  Smoking  Parties,  239. 
Kolichees,  account  of,  2'^i. 
Krcsier,    Martin,  Burgomaster,   no- 
ticed, 104,  371. 

Labor  and  Wages,  Prices  of,  236. 

Lamberts,  Thomas,  285. 

Lambertsen,  Jacob,  Testimony  of,  68. 

Lefferls,  Letfert,  noticed,  3115. 

Leisler,  Governor,  Unpopularity  of, 
64. 

Lenell,  Michael,  Constable,  348. 

Lenni-Lenapi,  12. 

Leveridge,  Kebecca,  noticed,  252. 

Leveridge,  Rev.  William,  101. 

Lewis,  John,  290. 

L'Hommedieu,  Ezra,  noticed,  42. 

Lighthouse,  the  first  on  Long  Island, 
149. 

Linde,  Pieter,  noticed.  281. 

Linen,  extravagant  Price  of,  166. 

Linnien  Garden,  bones  e.xhuraed  at, 
97. 

Liquor,  pure,  on  Long  Island,  49. 

Livingston,  Brockholst,  noticed,  400. 

Livingston    Manor,  Palatines    settle 
at,  121. 

Livingston,  Philip  J.,  House  of,  154. 

Longevity,  some  cases  of,  195,  279. 

Long  Island,   ancient  names  of,  70, 
71. 
Changes  in  the  shore  of,  79. 
First  Settler,  93. 
Battle  of,  3;^9. 

Long  Mary,  noticed,  186. 

Looseley,  Charles,  his  Lottery,  343. 
his  Tavern,  343. 

Lott,  Abraham,  noticed,  312. 

Lotteries,  noticed,  343. 

Loup  Indians,  12. 

Lovelace,  Francis,  Gov.,  269. 

Lucas,  Elderl,  320. 

Ludlow,  George  Duncan,  the  Resi- 
dence of,  144. 

"Mad  James,"  the  Support  of,  409. 

Mahas  Indians,  account  of  the  De- 
struction of,  50. 

Malbone,  Ralph,  399. 

Manetta  Hill,  account  of,  62. 

Mauhansett  Indians,  3.^. 

Manje,  Jan,  Gov.  Keift's  Grant  to, 
28U. 

Manners  and  Customs  on  Long  Isl- 
and, 195. 

Marden  Indians,  the,  52. 

Markets,  EstabUshment  of,  220,  387. 
Prices  in  the,  236. 


Marriage,  publishing  the  Bans  of,  251. 

**  Commissary  of,"  251. 
Marriage,  A  Bride's  Inventory,  408. 

Fees,  108,  .375. 
Marsapeagiie  Indians,  the,  32. 
Martin,  Governor  of  S.  C,  his  House, 
150. 
Death  of  his  Wife,  151. 
Maryland,  Regiment  of,  at  Battle  of 

Long  island,  339. 
Masonic  Lodges.  388. 
Maspeth  ICiUs,  Relics  found  at,  97. 
Mastick  Gut,  account  of,  88. 
Mather,  Cotton,  description  of  Rev, 
Mr.  Denton,  101. 
His  Poem    to  Rev.   Henricus 
Selwyn,  105. 
Matinecoc  Indians,  the,  32. 
Matlock,  Rev.  John,  noticed,  137. 
Matowcas,  Indian  name  of  Brooklyn, 

275. 
Mattenwake,   the  ancient  name    of 

Long  Island,  70. 
Methodist   Episcopal   Chxirch    estab- 
lished in  Brooklyn,  137,  140,  141. 
Merrikoke  Indians,  the,  32. 
Midwoiit.  the  Church  Window  at.  111. 
Military  Accoutrements,  ancient,  200. 
Missionary  work  among  the  Indians, 

39. 
Modern  Innovations,  the  ruin  caused 

by,  249. 
Mohawk  Indians,  14. 

Canarse  Indians,  fear  of  the,  22. 
Mohegan  Indians  noticed,  10. 
Mongotucksee,  Canal  at,  built  by  In- 
dians. 58. 
Mongotucksee,  Indian  Chief,  venera- 
tion of  the  Tribes  for,  58,  60,  246. 
Moutauk  Indians,  the,  33. 

Agreement  with  the  Whites,  41. 
Emigration  of  the,  44. 
Condition  of  the,  in  1816,  45. 
Stephen,  King  of  the,  46. 
Noticed,  246. 
Montauk  Town,  Improvement  of  land 

at,  43.    - 
Montgomery    John,    Governor,    his 

Charter,  303. 
Moore,  John,  noticed,  240. 
Moore,   Rev.  R.   C,   Sermon  on  the 

importance  of  Church  ilusic,  139. 
Morris,  Lewis,  Chief  Justice,  noticed, 

134. 
Morris,  William.  Deed  to  Corporation 
of  New  York,  411. 

Names  of  Places,  Ancient,  178. 


476 


INDEX. 


Kames  of  Families,  1<S3. 

ISTarragansett  Indians,  45. 

Nan-ows,  the  Indian  Relics  fonnd  at 

the,  yi. 
Nassau  Island,  see  Long  Island,  424. 
Nehantick  Indians,  45. 
New  England,  tlie  United  Colonies  of, 
their  power,  25. 
Indians  of,  45. 
"New Mirror  for  Travellers,"  quoted, 

258. 
New  RocheUe,  N.  T.,  Settlement  of, 

120. 
Newspapers,  390. 

Newtown,  Episcopal  Church  at,  1^5. 
New-Year's  Day,  Celebration  of,  257, 

259. 
New  York,  the  Growth  of,  2C8 ;  Com- 
merce of,  210. 
Number  of  Houses  in  1678  and 

Kibf),  o91. 
William    Mon-is'    deed  to  the 
City  of,  411. 
New  Y'ork  Historical  Society,  10. 
New  Y'ork  Purchase,  the,  801. 
Nicolls,  Matthias,  noticed,  288. 
Nicolls,  Gov,  Richard,  his  Letter  to 
the  Duke  of  York,  206. 
Noticed,  284.  288. 
Address  of    People    of   Hemp- 
stead to,  420. 
Nicknames,  Dutch,  185,  186,  187. 
"  Niggering  Corn,"  account  of,  228. 
Nissaquage  Indians,  the,  o2. 
North  Carolina,  the  Indians  of,  26. 
Noyes,  Josiah,  398. 
Nyack    Indians,   settlement    of,   30, 
2'(6. 

Oak  Trees,  venerable  ones  at  Flush- 
ing, 97. 

Occom,  Samson,  Rev.,  "overtaken  by 
strong  drink,"  35. 
Noticed,  35,  40,  45,  65. 

Ogilvie  Rev.  Dr.,  151. 

Old  Ferry,  the,  316. 

Old  Houses,  on  Long  Island,  142. 

Onderdonk,  Henry,  Ji.,  Bibliography 
of  Long  Island,  by,  435. 

Onderdonk,  Henry  "U.,  Rector,  .^82. 

•Overseers  of  Brooklyn,  the,  i5 1. 

Oysters,  of  Blue  I'oint  Bay,  Tradition 
of,  77. 

Palatines,  Settlements  of,  121. 
Paumanacke.    an    ancient    name    of 

Long  Island,  71. 
Parties  under  the  Tulip  Tree,  236. 


Patchen,  Jacob,  145. 
Patchogue  Indians,  the,  32. 
Paulding,  James  K.,  quoted,  258. 
Paupers,  the  support  of,  409. 
Pennowits,  the  Long  Island  Chief,  66. 
Pequot  Indians,  10,  45. 
Peterses,  Leffert,  '6x2. 
Pettrson,  Mary,  colored,  279. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  the  Trade  of,  211. 
Pici.ics  unrler  the  Tulip  Tree,  ^36. 
Pietersen.  Jocliem,  Indians  biu-n  the 

House  of.  68. 
Pietcrsie,  Styntie,  282. 
Pinokster  Day,  Celebration   of,  266, 

267,  268. 
Pintard,  John,  noticed,  10,  69,  93. 
Pirate,  Capt.  Jones  the,  143. 
Polhemus,  Rev.  Joannes  Theodoras, 
1U3. 
J)eath  of,  112,  370. 
Poling,  Charles,  151. 
Poospatutk,  L.  I.,  Indians  at,  47. 
Porridge,  Samp,  227. 
Post-office,  on  Long  Island,  the,  240, 

241,  248,  o89. 
Powers,  George,  noticed,  137. 
Praa,   Capt.   Peter,   his  Hair  pulled, 

o63. 
Presbyterian  Churches  first  founded, 
100,  im. 
See  Kings  County,  101. 
Prison  Ships,  the,  341. 
Public  Landing  Places,  319. 
Public  Officers,  the  first  in  Brooklyn, 

345. 
Public  Woods,   preservation  of  the, 

325. 
Punch,  Dutch,  a  Beverage,  232. 
Putnam.   Gen.   Israel,  Headquarters 

of,  146,  216. 

Quakers  on  Long  Island,  97. 

Governor  Stuyvesant's  Treat- 
ment of,  116. 

See  George  Keith,  133. 

See  George  Fox. 
Queens  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Indians  in,  32. 
Quogue,  the  Journey  to,  245. 

Rapalje,  Daniel,  110. 

Jeronhnus  de,  282. 

Jol.n,  145. 

Sarah  de,  Fecundity  of,  406. 
Religious  Toleration,  117,  118. 
Remsen,  Henry,  his  Ferry,  305. 

Joras,  283. 
Representation,    Discuasion  ou    the 
Right  of,  346. 


INDEX. 


477 


Revolution    of   177(5,    Forts    erected 
during  the,  96. 
Records  destroyed  in  the,  331. 
Incidents  of  the,  338. 
Rheumatism,  a  Long  Island  Cure  for, 

88. 
Rhode  Island   gives   Help  to    Long 
Island,  198. 
Sharpshooters.  200. 
the  "Voluntaries"  of,  201. 
Richardson,  Marvin,  noticed,  136. 
Rivington's  Royal  Gazette,   quoted, 

241. 
Roatls,  Public  and  Private,  319. 
Rockaway  Indians,  the,  32, 
Rouian   Catholic  Cuurches,  Founda- 
tion of,  141. 
Roukonk  ima  Pond,  Account  of,  57. 
Ruin  and  the  price  of  Land,  36. 
Ruuiford,  Count,  noticed,  96. 
'•  Rushes,-'  the  Tribute  of,  47. 
Rnyter,  Ciaes  Janse,  2S3. 

St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn,  notices 
of,  138,  139,  381. 

St.  George's  Church,  Hempstead,  no- 
ticed, 135. 

St.  James'  Catholic  Church,  142. 

St.   Mark's  Church,  N.  Y.,  noticed, 
109. 

St.  Nicholas,  Festival  of,  256. 

St.  Valentine's  Day,  Account  of,  262. 

Samp  Mortars,  Account  of,  227. 

Saud  Baths  of  Fire  Island,  87. 

Sands,  Joshua.  notic>.'d,  138. 

Santa  Klaas,  Festival  of,  257. 

Sch  >ols  among  the  Shinecoc  Indians, 
47. 

Schools  on  Long  Island,  169. 

School  Commissioners,  402. 

Schoolmaster,  the  Dutch,  171. 

Schoonmaker,  Douiinie  Martinus,  the 
last  Dutch  Preacher,  124. 

Schout,  the.  of  New  Amsterdam,  350. 

Schuyler,    Gen.    Philip,    Funeral  of, 
165. 

Scott,  John  Morin.  91. 

Seaman,  Jacob,  noticel,  80. 

St;abury,  Rev.  Samuel,  Death  of,  135. 

Sebringh,  Cornells,  noticed,  330. 

Secataug  Indians,  the,  32. 

Second  Sight,  a  Case  of,  168. 

Sellers  Neck,  Account  of,  286,  2S7. 

Sehvyn,  Rev.  Henricus,  noticed,  104, 
170. 
sails  for  Holland,  108. 

Sermons,  preached  in  Dutch,  124. 

Setaaket  Indians,  the,  32. 


SheU  Banks,  the,  82. 

Roads  on  Long  Island,  97. 
Shinecoc  Indians,  the,  33. 
Six  Nations,  the,  15. 

an    independent    government, 

28. 
Long  Island  Indians  pay  Trib- 
ute to,  2'.). 
Slavery  in  New  York,  221,  224. 
Slaves,  Prices  of,  224. 
Sloughter,   Gov.,  Interview  with  the 

Indian  Chief,  63. 
Small-pox,  very  fatal  to  Indians,  50. 

in  Brooklyn,  277. 
Smiths,  the,  of  Long  Island,  192,  195. 
Smith,   Christopher,  Expense  of  hig 
Pumral,  160. 
John,  of  Suffolk  Co.,  42. 
Wil'iam.  the  Historian,  91.  313. 
Smith's  History  of  New  Jersey,  no- 
ticed, 88. 
History  of  Virginia,    quoted, 
94. 
Smoked  Goose,  253. 
Soliuus,  Rev.  Henricus,  see  Sehvyn, 
104. 
Cotton  Mather's  Poems  to,  105. 
noticed,  371,  373,  374. 
see  Selwyn. 
Soo-nou-gize,   or  '"Tommy  Jemmj'," 

Ti-ial  of,  27. 
Southampton,  the  Fisheries  of,  78. 

first  Church  at,  100. 
South  Carolina  Gazette,  quoted,  24. 
Spencer,   Chief   Justice,    presides  at 

the  Trial  of  Tommy  Jemmy,  27. 
Spooner,  Alden,  noticed,  400. 
Sports  and  Amusements,  252. 
Sprague,  Joseph,  399. 
Squaw's  I.sla  d,  82. 
*•  Squeak    the    Fife    and    beat  the 

Drum,"  270. 
Stauton,  Henry,  noticed,  138,  402. 
Staten  Island,   descent  of  Northern 

Indi  ms  on,  20,  347. 
Steam  Ferry,  the  first,  317. 
''  Stephen,"  King  of  the  Montauks,46. 
Stillwell,  Richard,  3:34. 
Stirling,  Lord.  Capture  of,  148. 
Stonington  Indians,  the,  45. 
Street  Commissioners,  319. 
Stryker,  Burdett,  noticed,  152. 
Scuy vesant,  Peter,  orders  Flatbush  to 
be  •'  palistidoed."  2S. 
prohibits    the   Sale   "f   strong 

Drink  to  Indians,  33. 
see  Selwyn,  106. 
the  Chapel  at  his  Bowery,  109. 


478 


INDEX. 


Stuyvesant,  Peter,  as  a  Politician,  116. 

recommends      Charles     Debe- 
voise,  177. 

Character  of,  196,  197. 

noticed,  284,  371. 
Suffolk  Co.,  N.  Y.,  Indians  in,  32. 
Sunday  Laws,  408. 
Sunday  Visiting?,  noticed,  2.34. 
Supervisor,  Election  of  the,  363. 

Tadens,  Machielle,  283. 

Tea  Drinking,  Introduction  of,  233. 

Teibout,  John,  174. 

Temperance,   G-ov.   Stuyvcsant's  en- 
deavor with  the  Indians,  33. 

Thomas,  Rev.  John,  noticed.  134. 

Thomson,  Charles,  noticed,  12. 

Thompson.  Abraham  G.,  noticed,  241. 
Isaac,  noticed,  80. 
Jonathan,  noticed,  241. 

Titus,  Abiel,  noticed,  136,  380. 

Tombstones,  the  Expense  of,  155. 

"  Tommy  Jemmy,"  the  Case  of,  27. 

Tompkins,  Gov.,  on  the  Trespass  on 
Indian  Lands,  45. 

Top-knot  Betty,  noticed.  187. 

Town  Clerk,  Election  of  the.  364. 

Town  Commissioners,  the,  355,  357. 

Tulip  Tree,  Account  of  the,  236,  237. 

Tuscaroras  Indians,  the,  15, 

Traditions  of  Long  Island,  56. 

Treat,  Rev.  Mr.,  at  Eastham,  Mass., 


UdaU,  Richard,  noticed,  80. 
Underhill,    Capt.   John,    his  Battle 
with  the    Marsapeague    In- 
dians, 32. 
noticed,  69,  93,  199. 
United  States  Navy  Yard,  Brooklyn, 

276. 
XJniversalists  in  Brooklyn,  386. 

Van  Beeck,  M.,  noticed,  120. 
Van  Cortlandt,  Stephanus.  283. 
Vanderbilt.  Helen,  noticed,  158. 
Vanderdonck  on  the  Culture  of  Wine, 

92. 
Vander  Hagen,  Dr.,  noticed,  175. 
Vandewater,  Benjamin.  319,  326. 
Vandewater,  Jacobus   "  Clerk,"  326, 

434. 
Vanduyne,  Cornelius,  433. 
Van  Eckellen,  Johannis,  171, 173,177. 


Van  Home,  Major,  the  Motion  of, 
311. 
the  Vote  on.  314. 

Van  Nostrand,  John,  138,  403, 

Van  Rensselaer,    Stephen,    Patroon, 
164. 

Vechte,   Henry  Claes,   Case  of,  361, 
377. 

Veerbeeck,  Paulus.  285. 

Velsor,    John,    Account  of  the  dig- 
ging of  his  Well.  79. 

Village  Hall,  the,  387. 

"  Vrouwen  dagh,"  Account  of,  263. 

Wacombound,  the  Chief,  Account  of, 

61. 
Walker,    Rev.    Zachariah,     noticed, 

101. 
Wall,  George,  noticed,  137. 
Wampum,  gathered  at  Babylon,  L.  I., 
8:3. 
as  Salary  for  School-teaching, 

176. 
the  Canarse  Tribute  of,  276. 
Waring,  Henry,  147,  341. 
Washington,  George,   Headquarters 
of,  147. 
the  Retreat  of,  340. 
Water  Lot  Rents,  307. 
Watermills  in  Brooklyn,  396. 
Wells,  Philip,  Surveyor,  334. 
Wells,  WilUam,  of  Southold,  157. 
West  Riding  of  Long  Island,  362. 
Whale  Fisheries  of  Long  Island,  247. 
Wheat,  Liberty  to  transport,  granted, 

407. 
Whitby  Prison  Ship,  341. 
Whiting,  Joseph,  Rev.,  noticed,  100. 
Widow,  how  called,  408. 
Widower,  Definition  of  the  Word,  408. 
Willis,  "Old  Dr.,"  noticed,  80. 
Windmills  in  Brooklyn,  396. 
Wine,  manufacture  of,  92. 
Witchcraft,  in  New  England,  121, 123, 
Woertman,  Dirck  Janse.  282,  '28^i. 
Woman's  Day,  Account  of,  263. 
Women,  two  fighting,  of  Bush  wick, 

361. 
Wyngaard,  Lucas,  his  Funeral,  164. 

"Young's  Place,"  Account  of  the  old, 

142. 
Young,  Thomas,  Nurseryman,  91. 
"  Yule  Cleugh,"  the,  253. 


ifsjc: 


'R 


4" 


o  •»  o 


•0     ^-'^^ 


i' 


-0.0-        .0  "^^   ^^''^''-^J^"^'  '^^      "o-o  A- 


j^ljwvx^    >  v'         ^^^  *  '^tyy/U^^  K.  >  Deacidified  using  the  Bookkeeper  process, 

'  >i^^ir^  •  <)  .  *•  ^^■CcAy'^^*        _^^  Neutralizing  Agent:  Magnesium  Oxide 

^  o  H  0  «0  ^^         *•,■>•  AV  Treatment  Date: 

s    .^"^  >;A*i:-/-"^_    .«,^\^;ri  jidiilu  may      i998 


,    MAY 

?5?FRVATinM  TFr:wMni  nnrpc  i  p 


^  e,  C,  ^/v  1/7/K.  ^»         PRESERVATION  TECHNOLOGIES,  LP, 

^^  -C,-"      a%  o   'w/   ^'  A    1^       11 1  Thomson  Park  Drive 

Y%  .ajv  ^'jX         '^  *      ^'  I  V«^\     Cranberry  Township,  PA  16066 


^^^        0  0  ""  *  <^ 


•"  *  •  « 


^r'    /<;^,<.,  %     .^     .*'^/'?% 


■^0' 


'/^i^^;*-  ^t.-^     o_  ->- 


-t<<. 


*       -°^ 


^  6   O    "    «    X 


^i,^.,. 


"^. 


^'•-     "^o 


o 


1V 


'^     ^ 


.0^ 


'*>>^,'^        °-'^. 


%■ 


^1)^ 


,^ 


5>-'   ^^ 


1-Jv 


ss- 


0^'   .-^^ 


^^^^  %.  4  ^  »r^^^ 


'-^0 
^^^x. 


^ 


,vFEB7  8 


^-    e  s  •  • , .   r^ 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


0  014  430  723  9