Gc M. U.
974.701
K61ro
v.l
1254230
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
/
mmimii
3 1833 01178 3161
A HISTORY
OF
LONG ISLAND
From Its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time
PBTBR ROSS, LL. D.
VOL. 1
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
New York and Chicago
1002
COPYRIGHT.
The Lewis Pi-klismin
1254230
SONS OF LONG ISLAND.
O God of Columbia! O Shield of the Free!
More grateful to you than the fanes of old story
Must the blood-bedewed soil, the red battle-ground, be
Where our forefathers championed America's glory!
Then how priceless the worth of the sanctified earth
We are standing on now!* Lo! the slope of its girth
Where the martyrs were buried; nor prayers, tears or stones
Marked their crumbled-in coffins, their white holy bones.
Say. Sons of Long Island, in legend or song,
Keep ye aught of its record, that day dark and cheerless.
That cruel of days when, hope weak, the foe strong,
Was seen the Serene One, still faithful, still fearless,
Defending the worth of the sanctified earth
We are standing on now? &c.
Ah, Yes! be the answer. In memory still
We have placed in our hearts and embalmed there forever
The battle, the prison ship martyrs and hill.
Oh, may it be preserved till those hearts shall sever.
For how priceless the worth, &c.
And shall not the years, as they sweep o'er and o'er.
Shall they not even here bring the children of ages.
To exult as their fathers exulted before
In the freedom achieved by our ancestral sages?
And the prayer rise to heaven with gratitude given
And the sky by the thunder of cannon be riven?
Yea! Yea! let the echo responsively roll,
The echo that starts from the patriot's soul.
ira/t irhitmnii, 1S46.
PRBFACE.
N the following pages an effort has been made to present the history of the
whole of Long Island in such a way as to combine all the salient facts of the
long and interesting story in a manner that might be acceptable to the general
reader and at the same time include much of that purely antiquarian lore which is
to many the most delightful feature of local history. Long Island has played a most
important part in the history of the State of New York and, through New York, in
the annals of the Nation. It was one of the first places in the Colonies to give
formal utterance to the doctrine that taxation without representation is unjust and
should not be borne by men claiming to be free — the doctrine that graduall}- went
deep into the hearts and consciences of men and led to discussion, opposition and
war; to the declaration of independence, the achievement of liberty and the founding of
a new nation. It took an active part in all that glorious movement, the most signifi-
cant movement in modern history, and though handicapped by the merciless occupa-
tion of the British troops after the disaster of August, 1776, it continued to do what
it could to help along the cause to which so many of its citi/.ens had devoted their
fortunes, their lives.
On Long Island, too, the old theory of government by town meeting found full
scope, even in those sections where the Dutch rule was closest and the story of these
little republics with their laws and limitations is worthy of careful study at the
present day. They present us, as in the case of Southold, with specimens of pure
theocracies flourishing and progressing in spite of the watchful and pre-eminent rule
of the local church directorate, or possibly rather as a consequence of it, and they
also present us, as in Jamaica, with townships founded on somewhat less religious
lines but in which the edict of the church authorities was a matter that commanded
primal respect. But, one and all, these communities showed that the view of the
people as expressed in town meeting was the supreme local law, the origin of all
local power, even though a fussy Director General now and again made his authority
and dignity known by interference, or a Proprietary or Colonial Governor attempted
to tax the people or impose a minister or a religious system without other warrant
than his own sweet will and his own imperious necessities, or the wishes of his
superiors — in London.
In compiling;- this history all previous works relating to the story of Long Island
have been laid under contribution, notabl}- such volumes as those of Wood, Thomson,
Onderdonk, F"urman and Spooner. The invaluable labors of Dr. Henry R. Stiles,
whose "History of Brooklyn" and other works are storehouses of local history, have
been drawn upon freely, for no story of Brooklyn could now be written that would
not be under the deepest obligation to the patient and learned writings of that
most painstaking of antiquarians and local historians. The chapter on "Dentists in
Brooklyn" was written for this volume by Dr. William Jarvie, and is the result
of many years' research. The chapter on medical history by Dr. William Schroder
froms another valuable feature.
Of local histories nearly all those accessible have been consulted. From the
published writings of Mr. William S. Pelletreau, the erudite historian of Suffolk
County, and the author of several valuable works illustrating the long, eventful, and
highly honorable story in peace and war of that grand section of Long Island, many
details have been gathered. From the writings of Dr. \\'. ^^'allace Tooker. of Sag
Harbor, the indefatigable student of Indian lore on Long Island, much that is deeply
interesting concerning the red man and his remains has been gleaned, and thanks are
due both these gentlemen for their freely given permission to make their studies avail-
able for this volume. The cordial manner in which the Flatbush Trust Company
permitted the use of several illustrations from its interesting work on "Flatbush,
Past and Present," also demands an expression of thanks.
The files of the Brooklyn Eagle have been freely consulted and proved a most
invaluable storehouse; in fact almost since its origin, in 1S4-1, the Eagle has been, as
ever_\- local newspaper should be, the best possible historian of Brooklyn, and indeed
of Long Island. It has the happy art in these modern days of knowing how to
combine those personal details which we look for in a local paper with the wide
reaching world-news which is the feature of a metropolitan daily. From the col-
umns of the "Standard-Union" and the "The Brooklyn Times ' much has also been
gathered.
The author desires also to thank the numerous correspondents to whom he
is much indebted for details of considerable interest in the various township histories.
In following the windings of family history, to which considerable space has been
devoted, much curious matter would have been overlooked but from details received
as the result of correspondence with the modern representatives of many of these
old families. Thanks are given for all this in its proper place, and indeed an
effort has been made throughout the ^\•ork to quote every authority and give full
credit to previous writers and to all who have in anyway, directly or indirectly,
rendered assistance.
PETER ROSS.
CONTKNTS.
Proem
CHAPTER I.
Topography of the Island— Natural History — Botany — Geology
CHAPTER II.
Indians and Their Lands
CHAPTER III.
The Decadence of the Aborigines * . . . .
CHAPTER IV.
Discovery— Early White Settlements and Political and Financial Relations — The Importance of the
Wampum Industry
CHAPTER V.
The Dutch^Soms Early Governors— Peter Stuyvssant
CHAPTER VI.
The British Government
CHAPTER VII.
Some Early Families and Their Descendants4-Some Pioneer Settlers— The Stirling Ownership and
Colonizing Schemes — Lion Gardiner and His Purchase — A Long Island "Queen of the White
House'' — The Blue Smiths and Other Smiths, The Tangier Smiths and Other Branches of the
Smith Family — The Floyds
CHAPTER VIII.
; Some Old Families in Queens and KingsVThe Lloyds— The Jones Family— The Record of a Bit of
Brooklyn Real Estate— The Rapalyes— The Livingstons— The Pierrepont, Lefterts and Other
Holdings
CHAPTER IX.
' Some Primitive Characteristics-^Early Laws— The Administration of Justice
CHAPTER X.
Slavery on Long Island
CHAPTER XI.
Early Congregational and Presbyterian Churches
CHAPTER XII.
Religious Progress in Kings County
VIII CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
Persecutions— Religious— The Troubles of the Early Quakers — Trials For Witchcraft
CHAPTER XIV.
Captain Kidd and Other Navigators
CHAPTER XV.
The Ante-Revolution Struggle
CHAPTER XVI.
The Battle of Brooklyn
CHAPTER XVII.
The Retreat From Long Island— A Strategic Triumph
CHAPTER XVIII.
The British Occupation
CHAPTER XIX.
Some Long Island Loyalists— Richard Hewlett— John Rapalye— Mayor Mathews— Governor Colden—
Colonel Axtell — Lindley Murray and Others
CHAPTER XX.
A Few Revolutionary Hjroes — General V/oodhuU— Colonel Tallmadge — General Parsons— Colonel Meigs.
CHAPTER XXI.
The War of 1812— Naval Operations Around Long Island
CHAPTER XXII.
The Chain of Forts— Military Activity in Kings County— The Katydids and Other Heroes— The Popular
Uprising
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Story of Educational Progress
CH.APTER XXIV.
Internal Communications— Roads and Railroads— The Magnificent Outlook For The Future
CHAPTER XXV.
Kings County '
CHAPTER XXVI.
Flatlands
CHAPTER XXVII.
Flatbush
CHAPTER XXVIII.
New Utrecht
CHAPTER XXIX.
Bushwick — Williamsburg — Greenpoint — The Adventurous Life of Neziah Bliss
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXX.
Gravesend— The English Town of Kings County— Lady Moody— Early Settlers and Laws— .\ Religious
Community with a Sad Closing Record
CHAPTER XXXI.
Coney Island — Rise of the Famous Resort — The Democratic Watering Place of New York — A Revolution-
ary Reminiscence— Piracy and Plunder
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Story of Brooklyn Village to The Beginning of the Revolutionary Movement
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Brooklyn — From the Close of the Revolution to the Incorporation of the Village — Pre-Eminence of the
Ferry —The Beginning of the Navy Yard
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Village of Brooklyn
CHAPTER XXXV.
The First City— Mayors Hall. Trotter, Johnson. Smith, Murphy and Others— Disastrous Fires— Business
Extension— The Grand City Hall — Literature and the Press
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Church" Development— Loughlin -Dr. Bethune— St. Ann's — Holy Trinity— Dr. Storrs— Henry Ward
Beecher -Land Operations — Greeuwood and Other Cemeteries — The Ferries— Work at the Navy
Yard ".
CHAPTER XXXVn.
The Era of the Civil War— 180.")-1S70— A Succession of Capable Executives -The Metropolitan Police—
J. S. T. Stranahan— Prospect Park— Street Railways— Libraries— Rapid Extension of the City —
Cholera
CHAPTER XXXVHI.
Intellectual and Spiritual Life— Literature— Brooklyn Public Library— Rev. Dr. Cuyler— Rev. Dr.
Talmage— Father Malone •
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Civil War— The Troops inthe Field— The Enthusiasm in Brooklyn — Brooklyn's Contributions to the
CHAPTER XL.
The Death Grapple of the Struggle— Brooklyn's Meetings and Contributions— The Sanitary Fair -The
War Fund Committee —Repairing the Losses — The Grand Army of the Republic
CHAPTER XLI.
The Splendid Closing Record — Mayors Low, Whitney, Chapin, Boody, Schieren and Wurster— The
Bridge— Some Interesting Statistics
CHAPTER XLII.
The End of an Auld Sang -Literature and the Drama— Higher Education— National Guard-The Navy
Yard -Architectural Progress— Wallabout -Public Statues— The Pas.sing of Brooklyn City
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XLIII.
Queens— Development from Rural to Urban Life -The Future of the Borough — Horse Racing— An
Interesting Story of the Consolidation
CHAPTER XLIV.
Flushing— The Patentees of l(i4.">— Freeholders in Uis:! — The Lawrences -The Churches — Modern
Changes and Developments
CHAPTER XLV.
Newtown— The Step-Child of the Metropolitan Area— Mespath and Mr. Doughty— Middleburg—DeWitt
Clinton — Middle Village and Other Settlements
CHAPTER XLVI.
]amaica--The Little Republic of Rusdorp— Ministerial Troubles— Mr. Foyer's Trials— The Revolution-
Educational and lousiness Progress
CHAPTER XLVn.
Long Island City — A Loose Aggregation — Anneke Jans — Captain Praa— Long Island Railroad's Terminus
— Astoria and Its Namesake— Grant Thorburn — Hell Gate — A Picturesque Mayor
CHAPTER XLVHL
Summer Re.sorts-^A Cosmopolitan Pleasure Resort — Health, Excitement, Society and Solitude— Modern
Baronial Estates — Patchogue— Peconic Bay — The Land Boomers and the Railway
CHAPTER XLIX.
The Medical Profession on Long Island— Early Medical Legislation— ,\ Southampton Doctor and His
Fees — Noted Physicians of the Olden Times - Brooklyn's Pioneer Doctors
CHAPTER L.
The Medical Society of the County of Kings— Brooklyn's City Hospital and Similar Institutions— .-X Long
Roll of Honorable Professional Names
CHAPTER LI.
Various Medical Societies — Brooklyn Hospitals — Dispensaries
CHAPTER LH.
Dentists in Brooklyn
CHAPTER LHI.
The Bench and Bar— The Old Courts and Judges— Alden T. Spooner, Jud.ge Furman— The Tilton-Beecher
Case — Judge Neilson, Judge Beach — A Group of Modern Judges and juri.sts
CHAPTER LIV.
Freemasonry on Long Island -/Social- Tiny Beginnings of a Great Institution — Sketchesof Representative
Early Lodges - Some Distinguished Long Island Craftsmen
CHAPTER LV.
The Social World of Long Lsland— .\ Grand Array of Associations of all Sorts — Assessment Insurance —
Fashionable Clubs— Sporting and Hunting Organizations
CHAPTER LVL
Old Country Families^ F'amily History and Story— Pioneers, Heroes, Merchants and Their Descendants.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER LVn.
Notes and Illustrations- -The Long Island Campaign— Dutch Names of Places and Persons— Historical
Gleanings and Documents — Early Nineteenth Century Descriptions
CHAPTER LVHI.
The Catholic Church on Long Island
CHAPTER LIX.
Nassau County ■
CHAPTER LX.
Hempstead
CHAPTER LXI.
North Hempstead
CHAPTER LXH.
Oyster Bay — Sketch of President Roosevelt
CHAPTER LXHI.
Suffolk County
CHAPTER LXIV.
Huntington
CHAPTER LXV.
Babylon
CHAPTER LXVI.
Smithtown :
CHAPTER LXVH.
Islip
CHAPTER LXVHI.
Brookhaven
CHAPTER LXIX.
Riverhead
CHAPTER LXX.
Southold
CHAPTER LXXI.
Shelter Island
CHAPTER LXXn.
Southampton
CHAPTER LXXni.
East Hampton
A.PPENDIX; Long Island Troops in the Revolutionary War
INDEX.
Abbott— Ex-Surrogate, 641.
Abbott, Dr. Lyman.— 484.
Academy of Music, Brooklyn. — 4.')0.
Ackerly, Orville B.— 1005.
Agriculture. — Indian, 2.5; in the days of the occupa-
tion, 221 (see also under various towns and vil-
lages); land and soil, 792; fish as fertilizers, 793;
small versus large farms, 793.
Agriculture in Suffolk county. — 998 ; the Suffolk
County Agricultural Society, 1001.
Ainslee, James. — Justice in Williamsburg, 349.
Alberti, Caesar. -18.
Albertson, Albert (Terhune)— Early settlers at New
Utrecht, 329.
Alexander, Rev. Dr. S. D.— quoted, 138.
AUefonsce, Jean of Saintonge, sails through Long Is-
land Sound in 1542.— 44.
Alsop, Rev. B. F.— 427.
Alsop family — 709.
Amagansett.— village of, 1056; 1071.
Amersfort, or Amersfoort (Klatlands)— 311.
Amityville. — village of, 977.
Andrews, Samuel.— 89.
Andriese, David of Bushwick.— 337.
Andres, Governor.— 68; 70; 83.
Antonides, Rev. Vincentius.— 1.50.
Apprentices' Library, Brooklyn.— 402; 505.
Aquebogue — Prehistoric remains found at, .34; 580.
Architectural features— Early, 107; in Gravesend, 364;
in modern Brooklyn, 610; 680.
Arden, Dr. Charles.— 196.
Arts and Sciences— Institute of, 505.
Astor, John Jacob.— 569.
Astoria— .538; 568; sketch of, 569.
Athenaeum, Brooklyn.— 422.
Atlantic Docks, the.— 418.
Aurora Grata Club.— 659.
Axtel, Colonel.— 196; 232; 323.
Babylon.-In War of 1S12, 252.
Babylon, old mill at. — 879; History of, 974; land boom-
ers, 974; village beginning, 976; hotel keeping,
976; a princely visitor, 976; churches, 977; vil-
lages, 977.
Backer, Jacobs— New Utrecht, 330.
Bacon, Col. A. S., Brooklyn.— 371.
Bader, V., of Gravesend.— 371.
Baird, Colonel A. D.-485.
Baldwin, David. -314.
Baldwin, Rev. J. A.-313.
Baldwin, W. H., Jr.-Pres. Long Island Railroad, 303.
Barber, Rev. Jonathan —1024.
Barburin, Captain. -256.
Barker, John G.— 668.
Barren Island. — Deed surrendering, 27.
Bartlett, Justice Willard.— 643.
Bartow, Edgar J.— Sketch of, 427.
Basset, Rev. John.- 260.
Bath.— 328; 335.
Baxter, George (of Bushwick). — 337.
Baxter, George (of Gravesend).— 60; 61; 362.
Baxter, John. — teacher, 314.
Bayberry Point. — Moorish houses at, 989.
Bayles, David.— shipbuilder, 994.
Bayles, R. M.— quoted, 993; 995.
Bay Ridge.— 328; ferry to Staten Island, 334; 335.
Bayside.— 535.
Beattie, Rev. John.— 333.
Beatty, A. Chester.— 83.
Beatty, Robert C— 83.
Beatty, W. Gedney.— 83.
Bedford.— Beginning of village of, 390.
Bedford Corners. -School at, 270.
Beecher, Henry Ward.— 410; sketch of, 431; trial of
case of Tilton vs. Beecher, 633.
Beeckman, Cornells.- New Utrecht, 330.
Beekman, Cornells. — 62.
Beekman, (jerardus. — 73.
Beekman, Col. Gerardus.— 151.
Beekman, William.— 60; 385.
Bell, James A. H.— 500.
Bell, Oliver Bunce.-424; 4.53.
Bellomont, Governor.— 72; relations with Captain Kidd,
Bench and Bar.— 625.
Bench and bar of Kings county; of Suffolk county,
963.
Bennett, Arien Willemsen.— 332.
Bennett, William Adriaense.— 54; 381.
Benson, Judge Egbert.— 626.
Bensonhurst.— Village, 334; 335.
Bentyn, Jacques. -54; 58; 381.
Bergen Beach.— 316.
Bergen, Hans Hansen.— 58; 280.
Bergen, Captain J. T.— 335.
Bergen, Teunis G.-54; 58; 266; sketch, 727.
Bergen, Tunis G. — 643.
Berry, Abraham J., Mayor of Williamsburg.— 350.
Berry, Ed.- 314.
Bescher (or Beets), Thomas. — 58.
Bethpase.- village of, 938.
Bethune, Rev. Dr.— 426.
Betts, Captain Richard— 709.
Billeting of British troops.— 222; 223.
Bishop, Rev. Alexander H.— 572.
Blackwell, Captain Jacob.— 570.
INDEX.
Bliss, Neziah.— Sketch of, 352; 568.
BlissviUe.— 568.
Block, Adriaen.— 45.
Block Island discovered. — 43.
Blue Laws of Connecticut. — 115.
Blues, the Dirty.— o40.
Blythebourne.— 828.
Boerum, Willem Jacobse Van.— 321.
Bogardus, Rev. Everardus. — 146; 568.
Bohemia.— village of, 996.
Bonaparte, Prince Joseph, at Babylon. — 9T6.
Boody, Mayor.— 485.
Books, Dutch, — Used in Divine service, 149.
Booth, Edwin.— Last appearance on any stage, 508.
Booth, Samuel, Mayor of Brooklyn.— 445.
Boston Tea Party.— 187.
Bostwick, Arthur E.— 456.
Bout, Jan Evertsen, founder of Brooklyn. — Sketch of,
383; 385; Stuyvesant's ultimatum, 390.
Bout, Jan Eversen. — 59.
Bownas, Samuel, Quaker Missionary. — 172.
Bredenblut, William.— 62.
Breslau.— village of, 977.
Bresser, Henry.— 58.
Brewster, Rev. Nathaniel. — 991,
Bridge, The Brooklyn.— 487.
Brighton Beach, Coney Island.- 374.
Brighton Beach Racing Association.— 369.
Brockholles, Lieutenant Governor.— 69.
Brookhaven Artillery Company in War of 1812. — 254.
Brookhaven.— Pioneer?, 990; Setauket founded, 990;
Richard WuodhuU, 991; early ministers, 991;
some patents, S92; Smith purchase, the, 992;
Revolutionary heroes, 992; Setauket's " Green,"
992; churches, 992; Queen Caroline's gifts, 993;
Strong's Neck, 994; Patchogue, 994; Port Jef-
ferson, 994; other villages, 996.
Brooklyn.— Battle of, 199; fortifications, 202; landing
of the British, 203; the leaders of the Continent-
als, 203; Putnam in command, 204; Grant
plays with Stirling, 205; capture of Flatbush,
205; Howe's strategic night march, 206; defeat
all along the line, 207; the gallant Maryland-
ers, 207; Sullivan and Stirling captured, 208;
rush for the inner fortifications, 208."
Notes and Illustrations. — Elias Bayles, 746; How-
ard House, 746; Thompson's story of the battle,
747.
Retreat. — Washington's memorable movement a
military triumph, 209.
Results of the battle.— 213.
——British Occupation.— 214; Silas Wood on, 221 ; Long
Island famed for its misfortunes, 221; Onder-
donk quoted on, 223; billeting the troops, 223;
Flatbush, 324; New Utrecht, 334; Bushwick,
339.
Fortifications in War of 1812, 257; plan, 259; work
begun, 259; peace celebrations, 263.
Origin of Brooklyn, 58; Carl De Bevoise, first
schoolmaster, 268; population, 3; slaves and
their owners, 122; church squabbles with Flat-
bush, 157; first church, 159; early preachers, 160.
Early history, 381; the annexation fever covers its
whole story, 381; original districts, 381; Gov-
ernor Kieft's proclamation, 382; Harrington
Putnam on "Origin of Breuckelen," 383; ap-
pointment of Schout, 384; first preacher, 387;
palisade around village, 384; Governor Nicolls'
charter, fac simile, 386; administration, 390;
charter from Dongan, 390; taxation of the five
Dutch towns, road making, beginning of Ful-
ton street, 391; description of village in Moore's
Gazetteer, 392; the ferry, S92.
-History from the Revolution to incorporation, 395;
recognized as a town, 395; fire department or-
ganized, 395; first newspaper, 395; other jour-
nalistic ventures, 395; shipping and shipbuild-
■ ing, 396; trades in 1796, 396; yellow fever, 396;
the medical profession, 396; shitting center of
trade, 397; navy yard established, 397; results
of the war of 1812, 398; the territory covered by
the village act of incorporation, 398.
-Story of "the Village," 399; first trustees, 398;
meetings, 401; population statistics, 399; Board
of Health, 400; a prosperous era, 400; Long
Island Bank, 401; almshouse, 401; great men
who visited Brooklyn, 402; Guy's snow scene,
403; schools, 404; temperance society, 404; the
Heights, 404; real estate development, 405; city
charter, nine wards, 406.
-The First City.— Manifestations of civic pride,
409; first board of aldermen, 408; a succession
of Mayors, 409; City Hall project, 417; Atlantic
Docks, 418; street stages, 419; water supply,
419; the great fire of 1848,419; cholera epidemic,
420; Know-Nothingism, 420; police, 422; statis-
tics of progress, 422; city of homes, 423; news-
papers, 423; Walt Whitman, 425; Gabriel Fur-
man, 425; church development, 426; the city of
churches, 428; annexation of Bushwick and
Williamsburgh, 440; Mayor Hall's report of
progress, 440.
-The Consolidated City, 443; Mayors Hall, Powell,
Kalbfleisch (the "War Mayor"), Wood, Booth,
444 ; The Metropolitan Police act, 446; Mr.
Stranahan's service, 447; Prospect Park, 447:
growth of the city, 450; Erie Basin, 451; Gow-
anus Canal, 451; Some statistics, 452; Gabriel
Harrison, 453.
-Public Libraries, 454; Rev. Dr. Cuyler, 455; Rev.
Dr. Talmage, 458; Rev. Father Malone, 459;
The Civil War, Patriotism of the city, 464;
Splendid service of Brooklyn troops, 466; Ship-
building. 468; Navy Yard Scare, 466; The
Death grapple of the Struggle, 471; draft
riots, 471; generosity of the citizens, 471; help-
ful organizations, 472; the Sanitary fair, 472;
United States Christian Commission, 478; war
fund committee, 479; the close of the struggle,
479; honoring the heroes, 480.
-The Splendid Closing Record, 483; Mayor Low,
483; Mayor Whitney, 486; Mayor Chapin, 485;
Mayor Boody, 486; Mayor Schieren, 486; Mayor
Wurster, 487; opening of the Brooklyn bridge,
487; elevated roads and other means of transit,
488; statistics of all sorts, 489; valuation, 490;
mechanical and manufacturing industries, 493;
educational matters, 503; the drama, 507; archi-
tectural development, 510; Wallabout market,
511; statues and memorials, 512; honoring Mr.
Stranahan, 512; annexation of Kings county
towns, 517; consolidation with Manhattan, 617;
the end of an auld sang, 518.
-Early school regulations, 268; School at Bedford
corners, 270; John Clark's school at Ferry, 270;
Punderson Ansten's school at Ferry, 270 ; first
school at Wallabout, 270; early schools, 270;
care of roads, 280.
-City Hospital and similar institutions, 595; Patho-
logical Society, 609 ; Dispensaries, 612; Dent-
ists, 617.
-Social Clubs— Architectural Features, 680; Ham-
ilton Club, 681 ; Brooklyn Club, 681 ; Union
League, 684; Lincoln, 684; Hanover, 685; Mon-
tauk, 686; other social clubs, 686.
The Future Of, 518.
Brooklyn Masonic Veterans.— 659.
Brotherton.— 36.
Brouwer, Jan. — 314.
Brown, Edward, of Gravesend.— 362.
Bruce, Hon. Wallace.— 499.
Brush, Rev. Alfred.— 333.
Brush, Conklin.— Mayor of Brooklyn, 411, 412.
Bryant, William Cullen.— 907.
Buel, Rev. Samuel. -271.
Building and Loan Associations, Brooklyn. — 492.
Bull, Ralph.-276.
Bunce, Joel. — First postmaster, 510.
Burnet, Guvernnr. — 74.
Burns, h.hn.— 314.
Burr, Cul.inel Aaron.— 627.
Burroushs Family.- 709.
Burton, Mary, and her "confessions."— 120.
Bushwick.— Case of sedition, 116; women assault a cap-
tain of mihtia, 116; slaves, 121; resolutions in
War of 1812, 260; first school, 268; general
sketch, 337; early settlers, 337; petition for a
schoolmaster, 338; trouble with Governor Nic-
olls over minister, 338; charter, 339; Dongan's
charter, 339; Revolutionary War, 339; peace
rejoicings and toasts, 340; modern changes, 341.
Buys, Peter.— "Early settler of New Utrecht, 329.
Calvary cemetery.— 7.
Campbell, Rev. William H.— 274.
Camp Wickoff.-1072.
Canarsie.— 316, 317.
Canarsie Indians.— Deed to Flatbush settlers, 318.
Canoe Place.— village of, 1046.
Canoe Place.— 31.
Carleton, Will.-499.
Carman family. — the, 895.
Carstensen, Claes, of Bu.shwick. — 337.
Case, Hon. John W.— 1020.
Catholic Church, History of, by Dr. Marc C. Vallette.—
Catlin, Gen. J. S.— 638.
Cedarmere, W. C. Bryant's home.— 908.
Cemeteries, Various.— 438.
Cemreoort. — village of, 974.
Chain of forts.— 2.54.
Chapin, Mayor.— 485.
Charitable organizations.— 483.
Charlick, Oliver.— Sketch of, 288.
Chauncey, Capt. Isaac. — 397; 400.
Cherry Point (Greenpoint).— 341; 352.
Cholera.-Visits of, 420; 452.
Christiaensen, Hendrick.— 45.
Church, James C. — 641.
Churches, early.— 134.
Clapp, Hawley D.— Of the Hamilton House, 328.
Clark, Rev. F. G.— 572.
Clark, J..hn ■■Philomath."— 270.
Clarke, (leurgi-. - Lieutenant-Governor, 74.
Clarkson, David. — 322.
Clinton, DeWitt.— '257, 262; statue in Greenwood cem-
etery, 435; home in Maspeth. — 547.
Clinton, Gov. George. — 74.
Clocq, Pilgrom.— 267.
Clover Croft estate -909.
Clowes, Rev. Timothy. — 274.
Cobbett, William, English reformer —916.
Cock, William.— 648.
Coe, Robert.— 60; 540.
Coffee, Paul, Indian preacher. —Sketch of, 37.
Coffee, James.— 41.
Coffee, Nathan J.— 41.
Cohen, B., of Gravesend.— 371.
Colden, Cadwallader, Lieutenant Governor.— Sketch
of, 75; family, 229.
Colden, Cadwallader, Mayor.— 262.
Cold Spring Harbor. — United States Fish Hatchery, 9.
Coles, Jordan. — Distiller, Williamsburgh, 344.
Colgan, Rev. Thomas. — 531; letters from, 558.
Colman, John.— Killed by natives, 44.
Colve, Governor.— Regains New Netherlands for the
Dutch, 68.
Coney Island. — 56, Op Dyck's purchase, 365; a salt
monopoly, 366; instance of popular power,
part of Gravesend according to Lovelace's
charter, 366; the Labadist Fathers' visit, 366
early names, 373; modern history, 373; pioneer
hotels, 373; description as a popular resort, 374
Jockey Club, 369; horseracing, 369; stories of
piracy, 375; Captain Heyler, patriot or pirate,
376; the tragedy of the "Vineyard" brig, "~"
Coney Island House.— 372.
Congress, Provincial. — Long Island delegates,
190.
Connecticut rule at East Hampton. — 1057.
rule of, 923; refusal to recognize punished at Hun-
tington, 966; over Southold, 1020; in South-
ampton, 1039.
Conklin, Capt. Jacob. — 976.
Conselyea, William, Bushwick. — 340.
Cooper, James B.— Quoted, 252.
Cooper, J. Fenimore. — "Water Witch," 574.
Cooper, Joab, 273.
Copeland, Edward. — Mayor of Brooklyn, 411, 412.
Copp, John. — Teacher, 270.
Coram.— village of, 996.
Corbin, Austin.— sketch of, 299.
Corlear, Jacob, New Utrecht.— 330.
Cornbury, Lord, Governor. — 151; 161; 553.
Cornelise, Peter. — 267.
Cornell family. -699.
Corona, village.— 537.
Corsa, Isaac— 232.
Cortelyou, Jacques. — Colonizing scheme, 24; 329.
Cortelyou, Peter.— 280.
County Judges— list, 625.
Court of Common Pleas.— Judges, 624.
Courts reorganized under Dongan.— 70.
Cowenhoven, Nicholas— Uncertain I jyalty of, 191; 323
Cowenhoven, Peter. — 257.
Craig, Andrew.— 273.
Creedmoor. — 916.
Creiger, Martin.— 60.
Crematory. — Fresh Pond, Queens, 438.
Crimmin.'Rev. Father. — Hunter's Point, 567.
Cripplebush road.— 405.
Cruikshank. Rev. William.— 313.
Cuffee, Paul, Indian preacher, sketch of, 37.
Cuffee, James, 41.
Cuffee, Nathan J., 41.
Cullen, Justice E. M.— 642.
Culloden. — wreck of, 874.
Currie, Rev. Robert Ormiston — 333.
Cutchogue.— villageof, 581, 1U23.
Cutler, Rev. Dr. B. C— 427.
Cutting, Rev. Leonard. — 886.
Cutting, R. Fulton.— 427.
INDEX.
Cutting, William— 83; Kerry lessee, 407.
Cuyler.— Rev. Dr. Theodore L.— 4.57; 472.
Cypress Hills Cemetery. — 437.
Bankers and Sluyter (Missionaries) Description of In-
dian home. — 24.
Dartmouth College. — Origin of, 35.
Davenport, Rev. James. — 137.
Davenport, W. B.— 646.
Davie, Rev. T. M.— 314.
Davis, Rev. Thomas.— 933.
De Bevoise, Carl. — Schoolmaster, Brooklyn, 268.
De Bevoise, Jacobus.— 99.
De Hart, Mayor.— 193.
De Lanoy, Abraham. — 314.
Dentists in Brooklyn. — 617.
Denton, Daniel. — "Brief Description" quoted, 524.
Denton's Pond. — Lawsuit over, 117.
Denton, Rev. Richard. — 144.
Denyse, Captain William. — 257.
Denyse's Ferry. — Landing place of British, 334.
De Peyster, AlDraham.— 73.
Dering family. — 723.
Derry, Valentine.— 273.
De Sille, Nicasius.— 321; 329; sketch of, 330.
Dewey, Rev. H. P.-421.
De Witt, Peter Janse.— 338.
De Witt, William C.-645.
Dikeman, Judge.— 628.
Dirksen, Cornells. — 96; ferryman, 393.
Ditmas family.— 704.
Ditmas, Dan.— 276.
Dominie's Hook. — 568.
Dongan, Governor. — 69; 84; patent to Flatbush, 319;
Long Island Courts, 323.
Donop, Colonel— .Battle of Flatbush, 323.
Dosoris.— 8; 9; 137.
Dosoris. — village of, 935.
Doughty, Rev. Francis.— 529; 639.
Drama in Brooklyn.— 454; 507.
Drowned Meadow (Port Jefferson).— 995.
Du Bois, Rev. Dr. Anson.— 314.
Dukes Laws, the.— 33; 66; 115.
Dunbar— Early postman, 281.
Duncan, John D. — 480.
Dunham, David.— Merchant and land speculator, 344.
Du Pre, Nicholas.— New Utrecht, .332.
Dutch church in Jamaica. — 561.
Dutch homes and social customs. — 108.
Dutch kills.-568; 576.
Dyker Meadow.- village, 335.
F.agle, Brooklyn Daily— 416; record of, 424; 4.55; 499.
Earle, Rev. Marmaduke.— 933.
Early families and their descendants. — 76.
East Hampton — 31; Sunday laws, 116; Clinton Acad-
emy, 271 ; Lion Gardiner's "observations,"
1049; first settlement, 10.56; Connecticut rule,
1057; Indian and other deeds, 10.58; the con-
stable and his dignified office, 1059; the church,
1060; Clinton Academy, 1061; troubles with
English Governors, 1063; warrant for arrest of
Rev. Mr. James, 1065; recent history, 1068.
East Neck.— 10.
East New York.— 514.
East Norwich. — village of, 937; preachers, 937.
Economic Geology of Long Island. — 16.
Educational Progress— story of, 266.
Eigenbrodt. Dr. L. E. A.— 275.
Elbertson, Elbert.— 60; 62; 267; 310.
Eliot, Rev. John.— 143.
Elizabeth.— wreck of, 875.
Elmhurst Village.— 636.
Elwell, Elijah.-314.
Emans, Jacobus, — Gravesend, 368.
Erasmus Hall Academy,— Flatbush, 272.
Erie Basin, The.- 451.
Errenpeutch, Rev. William. — 276.
Evans, Joseph D.— Sketch, 665.
Evans, Capt. Samuel. — 397.
Evergreens Cemetery.— 437.
Faithoute, Rev. George. — 275.
Fanning, Colonel Edmund.— 219.
Farmingdale. — village of, 939.
Farret, James — Agent tor Lord Stirling, 79.
Far Rockaway.— Mr. W. S. Pettit's historical paper,
900.
Far Rockaway— Railroad, 292.
Feeks, Robert.— 933.
Feeks, Tobias.— 60.
Fenner, James H. — 276.
Ferguson, James. — 274.
Ferry. — First ferry, Fulton street to Peck Slip,
381; Cornells Dircksen (Hoogland), ferryman,
392: Van Borsum appointed, 392, the ferry a
New York municipal asset, 393; the case of
Hendrick Remsen, 393; Samuel Waldron be-
comes lessee, 393; Catharine ferry, 397; manners
and customs of the ferry and ferrymen, 407;
steam service, 407; South Ferry, 406; a horse
boat, 408; New York and Brooklyn Ferry Com-
pany, 408; Hamilton terry, 438; Wall Street
ferry, 438; Union Ferry Company organized,
438; fares reduced, 438; new company formed,
439.
Field, Thomas W.— 499.
Fielding, Lemuel. — 41.
First settlers. — A forgotten race, 34.
Fish and Fish Culture. — 5; see Menhaden and local
references.
Fish as fertilizers.— 793.
Fiske, John.— on Wampum, 49; on Quakers, 107.
Flatbush. — Slaves and their owners, 122; first church
in Kings county, 146 ; ministers of, 154 ;
156; in War of 1812, 260; general sketch, 317;
Friends' school, 270; John Copp's grammar
school, 270; passing of i^s legal glory, 624.
First patent issued, 317; name changed, 317; legal
struggle with Flatlands and Newtown, 319; Don-
gan's patent, SI9; signatures of earlv settlers,
320.
Rustenberg, 320; quit rent,320; squabble with Stuy-
vesant, 321 ; courts, 322; delegates to Continental
Congress, 322; Revolutionary record, 323; bat-
tle at, 323; occupation, 324; modern develop-
ment Ijegan, 325; first newspaper, 326; churches,
.326; town hall, 326; annexed, 328; the passing
of the old homesteads, 328.
Flatlands.— Slave population and owners, 123; pio-
neer land owners. 310 ; residents in 1687,
311; census of 1698, 312; census of 1738, 312;
church, 312; church members, 1762; ministers,
313; schoolhouse, 315.
Fleet, Samuel. — 276.
Fletcher, Governor.— 72.
Floyd, Richard.— Family of, 86.
Floyd, Nicolls —86.
Floyd, William. — signer of Declaration of Independ-
ence, 87; family of, 87; 271.
Floyd, Judge Richard. — 87.
Floyd-Jones family. — 88.
Flushing. — Railroad communication, 290; 295; paten-
tees of 1645, .528; Rev. Francis Doughty, 529;
Quakers, 530; Denominational troubles, 531;
St. George's church, 532; agriculture, etc., 532;
Washington visits, 532; village charter, 533;
story of progress, .533.
Folk, J. S.— Chief of police, 422.
Forbus, Jan.^of Bushwick, .337.
Ford, Gordon, Leicester. — 499.
Ford, W. C.-500.
Ford, Paul L.- 500.
Fordham. Rev. Robert.— 141; 142.
Forest Park, Brooklyn.— 449.
Forrester, Captain. — 47.
Fort Diamond.— 335.
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn. — 449.
Fort Hamilton. — 328; 335; modern works, 335; fortifi-
cations, 254.
Fortitude Masonic Lodge, Brooklyn.— 651.
Fort Neck.— battle of, 21.
Fort Pond Bay.— railroad extended to, 303; 1068.
Fossils found on Long Island. — 13.
Foster, Howell.— 83.
Foster, Nat. W.— 1009.
Fowler, Col. E. B.— 465.
Fowler, David. — 35.
Fowler, Rev. Andrew. — 934.
Fox, George. — 163; arrives at Gravesend, 362; visits
Flushing, 530.
Franklin, Benjamin. — Postmaster General, 281.
Franklinville Village.— 581.
Freedman, Rev. Bernardus.— 1.50; 339.
Freeman, Rev. James B. — 139.
Freemasons in War of 1812,262; History of on Long
Island, 647; pioneer lodges, 648: Suffolk Lodge,
story of,648; Suffolk Lodge, No. 60, 6.50; Morton
Lodge, 650; Fortitude Lodge, 651; Rev. John
Ireland, 6.53; Rev. E. M. Johnson, 6,53; the craft
in Sag Harbor, 6.54; some early lodges, 657:
lists of lodges, 657 ; Masonic \'eterans, 659 ;
Joseph D. Evans, 664; John G. Barker, 668.
French's Gazetteer quoted. — 569.
Friends, Society of. — Beginnings of in Long Island,
163; persecutions, 165; Stuyvesant's bitterness,
166; list of Quakers at Flushing, 167; Bownes'
victory over Stuyvesant, 169; the case of lohn
Tilton, 169; Lady Moody; 169; 362; trial'and
acquittal of Samuel Bownas, 172.
Fuller, Margaret, drowned off Fire Island.— 874.
Fulton, Robert. — steamboat inventor, 407.
Fulton Ferry. — 58.
Funeral customs. — 112.
Furgueson, Cornelius. — politician, 336.
Furman, Gabriel.— sketch of, 425; list of ancient place
names, 759.
Furman, Garret and Grover C, Williamsburgh.— land
speculators, .345.
Furman, William. — 628.
Gallatin, Albert.— Secretary of the Treasury, 572.
Gambling, statute against. — 115.
Garden City.— Beginning of, 294; railroad, 294; 295;
.582; story of the inception of, 889; descrip-
tion of the cathedral and school; 890; A. T.
Stewart's memorial, 894.
Gardiner's Bay.-49: 251; 262.
Gardiner's Island.— 15; Farret's deed on Lion Gard-
iner, 1055; 1056; 1072; Gulls on, 1026.
Gardiner, Elizabeth.— 80.
Gardiner, Lion. — 20; 27; sketch of, 28; 49; acquires
Gardiner's Island, 80; sketch of, 80; family, 80.
Gardiner, Lion.— 1037; 1049.
Gaynor, Judge William J.— 371; 638.
Gelston, Rev. Maltby.— 275.
Gelston, Rev. Samuel— 142.
George, Henry. — 499.
Gibb, Andrew.— 987.
Gildersleeve, Richard.— .540.
Giles, Colonel Aquilla.-234; 273.
Gleason, Mayor Patrick Jerome. — sketch of, 575.
Glen Cove. — 8; railroad communication, 289.
Glen Cove, — village of; beginning, 935; steamboat
enterprise, 936; manufacturing, 936; Pratt and
Dana estates, 937.
Godwin, Colonel Abraham, — 257.
Goetschius, Rev. J. H.— .561.
Golfing links on Long Island. — 577.
Gomez, Estevan, voyage of 1525. — 43.
Goodrich, Justice. — 640.
Goodwin Parke.— 909.
Goodyear, Stephen. — 79.
Gordon, Rev. Patrick.— 161; .531.
Governor Tompkins, privateer. — 251.
Gowanus. — 56; 382.
Gowanus canal. — 451.
Graham, Augustus, Brooklyn.— Endows City Hospital,
422; 505.
Graham, John B., Brooklyn.— Endows Old Ladies'
Home, 422.
Graham, John L., Williamsburgh.— 347.
Grand Army of the Republic— 481; 677.
Grant, V. S.— statute of, 680.
Gravesend.— 32; .59; slaves, 124; in War of 1812,261;
General history, 3.54; origin of the name, 354;
discovery, 3.55; early land patents, 355; arrival
of Lady Moodv, 3.55;; Kieft's patent, 3.57; lay-
ing out the little town, 359; plan, 360; trouble
with Indians, 361; municipal rulers and laws,
362; religious tolerance, 362; first meeting house,
363; Reformed Church ministers, 363; gift of a
burying ground, 364; early dwellings and roads,
364; slow and peaceful progress, 365; The Rev-
olution, 365; visit of General Washington, 365;
Modern history, 366; church extension, 367;
first school house, 367; Ocean parkway and
other modern roads, 368; horse racing, 369;
annexation— the sad story of John Y. McKane
and his associates, 370; punishments for the
" crime of Gravesend," 371.
Great Neck.— village of, 915.
Green, Zachariah. — 228.
Greenfield (ParkviUe) village.— 326. ., . ^
Greenpoint.— 341; modern beginning, 3o2; Neziah
Bliss' enterprise, 3.52; first house, 3.52; Eckford
Webb's shipyard, -352; ferry, 353; annexation,
353- ship and monitor building, 468.
Greenport.-viUageof, 581; 1022. ,
Greenwood cemetery.— .54; history of, 435; Primes
description, 436.
Griffin, Edward.— Buys land at Midwout, 317.
Griffin's Journal.— quoted, 1024.
Grout, Edward M.— 642.
Guisbert's Island.— 373.
Gulliams, William.— 62.
Gull Islands.— 1025.
Gunnison, Dr., Flatbush.— 275.
Guy, Francis, artist.— Sketch of, 402.
Guysbertz, Jan, New Utrecht.— 332.
INDEX.
Hagaman, Joseph. — 280.
Hainelle, Michil, of Brooklyn.— 321.
Hale, Nathan.— The story of, 971.
Hall, Rev. Dr. Charles H.— 42B.
Hall, George.— First mayor of Brooklyn; sketch of,
410; speech on beginning second term, 440.
Hallet, William.— 568.
Hallet Family.— 707.
Hallet's Cove.— 570.
Halsey, Stephen A.— 669.
Hammond, Selah. — 276.
Hand, Colonel, of Pennsylvania Rifles.- 328.
Hanna, John. — First interment in Greenwood, 436.
Hansen (or |ansen) Hans. — 310.
Hanson, Rev. M. G.— 363.
Harbor Hill.— estate of, 912.
Hardscrahble.— old village name, 9.39.
Harper Family (publishers). — .547.
Harriman, Rev. John.— 141.
Harrison, Gabriel. — 4o3.
Harrison, President I?enjamin, descended from the
TuthiU family of Suffolk.— 1014.
Hart, I. I\I.-.50'.'.
Hart, Rev. |oshua.— 14.5.
Hart, Th(>m'as.-S9.
Hartford, treaty of.— 730.
Hartt family.— 724.
Hasbrouck, Jared. — 275.
Hastings, Hugh, state historian.— ()uoted, 254.
Havemeyer, H. 0.-989;
Havens, Jonathan.— 1031.
Hazard, Thomas. — 540.
Hazzard, Rev. Joseph.— 139.
Hazzard, Thomas. — 60.
Heard, Colonel — 192.
Hegeman, Adrien.— Schoolmaster, Flatbush, 266, 267;
letter from, 268; 320, 321; 331; 338, 385.
Hegeman, Jost ph.— 319.
Hell Gate. — Blown up by United States authorities,
574.
Hempstead. — Meeting of delegates at, 60; slaves, 124;
hrst church, 142; ministers of, 145; railroad ex-
tended to, 287; Morton lodge of Freemasons,
650; celebrates its centennial, 650; list of com-
mittees, 651; Early settlers, 880; Indian deeds,
881; town meeting records, 883; Gov. Colve's in-
structions, 885; the Revolution, 887; St. George's
Church, 886 ; the Rev. John Lowe and his
famous song, 887; modern progress, 888.
Hempstead and Rockaway railroad. — 292.
Hendrick's Reef. — 335.
Herbert, Capt. Joseph.— 256.
Herrick, Rev. Samuel E.— 1005.
Het Dorp.— 341.
Het Kivis Padt, village.— 341.
Het Strand, village.— 341
Hewlett, Capt. Richard.— 194, 196, 227.
Heyeman, Evert. — Builds first house in Bushwick, 338.
Hevler and Marriner, patiiuts and pirates. — 376.
Hicks, Elias.-697.
Hicks, John.— 60.
Hicks Family.— 697.
Hicksville.— Railroad opened to, 2i^6; village of, 938.
Hillis, Rev. N. I)., Plvnioiith church.— 434.
Hinchman, Mrs., Jamaica. 275.
Historical Geoloi;v uf l.ung Island.— 12.
Hobart, Rev. Jeremiah. -H4.
Hobart, Rev. Peter.— 136.
Holy Trinity church, Brooklyn. — 427.
Homewood, New Utrecht. — 328.
Hoock, Huybert, of New Utrecht.— 329.
Hoogland, Cornells Dirckson. — 58.
Horse-racing. — At Gravesend,369; at Hempstead, 524;
at Union course, 525.
Horton, Barnabas. — 1014.
Horton, Joseph.— 1019.
Horton, Joshua.— 1000.
Horton, Rev. Azariah. — Diary and labors, 742.
Horton, Rev. Simeon. — 544.
Hosford, Miss, of Shelter Island.— 1029.
Houldsworth, Jonas, teacher, Huntington. — 267.
Howard, Rev. W. W.— 275.
Howe, General.— 200.
Hubbard, Rev. John.— 161.
Hubbard, James.— 60, 61; elected schout of Gravesend,
362.
Hudde (or Hudden), Andries.— 54; 58; 310.
Hudson, Hendrick. — 18; discovery of the Hudson, the
voyage of the " Half Moon," 44.
Hunt, Adison L.— 276.
Hunter, Captain George. — 568.
Hunter, Governor. — 73; foretells the Revolution, 73.
Hunter's Point.— 538.
Huntington. — Early land transactions, 964; streets,
" Town Records," quoted, 964; patent of 1664;
ministers, 967; the Connecticut rule, 967; Gov.
NicoUs settles suzerainty, 967; troubles with
Lovelace and Dongan, 968; welcomes inde-
pendence, 968; troops in the patriot army, 969-
the cruelties of the loyalists, 970; " Count Rum-
ford's" sacrilege, 970; Nathan Hale, 971; Hunt-
iiigion Bay, 972; War of 1812 and Civil War,
973.
Huntington flatly refuses to be taxed without consent. —
67; slaves, 128; excitement in war of 1812, 253;
Masonic lodge at, 648.
Huntington, Jonas Houldsworth. — Agreement with to
teach school, '267; Academy, 276.
Huntting, Lieut. E. F. — Rev. Dr. Whitaker's sermon
on death of, 716.
Huntting, Rev. Joseph.— 139.
Huntting family. — 715.
Indians on Long Island. — 17; list of tribes, folklore,
etc., 18; eloquence of, 32; drunkenness, 33; laws
against sale of liquor to, 33; decadence, 33;
names of places, antiquities, 39; modern land
claims, 41; trails, 317; deed to Flatbush, 318.
Industries of Brooklyn. — Census returns, 493.
Ingoldsby, Richard, Governor. — 151.
Institutions of learning, arts and sciences. — 503.
Ireland, Rev. John. — 653.
Ironsides, William. — 273.
Irving. Washington. — Bust of, 448.
Islip.— Population, topography, etc., 985; patentees,
986; freeholders, 987; town meetings, 987; re-
ligious progress, 988; villages, 989; the Vander-
bilt and other estates, 989.
lackson. General.— 263; visits Brooklyn, 402.
Jacobs, William.— 320.
lacobson, Jan.— New Utrecht, 330.
Jans, Aneke.— 568.
Jamaica.-- -sketch of, 548; some early names, 548; pio-
neers, 549; importance of town meeting, 549;
ministers, 551; denominational wrangles, 5.52;
petition to Colden, 560; Grace church, 561;
Dutch church, 561; other churches, 562; early
trades, 562; first school, 563; Union hall, 563;
stone church, 563; revolution, 564; newspapers,
564; manufacturing, 565; Governor R C. Mc-
Cormick, .565; 583; early Masonic lodge at, 648;
plank road; 897.
Resolution against taxation and of sympathy with
New England. — 188.
Jameson, A. S. — Gravesend, 371.
Janse, Derrick. — 310.
Jansen, Anthony (Salee).— 57; 329.
Jenks, Almet F.— 640.
Jenks, Grenville T.— 640.
Jeunissen, Guisbert.— 62.
Jericho. — village of, 938.
Jerusalem — village, 888.
Jochemsen, David. — 62.
John, Peter, Indian preacher. — 37.
Johnson, Rev. Evan.— 428; 653.
Johnson, Rev. E. A. — 41.
Johnson, E. S.— 314.
Johnson. Gen. Jeremiah. — 263; sketch of by Dr. Stiles,
263; purchases land in Bushwick, 343; Mayor of
Brooklyn, 411.
lohnson.Dr. W. H.-41.
Johnston, Prof. Alexander.— Quoted, 46.
Johnston, Re\'. John Barent. — 160.
Johnston, Sir William. — 34.
Johnston. — A group of families, 701.
[ones. Captain, pirate.— 181.
Jones, Capt. William L.— of Port Jefferson, 995.
lones, David W.--95.
Jones, Israel C— 276.
Jones, John Paul.— 994.
Jones, Samuel, comptroller of New York. — 92.
Jones, Thomas.— 90; family, 91.
Jones, Thomas, Royal Recorder of New York.— 92.
logues, Rev. Isaac, Jesuit Missionary. — Murdered, 22.
Judah, Moses.— W'iUiamsburgh steam ferry, 344.
June meeting and religious services.— 38.
Kalbfleisch, Martin.— Mayor of Brooklyn, 443; sketch
of, 444; re-elected mayor, 445.
Keikout, The.— 337.
Keith, Rev.— 933.
Keith, Rev. George. — 161; sketch of, 171.
Kellis, David. — Shinnecock, 41.
Kellogg, lonathan, 273.
Kelly, I. A. F.— 547.
Keteltas, Rev. Abraham.— 145; 185.
Kidd, Captain William.— 176; career, 178; stories of
buried treasure, 180; Kidd's Rock. 181; a
deserter from the "San Antonio." — 976; on
Shelter Island.— 1U29.
Kieft, Governor.— 22; 47; sketch of, 54; 55; 146; patent
for New Utrecht lands, 328; patent for Grave-
send, 355; 568.
King, Horatio C— Quoted, 464; sketch, 644.
King, John Alsop, 700.
King, Rev. .Samuel W. — 1024.
King, Rufus.— 561; 699.
King Family of Jamaica. — 699.
Kings County. — Slaves and their owners, 122; relig-
ious prn'j,r.-ss, 146, in War n{ ISlL', 256; military
comp.ini.-s, L'-^T -tivral liistnr\- ;md descrip-
tion. 'Mrs t..ns(.lMlaiHai laiinnussioners, 327;
Medical S(.ca-ty, ■''.14; courts, r.-.'4; Thompson's
account of, 7(57.
Kinsella, Thomas, of the Eagle.— 424.
Kirk, Thomas.— Issues first Brooklyn newspaper, 395.
Kissam, Daniel Whitehead, Whig, protests against
Sears's methods. — 194.
Kissam Family of North Hempstead.— 711.
Kniphausen, Col. — Regiment quartered at Flatlands,
316.
Korten, Myndert, New Utrecht.— 332.
Kupors, Rev. W. P.— 145.
Labadist Fathers.— Visit New Utrecht, 109; 280.
Labagh, Rev. Abram I.— 363.
Labagh, Rev. I. P.— 363.
Labagh, Peter.— 314.
Lafayette's visit. — 402.
Lambert, Edward A., mayor of Brooklyn. — 411, 412.
Lambertson, Adrian. — 318.
Lambertson, Cornelius. — 58.
Land boomers, a paradise for. — 583.
Lane, John, ferryman. — 334.
Latting, Richard, banished from Huntington, — 966.
Laws, some curious. — 116.
Leake, John W. — 276.
Lee, Gen. Charles.— 193.
Lee, Gen. Robert E.— 335.
Lefferts Family.— 102; 320.
Lefferts, John.— 322; 323.
Lefferts, Judge.— 103.
Lefferts' Park, village.— 335.
Lefferts, Peter— 273; 320.
Leisler, Jacob. — 71; Long Island towns except Hunt-
ington, oppose him, 71; hanged for treason, 72.
Lent Family.— 709.
Leverich, Rev. William.— Sketch of, 34; 967.
Lewis, Elias, Jr. — Quoted, 8.
Lewis, Francis, signer of Declaration of Independ-
ence.— 535.
Lewis, Rev. Dr. W. H.— 427.
Lewis, Gov. Morgan.— 277; 335; 5.35.
Lewis, Commodore. — 251.
Lexington. — wreck of, 875.
Libraries, Brooklyn. — 455.
Lighthouses. — Life Saving Service, 870.
Lincoln, President.— Reception of news of assassina-
tion of, 479.
Lindenhurst. — village of, 977.
Literary men of Suffolk county, 962.
Literature.— 499; 543.
Littlejohn, Bishop.— 428,429; Sketch of, 893.
Little Neck.— 536.
Livingston, Rev. Dr. ]. H.— 160; 272.
Livingston. Philip.— 99.
Livingston, Robert. — recommends Captain Kidd, 177.
Livingston, Chancellor. — 648.
Lloyd Family. The.— 89.
Lloyd, Rev. W. H.— 139.
Locke, Richard A.— author of "The Moon Hoax,"
424.
Long Beach.— railroad to, 302.
Long Beach.— 899.
Long Island Historical Society.— 455; 501.
Long Island.— position of in history of the United
States, 1; population, 3; physical features, to-
pography, 4; game and game laws, 5; botany,
arborculture, 6; geology and natural history, 7;
discovery and early white settlement, 42; and
Connecticut, 46; an early Dutch description, 47;
divided between Dutch and English, 61; passes
under English rule, 63; becomes part of York-
shire, 63; Dutch place names changed, 63; divided
into three counties, 70; some primitive character-
istics, 104; early laws, administration of justice,
104; the Ante-Revolutionary struggle, ISi ;
changes under Gov. NicoUs, 322; quick succes-
INDEX.
sion of governments, 331; troops in War of 1812,
253; 257 ; public school system, 277 ; roads, 279;
Prime's description, 282; Furman's description,
284; Long Island railroad; history of, by Judge
Hinsdale, 285; latest development plans, 303;
567.
Long Island City. — History of, 567; 574; court house,
575; mayors, 575.
Long Island College Hospital.— 593; 615.
Long Island Sporting Clubs. — 688.
Loot (Lot) Barteland Peter, early Flatbush settlers. —
317; 320.
Lott, Abraham.— 327.
Lott, Johannes. — 322.
Lott, J. A.— 327; 414; 628.
Loughlin, Bishop, — 427; see also chapter on "Catholic
Church in Long Island."
Louise [Block] Island.--43.
Louisian School, The. — 404.
Lovelace, Governor.— 66; 73; 151; 183; 318; 359; 390;
625.
Low, A. A.— 472.
Low, Seth,— 480; 483.
Lowe, Rev. John. — 887.
Lowe, Rev. Peter.— 1.53; 160; 273; 313.
Loyalists m Kings and Queens counties. — 191; hunted
down under orders from Lee; Field quoted
concerning cruelties, 195.
Lubbertse, (iarret.— 320.
Lubbertsen, Frederick.— 58; 60; 385.
Ludlow, Judge.— 916.
Lupardus, Rev. Casparus. — 148.
Luqueer, Abraham, Bushwick. — 340.
Macaulay, Lord, and the story of Captam Kidd.— 177.
Macinnes, Duncan. — Story of consolidation, 526; 679.
Mack, Rev. E. E.— 276.
Mackay, Mrs. Clarence.— 909; estate, 912.
MacMonnies, Frederick, sculptor. — 480.
Madison, President.— 250.
Makins, Thomas, teacher, of Flushing. — 270.
Malone, Rev. Dr. Sylvester.— 459.
Manhasset.— 8; village, 916.
Manhattan Beach, Coaev Island. — 374.
Manhattan Island.— Fortifications in war of 1812, 258;
influence exerted against Brooklyn, 406.
Manout, Boudesvyn, schoolmaster and clerk. — 338.
Mareckawieck. — 382.
Marsh, William B.— 424.
Martense, Gerrit L. — 325.
Martense, J. V. B.— 327.
Martense, Roelof. — 310.
Marrying among the early Dutch families. — 111.
Mason, Rev. E.— 160.
Maspeth.-539: 546.
Mather, Rev. Cotton.— Quoted, 144.
Matinicock village.— 934.
Matthews, A. D.— Sketch of, 510.
Matthews, David, Mayor.— 196; 230; 323.
Mattituck \'illage.— 681, 1023.
Maujer, Daniel, of Williamsburgh. — 360.
Maxwell, James H., Bushwick speculator. — 342; 343.
Mavo, Samuel. — 89.
McCloskev, Henry, of The Eagle.^424.
McConnell, Rev. S. D.— 428.
McCormick, Governor R. C. — 522; 665.
McCue, Alexander.— 638.
McGarron, Hugh.— 314.
McKane, John Y.— Sketch of, 370; death, 371.
McKelway, St. Clair, of The Eagle.— 424.
McKibben, John S.— Williamsburgh, 347.
McMaster, Prof. J. B.-On causes of War of 1812, 250;
499.
McNish, Rev. George.— 553.
Medical Profession, The. — 585.
Megapolensis, Rev. Johannes.— 147; 157; 317; 362.
Meigs, Return Jonathan. — 248.
Memorial Arch, Prospect Park Plaza.— 480.
Menhaden Fishery. — 5.
Merrick.— Sketch of, 895; early settlers, 896; Mr. C.
N. Kent's historical paper, 895.
Merrill, F. J. H., on Geology of Long Island— 6 et.
seq.
Meserole, Jean, of Bushwick. — 337.
Meserole, John A.— 340; 341.
Meserole. Abraham. — 340; secretary of village of Wil-
liamsburgh, 345.
Meserole, Col. J. V.^66.
Methodist Episcopal Church in Brooklyn.— 162.
Metropolitan Police Act. — 446.
Mexican-War. — V'eterans of, in Brooklyn, 764.
Mey, Cornelissen.— 45.
Michelius. Dominie. — 146.
Middleton, Thomas.— 7-9.
Middle Village.— 647.
Military lorce on Long Island in 1776. — 215.
Miller, Charles Henry.— 502.
Miller, David, of Bushwick.— 340.
Mills, Rev. Lawrence H.-^27.
Mills, old, on Long Island.— 879.
Mineola.— village of, 916; agricultural society, 917.
Minister's Salary — How paid, 142.
Minto, Dr. Walter.— 273.
Minuit, Peter.— 53.
Moll, Lambert, of Bushwick.— 337.
Mongotucksee, Indian hero.— 31.
Monroe, President. — In Brooklyn, 402.
Montauk Point.— 26; Indians of, 30; 583.
Montauk Point.— 1056; 1072.
Montgomery, John, Governor.— 74.
Moody, Lady (Deborah). — 22; arrives at Gravesend,
356; sketch of, 366; supposed grave of, 364.
Moody, Sir Henry. 356; Library of, 367.
Moors Indian charity school. — 35.
Moore,Beniamin. — 710.
Moore, Rev. T. Lambert.— 887.
Moore, Sir Henry, Governor. — 74.
Moore, Judge Henry A. — 638.
Moore, John, of Newtown. — 709; family, 710.
Moore, Rev. John, second minister of Hempstead.—
143.
Moriches. — village of, 996.
Morrell, Thomas, of Newtown. — 343.
Morris, Judge S. D.— 638.
Morton, General Jacob. — 262.
Mount Sinai.— village of [Old Man's], 997.
Mowatt, Mrs.— 234.
Mulford, Captain, and his troubles.— An early patriot,
730.
Mulligan, Rev. lohn.— 273; 276.
Municipalities. — Forty-eight merged into Greater
New York, 626.
:\Iurphv, Henry C— 24; Mayor of Brooklyn, 411 ; sketch
o'f, 413; list of works, 416; 422.
Murray, Lindley.— 234; mother entertains Howe while
Putnam's troops retreat, 236; Walter Barrett's
story of the Murray family, 236.
Nassau County.— Description and history, 869; whale-
fishing, 871; shipwrecks, 875; piracy, 876; Rev-
olutionary troops, 877; old mills, 879; Popula-
tion, 3; Queens County Agricultural Society, 917.
INDEX.
Nassau Water Company. — 443.
National Banks.— Brooklyn, 490.
National Guard.— .See War of 1812; early Brooklyn
companies, 422; the Fourteenth and Thirteenth
Regiments, 422; 462; other regiments, 462; first
call for troops, 464; the gallant Twenty-eighth,
465; the Red-legged Devils, 465; enlistments
from Brooklyn, 467; all Brooklyn regiments at
the front save one, 471; honoring the veterans,
480; Grand Army of the Republic, 481; U. S.
Grant Post, 481; after the war, 608.
Navy Yard. — Established, 397; in operation, 400; dry
dock, 439; list of ships, 439; 469; 508.
Neilson, Judge Joseph. — 633; on Justice Coke, 634.
New Lots.— 318; 513.
Newspapers, Brooklyn. — The Courier and Long Isl-
and Advertiser, 395; The Long Island Weekly
Intelligencer, 395; The Long "Island Star, 396,
423; The Long Island Patriot, 423; The Brook-
lyn Advocate, 423; the Brooklyn Evening Star,
423; a group of short-lived organs, 424; another
group, 4.55; Standard, Standard-Union, 499;
Brooklyn Citizen, 499; other newspapers, 499.
Newton, R. V. B., Gravesend.— .371.
Newtown. — Slaves, 126; the step-child of the metropol-
itan era, 538; cemeteries, 539; first settlers, .539;
story of the village, 640; first house of worship,
540; punishment of a ne'er-do-well, 540; local
government, .541; m the Revolution, .542; Rev.
Mr. Leverich and other ministers, 543; means
of travel, 545.
Newtown creek. — 341; 538.
New Utrecht. — Slaves, 124; general history, 338; first
bathing resort on Long Island, 329; land boom-
ers, 329; land grants issued by Stuyvesant, 329;
list of fiatentees, 330; descendants of patentees,
330; visit of Capt. Scott, 331; Dongan's patent,
332; church, 332; ministers, 333; old grave-
yard, .333; Revolutionary memories, 334; de-
fense in War of 1812, 336; churches, 335; an-
nexed, 336.
Nichois, Charles. — 276.
Nicholson, Francis, Lieutenant-Governor.— 70.
Nicoll family, of Shelter Island.— 1029; 1031.
Nicolls, Gov., patent to Shelter Island.— 1028.
Nicolls, Matthias.— 986.
Nicolls, Matthias.— Sketch of, 65; author of The
Duke's Laws, 65; appointed speaker, 69.
Nicolls, William.-986.
Nicolls, Sir Richard. — Captures New Amsterdam and
assumes government of New Netherland, 63;
letter to Magistrates, 64; treaty of capitulation,
728; address of deputies, 64; patent to Flatbush,
317; 321; fac simile of Brooklyn charter, 386;
Ninnecraft, Sachem.— 26.
Noka, John.-^l.
Noka, Joshua.— 41.
Noll, Rev; F. M.— strange quarters of, 994.
North Hempstead.— History, 903; Pioneers [904, Revo-
lutionary details, 904; loyalists and confiscation,
903; Churches, 906; William Cullen Bryant, 907.
Northport. — railroad communication, 14, 291; village
of, 974.
North Sea.— village of, 1046.
Northwest. — village of. 1072.
Nostrand Family.— 703.
Nott, Dr. Eliphalet.-352.
Nyack (Fort Hamilton).— 335.
Oakdale, a baronial estate. — 579.
Oblenis, Albert.— 273.
Occom, Rev. Samson. — 23; sketch of, 36.
Oceanic Hotel, Coney Island.— 372.
Olympia, village of.— Boomed, 98; 395.
Onderdonk, Henry, Jr.— Sketch of, 276; 56.3.
Orient Point.— 14.
Orient, village.— 582, 1024.
Overbaugh, Voorhies. — 315.
Oyster Bay.— Neither Dutch nor English, 919; first
land patent, 919; the Andros patent, 920; the
disposal of the land, 922; the unpopular pio-
neer merchant, 923; troubles in the time of the
Revolution, 924; the sad fate of George Town-
send and George Kirk, 926; military operations.
927; the whaleboat campaign, 927; oystering,
931; religious life, Quakers, and others, 932;
Syosset, 934; villages, 939.
Oyster Bay.— Slaves, 123; academv, 277; railroad ex-
tended to, 302; early Masonic lodge at, 648.
Oyster trade.— The, 931.
Packer, William F.— 51^3.
Packer Institute for Girls.^22.
Paine, Elijah Freeman, patriot and schoolmaster, 270.
Parker, George.— 314.
Parker, Rev. W. H.-39.
Parsons, Col. S. H.— 248.
Parsons, Samuel.— 533.
Patchen, Andrew.— 270.
Patchogue as a summer resort. — 580.
Patterson, Charles J. — 641.
Payne, John Howard, author of " Home, Sweet Home "
— 271; bust in Prospect park, 448; sketch of, 711.
Payne, William.— 271.
Payne family. — 712.
Pearsall, Thomas E.— 639.
Pearsalls village.— 895.
Peconic Bay.— 580.
Pelletreau family.— 721.
Penewit, Thomas. — 60.
Penny, Rev. Joseph.— 273, 274.
Perrv. J. A.— Comptroller of Greenwood. — 336.
Pierrepont, H. B.— 99; family, 100; 404.
Pierson, Rev. Abraham, of Southampton.— 140.
Pietersen, Jacob, New Utrecht.— 330.
Pitkin, John R.— 613.
Plank Road Craze, The.— 282.
Piatt, Isaac— 68.
Piatt, Epenetus.— 68.
Plum Island (Island of Patmos).— 1026.
Polhamus, Daniel Mr.— 320.
Polhemus, Rev. Mr.— Buys a slave, 119; 148, 157, 159.
Polhemus, Theodorus, of Bushwick. — 339.
Poppenhausen, Conrad. — 297.
Port Jefferson. — Railroad communication, 291; 680;
Suffolk lodge No. 60, 660.
Port Jefferson.— Origin of. 995; story of John Paul
Jones, the naval hero of the Revolution, 996; John
Wilsie begins shipbuilding, 995; churches, 995;
modern conditions, 995.
Port Washington— 8; railroad to, 303; old mill at, 879;
village, 915.
Potter, Cornells de.— 96.
Powell, Samuel S., Mayor of Brooklyn. — 443.
Powers, William P.— Williamsburgh, 347.
Poyer, Rev. Thomas.— 531; letters from, 553.
Praa (Pratt), Peter.— 568.
Pratt, Calvin E.— 638.
INDEX.
Pratt, Charles. —505.
Pratt Institute.— 504.
Prime, Dr. — Account of Queens and Suffolk counties,
790.
Prince, William.— 532.
Prison ship martyrs. — 450; 755; story of survivors, 756.
Privateers in War of 1812.— 251; 252.
Prospect Park laid out.— 447.
Provoost, David Schout, m Breuckelen.— 320; 385.
Provost, John. — patriot, 840.
Prudden, Rev. John.— 651.
Public Parks, Brooklyn.— 449; driveways, 450.
Putnam, General. — Defense of, 764.
Putnam, Harrington. — quoted, 383.
Quakers at Oyster Bay.— 932.
Queen, Montgomery. — city stages, 419.
Queens, Borough of. — population, 3; 521; progress
smce consolidation, 622 ; a place for home-
building, 523; Revolutionary story, 526; inner
story of consolidation, 526.
Queens County. — Slaves, 126; boundaries, 521; Dr.
Prime on, 790.
Queens.— village, 565.
Quogue. — village of, 1046.
Race.— The, 1026.
" Rain Water Doctor," 396.
Rapalye, Jacob Joris, grant of land at Wallabuut.— 46;
65; 68; family, '^6; 381.
Rapalye, Jan.— 280.
Rapalye, John.— 103; 229.
Rapalje, Mrs.— Scheme to block the retreat from
Long Island, 229.
Ravenswood. — 538; 568; charity establishments at,
burned by mob, 569.
Raymond, Rossiter VV.— 499.
Red Hook.— value of real estate at, 405.
Remsen, Abraham.— pioneer dry-goods man, 397.
Remsen, Mrs. Anthony.— reminiscences, 19.
Remsen, Derick. — 314.
Remsen, Joris.— 99.
Remsen, Henry, — 99.
Remsen, Peter.— 99.
Remsen, Philip.— 99.
Revolution.— The story prior to 1776, 182; review of
events, 185.
Revolution.— Roll of Queens and Suffolk troops, 877;
losses, 879; Long Island fined, 879.
Richards, Daniel.— 418.
Richardson, J. L. and Lemuel, Bushwick. — land specu-
lators, 346.
Richbill, John.— 89.
Riverhead. — Act constituting the township, 998; town-
ship laws, 999; population statistics, 1000; be-
ginning ol the village, 1000 ; court house and
other improvements, 1000; industries, 1001; Suf-
folk County Agricultural Society, 1001; savings
bank, 1005; Historical Society, 1006; villages,
1010; churches, 1012.
Roads and Railroads.— 279.
Roberts' " History of New York." — quoted, 69.
Robin's Island.— 79; 1025.
Rockaway Beach.— blockhouse on, 253; railroad, 292;
302.
Rockaways, Indian tribe. — 318.
Rockville Center, village.— 895.
Roeloffse, Peter, New Utrecht.— 330.
Rogers, Major Robert.— 220.
Rogers, John.— 276.
Roman Catholic church in Kings county.— 163.
Ronkonkoma, Lake. — 11; 83.
Roosevelt, President Theodore. — home at Oyster Bay,
934; sketch of, 939.
Rose, Judge A. T.— sketch of by Judge Hedges, 725.
Roslyn.— 8; 908; Bryant library, 908.
Ross, Charley. — supposed abductors killed at Bay
Ridge, 335.
Ross, Dr. John D.— 499.
Rouse, Thomas. — 79.
Rowland, A. J.— shipbuilder. 469.
Royal arms defaced in 1697.-183.
Ryan, M. P., of Gravesend. — 371.
St. Alban's Masonic lodge, Brooklyn. — 651.
St. Ann's church.— 427.
St. Johnland.— Society of, 984.
St. John's Episcopal church. ~-427.
Sabbath, laws relating to. — 116, 117.
Sabring, Cornelius, tries to break ferry monopoly. —
393.
Sackley, R. B.-83.
Sag Harbor. — 31; Col. Meigs's expedition, 249; CoK
Hardy's expedition, 261; in war of 1812, 254;
railroad communication, 291.
Sag Harbor. — Dr. Tooker on Indian names, 1041;
history, 1043: Judge Hedges on "olden times,"
1044; Fenimore Cooper's visit, 1043.
Sands, Col. Benjamin. — 194.
Sands, Comfort. — 97, 273.
Sands, Joshua.- -97.
Sands Brothers.— 395.
Sanford, Louis, treasurer of Williamsburgh village.—
346.
Sanitary fair, the. — 472.
Saunders, Frederick, "Salad tor the Social." — 453.
Savannah. — wreck of, 874.
Saving* Banks, Brooklyn.— 493.
Saxe, John G. — 453.
Schenck, Martin.— 314.
Schenck, Rev. Dr. Noah H.— 427.
Schieren, Mayor, 486.
School, early regulations in Brooklyn. — 268.
Schoonmaker, Rev. Dr. Jacob.— 262; 545.
Schoonmaker, Rev. Maninus.— 153; 164; 273; 363.
Schroeder, William. .\1. D.—bio.
Schuyler, Peter.— 73.
Scott, Capt. John, invades Long Island.— 61; 331.
Scudder Family. — 714.
Scudder, Thomas.— 1019.
Scudder, Townsend, address in Congress.— 1011.
Seaburv, Rev. Samuel. — 531; 560.
Sea Cliff.— village of, 937.
Seaman, Capt. John. — 888.
Sears, Capt. Isaac— 190; 194.
Seawanhaka, destruction of steamer.— 936.
Selyns, Rev. Henricus, Brooklyn's first preacher.— 384.
Setauket. — 7.
Setauket.— village of, founded, 991 ; Presbyterian
church, 992; Caroline Episcopal, 993.
Settlement of Homes, A.— 523.
Shad, enormous catch of, in 1749. — 334.
Sharp, Thomas K.— 298.
Shearman, Thomas G. — 138.
Sheepshead Bay, 369.
Shelter Island,— Geology, 8; 11; 79.
Shelter Island. -Primitive sales, 1(J27; the Sylvesters
and others, 1027; Gov. Nicolls' release, 1027;
an asylum for Quakers, 1028; changes in owner-
ship, 1029; the~ manor house, 1029; a quain
burying groun(3, 1030; William Nicoll and his
descendants, 1031; male inhabitants in 1730,
1031; Whitefield preaches, 1031.
Shepard. Edward M.— b42.
Shipbuilding at Sag Harbor. — 1044.
Ships and Shipbuilding. — Monitors at Greenpoint,
4GU; at Setaalvet, 993; 994; at Port Jefferson,
995; at Greenport, 1022; see navy yard ref-
erences.
Shipwrecks on Long Island coast, 874.
Siggelon, Johannes. — 314.
SiUiman, feenjamm D. — tiSo.
Skinner, Abraham, Jamaica. — 275.
Slavery on Long Island.— 119; laws of 1683, 119; negro
plots, 120; value and number of, 121, 129; manu-
missions, list of, 129; last auction sale in Brook-
lyn, 133.
Sloughter, Governor. — 32; 72.
Slover, Isaac. — 314.
Smallpox in Brooklyn. — 391.
Smith, ClaesClaessen, New Utrecht.— 330.
Smith, Cvrus P., mayor of Brooklyn. — 411.
Smith, Rev. Ralph.— 139.
Smith, Richard (Bull).— 28; 82; sketch of, 83; family
of, 83.
Smith, Samuel, mayor of Brooklyn. — 411; 412.
Smith, William (Tangier).— 83; sketch of, 84; family
of, 85
Smith, William (2d), of Mastic— 8.5.
Smith, William (3d), member of First Provincial Con-
gress.— 85.
Smith. — Various popular family designations. — 82.
Smithtown.— Old mill at, 879; history, 978; Richard
Smith, 977; Indian deed, 979; patents by Nicolls
and Andros, 980; Smith family, 982; list of
residents in 1774, 983; St. Johnland, 984.
Smithtown. — Slaves, 128; railroad opened, 291.
Snedecor, Jan., tavern keeper in New Amsterdam, 317.
Snediker, Jan.— 267; 702; family, 702.
Social World of Long Island. — 672; Royal Arcanum,
673; Odd Fellows, 674; Knights of Pythias, 676;
Foresters of America, 676; smaller bodies, 679.
Solyns (or Selwvn), Rev. Henry— 148; 159.
Sons of Liberty.— 188.
Southampton. — First purchase of, 26; 59; church at,
13-5; 140; some ministers of, 142.
Southampton. — The "undertakers" and their troubles,
1034; Farret's patent, 1034; Gov. Winthrop's
endorsement, 1035; the first Indian deed, 1036;
the pioneers, 1036; laying out the land, 1037;
the town meeting, 1037; Connecticut rule, 1037;
patent of Andros' patent objected to, reasons,
1038; text of, 1039; the Rev. Abraham Pierson;
the Rev. Robert Fordham and other ministers,
1040; Indian legends, 1041.
Southold. — 59; punishment for tattlers, 116; church at,
134; in War of 1812,254.
Southold. — Rev. John Youngs and his associates, 1012;
Mr. Pelletreau on the first settlers, 1013; con-
firmatory Indian deed, 1020; Connecticut rule,
1020; Andros' patent, 1021 ; population, 1021;
villages, 1022.
Spanish American War. — 693; President Roosevelt in,
945.
Spicer, Captain Elihu. — 503.
Spicer, Thomas. — 60.
Spooner, Alden J.— Sketch, 630.
Sprague, Joseph, mayor of Brooklyn. — 411.
Stanton, Henry, Catharine street ferry — 344.
State Banks, Brooklyn.— 491.
Statues in Brooklyn. — 512.
Stearns, John M., historian of Williamsburgh. — 342.
Steers, Henrv, shipbuilder. — 469.
Steinway Village.- 569.
Stelman, Jan, of Bushwick. — 338.
Stevens, Gen. Ebenezer. — .570; 571.
Stevens family. — W'hittemore's record, 570.
Stevensen, Coert.— 62.
Stewart, A. T.— 889; Purchase at Hempstead, 294.
Stewart, Commodore.— 263.
Stewart, Rev. \V. H.— 39.
Stiles, Dr. Henry R.^99.
Stille, Cornelius Jacobse. — 337.
Stillman Jan Hendricksen.— 96.
Stillwell, Nicholas.— 58.
StiUwell, Nicholas, of Gravesend.— .361.
Stillwell, William H.-Ouoted, 376.
Stirling, Sir William Alexander, Earl of.^46; 49; 59;
sketch of, 77.
Stirling, Lady.— Agent of, 47.
Stirling, Lord (General Alexander).— 192; 195.
Stockwell, Rev. A. P.— Quoted, 359; 363.
Stony Brook.— village of, 996.
Storms. — some remarkable, 1025.
Storrs, Rev, John.— 139.
Storrs, Rev. Dr. R. S.— 139; sketch of, 430; 477.
Stranahan, J. S. T. — 368; defeated for mayor, 412; some
public services, 447.
Street, Charles R.— Quoted, 276.
Strong, George D.. Williamsburgh speculator. — 347.
Strong, Rev.'T. C— 545.
Strong, Rev. Robert G. — 275.
Strong, Dr., of Flathush.— 148; 266; 317.
Strycker, Jan.- 60; 62; 267.
Stryker, Captain Burdett, of the Katydids.— 256.
Stryker, Francis B., mayor of Brooklyn. — 411; 412.
Stuyvesant, Governor.— 20; 47; sketch of, 59; 147; 157;
163; reprimanded by home government, 170; De
Bevoise a protege of, 268; farm at Flatlands,
310; issues patent to Midwout, 317; to New
Utrecht, 331 ; surveys the site of Boswijck (Bush-
wick), 328; regard for Lady Moody, 367; angry
with Brooklyn dwellers, 384; 385; his rule on
Long Island, 390; his lien on the ferry earn-
ings, 392.
Sudani, Yan. — 314.
Sueberingh, Jan. — 321.
Suffolk county. — Population, 3; military in 1776, 216;
early Masonic lodge, 648; in war of 1812,261;
Dr. Prime's account of, 790; Characteristics, 955;
in the Revolution, 935; Rev. Dr. Whitaker's
paper on "Fifty Years of Suffolk County," 957;
Suffolk count, authors, 962; churches, 963; emi-
nent lawyers, S)63; professional men, 964; His-
torical Society, 1005.
Summer resorts. — 577.
Supreme court justices, list of. — 626.
Sutherland, Kenneth F., Gravesend, 371.
Sutphen, Rev. David S.— 333.
Suydam, Capt. Lambert.— 224.
Swearing, statute against. — 115.
Swedenborgians on Long Island. — 164.
Sylph.- wreck of, 874.
Sylvester.— family of, 1028.
Sylvester, Constant.— 79.
Sylvester, Grizzel, married James Floyd, Boston. — 89.
Sylvester, Nathaniel. — 79; 89.
Syosset.— 7; railroad to, 288.
Talleyrand, a resident of Brooklyn.— 402.
Tallmadge, Col. Benjamin.— 244; his brilliant services
INDEX.
in the Revolution, 245; the Tallmadge family,
247.
Talmadge, Thomas G., mayor of Brooklyn. — 411.
Talmage, Rev. T. DeWitt.— 458; 1068.
Tammany Society in War of 1812.— 262.
Tanner, Corporal James. — 481; 678.
Tariff duties, early.— 69.
Taxation without representation condemned at early
town meetings. — 67.
Taylor, Rev. John — 141.
Temperance society in Brooklyn. — 404.
Tenney, Asa W.— 638.
Terry Family, The.— 1019.
Teunissen, Guisbert, of Bushwick. — 838.
Teunissen, Jan. — 59; 320; appointed schout of Breuck-
elen, 384.
Thayre, William.— 273.
Theaters in Brooklyn. — 507.
Thomas, Rev. John.— 144; 162.
Thompson, Col. Benjamin (Count Rumford).— 222;
desecrates graves at Huntington, 971
Thompson, B. F. — Sketch of Kings county, 767.
Thompson. Richard VVhyte.— 273.
Thorburn, Grant.— 569; sketch of, 572.
Thorn, Lieut. Jonathan. — 397.
Three-.Mile Harbor.— Townsend Scudder on, 1069.
Throop, Rev. William.— 139.
Tilje, Jan, of Bushwick.— 338.
Tilton, John, pioneer settler of Gravesend. — 362; be-
queaths a plot fQr burymg ground, 364.
Tilton, Theodore. — 45d.
Titus, Charles, Bushwick.— 342.
Titus, Francis J. — estate, 342.
Titus,' Major Francis. — 267.
Titus, Samuel.— 68.
Tompkins, Gov. Daniel D.— 253; 263.
Tonneman, Pieter, Schout in Breuckelen. — 385.
Tooker, Dr. W. Wallace. — 39; quoted; Indian place
names in Brooklyn, 40; on Rev. Robert Ford-
ham, 142; Indian names around Sag Harbor —
1041.
Tooker, John.- 1000.
Townsend, Madam Sarah. — 933.
Tracy, Gen. Benjamm F.— 682.
Tredwell, Daniel M.— .500.
Trotter, Jonathan, Mayor of Brooklyn. — 411.
Tryon, Governor.— 190; 323.
Tull, Pieter.-314.
Turnpike, Brooklyn and Jamaica. — 281.
Tyler, President, married to Julia Gardiner.— 80.
Underbill, Capt. John, defeats Indians at Fort Neck,
21; Schout of Flushing, 629; 1018.
Underbill, J. S., shipbuilder.— 469.
Union Hall, Jamaica. — 275.
Urquhart, Rev. W.— 161; 631; 553.
Van Anden, Isaac, of the Eagle. — 424.
Van Boerum, William Jacobse.— 267.
Van Borsum, Egbert, ferryman. — 392.
Van Brunt, Major Albert C. — 257.
Van Brunt, Rutgert Joosten.— 330.
Van Brunt family. — 330.
Van Buskirk, Rev. P. V.— 363.
Van Cleef, Jan.— 62.
Van Corlaer, Jacob. — 46,
Van Cortlandt, Stephen.— 986^
Van Couwenhoven, Wolfert Gerritsen. — 54; 95; 311;
314.
Van der Boek, Paulus.— 54; 60; 38.5.
Vanderbilt, Aries Jansen. — 319.
Vanderbilt, Mrs. Gertrude L.— 146.
A'anderbilt, Jansen. — 319.
Vanderbilt, Hon. John.— 154; 1.55; 273; 323.
Vanderbilt, John J.— 273; 327.
Vanderbilt, William K.— 989.
\'anderveer. Dr. Adrian. — 325.
Vanderveer, Cornelius. — 320.
Vandervoort, John, schoolmaster. — 270.
Vandewater, Benjamin.— 280.
Vanderwyck, Cornelius. — 319.
\'an Duyn, John. — 323.
\'an Dycke, Johann Tomasse. — 330.
Van Eckelen, Johannes, schoolmaster. — 268.
Van Giesen, Reynier. — 267.
Van Hatten, Arent. — 60.
Van Kleeck, Rev. Richard D.— 274.
Van Nest, Rev. Reynier.— 275; 561.
Van Nostrand, Jan Hansen. — 333.
Van Pelt, Magdalena.— 332.
Van Pelt, Gysbert T., New Utrecht.— 332.
Van Pelt, Manor.— 329.
\'an Sickelen, F^rnandus. — 58.
Van Sinderen, Dominie. — 152.
Van Tienhoven, Cornelius. — 49.
Van TwiUer. Governor.— 46;. 53; 119; erects first church
in New Netherland, 134; secures lands at P'lat-
lands, 311; lands at Red Hook, 382.
Van Wyck, Abraham H.— 513.
Van Zuren, Rev. Casparus.— 148; 3.32,
Verazzano, John, voyage of 1524. — 43.
Von Rossem, Huyck Aertsen. — 59.
Voorhees, Abram. — 314.
\'oorhees, Adrian. — 322.
Voorhees, Isaac. — 314.
Voorhees, Luykas. — 314.
Wading River.— 7; 1010; railroad extended to, 302.
Wainscott.— village of, 1071.
Walker, Rev. Zachariah.— .5.50.
Wall, William, last mayor of WiUiamsburgh.— 351.
Wallabout, The.— 382; '397; market, 511.
Wampum. — 25, 49.
Wantenaer, Albert Cornells. — 62.
Ward, Richard, chief of the Poosepatucks.— 39.
Waring. Nathaniel F.— 653.
War of 1812—250; defenses at New Utrecht, 335;
skii-mish near Wading river. — 1010.
Warren, Gen. G. K.— Statue of, 448.
Washburn, William.— 60.
Washington, George. — Address from Provincial Con-
gress, 190; arrives in New York and assumes
command of forces there, 197; Loyalist plot, 196;
address from Bushwick, 340; visits Flushing,
532; visits Jamaica, 563. See also local refer-
ences.
Water Supply, Brooklyn.— 450.
Waterbury, Noah, " Father of WiUiamsburgh."— 344;
first president of village, 345.
Webb, Capt. Thomas.— 162.
Webb, W. S.— 314.
Webster, Daniel.— at Babylon, 977.
Wells, Benjamin Horton.— 1023.
Wells, Capt. John.— 1010.
Wells, John.— 626.
Werckhoven, Cornelius Van.— 24; .329.
Westbury.— village of, 917.
West Brooklyn, New Utrecht.— 328.
West End Coney Island.— 374.
Westervelt, Abram.— 315.
West India Trading Company. — 45.
Whaleboat campaign. — The, y27.
Whalefishing.— 871; R. M. Bayles on, 872; at Green-
port; list of ships, 1022.
Whalefishing, early.— 9U; Sag Harbor, 1043.
Whaley, Alexander, of the Boston Tea Party.— 340.
Wheelock, Rev. Eleazar. — 35.
White (railroad) Line.— 295.
White, Rev. Sylvanus.— 142.
Whitehead, Daniel.— 89.
Whitestone.— 634.
Whiting, Rev. Joseph.— 142.
Whitlock, Thomas.-314.
Whitman, Walt.^24; sketch of, 425.
Whitney, Mayor. — 485.
Whittaker, Rev. Epher, D. D.— 139; sketch of, 140.
Wicks, Thomas.— 68.
Wilkins, William, of Gravesend.— 362.
Williamsburgh.— 341; WoodhuU's first speculation,342;
Morrell's opposition, 343; early road to Brook-
lyn, 342; the ferry, 342; first church, 343; the
father of Williamsburgh, 344; village organiza-
tion, 345; rapid progress, 346; wild land specu-
lation, 346; the crash, 347; healthful recovery,
348; churches, nevi'spapers, literary societies
and banks, 348; a city charter, 348; history in
street names, 349; the first mayor, 350; the curse
of politics, 350; annexation, 351.
Williamsburgh and Brooklyn. — Story of consolidation,
440.
Williamsburgh Democrat, The, started. — 348.
Wills.— Cornells Van Catts, 114; Benjamin Conkling,
114; Pelletreau's volume of "Abstracts" re-
ferred to, 114; William Ludlam, of Southamp-
ton, 114; John Foster, of Rustdorp, 114; John
Hart, of Maspeth Hills, 114; Ralph Hunt, of
Newtown, 114; Rev. Thomas James, 1060.
Wilmot, Rev. Walter.-.553.
Wilson, Capt. John.— 257.
Wilson. Dr., Flatbush.— 273.
Windsor Terrace, village.— 326.
Witchcraft.— Trial of Mary Wright, 173; trial of Ralph
Hull and wife, 174; trial of Goody Garlicke, 174.
Withers, Reuben, of Houston street ferry. — 349.
Woertman, Dirch Janssen. — 99.
Wood, Col. Alfred M., mayor of Brooklyn.— 444; 465.
Wood, Fernando, niavor of New York.— 446.
Wood, George M.— 628.
Wood, Jonas. — 68.
Wood, Silas, quoted.— 25.
Wood, William, of The Eagle.— 424.
WoodhuU, Gen. Nathaniel, 180; sketch of, 237; vari-
ous stories of details of capture, 240; the death
of a patriot and a Christian, 242; thoughts on
his career and services, 243; the long talked of
monument still talked of, 244; the De Sille
house, where he died, 330.
Woodhull, Richard M., founder of Williamsburgh,342.
WoodhuU, Richard, founder of a famous family. — 991.
Woodhull, Rev. Selah S.— 160.
Woodruff, Horace.— 276.
Woodruff, Rev. William.— 550.
Woodworth, H. D.— 314.
Woodworth, Samuel, poem "The Patriotic Diggers."
—261.
Woolsev, Rev. Benjamin.— 137; 145.
Wright,' Peter.— 89.
Writers' Club, The.— 502.
Wurster, Mayor.^87.
Wyandanch— Tragedy of, 20; 30; 31; 89.
Wyckoff, Peter, Gov. Stuyvesant's farmer. — 311.
Wykoff's Hotel, Coney Island.— 372.
Yaphank.— village of, 996.
Yellow fever epidemics. — 405; 452.
York, G. D.— 276.
Yorktown, projected town. — 343.
Youngs, Rev. John, of Southold. — 134.
Youngs, Capt. John. — 136.
Youngs, Col. John.— 1016; 1019; 1023.
Youngs, John, sheriff. — 69.
Youngs, Rev. John. — 1012.
Zeeaw, Jan Cornelise, of Bushwick.^38.
Zeelen, Johann, early settler at New Utrecht. — 329.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
PROEM. •
POSITION OF LONG ISLAND IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.
A PART of the state of New York,
Long Island can hardlj' be said to have
now any separate political interest or
to have at any time in the past done an\-
more than a like share with the other sections of
the Empire State in building up in Congress,
in the tented field, or in the realms of liter-
ature, science or art, the country of whose
present greatness, of whose rank among the
nations of the earth we are all so proud.
The inland has fully met every claim made
upon her ; in the Revolution she suffered much
and deeply, and the name of Woodhull and
many another gallant hero ranks high on the
honored roll of those who sacrificed home and
property and life that political and religious
freedom might live; in the war of 1812 she
was ready to meet any invading force, and
her ships helped to win the victory and to
wrest from Britain, for a time, at least, that
country's old claim to invincibility on the sea ;
in the Civil war she liberally contributed men
and treasure to preserve intact what the found-
ers of the Republic had fought for, and in
the war with Spain she freely responded to
the call of the General Government. But,
then, other sections of the state acted equally
as nobly, according to the measure of their
opportunities.
Still, Long Island did exert, indirectly, it
is true, but none the less clearly traceable and
unmistakable, a degree of influence upon the
general history of the country, especially in
the early stages — the stages when history was
being made and precedents established. It has
always been obedient to established authority,
but when the rights of the individual or the
community were assailed or trampled on — be
the government Dutch or English — it has led
the way in defending those rights, and even
Peter Stuyvesant found the farmers of Long
Island more troublesome and determined, at
times, than the burghers of New Amsterdam.
The keynote of liberty resounded over the
island long before the call to arms was made,
and one of her sons was among the immortals
who signed the Declaration of Independence,
while another presided over the discussions
of the first patriot assembly of the state of
New York. The position it held in the mo-
mentous affairs of the latter half of 1776, when
it was regarded by the veteran Generals of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
King George as the key by which the continent^
was to be opened up again to British au-
thority, was alone sufficient to exalt it to a
position among the shrines of the nation, one
'of the spots on which the struggle for liberty
was most strenuously waged, and where,
though defeated, it was shown that in military
skill and finesse the Continentals were the
equal of their adversaries, the veterans of
many wars. It was there, too, that Washing-
ton first earned his right to be regarded as one
of the greatest captains of his time, of any time.
But besides this Long Island showed, even
before the Revolution, that the people were
perfectly fit to rule themselves and the various
town governments were models of local au-
thority for the rest of the country. . Even un-
der the Dutch the townships enjoyed a gen-
erous measure of local rule, and what was not
allowed by the authorities in the fort on Man-
hattan they took themselves. In fact the whole
course of the history of Long Island shows
that the less the . general government inter-
fered with local affairs the better the result
all round. The Dutch paternal rule in the
western section, the English town rule in the
eastern, and the happy way in which in Queens
county both Dutch and English could pool
their issues, could respect each other's religious
views and notions of statecraft, could live to-
gether in peace and harmony, formed three
significant conditions which were not lost upon
the statesmen who were engaged in the work
of bridging this country safely across the
chasm which separated the disjointed and
jealous colonies into a strong and united
nation.
Long Island since the echoes of the Revo-
lutionary war have died away has always been
found ranged on the side of liberty and tolera-
tion, her representatives in Congress and in
the assembly have been men who by their
talents commanded respect and by their efforts
added largely to the progress the nation has
made in all the arts that render men happy
and ensure the prosperity of the country. She
has been to a certain extent a community in
herself, she so remains in a great measure to
the passing day, and presents, in fact, in her
own career an epitome of all that makes the
country really great, thrift, honesty and re-
ligion leavening the whole, while progressive-
ness, energy and a v/atchfulness for oppor-
tunities add year by year to the general wealth.
SILVER TANKARD,
rah Jansen De Rapelje, by
CHAPTER I.
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND— NATURAL HISTORY-
BOTANY— GEOLOGY.
ONG ISLAND lies between 40 de-
crees, 34 minutes, and 41 degrees, 10
minutes, north latitude, and between
71 degrees, 51 minutes, and 74 de-
grees, 4 minutes, west longitude from Green-
wich, England. It is bounded south and east
by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by Long
Island Sound and on the west by New York
Bay and the East River, which latter divides it
from Manhattan Island. Its length is about
one hundred and twenty-five miles, its average
width about fourteen miles, and its total area
927,900 acres. It is divided into the counties
*Th
e popula
ion according to wards and
townships
is given
as follows
BROOKLYN BY \V.\RDS.
Wds.
Pop.
Acres.
Wds. Pop.
Acres.
1 ...
20,:i27
233.00
17 . . . rj7..309
823.30
8..5(i.5
07.70
18... 2.-), 133
873.00
:! . . .
17,!)49
101.40
19 . . . 37,()45
413.84
4 ...
12..J()S
111.30
20 . . . 2.i.44(i
401.. 50
.->...
l,S..S(i2
11!). 40
21 . . . .->8,!).-)7
483.20
() ...
42,4.S.-)
302.90
22 . . . (>().. -)7.-)
1,301.00
7 . . .
411.471
4.-)8..iO
23... ()l,8i;{
730.00
,s . . .
."i2,414
1,843.20
24... 31.7(i7
1,198..50
!) .
42,87()
()23.(iO
2.5 . . . 48,. 328
.567.80
1(1...
.■iil.KIO
318.70
20... (iO,0,SO
*5,690.00
11 ...
22,(i()8
2.")2 (iO
27 . . . 43 091
400.70
12 ...
:!(),:r)4
(HkI id
2S . . . 77 912
884.40
Ki...
24,02!)
■>:'M '■'•!'
■.".) ... ■-'; iss
3 800 00
14 ...
:!l,4.s:i
■>s-' i;i)
5,404.10
].■) ...
:!0,2()i)
:;i ... 1 i.ooii
0,312,30
10 . . .
.-.(i,.->.-.o
tal
244. so
32... 8,243
14,082.00
To
1,160,582
49,680.14
*Include3 swamp
lands and unattached islands.
QUEENS BY WARDS.
Wards.
Population.
Acres,
1
48,272
4,650,00
2
40 903
14 700 00
3
35.870
22,000.00
of Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk; but
all of Kings and part of Queens are now under
the general government of the greater New-
York, although still retaining their county or-
ganization; The population of these divisions
according to the census of 1900 was as follows:
Kings .... 1,166,582 I Queens 152,999
Nassau... 55,448 | Suffolk 55,582
Being a total for Long Island of 1,452,611.*
In 1880 the total was 743,957, and in 1890,
1,029,097, so that a considerable advance has
been made. The advance has been greatest
Wards. Population. Acres.
4 30,761 36,600.00
5 7,193 4,933.00
Total 152,999 82,883.00
NASSAU COUNTY BY TOWNSHIPS.
Hempstead Township 27.067
North Hempstead Township 12,048
Oyster Bay Township 10,3.33
Total .55,448
■ SUFFOLK COUNTY BY TOWNSHIPS.
Babylon Township 7,112
Brook-haven Township 14,590
Easthampton Township .3,740
Huntington Township 9,483
*Islip Township 12, .545
Riverhead Township 4,.503
Shelter Island Township 1,006
tSmithtown Township 5,863
Southampton Township 10,.371
Southold Township 8,.301
Total 77,582
*Includes 1,.349 people on the premises of the Manhattan
State Hospital for the Insane,
'i-Includes 3,177 people on the premises of the Long
Island State Hospital,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in Kings county, but all the divisions show
substantial increases.
The island as a whole is flat and low-lying.
Through the centre is a range of small hills
from New Utrecht northeasterly to Roslyn,
and from there extending to Montauk Point,
the best known being West, Dix, Comae, Bald
and Shinnecock Hills. The average height of
this chain is about 250 feet, but Harbor PI ill
at Roslyn rises to a height of 384 feet, Janes
Hill to 383 feet, Reuland's Hill to 340 feet
and Wheatley Hill to 369 feet. Along the
north shore from Astoria to Orient Point a
bluff follows the outline of the coast, rising
sometimes to a height of 200 feet. From the
central chain of hills to the south shore the
land slopes gently down to the sea, and much
of the land, being pure sand, was long ui-
capable of cultivation, although it is yielding
to modern methods and appliances. Between
these hills and the bluff" which overhangs the
north shore is a level elevated plain, broken
in many places by rocks and glacial del)ris,
but on the whole capable of being brought to
a high state of cultivation. The physica*l ap-
pearance of the entire island bears witness to
the force of the movements of nature in the
glacial period, and nowhere in America can
that wonderful epoch be more closely or un-
derstandingly studied. In a general way it
may be said that the south shore is level, while
the north is full of bits of rugged nature,
rocks, dells, splendid marine and land views
and an ever changing vista of hills, forests,
cultivated fields and rich pasture lands.
The entire coast line is indented with bays
and inlets, some forming even in their rugged-
ness beautiful landscapes, and many of them
affording splendid harbors and anchorages.
On the south side of the island is the Greai
South Bay as it is called (although local
names have been given to several sections),
nearly one hundred miles long and from two
to five miles broad, and it is separated from
the Atlantic by a sandy bar from a fourth of a
mile to a mile in width, changing its dimen-
sions in every direction with every winter's
stomi. To the west end of the island are
Jamaica, Hempstead, Oyster and Huntington
Bays, and at the east end Gardiner's, Little
Peconic and Great Peconic Bays ; and the Pe-
conic River, the only stream of water of any
size on the island, ends its course of some
fifteen miles at Riverhead. Gardiner's, Fish-
er's and Plumb Islands are politically incor-
porated with Long Island.
There are scattered throughout the island,
especially throughout its eastern half, many
small sheets of inland water, none worthy of
mention in a summary such as this except one,
the largest of them all — Lake Ronkonkoma.
This beautiful lake, about three miles in cir-
cumference, has a maximum depth of eighty-
three feet ; its waters are ever pure and cool,
and it has no visible outlet or inlet. The lat-
ter peculiarities are common to many much
smaller lakes on the island. Ronkonkoma lies
in the midst of a beautiful landscape, into
which it fits naturally, becoming the centre of
one of the most delightful bits of scenery on
Long Island. It was famous for its beauty
even in the prehistoric Indian days, when the
red man reigned and roamed over the soil, and
many quaint and pathetic legends are yet as-
sociated with it, although it has now received
the tinsel adornments common to a popular
"resort."
The ocean bottom to the south of Long
Island has a slope of about six feet to the
mile, but intersected in what appears to have
been the old valley of the Hudson by a series
of deep depressions. In that distant time the
shores of Long Island were much higher than
now. It is impossible to tell when the age of
retrogression set in, but it seems clear that the
process is still going on, although so slowly
as hardly to make any change visible to the
casual eye in any single generation.
The animal life on Long Island presented
nothing unusual. We have plenty of evidence
that deer once had the freedom of the whole
island and were hunted by the red men and
the earlier settlers; but they have long been
reduced to limited numbers in spite of the most
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
stringent game laws. It has been thought that
the moose and elk once roamed through the
forests, and in 1712 we read of an attempt
being made to ship a pair of moose from
Fisher's Island to England as a gift to Queen
Anne, but this pair seems to have been the
last of the race. Wolves which so often played
havoc with the lives and stock of the pioneer
settlers have long since disappeared. Foxes,
too, which were plentiful at one time, are now
imported, or the aniseed trail is made to do
duty in their stead for hunting purposes, and
the old-time presence of wild cats, beavers,
bears, opossum, raccoons and many others is
forgotten. It may be said that all the animals
common to New York and Connecticut were
common to Long Island, and are so still, al-
though the increasing march of population
and culture renders their numbers smaller year
after year. Bird life was and is plentiful,
and grouse in the earlier days especially so.
It has been said that some 320 species have
been found on the island, specimens of most of
them being in the museum of the Long Island
Historical Society. The island was a resting
place for many migratory species of birds on
their semi-annual journeys north and south or
vice irrsa, and at such seasons it was a verit-
able sportman's paradise. Indeed hunting
was long, with agriculture, one of the arts by
which the pioneers added to their store of
wealth, while in the hands of an Indian a skin
was a facile medium of exchange. The people,
however, were early aroused to a consciousness
that indiscriminate slaughter of animals or
birds was a thing to be guarded against, and
as early as 1786 the slaughter of deer and
grouse was prohibited in Brookhaven except
to actual citizens of the town. Since then
the successive restrictions upon hunting have
been numerous enough to form a theme for
separate study, but stringent as they are Long
Island is yearly becoming less and less a happy
hunting ground for the man who goes out
with a gun anxious to shoot something.
But in spite of the restrictions, the man
with the gun keeps steadily in evidence. On
Nov. 6, 1901, when the season for killing deer
opened, it was estimated that 2,000 "hunters"
armed with rifles were on Long Island, ready
for the "sport." It was then estimated that
about 2,000 deer were on Long Island, the bulk
being, roughly, in the central portion extend-
ing from Islip and Setauket to Riverhead. The
center of the hunting area is in the neighbor-
hood of the South Side Sportsmen's Club at
Oakdale in whose preserves the deer are not
permitted to be killed, even by its own mem-
bers. It is possible that it is to this org-aniza-
tion, and to the rigid way in which it guards
its grounds and protects the game from slaugh-
ter that the deer on Long Island have not been
exterminated long ago. It is one of the dis-
puted points on the island whether or not the
deer really should be preserved. The farmers
would vote for their extermination, while the
hotel-keepers and the summer visitors would
like their numbers increased. The growth of
large private estates within recent years would
indicate a careful preservation of all sorts of
game and a consequent increase in numbers,
especially of deer — the most picturesque of all
game in civilized and populated communities.
As early as 1679 we find the oyster industry
in the Great South Bay a marked feature, —
so marked that even then there was considered
a possibility that the supply would be ex-
hausted and orders were issued restricting the
annual catch; but the bay from then to now
has yearly extended its output, and the oyster
industry of Long Island has brought to it
more material wealth than any other. The
inexhaustible supply of clams has also proved
a profitable industry and over $1,000,000 of
capital is employed in the Menhaden fishery
alone. The factories where the oil is ex-
tracted from these fish have never been popu-
lar in Long Island for various reasons, but
thev still give employment to several thousand
workers every year in one way or another,
and have contributed their share to the com-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
mercial upbuilding of the section. Cod, bass
and blue fish and other species — some 200
in all, it has been estimated — are common to
the shores of Long Island, and generally are
to be found, in their season, in immense quan-
tities. The fisheries form quite a feature of
the industrial life of the island, but the finan-
cial result, great as it is, is but a fraction of
what it should be were the wealth of the sea
worked as zealously and as scientifically as
that which lies beneath the soil. However,
Long Island has long been a delight to the
amateur angler, and the many successful sport-
ing clubs of which it now can boast all include
angling, either with the seine or "with an
angle," after the gentle manner of old Izaak
Walton.
Although from a botanical point of view
the plant life of Long Island is not as varied
or interesting as might be expected, still, if
we accept the estimate made by Elias Lewis
in 1883 that there were then eighty-three
species of forest trees within its boundaries,
there is not much cause for complaint. The
most prolific of these trees was the locust,
which was first planted at Sand's Point about
1700 by Captain John Smith, who brought
the pioneer specimens from Virginia. It
spread with great rapidity and the quality of
its lumber was regarded as better than that
in the trees it left behind in its parent state.
Nowhere else on the Atlantic coast does the
locust flourish as on Long Island. Oaks,
chestnut and walnut trees are to be found all
over the island in great variety.
"Long Island," writes Mr. Elias Lewis,
"is fairly well wooded. Its forests are of oak,
hickory, chestnut, locust, with many other
species of deciduous trees. The evergreens
indigenous to the soil are almost entirely of
the yellow or pitch pine, Pinus rigida. At an
early period of its history the forest growth
of the island was doubtless heavier than now.
There were oaks, chestnuts, tulip trees, and
others of great age and of immense size: a
few of these survive. The fox oaks at Flush-
ing, no longer existing, were historic trees
and justly celebrated. A white oak at Green-
vale, near Glen Cove, is twenty-one feet in
girth, and is probably five hundred years old ;
another nearly as old is at Manhassett, in the
Friends' meeting-house yard ; others similar
are at Smithtown and vicinity. A tulip tree
at Lakeville, on the elevated grounds of S. B.
M. Cornell, impaired by age and storms, is
twenty-six feet in girth near the ground, and
was a landmark from the ocean more than a
century ago. The famous black walnut at
Roslyn, on grounds of the late W. C. Bryant,
is probably the largest tree on Long Island ; it
measures twenty-nine feet in girth at the
ground, and twenty-one feet at the smallest
part of the trunk below the spread of its enor-
mous branches. Chestnut trees in the neigh-
borhood of Brookville and Norwich, in the
town of Oysteir Bay, are sixteen, eighteen and
twenty-two feet in girth.
"The growth of hard-wood trees on Long
Island is rapid. A few large trees stand-
ing indicate what they may have been, ur what
they might be if undisturbed. The evergreens
grow with equal luxuriousness. A century
and a half ago pitch pines were abundant from
twenty inches to thirty-six inches in diam-
eter."
Of the physical history of Long Island,
however, the most interesting feature has been
its geology, and this has been so thoroughly
recognized that most of the local historians,
including Thompson and Prime, have devoted
to the subject considerable space in their re-
spective works. It is well to follow their ex-
ample, but in this case an improvement will
be effected by presenting the subject as handled
by a specialist, — for no one but a devoted and
constant student of geology can write under-
standingly and with authority upon the young-
est and most exhaustive of all the sciences, as
some one has called it. So here is given part
of a paper on the geology of Long Island
which was prepared by F. J. H. jMerrill. the
learned and studious State Geologist of New
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
York, and which has been buried in the trans-
actions of one of our scientific societies for
several years:
The lithology of Long Island is compara-
tively simple, the crystalline rocks being con-
fined to quite a limited area. The greater part
of the region consists of gravel, sand and
clay, overlaid along the north shore and for
some distance southward by glacial drift.
This material fonns an important element of
the surface formation, and though it has been
already described by Mather and Upham, I
shall devote a short space to its discussion.
For the sake of clearness, we may describe
the drift as of two kinds : ist, the till or drift
proper, a heterogeneous mixture of gravel,
sand and clay, with boulders, and 2d, the
gravel drift, a deposit of coarse yellow gravel
and sand, brought to its present place by
glacial and alluvial action, but existing near
by in a stratified condition, before the arrival
of the glacier. This yellow gravel drift, which
in a comparatively unaltered condition forms
the soil of the pine barrens of southern and
eastern Long Island, and is exposed in section
at Grossman's brickyard in Huntington, is
equivalent to and indeed identical with the
yellow drift or preglacial drift of New Jersey,
a formation of very great extent in that state,
and of which the origin and source have not
yet been fully explained, though it is always
overlaid by the glacial drift proper where these
formations occur together.
In the hills near Brooklyn the till attains
its maximum depth. This has never been
definitely ascertained, but is probably between
150 and 200 feet. The only information we
have on the subject is from a boring in Calvary
Cemetery, where the drift was 139 feet deep,
and this point is nearly five miles north of
Mount Prospect, which is 194 feet high and
probably consists for the most part of till.
The occurrence of this till is quite local and
very limited along the north shore between
Roslyn and Horton's Point. From the former
locality eastward the hills are mainly composed
of stratified gravel and sand, probably under-
laid by clay. On the railroad between Syosset
and Setauket is an abundance of coarse gravel
with but slight stratification. East of Setauket
for some distance the drift is a fine yellowish
sand, which washes white on the surface, and
at Wading River the drift with cobble-stones
was only eighteen inches thick where exposed,
being underlaid with fine yellow sand. Along
the remainder of the north shore to Orient
Point, six feet was the maximum depth of drift
observed. Under this were stratified sands,
gravels and clays, usually dipping slightly
from the shore. On Brown's Hills, north of
Orient, the drift is overlaid by three feet of
fine micaceous sand, which has probably been
carried to its present position by the wind.
The drift at this locality is a clayey till, and
its surface is strewn with an abundance of
boulders of coarse red gneiss. On Shelter
Island are high ridges of gravel overlaid by
a few feet of till. The hills from Sag Harbor
eastward are also composed partially of un-
modified drift, but the most extensive deposit
on the east end of Long Island is between
Nepeague Bay and Montauk Point. Here the
drift is disposed in rounded hillocks from 80
to 200 feet above the sea, with bowl and
trough-shaped depressions between. The
bluft's along the south shore, which are rapidly
yielding to the action of the waves, consist
for the most part of boulder clay and hard-
pan of considerable depth, covered by a shal-
lower layer of till. At a few places, however,
on the south shore, west of the point, laminated
blue clay streaked with limonite occurs, inter-
calated with the till. At the end of the point
a similar bed of clay is exposed, overlaid by
stratified sand. From the extremely limited
character of the exposures I am unable to de-
termine whether the clay underlies the whole
of the point or is merely local in its occur-
rence. In character and position, however, it
is analogous to beds occurring on Block Island.
The boulders of Long Island attract the at-
tention of the geologist by their size and
variety. They represent almost every geolog-
ical age, fossiliferous rocks of the Helderberg,
Oriskany and Cauda Galli, Hamilton, Che-
mung and Eocene periods having been found
in the drift. Examples of these are in the col-
lection of the Long Island Historical Society.
There are also various members of the Arch-
aean series, viz., gneiss, granite, syenite, horn-
blende, chlorite, talcose and mica schist, lime-
stone, dolomite, and serpentine ; and the
Palajozoic and Mesozoic ages are represented
by Potsdam sandstone, Hudson River slate,
Oneida conglomerate or Shawangunk grit,
Catskill sandstone, and Triassic sandstone and
trap. As the lithology of the boulders has
been described in detail by Mather (Geol. ist
Dist. N. Y., pp. 165-177), it would be super-
fluous for me to undertake a similar descrip-
tion.
HISTORY OF LOiNG ISLAND.
In addition to the rocks mentioned above, a
ferruginous sandstone and conglomerate occur
abundantly in fragments along the east shore
of Hempstead Harbor, and in the drift be-
tween Glen Cove and Oyster Bay. Many of
these fragments contain vegetable impres-
sions, but in only two localities have any leaf
prints been found. These were West Island,
Dosoris, and the well of the Williamsburg Gas
Co. The prints are supposed to belong to
Cretaceous plants, but the evidence is incom-
plete.
Many of the erratic blocks are of immense
size, one in particular, of gneiss, on Shelter
Island, near Jennings' Point, contained as a
solid mass over 9,000 cubic feet. It has split
in three pieces since it was deposited. Mather
(Geol. 1st Dist., p. 174) mentions a mass of
granite near Plandome, which was estimated
to contain 8,000 cubic yards above the surface
of the ground.
Having thus briefly reviewed the characters
of the surface drift, we will now consider in
detail the strata which underlie it. The crys-
talline rocks outcrop along the shore at Hell-
gate and over a limited area in the vicinity of
Astoria. They consist of finely laminated
gneiss and schists, tilted at a higla angle, and
belong to the same formation as the rocks of
Manhattan Island. I am informed by Mr.
Elias Lewis, Jr., that in boring an artesian
well in Calvary Cemetery, near Brooklyn, a
bed of gneiss was encountered at a depth of
182 feet. Further than this we know nothing
of the extent of the crystalline rocks on Long
Island. The section obtained in the boring
mentioned was as follows :
FEET.
Surface loam and drift 139
Greenish earth 39
White clay with red streaks 4
Gneiss 400
Total 582
The greenish earth referred to lost its color
on being treated with hydrochloric acid, and
the white residue examined under the micro-
scope appeared to consist of minute fragments
of kaolinized feldspar, with occasional grains
of quartz sand. The acid solution gave a
strong reaction for iron, indicating a probable
admixture of glauconite with the material. It
is stated in Cozzens' Geological History of
New York Island that a shell of Exogyra
costata, with green-sand adhering, was found
between Brooklyn and Flatlands, at a depth of
sixty feet. This locality is about five miles
south of the well just mentioned, and would
indicate the presence of Cretaceous strata near
Brooklyn.
The following data, also furnished by Mr.
Lewis, of a well dug by the Nassau Gas
Light Co., in Williamsburg, will give an idea
of the formation at that locality:
FEET. INCHES.
Surface loam 3
Quick-sand (so called) 2
Boulder clay, somewhat sandy. 70
Blue clay with pebbles 27
Oyster shells 6
Total 102 6
The shell-bed was underlaid by quicksand
bearing water.
In the vicinity of Manhasset, on the road
to Port Washington, are extensive exposures
of stratified sand, mare or less inclined from
the horizontal. About 200 yards south of the
postoffice, on the west side of the road, is a
bank about 40 feet high, composed of a white,
coarse, laminated sand, streaked with hydrous
peroxide of iron, the layers dipping S. E. 13
degrees. A little northeast of the postoffice,
along the road, there are banks of ired sand
cemented together in places by sesquioxide
of iron and resembling the Cretaceous red sand
bed of New Jersey.
On the shore of Manhasset Bay, near Port
\\'ashington, are high banks of coarse yellow
stratified sand and gravel. This deposit is
very irregular in its stratification, as it shows
in many places the "flow and plunge" structure
described by Dana, and which is evidently pro-
duced by swift currents. The depth of this
formation cannot be determined : it is probably
not less than 150 feet, and possibly is much
greater. These beds dip about 15 degrees W. ;
the strike is nearlv due north and south.
Along the shore of Manhasset Bay, from Port
Washington to Barker's Point, are extensive
banks of stratified sand and gravel, much
stained with iron and dipping westward. At
Prospect Point and Mott's Point the banks aire
composed of coarse gravel similar to that at
Port Washington.
Between Roslyn and Glen Cove there are
high bands of red and flesh-colored sands,
while at Carpenter's clay pits a most interest-
ing section is presented. The greatest height
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
of this section is seventy-three feet, the strike
of the beds being N. 80 degrees W. and the dip
about T,y degrees northerly, the layers here
apparently consisting of quartz, but susceptible
of being easily crushed in the hand. The peb-
bles are traversed by innumerable cracks, and
are composed of coarse white gravel and sand,
and appear to have been subjected to the action
of an alkaline solution. Interstratified with the
gravel are layers of fine white clay, from six
I'nches to one foot in thickness, stained pink in
some places, and containing occasional frag-
ments of a soft hematite or red ochre. Besides
these beds there is a deposit of kaolin farther
south, but its stratigraphical relations to the
layer exposed could not be determined. This
kaolin is a soft, white, granular, clayey sub-
stance, consisting chiefly of hvdrous silicate of
alumina from the decomposition of feldspar.
In fact the whole deposit would seem to be the
decomposition product of a granulite rock such
as occurs abundantly in Westchester county,
New York, and in southwestern Connecticut.
In the north end of the bank is an uncontorm-
ability, the gravel beds, which dip 37 degrees,
being overlaid by stratified sand dipping 15
degrees in the same direction. The layers
shown in this section form the north slope of
an anticlinal flexure, the lowest beds being, I
am informed by Mr. Coles Carpenter, one of
the proprietors, almost vertical. An excava-
tion made about 100 yards W. S. W. of the
main pit, far the purpose of obtaining some
leaf-prints, exposed the following section :
FEET. INCHES.
Gravelly drift 6
White sand 18
Coarse sand 6
Reddish day 2
•Grey, sandy carbonaceous clay
with leaf-prints 4
14
These beds dipped about 15 degrees S. W.,
the locality being on the south slope of the
anticlinal. Owing to the sandy nature of the
clay, and the dryness of the season, no satis-
factory specimens could be obtained. The
prints retain no carbon, but simply show the
venation of the leaves.
North of Sea Cliff, along the shore of
Hempstead Harbor, to the Glen Cove steam-
boat landing, is a series of clay beds outcrop-
ping on the beach and dipping N. by E. about
10 degrees ; these beds are of various colors,
blue, yellow, reddish, white and black. The
reddish clays contain fragments of a soft
hematite, and one of the blue layers is over-
laid by about two inches of lignite in small
fragments. Other layers contain pyritized
lignite and nodular pyrites, but it is impossible
to determine the nature and order of these
beds accurately, without extensive excavations.
Dark clays, with pyrites, are also reported to
occur in Carpenter's pits at a considerable
depth. In the beds of decomposed gravel al-
ready mentioned are many geodes of sand ce-
mented together by hydrous and anhydrous
sesquioxide of iron, containing a dark granular
mass which analysis shows to consist chiefly
of decomposed pyrites. The conclusion is
therefore justifiable that the nodules of mar-
casite which once existed in the gravel beds
have decomposed by oxidation, and the result-
ing ferric oxide has cemented the sand about
them into a hard crust, while the nodules in
the clay beds which were protected from oxi-
dation have remained unaltered.
North of Glen Cove clays of various kinds
occur at East and West Islands, Dosoris' and
at Matinnecock Village. At the East Willis-
ton brickyard, near Mineola, there is a local
deposit of grey micaceous clay. The depth of
this, where excavated, varies from seven to
eighteen feet. The clay overlies white lami-
nated sands, stained with limonite, the upper
surface of the sand being cemented together
for the depth of an inch by the yellow oxide.
Over the clay is about six inches of black
alluvial earth.
At the brickyard on Centre Island, in Oys-
ter Bay, there is a deposit of brown sandy
clay over a bed of more homogeneous and
tougher clay. These beds undulate in an east
and west direction or away from the shore,
and the lower stratum contains shaly concre-
tions or claystones. About a mile north of the
brickyard it is said that a bed of white fire
clay has been found at a depth of twenty-five
feet under the drift and sand. A little west
from the U. S. Fish Hatchery, at the head of
Cold Spring Harbor, is a bank of stratified
gravel seventy feet high. About forty feet be-
low the top of this bank is an exposure of
laminated sand and sandy clay stained red,
brown and yellow with oxide of iron, and a
short distance below a chalybeate spring issues
from the bank. The clay deposit at Stewart's
brickyard, at Bethpagc, is about sixty feet in
depth. The surface stratum is a yellowish
10
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
micaceous clay, the lower part being mottled
blue and yellow. It probably was originally
a gray or blue clay, its present yellow color be-
ing due to the peroxidation and hydration of
the iron contained. Of this stratum there is
about thirty-five feet ; below is about five feet
of reddish sandy clay, and beneath this a blue-
black sandy clay containing nodules of white
pyrites. This stratum is about twenty-five feet
deep and is underlaid by white sand. The
beds are somewhat disturbed and folded, the
uppermost being slightly undulating, while the
two lower appear to be raised in a fold trend-
ing nearly east and west.
I am indebted to Mr. Lewis for the follow-
ing section obtained in digging a well at
Jericho in 1878, on the premises of Mr. Jules
Kunz :
FEET. INCHES.
Surface loam 15
Drift 36
Yellow gravel 81
Sand 15
Sandy clay with a carlionized
branch 4
Yellow clay 3
Blue aTnid gray sandy clay with
pyrites 30
Micaceous sand 14 6
Total 198 6
From the same authority I have the follow-
ing section of a well on Barnum's Island :
FEET.
Sand and gravel, stratified 70
Clay and clayey sand _ with -lignite 56
Gravel and fine sand with clayey sand . . 44
Blue clay, clayey sand and silt, with lig-
nite and pyrites 168
Total 338
In the third stratum, at a depth of 168
feet, a fragment of the stem of a crinoid was
found, which, together with a complete set
of specimens from the well, is in the collection
of the Long Island Historical Society. The
fossil fragment is probably from some Pal-
aeozoic formation, and has no special import-
ance.
At Grossman's brickyard in Huntington,
on the east shore of Cold Spring Harbor, we
have an intersected section trending a little
east of north, which is as follows:
FEET.
Till and stratified drift la
Quartz gravel 45
Red and blue "loam" or sandy clay 20
Diatomaceous earth 3
Yellow and red stratified sand 20
Red plastic clay 20
Brown plastic clay 25
Total I43j
The bed of diatomaceous earth is of unde-
termined extent, and appears to be replaced a
little to the east by a blue clay, which, how-
ever, contains some diatoms. It is undoubt-
edly equivalent to the bed of ochre which over-
lies the sand throughout the remainder of the
section. At Jones' brickyard, adjoining Cross-
man's, there is a similar fold nearly at right
angles to the first, but the upper portion has
been removed by ice or water down to the
sand. This stratum, which is yellow and
brown in the north part of Grossman's yard,
is dark red in the south end and at Jones'. It
appears to be mixed with a fine red clayey
matter which separates on washing.
The formation on Lloyd's Neck is similar
to that at Grossman's, with regard to the com-
position of the strata. On the north side of
East Neck, at Eckerson's brickyard, is a de-
posit of reddish clay underlaid by brown clay
very similar to that at Grossman's. To the
west of this is a bank of white quartz gravel,
while on the east is an extensive deposit of
fine, white quartz sand, laminated with red,
yellow and brown waved streaks. The exact
relations of these strata I was unable to de-
termine, but from their analogies to other de-
posits I am inclined to consider the laminated
sand as the more recent.
On the north end of Little Neck there is
another large deposit of these laminated sands.
At this point they dip S. E. about 15 degrees.
The following section is given in Mather's Re-
port Geol. of 1st Dist., p. 254:
FEET.
1. Loose surface sand ly,
2. Dark-colored loamy sand and clay. 3
3. Yellowish and reddish sand, waved
laminae 4 ^
4. White sand tinged with yellow. ... 4
5. Sand similar but diflfering in color
and direction of laminae 4
6. Sand red, waved laminae 30
7. White clay 4
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
11
FEET.
8. White sand tinged with red or
yellow 4
9- Clay, white like No. 7 3
10. Sand, white like No. 8 3
11. White clay like No. 7 5
12. White sand like No. 8 5
Total 70
South of this deposit, about half a mile, is
a clay-pit which is worked by Captain Sam-
mis, of Northport. Here the shratification is
as follows :
FEET.
Surface loam and drift 3 or 4
Sandy kaolin 10
Yellowish clay 4
Dark blue sandy clay 15
Dip, 5 degrees W.
The lowest stratum is sepairated into thin
laminae by equally thin layers of sand, in
which are numerous impressions of fragments
of vegetable matter, but only one leaf-print
has been found ; this is in the museum of the
Long Island Historical Society. It is a small,
broadly elliptical leaf, about three-fourths of an
inch long. In this same bed was found several
years ago a shark's tooth which has been
identified as Carcharodon aiigustideus or
incgalodon. It is difficult to determine the re-
lation of this stratum to the other layers in
the vicinity, but it is probably of the same
period as the laminated sands, and seems to
be identical with a bed which Mather describes
as occurring on Eaton's Neck. (Geol. ist
Dist., p. 228.)
At the brickyard near West Deer Park, be-
neath the gravel and drift, is a stratum of
flesh-colored clay, underlaid by dark blue clay
containing pyrites. I was informed by the
owner, Mr. Conklin, that in the centre of the
hill of gravel the clay rises up in a fold. Be-
tween Bethpage and West Deer Park is a de-
posit of ferruginous conglomerate and sand-
stone formed by the solidification of the strati-
fied gravel and sand or yellow drift. This rock
is very similar in composition and appearance
to one which occurs in fragments in the glacial
drift and contains vegetable impressions. At
Provost's yard, near Fresh Ponds, are quite
extensive loeds of brown sandy clay, reddish
clay, and chocolate-brown clay, dipping from
the shore. The red and chocolate clays are
probably identical with the similar beds at
Crossman's in Huntington.
Lake Ronkonkoma is in a basin of which
the bottom is about 210 feet below the high
ground on the south. Its southern bank is
composed of laminated sand streaked with
o.xide of iron, and the rest of the shore ap-
pears to be formed of the same material. At
Crane Neck Point are bluffs, 60 feet high,
of sand and gravel containing masses of fer-
ruginous sandstone of recent date. At
Herod's Point the bluffs consist of fine yellow
sand and gravel, slightly stratified, and dip-
ping a few degrees south. Limonite concre-
tions are here abundant. The bluffs at Friar's
Head are about 120 feet high, and consist of
yellow stratified sand with pebbles. Over these
is a dune of yellowish drifted sand 90 feet
high, making the total height of the peak 210
feet. On the west side of Robbin's Island is
an exposure of blue clay overlaid by laminated
ferruginous sand. The depth of this clay-bed
has not been determined, but it is similar in
appearance and quality to some of the clays
near Huntington, especially at Crossman's
brick-yard. A chalybeate spring issues from
the laminated sand on the shore, a little to
the south of the clay-pit. The clay bed ap-
pears to dip southward about 10 degrees
throughout the whole extent of the island-
Near the railroad between Southold and
Greenport are two brickyards. At the more
easterly of the two there are various deposits
of stratified sand and clay very much folded
and tilted. At this place the section exposed
shows two parallel folds, the axes of which
trend a little north of east. The upper stratum
of brown clay contains angular fragments of
mica schist. At the other yard they are work-
ing a bed precisely similar to that just men-
tioned and also containing angular fragments
of rock.
On Sheher Island are high hills of gravel
with a thin covering of till ; the highest point
is about 180 feet above tide. West of the vil-
lage of Orient is a narrow isthmus of sand
beach and salt meadow, about a mile and a half
long and not more than ten feet above tide.
East of this, on the north side of the peninsula.
Brown's Hills extend along the shore for a
mile and a half, the highest point being 128
feet above Long Island Sound. The struc-
ture of these hills is difficult to determine, as
extensive land slides have occurred, and the
12
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
slopes are covered with grass and bushes. One
exposure gave the following section :
FEET.
Drift 3
Fine yellow sand 8
Micaceous clay i
Micaceous sand 25
Total 37
The micaceous sand occurs at the foot of
the blutTs along the shore in this vicinity.
It may also be seen half a mile west of Orient,
in a bank by the road-side.
On Gardiner's Island a very complete sec-
tion is exposed on the southeast shore, which
exhibits the strata to the depth of about 250
feet. Here stratified sands and clays of va-
rious kinds and colors are raised up in two
parallel anticlinal folds. In the southerly fold
the stratum is a light red, fine, plastic clay,
very similar to that at Grossman's in Hunting-
ton; it is here exposed to a depth of about 100
feet and is upheaved at a high angle, its outer
slopes dipping about 45 degrees, while along
the axis of the fold the lamina; are vertical.
The northern anticlinal has about 15 degrees
dip on either side, and in its north slope is a
stratum of yellowish clayey sand containing a
bed of post-pliocene shells, at an average
height of 15 feet above the sea. The formation
which is here brought to view probably un-
derlies the whole of the island, as it is ex-
posed at various other points. On the north
and southeast shores the beds are very much
disturbed and folded, and the surface of the
island is raised in a series of parallel ridges
corresponding in position to the folds and hav-
ing a general trend of N. 65 degrees E. The
highest point on the island is 128 feet above
the sea ; the bluffs along the shore being from
twenty-five to seventy feet high. The fossil-
iferous stratum is about 20 feet long and four
feet thick, containing an abundance of shells,
most of which appear to have been crushed
by superincumbent pressure. The locality was
visited in 1863 by Prof. Sanderson Smith, who
describes the bed as 150 to 200 feet long.
* * * *
Napeague Beach, east of Amagansett, is
three miles long and one-quarter of a mile
broad, consisting entirely of white quartz sand.
Along the shore on the north and south are
dunes of drifted sand 20 or 30 feet high, but
the main portion of the beach probably aver-
ages less than 10 feet above the sea. East
of the beach the country for twelve miles to
the end of Montauk Point is chiefly a terminal
moraine, and as such I have already briefly
described it.
HISTORICAL GEOLOGY.
Having thus reviewed i;i detail the various
strata underlying the drift, we come now to
consider their age and history. Without at-
tempting to decide the geological equivalence
of the crystalline rocks at Astoria, we will dis-
cuss the unsolidified deposits which have just
been described.
From the position and strike of the Greta-
ceous strata in New Jersey and Staten Island,
it has been surmised by geologists that they
underlie Long Island throughout the whole or
a portion of its extent. The locality at which
the strata most resemble the Cretaceous beds
of New Jersey is Glen Gove, where the clays
already described are probably of this age. If
the Cretaceous formation extends under the
whole of Long Island it must occur at a very
great depth, since deep sections at points east
of Glen Cove do not reveal its presence.
In regard to this formation and the follow-
ing, it should be understood that sufficient data
have not yet been obtained to warrant an at-
tempt to map out their extent. The only ex-
posures are in vertical sections along the shore
and in various clay-pits or similar excava-
tions ; and there being an immense amount of
quaternary material overlying them, no satis-
factory degree of accuracy can be as yet at-
tained in this regard.
The Tertiary strata of Long Island cannot
as yet be identified with much more certainty
than the Cretaceous. From their character and
position we may surmise that the brown and
red plastic clays of Huntington, Gardiner's
Island and elsewhere belong to the age in ques-
tion, but we have no palasontological evidence
except from the shark's tooth found on Little
Neck, which would identify the bed in which
it occurred as Eocene or Miocene. The strati-
fied sands and gravels, however, which overlie
the supposed Cretaceous and Tertiary beds,
and in turn are overlaid unconformably by
surface drift and till, we may accept as Post-
pliocene, from the analogy of their composi-
tion, structure and position to the deposits of
Gardiner's Island and Sankaty Head, of which
the fossils determine the age beyond question ;
unfortunately, however, there is no unconform-
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
13
ability to show where the Tertiar}' ends and
the Quaternary begins.
At various times and places fossil shells
and lignite have been found on Long Island.
I append a synopsis of a list of these compiled
by Elias Lewis, Jr., from Mather's Report and
from other sources :
presumed Cretaceous and Tertiary beds were
deposited we know nothing; though it is rea-
sonable to conclude that they consist of the
debris of New York and New England rocks
carried down from the highlands and deposited
along the coast by rivers or by other agencies
of transportation. The overlying deposits of
N.\TURE OF Fossil
Locality and Date
Depth
Authority
1.
Recent shells.
Fort Lafayette.
23-53 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
2.
Pyrula. clam, oyster.
New Utrecht.
43-67 feet.
Thompson's Hist, of L,
J
3.
Clam and oyster shells.
Well in Prospect Park.
E. Lewis, Jr.
4.
Clam and oyster shells.
Well at Flatbush Almshouse.
40-50 feet.
E, Lewis, Jr.
.5.
2 Petrified clams.
Flatbush.
100 feet.
\ W. J. Furnam, Antiqu
/ of Long Island.
ities
0.
Oxof/yra Costaia, with
Bet. Brooklyn and Flatlands.
60 feet.
3 Dr. J. C. Jay, Ann. of Lye.
grain sand.
( Nat. Hist., 1842.
7.
Oyster shells.
High grounds in Brooklyn.
73 feet.
Furman's Antiquities.
8.
Clam shells.
Fort Greene, 1814.
70 feet.
Furman's .•\ntiquities.
.9.
Anomia ,p/appunn.
Cor. Jay & Front St., Brooklyn
1.5 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
10.
Oyster shells.
Nassau Gas Light Co., Wil-
liamsburg.
127 ft. 6 in.
E. Lewis, Jr.
11.
Log of wood.
Bushwick.
40 feet.
Thompson's History.
12.
Shells.
Newtown.
70 feet.
Thompson's History,
13.
Clam shells.
East New York,
80 feet.
Thompson's History,
14.
Wood.
Three miles west of Jamaica.
25 feet.
Thompson's History,
1.5.
Clam and oyster shells.
Lakeville.
( 85 ft. above tide.
'{ 140 to 160 feet.
Henry Onderdonk.'jr,
16.
Clam, oyster and scallop
shells.
Lakeville.
\ 200 ft. above tide.
\ 47 feet.
J, H, L'Hommedieu.
17.
Wood.
Great Neck, 1813.
50 feet.
Thompson's History.
18.
Oyster shells.
Manhasset, 1813.
78 feet.
Thompson's History.
19.
Shells.
Bet. Manhasset and Roslyn.
140 feet.
Thompson's History.
20.
Stem of Crinoid.
Barnum's Island.
168 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
21.
Lignite.
Barnum's Island.
100-383 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
22.
Wood.
Near Westbury.
Great depths.
Thompson's History.
2.3.
Wood.
Hempstead Plains, 1804.
100-108 feet.
Dwight's Travels.
24.
Carbonized wood.
Sea Cliff. 184.5.
94 feet.
Isaac Coles.
2.5
Lignite.
Glen Cove. 1804.
40 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
26.
Lignite.
Jericho. 1878.
9(i feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
27.
Wood.
Cold Spring.
110 feet.
Thompson's History.
28.
Curfharndnn iinf/ugtuh'ns
Little Neck.
P. B. Sills.
29.
Log of wood.
Strong's Neck.
40 feet.
Thompson's History.
30.
Clam shells.
Shelter Island, 1898.
57 feet.
Thompson's History.
31.
Shells.
Wells at Amagansett.
E. Lewis, Jr.
32.
Bones of mastodon.
Jamaica Pond, 1846.
33.
Venus mercenaria..
Yaphank.
( 100 ft. above tide.
) 20 feet.
E. Lewis, Jr.
34.
Ostrea Virginiana.
Sag Harbor, 1864.
\H0 ft. above tide
Dr. Cook,
In view of the fact that we have nowhere
else any good evidence of a change of sea level
amounting to 200 feet in the vicinity of New
York during the Glacial epoch, we can only
account for the high elevation of some of these
fossils by supposing that they, with their con-
taining beds, have been raised to their present
position by glacial action in the manner I shall
describe.
Of the physical conditions under which the
stratified gravel, sand and clay, part of which,
as before stated, are equivalent to the "yellow
drift" of New Jersey, are also difficult to ac-
count for. They consist largely of transported
material from older beds, and by their struc-
ture indicate that they have been formed by
swift currents which carried along and de-
posited coarse and fine material mingled to-
gether. Their fossils, so far as we know, ex-
clude them from the Tertiary, and they under-
14
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
lie the drift unconformably, altliough by defini-
tion tlie Glacial period begins the Quaternary
age.
If, however, we assume in the Quaternary
a succession of glacial epochs, or alternate
periods of advance and retreat of the ice-sheet,
as suggested by Croll's theory, we can explain
the origin of the beds in question by supposing
that during the epoch of glaciation imme-
diately preceding their deposition the ice-
sheet did not reach so far south, while the
floods of the succeeding warmer epoch modi-
fied and spread over the sea-bottom the drift
thus formed.
In order to appreciate more exactly the re-
lations of these Post-pliocene beds to the
glacial drift, it will be necessary to consider
some very interesting phenomena. Along the
north shore of Long Island from Flushing to
Orient Point are exhibited most striking evi-
dences of glacial action. We find the stratified
gravels, sands and clays upheaved by the lat-
eral pressure of the ice-sheet and thrown into
a series of marked folds at right angles to the
line of glacial advance, which, judging from
the grooves and stri:^ on the rocks of New
York and Connecticut, was about S. 30 de-
grees E. The glacier having thus crumpled
and folded the underlying strata, it evidently
rode over them and continued its course south-
ward, pushing before it an immense mass of
sand and gravel, together with debris from
the rocks of New York and New England.
The theory that Long Island Sound was a
body of water previous to the arrival of the
ice-sheet would seem to be sustained by the
character of the detritus deposited by the ice
on Long Island. From Brooklyn to White-
stone, where the sound is narrow, the till or
drift proper is quite conspicuous ; east of this
it becomes less noticeable, and beyond Roslyn,
as before stated, it does not again occur in
abundance until we reach the vicinity of Green-
port, where the Sound again grows narrow.
This seems to be due to the fact that the finer
debris of the northern rocks was carried along
imbedded in the lower part of the glacier.
The channel of the East River, owing to its
narrowness, was filled up and passed over, the
till being deposited to form the range of hills
near Brooklyn; but in crossing the broader
part of the Sound the ice probably lost the
greater portion of its load of till, and only
carried over the boulders which were on the
suface or in the upper part of the glacier. On
reaching the north shore of the island the
alluvial gravel and sands were scooped up and
pushed forward in front of the ice-sheet, to
form the "moraine," and the boulders, when
the ice melted, were deposited on the surface.
The map shows that the principal bays on the
north shore penetrate the land in a direction
identical with that of the advance of the
glacier. We may reasonably infer from this
fact that these indentations were ploughed out
by projecting spurs of ice, and the inference
is supported by the fact that the bays are
walled in by high ridges which have been
formed largely through the upheaval of the
beds by lateral thrust. The best example of
this displacement in the formation of a bay is
shown in the section at Grossman's clay-pit in
Huntington, which I have previously de-
scribed. Harbor Hill, which stands at the head
of Hempstead Harbor, is 384 feet high and
chiefly consists of gravel and sand more or less
stratified. Jane's Hill, four miles S. S. E. of
the head of Cold Spring Harbor, is 383 feet
high, and is composed of the same materials.
In the vicinity of each of these hills, moreover,
there are other ridges and elevations averaging
about 300 feet in height. Southeasterly from
Huntington Bay we have the Dix Hills and
Comae Hills rising about 250 feet. Southeast
of Smithtown Harbor, we have Mt. Pleasant,
200 feet in height; in a like direction from
Stony Brook Harbor are the Bald Hills, also
200 feet high. Again we have Reulands Hill,
which is 340 feet in height, and has the same
general bearing from Port Jefferson Harbor.
About South 30 degrees East from Wading
River, where there is quite a deep valley, we
find Terry's Hill, 175 feet high. South of
Great Peconic Bay rise the Shinnecock Hills,
140 feet, and southeasterly from Little Peconic
Bay are the Pine Hills, about 200 feet high.
From these instances it will be seen that the
areas of high elevation bear a very marked
geographical relation to the deep indentations
of the coast. That this relation is due to
glacial action, seems more than probable, as it
can scarcely be an accidental coincidence that
the highest hills on the island should be in a
line with the deepest bays on the northern
coast, and that the course of these bays should
coincide with that of the glacier.
At every point along the north shore where
a section of the strata is exposed, the flexed
structure of the beds under the drift may be
observed. On Gardiner's Island these folds
are remarkably prominent, the surface of the
island being broken with numerous parallel
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE ISLAND.
15
ridges having a general trend N. 65 degrees E.
These ridges correspond to folds in the strati-
fied beds, which the surface drift overlies un-
conformably, and as they are at right angles
to the line of glacial advamce it is difficult to
conceive any agency which could have pro-
duced them except the lateral thrust of the
ice-sheet. Unless these phenomena can be re-
ferred satisfactorily to some other cause, and
of this I very much doubt the possibility, we
have in these folds a strong argument against
the iceberg theory, as it seems evident that a
mere drifting berg could not develop sufficient
progressive force to do the work here shown.
A similar origin may be attributed to the
ranges of hills which form the so-called "back-
bone" of the island, as their structure indicates
that they have been formed partly of gravel
and sand transported from the north shore and
partly through the upheaval of the stratified
beds by the friction of the moving mass of ice.
As the downward pressure of the glacier was
about 450 lbs. per square inch for 1,000
feet of thickness, and its progressive force was
only limited by the resistance of the ice, it is
quite reasonable to assume it capable of pro-
ducing such a result. At one locality, West
Deer Park, this is manifestly the case, and I
have no doubt that in time it will be found
generally true. The numerous springs that
issue from the hillsides along the north shore
also lead one to infer that the substratum of
clay has been raised up in the center of the
hills. The occurrence of the springs might be
accounted for hypothetically by supposing that
morainal hills, distributed on the plain,
eroded horizontal strata of sand underlaid by
clay ; but this we know is not the case.
Mr. Upham, in his discussion of the mo-
raines, attributes all the stratified deposits to
diluvial and alluvial action in the Champlain
period, to which the Gardiner's Island deposit
has been erroneously referred. He also con-
cludes that the more southern drift hills, which
are from 200 to 250 feet high. Avere formed
in ice-walled river-channels formed upon the
surface of the glacial sheet when rapidly melt-
ing. That this process has taken place in some
cases :s quite probable, as there are undisputed
kames in certain places ; but from the analogy
of the deposits in question to the others de-
scribed, [ am inclined to refer them generally
to the same causes.
The changes which have occurred on Long
Island since the retreat of the glacier have
been mainly topographical, and unquestionably
very extensive. The streams of the Cham-
plain epoch carried down the drift from the
moramal hills and distributed it on the plain
to the south, forming in many places local beds
of clay. In the vicinity of Bethpage and else-
where are hillocks of stratified sand similar
in appearance to the New England kames.
The valleys mentioned above, which have been
examined by Elias Lewis, Jr., are unquestion-
ably the channels of streams resulting from
the melting of the glacier.
The coast line of the island is rapidly
changing on account of the action of the swift
westerly currents, which are wearing away the
east end and depositing the sediment along the
north and south shores. By this means the
bays which open into the Sound are rapidly
becoming shallow. The Great South Beach is
also an evidence of the action of the waves and
currents in changing the outline of Long
Island. We have, moreover, abundant evi-
dence that the south shore has been gradually
sinking. This subsidence probably began in
the later Quaternary and may be still contin-
uing.
ECONOMIC GEOLOGY.
Magnetite is the only metallic ore found on
Long Island, and occurs almost everywhere on
the beaches in the form of sand. It is not,
however, sufficiently abundant in any one
locality to render its collection profitable. A
company was started some time since for the
purpose of separating the ore. in the vicinity
of Ouogue, from its associated quartz and gar-
net sand by means of powerful electro-mag-
nets ; but the enterprise proved unsuccessful.
Iron pyrites in its white variety, or marcasite,
is common in the lower clay beds, but does not
occur in sufficient abundance to pay for utiliz-
ing it. Lignite occurs only in small quantities
and usually at great depths. Peat of an in-
ferior kind, composed of the matted roots of
grasses and other plants, occurs at the heads
of most of the bays on the south shore, but is
not used to any extent.
Although not productive of any of the val-
uable minerals. Long Island may be considered
peculiarly rich, from the fact that almost the
whole of the island can be utilized in the arts
and trades. Its sands and gravels are of every
kind in use, and its clays are suited for the
manufacture of fine grades of brick and pot-
tery. The former materials are largely
IG
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
The most extensive deposit of fine pottery
clay occurs at Glen Cove, on the premises of
the Messrs. Carpenter. This clay is very plas-
tic and burns a light cream color. The friable
quartz pebbles described above produce, when
shipped from Port Washington and the vicin-
ity for building purposes,
ground, the finest quality of white sand for
glass and pottery. The deposit of kaolin is
also unsurpassed. In addition to these ma-
terials, this locality furnishes fire-sand for pot-
tery, gray and blue pottery clays and an ex-
cellent fire-clay.
The next locality of note is Huntington.
In this town is an immense deposit of the finest
bxick clay, upheaved to such an elevation that
it is easily accessible. The beds are worked at
Grossman's and Jones' brick-vards, and ex-
tend throughout Lloyds' Neck. Between
Huntington and Gold Spring a large deposit of
white pottery-clay has been worked for many
years. Tjie brick-clay extends east over ten
miles, and is worked at Eckerson's yard on
East Neck, and Provost's at Fresh Ponds. At
Eckerson's and at Sammis' pits, on Little
Neck, are immense deposits of fire-sand, which
extend over Eaton's and Lloyd's Necks.
A little west of Greenport are two brick-
yards at which a bed of glacial clay is being
worked. Between these two yards is a bed of
mottled blue clay, used for making flower
pots. The most extensive deposit of all, how-
ever, is that on Gardiner's Island. This clay
is unsurpassed for the manufacture of bricks,
and from the abundant supply of molding-
sand and the easy accessibility of the locality
by water, must in time prove an important
source of revenue.
&iEssa.
CHAPTER II.
THE INDIANS AND THEIR Lx\NDS.
HF2 story of the red man on Long
Island is an epitome of that of his
race all over the American conti-
nent. When we first meet him he
is rich as riches went among Indians, power-
ful, living in regular communities under a rec-
ognized head, waging war, engaging in the
chase, his daily life hallowed by traditions, cir-
cumscribed by superstition, and rounded out
by a blind religion which taught him that there
was a hereafter, but a hereafter in its features
very much like those he regarded as brightest
and best in the present. Still, it was a relig-
ion, and if it did not elevate him sufficiently to
make him an enthusiast, it at least made him
a stoic. Then, when the time came for him to
be measured with the white man, he imitated
the latter's vices, not his virtues, — or but few
of them — and gradually but surely he became
beaten in the struggle for existence, cheated,
wronged and cozened at every turn, sometimes
under the guise of the requirements of civili-
zation, the authority of religion, or the inflex-
ible demands of modern progress. Originally
strong and numerous, the aborigines steadily
dwindled under the influence of the resources
of civilization until their representatives are
now but a handful, and these are facing the
inevitable end, of total annihilation, not very
far distant. It is a sad story, a painful story,
that of the undoing of an ancient race, but it
must be told. The white man was not alto-
gether to blame, for he was but the factor in
the carrying out of an inexorable law — the
survival of the fittest. One comfort is that
on Long Island the story is more gentle, less
accompanied by blood and rapine and tragedy,,
than in most of the other sections of the coun-
try where the Indians were at all powerful.
As is the case with all efforts at solving
early Indian history, there exists much doubt
as to the identity of those occupying Long
Island when it was first discovered by the
white adventurers, and the effort at solution
has involved considerable controversy and still
left much that is vague and obscure. Into that
controversy we cannot enter here, for contro-
versy is not history ; but it may safely be said
that the consensus of opinion, the drift of all
the evidence produced, is that the aborigines
of Long Island were a part of the great family
of Algonquins and belonged to the group
designated by the Dutch pioneers as the Mo-
hegan nation. The language spoken over the
island is described as being that of the Algon-
quins, the same which prevailed all over the
seaboard and throughout the northeastern part
of the present United States, but doubtless was
diversified by as many dialects as there were
tribes or clans. John Eliot used it in his trans-
lation of the New Testament and other books,
biblical and theological, which nowadays form
the best record of a language which has for-
ever passed from the lips of living men.
The tribes or clans of the Mohegans on
Long Island were as follows :*
*The proper spelling of Indian names has never
been reduced to an exact science, but throughout this
chapter we give the most generally accepted form first,
followed, where need be, by one or more accepted
variations.
18
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
I. Canarsies (Canarsee, Caiiarsie) : Oc-
cupied Kings county and part of the old county
of Queens as far &s Jamaica.
Subordinate tribes: (i) Marechawicks,
Brooklyn. (2) Nyacks, New Utrecht; seem
to have settled on Long Island about 1646.
(3) Jamecos, Jamaica.
II. Rockaways: Occupied Hempstead,
Rockaway and parts of Jamaica and Newtown.
III. Matinecocks: Occupied lands from
Flushing to Fresh Pond, Glen Cove, Cold
Spring, Huntington, Cow Harbor.
IV. Nesaquakes (Missaquogue, Nisse-
quah) : Occupied lands from Fresh Pond to
Stony Brook.
V. Setaukets (Setalcats) : From Stony
Brook to the Wading River, including Strong's
Neck.
VI. Corchaugs : Claimed the territory
east of the Wading River, including the entire
townships of Riverhead and Southold and also
Robin's Island.
VII. Merokes (Morrick Alerikoke) :
Claimed land between Near Rockaway and
Oyster Bay, through the middle of the island.
Part of Hempstead was purchased from this
tribe.
VIII. Marsapeagues .(^^^""sapcqua) :
From Fort Neck to Islip and north of about
the center of Suffolk county. The Merokes
are believed to have been a branch of this tribe.
The battle of 1653, at which Capt. Underbill
was victorious, was mainly fought against the
Marsapeagues.
IX. Secatogues (Secatague) : In and
around Islip township. "The fann owned by
the Wallets family at Islip is called Secatogue
Neck, and was, it is supposed, the chief set-
tlement and residence of the Sachem." —
Thompson.
X. Patchogues: Patchogue to Canoe
Place. A Sag Harbor newspaper in 1830
mentions the death on Jan. 5, of that year, at
Patchogue, of "Elizabeth Job, relict of Ben
Job and Queen of the Indians in that place,
leaving but two females of her tribe, both well-
stricken in years."
XI. Shinnecocks: Ranged from Canoe
Place to Easthampton, including Sag, Harbor
and Peconic Bay. At Shinnecock Neck is the
reservation of about 400 acres on which yet
linger the survivors of this once flourishing
tribe, now numbering about loo. They have
lost their ancient tongue and most of their
ancient customs and ideas, and are reported to
be a practical, hard-working and fairly pros-
perous body, a body which has adopted the
customs and ways of the now dominant race,
but is steadily decreasing decade after decade.
XII. Montauks: The Montauk Penin-
sula and Gardiner's Island. "About the year
1819, Stephen, the King or Sachem of the
Alontauk Indians, died, and was buried by a
contribution. This Indian King was only dis-
tinguished from others of his tribe by wear-
ing a hat with a yellow ribbon on it."
XIII. Manhassets: Shelter Island and
Hog Island. Tradition says they could at one
time place 500 warriors on the warpath.
There are legendary traces of the existence
of several other tribes on the island, but all
actual record of them has passed away.
For several decades following 1609, when
Hendrick Hudson anchored in Gravesend Bay
and commenced that intercourse of white men
with red which marked the beginning of
the extermination of the latter, we get but few
glimpses of the aborigines, and these glimpses
are by no means altogether favorable to the
whites. It must, be remembered that the lat-
ter were intruders ; that their main object was
to acquire wealth ; that they did not under-
stand, or seek to understand, the natives, and
that trouble necessarily arose between them
from the first. The stories of the primitive
transactions between the two are now, in a
measure, lost to us, and the early writings we
have, of course, all show the white man's idea
of his American burden ; but it should be re-
membered that the white man himself was a
burden upon the native and proved in the end
a burden that crushed him back into the earth
from whence he came.
Writing about 1832, Gabriel Furman, the
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
19
most eminent and painstaking of tlie early an-
tiquaries of Long Island, said :
The old Dutch inhabitants of Kings county
have a tradition that the Canarsie tribe were
subject to the Mohawks, as all the Iroquois
were fonnerly called, and paid them an annual
tribute of dried clams and wampum. When
the Dutch settled in this country they per-
suaded the Canarsies to keep back the tribute,
in consequence of which a party of the Mo-
hawks came down and killed their tributaries
whenever they met them. The Canarsie In-
dians are at this time totally extinct; not a
single member of that ill-fated race is now in
existence.
We have still preserved in the records of
the Dutch government of this colony historical
evidence of the truth of this tradition and
some account of this extraordinary incursion
of the Iroquois, or the Five Nations of In-
dians, upon Long Island. They seem to have
regarded all the Indians of the great Mohegan
family, in the southern part of this colony,
as tiieir tributaries, and they probably were so
long anterior to the Dutch settlement of this
country. After the Dutch colonization the
Indians on Long Island appear to have dis-
continued the payment of the usual tribute to
the Iroquois, or to the Mohawks, as they were
generally called, that being the Iroquois tribe
most contiguous to the European settlements,
being located then a little south of Albany,
upon the west side of the Hudson River, and
thus for a long time with the European col-
onists the name of Mohawks was used to
designate the whole Iroquois Confederacy, and
the Long Island Indians did this probably from
the belief that the Iroquois would not dare
come down and Eltack them among the Euro-
pean settlements. But in this they were
greatly mistaken, for in the year 1655, with
the view of chastising all their former tribu-
taries in the southern part of the colony, a
large body of these northern Indians de-
scended upon the Hudson River and made a
landing upon Staten Island, where they mas-
sacred sixty-seven persons. * * * After this
the Indian army crossed to Long Island and in-
vested the town of Gravesend, which they
threatened to destroy, but which was relieved
by a detachment of Dutch soldiers sent from
New Amsterdam. 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 on their way to wage war against the
Indians upon the east end of Long Island. It
was undoubtedly directly after leaving Grave-
send that they fell upon and destroyed the
Canarsie tribe and afterward proceeded down
through the island with that terrible foray of
murder, the account of which has been pre-
served in tradition to this day, and to prevent
a repetition of which the Consistory of the
Dutch Church at Albany undertook to be the
agent to see that the required tribute was
yearly 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 Revolutionary war,
tells us that five or six Indians of the Iroquois
nation were for some offence brought to New
York and sent to Jamaica upon Long Island ;
and that, although they were prisoners, not one
of the Long Island Indians could be induced
to look, with person exposed, upon any of these
terrible "Mohawks," as they called them ; but
very many of them would be continually peep-
ing around corners and from behind other peo-
ple to get a sight at those northern Indians,
and at the same time expressing the utmost
fear and dread of them.
Mrs. Remsen, the widow of Anthony Rem-
sen, formerly of Brooklyn, says that soon after
she was married they moved to Canarsie, now
[1832] about forty years since, where she
made the shroud in which to bury the last in-
dividual of the remnant of the Canarsie tribe
of Indians. This last remnant of that tribe
also told her of the tradition, before men-
tioned, of the destruction of the greater por-
tion of the Canarsie tribe by the Mohawks.
This Indian told her that three or four fam-
ilies of them, having become alarmed by the
shrieks and groans of their murdered friends,
fled for the shore of the bay, got into their
canoes and paddled off to Barren Island, form-
ing part of the Great South Beach, whither
the Mohawks could not, or did not, follow
them. They returned late in the following
day, and soon ascertained that they consti-
tuted the only living representatives of their
entire tribe, who had the night previous lain
down to rest in apparent security : and that no
trace was to be discovered of their barbarous
enemies. It was some days, however, before
they ventured to return permanently to their
old residences, and not before they became en-
20
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tirely satisfied that the Mohawks had returned
to their homes.
This Indian incursion caused the Dutch
Government to feel much apprehension on the
subject of Indian attacks upon the towns of
the western p.irt of this island for a long time
subsequent. The inhabitants of Flatbush were
ordered by Gov. Stuyvesant, in 1656, a short
time after that foray, to enclose their village
with palisades to protect them from the In-
dians.
And again, to prevent the incursions of
Indians, the Governor, in 1660, ordered the
inhabitants of Brooklyn to put their town in
a state of defense and also commanded the
farmers to remove within the fortifications un-
der the penalty of forfeiting their estates.
The Dutch colonists appeared to have lived
in almost continued apprehension of the Iro-
quois. On the 26th of June, 1663, Gov. Stuy-
vesant informed the church of Brooklyn that
the Esopus [Ulster county] Indians, who were
then in league with the Iroquois, 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
observed as a day of thanksgiving on account
of a treaty of peace with the Indians, the re-
lease of prisoners and the defeat of the English
attempt to take the whole of Long Island.
But the northern Indians were not the only
ones who rendered life miserable to the abor-
igines on Long Island. Dr. Prime, in his
"History" (1845), gives the following addi-
tional details of events which happened shortly
after the IVIohawks' raid, in which the Narra-
gansett (Rhode Island) Indians played havoc
with the Ivlontauks, against whom they car-
ried on war for several years :
In one of these assaults, led on by Nini-
craft, the chief of the Narragansetts, Wyan-
danch (Grand Sachem) was surprised in the
midst of a marriage feast while he, with his
braves, was celebrating the nuptials of his only
daughter. Their wigwams were fired, their
granaries rifled or destroyed, their principal
warriors slain, and, to complete the triumph
of the enemy and the misery of the unfortu-
nate chief, the youthful bride was carried away
captive, leaving the bridegroom, who had just
plighted his troth, weltering in his own blood.
It was for procuring the ransom of this be-
loved daughter that Wyandanch, in the last
year of his life, gave to Lion Gardiner a con-
veyance of the territory now constituting the
principal part of Smithtown. [The deed is
now in the possession of the Long Island His-
torical Society.]
The conduct of the Long Island Indians
towards the whites is without a parallel in the
history of this country. It was to be ex-
pected that individual acts of aggression
should occur on the part of a barbarous people,
for real or supposed injuries. But even these
were rare, and the Indians always showed
themselves willing to submit to an impartial
investigation and just decision of alleged
wrongs.
One of the first occurrences of this kind
was the murder of a woman at Southampton
in 1649, which instantly spread fearful appre-
hension of a general insurrection against the
white settlements.' The magistrates of that
town immediately sent a messenger to J\Ion-
tauk and summoned Wyandanch to appear be-
fore them. His councillors, fearing that he
would be summarily condemned to death by
way of retaliation, advised him not to obey
the summons. Before he expressed his own
opinion he submitted the case to Mr. Gardi-
ner, who happened to be lodging in his wig-
wam that same night. By his advice he set
out immediately for Southampton, Mr. Gardi-
ner agreeing to remain as hostage to the tribe
for the safety of their beloved chief. With
amazing celerity he not only accomplished the
journey of twenty-five miles, but actually ap-
prehended on his way and delivered to the
magistrates the murderers of the woman, who,
instead of being his own subjects, proved to
be two Pequot Indians from the main [Con-
necticut], some of whom were generally lurk-
ing on the island for the purpose of promoting
disturbances between the natives and the new
settlers. These men, being sent to Hartford,
were tried, convicted and executed.
It is a remarkable fact which should be re-
corded to the eternal honor of the Long Island
Indians that they never formed a general con-
spiracy, even of a single tribe, against the
whites. The only apparent exception to this
remark, it being the only instance in which the
natives stood upon their arms against their
new neighbors, was the ever-to-be-lamented
battle of Fort Neck ; and although the origin
of this unfortunate rencounter is veiled in ob-
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
scurity, there were circumstances connected
with the event which induce the behef that
if the whole truth could be developed, instead
of implicating the poor natives in the guilt of
that transaction they would appear entitled to
the universal respect and gratitude of the set-
tlers. It was generally believed at the time
that the dissatisfaction and aggression in
which this affair originated were instigated by
the Dutch Government with a view to expel
the English from Long Island and Connecti-
cut. The fact is on record that some of the
Long Island chiefs sent a messenger to Con-
necticut with the information that the Dutch
Fiscal had offered them arms and ammunition
and clothing on condition of their joining in
the destruction of the English ; and it is added
that strong efforts were made to induce the
western tribes to renounce their allegiance to
the Alontauk chief, who was known to be the
stanch friend of the English settlers. These
statements were, indeed, indignantly denied
by the Dutch Governor and an examination
invited, for which commissioners were ap-
pointed. But they broke uo without accom-
plishing their object or allaying the suspicions
which had been previously excited.
These threatening rumors spread fearful
apprehension to the extreme end of the island,
and every town adopted measures of defense.
An application was made to the commissioners
of the United Colonies of New England for
aid, and, although it was defeated by the op-
position of Massachussetts, the Legislature of
Rhode Island, alone, resolved to send help to
their brethren in this emergencv. They ac-
cordingly commissioned their officers to pro-
ceed to Long Island, with twenty volunteers
and some pieces of ordnance, and it is not the
least deplorable circumstance in this expedi-
tion that the chief command was committed to
Capt. John Underbill, of Massachusetts noto-
riety, who, to say nothing of his moral char-
acter, had learned the mode of dealing with
Indians in New Eneland, and not on Long
Island.
When matters came to the worst it appears
that only a part of the Marsapeague tribe,
with a few dissatisfied individuals from other
tribes, whose hostility the Dutch had aroused
and could not now control, assembled in hos-
tile array. T*hey entrenched themselves in the
town of Oyster Bay, on the south side, in a
redoubt or fort in extent about fifty by thirty
yards, the remains of which are still visible
and have ever since borne the name of Fort
Neck. Here, without having made any ag-
gression on the surrounding country, they
were attacked by the English, who, after slay-
ing a considerable number, completely dis-
persed the residue. [Hubbard says that Un-
derbill, "having 120 men, killed 150 Indians on
Long Island and 300 on the main land."]
This action, which constitutes the first and the
last battle between the Long Island Indians
and the white settlers, took place in the sum-
mer of 1653, and under all the circumstances
of the case there is much reason to question
whether there was any real necessity for the
chastisement inflicted.
From this time forward the Long Island
Indians gave the whites no cause for alarm ;
and though in 1675 the Governor of New
York, under the apprehension that they might
be seduced or compelled by the Narragansetts
to engage with them in King Philip's war,
ordered all their canoes from Hurlgate [Hell-
gate] to Montauk to be seized and guarded,
they tamely submitted without the smallest act
of resistance or aggression.
What has been written above is supple-
mented by the following, written by Samuel
Jones, of Oyster Bay, and printed in Vol. 3 of
the collections of the New York Historical
Society :
After the battle of Fort Neck, 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 break-
fast. When this part of the county came to
be settled the highway across the neck passed
directly over the spot where, it was said, the
heap of Indians lay, and the earth in that spot
was remarkably different from the ground
about it, being str ngly tinged with a reddish
cast, which the old people said was occasioned
by the blood of the Indians.
This appearance formerly was very con-
spicuous. Having heard the story above sixty
years ago, that is, before the year 1752, I fre-
quently viewed and marked the spot with
astonishment. But by digging down the hill
for repairing the highway, the appearance is
now entirely gone.
Notwithstanding Dr. Prime's pacific de-
scription of the Indians, there is little differ-
22
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ence between the story of their relations with
the white intruders upon Long Island and the
story as told of other localities. The Dutch
seem to have regarded them with contempt as
natural enemies from the very first, and so
brought down upon themselves their hatred.
The English met the Indian question with more
diplomacy. The story of their treatment of
the red men in Massachusetts and Connecticut
is sickening, even revolting in its details, but
on the English settlements on Long Island,
west of Oyster Bay, they used more diplomacy
and honesty, probably because they saw that
in the friendship of the aborigines lay one of
their best protections against the Dutch. The
Long Island Indians took up arms with so
many thousands of their race against Governor
Kieft, one of the most unprincipled scoundrels
who ever disgraced a colonial outpost's author-
ity, but they soon »nade peace. "In 1643," we
read in Winthrop's "History of New Eng-
land," "the Indians of Long Island took part
with their neighbors on the main, and as the
Dutch took away their corn, so they took to
■burning the Dutch houses, but these, by the
mediation of Mr. [Roger] Williams, were paci-
fied and peace re-established between them and
the Dutch ; at length they came to an accord
with the rest of the Indians. These Indians
having cleared away all the English upon the
main as far as Stamford, they passed on to
Long Island and there assaulted the Lady
Moody in her house divers times, for there
were forty gathered there to defend it; they
also set upon the Dutch with implacable fury
and killed all they could come by; burnt their
houses and killed their cattle without restraint,
so as the Governor (Kieft) and such as
escaped betook themselves to their fort at Man-
hattan, and there lived and eat up their cattle."
The Rev. Isaac Jogues, the Jesuit mission-
ary who was treacherously murdered by In-
dians at Caughnawaga in 1646, has left an in-
teresting document describing the new Neth-
erlands in 1644, which is printed in "Docu-
mentary History of New York," Vol. IV, and
contains manv interesting data drawn from
personal observation during his pilgrimage
here. In the course of it he mentions a cam-
paign against the Indians in 1644, in which he
says :
Some (Indian) nations near the sea having
murdered some Hollanders of the most distant
settlement, the Hollanders killed 150 Indians,
men, women and children ; the latter having
killed at divers intervals forty Dutchmen,
burnt several houses and committed ravages
estimated at the time I was there at 200,000
lives. Troops were raised in New England
and in the beginning of winter, the grass being
low and some snow on the ground, they pur-
sued them with 600, men, keeping 200 always
on the move and constantly relieving each
other, so that the Indians, pent up in a large
island and finding it impossible to escape on
account of the women and children, were cut
to pieces to the number of 1,600, women and
children included. This obliged the rest of
the Indians to make peace, which still con-
tinues.
Thus it will be seen, as has already been
declared, that there was really no difference
but in degree in the relations between the white
man and the red man on Long Island and the
relations which existed in other parts of the
ccuntry. At the east end of the island the in-
fluence of the Gardiner family over the Mon-
tauks prevented many of the abuses which the
English settlers in New England perpetrated
on the people whose lands they took, and as-
sisted in preserving some sort of decency and
order in the relations between the races. In
the middle and western sections, however, the
Indian was regarded as little better than a nat-
ural enemy with all that such regard implies.
Nor do we think that the claim put forth
by Prime and others that the Long Island
Indians were a quiet and gentle and affection-
ate people has been made good. They were
in fact pretty much like the rest of their race.
The Rev. Samson Occom, one of- the earliest
of the native converts and preachers, said of
them (and he knew them intimately by long
residence among them) : "They believe in a
plurality of gods and one Great and Good
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
23
Being who controls all the rest. They like-
wise believe in an evil spirit." The writer
of a description of New Netherland published
n a work on the New World at Amsterdam
n 1671, and which is translated and printed
n "Documentary History of New York,"
Vol. lA^, says on the same subject:
No trace of divine worship can hardly be
discovered here. Only they ascribe great in-
fluence to the moon over the crops. The sun,
as all-seeing, is taken to witness as often as
they take an oath. They pay great revererice
to the devil, because they fear great trouble
from him when hunting and fishing; where-,
fore the first fruits of the chase are burned
in his honor, so that they may not receive
injury. They fully acknowledge that a God
dwells beyond the stars, who, however, gives
Himself no concern about the doings of devils
on earth because he is constantly occupied
with a beautiful goddess whose origin is un-
known. =f= * * Regarding the souls of
the dead, they believe that those who have
done good enjoy every sort of pleasure in
a temperate country to the south, while the
bad wander about in misery. They believe
the loud wailing which wild animals make at
nights to be the wailings of the ghosts of
wicked bodies.
From the same description we get several
other points of information anent the Indians
in New Netherland which may safely be re-
garded as applying to those on Long Island.
As to the dwellings of the Indians we are
told:
Their houses are for the most part built
after one plan; they differ only in the greater
or smaller length ; the breadth is invariably
twenty feet. The following is the mode of
construction : They set various hickory poles
in the ground according to the size of the
building. The tops are bent together above
in the form of a gallery, and throughout the
length of these bent poles laths are fastened.
The walls and roof are then covered with the
bark of asb, elm and chestnut trees. The
pieces of bark are lapped over each other as
a protection against a change of weather, and
the smooth side is turned inward. The houses
lodge fifteen families, more or less, according
to the dimensions.
Their forts stand mostly on steep moun-
tains beside a stream of water. The entrance
is only on one side. They are built in this
wise : They set heavy timbers in the ground
with oak palisades on both sides planted cross-
wise one with another. They join timbers
again between the cross-trees to strengthen
the work. Within the enclosure they common-
ly build twenty or thirty houses, some of which
are 180 feet long, some less. All are crammed
full of people. In the summer they set up
huts along the river in order to pursue fishing.
In the winter they remove into the woods to
be convenient to the hunting and to a supply
of firewood.
Regarding the character of the Indian the
same writer tells us:
Great faults as well as virtues are remarked
in the inhabitants, for, besides being slovenly
and slothful, they are also found to be thiev-
ish, headstrong, greedy and vindictive. In
other respects they are grave, chary of speech,
which after mature consideration is slowly
uttered and long remembered. The under-
standing being somewhat sharpened by the
Hollanders, they evince sufficient ability to
distinguish carefully good from evil. They
will not suffer any imposition. Nowise dis-
posed to gluttony, they are able patiently to
endure cold, heat, hunger and thirst.
So much for Dutch evidence. From a New
England source, Hubbard's "General History
of New England," we get the following :
The Indians on Long Island were more
fierce and barbarous, for our Captain Howe,
about this time, going with eight or ten men
to a wigwam there to demand an Indian that
had killed one Hammond, an Englishman, the
Indian ran violently out (with knife in his
hand wherewith he wounded one of the com-
pany), thinking to escape from them; so they
were forced to kill him upon the place, which
so discouraged the rest that they did not at-
tempt any revenge. If they had been always
so handled they would not have dared to have
rebelled as they did afterward.
There are many such citations as to the
treachery of the Long Island Indian in Gov-
ernor Winthrop's (1637) Journal, but there is
hardly need to produce the details here. Some
24
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
interesting passages regarding the Indians is
Banker's and Sluyter's "Journal of a Voyage
to New York," etc., which was translated and
edited for the memoirs of the Long Island
Historical Society by the late Henry C. Mur-
phy in 1867. Under date of Saturday, Sep-
tember 30, 1679, the Journal says:
We went a part of the way through a
woods and fine, new-made land, and so along
the shore to the west end of the island called
Najack [Fort Hamilton, then probably sur-
rounded by water and marsh]. Continuing
onward, we came to the plantation of the Na-
jack Indians, which was planted with maize,
or Turkish wheat. We soon heard a noise
of pounding, like threshing, and went to the
place whence it proceeded and found there an
old Indian woman busily employed beating
Turkish beans out of the pods by means of a
shell, which she did with astonishing force
and dextrity. Gerrit inquired of her, in
the Indian language, which he spoke perfectly
well, how old she was, and she answered eighty
years ; at which we were still more astonished
that so old a woman should still have so much
strength and courage to work as she did.
We then went from thence to her habita-
tion, where we found the whole troop together,
consisting of seven or eight families and twen-
ty or twenty-two persons, I should think. Their
house was low and long, about sixty feet long
and fourteen or fifteen feet wide. The bottom
was earth, the sides and roof were maide of
reeds and the bark of chestnut trees ; the posts
or columns were limbs of trees stuck in the
ground and all fastened together. The top,
or ridge, of the roof was open about half a
foot wide from one end to the other, in order
to let the smoke escape in place of a chimney.
On the sides or walls of the house the roof
was so low that you could hardly stand under
it. The entrances, or doors, which were at
both ends, were so small and low that they had
to stoop and squeeze themselves to get tlirough
them. The doors were made of reed or flat
bark. In the whole building there was no
lime-stone, iron or lead. They build their
fire in the middle of the floor, according to
the number of families which live in it, so
that from one end to the other each of them
boils its own pot. and eats when it likes, not
only the families by themselves, but each In-
dian alone, according as he is hungry, at all
hours, morning, noon and night. By each
fire are the cooking utensils, consisting of a
pot, a bowl or calabash, and a spoon, also
made of a calabash. These are all that relate
to cooking.
They lie upon mats with their feet toward
the fire, on each side of it. They do not sit
much upon anything raised up, but, for the
most part, sit on the ground or squat upon
their ankles. Their other household articles
consist of a calabash of water out of which
they drink, a small basket in which to carry
and keep their maize and small beans, and a
knife. Their implements are, for tillage a
small sharp stone and nothing more ; for fish-
ing, a canoe without mast or sail and without
a nail in any part of it, thougli it is some-
times full forty feet in length ; fish hooks and
lines, and scoops to paddle with in place of
oars. I do not know whether there are not
some others of a trifling nature.
All who live in one house are generally
of one stock or descent, as father and mother,
with their offspring. Their bread is maize,
pounded in a block by a stone, but not fine.
This is mixed with water and made into a
cake, which they bake under the hot ashes.
* * * These Indians live on the land of
Jacques Cortelyou, brother-in-law of Gerrit.
He bought the land from them in the first in-
stance, and then let them have a small corner
for which they pay him twenty bushels of
maize yearly, that is, ten bags. Jacques had
first bought the whole of Najack from these
Indians, who were the lords thereof, and lived
upon the land and afterward bought it again
in parcels. He was unwilling to drive the
Indians from the land, and has therefore left
thom a corner, keeping the best of it himself.
We arrived there upon this land, which is all
good and yields large crops of wheat and
other grain.
In a note on this passage the editor of the
Long Island Historical Society's volume, the
late Henry C. Murphy, said :
Jacques Cortelyou came from Utrecht to
this country in 1562 in the quality of tutor to
the children of Cornelius \^an Werckhoven,
of that city (who that year also came to
America), first patentee direct from the West
India Company, of Nyack, or Fort Hamilton.
He married Neeltje Van Duyne, and died
about 1693. The Indians received six coats,
six kettles, six axes, six chisels, six small
looking-glasses, twelve knives and twelve
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
combs from the West India Company for all
the land extending along the bay from Go-
wanus to Coney Island, embracing the present
town of New Utrecht. Van Werckhoven
went to Holland, after attempting a settle-
ment at Nyack, but with the intention of re-
turning. He died there, however, in 1655,
and Cortelyou, who remained in possession of
Xyack as his agent, obtained permission, in
1657, from the Director and Council to lay out
on the tract the town of New Utrecht, so
named in compliment to the birthplace of Van
Werckhoven.
The journalist mistakes in supposing the
first purchase of Nyack from the Indians to
have been by Cortelyou; but is probably cor-
rect in stating a second purchase by him,
which might have been made for the purpose
of aiding him with a title by possession against
the heirs of Van Werckhoven, who actually
did subsequently claim this inheritance.
Long Island seems to have alTorded the
Indians plenty of hunting, and its waters
abounded with fish, so that the red man had
little occasion to cultivate the soil except to
scratch its surface here and there to raise
enough grain to make bread. He was an adept
fisherman, and a canoe formed a striking part
of his individual or family wealth.
One feature of the resources of Long Isl-
and which, while it made it popular with the
aborigines, invited trouble with outside tribes,
and caused more wars, misery and havoc than
we have any adequate knowledge of, was the
abundance of the shells which passed current
among them for money. To this subject ref-
erence is made at length in another chapter of
this history.
One of the most curious passages in the
early European-Indian history, if we may use
such an expression to describe events which
took place in the Indian story when the white
men first began to make their homes on this
side of the sea, is the manner in which the
land passed from the aborigines to the in-
truders. All such transactions were held to
be strictly regular, to have been carried on in
accordance with the exact requirements of
law; and yet to us it seems strange to read,
as in the passage just quoted, of the Fort
Hamilton Indian^ dispossessing themselves of
their lands to Cornelius Van Werckhoven for
a few tools and trinkets, and then being glad
as a matter of charity to be permitted to live
on and cultivate a few of the poorest acres;
for the passage referred to informs us that
\'an Werckhoven's agent retained the best for
himself, and informs us -also that the same
agent even kept the whole ultimately for his
own use to the exclusion of the heirs of his
master, the first European "proprietor."
The keynote of the common talk of the
just and equitable treatment of the Indians is
found in Silas Wood's "Sketch of First Set-
tlement of Long Island" (1828):
Both the English and Dutch respected the
rights of the Indians and no land was taken
up by the several towns, or by individuals,
until it had been fairly purchased of the chief
of the tribe who claimed it. Thus the Dutch
on the west and the English on the east end
maintained a constant friendship with the In-
dian tribes in their respective neighborhood;
and while they were friendly with each other,
the Indians from one end of the island to the
other were friendly with both. It may have
been partly in consequence of the destruction
of their warriors in their recent wars and of
their military spirit being broken by their sub-
mission to successive conquerors, but it was
principally by cultivating the friendship of the
chiefs, particularly the sachem of the whole,
by uniform justice and kindness, by preventing
excitement by artificial, means, and by render-
ing success hopeless by withholding the means
necessary to insure it, that the whites were ex-
empted from any hostile combination of the
Long Island Indians. There is no reason to
believe that this exception from Indian hos-
tilities was owing to a better disposition or
milder character of the natives of the island.
Commenting sagely on this. Dr. Prime
observed :
If the rights of the aborigines in every part
of the country had been as sacredly respected
and the same means had been used to secure
and preserve their friendship, the horrors of
Indian aggressions and the bloody measures
of retaliation which disgrace the early annals
of our country would have been greatly dimin-
ished, if not entirely prevented.
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
With this Pecksnififiian testimony as to the
treatment of the Indians in our minds, we will
examine a few instances' of tlie rights so sa-
credly respected, keepmg in view the fact that
the land and the sea were the sources whence
the Indians derived their sustenance, and ob-
tained it thence directly. All men, of course,
derive their sustenance from the land or sea,
but the farmer, the hunter and the fisherman
do so directly, while the engineer, the carpen-
ter, the trader, the lawyer, the physician and
the like do not.
In 1649 what is now the town of East-
hampton was settled by some thirty families
from Massachusetts, under the direction, it
would seem, of the Connecticut government,
and the settlement was located in the western
part of what is now the township. The new-
comers took up their abode and entered into
possession of a tract of 30,000 acres of land
as a result of a bargain effected in the pre-
vious year with the Indian owners. The
agreement read as follows:
April the 29th, 1648. This present wright-
ing testyfieth an agreement betwixt the Wor-
shipful Theophilus Eaton, Esq., Governor of
the Colony of New Haven, the Worshipful
Edward Hopkins, Esq., Governor of the Col-
ony of Connecticut, their associates on the one
parte; Poygratasuck, Sachem of Manhasset;
Wyandanch, Sachem of Mountacutt, Momo-
metou, Sachem of Chorchake ; and Nowedo-
nah. Sachem of Shinecock, and their associ-
ates, the other party.
The said Sachems having sould into the
aforesaid Th. Eaton and Ed. Hopkins, with
their associates all the land lying within the
bounds of the inhabitants of Southampton
unto the east side of Mountacutt high land,
with the whole breadth from sea to sea, not
intrenching upon any in length or breadth
which the inhabitants of Southampton have
and does possess, as they by lawful right shall
make appeare for a consideration of
Twenty coates,
twenty-four hatchets,
twenty-four knives,
twenty looking-glasses,
one hundred muxes.
already received by us, the aforesaid sachems
for ourselves and our associates ; and in con-
sideration thereof we give upp unto the said
purchasers all our right and interest in said
land, to them and their heirs, whether our
or other nation whatsoever that doe or may
hereafter challenge interest therein. Alsoe we,
the said Sacliems, have covenanted to have
libertie for ourselves to fifiish in any or all of
the creeks and ponds, and hunting upp and
downe in the woods, without molestation;
they giving to the English inhabytants noe
just offence or injurie to their goods and chat-
tels. Alsoe, they are to have the ffynnes and
tayles of all such whales as shall be cast upp,
as to their proper right, and desire they may
be friendly dealt with in the other parte.
Alsoe they reserve libertie to fifish in conven-
ient places ffor shells to make wampum.
Alsoe, Indyans hunting any deare they should
chase into the water, and the English should
kill them, the English shall have the body
and the Sachems the skin. And in testymony
of our well performance hereof we have set
our hands the day and year above written.
Signed : In presence of Richard Wood-
hull, Thomas Stanton, Robert Bond, and Job
Sayre. Poygratasuck, x.
Wyandanch, x.
Momometou, x.
Nowedonah, x.
The value of the goods given the Indians
in this transaction amounted to £30 4s. 8d. It
was not long before the natives were so har-
assed by the incursions of the Narragansetts
that they were obliged to move from the lands
they held east to Montauk Point and seek the
aid and protection of the English settlers. As
an acknowledgment of this assistance they
made over to their protectors the remaining
lands of the Montauk territory, saying in the
conveyances, drawn up, of course, by the
beneficiaries :
Whereas of late years there has been sore
distresses and calamities befallen us by reason
of the cruel opposition and violence of our
deadly enemy Ninnecraft, Sachem of Narra-
gansett, whose cruelty hath proceeded so far
as to take away the lives of many of our dear
friends and relations, so that we were forced
to fly from Montaukett for shelter to our be-
loved friends and neighbors of Easthampton,
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
27
whom we found to be friendly in our dis-
tresses, and whom we must ever own and ac-
knowledge, under God, for the preservation of
OUT lives, and the lives of our wives and chil-
dren to this day, and of the lands of Montau-
kett from the hands of our enemies ; and since
our coming among them the relieving us in
our extremities from time to time.
For all this the Indians in the rest oi the
document make over to the white men their
lands — their entire earthly possessions in fact
— reserving only the right of using such por-
tions of the soil as might be necessary to en-
able them to live. In commenting on this
transaction Benjamin F. Thompson said : .
In the preamble to this conveyance, allu-
sion is made to the cruel and perfidious mas-
sacre of the Sachem and many of his best war-
riors a few years before at Block Island, for
being there on some important occasion they
were surprised in the night by a party of the
Narragansett Indians ;, but were promised their
lives should be spared upon laying down their
arms, which they had no sooner done than
they were set upon and murdered in a most
barbarous manner, only one of the whole num-
ber escaping to relate the horrid deed. The
Sachem himself was reserved for further cru-
elty, and being conveyed to the Narragansett
country was there tortured to death by being
compelled to walk naked over flat rocks heated
to the utmost by fires built upon them. Nini-
gret, the chief of that powerful tribe, had a
violent hatred of the JMontauks for not only
refusing on a former occasion to unite with
him in destroying the white people, but for
having discovered the plot to the English, by
which his design was frustrated and the in-
habitanti saved from destruction. The words
of Captain Gardiner are: "Wyandanch, the
Long Island Sachem, told me that as all the
plots of the Narragansetts had been discov-
ered, they now concluded to let the English
alone until they had destroyed Uncas, the Mo-
hegan chief, and himself; then, with the as-
sistance of the Mohawks and Indians beyond
the Dutch, they could easily destroy us, every
man and mother's son." Indeed, it seems sus-
picions were generally entertained that the
Dutch not only countenanced the Indians in
their hostility to the English, but had also se-
cretly supplied them with arms. Several In-
dian Sagamores residing near the Dutch re-
ported that the Dutch Governor had urged
them to cut off the English, and it was well
known that Ninigret had spent the winter of
1652-3 ^among the Dutch. In consequence a
special meeting of the Commissioners was con-
vened at Boston in April, 1653, but several In-
dian Sachems, who were examined, denied any
agreement with the Dutch to make war upon
the English. Ninigret declared that he went
to New Amsterdam to be cured of some dis-
ease by a French physician; that he carried
thirty fathoms of wampum, of which he gave
the doctor ten and the governor fifteen, in ex-
change for which the Governor gave him some
coats with sleeves, but not one gun. On the
first day of August, 1660, and after the death
of Sachem Wyandanch, his widow, called the
Squa-Sachem, and her son united in a deed
of confirmation to the original purchasers for
the lands of Montauk and described by them
as extending from sea to sea and from the
easternmost parts thereof to the bounds of
Easthampton.
Finally a patent confirming those Indian
grants to the inhabitants was signed by Gov-
ernor Nicolls March 13, 1666.
To take another instance, we extract an
Indian deed for the surrender of Barren Island
in 1664 from Stiles's "History of Kings
County:"
Know all men, etc., that we, Wawmatt
Tappa and Kackawashke, the right and true
proprietors of a certain island called by the
Indians Equendito, and by the English Broken
Lands, in consideration of two coats, one ket-
tel, one gun, one new trooper-coat, ten fath-
oms of wampum prage, three shirts, six pounds
of powder, six barrs of lead and a quantity
of Brandie wine, already paid unto us by John
Tilton, sen., and Samuel Spicer, of Gravesend,
L. I., Do, &c., sell, &c., the said Island called
Equendito, &c., with all our right * =■' *
both of upland and marshes any way belonging
thereto, as the Straun Beach or Beaches, as
namely that running out more westerly, with
the Island adjoining, and is at the same time
by the ocean sea wholly inclosed, called Hoop-
aninak and Shanscomacocke and macutteris,
as also all the harbors, &c., to the said John
Tilton and Samuel Spicer * * * except-
ing only to ourselves the one-half of all such
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
whale-fish that shall by wind and storms be
cast upon the said Island. In witness whereof
we have set our hands this 13 day of the 3
month, called May, Anno, 1664.
A much better-known instance, and one
with which we will close our investigation here
into this branch of our subject, is the manner
in which the Gardiner family acquired its ex-
tensive lands on Long Island. The founder
of the family in this county, Lion Gardiner,
was a native of England, a military engineer
by profession. He crossed the Atlantic in
1635, arriving at Boston November 28 in that
year, and was employed by a land company
to lay out a tract of land at the mouth of the
Connecticut River, of which the town of Say-
ON SHINNECOCK HILLS.
brook, so named by him. is still a pleasant
reminder. He remained in the service of the
company some four years, and, it is said, at
first intended to return to England when his
employment ended. Still his family was with
him, he saw many brilliant opportunities await-
ing him in the New Land, and he seemed to
possess from the beginning the happy art of
winning and retaining the good graces of the
Indians, so that he probably changed his
mind about returning to the old land as soon
as he saw enough of the country to become
aware of its possibilities.
While at Saybrook a son was born to him,
April 29, 1636, the first white child born in
Connecticut, and a daughter, Elizabeth, after-
ward born at what is now known as Gardi-
ner's Island, is said to have been the first
white child born in Suffolk county.
In 1639 Gardiner purchased from the In-
dians the island known to them as Mancho-
nock, or Manchonat, and by the English as
the Isle of Wight. The island is about nine
miles long and a mile and a half wide, and
contains about 3,300 acres of land, including
the beaches and fish-ponds. The soil was and
is generally of good quality. The price paid
to the Indians for this piece of property was,
we are told by tradition, which generally ex-
aggerates rather than underestimates, a large
black dog, a gun with some ammunition, a
quantity of rum, and several Dutch blankets.
To make his title more secure Gardiner re-
ceived a conveyance of the island from James
Farret, agent for the Earl of Stirling, in which
he agreed to pay a yearly "acknowledgment"
of £5 "(if demanded) of lawfuU money of
England or such commoditys as shall at that
time pass for money in that country, the first
payment to begin on the last of October, 1643,
the three former years being advanced for the
use of said James Farret."
Reference has already been made to the
gift of most of the land now comprised in the
town of Smithtown to Lion Gardiner by Wy-
andanch. Sachem of the Montauks, in grati-
tude for the former's regaining the Indian
chief's daughter from captivity among the
Narragansetts in 1659. Gardiner, to make his
gift the more secure, had his deed confirmed
or indorsed in 1662 by the Nesaquake tribe,
who occupied the lands in question and had
the whole made thoroughly legal and binding
from a white man's point of view, obtaining
a patent for the land from Governor Nicolls.
Having thus perfected his title in every possi-
ble way, Gardiner in 1663 sold the property
in question to Richard Smith, the common an-
cestor of the Suffolk county Smiths, who at
once added to it by a further purchase of
Indian lands and the procurance of a fresh pat-
ent from Governor Nicolls in 1663. A vague-
THE INDIANS AND THEIR LANDS.
2&
ness in the wording of this patent led to a
legal controversy with the town of Hunting-
ton, the knotty points in- which were won by
Smith, and in 1675 his ownership was con-
firmed in a new patent, issued by Governor
Andros, the "acknowledgment or quit rent"
being "one good fatt lamb unto such office or
officers as shall be empowered to receive the
same."
These instances of the manner in which the
Indians parted with their lands must suffice
for this place. Several others will come before
us in recording the story of the townships.
The transferences we have recorded were all,
in the eyes of writers like Prime and Thomp-
son, honest, generous and just, yet they were,
each of them, simply a modern version of the
Biblical story of Esau and the mess of pottage.
Of course in all these cases something was
paid, or given in exchange, enough appar-
ently to satisfy the rebukes of conscience.
But, judging them by what took place else-
where, it is to be admitted that the early Long
Island settlers deserve credit for even observ-
ing to the extent they did the proprieties of
civilized life in these land-grabbing transac-
tions, for most of such transfers from the
aborigines were made in keeping with
"The good old rule, — the simple plan
That they should take who have the power.
And they should keep who can."
The most objectionable feature to readers
nowadays is the sanctimonious manner in
which the transactions were sweetly glossed
over by the historians of the island and held
up for our admiration. The natives, as it
were, received sugar-coated pills, and we are
asked to consider the sugar and forget the
gall and wormwood, the acritude, the bitter-
ness, of the stuff within. The Indians, being
a weaker race, had to go when the white man
determined to settle on his lands. The transi-
tion, as has been said, was in accordance with
the inexorable doctrine of the survival of the
fittest, and in fulfillment of its cruel but nec-
essary requirements the aborigine had to be
crushed; but why, in this twentieth century,
continue to treat the matter hypocritically,
shed crocodile tears over the various incidents
of the change, and assert that a few beads, a
gun or two, some cheap, often cast-off, cloth-
ing and tools — to say nothing of, now and
then, a modicum of rum — sanctified the pro-
ceedings attendant upon the despoliation of
the Indian?
JOSEPH BR.\NT.
CHAPTER
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
aF THE government, m;mners and cus-
toms of the Long- Island Indians we
know little that is authentic, although
urmises and su])]30sitions have been
plentiful, and these surmises and suppositions
have often been made to appear as veritable
history. Within recent years, however, the
patient industry and thoughtful and intelligent
investigation of Dr. W. Wallace Tooker, of
Sag Harbor, has added greatly to our knowl-
edge of the Long Island Indians and brought
to light many details which enable us to gain
some knowledge of their importance, their
ideas, their language and their habits.
The Montauk Indians seem to have been
by far the most numerous, and next to them
in point of members the Shinnecocks have
been placed. But the strength of the Mon-
tauks was such that their Sachem was gen-
erally if not always acknowledged as the
Grand Sachem of Paumanacke (Long Island).
Prime says that the tribes "under their re-
spective Sagamores or chiefs, as if an em-
blem of the future government of the whole
coimtry, were once united in a grand con-
federacy under one great and powerful chief ;"
but so far as we have been able to learn there
is no exact authority for this statement. Dr.
Prime also tells us :
The Manhasset and the Montauk tribes,
though occupying the smallest and most re-
mote territorial limits, were the depositories
of supreme power. Montauk was, in fact, the
royal tribe, and Wyandanch, its powerful
■chief, was the Grand Sachem of whom the
whites purchased their lands throughout near-
ly the whole extent of the island. While his
elder brother, Poggatacut, the Sachem of
Manhasset, lived, he was indeed regarded as
the supreme chief, but probably from his age
and not from any superior claim of the tribe
over which he presided. When he paid the
debt of nature Wyandanch was regarded as
the Grand Sachem, without a rival, Nowe-
dinah, the chief of the Shinnecock tribe, was
also a brother of Wyandanch.
Besides, Montauk bore evident marks,
many of which are not yet obliterated, of being
the seat of royal authority and the citadel of
power. Here were the largest and best forti-
fications, of purely Indian construction, that
can be found in any part of our extended
country. The fort in the north side of Fort
Pond, erected on what is now called Fort
Hill, was about one hundred feet square, and
its remains are still visible.
The rampart and parapet (say the "Chron-
icles of Easthampton") were of earth with a
ditch at the foot of the glacis and probably
palisadoed with the trunks of fallen trees.
At each angle there was apparently a round
tower of earth and stone, and the whole
would probably have held from three hundred
to five hundred men. The pond on the south
afforded a safe and convenient harbor for
canoes, under the immediate protection of the
fort. Its contiguity to the pond yielded also
an abundant supply of fresh water, on a side
where communication was easily kept up by
the facility of protection. The location was
one of decided advantage for protection and
defense, and must have been sufficient against
any attack which Indian tactics could have
brought to bear upon it.
This territory [to quote again from Prime]
was also remarkable as the depository of the
dead. Here are several of the largest bury-
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
31
ing places known on the island, where hun-
dreds and perhaps thousands of these poor be-
nighted pagans were committed to their
mother earth, amid the lamentations and howl-
ings of their surviving friends. The remains
of Poggatacut were brought (1651) from
Shelter Island, the great part of the way on
men's shoulders, to be deposited with the royal
family at the citadel of the empire.
In speaking of the removal of the body of
Poggatacut the "Chronicles of Easthampton"
relates a curious bit of information :
In removing the body the bearers rested
their bier by the side of the road leading from
Sag Harbor to Easthampton near the third
(fourth) milestone, where a small excavation
was made to designate the spot. From that
lime to the present, more than one hundred
and ninety years, this memorial has remained,
as fresh, seemingly, as if but lately made.
Neither leaf nor any other thing has been suf-
fered to remain in it. The Montaukett tribe,
although reduced to a beggarly number of
some ten or fifteen drunken and degraded
beings, have retained to this day the memory
of the events, and no one individual of them
now passes the spot in his wanderings without
removing whatever may have fallen into it.
The place is to them holy ground, and the
exhibition of this pious act does honor to the
finest feelings of the human heart. The ex-
cavation is about twelve inches in depth and
eighteen inches in diameter, in the form of a
mortar.
To this Prime adds his testimony, saying:
The reader may be assured this is no
humbug. The writer has been acquainted
with the fact for nearly forty years, and he
has examined the hole within the present year
[1845] and found it in its original form and
freshness, as above described.
Gabriel Furman tells us of another chief
of the Montauks :
Canoe Place (Shinnecock Bay) 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 their canoes from
one bay to the other, that is, across the island
from Mecox Bay to Peconic Bay. Although
the trench has been in a great measure filled
up, yet its remains are still visible and partly
overflowed at high water. It was constructed
by ]\Iongotucksee (or Long Knife), who then
reigned over the nation of Montauk. Al-
though that nation has now (1827) 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 accom-
pany the fall of power. It informs us that
their chief was of gigantic form, proud and
despotic in peace, and terrible in war. But
though a tyrant of his people, yet he pro-
tected them from their enemies and com-
manded their respect for his savage virtues.
The praises of IMongotucksee are still chanted
in aboriginal verse to the winds that howl
around the eastern extremity of this island.
The Narragansetts and the Mohawks yielded
to his prowess and the ancestors 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 policy
guided his counsels. Prepared for every ex-
igency, not even aboriginal sagacity could sur-
prise his caution. To facilitate communication
around the seat of his dominion for the pur-
pose not only of defense but of annoyance, he
constructed this canal, which remains a monu-
ment 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 contemplat-
ing the fallen greatness of the last of the
Montauks. After his death the Montauks
were subjugated by the Iroquois or Five Na-
tions and became their tributaries, as did all
the tribes on the island.
The passages quoted relating to this hero
and to Wyandanch may give us an idea of the
importance of the Montauk tribe in pre-
European times, and leave no doubt as to the
truth of the legend that their Sachem was,
at intervals at least, when a worthy and war-
like chief appeared, recognized as the leader
of all the tribes on the island, and that the
house of jNIontauk was indeed in a sense en-
titled to the appellation of "royal," which so
many writers have bestowed upon it. What
has been held as legal confirmatory evidence
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of this claim to supremacy is found in the
fact that on July 4, 1647, when a deed con-
firming a title to land at Hempstead was given
by the Indians to the white settlers, it was
mentioned that the Montauk Sachem was pres-
ent. In 1658 another Hempstead deed, after
the signature of the local chiefs, was also sub-
scribed by Wacombound, the (1660) Montaulc
Sachem.
It would be frivolous and unnecessary to
gather up in this place all the legends which
have come down to us concerning Indian his-
tory prior to the arrival of the white man on
Long Island. Enough has been presented to
show that they were, as Indian economy went,
well governed, happy, prosperous and numer-
ous ; that they were of a higher degree of in-
telligence than many of those on the main
land; that they were brave and warlike and
accepted victory or defeat with the sublime
stoicism of their race ; and one is even in-
clined to believe they would have lived on
amicable terms with the white man had that
been possible. Probably this desire the white
pioneer to a certain extent reciprocated, al-
though it never entered his brain to treat the
redskin as a man and brother. But no matter
how well intentioned both races were, there
could be no deep or lasting love between
them, for the possession of the land was the
real, the ever present issue between them. The
white man wanted the land, the Indian needed
the land, and in the struggle for possession
one or the other had to be crushed.
From the very beginning almost of the
white man's settlement, then, the Indian race
began to fade away. The following passage,
which I quote from Gabriel Furman's "An-
tiquities," shows that the In.dians themselves
were thoroughly aware of this :
The Long Island Indians possessed all that
peculiar eloquence which has so long dis-
tinguished the aborigines of the west; and it
was mainly from them that the Europeans first
obtained their ideas of Indian oratory and of
the story and bold imagery which characterize
the Indian speeches. The aborigines of this
island have all that singular tact which still
marks the Indian of discovering at once, in
their intercourse with white men, who are
really the men of power and who are not;
and to the former they pay their respects,
taking no notice of the others. The follow-
ing official report of an interview which took
place at Flatlands, between Governor Slough-
ter and a Long Island Indian Sachem and his
sons, will afford an instance of their eloquence
and their sagacity. They saw that Leisler,
however powerful he might have been a few
weeks previous, was then a fallen man, with-
out 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, con-
gratulated Governor Sloughter in an eloquent
manner on his arrival, and solicited his
friendship and protection for himself and his
people, observing that he had in his own mind
fancied his Excellency was a mighty tall tree,
with wide-spreading branches, and therefore
he prayed leave to stoop under the shadow
thereof. Of old, said he, the Indians were
a great and mighty people, but now they were
reduced to a mere handful. He concluded his
visit by presenting the Governor with thirty
fathoms of wampum, which he graciously ac-
cepted, 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." In the afternoon
the Sachem and his party again visited the
Governor, who made a speech to them, and on
receiving a few presents they departed.
The main weapon which led to the de-
struction of the aborigines, more deadly, more
certain, more widespread than the ruin caused
by musket, by disease or by persecution, was
rum. In 1788, long after the power of the
white man was established, an Indian chief
at Fort Stanwix put the whole matter in a
most comprehensive yet succinct form when
he said: "The avidity of the white people
for land and the thirst of the Indians for
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
spirituous liquors were equally insatiable ; 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 there-
fore there was no remedy ; but the white man
must have the land and the Indians the keg of
rum."
So far as can be learned the Dutch au-
thorities did nothing to curtail the appetite
for rum or to inculcate any notion of tem-
perance among the Indians. The very op-
posite seems to have been the case, for the
sturdy Hollander found a measure of rum
one of the most convenient and most promptly
prized objects with which he could trade with
the Indian for land or pelt. Knowing nothing
of the havoc of drunkenness himself, he had
no conception of visiting any wrong upon the
red men by placing it before him. He only
saw a means to an end — the means and the
end so graphically sketched by the Fort Stan-
wix Indian — and he made full use of it. The
English, however, even in that early day were
fully aware, by their own natural experience,
of the evils of intemperance and attempted
to prevent its spread. They rightly traced
the source of many of the Indian cruelties and
uprisings and treacheries to the use of "fire-
water," and took the best means they could,
if not to stop its traffic, to minimize its extent
and render it less of a disturbing factor. In
1656 the inhabitants of Gravesend passed a
law dealing with this matter, as follows:
"Att an assemblie of ye Inhabitants uppon
a lawful warning being given, it is inacted, or-
dered and agreed that hee, she, or they what-
soever that should tapp, draw out, sell or lett
any Indian or Indians in this corporation have
any brandie, wine, strong liquor or strong
drink should, if so detected, pay the sum of
fifty gilders, and for the next default the sum
of one hundred gilders according to the law
of the country."
In "The Duke's Laws" (1665) selling
liquor to Indians was expressly forbidden un-
der a penalty of "forty shillings for one pint
and in proportion for any greater or lesser
. quality." In cases of "sudden extremity,"
however, it was declared permissible to pre-
scribe liquor, but even in the worst of cases
this remedy was not to exceed two drams."
Such laws against selling liquor to these
hapless tribes were adopted directly or in-
directly by almost every community and ef-
fort apparently was made to honestly enforce
them. But the craze for rum was strong, and
as the white population increased it became
easy for the laws to be successfully evaded,
especially in Kings and Queens counties,
where the settlements were closest and where
the population, in Kings especially, was of a-
more mixed character than in the eastern, or
Suffolk, end of the island; and there seems
little doubt that the Indian who wanted fire-
water was able to supply his want so long as
he had something — land, pelts, movable prop-
erty or service — to give in exchange.
The passing of the Indian was rapid, espe-
cially after he gave up his primeval occupa-
tion of a hunter and tried to settle down as a
trader or to follow one of the simple trades he
learned from the white man. In 1761 there
were left only one hundred and ninety-two
souls belonging to the Montauks ; in 1827 they
had dwindled down to five families, possibly
twenty persons, and in 1843 the number was
reduced to three families, about ten individ-
uals, and even these it was asserted were not
of pure Montauk blood. Now all are gone
and the royal race of Wyandanch is but a
memory. The Indian population of the island
at the present day is estimated at something
like two hundred, and of even these few, if
anv, are of pure blood. They are at best but
a melancholy survival, although they have
forsaken nearly the whole of their ancestral
ways, adopted the white man's religion, and
most of his manners and customs. The tim.e
is not far distant when the race will have en-
tirely disappeared.
Some writers see in this a certain historic
fitness and completeness inasmuch as the In-
84
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
dians themselves are said to have wiped out
a still earlier race who owned the soil. In 1879
a remarkable arch?eological discovery was
made at Aquebogue. Many graves were
found some three feet below the soil, and in a
position, judging from the geological changes,
which showed that the bodies, or remains,
there resting, had been deposited thousands of
years before. The remains indicated a more
powerful race than the Indians. The frag-
ments of a temple — or large structure of some
kind — were also discovered near the bodies,
and proved to be utterly unlike any specimens
of Indian construction of which we know.
The walls were of clay and it measured about
ten feet in length, with a dividing wall in the
centre, making two narrow chambers, each
about four and one-half feet.
In the face of this discovery surmises and
fancy must halt. Is this a trace of another
race, or of a lost civilization? The evidence
certainly points in that direction. But one
thing is certain : the Indians must have been
in possession for almost countless ages, and
who can now tell what evolution took place
during that time in the mind and brain and
product and civilization of that wonderful
people — wonderful even in their decay.
But important a factor as rum was in the
later history of the Indian race on Long Island
as elsewheie, we must not forget that outside
of it the most notable feature of their story
was the religious element which controlled it.
The Indian, so far as we can trace his mental
development, has always been a devout man,
believing in a Supreme Being, a Creator of
the World, a Great Spirit, and also in a future
life. Whatever he worshipped, he worshipped
with all his heart. Sometimes, in reading the
stories of his domestic life, his wars, his
cruelties and his superstitions, we are apt to
think that his idea of theological relationship
was like that of the old darkey who said, "I
have been wallowing in sin, I have broken all
the commandments; but, thank God, I have
not lost my religion !"
Between the years 1653 and 1658 the Soci-
ety for Propagating the Gospel in New Eng-
land voted small sums of money to the Rev.
William Leverich for his service among the In-
dians, and he was specially desired to devote
as much attention as possible to the Montauks
and the Corchaugs. Of the nature of what he
accomplished nothing is known to us; but as
he seems to have been a zealous minister of
the Gospel it is but fair to assume that he did
his full duty according to his opportunities.
He was a native of England and settled at
Salem in 1633, and for many years was en-
gaged in missionary work throughout Massa-
chusetts with quite a recogiiized measure of
success. In 1653 he purchased some land at
Oyster Bay and there a year or two later, pos-
sibly in 1656 or 1657, he erected his home.
In 1658 he was installed minister of Hunting-
ton and so continued until 1670, when he re-
moved to Newtown, of which he was the first
minister, and there he remained until his death,
in or about 1694. From 1741 until 1752
Azariah Horton was employed by the Pres-
byterians of New York as a missionary among
the Long Island Indians. He was a native of
Southold and a zealous worker for the min-
istry. His journals show how incessantly he
labored from Montauk to Rockaway, in the
fields, in the huts, and by the wayside, among
the four hundred souls which were then com-
puted to be that remained of the once owners
of the soil. In 1752 he settled down as pastor
of a church at South Hanover, New Jersey,
in a settlement formed mainly by Long Island
people, and there labored until his death,
March 27, 1777.
One of the earliest and most influential of
the real friends of the Indian in New York
was Sir William Johnston, who in 1738 set-
tled on a tract of land on the south side of the
Mohawk River. He won the confidence of
the Indians around him to a greater extent,
possibly, than any man of his day, studied
their manners, customs, rites and beliefs, be-
came an expert in their language; wore, at
times, their dress ; was chosen a Sachem of the
Mohawks, and given the chief-like title of
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.j[254j^>3Q 35
"'Wariaghejaghe," — one who is in charge. He
look a deep interest in the educational and
intellectual advancement of the aborigines, and
perhaps was able to exert a greater influence
over them in these directions because he was
not too straight-laced in his own personal
morals or made any pretentions to having
deep religious convictions, or close denomina-
tional affiliations, although he was not insensi-
ble to the value of religious influence in mak-
ing the Indians amenable to law and order.
Sir William took a warm and direct in-
terest in the life-long labors, on behalf of the
Indian, of the Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, one of
the most noteworthy of the early Protestant
missionaries who engaged in such work; and
the correspondence between them proves how
heartily and zealously Sir William entered
into all the missionary's plans and hopes.
Eleazar Wheelock does not seem to have ever
visited Long Island, yet there is no doubt that
he exerted a great influence for good over
its latter Indian history, and his self-denying
labors ought to keep his memory green among
those of the real benefactors of the old king-
dom of the Montauks. He was born at Wind-
ham, Connecticut, April 22, 171 1, the grand-
son of a nonconformist minister who left Eng-
land in 1637 and founded a church in Ded-
ham, Massachusetts. Eleazar studied for the
ministry, was ordained in 1735 as pastor of a
church at New Lebanon, Connecticut, and
there remained some thirty-five years. His
salary being insufficient for his support, he
augmented it by receiving pupils in his house,
and this gradually developed in his mind the
project of establishing an Indian missionary
school. This was duly founded, under the
designation of Moor's Indian Charity School,
a farmer named Joshua Moor having given to
it, in 1754, a house and two acres of land in
New Lebanon. In 1766 some 10,000 pounds
was obtained in Great Britain on behalf of the
school, the money being placed in the hands
of a board of trustees, of which the Earl of
Dartmouth was president. Soon after it was
<letermined to remove the institution to a new
location, and in 1770 Wheelock secured land
at what is now Hanover, New Hampshire, re-
moved there, and established the institution
which has since become famous under its title
of Dartmouth College, of which institution he
was the first president. He died at Hanover,
April 24, 1779.
In one way or another we learn a good deal
about Wheelock's pupils. David Fowler, a
Montauk Indian youth, entered the school at
Lebanon about 1759, and early showed an
aptitude for agricultural pursuits. He com-
pleted his studies in a most satisfactory man-
ner, and in JNlarch, 1765, he was licensed as
an Indian teacher and was assigned to the
Oneida Nation, for whose territory he at once
set out. Early in June of the same year he
opened a school and on the 15th of that month
he wrote his old teacher from Canajoharie as
follows :
This is the twelfth day since I begun my
school, and eight of my scholars are now in
the third page of their spelling book. I never
saw children exceed these in learning. The
number of my scholars is twenty-six, but it
is difficult to keep them together; they are
often roving from place to place to get some-
thing to live upon. I am well contented to
live here so long as I am in such great busi-
ness. I believe I shall persuade the men in
this castle, at least the most of them, to labour
next year. They begin now to see that they
could live better if they cultivated their lands
than they do now by hunting and fishing.
I print this letter because it gives the key
to the principle underlying Wheelock's method
— that of civilizing the Indians by religion and
work. Fowler's school was broken up in about
a year by a famine in western New York,
which drove the Indians for a time out of that
quarter, and then the desolation and excite-
ment of war probably stopped for several
years any further effort. Of that, however,
nothing is known ; but Fowler himself proved
a living example of the benefit of education
among the Indians; and in 1811, when he dis-
appears from our view, he was an industrious
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and prosperous farmer at Oneida, and held in
esteem as a useful member of the community.
The most famous, however, of all Whee-
lock's Indian pupils was the first he received,
■ — Samson Occom. He was born at Mohegan,
Norwich, Connecticut, in 1723, and when nine-
teen years of age was received under Whee-
lock's tuition. In the capacity of a pupil he
remained in Wheelock's house for four years.
In 1748 he became a teacher in New London.
In 1755 he went to Montauk, where he opened
a school among the Indians, and on August
29, 1759, he was ordained by the Suffolk
Presbytery. For ten years he continued to
teach and preach among the Mohawks and
Shinnecocks, and then he went on a mission
to the Oneidas. We next find him in Great
Britain, engaged in raising the fund which
led to the establishment of Dartmouth Col-
lege, and he is .'-.aid to have been the first In-
dian preacher who ever visited England. His
services there were invariably crowded, and
there is no doubt he was the most important
factor in bringing about the ultimate success
of the mission. On his return he remained at
his native place in Connecticut for a time, but
in 17S6 he went to Brotherton, Oneida
county, where he died, in 1792.
Brotherton, located in what is now Mar-
shall and Kirkland townships, Oneida coun-
ty, was a purely Indian community, formed
before the Revolution; Ljt after it was over
many returned and in 1783, under the direc-
tion of Occom, founded a new commonwealth.
They included many Montauks, Pequots, Nar-
ragansetts and other Indians, numbering in
all at one time, it is said, four hundred souls.
, Coming from many different tribes, they were
compelled to learn English as a common lan-
guage, and tried to adapt themselves to a
settled mode of living. For a time they re-
ceived aid from the state, but their numbers
steadily decreased, many having adopted all
the vices of the white man with his tongue.
Not a few developed into thrifty fanners, but
it would seem succeeded only for a time. Bit
by bit they sold their Brotherton lands to
white settlers, and in 1850 the last of them
migrated to the west It is sad to think that
even Occom once fell a victim, for a time, to
the Indian passion for rum. On June 9, 1764,
in a letter to the Presbytery, he confessed "to
have been shamefully overtaken by strong
drink, by which I have greatly wounded the
cause of God, blemished the pure religion of
Jesus Christ, blackened my own character and
hurt my own soul." Over this weakness he
finally completely triumphed, and was prob-
ably a better man through having passed
through that slough of despond.
As a preacher he seemed to possess many
splendid qualifications, although possibly his
eloquence was more of the sort to enthuse the
Indian heart than to arouse the attention of
his white brother. Dr. Samuel Buell said of
him : "As a preacher of the Gospel he seems
always to have in view the end of the min-
istry, the glory of God and the salvation of
men. His manner of expression when he
preaches to the Indians is vastly more natural,
free, clear and eloquent, quick and powerful,
than when he preaches to others. He is the
glory of the Indian nation."
Occom wrote considerable verse, some of
it rather crude and unpolished, but full of
graceful fancies and quaint conceits. It is
mostly of a religious description and breathes
throughout a simple, earnest piety, a profound
belief in the wisdom and goodness of God,
but at the same time a keen realization of the
awful punishment prepared for those who
wander from His footstool or who refuse to
hearken to His voice. The following hymn,
which is still printed in some of the church
collections, will give an idea not alone of Oc-
com's ability as a weaver of verse, but of his
entire system of theology:
Awaked by Sinai's awful sound,
My soul in bonds of guilt I found,
And knew not where to go ;
One solemn truth increased my pain,-
"The sinner must be born again"
Or sink to endless woe.
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
I heard the law its thunders roll,
While guilt lay heavy on my soul —
A vast oppressive load ;
All creature's aid I saw was vain :
"The sinner must be born again"
Or drink the wrath of God.
But while I thus in anguish lay
The bleeding Saviour passed that way,
My bondage to remove;
The sinner once by Justice slain,
Now by his grace is born again.
And sings redeeming love.
The next Indian preacher who exerted
much influence over his race was a member of
the Shinnecock tribe, whose English cogno-
men was Peter John. Prime says regarding
him :
He was born at the Hay Ground, in the
Parish of Bridgehampton, somewhere about
the years 1712-15. He was hopefully con-
verted in the great awakening of 1741-4 un-
der the preaching of the Rev. Mr. Davenport.*
By what ecclesiastical authority he was com-
missioned is not known, though it is sup-
posed he was ordained by the Separatists of
Connecticut. He afterward took up his resi-
dence at St. George's Manor, where he owned
property, on which one of his descendants
still lives. Though not learned and eloquent,
yet by his zeal, piety and perseverance he
gathered small churches at Wading River,
Poosepatuck and Islip, to which, with that of
Canoe Place, he ministered until after his
grandson and successor was brought into the
ministry. He lived to the advanced age of
eighty-eight, and died near the commence-
ment of the present century, though the pre-
cise date has not been ascertained. His re-
mains lie buried at Poosepatuck.
The grandson referred to above, Paul Cuf-
fee, was the last, and in many respects the
greatest, of the native preachers. He was
*The Rev. James Davenport, minister of Southold,
■whom Whitefield described as "a sweet, pious soul."
Soon after his installation at Southold the great awaken-
ing occured which is memorable in the religious annals
of New England. His zeal for religion seems to have
unbalanced his mind and in 1742 his pastoral relations
with Southold were severed by the Presbytery. He con-
tinued active in the ministry, however, until his death,
at Hopewell, N. ]., in 17.57. In 17.54 he was moderator
of the Synod of New York.
born in Brookhaven township, March 4, 1747.
His mother, a daughter of Peter John, was a
woman of eminent piety, and for many years
was one of the most active workers in the
little church at Wading River. Her son, Paul,
started in life as a servant on the farm at
Wading River belonging to Major Fred. Hud-
son, where he continued until he was twenty-
one years of age. He was a wild, thoughtless
youth, fond of pleasure and revelry, but about
the time he attained his twenty-first year he
became converted at one of the "seasons of
refreshing" so influential and frequent in the
religious story of Long Island, and the result
was that after a time of wrestling with the
Evil One to throw off the burden of his own
sins, he consecrated his own life to showing
those of his own race the way of salvation and
the lightening of the load. After a brief
period of preparation he seems to have been
licensed as a preacher, by what authority has
never been discovered: possibly he was just
sent out with the good wishes and approba-
tion of the people at Wading River. He then
went to Moriches, where he labored among
his own race for two vears, and thence to
Poosepatuck, where he was formally ordained
by a delegation of ministers from the Con-
necticut Convention. Two years later he be-
came a member of the "Strict Congregational
Convention on Long Island," a development
of the body of the same name as renowned in
Connecticut religious story. In 1798 he was
employed by the New York Missionary So-
ciety to work among the Indians, and in th.-it
employment he faithfully and patiently and
fruitfully continued until his death, March 7,
1 812. He worked mainly at Montauk and
Canoe Place, but visited at intervals Poose-
patuck, Islip and other spots, where the rem-
nants of his people still lingered. The Rev.
Dr. Prime, who knew him, speaks of him in
the following kindly manner in his "History
of Long Island:"
Having enjoyed a personal acquaintance
with Paul for a few years, and had the priv-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ilege, in two or three instances, of hearing
his pubhc performances, he (Prime) can bear
Afitness that he was an interesting and affec-
tionate preacher. Though lie aimed at no
elegance of diction and frequently committed
grammatical inaccuracies, these were soon lost
sight of in the ardor of his piety and the
pathos of his appeals. But the most amiable
and distinguishing trait of Paul's character
both in the pulpit and out of it was the un-
afifected humility of his heart. Not only was
his spirit imbued with it but he appeared at
all times clothed therewith, as with a gar-
ment. Naturally modest and graciously lowly
in heart, he never aspired to high things, but
always condescended to men of low estate,
contented, nay gratified, to be the humble in-
strument of promoting the glory of God and
the salvation of his fellow men. He died, as
he lived, under the smiles of his Saviour.
Gradually, though rapidly, wasted away bv
consumption, he enjoyed his reason and the
light of God's countenance to the end. Hav-
ing given direction about the manner and place
of his interment, he selected a text (II Tim-
othy, IV, 7, 8) for his funeral discourse, and
having taken a fond adieu of his family and
friends, exhorting them all to "make Christ
their friend," he calmly fell asleep.
Cuffee was buried in a little God's-acre
near Canoe Place, where an Indian church still
stands, in which he once preached. His grave
is still pointed out and is distinguished by a
plain stone erected by the society whose agent
he was during the last thirteen years of his
useful life.
When Cufi'ee passed away the religious re-
generation of the Indians seems to have been
left to the local preachers of Long Island, and
doubtless they all did their duty. But the In-
dian gradually "weded" away, as we have al-
ready pointed out. Possibly to-day there is
not a full-blooded Indian to be found on Long
Island, even those who pass for such at Shin-
necock having, like Paul Cufifee himself, a
dash of African blood in their veins. Still,
some of the old customs are kept up and many
of the people display on occasion the inherent
fervor of the Indian and African for matters
of religion. In the New York World of Mon-
day, June II, 1900, appeared the following
account of a celebration at the old church at
Poosepatuck, so often referred to :
The annual June meeting on the Poose-
patuck Indian Reservation was held yesterday
in the little church on the hill overlooking
Ford's River, two miles from Mastic, Long
Island. It was in commemoration of the two
hundredth anniversary of the deed by Colonel
William Tangier Smith, a British subject, of
the reservation to the survivors of Sachem
Tobaguss, of the Uncachogue tribe. This
deed was given on July 2, 1700. and ever
since then the Indians have lived on the land.
. For many years the June meeting has been
the greatest event of the year with the In-
dians of the eastern end of Long Island. The
celebration to-day was not without its pathos,
for the statement was made that during the
last year three leaders of the little band had
crossed over to the "happy hunting grounds,"
leaving but one full-blooded Indian in the
tribe.
June Meeting Day, like the annual hunt-
ers' and trappers' spring garden fetes, is pe-
culiar to the east end of Long Island. Nom-
inally it is a religious gathering, but many per-
sons go out of curiosity. Services lasting all
dav are held in the little church, which seats
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
39
only sixty persons. Sixty more can stand in
the narrow aisles, and the rest of the crowd
sit in wagons and buggies near the doors and
windows, where they can hear the preaching
and join in the singing of hymns and the pe-
culiar songs or worship handed down through
generations from the Indians.
Usually some neighboring white minister
presides over the June meeting, and yester-
day the Rev. W. H. Stewart, of Middle Island,
was in attendance. The other preachers were
the Rev. "Deacon" Carl, of the reservation ;
the Rev. W. H. Parker, of Centre Moriches,
and Richard Ward, chief of the Poosepatuck
tribe.
The morning was devoted to a praise serv-
ice. This consisted of prayers, songs and the
telling of religious "experiences." Occasion-
ally some of the half-breeds became so en-
thusiastic that they would "shout" like old-
time Southern darkies. In the old days many
Indian families became linked by marriage
with negro families brought over from Africa.
The "shouting" which remotely suggested
the camp dances of the original Indians, was
first occasioned by the singing of a song, part
of which ran:
Ole Satan went down to the bottom of the well.
(Don't you grieve after me when I'm gone.)
He missed his mark and slipped down to hell.
(Don't you grieve after me when I'm gone.)
This song was rendered with plenty of
foot patting, and rocking from side to side.
Mace Bradley, the only surviving full-
blooded Poosepatuck Indian on Long Island,
said he felt that the days of the Indians on the
reservation were numbered. The old Indian's
frame shook with emotion as he went on to
exhort his fellows to lead pure lives and "look
upward." Not infrequently the women
moaned aloud, and the men shouted "Amen !"
Richard Ward, the chief of the reservation,
led in singing:
I've got my breast-kit, sword and shield :
No man a-work-a like Him.
I'm marchin' boldly through the field —
No man a-work-a like Him.
Then in a thundering chorus all joined in
the refrain, those sitting in vehicles outside
taking up the air :
He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords, —
Jesus Christ, the first and last:
No man a-work-a like Him.
Suddenly a woman half-breed, shaking
from head to foot with fervor, pointed toward
the roof and sang:
Jes look over yonder what I see:
No man a-work-a like Him.
See two angels callin' at me :
No man a-work-a like Him.
Verse after verse of this hymn was sung
by volunteers.
The afternoon and night services were
much like those of the forenoon
The Indians referred to in this article are
remnants of the old Patchogue or Setanket
tribe.
In the old lands of Europe it is common to
trace departed tribes and nations by the names
of places, which names have proved more en-
during monuments, more popularly under-
stood monuments, than could any structure
in stone or "enduring brass." Thus in Scot-
land the language, manners and customs of
the ancient Picts have vanished into the un-
known; but the evidences of their existence,
of their might and of their territorial greatness
is retained in the names of places which are
still in popular use. Similar examples could
be culled from the history of Germany, of
Italy and other countries. So, too, in Long
Island. It may be said that the red, man has
forever disappeared from the places which
were once his own, but all over its extent he
has left behind him memorials of his language
and his occupancy in the names he gave to
many localities and which still cling to them.
Gemeco, or Jameco, is still remembered by
the old town of Jamaica, although William
W. Tooker, the greatest of all authorities on
Long Island Indian lore, seems to think it de-
rived from Tamaqua, the beaver. Arshamom-
aque, or Hashamomuk, near Southold, still re-
tains its old Indian name, meaning "where
wild flax grows:" and Quogue (Ouaquanan-
tuck), Setauket, Sagg, Peconic, Potunk.
Syosset, Aquebogue, Quantuck, Tuckahoe,
Nissaquag, Watchogue, Ponquogue, Speonk,
Seapoose, Manhasset, Rockaway, Noj-ack, Ne-
40
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
guntapoque, Montauk, Commac and a hundred
other places still represent the red man's as-
cendancy and story throughout the island.
Even in Brooklyn, built over and over again
and changed and transformed as it has been
since the red man had his village of Merech-
kawikingh (near Red Hook) in what is now
the twelfth ward, Indian names confront us.
Merechkawikingh, it is true, has passed away
and been generally forgotten except by the
Antiquaries, but we sometimes think of Black-
well's Island by its Indian name of Minna-
hannock, Gowanus is still the name of a lo-
cality, and Ipetonga survives in the name of
a fashionable club.
The Navy Yard, writes. Dr. Tooker,
where the Marine Hospital stands and there-
about was known at a very early period as
Rinnegackonck. According to traditions it
is supposed to have been the locality where
began the first settlement of Long Island;
but in the light of recent investigation it must
yield that honor to Flatlands. The Indian
deed is dated July i6, 1637, when "Kakapot-
eyno* and Pewichaast as owners of this dis-
trict by special order of the rulers and with
consent of the community * * * con-
veyed to George Rapalje a certain piece of
land called Rinnegackonck, situated upon
Long Island, south of the island of Mana-
hatas4. =^ =^ *■ reachinsi from a kill to the
woods, south and east to a certain copse where
the water runs over the stones, etc" The rec-
ords give us : "The plantation of George
Rapalje (called Rinnegackonck). i638;Rinne-
gaconck, 1640; Renegakonc, Rinneakonc and
Rinnegconck, 1641 ; Runnegackonck, 1647.
Have rented a certain bowery (farm) * . * * ■
called in Indian Rinnegackonck," 1651. Stiles'
History of Kings county gives it as Renne-
gackonck, v»'ith the statement that it was some-
times spelt with an i or u in the first syllable.
It will be noticed that the name belonged en-
tirely to the plantation of George Rapalje,
*The crow: this name is onomatopoetic.
tPenawitz ^ " the stranger," Sachem of Massa-
peague.
jManahan-otan :=" Island town," or "town on the
Island;" any other interpretation for this name is inad-
and not to a creek as supposed by some. It
was probably bestowed upon that fertile and
well watered farm by the Indians after Rapalje
had entered upon the land and improved it,
for the Indian titles were almost invariably
obtained after the land had been taken posses-
sion of by the settlers.
The name gives us an instance occasionally
occurring where the r is used in place of w
as it should be, according to the English nota-
tion. Although the Dutch w has not the same
primary sound or derivation as the English,
Heckewelder wrote : "There are in the Dela-
ware language no such consonants as the Ger-
man w or the English v, f, r. Where the w
in this language is placed before a vowel it
sounds as in English ; before a consonant it
represents a whistled sound." Eliot found
the same difficulty in the Natick dialect, for
he says in his grammar, we call w wee, be-
cause our name giveth no power of its sound.
Many Indian names in the townships west of
Southampton, Long Island, show how diffi-
cult it was for our early pioneers to catch the
true sound of the Indian names of persons and
places ; as Heckewelder has said, they had not
acquired an Indian ear. For instance, we find
Rioncom for Weoncombone, Ratiocan or
Raseokan for Ashawoken, Ra or Ronkon-
kumake for Wonkonkooamang, and many
others. Besides we find some of the familiar
Indian names of the eastern townships so ef-
fectually disguised under the softening influ-
ence of the Dutch language as to render it dif-
ficult to believe they are the same. But in
giving them the Dutch values in pronunciation
we discover their identity. Again in the short
vocabulary taken down by Thomas Jefferson
in 1794 from the lips of an old squaw at
Pusspa'tok, in the town of Brookhaven, we
find the r appearing in many words, showing
by comparison that she or her kindred, by mar-
riage or otherwise, were originally from the
tribes of western Connecticut. All of which
open up very interesting historical questions
regarding Indian migrations that we at pres-
ent cannot dwell upon.
But the study of Indian names belongs
more to the field of the local antiquary than
to that of the general historian, and with this
reference the subject must here rest. But
those who wish to pursue the study — and a
delightful study it is — will find in the writings
of Dr. Tooker, now collected in a series of
THE DECADENCE OF THE ABORIGINES.
41
volumes, an able introduction and a most sat-
isfying and thoroughgoing guide. He has de-
voted his life to the subject and his patient and
intelligent labor has been fruitful of endur-
ing results.
While writing the closing paragraphs of
this chapter a curious meeting has been held
in New York, which shows that the few sur-
vivors of the old Montauks, Shinnecocks and
other tribes are not without some hope of
wresting from the white squatters the land
owned by their forefathers. The meeting was
held by members of the United States Senate's
■committee on Indian affairs, and its purpose
was to listen to appeals by the representatives
of the old tribes for legislation which would
-enable them to institute court proceedings for
the recovery of their lands. At the meeting,
which was held on September 22, 1900, ten In-
•dians represented the once mighty race. They
were the Rev. E. A. Johnson, Dr. W. H. John-
son, Nathan J. Cuffee and James Cuffee, of
the Montauk Council, John Noka, Joshua
Noka and Donald Seeter, of the Narragansett
Council, David Kellis, of the Shinnecock
'Council, and Lemuel Fielding, of the Mohegan
Council. From a newspaper report of the
proceedings the following is culled as being
of a degree of interest well worthy of being
preserved as a part of the Indian story :
The Montauks and Shinnecocks have a
joint claim to it,ooo acres of land at Mon-
tauk Point. The Narragansetts demand a
tract of land eight miles square half a
mile back from Narragansett Bay, and the
Mohegans claim the reservation four miles
from Montville, near Norwich, Connecticut,
and including about sixteen acres in Norwich.
The Montauk Indians many years ago oc-
•cupied Montauk Point. About twenty-five
years ago, as the story of the members of the
tribe ran, the Montauks found they could no
longer make a living off their reservation. So
they decided to rent it out to be used for pas-
turage by a syndicate known as the Proprie-
tors' Company. The members of the company
all took grazing allotments, and paid the tribe
an annuity. About twenty years ago the mem-
bers of the company disagreed, some wanting
a land reapportionment, and litigation fol-
lowed. The court, it is asserted, completely
ignored the rights of the Indians and ordered
property sold at public auction, and the pro-
ceeds divided equally among the white occu-
pants of the land, who, the Indians claim, were
merely lessees. The property was sold to
Arthur W. Benson, of Brooklyn, who bought
in the 11,000 acres for $151,000. The Indians
did not receive a cent of this. It was testified
to that Mr. Benson afterward sold 5,000 acres
of the reservation to the Long Island Railroad
Company for $600,000.
Some of the Indians were still on the reser-
vation. Mr. Benson hired Nathaniel Dominey,
of Easthampton, to negotiate for their re-
moval to Easthampton. Mr. Dominey made
a good bargain for Mr. Benson. The old
man — he is now nearly eighty — was at the
hearing as the chosen friend of the Indians,
and he gave the details of the arrangements he
made for the removal of the remaining mem-
bers of the tribe from the lands of their fore-
fathers.
"How many members of the tribe were on
the reservation when you opened negotiations
with them for their removal?" asked one of
the senators.
"There were eight, sir. There were the
Queen, her son, Wyandank Pharaoh, who is
now the rightful King of the tribe ; the Queen's
two brothers and four others."
"What arrangements did you make with
them ?"
"I agreed with the Queen that she should
be paid $100 semi-annually, and that she
should have two houses to live in^ which at
her death were to revert to Mr. Benson. I
agreed to give her brothers $80 each."
"And how about Wyandank Pharaoh, who
you say is now the rightful King; what ar-
rangements did you make with him to forfeit
his rights?"
"He signed them away for $10."
Among the Montauk Indians present were
the Rev. Eugene A. Johnson, a Presbyterian
minister, who has a church in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, and his brother. Dr. William
H. Johnson, of 103 West Twenty-ninth street,
who is a graduate of the University of Penn-
sylvania. It was the former who started the
movement to restore their rights to the Mon-
tauks.
"There are about three hundred members
of the Montauk tribe living," said the Rev.
Mr. Johnson. "They are scattered through-
42
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
out the United States, but still keep up their
tribal relations. We have a tribal council, of
which Nathan J. Cuffee is president, and we
meet annually. We have tried to obtain our
rights in the state courts and before the state
legislature, but have been denied a hearing on
the strange ground that we are not 'persons.'
We occupy a unique position, being wards
both of the state of New York and of the
United States. Being wards, we could not
rightfully dispose of our property without the
consent of the state and the General Govern-
ment. That consent was never secured. On
the contrary, our property was taken from us
by shameful bribery and fraud. The property
we now claim is valued at about $3,000,000."
David Kellis told the committee of the
claims of the Shinnecocks. The town of
Southampton is situated on the Shinnecock
Hills. The trustees for the Indians went be-
fore the legislature in 1859 for authority to
acquire the property. The petition which they
presented to the legislature, he said, was fraud-
ulent, many of the names having been forged.
Nevertheless the authority was granted, and
the land obtained for a small portion of what
It was worth.
James Lewis Cuffee, who is a representa-
tive of the family of Paul Cuffee, the Indian
missionary, gave the committee a history of the
reservation since the reign of Punkamchise,
King of the Shinnecocks, in 1703. He told
of the gradual shoving back and disposses-
sion of the Indians until there was nothing
left to them.
One who watched the proceedings closely
said that the committee seemed satisfied that
the Indians had made out a good prima-facie
case, and there was every possibility that the
subject would be permitted to reach the courts.
Such at least would simply be a measure of
justice.
CHAPTER IV.
DISCOVERY— EARLY WHITE SETTLEMENTS AND POLITICAL AND
FINANCIAL RELATIONS— THE IMPORTANCE OF
THE WAMPUM INDUSTRY.
N 1497 England sent out an expedition
under the direction of the Cabots to try
and discover a northwest passage to the
West Indies. As we all know, the quest
proved a failure; but the expedition sailed along
the coast of the North American continent from
Newfoundland to Florida. Did it stay for a
while in New York harbor? That is a ques-
tion which we fear can never be answered.
All we know of that voyage seems to indicate
that the adventurers simply sailed as close to
the coast line as possible and seldom sent
landing parties on shore. The meagre details
we have simply represent the discovery of a
coast line, although that was enough, it would
seem, when the time came, to give England a
foundation for a claim to the whole of the
continent by right of discovery! Almost as
shadowy is the story of John Verazzano, who
in 1524 sailed along the American coast on a
voyage of discovery. It seems more than
likely that he spent some time in New York
harbor and landed on some of its shores. His
description is well worth remembering, for it
is the first glimpse we get of a scene which
was soon to undergo remarkable changes.
"After proceeding one hundred leagues we
found a very pleasant situation among some
steep hills, through which a large river, deep
at the mouth, forced its way into the sea.
From the sea to the estuary of the river any
ship heavily laden might pass with the help
of the tide, which rises eight feet. But as we
were riding at anchor in a good berth we
would not venture up in our vessel without
a knowledge of the mouth. Therefore we took
the boat and entering the river we found the
country on the banks well peopled, the inhab-
itants not differing much from the others, be-
ing dressed out with the feathers of birds of
various colors. They came towards us with
evident delight, raising loud shouts of admira-
tion and showing us where we could most
securely land our boat. We passed up this
river about half a league, where we found
it formed a most beautiful lake, upon which
they were rowing thirty or more of their small
boats filled with multitudes who came to see
us." He did not stay long in this beautiful
scene, but passed northward. He saw natives
gathering wampum on what is now Rockaway
Beach as he passed out, and on his way to
Nantucket discovered Block Island, to which
he gave the name of Louise, the mother of
King Francis of France.
We have vague and shadowy records of
other voyageurs who looked in more or less
through the Narrows from the Lower Bay,
but what has reached us about their move-
ments and their discoveries is so vague and un-
satisfactory that the details belong rather to
the antiquary than to the historian. Estevan
Gomez, a Spanish adventurer, began a voyage
across the Atlantic in 1525 and looked in at
the Hudson, so it is claimed; but if he did
that much he did no more. About 1540 we-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
read of French skippers ascending the "River
■of the Steep Hills" as far as what is now Al-
bany in search of furs, and there is some evi-
dence of their having there built a fort to pro-
tect themselves and their possessions. In 1542
Jean Allefonsce, of Saintonge, passed through
Long Island Sound and so reached New York
harbor, being the first it is supposed to have
managed that bit of seamanship. Up to that
time little was known of the Hudson, although
if we agree with Mr. A. J. Weise ("The Dis-
coveries of America") that it is the Norambega
River laid down upon some early maps, it was
the subject of much conjecture and even geo-
graphical romance. The knowledge of Long
Island Sound was even less scanty, — and too
scanty, in fact, even for romance to weave
around it a story; and some seventy years
were to elapse before much more was to be
learned.
It was early in September, 1609, that the
"Half Moon" — sixty tons' burden — under com-
mand of Hendrick, or rather Henry, Hudson,
dropped anchor in the Lower Bay, somewhere
between Sandy Hook and Coney Island, rest-
ing there, as it were, in the course of a voy-
age of discovery up the coast from Chesapeake
Bay. He was sent here by the East India
Company of Amsterdam, and hoped, with the
experience gained in two previous voyages, to
discover that ignis fatuus of seamanship even
tj a recent day — a northwest passage to India.
When he entered the river which now bears his
name he fondly imagined that he had at last
solved the great problem. He spent a few
days exploring the shores of the bay and ques-
tioning the natives as to the water which led
inland.. Sad to say, he also had trouble with
these seemingly inoffensive people, and they
killed one of his men ; but whether that tragedy
was enacted on Coney Island or on Sandy
Hook is a point on which the antiquaries have
not yet made up their minds. They all agree,
however, that the man — John Colman-^was
killed, and we call it a tragedy because it was
the beginning of a warfare which, whether
•carried on by firearms, steel, rum or the dis-
eases of civilization, exterminated in time the
native population whose gentle, inoffensive
qualities Verazzano so clearly describes. Hav-
ing learned all he could, he passed up the river
almost to Albany, and then, having seen
enough to show him that he had not yet dis-
covered the long-sought passage, he made his
way back to the open sea.
In one respect the story of his journey
along the river which has preserved his name
and is his most enduring memorial is not
pleasant reading. His treatment of the na-
tives was the reverse of kindly, and it has been
computed that two hundred were killed by
Hudson and his crew during the trip up and
down the river. They seem to have been gen-
erally friendly and inoffensive, over-curious in
many respects, and off Stony Point one was
caught, so it is said, in the act of stealing from
the ship. To this malefactor was at once ap-
plied the law of the white man, and he was shot
while trying to escape with his plunder. This
led to a rupture of friendly relations in that
neighborhood, and when the upper end of
Manhattan Island was reached there was a
sort of naval battle, Indians, canoes and arrows
on the one side and the "Half Moon and fire-
arms on the other, and the "Half Moon" won.
We read of another naval battle a little way,
further down, but with the same result: The
natives could not withstand gunpowder. So
Hudson reached the open sea in safety, but left
behind him memories which in after years
were to help, with later stories of cruelty and
wrong, to make the red man, as occasion of-
fered and as long as opportunities remained,
wreak a terrible vengeance. But Hudson did
even more than this; wherever he landed
and the Indians proved friendly, or whenever
a party of them on kindly service bent visited
the "Half Moon," the fire-water was produced
to bring about a revel, and of the orgies and
excesses which followed each production of
that agent of civilization the Indian tradi-
tions told in graphic vividness for many a
year.
His report to his employers in Amsterdam
DISCOVERY— EARLY WHITE SETTLEMENTS.
45.
was in one sense a disappointment. It did
not unveil the desired nortliwest passage, and
so was a failure; but its account of the re-
sources of the country he had seen and its
opportunities for trade were not lost in a com-
munity whose merchants were then the most
far-reaching and enterprising in the world. He
told of the rich trade in peltries that awaited
a gatherer, and it was not long before some
enterprising merchants chartered a ship to
cross the ocean and bring back a load of furs.
That venture proved a signal success, and the
trade of the old Netherlands with the New
Netherland may thus be said to have com-
menced. In 1612 Holland merchants syndi-
cated and sent out the Fortune, under com-
mand of Hendrick Christiaensen, and the
Tiger, under command of Adriaen Block, and
in the following year three more vessels were
despatched to the Mauritius River, as for a
time the Hudson was called.
Of these expeditions our interest here cen-
ters mainly in that of Block. His ship per-
formed her mission successfully and was load-
ed ready for the return journey when she was
destroyed by fire. He and his crew at once
got sufficient timber to build another ship;
but as it was too small to attempt to cross the
ocean. Block determined to spend the time until
a fresh ship could come from Holland in ex-
ploration. In his new boat — the Restless — he
explored the waters of Long Island, both on
the sound and the ocean front, discovered it
to be an island, and then passing along the
mainland he explored the Connecticut River,
the Narragansett, rounded Cape Cod and en-
tered Massachusetts Bay. Every day seemed
to bring a new discovery, and his imagination
was kept on the stretch inventing names for
the rivers, points, islands and bays which he
passed. His own name survives to us in Block
Island, and to him also is due the name of
Hellegat — now Hellgate — simply after a
branch of the Scheld in his native land, al-
though the name has long been a theme for
wrangling among the etymologists. While still
exploring he met in with his old cruising
ship, the Fortune, returning with a second
cargo to Holland, and, leaving the Restless in
charge of Cornelius Hendricksen, he boarded
the Fortune and returned to Holland. America
saw him no more, and he passed seemingly
into the shadows, for nothing appears to be
known of his after life. He was certainly a
faithful, as he was one of the first of the ser-
vants of the East India Company (which was
chartered in 1614, the charter of the West
India Company dating from 1621), and he is
also entitled to remembrance as having been
the first ship-builder in America, for we take
it that the watergoing craft of the Indians
never got beyond the canoe stage.
Hendrick Christiaensen, who in 1612 was
sent out in command of the Fortune, the con-
sort of Block's ill-fated Tiger, was appointed
agent of the home authorities with instruc-
tions to open a trading station on Manhattan
Island. This he did in 1661, when he con-
structed a little fort and four log houses on
the site now occupied by 39 Broadway. This
was the beginning of New York — or rather,
to put it more correctly, of the present part
of New York known as the Borough of Man-
hattan. No doubt his agents soon crossed the
East River and established business relations
with the Indians there. The first white set-
tlement on Long Island, however, was not
made until 1636, so far as has been determined,
and that story is told in another chapter. The
credit of the early discovery of Long Island
must be given to Adriaen Block, for although
Verazzano and Hudson both saw it before him
and John Colman very possibly yielded up his
life there rather unwillingly, there seems no
doubt that Block first determined its true char-
acter as an island by his own explorations,
aided by those of Cornelissen Mey, another
doughty Dutch sailor.
The Dutch certainly had a high apprecia-
tion of the value of Long Island, or at least
of the little portion of it of which they had
practical knowledge — for even in the most
powerful of their days the agents of the West
India Trading Company never exercised any
46
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
real or lasting authority over any part east of
an imaginary straight line drawn from Oyster
Bay to the south shore. In 1640 a Dutch trav-
eler spoke of Long Island as "the crown of the
Netherlands," and to the Dutch must be
awarded the palm of premier settlement. In
June, 1636, one of Governor Van Twiller's sub-
ordinates, Jacob Van Corlaer, bought from the
Indians a piece of land called Castuteauw on
Seawan-hackey, or Long Island, between the
bay of the North River and the East River.
He was an enterprising man, held the office
of commissary of cargoes and taught school;
but he probably bought this premier piece of
property as a speculation. He obtained after-
ward patents for other '.'parcels" and became
magistrate in New Utrecht, but, like most
speculators, he seems to have over-reached
himself, for in 1672 he became a bankrupt.
In 1636, too, several other purchases of Long
Island lands were made ; and although it was
not long after that much of the land was made
ready for agricultural purposes, yet we must
confess that all our inquiries lead to the belief
that the first actual settler to make his home
on Long Island was Joris Jansen Rapalje, who
on June 16, 1637, obtained a grant of land at
Wallabout. On this subject reference is made
at greater length in a subsequent chapter of
this history.
Lying as it did between the Dutch settle-
ment of New Amsterdam and the English
colony in Connecticut, both made up of in-
trepid pioneers eagerly engaged in the war of
wealth and hungry for jurisdiction over fresh
soil with all its advantages, the facilities of
the times made most of the northern shore and
all of the eastern end of Long. Island much
nearer Connecticut than New Amsterdam, and
a. struggle for possession and rule became im-
minent soon after 1639, when Lion Gardiner
acquired the island which now bears his name.
Not many months afterward Southold and
Southampton were settled by English colo-
nists. The enterprise of these men carried
them as near to New Amsterdam as Hemp-
stead, but that was too much for the Dutch,
and they drove the unauthorized intruders
l)ack to the eastern end. Still the Dutch were
not afraid to welcome settlers who placed
themselves under their rule and protection in
orderly fashion, for even in 1640 they per-
mitted Gravesend to be founded by Lady
Moody and her associates, and in 1643 they
allowed a settlement of English people from
New England to be founded at Hempstead.
But such settlements obtained patents from the
Dutch Governors and were amenable to the
laws imposed by "their High Mightinesses."
In the eastern end the communities would have
none of this and looked to New England for
protection and law. New England, too, claimed
jurisdiction over the entire island by virtue of
the terms of the charter of 1620 given to the
Plymouth Colony, and the Earl of Stirling
claimed possession by virtue of the grant given
to him in 1635. We will have more to say of
this nobleman and his claims in another chap-
ter, and it must suffice here to state that the
rights of himself and his heirs were fully ac-
knowledged in the earlier land transactions in
the eastern end of the island by the English
settlers. The eastern towns each formed an in-
dependent community in itself arid all seem to
have made treaties on their own account with
the authorities at New Haven or of Connecti-
cut, before and after September 15, 1650,
when the dividing line between the Dutch and
English sphere of influence was fixed at Oyster
Bay between the high contracting parties. The
English system was illustrated even in this
little transaction, for there was some doubt
as to whether Oyster Bay itself was in the
Dutch or English "sphere." But the English
claimed it and the result of a long and windy
exchange of missives was that they retained it.
In Professor Alexander Johnston's inter-
esting monograph on the History of Connecti-
cut (in "American Commonwealths" series)
we read (page 138) :
Long Island had never been more than
nominally under the jurisdiction of the Dutch.
They had planted a few farms at its western
end, but the rest was a wilderness. Among
DISCOVERY— EARLY WHITE SETTLEMENTS.
47
the multitude of conflicting and unintelligible
grants made by the Council of Plymouth was
one to the Earl of Stirling, covering Long
Island. The grantee seems to have claimed
ownership only, not jurisdiction. Practically,
therefore, when his agent sold a piece of ter-
ritory, the new owners became an independent
political community, with some claims against
them, but no direct control. The island was
thus in much the same position as the Con-
necticut territory before the first irruption of
settlers, and offered much the same attractions
as a place of refuge for persons or communi-
ties who had found the connection between
church and state grievous. A company from
Lynn, Massachusetts, bought the township of
Southampton from Stirling's agent, April 17,
1640. There were at first but sixteen persons
in the company, Abraham Pierson being their
minister. This was the church which, first re-
moving to Branford in 1644, when Southamp-
ton became a Connecticut town, finally settled
at Newark, New Jersey. Easthampton was
settled about 1648 by another Lynn party, and
was received as a Connecticut town November
7, 1649. The town of Huntington, though part
of it was bought from the Indians by Governor
Eaton, of New Haven, in 1646, really dates
from about 1653. May 17, 1660, it was re-
ceived as a Connecticut town. There were
thus three Connecticut towns on Long Island,
in addition to Southold, the New Haven town-
ship. Between these and the really Dutch set-
tlements at the western end of the island there
were English settlements at Hempstead : but
those acknowledged a much closer dependence
on the Dutch authorities.
To all these claims the Dutch were fully
cognizant. In a "Description of New Nether-
land," written in 1649, ^nd which was trans-
lated and printed by the New York Histori-
cal Society in 1849, we read:
Long Island, which by its fine situation,
noble bays and havens, as well as by its fine
lands, may be called the crown of the prov-
ince, is also entirely invaded by them [New
England settlers] except at the western ex-
tremity, where are two Dutch villages, Breuk-
elin and Amersfoort, which are not of much
consequence, and a few English villages, as
Gravesant, Greenwyck, Mespat — where dur-
ing the war the inhabitants were expelled and
since confiscated by Director Kieft. But the
owners having appealed, it is yet in statu quo.
There are not many inhabitants now. Also
Vlissingen, a fine village, well stocked with cat-
tle; and fourthly and last, Heemsted, better
than the others and very rich in cattle.
But as we are now on Long Island we will
(as it seems the British are craving this in
particular) say a little more about it. From
the beginning of our settling here, this island
has been inhabited by the Dutch. In 1640
a Scotchman came to Director Kieft, having an
English commission, and claimed the island,
but his pretence was not much regarded and
he departed again without effecting anything
except to rouse a little of the mob. Afterward
the Director Kieft subdued and destroyed the
British who wished to trade in Oyster Bay ;
and thus it remained for some time. Another
Scotchman came in 1647, named Captain For-
ester, and claimed this island in the name of
the dowager Van Sterling, whose Governor
he pretended to be. He had a commission
dated the 18th year of King James' reign; but
it was not signed by the King nor by any-
body else. His commission covered the whole
of Long Island, with five surrounding islands,
as well as the main land. He also had a power
of attorney from Maria, dowager Van Ster-
ling. Nevertheless the man valued these pa-
pers much, and said on his arrival he would
examine the commission of Governor Stuyve-
sant. If it was better than his, he would give
it up; if not, Stuyvesant must. In short, the
Director took copies of these papers and sent
the man over in the Valkemer; but the vessel
touching in England he did not arrive in Hol-
land.
Under the terms of its charter Connecticut
claimed Long Island as an integral part of its
territory and was exercising full territorial
rights over it when, in 1664, the Dutch colony
suddenly passed under English rule. Then
Connecticut fondly imagined it had come into
its own, but the influence of Manhattan Island
proved too strong, and although the negotia-
tions on the point were long drawn out and
keenly contested, it was finally determined that
the whole of the island was to be a part of the
New York colony, while Connecticut had its
jurisdiction extended along the opposite shore
of the sound. Probably it was the best arrange-
ment which could have been made for Con-
necticut, but it was hardly agreeable to the
A BIT OF PARDAEGAT WOODS.
DISCOVERY— EARLY WHITE SETTLEMENTS.
49
"English" towns on the island. When the
Dutch regained possession of New Amsterdam
all the towns on Long Island, except South-
old, Southampton and Easthampton, submitted
to the representatives of the States General.
But these three held out, asked for aid from
Connecticut, and a war between that colony
and New York was imminent when the news
came that the Dutch regime had again passed
and England was once more in possession.
Even then an effort was made to have the
eastern end of the island declared under the
rule of Connecticut, but this request was em-
phatically denied and the idea was abandoned.
But even to this day the people in the eastern
part of Long Island look upon Connecticut
folk as their neighbors rather than those who
dwell west of the old historic dividing line.
While the possession of the land for specu-
lative, agricultural or hunting purposes made
Long Island seem a jewel to the Dutch and
the English, settlers gladly availed themselves
of it as an extended place of refuge for politi-
cal and religious freedom. There is no doubt
from the references, sometimes half implied
and sometimes openly expressed in the earlier
documents on which we base our histories,
that Its possession was desired for another
cause. It was in wampum that the red man
transacted most of his dealings and measured
values, and wampum was the real treasure of
Long Island, as gold was the treasure of Cali-
fornia in the eyes of the 'forty-niners. Cor-
nelius Van Tienhoven, Secretary of the New
Netherland, wrote on this point very clearly
in a tractate written in 1650 and containing
"Information relative to taking up land," in-
tended for the guidance of intending immi-
grants from the Netherlands : "I begin then,"
he said, "at the most easterly corner of Long
Island, being a point situate on the main ocean,
inclosing within, westward, a large inland sea
(Gardiner's Bay) adorned with divers fair ha-
vens and bays fit for all sorts of craft ; this
point is entirely covered with trees without
any flatts, and is somewhat hilly and stoney;
very convenient for cod-fishing, which is most
successfully followed by the natives during the
season. This point is also well adapted to se-
cure the trade of the natives in wampum (the
mine of New Netherland), since in and about
the above mentioned sea and the islands therein
situate lie the cockles whereof wampum is
made, from which great profit could be real-
ized by those who would plant a colonie or
hamlet on the aforesaid hook for the cultiva-
tion of the land, for raising all sorts of cattle,,
for fishing and the wampum trade." A docu-
ment like this is evidence that the Dutch au-
thorities were thoroughly acquainted with the
entire resources of Long Island ; that they were
anxious to invite settlers even to its most in-
accessible parts (from New Amsterdam), and
that they knew and appreciated most thorough-
ly the site of the most valuable deposits of
the most popular medium of exchange. It
shows also that they entirely ignored the set-
tlements from New England and any claim
which Connecticut or New Haven might make
to the island, and prompts us to think that
Lion Gardiner had other purposes in view than
merely agricultural when he obtained by pur-
chase from the Indians and by grant from the
heirs of Lord Stirling the island which has
perpetuated his name and which continues to
be the home of his descendants.
On the value of their wampum trade of
Long Island a modern writer (John Fiske in
his "Quaker and Dutch Colonies," Vol. I, page
174) graphically summarized the subject as
follows :
Those shores were a kind of primitive
American mint. For ages untold the currency
of the red men had been wampum or strings
of beads made from sea-shells. There were
two sorts, the white beads made from a kind
of periwinkle and the black beads made from
the clam. It had some of the features of a
aouble standard, inasmuch as the black wam-
pum was worth about twice as much as the
white; but as no legal-tender act obliged any-
body to take the poorer coin for more than its
intrinsic value, no confusion resulted. It was
good currency, for it had an intrinsic value
that was well understood and remarkably
50
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
steady as long as Indians continued to form
an important portion of the trading world. For
any material to be fit to serve as a currency
three conditions are indispensable: i. It must
be an object of desire for its own sake apart
from its use as currency. 2. It must be diffi-
cult to obtain. 3. Its value must not be sub-
ject to fluctuations. Wampum satisfied these
conditions. It was used for a number of pur-
poses, and in particular was highly prized for
personal adornment. In order to find it one
must go to its native coasts and gather the
shells and prepare them, and the areas in which
these shells occurred were limited. Since wam-
pum thus cost labor, it could easily serve as a
measure of other labor. The amount of labor
involved in getting a beaver skin could read-
ily be estimated in terms of the eflfort involved
in getting a fathom of beads. * * * It has
been well said. "Wampum was the magnet
that drew the beaver out of interior forests,"
or in other words, it was for thj white men
a currency redeemable in those peltries which
were wanted throughout the civilized world.
Now the shores of Long Island abounded
in the shells of which wampum is made, and
the Indians upon those shores were the chief
manufacturers of wampum on the whole At-
lantic coast.
Wampum seems to have been found all
along the coasts of Long Island, and that fact
gave to the place one of its earliest European
names, Seawanhacky, or "Island of Seawan,"
seawan being the Indian name for the money.
Wampum, or white money, was made of the
stock of the periwinkle, suckauhock, or black
money, from the purple inside of the shell of
the quahaug or clam, a shellfish that buried
itself in the sand and was generally found in
deep water. The black money was equal in
value to twice that of the wampum or white
money. The crude material was transformed
into cvlinders, highly polished, about an eighth
of an inch in diameter and a quarter of an
inch long and strung upon hempen or skin
cords. The unit of value was a "fathom,"
a string measuring from the end of the little
finger to the elbow and equivalent to five shill-
ings in English colonial money and four guil-
ders in Dutch. It used to be averred among
the Dutch colonists that the Indians always
sent an agent with a very long forearm or a
very short forearm according to the circum-
stances in which the measuring was to be done !
It is curious that as even as early as 1641
there was talk of depreciated currency in wam-
pum transactions. The Indians presented oys-
ter shells which had no intrinsic value among
themselves, but were accepted implicitly by
the unsophisticated white colonists ; but a later
generation of the latter got even with the red
man by handing him wampum made in French
factories. While the shells which produced the
white and black currency were found all along
the coast line the richest deposits were those
of Gardiner's Bay, and there the Montauks
and Manhassets had established a sort of prim-
itive mint, which they zealously guarded from
outside interference. It is said that the posses-
sions of this wealth made the Long Island In-
dians more amenable to the influence of civili-
zation than their brethren inland, which means
that, having the wherewithal, they more read-
ily secured the white man's guns and rum.
Certainly they offered, on the whole, a less
ferocious opposition to the white settlers than
did the aborigines in New England and north-
ern and western New York.
But the possession of this wealth brought
its cares and anxieties and its dangers. A
recent writer, summarizing the information
presented by Weeden, the historian of wam-
pum, says :
Dutch settlers early recognized the value of
a monopoly in handling this wampum ; hence
their persistent opposition to immigration and
the settlement of Lord Stirling's colonists, —
a persistency practiced by the Indians in turn,
when Montauk's Sachem repelled incursions
upon the minting ground made by interior
tribes to secure both wampum and shells in
primitive form. But the demand for wampum
so increased that more powerful tribes, headed
by Narragansetts, Pequots and Mohawks,
united to compel annual payment from the
DISCOVERY— EARLY WHITE SETTLEMENTS.
51
Great South and Shinnecock Bay clans of
tribute money, expressed in wampum for a
protection and service never rendered. The
demands were complied with, however, from
sheer inability to resist, and so constant fear
kept the clans toiling to manufacture and pay
tribute, their mint thus becoming a source of
untold misery. Governor Kieft, from New
York, tried a similar experiment, but met with
utter failure. He levied a tax, payable in
wampum, for the rebuilding of Fort Amster-
dam. But the wily red man sent back his col-
lector with a message that they did not want
the fort. It was no protection to them, ninety
miles away, and they failed to see any reason
for giving up valuables at the Governor's re-
quest when they were to receive from him
nothing in return. Stuyvesant,too,"the valiant,
weatherbeaten, mettlesome, obstinate, leathern-
sided, lion-hearted, generous-spirited old Gov-
ernor," as he is called by Father Knicker-
bocker, had his eyes turned toward the Long-
Island minting grounds, but never seems to
have realized anything therefrom.
In 1628 the Bradford papers record "no
inconsiderate profit in the trade with wampum
peake," and from the same source comes this
statement: "The Kennebec colony bought
fifty pounds of it. At first it stuck, and it was
two years before they could put of this small
quantity, till ye inland people knew of it, and
afterward they could scarce ever gett enough
for them, for many years together." In 1629
wampum is referred to as being in a manner
the currency of the country. In 1642 good
wampum passed at four and loose beads at
six for a stiver. It is also reported that same
year to the Lords of Trade as being the cur-
rency used in the United Netherlands — eight
white and four black beads passing for a
stiver.
Wampum was received in payment of
taxes, judgments and all court fees, and, as
Weeden says, was the magnet which drew
beaver out of interior forests. It passed cur-
rent in contribution boxes on Sunday and
served all purposes for which tobacco was legal
tender in Virginia. In 1683 the Flatbush
schoolmaster received his salary in wheat at
wampum value, and in 1693 the ferriage of
each passenger between New York and Brook-
lyn was eight stivers of wampum. Kieft, after
a quarrel with the Raritans, offered a bounty
of ten fathoms of wampum to every one who
was sixty pence.
For purposes of personal adornment wam-
pum seems to have remained an object of value
among the Long Island Indians until they had
fallen so low that all ideas of personal adorn-
ment were abandoned. Belts of wampum,
necklaces of wampum and ornaments of all
sorts were the most undisputable evidences of
personal wealth. A wampum belt was among
the chiefs an emblem. "A belt," says Thomp-
son, "was sent with all public messages and
preserved as a record between nations. If a
message was sent without the belt it was con-
sidered an empty word unworthy of remem-
brance. If the belt was returned, it was a re-
jection of the ofifer or proffer accompanying it.
If accepted it was a confirmation and strength-
ened friendships or effaced injuries. The belt
with appropriate emblems worked in it was
also the record of domestic transactions. The
confederation of the Five Nations was thus
recorded. The cockle-shells had indeed more
virtue among Indians than pearls, gold and
silver had among Europeans. Seawan was the
seal of a contract — the oath of fidelity. It
satisfied murders and all other injuries, pur-
chased peace and entered into the religious as
well as civil ceremonies of the natives. A
string of seawan was delivered by the orator
in public council at the close of every distinct
proposition to others as a ratification of the
truth and sincerity of what he said ; and the
white and black strings of seawan were tied
by the pagan priest around the neck of the
white dog, suspended to a pole and offered as a
sacrifice to T'halonghyawaagon, the LIpholder
of the Skies, the God of the Five Nations."
In all the great seals of the province of
New York from 1691 to the Revolution a roll
of wampum is held in the hands of one of the
two Indians represented as offering tribute to
the British sovereigns. As many as ten thou-
sand shells were often woven into a single belt
four inches wide. Wampum continued to be
gathered on Long Island until the nineteenth
century was pretty well advanced, for Gabriel
Furman in his notes on "Long Island An-
52
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tiquities," written about 1834, records that
even then "wampum is manufactured on this
island to be sent to the Indians in the Western
States and Territories for the purpose both of
a circulating medium and of conventions and
treaties. In the summer of 183 1 several
bushels of wampum were brought from Baby-
lon, 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."
CHAPTER V.
THE DUTCH— SOME EARLY GOVERNORS— PETER STUYVESANT.
K«B T is questionable if Adraien Joris, or
ra a Cornelius Jacobzen Mey or (May),
M^ or William Ver Hulst, who were
' the authorized directors of the,
New Netherland colony between 1623 and
1626, ever saw anything of Long Island
except perhaps the stretch of sand which faced
the ocean and which is now given over to
pleasure resorts, or the smoke from the wig-
wams of Merechkawikingh. Peter Minuit,
who took the reins of government May 4, 1626,
as Director General of New Netherland and
found in his dominion a population of two
hundred souls, exclusive, of course, of the
aborigines, possibly had just as little personal
acquaintance with the island, although he
doubtless often looked at its coast line as he
journeyed around his citadel in the fort at the
Battery. He was an honest man, bought
Manhattan Island from the Indians for some-
thing like $25 and probably would have given
half as much for Long Island had he felt he
wanted it, and could he have managed to
find a Sachem who was powerful enough
to give him a clear title. But it does not
appear that he cast longing eyes in that direc-
tion. His thoughts and hopes were more
concentrated on the rich finds in pelts which
were sent to him from Fort Orange : and then,
too, he) had enough territory on hand to
defend, for the English Plymouth settlers were
always encroaching on his territory on the
"Conighticate" River and the Pequod In-
dians worried him a good deal.
Nor is there existing any evidence of the
presence of Governor Wouter Van Twiller
on the island during his eventful tenure of the
office from April, 1633, until March, 1638;
but in his time the existence of Long Island
began to assert itself. Van Twiller seems to
have been an able man, and like many a mod-
ern statesman zealously attempted to build
up his own fortunes and those of the state
at the same time. He bought for his own
profit large tracts of land, including what we
now call Blackwell's and Governor's Islands,
54
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
until he became one of the richest land owners
in the colony. Under him the colony pros-
pered, although the English to the east con-
tinued troublesome, and the fur trade reached
greater proportions than ever before. But
envious people regarded his growing personal
wealth with jealousy and he was relieved of
his power by their "High Mightinesses" in
Holland who sent William Kieft to rule in his
stead. In estimating the value of Van Twill-
er's character and work in New Netherland,
modern historians invariably color their views,
sometimes unconsciously, from the pages of
Washington Irving's "Knickerbocker," where
the doughty Governor is handed down to pos-
terity in a full-length picture, as it were, as
"Walter the Doubter." But while the genius
of Irving has thus, as it were, forced his view
of Van Twiller, intended only as a caricature,
into the pages of history, it should not be ac-
cepted above its historic worth, the worth of
any piece of caricature — written or pictorial.
There seems no doubt that Van Twiller was
an able administrator, a man of considerable
energy and firmness and that his administra-
tion greatly added to the extent and value of
the West Indian Company's property in New
Netherland, while his own investments, how-
ever brought about, showed that he fully be-
lieved in its continued prosperity. It was
during his reign that Long Island may be
said to have been opened up for settlement;
and, indeed, after his own authority had
passed, he appears to have had supreme faith
in Long Island, for Tennis G. Bergen ("Early
Settlers of Kings County," page 363) tells
us that in 1643 he obtained a patent for lands
at Red Hook and a patent July 16, 1638, for
one of the fiats (prairies) in Flatlands known
as Kaskutensuhane. In June, 1636, Jacob
Van Corlaer purchased from the Indians a
plat of ground to which was given the name
"Castateauw," "between the bay of the North
River and the East River." Some lands lying
to the west of Corlaer's purchase were brought
the same day by Andries Hudde and Wolfert
Gerritsen \"an Couwenhoven, and a tract to the
east was bought by Van Twiller. In all,
some 15,000 acres were thus bought and at
once lirought into cultivation or adapted for
stockraising; and on this property afterward
rose the village of New Amersfort, or, as it
was later called, Flatlands, which was possibly
the first part of Long Island to be settled
by white men. In the course of the same
year Jacques Bentyn and William Adriaense
Bennet bought from the Indians, or from
their Sachem, a piece of ground of
about 930 acres, extending from near the
present Twenty-eighth street, along Gowanus
Cove and the bay, to the old New Utrecht
line and including what is known as Ocean
Hill in Greenwood Cemetery. Bennet was an
Englishman and a cooper by trade. Bentyn
was also an Englishman, and when he bought
the land with Bennet he was Schout Fiscal
of New Amsterdam, the leading municipal
legal adviser of the place — sheriil and cor-
poration counsel in one. He soon tired of
his Long Island property, for in 1639 he sold
his interest in it to Bennet for 350 guilders.
He continued to be an influential member
of the New Amsterdam community for many
years, was one of the twelve Representatives
in 1641 and a member of the Council. In
1648 he left the country and went to Europe,
probably having acquired a moderate com-
petence and disappears from our view. Ben-
net remained on the land, and built a dwelling
upon it, the first house so far as we know
ever erected in Brooklyn. He had married
a widow just prior to acquiring the Gowanus
property and .very probably it was she who
induced him to build a house. He died early
in the year 1644 cr at the close of 1643, leaving
her with four children, Adriaen, William, Sara
and Christian, while another, Mary or Maria,
was born in Alay, 1644, after her father's
death.
The widow lost no time in securing a new
helpmeet, and on Oct. 9, of the same year
(1644), married Paulus Vanderbeek, and by
him had two sons and three daughters. With
her third husband she resided in New Am-
THE DUTCH— SOME EARLY GOVERNORS.
55
sterdam, but afterward returned to Long Isl-
and, of which, in 1661, Vanderbeek became
farmer of the excise, and in 1662 he was
ferry-master. He bought a plantation in
Gravesend in 1673 and figures in several
other real-estate deals. He stands out in local
history as the founder of the Vanderbeek
family, his wife presenting him with four
sons and two daughters. Many of his de-
scendants are now to be found in New Jer-
sey. All of Bennet's family were successful
in life. His eldest son engaged in farming
and had a property of 150 acres at Bay
Ridge, which in 1681 he sold to the ancestor
of the Denyse family. Later he bought from
his mother a farm at Gowanus, paying her
12,000 guilders for it in produce, and was
regarded as a man of means. He died at
Gowanus about 1700. His brother William
also owned a farm at Gowanus, and like all
others in the family was a stanch member
of the Dutch Church. In fact the family
was more Dutch than English and the found-
er seems to have accepted the situation with
phlegmatic equanimity.
It was under Van Twiller's administration,
too, that what we now call the Wallabout was
settled. On June 16, 1637, George Rapalie
(Joris Jansen) obtained a patent for some 325
acres which he had purchased of the Indians,
now occupied, in part, by the L^nited States
Marine Hospital. The property, as we have
seen in the chapter devoted to the Indians, was
called Rinnegackonck, and it was afterward
described as "lying on Long Island in the bend
of Marechkawieck, as the Indians once called
the Wallabout. It does not seem, however,
that Rapalie took up his residence on this prop-
erty until 1654, when he set up his house there.
From 1655 to 1660 he was one of . the Magis-
trates of Breuckelen and he was the founder
of a family which from that time to the pres-
ent day has been prominent in the City of
Churches and which will often be referred to
in these pages.
L'nder \'an Twiller's successor, William
Kieft, who held the reins of government from
March 28, 1638, until May 11, 1647, the set-
tlement of the western section of Long Island
went en with what would in our days be termed
a "rush." Kieft seems to have been an irasci-
ble, domineering individual, with a limited
amount of brains and an unlimited allowance
of self-assurance — a sort of pepper-box
dressed up in the clothes of authority. It is,
of course, possible that our notions of his per-
sonality have been twisted by Washington
Irving's caricature ; but a study of Kieft's
official acts prompts the belief that Irving did
not depart very far from historic truth when
he wrote in his veracious history the following
lines regarding this product of the Dutch
Colonial Service — "William the Testy:"
He was a brisk, waspish, little old gentle-
man, who had dried and withered away, partly
through the natural process of years and partly
from being parched and burnt up by his fiery
soul, which blazed like a vehement rushlight
in his bosom, constantly inciting him to most
valorous broils, altercations and misadventures.
* * * His visage was broad and his features
sharp, his nose turned up with the most petu-
lant curl ; his cheeks were scorched into a
dusky red — doubtless in consequence of the
neighborhood of two fierce little gray eyes,
through which his torrid soul beamed with
tropical fervor. The corners of his mouth
were curiously modeled into a kind of fret-
work, not a little resembling the wrinkled pro-
boscis of an irritable pug dog; in a word, he
was one of the most positive, restless, ugly
little men that ever put himself in a passion
about nothing.
Such, rightly or wrongly, is the ideal
of William. Kieft, which we are forced by
the genius of Diedrich Knickerbocker, backed
up by all the veritable history and evidence
which have come down to us, to accept
as a true presentment of the successor of
"Walter the Doubter." At best, what we do
know of veritable history brings before
use as a sort of opera-bouffe hero with
a touch of villainy running through all his
actions. Before coming to America his career
was clouded bv scoundrelism, — so much so
56
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
that he was hanged in effigy in his native Hol-
land. His ill-fame had preceded him to the
New Netherland, and when he landed at New
Amsterdam on March 28, 1638, after his voy-
age across the Atlantic on board "The Her-
ring," he was received with marked coldness.
Possibly that did not worry him very much.
His purpose was to make a fortune rather than
to make friends. He was a believer in gov-
ernment by proclamation, and soon after his
arrival had the trees and fences in and around
New Amsterdam covered with proclamation
placards ordaining all sorts of regulations, even
regulating the hour when people should go to
bed and when they should arise to pursue their
usual vocations. However, he turned his au-
thority to some use, for he built a stone church
inside the fort, laid out Pearl street for sub-
urban residences of a high class, interested
himself in the cultivation of orchards and gar-
dens, instituted two grand county fairs and by
the liberal land policy — not only offering free
passage from Holland but giving an emigrant
practically free of cost a patent for as much
land as he and his family could cultivate, and
requiring only an oath of fidelity to the States
General to enable foreigners to hold l^nd and
acquire the status of citizenship — he rapidly
promoted new settlements, singly or in groups,
in his domains. Still, his first thought was to
make money for himself. He established a
distillery or brewery on Staten Island ; owned
and conducted, by deputy, a stone tavern on
the shore of the East River at the corner of
Pearl street and Coenties Slip, and lost no
opportunity of adding to his private fortune.
He was quite a fussy tyrant, too, and inter-
fered in all sorts of ways with the private
affairs and arrangements of his subjects. His
conduct more than once called down the de-
nunciation of Dominie Bogardus in the pulpit,
and he retaliated by causing his soldiers to
beat their drums and play all sorts of noisy
pranks outside the church, so that the good
clergyman had to confine himself to moderate
language for the sake of being permitted to
preach in peace. In fact, for a long time there
was open warfare between the Dominie and
the Governor. When Kieft, as a result of a
petition from the colonists denouncing his
venality, his arrogance, his tyranny and his
needless Indian wars, was summoned to re-
turn to Holland, he carried with him on the
ship, among his personal property, something
like $100,000, the practical results of his states-
manship. The vessel, "The Princess," was
hailed with ironical salutes as she weighed
anchor and started on her voyage with this
precious personage on board, and the people
did not even try to conceal their joy over his
departure. The ship was wrecked on the
English coast, however, and Kieft and his
money went to the bottom ! Dominie Bo-
gardus, who was on the same vessel, was also
among the eighty persons who perished in the
disaster.
While there is no clear evidence on the
point, it seems likely that Kieft visited Long
Island several times and had something of a
clear idea of its advantages as a place for colo-
nization. So far as we can learn he never per-
sonally owned any of its acres: probably he
believed Staten Island a more eligible field for
his operations, being nearer the direct way by
which shipping passed in and more in line with
the commerce of the Hudson. But for pur-
poses of settlement he bought from the Indians,
in 1639, practically all the land comprised in
the old county of Queens, and in the following
year, by purchase from Penhawitz, the chief of
the Canarsies, he added to the territory at the
disposal of the West India Company all the
land it had not up to that time acquired in
what afterward became the county of Kings,
with the exception of a tract between Coney
Island and Gowanus (New Utrecht), which
was added in 1645. By a charter promul-
gated .in 1640, trade and commerce restrictions
were removed so that any reputable person
could so engage. What is equally important
in Long Island history was that liberal pro-
vision was made for the founding of towns and
villages, and the magistrates of such com-
munities were to be named by the people, sub-
USHWICK.
ject, of course, to the approval of the Gover-
nor and his Council. The Governor was the
court of last resort in all disputes, even the
most trifling; religion was restricted to that
of the Reformed Church, and while the com-
pany bound itself to maintain preachers, teach-
ers and spiritual visitors, as well as to protect
the secular interest of the colonists, it expected
that the necessary means would be furnished
out of the revenues of the Colony. The taxes
were exorbitant, the customs tariff was onerous
and outside trade was restricted to the mother
country in the first place — that is, all goods
exported had to be sent first to Holland. But
the latter restriction did not cause much
trouble, and in spite of the imposts people man-
aged to thrive.
So newcomers poured in in a steady stream,
and as much as possible Kieft and his Council
directed their attention to the beautiful shore
lying across the arm of the sea which flowed
to the east of New Amsterdam. In August,
1639, Anthony Jansen, from Salee, secured a
patent for 100 morgens (200 acres) of land
lying within the territory afterward occupied
by the towns of Gravesend and New Utrecht,
of which territory he was the pioneer. He
was a citizen of rather dubious character,
seems to have been locally known as "the
Turk," and very probably Kieft awarded him
that out-of-the-wav piece of property to satisfy
any claim he might have for service 'rendered,
and, in short, to get rid of him. Anthony re-
sided in New Amsterdam for six or seven
years prior to 1639, and there owned a bouw-
ery. His wife, Grietje Reiniers, rejoiced in
a character and temperament and reputation
pretty much in keeping with his own, and in
April, 1639, both were ordered banished from
New Amsterdam for being slanderous and
troublesome persons. They at once moved to
their Long Island possessions and there "the
58
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Turk" built himself a home and settled down
to farming. Of this house the remains were
long afterward found, as told by Teunis G.
Bergen in his "Early Settlers of Kings
County" (page 155) :
In 1879, in leveling the sand dunes on the
upland on the edge of the (Gravesend) Bay
a little southeast of the buildings of Mr. Gun-
ther at Locust Grove, which dunes had been
blown up by the beach and which had been
gradually extending back with the abrasion of
the shore or coast, the remains of two separate
pieces of stone wall, about two feet high and
one foot wide, made mainly of unbroken field
stones laid in clay mortar, with a clear floor
between them, were exhumed. These remains
were covered with from four to ten feet of
sand, and are probably those of the barn or
other farm buildings of Anthony Jansen, it
being customary in the early settlement of this
country to construct their threshing floors of
clay, of which specimens existed and were in
use in the younger days of the author, their
roofs being made of thatched straw instead of
sihingles, as at present.
In 1660 Anthony sold his patent to Nich-
olas Stillwell, the English ancestor of the noted
Brooklyn family, and in 1669, on the death of
his wife, he disposed of his plantation lot in
Gravesend to his son-in-law, Fernandus Van
Sickelen, and returned to New Amsterdam.
In 1670 he married again, and died some six
years later.
On November 8, 1639, Thomas Bescher, or
Beets, an Englishman, received a patent for
land at Gowanus, on which he intended tcrhave
a tobacco plantation ; but he did not succeed in
following out his intentions, apparently, and
he seems to have sold his patent without de-
lay to Cornelius Lambe-tson (Cool), who set-
tled on the land, removing there from New
Amsterdam.
Frederick Lubbertsen on INIay 23, 1640, ob-
tained a patent for a large tract covering most
of South Brooklyn, and in 1645 added to the
extent of his lands' by another patent also
within the limits of modern Brooklyn. Cor-
nelius Dirckson Hoogland, who in 1642 kept
an inn at Peck Slip, eked out its earnings by
running a boat between that place and a point
on the Long Island shore just a little to the
south of the present Fulton Ferry house, of
which this service was the beginning. He was
not appointed ferry-master until 1652. His
son Dirck, who seemed to aid him in his ardu-
ous lalx)rs, secured a patent Dec. 22, 1645, for
twelve morgens of land in Brooklyn, and on
June 24, 1647, he received another patent con-
veying to him additional seventeen morgens,
besides the ferry. These two were the first
ferry-masters, and appeared to have a tavern
at each terminus of the then perilous journey
across the East River. Andries Hudden, in
1636, when a member of \'an Twiller's Coun-
cil, bought considerable property in what after-
ward formed parts of P^latbush and Flatlands,
and on Sept. 12, 1645, received a patent for
thirty-seven morgens next to the property of
Lubbertsen. In quick succession land patents
were granted to Claes Cornelisse (Mentelaer)
\*an Schlouw, Henry Bresser, Jacob Wolpher-
sen (Van Couwenhoven), Edward Fiskock,
William Cornelisen, Peter and Jan Montfort,
Hans Hansen Bergen (Hans the Boore), Jan
Evertsen Bout, Huyck Aertsen Van Rossem,
Joris Jansen Rapelie, and to Caesar Alberti
(ancestor of the Albertus family), until, stand-
ing on the east shore of New Amsterdam and
looking across the river, the coast of Long
Island as far as the eye could see was dotted
with farms when Kieft's administration came
to a close. These settlers do not seem to have
been cut oflf from the New Amsterdam com-
munity : they were rather regarded as part of
it and deemed not the least influential of its
component parts. At least, so we judge from
the fact that when, in answer to a popular
demand, "twelve select men" were chosen tO'
advise with Kieft upon his foolish Indian
policy, three of them were more or less identi-
fied with Long Island — Jacques Benton, Fred-
erick Lubbertsen and Joris Jansen Rapelie.
One of the last of Governor Kieft's official
acts of any importance was the formal organi-
zation of the town of Breuckelen. The tract
PETER STUYYESAHT.
THE DUTCH— SOME EARLY GOVERNORS.
of territory called by the Indians Merech-
kawikingh, extending, roughly, from the
Wallabout to Gowanus, contained some of the
most fertile lands on the western end of the
island. On this tract, about a mile and a half
from the ferry, just about what is now the
junction of Smith and Hoyt streets and a little
southeast from where the City Hall and Court
House now stand, and on either side of the
road leading to the ferry. Bout Van Rossem
and other patentees had built their dwellings
so as to be close together for mutual protec-
tion. They took advantage of the opportunity
afforded by the charter of 1640 and asked per-
mission "to found a town at their own ex-
pense." Kieft graciously responded and is-
sued a formal recognition of the new town, to
which the name of Breuckelen (after the town
in Holland) was given, in June, 1646. The
people had elected, on May 21 that year, Jan
Eversen Bout and Huyck Aertsen Von Ros-
sem as Schepens, and Kieft confirmed the elec-
tion. A few months later the Governor ap-
pointed Jan Teunissen as Schout, or constable,
and so before the close of 1646 the municipal
organization of the young town was complete.
Teunissen appears to have been a carpen-
ter as well as a constable, for in 1646 he con-
tracted "to build a house at the ferry. In 1647
he was sued for debt, so that his varied em-
ployments did not turn out very remunerative.
During Kieft's term there were other towns
besides Breuckelen established on Long Island.
Gravesend was the subject of a patent issued
Dec. 19, 1645. Southold and Southampton
were also founded while Kieft held office, but
they never acknowledged his authority, and
looked for protection to New England. On
the other hand, the claim which Connecticut
and Massachusetts made over Long Island the
Dutch Governors never fully acknowledged,
nor did they regard Lord Stirling's claim as
worthy of a moment's consideration.
On May 11, 1647, Peter (Petrus) Stuy-
vesant landed in New Amsterdam and assumed
the reins of Government vice Kieft, then
crossing the high sea with his boodle and dis-
grace. Like that of his predecessor, we find
it difficult to estimate this man's character cor-
rectly, for at the very mention of his name
there arises before us Irving's masterpiece of
caricature— Peter the Headstrong. Stuyve-
sant's notions as to the Divine authority of
rulers, his contempt for the people generally,
his arrogance, his irascibility, his tyrannical
spirit, his interfering, contentious disposition,
his narrow-mindedness and his cocksuredness
soon made him as unpopular as ever Kieft had
been ; and it was not long before he had quar-
rels of all sorts on his hands, both with the
church and the State, Vv^ith the patroons as well
as with the citizens who dwelt within the shad-
ow of the Stadt Huys. He was even sum-
moned to Holland to give an account of his
policy, but he declined to go. In 1653 New
Amsterdam got a new charter, giving it a
large measure of self-government, but Stuy-
vesant would have none of it; and although it
became the law, it remained practically in abey-
ance for many years. By and by, when the
people began to understand his character
rightly, to appreciate his honesty, his courage,
his solicitude for the welfare of the popula-
tion, his profound respect for authority, his
clear judgment and simplicity of heart, they
got along better with him, and fought his
peculiarities without in the least forgetting the
respect due to an honest gentleman of mediae-
val notions, who meant well toward them all
in his heart of hearts, and who, in spite of his
notions as to the source of government, was in
many ways a stanch supporter of liberty and
progress. Under him New Netherland pros-
pered exceedingly, and if in his dealings with
the English he threw in a principality in a
boundary dispute, he fairly preserved peace,
cultivated as carefully as he could and as cir-
cumstances permitted the good graces of the
aborigines and the British, and proved a strong
and fairly progressive executive.
Long Island fully shared in that prosperity
which is the most marked feature of Stuyve-
sant's long tenure of the Governorship. He
was much better acquainted with the island
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
than any of his predecessors, and in fact
owned a bouwery at Flatlands,, which he
leased to a countryman, Jacobus Van Dalem.
He was, one would think from his grants
of land, deeply interested in its progress ;
but he had no patience with the attempt of
the people there to underrate his authority.
It was during his administration that the
town system of Kings and Queens may be
said to have developed, and Flatbush, Flat-
lands, Newtown, Flushing, and Hempstead
arose under his signature, but he would not
permit them to exercise self-government or
permit their Schepens to be more than figure-
heads. In short, while the law permitted
these municipalities to be formed, he made
it his business to see to it that his wishes
and views were paramount to those of Schep-
ens or people. This the Long Island com-
munities fought against, and on December
II, 1653, delegates from each of the towns
met and drew up a protest against Stuyve-
sant's methods which they addressed to the
Governor and Council and "to the Council
of the High and Mighty Lords the States
General of the United Provinces." In the
course of it they said :
We acknowledge a paternal government
which God and nature has established in the
world for the maintenance and preservation
of peace and the welfare of men, not only
principally in conformity to the laws of na-
ture, but according to the law and precepts
of God, to which we consider ourselves ob-
liged by word and therefore submit to it.
The Lord our God having invested their
High Mightinesses the States General, as his
ministers, with the power to promote the wel-
fare of their subjects, as well of those re-
siding within the United Provinces as those
on this side of the sea, which we gratefully
acknowledge ; and having commissioned in the
same view some subaltern magistrates and
clothed them with authority to promote the
same end, as are the Lords Directors of the
privileged West India Company, whom we
acknowledged as Lords and patroons of this
place, next to your Lordships, as being their
representatives.
After further homage of this sort the repre-
sentatives of the village or towns then set
forth their complaints. They refer to the
arbitrary government set up by Stuyvesant,
to the appointment of local officers without
an expression of the will of the people, to the
putting in force as occasion arose obsolete
laws, so that good citizens hardly knew when
they were not violating some ordinance or
proclamation, to the length of time in which
honest applications for land patents were kept
pending, and to the prompt and easy manner
in which large tracts of valuable land were
awarded to those favored individuals who had
some sort of a "pull," as modern politicians
would call it, with the authorities. Therefore,
trusting to their High Mightinesses to "heal
our sickness and pain," the delegates signed
the document as follows :
New York: Arent Van Hatten, Martin
Creiger, P. L. Vander Girst.
Brooklyn: Frederick Lubberson, Paulus
Vander Beek, William Beekman.
Flushing: John Hicks, Tobias Peeks.
Newtown : Robert Coe, Thomas Hazzard.
Hempstead: William Washburn, John
Somers.
Flatlands : Peter Wolverton, Jan. Stryck-
er, Thomas Penewit.
Flatbush: Elbert Elbertson, Thomas
Spicer.
Gravesend : George Baxter, James Hub-
bard.
Peter the Headstrong had no toleration with
such documents, would hardly manage to be
civil to the Deputies who presented the paper,
and denied that Brooklyn, Flatbush and Flat-
lands, at any rate, had any right to elect
delegates to such meetings. He believed it
was an evidence of incipient rebellion and
treason, and blamed the English residents
as the cause of the whole trouble, playing
thus the last card — race jealousy — of the petty
politician.
Another meeting was held which threaten-
ed a fresh appeal to Holland, and this resulted
THE DUTCH— SOME EARLY GOVERNORS.
61
in Stuyvesant ordering the delegates to dis-
perse and "not to assemble again on such a
business." Peter put his foot down emphat-
ically and the citizens meekly obeyed. He
went so far in the following year as to refuse
to confirm the election of the Gravesend dele-
gates, Baxter and Hubbard, as magistrates of
that town, and went there in person to allay
the excitement which that arbitrary proceeding
occasioned. In this stand, however, he would
have been unsuccessful but for the influence
of Lady Moody.
Stuyvesant's greatest trouble in his later
years was with the English, who were then
pressing closely and incessantly upon the
Dutch preserve of New Netherland. Long
Island, as has been shown, was one of the
disputed sections and it was generally held
that his agreement at Hartford in 1650 to
divide the jurisdiction of the island by the
imaginary line at Oyster Bay was the weak-
est point in his career as an international
statesman. I't was thought, and rightly
thought, that the English had got the best
of that arrangement. But could Stuyvesant,
in view of all the circumstances, have done
better? That can hardly be conceded.
So half of Long Island passed from the
control of the States General, much to the
disgust of the enemies of Peter the Head-
strong, and they were very numerous about
that time; but for the people on the island
it was a most satisfactory arrangement, for
from then on until 1663 peace was the rule
on Long Island so far as the Dutch and
English were concerned. But in that year
Connecticut, having obtained a new charter
in 1662, was reaching out to consolidate her
territory and much to Stuyvesant's amaze-
ment and chagrin claimed jurisdiction over
the whole of Long Island and actually sent
commissioners there to arrange and collect
rates, customs and taxes. Commissioners
were appointed March 10, 1863, "to go to
Long Island and set'tle the government on
the west end," and in November of that year
we find that the people of Jamaica held a
public meeting (to protest against Stuyve-
sant's misgovernment and oppression. In
Long Island the people as a whole would
have welcomed any relief at that time from
the Governor and his Council; and although
Peter foamed and waxed indignant, sent re-
monstrances and appeals to Holland, and
threatened to build a fort at Oyster Bay to
overcome the English, he did nothing very
effective. In fact to his sorrow he found
he was receiving no adequate support from
the United Provinces or even much in the
way of practical aid from his subjects in
New Netherland. Long Island had virtually
passed from his grasp and into that of Con-
necticut, when by a charter on March 12,
1663, King Charles II conveyed to his brother,
the Duke of York, all of New Netherland,
and the question of the possession of Long
Island assumed a new phase. The charter
gave to the Duke or his appointees all legis-
lative and judicial power over the vast terri-
tory, subject only to appeal to the crown.
When the grant was made it looked on the
face of it like a worthless compliment; but
the Duke and his advisers and associates
seemed fully to understand the current train
of events and to appreciate the importance of
the gift, and they at once set to work to realize
on it as a valuable asset. In January, 1664,
Captain John Scott of Gravesend, who had
formerly been an officer under Charles I but
had left England in the Cromwellian time
(banished, some said, for cutting the girths
of several of the Protector's horses), and
who probably inspired the grant by speaking
of its probabilities, returned to Long Island
from a visit to England. He had evidently
been intrusted with very high powers by the
Duke of York and his advisers, but, desiring
to fortify himself in all possible ways before
proceeding to put his mission into effect, he
managed somehow to secure his appointment as
a Magistrate over Long Island from Governor
Winthrop of Connecticut. Armed with this
document, Scott crossed the Sound to Long
Island and with 150 followers boldly pro-
«2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
claimed Charles II as King. He raised the
English flag in Breuckelen, and thrashed a
toy for refusing to doff his hat to the em-
blem. That was on Jan. ii. Then he passed
in quick succession through Midwout and
Amersfort and New Utrecht.
By that time Stuyvesant had recovered from
his astonishment at the doings in Brooklyn
and sent a commission to interview Scott
and learn what the trouble was. On Jan. 14
they met at Jamaica and Scott plainly told
them that Stuyvesant had no standing in
the case ; that the entire New Netherland
territory belonged to the Duke of York, and
he meant to hold it. A truce was, however,
patched up and on March 3 Stuyvesant unbent
in the stress of circumstances so much that
he proceeded in solemn state to Jamaica and
there in a personal interview discussed the
whole matter with the wild and victorious
Scott. It was arranged that the English
towns were to remain under the flag unfolded
by Scott without any interference for twelve
months until the respective home Govern-
ments had time to settle the destiny of the
provinces. Stuyvesant could really force no
better terms. His treasury was empty, the
Government from which he got his warrant
paid a deaf ear to his remonstrances and
appeals for aid, the people were restless and
discontented, and even the Dutch seemed ready
to revolt, while the English settlers openly
defied him, and defied with impunity. In his
despair Stuyvesant, as many a greater tyrant
before and since has done, bethought of ask-
ing the advice and counsel of the people,
a proceeding he would never have tolerated
for a moment earlier in his career. So he
called a General Assembly of delegates from
the different towns to consider the condition
of affairs, and it met on April 10, 1664, in the
City Hall of New Amsterdam. The Long
Island representatives were:
Brooklyn : William Bredenbent, Albert
Cornells Wantenaer.
Flatlands : Jan Strycker, William Guil-
liams.
Flatlands : Elbert Elbertsen, Coert Stev-
ensen.
New Utrecht : David Jochemsen, Cornells
Beekman.
Boswyck: Jan A'an Cleef, Guisbert Jeu-
nissen.
This diet started right in as soon as it
elected Jermias Van Rensselaer chairman, by
discussing the condition of affairs, and in an
underhanded sort of way by finding fault with
Stuyvesant and his Government for the state
into which New Netherland had fallen. Stuy-
vesant found his ancient spirit arise within
him at the course the discussions took and
coldly informed the delegates that they were
to consult, and their main business was to find
money and men to maintain the integrity of
the territory. Nothing practical came of the
meeting, however.
In June Stuyvesant met Governor Win-
throp, of Connecticut, which had again actively
asserted its jurisdiction over Long Island,
but was bluntly told that the English title
was to be maintained. So things drifted
along, the English steadily advancing on the
Dutch territory not only on Long Island but
on the Hudson, until at the end of August,
1664, an English fleet under Col. Richard
Nicolls passed in through the Narrows and
took possession of the harbor; and on Sept.
8 Stuyvesant was forced to sign the capitu-
lation by which his authority passed into the
hands of the English, and Long Island, with
the rest of New Netherland, was transferred
into the possession of the Duke of York. In
the face of the royal warrant, John Winthrop,
on behalf of Connecticut, withdrew all claim
of jurisdiction, and so the destiny of Long
Island was irrevocably associated with the
province and State of New York, for by that
name New Netherland became known very
soon after Sept. 8, 1664, when Peter Stuyve-
sant retired to his bouwerie and the rule
of the Dutch for a time passed away.
CHAPTER VI.
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
jjSP^jIR Richard Nicolls, by virtue of the
^^ authority of the Duke of York, be-
^^^ came Deputy Governor of the New
' ' Netherlaiid and was one of the rulers
so common in British colonial history, who
ruled firmly and intelligently, who brought
to the front all that was best in the
colony, caused or permitted it to prosper,
and knew how to conceal the iron hand be-
neath the velvet glove. Nicolls did not reign
long, for he welcomed his own sur-cessor
Aug. 17, 1668; but in that brief interval of
nearly four years was included much of his-
torical moment to the province in general and
to Long Island in particular. Nicolls started
in by changing some of the names of his
vast bailiwick. The old name of New Nether-
land, as has been stated, was changed by
him to New York, in honor of one title of
his royal patron, and Fort Orange became
Albany in honor of another, while, to still
further accentuate the Duke's titles, West-
chester and Long Island were joined legally
under the name of Yorkshire. About the
same time the names of several of the Long
Island towns were changed so that Rustdorp
became Jamaica ; Midwout, Flatbush ; Amers-
fort, Flatlands; Breuckland, Brookland; Mid-
dleburg, Newtown ; and Vlissengen, Flushing.
Like Yorkshire in England, its American
namesake was divided with "ridings" (an old
Anglo-Saxon division of territory into three
sections from the Saxon word "trithing" — a
third part) as follows:
West Riding: Kings County, Newtown,
Staten Island.
North Riding: Remainder of Queens
County, Westchester.
East Riding : Suffolk County.
When he had established himself firmly
64
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
enough to make the people imagine they were
to have a full share in the government, al-
though his rule was and remained arbitrary,
Nicolls called a meeting of delegates from
each town in the new Yorkshire to assemble
at Hempstead on the closing day of February,
1665. In calling this assembly. Gov. Nicolls
said to "the Magistrates of the several towns
upon Long Island," in a letter dated Feb-
ruary 8 :
In discharge, therefore, of my trust and
duty, to settle good and known laws within
this Government for the future and receive
your best advice and information in a general
meeting, I have thought it best to publish
unto you that upon the last day of this present
February, at Hempstead, upon Long Island,
shall be a general meeting which is to con-
sist of deptities chosen by the major part of
the freemen only; which is to be understood
of all persons rated according to their estates,
whether English or Dutch, within your several
towns and precincts, whereof you are to make
publication to the inhabitants four days before
you proceed to an election, appointing a cer-
tain day for the purpose.
You are further to impart to the inhabitants
from me that I do heartily recommend to
them the choice of the most sober, able and
discreet persons, without partiality or faction,
the fruit and benefit whereof will return to
themselves in a full and perfect composure
of all controversies and the propagation of
tru'j religion amongst us. They are also re-
quired to bring with them a draught of each
town limits, or such writings as are necessary
to evidence the bounds and limits, as well as
the right by which they challenge such bounds
and limits, by grants or purchase or both, as
also to give notice of their meeting' to the
Sachems of the Indians whose presence may
in some cases be necessary.
Lastly, I do require you to assemble your
inhabitants and read this letter to them, and
then and there to nominate a day for the
election of two deputies from your town who
are to bring a certificate of their election,
with full power to conclude any cause or
matter relating to their, several towns, to me
at Hempstead upon the last day of February,
when, God willing, I shall expect them.
The chosen representatives of the people
were so pleased with their new dignity that
they made it their first business to draw up
a flattering address to the Duke of York as
follows :
We, the Deputies duly elected from the
several towns upon Long Island, being as-
sembled at Hempstead, in general meeting by
authority derived from your Royal Highness
under the Honorable Colonel Nicolls as
Deputy Governor, do most humbly and thank-
fully acknowledge to your Royal Highness
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 for ever to be comprised to
all intents and purposes, as therein is more
at large expressed.
And we do publicly and unanimously de-
clare 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 for ever.
And also that we will maintain, uphold, and
defend to the utmost of our power, and peril
to us, our heirs and successors for ever, all
the rights, title, and interest granted by his
Sacred Majesty to your Royal Highness,
against all pretensions or invasions, foreign
and domestic; we being already well assured
that in so doing we perform our duty of
allegiance to his xVIajesty as freeborn subjects
of the Kingdom of England, inhabiting in
these his Majesty's dominions.
We do farther 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 Highness to
take our poverties and necessities in this wild-
erness country into speedy consideration ; that
by constant supplies of trade, and your Royal
Highness's 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
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
65
and eternal happiness we shall ever pray, as in
duty bound. Signed. For:
New Utrecht : Jacques Cortelyou, Young-
er Hope.
Gravesend : James Hubbard, John Bowne.
Flatlands : Elbert Elbertsen, Roeloffe Mar-
tense.
Flatbush : John Striker, Hendrick Guck-
sen.
Bushwick: John Stealman, Gisbert Tunis.
Brooklyn : Hendrick Lubbertsen, John
Evertsen.
Newtown : Richard Betts, John Coe.
Flushing: Elias Doughty, Richard Corn-
hiU.
Jamaica : Daniel Denton, Thomas Benedict.
Hempstead : John Hicks, Robt. Jackson.
Oyster Bay: John Underbill, Matthias
Harvey.
Huntington : Jonas Wood, John Ketcham.
Brookhaven: Daniel Lane, Roger Barton.
Southold : William Wells, John Youngs.
Southampton : Thomas Topping, John
Howell.
Easthampton : Thomas Baker, John Strat-
ton.
Westchester: Edward Jessup, John Quin-
by.
Gabriel Furman ("Notes Relating the Town
of Brooklyn," 1824), referring to this address,
says :
The people of Long Island considered
the language of this address as too servile
for freemen and were exasperated against the
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 whosoever hereafter shall any
way detract or speak against any of the
Deputies signing the address of his Royal
Highness at the General Meeting at Hemp-
stead, they shall be presented at 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 the slander
upon plaint or information.
The deputies, subsequently to the address
made to the Duke of York, made one to the
j)eople, in which they set forth their reasons
for agreeing to the code styled "The Duke's
Laws."
There seems no doubt that the real author
of this address which, fulsome as it may appear
to modern readers, was not so extravagant in
that respect as most documents of the time
of a similar nature, was the Governor's neph-
ew, Matthias Nicolls. He was a lawyer by
profession and received the appointment of
secretary to that warrior-diplomat, with the
military rank of Captain, when the expedition,
was organized which resulted in the capture
of New Netherland. When Nicolls entered,
into possession Matthias was appointed Sec-
retary of the Province, a position, it would!
seem, which had been promised him before
leaving England: indeed he had his commis-
sion in his possession when he first saw New
Amsterdam. By virtue of his secretaryship-
he became a member of the Governor's Coun-
cil. He was the presiding Judge in the Court
of Assizes on its establishment, and in 1672^
was chosen Mayor of New York, holding that
office lor one year. In connection with the
Court of Common Pleas he was the Presiding
Judge, and in 1683 became one of the Judges
of the Supreme Court. He made, in later
years of his life, extensive purchases of land
on Little Neck and seems to have spent quite
a considerable portion of his time on that
property. He died at Cow Neck, Dec. 22,
1687, leaving that estate to his son, William,
and so may be regarded as the founder of one
of the most famous of the old families of
Long Island.
There is no question that Matthias Nicolls
also drew up the code popularly styled "The
Duke's Laws," which after being submitted to
the Duke of York and his advisers was
accepted by them, printed and ordered en-
forced. It was to introduce those laws with-
the apparent concurrence of the people most
directly interested in them that the assembly
at Hempstead was called. These laws are a
remarkable body of regulations and stamp-
their author as a lawyer of no ordinary de-
gree of acumen, and possessing not only a
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
thorough knowledge of the world and of hu-
man nature, but a broad and tolerant spirit.
They stand out in marked relief to the "blue
laws" which prevailed over most of New Eng-
land.
The laws, in every particular except one,
were just and equitable. The Indians were
protected so far as a sale of their lands re-
quired the consent of the Governor. The ut-
most toleration was allowed in religious
matters. Its legal administration, with a town
court, a court of sessions and a court of
assizes, seemed adequate for the needs of the
province. There was a sheriff for the shire,
and a deputy sheriff for each riding. Each
town was to elect a Constable, and eight
(afterward reduced to four) Overseers, who
were entrusted with the maintenance of good
order. They made up the town court, which
took notice of all cases of deljt or trespass
under £5, and at which a Justice of the Peace
^(appointed by the Governor) was to preside
when present. The Court of Sessions was
•composed of the Justices of the Peace in eacli
town in each riding and had jurisdiction over
all criminal cases and over civil cases where
the amount was above £5. It was a jury
court, seven jurymen being the number fi.xed
for all cases not capital, and for such twelve
were required, and a unanimous verdict was
necessary to convict. The death penalty was
the fate decreed for those who denied God or
His attributes, who were found guilty of treas-
on, or willful murder, or taking life by false
testimony, or engaged in man-stealing and
several other crimes. Under suits for less
than £20 the judgment of the court was to
be final, over that sum there was the right
of appeal to the Court of Assizes.
That body met once a year in New York
and was composed of the Governor and his
Council, and the Magistrates of the townships.
It was a court of equity as well as of common
law. In some respects it seems to have as-
sumed legislative functions, and even made
from time to time amendments to the Duke's
laws. It was, however, never popular, and
the number of those who attended its sessions
in the capacity of Judges made it become a
burden on the people, and its abolition in 1684
was generally welcomed. The exception to
the acceptance of the code to which reference
has been made is the fact that it placed little
or no authority in the hands of the people.
The Governor had all the prerogatives of an
autocrat, executive, legislative and judicial.
His will was supreme in every department.
He appointed all Judges and public officials
and could remove them at pleasure. He could
make what laws he pleased and could repeal
any which did not suit his views or his pur-
poses. It is true he wielded his authority by
and with the advice of his Council, but he ap-
pointed the members of his Council himself and
could relegate any of them to private life who
failed to register his wishes. In spite of all
this, however, there can be no doubt that Gov.
Nicolls' administration of his high office was
fairly satisfactory to the people generally and
a genuine feeling of regret was aroused when
it became known that his resignation was in
the hands of the Duke of York and that he
only awaited the coming of his successor to
return to England. When that came to pass
the people gave him a public dinner and es-
corted him down New York Bay, thereby
setting a precedent which has often been fol-
lowed since among local "statesmen." It may
here be said that Nicolls lost his life in the
battle at Solebay, May 28, 1672, with Admiral
De Ruyter.
Under Francis Lovelace the personal rule
permissible under the Duke's laws was still
further emphasized, for he was a politician
rather than a statesman. He followed in
many ways in the politic footsteps of his prede-
cessor, and he had the wise counsel of Mat-
thias Nicolls always at hand to aid him in
any intricate point which might arise. He
tried hard to cultivate the most amicable asso-
ciation with the Dutch, assisted the Lutherans
to bring a minister from Holland, fully pro-
tected the Reformed Church and gave the
Presbyterians a free field, so that even thev
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
67
might secure a foothold in the Province. Re-
hgious freedom prevailed all around, and it is
one of the conundrums of history that under
the rule of a man so thoroughly devoted to the
Church of Rome, as perfect an example of
religious toleration should be found in a terri-
tory where his will was after all the only law.
It was this arbitrary rule which led to the
failure of Lovelace's administration. The
omission of the Duke's code of laws to provide
for any real measures of self-government on
the part of the colonists had, ever since its
promulgation, been the subject of much ad-
verse criticism and complaint, especially on the
eastern division of Long Island and among
the English .towns generally. In 1667 some
of the towns petitioned for a system of local
government, but Nicolls, then retiring, left
the question as a legacy to his successor.
That dignitary's response simply advised the
petitioners to render submission and obedience
to the laws then existing and all would be
well. That of course satisfied nobody, but
things drifted along, the sentiment for local
self-government naturally becoming stronger
with time. On October g, 1669, the towns of
Gravesend, Hempstead, Jamaica, Flushing,
Newtown, Oyster Bay, as well as Westchester
and East Chester, severally presented petitions
to the Governor, the result evidently of a pre-
concerted movement, in which among other
things they asked to be put on an equal foot-
ing with his Majesty's other subjects in Amer-
ica to the extent of being permitted to par-
ticipate in making the laws by which they
"are governed, by such deputies as shall yearly
be chosen by the freeholders of every town
and parish." They had at first been promised
that much when Nicolls took over the Gov-
ernment; but a promise it still remained. No
real response was made to these petitions, and
in 1670 the Governor gave an instance of his
arbitrary power by declaring the patents to
the land of Southampton invalid unless a new
one was obtained within a specified time.
This was done at a meeting of the Court of
Assizes and in a manner strictly in accordance
with the existing law.
In 1665 it was decreed that all towns should
take out new patents, so, as it was said, to in-
troduce uniformity in these documents and
bring them more in accordance with English
law, but the purpose, in reality, was to bring
money to the gubernatorial treasury. South-
ampton complied finally with this command,
but it was urged that, having obtained its pat-
ents from an English source, — the agents of
Lord Stirling, — there was no necessity for the
expense and trouble involved.
In 1670 the Governor, who had the legal
right, according to the patent of his appoint-
ment, to impose customs duties and other in-
direct taxes agreeably to his own pleasure,
ordered a direct tax to be levied for improve-
ments on the fort at New York. When the
effort to enforce this impost was commenced
the freeholders were aroused and the tax was
denounced as being a dangerous precedent, if
allowed, and a direct contravention of the un-
disputed rights of British subjects. The op-
position was, in reality, the first move in the
struggle against taxation without representa-
tion which was destined to go on for a cen-
tury and to end in the loss of the Colonies
to Great Britain. Meetings were held all over
Long Island to consider the situation. Ja-
maica declared that any law which compelled
the people to pay money without their con-
sent was a direct violation of the British con-
stitution, forgetting, however, the important
fact that they were not living under the Brit-
ish constitution but in a private territory which,
by the Duke's charter, was held under the same
laws as the "manor of East Greenwich in the
County of Kent." This fine point, however,
was not apparent to the freeholders of Long
Island, although it was not forgotten by Love-
lace and his immediate circle of advisers. The
people of Huntington flatly refused to pay be-
cause they were '"deprived of the liberties of
Englishmen." The towns of Southold, South-
ampton and Easthampton held a joint meeting
68
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and decided against the tax, and so did town
meetings at Hempstead, Flushing and others.
Some of the resohitions adopted at the town
meetings were laid before the Court of Ses-
sions of the West Riding, at Gravesend, Dec.
21, 1670, when Matthias Nicolls, who presided,
declared them "scandalous, illegal and sedi-
tious," and in his turn, fortified by this legal
opinion, the Governor ordered the official cop-
ies of the resolutions to be burned. He had a
peculiar theory that the best way to keep people
from grumbling over taxes was to make the
amount so large that there was no time to spare
for any thought but how to pay them.
The sudden capture of the Province by the
Dutch in August, 1673, summarily ended the
authority of Lovelace, suspended "The Duke's
Laws" and introduced practically a condition
of governmental anarchy. On Long Island,
Governor Colve attempted to reform every-
thing on a Dutch basis exactly as in the time
of Stuyvesant. The eastern towns declined to
accept the new Government, declaring they had
never been subject to the Dutch, and when
Colve's commissioners reached Southold they
found the people not only in arms but decid-
edly ready to use them against any attempt to .
impose Dutch rule. In this they were backed
up by Connecticut, which renewed its old claim
of jurisdiction over the eastern half of the
island, and on Nov. 26, 1673, in support of that
claim, it boldly declared war on the Dutch.
It seems very likely the island would have had
a few battle-fields added to its historic treas-
ures had not the trend of affairs in Europe
again restored New Netherland to English
rule.
When the news of the tr£aty of Feb. 19,
1674, reached America, the people of the En-
glish tcwns were in a quandary. They did not
wish a return of the Duke's government, and
in the eastern half of Long Island a petition
was prepared to the King, asking that the ter-
ritory be declared under the jurisdiction of
Connecticut. It was too late, however, for
any such change being made, even had the
home authorities so desired, which is doubtful.
The Duke of York, on June 27, 1674, had for-
tified his title by securing a fresh patent and
had appointed Sir Edmund Andros as his Dep-
uty Governor. Soon after he arrived in New
York, Oct. 31, 1674, Andros re-established the
Duke's laws and bluntly ordered the eastern
Long Island towns to return to the rule of his
Royal Highness. For a time they held out.
Southold, on Nov. 17, by the vote of a town
meeting, formally declared that it still adhered
to Connecticut, and the others followed suit;
but such opposition, as might be expected,
proved without avail, and before the year was
out the rule of the Duke was again supreme.
Andros continued in power until 1683 and
seemed to have brought the iron hand into con-
stant operation without any effort at assuming
the velvet disguise. He enforced the laws
zealously and arbitrarily, suspended of his own
volition meetings of courts and at times even
caused citizens to be imprisoned without trial .
and without offense being charged. Isaac
Piatt, Epenetus Piatt, Samuel Titus, Jonas
Wood and Thomas Wicks, all of Huntington,
were among those thus deprived of liberty,
their only ofl^ence being attendance at a meet-
ing to consider how to obtain redress for pub-
lic grievances. It is to the honor of Hunting-
ton that another meeting decreed that their
law costs and living expenses should be paid
while their imprisonment went on. These
meetings seem to have been very numerous
and to have increased in intensity and in the
scope of their demands; but the records of
all which have come down to us show that the
main grievance was the question of taxation —
taxation of the people without their consent.
But no redress could be obtained from An-
dros, and the appointment of Thomas Don-
gan as his successor was hailed with a feeling
of relief. That official was neither a strong
nor a capable executive, and simply kept within
easy touch of the leading strings which con-
nected him with the home authorities, and con-
tinued Matthias Nicolls as his chief local ad-
viser. Yet, under Dongan the colonists were
destined to make more definite progress on the
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
way to self-government than they had hitherto
been permitted. The longer the "Duke's
laws" continued to be enforced with the op-
portunities for tyranny and favoritism they
afforded such men as Andros, the more bitterly
were they resented by the colonists, and effort
after effort, by appeal or otherwise, was made
for a new code, while the existing laws or their
results were more or less roundly .denounced
at many town meetings. The murmurs against
Andros had led to a commissioner being sent
out to investigate, and although the result was
a coat of official whitewash for that official,
the fact that such an enquiry was made, was,
in the circumstances, a gain for the complain-
ants. It was during the absence of Andros,
and while Brockholles, his commander-in-
chief, was in executive charge, that the great-
est advance was made. Roberts, in his "His-
tory of New York," says :
Trouble befell Brockholles at once because
the customs duties had expired by limitation
;.nd had not been renewed. The merchants
on this ground refused to pay any duties on
imports. The Council advised Brockholles
that he had no authority to collect them with-
out orders from the Duke. Dyer, collector of
the port, was exercising "regal power and au-
thority" because he tried to hold goods to en-
force payment. He appealed to the courts at
home, but without trial finally received prac-
tical approval of his course by appointment as
Surveyor General of Customs in America.
The jury, on the other hand, declared to the
Court of Assizes that a Provincial Assembly
was needed. Sheriff' John Youngs, of Long
Island, was designated to draft a petition to
the Duke of York for "an assembly to be duly
elected by the freeholders as is usual within
the realm of England and other of his Maj-
esty's plantations." The demand was urgent,
because the inhabitants "were groaning under
inexpressible burdens of an arbitrary and ab-
solute power" by which "revenue had been
exacted, their trade crippled and their liber-
ties enthralled." Disaffection was open and
pronounced, especially on Long Island. Lieut.
Gov. Brockholles laid the case before the Duke
and was censured for not promptly renewing
the order for the duties and enforcing their
collectfion.
The pressure for money led the Duke to
intimate that he would condescend to the de-
sires of the colony in granting them equal
privileges in choosing an Assembly and so
forUi, as the other English plantations in
America have, but this was on the supposition
that the inhabitants will agree to raise money
to discharge the public debts and to settle such
a fund for the future as may be sufficient for
the maintenance of the garrison and govern-
ment! James had previously disapproved of
any movement for an Assembly as fraught
with dangerous consequences, while he
pointed to the Court of Assizes as adequate
to hear and remedy any grievances. Now he
declared, March 28, 1682, that he "sought the
common good and protection of the colony and
the increase of its trade" before any advan-
tages to himself, and he promised that what-
ever revenues the people would provide should
be applied to the public uses suggested.
But he was in no hurry over the gathering
of the Assembly. Brockholles received no in-
structions, and although Dongan, who arrived
Aug. 27, 1683, was instructed to summon the
Assembly, he did. not issue the proclamation
until Sept. 13, and it was almost a month later,
Oct. 17, before it met in New York, in the old
fort in the Battery. Matthias Nicolls, prob-
ably at the instigation of the Governor, was
appointed Speaker. The acts of that assembly
were of the utmost importance. By the char-
ter of liberties it was declared that under the
King and the Duke the supreme legislative
authority shall forever be and reside in "the
Governor, Council, and the people met in a
General Assembly;" and it expressly provided
that no tax should be imposed without the con-
sent of the Governor, Council and Assembly.
Alany of the details of the Duke's laws were
repealed. Entire freedom in religion was de-
clared, and free elections were provided for.
Duties were regulated as follows :
Imports : Rum, brandy and distilled liq-
uor, 4d a gallon. Sherry and all sweet wines,
40s a pipe. Lead, 6s a cwt. Guns or gun bar-
rels, with lock, 6s each. General merchandise
70.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
not otherwise stated, 2 per cent, ad valorem.
^Merchandise intended for India trade. 10 per
cent.
Exports: Beaver skins, gd each. All
other skins exported were liable to duty.
Excise : Beer and cider sold in less quan-
tities than five gallons, 6d a gallon. All other
liquors, I2d a gallon.
The courts were thoroughly reorganized.
For every town a court was designated to meet
once a month and try cases of debt and tres-
pass under forty shillings and without a jury
unless one wa« demanded. A Court of Ses-
sions was to be held yearly in each county to
meet for three days and try all sorts of causes
with a jury of twelve men. A court of gen-
eral jurisdiction, called the Court of Oyer and
Terminer and jail delivery, was also estab-
lished, and the Governor and Council were ap-
pointed a Court of Chancery, from whose de-
cisions an appeal could only be made to the
sovereign. By act of a later session (Oct.,
1684) the Court of Assizes was abolished.
From a historical point of view, this assem-
bly is memorable as that which divided the
Province of Colony into counties and abol-
ished the old ridings with the first mix-up of
Long Island with Westchester and Staten
Island. The act was passed Nov. 29, 1683,
and apportioned Long Island as follows:
Queens County — to conteyne the severall
towns of Newtown, Jamaica, Flushing, Hemp-
stead and Oyster Bay, with the severall out-
farms, settlements and plantacons adjacent.
Kings County — to conteyne the severall
towns of Boshwyck, Bedford, Brooklyn, Flat-
bush, Flatlands, New Utrecht and Gravesend,
with the severall settlements and plantacons
adjacent.
Suffolk County — to conteyne the severall
towns of Huntington, Southfield, Brookhaven,
Southampton, Southold, Easthampton to Mon-
tauk Point, Shelter Island, the Isle of Wight,
Fisher's Island and Plum Island, with the sev-
eral out-farms and plantacons adjacent.
Dongan summoned a fresh assembly to
meet in September, 1685, but it accomplished
little. By the time it met the Duke of York
had become James II, and as soon as possible
thereafter the new sovereign withdrew the in-
structions by which the Royal Governor had
called the Assemblies and determined that his
appointees should alone rule, with the aid of
his instructions- and the rules of his Privy
Council. Amid all these changes the discon-
tent of the people seemed to increase, and
after James became King and the Assembly
had become, a dead letter murmurs reached the
royal representative from every side. Tax-
ation steadily increased all round, and especi-
ally in Suflfolk County, the furthest removed
from the center of Government, there was
found the greatest difficulty in the collection
of the revenue. Indeed, Dongan on one oc-
casion wrote that "the people of Long Island,
especially toward the east end, are of the same
stamp with those of New England, refractory
and very loath to have any commerce with
this place (New York), to the great detriment
of his Majesty's revenue and the ruin of our
merchants." Smuggling was common from
Connecticut and New England, the laws were
violated in many ways, and though the Gov-
ernment zealously applied itself to remedy mat-
ters, it failed of accomplishment. Indeed, the
only result of the rigid attempts to enforce
obnoxious laws was the stoppage of immigra-
tion. The Governor indeed admitted that for
seven years not over twenty families from Eng-
land had moved into the Province of New
York, while from Long Island a constant
stream of good people was moving over into
Connecticut. On Aug. 11, 1688, Andros again
became Governor, in addition to his charge in
New England, and personally held the execu-
tive chair until Oct. 9 following, when he ap-
pointed Francis Nicholson his Lieutenant
Governor and returned to Boston. Two
months later King James himself was a
fugitive, bereft of throne and country, and-
William of Orange resigned in his stead.
There is no doubt that the accession to
power of King William was hailed with joy in
New iVetherland. The Dutch citizens natur-
THE BRITISH GOVERNiMEXT.
ally regarded him as one of themselves and
anticipated much from what they considered
would be but a natural partiality, while the
English, heartily tired of James and his domi-
neering and greedy representatives, looked for-
ward to a promulgation of a constitution for
the territory, worthy of freemen. It was not
until the middle of April, 1689, that the
news of the "Glorious Revolution" reached
this side of the Atlantic and the first result
was the capture of Fort James by Jacob Leis-
ler. This man was a native of Germany, a
Protestant, and had acquired considerable
wealth in trading with the Indians. While a
resident of Albany he had incurred the dis-
pleasure of Andros by his opposition to the
spread of Roman Catholicism, but under Don-
gan he became one of the Commissioners of
the Court of Admiralty in New York and soon
acquired a large measure of popularity among
the citizens. He became captain of one of
the five companies of militia of the city. When
the news of the Revolution reached New York
it was understood that the office-holders of the
fallen regime would be summarily' turned out,
and on a report that those who adhered to the
deposed monarch were preparing to establish
themselves in the fort and to massacre the
Protestants, a popular demand arose that Leis-
ler and his troops should take action to estab-
lish the authority of the new sovereign. He
took possession of the fort, which contained
all the funds and archives of the local govern-
ment, and announced his intention to hold it
"for the present Protestant power that reigns
in England."
Then, in answer to requests from Leisler,
a Committee of Safety of ten citizens, includ-
ing one representative from Kings and one
from Queens, assumed the role of a Provis-
ional Government, elected Leisler its execu-
tive chief and authorized him to act as "Cap-
tain of the fort." Suffolk County declined to
take any share in the committee, basing its
hopes upon being reunited to Connecticut.
Fearing for his own safety, Lieut. Gov. Nichol-
son, when the trouble began, went aboard a
ship lying in the harbor and set out for Eng-
land, and most of his prominent adherents-
then retired to Albany, leaving Leisler in full
control. He strengthened the fort and as-
sumed entire charge of local affairs.
In December a letter was received from:
the new authority in London directed to "Fran-
cis Nicholson, or, in his absence, to such as for
the time being take care for preserving the
peace and administering the laws in their
Majestie's Province of New York in Amer-
ica," authorizing him to take chief command
and to appoint to the various offices such free-
holders and inhabitants as he should see fit.
Leisler, in the absence of Nicholson, consid-
ered all this as his own appointment as Lieu-
tenant Governor. So he summarily dismissed
the Committee of Safety, swore in a new Coun-
cil and assumed all the prerogatives of the high
office in which he had placed himself. He
summoned a General Assem'bly, which met in
New York, but accomplished nothing. Long
Island was not represented and, indeed, Hun-
tington was the only town which for a time
seems to have fully recognized his authority
and aided him with troops. In fact, the island,
it may be said, was in a condition of actual re-
bellion against him, and on Feb. 15, 1690, he
brought about the arrest of ex-Gov. Dongan
and ordered Col. Thomas Willett, Capt.
Thomas Hicks, Daniel Whitehead and Edward
Antill to be brought before his Council. A
few days later he ordered Dongan and others
to be carried as prisoners to New York. The
struggle continued all through the island, and
in October Leisler sent Ms son-in-law, Major
Millbourne, to suppress the disaffected and
suspended the meeting of the Kings County
Court of Oyer and Terminer. But the dis-
affection continued and grew daily more open
and pronounced, so_ much so that on Oct. 30
he formally declared Long Island in a state of
rebellion. On Nov. 7 the freeholders of
Hempstead, Jamaica, Flushing and Newtown
met and drew up a paper, which was sent to
the Secretary of State in London, in which
they told of their oppressed condition and en-
72
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
larged at length and in minute detail on Leis-
ler's tyrannical and cruel acts.
So matters passed along, the whole prov-
ince drifting in a perilous condition in spite of
Leisler's able management of affairs gener-
ally until, in January, 169 1, Major Richard
Ingoldsby arrived in New York with some
troops, announced that Henry Sloughter had
been appointed Governor and himself Lieu-
tenant Governor, and demanded in the name of
his chief possession of the fort. This Leisler
peremptorily refused. When Sloughter ar-
rived, March 19, 1691, Leisler continued to
hold out until Gov. Sloughter had sworn in
his Council, when he accepted the inevitable,
gave up the stronghold and resigned his com-
mands. Sloughter at once placed Leisler and
nine of his adherents under arrest. All of
these were soon liberated excepting Leisler
and Millbourne, who were tried for high trea-
son and murder, found guilty, and, on May 16,
1691, 'both were hanged near what is now the
New York entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.
As regards the merits of this dispute, or the
story of the parties of Leislerites and Anti-
Leislerites in which New Yolrk long revelled,
we do not propose to enter. The passing of
Leisler on the gallows virtually ended the
trouble so far as Long Island was concerned.
We are rather concerned with the commission
of Henry Sloughter, for, as Thompson says,
"it constituted the foundation of the Colonial
Government after the Revolution in England,
and continued as it was then settled, with few
innovations, until the American Revolution."
Practically it was the same as that under which
Gov. Dongan acted, with the difference that it
was honestly enforced and the Assembly ac-
quired a full measure of power as an integral
part of the Government. It is not likely that
Sloughter's administration would have been
marked by any extraordinafy performance, for
he was one of the weakest of all the royal Gov-
ernors, addicted to many vices, and a drunkard
to wit. But his advent in New York was a
relief, for the people everywhere in the prov-
ince felt that he represented a stable govern-
ment. He died suddenly July 23, 1691, and
Major Ingoldsby filled his office until Aug.
30, 1692, when Governor Benjamin Fletcher
arrived and assumed the executive chair, being
welcomed with a "treat costing 20 pounds."
Fletcher was a soldier, a stanch supporter
of the Established Church in England and a
brave as well as a capable man. He estab-
lished annual agricultural fairs in the three
Long Island counties, and it was under his
regime that an act was passed by the Assembly,
April 10, 1693, changing the name of the
island to "Island of Nassau," which, however,
never passed into current use, and soon be-
came obsolete. The courts were again re-
organized, and practically two new tribunals
were instituted — the Court of Common Pleas
and the Court of Sessions ; an act for settling a
ministry and raising a fund for the main-
tenance of the clergy gave rise to general dis-
satisfaction, especially when it was discovered
that its main object was the setting up in the
Province of a State Church, and that the
Episcopalian, which had then very few ad-
herents outside of New York City. Still
Fletcher seems to have determined it should
be enacted and become effective, with the re-
sult of raising up a standing grievance in the
community for some time to come. He had,
in fact, as it was, a good deal of trouble with
contumacious and unsympathetic assemblies.
In spite of his devotion to clerical interests,
Fletcher was obliged to retire from his post in
April, 1698, in disgrace, under charges of
malfeasance and of being in partnership with
pirates ; but such charges remained unproved.
It was to put down the pirates who infested
the seas that the Earl of Bellomont was ap-
pointed to the Governorship in succession to
Fletcher, and entered upon his duties April
13, 1698. In another chapter we will refer
more particularly to his work in that line,
and practically with that story his connection
with Long Island began and ended. Flis
successor as Governor, the notorious Lord
Cornbury, was equally a cipher although he
contributed a disgraceful chapter to the clerical
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
history of the village of Jamaica. He was
recalled in 1708 and Lord Lovelace became
Governor for a few months. During the in-
terregnum caused by the arrivals and de-
parture of these nonentities the executive
chair was often filled for brief intervals by
local men, such as Col. William Smith, Col.
Abraham de Peyster, Gerardus Beekman and
Peter Schuyler.
Gov. Hunter, a scion of an old Scottish
family, entered upon the duties of the Gov-
ernorship June 14, 1710. Like all of his pred-
ecessors, he had accepted the office with a
view of adding to his private fortune, but un-
like most of them he had a conscience that
prevented him from seeking to increase his
wealth by means which were in direct variance
to the welfare of the community over which
he was appointed to rule. After about a year's
experience in the Province he saw that the
development of the territory could only be
hastened by adding to its population through
encouraging and facilitating immigration, and
having conceived a scheme about the manu-
facture of naval stores by which he might
enrich himself and afford employment to many
workers he proceeded to develop the re-
sources of the country and increase his own
wealth by the introduction of some 3,000 Ger-
man laborers from the Palatinate. These peo-
ple were settled in five villages on the banks
of the Hudson River, and were to produce tar
and turpentine. Their passage money was to
be repaid out of their earnings and on the
same terms they were to be supplied at first
with the necessaries of life. As might be
expected the scheme was a failure. The immi-
grants were virtually contract slaves and were
soon so dissatisfied with their lot that they
refused to work ; and when at length he washed
his hands of the whole scheme and left the
immigrants to shift for themselves "but not
outside of the province," the Governor was
very seriously crippled financially. His great-
est claim to remembrance is his establishing
of a complete Court of Chancery in the colony;
and although he doubtless saw in such a court
a rich harvest of fees and opportunities for
patronage, the good accomplished by a tribunal
of that description, especially in a developing
colony where new and intricate questions were
daily demanding decisions, decisions, which,
were for all time to rank as precedents, should
not be ignored. In many ways Governor
Hunter was a model ruler. In questions of
religion he was extremely tolerant and he be-
lieved in every man being permitted to wor-
ship as he thought best. He indulged in no
wild-cat schemes unless his importation of
workers from the Palatinate be so regarded,
and encouraged no extravagant outlay of pub-
lic money. He understood the art of manag-
ing men, and was on equally good terms witb
all the parties in the colony. Very popular
he was not and never could be, for he repre-
sented a sovereign power in the person of the
King, while all around him in New York was
slowly but surely developing the theory that
the source of all power, even the power to
name Governors and Judges, should be the
people concerned; still he preserved intact the
supremacy of his royal master and maintained
peace or the appearance of harmony in the
province, although he foresaw very clearly
that a struggle between Britain and the Amer-
ican Colonies was certain sooner or later.
"The Colonies were then infants at their
mother's breast," he wrote in 171 1 to Lord
Bolingbroke, then British Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs ; "but such as would wean
themselves when they came of age."
When Robert Hunter retired from the Col-
ony, in 1 719, the Assembly gave him an ad-
dress in which they lauded his administration
of affairs and expressed the opinion that he
had "governed well and wisely, like a prudent
magistrate, like an aft'ectionate parent." This
praise seems to have been thoroughly well
deserved, and even American writers acknowl-
edge that his official record was not only an
able but a clean one. He was possessed of
more than ordinary talent, was a warm friend
of such men as Addison, St. John, Steele,
Sliaftesbury, and especially of Dean Swift,
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
who appears to have entertained for him as
undoubted sentiments of respect and friend-
ship as he entertained for any man. "Hunter,"
wrote John Forster in his uncompleted Hfe
of the Dean of St. Patrick's, "was among the
most scholar!}- and entertaining of his
(Swift's) correspondents; some of Swift's
own best letters were written to this friend,
and the judgment he had formed of him may
be taken from the fact that when all the
world were giving to himself the authorship
of Shaftesbury's (anonymously printed) 'Let-
ter of Enthusiasm,' Swift believed Hunter to
have written it." General Hunter died at
Jamaica in 1734, while holding the office of
Governor of that island.
Governor Hunter's successor in New York
was also a Scotchman — William Burnet. This
amiable man was the son of the famous Bishop
Burnet, whose "History of Our Own Times"
is one of the classics of English literature.
William Burnet was educated at Cambridge
and admitted to the practice of the law. He
appears to have been fairly successful in that
profession, but lost all his means in the South
Sea bubble, and, finding himself ruined, looked
around so that he might use his great family
influence to secure for him a colonial appoint-
ment, a most natural and common proceeding
at that time. His success was quick and
brilliant, and in September, 1720, he found
himself in New York as its Governor. His
administration was as able and as honest as
that of his predecessor, and he made himself
immensely popular by his prohibition of trade
between the Indians of the colony and the
merchants in Canada, and he even built a fort
at his personal expense to help in protecting
the trade of the colony over which he ruled.
The home government, however, refused to en-
dorse Burnet's course in this instance, but
that set-back only added to his personal popu-
larity. He lost it all, however, by the policy
he adopted toward the Court of Chancery.
Briefly stated, he wanted to make that body
independent of public sentiment and above
pul)lic interference, while Colonial opinion was
that all judges and all courts should be subject
to the control of the people directly or
through their elected representatives. Things
reached such a pass that the Assembly threat-
ened to declare all acts and decrees of the
Court of Chancery as null and void, and re-
duced all its fees as a preliminary step in that
direction. The crisis between the Governor
and the people was ended, greatly to the
former's relief, in 1728, when he was trans-
ferred to the Governorship of Massachusetts.
He had not much time to make a name for
himself in the old Bay State, for he died at
Boston in 1729.
John Montgomery, the next Governor, was
a soldier of brilliant parts and many amiable
qualities, but he only held the office for some
three months, dying July i, 1731. Rip Van
Dam, the oldest member of the Council, acted
as Governor until the arrival of William Cos-
by on Aug. I, 1732. This rniserable charlatan
drew his salary, quarrelled with the Assembly,
aired his self-conceit, and gabbled about pre-
rogatives until he became the most hated man
in the province. He died in office r^Iarch 7,
1736, and George Clarke, his Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, administered affairs until the arrival of
Governor George Clinton, Nov. 23, 1743. It
is said that Clarke during his American career
amassed a fortune of £100,000, while Clinton
when he retired in 1753 took back with him
to England £80,000, all gathered in during
his ten years' tenure, a tenure that was marked
by constant bickering with the Assembly and
many leading Colonists; for the trend of af-
fairs was even then, unconsciously to all, most
certainly approaching a crisis. It became con-
scious, however, to a great many in 1765,
when, Sir Henry Moore being Governor, an
attempt was made to introduce stamp duties.
But from Clinton to Tryon the Governors
were either mere figure-heads, or at all events
passing creatures on the stage who accom-
plished nothing worth even the recalling of
their names in these pages. Tryon was the.
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT.
ablest of the lot, but his story belongs to the
pages of our history which recount the events
of the Revolution.
If, however, these titular rulers are un-
worthy of a place in this history there is no
doubt that the actual ruler of New York for
fifteen years prior to the advent of Tryon,
Cadwallader Colden, deserves more than pass-
ing notice. Colden was born at Dunse (now
unfortunately called Duns), Scotland, in 1688,
the year of the "Glorious Revolution" which
placed ^^'illiam and Alary on the British
throne. His father was a clergyman and Cad-
wallader was educated at Edinburgh Univer-
sity with the view of entering the ministry.
His own inclination, however, led him to studv
medicine and he appears to have practiced
that profession in London. In 1710 he crossed
the seas to Philadelphia. His stay there was
comparatively short, for we find him in 171 5
again in London, where he moved in the high-
est intellectual and literary circles. In 1716
he returned to Scotland and married a country
girl, the daughter of a minister, and soon
after left his native land again for America.
After practicing medicine for a time in Phila-
delphia he visited New York and won the
friendship of Governor Hunter, who invited
him to settle in the territory under his author-
ity. This he agreed to, mainly because
Hunter backed up his profession of friendship
by the more tangible offer of the position of
Surveyor General of the Colony. Two years
later Colden had so fortified his position with
the ruling powers that he obtained a grant of
2,000 acres of land ii Orange county, and
there built a country home for himself and
founded a village to which he gave the name
of Coldenham, which it still retains. His in-
fluence was increased after he was appointed,
in 1722, a member of his Alajesty's Provincial
Council, when Governor Burnet had com-
menced his rule, and he became that person-
age's most trusted counsellor. After Burnet
went to Boston, Colden retired to Coldenham
and there interested himself in those literary
and scientific pursuits which gave him a prom-
inent position in contemporary learned circles_.
He had a wide correspondence with scientists
on both sides of the Atlantic, and to a sugges-
tion in one of his letters was due the formation
of the American Philosophical Society of
Philadelphia. As a member of Council, how-
ever, Colden still continued to be active in
the politics of the Province and as usual came
in for a full share of popular and official
criticism and abuse. In 1760 a second time
as senior member of Council, he was called
upon to administer the government on the
sudden death of Governor De Lancey, and
he soon after was commissioned Lieutenant
Governor. Thereafter, with "few interrup-
tions," he served as Lieutenant Governor until
June 25, 1775, when the progress of the Revo-
lution laid him on the shelf by wiping out
the royal office. Had Colden thrown in his
lot with the Revolutionists he might have
attained a high place in the affection of the
leaders of the successful side, but he remained
steadfast in his loyalty and to the official
oaths he had taken to be faithful to the home
Government, and while his sympathies were
always with the people and his views were
76
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
•most decided against unwarranted State inter-
ference and against taxation without repre-
sentation, he was too old to change his flag.
Besides, he was of the opinion that all the
evils which led to the Revolution could be
amended by united and firm representation to
the sovereign and his immediate advisers, and
that therefore open rebellion was needless.
So, when the crash finally came and his pro-
testations, tears, promises, explanations, diplo-
macy and entreaties proved unavailing, the
•old Governor retired to a farm near Flushing,
Long Island, and died of a broken heart a few
months later, in September, 1776, when in the
eighty-eighth year of his age.
After the bitterness of the contemporary
struggle had passed away the public services
and brilliant talents of this most accomplished
of all New York royal representatives was
more apparent than at the time when he was
an actor in the drama of history, and his loyal
devotion to the duties of his high office was
fully acknowledged on all sides. "Posterity,"
wrote Dr. O'Callaghan in his "Documentary
History of the State of New York," "will not
fail to accord justice to the character and mem-
ory of a man to whom this country is most
deeply indebted for much of its science and for
many of the most important institutions, and
of whom the State of New York may well be
proud ;" and G. C. Verplonck said : "For the
great variety and extent of his learning, his
unwearied research, his talents, and the public
sphere which he filled, Cadyvallader Golden
may justly be placed in a high rank among the
most distinguished men of his time."
'^^#^^-g--^'h^^gj^y*q#g^^B^gEj
CHAPTER VII.
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
Some Pioneer Settlers — The Stirling Ownership and Colonizing Schemes —
Lion Gardiner and his Purchase — A Long Island "Q.ueen of the White
House" — The Blue Smiths and other Smiths, the Tangier Smiths and other
Branches of the Smith Family — The Floyds.
E propose in this chapter to select
a few of the early and other repre-
sentative families of Long Island,
to tell how they acquired a settle-
ment, what they did in the way of developing
its resources, trace, when possible, and at more
or less extent, their descendants to the present
day, referring briefly to the doings of the
most prominent in each generation and in a
general way try to show the influence which
each family selected has had upon the fortunes
of the island. Scattered throughout the course
of this work much information of the descrip-
tion thus indicated will be found, but the selec-
tion here made will group together representa-
tive examples of the various classes of "found-
ers" whose names are to-day as familiar in
Long Island as household words, and will en-
able the reader readily to understand the
quality of hearts and hands which have led
the way in the building up of the local his-
tory. Long Island is justly proud of its old
families, and while it heartily welcomes new-
comers to its soil it is wont to recall with
pleasure the names of the pioneers who in
other times and under very different circum-
stances from those which prevail to-day,
cleared the land of its virgin forests, made
fruitful fields take the place of hunting
grounds, introduced civilization and com-
merce, and won for Long Island a definite and
honored position in the annals of the State and
the Nation.
Outside of corporations, or companies, or
sovereigns, the first owner of Long Island
was William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, in
many ways one of the most extraordinary men
of his time ; a man who was restless in his
activity, who won fame in various walks o£
life, who was one of the most extensive land-
owners of which the world has any knowledge,
yet who died poor — a bankrupt, in fact. Will-
iam Alexander was born at Menstrie, Stirling-
shire, in 1567. Through the influence of the
Argyle family he obtained a position at the
Scottish Court and became tutor to Prince
Henry, eldest son of James VI. He soon won
the good graces of the sovereign himself —
78
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the British Solomon — by his learning, his
shrewdness, and his poetical ability, and when
the crowns of Scotland and England were uni-
ted, in 1603, Alexander followed King James
to London. That Alexander enjoyed much
popular favor and high reputation as a poet
during his lifetime is undoubted, although few
except students of literature venture to read
his productions now. They are heavy, dis-
cursive, and, with the exception of a few of
his sonnets and his "Paraenesis to Prince
Henry," rather monotonous. He was a slave
to the literary mannerisms and affectations of
the age, but a knowledge of that cannot blind
us to the fact that he was really possessed of
a rich share of poetic ability. With his poeti-
cal writings or his merits as a poet, however,
we have nothing to do in this place; nor do
we need discuss the question as to whether
or not he wrote King James's "Psalms," or
even discuss the nature of his statesmanship
as employed in his official relations with his
native country. We have to deal with him
simply as a colonizer, one of the first to colo-
nize America. His career at Court may be
summed up by mentioning that he was knight-
ed in 1609, created Lord Alexander of Tulli-
body and Viscount Stirling in 1630, Earl of
Stirling and Viscount Canada in 1633, and
Earl of Dovan in 1639. A year later he died.
Lord Stirling found that the English were
striving to establish colonies on the American
seaboard and thought, like the patriot that he
undoubtedly was, that his countrymen should
have a share in the rich lands across the sea.
Early in 1621 he sent a petition to King James
for a grant of territory in America on which
he hoped to induce Scotchmen to settle. "A
great number of Scotch families," he told his
sovereign, "had lately emigrated to Poland,
Sweden and Russia," and he pointed out that
"it would be equally beneficial to the interests
of the kingdom, and to the individuals them-
selves, if they were permitted to settle this
valuable and fertile portion of his Majesty's
dominions."
The petition was granted by the King —
probably that was satisfactorily arranged be-
fore it had been committed to paper — and en-
dorsed by the Privy Council. When these
formalities had been gone through Lord Stir-
ling entered on formal possession of what is
now incorporated in Nova Scotia, New Bruns-
wick, Prince Edward Island, a goodly portion
of the State of Maine and of the Province of
Quebec. This territory was to be known as
New Scotland, — Nova Scotia, the charter dig-
nifiedly called it, — and over it the new owner
and those acting for him in it were supreme
even to the establishment of churches and of
courts of law. For some reason, not now ex-
actly known. Lord Stirling at once handed over
a part of his new dominion to Sir Robert
Gordon of Lochinvar. That part is known as
Cape Breton, but it was then given the more
national name of New Galloway.
Sir William Alexander, to give Lord Stir-
ling the name by which he is probably best
remembered, sent out his first expedition to
colonize New Scotland in Alarch, 1622. These
pioneers, with the exception of an adventurous
clergyman, were of the humblest class of agri-
cultural laborers, and only a single artisan, a
blacksmith, was among them. The voyage
was a rough one, and, after sighting the coast
of Cape Breton, the emigrants were glad to
shape their course back to Newfoundland,
where they spent the winter. Next spring Sir
William, who had been advised of the failure
of the first expedition, sent out another ship
with colonists and provisions. The early re-
ports of the land on which the new colony
was to settle were communicated to him by
some of his people soon after they managed
to get landed, which they did in the guise of
an exploring party. These reports were sub-
mitted by him to the world, with all the at-
tractiveness of a modern advertising agent, in
his work entitled an "Encouragement to Colo-
nies." The explorers described the country
they visited (mainly the coast of Gape Breton)
as "presenting very delecate meadowes, having
roses white and red growing therein, with a
kind of wild Lily, which hath a daintie smell."
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
The ground "was without wood, and very
good, fat earth, having several sort of berries
growing thereon, as gooseberries, strawber-
ries, hindbarries, raspberries and a kind of wine
berrie, as also some sorts of grain, as pease,
some eares of wheat, barly and rie growing
there wild. * * * They likewise found
in every river abundance of lobsters, cockles,
and all other shell fishes, and also, not only
in the rivers, but all the coasts alongst, num-
bers of several sorts of wilde foule, as wild
goose, black Ducke, woodcock, crane, heron,
pidgeon, and many other sorts of Foul which
they knew not. They did kill as they sayled
alongst the coast, great shore of cod, with
several other sorts of great fishes. The coun-
try is full of woods, not very thick, and the
most part Oake, the rest Firre, Spruce, Bircii
and some Sicamores and Ashes and many
other sorts of Wood which they had not seen
before." All this information, so cunningly
and attractively set forth by Sir William in his
book of "Encouragement," which by the way
had a map of the territory in which Scottish
names are given to every point and section
and river, failed to attract settlers and the"pro-
jector" found himself some £6,000 out of pock-
et by his patriotism. To reimburse him, and
at the same time add a little to the royal treas-
ury, the order of Baronets of Nova Scotia was
founded, on the pattern of the order of Ulster ;
even this move was not substantially success-
ful, although the terms were reasonable and
the lands accompanying the honor were
"three myles long upon the coast and ten miles
into tb.e country."
We need not follow the .details of Sir Will-
iam's colonizing schemes any further. They
belong really to the history of Canada. Each
failure seemed to be compensated for by a
fresh grant of territory, and, if we may be-
lieve a map issued long after by one of the
many claimants for his hereditary titles and
"land rights," the Alexander family held by
right of charters, the sort of documents which
the late Duke of Argyle believed to be the
most sacred on earth, not onlv about the whole
of Canada, but what are now the States of
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and an unde-
fined territory two or three times as large as
all that has been named put together.
Sir William never saw his possessions on
this side of the Atlantic. He appointed as
his agent and administrator on Long Island
James Farret, and by way of recompense,
or partly so, for his services' the latter received
as a starter a grant from his knightly employer
of twelve thousand acres of land on Long
Island, or "the islands adjacent." Farret af-
terward selected Shelter Island and Robin's
Island under this clause in the agreement, but
in 1641 he conveyed both these islands to
Stephen Goodyear, of New Haven. That in-
dividual seems never to have made any use
of either of them, probably held them only as
a speculation, and in 165 1 he sold both to
Thomas Middleton, Thomas Rouse, Constant
Sylvester and Nathaniel Sylvester, for 16 cwt.
of" raw sugar. These buyers, however,' took
the additional precaution of getting a confirma-
tion of their title from the chief of the Man-
hansett Indians. By 1666 the two Sylvesters
and Thomas Middleton were the owners of
Shelter Island and had the original patent
from Lord Stirling's agent confirmed by Gov-
ernor Nicolls. Governor Colve, when the
Dutch regained sovereignty of the Province,
confiscated the property of Middleton and Con-
stant Sylvester and sold their holdings on the
island to Nathaniel for £500. He had a good
deal of trouble in collecting the amount before
the regime under which he acted came to an
end forever: in fact, he had to send a detach-
ment of fifty soldiers to the island before Na-
thaniel would part with the money. He did
part with it, however, and remained in peace-
ful possession until his death, when he willed
the property in equal parts to his five sons.
Its further story will be traced in another
section of this work.
On March 10, 1639, Farret, on behalf of
Lord Stirling, made a conveyance to Lion
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Gardiner of what is now known as Gardiner's
Island, but was formerly known among the
Indians as Manchonat and among the En-
glish as the Isle of Wight. The details of this
purchase, b'oth of the Stirling convej'ance and
the sale by the Indians, as well as some ac-
count of the career of Lion Gardiner, have
already been given in a previous chapter
(Chapter V). But reference is made again
to the purchase and the family, because the
island has remained in the hands of the Gar-
diner family until the present day, and it gives
us, as has been said, "the only illustration of
the practical working of the law of primo-
geniture in this country covering so long a
period." Lion Gardiner died at Easthampton
in 1663, in or about the sixty- fourth year of
his age. He had taken up his abode at East-
hampton about the year 1649, probably with
the view of the enjoyment of more frequent
social intercourse with his fellows than he
could command on his little island kingdom,
on which in 1641 one of his daughters, Eliza-
beth, was born. At Easthampton he seems 'to
have lived the simple life of a cultured coun-
try gentleman, and was held in the highest
esteem by the people. He filled the office of
magistrate and in all respects was regarded
as the representative citizen of that section of
the island, wielding an influence that was
equally potent among the Indians as among
those of his own race. A recumbent statue
placed beside his grave in 1886 is testimony
that his memory is still cherished. His son
David came into possession of the property
when the pioneer rested from his labors. He
seemed to inherit much of his father's talents,
took up the role of country gentleman and
represented Easthampton and the other east-
ern towns on several occasions before the
General Assembly at Hartford. He died in
the last named town July 10^ 1689, and his
tomb set forth that he was "well, sick, dead,
in one hour's time." His estate was divided
between his sons, John getting Gardiner's
Island and Lion the lands at Easthampton.
With the latter's descendants we have no in-
terest at present, although for several genera-
tions they upheld the family name. Gardi-
ner's Island continued in the possession of
John Gardiner until he died, in 1764, when
it passed to his eldest son, David. Another
son acquired property at Eaton's Neck and
founded a family. David soon after entering
into ownership of the island married Jerusha,
daughter of the Rev. Samuel Buell, and had
two sons, — John Lion and David. The lat-
ter settled at Flushing and left a family there.
John Lion married the daughter of the Hon.
Roger Griswold, and at his death, November
22, 1816, the island became the property of
his son, David Johnston, who died in 1829,
and was the last to hold the island under the
original deed of entail which extended to first
heirs male only. His brother, John Griswold
Gardiner, succeeded to the possession of the
island, but died unmarried in 1861, when a
third brother, Samuel Buell Gardiner, pur-
chased the interest of a sister (Mrs. Sarah
Diodati Thompson) in the property and be-
came sole owner of the ancestral domain. He
died in 1882, leaving it to his eldest son,
David Johnston. It is at present held by the
latter's brother, John Lion, the 12th lord of the
property, and with a clearer and more direct
descent from the original owner than that
which gives title to many a lordly manor in
the old land from which the family sprung.
By the marriage of one of the ladies of the
Gardiner family with President John Tyler,
Gardiner's Island gave to the nation one of the
"Queens of the White House," as the wives
of the Presidents have been named. The facts
in the case have recently been unearthed by
Mr. Samuel Barber, and his interesting story
is here reproduced :
That Mrs. John Tyler, widow of President
Tyler, was once a resident of Brooklyn makes
it' interesting to give a number of historical
extracts, viz. : In Appleton's Biography we
read, "John Tyler, tenth President of the
United States, born at Greenway, Charles
City County, Virginia, March 29, 1790, died at
Richmond, Va., January 18, 1862. On March
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
81
29, 1812, he married Letitia, daughter of
Robert Christian." It will thus be seen that
his first marriage took place on his twenty-
third birthday.
"Letitia Christian, born at Cedar Grove,
New Kent County, Va., Nov. 12, 1790, and
died in Washington, D. C, Sept. 9, 1842, was
the daughter of Robert Christian, a planter
in New Kent County, Va. She married' Mr.
Tyler March 29, 181 3, and removed with him
to his home in Charles City County. When
he became President she accompanied him to
Washington, but her health was delicate and
she died shortly afterward. Mrs. Tyler was
unable to assume any social cares, and the
duties of mistress of the White House de-
volved upon her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Robert
Tyler. She possessed great beauty of person
and of character, and before the failure of her
health was specially fitted for a social life."
Again it says : "Their son Robert, born in
New Kent County, Va., in 18 18, and died in
Montgomery, Ala., December 3, 1877, was
educated at William and Mary and adopted
the profession of the law. He married Pris-
cilla, a daughter of Thomas Apthorpe Cooker,
the tragedian, in 1839," of whom we find the
following account in Brown's American Stage,
page 81, viz.: "Priscilla E. Cooker, daughter
of T. A. Cooker, made her debut February
14, 1834, as \'irginia at the Bowery Theater,
New York. First appearance in Philadelphia
Feb. 28, 1834, at the Arch Street Theater as
\^irginia."
"Again," adds Stapleton, "when his father
became President his wife assumed the duties
of mistress of the White House till after Mrs.
John Tyler's death, when they devolved upon
her daughter, Mrs. Letitia Sample." Of Presi-
dent Tyler's second marriage we copy the fol-
lowing from Appleton's Biography, T., p. 199:
"President Tyler's second wife, Julia Gardiner,
born on Gardiner's Island, near Easthampton,
N. Y., May 4, 1820; died in Richmond, Va.,
July 10, 1889; was a descendant of the Gar-
diners of Gardiner's Island. She was edu-
cated at the Chegary Institute, New York City,
spent several months in Europe and in the
winter of 1844 accompanied her father to
Washington, D. C. A few weeks afterward
he was killed by the explosion of a gun on
the war steamer Princeton, which occurred
during a pleasure excursion in which he and
his daughter were of the Presidential party.
His bodv was taken to the White HoUse and
Miss Gardiner, being thrown in the society
of the President under these peculiar circum-
stances, became the object of his marked at-
tention, which resulted in their marriage in
New York, June 26, 1844."
The Brooklyn Eagle of June 27, 1844,
speaks of the wedding thus : "Arrival of the
President at New York — Marriage — Fete-
Departure. Somehow or other, but most un-
accountably, we forgot to mention yesterday
that President Tyler arrived at New York for
the purpose of marriage with Miss Julia Gar-
diner, daughter of the late David Gardiner,
who came to his death aboard the Princeton
last v.'inter. Such, however, was the fact.
The ceremony took place at the Church of the
Ascension, on Fifth avenue, and the treaty
between the high contracting parties was rati-
fied bv the Right Reverend Bishop Onderdonk
and the Rev. Dr. Bedell, rector of the church.
A few persons only — such as the relatives and
one or two intimate friends of the parties — ■
were present. In the afternoon they took the
steamboat Essex and after navigating about
the harbor and receiving salutes from the dif-
ferent vessels lying at anchor, proceeded to
Jersey City, where they took the cars for Phila-
delphia. The bride is said to be accomplished,
beautiful, interesting, an heiress and 22. The
President, on the other hand, is known to be
as homely as a brush fence and 53 years of
age, being a difference of thirty-three. Some
of his children, therefore, are probably many
years older than their stepmother. Taste is,
of course, supreme in matters of this kind,
but if we had an accomplished and beautiful
daughter of 22 (as we have not, and proba-
bly never shall have), and if an amorous youth
of 55 with gray hair and wrinkled face were
to propose for her we should request, and, if
necessary, assist him to move on ; but, mercy
on us ! what are we talking about ?"
Again continues Appleton : "For the suc-
ceeding eight months she presided over the
\Miite House with dignity and grace, her resi-
dence there terminating with a birthnight ball
on February 22, 1845. Mrs. Tyler retired with
her husband to Sherwood Forest, in Virginia,,
at the conclusion of his term, and after the
Civil War resided for several years at her
mother's residence, on Castleton Hill, S. I.,
and subsequently at Richmond, Va. She was
a convert to Roman Catholicism and devoted
to charities. of that church."
Again, it says : "Their son, Lyon Gardiner,.
82
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was born in Charles City County, Virginia, in
August, 1853, was graduated at the University
of Virginia in 1875, and then studied law."
It will thus be seen that President Tyler
had one child by each wife. "The remainder
of his days," we read in "Abbott's Lives of
the Presidents," "Mr. Tyler passed mainly in
retirement at his beautiful house, "Sherwood
Forest," Charles City, Va., a polished gentle-
man in manners, richly furnished with infor-
mation from books and experience in the world
and possessing brilliant powers of conversa-
tion. His family circle was the scene of un-
usual attractions.
Mrs. Tyler, after her husband's death, was
for several years a resident of Brooklyn. She
lived in a three-story brick house, still stand-
ing, on Gold street, a little north of Wil-
loughby, on the west side.
A much more numerous, and in some re-
spects a more generally influential family on
Long Island was, and is, that of Smith. In
most sections of the English-speaking world
the name is generally regarded with the famil-
iarity which is induced by its commonness
and recalls no territorial or other distinction.
In Long Island it is different; and to trace
descent from one of the old families bearing
that name is held as equal in dignity with the
blue blood of Massachusetts which can begin
a genealogical tree with an Endicott, or a
Bradford, or a Standish. With reference to
this family we find the following interesting
data in Gabriel Furman's "Antiquities of Long
Island," written about the year 1830: "Upon
this island, and especially in the central por-
tion 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 distinguish the vari-
ous original families by some peculiar name.
Thus we have the Rock Smiths, the Blue
Smiths, the Bull Smiths, the Weight Smiths
and the Tangier Smiths.
Of the Rock Smiths there are two dis-
tinct families, one originally settled between
Rockaway and Hempstead some ten or fifteen
years before the settlement of the first white
inhabitants in Setauket, who derived their
name from their contiguity to Rockaway ; and
the other located in Brookhaven, and obtained
their appellation from their ancestor erecting
his dwelling against a large rock which still
remains in the highway of that town.
The Blue Smiths were settled in Queens
county and obtained their peculiar designation
from a blue cloth coat worn by their ancestor ;
whether because such cloth coat was then an
uncommon thing in the neighborhood, 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 families of the name
of Smith upon this island. It is said there
are now at least one thousand males of that
branch on this island. The ancestors of this
branch of the Smith family was Major Rich-
ard Smith, who came from England to New
England with his father, Richard, in the early
part of the seventeenth century, and afterward
came to this island and became the patentee
of Smithtown. The sobriquet of this class of
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
83
Smiths is said to have arisen from the circum-
stance of the ancestor having trained and used
a bull in place of a horse for riding.
The Weight Smiths derived their name
from being possessed of the only set of scales
and weights in the neighborhood of their resi-
dence, to which all the farmers of the country
around repaired for the purpose of weighing
anything they wished to isell or buy; at least
so says the tradition.
The Tangier Smiths owe their origin to
Colonel William Smith, who had been the En-
glish Governor of Tangier in the reign of
Charles II, and emigrated to this colony in the
summer of 1686, where he settled in the town
of Brookhaven, on the neck known as Little
Neck, and afterward as Strong's Neck, which,
together with his many other purchases, was
erected into a manor by the name of Saint
George's Manor by a patent granted him in
1693 by Governor Fletcher. Most of the Tan-
gier Smiths are now in that town, scattered
through it from the north to the south side
of the island.
These different appellations became as
firmly settled as if they were regular family
names, so that when any inquiry 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 Rock breed,
or the Bull breed, etc. ; and if the person de-
siring the information could say which breed,
he was at once told of his residence."
Richard Smith, the first of the name to hold
land in Long Island, left England and arrived
in 1650 at Boston, where he remained until
1665, when he became one of a colony which
moved to Long Island and established the town
of Brookhaven. His home was near the pres-
ent village of Setauket. He was a man of
means, bought as much land in the vicinity of
his home as he could, held the office of magis-
trate, and proved himself a public-spirited
citizen generally. In 1663 he purchased a tract
of land westward from Setauket and had his
title strengthened by an Indian deed. Not
long afterward he purchased another tract
direct from the Indians, including a section of
the shore of Lake Ronkonkoma, and got a
new English patent from Governor Nicolls in
1667. Owing to some trouble with the people
of Huntington over the western boundary of
his domain. Smith submitted the question to
the courts of New York and was sustained on
all points for which he contended. By this
decision he extended his holdings so as to in-
clude both banks of the Nesaquake River, and,
to make assurance doubly sure, got a new
patent from Governor Andros, in 1677, cover-
ing all the territory lately in dispute. By this
patent his property covered ten square miles
and is contained in the present town in Suffolk
county bearing his name. Of the personal his-
tory of this noteworthy Smith little has come
down to us excepting the remains of local
gossip, such as that which makes him ride
around the country on a bull instead of a horse
and so win a sobriquet for his family. It is
said he fought in the Narragansett War under
the banner of Connecticut, and held the rank
of major, but the details we have of his cam-
paigning are very brief. He died about the
year 1700, leaving a family of six sons — Rich-
ard, Jonathan, Job, Adam, Samuel and Daniel
^and one daughter — Deborah. In 1707 the
real estate of the pioneer was divided among
them.
In the records of the Society of Colonial
Wars the following find a place among the
members on account of their descent from
Richard Smith (Bull Smith) :
A. Chester Beatty, New York.
Robert C. Beatty, New York.
W. Gedney Beatty, New York.
Howell Foster, Brooklyn.
Robert Cutting, Lawrence, N. Y.
R. B. Sackley, Rhinecliff.
The "Bull" Smiths, it will be readily under-
stood, while they have given many reputable
citizens to the island and taken a full and
active part in its development, have added but
little to its history or to its prominence in the
general affairs of the State. They have been
mostly notable for the qualities which made
84
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
up the true country gentleman, a life among
their ancestral fields, a disregard for public
office outside of their own vicinity, and devot-
ing themselves closely to the upbuilding of the
sections of the island in which they had set up
their homes. Proud of their descent, they
seemed satisfied with the eminence it aflforded
them and stood aside, as it were, while others
pressed forward to win renown by work and
accomplishment.
The other pioneer family of Smiths, the
"Tangier Smiths," on the other hand, for sev-
eral generations bring us in close touch with
the history of the island and the nation. The
founder of the family in America, Colonel
William Smith, was born at Newton, near
Higham Ferrers, Northamptonshire, England,
February 2, 1655. In 1675 he received the
appointment from Charles II of Governor of
Tangier, where it was proposed to establish
a trading colony, and he married Maria, a
daughter of Henry Tunstall, of Putney, No-
vember 6, 1675, and set out for his domin-
ion with the title of colonel. Great sums of
money were spent on this then new posses-
sion of "the British crown, and it was hoped
that it would soon take a place among the
most important trading stations of the world;
but the expectations were not realized, and in
a comparatively short time the station was
abandoned, its costly fortifications left to go
to ruin, and the little army there stationed
returned to England.
Colonel Smith for a time seems to have
carried on business as a general merchant in
London. In 1686 he crossed the Atlantic and
engaged in trade for several years. He was
induced to throw in his lot with the New
World probably on account of his friendship
for Governor Dongan. Soon after his arrival
he "went prospecting" and selected some land
at Little Neck, Brookhaven, buying up the
holdings of the original proprietors. There
seems to have been some trouble over this
purchase with some of the holders, but the
influence of Dongan was exerted on his
friend's behalf, and on October 2, 1687, Smith
formally completed his first purchase of Long
Island lands. This purchase was afterward
added to until the property won recognition
as a manor. Smith during this time seems
to have been busily engaged in mercantile pur-
suits, and on the records of Brookhaven, ac-
cording to Thompson, is an entry showing
that the "merchant," as Smith is described,
held a bill against Governor Dongan for goods
to the amount of £993. Probably it was
rather for "services rendered" in the devious
wa)-s known in those days and probably not
altogether unknown in these passing superior
days of ours. It would seem that almost as
soon as he was comfortably settled at Little
Neck, Colonel Smith began the acquisition of
fresh lands and had them erected into Saint
George's Manor fcy patent issued by Governor
Fletcher in 1693. Soon after he made further
great accessions pressing toward the bound-
aries of Southampton, and these were included
in the manorial title by a fresh patent issued
in 1697. This manorial holding gave Colonel
Smith many privileges and made his influence
paramount over the extent of territory — larger
than many a European principality — which it
described. It gave him a right to hold court,
to invite immigrants, to demand as by right
a recognized share in their labor, and to a
seat in the General Assembly of the province.
But long before the manorial patent was issued
Colonel Smith had acquired a commanding
position in the affairs of the province.
In 1691 Governor Sloughter appointed him
a member of Council and one of the Commis-
sioners of the Court of Oyer and Terminer.
When the Supreme Court was inaugurated, in
tiiat same year. Smith was appointed to one
of the Judgeships, an office to which no sal-
ary was attached. This arrangement was rec-
tified, however, a year later, when Governor
Fletcher (November 11, 1692) appointed him
Chief Justice with a salary of £130. He proved
an upright, dignified and impartial judge, al-
though he appears to have been outspoken and
determined in his opposition to Leisler in the
troubles which that individual's policy and
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
85
ambition brought upon the colony. As might
be expected, when Governor Bellomont, on his
arrival in New York April 2, 1698, announcejd
himself as a friend of the Leisler party and
an avowed enemy of all who had shown
themselves opposed thereto, the position of
Chief Justice Smith became a most unenviable
one. The Leislerites felt that their hour of
triumph had come, the hour when the hang-
ing of the self-appointed Governor would be
legally branded as a crime, and restitution
made in some way for the wrongs and indigni-
ties which had been heaped upon those who
had championed his cause and honored his
memory. They felt that with such a Chief
Justice as Smith on the bench nothing prac-
tical could be accomplished, and with the ar-
rival of the new Governor they began their
schemes looking to that end. Beltomont or-
ganized his Council so as to make it more
amenable to his views and policy; but he per-
mitted Smith to retain his seat, as his loyalty
was well known and he seems to have had
some attached friends in England who would
have resented his removal from a position
which the Governor could reduce, and had re-
duced, to simply one of honor. But the Chief
Justiceship was another matter, and after wait-
ing a decent time Bellomont removed him from
that otifice, October 30, 1700.
\Vhen Governor Bellomont died Smith,
then senior member of the Council, claimed
and exercised the functions of the executive
until the arrival of Lieutenant-Governor Nan-
fan, who was hurriedly summoned from Bar-
bados. Smith's claim to the office aroused
party feeling to the utmost, a majority of the
assembly refused to recognize his title, said
majority being of the Leislerite persuasion ;
and it is hard to say to what condition the
prevailing confusion and bitterness might have
developed had not a stop to the tumult been
put by the appearance of Nanfan upon the
scene, much sooner than had been anticipated.
Xanfan. however, ranged himself on the side
of the Leislerites and they ruled things with
a pretty rough hand, almost paralleling the
case of Nicholas Bayard, a former Mayor of
New York, the crime which had made the name
of Leisler become a party cry, until the arrival,
in 1702, of Lord Cornbury. He at once took
sides with the Anti-Leislerites, and re-appoint-
ed Smith to the office of Chief Justice, and by
his distribution of patronage, mainly, brought
about the almost complete disappearance of the
shibboleth of Leislerism as a potent factor in
local politics. Smith retained his judicial office
until April, 1703, when he resigned, but he
continued to hold his seat in the Council until
his death, at Little Neck, February 18, 1705.
Colonel Smith had three sons, one of
whom, the youngest, Charles Jeffrey, died
when a youth. Both of the surviving members
of the family inherited many of the sterling
qualities of the father. The eldest son, Henry,
held the office of Clerk of Suffolk County from
1710 to 1716 and was for many years one of
the county judges.
His son, Colonel William Smith, was Clerk
of Suffolk County from 1730 to 1750 and a
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for sev-
eral-years prior to the Revolution. He mar-
ried Margaret, daughter of Henry Lloyd, of
Lloyd Neck, and had a family of several chil-
dren.
His only daughter, Anna, became the wife
of Judge Selah Strong, of Setauket.
The family of Colonel Smith's second son,
William, also fully sustained the honorable
name of that great pioneer. William received
as part of his share of Colonel Smith's estate
some lands at Mastic, and he settled down
there, rose to the dignity of a major in some
local militia squad, and lived the life of a quiet
country gentleman. His son William was for
many years a Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas, and was a member of the first Pro-
vincial Congress. In 1777 he was chosen one
of the State Senators, and he retained that
dignified office until the close of the Revolu-
tionary War. His son John was possibly the
most widely known member of the family,
after its founder. We refer more particularly
to his career in our notice of General Wood-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
hull (Chapter XX), whose daughter he mar-
ried. His brother William settled down as a
farmer in Brookhaven, and died at Longwood,
near Manorville, leaving his farm to his son,
William Sidney Smith.
Probably no family on Long Island has
contributed such a succession in each genera-
tion of men eminent in the community as that
of the Floyds. In one respect they stand
ahead of all the others in numbering among
them a signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence; but even without this member of a
group of statesmen — whose memory is being
enshrined in the national heart more rever-
ently as the years pass on — the family story
contains enough to inspire pride in those en-
titled to wear the name and warrant the re-
spect in which it is held all over Long Island.
The name of the founder of the family,
Richard Floyd, appears on the list of those
who in 1655 bought land at Setauket from the
Indians and set up a communiy which see.us
to have been intended to be governed after
Presbyterian rules. Floyd was born at Breck-
nockshire, Wales, about 1620, and, it is
thought on religious grounds, left his native
land for New England in the fall of 1653.
He landed in Boston early in the following
year, but probably did not find that true tolera-
tion among the Puritans which he expected,
and so was induced to throw in his lot with
a new colony which appears to have been or-
ganized by men of his own persuasion. He
seems to have soon become recognized as one
of the leaders of the little settlement, bought
up lands as fast as he could, prospered in all
his worldly affairs, was a local magistrate and
a colonel of militia. He died about 1690.
His wife died in 1706, at the age of eighty
years.
His eldest son, Richard, closely followed in
his footsteps when the family honors fell to
him. Richard was born at Setauket Alay 12,
1661, married ]\Iargaret Nicolls, eldest daugh-
ter of Matthias Nicolls, secretary of the Duke
of York's commissioner who captured New
York from the Dutch and became the first
Governor of the English Province of New
York. Richard Floyd was one of the Judges
of the Court of Common Pleas and held the
office of colonel of militia until his death in
1737-
We must here leave the direct line of prim-
ogeniture and speak of the second son of Rich-
ard Floyd and Margaret Nicolls. He received
the baptismal name of Nicolls, and was settled
on a farm at Mastic. He did not grow rich in
this world's goods, but raised a family of eight
children — five daughters and three sons — Will-
iam, Nicol and Charles. William is the only
one of the family whose career we propose
to follow here. He was born at Mastic De-
cember 17, 1734, and received the usual edu-
cation given in those times to farmers' sons;
but his strong common sense, natural shrewd-
ness and close observation supplemented his
education and safely carried him through the
many important roles he was destined to play
in life's journey, while at the beginning of his
career the influence of his family name gave
him of itself a degree of standing in the com-
munity which had only to be rightly guided
to become of great personal advantage. He
early developed many admirable traits, became
an adept at farming and a prudent man in
worldly affairs. Of strong religious convic-
tions, h; took a deep interest in the spiritual
welfare of the people among whom he lived,
and he implicitly believed that the practice of
the Congregational Church formed the only
true model upon which upright and honored
civil government could be founded. He was
a close student of public affairs, a keen and
logical observer of the trend of the events of
the day, and was outspoken and pronounced
in his advocacy of the people's rights when
the crisis with the mother country was ap-
proaching. Early in life he was chosen as an
officer in the Suffolk county militia; he was
Colonel of the First Suffolk Regiment in 1775,
and after the war was over he was commis-
sioned a Major General, but his military ca-
reer, to put it mildly, was a most evenly un-
interesting one, its most startling incident be-
SOME EARLY FAMILIES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS.
8T
ing a hurried call to prevent a small boat land-
ing on Long Island early in the conflict with
Britain. His talents were better fitted for the
halls of legislation than for the tented field.
After a short service in the Provincial Assem-
bly he was sent as a delegate, in 1774, to the
first Continental Congress, and was one of
those who from the beginning were in favor
of the independence of the colonies. He voted
for the adoption of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence and signed that document — his great
claim to immortality. "He continued," writes
Edward F. De Lancey, "by successive re-ap-
pointments a member of every Continental
Congress up to 1782, inclusive. At the same
time, from 1777 till 1783, he was State Sena-
tor under the first Constitution of New York,
being regularly appointed by that body for the
Southern District, then wholly within the Brit-
ish lines, so that no election could be held. •
From 1784 till 1788 he was duly elected to the
same office from the same district. In 1787
and 1789 he was chosen a member of the
Council of Appointment. In the Presidential
elections of 1792, 1800 and 1804 he was cho-
sen one of the Presidental Electors, and in
1 80 1 he sat for Suffolk County in the Consti-
tutional Convention of that year. He was an
early and warm supporter of Jefferson. His
education being only that of the country
schools of his youth, he was not a speaker, nor
orator, nor an accomplished writer; but in the
work of the different bodies in which he served
he was noted for his assiduity, sound advice,
unflagging labor and thorough knowledge of
the business before them. He was eminently
a practical man, and his firmness and resolu-
tion were very great. Although somewhat
unpolished in manner, he at the same time pos-
sessed a natural gravity and dignity which
made itself felt."
During the British occupation of Long Isl-
and General Floyd's farm was seized by the
British and his family sought refuge in Con-
necticut. The property was stripped by sol-
diers of all its attractiveness, fields were deso-
lated, trees uprooted and fences burned, and
the house itself plundered and rendered un-
inhabitable. He was absent from the island
for some six years, and was amazed, on his
return, at the havoc which was wrought and
which was everywhere apparent. In 1784 he
purchased a tract of land at Delta, Western
township, Oneida county, where he -removed
with his family in 1803, and he continued to '
reside there in fairly affluent circumstances
until his death, August 4, 1821. Floyd town-
ship in Oneida county was named in his
honor.
General Floyd was twice married. By his
first wife, a daughter of William Jones, of
Southampton, he had three children, — Nicol,
Mary and Catharine. The son took possession
of the property at Mastic, became active in
local affairs and was chosen a representative
from Suffolk county in the New York Assem-
bly in 1779, 1800 and 1801 ; Mary married
Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, one of the he-
roes of the Revolution ; and Catharine became
the wife of Dr. Samuel Clarkson, of Phila-
delphia. His second wife was a daughter of
Benejah Strong, of Setauket, and by her he
had two daughters, — Anna and Eliza. The
first named married George Clinton, a son of
\ice President Clinton, and after his death
became the wife of Abraham Varick, mer-
chant. New York; Eliza married James Piatt,
of Utica.
Having thus traced the career of the most
eminent member of the Floyd family, the one
who secured by his patriotism an undying
place in the general history of the country, we
may now revert to the original family and
trace its descent to our own times. The eldest
son of the second Richard also bore that name.
He was born December 29, 1703, and, like his
father, became colonel of the Suffolk militia
and a Judge of the Common Pleas. He mar-
ried a daughter of Colonel Samuel Hutchin-
son, of Southold. On his death, April 21,
1 77 1, he was succeeded in his estate by his son
Richard (fourth of the name), who was born
in 1736. Richard also succeeded to the colo-
nelcy and the Judgeship so long held in the
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
family, and soon acquired a reputation for
his lavish hospitality, while his kindly, affable
manner and many fine social qualities won him
devoted friends among all classes. He enter-
tained Governor Tryon and his staff as if they
were princes, on at least one occasion; his
doors were always open to the red-coated mili-
tary, and unfortunately for himself he threw in
his lot with the British when the crisis broke,
without any attempt to hide his sentiments or
disguise his position. He was too honest a
man to do either. As a result his estate was
declared confiscated and after the peace of
1783, when the Continentals could enforce
their act of attainder, he was compelled to
leave the country and removed to Canada. He
settled at Maujerville, New Brunswick, and
there resided until his death, June 30, 1791.
He had married September 26, 1758, Arabella,
daughter of David Jones, of Fort Neck,
Queens county, Judge of the Supreme Court
of New York and author of a "History of
New York During the Revolutionary War."
By her he had a family of two daughters, —
Elizabeth and Ann, — and a son, — David Rich-
ard. Judge Jones entailed his estate at Fort
Neck to his son, and failing him or his heirs
to the heirs of his daughter x\rabella, :Mrs.
Floyd, on condition that the latter should as-
sume the name of Jones. In due time David
Richard Floyd succeeded to the property. In
terms of the succession David Richard as-
sumed the surname of Floyd-Jones, by which
the descendants of the senior branch of the
Floyd family have since been known, the legis-
lature having confirmed the change in 1788.
David Richard married Sarah, daughter of
Henry Onderdonck, and died February 10,
1826, leaving two sons, — Thomas Floyd- Jones
and Henry Floyd-Jones. Thomas was born
in 1788.
He died in 1851. His eldest son, David
Richard Floyd-Jones, born in 1813, was a
member of the New York Assembly in 1841,
1842 and 1843, and served in the State Senate
from 1844 to 1847. In 1861 he was elected
Secretary of State, and Lieutenant-Governor
in 1863-4. He was in every way an estima-
ble and useful citizen, and his death, January
8, 1871, called forth expressions of regret
from all classes in the community. His brother,
William Floyd- Jones, was born at Fort Neck
March 10, 1815. Preferring a commercial ca-
reer, he entered the establishment of Tredwell,
Kissam & Co., New York, in which he became
a partner in 1837. In 185 1 he retired from ^
business life, having acquired a large share 1 V
of the property held by his father, and devoted ^^ ^
himself to agriculture, hunting and fishing. Kj
He married in 1847 .C^Kiiu^A., daughter of |^l .^ .
Robert Blackwell, merchantTT^ew York, and <
gramidauglTtef^f James Blackwell, owner of -.^
Blackwell's Island. By her he had a family
of five sons and three daughters. Another V
brother, Elbert Floyd-Jones, represented-^
Queens for several years in the State Assem-
bly. Henry Floyd- Jones, an uncle of the three
last named, and second son of Thomas Floyd-
Jones, was born in 1792, and served in the
Assembly in 1829. He was a State Senator
and a member for years of the old Court of
Errors. He was also, like his brother, a Brig- ■
adier-General of militia. The family of Rich- (
ard Floyd is found all over Long Island, hon- l
ored, respected and beloved by all the people. '
These three names, — Gardiner, Smith and
Floyd, — must suffice as fairly representative of
the old families of Suffolk county, and we
may now seek some representative in the
ancient county of Queens, Queens before it
lost so much of its identity in metropolitan
greatness or divested itself of much of its ter-
ritory in the creation of the modern county of
Nassau.
CHAPTER VIII.
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN QUEENS AND KINGS.
Tjie Lloyds — The Jones Family — The Record of a Bit of Brooklyn Real Estate
— The Rapalyes — The Livingstons — Pierrepont, Leffekts
AND Other Holdings.
XOTHER capital illustration of the
manner in which lands were ac-
quired in the earliest days of Euro-
pean settlements is presented to us
in the history of the Lloyd family, whose
name is geographically preserved by Lloyd's
Neck (called by the Indians Caumsett) a
point of land projecting into the Sound be-
tween Cold Spring and Huntington. The
Neck, comprising about 3,000 acres, was
bought September 20, 1654, from Ratiocan,
then Sagamore of Cow Harbor, by Samuel
Mayo, Daniel Whitehead and Peter Wright,
all Oyster Bay settlers. The price paid was
three coats, three shirts, two cuttoes, three
hatchets, three hoes, two fathoms of wam-
pum, six knives, two pairs of stockings and
two pairs of shoes, worth possibly about $50.
In 1658 the three Oyster Bay speculators
sold the land to Samuel Andrews, who took
the precaution of getting his deed endorsed or
confirmed by Wyandanch, the Chief of the
Montauks. Two years later Andrews died,
and the property was sold to John Richbill,
who in turn sold it for £450, October 16,
1666, to Nathaniel Sylvester, Thomas Hart
and Latimer Sampson, who further strength-
ened their title by getting a patent from Gov-
ernor Xicolls in the following year. In 1668
Sylvester gave up his share to his partners,
although why or for what consideration is not
clear. Sampson bequeathed his share to Griz-
zell Sylvester, who married James Floyd, of
Boston. In 1679 Floyd bought Hart's share
from that pioneer's executors and so acquired
possession of the entire property. He retained
it, probably for purely speculative purposes,
hoping to benefit by a "rise," until his death,
in 1693, when he bequeathed it to his sons.
One of these, Henry, took up his residence on
the property in 171 1, and gradually bought up
the interest of his co-heirs until the whole
estate passed into his hands, and he may be
regarded as the founder of the family in Long
Island. In 1685 the property had been erected
into a manor and given the name of Queens
Village, and that title it retained until 1790,
when the New York Legislature wisely re-
fused to continue the manorial privilege, or,
for very evident reasons, to sanction its mon-
archical name. Henry Lloyd was born at
Boston November 28, 1685, and died March
10, 1763. In 1708 he married Rebecca, daugh-
ter of John Nelson, of Boston, by whom he
had a family of ten children. He bequeathed
the Lloyd's Neck property to his four surviv-
ing sons, — Henry, John, James and Joseph.
The eldest, Henry, was a Tory in the Revolu-
tionary struggle, and his share in the property
was forfeited by the act of attainder. It was
afterward purchased from the Commissioners
by his brother John, who then became the head
of the Long Island family. His other brother,
James, threw in his lot with New England,
90
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
becoming- a physician in Boston, where he died
in 1809, leaving, among other children, a son,
James, who became a United States Senator
from Massachusetts. The youngest son of the
founder of the family, Joseph, died at Hart-
ford in 1780.
John Lloyd, who may be regarded as the
successor to his father at the head of the family
having bought the forfeited share of his elder
brother, was born February 19, 171 1, and mar-
ried Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Benjamin
Woolsey, of Dos Oris. They had three daugh-
ters and two sons. Of the former, Abigail be-
came the wife of Dr. James Cogswell, a well
known New York physician and philanthro-
pist, while Sarah married the Hon. James Hill-
house, United States Senator from Connecti-
cut, and became the mother of James Hill-
house, whose name is a brilliant one in the
literary history of the Nutmeg State as the
author of "Percy's Masque" and other dramas
and poems. Zachary Macaulay, the father of
the British historian and essayist, spoke of him
as "the most accomplished young man" with
whom he was acquainted.
John Lloyd threw in his lot with the Con-
tinental forces during the Revolution, and as
a result his property was sadly molested all
through the occupation of Long Island by the
British. They erected a fort on it, cut down
its many beautiful trees, destroyed its buildings
and carried away their contents. The pres-
ence of the fort introduced more than once
into the erstwhile prosperous and smiling
acres the miseries of actual war. In 1781 an
attempt was made to capture it by a small
force under the command of the Baron De
Angley, but the effort failed mainly on ac-
count of the poorly equipped condition of the
attacking party. It was also constantly
menaced by the whale-boat rovers. Of the
sons of John Lloyd and Sarah Woolsey,
Henry, the eldest, died unmarried. John, who
succeeded to the family honors and estates,
served as a Commissariat in the Patriot army
with fidelity and distinction. When peace was
declared he settled down at Lloyd's Neck and
began the task of obliterating the damages and
savings of war, to which he successfully de-
voted the remainder of his life. He was of-
fered by Governor Jay the office of Judge of
Queens County, but declined, preferring the
freedom and privacy of his fields. He mar-
ried Amelia, daughter of the Rev. Ebenezer
White, of Danbury, Connecticut, and died in
1792, at the early age of forty-seven years,
leaving one son, John Nelson Lloyd, and a
daughter, Angelina, to whom he bequeathed
most of his property. John continued to re-
side on the Neck, as it is popularly called lo-
cally, until his death in 1849. Angelina mar-
ried George W. Strong, a well known New
York lawyer.
None of the name of Lloyd now occupies
the Neck, and all traces of its manorial great-
ness has disappeared in the smaller farms into
which it is divided. But around are hundreds
of the descendants of the old family, and many
of the residents, though bearing different
names on account of their descent through
some "daughter of the house," can trace their
pedigree right back to the original of the fam-
ily— Henry Lloyd.
So far as mingling in public affairs was
concerned the Jones family, of Oyster Bay,
occupy a much more prominent place in the
story of Long Island than their one-time
neighbors, the Lloyds.
The founder of the family, so far as Long
Island is concerned, was Thomas Jones, who
is generally held to have been born in Stra-
bane, Ulster county, Ireland, in 1665. The
name is a purely Welsh one, and if Thomas
was not born in that country he could hardly
have been more than one degree removed from
its soil ; so the family ought to be regarded as
a Welsh, rather than an Irish one, as is com-
monly the way in which it is described by
local historians. Thomas Jones, unlike most
Ulstermen, ranged himself on the side of
the Catholic King, James II, of Great Britain,
fought under that monarch's flag at the battle
of the Boyne in 1690, at the desperate battle
at Aghrim in 1691, and took part in the de-
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN QITEENS AND KINGS.
91
fence of Limerick in the same year under the
heroic Sarsfield. Soon after Limerick capit-
ulated he escaped to France, and seems to
have become a seaman, for Edward F. De
Lancy telLs us "he embarked early in 1692 un-
der one of the numerous letters of marque to
participate in the Revolution, and was present
at the great earthquake of Jamaica July 7,
1692, and in that year came to Long Island."
Thompson says: "Coming to America, he
brought with him a commission from the King
to cruise against Spanish property, the two
nations being then at war, which he doubtless
did not fail to apply to his own advantage as
opportunity offered." Thompson is hardly to
be even compared with De Lancey as an au-
thority, but it will be seen that both speak
rather vaguely, neither presenting the same
closeness of statement we would expect in a
genealogical reference. The truth is, the whole
story of Jones' Irish career is unreliable and
untrustworthy, very possibly because its real
details were purposely hidden from us by him-
self or others.
He settled first in Rhode Island, where he
married Freelove, daughter of Henry Town-
send, and received with her as a marriage gift
from her father a tract of land at Fort Neck,
at "the confluence of the Massapeaqua River
with what is now called South Oyster Bay, on
the south side of Long Island." Thompson
also says : "After his settlement here he en-
gaged largely in boat whaling along shore,
which at that period and before was practiced
extensively upon the whole south coast of the
island. For this purpose he gave employment
to a great number of natives, whose services
were procured at a very cheap rate." What-
ever his occupation, he certainly prospered, for
he steadily increased his lands by purchase,
from the natives mainly, until he held some
6,000 acres. On March 2, 1699, he was ad-
mitted one of the freeholders under the Oyster
Bay patent, and during the same year erected
for his dwelling the first brick house seen in
that section. Many honors came to him. He
was appointed High Sheriff of Queens County
October 14, 1704, and received a commission
as major in the local militia. Governor Hun-
ter, in 1710, gave him the appointment of
"Ranger General of Nassau [Long] Island,"
and that office gave him a practical monopoly
of the fishing industry of the shores of the
island except the water front of the county of
Kings, and also to the use of all land within
the same limits which had not then been sold
or deeded away. Such a man was indeed a
potentate, but his sway appears to have been
a gentle and honorable' one, and he certainly
did what he could to advance the interests of
the great territory committed to his care. He
died at Fort Neck December 13, 1713, and in
accordance with his often expressed wish his
remains were interred amid the ruins of an
old Indian fort on his property. He left three
sons and four daughters. Of the latter, Mar-
garet married Ezekiel Smith, Sarah became
the wife of Gerardus Clowes, Elizabeth wed-
ded John Mitchell, and the youngest, Free-
love, married Jacob Smith. Of the sons,
David succeeded to the paternal estate, by
virtue of an entail, which settled the greater
portion on heirs male, Thomas died, unmar-
ried, and of William we will speak again.
David Jones was born at Little Neck Sep-
tember 16, 1699, and was educated for the
legal profession. He practiced law in New
York City for some years, and in 1734 was
appointed Judge for Queens County. In 1737
he was elected a member of the Colonial As-
sembly and so continued until 1758, having
been Speaker of that body for thirteen years.
He left the Assembly when he was appointed
to the bench of the Supreme Court, from
which he retired in 1773. The remainder of
his quiet but useful life was spent at Fort
Neck, and he died there October 11, 1775. He
was a man of considerable force of character.
"On one occasion," says Thompson, "he had
the firmness to order the doors of the Assembly
closed against the Governor until a bill, then
under discussion, could be passed and which
his Excellency had determined to prevent by
an immediate prorogation. During his whole
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
life, and in every situation. Judge David Jones
was the unyielding; advocate of tlie rights of
the people against every species of royal en-
croachment, and no man participated more
largely of the public confidence and respect."
He managed to change the entail by which he
held the estate and deeded it to his son,
Thomas, with the succession to his daughter
Arabella, and so the property ultimately passed
to her eldest son.
Thomas Jones was born at Fort Neck,
April 30, 1 73 1, was graduated at Yale in 1750,
studied law and was admitted to practice in
New York in 1755. For many years he was
attorney for King's College. He married Anna
De Lancey, daughter of Chief Justice James
De Lancey, Lieutenant Governor of New
York, and it was probably the influences
thrown around him by this marriage which led
to his becoming so openly identified with Tory-
ism in the Revolution. In 1776 he became
Royal Recorder of New York, and continued
to hold that office until 1773, when he suc-
ceeded to the seat on the supreme court then
resigned by his father. -On June 27, 1776,
when the Patriots were in control of New
York, Jones was arrested under a warrant
issued by Congress and was liberated on pa-
role, but on August 11 he was again arrested
and taken, to Connecticut. He was again pa-
roled and went to his home at Fort Neck. On
November 6, 1779, a party of Continentals
made a dash at his house and robbed it of
much of its contents, carrying him off as a
prisoner to Connecticut. In April, the follow-
ing year, he was exchanged for General Silli-
man. He then sold off as much of his prop-
erty as he could and went to England. When
peace was proclaimed he found himself under
the ban of the Act of Attainder and so he
remained in England, living in quiet retire-
ment at Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, until his
death, July 25, 1792. He left no children,
and thus ended the senior branch of the family
of the founder.
William, the third son of founder Thomas,
was born April 25, 1708. Although destined
for the legal profession, he engaged in farm-
ing on a piece of property bequeathed him by
his father, and passed through life in a quiet
and unassuming mann'"-, taking no part in the
exciting events of his times and wrestling suc-
cessfully with the problem of winning a liv-
ing for himself and those dependent upon him
from the soil until his death, in 1779. He
married Phoebe, daughter of Captain John
Jackson, of an old Hempstead family, and by
her had a family of sixteen children, fourteen
of whom — David, Samuel, William, Thomas,
Gilbert, John, Walter, Richard, Hallet, Free-
love, Elizabeth, Margaret, Phoebe and Sarah-
grew up, married and had families ; so that to
pursue this genealogy in detail would of itself
occupy a volume. We must therefore refer
to those mainly who won additional honors for
the family name.
First among these was Samuel, son of
William, who was born July 26, 1734. His
first purpose in life was to become a sailor, and
he made several voyages to Europe in mer-
chant vessels. But he became tired of. the
drudgery, and, more in keeping with the wish-
es of his family, was educated for the legal pro-
fession, studying law in the office of Chief Jus-
tice William Smith, the historian, who after-
ward went to Canada, refusing to recognize
the new order of things after the Revolution,
and there became again Chief Justice. Sam-
uel Jones, his legal pupil, did not, fortunately,
imbibe any of his political views, but his posi-
tion compelled him to walk discreetly during
those troublesome times. His sympathies, how-
ever, were all on the side of the Revolution,
and when the time came for him to declare
himself he showed no half-heartedness. He
threw himself into the politics of the young
Republic and became an ardent Federalist. He
ioon buili up a lucrative practice and his of-
fice developed many noteworthy pupils. His
legal reputation continued to increase as the
years passed on, until he was recognized as the
leader of the New York bar, and held many
positions of honor in the community, serving
in the State Assemblv several times. He was
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN QUEENS AND KINGS.
a member of the Convention at Poughkeepsie
which in 1788 adopted the Constitution of the
United States. In the following year he was
appointed Recorder of New York, and held
that office until 1797, when he was succeeded
by Chancellor Kent. In 1796 he drew up the
bill creating the office of Comptroller of the
city of New York, and when the office was
created he was appointed to it and so
continued for three years, when he retired
to his seat at West Neck, Long Island,
where he lived a life of pleasant retire-
ment, devoting himself mainly to his library
and to literary pursuits. He died there No-
vember 21, 1819.
He left five sons, William, Samuel, Elbert,
Thomas and David. The first named resided
at Cold Springs and held the rank of major
in the local militia. He had a son, Samuel
William, who studied law in the office of his
uncle Samuel, and settled in Schenectady, of
which city he was mayor for many years be-
fore his death, in 1855. Samuel Jones' second
son, named after him, fully maintained the
family honors in the legal profession in New
York. He was born May 26, 1769, and after
he was graduated at Columbia College entered
the law office of his father, where he had as a
fellow student De Witt Clinton. As soon as
he was admitted to practice he threw himself
into the political arena, and this, coupled with
his own brilliant attainments as a lawyer, soon
won for him a recognized place among the
leaders of the local bar. In 1812, 1813 and
1814 he was a member of the Assembly, and
in 1823 was appointed to the office once so
worthily held by his father, of Recorder of
New York City. In 1826 he was made Chan-
cellor of the State, and two years later became
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New
York City, retaining that dignified office until
1847, when he occupied a seat in the State
Supreme Court. In 1849 he retired from the
bench and resumed practice at the bar, and so
continued until within a few weeks of his
death at Cold Spring, August 9, 1853, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age.
His younger brother, David, born at West
Neck, November 3, 1777, after he was grad-
uated at Columbia College, also entered the
legal profession. For several years he was
secretary to Governor Jay, and for some half
a century was one of the most conspicuous and
influential members of the New York bar. He
was for the greater part of his professional life
one of the trustees and the legal adviser of
Columbia, and took the deepest interest in the
progress of that seat of learning. Like most
of his family, he was a devoted adherent of
the Protestant Episcopal church, and was par-
ticularly active in furthering the development
of its General Theological Seminary. He
never cared about holding elective office, and
although often solicited to enter the public
service he declined, except in one instance
when, more on account of family sentiment
than anything else, he accepted the Judgeship
of Queens county. A capital sketch of his
career was written (1849) by his son, Will-
iam Alfred Jones, who was born at New York
June 26, 181 7. Although educated for the
bar, William A. Jones never entered into
practice and devoted his life to literature.
From 1851 until 1867 he was librarian of Co-
lumbia College, and soon after retiring from
that position he removed to Norwich, Con-
necticut. He was the author of "Literary
Studies," two volumes (1847), "Essays on
Books and Authors" (1849), "Characters and
Criticisms," two volumes (1857), ^"d several
other works. In 1863 he delivered an address
on "Long Island" before the Long Island His-
torical Society.
We may now take up another branch of the
numerous family of William Jones and Phoebe
Jackson, that of their sixth son, John. He
was born on his father's farm June 27, 1755.
In 1779 he married Hannah, daughter of John
Hewlett, of Cold Spring, and settled on a
farm which he bought from his father-in-
law. There he prospered and had a family of
ten children :
William H., born October 14, 1780, mar-
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac Hewlett.
«4
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Walter, born in 1783, was killed accident-
ally when six years of age.
John H., born May 18, 1785, married Lor-
retta, daughter of Divine Hewlett.
Sarah, born July 22, 1787, not married.
Mary T., born June 4, 1790, not married.
Walter Restored, born April 15, 1793, not
married.
Phoebe J., born December 13, 1795, married
Charles Hewlett.
Elizabeth H., born December 9, 1798, mar-
ried Jacob Hewlett.
Joshua T., born July 10, 1801, not mar-
ried.
Charles H., born November 6, 1804, mar-
ried Eliza G. Gardiner.
With the exception of young Walter these
sons contributed largely to the industrial prog-
ress of Queens county. In 18 16 John H.
Jones, in company with William M. Hewlett,
built a woolen factory at Cold Spring; and in
1820 John H. built another one, this time in
partnership with his brothers, William H. and
Walter R., at a cost of $12,500. They soon
acquired possession of the first and managed
both with marked success. Walter R. was a
man of superior business qualities. He en-
gaged in many business enterprises and was
uniformly successful in them all. His greatest
achievement, possibly, was in connection with
the Atlantic Mutual Marine Insurance Com-
pany, which he built up into a most influential
and wealthy corporation, and of which he was
president for many years. On his death, April
5, 1855, he was succeeded in that office by his
nephew, John Divine Jones, son of John H.
Jones, and who was born at Cold Spring Au-
gust 15, 1 8 14. Mr. John D. Jones has proved
a liberal patron of many of New York's public
institutions, such as the Historical Society,
while to the Protestant Episcopal church his
gifts have been generous and unostentatious.
He married, June 9, 1852, Josephine Kath-
arine Floyd- Jones, daughter of General Henry
Floyd-Jones.
Charles H. Jones, the youngest of the fam-
ily of John and Hannah Jones, married Eliza
G., a granddaughter of John Gardiner of
Gardiner's Island, July 12, 1838. He made
his home on the old family farm. For a time
he had the management of considerable brick-
yard property, in which his brother, Joshua T.,
was interested at the time of his death. In
all his business relations he was most for-
tunate, but his domestic life was clouded by a
succession of bereavements. Of his four chil-
dren only the youngest, Mary Elizabeth, sur-
vived him. She married, in 1873, Dr. Oliver
Livingston Jones, son of Oliver H. Jones and
grandson of her father's eldest brother, Will-
iam H. Jones. They have a family of three
children : Louise E., born September 18, 1875 ;
Charles Herbert, born December 18, 1877; and
Oliver Livingston, Jr., bom April i, 1880.
Dr. Jones in 1871 succeeded to his father's
property at Laurelton, on the west side of Cold
Spring Harbor, and quickly developed it into
a prosperous resort. The last years of Charles
H. Jones' life were spent in a magnificent man-
sion, built by his brother, Walter Restored.
In it he preserved many portraits and relics
of the family and no scion of Knighthood
days was more proud of his ancient pedigree
and its associated heirlooms. He died Jan-
uary 23, 1882.
William, the second son of William Jones
and Phoebe Jackson, may also be referred to
here as having .founded a family which is stiU
prominent in and around Oyster Bay. He
was born October 4, 1771, and became a farmer
at Cold Spring Harbor. By his wife, Kezia,
daughter of Captain Daniel Youngs, of Oyster
Bay, he had a family of nine children: Sam-
uel W., David W., Cornelia Haring, Susan
Maria, Elbert W., Eleanor, Hannah, Amelia
and Daniel. All of these except Elbert W.,
who died in his twenty-first year, married and
had families. From the rank he held in a
local militia company William Jones was
known generally by his title of major. In 1816
he was elected a member of the State Legis-
lature and was re-elected with one exception
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN Q_UEENS AND KINGS.
95
each succeeding term until 1825, when he de-
cHned further service. He died September 16,
1853-
His second son, David W., was the literary
man of the family. He succeeded to a por-
tion of his father's property and acquired a
more than usual measure of success as a
farmer. Under the nom de plume of "Long
Island" he wrote largely for the "Spirit of the
Times," once the leading American country
newspaper, and he contributed to Henry W.
Herbert's (Frank Forester's) work on "The
Horse and Horsemanship in the United
States," etc. He was born May 3, 1793, mar-
ried Dorothy Adams, a native of England, July
4, 1822, and died July 6, 1877, in his eighty-
seventh year. He left a family of five sons:
Edmund (unmarried), Robert (died 1868),
Charles, Elbert and David The latter
married, in 1870, Julia W. Nelson, a grand-
daughter of General Nathaniel Coles, and re-
sided at the homestead erected by his father.
By way of change we may now be justi-
fied, instead of following the fortunes of a
family, in taking up the story of a piece o£
land and tracing the fortunes of its owners
for nearly two centuries, by this method not
only illustrating the fortunes of a number of
old families but keeping in front the story of
the land, the possession of which in the main
gave these same families the power in the
community which they successively wielded.
We begin our present study with the text, so
to speak, of a piece of land lying beside Brook-
lyn Ferrv and extending for a distance towarfl
the Wallabout. We begin at the time when
from the Manhattan shore all that was seen
on the Long Island shore was a few scattered
farms, while behind these stretched an un-
known wilderness crowded with game, and
from which emerged at times only the red
men bent on murder or trade, to barter with
the farmer, or complain about his encroach-
ments and double dealing.
In 1630 Wolfert Gerretse (Kouwenhoven,
Couwenhoven, or Cowenhoven) emigrated Lo
America from Amersfoort, Utrecht Province,
Netherlands, with his family, and seems to
have at once entered the employment of the
then Patroon of Rensselaerswick as superin-
tendent of farms. He afterward worked a
farm on Manhattan island, and in 1637 pur-
chased a tract of land from the Indians in Flat-
bush and Flatlands. He subsequently con-
siderably increased his holdings and was evi-
dently a thrifty, peaceable citizen. He died
about 1660, leaving three sons, — Gerret (the
ancestor of the Flatlands Cowenhovens),
Jacob and Peter. The latter was a brewer on
High [Pearl] street. New York, and in 1665
was appointed Surveyor General of the Col-
ony. He was also a man of war, and in 1663
as a lieutenant took part in the Indian cam-
paign at Esopus [Kingston]. From him are
descended the Cowenhovens of Gloucester
county. New Jersey.
We are more interested here with the sec-
ond son, Jacob, Jacob Wolfertse, as he was
generally called in the old Dutch style, who
was born in Holland and came to this country
with his father. He was in business in New
Amsterdam as a brewer, and also did business
as a trader with z-Vlbany, owning a sloop which
plied between that town and New Amsterdam,
but does not seem to have made money, for on
one occasion a bouwerie he owned in Graves-
end was ordered sold to pay his debts. Still
he appears to have been a man of considerable
public spirit, well regarded by his fellows, and
a stanch member of the Dutch church. Lie
died in 1670. On July 6, 1643, Jacob re-
ceived a grant from Governor Kieft of a piece
of land on the East River shore of Long
Island. It was described as : "Bounded north
by west by Cornelius Dircksen, ferryman's
land, stretching from said ferryman's land east
by south along the river 56 rods, and along
ditto into the woods, south by east, 132 rods;
in breadth in rear in the woods 40 rods, and
on the east side, north by east till to the river
120 rods, amounting to 10 morgen and 48
rods."
As near as may be determined for prac-
tical purposes, this property commenced at the
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
present site of Fulton Ferry and stretched
along between the present Front and Water
streets (the shore line in the olden time) and
extended up the Jamaica Road (Fulton street)
from the shore until the present junction of
Front and Fulton streets. The ferry at that
time was in itself a little settlement. Cornelis
Dircksen, the ferryman, seems to have had a
tavern near Peck Slip in New Amsterdam and
ran the ferry as an adjunct to his trade. He
received in 1643 a grant of a triangular piece
of land, measuring about two morgens, from
the Director General. Dircksen was a sort of
land speculator and seems to have bought what
land he could get near the ferry and subdi-
vided it, when he could not resell in a lump,
in small parcels suitable for a dwelling and a
garden. In 1643 lie bought from William
Thoniassen a farm of seventeen morgens at the
farry, paying therefor 2,300 guilders, and so
secured the ferriage rights, such as they then
were. In 1652 he sold two morgens and sixty-
seven and one-half rods to Cornelis de Potter.
In 1654 Egbert Borsum obtained a grant of
two lots at the ferry, and was lessee of the
river transportation business in the same year.
We will return to this subject more fully
when telling the story of the ferry system, but
enough has been presented here to show how
easily and frequently larger and small parcels
of land changed hands even in those primitive
times. The home seeking population was then
in the minority on the west end of the island
and people went there with the primal inten-
tion of making money, not of founding fam-
ilies. Jacob ^^'olfertse did not long retain his
valuable piece of property, — it seemed the most
valuable on Long Island even at that time, —
for in 1645 it was in possession of Henry
Breser, who seems to have been a merchant
and land speculator. In 165 1 he rented the
property to Jan Hendrickson Stillman and
Thomas Stephense, and the same year he sold
it to Cornelius de Potter, for 1,125 guilders.
De Potter, who was a magistrate at Flatlands,
died about 1660, and left the property in ques-
tion to his daughter, Adriaentye, who married
Jan Aardz Middagh, by which time it had
extended to some two hundred acres "lying
east of Fulton Ferry and Fulton street." Jan
seems to have remained in possession until his
death, about 1710. From that time until the
property came into the possession of John
Rapalye several years prior to the Revolution,
it seems impossible to trace its transmission.
The Rapalye family is descended from Joris
Jansen, who came to this country from Hol-
land in 1623. He resided first at Albany, with
his wife Catalyntje. There was born their first'
child, Sarah, on June 9, 1623, who has ofteii
been described as the first white child born in
Brooklyn. On June 16, 1637, he obtained a
patent for 167 morgens of land at the Walla-
bout and there settled and became a man of
much local importance. In 1641 he was one
of the twelve Select Men chosen to sit in Coun-
cil with Governor Kieft, and restrained for a
time that doughty representative of their High
Mightinesses from proceeding to extremities
with the Indians. For over a decade he was
a magistrate of Brooklyn and died in 1665 full
of years and honor. His family consisted of:
1. Sarah, married (first) Hans Hansen
Bergen, (second) Tunis Gysbertse Bogart.
2. ]\[arretje, born March 16, 1627, mar-
ried Alichael Paulus Vandervoort.
3. Jannetje, born August 18, 1629. mar-
ried Ren Jansen \"anderbeeck.
4. Judith, born July 5, 1635, married
Peler Pietersen \'an Nest.
5. Jan, born August 28, 1637, died Jan-
uary 25, 1663.
6. Jacob, born 2^Iay 28, 1639, killed by
Indians.
7. Catelyntje, born March 28, 1641, mar-
ried Jeremias Jansen Van Westerhout.
8. Jeronemus, born June 27, 1643, mar-
ried Anna, daughter of Tunis Nyssen or
Denyse, succeeded to his father's property at
the Wallabout and resided there until his
death, about 1695. He bequeathed his estate
to his son Jeronimus, who in turn devised it
to his daughter, Antie, wife of Martin M.
Schenck, of Flatlands.
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN (QUEENS AND KINGS.
97
9. Annetje, born February 8, 1646, mar-
ried (first) ^lartin Ryerse, (second) Joost
France.
10. Elizabeth, born March 26, 1648, mar-
ried ]Dick Cornelise Hoogland.
ir. Daniel, born December 29, 1650, mar-
ried Sarah, daughter of Abraham Klock, and
resided in Brookhii probably on farm land
set off from the paternal estate. He was an
ensign in the Brooklyn militia company in
1673 and lieutenant in 1700.
of this family, and his wealth made him its
most noted member so long as he resided in
Brooklyn. In another place we will speak
more fully of the personal fortunes of John
Rapalye, and it may here suffice to say briefly
that the land passed from his hands after the
Revolution, and by the operation of the law
of attainder became vested in the Commis-
sioners duly appointed to take charge of such
forfeiteed estates when the British flag, as the
flag of an enemy, was hauled down and our
THE FERRY.
The Ferry Tavern. i3) The Rapalye Honiestead. (3) Tho old Stone Tavern
The father of this family, which by its in-
ter-marriages finds a place in every ancient
genealogical tree in Brooklyn, was not an ac-
complished penman, whatever his other educa-
tional qualifications may have been. He signed
his mark "R" to all documents. His sons were
more elaborate in the presentation of the fam-
ily name, signing it "Rapalje," "Rappalie" and
"Repreele."
The owner of the tract at the ferry we
have taken for our text was a representative
beloved Stars and Stripes run up on ever}''
staff from which it had floated.
The property, comprising one hundred and
sixty acres in all, was bought from the Com-
missioners in 1784 by Comfort and Joshua
Sands, and thus brought to the front in Brook-
lyn another old Long Island family — but then
new in that community — whose name is now
held in peculiar veneration.
The Sands family hailed from Cow Neck
or Manhasset, at which place Sands' Point still
98
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
marks the location of the pioneer settler of the
name — the great-grandfather of the brothers
in whose fortunes we are immediately con-
cerned. Both were born on the ancestral prop-
erty,— Comfort in 1748, and Joshua in 1757.
Comfort entered into business on his own ac-
count in Peck Slip, New York, and by the
time the Revolutionary war broke out had
managed to save a considerable amount of
money. As an instance of values in those days
we may mention that Comfort in 1781 rented
a house at 307 Queen (Pearl) street, for
$32.50 a year. His business career was mainly
confined to Manhattan. In 1776 he was a
member of the New York Provincial Congress
and held the office of Auditor General of the
State. He also represented the city several
times in the Assembly and acquired for those
days considerable wealth, for every interest he
touched seemed to flourish. He died at Ho-
boken September Z2, 1834.
Joshua was much more closely connected
with Brooklyn and Long Island. In 1776 he
secured a position, through the influence of
Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, in the
commissariat department of the army. This
position he held for a short time, but during
it he took part in the battle of Brooklyn and
was of considerable service in the memorable
retreat of Washington's troops from Long
Island. In 1777, in company with his broth-
ers, Comfort and Richardson, he formed a
company for supplying clothing and provisions
to the Continentals. Their proposals were ac-
cepted and they set about supplying the goods,
but it was many years afterward before they
received payment, for the condition of the pub-
lic treasury long after peace was inaugurated
was the reverse of prosperous, and Uncle
Sam, somehow, even when his treasury was
full, has never been a very prompt paymaster.
The brothers, however, had other interests
which paid them better and their partnership
was continued after the war was over. The
Rapelye property seems to have been their first
large speculation after peace was proclaimed.
and it is said that the money used in the pur-
chase represented the profit on their dealings
in soldiers' pay certificates which they had
bought up at a steep rate of discount. How-
ever that may be, it made Joshua become a
resident of Brooklyn, for he at once built a
home for himself on the estate, on I-^-ont street,
and remained identified with the place and its
interests until his death. He established in it
a new industry, that of the manufacture of
cordage and rigging, and laid out extensive
rope-walks, importing the necessary machinery
and skilled labor from England. He held
many public offices, was a State Senator from
1792 to 1798, Collector of Customs at the Port
of New York between 1797 and 1801, and a
member of Congress in 1803-5, ^'^d again in
1825-7. In 1824 he was chosen president of
the Village of Brooklyn Trustees and seems
to have been a most active man in the social,
political, religious and industrial affairs of the
community. He died in 1835.
With its possession by the Sands brothers
the history of the Rapalye property as a single
factor ceases. While Joshua retained enough
of the land for a house and an extensive gar-
den, the brothers had no idea of holding on to
an estate which they had simply bought for
speculative purposes. So, in 1788, it was sur-
veyed, streets laid out, and in conjunction with
the adjoining Remsen property of John Jack-
son, buyers were invited for lots in the tract,
which was boomed as a new village — the "vil-
lage of Olympia." It was pictured as a village
of homes with city and country advantages
combined, and as the lots were cheap they
readily sold. Some doubt was cast upon the
legality of the title by which the brothers held
the property, for Rapalye had carried off all
the title deeds ; but the Sands brothers deemed
the voucher of Uncle Sam good enough for
all practical purposes and most of those with
whom they had dealings fully agreed with
them. This opening up of Olympia was the
beginning of the distribution of many an old
Kings county estate into building lots — the
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN Q_UEENS AND KINGS.
99
starting point of a series of "booms" of various
sections which is still going on even at the
present day.
When the Rapalye property was subdivided
by the Sands brothers, one of the arguments
used to support the theory of the future rise in
vahie of the lots was that Brooklyn was cer-
tain to extend along its section of the water
front, as on the other side of the main road
from the ferry was a series of inaccessible hills
which rendered the ground utterly unsuitable
for building purposes. The arguments were
specious enough, but time showed how utterly
fallacious they were.
In 1647 Dirck Janssen \\'oertman settled in
Brooklyn from Amsterdam, and successively
bought up several patents on lands south of
Brooklyn Ferry, covering, roughly speaking,
that section now known as the Heights. In
1706 he disposed of that property to Joris
Remsen, who had married his daughter, Fem-
metje. When the deed was completed Joris
removed with his family from Flatbush, where
he had previously resided. With the death
of Joris, about 1720, commenced the subdi-
vision of the property into smaller holdings.
He had previously sold fourteen acres to his
son-in-law, Jacobus De Bevoise, a tract long
afterward known as the De Bevoise farm.
Stiles says: "The remainder of Joris Rem-
sen's land was inherited by his son Rem, who
died in or about 1724 [the only authority for
this is that his will was dated that year],
leaving among other children a son, George
(or Joris), who fell heir to the paternal es-
tate, married Jane, daughter of Philip Nagle
(Nagel), and died between 1735 and 1743,
leaving issue Rem, Phillip and Aletta. On
the 19th of June, 1753 (Kings County Rec-
ords, liber 6, page 174), Philip Remsen, de-
scribed there as of Bucks county, Pennsyl-
vania, together 'with Philip Mease, Esq., of
Flatbush, only surviving executor of his fa-
ther's estate,' conveyed to Henry and Peter
Remsen, merchants of New York, for the sum
of £1,060, one-half (estimated at fifty-seven
acres) of the original property purchased by
his great-grandfather, Joris Remsen, from
Woertman. * * * The above named
brothers, Henry and Peter Remsen, at some
time prior to 1764 sold to Philip Livingston,
Esq., of New York, that portion of the es-
tate lying between the present Joralemon and
Atlantic streets and extending from the East
River to Red Hook Lane. On the ist of Au-
gust, 1768, the Remsen brothers divided be-
tween them the remainder of the property,
Henry taking the northerly half, adjoining
the De Bevoise farm, and Peter taking the
southerly portion next to the Livingston farm,
from which it was separated by a lane since
known as Joralemon street."
Part of the Livingston property, with a dis-
tillery erected upon it and which had been in
successful operation for several years, was
sold in 1802 to Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont,
afterward owner of the De Bevoise and Ben-
son's farms of the Heights, and thus was in-
troduced into Brooklyn history the name of a
family which has done more for its sterling
development than any other that could be
named outside of the descendants of the orig-
inal settlers. H. B. Pierrepont was the grand-
son of the Rev. James Pierrepont, the first
minister settled in New Haven and one of the
founders of Yale College. For a time Heze-
kiah was a clerk in the New York custom-
house, but was previously thoroughly trained
for a business career by his uncle, Isaac Beers,
of New Haven. His opportunity in life came
with his appointment as agent for Watson &
Greenleaf, who were engaged in the purchase
of the national debt, and he was fully equal
to it, acquiring a moderate fortune. He then
founded the firm of Leffingwell & Pierrepont
and engaged in shipping provisions to Europe,
residing for a time in Paris to look after the
interests of the firm there. This trade was
interrupted by the course of the war between
Great Britain and France ; so he chartered a
vessel, "The Confederacy," and, filling it up
with merchandise, accompanied it to China in
1795. The speculation proved a profitable
one, but in 1797, while on the voyage home
100
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
from China, "The Confederacy" was seized
by a French privateer and sold, in defiance of
American treaty rights and stipulations. In
1800 Pierrepont returned to New York and
two years later married Anna, daughter of
William Constable, a merchant of New York
who had been interested with Alexander
Macomb in the purchase, in 1787, of over a
million acres of land in the northern part of
the State of New York. By his bride, Pierre-
pont came into possession of some 500,000
acres of these lands, mainly in Jefferson,
Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.
WM. A. MUHLENBERG.
In prospecting for some business enter-
prise in which to engage he saw a prospect
of success in the manufacture of gin, and it
was with that business in view that he bought,
in 1802, the Livingston distillery at the foot
of Joralemon street, Brooklyn, and so com-
menced a connection with the future "City of
Churches" which was of the utmost conse-
quence to both. He was not long in Brook-
lyn before he fully realized the bright pros-
pects of its future, and soon made up his mind
that in aiding in its development lay a certain
and substantial return for his own means and
his business energy. So he purchased the tract
of land on the Heights known as the Remsen
farm, part of the old Remsen property, and
gradually extended his holdings as opportunity
offered, his last great purchase being the De
Bevois farm, for which in 1816 he pai'd $28,-
000. A year later he abandoned the distillery
and thereafter devoted himself solely to the de-
velopment of his real estate. In 181 5 he had
been one of a committee which succeeded in
getting from the legislature a village charter
for Brooklyn, and he had the bulk of his prop-
erty graded, and laid out in streets and squares'
and finally placed on the market. He be-
lieved in wide streets and fully exemplified
his ideal in the care he bestowed on Pierre-
pont street, which was laid out with a width
of eighty feet, while Montague street and
Remsen street were each scheduled at seventy-
five feet.
Stiles, in his "History of Kings County,"
page 130, says:
As chairman of the street committee he
exerted himself to secure an open promenade
for the public, on the Heights, from Fulton
Ferry to Joralemon street. He had a map and
plan drawn for the improvement by Mr. Silas
Ludlam, and procured the consent of the pro-
prietors for a cession of the property, e.xcept
from his neighbor and friend, Judge Radcliff,
who opposed the scheme so violently that Mr.
Pierrepont, rather than have a contest with a
friend, withdrew from the attempt, and him-
self paid the expense incurred for the survey
and plan, though he had ordered it officially.
He lived and died in the belief and desire that
the Heights would some day be made a public
promenade, on some similar plan. Before his
estate was divided and sold his executors gave
the opportunity to the city to take the prop-
erty between Love Lane and Remsen street and
Willow street, the only part of the Heights
that remained unoccupied, for such a public
place, and a petition was signed by a few pub-
lic-spirited men for the object. But it was
defeated before the city authorities by over-
whelming remonstrances, very generally
signed in the large district of assessment that
was proposed.
It appears from his diary that as early as
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN QUEENS AND KINGS.
101
the year 1818 he made inquiry as to the cost
of stone wharves. He rehictantly improved
his water-front with timber, only when he
found, from the depth of water, the cost of
stone structures was too great to be war-
ranted by the small income derived by wharf-
owners under our present port laws. He per-
sistently declined to sell his lots, except where
good private dwellings of brick or stone were
engaged to be erected, suited to the future
character of his finely-situated property. Time
has now proved the soundness of his judg-
ment. His property is now covered by elegant
mansions, besides five fine churches, the City
Hall, Academy of Music, Mercantile Library,
and other public buildings, while the front on
the bay is occupied by extensive wharves and
warehouses. ]\Ir. Pierrepont possessed great
energy of character and a sound judgment ;
was domestic in his habits and had no ambi-
tion for public ofirce, or relish for political life.
Yet he gave his services freely to his fellow
citizens in aid of their local affairs.
Hi^ property in the northern part of the
State occupied his attention along with that in
Brooklyn, and for years he and his sons, Will-
iam and Henry. \>nk\ annual visits there and
steadilv effected improvements and induced
settlements. But it was slow work, although
sufficient to demonstrate that with time it
would blossom as a garden as much of it since
then l-.as done.
j\lr. Pierrepont died in Brooklyn in 1838,
and his widow survived him until 1859. They
had a family of two sons and eight daughters :
William Constable, Henry Evelyn, Anna Con-
stable (deceased, wife of Hubert Van Wag-
enen), Emily Constable fmarried Joseph A.
Perry), Erances Matilda (married Rev. Ered-
erick S. Wiley), Mary Montague (died in
1859, unmarried), Harriet Constable (mar-
ried Edgar J. Bartow, died in 1855). Maria
Theresa (married Joseph J. Bicknell), Julia
Evelyn (married John Constable, of Constable-
ville), and Ellen Isaphine (married Dr. James
M. Minor).
William C, the eldest son, devoted him-
self mainly to the State properties left in his
charge by his father's will and made his home
at Pierrepont Manor, Jeft'erson county. He
was an accomplished scholar and a profound
mathematician, and carried on an extensive
correspondence with many of the leading
scientists of Europe. He was elected a mem-
ber of the State Legislature in 1840, but only
served a single term. Lender his management
the estate prospered and he was noted for his
beneficence as well as many other grand qual-
ities of mind and heart. He established
scholarships in the General Theological Sem-
inary, New York, and also at Hobart College,
from which institution he received the degree
of LL. D. At Canaseraga, New York, he en-
dowed a church as a memorial to a deceased
son, and several other schemes of practical
good were stopped by his death, at Pierre-
pont Manor, December 20, 1885. His brother,
Henry E., confined his life work to Brooklyn.
While in Europe in 1833 that village was
raised to the dignity of a city, and in his ab-
sence he was named one of the Commissioners
for laying out public grounds and streets.. On
receiving notification of his appointment he
made a practical study of most of the large
cities in Europe and drew up plans which were
adopted, in a large measure, by the legislature
of 1835. He also submitted plans for laying
out a large plot of ground among the Gowanus
Hills for a" rural cemetery, and in 1838 ob-
tained a charter from the legislature for the
formation of the Green- Wood Cemetery cor-
poration. With that enterprise we will deal
at length in a subsequent chapter of this his-
tory. Under his father's will he took charge
of all the family real estate in Brooklyn as
well as the State lands in Franklin, Lewis and
St. Lawrence counties. In Brooklyn he laid
out Eurman street, and by the erection of a
new bulkhead on the water front added five
acres of wharf property to the estate. In the
financial and social life of the city he was
prominent for many years, and was justly re-
garded as the finest type of a high-spirited
and representative citizen. He died in the city
in which he was born and passed his life and
which he loved so well, March 28, 1888, in
the eightv-sixth vear of his age.
102
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
We will now revert to a genealogical study,
selecting for that purpose the Lefferts family
so well known in Brooklyn. So far as can
be ascertained its American ancestor was
Pieter Janse, who seems to have crossed the
Atlantic, with his wife, Femmentje Hermans,
in 1660. There is some doubt as to his sur-
name ; Pieter Janse is simply Peter, John's
son, and Haughwout or Hauwert, which is
sometimes given as the surname, is merely the
name of a village in Holland, whence the fam-
ily emigrated. Some of the family, however,
used Haughwout with several variations in
spelling as a surname. Pieter, whatever his
family name was, did not long survive after
coming to America, for by October 15, 1662,
we find that Femmentje was again married
and on that date had two guardians appointed
at Flatbush for her children by her previous
union, — Leffert Pieterse and Pieter Pieterse.
What became of the last named seems un-
known.
Leffert Pieterse was probably about seven
years of age when he landed in the New
World with his parents. He was brought up
in Flatbush, and in 1775 settled on a piece of
land (seventeen morgens) in that place. He
married the same year Abigail, a daughter of
Anke Janse Van Nuyse, and seems to have
prospered in the world, for in 1700 he was
able to buy an additional farm, at Bedford,
for one of his sons.
He died July 19, 1748. His children were:
1. Altien, born June 22, 1676, died single.
2. Anke, born April 4, 1678. He mairried
Marytje Ten Eyck. of New York, and prior
to 1709 removed to Monmouth county. New
Jersey. His descendants still reside there and
generally write their family name Leffertson.
3. Pieter, born May 18, 1680, succeeded
to his father's farm, and was a supervisor of
Flatbush in 1726 and 1727. Signed his name
Pieter Lefifertsz. Married Ida, daughter of
Hendrick Suydam, of Flatbush, and had a son
Leffert, who founded the Pennsylvania (Berks
County) branch of the family; two sons, John
and Jacob, who died young; and five daugh-
ters.
4. Rachel, born January 17, 1682, married
Jan Waldron.
5. Jan, born January, 1684, who grew to
manhood and married, but all trace of whom,
has been lost.
6. Jacobus : see below.
7. Isaac, born June 15, 1688, died October
18, 1746, resided all his life in Flatbush, of
which town, in 1726 and 1727, he was Con-
stable. One of his sons, Leffert, resided dur-
ing his life in Flatbush. Two others, Hendrick
and Isaac, removed to Jamaica. His only
daughter, Harmpje (named after her mother,
whose surname is not on record), married
Hendrick Suydam, of Hallet's Cove.
8. Abraham, born September i, 1692.
Married Sarah Hoogland. Family settled in
New York (where he engaged in business)
except one daughter, Catherine, who married'
Peter Luystcn, of Oyster Bay.
9. Aladalina, born August 20, 1694, mar-
ried Garret Martense.
10. Ann, born March i, 1696, died single.
11. Abagail, born August 14, 1698, died
young.
12. Leffert, born May 22, 1701, married
Catryntje Borland and died September 27,
1774-
13. Benjamin, born May 2, 1704, died.
November 17, 1707.
Jacobus (6), born June 9, 1686, settled'
on the farm which his father had bought at-
Bedford Corners. He married, in 1716, Fan-
net je, daughter of Claes (or Nicholas)
Barentse Blom. In the local records his name
is given sometimes as Isaac Hagewoutt, but he
signed himself Jacobus Leffert. He seems to
have prospered fairly well in life, for he added'
pretty extensively to the size of his farm and
appears to have owned and rented one or two-
small farms in the neighborhood. He died-
September 3, 1768. His family consisted of:
I. Abagail, born October i, 1717, married,
Lambert Suydam, who was captain of a troop
SOME OLD FAMILIES IN QUEENS AND KINGS.
lOS
of horSe in 1749 and died in 1767. Abagail
was again married, to Nicholas Vechte, in
1772.
2. Nicholas, born April 6, 1719, died
1780, leaving two daughters.
3. Elizabeth or Eliza, born March 8, 1721,
married Hendrick Fine, of Bedford.
4. Neltye, born November 3, 1723, mar-
ried Jacobus Vanderbilt.
5. Lefifert, born March 14, 1727. (See
below. )
6. Jannetje, born June 25, 1729, married
Jeronemus Rapalje.
7. Jacobus, born November 26, 1731, be-
came a merchant in New York, and died July
20, 1792, leaving several children.
8. Barent, born November 2, 1736, mar-
ried Femmetje, daughter of Rem Remsen, and
lived at Bedford Corners. He owned before
his death, June 21, 1819, much land on Jamaica
and Cripplebush Roads.
LeiTert, through whom the family name
was handed down to another generation, mar-
ried, August 5, 1756, Dorothy, daughter of
John Cowenhoven. As County Clerk he had
charge of the county and the town records
which v/ere afterward taken from his house
by his assistant, John Rapalye, and the house
itself was tenanted by General Gray during
the British occupation. He left a large family,
but it is needless to follow their fortunes with
the minuteness given to the earlier branches.
We must need refer to two, however. Of these
Catryna, born in 1759, was killed accidentally
April 17, 1783, in a curious -manner. A local
paper said that "having observed to her mother
that a loaded pistol left by a drover, who had
been watching his cattle with it the preceding-
night, upon a chest of drawers, was rather
dangerously placed and that some of the chil-
dren might get hurt by it, proceeded to re-
move and put it in a holster that hung close
by; but in the operation the pistol was dis-
charged, the shot went through her body and
she expired immediately." Having told the
story, thus succinctly, the paper then prints
an elaborate "Elegy," of which the following,
are the closing lines:
"Then pray descend, fair Catharina's shade,.
Into my dreams and visions of the night;.
Put rapturous illusions in my head
That sad realties may have respite.
Too much an angel for a world of woe.
Eternal Wisdom hath conceived it best
On her a crown of glory to bestow.
Among the saints in her Redeemer's rest."
One of the brothers of this young lady,
Judge Leffert Lefferts, deserves more than a
mere passing notice. He was born April 12,
1774. On May 7, 1794, he was graduated
from Columbia College, and then studied law
in the office of Judge Egbert Benson. In 1798
he was admitted to the bar and in the following
year was appointed Clerk of Kings County, an
appointment which had been held by his father.
On February 10, 1823, he was appointed Judge
of Kings County in succession to Judge Will-
iam Furman, but he held the office only a
short time. His recognized probity and busi-
ness aptitude had opened up other avenues of
usefulness. In 1822, recognizing the great
need in Brooklyn of a banking institution, in-
stituted on the firmest basis, and which should
be directed so as to aid very materially in the
development of the place, he was the leader in
the movement which resulted in a charter be-
ing obtained for the Long Island Bank in
1824, and he was elected its first president.
This office he continued to hold until 1846,
w!ipn the infirmities of age impelled him to re-
sign. The success of the bank and the great
influence it exerted upon the prosperity of
Brooklyn wer? due in great measure to his
progressive yet conservative methods, while
his courtesy, shrewd common sense and unerr-
ing judgment made him personally popular
with all those f'.ssociated with it in any way.
Fle died March 22, 1847. On April 21, 1823,
he had mnrried Maria, daughter of Robert
104
HISTORY OF LOiNG ISLAND.
Benson. Their only child, Elizabeth, mar-
ried J. Carson Brevort (born in New York
City, 1818, died in Brooklyn, December 7,
1887), afterward superintendent of the Astor
Library, New York, president of the Long
Island Historical Society, and a Regent of the
University of New York.
Another scion of the family, one whose
fame extended far beyond the confines of Long
Island, was Marshall Lefiferts. He was born
at Bedford Corners January 15, 1821, and after
various experiences as a civil engineer became
a partner in the firm of Morewood & Co., im-
porters. New York. In 1849 he became presi-
dent of the New York, New England, and
New York State Telegraph Companies, and
left that office in i860 to perfect some tele-
graphic improvements which were afterward
patented and put into successful operation.
His electrical researches were, however, in-
terrupted by the outbreak of the Civil war.
In 185 1 he had joined the Seventh Regiment,
National Guard, New York, as a private, and
became its lieutenant colonel the following
year and colonel in 1859. In 1861 the regi-
ment, under his command, left for the front.
It volunteered again in 1862 and 1863. In the
latter year it was stationed in ^Maryland, and
returned to New York for duty in the draft
riots of July in that year. Leflferts became
connected with the Western L^nion Telegraph
Company, which had purchased most of his
patents aiid put them in full operation. In 1867
he organized its commercial news department,
and in 1869 became president of the Gold and
Stock Telegraph Company. He died suddenly
July 3, 1876, on a railway train while en route
with the veteran corps of the Seventh Regi-
ment, of which he was commander, to attend
the Centennial Fourth of July parade in Phil-
adelphia.
His son, Dr. George Morewood Lefiferts,
who was born in Brooklyn February 24, 1846,
was educated for the medical profession, grad-
uating from the New York College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons in 1870, and thereafter
studying in Vienna. In 1873 he settled in
practice in New York, making a specialty of
diseases of the throat and chest. He became
Professor of Laryngoscopy in the New York
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and in
1875 president of the New York Laryngolog-
ical Society. In his own branch he stands at
the head of American specialists, while his
many contributions to medical literature have
won for him a widespread recognition in med-
ical circles all over the world.
We must here bring these notes regarding
the old families of Long Island to a close.
They could easily be continued almost indef-
initely, for the study of genealogy, rightly fol-
lowed, is a most interesting one, and the suc-
cession of such families as those bearing the
names of Hewlett, Remsen, \'an Bruntj
Strycker, Cowenhoven, Ten Eyck, Sulphen,
Polhemus, Middaugh, Lawrence, Cortelyou,
Hegeman, Duryea, De Bevoise, Denyse, Sea-
man, Halleth, Riker, Youngs, Horton and a
score of others present us, with many and
varied features of interest in the story of
Long Island. We will refer to many of these
in the course of this work, to all in fact more
or less particularly; but the study itself is
hardly one which can be fully carried out in a
general history such as this. We have, how-
ever, presented sufficient of the subject to dem-
onstrate what an interesting field awaits the
genealogical student who devotes himself to
it. Genealogy as a general rule, except in
dealing with princely families, is generally
voted an uninteresting study; but in tracing
the descent of the famous names of Long
Island we are constantly brought to the con-
sideration of historical details, showing, if the
study shows anything clearly, that under our
republican form of government the history of
the township, city or nation is mr.de by the
people.
CHAPTER IX.
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS — EARLY LAWS— THE
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
HETHER English or Dutch, the
early setlers on Long Island car-
ried there with them the manners
and customs of their respective
niuther lands, and in their daily lives and in
their homes endeavored to reproduce what
they had been accustomed to before crossing
the Atlantic. The line of separation which
for long politically divided the island kept
the two pioneer races from mingling and
adopting each other's ways and habits even
to the extent noticeable on Manhattan Island ;
and the fact that Long Island was so thor-
oughly cut off from the main land that even
a trip across the East River was an event so
full of delay and danger that men often put
their affairs in order and made their wills be-
fore attempting it, led to a maintenance of
primitive customs and the primitive order of
things long after the pioneers had passed from
the cares and troubles and toils of life and
their sons and grandsons reigned in their
stead.
But, unlike as they were in most things,
and diff'erent as were their habits of thought
and their notions of domestic comfort, the
pioneers, both Dutch and English, were alike
in at least one respect — they were essentially
religious communities. The first thing done
in any settlement, whether Southold or Flat-
bush, was to provide for a place of worship —
a house in which they might unite in the praise
of God and meditate on His goodness and His
commands, and around which their bones
might be laid while waiting for the resurrection
and the finaTjudgment. They were each a relig-
ious people, and though dift'ering very widely,
very radically, on their views as to church
government and on many non-essentials, they
united in a complete acceptance of the Bible
as the sole Book of the Law, as the guide for
this life and the only sure guide to the life
that is to come. They interpreted the Bible
and its promises literally, had no worriment
over doubt, no conception of the perplexities
of the higher criticism. The Dutch version
was an inspired Book to the Dutch ; the Eng-
lish version was equally regarded as inspired
by the English. Verbal criticism they never
paltered over: translators' errors, if they could
have conceived them, they would have deemed
an impossibility. The Bible said so, and so
it was : and this implicit faith, this firm re-
liance, this complete subservience of their daily
lives and inmost thought to the Book of the
Law made them even in their own day stand
out in bold relief as honest, God-fearing men
and women, — people whose word could be im-
plicitly relied upon, people who would have
willingly wironged no man ; and while they
strove hard to acquire a share, perhaps more
than a share, of this world's goods, while they
treated the Indians as irresponsible children
and gave them sugar plums for land, they a I
least treated them in accordance with the spirit
of the age. Each community was a moral
one ; the laws were implicitly obeyed and as a
result the history of Long Island as a whole
presents, so far as its own land-owning settlers
were concerned, a much more peaceful pic-
106
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ture than is furnished by most of the early
settlements of Europeans in America.
In another respect both the Dutch and
English settlers were alike — in their love and
reverence for their home land. This is seen
most conclusively in the names they gave their
settlements. Thus, in the section over which
the Dutch predominated there was Breukelen
DUTCH DOOR.
?rom '■ I-lathiisli, Past and Present." By permiEsion of
the Flatbush Trust Company.
and Amersforte and Vlissingen and Midwout,
after places bearing the same name in Holland,
and New Utrecht, like New Amsterdam, dif-
fered only in the prefix from the original
Dutch towns. On the eastern division there
is no room for argument as to the originals
of Southampton, or Huntington, or "The
Island of Patmos," or Smithtown,, or Oyster
Bay. But in one important respect there was
a wide difference between the two national-
ities. While the Dutch at least professed the
deepest awe at the power and influence of the
States General and revered the very name of
"their High Mightinesses," permitting the
Governors set over them almost unlimited sway
and accepting, — although not without grum-
bling,— 'the laws made and provided far them,
each English community aspired to be an in-
dependent government, to make and enact its
own laws, to assess and collect its own taxes,
and to say who should and who should not be
accepted into citizenship. Both talked of re-
ligious freedom, but the religious freedom of
the Dutch was bounded by the spectacles of
the local classis and in matters of extraor-
dinary difficulty by the classis of New Am-
sterdam; and Governor Stuyvesant, among
his other prerogatives, assumed that of Defend-
er of the Faith. The English were as pro-
iiouncedly in favor of freedom and toleration,
but they judged the boundary line by their
own views, and whatever turned up that did
not square with those views was deemed
unworthy of freedom and toleration. But
both had, to a certain extent at least, a sym-
pathy with the churches each set up and both
harassed and persecuted the Quakers and other
malcontents with ec|ual zeal. Still there is
no doubt that even in such excesses as made
martyrs of the early Quakers and Baptists,
they acted conscientiously. Dififerent as they
were in so many things pertaining to religion,
they were alike in the rigidness of their ac-
ceptance of Calvinism, and the authority of
the company in Holland over religious as well
as over secular matters was not one whit
stronger than that wielded in the eastern
settlements by the local church authorities and
the town meeting. They both hated dissenters
as much as did the most obdurate high church-
man in old England, had an equal hatred of
unauthorized religious meetings — meetings
which they contemptuously called "conven-
ticles" ; and such gatherings were ruthlessly
broken up and the attendants punished by fine
and imprisonment, or whipping or by the
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
107
easier process of ordering their instant removal
from the neighborhood. As an instance, take
the following from Fiske's "Quaker and Dutch
Colonies" (vol. i, page 232) :
The heavy hand of the law was also laid
upon a few humble Baptists at Flushing.
William Hallett, the sheriff, had the audacity
to hold conventicles in his own house and
there "to permit one William Wickendam to
explain and comment on God's Holy Word,
and to administer sacraments though not
called thereto by any civil or clerical author-
ity." For this heinous offence Hallet was
removed from office and fined 500 guilders,
while Wickendam, "who maintained that he
was commissioned by Christ and dipped peo-
ple in the river," was fined 1,000 guilders
and ordered to quit the country. On inquiry
it appeared that he was "a poor cobbler from
Rhode Island," without a stiver in the world ;
so the fine was perforce remitted; but the
Baptist was not allowed to stay in New
Netherland.
The wealth of the people consisted prin-
cipally of land and live stock, since these things
naturally were the most convenient and im-
portant to a pioneer people. To be a land-
holder was of course a great attraction and in-
centive to the average citizen of the old coun-
try, like Holland and other densely populated
portions of Europe, where no hopes of being
the possessor of land and a "landlord" could
be entertained by the masses ; and the most of
them, having been brought up to agricultural
and horticultural pursuits, were well versed
in the faithful tilling of the soil and also in
the care of live stock, especially cattle.
The residences were necessarily simple
and the furnishing of the same was meager,
since it was altogether too expensive to
import furniture across the great Atlantic
in sailing vessels. The home of the Dutch
settler, was a square, built with a high, slop-
ing roof, with overhanging eaves that
formed a shade from the sun and a shelter
from the rain. The first settlers probably
were content with a dug-out, but not for
long, for as soon as timber could be cut
and saplings gathered a more pretentious
dwelling would arise over the cellar, a dwelling
which could easily be added to as the family
increased in numbers or wealth. In the eastern
end of Long Island, which was settled prin-
cipally by people from New England and old
England, the dwelling-houses were simply
huge wooden boxes, so to speak, divided off
into rooms at regular intervals by partitions
or windows or both. Many of them were
similar to the primitive structures of the early
English settlers in Australia, — first a "shack"
or rough-board shanty, such as are conmion to
camps in the wilds, and afterward something
more elaborate, from time to time, as the
owner had means and time for improve-
ment and expansion. Whatever architectural
beauty existed was at first bestowed on the
church, and after its adornment was completed
then something was attempted in the way of
adding to the attractiveness of the homes of
the people, a weathercock being a mark of
gentilitv in Flatlands, while a garden was
deemed a token of advancing civilization and
comfort in Southampton. A stone house,
however, was the height of perfection, after
which most of the well-to-do strived; and as
early as 1690 we read of dwellings built of
brick, but by that time people had begun to
wax wealthy and the importation of brick was
a luxury. Stone was more easily made useful,
as the pioneer farmers could have told with a
sigh. It was a rare thing to see a house
more than a single story high in the Dutch
settlements; and even in the English end a
story and a half or two stories, though more
common, was at first regarded as wonderful
work. The real pioneers, or first settlers in a
country, are generally so well behaved as to
need little or no law ; they are temperate, hon-
est, social, neighborly, and such a period of
simplicity generally endures until burglars and
dishonest people begin to infest the country.
Therefore, east or west, locks were unknown,
until after civilization had considerably ad-
vanced, and in summer the Dutch family was
sure to gather outside of the house, beneath
108
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the shade of the caves, and there exchange
greetings or discuss the events of the day;
while the English settlers were wont to gather
in the town square and the women gossiped
in the gardens and the children played in the
little bit of lawn, a feature as inseparable from
an Englishman's notion of domestic comfort
as was the long pipe of the Dutchman.
In the interior of the house the general
sitting-room and the kitchen were the im-
portant features. Bed-rooms were small, and
sleeping bunks were common where the family
was large : but improvements in this respect
came with the extension of the dwelling.
Sanitary arrangements there were none, east
or west, but cleanliness and good order were
everywhere apparent. The Dutch housewife
scrubbed everything that would bear scrubbing
and polished her treasures of pewter or brass
with unfailing regularity. Carpets were un-
known, a sanded floor was deemed the per-
fection of cleanliness and comfort and the
ashes from the wood fires were zealously swept
up with feather brushes and carefully gath-
ered. In a Dutch farm-house the fireplace in
the sitting-room was the family hig'h altar.
It was almost a compartment in itself ; and its
imported tiles, with their scriptural or his-
torical picture;, formed a basis for a post-
graduate educational course following the in-
structions of the schoolmaster and were re-
garded as works of art of the highest order.
The furniture at first naturally was of the
most primitive kind ; and as each house was
a little community of its own, making its own
bread, curing its own meats, preparing its own
cloth and manufacturing its own furnishings
and household utensils, the aim was strength
and usefulness rather than beauty. After a
while this primitive simplicity gave way to
more ornate effort. Furniture was imported
from Holland and the Dutch artificers in New-
Amsterdam found a ready market for their
wares in the farm-houses on Long Island.
Very possibly, too, the pioneer families
brought with them from Holland many house-
hold articles which they deemed especially
valuable or beautiful, and these were accorded
a place of honor among the lares et pcnatcs
of the new home. There was much more of
old-world furniture to be found among the
pioneer homes on the western end of the island
than among those of the eastern; if we may
judge by the old inventories still extant and
the pieces which have survived to his day;
but then we must remember that the eastern
settlements were not people directly from
old England but from New England; and
that two or three removals from one strange
land to another were not conducive to the
life of family relics or even of articles of do-
mestic usefulness which could be reproduced
by hammer, saw and chisel.
Such of these old structures as are still
remaining serve as mementoes of a simple life,
and the memories of the time become more and
more sacred with the lapse of years. Even
poetry of an inspiring kind seems to gather
around the scenes and experiences of that pio-
neer age, while only "prose" is connected with
the present-day changes and customs. Hence
relics of that pioneer time, including even the
domiciles themselves, are often the most in-
teresting exhibits at fairs and museums, and
still serve as centers of eloquence in fervid
composition.
Even in 1679, after several years of pros-
])crity and thrift, the Labadist fathers who
visited Long Island in that year found very
little in 'the way of interior decoration or
domestic elegance in the homes they visited
as honored guests. Of their reception at the
home of Simon de Hart, which stood close
to the present ferry houEe of the Thirty-
ninth street ferry and was only removed a
few years ago. to make way for that structure,
they wrote :
We proceeded on to Gouanes, a place so
called, where we arrived in the evening at one
of the best friends of Gerret named Symon
[de Hart]. He was very glad to see us, and so
was his wife. They took us into the house
and entertained us exceedingly well. We
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
109
found a good fire, half way up the chimney,
of clean oak and hickory, of which they made
not the least scruple of burning profusely.
We let it penetrate us thoroughly. There
had been already thrown upon it, to be roasted,
a pail full of Gowanus oysters, which are the
best in the country. They are fully as good
as those of England, and better than those we
eat at Falmouth. I had to try some of them
raw. They are large and full, some of them
not k'ss than a foot long, and they grow
key, which was also fat and of a good flavor,
and a wild goose, but that was rather dry.
Every thing we had was the natural pro-
duction of the country. We saw here, lying-
in a heap, a whole hill of watermelons, which
were as large as pumpkins, and which Simon
was going to take to the city to sell. They
were very good, though there is a diflference
between them and those of the Carribby
islands ; but this may be due to lateness in the
season : these were the last pulling.
THE CORTEL'lOL HOl SE
FIFTH 'i\ENUE AND THIRD STREET BROOKLYN
sometimes ten, twelve and si.xteen together,
and are then like a piece of rock. Others
are young and small. In consequence of the
great quantities of them, everybody keeps the
shells for the purpose of burning them into
lime. They pickle the oysters in small casks,
and send them to Barbadoes and the other
islands. We had for supper a roasted haunch
of venison, which he had bought of the Indians
for three guilders and a half of "seewant,"'
that is, fifteen stivers of Dutch money (15
cents), and which weighed thirty pounds.
The meat was exceedingly tender and good,
and also quite fat. It had a slight aromatic
flavor. We were also served with wild tur-
It was very late at night when we went to
rest in a Kermis bed, as it is called, in the
corner of the hearth, alongside of a good fire.
In New Utrecht the Labadists met with an
equally hearty reception at the home of
Jacques Cortelyou, about which they wrote:
This village [New Utreclii] was burned
down some time ago, with everything about
it, including the house of this man [Jacques],
which was about half an hour distant from
it. Many persons were impoverished by the
fire. It was now about all, rebuilt and many
good stone houses were erected of which
110
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Jacques's was one, where we returned by an-
other road to spend the night. After supper
we went to sleep in the barn upon some
straw spread with sheepskins, in the midst
of the continuous grunting of hogs, squeahng
of pigs, bleating and coughing of sheep, bark-
ing of dogs, crowing of cocks, cackling of
hens, and especially' a goodly quantity of fleas
and vermin, of no small portion of which we
were participants, and all with an open barn-
door, through which a fresh north wind was
blowing. * * * We could not complain,
since we had the same quarters and kind of
bed that their own son usually had, who now,
on our arrival, crept in the straw behind us.
In his History of Brooklyn, Dr. Stiles wrote
so fully and so graphically of the early home
of the Dutch settlers that I cannot forbear
making use of his words, even although the
quotation is a lengthy one:
Before the English conquest of the Nether-
lands, the domestic habits and customs of
the Dutch were simple and democratic in their
character. All had come hither in search of
fortune, and had brought little with them in
the beginning. Some, indeed, through in-
dustry or peculiar sagacity, had attained posi-
tions of wealth, and of increased influence,
yet it might justly be said of the Dutch, that
their social circles were open to all of good
character, without regard to business pur-
suits, or any factitious considerations. Rich
and poor mingled together with a freedom
and a heartiness of enjoyment which can
hardly be expected to exist, except in the form-
ative stage of society. The advent of the
English, many of whom had high social con-
nections at home, and corresponding habits,
etc., brought change into the social life of the
colony, and necessarily developed an aristo-
cratic state of society previously unknown.
In the "best room" of every house, whether
of the wealthy or humbler class, the high-
posted, corded, and unwieldly bedstead was a
principal object, and, with its furniture and
hangings, formed the index of the social
standing of its owner. Upon it, according to
the old Dutch fashion, were two feather beds —
one for the sleeper to lie upon, and another,
of a lighter weight, to be used as a covering.
The pillow-cases were generally of check pat-
terns ; and the curtains and valance were of as
expensive materials as its owner could afford ;
while in front of the bed a rug was laid, for
■ carpets were not then in common use. Among
the Dutch, the only article of that sort, even
up to the time of the Revolution, was a
drugget cloth, which was spread under the
table during meal-time, when, upon "extra
occasions," the table was set in the parlor.
But even these were unknown among the in-
habitants of the neighboring Long Island
towns. The uniform practice, after scrub-
bing the floor well on certain days, was to
place upon the damp boards the fine white
beach sand (of which every family kept a
supply on hand, renewing it by trips to the
seashore twice a year), arranged in small
heaps, which the members of the family were
careful not to disturb by treading upon ; and,
on the following day, when it had become dry,
it was swept, by the light and skillful touch
of the housewive's broom, into waves or other
fanciful figures. Rag carpets were unknown
in Kings county until about the middle of the
present century.
The capacious chest, brought from Holland,
occupied a prominent place in the house, for
several generations ; as was also the trundle
(or "kermis") bed concealed under the bed
by day, to be drawn out for the children's
couch at night. Chairs, straight and high
backed, were mostly of wood, sometimes cov-
ered with leather and studded with brass
nails, but more frequently seated simply with
matted rushes. Tables, except for kitchen
use, were unknown to the earlier Dutch, and
for many years to their successors. In the
principal room, which held the fine bed, and
was, also, tea and dining room on special
occasions, was generally a round tea-table,
with a leaf which could be dropped perpen-
dicularly when not in use, and a large square
table, with leaves, for use at tea-parties.
Looking-glasses, in the early days, were gen-
erally small, with narrow, black frames ; and
window-curtains were of the simplest and
cheapest description, being no better in the
best apartments than a strip of ordinary cloth
run upon a string. Clocks were rare, and
most families marked their time by the hour-
glass, the great eight-day clock, which we
sometimes see as heir-looms in our oldest
families, being first introduced in this country
about 1720. Earthenware, until about 1700,
was but little used in ordinary table service,
wooden and pewter being then universally in
use by all classes and preferred because it
did not dull the knives. The few articles of
china, kept by some for display upon the cup-
board, were rarely used ; and, though earthen-
ware came into partial use about 1680, pewter
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
was still the most common up to the period
of the Revolution. Among the wealthy, blue
and white china and porcelain, curiously orna-
mented with Chinese pictures, were used "for
company." The teacups were very diminutive
in size, for tea was then an article of the
highest luxury, and was sipped in small quan-
tities, alternately with a bite from the lump
of loaf-sugar, which was laid beside each
guest's plate. Sometimes china plates were
used as wall-ornaments, suspended by a strong
ribbon passed through a hole drilled in their
edges. Silverware, in the form of tankards,
beakers, porringers, spoons, snuffers, candle-
sticks, etc., was a favorite form of display
among the Dutch, inasmuch as it served as
an index of the owner's wealth, and was the
safest and most convenient form of investment
for any surplus funds.
Of books our ancestors had but few, and
these were mostly Bibles, Testaments and
psalm-books. These Bibles were quaint speci-
mens of early Dutch printing, with thick
covers, massive brass and sometimes silver
corner-pieces and clasps. The psalm-books
were also adorned with silver edgings and
clasps, and on Sabbaths, hung by chains of
the same material to the girdle of matrons
and maidens. Merchants who kept school-
books, psalm-books, etc., as a part of their
stock, about the middle of the last century,
were provided with an equal number of books
in the Dutch and English language ; showing
that, even at that late period after the ter-
mination of the Dutch power, the greater
part of the children of Dutch descent con-
tinued to be educated in the language of the
Fatherland. Spinning-wheels were to be
found in every family, many having four or
five — some for spinning flax and others for
wool. A Dutch matron, indeed, took great
pride in her large stock of household linen
(then cheaper than cotton) ; and it was the
ambition of every maiden to 'take ito her
husband's house a full and complete stock of
domestic articles. Light was furnished only
by home-made tallow "dips."
Marrying and giving in marriage were the
occasion of many merry-makings and cere-
monies and seemed to engage the attention of
wide circles in the western end, although prob-
ably the Puritan influence divested such occa-
sions in the eastern settlements of everything
except their religious character. In the west-
ern section all the marriages were first sanc-
tioned or licensed by the Governor, and that
department of the government was managed
by an official styled the First Commissary of
Marriage Affairs. Whether the marriage was
a civil or a religious one it could not be re-
garded as legal without this formality, and in
the Calendar of Historical Manuscripts (Al-
bany, 1865) we read that on April 3, 1648,
"William Harck, sheriff of Flushing, was fined
600 Carolus guilders and deprived of his of-
fice for solemnizing the marriage of Thomas
Nuton, widower, and Joan, the daughter of
Richard Smith, without the consent of the
bride's parents and contrary to the law of the
Province." The parties thus married had to
go through a legal ceremonial shortly after.
In the English settlements people intending
to get married had to have their names read
in public on three successive Sundays in the
church of the town in which they resided, and
so secure an official license (which in these
circumstances cost little or nothing), and then
the marriage could legally be performed as a
civil or religious service. But the law indeed
seems to have called for the publication of
the banns three times all over the island;
but in the western section, under the early
Dutch rule, it was not considered among the
fashionables as "correct form," and the Gov-
ernor's license was held to be all that was
necessary. The law seems to have provided
for this and doubtless the Governors en-
couraged it as it swelled their revenues. But
in the eastern settlements, such marriages
were at a discount, the banns were cried, and
the minister was the necessary official at the
solemnization. At the same time he did so
under heavy penalties should he fail to ob-
serve the law, for one record tells in that
"any minister or justice who married any
daughter, maid, or servant without the con-
sent of her father, master or dame, or witliout
publishing the banns, was subject to a penalty
of £20 and a forfeiture of his office." That
this was borne out in actual life and no mere
ornament on the statute book, is abundantly
112
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
borne out by the various town records. Thus
we find that in Huntington, June 19, 1690,
a court was held to Hsten to the complaint of
her father that Sarah Ketchani had heen
wooed by Joseph Whitman "contrary to her
mother's mind." Evidence was led in the
case, and Sarah was ordered to appear and
tell her story. How the case terminated does
not appear: very likely the marriage was not
permitted, for no record of its having taken
place remains, but the fact that such an action
was begun and carried out shows that the
statute was enforced and held iin general
esteem.
^^'e are in the habit of decrying the present
age as too entirely a practical one, too ob-
livious to sentiment, and speak of money as
one of the main factors in matrimon_\-. But
there were the same elements of dollars and
cents in the matrimonial market even in the
Arcadian days of Long Island. Thus on June
g, 1760, the following ante-nuptial contract
was filed on record at Huntington :
The conditions of this obligation between
me, Rueben Arter, and Sarah Jarvis is such
that if we marry, I, Rueben Arter. do quit
her estate of all but five and twenty pounds.
I, Sarah Jarvis, do allow out of the rent of
the farme for the child's bringing up, and if I,
Sarah Jarvis, don't have no other Darter,
Ruth Jarvis shall have my wearing cloaths ;
but if I have other Darters then the cloaths
to be Divided between them — the wearing
cloaths, and I, Rueben Arter, do hereby bind
myself in the sum of fifty pounds current
money to stand to these Articles by my hand
and seal before these witnesses I have chosen.
Reuben Arthur.
John Bunce.
In some cases the bride had an inventory
made of the goods she brought with her to
her new home, and for some reason it was at
times deemed necessary, or in keeping with
the fitness of things, to have such inventory
recorded. Here is one recorded in Kings
County in 1691, which is printed in Gabriel
Furman's "Notes on the Town of Brooklyn" :
"A half worn bed, pillow, 2 cushions of tick-
ing with feathers, one rug. 4 sheets, 4 cushion
covers, 2 iron pots, 3 pewter dishes, i pewter
basin, i iron roaster, i schuryn spoon, 2
cowes about 5 years old, i case or cupboard, i
tal)le."
Furman also notes that in the Dutch
churches the fees paid the officiating clergy-
man on such occasions were not his personal
perquisites but had to be handed over to the
classis ; and Mrs. Vanderbilt, in her "Social
History of Flatlnish," notes that in 1660 mar-
riage fees amounting to 43 guilders were ap-
plied to the building fund of the church. In
the east, such fees were part of the Dominie's
wherewithal.
Funerals, however, were the occasions on
which the Dutch settlers spread themselves.
It was made an occasion for solemn rejoicing
— so to speak — and the quantity of liquor
consumed on tlie occasion of the funeral of a
well known and wealthy farmer was extra-
ordinary. Airs. \"anderbilt preserves in print
the following bill of expenses at the funeral
in 1789 of a citizen of Flatbush:
20 gallons good wine.
2 gallons spirits.
I large loaf of lump sugar.
1/ doz. nutmegs.
lA gross long pipes.
4 lbs. tobacco.
1 14 dozen black silk handkerchiefs.
6 loaves of bread.
Furman tells us that "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 frequently
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
( ountry ha.s always been celebrated throughout
the world for its excellent Madeira wine.
Christopher Smith of Jamaica, on this island,
who died about half a century since [about
1780], had stored away a large quantity of
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
118
the most superior wines in the country which
were used at his funeral." The funeral ser-
vices were condiicted at the house, not in the
church, and the body was generally carried
to the grave, which in most cases, any dis-
tance from the church, was in a corner of the
private grounds of the family.
The Rev. P. Van Pelt thus describes a Dutch
funeral conducted in the olden style in 1819
by the Rev. W. Schoonmaker, then in his
own eighty-second year:
THE CHURCH ON THE HILL.
It was in 1819 that I last heard, or recollect
to have seen, the venerable old dominie. It
was at the funeral of one of his old friends
and associates. A custom had very generally
prevailed, which, though then very rarely ob-
served, yet in this instance was literally ad-
hered to. The deceased had, many years be-
fore, provided and laid away the materials
for his own coffin. This was one of the best
seasoned and smoothest boards, and beautifully
grained. Other customs and ceremonies then
existed, now almost forgotten. As I entered
the room I observed the coffin elevated on
a table in one corner. The dominie, abstracted
and grave, was seated at the upper end ; and
around, in solemn silence, the venerable and
hoary-headed friends of the deceased. All
was still and serious. A simple recognition
or a half-audible inquiry, as one after another
arrived, was all that passed. Directly, the
sexton, followed by a servant, made his ap-
pearance, with glasses and decanters. Wine
was handed to each. Some declined; others
drank a solitary glass. This ended, and again
the sexton presented himself with pipes and
tobacco. The dominie smoked his pipe, and
a few followed his example. The custom has
become obsolete, and it is well that it has.
When the whififs of smoke had ceased to curl
around the head of the dominie, he arose with
evident feeling, and in a quiet, subdued tone,
made a short but apparently impressive ad-
dress. I judged solely by his appearance and
manner ; for, although boasting a Holland de-
scent, it was to me speaking in an unknown
tongue. A short prayer concluded the service ;
and then the sexton, taking the lead, was fol-
lowed by the dominie, the doctor, and the pall-
bearers, with white scarfs and black gloves.
The corpse, and a long procession of friends
and neighbors, proceeded to the churchyard,
where all that was mortal was committed to
the earth till the last trump shall sound and
the graves shall give up the dead. No bustle,
no confusion, no noise nor indecent haste, at-
tended that funeral.
The Dutch seemed to have carefully en-
closed their burial grounds, whether public or
private, and, in the earlier times especially, to
have raised no commemorative stones, the
grave being often simply marked by an unlet-
tered headstone. In the eastern end, however,
whether in private ground or in the God's-
acre surrounding the meeting house, a stone
was invariably set up, even although the sacred
grounds were unenclosed. In 1640 and again
in 1684 the Governor and Council ordered all
interments in private burial grounds to cease ;
but the orders were not obeyed, and Furmaii
mentions that private burial grounds were used
even in his own day "to a considerable ex-
tent."
From funerals to wills is an easy and nat-
ural transition, and by studying some of the
old "testaments" left by the early dwellers on
Long Island we get many a glimpse into mat-
114
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ters illustrative of their characteristics which
could not otherwise be had.
Thus we find the Dutch were no believers
in widows "throwing off their caps" and en-
tering upon a second matrimonial experiment,
for we have frequent instances in the wills
still extant of property bequeathed to widows
only so long as they remain in that condition.
Thus in 1726 Cornelis Van Catts left the bulk
of his estate to his wife; "but if she happen
to marry then I geff her nothing of my es-
tate, neither real or personal. I geff to my
well beloved son, Cornelius, the best horse that
I have, or else £7 los., for his good as my
eldest son. And then my two children, Cor-
nelius Catts and David Catts, all heef of my
whole effects, land and movables, that is to
say, Cornelius Catts heef of all, and David
Catts heeft' of all. But my wife can be master
of all, for bringing up to good learning my
two children {offcttcn) school to learn."
But in this respect the English residents
were equally prohibitive, for in the will of Ben-
jamin Conkling, of Huntington, 1758, he gave
his wife "one equal half of all my household
goods and ye 3d third of my estate as long
as she remains my widow." Perhaps the best
authority on the wills made by Long Islanders
is Mr. William S. Pelletreau, whose "Abstract
of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City
of New York, 1695, 1707," published in 1901,
is a mine of information on the subject. From
that invaluable volume we glean as follows :
The first will printed in the work is that of
William Ludlam, of Southampton, 1665.
Among his legacies he leaves to his son An-
thony "all my housing and lands at the old
ground," and a £50 right of communage in the
town of Southampton. In a note appended to
this will Mr. Pelletreau writes that William
Ludlam came from Matlock, in Derbyshire,
England, and was in Southampton as early as
1653. All through the volume, notes of this
•character give information of the greatest in-
terest. The use of the word "alias" is fre-
quent, but not in the sense of to-day. For in-
stance, Daniel Denton is an executor. He lives
at Rustdorp, "alias Jamaica, Long Island."
Alice Goodspeede is declared to be the next
heir of John Layton, "late of Middleborough,
alias New Towne, upon Long Island." David
Carwith (Corwith to-day) in 1665, "being
weake in body, but in perfect memory," leaves
to his son Caleb "my best suit of clothes and a
bed blanket." Mary, his daughter, becomes
possessed of a scythe and a Bible. John Mars-
ton, of Flushing, leaves to one daughter a
gold ring, and to another a silver thimble.
Thomas Sayre, of Southampton, whose will is
dated September, 1669, leaves many acres of
land, and besides much pewter. 'His son is
to receive "a Pewter flagon, a Pewter bowl,
and a Great Pewter Platter." Here is a curi-
ous bequest to another son: £10 a year, "to
begin five years after my decease, to be paid
in good merchantable shoes, or other pay that
will procure hides toward his setting up a
Tannery."
Mr. Pelletreau informs the reader that the
Thomas Sayres house is still standing at
Southampton, "and is now the oldest dwelling
in the State."
John Foster, of Rustdorp, L. I., whose will
was made in 1663, is anxious as to the educa-
tion of his children. So he orders, "My Chil-
dren are to be tought to read English well, and
my son to write, when they come of age."
John Hart, of Maspeth Kills, gives one of
his sons a shilling, and to another "one Hog."
John Hart discriminated, for to his other two
sons he left his plantation. Thomas Terry, of
Southold, does not forget his wife. She is to
have "15 bushels of corn yearly during her
life."
Ralph Hunt, of Newtown, had not a great
deal to give. To his daughter Mary he leaves
"two cows, six sheep, and the feather bed I
now lye on." To Ann, she "now having my
red coat in her possession, she is to have it
valued, and one-half of the proceeds in money
is to be given to my daughter Mary." Thomas
Halsey, of Southampton, whose will is of 1677,
is possessed of a fair landed property. An in-
ventory shows that the estate was worth £672,
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
a great deal of money in those days. Among
the bequests of Thomas Halsey is one to his
wife of "one woolen wheele, my little Iron
Pott, and a Yellow Rugg, and one Dutch
blanket, and four bushels of wheate to be paid
yarly, as long as she liveth, and 4 sheep." In
the will of Balthazar De Hart slaves appear.
De Hart leaves "a negro woman with her 3
children." The date is 1672. Mary Jansen,
in a codicil to her will (1677), leaves her son
Cornelius a negro boy. Among Mary Jansen's
other legacies there are golden earrings and a
diamond rose ring, "the Great Bible," a silver
spoon, a silver bodkin, and a silver chain with
keys.
Until the promulgation of "The Duke's
Laws," in 1665, it cannot be said that Long
Island was governed by any general code of
regulations. The Dutch system, as interpreted
by the Director or Governor and his generally
complaisant Council, was the authority west
of Oyster Bay, and to the east was the town
governments, making their own laws, but in a
general way basing their legislation upon the
code which regulated affairs in Connecticut.
These laws are worthy of a little study, as they
show that for many of what were deemed their
extravagances, the Puritan settlers on Long
Island had full legislative authority and were
simply following established and confirmed
precedent.
In a now rare volume printed at New Lon-
don in 1750 and entitled "Acts and Laws
Passed by the General Court or Assembly of
His Majesty's English Colony of Connecticut
in New England in America," we get a thor-
ough knowledge of what these laws were. The
statute covering the Sabbath is entitled "An act
for the due observance and keeping the Sab-
bath, the Lord's Day, and for preventing and
punishing disorders and prophaneness on the
same."
The act provides that all persons on
the Lord's Day must apply themselves to the
duties of religion, both in public and in private,
imposing a fine of 3s. on any one who neglects
to attend public worship. Any one who assem-
bles in a meeting house and has a meeting
without first getting leave from the minister
is subject to a fine of los. No person shall
neglect the public worship of God in some
lawful congregation and assemble in separate
companies in private houses under penalty of
a fine of los. Any one who has worked or
played on the Sabbath was subject to a fine of
IDS., and the penalty for rude or profane con-
duct was 40s., and it cost 20s. to travel on Siin-
day. Drinking was not allowed on Sunday,
and a ship could not sail out of the harbor,
fines being the penalty for violations. In the
event that the person fined refused to pay, he
was to be "publickly whipt," and no appeal
was allowed.
Concerning swearing, which was prohib-
ited every day in the week, the law reads : "Be
it enacted by the Governor, Council, and Rep-
resentatives in General Court assembled, and
by the authority of the same, that if any per-
son within this colony shall swear rashly, vain-
ly, or profanely, either by the Holy Name of
God or any other oath, or shall sinfully and
wickedly curse any person, or persons, such
person so ofl;ending, shall upon conviction
thereof, before any one, assistant, or Justice
of the Peace, forfeit and pay for every such
offense- the sum of 6s.
"And if such person, or persons so con-
victed, shall not be able or shall refuse to pay
the aforesaid fine, he, or they, shall be set in
the stocks, not exceeding three hours, and not
less than one hour for one ofifense and pay
cost of prosecution."
Gambling, or "gaming" as it was known
then, was prohibited, the act saying that no
tavern keeper, ale-house keeper, or victualler
"shall have, or keep in, or about their houses,
outhouses, yards, back yards, gardens, or
other places to them belonging, any dice, cards,
tables, bowls, shuffleboard, billiard, coytes,
keils, logets, or any other implements used in
gaming, nor shall suffer any person to exercise
any of the said games within their said houses,
on pain of forfeiting the sum of 40s." People
convicted of playing any of the games were to
116
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
be fined los. The head of a family who per-
mitted gaming in his house was subject to a
fine of 20S.
Concerninig the jails, they were to be
kept in good repair, the prisoners were to bear
their own charges and allowed to use their own
bedding and send for their own food. The
keepers who injured their prisoners were to be
fined, a poor prisoner was to be allowed to take
the oath and the creditor notified and required
to pay for his weekly maintenance if he insisted
on keeping the prisoner in jail.
The offenses against society were liberally
provided for, the punishments being fines and
imprisonment, and there were all sorts of laws
the same as now, some being more stringent
and somewhat peculiar, viewed from the stand-
point of the present century.
It is not our purpose here to review the
Dutch laws or the town laws, but siin-
ply to present a few specimens of the working
of these regulations with the view of throwing
some additional light upon the manners of the
people.
In Bushwick there seems to have been more
of a fighting disposition among the people
than its old Dutch name should have war-
ranted. Witness the following, mentioned by
Dr. Stiles:
On the 20th of August, i(x)^, Jurian Na-
gell, of Bushwick, together with two others of
Brooklyn, endeavored to stir up sedition among
the crowd, who had assembled at a general
training of the Kings County militia, on Flat-
land plains. Captain James Cortelyou deposed
before the Court of Sessions that, "being in
arms at the head of his company," he heard
Nagell say to the people then in arms on said
plains, in Dutch, these mutinous, factious and
seditious words, following, viz. : "Slaen zvij-
dcr ondcr, zvij scijn dric & egcn ecu;" in Eng-
lish : "Let us knock them down, we are three
to their one." Nagell subsequently confessed
his error, and was released with a fine.
The women, also, participated in the disor-
ders of the times, for on the 8th of May, 1694,
Rachel, the wife of John Luquer, and the wid-
ow of Jonica Schamp, both of Bushwick, were
presented before the Court of Sessions for hav-
ing, on the 24th of January previous, assaulted
Captain Peter Praa, and "tcare him by the hair
as he stood at the head of his company, at Bos-
wyck." They, too, were heavily fined, and re-
leased after making due confession of their
fault.
In 1648 the town of Southold agreed to
conform faithfully to the New Haven law of
1643 that "none shall be admitted to be free
burgesses in any of the pltntations within tbis
jurisdiction for- the future, but such planters
as are members of some or other of the ap-
proved churches in New England ; nor shall
any but such free burgesses have any vote in
any election. * * * Nor shall any power
or trust in the ordering of any Civil Affayres
be att any time put into the hands of any other
than such church members." An appropriate
oath, binding the subject to the faithful observ-
ance of all regulations made under this rule
was required of everyone. Southold also or-
dained that "it was moreover then also or-
dered, that everie such person as inhabiteth
amongst us as shall bee found to bee a comon
tale carriere, tatler or busie bodie in idle mat-
ter, forger or coyner of reports, untruths, or
leys, or frequently provokeinge rude unsa-
vorie words, tendeinge to disturbe the peace,
shall forfeite and pay for everie default 10s."
The town of Easthampton in 1656 ordered
that "whoever shall raise up a false witness
against any man, to testify that which is wrong-
it shall be done unto him as he had thought to
have done unto his neighbor, whatever it be,
even unto the taking away of life, limb or
member. And whosoever shall slander an-
other, shall be liable to pay a fine of five
pounds." In 165 1 the same town enacted that
"Noe Indian shall travel up and down, or carry
any burthen in or through our town on the
Sabbath day, and whosoever is found soe do-
ing shall be liable to corporall punishment."
In 1656 a woman was sentenced to pay a fine
of £3, or stand one hour with a cleft stick upon
her tongue, for saying that her husband had
brought her to a place where there was neither
gospel nor magistracy."
SOME PRIMITIVE CHARACTERISTICS.
117
The Sunday laws were rigorously enforced.
Daniel Baker of Easthampton in 1682 lost an
ox, found it on a Sabbath morning and drove
it to his barn. For this desecration of the Sab-
bath he was brought before the Court of Ses-
sions, which was held at Southold in June,
and by that tribunal was fined forty shillings
and costs of court, which all amounted to nine
pounds, three shillings and three pence. In ad-
dition to this he was obliged to give bonds in
the penal sum of twenty pounds sterling, for
his good behaviour until the following March !
The early records of Flatbush contain the
following entry, dated 1659: Schout vs. Jan
Klaesen, in Scheppens Court. Schout com-
plained against the defendant for carting in
buckwheat with his wagon and oxen on Sun-
day, contrary to the placards. Condemned to
pay costs.
The town of Hempstead in 1650 passed an
order imposing a fine upon every person who,
"without just and necessary cause," should
neglect to attend "public meetings on the
Lord's Day, and public days of fasting, .and
thanksgiving, both forenoon- and afternoon."
In 1674 it was enacted in Brookhaven "that
Whereais, there have been much, abuse pro-
faning of the Lord's Day by the younger sort
of people in discoursing of vain things and
running races ; therefore we make an order that
whosoever shall do the like again, notice shail
be taken of them and be presented to the next
court, there to answer for their faults and to
receive such punishment as they deserve;
whereas, it have been too common in this town
for young men and maids to be out of their
father's and mother's house at unseasonable
times of night;, it is therefore ordered that
whosoever of the younger sort shall be out of
their father's or mother's house past nine of
the clock at night shall be summonsed into the
next court and there to pay court charges, with
what punishment the court shall see cause to
lay upon them except they can give sufficient
reason for their being out late."
About 1699 the town of Brooklyn decreed
"that no people shall pass on the Sabbath day,
unless it be to or from church, or other urgent
and lawful occasions according to act of assem-
bly, upon penalty aforesaid of fine and impris-
onment." In the town of Flatlands the civil
magistrates were required to be of the Re^
formed religion, and officers of the church were
ex officio officers of the town.
In 1654 at Southampton, according to
Prime, it was ordered that"if any person abov^
the age of fourteen shall be convicted of lying,
by two sufficient witnesses, such person soe
oft'ending shall pay 5s. for every such default ;
and if bee have not to paye hee shall cit in the
stox 5 hours." That the stocks were already
provided is evidenced by an entry in 1648, as
follows : "The 14th daye of November, or-
dered that there shall hereby be provided a
sufficient payre of Stokes, John White having
undertaken to make them." In 1651 a woman
in that town was "sentenced by the magistrates
for exorbitant words of imprecation to stand
with her tongue in a cleft stick so long as the
offense committed is read and declared, "hi
the system of alarms for calling the militia to-
gether in case of invasion in that town, it was
ordered in 1667, that "if any pson soever shall
psume to make any ffalse alarum shall for his
or there Default pay twenty shillings or be
severely whipt, and noe person pretend ignor-
ance."
One of the most humorous outcomes of the
Dutch laws is to be found in the following ex-
tract from Dr. Stiles. Denton's pond, it may
be premised, has long been obliterated in
Brooklyn.
Denton's pond was the subject of a curi-
ous contract about 1709, between its original
proprietors, Abram and Nicholas Brower, and
Nicholas \'echte, the builder and occupant of
the old 1699, or Cortelyou, house. With the
strong predilection of his race for canals and
dikes and water-communications, old A'echte
added the traits of eccentricity and independ-
ence. His house stood on a bank a few feet
above the salt-meadow, at a distance of a hun-
dred yards from the navigable waters of the
creek. To secure access to them, from his
kitchen door, Vechte dug a narrow canal to the
118
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
creek, but the ebb-tide often left his boat firmly
sunk in the mud, when he wished to reach the
city market with the produce of his farm. He
therefore contracted with the Browers to sup-
ply him with water from their pond ; and a
channel was dug, in furtherance of his scheme, ■
to a water gate, through which his canal was
to be flooded. The old Dutch farmer was ac-
customed to seat himself in his loaded boat,
while it was resting in the mud of the empty
channel, and hoist his paddle as a signal to his
negro servant to raise the gate. The flood soon
floated his boat, and bore him out to the creek,
exulting with great glee over his neighbors,
whose stranded boats must await the next
flood. The contract for this privilege, as well
as another, by which Vechte leased the right
to plant the ponds with oysters, are in posses-
sion of Mr. Arthur Benson.
In 1661 Easthampton passed a curious law
that "'No man shall sell his accommodation to
another without consent of the town, and if
any purchase he made without such consent
he shall not enjoy the same." This seems to
have been intended to prevent unwelcome
strangers from getting even a night's lodging.
On this question of the settlement of strangers
all the eastern towns were decidedly careful
and conservative. In 1648 Southampton de-
creed that '.'Thomas Robinson shall be ac-
cepted as an inhabitant and have a £50 lot
granted unto him; provided the said Thomas
be not under any scandalous crime, which may
be laid to his change, within six months, and
that he carry himself and behave as becometh
an honest man." Again, Samuel Dayton was
given similar consideration provided "that the
said Samuel (being a stranger to us) were of
good approbation in the colony he last lived in,
and do demean himself well here for the time
of approbation, namely, six months."
But these wanderings among these ancient
by-paths of the laws of the island must cease.
We may smile at some of them, and feel in-
clined to ridicule most of them ; but they were
all the honest outcome of a people's desire to
so frame their daily lives as to win the most
exact justice, man to man, and to bring about
peace, order and the greatest amount of hap-
piness and prosperity to each community.
Early Dutchmen and pioneer Englishmen
were alike in this, that they believed in law
and order, that they loved God and kept His
commandments, and they tried to shape their
legislation by the Book which was a light unto
their feet and a guide unto their path, and
which was a much more potent and active fac-
tor in the .daily life and thought and purpose
of each community than it is in these passing
davs of ours.
^.*L
i^^^^M, — =
s^^^sm^^
CHAPTER X.
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
HERE is no doubt that the "insti-
tution," as they used to call it in
the old ante-bellum days of negro
slavery, was introduced into the
New Netherland by the Dutch. Among
the "freedoms and exemptions" granted
by the West India Company in 1629
to whoever planted colonies in New Neth-
erland was a clause stipulating that "the
company will use their endeavors to sup-
ply the colonists with as many blacks as they
conveniently can." Negro slaves were em-
ployed on the construction of Fort Amster-
dam by Wouter Van Twiller, and in an ap-
praisal of the company's property in 1639 the
value of a negro slave was placed at 40 guild-
ers, or about $16 in modern currency. In
1650 it was decreed "that the inhabitants of
New Netherland shall be at liberty to purchase
negroes wheresoever they may think necessary,
except on the coast of Guinea, and bring them
to work on. their bouweries," paying a small
duty on each importation. In 165 1 the average
value of a negro slave was about $100, and
that price was paid at public auction in New
Amsterdam. The Rev. Mr. Polhemus paid
$176 for a negro slave at an auction in 1664.
So far as can be seen the slaves held by
the Dutch were humanely treated, although
now and again we come across evidences of
the existence of cruelty. Even as early as
1644 we read of laws being passed for the
emancipation of negroes who by long service
and good behavior had earned some mitigation
of their terrible lot.
Under the English domination slavery not
only flourished, but the laws against the ne-
groes were made more stringent than ever.
In 1683 it was enacted that "No servant or
slave, either Male or Female shall either give,
sell or trust any Commodity whatsoever dur-
ing the time of their Service under the pen-
alty of such Corporal Punishment as shall be
ordered to be inflicted by warrant under the
Hands of two Justices of the Peace of the
County where the said Servant or Slave doth
reside. And if any Person whatsoever shall
buy of, receive from or trust with any Ser-
vant or Slave contrary to this Law, they shall
be com.pelled by Warrant, as aforesaid, to re-
store the said commodity so bought, received
or trusted for to the Master of such Servant
or Slave and forfeit for every such oflfence
the sum of £5. And if any Person whatsoever
shall credit or trust any Servant or Slave for
Clothes, Drink: or any other Commodity what-
soever the said Person shall lose his Debt &
be forever debarred from maintaining any
writ at Law against the said Servant or Slave
for any matter or thing so trusted as afore-
said. If any Servant or Slave shall run away
from their Master or Dame, every Justice of
Peace in this Province is hereby authorized
& impowered to grant Hue & Cry after the
said Servant or Slave, the Master or Dame
having first given in Security for the payment
of the Charges that shall thereby attend. And
all Constables & inferior Officers are hereby
strictly required & commanded authorized and
empowered to press Men, Horses, Boats or
120
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Pinnaces to pursue such persons by Sea or
Land, and to make diligent Hue and Cry as
by the Law required."
In 1730 another law concerning slavery
was passed, which made the lot of the blacks
peculiarly hard, their punishment for trivial
offenses exceptionally severe, and even put
obstacles in the way of their emancipation by
kind-hearted owners. This law was one of the
results of the so-called plot of 1712, — it is
not certain that any plot really existed, — which
developed a race riot wherein several whites
were killed and the subsequent trial and exe-
cution of nineteen unfortunate negroes.
But that plot was as nothing compared to
that of 1 741, which has been classed as among
the most noted of the popular delusions of
America. On the 14th of March in that year
some goods were stolen from the house of
a merchant. i\Iary Burton, a girl of loose char-
acter, or rather of no character at all, an in-
dentured servant of John Hughson, keeper
of a tavern of poor repute on the East River
opposite Brooklyn, told some one confidentially
that the stolen goods were hidden in her em-
ployer's house. The news was soon carried
to the authorities, and Mary was at once ar-
rested and offered her complete liberty if she
would confess all. She certainly confessed,
and the prospect of liberty inspired her poor
imagination to great efforts. Some at least
of the stolen property was recovered, and
Hughson and several others, black and white,
were fully charged with the robbery. So far
Mary's confessions did good service to the
community. On March i8th, however, the
Governor's house was found to be on fire, and
then followed a series of conflagrations, each
petty in itself, but with such steady recur-
rence that the fears of a negro plot, slumber-
ing since 1712, became again aroused, and as
usual vague and wild rumors soon fanned fear
into desperation, and once this gained posses-
sion of the people all sense of justice was
thrown to the winds. So it always has been
in the history of the world. ]\Iary Burton
became a prime agent in the persecution of the
negroes which at once set in, and her out-
rageous stories were blindly accepted as evi-
dence. The wild confessions of some of the
white refuse of New York, and of negroes
crazed by fear, added strength to her stories,
and with the aid of the law a blind and cruel
race war set in the details of which form one
of the most revolting passages in the history
of New York. Fortunately the story belongs
to the annals of that borough and need not
be gone into here. Suffice it to say that while
the delusion lasted, from May to the end of
August, 154 negroes were sent to prison, and
of these 14 were burned, 18 hanged and 71
transported. In the same period 24 white
people were arrested, four of whom were exe-
cuted. For all this Alary received her free-
dom and £100 and was sent adrift on the
world, so disappearing from our ken ; and the
good citizens, when they considered the work
done, set apart the 24th of September as a
day of thanksgiving for their escape from de-
struction. The result of all this was that the
laws anent slavery were more rigorously en-
forced than ever and severe measures were
adopted restraining still further the personal
liberty of those unfortunate victims of col-
ored skin and ignorant credulity.
Writing on the subject of "Slavery in New
York," in the American Magazine of History,
Mr. F. G. IMartin said:
As colonists the English did not to any
great extent follow in the lead of Sir John
Hawkins, the great negro importer of the six-
teenth century. Still we find many allusions
to the traffic in the manuscript records of the
Province of New York. Complaint was made
by the Royal African Company, in 1687, that
their charter had been infringed upon by the
importing of negroes and elephants' teeth from
Africa. It was announced, in 1720, that Cap-
tain Van Burgh had arrived from Barbadoes
with four negroes; but that "Simon the Jew
don't expect his ship from Guinea before late
in the fall." "Negroes are scarce," says an-
other informant, "but Captain Hopkins will
sell one for £50, cash." Between 1701 and
1725 an annual average of less than 100 ne-
groes was imported. The total number was
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
121
2,395, of which 1,573 were from the West
Indies and 822 from the coast of Africa. In
1712 the list for Kings county showed 1,699
"Christians" and 298 slaves; Orange county,
439 whites and 4I salves ; Albany, 2,879 whites
and 450 slaves ; New York, 4,846 whites and
970 slaves. In 1723 here were 6,171 slaves in
the Province in a total population of 40,564;
in 1746, slaves 9,717, total 61,589; in 1774,
slaves 21,149, total 182,247. A'irginia, at this
time, had about 250,000 slaves, or forty per
cent, of the whole number in the colonies.
During the Revolutionary conflict ?lavery
as an institution gave rise to considerable
trouble on both sides. Both recognized the
"institution," but the negroes seemed to see
in the condition of affairs a chance for a
change of masters, if not for entire freedom.
As a result the newspapers of the time pre-
sent us with many advertisements concerning
runaway negroes both from the service of
British officers and from civilians, and a num-
ber of these will be found' in Onderdonk's
"Revolutionary Incidents." Almost as soon as
independence was accomplished a movement
for abolition set in, and it was with reluctance
that New York agreed to the continuance of
the slave traffic until 1808. In 1794 the abo-
lition societies of many of the States sent dele-
gates to a convention in Philadelphia, and one
of its results was the passage of an act in 1799
by the New York Legislature for the gradual
abolition of the "black curse." It provided
that any child born in the State after July 4
of that year should be free; but, if a boy,
should remain in the service of his mother's
owner until he was twenty-eight years old; if
a girl, she was to remain in servitude until
she was twenty-five. If the motl:er's owner
did not care for this arrangement the child
could be handed over to the Overseer of the
Poor and treated by them in the same way as
pauper children. It was also declared "law-
ful for the owner of any slaves immediately
after the passing of this act to manumit such
slave by a certificate to that purpose under his
hand and seal." This was the beginning of
the end, and by slow stages and various en-
actments the institution was steadily legislated
against in New York until in 1827 it had no
legal standing in the Empire State at all, and
within her boundaries negro slavery was wiped
out.
So far as Long Island is concerned, it is im'
possible to discover accurately the extent to
which, in its beginning, the institution pre-
vailed. On broad lines it may be asserted that
each owner of the soil, as soon as he was
wealthy enough, in early times bought at least
one slave to aid in its cultivation, and that as
wealth increased it became quite fashionable
to have one or more negroes as domestic ser-
vants as well as farm hands. But we read at
no time of entire dependence being placed,
either for domestic or farm services, on slave
labor ; nor do we meet with the slightest signs
of the existence of any of the great aggrega-
tions of slaves on the lands of individual land-
owners which marked the institution further
to the south. An idea of this is given in the
following list of slaves in Long Island, from
a census of the Siate, which was taken in
1775:
EUSHWICK.
A list taken by Captain Francis Titus, of
Bushwyck in Kings County, of the Slaves be-
longing to the Inhabitants of his District, viz. :
Owners' Namss. Males. Females.
John MisroU 1 l-^;--
John Liequare — 1
George Durje 1 1
Abraham Liequare 1 —
Folkert Folkertsen ■> 2
William Bramebosch 2 1
John Kcsiveldt 1 —
Jacob Misroll — 1
"Nicholas Lefierts '. . 1 —
Catherine Lefferts — —
Abraham Miller -^ — 1^^
Marritje Woertman — 1
David Van Cots 1 —
Theodoras Polhemus 1 1
Daniel Burdett 2 2
Jacob Durve 1 1
Peter Lot — 1
Abraham Schenck 4 1
Evert Van Ge der — 1
Neclos Folkertsen . 1 1
Andris Stucholm — 1
Peter Ccnselye — 1
Capt. Francis Titus 1 2
Capt Frans Titus.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
BROOKLYN.
A list taken from the Negro's belonging to
the Inhabitance, under the Command of Saml
Hopson Captn of the West Company of Brook-
land in King;; County :
One Negro Man cald Francis ... 1
Do Sambo •
One Do Wench Judy \
One Negro Man Cald Roger ~1
Do Harry ....
Do Peter ....
Do Josey .... ,
Do Esquire . . |
One Negro Wench cald Mary
Do pegg. . .
One Negro Man cald Will . .
Do Cezer
One Negro Man cald prince
One Negro Man cald Ceser
One Negro Man cald Dick i
Do Prince •
One Do Wench Dine 1
One Negro Man cald Robin
One Negro Man cald Tight /
One Do Wench Dine (
One Negro Man cald Thorn ...
Do Jack
Do Wench Bett
One Negro Man cald Toney. . .
Do Wench cald Mary.
Do Tracey
One Negro Man cald Tobey. . .
Do Wench cald Flora . ,
One Negro Man cald Ceaser . .
Do Wench Jane \
One Negro Man cald James /
Do Wench Bett S
One Negro Man cald Sam t
Do Thom •
Do Wench Jane )
One Negro Man cald Clos
One Negro Man cald Chalsey. . .
One Negro Man cald Thom. .
Do Wench Jane
One Negro Man cald Harry . .
Do Wench Libe
One Negro Man cald Frank J
Do Thom -
Do Wench Anne '
One Negro Man cald Harrv (
Do Wench Phillis '. \
One Negro Man cald Cofie /
Do Wench Judy )
One Negro Man cald Tight
One Negro Man cald Willing. . . .
One Negro Man cald France. ... /
Do Wench Elizabeth ... i
One Negro Man cald Sam ;
Do Wench Dine
Do Deyon 1
One Negro Man cald Prime
One Negro Man cald Ceaser. ... /
Do Wench Lil \
One Negro Man cald Isaac
To Whom Belonting
Isaac Sebring
Derk Bargay
Simon Booram
Cornel Sebring
Saml Hopson
Peter Van Pelt
Micael Bargan
Chrispr Seehar
John Carpenter
WhiteadCornwell
John Middagh
John Vandike
Clos Vanvaughty
John Griggs
Israel Hosfield Junr
Peter Stots
Sam: De Bevoice
Jacob Sebring
Abrm Brewer
Israel Hosfield
Jacob De Bevoice
Jacob Bennett
Jery Bruer
George De Bevoice
Jury Bloue
Winant Bennet
Negroes Names. To Whom Belonging.
)ne Negro Man cald Jo / j^j yandike
Do Wench Jane ( ^''^^ vanaike
)ne Negro Wench cald Jane. . . . Earsh Middagh
)ne Negro Man cald Harry ]
Do Nease [
Do Dick !■ Jacob Bruington
Do Charles... j
Do Wench Peg J
43 Negro Men
24 Do Women
Total, 66
The above is a just account of Negroes to the Best of
ly knowledge belonging to the Inhabitants of the West
Company of Brookland S.iml Hopson.
The list of the Negroes both male and fe-
male Who Reside In the District of Capt.
John Lott In Kings County in brucklen To
Every Person belonging by name as foloing:
Christopher Codwise
John Cowenhoven
Martin Reyerse
Jeremias Remse
Laramert Sudani
John Lott
Jacobus Degraew
Barent Jansen
Jan Ryerse
Rem Rerasen
Hendrik Sudani
Abram, Remsen
Tuenes Bogaert
DW Sara Rapelie
Benjamin Waldron
Joost Debavois
Jakes Durje
Jan Noorstrant
Jeronemus Rapelie
Jacobus Lefierse
Jacob bergen
Pieter V D Voort
Karel Debavois
Johanis Debavois
Jacobus Debavois
Cornelis V D hoef
.\rsus Remsen
.\driaen Hegeman
DW Dina Rapalje
John Rapalje 3
A true Leist of the negroes male
ir.M.-Vpril 11.
•-' female
1 female
2 female
1 .female
1 female
1 female
1 female
2 female
1 female
1 female
2 female
1 female
1 female
2 female
1 female
. 2 female
and female by me
Capt John Lott.
FL.\TBUSH.
A true List of all the Slaves Both male
and female of fourteen years old and above in.
the township of flatbush in Kings County on
Nassaw Island in the Province of New Yorke
this Eighteenth Day of April, anog Dom 1755.
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
the
Dominie Van Sindere
Peter Stryker
John Stryker
Johannes V: Sickelen .
John Waldron
Doctor V; beuren. ...
Barent V: Def enter . . ,
Barent Andriese
Widdow Clarkson
hendrick Suydam ....
David Sprong
henry Cruger
Engelbart Lott
Jacobus Lott
Cornelis Van D; Veer
Johannes Ditmarss. . .
Laurens Ditmars
Adriaen Voorhees. . . .
Rem Martense
Phillip Nagel
Phillip Nagel Junr. . .
Seytje V: D Bill
Leffert Martense
Rem Hegeman
Evert hegeman
Peter Lefferts
John Lefferts
Jeremyes V; D: bill . .
Adrian Martense
Antje Ver Kerck
Cornelis V; Duyn. ...
John V. Der Veer....
Gerret Cozyn
Jeromus V: D; Veer. .
Steven Williamse. . . .
Johannes Lott Junr. . .
Isaac Snediker
Jacob Snediker
Gerret boerem
Cornelis Wykhoff ....
Abraham Bloom
Jan boerem
Karel boerem
Maurits Lott
Douwe Ditmarss
Johannes Elderts
thomas Batts
hendrick Lott
Joseph houward
harmpje Lefferts
Rem V: D: bilt
1 Tack I
2 Minck lS: torn 1
1 Sambo —
— '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'...'.'.'. 1
.3 jack : hence & Ben 1
— 1
.3 Jaffa Jacob & herry 3
— 1
P> Isack: John & hammell 1
2 Jan and Batt 2
3 Sam cS: Jaffa 1
1 Roos 2
2 frank and f rans 1
1 Claes 3
— 1
2 Sam & herry 2
1 Doll —
1 Libb 1
1 Sam 1
1 Sam 1
2 Dick & herry 1
1 Sesor —
1 herrv —
1 Minbk 1
2 Nienus & Lans 1
3 Adam: Jack & Jaffa 4
1 herry 1
1 herry —
1 '.'.'.'.'.'..'.'...'.'.. 1
1 Andrew 1
1 toon '.'..'.'. —
1 Comraenie 1
1 Sesor 1 . . 1
1 Claes 1
1 Will —
— 1
1 Minck 1
1 Primus 1
1 Yorke 2
1 Prins 1
1 Julus ^
53 o^
Isabel
Syne
Dyne
Roos
Saar
Graes
Bass, and Saar
Isabel
Mary
Calleen
Syne & Bett
VVyne
fillis & Saar
Syne
Eva; Bett & Wyntje
Dyane
Emme & Susan
Bett
Bett
Pagg
Syne
Dyne & Isabel
Kea
Isabel
Jane: Kouba: Mare & Diane
Bett
Isabel
Jude
Sale
Bett
Mary
Lybe
Dyane
Bett
Susan
Bett
Dyne
filles
Moryn & Lill
Eva
Isabel
Rachel
Jane
the total number 108
Peter Stryker Captn of ffatbush.
FLATLANDS.
A true Hat of all the Slaves both tnale and
female from fourteen Years and upwards ac-
cording to an act of assembly:
Male. Fem.-ile.
John Schenck Captain of the said town. .. . 1 1
John V. Der Bilt 1 1
Wilhelmus Stoothof Jur 1 1
harmanis hooglant 1 "
Roelif Van Voorhees Esqr 0 1
■ Wilhelmus Stoothof <• 1
Abraham Vcorhees 1 1
Cornelius Voorhees 1 1
Steve Schenck I
John Ditmars "
Willem Kouwenhoven Esqr 1
Gerrit Kouwenhoven "
John Amerman • 2
Gerrit Wykof '. 1
Marten M. Schenck •'
Johannis Lott 2
Derrick Remsen 1
Johannis W. Wykof 2
Pieter Wykof 1
Joost Vannuis J^
17 IS
J.\N Schenck, Capt,
124
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
GRAVESEXD.
A List of the Negroes In the township
of Gravesend Male and Female from the age
of fourteen years and upward May i, 1755:
Richard Stillwell
John Grigg
John Voahears
Nicholas Stillwell
Roeliff terhunen
Isaac Denyce
Samuel Garritson
Neeltj'e Voorhears
Farnandus Van Sicklen.
Nicholas Williamsen . . .
James Hubbard
Daniel Lake
Cornelious Stryker . . . .
Fernandus van Sicklen.
William Johnson
Peter Williamson
Bengaman Steiraets. . . .
Con Johnson
The totle Number of Males Seuenteen
The totle Number of Females Seuenteen
Names of Masters. Man.
Petrus Van Pelt 3
Jacobus Van Nuys 2
Hendrick Johnsen 1
Heart Van foerhees ;i
Jaques Cortelyou 2
Jaques Cortelyou Junior 2
Pieter Cortelyou .• 4
Deneys Deneys 8
Saartje Barkeloo 2
Thomas Van Dyck 1
John Laan 1
Casper Crapster 2
Gerrit Kounover 2
Gerrit Van Duyn 2
WiUem Van Nuys :!
Willem Van Nuys Junr 1
Rutgert Van Brunt Junior Ill
Evert Suydam 1
John Johnson 1
Rutgert Van Brunt :!
.\ndries Emans 2
Wilhelrais Van Brunt 1
Thomas Pollock ;!
Roelof Van Brunt 1
Joris Lot 4
Neeltye Pietersen 1
Rebecca Emans 1
NEW UTRECHT.
A true list of all the Slaves of the Town-
■ship of Xewuytreght in Kings County:
the whole
number
Petrus Van Pelt Captn.
Hempsted in Queens County on Niss
to George Everit Capt. within hi
Georg Rierson
Cornelius Rierson
Beniamin Dvsenbere
William Cornell
Hendrick Hendricksen
Thomas hendricksen
John ffoster
John ; Montonye
Jacob Vollintine
Beniaman Downing
William Lines.
Thomas Seamons
Jonathan Vollintine
San vel Searing
Daniel Searing
Jacob Searing
Jeams Smith
Timothy Smith
Ellixander Davorson
John Cornell
David AUgoe.
Sarah Seamons
Robbard Marvil
John Smith
peter titvs
John Combs
beniamin Smith Teams /
Smith and Richard Smith \
Richard Titvs
Vriah plat
HEMPSTEAD.
iland and in the province of New Yorck; accompt of the slaves brought in
tricts. April ye 2.S — anno. 17.').3.
."i mals Seasor adorn. Jack 1 famale, Diannah
— 1 famale — bet
1 male — mike 2 famals, bess, pen
:i raals been, Charls. Sam 1 famale — nan
1 male savl 1 famale — Gin
— 1 famale — J vde
— 1 famale— Gin
1 male Jack
— 1 famale Greech
— 1 famale Elly
.'i mals Dick, prince Eliiah 1 famale peg
1 male — Jack
— 1 famale Sarah
1 male franck 1 famale Cate
1 male tie
2 males— Stephen— Lew
1 male Yorck
1 male Robbin 1 famale — nan
2 mals — torn — robbin
1 male Lew 2 famals. hannah, Diannah
.'i mals. David, pero Jack 2 famals Janna nanot
2 mals Jack — peter 2 famals — Dinah post
:i mals Ciah lonnon. hithro 1 famale Dosh
— 1 famale mander
3 mals will Jefro) — bob 2 famals sib pendor
— 1 famale — nan
3 males Corso oxford John 1 famale pendor
1 male Jeffre 1 famale — bet
1 male waterford 1 famale Gin
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
125.
John Townsand. . .
Richard townsand.
phebe mot
John Petors.
Epenetos pla
2 mals Jack
1 male Lew.
1 maleCiah.
1 male York
1 male Lve.
Ambros fish 2 mals Jack — bendo
Samvel willis 2 male tie
Richard Williams 1 male sam
John Williams 1 male savl
William Titvs 1 male Jeams
mary titvs 1 male Cato
Stephen titvs 1 male — ben
Josiah Martin 3 mals — papav Jack sackoe above
George hvHt 1 male Jacob
John Smith 2 mals Dick — Stephen
John Searing —
Samvel Rowland 1 male harre
John hicks 1 male Chails
Jacob Smith 2 males — will — torn
Isaac Smith 1 male seasor
Ephraim VoUingtine 1 male petor
Elisabath titvs 1 male Gem
Charls petors 2 mals petor — tie
famale Gin
famale pendor
famale — ame
famale — hagor
famale
famale — francis
famale Nancy
famale Gin
famals present, Jemina ;
nab
famale Jvdc
famale — hannah
famale Chat
famale — Gin
famals. biblor — bet
famale — peg
A List of the Negro Indian and Mullatta
Slaves witiiin the District whereof Benjamin
Smith is Captain at Hempstead in Queens
County taken the first Day of April 1755:
Jacob Hicks Esqr. . .
Jacob Hicks Junr. . .
Thomas Hicks
Phebe Hicks
James Mott
Daniel Hewlet Junr.
John Cornell
Joseph Scidmore. . . .
Thos Cornell Esqr. .
Capt Brown
Richard Cornell
Benja Lewes
Henry Mott
Vail : Hewlet peters.
Elias Durlum
Eldard Lucas
jacobus Lawrence. .
Elias Durlum ye :!d .
Abraham Bond
P ; Beniamin Smith Capt
A List of the Slaves Male and Female
above 14 years of Age An Account of which
has laeen brol in to Capt. John Birdsall, for
his District in the Township of Hempstead
in Queens County, according to the late Act
of Assembly :
Owners Names. Males. Females.
The Revd Mr Seabury 1 1
Benjn Lester 2 (I
J erm Bedell 1 1
Owners Names. Male:
Benjn Hewlett 1
•Josh; Birdsall 1
Soln Seaman 2
James Pine 1
Benjn Smith 3
Leffurt Haugewout 1
Wid : Lininton 1
Elias Durland Junr 1
Richard Jackson H
Joseph Petit Junr 1
Thos Tredwell 2
J no Carman 1
Saml Jackson 3
John Rowland 1
Thos Seaman 0
Thos Seaman Junr 0
James Smith 1
Jacob Seaman Esqr 2
Cornell Smith 1
Patrick Mott 1
Danl Hewlett 0
Thos Carman 2
Jno Jackson 1
J ames Seaman 1
Jno Hall 1
James Smith Junr 1
Danl Smith 1
Daniel Smith 1
John Grissman 1
Anthony Semans 1
Daniel Pine 1
Benj ; Carmon 0
Richard Suthard 1
Males 43
Females 20
May i
Thi
please yr Hour
is a true account of what has been brout.
Sr yr most hi;
Hempstead (
ible & obedient Servt
John Birds.^ll.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Newtown, May ist, 1755.
A List of Negroes Male and Female Ac-
cording to the Act of Assembly of the Prov-
ince of New York taken by me
Jeromes Rapelye.
Jeromes Rapelye
Cornelius Rapelye Esqr
Jacobus Lent
John Rapelye
John De Bevoyce
Jacob Rapelye
Daniel Rapelye Senr. . .
Joseph Moore Esqr . . . .
Bernardis Bloom
Daniel Rapelye Junr. . .
Nathaniel Fish
John Levirich
William Furman
Samuel Waldron
PhiHp Edsal
Elizabeth Pumroy
Robert Coo
Robert Field Senr
Abraham Brinkerhoff . .
Hendrick Brinkerhoff . .
Samuel Fish Junr
Dow Sidam
Joseph Morrel
Edward Titus
Nathaniel Baily
Abraham Rapelye
Samuel Fish Senr
Abraham Polhemus....
Gabriel Furman
Revd Simon Horton . . .
John White
Widow Titus
William Sackett Esqr . .
Joseph Woodard
Samuel Moore Esqr. . .
Samuel Moore Lieut . . .
John Moore
Samuel Moore son of Jo
Benjamin Waters
Sarah Burrows : .
Cornelius Berrian Esqr.
Jeromes Ramsen. . ... .
Rem Ramsen
sph Moore Esqr.
26th May 1755.
List of Negroes in Queens County sent by
Jacob Blackwell.
Jacob Blackwell 2 Male
Joseph Sacket .3 Det
Samwell Hallett 2 Det
George Vannolst 1 Deto
Nathon More 1 Det
Samwell More 1 Det
Richard Hallett 1 Det
female
Det
Det
Richard Hallett Jen 1 Det
Jacob Hallett 1 Det 1 Det
kobort Hallett 1 Det
Necolos parsel 2 Det 1 Det
John parsel 1 Det
Samwell Hallett Jen 1 Det
Tunus Brinkkerhouf 1 Det ;
Georg Brinkkerhouf — : — 1 Det
Samwell Hallett minor 1 Det
Peter Borgow 1 Det
Isack Borgow 1 Det 3 Det
Isack Borgow jen 2 Det 1 Det
Richard Alsup 3 Det 3 Det
Beniamin Skillman 1 Det
Abraham Skillman 1 Det
Isack Lott 1 Det 1 Det
Samwell AUburtes 1 Det
Samwell Goslen 1 Det
Dannel Bets 1 Det
Richard penfold 2 Det
Jacob Bennet 1 Det
Samwell Sender ■ 1 Det
Johnnathon Hont 1 Det 1 Det
Whillem Bets 1 Det 1 Det
Samwell Way 1 Det 2 Det
Tunus Skank. .i 1 Det 2 Det
Richard Bets 2 Det 3 Det
Jeams Way 2 Det 1 Det
Joseph Bets 2 Det
Andros Reiker 2 Det 1 Dt
OYSTER BAY.
A List of ye Slaves Delivered unto me, of
the Eastern District of Oisterbay, Pursuant to
the Direction of an act of his Honour the Lieu-
tenant Governour the Council and General
Assembly of the Colony of New York.
Oisterbay April 24th, 1755.
Jacob Townsend.
Masters & Mistresses N
George Townsend
Obediah Seaman
Thomas Seaman
John Powell
James Tillott
Melanthon Taylor Woolsey.
Benjamin Birdsall
Metice Lane
George Weekes
Samuel MacCoune
William Hawxhurst
Simon Cooper
Henry Whitson
John Cock
Cornelius Hogland
Daniel Duryea
Joseph Cooper
George Youngs
John Woatman
Thomas Smith
Sarah Ludlam
Ezekel Shadbolt
John Townsend
Samuel Townsend
Silas Carman
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
Masters & Mistresses Names — ;
Thomas Youngs 2
Daniel Birdsall 1
John Schank —
William Jones 2
Isaac Powell 1
Isaac Doty —
Nathaniel Townsend Estate 1
Richard Willits —
Samuel Waters —
Samuel Willis 2
Minard Vansyckley 1
Wright Coles 1
Charles Ludlam —
Richard Alsop 1
Zuroiah Wright 1
William Movies 2
Henry Townsend 1
Sarah Wright 1
John Robbins 1
David Jones Esqr (i
Henry Lloyd Esqr of Queens Village 5
Total 53
William Kerby 1 Female
Daniel Coles 1 Male
John Anderson 1 Female
Timothy Townsend 2 Males 1 Female
Hannah Frost 1 Male
may it please your Honnourin Compliance with an
act of the Generall Assembly & in obedience to your
Honnours Command I transmit an accompt of ye ne-
groes in that part of ye Town that is Aderest to me I
wait your Honnours further Commands and shall with
the utmost pleasure obey & I remain your Honnours
most Humble and obedient servant
Wright Frost
Oysterbay April 20
A List of the Slaves Delivered in unto me
by Virtue of An Act of ye Legislature of the
Province of New York By the persons here-
after named (viz. :)
Capt. Wright Frost's List of Slaves
Oyster Bay;
Wright Frost 1
Micajah Townsend 2
Amos Underbill
Henry Cock 1 1
Thomas Rushmore 1
Daniel Underbill 2
James Sands 3
Thomas Bound 1
Jacob Bound
ThomsKirbe 1
George Townsend 1
Silvenus Townsend ; 1
HezekiasCock 1
Adrian Hagaman 1
Willm Frost 1
Meribah Townsend 1
John Seraicon
Willm Larence 1
Benjamin Wolsey 2
Daniel Cock 2
Jacob Frost 2
Joseph Frost 1
Deborah Cock 1
Derick Alderson 1
John Striker 1
Joseph Hagaman 1
Joseph Coles
Joseph Lattin 1
Willm Walton .">
Peter Hagaman 1
Abraham Underbill 1
Samll Underbill 1
Thorns Underbill 1
Henry Dickenson 1
Townsend Dickensen 1
Jacob Volingtine 1
Thoms Parsall 2
Joseph Wood 1
Benjamin Wolsey Junr 3
JeinCaverly 1
Male 1
Male 2
males 1
Males 1
Male
1
male
Male
Male 1
male
Male 1
Male 1
Male 1
1
Male
Males2
males 1
Male 1
Male 1
male
Male
Male 1
Female
Females
Female
Female
Females
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Females
Female
Female
Female
male
Males 2 Females
Male
male
male
male 1
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
Female
male
male
Males 1
Male
Males 1 Female
male
David Seaman at Jericho within ve Township
of Oyster bay , " — 2
Obediah Vallentine at ye North Side In ye
Township of Hempsted 2 —
Samuel Seaman at Westbury in Oyster Bay. — 1
William Crooker at Wheatly in Oyster bay. . 1 —
William Willis at Cederswamp In Oyster Bay 2 —
Jonathan Seaman at Tericho in Oyster Bay. . — 1
Sarah Titus at Wheatly in Oyster Bay 1 —
Phebe Townsend at Jericho in Oyster Bay. . . — 1
James Townsend at Tericho in Oyster bay. . . 2 —
Jacob Titus at Wheatly in Oyster Bay 1 I
Silas Rushmore near Jericho in Oyster Bay. . 1
Daniel Youngs near Oysterbay 1 —
Thomas Vallentine Junr at ye East Woods In
Oyster Bay — 1
Robert Seaman at Jericho In Oyster bay. ... 1 1
Zebulun Seaman at Jericho in Oyster bay. . . 1 1
William Seaman at Jericho in Oyster bay. . . 1 1
Thomas Jackson at Jericho in Oyster Bay. . . 1 —
John Hagewout at Jericho in Oyster Bay. ... 1 —
Jown Hewlet at ye East Woods in Oysterbay — 1
John Hewlet Jur at ye East Woods in Oyster-
bay ' — 1
Robert Crooker at Wheatly in Oysterbay. .. . — 1
Jericho in Oysterbay April ye 2.')th 17o.i.
To the Honorable James Delancee Esqr his Majesties
Lievtenant Governour and Commander in Chief In
and Over ye province of New York and Teritorys
Thereon Depending In America &c:
May it please Your Honor
Whereas there is Sundry free Negroes Melattoes and
Mustees Residing within ye Township of Oysterbay that
may probably Be Likely In case of Insurrections To be
as Mischievous as ye Slaves, Therefore I Thought it my
Duty to Acquaint Your Honor Therewith; The following
is a List of them Resideing in and about ye Village of
Jericho, and I Do Expect that ye Other Captains in Oys-
terbay will acquaint your Honour of Those Resideing in
ye Other parts of ye Township; from Your Very Hum-
ble Servant
April ye 2oth 1755.
Zebulun Seaman.
128
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
A List of ye Free Negroes Mustees &c:
Residing at ye Severall places hereafter Dis-
cribed (viz.:)
Males. Females.
David Seaman at Jericho In Ov.ster Bay. . . 1 —
Obediah Vallentine at ye North Side in
Hempsted 1 1
John Willis Junr at Westbury in Hempsted. 1 —
Elizabeth Titus at Westbury in Hempsted. 1 —
John Williams at North Side in Hempsted. — 1
Richard Willets at Jericho in Oyster bay. . 1 —
Jeremiah Robbins at Jericho in Oyster bay. 1 —
Total G 2
HUNTINGTON.
Aprill the 12th 1755 Negroes Belonging
to Huntington male & Female :
Capt Isaac Piatt one female
Capt Piatt Conklin one male and one female
Doctor Zopher Piatt four males and two females
Mr Ebenezer Prime two males and one female
Justice Eliphilet Wickes. . . two males and two females
Just Jonas Williams
Lievt thomas Jervis one female
Nathan Volentine one female
Solomon Ketcham one male
Thomas Brush one male and one female
David Rogers one male
Widow hanah Wood one female
Nathaniel Ketcham one male
Philip Ketcham one male
Samuel Brush one male
Joseph Ridgeway one male and one female
Denis Right one male and two females
Benijah Jervis one male and one female
Doctor Gilbert Potter one male
Nathll Williams one male and one female
azariah Wickes one male and one female
thomas Bunce one male
Joseph Freland one male
Benjamin Right one male
Philip Vdle one male
Josiah Smith one female
Just Moses Scudder one female
John Samis one female
Israel Wood one female
Robert Brush one male
Epenetus Conklin one male and one female
John Wood Levth one male
Capt Alexander Br one male
Epeceius Piatt one female
Timothy Scudder one male and one female
Joseph Smith one male and one female
Isaac Ketcham one male
James Smith two males
Philip Wickes one male and one female
Alexander Smith one male
timothy Carl Jr one female
Daniel Blackly one male
Jesse Carl two males and one female
thomas Rogers one male and one female
Bridget Scudder one male
Timothy Carle Sen one male & one female
Zopher Rogers one male
Augustin Bryan one male
Macy Lewis
Mary Piatt
Simon fleet
William Hawxhi]
Cap John Davis.
Livt Joseph Luis
Thomas Denis. .
one
female
two
femal
one
Eemal
one
female
one
female
A Tr
Isaac Platt
Platt Concklin
Alexr Bryant.
SMITH TOWN AND ISLIP.
A List of Slaves Within the District of
Captain Job Smith or In the Townships of
Smith Town and Islip:
George Norton one 1
lohn Mobrev one 0
"Charles Floyd five 4
Obadiah Smith Junr one 1
Edmund Smith six 4
Richard Smith seven 4
Obadiah Smith .sener three 2
Lemuel Smith one 1
Richard Smith Stonebrook one 1
Otheniel Smith one 1
Isaac Mills one 1
Jonas Platt one 1
Zephaniah Platt four 1
Jonas Mills one 1
William Sexton one 0
Solomon Smith five :i
Floyd Smith three 2
Mary Tredwell six .">
Robert Arter one 1
Richard Blidenburge two 1
Stephen Smith one I »
George Phillips .... <•
Job Smith six .'i
Joseph Vondel two 1
Andrew Tid one 0
Thomas Smith three 2
Anna WiUis two 1
Rebeckah Willis two 1
Richard Willis two 1
Obadiah Smith • two 1
Daniel Smith Juner one 0
Daniel Smith four 2
Epenetus Smith one 1
David Bruester one 1
Wiliam Nicols six .t
Elnathan Wicks one 0
Caleb Smith one 1
Jonathan Mills two 1
The aboue Account Is a true List of all the Slaves
Came to my knowledge.
Job Smith Captain.
In 1698, according to returns then made,
there were 113 negro slaves in Flushing, 83
in Southampton and 41 in Southold; in 1723
there were 444 slaves in Kings county, 1,123
in Queens and 975 in Suffolk. In 1727 the
SLAVERY ON LONG ISLAND.
numbers were: Kings, 563; Queens, 1,311;
Suffolk, 1,090. In 1 77 1 a return issued by
Governor Tr)^on shows the following: Kings,
1,162 blacks; Queens, 2,236; Suffolk, 1,452.
These figures are very likely only approxi-
mately correct, and are more likely to be under
rather than over estimates. They are near
enough to absolute correctness to enable us to
see that the ''institution" was steadily increas-
ing in number ; but the proportion to the white
population remained about the same all
through.
It would appear that from the passage of
the act of 1799 the manumission of slaves on
Long Island became a matter of comparatively
common occurrence. The following is copied
from the Corporation Manual of 1864:
From the manner in which manumission
was effected, it would seem that precautions
were taken by the local authorities against the
slaves liberated under the act from becoming
paupers and chargeable upon the public, be-
yond any prescribed in the act itself. Thus
the manumission of any slave must be ap-
proved by the Overseers of the Poor, who
specified in their certificate that the slave was
under fifty years of age, and was likely to be
self-supporting. It is to be inferred, therefore,
that the manumission of slaves over that age,
or such as were decrepid or incapable of pro-
viding for themselves, wajs not permitted. The
following instrument, whereby the well-known
brothers John and Jacob Hicks (after whom
Hicks street has been designated), manumit
a female negro, is nearly identical in form
with all the deeds of manumission which were
executed by the citizens of Brooklyn, and the
originals of which are still on file in the offi-
cial archives of the City Hall : —
Be it remembered, this twentieth day of
May, one thousand eight hundred and eleven,
I, Jacob JNI. Hicks, of Brooklyn, in Kings
County and State of New York, owner of a
female slave named Gin or Jane, do in con-
formity to the benevolent act of the Legisla-
ture of this State, passed the twenty-ninth
day of March, one thousand seven hundred and
ninety-nine, manumit and set free the said
female slave named Gin or Jane, and do hereby
relinquish all right, title, claim and demand
to her person and her services. In witness
whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and
seal the day and date first written.
Tacob M. Hicks, [L. S.]
John M. Hicks, [L. S.l
In the presence of
John Cole,
William Foster.
We, the subscribers, overseers of the poor
for the town of Brooklyn, in the County of
Kings, havd examined the said Jane or Gin,
and find her under fifty years of age and of
sufficient ability to gain a livelihood, and we
do approve of said manumission, and do allow
the same to be recorded.
Brooklyn, 28 May, 1811.
Andrew Mercein,
William Henry.
Subjoined is a list of some of the persons
who liberated slaves owned by them, in com-
pliance with the law above quoted, with the
date and the witnesses who attested the act.
It by no means includes all who had been
held and who then manumitted slaves, but it
will be found to contain very many representa-
tives of the leading families 'of the city, and-
some of the signers of these grants of Eman-
cipation are yet living among us. Under the
provisions of the act, as carried out without
any apparent reluctance on the part of the
citizens interested, the institution gradually
and almost imperceptibly disappeared. The
following is the list:
On the 4th of September, 1820, Anna Van-
derbilt manumits and sets free her female slave
named Margaret, aged about 16 years. Wit-
nesses, John Spader, John Sutphine.
On the 24th of March, 1821, John Ryerson,
Jun'r., Tunis Johnson and Isaac Cornell, Jun'r,
Ex'rs. of Leffert Rj'erson, deceased, manumits
and sets free a colored male slave of the late
Leffert Ryerson named Samuel, aged about
25 years.
bn the loth of May, 1821, Agnes Rap-
pelyea manumits and sets free her colored male
slave named Anthony, aged about 30 years.
Witness, Chas. F. Rappelyea.
On the 28th of May, 1821, Leffert Lefferts
manumits and sets free his colored male slave
Henrv, aged 33 years. Witness, Marie
Lefferts.
On the 7th of July, 1821, Adriance Van
Brunt manumits and sets free his female slave
130
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
named Sude, aged about 35 years. Wit-
nesses, Teunis S. Barkelow, Gabriel Leverich.
On the 7th of July, 1821, Adriance Van
Brunt also manumits and sets free his male
slave named Jack, aged about 44 years. Wit-
nesses, Tennis S. Barkeloo, Gabriel Leverich.
On the 1 2th of September, 1821, Jacob
Ryerson manumits and sets free his male slave
named William, aged about 33 years. Wit-
nesses, James Degraw, Teunis S. Barkeloo.
On the 22d of March, 1820, John Ryerson,
Jun'r., manumits and sets free his slave Fran-
cis Thompson, aged under fifty years. Wit-
ness, Clarence Sackett.
On the 30th of June, 1820, Jeremiah Rem-
sen manumits and sets free his female slave
named Nancy, aged about 31 years. Wit-
nesses, Wni. R. Dean, Fulkert Bennet.
On the 1st of August, 1820, Selah S.
WoodhuU manumits and sets free his female
slave named Fanny, aged about 28 years. Wit-
nesses, Sarah Maria Van Brunt, Mary Herry.
On the 29lh oi August, 1820, Garreta Pol-
hemus, single woman, manumits and sets free
her female slave named Betsey, aged about 24
years. Witnesses, Joseph Dean, Henry Dean.
On the 9th of August, 1820, Theodorus
Polhemus manumits and sets free his female
slave named Hannah, aged about 40 years.
Witnesses, William R. Dean, Henry Dean.
On the 14th of May, 1820, Jacob M. Hicks
manumits and sets free his female slave named
Hannah, aged about 23 years. Witnesses,
Henrietta Hicks, John Dean.
On the 30th day of June, 1820, Jeremiah
Remsen manumits and sets free his colored
female slave named Nancy, aged about 31
years. Witnesses, Wm. R. Dean, Fulkert
Bennet.
On the 1st of May, 18 18, Jeremiah A.
Remsen rnanumits and sets free his slave
named Susan Dean, agd about 24 years. Wit-
nesses, Clarence D. Sacket, Grenville A.
•Sacket.
On the 13th of April. 1819, Richard Berry
manumits and sets free his slave named Peter
Cornelison, under forty-five years of age. Wit-
ness, Clarence D. Sacket.
On the 30th of April, 1819, Margaretta
Duffield manumits and sets free a slave named
Hamilton Smith, aged under 40 years. Wit-
ness, William Wager.
On the 2d of July, 1819, Thorne Carpen-
ter manumits and sets free his slave Phillis
Simmons, aged under 45 years. \\' itness, F. C.
Tucker.
On the i6th of May, 1820, Cornelia Cornell
manumits and sets free her slave named Harry,
aged about 36 years. Witnesses, Catherin A.
Cluser, Samuel P. Dunbar.
On the i6th of May, 1820, John C. Freeke
manumits and sets free his slave named Titus,
aged about 21 years. Witnesses, William R.
Dean, John Dean.
On the 2ist of May, 1819, George Towrers
Junior manumits and sets free his female slave
named Abigail Porter, aged under 45 years.
Witnesses, John Lawrence, Grenville A.
Sacket.
On the 22d of September, 181 7, Jacob Cow-
enhoven manumits and sets free his female
slave Elizabeth Anderson, aged about 28 years.
Witnesses, Clarence D. Sacket, Grenville A.
Sacket.
On the 20th of December, 1817, Leffert
Lefferts manumits and sets free his female
slave named Mary McDennis, aged under 45
years. Witnesses, James Foster, Jacob Smith.
On the 13th of January, 1818, Hezekiah B.
Pierpont manumits and sets free his slave
named John Lubin, aged about 21 years. Wit-
ness, Richard Lyon.
On the i6th of April, 1818, Jacob M. Hicks
manumits and sets free his slave named Harry,
aged 21 vears. Witness, Alexd'r. Birkbeck.
On tile i8th of April, 1818, John Doughty
manumits and sets free his slave named James,
aged about 25 years. Witness, Thomas J.
Bartow.
On the 1st of May, 1818, Selah Strong
manumits and sets free his slave named Su-
sannah, aged about 31 years, and her daugh-
ters Susan, about 4 years old, and Louisa, one
and one-half years old. Witness, James
Strong.
On the 1st of February, 1817, John Bedell
manumits and sets free his negro man slave
named Harrv, aged about 21 years. Witness,
Wm. W. Barre.
On the 24th of March, 1817, Nicholas Lu-
queer manumits and sets free his female slave
named Marv, aged about 22 vears. Witness,
Wm. W. Barre.
On the 9th of April, 1817, Christopher
Codwise manumits and sets free his negro man
named John Moore, aged about 38 years. Wit-
nesses, James B. Clarke, Aimi J. Barbarin.
On the 6th of May, 1817, William Berry
manumits and sets free his negro man named
Anthony, aged about 23 years. Witness, Clar-
ence D. Sackett.
On the 17th of July, 18 17, John Cowen-
SLAVERY ON LONG LSLAND.
181
hoven manumits and sets free his male slave
Fortune, aged about 25 years. Witness, Clar-
ence D. Sackett.
On the 15th of July, 1817, Teunis J. John-
son manumits and sets free his negro slave
named Andrew Hicks, aged about 34 years.
Witness, Clarence D. Sackett.
On the 9th of September, 1817, Phebe Fox
manumits and sets free her female slave named
Betsey Phillips, about 18 years old. Witnesses,
Stephen S. Voris and Erastus Washington.
On the 20th of May, 18 14, James Thomp-
son manumits and sets free his slave named
Betsey, about 35 years old. Witness, P. H.
Dickenson.
On the 2d day of July, 1814. Phebe Fox
manumits and sets free her slave George Ben-
son, aged about 20 years.
On the 15th of December, 1815, Theod's.
Polhemus, Ex'r., manumits and sets free a
black slave of John B. Johnson, deceased,
about 40 years of age, named Harry. Witness,
Charles J. Doughty.
On the 3d of September, 1816, John M.
Hicks manumits and sets free his black slave
named Phillis, aged about 26 years. Witness,
John Duer.
On the 1st of February, 1817, Nich's. Lu-
queer manumits and sets free his black slave
named Samuel, aged about 30 years. Wit-
ness, J. Harmer.
On the 4th of March, 1817, Garret Bergen
manumits and sets free his black man named
Briss, aged about 40 years. Witness, William
R. Dean.
On the loth of February, 1817, Jacob
Hicks manumits and sets free his male slave
named Benjamin Mott, aged about 27 years.
Witness, William R. Dean.
On the loth of September, 1813, Gideon
Kemberly manumits and sets free his 'slave
named Hannah Davis, aged about 25 years.
Witness, John Garrison.
On the 20th of October, 1813, Phcebe Fox
manumits and sets ire^ her slave named Abra-
ham Benson, aged about 21 years. Witnesses,
Itheill Imrad, James B. V. Winkle.
On the 2d of April, 1814, Nehemiah Den-
ton manumits and sets free his male slave
named Townsend Cornelison, aged about 26
years. Witness, Elizabeth H. Sackett.
On the 13th of April, 1814, Teunis Tiebcut
manumits and sets free his slave named Han-
ah Bristoll, aged about 44 years. Witnesses,
Teunis T. Johnson, Maria Cowenhoven.
On the 23d of April, 1814, Elizabeth Field
manumits and sets free her slave named Simon
Hicks, aged 29 years. Witness, Ann Osborn.
On the 25th of April, 1814, John Jackson
manumits and sets free his slave named Joseph
Smith, aged about 34 years. Witness, James
B. Clarke.
On the 27th of April, 1814, John Jackson
manumits and sets free his slave named Sarah
Miller, aged about 30 years. Witness, James
n. Clarke.
On the 25th of May, 1812, Jacob Cowen-
hoven manumits and sets free his slave named
Hager Hendrickson. Witness, Peter Coven-
hoven.
On the 6th of June, 18 12, Nicholas Luqueer
manumits and sets free his slave named Han-
nah Titus. Witnesses, R. Barber, G. A.
Cheeseman.
On the loth of May, 1812, Margaret Els-
wnrth manumits and sets free her slave named
Ik-tsey, aged 24 years. Witness, John
Doughty.
On the 6th of August, 1812, Henry Hew-
lett manumits and sets free his slave named
Jarvis Jackson, aged about 24 years. Wit-
ness, John Doughty.
On the nth of July, 1812, Joseph Fox
manumits and sets free his slave named Phittis
Benson, aged about 39 years. Witness, Ste-
phen S. Voris.
On the I2th of April, 1813, Nich's. Boerum
manumits and sets free his slave named Diann"'
Orange, aged about 40 years. Witness, Will-
iam Furman.
On the 13th of April, 1813, Andrew Mer-
cier manumits and sets free his slave named
Cornelia Brown, aged about 30 years. Wit-
ness, John Cole.
(Jn the 30th of June, 1806, Benj'n. Bird-
sail also liberates and sets free his female
slaves named Cornelia and Jane. Witness,
Rol)crt Rhoads.
On the 14th of April, 1807, John Middagh
manumits and sets free his male slave named
Harry. Witness, John Doughty.
C)n the 29th of October, , James B.
Clarke manumits and sets free his female
slave named Bett. Witness, Daniel Rhoads.
C)n the 27th of January, 1810, Nicholas R.
Cowenhoven manumits and sets free his negro
man named Nero; his negro woman named
Susannah, his negro boys Harry and James,
and his negro girl named Sarah. Witness,
Mathew Wendell.
On the 9th of October, 1809, Peter Clarke
manumits and sets free his servant woman
132
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
named Hannah, ten }-ears thereafter, on con-
dition of her faithful services to himself and
family during that time.
On the 20th of May. 1811. Jacob M. Hicks
manumits and sets free his female slave named
Gin or Jane. Witnesses, John Cole, William
Foster. '
On the 20th of July, 1802, Joseph Fox
manumits and sets free his negro man named
Jack. Witnesses, John Harmer, John Hicks.
On the 20th of March, 1806, John Wilson
manumits and sets free his negro girl Hannah,
aged 12 years, at the expiration of 14 years
from the 1st of Alay next. Witness, John
Doughty.
On the 22d of July, 1805, Samuel Bouton
manumits and sets free his slave named Sam-
uel Estell. Witness, John Doughty.
On the 27th of July, 1805, George Bennett
manumits and sets free his slave named Jacob
Lucas. Witness. John Doughty.
On the 3d of May, 1806, Cornelius Van-
brunt manumits and sets free his slave named
Henry Hendrickson. Witnesses, Nichl's Lu-
queer, Wm. Cornwell.
On the 13th of June, 1806, Benj'n Birdsall
manumits and sets free his female slave named
Sarah. Witnesses, Adrian Van Brunt, John
Doughty.
On the 1st of .\ugust, 1799, Charles
Doughty manumits and sets free his man slave
named Nicholas Doughty. Witness, John
Doughty, Clerk.
On the same day Charles Doughty also
liberates and sets free his female slave named
Lucrecia Doughtv. Witness, John Doughtv,
Clerk.
On the i8th of April, 1808, Joshua Sands
manumits and sets free his servant girl called
Bet, aged 18 years.
On the 28th of September, 1808, Benjamin
Carpenter manumits and sets free his negro
woman named Isabella Dimand. Witness,
John Doughty.
On the 20th of October, 1808, John Lef-
ferts manumits and sets free his negro man
EsoD. Witness, John Doughty, Clerk.
On the 5th of December, 1808, Lewis
Sands manumits and sets free his negro man
named Ceasar. Witness, John Doughty.
On the 1st of January, 1802, Gilbert Van
Mater manumits and sets free his negro wo-
man named Dinah. Witness, John Van D.
Water.
On the 4th of March, 1797, John Doughty
manumits and sets free his colored slave named
Ceasar Foster, aged about 23 years.
On the 9th of January, 1798, Robert Hodge
manumits and sets free his negro boy named
Robert Hodge, aged about 16 years.
On the 3d of March, 1798, Jacob Hicks
mar.umits and sets free his negro man named
William, aged about 37 years.
On the 28th of February, 1799, Major John
Cowenhoven manumits and sets free his negro
man named Jacob, aged about 40 years.
On the loth of April, 1799, John Van Nos-
trand manumits his negro woman named Syl-
via, aged about 2"/ years.
On the 30th of September, 1799, John
Jackson manumits and sets free forever his
slave Titus.
On the same day John Jackson also lib-
erates and sets free forever his slave Rachell.
On the 27th of July, 1882, Jacob W. Ben-
net manumits and sets free his colored male
slave named Sharpe Miller, aged about 44
years. Witnesses, George Carpenter and
David Carpenter.
On the 26th dav of April, 1822, Ann Smith
Robert Groman, aged 38 years. Witnesses,
John J. Albirt, Tennis Barkeloo.-
On the 2ist of September, 1822, Jeremiah
Johnson manumits and sets free his colored
female slave Betty, aged 26 years. Witnesses,
Peter Stockholm, Tennis Barkeloo.
On the nth of April, 1822, Peter Wyckofif
manumits and sets free his colored man named
Henry Hendrickson, aged about 28 years. Wit-
nesses, Burdet Stryker, Teunis Birkeloo.
On the 1st of February, 1817, John Bedell
manumits and sets free his negro man named
Harrv, now aged about 21 vears. ^^'itness,
Willi'am W. Barre.
On the 4th day of September, 1823, Martin
Schenck, Jr., manumits and sets free his col-
ored man Amos Thompson, who was thirty-
one years of age. The witnesses to the inden-
ture of manumission are John Garrison and
George Smith, Jun'r.
On the 15th of May, 1824, Henry Pope
manumits and sets free his colored female slave
Isabella Dennis, aged about 30 years. Wit-
ness. Richard Cornwell.
On the 19th of September, 1823, Samuel
Ellis manumits and sets free his colored male
slave Peter Franklin, aged about 30 years.
Witnesses, A. B. Sclover, Mary Brower.
"On the 31st of August, 1822, Richard V.
W. Thorne manumits and sets free his colored
SLAVERY ON LONG LSLAND.
i;^3
female slave Hannah, aged about 34 years.
AVitnesses, John Van Dyke, Tennis fearkeloo.
On the 28th day of Decembir. 1821, John
Ryerson, Jr., manumits and sets free his col-
ored female slave named Bet, aged about TiT,
years. Witnesses, Teunis Barkeloo, Peter
Stockholm.
On the 1 2th of September, 1821, Jacob
Ryerson also manumits and sets free his* male
slave named Thomas, aged about 36 years.
Witnesses, James DeGraw, Teunis S. Bar-
keloo.
On the 22d of September, 1821, Jacobus
Lott manumits and sets free his male slave
named Sam Johnson, aged about 32 years.
Witnesses, Stephen S. A'ooris, Teunis S. Bar-
keloo.
On the 28th of July, 1821, Jacob Cowen-
hoven manumits and sets free his female slave
Mary Hendricksen, aged about 29 years. Wit-
nesses, Peter Conover, W. W. Jackson.
On the 28th of December, 182 1. John Ryer-
son manumits and sets free his female slave
named Bet, aged about 33 years. Witnesses,
Teunis Barkeloo, Peter Stockholm.
On the 30th of January, 1822, Abraham
D. Bevois manumits and sets free his colored
female slave named Nell, aged abo-it 30 years.
Witnesses, Jeromus R. Cropey, Joshua Tal-
ford.
The foregoing manumissions — and there
Avere no doubt many others, the records of
which are lost — removed the last traces of the
institution from the City of Brooklyn.
While there is no doubt that slaves were
bought and sold in the open market in Brook-
h'n in the early times, in the eig-hteenth cen-
tury the traffic in human chattels was so gen-
erally transacted in private that public sales,
and especially sales at auction, became of such
seldom occurrence as to be matters of com-
ment. The last of these auction sales, so far
as known, was that of four negroes belong-
ing to the estate of the widow Haltje Rap-
pelje of the Wallabout. The first of the re-
corded manumissions, before the passage of
the act of 1799, was that of Caesar Foster, a
slave belonging to John Doughty. The deed
was signed March 4, 1797, when Ciesar was
twenty-eight years of age. Doughty was a
member of the Society of Friends and in early
life was associated with his father as a butcher
in the Fly Market. In 1785 he helped to or-
ganize a fire company in Brooklyn and through
that, like so many local "statesmen" after-
ward, seems to have made his entree into
local politics. In 1790 he was one of the as-
sessors of the town and six years later be-
came town clerk, retaining that position for
thirty-four years. In 1816, when the village
of Brooklyn was incorporated. Doughty was
named one of the trustees, and he continued to
hold public office of one sort or another up to
his death. May 16, 1832. He was a faithful
and honest public servant, and it is said that
while he was town clerk he recorded more
manumissions than any other official. He
lived to see the nefarious institution become
completely a thing of the past in his home
city.
^y* "*/* ^y* ^y*
CHAPTER XI.
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.
HE early Dutch colonists may be said
to have brought their church with
them when they settled in New Neth-
erland. To these good, pious wan-
derers a place of worship was as necessary as
a house; and we never find any settlement
without also discovering some arrangement
there for divine services, either the setting
aside of a sufficient amount for a clergyman's
ministrations or for the employment of a teach-
er and reader, or at least for securing the
services of an authorized visitor to the sick,
whose duty it also was to read the Scriptures
to the people on Sundays.
The first church in the New Netherland
was built in the fort at New Amsterdam by
Governor Van Twiller in 1633. The credit of
building the first church and also the second
church on Long Island, however, belongs not
to the Dutch but to the English settlers : not
to the west end but to the east.
It is difficult with the evidence before us
to determine beyond question whether the
honor of building the first structure on the
island for the worship of God belongs to
Southold or Southampton. In a measure both
these congregations were actually formed be-
fore their members left New England, and in
their migration they simply brought with them
their church organization and set it up, with
their homes, as soon as they found an abiding
place. Both towns were settled in 1640, both
had a clergyman as a leader, both church
buildings were authorized to be built in the
same year. Southampton seems to have had
its edifice completed first. But the organiza-
tion of the congregation at Southold can be
dated a little further back and was apparently
maintained intact during the migration. As
the late Dr. John Hall, of New York, used to
declare, a Presbyterian (or Congregational)
church could meet equally in a garret as in a
cathedral, could conduct its services with equal
solemnity at the roadside or in a kitchen as
in the grandest house made with human hand.
This being true, the credit of primacy might
be given to Southold. But it is a delicate
question at the best, one which has exhausted
the research, acumen and ingenuity of the
local antiquaries and historians; and we may
be pardoned from indicating any decided pref-
erence in this place. The subject will again
be referred to in more detail in treating of the
local story of these two ancient settlements.
The ventilation of such knotty points in a
general history is never conclusive, or satis-
fying, or profitable, .and had best always be
left as a pleasant theme for local discussion.
On October 21, 1640, the Rev. John
Youngs organized a congregation at New
Haven and at once with his flock passed over
to Long Island, settling in Southold. Very
likely Mr. Youngs had previously visited Long
Island and made a selection of the territory
on which h.is little colony was to locate. It
was to be a patriarchial community, a little
State ruled by the Church, for the voice of
the Church was to be pre-eminent in all things
and the Bible was to rule over civil as over
spiritual affairs. No one was to be admitted
to full citizenship, if admitted even to resi-
dential privileges, who was not a member "of
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERL\N CHURCHES.
185
some one or other of the approved churches
in New England." It was also thus decided
at a General Court in 1643: "Nor shall any
power or trust in the ordering of any civil
affairs be at any time put into the hands of
any other than such church members, though
as free planters all have right to their in-
heritance and to commerce according to such
grants, orders and laws as shall be made con-
cerning same."
The first church was built upon a corner
of an acre lot in the north end of the present
Southold cemetery. We have no description
of it, and doubtless it was a plain frame struc-
ture, with seats on either side of a central
aisle for men and women, with cross seats at
the rear for those who might wander that way,
for those, in short, who had not attained the
dignity of membership. The floor would be
the natural soil, and the pulpit a box-like ar-
rangement placed at the further end in the
centre. The clerk or precentor had his seat
at the bottom of the pulpit structure and in
front was a long table around which sat the
elders and from which the communion was
dispensed. The building was not heated, even
in the dead of winter, — at first, at all events;
and from the nature of the town's constitution
it was at once a town hall, and possibly a
school-house, as well as sanctuary. There
was apparently nothing fanciful or pretty
about the architecture, or the internal ar-
rangements, nothing in the way of interior or
exterior decoration; but everything about it
was substantial and honest as befitted its pur-
pose, and the settlers put into it the very best
material they had. We read that its four
windows were made of cedar, an expensive
and highly prized wood in those days, and
which, when in course of time they were to
be removed, were sold for no less than £3.
In 1684 the primitive meeting-house was aban-
doned and a structure erected close by. The
old church was not torn down, but at an ap-
praised valuation of £30 (minus the cedar-
wood windows) was turned over to the town
and altered to the extent of having a sub-
terranean cell dug out in its centre. Very
likely the entire internal fittings of the old
meeting-house were transferred to the new.
In 1699 the population of the town had so
increased that it was necessary to furnish more
seating capacity in the church, and the internal
arrangements were altered somewhat so as to
permit the erection of a gallery which would
be devoted mainly to the occupancy of hired
help, negro servants and children. The erec-
tion of this gallery cost the good people £17
IDS gd. As an evidence of the method and
economy of those days it may be stated that
when the work was completed the church au-
thorities received from Samuel Clark, the con-
tractor, four shillings for nails and lumber
provided for him and which he had not found
it necessary to use!
The second church was pulled down in
1761, and a larger and more commodious
structure was erected on its site and fitted up
in such a way internally that the various social
distinctions of wealth and official position
might be fully preserved in the arrangement
of its pews, — rather a queer proceeding ac-
cording to our modern notions for a church
organization founded on Christian and demo-
cratic lines, but perfectly in keeping with the
practice of all churches at the time, not only
in old communities, but in those which had
survived the first struggle with the wilderness
and were introducing into their dwellings and
their surroundings some of the features of
"modern civilization." The fourth church was
erected in 1803.
The Rev. John Youngs, the founder of this
religious community, and during the last thirty
years of his life its real head and most influ-
ential member, was a native of England. He
was born about 1602 and is believed to have
been a native of Norfolkshire and to have been
engaged as a preacher in Hingham, in that
county, where he married and six of his eight
children were born. Being a noncomformist,
he felt the effects of the religious intolerance
of his time and made up his mind to emigrate
to the shores of New England, then the hope
136
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of the English Puritan. According to a pas-
sage in Drake's "Founders of New England,"
Youngs, with "Joan, his wife,_ aged thirty-
four years, with six children, — John, Thomas,
Anne, Rachel, Mary and Joseph,"— applied to
the proper ecclesiastical authorities for per-
mission to proceed to Salem "to inhabitt."
The rec|uest was refused. This was in May,
1637 ; but about a year later we find him safely
located with wife and children at New Haven
and engaged in "preaching the Word."
Of the personal history of Youngs little
has come down to us. He seems to have com-
bined in his make-up many of the qualities of
the statesman with those of a minister. He
was a Calvinist of the strictest school, and had
no toleration for the doctrine that the church
should be separated from the state; nay, he
believed that the church was the staite, that
the two could not be separated without the
church failing in its mission and the state be-
coming a Godless and an unwholesome thing.
He believed in the acquisition of wealth, be
bought as largely as he could of real estate
in the township, and in all his policy and con-
duct he was in every way a pattern to his
neighbors, an exemplary friend, a loyal mem-
ber of a compact commonwealth, and a zealous
and hard-working clergyman. He was a man
of considerable learning and possessed a fair
working library (valued after his death at £5),
only one of the treasures of which is now
e-xtant, — "the Writings of William Perkins,
of Cambridge," the leading English exponent
of Calvinism of his time — which is now pre-
served in the stores of the New Haven Colony
Historical Society. He continued in the pas-
torate of the Southold church until his death,
in 1672, and on the stone over his grave was
engraved the following:
"Here lies the man whose doctrine life well
knowen
Did show he sought Christ's honour, not his
owen ;
In weakness sown, in power raised shall be
By Christ from death to life eternally."
Mr. Youngs' descendants continue to the
present day to loom up prominently in Suf-
folk county history.
The death of Mr. Youngs occurred in the
depth of winter (February 24) and it was im-
possible to begin in that season a hunt for a
suitable successor. On the succeeding A])ril
I, however, the people held a meeting at which
it was "agreed that the inhabitants would
provide themselves of an honest, godly man ro
perform the ofifice of minister amongst them,
and that they would allow and pay to the said
minister sixty pounds sterling by the year."
Captain Jolui Youngs, son of the deceased
minister, was intrusted with the task of cross-
ing over to New England "and use his best
endeavor for the obtaining of such a man
above mentioned to live amongst us," and for
his trouble was to receive £5. His journey
was not immediately successful, but in the fol-
lowing year he brought to Southold the Rev.
Joshua Hobart, son of the Rev. Peter Hobart,
of Hingham, Massachusetts, the first minister
of that town and by whom it was named in
honor of the Norfolk town from whence he
came. Very likely the Youngs and Hobart fam"
ilies were neighbors in the old land. Joshua
Hobart was bom in England in 1629 and came
to this side of the Atlantic with his parents in
1635. He was graduated at Harvard in 1650.
After several years in Barbadoes he settled in
London, England, until 1669, when he re-
turned to America. At first he seems to have
simply acted as "supply," possibly with the
conscientious desire of making sure that his
ministrations would be acceptable to the peo-
ple before finally casting his lot in their midst.
Changes of ministers were not then made as
easily or as heartlessly and heedlessly as now,
and an aged pastor w^as not expected to bow
gracefully to the inevitable and make way for
a younger man. In October, 1674. however,
the period of trial was over, and Mr. Hobart
was ordained to the charge. His salary was
fixed at £80 a year, and four years later it
was advanced to £100, and in addition he re-
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESnYTERL'\N CHURCHES. 187
ceived a gift of thirty acres of land "toward
the North Sea" and some other pieces of real
estate. He was also lodged in a dwelling
which cost f lOO, so that altogether the good
man's lot must be regarded as having fallen in
pleasant places. So far as we may judge he
took up most of the work and wielded much
of the political influence of Mr. Youngs, but
not by any means to the same extent, for he
was not the pioneer patriarch, the father of
the colony. His ministry was a successful
one, however, and continued until the end of
his life-long journey, February 28, 1716, and
then his people summed up his virtvtes on his
tombstone by saying "He was a faithful min-
ister, a skillful physician, a general scholar, a
courageous patriot, and, to crown all, an emi-
nent Christian."
It was not until 1720 that the pastorate
was again filled, when the Rev. Benjamin
Woolsey was installed. He was a native of
Jamaica, Long Island, and a graduate of Yale.
For sixteen years he continued to hold forth
at Southold and then he resigned and took
up his abode on an estate which had been be-
queathed to his wife by her father, John Tay-
lor, at Glen Cove in Queens county. Woolsey
renamed the property Dos-Oris (Dos Uxoris,
a wife's gift), and Dosoris it has been called
ever since. Notwithstanding his wealth, he
did not abandon entirely his work as a min-
ister, but continued to officiate in vacant pul-
pits as general pulpit supply wherever his
services were needed until the end. He seems
to have been a most lovable man, and his
death, in 1756, was deeply regretted over a
wide section of Long Island. Mr. Woolsey
left Southold in 1736 and it was nearly two
years later ere his successor, the Rev. John
Davenport, was installed. The story of this
man, which has been h.eld to "form an im-
portant element in the history of the Long
Island Churches," may be briefly summed up
by saying that he was born at Stamford in
1710, was graduated from Yale in 1732, or-
dained minister of Southold in 1738, dismissed
in 1746, and afterward settled at Hopewell,
New Jersey, where he died in 1755.
Regarding his ministry and the features
that made it famous, we cannot do better than
copy the details which are given in Prime's
"History of Long Island:"
About two years after his settlement at
Southold, Davenport became satisfied that God
had revealed to him that his kingdom was com~
ing with great power, and that he had an ex-
traordinary call to labor for its advancement.
He assembled his people on one occasion and
addressed them continuously for nearly twen-
ty-four hours, until he became quite wild.
After continuing for some time in exerting
labors in his own neighborhood, he passed
over into Connecticut, where the same spirit
has been developed and was producing dis-
astrous results in many of the churches. "He
soon Ix-came animated by a famous zeal," says
Dr. Miller, in his life of Edwards, "and im-
agining that he was called to take a special
lead in the work, he began to set at naught
;dl the rules of Christian prudence and order,
and to give the most unrestrained liberty to
his fanatical feelings. He raised his voice to
tile highest pitch in public services, and ac-
couipanied his unnatural vehemence and can-
taiory bawling with the most vehement agita-
tions of body. He encouraged his hearers to
give vent, without restraint, both to their dis-
tress and thtir joy, by violent outcries in the
midst of public assemblies. When these things
prevailed among the people, accompanied with
bodily agitations, he pronounced them tokens
of the presence of God. Those who passed
immediately from great distress to great joy,
he declared, after asking them a few questions,
to be converts ; though numbers of such con-
verts, in a short time, returned to their old
ways of living, and were as carnal, wicked and
void of experience as ever they were. He
openly encouraged his new converts to speak
in public, and brought forward many ignorant
and unqualified persons, young and old, to
address large assemblies in his own vehement
and magisterial manner. He led his followers
through the streets singing psalms and hymns.
He was a great favorite of visions, trances,
imaginations and powerful impressions, and
made such impulses and inward feelings the
rule of duty for himself and others. He
claimed a kind of prescriptive right to sit in
138
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
judgment on the characters of ministers, and,
after examining them as to their spiritual
right in private, would often pronounce them
in his public prayers to be unconverted. Those
who refused to be examined were sure to
suffer the same fate. He made his prayers the
medium of harsh and often indecent attacks
on ministers and others, whom he felt dis-
posed, on any account, to censure; and in his
harangues he would inform the people that
their ministers were unconverted, and tell them
that they had as good eat ratsbane as hear an
unconverted minister. On more than one oc-
casion he publicly refused to receive the sacra-
mental symbols, because he doubted the piety
of the pastors. Congregations were exhorted
to eject their ministers, and dissatisfied mi-
norities were encouraged to break oft' and form
new churches, and in this a number of con-
gregations were greatly weakened and others
nearly destroyed."
It is stated on good authority that he de-
claimed much against pride of dress, which
he styled idolatry ; and on one occasion, at New
London, he kindled a large fire at a place pre-
viously designated, and calling upon his fol-
lowers to come forward and destroy their
idols, and not only many useless ornaments
but numerous garments and other valuable
articles were committed to the flames ! In a
like manner, under the guise of rooting out
heresy, many books, and some of them of
sterling excellence, such as Beveridge's and
Flavel's works, were cast into the fire. (_)f
his manner of preaching and the extravagant
measures he pursued the following description
is given by Dr. Bacon :
"He would work upon the fancy until they
saw, as with their eyes, and heard, as with
their ears, the groans of Calvary, and felt as
the Popish enthusiast feels when, under the
spell of music, he looks upon the canvas
alive with the agony of Jesus. He would so
describe the surprise, consternation and despair
of the damned, with looks and screams of hor-
ror, that those who were capable of being
moved by such representations seemed to see
the gates of hell set open and felt as it were
the hot and stifling breath, and the hell-flames
flashing in their faces. And if by such means
he would cause any to scream out he consid-
ered that as a sign of the special presence of
the Holy Spirit, and redoubled his own exer-
tion till shriek after shriek, bursting from one
quarter and another in hideous discord, swelled
the horrors of the scene."
"Although this deluded man," adds Prime,
"did not enact his wildest extravagances in the
churches on this (Long) island, yet even here
his labors were productive of many unhappy
results. Dissensions and divisions were pro-
duced in many congregations, the effects of
which are visible at the present day (1845),
and although much good was done and souls
were hopefully converted, yet many prejudices
against the work of grace were exerted and
the enemies of the cross emboldened to blas-
pheme. It is due to the memory of Mr.
Davenport to add that, after pursuing this
disorderly course for a few years, he became
deeply sensible of the error of his ways and
published to the world an ingenuous confes-
sion in which he acknowledges that he 'had
been influenced by a false spirit in judging
ministers, in exhorting their people to forsake
their ministry; in making impulses a rule of
conduct ; in encouraging lay exhorters, and in
disorderly singing in the streets.' "
It is not likely that in the present day the
conduct of Mr. Davenport would be regarded
as being so fully liable to the censure which
Dr. Prime and others have passed upon it.
The Rev. Dr. S. D. Alexander, of New York,
in a recent work describes him as "the bril-
liant and eccentric pastor of Long Island."
While guilty of a few extravagances, due to
the time and circumstances, his course was
hardly different from that of many of our
modern evangelists; and it is easy to recall
conduct very similar to his which has been ap-
plauded in these modern days, and by no
class more heartily than by the clergy — the
modern clergy — themselves. It is no longer
the fashion to sneer at lay exhorters ; and while
we seldom hear of ministers sitting in judg-
ment on their fellows the records of almost
each presbytery furnish evidence that the prac-
tice has not altogether fallen into disuse. At
the same time, in a settled community, in a
deeply religious community like Southold, a
community anchored to the cool and merciless
logic of Calvinism, we are not surprised to
find that Davenport's sensational methods were
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERL\N CHURCHES. 13&
not congenial, and to find that most of his
wild work was done elsewhere. But even in
Southold his performances caused trouble, and
we learn that its effects hampered the useful-
ness and disturbed the equanimity of his suc-
cessor, the Rev. William Throop, who was
installed September 21, 1748, and ministered
in Southold until his death, September 29,
1756. A still . shorter career was that of
Smith Stratton, who took up the work which
Mr. Throop laid down. He was ordained to
preach in 1755 and died March 10, 1758. He
acted as pulpit supply, probably the state of
his health preventing his assuming the full
duties of the pastorate. It was while he oc-
cupied the pulpit that a case of church dis-
cipline arose which occasioned considerable
comment then and after. In the records of
the Suffolk County Presbytery it is stated as
follows :
A member of this church married the sister
of his deceased wife, who was likewise a mem-
ber of said church, which affair occasioned an
uneasiness and grievance in the church. The
deacons of the church did (in behalf of the
church) relate the case to this Presbytery ,^ and
desire the opinion of the Presbytery relating
to the case, both as to their present duty and
to the lawfulness of the marriage. The Pres-
bytery, after considering and conversing upon
the case, gave it as their opinion and judg-
ment that the aforementioned marriage is un-
lawful and sinful ; and that consequently the
married couple should be set aside from the
sacrament, when it is administered, till satis-
faction be made.
In the line of pastorates the sixth occupant
of the office was the Rev. John Storrs, who
when he was inducted August 15, 1763, was the
first to introduce into the ecclesiastical history
of Long Island a name that has since been
held with peculiar reverence by the people of
every class and creed. He was born at Mans-
field, Connecticut, December i, 1735, and de-
scended from the old Nottinghamshire family
of Storrs of Sutton. He was graduated from
Yale in 1756. He had married, soon after his
graduation, Eunice Conant, widow of Dr.
Howe, of Mansfield. She died on March 27,
1767, and was buried in the churchyard at
Southold, and in December of the same year
Mr. Storrs married one of his parishioners,
Hannah Moore. In 1776 the British troops
compelled him to leave his church and Long
Island, as his sympathies with the Patriot
cause were too outspoken to be ignored; but
he continued his clerical work as a chaplain
in the Continental army. He was gazetted to
that office in the Second Battalion of Wads-
worth's Connecticut brigade in 1776, and in
1 78 1 was attached to Colonel Waterbury's
Connecticut brigade. On the close of hos-
tilities he returned to Southold and took up
his old work there, and so continued until
1787, when he was dismissed at his own re-
quest. He then removed to Mansfield, where
he died, October 9, 1799.
One of his sons, Richard Salter Storrs,
was for a time a teacher at Clinton Academy,
Easthampton. He was licensed to preach by
the Presbytery of Suffolk and took charge of
the parishes of Islip and Smithtown, but after-
ward became minister of the Congregational
church at Braintree, Massachusetts. He died
there, August 11, 1873. His son, the Rev.
Dr. Richard S. Storrs, was the famous pastor
of the Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn,
whose death in 1900 was regarded as a loss
not only to the ecclesiastical life of Long
Island but to all its best interests.
Since the resignation of the Rev. John
Storrs the pulpit of the old church at Southold
has been filled by the following:
Rev. Joseph Hazzard from June 7, 1797,
to April, 1806; Rev. Joseph Huntting, from
June, 1806, to August, 1828; Rev. Ralph
Smith, from July 15, 1836, to December, 1840;
Rev. H. F. Wiswall, June 18, 1845, to No-
vember 12, 1850; Rev. Epher Whittaker, D.
D., from 1856 to 1892, since which time he
has been pastor emeritus, the active work of
the pastorate having been since carried on by
the Rev. James B. Freeman and by the present
pastor, the Rev. W. H. Lloyd.
140
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In addition to these, many brilliant men
served the church from time to time as pulpit
supply, and their memories are yet precious
inheritances in a community which still ad-
heres to many of the lovable characteristics
and to much of the devout and practical faith
of the fathers. Some of those ministers and
supplies will be found spoken of at length in
other parts of this work.
The pastor emeritus of the church. Dr.
Whitaker, was born at Fairfield, New Jersey,
March 27, 1820. He was educated with a
view to the ministry and after his graduation
from Delaware College, in 1847, I'le continued
his studies in the Union Theological Seminary,
. New York, taking the full theological course.
On leaving there he was licensed to preach
by the Presbytery of New York, April 9, 1851.
He was ordained the eleventh minister of
Southold September 10, in the same year, and
now after .almost half a century of work con-
tinues the duties of his sacred office as zeal-
ously as ever. Far beyond the confines of
.Southold, however, the name of Dr. Whitaker
has been known as a writer, historian and
antiquary. In 1865 he published "New Fruits
from an Old Field," a volume of essays and
discourses; and his later work, "History of
Southold: Its First Century, 1640 to 1740,"
is pre-eminently the local authority on facts,
-dates and family history. It was published in
1881, and in the following year he issued a
work of much interest to the local student,
""Old Town Records." He has been a con-
tributor to magazine literature for over half
•a century and his work is invariably char-
acterized by clearness and force. He never
writes without having a story to tell or a
point to illustrate or drive home, and he pre-
sents it to his readers in plain, nervous Eng-
lish and in simple yet captivating and con-
vincing fashion. Some of his pulpit dis-
courses are models of their kind. In 1877 he
received the degree of D. D. from Delaware
College.
The first settlers of Southampton also had
a clergyman as their leader, a good man, a
man, so far as we can learn, of many brilliant
parts, but not so gifted by any means as was
the pioneer statesman-preacher, John Youngs,
of Southold. The Rev. Abraham Pierson was
a native of England, a graduate of Cambridge,
and is said to have preached the Word in his
home land before he cast in his lot with Amer-
ica. He was ordained in Lynn, Massachusetts,
in 1640, as minister of the church colony then
about to proceed to Long Island and so became
the first pastor of Southampton. He was one
of those who witnessed the Indian deed in
December, 1C40. It is supposed that the
church structure was bv that time erected and
SOUTHAMPTON.
in use, and of course could this be proved be-
yond question the honor in that matter would
rest with Southampton and the claims of
Southold be completely shut out ; yet we fear
the matter will ever remain one of the mooted
points of local history, one of those little co-
nundrums which are so useful in the way of
developing an interest in historical and anti-
quarian study. At best, however, the church
edifice at Southampton, standing in 1640, was
a flimsy aft'air, probably only a structure of
logs, hurriedly put together. We judge so
from the fact that in March, 165 1, a new meet-
ing-house was erected, and the contracts called
for a structure thirty feet long and twenty- four
feet wide, the laborers receiving two shillings
in wampum for each day's work. The con-
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.
141
tractors were Ellis Cook and Richard Post.
The fate of the pioneer building seems strange.
At a town meeting held in April, 1651, it was
agreed "that Richard Mills shall have the old
meeting-house with the appurtenances to help
to enlarge his house, for which gift the said
Richard Mills doth engage himself to keep an
'ordinary' for strangers for diet and lodging.
Long before this new sanctuary had been erect-
ed, or probably before it was even thought of,
Abraham Pierson had resigned the pastorate,
having a difficulty with the people on a ques-
tion of church prerogative in local afifairs, and,
with a number of his congregation, removed
to Branford, Connecticut, in 1647. Mr. Pier-
son moved to Newark, New Jersey, in 1662,
or soon after that year, and there set up an-
other tabernacle, the supremacy of the church
over all secular atTairs being to him a burning
question; and the progress of events in Con-
necticut made such a claim no longer possible
there. He continued his ministry at Newark
until his death, in 1678. It is said that when
he quitted Branford he left the town without
an inhabitant, all the people going with him
to New Jersey, and he carried away all the
local church records and papers. For some
twenty-three years he exerted a great amount
of political influence in Connecticut. Gover-
nor Winthrop, one of his warmest friends,
spoke of him as "a godly man" and he won
the approval of the Rev. Cotton Mather. In
the question of the evangelization of the red
men he took a deep interest. He studied their
language and prepared ( 1660) a catechism for
their use. In the campaign against the Dutch
in 1654 he served as chaplain to the forces.
Mr. Pierson was succeeded in the charge
of Southampton by the Rev. Robert Fordham,
minister at Hempstead, who took up the bur-
den in 1648, at a salary of £60 for the first
year and £80 a year thereafter. Mr. Fordham
continued to hold the pastorate until his death,
in 1674. Of his personal career more par-
ticular mention will be made later on in this
chapter. Some time before his decease he was
incapacitated from active work by bodily in-
firmity, and in 1674 the Rev. John Ilarriman
was installed as his colleague and successor.
As salary, it was arranged ]\Ir. Harriman
should receive from 'Sir. Fordham £40 a year
— ore-half the regular salary — and £20 from
the people, besides the use of thirty acres of
land and of "a good house of two stories with
a brick chimnie and two chamber chinniies."'
A provision was also made that if 'Sir. Ford-
ham could take no part in the work the salary
of his young colleague was to be made up to
£80.
Air. Harriman seems to have been a gentle-
man with an eye constantly open to improving
his own worldly prospects and appears to have
been absent from Southampton very frequent-
ly, turning up as a candidate in vacant
churches where the stipend was more liberal
and the prospects brighter than in South-
ampton. As a result the honest folks there
were not over-particular in seeing to it that
his salary was promptly forthcoming. This
apparently led to squabbles, and when he
finally resigned, in 1679, he claimed that half
a year's stipend was due. This the people,
after due consideration, finally and peremptor-
ily refused to pay.
Harriman was succeeded, in 1680, by the
Rev. John Taylor, a graduate of Harvard and
a preacher at New Haven. In way of re-
muneration he was most liberally dealt with,
probably to remove any ill reputation which
may have come to the place through the bick-
erings with the departed Harriman. The
people promised him "a salary of £100 and
the sole use of the house and land formerly
built and laid out for the ministry, together
with another end to be built to the said house,
and 100 acres of conunonage." In addition
they gave "to him and his heirs forever 100
acres in the woods or commons," and another
small parcel of four acres. It was further
stipulated that the salary of £100 should be
paid in this manner :
In winter wheat at 5s the bushel.
In summer wheat at 4s 6d bushel.
142
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In Indian corn at 2s 6d bushel.
In beef at 40s per cwt.
In pork at los per cwt.
In tallow at 3d per lb.
In green hides at 3d per lb.
In dry hides at 6d per lb.
In .whalebones at 8d per lb.
In oil at 30s per bbl.
All good and merchantable. To be col-
lected by the Constable.
Mr. Taylor did not live long to enjoy his
worldly prosperity, for he passed away in 1682.
It was during the ministry of his successor,
the Rev. Joseph Whiting, who seems to have
entered upon the charge in 1683, that the sec-
ond church was abandoned, in 1707, for a
new edifice, which was completed m 1709, nt
a cost of £55 7s 5d. It was furbished up and
a steeple added in 1751 ; improved, almost re-
built, in 1820, and continued to serve the con-
gregation until 1845, when the now existing
church was erected. It is singular that each
of these four churches occupied a different
site, thus departmg from the general usage.
The Rev. Mr. Whiting continued as pastor
of the old church until his death, in 1723,
when he had attained the patriarchial age of
eighty-two years. His successor, the Rev.
Samuel Gelston, was associated with him as
colleague from 171 7 and remained in charge
of the congregation until 1727, when he re-
moved to Pennsylvania, where his career was
by no means a creditable one. On Gelston's
retirement the Rev. Sylvanus White became
pastor and so continued until his death, in
1782, a period of service of fifty-five years.
His successors have been Revs. Joshua Will- .
iam, Herman Daggett, David S. Bogart, John
M. Babbitt, Peter H. Shaw, Daniel Beers,
Hugh N. Wilson, John A. Morgan, Frederick
Shearer, Andrew Shiland, Walton Condict
and R. S. Campbell.
The oldest congregation in Queens county
is that now known as "Christ's First Church"
in Hempstead. It was organized, it is claimed,
in 1643, the same year in which the town had
been settled by a colony from Stamford, Con-
necticut, made up mainly of people who had
emigrated from England a few years before.
The leader of this colony was the Rev. Robert
Fordham. It has been the custom to give the
honor of founding this colony to Richard
Denton, but a series of patient investigations
undertaken by Dr. William Wallace Tooker,
of Sag Harbor, seems to prove that that
preacher was the third and not the first re-
ligious leader of the Hempstead colony. From
a manuscript essay by Dr. Tooker the fol-
lowing facts are gleaned:
Robert Fordham was the son of Phillip
Fordliam, of Sacombe, Hertfordshire, Eng-
land. He came to America with his wife
Elizabeth and family in the year 1640. After
his arrival in America he spent brief periods
at Cambridge and Sudbury, Massachusetts.
From Sudbury he probably went to Stamford,
Connecticut, and organized the migration to
the Hempstead Plains in 1643.
The Journal of New Netherland [says Dr.
Tooker], written previous to 1646, translated
from Holland documents (Documentary His-
tory of New York, Vol. 4, page 15), declares
that there was an English colony at Hempstead
dependent on the Dutch before the hostilities
of 1643-4. Underbill's attack upon the Mas-
sapeag Indians did not take place in 1653, as
some of our historians have placed the date,
buf it was actually in the winter of 1643-4.
The question now arises. Was there an Eng-
lish colony there previous to that winter as
claimed by the Dutch? According to circum-
stantial evidence there certainly was one.
* * * The Indian deed to Hempstead is
dated November 13, 1643, ^"^ conveys to
"Robert Fordham and John Carman, on Long
Island, Inglishmen, the halfe moiety or equal
part of the great plain lying toward the south
side of Long Island," etc. This deed surely
locates Fordham and Carman there in the fall
of 1643, a date previous to the hostilities
against the Long Island Indians, and being
named first proves that Fordham was the lead-
er in the enterprise as well as in the purchase,
whatever else he might have been.
In the Dutch work called "Breeden Raedt, "
printed at Antwerp in 1649, it is stated that
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERL\N CHURCHES. 148
"in April of the year 1644 seven savages were
arrested at Hempstead, where an English
clergyman, Mr. Fordham, was Governor.
* * *" This proves that in April, 1644,
Robert Fordham, an English clergyman, was
the head of the Hempstead colony, and the
record would surely indicate he had been there
some time. After quoting several other au-
thorities which show conclusively that Ford-
ham was the head of the Hempstead colony,
Dr. Tooker proceeds to prove that he was the
first minister of the colony just as Mr. Youngs
was at Southold. He says, "Edward Johnson,
a New England contemporary and historian,
in his 'Wonder-Working Providence' (Mass.
His. Col., Vol. 7, page 22), says, 'Chap.
XVIj, of the Planting of Long Island:'
'This people [Southampton] gathered into a
church and called to office Mr. Pierson, who
continued with them seven or eight years, and
then with the greatest number of his people
removed farther into the island ; the other part
that remained invited Mr. Fordham and a peo-
ple that were with him to come and joyne
with them, who accordingly did, being wan-
dered as far as the Dutch plantation and
there unsettled, although he came into the
country before them.' There are some errors
in this story, but the lines relating to Mr.
Fordham are to all intents true, for many of
his people did follow him to Southampton and
became citizens of that town, which even at
that early day possessed many advantages over
Hempstead. The lines also demonstrate that
he had been up to that time the minister of
Hempstead and the people coming with him
were his parishioners."
Dr. Tooker also says :
We have still another witness whose testi-
mony cannot be questioned, and although it
has been printed for nearly fifty years we can-
not understand why it has been ignored or
overlooked. This testimony is by none other
that Peter Stuyvesant, who writes in his own
hand to the people of Hempstead under date
of July 17, 1657, nine years after Fordham
and his people had abandoned the Hempstead
plantation and Dutch rule : 'Y'ou all do know
that Mr. Robert fordim sum tymes minister of
the town oft' Hempstead, du leave that pleic
and alsoo the exercise of the ministery without
our wish or knuwiedge and for no or littel rea-
sons, therefore we ken not ad mitt him iri such
a mennor of comminge againe." This Stuy-
vesant letter is a harmonizing sequence to the
earlier Dutch record as before quoted and
taken altogether they form a connecting nar-
rative authentic and undisputable, confirming
as they do beyond question the historical fact
that the Rev. Robert Fordham's ministry ante-
dated that of the Rev. Richard Denton some
years, and from Stuyvesant's remarks it is evi-
dent that at the time of his visit to Hempstead
some of the people had expressed a desire for
j\lr. Fordham's return, a desire perhaps un-
known to, and not approved, by Mr. Fordham
himself, who was then firmly established and
prosperous at Southampton, as the records of
that period bear witness. Mr. Fordham and
his followers undoubtedly had good and suf-
ficient reasons for leaving Hempstead, and
with it the rigorous government of the Dutch,
which was oppressive in his day and later.
Rev. John Eliot, the well known apostle to
the Lidians, in a letter of May, 1650, describ-
ing New England and speaking of Long Is-
land, says : "50 myles to the southwest end is
Hempstead, where Mr. Moore preacheth."
This is confirmed in a complaint against the
Indians dated September 25, 1651, by the in-
habitants of Hempstead to the Directors at
Amsterdam, which is attested as a true copy
by "John Moore, the minister of the church of
Hempstead." With the Hempstead people,
among whom were Robert Coe and Richard
Gildersleeve, he migrated to Middleburg
(Newtown) in 1652 and became pastor there."
In view of this there seems no doubt that
the first minister of Hempstead was Mr. Ford-
ham, who labored from 1643 to 1649, that the
second was Mr. Moore, who held the office un-
til 1652, and that the third minister was the
Rev. Richard Denton, who became minister
in that year, probably by appointment of Gov-
ernor Stuyvesant. If we accept Woodbridge's
statement that a church building was erected
at Hempstead in 1648, it would seem that the
honor of being its builder should be given to
Mr. Fordham, which would deprive its present
day representative of its claims to be "the first
Presbyterian church in America," for Mr.
Fordham and Mr. Moore would assuredly
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
rank as Congregationalists rather than Pres-
byterians.
Richard Denton was a native of Yorkshire,
England. He was graduated at Cambridge -n
1602 and for some years was minister of
Coley Chapel, Halifax, England. In 1630 the
famous Act of Uniformity forced him to re-
linquish his church and in search of religious
liberty he crossed the Atlantic, settling first
at Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1650 he was
engaged in preaching in New Amsterdam to
the English people and seems to have won the
good will and friendship of Stuyvesant. The
Rev. Cotton Mather, who apparently knew
Denton well, gives him the character of being
an excellent man and an able preacher and
mentions that he wrote a voluminous work, a
system of divinity, under the title of "Sol-
iloquia Sacra ;" bitt all trace of it has appar-
ently been lost.* It may be said in passing that
a son of this clergyman, Daniel Denton, wrote
a work entitled "A Brief Description of New
York, with the Customs of the Indians," in
1670 (London), which is said to have been
the first description in print of New York and
New Jersey. An edition of this work (100
copies) was printed in 1845 by Gabriel Fur-
man, with some valuable notes.
It has been doubted whether even Denton
was a Presbvterian, and the matter has fre-
*Cotton Mather's reference was as follows: "Among
these clouds (meaning the ministers who early came to
New England) was one pious and learned Mr. Richard
Denton, a Yorkshire man, who. having watered Halifax,
in England, where, first at Weatherstield. and then at
Stamford, his doctrine dropped as the rain. hi.s speech
distilled as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender
herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Though he
were a little man, yet he had a great soul; his well accom-
plished mind, in his lesser body, was an Iliad in a nut
shell. I think he was blind of an eye. yet he was not
the least among the Seers of Israel; he saw a very con-
siderable portion of those things which eye hath not seen.
He was far from cloudy in his conceptions and principles
of divinity, whereof he wrote a system entitled ' Soliliquia
Sacra,' so accurately, considering the four-fold state of
man, in his created purity, contracted deformity, restored
beauty, and celestial glory, that judicious persons, who
have seen it, very much lament the churches being so
much deprived of it. At length he got into heaven
beyond the clouds, and so beyond storms, waiting the
return of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the clouds of heaven,
when he will have his reward among the saints."
(|uentl}- been argued at considerable length,
many holding that he was simply an English
"nonconformist" and what would be termed
nowadays a Congregational minister. Still the
Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge, who was pastor
of the Hempstead church from 1838 to 1848,
and wrote its history, claims Denton to have
been a Presbyterian ; and as he is as good an
authority as any other we may be content to
take our stand on that matter with him; for
if Denton be deposed from the honor of be-
ing the first minister of Hempstead the de-
nominational point at issue is lost. Wood-
bridge is also our authority for much of what
follows concerning the story of the church.
"It was not until 1648," he tells us, "that the
congregation was able to move into its own
meetinj;-house. It stood near the pond, in the
northwest part of the village (northwest cor-
ner of Fulton and Franklin streets), and was
surrounded by, or at least connected with, a
fort or stockade. It may be proper to observe
that at this time the most intimate connection
existed between church and state in all Chris-
tian countries. In towns which, like Hemp-
stead, were Presbyterian (that is, which chose
their own officers) this was particularly the
case. The same persons constituted 'the
church' and 'the town' and elected the two
boards of magistrates and elders who were
often the same individuals."
The Rev. Mr. Denton continued to officiate
as minister, evidently after rather a stormy
pastorate, until 1659, when he returned to
England. He died at Essex in 1662. In 1660
the Rev. Jonas Fordham became the pastor,
but how long he remained is not clear ; but we
do know that the Rev. Jeremiah Hobart was
installed to the pastorate in 1683 and remained
until 1696, although he seems to have had
some trouble in receiving his salary with due
punctuality. The authorities to whom he ap-
pealed ordered a tax to be levied to meet the
amount, and this naturally rendered him very
unpopular. The next minister was the Rev.
John Thomas, who died in 1724, and after
hiiu came a period of struggle during which
EARLY CONGREGATIONAL AND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES.
145
the congregation dwindled down to a few fam-
ilies, lost their church property to the Episco-
palians and became "a remnant," meeting in
each other's houses. Their devotion, however,
ultimately found its reward, and in 1762 they
again worshipped in a church, a small build-
ing which they erected near the site of the
congregation's present meeting place.
The Rev. Benjamin Woolsey and the Rev.
Abraham Keteltas acted as pulpit supply, if
not as regular pastors, and kept the people to-
gether. The Rev. Joshua Hart was minister
during the continuance of the Revolutionary
War, but his labors were sadly interferred with
by the military operations. The church build-
ing was used by the British as a stable and
received pretty rough usage. ■ The congrega-
tion again dwindled down to a remnant of
some fifteen or twenty members, and it seemed
as though it would soon become extinct. Still
the brethren held together.
On June 5, 1805, the Rev. William P.
Kupors was installed. The roll of comnuuii-
cants showed but twenty-three names when he
retired in 181 1. For some four years the pas-
torate was filled by the Rev. Samuel Robert-
son as a "side issue" in connection with his
own church at Huntington, but he did little
more than keep the people together. With
the installation of the Rev. Charles Webster m
1818 a better state of things began to set in.
A new house of worship was erected and the
members began slowly, but steadily, to in-
crease. He remained in charge until 1837,
and when he retired he had the satisfaction of
announcing that the congregation numbered
one hundred and twenty-five. His successor
was the Rev. Sylvester Woodbridge, Jr., who'
remained with the people until 1849. Then;
followed in succession Revs. Charles W.
Shields, 1849-50; N. C. Locke, 1851-60; J. I.
A. Morgan, 1860-7; James B. Finch, 1867-75;
Franklin Noble, 1875-80; F. E. Hopkins,
1881-4; Charles E. Dunn, 1884-8; John A.
Davis, 1890-3; and from 1894 tlie present pas-
tor, the Rev. F. M. Kerr.
W \\i \t/ \\t U/ \U
vM, Mf \rt. .Wy vi(. ^tj
-^^^'^ -^^^'^^ -i^^df^
CHAPTER XII.
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY,
HE first church in Kings county, the
Reformed Church, Flatbush, has a
most complete and interesting history
from its inception in 1654 to the pres-
ent day. Its annals have been fully and ably
detailed in a most interesting little brochure
written by Mrs. Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt,
so well known as an entertaining and pains-
taking writer on old and new Flatbush, and
we herein reproduce her study of the history
of the old church, with but trifling changes,
feeling that so interesting a contribution to
local history should be preserved in a more
permanent form than that in which it orig-
inally appeared :
The West India Company, then the ruling
power in the New Netherland, recognized the
authority of the Church of Holland over their
colonial possessions, and the care of the trans-
atlantic churches here was extended by the
Synod of Holland to the Classis of Amster-
dam. The first provision made for the spirit-
ual comfort and edification of the colonists
was the sending of pious men whose duty it
was to officiate at religious meetings, to read
a sermon on the Sabbath day and to lead the
devotions of the people. These were not or-
dained ministers ; from their particular duties
they were called "Krank-besoeckers" or
"Zeikentroasters" — comforters of the sick. In
1626 two of these godly men were sent over
with Governor Minuit. They conducted re-
ligious service in the colony of New York un-
til 1628, when Domine Alichaelius was sent by
the North Synod of Holland. He formed the
first regular church organization in the colony,
and had about fifty communicants at the first
communion administered there.
In 1633 he was succeeded by Domine
Everardus Bogardus. In that year the first
church used exclusively as a place of public
worship was erected ; previously they had wor-
shipped in the upper story of a mill. This
church was a plain wooden structure, standing
near the East river, on what is now Pearl
street.
The increase in number, as well as the wish
of the people to have a more imposing and
commodious structure, led them, in 1642, to
build a church of stone, seventy-two feet long
and fifty-two feet broad, at a cost of $1,000.
The worshippers seem to have taken pride in
their new edifice, for they placed a marble slab
on the front of it with this inscription : "Anno
1642: William Kieft Directeur General; Heeft
de Gemente Desen Temple doen bouwen."
This church was erected by the people in 1642,
William Kieft being Directeur General.
It is probable that at this period the people
from all the surrounding Dutch towns and the
small scattered settlements gathered from time
to time to worship in this church. We must
admit that this could not be done without en-
countering many obstacles, for, pleasant as it
may have been to join in worship with their
old friends, yet the journey to the Fort at that
day was not an easy one. In a report upon the
state of religion in the Province, written to
the Classis of Amsterdam in 1657, we read
that the "people living in the three villages of
Breukelen, Medwout and Amersfort [Brook-
lyn, Flatbush and Flatlands"! come with great
difficulty to the preaching here" [New York],
Again we read, "It was some three hours' work
for some of them ere they could reach here."
The ferry established about this time had no
better accommodations than could be offered
by a small boat rowed by a farmer who came
at the blowing of a horn hung upon a neigh-
boring tree. Somewhere about 1697 there was
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY.
147
a ferry from what is now tlie foot of Joralemon
street, Brooklyn, to the Breede Graft, now
Broad street, New York; through the centre
of this street ran a creek which the boats
could ascend to the ferry house there. As it
was not until 1704 that the main road to the
ferry, known as the King's Highway, was
opened, we do not wonder that the journey
from the various settlements in Kings county
was a toilsome one, and that the people resi-
dent there began to petition for a more ac-
cessible place of worship. To the real ob-
stacles there may have been added those which,
in the absence of reliable information, were
supplied by fancy; for in a letter written from
Amsterdam in 1671 an imaginative traveller
describes some remarkable animals supposed
to roam through the woodlands. They are
unknown to the naturalists of the present day
and are of a type chiefly found among the
unicorns and griffins of heraldic devices.
Under these circumstances we do not won-
der that the attendance upon public worship
in the sanctuary, erected by the "gemente" of
New York in 1642, was not so constant as
might be desired, and that Governor Stuy-
vesant recognized the necessity of having a
church on Long Island. It seems to have been
generally conceded that Midwout, now the
little town of Flatbush, was most central as
to position and most accessible. This spot
was, therefore, honored in being selected for
the site of the first church in Kings county.
Here, in 1654, was erected a place of worship
upon a spot where for nearly two and a half
centuries those who have held to the doctrines
of the Church of Holland have assembled Sun-
day after Sunday for worship.
It appears upon the records that the first
church in Kings county cost $1,800; as a con-
scientious historian I am bound to admit that
the whole of this sum was not raised in this
county. It seems to have been collected
throughout the whole colony, Governor Stuy-
vesant himself contributing toward the liqui-
dation of the debt left upon the building.
In after years, however, this indebtedness
was returned in kind, for there is a petition
still to be found among the church records
bearing date January 19, 1784, in which New
York appeals to the country churches for help.
In response to it the sum of £20 6s 8d was
raised, and is acknowledged as coming from
Kings county. But an examination of the
names on this paper will show that all the
contributors were residents of Flatbush ex-
cept two, and from these two the amount col-
lected was very small.
The farms in the village of Flatbush were
originally laid out in long, narrow tracts on
each side of the Indian path which at the
present time forms the main street. Central
among these was a long strip of land set
aside for the church. It was not a poor, bar-
ren tract, but as fertile and as pleasantly sit-
uated as the land reserved for their own farms.
They gave of the best they had for the service
of the Lord's house. They made ample pro-
vision for the continuance and maintenance
of the ordinances of the sanctuary for gen-
erations to come. They planned wisely and
well, and the church to this day holds a large
portion of this goodly tract.
The first church was in the form of a cross.
It was sixty-five feet long, twenty-eight feet
broad, and about twelve or fourteen feet high.
The rear was reserved for the minister's
dwelling.
Like a mote in the otherwise pure amber,
the dignified ecclesiastical records of this
period have preserved an incident which in-
dicates that readiness to find fault which some-
times accompanies our best works. We are
told that the people of Flatbush sent a com-
plaint to Governor Stuyvesant, to the effect
that, while they did all the work in building
the church, the other towns stood idly looking
on. The Governor came to the rescue with
an order to the other towns to "assist in
cutting and hauling wood." The other towns
determined to draw a line somewhere, and did
so at the minister's house. They agreed to
help build the house of the Lord, but as for
the house of the minister they replied that
the "Medwoud folks were able to do it them-
selves." As in 1656 the minister complained
that his house was not yet completed, the
"Medwoud folks" do not seem to have been
as prompt in fulfilling their share of the con-
tract as they should have been.
The clergymen sent to the colony were men
of thorough theological training; "for," says
Brodhead, "the people, who at Leyden pre-
ferred a University to a Fair, insisted upon
an educated ministry."
In New York Rev. Ev^erardus Bogardus
was succeeded by Rev. Johannes Megapolen-
sis ; his singular name was in its original form
of a family name, Jan Van Mecklenburg. He
seems to have been a man of liberal views and
kindly feelings. He saved the life of a Jesuit
missionary. Father Jogues, who was captured
14S
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
by the Mohawks and kept for torture. After
tliis he showed a similar kindness to another
priest, Father Poncet. In 1658 a friendship
grew up between himself and Father Le
Moyne, a priest who spent that winter in New
Netherland. He was settled over the church
in New York, but seems to have had the over-
sight of the congregations in Kings county,
and was expected to see that their spiritual
wants were supplied, although not to officiate
regularly as the pastor of the church at Flat-
bush.
Rev. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus was
the first regular ordained minister in the coun-
ty towns worshipping here. He had for a
time joint charge of the churches of Breuck-
elen, Midwout and Amersfort. He was quite
an aged man and required an assistant.
The first church at Amersfort (Flatlands)
was erected in 1662 ; the first church in Ijrook-
lyn in 1666. The morning service for Brook-
lyn, Flatbush and Flatlands was held at Flat-
bush ; the afternoon service alternately at
Brooklyn and Flatlands.
The Rev. Henry Solyns, or Selwyn, was
called from Holland in 1660, and the Rev.
Casparus Van Zuren in 1677. After Domine
Selwyn was installed in Brooklyn Domine Pol-
hemus confined his services to Flatbush and
Flatlands ; when Selwyn returned to Holland
in 1664, then the associated towns were again
in care of Domine Polhemus. Carel De Beau-
voise, the schoolmaster, was directed to read
prayers and some sermon from an approved
author every Sunday until another minister
was called.
it is probable that about this time the
church at New Utrecht was organized and
added to the pastoral care of the minister
preaching in the churches already established,
for Rev. Mr. Van Zuren in 1677 states that
two elders and two deacons were chosen for
the church in New Utrecht.
In 1681 the consistory of the church at
Flatbush was enlarged by the addition of one
elder and one deacon chosen from among the
members living in New Lots. For many years
after this none of the churches on Long Island
had more than two elders and two deacons,
with the exception of the Flatbush church.
Rev. Casparus Van Zuren returned to Hol-
land in 1685, and was succeeded by Rev. Ru-
dolphus Varick.
The last minister who officiated in this sec-
ond church edifice was Rev. W. Lupardus.
He preached here until his death, which oc-
curred in 1 701.
Arrangements were made in i6y8 to build
a new church. It seems probable that the old
building was too small to accommodate all who
by this time assembled together for worship,
as the inhabitants of Brooklyn, Flatbush, Flat-
lands, Gravesend, New Utrecht and Bush-
wick all united in the service. Brooklyn, Flat-
bush and Bushwick communed together, and
Flatlands, Gravesend and New Utrecht.
These people gladly contributed to the
erection of a larger house of worship, rejoic-
ing that such was needed. They may have
talked over the matter as did their fathers in
1642, when they built the church in New York.
"It is a shame," said they at that time, "that
the English should see when they pass nothing
but a mean barn in which public worship is
performed. The first thing they did in New
England when they raised some dwellings was
to build a fine church; we ought to.cjo the
same."
As, according to the old proverb, actions
speak louder than words, we may certainly
credit them with an alacrity in collecting funds
for the new church, which speaks well for
their interest in the matter. A subscription
was taken up, amounting to what would be in
our money about $6,291.20. This is certainly
a large sum in view of the few from whom
it was collected, for there is no record this
time of calling for outside help to liquidate
the debts left upon the church, and there is no
appeal made to other settlements for assist-
ance. The people who worshipped there built
the church and paid for it.
We copy from Rev. Dr. Strong's History
the following description of this building:
"It was located on the spot on which the first
church stood. It was a stone edifice, fronting
the east, with a large arched double door in
the centre. It had a steep, four-sided roof,
coming nearl)' together at the top, on which
was erected a small steeple. The building was
wider in front than in depth, being about sixty-
five feet north and south and about fifty feet
east and west. The roof rested on the walls
and was partly supported by them and partly
by two large oak columns standing in a line
within the building in a northerly and souther-
ly direction. The two columns supported a
plate in the centre of a loftv arched, planked
ceiling, the north and south ends of which
rested on the wall. In consequence of this, the
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY,
149
north and south walls of the building were con-
siderably higher than those of the east and
west. There were two large and broad braces
extending from each column to the plate. The
roof appeared to be badly constructed, for its
pressure on the walls was so great that in
process of time the upper part of the northerly
wall was pressed out more than a foot over
the foundation, and the four braces, attached
to the columns within the building were con-
siderably bent from the weight and pressure
above. The pulpit was placed in the center of
the west side of the building, having the elders'
bench on the right and the deacons' bench
on the left. The male part of the congregation
were seated in a continuous pew, all along the
wall, which was divided into twenty compart-
ments with a sufficient number of doors for en-
trance ; each family had one or more seats here.
The rest of the interior of the building was for
the accommodation of the females of the con-
gregation, who were seated on chairs ; these
were arranged in seven different rows or
blocks, and each family had one or more chairs
in some one of these blocks. Each chair was
marked on the back by a number, or by the
name cf the person or the family to whom it
belonged. The windows of this church were
formed of small panes of glass ; those on either
side of the pulpit were painted or ornamented
and set in lead."
As the minister's family had previously
lived in the extension of the first church, it is
probable that, when it was pulled down, a par-
sonage was built south of and adjoining the
new church, upon the property on which the
present parsonage stands.
There is no record of changes made in this
building from 1698 until 1775. Then the seats
were remodeled and pews were substituted for
chairs. With the consent of the congregation
sixty-four pews, to hold six persons each, were
placed in the church. Two short galleries di-
vided by the door were built on the easterly
side ; one was occupied, probably, by those who
were too poor to pay for seats in the body of
the church ; the other was given for the use of
the colored people, there being at this time a
large colored population in this town. There
were two seats more conspicuous than the rest,
the one for the minister's wife and family, the
other for any notable person who happened to
be present. (The wife of the minister was al-
ways called the Yeffrouw ; the minister was
known as the Dominie.)
A board, on which were placed the num-
bers of the Psalms to be sung during service,
was hung in a conspicuous position, for all the
members of the congregation were expected to
take part in the singing. These curious old
Psalm books had silver corners and clasps.
There were also small silver rings on them ;
through these were cords or long silver chains,
by means of which they were hung on the
backs of the chairs when chairs were used in-
stead of pews. We look with interest at the
quaint, four-sided notes printed on the bars,
for each Psalm was set to music, and we won-
der how they sang in those days ; slowly, of
course, for there are no short notes. The New
Testament and Psalms were bound together,
and these were carried to church every Sun-
day.
It is probable that all the Dutch families
own one or more of these books still. Some
of them were published at Dordrecht, 1758,
others in Amsterdam, 1728; there may be oth-
ers of a still earlier date. The title page is as
follows :
Het NiEUWE Testament
ofte alle Boeken
Des Nieuwen Verbondts
ouzes Heeren Jesu Christ:
door last
van de H. M. Heeren
Staten General
der Vereenigde Nederlangen
en volgens het besluit von de
Sinode Nationale gehoudin in
de Jaren 1618 en de 1619 tot
Dordrecht 1758.
Below the date of the copy from which the
above was taken' there is a lion holding a
sword, encircled with the motto "Een dracht
piaakt macht." A picture of a citv facing the
North Sea finishes the page. Most of the
books which have been preserved in the fam-
ilies of the Dutch are of a religious character,
and we cannot but feel that they were a relig-
ious people. Although the Psalms only were
sung in the churches, they were fond of sacred
poetry. In a time-stained book entitled "Find-
ing the Way to Heaven," published at Nyme-
gen, 1752, which seems to have kept its place
beside the Dutch Bible, we find an old hymn
to which the well-worn volume opens at once,
as if to some favorite page :
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Den Hemel zelf,
Dat sclioon gewelf,
Daar 't dag is zonder'nachten :
Is 't hoog vertrek daar 't Engelen clioor
Al zingend ous verwachten.
O zalig ! zalig Zinken !
O zalig te verdrinken !
In 't eenwig zalig ligt.
We infer from this that the Dutch people
were not lacking in that religious fervor which
finds expression in hymns of love and faith.
The church, erected in 1698, was still stand-
ing at the time of the American Revolution.
As the steeple rose from the centre of the build-
ing, the bell rope, by which the bell in the
tower was tolled, was easy of access as it hung
to the floor in the middle of the church. For
that reason it was used to give alarm in case of
attack. When the British landed, while they
were yet some distance from the village, this
bell gave the first warning note of their ap-
proach. Long and loud the bell resounded
over the quiet village. It did not this time
ring out a call to assemble and hear the mes-
sage of peace on earth, good will to men. It
was now an alarm, the clangor of war and the
announcement of carnage and bloodshed soon
to come.
After the battle of Long Island, the wrund-
ed soldiers were carried into this church, and
it was temporarily used as a hospital. After-
ward, when other provision was made for the
sick and wounded, it v/as taken possession of
by the British troops, who thoroughly ran-
sacked it ; some artillery men even stabled
their horses in the pews and fed them there.
It outlasted this desecration, however, and was
in use as a place of worship until near the
close of the century.
At this period the school and the Dutch
church were united in one common interest.
The doctrines which were taught in the church
were also taught in the village school. The
Town Clerk was both schoolmaster during
the week and the minister's assistant on Sun-
day. He stood up in front of the pulpit and
read the Commandments before the morning
service and the Apostles' Creed in the after-
noon. Until 1790 this was in the Dutch lan-
guage. He also led the congregation in sing-
ing. To these duties he added the work of sex-
ton, for he rang the bell and kept the church
in order. He had not the care of heating the
church, like the sexton of the present day, for
tliat v.as not required. We can only wonder
how they could sit all through a freezing win-
ter's morning in a stone church and not take
cold !
After the death of the Rev. Wilhelmus Lu-
pardus in 1701, the Rev. Bernardus Freeman
was called to succeed him, and was installed
in the Church of New Utrecht in 1705. This
was the beginning of a long and serious dis-
turbance in the churches of the colony. Those
who were opposed to Domine Freeman made
application to the Classis of Amsterdam, and
in response the Rev. Vincentius Antonides was
sent from the Fatherland and was installed
in the Church of Flatbush. A long and bitter
controversy followed, which continued to agi-
tate the church until 17 14.
Two parties sprung up, one of which seems
to have held the opinion that the English Gov-
ernor of the Provinces should be consulted in
the matter ; the other party asserted that they
had the right within themselves to choose their
own pastor. To use their own words, they "do
reject this Position That all the Ecclesiasticall
Jurisdiccon of the Dutch Churches in this
Province is wholly in the Power of the Gov-
ernor according to his will & pleasure." The
Dutch love of law and order seems, however,
to assert itself; "that yet nevertheless all
parties do firmly own that the Dutch churches
in this Province are accountable to the Gov't
for their peaceable & good behaviour in their
Doctrin, Disciplin and Church Government."
Once more the independent spirit of these old
fathers shows that willing as they are to sub-
mit to law, it must be consistent with their
religious rights, for these were descendants
of the old Hollanders who drove out the Duke
of Alva and worshipped God according to
their own faith even in sight of the Inquisition.
Thus they continue: "that is to say as farr as
it does consist with the Rules and Constitucons
of their own national Church always enjoyed
at New York, as well as they have the right
and privilege to be protected by the Civill
Gov't in the free exercise of their religion
according to their own Constitution."
The first party alluded to favored calling
the Rev. Bernrrdus Freeman, of Schenectady ;
the latter desired to send to Holland for the
Rev. Vincentius Antonides. The congrega-
tion at Schenectady seem a little vexed at this
interference with their minister, but they re-
gard it rather as a matter of pecuniary loss
than of personal regret, for they say in a
petition on the subject to her Majesty's Gov-
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY
151
enior, that for the expenses of his passage
and other charges they have disbursed the
"vahable summe of near upon eighty pounds."
On account of this "vahable summe," they
seem unwilhng to part with Mr. Freeman, who
does not, however, seem equally unwilling to
part with them. As we know that no Dutch-
man can consistently give up what he con-
siders to be his rights, so in this case neither
party being disposed to yield, both ministers
were called, and the consequent disturbance
agitated the whole country.
His Excellency, Viscount Cornbury, Cap-
tain General and Governor in Chief of Her
Majesty's Provinces of New York and New-
Jersey, and Vice Admiral of the same, was
not silent for want of information on the sub-
ject, for each party besieged him alternately
with petitions. We are sorry to say, for the
literary credit of Domine Freeman's party,
that their .first petition was returned to them
by Col. Beekman, who, they say, "writt us a
letter that said petition was not well penned,
and that there was some ffaults therein." The
Viscount finally issues a warrant appointing
Bernardus Freeman as minister, ord'ering Mr.
Antonides, tlie "pretended minister," as he
calls him, with his "pretended" elders and
deacons, to give up all possession of house,
land, stock and books in their possession or
answer the contrary at their peril.
On January 21st, 1709, the friends of Mr.
Antonides petition his excellency, Lord Love-
lace, Baron of Hurley, the next Governor in
chief. The Baron of Hurley calls a meeting
to inquire into the difficulties of "ye Dutch
Reformed Protestant churches of ye Towns
of fflatbush, fflatlands, Brookland, New
Utrecht and Bushwick." Of course Domine
Freeman's friends again send in another peti-
tion, in which they again express themselves
to the eft'ect that they are "humbly of oppinion
that all Ecclesiastical afi'airs And the Deter-
mination of all things relating thereto in
this Province lie solely before your Lord-
ship." The result was that in order to put an
end to "ye dispute," these ministers were ap-
pointed to act in concert, alternately preaching
in the churches, each one to choose his own
consistory. But "ye dispute" cannot be easily
settled : we are a people who cling to our
opinions with wonderful tenacity, particularly
upon church matters. The friends of Domine
Antonides would not look with complacency
upon the admirers of Domine Freeman, and
vice versa, — and no fiat of a Baron of Hurley
could remove the difficulty. There are more
meetings and petitions, and minority reports,
and majority reports, and petitions again.
We can imagine the hum it occasioned through
the towns, the discussions in front of the
church at the gathering of the congregation
and the excitement of the younger people.
Yet we must feel that this bit of human nature
brings us nearer to these old worthies who
seem more real to us than when their names
only appear in old deeds and wills and dry
records.
Next the Hon. Richard Ingoldsby, Gov-
ernor and Commander-in-Chief of her Maj-
esty's Province, is vigorously petitioned by
both sides; and he finally orders that Mr.
Freeman and Mr. Antonides shall "preach at
all ye sd churches in Kings Co., alternately,
and divide all ye profits equally, share
and share alike, and to avoid all farther dis-
puets between the said ministers, Mr. ffree-
man shall preach ye next Sunday at fflatbush,
& ye Sunday following Mr. Antonides shall
preach at fflatbush ; if either of them refuses
to comply with tbis order, to be dismissed."
Domine Antonides, notwithstanding the
threat, refuses to comply with the order, and
again resorts to a petition, but Lord Lovelace
has had enough of petitioning, and curtly says
that he "has already determined, the matter;
he will hear nothing further thereon."
On one occasion, Col. Girardus Beekman,
President of her Majesty's Council in "ye
City of New York," met one of the elders of
the church at the ferryboat. Crossing the
river was probably in those days a work of
time, and on landing they went into the ferry
house together. Of course, during all this
time, they had been discussing the engrossing
subject as to who was the rightful minister,
and the good elder so far forgot himself as to
get angry in the dispute, and as he owns, he
told Col. Beekman he had a good mind to
knock him off his horse, both at that time
getting upon their horses to go home. But
like a warm hearted man, quick to speak, he
is equally quick to admit his error, for he
says : "1 could wish that these last words had
been kept in."
We cited this as showing how generally
this matter interested the whole communty and
was the subject of discussion among those
who met even on ordinary business. The
trouble was finally settled in 1714, by having
both ministers preach alternately in the dif-
ferent Dutch towns. They certainly had
162
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ample space to discharge their several duties
without interfering with each other. Both of
these ministers resided in Flatbush. In re-
gard to the communion, it was arranged that
Bushwick, Brooklyn and Flatbush should com-
mune together, and that Flatlands, Gravesend
and New Utrecht should join together in ihe
same service. A new church which had at
this time been formed at Jamaica, had separate
communion.
The rotation in preaching was as follows:
one minister preached on one Sabbath in
Bushwick, and the other at New Utrecht; on
the next Sabbath, one in Brooklyn and the
other in Flatlands ; on the third Sabbath, one
in Flatbush and the other in Jamaica.
Domine Freeman died soon after 1741. He
was succeeded by the Rev. J. Arondeus, who
until the death of Domine Antonides in 1744
remained his colleague ; but he was subse-
quently deposed. Rev. Ulpianus Von Sinder-
en was called to take the place made vacant
and he entered upon his duties in 1746.
The Classis of Amsterdam speak of Rev.
Vincentius Antonides as "a man of great
learning and fine talents," and the Rev. Bern-
ardus Freeman was said to be "a very learned
divine."
Levity of any kind was very rare in thc
pulpit of the Dutch church. The ministers
were men of learning, ability and dignity of
manner.
However, while Domine Van Sinderen was
a very learned and excellent man, he was
also very eccentric; this was a drawback to
his usefulness. It is said that he would in-
troduce the occurrences of the week in his
discourse on the Sabbath, which was some-
thing more unusual then than it is now. On
one occasion, upon being checked by one of
his consistory for this, he became indignant,
and invited the elder who had interfered to
come up in the pulpit and try if he could
preach any better! On another occasion he
attempted to draw the outlines of the Ark, in
order to illustrate a sermon on the subject;
it is needless to say that this did not meet
the approval of his consistory. The old people
used to say that he did not hesitate to call
the attention of the whole congregation to
any member who, being dilatory, entered after
the service had been opened.
In a letter on the state of religion from
Domine Megapolensis to the Classis of Am-
sterdam dated August 5, 1657, he reflects very
severely upon a "parson," fortunately not a
minister of the Reformed Dutch church, of
whom he says : "He is a man of godless and
scandalous life, a rolling, rollicking unseemly
carl, who is more inclined to look in the
wine-can than to pore over the Bible and
would rather drink a can of brandy for two
hours than preach one, and when the sap is
in the wood then his hands itch and he be-
comes excessively inclined to fight whomso-
ever he meets," which shows us that even
from the earliest days of the settlement when
a rude state of things prevailed the Dutch
were very quick to observe and condemn any-
thing in the behavior of the minister which
might bring reproach to the church.
Upon the deposition from office of Mr.
Arondeus, the Rev. Antonius Curtenius was
called to be the colleague of Mr. Van Sinderen,
but he died within the year.
Rev. Johannes Casparus Rubel was ap-
pointed to fill this place, and these two min-
isters officiated during the war of the Revolu-
tion. Rubel had not only strong Tory pro-
clivities, but his character and actions were
inconsistent with the office he held and he was
deposed.
Domine Van Sinderen and Domine Rubel
were the last ministers called from Holland.
The writer has in possession an English
translation of Domine Rubel's call. The
coarse yellow paper upon which it is written
and the antiquated penmanship attests its gen-
uineness, had proof been needed, but the value
of the papers among which it was found, like
the company which a man keeps, is a testi-
monial to its accuracy. It was addressed to
the Reverend and Pious Do. Jolr's Caparus
Rubel at present High Dutch Minister in the
Church of J. C. in the Camp and Rhinebeck,
from the Elders and Deputies of the five united
townships of Kings Co., on Long Island, viz. :
Flatbush, Brooklyn, Bushwick, Flatlands and
New Utrecht for a second Low Dutch Min-
ister with Do. Ulpianus Van Sinderen, at their
meeting held in the church at Flatbush, the
20th of June, 1759.
As it is God who out of the riches of his
all-sufficiency fulfills the wants of his Crea-
tures, So he does such in a particular manner
to his people and chosen ones, whom he
blesses above all earthly blessing with the
Revelation of his precious Will, by the means
oi which to assemble his Elect, to confirm and
to strengthen them, and that by the services
of them who bear the Riches of God's Secrets
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY.
153
in their Earthly X'essels, to the Glory of God
and to the Salvation of his Elect. In full con-
fidence of which, we have thro' the Grace of
God been enabled to bring matters so far as
to have fallen upon ways and means, by the
union of Love again to join and thus be in a
condition to make up a sufficient Support for
two ^Ministers. Our choice is then fallen upon
you. Reverend Sir. as on one of whose good
report in the services of the Gospel, both in
your present and former congregations, there
is full evidence ; So are we in expectation that
thro' the grace and goodness of God your
services amongst us we must have. That
which we shall expect from you generally is
that you should do and perform all the Duties
incumbent on a faithful Servant of the Gospel
and worthy of God's approbation in the pro-
mulgation of the Gospel doctrines, the Ad-
ministration of the Sacraments ; making use
of the Discipline of the Church, together with
the other Church officers according to the
Word of God and the Constitution of the
Church of Netherland, established in the
Synod of Dort in the years 1618 and 1619;
in particular, that you shall preach twice on
each Lord's Day, as also on each Fast or
Thanksgiving Day; on the usual holidays of
Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide ; a sermon
shall be preached on the second day, as also
on New Year's and Ascension days ; as also
a proof of Preparation sermon at the place
where the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is
to be administered, which shall be celebrated
four times a year, with necessary visitation
of the Communicants ; the taking on of mem-
bers, and Instructing the Congregation by
Catechising in the foundation of the pure re-
formed Religion.
On our parts. Reverend Sir, we promise to
pay you for your yearly salary the sum of
One hundred and Seven pounds, New York
money. N. B. — The sum of 107 pounds is
thus to be divided:
Flatbush shall give. . £29
Brooklyn 29
Flatlan'ds 16.10.0
New Utrecht 16. lo.o
Bushwick . 16.10.0
1st. Each half year punctually to pay the
Just one half part thereof.
2d. A free and proper dwelling in the
Town of Flatbush, with an orchard, some pas-
ture land with pasturage for one cow and horse
and other conveniences thereto annexed.
3d. Free Firewood is to be delivered at
the Dwelling House of the Minister.
4th. It has been the custom when the Min-
ister preached out of Flatbush that he was
fetched and brought back and at such place
was provided with Victuals, Drink and Lodg-
ing, which having proved very inconvenient
both for the Minister and the Congregation,
it is therefore determined upon, as you keep
your own horse and carriage, to pay you yearly
for making use of your own carriage, But you
are to be provided with house room and vic-
tuals and drink gratis.
We, underwritten, the Deputies of our
Congregations, Sign this Call as our own act
in order faithfully to fulfill all that is herein
expressed and mentioned; and so shall our
Successors who may from time to time be
chosen in our stead also do.
Gerret "Van Duyn, Jan Couenhoven, Jac.
Sebring, Willem "\^an Nuys, Rutgert Van
Brunt, Jan Lott, Roulof Voorhecs, Jan Van
der Bilt, Laurenz Ditmars, Abraham Bloom,
Barent Andriese, Jeremias Van der Bilt, Cor-
nells Coerte, Stephen Schenk, Johannes Lott,
Joost de Bevois, Jeremias Remsen, Andreas
Stockholm, Daniel Bodet, Jacobus Coljer, Fol-
kert Folkertson, Abrm. Schenk.
Thus done and concluded in our presence
on the 20th and 25th of June, 1759.
Johannes Ritzema V. D. M.
in New York.
Ulpianus Van Sinderin. V. D. M.
in K. County.
The congregation of Gravesend was form-
ally added to the combination of Kings County
churches in 1785. In that year a call had been
made upon the Rev. Martinus Schoonmaker,
and in 1787 Rev. Peter Lowe was ordained
as his colleague. These two ministers preach-
ed alternately in the church at Flatbush until
the second building was taken down in 1794.
About the year 1750 the church was great-
ly agitated in reference to certain difficulties
in the church between two parties known as
the Coetus and Conferentie. The difference
between these lay chiefly in the exercise of
church authority and the right of ordination.
The Coetus' party contended that there
should be regular organization of the churches
into Classes and Svnods, and that these should
have all the rights and privileges belonging
154
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to sucli ecclesiastical bodies in Holland. The
Conferentie party maintained that all minis-
ters should be ordained in Holland and sent
to the churches here by the Classis of Am-
sterdam. This controversy caused trouble in
the church until 1772.
The landed estate and general financial in-
terests of the Flatbush church had from the
time of its organization been entrusted to the
management of church masters according to
the usage of the Reformed churches in Hol-
land. An annual statement of the receipts
and expenditures was certified on the church
books. For a period of one hundred and
seventy years the church property was pru-
dently and judiciously managed by these
church masters; then the church became in-
corporated under an Act passed by the Legis-
lature in 1784, authorizing the incorporation
of religious societies ; some years after this a
special Act provided for the incorporation of
the Reformed Dutch churches by which the
ministers, elders a. id deacons become the Trus-
tees. This is the oldest religious corporation
in this country.
The church erected in 1698 was pulled
down in 1793, and the church at present
standing was finished in 1796. It is, there-
fore, the third upon the same spot and is still
in an excellent state of preservation, as it was
substantially built and has always been kept
in good repair. The stones of the former
churches were all placed in the foundation of
this, the foundation wall being six feet broad.
The small Dutch bricks around the doors
and windows were brought from Holland as
ballast in one of the ships belonging to the
Hon. John Vanderbilt. The stones for the
wall were quarried at Hurlgate, N. Y., and
the brown stone used in the construction of
the courses above the foundation were broken
from the rocky ridge of hills dividing Flat-
bush from Brooklyn. The cost of this church
was £4873, 7, 7, a sum equal to $12,183.44.
This is exclusive of a great amount of labor
and cartage gratuitously given by the mem-
bers of the congregation; in that age the
people were not ashamed to do their share of
the manual labor. We were told years ago
by an aged person who was living at the time
this church was built that it was esteemed
a privilege to assist in building the house
of the Lord.
The consecration sermon of this church, in
January, 1797, was in the Dutch language, by
Dominie Schoonmaker. That being almost ex-
clusively the language of the family, it was
taught in the schools and used in the church
services entirely until 1792. After that date
the English came gradually into use. The
regular and public preaching in the Dutch
language ceased altogether upon the death of
old Domine Schoonmaker, which occurred in
1824. Until 1818 sermons were preached in
the towns of Flatbush, New Utrecht, Graves-
end and Bushwick by Domine Schoonmaker
in Dutch and by Domine Lowe in English.
Domine Schoonmaker preached until he was
nearly ninety years of age. He was the last
connecting link of the chain which had bound
the churches together from 1654. The six
collegiate congregations of Kings County were
those of Brooklyn, Bushwick, Flatbush, New
Utrecht, Flatlands and Gravesend. In 1805
Rev. Selah S. Woodhull was called as pastor
of the church of Brooklyn. In 181 1 Dr. Bas-
sett was called to Bushwick. In 1809 Dr.
Beattie was called to New Utrecht. Dr. Bas-
sett supplied also the church at Gravesend
when Domine Schoonmaker preached in Dutch
at Bushwick. Flatlands and Flatbush were
the last churches to separate. In 1818 they
extended a pastoral call to Rev. Walter JMon-
tieth. He resigned from these churches in
1820. In 1822 Rev. Dr. Thomas AI. Strong
was installed as pastor of the church at Flat-
bush. He was the first minister who had sole
charge of this church.
All the ministers who died after 1701 were
interred under the church. This practice was
continued until 1794. All persons belonging
to the church who could afford it were also
allowed this privilege. This accounts for the
fact that there are not more old tombstones
in the burying ground attached to the church.
In that portion of this graveyard which has
apparently no graves in it, the bodies of those
who died in the battle of Flatbush are buried.
They were gathered from the woods and hills
in the route of the invading army. As they
were hastily interred, without coffin or tomb-
stone, that part of this old graveyard was
not used afterwards.
At this present time, in order to have room
for church extension, a small portion of the
ground immediately adjoining the church has
been disturbed, but very few bones have been
found ; they have nearly all mingled with the
dust during the century and more that they
have lain there.
For some twenty years interment in this
graveyard has been forbidden. A plot was
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY.
155'
purchased in Greenwood for the church in
1873, so that the ministers preaching here
should, at their death, be interred there, and
not in the old churchyard.
There is a significance in this, as being
part of the constant change which the old
church has undergone. There are no more
burials here ; no more Dutch tombstones ;
Dutch speaking and Dutch preaching are no
more to be heard. The binding link of the six
collegiate congregations was long ago broken.
We approach so close to other churches that
everything distinctively Dutch is lost.
Since its completion in 1796, the Flatbush
church has been several times changed as
to its interior arrangements. Until 1836 the
back and front of the pews were very high,
having resemblance to pens. The wood was
grained ; there were no blinds on the windows
and the walls were white. A mahogany pulpit
was some five or six feet above the floor,
supported on columns and reached by means
of spiral stairs. The pews were lowered in
1836, and blinds were placed in the windows
to soften the light. Two cast-iron stoves,
known as Dr. Nott's patent, supplied the heat.
The woodwork was painted white, and for the
first time the aisles and the pulpit were car-
peted.
In 1862 the church was again renovated.
The high mahogany pulpit was removed, and
a reading desk on a broader platform took its
place, 'i'wo large heaters made the church
more comfortable than the cast-iron stoves
had done. An organ was built in the east
gallery of the church, and a clock was placed
in the steeple. The clock strikes upon the old
bell which was presented to the church in
1796 by Hon. John Vanderbilt, who imported
it for this purpose from Holland in one of
his merchant ships. It is said that this bell
was injured by being captured by the British
and carried into Halifax in the belief that
it was the property of a Holland merchant.
It was released and returned when the fact
was proved that the owner of the bell was a
citizen of the United States. Since that first
strife over its possession it has not been called
to give the alarm of war, as did its predecessor
in the little bell tower in 1776. Only the call
to worship or the solemn announcement of a
funeral has awakened its voice. It formerly
gave warning of fires, but of later years even
that duty has not been required, and now we
hear its sound only for church services.
In 1887 the building was once more remod-
eled. An 'entrance for the minister in the rear
of the church and a robing-room added accom-
modations which had been much needed, for
the example of the Holland clergy and long
custom in this cotiiitry favors the black Geneva
gown in the pulpits of the Reformed Church.
The interior of the building was stencilled in
quiet colors. With the new upholsteiing and
dark carpets a subdued effect was produced,
and the pervading tone is rich and unob-
trusive. A steam heater adds to the comfort
of the church, and by the contrast suggests
the accounts given of days when the church
was not warmed even in midwinter. Some
of us may recall the two tall stoves in the rear
of the church, which heated it so unequally
that it was necessary for comfort to supply
small foot stoves for every pew; these were
carried into the church by the colored ser-
vants before the opening of the morning ser-
vice.
The addition built in the rear of the pulpit
at the west end of the church, however, was
chiefly for the new organ which was placed
there at this time (1887) and for the conven-
ience of the choir. The organ is a large on;
and of good tone, and the choir has been in-
creased in numbers. The music forms an im-
portant part of the worship, and great pains
has been taken by those who love church music
to interest the young people in the service
of song.
In the more primitive days the "voorzang-
er," or precentor, stood in front of the pulpit
to lead in the singing of the hymns. The
next step was to have the young people of
the congregation serve as a choir in the gallery
opposite the pulpit. The first organ was pur-
chased in i860. This latest arrangement of
a larger organ and the choir facing the con-
gregation has been made in accordance with
the requirements of the age in regard to
church music, and in the desire on the part
of the consistory that nothing should be left
undone which should tend to a devotional
spirit in the church worship.
The latest change made in the interior of
the church has been" in regard to the windows.
The light was found to be at times too strong
without blinds ; the church too dark with closed
blinds. In the winter of the present year
(1890) the advisability of inserting stained
glass windows was suggested. After some
consideration, the consistory agreed to give
those desiring it an opportunity to replace with
memorial windows the coarse glass in the
15')
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
sashes. Most of these memorial windows
have been made for famihes rather than for
individuals. By adding dates, something of
an historical character is included in this
change, for it tends to perpetuate the names
of families who have supplied its membership
through the two hundred years and more of
its organization, who have upheld its ordin-
ances, and have worshipped here on this spot
through successive generations.
The following are the ministers who have
had charge over the church since its organiza-
tion in 1654:
1. Johannes Megapolensis, born 1603.
Sent to America by the Classis of Amsterdam
in 1842. He was settled in New York with
oversight over the congregations worshipping
on Long Island. Died about 1668.
2. Johannes Theodorus Polhemus. First
pastor of the collegiate churches on Long
Island. Born in Holland 1598. Died in 1676.
3. Henricus Selwyn or Selyns, born in
Holland in 1636; had charge chiefly of church
in Brooklyn, although he preached occasion-
ally in the church at Flatbush. Died about
1701.
4. Casparus Von Zuren. Returned to Hol-
land 1685.
5. Rudolphus Varick. Preached in the
Long Island collegiate churches until 1694.
6. Wilhelmus Lupardus. Preached 1695.
Died about 1702.
7. Bernardus Freeman came 'to America
in 1700. Entered upon his ministry here in
1705. Emeritus 1791. Died soon after.
8. Vincentius Antonides. Born 1670.
Preached in the Long Island churches. Died
1744-
9. Johannes Arondeus came from Hol-
land 1742; preached in the Long Island
churches. He was suspended in 1751, and
died about 1754.
10. Antonius Curtenius. Born in Hol-
land 1698; came from Holland 1730. Preached
in Hackensack and Schraalenburgh first, after-
wards preached in the Long Island churches.
Died in 1756.
11. Ulpianus Von Sinderen. Preached in
the Long Island churches. He was declared
■emeritus in 1784. He died July 23, 1796.
12. Johannes Casparus Rubel. De-
posed.
13. Martinus Schoonmaker. Born in
Ulster Co., New York, 1737. He was the last
minister who preached in the Dutch language
in this county. He died in 1824.
14. Peter Lowe, born at Kingston 1764.
Died 1818.
15. Walter Monteith accepted a call in
Schenectady in 1820. Died 1834.
16. Thomas M. Strong, born at Coopers-
town, N. Y., 1797. Preached in Flatbush
from 1822 to 1 86 1, at which time he died.
17. Cornelius L. Wells, present pastor,
born at New Brunswick, N. J., 1833. Called
to the ministry of this church 1863.
With the exception of the Rev. Dr. Strong
and Rev. Dr. Wells, all these were collegiate
ministers preaching in the churches and pre-
siding over the six congregations in this
county.
In the early days of settlement the various
ministers do not seem to have remained long
in charge over the churches, but this century
shows the reverse and presents a remarkable
record in this respect.
Rev. Dr. Strong remained for nearly forty
years in charge of the church at Flatbush. He
was removed by death in 1861. He was great-
ly beloved by his people ; the younger members
of his congregation looked up to him as a fa-
ther. He was a man of great learning, with
great fluency as a speaker and ease of manner
in the pulpit. He was genial and aiTable in
social life, and by his daily conduct exempli-
fied the beauty of the precepts he held up to
his people.
Dr. Strong was succeeded by Rev. Dr. C.
L. Wells, who was called to the ministry of
this church in 1863. The twenty-fifth anni-
versary of this call was the occasion of a very
pleasant celebration given to Dr. Wells by his
people, in recognition of their love and esteem
for him as their pastor and personal friend.
His pastorate has been a very successful one.
The church has flourished under his care and
the utmost good feeling prevails. The mem-
bership has increased, and that, to a great ex-
tent, from among the young people. Surely
nothing can be more gratifying to the heart
of a faithful pastor than this. May he be long
continued in his place, with the same encour-
aging results that have blest his labors in past
years.
This church was formerly known as the
Reformed Dutch Church. In 1867 the word
Dutch was dropped and the distinctive title
became "The Reformed Church in America."
In this country the "patrial adjectives"
have been retained in many of the Reformed
churches to indicate their origin.
The name with us had lost much of its
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY.
157
significance owing to the various nationalities
in church membership ; because a false impres-
sion was created as to the language used in
the church service, the change was thought by
many to be desirable, and it was accordingly
made.
We do not, however, wish to have the fact
lost to history that the churches of this de-
nomination were those established by the Hol-
land settlers in America. The doctrines tauglit
are the articles of faith formulated by the
reformers in the Netherlands. They had gone
through the most terrible struggle recorded on
the pages of history, maintaining for some
forty years a most unequal combat against big-
otry and despotism of Spain, at that time the
most formidable power in Europe.
The church at Flatbush was designed, as
we have seen in the preceding extract, to sup-
ply the needs in the way of public worship of
the people in Flatbush, in Flatlands and in
Breuckelen. The Rev. Mr. Polhemus, how-
ever, seems never to have been able to win
the favor of the people of the last named place.
He was a man pretty well advanced in years
when he took hold of his charge at Flatbush,
and while no complaints were ever made as
to his neglecting his sacred work, yet from
the first the Brooklyn settlers and he did not
get along well together. They were quite
willing to help the Midwout (Flatbush) folks
to build their church as by the Governor's or-
der, but they strenuously objected to help in
the work of building a house for the dominie,
and it required some of the usual Stuy-
vesant persuasion, a big oath, or a violent
stamp of the silver-mounted wooden leg, to
make them bear a helping hand. It was quite
a distance from Breuckelen to the church at
Flatbush and possibly it was more fashionable
for the former people now and again, when
the weather was fine and the water smooth,
to cross over into Manhattan Island and listen
to the words of the Rev. Johannes Megapo-
lensis, one of the most gifted preachers of his
time, in the handsome stone church in the
fort. At all events they gave Polhemus the
cold shoulder. In 1656 the people of Flatbush
(Midwout) and Flatlands (Amersfort) asked
their brethren in Breuckelen to help in paying
the salary of Brother Polhemus, but this met
with polite refusal, as they replied they did not
feel disposed to pay for the upkeep of a min-
ister who was of no use to them. They sug-
gested that if Polhemus would agree to preach
in their midst on alternate Sundays they would
be willing to aid in his support. Possibly they
thought this beyond the dominie's physical
ability. Stuyvesant and his Council settled
the matter by declaring that Polhemus should
preach in Breuckelen when the weather per-
mitted. The dominie at first apparently did
his best to visit Brooklyn on alternate Sun-
days, and while the Flatbush folk were satis-
fied with this the people of Flatlands and the
other towns began to complain. So to end
the matter Stuyvesant decreed that the dominie
was to preach each Sunday forenoon in the
church at Flatbush and on alternate Sunday
afternoons at Brooklyn and Flatlands. The
two towns last named were assessed each
300 guilders and Flatbush 400 guilders on be-
half of the dominie's annual salary.
But the Brooklyn people were even then
by no means satisfied. They did not care for
Mr. Polhemus, did not want him for a pastor,
and it looks as though all their agreements
were but subterfuges, hoping that the other
communities would not live up to them and
that thereby the ire of the peppery old Gov-
ernor would be directed against the other
parties to the agreements rather than against
themselves. But in 1657 they could bear it
no longer and co came out openly in an appeal
to Stuyvesant and the Council to be forever
rid of the good man. Through their chosen
town officials they said, under date January
I, 1657:
The Magistrates of Breuckelen find them-
selves obliged to communicate to your Hon-
ors that to them it seems impossible that they
should be able to collect annually 300 guilders
from such a poor congregation, as there are
many among them who suffered immense
losses during the late wars, and principally
at the invasion of the savages, by which thev
have been disabled, so that many, who would
158
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
otherwise be willing, have not the power to
contribute their share. We- must be further
permitted to say that we never gave a call to
the aforesaid Reverend Polhemus, and never
accepted him as our minister ; but he intruded
himself upon us against our will, and volun-
tarily preached in the open street, under the
blue sky ; when, to avoid offense, the house of
Joris Dircksen was temporarily offered him
here in Breuckelen. It is the general opinion
and saying of the citizens and inhabitants of
Breuckelen generally, with those living in their
neighborhood, that they could not resolve, even
when it was in their power to collect the
money, to contribute anything for such a poor
and meagre service as that with which they
have thus far been regaled. Every fortnight,
on Sundays, he comes here only in the after-
noon for a quarter of an hour, when he only
gives us a prayer in lieu of a sermon, by
which we can receive very little instruction ;
while often, while one supposes the prayer or
sermon (which ever name might be preferred
for it) is beginning, then it is actually at an
end, by which he contributes very little to the
edification of his congregation. This we ex-
perienced on the Sunday preceding Christmas,
on the 24th of December last, when we, ex-
pecting a sermon, heard nothing but a prayer,
and that so short that it was finished before
we expected. Now, it is true, it was nearly
evening before Polhemus arrived, so that he
had not much time to spare, and was com-
pelled to march off and finish so much sooner,
to reach his home. This is all the satisfac-
tion— little enough, indeed — which we had
during Christmas ; wherefore, it is our opinion
that we shall enjoy as much and more edifica-
tion by appointing one among ourselves, who
may read to us on Sundays a sermon from the
"Apostille Book," as we ever have until now,
from any of the prayers or sermons of the
Reverend Polhemus. We do not, however,
intend to offend the Reverend Polhemus, or
assert anything to bring him into bad repute.
We mean only to say that his greatly ad-
vanced age occasions all this, and that his
talents do not accompany him as steadily as in
the days of yore ; yea, we discover it clearly,
that it is not the want of good-will in Polhe-
mus ; but as we never did give him a call, we
cannot resolve to contribute to his mainten-
ance.
Their pathetic appeal, however, had no ef-
fect on the Governor. He held that the ar-
rangement in force should continue, and then
the Brooklyn folk neglected to pay their share
of the dominie's salary, to the temporal con-
fusion and discomfort of the poor old man.
The others, too, seemed to become laggard in
their payments. Stuyvesant, however, was
equal to the emergency and on July 6, 1658,
ordered that no grain should be removed from
the fields until all arrearages in the minister's
salary had been paid — and paid they at once
were. So the dominie was supreme for a year
or so longer, encountering roads the poorer
and weather the more wretched as his age
and infirmities increased.
Then the people of Brooklyn adopted fresh
tactics to get rid of his ministrations, by ask-
ing permission to call a minister to dwell
among themselves and so relieve Polhemus of
his tiresome journey. This was agreed to.
The Classis in Amsterdam was communicated
with, and in September, 1660, the Rev. Hen-
ricus Selyns, sometimes described as Henry.
Solinus and Henricus Selwyn, wate installed
as minister of Brooklyn, the first of a long
line of gifted men who have made the name
of the old town famous over the Christian
world.
Selyns was born in Amsterdam in 1636,
and was descended from a family which for
a century previous had furnished a succession
of Protestant ministers to the Church in Hol-
land, and his own ability as a preacher had
won him high commendation in his native
town. He was installed into his pastorate with
considerable pomp, the Governor being rep-
resented by two of his officials. Stuyvesant
seems to have taken kindly to the young min-
ister from the first, and to help him to earn an
increased salary he engaged him to spend his
Sunday afternoons on his country residence
in New York, his famous Bouwerie, and there
preach and teach the servants and poor neigh-
bors, black and white. For this Stuyvesant
agreed to pay 250 guilders each year, thus
bringing up the minister's salary to 600 guil-
ders. Selyns was a man of many accomplish-
ments, a poet, lisping in sacred numbers, and
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY.
159
now and again in Latin, and he possessed con-
siderable historical acumen and diligence, for
he transcribed all the records of the Dutch
Church in New York down to his own time,
and his transcription, still preserved, has kept
alive much of the history of that body which
but for his patient labor would long ago have
been lost. Cotton Mather valued him highly
and said that "he had so nimble a fancy for
putting his devout thoughts into verses that
upon this, as well as upon greater accounts,
he was a David unto the flocks in the wil-
derness."
Although ushered into his charge with be-
coming ceremony, Selyns had neither a church
nor a congregation. So far as church mem-
bership went his flock was enrolled on th.e
books of the Flatbush organization, but in
answer to a letter the Rev. Mr. Polhemus sent
him a list of those on his roll who resided in
Brooklyn (at the Ferry, the Wallabout and
Gowanus) including one elder, two deacons
and twenty-four others. This epistle probably
acted as a letter of dismissal and doubtless the
good old dominie was heartily glad to be rid
of a people that had proved so rebellious and
contumacious. A church building seems to
have been erected under Selyns' ministry, or
else the services were held in some building
set aside for his use, for we find that the peo-
ple in 1661 petitioned the home authorities
for a bell which would not only call the people
to worship but would be of service in all time
of danger. If a church was there built all
trace of it even on paper has disappeared. It
seems that the people after a time were not
quite satisfied with Selyns' ministrations, their
main grievance being that he did not make his
home among them, but preferred to reside on
Manhattan Island. The congregation had
strengthened slowly: in 1661 it had over fifty
communicants, but latterly he had some dif-
ficulty in collecting his salary, and, probably
feeling that the field was not a promising one
and experiencing some of the plain speaking
which had been used to Polhemus, he tendered
his resignation in 1664, giving as his reason
a desire to comply with the request of his
aged father that he return to Holland. There
he went, returning to America in 1682 to be-
come pastor of the Dutch Church in New
Amsterdam, in which service he continued un-
til his death, in 1701.
The spiritual welfare of Brooklyn was thus
again placed under the pastoral care of Dom-
inie Polhemus, Schoolmaster Debevoise ap-
parently doing the active work and reading a
discourse from an "approved author" each
Sabbath. Apparently the people desired a
pastor as soon as possible, and probably in the
hope of being the better able to induce a de-
sirable one to settle in their midst they de-
cided to erect a substantial church and have
it ready for his ministrations when he did
come. Accordingly they erected in 1666 on
what is now Fulton street, near Lawrence
street, about a mile from the Ferry, on the
site of a fort, some of the stones of which
were used in its walls, what is generally held
to be the first church in Brooklyn. It re-
mained in active use for exactly a century,
when it was pulled down and a new edifice
erected on its site. Stiles describes this, the
structure of 1766, as "a large, square edifice,
with solid and very thick walls, plastered and
whitewashed on every side up to the eaves ;
the roof as usual ascending to a peak in the
centre, capped with an open belfry in which
hung a small, sharp-toned bell brought from
Holland shortly after its erection, and after-
ward (1840) hung in the belfry of the dis-
trict school-house in Middagh street. The
interior was plain, dark and very gloomy, so
that in summer one could not see to read in
it after four o'clock in the afternoon, by rea-
son of its small windows. They were six or
eight feet above the floor and filled with
stained-glass lights from Holland, represent-
ing vines loaded with flowers. The old town
of Breuckelen, it will be remembered, com-
prised at this time several divisions or settle-
ments, each possessing local names — squares
and avenues of the new city — Gowanus, Red
Hook, Bedford, Cripplegate, Wallabout — and
160
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
for all these the old church occupied a very
central position." It was pulled down in 1810
and a new building for the congregation
erected on what is now Joralemon street.
Although the Rev. Mr. Selyns was un-
doubtedly the first minister called to Brook-
lyn, he seems to have been regarded as a part
of the establishment of the church at Flat-
bush, a collegiate pastor, and as such appears
to have frequently filled its pulpit. For many
years after he left the pastors of the senior
Brooklyn church were identical with those of
Flatbush. This arrangement fell through — -
how, it is not exactly clear, probably by a
process of evolution — about the beginning of
the century, for in 1802, when the Rev. John
Barent Johnson was called to the pastorati"
of the Brooklyn church, his ministrations
were to be confined to it. His death took
place August 29, 1803, about eleven months
after his installation. The congregation re-
mained without a pastor, Flatbush filling the
pulpit as regularly as possible, until i8o(5,
when the Rev. Selah Strong Woodhull was
installed to the charge. It was under him
that the erection of what is known as the
third church was brought about. The cor-
ner-stone was laid May 15, 1807, by the Rev.
Peter Lowe, then one of the ministers of the
parent church at Flatbush. It was completed
at a cost of $13,745.53, and dedicated on
December 23 of the same year, when the
sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr. John
H. Livingston.
Mr. Woodhull in 1825 resigned the pastor-
ship on becoming Professor of Ecclesiastical
History, etc., in Rutgers College, and the
Rev. Ebenezcr Mason, son of the famous Dr.
John Mason, of New York, became pastor.
Two years later another change was made,
and the Rev. Peter J. Rouse was installed,
October 13, 1828. He was succeeded in 1833
by the Rev. M. W. Dwight, and within a
month the congregation began taking steps
to erect their present building — the fourth —
which was completed and dedicated in May,
1835. The succeeding pastors have been
Revs. A. P. Low Giesen, 1855-59 ; -^- A. Wil-
lets, 1860-5; Joseph Kimball, 1865-74; H.
Dickson, 1875-1877; Dr. D. N. Vanderveer,
1878-1896; and J. M. Farrar, 1896—.
This survey practically completes the story
of the pioneer churches on the island in its
different divisions, and the history of the
others calling for particular mention on ac-
count of their historical or other interest will
be found treated in the local sections of this
work. We have taken up these churches in
their order, just as their respective histories
told us they were formed without any heed
to their denominational afiiliations, and we
may now enter on a somewhat wider field
of survey by speaking of the introduction, on
the island, of the various great divisions of the
Christian fold.
The churches at Southold and Southamp-
ton were, properly speaking. Congregational,
and as such their story might be held to mark
the dale of the advent of that body, while if
we could accept the church at Hempstead, of
which we have spoken as Presbyterian, then
the advent of that body is also determined.
Such affiliations, however, would be strenu-
ously objected to. The institution of the
church at Flatbush in 1654 gives that dale
beyond question as that on which the Re-
formed Dutch church began its labors. For
a time the island was given over to these
two bodies (if we may be permitted to class
the early Congregationalists or Presbyterians
as one body, which they practically were), in
which the Dutch church showed the union
of Church and State, with the authority of
the latter paramount, while the other was
purely democratic — church and state com-
bined, with the church as the ruling influ-
ence.
But they were not permitted very long to
retain their undisputed sway over the spiritual
destinies of Long Island, for in 1702 we find
that the Episcopalian body began with the
advent to the island of the Rev. George Keith,
whom we have already met in a previous
chapter. He was accompanied by the Rev.
RELIGIOUS PROGRE.SS IN KINGS COUNTY
161
Peter (or Patrick, the names there being in-
terchangeable) Gordon, who, it seems, had
been sent out to America as a missionary by
the Enghsh "Society for the Propagation of
the Gospel in Foreign Parts." His work on
Long Island was assigned for him before his
departure, and so was his title of "Rector of
Queens County." His acquaintance with his
rectorial field was, however, very brief. He
was sufifering from fever when he reached
Jamaica, which was to be his headquarters,
and about a week later, July 25, 1702, he was
dead. He was buried beneath the stone
church or meeting-house which had been
erected about 1700 by the trustees of Jamaica
by means of a tax levied on the inhabitants,
after a plan of voluntary subscription had
fallen through. On that fact was based one
of the most noted conflicts between Church
and State which the history of the island
records.
When the church and its adjoining min-
ister's house were completed they were given
over to the Presbyterian minister by vote of
a town meeting, although there was some un-
derstanding that other Protestant denomina-
tions were to be permitted to use the church
for their services when occasion required. In
this way Keith seems to have preached from
its pulpit. When Lord Cornbury became
Governor in 1702 he ordered the English law
of uniformity in religion to be enforced
throughout the province and ordained that all
meeting-houses and parsonages erected out
of public moneys, by tax or otherwise, should
belong to the Episcopal body, which he de-
clared to be the established church. The mis-
sionaries of that body, thanks to this viceregal
patronage, were then very active, and the ad-
herents to the Church of England in Jamaica
were consoled by frequent visits from them.
Emboldened by Lord Cornbury's order, they
not only held services in the stone church,
but claimed its possession as a right. The
crisis came on July 25, 1703, when the Rev.
John Bartow visited Jamaica. On the day
before he announced that he would hold serv-
ice in the stone church, but the Presbyterian
minister got into the building on the follow-
ing morning ahead of him and so held the
fort. Bartow walked into the sacred edifice
and ordered John Hubbard, the Presbyterian
divine, to stop his service. This the latter re-
fused. In the afternoon the tables were
turned, for the Episcopalian got into the build-
ing before the Presbyterian arrived. The
latter announced that he would preach under
a tree and so drew away the bulk of Mr.
Bartow's auditors. Not only that: those who
went out carried with them benches and re-
turned for more, so as to make Mr. Hub-
bard's hearers comfortable, and the noise and
confusion that ensued forced the "estab-
lished" divine to stop for a time. He finished,
however, locked the door of the church, and
handed the key to the sheriff as the repre-
sentative of law and order. The other body
soon afterward broke a window in the church
wall, helped a boy through the aperture, and,
on his opening the door from the inside, en-
tered the church and put back the benches.
They, however, took away the pulpit cushion,
which they would not permit any to use but
the Presbyterian minister.
Cornbury, when the matter was reported
to him, summoned Mr. Hubbard and the
heads of his congregation before him, laid
down the law and threatened them with its
penalties. He also defined the statute as to
the church building itself and forbade Mr.
Hubbard from preaching in it. As it was
either submission or prosecution, they sub-
mitted, and the stone church passed from their
hands. But their humiliation was not yet
ended.
In 1704 the Rev. William L'rquhart was
appointed "Rector of Queens County," and
when he arrived at Jamaica and viewed his
domain over he claimed the house and lands
on which the Rev. Mr. Hubbard dwelt as a
parsonage, they having been set aside for the
use of the preacher in the stone church by
the same process of taxation. This view was
indorsed by Cornbury, and on July 4, 1704,
162
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the sheriff ordered Hubbard to vacate, which
he did, and the triumph of the Episcopahan
church in Jamaica was complete. The further
history of the stone church Htigation really
belongs to the local story of Jamaica.
There is a good deal of similarity between
the early histoiry of the Episcopalian Church
in Hempstead and in Jamaica except in the
way of disturbance and legal conflict. In
the former place work was begun about 1701,
by the Rev. John Thomas, who was sent out
from England as a missionary and given
charge of Hempstead by Lord Cornbury. He
also took possession of the old Presbyterian
church building and minister's house, but the
Presbyterians at the time had no minister and
had dwindled down in numbers, so that Mr.
Thomas, who appears to have been a soft-
mannered and agreeable sort of man, a verit-
able peacemaker, not only induced them to
acquiesce in the charge without much grum-
bling, but persuaded many of the weak-kneed
brethren among them to become regular at-
tendants at his service. So the "established
church" continued slowly to spread, backed
by the Gubernatorial authority, and in some
instances stift'ened by royal gifts ; for we read
that in 1706 Queen Anne "was pleased to
allow the churches of Hempstead, Jamaica,
Westchester, Rye and Staten Island each a
large Bible, Common Prayer Book, Book of
Homilies, a cloth for the pulpit, a communion
table, a silver chalice and paten." Churches
were established at Newtown in 1734 (the
charge of the rector at Jamaica extended over
Newtown and Flushing), at Flushing in 1746,
at Huntington in 1750 and at Brookhaven in
1752; but it was not until 1766 that one was
established in Brooklyn. This date seems to
have been fixed by tradition, for there is
really no evidence to substantiate it.
In 1774 a lottery was proposed for the
erection of a church conformable to the doc-
trines of the Church of England, but the mat-
ter either was unsuccessful or was allowed
to be dropped owing to the political exigencies
of the times. During the British occupation
there is no doubt Episcopalian services were
regularly held and some of the discourses
then preached by the Rev. James Sayre are
still preserved. It was not until 1784, after
the cloud of battle had passed away, that those
who adhered to the Episcopalian Church set
up a tabernacle of their own. Says Furman :
"It scarcely took the form of a church: there
were few, very few Episcopalians in this
town or country at that period, — so few that
they were not able to settle a minister among
them and were supplied with occasional serv-
ices 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 fcrick
house known as No. 40 Fulton street, Brook-
lyn, 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
officers. The first regularly established Epis-
copal church in this town or county was that
formed in the year 1786. The congregation
was at first very small, not having in it more
than fifteen or sixteeen families, and they were
not able to go to much expense about erect-
ing a church. They therefore hired the old
and long one-story house owned by Marvin
Richardson on the northwesterly corner of
Fulton and Middagh streets." The Rev.
George Wright was chosen as the pastor of
this little flock, and from this humble begin-
ning sprang the now famous Church of St.
Ann's.
The Methodist Episcopal church appar-
ently antedated the Established Church of
England on Long Island. The pioneer preach-
er was Captain Thomas Webb,, of the British
army, who held services in a house he rented
in New York, and in 1766 frequently crossed
over to Brooklyn and held forth there. He
had some relatives in Jamaica and preached
in that village regularly, building up. Dr.
Prime tells us, a society of about twenty-four
persons, — half of them negroes. The prog-
ress made, however, was slow. In 1785 a
congregation was formed in Sands street, in
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS IN KINGS COUNTY
a cooper's shop, by WoUman Hickson, and
from that beginning developed the once
famous Methodist church in Sands street, now
only a memory, ahhough its name is still re-
tained in another structure. In 1793 Joseph
Totten and George Strebeck were appointed
to take charge of the entire island, laboring
alternately one month in Brooklyn and a
month elsewhere. In 1794 the Brooklyn
church was incorporated and in 1795 its peo-
ple had completed the purchase of a site and
erected a place of worship on Sands street,
the site now being part of the territory oc-
cupied by the big bridge. In 1795 its mem-
bership was given as twenty-three whites and
twelve negroes. In 1820 a church was estab-
lished at Southold, and another ten years later
at Riverhead.
Although we read of the appearance of
Baptists in America as early as 1662, it was
not till long afterward that the denomina-
tion really won a foothold on Long Island.
A congregation was formed at Oyster Bay in
1700, one at Brookhaven in 1747, and one at
Newtown in 1809; but it was not until 1823
that a church was organized at Brooklyn, —
with ten members.
In another chapter we tell of the early ex-
periences of the Quakers in this country and
their reception at the hands of the Dutch au-
thorities and Governor Stuyvesant, and so
need only remark that the earliest trace of a
meeting-house is found in the story of Oyster
Bay, where we are told one was set up in
1659. The visit of George Fox to America
in 1672 did much to strengthen the Friends,
and we know that he made several visits to
Gravesend where the doctrines of his people
had been known and welcomed to a more or
less extent since 1657. It was at Jericho, a
few miles from Oyster Bay, that the first
Long Island meeting-house of the society, of
which we have record, was erected, in 1689,
and in 1694 another was. erected at Flushing.
About the last named year small houses of
worship were also erected by the Friends at
Bethpage and Matinicock. A meeting-house
was maintained at Brooklyn before 1730, and
slow progress was made until in 1845 they had
twelve meeting-houses in Kings and Queens
counties and two in Suffolk. It can hardly
be said that their numbers have much in-
creased, compared, at least, with other re
ligious bodies.
Oyster Bay township was for many years
the centre of Quaker activity on Long Island,
owing to the zeal and work of Elias Hicks, a
most remarkable man, of whose labors and
life an account appears elsewhere in this work.
The Roman Catholic Church had a late
beginning. There were few of that faith on
Long in early times, and it was not until
after the Revolutionary War that we find
traces of the visits of missionary priests to the
island ; but the results of their labor appears to
have amounted practically to nothing. Early
in the present century quite a number of mem-
bers of that church were domiciled in Brook-
lyn, but they crossed the ferry and worshipped
in old St. Peter's Church in Barclay street,
New York. The late Cardinal McCloskey, in
1868, when laying the corner-stone of the still
unfinished cathedral on Lafayette avenue, re-
ferred to this when he said :
There are many here who hardly hoped
to see this day. Of that number I can men-
tion one, and it is he who now addresses you.
He well remembers the day when there was
neither Catholic church, nor chapel, nor
priest, nor altar, in all these surroundings.
He remembers when, as a youth, when Sun-
day morning came, he, as one of a happy
group, wended his way along the shore to
what was then called Hick's Ferry to cross
the river, not in elegant and graceful steamers
as now, but in an old and dingy horse-boat;
going, led by the hand of tender and loving
parents, to assist at the sacrifice of mass in the
old brick church of St. Peter's in Barclay
street.
In fact it seems that the rectors of St.
Peter's looked upon Long Island as part of
their parish, and for many years were in the
habit of sending priests across the ferry to
hold services and perform the various offices
164
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of the church. Mass was celebrated at times
in private houses, and while smaller bodies
would have rushed in and built a church un-
der the circumstances, the Catholics were hin-
dered from doing so by the scarcity of priests,
their own poverty and the desire of the church
authorities not to be burdened in their spirit-
ual work by hopeless accumulations of debt.
In the beginning of the second decade of the
nineteenth century, however, the then exist-
ing condition of things was really regarded
as against the interests of Roman Catholicism,
and on January 7, 1822, a meeting was
held to consider the advisability of undertak-
ing the erection of a church building. It
was then found that only seventy of the pro-
posed parishioners were able to contribute in
money or in labor to the project, but it was
finally determined to proceed. Cornelius
Henry offered as a gift a piece of property
at Court and Congress streets (afterward,
1836, used as a site for St. Paul's church) ;
but it was thought that the eight lots at Jay
and Chapel streets would be much more con-
venient and these were secured. The price
paid was $700. The erection of the building
was at once proceeded with, and on August
28, 1823, St. James' church started in its
history. From St. James' the church spread
out all over the island. In 1835 a chapel
was built in Flushing, in 1838 another at
Jamaica. A preaching station was established
at Islip in 1840, at Smithtown, at Sag Har-
bor and so on. In 1845 there were ten Roman
Catholic churches on Long Island : now there
the eighty-eight in the borough of Brooklyn
alone, and twenty-five in the borough of
Oueens.
Of the other religious bodies we need give
little more than the dates of their first being
represented by actual church buildings erected
by them. The Hebrews in Brooklyn in 1856,
having previously crossed over to New York
to worship, hired a room which they fitted up
as a synagogue, and it was retained until the
Synagogue Beth Israel was built and opened
for service in 1862. The Unitarians date from
1833, the Universalists from 1841, and the
Lutherans from 1847.
A curious feature of the story of religion
on Long Island is the long and patient strug-
gle of the Swedenborgians. Dr. Prime in his
history spoke of their first church as follows :
"In 1813 or 1814 a member of the Congre-
gational church at Baiting Hollow by the
name of Horton imbibed the doctrines of
Emanuel Swedenborg and in 181 5 set up a
separate place of worship. In 1831 a New
Jerusalem church was organized, consisting
of thirteen members. In 1839 a house of
worship twenty-four by thirty-six feet was
erected, but until recently Mr. Horton has
been the principal conductor of their services.
Since November, 1844, the Rev. Mr. Carll has
been employed here a part of the time. From
fifteen to twenty families attend. The present
(1845) number of members is twenty-four."
In 1839 one of the members of that church,
Elijah Terry, organized a society in River-
head, with ten members. They built a church
and school-house combined and engaged part
of the labors of Rev. Mr. Carll, but made no
further progress in numerical strength. It was
not until 1856 that a Swedenborgian church
was organized in Brooklyn, and it now has
three, with a united membership of 249.
CHAPTER XIII.
PERSECUTIONS— RELIGIOUS— THE TROUBLES OF THE EARLY
QLTAKERS— TRIALS FOR WITCHCRAFT.
aT is often stated by newspaper and
iiiher writers — sometimes even by
rei)utable historical writers — that Long
Island has been free from those per-
secutions which form a blot on the history
of some of the other sections of this continent.
Certainly, they tell us, there were persecu-
tions on Long Island' — there is no use deny-
ing it — but they were not such as came from
the malignant passions of the people, passions
aroused by ignorance, or hysterical enthu-
siasm, or prejudice, or popular caprice. Even
those who admit the existence of such a blot
assure us that what persecutions there were
were official rather than popular. "It is true,"
says Dr. Prime (History, page 57), "that at
an early period the Dutch Government of the
New Netherland enacted severe laws against
the Quakers and other sects whom they re-
garded as heretics ; and in numerous other in-
stances these laws were enforced with a de-
gree of cruelty that was shocking to every feel-
ing of humanity. But the people had no hand
in the enactment of these laws and but few "i
them could be induced to take any part in
their execution." But we must remember that
these were persecutions, and also that these
persecutions were rendered possible in spite
of (he arbitrary arid paternal rule of the Dutch
Governors only by the fact that the people
either acquiesced in them or were indifferent
to them. Obnoxious laws — that is, laws
which were really obnoxious to the hearts
and consciences of the people — could not
easily be enforced in New Netherland even
in the days of the Dutch regime, and a peo-
ple who could defy Governor Stuyvesant and
bring him to terms were not likely to be
coerced into actively supporting any law of
which they did not more or less heartily ap-
prove. The Director was a powerful poten-
tate in the days when old Governor Pietrus
stumped about, but he needed the help of the
people when action was necessary.
There certainly were times of persecution
on Long Island, as elsewhere; but they were
never carried to the same extent as in many
parts of New England; and indeed it seems
to us that so long as a man behaved himself
even in the western end of the island where
the Dutch influence was most secure, his re-
ligious or other sentiments were seldom, if
ever, interfered with. When we went around
proclaiming his differences with the ruling
regime, or with the views held by the mass
of the people, then trouble began. In the
eastern end, where Puritan ideas held sway,
each community passed judgment on each
new-comer, and if he did not prove acceptable
he was told to pass on. If he obeyed quietly,
that was the end of the matter. But even
among the Long Island Puritans a Quaker
or other heretic was never persecuted for
the sake of his belief unless he persisted in
proclaiming that belief "from the housetops."'
That was the trouble with the Quakers at
the beginning of their story in New Nether-
land, and that really led to all that was done
166
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
against them in the way of persecution on
Long Island. The Friends at that time were
an aggressive body ; and in the New World,
wdiere they expected that freedom of con-
science would prevail, they never lost an op-
portunity of preaching the Word and pro-
claiming their doctrines. This aggressiveness
led to their persecution in New England and
to the severe penal laws there enacted against
them. But penal laws have never yet been
able to kill religious sentiment. Even the
scaffold did not crush out Quakerism in Bos-
ton, and public whippings and banishments
and confiscations only served to show that
these pe(3ple were perfectly willing to suffer
and even to die for the sake of the dictates
of their conscience. They aimed to bring
about a universal religion, they had no respect
for mere forms, and believed the spirit could
and did find utterr.nce even through the most
ignorant voice, and they put women, as public
exhorters and in religious and all other mat-
ters, on an equality with men. They scowled
at form, at "isms," at lavishness in dress, and
at mere human authority, whether manifested
on a throne or in a pulpit. To them the
theocratic notions of New England were as
utterly unworthy of regard as the claims of
the Church of Rome or that of England. It
was a theocracy founded on work ; their
theocracy was founded of the Spirit; it was a
theocracy founded on worldly principles, on
arms, on oaths, preserving social distinctions
and upholding the authority of the civil mag-
istrate, the representative of royalty, a com-
bination at once of the cross and the sword ;
their theocracy was measured only by love.
Their ideas of religious toleration were com-
plete and thoroughgoing, the ideas of the Pu-
ritans on that question were bounded by their
meeting places and their church edicts. Cer-
tainly these early Quakers were extravagant
in many ways, even at times extravagant
enough to shock all sense of decency and pro-
priety; but they were terribly in earnest and
openly and vigorously proceeded, as they de-
clared the Spirit impelled them, to denounce
what they regarded as the shortcomings of the
Puritan system as practiced in New England
as soon as they reached that favored land and
surveyed its fleshpo'ts and extravagances. To
the Puritan, regarding himself as the most
perfect product of the religious spirit of the
time, the' representative of the chosen prophets
of old, the highest development of religious
thought and toleration, the extravagances of
the Quakers, and in particular the e.xtrava-
graces of the Quaker women, were all wrong
and needed to be repressed with a strong
hand ; and the strong hand at once put forth
all its strength.
In August, 1675, a boat arrived in New
York Bay from New England, having on
board eleven Quakers who had been expelled
from that colony. Two of them, women, as
soon as they landed in New Amsterdam, began
preaching on the streets to the astonishment
and disgust of old Peter Stuyvesant, a
straight-laced, single-minded supporter of the
Dutch church. He did not understand the
Quakers' theology, and as they seemed to him
to mix questions of public policy along with
their religion he soon pronounced their senti-
ments and ongoings seditious, heretical and
abominable. That settled the Quaker ques-
tion and peace of mind in New Amsterdam
for the time being.
The Quaker visitors soon scattered in pur-
suance of their mission to disseminate their
doctrines, but at least one of them, Robert
Hodgson, went to Long Island and as he jour-
neyed held conventicles by the way. He was
arrested for this at Hempstead and promptly
lodged in jail, along with two women who
had entertained him in their home. Stuy-
vesant at once ordered the three prisoners to
be sent to New Amsterdam, where he seems
to have released the women after giving them
the supreme benefit of a piece of his mind.
Hodgson, however, was to feel the full force
of the ire of the doughty Governor. He was
sentenced to two years' imprisonment at hard
labor or pay a fine of 600 guilders. Such a
fine was beyond his power to liquidate and he
PERSECUTIONS — RELIGIOUS.
167
was quickly put to the alternative. Chained to
a wheelbarrov/, he was ordered to work, but
refused, and was thereupon lashed by a negro
until he fainted. He remained in prison for
some months, scourged at frequent intervals
until insensibility rendered the infliction of
further pain unnecessary, and was humiliated
in many ways. The cruelty practiced toward
him was brutal in the extreme and its effects
were threatening even his life. Then from
sheer pity at his awful condition the Gover-
nor's sister interposed on his behalf and he
was released, under a new sentence of banish-
ment from the province.
The Governor seems never to have lost his
enmity to the Quakers ; but it is possible that
his venom was aroused by his political notions
and by reasons other than religious. He cer-
tainly did not love their religious views, yet
had they entertained these quietly it is pos-
sible he would not have bothered his head
about them. But he hated to see women
preaching in public, and especially in the public
streets, and he was opposed to conventicles
or unauthorized religious meetings, because
such gatherings, especially among people of
English birth or New England associations,
might be used to hatch conspiracies against
the State or colony. So he determined to
stamp out conventicles whenever he found
them, paying particular attention to Long
Island, which was peculiarly subject to infec-
tion from Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Prosecutions were accordingly directed from
time to time against William and John Bowne,
Henry Townsend, John Townsend, Samuel
Spicer, John Tilton, William Noble, Edward
Hart and Edward Feake, all of whom openly
confessed their adherence to the doctrines of
the Quakers. Most of these (including
Spicer, Tilton and the Bowne family) were
residents of Gravesend, and several, it is said,
had accompanied Lady Moody from New
England. In fact her ladyship's home was
the headquarters of Quakerism, although she
did not seem to have embraced all its teacli-
ings until a later period in her career.
The Townsends belonged to Flushing and
the story of their persecution was different
from that of the others, inasmuch as it evoked
a spirited protest from their fellow citizens.
On September 15, 1657, Henry Townsend
was adjudged guilty of calling conventicles
and fined eight pounds (Flanders), with the
alternative of leaving the province. On the
news of this becoming public the people of
Flushing and Jamaica held a public meeting
and drew up a remonstrance ta the Governor
in which they admonished him that Scriptur-
ally he was wrong in his policy of suppression,
and that he was also acting in disregard of the
laws of the Province, and against the tenor
and the purport of the patent under which
these two communities were prospering. This
document was signed by Edward Hart, the
clerk of the meeting, Tobias Feaks, the local
Sherifif, and by William Noble, Nicholas Par-
sell, William Thorne, Sr., Michael Milner,
William Thorne, Jr., Henry Townsend, Nich-
olas Blackford, George Wright, Edward Terk,
John Foard, Mirabel Free, Henry Bamtell,
John Stoar, N. Cole, Benjamin Hubbard, Ed-
ward Hart, John Maidon, John Townsend, Ed-
ward Farrington, Philip Ed, William Pidgion,
George Blee, Elias Doughtre, Antonie Field,
Richard Horton, Nathaniel Coe, Robert Field,
Sr., and Robert Field, Jr.
As will be seen by these names the Dutch
population seemingly took no interest in this
affair and it was left for those of British
stock to take the initiative in this skirmish
for religious liberty. Very likely all of those
who signed the document were themselves
Quakers, or had pronounced leanings toward
Quakerism ; but be that as it may there is no
reason to doubt that so far as the Dutch were
concerned they were heartily in accord with
the position assumed by Stuyvesant. Sheriff
Feaks presented the remonstrance to the Gov-
ernor and was promptly arrested. Farring-
ton and Noble, two of the signers who held
office as Magistrates, were arrested as soon
as possible after the redoubtable Governor
Peter had deciphered their names in the re-
168
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
monstrance, or Nicasius De Sille, his Attorney
General, had deciphered them for him. Clerk
Hart was also called in question, admitted
drawing up the remonstrance and was there-
upon promptly arrested. Townsend was again
fined. On January 8, 1658, the Magistrates
of Jamaica (Rustdorp) turned informers and
conveyed word to the irate Governor that
Henry Townsend was still having conventicles
in his house. So he was cited to appear be-
fore Stuyvesant. His brother John was also
cited, but as his connection with the whole
matter was not clear he was held under only
fi2 bail to ensure his appearance when de-
sired by the authorities.
The position of Henry was more grave,
and we quote from Thompson :
On the 15th of January Henry Townsend
attended and was told by the Attorney General
that as he had treated the placards of the Di-
rector General and Council with contempt and
persisted in lodging Quakers, he should be
condemned in an amende of £100 (Flanders)
to be an example for other transgressors and
contumelious offenders of the good order and
placards of the Director General and Council
in New Netherland, and so to remain ar-
rested till the said amende be paid, besides
the costs and mises of Justice.
On the 28th Sheriff Peaks was brought
from prison, and "though," says the record,
"he confessed he had received an order of the
Director General not to admit into the afore-
said village (Jamaica) any of that heretical
and abominable sect called Quakers, or pro-
cure them lodgings, yet did so in the face of
the placards, and, what was worse, was a
leader in composing a seditious and detestable
chartabel, delivered by him and signed by him,
and his accomplices, wherein they justify the
abominable sect of the Quakers, who treat with
contempt all political and ecclesiastical author-
ity and undermine the foundations of all gov-
ernment and religion." He was therefore de-
graded from his office and sentenced to be
banished or pay an amende of 200 guilders.
On the 26th of March, 1658, the Gover-
nor, in order to prevent as much as possible
the consequences of Quaker influence among
the people, resolved to change the municipal
government of the town of Flushing, and
therefore, after formally pardoning the town
for its mutinous orders and resolutions, an-
nounced that "in future I shall appoint a
sheriff, acquainted not only with the Dutch
language but with Dutch practical law, and
that in future there shall be chosen seven of
the most reasonable and respectable of the in-
habitants to be called tribunes or townsmen,
and whom the sheriff and magistrates shall
consult in all cases; and a tax of twelve
stivers per morgen is laid on the inhabitants
for the support of an orthodox minister, and
such as do not sign a written submission to
the same in six weeks may dispose of their
property at their pleasure and leave the soil
of this government."
On the council records of January 8, 1661
(says Thompson), it is stated that the Gov-
ernor addressed the people of Jamaica, in-
forming them that he had received their peti-
tion for a minister to baptize some of their
children, and their information that the Qua-
kers and other sects held private conventicles.
He tells them that he had dispatched his
deputy sheriff. Resolve Waldron, and one of
his clerks, Nicholas Bayard, to take notice
thereof, and requiring the inhabitants to give
exact information where and in what house
such unlawful conventicles were kept, what
men or women had been present who called
the meeting, and of all the circumstances ap-
pertaining thereto. In consequence of this
inquisitorial espionage of the Governor's dep-
uty, Henry Townsend was a third time
dragged to the city and again incarcerated in
the dungeons at Fort Amsterdam. On the
day following he and Samuel Spicer, who had
also given entertainment to a Quaker at his
mother's house in Gravesend, were brought
from their loathsome prison. It was proved
by witnesses procured for the occasion that
Townsend had given lodging to a Quaker,
and besides notifying his neighbors had even
allowed him to preach at his house and in his
presence, also that Spicer was present both at
the meeting at Jamaica and Gravesend and
procured lodging for the Quaker at his
PERSECUTIONS— RELIGIOUS.
169
mother's house. They were accordingly con-
demned in an amende of 600 guilders each,
in conformity to the placard respecting con-
venticles, and to be imprisoned until such
amende be paid. And further, that Henry
Townsend be banished out of the province, for
an example to others. The widow Spicer,
mother of Samuel, was also arrested, accused
and condemned to an amende of £15 (Flan-
ders).
The case of John Tilton and his wife,
Mary, is also interesting. Tilton settled in
Gravesend at the same time as Lady Moody
and probably accompanied her from New Eng-
land, where doubtless he got his first impres-
sions of the doctrines of the Friends, the
"abominable sect," according to Stuyvesant,
"who vilify both the political magistrates and
the ministers of God"s holy Word." Tilton
and his wife were arrested October 5, 1662,
and lodged in the prison at Fort Amsterdam.
They remained in durance vile for a few days,
when they were brought before the Council,
found guilty of entertaining Quakers and at-
tending conventicles and ordered to leave the
province before the 20th of November fol-
lowing, under the alternative penalty of being
publicly whipped. Their sentences seem to
have been remitted, however, probably through
the influence of Lady Moody, for Mary Tilton
continued to reside at Gravesend until her
death, May 23, 1683, and John Tilton also
maintained his home there until he, too, passed
away, in 1688. He was, we take it, a man
of deep religious sentiment and so continued
to the end, most probably becoming more and
more devoted to Quakerism as the time went
on, for by his will, which he had drawn up
about a year before his death, he bequeathed
a piece of land as a burial ground "for all
persons in ye everlasting truthe of the Gos-
pel."
In many ways the most notable of all
Stuyvesant's experiences with Quakers lay
around the case of John Bowne, of Flushing,
not only because the extreme measure which
he adopted showed the malignancy of his feel-
ings toward these people, but because it
brought down upon him, what he probably
felt more keenly than he could any other form
of misfortune, a clear-cut rebuke from his
home Government and the nullification of the
sentence he imposed.
On September i, 1662, Bowne was ar-
rested, and on the 14th of that month the
Governor and his Council considered his case
and imposed a fine of £25 on his being found
guilty of lodging Quakers and permitting
conventicles to be held in his house. Being
a man of substance, he was permitted at once
to go at large ; but as he showed no intention
of paying his fine he was again arrested. On
Bowne peremptorily refusing to pay, the Gov-
ernor determined to make a terrible example
of him and ordered him to be deported to
Holland and there be punished by the highest
authorities and in a manner in keeping with
the enormity of the case. Accompanying
Bowne was a formal letter on his offense,
drawn up by the Governor and Council and
addressed to the Directors of the West India
Company, "honorable, right respectable gentle-
men," Stuyvesant called them.
In the communication the authorities were
told how the Governor's "placards" against
Quakerism were treated with contempt, how
the local authorities complained about the
"unsufferable obstinacy" of these people^ and
so forth. "Among others as one of their
principal leaders, named John Bowne, who for
his transgressions was, in conformity to the
placards, condemned in an amende of 150'
guilders in seawant, who has been placed un-
der arrest more than three months for his
unwillingness to pay, obstinately persisting
in his refusal, in which he still continues, so
that we at last resolved, or rather were com-
pelled, to transport him in ship from this
province in the hope that others might, by it,
be discouraged. If, nevertheless, by these
means no more salutary impression i,S' made
upon others, we shall, though against our in-
clinations, be compelled to prosecute such
persons in a more severe manner, on which
170
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
we previously solicit to be favored with your
honors' wise and far-seeing judgment."
Bowne's case was patiently investigated
by the West India Company at Amsterdam,
and he was finally set at liberty and declared
free to return to his home across the sea
whenever he so listed. Besides, the company
sent the Governor a letter, dated Amster-
dam, April 6, 1663, conveying a most severe
and pointed rebuke for his entire policy
against the Quakers, saying, "Although it is
our anxious desire that similar and other sec-
tarians (Quakers, etc.) may not be found
among us, yet we doubt extremely the policy
of adopting rigorous measures against them.
In the youth of your existence you ought
rather to encourage than check the popula-
tion of the colony. The consciences of men
ought to be free and unshackeled as long
as they continue moderate, peaceable, inof-
fensive and not hostile to the Government.
Such have been the maxims of prudence and
toleration by which the Magistrates of this
city have been governed, and the consequences
have been that the oppressed and persecuted
of every country have found among us an
asylum from distress. Follow in the same
steps and you will be blessed."
The blood in Peter Stuyvesant's veins
doubtless bounded with such vigor when he
read this stinging but polite rebuke that he
must have felt it circulate even in the silver
ferrule of his wooden leg! We can imagine
how he swore ; but it was the beginning of
the end; his reign was virtually over and his
whims and prejudices and opinions were be-
ginning to lose their authority. L^nknown to
him then, the enemy was almost at his gates,
and by the time John Bowne reached New
Amsterdam on his return from Europe the
Province was in the hands of the British and
Stuyvesant had retired to his Bouwerie, to
nurse his wrath and moralize over his fallen
greatness as best he could. It is said that he
afterward acquired a measure of respect for
Bowne and was impelled to regard him as a
good, honest citizen. That we doubt. But
the Governor was himself an honest man, a
man of undoubted courage, and he probably
could not help entertaining a feeling of ad-
miration for the man who had worsted him
in the height of his power and had drawn
down upon him the frowns of those whom he
duteously regarded as "the salt of the earth."
But Governor Stuyvesant was not the only
persecutor of the Quakers in Long Island.
The same prejudice existed in the eastern di-
vision of the island against these people that
existed in the west where the Dutch ruled,
possibly because the people in the east were
in touch with the dwellers in New England,
and the stories of the doings of, and against,
these religious enthusiasts aroused the same
sentiment of animosity east of Oyster Bay
that existed in Boston and Rhode Island. We
find a notable instance of this in the history
of Southold. One of the most outspoken and
troublesome of the New England Quakers,
Humphrey Norton, made a name for himself
there by the force of his denunciations against
the Puritan preachers and by the assiduity
with which he wrote insulting letters to the
Magistrates wherever he sojourned. He had
no sooner reached Southold on his travels than
he went to its church, interrupted good old
Dominie Youngs in his discourse, denounced
the local authorities, and raised a disturbance
all around. This was more than Southold
could endure : so Norton was at once placed
in confinement and as soon as possible sent
to Connecticut for trial. That event took place
in March, 1658, when he was duly convicted,
after conducting himself in "an insolent and
boisterous" way in the presence of the judges.
After careful consideration these Solons de-
clared that "the least they could do and dis-
charge good conscience towards God" was to
order Norton to pay a fine of £20, to be
severely whipped, to be branded with the letter
H upon his hand, and then to be banished
from the jurisdiction of the court. This was
a pretty cumulative array of punishments;
but certainly Norton's manner and methods
were not such as to inspire much sympathy
PERSECUTIONS— RELIGIOUS.
171
for his religious views ; and in his case, at ail
events, he was probably punished as much for
being a general disturber of the peace, and
for his outspoken contempt for the lawful
rulers of the people, as for his theological
tenets. In the eastern end of the island the
Quakers were regarded as malefactors and
as people to be shuned, but this seems to
have been the only instance when the law was
invoked against one of them and pushed to
its limit. But it was not for nearly a century
later that the animus against the Friends sub-
sided, and by that time these people had them-
selves thrown off much of the vehemence and
angularities which had for a long time raised
up enemies against them wherever they went.
Under the British Government they found
no more scope for their antics than they had
experienced under doughty old Peter. In the
opening of the eighteenth century we read of
a case which created a great deal of interest
in its day, and with a recapitulation of its in-
cidents we may fittingly close this section of
the present chapter.
(Joe of the strangest and most erratic of
the early preachers in America was George
Keith, who was born at Aberdeen, Scotland, in
1645. He was educated at Mareschal College,
with the view of becoming a Presbyterian
clergyman. Soon after he was graduated,
Keith renounced Presbyterianism and joined
the Society of Friends. He was then induced
by the leading Quakers in his native city to
emigrate to America, with the view not only
of improving his own temporal position but
also of helping to spread their doctrines in
the New World. He arrived at New YorJc
in 1684, and for four years was Surveyor of
New Jersey. In 1689 he removed to Phila-
delphia, where he conducted a Friends' school,
but that occupation was too quiet and monot-
onous to suit his notions, and he soon gave it
up. We next find him traveling through the
country like a Quaker Don Quixote trying to
win people over to the views of the Society.
In New England he engaged in heated con-
troversies with Increase Mather, Cotton
Mather and others, and he made considerable
commotion, but, so, far as can be made out,
few converts. On his return to Philadelphia,
being in a belligerent mood, he quarreled with
the Quakers there, the quarrel being undoubt-
edly caused by his own infirm temper, his own
sense of the failure of his mission, and to
some peculiar innovations he advocated and
which none of the brethren seemed disposed
to listen to. Then he went to England and
laid his whole case before William Penn ; but
that leader denounced him as an apostate and
Keith was excommunicated from the Society,
as completely as the gentle Quakers could
excommunicate anybody.
Then Keith founded a religious denomina-
tion of his own, which he called the Christian
or Baptist Quakers (properly called the
Keithians), and in which he had a chance for
ventilating some original views he held on
the millennium and concerning the transmi-
gration of souls. The Keithians, however, did
not hold long together, and in 1701 its founder
was a full-fledged and enthusiastic minister
of the Church of England! Here, probably,
because years had softened the natural con-
tentiousness of his disposition, or the church
itself allowed more latitude for individual
views on various doctrinal matters, he found
a secure foothold. Nay, more, he found an
opportunity for repaying the Society of
Friends for its rather summary treatment of
him. He was sent as a missionary to Penn-
sylvania and New Jersey, with the view of
converting, or perverting, as many Quakers
as possible, and he afterward was wont to
boast that in that expedition some 700 Friends
were by his instrumentality received into com-
munion with the English Church. It was then
that he visited Long Island. Soon after his
return to England he was appointed vicar of
Edburton, in Essex, and in that beautiful
parish his declining years were spent in tran-
quillity.
Keith was a man of a decidedly superior
cast of intellect, an eloquent and attractive
speaker and preacher, an able and ready con-
172
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
troversialist, and, but for his choleric disposi-
tion, would have lived a life of more than
ordinary usefulness and might even Imve at-
tained to real power and eminence. He was
a voluminous writer, and in the fifty or more
volumes, some in bulky quarto, or pamphlets
which we know to have come from his pen,
we can trace the current of his religious views
through all their changes. He appears in
them all to have been singularly honest, made
no attempt to conceal or belittle his own de-
nominational changes and even published re-
tractions of his own published writings. His
later works were mainly taken up with what
he regarded as the fallaciousness of Quaker-
ism, and he attacked the Society of Friends
from every point of view and with the utmost
savagery !
On March 24, 1702, Samuel Bownas left
England, as a missionary from the Society of
Friends, and landed at Baltimore. From there
after a while he started out on a preaching ex-
pedition, but wherever he went he was fol-
lowed by Keith, who by that time had fairly
entered upon his campaign against his former
co-religionists, and the two passed through
Pennsylvania and New Jersey to Long Island,
the one preaching the Gospel of love, the other
virtually the "gospel" of hate. At Hempstead,
on November 21, 1702, Bownas preached in
the home of Thomas Pearsall. Then know-
ing the despicable attitude of the reigning
Governor, Lord Cornbury, toward all shades
of sectarianism, Keith, finding he could silence
Bownas in no other way, manipulated matters
so that information of the meeting should be
laid before the magistracy. As a result Bow-
nas was arrested on November 29, while en-
gaged in a "conventicle" in a house at Flush-
ing. He was taken to Jamaica and given an
examination before Justices Joseph Smith.,
Edward Burroughs, John Smith and Jonathan
Whitehead; but the result of the hearing was
never in doubt, although it is said that White-
head not only sympathized with the prisoner
but would have set him at liberty. He was
■ordered to give bail in £2,000 to answer, but
he replied that he would give no bail, not even
were it reduced to three-half pence. Justice
Whitehead expressed his willingness to pro-
vide the bail, but the prisoner remained ob-
durate and was sent to prison for three
months. He passed the days of his incarcera-
tion in learning how to make shoes, in which
he ultimately became so proficient that he was
able to earn fifteen shillings a week and so
support himself wherever he went.
In February, 1703, Bownas was duly
brought to trial at a special Oyer and Ter-
miner Court held in Jamaica, with Chief Jus-
tice Bridges and Justices Robert Miller,
Thomas Willet, John Jackson and Edward
Burroughs as associates. A grand jury was
impanelled, consisting of Richard Cornell,
Ephraim Goulding, John Clayer, Isaac Hicks,
Robert Hubbs, Reginald Mott, Richard Val-
entine, Nathaniel Coles, Joseph Dickerson,
Isaac Doughty, Samuel Emery, John Smith,
John Sering, John Oakley, Samuel Hallet,
Richard Alsop, John Hunt, James Clement and
William Bloodgood, men whose memory
should ever he held in honor by all who value
the blessings of religious liberty and tolera-
tion. An indictment against Bownas was pre-
scribed to this Grand Jury for consideration
and approval, but it was returned to the
bench indorsed "Ignoramus," the legal term
formerly used on a bill of indictment when
there was not deemed sufficient evidence to
convict or sufficient ground to form an of-
fense. The Judges appear to have stormed
and threatened, but the members of the Grand
Jury not only remained unmoved but even
threatened the Judges in their turn. Bownas
was re-committed to prison. Judge Bridges
ordering him to be confined more closely than
ever and threatening even to send him to Eng-
land in chains. The little crisis created quite
a commotion and Keith made it the excuse
for issuing a pamphlet on the case full of the
vituperation of which he was such a master
and which so vilified Bownas that it defeated
its purpose and added to the number of the
Quaker's friends. One of the Grand Jurors,
PERSECUTIONS— RELIGIOUS.
i7e
Thomas Hicks, visited Bownas in prison and
comforted him to the best of his abiHty, assur-
ing him that the threat to send him to England
could not be carried out, as it was in direct
opposition to the laws of the province. De-
spite his many friends, however, Bownas re-
mained in close confinement until October,
when he again faced a grand jury. It also
considered his case, indorsed the word "Ignor-
amus" across the indictment and he was ac-
cordingly discharged from custody and legal
persecution.
The movement against witchcraft which is
such a foul disgrace in the history of New
England as well as of old England, may well
be — as it often is — put down among the list of
religious persecutions which, together or sin-
gly, darken the story of the Christian religion.
In the case of witchcraft there was added not
only the horror of an alleged association with
the Prince of Darkness and his cohorts, and
the implied upsetting of all goodness and
piety, but also a sense of personal danger which
brought the resultant malignant horrors of
witchcraft into the homes even of the humblest
people, and so imposed on all the duty of
suppressing it not alone by the meshes of the
law but also by any means which might safely
bring it about. The witch, unlike the Quaker,
was not alone the enemy of the magistrate
and the minister, but of all classes of the peo-
ple, for the spells and cantrips of all those
who had sold themselves to the Evil One were
directed as freely against the babe in the
cradle, the woman engaged in her household
duties, the farmer in the field, against the live
stock, the growing crop, the ship at sea, as
against those who held high places, those who
made and enacted the laws ; against the man-
sion, the cottage. Therefore we can understand
how, when the delusion against witchcraft
once seized the popular mind, it aroused pas-
sions and instigated cruelties to an extent at
which in the present day we wonder and
shudder.
To the credit of Long Island be it said
that while the people there seemed to fully
realize all the imputations against witchcraft,
to believe in them, and to possess a fair share
of the element of superstition which seems to
enter into the human mental make-up in spite
of education, of experience, of the dictates of
science and common sense, they did not pro-
ceed to any of the outrageous excesses which
disfigure the annals, for instance, of Boston.
We do not read of torturings and persecutions
and indignities and wanton insults which
throw such a hideous haze over the story of
New England's greatness. Still the craze
found root in what we now call the Empire
State and its most noted local instances form
part of the record of Long Island. The most
curious of these took place in 1660, when
Mary Wright was arrested in Oyster Bay
charged with having sold herself to Satan
and with practicing witchcraft. We know
nothing of the details of her alleged crimes
and misdemeanors, but local gossip and in-
herent fear doubtless called aloud for her. con-
viction. She was old, and poor, and ignorant,
and apparently without any friends. The local
Dogberrys sat in judgment on her case, but,
after due cogitation, concluded it was too in-
volved to be understood by them or too dia-
bolical in its nature for them to inflict a severe
enough punishment. Possibly, too, they want-
ed to get rid of a case which seemed to be
full of trouble all around and in which any
punishment they should inflict might by some
unseen agency result in their own spiritual
and natural undoing. So they resolved to
steer clear of it altogether and sent the poor
woman for trial to the General Court of Mas-
sachusetts, where all the most absolute and up-
to-date methods of detecting witchcraft were
employed with the most perfect results. There
she was conducted and in due time tried ; but
as no evidence could be found she was ac-
quitted. Her evil fate, however, still pursued
her, for she was no sooner cleared of the
charge of being a witch than she was accused
of being a Quaker, and on that grave indict-
174
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ment she was tried, found guilty, sentenced
to banishment, and so passes from our view.
Somewhat similar in several of its details
was the case of Goody Garlicke of Easthamp-
ton, who, in 1657, was arrested and hailed
before the magistrates of that town charged
with practicing witchcraft. The evidence
against her was held to be remarkably clear
and involved among other details the death
of a child. Goody, before her marriage to
John Garlicke, had been employed as a do-
mestic in the house of Lion Gardiner. One of
the other women servants employed about the
place had taken an Indian child to nurse for
the sake of some small remuneration therefor,
and in doing so had starved her own child
who pined away and died. To shield herself
from the consequences of her own cruelty and
neglect she ascribed the death of her child to
witchcraft and in due time openly accused
Goody of being the witch. From this, how-
ever, she was ultimately cleared by the evi-
dence, of Lion Gardiner, who openly accused
the mother of being a murderess. The mag-
istrates of Easthampton, however, with the
evidence before them, entertain no doubt of
Goody's guilt, but, owing to the heinousness
of the crime, ordered the case sent to the Gen-
eral Court at Hartford for final adjudication.
There the matter seemed to have somehow
ended. It is indeed doubtful if Goody was
really deported to Hartford, and probably the
influence of Gardiner saved her from further
legal persecution, if it did not restore her to the
good opinion and confidence of her neighbors
and gossips.
Brookhaven furnishes us with a case which
gives us a much clearer view than do either
of the above of the manner in which such
prosecutions were carried on. In 1665 Ralph
Hall and his wife were suspected by their
neighbors at Setauket with practicing witch-
craft, and probably Dominie Brewster, a de-
scendant of one of the Pilgrims and a Puritan
of the strictest school, believed in their guilt
or otherwise the case would never have reach-
ed the stage of public trial. As in the other
cases the local authorities declined the final
adjudication of the matter and after a hearing
the prisoners were sent to New York. There
the trial came off Oct. 2, 1665, before a jury
composed, as will be seen, of six men belong-
ing to Long Island and six from the city of
New York. We copy the account of the trial
wiiich appears in O'Callaghan's "Documentary
History," vol. 4, page 133 :
At ye Court of Assizes held in New Yorke
ye 2d day of October 1665 &c.
The Tryall of Ralph Hall and Mary his
wife, upon suspicion of Witchcraft.
The names of the Persons who served on
the Grand Jury: Thomas Baker, fforeman of
ye Jury, of East Hampton ; Capt. John Sy-
monds of Hempsteed ; Mr. Hallet, Anthony
Waters, Jamaica ; Thomas Wandall of Marsh-
path Kills ; Mr. Nicolls of Stamford ; Balthazer
de Haart, John Garland, Jacob Leisler, An-
thonio de Mill, Alexander Munro, Thomas
Searle, of New Yorke.
The Prisoners being brought to the Barr
by Allard Anthony, Sheriffe of New Yorke,
This following Indict was read, first against
Ralph Hall and then agst Mary his wife, vizt.
The Constable and Overseers of the Towne
of Seatallcott, in the East Riding of York-
shire upon Long Island, Do Present for our
soveraigne Lord the King, That Ralph Hall
of Seatallcott aforesaid, upon ye 25th day of
December ; being Christmas day last, was
Twelve Monthes, in the 15th yeare of the
Raigne of our Soveraigne Lord, Charles ye
Second, by the Grace of God, King of Eng-
land, Scotland, ffrance and Ireland, Defender
of the ffaith &c, and severall other dayes and
times since that day, by some detestable and
wicked Arts, commonly called Witchcraft and
Sorcery, did (as is suspected) maliciously and
feloniously, practice and Exercise at the said
Towne of Seatalcott in the East Riding of
Yorkshire on Long Island aforesaid, on the
Person of George Wood, late of the same
place by which wicked and detestable Arts, the
said George Wood (as is suspected) most
dangerously and mortally sickned and lan-
guished. And not long after by the aforesaid
wicked and detestable Arts, the said George
Wood (as is likewise suspected) dyed.
Moreover, The Constable and overseers of
the said Towne of Seatalcott, in the East Rid-
ing of Yorkshire upon Long Island aforesaid,
do further Present for our Soveraigne Lord
PERSECUTIONS— RELIGIOUS.
175
the King, That some while after the death of
the aforesaid George Wood, The said Ralph
Hall did (as is suspected) divers times by ye
like wicked and detestable Arts, commonly
called Witchcraft and Sorcery, Maliciously
and feloniously practise and Exercise at the
said Towne of Seatalcott, in the East Riding
of Yorkshire upon Long Island aforesaid, on
the Person of an Infant Childe of Ann Rogers,
widdow of ye aforesaid George Wood deceas-
ed, by wh wicked and detestable Arts, the said
Infant Childe (as is suspected) most danger-
ously & mortally sickned and languished, and
not long after by the said Wicked and de-
testable Arts (as is likewise suspected) dyed.
And so ye said Constable and Overseers do
Present, That the said George Wood, and the
sd Infante sd Childe by the wayes and
meanes aforesaid, most wickedly maliciously
and feloniously were (as is suspected) mur-
dered by the said Ralph Hall at the times
and place aforesaid, agst ye Peace of Our
Soveraigne Lord ye King and against the
Laws of this Government in such Cases Pro-
vided.
The like Indictmt was read, against Marv
the wife of Ralph Hall.
There upon, severall Depositions, accusing
ye Prisonrs of ye fact for which they were
endicted were read, but no witnesse appeared
to give Testimony in Court vive voce.
Then the Clarke calling upon Ralph Hall,
bad him hold up his hand, and read as follows :
Ralph Hall thou standest here indicted,
for that having not ye feare of God before
thine eyes. Thou did'st upon the 25th day of
December, being Christmas day last was 12
moneths, and at seu'all other times since, as
is suspected, by some wicked and detestable
Arts, commonly called witchcraft and Sorcery,
maliciously and feloniously practice and Exer-
cise, upon the Bodyes of George Wood, an
Infant Childe of Ann Rogers, by which said
Arts, the said George Wood and the Infant
Childe (as is suspected) most dangerously
and mortally fell sick, and languisht unto
death. Ralph Hall, what dost thou say for
thyselfe, art thou guilty, or not guilty?
Marv the wife of Ralph Hall was called
upon in like manner.
They both Pleaded not guilty and threw
themselves to bee Tried bv God and the Coun-
try.
Whereupon, their case was referr'd to ye
Jury, who brought in to the Court, the follow-
ing verdict vizt:
Wee having seriously considered the Case
committed to our Charge, against ye Prisoners
at the Barr, and having well weighed ye Evi-
dence, of what the woman is Charged with,
but nothing considerable of value to take away
her life. But in reference to the man wee
finde nothing considerable to charge him with.
The Court there upon gave this sentence.
That the man should bee bound Body and
Goods for his wive's Appearance, at the next
Sessions, and so on from Sessions to Sessions
as long as they stay within this Government,
In the meanwhile to bee of ye good Behavior.
So they were return 'd into the Sheriffs Cus-
tody and upon Entring into a Recognizance,
according to the Sentence of the Court, they
were released.
The end of the case was reached some
three years later, when Governor Nicolls per-
emptorily removed it from further legal con-
sideration by issuing the following order:
A Release to Ralph Hall & Mary his wife
from ye Recognizance they entered into at the
Assizes.
These Are to Certify all whom it may
Concerne That Ralph Hall & Mary his wife
(at present living upon Great Minifords Isl-
and) are hereby released acquitted from any
& all Recognizances, bonds of appearance or
other obligations — entred into by them or
either of them for the peace or good behavior
upon account of any accusation or Indictment
upon suspition of Witch Craft brought into
the Cort of Assizes against them in the year
1665. There haueving beene no direct proofes
nor furthr prosecucon of them or either of
them since — Giuen undr my hand at Fort
James in New Yorke this 21st day of Aug-
ust, 1668. R. NICOLLS.
There is no doubt that the influence of the
Dutch preachers as well as the presence among
the population of so much Dutch pi-actical
common sense not only prevented the spread
of the witchcraft craze to the western end
of the island but exerted a material influence
in averting its wild development in the eastern
section. Indeed the Dutch influence was
everywhere sturdily set against it and it is
to this factor more than to anything else that
the State of New York is free from a re-
proach which darkens the bright pages of the
record of so many other places in the Old
World and the New.
CHAPTER XIV.
CAPTAIN KIDD AND OTHER NAVIGATORS.
IMOXG the curiosities which the his-
tory of Long Island brings before
us, none is more interesting than the
story of the noted pirate, Captain
Kidd, whose name was and is more or less
closely associated with every wild and dan-
gerous-looking nook and eddy of its ex-
tensive coast line north and south. The
historians have not dealt kindly with the mem-
ory of Capt. Kidd, and so far as our reading
goes not one of them has found a single re-
deeming feature in his character on which
to base a word of praise or a sentiment of
regret at the outcome of his strange career.
He was a pirate, pure and simple, with all
the usual attributes of his class, was captured
and hanged and by his ignominious death sat-
isfied the ends of justice: such is the popular
and historical summing up. The many vague
stories afloat concerning him, most of which
gives a human touch to his character, are
cavalierly dismissed without a thought of in-
vestigation, by a wave of the hand, as it were,
while every attributed crime is rehearsed as
solemn and unqualified truth.
In his "History of the United States,"
Bancroft dismisses the case of Capt. Kidd in
this wise : "In the attempt to suppress piracy^
the prospect of infinite booty to be recovered
from pirates or to be won from the
enemies of England, gained from the King
and Admiralty a commission for William
Kidd and had deluded Bellomont into a part-
nership in a private expedition. Failing in
his hopes of obtaining opulence, Kidd found
his way, as a pirate, to the gallows. In the
House of Commons the transaction provoked
inquiry and hardly escaped censure."
Divested of all prejudice and unsubstan-
tiated data, the actual life story of this man
may be outlined as follows :
\\'illiam Kidd was born about 1650, it is
thought, at Greenock, Scotland, at which place
his father, was, it is said, a clergyman. The
father was a man distinguished not only for
his piety, but for his steadfast adherence to
principle, for he "suffered," to use a favorite
word of the old Scottish Covenanters, for his
views of Church and State Government. He
was tortured, we are told, by "the boot," a
hideous instrument, but remained stanch to his
principles until his death, August 14, 1679.
There is no evidence to support all this, but
the literary eflfect is excellent. At an early
age William was sent to sea and seems to
have risen rapidly until he was given command
of a merchant vessel. He won a reputation
not only as a skillful mariner, but as one
who was ready as well as able to defend his
ship against all sorts of marauders. He had
sailed a vessel between New York and Lon-
don for several years and was well known
in the former city not only as a daring and
able seaman but as a man of culture.
According to Mrs. Lamb ("History of
New York," vol. i, p. 425), he had "a com-
fortable and pleasant home in Liberty street.
New York, and a wife beautiful, accomplished
and of the highest respectability. She was
Sarah Oort, the widow of one of his fellow-
CAPTAIN KIDD AND OTHER NAVIGATORS.
177
officers. They were married in 1691, and at
the time of his departure for the Eastern
Ocean they had one charming little daughter."
He seems by that time to have, to a great
extent, retired from the sea, and to have won
not only a modest fortune, but a most en-
viable reputation. He was personally ac-
quainted with the leading men in the colony
and held by all in the highest esteem, as an
honest, law-abiding, respectable citizen, and
one who had done the colony much service.
The first mention of him in authentic Col-
onial history occurs in 1691, in which year
the Journal of the New York Colonial Assem-
bly tells us that on the i8th day of April
much credit was allowed to be due to him
"for the many and good services done for the
Province, in attending with his vessels." But
in what capacity or for what object he thus
"attended with his vessels" does not appear.
It was also declared that he ought to be
suitably rewarded. Accordingly, on the 14th
day of May following, it was ordered by the
same Assembly "that the sum of £150 be paid
to Capt. Kidd" as a "suitable aclmowledgment
for the important benefits which the colonies
had received from his hands." The presump-
tion is that these services were in some way
connected with the protection of the Colonial
merchant marine from the attacks of the
pirates at that time hovering along the coasts
of the northern colonies. Indeed the harbor
of Xew York was no stranger to such piratical
vessels, and the commerce between the out-
laws and "the people of figure" in that city
was not inconsiderable. In fact, it was no
great secret that the coast pirates were fre-
quently operating in the Sound, and were
freely supplied with provisions by the inhab-
itants of Long Island. Still further, it was
well known in the year 1695 that the English
freebooters had fitted out vessels in the very
harbor of New York itself. On the arrival in
New York harbor of the pirate vessels from
their cruises their goods were openly sold in
the city, and the conduct of the Colonial
Government was such that collusion, if not
12
direct partnerships, between the pirates and
the public authorities was not doubted.
In 1695 the Earl of Bellomont was ap-
pointed Governor of New York and one of
the most imperative of the instructions given
him was to put down the piracy which was
then so flauntingly carried on in the New
World with New York as one of its centres, a
centre where much of the booty obtained by the
sea robbers was easily disposed of, and where
many of the pirate captains were living im
opulent retirement. Macaulay tells us that be-
fore Bellomont sailed for his post King Will-
iam spoke to him sternly about the freebooting
which was the disgrace of the colonies. "I
send you, my Lord, to New York," he said,
"because an honest and intrepid man is wanted
to put these abuses down and because I be-
lieve you to be just such a man." As soon
as Bellomont landed in New York he made
known his purpose among such of the col-
onists whose official or commercial position
might render their advice and co-operation
valuable. Robert Livingston (the founder of
the famous New York family) entered heart-
ily into the views of the new Governor and
suggested that the task of exterminating the
pirates should be given to Captain Kidd.
Lord Macaulay, who has become the authority
from whom most of the recent biographies
of Kidd derive their data, says ("History of
England, Chap. 25) :
Kidd had passed most of his life on the
waves, had distinguished himself by his sea-
manship, had had opportunities of showing
his valor in action with the French and had
retired on a competence. No man knew the
eastern seas better. He was perfectly ac-
quainted with all the haunts of the pirates who
prowled between the Cape of Good Hope and
the Straits of Malacca and he would under-
take, if he were entrusted with a single ship
of thirty or forty guns, to clear the Indian
Ocean of the entire race. The brigantines of
the rovers were numerous, no doubt, but none
of them was large ; one man-of-war which in
the Royal Navy would hardly rank as a fourth
rate, would easily deal with them all in suc-
cession and the lawful spoils of the enemies
178
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of mankind would much more than defray the
expenses of the expedition.
Bellomont was charmed with this plan and
recommended it to the King. The King re-
ferred it to the Admiralty. The Admiralty
raised difficulties, such as are perpetually
raised when any deviation, whether for the
better or for the worse, from the established
order of proceeding is proposed. It then oc-'
curred to Bellomont that his favorite scheme
might be carried into effect without any cost
to the State. A few public-spirited men might
easily lit out a privateer that would soon
make the Arabian Gulf and the Bay of Bengal
secure highways for trade. He wrote to his
friends in England imploring, remonstrating,
complaining of their want of public spirit.
Six thousand pounds would be enough. That
sum would be repaid, and repaid with large
interest from the sale of prizes, and an es-
timable benefit would be conferred on the
Kingdom and the world. His urgency suc-
ceeded. (Lord) Shrewsbury and (Lord)
Romnev contributed. Orford, though, as First
Lord of the Admiralty he had been unwilling
to send Kidd to the Indian Ocean with a
King's ship, consented to subscribe a thou-
sand pounds. Somers (Keeper of the Great
Seal) subscribed another thousand. A ship
called the Adventure Galley was equipped in
the Port of London and Kidd took the com-
mand. He carried with him. besides the or-
dinary letters of marque, a commission under
the Great Seal empowering him to seize pirates
and take them to some place where they could
be dealt with according to law. Whatever
right the King might have to the goods found
in the possession of these malefactors he
granted, by letters patent, to the persons who
had been at the expense of fitting out the ex-
pedition, reserving to himself only one-tenth
part of the gains of the adventure, which were
to be paid into the treasury. With the claim
of merchants to have back the property of
which they had been robbed, his Majesty, of
course, did not interfere. He granted away,
and could grant away, no rights but his own.
The press for sailors to man the Royal
Navy was at that time so hot that Kidd could
not obtain his full complement of hands on
the Thames. He crossed the Atlantic, visited
New York and there found volunteers in
abundance. At length in February, 1697, he
sailed from the Hudson with a crew of more
than a hundred and fifty men and in July
reached the coast of Madagascar.
Robert Livingston was one of the share-
holders in this syndicate and Kidd himself
seems to have invested some hard cash in it.
On his way to New York he captured a French
ship, which he carried to the Hudson with
him. The date for the sailing of the expedi-
tion is erroneously given by Macaulay and
should have been September 6, 1696, for in
January, 1697, Kidd was at work among the
followers of the black flag off Madagascar.
During the interval between his arriving in
the Hudson and finally leaving it on his mem-
orable expedition, he seems to have cleared
the vicinity, and especially the shores of Long
Island, from the horde of pirates who infested
it. All writers seem to agree that when Kidd
started out on the voyage which was to place
his name on a pedestal of infamy along with
that of Henry Morgan he had no idea of
turning pirate on his own account. Macaulay
sums up the general opinion by saying:
It is possible that Kidd may at first have
meant to act in accordance with his instruc-
tions. But on the subject of piracy he held
the notions which were then common in the
North American Colonies, and most of his
crew were of the same mind. He found him-
self in a sea which was constantly traversed
by rich and defenseless merchant ships, and
he had to determine whether he would plun-
der those ships or protect them. The rewards
of protecting the lawful trade was likely to be
comparatively small. Such as they were they
would be got only by first fighting with des-
perate ruffians who would rather be killed
than taken, and by then instituting a proceed-
ing and obtaining a judgment in a Court of
Admiralty. The risk of being called to a
severe reckoning might not unnaturally seem
small to one who had seen many old bucca-
neers living in comfort and credit at New
York and Boston.
Whatever was the process of reasoning
or evolution, there is no doubt that the Ad-
venture soon became a terror to all trading
vessels in the Indian seas and that on Novem-
ber 23, 1698, an order was sent to all the Gov-
ernors of British colonics ordering the cap-
ture of the ship and the arrest of Kidd and
CAPTAIN KIDD AND OTHER NAVIGATORS.
179
his crew. In tlie course of his "business" the
Adventure was abandoned for another ship
which he had captured, the San Antonio, and
in that vessel he returned to America, anchor-
ing in Gardiner's Bay; but according to local
report only for a short time, as he seems to
have kept constantly on the move and entered
every safe harbor on the shore of Long Island.
During the time those movements were being
executed he was negotiating for his personal
safety with his employer, Lord Bellomont,
the emissary being a Boston lawyer named
James Emett. The matter might have been
satisfactorily arranged to all concerned had
not Kidd's notoriety made even his name a
by-word of reproach and infamy on both sides
of the Atlantic. Bellomont declined to com-
mit himself to any terms, but his demeanor
to the emissary was such that Kidd deter-
mined to trust himself in Boston and to per-
sonally interview his noble employer. There
he was ordered to appear before the Council
and his arrest followed. He was vaguely
charged with piracy, massacre, wanton de-
struction of property, brutality to his men and
to all who fell into his clutches. The result
was he was sent to England and was there
tried for piracy and for the murder of Will-
iam Moore, one of his crew, found guilty
.and, with nine of his sailors, was hanged Rlay
24, 1701.
In reviewing all the evidence thus placed
before us it seems impossible to arrive at any
other conclusion than that Kidd made two
grave mistakes, — the first in touching British
ships, and the second in being found out. If
ever a licensed pirate was sent adrift that
pirate was William Kidd. Even the lines we
have quoted from Macaulay show that he was
sent forth with a commission under the Great
Seal of England in his pocket to prey upon
the high seas and to return as large a dividend
as possible to those who invested in the en-
terprise. It was a joint stock speculation,
nothing more, and Kidd was induced by tht
necessity, to use a modern phrase, "of making
money for his stockiiolders," to capture any
fat prize which came in his way. Money
could not be made fighting pirates, as Ma-
caulay admits, and it had to be made some-
how. Financially Kidd was a success. He
brought home on the San Antonio alone
£14,000, more than enougU to recoup his
stockholders, principal and interest, and there
were besides vague stories of other treasure,
fabulous in amount, which lay in the hold of
the vessel when she first anchored in Gardi-
ner's Bay. But the hue and cry had gone
f©rth, Kidd had certainly passed over the
boundary between right and wrong which his
patrons had vaguely laid down, and the honest
shipping interests of the world arose against
him. Being the executive head of the en-
terprise, he was made to furnish an example,
with several of his sea companions accom-
panying him as ballast.
The matter was made the occasion of a
memorable debate in Parliament in which
Somers and the rest of the syndicate were
held up as partners of the piratical Adventure,
who gave the protection of the Great Seal to
their own nefarious business enterprise, men
who invested a thousand pounds each and
expected to get back tens of thousands when
the expedition should return "laden with the
spoils of ruined merchants." It was made a
question of the life or death of the Ministry
of the day, but the friends of the syndicate
prevailed, and the owners of the Adventure
were indorsed by a vote of 189 votes in the
House of Commons against an opposition of
133. And so ended the Parliamentary story of
the Adventure. When the vote was cast Kidd
ceased forever to be a factor in politics and
his memory is now popularly enrolled only
in the long gallery of notorious enemies of
society. His name became a synonym for nnir-
der and rapine, was used by mothers to
frighten tlieir children, and all sorts of evil
deeds and wanton cruelties were fixed upon
him by the ballad-mongers, who found in the
legends of his career a rare field for their
crude imaginations.
Long Island is full of stories of Captain
180
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Kidd, very few of which contain much more
than a bare modicum of truth. Mr. W. D.
Stone, of the New York Commercial Adver-
tiser, once wrote an article on the pirate, in
which he told about all of the Long Island
traditions which could readily be substan-
tiated. He said :
It is beyond doubt true that Long Island
contained several of his hiding places. "Kidd's
Rock" is well known at Manhasset. up on
Long Island, to this day. Here Kidd is sup-
posed to have buried some of his treasures,
and many have been the attempts of the cred-
ulous in that section to find the hidden gold.
There is also no doubt that he was wont to
hide himself and his vessel among those
curious rocks in Sachem's Head Harbor, called
the "Thimble Islands." In addition to the
"Pirates' Cavern," in this vicinity, there is
upon one of these rocks, sheltered from the
view of the Sour.d, a beautiful artificial exca-
vation in an oval form holding, perhaps, the
measure of a barrel still called "Kidd's Punch
Bowl." It was here, according to the tra-
ditions of the neighborhood, that he used to
carouse with his crew. It is also a fact beyond
controversy that he was accustomed to anchor
his vessel in Gardiner's Bay. Upon one occa-
sion in the night he landed upon Gardiner's
island and requested Mrs. Gardiner to pro-
vide a supper for himself and his attendants.
Knowing his desperate character, she dared
not refuse, and fearing his displeasure she
took great pains, especially in roasting a pig.
The pirate chief was so pleased with her cook-
ing that on going away he presented her with
a cradle blanket of gold cloth. It was of
velvet inwrought with gold and very rich. A
piece of it yet remains in the possession of
the Gardiner family, and a still smaller piece
is in my possession, it having been given to
my father, the late Col. William L. Stone, by
one of the descendants of that family.
On another occasion, when he landed upon
the island, Kidd buried a small casket of gold
containing articles of silver and precious
stones in the presence of Mr. Gardiner, but
under the most solemn injunction of secrecy.
* * * He appears to have disclosed tlie
fact of having buried treasure on Gardiner's
island, for it was demanded by the Earl of
Jk-llomont and surrendered by Mr. Gardiner.
I have seen the original receipts for thj
an-.ount, with the different items of the de-
posits. They were by no means large, and
afford no evidence of such mighty "sweep-
ings of the sea," as has been told of by tra-
dition. Of gold, in coins, gold dust and bars,
there was 750 ounces ; of silver, 506 ounces,
and of precious stones, 16 ounces.
The account mentioned by Mr. Stone as
describing the jewels found in Captain Kidd's
treasure bo.x buried on Gardiner's island reads
as follows :
A true account of all such gold, silver,
jewels and merchandise late in the possession
of Captain William Kidd which have been
seized and secured by us pursuant to an or-
der from his Excellency. Richard, Earl of
Bellomont, bearing date July 7, 1699:
Received the 17th inst. of Mr. John Gardi-
ner, viz. :
OUNCES.
No. I. One bag of gold dust 63^
No. 2. One bag of coined gold 11
And one in silver 124
No. 3. One bag gold dust 24^
No. 4. One bag of silver rings and
sundry precious stones. . . . 4%
No. fi. One bag of unpolished stones. I2>^
No. 6. One piece of crystal, rings,
two agates, two amethysts
No. 7. One bag silver buttons and
lamps
No. 8. One bag of broken silver. . . . ly^yi
No. 9. One bag of gold bars 353/4
No. 10. One bag of gold bars 238^4
No. II. One bag gold dust sg'.'^
No. 12. One bag silver bars 309
Samuel Sevv..\ll,
Nath.^niel Byfield,
Jeremiah Dummer^
Andrew Belcher,
Coiiiiiiissioiicrs.
H. G. Onderdonk, of Manhasset, speaking
of Kidd's Rock, mentioned in the passage
cjuoted from Mr. Stone, says :
The celebrated "Kidd's Rock" just east of
Sands' Point stands upon the shore of a small
island at the northeasterly extremity of Cow
Neck. This is a very large stone, equivalent
to a cube of about 2,000 feet, and under it tra-
dition says the notorious Captain Kidd con-
cealed vast amounts of the treasures accumu-
CAPTAIN KIDD AND OTHER NAVIGATORS.
181
lated by his numerous piracies. The immense
rock has been on all sides dug around, under-
mined, excavated, blasted and wrought with
various charms and incantations by super-
stitious or visionary persons who have here
repeatedly searched for Kidd's treasures, but
all in vain. There is a similar large boulder,
called Millstone Rock, at Manhasset, a quar-
ter of a mile southeasterly from the Friends'
meeting-house, which contains 24,000 cubic
feet, as measured by Dr. Mitchell and Cap-
tain Patridge, and there formerly was another
of similar size, on the Haydock property near
the head of Cow Bay. But this latter has
disappeared, having been blasted and broken
up into fencing stone. Boulders of so great
a size are an anomaly on Long Island.
East of these, other boulders seem to have
popularly rejoiced at one time or another un-
der the name of "Kidd's Rock," and the one
last referred to was recognized by B. F.
Thompson, the historian of Long Island, as
the one in his day best entitled to the desig-
nation. But then, as we have said, almost
every likely spot on Long Island, as well as
on Gardiner's Island, Block Island and even
the coast of New Jersey, has been reputed as
the hiding place of Captain Kidd's migWty
treasure. To recover them many a diligent
search has been made, many an expedition or-
ganized, many a divining rod manipulated ; but
all to no purpose. If any treasure was hid-
den it has been forever lost ; but the more
likely solution of the matter is that none was
hidden, and that all the wealth at Kidd's com-
mand was actually recovered by Bellmont's
agents.
Gabriel Furman gives us a vague account
of another redoubtable pirate whose home was
near Fort Neck and whom he called Captain
Jones. Nothing is known apparently as to the
career or the deeds of this marauder, but pop-
ular tradition gave him a rather doubtful
character and told how when he was dying
a large black crow, a sure emissary of Satan,
settled above his bed and watched until the
vital spark fled, when it made its escape
through a hole in the west end of the house
and departed to realms unknown. The hole
through which the bird passed could never af-
ter be stopped up, according to popular tradi-
tion, although Furman, who saw the house in
1827, did not vouch for the truth of this by
personal investigation. The building was then
uninhabited and hastening to ruin, so the ex-
periment would have annoyed nobody and its
result would have been satisfactory to future
historians whichever way it went. But prob-
ably Furman was too good an antiquary to
attempt to disturb an old legend, so he simply
contented himself with "passing it on." How-
ever, he visited the burial place of the pirate,
a grave "about half a mile south of the house
in a small piece of ground surrounded by an
earth wall. The tombstone is of red free-
stone. The grotmd also contains the graves
of his wife, his son, and his son's wife. There
are no other persons buried there but these
four. It is quite a solitary spot."
Surely pirate was never more honored!
To die quietly in bed ! An emissary of a
prince to watch his passage, a grave among
his own kin, and a red freestone tomb ! An
honest mariner could hardly expect more !
CHAPTER XV.
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
ON a rough and ready way the position
of Long Island regarding the senh-
ment which culminated in 1776 in
' ' separation may be stated by saying
that Suffolk county was Whig in its sympa-
thies, while Queens and Kings were the op-
posite. In other words, one might draw the
old line on the map of the island from Oyster
Bay to Great Island and find that to the east
of that line the people were in favor of in-
dependence, while to the west the loyalist
spirit reigned. Of course, there were many
exceptions. Kings and Queens held their
Whig citizens, plenty of them, and Suffolk
might have produced a small army of Tories ;
but in a general fashion the boundaries thus
given hold good for the time, say about 1765,
when the troubles with the home Govern-
ment began to reach the acute point. In mak-
ing this distinction I do not desire to intimate
that the loyalists were blind to the faults of
the system to whioh they were attached. That
there were faults, and grievous faults, even
the most devoted loyalist of the disinterested
variety would confess; and up to a certain
point in the struggle they were as outspoken
and imperative in their demands for redress
as the most violent Whig could suggest. They
only stopped short at separation, and although
the hard logic of events has demonstrated that
they were wrong and proved conclusively that
separation was the only cure for the evils
which then threatened the people in Britain
as well as those in the colonies, it seems un-
necessary to tax them with all the sins in the
calendar of crime on that account.
In fact Long Island, east and west, main-
tained a constant struggle for political liberty
long before. Several instances of this spirit
will be found recorded elsewhere in this work,
but one or two may be mentioned most fitting-
ly here to demonstrate more clearly the views
entertained by the people and the spirit which
animated them. In 1669 the towns of Hemp-
stead, Jamaica, Oyster Bay, Flushing, New-
town, Gravesend, each presented petitions to
Governor Lovelace when that dignitary sought
by virtue of his own power to levy a special
tax. In their petition the people deplored
their exclusion from any share in legislation
and asked to be permitted a voice in the mak-
ing of the laws by which they were to be gov-
erned, "by such deputies as shall be yearly
chosen by the freeholders of each town and
parish." The petitions practically produced
nothing, but the fact that they were made,
and gravely considered, are significant when
we remember how summarily old Peter Stuy-
vesant a few years previously had broken up
a meeting of the lieges and told them not to
let him hear any more of such business. Dr.
Prime says ('"History," page 78) : "The first
assembly of deputies that the representation
of royal power condescended to convoke for
consultation, the year after the surrender of
the province to British arms, was held at
Hempstead March i, 1665, and (with the ex-
ception of two) was composed entirely of rep-
resentatives from the several towns of the
island. The first legislative assembly, con-
vened in 1683, was not only procured through
the remonstrances and demands of Long
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
Island, more than any other part of the col-
ony, but was in a great measure made up of
its representatives. The first speaker of that
body was either then, or afterward, a resident
of the island, and the same office was after-
ward held by one of its representatives six-
teen out of twenty-one years."
A significant hint of the reverence of the
people for royal authority in the abstract is
found in the following extract from Bergen's
"Early Settlers of Kings County:"
Joores Van Nestus (may be intended for
Joris Van Ness), with John Rapalie, Joris
Danielse Rapalie, Isaac Remsen, Jacob
Reyerse, Aert Aersen (Middagh), Theunis
Buys, Gerrit Cowenhoven, Gabriel Sprong,
Urian Andriese, Jan Willemse Bennet, Jacob
Bennet and John Messerole, Junr., were fined
ten shillings each for defacing the King's
arms in the County Court House on the
evening of September 14, 1697, as per court
record. From this it may be inferred that
these residents of Brooklyn failed to have that
respect for their "Dreade sovereign" which
loyal subjects were expected to entertain.
It is curious to read some of these names
in the light of after events in connection with
such a contemptuous disregard for the sacred-
ness of royal insignia.
It is generally agreed that the first direct
move, although not then so intended, against
the royal authority was made in the same
tavern at Brushville, near Jamaica, where af-
terward General Woodhull, the hero of Long
Island, received the wounds which resulted in
his death. It was kept by Increase Carpenter,
who afterward figured prominently in the
Tory ranks. The meeting held in his place
seems to have been quite an informal gather-
ing when the news was received of the action
of the British Parliament in declaring the
port of Boston closed in retaliation for the
doings of the Boston Tea Party. The de-
liberations in the tavern, however, resulted
in the issuance of a notice to the freeholders
of Jamaica urging them to meet in the old
court-house in that village and consider the
condition of affairs. That, meeting was held
on December 7, 1774, and passed a series of
resolutions as follows :
I. To maintain the just dependence of the
colonies upon the Crown of Great Britain, and
to render true allegiance to King George.
II. That it is our right to be taxed only
by our own consent, and that taxes imposed
on us by Parliament are an infringement of
our rights.
III. We glory to have been born subject
to the Crown and excellent Constitution of
Great Britain ; we are one people with our
mother country, and lament the late unhappy
disputes.
IV. We sympathize with our brethren of
Boston under their suflferings.
V. We approve the measures of the late
General Congress at Philadelphia.
VI. We appoint for our committee of
correspondence and observation Rev. Abra-
ham Keteltas, Waters Smith, Captain Ephraim
Baylis, Captain Joseph French, William Lud-
1am, Captain Richard Betts, Dr. John Innes,
Joseph Robinson, Elias TBailis.
This was a most significant document,
breathing profound loyalty to the mother coun-
try yet not yielding one iota of what the meet-
ing regarded as among inalienable rights, and
it failed not to go on record as in hearty sym-
pathy with those of the colonists who, for
upholding these rights, had fallen under the
ban of the British authorities. Had the British
Government weighed such expressions even
then the crisis of 1776 might have been averted
or at least postponed, although in reviewing
the history of the world since then we can-
not escape the conviction that it was well for
the sake of popular liberty that pig-headed-
ness rather than statesmanship ruled Great
Britain for the moment.
The men who organized and attended the
meeting seem to have formed part of a colony
of New England people, by birth or descent,
who had settled in Jamaica. Those named in
the Committee on Correspondence were after-
ward more or less prominent in the move-
ment for independence. Ephraim Bailey, in
LS4
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
fact, became notorious as one of the most bit-
ter and cruel of the persecutors of the local
Tories. French was afterward elected to the
Provincial Congress, but declined to serve, be-
cause he was convinced that the majority of
the freeholders of Jamaica did not want to
be represented in that body. Perhaps the
most remarkable member of the committee was
the Rev. Abraham Keteltas, of whom Dr.
Prime writes: "He was born in New York,
December 26, 1732, and graduated at Yale in
1752. He was first settled at Elizabethtown,
New Jersey, September 14, 1757, and dis-
missed in 1759. He removed to Jamaica,
where he occupied a farm and spent much of
OLD LIBERTY POLE AT VAN PELT MANOR.
his time in preaching to the vacant congre-
gations on the island and elsewhere. He was
a man of strong mind and extensive and
varied learning. He often preached in three
different languages — Dutch. French and Eng-
lish. He was chosen a member of the con-
vention of 1777 that formed the first Con-
stitution of the State of New York. Being
a zealous and devoted patriot, he was pe-
culiarly obnoxious to British rage and was
therefore obliged to leave the island during
the war. His property was taken possession
of, his mansion defaced, his timber destroyed
and his slaves taken and enlisted as soldiers
of the King. He was a man of strong feel-
ings and independent spirit. From some dis-
satisfaction, in 1764 or 1765 he withdrew
from the presbytery of New York and de-
clined the jurisdiction of the. Presbyterian
Church. He continued, however, to bestow
his services where needed until the close of
life, and he is still remembered (1845) by the
surviving few in many of the churches of
the island. He died September 30, 1798, at
the age of sixty-five years."
Before following the progress of the move-
ment for freedom on Long Island, it may not
be out of place to review, briefly, the progress
of events in the country generally, which led
to many meetings such as that we have just
chronicled and finally ended in the complete
independence of the Colonies. In 1763 the
long war which had been waged between
Britain and France for the possession of the
North American Continent was settled by a
formal treaty of peace in which France ceded
all its territory north of the St. Lawrence to
its "ancient enemy." It retained the peninsula
of Florida, but soon after transferred it to
Spain and the French empire in the New
World came forever to an end. The colonists
as we have seen took a loyal part against
France in this memorable contest, and it is
a pity that the patriotism aroused by sacrifice
and blood did not meet with a better reward
at the hands of those in authority in London
than inspiring the notion that such devotion
could be made a source of revenue. The
withdrawal of the French from the scene left
the colonists free to work out their own des-
tiny, and it was not long before their mettle
was put acutely to the test.
From the beginning of the Colonial sys-
tem in America the home Government had
imposed taxation on the people, as was right
and proper. They had to be .defended against
Indians and Spaniards and Frenchmen. At
first there was nothing to tax except the
products of the soil, but as the country ad-
vanced in population and these products in-
creased in value the navigation acts were
steadily extended until they became oppres-
sive. Almost from the time a colony was
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
185
numerically strong enough to form a local leg-
islature it appealed against the right of the
Parliament in England to impose Colonial
taxes without the Colonists' consent, against
taxes levied by royal representatives for
purposes in which they had no concern, and
out of which it was impossible for them to
get any benefit ; and the long list of dissolute
and incapable nonentities sent over ito repre-
sent the King's Sacred Majesty contains but
few names of men who were likely either
willing or fit to govern for the sake of the
governed, or for any other purposes than their
own personal profit and aggrandizement.
Rulers like Bellomont and Cornbury were
alone sufficient to incite and justify rebellion.
But the question of taxation without rep-
resentation, or rather of taxation without con-
sent, was the question which underlay the en-
tire struggle in America. Bit by bit as the
country advanced the navigation laws became
more and more oppressive. "The open door"
was unheard of. No goods could be imported
except in English vessels manned by English
sailors ; all exports must go to England or to
some port belonging to the Crown ; tobacco,
cotton, sugar, for instance, intended for France
had to be sent to England and then reshipped ;
free trade between the colonies was prohibited ;
every advantage was given the British manu-
facturer at the expense of his American
cousin ; the American producer, at the mercy
of the English merchant, could only receive
what the latter was willing to pay ; the English
claimed and exercised a full and crushing mo-
nopoly over American commerce, and any ef-
fort looking to its extension was met by new
levy, a vexatious addition to the existing laws.
Such were some of the restrictions imposed
upon the colonies, and they were submitted
to for several reasons. Great Britain was
simply carrying out the recognized Colonial
policy of the time ; the Colonies were too much
scattered to resist, the imposts and annoyances
were not felt by the majority of the Colonists
directly, only one class felt the full force of
the imposition; and although the entire pop-
ulation had to contribute to the taxation thus
imposed, the contribution was made in an in-
direct and therefore unnoticed way. Indirect
taxation has ever been the favorite system for
the levying of imposts, especially those likely
to arouse discontent. It still prevails in Amer-
ica, and is the cause of most of the municipal
maladministration which is so pronounced a
blot upon our system of local government.
But the abuse got in time out of the stage
of indirect taxation. In 1763 Lord Grenville
introduced in Parliament, and had passed, as
an amendment to a sugar bill, a resolution that
"It be proper to charge stamp duties on the
colonies and plantations." Franklin, who was
then agent of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania in London, appealed against this new
imposition, but the best that resulted from a
series of conferences was that the Colonies
must bear an increased share of the taxes, but
were given a year in which to devise some
way less obnoxious than the proposed stamp
duties by which the increased revenue might
be raised. In America the proposal at once
excited hostile comment and protests were sent
to London from the various Colonial assem-
blies. But they proposed nothing to take the
place and yield the expected revenue of the
proposed stamps, and Grenville adhered to
his determination. In 1765 he introduced the
Stamp Act and it was passed by Parliament.
It was deemed an equitable measure all round,
and, with their clearer eyesight dimmed by the
general sentiments of approbation they heard
around, even the American agents, even
Franklin, did not seem to understand that
their constituents across the sea would do
aught but grumble and submit. So Great
Britain prepared the stamps and appointed the
stamp collectors, who were to begin business
in October, 1765.
The news raised a howl of disapproval
throughout the Colonies, and nine Colonial
assemblies sent delegates to New York to meet
in a Continental Congress in the old City Hall
in Wall street, to consider the situation. That
Congress passed some clear-cut resolutions
18G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
which fully expressed the views of the people.
These held such doctrines as, "No taxes have
been or can be constitutionally imposed upon
the people of these Colonies but by their re-
spective legislatures;" and, "All supplies to
the Crown being free of the people it is un-
reasonable and unconsistent with the spirit of
the British Constitution for the people of
Great Britain to grant to his Majesty the prop-
erty of the Colonists."
But the people did more than pass resolu-
tions: they acted. In New York the Sons
of Liberty inaugurated an active movement
against the stamps, the citizens declined to use
the stamped paper when it arrived, forced the
agent to resign, hanged in effigy the aged
Lieutenant Governor, and determined to im-
port no goods from Britain. In Boston they
smashed the windows of the stamp agent's
house and sacked the mansion of Governor
Hutchinson. In Baltimore they burned the
agent in effigy and forced him to fl\- to New
York, where he was only permitted to reside
on condition that he resign his hated office.
So the story ran over the Colonies. The
people seemed unanimous in their opposition
to the impost, the sale of the stamps became
an impossibility, and indeed it seems certain
that not a single stamp of that issue was used
in the colonies.
The doings in America created a tumult in
Parliament, "and never," says ]Mav, "was
there a Parliament more indifferent to Con-
stitutional principles and popular rights." An
inquirv was appointed. Franklin, who was
examined by the committee, frankly declared
that the stamp duties could only be enforced
by arms. The sentiment of the sheep-headed
ministry was that arms should be used, but
the sentiment expressed by Pitt and a fev>-
others in favor of the attitude of the Col-
onists called a halt in that direction, and, as
a result, after the usual winding and unwind-
ing of red tape and a display of what has been
called circumlocutionary extravagances, the
stamp act was repealed. The news of this
result was received with wild enthusiasm in
the Colonies and the expressions of devotion
and loyalty to the mother land and the Crown
were marvelous for their intensity, and, we
believe, for their honesty. New York ordered
statues of George III and of Pitt. Virginia
voted to erect a statue of the Sovereign, and
Conway, Barre, Wilkes, Pitt and others be-
came popular Colonial idols.
But this state of things did not long con-
tinue. The stamp tax was repealed, yet the
Colonists soon learned that the act repealing
it contained a rider which declared that Parlia-
ment had full power over the government of
all the Colonies. The sugar tax, a tax for
revenue pure and simple, was not repealed.
The Mutiny act was made more stringent than
ever, and the provisions for the billeting of
royal troops more and more oppressive. Sol-
diers began to be sent out to America in
greater numbers than before and this alone,
especially in Massachusetts, carried a profound
feeling of distrust. The navigation acts were
yearly becoming more obnoxious. The climax
of this sort of "baiting the tiger" was reached
in 1767, when Charles Townsend brought for-
ward in Parliament his scheme for the pacifi-
cation of the Colonies and the profit of the
mother country. "Our right of taxation," he
said, "is indubitable; yet to prevent mischief
I was myself in favor of repealing the Stamp
Act. But there can be no objection to port
duties on wine, oil and fruits, if allowed to
be carried to America directly from Spain and
Portugal, on glass, paper, lead and colors and
especially on tea. Owing to the high charges
in England, America has supplied herself with
tea by smuggling it from the Dutch posses-
sions; to remedy this duties hitherto levied
upon it in England are to be given up and a
specific duty collected in America itself."
We need not follow up the details of these
proposals. They were adopted by a large ma-
jority vote and the trouble with the Colonies
at once reached an acute stage. There is no
doubt that even the most prominent American
loyalist, outside of those in the direct service
of the crown, felt that the Colonists were be-
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
187
ing wronged ; but outside of the faint whisper-
ings of a few zealots no voice had even then
been raised for separation. But the crisis was
approaching and events were hurrying to it
fast. The taxes, of course, were the feature
that strengthened the undercurrent of anti-
British sentiment, and taxation without the
consent of the taxpayers, or in other words,
taxation without representation, the exaction
of an income which was not to be expended
for local matters, were repudiated on every
side.
But the determining factor which devel-
oped the Revolution was the presence in the
country of the British soldiers. On March 5,
1770, in a scrimmage with the populace, five
citizens were killed and six wounded by a
squad of soldiers at the Boston Custom House.
In answer to the demands of the citizens the
soldiers were then removed from the city to
Castle William in Boston Harbor. On the
previous January there was armed resistance
to the British soldiery by a party of the Sons
of Liberty in which a sailor was killed on
the popular side and at least one soldier was
wounded. This shedding of blood magnified
what was really only a petty skirmish into a
battle, and the historians of New York are
proud to claim in the fight at Golden Hill the
first battle of the Revolution. But the Revo-
lution was even then some years off. Even
on December 16, 1773, when the Boston Tea
Party threw overboard the tea in the harbor
and thus refused to honor the only remain-
ing port tax, it was still in the distance.
Such momentous events culminate very
slowly, — much more slowly than most people
imagine ; and the Revolution which gave the
United States a place among the nations at-
tained its headway from many contributing
causes and sources. Each colony had from
the time it was freely settled its own legis-
lature, with varying degrees of authority, and
it was really in these rather than in unpre-
meditated outbursts on the part of scattered
portions of the people that the spirit of opposi-
tion, which led in time to the spirit of '76,
was really fomented and fostered and brought
to fruition. We have not space here to refer
to the magnificent service rendered to the
cause of human liberty by the legislatures of
such Colonies as Massachusetts or Virginia,
and must confine our study to a brief review
of what was done in New York. But that
alone will be sufficient to enable a reader to
follow the trend of public sentiment until the
sword was unsheathed and an appeal for jus-
tice gave away to a stern demand for inde-
pendence.
From the beginning, almost, of the his-
tory of its legislature, that of New York, as
we have already seen, was a series of constant
struggle against the incroachmen'ts, in one
form or another, of the representative of the
royal powers. Besides financial matters, a
struggle between Episcopalians and Presby-
terians, the right of free speech and a free
printing press, one standing bone of conten-
tion, was that of the independence of the
judiciary. In 1761, fresh from the people, the
Assembly tried to compel the appointment of
Supreme Court Judges, with no limitation
except as to good behavior, practically with
life appointments ; but Cadwallader Colden
vetoed the measure and insisted that all judges
should hold during the pleasure only of the
appointing power. In this he was fully sus-
tained by the home authorities; but the senti-
ments of the bar and the people can be un-
derstood from the fact that when a Chief
Justice had to be appointed it was necessary
to seek in Boston an appointee who was will-
ing to hold "during his Majesty's pleasure."
The Assembly refused to vote the salaries of
such judges. On December 11, 1762, the As-
sembly memorialized the home Government
asking for a royal hearing on the subject of
the independence of the courts. But no at-
tention was paid, and there followed a series
of similar memorials, which if the British au-
thorities had not been a squad of addlepates
might have shown them in spite of fervent pro-
testations of loyalty the direction in which
the popular will was tending. The demands
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
■of the petitioners seemed to grow in boldness
and clearness as they proceeded, and even
Colden was fully persuaded of the justice of
most of the demands. But he asked the peo-
ple to trust the King and continued so to
ask until it was only too evident that the
King, or whoever from time to time controlled
liim, had not the slightest idea of granting,
except in the way of a temporary subterfuge,
any of the demands thus loyally and dutifully
made.
On July 9, 1 77 1, William Tryon was trans-
ferred to the Governorship of New York from
that of North Carolina. Notwithstanding the
somewhat ignoble role which he afterward
played, when his chair of state was on the
quarterdeck of the frigate "Asia," there is no
doubt that he was a man of rare executive
•qualities and seemingly influenced at first by a
desire to do some good to the colony over which
he was sent to rule. He devoted the most
marked attention to local affairs and effected
many improvements. But the ghost of taxation
continually hovered over the land and seemed
to upset every good work suggested or begun.
The tax on tea was persisted in by the British
Government, and in the hope of breaking
through the determination of the people not
to use the taxed tea, cargoes were sent to
Boston, Philadelphia, Charleston and New-
York. That movement proved a flat failure
in each of the seaports named. In New York
the Sons of Liberty, or "Alohawks" as some
of them called themselves, watched the ar-
rival of the "Nancy," containing the offend-
ing cargo, and forbade any pilot guiding such
vessel past Sandy Hook, and means were put
in readiness to throw the cargo overboard, as
was done in Boston, should the ship sur-
mount all obstacles and tie up at a. dock. But
the ship, expected late in N/jvember, did not
make its appearance, being driven out of its
•course by a storm. Governor Tryon deter-
mined that the tea when it arrived should be
delivered to the consignees, "even," as he
said, "if it was sprinkled with blood;" but the
people held a public meeting, discussed the
situation, and grimly adjourned "till the ar-
rival of the tea ship." On April 7, 1774,
Tryon sailed for England for consultation
with the home Government, and before his
departure was entertained at dinner, at a ball
and at receptions, and received any numbei-
of loyal addresses, complimentary to himself
and his administration, and full of expres-
sions of devotion to the King. He reported
to the home authorities that New York was
at all events a loyal colony. For this we can-
not blame him. There were no Atlantic cables
in those days. But before he had reached
England the Nancy had arrived (April 18")
in New York harbor and lay in the lower bay.
The Sons of Liberty went on board and ex-
plained the situation so forcibly to the captain
that he agreed to approach no nearer and
turned his helm around en route for the
mother land. On the following day another
ship, the London, arrived with eighteen chests
of tea, being a private venture of its captain,
on board. It was confiscated by the local
"Mohawks" and the eighteen chests were
dumped into the river.
Tryon had not long returned to the Colony
when a meeting was held in the Fields (New
York City Hall Park) to protest against the
act of Parliament which closed the port of
Boston and a call for a Continental Congress
was indorsed. That Congress met jn Phila-
delphia September 5, 1774, and from it ema-
nated that declaration of rights which threw
aside the gossamer veil of loyalty that had
up till then covered the proceedings of the
Colonial leaders. To the people of Great
Britain it said :
"If you are determined that your ministers
shall wantonly sport with the rights of man-
kind : if neither the voice of Justice, the dic-
tates of Law, the principles of the Constitu-
tion, nor the suggestions of Humanity can
restrain your hands from shedding human
blood in such an impious cause, we must
then tell you that we will never submit to
be hewers of wood or drawers of water for
any ministry or nation in the world."
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
189'
There was no mistaking these words ; but
when they reached Britain the answer was
principally an increase in the military forces
and preparations for augmenting the military
strength. The home Government seemed to
hold to the belief that the storm centre was
New England — Boston mainly — and that if
any signs of rebellion were there crushed the
submission of the other colonies would be
easy. But, although neither side seemed to
be fully aware of it, the die had been cast
and the Colonies were arrayed against the
old land. The Congress was weak, its rep-
resentative quality was by no means of the
best, its authority had no legal foundation, its
edicts could not be sustained by force ; but,
weak and irresponsible as it was, it came from
the people and it proved strong enough to
carry the new cause — the now freely hailed
cause of liberty and independence — over the
initiatory stages of the struggle.
In New York, as elsewhere, it was now
felt that the die was fairly cast and the peo-
ple ranged themselves into Patriots or Tories
according to their bent. On Manhattan Island
and throughout the State the former vastly
outnumbered the latter. As usual the Tories
found their supporters among the wealthier
classes, the landed gentry in the country and
the prosperous merchants in the towns. This
was evident particularly in the New York
Assembly, where, by a majority of one, it was
decided not to consider the proceedings of
Congress, and even so ordinary a piece of
politeness as a vote of thanks to the provin-
cial delegate, proposed by General Woodhull;
was voted down. That Assembly adjourned
on April 3, 1775, for a month, but it never
met again. Events rushed on with irresistible
force and the lines became more and more
sharply drawn. After the skirmish of Lex-
ington became known a Committee of Safety
was organized at Albany and it sanctioned the
formation of four companies of militia. In
New York a Committee of One Hundred is-
sued a call for a Provincial Congress and
April 19 was afterward declared as the day
on which Royal authority had ceased in the
Commonwealth of New York. That Pro-
vincial Congress, which assembled May 22,
1775, assumed all the powers of a governing
body, the old Tory Assembly was buried
ignominiously by the sheer force of public
sentiment, and under the presidency of Gen-
eral Woodhull essayed the task of direct-
ing the energies of the Patriots so as to win
success for the new movement not only in
New York but over all the land.
That Provincial Congress, in spite of the
popular enthusiasm, had a most difficult part
to play. Its powers rested on no foundation
but the will of the people, expressed in what
in ordinary times would be regarded as a
loose and illegal fashion. It apportioned its
representatives over the commonwealth as it
thought just, ordered the election or selection
of delegates in places not represented and
filled vacancies as best it could for districts,,
notably many on Long Island, where the
majority of Tories was so great that no^
selection could be made in any fashion that
might be called popular, or where the
delegates selected actually refused to serve
either because their convictions were not in
sympathy with those of the patriots, or be-
cause they honestly believed they did not rep-
resent the views of those supposed to be their
constituents.
The representatives of Long Island in the
Provincial Congress were as follows :
Suft'olk county- — Nathaniel Woodhull,
John Sloss Hobart, Thomas Treadwell, John
Foster, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Thomas Wick-
ham, Selah Strong.
Kings county — Henry Williams, Nicholas
Cowenhoven.
Queens county — Jacob Blackwell, Jonathan
Lawrence, Samuel Townsend, Joseph Rob-
inson.
The Provincial Congress at once plunged
into warlike measures. On May 29 a letter
was received from John Hancock, president
of the Continental Congress, at Philadelphia,.
directing it to take all steps necessary to de-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
fend the "City and Province," and on the fol-
lowing day it indorsed the views submitted in
the resolution of Congress which accompanied
Hancock's letter and "resolved that it be rec-
ommended to the inhabitants of this Colony
in general immediately to furnish themselves
with necessary arms and ammunition, to use
all diligence to perfect themselves in the mil-
itary art, and if necessary to form themselves
into companies for that purpose." From that
time on until the close of hostilities the Pro-
vincial Congress was in more or less complete
control of the popular government of New
York.
George Washington received an address
from the Provincial body on June 25, 1775,
as he passed through New York to take com-
mand of the Continental force in Massachu-
setts, but the same body, at the time it agreed
to honor Washington, learned that Governor
Tryon was at the Sandy Hook and showed an
equal readiness to honor him ; so that the door
of peace was not altogether fast. But events
were hurrying to their logical conclusion with
a rush which no signs of halting on the part
of any body of men could stop for an instant.
On June 30 Tryon again assumed the
duties of the Governorship and old Governor
Golden retired forever from official life, al-
though his services to his King, such as they
were, continued to the end of his career. In
spite of the presence of the representative of
royalty the Colony raised its quota of 3,000
men, as called for by the Continental Con-
gress, and had received as its share of mil-
itary leaders four major generals and eight
brigadier generals. On August 22 Captain
Isaac Sears was ordered to take the guns from
the Battery, but a broadside from the frigate
"Asia" killed three of his men and for the time
being put a stop to that proceeding. When
the Provincial Congress adjourned, a Com-
mittee of Safety carried on the Government,
and the preparations for the approaching
struggle were carried on with such force and
made such headway that on October 19, 1775,
Governor Tryon, for his personal safety, took
refuge on the sloop of war "Halifax," and
from then until after the battle of Long
Island the gubernatorial headquarters contin-
ued on the quarter deck of the "Duchess of
Gordon," the "Asia" or some other of his
Britannic Majesty's vessels in the harbor of
New York. To give Tryon his due he had
even then seen the futility of the struggle on
the lines determined by Britain, and as early
as July 4, 1775, wrote to Lord Dartmouth
that "oceans of blood may be spilled, but in
my opinion America will never receive Parlia-
mentary taxation." The second Provincial
Congress met December 6, of that year.
The full list of delegates designated for
the first Provincial Congress from each of the
three counties of Long Island was as follows :
Suffolk county — Nathaniel Woodhull, John
Sloss Hobart, Ezra L'Hommedieu, William
Smith, Thomas Wickham, Thomas Tredwell,
David Gelston, John Foster, James Havens,
Selah Strong, Thomas Deering.
Queens county — Jacob Blackwell, Captain
Jonathan Lawrence, Daniel Rapalje, Zebulon
Williams, Joseph French, Joseph Robinson,
Nathaniel Tom, Thomas Hicks, Richard
Thorn.
Kings county — Johannis E. Lott, Henry
Williams, J. Remsen, Richard Stillwell, Theo-
dorus Polhemus, John Lefiferts, Nicholas Cow-
enhoven, John Vanderbilt.
As will be seen from a comparison of these
names with those given in the records of the
Provincial Congress, only a few attended of
those here presented. In fact, in spite of the
undoubted influence of General Woodhull,
Long Island continued to be a thorn in the
side of the Provincial assembly. Several of
those delegates named above absolutely re-
fused to serve. Thomas Hicks, of Little Neck,
a Quaker, declined to share in Congress, on
the advice of "several leading men" who as-
sured him that Hempstead wished to remain
at peace with all men. Thomas French, the
delegate from Jamaica, based his refusal on
the ground of his conviction that the people
in his bailiwick were opposed to the Congress
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
191
and to being represented in it. Nicholas Cow-
enhoven, who was, if anything, lukewarm in
his devotion to the Patriot cause, publicly de-
clared at the beginning that his constituency
of Flatbnsh desired to take no part in the
Congress, and afterward narrowly escaped ex-
ecution by order of Washington as a spy. He
was one of the most pronounced "'trimmers"
of his time. Theodorus Polhemus did not ap-
pear at the Congress until three months after
his election, and then was permitted to sit
The Tory sympathies of the majority of
the people ni Kings and Queens and of a
respectable minority in Suffolk had long
caused uneasiness in the Patriot ranks, and
the Continental Congress, the Provincial Con-
gress, as well as the various Whig Commit-
tees of Safety, dealt more or less hastily with
it from time to time. General Lee attempted
extreme measures, and even Washington at
one time entertained the belief that it was nec-
essary for the success of his cause that the
REDOLBT IN VALLE\ GRO\ E 1"
because no one else from Kings was on hand,
and his sphere and powers as a delegate were
circumscribed. Briefly, it may be said that
Queens and Kings counties were at the best
only slimly represented in the Patriot councils,
while Suffolk county was, for a time at least,
as prominent by the number and influence of
its delegates as any of the political divisions
of the Commonwealth. To the second Pro-
vincial Congress Queens did not even name a
delegate ; but neither for that matter did Rich-
mond, although the reason for the latter's com"
plete abandoniment of the Loyalists is evident
to every reader of the history of the period.
Long Island Loyalists should be exterminated
by forcible removal from their homes. The
Whigs, even in places in Kings and Queens
where they were in a very decided minority,
made up their lack of numbers by their ag-
gressiveness and boldness, by the outspoken
manner in which they upheld their principles
and by the reckless use of derogatory ad-
jectives and uproarious nouns in their de-
scriptions of those whose views did not coin-
cide with their own. Arrests began to be
made by order of Congress more with the view
of showing the Loyalists the power of that
body than with any idea at first of inflicting
192
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
serious punishment pbut it was soon evident
that harsher measures were required.
On September i6, 1775, Congress passed
a disarmament resolution, directing that "all
arms as are fit for the use of troops in this
Colony which shall be in the hands of any
person who has not signed the General Asso-
ciation," should be seized. Although general
in its terms, it was in reality directed against
the Loyalists of Long Island, who were
known as having been recently well stocked
with arms, and no time was lost in putting
the resohition into effect. For several days
the confiscators carried out their mission with-
out encountering much opposition, but at the
same time without accomplishing much in the
way of results ; then the opposition grew so
strong that to persevere would have precipi-
tated an actual conflict, and that, just at that
juncture, the Patriots were anxious to avoid,
as an open quarrel in the ranks of the Col-
onists would have only added to the perplexi-
ties of the Continental leaders, and might
even have proved fatal to the cause they had
at heart. So the disarming party was allowed
to dissipate itself into a state of desuetude.
Before the close of the year, however, the
Provincial Congress formally declared Kings
and Queens counties in a state of insurrection
and asked the advice of the Continental Con-
gress as to what measures should be taken in
the premises. The sending of troops to the
island was urged, and it is significant that the
suggestion was made that if troops were em-
ployed they should be selected from outside
the State. Congress at once took up the mat-
ter and ordered Colonel Heard with 600
militia from New Jersey and two companies
from Lord Stirling's regulars under Major
De Hart to proceed to Long Island and sub-
due or pacify the Tories there. The orders
of Congress were imperative. Everyone was
to be disarmed who had shown any opposi-
tion to Whig rule, and whoever objected was
to be arrested. Queens county was singled
out as the scene of his operations, for it
wz:- thought that, with it in line or quiescent.
the patriotism of Suffolk would be strength-
ened v'hile that of Kings would have oppor-
tunit\- to assert itself. Accordingly Colonel
Heard was given a list of twenty-six citizens
of Queens who were to be arrested anyhow,
and a list of 788 citizens who had voted
against sending deputies to the Provincial
Congress was ordered to be published, so that
they might be known as traitors. Says Field :
"All who in the exercise of the natural and
legal right of voting according to their own
judgment and conscience had given their
names against the election of deputies were
placed under the ban of the Revolutionary
Government and deprived of every right and
privilege which the laws could give them.
Nearly 800 freeholders of Queens were thus
put out of protection of the law. All per-
sons were forbidden to trade or hold inter-
course with them; they were subject to ar-
rest and imprisonment the moment they
crossed the boundary of the county ; no law-
yer was to defend them when accused, or
prosecute any claim for debt, or suit for pro-
tection from outrage or robbery."
According to Congress the troops in dis-
arming and the population were to act with
"dispatch, secrecy, order and humanity." and
in no respect were these instructions obeyed.
Indeed it is difficult to understand how they
could be, considering the other instructions to
the troop.'; and the entire purpose of the ex-
pedition. On January 18, 1776, Colonel Heard
with his militia left New York with Major
De Hart's regulars and a gang of volunteers
associated with the latter, made up it seems to
us mainly of jail-birds, robbers and rascals.
Colonel Heard was a man of prudence, for-
liearance and excellent judgment. If Major
W'illiam De Hart possessed any of those qual-
ities, which we doubt, his volunteer associates
gave him no opportunity to display thern, and
so this "eminent lawyer" of Morristown really
comes before us as the associate and friend of
a lot of blacklegs of whose conduct he after-
ward confessed he was ashamed. The expedi-
tion crossed the East River near Hellgate and
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
marched to Jamaica, disarming the farmers
en route, ransacking their houses and robbing
right and left, and even worse crimes were
committed, the blame of which was laid on
De Hart's volunteers. Jamaica was for a few
days the headquarters of the raiders and there
large numbers of prisoners were taken, the re-
quired oath administered and the examination
of Tories conducted : then Hempstead became
the scene of operations, where the same for-
malities, or whatever we may call them, were
gone through, but there De Hart's volunteers
became so thoroughly intolerable even to their
allies that they were summarily ordered back
to New York. Colonel Heard then sent out
scouting parties in various directions, — Flush-
ing. Oyster Bay and the like. His expedi-
tion, although it elicited a formal vote of
thanks from Congress, was not a complete
success. He had gathered i,ooo arms, most
of which were old and worthless, he had made
many arrests, he had reduced the material
wealth of many of the Tories, but the spirit
of disaffection was as strong as ever, nay,
was even more rampant, as hate in many
breasts now took the place of apathy. Even
the prisoners were soon released, so that no
practical result really came of Heard's expedi-
tion, unless we consider that the thieves
profited any who accompanied it and revelled
in their spoils.
As soon as it became apparent that this
raid had been a failure, another was proposed
and an effort was made to force all the able-
bodied Whigs which the island possessed into
the four regiments of militia which had been
designated as the military contribution of
Long Island to the Continental forces. But
the effort did not produce results as generous
as had been hoped. The situation had really
become a serious one. Washington had fore-
seen that New York was likely to become
the centre of the war after he had completed
the mission at Boston on which he was en-
gaged, and no one knew better than he that
New York Citv was not bv anv means a unit
for the Patriot cause. He anticipated, too,
that Long Island might form a convenient
passage for the royal troops to Manhattan
Island and he wrote quite a number of let-
ters on the subject to Congress and to in-
dividuals. Congress seemed indisposed even
then to proceed to extreme measures, and we
find him writing January 23, 1776, to Gen-
eral Charles Lee, who had been appointed
military Governor of New York and Long
Island : "I * * * am exceedingly sorry
to hear that Congress countermanded the em-
barkation of the two regiments intended
against the Tories of Long Island. They, I
doubt not, had their reasons ; but to me it ap-
pears that the period is arrived when nothing
less than the most decisive measures should
be pursued." General Lee from the beginning
treated Long Island as though it was indeed
a part of "the enemy's country." He planned
the famous line of fortifications from Gowanus
to Wallabout, and he made many a raid on
the Long Island farmers for supplies while
. his troops were so engaged. Congress agreed
to pay for such military necessities, but the
agreement for patent reasons was not hon-
ored except in a few cases. He strung a line
of sentinels along the shore to prevent any
communication with the British ships in the
harbor and forbade any trading with them.
He rode pretty rough-handed over the peo-
ple, treated the orders of Congress with con-
tempt and on the whole seems to have been
animated by pretty much the same spirit
which in modern days we associate with the
last traces of Spanish rule in America. Un-
der Lee commenced that grand hunt after
Tories which withm a few months was to be
repaid by the latter with terrible interest. He
ordered several well known Tories to be ar-
rested and removed from the island, not only
without the sanction of Congress but even
against its expressed wishes. For this he
justified himself in the following impertinent
letter to Congress — the letter of a braggadocio,
not of a hero :
194
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
I agree, sir, entirely with you that the ap-
prehension, trial and punishment of citizens
is not my province, but that of the Provincial
Congress. But, irregular as it was, I had
the assurance of many respectable men that
he (Gale, whose arrest had been made the
basis of a specific complaint) was a most
dangerous man and ought not to be suffered
to remain in Long Island, where an enemy
is perhaps more dangerous than in any part
of America. However, their assurance and
my opinion form no excuse, and I heartily re-
pent that I did not refer him to you, his proper
judges. I must inform you now. Sir, that in
consequence of the last instructions from the
Continental Congress to put this city (New
York) and its environs in a state of defense,
I have ordiered Col. Ward as a previous
measure to secure the whole body of professed
Tories on Long Island. With the enemy at
our door, forms must be dispensed with. My
duty to you, to the Continental Congress, and
to my own conscience have dictated the neces-
sity of this measure.
Then began the round-up, but the Tories
had taken warning, and the leaders most
wanted, such as Capt. Hewlett, could not be
found. Isaac Sears, "Lieut. Col. and Deputy
Adjutant General," was a most effective,
fussy, and disagreeable factor in carrying out
Lee's views, but even he captured few Loyal-
ists and conducted his operations so that
wherever he went he made friends for King
George. Even the Whig leaders murmured
against him and his ways, and one, Daniel
Whitehead Kissam, of the Great Neck Com-
mittee of Safety, formally lodged a com-
plaint with the Provincial Congress. By that
time, however, all civil rule in New York had
been reduce'd 'to a shadow. Congress felt pow-
erless to assert itself against the military arm
and Lee determined to answer the complaints
by redoubling his efforts to crush out the
Tories. So he wrote Sears:
As I have received information from the
Commander in Chief that there is reason soon
to expect a very considerable army of the en-
emy, I should be in the highest degree culpable,
I should be responsible to God, to my own
conscience, and the Continental Congress of
America, in suffering, at so dangerous a crisis'
a knot of professed foes to American liberty
to remain any longer within our own bosom,
either to turn openly against us in arms, in
conjunction with the enemy, or covertly to
furnish them with information, to carry on a
correspondence to the ruin of their country.
I most desire you will offer, a copy of this
test enclosed to the people of whom I send you
a list. Their refusal will be considered an
avowal of their hostile intentions. You are
therefore to secure their persons and send
them up, without loss of time, as irreclaimable
enemies to their country, in close custody to
Connecticut. Richard Hewlett is to have no
conditions offered to him, but to be secured
without ceremony.
This letter was written on March 5, 1776.
On the following day Lee was superseded in
his command and Lord Stirling appointed in
his place. It was hoped that gentler measures
might now prevail, but Lee, Ward and Sears
and the like had fanned the discontent into
almost open revolt, certainly into unconcealed
repugnance to the Continental Congress, and
while much of the capricious cruelty which
had characterized Lee's methods was aban-
doned the isolation of Long Island from Brit-
ish influence was more stringently attempted
than ever. Col. Ward sent an expedition
against a notorious pirate named James,
which sunk that hero's boat and captured four
painted wooden guns, the sight of which were
wont to inspire terror. The beach opposite
Staten Island and from there to Rockaway
was closely patrolled, the chain of forts was
steadily strengthened, and Captains Bird-
sail and Nostrand secured 186 bay boats which
had been suspected of carrying produce to the
hated fleet. This wholesale capture did not
inspire any feelings of satisfaction with the
Continental force and the fussy, Tory-baiting
propensities of such hair-brained creatures as
Colonel Benjamin Sands, intoxicated with the
possession of a degree of power which threw
them far beyond their mental bearings, helped
to drive many a waverer into the ranks
of the avowed Tories. The various Commit-
tees of Safety again determined to do what
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
195
had hitherto been found impossible — disarm
the LoyaHsts — and ordered all the men in
the three counties capable of bearing arms
to enroll in the militia. This was a most
disastrous move, as events proved from the
moment the British arrived. However, it
served to show who were what were then
called "Black Tories." The goods of those
who refused to enroll, or neglected to enroll,
or to attend the prescribed drills, were seized
and heavy fines were inflicted, in addition to
who enlisted from these counties were worse
than useless when the crisis came.
"The most stringent effor'ts," says Field,
"were not put forth to force every man, Loy-
alist and Whig alike, into the hands of the
militia. The iron despotism of military dis-
cipline, it was believed, would soon surround
them all with its invisible yet impassable walls.
Notwithstanding the sleepless vigilance of the
Whig committee and of the partisan bands
which patrolled the island, by far the largest
the inevitable arrest as the last resource. The
island was now aroused into a sort of hell,
with hate as the distinguishing characteristic
of both parties to each other. It was an awful
time. Families were separated forever, broth-
ers became avowed enemies, fathers cursed
sons, and friends were friends no longer.
The impotency of all that had been done was
clearly seen in the returns which came to Con-
gress of the enrollment into the militia it had
ordered on May i, 1776. Suffolk was thor-
oughly in line, but Kings and Queens were
hopelessly delinquent. Half even of those
part of the inhabitants of Kings and Queens
counties sturdily refused to appear in arms
against the royal cause. Squads of armed
Whigs, constantly in active pursuit, arrested
the disafifected and thrust them with entire
indifference into the ranks or the common
jail. The severities with which the Loyalists
were now pursued afforded a fatal precedent
for the British ; and the subsequent sufferings
of Whig prisoners in the provost, the sugar
houses and the prison ships, are attributable
in some degree to the rigors inflicted by their
own partisans at this time. The jails through-
196
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
out the northern Colonies were soon crowded
with the New York LoyaHsts, a large propor-
tion of whom were from Long Island."
There is no doubt that it was on Long
Island that the plot was hatched which was
to abduct Washington and so cause such con-
fusion in the ranks of the Continentals as to
end the war. Around the story of this plot
much secrecy was thrown at the time and im-
mediately after it was exposed, — why, we can
only conjecture. We can also only guess at
its extent, but it really seems to have been
widespread over the Colony of New York at
least, and to have had in view risings of the
Tories at several points as soon as the ab-
duction of Washington was accomplished, by
means of which the Loyalists were to seize
the reins of government. Of the lOO persons
afterward alleged to have been engaged in it
fifty-six were residents of Kings and Queens
counties, and Richard Hewlett was distin-
guished as the leader of them all. Mayor
Matthews, Col. Axtel, Dr. Samuel Martin of
Hempstead, Dr. Charles Arden of Jamaica,
Capt. Archibald Hamilton of Flushing, and
John Rapalye of Brooklyn were prominent
among those for whom warrants were after-
wards issued and there was also the usual
modicum of the scum of civilization, such as
Michael Lynch and Thomas Hickey, jail-
birds and counterfeiters— Gilbert Forbes, a
spy, and Mary Gibbons, a female in the "con-
fidence" of Washington, whatever that may
imply. Hickey and Lynch and Mary were to
be the actual abductors of the Chief, Mary
seemingly being designed to act the part of a
modern Delilah. The best contemporary ac-
count of the plot which we have seen is con-
tained in a letter written by Surgeon William
Eustis to a friend in Boston and which is
printed in volume III of the "Memoirs of the
Long Island Historical Society." The letter
is dated at New York, June 28, 1776, and
while extravagant in its language, and it seems
to me ridiculous in its fears, is nevertheless
an undoubtedly honest account of the affair, as
it seemed to the writer and as doubtless it
seemed to most of those actively engaged with
the Continental army.
Perhaps I may give you a better idea of it
(the plot) than as yet you have obtained.
The Mayor of New York, with a number of
villains who were possessed of fortunes and
who formerly ranked with Gentlemen, had im-
piously dared an undertaking big with fatal
consequence to the virtuous army in York and
which in all probability would have given the
enemy possession of the city with little loss.
Their design was, upon the first engagement
which took place, to have murdered (with
trembling I say it) the best man on earth.
Gen. Washington was to have been the first
subject of their unheard-of sacricide ; our
iTiagazines which, as you know, are very
capacious, were to have been blown up ; every
general officer and every other who was ac-
tive in serving his country in the field was
to have been assassinated ; our cannon were
to have been spiked up ; and in short every
the most accursed scheme was laid to give us
into the hands of the enemy and to ruin us.
They had plenty of money and gave large
bounties and larger promises to those who
were engaged to serve their hellish purposes.
In order to execute their design upon our
General they had enlisted into their service
one or two from his Excellency's Life Guard
who were to have assassinated him ; knowing
that no person could be admitted into the
magazines or among the cannon but those
who were of the artillery, they have found
several in our regiment vile enough to be con-
cerned in their diabolical designs : these were
to have blown up the magazines and spiked
the cannon.
Their design was deep, long concerted
and wicked to a great degree. But, happily
for us, it has pleased God to discover it to us
in season, and I think we are making a right
improvement (as the good folks say). We
are hanging them as fast as we find them
out. I have just now returned from the ex-
ecution of one of the General's Guard
(Thomas Hickey). He was the first that has
been tried ; yesterday at 1 1 o'clock he received
sentence ; to-day at 1 1 he was hung in presence
of the whole army. * * * The trial will go
on and P imagine they will be hung, gentle
and simple, as fast as the fact is proved
against them. That any set of men could be
so lost to every virtuous principle, and so
dead to the feelings of humanity as to con-
THE ANTE-REVOLUTION STRUGGLE.
197
spire against the person of so great and good
a man as Gen. Washington, is snrprising ; few
of our countrymen (as you may well imagine)
are concerned. They are in general foreign-
ers : upward of thirty were concerned ; and it'
is said Gov. Tryon is at the bottom.
Of course the data contained in this letter
are made up, much of it, most of it, indeed, of
rumor with its usual exaggerations ; but there
is no doubt of the existence of a plot and of
some of the consequences of its discovery,
such as the execution of the unfortunate Hick-
ey ; but the men who were supposed to be in- ,
stigators, the leaders, aiders and abettors, the
concocters, all seem to have escaped. Hewlett
was already in hiding and so prepared for
any sucli unpleasant consequences as arrest ;
Mayor Alatthews was arrested and his home
searched, but no incriminating evidence
against him could lie found.
Washington arrived in New York from
New England April 14 and took personal
charge of the work of fortification and de-
fense. On May 21 he went to Philadelphia to
consult with the leaders of Congress and on
June 14 he was again on the Hudson and in-
specting the defense at King's Bridge. It
seems to have been during his absence in
Philadelphia that the plot was matured and its
design, whatever it was, was to go into opera-
tion on his return.
He seems to have been at once informed of
the conspiracy, and on June 20 its existence
was known throughout the Continental army
in and around New York. A waiter in a
tavern is given as the informer, and it was
alleged that on his statements the warrants
were issued. The fact that Hickey and Lynch
had by that time been arrested for issuing
counterfeit notes and were in jail and anxious
to save their own lives by turning informers,
had possibly more to do with the "discovery"
than anything else. The legal and military
proceedings taken against many of the accused
certainly showed that the Continental army
was full of spies ; that plans of the fortifica-
tions and the like had been placed in the.
hands of the British commander on Staten
Island; and that there were traitors in the
American army; but so far as the abduction
of Washington was concerned it dwindled
down to the work of vengeance of a discarded
mistress and two unprincipled scoundrels ; and
was frustrated unconsciously so far as the
Continental authorities were concerned by the
imprisonment of the latter. Mary Gibbons
disappeared forever from the scene on the
moment of discovery.
The discovery of this plot and its accom-
panying wild rumors did not improve matters
on Long Island : on the contrary it served to
make it be regarded more than ever as part
of "the enemy's country." Capt. Marinus
Willett was at once dispatched to Jamaica,
where a party of those alleged to have been
engaged in the conspiracy were reported to be
in hiding, and after what seems to have been
a regular old-fashioned Indian sort of fight,
in which one of the Loyalists was killed and
several wounded, made the party prisoners,
but was not fortunate enough to capture any
of those for whom the Continental authorities
were most anxious. The coast was so thor-
oughly patrolled by Continental troops that
comimunication with the British vessels be-
came almost impossible except to pirates like
James and dare-devils like Hewlett, and the
iron hand of the dominant power was felt
in all directions in the two disaffected counties.
But even threats and all sorts of coercive
measures failed to make the delegates to the
Provincial Congress attend its sessions and
the incessant fussy and sometimes cruel pres-
sure of the Whig Committees of Safety not
only failed to stay the spirit of the spirit of
Toryism but rather caused it to increase, re-
solved, as it were, the spirit of loyalty from
being merely a sentiment into a dogma. The
fast gathering strength of the British force in
the bay and on Staten Island could not be
hidden from the Loyalists, and not only served
to embolden them to defy the Continental
powers, but the evident certainty of the island
being soon again under British domination,
198
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
a certainty that was zealously promulgated
by their leaders, turned many a half-hearted
Loyalist into a Tory of the Tories, ready even
to make sacrifice for his cause, because he
believed such sacrifice would only be tempor-
ary.
But the Revolutionary authorities were
vigilant to the last, because as developments
unfolded themselves it became evident that
Long Island was likely to become the key to
the military situation. The forts were
strengthened in men and in resources, the line
of defenses was duly made more formidable
and the patrolling parties along the shore
more numerous and vigilant.
But the people in Kings and Queens re-
mained callous to the slogan of Liberty. An
election for delegates to the Provincial Con-
gress was held on the 19th of August, but
the delegates never had a chance to serve.
Three days later Gravesend was in the hands
of the British and the campaign was on which
ended in Long Island being for seven years
in the hands of the British, and the Tories
had a chance to repay their persecutors for
the indignities and cruelties and wrongs which
had been perpetrated upon them in the name
of Liberty. They availed themselves of the
opportunity and added interest in the way of
new cruelties and prison horrors that robs
the story of their loyalty of all sense of noble-
ness, and has served to add only a new and
sickening page to the history of human op-
pression and deviltry and persecution.
It is difficult at this stage in the world's
history to put ourselves into the places of
the leaders of public opinion, the men of ac-
tion, in this country, in 1776, and to know
all their information, the rumors which reach-
ed them, the various now generally hidden and
forgotten data on which they based the details
of their policy; and so it is difficult to clearly
and fully give judgment on their doings. At
the same time, the passage of the years has
made things clear to us which were not so to
them, and we can weigh their policy in the
light of its results more truly and unerringly
than was possible to them. All we can read
of the policy of the Continental leaders re-
garding Long Island impels us to believe that
their policy was wrong, that it only drove into
practical rebellion a part of Long Island which
otherwise would have remained neutral in its
loyalty, which really did not care whether
King or Congress reigned, so long as it was
left to pursue its way in peace. When the
conflict opened, of course, Kings and Queens
had their rabid Tories ; so also they had their
violent Whigs ; but the bulk of the population
really felt like saying "a plague on both your
houses." As soon as they felt themselves sup-
ported by Congress the Whigs by their vio-
lence started in to make their own cause an
instrument of oppression, and such measures
as the enforcement of militia service and dis-
armament were not only liable to turn the en-
tire population against those who thus deemed
coercion necessary to liberty, but created a
feeling of false strength in their own ranks
which had most inglorious results when the
time for action came. The Provincial Con-
gress, it is fair to say, seems to have had
some sense of the unstatesmanlike nature of
the policy of force in this instance, but the
hotheadedness of such fire-eaters as Charles
Lee and the antics of such fanfarons as Col.
John Sands, the men of action when the mili-
tary crisis came, crushed out whatever states-
manship then struggled in the brains of the
delegates to Congress. Even Washington,
usually so clear-headed and sagacious, fell in
line with the reports of his military subordin-
ates and treated the people of Kings and
Queens as enemies to the cause to which he
had with rare single-heartedness devoted his
life, his all. But the effects of all this are
clearly evident to us as we review the events
of 1775 and 1776, and see how easily the
British effected a landing and found hosts of
friends in a spot which ought to have been
one of the natural defenses of the country
and on an island on which, had the people
been loyal to the Whigs, even Howe's army
.could not have landed in triumph.
MAP OF THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN, AUGUST 27, 1776.
CHAPTER XVI,
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
^HE Battle of Brooklyn, or of Long
^ Island, as it is often called, was a
^ marked disaster to the forces of
— the Revolution. It showed that in
point of strateg}' the Continental Generals,
outside of their chief, were hardly fitted
to cope with the trained warriors of Britain.
There is no douht that the battle was lost
mainly through a tactical blunder on the part
of Gen. Putnam, or rather through the want
of tactical knowledge on his part and a
strange carelessness on the part of Gen. Sul-
livan. A review of the battle, however, would
almost seem to force the conviction that the
American army would have been defeated at
any rate when an issue was made on that
ground, for certainly it was a foregone con-
clusion that from the time the British were
permitted to land in force (some 20,000 vet-
eran troops), with a fleet at their service, they
were bound to become masters of the situation
when opposed only by some 6,000 half trained
militia.
At the same time the heroic resistance of-
fered by the Continentals, their behavior un-
der the most dispiriting circumstances, their
stubborn defense, their willingness under a
misconception of orders to resume the fray,
and the masterly retreat from their position,
not only saved the military reputation of the
Patriot forces but proved that the men had
in them that stuft of which heroes — victorious
heroes — are made. The courage of Small-
wood and the dash of Stirling were in them-
selves lessons to the militia forces; the stolid
resistance of Sullivan was worthy of all praise,
even although his inactivity at a critical mo-
ment was among the primal causes of the de-
feat ; and up to a certain point the disposition
of his forces by Putnam was masterly, while
the tactical pre-eminence of Washington, aided
by fog and the elements, turned the edge of
what might have been an irrecoverable blow
into merely a military mishap.
Certainly the generalship of the British
commander in putting his finger upon the
weak point in the American line of defense
and taking full advantage of it was a personal
triumph which, at this day, need not be with-
held from him. But he lost the fruits of his
victory by his remarkable inactivity, an inac-
tivity which it is said to his credit was
prompted by a hope that his victory might
lead to a cessation of hostilities and a stoppage
of the shedding of blood. But the time for
that had not yet come on either side, and
Washington took advantage of the halt in
affairs and of a generous fog to concentrate
the Continental forces of the northern part
of Manhattan Island. The principal result
of the battle to the British was that it gave
them the control of Long Island and Man-
hattan Island, both of which they continued
to hold until peace was declared and the new
nation was formally recognized on every
hand.
With the triumphant ending of the cam-
paign at Boston and its occupation by Wash-
ington, one chapter in the story of the Revo-
lutionary struggle was closed, and closed in
200
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
a manner that inspired the Patriots with
high hopes for the ultimate success of their
arms. It was felt that now they were in a
better position, with the prestige of success
behind them, and the experience gained in
actual conflict, to meet the further onslaughts
of the enemy. The result of the evacuation
of Boston in fact left the country in the en-
tire possession, in a military sense, of the
Patriot force, and great naturally were the
rejoicings.
But W^ashington and the leaders of the
Revolution well knew that only a chapter had
been closed and that another would soon
open. In fact, across the St. Lawrence an-
other chapter had even then been worked out.
with disastrous results. Montgomery was
killed at Quebec and that fortress with its
rich stores of munitions of war defied the
efforts of the American army. Montreal and
other places were still in their hands, but
sickness as well as the fortunes of war was
decimating their ranks, and step by step the
Patriots were forced to recross the St. Law-
rence. That territory, therefore, was then
more than a menace to the fortunes of the
movement of Freedom : it was a storehouse
for the common enemy, and its port of Hali-
fax was a convenient gathering place for fu-
ture operations.
Then General Howe had practically left
Boston with his forces intact, with the honors
of war, carrying with him his arms and his
supplies, and his baggage ; and although his
destination was unknown for some time the
existence of that force was a menace. Wash-
ington naturally thought that New York, with
its magnificent opportunities for naval and
military manoeuvres, would be the scene of
its operations, and accordingly orders were
issued for the immediate defence of that port.
General Lee was at once dispatched to hurry
on and superintend this work_; and the army,
as rapidly as possible, was transferred to Man-
hattan Island and its vicinity. It was felt,
indeed, by many that the Continental army
could not hold the island against a combined
attack of the military and naval forces of the
enemy, but the strategical importance of the
place, its immense value to the British as an
entreport, and its pre-eminence as an indus-
trial centre — which it had even then assumed — •
made its retention in the hands of the Patriots
a matter of prime importance. If it could
not be held, it could at least be made de-
batable ground, and unless a signal victory
was gained by them at the outset this was
the most that could be hoped for. All prep-
arations were therefore made for defense',
when it was learned that Howe had sailed to
Halifax, determining to wait there for rein-
forcements before entering upon a new cam-
paign.
When he returned a significant change was
taking place and the separate Colonies were
formally united into one defensive govern-
ment by the signing of the Declaration of In-
dependence at Philadelphia July 4, 1776, by
the representatives of the thirteen original
States.
With the defenses of Alanhattan Island,
except in a general way, this history has
nothing to do: but it may be said that quite
an extensive chain of forts was constructed
in what was then the city with a grand battery
of twenty-three guns at the most southern
point. Beside it was Fort George, and near
Trinity church was another, and two more
further along the water-front were intended
to command the approach to the Hudson.
The other side of Manhattan Island, opposite
the Long Island shore, was protected by an
even more formidable chain, Coentie's battery
of five guns, Waterbury's battery of seven
guns, Badlam's battery of eight guns, on Rut-
gers Hill near the old Jewish burying-ground ;
Thompson's battery of nine guns at Hoorne's
Hook, and a battery at what is now the
junction of Grand and Centre streets. There
were also breastworks covering other points,
and sunken ships and chain lines were added
to the means bv which it was hoped to pre-
vent the passage up either the North or East
rivers and hamper the efforts of a fleet to
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
201
aid any landing party. The main reliance of
Washington, however, was the elaborate
scheme of defense at Kingsbridge and the
upper extremity of the island, knowing that
so long as they remained in his hands the
island itself would be practically useless to
the invader, for by that term the British
forces could then justly be called.
Second in importance only to Harlem
Heights in that it did not hold the kev to
close attention. The fort on Red Hook was
strengthened, and, as Fort Defiance, was ex-
pected to challenge any ship or landing party
before the guns on the Grand Battery be-
came available. Gen. Nathanael Greene took
charge of the defense of the island and lost no
time in completing his work. Brooklyn at
that time lay between the Wallabout and Red
Hook and was encircled by a chain of small
hills, some of which are still to be seen in
the continent but of equal importance to the
defense of Manhattan Island itself, was the
retention of Long Island to the Patriot forces.
With that in the hands of the British Man-
hattan Island was at their mercy practically,
and so the campaign of the midsummer of
1776 resolved itself into this: the defense of
Long Island for the protection of New York
City proper and the defense of the Heights
around the Harlem and the southern part of
Westchester county for the protection of the
Hudson River and the northern States.
Long Island was therefore the subject of
Prospect Park and Greenwood Cemetery,
although the landscape has been sadly changed
by the march of modern improvement. Be-
tween this stretch of hills and the water-front
facing Staten island and Sandy Hook was a
stretch of flat ground dotted with such villages
as Gravesend, Flatlands and New L'trecht, an
admirable landing ground for an offensive
force. But the screen of hills formed a
natural line of defense, and so long as these
could be held New York was safe from that
side. Gen. Greene took full advantage of this
natural breastwork and covered the passes be-
202
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tween the hills through which an enemy must
pass.
Behind these hills a series of forts ex-
tended from the Wallabout to the Red Hook.
Fort Stirling commanded the water-front
at what is now the junction of Hicks and
Pierrepoint streets.
Fort Putnam (now Fort Greene).
Fort Greene, near the present intersection
of Nevins and Dean streets.
Forts Putnam and Greene were connected
by an oblong redoubt.
Cork Screw Fort was on the space now
lying between Atlantic, Pacific, Court and
Clinton Streets.
There was also a small redoubt eastward
of Fort Putnam, near the Jamaica road.
Fort Box, a redoubt (four guns) on the
slope of Bergen Hill west of Smith street,
not far from Hoyt and Carroll streets.
No one can look at a map of early Brooklyn
without seeing that these defenses were skill-
fully planned so far as their situation goes to
protect the town behind them ; but as has been
said, the main purpose of Greene was to pre-
vent any passage across the chain of hills
which nature had placed ready to his hand for
purposes of defense. Of course, could the
landing of any force have been contested, an
even better defense might have been insured ;
but his force was too small to guard an ex-
tensive -stretch of territory ; there was no way
of telling which the enemy, if he did land
at all, might select; and it was not an age
when the telegraph could instantly give warn-
ing of an approach, and when the means
were at hand for quickly massing large forces
of men at any given point. Besides, his
troops were not numerous enough to do more
than guard the defenses, and so he wisely
determined to concentrate his attention on
them and leave the landing to fate.
Meanwhile General William Howe was not
idle. He left Boston on March 17, landed
with his forces at Halifax some ten days later
and remained there until the middle of June.
By that time communication had been entered
into with the home Government, reinforce-
ments promised and new plans for the sub-
jugation or submission of the Colonies, war-
like and pacific, duly considered and agreed
to. In accordance with these General Howe
gathered up his army and again set sail, ar-
riving on Staten Island on June 29. A land-
ing was soon effected and the British troops
went into camp. New York was naturally
greatly excited by the appearance of the vis-
itors, and the excitement deepened as time
went on and no hostile demonstrations of any
account were made, showing that re-inforce-
ments were expected. The whole of Staten
Island was at once under the control of Howe,
even the local militia organization renewing
its allegiance to the king, and, until the close
of the conflict, it so remained. The posses-
sion of the island naturally gave the British
a commanding position in front of New York.
By it they controlled a wide section of the
water-front: they commanded, indeed, the en-
trance to New York harbor, while it afforded
many landing places for their troops safe
from all interference or obstruction except in
the remote and unlikely event of an attack
from the Jersey side, across the Kill von Kull.
Reinforcements continued to arrive, but it was
not until July 14 that, with the arrival of
Admiral Lord Howe and his fleet, the Brit-
ish felt strong enough to begin their plans
for bringing about peace either by persuasion
or compulsion. Into the story of the first of
these we need not here enter: they belong to
the general history of the country. It was
perfectly understood, however, in the Contin-
ental camps that there was no hope of peace
as long as surrender was the basis of the
British proposals, and so the work of defense
was carried forward with incessant zeal.
The defense of Long Island was pushed
on with especial haste, and as the position of
the British indicated whence an attack on New
York might possibly come the hills that en-
circled Brooklyn were thoroughly covered by
the Continental leader. He also, it is said,
prepared for the eventuality that the enemy
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
203
might land on Long Island, pass his chain of
defenses and by making a detour endeavor to
gain the narrow passages towards Hell Gate
and so gain possession of the upper part of
Manhattan Island. Much discussion had been
created as to the military value of Greene's
arrangements, but it must be remembered that
his plan was fully approved by Washington,
who visited the works several times while in
course of formation, and, also, that before his
arrangements were fully completed he was
seized with fever and compelled to take to his
bed, unable even to discuss his plans with
General Sullivan, who was appointed tempor-
arily to the military command of the island.
We know the adage about the impropriety of
swapping horses while crossing a stream, but
the "swap" had to be made in this instance
and with the usual results.
Sullivan was a brave man, but had the repu-
tation of being careless at times, knew little of
strategy, was a magnificent leader of an on-
slaught, and ignorant of mathematical calcula-
tions, which enter so largely into warfare. Ru-
mors began to thicken that the descent on Long
Island was about to be made, and reinforce-
ments were sent over from the main army on
Manhattan; and then, on Aug. 22, it was
definitely learned that the British had actually
crossed and had effected a landing at what is
now the village of Bath between New Utrecht
and Gravesend. As it was also known that
they had only three days' provisions with them,
there seemed no longer any doubt that they
meant to attempt the capture of New York
by the most direct land route possible, across
the Gowanus range to Brooklyn. Still, al-
though everything so indicated, so far as in-
formation among the Patriots went, this move-
ment might only be undertaken by one part
of the army to detract attention from another
movement, directed against King's Bridge, so
that virtually the entire force at the command
of Washington was called into requisition to
guard quite a great extent of country against
a foe which might throw an overwhelming
force at a moment against whatever part was
weakest. It should be remembered that a
system of spies was carefully maintained by
both sides. Every movement on Staten Island
appeared to be known at once to Washington
and doubtless the same espionage brought to
a knowledge of the Howes the weak points
in the long and tortuous line of defense.
It did not take long for the mystery of
the moment to clear away and the plan of
campaign via Long Island to unfold itself,
although even after it was seen that the Brit-
ish were landed in force at Bath the watchful
vigilance all along the shores of Manhattan
and the approaches of the Hudson. In fact
one of the spies employed by Gen. William
Livingston of New Jersey brought in to that
patriot such information that he wrote to
Washington on the 21st that 20,000 men had
already embarked to occupy Long Island and
the entrance to the Hudson simultaneously
while 15,000 were in readiness for other ser-
vice touching New Jersey itself. Washington
at once saw that Long Island was the crucial
point in the new campaign and as soon as the
news of the, landing reached him dispatched
six battalions of his troops to reinforce the
defensive struggle. Five battalions more in
New York were held in immediate readiness
to cross the East River should their services
be needed, but the defense of Manhattan Isl-
and demanded their retention there except in
case of a great emergency. The stories of
204
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the spies could not always be depended on.
Washington afterward (Sept. 9) wrote to
Congress: "Before the landing of the enemy
on Long Island the point of attack could not
be known, nor any satisfactory judgment
formed of their intention. It might be on
Long Island, on Bergen, or directed on the
city."
The landing of the British was conducted
in a masterly manner and proceeded without
much incident. The movement began in the
early morning; by nine o'clock 9,000 troops
had been landed and before noon the entire
attacking force of 15,000 men with their arms
and baggage, stood on Long Island. The
movement was clearly seen from the Amer-
ican line, but no serious attempt was made
to interrupt it. Col. Reed, in a letter dated
August 2;^. indeed wrote: "As there are so
many landing places and the people of the
island generally so treacherous, we never ex-
pected to prevent the landing." For military
purposes under all the existing circumstances
no better landing point could have been
selected. As soon as it was known that the
British had landed, an alarm seized New York
which the Patriots could hardly allay. On
the 24th, Washington at once crossed to Long
Island and gave personal instruction as to the
defense. He judged that, in accordance with
news which had reached him, the first purpose
of the invaders was to win the lines held by
Gen. Sullivan, either by a surprise after a
forced march or an attack in force, and he
strengthened that commander's position with
six regiments. Certainly Washington's judg-
ment in this instance was in full accord with
the dictates of military science, and had Sulli-
van understood that science as well, or had
he exhibited the watchfulness his position de-
manded, he might have forced the fighting
at his lines and so changed the entire aspect
of the campaign.
After issuing a stirring address to his
troops Washington returned to New York
and at once sent General Putnam to take
•chief command on Long Island. Washington
was not entirely confident of Sullivan's judg-
ment, and it is said that the latter justified
his commander's doubt by "sulking at being
verbally superseded in the direction of affairs
by the veteran." Putnam, we are told, had a
fair knowledge of the campaigning ground
and had the entire confidence of his chief.
He at once began to strengthen the defense
wherever he perceived the opportunity or
necessity, but the time of his disposal was too
limited to enable him to grasp the whole
scheme of defense as laid down by Greene,
and the absence of that skillful soldier was
regretted more keenly liy none more than the
brave soldier wdio was thus suddenly called
to assume his part. At the same time it should
be remembered that the real commander in
chief was ^\'ashington, and be it also said that
he never shirked the responsibility of that po-
sition. On the morning of the 26th he again
crossed to Brooklyn, rode over in company
with Putnam, Sullivan, and other officers
much of the line of defense, visited and en-
couraged the outposts and carefully exam-
ined the position of the British forces, some
of whom by that time were near Flatbush.
The entire line of defense seemed a strong
one, every avenue of approach, it appeared
to the hurried investigators, was fully cov-
ered, and such as under experienced troops
would have formed an impassable barrier.
Possibly Gen. Greene alone could have told its
weak points, but his usefulness for this cam-
paign was a thing of the past.
On the night of the 26th Washington, with
a heavy heart but not without strong hope,
returned to New York, and it has been calcu-
lated that while he was crossing the river
the British forces began their forward move-
ment.
From the moment of landing on the 22d
the British troops had not been idle, but were
engaged in a series of movements the precise
nature of which was difficult to judge, al-
though the Patriots adhered to the view that
one of the passes, most likely that held by
Sullivan, was to be the object of a concen-
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
205.
trated attack. The army was steadily ex-
tending itself over the level country between
the sea and the hills, gradually forcing the
American outposts back to the latter and
seizing the various roads. Many skirmishes
took place between the outposts, but the pre-
cise design of the enemy was cleverly con-
cealed, and until the 26th the main purpose
of the British was to wear out the raw con-
tinental levies by keeping them continually on
the alert. On the 26th the Hessian troops
under De Heister took possession of Flat-
bush, while Sir Henry Clinton, the real com-
mander of the forces, occupied Flatlands, and
General Grant carried his column within
sight of General Stirling's division. Still the
precise purpose of all these movements was
concealed, or rather nothing offered a better
explanation than that one of the defensive
posts was to be carried by force. General
Howe's spies were better informed than those
of the Continentals and he knew and seized
upon the weakest spot in the whole line of
defense. The Battle of Brooklyn was a
battle of strategy and it is no disgrace to
say that on that point the Patriots were
worsted. Their strategist was lying hovering
between life and death. He alone knew the
full scope of the plan he had conceived and
put into effect.
Washington had not time to review the
ground thoroughly, neither had Putnam,
neither for that matter had Sullivan, the next
in command, but he might have saved the day,
or changed its entire aspect, had he been
more watchful at the moment when watch-
fulness was most needed.
In the early hours of the morning of Au-
gust 27th word was brought in by pickets that
a column of the enemy under General Grant
had moved against the lines held by Stirling.
The latter, in accordance with orders received
from Putnam, advanced towaird Gowanus
creek with Hazlet's Delaware regiment and
Smallwood's Maryland regiment. At the
creek they were joined by Col. Atlee's Penn-
sylvania regiment, which had been stationed
around there as an advanced outpost. The
advance of the British was soon heard and
Stirling ordered the Pennsylvanians to await
the foe in an orchard on the left of the road,
while he with his Delaware and Maryland
men took possession of a ridge which over-
looked the route the enemy must pass. Word
was at once sent back to the main body
urging reinforcements, as it seemed that the
expected battle was to open at that point.
When the light began to dawn the approach
of the enemy was clearly perceived and their
strength in the wavering light was at once
overestimated. The Pennsylvanians fired sev-
eral volleys at the approaching column and
then retired to a position on the left of the
ridge held by Stirling's troops. That force
had already been strengthened by Kichline's
regiment of riflemen which was scattered
around the base of the ridge and well under
shelter so as to retard any advance which
might be made to stonn the position by an
attack in force. That seemed likely when
some of Grant's troops in advance of the col-
umn took possession of an orchard about 150
yards away and commenced firing into the
ranks of the Patriots. For two hours there-
after, until long after the darkness had dis-
appeared, a battle of musketry was kept up
between the two forces, with the view of
"drawing each other." or in other words in
the hope of each gaining a clearer under-
standing of the movements of the opposing
side. On the part of the British Stirling's
purpose was divined as to keep them in check
until his forces were strengthened so that he
could give them battle. Grant's purpose was
to keep Stirling so employed until a certain
crisis in the engagement was reached. Two
field pieces were hurried to Stirling's aid and
placed in position to sweep the roadway along
which the British would advance, and Grant
brought up some artillery and after much de-
ploying took up a position about 600 yards
from the Americans, occupying also a series
of ridges. Thereafter there was a continuous
firing by the artillery of the armies, but
206
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
neither was inclined to attempt a general en-
gagement. Grant was carrying out his part
of the British leader's scheme by keeping
Stirling in front, while Stirling, unaware of
the strength of the enemy, could only with
safety hold the invader in check until his
request for reinforcements should be complied
with or until General Putnam should appear
to take command at the point with a strong
force.
Meanwhile another part of the British plan
was put in operation and failed. It was to
land a force on Manhattan Island, but con-
trary winds defeated that purpose. The ships
with the troops could not get through the Nar-
rows and after several efforts landed their
men at Bath, and one of the ships, the Roe)-
buck, bombarded Fort Defense on Red Hook
and in that way added to the uncertainty of
the Patriot leaders as to the exact nature of
the entire movement. The four eighteen-
pounders in the fort made a gallant response
to the Roebuck's five and prevented any salient
damage at that point, although it must be ad-
mitted that the noise of these cannons aided
the success of the British plans.
Meanwhile another part of the British
strategical movement was being played with
marked success. De Heister's Hessians at
Flatbush commenced an artillery attack on
the fort held in the hills in front by Col.
Hand of General Sullivan's division. Sulli-
van himself at once repaired to the spot and
was apparently convinced that the attack in
force was to be made against his lines. But
the British made no advance and contented
themselves with a brisk fire, which was an-
swered as briskly from the hills.
On the part of the British all these move-
ments were merely feints to engage the at-
tention of the Continentals while the main
movement was in progress. All through the
night Sir Henry Clinton, with a force of some
of the best and most experienced of the Brit-
ish troops, had been marching by a most cir-
cuitous route past the chain of defenses with
the view of seizing what was reported to them
as being a slimly guarded pass through the
Bedford Hills, and so turn the flank of th(e
whole line of defense. Until Grant and the
other commanders heard the guns announcing
that the movement had been successfully car-
ried out and that the Continentals were be-
tween two fires, they simply held their oppo-
nents in check. The British sped on from Flat-
lands on their journey without noise and, with
a British sympathizer belonging to the local-
ity as a guide, came within a mile of their ob-
jective point before daybreak. Then their ad-
vance troops surrounded an American Patriot
and discovered that the Bedford Pass, for
which they were making, was practically un-
guarded, and that no troops were around that
important point except a few patrolling squads
who had to guard quite an extensive section
of that front. Clinton at once pushed forward
sufficient light infantry to take possession of
the pass and to hold it. This was easily done
and the prime strategic move of the fight had
been accomplished without even attracting the
attention of the enemy. By daybreak the
British army was in full possession of the pass
and its surrounding heights, and the soldiers
halted for breakfast and to enjoy a brief period
of rest before entering upon the second stage
of the movement.
The army pursued its journey to Bedford
village, on what was known as the Jamaica
road, and it was not until it had reached that
spot that Col. Miles, the officer who seems
to have been responsible for the patrolling
of that section of the defensive works, was
aware of the presence of the foe within the
lines, and he arrived near enough to see them
only to find that most of the force had passed
him and he was virtually cut off from his own
support. But firing was at once begun and
the disjointed commands of Col. Wyllys, Col.
Miles and Col. Brodhead did their best to
oppose the advance. But that at best was of
very small account: its main result as the
noise of the guns reached the different points
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
207
along the line of defense was to announce to
the defending forces that they had actually
been caught in a trap.
The British movement was then directed
against General Sullivan's position, and that
soldier soon found himself between two fires,
for the Hessians, hearing the guns, knew that
Clinton had accomplished his purpose and was
on the other side of that natural fortification.
Count Donop's Hessian regiment made an
attack on the redoubt, with De Heister's en-
tire remaining force supporting the advance
at short distance. Sullivan, seeing how hope-
less was his position, gave orders for a re-
treat to the main American lines, and the
Hessians were soon in full possession of the
pass. But Sullivan's order was given too
late, and his battalions were met by Clinton's
infantry and cavalry and the retreat turned
into a rout. The British in front and the
Hessians in the rear attacked the dispirited
and disheartened Continentals with the utmost
severity, and it is said the Hessians showed
no quarter. Commands were quickly broken
up in this terrible ordeal, and all trace of
discipline was lost. Some managed to cut
their way through weak spots in the advancing
column to the American lines, while others
contrived to escape from the scene of carnage
by accident or luck, whatever it may be called.
It is difficult to harmonize all the details
which have come to us of that scene of carn-
age or to clearly understand why the retreat
should have turned out so disastrously that
the pursuit was kept up even to within rifle-
shot of the inner chain of forts, such as Greene
and Putnam. The Americans, wherever they
had a chance, exhibited marked courage and
made a gallant fight, — a fight in every way
worthy of the splendid cause with which their
lives were bound up ; but individual or even
battalion feats oi heroism could not accom-
plish much when all around was confusion,
all around was despair, and escape seemed cut
off on every side. Sullivan, whose shortcom-
ings as a commander brought about the
rout, distinguished himself by his bravery
while there was any hope and then tried to
escape from the field. For a time he man-
aged to conceal himself, but he was finally
captured by three Hessian troopers and con-
ducted within the British lines.
In the meantime Stirling was rendering a
a much more gallant and soldierly account of
himself than Sullivan. He, too, found him-
self caught between two fires. The sound
of the guns on Sullivan's front gave him no-
tice of the movement and it is said that Sul-
livan sent him an order to retreat within the
inner Imes as so'on as he realized how the
outer defenses had been turned. But that
order never reached its destination. The
sound of the approaching guns was heard by
Grant quite as soon as Stirling, but the British
general at once knew their full significance
and prepared to carry out the remainder of
the task allotted to him. His previous inac-
tivity had been mistaken by some of the raw
Continental troops for temerity; but that
notion was soon dissipated. When the proper
moment came. Grant's troops advanced and
cut off the commands of Col. Atlee and Col.
Parsons from the main body, and this sudden
display of aggressiveness with the nearer and
nearer noise of the guns in his rear warned
Stirling that retreat had become a necessity.
Leaving a part of his force to impede, at least,
the British advance, he hoped to reach the
inner line of fortification without interruption
by leaving the beaten way, crossing a creek
fordable at low water, and that plan he put
into execution. He had not advanced far,
however, when he was confronted by a force
under Cornwallis. Nothing remained but
fight or capitulation, and the Americans ac-
cepted the former. It was a splendid con-
flict, carried on on both sides with indomitable
courage and infinite resource. The Maryland
troops especially distinguished themselves, and
for a brief interval it seemed as if Cornwallis
would be compelled to withdraw his forces,
leaving the Americans' passage clear; but re-
inforcements, coming up, nearly surrounded
the Patriots and they were in much the same
208
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
sort of a trap which had enmeshed Sulhvan's
troops earlier in the day. Retreat was or-
dered all along the line, but the enemy con-
stantly increased in numbers. Some of Stir-
ling's force managed to enter the American
lines in form, early in the engagement, but lat-
terly those who thus reached safety did so
in disjointed numbers. Stirling himself
fought throughout the conflict with the
most devoted heroism, cheered and encouraged
his men at all points, and it was only when
further resistance seemed absolutely useless,
when there was no doubt of the issue of the
day, that he surrendered himself as a prisoner.
With the collapse of Stirling's brigade
the battle was past. Early in the afternoon
Washington crossed over to Brooklyn and
witnessed the defeat, unable, with the raw
militia remaining in the forts, to offer any
resistance. He quickly made up his mind, as
soon as he learned of the success of Clinton's
movement, that the day was lost, and devoted
liimself to staying the victors at the lines
guarded by the chain of forts. The battle of
Stirling's troops was watched by him with
particular solicitude, as it seemed impossible
that any of that brave body of men could ever
return to his lines. That so many did was
the only relieving feature in a day that was
undoubtedly one of disaster. General Wash-
ington passed an anxious day and night, ex-
pecting every moment that the enemy, flushed
with success, woiild at once turn against the
chain of forts, and he fully realized their
weakness. This the British did not do, their
commanders evidently thinking enough had
been gained for one day ; but in spite of this
inaction no one knew better than Washing-
ton that the main defense of Brooklyn had
been wiped out, that Long Island was virtu-
ally completely in the hands of the British
and that the army of the defenders was in a
most critical position.
It is difiicult to estimate the losses sus-
tained by both armies during the day, not
alone on account of the inaccuracy with which
such details were then kept and the consequent
unreliable nature of even official reports, but
on account of the widely varying estimates
made by those engaged in the fight and the re-
markable figures deduced by many of the later
historians of the battle. The British com-
mander in chief estimated his loss in killed
and wounded at 367. The Americans' loss
has been placed at under 200, while some 800
were held as prisoners. These figures of
casualties bear out to a degree Washington's
assertion that the British "suffered a loss in
killed and wounded equal to that inflicted upon
the Americans." But it is difficult to accept
\\'ashington's statement as being anything
more than an oft'-hand calculation, made with-
out being in full possession of the facts or
figures. Field in his sketch of the battle esti-
mates that the American loss in killed and
wounded and prisoners was not far from
2,000, and probably that is as correct an esti-
mate as can now be made.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND— A STRATEGIC TRIUMPH.
F in point of strategy tlie British proved
themselves in the battle of August
2"th as the superioTs of their op-
ponents, the retreat of the American
forces from Long Island on the night of the
29th and morning of the 30th amply demon-
strated the fact that there was certainly one
man at the head of the Continentals, who was
at least their equal in that regard. While the
battle of Brooklyn was a defeat, a disastrous
defeat, the retreat was a masterly movement
and a moral triumph. Of course, in its suc-
cess General Washington was aided by nature,
inasmuch as a dense fog concealed his move-
ments; but many noted commanders meet us
in the procession of history who did not un-
derstand or appreciate the value of such aid
when offered them.
In all the story of the Revolutionary strug-
gle there was not a more disheartening time
than the twenty-four hours which followed
the night of August 27th. Had the Briti:'.,
plans been fully carried into effect the Con-
tinental leaders would have been left without
an army and the entire story of the struggle
for liberty been more prolonged than it was,
even supposing that it could then have sur-
vived such a blow as the loss of the 9,000 or
more troops which on the morning of the
28th made up the inner line of defense around
Brooklyn. There is no doubt that the capture
of these patriots was the final point in the
British movement, and had the latter pressed
their advantage without cessation, as the
troops themselves desired, there seems little
doubt that the result would have been at-
tained; but the fatuity which so often dis-
tinguished the British Generals throughout
the Revolutionary War in this instance aided
the Patriots just as much as did the weather.
Washington, who was now in direct com-
mand and expected every moment an attack
upon his lines, seems to have spent most of
the night following the battle in passing over
the works and personally inspecting every
point. A call was sent out for reinforcements
and in the early hours some of the troops
which had been assigned to guard King's
Bridge and the upper part of Manhattan ar-
rived with General Mifflin, some 800 men in
all. Then 1,300 JNIassachusetts soldiers, main-
ly fishermen, arrived under Colonel Glover,
and their appearance seems to have infused a
new spirit of hope in the hearts, of the
Patriots. Troops in New Jersey under Gen-
eral Mercer were ordered with all haste to
march to New York, and there virtually to
await further orders — orders which could
only be formulated as events unfolded them-
selves. Even with the reinforcements Wash-
ington's position was a most critical one.
True, his lines were strong and well chosen,
but in front of him lay a well disciplined, well
fed and well officered army of regular troops,
flushed with success, while the majority of
his force of 9,000 (or 9,500 as the highest
estimate gives it) was an untrained mass,
poorly armed, officered by men of little ex-
perience and disheartened by defeat. The
weather on the 28th was wet and disagreeable
210
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and so it continued to be on the 29th, and
the dull, cheerless sky seemed to add to the
depression of the troops and to emphasize the
gloom of their position.
Possibly the weather and an idea that the
Continental position could be captured at any
time led the British commanders to delay the
final part of their work. All through the
28th there were skirmishes along the entire
line. In the afternoon tlie British began dig-
ging trenches and raising earthworks within
a dense fog, and this continued all through
the day. As a result, inactivity again pre-
vailed in the British camp, while in the Amer-
ican lines the vigilance was not withdrawn
for a moment. That vigilance saved the army.
In the forenoon General Mifflin, in company
with General Reed, Adjutant General, visited
the redoubt on Red Hook. While there the fog
lifted a little over the harbor and the Amer-
ican officers saw the British fleet at anchor,
but noticed that an unusual degree of com-
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISL.\ND. AUGUST
500 yards of the American position, evidently
with a view of bringing up their entire force
there and making a decisive attack on the de-
fences. Nothing shows the weakness of
Washington's forces clearer than the fact that
he permitted this jroceeding to go on un-
molested, and when night fell the contending
armies were thus brought close together with
the apparent certainty that the next day would
develop important events.
But the morning of the 29th found the
island, or at least that portion of it which
formed the scene of operations, covered with
nnmication was passing between the vessels
and the shore. It seemed as though some
important movement was about to commence
and they concluded it to be a descent upon
New York by the East River, which could
easily be accomplished as soon as the fog was
dissipated, if the wind continued to hold as
it then did.
This was the movement regarding which
Washington was most concerned from the
beginning. Could the British vessels silence
the paltry battery at Red Hook and, passing
the fort at the Battery, sail into the East
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND.
211
River and lie off the shore of Long Island,
his entire force would be caught in a trap
from which there seemed no possible hope of
escape. In the afternoon the rain descended
incessantly, and in places the Patriots had
to "stand up to their middles in water." Cook-
ing was out of the question and the men were
compelled to take up with the unaccustomed
fare of hard biscuits and raw pork. "We
had no tents to screen us from the pitiless pelt-
ing, nor if we had them would it have com-
ported with the incessant vigilance required
to have availed ourselves of them."
These extracts from letters written by par-
ticipants in the fight in the American lines
show how illy prepared the latter would have
been had the British engaged them in any de-
termined assault. Indeed, although in many
of the skirmishes the enemy were beaten back,
it was quite plain to Washington that on the
whole the British were steadily strengthening
their position all along the line. Indeed, on the
morning of the 29th they held, after hard
fighting and several repulses, a breastwork
only about 150 rods from Fort Putnam.
This test of strength had forced Washing-
ton to the conclusion that the line, even under
the most favorable conditions possible, could
not be held, and the news brought by General
Mifflin showed him the immediate danger of
the British fleet getting between him and his
only avenue of escape, that by way of New
York. At first it seems that Washington
really thought he might hold the lines, but
events had carried him to a different con-
clusion and he hoped to use the fog as a
means of aiding in the scheme he had now
thought out of carrying his entire force away
to a position whence they could carry on the
war with greater chances of success. Hastily
summoning a council of war to meet at the
residence of Philip Livingston on Hicks street,
near Joralemon street, he laid his plan before
the assembled officers. These included Major
Generals Putnam and Spencer, and Brigadier
Generals Mifflin, McDougall, Parsons, Scott,
Wadsworth and Fellows. The proposition to
retreat was presented to the auditors by Gen-
eral Mifflin, with the following array of rea-
sons ;
1. The defeat on the 27th.
2. The loss in officers and men on that
occasion had discouraged the troops.
3. The rain had injured the arms and
ammunition and the men were so worn out
by privation that they could not do effective
work on the defenses.
4. The enemy were endeavoring to get
control of the East River.
5. There were no obstructions sunk be-
tween Long and Governor's Islands to pre-
vent the passage of ships.
6. The actual weakness of the lines. The
redotibts were strong, but the general works
were weak, being abattised with brush in most
places.
7. The divided state of the army made
a defense precarious.
8. Several British men of war had made
their way into Flushing Bay from the Sound
and with their assistance the enemy could land
a force in Westchester county and gain the
American rear near King's Bridge.
After a long discussion, in which the idea
of retreat was at first apparently scouted by
many of the Generals, the reasons above
briefly stated were fully considered, with the
result that the decision was finally unanimous
in favor of evacuating Long Island.
The fact, however, seems to be that from
the time he received General Mifflin's report
of the seeming movement of the British fleet,
Washington determined upon effecting a re-
treat, deeming that the movement had became
imperative. Even while the council was in
*There is some uncertainty as to where this council
was held. The authority for its taking place in the Liv-
ingston house is a letter written by General John Morin
Scott, who was present, to John Jay, dated Sept. 6. 1770.
Some antiquaries have indicated the old Dutch Church
as the scene of the meeting while others have asserted
that the old Pierrepont mansion, which stood on what is
now the line of Montague street. General Scott's evi-
dence, however, seems to settle the question.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
session preparations for the movement had
begun. Every boat possible was ordered to
the lower portion of the East River and As-
sistant Quartermaster Hughes at New York
was instructed to "impress every kind of water
craft from Hell Gate on the Sound to Spuyten
Duyvil creek that could be kept afloat and
that had either sails or oars, and have them
all in the east harbor of the citv by dark."
These orders were so well carried out that by
nightfall quite a flotilla lay off the Brooklyn
shore in readiness to approach it. An order
was given about 6 o'clock for the troops to
get in readiness for a night attack, as it was
not deemed prudent to trust to anything that
might cause word of the evacuation to reach
the enemy, for there were, it was feared, many
spies within the lines. The weary and be-
draggled troopers were astonished, even dis-
mayed, at the ordev, but all responded with
a readiness that was worthy of veterans. This
device enabled the commander to enjoin ab-
solute silence on the part of the troops and
to make it easy to transfer portions from one
post seemingly to another, without question.
Another ruse was that reinforcements were
expected from New Jersey and that an equal
number of those who had been fighting since
She landing of the British would be trans-
ferred to New Jersey in their place. By 7
o'clock all the troops were ordered to parade
with arms and accoutrements in front of their
encampments, leaving on active duty only
those who were manning the forts and guard-
ing the lines. When darkness fell the move-
ment commenced, and as the night was par-
ticularly gloomy everything favored the
scheme and a splendid beginning was made.
The militia and raw troops were the first
to cross at what is now Fulton Ferry, and
General McDougall superintended the de-
parture. About 9 o'clock the rain fell in tor-
rents and the wind changed, making it im-
possible to use sails, and only row-boats could
be utilized. At this rate it was only a mat-
ter of calculation to know that the troops
could not get away before daylight. Mc-
Dougall dispatched an aide to find Washing-
ton and inform him of the trouble, but was
unable to locate him and returned without the
chief. About 1 1 o'clock the wind took another
change, a most fortunate one, and permitted
every sort of craft to be pushed into the
service. No time was now to be lost and
some of the smaller boats were loaded down ta
within three inches of the water. But no
accident occurred and each vessel delivered its
human cargo safe in Manhattan.
The most awkward blunder occurred on
the forts. General Mifllin, at his own request,
had been assigned to cover the retreat, and
the troops in his division were accordingly
to remain on the lines to the last. About 2
o'clock in the morning one of Washington's
aides mistakenly carried a message to Mifflin
to withdraw, and, gathering his troops to-
gether, that hero left the lines and marched
his men down the main road to the ferry.
On their way they were met by Washing-
ton, who expressed the utmost dismay and
declared unless the division marched back and
remained on the lines the entire movement
would fail. Without even a murmur of dis-
sent the troops returned to their posts and
awaited the call calmly, although they ex-
pected that it would be daylight before their
turn should come, and they well knew that as
soon as the enemy discovered the condition
of things their position would be a most
perilous one. The order for their retreat was
not given until the sound of shovel and pick-
axe showed that the British were already at
work on their entrenchments. Fortunately
the fog was particularly dense at that time
and enveloped the whole of the scene of op-
erations, and so the gallant reserves silently-
left the lines and got down to the ferry in
safety. Then they were joined by Washing-
ton and one of the last boats carried across to
New York that intrepid hero, the Father of
the Nation.
One of the British patrols discovered the
THE RETREAT FROM LONG ISLAND.
!13
empty lines not very long after Mifflin's
troops had left, but the report was hardly
credited at first, and by the time it was con-
firmed most of the American force, with the ex-
ception of four stragglers who were captured,
as thev deserved to be, was safe on Manhattan
with the open country behind. Every detail
was carried on in the most masterly manner
and even many of the American troops on
landing were unaware that they had taken
part in a wholesale evacuation and imagined
they were only part of a command that had
been relieved. But all knew the danger of
their position in Brooklyn and were glad to es-
cape from its shores.
Throughout the country itself this most
successful and difficult movement did not
arouse the confidence in the courage of the
troops and the ability of its officers which it
deserved. It was simply regarded as the nat-
ural conclusion to the defeat of the 27th, but
military critics from then have been most
unstinted in its praise, and now that we can
review the situation calmly and correctly it is
everywhere conceded to have been one of the
noblest military achievements of him whose
genius in the field made the Declaration of
Independence a real, enduring and valid in-
strument.
With the passage of the Continental troops
across the East River the story of the Revo-
lutionary campaign on Long Island neces-
sarily closes. It is not in keeping with the
scope of this work to follow the progress of
the Continental troops, to describe the suc-
ceeding battles around New York City, by the
result of which Washington was compelled to
abandon Manhattan Island, and finally, after
fighting an indecisive battle at White Plains,
to abandon Fort George and Harlem Heights
and leave New York completely in the hands
of the British. All that belongs to the gen-
eral history of the Empire State, or rather of
the country at large.
The result of the battle of Brooklyn, so far
as our history is concerned, was to leave the
British in full control of Long Island, and so it
remained along with Manhattan Island until
the conclusion of hostilities in 1783, when the
British army, by terms of the treaty of peace,
sailed out of New York harbor and the Stars
and Stripes were hoisted on the historic Bat-
tery, the scene of so many stirring and mem-
orable events.
CHAPTER XVIIl.
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
S soon as the British realized that the
lines had been evacuated no time was
lost in taking possession, and but for
a coolness, or lack of coherence,
rather, between the different commanders, it
is hard to say what damage might not have
been done to the American troops, a few of
whom even then were at the ferry and many
on the water. As it was, some of the guns
left unspiked on Fort Stirling were turned
against the fugitives in the boats, but happily
with no effect other than in some instances to
add to the confusion always ready to spring
up on such occasions.
The British could not pursue. They had
not the means momentarily at hand, and at
that junction the question was one of minutes
rather than hours. Then the movement was
so complete that it was difficult for some time
fully to recognize its extent. Fort Stirling
was regarded in both armies as the key to
the position, as from it the then city of New
York could be cannonaded, and that movement
was expected to take place as soon as guns
could be brought into position. But the Brit-
ish had no desire to destroy New York.
They wished its possession, regarded it as
the main point in the then campaign, and its
retention as the best possible basis for all
future operations. Bi^sides, there was even
yet the chance of capturing the Continental
army in a fresh trap equal to that from which
such a miraculous escape had been made in
Brooklyn. So the British contented them-
selves with stretching their forces along the
shore overlooking Manhattan and the Harlem,
threatening every point at which a landing
could be made or a defense officered. For
several days General Washington was in a
constant state of anxiety; many of his raw
troops had become disheartened and hun-
dreds deserted, even entire companies return-
ing to their homes. But his main trouble was
the absence of information from the British
lines. For once the prevalent spy system ut-
terly failed, the strip of water could be so
effectually guarded, and while counselling his
Adjutant General of the necessity for keeping
a close look all along the shore for any un-
common movements, said : "I should much
approve of small harassing parties stealing,
as it were, over in the night, as they might
keep the enemy alarmed, and more than prob-
ably bring off a prisoner from whom some
valuable information may be obtained."
Washington claimed that he could hold
New York against any attack which might
be made upon it provided "the men would do
their duty;" but this he finally admitted was
doubtful, and he decided to acquiesce in the
desire of his associates and abandon the city.
Many of the leaders were in favor of not
only evacuation but destruction, and for this
Nathanael Greene (who by this time had re-
covered from his illness) and John Jay were
particularly outspoken. Washington was op-
posed to destruction, but referred the entire
question to Congress, and that body decided
against such a measure as "they had no doubt
of being able to recover it even though the
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
!15
enemy sliould obtain possession of it for a
time." On September 12th evacuation was
finally decided upon, the stores and sick were
at once moved to the Heights, across the
Harlem River, and on the evening of the 14th
Washington established his headquarters at
the Morris Mansion, at what is now One
Hundred and Sixty-first street on the main-
land across the Harlem River. On the 15th
the British were in full possession of old New
York City and in control of the whole of
Manhattan Island, but not without meeting
with a sturdy opposition, although many of
the Continental levies retired in wild con-
fusion. But the details of what happened in
New York on that eventful day need not be
recounted here. Our main concern is witli
the fact that on it the main force of the
British army left Long Island, which was
then turned over to the military rule of a de-
tachment of some 5,000 men.
We may now pause here for a while, in
the course of this chapter, and attempt to
estimate the active support which the Con-
inental army had, up to this time, received
from Long Island. As has doubtless already
been gleaned from what has been written in
these pages, both Kings and Queens counties
were regarded by the leaders of the Conti-
nentals as disaffected, as being mainly -'n-
habited by Tories, while Suffolk county was
deemed much more loyal, although its situa-
tion interfered with the full development of
its loyalty. At the same time the three coun-
ties were represented all through the struggle
on the forces which fought for the new na-
tion. The Continental Congress made three
calls upon New York for military assistance,
the first in 1775, the second early in 1776,
and the third in the summer of that memor-
able year. Beyond the names of most of the
officers little has been preserved of the ex-
tent to which the first two calls were any-
where answered, and on Long Island espe-
cially the returns are exceedingly meagre.
But enough remains to show that the spirit
of liberty dwelt among the people, and that
it found expression, even in Kings and Queens
counties, by sending substantial additions to
the fighting forces in answer to the Congres-
sional calls. Suffolk was patriotic clear
through, although the Tories there were nu-
merous and demonstrative. In estimating the
strength of the representation of Long
Island in the Continental armies, its peculiar
situation should be remembered, and espe-
cially the fact that from the summer of 1776
until the close of hostilities it was practically
a British fortress.
The officers of a regiment of Long Island
militia were commissioned in Kings county
March 11, 1776, presumably in answer to the
second call. They were at first as follows :
Colonel, Richard Van Brunt.
Lieutenant Colonel, Nicholas Covenhoven.
First Major, Johannes Titus.
Second Major, John Van Der Bilt.
Adjutant, George Carpenter.
Quartermaster, Nicholas Covenhoven.
Companies :
Light Horse — Captain, Adolph Waldron ;
Lieutenants, William Boerum, Thomas Ev-
erett ; Ensign, Jacob Sebring, Jr. ; Quarter-
master, Isaac Sebring.
Troop of Horse — Captain, Lambert Suy-
dam; Lieutenants, Daniel Raplye and Jacob
Bloom ; Ensign, Peter Van Der Voort ; Quar-
termaster, Peter Wykoff.
Flatlands — Captain, Jeremiah Van • Der
Bilt ; Lieutenants, Albert Stothoff and Thom-
as Ellsworth ; Ensign, Peter Van Der Bilt.
Gravesend — Captain. Rem. Williamson ;
Lieutenants, Samuel Hubbard and Garret
Williamson ; Ensign, John Lane.
Brooklyn — Captain, Barent Johnson ; Lieu-
tenants, Barent Lefferts and Joost De Be-
voise: Ensign, Martin Schenck.
Brooklyn — Captain. F. Suydam : Lieu-
tenants, Simon Bergen and William Brower;
Ensign, Jacob Stillenwert.
Flatbush — Captain, Cornelius Van D?r
Veer; Lieutenants, Peter Lefferts and John
Van Duyn ; Ensign, John Bennem.
Bushwick — Captain, John Titus; Lieu-
tenants, Abraham Van Ranst and Peter Col-
_\-er; Ensign, John Skillman.
New Utrecht — Captain, Abraham Van
Brunt ; Lieutenants, Ad'n Hegeman and Har-
manus Barkulo ; Ensign, William Barre.
2U
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
No roster exists as to the names of the
"non-commissioned officers and privates in this
regiment; all such details seem to have been
lost except that of the two cavalry troops.
The record of this regiment, the infantry
section of it at all events, does not seem to
have been a very creditable one. Most of the
men were really forced into the service and
they seem to have left it as soon as possible.
Its strength does not appear to have exceeded
.250 men, and even before the landing of the
British some fiftv of these had deserted.
Henry P. Johnston estimates that the regiment,
then under command of Colonel Jeronimus
Remsen, paraded 200 strong on the morning
of the battle of Brooklyn.
They were mainly employed in fatigue
duty after a brief experience in sterner de-
tails, and on August 24 General Sullivan held
them up to ridicule in an order then issued,
in which he said, "The General is sorry to
find that regiment flying from their posts,
when timid women would have blushed to have
betrayed any sign of fear at anything this regi-
ment discovered at the time of their flight."
After the battle of Long Island the total
strength was still further reduced, mainly by
desertion, to about 150. These took part in
the evacuation of the city and crossed to Man-
hattan under Captain (then Major) Barent
Johnson of the Brooklyn Company, but soon
after reaching Harlem most of them deserted
and returned to Long Island. Major John-
son, however, proved a gallant officer and
took part in the battles of Harlem and White
Plains. He remained with the Continental
army until his health gave way, when he re-
turned to Brooklyn.
Of the Queens county troops still less is
known, and the following list of officers of
companies is all we have been able to trace.
It is doubtful if these companies were ever,
even temporarily, united into a regiment:
Great Neck and Cow Neck Company —
Captain, John Sands (appointed October 12,
1775) ; First Lieutenant, Henry Allen (de-
clined) ; Second Lieutenant, Thomas Mitchell
(promoted First Lieutenant March 8, 1776,
vice Allen) ; Ensign, Aspinwall Cornweli
(Cornell) (promoted Second Lieutenant, vice
Mitchell) ; Andrew Onderdonk, appointed
April 15, 1776.
New Town District, Southermost Beat
— Captain, Abraham Remsen ; First Lieuten-
ant, Benjamin Coe (Captain June 17, 1776) ;
Second Lieutenant, Robert Furman (First
Lieutenant June 17, 1776) ; Ensign, Benjamin
North (Second Lieutenant June 17, 1776);
Jonah Hallett (June 18, 1776).
New Town District, North Beat — Cap-
tain, Jon'n Lawrence (promoted Brigadier
Major); First Lieutenant, William Hackett;
Second Lieutenant, William Lawrence (pro-
moted Captain August 14, 1776) ; Ensign,
Jesse Warner.
Light Horse Company — Captain, Richard
Lawrence (resigned on account of ill health) ;
First Lieutenant, Daniel Lawrence (promoted
Captain) ; Second Lieutenant, Samuel Riker
(promoted First Lieutenant) ; Cornet, Jon'n
Coe (superseded by Jon'n Lawrence) ; Quar-
termaster, Peter Rapalje. Original commis-
sions issued May 10, 1776.
Flushing Company — Captain, Nathaniel
Tom ; First Lieutenant, Matthias Van Dyck ;
Second Lieutenant, Jefifry Hicks ; Ensign,
Nich's Van Dvck. All commissioned June 8,
1776.
Jamaica Company — Captain, Ephraim
Baylies ; First Lieutenant, Increase Carpen-
ter ; Second Lieutenant, Abraham Vanausdale ;
Ensign, Othniel Smith. All commissioned
March 27, 1776.
While some of these companies were rep-
resented in the battle of Long Island and the
movements preparatory thereto, there is no
trace remaining as to what they did. It has
been claimed that some of them did outpost
duty at the passes, but the fair inference un-
der all the circumstances is that they were by
that time practically broken up and that
Queens county was represented by only a few
of the officers named, among them being Cap-
tain Jonathan Lawrence, who was appointed
Major of General Woodhull's (Long Island)
brigade.
Suffolk county showed a much better and
certainly a much more agreeable and com-
THE BRITISH OCCUPATIOX.
217
mendable record, though even in that section
of the island there was a strong pro-Britisli
sentiment which rendered recruiting or con-
scription difficult. The roster from this coun-
ty, taken, as were the preceding lists, from
"New York in the Revolution" by Berthold
Fernow, is as follows :
FIRST REGIMENT.
Colonel — William Floyd of St. George's
Manor, vice Piatt Conkling (who declined).
Lieutenant Colonel — Dr. Gilbert Potter, of
Huntington.
First Major — Nathan Woodhull, of Brook-
haven.
.Second jNIajor — Edmund Smith, Jr., of
Smithtown.
Adjutant — Philipp Roe, of Brookhaven.
Quartermaster — James Roe, of Brook-
haven.
Huntington and Smithtown Companies. —
Captain John Wickes ; First Lieutenant,
Epenetus Conckling; Second Lieutenant,
Jonah Wood; Ensign, Ebenezer Prime Wood.
Captain, Jesse Brush : First Lieutenant,
Jon'n Titus; Second Lieutenant, Phillipp
Conckling; Ensign, Joseph Titus.
Captain, Timothy Carll ; First Lieutenant,
Gilbert Fleet; Second Lieutenant, Joel Scud-
der; Ensign, Nath'l Buffet, Jr.
First Brookhaven — ■ Captain, Samuel
Thompson ; First Lieutenant, Ab'm Wood-
hull ; Second Lieutenant, Isaac Davis ; Ensign,
David Satterly. Commissioned September 13,
1775-
Second Brookhaven — Captain, Eben'r Mil-
ler ; First Lieutenant, Caleb Woodhull ; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, James Davis ; Ensign, Davis
Davis. Commissioned September 13, 1775.
Third Brookhaven — Captain, William
Brewster; First Lieutenant, Isaac Davis; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, Uriah Smith ; Ensign, Benj'm
Woodhull. Commissioned September 13,
1775-
Smithtown — Captain, Philetus Smith ;
First Lieutenant, Ednund Smith, Jr. ; Second
Lieutenant, Daniel Tillotson ; Ensign, Richard
Smith. Commissioned September 13, 1775.
Islip (formed from east part of Smith-
town and west part of Southampton) — Cap-
tain, Benijah Strong; First Lieutenant, Jere-
miah Terry ; Second Lieutenant, Samuel Oak-
ley ; Ensign, Annen Alowbrey. Commissioned
P'ebruary 13, 1776.
Southo'd — Capta'n, Nathan Rose; First
Lieutenant, Hugh Smith; Second Lieutenant,
David Fanning; Ensign, John Smith. Com-
missioned September 13, 1775.
Changes in the regiment:
December 12, 1775, Jon'n Titus, Captain
of the Second Company, vice Jesse Brush, pro-
moted Major; Joshua Rogers, First Lieuten-
ant, and Thomas Brush, Second Lieutenant.
February 7 and 8, 1776, Piatt Neil (Vail),
Captain Cow Harbour or Fifth Huntington
Company : Michael Hart, First Lieutenant ;
Isaac Dennis, Second Lieutenant ; Jacob
Concklin, Ensign ; John Buffet, Captain.
South or Fourth Huntington Company: Isaac
Thompson, First Lieutenant ; Zebulon Ketch-
urn, Second Lieutenant ; Joseph Ketchum, En-
sign.
A return of this regiment, dated April 5,
• 1776, gives the following changes:
Majors Jesse Brush and' Jeffry. Smith;
Quartermaster John Roe ; Captain Samuel
Tomson ; Capt. Eben'r Miller; Capa. Nathan
Rose, Capt. Wm. Brewster, Capt. Philetus
Smith. Capt. Joshua Rogers, Capt. Epenetus
Conckling, Capt. Joel Scudder, Capt. John
Buffet, Capt. Piatt Vail, Capt. Gilbert Carle,
Capt. Benijah Strong.
SECOND REGIMENT.
This regiment was authorized to be raised
early in 1776, and there seems to have been no
difficulty in filling up its ranks. The official
record gives the following details :
Colonel, David Mulford.
Lieutenant Colonel, Jon'n Hedges.
First Major, Urial Rogers.
Second Major, George Herrick.
Adjutant, John Gelston.
Quartermaster, Phinias Howell.
Sergt. Major, Lemuel Peirson.
Drum Major, Elias Mathews.
These officers were so returned J^ebruary
10, 1776,
A return of the names of the persons for
the officers of the Second Battalion in Suffolk
county taken according to the directions of
the Provincial Congress by the Committee of
Easthampton and Southampton:
218
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
First Company — Captain, David Howell;
First Lieutenant, Jeremiah Post ; Second Lieu-
tenant, Paul Jones; Ensign, Zaphaniah Rog-
ers.
Second Company — Captain, John Dayton ;
First Lieutenant, Isaac Mulford Hunting;
Second Lieutenant, John Miller, Jr. ; Ensign,
Wm. Heges.
Third Company— Captain, David Pierson ;
First Lieutenant, Daniel Heges ; Second Lieu-
tenant, David Sayre; Ensign, Theophilus
Peirson.
Fourth Company — Captain, David Fithen ;
First Lieutenant, Samuel Conckling; Second
Lieutenant, Thomas Baker; Ensign, Daniel
Conckling.
Fifth Company — Captain Stephen Howell ;
First Lieutenant, John White, Jr. ; Second
Lieutenant, Lemuel Wick ; Ensign, Isaiah
Hallsey.
Sixth Company — Captain, Wm. Rogers;
First Lieutenant, Jesse Halsey: Second Lieu-
tenant, Henry Halsey ; Ensign, Nath'l Rogers.
Seventh Company — Captain, Josiah How-
ell ; First Lieiitenant, Nathaniel Howell ; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, Mathew Howell ; Ensign,
Wm. Stephens.
Eighth Company — Captain, Samuel L'-
Hommedieu ; First Lieutenant, Silas Jessup ;
Second Lieutenant, Edward Conckling; En-
sign, Daniel Fordham.
Ninth Company — Captain, John Sandford ;
First Lieutenant, Edward Topping; Second
Lieutenant, Phillipp Howell : Ensign, John
Hildreth. Commissions issued September 13,
1775-
THIRD REGIMENT.
A third regiment of Suffolk county is men-
tioned and commissions were issued to of-
ficers of the same, but no record of its roster
has been found except the following;
Captain, Israel Scudder; First Lieutenant,
Nath'l Buffet; Second Lieutenant, Epenetus
Smith ; Ensign, John Hart. Commissioned
December 12, 1775, for Third Company, Third
Regiment.
First Lieutenant, Ednund Howell : Second
Lieutenant. Selah Reeve; Ensign, James
Wells. Commissioned June 29, 17/6. for Sec-
ond Company, Third Regiment.
REGIMENT OF MINUTE MEN.
Colonel, Josiah Smith ; Lieutenant Coloneh
John Hulbert ; First Major, Isaac Reeve ; Sec-
ond Major, Jon'n Baker; Adjutant, Ephraini
Marvin (April 4, 1776, vice Isaac Overton,
declined) ; Quartermaster, Eben'r Dayton.
Easthampton Company — Captain, Ezekiel
Mulford; First Lieutenant, John Miller; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, Nath'l Hand ; Ensign, .
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
First Southampton Company — Captain
Zephaniah Rogers; First Lieutenant, Nath'l
Howell, Jr. ; Second Lieutenant, Mathew
Sayer; Ensign, . Commissioned Feb-
ruary 23, 1776.
Second Southampton Company — Captain,
David Pierson ; First Lieutenant, John Foster,
Jr. ; Second Lieutenant, Abraham Rose ; En-
sign, Edward Topping. Commissioned Feb-
ruary 23, 1776.
First Southold Company — Captain, John
Bayley; First Lieutenant, Joshua Youngs;
Second Lieutenant, John Tuthill ; Ensign,
James Reeves. Commissioned May 3, 1776.
Second Southold Company — Captain, Paul
Reeves; First Lieutenant, John Corwin; Sec-
ond Lieutenant, David Horton ; Ensign,
Nath'l Hodson. Commissioned May 3, 1776.
Broot haven, Smithtown, Manor of St.
George and Moriches Company — Captain,
Selah Strong ; First Lieutenant, Wm. Clark ;
Second Lieutenant, Caleb Brewster; Ensign,
Nath'l Brewster. Commissioned April 4,
1776.
Artillery Company — Captain. \\ m. Rog-
ers ; Captain-Lieutenant, John Franks ; First
Lieutenant, Jeremiah Rogers ; Second Lieu-
tenant, Thos. Baker; Lieutenant Fireworker,
John Tuthill. Commissioned February 20,
1776.
The return of this regiment of May 30,
1776, gives:
Isaac Overton, Second Major, vice Baker,
and Captains Nath'l Piatt and Thos. Wicks,
in addition to above.
Benjamin Coe, Captain, mentioned Octo-
ber 9, 1776.
Capt. Wm. Ludlum and Second Lieuten-
ant Ephraim Marston, mentioned December 2,
1776.
None of the Suffolk county troops took
part in the battle of Brooklyn with the ex-
■ ception of Colonel Josiah Smith's regiment,
which, to an estimated strength of 250 men.
was massed in General Woodhull's brigade
with Remsen's regiment. But there is plenty
of evidence that many of them were employed
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
219-
on outpost or picket duty. One writer tells us,
for instance, that Colonel Floyd's "military
services were confined to heading a detach-
ment of militia that was suddenly called to
repel a boat invasion from a British ship at
the outset of the war;" but the Suffolk
Patriots were ready to do their duty when
called upon and gave many evidences of that.
In "New York in the Revolution," by
Comptroller James A. Roberts, Albany, 1898,
the roster of another Suffolk county regiment
of minutemen (there called the Third) is
given as follows:
Colonel, Thomas Terry; Captain, Jonathan
Bailey; Lieutenants, John Tuthill, Joshua
Young; Ensign, James Reeves.
ENLISTED MEN.
Beebe, Lester
Booth, Prosper
Brown, Daniel
Brown, James
Conkling, Nathaniel
Demmon, Jonathan
Dickerson, Nathaniel
Drake, Richard
Gardaner, James
Glover, Ezekiel
Goldsmith, John
Griffing, Peter
Havens, John
Hemsted, Thomas
Horton, Benjamin
Horton, Calvin
Horton, David
Horton, James
King, Benjamin
King, Jeremiah
King, John
King, Jonathan
Newbury, Samuel
Overton, Aaron
Pain, Benjamin
Prince, Thomas
Racket, Absalom K.
Racket, Noah
Rogers, William
Roghers, William
Salmon, Joshua
Salmon, Jonathan
Tabor, Ammon
Tabor, Frederick
Terry, David
Terry, Elijah, Jr
Terry, Thomas
Truman, David
Truman, Jonathan
Tuthill, Christopher
Tuthill, David
Tuthill, James, Jr.
Vail, Benjamin, Jr.
Vail, Daniel
Vail, Elisha
Vail, Jonathan
Vail, Thomas
Wells, lonathan
\\'ii;gins, David
^^'iggins, William
Youngs, John
Youngs, Joseph
This, of course, can hardly be called a
regiment and seems merely to have been,
judging from the names of the officers, the
First Soiithold Company in Colonel Josiah
Smith's regiment. Why such a company
should possess a colonel is hard to say. The
records of the Revolutionarv forces in this
State even after the reverent care bestowed
upon them during the past quarter of a cen-
tury are still very imperfect.
Before leaving the subject of the personnel
of the troops furnished by Long Island to the
war, we may here refer to a regiment which
was raised for operation on the British side.
While the Tories in Kings and Queens coun-
ties were numerous enough to leaven the
whole, it is questionable if any of the mass
of the people would have cared to fight on
either side. There is ample evidence that
this was so with those who trailed a musket or
bumped in a saddle ori behalf of the Con-
gress, and the evidence is equally strong as
to the unwillingness of those of them who were
enrolled on the other side to display even
the rudiments of heroism.
The active military leader on the side of
the Tories was the infamous Edmund Fan-
ning, who for a time was Private Secretary
to Governor Tryon, his father-in-law. Fie
was born at Smithtown, Long Island, April
24, 1739, his father being James Fanning,
a Captain in the British service, and his
mother, Mary, daughter of Colonel William
Smith, of Smithtown. He was educated at
Yale, and admitted to the bar in North Caro-
lina in 1769. In that colony he had a some-
what remarkable career, becoming one of the
Judges of its Supreme Court, and was dis-
tinguished for the energetic measures he took
against every movement tending toward pop-
ular government. In New York his course
was marked by crime, cruelty and bloodshed
in the earlier stages of the Revolution, but
it was not until he raised the corps which he
called "the Associated Refugees" or "King's
American Regiment" that he found full scope
for the innate fiendishness of his disposition.
Many instances of this will be found scattered
throughout these pages, and it is not neces-
sary to refer to it here beyond this general
mention. At the same time it can be said with
truth that he was a brave man and that after-
ward, especially during the nineteen years he-
served as Governor of Prince Edward Island,
220
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
he won the admiration of the people over
whom he ruled, for his splendid executive
ability, his sense of exact justice, and the
possession of all the very qualities which we
associate with the make-up of a wise, in-
dulgent and beneficent ruler. He died at
London, England, February 28, 1818, with
the full rank of General in the army, and his
last years were passed in the enjoyment of a
generous measure of official and public es-
teem and a liberal pension.
Another active militia organizer on behalf
of the Tories was Major Robert Rogers, who,
in spite of the almost demonstrated theory
that he attempted to play the part of a British
spy, led a most stirring life and one that was
full of all the elements of bravery, adventure,
and zeal which made up the lives of all his-
toric figures in our annals. So far as can
be judged from the facts before us, this man
was to a certain extent a soldier of fortune
and was not really very much concerned, so
far as his personal sentiments went, as to
which side he should cast in his lot. He
chose that of King George, probably because
he thought it was certain to win, and thereby
made the great strategical mistake of his life,
for had fortune landed him among the Con-
tinentals he would have achieved fame and
honor, if not more substantial rewards, and
his memory would have been held in venera-
tion, as his many fine qualities would have
amply justified.
He was born in New Hampshire in 1727,
and, early embracing a military career, took
part in the French War of 1754-63 and as
the head of "Rogers' Rangers" performed
many heroic exploits and won considerable
fame. When that war was over he visited
England, but his career there was an unhappy
one. In 1765 he was appointed Governor of
Mackinaw, Michigan, but was accused, ap-
parently on good grounds, of a design to
surrender it to the French, and was sent, a
prisoner in irons, to Montreal. How he got
out of this disgraceful charge is not very
clear. When the Revolutionary War broke
out he tried to ingratiate himself with Wash-
ington, but was suspected by that leader of
being one of the spies then so plentiful, and
was ordered sent under arrest to New Hamp-
shire, to be dealt with by the authorities in his
native State. While on parole he accepted a
commission as Colonel in the British service
and raised a corps called the Queen's Rangers.
A large number of the members of this com-
mand were recruited among the Loyalists of
Long Island immediately after the battle of
the 27th of August.
When the Revolutionary War was over
Rogers went to England and died there in
obscurity, so much so that the date of his
passing away is not known. He was a man
of considerable literary ability, wrote at least
one tragedy which is known to bibliographers,
and his other works contain many brilliant
descriptive passages. Altogether he deserved
a better fate; and possibly, had he only dis-
played some stability of moral character, that
fate might have been his. The "Queen's
Rangers" served little, if at all, on Long
Island, and it is even doubtful whether Long
Island was much represented in its ranks after
the campaign around Harlem; but his leader-
ship carried the command through many a
daring exploit until the termination of hos-
tilities.
We read of several other Tory commands
being raised on Long Island, — notably a corps
of guides, or more properly spies, gathered
together and officered by Colonel Macpher-
son ; and, according to Field, "a company of
more abandoned wretches, it is probable, was
not created by the disorders of a period so
prolific of inhuman and bloodthirsty men."
Such commands always crop up along the
edge as it were of regular armies and find
their uses, ignoble though they be. They can
hardly be regarded as combatants, however,
and ought to be considered as land pirates,
being quite as ready for the sake of plunder
to turn against those along with whom they
march as against the enemy in front or in
rear. In a place like America, then a refuge
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
place for men who had failed in their own
native land, or who had fled from the majesty
of their native laws, there were thousands on
either side of the conflict whose purpose was
simply personal adventure or opportunities
for plunder or the chance of getting food
and raiment, which necessities their own mis-
fortune or misdoings denied their procuring
in any other way. That is the story of everv
war, — the scum which the reign of the sword
brings to the front when the reign of jus-
tice is interrupted.
Having thus discussed in a general way
the military array on both sides which the
island furnished the combatants in that mem-
orable conflict, — a conflict in which Wash-
ington and his confreres were fighting for
the cause of popular liberty in Great Britain
just as much as in the United States, — we
may now turn to see how the triumph of
the British arms and the stay of British troops
aft'ected the residents of the island. To sum
it up briefly, it might be said thar the pre-
vailing sentiment, outside of the enthusiastic
on both sides, was that of "a plague on both
your houses." In Suffolk county there was
continued sullen opposition to British rule, in
Queens and Kings the change was more vo-
ciferously welcomed, but the entire island
was under military rule, military law, and all
classes felt the restraint and the irksomenes.s.
Even those loyal, or disposed to be loyal, to
the Crown had to submit to the officiousness,
the bumptiousness, the dogmatism, the licen-
tiousness, the oaths, the drinking, the total
contempt, often, of all regard to public decency
which so frequently disgraced the royal of-
ficers, while the soldiers under these officers
not only copied the vices of their superiors,
but, as opportunity offered, plundered friend
and foe with equal equanimity. Such con-
duct was at times sternly repressed when the
perpetrators were caught, and the officer in
command was of finer clay than his fellows,
luit in proportion to the number of complaints
such exhiliitions of military justice were few
anfl far between.
But outside of the village of Brooklyn,
Long Island was the home of farmers, en-
gaged in raising produce of some sort or
other, and the jiresence of armed men on
either side, the constant condition of excite-
ment, the surprise parties which performed
their daring feats for the Continentals, the
constant surveillance of the military forces
of the Crown, all gradually became more irk-
some as the years of the occupation passed
on and the military necessities of the situa-
tion caused the grip, as it were, of the Crown
on the island to remain unrelaxed, if not to
become tighter as the prospects of Continental
success became clearer and more pronounced.
Even supposing that the majority of the
islanders were enthusiastic Tories, which they
certainly were not, they could hardly have
been more severely used had they been pro-
nounced Whigs. They were in fact neither
regraded as King's men or Continentals; with-
out the need of careful watching by the party
in power. Their loyalty to Britain was
praised in dispatches to London, but a sharp
watch was kept by the military leaders on
all their doings. Possibly a sigh of relief
went up when the war was declared over and
the farmers were permitted to till their fields
in peace, although, in view of their losses and
in spite of the active part which so many of
their best sons took in the conflict in the
right side, it seemed like adding to the gen-
eral misery for the Legislature of New York
on May 6, 1784, after the British had re-
tired forever, to impose a fine of £37,000 on
Long Island "as a compensation to the other
parts of the State for not having been in
condition to take an active part in the war
against the enemy."
In describing the British occupation the
Hon. Silas Wood wrote : "From 1776 to 1783
the island was occupied by British troops.
They traversed it from one end to the other
and were stationed at different places during
the war. The whole country within the Brit-
ish lines was subject to martial law, the ad-
ministration of justice Vi'as suspended, the
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
army was a sanctuary for crime and robbery,
and the grossest offences were atoned by en-
listment. '■'' * * Those who remained at
home were harassed and plundered of their
property, and the inhabitants generally were
subject to the orders, and their property to
the disposal, of British officers. They com-
pelled them to do all kinds of personal serv-
ices, to work at their forts, to go with their
teams in foraging parties and to transport
their cannon, ammunition, provisions and
baggage from place to place as they changed
their quarters; and to go and come on the
order of every petty officer who had the
charge of the most trifling business.
"During the whole war the inhabitants of
the island, especially those of Suffolk county,
were perpetually exposed to the grossest in-
sult and abuse. They had no property of a
movable kind that they could, properly speak-
ing, call their own; they were oftentimes de-
prived of the stock necessary to the manage-
ment of their farms; and were deterred from
producing more than a bare subsistence by the
apprehension that a surplus would be wrested
from them either by the military, authority
of the purveyor or the ruffian hand of the
plunderer. The officers seized and occupied
the best rooms in the houses of the inhab-
itants; they compelled them to furnish blan-
kets and fuel for the soldiers and hay and
grain for their horses; they took away their
cattle, sheep, hogs and poultry, and seized,
without ceremony and without any compen-
sation, whatever they desired to gratify their
wants or wishes."
After detailing so.me of the pecuniary
losses suffered, the writer continues: "Be-
sides these violations of the rights of person
and property the British officers did many
acts of barbarity for which there could be no
apology. They made garrisons, storehouses
or stables of places of public worship in sev-
eral towns, and particularly of such as be-
longed to the Presbyterians. * * * jn
the fall of 1782, about the time that the pro-
visional articles of the treaty of peace were
signed in Europe, Colonel Thompson (since
Count Rumford), who commanded the troops
then stationed at Huntington, without any
assignable cause except that of filling his
own pockets by furnishing him with a pre-
tended claim on the British treasury, caused
a fort to be erected; and, without any pos-
sible motive except to gratify a malignant dis-
position by vexing the people, he placed it in
the centre of the public burying ground, in
defiance of a remonstrance of the trustees of
the town against the sacrilege of disturbing
the ashes and destroying the monuments of
the dead."
Colonel Benjamin Thompson, so unpleas-
antly pilloried in the above extract, was com-
missioned Lieutenant Colonel of the King's
Dragoons, which body of troops he raised
February 24, 1782; and so far as actually
known his warlike operations were confined
to Long Island, with Huntington as his head-
quarters. He was born in Woburn, Massachu-
setts, March 26, 1753, and but for silly jeal-
ousy on the part of some officers of the New
Hampshire mihtia when he received his ap-
pointment as Major, would have become one
of the leaders of the Continental forces. That
same opposition prevented Washington from
giving him a commission, and, tired of in-
activity and of being regarded with sus-
picion as a Tory, he left the country. Re-
turning in 1 78 1, he actively engaged in the
military life of the time, and received his Brit-
ish commission. Before hostilities closed
he returned to England and henceforth his
life was passed away from his native land.
He died in France in 1814, with a deserved
world-wide reputation as a scientist and phil- .
anthropist. It is one of the regrettable fea-
tures of the Revolution that such men should
by the necessity of things be forced into
exile.
The greatest evil, morally as well as in
all other respects, was that of billeting, al-
though in that matter the Long Isanders were
not one whit worse off than were people in
any country where, even in time of peace,
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
223
billeting was part of the military system.
Even in England, in the days when the peo-
ple— the masses — were regarded as mere
hewers of wood and drawers of water, much
more than they were even in 1776, the billet-
ing of soldiers was an evil which elicited con-
stant grumbling and sometimes even incited
a riot. In Long Island, among the Tory sec-
tion of the population, the practice was thor-
oughly disliked, and where possible every
effort was made to get rid of that special
development of the fruits of victory e.xcepting
in the case of a few ultra Tories, who re-
garded it with a feeling of awe and venera-
tion, believing the troops were in their midst
representing the highest of all earthly au-
thority. But if the practice caused much dis-
content among the ordinary classes of Torie.>
it was received with detestation by the avowed
Whigs, and with sullenness by that seemingly
large part of the population which was
neither Whig nor Tory, and only desired to
be permitted to make their way through the
world in peace. In connection with this
phase of the occupation, Henry Ondendonk,
Jr., wrote:
During the summer British troops were
off the island on active service ; or', if a few
remained here, they abode under tents ; but in
winter they were hutted on the sunny side
of a hill, or else distributed in farmers'
houses. A British officer, accompanied by a
justice of the peace or some prominent Loyal-
ist, as a guide, rode around the country, and
from actual inspection decided how many sol-
diers each house could receive, and this num-
ber was chalked on the door. The only noti-
fication was: "Madam, we have come to
take a billet on your house." If a house had
but one fireplace it was passed by, as the
soldiers were not intended to form part of a
family. A double house for the officers, or
single' house with a kitchen for privates, was
just the thing. The soldiers were quartered
in the kitchen, and the inner door nailed up
so that the soldiers could not intrude on the
household. They, however, often became in-
timate with the family and sometimes inter-
married. The Hessians were more sociable
than the English soldiers, and often made
little baskets and other toys for the children,
taught them German and' amused them in
various ways ; sometimes corrupting them by
their vile language and manners. Any mis-
conduct of the soldiers might be reported to
their commanding officers, who usually did
justice ; but some offenses could not be
proven, such as night-stealing or damage
done the house or to other property. As the
soldiers received their pay in coin they were
flush, and paid liberally for what they bought,
such as vegetables, milk, or what they could
not draw with their rations. These soldiers
were a safeguard against robbers and whale-
boat men. Some had their wives with them,
who acted as washerwomen, and sometimes
in meaner capacities.
From a perusal of the orderly book of
General Delancey, it appears that he used
every means to protect the persons and prop-
erty of the inhabitants of Long Island from
the outrages of, British soldiers. They were
not allowed to go more than half a mile from
camp at daytime (and for this purpose roll
was called several times during the day), nor
leave it under any pretex after sundown with-
out a pass ; but now and then they would slip
out and rob. On the nth of June, 17S8, Mr.
John Willett, of Flushing, was assaulted at
his own house, at 11 o'clock at night, by per-
sons unknown but supposed to be soldiers
from having bayonets and red clothes, who
threatened his life and to burn his house.
The general offered a reward of $10 to the
person who should first make the discovery
to Major Waller; and a like reward for the
discovery of the person who robbed Mr. Wil-
lett on the 9th of June of two sheep, a calf
and some poultry, as he was determined to
inflict exemplary punishment and put a stop
to practices so dishonorable to the King's
service. Again, March 9, 1778, Mrs. Hazard,
of Newtown, having complained that the sol-
diers of the guard pulled down and burnt up
her fence, that was near the guardhouse, the
general at once issued an order to the of-
ficer that he should hold him answerable there-
after for any damage done the fences. So,
too, if a soldier milked the farmers' cows,
he should be punished without mercy ; nor
should he go in the hayfield and gather up
new mown grass to make his bed of._ Gen-
erallv the farmers were honestly paid for
whatever thev sold. For instance, April 23.
224
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
1778, they were notified to call on Mr. Ochil-
tree, deputy commissary of forage at Flush-
ing, with proper certificates and get payment
for their hay.
To adduce one notable case. When Cap-
tain Lambert Suydam was in hiding from the
British, some time after the battle of Brook-
lyn, and, having lost his troop, was seemingly
employed as one of the Continental spies,
he frecjuently visited, by stealth, his own
mitted to return to his home on parole. Says
T. W. Field, who evidently regarded Suy-
dam as a sort of opera-boufi'e hero:
The dangers he had undergone had not,
however, tamed his valiant spirit to that de-
gree which permitted him to suffer without
resentment the indignities and outrages daily
perpetrated by British soldiers on his neigh-
bors. One morning an unwonted clamor in
his barnyard aroused the Captain from his
slumbers, and, creeping to the window of his
home at Bedford. A squad of soldiers was
billeted in the house during that period and
such visits were naturally enough . attended
by great danger. Indeed the redoubtable
Captain had many narrow escapes from cap-
ture, and, of course, an ignominous death ;
and on one notable occasion, but for the ap-
peals of Mrs. Suydam and the tender-heart-
edness of the Sergeant in command of the
troops, his career would have had a tragic
and a summary end. After a year of this
sort of life Suydam made his peace with the
British, took the required oath and was per-
bedroom, he became assured in a short time
that the marauders were at some nefarious
work among his cattle. The dim light of
early morning was rendered still more ob-
scure by a fog, which, however, did not pre-
vent him from observing unusual objects mov-
ing in the cattle yard. The irate trooper was
not deterred from the protection of his prop-
erty by the hazard of his own delicate po-
sition as a prisoner on parole, for there was
little disposition in his reckless soul to sub-
mit to outrages upon his person or his goods.
Reckless of the consequences, he seized his
musket, already loaded with a heavy charge
of buckshot, and fired it in the direction of
THE BRITISH OCCUPATION.
!25
the sound which attracted his attention. The
groans and screams of agony which ensued
sufficiently indicated the effect of the shot;
and when, a few minutes subsequently, the
morning light broke through the mist, it was
discovered that three British soldiers, who
had slaughtered one of the Captain's cows
and were then engaged in removing the skin,
had all been wounded by the shot ! As soon
as information of the occurrence reached the
adjacent camp a squad of soldiers was sent
to carry away the wounded men, one of whom
soon after died. No notice of the affair was
ever taken by the British authorities, nor was
Captain Suydam ever molested. There was
always underlying in the character of most
of the British officers, when its influence was
not deadened by the paralyzing effect of what
they deemed duty to the King, a great liking
for fair play, which kept them silent to severe
measures taken by the Whigs for the protec-
tion of their property.
In spite, however, of the hardships of
billeting, the nefarious doings of marauders
under the guise of Whigs or Tories, the
necessary incidents inseparable from a state
of war, the loose morals of the soldiery and
the evils always and everywhere attendant
upon military occupation, it must be said that
Long Island in reality prospered in many ma-
terial ways during the occupation. It was
not the policy of the British authorities to
stifle whatever loyal sentiments prevailed, and
whenever a "rebel" wished to make his peace
the matter was easily accomplished. Then
it was from Long Island and Staten Island
that the army calculated to draw their sup-
plies, and as a natural result agriculture was
sedulously protected in all cases except those
where an ultra Whig farmer was concerned.
The transit of produce from the island was
placed under strict regulations, although it
seems to us not more strict than was neces-
sary under the circumstances. It may be said
that the British strove to promote the wide-
spread sentiment in favor of the Crown
which certainly existed, and they succeeded
to a marked degree in Kings and Queens
counties. Suffolk county, on the other hand,
continued to be mainly Continental, although
the farmers seemed to be as willing to raise
corn for King George as for George Wash-
ington. Even Suffolk county, had the occu-
pation lasted long enough and had victory
rewarded the invading forces, would have
gradually settled down to view the situa-
tion with equanimity. But the spirit of lib-
erty was abroad. Its influence was win-
ning its way even among the Tories of Long
Island, and by the time the conflict was over
they quietly accepted the changes, and it was
not long after the close of hostilities before
the entire island welcomed the results of the
Revolution and took place with the rest of
the State in the forward march of the new
nation, recognizing, as has since been recog-
nized by British historical writers and tliink-
ers, that the "ragged Continentals" were not
alone fighting for liberty in America but also
for its progress throughout the world.
^'^
CHAPTER XIX.
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS— RICHARD HEWLETT— JOHN RAPALYE
—MAYOR MATHEWS— GOVERNOR GOLDEN- COLONEL
AXTELL— LINDLEY MURRAY AND OTHERS.
OW that the passage of over a cen-
tury has softened many of the sen-
timents inspired by the Revolution-
' ary 'struggles and has put in the
background the errors, mistakes, hardships,
cruelties, sufferings, amenities, estrange-
ments, hates, lies, exaggerations and ex-
travagances of thought, word, deed and
action which characterized the struggle, we
see more clearly than aught else the sacri-
fices made on both sides and the magnitude of
the result attained — a grand star of liberty,
illuminating morning and evening, day after
day, the horizon of all the nations. The grass
has long waved over the graves of those who
took part in the contest on either side, and
their children have followed them; the per-
sonal element in the struggle, has long since
disappeared and we can review the events of
1776 and the years which followed until peace
was proclaimed with the calmness and impar-
tiality due to the consideration of an histori-
cal epoch. The age of polemics, of person-
ality, of sophism, of simple assertion, has gone,
and we must guide our study by the hard logic
of facts ; and that logic impels us to say that
the Loyalists on Long Island were just as sin-
cere in their convictions, as devoted in their
loyalty, as willing to suffer for their senti-
ments, as honest in their views, as were those
who espoused the cause of the young nation.
That they were wrong, that they were virtually
trying to break a spoke in the wheel of human
progress, does not militate against their loyalty,
their honesty, their patriotism even. They took
an erroneous view and suffered; went down
with the wreck of that ship of state to whose
stanchness they trusted their all; but we have
no reason in this year of grace to think un-
kindly of them, and, solely because of their
views, to stigmatize them as "reptiles" and
'thieves" and "traitors" and all manner of evil
names such as were commonly applied to Tor-
ies a century ago or so.
Even British historians have come to look
upon our glorious Revolution with different
eyes than formerly. Bryce has said somewhere
words to the effect that George Washington
was in reality fighting the cause of liberty in
Great Britain as much as in America ; and one
has only to read the chapter in Green's "His-
tory of the English People" (chapter II, vol.
4), to see how that grand historic student re-
joiced in the significances of the movement for
liberty under Washington and understood the
healthful influence its success exerted over the
British Empire. In these circumstances it is
but honest for us to devote a chapter in this
work to recalling the lives and deeds of a few
of those who were conspicuous in their oppo-
sition on Long Island to the success of the new
condition of things.
In all such lists a prominent position must
be given to Captain Richard Hewlett, one of
the most singular characters which the story
of the Revolution brings under our notice.
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS.
227
He was recognized as a Tory of the Tories,
and while the struggle lasted was probably
more hated by the local Continentals, the
Whigs, than any other one of their opponents.
Certainly he gave them abundant cause for
this, and as we read the story of his career from
1775 until 1783 we can fully understand the
reasons for the order, once issued by General
Chas. Lee, that Hewlett "should have no terms
offered to him, but must be secured without
ceremony." Richard Hewlett was born at
Hempstead in 1712. He took part in the
French War of 1757-9, and was at the capture
•of Fort Frontenac in command of a company.
To that campaign Queens county had fur-
nished 290 men, and in the war Hewlett had
among his comrades such men as General
Woodhull, and many other well-known Long
Island men. But most of the veterans of that
brave army remained loyal to Britain when the
time came to make a declaration, and they
formed the main strength of the force which
Hewlett gathered together to fight for King
George. He was an indefatigable plotter and
as outspoken in his denunciation of the Whigs
as the Whigs were of him. Like most of the
Tories in the early days of the movement for
independence, he affected to despise the pa-
triots ; probably he honestly did despise them,
and when, before the battle of Brooklyn, the
Provincial Congress tried to whip Long Isl-
and into line for the new cause, he suffered
many indignities at the hands of those on
whom he would have heaped indignity had cir-
cumstances been reversed. When the island
was practically undeir martial law he defied the
powers that inflicted it and stood out in open
rebellion. He gathered arms and supplies, se-
creting them in safe places for the conflict
which he saw was surely approaching, and
trained his men unceasingly. There was no
hiding of sentiment on his part, and when he
told his old comrade. Major Williams, who
had espoused the Continental cause and had
command of a battalion in the work of sup-
pressing the local Tories, that had he met
that body "we should have warmed their
sides," Williams believed it, and so far as we
can see was devoutly thankful that the meet-
ing did not take place.
Into the details of these repressive meas-
ures we need not here enter, having dwelt upon
them in another chapter ; but from the Patriot
standpoint they were amply justified by the
attitude of the Long Island Lo)'alists, and the
dread of a conspiracy which existed, and which
was seen to be well founded when the facts be-
came known of a deep-laid plot among them
to destroy the young nation by a grand coup.
Into this conspiracy, which had for its main
object the capture of General Washington,
. Hewlett was a prime mover. He was in fact
the leading medium of communication between
the quarter deck of the frigate Asia, on which
Governor Tryon often held his court, and the
Long Island Loyalists, and he was almost con-
stantly passing between that vessel and the
island. We have been unable to discover what
part, if any, Hewlett took in the battle of Long
Island; but we may be sure he was not far
away from its scene, at any rate ; and when the
sun went down on that eventful day in August
he found himself in the changed position he
had for so many months desired, so far as his
Whig neighbors were concerned. He became
the hunter, they the hunted ; behind him was
power, behind them was the grim shadow of
defeat, a cause that appeared hopeless, seem-
ingly ruined lives and abandoned homesteads.
Probably no one was more astounded than
Hewlett at the pertinacity with which, even in
the face of repeated defeat, the Continentals
carried on the struggle.
He received a commission as lieutenant-
ccbnel in De Lancey's corps of Loyalists. In
August he was in command of a detachment
and had turned the village church of which
the Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge, father of Major
Tallmadge, of Revolutionary fame, was then
the pastor, into a fort and barracks, while the
surrounding country v,'as overrun by the usual
gangs of ruthless marauders which generally
accompanied such inferior commands of the
Rovalists. Hearing of this, General Parsons
2-2S
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
determined to try and dispossess the enemy
and sailed from Black Rock Harbor, Connecti-
cut, with a considerable force and a six-
pounder cannon, his flotilla including a sloop
and six whaleboats. Landing at Crane Neck,
he marched to Setauket, surrounded the church
and demanded its surrender. The proposition
was submitted by Hewlett to his men, but they
were unanimous in their desire to fight it out.
Then Hewlett said, in his usual impetuous
way, "I will stick to you as long as there is a
man left." Soon the assault was begun and
continued for some three hours, much gallant-
ry being displayed on both sides and the church
steadily holding fast in spite of the musket
shots and the balls from the brass six-pounder.
Then word was brought to Parsons that some
British ships were in the neighborhood, and
fearing his retreat might be cut off, he re-
treated to his boats, carrying away a few of
Hewlett's horses, and reached Black Rock in
safety. Hewlett was highly praised in the
British reports for his share in the affray. It
is noted by all who chronicle this fight that
Zachariah Green, one of Parsons's soldiers,
afterward, in 1797, became pastor of the very
church he had on this occasion so zealously
tried to storm and destroy.
Green was born at Stanford, Conn., in
1760, and appears to have been a regular dare-
devil. He entered the Continental service at
the outbreak of hostilities, was engaged on
the fortifications of Dorchester Heights, fought
at White Plains and in several other engage-
ments. At White Marsh he was severely
wounded in the shoulder. "This," quaintly
observes the good Dr. Prime, "was probably
the cause of his changing his course of life."
He studied at Dartmouth, was licensed to
preach in 1785, and became minister of Setau-
ket September 27, 1797.
During the continuance of the British oc-
cupation Hewlett seems to have been kept
busy on Long Island in military work, and
his treatment of the Whigs was often marked
by gross cruelty, while he certainly permitted
his command at times, as in the raid on South-
old in 1778, to degenerate into little better
than an organized band of robbers. When
the evacuation took place he was rewarded with
a pension, and, settling in St. John, New
Brunswick, began there a new and very dif-
ferent career, becoming Mayor of that city.
His son Thomas, as pronounced a Tory as
himself, was killed in 1780 at Hanging Rock,
North Carolina, by some Patriot skirmishers.
Thomas was at that time a captain in the New
York Loyal Volunteers.
In John Rapalye we meet a Loyalist of an-
other stamp, equally determined and outspoken,
but less headstrong, a man of peace, but with
all the courage of a hero. The name is the old-
est in Brooklyn, and tradition long presented
the name of Sarah de Rapalje as that of the
first white child born on Long Island. The
date given for that event was June 9, 1625,
in which year her parents, Joris Jansen de
Rapalye and Catalyntje Trico, resided in Al-
bany, and there seems no doubt that her birth
took place there. So the tradition has long
been abandoned by the Brooklyn antiquaries.
Joris Jansen de Rapalje caine to America
from Rochelle, in France, in 1623. He was a
Huguenot, and crossed the Atlantic in com-
pany with many other Rochelle Protestants to
escape religious persecution, or rather to es-
cape from its continuance. From him descend-
ed all of that name on Long Island, a name
that is virtually a part of the history of Brook-
lyn. John Rapalje, the great-great-grandson of
this pioneer, owned, when the Revolutionary
War broke out, ,a valuable tract of land of
some 160 acres. This property extended along
the shore north from the ferry and some dis-
tance up what is now Fulton street, his house
being at the junction of the present lines of
Fulton and Front streets with a garden run-
ning back to the river. He was long recog-
nized as one of the most influential men in
the place, and was chosen to a seat in the
Provincial Assembly. He was a man of wide,
liberal views, of unblemished character, and
possessed of many grand qualities. All this is
gathered from the writings of the Whigs, to-
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS.
229
whom the name of Tory was a synonym for
all that men generally hold unworthy. He
adhered to the Loyalist cause steadfastly and
outspokenly, and his influence was so dreaded
by the Patriots that, in one of the raids made
with a view of wheeling the British sympa-
thizers into line with the Continental ideas,
he was arrested and sent into exile in New
Jersey.
It was while he was in this enforced seclu-
sion, and because of it, that his wife nearly
succeeded in bringing to an unhappy conclu-
sion the cause of the struggling republic.
She had suffered much indignity and in-
sult at the hands of the Whigs, and it
is said that some of the soldiers in the
line of defenses, while practicing with artil-
lery, aimed a cannon at her home and sent
a bullet into its walls. Such things did not
tend to improve her natural disposition, how-
ever sweet and Christian-like it may have been,
although as long as she could not help herself
she was contented with nourishing a spirit of
revenge. Finally her opportunity came, and
she fully arose to it. After the battle of
Brooklyn, her home being within the Conti-
nental lines, her property was in more jeopardy
than ever, and so she continued to lie quiet
and wait. From her windows, on the after-
noon of the retreat, she could see by the hun-
dreds of boats gathering around the ferry from
all quarters that some important movement was
on foot ; but it was not until 8 o'clock, when
the first detachment of the retreating forces
marched past her house to the shore, that she
grasped the situation and realized its full im-
port. Now came her opportunity. Knowing
the importance of the British being at once
apprised of the retreat, and aware that she
would be detected and arrested if seen out of
doors, she told the circumstances to a negro
slave and sent him out to reach the British
camp and impart the information to the first
British officer he should meet. The negro
made his way in safety out of the American
lines ; but, as fortune would have it, he entered
the British lines at a point held by Hessian
troops. These worthies, of course, could not
understand his talk, and, thinking him merely
a petty thief, retained him all night under
guard instead of haling him before some one
who could understand his jargon. In the morn-
ing, when matters were cleared up, it was too
late for his information to be of anj' use. The
retreat had passed into history. On what a
slight thread do the histories and fortunes of
nations often hang!
During the British occupation of Long
Island Rapalye returned to Brooklyn, and
probably heard with equanimity that on Octo-
ber 2-j, lyjcj, a decree of attainder and con-
fiscation was passed against him by Congress.
In October, 1783, when the end of the conflict
was in sight, knowing that there was little
use in his trying, like so many others, to make
an arrangement with the victors, he went to
England and settled in the old town of Nor-
wich. The British government seems to have
recompensed him, to a certain extent, for the
loss he sustained by his loyalty, and he died
at Kensington, London, January 12, 1802.
When he left Long Island he carried with him
the deeds of his estate and a large number of
public papers, including, it is said, the early
town records of Brooklyn. In course of time
these papers came into possession of his grand-
daughter, Mrs. Weldon, of Norwich. In 1810,
accompanied by her husband, that lady came to
this country, bringing with her the old papers
with the view of instituting proceedings for
the recovery of her grandfather's property,
which, on July 13, 1784, had been sold by the
Commissioners of Forfeited Estates to Com-
fort and Joshua Sands for $12,430 in state
scrip. Mrs. Weldon placed her case in the
hands of Aaron Burr and B. D. Ogden, but
after a thorough inquiry they advised her
against pressing the matter, as the Act of At-
tainder barred all chance of success. So she
gathered up her papers and departed, and the
Brooklyn records once more passed over the
sea. Many eminent lawyers have regretted
that a writ of replevin had not been secured,
by which the municipality could have claimed
230
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and won possession of documents belonging
to it which should never have become private
property, but around 1810 people were not so
thoroughly appreciative of the value of such
records.
David Mathews, Mayor of New York City
during the troublesome years between 1776
and 1784, was a noted and prominent figure
in the ranks of the confirmed Tories. He
was the grandson of Colonel Peter Mathews,
who came to America in the suite of Governor
Fletcher in 1692. This pioneer had a son
Vincent, who married Catalina, daughter of
Mayor Abeel, of Albany, and their children
were David (the Mayor) Fletcher, James and
a daughter. All the family except the Mayor
were Whigs, or at least were indifferent as to
the outcome of the great events then passing.
Mathews was appointed Mayor on the resig-
nation of Whitehead Hicks, of Flushing, in
February, 1776, and the appointment was con-
firmed by Governor Tryon on board the Duch-
ess of Gordon, a frigate in New York harbor.
Most of his time for a while from that on
seems to have been spent at his country home
at Flatbush, and the deck of the vessel on
which the then nominal Governor of New
York kept up his dignity as the representative
of King George. Probably Mathews could
be more fittingly described as a plotter than
a Mayor, and it seems reasonably certain that
every scheme evolved between in the early part
of 1776 to undermine the strength of the Con-
tinental forces was either planned in his coun-
try home, or if conceived elsewhere was there
studied out and prepared for being put in ope-
ration. Chief of these was what is called the
Hickey plot to capture General Washington.
Says Field :
"The plot undoubtedly had its inception on
board of the Asia, was matured at Flatbush,
the residence of Mayor Matthews, and relied
for its principal sustainers and adherents upon
the Loyalists of Long Island. The nightly
return of Matthews to his residence, not more
than four or five miles from the landing place
of boats from the Asia, and his daily return to
the city, made him the fittest organ of com-
munication between the Governor and the Loy-
alists. The conspiracy failed to accomplish
anything except to increase the rigors of the
surveillance over the Long Island Loyalists,
who felt its influence for many months subse-
quently."
Mathews was arrested and held in close
custody in Connecticut for some time. There
was really no evidence discovered against him
in connection with the plot, although suspi-
cious circumstances v.-ere plentiful. He was
subsequently released and resu.ned his office
of Mayor, an office which was merely a nom-
inal one even during the British occupation.
In 1782 Mathews was appointed Registrar
of the Court of Admiralty. On the conclusion
of the war he retired to Canada, where he be-
came President of Council of the island of
Cape Breton, and so passes out of our history.
A much more important, more honorable
and lovable figure among the Loyalists was the
sturdy old Lieutenant Governor, Cadwallader
Golden, whose home, Springhill, Flushing,
was for many years the real gubernatorial
mansion of the colony; in fact, for the fifteen
years which preceded the Revolution he was
regarded as the most conspicuous representa-
tive of the royal authority. His career has
been sketched in a previous chapter, but the
story of his family may here be referred to,
showing, as it does, that while most of them
continued to hold Loyalist views, others were
really indifferent about the matter; but the
third generation developed into devoted Amer-
ican citizens. This was generally the case all
around, so far as the writer's research has dis-
covered, e-xcept in the case of a few ultra To-
ries, whose descendants even at the present day
have a sentimental loyalty for the British
throne, just as the British Jacobites- have, or
pretend to have, for the living descendants of
"the auld Stuarts."
Regarding Colden's family, Thompson, in
his "History of Long Island," gives the fol-
lowing details : "He had five sons and five
daughters, a part of whom only survived him.
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS.
231
His daughter Elizabeth married Peter de Lan-
cey ; Jane married Dr. William Farquhar ; and
Alice married Colonel William Willett. Three
of Governor Colden's sons, Alexander, Cad-
wallader and David, were successively Sur-
veyor Generals and prominent men in the col-
ony. His son David, to whom he bequeathed
the farm at Springhill, becoming a warm and
active Loyalist in the Revolution, lost his estate
by forfeiture and retired to England in 1784,
where he died July 10 of the same year. He
was bred to the profession of physic, which,
however, he never practiced. He was fond
of retirement, was much devoted to scientific
pursuits, and his correspondence with learned
men in Europe and America is to be found in
the publications of the time. His wife was
Ann, daughter of John Willett, of Flushing.
She died at Coldenham, Orange county, in
August, 1785. They had one son and three
daughters. Their daughter Mary married
the late Jonah Ogden Hoffman, Esq. ; Eliza-
beth married Edward W. Laight; and Cath-
erine married the late Thomas Cooper."
Alexander Colden seems to have made his
peace with the Federal Government. He ap-
pears to have resided at Coldenham and in
1742 opened the first store in that village, and
in 1752 was one of the company who received
a renewal of the Newburgh patent from Gov-
ernor Clinton.
Cadwallader D. Colden, only son of David
Colden and grandson of the Lieutenant Gov-
ernor, was the next man of the family to be-
come really prominent in public affairs. He
was born at Springhill April 4, 1769, and was
educated at Jamaica. In 1784 he accompanied
his father to England, but returned to New
York in about a year. He then engaged in the
study of law, was admited to the bar and en-
tered upon practice in Poughkeepsie in 1791.
In 1793 he married Maria, daughter of Bishop
Provost, of New York, and three years later
settled in New York City, of which he became
district attorney. He rapidly rose at the bar
until he held the most prominent position in
the profession in the city, especially in connec-
tion with commercial matters.
But his ambition lay in another direction
than his profession, and the highest aspirations
of his life were for a political career. He
early won the friendship of De Witt Clinton,
and through the influence of that great states-
man speedily found an honored place in public
affairs. 'At the same time he lost no opportu-
nity in personally exerting himself to add to
his popularity among the people, and this led
him, among other exploits, to raise a regiment
of volunteers in the War of 1812 and to be
active in the work of preparing the city to
meet the expected invasion of the British at
that time, although probably he cared as little
for military matters as he cared for astronomy.
In 1818 he was elected by Clinton's influence
a member of Assembly, and that same influ-
ence, in the same year, landed him in the chair
of the Mayor of New York, which he con-
tinued to occupy until 182 1. It was, however,
only a step toward the goal of his ambition,
the Governor's seat at Albany; and another
step thitherward was taken in 1824, when he
was chosen a State Senator. He supported
Clinton in all public measures and projects,
and was particularly outspoken in advocacy of
the latter's canal policy. In 1827 he retired
from the Senate, and seemed somehow to lose
his grip on the situation. So, much against
his own desire, he retired to private life, a
sadly disappointed man.
In 1829 he publicly renounced Freenia-
sonr)-, in which, as in politics, he had been a
prominent figure for many years, and in which,
as in politics, he missed the goal of his ambi-
tion, the Grand Mastership of the State, when
it seemed within his grasp. In 1829 the fa-
mous anti-Masonic movement over the disap-
pearance of William Morgan was just reaching
its height, and he probably hoped to win a new
lease of political influence by casting in his
lot with the "anti-Masons," even then showing
signs of becoming a prodigious power in State
and also in national politics. Certainly he was
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
welcomed into his new fold, and his skillfully
written letter of renunciation was circulated
by thousands, reaching every hamlet in the
State. But even this produced no lasting
effect on his fortunes, and he fell back into
obscurity, in which he remained until his death
at Jersey City, in 1834.
He was a man of more than ordinary abil-
ity, endowed with much of the literary taste
of his grandfather, was a reputable citizen in
all respects and fulfilled every duty imposed
upon him with marked fidelity and usefulness.
He never could be described as brilliant, nor
could he be called a mere figurehead. He
won many powerful friends and he exerted for
a series of years a potent degree of influence
in the councils of his political party ; but there
was an air of insincerity about everj^thing he
did which prevented his friends or the people
becoming enthusiastic in his behalf at any
point, and so in the merciless kaleidoscope of
political life he went down into obscurity, un-
wept, unhonored and unsung. He was the last
of his race to acquire any prominence in local
or State affairs.
We may now turn again from civil to mili-
tary life and recall the once well-known name
of Isaac Corsa, for many years a prominent
merchant in New York City. His firm, Corsa
& Bull, was so long prominent that the estab-
lishment it occupied near Peck Slip became a
landmark. John Austin Stevens, in his volume
on "Colonial Records of the New York Cham-
ber of Commerce," writes: "He (Corsa) was
a distinguished officer in the old French War.
He received his commission as captain on the
25th of September, 1775. He led a detach-
ment of Queens county men as colonel at the
capture of Fort Frontenac (Kingston), Au-
gust, 1758, and on the night of the 25th of
August volunteered to erect a battery under
the enemy's fire. Here he was slightly wound-
ed. The next day the fort surrendered, under
the fire. On the breaking out of the Revolu-
tion he clung to the crown, and on the 12th
of August, 1776, was arrested by order of
General Washington and sent prisoner to Nor-
wich and Middletown. He was released on
his parole and promised to return when sent
for the following December. He married
Sarah Franklin in April, 1758. She was the
sister of Walter Franklin, a wealthy New York
merchant, who resided at Maspeth. After his
death Colonel Corsa occupied the mansion.
Colonel Corsa died at Flushing, 3d May, 1807,
in the eightieth year of his age. He is said
to have been small in stature and juvenile in
appearance, though an intrepid officer. His
only child, Maria Franklin, was married to
John I. Staples."
One of the most violent and unscrupulous,
and in many respects most depraved, of the
Long Island Tories was Colonel William Ax-
tell, of Melrose Hall, Flatbush. He claimed
descent from an officer in Cromwell's army
who was beheaded by Charles II ; but if so
his descendants must have entertained very dif-
ferent notions respecting the monarchical insti-
tution, for William Axtell saw, or pretended
to see, no blot on the royal escutcheon.
He was born on the island of Jamaica, a
member of a family possessing extensive land-
ed interests ; but he seems to have sold all his
property in that island before settling in New
York in 1759. He appears to have been re-
ceived with open arms by the local gentry in
New York City, married into the De Peyster
family, and became a member of the King's
Council. In 1763 he purchased Melrose Hall,
which continued to be his home until it was
wrested from, his possession by an act of for-
feiture, which took effect as soon as the Brit-
ish evacuated New York and the American
flag was run up at the Battery.
The house, even in pre-Revolutionary days,
was a notable one. It was built about 1749,
in the style of an old English country man-
sion, by a gentleman named Lane, and its sur-
rounding grounds and flower gardens and am-
ple lawn were alone sufficient to give it promi-
nence in a neighborhood where such adorn-
ments were neglected, and a kitchen garden
was regarded as the embodiment of horticul-
tural skill. But the interior was even more
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS.
wonderful. Its large chambers and gilded
halls, its luxurious furniture, and, above all,
its abundance of secret chambers, dismal and
roomy vaults and skillfully contrived hiding
places, invested it with a degree of mystery
in the minds of the simple people around it
and gave rise to the usual routine of ghost
stories so familiar a part of the history of most
old English country mansions. Its first owner
used it — probably built it — as a means of min-
istering to his low and debauched tastes, and
its walls often witnessed bacchanalian excesses
and sensual orgies, while the air rang with
laughter and the wild shrieks of maudlin, dis-
sipated, degraded pleasure-seekers. In Ax-
tell's hands the morals of the place became
more pure, but it remained a center of intrigue,
a splendid place for secret meetings, and the
ghost stories grew more vehement, and, ac-
cording to the popular mind, more easily con-
firmed. In its vaults many an ardent Patriot,
it was averred, was confined until his spirit
was broken and his life cast out; many cruel-
ties were inflicted upon those who were be-
guiled into its mysterious chambers ; and the
spirit of a young woman who had met her
fate in one of its apartments was seen to wan-
der around at intervals and bemoan her un-
timely end. So the stories used to run, and
the Flatbush folks grew to believe in the ghost
and to revel in the notion of having a haunted
house in their midst.
In the measures adopted against the Whigs
prior to the battle of Brooklyn, Colonel Axtell
felt the heavy hand of successful rebellion and
had to submit to many humiliations. But these
he afterward repaid with a more than usually
liberal measure of interest and continued to
pay with equal liberality until the curtain was
rung down upon British dominion over what
by that time was the United States. But while
the Whigs were supreme he was made to feel
that he was on the losing side, and the last act
undertaken against an individual by the Conti-
nental forces on Long Island prior to the de-
feat was directed against him. A day or two
before the battle of Brooklyn, when Flatbush
was in the hands of the British, Axtell was
jubilant and had gathered around him at din-
ner a large party of red-coated officers. In
the midst of the hilarity of the occasion a well-
directed shell from one of the Continental bat-
teries on a neighboring height plunged into the
house. It created considerable consternation,
naturally enough, but did no real damage, al-
though it effectively reminded Axtell that he
was not yet entirely rid of his persecutors,
even although surrounded by one of the most
magnificent armies which up to that time Great
Britain had sent across a wide stretch of sea.
In 1778 Axtell raised a regiment of Colo-
nial infantry, of which he was commissioned
colonel. During the entire length of the Brit-
ish occupation Axtell rode, it may be said,
"rough-shod" over his former oppressors, and
became more overbearing and cruel than ever
irumor had imputed even to the most rampant
of the Whigs. He showed the power of an iron
hand without even the slightest pretext at cov-
ering it with a silken glove. So obnoxious did
he become that Captain Marriner, the Whig
freebooter, once made a special descent on
Flatbush with the avowed intention of cap-
turing him and Mayor Mathews, as well as
284
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
one or two others of like stamp. The descent
might have been successful had it not been for
the fact that Axtell and Mathews happened
to be away from their homes on the night it
was planned. However, Stiles, in his "His-
tory of Kings County," very pertinently says
that, "even if Colonel Axtell had been at home
his capture would have been no easy task, for
the house abounds in secret closets and out-of-
the-way nooks where one could easily hide."
When peace was concluded the Axtell home
at Flatbush was sold by the Commissioners of
Forfeited Estates to Colonel Aquilla Giles, an
American officer who had married Miss Ship-
ton, a niece of Mrs. Axtell. In 1809 Colonel
Giles transferred the property to another sol-
dier of the Revolution. In 1836 it became the
home of James Mowatt (husband of the once
famous actress, Mrs. Mowatt, afterward Mrs.
Ritchie), and so contined until 1841. In 1880
the march of "modern improvements" necessi-
tated the removal of the old structure, and part
of it — the central portion — was removed to
Bedford avenue, near Winthrop street, where
it still stands, shorn of its fine proportions,
its historic fitness and its usefulness even as a
"relic."
We may now mention another Tory, or
rather a reputed Tory, who won renown much
more widespread and lasting than the measure
accorded to any treated in this chapter, but in
an entirely different direction. This was Lind-
ley Murray, whose name as a grammarian was
for years a familiar one on the lips of children
wherever the English language was taught,
and even to-day, although his grammar has
long since met the usual fate of school-books
and bi'en relegated to the catalogue of educa-
tional curiosities, his name is still regarded as
a synonym expressive of the study itself. I
have designated Murray as a reputed Tory, for
although up to a certain point in the contro-
versy with the mother country he was in full
accord with the Patriots, was even elected, in
May, 1775, a member of the Committee of One
Hundred, still when the war broke out his
religious sentiments did not permit him to take
part in any bloodshed ; and, to be away from
the armed strife and also to recruit his weak
strength, he removed to Islip, where he spent
some four years mainly engaged in the enjoy-
ment of country pleasures, boating, fishing,
etc. It was while in retirement that he earned
the title of Tory, the result of his kind and gen-
erous heart. Speaking of this in connection
with the measures adopted against the Tories
prior to the defeat of August 27, 1776, Mr.
Field, the historian of the battle of Long
Island, says :
"There was at this time residing at Islip
a Quaker gentleman of some estate in whom
the troubles of the times developed a perspi-
cuity of reason and an acuteness of expres-
sion which have left their mark upon our lan-
guage. Lindley Murray, whose name is almost
as devoutly hallowed for his high virtues as
it is famous for his eminence in learning, had
retired to this remote and quiet spot to escape
the angry turbulence of the city; but his be-
nevolence would not permit him to remain in
idleness while so many of his countrymen
were suffering for want of the common neces-
saries of life. The strict blockade of the port
by the British cruisers had so obstructed the
transactions of commerce that salt was sold at
a price that made it almost unattainable by the
poor. To supply this want Mr. Murray estab-
lished salt works at Islip and devoted himself
to its manufacture. The kindly Quaker was
but little molested in person by his Whig
neighbors, but he retired from the country to
the city when he saw the rancor which was
kindling between the factions and the severity
with which some of his Loyalist friends were
treated."
Such was the man whose innate kindness
caused him to be dubbed a Tory at a time when
every evil attribute possible to mankind was
held to be included in such a title ! It is very
possible that Murray was a Loyalist in heart ;
indeed, his career seems clearly to prove that;
but he was a non-combatant and unconnect-
ed with intrigue, while his known philan-
thropy and blameless life might have spared
SOME LONG ISLAND LOYALISTS.
235
him the obloquy which was thrown upon him
during those years of trial and long afterward.
Lindley Murray was born at Swataca,
Pennsylvania, April 22, 1745. His father,
Robert Murray, soon after Lindley's birth,
removed to New York, where he became one
of the greatest merchants of his time. His
firm, Murray, Sansom & Company, occupied a
large building on Queen (Pearl) street, be-
tween Beekman street and Burling slip, and
Murray became so wealthy that he was one of
the five men in New York who owned a pri-
vate carriage. Being a Quaker and not given
to boasting, however, he never spoke of "my
carriage," but always of "my leather conven-
iency." The great merchant was a loyal Amer-
ican and steadfastly kept abreast of the move-
ment for reform which finally developed into
a struggle for independence. His wife was
even more pronounced in her patriotism, and
it is said that her womanly wit had much to
do with the successful retreat of the American
amiy to King's Bridge in September, 1776.
Walter Barrett, in his "Merchants of New
York," says :
"Old Robert Murray had a farm out on the
East River in the neighborhood of old Dr.
Gerardus Beekman's place at the head of
King's Road. There Mrs. Murray entertained
General Howe and his stafif with refreshments
after their landing at Kipp's Bay on purpose
to afford time to General Putnam to lead off
his troops in retreat from the city, which he
effected."
Mrs. Lamb, in her "History of New York,"
tells the story in much similar style. "Mrs.
Murray, the mother of Lindley Murray, the
grammarian, was personally known to Tryon ;
he introduced the British Generals, who,
charmed with the beauty of her cool parlors and
the tempting wine with which she bountifully
supplied them, loitered in gay and trivial occu-
pation. For Mr. Thatcher, relating this inci-
dent in his journal, says : 'It has since become
almost a common saying among our officers
that Mrs. Murray saved this part of the Ameri-
can army.' "
Lindley was intended by his father to be
his associate in business, but the young man
seems to have had little taste for trade and
ran away from home to escape from it. His
escapade did not last long, but when he re-
turned he was sent, in accordance with his
own wishes, to study law, and in 1765 was ad-
mitted to the bar. His legal business never
amounted to anything, but his health was weak
and he was unable to maintain the routine and
study necessary to success in that most jealous
of the learned professions.
I again quote Walter Barrett : "When the
war broke out Lindley's law business was used
up. So he retired to Islip and determined to
stay there until the war storm had passed
away. He kept quiet four years and then went
to New York to try commerce instead of law.
His father gave him a large credit to import
goods from London. The goods arrived. He
sold them at great profits and kept on doing
so until the war closed. Every year added
largely to his capital, and when independence
was established he was well off and able tO'
retire from business. He did so and purchased
a country seat three miles from New York,
at Bellevue. Alas ! after a few months his
health failed in this paradise and he removed
to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Finding his
health feeble, he consulted one of the first phy-
sicians of New York. He advised a perma-
nent change of climate, where the summers
were more temperate and less relaxing and
where he would not lose in warm weather the
bracing effects produced by the rigor of win-
ter. The advice was accepted. Yorkshire, in
England, was thought a proper place. The
voyage was made in 1784. He selected and
bought a place at Holdgate, near York, and
that became his habitation for many years of
his life. There he wrote the books which have
immortalized his name. His affairs in America
were managed by his father until he died, in
1786, then his brother John managed them>
until Lin.dley died, in 1826."
JNIurray's first work, "The Power of Re-
ligion on the J\Iind," was published in 1787,
236
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and enjoyed a remarkable degree of success,
although in that respect it was far surpassed
by his "English Grammar," written for the
use of a female seminary near York and pub-
lished in 1795. His other writings were main-
ly of religious character and have long been
forgotten, even his once famous grammar, as
we have said, being little more nowadays than
a name. Chambers's Encyclopedia contemptu-
ously dismisses it with the remark : "There
can be no stronger indication how entirely
the systematic study of the English language
was until recent years neglected than the fact
that Murray's Grammar was for half a century
the standard text-book throughout Britain and
America."
In concluding several notices regarding
the Munray family, Walter Barrett, in the
delightful work from which I have quoted,
saysi :
"Lindley earned an immense sum by his
various works, but the profits he invariably
devoted to benevolent purposes. When he
died he left by will several bequests to chari-
ties in England. After his wife deceased the
residue of his property was to be transferred
to New York City and vested in trustees so
as to form a permanent fund, the yearly in-
come in produce of which was to be appropri-
ated in the following manner: In liberating
black people who may be held in slavery, as-
sisting them when free and giving their de-
scendants or the descendants of other black
people suitable education. What became of the
money to do this is a question of curiosity that
arises to one's mind when he reads this."
CHAPTER XX.
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES — GENERAL WOODHULL— COLONEL
TALLMADGE — GENERAL PARSONS — COLONEL MEIGS.
T \MLL not be out of keeping with the
plan and scope of this work to pause
before leaving the period of the Revo-
hition and devote a chapter to briefly
recording the life stories of several of those
heroes belonging to the island who were
foremost in the fight for liberty and in-
dependence. Such a study will serve two
ends : it will enable us to dwell more
particularly upon the personal careers of
these men than could well be done in the
course of the general story, and it will afford
room for the narration of several interesting
details which throw instructive side lights
upon the progress of that grand struggle
which developed the American Colonies into
a nation.
In many respects the greatest of the Long
Island Revolutionary heroes was General Na-
thaniel Woodhull, a man of most lovable char-
acter, a stanch patriot, a sincere Christian, a
statesman, and a soldier who had won a repu-
tation for personal courage and military skill
long before the time came for him to give up
his life in the service of his native land.
Nathaniel Woodhull was born at Mastic,
Brookhaven township, December 30, 1722. He
was the son of Nathaniel Woodhull of Brook-
haven, who was descended from RicharcT
Woodhull, a native of Thetford, Northamp-
ton, who had to leave England in 1648 on ac-
count of some political trouble shortly before
the restoration of Charles II to the throne.
He was one of the original settlers of Ja-
maica, his name being recorded in the original
deed as one of the "proprietors ;" but he
seems to have soon (1655) removed to Brook-
haven, where he settled on an extensive tract
of land. Thompson, in his sketch of Wood-
hull, says : "An original paper of Lord Crew
to him (Richard) dated in 1687, in answer to-
one of his, is among the papers of the late
Abraham Woodhull, Esq., of Brookhaven, in
which he styles him as cousin and speaks of
his relations, among whom he enumerates a
bishop [of Durham] and a number of families
of the first rank in society."
The accuracy of all this is rendered some-
what dubious by the fact that in 1687 there
was no personage as "Lord Crew" or Crewe,
that title in the baronage having only been
created in 1806, and: that the head of the
Crewe family and holder of the estate in 1687
was a young woman. However all that may
be, there is no doubt that Richard Woodhull,
when he arrived in New York, was a man of
considerable means, and the possessor also of
much personal influence. He received two
patents for his property, one from Governor
Richard Nicolls in 1666 and one from Gov-
ernor Dongan in 1686, He soon acquired a
measure of importance in his Long Island
home, for we find that in 1663 he represented
Brookhaven in a General Court convened at
Hartford, Connecticut. This importance fol-
lowed him throughout his career, whether
British or Dutch held sway. The former ap-
pointed him in 1666 a Justice of the Court
288
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of Assizes, and the latter in 1673 commissioned
him a Magistrate for Brookhaven. He died
in 1690, at the home he had founded.
General Nathaniel Woodhull was third in
descent from this pioneer, and being the eldest
son was educated according to old English
ideas, with the view of his being called upon,
in time, to the duty of administering the family
estate. His many excellent qualities and emi-
nent ability soon marked him for public serv-
ice, and he seems to have early entered upon
a military career. There is some doubt as to
when he entered the military service, but in
1758 he served as Major under General Aber-
crombie in the campaign against Crown Point
and Ticonderoga, and distinguished himself by
his gallantry at Fort Frontenac (Kingston).
In 1760 he took part, as colonel of the Third
Regiment, New York Provincials, in the cam-
paign under General Amherst, which resulted
in the conquest 01 Canada, and at the close of
the campaign he returned to his home on
Long Island with the view of enjoying a life
of pleasant retirement. In 1761 he married
Ruth, daughter of Nicoll Floyd, of Brookha-
ven, and sister of General William Floyd, one
of the Signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence representing New York.
In 1768 the New York Assembly passed a
resolution to the effect that no tax could or
should be imposed upon the people of New
York without the consent of the people
through their Representatives in the Assembly,
and that they had a right to consult with other
Colonies on all matters pertaining to the lib-
erties of the people. As a result Governor
Moore, having no use for men who held such
sentiments, dissolved that Assembly. In the
election which followed in the spring of 1769
the people of Suffolk county by their votes
upheld the position of the Assembly, and to
represent their views elected William Nicoll
(a member of the former Assembly) and Na-
thaniel Woodhull. For the six years which
followed of peaceful struggle to preserve the
freedom of the people, the two representatives
from Suffolk gave many evidences of- their
sincere and disinterested patriotism. As a re-
sult, when the crisis approached, Woodhull
was the chosen Representative of his county in
the convention which met in New York City
April ID, 1775, to elect delegates to the Con-
tinental Congress. On May 22, 1775, he rep-
resented Suffolk in the Provincial Congress,
which then met in New York, and which body
at once assumed complete sovereign control
over the affairs of the Colony. This Congress,
as one of its first steps, reorganized the militia
service, dividing it into brigades, and in this
arrangement the forces of Suffolk and Queens
counties were united with Colonel Woodhull
as Brigadier General, and Jonathan Law-
rence, Representative of Queens in the Provin-
cial Congress, as Brigade Major, or, as it
would now be called. Adjutant. In August,
1775, General Woodhull was elected Presi-
dent of the Provincial Congress, and was re-
elected to that office in the still more pro-
nounced anti-British Congress which was
elected in 1776 and which on July 9 of that
year, as soon as it met for the first time, at
White Plains, adopted the immortal Declara-
tion of Independence, which had been signed
at Philadelphia on the Fourth, a few days
preceding.
On July loth the New York Provincial
Congress threw royalty aside without cere-
mony. While busy with his legislative duties
General Woodhull was unceasing in his efforts
to wheel Long Island into line on the side of
the Continentals, and although his work was
by no means successful in Kings or Queens
it was amply so in Suffolk. He certainly,
however, reduced the Tory resistance to its
narrowest dimensions in the two first-named
counties, and as certainly prevented many wa-
verers from going over openly to the enemy.
If, sometimes, we cannot justify all that was
done in his name as President of Congress
against the Loyalists, we must remember that
a state of war prevailed, and such a state is
never conducive to the exemplification of the
Christian beatitudes, even though, at times,
Psalm-singing and prayer may accompany it.
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
239
Meanwhile the British force had landed on
Staten Island.
On August lo, General Woodhull obtained
leave of absence from Congress to attend to
some private affairs at Mastic, and he was
there when word was received that the enemy-
had landed troops near Bath and seemed to be
threatening New York from Brooklyn. It
should be remembered that even then the pre-
cise British plan of operations for the capture
of New York had not become fully evident.
Orders were at once sent to him to call out
the entire militia of Queens county and part
of the forces of Suffolk county and remove,
or when that was not practicable, destroy,
stock and such other supplies as might be use-
ful to the invaders on the island, or on such
parts of it as were likely to be reached by
their scouting and foraging parties. Accord-
ingly he at once proceeded to Jamaica to carry
out his orders, but found that the whole force
consisted of about loo men, led by Colonel
Potter, of Suffolk, and fifty horsemen, repra
seating Kings and Queens. The other forces
ordered to support him did not, for many rea-
sons, do so, and the Queens county militia,
by its unwillingness to serve or open desertion,
had dwindled down to a mere skeleton organi-
zation. Despite the weakness of his force.
General Woodhull at once proceeded to carry
his instructions into effect as well as he could,
and he succeeded in capturing a considerable
quantity of cattle and other live stock, which
he sent out of the immediate reach of the foe.
In the course of these operations his little
army steadily dwindled until it numbered less
than loo. The result of the battle of Brooklyn
on August 27th completely cut off Woodhull's
little force from the rest of the army, and he
retired to Jamaica with the view of awaiting
developments or new orders. He had sent Ma-
jor Lawrence to the Provincial Congress and
to General Washington asking instructions and
reinforcements. Congress sent messages to
Connecticut asking the aid of the towns on
the Sound in removing the stock from Long
Island and forwarded a letter to General
Washington requesting that the two Long
Island regiments, or what was left of them, be
snet to Jamaica. It also sent two of its mem-
bers with instructions and advice to Woodhull,
who, it was hoped, was able to maintain his
headquarters at Jamaica.
These 'representatives never reached Ja-
maica. Washington, for sufficient military
reasons, refused to send him the two regi-
ments, or 1,000 men, as one communication
put it. All this dickering and letter-writing
occupied time, and the delay somehow in-
spired Woodhull with the belief that the rein-
forcements so much needed would be sent.
Therefore he decided upon remaining at Ja-
maica until these arrived or until orders to
retreat had been received, although instant re-
treat across the Sound or to the east end of the
island would have been amply justified. But
he believed a soldier should obey orders, and
having received no fresh orders, he felt that
he could not honorably leave the post to which
he had originally been assigned. Early on
August 28th he ordered his handful of men to
take up a position four miles east of Jamaica,
but he lingered in that village himself until
the afternoon in the hope of receiving some
message from Congress or from General
Washington. But none came and he then re-
luctantly and with a sorrowful heart proceeded
to join his troops. Two miles east of Jamaica
he was surrounded by a detachment of the Sev-
enteenth Dragoons.
Thompson, in his "History of Long
Island," gives the following account of the
capture of Woodhull:
"The General, immediately on being dis-
covered, gave up his sword in token of sur-
render. The ruffian who first approached him
(said to be a Major Baird of the Seventy-
first), as reported, ordered him to say 'God
save the King!' the General replied, 'God save
us all !' on which he most cowardly and cruelly
assaulted the defenseless General with his
broadsword, and would have killed him on
the spot if he had not been prevented by the in-
terference of an officer of more honor and hu-
240
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
inanity (said to ba Major Delancey of the Dra-
goons), who arrested his savage violence."
This story, which seems to be based mainly
on the details given ns by Silas Wood in his
"Sketch of Long Island," is apocryphal — one
of the wonder tales with which the details of
the incidents of every war are embellished by
the ignorant narrators who, in the spirit of na-
tural poetry which is part and parcel of every
intelligent peasantry, seek to bring such details
into prominent relief by the introduction of
matter which lightens the glory of the success-
ful party. It is this spirit of natural poetry to
which England and Scotland owe their un-
rivalled stores of ballad minstrelsy. Of such
minstrel tales this is a fitting example, and the
entire story seems strangely familiar. There
was no "Major Baird of the Seventy-first" at
that time, or indeed at any time. In the affi-
davit of Colonel Robert Troup to the Conven-
tion, sworn to January 17, 1777, before Gou-
verneur ]\Iorris, the affiant states that when
Woodhull was carried on the transport "Snow
Mentor," where he was for a time confined,
"deponent asked the General the particulars
of his capture and was told by the said Gen-
eral that he had been taken bv a party of light-
horse under the command of Captain Oliver
Delancey ; that he was asked by the said Cap-
tain if he would surrender; that he answered
in the affirmative, provided he would treat him
like a gentleman — which Captain Delancey as-
sured him he would, whereupon the General
delivered his sword, and that immediately after
the laid Oliver Delancey, Jun'r., struck him,
and others of the party, imitating his example,
did cruelly cut and hack him in the manner he
then was."
Edward F. De Lancey, in Appleton's
Cyclopaedia of American Biography (Vol. 2,
page 133), tells a different story. He says:
"On the evening of the 28th of the same
month (August) Sir William Erskine, with
the Seventeenth Light Dragoons and the Sev-
enty-first Foot, about 700 men in all, sur-
prised and seized at Carpenter's House,
Jamaica, General Woodhull and many of his
men. The General, who tried to escape un-
der cover of the night, being discovered by
the sentries getting over a board fence, was
cut down, severely wounded in the head and
arm, and only saved from instant death by
the interference of Captain De Lancey."
The affidavit made by William Warne be-
fore the New York Committee of Safety a
few days after the capture, says that:
"One of the light-horsemen told him
(Warne) that he had taken General Wood-
hull in the dark in a barn and that before
he would answer, when he spoke to the Gen-
eral, he had cut him on the head and arms. '
Of the truthfulness of the two affidavits
(Troup's and Warne's) that of Troup is the
only one worth considering ; but in the con-
dition in which he met his former chief (he
had been aide to Woodhull), wounded, fever
stricken and despondent, it might be regarded
as the ravijigs of a man unconscious of his
utterances owing to his physical pains. It
certainly seems unlikely that De Lancey
would so treat one who was his kinsman.
Then, too, in another important factor all the
stories fall short, for it was not in keeping
with the character of General Woodhull, as
described by those who could correctly esti-
mate it, to tamely deliver up his sword ; nor is
it in keeping with the probabilities for solitary
captives when surrounded by an enemy's
force to dictate or attempt to dictate terms
to their captors. The true story seems to be
that Woodhull was captured sword in hand
and that he was struck down by one or more
of the dragoons when trying to effect his
escape.
Another traditional story given by Thomp-
son may be repeated here:
"It is said that one of the battalions em-
ployed in this inglorious warfare against an
unresisting individual was commanded by a
Major Crew, a distant kinsman of the Gen-
eral, and that, when he came to be apprised
of that fact and of the circumstances of the
case, he was so disgusted that he either re-
signed his commission and. quit the service.
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
241
or obtained permission to leave the army and
return to England."
This is simply a historical embellishment,
having no foundation in truth. There was
no "Major Crew" near General Woodhull
when he was captured, or even in this coun-
try during the Revolution. So he has to
figure in the same shadowy gallery along with
"a ]\Iajor Baird." Historic statements whose
his wounds bleeding he was mounted behind
one of the troopers and taken to Jamaica.
It is thought that the soldiers were suspiciou.s
of being surrounded by the troops which
Woodhull had in the vicinity, not being aware
as to their strength, and on that account hur-
ried along with their charge more rapidly
than humanity should have dictated.
On reaching Jamaica Woodhull was as-
RESIDE\CE ->b MC\Sllb IE SILLt \t\\ LTKtCHT
sole foundation are the words "it is said"
ought even to be regarded with suspicion, in
fact, may safelv be put down as untrue, and
therefore as not in keeping with history
at all.
However all this may be, there is no doubt
that as a result of the circumstances of his
capture Woodhull was seriously wounded in
the head and his arm slashed in several places.
Xo attention was paid to his wounds when
the affray of the capture was over, and with
signed to quarters in Mrs. Hinchman's tavern,
where his wounds were dressed by a British
army surgeon. It was then found that his
injuries were more serious than had been
imagined, there being several deep gashes on
his head, while one arm was almost severed
from the body. After resting that night he
was removed on the following morning to the
stone church and confined there with several
other captives. On the 29th of August
Woodhull and the other prisoners in Jamaica
242
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
were removed to the old church at New
Utrecht, which was being used for the time
as a mihtary prison. He is presumed — for
the matter is not very clear — to have been
detained here for several days and afterward
removed to the prison ship Pacific, where he
endured the misery and dirt and experienced
all the physical and mental torture which the
evidence of most witnesses testifies, came to
all who were confined in those hulks. On
Sept. 2, he was transferred, as a "measure of
humanity," to another hulk, the Snow Mentor,
and there it became only too evident that the
lack of medical attention and the foul air of
the transports had done their work, and that
the General was dying. On Sept. 6 he was
sent to the house beside the church-jail at
New LTtrecht, used as a hospital, for treat-
ment, and there, af^er suffering the amputa-
tion of his wounded arm, he died on Sept.
20, his last thoug'hts being for the alleviation
of the sufferings of those about him.
Gen. Woodhull's only child was his
■daughter, Elizabeth, who married Henry
NicoU, a member of a family which had been
settled in New York State for many years.
After his death she married Gen. John Smith,
one of the Tangier Smiths, a native of Mastic
who, after serving in Congress for several
years (1779- 1804) succeeded to the seat, in
the United States Senate, of DeWitt Clinton,
and held it until 1813. He was a Major Gen-
eral of Volunteers and United States Marshal
for the Southern District of New York and
held these two appointments at the time of
his death, Aug. 12, 1816. His widow resided
on her father's estate at Mastic until her
death. By her first marriage she had several
sons, and by her second marriage a daughter
who married John K. Lawrence. From these
two marriages the present living descendants
of Gen. Woodhull may be enumerated as fol-
lows : James Woodhull Walsh, New York ;
Henry Nicoll Wayne, New Britain, Conn.;
Alvan Riker Lawrence, Justice of Supreme
Court of New York; Rev. Alexander Hamil-
ton, and John R. Suydam.
In many ways the figure of Gen. Woodhull
is one of the most notable, most beautiful,
which the entire story of the Revolution
brings under our notice. In his case love of
country was the predominating feature in his
whole career. He acquired, while a soldier in
the armies owing allegiance to King George,
a high reputation for personal courage and
for military ability, and when the time came
for him to believe that in the interests of his
country that allegiance should be thrown off,
there was no half-heartedness, no shrinking,
no thought of self in his course, but a clear,
emphatic and determined stand on behalf of
liberty in which life and property were both
placed at stake. As a statesman he exhibited,
while a member of the Provincial Congress,
many splendid qualities, and as the presiding
officer of that body, while he steadfastly and
honestly carried out its orders as its executive
head, he strove to mingle pity and mercy even
when dealing with pronounced Tories.
It is one of the mysteries of the war how
it came about that a man who by the training
of long service and study was every inch a
soldier should, when the crisis came, be
found in an obscure position, mainly that of
a driver of cattle in face of the enemy, while
men like Putnam and Sullivan and Greene,
who had no real knowledge of warfare, or
whose knowledge was mainly confined to
skirmishes with Indians, were invested with
high commands. It is safe to say that had
he been in military command of the island
on August 27th the British would not have
found at Bedford so easy a flanking point and
that he would have met them with something
at least of their own tactics ; but instead, he
found himself, when the crisis came, away
from the scene of action, but obeying orders
like a true soldier, and doing the best service
he could with less than 100 men under his
command. It is pitiful to read his letters ac
that critical junction, knowing as we do the
opportunities which were being lost to the
struggling nation by the trifling employment
which had been sfiven him, and how tenacious-
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
r43
ly he held on to the humble duty to which he
had been assigned without any thought of re-
treat except under pressure of the circum-
stances of war or of direct orders from those
in authority. On the 27th he wrote: "I
have got all of the cattle southward of the
hills in Kings county, to the eastward of the
cross road between the two counties, and
have placed guards and sentinels from the
northward to the south side of the island to
prevent the cattle's going back and to prevent
the communication of the Tories with the
enemy."
On August 28th he wrote the Convention ;
"I have about seventy of the men and about
twenty of the troops, which is all the force
I have or can expect, and I am daily growing-
less in number. The people are so alarmed
in Suffolk that they will not any more of
them march ; and as to Cols. Smith and Rem-
sen they cannot join me, for the communi-
cation is cut off between us. 1 have sent about
1,100 cattle to the great fields on the plains
yesterday. About 300 more have gone off
this morning to the same place."
Thus the only trained General on Long
Island, except the immortal Chief, was herd-
ing cattle, while Generals Putnam, Sullivan
and Stirling, mere soldiers by accident, with
all the shortcomings such a designation im-
plies, were participants in a great battle in
which American Patriots were being mowed
down like grass, simply for the want of proper
and trained leadership ! It is, as we have
said, one of the mysteries of the time how
such a disposition of leadership became pos-
sible. Justice Marshall afterward (1834), in
correcting an error in his life of Washington
in which he expressed the idea that Wood-
hull's district was assigned to him that he
might guard among others the very pass
through which the British made their flanking
movement, finally said of Woodull's position :
"It is an additional example of the many in-
conveniences arising in the early part of the
war from the disposition of the civil author-
ities to manage affairs belonging to the mili-
tary department." In other words. Gen.
Woodhull was the victim of politics, — that
politics which has given rise to so much scan-
dal at the opening of every American war,
down even to the opening of the recent glo-
rious war with Spain.
It seems to us there is something more
than ordinary heroic in the manner in which
Woodhull held on to the duty and the spot
assigned to him, even with his small command
steadily diminishing, and a great and finally
victorious host lying between him and the
forces of the Continental army. As we read
the story we are impelled to cry, "It is mag-
nificent, but it is not war!" Prudence would
have impelled him at once, on the night of
the 27th, to have crossed the Sound to Con-
necticut; but he had received no orders to
retreat and retreat he would not.
But noble as was his entire career, disin-
terested as were his services to his country,
and pure and noble as was his personal life,
lighted up as his pathway was with all the
glow of Christianity — love, faith, charity —
and with unwavering fidelity to whatever he
believed to be right and just, it seems to us
that his true nobility of character and dis-
position reached its highest development when
life was closing for him in darkness and horror
and he suffered all the ignominy, and torture,
and cruelty of captivity, whether in a tem-
porary prison on land or a vile transport in a
harbor. Cruelly wounded as he was, without
proper medical attendance, breathing impure
air, placed among scenes at which even the
slightest sense of delicacy might be shocked,
often with no bed but a plank, with food al-
most unfit to eat, and only putrid water at
times to drink, he never seems to have made
audible complaint. His record he knew was
clear, his course through life had been con-
sistent and just, and he had a humble yet thor-
ough confidence in an Almighty Power who
ever rules and ordains all things well. So
he met his fate calmly and bravely, faced the
inevitable end of his sufferings with true
Christian fortitude, and passed through the
244
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
veil with words on Iiis lips invoking mercy
and charitv and help for those who were his
companions in misfortune and whose time of
release had not yet come.
It seems a pity that the memory of such a
hero — the hero of Long Island — should not
be perpetuated by some public monument in
its most populous quarter, or at least in
Jamaica, where in reality he surrendered his
life to the cause of national liberty. It is said
often that such memories as his never die,
that they are enshrined in the hearts of their
countrymen, and so on ; but we should not
enshrine too closely, and it is well to give
public expression to our sentiments. Children
seeing such a monument would ask about his
life story and gain thereby a sense of what
true patriotism really is : strangers would
know what sort of men are the heroes we
delight to honor; and the fact of such public
honor being paid a hero might nerve others
to study his life, his motives and his exploits
and be nerved to imitate all these should dark
days ever again fall on this blessed and glo-
rious country. An effort, indeed, has once or
twice been made to erect a memorial statue,
but each failed to win material support; and
so Woodhull, like many another gallant
Patriot, has his memory perpetuated only on
history's page : there only are his services
acknowledged, and his virtues recalled.
Perhaps no soldier more seriously and per-
sistently annoyed the British and their Loyal-
ist supporters on Long Island during its occu-
pation than Lieut. Col. Benjamin Tallmadge,
a man who not alone for his intrepid bravery,
dauntless resolution, unceasing energy and
successful accomplishments has won a place
among ihe heroes of the Revolution, but one
who acquired a degree of importance in the
history of the nation as the custodian of
Major Andre from the time that unfortunate
victim of war was captured until his execution,
on October 2, 1780. Tallmadge walked with
that ill-fated officer to the place of execution,
and, while he sternly aided in carrying out
the sentence of the court-martial, could not
help a feeling of commiseration for the un-
fortunate victim of the just laws of warfare.
The Tallmadige family in America traces
its descent from Robert Tallmadge, an Eng-
lishman who came here prior to 1640 and
was one of the founders, in 1643, of the New
Haven Colony. The great-grandson of this
pioneer was the Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge,
who was the first of the family to become
identified with Long Island. In 1753 he was
called to the pastorate of the Congregational
Church at Setauket, and continued to minister
to that body until 1785, when he retired. He
died on Feb, 5th in the following year. Dr.
Prime in his "History of Long Island" char-
acterized him as "a fine scholar and an able
divine." He married Susannah, daughter of
the Rev. John Smith, and by her had a large
family. She died in 1768 and some two years
later he married Zipporah Strong of Brook-
haven, but of that marriage there was no
issue.
The eldest son of this clergyman, William
Tallmadge, born July 9, 1752, took an active
part in the movement for freedom, and was
captured by the British at the battle of Long
Island. He died during his captivity, from ill
tratment and starvation, it is believed.
Benjamin Tallmadge, the second son, was
born in the little parsonage at Setauket Feb.
25, 1754- Lender the tuition of his father he
made such rapid progress in his education,
and particularly in the classics, that he was
pronounced, when only twelve years of age,
as being fitted for entering Yale by the Rev.
Xapthali Daggett, sometime minister at
Smithtown, L. I., and from 1766 to 1777
President pro tem. of Yale L'niversity, in
which he held the chair of theology.
Dr. Daggett is, we fear, now one of the
many forgotten heroes of the Revolution, who
showed that he considered his sacred voca-
tion no bar to his assuming the active duties
of patriotism. In 1779 he shouldered a mus-
ket and aided in the defense of New Haven
against the British. He was taken prisoner,
however, and compelled to act as a guide.
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
245
his natural repulsion to such an office being
overcome by bayonet thrusts made on the
slightest sign of hesitancy or halting. He re-
ceived many such wounds and never recovered
his health, dying from the effects of his
butcher-like treatment Nov. 25, 1780.
In time Tallmadge entered Yale and was
graduated in 1773. He then became Master
of the High School at Wethersfield, Conn.,
and so continued until the outbreak of the
war, when he received a commission as Lieu-
tenant in Colonel Chester's regiment of Con-
necticut militia, remaining in active service
until the conflict was over and the Lhiited
States took a place among the independent
powers of the world. He took part in the
Battle of Brooklyn and was one of the detail
which held the lines of intrenchments until
the last, stood on guard until the retreat was
completed and had become one of the won-
ders of military story. On Dec. 15, 1776, he
was commissioned by the Continental author-
ities as Captain of the Second Light
Dragoons, on April ij, ^777, he received
the rank of Major, and in 1783 the brevet
rank of Lieutenant Colonel. All his promo-
tions were honestly won and gallantly earned.
He participated in the battles at White Plains,
Short Hills, Brandvwine, Monmouth, Ger-
mantown and White Marsh.
Tallmadge enjoyed the implicit con-
fidence of General Washington and was
frequently invested by that hero with a sep-
arate command for the purpose of carrying
out some difficult, or dangerous, or delicate
piece of work, or, as generally Jiappened,
somthing which involved all three. Thus it
was while in New Castle township, in com-
mand of a detachment appointed to do scout-
ing duty among the passes by which the
enemy in New York and the Tories in West-
chester county carried on their machinations,
that Andre was captured and conducted to
Tallmadge's headquarters.
It was, however, on Long Island that
Major Tallmadge's military talents were most
brilliantly employed. Two noted instances
are on record, but his services were pretty
continuous, and, besides an active correspond-
ence with the Patriots on the island, he used
all sorts of means for keeping himself thor-
ouhgly informed of the doings of the enemy.
This knowledge he invariably put to some
effective use, but it is noticeable that he con-
sulted his great chief regarding every im-
portant move.
In 1777 the British had a strong post on
Lloyd's Neck between Huntington and Oy-
quickly and decisively were the details of the
a gang of outcasts and pirates carried on a
regular system of plunder, their victims being
alike those living along the shore and the
seamen in the small vessels trading in the
Sound. Tallmadge determined to break up
this band of cut-throats and at nightfall on
Sept. 5, 1777, he left Shippen Point, Conn.,
with 130 men and crossed the Sound. So
quickly and decisively were the details of the
expedition carried out that on the following
morning he was back in Connecticut with
almost the entire band of desperadoes as his
prisoners.
In 1780, after a considerable absence from
Long Island, and possibly with a view to re-
move the Andre impression from his mind,
he again turned his thoughts thither. He
proposed to General Washington to secure or
destroy a large quantity of supplies which
the British had collected and stored at Coram,
Brookhaven, and, incidentally to see what
could be done with the subjection of a fort
near Mastic known as Fort St. George.
Washington, ever regardful of the lives of
his men and ready to frown on any expedi-
tion which seemed recklessly hazardous, was
inclined to demur and advised Tallmadge to
abandon the scheme. The latter, however,
disregarding all personal danger, stealthily
crossed to the island and inspected the pro-
posed scene of operations, and then, armed
with this personal observation, ventured
again to communicate his views at full length
to his chief. The latter finally authorized
the movement in the following letter, dated
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
"Headquarters, Nov. nth, 1780," which we
print in full as showing the confidence which
Washington reposed in this brave soldier :
Sir: I have received yours of the 7th
inst. The destruction of the forage collected
for the use of the British army at Coram,
on Long Island, is of so much consequence
that I should advise the attempt to be made.
I have written to Col. Shelden to furnish you
a detachment of dismounted dragoons and
will commit the execution to you. If the
seizure of the party at Smith's house can
be attempted without frustrating the other
design, or running too great a hazard, I have
no objection. But you must remember that
this is only a secondary object, and in all
cases you will take the most prudent means
to secure a retreat.
Confiding entirely in your prudence as
well as enterprise I wish you success.
G. Washington.
Gathering together a force of eighty men,
Tallmadge left Fairfield, on the Connecticut
side of the Sound, on the afternoon of
November 21, 1780. The party occupied
eight boats and lamded at Old Man's Harbor
about 9 o'clock, at what vras afterward known
as Mount Sinai. After marching inland for
a few miles the soldiers had to return to their
boats, a heavy rain not only rendering the
roads or tracks soft and muddy, but making
it impossible to attain the rapid progress
necessary to the successful accomplishment
of the scheme. They took shelter in their
boats or in the bush that night, and, the
storm continuing, throughout the following
day. Then, when night again came on, the
elements becoming more favorable, they once
more started out. Dividing his party into
three, Tallmadge ordered that the attack on
the fort should be made simultaneously by
each division. His plans were so well made
that the fort was carried within ten minutes
after the onslaught was begun. Several Brit-
ish vessels laden with stores attempted to es-
cape, but the guns of the fort were turned
on them and they were burned, as were the
fort and its outworks and approaches. Fifty-
seven prisoners were captured, and, after
sending them under an escort to his boats,
Tallmadge, with the remainder of his little
army, proceeded by a rapid movement to
Coram, where they destroyed some 300 tons
of hay which had been collected by the Brit-
ish. This done, he at once pushed on for his
boats and arrived at Mount Sinai just as the
party with the prisoners reached there. No
time was lost in embarking, and by eleven
o'clock the expedition was back in Fairfield,
triumphant, with all their prisoners, and with-
out one of their own men missing. It was
a glorious deed, well planned and bravely
carried out, and richly deserved the compli-
mentary resolution in which Congress
acknowledged the services of all concerned.
Much as he undoubtedly valued this acknowl-
edgment however, Tallmadge probably
valued still more the following letter from
his leader, dated at I.lorristown, Nov. 28,
1780:
I have received with much pleasure the
report of your successful enterprise upon
Fort George and the vessels with stores
in the bay and was particularly well
pleased with the destruction of the hay
at Coram, which must, I conceive, be
severely felt by the enemy at this time. I
beg you to accept my thanks for 3'our judi-
cious planning and spirited execution of this
business, and that you will ofifer them to the
officers and men who shared the honors of the
enterprise with you. The gallant behavior of
Mr. Muirson gives him a fair claim to an
appointment in the Second Regiment of
Dragoons when there is a vacancy, and I have
no doubt of his meeting with it accordingly,
if you make known his merit, with these senti-
ments in his favor. You have my free consent
to reward your little party with the little booty
they were able to bring from the enemy's
works.
Yours, etc., G. Washington.
Heathcote Muirson, so flatteringly men-
tioned in the above epistle, did not get his
commission but continued as opportunity of-
fered to serve his county as a volunteer. His
career soon ended, however, in 1781, for he
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
247
fell mortally wciunded, in an attack on Fort
Slongo.near Smithtown, and some eight miles
from Floyd's Neck. Major Tallmadge was
also conspicuous in this affair, but it failed to
effect its purpose, the strength of the place
having been underestimated. During the re-
mainder of the war Tallmadge was stationed
mainly m \\''estchester county, watching the
notorious 'cowboys and skinners" and keep-
ing an eye on Long Island, now and again
making a descent upon its shores and always
int^icting considerable damage to the enemy's
stores and shipping. When peace was re-
stored, he retired from the army with the
rank of Colonel ; but as treasurer, and after-
ward New York State President of the So-
ciety of the Cincinnati, he kept himself fully
in touch with those associated with him dur-
ing the greatest struggle for liberty in modern
history.
Major Tallmadge married, March i6,
1784, Mary, eldest daughter of General Will-
iam Floyd, of Mastic, Long Island, one of
the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence. She died June 3, 1805, and on May
3, 1808, he married Maria, daughter of
Joseph Hallet of New York City, who sur-
vived him. By his first marriage he had four
sons and two daughters — William Smith,
Henry Floyd (married Maria Canfield,
daughter of Andrew Adams of Littlefield,
Conn.), Frederick Augustus, Benjamin (who
became an officer in the United States Navy
and died at Gibraltar, unmarried,) George
Washington (married Pacera M., daughter of
Hon. Calvin Pease of Warren, Ohio), Maria
Jones (married the Hon. P. Cushman of
Troy, N. Y., Circuit Judge), and Harriet
Wardsworth (married John Delafield of New
York City).
The Tallmadge family may be considered
as represented in the next generation by Major
Tallmadge's third son, Flrederick Augustus
Tallmadge, who was born at Litchfield, Con-
necticut, August 29, 1792. He was educated
at Yale, whence he was graduated in 181 1,
and, after a course of special study at the
Litchfield Law School, was admitted to the
bar. During the War of 1812 he engaged in
a brief military experience as Captain of a
troop of cavalry on Long Island, but soon set-
tled down to practice his profession in New
York City. In 1834 he served in the local
Aldermen and Council boards, and was a mem-
ber of the State Senate from 1837 to 1840,
serving part of the time as President of that
body. From 1841 to 1846 he held the high
office of Recorder of New York City and was
again elected to it in 1848, serving until 185 1.
He was elected to Congress as a Whig, and
served from December 6, 1847, till March 3,
1849. From 1857 to 1862 he was General Su-
perintendent of the Metropolitan Board of Po-
lice, and in 1862-5 he was Chief Clerk of the
Court of Appeals. He afterward engaged in
the practice of law in New York City. Dur-
ing the time he was Recorder of the city the
Astor Place riot occurred, and he was highly
commended for the firm and determined stand
he took in suppressing that tumult and in the
trial of the ringleaders.
Mr. Tallmadge married Eliza, daughter of
Hon. Judson Canfield, of Sharon, Connecticut,
a descendant of Thomas Canfield, of Milford,
Connecticut, 1646. The issue of this marriage
was Eliza, married John T. White of Phila-
delphia ; Julia, married William Curtis Noyes,
of New York ; William Floyd died unmarried ;
Frederick Samuel ; and Mary Floyd, married
Hon. Edward W. Seymour, Judge of the Su-
preme Court of the State of Connecticut.
The present reoresentative of the family is
Frederick Samuel Tallmadge, fourth child of
Frederick Augustus and Eliza (Canfield)
Tallmadge, and grandson of Major Benjamin
Tallmadge, was born in New York City, Jan-
uary 24, 1824. He was graduated at Colum-
bia College and studied law in the office of
William Curtis Noyes, Esq., with whom he
subsequently formed a copartnership. He has
enjoyed for many years a successful practice
and is ranked among the leading men in his
profession in New York. Mr. Tallmadge was
one of the founders of the Society of the Sons
248
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of the Revolution, and from the date of its or-
ganization has been steadfast and earnest in
his efforts to build up and enlarge its sphere
of influence. He was elected President in
1884, soon after the Society was incorporated,
and still holds that position. He is an honor-
ary member of the Connecticut State Society
of the Cincinnati ; member of the Military So-
ciety of the War of 1812, constituting the Vet-
eran Corps of Artillery, and of other organ-
izations. Mr. Tallmadge married, in 1857,
Julia Louisa, daughter of George Belden, of
New York City. Mrs. Tallmadge died in
1894, leaving no issue.
Major Tallmadge's memory deserves to be
hekl in more vivid remembrance by the Ameri-
can people at large than we fear it is at the
present day. He was by no means a man of
commanding genius and he seems to have
lacked many of the qualities which might have
proclaimed him a statesman ; but he was a man
of courage, resource and nerve ; and all he
possessed he freelv gave to the cause of his
native land, the cause by which he abided with
unfaltering zeal during the darkest hours of
the conflict. Whatever was given to him to
dc he invariably did well, and he enjoyed the
entire confidence of those over him in author-
ity as well as of those he commanded. As
a member of Congress during eight successive
terms, he was conspicuous for his useful rather
than his brilliant services, but he performed
his duties with the same closeness and unfail-
ing sagacity which he showed while watching
the Tory emissaries in Westchester county. In
many respects he proved a model member of
Congress and the Legislature, and his con-
stituency both joined in regret when, at the
end of sixteen years of service, he declined re-
election.
In private life Major Tallmadge enjoyed
the personal friendship of many of the most
eminent men of his age, while his thoughtful
benevolence and kindly charity, as well as his
services to the county, endeared him to the
community in which he lived. He was a splen-
did type of the patriot citizen of his time, a
man with no ambition but for his country,
with no need of rendering any service but to
the people, who willingly, cheerfully respond-
ed to every call, and whose entire record was
clean, pure and above reproach. The memor}-
of such men should be regarded as a priceless
heritage in a country where the people rule and
make and enforce the laws.
Although neither Gen. Parsons nor Col.
Meigs belonged to Long Island by ties of birth,
yet their names are so interwoven with its
Revolutionary history that some notice of these
two heroes may not be inappropriate here.
Samuel Holden Parsons was born at Lynn,
Conn., May 14, 1737, and was the son of the
Rev. Jonathan Parsons and Phoebe, sister of
Gov. ^Matthew Griswold. Parsons studied
law and after eighteen years at the bar became
a member of the local Assembly. When the
war broke out he took part under Ethan Allen
in the capture of Ticonderoga, and was in part
the instigator of that bold deed. He was pres-
ent at the battle of Brooklyn and was one
of the court-martial which tried Major Andre.
Parsons performed many brilliant services
while the war lasted and retired at the close
of hostilities with the rank of Major General.
Resuming the practice of law in Middletown,
Conn., he so continued until 1788, when he
was appointed by Washington as first Judge
of the Northwest Territory and settled in
Marietta, Ohio. He was accidentally drowned
in Big Beaver River, Nov. 17, 1789.
Return Jonathan Meigs was born at Mid-
dletown, Conn., Dec. 17, 1734, and died in
Georgia, Jan. 28, 1823. His services in the
war began immediately after the skirmish at
Lexington, when he marched to Boston with a
company of his neighbors and was given the
rank of Major under Col. Benedict Arnold.
At the attack on Quebec he was taken prisoner,
but was exchanged after a few months. In
1777 he raised a regiment and was commis-
sioned its Colonel, serving with that rank until
the close of the war. In 1788 he went to Ohio
and resided in that then wilderness until 1801,
when he was appointed Indian agent among
A FEW REVOLUTIONARY HEROES.
240
the Cherokees and resided in Georgia until
his death. His son was Governor of Ohio,
1810-14, and was Postmaster General in the
Cabinet of President Madison, and continued
to hold the office under President Monroe until
1823, when he retired to private life and died
at Marietta, Ohio, March 29, 1825.
The deed which has forever woven the
name of Col. Aleigs into the history of Long-
Island occurred in 1777. The plan of the in-
cident and its general outline were conceived
by Gen. Parsons, but he confided its execu-
tion to Col. Meigs and as the outcome proved
his confidence was not mistaken. I quote the
following account of tl:e incident from
Prime's "History of Long Island" mainly be-
cause that reverend historian compiled it in
great measure from statements made to him
by Deacon John White of Sag Harbor, who
was one of Meigs's party and whom the author
described as "a man of observation and sterling-
integrity :"
Every reader of American history recol-
lects the rapid and successful expedition of
Lieut. Col. Meigs in 1771 to Sag Harbor for
the purpose of destroying a quantity of provi-
sions which the British forces had collected
here. Embarking at New Haven on the 21st
of iMay, in whale-boats, he was compelled by
the roughness of the Sound to hold the Con-
necticut shore until the 23d. In the afternoon
of that day he left Guilford with 170 men in
whale-boats under the convoy of two armed
sloops and arrived at Southold about sunset.
Taking 130 men and transporting their boats
across the northern branch of the Island, he
embarked on the bay for Sag Harbor, where
he arrived after midnight and landed at the
foot of the beach about two miles above the
village. There concealing his boats in the
bushes, and leaving a few men for a guard, he
proceeded toward the harbor. At the house
now ( 1845) occupied by Mr. Silas Edwards,
which was used as a hospital, he seized two
men who were taking care of the sick, whom
he used as guides, and whom he threatened
with instant death for the least failure in ex-
ecuting his requirements. Under their direc-
tion he was led to the quarters of the com-
manding officer whom he arrested and secured
while lying in his bed. At this jin-icture an
alarm was given, and a single shot was fired
from an armed vessel, which, however, was
not repeated, from the inability to determine
the cause of the alarm. An outpost was im-
mediately carried with fixed bayonets and the
land forces secured. He then proceeded to the
shipping at the wharf, where, after being ex-
posed to the fire of an armed schooner of
twelve guns and seventy men for nearly an
hour, he completelv effected the object of the
expedition. In a short time twelve brigs and
sloops, one of which carried twelve guns, were
enveloped in flames, and with them one hun-
dred and twenty tons of hay, ten hogsheads of
rum and a large quantity of grain and mer-
chandise were completely destroyed. Of the
enemy six were killed and ninety taken pris-
oners. The same dav Col. Meigs embarked
for Guilford, where he arrived after an ab-
sence of only twentv-five hours, during which
he had transported his troops alternately by
land and water a distance of ninety miles with-
out the loss of a man. A more successful and
brilliant afifair does not grace the annals of the
Revolution.
:i>4iii<i-' "■i»;ii^<i-' "■i>;i^<i-'
^^^.
?^^
'^^.
CHAPTER XXI.
THE WAR OF 1812— NAVAL OPERATIONS AROUND LONG ISLAND.
OR some years before the crisis actiial-
1\- came it was evident to all thought-
ful observers that the country was
slowly but surely drifting into war
with Great Britain. The causes for that b€-
long to the general history of the coun-
try, but they were admirably summarized
by President Md,dison in his famous war
message to Congress on June i, 1812, and in-
cluded the violation of the United States flag
on the high seas and seizing persons sailing
under it, wantonly shedding the blood of
American citizens, plundering American com-
merce, and the introduction of an iniquitous
system of blockades. The President with his
message left the matter in the hands of Con-
gress as the war-declaring power, and it was
not slow to act. On June 3d the Committee
on Foreign Relations reported in favor of war
and the next day the bill authorizing the ap-
peal to arms reached the Senate.
Professor McMaster (History of the Peo-
ple of the United States, vol. HI, page 457)
says:
When the vote cast in the House on that
memorable day is examined it appears that not
a Representative from Ohio, Kentucky, Ten-
nessee, South Carolina or Georgia voted for
peace, and that not a Representative ifrom
Rhode Island, Connecticut or Delaware voted
for war ; that in Massachusetts, New York and
New Jersey the majority was for peace; that
in Pennsylvania, Marjdand, Virginia and
North Carolina the majority was for war ;
that, in short, the Eastern and Middle States,
with two exceptions, were against war, and the
Southern and Western States were for it. The
deliberations of the Senate consumed two
weeks, so that it was not until June 18 that
the act was passed and approved by Madison.
On June 19 the proclamation wa- issued. As
the riders hurried from Washington to spread
the news throughout the land, Madison vis-
ited the Department of War and of the Navy,
"stimulating everything," said one who saw
him, "in a manner worthy of a. little command-
er-in-chief with his little round hat and huge
cockade."
It could hardly be said that at the begin-
ning the war was popular, and the vote in- the
House of Representatives at Washington fully
bears this out, showing particularly the position
of the States on the northeastern seaboard. The
total vote showed 79 for war, 49 against. New
York cast 11 votes for peace and 3 for war,
three of her Representatives being absent.
New Jersey cast 4 votes for peace and 2 for
war ; Massachusetts cast 8 votes for peace and
6 for war, three of her Representatives being
absent ; New Hampshire voted 2 for peace and
3 for war ; Vermont, i for peace and 3 for war.
In this matter the lower house of Congress
may be said to have fairly reflected the senti-
ment of the country generally as well as of the
States. All over New England town meetings
were held in opposition to the war policy, and
in some places bells were tolled and flags were
placed at half mast. New York was equally
divided although not so demonstrative, but
from the moment the plunge actually was made
she arrayed herself loyally on the side of the
Government and so continued while the con-
THE WAR OF 1812.
251
flict lasted. On Long Island the news of the
war was received calmly at first, and outside
of Kings county it can hardly be said to have
aroused excitement at any time. The effect
felt was more of inconvenience than of danger,
and, while so far as the isl^d itself was con-
cerned the struggle was a bloodless one, yet
the blockade of the coast was an annoyance
and a source of hardship. Business was pros-
trated and the farmers tilled their fields with
the feeling hanging over them that a descent
might be made at any time which would rob
them of their labors by the wanton destruction
of their crops or the looting of their barns and
their homes. In fact, even as it was, descents
from armed vessels for the purpose of robbing
the farmers were of frequent occurrence while
hostilities lasted. Mr. Richard M. Bayles
says:
The war of 1812 gave Suffolk county com-
paratively little trouble. In 1813 a British
fleet occupied Gardiner's Bay and from their
headquarters there made attacks upon the
shipping at various points. A draft was made
upon the militia for a three months' service at
Sag Harbor, where the danger of an attack
seemed greatest. Several frigates cruised the
Sound and harassed the trading ships plying
between the ports along the north shore of
the country and New York. The cruising
frigates were on the alert and their diligence
was every now and then rewarded by a prize.
Some of the vessels thus captured were held
for a ransom, on receipt of which they were
returned to their owners, and others were
burned.
At Sag Harbor, as soon as the news of the
declaration of war had been sufficiently di-
gested, an arsenal was built of brick on the site
of an old burial ground, and there munitions
of war of all sorts were stored to await events.
Information of thii. reached the British ships
and an armed force under Commodore Hardy
was sent to capture the stores. A landing was
effected but the invaders met with a reception
that compelled them to beat a speedy retreat to
their boats, the only damage done being the
destruction of a small sloop by fire. This was
offset by the large quantity of arms and am-
munition which in their hurry to get away
the invaders unceremoniously left behind and
which helped to swell the stock in the little
arsenal.
On March 20, 1813, the entire coast line of
the United States was practically blockaded
with the exception of Rhode Island, Massa-
chusetts and New Hamoshire. A month later
it was reported that a British frigate was cruis-
ing about Long Island Sound, along with sev-
eral privateers, and that quite a number of
coasting vessels had been captured by them and
destroyed. Much complaint was made that no
effort to stop such ravages was attempted al-
though two American war vessels were in the
Brooklyn navy yard undergoing repairs, which
might have been completed, it was declared,
within one week. What the government failed
to do was in a measure accomplished by pri-
vate enterprise, and in June the American pri-
vateer "Governor Tompkins," one of the most
noted of the many vessels of its order sent out
during the war by New York merchants,
passed boldly through the Sound, and al-
though hotly chased by the British cruisers
made her escape into the open sea, where she
gave a good account of herself as a commerce
destroyer. Her last known engagement re-
sulted in a victory and she sent her prize, a
valuable merchant ship, to New York in
charge of her Lieutenant, Edward Dodd^, who
afterward resided at Babylon for many years
and died July 17, 1843. He brought his charge
safe to port, but the "Governor Tompkins"
was never heard from afterward; and as no
record of any engagement in which she might
have taken part exists, it is supposed she
foundered in a gale which it was known
sprung up shortly after Lieut. Dodd and his
prize crew left her side.
In September, 1813, Commodore Lewis of
Boston with a fleet of thirty gunboats passed
through the Sound from Hellgate to Cow's
Neck in search of some of the enemy's vessels
that were playing havoc with the coasting
trade. The result was the exchange of a few
252
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
shots, but that was all, although the British
saw enouoh of the determination of the Yan-
kee sailors and their preparedness for a fight
to be exceedingly wary in that vicinity for
some time to come. On November i6 Ad-
miral Warren, commanding the British fleet,
issued a formal proclamation in which he de-
clared as under blockade "all that part of Long
Island Sound being the seacoast lying within
Montauk Point, or the eastern point of Long
Island and the point of land opposite thereto,
commonly called Plack Point, situated on the
sea-coast of the main land, together with all
the ports, harbors, creeks and entrances of
the East and North Rivers of New York, as
well as all the other ports, creeks and bays
along the coast of Long Island and the State
of New York," etc.
As a result of this the coast of Long Island
was more closely watched by the people than
ever and reports were in frequent circulation
of intended landings in force of the British.
Such landings as were made, however, seemed
intended only to secure fresh provisions for
the ships, — foraging parties rather than any-
thing else. But the shipping felt the watchful-
ness of the blockades severely. "The Fair
Trader" of Babylon was captured near the
New Inlet, one of the entrances to the Great
South Bay. With her rich cargo she was sent
to Nova Scotia and there sold, her stanch tim-
bers enabling her to remain in service for many
years. "The Amazon" of Huntington (Capt.
Conkling), "The Sally" of Cow Harbor (Capt.
Arkerly) and "The Juno" of Brookhaven
(Capt. Jones) were among the other Long
Island vessels captured in 1813.
In 1 8 14 the cordon was drawn more closely
than ever. The fleet in Gardiner's Bay sent
out cruising parties in all directions, and these
parties ravaged and destroyed property with-
out scruple, as much from wantonness as from
any necessity. A schooner was set on fire at
Rockaway, where she had been beached to pre-
vent capture ; and the British warships "Po-
mona" and "Dispatch" entered the harbor of
Setauket and captured "The Herald," "The
Hope," "The Mercantile" and "The Two
Friends" and burned "The Oneida" in
Drowned Meadow (Port Jefl:'erson) Bay. Ja-
maica Bay was a favorite cruising place for
the barge crews of the blockading fleet, and
though the inhabitants there, rendered desper-
ate by the frequent landings and confiscations,
erected a blockhouse to keep the marauders off,
it proved of little practical avail and the depre-
dations continued to the end of the war.
Mr. James B. Cooper, Babylon, for many
years clerk of Suffolk county, relates the fol-
lowing incident :
In the month of July, 1814, the village of
Babylon and its vicinity were thrown into a
state of high excitement by the appearance in
Sumpawam's creek of a whale-boat loaded
with armed men in uniform. It proved to be
Captain David Porter and ten of his sailors
who had survived the hard-fought and san-
guinary engagement of Valparaiso (March
28, 1814). * * * After a voyage of sev-
enty-three days they arrived on the south coast
of Long Island and on the morning of July 5,
18 14, fell in with H. B. M. ship Saturn, Cap-
tain Nash, who examined the papers of the
"Essex, Jr.," treated Captain Porter with great
civility, furnished him with late newspapers,
sent him a basket of fruit and made him an
offer of kindly services. The boarding officer
indorsed the papers and permitted the ship to
proceed. But in a couple of hours the "Essex,
Jr.," was again brought to, the papers re-ex-
amined and the ship searched. Capt. Porter,
regarding this treatment as a violation of all
honorable rules of warfare, and finding that
he was about to be made a prisoner, deter-
mined to escape from his base captor. The
next morning about 7 a boat was lowered,
manned, armed and provisioned. In this bo.at
Capt. Porter, with about ten men, pulled off;
but he was soon discovered and pursued by
"the Saturn," which was favored by a fresh
breeze that sprung up about the same time;
Fortunately for the Americans a fog then set
in, concealing them, and, changing the course
of their little craft, they were soon out of
danger from their pursuers.
After rowing- and sailing about sixty miles,
Capt. Porter with much difficulty succeeded in
entering Fire Island Inlet. Here he was found
by James Mountfort, who piloted him up
Sumpawam's creek. When he stepped from
THE WAR OF 1812.
253
tlie boat Stephen B. Nichols told him he doubt-
ed his being an American naval officer and in-
timated that he might be from the other side.
"Then, my good friend," said the Captain, "I
will surrender to you," at the same time hand-
ing Nichols an iron cutlass. When they
reached the center of the village a large and
excited crowd gathered. The story of Capt.
Porter was so extraordinary that few believed
it. Uf course nothing had been heard of the
battle at \'alparaiso, no vessel having reached
the United States with an account of the same.
Mr. Rushmore, a local storekeeper, informed
Captain Porter that his neighbors still be-
lieved him to be a British officer in disguise.
L'pon this he pulled out his commission, which
he fortunately had with him. Then all doubts
were dispersed and he was treated by the vil-
lagers with the greatest hospitality. The best
carriage and horse that could be had were
soon ready and at his disposal. The whale-
boat was hoisted upon a farm wagon and into
the boat sprang the brave tars. In this man-
ner the party was conveyed to the Brooklyn
Nav}' Yard. Capt. Nash, finding that the
commander of the "Essex, Jr.," had escaped,
permitted the latter vessel to go in peace.
As illustrating how the people on shore
were prepared to defend their hoaies in case
of attack, it may be said that on one occasion
a corps of 200 militiamen marched from Hunt-
ington to Lloyd's Neck on the circulation of a
report that the British were there effecting a
landing in force. The following excerpt from
Huntington's town records is also in evidence
on this point:
At a special town meeting held in the
Town of Huntington, held at the house of
Ebenezer Gould, on Saturday, the 5th day
of November, 1814, it was voted that the sum
of $207.86 be paid by the town, being the
amount of two bills paid for 6 casks of pow-
der, 400 lbs. of musket balls, and a quantity
of buck shot by the trustees of said town,
for the militia to defend the said town with
in case of invasion.
Also voted, that i cask of the powder, and
the sixth part of the 1)all and shot be de-
posited with Captain Samuel ^Nluncey at
South.
.\lso voted that i cask of the powder and
the sixth part of the ball and shot be de-
posited with Matthew Gardiner, Crab Mead-
ow or Fresh Pond.
Also voted that ij/^ casks of the powder
and the sixth part of the ball and shot be
deposited with Epenetus Smith, Cow Harbor.
Also voted that 1 1/ casks of the powder
and the equal proportion of the ball and shot
be deposited with Capt. Abel Cockling.
Also voted that 15^ casks of powder and
the equal proportion of the ball and shot be
deposited with Capt. John Robers.
Hitherto, in this chapter, we have been
treating of naval matters ; and we will now
turn to the military side of the story. Gov.
Daniel D. Tompkins, soon after he was in-
augurated, in 1807, foresaw that war between
America and Britain was among the prob-
abilities of the near future and beset himself
to put the military establishment of the State
on a sure footing. That purpose he fairly
accomplished, but the general Government
seemed strangely careless about the defences
around New York, although the fact was
only too apparent that in case of war with
a naval power its approaches practically of-
fered no obstacle to any demonstration which
might be made. This was often pointed out,
but without avail. From 1808 to 1816 the
State of New York appropriated $272,000
upon the fortifications for the defence of its
harbor, so that the condition of things prior
to the outbreak of the war was not charge-
able to any neglect on the part of its author-
ities or any lack of public spirit on the part
of its citizens. What defence there was
seems to have been a continuation of the
theory which prevailed in 1776 that there was
no need of fortifying Long Island. The
Narrows, Buttermilk Channel and the shores
of Staten Island and Manhattan Island were
equipped in more or less degree, but Long
Island lay practically at the mercy of any
invader who might happen along: and this
in spite of the terrible lesson of August 28,
1776! There was a block-house, mounting a
twenty-four pounder at the west end of Rock-
away Beach, placed there with a view of re-
254
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
pelling boat parties, and that was all, unless
we include two trumpery forts at Hell Gate
^nd an earthwork on the site of the present
Fort Hamilton, hastily thrown up after the
war was fairly started and to which was
given the name of Fort Lewis.*
Gov. Tompkins strove to improve the de-
fences of the coast as rapidly and as thor-
oughly as time and circumstances permitted.
On Aug. 26, i8i2, three companies of forty
men each, belonging to the Thirty-third
Brigade, New York, were ordered to pro-
ceed to Suffolk county, and one of these
■was to be stationed at Sag Harbor. Spe-
cial attention was paid to that point. "In
1813," says the State Historian, Mr. Hugh
Hastings, "Sag Harbor was one of the most
enterprising trading towns on Long Island.
The town itself consisted of but eighty or
eighty-five houses, but it was a port of entry
.and was thriving and growing. Throughout
the war Gov. Tompkins maintained a detach-
ment of New York militia at Sag Harbor."
It was the military headquarters of Suffolk
•county during the war, and its importance
may be gathered from the following order,
issued May i, 1813:
The superintendent of the arsenal at Sag
Harbor is authorized to deposit in the several
•exposed towns of Suffolk, not already sup-
plied, upon the request of the inhabitants
thereof, and upon taking a bond to the peo-
ple of this State with good and sufficient
*"On the Long Island shore of the Narrows a block-
house -was erected on the site of the present Fort Hamil-
ton by the first inhabitants, who settled there in 1054.
The work was as much of a protection against pirates
and buccaneers as invaders. The English authorities for
years discussed the feasibility of building a strong and
permanent work at this point, but nothing ever came of
it. During the war of 1813 the .\mericons constructed
a small earthwork which they called Fort Lewis * * *
Work on the present Fort Hamilton on the Long Island
side of the Narrow was not begun in earnest until after
the close of the second war with Great Britian." — Hugh
Hastings, State Historian, "Life of Gov. Tompkins"
.{Military Papers), Vol. 1, page 73.
surety for the safe return thereof, arms, am-
munition and military stores belonging to the
State, provided General Rose (in military
command of Suffolk County) shall deem and
certify the same to be proper. In case of
invasion or other emergency the exempts of
Southampton and other towns may be sup-
plied with arms and equipments from the
arsenal, but for all articles delivered under
this order to companies of exempts the like
security above mentioned must be taken.
On Jan. 8, 1814, "in consequence of the
imminent danger of the invasion of Sag
Harbor and the adjoining coast," the garri-
son there was considerably augmented and
volunteers were called for with the view of
organizing another corps of artillery.
The Company of Exempts (from military
duty) at Sag Harbor rtf erred to above was
organized in September, 1812, "for the pro-
tection of Sag Harbor against invasion." It
was officered as follows. Captain, John Ger-
main ; Lieutenants, Elisha Prior, Cornelius
Sleight and Thos. Beebee.
In November, 1812, Southold contributed
to the defence of the county a company of
exempts of which Gilbert Horton was made
Captain; Jonathan Horton, Lieutenant; and
Benjamin Hallock, Ensign. Probably there
were other corps of the same character raised
in nearly all the townships in Queens as well
as in Suffolk. In most of the military ar-
rangements of the war these counties were
freely assessed and seemed to have won the
approbation of the Governor for the alacrity
with which they responded to each call for
troops. They supplied their full quota to the
infantry and several well equipped cavalry
troops, but their main strength was in the
artillery.
In 1811 we find that an artillery company
was organized at Brookhaven, with John S.
Mount as captain, Henry H. Howell and
Samuel Davis as Lieutenants, and other towns
followed suit. By order issued Dec. 7, 1813,
the artillery of the Three Long Island coun-
THE WAR OF 1812.
255
ties were organized into the Second Battalion
of the Thirteenth Regiment under the com-
mand of J\Iajor Barbarin, and on Feb. 28,
1814, the cavalry of Queens, Suffolk and
Westchester were changed into heavy artil-
lery and became the Second Regiment, with
Lieut. Col. Williams Jones as its commander.
All this showed that among the people the
ancient spirit was not dead, and that had the
stern occasion demanded the Long Islanders
of 1812 would have presented a more united
front to the enemy than had their predecessors
in the days when independence was the ques-
tion of the hour.
CHAPTER XXII
THE CHAIN OF FORTS— MILITARY ACTIVITY IN KINGS COUNTY— THE
KATYDIDS AND OTHER HEROES— THE POPULAR UPRISING.
N the counties of Queens and SutTolk,
however, the war was more a dream
tlian a stern reaHty, more read and
talked about than anything else. The
trifling descents made on their coasts did little
damage and (resulted in no loss of life, and
while the people were prepared for the worst
the worst never came, and at no period
during the whole of the conflict do we
find any evidence of the deep and all
prevailing love of country which impelled
so many Suffolk county men to sacri-
fice all for home and freedom, far prin-
ciple and loyalty in the War of the Revo-
lution.
With Kings county it was altogether dif-
ferent; and while, happily, the tide of war
rolled in a different direction, the war fever
set in there with a bound as soon as the
formal declaration was made known and
gathered impetus, and the days sped on and
news of the progress of the struggle began
to come in. While, as in many other places,
some of the Kings county people regarded
the war as a mistake, a war which was simply
the result of a failure to agree on the part
of the politicians, news was no sooner re-
ceived of American blood having been spilled
than all whys and wherefores were forgotten
and the war spirit rose to fever heat. By
1 814 the spirit of '76 had again descended
on all of Kings county and suiifused itself
over all classes of the people, harmonizing
and blending for the time all shades of po-
litical opinion. Differences were forgotten,
the Tories were dead and Toryism was a
past and gone issue; the prejudice against
the Loyalists had developed into a sentiment,
and those who were their descendants were
as enthusiastic for the Stars and Stripes as
were those who had the blood of Revolu-
tionary heroes flowing in their veins. For a
time the military spirit predominated over all
else. It was natural that with the announce-
ment of the declaration of war the people of
Kings county should have regarded it as pos-
sible that their territory would become ont^
of the scenes of the conflict. The memory
of the Battle of Brooklyn had not been wiped
out. although its lessons seemed to have been
forgotten by those to whom the destiny of
the nation had been consigned.
Several military companies were in exist-
ence, or were formed, in 1812. immediately
after the declaration of war. The Fusiliers
under Capt. Joseph Herbert, though small m
numbers, made a gallant appearance on
parade with their green coats and leather
caps, while the "Katydids," as the company
of rifles commanded by Capt. Burdett Stryker
were called, on account of their uniform, —
green coats trimmed with yellow, — was
among the most popular of the old-time in-
dependent military bodies ever seen in Brook-
lyn. Captain Barbarin's artillery was one of
the most effective in the service, and we are
told that on one occasion (Aug. 5, 1812!,
when they took a trip to the Narrows to en-
THE CHAIN OF FORTS.
257
gage in target practice, they hit the ten-foot
target twenty times at a distance of 450 yards,
out of forty shots fired, which was wonderful
marksmanship for those days. A troop of
horse artillery was organized by John Wilson,
who became its Captain, and in addition to
such commands the county contributed its
full quota to the militia of the State. On
June 27 Gov. Tompkins called out the militia
of New York, Westchester, Kings and Rich-
mond counties and they remained in active
service until the close of the war. The Sixty-
fourth Regiment was furnished by Kings
county to the military establishment of the
commonwealth with the following officers :
Major, Francis Titus ; Major, Albert C. Van
Brunt ; Adjutant, Daniel Barre ; Quartermas-
ter, Albert Van Brunt ; Captains, William
Denyse (New Utrecht Company), Joseph
Dean (Brooklyn Company), Francis Skill-
man (Wallabout Company), Van Cott
(Bushwick Company), Peter Cowenhoven
(Gowanus Company), Jeremiah Lott
(Gravesend and Flatbush Company).
It was not, as we have said, until 1814
that Kings county became fully aroused, for
early in that summer a report was spread that
there was more than a chance that a British
army might again use it as a field of opera-
tions against Manhattan Island. Informa-
tion had been received from Bermuda that a
strong British fleet was concentrating there
for the purpose of striking a blow on some
part of the American coast, and the current
idea there was that New York was the point
at which the fleet would aim. As soon as
this news reached the city vigorous measures
for defence were at once adopted. It had
been fondly hoped that the negotiations then
in progress would have led to a complete ces-
sation of hostilities and the public tension
had been somewhat relaxed. But now the
community was brought face to face with
a grave danger.
DeWitt Clinton, then Mayor of New York,
at once proceeded to put that city into a
state of preparation and the fortifications on
the Battery and other points were strength-
ened, while a Committee of Defense was ap-
pointed. It was felt, however, that the fate
of the city would be decided by a battle if
battle there was to be, outside of its limits,
and numerous points lay invitingly open to an
enemy, points which were practically unde-
fended. A landing might be made not far
from where Howe landed in 1776, or a fleet
might sail through Long Island Sound and
command the city from some point in West-
chester or the Long Island shore, for the
passage through Hell Gate was open to friend
or foe. The Committee of Defense at once
took prompt measures. It recommended the
immediate removal of the ships in the harbor,
the enrollment of volunteers, asked the Gov-
ernor to increase the quantity of arms and
ammunition at the disposal of the local au-
thorities, to put the field artillery, etc., in
thorough order, to call out a competent num-
ber of militia, while the general Government
was petitioned among other things to finish
the incomplete fortifications surrounding the
city, to construct such new ones as were
necessary, and to augment the regular forces
serving around New York. The committee
offered to defray liberally a share in the cost
of all this, and it proposed the construction,
at its own cost and mainly by the work of
the militia and of volunteer laborers, of two
fortified camps, — one on Harlem Heights and
the other at Brooklyn. It is with the latter
of tlicse we have here to deal in detail.
The fortifications were deemed a prime
necessity, and even before the plans were
ready voluntary offers of labor on the sites,
either in the way of grading or levelling —
labor that was ready to be of service in any
way it could be utilized — begun to pour in
on ihe Committee as soon as their purposes
were known. The construction of these forti-
fications was the feature by means of which
the people testified to their determination to
do what thev could, to make what sacrifice of
258
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
time they could, to aid in tlie country's de-
fense, seeing that all could not become sol-
diers and carry a musket.
So great were the number of proffers that
it was soon seen a selection of the workers
would have to be made. Trades, professions,
societies, and associated bodies of all sorts
applied for the honor of being permitted to
labor as organizations. Men of wealth and
day laborers were equally zealous of doing
some work on the camps, old men were as
desirous of serving as the young, and hun-
dreds who for physical reasons were unable
' to do effective manual work asked to be al-
lowed to pay a substitute for one day or more
so that they, too, might have a direct share
in helping along the defensive plans. The col-
ored people were as ready to contribute their
labor as were their white brethren, while
firms, banks and corporations sent sums of
money to the Committee to hire laborers in
their name, each $1.25 paid being regarded
as equal to a day's work. Even the publi-
■cation of the local newspapers was suspended
■one day to give the printers a chance to work
•with pick and shovel. It was, more appar-
ently than ever, the old Revolutionary spirit
alive again ! The defenses which were the
subject of such a popular outburst were de-
signed by General J. W. Swift, one of the
best military engineers of his time, who in
1830 constructed the railway from New Or-
leans to Lake Pontchartrain, a wonderful feat
in engineering, and, in 1839, was chief engi-
neer of the Harlem Railroad. His plan was
in the main a reproduction of the line of
defense of 1776. From Gowanus to the
Wallabout, on the hills which then encircled
Brooklyn, but are how in its very centre,
was to be a line of forts connected by bastions.
On Manhattan Island a line of forts and
b)lock-houses was to run from the Hudson to
McGowan's Pass and across the Harlem
Heights to the Sound, there to connect with
the Long Island shore by means of a small
fort on Mill Rock and a larger one on the
high ground on the island coast. Other forts
were to be erected so as to form a complete
chain of defense. The line around Brooklyn
was not so long drawn out as in 1776, but
it was felt as being self-evident that if a
landing on Long Island was effected at all
the place to meet it was behind the forts and
not in the open field, while the defenses in the
harbor were relied upon to prevent a fleet
from operating with an invading army. The
tactical blunder which gave to the British
the Battle of Brooklyn, the weakness of any
one link in the chain of defense, was not to
be repeated. It was known that any effort
made on Long Island was in reality directed
against its neighbor, Manhattan, and the de-
fense of the nation's commercial capital was
the object kept steadily in view, and so the
attack, if it should come, was in the first in-
stance to be met not in the open field, but with
the assistance of forts and bastions and re-
doubts, and behind carefully watched and
strongly fortified lines.
As soon as the plans were ready work
commenced with a rush. It would almost
seem that at first a "tour of work" on the
fortifications was regarded in the light of a
fad, of a good-natured holiday, and the
"patriotic toil," as one of the orators of the
time called it, proceeded the more eagerly on
account of the novelty and fun, until the
news was received that the British forces had
captured Washington, burned the White
House and other public buildings, and were
in force before Baltimore. Then the holiday
notion passed away and the people almost
immediately realized that the labor they were
engaged upon was of the most serious import,
and that at any moment the utility and
strength of the fortifications might be tested
in the most grim and cruel fashion. Then
all feeling passed except that of sturdy deter-
mination to complete the chain of defenses
and give the invaders a warm reception.
Work was even carried on by moonlight, and
as the City Treasury was practically empty
and nothing could be got from the general
Government to aid the means of defence, New
THE CHAIN OF FORTS.
259
York City asked its people for a loan of
$1,000,000, and got it, although some argu-
mentative citizens claimed that the authorities
had no legal- right to negotiate a loan for
any such purpose. Such citizens always turn
up with their arguments and objections it
Federal six-pounders and a heavy outburst o"f
cheering commenced work with pick and
shovel on the site of the old Fort. Putnam of
1776, which was now to be known as Fort
Greene. On the following day the work was
continued by some artillery companies and
every stage of the nation's progress and are
especially busy at every historical crisis.
The work on the fortifications was begun
on the Brooklyn scheme first, on the morning
of Aug. 9, 1814, when a company of artillery
and a body of volunteers from New York
crossed and under a salute from one of the
by bodies of tanners, curriers and plumbers
and several hundred military exempts. On
the 1 2th the medical students, wire workers,
foundry workers, the members of the Hamil-
ton Society and a number of artillerymen
were at work, and on the 13th the New York
cabinet-makers had an inning. The 15th,
230
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
being a Sunday, was observed as a day of
rest. On tlie Alonday following Brooklyn
itself had a chance, for then Captain Lati-
rence Brower's Company of Artillery, raised
in that place and attached to the Thirteenth
Regiment of Artillery, went over to the heights
from Castle Garden, where they were sta-
tioned, and broke ground on the site of the
old Cobble Hill Fort for a new stronghold
which was at first proposed to be given the
name of Fort Pitt; but that was changed
when work was fairly began to Fort Swift,
in honor of the designer of the defenses.
Brooklyn also came to the front on August
i6th, when the work was done by local mili-
tary companies under the command of Cap-
tains Stryker, Cowenhoven and Herbert, by
the exempts of Bedford and the Wallabout
and a fire company. On the 17th the people
of Bushwick con,tributed their share. A con-
temporary newspaper said : " The operations
were commenced by a prayer from that vener-
able patriot, the Rev. Dr. John Basset, and
an exhortation of zeal and unanimity in their
country's cause, in defense of which they
were then to be employed on the works which
he had nearly forty years ago assisted in
erecting. He continued encouraging them,
and distributing refreshments throughout the
day, and at evening returned with his flock
satisfied with having set an example, im-
pressive, admirable and commanding, the
plaudits of an approving conscience and a
grateful country."
Tile scene of their work was Fort Swift.
During the course of the day they held a
meeting over which Dr. Basset presided,
while Tunis Wortman acted as secretary, at
which resolutions were passed, some of
which, as they serve to show the spirit of
the people, may be reproduced here :
Next to the duties which we owe to Heav-
en, those which belong to our country demand
our chief attention. As a people we are pre-
eminently blessed. Divine Providence has fa-
vored us with a free and excellent Constitu-
tion, and commands us to preserve it. In
defense of our liberties, property and lives,
for the protection of our native land or the
land of our choice, we this day solemnly
step forward to take up arms for general
preservation, and will not lay them down
while danger exists.
In a crisis like the present no good citi-
zen should consider himself exempt. The
spirit of party should be lost in the generous
ardor of universal patriotism. All who feel
that they possess a country to defend and
love, should step forward with a degree of
zeal and alacrity, which shall teach the en-
emy and convince the world that America
is a virtuous, great and united nation.
Resolved, That the citizens and inhabit-
ants of the town of Bushwick, exempt from
ordinary military duties, embody themselves
into a volunteer Company for the protection
and defense of Nassau (Long) and Man-
hattan Islands, under such officers as they
shall select.
Resolved, That a committee of eleven
citizens be appointed to request the assist-
ance and co-operation of our fellow citizens
of Long Island and to prepare and publish
a suitable address for that purpose.
Resolved, That such committee be author-
ized and instructed to enter into such ar-
rangements and to form such correspondence
as may be necessary and proper to carry the
objects of their meeting into effect, and that
the committees consist of Major Francis
Titus, Dr. Cornelius Lowe, John Skillman,
Sen., Alexander Whaley, Sen,, Peter Wyckoff,
William Conselyea, Sen., Peter Meserole,
Gysberte Bogert, Abraham Meserole, John
^'an Alst and Tunis \\'ortman.
On the 1 8th Flatbush contributed the la-
borers, on the 19th Flatlands was represented,
and on the 20th Gravesend had its turn. On
the same day a corps of some seventy volun-
teers from Paterson, N. J., under Col. Abra-
ham Godwin, a Revolutionary hero whose
son was then at the front, did a full "turn"
of work on Fort Greene. In fact by this
time the great importance not only to New-
York but to the nation at large of the defense
of 2ilanhattan Island was thoroughly under-
stood and parties were daily sent from the
valley of the Hudson and the interior of New
Jersey to help along the good work.
THE CHAIN OF FORTS.
261
On the 20th part of the fortifications re-
ceived the first quota of troops in several
companies of mihtia from the interior of the
state who had been ordered into camp at
Fort Greene. As they landed in Brooklyn
in the evening they were met by a contingent
of 1,200 of the Patriotic Sons of Erin, who
had just completed a day's -work. The good-
natured Irishmen gave them a grand wel-
come, for they opened ranks and caused
them to pass between, while we are told two
bands of music discoursed martial airs and
there was a general outburst of chee^ring
while the militia and their baggage remained
in sight. In fact nothing strikes the student
of this episode in local history more than the
enthusiasm and good nature which prevailed
all through it. We do not read of a single
quarrel or hear the echo of a single angry
word in all its details, — apart, of course, from
the epistles of the argumentative citizens al-
ready referred to. Party spirit for the mo-
ment may be said to have fled, political
animosities to have been buried and race
and other prejudices to have been oblit-
erated while the people turned, as with one
heart, one thought, to meet the advance of
the common foe. All this found expression
in many popular songs, one of which, by
Samuel Woodworth, author of the "Old Oak-
en Bucket," was sold for si.x cents and en-
joyed a widespread popularity. It was en-
titled "The Patriotic Diggers," and some of
its verses ran :
Johnny Bull, beware !
Keep at proper distance.
Else we'll make you stare
At our firm resistance.
Let alone the lads
Who are freedom tasting;
Recollect our dads
Gave you once a basting.
Pick-axe, shovel, spade,
Crowbar, hoe and barrow :
Better not invade :
Yankees have the morrow.
To protect our rights
'Gainst your flints and triggers.
See on Brooklyn Heights
Our patriotic diggers.
Man of every age.
Color, rank, profession.
Ardently engage
Labor in succession.
Here the mason builds
Freedom's shrine of glory,
While the painter gilds
The immortal story.
Blacksmiths catch the flame.
Grocers feel the spirit,
Printers share the fame
And record their merit.
Scholars leave their schools
With their patriot teachers ;
Farmers seize their tools,
Headed by their preachers.
How they break the soil, —
Brewers, butchers, bakers !
Here the doctors toil.
There the undertakers.
Plumbers, founders, dyers.
Tinmen, turners, shavers,
Sweepers, clerks and criers.
Jewelers, engravers.
Clothiers, drapers, players,
Cartmen, hatters, tailors.
Gangers, sealers, weighers.
Carpenters and sailors.
On August 24 the free colored people of
Brooklyn and vicinity worked on the defenses,
and on that date the people of that town and
its vicinity took a more active part than ever
in the work. The local committee of defense
issued a call for the citizens to volunteer to
perform a second tour of duty on the line of
forts, and this met with a most hearty re-
sponse. The 25th and 26th were what might
now be called Brooklyn military da3^s, and on
the 27th Bushwick contributed its second tour.
On the 29th the scene was enlivened by the
arrival of three military companies from up
the state — the Albany Riflemen, the Trojan
Greens and the Montgomery Rangers — who
took up their quarters in Fort Greene, where
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the Flatbush people were contributing their
second tour. On the 30th the people of Flat-
lands and Gravesend were both represented.
Meanwhile every day bodies of workers con-
tinued to pass over the ferry from New York,
and while a prodis:ious amount of work was
done the news constantly arriving as to the
progress of the war indicated tliat there was
no time to lose and appeals were steadily
made for laborers not only on the Brooklyn
works but also on those at Harlem. A new
trouble also confronted the committee, — that
of adequately provisioning the soldiers in the
camp and an appeal for fresh food, especially
vegetables, was made. An appeal for fas-
cines brought among other contributions 120
loads from Jamaica as a gift irom the citizens
of that town. The spokesman of the deputa-
tion which carried the welcome gift was the
Rev. Dr. Jacob Schoonmaker, who for nearly
half a century was the minister of the Dutch
Reformed church in Jamaica and in Newtown.
August closed with the appearance of a large
number of ladies who worked for a few houTs
on the lines, but the feature of that day was
the appearance of the Tammany delegation,
1,150 strong, who crossed the ferry and
marched to the works with banners flying and
bands playing. G. R. Horton, in his "History
of the Tammany Society," tells us that the
Tammany Society made a similar patriotic
journey to Brooklyn several times while the
works were being constructed.
On the 1st of September a new feature was
introduced into the already strange story of
the rise of these fortifications when the Grand
Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for the
first, and so far as time has developed the last,
time, turned out to engage, "in the character
of Masons," in what was practically a warlike
enterprise. DeWitt Clinton, then Mayor of
New York, was at that time Grand Master,
Cadwallader Golden, the head of the local mili-
tia, was Grand Warden; Governor Tompkins
was destined to be Grand Master, and General
Jacob Morton had preceded Clinton as holder
of that honor. Doubtless it was the influence
of these men that caused the twenty-one lodges
in New York City on the morning of Septem-
ber I, to assemble, clothed in regalia and with
flags and staves to meet in the City Hall Park
and escort the officers of the Grand Lodge to
Brooklyn, where, having been joined by the
local lodges, thev all threw off their aprons
and jewels and exchanged them for picks and
shovels. After having diligently labored
throughout the day the Freemasons returned
at evening to the New York City Hall, where
they were dismissed. On reaching Brooklyn
they were joined by two lodges : Fortitude,
still existing and now the oldest lodge of
Masons in the borough ; and Newtown Centre
Lodge, a body which was founded in 1808 and
was crushed out of existence in the Morgan
persecution which so nearly wiped out the
fraternity in the State. The visit of the Ma-
sonic fraternity aroused much local pride, and
they had worked so well that the place upon
which they had labored, a part of the old
Revolutionary Fort Greene, was at once given
the name of Fort Masonic. It is difficult to
estimate the number who took part in the
unique Masonic experience, but probably it
was in the neighborhood of 500. The recep-
tion their labors met with so pleased the "Sons
of Light" that at a meeting of the Grand
Lodge, on September 7, the giving of another
day's labor to Fort Masonic was resolved upon
and this was faithfully performed on the 19th.
On September 3d "the Columbian" re-
ported: "Nearly 800 citizens of Newark
transported in a line of wagons nearly cov-
ering the causeway on the road reached Pau-
lus Hook Ferry, crossed the North River and
passed through the city to Brooklyn Ferry
before i o'clock this m.orning. They had sev-
eral bands of wind and military music, with
flags and a label on each hat reading "Don't
give up the soil," and proceeded to work on.
the fortification at Brooklyn with an alacrity
truly admirable and commendable. Such an
instance of patriotic enthusiasm in the inhab-
itants of a neighboring State, from a distance
of seven miles, cannot be too highly appre-
THE CHAIN OF FORTS.
26a
ciated or recorded in terms too honorable to
the zeal and disinterestedness of our fellow
citizens of New Jersey."
All through the building of the fortifica-
tions nothing was more gratifying to those
concerned than the aid received from the
churches. Almost every day work was com-
menced in some part of the long line, at least,
with a prayer, and clergymen wielded a pick
or trundled a barrow with as much zeal, if
not with as much efifectiveness, as an ordinary
outdoor laborer. On one day the members of
the Mulberry Street Baptist Church, of which
the Rev. Archibald Maclay, a sturdy Scotch
Highlander and a stanch lover of liberty, both
civil and religious, was then and long after-
ward minister, did a most gratifying amount
of work, and their clerical leader did not the
least. It was not until November that the
preparations were regarded on the Brooklyn
side as being practically completed, — com-
pleted, that is, so far as the necessity for vol-
unteer labor was concerned, and the continu-
ance of work on the fortifications was left
to the caire of the constituted authorities and
the military forces ; but while the trouble
lasted, until the news came that peace had
been signed, those who still toiled knew that
behind them stood ready a determined and
dauntless people prepared at a moment's notice
to fill up any breach or perform whatever serv-
ice might be demanded of them in defense of
their rights and their homes.
As each section of the Brooklyn fortifica-
tions was completed Governor Tompkins be-
gan sending on what troops he could to take
possession ; but it was not until September had
advanced a week or ten days that troops were
present in strength at all equal to what the long
line of fortifications actually required for its
adequate defense, or the artillery was armed
in proper shape to offer effective defiance to
an invader. As might be expected, the Long
Island militia were present in force, brigaded
under General Johnson, of Brooklyn.
But the fortifications, happily, were des-
tined never to be tested. They were hardly
completed when it began to be seen that the
peace negotiations were most likely to be suc-
cessful, and all military movements on land,
in the northern section of the country at any
rate, ceased, and only the cruisers at sea con-
tinued peppering at each other wherever they
met. Peace was formally brought about by
treaty at Ghent, on December 24, 18 14, but
it was not until February i8th that it was
ratified. In those days, of course, news trav-
eled slowly, and to that is due the opportunity
which gave General Jackson his title to the
"Hero of New Orleans" when he defended
that city from a determined attack on January
S, 1815. Even after the treaty was ratified
the war was still carried on at sea and the
"Constitution" added to the list of victims and
her ToU of prizes, and "The Hornet" closed
a chapter in naval warfare full of glorious
incidents for its history in connection with
the story of the United States by capturing
the "Penguin."
Still these were but incidents, and with
the proclamation of peace came jubilation
throughout the land, and in no section was that
jubilation more heartfelt and sincere than in
the district of which Manhattan Island was
the center and which had so lately been ser-
iously threatened. A day of thanksgiving was
proclaimed. The bells which had been in read-
iness to rouse the citizens now united in a mer-
ry peal, the death-dealing snap of the musket
was replaced by the jollier rattle of the fire-
cracker and the ping of the blank cartridge;
the cannon which frowned on Brooklyn
Heights and the heights of Hadem, and from
fort and block-house on the water front, now
boomed in recognition of peace ; and on the
hills of Gowanus bonfires blazed and towns
and villages were illuminated. The citizen
soldiery, America's strength and pride, began
returning to their places in the industrial walks
of life, and by the following June, when Com-
modore Stewart in the gallant "Constitution"
sailed into the New York Harbor after a
cruise which added much to the well-earned
honors of the American navy, he was received
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Avith the plaudits and praises he so richly de-
served ; but the plaudits were those of a people
who had alreadj' unbent from all thought of
war and were at peace with the world.
The Long Island hero of the war of 1812
was undoubtedly BTigadier General Jeremiah
Johnson, and although his later active labors
in Brooklyn would wa'rrant him a place among
the memories of the prominent citizens of that
borough, he deserves to be remembered here
in connection with the great service he rendered
his country at a most critical period in her
affairs. He was descended from Jan Barentse
Van Driest, a carpenter by trade, who in 1658
emigrated from' Sutphen, in Gelderland. We
know nothing of his movements until 1672,
when he turns up as a resident of Flatbush.
He evidently prospered, for in 1666 he bought
some land at Gravesend, and in 1674 extended
his holdings by buying the plantation lot and
building which belonged to Daniel Morgan.
In 1679 he married the daughter, Janet, of
William Jansen \'an Barkeloo, and died some
time prior to 1697. One of his sons, Barent
Janse, lived in Gravesend and carried on farm-
ing, while another was a merchant in Xew
York, and it seems to have been from this
Barent that the name of Johnson was adopted
as the family cognomen. The family gradu-
ally spread over Gravesend and Brooklyn, and
appear to have always stood well in the com-
munity, although the records show that at least
one was unfortunate as a merchant and had to
depend in the end upon the assistance of his
relatives. Business, like war, has its ups and
downs, its varying fortunes. General Jere-
miah Johnson was fourth in descent from Jan
Barentsen Van Driest, and we deem it a priv-
ilege to reproduce here the sketch of his life,
written by Dr. Henry R. Stiles and published
in that author's "History of Brooklyn:"
His father, Barent Johnson, born in 1740,
was distinguished as an active patriot during
the Revolutionary struggle. He was encamped,
in command of a portion of the Kings county
militia, at Harlem in 1776, and in the follow-
ing year was captured by the British, and only
obtained his parole (from General Howe)
through the kind interposition of a Masonic
brother. In order to help on the cause to which
he was devoted he shrank not from personal
and pecuniary risks, but suggested loans from
friends in his county to the American govern-
ment; and himself set the example by loaning,
first $3,500, and afterward sums amounting to
$5,000, all the security for which was a simple
private receipt, given, too, in time of exceeding
peril and discouragement — a noble and mem-
orable deed. Jeremiah, his son, was born Jan-
uary 23, 1766 ; was, at the time of the breaking
out of the war, in his eleventh year, and old
enough to understand the full meaning of
passing events. That these stirring scenes
made an indelible impression upon his mind
and character is evident from the fact that his
reminiscences, descriptions, maps, etc., have
since formed the largest and certainly the most
valuable portion of the Revolutionary lore of
Kings 'county handed down to our day, and
has been largely drawn upon by every local
and general historian of Long Island.
His father dying before the peace, young
Johnson was thrown the more upon himself;
and, though the times were very unfavorable
to regular education, he improved his oppor-
tunities as he was able ; attended night schools ;
taught himself, and graduallv disciplined and
developed the elements of a manly, self-made
and self-reliant character. Then, as a good,
quiet citizen, he lived upon his farm in faith-
ful industry; married (i) Abigail, daughter of
Rem. Remsen, in 1787, who died in 1788; (2),
Sarah, daughter of Tennis Rapalye, in 1791,
who died in 1825. He had ten children (two
sons Barnet and Jeromus ; and two daughters,
Sarah Anne, married to Nicholas Wyckoff,
and Susanna, married to Lambert Wyckoff),
all of whom well sustain the parental reputa-
tion of benevolence and usefulness, patronizing
every worthy cause. The old homestead was
taken down and the fine substantial mansion,
now occupied by the family, was erected near
the same spot, in 1801. In 1796 he became a
trustee of the town of Brooklyn, an office
which he held for twenty years. Naturally of
a social turn, of benevolent impulses, and pub-
lic spirited withal, and from his very charac-
ter, position and associations, he became early
connected with public affairs. From 1800
until about 1840 he was a supervisor of the
town, during a large portion of which time he
was chairman of the board. In 1808 and in
1809 he represented Kings county in the State
Assembh'. He took an active part, also, in
THE CHAIN OF FORTS.
2(55
niilitan- matters. During the war with Great
Britain, from 1812 to 1815, he was at first
only a junior captain ; but, when one was solic-
ited to go out in command on the frontier,
others declining, he volunteered for a danger-
ous duty, and so took precedence b)' consent,
and early became colonel. Meanwhile he was
very active in military affairs, and held him-
self ready at call. He was then honored with
a brigadier-general's commission, and was in
the command (of the 22d Brigade of Infantry,
numbering 1,750 men) at Fort Greene, in
Brooklyn, for three months. \Miilst there he
was conspicuous for his soldier-like aliility ;
proved himself an excellent disciplinarian ; and
was a great favorite with officers and privates.
He was fortunate, as well, for, in that three
months' time, no one of his soldiers dield.
After the peace he was promoted to be a ma-
jor-general, an office which he held during his
life, though not in actual command of a di-
vision.
When (in 1816) Brooklyn became a village
his residence was left outside of the village
bounds, and, of course, he could not (except
by his own influence in a private capacity,
which he ever largely exercised) participate
in its public affairs ; but, in 1835, the city char-
ter was obtained, and the bounds included the
8th and 9th wards, which brought his home
again within the lines. In 1837 he was elected
mayor of the city of Brooklyn, and re-elected
in 1838 and 1839. As a public officer he was
faithful, prompt and indefatigable, while his
punctuality was proverbial. In 1840, and again
in 1841, he was elected again a member of
the State Legislature. At one time, also, he
was judge of the Common Pleas. In 1848
he was chosen the first president of the St.
Nicholas Society of Nassau Island, an office
which he held until his death. In 1849 he was
unanimously elected an honorary member of
the American Institute (having been a mem-
ber since 1836), and at the time of his death
was chairman of its board of agriculture. As
chairman of this committee he was quite active
in urging to its final passage the act for the
encouragement of agriculture in the State of
New York.
Besides all these there was hardly an oc-
casional or incidental duty in the business of
agriculture, of education, of improvements, of
reference, of management, to which he was
not summoned, by reason of his business ca-
pacity and experience, as well as the reputa-
tion and high confidence he maintained amidst
the community. He made no pretense to litera-
ture, and seldom wrote anything for the public
eye ; he nevertheless wielded an efficient pen,
when his feelings were aroused, or his sense
of justice and propriety were violated by offi-
cial malpractices or the wrong-doing of others.
He was fond of putting down memoranda and
scraps of history, and interesting facts which
his observation and experience had gathered ;
though in an incidental way, rather as mate-
rials for a more labored attempt. Well ac-
quainted with the language of Holland, he
was fond of making translations from its writ-
ers ; as, for example, his excellent translation
of \'on der Donk's "History of New Nether-
land." Indeed, there has not been an author
meditating a work upon Long Island, or pub-
lishing one, who has not conferred with Gen-
eral Jeremiah Johnson, or who has not bor-
rowed and used his communications and his
notes, and made grateful mention of him and
his assistance. He was a modest, consistent,
obedient, habitual, conforming Christian. He
belonged to the old Dutch Reformed congre-
gation in Brooklyn. In that congregation for
fifty years he was a communicant ; and a stand-
ing member of the consistory, in and out, alter-
nating, according to the parish method, con-
tinually ; and the clerk of its consistory for
forty years, until his resignation in 1843.
General Johnson was remarkably active,
prompt, decided ; never idle ; of indefatigable
industry; kindly to all, warm-hearted and af-
fectionate ; generous in all his instincts, sym-
pathizing with the young. He was of a social,
genial mood ; was fond of his pipe, even to the
last, and handled it from his seventeenth year
to within a quarter of an hour of his death.
He was fond of his gun, of walking, and of
manly exercise ; from youth up an early riser,
and early to bed. His free, easy, unreserved
manners made him ever a welcome and de-
lightful guest. He could give information
upon the gravest and most important themes ;
he could sympathize with the most common.
If there was an ancient tree, or stump, con-
nected with some memorial of the past, he
knew of it, and he was the one to mark it by
a monumental stone. His perception was
quick and clear, and his tact admirable ; and
well nigh to the last his eye was not dim, nor
his natural force abated, and his voice con-
tinued full and strong. His death, which oc-
curred on the 20th of October, 1852, was in
hannony with his life — calm, trustful and
serene — and caused a widespread and pro-
found sensation of sorrow throughout the city
of Brooklvn.
CHAPTER XXllI.
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
HE people of Long Island have ever
been proud of the educational priv-
ileges they have placed before the
children in their midst. The Dutch
were stanch believers in the benefits of careful
religious and moral training to the young,
and the schoolmaster was as essential in their
communities at home and abroad as the minis-
ter. Wherever a Dutch church was erected a
school-house was not far away, and in
small communities, where the voice of
the ordained preacher could only be heard
at intervals, the schoolmaster was supposed
to call the people together for public
worship, or at least to hear a portion of the
Sacred Book read and a word of prayer spo-
ken. The early English authorities, while not
so thoroughgoing in their educational ideas as
the Dutch, did not neglect the school. As the
island advanced in population and wealth so
did the facilities for education increase. Acad-
emies were founded which in other parts of the
country would have been dubbed colleges, and
which conferred educational privileges which
are generally associated with the highest in-
stitutions of learning, and the fame of these
academies spread over the entire country.
When at length the whole question of educa-
tion was removed from private hands and be-
came the subject of municipal or township
care, when pedagogy itself became a study and
a feature of professional life, we find a con-
stant striving all over the island to introduce
into every school the newest and most ap-
proved methods, and attain the highest possi-
ble results. The position of the teacher was
steadily advanced under all these changes
until, instead of being virtually a servant to
the minister, a sort of generally handy man,
he became a recognized member of the pro-
fessional class.
Long Island has never possessed a univer-
sity, although the desirability of such an insti-
tution has several times been discussed; but
her system of elementary and academic edu-
cation has just stopped short of what are re-
garded in modern times as university require-
ments, and the public-school system of Brook-
lyn has long been regarded as the highest de-
velopment of American pedagogics.
Much doubt seems to prevail as to who
was the first schoolmaster on Long Island.
The honor of being the scene of his operations
seems to belong to Flatbush ; that much, ap-
parently, has been happily settled. Two an-
tiquaries of such local fame as Dr. Strong
and Teunis G. Bergen, writing over a genera-
tion apart, differed as to the personality of the
earliest preceptor. Strong (History of Flat-
bush, page 109) awarded the honor to Adrien
Hegeman, and the dates of his occupancy of
the office as 1659 to 1671. Later research
has shown these dates to be wrong, and Dr.
Stiles suggests ir their stead 1653 or 1654 to
1660, which, were they anything but mere sug-
gestion, would give the honor unquestionably
to Flatbush. Hegeman, the common ancestor
of that now numerous family, came here from
Amsterdam about 1650 and took up his resi-
dence at first in New Amsterdam. In 1654
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
267
he was a magistrate of Flatbiish, and in 1661
sellout fiscal of the five Dutch towns ; and he
held other public offices, besides being de-
scribed as an auctioneer. He died in 1672,
leaving- a family of eight sons and one daugh-
ter,. Elizabeth, who married in 1684 Tobias
Ten Eyck.
Hegeman appears to have been a man of
wealth, and it is impossible to conceive of his
performing the full duties of schoolmaster,
which, as we shall see, included much that
were rather servile in their nature. Besides,
the records nowhere speak of him as holding
minute as to the offices held by him. It is
possible, therefore, that he simply performed a
part of the duties which fell to the lot of a
schoolmaster until a .regular and full appoint-
ment was made. This was in 1660, when
Reynier Van Giesen was installed. Bergen
(Genealogy of Kings County) says: "Rey-
nier Bastiaensen Van Giessen (probably from
Giesen, a village in North Braband) married
Dirkjc Cornelis, and entered into an agree-
ment, June 6, 1660, with the Magistrate of
Flatbush and the Consistory of the Reformed
Dutch Church of said place, to teach school,
perform the duties of court messenger, to ring
the bell, perform the duties of precentor, at-
tend to the burial of the dead and all that
was necessary and proper in the premises, for
an annual salary of 200 florins, exclusive of
perquisites. This agreement was signed by
Adrian Hegeman, William Jacobse Van Boe-
rum, Elbert Elbertson, Jan Snediker, Jan
Strycker and Peter Cornelise, probably as
the local Magistrates, and by Johannes Theo-
dorus Polhemus, Jan Snediker, Jan Strycker
and William Jacobse Van Boerum as the Con-
sistory of the Church. Dr. Strong omits Van
Giesen from his record, but the. above agree-
ment shows this to be an error, and that Van
Giesen was probably the first schoolmaster."
There seems no doubt that Mr. Bergen's con-
clusion was correct. Van Giesen held the
office until 1663, when he removed to Bergen
county. New Jersey, and Pilgrom Clocq was
appointed schoolmaster in his stead, continu-
ing as such until 1671. From the agreement
made with the latter we find that the Consis-
tory agreed to pay one-quarter of his annual
salary of 200 guilders, and that his perqui-
sites included 2 guilders for teaching the al-
phabet, 2 guilders, 10 stivers, for teaching
spelling, 3 guilders for teaching reading, and
5 guilders for teaching writing, payable by
each scholar.
Whatever reliance may be placed on the
claims of Flatbush, there seems no doubt that
Huntington was a close second to it, if not
actually first, in the appointment of a school-
master. It appears from the town records that
in 1657 an agreement was made "at a corte
or town meeting betwixt the inhabitants of
the Towne of Huntington, of the one partie,
and Jonas Houldsworth, of the other partie,"
by which Jonas was "to schoole such persons
or children as shall be put to him for that end
by ye said inhabitants" for a term of four
years. For this service the "inhabitants doth
likewise engage themselves to pay unto ye
said Jonas Houldsworth twenty-five pounds
(English accompt) and his diet the first year,
and also to allow him what more may come
in by ye schooling of any that come from
other parts. The said twenty-five pounds is
to be paid ye said Jonas as followeth : Three
pounds twelve shillings in butter at six pence
ye pound, and seven pounds two shillings in
good well-sized merchantable wampum, that
is well strung or strand, or in such commodi-
ties that will suit him for clothing. These to
be paid him by the first of October, and three
pounds twelve shillings in corne, one-half in
wheat and ye other in Indian at three and
five shillings ye bushel (provided it be good
and merchantable) to be paid by ye first of
March. Also ten pounds fourteen shillings
in well thriving young cattle that shall then
he betwixt two and four years old, one-half
being in the steare kind — these to be delivered
him when the yeare is expired." For the sec-
ond and third year his pay was to be ^35, and
for the fourth ^40, the amounts being paya-
ble after the fashion of the first year. In-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
addition to his pay, the inhabitants were to
provide him with a suitable house, and in the
proper season the children were to bring with
them to school the necessary fire-wood. All
these agreements seem to have been faithfully
kept, the house was provided, and the entire
outfit and the salary were defrayed by a tax
laid upon the "inhabitants." It was a free
school in the fullest acceptance of the phrase.
In 1 66 1 Brooklyn received its first teacher
in Carl de Bevoise, who, Bergen says, emi-
grated from Leyden in 1659, and after a short
stay in New Amsterdam removed to Breuck-
elen, where in 1687 he took the oath of alle-
giance. He was the common ancestor of the
now widespread and influential De Bevoise
family. His duties as schoolmaster were much
the same as those of his confrere at Flatbush,
as is evident from the following petition,
dated July 4, 1661, in which the BTOoklyn folks
asked help from the Provincial authorities in
the way of paying him a proper salary :
To the Right Honorable Director General and
Council of New Netherland:
The Sellout and Schepens of the Court of
Breuckelen respectfully represent that they
found it necessary that a Court Messenger
was required for the Schepens' Chamber, to be
occasionally employed in the village of Breuck-
elen and all around where he may be needed,
as well to serve summons as also to conduct
the service of the church and to sing on Sun-
days ; to take charge of the school, dig graves,
etc., ring the bell and perform whatever else
may be required. Therefore the petitioners,
with your Honor's approbation, have thought
proper to accept for so highly necessary an
office a suitable person who is now come be-
fore them, one Carel Van Bevois, to whom
they have hereby appropriated a sum of 150
guilders, besides a free dwelling; and where-
as the petitioners are apprehensive that the
aforesaid C. Bevois would not and cannot do
the work for the sum aforesaid, and the peti-
tioners are not able to promise him any more,
therefore the petitioners, with all humble and
proper reverence, request your Honors to be
pleased to lend them a helping hand, in order
thus to receive the needful assistance.
Herewith awaiting your Honors' kind and
favorable answer, and commending ourselves,
Honorable, wise, prudent, and most discreet
Gentlemen, to your favor, we pray for your
Honors God's protection, together with a hap-
py and prosperous administration unto salva-
tion. Your Honors' servants and subjects.
The Schouts and Schepens of the village
aforesaid, by order of the same,
Adri.\n Hegem.\n,
Secretary.
In answer to the above the "Honorable,
wise, prudent and most discreet gentlemen"
agreed to pay the teacher, grave-digger, etc.,
fifty guilders a year in wampum ; and as he
was afterward appointed reader "and Secre-
tary to the Town Clerk," his remuneration in
time became fairly respectable. De Bevoise
appears to have been a personal protege of
Governor Stuyvesant, and this probably ac-
counts for his success both with the local and
the Provincial authorities. Firom the agree-
ment made in 1682 with Johannes Van Eckelen
who was then appointed schoolmaster of Flat-
bush, we learn more of the duties of these early
preceptors. Eckelen, it may be said, resided at
Albany before settling on Long Island, and
continued to act as schoolmaster until 1706,
probably the date of his death. In 1698 he
was appointed clerk of the county.
The agreement referred to reads :
I. The school shall begin at 8 o'clock in
the morning and go out at 11 o'clock. It
shall begin again at i o'clock and end at 4
o'clock. The bell shall be rung before the
school begins.
II. When the school opens, one of the
children 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 prayer. The evening school
shall begin with the Lord's Prayer, and close
by singing a Psalm.
III. He shall instruct the children in the
common prayers and the questions and an-
swers of the catechism on Wednesdays and
Saturdays, to enable them to say their cate-
chism on Sunday afternoons in the church
before the afternoon service, otherwise on the
Monday following, at which the schoolmaster
shall be present. He shall demean himself
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
269
patiently and friendly toward the children in
their instruction, and be active and attentive
to their improvement.
IV. He 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 pres-
ent himself.
He shall be chorister of the church, ring
the bell three times before service, and read
a chapter of the Bible in the church between
the second and third ringing of the bell ; after
the third ringing he shall read the Ten Com-
mandments 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 congregation are assembling.
Afterward he shall again set the Psalm.
When the minister shall preach at Brook-
lyn or New Utrecht he shall be bound to read
twice before the congregation a sermon from
the book used for the purpose. The afternoon
sermon will be on the catechism of Dr. Van-
der Hagen, and thus he will follow the turns
of the minister. He shall hear the children
recite the questions and answers of the cate-
chism on that Sunday, and he shall instruct
them. When the minister preaches at Flat-
lands he shall perform a like service.
He shall provide a basin of water for the
baptism, for which he shall receive twelve
stuyvers in wampum for every baptism from
the parents or sponsors. He shall furnish the
minister, in writing, the names and ages of the
children to be baptized, together with the
names of the parents and sponsors ; he shall
also serve as a messenger from the consis-
tories.
He shall give the funeral invitations and
toll the bells, for which services he shall re-
ceive, for persons of fifteen years of age and
upward, twelve guilders ; and for persons un-
der fifteen, eight guilders. If he shall invite
out .-)[ the town he shall receive three addi-
tional guilders for every town. If he shall
cross tiie river to Xew York he shall have
four guilders more.
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.
The residue of his salary shall be four
hundred guilders in wheat, of wampum value,
deliverable at Brooklyn ferry, and for his serv-
ice from October to May 234 guilders in
wheat, at the same place, with the dwelling,
pasturages and meadow appertaining to the
school.
These regulations were those which prac-
tically, with the trifling local variations, pre-
vailed in the early schools all over Long Isl-
and. The great differences between them
and their modern successors was that in them
moral and religious training were the most
important features, while in our day secular
education in the public schools takes prece-
dence of all else.
The schoolmaster was little better than an
inferior assistant to the minister, "the minis-
ter's man," as the kaleyard novelists and the
Scotch story tellers call him ; and while, as-
in Brooklyn, he gradually emerged from the
status of being a grave-digger and local handy
man, he continued until long after the Revo-
lution was over to eke out his salary as teacher
by assuming various humble duties.
It is impossible to estimate very clearly
the value of these schools in the way of secu-
lar training. That they were the means of
instilling into the minds and hearts of several
generations of Long Islanders a knowledge of
God and His Commandments, a reverence for
the Scriptures and all things sacred, and won
for the people of the island most deservedly
a reputation for being a God-fearing, honest,
moral and reliable race, is certain ; but they
certainly failed to make the mass educated,
which in modern times we would interpret as
what was most to be desired in any system
of education. The letters and manuscripts of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries
which have come down to us show equally
a sovereign contempt for spelling and capitali-
zation ; grammar was an unknown quantity,
and punctuation a mystery beyond human ken.
We question if, say in 1750, a boy on Long-
Island could be found who would be able to
define the boundaries of the province in which
-270
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
he lived, or who could repeat the names of
a dozen men outside of his own circle of ac-
quaintances or tell the whereabouts of a dozen
places in the country apart from the section
in which his own days were spent. Of history
he knew nothing beyond a few bare facts con-
cerning Holland or England, which came to
him more in the form of traditions than as
actual incidents. He took his notions of civil
government from his church, and the minis-
ter was his guide, philosopher and friend, at
once his spiritual and his secular director, his
prayer-book and his encyclopedia. As he ad-
vanced in life his leading idea about govern-
ment was that it was good when it interfered
the least with his movements and cost the
smallest possible amount in taxes. Whatever
else their "High Mightinesses" or the "Lord
Protector" might do, all would go well when
such conditions prevailed. They could read
Kieft's proclamations or bear the fussiness of
Stuyvesant with equanimity; but the increase
•of taxes under a Dutch or an English ruler
•caused trouble, and a rumor that the old
church was to be sacrificed to that of England
gave the first start to the idea of political
freedom.
The educational records prior to the Revo-
lution, apart from such church schools, as they
may be called, of which we have been writing,
are very meager. A school was established in
Bushwick as early as 1661, and it continued in
existence until replaced in almost modern
times by another similar institution on its site.
In 1703 the Society of Friends decided to
build a school in Flushing, and at once set
about erecting a suitable building "about Rich-
ard Griffin's lot, which is near the center of
the town," and Thomas Makins was appoint-
ed teacher. In 1721 there was a school at Bed-
ford Corners, which for some sixty years was
taught by John Vandervoort, who was impris-
oned during the Revolution. It lasted until
about 1812. In 1749 a school was kept at the
Ferry by John Clark, who described himself
very aptly as a "philomath," and at whose
establishment "reading, writing, vulgar and
decimal arithmetic, the extraction of the
square and cube root, navigation and survey-
ing" were taught — a thoroughly practical and
satisfactory selection of studies, it seems to us,
for the time.
In 1763 it was advertised that several of the
land owners, including John Rapalye, who af-
terward lost his estate on account of his Tory
principles, Jacob Sebring and Aris Remsen
had hired Punderson Ansten, A. B., of Yale
College, to teach Greek and Latin at the
Ferry; but whether in the same establishment
then or formerly presided over by Philomath
Clark is not stated. In 1773 an advertisement
tells us that Latin and Greek were taught at
the Flatbush Grammar School, of which John
Copp was then master. About 1770 a school
was established on the old Gowanusroad, near
Forty-fourth street, which remained in active
existence for many years. In 1775 a school
was opened in the Wallabout district, but the
teacher, Elipah Freeman Paihe, was too much
of a patriot to wield a ferrule when he might
shoulder a musket, so he soon left the school
and joined the Continental army at Boston.
In 1778 an effort to revive the school was made
when a teacher was advertised for to teach
reading, writing and arithmetic. "Immediately
prior to the Revolutionary War," says Gabriel
Furman in his "Notes" (1824), "that part of
the town of Brooklyn which is now comprised
in the bounds of the village and for some dis-
tance without those bounds, supported but one
school, of nineteen scholars, five of w9iom
were of the family of Mr. Andrew Patchen.
The school was situated on the hill, on property
that was then owned by Isaac Horsfield (be-
tween Doughty and Willow, Hicks and Co-
lumbia streets), but now belongs to the heirs
of Gary Ludlow, deceased. The teacher was
Benjamin Brown, a stanch Whig from Con-
necticut."
Even when the Revolutionary struggle was
fought and won it is impossible to say that
education, secular education, had advanced
much beyond the 1750 stage on Long Island.
The children at school still plodded on much
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
271
as before, wrestling with moral and religious
questions, but the political upheaval had taught
the people much more. The agitation and dis-
cussion prior to the outbreak of hostilities had
brought to their knowledge ancient and mod-
ern history, an understanding of the princi-
ples of government and a full realization of
the drift of human progress. It brought them
face to face with the rest of the world, and
year to Erasmus Hall, at Flatbush, although
it did not actually begin its work until some
two years later. General William Floyd, one
of the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence, presided at the meeting at which Clin-
ton Academy was called into being; but its
real founder, the prime figure in the movement
for its establishment, was the Rev. Dr. Samuel
Buel, a native of Coventry Connecticut, and
showed what had to be accomplished, so that
they might hold their own in the national
struggle for existence which set in as soon as
peace was declared and liberty was acknowl-
edged, in 1784.
The change for the better came in, how-
ever, not long after the sword was sheathed.
In 1784 Clinton Academy at Easthampton, the
first mstitution incorporated by the Regents
of the State of New York, was built and or-
ganized, and in 1787 it received its charter.
A similar document was issued in the same
a graduate of Yale, who was the minister of
the Presbyterian Church at Easthampton from
September 16, 1746, until his death, July 19,
1798, — a period of near fifty-two years. The
academy was divided into two departments,—
classics and English and writing, — and the
first master of the latter department was Will-
iam Payne, the father of John Howard Payne,
the author of the "world-song" of "Home,
Sweet Home," who spent several j'ears of his
early life in Easthampton. Thompson gives
Payne the highest praise for his ability as a
272
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
teacher, and credits him with having started
the practical work of the institution on the
high plane which led to its prosperity and
fame. For a long time it held the leading po-
sition among Long Island's seminaries, and it
received pupils from widely distant parts of
the country. Toward the middle of the cen-
tury just passed, however, its attendance be-
gan to fall ofif, other institutions equal in edu-
cational merit and with more modern notions
and appliances gradually forced it to become
merely a local institution and slowly but surely
to lose its hold' even in its humble capacity
as a village school, until it became more valua-
ble as a relic of the past than as a developer
of the knowledge and thought and manners
and aspirations of youth. Yet in its time it
performed a grand service, many men of more
than local celebrity received part, at least, of
their educational training within its walls,
and its influence on the moral and intellectual
progress of Suffolk county was great beyond
measure.
The credit of founding Erasmus Hall at
Flatbush mainly belongs to another zealous
minister of the Gospel, the Rev. Dr. John H.
Livingston. As this institution approached
more nearly to collegiate rank than an}- other
on Long Island, and holds a much higher place
to-day as a place of learning than many more-
talked-about western colleges and universities,
we may be permitted to examine its early his-
tory at some length.
Dr. Livingston was a descendant of the old
patroon and a member of a family which gives
to New York many of its brightest names.
He was born at Pcughkeepsie in 1746, was
graduated at Yale in 1762, and afterward
scudied for the ministry at L'trecht. Through-
cut his career he was a stanch and uncompro-
mising advocate of American independence in
all things, and this he showed even as early
in life as when in Holland studying for his
life work; for he is credited with securing the
independence of the Reformed Church in
America from the Classis at Amsterdam.
Returning to New York in 1770, he took
up the pastorate of the North Dutch Church
on William street, near Fulton street. His
ministry was interrupted by the British occu-
pation of New York, but he spent the interval
in preaching in various parts of the State. In
1784 he was appointed professor of theology,
and It was this appointment which led to the
establishment of Erasmus Hall. It was not
until 1786, however, that a building was erect-
ed in which the proposed work could be carried
on. The sum of -^91 5 had been raised for the
purpose, mainly by citizens of Flatbush, and
REV. DR. JOHN H. LIVINGSTON,
a Structure of one hundred feet front and
thirty-six feet in depth was erected. The local
church lent its aid, and, besides securing to
the institution, practically free of cost, the land
on which it stood, awarded it other practical
aid. But the movement was not regarded by
the entire population of Flatbush with placid
approval ; many indeed of the oldest and most
influential of the residents were really and
emphatically opposed to its location in their
midst ; and it is curious that while their argu-
ments seem crude and silly their conclusions
were in many ways amply sustained. How-
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
273
ever, the friends of the institution persevered
and were rewarded by receiving from the
Regents of the State University on November
20, 1787, a deed of incorporation. The incor-
porators named were John Vanderbilt, Walter
Minto, Peter Lefferts, Johannes E. Lot,
Aquilla Giles, Cornelius Vanderveer, George
Martense, Jacob Lefferts, W. B. Gifford,
Hendrick Suydam, John J. Vanderbilt, Rev.
jMartinus Schoonmaker, Philip Nagel, Peter
Cornell, Rev. John H. Livingston, D. D.,
James Wilson, Sam. Provost, John Mason and
Comfort Sands.
The first principal was Dr. Walter Minto,
a native of Scotland, who was born at Col-
denham December 6, 1753, and for a time was
a tutor in the family of George Johnson,
M. P., one of the Commissioners who came
here in the interests of peace in 1778. Minto
settled in the United States in 1786. He did
not hold his connection with the Hall very
long, for at the close of 1787 he was called
to the chair of mathematics at Princeton Col-
lege and continued in that position until his
death, in 1796. He was the author of several
erudite scientific works, now practically for-
gotten. The opening exhibition of the school
was held on September 27, 1787, and was at-
tended by Governor Clinton and many men
prominent in the affairs of the State.
From the first it was aimed that the
institution should take a high position as a
seat of learning, and this was emphasized in
its being named after Desiderius Erasmus, the
greatest exponent of literature and learning
which the old Netherlands had produced.
When Dr. Livingston was chosen as principal
a corps of able teachers was engaged, while
the course of study as laid out was far in ad-
vance of any other then to be found in such
institutions. Dr. Livingston hoped to make
Erasmus Hall one of the 'recognized educa-
tional centers of the then young republic, and
this hope seemed about to be fully realized in
1794, when the Dutch Reformed Church re-
solved to establish its Theological Seminary
in Erasmus Hall, and in connection with it,
and under the direction of Dr. Livingston.
But this arrangement lasted only for a few
years, and then the Theological Seminary was
removed to New Brunswick, New Jersey,
where it still remains. The following story
of the fortunes of the Hall after that is from
the pen of Dr. Stiles :
Rev. Dr. Livingston resigned in 1792,
and Dr. Wilson was chosen in his place. He
held the position of Principal, though em-
ployed also as Classical Professor at Colum-
bia College, until 1804. This he was enabled.
to do by employing experienced men as his
teachers. Rev. Peter Lowe was appointed tO'
succeed Dr. Wilson as Principal, and re-
mained until his death in 1818. Dr. Strong
states that in 1797, and again in 1809, the
trustees sought, but did not obtain, from the
legislature, the privilege of raising £1,200 by
lottery, in order to liquidate the debt. The
plan adopted by the trustees in former days
was to employ some prominent man as prin-
cipal, and then engage experienced teachers
who should serve under him. The principal
exerted merely a governing power, and par-
ticipated only to a very limited degree in the
work of teaching. In later years the principal
has acted also as the first teacher, and em-
ploys experienced assistants. Mr. Albert
Oblenis was employed while Rev. Mr. Lowe
was principal, as first teacher. Next we find
the name of Joab Cooper, in 1806, the author
of Cooper's Virgil, so well known as a text
book in the schools and colleges, for so many
years. He remained for two years and was
succeeded by Mr. Valentine Derry, upon
whose resignation, in 1809, Mr. Richard
Whyte Thompson was appointed first teacher.
He resigned in 1814, and was followed by
William Thayre, appointed in December,
1814. He remained, however, only a part
of a year, when the trustees called Mr. Will-
iam Ironsides. In 1816 Mr. Joab Cooper was
again appointed, but resigned at the end of
the year. The position was held for the next
two years by Mr. Andrew Craig. Upon the
death of the Principal, Rev. Peter Lowe, and
the resignation of Mr. Craig, due to failing
health, the trustees appointed, in August,
1818, the Rev. Joseph Penney, as Principal.
He was the first Principal who resided at the
Hall and had charge of the classes. He em-
ployed as assistant Rev. John Mulligan.
They held the position until 1821, when Rev.
274
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Timothy Clowes, D. D., accepted the office.
In 1823 Mr. Jonathan Kellogg became Prin-
cipal. Under his administration the academy
flourished greatly ; he made many changes in
methods of teaching, and in the arrangements
about the school-rooms. The trustees in
1826-27 built a large wing, 50 by 25 feet, for
additional school-rooms, on the northeast cor-
ner of the building, at a cost of $1,500. Mr.
Kellogg also made great improvements upon
the exterior of the academy, and in the ap-
pearance of the grounds. Nearly all of the
beautiful trees which now adorn the grounds
of the Albany Academy, Professor in the
Theological Seminary at New Brunswick,
and President of Rutgers College. During
the time Dr. Campbell was Principal the
Regents, in 1835, determined to establish a
department for the instruction of common-
school teachers in each of the eight senatorial
districts. Erasmus Hall was chosen for the
Southern District. High price of board, and
other agencies, hindered the success of the
plan in relation to Erasmus Hall, and only
two applications were received. Consequent-
ly, in 1836, the trustees resigned the trust, and
ERASMUS H.-iLL IN 1845.
were planted by him. ]\Iatters did not, how-
ever, proceed satisfactorily after a few years ;
and, because of intemperance, he was called
upon, in 1834, to resign the position. In Ma}-,
1834, the trustees appointed Rev. William H.
Campbell, who had for some time taught a
select school in the village, as Principal.
"Through his superior qualifications as teach-
er he not only gave the highest satisfaction,
but also infused in the hearts of the inhab-
itants an earnest desire for a liberal educa-
tion to a degree which had never before ex-
isted." Dr. Campbell remained until 1839,
when ill health forced him to resign ; and he
afterward occupied the position of Principal
the Salem Academy, in Washington county,
was chosen by the Regents.
In May, 1839, Rev. Dr. Penney, who,
since his resignation in 1821, had held the
position of President of Hamilton College,
returned to Flatbush and succeeded Dr.
Campbell as Principal, which position he held
until November i, 1841, when Mr. James
Ferguson, A. M., was chosen. In June, 1843,
he resigned the position, and the trustees ap-
pointed Rev. Richard D. Van Kleeck as Prin-
cipal. Mr. Van Kleeck was a most thorough
and efficient teacher, and under his care the
institution was greatly prospered. A large
number of scholars came from other States,
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
275
and, for many years, a number of Mexican
and Cuban students boarded at the academy.
Mr. Van Kleeck's health having failed, lie
resigned on February 2.2, i860, and was suc-
ceeded by Rev. William W. Howard. On
April 19, 1863, Mr. Howard, having received
a call to the Presbyterian church, at Aurora,
Cayuga county, New York, resigned as Prin-
cipal. The trustees then chose" the Rev. E.
.F. Mack as Principal. Mr. Mack held the
position for eleven 3-ears, and, in September,
1874, was succeeded by Mr. Jared Hasbrouck.
Upon the resignation of Mr. Hasbrouck the
trustees appointed, as Principal, in February,
1879, Rev. Robert G. Strong, a former grad-
uate of the academy, who for several years
had conducted a large and prosperous select
school in the village. Mr. Strong accepted
the position and in September, 1879, moved
his school into the academy.
In 1878 Flatbush appropriated $19,000
for the erection of a new school building,
which was occupied in the following year.
When consolidation with Brooklyn became
effected Erasmus Hall fell into line as one of
the schools in the general system, but in
1896, when the high-school system was in-
troduced, Erasmus Hall, under the able direc-
tion of Dr. Gunnison, started on a new lease
of usefulness and has every year advanced
until it now ranks as one of the institutions
which may be called the pride of America's
system of education.
Union Hall, Jamaica, was erected in 1791
and received its charter March 9, 1792, being
the sixth establishment of its kind authorized
by the Regents of the New York University.
It received its name, it has been said, because
its establishment was the result of a united
effort on the part of the people of Jamaica,
Flushing, Newtown and New York. The
initiatory step was taken at a meeting held.
March i, 1791, in the house of Mrs. Johanna
Hinchman in Jamaica, at which the Rev.
Rynier Van Nest presided. A committee was
there appointed to collect subscriptions for
the establishment of an academy, and £800
set as the limit needed. When the amount
was fully raised the building of the institu-
tion was begun. It was opened for the re-
ception of students May i, 1792, amid much
ceremony, a procession, an oration (by Abra-
ham Skinner), the singing of psalms and the
chanting of an ode which had been written
for the occasion by the Rev. George Faitoute.
The festivities concluded with a dinner and
on the viands being disposed of there was
an outpouring of oratory in connection with
toasts and sentiments. The first principal
was the Rev. Maltby Gelston, and it was
probably according to his ideas that the school
curriculum was laid out. The Bible was the
subject of daily reading. In Latin the text-
books used included Ruddiman's "Rudi-
ments" or Holmes' or Ross' Grammar, "Col-
loquia Corderii," Nepos, Aesop, Cffisar, Virgil,
one of Cicero's Orations, and Horace, while
the Greek students toiled through Moore's
Grammar, the New Testament, Lucien's
"Dialogues," "Longinus" and selections from
Homer's "Iliad." Blair's "Belles Lettres"
was the text-book in the rhetoric class, and
the other text-books included Stone's "Eu-
clid," Martin's "Trigonometry," Warden's
"Mathematics" and Guthrie's or Salmon's
"Geography." These books will give an idea
of the scope of the academy and the high
plane at which it aimed much better than any
amount of description. The institution does
not seem to have become the success its
friends had anticipated : possibly the aim was
too high and the cost too great for the times.
At all events it was not until L. E. A. Eigen-
brodt, LL. D., a man of many rare accom-
plishments, became principal in 1797, that the
institution began to attract students from far
and near and that the influence of the acad-
emy became commensurate with its original
purpose. Eigenbrodt continued in the prin-
cipalship until his death, in 1828, and during
that period of over thirty years its record is
a most brilliant one. Encouraged by this suc-
cess, the trustees in 1817 established a female
branch of the academy and engaged as teach-
276
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ers Mrs. Elizabeth Bartlette and Miss Laura
Barnum, "by whom the young ladies will be
instructed in all the branches of a polite and
well finished education."
The fame of Dr. Eigenbrodt, or rather thi
high reputation his genius as a teacher had
won for the academy, carried it safely during
the principalship of his successors, Michael
Tracy, the Rev. William Errenpeutch and the
Rev. John Mulligan; but a new impetus was
given to its fame by Henry Onderdonk, Jr.,
who became principal in 1832. This grace-
ful and painstaking student of history and en-
lightened antiquary was bom at Manhasset
June II, 1804, and belonged to an old and
prominent Long Island family, he being fifth
in descent from Adrian Andriese Onderdonk,
who settled in Flatbush from Holland before
1675. One of his uncles was the fourth
Protestant Episcopal Bishop of New York,
and another, Bishop of Pennsylvania. Henry
was graduated from Columbia College in 1827
and received his bachelor's degree from Har-
vard in 1828. He was a most accomplished
classical scholar and a steady and zealous ad-
vocate of temperance, on which he often spoke
in public, and the subject of local history was
also a theme with which he delighted many
audiences. He retired from his connection
with Union Academy in 1865, and thereafter
busied himself with literary pursuits, espe-
cially historical and antiquarian researches,
until his death, on June 22, 1886. Mr. Onder-
donk was the author of quite a number of
works, which are of value to the historical
students of Long Island and more particularly
of Kings and Queens counties, among them
being "Revolutionary Incidents of Kings,
Queens and Suffolk Counties," "Battle of
Long Island and British Prisons and Prison
Ships," and "Queens County in Olden
Times."
With the retirement of Onderdonk from
the principalship, Union Academy began
gradually to decline, the extension and eleva-
tion of the public-school system having prob-
ably as much to do with its lack of success
as any other cause. At all events, after an
existence of eighty-three years the institution
was abandoned, in 1873, and the buildings
were then sold for $5,250 and converted by
their purchaser, Alexander Hagner, into
dwellings.
Another eighteenth-century academic in-
stitution, and the only other one, was that
at Huntington, in Suffolk county; but there
was this difference between it and the three
already named, that while they were under the
Regents and to a certain degree under State
control and supervision, Huntington Acad-
emy, from the time it opened its doors until
it was abandoned, remained a private institu-
tion. Regarding this academy Mr. Charles R.
Street, the historian of Huntington township,
writes :
Many will remember the old Huntington
Academy standing on the hill near the centre
of the village. It was in its day a monument
of the enterprise and liberality of the genera-
tion who endured the trials of the Revolu-
tionary War, for it was built about 1793 by
an association of fifty of the leading citizens
of Huntington. It was a two-story building
with a belfry, and was quite an imposing edi-
fice for the period in which it was built. It
was outside of the common-school system and
was intended to, . and generally did, furnish
the means for a more liberal education than
was provided by the surrounding common
schools. It stood for more than nfty years,
and many of the best educacors of the period
taught generation after generation of Hunt-
ington youths within its walls. It prepared
for college the sons of those who were am-
bitious to give their sons a liberal education.
A complete list of the teachers employed in
the earliest 3-ears as principals of the academy
cannot now be obtained. Among those of
later years may be mentioned Dan Ditmas,
John Rogers, Charles Nichols, Selah Ham-
mond, Samuel Fleet, Mr. Rose, Mr. Branch,
Ralph Bull, Adison L. Hunt, D. G. York,
James H. Fenner, Horace Woodruff, Charles
R. Street, John W. Leake and Israel C. Jones.
The academy was torn down about 1857
to make way for the present Union school
THE STORY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
277
building. The bell from its tower, which rang
out its tones over hill and vale for fifty years,
calling together the boys and girls of Hunt-
ington, is now in the engine house of the
Huntington Fire Company.
In 1800 Oyster Bay was able to boast its
academy, another private enterprise, and the
spread of such institutions slowly but surely
over almost the entire island testified to the
steady awakening of the people of Long
Island to a full realization of the benefits
which flow to the commonwealth from full and
ample educational privileges. The common
school is a duty, the establishment of such in-
stitutions was deemed a matter of prime ne-
cessity by the Dutch and the New England
settlers on Long_ Island, but it took time to
instil into people's mind a true conception of
what is really included in the term education.
As early in the history of the Commonwealth
of New York as 1789, two lots in each town-
ship were set aside by the Legislature for
school uses, and in 1795 $50,000 was voted
to be paid annually for five years for the
maintenance of schools. Even lotteries were
authorized by the Legislature in aid of educa-
tion. In 1805, as a result of a message from
Governor Lewis, 500,000 acres of the public
lands in the State were ordered to be placed
on the market, the proceeds to be laid aside
as a school fund, the interest of which was to
be divided among the common schools when
it amounted to $50,000 a year. It was not,
however, until the middle of the nineteenth
century that steps were really taken to lift
education — primary, high-school and aca-
demic— out of the hands of individuals and
make it a part of the work of the State, a cen-
tral bureau working in harmony with local
authorities in each section. "In 1848," writes
Ellis H. Roberts in his "History of New
York," "Nathaniel S. Benton reported that
many cities and villages by voting to remit
tuition had made their schools free, and he
urged that the State should render the sys-
tem uniform. His successor, Christopher
Morgan, argued the imperative duty of the
State to educate all its children as a preventive
of crime and pauperism ; and March 26, 1849,
an act was passed submitting to the people
at the ensuing election a proposition for free
schools, supported by the existing funds and
by taxation, to be kept for at least four months
in each year, for all children between the
ages of five and twenty-one. Every county
except Tompkins, Chenango, Cortland and
Otsego gave for the policy majorities aggre-
GOV. MORGAN LEWIS.
gating 158,000. Difficulties in the administra-
tion of the law caused a demand for its re-
peal, and seventeen counties voted for sus-
taining free schools, and showed a majority
in their favor of about 25,000. Under pledge
made during the canvass the details of the law
were modified by the Legislature, especially
those which related to the raising and distri-
bution of school moneys and to the retaining
of rate bills ; but legislation soon followed pro-
viding for free and union schools in the cities
and villages and chief towns, and in 1867 all
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the common and normal schools, and the de-
partments in academies for the instruction
of common school teachers, were declared ab-
solutely free."
Progressive legislation of this character
proved the death-knell of such institutions as
Union Academy and Huntington Academy
and other locally managed schools. Since
then the educational system of Long Island
has fully kept pace with modern requirements,
and in many respects has proved itself a lead-
er in the most approved methods of scholastic
training in primary as well as advanced
schools.
CHAPTER XXIV.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS— ROADS AND RAILROADS— THE
MAGNIFICENT OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE.
O far as we can learn the road system
of Long Island, apart from the In-
dian trails, commenced with the
wagon clearing which started from
what is now Fulton Ferry and led up the hill-
side to the plateau on which the city hall of
Brookhai is the present most pronounced
architectural feature. In modern times it
would hardly be deemed worthy of being
called a road, and probably it was simply a
development of an Indian trail widened
enough to permit a wagon to pass, and leveled
where it was absolutely necessary that leveling
should be done to prevent a horse or an ox
from breaking its neck. We have no actual
description of that primitive road : possibly it
differed in no respect from the other roads
which then served as the means for internal
communication in the country. The fact that
it elicited no comment, that it was neither bet-
ter nor worse than its neighbors, however, en- .
ables us to form an idea of what it was like
from the description we have of others. It
was not straight. If a clump of trees stood
in what ought to have been its course, it was
easier to direct the road around the obstruc-
tion than to cut the trees down. No part of
the road was hardened, and where a gully
crossed it the hole was filled in by a tree or by
a number of branches being thrown into it and
loose earth piled on top. In summer the
growth of weed and fern which spread over
it from the luxuriant hand of nature prevented
it from becoming a bed of sand. In other sea-
sons it was a bed of mud, especially in the
spring-time, when the snows were melting and
the rivulets and creeks were bursting with the
waters rushing from their sources in the high
ground nearer the centre of the island, and
when nature was throwing oflf the passiveness
of winter and preparing to adorn hill and
dale, field and meadow, in her own beautiful
and unaided way. Should a loaded wain once
get stuck, it had to remain fast until a dozen
men could be gathered to give it a fresh start ;
and sometimes that operation itself lasted an
hour or two. No stage coach in the earlier
days ever ran over such a road ; none was
needed. The stolid passenger, unencumbered
by baggage, passed along as well as he could
regardless of mud, or flower, or creeping-
thing, with rifle ready to unsling at a mo-
ment's notice should a wild animal cross his
path, or the savage glare of an angry Indian
dart on him from some near-by thicket. If
he had to use a wagon, the solid sturdy Dutch
wain, innocent of springs and an adept in the
art of jolting, was the only thing at com-
mand. The road really belonged to everybody
and so, of course, belonged to nobody. When
an accident happened through a fissure caused
by rain, or the action of frost and ice, or if
a tree fell across the track, those who essayed
to repair the effects of the accident tried to
remedy the trouble while on the spot; other-
wise nothing was done. It was, part of the
way, a steep and toilsome ascent for man and
beast, and the descent, in places, for horses
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
•or wagons was even more dangerous. A sim-
ilar path stretched from the Wallabout to the
ferry and these two were the pioneer roads
of an island which now holds up its system of
highways to the admiration of the world.
As the population increased the roads nat-
urally continued to lengthen and to become
more numerous, following possibly in all cases
the old Indian trails. We soon read of a road
from the old village of Breuckelen to Go-
wanus, and one which passed onward until
Coney Island was reached, and that road was
good enough to arouse no invidious remarks
when the Labadist fathers .passed over it in
1670. That the early roads were narrow,
crooked and irregular, that they crossed each
other in reckless fashion, that they often ended
in a farmhouse gate, and a new road had to
be discovered or pointed out for further prog-
ress, did not seem to detract from their value
in the eyes of the traveler or awaken, appar-
ently, a desire for improvement on the part of
the residents. The cow-paths, as they called
most of them, were convenient, cost nothing
or next to nothing for maintenance and repair,
and in a settled community were as good as
could then be contrived, or even apparently
desired.
Brooklyn, however, early showed an inter-
est in improving or at all events in maintain-
ing the roads which gave it access to the outer
world, and Gabriel Furman tells us that "there
are many instances in record previous to 1683
of the Constable of Brooklyn being ordereiJ
to repair the roads and in case of neglect im-
pose a fine." It was not, however, until 1704.
that a real_ effort was made to improve the
roads, not only around Brooklyn but through-
out the entire State. In that year the Legis-
lature passed a law by which three commis-
sioners were appointed in each of the counties
on the island to lay out a highway from
Brooklyn Ferry to Easthampton. The Kings
county Commissioners, Joseph Hagaman,
Peter Cortelyou and Benjamin Vandewater,
lost no time in attending to their part of the
project, and straightway proceeded to lay out
what is now part of Fulton street, beginning
at "low water marke at the ferry," following
the line of the old path as much as possible,
and extending it to New Lots, Flatbush. The
road was of a uniform width of four rods,
and it was "to be and continue forever." The
entire road was in due time finished to East-
hampton and as "the King's Highway" be-
came the first of the famous highways of
Long Island. Part of it retains that name
even to the present day. For many years it
was the standard road of the island and a
landmark which was regarded as so inefface-
able that boundaries of real estate were reg-
ulated by it, and cross roads were from time
to time laid out so as to strike it at different
points. At the Brooklyn end especially the
amenity and proportions of the road appear
to have been zealously guarded, and prosecu-
tions in connection with it were not unfre-
quent. It would seem that abutting property
owners were ever ready to encroach upon it
bit by bit, especially near the ferry, and it was
frequently discovered that its width was seri-
ously diminished in other places. Thus in
1 72 1 complaint in individual cases of en-
croachments were made to the General Ses-
sions against various trespassers, and the
serious condition of things may be estimated
from the reply of Jan Rapalje and Hans Ber-
gen to one complaint. They did not deny the
trespass or confiscation on the public prop-
erty, but averred that in so doing they were
no worse than others. "If all our neighbors
will make the road according to law," they
said, they were "willing to do the same, but
they are not willing to suffer more than their
neighbors." However, they were indicted,
and steps taken to restore the road to its
legal width of four rods. The subsidiary
roads were as a general rule two rods in
width and in most cases a fence or hanging
gate separated them from the highways or
from the farm paths, and it was a part of the
common law that such gates should be always
shut or put to by persons that pass in or out.
By 1733 three fairly good high roads trav-
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
281
ersed the island from east to west, one on the
north shore, one on the south and one through
the centre. In places these thoroughfares
were left just as nature had made them with
little done by the hand of man except to mark
out their boundaries. In modern times they
would not be regarded as roads at all, but they
fully served their purpose and probably were
about as good as the soil permitted or as the
sparse population could provide. They were
mainly used at first for the transportation of
produce and farming supplies, and, supple-
mented pretty freely, as it seems to us, by
cross roads, they served every practical pur-
pose.
By the year 1735 probably every village on
Long Island was connected, if not on the high-
way, by a road which led directly to it and so
those at the west end could readily do busi-
ness with Brooklyn, while at the east end the
ports which opened up to the settlers the
Sound and the Connecticut shore towns were
easily available. In 1764 the main roads, those
on the shore lines especially, acquired an ad-
ditional importance as the route over which
the mail was transported and the bi-monthly
passage of the mail-carrier on horseback was
not only an event but served to arouse, slowly
indeed, it must be admitted, an interest in the
great thoroughfares. That was indeed tjie
weakness of the prevailing road system. The
farmer struggled with the roads probably
twice a year and then thought no more about
them. The dweller at Southampton did not
see he had any business with the condition
of the roadway at Islip; those who were sup-
posed by law to look after the roads had no
money to efifect improvements, and the peo-
ple, say of Bridgehampton, or Gravesend,
would certainly have rebelled had they been
assessed for road improvements two miles be-
yond their limits, — improvements which it was
quite probable they might never see, for peo-
ple did not travel much in those days. The
introduction of the mail-carrier service was
the first cause which made the question of the
public roads became equal to general inter-
est with the poll tax. It was a beginning in
that direction. That was all, for the post
route then established, one of those laid out
by Franklin when he was Postmaster General,
did not flourish and the service appears to
have been withdrawn, at all events in its en-
tirety, long before the Revolution. Of course,
in winter time it could not be maintained with
anything like regularity, and the service was
not much missed, for the early Long Island
settlers were not at all given to the use of
the pen. Furman tells us that while the Rev-
olutionary struggle was in progress, and for
some years after it was over, "a respectable
old Scotchman named Dunbar was in the habit
of riding a voluntary post between the city
of New York, along the south road, to Baby-
lon and from thence a few miles to the east,
and then across the island to Brookhaven.
He thus brought to the inhabitants of the cen-
tral portions of the island their letters and
newspapers about once a week or once a fort-
night, depending upon the state of the weath-
er." Up almost to the beginning of the nine-
teenth century there was not a single post
office on Long Island. Those livings on the
west end got their mail in one way or another
from the postoffice at New York, and those on
the east end and along the Sound generally
had their mail matter addressed to some of-
fice in Connecticut whence it was carried as
near to them as possible in some trading vessel.
It was not until the introduction of turn-
pike roads that much progress in real road-
making was seen. About 1810 turnpike road
building first began to obtain a foothold in the
country, and although it was considered un-
American to have public roads which could
not be used by all and sundry free of cost, a
brief experience developed the fact that the
small fees paid at each turnpike amply repaid
those assessed. On Long Island the first of
these roads was laid out by the Brooklyn and
Jamaica Turnpike Company, and in quite
a short time it demonstrated itself to be such
a public convenience that it was extended
to Hempstead and to Jericho, and from the
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
latter an extension was built to Smithtown.
Jamaica soon became the centre of other roads
until it was possible to drive along a turn-
pike from tliere to Oyster Bay, on the north,
and to Babylon on the south shore, while a
short stretch of four and a half miles from
Sag Harbor to Bridgehampton showed the
people of the eastern end what could be ac-
complished by taking advantage of the Turn-
pike Companies' acts. Toll bridges were also
introduced in connection with the turnpike
system and quite a number of these were
erected, such as those at Flushing, Williams-
burg, Gowanus, Sag Harbor and Coney
Island.
About the middle of the century a new de-
velopment in road building was inaugurated
by the introduction of the plank-road system.
It seemed for a time as if the people at tho
eastern end of Long Island had fully awak-
ened to the need of good roads, and as the
plank system seemed to fill the want by afford-
ing a quick, cheap and satisfactory solution
the craze for that form of road-building
reached such a point that it was described a?
a mania. Probably the most noted of these
roads was the one owned by the Myrtle Ave-
nue & Jamaica Plank Road Company (incor-
porated with a capital of $55,000), which built
a stretch of road five and a half miles long,
extending from the end of Myrtle avenue to
a point about a mile west of Jamaica, where
it joined another similar structure, known as
the Jamaica & Brookh'n Plank Road. After
a while it was found that the maintenance of
such roads was pretty costly, owing to the
need of constant watchfulness and incessant
repair, and they were gradually abandoned.
Still the public convenience and profit arising
frorii the possession of good roads was not
lost upon the people, and the roads through-
out the island steadily improved year after
year. The introduction of the bicycle and the
cry raised in its palmy' days by the League of
American Wheelmen led, in 1890 or there-
about, to a revived interest in the question of
good roads all through the State. In that
movement Long Island was particularly active
and her systems of roads soon became recog-
nized as among the best in the metropolitan
district, much better in the aggregate than
those of Westchester county and those of New
Jersey outside of a limited area. The ques-
tion of by-paths was not taken up by the local
authorities as quickly as the cycling en-
thusiasts demanded and much grumbling re-
sulted, but that problem has been happily set-
tled, for the steadily extending mileage of
what are called cycle paths is opening up al-
most every corner of the island to the pedes-
trian as well as to the cyclist, and also bring-
ing slowly but surely a good road to every
little village, no matter how remote it may
be from the great arteries of travel, and even
to every farm homestead.
A capital sketch of the condition of the
Long Island roads in 1845 is given in Prime's
"History," and as that reverend historian
wrote on the subject from personal observa-
tion his remarks have more than passing value
and are worth being quoted here. He said :
The roads of Long Island are exceedingly
numerous and difficult for strangers. There
are three principal avenues running nearly
through the whole length of the island, which
are distinguished as the North, ^Middle and
.South Roads. These are not only intersected
by others leading from one town and neigh-
borhood to another, but in the most uninhab-
ited parts there are numerous wood-paths well
worn by constant carting which vary so little
from the course of the main road, and not in-
frequently appear the most direct and most
used, that the stranger is constantly liable to
go astray: and that, too, where he might re-
main a whole day without njeeting a person
to set him right. Some of these turnouts have
been guarded by guide-boards, but in general
the inhabitants have been too inattentive to
this important provision.
A large portion of the South and the
Middle Roads, after you enter the county of
Suffolk, leads through large sandy plains and
forests, and to one who has never traveled
such a region of country it is impossible to
convey an adequate idea of the inconvenience
and obstruction to locomotion which are here
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
288
presented. After a heavy rain, if only a single
carriage has preceded you to open the ruts,
you may get along with tolerable speed, pro-
vided your wheels fit the track. But in a time
of drought the sand in many places is so fine,
deep and fluid that you may travel for miles
with the lower felloe of your wheels con-
stantly buried out of sight.
But while the people of Long Island are
not to blame for the natural condition of their
pact and by the gradual admixture with the
sand improves for many years, though like all
human works it does not become everlasting,
but its advantage is seen for a long period.
The entire counties of Kings and Queens
both in the public roads and numerous turn-
pikes present as pleasant journeying for man
and as comfortable traveling for beast in every
direction, and at all seasons of the year, as any
other equal district in the State ; and the north-
roads, for, unlike in many other parts of the
country, they have not selected the best lands
for themselves and devoted the hills and hol-
lows and slough-holes to the roads, but have
given as good as they had, they are entitled
to great credit in many places for the eiforts
which have been made, with vast toil and ex-
pense, to improve upon nature. Where a bed
of loam has been discovered they have dug
out and hauled thousands and thousands of
loads covering the whole path from six to
twelve inches deep for miles in succession.
By this process the road soon becomes corn-
side of the island throughout furnishes a com-
pact substratum and excellent material for
roads, though there is too much reason to
complain of negligence in their improvement.
The most of the labor done in cutting down
hills and filling up valleys is performed by
the direct agency of water during copious
rains. The work thus executed, without the
direction of human intelligence receives a few
finishing strokes from the hand of man, when
the necessity is imposed by some frightful
gully formed or some huge rock dislodged
by the powerful but senseless agent.
284
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Next to the post roads, the exigencies of
travel by stage was the next factor in forc-
ing attention to the necessity of having good
roads and l<eeping them in more or less thor-
ough repair. Even before the Revolution was
inaugurated and while order prevailed
throughout Long Island, we read of stage
coaches running into and out of Brooklyn.
On March 5, 1772, for instance, it was ad-
vertised that "a stage will run from Brook-
lyn to Sag Harbor once a week as follows:
From Brooklyn Ferry to Samuel Nicholl's on
Hempstead Plains, where passengers will stay
all night: fare, four shillings. To Epenetus
Smith's at Smithtown, four shillings. To
Benjamin Haven's in St. George's Manor,
four shillings and stay all night. To Nathan
Fordham's, Sag Harbor, six shillings." Prob-
ably few stages ran with any degree of reg-
ularity during the British occupation. Soon
after the Easthampton road was completed a
stage seems to have been put on the route, but
the service was miserable, the patronage poor
and the modern methods of building up traffic
such as promptness in starting and in arriv-
ing, were neglected, while none of the schemes
to promote the comfort of passengers, so
well understood in our day, were ever
dreamed of. One great drawback to the pop-
ularity of the stage-coach system was that the
people, living mainly in the early times on the
coast or near it, did most of their business
with the outer world by boat. Thus all along
the Sound were vessels ready to convey pas-
sengers and goods to points in Connecticut,
while even for parts of the south shore that
was the quickest way of reaching markets and
for having business of any kind transacted.
Besides, in the east end the people preferred
to deal with New England. The stage coach,
under even the best weather and road con-
ditions, was decidedly slow. In 1830, or
thereabout. Prime tells us, the journey from
Easthampton or Oysterponds to Brooklyn oc-
cupied three days. In 1840 a stage left
Gravesend for Brooklyn in the morning and
returned some time at night, the exact time
depending on a wide variety of causes, — no
two exactly alike.
A capital sketch of a journey about 1835
from Brooklyn to Easthampton is given in
Gabriel Furman's "Antiquities of Long
Island ;" and as that work is now rather scarce
it may be fitting to reprint the passage here:
The practice was to leave Brooklyn about
nine o'clock in the morning, — they were not,
however, particular to half an 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 a hurry
to get to his journey's end, and if he was and
intended going the whole route he soon be-
came efifectually cured of it. Everything went
on soberly and judiciously and you could see
what was to be seen and hear all that was to
be heard, and have time enough to do it all
in ; no mode of traveling 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 itself
worth living for, journeyed on to Patchogue,
where you got your breakfast between nine
and ten o'clock, with a good appetite for it, we
warrant you. You would get no dinner thi.^
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 had
a taste for the beautiful in nature, you would
well walk down the garden to look at the
trout stream filled with the speckled beauties.
Here you need give yourself no uneasiness
about being left by the stage, as is the case
in some of the go-ahead parts of our coun-
try. In this particular region the middle of
the road is sandy and the driver, like a con-
siderate man, gives his horses an opportunity
to rest, so that they may the better travel
through this piece of heavy road. You might,
therefore, after enjoying 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 you would hear of awful shipwrecks, of
pirates and their buried wealth, of treasures
cast up by the sea, of all those horrors and
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
wonders of which the ocean is the prohfic
parent. After walking for some two or three
miles upon the green sward at the edge of
the road, gathering and eating the berries as
you strolled along until you were tired, you
would find the stage a short distance behind
you, the driver ever complaisant, for you have
eased his horses in their journey througfh the
heavy sand, and the passengers are pleased
to see you back in your seat again, that is, if
you have done as every traveller ought to do,
studied the comfort and convenience of your
fellow passengers as well as your own.
Shortly after sunset you would stop for
the night, the second of your journey, at a
place called Ouagg or Quogue. The follow-
ing morning you would breakfast at South-
ampton, after passing through a pine forest
in a portion of which from the early hour
and blindness of the road you would prob-
ably require a guide to go ahead of the horses
with a lighted lantern. You would also this
morning, before arriving at Southampton,
cross the remains of the first canal constructed
in what is now the United States by Mongo-
tucksee, the chief of the Montauk Indians,
long before the white settlement of the coun-
try, 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. Sag Harbor would be reached in
time for dinner, after which the mail stage
would travel on to its final destination at East-
hampton, arriving there just before sunset on
Saturday afternoon, thus occupying nearly
three days to traverse a distance of no miles.
In the internal development of the re-
sources of the island the most important part
has been done by the railroads. In 1832 the
first railroad company of Long Island — the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad — was chartered,
but the road itself, over a distance of twelve
miles from South Ferry to Jamaica, was not
put in operation until April 18, 1833. It
proved financially a failure from the start.
In 1834 the Long Island Railroad was char-
tered. The historv of this road is one of the
most remarkable in the record of railroad
achievement in the United States. It has had
a more than ordinary share of difficulties to
contend with, and in some instances the story
of its progress reads rather like passages from
a romance than details of actual fact, in which
common sense and judicious use of capital
alone accomplish results which seem wonder-
ful even to the casual observer. In order to-
present the story of this great Long Island
institution and benefactor to the reader with
the utmost correctness, even to the most
minute details, we here present a sketch,
printed in 1898 by Judge E. B. Hinsdale, of
New York, who for many years was general
counsel of the system, and possibly better ac-
quainted with the actual facts of its history
than any living man:
HISTORY OF THE LONG ISLAND RAILROAD.
The history of the Long Island Railroad
presents features of considerable interest to-
those who have studied the growth and de-
velopment of railroads in this country.
Its position is unique in this — that it does-
not form any part of the great trunk lines,
nor does it feed one of them. It is exclusively
a local road, serving a population on an island
adjacent to the great city of New York. The
Long Island Railroad of to-day is the devel-
opment and outgrowth of many fiercely con-
flicting interests, and a study of them will
explain many things that to the observer of
to-day seem inexplicable.
The first railroad chartered on Long
Island was the Brookln & Jamaica Railroad,
This road started from the then village of
Brooklyn, running to Jamaica, a distance of
about ten miles. Its charter is dated 1832.
The projectors of that railroad started at once
to construct the same, and seem to have
pushed its construction with commendable
vigor. Short as it is, this road played an im-
portant part in the system of railroads on
Long Island, some of the time dominating
the Long Island Railroad, and finally at one
time being reduced to the position of a mere
spur or branch, and later on in its history be-
coming again a very important factor.
The Long Island Railroad proper was
chartered in 1834, by a special act of the Leg-
islature. At that early day there was no gen-
eral railroad law, so-called. The Long Island
Railroad Company is the only railroad cor-
poration existing in the State of New York
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
that lias preserved its name and corporate
franchises from its original charter intact. It
is perhaps without a peer in the United States
in length of life and preservation of name
and charter. Its act of mcorporation pro-
vided for a railroad to be built from a point
in or near the village of Greenport, in the
county of Sufifolk, and extending from this
along the most practicable route through or
near the middle of Long Island to a point on
the water's edge in the village of Brooklyn,
county of Kings, and to a point on the water's
edge in the village of Williamsburg, in the
last named county. Its charter provided a
scheme for absorbing the Brooklyn & Jamaica
Railroad, which had been chartered only two
years before. The dominant idea of the incor-
porators seems to have been to adopt the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad either by pur-
chase, or in some other way, as a part of its
line of railroad, running the entire length of
Long Island. One of the first acts of the
Long Island Railroad Company was to lease
the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad m 1835, at
a rental of $33,000 per annum for forty-five
years, being ten per cent, on the cost of the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad. In 1836 they
adopted the location of a line from Jamaica
eastward as far as what was then called a
point on the Jericho road, now Hicksville, and
at the same time adopted a map of location
from Bedford to Williamsburg, on the water's
edge.
The company proceeded at once, with such
vigor as they could command, to construct the
road from Jamaica to Hicksville, but owing
to the hard times that were then reaching the
culmination in the great disaster of 1837, the
progress of the work was slow, and they
found great difficulty in collecting their as-
sessments and raising the means to pay the
necessary expenses. They also found the
burthen of the lease of the Brooklyn & Ja-
maica Railroad lo be very great, and that it
was sapping their resources in ready cash to
their very serious embarrassment. There
soon broke out a controversy between the
Long Island Railroad Company and the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad Company,
touching the onerous terms of this lease, the
Long Island Railroad Company sometimes
pleading with the directors of the Brooklyn
& Jamaica Railroad, and sometimes threaten-
ing. They were often behind in paying their
rent, until finally there was a substantial modi-
fication of the same, and no abandonment of
the leased line by the Long Island Railroad
Company ever occurred.
A few words with reference to the loca-
tion from Bedford to Williamsburg will dis-
pose of that contemplated line. It seems that
a little work was done on the line, and ac-
cording to the minutes of the Company, it was
occasionally referred to by the directors, but
it was never completed, and whatever was
done on it seems to have disappeared from the
history of the Long Island Railroad, and the
whole scheme was abandoned.
The Long Island Railroad Company was
engaged in a struggle to build the line from
Jamaica to Greenport. By March, 1837, they
had succeeded in constructing a single track
from Jamaica to Hicksville, a distance of
about fifteen miles. This work was completed
in the very crisis of the financial embarrass-
ments of that time, and on April 5th of that
year all work was suspended on the line east
of Hicksville, and also on the Williamsburg
branch.
The following time table appears in the
minutes of the railroad, and the same, in this
exact form, was issued on a card:
LE.WE LEAVE LEAVE
HICKSVILLE. JAMAICA. BROOKLYN.
8 '4 -^- M. 9 A. M. IQl/^ A. M.
I P. M. iM P- M. 3>4 P. M.
This time table is recorded here as a
curiosity, illustrating the crude ideas of rail-
roading and railroad time tables that pre-
vailed at that time. It will be observed that
the time of the trains is given at only one in-
termediate station between the terminals. The
fair presumption is that whoever wished to
board a train at any other station could drive
there and guess at the time when the train
should arrive, guided only by the time of de-
parting and arriving at the terminals.
According to the engineer's report at this
time, there were only three engines on the
road, named, respectively, Ariel, Postboy and
Hicksville. The first collision referred to on
the island was between the Ariel and Post-
boy, which the engineer reports as a case
where they "came in contact" and were con-
siderably damaged. He recommended that
another engine be purchased. If. however, an-
other engine should not be purchased, he then
recommended that the number of passages per
diem be reduced. In 1838 the subject was
taken up by the board, and a committee was
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
appointed to report on the purchase of a new
engine. Tlie company seems then to have
been in the very deptlis of its financial troub-
les. In May, 1838, the committee on purchas-
ing an engine reported against making the
purchase, but stated that they could "borrow
a crank axle and wheel for temporary use"
until new ones could be made for one of the
disabled engines. If this record of the ex-
pedients of that date provokes a smile, we
can only say that it marks the great advance
that has been made in railroad methods and
railroad ideas up to the present day.
At this time the position of the company
was exceedingly unsatisfactory. It was em-
barrassed by constantly accunuilating rents
of the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad, and its
line was not completed so that the company
could avail itself of the supposed advantages
of its charter to run to Greenport, as a part
of a through line to Boston. The men of those
days set to vjork earnestly to find the ways
and means to complete the road. There were
fierce contests between the stockholders at
elections for directors, and on two occasions
elections were set aside by the courts for ir-
regularities. At almost every meeting of the
board resolutions were passed forfeiting the
stock of stockholders for non-payment of as-
sessments ; but through all this turmoil the
corporation lived on. and finally fell into the
hands of a class of men of more financial
ability, who succeeded ultimately in complet-
ing the road.
In 1838 they began an agitation to secure
a loan on the credit of the State to assist the
company, and in 1840 the State did loan its
credit for $100,000 of State stocks. In 1838
the company also succeeded in getting a re-
duction of the rent of the Brooklyn & Jamaica
Railroad from a ten per cent, basis to a six
per cent, basis. It is curious to note in pass-
ing that prior to the State loan the Morris
Canal & Banking Company, of New Jersey,
had recovered a judgment of about $60,000
against the corporation, on account of loans
it had made. This judgment was assigned to
the commissioner of certain funds of the State
of Indiana, supposed to be school funds, so
that at this early date the State of Indiana
was a creditor of the Long Island Railroad
Company for the large sum of $fio,ooo. After
the State loan was obtained, this judgment
was liquidated about the year 1840.
In 1836 the Legislature authorized the
Long Island Railroad Company to build a
branch from some convenient point on its
main line of railroad to some proper place
or point in the village of Hempstead. In
1838 they surveyed a branch line in pursu-
ance of this act of the Legislature, which was
subsequently built, and known as the Hemp-
stead branch, running from what is now
Mineola to the village of Hempstead, a part
of which track is still in use, as will be here-
after more fully explained.
In the year 1840 the resumption of the
work of construction was commenced from
Hicksville to Greenport, and after various
struggles and disappointments the road was
finally completed and opened to Greenport on
the 27th day of July, 1844. It is plain that
there was new life and greater financial ability
infused into the direction of the road, as new
members appeared in the board of directors.,
Among the directors who were then or have|
since become famous in the affairs of the
country were the names of Jacob Little,
George Law and Cornelius Vanderbilt.
When the road was completed' to Green-
port a line of steamers was run from Green-
port to the coast of New England, connecting
chiefly with the Old Colony Railroad, and by
that connection making a through line from
New York to Boston. At that time the con-
nections between New York and Boston
through the New England States were mainly
by steamboat or stage lines. There was no
such thing known as a through railroad from
New York to Boston, or any other method
of transiDortation at all comparable with the
line of the Long Island Railroad, via steam-
boat line and the Old Colony Railroad. This
line, for a short time, was the principal pas-
senger and mail route between New York and
Boston, but very soon the opening of direct
railroad communication by land from New
York to Boston seems to have, so far, cut into
the profits of the business done by the Long
Island Railroad as to again put the corpora-
tion in great financial straits, and on March
4, 1850, a receiver was appointed. So far 'as
the Long Island Railroad Company was in-
terested in the steamboats, they were sold and
the Boston connection practically given up.
The railroad now became, for all practical
purposes, a local road on Long Island.
The subject of building branches and ex-
tending its facilities on the island seems to
have now engaged the attention of the man-
agement. They were also greatly aided in
this by the citizens in communities who were
288
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
not, as they conceived, sufficiently served by
the Hne of the Long Island Railroad, as then
located and constructed. One of the first ef-
forts in this direction was the Hicksville &
Cold Spring Railroad. This corporation was
organized for building a rai road from Hicks-
ville in a northeasterly direction to Cold
Spring. An enabling act was passed on June
28, 1 85 1, authorizing the formation of a rail-
road corporation under the general railroad act
but with relief from some of the provisions
of that act. Subsequently the corporation was
organized and the construction of the railroad
entered upon. It seems to have progressed
very slowly. At some time before 1859, the
date of which does not appear in the minutes
of the company, the road was constructed and
put under operation as far as Syosset. In
1859 an act was passed extending, among
other things, the time for completing this
road. It is well known that a considerable
part of the right-of-way from Syosset to Cold
Spring was purchased and graded and made
nearly ready for laying the track before 1862,
but no rails were ever laid on this portion of
the line, and it now belongs to one of the
numerous abandoned lines. The portion of
the road between Hicksville and Syosset now
forms an important part of the present Long
Island Railroad. For many years Syosset
was an important terminal station. The in-
habitants from the surrounding country on
the north side of Long Island would drive
there by private conveyance or stage to take
the trains.
A new difficulty began to confront the
Long Island Railroad Company between 1850
and i860 in another direction. Notwithstand-
ing thev had secured a reduction of the rent
of the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad, the city
of Brooklyn had grown to such an e.xtenc
that it was believed by the citizens that the
operation of a steam railroad through the
city down to the water's edge was a detriment
to the city and a menace to the lives of its
citizens, and they commenced an agitation to
have steam power removed from within the
city limits. At this time the pressure was very
hard upon the Long Island Railroad Compan\-
to compel it to surrender the franchise to use
steam power in the city of Brooklyn, and, on
the other hand, it would be a practical ruin
to the company not to have a terminus at the
water's edge. When originally built the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad ran in Atlantic
avenue from South Ferry to Flatbush avenue,
and at Flatbush avenue its right-of-way had
been secured through farming lands without
any regard to city streets, and ran pretty gen-
erally north of the present Atlantic avenue
from Flatbush avenue to East New York, so-
called at that time. In laying out the streets
of the city, the corporations interested were
induced to surrender their right-of-way that
they had secured north of Atlantic avenue,
and to have the rails placed in the present
Atlantic avenue as laid out by the city author-
ities. Another object of this scheme also was
to have the use of steam power on the Brook-
lyn & Jamaica Railroad surrendered within
the city limits, but, before these rights were
surrendered the interests of the Long Island
Railroad Company were safeguarded by pro-
visions for opening a new line to the East
River from Jamaica to what was then called
Hunter's Point, now Long Island City. To
effect this purpose the New York & Jamaica
Railroad Company was organized about 1857,
and constructed a railroad from the terminus
of the Long Island Railroad in Jamaica to the
water's edge at Hunter's Point, and when
ready for opening the trains of the Long
Island Railroad, instead of running over the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad into the city
of Brooklyn, turned off at Jamaica and were
brought to Hunter's Point. This diverted the
main line of travel on Long Island from the
city of Brooklyn to the new terminus. This
new line was opened in i860. About the
same time its property, corporate rights and
franchises were acquired by the Long Island
Railroad Company. From that time the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad was run as a
branch road between Jamaica and East New
York. The effect of this readjustment was to
take the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad out of
the main line of travel, and reduce it to a
road of very insignificant importance, so far
as its steam traffic was concerned. The Long
Island Railroad Company continued to op-
erate this road as a branch until it was again
made to assume an importance which will be
hereafter noted.
On April 14, 1863, there was another
change in the management of the Long Lland
Railroad. Oliver Charlick* and his associates
*01iver Charlick, for many years a most potent figure
in the stormy sea of New York City's politics, was born
near Hempstead in 181:?. He received his business
training in the establishment of Gardiner & Howell,
wholesale grocers, New York, and when that hrra failed
he went into business on his own account. The great
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
were elected directors. They were a new set
of directors, with new ideas and new pohcy.
Their poHcy was characterized with consider-
able vigor, but they seemed to be actuated
solely by the desire to make money, rather
than to conserve the convenience of the citi-
zens of the island, or to promote their inter-
ests. This policy nearly ruined the Long-
Island Railroad Company. In a very short
time there sprang up between the railroad cor-
poration and the citizens antagonistic feel-
ings, which resulted in great changes in the
railroad map of Long Island.
It may not be amiss at this time to take
an account of stock, and for those who are
interested, to look at the map of Long Island
and see the exact position of the railroads
at that date. The Long Island Railroad Com-
pany had a main line running from Greenport
to Hunter's Point on the East River. It also
had a branch from Mineola to Hempstead,
and a branch from Hicksville to Syosset. It
was also operating that part of the old Brook-
lyn & Jamaica Railroad between Jamaica and
East New York by steam power. This was
the entire mileage of the Long Island Rail-
road in 1863.
Prior to 1863 the scheme of building a
fire of 183.5 wiped out his store, but he soon re-established
him.self, and as a grocer and .shipchandler built up a
large and profitable business.
In 1S43 he made his first prominent entrj' into poli-
tics, when he was nominated and elected .Assistant Alder-
man of New York's First Ward, on an independent
ticket, and he afterward become Alderman. As presi-
dent of the board during the latter part of his term he
frequently acted as Mayor of the city, during the absence
of Mayor Havemeyer. In 1S4!) he went to California
and engaged in business there for .some eighteen months.
Returning to New York he entered upon the work of
constructing the Eighth Avenue street-car line and ran
it successfully for seven years, recouping the stockholders
their original capital and paying regularly a dividend of
twelve per cent. In 1800 he gave up his street car
interests and devoted himself to steam railroading and
and became active in the mangement of several lines in
and around New York. It is with the management of
the Long Isand Railroad, however, that he is best
remembered, in this connection. In later life Mr. Char-
hck again became prominent in New York City's politics,
and as a member of the Board of Police Commissioners
his name was actively bandied about at a time when
deals and dickers formed the professional politician's
stock in trade in New York. He had hosts of enemies and
troops of friends; by the former he was denounced for
having committed practically every crime in the calendar;
by the latter he was credited with brains, smartness and
inflexible honesty.
However, all that may be, it is certain that his
career as a politician did not add to his personal reputa-
tion, nor has it won for his memory the regard which is
paid even to that of a respectable mechanic.
railroad from Mineola to Locust Valley seems
to have been agitated by the citizens along that
line and the Long Island Railroad Company,
and to have culminated in a paper railroad,
which was never built. After Oliver Char-
lick was elected president of the Long Island
Railroad Company, and in May, 1863, the
board brushed aside this paper organization
and voted that it was expedient to build a road
from Mineola to Glen Cove. Soon thereafter
the Long Island Railroad Company took
measures to construct the road, and on Sep-
tember 17, 1863, executed a mortgage on that
branch for the purpose of providing the-
means for its construction and completion.
The date when this branch was finished and!
opened does not appear in the minutes of the
company, but it was probably about the year
1864 or 1865. The road as origmally con-
structed still remains in active operation.
For several years after 1863 there was
nothing done in the way of railroad con-
struction on Long Island that was antagon-
istic to the interests of the Long Island Rail-
road Company. There did grow up, how-
ever, a feeling of great tension between citi-
zens and property owners on the island and
the railroad company by reason of the non-
progressive management of the corporation.
On can hardly resist speculation as to what
would have been the systems of railroads
upon the Island or what would have been the
effect upon the Long Island Railroad prop-
erty, had there been a liberal and progressive
administration of the railroad's affairs at that
time.
For several 5'ears after 1863 the people
traveling from the south side of Long Island,
and from many parts of the north side, would
drive to the middle of the island to meet
trains. In those days there was a very con-
siderable activity around all of the stations
on the main line between Farmingdale and
Riverhead, where now it seems so dull and
lifeless. The attractions of the shores of
Long Island were such that, notwithstanding
the inconvenience of access, population in-
creased so rapidly that a time finally came
when, despairing of having their reasonable
wants met by the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany, a series of railroad constructions began
that were antagonistic to the Long Islan-!
Railroad Company, and which continued for
several years, with the result of almost de-
stroying all railroad property on the Island,
the new with the old. The history of this
290
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
contest will explain very much that is hard to
understand in the tangled web of corpora-
tions, railroad tracks and abandoned track?
on Long Island.
It is necessary now to retrace our steps and
dates a little for the purpose of recording the
history of a railroad that has been a very con-
siderable factor in the railroad contests on
Long Island. The Flushing Railroad Com-
pany was organized in 1852, to build a road
from Hunter's Point to the village of Flushing.
This road was soon thereafter constructed, and
was an outlying piece of road, serving only
the wants of a local community, and appar-
ently in no way related to the Long Island
Railroad. Its location was from Main street,
in the village of Flushing, to Newtown Creek,
and thence along the northerly side of that
creek to the East River. The location of its
terminus on East River was in about the mid-
dle of the large lumber yard south of the pres-
ent Long Island Railroad depot. That land
was under water and had not then been filled
in, and there was a pile dock out for a con-
siderable distance to get sufficient depth of
water for the landing of a small steamboat.
The passengers were brought down by rail
to this dock, and there they embarked on board
a small steamer that landed them at Fulton
Fcrrv. This method of transportation contin-
ued for a number of years. When the branch
■of the Long Island Railroad was built from
Jamaica to Hunter's Point it crossed this old
Flushing road at Winfield at nearly right
angles to that line. The Flushing Railroad
was not successful financially, and about 1858
a first mortgage on its property and corporate
iranchises was foreclosed, which resulted in
the title passing to a new corporation, called
the New York and Flushing Railroad Com-
pany, organized in 1859. The new corporation
continued to operate this road about the same
as the old one had done, but its management
was about as bad as any management could
be, and the service was totally inadequate to
the wants of so large a community as that
residing at Flushing and in the adjacent coun-
try. The line of this road having been crossed
by the main line of the Long Island Railroad
at Winfield made the road a property desired by
the management of the Long Island Railroad.
It was well understood that they had nego-
tiated with the owners of the New York and
Flushing Railroad and tried to acquire the
property, but were unsuccessful for many
years. The citizens of Flushing and vicinity,
chafing under the bad service of the New York
and Flushing Railroad, were stimulated to se-
cure an outlet in some other direction. The
management of the Long Island Railroad en-
couraged this sentiment with promises of aid
over another line, and it resulted in the organi-
zation of a corporation known as the Flushing
and Woodside Railroad Company. The line
of this road was .located from the Bridge
street station, in the village of Flushing, to
Woodside, on the line of the Long Island Rail-
road, the intention being to have a through line
from Hunter's Point to Flushing over this
Toute. Work was actively commenced build-
ing the division between Woodside and Flush-
ing, and the same was about half completed
when the owners of the New York & Flush-
ing Railroad, discovering that there was to be
an active competitor in the field, sold their
stock to the management of the Long Island
Railroad, who at once suspended work on the
Woodside line, and it was not completed for
many years thereafter. Prior to this pur-
chase by the Long Island Railroad Company
the East River terminus of the New York
& Flushing Railroad had been changed from
the small dock referred to, and a lease had
been executed between the Long Island Rail-
road Company and the New York & Flushing
Railroad Company, giving the latter road ter-
minal facilities for ten years in the Long Island
Railroad station at Hunter's Point. The re-
sulting position was, at the time we are speak-
ing of, that the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany had acquired the New York & Flushing
Railroad, and was operating it as a branch of
their road. The Flushing & Woodside Rail-
road Company, by special act of the Legisla-
ture, had acquired the right to build a draw-
bridge over Flushing Creek, and the only cor-
porate rights of that railroad that has now any
value to the Long Island system is the right
to cross this drawbridge, the same having been
acquired, as will be subsequently explained,
from the Woodside corporation by another
railroad organization.
About the time the Flushing & Woodside
Railroad was being built, another railroad
company was organized to build a road from
Flushing eastward, known as the North Shore
Railroad Company. This railroad was never
completed. It was, however, actually con-
structed from Flushing to Great Neck, and
was operated for a number of years under a
contract with the New York & Flushing Rail-
road Company.
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
291
The Long Island Railroad Company did
something in the way of extending its mileage
between 1863 and 1870. One of the first moves
in this direction was in April, 1863, when the
corporation elected to purchase the stock of
the branch which has been spoken of before
as having been built from Syosset to Hicks-
ville as a part of the Hicksville & Cold Spring-
Railroad. The Legislature had theretofore
conferred upon the Long Island Railroad
Company the power to build branches on Long
Island at any point east of the village of
Jamaica, or to purchase the stock of such con-
necting railroads. In 1867 the Long Island
Railroad Company filed a map of a route, and
entered vigorously upon the construction of
a, branch from Syosset to Northport. This
branch was built under the corporate powers
of the Long Island Railroad Company. The
movement met with the vigorous opposition
of those interested in having the railroad ex-
tended to Cold Spring; but the opponents of
the location were divided, and it resulted in
the abandonment of the right of wa}', and work-
between Syosset and Cold Spring, and the
opening of a new line to Northport, the ter-
minus of this line being in the village oi
Northport and not at the junction of the
Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad, to be
hereafter referred to. The result of these
operations was to take in the piece of road
built from Hicksville to Syosset, with the ex-
tension from Syosset to Northport, making
one continuous branch from Hicksville to
Northport.
In 1869 the Long Island Railroad Company
projected another important work, which was
conducted under its own corporate powers. It
entered upon the construction of a line from
Manor to Sag Harbor. The effect of this was
to grant -railroad facilities to the citizens on
the south side of Long Island, at the east end
thereof. This branch became an important
feeder to the main line of the Long Island
Railroad, and contributed greatly to the devel-
opment of that part of the south side of Long
Island.
Another important extension was stimu-
lated by the Long Island Railroad Company,
although not built bv them. In June, 1870,
the Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad
Company was organized for the purpose of
building a road from Northport to Port Jefr
ferson. This was practically an extension of
the branch of the Long Island Railroad then
in operation from Hicksville to Northport, the
details of which have been above stated. This
road was about sixteen miles in length, and
was constructed in its entirety. At the point
of junction with the branch near Northport,
the departure was made on the high lands
out of the village of Northport rather than
by extending from the terminus of the branch
road, the effect of which was to have two
stations in Northport, one of them on the hill,
at which the through trains stopped, and an-
other a short distance from the point of junc-
tion down in the village of Northport.*
The most serious menace to the business
of the Long Island Railroad Company ap-
peared in 1866, when the long-talked-of pro-
ject of building the South Side Railroad was
entered upon. So much had the population
increased along the south side that the inhab-
itants and property owners along that section
of country determined at all hazards to have a
railroad that would let them out with greater
facility than they could possibly get by driv-
ing to the center of the island to the main
line of the Long Island Railroad. Numerous
negotiations and schemes were projected for
building branches toward the south, but for
some reason Oliver Charlick and his associates
failed to comprehend the growing importance
of that section of the island, nor did they be-
lieve it possible for it to escape from their
control. The South Side Railroad was con-
structed and opened between Jamaica and
Brooklyn in the fall of 1867. At that time
the South Side Railroad Companv had not suc-
ceede-d in acquiring their right-of-way and fa-
cilities for transporting passengers to the
river's edge in the city of Brooklyn. They
*"The people of Smithtown made many efforts tobrin
the railroad here * * These negotiations resulted i"
a proposition by Oliver Charlick, representing the Lon^
Island Railway, by which the people of this town [SmithS
town] should organize an independent corporation (it-
never possessed the first elements of independence),
should raise $80,000 in cash, lease its franchise to the
Long Island Railway in advance, expend the money as
far as it would go in constructing the road and raise the
balance of the money necessary to complete it by issuing
bonds, the principal and interest of which should be
guaranteed by the Long Island Railroad. That plan,
after much negotiation, was finally adopted. The town
of Smithtown" agreed to raise $.JO,000 of the SSO.OOO
required by bonding the town and taking that amount of
stock at par, the bonds to run thirty years, at seven per
cent, interest. The people of the town have accepted
and enjoyed the benefits of the railroad but now com-
plain of the heavy interest."— J. Lawrence Smith.
[The road from Hicksville to Syosset in 18.-14, and
extended to Northport in 1808, and from there, passing
through Smithtown to Port Jefferson in 1872.]
292
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
were straitened for means, and had not entirely
given up hope that at Jamaica they might enter
into some arrangement with the Long Island
Railroad Company by which their cars and
passengers could be transported to Hunter's
Point. The writer was present at a long inter-
view between representatives of the South
Side Railroad Company and Mr. Charlick, in
which every consideration was urged upon the
Long Island Railroad Company to enter into
such an arrangement, but Mr. Charlick was
obdurate. His motive was not easy to define,
except that it is highly probable he anticipated
that at some future time this road would be-
come more embarrassed and better terms could
be made with it by the Long Island Railroad
Company. All hope of reaching Hunter's
Point over the Long Island Railroad having
disappeared, the South Side Railroad corpor-
ation proceeded vigorously to build their line
between Jamaica and Bushwick, which was as
far as thex were permitted to go with their
loconiiitivcs into the city of Brooklyn. The
location of this line was south of the present
line from Jamaica to Springfield, and the sta-
tion in Jamaica was at a point a little south of
the present Long Island Railroad station in
Jamaica. The line then passed westward for
about two miles, and crossed the line of the
Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad, passing thence
to Glendale, F'resh Pond and Bushwick. From
Bushwick to the ferry on the East River the
cars were hauled by dummy engines through
the streets of the city of Brooklyn. About the
time this line was completed to the East
River, it was also opened as far east as Patch-
ogue. Thereafter for a number of years, the
main line of travel for the South Side Rail-
road was from Patchogue to the East River
via Bushwick. It drew travel very heavily
from the Long Island Railroad at all points
on the south side west of Patchogue, and was
also a sharp competitor in the village of Ja-
maica.
In 1868 the parties interested in the South
Side Railroad Company organized the Far
Rockaway Branch Railroad Company for the
purpose of building a railroad between Valley
Stream and Far Rockaway. This road was
promptly constructed and put into operation.
It proved to be a valuable feeder to the South
Side Railroad. At that time, the terminus of
the road was near the beach, at a point just
west of the village of Far Rockaway. After a
year or two of operation at this point, one
winter there came a remarkable change in the
shore line oft' Far Rockaway. In a single win-
ter the coast in. front of this South Side station
fell ofi one-quarter to one-half of a mile out to
sea, and a new shore line was formed and a
beach tliTown up along the front of the village
of Far Rockaway, leaving a considerable sheet
of water between the village and the sand
beach. The South Side Railroad Company,
finding that the attraction of being near the
beach had been so suddenly and summarily
terminated by the action of Nature, instead of
extending their road directly out to the new
line of beach, changed their plans, and in
1 87 1 organized another railroad corporation,
called the Rockaway Railroad Company, and
located the line westerly along and parallel to.
the beach and not a great distance therefrom.
This road was built through the sand hills of
the beach for a distance of about four miles,
and was the beginning of the large railroad
business since transacted on Rockaway Beach.
But little of the line of this road now enters
into the trackage of the Long Island Railroad.
In 1869 the Hempstead and Rockaway
Railroad was organized for the purpose of
building a road from Valley Stream to
the village of Hempstead. While this road
was built in connection with the South Side
Railroad and was operated by it after its con-
struction, it foinned no part of the corporate
property of the South Side Railroad Com-
pany. Their station was conveniently located
on the southerly side of the village of Hemp-
stead, and it drew oft" for many years the major
part of the travel from the Long Island Rail-
road in the village of Hempstead, diverting it
to the South Side Railroad.
While the business to Far Rockaway and
Rockaway Beach was being developed bv the
South Side system, the Long Island Railroad
Company determined to enter this field, and in
1870 the managers organized the New York &
Rockawav Railroad Company, to construct a
railroad from Jamaica to Far Rockaway. This
road was located from what is now known as
Rockaway Junction, about one mile east of the
village of Jamaica, running southerly and in a
pretty direct line crossing the main line of the
South Side Railroad at Springfield, now
Springfield Junction, continuing its course to
the village of Far Rockaway, and crossing the
\^alley Stream branch of the South Side Rail-
road at a point a short distance north of Far
Rockaway, and entered the village of Far
Rockaway at a point much more convenient for
public travel than that located by the Valley
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
293
Stream branch of the Soutli Side Railroad.
This corporation was organized apparently for
the purpose of having the corporate rights and
franchises vested in a corporation distinct
from the Long Island Railroad Company. It
was mortgaged and built upon the proceeds of
the bonds sold. The line was leased to the
Long Island Railroad Company for the term
of thirty years, at a fixed rental sufficient to
pay the interest on the bonds, and has been
operated to this day by the Long Island Rail-
road Company under this lease. The corpor-
ate organization of this railroad has not been
kept alive, and the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany "s authority and control over the prop-
erty is based upon the provisions of the lease.
LTpon the completion of this line, there sprang
up a sharp competition between the South Side
Railroad Company and the Long Island Rail-
road Company for the business accessible to
both roads on the two lines.
We will now turn our attention to opera-
tion's that were inaugurated on the north side
of the Island, which resulted in an entire revo-
lution and change of railroad affairs in that
direction, and which preceded the final com-
bination of all the railroad interests. We have
before stated that the New York & Flushing
Railroad had fallen into the hands of the Long
Island Railroad Company, and that after the
accomplishment of that purpose there was an
abandonment in the construction of the Flush-
ing & Woadside Railroad, by reason of the
purpose having been accomplished that
seemed to actuate the directors of the Long
Island Railroad in entering upon the building
of the Flushing & Woodside Railroad. The
citizens of Flushing and vicinity, smarting
under what they conceived to be a trick to in-
duce them to enter upon the construction of
the Flushing & Woodside Railroad, only for
the purpose of using it as a club to scare the
management of the New York & Flushing
Railroad bv the Long I'sland management, de-
termined to revive that enterprise and push it
to completion, as a rival of the New York &
Flushing Railroad. To accomplish this ob-
ject, they secured the co-operation of some
wealthv citizens in the villages of College
Point and Whitestone, who in 1868 proceeded
to organize a new railroad companv, called the
Flushing & North Side Railroad Company.
The articles of association were filed for con-
structing and maintaining a railroad from
Hunter'^s Point to the village of Roslvn, with
a branch at a point in the main line in or near
the village of Musliing to run to the villages of
College Point and Wiiitestone. The Flushing
interests ha\ing- secured a majority of the old
Woodside Company's stock, and thereby se-
cured control of the franchise to cross Flush-
ing Creek with a drawbridge, the new com-
pany located its line from a point on the north
side of the East River, as follows : Starting
at Hunter's Point and running thence imme-
diately adjacent to and parallel with the Long-
Island Railroad as far as Woodside ; then con-
tinuing their location over the line of the
Flushing & Woodside Railroad to Bridge
street, in the village of Flushing; continuing
from there to the villages of College Point and
Whitestone. This part of the line from Flush-
ing to Whitestone was the branch contemplat-
ed in the articles of association.
In the sequel of the history' of the road, no
attempt was made to build the main line to
Roslyn, and that part of the organization of
this company need not be further considered.
Work was pressed vigorously in the construc-
tion of this line, and finally, in the autumn of
1868, it was completed and opened for public
travel. This road was new and well equipped,
and very popular. The result was that it drew
almost the entire travel ofif from the old line of
the New York & Flushing Railroad. Soon
thereafter negotiations were opened between
the Long Island Railroad management and the
management of this new enterprise to sell out
to the Flushing & North Side Railroad Com-
pany the New York & Flushing Railroad.
Competition had so far reduced the value of
the New York & Flushing Railroad that the
Long Island Railroad management were will-
ing to get rid of it, and the management of
the Flushing & North Sid-e Railroad deemed
it advisable to get rid of the competition of
that line, and the transfer of the entire stock
of the New York & Flushing Railroad to par-
ties interested in the Flushing & North Side
Railroad was the result. Thereafter, in
April, 1869, the Legislature passed an enabling
act, authorizing the Flushing & North Side
Railroad Companv to purchase the stock of
the Flushing & Woodside Railroad, and to
purchase a part of the New York & Flushing
Railroad, and to consolidate them into one
corporation. In pursuance of this act, the
stock of the Flushing & Woodside Railroad
was merged into that of the Flushing & North
Side Railroad, and a deed was executed by
the New York & Flushing Railroad Company,
transferring the real estate and franchises of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
that part of its road lying between Winfield
and Main street, Flushing, to the Flushing &
North Side Railroad Company. Thus termin-
ated the property and franchises of the New
York & Flushing Railroad Company to oper-
ate a railroad between Winfield and Flushing,
but the New York & Flushing Railroad Com-
pany remained intact as a corporation with a
railroad from Winfield to Long Island City,
with its property rights unimpaired, and with
its terminal facilities, such as they were, lying
south of the depot and yards of the Long
Island Railroad.
As the question of communication with
New York was the all-important factor in all
these railroad lines, the position of the New
York & Flushing Railroad at Long Island
City was unfortunate, in that it was cut off
from access to the ferry by the depot and
yards of the Long Island Railroad, and that it
was impracticable to maintain a separate line
of boats for the purpose of carrying its pas-
sengers to New York. It was this reason that
moved the owners of this property to sever it
as thev did, taking the eastern end into the new
organization, and leaving the western end to
be disposed of as time and subsequent events
might point a way. The problem that now
presented itself to the Flushing & North Side
Railroad Company was to utilize its property
and make it available in 'serving the public.
To effect this object, the Flushing & North
Side Railroad Company filed a new map of
location, extending its lines from Woodside
to Winfield, where it formed a junction with
the old main line of the New York & Flush-
ing Railroad, continuing along the line of that
road to a point a short distance west of Flush-
ing Creek, on the INIeadows, near Flushing,
and running thence along the creek, on the
westerly side thereof, to a junction with what
was the former Woodside line, crossing the
creek on the drawbridge of that line, and so
making a continuous line to College Point and
Whitestone. These changes were eft'ected soon
after the purchase was made, and have contin-
ued in operation to this day, forming the line
as now operated between Long Island City and
College Point. The line between Woodside
and the drawbridge was abandoned.
Railroad matters on Long Island remained
substantially unchanged until 1872. Prior
to that date the late A. T. Stewart had pur-
chased a larce tract of land known as the
Hempstead Plains, lying in the town of
Hempstead, and proposed to develop the same
by building houses and locating improve-
ments on the lands. There was no railroad
through this tract of land, except the short
cross road from Hempstead to Mineola, be-
fore referred to. He began active negotia-
tions, first with the Long Island Railroad
Company, and afterwards with the Flushing
& North Side Railroad Company, to form a
connection with either road as he could nego-
tiate the best terms with. It resulted in a
contract to form a connection with a pro-
posed road, that Stewart was to build, with
the Flushing & North Side Railroad, and in
1871 the Central Railroad Company of Long
Island was organized. The proposed line
was to run from a point on the line of the
Flushing & North Side Railroad east of the
Flushing Creek drawbridge, running thence
easterly to the westerly boundary of the land
of A. T. Stewart, and thence easterly through
said lands to a point near Farmingdale, and
thence to Bethpage, with a branch from the
main line to the village of Hempstead. This
road was constructed in all its parts, and
proved a most disastrous enterprise to the
Flushing & North Side Railroad Company,
who were under contract to operate the road.
In building that part of the line between
Flushing and the westerly boundary of the
land of A. T. Stewart, the road passed
through the high lands forming the center
of Long Island, and in making the cut on that
portion of the line there was executed the
largest and most expensive piece of earth-
work on Long Island. This road was opened
on January I, 1873. The branch line from
Garden City to Hempstead is the same line
that is now operated to that village. It ran
a short distance easterly from the old branch
of the Long Island Railroad, and is now the
only line that the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany operates into the village of Hempstead
on the north side. That part of the old
Mineola & Hempstead branch, built in the
early days of the Long Island Railroad, lying
south of the Stewart line and between that
line and the village of Hempstead, was aban-
doned about 1878, and has never been opened
or operated since.
The traffic on this central railroad of
Long Island, otherwise known as the Stewart
line, between Farmingdale and Flushing, in-
cluding that from the village of Hempstead,
proved entirely unremunerative, and the man-
agement of the Flushing & North Side Rail-
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
295.
road, determining to try and secure further
traffic for this Hne, entered upon the scheme
of extending the line to the south side of
Long Island, and organized the Central Rail-
road Extension Company. The articles of.
association for this new company were filed
in April, 1873. The location of the line was
from a point near Farmingdale, running
southeasterly, crossing the South Side Rail-
road about one mile west of Babylon, and run-
ning to the Fire Island steamboat dock. The
road was constructed and put in operation
to the highway leading to the dock, thus
forming a through line from Babylon,' through
Garden City, Flushing, reaching Hunter's
Point, and landing its passengers on the north
side of the ferry. Considerable traffic was
thus drawn to the road, but, while operated
from Babylon in competition with the South
Side Railroad, the rates were low and the
effect was damaging upon the South Side
Road. It should be noted, in passing, that
the opening of the branch road from Garden
City to Hempstead practically destroyed the
business of the Long Island Railroad to that
village.
There now developed a distinctive system
of railroads on Long Island, connected with
the North Side roads, and it was deemed de-
sirable to combine them into one system.
The management contemplated further exten-
sions, and organized the North Shore & Port
Washington Railroad Company, and the Ros-
lyn & Huntington Railroad Company. They
then proceeded to consolidate these corpora-
tions, called the Flushing, North Shore &
Central Railroad Company. This was ef-
fected by agreement of consolidation made
the 19th day of June, 187.1. The position
of this corporation at that date was as fol-
lows : It owned a continuous line from
Whitestone to Hunter's Point, with a pas-
senger and freight depot on the north side
of the ferries. It also had a branch from
Great Neck to the junction of the main' line
in the village of Flushing. It had a line from
Babylon to Flushing, where it united with
the main line. It also had a branch from
Hempstead to Garden City. It should be
stated, however, that at this time it held the
real estate of the Stewart line, from the
westerly end of the Stewart purchase to Beth-
page, and also the branch into Hempstead,
under a contract of lease with A. T. Stewart,
and had not at that time acquired the title
to the lands over which ite ran. It should
also be noted that the Port Washington Rail-
road and the Roslyn & Huntington Railroad-,
were contemplated extensions easterly from-
Great Neck ; but as they were never con-
structed, they need not be again referred tc
in this history. The Whitestone & West-
chester Railroad was a short line extending
from the main station in the village of White-
stone down to the water's edge. This road
was actually constructed about 1883, and is
now owned and operated by the Long Island
Railroad Company.
Immediately upon the commencement of
operations to construct the Central Railroad
from the junction in Flushing to Garden City
and Hempstead, and thence eastward on the
Stewart property, the Long Island Railroad
Company determined to deliver a counter-
blow to that system of roads, and promoted
the construction of the Newtown & Flushing
Railroad, which corporation was organized in
1871. This line ran from a point of junction
on the main line of the Long Island Railroad
at Winfield to the village of Flushing, a dis-
tance of about four miles. It thus formed,
in connection with the main line of the Long
Island Railroad, a rival line from Flushing
to Long Island City, and tapped the most
important railroad station of the North Side
system. Immediately upon its opening the
rates were reduced about one-half. It be-
came a formidable rival to the North Side
system at its most vital point, reducing the
revenues of that road to a very material ex-
tent. The cars run on this road were painted
white, and it was familiarly called by the pub-
lic the "White Line."
Again returning to the South Side Rail-
road, to bring up the history of that division
and record its progress in the contest for
business on Long Island, it is proper to note
that that corporation had no facilities on the
waters of the East River for the transporta-
tion of freight over its line, nor were they
satisfied with their terminal facilities for the
transportation of passengers through Brook-
lyn from Bushwick to the East River by
dummy engines. In looking for an outlet in
another direction to relieve them from these
two embarassments, thev organized the Hunt-
er's Point and South Side Railroad Company
in 1870. The articles of association proposed
to build a road from a point on the South
Side Railroad Company's line at Fresh Pond,
running thence to the East River at a point
between the Hunter's Point ferry and Ra-
290
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
venswood, that being the name of the village
next north of Hunter's Point, opposite Black-
well's Island. Had this line been construct-
ed in its entirety it would have crossed first
the old line of the New York & Flushing
Railroad between Winfield and Hunter's
Point ; secondly, the main line of the Long
Island Railroad, and thirdly, the main line
of the Flushing, North Shore & Central
Railroad. Whatever may have been the
. ideas of its management as to the feasibility
of the line contemplated, they never under-
took to construct it in its entirety, but did
construct their line from the point of junc-
tion at Fresh Pond to the contemplated cross-
ing of the New York & Flushing Railroad,
which was then a branch lying idle and not
operated. Having reached this point of junc-
tion, and having already negotiated the pur-
chase of the stock of the New York & Flush-
ing Railroad, the Hunters' Point & South
Side Railroad formed a connection with the
New York & Flushing Railroad, and by this
means secured an outlet on the property of
the latter company to navigable waters on
Newtown Creek, with such rights as that
company had south of the Long Island Rail-
road station. They proceeded at once to put
as much of this road as was necessary in or-
der, so as to reach a freight dock which they
constructed on Newtown Creek, and were
thus in the field as competitors with the Long
Island Railroad and the Flushing, North
Shore and Central Railroad for the trans-
portation of freight from all competitive
points. They did not, however, change their
terminal for passenger traffic. That con-
tinued as above stated. By an enabling act,
the South Side Railroad Company was au-
thorized to purchase the stock of the New
York & Flushing Railroad, the Far Rock-
away Branch Railroad and the Rockaway
Railroad, of Queens County, and the Hunt-
er's Point & South Side Railroad.
In September, 1872, by the authority of this
act, the Far Rockaway Railroad Company was
consolidated into the South Side Railroad
Company, and a proper certificate filed in the
office of the Secretary of State on September.
1872. On the same day a similar certificate
was filed in the same manner, consolidating
the Rockaway Railway 'Company and the
Hunter's Point and South Side Railroad Com-
pany with the South Side Railroad Company.
By these three acts the South Side Railroad
Company became vested with the title of the
branch from Valley Stream to the western
terminus on Rockaway Beach, and also to the
branch from Fresh Pond to the junction of the
New York & Flushing Railroad. For some
reason, not apparent at this day, the manage-
ment of the South Side Railroad saw fit not to
avail themselves of the provisions of the act
of the Legislature and complete the consoli-
dation of the New York & Flushing Railroad
with the South Side Railroad Company, and
so that corporation continued outside of the
corporate life of the South Side Railroad Com-
pany until the same was absorbed at a later
date.
The details of con'struction of all the steam
roads on Long Island up to 1874 that have
since fallen into the Long Island Railroad cor-
poration have now been stated. A summary of
the position of these ^roads in 1874 will be
profitable to an understanding of subsequent
events, for it was at about this time that the
contest was most bitter and severe between the
three systems that we can now properly desig-
nate as the North Side system, the Main Line
or Central system and the South Side system.
To recapitulate and state the lines that were in
active operation at this date, the North Side
system had a fine running from the north side
of the East River ferry at Hunter's Point,
running thence through Flushing and College
Point to Whitestone ; an extension from ]\Iain
street, in Flushing, to Great Neck ; a branch
from Flushing through Rocky Hill and Gar-
den Citv to Babylon, and a branch from Gar-
den City to Hempstead. The Long Island
Railroad proper controlled what we have
designated the Main Line or Central system,
which consisted of a road from Hunter's Point
to Grcenport, with a branch from Mineola to
Hempstead, a branch from Manor t® Sag Har-
bor, a branch from Jamaica to Far Rockaway,
a branch from Hicksville to Port Jefferson, a
branch from Mineola to Locust Valley, a
branch from Winfield to Flushing, and a
branch from Jamaica to East New York.
The South Side system consisted of a main
line from Grand street, in the citv of Brooklyn,
through Bushwick, Jamaica, Springfield and
Babylon to Patchogue, a branch from A^alley
Stream to Hempstead, a branch from \''allev
Stream to Rockaway Beach, and a branch
from Fresh Pond to a point on Newtown
Creek, in Long Island City. This summary
gives a statement of all the lines of railroad in
actual operation at the date spoken of, but does
not include uncompleted parts of roads, nor
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
297
projected schemes that had not to that date
been constructed. A person who will take a
map of Long Island and look at the lines as
stated cannot fail to observe that the three
systems of railroads cross and intersect each
■other at numerous points, and competed on
the same ground for travel and business that
one railroad could easily handle. The effect
■ of this situation was to have the sharpest kind
of competition to secure the business, with the
result that wherever competition could reach
it was done at ruinous rates.
The first of these railroad systems to suc-
cumb to the ruinous eft'ects of this competition
was the South Side system. It defaulted in the
payment of interest upon its bonds, in 1874,
and was unable to pay a large floating debt that
had accumulated. Foreclosure proceedings
were instituted upon a series of second mort-
gage bonds to the amount of $1,000,000, and
such proceedings were had that the road, its
property and franchises were sold and bid in
hy parties representing the North Side system
of railroads. The North Side system hacl been
promoted and carried forward chiefly by Con-
rad Poppenhusen, a gentleman of very large
means, of the highest character and of a san-
^ine temperament. He had very limited ex-
perience in railroad matters, and for a few
years was a very important factor in railroad
affairs on Long Island until he came to finan-
cial grief.
Upon the purchase of the South Side prop-
erty upon this foreclosure, a new corporation
was organized, called the Southern Railroad
Company. Its articles of association were filed
in September, 1874. This new corporation
succeeded to all the property and franchises of
the old South Side Railroad, except a branch
from \''alley Stream to Hempstead, which had
never been consolidated with the South Side
Railroad. At this time it will be noted that
the North Side system was now in harmony
with the South Side system ; that, while there
was no actual consolidation, the same parties
were owners of both systems of railroads.
Considerable modification resulted from this
uniformity of interests in the administration of
the business of the two svstems of railroads on
the island. Very soon after the new corpora-
tion was organized, it abandoned the branch
from ^'alley Stream to Hempstead. There was
a first mortgage upon that branch, which was
subsequently foreclosed and the property sold.
No attempt has ever been made to open that
line of road since that date, and it is among
the abandoned roads on the island. Another
change that was effected took place near Daby-
lon. It will be remembered that when the Cen-
tral Extension Railroad was constructed, it
crossed the line of the South Side Railroad,
continuing its way towards the Fire Island
Dock. That part of it lying south of the South
Side Railroad was abandoned, the track was
taken up, and a curve put in at the junction, so
as to make a connection with the South Side
Railroad. No other material changes were
made in this road until a subsequent event of
great importance. For two years the fastest
passenger trains were run from Patchogue to
Babylon, thence over the Flushing, North
Shore & Central Railroad, via Garden City
and Flushing, to Hunter's Point.
Practically the railroad fight was now on
against the Long Island Railroad by the com-
bined roads on the north and south, although
legally the two corporations, the north and the
south, were still distinct properties. A war
of rates continued with unsatisfactory results
to the railroads. In 1875 the earnings of the
Long Island Railroad were only $798,000 ; the
Flushing, North Shore & Central, $429,691,
and the Southern Road $340,000, making a
total of $1,567,691. In 1876 a great change
came, which was the precursor of the present
Long Island Railroad system. Mr. Conrad
Poppenhusen and a few of his associates
bought out a majority of the stock of the Long
Island Railroad, and thus for the first time ,
were all the railroad properties on Long Island
brought under one harmonious control.
Immediately upon the control of all the
railroads being substantially under one man-
agement, changes were inaugurated to facili-
tate business and combine the corporation
under one management. To effect this object,
a tripartite agreement or lease was executed
between the three systems, by which the Long
Island Railroad Companv was the lessee of the
North Side and South Side systems. This lease
was dated in 1876. It is not out of place to
state here that if these leases had been judi-
cious and fair to all the corporations, at this
point would have been established the perma-
nent co-operation and the ultimate con^solida-
tion of all these roads. At the time the leases
were executed, there were very sharp and con-
flicting differences of opinion as to. the basis of
the leases. On one side was a conservative
element who contended for rates very different
from those that were established by the con-
tract. On the other hand, there was a sangfuine
element in the board who believed that if the
whole svstem were relieved from the effects
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of competition the Long Island Railroad would
be able justly and properly to assume the fixed
charges established by the terms of the lease.
The sequel showed that the conservative ele-
ment was in the right, and that the sanguine
element was doomed to a bitter disappoint-
ment. The whole structure thus brought to-
gether was doomed to fall apart, to be again
reconstructed into the system now prevailing.
The one weak point was the excess of fixed
charges over and above that which the lessee
road could, by any possibility, pay. It was the
same rock upon which so many railroad
schemes have been wrecked.
We will now turn our attention to changes
that quickly followed the making of the lease,
or tripartite agreement of 1876, many of which
changes have remained to this day in the oper-
ation of the road. The first change was to im-
mediately stop the running of cars over the
White Line, so-called, running from Newtown
to Flushing. This line was soon thereafter
entirely abandoned, and no attempt has ever
been made to open it for public travel. The
next most important change was to extend the
western freight line of the southern system
from the freight dock on Newtown Creek into
the passenger station of the Long Island Rail-
road, thus making it possible for the trains
destined for the South Side system to depart
from Long Island City and proceed via Fresh
Pond to Jamaica, and from thence along the
South Side Railroad. After this change was
made, the continuance of transportation of
passengers by dummy engines through the city
of Brooklyn, from Bushwick to the East River,
was discontinued, but the line from Fresh
Pond to Bushwick was continued as a branch
line or spur of the main line, a condition of
things that still remains unchanged. Import-
ant changes were also effected at Hunter's
Point, which was then known as Long Island
City, by connecting the line of the North Side
division with the main line of the Long Island
Railroad, and thus carrying the passenger
trains of that division also into the Long
Island Railroad depot on the south side of the
ferry. A connection was also made between
the tracks of the North Side division that ran
to the north side of the ferry and the main line
of the Long Island Railroad, and the property
of the North Side division on the north side of
the ferry became the principal depot for the
receipt of freight for the united systems, and
still continues the freight yard for New York
freight. Another change of lesser importance,
but of great practical convenience, was efifect-
ed, by putting in a curve at Springfield Junc-
tion, uniting the Rockaway branch of the Long
Island Railroad with the main line of the
Southern division, and transferring the
through passenger business from the short line,
cutting off from Jamaica to Springfield onto
the Long Island main line as far as Rockaway
Junction, and thence to Springfield on the New
York and Rockaway Road, and from Spring-
field eastward on the main line of the southern
division. The eft'ect of this was to get rid of
one of two stations in the village of Jamaica,
with its attendant expenses. Another change
of minor importance was effected by abandon-
ing entirely the operation of the old line from
Garden City to Hempstead. By these various
minor changes two stations were gotten rid of
in the village of Hempstead, one station in the
village of Jamaica, and one station in the vil-
lage of Flushing.
The roads were operated in this manner
by the new management for about eighteen
months, but the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany became so embarrassed bv the fixed
charges and a rapidlv accumulating floating
debt that in the fall of 1877 it passed into the
hands of a receiver, Mr. Thomas R. Sharp
being appointed to that position. Then was
entered upon a series of movements by bond-
holders that would have dissipated and di-
vided the scheme of union of the three sys-
tems, except that the bondholders were un-
able to see how it was possible to operate
the separate divisions with anv better suc-
cess than had been found in the former ex-
perience ; and while they knew it was neces-
sarv to readjust matters, the f^eneral senti-
ment on all sides seemed to be that there
was no prosoerity for the roads on Long Isl-
and except by united manaeement. The de-
tails of the processes by which the new ad-
justments were made would be tedious, and
could only be fully stated bv reciting the pro-
ceedings in full. The results only will be
stated here. A mortgage on the Southern
Railroad was foreclosed, thus cutting out the
lease-hold right of the Long Island Railroad
Company in that road, and temporarily sever-
ing it from the Long island Railroad system.
The purchasers under the morteage foreclos-
ure of the Southern Railroad of Long Island
organized a new railroad corporation under
date of November. 1870. under the name of
the Brooklvn & Montauk Railroad Companv,
and took title to all of the South Side Rail-
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
1^99
road system, except the line from Valley
Stream to Hempstead, and also the line from
Valley Stream to Far Rockaway, and thence
along the Rockaway Beach, these properties
not being covered by the mortgage fore-
closed. The property covered by the mort-
gage was the line from Brooklyn to Pat-
chogue, and the branch from Fresh Pond to
the junction with the New York & Flushing-
Railroad. The road from A'^alley Stream to
Hempstead was mortgaged, and the bond-
holders foreclosed that mortgage, but were
never able to dispose of the line of road be-
tween Valley Stream and Hempstead, and it
has been abandoned to the present date. A
mortgage upon the road from Valley Stream
to Far Rockaway was foreclosed, and title
to the same was taken by Henry Graves on
such foreclosure. Thus Henry Graves be-
came the purchaser of the line from Valley
Stream to Far Rockaway. On the 19th day
of December, 1882, Henry Graves conveyed
this property from Valley Stream to Far
Rockaway to the Brooklyn & Montauk Rail-
road Company, and thus this branch railroad
again became attached to the South Side sys-
tem. The title to that piece of road from
Far Rockaway westward along the beach
passed to the Brooklyn & Montauk Railroad
Company through the two foreclosures of the
mortgage on the South Side Railroad and the
mortgage on the Southern Railroad.
We will now turn our attention to the
changes that were effected on the north side
many of which were more radical than those
eft'ected on the south side. During the re-
ceivership of Thomas R. Sharp, and about
the year 1878, he determined to abandon the
part of the line of the Central Railroad be-
tween Flushing and the western line of the
Stewart property, and effected a connection
between the western end of the road on the
Stewart property and the main line of the
Long Island Railroad, thus bringing the pas-
sengers who had formerly passed from Baby-
lon westward to Long Island City, via Flush-
ing, down on the main line to Long Island
City. A foreclosure of the mortgage of the
Central Railroad was effected in 1879, by
which the title to that road passed to Egisto
P. Fabbri. The policy having been entered
upon of abandoning that line and yet pre-
serving at each end of it a piece that might
be of advantage to the contemplated system,
Mr. Fabbri, in October, 1879, conveyed to
the Long Island Railroad Company a por-
tion of the eastern end of the old Central
Railroad between Creedmoor and the cross-
ing of the main line of the Long Island Rail-
road. A curve was put in between the main
line and this piece of road, and thus the Long
Island Railroad Company became entitled to
the spur from Floral Park to Creedmoor.
A piece of this road in the village of Flush-
ing was at a later date conveyed to the Long
Island City and Flushing Railroad Company.
On the 3dth day of December, 1880, an-
other great change in the affairs of the rail-
roads on Long Island was consummated. On
that day, Receiver Sharp was discharged,
and Austin Corbin was substituted as re-
ceiver in place of Mr. Sharp. This change
was the result of a purchase by Austin Cor-
bin and his associates of a large majority
of the stock of the Long Island Railroad,
and other securities connected with the
railroad system. Mr. Corbin* ran the road
*Austin Corbin, whose best and and most enduring
memorial in the Long Island Railroad, was one of the
most noted capitalists of his time, and his career was
from first to last truly an American one, — one that could
not be paralleled in any other country in the world. This
was conspicuous especially in his later years, when he
strove to utilize his means and brains and influence to
promote what was really a magnificent series of projects
for the public benefit. In most other countries a
man who had successfully engaged in the battle of life
would have retired to enjoy himself ' ' under his own vine
and fig tree;" but almost until the close of his career
Mr. Corbin was interested in improving matters around
him, in using his resources in benefiting the public, and
while he never posed as a philanthropist, expected a fair
return for all the capital he employed, and engaged in
business on business principles, all he did was with a
view of placing some benefit within reach, and at the
service, of the people. Even his management of his
private property, his summer home, had this end in view.
Mr. Corbin was born at Newport, N. H., July 11.
1827. He studied law at Harvard and when he was
graduated, in 1849, returned to his native town and
began to practice. He soon found it too slow, however,
and he determined to try his fortune in the west. In
1852 he settled in Davenjrort, Iowa, where he organized
what is now the First National Bank, and remained
there until 18(if), when he came to New York and fully
entered upon that career as a banker and financier which
long before he passed away made his name famous
throughout the country, and indeed throughout the whole
financial world. He established the Corbin Banking
Company in 1873 and entered upon his remarkable series
of exploits as a railroad financier by the reorganization
of the Indiana, Bloomirigton & Western Railroad. His
connection with the Long Island Railroad is fully told
in the body of this work and need not be repeated here.
He was also at one time receiver of the Philadelphia &
Reading Railroad and became its president, and he was
president of the New York and New England Railroad
Company, and of the Elmira, Cortland & Northern
Railroad Company, and a director in a host of financial
institutions of every description.
He died, the result of an accident, June 4, 1896.
soo
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
as receiver until the 15th day of October,
1 88 1, when he was directed by an order
of the Supreme Court to restore the property
of the Long Island Railroad Company to the
control of its directors. Mr. Corbin infused
into the management of tne Long Island
Railroad a new spirit of energy. He inaug-
urated many and great reforms, that placed
the system of railroads on the island on a
much higher plane of efficiency than they
had ever before enjoyed. The hiost import-
ant enterprise entered upon in Mr. Corbin's
administration was undertaken the first sum-
mer after he had been appointed receiver,
and had also been elected President of the
Board of Directors of the Long Island Rail-
road Corporation. By the co-operation of
the Brooklyn & Montauk Railroad Company,
that corporation, under its corporate powers,
extended the road from Patchogue to East-
port on the Sag Harbor Branch of the Long
Island Railroad, forming a junction there
with that branch line, and thus was inaug-
urated a through line of railroad from Sag
Harbor along the south side of the island as
far as Springfield, running thence to Jamaica,
and uniting with the main line of the Long
Island Railroad that point. This was the
only piece of railroad construction inaugur-
ated by Mr. Corbin for several years, but
the general characteristics of the road and its
rolling stock were radically changed under
his vigorous administration.
In 1 88 1 the mortgage on the Central Ex-
tension Railroad was foreclosed. This was
the road built from Farmingdale to Babylon,
before referred to. On this foreclosure the
title was taken in the name of Benjamin S.
Henning, who subsequently on the 9th day
of February, 1882, conveyed the same to the
Long Island Railroad Company. Thus the
Long Island Railroad Company became en-
titled to that branch of railroad.
In 1880 a foreclosure had been consum-
mated of a mortgage on the Flushing &
North Side Railroad, and on the sale title to
that property was taken by Egisto P. Fabbri
and Charles Knoblauch. In March. 1881.
Fabbri and Knoblauch filed a certificate or-
ganizing the Long Island City & Flushing
Railroad Company, and on the first day of
April, 1 88 1, Fabbri and Knoblauch conveyed
to that corporation the property they had
acquired on the foreclosure proceedings. By
this conveyance the Long Island City &
Flushing Railroad Company became entitled
to a line of railroad from Long Island City
to Main street, in the village of Flushing,
and also the line of road from the junction
near the drawbridge over Flushing Creek,
running thence to Whitestone. By this deed,
and by virtue of the former consolidation of
the Flushing & VVoodside Railroad, the new
corporation became vested of all there was
remaining of value in the Flushing & Wood-
side Railroad. It consisted chiefly of the
franchise to cross Flushing Creek near the
Bridge street station in the village of Flush-
ing. The road heretofore spoken of as the
North Shore Railroad, extending from Main
street, in the village of Flushing, was thus
severed from any legal connection with 'any
corporation, but in fact was an outlying
branch, which was subsequently acquired, as
will be now explained. In 1882 a mortgage
upon this North Shore Railroad, running
from Flushing to Great Neck, was fore-
closed, and on the sale title was taken in the
name of Austin Corbin and J. Rogers Max-
well. On the 2d day of October, 1884, Cor-
bin and Maxwell conveyed this piece of road
to the Long Island City & Flushing Railroad
Company, and thus for the first time the fee
of this road became vested in the corpora-
tion that owned the title to the line from
Flushing to Long Island City.
During the year 1886 a mortgage on the
Whitestone & Westchester Road was fore-
closed, and the property sold to John R.
Maxwell and Henry Graves. On the 28th
day of April, 1887, jtlaxwell and Graves con-
veyed this property to the Long Island City
& Flushing Railroad Company, and thus the
latter company became entitled to the railroad
to the water's edge in the village of White-
stone.
No attempt was made by the owners of
the North Side system of railroads, that had
become legally severed from the control of
the Long Island Railroad Company, nor by
the owners of the South Side system of rail-
roads, that had also become severed from the
Long Island Railroad Company, to operate
them as independent properties, but they were
operated for a few years under leases made
with each of the new organizations by the
Long Island Railroad Company.
On the 30th day of September, 1889, a
certificate was filed in the office of the Sec-
retary of State of New York, that the whole
capital stock of the Brooklyn & Montauk Rail-
road Company had been surrendered or trans-
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
ferred to the Long Island Railroad Company.
By this certificate of surrender under tlie
statute the property and franchises of the
Brooklyn & Mont^uk Railroad Company be-
came merged in and consolidated with the
Long Island Railroad Company, and thus
the Long Island Railroad Company acquired
title to all those roads that had been merged
into the Brooklyn & Montauk Railroad Com-
pany. On the 2d of April, 1889, a certificate
was filed in the office of the Secretary of
State, certifying that the entire capital stock
of the Long Island City & Flushing Railroad
Company had been surrendered or transferred
to the Long Island Railroad Company. The
effect of this was to merge and consolidate
the line of road from Long Island City io
Great Neck, via Flushing, together with the
branch from College Point to Whitestone, in
the Long Island Railroad Company.
In April, 1891, a certificate was filed in
the office of the Secretary of State, that the
entire capital stock of the New York & Flush-
ing Railroad Company had been surrendered
and transferred to the Long Island Railroad
Company, thus effecting a legal union be-
tween the Long Island Railroad Company
and the remnant of the old New York &
Flushing Railroad, which was being utilized
in the system. That part of the New York
& Flushing Railroad lying between Winfield,
and the junction of the South Side Railroad
had been abandoned for many years, and still
remains an abandoned line.
It will be remembered that the Stewart
line, so-called, running across Hempstead
Plains, had never been acquired in fee, but up
to 1892 had been run as a leased line. On
June I, 1892, the heirs of A. T. Stewart con-
veyed the fee of that line to the Long Island
Railroad Company. The line conveyed by
this deed extended from the junction of that
road with the main line at Floral Park east-
wardly to Farmingdale and Bethpage, to-
gether with the branch from Garden City to
Hempstead. By the operation of this deed,
the Long Island Railroad Company became
vested with the title and property of this piece
of railroad.
The history of all of the railroad property
owned by the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany in its own right is now complete. There
are other railroads on Long Island operated
by the Long Island Railroad Company that
will need further consideration and explana-
tion, but at this stage it will facilitate an un-
derstanding if we stop and look at the prop-
erty of the Long Island Railroad corporation
standing in its own name, regardless of the
attached leased lines. We will now recapitulate
the lines owned by this company, disregarding
all old names and treating the present prop-
erty as a unit as it is in fact :
A line from Long Island City via Win-
field, Jamaica and Farmingdale, to Green-
port.
A branch from Mineola to Locust Valley.
A branch from Hicksville to Northport.
A branch from Manorville to Eastport.
A branch from Mineola to Hempstead.
A branch from Floral Park to Creed-
moor.
A branch from Floral Park, via Garden
City, to Babylon.
A branch from Bethpage Junction to
Bethpage.
A line from Long Island City, via Fresh
Pond, Jamaica and Babylon, to Sag Harbor.
A branch from Fresh Pond to Bushwick.
A branch from Valley Stream to Rock-
away Beach.
A line from Long Island City to Great
Neck.
A branch from Flushing to \\'hitestonc
Landing.
Such are the lines and branches owned
by the present Long Island Railroad Com-
pany. That part of the Southern division
owned by the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany is the old line from Jamaica to Spring-
field, not now much used. The principal
trains pass eastward to Rockaway Junction,
and thence to Springfield Junction. This
piece of road of the New York & Rockaway
Railroad between the two junctions is oper-
ated under lease from the New York and
Rockaway Railroad Company. The balance
of the New York and Rockaway Railroad
from Springfield Junction to Far Rockaway
was abandoned many years ago.
There are a ntimber of leased lines now
operated by the parent company of more or
less importance. By far the most important
one is the line from Jamaica to Flatbush ave-
nue in the citv of Brooklyn. We have not un-
dertaken to give the historv of the old Brook-
lyn & Jamaica Railroad. For the purposes of
this history it is sufficient to say that through
foreclosures and reorganizations the property
of that corporation finally vested in the Atlan-
tic Avenue Railroad Company. A part of the
road between East New York and the ferry
802
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was for many years run as a street railroad,
and the part between Jamaica and East New
York was run for about ten years as a leased
line of the Long Island Railroad Company. In
1876 the Legislature, in response to the then
urgent demands of the authorities and citizens
of Brooklyn, passed an act restoring the use of
steam power in Atlantic avenue, in the city of
Brooklyn, from Flatbush avenue to the city
line. In pursuance of this authority, a new
lease was effected in 1877 between the Long
Island Railroad Company and the Atlantic
Avenue Railroad Company, by which the
former leased the line from Jamaica to Flat-
bush avenue for ninety-nine years, upon a
basis of a per cent, of the earnings being paid
as rent. This percentage basis was on the 30th
day of April, 1895, changed to a fixed rental.
When the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad was
first constructed, that corporation acquired a
considerable tract of land in the village of Ja-
maica, and erected a station and other terminal
facilities there. The use of this land passed
under the various leases to the Long Island
Railroad Company, and in the construction of
depots, side-tracks, yard facilities and other
structures appurtenant to so large and import-
ant a station and junction, the lands of the two
corporations have been used in common, dis-
regarding the property lines between the two
corporations, so that at this day, without an
actual survey, no one could determine in the
tangle of tracks and structures at Jamaica on
which company's land they are built. This is
probably not a very material matter at this
time, but it is a fact worth noting in the his-
tory of the Long Island Railroad Company.
Under the new lease, the track between Ja-
maica and Flatbush avenue was relaid in the
early summer of 1877, and on the first day of
July in that year locomotives and cars began
running between Flatbush avenue and Ja-
maica. While this road is only a leased line
of the Long Island Railroad Company, it is a
very important factor to that corporation.
Another leased line of importance to the
Long Island Railroad Company is that of the
New York & Rockaway Railroad. This line
was leased to the Long Island Railroad Com-
pany in 1 87 1 for a period of thirty years, and
the lease on the same will expire in 1901.
In 1886 a railroad was organized under the
name of the Oyster Bay Extension Railroad
Company. The purpose of this organization
was to extend the line of the Glen Cove
l)ranch, so-called, from Locust Valley to 03^s-
ter Bay. This road was constructed by the
Long Island Railroad Company, the latter cor-
poration having subscribed for or secured the
entire capital stock under .the provisions of its
charter, allowing it to subscribe for or pur-
chase the stock of any connecting road on
Long Island. The Long Island Railroad Com-
pany guaranteed the bonds issued in the con-
struction of that railroad, and has operated it
since its construction as a leased line, without
having executed any written lease, but have
paid by the way of rental the interest on the
Ijonds issued for its construction.
In 1870 another railroad was organized, en-
titled the New York & Long Beach Railroad
Company. This road was constructed from
what was then known as Pearsall's Corners,
now Lynbrook, to Long Beach, where a sum-
mer hotel and numerous cottages were erected.
In February, 1880, it was leased to the Long
Island Railroad Company, under an agreement
by which a per cent, of its earnings should be
paid to the corporation. In the sequel it was
found that this per cent, was not sufficient to
meet the interest on the bonds issued for the
construction of the road, and a mortgage to
secure the bonds was subsequently foreclosed,
which terminated the lease, and a new corpor-
ation was organized. Since the reorganization
of this road, it has sometimes been operated by
the Long Island Railroad Company as a leased
line, but much of the time it has been idle.
In July, 1892, the Long Island Railroad
Company, North Shore Branch, was organized.
The purpose of this branch was to extend the
Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad east-
ward to Wading River. In September, 1892,
the corporate rights and franchises of this cor-
poration were merged and consolidated with
the Smithtown & Port Jefferson Railroad
Company, and the name adopted by this new
organization was the ' Long Island Railroad
Company, North Shore Branch. By this oper-
ation the name of the Smithtown & Port Jef-
ferson Railroad disappears from the map of
Long Island, and the entire branch from
Northport to Wading River is now the Long
Island Railroad Company, North Shore
Branch, and is now operated as a branch of
the Long Island Railroad.
In 1892 a corporation was organized under
the name and title of the New York Bay Ex-
tension Railroad Company. The line of this
road was to be from Garden City, in the town
of Hempstead, to a point in the city of Brook-
lyn (formerly the town of New Lots) in the
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS.
county of Kings, at or near the intersection of
the New Lots road with the tracks and right-
of-way of the New York, Brooklyn & Man-
hattan Beach Railway Company. This line,
if constructed in its entirety, would croiss the
line of the Southern division at Valley Stream.
It has been constructed from Garden City to
Valley Stream, and is now operated as a leased
line.
In 1893 the Montauk Extension Railroad
Company was organized. The purpose of this
organization was to build a road from Bridge-
hampton to Fort Pond Bay,' on Montauk
Point. The road was subsequently constructed
and is now operated by the Long Island Rail-
road Company as a leased line.
In 1896 there was organized a railroad cor-
poration called the Great Neck & Port Wash-
ington Railroad Company, to construct an ex-
tension of the North Shore division from Great
Neck to Port Washington. This railroad is
no\v in process of construction, and when com-
pleted will undoubtedly prove a valuable feed-
er to the Long Island Railroad system.
We have now given all of the lines on Long
Island that attach themselves in any way to the
main line east of the city of Brooklyn, but
which have not been incorporated into the
Long Island Railroad Company. There is an-
other railroad, however, that holds an anomal-
ous position connected with the Long Island
Railroad Company, and yet not one of its
leased lines. A short history of this enterprise
will explain the position of that corporation.
In 1879 the New York, Woodhaven & Rock-
away Railroad Company was organized for the
purpose of building a railroad from Hunter's
Point (Long Island City) to Rockaway Beach,
crossing the Brooklyn & Jamaica Railroad at
Woodhaven, and thence across the Meadows
to the beach. The project originally contem-
plated an independent line to the East River,
but the projectors of the scheme, encountering
what to them were insurmountable obstacles in
getting through Long Island City, entered into
a contract with Thomas R. Sharp, as receiver
for the Long Island Railroad Company, by
which they commenced building at Glendale,
and completed their road to Rockaway Beach.
Their contract with the Long Island Railroad
Company gave them track privileges and ter-
minal facilities in the Long Island Railroad
depot in Long Island City. This road furnished
its own equipment and operated its own trains
under this contract, but, coming to financial
embarrassment, its corporate property and
franchises were foreclosed and sold to Austin
Corbin and others, who, on the 20th day of
August, 1887, conveyed the property to a new
corporation, called the New York & Rockaway
Beach Railroad Company. By agreement be-
tween the Long Island Railroad Company and
this corporation, track privileges and terminal
facilities were given it in the Long Island
Railroad station in Long Island City, and also
a sort of joint occupation and a readjustment
of that part of the Long Island Railroad tracks
between Far Rockaway and the western ter-
minus of its property on Rockaway Beach was
made between the two corporations. The
business of this corporation, while apparently
a branch line, has been conducted under these
agreements separate and distinct from the
Long Island Railroad Companv.
There are other lines leased or controlled
by the Long Island Railroad Company, run-
ning to Coney Island, of which no attempt is
made here to trace their history or status. The
name of one is the New York, Brooklyn &
JNIanhattan Beach Railway Company, and the
other is the Prospect Park & Coney Island
Railroad Company. These lines are operated
chiefly for summer traffic to Coney Island, and
form properly no part of the Long Island Rail-
road system as such.
Soon after the death of Austin Corbin the
Long Island Railroad Company was re-or-
ganized and Mr. W. H. Baldwin, Jr., became
President. Under him the road was worked
to its fullest capacity ; its mileage was ex-
tended until it controlled 415 miles and the
entire road was put in splendid physical con-
dition, with new rails, rolling stock and the
like. The patronage of the road, under a
liberal construction as to rates, steadily in-
creased, the summer business at an especially
gratifying rate; but the isolated condition
of the system prevented a full measure of
success being attained. For four months in
each year the road had all the business it
could attend to; for the remainder it had
barely enough to pay expenses, although the
winter schedule of trains compared with that
of the summer was a sadly abbreviated one
and running expenses were cut down to a
minimum. It has become conceded in rail-
road circles that onlv trunk lines, or lines
804
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
having trunk connections can be made to
pay ; but the Long Island road seemed so
completely isolated that there appeared no
possibility of effecting an improvement in
that regard. Austin Corbin had tried the ex-
periment of running a line to Boston, with
the aid of ferryboats, and so bringing the
Long Island road into touch with the rail-
road system of the country; but the effort
was a flat and pronounced failure. The pub-
lic would not use the route and that settled
it. A scheme was subsequently broached of
having European steamers land passengers at
Montauk Point, but that project never got
beyond the stage of discussion. In fact all
such schemes of expansion seemed doomed
to disappointment until the announcement was
made that the Pennsylvania Railroad Com-
pany had acquired a controlling interest in
the road and the exclusion bogey of over half
a century disappeared as if by magic.
This move on the part of the Pennsyl-
vania system was not made without thorough
calculation, but it was not until the summer
of 1901 that the schemes made possible by
the acquisition of the road had sufficiently ad-
vanced to be made public. Briefly put, these
plans are based on the possession or control,
first, of the present lines of the Long Island
Railroad ; second, on connections across the
island at its western end with the New York
Connecting Railroad, giving an outlet by
means of three bridges across the East River
over Ward's and Randall's Islands to the
mainland, where connection will be made with
the New York & New Haven Road and with
the Harlem ; third, on the tunnel from Hunt-
er's Point to Manhattan at the neighborhood
of Long Acre Square, and, finally, on the
tunnel from the Battery in Manhattan to the
present terminus of the Long Island Rail-
road, at Flatbush and Atlantic avenues, in
Brooklyn. The plans have two general ob-
jectives. One is the development of freight
and passenger traffic with the old city of New
York and the extensive region on Long Isl-
and, including the old city of Brooklyn and
the Borough of Queens. The other relates
to comparatively close connection between
the Pennsylvania main lines from the West
and the whole of New England. It is pro-
posed to build a great central station for the
entire system at East New York, and when
the improvements are completed Brooklyn
will be a station on a through trunk line
having connections with the entire country.
The improvements thus outlined are to
cost in round figures $18,000,000. A begin-
ning is to be made at once, — in fact the plans
for the tunnel from Hunter's Point (Long
Island City) to Long Acre Square were
filed on June 22 in the office of the County
Clerk of Queens. On Long Acre Square,
Manhattan, the Long Island Railway is to
have a L^nion depot, and as the Pennsylvania
Company at the present time is organizing a
corporation to build a bridge across the Hud-
son, a bridge that will connect with the sta-
tion thus proposed, it is easy to see that
changes are about to begin which will amount
to a revolution.
Whatever the other results of that revolu-
tion may be, Long Island is certain to be
benefited. \\'hen the details thus outlined are
completed the Long Island Railroad will be a
link in a transcontinental route, and the
project is so thorough that no part of the
island will be left outside the benefits of the
general scheme. It means an addition of
thousands to the regular home-makers of the
island, a vast increase in its trade, its manu-
factures and its commerce generally and a
thorough development of its magnificent sum-
mer resorts.
KINGS COUNTY
CHAPTER XXV.
KINGS COUNTY,
K-TpgllXGS COUNTY in its beginning was
i k^ essentially a Dutch conimunit)-.
gM^B ( iravesend, of course, was English,
' but its existence does not change
the fact of Dutch pre-eminence, for it was
permitted to be established b_v the authority
of a Dutch Governor, and was at first
as completely under Dutch laws and Dutch
protection as was any other settlement
on the island. When Col. Nicolls made
his memorable descent upon New Netherland
and forced the surrender of New Amster-
dam and the abdication of the lion-hearted
Peter, and wiped out the authority of "Their
High Mightinesses," he formed the towns in
what is now Kings county, with Newtown,
Staten Island and part of Westchester into
one of the Ridings — the West Riding — of his
then newly created Yorkshire. That was in
1664. The reconquest by the Dutch under
Governor Colve was too brief an interlude to
permit much of a change in geographical
nomenclature, or such frivolous things as ter-
ritorial divisions, and so the West Riding of
Yorkshire may be said to hold good for the
west end of the island until 1683, when the
present county of Kings was formed along
with those of Queens and Suffolk. It had
an area of some 70,000 square miles, and was
divided into six towns, — Brooklyn, Bush-
wick, Flatbush, Flatlands, New Utrecht and
Gravesend. These towns, with the exception
of Gravesend, "just grew," — that is, they
were not definitely settled at first with the
idea of becoming towns and rose into that
pre-eminence simply because local conditions
attracted settlers to given points, and also
because it was necessary that the settlers
should have rallying places for defense.
Gravesend on the other hand was settled at
first as a town colony. Over the territory in-
cluded in these townships, and indeed over
all the territory west of Oyster Bay, the
authority of the Dutch rulers of the New
Netherland was nominally supreme until Capt.
Nicolls' upheaval sent Stuyvesant into re-
tirement to his "Bouwerie," and not even
the claimls of Connecticut acting under Sts
charter of 1662, which awarded it territorial
jurisdiction over the whole of Long Island,
could change the allegiance of the sturdy
Dutch farmers, there was nothing to gain
by the change, and they understood their
rules, although the paternal rule of such men
as Kieft and Stuyvesant was sometimes felt
irksome. Of Long Island outside of the
towns in Kings County it can hardly be said
that the rule of the West India Company was
ever secure with the exception of Hemp-
stead, Jamaica and Newtown ; but these
towns, like Gravesend, were permitted to
choose their own officers and to manage their
own affairs subject to review and approval
by the Governor, a right that was rarely exer-
cised. Oyster Bay, too, the boundary town,
was another English settlement over which
the Dutch claimed sway, but it finally was'
yielded up to Connecticut. In the Dutch
308
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
towns of Kings county (to use the best known
name for the territory) the rule of the Gov-
ernor in New Amsterdam was supreme. It
used to be the boast of the old chroniclers
that the Dutch honestly bought from the
aborigines — and honestly paid the stipulated
price — all the land in what afterward became
Kings and Queens counties. In this claim
they are perfectly justified by the record, al-
though it seems to us that they drove a pretty
hard bargain on their part, while, so far as the
Indians went, it was a question of either sell
or fight, for the white man had come to stay
and the time had come for the native to go
west in search of new lands, or remain and
accept the virtues or the vices of the new
order of things. Most of them remained;
most of them, nay all of them, it might be
said, the exceptions were so few, accepted
the vices of the white man; and gradually,
but surely, disappeared from the face of the
earth. The Dutch Governors, as we have
seen, were autocrats; but autocracy is insep-
arable from a system of paternal government.
They were loyal, except perhaps IMinuit, to
their task of building up the province over
which they ruled, or making the people happy
and contented and as comfortable in sur-
roundings and wealth as possible, — always,
however, remembering the paramount claims
of their High Mightinesses and the success of
the West India Company's venture. Every ef-
fort was made to build up Long Island — or
what they could see of it from the New
Amsterdam shore of the East River or could
discover of it in a day's journey. By order
of the company a settler could easily get a
patent for a piece of meadowland, more in-
deed than he could cultivate, on a scale of
payment little more than nominal and which
would have made the modern phrase of "easy
terms" to seem extortionate. To some farm-
ers, indeed, free passages from Holland were
given, and there is no doubt that the company
did its best to people the territory. Large es-
tates were even given to enterprising capital-
ists who promised to induce settlers, and pat-
ents for land were freely given at times to
all who had interest with the Governor and
Council or could show a probability of their
turning them to some use. A few of these
people held the land simply for speculative
purposes, much as property is similarly held
in our day. But the bulk of those who cross-
ed the East River with a patent went there
to stay. In this way was the territory of
Kings County first built up, but the process
was naturally a slow one, and its early dif-
ficulties and dangers were many and serious.
The leading event in the history of Kings
county is the Battle of Brooklyn (or Battle
of Long Island, as it is generally and incor-
rectly called) ; but as that is fully narrated
in one chapter, and the story of the British
occupation told in another, there is no need of
recurring to it here beyond this scanty mem-
tion. The part which Long Island played in
the war of 1812 is also told — and these prac-
tically exhaust its story — with the moment-
ous change which took place on Jan. i, 1897,
when, as the result of the vote of a majority
of its inhabitants, it became part and parcel
of the Greater New York, although still re-
taining its standing as a district county. A
forecast of this great amalgamation was seen
in 1857, when an act of the Legislature turned
the counties of New York, Kings, Westches-
ter and Richmond into a single police district,
under the designation of the Metropolitan
district, under the direct control of the State.
This innovation did not last long, nor can it
be said to have been in any way a success,
although it seems to have proved beneficial
to the police administration in Brooklyn.
Kings County and the Borough of Brook-
lyn are coterminous in their boundaries ; but
for administrative purposes the county ad-
ministration is maintained, — that is, there is
a distinct set of county officials in Kings, —
sheriff, county clerk, public administrator,
district attorney, etc., — the county administra-
tions of the component parts of Greater New
KINGS COUNTY,
York not having been altered in that respect
by consohdation. The County Courts are
also maintained, and the general Government
appears in its arrangements to have ignored
the great fact of consolidation altogether.
Kings County may be described as occupying
the entire southwestern end of Long Island
and to be bounded on the north and west by
the county of New York: on the west by New
York Bay; on the south by Gravesend Bay,
the Atlantic Ocean and by Jamaica Bay, and
on the east and north by the county of Queens,
including all wharves, piers, docks and basins
lying southerly and easterly of the centre line
of the East River.
The history of Kings County is simply a
history of its townships and that history we
will now proceed to relate.
CHAPTER XXVI
FLATLANDS.
Y a narrow margin of a few months
the old town of Flatlands could
claim, in fact did claim, when the
claim was worth anything, priority
over Breuckelen and the other towns of Kings
county. The first recorded purchase of land
in the old' town was dated June i6,
1637, when Andres Hudden and Wolfert
Gerretse Van Couwenhoven bought from
the Canarsie Indians "the westernmost of the
three flats (prairies), called by the sellers Kas-
kutenu." On July i6th in the same year Gov.
Van Twiller secured by patent another of the
flats; and Jacobus Van Curler (or Corlear),
who in 1638 was a teacher in New Amster-
dam, secured a patent for the third flat.
The two latter transactions seem to have been
in the nature of land speculations, but Hudden
and "\^an Couwenhoven bought a place on
which they might settle and earn their living.
Their holding they called Achtervelt. In 1639
Hudden gave up, or sold, his interest in the
plantation to Van Couwenhoven, although they
appear to have continued for some time in
partnership as regards other lands which they
held in the neighborhood, and removed to New
Amsterdam. Hudden seems to have been a
politician, an almost continuous office-holder.
Such was the beginning of Flatlands. In an
inventory taken in 1638 it seems the owners of
Achtervelt "had a house set around with long,
round palisades, the house being twenty-six
feet long, twenty-two feet wide, forty feet
deep, with the roof covered above and around
with plank; two lofts, one above another, and
a small chamber at their side; one barn forty
feet long, eighteen feet wide, and twenty-four
feet deep ; and one bergh with five posts, forty
feet long. The plantation was stocked with
six cows, old and young, three oxen and five
horses."
It was not long before the plantation be-
came the centre of a settlement. Peter Stuy-
vesant had a Bouwerie there which was farmed
for him by Peter Wyckofif, who worked it,
apparently in connection with sixty acres he
had bought from Van Couwenhoven. Hans
Hansen or Jansen, the ancestor of the Van
Nostrands, also bought a tract of land, as did
Elbert Elbertse, the ancestor of the Stoothoffs.
Elbert appears to have had the land fever
quite strong, for he not only kept steadily add-
ing to his purchases on shore but became the
possessor of Bergen's Island and Barren
Island. In 1673 Governor Colve appointed
him Captain of a company of militia, with
Roelof Martense as his lieutenant and Derrick
Janse as his ensign. He became the possessor
of Achtervelt by marriage with the widow of
the pioneer Couwenhoven's son and assumed
the care of her young family. ' This Elbert
faithfully performed, for he appears to have
been a most honorable and upright man. By
the time he thus came into prominence, Flat-
lamds had become quite a settlement, and the
Strykers, Van Sigelens, Romeyns, Ammer-
mans and a dozen other families were located
around the palisadoed mansion of the original
settler, a mansion that was so arranged as to
be a stronghold to which the people might
FLATLANDS.
811
readily fly for refuge should Indian or other
dangers arise.
But while first as regards settlement — if it
was first, for the old records are a little con-
fusing— Flatlands was much slower than some
of its neighbors in acquiring municipal rights.
Gravesend and Flatbush secured such privi-
leges ahead of it. The people were to a great
extent more isolated than those in the other
settlements and probably attracted little atten-
tion in New Amsterdam. It really needed
little attention from the ruling powers. It was
essentially a religious community, and in its
earlier days the dictum of the Dominie and
Elders at Flaitbush was sufficient to settle all
the little disputes which might arise. To a
certain extent, too, when it required some de-
cision at law, it had to arrange with the Magis-
trates at Flatbush to hold the scales of exact
justice, and that was too troublesome a pro-
cedure to be invoked except on very grave oc-
casions. In 1661 it assumed the dignity of
possessing a local government, for it then was
empowered to elect three Magistrates of its
own, and the people chose Elbert Elbertsen,
Pieter Cornelissen and Simon Jansen as the
holders of this dignity — the old dignity of
Schepen ; and their successors were to be elec-
ted annually. It was not until the arrival of
Col. Nicolls and the overturn of the Stuyves-
ant regime that the town was called into being
with the full dignity of a charter; and in that
document, which was dated Oct. 4, 1667, it is
called "Amersfoort, alias Flatlands." The
boundaries of the town were laid down so in-
definitely in this charter that an amended one
was issued February 3, 1668, by Gov. Love-
lace, and yet another by Gov. Dongan March
1 1, 1685, but none of these proved clear enough
to prevent litigations more or less bitter and
acrimonious and tedious between Flatlands
and Flatbush. In fact a local historian tells
us that Flatlands in June, 1679, got a judg-
ment against FlatbuSh for £10, and that the
amount with interest is still due ! In 1788
Flatlands was officiallv recognized as a town
by the State Government of New York, and
it continued its independent existence until
Jan. I, 1896, when the town was wiped out and
its territory became the Thirty-second ward of
the then Greater Brooklyn.
A list taken in 1687 gives the following as
the names of those who took the oath of alle-
giance to the British authorities in accordance
with the orders of Gov. Nicolls, and as the list
is a valuable one for genealogical purposes we
here give it in full :
Pieter Claes Wyckoff, 1636; Gerret Pie-
terse Wyckoff, Claes Pieterse Wyckoff, Hen-
drick Pieterse Wyckoff, Jan Pieterse Wyckoff,
natives; Elbert Elbertse (Stoothoff), 1637;
Gerret Elbertse (Stoothoff), Hans Janse (Van
Nostrandt), 1640; Roelof Martense Schenck,
1650; Jan Martense Schenck, 1650; Jan Roelof
Schenck, Martin Roelof Schenck, Derick Janse
Ammerman, 1650; Jacob Stryker, 165 1;
Fferdinandes Van Sickelin, 1652; Christoffle
Janse Romeyne, 1653; Ruth (or Rut) bruyn-
sen, 1653 ; William Davies, 1653 ; Jan theunis
Van duyckhuys, 1653 ; Simon Janse Van Arts
Daelen, 1653 > Cornelius Simonen Vanarsda-
len, Pieter Cornelius Luyster, 1656; Thys Pie-
ter Luyster, 1656; Pieter Pieterse Tull, 1657;
Jan Brouwer, 1657; Dirck Brouwer, hendrick
Brouwer, Dirk Stofflese, 1657; Stoffle Dirckse
(Langstraet), Adriaen Kume, 1660; Court
Stephense Van Voorhees, 1660 ; Albert Court-
en Van Voorhees, Luycas Stephense (Van
Voorhees), 1660; Jan Stephense (Van Voor-
hees), 1660; Abram Williamse, 1662 ; Johannis
Williamse, 1662; Evert Janse Van Wickelen,
1664; theunis Janse Van Amach, 1673 ; Gerret
hansen (Van Nostrandt), Gerret hendrickse
bresse, Wellim Gerretse Van Couwenhoven,
Gerret Williamse Van Couwenhoven, Anthony
Warnshaer, William Williamse borcklo, Jan
Albertse Terhune, Pieter Nevins, Pieter Man-
foort.
The date appended to some of these names
indicate those in which were of foreign birth
and show when they settled in the country. Of
course such a list is not a complete census. The
812
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Rev. Dr. Du Bois prepared the following list
from church and other records of those who
resided in the town in 1687 and previously :
Gerret Seerjersy, Hendrick Freemensen
(here in 1670) ; Gerret Gerretsen, Abram
Joeresy (Brinkerhoff), Jan Cornelis, Jan Bar-
rentsen (Van Driest), Albeirt Albertse (Ter-
hune), died 1672, and Vaereyck Flieksen, all
here in 1672; William lobbertse, Wm. Will-
iamise (Wyckoff), Gerrrt Remers, Barent
Jureyaensy, Thunis Helebrantsy, here in 1673 ;
Klaes Kornelesen, Barent the Tailor, Sawaern
Jans, Hans Janse (Van Nostrandt), Hendrick
Hermanze, Widow of Frederick Ebbcott, here
in 1674; Widow of Gerraen Keest, Willem
Gansen Van Barkelo, Klaes Smit, Widow of
Geromus Boeck. Willem Kuyken, Jan Snede-
ghyer, here in 1675 ; Abraham Jorissen (Brink-
erhoff), Fookie Hansen, 1679; Cornelius Bar-
entsen, Simon Jansen (Romeyne), Simon Jdr-
isen, 1680; Albert Terhune, Jr., Lawrence
Koeck, Hendrick Aswerus, 1682 ; Jan Hansen
(Van Nostrandt), Johannis Machgilssen, Jan
Manfordt, Vis Homes, Jammes Wilier, Will-
iam the Shoemaker, De Fris the tanner, Jacob
Fardon, Jan Albert Terhune, 1685 ; Rut Joos-
ten (Van Brunt), Cornelis Simonsen Van Ars-
dalen, Joost Rutjen (Van Brunt), Johannis
Holsa, Jan Kilement a mason. Master Toon,
the Doctor, here in 1687; also 1677-1685 ; Bru-
no Hendrickse, Rutgert Brunoos, Tjelletje
Reimers (Wizzelpfinnig), Pieter Tull, Jan
Poppe, William Stryker, Gerret Remmerts,
Jan Ki^sen, Dirckye Roelffsen, Pieter Hen-
dricksen, 'Albert Steven (Voorhees), -Steven
Coerten (Voorhees), Martin Pieterse (Wyck-
off), Luykas (Voorhees), Teunis Jansen,
Swaen Jansen, Adam Michilse, Dierckie Will-
iamse, Lourens Cornelise, William Hulett.
A census taken in 1698 showed a total of
40 men, 39 women, 130 children and 40 negro
slaves. The name of the heads of families
are given as follows, the first figure after the
name (when two are given) being the num-
ber in the family and the second the num-
ber of slaves:
Gerret Elbert Stoothofif, 7, 4; Jan Teunis
Dykhuys, 5, 5; Roelif Martense (Schenck),
6, 4 ; Coert Stevense, 5, 2 ; Gerret WyckofiE, 5,
2; Hendk Wykof, 2, 2; Dirk Jans Amer-
man, 9; Adriaen Kenne, 8; Dirck Langstraet,
5 ; Jans Kiersen, 2, i ; Alexander Simson, 10 ;
Jan Hansen, 5 ; Pieter Nevins, 9, i ; Jacob
Tysse Lane, 6; Helena Aertsen, 5; Simon
Jantz Van Aersdaelen, 5, i ; Cornelis Simontz
Aersdaelen, 8, i ; Willem Gerrittz Van Cou-
wenhoven, 8 ; Aernont Viele, 2, 2 ; Jan Al-
bertz ter hennen, 8, 2 ; Jan Brouwer, 8, i ;
Thunis Jantz Amack, 7 ; flferdinando Van Sig-
elen, 7, 4; Claes Wykof, 8; Jan Wykof, 4, i ;
Willem Bruynen, 7, 4; Adriaen Langstraet,
i; Lucan Stevense, 12, 4; Pieter Pieterse
Wyckoff, I ; Hendrick Brouwer, i ; Albert
Amerman, i ; Pieter Van Couwenhoven, 4 ;
Martin Schenck, 5, 2; Jan Stevense (Voor-
hees), 12, i; Pieter Monfoor, 8, i; Steven
Caerten (Voorhees), 5; Rutgers Bruyn, 9.
According to a census taken in 1738 the
population consisted of 195 whites and 42
negroes, so that there was evidently no land
boom or other excitement to disturb the even
tenor of the place during these pre-Revolu-
tionary years. In fact, outside of a scrap or
two with Flatbush the annals of Flatlands
were of the quietest description possible and
centered round the story of the local church.
The good people claimed that their religious
history began with 1654, as they had an equal
interest with Flatbush in the church then
built, there, and whose history had been al-
ready told in an earlier chapter. Certainly
the structure at Flatbush was legally their
religious home. The Governor said so.
They contributed $48 toward the cost of its
erection; and Dominie Polhemus, they held
was their pastor as much as he was the spir-
itual director of their neighbors in Flatbush
and Brooklyn. Indeed he was pretty regular-
ly in Flatlands, preaching in barns and pri-
vate houses until 1663, when they finished
the construction of a church building in their
midst.
It was a quaint little structure, according
to our ideas, but doubtless Dominie and the
FLATLANDS.
people were equally proud of it, standing as it
did on quite a commanding site on a piece of
already sacred ground, — ground which had
been consecrated by the Indians as a burial
spot from remote ages. In appearance the
building was similar to the other temples of
worship in the Dutch towns. Like them, it
Avas octagonal in form, with a high-pitched
roof, surmounted with an open cupola, over
which a weather-cock showed the citizens the
direction of the wind and assisted the local
weather prophets in their prognostications.
The cupola, of course, was to contain a bell,
but by the time the building was finished the
resources of the brethren for church decora-
tion were exhausted and so the people were
called to public worship by the beating of a
drum until 1686, when a subscription netted
556 guilders and a bell was imported from
Holland. The building was fitted up in the
interior in quite elaborate style. The pulpit
was a lofty structure, but rather a slender
arrangement, surmounted with a sounding
board that looked heavier than the pulpit it
covered. The worshippers were seated on
wooden benches except that a chair was re-
served for the minister's wife and another for
the magistrate. The accommodation was for
130 and the Dominie could see every corner
of the building when he was conducting the
sermon : perhaps even when sitting on the
hard bench provided for him in the pulpit he
could mentally note the absentees and prepare
to admonish the late-comers. The little edifice
stood in its original form until 1762. At that
time the members were Cornelius Voorhecs,
5 sittings; Steve Schenck, 4; Johannes Lett,
7 ; Hermann Hooglandt, 5 ; William Kouwen-
hoven, 5; Roelof Voorhees, 4; Fammetie Dit-
mars, 3; Roelof Van Voorhees, 4; John Van
Der Bilt, 5 ; Jeremiah Van Derbilt, i ; Abra-
ham Voorhees, 5 ; Folkert Sprong, 2 ; Abra-
ham Dorye, 4 ; Coustyn Golneck, i : Peter
Wykof, 3; Johannes Lott, Jr., 3; William
Van Gelder, 3 ; Derrick Remsen, 4 ; Henrick
Lott, 4 ; Jan Schenck, 5 ; Wilhelmus Stoot-
.hoof, 7 ; Jan Ouke. i ; Marte Ouke, i ; Samuel
Garreson, i ; Bernardus Ryder, 3 ; Albert Ter-
hune, 4 ; James Holbert, 2 ; Fernandus Van
Segelen, i ; Barent Vanderventer, i ; Abra-
ham Schenck, i ; Callyntje Janse, i ; Garrett
Wykoff, 3; Getore Heyn, 2; Jan Amerman,
6; Annatie Wykof, 5; Petrus Amerman, 3;
Jacob Ouke, i ; Helena Ouke, i ; Eisack Sel-
over, I.
The church at that date was enlarged by
having the three front octagons of the walls
built out in a straight line so as to make a
square side and in that way twenty-eight new
sittings were added. The sittings in the church
were allotted to the farms— not to individuals
— and were part and parcel of the property of
each holding and subject to transference with
it, and the dues to the church seemed to have
been regarded down even to the year 1876 as
a lien on certain pieces of property in exchange
for the right to sittings. In 1794 the old
weather-beaten building began so plainly to
show the efifects of time that an entire new
structure was demanded. So the octagon
building was torn down and a new church was
erected which was opened for public worship
December 26, that year, with a sermon by the
Rev. Peter Lowe, one of the ministers of the
home church in Flatbush. This structure
lasted until 1848, when the present church
building was erected. This has since been
improved several times, and its usefulness was
increased in 1853 by the erection beside it of
a building for 'school and lecture purposes.
The connection between the churches in Flat-
bush and Flatlands terminated in 1820, and in
1824 Flatlands and New Lots were united
ecclesiastically and the Rev. William Cruik-
shank accepted the joint pastorate. During
his term the church at Flatlands underwent one
great change, inasmuch as it was, for the first
time in its history, heated in winter by the
introduction of a wood-burning stove. In
1827 a new pulpit was introduced and the
ladies of the congregation subscribed a suffi-
cient sum to have it appropriately dressed.
Mr. Cruikshank resigned in 1834, and was
followed in 1836 by the Rev. J. Abeel Bald-
314
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
win, who served until 1852, when the associa-
tion with New Lots came to an end, and the
Rev. T. M. Davie became minister of Flat-
lands. Since then the church has prospered
under a succession of pastors, on the work of
one of whom, the Rev. Dr. Anson Du Bois,
much of this sketch has been founded. Before
leaving the church histon,' of Flatlands we may
here state that tlie Methodist Church at Canar-
sie was organized in 1840, with twelve mem-
bers, and that the Methodist Episcopal Church
at Flatlands had its beginning in 185 1. The
other churches are of recent date.
In every old Dutch community school and
church generally went hand in hand and
formed part of the same organization. We
have already seen this exemplified in the chap-
ter wherein the story of the church at Flat-
bush is told. Such was undoubtedly the case
at Flatlands, although the earliest records have
been lost. The Rev. Dr. Du Bois in his his-
torical sketch tells the early story of educa-
tion in this town so completely that we
quote it :
We have found no records touching it (the
school) earlier than 1675, when it was evi-
dently in a mature and vigorous career under
the care of the church elders. It was called
"The School of the Town." The first notice
we have of it is in regard to a supply of books
by the deacons ; and entries and bills, of ele-
mentary and religious books paid for, appear
in their accounts from 1675 for ^ long period
of years, along with every variety and order
of expenses.
According to the tradition in our town,
and the well-known usages of other Dutch set-
tlements, the schoolmaster was, by virtvie of
his office. Reader in church. Chorister, and
commonly Sexton also. If this be true, we are
able to name some of the honored leaders of
mental progress in Flatlands from very early
times.
The first who claims this honor is Willim
Gerretse (Van Couwenhoven), 1675; the next
Jan Brouwer, 1688; the third Pieter Tull,
1 69 1, though the fact that he afterward be-
came a pauper does not argue liberality of
salary. Various items were paid "to the school-
master," for salary and other services, until
1704, when the incumbent was Martin
Schenck, who was also a deacon of the church.
Isaac Sllover was teacher in 1712; Yan Sudani
in 1715 and apparently to 1729; when Yohan-
nes Van Siggelon succeeded him. In 1733
Abraham de Lanoy occupied the place. His
name would indicate that he was French,
while has receipts for his salary of £6 a year
are written in a bold anxi elegant English
hand. He was doubtless able to teach in En-
glish. Isaac Voorheesi held the place in 1742;
Johannes Nevius in 1743; Abram Voorhees,
1744-47; Luykas Voorhees, from 1748 to
1752, when Derick Remsen served part of a
year, and Luykas Voorhees again, 1755-1757.
As no new name occurs, it is fair to infer that
Voorhees continued to receive the annual sal-
ary of £4 from the deacons as chorister, and
probably an additional sum from the elders
as schoolmaster, until 1768, when he was suc-
ceeded b\' Abraham \^oorhees, the same proba-
bly who had served in 1744-47, and who now
held the position until 1792. This teacher first
introduced a stove into the school-house in
June, 1789, costing .£12 15s. 6d. We judge the
previous winter must have been uncommonly
cold and they would no longer trust to an
open fire even though they had to bring in the
stove in the first month of summer.
\Ve have assumed that the chorister was
also the school teacher as was the universal
custom of the Dutch. But the practice was
now falling into disuse. It seems that Thomas
WhJtlock was employed during the latter years
accredited to Abram ^"oorhees and that John
Baxter, whose journal of daily events con-
tined b)- his son Garret extends from 1790 to
1840, taught the school about 1790. We have
also the following as teachers : Peter Labagh,
1792; Geo. Parker, 1795; Jas. Smith, 1798;
Elijah Elwell, 1801 ; Patrick Noon and Hugh
McGarron, 1802; John Burns and Alex. John-
son, 1804; Cuthbert, 1805: Cas-
sidy, 1810; Hugh McGarron again, 1811-16;
Tibbetts and Blundel taught a short time;
James I5olton some years ; Esterbrook, Bled-
soe, Kingsley, Topping, and Leach ; Slauson
to 1827, when Chas. Leach reS'Umed and taught
to 1830: Ed. Berry, 1830, when David Bald-
win (whose conversion is recorded by his
pastor in a tract of the American Tract So-
ciety) assumed charge, but retired from ill
health; Albert Smith, 1831 ; Willis, and the
same year H. D. Woodworth, now principal
of a public school in Brookh^n : W. S. Webb,
1833 ; and after him E. S. Johnson and Stepheru
FLATLANDS.
315
Voorhees ; since whom Messrs. Sutton, Wade,
Blake and Sowles have taught.
Principal Voorhees Overbaugh took charge
of this school in 1845. He was then expected
to teach from 8 o'clock A. M. to 4 o'clock
P. M., with a noon recess, five days each week,
without a vacation of any kind during the
whole year. He did not receive a stipulated
salary, but a fee per capita on the scholars,
and collected his own bills.
The original school-house of Dis.trict No.
I probably stood on Hubbard's Lane, opposite
John L. Williamson's. On February 3d, 1696-
7, the heirs of Elbert Elbertse, viz., Garrett
the same parties, ''Elders of the Dutch Church
of fflatlands," the church-lot and burying-
ground, and describe the latter as "Bounded
north by Tunis Janse's fence, south by the
pound, west by the highway," with the church-
lot at the east. Thus the whole of the present
school-lot and burial-ground is included, with-
out any mention of the school-house being then
upon it, and excluding the Van Syckelen lands
from contiguity. The evidence seems conclu-
sive that the original school-house stood east
from the residence of John B. Hendrickson.
A new school-house seems to have been
built about this time. Between September,
FLATLANDS-A BIT OF THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN.
Stoothoof, Thos. Willes and Jan Van Duyck-
huisen, deeded to Coert Stevense, Derick Am-
ertman and Claes Peterse, for themselves' and
others, freeholders, etc., premises described as
follows: "All that house and garden spot, as
it is now in fence, lying * * * in the town
of fflatlands, adjoining to the house and land
of fferdinanno vasycklyn, and now used and
occupied for a school-house for said town."
Van Sickelin lived at the southeast corner of
the church-lot, where bis son Johannes lived
in 1747.
Confirmator}' of this view is the fact that
on the next day, viz., February 4th, 1697, the
Stoothoff heirs, who seem to have been en-
gaged in settling up the estate conveyed to
1694, and August, 1697, the Deacons paid "for
the school-house'' in various items of material
and work no less a sum than $654.40, which
could not have been for repairs. Probably,
at this time, the new school-house was placed
on an unused part of the burial-ground. The
lot described in 1696 as the school-house lot
must, soon after this, have fallen into private
hands, for, in 1729, it is deeded by Abram
Westervelt, and Margaret, his wife, to the
Town, together with an acre where the house
of B. Stafford now stands. We know that the
school-house was near its present location in
1733, for in that year Pieter Wyckoff conveys
"a certain piece of land adjoining the school-
lot, being in breadth two rods and in length
310
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
as far as the school-lot runs, bounded south-
erly b_v said school-lot, northerly by ground of
said p'ieter Wyckof, westerly by the highway,
and easterly by the land beI;onging .to Ithe
■church." The school-house first placed within
the original lines of the grave-yard, in 1699,
was extensively repaired about 1765, the work
having been begun in 1762, simultaneously
with the extensive improvements and enlarge-
ment of the church. At this time the sum of
^356 was paid for materials and work "for the
school-house." In 1771 "a well for the school-
house" cost £1, IIS. 3d.
In April, 1816, the town ordered a new
school building. It was completed and occu-
pied two years later, and the old house sold
to Nicholas Schenck for $20. This new build-
ing continued to be used by the school until
1861, when it was sold to John L. Ryder for
a carriage-house. The school-lot was fenced
in by the trustees, as such, in 1861, by ad-
vice of counsel. The building of 1861 was en-
larged to more than twice its former capacity
in 1876.
A school was early established in Flat-
lands Neck, the section of the town that lies
between Jamaica Bay, New Lots and Flat-
bush. A new school-house was built there in
1835 and another at Carnarsie in 1844. The
modern story of education in Flatlands, how-
ever, is associated with that of Brooklyn.
It has been said that the annals of Flatlands
are uneventful and uninteresting, yet at the
same time the story of the battle of Brooklyn
might be woven into its history. There was,
of course, rare excitement in the township
when the British troops landed, and the excite-
ment deepened during the strategical opera-
tions that followed. But after the battle was
over things resumed their usual quiet sway.
One regiment, Colonel Kniphausen's horse,
was quartered for some time on a farm in Flat-
lands, but this is only a tradition and it does
not seem likely that they were there beyond
a few days. A few guards were placed on
duty in residences at Canarsie Point and Flat-
lands Neck, but they seemed not to have been
very ofifensive and made themselves humbly
comfortable in the kitchens of the houses to
which they were assigned. The British, of
course, took possession of the grain, the prod-
uce and much of the live stock, — that was
part of the incidents of any war, and nothing
else could be expected. But the best evidence
that Flatlands was not seriously molested lies
in the fact that services in the church were
regularly conducted all through the British
occupation, although there was a strong patri-
otic sentiment in the town, and the Dominie
expressed himself very freely on all occasions
against the invaders, and nowhere on Long
Island was the triumphant close of the war
celebrated with more enthusiasm than in this
old stronghold of the Dutch sentiment. With
the return of peace Flatlands retained her quiet
mode of living, advanced slowly but surely,
and the years passed on so uninterestingly
that the historian finds little to narrate in the
routine of its calm, domestic, home-living cur-
rent. It was the last of the suburbs of Brook-
lyn to feel the quickening influence of that
city, but when the influence was felt the dwell-
ers in the community met it with avidity.
The old farms were placed on the market, the
land-boomers got in their work, and "lots"
instead of acres began to dominate in the real-
estate transactions. With the introduction of
the trolley the old seclusion of Flatlands began
to vanish, and since it has itself disappeared
and become simply a city ward it has been
wholly cut up into streets and avenues, and
everywhere the march of improvement repre-
sented by the modern builders is apparent. It
has many new features, but Barren Island is
still devoted to the manufacture of fertilizers
and its smells are as fragrant as ever ; Canar-
sie is still a haven for fishermen and those who
enjoy rowing or yachting, and Jamaica Bay
yet yields a harvest of pleasure or profit ; but
Bergen's Island has become, under the name
of Bergen Beach, a resort of the nature of Co-
ney Island, and on each Sunday in the season
more people pass through Flatlands in trolley
cars than has been seen in it since that event-
ful day in August, 1776, when an old lady
said that "the red coats were so thick in Flat-
lands you could walk on their heads."
CHAPTER XXVII.
FLATBUSH.
ra^^ NE local writer has given 1630 as
H I H ''^*^ '^^^^ °^ '■'^^ ^""^^ settlement at
OJ 't Vlavke Bros., Middle-Wout, or
' 7^ Midwout, the earliest names by
which Flatbush was designated. There is,
however, no definite proof as to this. It would
seem that the patents given for lands in Flat-
lands to Hudden and Van Couwenhoven and
Van Twiller included ground which over-
lapped into what was afterward across the bor-
der of that township and into the township of
Midwout, but even that would hardly give us
the right to claim the date of these patents
as the beginning of the story of this, in many
ways the most interesting of the five Dutch
towns. From Flatlands an Indian trail led to
Brooklyn, and while using this trail the rich
and fertile fields, now the streets of Flatbush,
lay invitingly open and the overflow of popu-
lation, so to speak, from Flatlands took them
up. These early Dutch farmers were mighty
particular as to places of settlement. They
were strong believers in meadow land, and
those who can recall Flatbush before the rush
of the trolley and the march of modern im-
provements changed things all around could
easily imagine it, in its still more primitive
stage, as lying ready and prepared for adapta-
tion into farm, garden and grazing ground
with but little labor. By 165 1 the place had a
sufficient population to warrant the issuance to
it of a town patent, and Governor Stuyvesant
incorporated in the document the names of
Jan Snedecor, who had prospered as a tavern-
keeper in New Amsterdam; Arent Van Hat-
ten, burgomaster of the same city ; and one
of its ministers, Johannes Megapolensis. The
lands of Midwout also began very early to have
a speculative value, for in 1653 we find that
Edward Griffin bought fifty acres of land
"on the west side of the road near the
Flatbush" in February, and he sold the same
in July to Bartel Loot and Peter Loot (Lott).
When the patent was issued. Dr. Strong says,
"farms were laid out into forty-eight lots, or
tracts of land, extending 600 Dutch rods east
and west on each side of the Indian path and
having generally an average width of twenty-
seven rods." Before the farms were drawn
for, 102 lots were laid aside for the use of the
church, which it was even then determined
should be built, while the unappropriated lands,
mainly stretches of woodland on the outskirts
of the town, were left for the common use
and so continued for many years.
It seems that there was not enough meadow
land to satisfy the wants or ambitions of the
Dutch farmers in Flatbush, and they squatted
on some of the rich meadows of Canarsie,
which the Flatlands people claimed as their
own. This led to trouble between them ; and
to end it, and also with the view of substituting
an English charter for the Dutch one. Gov-
ernor Nicolls caused a fresh survey to be
made, and then issued a new patent which
bore the date of October 11, 1667. It was
then that Flatbush, the English rendering of
't Vlacke Bosche, came into legal use. But
the good farmers no sooner had this trouble
adjudicated than a new and even more serious
S18
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
one arose. The land comprising their town
had originally been bought from the Canarsie
Indians, but in 1670 another tribe, the Rocka-
ways, claimed the soil, denying the right of the
Canarsies to ownership, and demanding pay-
ment. The probability is that the Canarsies
were honest in their intentions, but they sold
more than they ought to have done, and un-
wittingly disposed of some territory to which
the Rockaways had some claim. Lands were
not very closely surveyed in those days. Of
course the Flatbush title was clear, so far as
the settlers were concerned. They had com-
plied with all the forms of the law, Dutch as
well as English, and could have defended their
holdings in any court of law successfully. But
the Indians had ways of enforcing their de-
mands which were much more unpleasant than
those of the courts, and an angry dispute with
them meant much loss of life and destruction
of property — all the horrors, in fact, of Indian
warfare. So the settlers made the best of the
situation and secured a fresh deed from the
wilv claimants. It reads as follows:
To all Christian people to whom this pres-
ent writing shall come : Eskemoppas, Sachem
of Rockaway, upon Long Island, Kinnarimas
and Ahawaham his brothers, send greeting:
Whereas they, the said Sachem Eskemoppas,
and his two brothers aforementioned, do lay
claim to the land now in the tenure and occu-
pation of the inhabitants of Midwout, alias
Flatbush, as well as other lands a,djacent there-
to as the right born Indian owners and pro-
prietors thereof: Know ye that in considera-
tion of certain sums of seewant, a certain sum
of wampum and divers other goods (herein-
after specified) unto the said Sachem and his
brothers in hand paid, and received, from Adri-
an Hegeman, Jacob Stryker, Hendrick Jorise
and Jan Hansen, for and on behalf of them-
selves and the rest of the inhabitants of Mid-
wout alias Flatbush, the receipt whereof they
do hereby acknowledge, and themselves to be
fully satisfied and paid : Have given granted
contracted and sold * * * All that said
parcel of land where the said town of Midwout
stands, together with all the lands lying there-
in, stretching on the east side to the limits of
Newtown and Jamaica, on the south side to
the meadow ground, and limits of Amersfort ;
on the west side to the bounds of Gravesend
and New Utrecht, and on the north side along
the Hills; that is to say, all those lands within
the limits above mentioned &c. * * * in
witness whereof, the parties to these presents
have hereunto set their hands and seals this
20th day of April, in the 22d year of his Majes-
ty's reign, in the year of our Lord 1670.
Eskemoppas £ Mark, (seal.)
Kinnarimas & Mark, (seal.)
Ahawaham / Mark (seal.)
Signed and delivered in the presence of
Thomas Lovelace.
Cornelius Van Ruyven.
Recorded the day and year within written,
per Mathias Nichols, Secretary.
The consideration agreed upon in the pur-
chase herein mentioned was as follows viz. :
10 Fathoms of black seewant; 10 Fathoms of
white seewant ; 5 Match coats of Duffells ; 4
Blankets ; 2 Gunners sight Guns ; 2 Pistols ;
5 Double handfulls of Powder IGispen bunches
of Powder] ; 5 Bars of Lead ; 10 Knives ; 2
Secret Aprons of Dufifell (Cuppas of Dufifell] ;
I Half vat or half barrell of Strong Beer;
3 Cans of Brandy ; 6 Shirts. All the above par-
ticulars were received by the Sachem and his
two brothers, in the presence of the persons
under written, as witnesses hereof.
John Manning. j Jacob Van Cortlandt.
Sylester Salisbury. Teunis Jacob Hay.
John Hough. | Edward Carlisle.
Acknowledged before me, the Sachem and
his two brothers, and the goods delivered in
my oresence, the day and year within written.
Francis Lovelace.
In drawing up this deed the Flatbush peo-
ple took good care to have their old boun-
daries clearly fixed, and it would seem that the
territory known as Oostwoud was thrown in
by the Rockaways in their joy at the prospects
of the possession of the powder and beer and
brandy and Other commodities stipulated by
their head men. This territory, afterward
known as New Lots, claims 1670 as the be-
ginning of its history, although it was not
until 1677 that Adrian Lambertsen and thirty-
four others secured a patent for ownership in
it. For many years, in fact until 1721, the
most notable feature of the history of Flat-
FLATBUSH.
"bush was its constant defense of its territory
against claims made by Flatlands, Newtown
and even by private individuals; but as the
course of events has long since rendered the
story of such disputes of no practical value,
of no responsible bearing on the real history
of the town, there is little use of recounting
them here. There seems no doubt that the
Flatbush settlers were in some of these dis-
putes the real aggressors, — the courts so more
than once decided; but the probability is that
in most cases the trouble arose from want of
exact knowledge as to boundaries, or, as is
equally likely, indifference on the part of the
settlers to political divisions. It was proba-
bly with the view of settling all this on an en-
during basis that the inhabitants in 1685 ap-
plied to Governor Dongan for a new patent
which should confirm to them all that had been
granted at various times and for which various
patents had been issued. That application was
granted, and the document, one of the most
important in the early local history, reads as
follows :
Thomas Dongan, Lieutenant-Governor and
Vice-Admiral of New York, &c., under his Ma-
jesty James the Second, by the Grace of God,
King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland
Defender of the Faith, &c., Supreme Lord and
Proprietor of the Colony and Prince of New
York and its dependencies in America. To
all to whom these presents shall come, sendeth
Greeting : Whereas, there is a certain town in
Kings County, upon Long Island, called and
known by the name of Midwout, alias Flat-
bush, the bounds whereof begin at the mouth
of the Fresh-Kill, and so along by a certain
ditch which lies betwixt Amersfoot and Flat-
bush Meadows, and so running along the ditch
and fence to a certain white-oak marked tree,
and froin thence upon a straight line to the
westernmost point of a small island of wood-
land lying before John Stryker"s bridge ; and
from thence with a straight line to the north-
west hook or corner of the ditch of John
Oakie's meadow, and from thence along the
said ditch and fence to the swamp of the
Fresh-Kill, and so along the swamp and hollow
of the aforesaid Kill to the land of Keuter's
Hook : thence along the same to a white-oak
tree ; from thence with a straight line to a
black-oak marked tree standing upon the
northeast side of Twiller's Flats, having a
small snip of flats upon the southeast side of
the line; and so from thence to a white-oak
tree standing on the west side of Moschito
Hole to a small island, leaving a snip of flats
in the Flatlands bounds; and from thence to
a certain marked tree or stump standing upon
the highway which goes to Flatlands, upon the
Little Flats, about twenty rods from Flatbush
Lots, and so along the fence six ' hundred
Dutch rods to the corner of Flatbush fence,
and so along the rear of the lots to a sassa-
fras-stump standing on Cornelius Jansen Ber-
rian's lot of land; and from thence with a
straight line to a certain marked tree, or
stump, standing by the Rush Pond under the
hills, and so along the south side of the hill till
it comes to the west end of Long Hill, and so
along the south side of the said hill till it comes
to the east end of the Long Hill; and then
with a straight line from the east end of said
Long Hill to a marked white-oak tree stand-
ing to the west side of the road, near the place
called the gate or port of the hills, and so from
the east side of the port or gate aforesaid,
upon the south side of the main hills, as far
as Brooklyn Patent doth extend, and so along
the said hills to the bounds of the Jamaica
Patent ; and from thence with a southerly line
to the kill or creek by the east of Plunder's
Neck, and so along the said kill to the sea,
as according to the several deeds or purchases
from the Indian owners, the patent from Gov-
ernor Nicolls, and the award between Brook-
lyn and the town of Flatbush, relation there-
unto being had, doth more fully and at large
appear: And, whereas, an application to me
hath been made for a confirmation of the
aforesaid tracts and parcels of land and prem-
ises: Now, Know ye, that by virtue of the
commission and authority unto me given by his
Majesty, James the Second, by the Grace of
God of England, Scotland, France and Ireland,
King, Defender of the Faith, Supreme Lord
and Proprietor of the Province of New York,
in consideration of the premises and the quit-
rent hereinafter reserved, I have given, grant-
ed, ratified and confirmed, and by these pres-
ents do give, grant, ratify and confirm unto
Cornelius Vanderwyck, John Okie, Joseph
Hegeman, Aries Jansen Vanderbilt, Lafford
Pieterson, William Guilliamsen, Hendrick
Williamse, Arien Ryers, Peter Stryker, John
Stryker, John Remsen, Jacob Hendricks, Der-
ick Vandervleet, Hendrick Ryck, Okie John-
820
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
son, Daniel Polhamus, Peter Lott, Cornelius
Vanderveer, Derick Johnson Hooglandt, Den-
ise Tennis, John Johnson, Ditimus Lewis Jan-
sen, William Jacobs, Hendrick Hegeman and
Garret Lubbertse, for and on behalf of them-
selves and their associates, all the freeholders
of the said town of Flatbush, and to their
heirs and assigns forever, all the before recited
tract and tracts, parcel and parcels, of land and
islands within the said bounds and limits, to-
gether with all and singular, the woods, under-
woods, plains, hills, meadows, pastures, quar-
ries, marshes, waters, lakes, causeways, rivers,
beaches, houses, buildings, fishing, hawking,
hunting and fowling, with all liberties, privi-
leges, hereditaments and appurtenances to the
said tract of land and premises belonging, or
in any wise appertaining ; To have and to hold,
&c. * * * To be holden of his Majesty in
free and common soccage according to the ten-
ure of East Greenwich, in the county of Kent,
in his Majesty's Kingdom of England. Yield-
ing, rendering and paying therefor, yearly, and
every year, at the City of New York, to his
Majesty, his heirs or successors, or to his or
their officer or officers, as by him or them
shall be appointed to receive the same, eighteen
bushels of good merchantable wheat, on or be-
fore the five and twentieth day of March, year-
ly, and every year. In Testimony whereof, I
have caused these presents to be entered upon
record, in the Secretary's office in the said
Province, and the seal thereof, have hereunto
affixed, and signed with my hand the twelfth
day of November, in the first year of his
Majesty's reign. Anno Domini, 1685.
Thom.\s Dongan.
Governor Dongan willingly granted such
charters not only because their issuance added
to the income of his office and settled many
vexed questions as to boundaries, but they
provided an income from the townships in the
shape of a tax which was termed "quit rent"
and which in the case of Flatbush was placed
at "eighteen bushels of good, merchantable
wheat." No objection seems to have been
raised anywhere to this certainly very moder-
ate impost. It was some years later changed
to a regular cash payment, and continued in
force until 1786, when future payment was
commuted on payment of a lump sum, accord-
ing to an act passed by the Legislature April
I of that year. It seems that Flatbush fell in'
arrears from 1765 until 1786 and was required
to pay up the amount which then accrued with
a rebate of eight years' payments, covering the
period of the Revolutionary struggle.
i
c^y^cfr^
S. ^•9,%
JU-'^^'
-^-^ ^^hA- y^^-MxJ^ f*^-
The early story of Flatbush centers around
the story of the church, and it, with the
school-house and later the court-house, made
up the dorp or town, — the rallying point of
the life of the village. As in most of the Dutch
settlements, the homes of the farmers were lo-
cated as close to the dorp as possible and
spread into what used to be called Rustenberg,
a trace of rich sandy loam to the south of it,
which was within easy reach. In the dorp the
Schout posted his notices and the Schepens
held their meetings. These functionaries were
the representatives of the Governor, of law and
order. Jan Teunissen, Schout in 1646 of
Brooklyn, held that office for Middlewout and
Amersfoot, and seems to have been succeeded
in 1654 by David Provoost, although there is
some dubiety about the latter's appointment,
so far as his jurisdiction over the territory
outside of Brooklyn is concerned. The first
local man appointed to this office was Adriaen
Hegeman, who was thus honored in 1661, his
authority extending over Brooklyn and Flat-
FLATBUSH.
321
lands. Adriaen was the ancestor of the family
bearing his name and appears to have been a
prominent and popular citizen. He came here
from Holland in 1650 and was one of the
Schepens of Flatbush from 1654 until his ap-
pointment as Schout. Afterward he became
again a Schepen and secretary of the five Dutch
towns, and rounded off his appointments by
acting as auctioneer. He owned two valuable
lots of land in Flatbush and prospered gen-
erally. His death took place previous to 1688.
The Schout was the direct representative of
the Governor and Council, and was appointed
by them, but the Schepens, or local magis-
trates, were appointed on the nomination of
the people. Midwout enjoyed three of these
dignitaries.
At first the nominations for these repre-
sentatives of the people seem to have been prac-
tically dictated by the Governor. But the Mid-
wout flocks were not remiss in asserting what
they considered their just rights even at this
early period in their history, and we find them
represented at the conventions held in 1652,
which .demanded that the laws by which they
were governed should resemble those of the old
land from which they had emigrated. The
story of this primitive constitutional struggle
has already been fully told, and may be dis-
missed here by saying that Governor Stuy-
vesant fully asserted his authority, and the
towns lost some of their privileges. They did
not long remain under the Governor's displeas-
ure, however. The shores of Long Island, and
even of Manhattan Island, were at that time
infested with river thieves and desperadoes,
who often made a successful descent upon a
village or farm-house and easily escaped with
their plunder. It was held that most of these
thieves were English, or that at all events they
made Gravesend their headquarters and had
the sympathy of the people there, whose prop-
erty it seems was unmolested. To protect
themselves the three Dutch towns of Breuck-
elen, Flatlands and Midwout in 1854 organ-
ized a company of militia, with a sergeant for
each town and a regularly organized patrol.
This movement, undertaken by the people
themselves without apparently any urging on
the part of the authorities, appealed to Stuy-
vesant's military sympathies, and he granted to
the Dutch towns, of his own volition, all the
privileges they had formerly asked and which
he had so stubbornly refused. Midwout be-
came entitled to send a list of six names to
the Governor as the choice of the people for
their Schepens, and from this list the ruler
selected three to whom the usual commissions
were issued. It is believed that the first three
so appointed were Adriaen Hegeman, Willem
Jacobse \'an Boerum and Jan Sueberingh. A
district court was also instituted, composed of
delegates from each town along with the
Schout, and this court had charge of all local
matters, such as the laying out and mainten-
ance of roads, establishment of schools and
the like. This condition of things continued
until 1661, when New Utrecht and Bushwick
were added to the combination and the whole
formed into a district called the Five Dutch
Towns. Over these a Schout Fiscal was placed
as the head of the legal and municipal authori-
ties, while a secretary or clerk was appointed
to perform much oif the duties of the modern
town clerk and notary, — acknowledge deeds,
wills and other legal papers, and probably to
act as the legal adviser of the Schout Fiscal.
The first to hold the latter office (1661) was
Adriaen Hegeman, of Midwout, quite a stand-
ing officeholder, his successor being Nicasius
de Sille, of New Utrecht. Michil Hainelle, of
Brooklyn, was the town clerk from 1674 to
1680. The fact of his holding this office so
long after the Dutch regime had passed away
shows that the changes introduced by Gov-
ernor Nicolls as to the Five Dutch Towns
did not affect them greatly. The changes, in
fact, were more in name than anything else;.
and although the New Netherland passed un-
der a "proprietor," the changes which were
eft'ected were in reality in the direction of a
broadening of the liberties of the people.
Under Nicolls, as we have seen. Long
Island became the main portion of the new
322
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
county of Yorkshire, the Dutch towns became
part of theWes't Riding, Midwout became Flat-
bush, the Schouts and Schepens became mem-
ories, and law was administered by a deputy
sheriff and a selected array of justices. The
local government in the towns was under the
care of overseers, — "men of good fame and
life chosen by plurality of voices of the free-
holders,"— and a constable was to be chosen
from among the ex-ovrerseers, and seems to
have been the executive officer of the latter.
The overseers assessed the local tax rate, kept
the church and roads in repair, looked after
the poor, saw to it that the minister's salary
was forthcoming, regulated bounds and fences
and held court in all cases in which less than
£5 was involved. When an overseer or con-
stable was elected and refused to serve, a fine
was imposed — iio for an everseer and £5 for
a constable. The overseers continued to ad-
minister afifairs under that name until 1684,
when the first Colonial Legislature, under Gov.
Dongan, changed their title to suf>ervisors,
and so they remained until the end of the his-
tory of Flatbush. That same Legislature did
awa}- with the nonsensical arrangement of
Yorkshire and the West Riding became Kings
county. One particularly beneficial result of
Governor Dongan's legislation to Flatbush
was the settlement of the courts within its
bounds. In 1668, by the desire of the Hemp-
stead Convention, the courts were transferred
from Flatbush to Gravesend. By an act passed
November 7, 1685, Flatbush was again made
the center of the legal world of what was
then Kings county, and, as if to perpetuate this
distinction, a court-house was at once erected.
In 1758 this building was superseded by an-
other, which served until 1793, when a larger
edifice was constructed. In 1832 that building
was burned and with the flames passed the
legal glory of Flatbush, for Brooklyn then be-
came the county town. In 1695, beside the
first court-house, a whipping-post and a pair
of stocks were erected as terrors to evil-doers
as well as for use, while the village pound
was not far awav.
The progress of the years passed slowly
and uneventfully in Flatbush until the out-
break of the Revolutionary War, and that
memorable struggle found the inhabitants sad-
ly divided in their allegiance; but it would
seem as if the majority was in favor of taking
no part in the contest. Possibly the older
residents, not from any love for King George
and British rule, but from a dislike to radical
changes, desired matters to remain as they
were. They admitted that wrongs existed,
but hoped for their abatement by peaceful agi-
tation. The younger element, however, seemed
to throw their hearts into the cause of the
Patriots, and were anxious to demand their
rights and a removal of all obstacles to the
liberty of the people; but their ardor appears
to have been restrained by the counsels of
their elders. Still Flatbush was desirous in
bringing about reforms in the government re-
lations, it hated the stamp duties as much as
did New York or Boston, and it was repre-
sented in the convention that met in New
York City April 10, 1775, to choose delegates
to the First Continental Congress, by David
Clarkson, Adrian Voorhees, Jacobs Vande-
venter and John Vanderbilt. These were elect-
ed at a meeting held in Flatbush five days pre-
viously, and the convention elected three citi-
zens of Flatbush to the congress, — Johannes
Lott, John Lefferts and John Vanderbilt.
These three men deserve more than a pass-
ing notice, for they were foremost among the
upbuilders of Flatbush. Johannes Lott was
the great-grandson of Peter Lott (or Lodt),
who emigrated from Holland in 1652. In
1662 he secured a patent for twenty-four mor-
gens of land in Flatbush, which he sold in 1674
to Jan (Cornelise) Boomgaert. He held other
tracts of land in the town, and his name ap-
pears in Governor Dongan's patent to Flat-
bush in 1656, and he took the oath of alle-
giance there in 1687. For a time he was one of
the local magistrates. His son, Engelbert, also
took the oath of allegiance to Britain, in 1687,
and in 1698 was High Sheriff of Kings county.
John Lott, the eldest son of this latter dignitary.
FLATBUSH.
323
was born in Brooklyn July 21, 1701, and died
prior to 1733, leaving among other children a
son, Johannes, born September 2, 1 730,wlio was
the Pa-triot already named as being returned
to the Continental Congress. Mention has al-
ready been made of John Vanderbilt in con-
nection with the history of Flatbush Church.
"The Senator," as he was familiarly called,
afterward rendered considerable aid in the
Provincial Legislature. John Lefferts was a
prominent member of a family whose story
is elsewhere told in these volumes.
But while the good folks of Flatbush were
as loud, if not as strenuous, in their complaints
as others against the wrongs inflicted on the
colonies by the British Parliament prior to the
outbreak of hostilities, they were, as a whole,
of a rather halting turn of mind when the time
came to choose at the parting of the ways. At
a meeting of delegates held in Flatbush on May
22, 1775, at which all the towns in Kings coun-
ty except Flatlands were represented, the Flat-
bush representatives, Nicholas Cowenhoven
and Johannes E. Lott, reported that their con-
stituents desired to remain neutral in any con-
flict which might arise. "Prudence," as one
writer said, "had taken the place of valor."
The fact is that the proximity of Flatbush to
New York and Brooklyn, both of which were
Tory in their sympathies, had overawed the
local patriotic sentiment, and, besides, the Tor-
ies who resided in the township itself were
active, powerful and influential. Flatbush an-
swered to the call of the Provincial Congress
for troops so far as to provide a company for
the Long Island regiment of militia, but there
is no evidence that it ever furnished its full
quota. Cornelius Van der Veer was captain ;
and Peter Lefferts and John Van Duyn lieu-
tenants, and John Bennem, ensign, were the
other officers, but it is doubtful whether the
company ever fired a shot for independence,
although it is vaguely hinted that they actu-
ally did outpost duty prior to the landing of
the British. Mayor Mathews, of New York,
had his county seat at Flatbush, and, as has
already been chronicled, kept up an active in-
tercourse from there with Governor Tryon,
while the latter maintained his gubernatorial
chair and dignity on the quarter-deck of the
Asia or one of the other British ships in the
harbor while the city of New York was in the
hands of the Patriots. His neighbor. Colonel
William AxteTl, was equally pronounced in his
devotion to Toryism, and there seems no .doubt
that it was in Axtell's mansion, Melrose Hall,
that the plot for the abduction of Washington
was hatched. Until the British landed, August
22, 1776, Flatbush, indeed, appears to have
been the center of Tory plots and projects and
schemes of all sorts. That landing and the
story of the seven or eight days which fol-
lowed until Washington had carried his troops
from Long Island to New York is Flatbush's
real contribution to the history of the nation.
The story of that brief and interesting cam-
paign has already been told in this work, and
we need only refer here to a few local inci-
dents related in Field's elaborate monograph
on the history of the battle, by which it would
seem that most of the few honors gained by
the American troops in the short campaign
were won in Flatbush on its western boun-
dary. The vanguard of the British forces
under Colonel Donop got to Flatbush late on
the evening of August 22. S'ays Field :
Three hundred American riflemen, who
had occupied the village, abandoned it as soon
as the Hessian battery of six guns had taken
position and opened fire. The possession of
this slumberous little Dutch village by the
Hessians was not, however, destined to be
maintained without a struggle. The awe in-
spired by the imposing array of the German
troops had worn away in the cool night, and
early on the morning of the 23d the slumbers
of the heavy-eyed Hessians were broken by a
dash upon their right wing, resting near the
west end of the village. On the thickly wood-
ed hills near Flatbush, Colonel Hand was in
command of the whole Pennsylvania battalion
of riflemen, consisting of 553 officers and
privates. Believing that the familiarity ac-
quired by combat with the formidable stran-
gers would dissipate the increasing dread with
which they were regarded. Colonel Hand or-
524
HISTORY OF LOxXG ISLAND.
dered an assault upon their lines. The attack
was spirited, though feebly maintained, as the
Americans retired to the woods as soon as a
field-piece was brought to bear upon them.
On the afternoon of the same day the Con-
tinentals again tried to drive Donop out of
Flatbush. So impetuous and fierce was the
assault that that portion of the Hessian corps
was driven back upon the main body, then
lying south of the Dutch church, and the
whole detachment was held at bay for more
than one hour. The fire of the American
to the horrors which war had brought upon
this quiet village. Although it has been a pop-
ular habit to charge this incendiarism upon
the Hessian invaders, it is yet certain that
these dwellings were fired by the Americans
to prevent their occupation as defensive po-
sitions by the enemy.
On the 25th the Americans determined
to meet the Hessian artillery with the same
arms ; and, accordingly, a strong body of ritle-
nien, accompanied by several guns, pushed
forward beyond the edge of the woods, and
THE LEFFERTS HOMESTE.^D.
From "Flatbush, Past and Present." By permission of the Flatbush .Tr
riflemen was so galling that the Hessians
were compelled to improvise redoubts, from
the houses of Adrian Hegeman and Lefferts
Martense, for the purpose of repelling their
attack. In these buildings they cut holes,
wherever these afforded them position for fir-
ing upon the American sharp-shooters. At
length the cannon, from which the Hessian
gunners had doubtless been driven by our
riflemen, were brought into position, and
opened their fire upon the assaulting party.
At this time the houses of Jeremiah A'ander-
bilt. Leffert Lefferts and Evert Hegeman were
in flames, and added, by their conflagration.
opened fire with round and grapeshot upon
the devoted village, behind whose walls the
enemy sought shelter from the rebel sharp-
shooters. The attack was well maintained for
a time, but was at length repulsed by the
greater weight and steadiness of the Hessian
artillery.
We read of several other annoying attacks
upon the Hessians by the daring American
militia, the latter even arousing their enemies
to fight at two o'clock one morning, an hour
which was against all well regulated notions
FLATBUSH.
of warfare, but the defeat on the 27th prac-
tically ended the fighting on Long Island and
the crisis was settled elsewhere. During the
British occupation Flatbush seems to have
been prosperous enough except that signal
vengeance was wreaked, immediately after
the battle of Brooklyn, on those whose sym-
pathies were known to have been with the
Patriots. Most of the farmers lost their cat-
tle and horses and growing crops were de-
stroyed. Many houses were burned and the
vast number of unburied dead infected the
air and fever became epidemic. Those who
could left the town, and business for a time
was at a standstill. Soldiers were quartered
in dwellings without regard to the wishes of
the owners and without any compensation,
while on the least sign of grumbling or dis-
content all sorts of rude pranks were played
and property was wantonly destroyed. We read
of feather beds being emptied into wells, of
woodwork and furniture being slashed and
destroyed, of fences and tables and chairs be-
ing torn up for firewood ; and not only prop-
erty but life was in constant danger. Thugs
and thieves crowded the streets and even took
possession of the court-house and held their
orgies in it, as well as made it the receptacle
of much of their plunder. After a while mat-
ters quieted down considerably and law and
order resumed sway, — ^^as much as was pos-
sible under martial law. The township be-
gan to prosper even under British rule, but
the Long Island campaign, brief as it was,
had left a trail of havoc and disaster behind
and the people learned a grim lesson of the
uselessness of being neutral when the dogs
of war have been unchained and are sniff-
ing at their gates.
With the passing away of the British oc-
cupation Flatbush fell into Ime as an Amer-
ican township, and as the angry passions be-
tween Patriot and Tory died out it resumed
its quiet, dreamy existence with hardly a rip-
ple, except in connection with church af-
fairs or around election time, to disturb the
sweetness of its repose. As the legal centre
of Kings county it attracted many visitors at
intervals from the outside world, was the
scene of some general business and loomed
up considerably in the affairs of the county.
It had even progressed a little on modern
lines, its sidewalks were kept in good order
and well graded, and in 1830 a daily line of
stages was introduced by Smith Birdsall to
run between Flatbush and Brooklyn, replac-
ing the farm wagons which had previously
been in use. But the progress of Flatbush
was ruthlessly arrested by the fire which in
1832 destroyed the court-house and so led to
the transference of the courts to Brooklyn,
which became the county seat. Flatbush then
quietly sank into the status of a mere coun-
try village; its glory had apparently depart-
ed : even its kerche only shed its light within
its own territory and was no longer a lamp
that sent its spiritual rays over almost an en-
tire county. But the citizens made the best
of the situation, and with wealth and energy
on their side seemed determined that Flat-
bush should not be altogether forgotten.
Its beauties as a residential neighborhood
were soon exploited and every effort was
made to induce new settlers. For a time
these efforts seemed to bring very slow re-
sults, for the town was removed from any
centre of population; it had no manufactures
and transit was slow, uncertain, and in win-
ter time decidedly unpleasant. However, a
beginning was made in 1834 when Gerrit L.
Martense (a descendant of "Martin the
Boor," who settled in Flatbush prior to
1687), laid out a tract of land into lots and
opened two streets, — Johnson and Erasmus.
Some six or eight cheap houses were built
on this property, but the scheme was not a
financial success.
In the following year Dr. Adrian Vander-
veer had his farm surveyed and mapped out
in citv lots, opened Vernon avenue, and laid
out Bedford avenue and Lott, Prospect, Law-
rence, Franklin and Clinton streets. This en-
terprise likewise failed for the time, and the
survey lay practically dormant for some thirty
326
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
years, when its provisions began to be put in
operation. In fact it was not until 1866 that
Flatbush began to grow in the modern sense,
and since then there has gone on within it a
steady stream of street-opening and home-
building. Land booms of all sorts have flour-
ished and faded within its boundaries,' but,
in spite of the misfortunes which always at-
tended such schemes, its beautiful situation,
superior surroundings and healthful climate
have carried it safely through many a forced
march and enabled it to grow prosperous,
while other boomed localities have disap-
peared from the map and returned to wild-
wood. Two notable results of judicious
booming were the establishment, in 1852, of
two villages in the township, — Greenfield
(afterward Parkville) and Windsor Terrace.
They flourished for a while and brought to
their sites quite r. number of particularly de-
sirable settlers, most of whom erected beauti-
ful homes and spent money in embellishing
their neighborhood ; but neither village ever
commanded a large population and both are
now siriiply sections in Brooklyn's Twenty-
ninth Ward.
There is no doubt that the upward move-
ment in 1866 was brought about by the intro-
duction of street cars in i860, following the
opening up of Flatbush avenue from Fulton
avenue, Brooklyn. At first there were grave
doubts as to the success of the venture, but
when these were removed and the village
•could be reached by a reliable, and, what was
then considered an expeditious, mode of tran-
sit, its upward progress was assured. In
1864 gas was introduced and in the same
year the fire department (which had existed
since 182 1, when it was called the "Flatbush
Engine Company") was equipped with a
modern engine and equipment, at a cost of
over $6,OQo; and in 1872 the town reached the
dignity of having a newspaper, when the
"Kings County Rural Gazette" was issued.
The old Dutch Reformed church long ere
1866 had several neighbors, — the Methodist
Episcopal church, organized in 1844, and St.
Paul's Protestant Episcopal church, organized
in 1836, being among the earliest, while, as
might be expected in such a community,
schools were abundant and all the resources
of social and religious life and culture found
ample scope. The town had had a board of
health since 1832, and could point to its use-
fulness with justifiable pride. Saloons in-
creased naturally with the population ; but the
establishment in 1874 of an excise commis-
sion served to curtail the number of these
places, while a Law and Order Association,
organized in 1880 under the presidency of the
Rev. Dr. C. L. Wells, closed many objection-
able resorts which had crept into the town — ■
overflowed into it from its big neighbor, in
spite of the organization in 1878 of a small
police force and Police Board. The estab-
lishment of a Board of Improvement in 1871,
just when the upward movement was begin-
ning to gain headway, did much not only to
preserve the amenity of the place but pro-
ceeded to open up streets and avenues only
when the public welfare so demanded, and
with the most scrupulous care that the in-
terests of the property-owners and the public
should be equally safe-guarded. To this body
of seven residents, serving without compen-
sation, modern Flatbush owes much. Not the
least of their good works was the building
of the much desired Town Hall. On this
subject the Rev. R. G. Strong wrote:
"The subject of a town hall was repeatedly
agitated in the local village paper. After the
destruction of the county court-house at Flat-
bush, great difficulty was experienced in find-
ing a suitable place to hold the village courts,
the town elections and other public meetings.
For many years the elections were held at the
hotels of the village; and the justices held
their courts either at their own houses, or in
the parlor of one of the numerous hotels of
the village. There being no place in which to
confine prisoners, or persons awaiting trial,
constables were compelled to take such per-
sons to the jail in Brooklyn, and then return
them for trial to the village. • After the erec-
.^^,
FLATBUSH.
3-27
tion of the public school-house, in 1842, the
elections and justice courts were held, for
nearly twenty years, in its upper story. About
the year 1861 it became necessary to use this
room for school purposes. During this year
Schoonmaker's Hall, on Flatbush avenue, was
completed, and was used for ten years as a
place for all public gatherings, church fairs,
sessions of court and for election purposes.
The discussion of this subject in the local
paper brought the matter prominently before
the public.
"A call for a public meeting to consider
the subject of a town hall appeared in the
Rural Gazette of February 14, 1874. Pur-
suant to this call a large and enthusiastic
meeting of prominent citizens was held at
Schoonmaker's Hall on Thursday, February
19, 1874, Supervisor J. V. B. Martense being
Chairman, and Abraham Lott, Secretary ; at
which, after various motions and considerable
discussion, the matter was referred to the
Board of Improvement, with power, the ex-
pense for land and building being limited by
resolution to $40,000. At this meeting the
town authorities were directed to issue thirty-
year bonds, and provision was made for pay-
ment of interest and principal by taxation.
The Board of Improvement immediately en-
tered upon the accomplishment of the task as-
signed to them. A building committee, con-
sisting of John Lefiferts, John J. Vanderbilt
and John L. Zabriskie, M. D., was appointed.
Architect John Y. Cuyler was engaged fo
d^aft plans for the building. On May 18,
1874, the Board procured the enactment of a
law authorizing them to proceed legally in
their work (Chap. 456 of the Laws of 1874
of the State of New York). A section of
land (100 feet front and 200 feet deep) was
purchased on Grant street (then Union Place)
200 feet east of Flatbush avenue, at a cost
of $5,800. The contract was let to William
Vanse for $29,000, the building to be com-
pleted September i, 1875. Though not com-
pleted, the building was nevertheless used on
November 2, 1875, for the annual fall elec-
tion. On February 7, 1876, the new town
hall was formerly transferred by the Board of
Improvement to the town authorities. On-
this occasion a large and enthusiastic meeting
was held. The formal transfer was made by
Hon. J. A. Lott in an able address, a portion
of which, in these days of robbery in high
places, is worthy of historical record, and is
as follows: 'It was found, on adjustment
and settling of the interest realized on the
money deposited in the bank, and in making
up the final account, that the said expenditure
exceeded the sum of forty thousand dollars
borrowed, and the interest realized thereon, by
the amount of ninety-eight dollars. That ex-
cess was paid by the seven members of the
Board out of their own pockets, in equal
sums, to the treasurer, who was thus enabled
to defray and pay the entire expenditure in-
curred without leaving any outstanding in-
debtedness therefor, beyond the amount au-
thorized by law under which the Board
acted.' "
While Flatbush had been enlarging her
population and increasing the extent of her
streets and the number of her homes, Brook-
lyn had been advancing with mighty strides.
In 1855 the latter had gathered in to itself
one of the five Dutch towns, — Bushwick (in-
cluding Williamsburg and Greenpoint) ; and
it had no sooner got settled down with that
increase than it began to cry out for more,
to bring into its bounds the three .remaining
Dutch towns — Flatbush, Flatlands and New
Utrecht — and the old English town of Graves-
end. The question naturally created a great
deal of earnest discussion, but it reached the
stage of action on June 28, 1873, — seven days
after the first telegraphic message was sent
from Flatbush to the outside world, — when
a bill was passed in the Legislature directing
the local Supervisors to meet and appoint five
commissioners who, with six to be appointed
by the Mayor of Brooklyn, were to draft a
plan for consolidation. The commissioners
were duly named as follows : Brooklyn — J.
N. Wyckoff, Jr., E. J. Lovi^ber, A. G. Bay-
828
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
liss, Edmund Briggs, George C. Bennett and
■George L. Fox ; Flatbush, Hon. John A. Lott ;
New Lo.ts, C. Warren Hamilton ; Flatlands,
Peter Lott ; Gravesend, William Bennett ; and
New Utrecht, Teunis G. Bergen.
There were many difficulties in the way of
the proposed consolidation, not only in the
matter of local taxation, but from the fact that
the city would occupy all of Kings county,
and unless some arrangement was made there
would be two sets of officials to be paid with
any amount of future trouble in the way of
conflicts over jurisdiction. The credit for
grappling with the numerous intricate ques-
tions which arose has been awarded to John
A. Lott, president of the commission, and
the plan outlined by him was adopted by the
entire body. The scheme was submitted to
the electors at the election of November,
1873, and repudiated. Brooklyn was in favor
of the annexation by a majority of some
20,000, but the other towns decided against
it by a majority of 21,568. Even in face of
that the question of annexation was not per-
mitted to rest and the agitation in its favor
was kept up until in January, 1894, separate
bills for the annexation of each town were in-
troduced in the Legislature and all were passed.
That for the annexation of Flatbush came
before Governor Morton for his signature
April 28. 1894, and as he laid down his pen
the separate history of old Midwout came to
an end _ and it became simply Brooklyn's
Twenty-ninth Ward.
Since consolidation, the progress of Flat-
bush has been little short of wonderful. Al-
most every month has seen improvements, —
streets and avenues opened up and homes of
all sorts, from the princely villa to the me-
chanic's cottage, erected. Even the tenement
house is finding sites in some of its streets.
Much of the old has disappeared, few of the
ancient landmarks remain. Melrose Hall has
been torn from its site, lost its glory, and
what remains of it re-erected at Winthrop
and Robinson streets, and is but, as it were,
the shadow of the old structure. The Dutch
church still stands in its hallowed God's-acre.
The Bergen house, erected in 1735, is still
extant in all its old-time usefulness, and so
are the Lefferts' homestead, the Vanderbilt
homestead, the old home of the Vanderveers,
and that of the Birdsalls, the Martenses and
several others. But time is against them and
it seems only a question of a few years when
Flatbush will have little in the way of antiq-
uity to show the stranger within its gates.
Flardly a building season passes without at
least one of these survivors being torn down
to make room for a modern structure or per-
mit a street to be laid out. Even during the
past year (1901) the old home of Dominie
Freeman was torn down. It was erected in
1707, was badly shattered during the battle
of Brooklyn and roughly used afterward by
the British troops ; but it survived until the de-
mand of modern progress finally secured its
demolition. It is a pity that we could not
•make certain the retention of some at least of
such local historical landmarks.
Lvj,'>i ^Y^ ^p
5^
CHAPTER XXVIII.
NEW UTRECHT.
aXE of the prettiest and the most popu-
lar of the old stownships in Kings
county, New Utrecht, has less of a
really interesting history than any of
them. It somehow had, until the arrival of the
ubiquitous trolley, always lived practically
within itself. It covered an area of eight square
miles — rather more — and iboastedof its villages
of New Utrecht, Bath, Fort Hamilton and Bay
Ridge. The New Utrecht water front as a place
for summer residence has been popular since
early in the past century. For many years the
Hamilton House, kept by Hawley D. Clapp,
was a favorite resort for summer boarders.
Curiously enough, a point on the New Utrecht
shore was selected by Drs. Bailey, Bard, Rog-
ers, Tillary and others as the site for the first
bathing establishment erected on Long Island.
This institution flourished, and when burned,
in 1802, was rebuilt and long continued to
be a favorite resort of New Yorkers. As time
went on hotels and boarding houses increased
in number and popularity. Of late years,
however, many attractive all-the-year-round
settlements have been added to it, of which
Bensonhurst may be regarded as the chief.
The land boomer has been particularly busy
in New Utrecht and to his efforts we owe
such communities as West Brooklyn, Van
Pelt Manor, Homewood, Blythebourne and,
as the auctioneers say, "a host of others."
It is now all surveyed, a mass really of streets,
driven with mathematical-like regularity in
straight lines and at equal distances in spite
of all natural obstacles, historical association
or family sentiment, and while only a few
of these streets, comparatively, have been
thoroughly opened and built up, still every
year is adding to the number and the time
is not far distant when New Utrecht will be
but a memory and it will recognize as grace-
fully as possible its new position as Brook-
lyn's Thirtieth Ward. It was the last of the
five Dutch towns to come into existence, and
it was the last which really threw off the old
condition of things and accepted emphatically
the new, — those which now prevail.
The first patent issued for lands in what
afterward became the township was granted
in 1643 by Governor Kieft to Anthony Jan-
sen, who came here from Holland at an early
age. He did not seem to succeed on his 200
acres and sold them in 1660. In the meanwhile
Cornelius Van Werckhoven essayed to start
a colony in the territory, but the unfortunate
result for that colonizer has already been told
in these pages. Jacques Cortelyou, who suc-
ceeded to his interests, established a settle-
ment in 1657 and named it in honor of the
ancient city of Utrecht. Twenty-one grants,
each of fifty acres, and a house lot were that
year issued by Governor Stuyvesant. Nine-
teen of these were given to the settlers and the
remaining two were reserved for the poor.
Those to whom the patents were issued were :
Jacques Cortelyou, Nicasius de Sille, Peter
Buys, Johann Zeelen, Albert Albertson (Ter-
hune), William Willemse (Van Engen), Ja-
cob Hillickers (alias Swart), Pieter Jansen,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Huybert Hoock, Jan Jacobson, Yunker (or
Squire) Jacob Corlear, Johann Tomasse (Van
Dycke), Jacobs Backer, Rutgert Joosten (Van
Brunt), Jacob Pietersen, Peter Roeloffse,
Claes Claessen (Smith), Cornelis Beeckman
and Tennis Joosten.
The most noted of these pioneers was Do
Sille. He emigrated from Gelderland in 1653
and settled at New Amsterdam, where he be-
came a close friend of Governor Stuyvesant,
who at once appointed him to the high office
of First Councillor. De Sille was a widower
when he came here, and in 1655 he married a
Dutch lass; but the marriage proved an un-
happy one and the couple separated on ac-
count of incompatibility of temper ; but which
of the two was to blame in the matter the
records fail to state.. The lady survived him,
however, and the law records show that she
had something to say in the disposal of his
property; so that very likely it was the hus-
band's temper that was out of joint. Stuy-
vesant, however, did not lose faith in De
Sille on account of his matrimonial misfor-
tune, and in 1656 he appointed him Schout
Fiscal of New Amsterdam. On receiving his
patent in New Utrecht De Sille appears to
have at once removed there and built a house,
where he resided until his death, some time
prior to 1674. "This house (which was de-
molished in 1850) was," says Van Bergen, "a
fine relic of colonial life. Substantially built
after the manner of the Dutch architects of
the time, with its thick stone walls, its ca-
pacious fireplaces, its prominent chimney, its
long, rambling sort of roof of red tiles brought
from Holland, its heavy beams and long raf-
ters, and its odd windows with their little
panes of glass, — this ancient colonial house
was for nearly 200 years an evidence of the
care, stability and comfort of the early set-
tlers of New Utrecht. Into this house Gen-
eral Nathaniel Woodhull, the Long Island
hero in the Revolution, was taken to
die, and before the old fireplace which had
warmed the colonists for more than a century
the brave patriot enjoyed some comfort be-
fore his death.
"De Sille was a man of many accomplish-
ments, well versed in the law, not unacquaint-
ed with military affairs, of fine character, a
poet and a historian." For the last named
quality we still have evidence in his "History
of the First Beginning of the Town of New
Utrecht," which was translated by the late
Tennis G. Bergen. De Sille's only son re-
turned to Holland in 1662 and died there.
Of his two daughters, Gerdientje married
Gerretse Van Couvenhoven, of Brooklyn
Ferry, and Anna married Hendrick Kip, Jr.
It is curious to note as an instance of how
things were done in those days that when
Anna's son, Nicasius, was fourteen years of
age "she bound him to Jan Montange (Flat-
bush) to learn the cooper's trade. Montange
was to board the apprentice, find his wash-
ing and mending, give him eight stivers every
Sunday for spending money, send him to
evening school and at the end of his term give
him a Sunday and every-day suit of clothes."
Bergen tells us — and no man was a better
authority — that of the pioneer settlers of New
Utrecht named above Joosten Van Brunt is
alone represented by male descendants in the
town to this day, although Cortelyou, De Sille,
Van Dyck and Terhune are represented
through female descendants, while Jansen
Van Salee, the first patentee, is represented by
the Sicklen and Emmanis families. Joosten
Van Brunt was quite a prominent man in his
day and a useful and prosperous citizen. He
came here from the Netherlands in 1653, ^"d
was a Magistrate of New Utrecht for several
years, extending his landed property consid-
erably beyond the limits of his original patent
by judicious purchases as well as by securing
additional patents. In 1674 he bought De
Sille's house, when it was put up at auction
by the latter's administrators and it contin-
ued in the possession of his descendants until
its demolition, in 1850. Some of his descend-
ants still reside on property which he pur-
NEW UTRECHT.
331
chased or secured. He had three sons, —
Nicholas, Cornelius and Joost. Nicholas, who
was a farmer on some one of the parental
holdings, married Helena, daughter of Jac-
ques Cortelyou, and died in 1684, leaving a
son, also named Nicholas, who was born in
the same year. The latter, on the death of
his grandfather prior to 1713, became heir to
most of his property, but did not long sur-
vive, for his own will was probated in 1714.
He was married, but his children appear to
have died in infancy and the bulk of the orig-
inal owner's estate reverted to his second son,
Cornelis, who had long before that time
won wealth as well as prominence in the af-
fairs of the colony. He was assessed in 1706
on 144 acres of land in New Utrecht. From
1698 to 1717 he was a member of the Co-
lonial Assembly. 1718 he bought the Pen-
ney er patent in Gravesend for .-£365, rather a
large transaction for those days. Coirnelis
died in 1748, leaving a family of four sons
and five daughters. His younger brother,
Joost, was of a military turn, and was in suc-
cession Ensign, Captain, Lieutenant Colonel
and Colonel of militia. For over forty years
he held the office of Supervisor. He died in
1746, leaving a son, Rutgert, who in 1744 suc-
ceeded him in his office of Supervisor and was
a Captain in tlje local militia. Rutgert ac-
quired considerable wealth, — so much that be
was known as "Ryke Bood" or rich brother,
and he became the owner of considerable real
estate. In 1752, six years before his death,
he transferred, for £2,200, a tract of 246 acres
in New Utrecht to his son-in-law, Joris Lott,
husband of his daughter Maria. Such were
the pioneers of a family which has continued
to be connected with New Utrecht to the pres-
ent day.
Governor Stuyvesant gave New Utrecht
a patent in 1662, when Jan (Tomassen) Van
Dvke, Rutger (Joosten) Van Brunt and Ja-
cob Hellakers were chosen as Magistrates
and the dominion of Adriaen Hegeman as
Schout was extended over the new township.
Soon after the patent was issued Stuyvesant
made a visit to New Utrecht in solemn state,
hoisted the flag of the Netherlands, and
wound up by partaking at a feast in the home
of the pioneer. Van Brunt. This may be
said to be the first excitement in the history
of New Utrecht. The second occurred in
1663, when the adventurer John Scott rode
into the village with his gang of bragga-
docios, took possession of the unguarded
blockhouse, fired one of its guns, and pro-
claimed Charles H the sovereign ruler of New
Netherland. Scott tried to make Jacob Hel-
lakers and others swear allegiance to the Eng-
lish sovereign, threatened several women with
the sword and then clattered away to win
fresh victories. Little over a year later there
was a still more serious excitement, for on
December 8, 1664, a fleet of English vessels
appeared in Nyack Bay and it was not long
before Colonel Nicolls' coup changed New
Netherland into an English colony, sent Peter
Stuyvesant, indignant and bellicose to the
last, into retirement and brought New Utrecht
as well as the other Dutch and English towns
on Long Island under the British flag. New
Utrecht seems to have submitted to the change
with placid submission and was represented
by two delegates at the convention which
Governor Nicolls called in 1665 after he had
secured a firm grip of the reins of govern-
ment. In the following year it accepted a new
patent from his hands, found itself one of the
towns of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and
the "Duke's Laws" became the supreme legal
code of the town. The English rule lasted
for nine years and then disappeared as sud-
denly as it came, for on July 29, 1673, a fleet
of vessels with the flag of Holland at each of
their mastheads was seen in Nyack Bay and
were heartily welcomed and soon New Neth-
erland was Dutch once more. Governor
Colve's rule was especially welcomed in the
Dutch towns on Long Island, and on August
29 every male inhabitant of New Utrecht of
suitable age took the oath of allegiance to
the Fatherland and swore to it undying fidel-
ity. They also accepted a new charter or
S32
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
patent for the town from the astute Colve,
for that enterprising potentate had found out,
like Nicolls and Stuyvesant and all the rest,
that there was money in such things.
Matters were just beginning to settle down
into their accustomed dreary routine when a
fresh change occurred. On August 27, 1674,
another fleet was discovered lying in Nyack
Bay, and before the burghers fully realized
the nationality or purpose of the strange craft
the sailors were in possession of New Utrecht,
helped themselves to beef and other good
things and took possession of all the cattle,
grain and vegetables in the place. That night
DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH
Of New Utrecht, at Van Pelt Manor.
New L'trecht was once more annexed to the
British crown and it was not long afterward
that the Dutch rule in New Netherland be-
came forever a thing of the past. English
laws and government were planted again, to
stay this time until revoked by the people
themselves. In 1686 Governor Dongan is-
sued another patent to the town, and in it the
■quit rent was fixed at six bushels of winter
wheat, payable in the city of New York ^larch
25, in each year.
Beyond what has been related above, the
story of New Utrecht is practically destitute
of interest until the time of the Revolution.
It made progress but slowly. In 1647 it had
a population of some 35, in 1698 it had 259,
of which 48 were slaves. Perhaps the only
matter which aroused general interest was the
local congregation, and even that had but little
incident to record excepting the same quiet
progress which characterized the civil history
of the town. Ecclesiastically New Utrecht
was the ward of Flatbush. Church services
were at first held in the schoolhouse when the
weather was unpropitious, but those who were
able were expected to walk to the sanctuary
at Flatbush. Provision was made in the
schoolhouse, however, for the spiritual edifi-
cation of those who were unable for one rea-
son or another in any weather to undertake
such a journey. In 1677 the people formed
themselves into a congregation and the dedi-
catory services were conducted by the Rev.
Casparus A'an Zuren. Bergen tells us that
"the names of the first elders were : Jan
Guysbertz and Myndert Korten ; the first
deacons were Arian Willemsen (Bennett) and
Jan Hansen (Van Nostrand). More than 26
families formed the congregation, and 27 per-
sons were communicants at the beginning of
the church organization. The following is the
list of the original members: Jan Hansen
( \'an Nostrand) and wife; Myndert Korten
and wife ; Daniel Vorveelen and wife ; Jau
Gysbertz ; Willemtje; Neeltje; Adrian Wil-
lemsen Bennett and wife; Jan Pietersen Van
Deventer and wife; Nyntie Van Dyck; Gys-
bert Tysz Van Pelt and wife; Adriaantje;
Joost Du Wien and wife; Pieter Veritie ; Jean
du Pre ; Nicholas du Pre ; Lourens Jansen and
wife ; the mother of Joost du Wien ; Annetje
Bocquet ; Magdalena Van Pelt."
It was not until 1700 that the first church
building was erected, an octagonal stone
structure something like that of Flatlands
with a large rooster perched on the top of an
iron cross over the belfry.
Like so many other Long Island towns, the
control of New Utrecht's civil government
was vested for many years in the same hands
by which the affairs of the church were man-
aged. On this point a recent writer says :
NEW UTRECHT.
333
The first church officers chosen performed
the duties of overseers of the poor. The con-
trol of town and church affairs by the same
individuals thus early begun was continued
throughout the eighteenth and into the pres-
ent century. Here as elsewhere in the county
the past died hard and the town records were
kept in the Dutch language until 1763. Oddly
enough church officers were elected at town
meetings, the same as other functionaries, and
were ex officio poor overseers. It was also
conmion to confer the offices of constable, col-
lector and poundmaster on the same indi-
vidual, fcir the plausible reason that neither
alone was of much value and might be con-
sidered a burden rather than a favor to the
incumbent. So unwelcome was the post of
constable that it was necessary to assign it
to the married men of the community in ro-
tation, and in case the receiver of the honor
was unable to serve he had the right to name
a substitute, whose fidelity he was willing to
vouch for. At first five and afterward ten
pounds was the compensation allowed to the
collector. In 1799 the elders of the church
were chosen commissioners and the deacons
trustees of common schools, which regulation
continued till 1812, when the present state
common-school system was adopted. Polit-
ical distinctions were not recognized in town
afifairs.
Apropos to the long continued church gov-
ernment it is interesting to recall a case of
a dominie who performed his own marriage
ceremony in 1663, while another wife was
still living. The defendant alleged that the
first wife had eloped and he therefore pre-
sumed that he might perform the ceremony
for himself as well as for any one else. This
plea was set aside, the marriage annulled and
the defendant fined in two hundred guilders
and forty beaver skins, besides forty guil-
ders more for his insolence and impertinence
to the court.
At first the ministers were those of Flat-
bush, but when the collegiate compact, as it
was called, was dissolved, the Rev. Dr. John
Beattie became sole minister of New Utrecht.
His pastorate lasted from 1809 to 1834, and
he was succeeded by the Rev. Robert Ormis-
ton Currie, who continued until 1866, when
the Rev. David S. Sutphen became pastor.
He held the pulpit until 1880, when he was
succeeded by the Rev. Alfred H. Brush. The
old graveyard of New Utrecht, which still is
preserved amid all the modern changes at what
is now Sixteenth avenue and King's High-
way, may be said to mark also the site of
the first church. In his sketch of New
Utrecht, of which much use has been made in
preparing this sketch. Tennis G. Bergen
wrote :
The old graveyard of the village, near
where the first church edifice stood, still pre-
serves the old lines and shows the grassy
mounds over the graves of the early dead of
pioneer times, as well as over the remains of
those who died but a short time ago. The
graceful monument erected to the memory of
Drs. DuBois and Crane commemorates deeds
of noble sacrifice. In the year 1856 some
shipping in the quarantine, then opposite
Staten Island, communicated the fatal seeds
of vellow fever to the inhabitants of Bay
Ridge and Fort Hamilton. Family after fam-
ily was broken up or sadly ruined by the ter-
rible scourge. In the endeavor to stay the
ravages of the disease and help the afflicted,
these two physicians bravely did their utmost
until they, too, fell victims to the pest and
were interred in the ancient church-yard.
Since then the quarantine hospitals have been
established lower down in the bay, near Sandy
Hook : and nothing has occurred to detract
from the salubrity of the air of New Utrecht
throughout its whole area.
Of late years, however, this old burying
ground has been sadly neglected, and a recent
visitor described it as "uncouth and unkempt,"
the weeds luxuriant, the stones decaying,,
broken or fallen, the inscriptions fast becom-
ing unreadable, and the whole place, with the
exception of a few plots, left "to hang as it
will grow." This reproach to New Utrecht,
this slur upon the memories of the village
fathers who there rest, should not be per-
mitted to continue. The people should strive
to preserve as long as possible the amenity
and sacredness of the little enclosure. It is
a part of the history of the old town.
§34
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
For a month or two prior to the landing
of the British forces on August 22, 1776, New
Utrecht was the scene of constant excite-
ment. In 1740 or thereabout* a ferry was es-
tablished between Bay Ridge and Staten
Island and the landing on the Long Island
end was beside the bluff now occupied by Fort
Hamilton and was locally known as Denyse's
ferry. A small battery was placed there early
in August, 1776, by the Americans with the
view of stopping the traffic between the shore
and the British ships then in the harbor. The
good folks of New Utrecht were not above
turning an honest penny by supplying the en-
emy with fresh meats and farm and garden
produce, and the ferry to Staten Island not
only carried over to the enemy an abundance
in the way of provender but was the means
of much information being conveyed con-
cerning the doings of the patriot forces which
should have been zealously withheld from the
British troops then on Staten Island or from
the British sailors in the bay. From its very
nature the water front of New Utrecht pre-
sented many convenient places for sending to
the enemy on the waters or on the land across
the bay the persons or the communications of
spies and informers of all sorts, and it also
gave the British a stretch of coast line which
from its extent and unguardedness almost in-
*The following data bearing on this are taken from
an article. in the story of New Utrecht from a recent
issue of the " Brooklyn Eagle;"
' ' In 1740 the seines of Justice Cortelyou secured the
enormous catch of 0,000 shad. The farmers and shore
dwellers were in such constant communication with
Staten Island that in 1738 a regular ferry was established
between Yellow Hook, near Bay Ridge, to an opposite
point across the Narrows. This service was conducted
by John Lane. The latest instance of large game is
recorded in 17.)0, when a full-sized bear attempted to
swim across to New Utrecht from Red Hook and was
shot by Sebring of Brooklyn. From 1770 to the end of
the British occupation, sympathizers with the Patriot
cause were forced to make nightly trips across the
Narrows in fishing boats to Staten Island and New
Jersey. At this period the bluff on which Fort Hamilton
was afterward built was occupied by the houses of
Denyse Denyse, Abraham Bennett and Simon Cortelyou,
In the bombardment from the ships, on August 22, 177G,
the Bennett and Denyse dwellings were struck by shots
from the English guns."
vited a descent. The little battery of two or
three twelve-pounders gave a good account of
itself while it had the opportunity. It put a
stop, to a great extent, to the illicit and un-
patriotic traffic in its vicinity and it opened
fire on the frigate Asia when that famous
ship came within its range. The Asia re-
sponded, and while the battery escaped harm
the houses in the neighborhood suffered se-
verely. Bergen says that this battery op-
posed the landing of the British on August 22,
but there seems no clear warrant for this. The
invaders in the disposition of their fleet on
that eventful morning certainly placed a ves-
sel— the Rainbow — to cover the place where
the little fort was supposed to be. All the
historical evidence shows that the British
landing was practically unopposed, and indeed
General Parsons in his minute report of the
matter to John Adams mentions nothing of
such a defense. Probably, therefore, the arm-
ament had been moved to some of the forts
in the established line of defenses where it
might be enabled to do more effective service
than in an outpost to which was opposed an
entire fleet and a veteran army.
It is generally held that the landing from
the British army was effected at Denyse's
ferry, but probably the coast from there to
what is now Bensonhurst was soon alive with
the red-coated troops and the European mer-
cenaries. For two or three days New Utrecht
swarmed with the invaders, and roar of can-
non and -the din of musketry deadened all
other sounds, while fields of grain were ruth-
lessly trampled down and farm houses and
cottages despoiled of their provender, battered
by shot, or doomed to flame by the exigencies
of the short campaign or the brutal malice of
the soldiery. It was a terrible episode in the
story of the quiet township, a whole epoch as
it were crowded into a few days; but after it
passed matters resumed their wonted quiet
and the people were given a chance to repair
the damage and prepare their fields for fresh
crops. During the British occupation the
town felt the iron hand of the invader more
NEW UTRECHT.
385
heavily than those of any other of the old
Dutch towns, for they had hved even more
among themselves than had the others, and
their Dutch doggedness, and determination
and loyalty, were more marked ; but when the
occupation, with all its bitterness, became a
thing of the past New Utrecht gradually re-
sumed its old ways and contentedly sowed and
reaped, laughed and dozed, as the seasons
came and went and the years slipped on.
It got another awakening when the war
of 1812 broke out, for then a rock lying off
the then famous Denyse's ferry and locally
known as Hendrick's Reef was selected as the
site of one of the forts forming the defenses
of the harbor. This fort was originally called
Fort Diamond, on account of the shape of its
little island site, but the name was afterward
changed to that which it now bears, — Fort
Lafayette. In the other defenses of Long
Island, when the war of 1812 seemed to
threaten them with another British invasion,
the people of New Utrecht took an equal in-
terest with their neighbors. On August 22
they worked on the Brooklyn fortifications
and the New Utrecht company in the Long
Island (Sixty-fourth) Regiment was main-
tained easily at its full strength. It was of-
ficered by Captain William Denyse, Lieuten-
ants Barcalo and Van Hise, and Ensign Suy-
dam. There was also another military com-
pany formed under Captain J. T. Bergen,
while in New Utrecht was an armed camp for
drill and instruction which bore the name of
General Morgan Lewis.
In 1824 Fort Hamilton (the locality
known to the Indians as Nyack) was com-
menced and was pronounced as completed in
1832. But military evolution is a constant
evolution and even to the present day it is
still undergoing enlargement and improve-
ment. It now occupies a reservation of 155
acres and ranks as one of the most complete
fortifications on the North Atlantic coast. At
the time of this writing an army board is
considering several very extensive improve-
ments, to cost in the neighborhood of $1,000,-
000. The barracks are to be rebuilt, and
the parade ground will be graded and en-
larged and also beautified by extensive tree
planting. The government reservation is to
be transformed into a fine park through
which will pass a driveway connecting Bay
Ridge with Bath Beach, Bensonhurst and
Coney Island. Fine macadamized streets
are to take the place of the old dirt roads.
The redoubt at the southeastern corner of the
grounds will be leveled, as it is in the way.
The stables, store-room, hospital and the
quarters of the non-commissioned officers are
to be left standing. The improvements in-
clude a new sewer system. In fact little of
the old barracks will be left when the improve-
ments novv^ under consideration are completed.
Most of the officers' quarters, however, will
remain, and it is hoped that the old Cortelyou
mansion at the southeastern corner of the
grounds will be spared. It is a historic land-
mark, having been General Howe's headquar-
ters when he effected his landing on Long
Island in August, 1776.
The modern history of New Utrecht is one
simply of peaceful progress. Its villages —
Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, Bath, Lefiferts
Park, Dycker Meadow, Bensonhurst — are, as
we see them, mainly new developments, whose
existence in these later days are due to the
general desire for suburban homes and the
wiles and ways of the land boomer. None
of them has any history in the strict sense
of the word, — any interest beyond their own
borders, — although Bay Ridge came into un-
kind prominence in 1873, when one of the
supposed abductors of Charley Ross, of Phil-
adelphia, was shot while engaged in an at-
tempt to rob the old Van Brunt mansion which
then stood on the site now occupied by the
Crescent Athletic Club.
In 1831 the Methodists first organized a
church in Bay Ridge, and in 1834 St. John's
Episcopal church was organized at Fort Ham-
ilton. It was founded mainly by people con-
nected with the military reservation, and the
late Robert E. Lee, the Confederate General,
380
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was one of its vestrymen in 1842, at which
time he was a Captain in the United States
army. In 1852 another Episcopalian body
was founded, — Christ Church, Bay Ridge, —
mainly through the efforts of the late J. A.
Perry, the first Comptroller of Greenwood
Cemetery, who died August 26, 1881. The
advent of the street car, the laying of a line
of railroad right through its farms to the sea-
side, and, more potent than all,, the introduc-
tion of the trolley, have opened its every nook
and corner to the outside world. Streets now
cross each other on the map with mathemat-
iral nicety, all over its old-time territory, farms
have been cut up into city lots and every sea-
son new communities are being brought to-
gether. The time of the change from urban to
suburban conditions was marked by many
curious cantrips, none more curious than those
of Cornelius Furgueson, who among other
things, had the township nightly lighted up
with 3.900 gas lamps at a time when there was
neither house nor barn to benefit, — one gas
lamp it was said for every three persons in
the township, or ten for each house ! The
company which supplied the gas received $28
for each one every year and paid a handsome
commission on the contract. There were
stories afloat of other jobs and it was just
such stories, backed up by strong evidence,
that hastened the end of New Utrecht's sep-
arate existence. Governor Morton signed the
bill for its annexation to Brooklyn May 3,
1894, and the measure went into effect on July
I following. Since then New Utrecht has
been reduced to the official position of a city
ward, but its progress as such has been much
more rapid than it ever experienced as a town-
ship, while its future is of the brightest pos-
sible description.
CHAPTER XXIX.
BUSHWICK.
Williamsburg, Greenpoint — The Adventurous Life of Neziah Bliss.
XLIKE the other Dutch towns on
Long Island, Bushwick does not
seem to have sprung into exist-
ence as a town dulj' backed up
by a patent, and must rather be consid-
ered as a place which simply grew until it
had township honors conferred upon it by the
progress which its own people made in num-
bers and importance. Lying in a fertile belt of
land, some 5,000 acres of extent, it seemed
from the beginning an agricultural paradise,
while it was so adapted by nature that almost
any portion of it was easily accessible. Ex-
tending, roughly speaking, from the Wallabout
to Newtown Creek, it had a splendid stretch of
water front on the river facing New Amster-
dam, while in its rear Newtown Creek and its
tributaries formed another highway by which
a farmer might send his produce to market.
It seemed a stretch of land designed by nature
for farming operations, and so far as we may
judge its advantages were very early perceived
by the pioneer prospectors of the West India
Company. In 1638 most of the territory after-
ward incorporated into it was bought from the
Indian proprietors, and some of it even then is
said to have been occupied by enterprising
pioneers who saw that the land was good and
had pre-empted as much as they could and
then waited the advent of "law and order to
award them titles and make peace with the red
man. By 1650 it boasted a mixed population
of Swedes, Dutch and Norwegians. As early
as 1641 we learn of one of these settlers, Cor-
nelius (Jacobse) Stille, having sold his farm
in Bushwick, so that the territory by that time
had so far advanced from its primeval condi-
tion that its land had become the object of
barter and sale. We do not propose to follow
here the story of the early patents to such set-
tlers as Jean_JvIeserole, or Lambert Moll, or-
Claes Carstensen, or George Baxter, or Jan the
Swede, or David Andriese, or Jan Forbus, or
Pieter Jans the Norman, and merely present
their names to show that Bushwick was pri-
marily settled by as cosmopolitan a population
as was New Amsterdam itself.
It was not until 1660 thatthe settlers began
to draw together and the object then was sim-
ply that of self-protection. The Indians were
at that time ugly and troublesome, and a block-
house was erected on a bluft beside the river
near the foot of the present South Fourth
street, which was given the name of the Keike,
or Keikout (look-out), which became the pop-
ular designation of a stretch of contiguous ter-
ritory. That fortification protected the settlers,
or at least inspired confidence in their hearts,
especially of those near the Wallabout ; but the
farms seem to have rapidly — rapidly, for the
time — spread over a wide stretch of territory.
On Feb. 16, 1660, fourteen Frenchmen, re-
cently arrived, along with a Dutch interpreter,
waited on Gov. Stuyvesant and asked him to
lay aside a section of the territory as a town
plot and a few days later the redoubtable Peter,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
with his officials, crossed over to Long Island
and designated, or more likely approved, a site
between Mespat Kill (Newtown Creek) and
Norman's Kill (Bushwick Creek), on which he
ordered twenty-two house lots to be laid out
and building was at once begun, the first house
being that of Evert Hedeman. A year later
Stuyvesant revisited the place, saw that every-
thing was really prospering, and, in answer to
the request of the inhabitants that he should
give the village a name, dubbed it Boswijck,
the "town in the woods." But he was greeted
with another request, a petition signed by
twenty-three male inhabitants — all there was
undoubtedly, — asking for the usual town priv-
ileges, such as being ruled by local magistrates ;
and Peter the Impetuous, being in a better
humor than usual, seems to have at once as-
sented. They submitted six names and from
the list he selected three, — Peter (Janse) de
Witt, Jan (Cornelise) Zeeaw, and Jan Tilje, —
who thereupon became the first magistrates.
The Schout, however, was Adriaen Hegeman,
who held that office over the otlier Dutch
towns, for Bushwick took its' place at once
among these in spite of the cosmopolitan com-
plexion of its population. Stuyvesant also ad-
vised the surrounding settlers to build their
houses so asi to be in, or within easy reach of,
the new settlement, and so they might help each
other in case of danger. This suggestion was
so evidently useful and practical that it was
carried into effect with such zeal that within
a few months the magistrates had to apply to
the Governor and Council for an increase in
the number of town lots, a request that was at
once granted. It does not appear that Stuy-
vesant, in spite of his evident partiality for
the "town in the woods," ever conferred on it
a town patent; at least none has b;en discov-
ered.
The early history of Bushwick is one of
steady prosperity. On Dec. 26, 1662, say the
Dutch records: "The magistrates of the vil-
lage of Bosswyck, appeared before the coun-
cil, representing that they in their village were
in great need of a person who would act as
clerk and schoolmaster to instruct the youth;
and that as one had been proposed to them,
viz, Boudewyn Manout, from Crimpen op de
Lecq (a villiage in Holland), they had agreed
with him that he should officiate as voorleeser
or clerk, and keep school for the instruction of
the youth. For his [services] as clerk he was
to receive 400 guilders in [wampum] annually ;
and, as schoolmaster, free house rent and fire-
wood. They therefore solicited that their ac-
tion in the matter might meet the approval of
the Director General and Council in Nieuw
Netherland, and that the Council would also
contribute something annually to facilitate the
payment of said salary." From this beginning
we can trace the progress of primary educa-
tion in Bushwick, the story of which has al-
ready been outlined.
Except a record of slow progress after the
first exciting start, there is little to relate of
the early Dutch history of Bushwick, but with
the advent of Gov. Nicolls in 1664 there came
quite a ripple of excitement. The town ac-
cepted the change of government quietly
enough, though perhaps not loyally, and was
represented in the Hempstead Convention of
Marrh i, 1665, by Jan Stelman and Guisbert
Teunissen. It was in the latter's house that
the excitement commenced, for there a minis-
ter, a preacher from New Amsterdam, deliv-
ered a sermon by order of the Governor. The
name of this clergyman is unknown, and only
a few of the inhabitants went to listen to him.
In the first place he was a minister of the
Church of England, a body of which few, if
indeed any, of the people knew anything ex-
cept from hearsay; in the second place, like
most Protestants, they did not care to have a
minister thrust upon them ; and in the third
place they had learned that they were to be
taxed for the support of the new religious
teacher. The amount was first fixed at 175
guilders, but when the extent of the opposition
to the move became apparent. Gov. Nicolls re-
duced the impost 100 guilders. This there
BUSHWICK.
839
was no evading, grumble as they might, and
the amount was paid yearly until Gov. Colve
took the reins of government, in 1673. But
the people, while forced to pay, could not be
compelled to listen, and most of them pre-
ferred to stay away from the services thus
thrust upon them and adhered in their alle-
giance to the Dutch Reformed Church, travel-
ing generally to the little tabernacle in Brook-
lyn. Gov. Nicolls, however, in spite of all this,
willingly acceded to the request of the people
for a municipal charter, and issued one on Oct.
25, 1667, in which the boundaries of the town
are set forth, but in language which would be
unintelligible to the general reader. Of course
such a charter meant a fee and that was prob-
ably the main reason for the prompt response
which the request met with. Another patent
was issued in 1687 by Gov. Dongan. When
the brief rule of Colve came to an end and
British supremacy was re-established, no at-
tempt seems to have been made to thrust a
minister once moire on the people, and it was
not until the time of the British occupation,
after the Battle of Brooklyn, that the Episco-
pal Church again asserted itself. Considering
themselves under the spiritual guidance of the
Collegiate Church, the people, except possibly
the French who did not understand the lan-
guage and very likely degenerated in religious
observances, contributed to the support of that
body; and there is still in existence a receipt
given by Dominie Freeman for the Bushwick
contribution to his salary, dated 1709. It was
probably a year before, 1708, that the first
church was built, the usual octagonal structure
with steep roof and open belfry, surmounted
by an eagle or a dove, or some other emblem-
atic design in gilt. A part of the first com-
munion service, still extant, bears the date
1708, and there is also a receipt for a church
bell dated 171 1, so that the former year may
be accepted as the date of erection ; and as the
queer-looking little box, with trifling altera-
tions and improvements, lasted until 1829,
when it was demolished, it must have been a
good honest piece of construction.
Notwithstanding its magnificent situation,
Bushwick did not prosper or increase in pop-
ulation in the same proportion as the other
Dutch towns. It remained' a farming com- \
munity mainly, and seemed to live in a measure
within itself, attending to its own business, its
people settling their troubles by arbitration .-^
among themselves, steadily keeping alive their'
ancestral traditions, jealous of any interference
with their local affairs, supporting their own
poor without the necessity of any legal edict,
paying their quit-rent tax with the usual mild
grumbling and finally becoming outspoken in
their denunciation of the imposts and the laws
of their English rulers. But they could do
little more than grumble, for they were a
mere handful. Probably in 1776 the whole
population did not number over 250.
Bushwick, despite the disparity of its num-
bers, was more pronouncedly patriotic and
outspoken than any of the other King's County
towns in the crisis which preceded the ' out-
break of the Revolutionary War. It was repre-
sented in the Provincial Congress at New York
in 1775 and 1776 by Theodorus Polhemus.
The town seems to have fully complied with
the calls of the Congress for militia and Capt.
Titus's company is claimed to have done its
full share of duty in the Battle of Brooklyn.
The result of that battle, however, effectually
silenced the Revolutionary spirit in Bushwick,
and many of its most ardent Patriots moved
away, while not a few entered the military
service of the struggling republic. The town
seems to have suffered many hardships all dur-
ing the years of the British occupation, the
trees and fences were made to furnish firewood
for the camps or taken for use in such defenses
as were thrown up, while farm and garden
produce was transferred from raiser to con-
sumer by the easy methods of martial law ; and
to that rude code in fact the civilization and
property of the entire township had to give
way. The most obnoxious feature of the occu-
pation was perhaps the billeting of the soldiers
on the people. A Hessian regiment, for in-
stance, was quartered in Bushwick in the win-
340
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.'^/;
ter of 1776-7. Many of them were sheltered
in barracks which they constructed on the farm
of Abraham Luqueer, using whatever wood,
growing or otherwise, came handiest. A great
number, however, were quartered in private
residences and defiled and destroyed the prop-
erty which they occupied with reckless wanton-
ness. So filthy were they in their habits that
they received the name of "the Dirty Blues,"
and one of the results of their stay in Bushwick
was a malignant fever which made a vacant
chair in many a household. Gangs of toughs
and thieves — human scum — later on in the oc-
cupation crossed over from New York or
marched from Brooklyn and infested the whole
territory, while from 1778 until 1783 McPher-
son's Guides, although nominally under British
discipline, proved little better than a squad of
thugs and freebooters. No wonder that Bush-
wick rejoiced wheii the victory was wcn and
the occupation became a thing of the past. Its
citizens joined in an address to Gen. Washing-
ton, to which he sent a most dignified reply.
On Dec. 2, 1783, they had a grand festival at
which they joined in thirteen regular toasts,
beginning with "The United States of Amer-
ica" and "His Most Christian Majesty (of
France)," and "the States of Holland." Then
they pledged New York, Clinton, Washington,
the Council and Assembly, and closed with
sentiments, the last of which was, "As the roar-
ing of a lion is to animals, so may the frowns
of America be to Princes." The chronicles
tell us that "the day was spent in greatest good
humor, decency and decorum. Every coun-
tenance displayed in the most lively manner the
joy and gratitude of their hearts upon this most
happy and important event."
"Among the patriots of Bushwick," says
Stiles, "we may here record the names of John
Provost (grandfather of Hon. A. J. Provost),
who escaped the pursuit of a detachment of
British soldiers on Greenpoint and was obliged
to secrete himself for three days in Cripplegate
swamp, during which time he sustained life by
milking the cows which pastured there; of
-■ .^
w
John A. Meserole, who was taken and confined
in the Provost jail at New York; of John I.
Meserole, who was mistaken for John A.,
while out gunning in a skiff, and arrested as a
spy, but subsequently released ; and of Abra-
ham Meserole, another member of the same
family who was in the American army. Jacob
Van Cott and David Miller were also in the
service, and taken prisoners. William Consel- .
yea was taken during the war, and hung over
a well and threatened in order to make him
confess where his money was ; Nicholas Wyck-
off was engaged in vidette duty with a troop of
horse ; and Alexander Whaley was one of those
decided characters of whom we should be glad
to learn more than we have been able to ascer-
tain, in spite of much inquiry and research.
He was a blacksmith, residing at the Bushwick
Cross Roads, on land forming a part of Abra-
ham Rapalye's forfeited estates, and which he
purchased at the commissioners' sale, March
21, 1785. (Liber VI, Convey., Kings Co., 345).
The building which Mr. Whaley occupied was
erected by himself, on the south side of the
present Flushing avenue, his liberty-sign pole
rising from a little knoll some twenty feet west
of the house. His blacksmith shop was on the
site of the present house, east of the old Wha-
ley house. He died at Bushwick, in February,
1833, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
Bold, faithful, and patriotic, and odd withal,
he made his mark upon the day and generation
in which he lived. His obituary notice (all too
brief) says that "he was one of the pioneers of
American liberty; being one of those who as-
sisted in thro\ving the tea overboard in Boston
harbor. He was the confidential friend of
Washington, and in all the relations of life he
always did his duty."
"Several estates were confiscated, among
which were those of William Rapalje and
others ; the owners finding it convenient to go
to Nova Scotia.
"Although opposite political opinions were
frequently entertained by different members of
the same families, it is worthv of remark that
BUSHWICK.
841
they always acted honestly towards one an-
other. Though a great number of the inhab-
itants of Bushwick were Whigs, the Royalists
even were men of peaceable character and in-
tegrity. This fact, as recorded by a venerable
eye witness of the Revolution, speaks volumes
in favor of the ancestry of Bushwick."
With the close of the Revolutionary strug-
gle Bushwick resumed the quiet tenor of its
ways and did not manifest to any extent the
progress made by the other Dutch towns.
Probablv its people were averse to change, —
to receiving and fraternizing with new-comers.
They tilled the soil season after season, ate the
produce of their, fields, sold what they could, or
what they did not want, and were happy. The
centre of their little world was Het Dorp,
where was located their church, their town
house, their school-house and the little God's-
acre where after life's little battle they were
gathered to their fathers. This was the spot
on which Situyvesant stood when he named the
place Boswijck and probably the visitor who
nowadays passes along Humboldt avenue, be-
tween North Second and Skillman streets, may
tread in the footsteps of the valorous Peter
when he viewed the landscape and graciously
assented, in the passing fullness of his heart,
to all the people asked of him. Now its glory
has departed and rows of houses stand on once
fruitful fields. Even the old burying-ground
has disappeared. It became practically unused
and an eyesore, and in 1879 the graves were
opened, the remains reverently gathered to-
jxether in boxes and deposited under the mod-
ern Bushwick church. There was quite a set-
tlement around Het Dorp, for it was the rally-
ing place of the inhabitants, and the court-
house and church and school caused it to be
frequented by strangers at intervals ; but even
ih spite of these things it was a sleepy village,
even in its busiest days. There was also a little
settlement at the junction of what is now
Flushing avenue and Bushwick avenue, which
rejoiced in the name of Het Kivis Padt, or The
Cross Roads, and another, Het Strand, stood
on the shore of the East River. But they were
inconsiderable hamlets and looked to Het Dorp
as the centre of their social sphere, their busi-
ness world.
There was still another section which, al-
though its distinct existence was not recog.
nized until long after, really existed in Bush-
wick. This was Cherry Point, afterward
known as Greenpoint, lying in a neck with
Newtown Creek as one boundary, and the East
River and Bushwick Creek as others. It was
divided at the time of the Revolution between
a few Dutch families, the Praas, the Meser-
oles, the Colyers, the Bennets, and it is known
tliat a troop of Hessians held sway here during
part of the occupation and played sad havoc
with John A. Meserole's house, in which they
were quartered. The family managed to save
one cow out of the wreck of their live stock by
hiding it away in an out-of-the-way clump of
trees. From its peculiar location and the ab-
sence of roads the people at Cherry Point were
so cut off from the rest of the township as to be
hardly considered a part of it. Their main
communication with the outer world was by
boat, and a boat was as necessary a part of the ,
farm's outfit as vras a wagon at Flatbush. The
people rowed over to Manhattan with their
produce, and even journeys to Brooklyn were
made by boat. In 1796 a bridge was built
across Newtown Creek, but its facilities were
for a long time of little practical use to the
dwellers in Cherry Point.
But while Bushwick after the Revolution
relapsed into its primitive state of what might
be termed in words of a modern statesman "in-
nocuous desuetude," part of the territory was
suddenly given over to modern ways, and its
population and resources and importance be-
gan to expand. But the pressure to expand
came from without in the chain of circum-
stances which led to the foundation of Will-
iamsburg. The story of that erstwhile city is
that of a succession of land booms and reads
more like a romance than a piece of veritable
history. As the early history is so involved as
.^
^
Q^
><.^:
34i
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to be clearly stated only by one who has given
the subject close study combined with a per-
sonal acquaintance with many of the under-
currents of events, I venture to quote at con-
siderable length from a sketch written by Mr.
John M. Stearns, probably the best authority
on the history of Brooklyn's once famous
"Eastern District."
After the close of the Revolutionary War,
the farmers of Bushwick pursued in peace
their occupations of raising grain and cultivat-
ing garden vegetables for the New York mar-
ket. But, ere long, upon the shores of the river
which fonned their western border appeared
the nucleus of a village, and even while they
rubbed their astonished eyes, it expanded to
the fair proportions of a city. Instead of sbwly
amassing money by plodding labor and clnse-
fisted huckstering, they found fortunes faiily
thrust upon them by the enhanced -^'alue of
their farms, due to the enterprise of others,
whom they considered as Yankee intruders.
They hesitated at first, dazzled by the prospect
and suspicious of the motives of those who
offered it. But finesse prevailed and, the first
purchase made, the rest was simply a matter
of time.
Richard M. WoodhuU, a New York mer-
chant, of intelligent and comprehensive views,
albeit somewhat speculative in his conclusions,
was the pioneer in this movement. He hat! al-
ready established a horse ferry, from Corlaer's
Hook (near the foot of the present Grand
street, New York) to the foot of the present
North Second street, in Brooklyn ; and the con-
centration of trade from Long Island at this
apology for a ferry naturally suggested to him
its probable occupation, to a limited extent,
near the eastern temiinus of the ferrv, for a
village. Had he reasoned from experience as
to the growth of cities, he might have bee-,T de-
terred from this venture. New York City,
which at the period of the Revolution had but
24,000 inhabitants, possessed at this time
(1800) less than 61,000. There was, indeed,
a highway from the settled parts of the city to
Corlaer's Hook ; but Chatham street was then
the margin of the built up city, and the scat-
tered farmsteads, shops and hotels along the
Bowery were mere suburbs of the town. Had
he stopped to consider that from thirty to forty
vcars would be required to crowd three square
nfiles of vacant lands with houses, and to oc-
cupy the De Lancey and VVillet farms with
population, before his projected city on the op-
ix)site Long Island shore could become a prac-
tical success, he might have saved himself from
infinite trouble and ultimate bankruptcy. True,
he had a ferry established. But this could not
accommodate the people whose employment
was in New York. A horse ferry, with two
miles of travel on the New York side, before
the business portion of the city could be
reached, was to most persons a most formid-
able objection to locating so far from their em-
ployment. But Woodhull was infatuated with
his scheme ; and, as he could not easily, in the
then temper of the old Dutch residents, pur-
chase the much coveted land in his own name,
he employed one Samuel Titus, of Newtown,
to secure the title from Charles (old "Char-
lum") Titus' of some thirteen acres of his farm,
which he afterward repurchased from the said
Samuel Titus, at cost. This land, situated in
the vicinity of North Second street (then called
Bushwick street), was soon laid out by Mr.
Woodhull in city lots, and named Williams-
burgh, in compliment to his friend. Col. Will-
iams, U. S. engineer, by whom it was surveyed.
A shanty ferry house and a tavern near by were
erected ; one Lewis bought some lots and put
up a hay-press and scales near the present
North Third and First streets, where it was in-
tended to bale the hay crop of Long Island for
shipment and the New York market; and an
auction was held, at which a few building lots
were disposed of. But the amount realized
came far short of restoring to Woodhull the
inoney he had thus prematurely invested. His
project was fully a quarter of a century too
soon. It required half a million of people in
the city of New York before settlers could be
induced to remove across the East River, away
from the attractions of a commercial city.
Woodhull found that notes matured long be-
fore he could realize from his property, and
barely six years had passed before he was a
bankrupt, and the site of his new city became
subject to sale by the sheriff. By divers shifts
the calamity was deferred until September 11,
t8ii, when the right, title and interest of Rich-
ard M. Woodhull in the original purchase, and
in five acres of the Francis J- Titus estate, pur-
chased by him, in 1805, near Fifth street, was
sold by the sheriff, on a judgment in favor of
one Roosevelt. James H. Maxwell, the son-in-
law of Woodhull, became the purchaser of
BUSH WICK.
843
Williamsburgh ; but not having means to con-
tinue his title thereto, it again passed under the
sheritT's hammer, ahhough a sufficient number
of lots had by this time been sold to prevent
its reappropriation to farm or garden purposes.
Woodhull and Maxwell's experience was that
which is common to men who think in advance
of their times ; but they will ever be mentioned
with respect as the "fathers of the town."
Meanwhile another rival was in the field,
Thomas Morrell, of Newtown, who had pur-
chased from Folkert Titus the ancient Titus
homestead farm of twenty-eight acres ; and
who, with James Hazard, to whom he sold a
moiety, had laid it out in citv lots, and had a
map made of the same, whereon Grand street
was laid down as a dividing line. Morrell then,
in 1 812, obtained from the city of New York a
grant for a ferry from Grand street, Bushwick,
to Grand street, New York, — the same point to
which Woodhull's ferry also ran. Yorkton was
the somewhat pompous name given to the ter-
ritory along the river between South First and
North Siecond stieets, and Loss' map of York-
ton was dignified to the position of a public
record. The Morrell ferry gradually super-
seded Woodhull's in the public estimation, so
that both owners became rivals ; and disputes
ran so high between them that they would not
permit each other's teams to pass over their
respective lands ; all this tended to retard the
progress of the village. Grand street became
the permanent site of the ferry; and the old
Titus homestead (on the northeast side of
South First street), long known as "Old Char-
lum's" Fountain Inn, became the headquarters
of village politics, where the destinies of town
and county were often discussed, on winter
nights, over hot flip and brandy slings.
But while Morrell succeeded as to the ferry
Woodhull managed to preserve the name Will-
iamsburgh, which applied at first to the thir-
teen acres originally purchased, and had ex-
tended itself to adjoining lands, so as to em-
brace about thirty acres, as seen in Popple-
ton's map, in 1814, and another in 1815, of
property of J. Homer Maxwell. But the first
ferry had landed at Williamsburgh, and the
turnpike went through Williamsburgh out into
the island. Hence, both the country people
and the people coming from the city, when
coming to the ferry, spoke of coming to Will-
iamsburgh. Thus Yorkton was soon unknown
save on Loss' map and in the transactions of
certain land jobbers. Similarly, the designa-
tions of old farm locations, being obsolete to
the idea of a city or a village, grew into disuse ;
and the whole territory between the Wallabout
Bay and Bushwick Creek became known as
Williamsburgh.
At the time the ferries were established
there was no open road to the water side except
that of the Newtown & Bushwick Bridge Co.,
which came to the shore at Woodhull's ferry.
There was no open shore road connecting the
two ferries, nor any from the Wallabout to
Williamsburgh ; for, blind to their own inter-
ests, the owners of the shore land refused to
have any road opened over their property along
the shore. Consequently the ferries could not
prosper, their cost exceeded their income, and
both owners died in embarrassed circumstances
and with blighted hopes. Subsequently the
ferries were consolidated.
While Woodhull (and his successor) and
Morrell were at variance about towns and fer-
ries. Gen. Jeremiah Johnson had purchased the
farm of Charles Titus second ; and, in his go-
ings to and fro between his farm and Williams-
burgh, became much annoyed at having to open
and shut no less than seventeen barred-gates,
within a distance of half a mile along the
shore.''' His proposition to the owners of these
lands to unite with him in securing a legislative
act for the opening of a two-rod road, along
the front of their property from the Wallabout
Bridge to the Newtown and Bushwick Biridge
road at Woodhull's ferry, was not only de-
clined but strenuously opposed. Whereupon,
we quote from a MS. lecture
by Mr. Barnes on the Wallabout, the following descrip-
tion of the "old-time" route from Gen. Johnson's
place, corner Kent avenue and Hewes street, to East
New York; "Travel up the farm-lane (Hewes street)
some distance beyond the present Lee avenue church,
thence southeasterly along the farm to the then woods,
across the creek to Nostrand's lane, and up this lane
(near the site of Husted & Co.'s brick stables) on Flush-
ing avenue, then southeast to land of Henry Boerum,
thence southerly to Bedford, then along the old Bedford
road, facing to the south of Fort Greene to Baker's Tav-
ern on Long Island Railroad to Fulton street; then a
road or lane, to the ferry, six miles away, — a journey o£
two or three hours. This, however, was short com-
pared with the distance from the late Abm. Remsen's
house (adjoining Scholes' farm, and but one beyond Gen.
Johnson's). The family had to travel up their farm line
to the church at Bushwick, thence along the Bushwick
road to the Cross-Roads, along Cripplebrush road to the
residence of Jacobus Lott, where Nostrand's land inter-
sects the road, and then along the Cripplebrush road
and Bedford road, past Fort Greene to Baker's Tavern
on Long Island Railroad, and to Fulton street and so to
the ferrv, — ten miles, and taking four or five hours.
344
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
taking the matter in liis own hands, he himself
surveyed the proposed road, gave due notice of
appHcation, got up a petition, and by personal
interest at Albany secured the required author-
ity, and within a month the road was opened
by commissioners of the two towns. The effect
was magical, for before this there had been no
means of vehicular travel with Brooklyn, ex-
cept by the Newtown road from the Bushwick
Cross Roads. Now the business largely in-
creased at the ferry, and public attention began
to be drawn more than ever to the many ad-
vantages of residence afforded by Williams-
burgh. For, situated as it was, — ^opposite the
very heart of New York City, with a bold
water-front upon the East River of a mile and
a half extent (entirely under the control of its
own local authorities), with a sufficient depth
for all ordinary commercial purposes, and with
the ground rising gradually from the river to
the height of about forty-five feet above water
level, — it seems as if, on the whole. Nature had
designed the territory for the site of a city.
The village grew apace. The M. E. Church
(organized 1807) erected, in 1808, the first
place of worship; the North American Hotel
vvas built about the same time; and by 1814
the town numbered 759 persons.
About 1819 a distillery was established at
the foot of South Second street, by Noah Wa-
terbury, whose enterprise has earned for him
the appellation of the "Father of Williams-
burgh." A native of Groton, Ct., he came, in
1789, at the age of fifteen, to Brooklyn, where
he learned to be a shoemaker. At the age of
twenty-one years, together with Henry Stan-
ton, he took Catharine Street ferry, and after
carrying it on awhile entered into the lum-
ber trade, and subsequently established a rope
walk. He removed to Williamsburgh, in May,
1819, where he purchased from Gen. Jeremiah
Johnson the half acre of land on which, with
Jordan Coles, he built the distillery above re-
ferred to. Subsequently purchasing eight ad-
joining acres, he laid it out in city lots : grad-
ually got into the real-estate business ; fre-
quently loaned money to the village in its finan-
cial embarrassments ; originated the City Bank,
of which he became the first president ; as also
of the Board of Trustees of 1827 ; and in many
ways promoted the welfare of the village. His
life was one of enterprise, public spirit and
high integrity.
It was early found that the laws relating to
common highways were entirely inadequate
to the opening of streets and other improve-
ments needed by a village or city. If the plan
had been adopted of opening all streets by com-
mon taxation, improvements might have been
effected, and in the end their expense would
have been equitably apportioned, that is, when
the whole village plot was improved alike and
paid for ; but in this new community every per-
son wished his particular property improved,
and had rather pay the expense than have such
improvements deferred till the general public
were willing to assume the special burden of
such improvements. Mr. David Dunham, a
merchant and citizen of New York, became in-
terested in Williamsburgh, by purchase at the
Sheriff's sale, when the right, title and interest
of James H. Maxwell (Woodhull's son-in-
law) were sold out on execution in favor of
James J. Roosevelt, who continued to follow
the property with his financial accomrnoda-
tions until 1818 brought the final extinction of
the original pioneer interest of these two
founders of the village. Dunham shared his
purchase with Moses Judah and Samuel Os-
born, established the first steam ferry from
New York to Williamsburgh, and had his
name applied to Grand street, as laid down on
"'Loss' Yorkton Map." But, though the street
was soon widened ten feet on the north side,
the new name would not stick. Grand street
it was, and is to this day. In 1820 David Dun-
ham, above named, donated land near North
First street, on which a school-house was
erected, known as District School No. 3 of the
Town of Bushwick ; and the population of the
town, including the village, was at this time
934, of which 182 were colored.
In July of this year an advertisement in the
Long Island Star announces a bear-shooting, at
the Fountain Inn, which "the rifle companies
of Major Vinton and Captain Burns are par-
ticularly invited to attend with their music.
Green-turtle soup to be ready on the same dav,
from II A. M. to 10 P. M." In October, fol-
lowing, three persons were indicted at the
Kings County General Sessions for bull-baiting
at Williamsburgh ! which argues well for the
moral sentiment of the new community. In
1823 the village sustained a severe loss in the
death, by drowning, of Mr. David Dunham,
"merchant and citizen of New York," whose
efforts had "materially changed the appearance
of Williamsburgh and were adding constantly
to its improvements. The Williamsburgh
Ferry and Turnpike, maintained by him, are
BUSHVVICK.
845
real and lasting benefits to the city and to Long
Island." "Never disheartened by disappoint-
ment, nor diverted from his object by indolence
or opposition," he was justly considered "the
friend and founder of the village." His ferry
continued to run; manufacturers (especially of
whisky or rum and ship cordage) acquired
something of a foothold in the place ; and there
appeared one or more corner groceries and a
village tavern, besides "old Charlum" Titus's
Fountain Inn. In 1825 Garret and Grover C.
Furnian, New York merchants, purchased
twenty-five acres on South First street, about
150 feet from what is now Grand, near corner
of Second street, at $300 per acre, and had it
mapped into city lots. They then offered the
Dutch Reformed congregation their choice of
a lot 100 feet square upon which to erect a
church, which was accepted ; then building lots
began to be enquired about in that neighbor-
hood. The first two lots were sold to Dr. Cox
for $150, after which they sold so fast that the
price was advanced to $200, and in less than
six months to $250, etc.
It was not long before the necessity of a
village organization, with officers possessing
the power to compel the opening and improv-
ing of streets, the digging of wells and the
erection of pumps, and other public conven-
iences, and to restrain and limit the unneigh-
borly selfishness of particular citizens, was
made fully apparent. Moreover, no general
survey of a village plot had been made ; and the
people, in public and private, began to discuss,
and gradually to agree upon, the need of a vil-
lage charter. Finally John Luther and Lemuel
Richardson (or rather George W. Pittman),
having purchased sites for two rope walks be-
tween North Third and North Fourth streets,
procured a survey of the adjacent lands into
street and lots, and made application to the
legislature for an act which should confer upon
the place the usual village powers. The de-
sired act of incorporation was passed April 14,
1827, .defining the village boundaries as "be-
ginning at the bay, or river, opposite to the
Town of Brooklyn, and running thence east-
erly along the division line between the towns
of Bushwick and Brooklyn, to the lands of
Abraham A. Remsen ; thence northerly by the
same to a road or highway at a place called
Sweed's Fly, thence by the said highway to
the dwelling-house late cf John Vandervoort,
deceased; thence in a straight line northerly,
to a small ditch, or creek, against the meadow
of John Skillman ; thence by said creek to Nor-
man's kill : tliciicc by the middle or centre of
Norman's kill to the East River; thence by the
same to the place of beginning." The charter
named five Trustees to serve till the time of the
village election, viz. : Noah Waterbury, Abra-
ham Meserole ; Lewis Sanford, and Thomas T.
Morrell ; also, John Miller, who declined serv-
ing; which Board were duly sworn in April
26th, and organized April 30th, by choosing
Noah Waterbury, President ; Abraham Meser-
ole, Secretary; and Lewis Sanford, Treasurer.
Their only noteworthy acts were the granting
of .-several tavern licenses (the proceeds, $10
each, accruing to the poor of Bushwick), and
procuring a survey of the village to be made by
Daniel Ewen, for which $300 was raised by
special tax. The first village election was held
Nov. 5, 1827, and the old trustees were re-
elected, by a nearly unanimous vote, except
that Peter C. Cornell was elected in place of
John Miller. The votes being one to six of
the population gives 114 as the population of
the village proper.
While the new city fathers speedily evinced
a commendable degree of enterprise in their
efforts towards the improvement of the place,
their wisdom was not altogether commensurate
with their zeal. The charter itself lacked pre-
cision, in some respects, and its vaguenesg
seems to have been often improved by the early
trustees as a warrant for the exercise of extra-
ordinary powers. This embroiled them in legal
and political contentions with private owners
of property, who, for the first time, became
subject to municipal regulations. Thus, the
attempt to open First street along the East
River front between South First and South
Second streets, gave rise to a long and bitter
lawsuit between Jordan Coles, as plaintiff, and
the village, in which Coles was partly success-
ful ; but the open street remained in the hands
of the public. Again, the Board, unwittingly,
became the cats-paw of certain domestic specu-
lators wliii rendezvoused at the old Fountain
Inn, (luiiiii; the days of its decline, and these
hatched sclieiiies to possess themselves, under
color Cif the law, of the parcels of land owned
by non-residents and outsiders. By instigating
taxation and assessment sales of these lands,
with and witlinut law, thev were enabled to
purchase tbeni "for a song," much to the detri-
ment uf the village, as it gave rise to much un-
certainty as to land titles. Yet the practice con-
tinued until probably 10,000 lots were sold for
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
non-payment of taxes or assessments, while
there was not law enough in these assessments
or tax titles under which to acquire or hold the
lands. But thus were matters too often man-
aged by those who "had the ear" of the little
handful of trustees, who held their sessions in
a small, wooden house, with its gable to First
street, about seventy-five feet north of Grand ;
wherein, also, was a tin and stove store, and
the office of a Justice of the Peace.
In January, 1829, the village had reached a
milestone in its career : it had a debt ! In Feb-
ruary it had a postoffice, Lewis Sanford, post-
master; in June, a hook and ladder company
was formed ; and, during the year. North Third
and South Second streets were built, and First
street between Grand street and the Brooklyn
line was opened. In 1829 a school census re-
vealed these facts, — that Williamsburgh had a
population of 1,007, including "^2 blacks; 148
dwelling houses, including 10 stores and tav-
erns ; 5 other stores ; 5 rope walks ; i distillery ;
1 turpentine distillery; I slaughter-house, and
2 butchers ; 3 lumber-yards ; i M. E. church ; i
Dutch Reformed church ; i district and 3 pri-
vate schools, etc., etc. In 1832 a Methodist
Protestant church was formed by secession
from the M. E. church. In 1835 a census of
the town of Bushwick (inclusive of Williams-
burgh) gave a population of 3,314; and 2 dis-
tilleries, 4 rope walks, and one gristmill, with a
total of $398,950 of raw material' consumed,
and $481,272 produced — all of which (except
the gristmill) were within the village limits,
as were also 3,000 of the population. This was
exclusive of many smaller establishments,
wood-yards, storehouses, etc., together with ^2
village streets, of which 13 were opened, and
about 300 houses. This year, also, the Will-
iamsburg Gazette was started.
These facts illustrate the progress the vil-
lage had made, despite the errors of its trus-
tees,- the machinations of land-jobbers, and the
depressing failures of its first founders ; and,
encouraged by these facts, its inhabitants be-
stirred themselves to procure an enlargement
of their charter and a strengthening of their
corporate authority. On their application, a
legislative act was passed, April 18, 1835. ex-
tending the village limits by adding all the
present Sixteenth Ward, of Brooklyn, from
the Sweed's Fly road to Bushwick avenue, and
the present Eighteenth Ward, as well as a por-
tion of the Eighteenth Ward, between Hum-
boldt street and the old Wood Point road. The
new charter created a Board of nine Trustees,
to be annually elected, of which Edmund Frost
was chosen President, and the energy and en-
terprise of the new board soon inaugurated a
new era in the history of the place. Several
large and substantial wharves and docks were
built, new avenues of trade opened by the con-
struction of turnpikes, more streets laid out,
and (against the strenuous opposition of New
York) a new ferry established to Peck Slip, a
movement which, more than anything else, per-
haps, contributed to the increase of Williams-
burgh's population and prosperity, — adding, as
it did, an inducement to many New Yorkers to
locate their residences on some of the beauti-
ful and eligible sites covering the eastern shore
of the East River.
Speculation had now grown to enormous
proportions. In 1828, in addition to the "Will-
iamsburgh" and "Yorkton" settlements, the
Jacob Berry farm, of twenty-five acres, next to
the East River and Brooklyn line, and the
Frederick Devoe farm, of ten or twelve acres,
extending from the river to Seventh street and
along South Fifth and Sixth streets, had been
laid out in village lots and mapped. In 1833
one Holmes Van Mater, of New Jersey, hav-
ing purchased the David Van Cott property, of
twenty-four acres, extending from Sixth street
to the old Keikout road, near Tenth street,
and from South Third to Grand street, and for
the space of a block to North First and be-
yond, between Ninth and Tenth streets, in-
cluding the "common" near Ninth and North
First streets, had it mapped out into lots.
John Miller had a map made of eleven acres,
the northerly half of the land, inherited from
David Miller, his father, being part of the old
Keikout farm and of a piece of land extend-
ing from Seventh to Tenth streets, bought by
David Miller of one Roosevelt. Maria Miller
Meserole had the south half of the same land,
mapped by the village and then in partition
in 1849.
Nearly all of the present Thirteenth and
Fourteenth wards of Brooklyn — the original
chartered limits of Williamsljurgh — was laid
out into lots before 1834, when a general map
of the village was made by D. Ewen, setting
out the entire chartered village into prospective
city lots. Prior to this Edmund Frost, Silas
Butler, Charles O'Handy and William Sin-
clair had laid out twenty-five acres, extend-
ing from near North Second street to North
Tenth, and from Sixth street to Ninth street.
BUSHWICK.
347
Sharp and Sutphen had also seventeen acres
laid out from North Second to North Seventh,
and from Third to Sixth street. These par-
cels were of irregular shape and matched to
contiguous lands by irregular lines.
A ■ company purchased several farms and
combined them in a map of 939 lots of land
in Williamsburgh, the title being vested for
convenience of sale and the execution of deeds
in one William P. Powers, a handsome, amiable
and honest young man, who was a law clerk in
the office of John L. Graham, in New York.
Powers also held title to one hundred and
ninety-seven lots located between Ninth street
and Lorimer street, and South Third street
and North Second street, and lying on both
sides of Union avenue; also, he held title to
the Abraham Meserole farm, west of Graham
avenue.
The greatest rivals of Powers' associates
were one John S. McKibben and Thomas
Nicholls, and, associated with them as banker
and friend, one George D. Strong. Nearly all
the land south of the Meserole farm, held by
Powers as above, to the Brooklyn line and the
cross-roads, was purchased by McKibben,
Nicholls and Strong, and mapped into city
lots, both upland and swamp. The only por-
tion of what was made the third district of
Williamsburgh, remaining to the original
owners, was the part of the Meserole farm
lying between Graham avenue and Bushwick
avenue, the John Skillman farm, near North
Second street, to the northerly village line
and to the meadows, and from Union avenue
to near Leonard street, — the land formerly
of John Conselyea, deceased, afterward owned
by Andrew J. Conselyea, as to part, and Mrs.
D. W. Townsend and Mrs. Schenck as to other
portions, and John Devoe as to land on the
southerly side of North Second street, from
Lorim.er street to Bushwick avenue. But all
these several farms and lands were mapped as
city property by their old farm-owners and put
on the market in competition with the land-
jobbers' stock in trade. The village had already
assumed jurisdiction, under an act extending
its limits, passed in 1835, and laid out the
streets as they are now recognized.
Such are the mater-of-fact details of the
growth of the paper suburbs of our growing
town. Its springs of life were hid away in
the speculating haunts of New York City in
dingv uper rooms of No. 142 Fulton street
and No. 5 Nassau street, where often at mid-
day and at early nightfall gathered those who
thought there was something more than
Kidd's money hid away in the meadows and
uplands of the old town of Bushwick.
At public and private sale large numbers
of lots were disposed of, moneys were paid for
margins, and mortgages were taken back for
part of the purchase money to twice the in-
trinsic value of the property. All went mer-
rily, the land-jobbers were reputed to have
become wealthy, and their customers saw for-
tunes in their investments ; and the pasture
lands and fields which then made up nine-
tenths of the territory of Williamsburgh were
clothed in the hopeful imaginings of the hold-
ers of lots with all the incidents of a busy,
bustling town.
During the year 1836, a company purchased
the Conselyea (formerly Daniel Bordet's)
farm, together with an adjoining estate, trav-
ersed by the present Grand street, laid it out
(part of map of 939 lots), and erected there-
on fourteen elegant first-class dwellings, de-
signed to be the pattern houses of a new and
model city. The advance in real estate and
population was unprecedented — lithographed
property-maps set forth in glowing colors the
unrivalled opportunities and advantages for
profitable investments, which were eagerly
caught up by the uninitiated, until by this time
(1836) real estate in Williamsburgh actually
exceeded its present value.
Finally the bubble burst, and in the crash
which followed — known as the "General Com-
mercial Crisis of 1837," Williamsburgh suf-
fered deeply. A perfect business paralysis
ensued, which seriously shattered the founda-
tions of real and substantial property. Be-
tween cause and effect, intervening circum-
stances delayed the ultimate catastrophe to
collateral investments : so that not until 1839
or '40 did Williamsburgh fully realize that the
prestige of her second founders was lost. The
fourteen model dwellings were followed by no
similar erections ; here and there a half fin-
ished building, abandoned by its owner, sug-
gested the vanity of all human hopes ; the
noise of the axe and hammer was stilled
throughout the village. From 1840 to 1844
tlie Couj-t of Chancerv was fully busied in
clearing away the rubbish of private bank-
ruptcies from investments made in these lots,
that they might stand discharged from judg-
ments and liens in the hands of responsible
capitalists, and in a condition for improvement.
34t
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
But healthful legislation and increasing fa-
cilities of access gradually restored business
to its wonted channels. So rapid was the
progress of the village that in less than ten
years its population had doubled, and its ulti-
mate position as a city became a fixed fact in
the public mind. For, during the period
(1835-1844) when political and financial his-
tory had been so unhappy, social, religious
and educational advantages had rapidly in-
creased and helped to lighten the general
gloom. In 1837 the Episcopal Church was
organized in the city; in 1838 the Williams-
burgh Lyceum was established; in 1839 the
Baptist denomination gained a foothold; in
1840 the opening of the Houston Street ferry
opened a convenient transit to residents em-
ployed in the great manufactories along the
eastern water front of New York City; the
village press was augmented by the advent of
The Williamsburg Democrat; and the first
omnibus line was established. The village cen-
sus gave a population of 5,094. In 1841 the
Roman Catholic denomination established it-
self in the Dutch village neighborhood; and
the Odd Fellows organized a branch. In
1842 the First Presbyterian, and in 1843 the
First Congregational Church, was commenced ;
while during i843-'4 the place became a fa-
vorite resort of the "Millerite," or Second
Advent craze. In 1844 an amended village
charter was adopted, under which three trus-
tees and one collector were chosen for each
district. From this point up to 1850 the so-
cial, educational and literary interests of the
village assumed more definite proportions
and vigor, while the number of church organi-
zations was rapidly increased in each of the
denominations, and the Williamsburgh Bible
Society was formed. In i848-'9 appeared the
first village directory, published (as also the
year following) by Henry Payson, and con-
tinued by Messrs. Samuel and T. V. Reynolds,
the increase of population from 1845 to 1850
being 19,448. The year 1851 saw the estab-
lishment of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank,
the Williamsburgh Dispensary, the Division
Avenue Ferry and three new churches.
Williamsburgh now aspired to be a city.
Several motives conspired to this result. The
village government had often exercised doubt-
ful powers in matters of public improvement.
Its several charters, subjected, as they were
by the courts, to the strictest construction,
were found to allow of too little discretionary
power to be always available in emergencies
which were constantly arising. Again, the
Village Trustees being mostly men of limited
business experience, could not readily work
up to a technical and strictly constructed law.
It is due, however, to the old Village Trustees,
to say that their carelessness, as to the pro-
visions of the charter, oftener arose from an
over-ambition to serve the public in its need-
ed improvements of the village than from any
corrupt motives of personal profit. And, not
infrequently, they found themselves, as a
board, involved in litigations initiated by the
very persons who had petitioned for improve-
ments, and whose property was benefited
thereby, perhaps to even double the assess-
ments charged to it for the expenses. An un-
wise fostering of the fire department, for the
sake of its political influence, also gave undue
influence to the Towdy element of the popula-
tion, which soon showed itself in an increased
turbulence of the town meetings, at which
alone legal taxes could be ordered. This,
with the impossibility of getting, in the town
meeting, a fair expression of the real public
voice — since the meetings could be so "packed"
as to leave nine-tenths of the village voters out
on the sidewalk — led to legislation for the
establishment of a Board of Finance, which
should determine the amounts to be raised for
specific objects and provide for their insertion
in the tax levy.
Such a Board was created March i, 1849,
by act of Legislature, and consisted of the
President and Trustees of the village, with the
Town Supervisor and nine other men espe-
cially elected for the purpose. But this did
not suffice ; and finally the required citv char-
ter, drawn by Mr. 'S. M. Meeker, village
Counsellor, received the sanction of the Legis-
lature April 7. 1851 ; the election for city offi-
cers was held in November following, and the
charter went into efifect January i, 1852.
The names of public streets frequently ex-
press fragments of local historv. Some are
only to be interpreted by traditions. Men who
lay the foundations of a citv. or map the loca-
tions so to be occupied, are apt to respect a
Scripture example in calling their cities "by
their own names," or by the names of favorites
and friends. Bushv.'ick had no verv conspicu-
ous men ; so, when it became the site of a fu-
ture town, no local denizen had sufficient sym-
pathy with the matter to wish to couple his
name with what seemed so absurd a project.
BUSHWICK.
849
Thus, in old Williamsburgh no streets pre-
serve the memory of the Titus, the Miller, the
Meserole, the Devoe, the Berry families, nor
even that of its founders, Morrell or Wood-
hull. Mr. Dunham sought, indeed, to apply
his name to the present Grand street; or, at
least, to sixty feet wide of the southern por-
tion of it. But the widened street, as a cen-
ter line of departure in the designation of all
the streets, took the more significant name of
Grand street. And WoodhuU street, in desig-
nating the streets by numbers, was succeeded
by "North Second" street. All the regular
streets of the village were designated by num-
bers, except Grand street and the lane known
as Water street, a portion of the old road
along the East River shore ; and a street laid
out on the Commissioners' map as "River
street," whose site was over the waters of the
East River, has been closed.
In the designation of the streets First
street ran along the East River, Second street
was parallel or nearly parallel to it, and so the
streets were numbered as we went east from
the East River up to Twelfth street ; and
north from Grand street the first street having
the same general directions was North First
street. The old Jamaica turnpike, from the
old Ferry out, was North Second, and so on to
North Thirteenth street, at or along Bushwick
creek; then, south of Grand street and running
in the same general direction, though not ex-
actly parallel. South First street to South
Eleventh street, at the old Brooklyn line. In
the use of numerals there was a certain degree
of convenience ; but strangers wei e often con-
fused by confounding First street with North
First, or South First, etc.
But it is in the present Fifteenth and Six-
teenth Wards that we find the streets desig-
nated by historical names. Lorimer commem-
orates the middle name of John and James
Lorimer Graham, two famous land-jobbers
there in 1836. Ewen street was named after
Daniel Ewen, City Surveyor, residing in New
York, who surveyed both the old and new vil-
lage. Graham avenue still flatters the above
named Grahams. Smith street commemorated
Morgan L. Smith, and Bushwick avenue was
the boundary, between Williamsburgh and
Bushwick. North Second street was extended
on the map of the new village to Bushwick.
Powers street, in the present Fifteenth Ward,
was named after William P. Powers, a clerk
in the office of John L. Graham, who was made
nominal proprietor of 939 lots for the con-
venience of their sale and conveyance to pur-
chasers ; also of several other parcels of land.
He appears on the record as the greatest land-
jobber of the period. While, however, the prof-
its belonged to others, the responsibilities and
losses were sometimes fathered on him. But
he has always borne the character of an up-
right, honest and cultured gentleman. Ainslee
street was namer after Mr. James Ainslee,
who for many years administered local justice
in Williamsburgh. Devoe street represented
the Devoes, who owned a block or two of land
adjoining North Second street on the South
side, and whose home was in Bushwick, and
not Frederick Devoe, whose farm was on the
East River shoTe. Going north of North Sec-
ond street, or the old Jamaica turnpike, the
first street parallel to it is Conselyea street,
whose eastern portion runs through the farm
late of Andrew J. Conselyea, and about an
acre of land of William J. Conselyea, his
brother; hence the name. Skillman street,
now Skillman avenue to distinguish it from
Skillman street in old Brooklyn, derived its
name from John Skillman, Sr., who lived and
died on the same farm, at or near the present
residence of Charles M. Church, son-in-law
to John Skillman. Jackson street was probably
named from Daniel Jackson, who, in connec-
tion with Graham and Reuben Withers, had
some landed interests in Williamsburgh.
Withers street was named after Reuben With-
ers, late proprietor of the Houston Street
Ferry. Frost street was named from Edmund
Frost, who was associated with Handy, Sin-
clair and Butler in a tract of land in the Four-
teenth Ward. Richardson street was named
for Lejnuel Richardson, whose worthy name is
elsewhere mentioned as one of the pioneers in
building up Williamsburgh. Sanford street
(changed to Bayard) was in honor of Edward
Sanford, a distinguished lawyer associated
with John L. Graham in many real-estate
transactions. His name had been applied to
a street in the Seventh Ward, Brooklyn ; hence
the change. The substituted name was proba-
bly taken from the name of a street in the city
of New York.
Going south from Grand street, Remsen
street was named after Abraham A. Remsen,
who owned land at its junction with Union
avenue. There is another Remsen street near
the Citv Hall, old Brooklyn, and the name of
the E. D. street was changed to Maujer street
850
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in respect to Air. Daniel Maujer, who, about
the time, represented the Fifteenth Ward as
Alderman.
Nicholas Wyckoff, the late worthy Presi-
dent of the First National Bank, has his name
perpetuated in Wyckofif street. Stagg street,
with its homely name, has doubtless outlived
its patron, who is probably known to but few,
if any, of the existing citizens. Scholes street
represents the family of James Scholes, de-
ceased, late of what is now the Nineteenth
Ward. Meserole avenue was named from the
Abraham Meserole through whose farm it
ran, and not from Abraham Meserole, hus-
band of Maria Miller, of the present Thir-
teenth Ward. Johnson street, or avenue,
commemorates the memory of the late General
Jeremiah Johnson. Boerum street was named
from old Jacob Boerum, who had a farm of
fifty-eight acres within the limits of the pres-
ent Sixteenth Ward, Brooklyn. This farm
was the subject of the great Cleveland law-
suit. McKibben street was named after John
S. McKibben, who caused a map of a part
of the Jacob Boerum farm, as the land of
McKibben and Nicholls, to be made and filed.
Sigel street, which (on changing the name
of duplicate streets in Williamsburgh by the
Common Council of Brooklyn) superseded
Marshall street, was in honor of General Sigel,
of the Civil war. Moore street was named for
the late Thomas C. Moore, a manufacturer of
wire sieves and netting, who owned lands in
that neighborhood. Varette street was named
from Lewis F. Varette, a land speculator,
who operated on the sale of village lots there
and elsewhere. Cook street was probably
named from an old resident near the Cross
Roads. Debevoise street (covering a part of
the old Brooklyn and Newtown turnpike, by
the Cross Roads) was named from Charles
Debevoise, who lived on Flushing avenue, near
the western terminus of this street.
The custom of perpetuating the names of
the oldest inhabitants by those of streets is
more marked in the old city of Brooklyn than
in Williamsburgh. In the latter place many
whose names are thus perpetuated were really
residents of the city of New York, and inter-
ested in Williamsburgh only as speculators.
From 1817 until 1852 the local government
of WiUiamsburgh was carried on by a Presi-
dent and Board of Trustees. By a law which
passed the Legislature in April, 185 1, it was
raised, on January i, 1852, to the dignity of
a city, and Dr. Abraham J. Berry was elected
the first Mayor, the population being at that
time about 45,000. The possession of a city
charter at once added influence and strength
to the community, and it began to expand
with bewildering rapidity. In 1852 the Farm-
ers and Citizens' Bank was incorporated, with
a capital of $200,000, and the Williamsburgh
City Bank with a capital of $320,000. In
the following year the Mechanics' (Manufac-
turers' National) Bank was formed, with a
capital of $250,000, and these financial institu-
tions, with several local fire insurance corn-
companies, gave force to the idea of the citizens
that Williamsburgh was destined to become
the business center of Long Island. New
churches were organized in almost all denomi-
nations, and twenty-five S'abbath-schools, with
4,600 registered pupils, showed that the active
element in the city's growth was not unmindful
of the higher interests of the community.
Everything was hopeful, and a roseate hue col-
ored every move by the municipality. Ex-
penses were increasing rapidly, much more so
than the local revenues warranted, but then
the future was bright with promises. Thirty
miles of streets had been opened up, paved
and flagged, and that itself was boasted about
as being a grand item, even though the treas-
ury was empty.
The curse of the new city, as it was in a
lesser degree that of the village, was its poli-
tics. A class of men forged to the front
who lived of? the spoils, and these were urging
the city fathers to rush into all sorts of rash
expenditures, — expenditures far beyond the
financial ability of the local treasury to meet,
and the municipal indebtedness began to pile
up in a way that caused thinking people to
desire a halt. But the politicians in office
could not halt even if they had desired, which
is doubtful, for those not in office had to be
provided for, while their dependents, — those
who by their votes gave them the power they
BUSHWICK.
851
enjo_yed, — had to be "looked after." The fire
department, for instance, being an excellent
vote-getter, was carefully nourished by the lo-
cal authorities until the city had a system far
beyond its needs ; but, then, each fire company
was a powerful factor in local politics. In
1852 the Williamsburgh Water Company was
organized, and proved the beginning of the
end, for it was its extravagance and grasping
methods that, more than aught else, turned the
eyes of the Brooklyn people to the city that
was rising into prominence on their border
and to the dangers which its exigencies sug-
gested and presented. The water company,
soon after it was incorporated, proceeded
promptly to buy up some sources of supply
on the south side of the island, for which
Brooklyn had been cautiously negotiating, and
its scope of action promised still further to
interfere with the future development of the
water department of the City of Churches.
The condition of things that presented itself
to Brooklyn was not a pleasant one, for it was
seen that all the local schemes of improve-
ment were apt to be hindered by the new city,
which was rapidly increasing in population, in
ambition, in a knowledge of the wiles of local
statesmanship, and in debt. Then arose in
Brooklyn, quietly at first, a sentiment for an-
nexation. It was felt that two such city gov-
ernments, under the existing conditions, could
not, side by side, maintain amicable relations
or possibly work hand in hand for the mutual
benefit of their respective cities, and that they
would gradually but inevitably drift into more
and more pronounced opposition, involving
each other, in the end, into countless rash ex-
penditures, perhaps even into a condition of
financial bankruptcy. There was no need, for
instance, it was agreed, for the cost of two
municipal establishments, while under one re-
trenchment, economy and progress might be-
come practical watchwords. Such were some
of the arguments put forth in Brooklyn in
favor of annexation. They were indorsed by
many in Williamsburgh, but the bulk of the
population there was not ready for any such
sweeping change as self-annihilation.
On January i, 1854, William Wall, the head
of a local cordage factory, a man who had risen
from the ranks by his own industry and
shrewdness, became the second and last Mayor
of Williamsburgh. He desired to institute a
term of rigid economy, and tried to introduce
something like business principles in the man-
agement of the affairs of the city ; but the
Aldermen were decidedly practical politicians,
versed in all the arts which that phrase im-
plies, and had no patience with such notions.
Mayor Wall would not yield to their ways,
or their wiles, or their demands, and the num-
ber of his vetoes became such as to win for
him the attention of almost the entire com-
munity, and especially of all interested in
municipal progress. Still the Aldermen perse-
vered in carrying on a campaign of spoils,
and Mayor Wall, even by the most rigorous
application of the powers vested in him, could
not wholly arrest their schemes of plunder and
extravagance. So, as the only avenue of prac-
tical, early, and complete relief that presented
itself, he threw himself with all his energy
into the annexation movement. Strengthened
by this, the advocates of annexation, or con-
solidation as it was sometimes called, caused
a bill to be prepared, which passed the Legis-
lature, and on January i, 1855, the city of Will-
iamsburgh passed officially out of existence and
became simply a section of Brooklyn, and of
the history of that city the further story of
Williamsburgh is a part. In dealing with
Brooklyn we will speak further of this con-
solidation, but here we may say that the new
city not only included Brooklyn and Will-
iamsburgh, but also the whole of the town-
ship of Bushwick, and including the section,
almost distinct in itself, one time called Cherry
Point, but which by that time had been known -
as Greenpoint, and which now became Brook-
lyn's Seventeenth Ward.
For many years after the Hessians had
simply became ugly memories, Cherry Point
352
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
pursued the even tenor of its way and floated
along the current of life with typical Dutch
placidity and evenness. The change to mod-
ern conditions and development came about
in unexpected fashion and mainly through the
tireless energy of one man, and that man not
a native — Neziah Bliss. Bliss was born in
1790, at Hebron, Conn., and his life was that
of a typical Yankee adventurer. After some
business experience in a store in New Haven,
he removed in 1810 to New York City, where
he made the acquaintance of Robert Fulton,
the pioneer steamboat builder, and won the
confidence and friendship of that great in-
ventor. A year later Bliss went to Philadel-
phia, where, with Daniel French, he became
connected with a company that proposed con-
structing a steamboat to ply on the Schuylkill.
At the same time he found employment in a
book store and in other clerical work, for, al-
tl;ough the boat project proved a mechanical
success, there was little money in it. In 1817
he removed to Cincinnati, where he organized
a company and built the first steamboat ever
seen there, the General Pike. It plied be-
tween Cincinnati and Louisville, and proved a
money-maker. Mr. Bliss sold out his interest
in her in 1819 and went to New Orleans.
His business career, however, need not here
be closely followed ; he had the usual alterna-
tions of success and ill luck incidental to all
pioneers, and a pioneer he essentially was.
In 1827 he returned to New York, and, be-
coming acquainted with Dr. Eliphalet Nott, •
he assisted that gentleman in several of his re-
searches in steam navigation. The result of
this was the establishment of the Novelty
Works in New York, in 1831, which proposed
to construct sea-going steamboats, and of that
concern Mr. Bliss was the head. In the fol-
lowing year commenced his connection with
Greenpoint, by his purchase, along with Dr.
Nott, of thirty acres of the farm owned by
John A. Meserole. In 1833 he still further
identified himself with the place by his mar-
riage to Mary A., daughter of John A. Mes-
erole. He at once saw that the territory of-
fered great chances for development, and,
evolving a project looking to that end, he
threw himself into it with characteristic energy
and promptitude. He extended his holdings
by the purchase, in 1833, of the Griffin farm,
and during the following year had the entire
territory surveyed and laid out in streets. In
1835 he still further increased his acreage by
purchase, expecting that the United States
Navy Yard would be transferred to Green-
point from the Wallabout. But that project
fell through, and thereby Mr. Bliss suffered
severe pecuniary losses.
However, his fortunes were now fully
thrown in with Greenpoint, and, undaunted
by the slow progress and serious losses, he ap-
plied himself zealously to the immediate de-
velopment, of the place. In 1838 he built a
foot-bridge across Bushwick Creek, and in the
following years opened for traffic part of a
turnpike road which was subsequently ex-
tended to Williamsburgh. In 1839, too, he
had the satisfaction of selling some lots to
John Hillyer. a builder, who at once erected a
house there, and this example was quickly
followed by others, Mr. Bliss getting an aver-
age at that time, it is said, of fifty dollars
for each of his lots. By 1842 a boom in
building in Greenpoint fairly set in, and by
that time Mr. Bliss began to reap some benefit
from the scheme he had so thoughtfully
planned some ten years previously and which
for a long time had seemed destined to prove
utterly barren of results.
But he did not wish to make Greenpoint
alone a city of homes; he desired to make it
also the center of the trade which was to
support the homes. Its unrivalled water front
made it a natural center for the coal trade,
and the first of a series of coal yards was
opened in 1843, at the foot 'of F street, on a
point stretching into the East River, locally
called Green Point, and which gave its name
to the whole district. In 1850 a ship yard was
established by Eckford Webb, and this proved
BUSHWICK.
353
the beginning of a great establishment, for
many years the greatest of all local industries.
In 1850 Mr. Bliss secured from New York a
lease of a ferry to ply between Greenpoint
and that city, and it was opened for traffic
in 1852. It finally became financially the most
successful of all the ferries plying to New
York. The Greenpoint Gas Works were in-
corporated in 1853, largely through Mr. Bliss's
influence and advice, and as by that time
Greenpoint had thousands of homes, with Epis-
copalian, Methodist, Baptist and Reformed
churches,* with a good public school, and sev-
eral social and literary clubs and societies, it
may fairly be said to have progressed toward
*The first Roman Catholic congregation was organ-
ized in 18.W, and a bodyof Universalists formed a church
the same year.
full development in a most marked manner,
and Mr. Bliss had already begun to enjoy the
full fruition of his plans and was also vener-
ated as the first citizen and founder of Green-
point. But its full development was to come
with annexation to Brooklyn. When that
event took place it found Mr. Bliss still in the
lead in the affairs of the ward, as he had
been in those of the village, and he was chosen
to represent it in the Board of Aldermen of
the consolidated city. So the history of Green-
point merged, January i, 1855, into that of
the city of Brooklyn, of which it then became-,
a component part.
Thus it will be seen that the early history
of Greenpoint is virtually a part of the life
story of Neziah Bliss. This thoroughly typical:
American citizen died in 1876.
CHAPTER XXX.
GRAVESEND.
The English Town of Kings County — Lady Moody — Early Settlers and Law:
A Religious Community with a Sad Closing Record.
jMONG the towns of what is now
Kings county, Gravesend for many
years, in one respect, stood alone.
It was an English settlement, while
tb.e others were Dutch; it was not included
in the aggregation known as the "Five Dutch
Towns ;" its interests seemed always on a dif-
ferent footing from theirs, and yet it was in-
tensely loyal to the Dutch regime. As to the
origin of the name archaeologists have widely
differed, and many a learned argument has
been set forth in favor of some pet theory or
-other. Etymologists, more than any other
class of istudents, have been guilty of weaving
the most absurd theories, — so much so that
a book on etymology ten years old is about
as valuable, practically, as an ancient almanac ;
but they differ from all other classes of the-
orists by the remarkable good nature anil
equanimity with which they see their airy
-creations of words about words quietly thrown
down. Considerable time, patience and inge-
nuity have been spent to demonstrate that the
name of this town was derived from 'S Grave-
sende (The Count's beachT), after a place in
Holland, but an equal amount of time, pa-
tience and ingenuity have been expended in
endeavoring to prove that it was simply a
transference of the name of the town of
Gravesend in England. Which of the two. is
right we will not attempt to discuss, for after
all the question matters very little, — only we
cannot help remarking that a great amount
of argument and antiquarian anxiety would
have been spared had some one of the early
chroniclers quietly jotted down his views on
the subject.
Another and more interesting argument
among the local antiquaries has been caused
by the effort to show that white men trod the
soil of what afterward became Gravesend
town long before a white face was seen on
Manhattan Island or in Brooklyn, or even
Flatlands. Indeed, we are told that Veraz-
zano. the Florentine navigator, who came here
to explore the coast and "see what he could
see" on behalf of King Francis I, of France,
in 1527, had anchored in Gravesend Bay; but
the evidence on this point is not very clear,
and has been the subject of much protracted
and learned dispute. Still it is not asserted
that he effected a landing. He compared the
harbor to a beautiful lake, and describes the
boat-loads of red men which darted hither
and thither on its surface. He did not inves-
tigate further, but seems to have sailed away
in a northerly direction. As he passed out
he saw natives gathering wampum on Rocka-
way Beach, and next discovered Block Island,
which he called Louise, after the mother of
King Francis. In 1542 we read of another
visitor, Jean Allefonsee, who reached the har-
bor after passing through Long Island Sound,
and anchored oft' Coney Island; and we get
GRAVESEND.
355
glimpses of other navigators who seemed to
thoroughly content with the beauties of New
York's bay that they did not try to institute
any acquaintance with the land itself.
In September, 1609, however, Hendrik
Hudson arrived in New York Bay and landed
a boat's crew on Coney Island or thereabout,
and there had a tussle with the natives and
lost one of his men. So runs local tradition.
Across the bay, on the New Jersey shore, the
local authorities have laid the scene of the trag-
edy at Sandy Hook, and built up a pretty
strong theoretical argument in support of their
claim. There is no doubt that Hudson landed
several parties while in this vicinity and that
he did not use the natives either courteously
or kindly : and it is just as likely that a boat's
crew from the "Half Moon" landed on the
shores of Gravesend Bay as on any other
place. The whole argument amounts to very
little either way, and could the Gravesend
theory be sustained, which it certainly cannot
— neither can the Sandy Hook story, for that
matter — its only result would be to give
Gravesend in a sense a degree of superiority
over her neighborhood as the scene where the
white man made the initiatory steps toward
taking up his burden of converting that part
of America to his own use and profit. It may
he well, however, to recall the name of the
hero — perhaps he might be so called — who is
recorded as having been the first white man
to fall a victim to Indian valor, or treachery,
in the waters surrounding New York. He
was an English sailor, John Colman, and he
was killed, so we are told, by an arrow pierc-
ing his throat. His body was buried where
it fell, the spot being long known as Colman's
Point. But such legends are unsatisfactory
at the best, and we must come down to facts.
The earliest patent for land in Gravesend
was issued to Anthony Jansen Van Salee, who
has already been referred to at sufficient
length in our notice of New Utrecht and else-
where. This patent was dated May 27, 1643.
On May 24, 1664, Gysbert Op Dyck, who emi-
grated from Wesel in 1635 and settled in New
Amsterdam, where in 1642 he became Com-
missary of Provisions for the colony, obtained
a patent for Coney Island. From Bergen's
"Early Settlers of Kings County" we learn
that "the present Coney Island was, on the
first settlement of this county, composed of
three islands, divided from each other by in-
lets or guts, now closed. The westernmost
one was known as Coney Island, the middle
one as Pine Island and the eastern one as
Gisbert's Island, so named after Gisbert Op
Dyck." Here we run up against another
etymological puzzle. What is the meaning of
the word Coney? Thompson, who, by the
way, identifies Pine Island as the scene of the
Colman tragedy, tells us that the Dutch called
it Conynen Eylandt, "probably from the name
of an individual who had once possessed it."
Others assure us that Conynen Eylandt is
simply Rabbit Island, and they are probably
right. Op Dyck never occupied the land cov-
ered by his patent, and seems to have held the
property simply for a chance to sell it. This
afterward led to pretty considerable trouble, in-
volving the consideration and even the direct
intervention of their High Mightinesses them-
selves.
There were doubtless settlers prior to 1643
in parts of what was afterward included in
Gravesend township, but if so their names have
not come down to us. That year, however,
was a memorable one in fhe annals of Grave-
send, for then Lady Moody and her associates
first settled there. They were, however, driven
by the Indians from ofif the lands on which
they settled by virtue of a patent issued that
year, and went to Flatlands, where they re-
mained until the redskins became more peace-
able and amenable to reason. When her Lady-
ship and her friends returned Governor Kieft,
on December 19, 1645, issued to them a second
patent for the town of Gravesend, the first
probably being lost in the turmoil of the times,
and the patentees named included the Lady
Deborah Moody, Sir Henry Moody, Bart., En-
356
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
sign George Baxter and Sergeant James Hub-
bard. This is the real beginning of the En-
glish town of Kings county, and Lady Moody
ought to be regarded as its founder. She
had a most interesting career, being a wan-
derer in search of civil and religious liberty at
a time when aristocratic women were not much
given to asserting themselves on such matters
outside their own immediate households.
Deborah Moody was the daughter of Wal-
ter Dunch, a member of Parliament in the
days of "Good Queen Bess." She married
Sir Henry Moody, Bart., of Garsden, Wilt-
shire, who died in 1632, leaving her with one
son, who succeeded to the baronetcy. After
Sir Henry's death her troubles began. In 1635,
probably to hear the Word preached more in
accordance with her own interpretation than
she possibly could in Wiltshire, and being a
slanch nonconformist in religious matters, as
well as a believer in the utmost civil liberty,
she went to London and stayed there so long
that she violated a statute which directed that
no one sliould reside more than a specified
time from his or her home. She was ordered
to return to her mansion in the country, and
it seems likely did so, for the Star Chamber
had already taken action in her case and
brooked no trifling with its mandates. Proba-
bly she became a marked woman, and the
watchful eye of the law was kept on her move-
ments so steadily that, to secure liberty of wor-
ship and movement, she decided to emigrate.
She arrived with her son at Lynn in 1640,
and on April 5, that year, united with the
church at Salem. On the 13th of May follow-
ing she was granted 400 acres of land, and a
year later she paid i 1,1 00 for a farm. From
all this there is every reason to believe that
she intended making her home in Massachu-
setts. But she soon found out that true re-
hgicus liberty, as she understood it, was not
to be found in Puritan New England. A
steadfast enquirer into religious doctrine, she
became impressed with the views of Roger
Williams soon after settling in Massachusetts,
and his utterances concerning the invalidity
of infant baptism appear to have in particular
won her adhesion. Being a woman who freely
spoke her mind, she made no secret of the
views she held, and her sentiments attracted
much attention and drew upon her the con-
sideration of the Quarterly Court. As Roger
Williams had been thrust out of Massachu-
setts because of his views and his ideas on
religious tolerance, Lady Moody's position
could not be overlooked, and so, after being
seriously admonished and it was apparent
that she persisted in holding to her convic-
tions, she was duly excommunicated. Possi-
bly in her case this might have ended the
trouble, for she appears to have won and re-
tained the personal respect of all her neigh-
bors ; but, being a high-spirited woman, she
seems to have determined to seek still further
to find the freedom for which she longed, and,
to the surprise of all, removed with her son
and a few chosen and fast friends to New
Amsterdam. Here she was warmly received
by the authorities. She met several English-
men in the fort, among them being Nicholas
Stillwell, who had, in 1639, a tobacco plant-
ation on Manhattan Island, which he was
compelled to abandon temporarily on account
of the Indian troubles. He was quickly at-
tracted by the idea of helping to found an
English settlement where his fellow country-
men could not only mingle in social inter-
course, but could unite to defend themselves
whenever any need arose. He is said also to
have been a believer in religious toleration
and to have suffered persecution on that ac-
count in England ; but the additional state-
ment so often made to the effect that he had
been forced to leave New England for the
same cause is not borne out by facts. He
never saw New England. Lady Moody, who
had ample means (she retained her property
in Massachusetts intact in spite of her re-
moval), was regarded, singular to sav, b_\'
Governor Kieft as a welcome addition to his
colony, and he glatlly gave hsr and Iter asso-
GRAVESEND.
357
ciates a patent for the unoccupied lands she,
or some one for her, suggested, on which to
form a settlement such as they desired.
At Gravesend Lady Moodv was the Grand
Dame, the real ruler. She enjoyed the confi-
dence of Kieft and of Peter Stuyvesant to a
marked degree, and although the latter was
not over-fond of seeking the advice of women
in affairs of state, he did not scruple to consult
her on more than one occasion. He was enter-
tained along with his wife at her house, and
Mrs. Martha Lamb tells us that the Gov-
ernor's wife was "charmed with the noble En-
glish lady." It has been claimed that Lady
Moody assumed the principles of the Society
of Friends when that body first sought shelter
on Long Island, but the evidence tends to
show that she simply befriended and sheltered
some of the primitive Quakers in accordance
with her ideas of perfect religious freedom.
She seems to have remained at Gravesend
until the end of her life's journev, in 1659,
the stories of her visiting Virginia, or Mon-
mouth City, New Jersey, or other places, be-
ing without authentication. She found in
Gravesend that degree of liberty in search of
which she had crossed the sea, and was content
to pass her days in its congenial atmosphere.
Of her son. Sir Henry, little is known. He
left Gravesend in 1661 and went to Virginia,
where he died.
Lady Moody's library was famous and it
is through her son's departure for Virginia
so soon after her death that we are enabled
to judge, to a considerable extent, of its con-
tents. To the notarial "Register" of Solomon
Lachaire, of New Amsterdam, we are indebted
for the following list under date of 1661. As
it is not likely that the baronet carried any
of the books with him on his travels, it is safe
to assume that the list of Lady Moody's liter-
ary treasures is here given complete :
Cathologus contining the names of such
books as Sir. Henry Moedie had left in security
in handts of Daniel Litschn wen hy went for
Virginia ;
A latyn Bible in folio.
A written book in folio contining privatt
matters of State.
A writteneth book in folio contining pri-
vate matters of the King.
Seventeen several books of devinite matters.
A dictionarius Latin and English.
Sixteen several latin and Italian bookx of
divers matters.
A book in folio contining the voage of Fer-
dinant Mendoz, &c.
A book in folio kalleth Sylva Sylvarum.
A book in quarto calleth bartas' six days
worck of the lord and translat in English by
Josuah Sylvester.
A book in quarto kalleth the Summe and
Substans of the Conference which it pleased
Ihis Excellent Majsti to have with the lords
bishops cS:c. at Hampton Court contracteth by
William Barlow.
A book in quarto kalleth Ecclesiastica In-
terpretatio, or the Expositions upon the diffi-
cult and doubtful passage of the Seven Epis-
tles callet Catholique and the Revalation col-
lecteth by John Mayer.
Elleven several bookx moore of divers
substants.
The Verification of his fathers Knights
order given by King James. — Notarial Keg.
of Solojuan Lachaire N. P. of Nciv Aiiister-
daiii, Anno 1661.
In many respects the patent issued by
Governor Kieft to Lady Moody was peculiar.
It was the only one extant in which the pat-
entees were headed by a woman, and it con-
tained such full powers for self-government
and for the enjoj'ment of freedom of religion
as to be unique among the patents signed by
Kieft or his successor, Stuyvesant. For these
reasons the patent is here presented in full as
printed in the "Documentary History of New
"^'ork," vol. I, page 629 :
Whereas it hath pleased the High &Mighty
Lords the Estates Genl of the United Bidgick
Provces — His Highness Fredrick Hendrick
l)y ye grace of God Prince of Orange, &c.
and the Rt Honourable ye Lords Bewint
Hebbers of the W. I. Company by theyr sev-
eral Commissions under theyr hands and scales
to give and grant unto me Wm Kieft sufficient
power and authorities for the general rule &
358
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
gouvernment of this Prouince called the New
Netherlands, & likewise for ye settling of
townes, collonies, plantations, disposing of ye
land within this prouince, as by ye said Com-
missions more att large doth and maye appeare,
Now Know yee whomsoever these Presents
may any ways concerne that I, William Kieft,
Gouvernor General! of this Prouince by vertue
of ye authoritie abovesaid & with ye aduice
& consent of ye Councell of State heere estab-
lished have given and graunted & by virtue
of these presents doe give grant & confirme
unto ye Honoured Lady Deborah Moody, Sr
Hennry Moody Barronett, Ensign George
Baxter & Sergeant James Hubbard theyr asso-
ciates, heyres, executors, administrators, suc-
cessours, assignes, or any they shall join in
association with them, a certaine, quantitie or
p'cel of Land, together with all ye hauens, har-
bours, rivers, creeks, woodland, marshes, and
all other appurtenances thereunto belonging,
lyeing & being uppon & about ye Westernmost
parte of Longe Island & beginning at the
mouth of a Creeke adjacent to Coneyne Island
& being bounded one ye westwards parte there-
of with ye land appertaining to Anthony John-
son & Robt Penoyer & soe to run as farre as the
westernmost part of a certain pond in an ould
Indian field on the North side of ye plantation
of ye said Robbert Pennoyer & from thence to
runne direct East as farre as a valley begin-
ning att ye head of a five or Marshe some-
times belonging to ye land of Hughe Garrett-
son & being bounded one the said side with
the Maine Ocean, for them the sd pattentces,
theyr associates heyres, executors, adminisrs,
successours, assigns, actuallie reallie & perpet-
uallie to injoye & processe as theyr owne free
land of inheritance and to improve and manure
according to their owne discretions, with lib-
ertie likewise for them the sd pattentees, theyr
associates, heyres, and successours and as-
signes to put what cattle they shall think fitting
to feed or graze upon the aforesd Conyne
Island, forther giving granting & by vertue
of these presents Wee doe give & graunt unto
the sd Patentees theeir associates heyrs & suc-
cessours full power & authoritie uppon the said
land to build a towne or townes with such
necessarie fortifications as to them shall seem
expedient & to haue and injoye the free lib-
ertie of conscience according to the costome
and manner of Holland, without molestation
or disturbance from any ^ladgistrate or Madg-
\strates or anv other Ecclesiasticall Minister
that may p'tend jurisdiction over them, with
libertie likewise for them, the sd pattentees,
the\T associates heyres &c to erect a bodye
pollitique and ciuill combination amongst
themselves, as free men of this Province &
of the Towne of Grauesend & to make such
civill ordinances as the Maior part of ye In-
habitants fTree of the Towne shall thinke fit-
ting for theyr quiett & peaceable subsisting
& to Nominate elect & choose three of ye
Ablest approued honest men & them to pre-
sent annuallie to ye Gouernor Generall of this
Prouince for the tynie being, for him ye said
Gouernr to establish and confirme to wch sd
three men soe chosen & confirmed, wee doe
hereby give & graunt full power & authoritie,
absolutelie & definitiuely to detemiine (wth-
out appeal to any superior Court) for debt or
trespasse not exceeding ffiftie Holland Guild-
ers ffor all such actus as shall happen wthin
ye iurisdictn of the above said limitt with
power likewise for any one of the said three
to examine uppon oath all witnesses in cases
depending before them & in case any shall
refuse to stand to the award of what the Maior
part of the sd three shall agree unto, in such
cases wee doe hereby give and graunt full
power and authoritie to any two of ye sd
three, to attache & ceise uppon ye lands goods,
catties and chatties of ye parties condemned
by their said sentence & fourteen days after
the sd ceizure (if ye partie soe condemned
agree not in the interim & submitte himself
unto ye sentence of the sd three men) the said
three or three appointed men as aflforsd to
take or ioyen to themselves two more of theyre
neighbours, discreete honest men, and wth the
advice of them to apprise the lands, goods,
catties & chatties wthin the above sd juris-
dictn & belongs to the partie condemned as
aforesd to ye full valleu & then to sell them
to any that will paye. that sattisfaction & paie-
ment may be made according to the sentence
of ye appointed men : Likewise giuing &
graunting & by virtue hereof wee doe give &
graunt unto ye said Pattentees. theyre associ-
ates heyres. successours &c full power & aivth-
oritie to Elect & nominate a certaine officer
amongst themselves to execute the place of a
Scoute & him likewise to present annuallie to
the Gouernor Generall of this Province to bee
established and conprnied. to wch sd officer soe
chosene confirmed. Wee doe herebv give &
graunt as large & ample power as is usualFie
given to ye Scoutes of any A'illage in Holland
GRAVESEND.
for the suppression or prevention of any disor-
ders that maye theyr arise, or to arrest and ap-
p'hend the body of any Criminall, Malefactouer
or of anye that shall by worde or act disturbe
the publick tranquilletie of this Province or
civill peace of the inhabitants wthin the above
sd jurisdictn & him, them & her so arrested or
apprehended to bring or case to be brought
before the Gouernor Genii of this Province &
theyre by way of Processe declare against the
P'tie soe offending; farther Wee doe give &
graunt unto the P'tentees theyr associates
heyres &c free libertie of hawking, hunting,
fishing, fowling within the above sd limitts ;
& to use or exercise all manner of trade & com-
merce according as the Inhabitants of this
Province may or can by Virtue of any Priv-
iledge or graunt made unto them, inducing
all and singular ye sd pattees theyr associates,
heyres &c with all & singular the immunities
& priueledges allready graunted to ye Inhabit-
ants of this Provce or hereafter to be graunted,
as if they were natives of the United Belgick
Provinces, allways prouided the sd pattentes
yr associates heyres &c shall faithfully ac-
knowledge & reverently respect the above
named High Mightie Lords &c for theyr
Superiour Lords & patrons & in all loialtie &
fidellitie demeane themselves towards them «S:
theyr successours accord'g as the Inhabitants
of this prouince in dutye are bound, soe long
as they shall [be] within this iurisdictn & att
the experatn of ten yeares to beginne from the
daye of the date hereof to paye or cause to
bee paid to an officer thereunto deputed by the
Gouernr Genl of this Provce for the time be-
ing, the tenth parte of the reueneew that shall
arise by the ground manured by the plow or
howe, in case it bee demanded to bee paid to
the sd officer in the ffield before it bee housed,
gardens or orchards not exceeding one Hol-
lands acre being excepted, and in case anye
of the sd pattentees theyr associats heyres &c
shall only improue theyr stocks in grasing or
breeding of cattle, then the partie soe doing
shall att the end of the ten yeares afforesaid
paye or cause to be paid to an officer deputed
as aforesd such reasonable sattisfactn in butter
and cheese as other Inhabbats of other townes
shall doe in like cases : Likewise injoyning
the said pattentees thyre associates heyres &c
in the dating of all public instruments to use
the New Style wth the wts & measure of this
place. Given under my hand & Scale of this
Prouince this 19th of December in the fort
Amsterdam in New Netherland. 1645.
Signed Wilhelm Kieft.
Endorsed, — Ter ordonnantie van de Hr
Directr Generael & Raden van Nieuw Neder-
landt. CoRNELis Van Tienhouen,
Secretary.
The only fault to be found with this docu-
ment was the loose way in which the bound-
aries were set forth. This was amended to a
certain extent in the patent issued in 1670 by
Gov. Lovelace, and the limits were still more
closely defended in Gov. Dongan's patent, is-
sued in 1686. In the latter document the quit
rent to be paid by the town was fixed at "six
bushels good winter merchantable wheat," a
tax that was felt to be comparatively light, and
therefore — as is usual in such circumstances —
just and equitable.
On being armed with Kieft's patent Lady
Moody and her friends lost no time in proceed-
ing to the land awarded them and beginning
operations by laying out a town site. Concern-
ing this the late Rev. A. P. Stockwell wrote :
In view of the natural advantages which
the town possessed, they no doubt hoped to
make it, at some future day, a large and im-
portant commercial center. From its situation
at the mouth of "The Narrows," and with a
good harbor of its own ; with the ocean on the
one side, and the then flourishing village of
New Amsterdam (New York) on the other,
there did indeed seem to be good ground for
such an expectation. But unfortunately, as the
event proved, Gravesend Bay, though afford-
ing secure anchorage for smaller craft, would
not permit vessels of large tonnage to enter its
quiet waters with perfect safety; and so the
idea of building a "city by the sea," which in
extent, wealth, and business enterprise, should
at least rival New Amsterdam, was reluctantly
abandoned.
However, with this end in view, as the
work begun would seem to indicate, they com-
menced the laying out of the village. Select-
ing a favorable site near the center of the town,
they measured off a square containing about
sixteen acres of ground, and opened a street
around it. This large square they afterwards
\
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.645
GRAVESEND.
861
•divided into squares of four acres each, by
opening two streets at right angles through the
center. The whole was then enclosed by a pal-
isade fence, as a protection, both against the
sudden attacks of hostile Indians, and the
depredations of wolves and other wild animals
which were then common upon the island.
Upon one of the oldest maps of the town, on
file in the clerk's office, we find a perfect repre-
sentation of the village-plan as originally laid
out. From this we learn that each of the four
squares was divided into equal sections, laid
off around the outside of each square and fac-
ing the outer street. These were numbered
■from one to ten, in each of the four squares.
This gave forty sections in all ; and thus one
section was allotted to each of the forty patent-
ees. By this arrangement every family could
reside within the village, and share alike its
palisade defence. In the center of each square
was reserved a large public yard, where the
cattle of the inhabitants were brought in from
the commons, and herded for the night for
their better protection. At a later period, if not
at this early date, a small portion of each
square was devoted to public uses. On orte was
the church, on another was the school-house,
on another the town's hall, and on the fourth
the burying ground. The farms, or "planters'
lots" as they were then called, were also forty
in number, and were laid out in triangular form
with the apex resting in the village and the
boundary lines diverging therefrom like the
radii of a circle * * *. From the fact that the
village was divided into forty lots and that
forty farms radiated therefrom, we have natur-
ally inferred that there were forty patentees.
If this be so, one of them very early in the
history of the town must have dropped out of
the original number, either by death or remov-
al, or, as tradition has it, forfeiting by his prof-
ligate life all his right, title, and interest in the
property allotted to him.
It seems, however, from the records that
only twenty-six persons up to 1646 had settled
with Lady Moody in Gravesend and taken
part in laying out the town, and that the
full quota of forty according to the plan was
filled up by subsequent arrivals.
The first troubles met with came from the
Indians, who appear to have held rather obnox-
ious views as to the settlement from the first.
Every man was ordered to be armed and
equipped to meet a possible, even probable, at-
tack at any moment, and was also required to
keep a certain part of the palisade surround-
ing the town in thorough repair. When the
palisade was being built in 1646 an attack was
made unexpectedly, and the best the settlers
could do was to escape to Flatlands. Lady
Moody's house, probably because it was the
most conspicuous in the settlement, was most
frequently marked out for attack, and Nicholas
Stillwell, who seems in time of such trouble to
have assumed command, had a .difficult task in
repelling the savage warriors. The towns-
people for a time became despondent over the
outlook. Stillman himself returned to New
Amsterdam and saw no more of Gravesend
until 1648, when he bought a town plot, and
even Lady .Moody had serious thoughts of go-
ing back to her property in New England. But
a peace was finally patched up between Gov.
Kieft and the Indians and Gravesend was al-
lowed to take up the thread of its story without
more trouble.
Another Indian incursion, the last on rec-
ord, took place in 1655, when a fierce attack
was made on the town ; but although the set-
tlers could not drive the foe away, on account
of their numbers, they made a gallant defense
behind their palisade and kept the red-skins at
bay until relieved by a force of military from
New Amsterdam. From the first the settlers,
according to their lights, tried to deal honestly
with the aboriginal owners of the soil. Even
before Kieft 's second patent was issued in De-
cember. 1645, they had secured by purchase a
deed from the Indians, and in 1650 and 1654
they secured other deeds covering the land on
Coney Island. In 1684, when all trouble was
at an end. they secured another deed from the
red men, for all the lands in Gravesend, in ex-
change for "one blanket, one gun, one kettle."
Surely the principle of fair dealing could go
no further!
The municipal history of Gravesend began
almost with its settlement. In 1646 the first
362
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
three "approved honest men" elected as Jus-
tices were George Baxter, Edward Brown and
William Wilkins; Sergeant James Hubbard
was elected Schout, and John Tilton (who had
accompanied Lady Moody from New Eng-
land) was chosen to be Town Clerk. All these
elections were approved by the Governor.
Town meetings were held monthly, and at one,
held Sept. 7, 1646, it was decreed that any
holder of a lot who by the following May had
not erected a "habitable house" on it should
forfeit the lot to the town. Such matters as
the repair of the palisade, registry of what are
now called vital statistics, the defense of the
town, the morals and habits of the citizens,
and the humane care of live stock, were the
subjects most generally discussed. All the in-
habitants were compelled to attend these town
meetings when summoned by the beating of a
drum or the blowing of a horn. Infractions
of the laws were tried before justices and the
penalties at first were fines which were for a
time put into the poor fund, but after 1652
were placed in the treasury for general pur-
poses. In 1656 the people passed a stringent
liquor law which prohibited entirely the sale of
"brandie, wine, strong liquor or strong drink"
to any Indian, under a fine of fifty guilders for
a first offense and double that amount for a
second. No more than one pint was to be sold,
at one time, even to white people. This law
was rigidly enforced in spite of the difficulty
of proving its violation. The laws regarding
the preservation of the sanctity of the Sab-
bath, as might be expected, were very rigid.
It seems strange to record the fact that at one
time in Gravesend a town meeting ordered a
bounty of five guilders to be paid for every
wolf killed in the township. The town court
attended to all petty criminal or civil causes,
but the criminal cases were comparatively few,
and slander and assault seemed to be the pre-
vailing weakness of the more demonstrative
citizens. In 1650, for these decadents, as well
as for petty thieves, the stocks were brought
into requisition and continued a favorite mode
of punishment until the nineteenth century was
well advanced. In 1668 the town received
quite a boom by the settlement in it of the
Kings County Court of Sessions which had
previously met in Flatbush. This body con-
tinued to dispense justice in Gravesend until
1685, when it returned to its former home.
It is singular that in an essentially religious
community like Gravesend, and a community
the earlier records of which are more complete
and methodical than those of any other town in
Kings county, there should be any dubiety
about its first place of worship ; but such is the
case. An effort has been made to show that a
Dutch Reformed Church, or congregation, was
established in 1655, and the church now exist-
ing of that body claims a history dating from
1693 ; but both these dates are manifesth-
wrong. In 1655, and even in 1692, the Dutch
was the language used in the service of that
body, and we must remember that Gravesend
was an English community. In 1657 Dominie
Megapolensis, in a report to the Classis of Am-
sterdam, said that at Grave?end they reject
"infant baptism, the Sabbath, the office of
preacher and the teachers of God's Word, say-
ing that through these have come all sorts of
contention into the world. Whenever they
meet together the one or the other reads some-
thing to them." These were very probably
Lady Aloody's own views and show why no
early church was founded in the settlement at
all. In 1657 Richard Hodgson and several
other Quakers reached Gravesend and were
kindly received, but there is not the slightest
reason for supposing that Lady Moody adop-
ted all of their tenets and became a member of
the Society. That would have been a depart-
ure from her own First Principles and she was
not the sort of woman to make su;h a change.
That the Quakers found a resting place at
Gravesend is certain; it was founded for just
such a refuge ; and in 1672, when George Fox
was on his American tour, he also stopped at
the town, where he found several of his people
and held "three precious meetings." But it
GRAVESEND.
B63
was not a Quaker settlement, nor, like Flat-
bush, a Dutch Reformed settlement. There is
no mention in the records of the church at
Hatbush of a congregation at Gravesend until
1714, though it is possible that for many years
before some of the citizens attended wor-
ship in Trinity Church, New York, and that
the authorities there, at intervals, sent over a
clergyman to hold services in the town. From
1704 there is evidence that the ministers at
Flatbush considered Gravesend part of their
bailiwick and receipts were formerly extant
showing that Gravesend paid a share of the
Dominie's salary from 1706 to 1741. In 1714,
after Dutch had ceased to be the sole language
used in the Reformed churches, an agreement
was entered between the people of Gravesend
and the church at New Utrecht for a share in
the services of the ministers who visited the
last named town. It is probable that when this
short-lived arrangement went into effect a
church building was erected. It seems certain
that one was in existence in 1720, when it was
called "the meeting-house" and was apparently
ready to house a preacher of any denomination
who came along. The Rev. Mr. Stockwell,
who patiently investigated this subject, did not
believe that any separate congregation of any
religious body was organized in Gravesend
prior to 1763. That body was the Reformed
Church, and as the records were kept in Dutch
until about 1823 we may readily understand
that the English-speaking citizens had little
share in its foundation or in its progress.
In 1763 a new meeting-house was built on
the site of the first one, a little oblong building
with high pitched roof, surmounted by a bel-
fry. Inside was a plain box-like pulpit with a
huge sounding board. Underneath one side of
the gallery was the negro quarter, reserved
solely for the use of the colored brethren.
"This old church," wrote Mr. Stockwell,
"within the memory of those now living was
without stoves or any other heating appliances.
The women carried foot-stoves, which, before
service, the\- were verv careful to fill at the
nearest neighbor's, while the men were com-
pelled to sit during the long service with noth-
ing to generate heat but the grand Calvinistic
preaching of the Dutch dominie, or the antici-
pation of a warm dinner after the service was
over!" Whitefield preached twice in this little
tabernacle, which continued in use until 1833,
when it gave way to a more modern structure,
which, with many improvements, is still in use.
In 1767 Martinus Schoonmaker became pas-
tor of the little congregations in Harlem and
Gravesend, receiving as salary from the last
named ^35 a year and preaching at frequent
intervals. ' In 1783 he became minister of the
Collegiate Church, with his headquarters at
Flatbush, and after that held services in
Gravesend once in each six weeks, and Graves-
end continued to be part of the care of the Flat-
bush ministers until 1808, when the Collegiate
arrangement ceased. It was not until 1832,
however, that the Gravesend church acquired
a settled pastor, und in that year the Rev. I. P.
Labagh was installed. In 1842 he was sus-
pended from the minii£try for refusing to rec-
ognize the authority of the Classis, and for
holding opinions deemed unorthodox, and the
Rev. Abram I. Labagh was installed in his
place. This pastorate continued for seventeen
years, and in 1859 the Rev. M. G. Hanson was
called to the pulpit. He resigned in 187 1 and a
year later the Rev. A. P. Stockwell was called.
This gentleman devoted much care to the study
of the civil and ecclesiastical history of Graves-
end, and to a sketch from his pen the present
chapter of this work has been greatly indebted.
He continued to minister to this church until
1886 when he retired and devoted himself
mainly to literary work until his death, in
Brooklyn, in 1901. He was followed in the
ministry of Gravesend by the Rev. P. V. A'an
BitSkirk, who still fe'tains the charge, and
who has labored most successfully and won
the love of his large and steadily growing
congregation, as well as of the entire com-
munity in which he has ministered so long
and so faithfully.
864
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
We have seen that in one of the squares in
the original plan of Gravesend a place was laid
aside as a burying ground, and it was prob-
ably used as such when occasion required. The
earliest record extant, however, concerning this
now venerable God's-acre is contained in the
will of John Tilton, dated Jan. 15, 1657, in
which he devised land "for all persons in ye
Everlasting truthe of ye gospel as occasion
serves for ever to have and to hold and to make
use of to bury their dead there."' It is thought
that the land thus deeded adjoined the original
burying ground and Tilton's bequest was in
reality an addition and at once incorporated
within its boundaries. It was probably part of
the original lot, which Tilton received when he
settled at Gravesend with Lady Moody. The
oldest stone extant now bears the date of 1676,
and many of the inscriptions discernible are in
Dutch. One plain rough stone, hardly read-
able, was thought by Teunis C. Bergen to
mark the grave of Lady Moody ; but this was
merely an antiquary's fancy. From the form-
ation of Greenwood Cemetery the Gravesend
burial ground began to fall into disuse and in-
terments in it have now practically ceased.
There is another burying ground in the town-
ship,— Washington Cemetery, — laid out in
1850 and inclosing about 100 acres, which is
mainly used by Hebrews.
Regarding the dwellings which early ex-
isted in Gravesend, the Rev. Mr. Stockwell
said:
It may be interesting to know the style of
house which afforded shelter and protection
to the early settlers. If the following is a fair
specimen, it will not strike us as being too elab-
orate or expensive, even for that early day.
Here is the contract for a dwelling, as entered
by the town-clerk upon his record :
"Ambrose London bargained and agreed
with Michah Jure for his building him a house
by the middle of June nexte, and to paye the
said Michah 40 gilders for it — at the time he
begins a skipple of Indian corne, at the raising
of it 10 guilders, and at ye finishing of it ye
rest of the said summ. Ye house to be made
22 foote long, 12 foote wide, 8 foote stoode
with a petition in ye middle, and a chimney, to
laye booth rooms with joice, to cover ye roof,
and make up both gable ends with clabboards,
as also to make two windows and a door."
This man, London, was rather a speculator,
and soon disposed of this house, and made an-
other contract for a larger and still more com-
modious one ; the contract price for building it
being $44. John Hawes was the builder
and his contract was to build "i house framed
uppon sills of 26 foote long, and 16 foote
broad and 10 foote stoode, with 2 chimneys in
ye middle and 2 doors and two windows, and
to clabboard only ye roof and dobe the rest
parte." The price was no gilders, or instead,
"one Dutch cow."
But, if their houses were built more with
reference to their comfort and actual necessi-
ties than for display, the same was true of their
household furniture and personal effects, as
will be seen from the following inventory of
the estate of John Buckman, deceased, dated in
the year 1651, and signed by Lady Moody as
one of the witnesses. Among a few other ar-
ticles appear the following: "i Kettle, i Fry-
ing Pan, I Traye, i Jarre, i pair breeches, I
Bonett, I Jackett, i Paile, 2 Shirts, i Tubbe,
I Pair shoes, 2 pair ould stockings, 9 ould
goats, money in chest, 32 gilders."
The first roads to these houses were mere
wagon paths, rough and unkempt, although
the roads, or streets inside the palisades in the
town square, appear to have been well kept,
and were regarded as the best to be seen any-
where. The outer roads were made simply by
merely clearing away the brush, and their
boundaries were kept defined mainly by the
traffic. At times, however, the town meeting
took a hand in their improvement, as in 165 1,
when it was agreed that "every inhabitant who
is possessed of a lot shall be ready to go by the
lilowing of ye horn on Thursday next to clear
ye common ways." In 1660 a highway was
laid out from the town to the beach. By 1696
Gravesend was connected with Flatbush and
Flatlands and New Utrecht by rough but serv-
iceable roads, and the King's Highway, still
extant among a wilderness of new streets, was
laid out about the same time.
GRAVESEND.
Notwithstanding all its advantages of mag-
nificent soil, a settled community, perfect free-
dom of conscience and proximity to the even
then great commercial centre, the progress of
Gravesend was slow. It had, it would appear,
at one time some pretentions to commercial
dignity on its own account, for in 1693 it was
declared one of the three ports of entry on
Long Island ; but even with this distinction it
continued to make tardy progress. In 1698 its
population was only 210, including 31 men,
32 women, 124 children, 6 apprentices and 17
negroes. By 1738, forty years later, the total
number had increased to 368, of which 50 were
negroes. In 1790 it boasted 294 whites and 131
negroes. Probably when the Revolutionary
War broke out it contained in round numbers
a population of 350, white and colored.
That war, as in the case of the other towns
in Kings county, may be said to mark the cen-
tral point of the history of Gravesend. Many
of the troops were landed on its ocean front on
that memorable morning in August, 1776,
when the British movement began. It was
supposed that from its English antecedents,
Gravesend would be even more pronouncedly
Tory in its sentiment than the other towns in
its part of Long Island ; but the opposite seems
to have been the case. In the battle of Aug.
27th the Patriot fighters from Gravesend are
said by the local historians to have given a
good account of themselves, although their
losses were small as their knowledge of the
country enabled them to escape from the de-
feat and return to their homes in safety, while
others who escaped in the melee were captured
or killed by roving bands of the enemy. The
tide of war soon carried the troops away from
Gravesend. But during the entire British oc-
cupation of the island the town was in a condi-
tion of perpetual trouble and excitement.
Prisoners and soldiers were billeted upon the
people without ceremony, the soldiers robbed
with apparent impunity and lawless bands of
thieves made frequent descents upon farm-
houses and stripped them of their valuables
and provender. It was truly a reign of terror
for the peace-loving people while it lasted, and
Patriot and Tory seemed to have suffered alike
from the horrors of military rule. That the
people were peaceably disposed is very evident
from the fact that several of the Hessian sol-
diers remained in Gravesend after peace was
declared and assumed all the duties of citizen-
ship, and, it is said, with credit to themselves.
On October 20, 1789, General Washington,
then President, visited Gravesend and held a
sort of levee in the town square. As might be
expected be was devotedly welcomed and with
his visit we may consider the early history of
Gravesend fittingly brought to an end.
Having thus presented the leading facts in
the opening annals of Gravesend, the story of
a particular section which to a certain extent
has always maintained a separate history, and
the name of which is known throughout the
civilized world, even in places where Long
Island's Gravesend was never heard of, may
here be fittingly considered. This is the famous
Coney Island, the first disposal of which to a
white man has already been mentioned in this
chapter. Op Dyck tried to realize on his pur-
chase by selling his eighty-eight acres of sand
dunes, brush and waterfront to the Gravesend
people in 1661, but they declined to purchase,
alleging that it was theirs already by right not
only of their town patent but of a deed of pur-
chase in 1649 from Cippehacke, Sachem of the
Canarsies (in which the island was called Nar-
rioch), and also of another deed, dated May 7,
1654, in which (in exchange for 15 fathoms of
seawant, 2 guns, and 2 pounds of powder) they
obtained from the Nyack Indians, who claimed
to be the real owners, not only a conveyance of
Coney Island, but a strip along the shore near
the old village of Unionville, which afterward
involved the town in much vexatious litiga-
tion. Failing thus to dispose of it. Op Dyck
sold his claim to Derick De Wolf, the transfer
bearing date October 29, 1661. In the follow-
ing year De Wolf, who had obtained from the
West India Company in Amsterdam a monop-
86G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
oly for the manufacture of salt in New Neth-
erland, erected his plant on the island and com-
menced operations. Incidentally he warned
the Gravesend folks to cease from pasturing
their cattle on Guisbert's Island, or using it
for any purpose. This so enraged these usually
quiet and peaceable citizens that they marched
to the island, overrun the establishment, tore
down the palisade and manufactory and made
a bonfire of their ruins, and threatened to
clearly set forth. Still there seems somehow
to have remained a doubt, and in 1684 a new
conveyance was obtained from the Indians
and the whole was placed beyond any pretence
of future question by the terms of Governor
Dongan's patent of 1685, and Coney Island
continued to be a part of the territory of
Gravesend until the town government itself
was wiped out of existence by the Moloch-
like march of modern improvement. The
*
THE STRYKER HOUSE, GR.WESLXU.
silence the remonstrances of the man in charge
by throwing him on top of the burning pile.
This put a stop to the enterprise; and, al-
though De Wolf sent a remonstrance to Am-
sterdam, and their High Mightinesses ordered
Stuyvesant to protect the salt-maker in his
rights, the Governor did nothing in the mat-
ter. In fact, he openly took the side of the
Gravesend people in the dispute, and so the
trouble continued until the advent of Governor
Nicolls wiped out the monopoly. In Governor
Lovelace's charter, or patent, issued in 1671,
the right of Gravesend to the island was
island's destinies being then so far settled, it
was, in 1677, laid out in thirty-nine lots of
some two acres each, and so divided among
the people. They agreed to fence it in and
plant it only with "Indian corn, tobacco or
any summer grain," and when not so used it
was to be in common a feeding place for
cattle.
The Labadist Fathers, who visited Coney
Island in 1679, have left the following record:
"It is oblong in shape and is grown over with
bushes. Nobody lives upon it, but it is used
in winter for keeping cattle, horses, oxen,
GRAVESEND.
867
hogs and others, which are able to obtain there
sufficient to eat the wliole winter and to shelter
themselves from the cold in the thickets." It
continued to be used mainly for feeding cattle
either in common or by lease down to about
1840, when its modern history may be said
to begin. The people of Gravesend, however,
seem to have been careful to retain in their
own hands and for their common use many
of the privileges of ownership, such as fishing,
hunting, the use of timber and common rights
of pasturage to unenclosed places.
The history of Gravesend from the time
of Washington's visit until about 1870 might
be characterized by the term "reposefulness.''
In fact, its people might be said to have dwelt
by themselves and for themselves and to have
let the world roll along, unmindful of how it
rolled so long as its commotions did not shake
them ofif. Human nature now and again as-
serted itself around election times, when the
citizens shouted their preferences, but when
the election was over the men, then as now,
wondered what they really had been shouting
for, and what difference the result made to
them. There was marrying and giving in
marriage, children were born, educated at the
\'illage school to the best of its ability, and
then stepped into their fathers' shoes ; or if
there were many sons in a household each
managed to secure a bit of farm land in the
township and settled down to start a new
branch of the family, and the little cemetery,
even with Tilton's pious addition, was steadily
being filled up. So far as we have been
able to judge, few Gravesend boys, compara-
tively, left the township to seek their fortunes
in the outer world. ^^'ithin it there was at
least an abundance, and if it had no million-
aires it had no paupers, and by paupers I mean
men or women who liave fallen by the way-
side in the struggle of life as a result of their
own waywardness or worse. Early in the
nineteenth century we read of a new road
being occasionally opened, making transit to
the beach or to the other townships easy, and
now and again we come across stories of
amateur fishermen from the outside world
who discovered its shore and spent a few days
now and again, to return to their homes with
stories of wonderful success, generally justi-
fied in their cases by truth. The court records
show an intricate bit of litigation now and
again over some boundary question, of little
or no interest now that boundaries have been
swept away; while the church continued a
matter of prime interest in the community
and the real center of its civil and social as
well as its religious life. These brief sentences
really sum up the history of Gravesend for the
half century or so that passed from the time
the last British troopship sailed out of the
Narrows until what might be called the mod-
ern awakening set in. A glance at the popu-
lation returns helps to emphasize all this. In
1800 its figures were 517, and ten years later
520, a gain of 3. By 1835 it had increased
to 695, and to 951 according to the State
census of 1845.
Some might begin the modern story of
Gravesend from around the last date on ac-
count of the religious activity which then
sprang up. The Third Reformed Church edi-
fice was dedicated in January, 1834, a parson-
age was built in connection with it in 1844,
and a chapel and meeting house was erected
in 1854, covering the site of the pioneer
church. In 1840 a Methodist Episcopal
Church was organized at Sheepshead Bay, un-
der the name of the Methodist Protestant
Church, and although that peculiar designa-
tion has long been abandoned it still carries
on its work. In 1844 another Methodist Epis-
copal Church was organized at Unionville.
From the church to the school is an easy
transition, for in most of our early records
the two almost followed each other so closely
that their beginnings might be said to be con-
temporaneous. In Gravesend, however, it is
not until 1728 that we find evidence of a
school-house, when a deed shows that on
April 8' of that year "one house and two gar-
368
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
den spots" were sold for £19 by Jacobus
Emails to the freeholders for the use of a
school "and for no other use or emplo_vment
whatsoever." This purpose, however, was not
carried cut to the letter, for the site thus laid
apart for educational purposes was that on
which, in 1873, the town hall was erected.
It is hardly to be imagined, however, that no
provision for education existed in Gravesend
prior to 1728, and it is likely that as soon as
the need appeared a teacher found employment
and a place for teaching, even although, as
elsewhere on Long Island, he migrated from
house to house. The building erected on the
Emans "lots" served as school-house until
1788, when a larger structure was erected on
the same site. This continued to be the local
school-house until 1838, when another site,
singular to say, from another representative of
the Emans family (Cornelius), was purchased
and a commodious building erected which af-
terward was known as District School No. i,
and so continued until annexation. Gravesend
is now as well equipped with educational facil-
ities as any section of Greater New York,
while its private schools have won many
tributes of praise for their high standing and
efficiency.
The modern progress of Gravesend may
be traced as clearly by the extension of its
roads as by any other basis, for its progress
in this regard was slow and gradual and strict-
ly in keeping with absolute necessity. It is
only within recent years that the construction
of public thoroughfares began to be under-
taken before there was developed a crying de-
mand for them. In 1824 what was known as
"Coney Island Causeway" was laid out from
Gravesend to the ocean front, virtually a con-
tinuation of an old road through the village,
and although somewhat primitive it contin-
ued to be a toll road, paying a dividend to its
stockholders until 1876, when it was sold to
the Prospect Park & Coney Island Railroad.
In 1838 a free road was begun from Grave-
send to Flathush, a continuation inland of the
road to the sea. In 1875 the road was widened
to 100 feet and extended to the Brooklyn city
line, receiving the name of Gravesend avenue.
It proved from the first the main artery of
trade and travel. The Coney Island Plank
Road, laid out and partly opened for traffic
in 1850, which extended from Fifteenth street,
Brooklyn, to Coney Island, was long the prin-
cipal carriage road to the shore. The planks
were removed after ten years' service. In
1871 an effort was made to improve this road,
but while the story is one of the most disgrace-
ful in local politics, it is hardly worth while
to enlarge upon it now. ]\Iany other roads
were surveyed and several were opened up be-
tween 1865 and 1876, but in not a few cases
they are still roads only on the map. Ocean
avenue, from Prospect Park to the ocean,
five miles long and in places 100 feet wide,
was opened for traffic in 1876, and was a popu-
lar thoroughfare from the beginning. It was
an honest piece of work throughout, and
showed the citizens how economically an im-
provement could be eiifected when undertaken
by business men and carried out on business
principles.
But all these roads fade into insignificance
when compared with that magnificent accom-
plishment, the Ocean Parkway, which was
begun in 1874 and completed in 1880. It is
five and one-half miles long, with a width of
some 210 feet, and is one of the most per-
fectly appointed and best equipped roads in
the world. Its main purpose is pleasure, and
its appearance on a spring or autumn after-
noon, crowded with richly appointed vehicles
and pleasure carriages of all sorts, bicycles,
automobiles, as well as pedestrians, is not to
be found surpassed, if ecjualled in all desira-
ble respects, by the boulevards of Paris. It is
one of the many enduring monuments to the
late J. S. T. Stranahan, who is generally con-
ceded to be the originator of the idea of
constructing such a magnificent parkway.
One feature which added to the material
progress of Gravesend was the introduction
GRAVESEND.
869
of horse-racing, which may be said to have
commenced in 1868 with the incorporation of
the Prospect Park Fair Grounds Association.
This body of "horse-lovers" bought a tract
of some sixty acres near Gravesend avenue,
built a club house and laid out a track. The
association afterward removed to Ocean Park-
way. Another track was laid out at Parkville.
These 'were comparatively private affairs and
did not prove profitable to those wlio find
profit in horse-racing. In 1880, however, a
bold bid for public favor was made by the
Coney Island Jockey Club, which secured about
one hundred and twenty-five acres of land
near Sheepshead Bay, laid out a splendid track,
adapted the grounds thoroughly to meet the
wants of large gatherings of people, built a
commodious grand-stand, stables, out-houses,
etc., and the enterprise at once sprang into
popular favor. It was not long before the
"race days" became events, and attracted
crowds of all classes from New York, Brook-
lyn and even more distant places. Since then
the Brooklyn Jockey Club has established a
course at Gravesend and the Brighton Beach
Racing Association another at Coney Island.
These have their ups and downs, it seems to
us, in public favor, but all manage to secure
more or less patronage and more than meet
the demand for the "sport of kings," as it is
called, in the section of Long Island in which
they are located. All these institutions have
helped to build up Gravesend and to aid in its
financial prosperity. Whether they have aided
in moral progress, whether they have brought
within its precincts a class of residents such
as the fathers of the settlement would have
wished, are questions which others may at-
tempt to sidve. A historian only at times be-
comes a moral philosopher.
The introduction of the horse car and the
steam railroad, passing through Gravesend
and yearly conveying increasing crowds to
the seashore, finally brought the quiet settle-
ment to the notice of the outside world and
aroused it from its sleep of over 200 years.
Brooklyn, too, was steadily filling up the gaps
in its own domain and was annually extend-
ing its suburban lines, and so the land-boom-
ers got an eye on Gravesend and began to
menace its rural life. All that was needed to
inaugurate a new condition of things was a
rapid and cheap mode of transit, and that was
furnished in time by the trolley, — the "ubiqui-
tous trolley," as the newspaper reporters used
to call it in its early days. The population
began to grow with amazing rapidity and new
streets were Steadily opened in reality or on
paper. Old farms were abandoned to the
builders, while new settlements, some of them
with exceedingly fancy names, sprung into ex-
istence that put the older settlements like
Unionville for a time far in the background,
while Sheepshead Bay, which once might have
been called Gravesend's suburb, became in
reality the center of its life. The popularity of
Coney Island reflected itself on Gravesend.
It was the attraction which the land-boomers
made most use of to invite settlers, and the
closer and more accessible an old farm was to
the water front the more quickly was it staked
out, ,its old glory wrecked, and its ancient
story wiped out. The new settlers who poured
in did not understand the old days, the old
methods, and while the shadow of annexation
was steadily gathering over the old English
town it became the prey of local politicians,
some, it is sad to think, claiming, and claim-
ing rightly, descent from original settlers ;
but most of them of more recent importation,
and all of them developing traits of patriotism
for "what there is' in it." There is no doubt
that in its latter days Gravesend, like Flat-
lands, became the prey of a gang of political
spoilsmen, and their acts, as much as any-
thing else, forced the annexation movement
to culminate on July i, 1894, when Gravesend
became a thing of the past and its territory
quickly took a place as Brooklyn's Thirty-first
\Vard.
It is a pity that the last scene in the sep-
arate histor\' of ( jravesend should be one of
370
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
riot, bloodshed, contempt for law, and stern
retribution. For several years the leading
figure in Gravesend was John Y. McKane.
The history and character of that man are
deserving of critical study. He was purely
a product of modern American life, and we
question if his type, although plentiful enough
here, could be produced anywhere else in the
wide world. He was born in county Antrim,
Ireland, August lo, 1841, and was brought to
this country when a few months old by his
mother, his father having preceded them. The
family settled at Gravesend, and when sixteen
years of age McKane was sent to learn the
trade of carpenter. In 1865 he married Fanny,
daughter of Captain C. B. Nostrand, of Grave-
send, and in 1866 commenced business on his
own account aS a builder and carpenter at
Sheepshead Bay. From his twenty-first year
he was active in local politics, quickly gathered
around him a number of other local workers
whose leadership, by making him master of
many votes, not only gave him power and in-
fluence, but enabled him to extend his busi-
ness on all sides so as to make him really
independent of political emolument. But he
believed in holding office, for that in turn gave
him political power, and as Supervisor of the
town he had often an opportunity of reward-
ing politically those who were faithful to his
fortunes. His influence was made still greater
in 1883, for then he was elected President of
the Board of Supervisors for Kings county.
At one time he was Gravesend's "Poo Bah,"
holding the office of Police Commissioner,
Chief of Police, President of the Town Board,
the Board of Health and the Water Board, —
and it is difficult to recall what. His busi-
ness as a builder continued to flourish, and
one could not stand at any point in the old
village of Gravesend, at Sheepshead Bay, or
along Coney Island without being able, in the
new cottages and hotels, to point out his handi-
work, and good, honest work he did, — of that
there is no doubt. His popularity was un-
bounded. Everyone spoke well of him, and
although most people knew him as a politician,
and one who was as well versed in the ways
and wiles of local politicians as any man liv-
ing, it was believed that his own hands were
clean. He would stand by a supporter through
thick and thin, he never repudiated a bargain,
broke faith with a friend, or forgot a service.
A stanch Democrat, he professed to have the
welfare of Gravesend at heart more than the
fortunes of his local ticket; but that ticket
he always worked for with all his heart. His
private life was pure and happy. He had a
pleasant home, and there he spent his pleasant-
est hours. For years he was an active member
of the local Methodist Church and the super-
intendent of its Sabbath-school. Up to a cer-
tain point in his career never a word was
spoken against him. He was the "boss;" he
ruled with a rod of iron; he was in all sorts
of deals, and it was believed he was thor-
oughly honest personally and that whatever
underhand arid shady work he did was done
simply in the line of business of the political
boss. JMost people felt that with all his faults
things were safer with him than with any boss
who would surely be raised to reign in his
stead, — seeing that a boss was necessary. As
Gravesend grew in population, as Coney
Island year after year added to its visitors by
thousands, McKane's position grew in impor-
tance, and he had to use all the customary
accomplishments of the professional politician
to maintain his footing.
The key to his power lay in the ballot-box,
and for years it was known that the returns
from Gravesend at any election were just as
JNIcKane wanted them. There were loud com-
plaints at times of irregularity, but nothing
was done, for as usual political excitement and
indignation generally subsided after each elec-
tion. Then, too, as election after election
passed over, McKane became more reckless
and defiant of all law. Respect for the law
governing elections was especially forgotten
by him and cut no figure in his calculations.
There is no doubt that for rears the ballots
GRAVESEND.
871
cast in Gravesend were manipulated to suit
McKane and his coterie. This in time became
so glaring that little more was needed to ex-
pose the whole sham and bring it to an end
than the zealous protest of some men of deter-
mination, and that man came to the front in
William J. Gaynor. In 1893 he was nomi-
nated for Justice of the. Supreme Court, and
when the campaign was on he determined to
pay attention to Gravesend, being well aware
that McKane was bitterly opposed to him
and would stoop to even the most desperate
act to accomplish his defeat. He determined
to have at least an honest vote in Gravesend,
and to that end obtained an order from the
Supreme Court compelling the Registrars of
Elections to produce the registry books; but
the books could not be found. On election
day twelve watchers sent by Gaynor went to
Gravesend armed with an injunction from the
Supreme Court forbidding McKane or any
•one else from interfering with them ; but Mc-
Kane, folding his arms behind his back, re-
fused to touch the document, uttering the mem-
■orable words, "Injunctions don't go here."
Colonel Alexander S. Bacon and the other
watchers were arrested, some were maltreated
brutally, and all were glad to get back to
Brooklyn. Gravesend had 6,000 votes regis-
tered, while her population should only have
shown some 2,000. The votes cast were 3,500,
proving that in spite of all the excitement,
fraudulent methods had been at work. Ameri-
can citizens can stand a good deal; they can
he plundered, imposed upon and .deluded by
politicians year out and year in with impunity.
Every now and then they arise in their might
and "turn the rascals out," but they soon for-
• get their indignation, the rascals return to their
plunder, and things go on as before. But there
is one thing the people will neither condone
nor forget, and that is tampering with the
hallot-box, the foundation of all their liberties,
and the united voice of a free people. Of the
3.500 votes cast, Gaynor received an insignifi-
cant number, but the general returns showed
that he was elected to the b.nch by a large
majority. Public attention as to affairs in
Gravesend had been aroused, the flagrant tink-
ering with the ballot-box and the insults and in-
dignities and maltreatment of those who rep-
resented the law created a deep feeling of re-
sentment in the community, and a demand
arose for the prosecution of the offenders. A
fund was raised to bring the matter to an
issue, and McKane and several of his promin-
ent associates were indicted. As a result of his
trial McKane was convicted of violating the
election law, and on February 19, 1894, sen-
tenced by Justice Bartlett to six years in state
prison. After a few delays, trying to evade
the sentence by legal quibbles, he began his
term in Sing Sing on March 2, following, and
was there incarcerated, "a model prisoner,"
the keepers said, until April 30, 1898, having
then finished his term less the deduction al-
lowed to all prisoners who behave themselves
as behavior is understood in penal institutions.
He emerged from prison a broken-down man
in every way, and did not even attempt to
regain his old-time grip. His once indomitable
spirit was crushed beneath the terrible blow
which had transformed him from "a useful
citizen" into a convict, and he died, broken-
hearted, September 5, 1899.
McKane was not the only one who suffered
for the "crime of Gravesend," as the reporters
put it. Many of his supporters suffered im-
prisonment and fine, the most noted being
Kenneth F. Sutherland, sent to prison for one
year and fined $500 on one count and sentenced
to another year's imprisonment on a fresh
charge; R. V. B. Newton, sentenced to nine
months' imprisonment and $750 fine; A. S.
Jameson, eighteen months ; M. P. Ryan, four
months and $500; F. Bader, five months and
$500; B. Cohen, four months and $500; and
so on down to comparatively petty sentences,
for the less conspicuous workers of the gang.
Possibly the full extent of the frauds at the
ballot-boxes was not realized by the public
until the election at Gravesend in April, 1894,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
when, under honest auspices, onh' 1,928 votes
were cast.
Thus closed hi turmoil and gloom the story
of a town founded in righteousness and hon-
esty, and distinguished for its uprightness
and the even tenor of its ways. It demon-
strated the unscrupulousness of politics and
die rottenness which can be introduced into
our municipal government by a few men who
are zealous for power.- No one pitied McKane
and his fellows, and their fate has been held
to be a significant and much-needed lesson
to others who might be induced to drift into
such methods ; and drift is the right word.
]\IcKane and his associates were not bad men;
in private life most of them were above re-
proach ; but they drifted along the current of
low political intrigue until, blind to the results,
they "shot Niagara," went beyond the safe-
guards of law and order, defied these in fact,
and landed in prison cells. Their story is a
blot on American politics, and it is a pity that
the records of Gravesend should close with
the details of a political crime and its salutary
punishment.
\^ \^ \^ \^
CHAPTER XXXI.
CONEY ISLAND.
Rise of the Famous Resort-
a re^•0i,ut10nai
-The Demockatic Watering Place of New York-
V Reminiscence — Piracy and Plunder.
OR many >ears after the Revolution
Coney Island lay practically dor-
mant. The heirs of the thirty-nine
persons referred to in the preceding
chapter, among whom most of Guisbert's
Island was divided in 1677, held their right for
many years in that apportionment, but the
property was unproductive. By 1734 most of
their claims had been bought by Thomas
Stillwell, who in that year started the march
of modern improvement by digging a ditch
which enabled farmers' and gardeners' boats
to reach the market on Alanhattan Island much
more quickly than formerly. All the arable
land was practically on the division known as
Guisbert's Island. Pine Island and the orig-
inal bit of sand known as Coney Island, or
Narrioch, made up the rest of the territory,
all of which is now known under the one popu-
lar name. The sea, then as now, played sad
havoc with this stretch of sand. Sometimes
the three islands were quite distinct, at other
times they were, as now, practically one. The
whole territory at one time was little more
than the backyard of Gravesend, and at inter-
vals that town enjoyed a little income by
letting the privileges not covered by the rights
of the original thirty-nine. From time to time
other divisions were made of the territory,
always in thirty-nine lots, as fresh demands
were made by the slowly increasing population,
and the last of these divisions was that of
1821. By that time the utility of Coney Island
as a "resort" was beginning to be understood,
and before the end of that decade the place
boasted its first hotel, — the Coney Island
House. Wyckoff's Hotel followed, and these
two establishments divided the patronage of
the place. In 1844 a bathing pavilion, with
attachments, was erected at what is now known
as Norton's Point, and in 1847 another hotel
was built on the island, — the Oceanic. It was
burned down at the end of its first season, and
afterward rebuilt.
This was the beginning. But it is difficult
to say exactly when the modern movement
which resulted in making Coney Island fa-
mous fairly set in. In one sense, no date can
be definitely fixed, for, like Topsey in "PIncle
Tom's Cabin," it "just growed." Every year
from 1847 witnessed some improvement, some
new bathing-houses run up with unplaned
lumber and primitive appointments, some
roughly constructed hotel or restaurant, cheap
saloon, democratic eating-houses where yon
could bring your own luncheon or eat what
was produced on the premises, lager-beer bars,
and a show or two, generally of a startling
character, such as newly-caught wild Indians,
educated pigs, museums, special exhibits of
"sole remnants of the ancient Aztec sovereigns
of Central America," and the like. Each year
more and more of these things seemed to litter
the beach, and each year the crowds of visitors
374
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
increased. It was a democratic resort, and
there was plenty of room for all sorts of tastes.
If the visitors wanted to be in a throng, the
throng was there ; if they desired quiet, a short
walk among the dunes gave them all the quiet-
ness that Lady Moody could have enjoyed in
her "bouwerie." Then the crowds became too
great and people began to complain that the
place was a resort for roughs, and the de-
scendants of the good old settlers of Gravesend
held up their hands in horror at the scenes of
Sabbath desecration and midsummer riot
which had grown up in their midst. The
steamboats were carrying thousands of visit-
ors, the railroad had begun its work of trans-
porting people from the outskirts of Brooklyn
and from Bay Ridge to the ocean, and even
one lumbering horse-car line was established,
which was taxed 1o its capacity during the
season. The crowds, however, gave rise to
trouble of all sorts; Sundays were seldom
passed without exhibiting scenes of riot and
debauchery, and by 1875 respectable New
Yorkers and Brooklynites began to shun Coney
Island and talked of it as having been given
ovef to the mob, the rough element, in their
midst, and predicted its early doom to silence
and decay. But the mob held on, and recalci-
trants were won back to some part of the
island at least. By 1876 its fame had spread
over the whole country, and in that centennial
year it was regarded as one of the sights of
New York and one to which all visitors to
the commercial metropolis had to be conducted.
In many respects 1875 might be regarded
as the opening year of the modern Coney
Island. The old divisions of the island by that
time had begun to be known by their modern
names thus: West End (Norton's Point),
West Brighton, Brighton Beach, and Manhat-
tan Beach.
It is almost useless to attempt to describe
modern Coney Island in a historical work, for
the yearly changes are so many and so kaleido-
scopic as to make any outline seem out of
date a few months after it has been penned.
It is the great democratic outpouring place of
the Greater New York, and although all
around the great city new resorts appear to
spring up every year, the island seems not only
to retain, but to extend its popularity with each
recurring season. Somehow it has adapted
itself to the wants of the great multitude of
visitors. Those who want quiet and exclusive-
ness can find it in the Oriental Hotel, which
is the outpost of the modern Coney Island.
At Manhattan Beach, with its theater, mu-
sic, fireworks and other amusements, there is
exclusiveness and pleasure combined. IBrighton
Beach claims to be a family resort primarily,
and to a great extent retains that characteris-
tic. It attracts larger crowds than the places
already named, being a center for transit fa-
cilities ; and, having superb bathing accom-
modations, it attracts visitors of all classes.
It really forms the dividing line between aris-
tocratic and democratic Coney Island. The
regular visitors to the Oriental Hotel, or Man-
hattan Beach, or Brighton Beach, however,
would hardly care to admit that they had any
connection with Coney Island. That good old
name has become somewhat demoralized, too
much associated with "the great unwashed,"
with cheap shows, bawling photographers,
Sunday beer and vulgar frankfurters to be con-
genial to ears polite. So at all three the name
of Coney Island is tabooed, and when in these
modern days the island is referred to we are
supposed to speak of the long stretch of sand
lying still further to the westward; Here, how-
ever, the island retains all the many peculiari-
ties and types which won for it its first popu-
larity. Its manners are free and easy, its
crowds have assembled to have a good time
according to their individual ideas, and they
have it. One account tells us : "At the West
End. or Norton's, the island has been but little
improved. Accommodations are provided here
for parties with lunch-baskets, and there are
numerous unattractive-looking bathing-houses.
This part of the island is now being redeemed
from neglect by the building of good houses.
CONEY ISLAND.
375
The Atlantic Yacht Chib has now established
its quarters there. West Brighton was former-
ly known as Cable's, and is the central part
of the island. Travelers arrive at the beach by
railroad as a rule, and alight in a spacious
depot, facing the finest iron pier on the island.
To the stranger the scene is suggestive of a
great fair-ground. In the center is a broad
plaza with green grass and flowers, traversed
by wide wooden pavements, and numerous
hotels and places of amusement are clustered
around. Bands play every afternoon and
evening in pavilions, and the beach is brilliant-
ly illuminated at night by the somewhat ghast-
ly white rays of the electric light. A camera
obscura here gives charming views of the
beach, sharply outlined, delicately toned, and
well worth seeing. An observatory 300 feet
high occupies a prominent place, and from the
top, reached by large elevators, a fine view
of the island, the bay and the adjacent cities
may be had. Two piers, each about 1.300
feet long, constructed of tubular iron piles,
run out from West Brighton. On them are
various buildings, used as saloons, restaurants,
concert halls, etc., and hundreds of bath-
houses. Steamboats from New York land at
the piers hourly. Near the piers is the Sea
Beach Hotel (this structure was the United
States Government building at the Centennial
Exhibition). The Concourse, which leads to-
ward Brighton Beach on the east (or left),
is a wide drive and promenade about a third
of a mile long. Park wagons are continually
traversing its length, and there are two rustic
pavilions in which pedestrians may rest them-
selves. It is maintained by the Park Depart-
ment, and no buildings are allowed between it
and the ocean. It has been seriously damaged
by storms in recent winters, and has lost much
of its former glory, the eastern end of it,
nearest to Brighton Beach, having been en-
tirely destroyed." The winter of 1901-2 proved
particularly destructive, not only to this sec-
tion of Coney Island, but to all the others.
Several miles of roadway were destroyed by
a storm early in the season and a large num-
ber of buildings unroofed or blown down.
Even Manhattan Beach suffered severely and
miles of beautiful lawns were ruined. But all
that seems to be a regular winter story in
spite of mere human ingenuity, and protective
arrangements of all sorts.
But by whatever name its sections may
be designated for advertising and business
purposes, the historical designation can never
be wiped out. Coney Island, in fact, is itself,
but the end of the great sand bar, broken
here and there by inlets, hurled, twisted and
changed by every winter's storm, which ex-
tends along almost the entire south coast of
the island and bears many names. The bar is
the great feature of the south shore and gives
to it most of its charms of scenery and climate.
It has has developed on its course many charm-
ing resorts; the surface of the sand has been
in places so beautified by turf and flower bed,
mammoth hotel and charming cottages as fair-
ly to claim a title to being a summer paradise;
but no part has been so beneficial to the toilers
in New York or Brooklyn as that which still
flourishes under the old name of Coney Island,
— the name first given to it by the Dutch pio-
neers
Erom the earliest times of its European
history vague stories of smuggling and piracy
have Jaeen rife concerning Coney Island. A
good proportion of such stories was either en-
tirely fabulous or was founded on such slim
foundation of fact that the foundation itself
has disappeared. In its early ante-resort days
Coney Island must have been a wild and de-
serted place, its storms even more terrible
than now, and the imaginations of the few
visitors were quickened by the wind and deso-
lation, the solemn stillness that prevailed ex-
cept for the low moaning of the sea in times
of placidity, or its terrible howling when the
Atlantic, roused to fury, seemed to break in all
its anger on the sandy bar. Little wonder that
popular imagination and innate human super-
stition associated the dunes and creeks and
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
bays and points with tales of strange, weird
doings, and tliat such stories gathered in im-
portance and weirdness and tragedy as they
sped on from mouth to mouth. Such stories
have become too vague to be regarded as his-
tory, but it is a pity that some of them had
not been preserved. Many of the exploits of
Heyler and Marriner, the patriot freebooters,
were performed in what may be called Coney
Island waters, and one of these was related by
General Jeremiah Johnson from the recollec-
tions of some of its participants. While here in
command of two whaleboats. Captain Heyler
saw a British sloop of war lying off the island
and determined to secure it. By quietly ap-
proaching the vessel in one of the boats Heyler
found that no watch was on deck and that the
ofiScers were playing cards in their cabin. Sig-
nalling for his other boat it quickly came up,
and the sloop was at once boarded from each
side, and so astonished were those on board
at the sudden and unexpected attack that they
surrendered without even a show of resistance.
The crew were removed as prisoners and the
ship set on fire. • It was said that $40,000 in
cash and many valuables went up in smoke
when the sloop was destroyed ; but this we
may well doubt. Captain Heyler had a warm
heart for plunder as well as for his country.
One well-authenticated story of piracy has
come down to us, and we give the narrative
in the words of Mr. William H. Stillwell, the
patient and painstaking historian of Coney
Island, who has devoted many years to unravel-
ing the many vexed questions of its boundaries,
its early settlers and their descendants, as well
as telling the story of its wonderful modern
growth.
Coney Island is connected with a tragedy
of the sea, well-nigh forgotten by even the
older residents of the vicinity, but which was
the cause of intense excitement at the time.
On the 9th of November, 1830, the brig "\'ine-
yard" cleared from New Orleans for Philadel-
phia with a cargo of cotton, sugar and mo-
lasses, and $S4,ooo in specie (all Mexican
dlollars), consigned to Stephen Girard, Esq.,
of the latter city. The officers and crew of the
brig were William Thornby, captain ; Mr.
Roberts, mate; Charles Gibbs (alias Thos. D.
Jeffers). Aaron Church, James Talbot, John
Brownrigg and Henry Atwell, seamen : Rob-
ert Dawes (age eighteen or nineteen), cabin-
boy; and Wansley, a young Delaware negro,
steward and cook. When the brig had been
five days out at sea, and was of? Cape Hat-
teras, the negro steward informed some of the
others of the money on board : and, with Gibbs,
Church, Atwell and Dawes, planned to kill the
captain and mate, and possess themselves of
the specie. On the night of March 23rd, be-
tween 12 and I o'clock, as the captain was
on the quarter-deck, and the boy Dawes was
steering, the negro Wansley came up on deck,
and. obeying a prearranged call from Dawes
to come and trim the binnacle light, as he
passed behind the captain felled him with a
|)ump-brake, and killed him by repeated blows.
Gibbs then coming up, he and Wansley flung
the captain's body overboard. Roberts, the
mate, who was below, came up the compan-
ion way to ascertain the cause of the commo-
tion, and was attacked by Church and Atwell,
who failed, however (through nervousness),
to accomplish their design upon him. He re-
treated to the cabin, where he was followed
by Gibbs, who, not being able to find him in
the dark, returned to the deck for the binna-
cle lamp, with which he re-entered the cabin,
accompanied by Church, Atwell and the boy
Dawes ; and Roberts, being speedily overcome
by their blows, was dragged upon deck and
hurled into the sea — still aHve, and able for a
while to swim after the ship, begging for mer-
cy. Talbot, who, in his terror at what was
going on, had sought refuge in the forecastle,
and Brownrigg, who had fled aloft, were now
called by the conspirators and offered their
lives and equal share in the booty if they kept
silent. It is needless to say that they jovfully
accepted the terms thus unexpectedly oft'ered
them. The conspirators then rifled the vessel,
divided the specie ; and, under direction of
Gibbs, who, from his being the only one under-
standing navigation, assumed command of the
vessel, their course was laid for Long Island.
When within fifteen or twenty miles ofif South-
ampton light the vessel was scuttled and fired,
and they took to their boats : Gibbs, Wansley,
Brownrigg and Dawes, with about $31,000
of the money, in the long boat, and Church,
Talbot and Atwell, with about $23,000, in the
CONEY ISLAND.
877
jolly-boat. The wind was blowing a gale, and
in attempting to cross Duck (or Rockaway )
Bar, the jolly-boat upset, and its occupants,
with their share of the booty, were lost. The
occupants of the other boat were compelled,
by fear of a similar fate, to lighten their boat
by throwing overboard all but $5,000 of their
stealings ; but finally succeeded in reaching
the shore of Pelican Beach, then part of Bar-
ren, now Coney Island. Their first care was
to dispose temporarily of the specie by bury-
ing it in a hole (dug with an oar) in the sand
at a considerable distance from the shore, each
taking out sufficient for his immediate wants.
Food and lodging were their next most press-
ing wants, and meeting, on Pelican Beach,
with Nicholas S. Williamson, of Gravesend,
they told him a pitiable tale of shipwreck, and,
getting from him the needed directions, they
passed on to Dooley's Bay, on the northwest
shore of Barren Island. Here resided John
Johnson and wife, and his brother William,
who kindly received and cared for the ship-
wrecked mariners, and gave up to them for
the night their own room and iDeds. Brown-
rigg and the Johnson brothers thus happened
to occupy chairs in the living-room ; and as
soon as the other inmates of the house were
asleep Brownrigg revealed the whole matter
to the two Johnsons. In the morning, after
getting such breakfast as the place afiorded,
the pirates desired the Johnsons to take them
over to the hotel at Sheepshead Bay, whence
they might get a conveyance to Fulton Ferry
and New York. This the Johnsons did, and
returned to Barren Island without unnecessary
delay; and, proceeding to the spot described
by Brownrigg (and to which they had gone
in the early morning with Wansley to get
some clothes left there), they dug up the specie,
removed it to another hiding place remote
from its first location ; and, by walking in the
water, efifaced all traces of the direction they
had taken.
Meanwhile Gibbs and his party were bar-
gaining with Samuel Leonard, the hotel-
keeper at Sheepshead Bay, when suddenly, in
the presence of all, Brownrigg, declaring that
he would go no further with them, denounced
his companions as pirates and murderers, and
unfolded the whole story of the ■■\'inevard's"
fate. Wansley incontinently took to his heels
to the woods, and Gibbs and Dawes were
seized and bound bv the inn-keeper and his
people ; and Justice John Van Dyke was sum-
moned, who promptly issued warrants for the
arrest of the pirates. The one constable of the
village found his hands full in guarding Gibbs
and Dawes : and so Robert Greenwood, (if
Sheepshead Bay, A'olunteered to go into the
woods and look up ^^'ansley. After an hour's
search he found the negro, and presenting a
huge pistol, ordered him to fall on his face
and cross his hands behind his back. Wansley
submitted, and Greenwood, sitting astride of
him, tied his hands securely, ordered him to
arise, and marched him back to Leonard's
hotel. After the negro had been thoroughly
secured his captor showed him the pistol (ut-
terly destitute of either lock or load), with the
remark that it "was just as good's any other
if you kiiowed how to use it." Gibbs, Wans-
ley and Dawes were then lodged in the county
jail at Flatbush.
The Johnsons had been none too quick in
securing the $5,000; for, scarcely had they
regained their home when Squire Van Dyke,
with Brownrigg as guide, appeared on the
scene, and going right to the spot where the
money had been deposited the day before,
found it gone ! Brownrigg was then sent to
join the others at Flatbush ; and from thence
they were remanded to New York Bridewell.
Indictments being found against Gibbs and
Wansley, they were tried and convicted on the
testimony of Brownrigg and Dawes ; and on
the nth of March, 1831, were sentenced to be
hung; sentence being carried into effect on
the 23d of April following.
John and William Johnson, apprehensive
of further search being made for the money,
made no haste to get it home. In a day or
two they were visited by agents of the insur-
ance companies and an officer, who not only
searched for the money on the beach, but
thoroughly ransacked the Johnson abode from
garret to cellar, without success. Having,
finally, as they thought, eluded the vigilance
of the law, JoJin Johnson and wife planned to
get possession of it without the assistance of
\Mlliam. Accordingly, one night, while the
latter was asleep, they stole out and unearthed
the treasure, and reinterred it in two parcels,
one of $3,400, the other of about $1,600.
Knowing how closclv William would scan the
1)cach when he discovered his loss, they made
only the slightest mark to designate the new
nlace of deposit on Pelican Beach, by tving
knots on the long sedge-grass, which could be
seen onlv bv the closest scrutinv. William's
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
indignation, when he discovered the loss, was
intense ; his suspicions fell upon his brother,
and going to New York he informed the in-
surance companies, who entered suit against
John for the recovery of the money. The trial,
which was held before Judge Dean, in the
Apprentices' Library, in Brooklyn, ended in
John's acquittal, for want of sufficient evidence.
He then ixmoved to Brooklyn, and William to
Canarsie. But when John went to look for his
deposit, he found only the larger sum. A high
tide had swept over the site of the other ; the
action of the waves had loosened the knots in
the sedge-grass, and the $i,6oo was lost to him
forever.
In 1842 the Skidmore family, living on
"Ruffle Bar," concluded to remove their house,
in sections, to a new site on the shore of Doo-
ley's Bay, Barren Island. The house was ac-
cordingly taken down piecemeal, and most of
it carried across the bay and piled up near its
future site. The moving was not quite com-
pleted on the day appointed. On the founda-
tion of their old home had been left the wooden
ceiling of an upper chamber, in one piece or
section. During the night a violent storm
drove the tide up to an imprecedented height ;
and, in the morning, when Jacob Skidmore
arose, he was surprised to find that his cham-
ber ceiling had been brought over by the tide
from Ruffle Bar to Dooley's Bay, without in-
jury. Anxious to learn whether any other of
his property had gone farther west, he pro-
ceeded along the northerly, or inside, shore
of Pelican Beach, which then had become sep-
arated by a small inlet, shallow enough to be
forded at low tide, but at high tide floating
skiffs through it from the ocean to Dooley's
Bay. The eastern part of Pelican Beach then
had a ridge of sand hills, while the western
was as fiat and level as the whole of it is
now. Arrived at these sand hills, from whence
to get a view of the surrounding country, he
saw none of his lumber; and, acceding to the
suggestion of his companion, Mr. Loring, hur-
ried back so as to cross the inlet before the
tide got too high. Taking a last look, as they
did so, they noticed the shore or ocean side
of Pelican IBeach much washed away, and also
saw his neighbors, Willett Srriith and Henry
Brewer, approaching. Smith and Brewer
came on easterly until they reached the spot
where John Johnson and wife had last buried
the $1,600; and here, by the storm over night,
the silver dollars had been uncovered, and lay
scattered along the beach. The two men lost
no time in filling pockets and boots, and car-
ried away all they could ; but they could not
keep their good luck to themselves, and in a
day or two business was almost entirely sus-
pended in Gravesend. and every man who
could got to Pelican Beach. The intense ex-
citement only gradually subsided when a suc-
ceeding storm placed the location of the "find"
so far to sea as to be absolutely beyond fur-
ther search.
BROOKLYN
CHAPTER XXXIl.
THE STORY OF BROOKLYN VILLAGE TO THE BEGINNING OF THE
REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT.
TANDING at the junction of Fulton
street and Flatbush avenue, and look-
ing in the direction of the City Hall,
the modern^Brooklynite can cast hh
eye over the site of the first settlement out of
which grew the present magnificent metro-
politan borough. Standing there, looking at
the throngs of all classes of society passing and
repassing on the streets, the crowded cars, the
loaded teams, and the elevated railroad crash-
ing overhead, one can hardly realize the little
village of the middle of the seventeenth cen-
tury with its few scattered houses nestling as
closely together as possible so as to afiford nui-
tual protection from bands of predatory or
murderous Indians, with fields of growing
grain . giving a golden tinge to a landscape
whose prevailing color was green, the color
of luxuriant nature. Even in its early stages
the red man found much in Breuckelcn to in-
cite his cupidity, and a twentieth century
marauder, standing on the spot here indicated,
might well exclaim, as Blucher is said to have
exclaimed on visiting London, "What a place
for loot !"
If we were asked to describe in a word
the progress and end of Brooklyn, we would
answer, Annexation. That has been its crown-
ing feature all through. The place we now des-
ignate as the borough of Brooklyn was no less
the result of annexation than was the city of
Brooklyn prior to 1855, the date of its first
most noted extension, vVhen Williamsburgh
and Bushwick joined their fortunes with it,
Old Breuckelen really waxed in strength and
dominated the other towns with which it
started, and which started under more auspi-
cious conditions than it, by absorption of outly-
ing villages from time to time. The Wallabout,
for instance, was one district, Gowanus an-
other, the Ferry another, Bedford another, — all
of which, one after the other, fell in with the
group of houses which found the central vil-
lage on the rich agricultural plateau. The
first purchase within the old limits of Brooklyn
City — the pre-1856 limit — was at Gowanus,
where in 1636 William Adriaense Bennet, an
Englishman by birth and a cooper by trade,
and Jacques Bentyne, another Englishman, —
an important man in the colony, for in 1636
he was Schout Fiscal of New Amsterdam,
and for several years a member of Governor
Kieft's Council, — bought 936 acres from the
Indian proprietors. Three years later Bentyne
sold out his interest in the property to Bennet,
who resided on it until his death, about 1644,
when it passed to his widow. This purchase
is regarded by Dr. Stiles as "the first step in
the settlement of the city of Brooklyn ;" but
there are indications of earlier -settlement.
In 1637 Joris Jansen (Rapalye) obtained a
patent for some 334 acres of land at the Walla-
bout, and so began that historic settlement.
About 1640 a ferry was established which
plied between the present Fulton street and
Peck Slip, and around the Fulton street end
882
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
arose a small settlement to which the name of
"the Ferry" was given.
By reference to the map on page 97 of
this volume, where the context gives an ac-
count of this ferry and vicinity, one will notice
that at' the time the map was drawn the name
of the village was spelled Brookland, at least
by some parties ; that Rapailie was one of the
many ways in which that name was spelled,
that being before the days of spelling-books
and dictionaries, and even before the era when
correct orthography was thought a very im-
portant matter ; and that the road to Jamaica,
running southeastwardly, was the main busi-
ness street or thoroughfare of the village.
The prospects of greater things led the
mind's eye of the resident to a vague and dis-
tant future, with scarcely any correct idea of
what the place would be at the end of a hun-
dred or two hundred years, and life was com-
paratively monotonous. The initial improve-
ments or any new country are necessarily very
slow, as the first settlers are not wealthy and
are obliged to work laboriously up from small
beginnings, with many losses by experimenta-
tion, accident, etc. For the time being there
does not seem to be any definite promise of
great things soon to come. The capitalists ar-
rive after a long time, the small capitalists first
and gradually the larger ones afterward, and
improvements are correspondingly more and
more rapidly effected.
The essential features of those pioneer
times have in many important respects been
duplicated in all the Western States. Not un-
til recently have capitalists felt like pushing
railroads out into unsettled districts in order
to develop their resources and invite settle-
ment; and this movement has indeed been a
great blessing to the public, notwithstanding
the general dissatisfaction with railroad grants
of lands. Of course, both in the enterprise of
extending railroads into unsettled portions of
the country and in the legislative grants of
lands in aid of railroad construction, there
would be, in keeping with the characteristic
weaknesses of human nature, many mistakes,
— in excessive grants by one party and exces-
sive railroad building by the other.
Bit by bit, as recorded in another chapter,
the shore front was occupied by farms right
down to Red Hook, where in 1643 Wouter
\'an Twiller assumed proprietorship by virtue
of a patent afterward forfeited. At Gowanus
and Wallabout as well as at the P^erry small
settlements quickly sprang up. Between
Gowanus and the Wallabout lay a level stretch
of territory w'hich the aborigines, as it was ex-
ceedingly fertile and easy of cultivation, used
for. growing their maize. To this tract they
gave the name of Mareckawieck. Through it
lay the road or trail that led from the Ferry
to Flatlands, and it was on this trail, and on
this fertile tract right between the present
Court House and Flatbush avenue, that the
village of Breuckelen had its beginning.
To the early settlers reference has al-
ready been made, and we may here take
up the story by saying that the pioneer white
dwellers on the trail located their homes
in proximity to each other, quickly availed
themselves of the policy outlined by the West
India Company that the settlers should "estab-
lish themselves on some of the most suitable
places, with a certain number of inhabitants, in
the manner of towns, villages and hamlets,"
and held a meeting at which it was determined
to form a town. Governor Kieft was at once
notified that they had organized a municipality
at their own expense, to which they 'had given
the name of Breuckelen, after the village of
that name on' the Vecht, in the home province
of Utrecht. The proceedings which led up to
this seem to have been promptly indorsed
by Kieft and publicly ratified in the following
proclamation, issued in June, 1646:
We, William Kieft, Director General, and
the Council residing in New Netherland, on
behalf of the High and Mighty Lords States-
General of the United Netherlands, His High-
ness of Orange, and the Honorable Directors
of the General Incorporated West India Com-
THE STORY OF BROOKLYN VILLAGE.
pany, To all those who shall see these presents
or hear them read, Greeting:
Whereas, Jan Evertsen Bout and Huyck
Aertsen from Rossum were on the 2isit May
last unanimously chosen by those interested of
Breuckelen, situate on Long Island, as Schep-
ens, to decide all questions which may arise,
as they shall deem proper, according to the ex-
emptionsi of New Netherland granted to par-
ticular Colonies, which election is subscribed
by them, with express stipulation that if any
one refuse to submit in the premises afore-
said to the above-mentioned Jan Evertsen and
Huyck Aertsen, he shall forfeit the right he
claims to land in the allotment of Breuckelen,
and in order that everything may be done
with more authority, We, the Director and
Council aforesaid, have therefore authorized
and appointed, and do hereby authorize the
said Jan Evertsen and Huyck Aertsen to be
schepens of Breuckelen ; and in case Jan Evert-
sen and Huyck Aertsen do hereafter find the
labor too onerous, they shall be at liberty to
select two more from among the inhabitants
of Breuckelen to adjoin them to themselves.
We charge and command every inhabitant of
Breuckelen to acknowledge and respect the
above-mentioned Jan Evertsen and Huyck
Aertsen as their schepens, and if any one shall
be found to exhibit contumaciousness towards
them, he shall forfeit his share as above stated.
This done in Council in Fort Amsterdam
in New Netherland.
It may not be inappropriate here to refer to
the ancient town after which the new settle-
ment was named, and to this end we quote
from the able monograph on "Origin of
Breuckelen," by Mr. Harrington Putnam :
Amersfoort, Breuckelen, and Utrecht have
many historic associations. To the politician
and reader of Motley, they are forever linked
with the career and tragic end of Barneveld.
Tn 1619, he fell a martyr to the cause of state
rights and local se'f -government. Such an
•event, comparatively recent in 1646, and still
■appealing to the sense of individual liberty,
may have been recalled by the settlers in
America. While the liberties of Utrecht had
been the cherished objects of Barneveld's so-
licitude, he proudly proclaimed his birth in
Amersfoort. In moments of arduous public
labor he looked hopefully forward to an hon-
orable and calm retirement from the tumults
of party strife to his beautiful estate at Gun-
tersteijn in the village of Breuckelen.. Breuck-
elen, however, was an ancient village three
centuries before the settlement in New Nether-
lands. Located between Utrecht and Amster-
dam, it was early noted for its healthfulness,
which soon made it a desirable residence
region. The surrounding fields and foliage
are strikingly green and luxuriant, even for
Holland. Castles grew up about it along the
banks of the beautiful Vecht, which all the suc-
cessive tides of war have not quite destroyed.
In the Dutch records, Breuckelen had vari-
ous spellings, as Broklede, Broicklede, Brack-
ola, Brocklandia, and Broeckland. Hence some
say that the name came from its brooks and
marshes — van de drassige en broekactige veen-
landen — meaning a brook or marsh land. It
is mentioned as an important place in the year
1317. There were two parishes on opposite
sides of the Vecht. These are Breuckelen-
Nijenroide, from the castle of Nijenrode, and
Breuckelen-St. Pieters. The small river Vecht
dividing these towns may be considered an
outlet of the Rhine, which parts in two chan-
nels at Utrecht. The Vecht turns to the north
and empties into the Zuider Zee. It is navig-
able for small vessels, and at Breuckelen is a
little over two hundred feet wide.
The old country-seats along the Vecht, once
set in the prim, geometric gardens of the
last century, are now represented by modern
villas, half hidden by trees, which to-day form
bits of unmatched rural scenery. Eminent
landscape painters of the modern Dutch school
have loved to make studies amid these gentle
windings, and the celebrity of the Vecht in art
bids fair to surpass the forgotten fame of the
neighbi n'ing castles. Old drawbridges of wood
cross the shi^^i-^li river. Trees come close to
the ti>\\-|),ah, bordered by quaint gardens.
Along the garden edges, looking out upon the
stream, are Koepels or tea houses and over all
this abundant foliage rises a church spire.
Jan Evertsen Bout is generally regarded
by local historians as the founder of Brooklyn,
and as such deserves somewhat more than
merely passing notice. According to the record
in Bergen's "Early Settlers in Kings County,"
he was born in the Province of Gelderland in
1603 and entered the service of the West In-
dian Company. In 1634 he emigrated to New
384
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Xetherland and we find him, four years later,
settled asi a fanner at Pavonia (Jersey City,
N. J.). In 1643 he was chosen one of the eight
men then selected to represent the people in the
days of Gov. Kieft's extremity and became a
member of the Council by Kieft's appointment
in 1645. That same year he secured a patent
for fifty-six acres of land on Gowanus Kill,
and when the town of Breuckelen was organ-
ized he was chosen as^ the first of its Schepens.
In 1660 he was enrolled as a member of the Re-
formed Dutch Church in Breuckelen. He was
twice married, first to Tryntje Symons de Wit,
and secondly to Annetje Pieters. No children
blessed either union, and after his death, in
1670, Annetje married Andries Janse Jurianse
and appears to have brought him, as a dower,
Jan's Brooklyn property.
The year 1646, in view of Kieft's proclama-
tion, already given, may therefore be accepted
as the beginning of Brooklyn's municipal his-
tory. The measure of local self-government
then awarded to the community was as limited
as was possible. The magistrates were in office
and clothed with honor and authority, but they
had no one to carry out their orders ; so they
at once petitioned Kieft, and the nature of their
petition can easily be inferred from that digni-
tary's answer, which was as follows :
Having seen the petition of the schepens of
Breuckelen, that it is impossible for them to at-
tend to all cases occurring there, especially
criminal assaults, impounding of cattle, and
other incidents which frequently attend agri-
culture : and in order to prevent all disorders,
it would be necessary to appoint a schout there,
for which office they propose the person of Jan
Teunissen. Therefore we grant their request
therein, and authorize, as we do hereby author-
ize, Jan Teunissen to act as schout, to imprison
delinquents by advice of the schepens, to estab-
lish the pound, to impound cattle, to collect
fines, and to perform all things that a trusty
schout is bound to perform. Whereupon he
hath taken his oath at the hands of us and the
Fiscal, on whom he shall especially depend, as
in Holland substitutes are bound to be depend-
ent on the Upper Sthout, Schouts on .the Bailiff
or Marshal. \\'c commantl and charge all who
are included under the jurisdiction of Breucke-
len to acknowledge him, Jan Teunissen, for
schout. Thus done in our council in Fort
Amsterdam in New Netherland, the first De-
cember, Anno 1646.
^^'ith the appointment of this terror to evil-
doers the municipal government of Brooklyn
may be said to have been made complete as
far as it could be under the circumstances. It
does not seem likely that the Schout was much
exercised over the degenerates from within the
village, and that his income from Breuckelen
was mainly derived from what might be called
legal fees, such as drawing up writs, petitions,
certificates and the like. During the remainder
of the Dutch regime the story of the young
town passed on so placidly that really there is
little for the general historian to tell, and what
little there is gathered around the fantastic
figure of Peter Stuyvesant. Soon after that
potentate ''of uncertain reputation, impetuous,
high tempered, energetic and persistent," as
Henry Cabot Lodge has described him, suc-
ceeded Kieft in 1647. the whole of Xew Xeth-
erland felt the benefit of the change. But his
paternal notions were at times carried too far,
and in the protests against his assumptions of
power the people of Breuckelen were ever
active and were represented in all the conven-
tions which so often aroused the wrath of the
paternal "Silver Legs," as the Indians called
Stuyvesant, on account of the silver bands
which strengthened and adorned his wooden
limb.
In 1660 a palisade was erected around the
settlement of homes, and in that year also Hen-
ricus S'elyns began preaching in Brooklyn, thus
marking the beginning of the great factor in
the city's subsequent fame. The palisade
proved a source of comfort during the Indian
outbreak of 1663. But in spite of the general
success of the colony as a whole under Stuy-
vesant, the progress of Breuckelen in the mat-
ter of population continued very slow, as may
be understood from the fact that when the
Director and Council decided that the village
THE STORY OF BKOOKLYN VILLAGE.
385
should contribute eight or twelve men to the
common defense of the Dutch towns, a meeting
of the inhabitants voted to the effect that such a
proposition was outrageous, that it really called
for more men than the place should or could
provide. But then Breuckelen was constantly
giving the Director trouble by not complying
with his wishes and tamely submitting to his
notions. On his arrival he ordered an election
of nominees for membership in his Council,
retaining the final selection from those elected
in his own hands. New Amsterdam, Breucke-
len, Amersfoort and Midwout were among the
is no doubt the convention indirectly led to an
increase of municipal privileges all round. In
Breuckelen the number of Schepens was in-
creased from two to four and it got aSchout all
to itself in the person of David Provpost. The
latter official was one of the early settlers in
New Amsterdam, arriving there in 1639, and
he afterward held several official positions. He
received his appointment as Schout in 1654
and in 1656 was succeeded by Pleter Tonne-
man. It is difficult to understand why Pro-
voost resigned so soon, for he appears to have-
been an inveterate office-seeker, and it was not
places thus honored by a taste of popular gov-
ernment. Out of the eighteen thus chosen by
public vote the Governor selected nine as his
advisers, and his choice from Breuckelen fell
upon Jan Evertsen Bout. In 1653, at the un-
authorized convention of representatives of
New Netherland towns held in New Amster-
dam, Breuckelen was represented by Frederic
Lubbertsen, Paulen Van der Beeck and Will-
iam Beeckman. Probably Bout did not attend
because of his official position. The meeting
apparently accomplished nothing. Stuyvesant
was bitterly opposed to such things and he em-
phatically told the delegates to go home and not
to assemble again on such business ; but there
until 1665 that we find him in another position,
that of Clerk of the local courts. Probably the
fees attached to the Breuckelen appointment
were too small to suit his views or his ambi-
tion. Tonneman held on until 1660, when he
was appointed Schout of New Amsterdam and
then Adrian Hegeman became Breuckelen's
Schout, with a fixed salary in addition to what
seems to have been for the time quite generous
fees.
Shortly after the unauthorized meeting of
representatives of the people which Stuyvesant
so ruthlessly put down, Bout again comes
under our notice. In 1654 he declined to serve
any longer as one of the Schepens, declaring he
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390
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
would rather return to Holland than venture
on another term. However, says Harrington
Putnam, "no excuses regarding his private
business were accepted [by Stuyvesant].
Tliough the Schepen-elect had served for pre-
vious terms, and filled other colonial offices, he
was not now allowed to retire. The Sheriff
was formally ordered to notify him of these
summary commands of Gov. Stuyvesant: 'If
you will not accept to serve as Schepen for the
welfare of the village of Breuckelen with oth-
ers, your fellow-residents, then you must pre-
pare yourself to sail in the ship King Solomon
for Holland, agreeably to your utterance.' This
appeal to the civic conscience of one who had
been prominent as a reformer, coupled with the
grim threat of deportation, was irresistible. No
further declinations in Breuckelen offices seem
to have troubled the Council." Bout did not
go to Holland, but continued in public life
until at least 1665, for he was then one of the
representatives of Breuckelen at the Hemp-
stead convention ; after that he passes from our
view.
In spite of his paternal methods and dom-
ineering tactics, there is no doubt that under
Stuyvesant's rule the Dutch towns steadily
advanced in self-government. He was virtually
as one man standing like a barrier between two
forces of progress, for the home authorities in
New Amsterdam always showed themselves,
when appealed to, to be in favor of the fullest
measure of local self-government and the
liberty of the subject, while the Dutch
pertinacity never permitted an aim to be
lost sight of once it was believed to be
a right. There were frequent quarrels be-
tween the Dutch towns and Stuyvesant,
and these there is no doubt drove him to
seek the support of the English settlers at
Gravesend and elsewhere much more than pos-
sibly he cared to admit. But his arbitrary will
kept alive a certain measure of discontent
which even he had to reckon with, and it is a
singular fact that it was under Stuyvesant that
the acceptance of the theory that the people
were the source of power and the arbiters of
law found its earliest acknowledgment in what
is now the State of New York. The first prin-
ciples of union were also instilled into the
minds of people and ruler when, in 1664, the
Director felt impelled to call a meeting of
representatives chosen in each community to
consider various matters of common interest
and indirectly to repair the damage done by his
own misgovernment. At that meeting Breucke-
len was represented by William Bredenbent
and Albert Cornelysen Wantanaer, two of its
Schepens. It is of little moment what that
meeting did : its importance lies in the fact that
it was called at all and that it had been called
at the direct behest of such a ruler as Stuy-
vesant. It met in April in the fort at New
Amsterdam, and five months later the English
flag waved over that stronghold, an English
Governor held sway and the indomitable Pieter
troubled the lieges no more.
So far as Gov. Nicolls was concerned, the
chief feature of his administration, the chief
feature that is of interest in the history of
Breuckelen, was the granting to it of a charter
which has been reproduced in fac-simile, while
of the events of the six years' administration
under his successor, Gov. Lovelace, only the
beginning of the village of Bedford need be
recorded. The second Dutch regime was bar-
Ten of incident, so far as concerns the history
of Breuckelen, and when, in 1674, the English
Government was resumed the village seems to
have accepted the charge again with placid
equanimity. Governor Dongan in 1686 gave it
a new patent, which served the purpose of help-
ing his administration with a fee and fixing
some disputed boundary questions.
But amid all these changes in rulers
Breuckelen continued to make definite prog-
ress, and by 1676 it had assumed its place at
the head of the five Dutch towns. Its taxable
rate was adjusted on a valuation of £5,067,
while that of ]\Iiddlewout was £4,872, Boswyck
£22,960, New L'trecht £3.024, and Amersfort
£3,966. Gov. Dongan fixed the town's quit
THE STORY OF BROOKLYN VILLAGE.
391
rent at twenty bushels of wheat. In 1698 the
population of Breuckelen (it had then become
Brookland) was given at 444, not including 65
slaves, while its nearest neighbor, Flatbush, re-
joiced in 405 whites and 71 slaves.
Much of the early history of Breuckelen
that has come down to us is in regard to bound-
ary disputes, for it does not seem that in the
political troubles of the commonwealth, such
as the Leisler excitement, or even in the charg-
es of the ruling powers, its j>eople took any
very profound interest. The matter of their
boundaries, however, seems to have been a vital
question and was the cause of much trouble
between them and the good folks of Flatbush
and Bushwick, while the rights in connection
with the ferry were also a source of standing
and perpetual worry with New York. In these
troubles and complications and claims, liow-
ever, the Brooklyn people seemed to want no
more than might be considered their just right,
and an instance of their conscientious regard
for this may be found in the following excerpt,
showing in the way in which they adjusted
their own internal boundaries at a public meet-
ing of the citizens :
At a Town meeting held the 25th day of
February, 1692-3, att Breucklyn, in Kings
County. Then Resolved to divide their com-
mon land and woods into three parts, in man-
ner following to wit:
"i. All the lands and woods after Bedford
and Cripplebush, over the hills to the path of
New lotts shall belong to the inhabitants and
freeholders 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 w^oods that lyes
betwixt the abovesaid path and the highway
from the ferry toward Flattbush, shall belong
to the freeholders and the inhabitants of Bed-
ford and Cripplebush.
"3. And all the lands that lyes in common
after the Gowanis. betwixt the limits and
bounds of Flatbush and New Utrecht shall be-
long to the freeholders anil inhabitants of
Brooklyn, fred. neck [Frederick Lubbertsen's
Neck], the ferry and the Wallabout."
In 1702 Fulton Street was laid out and ex-
cept near the water front provided a fairly
good thoroughfare out to Bedford Corners,
and in a measure to Flatbush. This road was
so highly regarded that it received the name of
the King's Highway, and jealous eyes were
kept upon it to guard against encroachments
upon its width and usefulness. However, at
that time Brooklyn and its then suburbs — Go-
wanus, Wallabout, Bedford, Red Hook and
Cripplebush and the Ferry — were tolerably
well supplied with roads, at least with roads
which made communication between them
comparatively easy. Still the whole territory
grew slowly in point of population, much more
slowly than might be expected considering the
opportunities for settlers and the wide extent
of fruitful land that lay fallow awaiting the
cultivator. Even in 1738 the population of
Brooklyn and what we have called its suburbs
did not exceed 725, yet even these limited fig-
ures placed it far in advance of the other Dutch
towns.
Of the internal history of the people little
is known until almost the beginning of the cen-
tury, for the records of the town prior to the
close of the Revolutionary War have mainly
been lost or destroyed. A few incidents might
be chronicled, such as the meeting of the Colon-
ial Legislature in a house on Fulton street in
1752, owing to the fear of small-pox, which
then raged in New York; but as a rule such
details as we have are hardly worthy of being
incorporated in a general history, however use-
ful some of them may be for assisting the his-
torian to arrive at conckisions on matters of
purely local interest. In fact Brooklyn was
a municipality in name but only a community
in reality until after the nineteenth century
had begun, and although by that time its popu-
lation had increased to nearly 1,700 it was al-
most unknown outside of Long Island and
Manhattan. Tytler's Gazetteer, published at
Edinburgh in 1 781, in its account of Long
Island did not think Brooklyn worthy of even
being named, while Moore's American Gazet-
392
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
teer, issued in 1798, briefly describes it as hav-
ing "some elegant houses, which He chiefly on
one street."
Whatever history the district had, centred
at the Ferry. Some' means of transit between
Manhattan and Long Island was necessary
from the time the first house was erected on the
latter, and the ferry therefore may be regarded
as the first of the local institutions. When it
originated, however, we know not ; but for two
or three years the little traffic there was, was
done by private boats owned on the Long
Island side by the farmers and on the Manhat-
came into being from the trade between the
two points. Certain it is that the first ferry
was between the points above named. Ten
years later, after it had passed from Cornelis's
hands, the ferry trade had become so import-
ant that the New Amsterdam authorities con-
sidered it 'should be made to return them
some revenue; but Gov. Stuyvesant refused
to entertain the idea, although afterward
he admitted the public character of the
service by permitting it to be placed under
certain regulations. These included a fairly
regular service, some requirements for the
tan side by the usual boatmen who plied along
the waterfront. The journey was a long and
tedious one, for the currents were strong and
were also treacherous enough to infuse a sense
of danger into the ideas of whoever meditated
the voyage.
Transit across the river was not long, how-
ever, to remain a matter of chance, for in 1642
we find Cornells Dircksen (Hoogland) ac-
knowledged as ferry man. Probably there was
no formal appointment. Cornells kept a tavern
in connection with his little farm at what after-
ward became Peck Slip, and he owned a piece
of land and a house near the present site of
Fulton ferry on Long Island. Very likely he
set up a tavern there, too, and so the ferry
comfort of passengers and a scale of
charges, and in return for observing these
rules, or rather for accepting them, the
Ferryman enjoyed a monopoly of the traffic.
The arrangement was certainly a very liberal
one all round for the boatman, but then there
seems, it is mortifying to say, some reason to
believe that he had quietly to hand over a pro-
portion of his earnings to Stuyvesant. This
new arrangement, in spite of the Governor's
"rake-ofT," proved so profitable that competi-
tion for the privilege became excited, and in
1655 Egbert Van Borsum, who came here as
skipper of the ship Prince William, leased the
ferry from the Governor, agreeing to pay him
300 guilders per annum. He also got a patent
THE STORY OF BROOKLYN VILLAGE.
893
for two lots on the Long Island waterfront,
and there erected a structure which long served
for both ferry house and tavern. Under him
the place seems to have become quite a resort
for the "roving blades" of the period. Egbert
died about 1670, and for several years the tav-
ern was run by his widow, while his son Her-
manus attended to the ferry business. The
house erected by the elder Van Boersum con-
tinued to serve its varied purposes until 1700,
when a new building was erected of stone. This
structure was destroyed by fire in 1748, and
was succeeded by the historic ferry-house
which was in existence during the British oc-
cupation in 1776. The ferry itself became a
.part of the municipal property of New York
City under the Dongan charter of 1686. The
legality of this charter was subsequently dis-
puted, and led to interminable lawsuits, but the
charter was confirmed by royal warrant in
1692. It was run, with varying success and on
short leases (generally seven years) by private
individuals, farmers and tavern-keepers mostly,
as a separate holding; but the rent paid ad-
vanced steadily so that by 1710 it brought to
the corporation of New York an annual rental
of iiSo, — the largest single source of income
over which the local treasury rejoiced. But
the fact that it was a New York institution was
rather galling to the Brooklyn settlers and a
cause of complaint from a very early period.
Their complaints evoked no change, however,
and the New York corporation in 1694 actually
bought sufficient ground at the Brooklyn end
and built the ferry-house.
In 1707 Cornelius Sabring, the owner of a
farm in what is now known as South Brooklyn
and member of Assembly for Kings county
from 1695 to 1726, and therefore a man natur-
ally possessing much local influence, tried to
get pennission from Gov. Cornbury to estab-
lish a new ferry, and his request was backed
up by quite a number of influential indorsers ;
but the New York corporation stubbornly con-
tested what they regarded as a movement both
"unreasonable and unjust," and their opposi-
tion prevailed. This claim at ownership of the
Ferry was one that became the more bitterly
contested by Brooklyn as time went on and
more stubbornly upheld by New YoTk as the
income increased. Even in 1745 they denied
the rights of residents of Brooklyn to cross
the river in their own boats and so transport-
ing friends, or produce, and when one of these
boatmen, Hendrick Remsen, appealed to a jury
to establish his claim to such an apparently in-
alienable privilege, the New York authorities
contested the case bitterly. The jury before
whom the action was tried found in Remsen's
favor, and after a long interval the Supreme
Court finally awarded him iiiS 14s io>4d for
damages and costs. The New York corpora-
tion appealed the case to the King and Council,
and somehow the matter there rested, for a
final decision had not been rendered when the
Revolutionary War broke out. It was alleged,
however, that Remsen was quietly pacified with
a gift of a house and parcel of land near Coen-
ties Slip, in New York City. It is a matter of
little interest now to go into all the details of
the struggle against what used to be called the
usurpation, by New York, of rights to the
Long Island shore: it has no more interest to
the reader of history at the present day than
the disputes as to boundaries waged by some
of the five Dutch towns so fiercely against each
other; indeed, in a sense it was in reality sim-
ply another form of boundary dispute and as
such has had its meaning, virtue, and force re-
moved forever by the inexorable march of mod-
ern progress and the soothing influence of con-
solidation. The income from the ferry steadily
advanced, and while we read of one or two of
the lessees losing money it proved a steady
source of revenue to the New York corpora-
tion. In 1750 it brought ^455, and in 1753
£650.
"In ?»Iay. 1766," writes Dr. Stiles ("His-
tory of Brooklyn" vol. Ill, page 527), "it
passed into the hands of Samuel Waldron for
five years at a yearly rent of £660, and in May,
1771, was renewer to him for another three
394
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
years, at ^550 per annum. At the expiration
of his lease in 1774 it was determined by the
corporation that three ferries, viz., one from
Coenties Slip to the landing place of Messrs.
Livingston & Remsen [foot of present Joral-
emon street : this ferry's buildings were burned
during the Revolutionary War and it wais then
abandoned] ; the second from Peck's Slip to
land at Jacob Brewerton's wharf, or landing
place, at Brooklyn ferry; and the third from
the Fly Market (foot of Fulton street, New
York) to the same landing place at the Brook-
lyn Ferry. Accordingly, on the 12th of April,
1774, three several leases were duly executed
for the term of two years, viz., to Elisha De
Grushe, for the first-named ferry, and to Sam-
uel Balding for the second-named ferry, at an
annual rent of ii20, and to Adolph Waldron
for the third at an annual rent of ^£430. * * *
In May, 1776, the whole ferry came under the
control of Adolph Waldron, for two years, at
£450 per annum. Waldron, being a Whig, left
New York with the American army in 1776
and did not return until the close of the war.
During the British occupation of New York
and Long Island the ferry was let by Mayor
Matthew and Gov. Try on to two of their Tory
friends. Van Winkle and Buckett, probably
for their joint benetit. Van Winkle is de-
scribed as a very important-feeling man, who
was accustomed to walk about in a silk morn-
ing gown. They raised the fare to 6d, not so
high a charge when we remember that wheat
was then selling in New York at the ordinary
rate of one guinea per bushel. After the evac-
uation Capt. Adolph Waldron, by a lease exe-
cuted June 23. 1784, resumed the ferry for five
years at the yearly rent of ^500. During the
severe winter of 1783-4 it is said that he and
bis sons made considerable money by purchas-
ing wood in Brooklyn and selling it in New
York, where it was quite scarce."
In 1789 Waldron tried to have his lease re-
newed, but the corporation thought more
money could be made by leasing the ferry
building and licensing a number of boats to
carry passengers and freight across the river.
In 1795 a ferry was established by the corpor-
ation between Main street, Brooklyn, to Cath-
arine street, New York (long known as the
New Ferry), and leased by William Furman
and Theodosius Hunt, and with the mention
of that transaction we may fitting!}' close this
chapter.
CHAPTER XXXI
BROOKLYN.
Close of the Revolution to the Incorporation of the Villagi
— Preeminence of the Ferry — The Beginning
OF the Navy Yard.
X the chapters of this work deahng with
the Battle of Brooklyn and the events
antecedent and subsequent to that land-
mark in American history, the story of
Brooklyn from the beginning of the Revolu-
tionary movement until the British flag passed
out of New York Harbor as an emblem of
possession is fully told.
On March 7, 1788, Brooklyn was duly rec-
ognized by the State Government as a town, a
proceeding which was virtually a confirmation
of the old royalist charter by the new republi-
can order of things. There is no doubt that the
changes caused by the Revolution and British
occupation and evacuation had caused much
havoc in the town, had brought all its real
business interests to a standstill and laid waste
much of the property of its residents. Hence
some time, after peace was restored, was occu-
pied in putting matters in order, in counting up
losses and calculating future chances. The fact
that in 1785 a fire department was organized
shows that the beginning, at least, of the up-
building movement was not long delayed. That
it ha.d fairly recovered itself by 1 800-1 was
evident from the fact that the history of land-
booming in Brooklyn was about that time in-
augurated by the Sands brothers placing their
once famous Olympia on the market, — a
scheme which has already been fully detailed
in this work. Quite a large accession to the
population was received from the tide of Irish
immigration, which had even then set in to this
country.
A still more significant evidence was the
establishment, in June 26, 1799, of the first
newspaper ever printed in Brooklyn, "The
Courier and New York and Long Island Ad-
vertiser," by Thomas Kirk, a bookseller and
printer. It was not much of an efifort, either
in its literary or news aspects, its publication
being prompted probably more to advertise its
owner's business than anything else ; but it was
a beginning. It lasted some four years, issu-
ing weekly from its office at the corner of Ful-
ton and Front streets. Kirk was also the print-
er of the fii St book issued in Brooklyn, a pam-
phlet containing General Lee's oration on
Washington, in 1800. In 1806 (May 26) the
condition of the journalistic field in Brooklyn
was tested by a new venture — "The Long
Island Weekly Intelligencer," issued by Robin-
son & Little. On June i, 1809, Kirk tried a
fresh adventure, — "the Long Island Star ;"
but in 181 1 he sold it to Alden F. Spooner, who
may be regarded, if not as the real father of
journalism in Brooklyn, as at least its first suc-
cessful exponent.
It is not a little singular that the first great
industry to feel the benefit of the new national
progress in Brooklyn was that of shipping and
shipbuilding. In 1788 the Sarah, belonging to
39G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the Sands brothers, opened the eyes of the local
merchants to the advantages of Brooklyn as a
port, and thereafter many larger vessels, main-
ly in the West India trade, began to lie up at
her wharves, while the connection with the
■coastwise trade steadily increased. From the
Ferry to the Wallabout many wharves were
built well out into the stream so as to permit
large vessels to dock. Warehouses were
■erected close to the water-front, and other
commerce sprung up in the same section. In
1798 a large trading ship was built on its
water-front and in 1799 the frigate John Ad-
amis, thirty-two guns, was launched at the
Wallabout, right in the territory now included
in the United States Navy Yard.
In a directory for 1796 we find in addition
to the usual array of grocers and what may be
called domestic vendors and tavern-keepers,
livery-stable men, loading houses and carpen-
ters, shoemakers and other tradesmen and
storekeepers, such industries represented as
rope-making, chair-making, gunsmithing, also
a land-broker, a master builder, a copperplate
printer, a lumber merchant, a brewer and a
dyer, showing that by that time Brooklyn was
prepared to meet any requirement of the exist-
ing requirements of civilization. Later a floor-
cloth factory and a cotton-goods mill were es-
tablished. Other evidences of this civiliza-
tion's requirement may be gleaned by the
thoughtful from these facts: In 1806 the
cage or watch-house was the object of consid-
eration at a town meeting at which a regular
night watch was organized, and in 1808 $1,500
was voted for the erection of a new poorhouse.
In 1809 a visitation of yellow fever led to
Brooklyn's being quarantined for a couple of
months by New York, and in 1812 it was near-
ly wiped out by a fire which started on Main
street, near the ferry.
The extent to which the yellow fever epi-
demic spread led to considerable feeling among
the local physicians. With these professional
healers the city was well supplied, and among
them Drs. Ball, Wendell, Lowe and Osborne
were ])robably as well equipped as any of their
brethren in New York. Dr. Lowe, who was a
brother of the Rev. Dr. Lowe of the Dutch
Reformed Church, possibly had the largest
private practice in the town for many years.
In 1815, when there was an epidemic of small-
pox, Drs. Ball and Wendell announced their
willingness to vaccinate all who so desired free
of any charge, that is, we take it, all who were
too poor to pay a fee, thus forestalling one of
the most beneficent provisions of our modern
Boards of Health.
In 181 1 the circle of practitioners of the
healing art in Brooklyn received quite an -addi-
tion in the person of the "Rain Water Doc-
tor," although he was never recognized as be-
longing to the circle. This curious charlatan,
for charlatan he undoubtedly was, although
he seemed to understand some matters of vital
importance in combating disease better than
his legitimate brethren, believed, or professed
to believe, in the copious use of rain water as
a remedial agent, and used a wide range of
herbs in his treatment of diseases, believing
them to be the natural correctives of all hu-
man ills. He seemed to have no faith what-
ever in what were commonly called drugs and
was credited, according to popular Tumor, at
all events, with eflfecting some remarkable
cures. These stories quickly spread and at-
tracted large throngs of patients to Brooklyn,
not only from various parts of Long Island
but from New York and New Jersey, and his
headquarters at the Black Horse Tavern,
where is now the junction of Fulton and De
Kalb avenues, became thronged with patients.
All reports agree that his charges were exceed-
ingly moderate, and it was said he even re-
turned large fees handed him by grateful pa-
tients who regarded themselves as cured of
their ailments by his treatment. Nay, more,
he even, it is said, placed a marble monument
over the grave of one patient who had come
to him too late for any earthly remedial meth-
ods to be effective. A wonderful physician,
truly ! But we fear that in the stories we have
BROOKLYN.
397
concerning him a good .deal of current rumor
is disiied up as solemn fact. He continued in
Brooklyn for about a 3'ear (1811-12) and then,
probably because his methods were becoming
stale and trade was falling off, removed to
Providence, R. I., where he died in 181 5.
During the time covered in this section,
too, a great change was taking place in Brook-
lyn,— the first of a series of similar changes
which had often puzzled land speculators and
set real-estate prices in a kaleidoscopic whirl.
The centre of trade was shifting from the
plateau on which old Breuckelen itself stood
down toward the Ferry. Around that spot
there had long clustered a collection of tav-
erns, but now houses of entertainment and
business establishments of all kinds struggled
to get as near to the foot of Fulton street as
they possibly could. It was in the Ferry dis-
trict that the new comers who were steadily
increasing the population settled, and the over-
flow, instead of stretching back in the direc-
tion of the present City Hall, pressed along the
water-front until it reached Catharine Ferry.
It has been estimated that in 1815 three-fifths
of the total population of Brooklyn lay be-
tween these two points. There were congre-
gated the stores, and the professional men,
while the rest of the town maintained its rural
character. Old Breuckelen became, for a time,
a suburb of the Ferry, just as were Bedford
and Gowanus and Cripplebush and Red Hook.
Even the most aristocratic dry-goods store
was kept at the corner of Fulton and Front
streets, and there Abraham Remsen dis-
coursed of the latest fashions in gowns and
bonnets, ribbons and laces, until the neighbor-
hood itself began to become unfashionable.
Remsen's establishment was the pioneer of the
retail dry-goods business in Brooklyn, a busi-
ness which now in point of magnitude is said
to exceed that of Manhattan borough itself.
But while the Ferry district was thus pre-
dominant an event occurred during the time
covered by this chapter which was destined
not only to preserve the name of the Walla-
bout section but to keep it distinct and pros-
perous no matter what other changes might
come. On the water-front of the bay was the
shipbuilding establishment of John Jackson,
surrounded by about a dozen houses where his
workmen resided. He did a large, although
somewhat intermittent business. In 1801 the
United States Government bought Jackson's
establishment and thirty acres of land, and
thereon proceeded to lay out a navy yard. It
is said that the price Uncle Sam paid for the
property was $40,000. It was not until June
I, 1806, however, that the Government fairly
commenced work on the land, for then Lieu-
tenant Jonathan Thorn was appointed Com-
mandant and began putting the place in order
for its new mission. He was retained there
only for a year, being succeeded July 13, 1807,
by Capt. Isaac Chauncey, who continued in
control until May, 1813, when he was ordered
to the Great Lakes and there entered upon that
series of naval manoeuvres which made his
flag ship, "The Pike," one of the best known
boats in the American navy. Chauncey was
followed at the Navy Yard by Capt. Samuel
Evans, who held tlie office of Commandant un-
til 1824. These three men were brilliant officers
and have left enviable records in the Navy De-
partment, and the annals of the country and
their appointments show that from the first the
government . fully appreciated the importance
of its Brooklyn property. Lieut. Thorn was
killed on the Oregon coast many years after he
left Brooklyn while in command of one of
John Jacob Astor's trading ships.
The war of 1812 found Brooklyn not only
determined to resist any recurrence of British
occupation but united in the desire to uphold
the position of the country without regard to
the poor politics which had rendered a re-
course to arms necessary. The story of Brook-
lyn's share in that conflict (bloodless so far as.
she was concerned) has already been told and
can here be dismissed with this passing refer-
ence. But we may here be permitted to.
898
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
say that, worthless and needless as that
war was in many respects, it was im-
portant in that it really united the coun-
try into one grand and actual Federa-
tion. Before it the states were little other than
a union on paper ; they formed a nation, it is
true, but it was a nation only in name ; but the
events which followed the declaration of war
in 1812 made them a nation in reality. There-
after the Government at Washington was rec-
ognized as pre-eminent and the necessity for
its solidity, strength and efifectiveness was rec-
ognized even by the most virulent upholder of
the theory of State sovereignty. Some of the
lessons of the war were speedily forgotten,
notably that of the necessity of a strong navy ;
but the imperative need of the central Govern-
ment being powerful enough to meet every
emergency and to direct the country amid the
policies and jealousies of the nations of the
world was never afterward lost sight of or
ignored.
It was not until the middle of February,
181 5, that the news that peace had been pro-
claimed reached Brooklyn, and as soon as the
excusable paean of joy over that event was
ended the town resumed its forward march,
and the march seemed more blithesome than
ever before. It was not all work and no play
any longer; life was not taken so seriously as
formerly ; tea houses were opened in every di-
rection ; "gardens" wher-e people could regale
themselves with music, wine or beer in the
open air were set out in all the main thorough-
fares, the wharves took on new life and the
market at the Ferry, beside the great liberty
pole, the grand emblem of what had been won,
was a daily scene of business excitement.
Every occupation appeared to "boom;" an
"era of prosperity" had arrived, and looked as
if it had settled down for a long stay ; all the
local horoscopes seemed to promise that the
town had a bright future before it, and all that
could be dreamed of as wanting was a form
of local government which would work har-
moniously and bring about quickly the best re-
sults. No time was lost, for in December,
181 5, a meeting called to consider the advisa-
bility of seeking a charter of incorporation as
a village. The sentiment at this meeting was
so completely in favor of this step that a gen-
eral meeting of the citizens was called, and at
that gathering, Jan. 6, 1816, the matter was
heartily indorsed and a committee was ap-
pointed to draft a bill for incorporation and
present it to the Legislature. This committee
comprised Thomas Everitt, Alden F. Spooner,
Joshua Sands, John Doughty and the Rev.
John Ireland. The bill was laid before the
Legislature within a few weeks, on March 13
it passed the Senate and on April 12 the As-
sembly assented. The territory thus incor-
porated under a village government was de-
scribed as "beginning at the Public Landing
south of Pierrepont's Distillery, formerly the
property of Philip Livingston deceased, on the
East River; thence running along the Public
Road leading from said Landing, to its inter-
section with Red Hook Lane ; thence along said
Red Hook Lane to where it intersects the Ja-
maica Turnpike Road ; thence a northeast
course to the head of the Wallaboght Mill-
pond ; thence through the centre of the Mill-
pond to the East River; and thence down the
East River to the place of beginning." The
village was to be governed by a board of five
trustees,' who with three assessors were to be
elected by popular vote each year. The board,
when elected, was to select its own officials.
To facilitate matters the first trustees were
named in the act, — Andrew Mercein, John
Garrison, John Doughty, John Seaman and
John Dean, and these held their first official
meeting on May 4, 181 6. That meeting may
be said to mark the beginning of the modern
history of Brooklyn.
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THE tiROOkL\N bHORL IN 1830
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN.
T will have Ix-en noticed that what was
incorporated as the Village of BtodIch
lyn formed in reality only a portion of
what had heen ,s^rouped together as the
town, and comprised little more than what
formerly used to be spoken of as "the Ferry."
It even left outside in the cold the old
Breuckelen itself; and the Wallabout and Bed-,
ford and the rest of the suburbs of the old
Dutch town were permitted to get along as
best they might. The trade was concentrated
round the Ferry district, the population con-
centrated there, and from there the expansion
was destined to flow that was to bring all the
scattered sections under one rule again, that
was once more to link all their fortunes to-
gether. But while the Village of Brooklyn
was thus only a part of the whole, it was the
part in which local history was made for the
eighteen years during which the village char-
ter remained in force.
Yet to all of what afterward became the
extended city of Brooklyn the forces then at
work in the village were big with import, for
on the progress there made depended ulti-
mately the welfare of all the other sections.
It was as if the sturdiest brother of a family
assumed the care and responsibility of the in-
terests of all the rest, and started out to win
enough capital which, if wisely garnered,
would in time benefit him and equally all the
others. During these eighteen years, there-
fore, while we speak of Brooklyn, we have to
forget the other members of the family and
think only of the old section close to the East
River, which had come to the front and was
making such a bid for position and wealth.
How the new departure aided in the pros-
perity of the place may be understood from the
fact that while in 1816 the population of
Brooklyn was 4,402, by 1820 it had increased
to 7,475, and most of this increase was count-
ed within the limits of the incorporated vil-
lage, for outside of it there was very little to
attract new-comers. By 1825 the figures had
increased to 10,791, and by 1830 to 15,295;
but by that date the ferry district had really
overflown its old limits and was making its
own prosperity felt all over the old town.
In 1818 the incorporated village wras sur-
400
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
veyed and sign-posts were erected on the vari-
ous street corners. Sands street, wliich was
then a fashionable thoroughfare, was paved
in 1822, and Fuhon street was provided with a
sidewalk, both of these being regarded as won-
derful improvements. The year 1824, how-
ever, witnessed the outbreak of a desire for
public improvements, somewhat astonishing in
its scope and intensity. Streets were graded
and improved in all directions, a new market
was built, the fire department was nearly
doubled and new buildings began tu rise all
over the village, generally of a more preten-
tious style,' architecturally speaking, than
those which had hitherto contented the citi-
zens. The streets, too, were kept clean by dint
of a series of local ordinances, and the night
watch was strengthened and made more
effective than ever. It is said that no fewer
than 164 new buildings were erected within
the village during that year. A Board of
Health was also then organized. In 1825 a
stone walk had been laid from the Ferry to
Water street, and the comfort of this caused
a general desire for the introduction of such
sidewalks on all the principal streets. The
people had really begun to take a pride in their
city and also had acquired wealth enough to
pay for the improvements they desired with-
out inciting any more than the average amount
of grumbling which is the inherent right of
every taxpayer.
Certainly trade was most prosperous dur-
ing these years of the village regime. Every
season seemed to find a "new industry added,
and all the while the old ones were strength-
ened. The shipping industry made particu-
larly rapid strides and an evidence of this is
found in the fact that in 1823 the United,
States customs authorities erected on the
water-front near the foot of Cranberry street
a three-story warehouse, — an immense struc-
ture for those days. On July i, 1S24, there
were moored to the village wharves, by the
count of a local statistician, eight full-rigged
ships, t6 brigs, 20 schooners and 12 sloops.
altogether representing a great amount of
trade and conmierce. In 1828 Dr. Stiles tells
us the village contained "seven churches, eight
rope-walks, seven distilleries, two chain-cable
manufactories, two tanneries, two extensive
white-lead manufactories, one glass factory,
one floor-cloth ditto, one card ditto, one pock-
et-book ditto, one comb ditto, one seal-skin
ditto, seven tide and two wind-mills, an ex-
tensive establishment for the preparation of
drugs, and articles required for dyeing and
manufacturing, conducted by Dr. Noyes, late
professor of Hamilton College, seventy gro-
cery and dry-goods stores, two printing estab-
lishments, lumber and wood-yards, master
masons and carpenters. The rope-walks man-
ufactured 1,130 tons of cordage, annually at
an expenditure of $260,000, and employed 200
persons. The distilleries consumed, on an
average, 780 bushels of grain per day, at an
expense of $368,200 per annum. The seal-
skin factory employed 60 men ; pocket-book
factory, 40 persons ; comb factory, 20 ; the card
factory, 300 persons ; and other branches in all
400 to 500 persons. Immense quantities of
naval stores, hemp, cotton, India goods, hides,
provisions and lumber, were stored at Brook-
lyn."
The reason for so much naval stores being
in Brooklyn lay in the fact that the Govern-
ment was beginning to make full use of its
property .it the Wallabout. In 1817 work was
commenced on the line ship Ohio, and it was
launched ^lay 30, 1820. In 1820 the then Sec-
retary of the Navy (Samuel L. Southard of
New Jersey) recommended that a navy yard
of the first class should be established on the
Wallabout property, and as the recommenda-
tion was adopted the work was begun of put-
ting the place in serviceable condition. Capt.
Isaac Chauncey was again placed in charge
and so continued until 1833. Under him
the property was enclosed and an earnest
of its future importance was given in the
order for the construction of the sloop of war
\'inccnnes, which was launched April 25, 1826, .
THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN.
401
followed by the building of three other sloops,
— the Lexington, the Fairfield and the Pea-
cock, an armed schooner — the Enterprise —
and the revenue cutter Morris. All these were
constructed during the continuance of Brook-
lyn's village charter, and incidentally helped
considerably also in the upward movement of.
the municipality. It should be mentioned that
another vessel, the Fulton, the first steam war-
ship, was built at the Wallabout by the Gov-
ernment in 1815 from plans prepared by Rob-
ert Fulton himself ; but she never proved of
any value and exploded while lying at anchor,
in 1829, causing a loss of forty-eight lives.
The Wallabout never returned to the jurisdic-
tion of Brooklyn, and so when the time of re-
organization came a certain amount of terri-
tory, a town within itself in fact, was lost to
the city ; but the benefit of the establishment of
the navy yard to Brooklyn has been more than
can easily be estimated.
The year 1824, besides being memorable
for its internal improvements, is deserving of
being prominently remembered in local annals
for many other reasons, and the most notable
of these was, perhaps, the establishment of the
first bank, — The Long Island Bank, with Lef-
fert Lefiferts, Jehiel Jagger, John C. Freecke,
John Vanderveer, Jordan Coles, Silas Butler,
Fanning C. Tucker, Jacob Hicks, Henry War-
ing, Nehemiah Denton, Elkanah Doolittle,
Thomas Everitt, Jr., and George Little as its
first directors. An insurance company, "The
Brooklyn Fire," was also established in 1824.
Before the city charter was issued several
other banks were organized and the increase
of such institutions amply demonstrates the
steady rise of the local and general business
interests.
But wealth does not obliterate misery and
we are reminded that even in those prosper-
ous times the poor in Brooklyn asserted them-
selves. On March 30, 1824, there were in
ihe almshouse 11 men, 16 women, 5 girls and
8 bo}-s — a total of 40; and during the winter
of that >-ear ninetv-three loads of wood were
distributed from the institution among the
poor throughout the village. The need for en-
larged facilities for poorhouse purposes were
then so apparent that some nineteen acres of
land near Fort Greene were purchased from
Lefi^ert Lefiferts, for $3,750, on which to erect
a new shelter for those who fell by the wayside,
b>- ]30vert_\-, disaster or disease, in the strug-
gle for existence. This property was outside
the village limits, lint it was proposed to erect
on it a building- sufficient to meet the needs
of the whole of the old town. The establish-
ment of a poor farm in 1830 at Flatbush
helped to lessen the extent of the village ex-
penditure for the poor, as it removed from
its care what might be called county cases,
cases which should hardly have been thrown
upon the people of the village at all.
While spending money lavishly for the de-
velopment and improvement of the village, it
is amusing to read in how simple and unpre-
tentious a fashion the Trustees, the Cit}- Fa-
thers of the day, conducted its business. They
held their meetings in a room over a grocery
stiire within a few yards of the entrance to
"tlu; Ferry," and while the meetings were on
iniblic business the Trustees declined to al-
low a newspaper reporter to be present or
even to permit the minutes of their meetings
to be copied for publication. What was done,
however, was readily learned, the refusal of
the minutes being due more to a sense of of-
ficial dignity than anything else. They seem
to have been a jolly lot of mortals, these early
trustees, and conducted their proceedings on
a conversational rather than an oratorical
basis, and so got through with the considera-
tion of any knotty point more quickly than
tlunigh formal speeches had been the rule.
Pi-obably, not being lost in rhetorical fogs,
they appreciated each detail clearly. They also
understsood each other better, and to help
this understanding it was their custom, as
soon as the meeting was called to order, to
send for a stipply of bread or biscuits and
cheese and a bottle or two of brandy or gin.
402
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and then proceed to business. At the end of
their official term they enjoyed an oyster sup-
per and pledged each other heartily. All this,
it should be noticed, was done at their own
expense, the modern official junketer had not
been evolved.
Under such auspices the village flourished
and even acquired a measure of fame. It was
not forgetful in the higher things that make
for the good of a community and give it char-
acter. In 1823 what was known as the .ap-
prentices' Library was organized with the view
of supplying reading matter for apprentice
mechanics and in fact working people of all
classes. Within a year this library had a col-
lection of some 1,200 volumes, all presented
by citizens, and 100 regular readers. It proved
such a success that in 1825 a new building
was erected for it in Cranberry street, and
there in 1826 the Board of Village Trustees
removed their meetings, although whether the
conveniences for cracken- and cheese and
drinkables were as accessible as at "the Ferry,"
history is silent. The cornerstone of the libra-
ry was laid on July 4, 1825, by the Marquis de
Lafayette, then on his memorable tour
through the country for which he had fought
in the days when it was struggling for exist-
ence. Up to Lafayette's visit, Brooklyn had
not been much disturbed by the sojourn of
great men in its midst. It had seen Washing-
ton in war and welcomed him in peace. Presi-
dent Monroe crossed to Brooklyn in June,
1 81 7, and two years or so later Andrew Jack-
son paid it a flying visit, although on what
particular business the Hero of New Orleans
crossed the East River we have no means of
accurately knowing. Talleyrand lived in
Brooklyn for some time, and so did Tom
I'aine, the agnostic. These were all the great
men — the men of National fame — who had
walked through Brooklyn since its famous
battle until the appearance of Lafayette, an 1
that the illustrious veteran received an ova-
tion goes without saying.
An admirable picture of how Brooklyn
looked in 1820 has been preserved for us on
tlie canvas painted in 1820 and representing
a part of the city in its winter dress. The
picture is now in the Brooklyn Institute. The
painter, Francis Guy, was a native of Eng-
land, who came here in 1796. After many
vicissitudes he settled in Brooklyn in 1817
and devoted himself to landscape painting.
.\s might readily be understood, he did not
prosper exceedingly, the taste of Brooklyn
not having by that time reached such a stage
as to care for art for art's sake. Guy was
reckless in money matters and had other fail-
ings, which prevented his gathering and keep-
ing much of this world's goods, and he died
in poverty in August, 1820. His widow sold
sixty-two of his landscape paintings at public
auction in New York and realized thereby
$1,295.50. The bit of Brooklyn represented
in the "snow scene" lay just before the win-
dows of his house, 11 Front street, and the
figures introduced were all drawn from life
from among the artist's neighbors. The can-
vas was exhibited in Brooklyn as soon as it
was completed, and for the correctness of its
THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN.
403
drawing and its characteristic portraits was
pronounced a masterpiece by the local con-
noisseurs, who must be regarded as the best
judges of the vakie of such a work as a re-
production of a scene with which they were
faniihar. The picture has been often en-
graved, but gives so clear an idea of the place
represented at the time that it is here repro-
duced, along- with a keyplate, which was print-
ed in Dr. Stiles' "Flistory of Brooklyn."
<EY PLATE TO GUY'S SNOW SCENE.
Dwellina and store of Thos. \V. Biidsall.
\i. Robert Cunningham's.
24.
Jacob Patchen.
House of .^biel Titus.
Vi. Jacob Hicks' woodvard. corner Main St.
26.
Mrs. Burnett.
Edward Coope's blacksmith-shop.
14. Joshua Sands' residence.
37.
Benjamin Meeker, ta
Geo. Fricke's carriatj;e-shop.
15. AugustusGraham'sresidence.cor.Dockst.
28.
Judge John Garrison.
Diana Rapelie's house.
Mrs. Middaah's house.
16. Burdet Stryker's house and butcher-shop.
Thos. W. Birdsall.
17. Selah Smith's Tavern.
3o:
JacobHicks.
St. Ann's Church, corner of Sands and
18. Morrison's on the Heights.
31.
Abiel Titus.
Washinaton streets.
19. Dr. Ball's house, opposite Morrison's.
32.
Mrs. Gilbert Titus.
Residence of Edward Coope.
20. Augustus Graham, conversmg with
33.
Abiel Titus' negro-se
Abiel Titus' barn and slaughter-house.
21. Joshua Sands.
34.
James (son of Abiel
Benjamin Meeker's house and shop.
22. Mrs. Harmer and daughters.
'""='',' „
Mrs. Chester's "Coffee Room."
23. Mrs. Guy (the artist's wife).
3.5.
Samuel Foster (negro
404
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
The church influence in Brooklyn was
steadily extending itself during the period
now under review and so far as educational
facilities went there was no lack of oppor-
tunities for the young American to grow up
with all the advantages of a liberal training.
There were, even before the village was or-
ganized, private schools in abundance, and in
1813 a number of ladies organized what they
called the Louisian Seminary, where, free of
cost, poor children were to be instructed in
reading, writing and arithmetic, and in addi-
tion the girl pupils were to be taught such
practical accomplishments as knitting and sew-
ing. Tliis establishment was really the be-
ginning of the free educational 'system of
Brooklyn. The Louisian school was a success
much more emphatic than its projectors had
anticipated and the claims upon its facilities
soon threatened to swamp, by their very ex-
tent, the well thought out scheme of the ladies.
In 181 6, as a result of this experience, a pub-
lic meeting was held with the view of bring-
ing about a free public school. This was
agreed to and the Louisian school was taken
over under the new movement and the ladies
were released from their embarrassing posi-
tion with regard to it. A frame building was
erected for the use of this free school on the
corner of Concord and Adams . streets, and
the cost was defrayed by a tax. Pupils whose
parents or guardians could pay for their tu-
ition were expected to contribute to the sup-
port of the institution, but to others its ad-
vantages were free. In 1829 a Collegiate In-
stitute for young ladies was opened' on Hicks
street ; but it did not prove a success. It was
a step in the right direction, but the stride
was too long for the time. In 1816 a Sunday-
school was opened in Brooklyn. It was main-
ly for negroes and seems to have been 'secular
as well as religious in its aim ; but bit by bit
the secular features were eliminated and the
movement grew so rapidly that when, in 1829,
the Kings County Sabbath-school L^nion was
formed, it had jurisdiction over no fewer than
twentv-three schools.
Another movement for social betterment
was inaugurated in 1829, when a temperance
society was established. The old hard and
deep drinking habits had by that time lost
their hold upon the community, excessive in-
dulgence was no longer fashionable, and
drunkenness was not even regarded as ex-
cusable. Yet in that year, with a population
of some 12,000, Brooklyn had 160 places
where intoxicating liquor was sold at retail.
Little wonder that a temperance wave set
in and an effort made at improvement, of
which the Temperance Society was one of the
weapons. The movement had markedly a suc-
cessful result, for by 1835, when the popula-
tion had increased to 24,310, the number of
retail liquor establishments had decreased to
While so much progress was going on it
is disappointing to be obliged to chronicle
the fact that Brooklyn lost a chance of one
magnificent improvement in 1826, which, had
it been carried out, would to-day have placed
her in possession of a most valuable piece
of property, almost unique for its beauty and
usefulness. This was the rejection of the sug-
gestion of H. B. Pierrepont and others that
the lands on the heights overlooking the bay
should be bought b\' the city and converted
into a public park. The lands were then used
for agricultural purposes, when they were used
at all, and as it was not thought possible that
they could ever be utilized for building purpos-
es they might have been secured at a compara-
tively trifling cost. But the opportunity was
lost. The public took, apparently, no interest
in the matter. The value of public parks was
not then clearly understood, and even many
who favored such a park thought that the
land indicated was too difficult of access ever
to become of much use to the people.
Another matter to be deplored is the aji-
parent ease with which, in spite of the excel-
lence of the local physicians, the watchfulness
of the Board of Health and the evident effort
at local cleanliness, imported diseases played
sad havoc in tlie village. In 1822, as in 180^
THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYN.
405
and 1809, there was an outbreak of yellow
fever, when nineteen cases were reported, of
which ten proved fatal. The disease, however,
was confined to the neighborhood of Furnian
street, where it was first noticed. In 1832
cholera made its appearance and from June
20 until July 25, when it was reported as
stamped out, there were ninety-five cases, thir-
ty-five of which terminated fatally. The chol-
era, however, at that time was on one of its
apparently periodic rounds and New York and
other cities suffered terribly. In these circum-
stances it was thought unlikely that Brooklyn
should escape. Indeed, but for the excellence
of its medical service the mortality list would
have shown sadder figures.
When the prosperity of the village seemed
assured and everything bespoke a glowing
future, it was inevitable that a great rise should
take place in the value of its lands and that
the inevitable speculator should take advantage
of this to boom sales and create on the solid
substratum of actual success and need a fic-
titious value and speculative demand. In our
favorite year of 1824 the real estate within
the bounds of the village was assessed at
$2,111,390; and building lots contiguous to
the old Ferry, when they came into the mar-
ket, brought fancy prices. In 1826 Dr. Evans
successfully turned one of the heights. Mount
Prospect, into a private residence reserve.
Within it he erected several cottages and laid
out the grounds around them with such taste
that the place became one of the most attract-
ive in Brooklyn. Although almost three miles
from the ferry, lots around this improvement
so auickly advanced in price as to be signifi-
cant of the impending change. In 1833 a land
mania, or something akin to it, set in and
values advanced almost daily. The rise was
by no means confined to the village : all parts
of the old town felt the change. A piece of
land used as a pleasure resort (The Parmen-
tier Garden) at the junction of the Jamaica and
Flatbush roads was purchased for $57,000 and
at once surveyed, cut up into lots and sold
at auction for some $70,000. A farm at Go-
wanus of twenty-six acres Ijrought $25,000
at auction, and ten acres at Refi Hook realized
$47,000. A couple of speculators from New
York bought a farm and laid out on it a wide
avenue, intending to restrict it to private resi-
dences of the best class. The lots were large
(80.x 1 00 feet) and the venture seemed a dan-
gerous one, but its complete success was as-
sured when, in 1835, Trinity Church (now St.
Luke's) was erected upon it. Now, as Clinton
avenue, it ranks as one of the most beautiful
and fashionable of the residential sections of
Brooklyn. Even some of the remote, outly-
ing sections of the old town had begun to feel
the prosperity of the village and to share it.
.\ new settlement sprung up on the old Crip-
plebush road, and along what is now Flush-
ing avenue many houses were being erected,
generally in small colonies convenient to rope-
walks or other works, while the employes of
the navy yard, at times, needed more house ac-
commodation than could readily be found.
On the other side of the Ferry improvements
even began to assert themselves on the heights,
— the territory deemed absolutely useless but
a few years before, — while further away lay
another settlement, for which in 1833 a new
water route to New York was opened almost
at the foot of the slope, and to this was given
the name of South Ferry. In fact it was seen
that the village had burst through its legal
boundaries and was pressing out into the old
township in every direction, and the conditions
which resulted from all this expansion slow-
ly but surely became the reverse of satisfac-
tory in various important respects. It had
early been seen in the history of the village
that it was laboring under some of these dis-
advantages : it was apparent even then that
its boundaries were too circumscribed and its
municipal powers too limited, and in 1825 a
]3,u1ilic meeting was called to consider the ad-
visabilitv of applying to the legislature at Al-
bany for a city charter. But matters were
not then ready for that, and the meeting voted
406
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
against sucM'an innovation, much to the clia-
grin of tte'^Pbrnaters, who thereupon duly ad-
journed the meeting, and with it, as they
thought, the project, for twenty-one years.
In the following year the legislature passed
several acts amendatory of the government
of villages and under the provisions of one of
these Brooklyn elected ten trustees instead of
five, without, however, any further real or
supposed benefit to the community than the
exaltation of five more citizens into places of
honor ; but even this did not silence the move^-
ment which was making steadily for a change.
In 1833 the movement for increased local
powers had increased so far that a bill was
introduced in the Legislature for the incorpora-
tion of the City of Brooklyn, and though it
passed the Assembly it was killed in the upper
house. There seems to be no dcubt that the
influence of New York City was inflexibly
directed against any attempt to create a strong
municipality on the opposite shore of the East
River from Manhattan Island. It is difficult
to understand nowadays why such should have
been the case, but unfortunately the sentiment
of opposition existed. There is no room for
doubt on that point. Possibly the idea that
a city should have something more to say
with regard to ferry rights and perquisites
than was possible for a village, had much to
do with it. But there were other and more
valid reasons. The ease with which Brooklyn
could be reached from the then heart of New
York's business and manufacturing districts
aroused the fear of the real-estate manipu-
lators on Manhattan Island, and it was inev-
itable even to the sodden brains of the New
York Aldermen of the period, that if Brook-
lyn should become the city of homes — homes
of New Yorkers — another big drop in tax re-
ceipts would be the inevitable Tcsult. New
York could only grow in one direction — north-
ward— and the journey thither was slow and
uncertain, even in the best of weather, while
a pleasant trip by ferry landed the dwellers
in Brooklyn, within a short ride of pleasant,
semi-rural streets, where comfortable homes
could await them. Then in all such matters as
shore and river jurisdiction a city government
might speak with greater emphasis than could
the trustees of a village or the representatives
of half a dozen sleepy and forgotten little com-
munities, mainly agricultural. So bitter was
the opposition, so pressing became the need
for a change, that, despairing of bringing
about the improvement in any other way, at
one time a proposition was actually broached
that instead of seeking a separate charter
Brooklyn should ask for annexation to New
York! That notion did not find much favor,
however. It was not only humiliating to the
local feeling of civic pride that had sprung up,
but it was felt that the river itself furnished
a barrier that could not be crossed even by an
act of Legislature ; that nature's boundary line
could not be obliterated.
So the agitation for a new charter was kept
up with unflagging interest, and, at last, by
an act which passed all the usual legislative
perils, the struggle was won and Brooklyn
became a city on April 10, 1834. The charter
was a most comprehensive document and
brought together again under one government
the scattered sections of the old town of
Brooklyn. It divided the city into nine wards.
The first included the famous Ferry dis-
trict, which had created the modern Brook-
lyn and had been the legal village for some
eighteen years; the second embraced what
had been Olympia and to it was also given
the New (Catharine) Ferry; the third was
the old Breukelen ; the fourth was another part
of the village territory; the fifth lay around
the Wallabout; the sixth extended to Red
Hook; the seventh contained Cripplebush and
Bedford ; the eighth reached to Gowanus ;
while the ninth carried the line of the city cult
to the territory which belonged to Flatbush.
It was a comprehensive scheme, compact and
well thought out. So far as could be seen'
it fully met all passing needs and promised
plenty of scope for the future, and in its poSh
THE VILLAGE OF BROOKLYX.
407
session Brooklyn rejoiced except for tlie grip
which New York still managed to retain on
her ferry system and its feudal hold upon the
river which washed with equal impartiality the
shores of Long Island and of Manhattan.
The ferry interests had yearly been as-
suming greater proportions. When we last
referred to their history they formed quite a
respectable item in the resources of the old
city of New York and they had been steadily
growing. For some years the Old Ferry and
the New had shared the business, but the yel-
low fever epidemic of 1809 having its seat near
the Brooklyn t.rmini of these two water routes,
a change was made and a ferry established
between Joralemon street, Brooklyn, to White-
hall street, New York. This inconvenient ar-
rangement was abandoned as soon as public
confidence was restored and we hear of no
more ferry changes until 181 7, when a boat waj
run between Little street, Brooklyn, and Wal-
nut (now Jackson) street. New York. This
was never a popular route and was abandoned
about 1850.
Prior to 1814 the means of transit across
the river were sail or row boats, the journey
was long and the wind and tide and ice and
snow played sad havoc very frequently with
the time and tempers of the travelers. Then
even in the best of times, the trip was too
often uncomfortable, for the passengers were
mixed up with cattle, sheep, garden and farm
produce and all and sundry sorts of baggage.
The ferrymen generally tried to wait for a full
load before starting and that meant time wast-
ed at the ferry house, which, however profit-
able it might be to the tavern near by, was
not conducive to the equanimity of the way-
farer. Then when the weather was rough
or "thick" it was impossible to say when or
where the voyage might end. Perhaps the
current would force the boat up to Hellgate
and run it ashore on Astoria, or it might be
forced into a contrary direction and give one
a close look at Governor's Island or eflfect a
landing finally at Red Hook instead of Man-
hattan Island. Upsets were of frequent oc-
currence. Sometimes a horse took it into his
head to suddenly change his position and so
caused the loaded boat to keel over; some-
times a number of sheep played the game of
"follow your leader" into the river and the
effort to stop them brought about disaster.
Drunken boatmen were often the cause of
serious accidents, and if we can credit the
newspaper reports and current gossip a boat-
man who was not rude and unmannerly was
unknown. We are, however, inclined to dis-
believe in another piece of current gossip,
which had it that whenever a Long Island
man made the voyage to New York (apart
from dwellers at the Ferry) he invariably
made his will, adjusted all his earthly affairs,
and set out amid the tears and prayers of his
household and friends!
In 1813, after having successfully operated
two steam-ferry services between the New
York and New Jersey shores, Robert Fulton
made the corporation of New York the offer
of a similar service between that city and
Brooklyn, and on January 24, 1814, the ne-
gotiations were settled and a lease signed giv-
ing control of the ferry between "Old Ferry,
Brooklyn," and Beekman's slip. New York
(the previous landing place had been at the Fly
Market), for twenty-five years to Robert Ful-
ton and William Cutting. They were to pay an
annual rental of $4,000 for the first eighteen
years of the term, and $4,500 for the re-
mainder, and on or before the 24th of May
following, they were to place a steamboat on
the route to run daily every half hour from
sunrise until sunset and in addition were to
run the full complement of barges as then
was in the service. It was provided that a
second steamboat was to be placed on the route
by May, 1819. Under the lease the rates of
ferriage were to be increased, and when this
part of the arrangement became known there
was a furious outcry in Brooklyn. A town
meeting was held to protest against the in-
crease, and New York City was roundly de-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
nounced. A remonstrance to the corporation of
the latter produced no effect, an offer on behalf
of Brooklyn to lease the ferry on the same
terms and run it at the old rates was promptly
rejected, and finally an appeal was drawn up
and forwarded to the Legislature. . Somehow
the document mysteriously failed to reach that
august body. In the midst of all the din,
Messrs. Fulton and Cutting pushed ahead with
their plans, organized "The New York and
Brooklyn Steamboat Ferry Association," and
on May lo, 1814, the first steam ferry-boat on
the East River, the Nassau, commenced opera-
tions, making some forty trips during the day.
The innovation was regarded on all sides as
a complete triumph. Fulton did not long en-
joy the success of this experiment, for he was
laid to rest in the Livingston vault in Trinity
churchyard in 1815, and his partner, Cutting,
died in 1 82 1.
It was but a short time before the service
proved inadequate and a demand for increased
carrying capacity arose. Instead of the ad-
ditional steamboat a horse-boat (the machinery
propelled by horse power instead of steam)
was provided in 1818, when the fare was fixed
at four cents a trip for either steam or horse
boat, with certain commuting privileges. A
horse boat had also been established at the
New (Catharine) Ferry, but there, as soon
afterward at the Old Ferry, it was found to
prove an expensive arrangement, and the in-
troduction of steam all round became merely a
question of time. Even when the long-looked-
for second steamboat was added it did not
meet all the requirements, and the establish-
ment, in 1836, of a new service at the South
Ferry did little to relieve the business at the
foot of Fulton street. Improvements were
slow, feeble and paltry, and although it had
long been urged, it was not until September
28. 1827, that an all-night service was intro-
duced. The great trouble was that the stock-
holders were not united under an_\- directing
head or animated with any .real view of accom-
modating the public interests, especially the
interests of Brooklyn, which were those most
concerned in the development of the ferry
service. To remedy this, if possible, most of
the stock was purchased in 1835 by a com-
mittee of Brooklyn capitalists, who intended
to run the Fulton and South ferries until
the expiration of the current leases on
both in 1839, so as to promote the interests
of their own city. The committee did their
best and accomplished much in the way of im-
provement, but lost money by their public
s])irit. \\"hen the time came for the leases to
be rer.ewed it was felt that the only way out
of the difficulty, and the only way which the
interests of Brooklyn would be conserved, was
bv the formation of a new company of citizens,
who should run both ferries on a business
basis and at the same time with an eye to the
wants and requirements of their own city.
The company was formed and a lease signed
on May 3, 1839, giving the New York &
Brooklyn Ferry Company a lease of the water
routes for five years, at an annual rental of
$12,000, and, under other financial restrictions
and stipulations, which were soon found to be
very oppressive.
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE FIRST CITY
Mayors Hai.i,, Trotter, Johnson, Smith, Murimi
Fires — Business Extension — The Gr
Literature and the Pi
•, AND Otiie
ND City H.
ESS.
HE act constituting the City of Brook-
lyn went into effect April lo, 1834,
and the elevation of the old town
occasioned at first much rejoicing all
o\-cr its territory, and some of it found ex-
pression on April 25 in a grand procession,
which wended its way through a numlier of
the principal streets, and the inevitahle ora-
tion, which was delivered in the First Pres-
byterian Church, i;n Orange street (on the
present site of Plymouth Church), by Will-
iam Rockwell. There was every reason for
pride in the new municipality. It covered an
extent of territory nearly twelve miles square,
with thirty-five miles of streets, had a popula-
tion of 27,854, twenty churches, three busi-
ness and one savings banks, two markets, effi-
cient fire and police departments and all the
accessories of a well governed and progressive
city, a clearly defined future, a host of public-
spirited citizens and an ambition to press on-
ward. Its people loved the city, honored its
]iast and revered its memories. It was of
course but as a village yet compared with New
York, but then it possessed, what its big neigh-
bor did not possess until many years after-
ward, a sense of civic pride. Still there were
a few pessimistic people, mainly those living
in the outlying parts of the old town, and who
had escaped the modernizing influences at
work all around them. The village of Brook-
lyn, among the other modern improvements,
brought as one of its contrilmtions to the new
city what seemed to many of the simple coun-
try farmers like an unsurmountable load of
debt, $22,000, and a lawsuit involving about
as much more. The rest of the component
parts of the new city had not only steered clear
of such an appendage, but had brought to the
new partnership some valuable real estate. The
city, of course, had to assume the village in-
debtedness and it was felt by those pessimist-
ically inclined that this was a theme for mourn-
ing. The simple-minded Dutch farmers had not
become civilized enough to "regard a public
debt as a blessing," nor did they appreciate
any system of financiering that was not based
on hard cash. But they soon had their eyes
opened : their education was not long delayed.
The first election for aldermen was held
on May 5, and so far as we can see it was con-
ducted strictly on local issues and with an eye
to facilitating the business of the new com-
munity rather, as is so common nowadays,
than with any ulterior views as to the rela-
tion of the candidate to state or national pol-
itic. The result was the return of the follow-
ist ward — Gabriel Furnian, Conklin Brush.
2d ward — George D. Cunningham, John
M. Hicks.
3d ward — James Walters, Joseph Moser.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
4th ward — Jonathan Trotter, Adrian Hege-
man.
5th ward — William M. Udall, Benjamin R.
Prince.
6th ward — Samuel Smith, William Powers.
7th ward — Clarence D. Sackett, Stephen
Haynes.
8th ward — Theodoras Polhemus, John S.
Bergen.
9th ward — Robert Wilson, Moses Smith.
It is questionable if Brooklyn in all her
history from then until now, ever rejoiced in
a really abler or more thoroughly representa-
tive body of City Fathers. They were all
men of standing in their respective communi-
ties, most of them were men of substantial
means and wide business interests and all had
considerable influence in local affairs. They
were animated by a single desire to promote
the welfare of the new municipality, and they
set about doing it at once and to the best of
their ability. We cannot agree with all that
this first Board of Aldermen did, but that its
members were devoted with rare honesty of
purpose and strict fidelity to the prosperity of
the young city and of their constituents, is be-
yond question.
The first and most emphatic evidence of
this occurred on their opening meeting, where
they elected George Hall as first Mayor of
Brooklyn. No man in Kings county had a
more intimate acquaintance with local affairs
or more practical experience in their adminis-
tration. He had served as a trustee of the old
village and was its last President, holding
that office when the law which brought the
city into being went into effect. Born in New
York, September 21, 1795, of Irish parents,
he grew up an American among Americans,
and in time became one of the local leaders of
the old Know-Nothing party, a party whose
merits have been forgotten in the modern un-
scrupulous rush for "votes." Whatever opin-
ions he held he never concealed, and he fol-
lowed the line of policy he deemed the best
with the utmost zeal, regardlesis of personal
consequences. A thoroughly brave man, as his
work during the cholera epidemic showed, he
had the courage of his convictions in all his
public doings. He was a stanch advocate of
tectotalism and was especially proud of having
been the first man in Brooklyn to sign a tem-
perance pledge. • So determined was his aver-
sion to intoxicating liquor that he refused to
swallow a little on his dying bed, even when
it was prescribed by his physician. That was
a characteristic trait of the man. No one could
be more determined than he upon any point
after he believed it to be right. Nor was any
man more generous. In business life he ac-
quired more than a fair measure of success,
yet his charities kept him poor. He was al-
ways giving, and giving in such a way that
no one, not even himself, knew the extent of
his bounty. In all local institutions for help-
ing the poor, the distressed, or encouraging
youth, or promoting the welfare of the people,
he was for years a foremost figure. His ad-
ministration of the first mayoral term of Brook-
lyn was a successful one in every way, and he
was a candidate for the office in 1844 and
again in 1845, but went down each time with,
his ticket. In 1854, when Brooklyn, Williams-
burgh and Bushwick were consolidated, he
was the successful candidate for the votes
of the united territory ,and so became the first
Mayor again in another chapter of Brooklyn's
history. In 1861 he was the Republican can-
didate for the office of Registrar, but was de-
feated, and after that took no active part in-
politics and spent his days quietly at the home
which many years before had been presented
to him by his fellow citizens, at 37 Livingston
Place. There he died April 16, 1868, regretted
by the entire community, and the funeral ora-
tion was delivered by Henry Ward Beecher,
who well knew and thoroughly appreciated
the many sterling qualities of him who had
served Brooklyn so faithfully and so long.
Mr. Beecher on this occasion made one of his
most eloquent public utterances, one of those
addresses which won for him praise as a cit-
izen, apart from his eminence in the pulpit.
THE FIRST CITY
411
The other Mayors elected during this sec-
tion of our history were :
Jonathan Trotter 1835-1836
Jeremiah Johnson 1837-1838
Cyrus P. Smith 1839-1841
Henry C. Murphy 1842
Joseph Sprague 1843-1844
Thomas G. Talmadge 1845
Francis B. Stryker 1846-1848
Edward Copeland 1849
Samuel Smith 1850
ConkHn Brush 1851-1852
Edward A. Lambert 1853-1854
The Mayors were chosen by the Aldermen
until 1840, when a new act of the Legislature
tave the people the privilege of electing their
local chief executive, and so Mayor Cyrus P.
Smith entered upon his second term under
really popular auspices. Most of these men
were of more than ordinary ability and fully
deserved the pre-eminence they received at the
hands of their fellow citizens. Only three of
them — Johnson, Murphy and Stryker — were
natives of Brooklyn. Samuel Smith was a
native Long Islander. Trotter was born in
England, and the others hailed from various
parts of the Union. Trotter was a leather
dresser and acquired considerable means, but
was "caught" in the financial panic of 1837
and compelled to retire from politics to build
up anew his business connections, and so con-
tinued until his death, in 1865. Of the long
and varied career of Mayor Johnson full de-
tails have already been given. Mayor C. P.
Smith was essentially a self-made man, and
was graduated from Dartmouth College in
1824, after paying his way through its classes
with his own earnings. He then studied law
and settled in Brooklyn, in 1837, where he
quickly built up a splendid practice. From
1835 until he was chosen as Mayor he was the
city's Corporation Counsel. The chief feature
of his whole career was, however, his devotion
to the cause of popular education, and he was
connected with the Board of Education for
thirty years, during twenty-one of which he
presided over its deliberations.
Joseph Sprague, who was elected Mayor in
1843, was a native of Leicester, Massachu-
setts, and he led a rather adventuresome and
disappointing business life until, in 181 1, he
married a member of the Debevoise family
and settled at Bedford, Brooklyn. He made
considerable money during the war of 1812.
From that time he became prominently identi-
fied with Brooklyn and was President of the
village from 1827 to 1832. He was one of
those who secured a charter for the Long
Island Bank and was one of the founders of
the Long Island Insurance Company. In 1834
he was chosen President of the Long Island
Insurance Company and carried that institu-
tion safely through the panic of 1837. As
Mayor he worked incessantly and honestly for
the welfare of Brooklyn, and although at first
he encountered strong opposition from those
hostile to him in politics his sterling honesty
and high administrative qualities slowly but
surely overcame all factious oppo'sition, while
his action in causing the arrest of several
members of the Board of Aldermen for mis-
demeanor, based on their neglect of public
business, demonstrated to all concerned that
though a man of placid. Christian character,
he was not to be trifled with. He was, almo'st
from the beginning of his connection with
Brooklyn, a worker on behalf of its religious
interests, and was one of those who, in 1822,
founded the First Presbyterian Church. He
was also prominent in Masonic circles and in
1826 was elected Master of Hohenlinden
Lodge, No. 56. He was re-elected Mayor in
1844 and may be said to have continued in
public life until his death, December 12, 1854.
T. G. Talmadge, who was elected Mayor in
1845, was a native of New Jersey who set-
tled in Brooklyn in 1840 and at once, seeming-
ly, became prominent in its public life. Al-
though successful as a business man, he was
a politician clear through, a Democrat "dyed-
in-the-wool," as they used to say, and he car-
412
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ried liis political ideas — his party dogmas and
cries — into everything he said or did. He
took a most active i-nterest in the develop-
ment of the Gowanus district, in which he held
considerable property and developed an en-
lightened public policy as President of the
Broadway Railroad Company. He acquired
much influence in the national councils of his
party, being at one time chairman of its Gen-
eral Committee, but he was not called upon to
hold any elective position outside of Brook-
lyn, and he died there May 4, 1863. ' At the
election for Mayor, in 1846, Talmadge was
again a candidate, but was defeated by his
Whig opponent, Francis Burdett Stryker.
Stryker was a worthy, but at the same
time a curious, product of American political
life. When he received the mayoralty nomina-
tion he was working as a journeyman car-
penter, but had previously held the elective
office of Sheriff, showing that he had built up
a strong following among the people. He was
re-elected Mayor in 1847, ^"tl again in 1848,
each time in face of strong opposition ; and
although his administration of the office could
not be called brilliant it was eminently safe,
while his practical knowledge of the wants of
the people and his devotion to them in many
trying times won him hosts of supporters, in-
dependent of party. Yet he was a strict party
man at all times, and every office he held came
to him as a reward for his political zeal and as
a result of his political influence.
His successor in the i\Iayoralty, in 1849,
was also a zealous Whig, Edward Copeland.
He was a graduate of Columbia College, a
scholar, a good business man, and a safe
administrative official. For many years he was
a member of the Board of Education and it
was probably in connection with that body his
best work was done. He was succeeded as
Mayor by a Democrat, Samuel Smith, who,
however, only served from April, 1850, to the
close of that year, an amendment to the city
charter making subsequent official terms begin
with the calendar year. His opponent for the
civic prize was J. S. T. Stranahan, whom he
defeated only by some 300 votes. Stranahan
was at that time comparatively a stranger in
Brooklyn. Smith belonged to an old Long
Island family, and had carried a musket dur-
ing the War of 1812 as a member of the Wash-
ington Fusiliers. Originally a cooper by trade,
Smith had managed to acquire some real es-
tate near what is now Fulton street, after-
ward added to it by extensive purchases around
tlie present Schermerhorn and Smith streets,
and went into farming to hold his property
together, and earn his living and pay his taxes
while waiting for the rise in value, which he
saw was inevitable. When it came he found
himself wealthy, and all through his life he
continued to be a shrewd but honest dealer in
Brooklyn real estate. He was elected Mayor
with the view of introducing economy in local
aft'airs, and this he certainly succeeded in ac-
complishing, as far as his limited term of
service gave him opportunity.
The whirligig of politics at the following
election gave him a Whig successor, in Conk-
lin Brush, who held the Mayor's office for two
years, and also gave the city a good business
administration. To his exertions and busi-
ness instinct Brooklyn was largely indebted
for the successful establishment of the At-
lantic Docks, of which he was elected a Di-
rector at the formation of the company, in
1840; and as President of the Mechanics'
Bank, of Birooklyn, he judiciously used the re-
sources of that institution in furthering the
commercial interests of the city at large.
At the election of 1853 politics see-sawed
again and a Democrat was chosen to the ex-
ecutive office. Edward A. Lambert, the last
of the Mayors of the first City of Brooklyn,
as it is commonly called, was a native of New
York Citv, but removed across the East River
at an early age. As Mayor he strove to re-
duce the expenses of the municipality and cer-
tainly succeeded in introducing several reforms
in the way of economy, while at the same time,
with the financial blindness of the period, he
THE FIRST CITY.
413
CTladly granted charters to such organizations
as street railroad companies practically for
nnniinal considerations. Of course at that era
in municipal history the value of such franchis-
es were decidedly unknown quantities, and as
Iiv their bestowal the general public was sup-
posed to be primarily benefited, such franchises
were generally freely given away, not alone
in Brooklyn, but in all other cities. Yet a little
of the shrewdness shown by private citizens
in buying and holding real estate might have
been applied to estimating the future value of
these gifts and made them of considerable
practical value to the treasury of the munici-
pality. Certainly in the case of the street car
lines, and their multiplicity in the main arteries
of Brooklyn, nothing contributed more to the
upbuilding of the city outside of the ferry
system, and in that way the community was
benefited ; but had such public franchises been
awarded from the first on a business basis, it
would have saved many hard feelings and
harsh words in the future. Mayor Lambert's
term was distinguished by the inauguration
of several public improvements, to which refer-
ence will be made in the course of this chap-
ter ; and it was also marked by plague and riot,
the latter the result of the bitterness of po-
litical feeling mainly between the citizens of
Irish birth and the local Know-Xothings, both
of which parties, or factions, or classes at the
time proved irreconcilable as the famed Kil-
kenny cats. When the rioting broke out
Mayor Lambert was enjoying a trip across the
ocean for the benefit of his health ; but on his
return he quietly put down the open turbu-
lence and his firm hand guided local affairs
into their usually calm current. He continued
active in public life after his retirement from
the City H^all, and during the Civil War was
prominent in local measures undertaken on
behalf of that great conflict and especially in
tlie memorable Sanitary Fair of 1864.
In recalling those citizens who presided
over the destinies of Brooklvn in what was
beyond a doubt the most critical period in her
history — the period of her development — the
name of the fourth I\Iayor, Henry Cruse Mur-
phy, has been reserved to the last for more
special mention, as he was not only the most
richly endowed, intellectually, of all his pred-
ecessors and successors in that office, but
because he became a figure of national im-
portance, and much of the higher intellectual
development that distinguishes Brooklyn at the
present day is due to his initiative and example.
A gifted man in every respect, a public-spirited
citizen, an able and accomplished lawyer, a
man of sterling honesty and purity of purpose,
inflexible in his pursuit of the right, yet warm-
hearted, generous and sometimes impulsive, he
was the very t,vpe of man most Americans de-
sire to see lifted up into high public station,
but who seldom are ambitious for such honors,
or care to be associated with active politics.
His grandfather, Timothy Murphy, emi-
grated from Ireland in 1766 and settled in
Monmouth county, New Jersey. Timothy
prospered in his new abode and saw active
service on the Patriotic side during the Revo-
lution. He grew rich as his years advanced,
married into a good family, and left four sons
and four daughters. The second of these sons,
John G. Murphy, settled in Brooklyn in 1808,
engaged in business as a millwright, held sev-
eral public offices, was the patentee and co-
inventor of the "horse" ferryboat system, and
acquired a comfortable competence. He died
in 1853; leaving four daughters and two sons.
The eldest of the latter, Henry C. Murphv,
was born in Brooklyn, July 5, 1810, was ed-
ucated for the legal profession and after he
was graduated at Columbia College entered
the office of Peter W. Radcliffe, in New York.
In 1833 he was called to the bar and at once
entered upon practice in Brooklyn. Success
came to him quickly. He was even then well
known in literary circles, and the local Demo-
cratic leaders had found him a brilliant speaker,
a quick debater and a zealous partisan, whose
loyalty was beyond question ; one who pos-
sessed, in fact, all the qualities that promised
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
future leadership. In 1834, within a year after
he had "hung out his shingle," he was ap-
pointed Assistant Corporation Council, and at
the Democratic State Convention that year, to
which he was a delegate, he received the honor
of the Chairmanship of the Committee on
Resolutions. In 1835 Mr. Miu-phy formed a
professional partnership with John A. Lott,
and not long afterward Judge Vanderbilt was
added to the alliance, which as Lott, Murphy
& Vanderbilt was for many years afterward
not only the leading legal firm in Brooklyn
but the heart of its political life, the local
headquarters of the Democratic party, the
abiding place of "the machine," as we would
call it nowadays. Mr. Murphy devoted him-
self mainly to the legal business of the firm,
retaining his activity in politics, however, and
seeking relaxation in literary work. In those
days he was recognized as one of the busiest
men in Brooklyn, and the calls upon his time
were many and incessant, for his personal pop-
ularity was unbounded.
In 1842 he was selected by his party as its
candidate for the Mayoralty of Brooklyn and
was elected. His platform was the old and
well-worn one of "retrenchment and reform,"
and he started to make good his promises of an
economical administration by reducing his own
salary and by instituting many judicious
changes which led to other economies. His
administration was of rare value to the city,
and was conducted on lines which advanced its
present and future interests, for he had an
abiding faith in the future of Brooklyn. As
Mayor he added greatly to his personal popu-
larity and this caused him to leceive, in 1843,
the Democratic nomination for congress from
the Second District. He was elected and served
one term, but was defeated when he presented
himself for re-election, owing to dissensions
in his party's ranks. In 1846, however, he was
again returned, and on the expiration of that
term he declined to be a candidate for re-elec-
tion. His legal business then demanded his
.entire attention and he devoted himself to it.
leaving politics for the time to take care of
itself. In 1852, however, he came to the front
again, in the public eye, for at the Democratic
National Convention, held in Baltimore that
year, he found himself a prominent candidate
for the Presidential nomination. That honor
fell, however, to Franklin Pierce and in the
contest which ended in the latter's election
Mr. Murphy took a prominent part and then
returned to his law practice. In 1857 Presi-
dent Buchanan appointed him Minister to The
HENRY C. MURPHY.
Hague. One of his biographers, Mr. L. B.
Proctor, writes :
As he had long been identified in the work
of rescuing from oblivion the early history of
our State, particularly that part which relates
to our first colonization by Holland, there was
something in the opportunity which this ap-
pointment offered eminently congenial to his
historic and literary taste, and this was the par-
amount reason for his accepting the position.
Before leaving for this new sphere of action,
a farewell banquet was given him at the Man-
sion House, Brooklyn. It took place August 5.
1857. -^ large number of his fellow citizens of
THE FIRST CITY.
415
all parties were present to testify to their high
respect for him. The occasion will long be re-
membered as one of the happiest social events
that ever took place in Brooklyn. In response
to a sentiment he made a brief, touching, fare-
well address, in the course of which he used
the following prophetic language, which recent
events have proved singuarly true: "It re-
quires," he said, "no spirit of prophecy to fore-
tell the union of the two cities, of New York
and Brooklyn, at no distant day; the river
which divides them will soon cease to be a line
ol separation, and, bestrode by the Colossus of
Commerce, will form a link which will bind
them together."
During his absence of three years at The
Hague, he found time to communicate a series
of thirty-five most interesting letters upon Hol-
land and other parts of Europe, to The Brook-
lyn Eagle, many of which were extensively
copied in other papers. As happens in most
cases of eminent jurists and statesmen occu-
pying places of commanding influence, Mr.
Murphy became a subject of invidious com-
ment, by which dull or prejudiced men seek to
disparage those gifts, and that influence, which
is beyond their own reach ; and there were
those who sought to injure Mr. Murphy, in at-
taching blame to certain acts of his while at
The Hague, and even launching the arrows of
detraction at him while at home. But these
were of short life, and his fair fame emerged
from them, and he continued to exercise great
influence, much of which was exerted in be-
half of his native city.
Recalled from The Hague by President
Lincoln in accoirdance with political usage,
Mr. Murphy strained every effort to aid in the
preservation of the Union he loved and the
Constitution he revered. He was zealous in
promoting enlistments, used his purse freely in
sending men to the front and was mainly in-
strumental in equipping two regiments. Dur-
ing the conflict between the States he was a
member of the State Senate and every war
measure in the Legislature found him an un-
wavering and liberal supporter. In 1866, and
again in 1868, he was prominently mentioned
as a candidate for Governor, and in 1875 he
■entered the lists for a seat in the United States
.'Senate, but after a long and somewhat acri-
monious contest he was defeated by Francis
Kernan.
While, in a certain sense, Mr. Murphy
failed of success in his aspirations for a place
in National politics, there is no question of the
eminent success of his position as one of the
upbuilders of Brooklyn. As Mayor he care-
fully watched over the entire interests of the
city, safeguarded its treasury, and fostered im-
provements. Such schemes as the improve-
ments of the water-front, the Atlantic Docks,
and the opening of great thoroughfares, like
^lyrtle avenue, were zealously promoted, and
in later life he procured the appropriation
which built the dry docks at the Navy Yard.
He interested himself particularly in the de-
velopment of Coney Island as a popular sum-
mer resort, believing that Brooklyn itself
would be benefited thereby, and he rendered
practical assistance to this end as President of
the Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Rail-
road. In the advancement of the ferry system
he was also an ardent worker, and the union
of the cities of New York and Brooklyn by
means of a bridge capable of carrying all sorts
of traffic was one of the dreams of his early
manhood which he lived to see fully realized.
When the plans for such a scheme were first
submitted he threw himself into the project
with all the enthusiasm of his nature, and
whether as President of the company which
first launched the plans for spanning the East
River, or afterward as one of the Trustees
representing the City of Brooklyn in the work,
he never wearied in rendering watchful assist-
ance or practical direction and advice while the
work progressed in the face of countless and
unforeseen obstacles.
To a certain extent it may be said that Mod-
ern Brooklyn is Senator Murphy's greatest and
most enduring monument. But time brings
about a strange forgetfulness of municipal
achievement and there is no gainsaying the fact
that his name will longer be recalled for his lit-
erary work than for anything else. A man of
scholarly attainments, he was all through his
41G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
life a diligent student, and history, especially
local history, had a deep, unwearying fascina-
tion for him. He gathered together in early
life a valuable library of books relating to
early American exploration and story of which
in later years he was justly proud, and he was
hardly settled in practice before he began an
investigation of the early history of Brooklyn,
which finally placed him at the head of all local
historians. He delighted also to study the rec-
ords of the early Dutch settlements, and for
this study he found ample scope during his
official residence at The Ha,gue. His work as
a student of history, however, found its richest
fruits in the aid he rendered in the organization
of the Long Island Historical Society, and in
the circular which first called that institution
into life his name appeared as the leader. To
its library and collection he proved a liberal
contributor, and in all its work — publications,
lectures, discussions, as well as building and
collecting — he was from its institution in 1864
until his death an unwearied worker. All
through his career he was a diligent contrib-
utor to the local newspaper i:ress and for a
brief period was editor of The Brooklyn Advo-
cate, the precursor of the Brooklyn Daily
Eagle. Of the latter paper he was at one time
proprietor, and many of his most charming
essays and interesting historical letters and
monographs appeared in its columns from the
dav it was first issued almost until he laid
aside his pen forever.
A full list of the works printed b}- }i[r.
]\lurphv follows ;
"A Catalogue of an American Library,
Chronologically Arranged" (589 titles). (Pri-
vately printed).
"The First Minister of the Dutch Reformed
Church in the L^nited States." (Privately
printed.) The Hague, 1857.
"Henry Hudson in Holland, an Enquiry
into the Origin and Objects of the Voyage
^vhicll led to the Discoverv of the Hudson
River." The Hague, 1859.'
"Anthology of the New Netherlands, or
Translations from the Earlv Dutch Poets of
New York." (Bradford Club.) New York,
1865.
"Poetry of Nieuw Neder-Landt; Compris-
ing Translations of Early Dutch Poems Re-
lating to New York, etc. 1866.
"The \'oyage of \'errazano." (Privately
])rinted.) Albany, 1875.
"Journal of a \'oyage to New York and a
Tour in Several of the American Colonies in
1679-80, by Jaspar Dankers and F'eter Sluy-
ler." L. 1. Historical Society, 1867.
Many of Mr, Murphy's most valuable pa-
pers, such as translations from the Dutch of
early voyages to America, etc., are entombed
and forgotten in the printed "Transactions"
of the New York Historical Society, of which
he was long a most active member. He died in
1882, leaving behind him a memory for a life
of good deeds and noljle aspirations which
ought ever to keep his name at the very head
of the long roll of distin.guished citizens ol
which Brooklyn is so justly proud.
Having thus, as in duty bound, paid our
respects to the Mayors, we may now consider
the progress of the cit\' under their respective
reigns. As has been said, they all filled, and
most of them filled well, their appointed places
in the community ; and, this much premised,
we may proceed to speak of the community
without much reference to the nominal lead-
ers. The time has gone by when the history
uf a nation is considered as told in a scries of
biographies of its rulers ; and Mayors, like
even greater potentates, must be relegated to
the background when we speak of The People.
^Vith tlic inauguration of the new city, as
was to be expected, an active era of public
improvement set in. A movement to purchase
some waste land at the Wallabout for a public
park was instituted by the- corporation and a
survey of the entire territory under the charter
was ordered and begun ; but it was not until
1839 that the Commissioners completed their
labors and were able to submit a report. Then
a scheme for a permanent water line, from
Jay street round to Red Hook, was prepared
by General J. G. Swift, and adopted, although
THE FIRST CITY.
417
its suggestions were iiot fully put into effect
for quite a number of years, and in fact were
not carried out at any time in full details as
the desire to encroach upon the river as much
as possible by filling in the shore line neces-
sitated constant change in the adopted plans.
But the glory of the new city, the outward
and patent sign of the new order of things,
was to be the projected Citv Hall, which be-
fore a stone was laid was regarded as certain
to prove an architectural wonder, the Taj
!Mahal of America. Building on the founda-
tion work was begun in the fall of 1835 and
oji April 28, 1836, ^Nlayor Trotter laid the
corner-stone, with the usual ceremonies and
amid much speech-making and rejoicing. An
idea of the intended magnificence of the edi-
fice may be gathered from the following con-
temporary description, which is quoted from
Prime's "History of Long Island :"
"Brooklyn City Hall, now erecting, is sit-
uated at the intersection of Fulton, Court, and
Joralemon streets, occupying an entire block,
forming a scalene triangle of 269 feet on Ful-
ton street, 250 on Court street and 222 on
Joralemon street. The exterior of the build-
ing is to be constructed of marble, and to have
porticoes on the three fronts, with columns
thirty-six feet 6 inches high, ornamented with
capitals of the Grecian order from the design
of the Tower of the Winds, resting on a
pedestal base seventeen feet high, which when
completed will be sixty-two feet from the
ground to the top of the cornice. The angles
are to be surrounded by domes, and rising
from the centre of the building will be a tower
of one hundred and twenty-five feet in height,
which will be enriched with a cornice and en-
tablature supported with caryatides standing
on pedestals. The whole will have a most
splendid and imposing appearance when fin-
ished. The interior will be finished in the most
chaste and durable style of architecture, calcu-
lated to accommodate the different public
offices, courts, etc."
For a time all seemed well ; but the work
had not progressed very far when the Brook-
lyn folks began to understand that they had
not fully reckoned with the question of cost,
and after beginning operations, as usual,
"with a rush," the bills began to pour in upon
the city with equal celerity. Contractors had
to be paid almost as soon as the foundation
work had been completed, and then almost
every 'resh course of stone called for a pay
ment to the builder. The public treasury was
by no means very plethoric, so before the walls
were on a level with the street payments be-
gan to be intermittent, the work began to flag,
the initiatory rush was over, interest in the
possession of an architectural wonder weak-
ened, and finally the financial panic of 1837
forced a cessation of all work. Little was said
regarding a City Hall for several years, but
during these years of reflection the Brooklyn
authorities had a chance to abandon the hank-
ering after architectural glory. While the
building lay thus unfinished and neglected,
Historian Prime endeavored to make the mel-
ancholy situation useful by pointing a moral.
He said: "This stupendous undertaking, al-
though arrested in its commencement by un-
controllable circumstances, not only consti-
tutes an important item in the early history of
the citv, but is fraught with instruction to in-
dividuals and communities. And as corpora-
tions as well as individuals often learn wisdom
by dear-bought experience, should these mass-
ive walls never rise higher the expenditures
may not be wholly in vain. They will stand
as a friendly beacon to warn the future guard-
ians of the city of the mistakes and errors of
by-gone days."
But useful as the moral might have been,
such a memorial of municipal miscalculation
could hardly be permitted to endure indefinite-
ly, no matter how many important lessons it
might present. In 1845 the plans were revised
and modified, all the Grecian porticos but one
were cut out, the caryatides were left severely
alone, the extent of the structure was abbrevi-
ated and simplicity everywhere took the place
418
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of ornament. After these changes work was
resumed and by 1849 the City Hall was com-
pleted as we have it to-day. Although shorn
of its intended gorgeousness it is a beautiful
structure, and its elegant proportions always
delight the eye. Although, architecturally, it
cannot compare with the beautiful edifice
which is the headquarters of New York's
Civic Government, there is much about it to
admire, — perhaps more than if the original de-
signs had been carried out in their entirety,
for it seems to us these designs attempted to
accomplish too much, and their completed re-
sults would have given us an architectural
atrocity which would have been laughed at in-
stead of eliciting the anticipated praise.
The financial panic which finally sealed the
fate of the original designs for the City Hall
was felt all over the country. Into its general
causes we have no need here to enter: its ori-
gin and its story of disaster belong to the
general history of the United States. So far
as Brooklyn was concerned its results were
mainly felt in a more rigorous safeguarding
■of financial resources than in any great excess
of local business failures. Certainly the con-
secjuent dullness of trade was felt, and felt
keenly, in Brooklyn: the prices of the neces-
saries of life rose sharply and as usual in such
crises the poor suffered severely, but the local
stringency and depression were Init the reflex
of what the country was experiencing. On
May 10 the banks in New York City suspend-
ed specie payments, and on the following day,
as the result of the advice of a hurriedly called
public meeting of citizens, the Brooklyn banks
adopted a similar course. It took exactly a
year for matters to right themselves, and dur-
ing the continuance of the commercial disturb-
ances the people were taught two very valu-
able lessons: First, that the administration
in Washington was at the head of the financial
interests of the nation, and that paper stamped
or printed and circulated as money was not
money.
But the disaster of 1837, having no local
foundation, soon lost its effect in Brooklyn
and the march of improvement and develop-
ment was again taken up. The most notable
feature in this was the inauguration of the
Atlantic Docks enterprise already referred to.
In 1840 Daniel Richards organized a company
with a capital of $1,000,000 and bought some
forty acres of what was practically waste land
along Buttermilk Channel from Red Hook
northward — a tract of marsh, inlet, low, idle,
washed fiats and mud banks — with the view
of turning the property into a gigantic basin
with a series of warehouses, so that the largest
merchant vessels might there discharge or re-
ceive their cargoes. The project was pushed
forward vigorously and many of the brightest
business men of Brooklyn became connected
with it. Work began on June i, 1841 ; cribs
of piles were built, ponds were deepened and a
stone bulkhead outlined the water's front. The
soil removed to make the main basin was used
to fill in shallows and inlets behind the bulk-
head and on the solid ground thus formed the
first of the warehouses was commenced in
May, 1844. Four years later the splendid line
of warehouses half a mile long presented a
magnificent unbroken front to the bay except
in the centre, where a passage some 200 feet
wide permitted vessels to enter the basin. All
this work drew renewed attention to the sec-
tion in which it was situated and so the pros-
perity of South Brooklyn, as it came to be
called, had its real beginning. In 1848 Mr.
Richards petitioned the Common Council for
permission to open thirty-five new streets in
the vicinity. Other improvements followed
and the commercial success of the enterprise
made most of these improvements permanent.
The Atlantic Docks have proved a great factor'
in Brooklyn's business life. The main basin
has an area of forty acres and a depth of
twenty-five feet, and can be entered at any
state of the tide. The total wharfage is about
two miles, and the pier head facing Butter-
milk Channel is 3.000 feet long. The ware-
houses are substantial two to five-storv struc-
THE FIRST CITY
419
tures of brick and granite, and now cover an
area of twenty acres, while beside thern are
nine steam grain elevators, one of which can
raise 3,000 bushels an hour. Such facilities
have caused the Atlantic Docks to become
famous in shipping circles the world over and
have made Brooklyn one of the leading grain
depots of the world.
Another improvement, one of even more
direct public utility, was the development of
the system of public transit throughout the
city. In 1840 a line of omnibuses was run be-
tween Fulton Ferry and East Brooklyn, and
in 1845 'I similar service was established be-
tween Fulton and South Ferries. In 1854 the
Brooklyn City Railroad Company was incor-
porated and by July of the following year
several of its routes were opened, notably
those of Fulton street, and Myrtle avenue and
Flushing avenue, with the Ferry as their start-
ing points. It was not long thereafter before
omnibuses became a thing of the past ; even
Montgomery Queen's stage line between the
Ferry and Wallabout, splendid service though
it rendered in its day, had to give way to the
street car.
Several efforts to provide an adequate
water supply for the city were made during
the time covered by this section, but without
avail. In 1853 several streams and ponds
necessary to a supply of water were purchased
by the authorities, at a cost of $44,000; but
when the question of taking steps to bring
about an ample and complete supply was sub-
mitted to the taxpayers as the law demanded,
the matter was invariably voted down. There
is no doubt that in this as in some other things
Brooklyn was decidedly slow, and slow in de-
fiance of her own best interests. For instance,
it was not until 1848 that gas was introduced
into the city, over twenty years after it had
been successfully introduced across the river,
where its success as an illuminator couW read-
ily have been seen. Still gas was a luxury,
and its introduction into the dwellings of the
people was apt to be attended with so much
"muss" and discomfort that it is not to be
wondered at that the citizens, unaccustomed to
its comfort and convenience, were apathetic
concerning it. But we cannot conceive why
they were so strangely indifferent to the abso-
lute necessity of a full and unfailing water
supply, even were it for no more than the pro-
tection of their own lives and property from
fire. That scourge had several times asserted
itself a sufficient number of times to have
served as a significant assurance that addi-
tional protection was absolutely needed.
The most memorable of these illustrations
was that given on the night of September 7,
1848, when flames were seen to burst out of
a frame building on Fulton street, near Sands
street. The wind was high and with incredi-
ble swiftness the flames spread until the whole
block back to Henry street was a seething,
hissing mass. Then the flames leaped across
Middagh and Fulton streets. Sands street to
Washington street was quickly doomed, and
so was the territory between High street and
Concord street on one side, and Middagh and
Orange across Fulton street, as well as both
sides of Fulton street from Poplar street to
Pineapple. In fact between Henry and Wash-
ington streets and Sands and Pineapple and
Concord streets but little was left standing.
Brooklyn's fire force could do nothing to stop
the progress of the flames and twenty-five en-
gines which went to the scene from New York
were powerless to render much aid, if any, on
account of the scarcity of water, and it was
only by the seamen and marines from the
Navy Yard blowing up the houses in the line
of the fire that its progress was finally checked.
The loss was estimated at $1,500,000, and
among the buildings destroved were three
churches, — Sands street Methodist, the Bap-
tist, and First Universalist, — as well as the
Post Ofiice and the offices of "The Star" and
"The Freeman" newspapers. The details of
this disaster should have proved a salutary
lesson as to the immediate need of an abundant
water supply, but it failed in this regard, al-
420
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
though the widening of FuUon street along
the Hne of destruction was one beneficial result
that came from the calamity. Two years later
another serious warning came, when several
warehouses in Furman street went up in
smoke and involved a loss of some $400,000.
Then it began to be apparent, even to the
most close-fisted taxpayer, that a water supply
was a prime necessity, as it had long been evi-
dent to the thinking part of the population,
and serious efforts were made to hit upon a
scheme that could meet with popular favor.
But when the question of cost presented itself,
the desire again died out, and plan after plan
was suggested without the slightest success.
Even the spectacular effect of the destruction
of Colonnade Row, on the Heights, on Dec.
20, 1853, did not arouse the people anew to a
sense of their danger, for when on June i, the
following year, a plan was submitted for a full
water system with a reservoir at Cypress Hills,
it was rejected by 6,402 votes out of a total of
9,015 cast. Still it was only too evident that
some complete system was bound to come, and
those who most keenly realized the danger did
not lose sight of the project until, as we will
see in a subsequent chapter, it was success-
fully accomplished. One result of the confla-
grations named, and many less conspicuous
or disastrous ones, however, was the organiza-
tion of the various hose companies into a Fire
Department, in 1855, under a central board.
Up to that time and indeed for some years
afterward a fire company was more of a polit-
ical machine than anything else.
There was another direction in which the
pressing need of a plentiful water supply was
indicated, although at that time the need was
not so well understood as it is in our more en-
lightened days. That was its great helpful-
ness in fighting zymotic diseases. Of visita-
tion from such diseases Brooklyn had its full
share in the past, and even under the enlarged
powers of city government the visits contin-
ued. In May, 1849, it was announced that
cholera had broken out, a case being reported
from a house in Court street; but as the dis-
ease had been raging in New York for some
time its appearance in Brooklyn did not occa-
sion much surprise. It continued its ravages
until near the close of September, causing 642
deaths. Most of these fatal cases were from,
overcrowded neighborhoods, where filth, pov-
erty and drunkenness abounded, or from
houses on low ground where stagnant water
filled the cellars or lay in deep pools in front
on the highways, or in the rear yards. Many
fatal cases came from dwellings on tlie river
front ; and could the story of the visitation
have been rightly interpreted it would have
been perceived that a plentiful supply of water
and a proper regard for sanitary conditions
would have lessened the death rate by a half
or even more. Another visit of the same dread
scourge in the summer of 1854 swelled the or-
dinary death figure for the year by 656.
Such outbreaks undoubtedly represented
either a lack of knowledge on the subject, or
popular disregard, or both, as to the means by
which they might be prevented or their conse-
quence mitigated; and such remarks might
also be made of another episode in the history
of the time now under consideration, which
was not creditable to the city government or
to the mass of its citizens.
This was the riot of April 4, 1844, between
native American citizens and citizens or resi-
dents of Irish birth in the vicinity of Dean and
Wyckofif streets, and which was only ended by
calling out the militia. It was a part, in fact,
of a long series of irrepressible conflicts-
caused by the bitterness engendered by the
Know-Nothing movement and which theru
raged all over almost all States. But the pres-
ence in Brooklyn of a large Irish contingent
and of such a big majority of native-l:)orn citi-
zens ought to have kept the authorities on the
alert to prevent any outbreak such as that
which did occur. So excited was popular feel-
ing in this instance that the militia had to re-
main under arms all night patrolling the dis-
trict.
^■2-2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
There were many companies of militia
then in Brooklyn, — the Light Guards, City
Guard, Continental Guard and others. In fact
there had been no lack of martial spirit since
the days of the War of 1812, but in most
cases we fear it was the uniform that attracted
the recruits rather than any burning desire to
aid in the maintenance of harmony or the
preservation of the State. Each company was
a separate organization, each had its own uni-
form, and considerable rivalry was shown as
to which would secure the most gorgeous.
Discipline in all of them was lax, drill was
confined mainly to marching so as to be ready
for a parade, and rifle shooting was rather re-
garded as a pastime than a serious business.
It was seen that all these conditions should be
improved, and that the city ought to have a
military arm which should at once be worthy
of it and prove of practical Uie should the oc-
casion arise. The riot of 1846 and the various
lesser conflicts between the civil authority and
the citizens showed how useful an efficient mil-
itary force could be. In 1844 several of the
separate companies were organized into a
regiment — the Fourteenth — but as each com-
pany wore its own uniform and made and in-
terpreted, to a great extent, its own laws, the
regimental institution was mainly a paper one.
In 1856 the Thirteenth Regiment was similar-
ly formed out of separate companies, the firsi
of which had an existence since 1827. It was
not until the outbreak of the Civil war that
Brooklyn really had a trained military force
among her resources.
The police force was a semi-political ma-
chine, and, while it is not to be inferred from
that that it did not do its full duty to the best
of its ability, still its political complexion pre-
vented it from acquiring a full measure of
efficiency. Then it should be remembered that
the force was small and the extent of territorv
under its care was wide and the population
somewhat scattered. When the city came into
existence J. S. Folk was at the head of the
force, which consisted of 247 men, some of the
outlying districts retaining small forces of
their own. In 1850 a fully equipped police de-
partment for the entire city was formed and
this continued to preserve the peace until as
the result of a villainous act of political chi-
canery, Brooklyn in 1857 was merged into the
Metropolitan Police District, and the police
control virtually fell into the hands of New
York City politicians. It got rid of that iniqui-
tous political scheme in 1870, passed again
under local control and continued as a separate
institution until the final stage of consolidation
— when Brooklyn as a city ceased to exist.
But enough has been said of fires and chol-
era and the police, and attention may now be
turned to the directions in which the city was
making real progress to metropolitan great-
ness. In 1844 the Association for Improving
the Condition of the Poor was organized,
mainly through the efiforts of Senator Mur-
phy. In 1848 the City Hospital, by a gift of
$25,000 from Mr. Augustus Graham, was put
in possession of an endowment fund, while a
few years later !Mr. John B. Graham provided
the city with an Old Ladies' Home. The
Brooklyn Athenaeum was started i 1 1852 and
the Packer Collegiate Institute for Girls, or-
ganized in 1854. carried on the work of the
Brooklyn Female Academy. The value of real
estate steadily advanced year after year and
the city continued to spread out in all direc-
tion.s. In 1835 its population was 24,310: in
1840 it had increased to 36,233; in 1845 the
figures were 59.574, and in 1853 they had
swelled to almost 120,000. Brooklyn then had
all the elements of trade to insure its contin-
ued prosperity. Its docks were, in 1853. the
wonder of America, and some of its indus-
tries, notably that of white lead, in which the
philanthropic brokers, Augustus & J. B. Gra-
h.am, were leading factors, far exceeded in the
value of their annual output that of any other
place in the world. In 1853 taxalilc property
amounted to $12,000,000, it had fifteen public
schools, and libraries in abundance. Nine car-
riers, however, sufficed to deliver the mail
THE FIRST CITY.
423.
from the postoffice at 337 Fulton street, — a
small number indeed; but it must be remem-
bered that people wrote less frequently then
than now, that the age of the advertising cir-
cular had not arrived and that people were
more in the habit of calling for their mail than
in these later days.
That Brooklyn was extending and grow-
ing there was no question. Hardly a month
passed that some farm did not find itself
transformed from bearing crops into city
property bearing houses, and it was then that
Brooklyn first applied to itself the title of City
of Homes, the right to which it disputed with
Philadelphia until it assumed the more digni-
fied epithet of the "City of Churches." In
connection with the steady increase in the pop-
ulation it was even then admitted that the
cause of this was the steady migration of men
doing business in New York to homes in
Brooklyn. Even ]\Ir. Prime noticed this fact
and expressed some fear lest such citizens
should neglect the duties which they owed as
citizens to their place of residence. But the
very opposite proved to be the case. A man's
heart is generally in his home, and while for
a time such new-comers might regard them-
selves as New Yorkers they soon came to look
upon themselves as Brooklynites pure and
simple and to become among the most devoted
of its citizens. The old gibe that Brooklyn
was New York's bedroom was never used by
a resident of Brooklyn but by some disap-
pointed inhabitant of Gotham who was unable
to change his environment from circumstances
which very likely in his heart of hearts he re-
gretted. In Brooklyn a man could own a
home, could live amid all the influences of
wholesome surroundings and pleasant society
and at the same time be within as easy reach
of his office, or store or factory as though he
had no ferry to cross. At that time, 1853,
Brooklyn's means of transit, poor as they were
in comparison with those now existing, were
far superior to those in its twin city.
Xn better test of the progress of a city can
be found than in its newspaper press, and it is
fitting that some reference should here be
made to that of Brooklyn. Mention has al-
ready been made of Printer Kirk's journalistic
ventures and the connection of Alden Spooner
with the "Long Island Star" beginning with
iSii. "The Long Island Patriot," issued in
182 1 by George L. Birch, an Irishman, was
carried on under that title until 1833, when it
was changed to "The Brooklyn Advocate"
and published by James A. Bennett. Under
his regime Senator Murphy was its principal
editorial writer, finding in the opportunity
thus afforded (there was no money in it) an
excellent sphere of practice for his pen. In
1835 its title was again changed and it became
"The Brooklyn Advocate and Nassau Ga-
zette," which lengthy cognomen it retained
until its suspension in 1839. I'^ i834 ^ new
candidate for public favor appeared in the
"Brooklyn Daily Advertiser." It became an
evening paper within a few months, then
sought support as a morning issue and finally
resumed its position as an evening paper, and
as the "Native American Citizen and Brook-
lyn Evening Advertiser" became the organ of
the Know-Nothings. It fell into the news-
paper morgue with the decline of that political
sentiment. "The Brooklyn Daily News" was
commenced in 1840 and after a brief career
was merged with the "Long Island Daily
Times," but the combination failed to win pop-
ular support and the effort ceased in 1843.
"The Brooklyn Evening Star" was issued by
Col. Spooner in 1841 (after two previous un-
successful efforts, in 1827 and 1834) and con-
tinued to figure in Brooklyn journalism until
1862, when it was compelled to suspend, the
following year, 1863, witnessing the suspen-
sion of Spooner's once popular sheet, the
"Long Island Star." Long before that hap-
pened, however, Alden Spooner had ceased
from his labors, having passed away Nov. 24,
1848. The other journalistic ventures in
Brooklyn of this period are hardly worthy of
being even mentioned ; they were merely "poor
424
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
sons of a day" and retain an interest only for
the local antiquary, and but a passing degree
of interest even for the most enthusiastic of
these. The literary merit of those fleeting
sheets was most conspicuous by its absence.
To all this, however, an exception must be
made in favor of what is now, and has been
almost since its first issue, the most successful
and influential paper published on Long
Island, — the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Lately
indeed it has boldly wandered forth from its
insular domain and demanded a place among
the great metropolitan dailies, and its demand
in that respect has been very generally allowed.
Indeed it is difficult to see how it could be de-
nied. A perfect and complete epitome of the
news of the world its- matter well edited, its
news stories clear and logical, and jts editorial
page bristling with clear cut comment on
events of the day, — comments which carry a
vast amount of weight into the political and'
social life, not alone of Long Island but of
Greater New York and the nation; a news-
paper that is at once literary, scientific, re-
ligious and social, every issue of which is a
reflex of all that is going on at home or abroad,
of all that interests a farmer, a preacher, a
professional man, a merchant, a mechanic,
which appeals with equal force and renders
equal service to the teacher in his sanctum and
the man about town, — it renders a faultless
service and fully deserves the honorable posi-
tion it has won and holds. Its origin was very
humble. The first number was issued Octo-
ber 26, 1841, with the primal purpose of serv-
ing as a campaign sheet for the local Democ-
racy, and, secondly, with the view of testing
public opinion and sentiment as to the pros-
pects for a daily newspaper devoted to that
party. Senator Henry C. Murphy was its real
proprietor and editor, although in the latter
capacity he shared the work with the once cele-
brated author of the "Moon Hoax," Richard
A. Locke. Its success was immediate, and
this, coupled with the triumph at the polls of
the policy it had espoused, seemed to warrant
its continuance as a daily institution.
Throwing oft' its campaign features, it
commenced its career as a daily newspaper
Dec. 27, 1842, under the editorial care of Will-
iam B. Marsh, who won for it an enduring
measure of success prior to his death, in 18.4.6.
Before that, the paper had been purchased by
Isaac Van Anden, who continued to publish it
until 1870, when he sold the property to an
association of leading Brooklyn citizens, who
turned its proprietorship into a joint stock
company, and so it remains. Under such
editorship as that of Henry McCloskey, Walt
Whitman, Thomas Kinsella, William Wood
and its present head, St. Clair McKelway, its
course has been one of uniform success ; and
its policy, while honestly and purely Demo-
cratic, has ever been maintained free from
party dictation o the influence of any political
machine. National, State or Municipal. For
many years its office on lower Fulton street
near the old ferry was one of the landmarks
of Brooklyn, but the changes caused by the
opening of the bridge rendered that location
undesirable, and since 1892 it has occupied a
magnificent building erected for its own use
on a site which for half a century prior to
1868 was that of the St. John's Episcopal
Church, and in 1871 was occupied by the ill-
fated Brooklyn Theatre, which was destroyed
by fire, Dec. 5, 1876, under most appalling cir-
cumstances.
Although, as we have seen, bountifully
supplied during the period covered by this sec-
tion of its historv. with newspapers, Brooklyn
could not be described as having much literary
distinction. Most of her best work in that de-
partment belongs to a later period, and such
literary souls as she did produce had to search
elsewhere for their bread and butter, which
things are as essential to literature as to me-
chanics. Oliver Bell Bunce, once known as a
novelist whose most popular book was a little
work entitled "Don't," pointing out mistakes
THE FIRST CITY,
425
"in the use of the EngHsh language, is some-
times regarded as belonging to Brookh'n ; but
on what ground, beyond that of temporary
residence in it, seems difficult to point out. So,
too, with John G. Saxe, the poet, who certain-
ly resided in Brooklyn for a time and wrote
much of his verse there, but never somehow
became identified with it. For a time it might
be said he was in Brooklyn, but not of it.
It seems hard to have to put a native Long
Islander and a poet of world-wide renown in
the same category, but it seems to be that
which fits Walt Whitman the most truly. Born
in West Hills, Suffolk county, May 31, 1819,
he was educated mainly in Brooklyn. After a
time of wandering, during which he learned
the trade of printer, he returned to that city
where he for a time was editor of the "Eagle,"
and engaged in business as a printer. It can
hardly be said that he was a success either as
an editor or as a business man, or that he iden-
tified himself much with Brooklyn. He speaks
of its "beautiful hills," but its central point of
attraction for him was the ferry, and his heart
was more in the Manhattan than on the Long
Island shore. Still there seems no doubt that
it was in Brooklyn he wrote the twelve poems
which in 1855, in a small quarto of ninety-five
pages, made up the first edition of "Leaves of
Grass ;" and it was in Brooklyn also that much
of the additional verses under that head that
were contained in the second edition, which
appeared in the following year. Both editions
were published in New York, and soon after
their publication Whitman ranked only as a
visitor to the island of his birth, — "Pauman-
ok," as he liked to call it.
Gabriel Furnam, to whom every writer ofi
Brooklyn's history is under a deep debt of
gratitude, might have attained a considerable
position in the world of literature had he so
applied himself. He was a man who natur-
ally possessed vast industry, wonderful capac-
ity for research, a keen and critical judgment,
and no one can read the manuscripts he has
left without admitting that he was a most
zealous worker. His literary style was clear,
nervous, and sometimes exceedingly graphic,
and as a public speaker and lecturer he nev^r
failed to charm his audiences. On the history
and the antiquities of Brooklyn and Long
Island he was a perfect encyclopaedia, and his
vast stores of what might be called "local
learning" were at anyone's service. He was
born in Brooklyn in 1800 and died in that city
in 1853. In early life he studied law and in
1827 was appointed a Justice in the Municipal
Court, serving for three years. In 1837 he
was chosen to ,the State Senate and remained
a member of that body until 1842, when he
ran for the office "of Lieutenant Governor on
the Whig ticket and was defeated. Then he
retired from public life and devoted himself
to his books. He had, however, in some way,
acquired the opium habit, and indulgence in
that cursed weakness crushed out whatever
ambition he originally had and gradually left
him physically and financially a wreck, and
that result was only too evident at the very
time when he ought to have been in the zenith
of his powers. It deadened his brain, exhaust-
ed his power of initiative and capacity for
work, even for thought ; and his death, in the
Brookh-n City Hospital, was a sad end to a
career that was for a time so useful, and
seemed so full of promise. In 1824 Furman is-
sued his only book, — "Notes, Geographical and
Historical, Relative to the Town of Brook-
lyn." It was reprinted in 1875. along with the
contents of a manuscript volume, "Long
Island Antiquities and Early History," which
was picked up in a bookstore by Frank Moore,
a well-known historical student, who edited
the volume and gave it to the world.
"Sfg2tS2tg2tS2i£2tg2tg2t^
CHAPTER XXXVl.
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
Bishop LouGiiLm, Dr. Bethune, St. Ann's Holy Tiunity — Dr. Storrs, Henry
Ward Beecher — Land Operations — Greenwood and Other Ceme-
teries— The Ferries — Work at the Xa\y Yard.
\KL\G it all in all. the purely liter-
ary life of Brooklyn in this eijoch
is hardly worth recalling. But its
intellectual development then cen-
tred in the church and in its hands nothing
was neglected of those very influences which
have led to lasting results in literature, in art,
in science, and in all the amenities which call
out the higher and richer phases of intellect
and character and which makes society nobler
and purer and life better worth living. The
era covered by this section was one of rapid
development and growth among the churches
of all creeds or denominations. It saw the
Roman Catholic body so increased as in 1853
to entitle Long Island to be constituted into
a diocese with the late Bishop Loughlin at its
head, antedating by several years the advent
of a Protestant Episcopal bishop; for it was
not until 1869 that that body attained that dig-
nity.
As might be expected, the old Dutch Re-
formed Church was the strongest religious
organization in Brooklyn, and it maintained
its hold even in the midst of what men then
called "Liberal discussion" and "modern
thought." To the old First Church, which in
1835 was settled- in its third building, on Joral-
enion street, there was added in 1837 the Sec-
ond, or "Reformed Dutch Church on the
Heights." Two years later that congregation
built a churcli on Henry street, near Clark
street; but in 1850 a more imposing structure
was erected on Pierrepont street and over that
society, from 1847 until 1859, the Rev. George
W. Bethune presided as pastor, and by his elo-
quence in the pulpit, his activity in passing
affairs, his eminence as a scholar and his orig-
inality as a thinker, writer and poet, made it
become the first of Brooklyn's churches to ac-
quire a measure of national fame. Dr. Beth-
une, more than any man in that era, could
have invested Brooklyn with a literary repu-
tation, or raised up within it a literary cult;
but such of his writings as were given to the
public while one of Brooklyn's pastors, he
published elsewhere, sought as it were a differ-
ent public for the fruits of his pen, while the
work of the church itself engrossed his daily
life in the city in which for so many years his
lot was cast and which yet holds his memory
in reverence. His later years were clouded
by ill health, and he died at Florence, in 1862.
His remains, however, were brought across
the Atlantic and laid in Greenwood beside
those of his father, Divie Bethune, the first
of New York's merchant philanthropists, and
his famous grandmother, the sainted Isabella
Graham.
The Dutch Reformed Church steadily
reached oiit all over the city limits during the
period now under notice, engaged as it were,
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
427
in active missionary work, in marked distinc-
tion to its old centralizing and conservative
spirit. In rapid succession it had more or less
flourishing congregations at Gowanus, the
W'allabout, East New York, as well as in other
points where the population was growing.
But in missionary work the Episcopal
Church showed equal strength and energy with
the pioneer Dutch body. When this period now
lieing reviewed opened in reality Protestant
Episcopalianism regarded Brooklyn as but one
parish, with two churches, St. Ann's and St.
John's. By the time the period closed it had
organized and housed — generally in splendid
.temples — no fewer than fifteen new congrega-
tions, including the palatial Trinity. Into the
story of these congregations we cannot here
enter into detail ; but three may be selected for
Ijrief mention, mainly because they illustrate,
in more or less degree, the progress of all the
others. The early history of St. Ann's Church
has already been referred to. In 1835 it was
under the rectorship of the Rev. Benjamin
Clarke Cutler, and gradually gathering around
it all the usual agencies for active church work,
a Sunday-school, library, orphan asylum, etc.
Dr. Cutler's pastorate continued until his
death, in 1863. The Rev. Lawrence H. Mills
was chosen as his successor and under him the
church left its old house of worship on Wash-
ington street (the terminus of the Brooklyn
bridge now runs across the site) and wor-
shipped in its chapel at Clinton and Livingston
streets. The Rev. Dr. Noah H. Schenck suc-
ceeded Mr. Mills in 1867, and in 1869 the
present magnificent building used by the con-
gregation was completed. The old burial
ground of the church on Fulton street, near
Clintcn street, after being unused for many
years, was abandoned altogether in i860, the
human remains in it were disinterred and a
suite of business premises — St. Ann's Build-
ings— was erected on the site. Dr. Schenck
died in 1886, and the present rector, the Rev.
B. F. .'Msop, was called. As a condition of a
gift of $70,000, made in 1878 by Mr. R. Fulton
Cutting, the seats in St. Ann's are free. This
gift removed all the indebtedness of the church
and enabled it to begin a new era of active
zealous Christian work. Its revenues are
large, its field of activities broad, its methods
liberal and its work has been singularly blessed.
The Church of the Holy Trinity might in a
sense be regarded as one among the many
daughters of St. Ann's, as its founders, Edgar
J. Bartow and his wife (Harriet C. Pierre-
pont), were long associated with the latter,
the husband as an oificer of and worker in the
Sabbath-school, and the wife as an active in-
strument in the charitable field which has ever
been a feature of St. Ann's. Mr. Bartow was
descended from an old Westchester family and
took up his residence in Brooklyn in 1830. In
business life he was a paper manufacturer, but
not a little of his once immense wealth came
from his shrewdness in taking advantage of
the rising tide of Brooklyn real-estate values.
Blessed with riches and animated by a sincere
desire to add to the spiritual blessings of
Brooklyn, Mr. Bartow and his wife in 1844
selected a site for a new church at Montague
and Clinton streets, engaged the services of
Minard Lefever, the most noted ecclesiastical
architect of his day, and erected a building
which for beauty of design and general adapt-
ability far surpassed any structure at that time
in the city. Its cost when completed was esti-
mated at $175,000, but no one ever knew the
exact figure, for every dollar was met bv Mr.
Bartow. The church was opened for Divine
service April 25, 1847, and the Rev. Dr. W. H.
Lewis became the first rector. The entire prop-
erty unfortunately continued in Mr. Bartow's
hands, as it had been his intention to complete
it according to the original designs. But in
1856 the embarrassed condition of his affairs-
forced him to realize on all his available estate,
and to his deep regret it became necessary to
dispose of the church property, along with the
rest. It was offered to the congregation for
$100,000 and the offer was accepted. Starting
out anew, as it were, inider a heavv load of
428
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
debt. Dr. Lewis continued his pastorate with
much success until i860, when he resigned and
.was succeeded by the Rev. Dr. A. H. Little-
john, afterward first Protestant Episcopal
Bishop of Brooklyn. For a long time the finan-
cial condition of the church was one of the
wonders of Brooklyn. It seemed so burdened
that relief appeared an impossibility and ru-
mors were frequently heard that the congre-
gation would be compelled to abandon its
princely edifice and seek a humbler shelter.
But wise counsels prevailed, the people held
on, able heads managed the finances, and slow-
ly but surely the debt gradually disappeared,
the building was completed according to its
original designs, with its beautiful spire ; the
rectory, abandoned in the time of despair, was
repurchased, and its financial ability for ag-
gressive church work was placed on an equal
footing with any in the city.' In 1869, when
Bishop Littlejohn was consecrated, he was suc-
ceeded as rector of Holy Trinity by the Rev.
Charles H. Hall, whose ministry was one of
the most practically successful of any in the
fruitful story of Brooklyn's churches. He re-
mained in charge of the parish until his death,
Sept. 12, 1895. The present pastor is the Rev.
S. D. McConnell. The membership is now
over 1,100, and the church property is valued
at $400,000, while not a penny of debt rests
upon it.
The third church selected tells us another
story of advancement and illustrates a dififerent
method of Christian work and church up-
building, and it brings before us a zealous la-
borer in the vineyard, one whose name and
works are not, it is to be feared, as widely re-
membered in Brooklyn as they ought to be.
Until the day of his death, in 1865, no person-
ality was better known or more kindly regard-
ed in the city than that of the Rev. Evan John-
son. He was born at Newport, R. I., June 6,
1792, and was there ordained in 1813. After
a brief service as curate in Grace Church, New
York City, he became rector of the Episcopal
Church at Newtown, Long Island, in 1814.
The same year he married Maria, daughter of
John B. Johnson. Through her he acquired
some property, and for a number of years' he
not only attended faithfully to the duties of
his church but managed successfully the afifairs
of a large farm which he owned. After his
wife's death, in 1825, he determined to remove
from Newtown, and, selling his farm for
$4,000, he settled, in the following year, 1826,
in Brooklyn, where at his own expense he
bought land and erected St. John's Church. To
the congregation he gathered there he minis-
tered for twenty years, seeing it steadily grow-
ing in membership and usefulness, but all the
time decl ning to accept a cent for his services.
Indeed it was his boast in his latter days that
he had preached and filled all the duties of a
pastorate for forty years without any monetary
remuneration ! In 1847, finding that St. John's
was self-supporting, he sold the building and
ground to the congregation and with the
money thus received proceeded to put in oper-
ation a project he had long cherished, — the
erection of another church in a section of the
city where poverty abounded and religion did
not. Hiring a room in Jackson street, he com-
menced holding Divine services in that small
apartment in September, 1847. This was the
beginning of St. Michael's. The congregation
grew so rapidly that in a few months he was
able to lease the old Eastern Market building,
on High street. There the church and parish
were duly incorporated and in time a self-sup-
porting and vigorous congregation was added
to the list of the successful Episcopal Churches
in Brooklyn. It now occupies an elegant build-
ing erected for its use on High street, and this,
with the adjoining rectory, is estimated as
worth $100,000. The church has 480 mem-
bers, no indebtedness, and raises annually
about $16,000 for church work.
During the period covered by this chapter
the Reformed Church added seven churches
to its number, the Lutherans four, the Meth-
odist Episcopal twelve, the Baptists twelve,
the Congregational nine, the Presbyterians
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
429'
eight, while the Roman CathoHc Church added
sixteen. These figures indicate a vast amount
of activity, and practically every section of the
city found itself more or less fully covered by
church influence. The field was large, the
workers were many, — so many in fact that it is
beyond the scope of this work even to attempt
to recall their names. Almost any selection
that could be made would be unjust to those
omitted, but it may be said that there was not
a better body, a more self-denying body, a
more energetic body of earnest, devoted Christ-
ian workers to be found anywhere than might
be found in the list of Brooklyn's preachers
during this division of its story. We read of
little troubles bothering a few of the congrega-
tions, we read of efforts made in the course of
Teaching out bemg unfortunate on account of
an error in judgment as to location or an error,
in calculation of resources on the part of en-
thusiastic workers, and now and again we read
of a pastor being compelled to stand aside on
account of his health breaking down under the
unceasing strain of his work. Such errors,
such drawbacks, such sorrows, however, were
unavoidable, and had but little effect on the
general result : and so, as we read the story of
Brooklyn church life during the years between
1834 and 1854, we see a strong body, a nervous
force, steadily reaching out in all directions
and leavening the whole into a Christian com-
munity, a lighted lamp set as it were upon a
hill and shedding its rays over all the land.
For it was in this period that Brooklyn in real-
ity became generally known as the "City of
Churches," and its churches acquired a meas-
ure of national fame.
Three men were conspicuous in bringing
all this about ; and as they have all three passed
beyond the veil and the value of their services
was so pre-eminent as to be beyond cavil, we
may close our study of the church life of the
first City of Brooklyn by recalling some of the
prominent features of their careers.
John Loughlin, the first Roman Catholic
Bishop of Long Island, was born in county
Down, Ireland, in 1816. Early in life he came
to America, settling for a time in Albany, N.
Y., and was educated for the priesthood at
Mount St. Mary's College, Emmittsburg,
Aid. In 1842 he was ordained priest and be-
came attached to St. Patrick's Cathedral, New
York, of which, in 1844, he became Rector.
He was subsecjuently appointed Vicar General
of the New York diocese, and was consecrated
as Bishop of Brooklyn October 3, 1853, by the
Papal Nuncio, the IMost Rev. Cajetan Bedini,
Archbishop of Thebes. Bishop Loughlin
named St. James's as his cathedral church and
thenceforth his life was bound up in the his-
tory of his diocese. Under him the Church
steadily extended, new parishes were opened
up in rapid succession, and schools and char-
ities quickly followed. The Bishop was a con-
sistent believer in active religious work, in,
work outside the pulpit, in the homes and the
social circles of his people. To aid in such
endeavor he introduced into his diocese, in
1855, the Sisters of St. Joseph and the Sisters
of Mercv, and he crowned, as he believed, his
church building work in 1868 when he had the
corner-stone of a cathedral and diocesan estab-
lishment laid by Archbishop jMcClosky, on a
splendid site at the junction of Carlton and
Vanderbilt- avenues. It was designed to be the
finest group of e,cclesiastical buildings on Long
Island, — to rival in fact anything of the kind in
America. But he did not live to see the work
completed. The buildings remain uncompleted
even to this day, although a part of the cathe-
dral has been opened for service and a palace
for the Bishop's residence has been completed,
a beautiful structure in keeping with the im-
portance and dignity of the office. Bishop
Loughlin continued sedulously to advance and
protect the vast interests committed to his care,
quietly and unostentatiously, but none the less
effectively, until his death, Dec. 29. 1891. It
may truly be said that on assuming the Bish-
opric he gave himself up wholly to his work,
and that the full story of his life in Brooklyn
would he but the story of the marvelous prog-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ress of his Church from 1853 until 1892. On
May 2, 1892, the Rev. Charles E. McDonnell
was installed as his successor. In writing of
the personal career of such a man as Bishop
Loughlin^the biographer is necessarily limited
as to its details. A true leader in such circum-
stances is essentially the head of a force, and
while his life is spent as the representative of
that force, and the leading director of its move-
ments, he more or less completely sinks his
personality in its direction. Such- self-abnega-
tion, in fact, has been one of the causes of the
modern success of the Roman Catholic Church.
But in dealing with the career of such a
man as the late Rev. Dr. Storrs, his individu-
ality not only stands out in bold relief all
through his career but that individuality re-
flects its own characteristics upon the church
with which it is associated and gives it not
merely local but national importance, an im-
portance which generally passes away with its
creator although the church to which he minis-
tered may remain intact. To illustrate perhaps
..a little more plainly, it may be said that the
' Church of the Pilgrims was better known as
Dr. Storr's Church during that gifted man's
life-time than by its official designation.
Richard Salter Storrs was descended from
a long and illustrious line of New England
clergymen. His father, Richard S. Storrs, was
for sixty-two years pastor of the First Congre-
gational Church of Braintree, Mass. ; his
grandfather, who also bore the name of Rich-
ard Salter Storrs, was pastor of a Congrega-
tional Church at Long Meadow, JNIass., for
thirty-three years, and his great-grandfather
was a Chaplain in the Patriot army during the
American Revolution.
Richard S. Storrs was born at Braintree,
Mass., Aug. 21, 1821. He was graduated at
Amherst College in 183Q, and for a short time
was engaged as a teacher in Monson Academy.
It was apparently his idea at first to prepare
himself for the bar, for he entered the office of
Rufus Choate as a student. He abandoned law
for theology, however, and entered Andover
Seminary, where he was graduated in 1845.
He became pastor of a Congregational church
at Brookline, Mass., in that year, and in the
following year was called to the Church of
the Pilgrims, and was installed as pastor on
Nov. 19, 1846. It had been organized only
two years before, and Dr. Storrs was its first
minister.
The corner-stone of the present edifice of
the Church of the Pilgrims, at Henry and
Remsen streets, was laid in 1844, and the build-
ing was dedicated in 1846, several months be-
fore Dr. Storrs was installed as pastor. Many
changes and improvements have since been
made in the building.
Dr. Storrs was a Commissioner of Parks
of the City of Brooklyn from 1871 to 1879.
He was elected President of the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
in 1887 and continued in that office for ten
years, and was one of the leaders of the old
Manhattan Congregational Association, which
seceded from the main Congregational Asso-
ciation after the Beecher-Tilton trial. In 188 1,
on the occasion of the thirty-fifth anniversary
of his pastorate. Dr. Storrs was the recipient
of a purse of $35,000 from parishioners and
friends.
From 1848 to 1861 Dr. Storrs was associ-
ate editor of The Independent. Much of his
attention was given to the Brooklyn Mission
Society, and for a quarter of a century he was
President of the Long Island Historical So-
ciety. He also served as First Vice President
of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences,
and as a member of the Amherst College Board
of Trustees.
Dr. Storrs was married in October, 1845,
to Miss Mary Elwell Jenks, granddaughter of
John Phillips, the first Mayor of Boston, and
a niece of Wendell Phillips. Mrs. Storrs'
father was a clergyman. She died in 1898,
leaving two daughters, Mrs. L. R. Packard and
Mrs. E. B. Coe, wife of the Rev. E. B. Coe of
the Dutch Reformed Church, New York.
The Rev. Dr. Richard S. Storrs was a his-
.^^
^-
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
481
toric figure in the ecclesiastical world of Amer-
ica. "His death," says a writer of one of the
many biographies issued after his death, "re-
moves from the American ministry one of its
most scholarly lights, and by it Brooklyn loses
a citizen honored and beloved for more than
half a century. The last of an extraordinary
group of Brooklyn ministers, he was not alone
a local force spiritually and secularly, but a
man of recognized importance in the entire
Christian world. He was a scholar, orator,
man of affairs, and a historian of authority, as
well as pastor.
"Dr. Storrs represented in Brooklyn for
fifty-three years the trarlition of the conserva-
tism and the rhetorical elegance of the Puritan
pulpit of New England. During much of that
period, in a neighboring church — Plymouth^-
Henry Ward Beecher stood for the opposites
of these pulpit ideals, the radical thought, the
reforming impulse, and the genius for impas-
sioned oratory.
"In all his preachings Dr. Storrs kept in
touch with the Scriptures, and their teachings
were the foundation of his utterances. New
England born and bred, he lived according to
the precepts of the Pilgrims, and he preached
as he lived. His greatness lay in broad and
humane scholarship. Possessed of an alert
and vigorous mind, he treated his themes with
a delightful thoroughness and clothed his
thoughts in beautiful and fitting speech."
Dr. Storrs's fiftieth anniversary as pastor
of the Church of the Pilgrims — his golden an-
niversary— was celebrated in 1896 by a week
of general public rejoicing, in which many
prominent men took part.
Dr. Storrs delivered what is regarded as
his greatest oration on June i, 1865, on the
impressive theme of the death of Lincoln. He
was a most prolific worker and the large
numlier of his works which have been pub-
lished give some idea of the energy and indus-
try of his life. The titles of some of his pub-
lished lectures and addresses are as follows :
"Congregationalism ; Its Principles, and Influ-
ences ;" "Obligation of Man to Obey the Civil
Law;" "Christianity: Its Destined Supremacy
on the Earth;" "The Relations of Commerce
to Literature ;" "Colleges, a Power in Civiliza-
tion, to be Used for Christ ;" "Constitution of
the Human Soul;" "Character in the Preach-
er ;" "The Puritan Scheme of National
Growth;" "The Bible, a Book for Mankind;"
"Declaration of Independence, and the Effects
of It ;" "John Wyckliffe and the First English
Bible."
Feeling the approach of his end, and suf-
fering greatly from enfeebled health, Dr.
Storrs formally resigned his pastoral charge
Nov. 19, 1899, but retained his connection with
the church as pastor emeritus. His last ap-
pearance in the pulpit was in April 22 follow-
ing, when he conducted the services in com-
pany with the Rev. H. P. Dewey, of Concord,
N. H., whom the congregation, at his sugges-
tion, had decided upon as his successor. His
health continued to fail in suite of his relief
from his pastoral duties and he gradually grew
more infirm until the end came, June 5, 1900,
at his home. No. 80 Pierrepont street. Three .
days later his remains were interred in Green-
wood Cemetery. The news of his death caused
many regrets in Brooklyn ; it was truly felt
that the last of a race of Princes in Israel had
truly fallen, and several movements for some
tangible memorial of his life and public serv-
ices were proposed and discussed. But these
seemed to awaken little practical response, and
the memory of this good man is likely to be
enshrined only in his own works.
A still more famous, more popularly fa-
mous, preacher came to Brooklyn in this era,
the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. It is difficult
to compress the story of the life work of this
gifted man into the few paragraphs which the
compass of this work necessitates, and yet a
history of Brooklyn without mention of Beech-
er's work would necessarily be incomplete. He
was one of the sons of the Rev. Lyman Beech-
er, who in the course of a busy life of eighty-
eight years spent some fifty years in the active
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
work of the ministry and became one of the
intellectual leaders of the country. Lyman
Beecher, "stood unequalled," writes one,
"among living divines for dialectic keenness,
pungent appeals, lambent wit, vigor of thought
and concentrated power of expression." This
sentence might also have been applied to Henry
Ward, the most gifted of his sons, at whose
home in Brooklyn he died in 1863. All of
Lyman Beecher's children became famous for
their genius or noted for their tisefulness.
Most of them were in some way connected
with Long Island, where, at Easthampton,
Lyman Beecher preached for several years.
Henry Ward Beecher was born at Litch-
field, Conn., June 24, 1813. After being pre-
pared for the ministry under the direction and
instruction of his father, he was settled as min-
ister of a Presbyterian Church at Laurence-
burg, Ind. While there, living mainly on his
hopes, he married Eunice White, who survived
him after the close of his life's journey. In
1839 • he removed to Indianapolis, where he
labored until 1,847, when he received the call
to become pastor of the newly formed Plym-
outh Congregational Church, Brooklyn. He
accepted, entered upon that memorable pastor-
ate October 10, 1847, and continued to be iden-
tified with Brooklyn — its world famous citizen
— until the end of his career. In his opening
sermon he announced that he would preach of
Jesus "not as an absolute system of doctrines,
nor as a by-gone historical personage, but as
the ever living Lord and God," and added that
he included anti-slavery and temperance as
parts of Christ's teachings. That brief system
of theology continued ever after to rule in
Plymouth. When, many years later. June 30,
1883, he received the congratulations of his
fellow citizens in Brooklyn's Academv of Mu-
sic, on the occasion of the celebration of his
seventieth birthday, he enlarged upon it as
fellows :
"The inspiration which has made the force
of my whole life 1 found in a vision of the lovie
of God in Jesus Christ. It has grown larger
and larger with the sympathy which is natural
to my constitution, compassion of God, mani-
festations of God in Jesus Christ, that side of
God which is great, holy, beautiful, showing
Him to have compassion on the ignorant, and
on them that are out of the way. I have tried
to have compassion like Christ. The less wor-
thy the object, the more it was needed. I went
right upon the side of the dumb and needy,
without consideration. I think it most heroic
for a man with standing and influence and
ability to give himself to them. I thank God I
had a desire to work for His glory, when to do
it was to earn scoffings and abuse and threats.
When Kossuth brought Hungary to us, my
soul burned. The wrongs of Greece made my
heart kindle. Nearly all the nations of the
world, all under the sword of the soldier or the
ban of harsh governments, have aroused my
sympathy and effort. I did not go into these
because they were humanities or specious
philosophies, but Ijecause it was Christian :
that's all. I did it for humanity because I
loved Christ. In my preaching it has been the
same. I have attacked governments, institu-
tions, anything; never a denomination or a
body of ministers. I have preached against
the principles involved in all, and in my own
denomination as much as in others. I have
preached for the deliverance of souls, for clear-
er light, for a plainer path, that the stumbling
blocks might be removed. These things I
have changed in only to grow more intense
auid emphatic : first, the universal sinfulness of
mankind, so that it is necessan^ everywhere for
men to be born again by the Spirit, necessary
for a life to be given to human nature above its
animal nature, and this only by the Spirit of
God; second, I believe in conversion and the
effectual influence of the Spirit of God ; third.
I believfe with ever-growing strength in the
love of God in Jesus Christ. I know that
Christ loves me, and that I shall go where He
is. By grace am I saved, say I. The feeling
has grown in my later years, and when under
great pressure and sorrow that raised a strong
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
438
sea, my strength and courage all came from
this view — Christ loves me, He will hide me
in His pavilion till the storm is passed. The
sweetness of life is as much dependent on the
love of Christ as the landscape is on the sun
to bring out its lights and shadows. I never
believed so much in the Gospel as to-day. My
faith in it has never been shaken, except in the
ideals. I was never so sure as now of its
truth."
From the first, Beecher's ministry in Plym-
outh was a triumphant success. As the late
Benjamin J. Lossing said : "It has no parallel
in the history of pulpit oratory and pastoral
labors. Thousands were brought into the
church during his ministry. Its audience room,
always full, would accommodate 3,000 persons.
At times more than that number have been
packed within its walls. The membership of
the church averaged about 2,500. Its contribu-
tions to benevolent and charitable purposes
have been munificent." Beecher was not what
many would have called an orthodox preacher.
He believed that smiles should follow a ser-
mon as well as tears ; he thought happiness as
appropriate a theme for contemplation as sor-
row; he believed in describing the joys of
heaven rather than in painting the horrors of
hell ; in fact he did not believe in the doctrine
of eternal punishment, and openly declared
himself on that point in a discourse preached
in 1878. His manner was dramatic, his illus-
trations were drawn from actual life, mainly
from his own reading and observation, and h:'
treated every theme from the standpoint of
common sense, attempted in short to interpret
the life to come by the life that now is. Creeds
and dogmas, especially as the years grew upon
him, he had little use for, and, starting out in
life as a disciple of Calvinism, he so developed,
as he said himself, that in 1882 he and his con-
gregation threw off even the loose and pliant
bonds of Congregationalism and withdrew
from association with that body. In his church
Beecher was singularly beloved and well un-
derstood, and his word was law. He made it
famous, and from its pulpit he not only spoke
to three thousand or more auditors at every
service, but to an outer audience of many,
many thousands more, for his sermons, care-
fully reported, were printed weekly in a pub-
lication called "Plymouth Pulpit," and so were
circulated and read all over the civilized world.
Most popular preachers have, singularly, to
meet a crisis during their careers; and Beech-
er's personal crisis came in 1874, when he was
openly charged with immorality, the lady in the
case being Mrs. Tilton, wife of Theodore Til-
ton, a brilliant figure in the literary world of
that day but now forgotten excepting for the
history of this charge, which developed into
one of the causes cclcbrcs of American juris-
prudence. The case first came up in Plymouth
Church, and there, after investigation, the
charges were dismissed as without foundation.
A civil suit followed, Tilton figuring up his
heart losses at $100,000. The trial of the
action, which continued for some six months,
was watched with intense interest and at the
close much regret was expressed when it was
learned that the jury could not. agree, nine of
the members being in favor of a verdict for
Beecher and the remaining three disagreeing
with their view. But Beecher was acquitted
at the bar of public opinion. The worst that
could be said of him was that his own inno-
cence of wrong-doing or wrong intent had
sometimes placed him in positions from which
rumor and slander might easily raise up flimsy
tissues of falsehood, while his liberality of
thought and disregard of conventionalities had
brought him into contact with a class of people,
some of them fanatics, some of them literary
and social curiosities, and some of them people
who, to put it mildly, had wits and lived by
them. New York at that time was full of curi-
ous people, and Beecher, generous, open-heart-
ed, always zealous in his search for truth, was
sometimes too apt to listen openly and serious-
ly to their vagaries. After the excitement of
the trial had spent itself his influence in Plym-
outh Church became greater than ever, while
434
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
he himself emerged from that dark cloud with
his thoughts broadened and mellowed, and
more intensely than ever before preached of
the infinite love of Christ.
Apart from his pulpit the life of Henry
Ward Beecher might be divided into two parts,
— his work as a citizen and as a man of letters,
over both of which, however, it should be re-
membered to his credit, his pulpit work pre-
dominated, or rather both contributed to its
requirements. When in the height of his fame
as a public lecturer, commanding $500 a night,
he had to decline many engagements when
they seemed likely to interrupt his pastoral
duties. He kept a close watch over the passing
events of the day and spoke of them freely and
unreservedly from his pulpit. On the slavery
question his abolit'onist views were as a part
of his Bible, and in that cause he was one of the
most tireless workers. When the Civil War
broke out he threw himself heart and soul into
the task of defending and strengthening the
position of the Northern States. Plymouth
some one has said, virtually became a recruit-
ing station for the Northern Army and raised
a regiment of its own which went to the front,
one of its officers being the pastor's son.
In 1863 Beecher went to England to re-
cuperate his health, but the condition of public
opinion which he found existing there com-
pelled,him to try and correct an erroneous im-
pression as to the origin and meaning of the
war, which caused a great deal of sympathy to
be thrown away, both in England and Scot-
land, on behalf of the States then fighting for
secession and slavery. The story of the tri-
umphant progress of his self-imposed mission
forms one of the most interesting chapters in
his biography.
As a platform orator Beecher was unap-
proached even in that day of great orators, and
his oration on "Robert Burns" has been con-
ceded to be the most brilliant which the world-
wide celebration of that poet's centenary called
forth. In the field of letters Mr. Beecher was
a diligent worker, and we can only wonder at
the industry which produced so much in the
midst of occupations that constantly called him
from his library and his desk. Shortly after
settling in Brooklyn he began writing for "The
Independent," and he edited that still influen-
tial organ, from 1861 to 1863. Afterward,
from 1870 to 1880, he edited the "Christian
L'nion." His separate writings are too numer-
ous to enumerate here and it may briefly be
said that they run from sermons to politics,
lectures and essays, and take up all sorts of
themes, from a "Life of Christ" to "Nor-
wood.'' a novel of New England life.
i\Ir. Beecher's later years from 1874 were
truly years of peace and were fruitful of good
works and profitable to all. He died suddenly
March 8, 1887, when Dr. Lyman Abbott, who
succeeded him as editor of the "Christian
LTnion," was called to fill the pulpit of
Plymouth. This he did, keeping the great
congregation intact until, feeling the weight
of years, he resigned, in 1899, and was
succeeded by the present pastor, the Rev.
Newell Dwight Hillis, who preached his
first sermon in that capacity March 19,
1900. A magnificent bronze statue of Mr.
Beecher has been erected in front of the
BTOoklyn City Hall, as a result of a popular
subscription. One wall of Plymouth Church
is graced with a memorial tablet, and his body
rests beneath a massive monument of Quincy
granite in Greenwood, where, too, lie the re-
mains of his noble-hearted wife who on March
8, 1898, joined him beyond the veil.
Churches and church-yards used to be as-
sociated in the olden times, and although in
our modern system they are widely separated
in our cities this seems a fitting place to write
of what -dn after-dinner speaker in New York
with grim humor once called "Brooklyn's
noted industry, its cemeteries." The first of
these great "Cities of the Dead" in point of
formation as well as foremost for its costly
memorials and beauty of situation, was due,
probably more than that of any other individ-
ual, to the initiative of Mr. Henry E. Pierre-
PLYMOUTH CHURCH, 1867.
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
435
pont. The gradual increase of population in
New York and Brooklyn had not only caused
many of the old God's-acres to be abandoned,
but, in numerous cases, had necessitated what
many thought the desecration of the graves
by opening them up, removing the bones and
bodies, and turning the land into practical use
for business purposes. Mr. Pierrepont pro-
posed the selection of a large tract of ground
thoroughly ventilated and discussed, and met
with a ready response, but it was not until
1838, some years after it was first talked about,
that a company was formed and about 200
acres of land purchased, the property extend-
ing from what is now Twenty-first to Thirty-
fourth street and from Fifth avenue to the
old city line. It required a good deal of ma-
nipulation to secure all of this land, although
GREENWOOD CEMETERY— ST.-\TUE OF DE WITT CLINTON.
From photograph by Mr. Alexander Scott.
which would serve as a place of burial, for
New York as well as for Brooklyn, a veritable
necropolis, a garden set aside forever as a
Testing place for the dead. His observations
while on several visits to Europe had con-
firmed his sense of the practical utility of some
such scheme, and his intimate knowledge of
Brooklyn had prompted him to turn to the his-
toric hills of Gowanus, the heart of the site
of the Battle of Brooklyn, as presenting an
ideal place for such a shrine. The matter was
n;ost uf the owners agreed to receive in pay-
ment stock in the proposed cemetery, and to
obtain the necessary state and local sanctions
for its future preservation and amenity and
the unalterable restrictions to its sole use for
burial purposes. These preliminaries of land
and regulations duly arranged, the subscrip-
tion books to the stock of the company were
opened November 3, 1838. All through that
winter work on the grounds was vigorously
pushed and nuich progress was reported. In
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
1839 an amendment was secured to the deed
of incorporaticn which practically made the
institution become a public trust, for by the
amendment none of the gain or profits from
the operation of the cemetery goes into the
pockets of any one, but all money realized over
and above necessary working expenses is de-
voted to the preservation and beautifying of
the grounds. It is this feature which has made
Greenwood rank first among our local "Cities
of the Dead." The plan proved a popular one
from the first, and the work of adaptation
proceeded so rapidly that lots were advertised
fo.r sale in 1840, and the first burial was on
September 5, that year, when John Hanna was
laid in a grave at the base of Ocean Hill to
await the coming, one by one, of a vast host
of silent neighbors.
For several years, in spite of th> success
of the enterprise, the corporation had to stag-
ger along under a load of financial troubles.
That it emerged unscathed from these, carried
on unceasingly its expensive sceme of improve-
provements, and met all its obligations, was
due to the zeal, energy and financial ability of
the late Joseph A. Perry, who was one of its
original incorporators and became its comp-
troller and manager in 1842, devoting there-
after his entire life to its service. Under him
the usefulness of the entire scheme soon be-
came more and more adequately appreciated,
and the daily increasing beauti:s of the en-
closure were made thoroughly known among
the people. Greenwood's walks and hills and
dales quickly became so popular that there was
danger of the cemetery becoming a "resort"
rather than a place of seclusion and mourning
and where the bitter memories of bereave-
ment might be soothed by solitude and by the
appealing beauties of nature, suppleirented by
the artifices that humanity and love and
thoughtfulness could suggest or provide. But
stringent rules were enforce! to prevent this
tendency from spreading, and all fear of it has
long since passed away. The success of the
undertaking and the popularity of Greenwood
were so assured that even in 1845 Dr. Prime
could write of it as follows in his history:
"It was purchased by a company incorporated
April 18, 1838, with a capital of $300,000,
in shares of $100 each, for a public burial
ground. The surface is admirably diversified by
hill and dale, while every now and then a beau-
tiful little lake is spread cut in the valley. The
greater part of the area is deeply shaded with
dense forest trees, without underbrush, which
give to the whole scene the sombre aspect of
the habitation of the dead. The grounds are
not cut up into squares and parallelograns.
No such figure is seen throughout the whole
extent. But spacious avenues, neatly grav-
eled, wind through every valley, encompass-
ing numerous hillocks and intersecting each
other at every turn. The main avenue, called
"the tour,' in numerous windings forms a
circuit of three miles. You might travel for
hours within this hallowed enclosure with a
tieet horse and yet at every turn enter a new
road. The w^ork of appropriation se.ms to
have just commenced. Though thj grounds
have been in the market more than seven
years and many have availed themselves of the
opportunity of providing a narrow house for
themselves and their families, and many have
already been deposited here, yet they are so
extensive and diversified that it is only here
and there you meet with a solitary vault in
the side of a hill or an occasional monument
on its summit. But here is an assembly that
will never diminish and is sure to increase,
which it will probably do until bone and ashes
mingle with ashes in kindred dust."
The original purchase was soon found to
be too limited for the future growth of the
place, and steps were taken to acquire as much
contiguous property as was desirable and could
be secured, two notable additions being sixty-
five acres on the southwesterly side and eighty-
five acres on the eastern side, which made the
property extend into the old town of Flatbush.
It now encloses 474 acres, and in that respect
has reached its full possible growth with the
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
487
■exception of a few small parcels which it is
expected time will make available and which
will cut off a trifling irregularity in its bound-
ary line. Up to October i, 1930, the number
of interments was 309,000.
From the beginning the story of Green-
wood has been one of constant, almost daily,
improvement, and for beauty of location, arti-
ficial adornments, scrupulous care in mainte-
nance, magnificence of many of its tombs and
monuments, it is far ahead of any public ne-
cropolis in the world. Space is not available
to follow here in detail the story of its devel-
opment further than to say that its most strik-
ing improvement, the main entrance, with its
sculptured gateway on Fifth averue, was
completed in 1861. The time is coming when
the disposal of single graves will be a thing
of the past and when even the ;sale of lots will
be at an end, and many changes and improve-
ments will then be effected which will still
further add to the beauty of the enclosure. To
provide for this a reserve fund has been slowly
maturing which now amounts to $2,500,000,
so tliat when the time comes that no further
income is obtainable from the sale of the lots
the welfare of the cemetery will be amply
guarded.
The success of Greenwood inspired several
movements in a similar direction. The first of
these, Cypress Hills Cemetery, was laid out
by a company incorporated in 1847, and which
purchased 125 acres of land, which have been
added to until the cemetery now encloses 400
acres. The first interment was made in 1848,
and its silent population was quickly built up
by its receiving bodies from the old church-
yards of New York and Brooklyn, the sites
•of which were being turned over to the uses
•of the living. Its location is beautiful, but up
to within a recent period it was so difficult of
access that its success, from a financial point
of view, was much retarded ; but now, with
increased facilities in that respect, it is yearly
yielding better returns to its stockholder;. It is
steadily being improved and many of its monu-
ments rank as splendid specimens of such art.
One feature of Cypress Hills Cemetery is the
number of special plots it cuntains. The most
notable of these is that known as "the Soldiers'
riot," which contains in its center an imposing
monument, and the whole enclosure is u.ider
a distinct management from that of the rest
of the cemetery. The Actors' Fund has also
a fine plot, and so has the Press Club, while
such organizations as the St. Andrew's Socie-
ty, the St. David's Society and the St. George's
Society have here plots where they bury such
of their country people who may die friend-
less or poor, or both. A small plot contains
the graves of soldiers of the war of 18 12, but
unfortunately these graves are not marked by
any stones. The cemetery is a fitting resting
place for such heroes, for it was itself once
placed in order for battle, and on its slopes
( ieneral Woodhull, prior to the Battle of
[Srooklyn in 1776, prepared to meet an attack,
while several cannon balls fired from British
cannons have been dug up in the course of
r.iaking improvements.
In 1849 the Cemetery of the Evergreens
was incorporated and 112 acres were acquired
by its stockholders, since extended to 375
acres. It also occupies ground which may be
classed as historic, for over it many of the
soldiers in General Howe's army marched in
August, 1776, when executing that strategic
movement which brought such havoc to the
])atriot forces. Its Chinese section, situated
on a bleak hillside, separated from the ceme-
tery proper, is the scene at times of many
strange ceremonies.
While on this subject brief mention may
be made of other cemeteries which lie within
the Long Island division of the Greater New
York, and which caused some sections, such
as Newtown, to be spoken of as one vast bury-
ing ground. There is little to be gained by
detailing their history or describing their
memorial or scenic beauties, but most of them
are as trimly kept and made as attractive as
a liberal expenditure of time. tho"ght and
438
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
mone_v can achieve. Such cemeteries as Cal-
vary, with over 700,000 bodies lying in its
graves and vaults, and Lutheran, with 300,000,
are vast cities of the dead and contain the ashes
of many men and women once famous in local
annals, while Mount Olivet, Mount Nebo,Most
Holy Trinity, St. Michael's, Salem Fields,
Mount Zion, Holy Cross, Cedar Grove and
Methodist are the best known among the small-
er ones. At Fresh Pond, in Queens Borough,
is the public crematory, where those who pre-
fer that form of disposing of their dead to
burial can have their preference put into quick
effect. It is generally held that cremation in
the time to come will be the general mode
of getting rid of the body after its spirit has
passed, and that cemeteries will then be turned
into public gardens or opened up for building
purposes ; but if so the idea of cremation does
not seem to be attaining its destined popularity
very quickly. Fresh Pond crematory has now
been in operation since 1884, and up to Octo-
ber, 1900, only 3,795 incinerations had taken
place in its furnace. But the number seems to
be growing slowly each year. In 1899 there
were 540, and in 1900, 610.
During the }'ears covered by this chapter
the ferry system of Brooklyn made considera-
ble progress, and was extended as fast as the
growing demands of the various sections
seemed to warrant. In fact, so far as Brook-
lyn is concerned, she has always been alive
to the necessity of perfection in her ferry
services, and but for the handicap imposed
by the claims of Manhattan that service would
have advanced with more rapid strides than it
did. In 1836 what is known as South Ferry
was opened, in 1846 the Hamilton Ferry was
established, and the Wall Street Ferry in
1853. These, as well as the older ferries, were
run by different companies, and except at
Fulton Ferry the service was poor, for the cost
of maintaining each was considerable and the
financial returns to the owners were meager,
—when there were anv returns at all.
The first really upward step looking to gen-
eral improvement was taken in 1844, when
the Brooklyn Union Ferry Company wa&
formed. The president was N. B. Morse,
and Henry E. Pierrepont was vice-pr.sident,
as well as a trustee, along with Jacob R.
Leroy. These gentlemen formed the direc-
torate, along with George Wood, Joseph A.
Perry, John Dikeman, Joseph Ketchum, John
B. La Sala, Seth Low, C. J. Taylor, L. Van
Nostrand, Walter N. De Grauw, H. R. Worth-
ington, C. N. Kiersted, C. P. Smith, John
Dimon, A. G. Benson, Charles Kelsey, James
E. Underbill, Ezra Lewis, S. E. Johnson, E.
J. Bartow and George Hurlbut. There were
some features attending the formation of the
company which were regarded with surprise
at the time, it being even alleged that one or
two of these directors bought their stock and
obtained their seats with the view of selling
out the lease of the Fulton and South Ferries,
control of which the corporation had secured,
to outside parties. But if any such purpose
was entertained it was balked by the public
spirit of Messrs. Leroy and Pierrepont, in
whose names the leases of the two ferries
had been made out and whose sole aim in the
matter was to promote the interests of Brook-
lyn. Practically the lease they held was ac-
companied bv no reservations, and so what-
ever scheme may have been concocted to de-
feat the public-spirited purposes of the incor-
poration was easily defeated before it had
time to mature. The corporation at once pro-
ceeded to manage its property so as to add to
its financial prosperity by effecting improve-
ments in its service. The landing stages and
ferry houses were rehabilitated, new and larger
boats were placed on each route, the running
schedule was quickened and the utmost regu-
larity introduced, while the fare was gradu-
ally reduced until, from four cents on Fulton
Ferry and three cents on South Ferry in 1836.
a uniform rate on both of one cent was estab-
lished in 1850. The corporation, despite these
changes, made money, and the business at the
CHURCH DEVELOPMENT.
other ferries dwindled rapidly, so much so
that there were rumors that some of them
would be abandoned.
In 1850 a new lease of the Fulton and
South Ferries was secured for ten years by
Messrs. Leroy and Pierrepont, and their com-
pany, in addition, secured the Hamilton Ferry,
which at once began to feel the beneficial
effects of the change. The business, especially
at Fulton Ferry, which the street railroads
made their terminus because it was the most
popular, steadily assumed larger proportions,
— so much so as to give rise to ideas of .danger
in the mere handhng of such crowds as passed
over it morning and evening. The movement,
too, of the street railways tended to increase
the traffic at the one point and helped to de-
moralize the service at the ferries which the
corporation did not control. A change of some
sort became imminent: either the outside fer-
ries should be purchased by the company, or
two at least would have to be abandoned.
The latter contingency was to be regretted,
it was felt all round, as Brooklyn needed all
the outlets possible. The results of a long
series of private conferences was that the own-
ers of Roosevelt, Gouverneur, Catharine, and
Wall Street Ferries agreed to sell out to a
new company which should be incorporated
and to take their purchase money in stock.
When all the negotiations were completed
what we would now call a trust was called
into existence. A new company was formed,
virtually the old one under the slightly altered
name of the Union Ferry Company of Brook-
lyn, and complete possession of the entire sys-
tem was entered upon. Being now thoroughly
protected against private interference, Messrs.
Leroy and Pierrepont at once surrendered
their leases of the Fulton, South and Hamil-
ton Ferries to the new corporation, which
henceforth controlled these routes, as well as
the Roosevelt, Gouverneur, Catharine and
Wall Street Ferries : and although the financial
results of the deal were at first disappointing
the clouds soon cleared awav and the entire
system was placed on a footing satisfactory
both to the public and the stockholders.
The Navy Yard during this period was
steadily extending its size and importance.
Through the exertions of H. C. Murphy, then
a member of Congress, a splendid dry dock
was constructed at the yard. It was com-
menced in 1841, and was completed some years
later, at a cost of over $2,000,000. Business,
however, was at no time rushing at the yard,
and the records only show the construction
of the following Government ships :
Brig Dolphin, commenced in 1836,
launched June 17, 1836; schooner Pilot, com-
menced in 1836 (for the Surveying and Ex-
ploring Expedition), launched September,
1836; steamer Fulton (second), commenced
in 1835, launched May 18, 1837; sloop of war
Levant (second class), commenced in 1837,
launched December 28, 1837; sloop of war
Decatur (third class), commenced in 1838,
launched April 9, 1839; steamer Missouri,
commenced in 1840, launched January 7, 1841 ;
brig Somers, commenced in January, 1842,
launched April 16, 1842; sloop of war San
Jacinto, commenced 1837, launched April 16/
1850; sloop of war Albany (first class), com-
menced in 1843, launched January 27, 1846;
steamer Fulton (third), rebuilt, commenced
in 1850, launched August 30, 1851.
It was seriously discussed about this time
whether the Navy Yard really was of ariy
practical benefit to Brooklyn and whether the
city would not be much better off were tht
Government to take its outfit somewhere else
and leave the Wallabout to aid in the develop-
ment of the commerce of the city. It was
felt, however, that the location of the Navy
Yard where it had so long been not only added
to the importance of Brooklyn, but that it
promised to be one of the city's best means
of defense should a foreign invasion ever be
threatened. Mr. Murphy's dry-dock scheme,
when inaugurated, put a stop to whatever
idea the Government mav have held of re-
440
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
linquishing its hold in Brooklyn's historic
bay, and the notion was abandoned on all
sides. The Navy Yard, it was felt, was a fix-
ture and its location was an ideal one for every
conceivable purpose. Indeed, the question of
change has long since been relegated to a
place among the many dead issues we meet
with in the history of Kings county which arc
only worth, from a historical point, a refer-
ence of a line or two simply to show that they
really existed, but are no longer worthy ut
consideration or discussion.
It was, however, this national occupation
of the Wallabout and the consequent failure
of Brooklyn to extend in its direction that
proved one of the leading arguments against
the utility of the consolidation of Brooklyn
and Williamsburgh when that subject came
up for serious consideration. It was easily
seen by reference to any plan or map, or even
to the eye of the observer on the East River,
that the two cities were quite distinct and sepa-
arate from each other, and that the Navy
Yard had prevented a complete line of dwell-
ings and warehouses and workshops being
erected along the water front, which would
of a certainty have been formed and made a
chain connecting the two municipalities had
the way been clear. But there the Navy Yard
lay, completely blocking, as it were, munici-
pal progress, and back of it rolled a stretch
of wild and mostly unoccupied territory which
the most optimistic fancy could not see, even
if parceled out into streets and squares and
avenues by the surveyors and map-makers,
filled up with residential or business establish-
ments. But the fiat had gone forth, the poli-
ticians and official spoilsmen had practically
wrecked Williamsburgh; and although many
thought that while the union must inevitably
come, it should be deferred in the interest of
both municipalities for a quarter of a century
or thereabout, those in favor of it craved im-
mediate action. The bill ordering the consoli-
dation became a law in April, 1854, and with
the passing of the 31st of December following
Williamsburgh and Bushwick lost their iden-
tity and became part and parcel of the city
of Brooklyn, which then entered upon another
phase of its own history. The first Mayor
of the first city of Brooklyn was George
Hall, singularly enough chosen to be the first
Mayor of the new city, and on assuming the
office January i, 1855, he delivered a most
interesting reminiscent address, and this chap-
ter cannot be more appropriately closed than
by an extract from it :
It is now twenty-one years since I was
called by the common council to preside over
the affairs of the late city of Brooklyn, then
first ushered into existence. The population
of the city, at that time, consisted of about
20,000 persons, residing for the most part
within the distance of about three-quarters of
a mile from Fulton Ferry. Beyond this limit
no streets of any consequence were laid out,
and the ground was chiefly occupied for agri-
cultural purposes. The shores, throughout
nearly their whole extent, were in their natural
condition, washed by the East River and the
bay. There were two ferries, by which com-
munication was had with the city of New
York, ceasing at twelve o'clock at night.
There were, within the city, two banks, two
insurance companies, one savings bank, fif-
teen churches, three public schools and two
weekly newspapers. Of commerce and manu-
factures it can scarcely be said to have had
any, its business consisting chiefly of that
which was requisite for supplying the wants
of its inhabitants. Sixteen of its streets were
lighted with public lamps, of which number
thirteen had been supplied within the then pre-
vious year. The assessed value of the taxa-
ble property was $7,829,684, of which $6,457,-
084 consisted of real estate and $1,372,600
of personal property.
. Williamsburgh was incorporated as a vil-
lage in 1827. Its growth was comparatively
slow until after the year 1840. At the taking
of the census in that year it was found to con-
tain 5.094 inhabitants, and since that time it
has advanced with almost unparalleled rap-
idity, having attained a population of 30,780
in 1850. It was chartered as a city in 1851.
Within the comparativelv short period of
twenty-one years Bushwick, from a thinly set-
tled township, has advanced with rapid strides.
CHURCH DEVELOPiMENT.
441
and yesterday contained within its liiiiils two
large villages, together numbering a popula-
tion of about 7,000 persons. Williamsburgh,
from 'a hamlet. Ijecome a city of aboui
50,000 inhabitants. Brooklyn, judging from
hs past increase, yesterday contained a popu-
lation of about 145,000 persons, and on this
day the three places consolidated into one
municipal corporation, takes its stand as the
third city in the Empire State, with an aggre-
gate population of about 200,000 inhabitants.
The superficial extent of area included
within the city limits is about 16,000 acres
(or twenty-five square miles). The extent in
length of' the city along the water front is
eight and one-half miles, along the inland
bounds thirteen and one-half miles, and be-
tween the two most distant points in a straight
line seven and three-fourths miles, and its
greatest width five miles. Within these limits
516 streets have been opened for public use.
:i= =:< * Thirty miles of railroad tracks, ex-
clusive of those of the Long Island railroad
companies, have been laid and are in use
upon the streets of the city; besides twelve
lines of stages or omnibuses. The city, to a
great extent, is lighted by gas, supplied by
the Brooklyn and Williamsburgh Gas Light
Company, using ninety-five miles of pipes
along the streets. The streets are lighted with
public lamps, numbering in the aggregate
3,766, of which 2,609 ar<2 .Sfas lamps. Thirteen
sewers have been constructed, extending in
length five miles. There are 157 public cis-
terns and 547 wells and pumps. There are
two public parks, one of which will rival in
magnificence, as respects its natural position
and commanding prospect, that of any other
cit\' in tlie I'nion.
Reference was then made to the fo;-mation
of Greenwood and Evergreens Cemeteries; to
113 churches within the city; to 27 public
schools, containing 317 teachers and about
30,500 scholars ; to the Packer Collegiate Li-
stitute, the numerous private schools, the
Brooklyn City Hospital, the Orphan Asylums,
the Old Ladies' Home, industrial schools,
dispensaries, etc. ; also to nine banks, four
savings institutions, eight insurance compa-
nies, five daily and two weekly papers, etc.
The assessed value of taxable property dur-
ing the previous year was estimated: In
Brooklyn — of real estate, $64,665,117; of per-
sonal property, $8,184,881 ; Williamsburgh —
of real estate, $11,242,664; of personal prop-
erty, $11,614,559; Bushwick — of real estate,
$3,106,864; of personal property, $109,000;
making the aggregate in the whole city, $88,-
923.085.
Thirteen ferries, keeping up a constant
communication with the city of New York,
and the almost continuous line of wharves
between Greenpoint and Red Hook, as well
as the commercial facilities furnished by the
Atlantic Docks, and the expensive ship build-
ing at Greenpoint, were also alluded to. The
police of the new city, under Chief John S.
Folk, comprised seven districts, with an aggre-
gate of 274 men ; the Eighth, Ninth and Eight-
eenth Wards not being included, they having
a special police at their own expense. The
fire department was also on a good footing,
the western district having twenty engines,
seven hose-carts and four hook and ladder
companies ; the eastern having ten engines,
four hose-carts, three hook and ladder, and
one bucket companies.
\l/
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR, 18C5-1870.
A Succession of Capable Executives — The Metropolitan Police — J. S. T.
Stranahan, Prospect Park, Street Railways, Libraries —
Rapid Extension of the City — Cholera.
N THIS division it is proposed to treat
of th^ history of Brookl_yn — the Con-
solidated City — as it was generally
called from the date of that consoli-
dation (January I, 1855) until the beginning
of 1870. That period may rightfully be called
the era of the Civil War, for although that
terrible conflict lasted only during four years
out of the fifteen years thus included, yet the
time of preparation and recuperation ought to
be included. While it cannot be said that
the preparatory events leading to that war
had much more than a passing influence on
the progress of Brooklyn, it must be admitted
that, in keeping with all loyal, slavery-hating
communities in the North she saw the dark
clouds settle out of which was to issue that
bolt which was to strike Fort Sumter, and felt
the need of ample preparation to meet the
storm. She had to grope in the darkenmg at-
mosphere for a while, not knowino; exactly
what might be required of her, where the
storm would break, or how far it might spread.
She kept on as calmly as could be in the even
tenor of her way, extending her boundaries,
effecting improvements in her internal econo-
my, and then, when the time did come, tak-
ing her full share with the Northern cities in
the grand work of preserving the LTnion of
the States.
During this period Brooklyn had five oc-
cupants of its civic chair, all men of marked
individuality and in every way worthy of the
honors heaped upon them by their fellow citi-
zens. Of Mayor Hall mention has already
been made and there is no need to dwell upon
his career during the new term 1855-6 further
than to say that he was elected upon a tem-
perance and religious platform and zealously
kept every plank in place. Possibly one of the
proudest moments of his life was when, July
31, 1855, he broke ground for the reser-
voir of the Nassau Water Company on Reser-
voir Hill, Flatbush. That company had been
chartered earlier in the same year and in June
the Brooklyn Common Council had subscribed
for_$ 1, 300,000 of its stock, thus giving the city
a controlling interest in its management.
Mayor Hall zealously put in operation all the
laws he could find on the statute books which
aimed at preserving the amenity of the Sab-
bath, and in the poorer quarters of the city
he aroused a strong feeling against himself
by the determined manner in which he en-
forced the regulations requiring the closing
of all sorts of stores on the day of rest, while
his determined refusal in spite of many urgent
and influential appeals to permit the street
cars to run on Sundays added to his unpopu-
larity with the masses, although most of the
old residents thoroughly approved his policy,
so far as these public vehicles were concerned.
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR.
443
But long before his term was up he found
himself decidedly a most unpopular personage
among all classes, — particularly among the
very classes who were most zealous in their
use of the ballot-box. His rectitude and lofti-
ness of purpose were unquestioned, but it
was felt that his many peculiar views on pub-
lic morals were not in keeping with the spirit
of the times, — were too paternal and Puri-
tanic for the nineteenth centurv.
cars to be run on Sundays and winked at'
Sunday store trading so long as it was kept
within bounds and was not only necessary to'
the comfort of the poor, but Was demanded
by public opinion. As a result his popularity
steadily increased, and he was triumphantly
re-elected when his first term expired. After-
ward, in 1871, he was again called to the'
JMayor's office and served a third term, and he'
was chosen Comptroller in 1874, a Park Com-'
VIEW FROM BATTLE HILL, GOWANUS HEIGHTS. IN 1860.
His successor, who entered upon office
with the advent of 1857, was Samuel S. Pow-
ell, a native of New York City. Mr. Powell
had resided in Brooklyn since 1838, and for
many years was engaged in business as a
clothier. In 1845 he was elected for a term
to the Common Council, but declined re-
election and held no other public office until
he was elected to the Mayoralty. He was a
religious man, but not so strict in his notions
as his predecessor, so he permitted the street
missioner in 1877, arid County Treasurer in
1878, holding the latter office at the time of
his death, February 6, 1879.
Mayor Powell was what would nowadays
be called an independent Democrat, and had
received the Mayoralty nomination in spite
of "the machine" of the party, which then had
its headquarters in the law office of Lott, Mur-
phy & Vanderbilt. His successor, Martin
Kalbfleisch, however, was elected in 1861 by
more "regular" Democratic management, and
444
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
as the War Mayor of Brooklyn deserves to
be held in loyal and kindly remembrance.
Mayor Powell, it should be said, had proved
himself devoted to the national cause, and
aided the Government to the best of his ability
and the extent of his influence, but it was
Mayor Kalbfleisch's fortune to be in office
shortly after the storm broke, and he con-
tinued to direct Brooklyn's loyal aspirations
during what may be called the darkest period
of the awful struggle. In him, a native of the
Netherlands and a naturalized citizen, the
Union had no more stanch advocate or the
National Government a more single-hearted
adherent. He could not understand for a long
time, it was said, exactly what the contest
was about, but he enjoyed the advantage of
his citizenship, had found wealth and friends
and home in the land of his adoption, and
looked upon the schism — any schism — as a
crime. He had settled at Greenpoint in 1842,
■and there built up a splendid business as a
manufacturer of colors. He at once took a
deep interest in local afl:'airs, organized a
school so that his own children and those of
his neighbors might have the advantages of
a good education, and paid the teacher's sal-
ary out of his own pocket for a considerable
time. In politics he became quite an active
figure, and he was soon recognized in the
local Democratic party as an indefatigable
worker, being, as a noted Brooklyn politician
said, "One of those Dutchmen who never let
go until they have carried their point, and
don't know when they are beaten." In 1851
he was elected Supervisor of the old town of
Bushwick and held that office until Bushwick
was "consolidated," of which project he was a
stanch advocate. In 1855 he was chosen Alder-
man of Brooklyn's new Eighteenth Ward, and
held his seat in the Common Council until he
becanie Mayor. While he held that office it
may be said that war measures occupied his
whole time, and he proved indefatigable in his
efiforts to strengthen the hands of the Govern-
ment and at the same time fulfill all the active
duties incumbent upon him as the head of a
municipality which, in spite of the civil com-
motion, was extending" itself in all directions
and almost daily entering upon improvements
and new enterprises all of which were adding
to its reasons for civic pride. After a term in
Congress he was again elected [Mayor, in 1867,
and held that office until 1871, two years be-
fore his death.
Mayor Kalbfleisch's successor to that title,
in 1864. was one of the local heroes made
conspicuous by the war, — Colonel Alfred M.
Wood. This man of many brilliant parts was
a native of Hempstead, and what might be
called a politician by profession. He was en-
gaged in business in Brooklyn for a short
time early in life, but was unsuccessful, and
in 1853 was elected Collector of Taxes, and
re-elected in 1S56. In 1861 he was elected
to the Board of Aldermen and was chosen as
its president. W'hen the war broke out he was
the senior officer of the Fourteenth Regiment
cf militia, and, resigning his civic office, he
devoted his entire time to filling up the ranks
of the regiment and led it to the front. At
the first battle of Bull Run he was conspicuous
for his bravery, and was severely wounded
just as the panic among the Northern troops
began. While being removed from the field in
an ambulance. Colonel Wood found himself
forsaken, for the driver had cut the traces
from the horse which had been hauling the
vehicle and ridden away. With the help of
some of his own men, whom he happened to
fall in with. Colonel Wood contrived to reach
a bit of woods, where they lay concealed for
four davs, when the little party was captured
by some Southern soldiers. On partially re-
covering from his wound, Colonel Wood was
sent to Richmond and there ordered to be
executed ; but the sentence was not carried out,
and after a time he was exchanged. Return-
ing to Brooklyn, he was received with all the
acclaim due to a hero, and on October 20,
1863, received the nomination for Mayor and
was elected by a Tousing majority, his leading
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR.
445
opponent being Mayor Kalbfleisch, who cer-
tainly deserved better treatment at the hands
of the voters. But it. was a time when war
heroes were the idols of the public and could
get anything they sought from an admiring
populace. Although he did not go to the
front, Kalbfleisch probably accomplished a
thousand times the service that his rival could
have claimed credit for, but then "the conse-
cration of battle," as the orators used to call
it, did not figure in his record. Wood made
a good Mayor, devoted himself to the best in-
terests of the city, and after his term was
over filled several minor offices in the gift of
the National Government, and then went
abroad.
Samuel Booth, in 1866, succeeded Colonel
Wood as Mayor. Mr. Booth was born in Eng-
land in 1818, but was brought here while
yet an infant, and had resided in Brooklyn
from the tenth year of his age. He learned
the trade of carpenter, and in 1843 started in
business on his own account, steadily pressing
upward until he was at the head of a flourish-
ing establishment. After a long and honora-
ble record in various public offices, and win-
ning much personal popularity as chairman of
the local Bounty Committee, which disbursed
some $3,800,000 to the soldiers and their rela-
tives, he found himself, on entering upon the
ofiice of Mayor, in 1866, in the awkward posi-
tion of having the Board of Aldermen mainly
made up of political opponents, and presuma-
bly, for party purposes, ready to defeat any
policy upon which he might enter. This posi-
tion of things lasted during his entire term,
but his own sterling honesty safely carried
him through and he retired with the good will
of the citizens generally. Afterward he be-
came Postmaster of Brooklyn, and when he
quitted that office, in 1874, enjoyed many
honors as a private citizen, — honors which
came to him willingly from all c'asses of his
townspeople.
The succession to the Mayoralty again
brought Martin Kalbfleisch to the front, and
that sturdy Hollander held the reins of power
when the period allotted to this chapter came
to a close. He proved as safe and successful
an administrator of the city's affairs in time
of peace as he had during the eventful years
of his previous administration when the issues
of the war .dictated everything, and in 1868
he had the satisfaction of seeing Brooklyn
advance with greater strides than ever before
to queenly rank among the cities of the
country.
One of the most significant movements of
this period was that tending to consolidation
with New York, although consolidation itself
was hardly more than broached in public.
Much of this arose from the fact that Man-
hattan Island was so overwhelmingly Demo-
cratic that those opposed to that party could
see no way of thwarting its influence other
than by legislative enactment. In 1855 Fer-
nando Wood was elected Mayor of New York
City and held that office until 1858, when he
was defeated by a fusion candidate, Mr. D.
N. Tiemann. On the conclusion of the latter's
term Wood again became a candidate and was
elected, serving until the close of 1862, and
afterward entering Congress. He was a man.
of strong personality, a natural leader of men,
and brim-full of ideas, progressive in his own
way, determined to achieve his own purposes .
and overcome opposition, and without any of
those nice scruples which sentiments of honor -
and honesty inspire in lofty or even well-
trained minds. Like so many other "local
statesmen," Wood began political life as a re-
former and ended as a partisan with all the-
qualities which that designation implies in
American politics. He had no broad views on
any subject, he was not a statesman ; nothing
but a politician, and that, too, of a purely local
type. He saw nothing beyond New York,
and took no interest in the Nation, except as
events in it afl^ected his bailiwick, ^^'ith a
firm and united Democratic majority behind
him in New York, he cared little for outside
afl^airs, and it was this sentiment more than-.
440
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
any real approval of the threatened Southern
secession that led him, when the crisis became
acute, to publicly suggest that New York City
should secede from the Union and become an
independent State, dragging with her into her
loneliness Brooklyn and Staten Island. After-
ward public opinion, the only thing he feared
in this world, showed him he had gone too
far, and he slid down from his top-lofty posi-
tion with all the skill he could command. It
was this steady and crafty manipulation on
the part of Wood and his followers to increase
and solidify the Democratic strength, of Man-
hattan Island that led the opposition party to
concoct measures calculated to offset his
schemes, and one of the first of these was to
take the control of the local police out of his
hand, for it was only too clearly self-evident
that that force was being used by him as
one of the most effective agents in perpetua-
ting and strengthening his local party, and, as
has been said, a strong local party was all that
he cared about at that time. Accordingly, in
1857, a bill passed by the Legislature became
law, under the signature of Governor J. A.
King, which united the police of New York,
Kings, Westchester and Richmond counties
and the towns in Queens county into what
was called the Metropolitan District, and
which was to be governed by a board on which
.the Mayor of New York had only an ex-officio
seat, as well as had the Mayor of Brooklyn,
while the real power over the entire force
was vested in the appointed commissioners, the
most notable of whom was the late J. S*. T.
■ Stranahan. For a long time Mayor Wood
tried to defy the Legislature and endeavored
to retain intact the old municipal force in his
immediate jurisdiction, thereby giving to the
world the spectacle of two sets of Dogberrys
doing exactly the same work and often coming
into actual collision in doing it. In the long
run Wood was forced to bow to the superior
authority of the State and yielded ungracious-
ly, but Brooklyn from the first loyally accepted
-the mandate. It was this union that was gen-
erally regarded as the first actual step toward
consolidation, and it was his experience as a
Commissioner that led Mr. Stranahan to be-
come impressed with the view which governed
his later years that the destinies of Brooklyn
and New York were one and the same, were
inseparable, in fact, whatever they might be
in name, and that neither could reach the full
fruition of metropolitan greatness until they
were united into one compact municipality.
It must be said that under the Metropolitan
Police law, bad as it was, Brooklyn was much
better protected than under her former inde-
pendent force ; but the enforcement of the
measure led to another unexpected and un-
bearable evil. Like New York, Brooklyn was
a'Democratic stronghold, although its type of
Democracy was purer and less identified with
municipal scandal than had been prevailing
for some time on Manhattan Island. But the
police law demonstrated the ease with which
local affairs could, when occasion required or
party exigencies demanded, be directed from
the headquarters of the State Government, and
as a result of the devious ways of politics
Brooklyn for a long time, — virtually during the
period covered by this chapter, — was deprived,
on many and important occasions, of the priv-
ilege and right of home rule which had hitherto
been her boast. But the system of meddling
in purely local affairs on the part of the State
was discovered, after a few years of practical
test, to be a bad one for both parties, equally
dangerous to both, and Republicans as well
as Democrats proclaimed against it with grati-
fying results when the Tweed gang obtained
a foot-hold in State politics and ran things to
suit themselves in a manner that finally
aroused the people to action irrespective of
party.
That the Metropolitan Police act proved a
benefit to Brooklyn was due more than all else
to the energetic and public-spirited labors of
Commissioner Stranahan, who then began to
acquire that degree of public confidence and
personal popularity which later won for him
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR.
447
the unquestioned title of "First Citizen of
Brooklyn." Mr. Stranahan was born at Peter-
boro, New York, in 1808. In 1832 he became
associated with Gerrit Smith in business in
Oneida, and in 1838 was a member of the
State Legislature. In 1840 he took up his
residence in Newark, New Jersey, where he
remained four years, engaged in railroad pro-
motion and the actual building of railroads.
In 1844 he settled in Brooklyn, which contin-
ued to be his home until the time of his death.
Mr. Stranahan at once took an active part
in local affairs, ran for Mayor and was badly
defeated, and from 1854 to 1857 was a Repre-
sentative in Congress; but his first real work
for the city was accomplished on the Police
Commission, of which he was a member.
Thenceforth until laid aside by the weight of
years his life story was really a part of the
history of Brooklyn. It was in i860 that he
began his association with the public improve-
ment with which his name is yet closest con-
nected and which accomplished the most last-
ing good, — the inauguration of the movement
which gave to the city its famous Prospect
Park.
That beautiful enclosure now contains
some 516 acres, and is not only a park for
health and recreation, but a memorial of the
famous battle of Brooklyn, for that sanguin-
ary episode of the War of the Revolution was
fought mainly within its boundaries and those
of the adjacent Greenwood. At Prospect Hill,
or Lookout Hill, a stately shaft was erected
by the Sons of the American Revolution in
1895, in memory of the 400 Maryland soldiers
who fell in that battle while defending the re-
treat of the American army to the Brooklyn
fortifications^ when it was seen that the day
was to end in the defeat of the Patriot cause.
This memorial helps to remind the visitor that
he is treading historic ground. The first
Board of Commissioners appointed by the act
to "lay out a public park and parade ground
for the city of Brooklyn" comprised J. S. T.
'Stranahan, T. H. Rodman, E. W. Fiske, R.
H. Thompson, Thomas G. Talmadge, Stephen
Haynes and Cornelius J. Sprague; but it is
no disparagement to the services of the others
to say that the leading spirit among them all,
the most persistent and indefatigable worker,
the one who was least disheartened at delays
and annoyances, was Mr. Stranahan.
As soon as the commission was organized
Egbert L. Viele, who had prepared the plans
for the laying out of New York's Central
Park and saw them carried through their in-
itiatory stages, was appointed chief engineer
of Prospect Park and drew up the original
plans on which work was commenced, the
park territory being then bounded by Ninth
avenue, Douglass street, Washington avenue
and. the Coney Island road. The outbreak of
the Civil War summarily arrested this great
public improvement. Allele resigned his office
and hurried to the front, and until the conflict
was over little could be done with the scheme
but to watch and plan and wait. With the re-
turn of peace came renewed effort, and in 1865
a revised plan for the enclosure was prepared
by Olmsted & Vaux, the most famous firm of
landscape architects then in the United States.
This plan suggested the addition of new lands
and the abandonment of some parts of the
original scheme, and by successive legislative
enactments the suggestions were all given
practical endorsement and accomplishment
by 1868, and in 1871 most of the general im-
provements were completed and the grand peo-
ple's garden and playground was dedicated
to public use. Mr. Stranahan continued to
act as president of the Board of Conmiission-
ers until 1882, when a new board was ap-
pointed by the Mayor, of which Mr. William
E. Kendall became chairman, and that body
continued to direct its fortunes until it was
placed in charge of the Commissioner of
Parks, when the entire system of Brooklyn's
breathing places was ruled as a department
of the municipal government.
Since 1865 the story of Prospect Park is
one of continuous improvement, beauty added
4i-
inSTOllY OF LONG ISLAND.
to beauty, and the work is still going on,
every year developing some fresh charm, see-
ing the completion of some .design, and the
whole being carried on with a liberal expendi-
ture which speaks volumes for the tastes of
the city; for the history of the park belongs
to the city, the now existing borough merely
carrying on and maintaining the work. The
principal entrance, the Plaza, is on Flatbush
avenue, where stands the magnificent arch
surroundings of the park at the Plaza arc
most artistic and a constant source of delight
to the eye. Beside the entrance stands a
bronze statue of J\Ir. Stranahan, erected dur-
ing the lifetime of that most estimable gen-
tleman as an evidence that Brooklyn was not
ungrateful for the many years of toil .and
thought he had given to her best interests.
The park contains several other memorials,
notably the bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln,.
erected by Brooklyn in memory of those of her
sons who fought in the Civil War. This pile
is now surmounted by a bronze quadriga by
Macmonnies, the Brooklyn scidptor whose
home has been in Paris for many years, and
the whole structure is one of those artistic
achievements which give distinction wherever
they are seen. Beside this memorial is one of
the modern wonders, — an electric fountain, —
and across the Plaza is a splendid bronze
statue of General G. K. Warren. The whole
erected on the Plaza in i86g by a popular
subscription, but afterward removed to its
present site beside the lake, busts of Beetho-
ven, Mozart, Washington Irving, Thomas
]\Ioore and John Howard Payne, and a pair
of bronze panthers which guard the entrance
at Third street. There are within the enclo-
sure some eight miles of drives, fourteen miles
of pedestrian roadways and a lake covering
about sixty-one acres, while from the top of
Lookout Hill is one of the most interestins'
THE ERA OF THE OVIL WAR.
449
panoramic views to be seen in or around the
Greater New York. Flocks of sheep nibble
the grass on the meadows, swans and other
water fowl make their homes on or beside the
lake, a deer paddock and a bear garden add to
the interest or amusement of visitors, while
on the top of a low hill is preserved sacredly
an old Hebrew burying ground placed there
long before the park was thought of. As it
stands to-day Prospect Park is eminently a
people's popular resort. It is used for games,
rambles and rest, and in summer music is pro-
vided twice a week to lighten the hearts of the
multitude. In the park all tastes are grati-
fied. One can mingle with the passing throng
or find solitude as deep and as quiet as though
a thousand miles away from a busy, bustling,
prosperous city, with its accompanying noises
and distractions.
Thanks to the forethought and public
spirit shown in the acquisition and develop-
ment of Prospect Park, Brooklyn possesses a
magnificent variety of such resorts, some of
which are even yet only in ccurse of prepara-
tion for the public needs. Forest Park, for
instance, some 550 acres, mainly of woodland,
on the heights between Ridgewood Park and
Richmond Hill, will be a source of delight to
all lovers of the artistic and beautiful when
the plans now in process of unfolding are
completed or nearly so, and Dyker Beach
Park, 144 acres, at Fort Hamilton, will be
prized as a beach resort. Bedford Park is
now contained in four acres of the Spanish
Adams estate and boasts an old colonial man-
sion, and Tompkins, City, Winthrop, Ridge-
wood, Canarsie Beach, Cooper, and a dozen
others all scattered through the borough, as
well as open spaces innumerable, show that
the builders of Brooklyn have been thorough-
ly mindful of a city's necessities in the way
of breathing and recreation places.
To describe these in minute detail would
be going beyond the province of this work,
but a few lines may be devoted to Fort Greene
Park (sometimes called Washington Park).
We have already mentioned the acquisition of
a Fort Greene Park, a portion merely of the
present enclosure. In 1847 *^he people peti-
tioned the Legislature for the necessary au-
thority to purchase all the land generally spo-
ken of as Fort Greene, so that it might be re--
served as a park, and as soon as this authority
was obtained the land was secured and laid
aside for public uses. It contains thirty acres
and has cost the city, for land, improvements
and maintenance, something like $2,000,000 ;
OLD JERSKY" PRISO.\ SHIP.
but even this great expenditure has proved a
splendid investment, for with the exception of
Prospect Park Fort Greene has become the
most frequented and generally used of the
city's pleasure grounds. It is at once a memo-
rial, a tomb and a playground. It was one
of the central points in the line of defense at
the battle of Brooklyn. It was before that
crisis thickly wooded, but when the issue came
the wood on its crest was hurriedly cleared
and a fortification was constructed on which-
five guns were mounted. It then received the
450
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
name of Fort Putnam. During part of the
battle of August 27, 1776, General Washing-
ton stood there and watched the progress of the
conflict with an agonized heart as he realized
only too sureh% as soon as he learned that the
line of defenses had been turned, that victory
was not to rest with his forceis. In the War
of 1812 it again formed a link in the chain
of defenses, and was then christened Fort
Greene. In one of its slopes is the tomb in
which lie the bones of the Patriots who died
in the prison ships in the Wallabout during the
Revolution and were originally buried with
scant ceremony, or rather with brutal lack of
ceremony, in the sandy soil of its shore. The
park is now handsomely laid out in walks,
lawns, terraces, and is completely enclosed by
a stone wall. From its highest point a splen-
did view may be obtained, while for nine or
ten months in each year it afifords a pleasant
place of quiet relaxation for all classscs of
:promenaders.
Brooklyn's entire system of public parks,
now under a single head — a Park Commission-
er— has a combined area of 1.649 acres. In ad-
dition many of the driveways, such as Ocean
Parkway, Eastern Parkway. Fort Hamilton
avenue, Bay Ridge Shore Drive, Eastern
Parkway, Bay Parkway and others are vir-
•tually to a great extent public parks and are
aised as such. These driveways are in the care
of the Park Commissioner, and form an ag-
gregate of roads and drives, including all va-
rieties of scenery, of some forty miles.
As the city extended the street railways
continued to multiply and push out in all direc-
tions, sometimes indeed anticipating the line
■of progress by pushing their rails into what
seemed a wilderness. In 1862 the Coney
Island Railroad from Fulton Ferry to the
beach was completed, covering a distance of
eleven miles and forming the longest car line
in the city. In one particularly important de-
tail the Brooklyn street cars were far superior
to those of New York at that time, the former
.being heated by small but sufficient stoves
which maintained a comfortable degree of heat
even in the bleakest weather. But in most
other respects, in frequency, regularity and
what might be called ubiquity, Brooklyn's sys-
tem of transit was then far superior to that
prevailing on Manhattan Island.
Brooklyn, nowever, had need of all such
facilities, for her business was extending in all
directions and homes were springing up in all
sorts of suburbs, in spite of the war-cloud
which hovered over the land all through the
years covered by this chapter. In fact while
private enterprise may have to some extent
hesitated, and undoubtedly ,did so, the city
itself seemed to press forward with conceiv-
able improvements. On December 4, 1858, a
water supply from Ridgewood was first used,
although it was four months later, April 27
and 28, 1859, before the people found time
and opportunity tj appropriately celebrate the
improvement, which they did by a monster
parade, listening to orators and illuminating
the city. Before the close of the next year a
site was secured on Montague street, at a cost
of $41,000. and the erection of the Academy of
Music was begun by a corporation with a cap-
ital of $150,000. The building was opened in
January, 1861, and has since been the scene of
many a brilliant and historic gathering.
The intellectual interests of the city were
not forgotten. In 1857 the Mercantile Library
Association was formed ; and the Young Men's
Christian Association, organized in 1853, was
soon noted for the success of its work. In
1855 the number of churches was computed
at 113, with several in course of construction,
and indeed it would be a curious year in the
story of Brooklyn that could pass without sev-
eral such edifices being erected. The steadily
increasing rise in the value of land on Man-
hattan Island and the difficulty of access to its
remoter parts, which then practically meant
all of it north of Thirty-fourth street, made
many of her manufacturers take advantage of
the cheap land in Brooklyn or its immediate
vicinitv, where there was also excellent transit
THE ERA OF THE CIVIL WAR.
451
facilities much more moderate than in Manhat-
tan. Land could be bought in the neighbor-
hood of Brooklyn, in extent enough whereon
to erect a factory and surround it with a group
of workers' houses, for less than such a block
could be rented on Manhattan within an hour's
team travel of the City Hall. So in and around
the city, notably in Greenpoint and Williams-
burgh, factories of all sorts began to spring
up, steel works, shipbuilding works, sugar
works, printing ofSces, breweries, chemical
works, color works, oil refineries, — it is diffi-
cult to enumerate them all, — and each of
course had an influence not only in attracting
new residents but in developing the city in
their respective sections. As fast as popula-
tion increased the system of street transit kept
pace. Even the Wallabout district, swampy,
unkempt, and ill favored in many ways, felt
the influence of the tide of manufactures and
enjoyed a share, and the result was that as a
manufacturing city Brooklyn, even before the
war cloud had been dissipated, felt impelled to
claim no mean rank among the beehives of the
Union. The policy of the city was to attract
such additions to its midst and to make the
most liberal arrangements possible to retain
them. It also realized the immense advantage
it possessed in its water-front and was slowly
but surely utilizing it so as to attract as much
commerce as possible. The Atlantic Basin had
already proved a financial success and had of
itself opened up for use a section of the city
which had previously been known only to the
lone fisherman, the farmer, and the market
gardener.
Shortlv after the beginning of the period
we are treating in this chapter the Erie Basin
on Gowanus Bay was begun and in spite of the
perilous times and several unavoidable delays
was pushed through and completed, and
opened for business October 13. 1S6C:. It is a
magnificent shelter, covering now 100 acres
and protected by a semi-circular breakwater
measuring about a mile. It includes ten piers
of various sizes, grain stores with a capacity
of 3,000,000 bushels, and stores for saltpetre,
chloride of potash and other chemicals as well
as general merchandise. Several floating grain
elevators are always found in it and each win-
ter about 700 canal boats are laid up in its
shelter and many of our yachting devotees
keep their crack boats there when the racing
season is over. It was of course built by pri-
vate enterprise but the enterprise was primar-
ily brought about by a desire to aid in the de-
velopment of the city, a desire which seems to
have inspired, to more or less degree, the life
of every one who has resided in Brooklyn long
enough to rank as one of its citizens. The Erie
Basin was a commercial success from the be-
ginning and so continues, although it has
shared in the evil fortunes of the Brooklyn
Wharf & Warehouse Company, to which its
ownership was transferred when that un-
wieldy and badly managed trust was formed
in 1895. On Jan. 9, 1901, a disastrous fire
occurred at the Erie Basin, destroyin r one of
its piers and two vessels, besides a great quan-
tity of stores, involving a financial loss, it was
estimated, of about $500,000.
Another notable improvement in the same
direction was accomplished by the Gowanus
Canal Improvement Commission, which was
called into existence by act of the Legislature
in 1866. Under it the historic creek, widened
and deepened, became a genuine water high-
way, a mile long in its main line with several
branches, carrying what might be called the
sea-power right into the city. Along this canal
I-rick, lumber, coal and other yards were soon
located, the moderate cost of the land as well
as the ample loading and docking facilities
commending the whole line of the improve-
ment to those dealers in bulk who could handle
their goods either in the way of receiving or
shipping by a water route. A boat could leave
a brickwork on the Hudson, for instance, and
carry its load right ta Baltic street, Brooklyn,
whence it could easily be transported to any
];art of the city, saving time and money in
transporting and handling. In 1867 a similar
452
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
improvement was effected in the Wallabout
district, and it mav be said that Brooklyn is as
well supplied with internal waterways as any
city on this side of the Atlantic.
From 1866 to 1870 was a time of marked
development in the history of Brooklyn. The
war was over, it was a time of upbuilding, re-
building everywhere, sometimes a little fever-
ish and uncertain, it is true, but in the main
healthy and in the direction of repairing the
damage and the waste and the delay brought
about by four years of disunion, war, hate, and
waste of blood, brain, and treasure. In 1867
3,539 new buildings were erected, and in 1868
3,307, a lesser number certainly than that of
the previous year but many of the structures
of a much more cost'y character. In 1867 six-
teen miles of water pipes were laid and four-
teen miles of sewers, giving the city 210 miles
of water pipes and 134 miles of sewers. In
1869 there were 150 miles of sewer pipes and
224 miles of water pipes. In 1864 the assessed
valuation of the real estate in the city was
$103,593,072; in 1865, $106,470,308; in 1866,
$113,941,366; in 1867, $122,748,954; in 1868,
$131,271,141; in 1869, $179,064,130; and in
1870, $183,822,789. It must be remembered
that the assessed valuation was about one-half
of the real market value. These figures are
more eloquently illustrative of the material
progress of the city than any words could pos-
•sibly be.
But the city had its drawbacks. On the
map it had about 500 miles of streets, but on
only about half of these were there any houses,
and on little more than a quarter was there
icv/age provisions. Around the ferry the pop-
ulation was congested, — far too n.uch su for
health, and on the less crowded streets the san-
itary arrangements so necessary for the pub-
lic welfare were absent. A hcu;e might be
found standing on a street, the only dwelling
on a block, and besi.de it would be a swamp,
while the water for dome.Uic purposes was pro-
cured from a well, without the slightest
thought as to where the water came from or
what it passed through. Even in the heart of
the city sanitation in the ]3oorer dwclTngs was
almost unknown, or at best deemed only a lux-
ury for the rich. It has already been seen how
easily from this cause Brooklyn had received
several dread visits of cholera, and in i860 it
found itself in the grasp of an epidemic of yel-
low fever, which, it was claimed, was brought
to the port by some ship or ships from the
South. How it did originate, however, is not
very clear; but there is no doubt of the stern
fact that forty-six cases of the disease were re-
ported and of these thirty-four were found on
Congress street. In 1866, however, there came
an even more dreaded visiter, cholera, of vi-liich
there were reported 816 cases. Of these 573
ended fatally, and there were also reported 142
fatal cases of what was described as cholera
morbus. The greatest number of cases and of
deaths occurred in the Twelfth ward, between
the Atlantic Basin and Gowanus Bay, where
there was a total absence of sanitary provi-
sions, of abundance of wells and a scarcity of
water mains. That the disease did not spread
over a wider territory and with even more ter-
rible results was due to the heroic exertions of
the medical profession, whose labors .during
the anxious months of July, August and Sep-
tember were beyond all praise. Through the
demands of the physicians a hospital for the
treatment of cholera patients was opened at the
corner of Van Brunt street and Hamilton ave-
nue, and later a second one, in the City Park.
Brooklyn had already become conspicuous for
the excellence of its medical service, and dur-
ing this period it came to the front with re-
markable brilliancy. In 1856 the Central Dis-
pensary was established, and in 1858 the Long
Island College Hospital and Dispensary was
organized, the St. Peter's Hospital Dispensary
in 1864, St. Mary's Hospital in 1868, and sev-
eral other institutions having for their primal
object the care of the sick were started on their
mission of practical charity and love during the
period.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE.
TURE — Brooklyn Public Library — Rev. Dr. Cuylkr — Rev. Dr. Talm.:
— Father Malone.
literature the city made little progress
as a producer, although as a reading
centre its importance was everywhere
recognized. Such of its sons and
daughters as displayed literary ability found
the best and readiest market for their wares
in other places, and those of its residents who
'vere practically active in literary work be-
longed in reality to Manhattan Island or were
simply birds of passage temporarily in Brook-
lyn. This was the case with John G. Saxe, one
of the most popular American poets of his day
but whose memory, since his death, at Albany,
in 1887, seems to have been gradually reced-
ing into the dark mist of time, where so many
bright and fragrant memories become forgot-
ten. It cannot be said that Brooklyn showed
any sign of the possession of a literary cult
then any more than it does now. It has been
held that Oliver Bunce Bell wrote his "Ro-
mance of the American Revolution" and his
"Bachelor's Story" in Brooklyn; but both of
these are now hardly regarded as literature as
time has robbed them of the popularity they
once enjoyed. Still Bell could hardly be
claimed as having done anything to confer lit-
erary eminence on Brooklyn. His interests
centred in New York. Frederick Saunders,
too, wrote most of his "Salad for the Social"
and his earlier "Salad for the Solitary," as well
as several of his other books, in his home in
Brooklyn, but he carried the manuscript to
New York, where his days were spent and
where his real work was done. Brooklyn con-
tained only his "bedroom." Much of Alden
J. Spooner's best work was done during this
oeriod, and he and Senator Murphy and Ga-
briel Furman and Gabriel Harrison and a few
others might, had they so desired, have won
some measure of literary fame for the city
they loved so well, but either they did not so
desire or the fates were unpropitious, or they
wanted a leader and those who might have'
been leaders like Beecher, or Murphy, or
Storrs, were too busy with other matters to
attempt to found a literary forum.
In a literary sense the greatest of all these
names, the one who might have formed and
attained leadership in a literary guild and so
given Brooklyn some degree of individuality
in the world of letters, was the last named,—
Gabriel Harrison, — a man of many and bril-
liant parts but whose every effort seemed des-
tined to lead to financial failure. Born in Phil-
adelphia, in 1825, he settled in New York in
1 83 1 with his father and early conceived a pas-
sion for becoming an actor, inspired in that
direction by seeing a performance by Edwin
Forrest at the Park Theatre in 1832, it is said,
although children of seven years of age are not
generally bothering much about a vocation to
carry them through life. However this may
be, he made his first appearance as an actor in
Washington in 1838, taking the part of Othello
454
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
in Shakespeare's famous tragedy. For some
time he was interested in photography by the
Daguerre process and did work which won the
praise of the inventor himself; but there was
no money in it. In 1845 he becarhe a member
of the Park Theatre Company in New York
and in that position lent effective support to
Charles Kean. Mr. Furman's active connec-
tion, publicly, with Brooklyn dated from 1848
when he first appeared at the Garden Theatre
in a round of characters, and so endeared him-
self to many of its best people that he was
persuaded to make it his home. In 185 1 he or-
eanized the Brooklyn Dramatic Association,
and, with the exception of a year or so when
he managed the Adelphi Theatre in Troy,
Brooklyn henceforth continued to be his home
and the constant scene of his-laJaors. In 1863
he opened the Park Theatre, when he pro-
duced most of the popular operas and high-
class dramas of the day with a conscientious
regard for the correctness and completeness of
every detail, as well as the ability of every
actor, in a manner that was far ahead of the
usual run of such things in America. This
endeavor, while praised on every hand, in-
volved a degree of expense which the returns
did not warrant, and he was compelled to re-
tire from the management under a clou J of in-
debtedness. Thereafter he acted as manager
of the Brooklyn Academy of Alusic and in that
capacity contrived to struggle along for a time.
From his early years Harrison had excelled
as an artist and his interest in art had led to
his appointment as secretary of the Brooklyn
Academy of Design, for which institution he
raised enough money to free it from a load of
indebtedness and to put its art schools on a
satisfactory footing. His own artistic' work
was then winning recognition and he was en-
abled to dispose of as much of it as he cared
to finish and put on the market, but his con-
scientious scruples of only sending forth the
very best of which he was capable or which
seemed to him to come nearest to his high
ideals, kept him from realizing all that his
brush might have brought him. As an artist
his best known work is a portrait of Edwin
Forrest as Coriolanus, although some of his
landscapes are worthy of a generous meed of
praise. But his main business from the time
he left the Academy of Music was that of a
man of letters. In 1872 he organized the For-
rest Club of Brooklyn, with the idea of its be-
coming a literary and dramatic society of some
influence, but it passed away after an existence
of a few years sans accomplishment. In the
same year he published "The Life and Writ-
ings of John Howard Payne" (Albany, 1872),
and it is to his efforts that Brooklyn is indebted
for the bust of that author which now adorns
Prospect Park. He adapted Hawthorne's
"Scarlet Letter" for the theatre and wrote
"Melanthia," a tragedy, as well as a number
of dramas, most of which were produced on
the stage but failed to obtain any hold on the
public and are now forgotten. After doing a
good deal of literary work of one kind or an-
other his health failed and he was laid aside
for several years by nervous prostration, dur-
ing which he accomplished little except a
graphic chapter on the drama in Brooklyn for
Dr. Stiles"s work, the "History of King; Coun-
ty." In 1887 he became u teacher of elocution
in Brooklyn and so continues.
The story of the newspaper press during
the period was about as barren of incident as
the general literary field was barren of living
results. The Eagle had obtained a standing
as the leading local newspaper in point of cir-
culation and influence and zealously and
worthily strove not only to increase its grip
but to strengthen it. In this it succeeded to
a greater extent than even its owners probably
anticipated. There was a constant issue of
new literary street and family papers which
fluttered for a brief time and then disappeared,
filling during their existence no felt want and
passing away without leaving any sign. There
were, too, several attempts made to establish
new daily or weekly newspapers without cap-
ital or connection or public purpose, and meet-
INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE.
455.
ing with the usual fate. "The Signal," in
1855, ran a brief course of six weeks as an
evening paper and then ceased ; and the same
year saw the beginning and end of "The
Brooklyn Independent," a weekly organ
which was to proclaim the views of men who
were bereft of a party and wanted to find
shelter somewhere again. "The City News,"
begun in 1859, for a time was looked upon as
a successful competitor of "The Eagle," but
whatever measure of success it had was of but
brief duration, and in 1863 it was consolidated
with "The Union." That paper was first issued
Sept. 14, 1863, as a Republican organ and had
a marked measure of success while the war
lasted. After that it began to decline and in
1870 its original owners disposed of it to
Henry C. Bowen, and Stewart L. Woodford
(afterward Minister to Spain) became its
editor. In 1872 the proprietorship again-
changed hands and Theodore Tilton became
editor. In 1866 "The Brooklyn Argus" ap-
peared, as a weekly, becoming a daily in 1873,
and it continued to be published until 1877,
when it was merged in the "Union," which
then became the "Union-Argus."
One literary development of moment in
Brooklyn was the increase in the number of
public libraries. The Mercantile Library As-
sociation, organized in 1857, got together a
large collection of books and its classes and
lectures were for years features of the higher
social life of the city. In 1867 the Brooklyn
Library was housed in its commodious build-
ing in Montague street, where it now has a
collection of 150,000 volumes, including a spe-
cial collection of 3,000 reference works. The
Library of the Long Island Historical Society
dates from 1863 and now numbers 62.3.40 vol-
umes. Brooklyn of the present day, while it
contains no single institution which can take
rank as a great library, is abundantly provided
with institutions of a thoroughly practical sort,
so that the citizens so inclined can really com-
mand the world's current literature free of any
cost. The free library of the Packer Institute
has 67,906 volumes, and there are quite a
number of smaller institutions the uses of
which are free or available by payment of a
small sum.
In Brooklyn, too, is one of the latest and
most effective developments in the way of a
really useful public library which, while it is
still in the experimental stage, seems certain
of success in application and rich success in
results. The Brooklyn Pablic Library has for
its object the development of a municipally
controlled institution on the lines of the largest
possible free circulation of books, and under
the new regime has progressed rapidly. Its
municipal control gives to Brooklyn the honor
of proclaiming as her own the only municipal
library in Greater New York. The Long
Island City Library, while being conducted
upon the same lines, is much less extensive,
and the New York Free Library is still to some
extent under corporative control. The defini-
tion of a free library, as given by the State
Board of Regents, voiced by Mr. Melvil
Dewey, is "one owned and controlled by the
city."
In February. 1899, the library came under
municipal authority, and Mr. Arthur E. Bost-
wick, who was formerly chief librarian of the
New York Free Circulating Library, was
placed at its head. Mr. Bostwick is a gradu-
ate of Yale College and has taken the degree
of Ph. D. He is well known in library circles,
beings e.xtensively affiliated with library inter-
ests. He has twice occupied the Presidency
of the New York Library Club, and is now
President of the Long Island Library Club.
The library is the product of the Brooklyn
Public Library Association, the association in
turn being the outcome of the interests in free
library extension, as upheld and proclaimed by
the Woman's Library Association, of which
Mrs. Mary E. Craigie was chief pioneer.
At the time of the city's assumption of the
library it consisted of the main branch, at 26
Brevoort Place, and tlic Bedford Park branch.
Since that time there have been added five
456
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
branches: Wiliiamsburgh, 380 Bedford ave-
nue; East, 29 Pennsylvania avenue; South
Brooklyn, 1147 Fourth avenue; and Flatbush,
5 Caton avenue, opened as Flatbush Free Li-
brary, and transferred to Brooklyn Public
Library in January, 1899. The latest branch
established is Prospect Branch, at Litchfield
Mansion, Prospect Park, used at first as a sta-
tion for the traveling library department : it
later became of the same character as the other
branches. The situation of this branch, which
is an important one, is but temporary, the site
chosen for its permanent quarters being at
Sixth avenue and Third street.
Originally the library contained some 20.-
000 volumes ; to-day there are 50,000 volumes.
The library's wo'-th is best judged by the
city's recent appropriation of $80,000 for its
next year. This is twice the amount appropri-
ated in 1899. To this $20,000, conditionally
available, may be added, to be used for main-
tenance of established free circulating libra-
ries, when they shall be acquired as branches of
the Brooklyn Public Library. The libraries
alluded to are New Utrecht, Fort Hamilton,
Bay Ridge, and Union for Christian Work.
Throughout the library the open-shelf sys-
tem prevails, and is considered by the librarian
to be the most desirable method, particularly
where the borrower's interest is concerned.
The loss, in his estimation, which is a natural
outcome of such a plan, is in every way com-
pensated for by the actual good accomplished.
At the main branch, which is also the build-
ing of administration, there is a most success-
ful children's department, situated on the
ground floor. The building is modern in its
appointment and most attractive. Each branch,
in so far as possible, is conducted, especial re-
quirements of localities being considered, upon
the model of the main branch, the children's
department included, even when it is only pos-
sible to reserve a corner of a room for them.
The Traveling Library Department, which
is at the main branch, is under the direction of
Mrs. Mary E. Craigie, Assistant Librarian.
The privileges of this department for schools,
literary clubs, etc., are just beginning to be
realized, and will be more used by them as the
advantages become known.
It is the directors' object to co-operate
more and more, not alone with schools, but
with all institutions of learning and progress.
It is a matter of great encouragement that tl;e
reception of the library branches has been most
enthusiastic, the borrowers being all ths time
on the increase ; and whereas ordinarily in the
establishment of a free institution gifts of
money, etc., are a proof of progress, the great-
est possible evidence for the future success of
the library lies in the ability of the people to
appreciate their own needs ; the consequent de-
mand being best supplied and strengthened by
one who, having already been helped by the in-
stitution, in turn becomes interested. An actual
gift of money from one not appreciative of the
library's privileges does not voice to the same
extent the people's progress in culture. Mr.
Bostwick is an advocate of complete organiza-
tion in the administration of the library.
The apprentice class in connection with the
library, while it is under the control of the
librarian, is more directlv under the supervi-
sion of Miss Theresa Hitchler, the library's
chief cataloguer. It is an institution of merit.
Six months' free service to the library entitles
the applicant, after passing civil service, to take
competitive examination for entrance on the
force of the Brooklyn Public Library.
Beginning with the main branch, each
library will eventually contain an art and a
music department. Unity of purpose and de-
termination in pursuit of the highest interest
of the institution committed to their charge is
upheld to the entire force of the Brooklyn Pub-
lic Library by its chief librarian.
The aims and scope of the Brooklyn Pub-
lic Library have been treated at some length
bene because they are so perfect and far-
reaching as to make the institution a model
one and worthy of careful consideration by all
engaged in such work or planning a similar
INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE.
457
design of municipal usefulness. Just as this
volume is about to go to press, however, the
munificent gift of $5,000,000 by Andrew
Carnegie to establish a group of popular li-
braries throughout the Greater New York has
been announced and the problems occasioned
by the princely donation are being thought
over by the local leaders in library work. So
far, as seems likely the main policy )to be
adopted will be a unification of all existing
public libraries under the management of one
central body and the erection of what may be
termed "Carnegie library" buildings through-
out the municipality. Brooklyn, of course,
getting her share. Manhattan's great libraries
— the Astor and the Lenox — are already
united, and with the money left by Samuel
J. Tilden as a perpetual endowment, will have
their headquarters in the New York Public
Library Building now in course of erection by
the city (and at the cost of the city) on Fifth
Avenue and Forty-second street. This will
likely be the heart of the entire library system
of the Greater City, and when these details are
perfected the work of the Brooklyn Public
Library may be changed somewhat, but mean-
time it carries on its beneficent mission to the
best of its ability and present resources, re-
gardless of what the future may have in store,
or rather confident that the future will only
bring progress and improvement.
It is impossible within the limits of this
work to attempt to follow with any degree of
detail the progress of its churches during the
time covered in this section. It was a time
of great spiritual activity in all directions and
the churches were represented in every move-
ment. Pastors and people were drawn to-
gether in all walks of life and in all pursuits,
and the clergy were no longer a class who
dwelt apart, but men who boldly grappled with
all the questions of the day, questions con-
cerning local and National government, the
war, the claims of peace, and the regeneration
of the Republic after its baptism of fire. In
this Henry Ward Beecher led the wav and set
the fashion, and it was his intense, throbbing
sympathy with men around him and in meas-
ures of even passing moment that made the
platform of Ph-mouth Church become a forum
of the people as the pulpit had not been since
the days when John Knox thundered from that
in St. Giles' Church in old Edinburgh and de-
nounced and defied his sovereign Queen — the
unfortunate Mary Stuart. The activity of the
clergy in all that pertained to the war was
most marked, and especially so in all the meas-
ures tending to brighten the lot of the boys at
the front or to alleviate the sorrow and hard-
ship of those they left at home. To rehearse
even that story, to chronicle even thos: deeds
of active interest and loving charity, would
alone require the space of a large and portly
volume. In these circumstances we must be
content with selecting three representative
names as illustrative of the rich array of
preachers who in this era made the words
spoken in Brooklyn pulpits literally ring
throughout the world.
In i860 the Rev. Theodore Ledyard Cuyler
was called to the pastorate of the Park Pres-
byterian Church, then but recently organized.
He was born at Aurora, N. Y., in 1822, was
educated at Princeton and was minister of the
Market Street Dutch Church in New York
when he accepted the call to Brooklyn. There
his success was immediate and the congrega-
tion had to erect a new structure on Lafayette
avenue to carry on the work, and even that
had to be enlarged. Dr. Cuyler's success was
remarkable in that, while not unmindful of the
stirring events of his time, he never forgot
that he was first of all a minister and that his
first duty was to win souls to Christ. His
services were purely evangelistic, and all the
work of the church, and a royal working
church it was, was directed to that prime duty.
But he used the religious press to show his
standpoint on passing events and especially
upon such matters as temperance, charity and
missions. He was a graceful and ready writer.
458
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
one who could plead with his pen as effectually
as with his tongue, and denounce shams and
hypocrisies and evils with a degree of force
which he would not have been thought proper
in the pulpit. He wrote many books, mainly
religious, all of which enjoyed a large sale and
made his name known throughout the land,
throughout the religious world in fact. In
1890 he retired from the active pastorate, but
The second representative selected was a
man of different stamp but whose name was
even more popularly known — in time — than
that of Dr. Cuyler. Indeed for many years his
name was popularly bracketed with that of
Beecher as a leader in the local church world.
In 1834 a Presbyterian church was organized
on Schermerhorn street — ^the Central. It
dragged on, doing good work in a quiet way,
has continued to reside in Brooklyn and main-
tained his literary work so that he is still an
active power for good. He preaches occasion-
ally in various churches in whose midst he may
be sojourning, but his life is spent mainly in
his study where he keeps a close watch on the
parsing events of each day and never fails
when the occasion demands it to issue a note
of warning or of approval or point a fitting
moral to anv story which strikes his fancy.
until 1869, when it issued a call to the Rev.
Thomas DeWitt Talmage, who accepted, and
with his advent the church became a power.
He was born at Bound Brook, N. J., in 1832,
and his first charge was the pastorate of the
Reformed Dutch Church at Belleville in his
native state. From 1862 he was pastor of a
church in Philadelphia, but while his ministry
there was a successful one it was not start-
lingly so. Some one has said that Talmage
INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE.
459-
needed the environment of Brooklyn to bring
out the qualities which won for him his pre-
eminent position. However that may be, there
is no question of his immediate success in
Brooklyn. Within a year the Central Church
became too small to hold the throng of wor-
shippers, and in 1870 the congregation built
a new edifice, with a seating capacity of 3,400.
Even this proved too small and so it was en-
lairged to accommodate 500 more. This edi-
fice was burned Dec. 22, 1872, and a new
structure rose from its ashes, a magnificent
Gothic building with a seating capacity of
5,000, the largest Presbyterian church in the
country. It, too, was destroyed by fire, on Oct.
2T, 1889. Another new "tabernacle" was
erecced for Dr. Talmage, but it in turn was
consumed by fire, May 13, 1894, and with it
ended his pastoral labors in Brooklyn. The
regular congregation seemed unwilling to enter
upon the burden of erecting a fourth "taber-
nacle," and the story of the negotiations
showed that not one of these buildings for the
congregation had ever been a paying invest-
ment ; that Dr. Talmage had for years received
no salary; that there was a heavy load of in-
debtedness. The regular members were com-
paratively few, and while each service was
crowded with worshippers the collection bask-
ets were poorly filled, and, as one puts it, "the
church could not get along with a weekly in-
come of a penny a seat." So the church was
abandoned. Dr. Talmage subsequently ac-
cepted a call to Washington and that city has
since been his home. His popularitv as a
preacher is undiminished, while as a literary
worker the demands made upon him and suc-
cessfully responded to, indicate that his inor-
dinate capacity for such labor does not weaken
with the advance of years.
A typical Brooklyn citizen, an Irishman, a
Roman Catholic priest, a Republican in poli-
tics, and a loyal American clear through, may
be spoken of about here as our third represent-
ative Brooklyn clergyman. The Rev. Sylvester
Malone was born in Trim, county Meath, May
18, 1 82 1, and came to America in 1839 and at
once entered on a course of study to qualify
himself for the priesthood, and was ordained
August 15, 1844. He was then assigned to
the pastoral charge of the little congregation
at Williamsburgh. His ministry was a success
from its very beginning. Within two years
he had filled the benches in the little church
building with worshippers, paid off a heavy
burden of debt which lay upon it and had
started a movement to erect a new and more
fitting place of worship. He was a rrtost active
man in those early days, his parish was the
most extensive, in point of territory, of any
near New York, he attended closely to all its
parochial needs, and he lectured, visited and
planned for the good of his people continually.
He early became known as a man of liberal
spirit, a sturdy adherent of his own church,
but at the same time an admirer of all churches
which had for their purpose the salvation of
souls. A doubting, an agnostic, "a- modern
thought" community he had no patience with,
then or thereafter. His first principle next to
faith was sincerity, and when he found a man
sincere he had no trouble in honoring and re-
specting him, no matter how far their views
as to church questions might diverge. These
sentiments early won him the love of all classes
in the community and that love deepened into
reverence as time went on.
In his own congregation he was decidedly
popular long before the people of Williams-
bin-gh understood him, and this popularity
found tangible evidence in the rapidity with
which his plans for erecting a new church was
carried out. The corner-stone of the new edi-
fice was laid May 30, 1847, and on May 7 in
the following year the building was opened
for worship. To it was given the name of the
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, and it at once
became a centre of religious and educational
activity. It had a congregation numbering^
5,000, a parochial school with capacity for
1,000 scholars, a religious library and various
church societies, all engaging with enthusiasm-
460
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in various details of rcligioui and missionary
work.
Thereafter his Hfe was bound up with his
church, and his devotion, his eloquence, his
sterling Americanism, made it one of the most
talked of congregations in a city that has had
more famous chuiches than any other in jVmcr-
ica. Perhaps the most significant honor paid
him was in 1894, when he was selected as one
of the Regents of the New York State Univer-
sity. He was equally the friend of Beecher
and Storrs, of Mayors Low and Schieren, of
Theodore A. Havemeyer and Silas B. Butch-
er, of Rabbi Gottheil and Dr. Charles Cuth-
bert Hull. He retained his popularity to the
end of his life's journey and much genuine
grief was expressed throughout Brooklyn
when it became known, on Friday, Dec. 29,
1899, that Father Malone had passed to his
■rest at an early hour that morning.
The cause of Father Malone's popularity
may best be understood by citing a few ex-
tracts from some of his public utterances.
Speaking of the New England Pilgrims at a
public celebration of Forefathers" Day in 1877,
Father Malone said:
The Puritans were the representatives of
the principle Avhich forms the nucleus of our
present civilization. I remember paying a visit
to Plymouth, in company with two Catholic
priests. We had not long to stay and it was
raining when we arrived at that spot. In
spite of that fact we went to the rock and I re-
member, in all the wet, we knelt down and
reverently kissed that blarney stone, thinking
that it would do us good to pay that tribute
to the memory of the founders of this coun-
try. The spirit of liberty which imbued the
Pilgrim Fathers has built up the country to
what it now is. That same spirit was mani-
fested when we asserted the independence of
the nation at large, shaking off the fetters of
oppression. It was that same spirit which
called us to preserve our liberty during seces-
sion. But for the New England element dur-
ing the late Civil War. we would never have
preserved the Union. But for the New Eng-
land element the Pacific coast would have gone
in with the secessionists. It is mv honest con-
viction that it was the Puritan spirit which car-
ried the struggle to a successful ending. Of
course, all other nationalities aided us, but
their struggles would not have amounted to
anything had it not been for the energy of the
Yankee. As a lover of that liberty which im-
bued these patriarchs and imbues our present
Government, I am delighted to be present with
you to-night. I thank you for the warm recep-
tion you have given me and I thank you that
I have had the opportunity of expressing my
sentiments.
An ardent lover of his native land, he had
no tolerance for some of the forms which love
of Ireland assumed in this country. Speaking
with reference to St. Patrick's Day parades,
he once said : "What insanity is it that brings
St. Patrick from his niche in God's temple to
the streets to be made the subject of laughter
and derision? Silver-tongued orators fire
your enthusiasm ; but, barken ye, you are no
better nor worse than the people of any other
nation. It is true that the Irish have as their
characteristic a love even to death of their
faith. It seems, in God's good providence,
that they are the instruments He uses to coun-
teract the effects of the work of the Reforma-
tion in England ; for go the world over, where
the English tongue is spoken, and there you
will find Irishmen. Does this apply to the
Irish Catholic politicians, who for their own
preferment bring their religion and their race
into politics? If you are politicians be Ameri-
can politicians. Your religion and its saints
and the apostles of the land dear to you and
your ancestry do not need street pageants.
Flock to your church, for there alone is the
place to give honor to St. Patrick, and there
alone you will gain the strength to walk
through this world with honor to yourself,
your religion and Ireland."
In his "jubilee" meeting, October 16, 1894,
surrounded by a host of the brightest men in
Brooklyn, men of all shades of religious faith,
political complexion and social class, he turned
aside in the course of his address from an
acknowledgment of the many tributes paid
INTELLFXTUAL AND SPIRITUAL LIFE.
46 1-
him to eulogize the American volunteer sol-
dier : "It was the American soldiers who won
for us the proud pre-eminence of being the
safest and most trustworthy civil organiza-
tion as a free nation that the world has ever
ful services for fatherland in times of war as
in times of peace. The American citizen being
the shield in war and the industrious, peace-
ful member in a great arid prosperous nation-
in times of peace, we can always trust this
REV, DR. SYLVESTER M.\LONE.
known. Let, then, the American citizen sol-
dier be forever honored who has done his
work so well, and, in doing so, has left to
posterity an example of self-devotion and pa-
triotism which will ring joyous notes down
the ages, so that American patriotic citizens
may always be relied on to do good and faith-
citizen soldier who takes to war because it is-
in the line of duty, and is at home in peaceful
pursuits just for a similar reason. Duty in
both spheres of activity gives the citizen a
place in the warm affections of the family,
in the confidence of the community and in the-
admiration of the country for which he feels
-iQ2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and bleeds. There may be degrees in my
charity, but I am not ashamed to say it, that,
all peaceful as is my natural disposition, and
is also the nature of my calling, my soul
awakens to the highest regard for the soldier
of the Union who laid down his weapons of
war when peace was proclaimed and went
back to the plow and his counting house and
the other pursuits which were in his line of
duty before he answered the summons to
shoulder his musket and be drilled for the ter-
rible conflict."
Perhaps no man ever more truly painted
his own character than Father Malone deline-
ated his own in the words with which he
closed the address from which the above quo-
tation was made, and with these few words
from his own lips this all too brief record of
a lovely life may fittingly close. He said :
"I give }'ou an inside view of the workings
of my soul for the last fifty years. It labored
for God and revealed religion ; and in doing
so the children of God were never for a mo-
ment forgotten and the children of God with
me would include even Ingersoll. No one
can be beyond my most earnest sympathy.
I love to do the most good where it is most
needed. Such has been my life in the past —
the same it shall be in the future. And while
a merciful Father will bless me with health
and understanding, I will ever be with Him,
always showing mercy, blessing the. weak and
strong alike, the Jew and the Gentile, the
Protestant and the Catholic, the Democrat and
the Republican. And you, dear friends, and
all who have taken an active part in this cele-
bration, will be remembered by me in time
and in eturnitv."
CHAPTER XXXIX.
THE CIVIL WAR.
THE Field — The Enthusiasm ix Bhooklv:
Contributions to the Navv.
X THE beginning of i860 the military
resources of Brooklyn included a little
over 1,150 officers and men, with
vague notions of discipline and rather
picturesque ideas of drill and duty. They
were good men, most of them, in a fighting
sense, but for many years all ideas of fight-
ing had been abandoned, real war was some-
thing that might only be encountered in picture
books, and the principal aim of the soldier
was to wear an original sort of uniform : the
more original and outre the more gallant a
soldier was he. The Thirteenth Regiment
had 250 men on its roll, the Fourteenth had
150, the Twenty-eighth had 400, and the Sev-
entieth 350.
The Thirteenth was in point of years a
historic command, for, although only organ-
ized in 1847, it was a gathering together of
several military companies, some of which
could trace a descent, more or less direct, to
commands which were ready to do battle on
the earthworks in 1814. They included the
Brooklyn City Guard, the Pearson Light
Guard, the Washington Horse Guard, Oregon
Guard, Jefferson Guard, Willianisburgh Light
Artillery, and the Brooklyn Light Guard. All
wore different uniforms: some had white
coats, some had red, and one was rigged up in
fac-simile of the old Continentals when the
latter were on dress parade. In 1858, when a
gray uniform was ordered by the State to
supersede the various fantasticalities, it nearly
disorganized the command and the strength
of the regiment was greatly reduced. The
Fourteenth Regiment came into existence in
1846, and was also made up of a number of
separate companies each wearing its own uni-
form. It was originally known as the Brook-
lyn Chasseurs, probably for no other reason
than that the name sounded much more heroic
and dignified than light infantry would have
done. In 1861 it adopted the zouave dress,
which it wore during the war. This garb won
for its wearers the title of "Red-legged
Devils," a compliment to the fighting qualities
they constantly and gloriously exhibited. The
Twenty-eighth Regiment was organized in
i860, when it seemed certain that war was
about to be the outcome of the trouble be-
tween the States, and when war was inevitable
and the North began to put its military force
in order it was deemed advisable to disband
the Seventieth Regiment. It was a nonde-
script body, half artillery and half cavalry,
and in that form not easily handled. But the
men were not lost to the State. The artillery
portion organized what was known as the
First Battalion of Light Artillery, and ren-
dered good service in manning the forts in the
harbor, while the cavalry formed the nucleus
of a 'regiment of horse.
The news from Fort Sumter and President
Lincoln's call for troops aroused the utmost
464
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
excitement and enthusiastic patriolism
throughout Kings county. The existing regi-
ments at once began recruiting, and found no
difficuhy in swelling their ranks. Money be-
gan to be poured out from every quarter to
help those who proposed to do the fighting.
The city government appropriated $75,000 to
assist the families of those who volunteered.
Plymouth Church gave $1,000, Pierpont Street
Baptist Church $1,077, ^^^ others in lesser
degree. The Stars and Stripes were floated
from every pinnacle, one Roman Catholic
priest, Father Rafina, raising the emblem of
union and liberty with his own hands on the
top of his church, and military companies were
being daily formed and nightly drilled. On
April 20, — five days after receipt of the Presi-
dent's proclamation' — General Duryea was or-
dered to send two Brooklyn regiments to the
front and selected the Thirteenth and the
Twenty-eighth, and three days later (April
23, 1861) the former marched from its ar-
mory under Colonel Abel Smith 600 strong.
leaving 200 men behind awaiting equipment.
The regiment went to Annapolis, and after-
ward was stationed in Baltimore. The Twen-
ty-eighth, under Colonel Bennett, went to
Washington, and was on active duty until the
end of the term of three months for which
the enlistment of both regiments in the national
service had been made. Both commands re-
turned to Brooklyn when that time expired,
although it was then beginning to be under-
stood that the war had barely begun.
Writing of the history of the Thirteenth
Regiment during the war, General Horatio C.
King said: "Many of its officers and men
there (on the return to Brooklyn after the
three-months term) entered the volunteer
service, and it is said that the Thirteenth fur-
nished a larger number of officers from its
ranks than any militia organization except the
Seventh (New York City). One entire com-
pany of the Fifty-first New York Volunteers
(Colonel Ferrero) was recruited by Captain
Samuel H. Sims, formerly Lieutenant in Com-
pany B. Colonel Abel Smith raised the Eighty-
seventh New York, and was killed by accident
while superintending the organization. Captain'
Joseph Morgan, of Company C, afterward be-
came Colonel of the Ninetieth New York Vol-
unteers, in which Captain John Sullivan, of
Company A, was a Captain. Captain Morgan
also raised and commanded the One Hundred
and Forty-eighth New York Volunteers. John
]\Ianly was made Captain in the One Hundred
and Fifty-ninth New York Volunteers, and
was killed at Irish Bend, Louisiana. The
Third New York Volunteers, Colonel Abel
Smith, Jr. ; Fifty-first New York, One Hun-
dred and Thirty-ninth New York. Seventy-
ninth New York (Highlanders), Forty-sev-
enth New York. Fifth New York Artillery,
and Thirty-seventh New York were indebted
to the Thirteenth for many excellent "officers.
Major John H. \\'alker. of Rankin Post, No.
10, G. A. R., was taken from the ranks of
Company D by General Scott, and made an
officer in the regular army. But it is impossi-
ble to follow the names in detail. At least 600
of those who were connected with the Thir-
teenth entered the army and navy and served
their country with zeal and fidelity.
"Upon the retirement of Colonel Smith,
Lieutenant-Colonel R. B. Clark was elected
Colonel, with John B. Woodward as Lieuten-
ant-Colonel, and S. K. Boyd as Major. ]\Iay
2, 1862, the regiment again responded to the
call of the Federal Government, and pro-
ceeded to Baltimore, where, after a march of
four miles, it encamped just outside of Fort
McHenry. The camp was christened 'Camp
Crescent.' June 6th four companies of the
regiment embarked for Fortress IMonroe,
thence to Norfolk. The remaining four com-
panies, which left Baltimore June 7th, went
direct to Portsmouth, Virginia, and the entire
regiment a few days later arrived at Suffolk,
^'irginia. Here it was brigaded with the Sec-
ond, Fourth and Twent v-fif th New York and
the First Delaware, General ?\Iax Webber
conin'-anding, relieving veteran regiments.
THE CIVIL WAR.
4G5
which were sent at once to the Peninsula.
The countn- around was held by the Confed-
erates, and the duty was both arduous and
fraught with danger. The camp at Suffolk
was called 'Camp Crooke,' after the com-
mander of the Fifth (New York) Brigade,
General Philip S. Crooke, recently deceased.
It formed a part of the extreme left wing of
McClellan's army, and rendered very effective
and valuable service. At a review by General
Dix, commanding the corps, accompanied by
General Mansfield, the division, and General
Webber, the brigade commander, General
Dix complimented the organization as a 'su-
perior regiment.' Picket duty and the usual
accessories of war, except actual collision with
the enemy, occupied the time until the expira-
tion of the term of service, when, on August
31st, the men turned their faces homeward,
and again received a most cordial welcome.
"Again, in June, 1863, and for the third
time, the regiment was called into active serv-
ice, and, with other New York militia, was
hurried to the front. Colonel John B. Wood-
ward was in command, with W. A. McKee
as Lieutenant-Colonel. The presence of the
militia organizations in Pennsylvania enabled
veteran regiments to go to the immediate
front, and, although no one of them was under
fire, their service was of incalculable benefit
to the Union cause. They had many weary
marches, and suffered privations hard for un-
seasoned troops to bear. The overwhelming
defeat of the Confederates at Gettysburg, and
their final retirement across the Potomac, ren-
dered the services of the militia no longer in-
dispensable, and, in consequence of the draft
riots in New York, in July, 1863, the Thir-
teenth was ordered home, and during August
did guard duty in the city while the draft pro-
■ ceeded, preventing further outbreak."
Many of the members of the Twenty-
eighth Regiment also volunteered at once upon
their return for active duty at the front, but
the regiment as such did not leave Brooklyn
again until 1863, when it was ordered to Har-
30
risburg, Pennsylvania. It was home again in
July to aid in the suppression of the draft
riots.
But gallant as these two regiments proved
themselves, and ready for any sort of service
as the officers and men undoubtedly were,
there is no doubt that the fighting glory of
Brooklyn was more fully maintained by the
Fourteenth, — "the red-legged devils," which
won a record that for endurance and accom-
plishment is second to no other during the
trying years of the great conflict. It was mus-
tered into the service of the United States at
first for the term of three months, and after-
ward for three years. Its story is in brief
that of the Civil War, from the time it marched
away under Colonel Alfred M. Wood until it
was mustered out June i, 1864. Those who
then had not completed their term of enlist-
ment were at once transferred to the Fifth
Xew York \'olunteers. and gave abundant
evidence that the fighting tradition of the
Fourteenth had not suft'ered by the change of
number.
On leaving Brooklyn May 16, 1861, the
regiment, under Colonel Wood, went to Wash-
ington, and on the 23d of the same month
it was mustered into the service of the United
States. Then, with its strength increased to
960 men by recruits from Brooklyn, it en-
tered A'irginia and suffered much loss in the
first battle of Bull Run. There Colonel Wood:
was wounded and taken prisoner, and Lieu-
tenant-Colonel E. B. Fowler assumed com-
mand. Then its war record commenced in'
stern reality, and it took part in the battles^
of !\Ianassas Plains, Chantilly, South Mount-
ain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
Wilderness, Laurel Hill, Spottsylvania Court
House and a host of others, great and small.
It was always on the move, always ordered
to the front wherever was the danger line,
and it could always be depended on to per-
form whatever task was assigned to it. LInder
such circumstances its glory was great, but its-
losses were heavv. At South Mountain it
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
lost thirty per cent, of its fighting force ; at
Gettysburg it lost half its available strength,
and so on the story of destruction went
through the entire service. Needless to say
that when, in 1864, the bulk of the regiment
was honorably discharged and returned to
Brooklyn, the survivors of a hundred fights
met with a reception at the hands of their
townspeople that certainly. repaid the veterans
for man)' a weary march and three years of
hardship and peril. When the war was over
the regiment was reorganized under Colonel
Fowler, who continued as its commandant
luitil 1873, when he was succeeded by James
jMcLeer, now Brigadier-General in command
of the Second Brigade, New York National
Guard.
On the outbrcal; of the war, as has been
.•already said, the military fever in Brooklyn
rose to a high pitch and separate companies
were voluntarily formed in nearly every sec-
tion of the city, the Brooklyn Grays, the Car-
roll Hill Guards, Guard Lafayette, Relief
Guard, City Guard and the like. When the
-war was fairly on a number of these organi-
zations determined to unite in the formation
of a regiment, and so in 1862 was started the
Twenty-third. That command had a brief but
honorable experience at the front. The Forty-
seventh Regiment was organized the same
year and after pretty much the same manner,
'but was recruited mainly from the military
companies in the Eastern District. In May,
1862, under Colonel J. V. ]Meserole, it was
ordered to assist in the defense of Washing-
ton, and remained in the service of the Nation
imtil, with the Twenty-third and otlier regi-
ments, it was ordered back to assist in stop-
ping the draft riots. The Forty-seventh after-
ward performed another tour of duty at the
■front in 1863. In 1864 it was housed in its
-own armory, the first structure of the kind in
Brooklyn.
Tlie otlier regiments in which Brooklyn's
sons took their share of fighting at the front
included the 15th, 31st, 48th ("The Conti-
nental Guard," recruited by Colonel Perry),
50th, 51st, 56th, 67th (First Long Island,
"Beecher's Pets"), 73d, 87th, 90th (organized
at East New York), I32d, 139th, 158th, 159th,
164th, 165th, 173d, 176th, 5th Artillery, and
the 15th Engineers. Besides these there were
many companies of Brooklyn men to be found
all through the service, as in the First Engin-
eers, Duryea's Zouaves, Fourth and Fifth Cav-
alry and several others.
Having thus discussed as largely as need
be here the force which Brooklyn directly sent
into the field to defend the L^nion, it is
proper to turn to the consideration of what
was done at home to help the fighting arm.
Besides the call for troops, one of the earliest
things that brought the war right home to
Brooklyn was an alarm (in the early part of
1861) from the Navy Yard over a rumor
(rumors were rife in those days) that an at-
tempt was to be made to destroy it by fire.
In some way news of the rumored attack
reached Captain Foote, then in charge of the
yard, and he at once laid the matter before
flavor Powell, stating that he only had a
force of seventy-five or eighty men, — too few
to defend the Navy Yard, — and requested
assistance so that the property of the Govern-
ment might be protected. According to the
news received by Captain Foote, the plans of
the conspirators had been fully made, and
made with so much thoroughness that the ut-
most exertions were necessarj", — immediately
necessary, — to avert what promised to be a
terrible catastrophe. Alany at the time doubted
the existence of a plot at all, — dubbed the in-
cident "The Navy Yard Scare," and ridiculed
the story generally ; but afterward it was fully
confirmed that a plot to destroy the Navy Yard
had really been concocted, although the exact
details, so far as known, are not so ample as
were those furnished by rumor. However,
Captain Foote was thoroughly convinced that
a plot was in existence, and fortunately so
impressed Mayor Powell with a sense of the
seriousness of the situation that the latter at
THE CIVIL WAR.
467
once placed the Thirteenth Regiment and Colo-
nel Graham's artillery under arms ready to
appear at a moment's notice, while an extra
force of police (1,000, it is said) thoroughly
patrolled the boundaries of the yard, on the
river as well as on the land side, watched the
ferries for suspicious gangs, or followed any
loiterers near the scene of the proposed out-
rage. The rest of the militia in the city was
ordered to be in readiness to take up arms in
quick order. Nothing unusual occurred, how-
ever, the extraordinary precautions warning
the conspirators against making any attempt,
and the scare passed over as quickly as it had
arisen.
There is no doubt of Brooklyn's entire loy-
alty to the Government during the crisis of
1861. Doubtless some of the traitorous ele-
ment which seemed to infect New York had
an influence on a few in Brooklyn belonging
to the lawless and discontented class, a class
seemingly inseparable from all large commu-
nities, in the poorer districts, but even of these
the number who had any sympathy with the
objects of the rebellion was very few. Brook-
lyn was a loyal city, and it gave many unmis-
takable evidences of it. Money was liberally
subscribed, the Common Council doing its full
share, and even the banks agreeing to make
loans on terms which at other times would
have been rejected, churches and societies
voted money, private subscriptions were
abundant, recruiting for the army was easy,
and more than one corporation followed the
example of the Union Ferry Company, which
promised to pay the salaries of such of its
employes as volunteered to those dependent
upon them and to hold their positions in its
service open until their return from the front.
The members of the Kings County Medical
Society promised to render to the families of
the volunteers free of cost such medical serv-
ices as might be needed.
The public interest was also manifested in
many and unmistakable ways. On y\.pril 22.
1861, a mass meeting of citizens was held at
Fort Greene, at which it was estimated that
50,000 persons were present, and every Union
sentiment was wildly cheered. A Union salute
of thirty-four guns was fired, and the gather-
ing .demonstrated that clergy, politicians, busi-
ness men and men of all ranks and shades of
opinion had thrown down all the barriers
which marked out their folds and come right
out into the open with the single idea of sup-
porting the national administration at Wash-
ington. As Father Malone said, it was no
time to talk about mistakes having been made,
of this one to blame or that one to blame, to
denounce politicians or even to anathematize
those who had brought about the crisis. The
crisis had come, the flag of the United States
had been ruthlessly pulled down, and all should
be forgotten until restoration had been ac-
complished, and the only way to accomplish
that was to support loyally and without reser-
vation or question the Federal Government.
It was a grand meeting in every way, and re-
sulted in a generous outpouring of money as
v.'ell as a marked impetus in the enrollment
of volunteers for duty at the front. It has
been estimated that from April, 1861, until
July, 1862, 10,000 Brooklyn men went into the
military service of the Government. It should
be remembered that no one anticipated the
magnitude of the struggle on which the coun-
try had entered, and all had underrated the
tenacity of purpose with which the Southern
States would cling to their Confederacy.
The enlistments for active service in Brook-
Ivn, as in most other places where the loyal
spirit predominated, were rapid at first ; but
when it began to be realized that three months
were really to cut no figure in the settlement
of the disturbance and that the end promised
to be a matter of years, vounteering began to
fall off at a most alarming rate. This is not
to be wondered at. This is a nation of busi-
ness men and business is too complex a con-
cern to be easily laid aside for three or four
or an uncertain number of years and then
taken up again, while even those holding situ-
4GS
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ations could hardly expect them to be kept
open indefinitely awaiting their return. Under
these circumstances there was little cause for
surprise that the active war spirit should fag
a little. The country was in the position of a
traveler who finds himself at the bottom of a
very steep bit of road. To get over it quickly
he gathers up his strength, discovers it to be
steeper than he imagined and that he had used
up all his energy in the first rush ; su he has
to wait a little until he recovers a little of what
he has wasted, and then, wiser than before
as a result of his first experience, he carefully
and istolidly plods upward until he reaches the
top and finds himself on level ground once
more.
But while the enlistments fell oft" in Brook-
lyn there were no suggestions heard anywhere
in the city that the war should cease except
as a result of submission on the part of the
seceded States, and every effort was made to
encourage the military arm. It was felt that
the work entered upon had to be completed.
All sorts of inducements were offered to stim-
ulate recruiting. Money continued to pour in
to various committees organized to help the
families of those who were in the tented field,
and subscriptions to provide equipment for
new regiments or companies "Starting for the
front were liberally responded to. The Com-
mon Council, the Board of Supervisors and
corporations of all kinds generally regarded
as soulless, gave liberally and promptly. There
is no need of going into details or to quote
examples. The patriotic liberality of Brook-
lyn at this juncture was beyond all praise, and
the credit belongs to the city at large rather
than to the individual givers.
Brooklyn aided in the defense of the Union
very effectively also in another way. It was
in one of her shipbuilding yards, — that of
A. J. Rowland at Greenpoint,— that Ericsson's
famous Monitor was constructed. It was
launched January 30, 1862, just 100 days after
the keel had been laid, a marvel of rapidity,
and the strange vessel, almost every line of
which evolved a new idea, was completed witb
equal haste, but without any sacrifice of essen-
tial qualities, so that she was put in commis-
sion on February 2Sth. On March 9th she-
had concluded her virgin voyage to Hampton
Roads, and at once- engaged the Confederate
ironclad, "Merrimac," which was playing
havoc with the wooden ships belonging to the
United States Government. The success of the
"Monitor" was so immediate and complete
that the Government ordered quite a fleet of
similar vessels, no fewer than seven additional
ones being constructed at Rowland's estab-
lishment. Long before the war closed a
large number of war vessels of various grades
had been constructed in different yards at
Greenpoint.
Greenpoint, during the whole of the war
period, was an exceptionally busy place, thanks
to its shipbuilding industry. The "Brooklyn
Union," of March 17, 1864, in referring to
this, gave the following summary, after speak-
ing of the succession of monitors built in
Rowland's yard :
Though Brooklyn has had to bear its full
share of the responsibilities and burdens of
the war, its natural advantages and the enter-
prise of its people have proved equal to any
exigency ; and the course of our city has been
as prosperous and as progressive as in more
auspicious times. A satisfactory attestation
of this fact may be had by a walk through,
the outskirts of the city, where costly struc-
tures rear their lofty heads, and the busy hum
of industry may constantly be heard. The
large manufacturing interests of our city, —
which exist to an extent that but few of our
citizens have any conception of, — are all high-
ly prosperous, and are employed to their fullest
capacity.
But it is in that portion of our city known
as Greenpoint where the greatest evidences of
progress and prosperity are to be seen. Within
the past year a dozen or more streets in the
Seventeenth Ward, which promise to become
the most frequented and important thorough-
fares, have been opened, graded and paved,
thus enoirmously enhancing the value of the
property in that district. In the same ward.
THE CIVIL WAR.
469
there has been erected within the past eight
-months not less than loo first-class dwelling
houses and stores, and yet the demand is
greatly in advance of the supply. Besides these
buildings, there have been erected in the same
locality docks, ferry houses and factories,
which have largely increased the traffic and
importance of the neighborhood.
But, perhaps, the most encouraging feat-
ure of Brooklyn enterprise is to be found in
the unabated prosperity of the shipbuilding in-
terest. The estimated value of the vessels now
building at Greenpoint, including those for the
Government, is upwards of ten million dollars,
and the number of persons employed thereon
is between two and three thousand. * * '^
A. J. Rowland has two iron monitors un-
der way. One, the "Puritan," a sea-going ves-
sel (length, 340 feet; breadth of beam, 50
feet; depth, 23 feet), is the largest of the
monitors yet built, and is justly regarded as
a perfect marvel of naval architecture and
•strength. She is so nearly finished that she
will be ready for launching early in May.
The other iron vessel under way at this yard
IS the "Cohoes," a light draft monitor for
coast service. She is 300 feet long, 42 feet
wide, 28 feet depth of hold, and 2,800 tons
burden. The number of hands employed at
this yard will average about 500.
The Dry Dock Iron Works is a young
rival of Mr. Rowland's establishment, and
Avas opened last fall by Mr. J. S. Underbill.
At this establishment is being constructed a
light draft monitor, to be called the "Modoc,"
and in all respects similar to the "Cohoes,"
building in Mr. Rowland's yard.
Mr. Henry Steers, at his yard, is building
for the Government the sloop "Idaho," a vessel
of 3,000 tons, 300 feet long, 44 feet wide, and
27 feet depth of hold. The "Idaho" will be
launched within a month from this time. She
is luiilt with an express view to speed, will
be furnished with two propellers, and contain
engines of 3,000-horse power, and will prove
a splendid addition to the United States Navy.
A large number of ocean and sound steam-
ers (both side-wheel and propellers), ferry
boats and wooden vessels were also being con-
structed in the various yards.
The Navy Yard was, as might be expect-
ed, continually busy during those days of con-
flict. Besides repairing many existing vessels,
the following were constructed at this great
establishment between 1861 and 1864:
Sloop "Oneida," launched November 20,
1861.
Steamer "Octorora" (paddle-wheel, double
ender), launched December 7, 1861.
Screw steamer sloop "Adirondack,"
launched February 22, 1862.
Screw sloop "Lackawanna," launched Au-
gust 19, 1862.
Screw sloop "Ticonderoga," launched Oc-
tober 16, 1862.
Steamer "Shamrock," launched ^March 17,
1863.
Steamer "^ilackinaw," launched April 22,
1863.
Steamer "Peoria," launched October 9,
1863.
Steamer "Tullahoma," launched November
28, 1863.
Steamer "Algonquin," launched December
31, 1863.
"Miantrmomah," ironclad, double turret,
launched August 15, 1863.
Screw sloop "Maumee," launched July 2,
1863.
Screw sloop "Nyack," launched October
6, 1863.
Screw sloop "Madawaska," launched July
8, 1865. (Engines, boilers, etc., built by Johy
Ericsson).
.Screw sloop "Wampanoag," launched De-
cember 15, 1864.
CHAPTER XL.
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
Meetings and Contributions — The Sanitary Fair — The Wai
Committee — Repairing the Losses — The Grand Army
OF THE Republic.
EFORE the middle of 1862 had passed
President Lincohi and his cabinet
felt that a fresh crisis had to be
faced, and in view of the falHng off
in the enhstment a call was issued August 4th
for a draft of 300,000 troops to serve for nine
months. The quota assigned to Kings county
under this call was 4,294. By that time the first
glamor of the war was over, the ideas of a short
and glorious campaign had been dissipated and
the certainty of a long and bitterly waged
contest had taken possession of the people.
In other words, the conflict was no longer a
fad, but a life-and-death struggle, and the
sadness of the outlook induced an apathy that
seemed inconsistent to thoughtless minds when
considered in the light of the previous enthu-
siasm. It was, however, merely the natural
rela.xation which comes to nations as to men
in times of over-excitement, and that may be
regarded as the real solution of the apathy
which Brooklyn, and so many other centers
of genuine patriotism, showed to this third
call of the Government for troops. The re-
sponse certainly was disappointing. But a
public meeting held at Fort Greene on August
15th to consider the situation changed all that.
so far as Brooklyn was concerned, and again
aroused the same enthusiasm which had
marked the opening story of the war. On the
day following the Board of Supervisors of-
fered a bounty of $50 for volunteers, and this
in many cafcs was supplemented by private
bounties. Recruiting stations began to pre-
sent again a lively appearance, tents were
pitched in the public parks, recruits were seen
in all directions, the funds for the relief of
those at the front were liberally replenished,
and it was not long before Kings county's
quota was secured and equipped, without any
need at that time of the dreaded draft. l^Iore
men, in fact, had volunteered than were asked
for, and recruits were sworn in faster than
they could be equipped. From then on Brook-
lyn had no dubiety about answering every
demand from ^^'ashington. The financial end
of all this enthusiasm was fully met in the
long run, although the bounty paid by the
authorities before the end of the war rose to
as much as $300 for substitutes for those
drafted who had families entirely dependent
on their daily earnings. The spirit of patriot-
ism, the bounty, the aliment allowed in certain
cases to family, the generous work of the re-
lief boards, — all contributed to make men will-
ing to lay down their peaceful avocations and
go to the front. At times, indeed, the city
looked more like a military rendezvous than a
place of peaceful trade and barter, and from
the outlying camps, such as at Union Course,
parties of armed men were, for a time, con-
stantly marching through the streets on their
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
471
way to the ferry en route for the front. In
Jvine, 1863, came another call for troops, and
six Brooklyn regiments responded, the Thir-
teenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-eighth, Forty-
seventh, Fifty-second and Fifty-sixth, and be-
fore the close of the month every command in
the city excepting one, — the Seventieth, — had
gone to the front.
In July the extreme peril of the Nation was
felt at Brooklyn's own doors, for on the 13th
of that month the famous, or infamous, "draft
riots" commenced in New York. Tliere was
little trouble expected in Brooklyn from its
own residents, but the stores at the Navy Yard
offered a tem.pting prize to the disaii'ected on
Manhattan Island and much private property
along the water front was practically unpro-
tected against any attack by rioters in quest
of plunder. As usual in such moments, there
were hundreds of wild rumors circulated which
tended needlessly to magnify the extent of the
danger. The force at the Navy Yard was
strengthened and the armories and all other
points where danger was anticipated were
zealously guarded. The Seventieth did good
service and special volunteers rallied to meet
the crisis. A part of Brooklyn's defensive
force was sent over to New York to assist the
authorities in the protection of public property,
and the police remained on duty day and night
ready to answer any call. The Mayor showed
himself the right man for such an emergency
and was constantly at his post, advising, direct-
ing and planning, as long as the danger
seemed acute. That danger did exist in
Brooklyn, — that the forces of disorder were
waiting an opportunity to accomplish some-
thing,— was realized on the night of the 15th,
when two grain elevators in the Atlantic V>a-
sin were put on fire by a mob, causing a loss
of over $100,000. The mob even charged the
firemen when the latter were engaged in their
duty, but were routed by the police. This was
practically the only outbreak in Brooklyn of
the spirit of disorder which was then wide-
spread in the neighboring city. As soon as
possible, however, troops were sent to Brook-
lyn in sufficient number to quell any further
trouble which might arise, and the citizens re-
sumed their ways without the haunting spectre
of red riot confronting them day and night,—
a spectre that for a time seemed plainly visible
to the dwellers on Manhattan. But it was a
sharp and significant lesson as to what might
be the result should the force of ignorance
and discontent and poverty, which makes for
riot and disorder, gain a foothold, even for a
brief period.
From that time private generosity fully
vied with that of the municipality in equipping
troops, increasing bounties and the like, and
money was raised in all sorts of ways and with
a most generous hand. Perhaps the most no-
table, certainly the best remembered, outcome
of this spirit was the Sanitary Fair of Brook-
lyn, which was opened February 22, 1864, and
by which $402,943.74 was raised. It was one
of a series of similar schemes for raising
money undertaken in several of the larger
cities, but with the exception of New York,
whose fair yielded about $1,000,000, Brooklyn
was far ahead of her sister cities, for Chicago
only raised $60,000 and Boston $140,000, to
give a couple of instances. These fairs were
undertaken at the request of the United States
Sanitary Commission to aid in its remarkable
work among the soldiers in the field, and were
only suggested when it was thought impossi-
ble to secure more money as a result of further
appeals to churches, societies. or committees.
.V great fair was naturally looked forward to
as a certainty in New York, and it was first
intended that Brooklyn should unite its ener-
gies with the good folks of Manhattan in the
matter : but after a time, when the movement
began to gather a little enthusiasm, the ladies
of Brooklyn considered their city big enough
and wealthy enough to support a fair of its
own. and so the matter was left in tlie hands
of the War Fund Committee of Brookl\-n and
Kings county and the Woman's Relief .Asso-
ciation of the cit\- of Brooklyn. Both of these
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
organizations had already performed grand
service in the charitable work made necessary
by the war, the Woman's Association in one
}'ear alone turning in to the Sanitary Commis-
sion clothing and snpplies to the value of
$50,000.
The plan of having an independent fair,
rather than devoting their time and energy to
what would be simply an annex to that in X'ew
York, was starting at a meeting of the Wo-
men's Association, over which Airs. J. S. T.
Stranahan presided, and to that lady is due
the credit for much of the success which was
■ultimately achieved. The project at once com-
mended itself tQ the ladies and was almost at
once adopted. The executive committee of
their association was thereupon enlarged, the
aid of the War Fund Committee was solicited
and that body at once heartily endorsed the
plan and appointed a committee of sixty to
co-operate with the women. This committee
at once met and organized by electing ^Nlr.
A. A. Low as president. Many meetings were
held : Henry Ward Beecher and many of the
ministers and political and social leaders of
the city entered heartily into the plan, and a
splendid spirit of enthusiasm was quickly de-
veloped. It was determined that the fair should
be, for the honor and the good name of Brook-
lyn, a grand success ; but when one enthusiast.
Dr. Spear, mentioned $150,000 as the sum to
he aimed at, he was regarded as a visionary.
On December i8th the Women's Association
sent out notices, all over Long Island asking
contributions for the fair. On the following
■evening the War Fund Committee held a
meeting, and after a careful study of the situa-
tion and hearing reports on the plan, scope
and success of the fair then open in Boston,
addresses were delivered by Dr. Cuyler and
several others, including ;\Ir. John D. IMcKen-
zie, who spoke most effectively from a practi-
cal standpoint, and closed by tabling a sub-
scription of $1,000. Thus incited to immedi-
ate effort, a subscription paper was drawn
up and passed around, with the following re-
fiults ;
A. A. Low $2,500
S. B. Chittenden 1,000
George S. Stephenson 1,000
Peter C. Cornell i ,000
H. E. Pierrepont 1,000
Henry Sheldon i ,000
Josiah O. Low 1,000
George B. Archer 1,000
Joseph Ripley 500
S. B. Caldwell 500
A. W. Benson 500
R. W. Ropes 500
John Frothingham 500
T. S. T. Stranahan 500
Richard P. Buck 500
Henry Sanger 500
Henry K. Sheldon 500
Ambrose Snow 500
S. M. Beard 500
Sidney Green 500
R. H. Manning 500
James P. Wallace 500
Cornelius J. Bergen 500
Cornelius Adams 500
Amos Robbins 500
Seymour L. Husteil 1,000
J, B. Wellington 500
John Bullard 500
James C. Wilson 500
Charles Storrs 500
E. B. Place 250
H. G. Reeve 250
Thomas T. Buckley 250
H. K. Worden 250
S. E. Howard i^oo
W. H. Lyon 250
C. R. Marvin 250
James Humphrey 500
E. T. H. Gibson i ,000
A total of $26,000. Tlien the enthusiasm
over the plan rose to fever heat and was main-
tained at that point until the fair was over.
Air. Chittenden oft'ered. besides his subscrip-
tion, a ]iair of Devon steers, which he prom-
ised to fatten on Yankee corn, and there were
promises of other donations.
By the end of December the subscriptions
exceeded $50,000, and the committee began to
be burdened with the extent and variety of
the contributions in goods. It was intended
that the fair should open on February 22, the
day fixed for the opening of that in New York ;
but the management in the latter city found
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
473
it necessary to postpone their opening until
March 28th. When this was announced Brook-
lyn determined to adhere to the original date,
so that any lingering connection even in name
between the two movements was clearly sev-
ered. The more emphatic this distinction be-
came the more loj'ally did Brooklyn's citizens
rise to the occasion, and the local enthusiasm
spread all over the island. Meetings were held
in Flatbush and almost every town in Queens
and Suiifolk, and the scheme rapidly developed
into one in which all Long Island had an equal
interest. The Academy of ^ilusic was secured
for the main display, and arrangements were
made for the use of other buildings should
they be found necessary, while the Board of
Aldermen gave the requisite permission for
the erection of whatever temporary structures
might be desired. A public meeting in the
Academy of Music on June 2, 1864, gave the
citizens for the first time an adequate idea of
what had been accomplished and of what was
expected, and seemed to crown the eiiforts of
all concerned with the assurance of success.
Then followed a busy time receiving and ar-
ranging contributions of every conceivable
•sort, devising this and that surprise, discussing
one novel feature after another, putting plans
in operation and getting everything in readi-
ness. It was an anxious season, too, for the
committee, for there was so much to do, so
much to prepare and arrange for, that the
days and nights all seemed to become too short.
In fact, even before it was opened the fair had
far exceeded the early anticipations of the
workers. The Academy was found to be too
small, and a temporary structure was erected
on its west side on a vacant lot, the use of
which was given by Mr. A. A. Low, while a
similar structure was raised on a lot across
the street belonging to Mrs. Pierrepont, who
gladly gave the fair the use of it. On the Low
site the building was named Knickerbocker
Hall. It was beautifully fitted up and the
whole of the material and decorations used in
it were presented to the fair and sold by auc-
tion for its benefit after all was over. On the
ground owned by Mrs. Pierrepont was the
New England Kitchen, which proved to be
one of the most attractive features of the
affair. The Taylor Mansion, No. 119 Mon-
tague street, had to be called into service and
was turned into a museum of arts, with war
relics and other attractive features ; and even
with all this additional accommodation the con-
tributions so poured in upon the committee
that it was difficult to classify and exhibit them
properlv.
Only two troubles seemed at the close of
the season of preparation and just before the
opening to cause any discord, and these were
in connection with the sale of liquor at the
refreshment stands, and the raffling ofT of any
of the articles contributed. Many of the con-
tributors were opposed to liquors, especially
the ladies, and quite a number looked upon the
usual style of raffling in vogue even at church
fairs as being a mild form of gambling. These
objections led to quite a discussion, but in the
end it was decided that as the fair was to be
held for a holy and patriotic purpose it were
best that it should be conducted on lines that
should be free from -reproach even by the most
fastidious and straight-laced, and so it was de-
cided that neither should liquor be sold nor
raffling be permitted.
The fair opened on February 22, at 7
o'clock in the evening, and from then until its
close the huge enterprise was managed with-
out a hitch, everything proceeding smoothly,
so far as the management was concerned, and
the public eviiiently becoming daily more and
more enthusiastic over it. But even the ease
with which the business of the fair proceeded
bespoke incessant and vigilant care and super-
vision on the part of the committee, and it
may be fitting here to recall the names of
those who were most active in it, — most of
whom have now passed away. Indeed, it was
thought that the care and responsibility thrown
upon her by this great local undertaking of
love and patriotism hastened the death of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, who died August
30, 1866.
Of the fair the two presidents were Mrs.
Stranahan and Mrs. A. A. Low. The execu-
tive committee included, on the part of the
gentlemen, Dwight Johnson, Chairman ; Fred-
erick A. Farley, D. D., Corresponding Secre-
tary; Walter S. Griffith, Recording Secretary;
James H. Frothingham, Treasurer : Hon. James
S. T. Stranahan, Hon. Alfred M. Wood, Hon.
John A. Lott, Samuel B. Caldwell, Ambrose
Snow, Thomas T. Buckley, A. A. Low, Henry
Sheldon, Charles A. Meigs, William H. Jenk-
ins, Joseph Wilde, H. B. Claflin, Elias Lewis,
Jr., Hon. Edward A. Lambert, Ethelbert S.
Mills, James D. Sparkman, Hon. John A.
King, Arthur W. Benson, S. B. Chittenden,
Henry E. Pierrepont, John D. McKenzie, Hon.
James Humphrey, George S. Stephenson,
Archibald Baxtei', Joseph Ripley, Edward J.
Lowber, Luther B. Wvnian, \\\ W'. Armfield,
Peter Rice, Willard M. Newell, William Bur-
don and S. Emerson Howard. C)n the part of
the ladies, Mrs. J. S. T. Stranahan, Chairman ;
Mrs. H. L. Packer, Corresponding Secretary;
Miss Kate E.Waterburv, Recording Secretary;
Mrs. G. B. Archer, Treasurer; ':\Irs. G. B.
Archer, E. Anthony, H. W. Beecher, A W.
Benson, C. J. Bergen, R. C. Brainard, J. C.
Brevoort, T. T. Buckley. \\'. I. Budington, N.
BurchaTd, A. Bradshaw. S. B. Caldwell, S. E.
Chittenden, W. J. Cogswell, J. P. Duffin, T. W.
Harper, A. Crittenden, Alfred M. Wood. L.
Harrington, G. H. Huntsman, T. F. King,
E. S. Mills, Alorrcll, W. W. Pell, H. E. Pierre-
pont, E. Shapter, H. Sheldon, J. C. Smith,
J. D. Sparkman, G. S. Stephenson, J. S. Swan,
A. Trask, J. Vanderbilt and H. Waters.
The committee on finance and donations
comprised John D. McKenzie, Chairman ; S. B.
Chittenden, A. A. Low, Abraham B. Baylis,
Peter C. Cornell, E. T. H. Gibson, Richard P.
Buck, Charles E. Bill, Reuben W. Ropes. Ru-
fus R. Graves, George B. Archer. James D.
Sparkman, Charles A. Meigs, Theo. Polhemus,
Jr., Josiah O. Low, R. W. DeLamater, E. W.
Codies, Charles W. Blossom, Joseph Ripley
and Thomas Messenger.
The other committees were as follows :
Business Committee: Mrs E. Shapter,
Chairman; G. B. Archer. N. Burchard. W. I.
Budington. A. W. Benson, C. J. Bergen, S. B.
Chittenden, T- P. Duffin, T. F. King. E. S.
Mills, A. M. Wood, G. S. Stephenson, A.
Trask, H. Waters, N. Knight, H. Marchant
and A. Crittenden.
Committee on Buildings and Decorations :
Gentlemen — Arthur W. Benson, Chairman ; J.
\Y. Degraw, John Bullard, Charles J. Lowrey,
William Burrell, James How, Cornelius J.
Bergen, E. L. Roberts, George F. Thomae,
Thomas Messenger, William Hunter, Jr.,
Thomas Brooks, Joseph L. Heath, George A.
Bell, William S. Herriman, Thomas Sullivan,
Edwin P)eers and J. A. Perry; Ladies — Mrs.
T. F. King, chairman; A. W. Benson, H.
Webster, ]. Humphrey, H. B. Duryea, J. Bul-
lard. H. R. Starr, Coe Adams, N. B. Kittell,
W. S. Griffith, J. W. Gilbert, H. Laing, E. B.
Litchfield, ]\Iiss Charlotte Coles, H. Hunter,
Sarah Boynton, H. L. Waterbury and Phcebe
Hagner.
Committee on Internal Arrangement and
Reception of Goods : Gentlemen — George S.
Stephenson, Chairman; Alexander j\I. White,
I. H. Frothingham, L. S. Burnham, R. H.
Manning, George W. Hennings, J. O. Morse,
James Myers, Edward Anthony, George T.
Hope, Samuel McLean, E. H. Stephenson,
George C. Ripley, John L. Worden, Captain
Radford, Theodore Hinsdale, William H.
SWan. Charles B. Loomis, Hon. James H.
Tuthill, Alexander McCue, George W. Dow,
William Nicoll, Hobart Ford, Elias J. Beach
and Hon. James Rider ; Ladies — Mrs. G. B.
Archer, chairman ; G. S. Stephenson, A. 'M.
\Miite, S. H. Low. J. P. Van Bergen. M. F.
Odell, Miss C. Thurston, Mrs. S. McLean,
J. Tilaxwell, D. Fairbanks, J. Eells, J. W.
Emery, J. C. Atwater, C. B. Loomis, J. C.
Smith, E. Shapter, J. D. Sparkman, N. Bur-
char-d. .'K. Bradshaw, J. S. Morrell, T. F.
King, W. I. Budington. J. Vanderbilt. Hunts-
man, W. Cogswell and Miss Wyckoff.
Committee on Refreshments : Gentlemen —
E.d\vard J. Lowber, Chairman ; Rufus Crook,
John Crook, D. H. Gould. A. Dorian, Amos
Rcbbins, William A. Husted, Isaac B. \Ye\U
ington, Seymour L. Husted, Alfred Thomp-
son. William S. Dunham, John B. Wright, A.
E. Sumner. Robert G. Anderson and James
A. Carman ; Ladies — Mrs. E. S. Milk, Chair-
man ; H. Waters, T. T. Buckley. H. :\Iarchant,
R. P. Buck, A. W. Leggett, J. C. Hurlbut,
W. C. Bowers. F. H. Trowbridge. W. J. J\Ic-
Cluney, C. Dinsmore, S. B. Gregory. H.
Blanchard, George Thrall, A. Burrows, W.
Marston, C. H. Sands, E. Fish, S. C. Blake,
L. M. Adams, I. Badeau, H. W. Law, W. C.
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
475
Goddard, W. Lumby, L. Boyes, William H.
Jenkins, N. Putnam, N. E. Smith, John Green-
wood, J. D. Cocks, Eli Merrill, E. E. Taylor,
H. P. Messenger, Edward Young, J. B.
Hutchinson, J. W. Sanford and J. Hall.
Committee on Art Relics and Curiosities :
Gentlemen — E. S. Mills, Chairman ; Regis Gig-
noux, Charles Congdon, Gordon L. Ford, John
Williamson, R. W. Hubbard, Charles Parsons,
M. E. H. DeHaas, Samuel Coleman, Seymour
T. Guv, Thomas Le Clear, W. H. Beard, S. P.
Avery, P. P. Ryder, L M. Falconer, L A.
Parker, Jr., J. Remsen Bennett, H. Carmi-
encke. N. B. Kittell, Charles Burt, James B.
Blossom, F. A. Chapman, John W. Frothing-
ham, R. S. Storrs, Jr., D. D., H. W. Beecher,
T. Carson Brevoort, T. L. Lutkins, Alonzo
Chappell, J. B. Whittaker, H. W. Herrick,
A. W. Warren, William McEwan, E. W.
Hall and C. L. Elliott; Ladies— Airs. S. B.
Chittenden, Chairman ; R. S. Storrs, Jr., H. E.
Pierrepont, Regis Gignoux, J. C. Brevoort,
E. H. Gibson, John T. Howard. G. L. Ford,
A. N. Littlejohn, J. O. Low, John Raymond,
Charles Congdon, A. W. Henshaw, R. Vander-
bilt, C. Rosire, J. H. Frothingham, Alex. Mc-
Cullum, Helen Conant, W. H. Dudley, Francis
Vinton, G. S. Stephenson, Thomas Messenger,
Miss K. \'an Nostrand, Rose Thomae, Alice
B. Cary, Kate Ripley, Kate Treadway, Kate
Taylor, Fay, M. H. Chittenden. Fannie Gray,
M. Stranahan, Cornelia King, S. Luqueer, C.
M. Olcott and F. Bridges.
Committee on Music : Gentlemen — L. B.
Wyman, chairman ; A. Cooke Hull, "R. R. Ray-
mond, A. V. Blake, C. A. Townsend, AVillard
M. Newell, George William Warren, William
Poole, Edward Lambert, J. F. Talmage, P. K.
Weizel, Ph. Mayer, Captain R. W. Meade,
Pickering Clark, H. D. Polhemus and T. F.
Mevnen ; Ladies — Mrs. J. S. Swan, Chairman ;
W.'W. Goodrich, R. W. Potter. S. T. Peet,
L. W. Serrell, W. B. Acklev, M. A. Bicknell,
M. Moore, A. F. Stewart, Ralph Cook, C. E.
Adriance, Miss 1\L L. Rich, Sarah Watson,
Mary Shepard, Mrs. R. H. Manning and J. J.
Couch.
Committee on Oration and Lectures : H.
E. Pierrepont, Chairman ; James Humphrey,
Benjamin D. Silliman, Judge Greenwood, R.
W. Ropes, Edward Whitehouse and Rev.
Francis Vinton, D. D.
Committee on Postoffice and Newspapers :
Mrs. J. P. Duffin, Chairman; L R. St. John,
T. J. Conant, J. Humphrey, T. Hinsdale, J.
'SI. Dimond, William Brooks, S. W. Putnam,
Miss H. Gladwin, Brigham, Harrison, AL E.
Thalheimer, A. L. Jones, Flushing; Kate
Hillard, C. Van Cott, M. Stranahan, Airs.
George B. Lincoln, William E. Robinson and
George A. Jarvis.
Committee on Benefits, Entertainments and
Exhibitions ; Gentlemen — Edward A. Lam-
bert, Chairman ; Edward Anthony, Charles R.
Marvin, Isaac Henderson, John D. Cocks, J.
E. Southworth, Professor Plimpton, Moses S.
Beach, J. S. Burr, James Hall, Henry A. Kent,.
Benson \'an Vliet, Livingston K. Miller, Theo-
dore'Tilton, Elias Howe, Jr., John W. Hunter,
James P. Dike and E. D. Plimpton ; Ladies —
Mrs. E. Anthony, Chairman; H. Farnham,.
Miss Alice B. Cary, Mrs. J. F. Herriman, N.
P. Waring, Hosea Webster, S. E. Howard,
Miss L. Oliver, Mrs. D. Fairbanks, Miss S. O.
Anthony, A. E. Anthony, S. Farrington,
Madame Napolien, Mdlle. Millon, Miss S.
Blunt, Mrs. McLean, Miss A. Cotton, Marsh,
Mrs. E. .\. Lambert, Miss C. Coles, Mrs. E. J.
Lyons, Hoyt, Miss M. Dunning, A. Hoppin,
L' Tupper, M. Luquerr, Mrs. W. M. St. John,
A. S. Barnes, Miss Anna Totten and E.
Norton.
Committee on Books, Publications and
Printing; Gentlemen — Samuel B. Caldwell,
Chairman ; A. S. Barnes, J. H. Raymond, LL.
D., George B. Lincoln, Adrian Van Sinderen,
J. M. \'an Cott, Birdseye Blakeman, John C.
Beale, W. H. Arthur, John N. Taylor, George
W. Parsons, W. T. Hatch, Charles Nordhoff,
T. H. Alessenger, D. Lansing Lambert, F. J.
Hosford, J. B. Merwin and John F. Harper;
Ladies — Airs. W. L Budington, Chairman;?.
W. Harper, A. S. Barnes, C. Nordoff, S. E.
Warner, S. N. Cutter, W. W. Rose, Isaac Hen-
derson, Aliss Laura Alarsh, Mrs. Daniel Fair-
weather, S. B. Caldwell, William Moses, E. A.
Lambert, A'liss Gascoigne, Mrs. Dwight John-
son, William Swayne, J. H. Richards and S.
W. Sarles.
Committee on Seminaries and SchooU :
Airs. H. L. Packer, Chairman; C. J. Bergen,
.A. Crittenden. G. F. Dunning, M. E. Dunklev,
William Mr.H.ks. Professor Eaton, H. C. Os-
born, I. 1). McKenzie, L. A'liller, D. M. Stone,
C. E. \\'est, J. H. Raymond, S. G. Taylor, Miss
H. Garahan, Mrs. J. C. Whitcombe.
Dry-Goodis Alerchants' Committee: Thom-
as T. Buckley, Chairman ; H. B. Claflin, Ne-
hemiah Knight, J. 1!. Hutchinson, W. C. Shel-
don, R. J. Hunter, Samuel McLean, James S.
47G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Noves. Henrv Collins, Thomas Achelis, S.
Hutchinson, W. B. Kendall, D. H. Conkling,
James Haslehurst, J. C. Atwater, T. W. Pren-
tice, Alex. D. Napier, W. B. Leonard, Charles
S. Bavlis, H. P. Journeav, George Mvgatt, J.
L. B.'Willard, H. P. Morgan, T. K. Horton,
Samuel B. Stewart, Walter Lockwood and
Elijah Lewis.
Committee on Fancy Goods : Gentlemen —
S. E. Howard, Chairman : J. W. Greene, Hen-
rv Sanger, D. C. Robins, J. S. Shapter, Charles
Storrs,''D. S. Arnold, W. H. Lyon, Abel Den-
nison. Alexander McCiillum. f- Charles Ber-
ard, W. F. Trafton, James R. Tavlor, G. H.
Taylor. H. H. Dickinson, F. Hinchman, T. M.
Spelman. A. P. Hayden, Enos Richardson,
George S. Moiilton, Carlos Bardwell, Benja-
min Carter, Alex. P. Purves and Hy. Elliott ;
Ladies — Mrs. H. Sheldon, Chairman ; R. C.
Brainard, S. Gracie. Bryan B. Smith, Hugh
Allen, Miss Marv S. Griffith, Agnes Russell,
Mrs. D. S. Mills.'Henrv Sanger, S. M. Beard,
H. E. Hunter, T- S. Rnckwell, Miss J^Iarv C.
Jarvis. Mrs. W. C. Sheldon. I. Badeau, Her-
mann Garlichs, B. P. Lunt, Miss E. L. Howe,
Mrs. W. C. Perrv, Alex. P. Purvis, T. Ache-
lis, Aliss Bertschinger, Mrs. E. Unkart, Miss
Susan Nelson, F. C. West. J. Buckmaster,
Marv Miller. S. Johnson. Misses H. & S.
Duckwitz, Miss C. Fellows. Madame St.
Amant. Miss Maria Messenger, Mrs. W. God-
dard, H. W. Beecher, W. H. Beare, Ho.race
A¥arren. S. W. Truslow, William Raymond,
Miss Harriet Tucker, Addie Wriglit, Mrs.
Robinson, Miss F. Creagh, C. Bush, A. J.
Berry. C. Richardson, Helen Usher, Amelia
Beard and Minnie Stanton.
Committee on Boots. Shoes, Leather, Hats,
Caps and Clothins;: W. M. Newell. Chair-
man; Aaron Claflin. John T. Martin, Isaac
Hyde. Jr., George Dickensen, James H. Pren-
tice, Uriswell s! Benedict. Jolin Bullard, Ed-
ward A. Xicli.ils. A. C. "Baldwin. Nathan
South wick, T.ihn F. :\[cCov. C. B. Caldwell.
Alexander Studwell. Jonathan Ogden. Alan-
son Trask. Aaron Healy, C. B. Cani]T. \\'. B,
Button. John O. Whitehnuse. J. C. Southwick.
Granville A\'hittlescy. William Higliie, James
M. Burt, ^I. S. Kerreaan, James I\I. Griggs,
A. D. Wheelock, John' W. Lewis. F. H. Big-
low, John B. Woodward and William Evans.
Committee on Grocers and Hardware Mer-
chants: Henry Sheldon. Chairman; John J.
A'an Nostrand, H. H. W^arden, Frederick La-
cey, George A. Jarvis, Theodore Victor, S. M.
Beard, Francis Hathaway, Charles E. Hill,
Henry K. Sheldon, Solon F. Goodridge, James
L. Morgan, Robert S. Bussing, J. S. Rockwell,
Alexander M. Earle, G. L. Hueser, E. B.
Place, James C. Wilson, William C. Fowler,
Eugene O'Sullivan, Edward B. Mead, A. S.
Perry, Henry W. Banks, Henry Starr, Edwin
Atkins and Franklin H. Lummus.
Committee on Manufactures and Mechanic
Artj, Western District: William Burdon,
Chairman ; B. F. Delano, Richard Poillion,
Ship Builders; William Arthur, Henry Esler,
Steam Engine Builders ; Abram Inslee, D. D.
Badger, Founders ; Jacob Outwater, David S.
Quimby, Railing, Grates and Fender Manufac-
turers ; J. S. Bunce, Norman Hubbard, Boiler
Makers; Charles Alorris, John Firth, Piano
Forte Makers ; Robert Graves, C. Van Dusen,
Wall Paper Manufacturers ; H. Jackson, Al-
bert Bruen, Manufacturing Chemists; Elias
Howe, Jr., James Wilcox, Sewing Machine
Manufacturers ; Thomas Brooks, Bryant Ste-
vens, Furniture Manufacturers ; J. W. Mc-
Namee. George S. Puffer, Distillers ; Samuel
Vernon, William C. Dunton, Paper Manufac-
turers ; A. H. Barnes, Birdsey Blakeman, Pub-
lishers ; William Wise, James H. Hart, Jewel-
ers ; Henry ^^'aldron, John S. Masury, Paints
and Color Manufacturers ; James How, Fisher
Howe, White Lead Manufacturers ; W. M.
Thomas. James Seville, Glassware Manufac-
turers; John French, Samuel Booth, Builders;
John. Butler, J. Morrison, Lamp and Chan-
delier Manufacturers : S. E. Carll,' Jon-
athan Stewart, LTpholsterers ; G. M. W^ood-
ward, James O. Morse, Iron Pipe Manu-
facturers ; James K. Wheatley, T. A. Have-
mever. Sup-ar Refiners ; T. E. Jewell. A. Green-
leaf. Jr.. :\lillers; J. S. Willard, Thomas T.
Knight. Looking Glass and Frame Manufac-
turers ; James L. Moore. Robert R. .Stnrv, Sad-
flle and Harness ^Manufacturers ; J. Johnston,
J, A. Fuller. Bi-ewers ; Samuel Ingalls. George
ChanDel. C?mphene Distillers; Thomas Rowe,
.\. Tha^•cr. Linseed Oil ^lanufactnrers ; James
Sharkcv. John Shustei . Marble Workers; D.
.S. Warring, George S. Harding, Coffee and
Soice Grinders ; R. T. Anderson. Joseoh H.
Mumby, Confectioners ; A. M. Vail, Silvanus
White, Skate Manufacturers; Patrick Cas-
sidy. Iron Dealer: William Hager. Type
Founder ; Charles E. Smith. L'nibrella Manu-
facturer; R. H. Hand, Trunk Manufacturer;
Wright Ramsden, Plumber ; G. J. Vining,
Stove JNIanufacturer ; W. M. Brasher, Oil
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
477
Cloth Manufacturer; George W. Robbins, Tin
Ware Manufacturer; Charles B. Tatham, Lead
Pipe Manufacturer; H. B. Whitt)', Carriage
Manufacturer; R. L. Allen, Agricultural Im-
plement Manufacturer; iiiram F. St. John,
Axe Manufacturer; F. S. Otis, Hoop Skirt
IManufacturer ; W. B. Higgins, Soap and Can-
dle Manufacturer; Thomas Carrell, Tobacco-
nist ; David Fithian, Sash and Blind IManufac-
turer; John S. Loomis, Moulding Manufac-
turer; A. G. Hicks, Pencil Manufacturer; G.
\\'. Hubert, Enamel Ware Manufacturer; J.
11. McWilliams, Lock Manufacturer;. John
Phillips, Charles H. Baxter, Whiting Manu-
facturers ; Richard R. Flanders, Oil Manufac-
turer; and Julius Ives, Jr., Clothes Wringers.
Eastern District: \\'illiam H. Jenkins. Chair-
man ; Samuel W. Truslow, Cordage ; Thomas
Rowland. Ship Builder ; C. E. Bertrand, Su-
gar; William W. Armfield, Coal and Wood;
James A. Taylor, Iron; Charles W. Fellows,
Gas Fixtures ; Henry C. Richardson, Hard-
ware ; Joseph L. Heath, Builder ; Eckford
Webb, Ship Builder; A. Leininger, Glass
Ware; WiUiam Tuttle, Brass; J. B. Wicker-
sham, Iron Rails ; Watson Sanford, Stoves ;
James Hall, Iron ; J. A. Heath, Cooper ; Joseph
Wilde, Coffee ; George Wiley, Machinist ; C.
Dorflinger, Glass Manufacturer: W. Cabbie,
AVireworks; George C. Bennett, G. W. Plymp-
ton, Hiram M. Warren, Joseph Reaves, Will-
iam Coles and Christian Neidig.
Committee on Manufactures : Ladies —
I\Irs. A. Trask, Chairman ; Luke Hassington,
Theo. Polhemus, Jr., John H. Prentice, Thom-
as Messenger, David Wesson, A. B. Baylis,
Coe Adams, Jos. Riplev, W. J. Miller, J. F.
Whitney, A. F. Hazen, J. Curtis, J. P. Wick-
ham, C. Baylis, A. Cruikshanks, Nathan Beers,
E. E. Estes, W. Spelman. D. Caven, E. A.
Biden, Smith Fancher, A. Jewett. E. L. Bush-
nell, Peter Rice, L. B. Shaw, William Libby,
C. H. Mills, Theodore Ovington, Miss Marv
Cosnell, Mrs. F. H. Biglow, N. Curtis, E. j.
Houlett, L. Burnham, Miss L. P. Henchman,
Mrs. Charles Marvin, L. Thomae, P. Wyck-
ot¥, R. H. Manning, and Boyer.
Committee on Produce: Arch. Baxter,
Chairman ; James P. Wallace, Sam A. Saw-
yer, Smith J. Eastman, J. H. Holcomb. Ctirtis
Noble, Seymour Burrell, George B. Dcu2;las,
Frederick Sherwood, Sidney Sanderson, Har-
vey E. Hicks. Alex. E. Orr. Smith Fancher,
W. D. Mangam, James G. Weld, Hugh Al-
len, Stephen W. Carv, Geoirge Tucker, Coe
Adams, and Franklin Woodruff.
Committee on Kings County Town Con-
tributions : Gentlemen — John Lefferts, Chair-
man ; John D. Prince, Tunis I. Bergen, Dr.
J. L. Zabriskie, Dr. H. L. Bartlett, Robert R.
Fox, William Matthews, E. H. Kimball, John-
L. Ryder, Robert Magan, William Couen-
hoven, BenjamiK I. Hitchings, Bernardus I.
Ryder, Charles R. Miller, Philip H. Reid, Rev.
Mr. Van Buren, A. H. W. Van Sicklen, J.
Ormiston Currie, Col. W. I. Cropsey'and Sted-
man Wright ; Ladies — Fiatbush — Mrs. J. Van-
derbilt, Chairman ; J. A. Lott, J. A'. B. Mar-
tense, T. D. Prince, J. Lefl'erts," T. T. Bergen,
Dr. Robinson, William Wall, J. M. Hood, W.
Murphy, M. S. Scuyler. Windsor Terrace — ■
Mrs. Hudson. Flatlands— Mrs. A. Hubbard,.
E. K. Kimball, P. Couenhoven, Doolittle, An-
nie Lott. Gravesend — Mrs. M. G. Hanson, S.
Garretson, E. Lake, J. Cropsy. Fort Hamil-
ton— Miss Brown. Greenfield — Mrs. G. M.
Close. Bay Ridge— M.rs. J. O. Perry, U.-
Tracy, J. Van Brunt, Fletcher, M. Musgrave,
W. Sherman. East New York— Mrs. C. R.
Miller, P. H. Reed, A. H. W. Van Sicklen.
New Utrecht — Mrs. J. Crane and J. A'an
Brunt, Jr.
Committee on Long Island Contributions :
Elias Lewis, Jr., Chairman; C. H. Vietor,
Newtown ; A\'illiam Nicoll, Huntington ; D.
Bogart, Jr.. Roslyn ; Hon. Elias J. Beach, Glen
Cove; Isaac H. Cocks, Westbury ; S. B. Mes-
sereau, Hempstead ; James Rider, Jamaica ;
C. S. Powell, Farming-dale ; W. W. & J. Rob-
bins, Babylon ; Havens & Prince, Shelter
Island ; C. N. Brown, Sag Harbor; J. Madison
Hunting, East Hampton ; H. G. Reeve, Mat-
tituck, etc. : Goldsmith & Tuttle, Cutchegen ;
Hon. James H. Tuthill.
There is little need now to enter into any
details of the fair:. all that were interesting at
the time have by the passage of the years lost
their significance, and except in importance of
results it dififered little from similar fairs which
had preceded and have followed it. Perhaps
we might recall such labors as that of Dr.
Storrs and Mr. Francis Williams in editing
"The Drumbeat," the daily newspaper which
recorded the story of the enterprise and added
largely to its funds, or describe the New Eng-
land Kitchen, where an old-time interirir was
478
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
•disclosed with ladies in attendance who were
dressed up in the style of their grandmothers,
where the spinning-wheel was seen in opera-
tion, where the huge open fire, fed by logs,
not only diffused warmth and thawed the most
careworn face but cooked great pots of chow-
der and of mush and lent its heat to side rang-
es where were prepared huge dishes of pork
and beans, brown bread, puddings and pies all
"such as mother used to bake." But these are
glimpses : to tell the story of the fair it would
be necessary to use a volume, and it is only in
the nature of things to confess that the telling
would not repay in interest the reader, who
would be wearied and certainly net much edi-
fied.
But we have to deal with the. results. The
fair closed on March nth; and, when the re-
turns were footed up and it was learned that
$402,943.74 had been realized, it is safe to say
that there was not a man or woman in Brook-
lyn who did not feel proud of their city. Of
the money thus realized $300,000 was at once
paid over to the Sanitary Commission, and in
acknowledging it the president of that body.
Dr. Bellows, wrote: "As this is by far the
largest amount ever put into our treasury at
one time by any community, I feel that it de-
serves the most marked expression of our grat-
itude and wonder. * * * Brooklyn, by
the only thoroughly approvable kind of seces-
sion, has henceforth declared her independence
of New York. She has indicated her right
and power to lead, and we shall no longer hear
her spoken of as an appendix to the metropo-
lis. She is, at least, entitled to be the second
volume of that great work, the Commercial
Capital, of which New York is the first."
Certain it is that Brooklyn was no longer con-
sidered by the county at large as merely an
annex to the city on Manhattan Island.
The idea of cutting away from New York
City fcund another expression a few days
after the fair closed. Up to that time the
Brooklyn contributions to the Lfnited States
Christian Commission were paid through the
New York branch of that organization, an or-
ganization that was doing a grand work
among the soldiers and sailors in the front as
well as in hospitals, forts and camps tbrough-
out the country. On March 10 a meeting was
held for the organization of a branch of this-
body for Brooklyn, and in this movement the
following were active : Revs. James Eels, D.
D. ; R. S. Storrs. Jr., D. D. ; John H. Raymond,
D. D. ; W. I. Budington, D. D. ; J. B. Water-
bury, D. D. : J. E. Rockwell, D. D. ; Elbert S.
Porter. D. D. : E. H. Canfield, D. D. ; Samuel
T. Spear, D. D. ; Charles S. Robertson ; L. H.
Mills ; C. D. Foss ; R. M. Hatfield ; Theodore
L. Cuyler; Wilbur F. Watkins ; William S.
Karr; E. Alills; Robert Lowery ; Samuel B.
Caldwell ; Thomas H. Messenger ; Livingston
K. Miller ; S. B. Chittenden ; Reuben W. Rog-
ers; Henry Sheldon; Edward Cary ; William
J. Coffin, Edward A. Lambert; William A.
Armfield ; James C. Southworth ; John D. Mc-
Kenzie ; David Wesson ; Lewis Morris ; A. D.
Matthews; R. L. Wyckoff; John G. Fay;
Richard H. Cornwell ; Benson Van Vleet;
Dwight Johnson ; Walter S. Griftith. Before
the close of the month these men had fully or-
ganized the branch, and chosen \\'alter S. Grif-
fith, president; Rev. Dr. Eels, vice president;
Rev. T)r. Waterbury and William J. Coffin,
secretaries, and Samuel B. Caldwell, treasurer.
It is difficult to estimate the amount of good
accomplished by this organization, which was
held to be representative, not alone of Brook-
lyn but of all of Long Island. It was liberally
sustained by gifts of money, books, newspa-
pers, the work of sewing circles and by suit-
able gifts of all sorts ; it supplied ten chapel
tents, at a cost of $5,000, each with a library,
and it forwarded large collections of books to
many of the hospitals ; it sent Christian work-
ers to the front and on the battleships, and
carried the reputation -of Brooklyn as a Chris-
tian community right into the very fields
where her sons had made the name honored
for their gallantry, and it continued its mag-
nificent work with unflagging zeal until the
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
central body deemed the time had come that
its labors should end.
Then there were many charitable agencies
at work, showing how profoundly the local
spirit of generosity was touched and how, as
the war progressed, and men — under the im-
pulse of patriotism, large bounties, liberal
■'hand" money and public as well as private
payments to substitutes, and rewards even to
those bringing in recruits to the recruiting
stations — were being hurried to the front to
meet the demand for drafts, the apparently in-
satiable demand of the Government for
"more." the public benevolence seemed to be-
come month after month stronger and more
generous and impulsive. The Woman's Relief
.Association continued its beneficent work with
undiminished zeal. The Female Employment
Society performed a rare service among the
widows and orphans of deceased soldiers or
among families made destitute by the removal
of the bread-winner to the front, the Soldiers'
Home Association also carried on a work of
mercy and love, and in most of the churches
were organizations — sometimes more than one
— to aid the fighting man in some way to
relieve the distressed, and to comfort those
who mourned.
But it is no disparagement to the work of
all such organizations, to the splendid achieve-
ments of the Women's Relief Association, to
say that the greatest and most inspiriting
power in all the charitable work of the time
was the War Fund Committee. It was organ-
ized on Sept. II, 1862, and continued for three
years or so after the war was over. The first
members of this committee were J. S. T.
Stranahan (president), A. A. Low, Hon. John
A. Lott, H. E. Pierrepont, Isaac H. Frothing-
ham, Cyrus P. Smith, William Marshall, J. D.
Sparkman, Nathaniel Briggs, Martin Kalb-
tleisch, John A. Cross, Walter S. Griffith,
Conklin Brush, Seymour L. Hasted, Abram B.
Baylis, S. B. Chittenden, John H. Prentice and
Alexander McCue. This body was afterward
somewhat changed by the passage of time, but
as a whole those who were active in it at the
beginning remained so to the end. Its aims
were most comprehensive ; its results were
most effective. It raised regiments, aided dis-
tress, fanned the flame of local patriotism, col-
lected pensions, bounties and soldiers' pay and
handed the money to the proper parties, for-
warded letters to the soldiers and sent them
nurses ; it aided widows and orphans, the sick
and needy; it was practically • an association
formed to second the efforts of the Govern-
ment, to assist the soldier and to help those
dependent on him, and it nobly accomplished
all that work. The committee may be said to
have fittingly closed its mission by the erec-
tion, on the plaza in front of Prospect Park,
of the statue of Abraham Lincoln, which now
adorns a fine site elsewhere in that beautiful
pleasure ground.
The news of the assassination of Lincoln,
on April 14, 1864, coming so soon after the in-
telligence of the surrender of Gen. Lee's army
at Appomattox on April 9 and the virtual clos-
ing of the war had roused a jubilant spirit in
Brooklyn, plunged the community into the
deepest gloom. It was fully realized that an-
other and most unexpected crisis had arisen,
and all classes, all shades of political belief,
joined hands in a common sorrow. Flags were
everywhere lowered, public offices, courts and
theatres were closed and mourning emblems
were displayed on every side. On April 15 a
mass meeting of citizens was held in the Acad-
emy of Music under the auspices of the War
Fund Committee, when the public sorrow and
horror and indignation were fittingly voiced,
and on the 26th a vast procession of citizens
honored in spirit the obsequies of the nation's
martyr.
But the keen edge of the sorrow passed,
and soon the countr}- was busy repairing in the
new era of peace the ruin and havoc, the loss
and sorrow, which the war had brought. In
this grand work Brooklyn was as conspicuous
as in the crisis she had been conspicuous in
sending men and treasure without stint into
480
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the arena. Soon the war became nothing but
a hateful memory, except to those from whom
it had taken near and dear ones and with whom
the bitterness of the fateful years between
Sumter and Appomatox remained until the
end of life's weary journey. But the story of
the war was to furnish in Brooklyn one more
ceremony, in this case a gratifying one, and
with it we may close this glorious, if tragic,
section of our history.
On October 25, 1866, the city presented to
each of its surviving heroes of the army and
navy a simple silver medal, a trifling but sig-
nificant emblem, which is now treasured as an
heirloom in many a home all over the land.
The presentation ceremonies were made the
occasion of a grand military parade ; and the
entire proceedings, conducted by JMayor Booth
on the historic slopes of Fort Greene, called
forth all the enthusiasm of a people who in
time of conflict and peril, of gloom and fore-
boding, did at least what they could to aid in
maintaining the honor of the Stars and Stripes
and preserving the work of the fathers of the
Republic. On the occasion of the presentation
of these medals, three thousand veterans were
"decorated" in the sense that French soldiers
are decorated when they receive the ribbon of
the Legion of Honor, — an idea neatly con-
veyed by Mayor Booth when he said: "The
medal we present bears with it that which
money cannot purchase. It represents the
heart and voice of 300,000 people; The small
ribbon worn by the French soldier as a mark
of heroic deeds is prized as highly as life itself.
It bears evidence that the wearer has done
something for the glory of France. The tes-
timonial we present you to-day bears evidence
that you have done ver}' much for the cause of
liberty and good government throughout the
world." It was a day of triumph for the old
soldier when he was thus honored by his fel-
low citizens through their Chief Executive and
in the presence of the Governor of the State
(R. E. Fenton), Admiral Farragut and a host
of men famous in national and local story. Dr.
Storrs delivered the inevitable oration, but it
was a masterpiece of oratory, arid ex-Mayor
Wood, himself one of the veterans, made a
fitting response on behalf of his comrades in
acknowledgment of the praises which had been
heaped upon them.
Gradually the war took its place in history
and its public memories were confined to the
ceremonies of Decoration Day, when in the
various cemeteries the graves of the veterans
who had passed away were decorated with
flowers and the events of the days which fol-
lowed the fall of Fort Sumter were recalled
by orations in public places or less labored
speeches beside many a little mound marked
by a flag, beneath each of which rested one
who had joined the mighty army above. On
one of these occasions, in Greenwood, Mayor
Seth Low suggested that Brooklyn should
erect a memorial which should at once honor
the dead soldiers of the Civil War and be a
permanent reminder of Brooklyn's gratitude
for the men who left her streets in the course
of the conflict to fight for the Union. The sug-
gestion was heartily taken up ; but after several
plans were talked over the matter seemed to
be dropped. Finally the idea of a monumental
arch struck the popular fancy and designs for
such a structure were prepared by Mr. John
D. Duncan, and approved. The money was
readily raised, the corner-stone was laid in the
Park Plaza in i8qo. and the completed struc-
ture was dedicated to the memory of the dead
in 1892. That is to say, the arch proper was
then completed, for since then it has been
adorned by sculpture, notably figures by Mac-
Monnies, until it now stands as one of the
most beautiful memorials of its kind in the
world. The Plaza, too, has been adapted to
add to its efifectiveness, and the scene of which
it forms the most striking feature is not
equalled in artistic beauty in any city in the old
world, not even in Paris itself, — a city which
prides itself on its wealth in stone and line and
its architectural triumphs. Brooklyn truly has
not proved ungrateful to or forgetful of those
THE DEATH GRAPPLE OF THE STRUGGLE.
4S1
who represented her in the tented field or on
the battleship when the fate of the Nation was
at stake.
Many years have come and gone since the
wage of battle between the States, but, al-
though slowly dwindling, the number of sur-
vivors of the terrible struggle who are still
with us is considerable, and as members of the
Grand Army of the Republic wield a great in-
fluence not only on the well-being of those
themselves to whom have come age and pov-
erty, or on the well-being of the widows of
those who have passed away, but upon the
community in general.
The Grand Army of the Repuljlic was
founded at Indianapolis, in 1866, in the spirit
of fraternity, charity, and loyalty. These con-
tinue yet to be its watchword. The first
Post in New York State was organized at
Rochester, in December, 1866, and the fourth,
Wadsworth Post, at Brooklyn, a few days
later. In Brooklyn the Army has had a most
beneficent influence over the fortunes of the
old soldiers, procuring them employment, vot-
ing them into office, and standing by them in
seasons of trouble; and, although at times the
crv has been raised that the organization was
lending itself to politics, it has never betrayed
its watchwords to a comrade, no matter what
his politics might be ; and while it has certainly
sought to influence legislation the influence has
been exerted simply on matters pertaining to
itself or its members. On two occasions it has
come prominently before the public. The first
was in the movement which culminated in the
founding of the Soldiers' Home at Bath, which
was started when Corporal James Tanner
pledged his word that Brooklyn would raise
towards such a home $10,000, and Brook-
lyn made good the pledge, with some-
$4,000 to spare. The second was in con-
nection with the funeral of Gen. "U. S.
Grant, when Post 2>^y of Brooklyn re-
ceived his name and was part of the-
guard of honor beside his bier at Mount Mc-
Gregor and held the most honorable place-
around the casket containing the hero's re-
mains as they were escorted through New
York to the temporary tomb in Riverside Park.
There are now thirty-three posts of the Grand
Army in Brooklyn Borough, six in Queens
county, three in Nassau county, and nine in
Sufifolk, making fifty-one in all on Long Island.
The charitable works of these organizations^
are well supplemented by those of the Wo-
man's Relief Corps, of which there are sixteen
on Long Island, and which render material
aid to the aged and poverty-stricken wives,
mothers or widows of those New York men
who fought in the ITnion armies, and to the
army nurses who rendered the Boys in Blue
grand and never fully requited services in the,
hospitals and camps.
CHAPTER XLL
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
Mayors Low,' Whiti>jev, Chapin, Boodv, Schieiien and Wurstek-
— Some Interestino Statistics.
-The Bridge
H" HE story of Brooklyn from 1882 until
it assumed its place as one of the
lioroughs of the Greater New York
is one that should be discussed in a
volume rather than summarized in a chapter.
It presents us with many details which are de-
serving of thoughtful and extended study. To
students of municipal government it shows
the steps by which the principle of direct re-
sponsibility was carried to its highest and
clearest practical demonstration, and the prog-
ress of the struggle between that principle and
the eiiorts, unseen but unceasing, of the polit-
ical machines to undo it. It shows a constant
growth of a community in wealth, in culture,
in art, in science, in education, in trade and
commerce, a vast aggregation of people — the
population increasing annually at a rate that
seemed certain to make it in time exceed that of
the "neighboring city" of New York — and yet
without any of the excrescences in the shape
of open vice and looseness of morals which is
generally such a blot on all great centres. A
great commercial city without a stock ex-
change ; a splendid water-front — large enough
to serve a world's commerce and yet neglected
except in sections. A vast storehouse of Gov-
ernment property without any military or
naval aristocracy, a city of churches, of shops,
and of homes, a city of splendid distances,
splendid buildings, honest aspirations, and yet
preserving much of the characteristics of the
old village life; a city which was full of poli-
ticians, but whose local affairs as a general
rule were honestly managed ; a city whose mar-
velous extension was immediately followed by
a generous outlay, irrespective of immediate
returns, so as to bring the extensions as soon
as possible under city conditions, a city which
could boast of all the concomitants of the high-
er civilization, — all these things present them-
selves for consideration along with a hundred
others as we survey the closing twenty-five
years of Brooklyn's civic history.
And yet over all as we read the record now,
there pointed the inexorable finger of fate
pointing to consolidation with the Island of
^lanhattan and so welding into one grand cor-
porate body the two cities which had grown
up side by side an I which, even in spite of old-
time bickerings and jealousies had been helpful
and necessary the one to the other. By consol-
idation the city of Brooklyn disappeared and
assumed the lower status of a borough, so did
the city on Manhattan Island and the Greater
City — the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn,
Bronx, Queens and Richmond formed a united
community — a city destined to become the
greatest in the whole world. Henceforth the
story of Brooklyn is merged in that of the
Greater New York, but its people believe that
in the destinies of that grand city it will be the
leading factor, the greatest of the boroughs
in population and influence.
l-tviZ ^--^
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
483
So we resume our study of the old city,
taking up the story with the advent to power
of the victor in the mavorahv campaign of
1881.
Seth Low stepped into the Mayor's office
Jan. I, 1882, after one of the most strenuously
contested elections of which even the political
history of Brooklyn has record. He was born
in Brooklyn, Jan. 18, 1850, and belongs to a
family which for over a century had held a
leading place among the merchants of New
York and the public-spirited citizens of Brook-
lyn. He received a thorough education, com-
jTiencing with his entry into the Juvenile High
School on Washington street and closing with
his graduation at Columbia College in 1870.
Then he entered the firm of A. A. Low &
Brothers, of which his father was then senior
member, and in 1875 was assumed as a part-
ner. Like so many of his family, he became
deeply interested in the working out of munici-
pal problems as they presented themselves in
the local affairs of the city, and his naturally
kindly heart led him first of all to try to efifect
some improvement of the work of charitable
administration which was not only corrupt but
inefficient and had for its real sufferers the
poorest of the poor — the very class least able
to help themselves. By his work and influence
the Bureau of Charities was established in
1878 which strove, as it still strives, to system-
atize the work of charity all over the city, to
prevent deception, to aid the really deserving
among the poor, to provide temporary employ-
ment, to send visitors and nurses among the
indigent, to investigate reports of cases of dis-
tress and to promote a spirit of co-operation
in charitable work among the various churches
and benevolent organizations of the city. Its
beneficent work is being extended year after
year, it has its own lodging houses, day nurser-
ies, wood-yards, laundries, and other accessor-
ies and in 1900 it attended to 9,544 cases and
expended on its work $21,858. It was while
engaged in establishing this great experiment
in charitable work that the name of Seth Low
first became prominent in Brooklyn ;_ and the
straightforward way in which he conducted
all the proceedings, the clear and logical man-
ner in which he presented all the details and
the business-like way in which the entire sub-
ject was handled commended him to the favor
of all good citizens of all shades of politics, for
it was seen that one of the main issues of his
plan was to separate charity from politics alto-
gether. In other walks of life Mr. Low had
given marked evidences of his business ability
and tact, notably in committees of th.> New
York Chamber of Commerce, and so when a
desire arose in Brooklyn to take the affairs of
the city out of politics and to run the munici-
pality as a business institution and on a busi-
ness basis it was felt that he of all men should
be chosen to lead the movement to carry such
ideas into effect. He accepted a nomination
as Mayor on the distinct understanding that if
elected he was to administer the office without
regard to politics, and simply as a business
man would run any trust committed to his
care. The circumstances of the time were fa-
vorable for such a change and the canvas pro-
ceeded with mu;h enthusiasm, its peculiar con-
ditions making the calculations as to its result
merely wild guesses on both sides until the
ballots had been cast and counted. Mr. Low
certainly fulfilled all his pledges and gave the
people not only a purely business administra-
tion but showed how the application of that
principle meant honesty and economy all
through the administrative bureaus even to
the work of the humblest clerk. He was re-
sponsible to the city for his appointees and they
in turn were directly responsible to him for
the manner in which they conducted their
offices, and that sense of personal and direct
responsibility governed his entire administra-
tion with splendid results. Of course his plain
policy was criticized, criticized somewhat bit-
terly at times, especially by the "war-horses"
in both parties, but he held on in his own
course and when, in November, 1885, he pre-
sented himself as a candidate for re-election,
484
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
asked the. people by their votes to pass judg-
ment on liis official course, he was again re-
turned and during his second term still further
illustrated the benefits of his non-partisan
ideals. The high level he set in municipal ad-
ministration still remains a beacon to those
who are striving to perpetuate his methods in
Brooklvn and introduce them elsewhere. To
a great extent it was his four years' experi-
ence in Brooklyn that guided the framers of
the Greater New York charter in much of
their work; but they overlooked the fact that
instead of a man being appointad Mayor that
honor might fall to a mere hub in a machine
wheel, and that the hub would have to go just
as the machine was directed by the more or
less invisible hand at the lever.
Mr. Low was re-elected Mayor at the close
of his first term, again by a narrow majority —
1,842 — receiving 49,934 votes as against 48,-
092 for Joseph C. Hendrix. When he retired
at the close of 1885 he went to Europe and
then took charge of the business of A. & A.
Low, which he desired to close up. This he
accomplished with success and tact. His
marked success in public life and his rare ex-
ecutive ability had however marked him out
for high office, but he steadfastly refused to
enter into the vortex of politics and so never
proved an available man in the eyes of the
party managers. He was a Republican in
politics in national issues, but in local afifairs
he believed in being guided by business con-
siderations. However, in 1890 he was elected
president of Columbia College, and after much
hesitation he accepted the office and threw
himself at once into it with its varied and
responsible duties with characteristic zeal. The
work of the various institutions which made
up Columbia was grouped under a single
council, and it soon took a place among the
great universities of the country. The man-
agement of the negotiations- which resulted
in tlie purchase of the splendid site on Morn-
ingside Heights and the removal there of the
university was another task which he managed
with consummate skill, and he further showed
his deep interest in the institution by present-
ing it with $1,000,000 from his private fortune
for the purpose of erecting a library building
on the new site, now the most conspicuous of
the many buildings on the university grounds.
His work in this connection was stopped in
the fall of 1897, when he became the candi-
date for Mayor of the Greater New York on
an independent ticket. After his defeat he
resumed his labors in connection with the uni-
versity, but he has held many public appoint-
ments, such as membership in the peace con-
ference which met at The Hague in 1899.
It may be noted here, although beyond the
limit of time laid down for the scope of this
work, that in the fall of 1901 Mr. Low again
received the nomination for the Mayoralty of
Greater New York, this time from all parties
except the regular Democratic forces. On
accepting the nomination he resigned the
presidency of Columbia and entered on a vig-
orous civic canvass, which resulted in his elec-
tion, together with that of his entire ticket.
He entered upon the duties of the office of
Alayor of Greater New York on January i,
1902.
As Mayor of Brooklyn Mr. Low held him-
self completely free from party control and be-
came the foremost exponent of the "business
man in politics." His progress was watched
with curious eyes by the managers and by the
people. While it can not be said that the
latter endorsed him much more strongly than
the machine was able to find votes opposed to
him, it should be remembered that every in-
terest was arrayed against his success that had
been accustomed to- regard municipal govern-
ment as a matter of dicker and deal, a scheme
for spoils, soft jobs and various rewards for
faithful party service. As Mayor he was in
supreme control of the city's afifairs, but he
gathered around him as heads of departments
a group of men in whom the public had con-
fidence, and who, while responsible to him as
the executive head of the municipality, were
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
4d»
also directly responsible to the people for the
departments committed to their care. The late
John Fiske, the famous historian, whose death
on July 4, 1901, was a terrible blow to Ameri-
can letters, said in his work on "Civil Gov-
ernment in the United States:" "This Brook-
lyn system has great merits. It assures unity
of administration, it encourages promptness
and economy, it locates and defines responsi-
bility, and it is so simple that everybody can
understand it. The people, having but few
officers to elect, are more likely to know some-
thing about them. Especially since everybody
understands that the success of the govern-
ment depends upon the character of the Mayor,
extraordinary pains are taken to secure good
Mayors, and the increased interest in city
politics is shown by the fact that in Brooklyn
more people vote for Mayor than for Governor
or President. * * * The Brooklyn system
seems to be a step toward lifting city govern-
ment out of the mire of party politics."
But it can not be said that the Brooklyn
idea in practice continued after Mr. Low re-
tired from the office of Mayor. Toward the
close of his second term the candidates put for-
ward for the office were zealous and pro-
nounced party men, General Isaac S. Catlin
being at that time a Republican and Daniel D.
Whitney a stanch Democrat, the "independ-
ent" in politics being ignored, although Mr.
Whitney, who had had a most successful ca-
reer as a merchant, was a good example of
the "business man in politics." The contest,
however, was conducted on strictly party lines,
but Catlin's party seemed to have a splendid
advantage in Mr. Low's splendid Mayoral
record. The result, however, was the election
of Whitney by 49,002 votes to 36,905 given to
Catlin, a majority of 12,097. ^^- Whitney
was born at Oyster Bay in 1820. When he
was ten years of age his parents settled in
Brooklyn, and when ready to go to work he
found employment in a grocery store; after-
ward he went into the wholesale grocery trade
on his own account. Previous to taking his
seat as Mayor he had served as an Alderman
and for a time was President of the Board.
He gave the city a clean administration, but
the old charm of the Low administration was
gone. Mr. Whitney was, after all, the nomi-
nee of one of the local machines, and that
machine was on its good behavior. But with
the election of Alfred C. Chapin as Whitney's
successor the machine began to feel it could
do as it liked. His opponent. Colonel Andrew
D. Raird, the nominee of the Republican party,
with a splendid record as a business man, a
large employer of labor and a veteran of the
Civil War, made a splendid run against him,
and was defeated by 882 votes, the figures
being Chapin, 52,753; Baird, 51,871 ; but even
this narrow majority gave satisfaction to the
victor and his friends. However, it made the
latter feel cautious for a while. Mr. Chapin
had been prominent in Brooklyn's politics since
settling there in 1873, the year after he had
been admitted a member of the New York
bar. He became president of the Brooklyn
Young Men's Democratic Club, and through
the influence thus acquired was elected a
member of the Assembly in 1881, and re-elect-
ed the following year. Possessed of a large
fortune, he paid little attention to the practice
of his profession and devoted himself solely
to politics, having set before him as the goal
of his ambition the Governorship of the State.
His election and re-election as State Con-
troller he regarded as steps in that direction,
and his election to the Mayoralty of Brooklyn
over such a candidate as Colonel Baird he re-
garded as a stride. During his first term he
gave the people a good administration, and
strengthened the police system, increased the
park area and in many ways proved that he
fully appreciated the opportunities for improv-
ing civic conditions and efl^ecting improve-
ments. The people endorsed his work, too, in a
most flattering manner, for they re-elected him
by a majority of 9,012 over Colonel Baird, who
was once more his opponent. Some one said
that Chapin's first term was for the people,
486
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
his second was for the Governorship. He be-
came simply a tool of the local politicians,
with his mind set on the Governor's chair.
Somehow stories of scandals and deals began
to crop out, but nothing substantial was proved
against him or his associates until he and his
Board of Aldermen had entered into an agree-
ment to buy out the Long Island Water Sup-
ply Company, a New Lots concern, for $i,-
250,000. There was loud grumbling all around
at this manifest misuse of public money, and
William Zeigler and his counsel, William J.
Gaynor, came to the front in a torrent of de-
nunciation. The deal was in fact one of the
most barefaced in the history of municipal gov-
ernment since the time of Tweed. The water
company was a half moribund concern even
in its best days, its olant was practically worth-
less and its franchises of small value to the
community. Its stock had been a drug in the
market at $25 a share, and found few purchas-
ers at that. It was shown afterward that be-
fore the city had closed its deal they were
eagerly bought up, even $70 being paid will-
ingly. When it was learned that the city was
to pay $300 a share the reason of the demand
for the stock among the politicians was not
difficult to discover. The whole concern was
worth, at the outside, it was claimed, not more
than $62,500, and yet the city had agreed to
pay a million and a quarter for it. Zeigler
and Gaynor stopped the deal by an injunction.
As a result of continued litigation the deal did
not get through and was ultimately aban-
doned. Its story, however, aroused a wide-
spread feeling of disgust and by it Mr. Cha-
pin's political story came to an untimely end.
He even asked for a renomination to the May-
oralty, but that was refused, for the simple
reason that it was felt his defeat was a cer-
tainty. So when the time came Mr. David
H. Boody, a well-known New York stock bro-
ker and member of Congress from the 20th
(Brooklyn) district, was put forward in the
fall of 1891 and was elected, securing 73,366
votes to 67,895 cast for Henry A. Meyer, the
Republican candidate. Soon after Mr. Chapin
received a sop in the shape of an election to
Congress from the district vacated by Mr.
Boody, but his hold on the machine was loos-
ened, his political end was at hand and he has
long since ceased even to reside in Brooklyn.
]\Ir. Boody was born at Jackson, Maine,
in 1837, and v.'as educated for the law. After
being admitted to the bar he settled in New
York and entered the banking house of Boody
& McCIellen as clerk, the head of the firm be-
ing his uncle. There he made rapid progress,
was made a partner and the stock exchange
member of the firm, and acquired a fortune.
Before becoming Mayor he had served in
Congress, and had been active in Brooklyn's
Democratic circles, and in the Thomas Jeffer-
son Association, the Brooklyn Institute, the
Montauk Club and several other organiza-
tions, literary and financial. Mr. Boody made
a good Mayor ; his administration was clean,
but when he presented himself as a candidate
for re-election the people rejected him and
chose Charles A. Schieren, the Republican can-
didate, by about 30,000 majority. Mr. Schieren
was born in Dusseldorf, Prussia, in 1842. He
was educated in his native land and came to
this country with his parents in i860. In
1863 he became employed in a leather manu-
factory in New York's famous Swamp, and
five years later started in business on his own
account, and in the leather trade, with a capital
of about $1,000, — his own savings. Soon he
established a trade that extended all over the
country and controlled several extensive tan-
neries. Mr. Schieren has resided in Brooklyn
since his arrival in this country, and has taken
an active interest in its religious, charitable
and political affairs. He is, and has been for
years, prominently connected with the Y. M.
C. A., the Union for Christian Work, the So-
ciety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ani-
mals, and the Young Women's Christian Asso-
ciation. He lent effective aid in the raising of
funds for the erection of the statues of Henry
Ward Beecher and J. S. T. Stranahan. He
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
487
was one of the chief organizers and has always
been vice-president of the Hide and Leather
National Bank of New York. He is also a
member of the Chamber of Commerce, and
trustee of the Germania Bank of Brooklyn. Of
the career of Mr. Schieren or of his successor,
Frederick W. Wurster, the last Mayor of the
city of Brooklyn, this is not, however, the
place to speak in detail. Both proved accepta-
ble executives, but both are still prominent
workers in the local Republican ranks, and in
neither of their cases is the record of party
activity closed. It is sufficient to say here of
Mayor Wurster that he was born in North
Carolina in 1850, but has resided in Brooklyn
since he was seven years of age. Under
Mayor Schieren he held the office of Fire Com-
missioner, and he has long been prominent in
Brooklyn's financial circles, including the Nas-
sau Trust Company, of which he was one of
the organizers.
During the opening years of the period
now under notice the great subject of interest
was the bridge. As has already been told,
it was finally opened amid great eclat on May
24, 1883, and public curiosity drove thousands
to become acquainted with its wonders. The
excitement was not over by May 30, the first
holiday following the opening, and the struc-
ture was thronged. In the afternoon a woman
fell on the steps near the New York end, car-
rying Vi'ith her several persons near, and a cry
was raised that the whole concern was tum-
bling into the river. Then ensued a wild
panic, which, before it subsided, caused the
death of about twelve persons, while about
fifty were more or less badly hurt. It did
not take long for order to be restored, but
the incident showed how easily, even in an
enlightened community, a senseless yet death-
dealing panic could spring up.
But although the bridge was open and free
to any one who chose to invest a cent, one had
to walk over or indulge in the luxury of a
ride in a private carriage, unless, indeed, one
was able to negotiate a ride in a democratic
and friendly truck. But even in these few
opening months of primitive locomotion the
bridge proved most popular, and thousands
made the journey across twice a day, while at
night, lighted up brilliantly with electric lamps,
it formed a most agreeable promenade. On
September 24, in the opening year, the cable
railroad across was opened to the public, and
then it seemed as if the power of the structure
was being worked to its fullest extent. The
returns for the first year seemed to fully jus-
tify a hope for the financial success of the
enterprise. Up to November 31, when the
books were closed, 4,250,000 passengers had
used the promenade and 1,082,500 had been
carried on the trains, and the bridge had
earned $138,773. Five years later, in 1887,
the figures were 2,664,415 promenade passen-
gers, 27,940,313 on trains, and the earnings
had increased to $850,724. After a while the
promenade on the bridge was declared free,
the railroad fare was cut to five cents for a
couple of rides, and even less if one is capi-
talist enough to invest twenty-five cents for
ten passage tickets.
When this went into efifect it was again
felt that the bridge was being used to its full-
est capacity, but the surface and elevated rail-
road managers thought differently. Their am-
bition was to cross the bridge, but every effort
in that direction had been balked by the trus-
tees. After consolidation, however, when the
structure became a part of the political equip-
ment, the use of the bridge was extended to
the trolley lines and to the elevated roads,
and became in effect a part of their system.
The result of this great addition to traffic, —
in the face of warnings uttered by Colonel
Roebling- and others, — was evident in ugly ru-
mors of the stability of the structure. Several
times it was reported by passengers that some-
thing was wrong, but what it was no one
who had experienced the something had en-
gineering knowledge sufficient to explain what
it was, and the officials spoke glibly about
"simple cases of buckling." But on July 24,
488
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
1901, traffic on the bridge was peremptorily
stopped by the poHce when it was discovered
that twelve of the cable bands on the north
side had parted and that there was other dam-
age, the extent of which was not known. For
a day or two traffic was continued solely on
the north roadway.
The success of the Brooklyn Bridge led to
■others being projected, and at the date of this
writing a second bridge is approaching com-
pletion, crossing the river from a point be-
tween South Fifth and South Sixth streets,
Brooklyn, to the foot of Delancey street, Man-
hattan. The towers are completed, the ap-
proaches are being prepared and a beginning
has been made with the work on the cables.
A beginning has also been made with a
bridge which is to cross the river at Washing-
ton street, Brooklyn, to Peck Slip, Manhattan,
and is to be much longer than the others, for
the structure with its approaches will cover a
distance of two miles, and the cost will be a
"little" over $i5,ooo,ocx). Yet another bridge
will in time cross the river with a central tower
resting on Blackwell's Island, so that ere long,
between bridges and tunnels, communication
between New York and Brooklyn will be easy
from almost any point.
The success of the big bridge and the con-
veyance to it of almost the entire system of
travel have reduced the old Union Ferry sys-
tem to a subordinate place in the economy of
the city, and it may be said that since the open-
ing of the bridge all efforts to improve the
service have been abandoned. Even on the fer-
ries least affected by the bridge the service
and conditions have remained in statu quo, and
the expectation is that bridge or tunnel traffic
will make their patronage so fall off that their
stockholders will abandon them, or most of
them. Indeed, there is even a suggestion in
the press that if their continuance is to be
assured they will require to be taken over by
the city and become a corporation asset, or a
means of showing a corporation deficit.
In 1885 the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad
commenced running, and in 1888 the Kings
County Elevated Road began operations. Bit
by bit pillars were run up in all directions
until by one or other of the existing five di-
visions one can ride from Park Row, Man-
hattan, to Coney Island, or to Jamaica, or
Ridgewood without once leaving the road.
The elevated railroad system in Brooklyn has
not proved a financial success. The great
cost of construction, the determined opposi-
tion of the property owners in many of the
streets pre-empted, the vexatious variety of
lawsuits and a number of details which will
easily occur to those acquainted with the inner
workings of joint stock companies in their
earlier stages, watered stock, etc., prevented
the golden returns which the promoters so
confidently predicted. Of course it was held,
as usual in such cases, that time was on their
side, that the city was extending steadily, that
the roads were built so as to benefit by the
extension, that the population was increasing,
and everything was satisfactory so far as the
outlook was concerned. But many averred
that if the roads could only be conducted on
a basis of honesty the present would be as
comfortable as the future was rosy. But the
future in reality only deepened the gloom and
made matters worse. In 1892 the trolley sys-
tem of street-car propulsion was introduced.
The permission to erect poles and string
wires had been granted on January 23 ; the
Brooklyn City Railroad Company doubled its
capital, to $12,000,000, in order to buy the
necessary outfit to change all its cars from
horse to electric power, and on November 7
the new motor vehicles were placed in service
on Third avenue. The innovation was a suc-
cess from the start, and within two years horse
cars in Brooklyn had virtually disappeared,
while new routes were constantly being opened
up. This success, of course, militated against
the elevated roads and seemed to threaten the
continued existence of at least some of the
lines and the virtual bankruptcy of them all.
Most of the surface roads were flourishing,
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
489
such as the Brooklyn City Raih-oad, '"Deacon"
^^'illiam Richardson's Atlantic Avenue road,
but others, from one cause or another, — in only
. a few cases failed from lack of public patron-
age. When, however, the power of the trolley
- and the great potentialities of the system began
to be seen, a series of financial "arrangements"
began to operate in Brooklyn's passenger tran-
sit circles, which slowly, by due process of
evolution, effected a great change in the aspect
of affairs. In 1893 a corporation called the
Long Island Traction Company bought out
the Brooklyn Heights Company and in the
following year the Brooklyn, Queens County
and Suburban. In 1896 the Traction Company
was merged in the Brooklyn Rapid Transit
System. In 1893 the Nassau Electric Com-
pany was formed, which took over the Atlan-
tic Avenue road, the Coney Island, Fort Ham-
ilton & Brooklyn and the Coney Island &
Gravesend. As a part of the financial jug-
gling the elevated roads were united into
two companies. In 1898 a grand coup was
eft'ected by which the Brooklyn Rapid Transit
Company controlled the Brooklyn Heights
Railroad, Brooklyn City Railroad, Brooklyn,
Queens County & Suburban Railroad, Nassau
Electric, Prospect Park, Coney Island Grave-
send Railroad, Brooklyn LInion Elevated Rail-
road Company and the Kings County Ele-
vated Railroad Company.
This is virtually all the roads which pass
out of the old city of Brooklyn, with the ex-
ception of the Long Island Railroad and what
is known as the Coney Island & Brooklyn
Railroad Company. The latter is really also
an aggregation and includes the De Kalb Ave-
nue, the Smith Street, the Van Brunt and
Erie Basin and several other less important
lines. Truly Brooklyn is abundantly provided
\\-ith cheap and rapid transit.
In 1880 Brooklyn had a population of
566,663, and of these 389.000 were natives of
the United States; by 1890 it had bten in-
creased to 806.343; in 1895 it was reported at
i'055'378. but by that time it had added to
its fold Flatbush, with 14,905 ; New Utrecht,
with 10,778 ; Gravesend, with 9,939 ; and Flat-
lands was practically in with 5,000, so that
the entire city then had an estimated popula-
tion of 1,096,000 and an area of 765^ miles.
In 1896, when consolidation was effected, its
population was estimated at 1,180,000.
The following table shows the number of
new buildings erected each year, with their
cost, character, etc., which forms one of the
most magnificent illustrations of the wealth
and progress of the city :
Year.
Total
Buildinas.
Estimated
Cost.
Brick or
Iron and
Stone.
Frame.
Private
Dwellings.
Dwellings
for two or
more
In
nc
P
11
1
1
1
188-2.
1,934
2,801)
2.7.3!)
2 6:i8
3.i)!)0
3,87.j
3,661
4.080
4.3.i.-)
4,140
3,692
3,687
2,482
3,035
■ 2,861
S 8,.59li,.J0a
13,100.(524
12,672 334
1 010
09.1
88j
1.268
1.143
605
1,044
1,180
1 .0.)7
1,742
1.749
1,787
2,105
3
10
8
4
13
19
S
10
8
12
52
93
]8S:i
1SS4
1,111 '■ 1..'192
l.i::.-| l,::iM
68
.-)0
100
88
1SS7
18SS
20.31 S,48.i 1 ^-.-ilii
18 008.32.) 1,7.)2
17,937,270 1,738
19,174 980 1.848
22,026.612 1,9.51
21.12:! .V(4 1,871
is.r.tnsiu 1..384
is:;:i,-,,.v.i,i l,.-,.->3
11. .-.32,; 70 , 841
11,930,07.-) 1,169
11 "'03 6.57 I 1 ■'"'
^.:u 1 1,644
2,123 ],:i72
1,923 1.205
2,2:^2 1 1,305
55
49
46
97
143
1.58
18!)1
18112
18!);;
^.269
2,308
2,134
1,640
1,866
1,.590
1,357
917
897
458
798
(i95
iSiiii
8 ; 4(i
10 1 46
8 1 45
1 32
(i 27
4 9(1
167
171
164
i8aj
1806.
90
67
'
■
...
490
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Another evidence of the continued progress
will be found in the following table of as-
sessed valuations of real and personal prop-
erty:
I REAL.
$264,404,
28q,8oo
297,126,
311,308;
339-922,
36J,i66
384.856,
407,153.
430,911,
448,802,
467,112,
486,531,
527,008,
540,359,
5i5,3io,
I PERSON
,oi7|$i9,334,
,597| 18,135
,1441 20,727
,060 1 19,375,
,81 2 1 22,086,
,0831 21,685
,788 1 22,597,
ii35l 21,330
,794l 21,846,
,47o| 18,111
,182 1 16,625
,5061 19,523
427 1 22,460
,686| 23,627,
■997 1 27,536,
AL. I
,3oo|$283,738,3i7
298,936,506
317,853,850
330,683,762
362,009,202
383,851,674
407,454,028
428,483,681
452,758,601
466,914,249
483,738,129
506,054,676
,9851 549,469,412
,4461 563,987,132
,6361 582,847,633
It should be remembered that the assessed
valuation is, as a general rule, only about half
the actual worth of the property. Another
factor which should not be forgotten is that
$166,759,427 in real estate was not included
in the above, being exempt from taxation
under the law. The list follows :
Baptist Churches $ 1,472,400
Congregational Churches 1,284,900
Jewish Synagogues 166,800
Lutheran Churches 749,100
Methodist Episcopal Churches $ 1,873,900
Presbyterian Churches 1,132,500
Protestant Episcopal Churches. . . . 2,501,650
Reformed Dutch Churches 1,087,000
Unitarian Churches 160,000
Universalist Churches 139,000
Catholic Churches 4,680,300
Miscellaneous Churches 680,600
Parochial Schools • 2,767,900
Charitable institutions 4,960,900
Public Schools 7,153,640
Fire Department 777,900
Police Department 979,000
Department of Parks 51,882,500
Armories 3,073,000
Public buildings and U. S. prop-
erty 56,247,700
Miscellaneous 2,901,930
N. Y. and Brooklyn Bridge.... 7,051,819
New East River Bridge 666,714
Wallabout Market lands 2,469,000
Parsonages 296,600
Ministerial exemptions 145,500
Pratt Institute 967,900
Pension exemptions 163,774
Property held by the city under the
arrears act 590,000
Cemeteries 7,734,500
The financial institutions of any city are
probably the safest indexes to its real property,
and the following returns of the various banks
and trust companies, compiled a few months
before consolidation, will give a clear idea of
the tremendous volume of business trans-
acted :
NATIONAL BANKS, BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN.
. 'fZlT
— --
Loans
and
Discounts.
^iTit' U.S.
Cash i C.rcula-
Items. |"°"'>^-
other
Resources.
Capital.
Net
Profits.
Due
Banks other
and Liabil-
Depos- ities.
Total
Resources
and
Liabilities.
First
Manuf'rs' .
NaflCity.
Nassau
Sprague...
J. G. Jenkins
J. Loughran.
C. S. Young.
T. T. Barr..
N.T. Sprague
$3,170,.^24
L980,771
2,137,791
4,004,872
760,032
$l,OG.5,.592S 7.5,000
441,1231 2.-)0,000
442,31, s 1011,1100
4.i4,.>!2 ■ir,;.oiio
101,14-> 1 .-,0,000
$3,1.39,051
1, .512,123
1,4:11,; 10
l,i:;s,sis
.",;.■",, OS 1
$300,000
252,000
: ',01 1,001
■.'00,001
$ -,7,454
28,5(;!)
;t4:!o
."■isi,( ;■_'.",
$G,024,203;$l,0(i8,311
3.273,082 (■.:!0,.367
.■l,osii,2.50 (Ml.Ki!)
i.;i!i,ii; -ilU,.-,!!
l.o;il,o;i :!::.-,,:;:!(
$7,449,971
4,184,021
4,111,852
5,,S(l.-,,255
l,.5Sli,.S(i2
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
491
Brooklyn
Franklin
Hamilton
Kings County . .
L. I. L. & T. Co.
Manufacturers' .
Nassau
PeoDle's
1
i
177 Montague st .
104-0 Montague St.
191 Montague St.
:!42 Fulton st....
2d:i Montague st .
198 Montague st..
Idl Broadway . . .
172 Montague St.
I
1
^
C. T. Christensen...
George H. Southard.
Silas B. Dutcher....
Julian D. Fairchild..
Edward Merritt
William J. Coombs. .
Andrew T. Sullivan.
3
liiiiiii
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UOSU.OT 1
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pajisodaa
pOE pUEH
uo qsE3
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iriiigil
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iiilii
^GHfft^Jl32ggr?tEO'^^. MCOffltS
jil 2. 1 jj =- o g J^ S B 5' a 5 & - § o S S;
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■siassv
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saajnosay
3Bo££- o.S^^sri
492
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In another division of public business the
following table of the co-operative building
• and loan associations proves the prosperity of
the working classes :
Afro-American
Atlantic
Bedford
Brooklyn and N.Y. Arcanum
Brooklyn City
Brooklyn Mutual
Bushwick
Columbia
able
Eag
Eas
Eas
Eqr
Excelsior
Fifth Avenue
Flatbush
Fort Greene
Foruna
Fulton
German
Germania
Hamilton
Homestead
.Ino. H. Shults'
Kings Co
Long Island
Madison
Model
Nassau
Ninth Street
People's
Prospect Home
South Brooklyn
Suburban
Town of New Utrechi
Twenty-Ninth Ward.
Union
West End
188.)
1887
1883
1888
188!)
1897
1885
1892
1888
1894
1800
18S9
$ 8 000
, iisiooo.
135,000'
5,10,0110
lOO 000
445.0110
:i.s,-.i(il
110,000
' 485,000|
30,000
25,000l.
j lC5,t)00|.
725,0001
.55,00(1
! 35,00(1
1 1 . IKK 1
! 700.0011
2(1,011(1
! 5,000
70,000
2.5(10
175,0001
5,987
85,000!
l,44(i
100 000 ;
7.50(1
1,200
4,000
7,.500
188()
1897
1887
4.50,000
85,000
35,000
225,000
25,000
20,000
100,000 4,050
0.50,000 34,783
5,000
1.50,000 1,208
3,.50O
150,000 9,47:i
2,500
Total $6,385,000 $315,C80
Add to the assets in the above table the
deposits in the savings banks on July i, 1897,
the last statement before consolidation, and
the prosperity of the working classes will be
fuitlKU" demonstrated. See table on page 493 :
In 1889 contracts were awarded by which
an additional 25,000,000 gallons of water were
secured to the city and five additional ponds
were added to the sources of the city's water
supply. These were : Massapequa, 22,500,000
gallons ; Ridgewood, 20,000,000 ; Newbridge,
16,500,000; East Meadow, 23,500,000; Mill-
burn, 19,500,000; and Millburn storage reser-
voir, 414,000,000 gallons ; total storage capaci-
ty, 516,000,000 gallons. This increased the area
of the watershed from which the city's supply
is drawn to 161 square miles. The main reser-
voir at Ridgewood has a capacity of 320,000
gallons, and the Hempstead reservoir of 120,-
000,000. Mount Prospect pumping station,
the tall and handsome structure which over-
looks the Prospect Park Plaza and fits in so
delightfully with its surrounding landscape,
is about 200 feet above tidewater and carries
water to the most elevated buildings within
its territory. To most Brooklyn people the
tower is the only visible evidence of the water
system that presents itself. In 1895 the aver-
age daily consumption of water in Brooklyn
was 80,100,000 gallons.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan used to say that
a man's prosperity is best known by his debts,
and of the truth of that assertion Brooklyn
is a splendid example. From the formation
of the village government it has always been
face to face with problems of extension and
improvement, and after the recovery from the
Civil War trouble these two problems had as-
sumed steadily great proportions and the pro-
portions seemingly increased each year. Money
had to be raised for these requirements; they
were mainly for the future and, as it were, the
future had to be mortgaged. Bonds had been
freely issued for all sorts of improvements,
but the steady increase in taxable values and
in taxable area, and the multitude of private
improvements had combined with excellent
financial management to meet all the charges
of interest, to repay each indebtedness on ma-
turity. The great system of sewers had alone
cost a fabulous amount, 'and schools, parks,
municipal buildings, in which may be included
police and fire department structures, the
bridge, the water system, and the cost of an-
nexation,— that is, of taking over all of Kings
county, — had involved a series of financial
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
schemes and manipulations which needed the
most deHcate attention at all times. How-
ever, when the record was closed Brooklyn's
total indebtedness was placed as follows :
County of Kings $14,851,892.83
City of Brooklyn 66,669,478.10
Town of New Lots 519,820.00
Town of Flatbush 929,000.00
Town of Gravesend 1,404,296.00
Town of Flatlands 62,169.60
Town of New Utrecht 734,939.00
Gross debt of Borough of
Brooklyn 6.734,055.69
Less sinking fund city of
Brooklyn 6,734,055.69
Net debt $78,437,539-84
The bulk of the indebtedness ascribed in
the above to Kings county really belonged to
the city of Brooklyn, as the following analysis
of the figures shows :
Refunding loan $ 2,367,500.00
State Tax Registered 1 19,000.00
Meeker Avenue Bridge 10,000.00
Indexing and reindexing 211,392.83
Hall of Records 155,000.00
County Farm 3,339,000.00
Thirteenth Regiment Armory . . 450,000.00
Fourteenth Regiment Armory
site $ 50,000.00
Fourteenth Regiment Armory. . 360,000.00-
Public Park 2,410,000.00
Public Building Improvement. . 250,000.00
Paid :
Driveway and Parkway 3,600,000.00
Street Improvement 1,550,000.00
Total $14,851,892.83
While we are thus groping among figures
we may here reproduce the report on Brook-
lyn's manufactories, prepared by Mr. Robert
P. Porter, Commissioner of the Census of
1900, — the last document of the kind in which
Brooklyn could be considered as a distinct
city. It would be interesting to compare the
returns from the census of 1900 with those-
here presented, but that computation has not
yet been completed. However, the document
here presented covers the section of Brook-
lyn's history which is here being treated :
Departmext of the Interior,
Census Office,
W.vsHiNGTox, D. C, October 10, 1892.
Herewith is presented a preliminary report
on the mechanical and manufacturing indus-
tries of the city of Brooklyn for the year
ended May 31, 1890, prepared under the direc-
SAVINGS BANKS, JULY 1, 1897.
S.\viNGS Banks.
President.
Total
Resources.
Due
Depositors.
S-P.-s. i ^0-n.s.
Depopits
For Year.
Felix Campbell
Bryan H. Smith
Joseph Liebmann....
$ .-536,877
.■)(i,5.34.706
l,214,.-)33
640. 876
$ .>36,386
S 491
3,183
56,925
4,.305
3.268
55,780
7,933
9,265
1,220
3,802
9,131
15,221
113
9,149
11,074
■ 28,705
74,697
$ 325.310
Brooklyn
Bushwick
31.7.-)4,373 4,780,423
1,171.940 ' 42,.i78
62:i,3()(i 17.510
8,0I8,.)4S
.581,304
321,281
Dime Savings
DimeSav.ofWmsb'g'h
East Brooklyn
Eastern District
East New York
Benj. H. Huntington. 1 2:!,208.8:i4
Vacant 1 2,834,04:!
Darwin R. James 1 2,675,033
L. E. Meeker 93,781
Frederick Middendorf 967,731
Frederick A. Schroeder 3,294,011
Charles Naeher 4,192,906
J. C. Obermayer i 6,129
Timothy Perry ' 3,131. .^58
James S Beams <> 184 .")2(i
21,404,470
2,615,014
2,466,4.33
93,084
863,793
• 3,046,190
3,846,828
6,107
1,804,.364
219,628
228,600
696
96,187
247,820
313,765
13
391,606
5. .586,774
1.037,.333
869,604
117,165
.334,468
1,061,406
1,62.5,42()
Greater New York....
6,464
975,467
.l (i'iC. -'lU 1 .558 322
1,649,792
c r*, D 1 ?
■\le\ander E Orr
36^2611902 ■^'.i4ry^.^^lo
1,999,877
6,809,527
3,496,597
Williamsburgh
John MoUenhauer. . . .
7,457,419
$137,515,283 S119.963.797
$17,511,407 1 293.771
133,364,438
.
494
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tion of Mr. Frank R. Williams, special agent
in charge of statistics of manufactures. The
statements contained in this bulletin are pre-
liminary and subject to modification for final
report, therefore fair criticisms and sugges-
tions are invited, with a view to such revision
and correction as may appear necessary.
It is proposed to promptly publish bulletins
for all principal cities in a form similar to
this, to be followed by final reports containing
data in detail respecting all industries for each
city at- the earliest date practicable. The to-
tals presented in the complete reports will not,
however, be less, and may, in a number of
cases, be considerably increased. A compara-
tive statement is presented for 1880 and 1890
in Table i, showing the totals under such gen-
eral heads of the inquiry as are common to
both census periods. Table 2 exhibits for
important industries, under the general heads
of "Capital employed," "Miscellaneous ex-
penses," "Wages paid," "Materials used," and
"Goods manufactured," all essential details of
the inquiry for 1890, excepting wage statistics
for the various classes of labor employed in
the respective industries.
In comparing results of the current inquiry
with the returns of 1880 it will be observed
that the item of "Miscellaneous expenses" is
given for 1890 only. No previous census in-
•quiry has embraced the cost incurred in manu-
facturing operations other than wages paid and
materials used. Differences in method of in-
quiry, as explained in this report, and the in-
clusion in the Eleventh Census of certain in-
dustries omitted in the Tenth Census account
in part for the increases shown.
The following classes of industry were
omitted in the census reports of 1880: China
and pottery, decorating; druggists' prepara-
tions, not including prescriptions ; millinery,
■custom work; women's dressmaking, custom
work.
The totals stated for 1890, in Table i, are
increased as follows by the inclusion of the in-
dustries referred to :
TOTALS FOR INDUSTRIES OMITTED IN 1880, BUT
INCLUDED IN 189O.
Number of establishments reported i,o88
Capital invested $1,074,910
Number of hands employed 3-704
Wages paid $1,505,515
'Cost of materials used 2,310,375
Miscellaneous expenses $ 208,063
Value of product at works 4,102,761
To ascertain the amounts for comparison
with the totals of 1880, the foregoing figures
should be subtracted from the totals stated in
Table i for 1890, and the percentage of in-
crease would. then appear as follows:
PERCENTAGES OF INCREASE.
Number of establishments reported. . . 82.14
Capital invested 102.40
Number of hands employed 1 10.10
Wages paid 168.91
Cost of materials used 4.59
Value of product at works 38.04
Population of city 42.30
Assessed valuation of city 91.06
Decrease of municipal debt less sink-
fund 8.94
A striking feature of these returns is the
satisfactory increase in the number of estab-
lishments reported. Still more gratifying is
the increase during the decade in the number
of hands employed and the amount of wages
paid; the wages have increased not only actu-
ally, but relatively, the average wages per
hand increasing from $473 in 1880 tj $605 in
1890, or 27.91 per cent.
Part of this increase is undoubtedly due
to the fact that in many industries relatively
more men were employed in 1890 and less
children ; and also to the fact that in ten years
many branches of industry have improved the
grades of their products, and for this reason
require more skilled and higher paid employes.
After making all possible allowance for these
changes, for the more thorough enumeration
of 1890, and for the advance in quantity of
manufactured product, we have a decided rela-
tive increase in the amount paid in wages be-
tween 1880 and 1890.
The comparatively small increase in the
total value of materials used is principally due
to the decreased volume of manufactures re-
ported for the refining of sugar and molasses,
an industry in which the cost of materials far
exceeds all other elements in the cost of pro-
duction.
In 1880 the value of product reported for
this industry by all establishments was $59.-
711,168, the value of materials used being
$56,423,868, or 94.49 per cent, of the value
of product. The value of product reported
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
495
by 8 establishments in 1890 is $16,629,982,
and of materials used $13,317,789, or 80.08
per cent, of the value of product.
Attention is called to the presentation of
labor and wage statistics. The "average
wages" paid to all classes employed has always
proved a stumbling block in census reports.
It is believed the Eleventh Census, in obtain-
ing data to show the classification of labor
employed, the average term of employment,
the various rates of wages per week, and the
average number of men, women and children,
respectively employed at each rate in the var-
ious classes, has taken a step in advance, which
will be shown in detail in final reports, and
appreciated by students of these data.
Robert P. Porter,
Superintendent of Census.
The act of Congress approved March i,
1889, providing for the Eleventh Census, di-
rects the Superintendent of Census to investi-
gate and ascertain the statistics of the manu-
facturing industries of the country. By virtue
of the authority conferred by section 18 of the
said act, the collection of statistics of all estab-
lishments of productive industry located in
certain cities and towns was withdrawn from
enumerators and assigned to special agents,
who were appointed and entered upon their
duties as soon after the completion of the work
assigned the general enumerators as was prac-
ticable.
The instructions issued by this office to
enumerators and special agents relating to the
collection of statistics of manufactures were
as follows :
It shall be their duty personally to visit
every establishment of productive industry in
their respective districts (except as noted) and
to obtain the required information in the case
of each manufacturing establishment.
The term "establishment of productive in-
dustry" must be understood in its broadest
ense to embrace not only mills and factories,
but also the operation of all small establish-
ments and the mechanical trades.
Restaurants, saloons, barber shops, the
compounding of individual prescriptions by
druggists and apothecaries, the operations of
mercantile establishments, transportation cor-
porations and lines, and professional services
(except mechanical dentistry) are not consid-
ered as coming within the meaning of the law
in this connection.
Great care must be taken by special agents
and enumerators to guard against the omis-
sion from their returns of any establishment
that comes properly within the scope of this
investigation. * * * They should have their
eyes open to every indication of the presence
of productive industry and should supplement
personal observation by frequent and persistent
inquiry.
The tabulated statements presented here-
with include only establishments which report-
ed a product of $500 or more in value during
the census year, and, so far as practicable,
only those establishments operating works lo-
cated within the corporate limits of the city.
TABLE 1. — Comparative Statement of Totals under General Heads of Inquiry; 1880 and
INDUSTRIES.
Number
industries
reported.
Number
establish-
reporting.
Capital. (1)
Hands
employed.
Wages paid.
Cost of
materials
used.
All Industries { J«00
180
.^5,201
10,.561
$ 01,646.749
125,849,0.52
47.587
103,683
$22,487,457
61,975,702
$129,085,091
137,325,749
Miscellaneous
expenses. W)
Value of
product.
MUNICIPAL DATA.
INDUSTRIES.
Population.
Assessed
valuation.
Municipal
, debt, k)
( 1880
$177 223 14?!
566 663
$232 92.T (i<)0
«.3S 0411 oni )
^"-'i-'"- jisoo
$14,824,-4G(i
246
,750,184
806,343
445
,038,201
34,63'.(,.-)4>
a The value of hired property is not included for 1890, because it was not reported in 1880.
b No inquiry in 1880 relating to "Miscellaneous expenses."
c The amount stated represents the "net debt" or the total amount of municipal debt less sinking fund.
496
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
For the purpose of ready comparison Table
I presents the statistics of 1880 and 1890 in
the form of pubHcation used in the reports
for 1880. In comparing industrial statistics
for 1880 and 1890 it should be borne in mind,
as stated bv the Superintendent of Census,
that radical changes have been made in 1890
as well in the fonn and scope of inquiry as in
the method of presentation.
The form of question respecting capital
used at the census of 1880 was as follows :
"Capital (real and personal) invested in the
business." It became evident from the results
then obtained that this question was neither
sufficiently comprehensive nor properly under-
stood, and therefore the full amount of capi-
tal employed in productive industry was not
reported, thus forming an erroneous basis for
deductions.
The present census inquiry respecting capi-
tal is intended to comprehend all the property
or assets strictly pertaining to a manufacturing
business, whether such property is owned,
borrowed or hired. The value of hired prop-
erty is not included in the amount stated for
1890 in Table i, because it was not reported
in 1880, and its inclusion would therefore ren-
der the comparison misleading. It will, how-
ever, be specifically stated for each industry
in final reports.
TABUL.\R ST.\TEMENTS FOR 189O.
The various subheads into which the in-
quiry of 1890 is divided, excepting wage sta-
tistics by classes, will be found in Table 2 for
important industries. The statements for each
industry are intended to present the true
amount of capital employed", the amount paid
in wages, and the numbdr of hands employed
in the respective industries, the cost of mate-
rials used, miscellaneous expenses, and the
value at the works of goods manufactured, as
compiled from individual reports of manufac-
turers.
L.VBOR EMPLOYED AND WAGES PAID.
In the form of inquiry used in the Eleventh
Census respecting labor and wages the classi-
fied occupation and wage system was adopted.
Officers or firm members engaged in produc-
tive labor or supervision of the business con-
stitute one class, for which the wages reported
are those which would be paid to employes
performing similar service. Clerical labor is
embraced by distinct classification, also piece-
work.
\\'age workers proper are divided into two-
classes, as follows :
First. Operatives, engineers, and other
skilled workmen, overseers and foremen or
superintendents (not general superintendents
or managers).
Second. Watchmen, laborers, teamsters,
and other unskilled workmen.
It should be noted that the first class in-
cludes all operatives, that is, those directly en-
gaged in productive labor as well as skilled
mechanics, while the second class includes all
unskilled workmen other than operatives. The
questions rec[uired a statement of the average
number of men, women and children, respec-
tively, employed during the year in each class,
also the actual amount of wages paid to each,
number.
A statement was requested showing the
various rates of wages per week, the average
number of men, women and children, respec-
tively, employed at each rate, exclusive of
those reported as employed on piecework, and
the actual term of operation for the establish-
ment reporting. The wage statistics compiled
from the reports obtained will be stated in de-
tail for each class in the final reports to be
published for each city. In this bulletin only
the aggregate wages paid is given.
MATERIALS USED AND GOODS MANUFACTURED.
Against the caption "Materials used" is
presented the reported cost at the place of con-
sumption of all materials used, and against
"Goods manufactured" is the reported market
value at the factory of the total product, not
including any allowance for commissions or
expenses of selling.
In this connection it must be considered
that the difiference between apparent cost and
value of manufactured product as presented
cannot be taken as a correct indication of
manufacturers' net profits, because many other
items of expense enter into the mercantile por-
tion of the business not within the scope of
the census inquiry.
Fxpenses of selling are excluded, because
the reported value of product is its selling
value "at the shop or factory." The cost of
depreciation of plant in excess of the expense
for ordinary repairs is not included, because
the information obtained by the inquiry is not
sufficient to form a basis for accurate computa-
tion for the respective industries.
THE SPLENDID CLOSING RECORD.
n r *ti|:
5-S :
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B g
5522
O J^ ■ OP to
ifg^fl
s ^i
^ gj £; g a
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11: i
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o ca o Ss g cc w ;
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p i>l 10 -1- c: p J- .-5 <
oo-ioc:
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M c: c: ts MM hs
O 00 OT rs — •-■ O
GO -• *- -1 p ^ s ^1
Siiii
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:.35S II ^j
<^ I
CHAPTER XLIL
"THE END OF AN AULI> .SANG."
LiTERATUHE AND THE DRA>rA HlGHBR EDUCATION NATIONAL GuARD TnK NaVY
Yard — Architectural Progress — Wallabout — Public Statues
— The Passing of Brooklyn City.
UT we must turn away from statis-
tics. Though necessary, they are
by no means interesting and are apt
to become tiresome. But those
^ve have presented form a splendid and
significant synopsis of the great progress
which Brooklyn made during its last quarter
of a century. It was a metropolitan city in
fact if not in name, and while growing in
wealth was almost daily adding to its posses-
sions in all that an educated, progressive and
hospitable city holds most dear.
In literature the first place as representa-
tive of the city was still held by the news-
paper press. "The Eagle" still sustained its
supremacy, and in 1892 vacated its old prem-
ises which so long had been a landmark at the
bottom of Fulton street and moved to a pala-
tial structure at the corner of Washington
and Johnson streets, the site of the ill-fated
Brooklyn Theater. The "Standard" was first
published in 1884, but after some three years
it consolidated, and "The Standard-Union" as
such commenced in 1887, and was in reality
a survival of several papers, including "The
Argus."' In 1886 the "Brooklyn Citizen"
commenced its issue, and under the editorship
of Andrew McLean soon became noted for its
literary ability and won a recognized place as
a family newspaper. During the time here
treated the publication of weekly papers con-
tinued to be a part of the privilege of every
man who had a cause to advocate or money to
waste ; sometimes, it must be told, the amuse-
ment of men who had neither. Hardly a
month passed without a new weekly being
"established," but as a rule the careers of these
organs were brief. When the city became a
borough, however, there were twenty-nine of
these weekly publications in Brooklyn, as fol-
lows : Baker's Journal and Deutsche Ameri-
kanische Baecker Zeitung, Bedford Home
News, Blade, Life, Courier, East New York
Advertiser, Flatbush Press and Kings County
Gazette, Greenpoint Independent, Greenpoint
Weekly Star, Kings County Journal, Ledger,
Nordiske Blade, Nordisk Tiende, Oesterns
Haerold, Post, Record, Reform, Reporter, Re-
view, Revue, Saturday Journal, Siirtolainan
Supervisor, Svenska Amerikanska Pressen,
Transcript, Uptown Weekly, Weekly, and
Williamsburgh Democrat.
In 1893 an effort was made to establish a
new daily, — the "Chronicle," — but the effort
ended in failure in three months, — a few days
more. It was organized apparently to "boom"
the consolidation scheme, but the people did
not need any special organ to enlighten them
on that point and so "The Chronicle" came to
an untimely end. Since then no real effort has
been made to establish a new daily in the City
of Churches, and the Eagle, Times, Standard-
:he end of an auld sang.
499
Union, Citizen and Freie Presse (German)
have the field to themselves and meet every re-
quirement abh- and well.
But in the higher walks of literature,
Brooklyn continued to be as little of a centre
to the end of her separate history as she was
when her position in the world was only that
of New York's bedroom. Her story had been
written by Dr. Henry R. Stiles and written
with a degree of thoroughness that made the
work a model in the way of local histories and
every line seemed penned with a degree of pa-
tient care and loving industry which has made
it the text book of all who have since studied
the subject, and Thomas W. Field had written
an account of the battle of Long Island, while
Spooner, Onderdonck, Murphy, Bergen and
others had treated of the past with the un-
wearied carefulness of typical antiquaries and
sometimes with the infinite grace of the man of
letters, but these things, useful and valuable
and inspiring as they are, are not literature ;
rather are they the foundations for literature.
Shakespeare wrote his "Macbeth" with a story
in Holinshed's "Chronicles" as a basis. "Mac-
beth" is part of our literature. Holinshed's
"Chronicles" is not, but we could ill afiford to
lose it. So far as reading, study and the lit-
erary gift were concerned Brooklyn might be
regarded as a literary producer; but the trouble
was that as soon as a man began to acquire
eminence in letters he found it necessary as a
result of his calling to move across the river or
to some other place where the maker of books
could weave his thoughts or arrange his fancies
or ideas, or formulate his theories or his dog-
mas with all the processes and agencies at hand
for reaching the public. A case in point is that
of Prof. John Bach McMaster, whose "His-
tory of the People of the United States" prom-
ises to rank as an American classic. That
work is printed in Brooklyn, but is published
in New York, and people speak of him as "the
eminent Pennsylvania writer," although he is
a native of Brooklyn and in Brooklyn received
the educational training which fitted him for
the honored position he now holds among the
country's historians. Rossiter W. Raymond
was long regarded as among the most indus-
trious of Brooklyn's professional litterateurs,
and in Brooklyn much of his life work was
done, but the world generally regarded him
as a Manhattan worker. Wili Carleton, the
poet, whose "Betsy and I Are Out" has per-
haps been as Widely popular as any production
of its size that has appeared in recent years, is
never spoken of as a Brooklyn poet although
his home has been in it for many years; and
the same might be said of Wallace Bruce, a
man with an international reputation as a lec-
turer and poet, who set up his home in Brook-
lyn when he returned to America after repre-
senting the United States as Consul at Edin-
burgh for four years. Henry George, the pub-
licist whose "Progress and Poverty" has
proved a new gospel to a large group of earn-
est, thoughtful men and women who are try-
ing to improve life by removing poverty and
laying bare its cause, is never regarded as hav-
ing had any connection with Brooklyn, al-
though his home was at Fort Hamilton for
many years before his death in 1897 during
the contest for the mayoralty of New York
in which he was one of the candidates. Dr.
John D. Ross, who has made a special study
of the life and works of Burns, his great poet
and countryman, does his literary work in his
Brooklyn home, but Brooklyn is never heard
in connection with it. It seems a pity that the
literature that really ought to be rightly cred-
ited to the city, be regarded as a part of its
work for the world, should find its sponsors
elsewhere.
Possibly one exception might be made to
this in the case of the Ford brothers, whose
literary work somehow, no matter where print-
ed, has always been associated with the city of
Brooklyn. Their father, Gordon Leicester
Ford, was a resident of Brooklyn for over
40 years, and as a collector of internal reve-
nue, as business manager of the "New York
Tribune," as well as in various other import-
500
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ant capacities, was one of its most widely
known citizens. A man of many grand qual-
ities, an active and conscientious citizen, a
fearless supporter of whatever he deemed to
be right, a sturdy partisan yet tolerant of the
views of others, he carried with him in his
"daily walk and conversation" the hearty good
wishes of an ever increasing circle of personal
friends. In all the literary and higher social life
of Brooklyn he was particularly prominent;
and in the affairs of the Historical Society, the
Brooklyn Library and similar institutions he
was particularly active and helpful. His own
collection of books, manuscripts and auto-
graphs was in itself a wonder, and long be-
fore his death, in 1891, it was regarded as the
largest private collection in Brooklyn. It was
especially rich in Americana, and for over half
a century he had been patiently collecting
books, pamphlets, manuscripts, portraits — any-
thing in fact that threw even a slender side
light on the story of the land. At his death
he bequeathed his literary and artistic treas-
ures to his two sons and they have largely
added to them and turned them to practical
value in their literary work.
The eldest, Worthington C. Ford, who was
born in Brooklyn in 1858, edited "The Writ-'
ings of George Washington"' in ten volumes,
and several other works treating of the
"Father of his Country," while his younger
brother, Paul Leicester Ford, born at Brook-
lyn in 1865, has issued the Writings of Thom-
as Jeft'erson, also in ten volumes, and quite a
host of books from such pamphlets as one on
"Who was the Mother of Franklin's Son," to
solid contributions to historical study and
works of fiction which have been sold by the
thousands on both sides of the Atlantic.
Brooklyn has been, and is rich in book col-
lectors and in some of its homes are to be
found the largest and choicest collections of
rare books to be found anywhere in America.
To mention the contents of such collections
as that of Mr. Daniel M. Tredwell, author of
"A Plea for Bibliomania." "Literature of the
Civil War," and a number of other interesting
monographs, or that of Norton Q. Pope, or
that of Prof. Charles E. West, or that of Will-
iam Augustus White, or that of C. H. ]\Ioser,
would be to enumerate a succession of gems
enough to fill a goodly sized volume.
But we may here recall one noted collector
who certainly turned his treasures to practical
use before his death on Feb. 2, 1900. This
was James A. H. Bell, wti'o in June, 1899, pre-
sented several thousand of his rarest volumes
to the Brooklyn Library. He was born in New
Orleans on June 4, 181 7, and when three years
old his parents died of yellow fever. The boy
was discovered between the bodies of his fa-
ther and mother, and was taken to a hospital,
but he never contracted the disease. He was
subsequently sent by the Mayor of New Or-
leans to Brooklyn, where his uncle, Augustus
Graham, resided. Mr. Graham was the found-
er of the Graham Institute, which became the
Brooklyn Institute, and is now the Brooklyn
Institute of Arts and Sciences. Mr. Graham
cared for his nephew for some years and event-
ually he was adopted by his housekeeper, a
]Mrs. Taylor.
Mr. Bell was for some years engaged in
the brewery business in Manhattan. When
only 14 years of age he began to take a great
interest in books and this interest never lagged.
During the last forty years he had been a de-
voted collector. When his collection had
grown too large for him to care for, owing to
his advanced age, Mr. Bell presented the most
valuable books in it to the Brooklyn Library.
This collection is kept in a separate room and
is distinct from the regular library. One of
the interesting parts of the collection is the in-
dex which comprises thirty-six volumes. The
index is ii; detail and is all in Mr. Bell's hand-
writing.
After he made this present to the Brooklyn
Library Mr. Bell found that he had too much
time to himself and he began to make another
collection. At the time of his death he had
succeeded in getting about 2,000 volumes for
his new library.
Mr. Bell's home at 4s Sands slreet had
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG.
501
been occupied by him and his family for over
a half century. When he first took possession
of it the house was one of the handsomest in
Brooklyn. ,
Possibly the nearest approach to a literary
cult in Brooklyn was due to the establishment
lution, and one of interest to the students of
the personal life of Georg-e Washington. But
with the publication of the last named, in 1889,
that branch of the society's usefulness has
apparently come to an end. It is housed in a
handsome building at Clinton and Pierrepont
LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY BUILD!
of the Long Island Historical Society, but
with the passing away of its founders that in-
stitution seemed to lose much of its earlier in-
spiration. For a time its publication fund
promised to enrich local literature and did en-
rich it with four volumes, three of w^hich are
of great importance as contributions to the
story of Brooklyn and of the American Revo-
streets, which it had erected for its own use in
1880, it has a library of 43,000 volumes which
is steadily being added to and its museum is
a marvelous storehouse of curiosities, — birds,
stones, Indian relics, manuscripts, deeds, pic-
tures,— relating mainly to Long Island. Its
literary and other treasures are freely placed
at the service of all who are interested. The
502
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
other Brooklyn libraries have already been
referred to and it is needless to enlarge upon
any -of them at this writing as the entire sys-
tem in the Greater New York is steadily un-
dergoing radical changes.
The literary tendency of the people has
shown itself in the great number of literary
clubs which have flourished in the city. The
Writers' Club, organized in 1895, is mainly
composed of professional people : the Brooklyn
Catholic Historical Society, founded in 1891,
explains its purpose clearly in its name, which
is more than can be said of most of the others.
But many and varied as are these coteries they
are far outstripped in numbers and extent of
membership by the musical organizations. The
Oratorio Society of Brooklyn, founded in
1893, has a membership of 250; the Arion
Singing Society, 600 members ; the Harmony
Glee Club, 250 members ; the United German
Singers, 1,400 members; Amateur Musical
Club, 200 members, and so on through a list of
about 100 organizations. The most prominent
composer associated with Brooklyn is Dud-
ley Buck, for many years organist in Holy
Trinity Church and who resigned in 1902. In
1871 he became organist in the Music Hall,
Boston, and attracted the attention of Theo-
dore Thomas, and he was associated with that
famous musician and leader for several years.
Many of Buck's best compositions were first
produced at Mr. Thomas' concerts, notably
the music for Sidney Lanier's centennial can-
tata, which was given at the opening of the
Philadelphia Exposition in 1876. In 1878
Buck became choirmaster and organist of Holy
Trinity and resided in Brooklyn until the
end. His religious compositions have been
much admired and are to be found in all mod-
ern books of praise. As a teacher of music he
stands at the very head of Brooklyn's instruc-
tors.
From music to art is an easy step; but a
large volume might easily be written on Brook-
lyn's artists and art collections. It has long
been the home of J. M. Hart, the famous land-
scape and cattle painter, of Wedworth Wads-
worth, whose illustrations to Shakespeare,
Cooper, Tennyson and others, as well as his
water-color sketches have been highly praised ;
of Carleton Wiggins, and of E. H. Blashfield
who studied under Gerome, won a medal at
the Salon in Paris and was one of the decorat-
ors of the Chicago Ex'hibition. The famous
"Gibson Girl" might also claim to be a
Brooklyn lass, for her designer, W. Hamilton
Gibson, has been a resident of Brooklyn more
or less steadily since he was a child and was
educated at the Polytechnic.
But the painter who has done most to de-
pict Brooklyn and Long Island on canvas is
Charles Henry Miller. In reviewing an exhi-
bition of his works given in 1901 a well known
New York critic wrote as follows :
Mr. Miller has followed the adage that
beauty lies about one, and need not be sought
afar. As Whistler painted and etched the
Thames before his Chelsea house, so Miller
found his pictures on Newtown Creek and at
Hell Gate^ at Creedmoor, and Roslyn. The
mill belonging to the famous local bard. Blood-
good Cutter, appears in two of his composi-
tions. Sometimes he went as far as the Hud-
son and penetrated the Highlands even into
Peekskill ; and again he would make a tour of
his beloved and always grateful Long Island
and paint the "graveyard of ships" at Port
Washington, or visit the marshy solitudes of
the Great South Bay, linger near the Shinne-
cock Hills, and reach the. remote hamlet of
East Hampton — when East Hampton was not
only remote but a hamlet. There is evidence
that he has trod the soil of New Jersey ; for
here is a grove of tall trees at Weehawken
with a glimpse of New York in the deep dis-
tance.
But for the most part his own little corner
is his world, where he paints with evident
gusto such townscapes and landscapes as "The
Queen's Church," "Springfield Road at
Queens," "A Gray Day on Long ' Island,"
"Landscape at Queens Park," "Queens Barn-
yard at Sunset," "Queenlawn Homestead."
"Sunset at Queens," "The Queens School."
"Queens Corners," "Oaks at Creedmoor,
Queens." Like the old Dutchman, like Con-
stable, and some of the French landscapists
•THE END OF AN AULD SANG."
503
of 1830-1860, he is a. philosopher on the ques-
tion of novehies, preferrinsj to give all his
strength to an endeavor to paint what is at his
doors, instead of roaming abroad for the stim-
ulus that new scenery might bring.
At the same time he has not lacked foreign
travel. He has studied at Munich and visited
other countries besides Holland and Germany.
He has been an Academician since 1875, and
won medals at expositions in Philadelphia,
Boston, and New Orleans. In the course of
time his paintings has changed very consider-
ably. Where it was muddy and without sun-
shine it has become alive. If he has not
reached great skill in rendering the delicate
differences in atmosphere, some of his later
works show the effect of modern struggles
with the problem of sunlight and air. Take
as an instance No. 56, "A Frosty Day on Long
Island." The remains of a cold fog are indi-
cated well by the trees and by the cattle com-
ing into sight in the hazy air, down the level
road, toward the observer. This is a very
different st^de compared with his earlier work
like "Manhattan from Long Island," where the
painting is dull and turbid. "A Cloudy Day
in Spring," which was part of the American
exhibit at Paris last summer, has a quiet truth
to nature that is often lacking in older work.
"New York from Newtown Creek," painted
in 1876, and "High Bridge from Harlem
Lane," are pieces for a historical society rather
than for a museum of art ; for the value lies in
the subject rather than their artistic force.
About a score of paintings here, about one
in four, hold one through the beauty of their
coloring and the sturdy value of their compo-
sition. Easily first stands the big canvas,
"Autumn Oaks at Creedmoor," a serious and
even grand landscape, large in composition,
simple and impressive as to mass, and fine in
coloring. A number of landscapes in this
style, but not quite so impressive, indicate the
strongest vein of the painter.
In 1882 Brooklyn possessed an educational
department that was justly regarded as a
model. Its resources were ample, its teaching
staff' was able and enthusiastic and its school
rooms were even better appointed than those
on Manhattan Island. Its school board com-
prises 45 members and its system of primairy,
grammar, evening and industrial schools was
complete. In 1882 William H. Maxwell was
appointed Associate Superintendent, and Su-
perintendent in 1887, and from then onward
until the close of 1897 he was the real admin-
istrator of the affairs of Brooklyn's public
school system and administered them well.
The city in 1896 voted $2,564,263 for the
maintenance of the schools. Possibly no de-
partment of the city government was regard-
ed with more pride than this, but somehow
since consolidation that feeling is not so gen-
erally apparent.
As has already been remarked Brooklyn
has never managed to have a recognized uni-
versity in its midst, but the opportunities for
what is called the higher education have been
liberally provided even since the days when it
was thought that education should consist of
something more than a knowledge of the three
r's. The Polytechnic, however, is in reality a
college and in 1890 received from the Regents
of the State University a charter which con-
ferred on it "all the rights, powers and digni-
ties given by law and the ordinances of the
Regents to the college." The Polytechnic, how-
ever, had an existence since 1854 and as early
as 1869 its work was of such a high stand-
ard that the Regents gave it the authority to
confer the degrees of Bachelor of Science and
Bachelor of Arts. Its present building was
completed in 1890 and not only has commodi-
ous class rooms, studie*, laboratories and gym-
nasiums but ample accommodations for the
splendid Spicer library, a collection for refer-
ence works collected by Capt. Elihu Spicer at
a cost. of $35,000 and presented to the Pol.v-
technic as a memorial of his son who was one
of the pupils. It is a technical and commercial
school and has about 700 students each year
and 50 instructors.
The Packer Institute is the successor of the
old Brooklyn Female Academy which was de-
stroyed by fire in 1853. Mrs. William F.
Packer then oft'ered to establish with a gift
of $65,000, a new school for girls, as a memor-
ial to her husband, and the property of the old
504
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
school was transferred to the corporation
which estabUshed the Polytechnic. So in 1854
the building of the Packer Collegiate Institute
was opened to receive pupils and quickly be-
came known as the most perfect establishment
for the education of young women in the coiin-
try. The original building has been added to
and the curriculum has been changed and im-
proved and strengthened to meet the needs of
the time, and every change found in Mrs.
Packer a liberal and zealous supporter until
"her death in 1892. It has a corps of 53 in-
•structors and an average roll of 650 students.
Under Dr. Truman T. Backus it has kept pace
Avith the highest class of women's colleges and
its equipment and curriculum are maintained
with a zealous regard to preserve its traditions
and its rich record of accomplishment.
The Adelphi Academy, founded in 1869,
entered upon its new building in 1886 mainly
through a gift of $160,000 by Charles Pratt,
president of its Board of Trustees. It is a
complete institution, preparatory, academic
and collegiate, and takes a pupil into its kinder-
garten at the earliest age and fits him for
the university or for a business or technical
career. Its art department is possibly the most
perfect and complete in the country. In 1889
the splendid buildings it occupies were seri-
ously damaged by fire but the damage was
soon repaired. It has generally between 1,100
and 1,200 pupils on its rolls.
Mr. Charles Pratt, who made a yet more
princely provision for Brooklyn education in
the establishment which bears his name — the
Pratt Institute — was one of the partners in the
Standard Oil Company. The land for this in-
stitution was bought in 1883 and work on the
building was at once begun. It was designed
by its projector to be "for the promotion of
art, science, literature, industry and thrift,"
and he had been planning its features for
twenty-five years or more, basing its curricu-
lum on some of the English technical schools
with the aim of so supplementing the usual
educational training as to fit, by its evening
classes, young men and women to apply them-
selves to the trade they had selected with the
best technical and applied knowledge. Before
it was fairly opened its donor passed away.
May 4, 1 89 1.
One of the early annouuncements of the
institution gave-an idea of the comprehensive-
ness of the plan thought out by Mr. Pratt with
the provisions for the day and evening classes
in the following condensed "calendar;"
High School — A four-years course for
both sexes, combining drawing and manual
work with the usual studies of a high school
or academy.
Department of Fine Arts — Classes in free-
hand and architectural drawing, clay model-
ing, wood-carving, design, art needle-work;
regular art course ; normal course for training
of teachers ; lecture course.
Department of Domestic Art — Normal do-
mestic art course; courses in sewing, dress-
making, millinery, physical culture, combined
course in domestic art and domestic science;
lecture course.
Department of Domestic Science — Normal
domestic science course, household science, hy-
giene and home nursing, public hygiene, cook-
ery, laundry, food economics ; lecture course.
Department of Science and Technology —
Normal manual training, drawing, and ma-
chine designs ; algebra, geometry, physics,
chemistry, electrical construction, steam and
the steam engine, strength of materials, ma-
chine design ; mechanical drawing ; carpentry,
machine work, plumbing, house, sign and fres-
co painting; lecture course.
Department of Kindergartens — Training
class for teachers, mothers' class, nurses' class,
special classes; lecture course.
Department of Libraries — Free Library,
Reading and Reference Room. Classes m
library training, literature and cataloguing.
Department of Museums — Collections of
inorganic substances, ceramics, glass, building
and decorative stones, reproductive processes,
organic compounds, textile fabrics.
The Thrift — Deposit, savings, and loan
branches, the privileges of which are open to
the public.
The Brooklyn Eagle Almanac for 1896,
after the institution had been in operation for
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG."
505
several sessions, gave the following account
of its work, an account evidentl}- supplied "on
authority :"'
"The late Charles Pratt gave to the youth
of Brooklyn an institution that is unique
among the educational establishments of the
country. While there are technological schools
in other cities, there are none that were found-
ed by a single individual that have anything
like the range and influence that is exerted by
the Pratt Institute. The buildings of this
school are on Ryerson street, between Wil-
loughby and DeKalb avenues, extending back
for a block to Grand avenue. The main struc-
ture is 100 feet wide by 60 feet in depth, and
six stories in height. The building devoted to
science and technology' behind this structure is
240 by 95 feet, while directly south of the main
building is that of the High School, 50 by 80
feet, and three stories high. The latter was
completed January i, 1892. A new building
has been erected on the west side of Ryerson
street, that will contain the library. [This' was
completed and opened in May, 1896, and con-
tains about 80,000 volumes and tlie collection
is at the service of any resident of Brooklyn.]
"The object of the Institute is to promote
manual and industrial education, as well as
cultivation in literature, science and art ; to in-
culcate habits of industry an.d thrift, and to
foster all that makes for right living and good
citizenship. Its aim is also to educate young
men and women in handicrafts by which they
will be made self-supporting; it encourages
them, moreover, to practice tho^c arts in a
thorough and honest manner. The classes are
open to everyone, but there is no room for
shirkers and dawdlers. Nominal charges for
tuition are made, but the Institute is in no way
a money-making concern. The library of 52,-
000 in the new building is free to all citizens,
children included. There is a reading room,
with a reference department of nearly 2,000
volumes. On the second floor is an assembly
hall, where lectures are given on the more gen-
eral aspects of studies in the curriculum.
"The floor above is mostly devoted to do-
mestic art — dressmaking, etc. ; and on the sec-
end floor is a commercial departmen'. Thv
cooking schools are on the upper floor. The
whole fourth floor is devoted to art — painting,
drawing, designing, carving, modeling in clay
• — while the technical museum nn the fifth floor
and other parts of the main building contain
works of art in textiles, etchings, photography,
ceramics and metal. There is a fine collection
of minerals. The large annex contains the en-
gines, anvils, shops, foundries and other
branches of the Department of Science and
Technology.
"The High School is the Academic Depart-
ment of the Institute. Its course of study cov-
ers three years and embraces manual training
for both boys and girls. Pupils who have
graduated successfully from a public grammar
school are prepared to enter the High School,
which fits its graduates for the highest scien-
tific schools and colleges.
"In the basement of the main building is
the library school for the training of library
assistants, and the luncheon room.
"The Institute is under the control of a
board of trustees. The average number of
students is 3,000; instructors, 120."
Since then the work of the Institute has so
increased that the last returns give the number
of ihstructors at 134. The department called
The Thrift is practically a building loan bu-
reau and by it thousands of working people
have been enabled to own their own homes.
But useful as the Pratt Institute is, the edu-
cational pride of Brooklyn is the "Institute of
.\rts and Sciences." It has done a great, work
in the past, it is .doing a great work in the
present, but its future promises wonderful de-
velopments. It is the outgrowth of the old
Apprentices' Library of 1824. In 1843 the
name was changed to the Brooklyn Institute
and for many years its annual lecture course
was famous in the days when the lecture plat-
form was a power in the land. Its main bene-
factor was Augustus Graham. He presented
to its trustees the building on Washington
street in which it was housed, and at his death
in 1 85 1 it was found that he had bequeathed
to it $27,000 as an endowment. Of this the
income from $10,000 was to be spent in scien-
tific lectures and the purchase of scientific ap-
paratus, the income from $12,000 was to pro-
vide Sunday evening lectures on religious top-
ics, while the interest on the remaining $5,000
was to support a school of art. But somehow
the interest in the institution began to fall ofif,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the building was remodeled at a cost of $30,-
000 without improving its popularity, and as
this amount was met by a mortgage the inter-
est on Graham's endowment had to be devoted
to its payment.
In 1887 a number of public-spirited citi-
zens, foreseeing the evident end of the Insti-
tute, determined to revive it in accordance with
modern ideas and on a scale that would be in
keeping with the growth and importance of
the city, with a grand museum as its central
feature. A public meeting was held and much
general interest was aroused and it was not
long before the Institute building became a
scene of daily activity. In two years the mem-
bership rose from 350 to 1,200, the library was
reorganized and augmented at the rate of 50,-
000 books a year,mjst of the scientific societies
in Brooklyn joined the Institute and became
departments of its work. In 1890 the building
was partly destroyed by fire but the work went
on, the various schools ofifering quarters for
the use of the departments and in 1891 it had
a total membership of 1,810. That year the
Institute formally passed out of existence and
its property was deeded to the Brooklyn Insti-
tute of Arts and Sciences, — the old society
under a new name and with greatly enlarged
powers. In 1892 the old building was acquired
for bridge purposes and demolished and the
departments continued to find refuge in the
various schools and institutions until the new
permanent home should be ready.
That home was the museum, so long talked
about and anticipated. The city of Brooklyn
was authorized to erect a section of the Mu-
seum building at a cost not to exceed $300,000.
A tract of land facing the Eastern Parkway on
the north, Washington avenue on the east, a
line 100 feet south on the southern boundary
oi old President street on the south, and land
reserved for the Prospect Hill Reservoir on
the west, containing eleven and nine-tenths
acres and valued at $900,000, was leased by the
city of Brooklyn to the Institute for a term
of one hundred vears.
On this site has been erected the first sec-
tion of a Museum building, in classic style, and
the entire structure, when completed, will
cover an area of 560 feet square, with four in-
terior courts, to provide light for the central
portions of the building. The plan provides
for collections illustrating the general history
of Art and Architecture on the first floor,
rooms for the illustration of the practical Arts
and Sciences on the second floor, and galleries
for the illustration of the history of Painting,
Engraving, Etching and Decorative Art on the
third floor. The central portion of the build-
ing is carried one story higher than the rest,
and in this the Schools of Fine Arts and of
Architecture will be located.
The first section of the building was com-
pleted in January, 1897, and was furnished
and ready for occupancy as a Museum in May.
It was opened to the public for the first time
on June 2, 1897, and has remained open daily
since. A second building in Bedford Park, on
Brooklyn avenue, is used as an auxiliary to
the main Museum.
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment
in 1899 authorized the erection of a second sec-
tion of the Museum Building and an appropri-
ation to meet the cost of the same of $300,000.
The second section is now in process of erec-
tion.
The departments now covered by the In-
stitute's work include anthropology, archaeol-
ogy, architecture, astronomy, botany, chemis-
try, domestic science, electricity, engineering,
entomology, fine arts, geography, geology, law,
mathematics, microscopy, mineralogy, music,
painting, pedagogy, philatelv, philology, phil-
osophy, photography, physics, political science,
psycholog}', sculpture and zoology. It has a
membership of 6,132 and its yearly work con-
sists of courses of lectures on the arts and sci-
ences, monthly meetings of each of the de-
partments, concerts and dramatic readings. Its
collections in anthropology, archaeology, arch-
itecture, chemistry, botany, entomology, eth-
nology, geography, geology, microscopy, min-
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG.'
507
eralogy, photography and zoology, apparatus
in physics, chemistry, electricity and engineer-
ing, and collections of paintings, sculpture and
statuary are large and varied. The officers are
A. Augustus Healy, Pres. : Chas. A. Schieren
and Carll H. De Silver, Vice-Prests. ; George
C. Brackett, Sec. ; Wni. B. 'Davenport, Treas. ;
Associate Members: Rev. Albert J. Lyman,
Pres. ; James Cruikshank, Sec. ; John A. Tay-
lor, Treas. ; Prof. Franklin W. Hooper, Gen-
eral Director of the Institute.
The early story of the drama in Brooklyn
has already been told and its later history may
here be rapidly sketched. The Brooklyn The-
atre, destroyed by the awful calamity of De-'
cember 5, 1876, was rebuilt in 1879 under a
new name — Haverly's — but was not a success
either financially or artistically and was torn
down in 1890 to aiiford a site for "The Eagle"
newspaper.
But somehow the drama lias never acquired
much of a foothold in Brooklyn and while
stars and combination companies fill up a
week's engagement very comfortably the taste
of the people seems to run toward "variety"
rather than to the "legitimate." Mr. Hamilton
Ormsbee in 1898 summarized the closing days
of the Brooklyn theatrical story as follows:
An attraction was Hooley's Opera House,
which occupied the upper floor of a building
at Court and Remsen streets, where the Dime
Savings Bank now stands, from 1862 to 1883.
It was called an opera house, but was a place
for minstrel show and is chiefly notable for the
appearance of popular black-face performers
and for the fact that that brilliant comedian,
Nat C. Goodwin, used to do the imitations of
eminent actors, for which he was once noted
upon its stage at a very early time in his career.
Another disused theatre is the Lee Avenue
Academy in the Eastern District, which for
many years after it was opened, in 1872, occu-
pied the same position in the eastern end of the
city as the Park did in the western. There
was also once a theatre where is now Lieb-
mann's Arcade, on Fulton street. R. ^NI, Hco-
ley and Thomas Donnelly opened it in 1869 as
the Olympic. Hyde & Behman and John W.
Holmes afterward conducted it and it disap-
peared about 1890. Music Hall, at the junc-
tion of Fulton street and Flatbush avenue, was
used for a time about 1872 for negro minstrel
exhibitions. The oldest theatre in the Eastern
District is the American, on Driggs avenue,
which was built as the Odeon in 1852, used in
1868 by R. M. Hooley as a variety house and
has been both a variety theatre and a skating
rink.
The conversion of an unused market on
Adams street, near Myrtle avenue, into a va-
riety theater in 1877 is notable, because it was
the introduction to Brooklyn of the firm of
Hyde & Behman, among the most extensive
and prosperous managers in the theatrical
business. Their Adams street house is one
of the leading variety houses in the country,
and they are the owners of six other theaters
in Brooklyn, besides one in Newark. Their
Brooklyn houses are the Grand Opera House,
Amphion, Park and Gayety, used for drama,
and Hyde & Behman's, the Star and Empire,
for variety and burlesque. The Grand Opera
House, in Elm Place, was built on the site of
a church, and opened to the public in 1881.
It was long managed by Knowles & Morris.
The Amphion, on Bedford avenue, was built
by the Amphion Musical Society, with the
idea that it would occupy the same position
in the Eastern District that the Academy of
Music did in the Western. It was opened
as a first-class theater, with C. M. Wiske as
manager. This venture was unprofitable, and
in January, 1888, Knowles & IMorris took
possession, conducting the house as a combi-
nation theatre. The control of Manager Ed-
win Knowles over this house lasted until the
end of last season, and in that time he pre-
sented at that theatre the chief American and
foreign actors of the day, with the exception
of Henry Irving. Mr. Knowles was also the
first manager of the Columbia, built for him,
Daniel Frohman and Al Haynian, and opened
^08
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
March 7, 1892, with "Alabama." The Bijou
Theatre was opened November 13, 1893, by
H. C. Kennedy & Co., with ;\Ir. Ken-
nedy as the resident manager. The play
was "Adonis," with Henry E. Dixey. In
189s Colonel William E. Sinn, who had leased
the Park Theatre since 1875, opened the ]\Ion-
tauk Theatre, which was regarded as the most
perfectly adapted house of its kind when com-
pleted. The Star Theatre was built about
the time the Brooklyn Theatre was torn down,
was used for a time as a combination house,
and has since been occupied for variety and
burlesque.
The leading event in the history of the
Brooklyn little theatrical world in the closing
■days, however, was not its transformations or
changes of management, but the final appear-
ance of a world-renowned actor, who had, it
would seem, lingered on the stage too long.
This was Edwin Booth, possibly the greatest
tragedian America has produced, who on April
4, 1891, made his last public effort on 'any
stage at the Academy of Music. The play
selected was "Hamlet." and as the Prince
Booth had in the years of his prime won his
highest meed of praise. But his performance
that night, as indeed on every night of his
engagement, was a shock to all his admirers.
It was mercilessly condemned by the news-
paper critics, who did not see that the per-
formance itself was a tragedy, — the ending in
gloom of a career that had done more than
aught else to lift the American stage above
the level of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "The
Dumb Man of Manchester." But it was the
old story summarized in Johnson's famous
line,
"Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage."
The National Guard after the war became
a well-disciplined force. The Brooklyn con-
tingent formed the second of the four brig-
adesinto which the State military forces were
divided and was under the command of Briga-
•dier-General James McLeer, one of the vet-
erans of the Civil War and who for eight
years had held the office of Postmaster of
Brooklyn. The strength of the commands
under him in 1897 was as follows:
Organization. No. of ^Members.
Brigade Headquarters 11
Thirteenth Regiment 635
Fourteenth Regiment 616
Twenty-third Regiment 759
Forty-seventh Regiment 593
Seventeenth Separate Companv. ... 94
Third Battery '..... 81
Second Signal Company 48
Troop C 100
Total 2,937
From the time of the close of hostilities
between the States the Guard had been mainly
engaged in holiday making, varied by shoot-
ing excursions to Creedmoor, but even amid
the holiday making discipline and tactics were
strenuously maintained, so that one of the offi-
cers used to remark that the Brooklyn National
Guard was ready at any moment to go on any
military duty. But the time came when the
value of the militia was to be again tested.
On January 14, 1895, 5.500 employes of the
trolley companies went on strike. The merits
of the dispute have no interest for us here
and need not be discussed. Almost the entire
system of street-car travel was brought to a
standstill, and the apparent perfection of the
strikers' plans seemed to give promise of a
speedy termination of the trouble. But the
employers were obstinate, and on the follow-
ing day the strikers commenced to get ugly:
Slowly the cars "began again to move," as new
hands flocked in from all parts of the coun-
try, and on the i6th and 17th the police was
able to handle whatever disturbances arose.
On the iSth, however, the trouble got beyond
their capability, a car was fired upon, a riot
of considerable proportions raged for a time
on Fifth avenue, and "fresh" conductors and
motormen as well as passengers suffered, and
on the following day the entire militia force,
under General McLeer, was ordered out.
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG."
50f>
The military remained in possession of the
streets until February 1st, when the struggle
was given up by the strikers. During these
eventful days the troops had hard work. Sev-
eral of the rioters were shot, and it is hard to
say how many were hurt in the daily charges
of the cavalry. The streets were constantly
patrolled by armed men, and here and there
loaded cannons were placed on open streets
ready to sweep an entire thoroughfare if
necessary. Brooklyn breathed freely when it
was all over and mourned the loss involved
in human life as well as in money ; but it was
felt that the National Guard had saved the
city from an era of mob violence and riot which
would have brought about scenes at the very
thought of which the boldest could not help
shuddering.
In 1896 the Navy Yard was adorned with
a rather ornate new main entrance at Sands
and Navy streets, and its entire ii23<2 acres
were by that time fully enclosed on the land
side. The following description of the yard
in 1897 is from "The Eagle:" "The Lyceum
is a three-story structure. On the ground floor
are the offices of the captain of the yard, and
on the second floor offices of the commandant
and his aides, and on the third floor the quar-
ters of his clerks. Here the records are pre-
served, including such as pertain to ships, lists
of officers and rosters of all clerks and the em-
ployes. In Trophy Park, a triangular green
adjoining the Lyceum — not in the Museum —
is a marble column, commemorating twelve
American seamen who fell at the capture of
the Barrier forts, on Canton River, China,
in 1856. It was erected by their shipmates
on the "San Jacinto," "Portsmouth" and "Le-
vant." About the monument are guns cap-
tured from the British frigate "Macedonian,"
and the iron prow of the Confederate ram
"Mississippi." In 1890 the Naval Museum,
containing priceless relics and trophies, was
sent to the Naval Academy at Annapolis. A
small octagonal building west of Trophy Park
is the office of the naval surgeon, and beyond
that there is a building for provisions and
clothing. Here is cut out by machinery all
the clothing used in the Navy, except that
worn by officers, though the garments are sent
away to be finished. Here, also, all the coffee
used in the Navy is roasted, ground, put up-
in tins, and all canned goods, hard tack and
condensed food for the' Navy are stored.
"On the other side of Main street the
cruiser "Cincinnati" was built.
"The workshops, machine shops and foun-
dries are on Chauncey, Warrington and Mor-
ris avenues. On Chauncey avenue, which ex-
tends from Main street to Flushing avenue,,
are the cooper shop, mold shop, ordnance
building, tank shed, now used for sand, coal
and lumber; a building for anchor chains and
rigging loft, coppersmith's, plumbing shop
and boiler shops. Building No. 7, on War-
rington avenue, contains various departments,,
the court-martial room, civil engineer's room
and flag loft, where all flags and bunting
used by our Navy as well as flags of other
nations are made by women. Other buildings
on this avenue are the blacksmith's shop,
paint shop, yard and docks, construction de-
partment and steam engineering department.
The avenue ends in a park. On Morris avenue
are a joiner's shop, offices, boat house and
iron plating shops. Most of the senior officers
are pleasantly quartered on Flushing avenue,
while some of them live in private houses,
in the city. The spacious marine barracks
and drill yard are entered from the gate on
Flushing avenue, and the only department out-
side the enclosure is the Naval Hospital on
Flushing avenue, separated from the yard by
Wallabout market. In the hospital enclosure
is the naval cemetery. The water front of the
yard extends for 6,600 feet from Little street
on the west to Division avenue on the east,
and opposite the center is the Cob dock. This
is an island nineteen acres in extent, and to
resist the action of the tide a concrete and
granite wall is built around it. It has a
water front of 5,000 feet. Whitney Basin
510
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in this island has a frontage of 3,300 feet.
The ordnance dock is also here. Communi-
cation is had by means of a steam rope ferry,
and a causeway across Wallabout Channel,
connecting the Cob dock with the main shoi-e
at the northeast boundary line, is now prac-
tically completed. This causeway is to be 522
feet long, with an extreme width of forty-one
feet. Two forty-ton cranes, traveling on an
eighteen-foot railway around the dry docks,
are designed for lifting armor plates weigh-
ing from twenty to forty tons; stepping steel
masts, hoisting machinery and boilers and low-
ering them into place."
Among the most notable vessels construct-
ed at the yard were the "Terror," launched
■in 1883, the "Puritan," launched in 1882, the
'Cincinnati," launched in 1892, and the
"Maine," launched in 1890. The subsequent
destruction of this last-named vessel in Ha-
vana Harbor was the first incident in the war
with Spain of 1898, in which the United
States acquired so much glory and territory.
About 1880 began the real transformation
of the city in respect to its architectural at-
tractions. Heretofore, as a rule, the architects
were limited to churches mainly, with here
and there an opportunity in an armory or
mansion to show their skill and taste. But
by 1880 the public sentiment, the public taste
and the public wealth began to call for a
higher order of things, and the response was
most gratifying. With the City Hall and
the ^Municipal Building, — of which latter one
of the Brooklyn civic boasts used to be that
it cost $20 less than the appropriation, — as a
center, new structures of much beauty and
commanding appearance began steadily to oust
the old plain brick or marble front edifices so
commonplace yet so comfortable. By 1890 a
still further change was inaugurated. By
that time the principle of skeleton construction
had been introduced and the elevator system
had been perfected, so that the height to
which a building might be run up was a mat-
ter of money and calculation rather than of
the thickness of the walls. So Brooklyn began
to get sky-scrapers, and its office buildings vie
with those across the river for their size and
the perfection of their details. The Jefferson
building rises to a height of 98 feet, the Me-
chanics' Bank to 140 feet, the Franklin Trust
to 156 feet, and the Telephone building to
128 feet. It is not customary to mention the
Havemeyer & Elders vast sugar mills, erected
in 1883, as architectural beauties, but if beauty
in architecture be, as some contend, the adap-
tation of building ideas to a means and an end,
they must be accepted. Such structures as the
Alhambra and the Fougera are equal in point
of architectural perfection and elaboration of
detail to any apartment houses in the world,
and such structures as the City Railroad build-
ing, the new structures which have trans-
formed parts of Montague, Court, Remsen,
Fulton and many other streets within a radius
of the center of Brooklyn's political life, afford
much gratification to the visitor of taste as
well as a theme for pardonable pride on the
part of the citizens. The Hall of Records
building, completed in 1886, is a handsome
structure in the Renaissance style, three stories
high, and cost $270,000. The Fire Department
building, on Jay street near Willoughby, is a
bold yet exceedingly graceful development of
the Romanesque order. Its massive tower, ris-
ing some forty feet above the rest of the struc-
ture, gives it an individuality that at once
attracts the eye. The Federal building, com-
pleted in 1892, at a cost of $1,886,115, is a
wonderful change from the little store at the
corner of Fulton and Front . streets, where
up to 1819 Brooklyn's first Postmaster, Joel
Bunce, was wont to transact business. In
what is known as the shopping district, — Ful-
ton street from the bridge to Flatbush avenue,
■ — the dry goods merchants have erected huge
structures, eclipsing in their size and adapta-
bility most of those in New York, and it is
also said, far surpassing those across the river
in the aggregate annual amount of business.
Mention of the dry goods stores recalls the
^THE END OF AN AULD SANG."
511
importance of these establishments in the
daily history of Brooklyn, and might prompt
a few lines further concerning them ; but
there are so many of them and of such varying
degrees of importance that a selection might
be invidious and would certainly be disap-
pointing. But we may say a few words about
the career of one of the greatest of these mer-
chants, whose death early in 1900 is still
mourned in many circles. This was Azel D.
jMatthews, who from a small beginning built
up one of the largest trades in the city. His
life story was, in fact, part and parcel of the
modern history of Brooklyn. He settled in
the place when it was a mere town of about
25,000 inhabitants. He began business in a
small way, and as Brooklyn grew the Mat-
thews establishment grew with it, until from a
small shop in Main street the present large
department store of A. D. Matthews & Sons
in Fulton street evolved.
j\Ir. Matthews came of an old Cape Cod
family. His father moved to Hinsdale, Mas-
sachusetts, where, on x\pril 29, 1809, Azel D.
Matthews was born. He began his mercantile
career in Brooklyn in a small store at 93 Main
street, which was then the business center of
the town. He later established himself on
Myrtle avenue, near Bridge street. Mr. Mat-
thews was the pioneer among the dry goods
merchants in the upper Fulton street move-
ment. Recognizing the fact that Brooklyn
was bound to grow, and that the march of
trade would be up town, he rented a store at
the corner of Fulton street and Gallatin place.
That was thirty-five years ago. The Matthews
store is now in the very center of the shopping
district. From time to time additions have
been made to the store, until it now covers the
greater part of the block on Fu'.ton street be-
tween Gallatin place and Smith street, extend-
ing back to Livingston street.
Mr. Matthews took a keen interest in the
Church and Sunday-school life of Brooklyn.
He early became identified with the Brook-
lyn Sunday-school Union, and continued his
association with that organization almost up
to the time of his death.
During this period the city itself was con-
stantly effecting improvements. One of the
most important of these, apart from roadways
and the lik'e, was the acquisition of the marsh
lands of the Wallabout and their transforma-
tion into a public market. The ground in ques-
tion had long been an eyesore, and besides was
a constant source of danger to the public
health. It was long thought that a public
market or a public park might be erected
there, as it was not deemed possible that the
ground could ever be adapted for building
purposes or that it would ever be needed for
the Navy Yard, of whose territory it was a
part. On September 12, 1883, the Grocers'
Retail Protective Association urged the au-
thorities, at a conference, to secure the land
in question and turn it into a market, offering
all the aid in their power. Acting on this,
the city government entered into negotiations
with the Navy Department and as a result
obtained a lease of the property, with a view
of practically testing the success or otherwise
of the project. Part of it was at once drained
and graded, divided up into streets and lots,
a lot of two-story frame structures were
quickly run up by market men, — cheap struc-
tures of the most flimsy description, for the
whole affair was an experiment and the United
States could cancel the lease at any moment
by giving thirty days' notice, when the whole
concern might be wiped out. The strength
of the market lay in the open lots to which
farmers' and other wagons brought produce
direct from farm or garden, and there re-
mained for half a day or a day until their
load was disposed of. The scheme worked
so well, in spite of the many adverse condi-
tions, that the city in 1891 purchased about
eighteen acres of the marsh land for $700,000
and the market became a fixed feature. In
1894 an additional twenty-seven acres was se-
cured, for which Uncle Sam was paid $1,208,-
666. This tract, between Clinton and Wash-
512
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
ington avenues and from Flushing avenue to
the East River, has been developed, says the
"Eagle" Almanac, "largely into a shipping
basin and pier system for vessels in the food
supply traffic, and embracing facilities for
loaded railroad cars to be transferred to the
market without breaking freight bulk. The
bulkhead wall along the south and west sides
of the basin is r,68o feet in length, and that
along the easterly side of the basin, some
1, 080 feet. These walls, together with four
of the five piers constructed, add a mooring
frontage of over a mile in length to the city's
wharfage room. The fifth pier. No. 2, has
been leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company at the annual rental of $12,000. The
preparation of this pier for service involved
the outlay of $100,000 by the railroad com-
pany. The market is deriving great benefit
from the operation of this terminal, and that
of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western
Railroad, on the north side of Wallabcut Ca-
nal, completed during last year. Cold storage,
of which there was great need from the time
the market was founded, has been provided
in the opening to business last year of the
establishment of the Kings County Refriger-
ating Company, with the preserving capacity
of 700,000 square feet.
"In May, 1894, the city authorities and
market people, acting conjointly, effected from
the New York State Legislature the enact-
ment of a law, chapter 569, which authorized
the city authorities to issue upon lots rented
five-year leases, with privilege of two renew-
als of similar duration at rates adjustable at
the commencement of each term. The leases
issued under this law required the erection
of substantial buildings of brick, stc.ne and
iron, uniform in external design, at the outlay
ofthe lessees ; the buildings at the termination
of the leases to revert to the city upon pay-
ment of their appraised values. During the
years 1895-6 the buildings were constructed."
By the close of 1897 it was estimated that
the annual- business of the market amounted to
$25,000,000, and often in the summer of that
year something like 550 wagons of produce
would be disposed of every Saturday, while
the financial return to the city for the year
was $42,046 in the shape of rents, and $3,531
from the fees paid by farmers for wagon
room.
This was a practical work. But the city
was not forgetful of the adornments which
came from the sculptor's studio, and which,
besides adding to the beauty and interest of
a street or park, serve to show that republics
are neither oblivious to aesthetic requirements
nor ungrateful to their great men. Several of
these have already been mentioned. The statue
of General Grant, unveiled in 1896, was a gift
to the city from the Union League Club, and
in the same year the statue of General Warren
on the Park Plaza was unveiled. A statue
of General Fowler, who commanded Brook-
lyn's "red-legged devils" in the Civil War,
will shortly be placed beside it, and an eques-
trian statue of General Slocum, another war
hero, is promised soon. A simple monument,
but a most significant one, was placed on
Battle Hill, Prospect Park, August 27, 1895,
in memory of the four hundred Maryland
soldiers who fell near the spot thus again
consecrated in the fateful battle of Brooklyn,
August 27, 1776. It is a plain but extremely
elegant shaft of white marble, and its cost
was borne by the Maryland Society of Sons
of the American Revolution. It is at once a
memorial to brave men who gave up their
lives in the cause of patriotism, and it marks
the center of a widespread battle-field on
which it almost seemed as if that liberty for
which they had died had been forever crushed
out.
A peculiarity in the way of statues, — one
erected by citizens to mark their sense of the
labors of a citizen then still living. — was that
which was unveiled at the main entrance to
Prospect Park, on June 6, 1891. The man
so honored was J. S. T. Stranahan. The idea
of erecting a statue of this esteemed citizen in
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG.'
51g
the people's playground which he had done
so much to create was originated at a private
gathering, and it was at once heartily en-
dorsed, and in a short time the following
committee was constituted to put the idea into
shape : John Gibb, Chairman : John B. Wood-
ward, Treasurer; Elijah R. Kennedy, Secre-
tary ; Richard S. Storrs, S. V. White, Darwin
R. James, William B. Kendall, Charles Pratt,
Henry B. Maxwell, George V. Brower, Sam-
uel B. Duryea, C. N. Hoagland, E. F. Linton,
William Carey Sanger, William Berri, An-
drew D. Baird, Frederick A. Schroeder, Jo-
seph F. Knapp, Bernard Peters, Thomas E.
Stillman, Franklin Woodruflf, David A. Boody,
William A. Read, Abbott L. Dow, E. H. R.
Lyman, A. C. Barnes, Charles E. Schieren,
Alexander E. Orr, Benjamin D. Silliman and
Gustave A. Jahn. In answer to a request
for funds, money soon began to flow in, and
the commission to execute the statue was
placed with PVederick [NlacMonnies. His
work was most satisfactorily completed, and
the statue was unveiled amid much ceremony,
at which ^Lr. Stranahan was privileged to be
present and to listen to many kindly words
about himself, notably those in the masterly
address of Dr. Storrs.
Besides its progress in material wealth, in
architectural beauty and commercial impor-
tance, the feature of Brooklyn's story during
its last twenty years was annexation. The
consolidation of Williamsburgh, Greenpoint
and Bushwick in 1855 and the success of that
experiment in the harmonious blending of the
various elements had inspired a desire for
"more." Besides, it was felt that Brooklyn
was daily overflowing its old boundaries, and
that the outlying districts were getting many
of the benefits of the city government and
privileges without being of any assistance in
the matter of paying taxes, that what was
spoken about as the "outside towns" were in
reality prospering at the expense of Brooklyn.
A beginning was made in 1886, when on May
13 a l)ill which had passed, the Legislature
annexing New Lots became a law without
the Governor's signature, thus taking from
the town of Flatbush a vast proportion of its
territory and adding a new ward, the Twenty-
si.xth, to Brooklyn.
The early story of New Lots has already
been told, but the following interesting sketch
by Mr. N. F. Palmer is interesting, as show-
ing its modern development:
New Lots was originally settled by the
well-to-do farmers of old Flatbush, and be-
came an active farming district for market
gardening, and all these New Lots farmers
became prosperous and their influence was
felt m the politics of Kings county. This in-
fluence prevented any innovation in the way
of real estate development, and not until 1835,
was there in the New Lots section a single
parcel of land cut up into building lots. In
that year Abraham H. Van Wyck and Peter
Neefus purchased a parcel of land from the
Johannus Eldert family, who owned a large
farm extending from the Jamaica plank road
to the old New Lots road next to the boun-
dary line of the town of Jamaica. This locality
had become famous by the horse race tracks
at Union Course and Centerville, and a de-
mand took place for building lots. \'an Wyck
mapped the lands into the first building lots,.
25x100. in 1836, and lot No. t was near the
corner of what is now Jamaica avenue and
Eldert lane, in what is now known as the Cy- .
press Hills section of the ward.
.\ few years after this, July. 1837, the
farms of Major Daniel Rai^elje and others
were purchased by John R. Pitkin and a map-
made known as "Map No. i. East New York
lands, or the First Manufacturing District,,
lying on the Great Eastern Railroad, five and
one-half miles from the city of New York."'
This was the first use of the words East New
York, and represented a neighborhood near the-
old Howard House. Tlie I'dstnffice Depart-
ment adopted the name, and it has stuck to it
ever since. There never was any village cor-
poration nor other form of government, ex-
cept the town of Flatbush, until 1852, when
the town of New Lots was set ofl^ and created
out of the eastern part of the town of Flat-
bush. Between Van Wyck and Pitken maps
of 1836 and 1843 little was accomplished to.
create a booni in building on this tract. On
514
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the contrary, Pitkin was obliged to work
hard to hold his own through the hard times
of '36, and released from contract a vast area
contemplated in this manufacturing district.
On the 1st and 7th of July, 1841, and the 2d
and 15th of July, 1842, the titles (streets and
avenues) were "made perfect through two
great chancery sales," and a map was printed
which gave notice: "East New York (center
property), Union, monthly auction sale map.
Notice: Several of the present proprietors of
this valuable property have concluded to
unite in establishing a system of monthly
auction sales to persons wishing to make lo-
cations, or improvements. Persons can go
out to see said property by the railroad cars
from the South Ferry, Brooklyn side, at 9>4
A. M., 4 and 6>^ o'clock P. M. Tickets Yz
each. Returning from East New York the
cars leave at about 834, ij4 and sYz o'clock.
This is a good opportunity to secure very
valuable property at low prices. It will soon
be on the line of the great thoroughfare to
Boston, the quick ten hour route per Long
Island Railroad now nearly complete, and only
about 22 minutes' time per railroad from the
city, Brooklyn side. How can Newark and
Lynn be so much better than E. N. Y. ? They
are not so well situated."
So wrote John R. Pitkin in 1S43. more than
half a century ago, and, strange to contem-
plate, he then could ride from the South
Ferry to East New York in twenty-two min-
utes. He used the argument about time to
^get there with great foresight, for he real-
ized that as an inducement to boom his
venture 'nothing else could better be engraved
on his map.
This map shows that there were only thir-
ty-eight buildings in East New York at this
time. The railroad was in the center of At-
lantic avenue, and had a branch track down
what was then, and is now, Pennsylvania
avenue, into a building in "Block 14," south
of South Carolina avenue, which we now call
Liberty avenue, into the building of the New
Jersey Mills, now owned by the Davis family,
and still in operation. The Howards' Half-
way House, on the Brooklvn and Jamaica
turnpike at the end of Flatbush road at the
head of Alabama avenue, is where the stage
coaches made a stop. Opposite was the bourse
of J. L. Williams, standing about opposite
to the middle of the block, on the north side
of Flatbush road. There were no streets
represented on this map west of Alabama
avenue, except the Flatbush road, nor any
east of Wyckoff's lane, nor south of old
Broadway. The following names appear as
owners of lots: E. M. Strong, Isaac Bemis,
Jacob H. Sackman, W. J. Furman, J. L. Will-
iams, Vanderhof, W. van Voorliees, Fred-
erick Lang and John Taphan along the south
side of the turnpike. Along Virginia avenue
(Fulton street) are the names: Johnson,
Charles Gough, Wolcott March, Ransome
.Smith, and Turner. Along Alabama avenue,
on the east side, were: Henry Grobe, Abrm.
Van Siclen, Leonard Bond, Francis Keitz,
Jacob H. Sackman, Isaac Bemis, John .W.
Warth, Charles Heitkamp. On Georgia ave-
nue: Ransome Smith, Potter J. Thomas,
Charles Vinton, Charles Georig, William K.
Teasdale, William Simonson, Rul Smith,
Wentworth, Isaac M. Steevnorf (Stoothoofs).
On Sheffield avenue were Wolcot Marsh,
Jacob H. Sackman, J. L. Williams, Thomas I.
Gerrald, Lewis Kendig, S. FrislDey, John Van
Siclen. Pennsylvania avenue on the west side
was all a courtyard, with no names on it.
On the cast side were names : Vanderhoef,
Ransome Smith, Samuel Judson, Sherman
Institute Branch Depository Work and School,
with Manson House corner of Atlantic ave-
nue. H. F. Thrall on south side of Atlantic
avenue, and south side of. North Carolina
avenue (Liberty avenue) the factory building,
now Davis' New Jersey Mills : on New Jersey
avenue were Dutch Reformed Church, Tur-
ner, S. Shepherd, George Butcher, C. Goebel.
Corner of South Carolina avenue (now Glen-
more), M. F. Misenere, J. F. Bridges; on
X'ermont avenue were, corner Virginia ave-
nue, Ransome Smith, Jacob H. Sackman ; cor-
ner Atlantic avenue, Ransome Smith, John
Lohmans, Morganthaler, Assalle Seldinger,
Charles Beumaer, R. S. Winslow ; on Wyckoff
lane were, on west side, John Sopham, John
Lohman, J. H. Sackman, C. Heitkamp, Charles
Pieumer, F. Lang, John W. Worth, and at
Broadway, Philip Obergirck. Not all of these
occupied buildings, but they were the first in-
vestors in real estate in this locality.
In 1838 John R. Pitkin came out with a
second map of the Second Manufacturing
District in the easterly part of the town, lay-
ing out a large territory from the turnpike to
the New Lots road. This was premature and
the same territory was subsequently mapped
by Rapalye, Walter Nichols, Lewis Curtis
■THE END OF AX AULD SAXG."
515
and others; only a few blocks of this old man
remain. In 1849 Williams, Pellington & Fur-
man laid out the land at the no:th side of
the B. and J. plank road between old How-
ard place and old Pellington place. This was
followed in 185 1 by the Jacob H. Sackman
map and in 1853 by Sackman, Barby & Del-
monico. Horace A. Miller came out in 1853
with the map of eighteen blocks of land on
the east side of Pitkin's East New York
lands, between the plank road and old Broad-
way. Up to 1859 these were the principal
lands of East New York. About this period
C. W. Heitkamp was energetic and took a lead-
ing part in the affairs of the town. He pub-
lished a map made "from different surveys
and maps made and drawn by M. G. Johman,
Esq." At this period the Broadway hoise rail-
road had continued to circumnavigate around
two blocks near the Howard House, but the
Fulton street horse cars had got only to the
Mattowak House, where the plnnk road com-
pany of the late Aaron A. De Graw stood on
guard. At this period John R. Pitkin was
general agent and signed a "map of East New
York, Kings County, Long Island, N. Y.,
drawn by C. W. Heitkamp, lithographed and
published by Gustav Kraetzer, May i, 1859."
The map said: "Great sale at auction of East
New York (center) building lots, by James
Cole & Son, at the Merchants' Exchange,
New York, of 100 very valuable (re.'^erved)
center lots, belonging to George D. Pitkin,
Israel W. Vanderveer and others. * * *
This is all most desirable property within
4>^ miles of New York City. By Broadway
cars ( fare 5 cents'). About five miles by Ful-
ton avenue cars from Fulton Ferry (fare 5
cents) and sV^ miles from South Ferry." No
mention is made of the Long Island R. R. or
how one could get from South Ferry.
The principal buildings at East New York
in 1859 were : Howard House, by P. H. Reid ;
Mattowak House, by W. Simonson :, Railroad
Hotel, bv M. Bennett, on Atlantic avenue;
Military Hall, by John Lohman, Liberty ave-
nue: residence of C. R. Miller, of Bernhard
Mc^^'illiams, Broadway and Hull street ; Nic-
olson brick cottage, J.C. Middendorf, residence
and grocery, corner of Shefifield avenue and
Fulton street, with the old pump in front of
it : William Alexander, residence on Flatbush
road (East New York avenue) ; James L.
Williams, residence, since moved, and is now
standing on the north side of East New York
avenue, opposite Williams avenue ; C. Heit-
kamp, store and residence, on old plank road,
where many a man has fallen up the three
steps to get before the justice of the peace;
C. A. Beckert, M. D., at Sheffield avenue, and
G. Kraetzer, residence, Sheffield avenue.
East New York at this period had also the
target companies shooting galleries of L. Al-
tenbrand, of M. Bennett and of H. Luhrs, be-
hind which now stands Breitkopt's Hotel, on
the corner of Bushwick and Jamaica avenue,
at the head of Pennsylvania avenue. At about
this period, or in 1861, the city of Brooklyn
had opened up the streets to the old patent
line, along the ridge of hills, and the James
L. Williams map had opened the intervening
land from the Howard House to the old city
line. 1 he old parade ground west of Ala-
bama avenue and south of Atlantic avenue did
not come out as lots until the Whitehead
Howard map was filed in 1869, ahhough the
survey and map was made in 1857. The indi-
viduals whose names are mentioned, so far,
were the pioneers of East New York, and the
period to which they belonged was one pecu-
liar to itself, and long to be remembered as
East New York.
The return of the steam locomotive on At-
lantic avenue and the opening of the elevated
railroads just before annexation to Brooklyn
in 1886 marks a middle period and one which
was historical in its results, because at one
bound this localitv attracted capital, and a
flood of it came, until hardly a farm was left
to be purchased for the making of building
lots, and East New York vanished and Brook-
lyn came to our doors and welcomed us as the
Twenty-sixth Ward. Previous to that, and
not since 1869, when Williamsburgh and old
Bushwick were annexed to Brooklyn, had one
square foot of territory been added to old
Brooklyn. The sudden development of the
Twenty-sixth Ward, after the opening of the
elevated railroads, as the actual end of the
Brooklvn Bridge, led up to conditions which
eventually terminated in the annexation of all
the countv towns of Kings county and ended
in consolidation with the city of New York.
Surely East New York pioneers started a great
project of suburban development. They came
up to East New York out of the crowded tene-
ments of the old citv for fresh air and pros-
perity, and they got both ; peace to their ashes
and respect for their courage.
Previous to the annexation of the town of
516
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
New Lots to the city of Brooklyn an economi-
cal political government had made taxes small
with very few public improvements. The first
expensive improvement was the grading, curb-
ing and paving in part of Atlantic avenue,
which was done in 1870 by a special commis-
sion under an act passed April 16, 1869. This
cost about $100,000. Thereafter a few prin-
cipal streets in the old East New York section
were improved by grading, curbing and flag-
ging, which aggregated about $90,000 more
expended under a New Lots improvement
commission. When the agitation of the an-
nexation question commenced, it was deemed
wise to bond the town for $500,000 for public
improvements, which was done.
There was a balance in this fund of accrued
interest amounting to about $20,000, which
was expended in part on certain other street
improvements, or still remains to the credit
of the ward.
Since annexation to Brooklyn the sewers
have been laid and are being paid for by as-
sessments on the property benefited.
The Park Department has improved Glen-
more avenue, through the ward, and has also
improved the eastern parkway extension and
Pennsylvania avenue. These improvements
were not assessed directly upon the property
benefited, by an anomaly in political diplo-
macy.
The Twenty-sixth \\'ard, known up to 1886
as the town of New Lots, may deserve the
credit of being the pioneer in annexation and
consolidation to the city, because the annexa-
tion of that locality to Brooklyn caused a
phenomenal boom to suburban property in the
old town of New Lots that Ijecame a strong
argument among real estate men and influ-
enced the subsequent annexation to Brooklyn
of all the other county towns of Kings county.
The town of New Lots was ripe for annexa-
tion when it came, for it had secured perfect
railroad transit via both steam and elevated
railroads, as well as being the terminus of the
trunk horse car lines to the Brooklyn ferries,
which for five cents carried one to the ferry,
day or night. Besides these railroad advan-
tages water was secured at a small cost to the
individual and without a dollar of town in-
debtedness. No wonder that the population
of this ward increased from 10,000 in 1872
to nearly 80,000 in 1900.
Since annexation to Brooklyn the sewers
have been laid and provided with the only
perfect outlet in Kings county, and, as these
sewers were prosecuted on long term bonds-
and as these bonds are about one-half paid
ofif, it will be discovered ere long that the
Twenty-sixth Ward has indeed secured great
advantages in laying the foundation for a
great and solid future to the real estate in-
vestor. This locality has passed through all
the experimental schemes of suburban de-
velopment, and whatever advantages it has had
physically, they have all been a factor in its-
rapid growth. This ward may be said to be
the gateway to Long Island, for all the bridges
and railroads, elevated, surface or depressed,
go through this gate to the island with their
stream of travel. This ward will be the first
to develop a water front on Jamaica Bay, and
the wonder is that, with navigable water within
two miles of a population of nearly 80,000
people, not a public dock for coal, lumber and
all material necessary to cheapen the building
and sustaining trade of such a community has-
been built.
There the annexation movement rested
until, after much negotiation and delay. Flat-
bush became Brooklyn's Twenty-ninth Ward
April 25, 1894, Gravesend became the Thirty-
first Ward on May 8, and New L'^trecht the
Thirtieth Ward on July i. This brought all
of Kings county within the city of Brooklyn
excepting the town of Flatlands, and that
wheeled into line in 1896 and took rank with
her old Dutch sister communities as the Thir-
ty-second Ward. There was naturally great
jubilation in Brooklyn over this consummation,,
and as by the time Flatlands had surrendered
the trolley was opening -up new routes daily
and the land boomers were organizing fresh
tracts of land into home sites, it was felt that a
splendid future had opened up for the enlarged
city, — Greater Brooklyn, they called it, and
the orators were wont to enlarge upon the ex-
tent and importance of a city that extended
from the East River to the sea, that practically
had space enough for a century's growth, that
had a magnificent water front, a well-supplied
treasury, a p>opulation of over a million and
all varieties of landscape from the crowded
streets around the Cft\' Hall to the festal scenes-
CITY HALL, BROOKLYH.
'THE END OF AN AULD SANG."
51'
of Coney Island and the hoi5eful isolation of
Flatlands and Xew L'trecht.
But even in the midst of this expansion
and jubilation the evidences were not wanting
that a much greater transformation was at
hand ; that once the comedy of annexation
was over the drama of consolidation, — some
regarded it as a tragedy, — would begin. The
movement toward the consolidat'on of Brook-
Ivn and New York had long been agitated.
j\lr. Stranahan had ventilated it for years, and
with the completion of the bridge many
thoughtful persons saw in that evert hrit ti-e
first tangible evidence of the coiiiplete civic
union that was bound to come. While the
scheme was but a dream. Brooklyn regarded
the matter somewhat jocularly, but in 1894,
when the question became serious and agita-
tion on the subject became acute, it was seen
that the voting population was pretty evenly
divided, for and against. In 1890 the advo-
cates of union had so far matured their plans
as to have a commission appointed liy the
Legislature to consider the expediency of con-
solidating the cities. The Long Island mem-
bers were J. S. T. Stranahan, E. F. Linton
and W. D. \'eeder, of Brooklyn, and John H.
Brinckerhoiif, of Queens. Under the engineer-
ing of this commission a test vote as an ex-
pression was taken at the November election
in 1894, with the following result:
FOR. AG.MNST.
Kings county 64,744 64,467
Queens county 7.712 4.741
New York 96.938 59.959
With the rest of the vote we are not here
•concerned. On the Long Island side the only
district to give a majority against consolida-
tion was Flushing (1,407 against, 1,144 for,
union) ; but the most curious fact brought out
was that Brooklyn's exploits in the way of
annexation had really sounded the knell of
its own separate history. The majority in
Kings county for consolidation was only zyj,
■and this was brought about by the vote of the
annexed towns, for in Brookl_\-n city proper
the vote showed a majority of 1,034 against.
The vote had hardly been counted before defi-
nite action was taken by the opponents of the
question which had now become a live and
most important issue. The League of Loyal
Citizens was formed and began a vigorous
campaign, using the press, enlisting orators,
issuing leaflets and even a newspaper which
was called "The Greater Brooklyn." and in-
troduced into the Legislature a bill supported
by a petition signed by over 70,000 voters of
Brooklyn, calling for a resubmission of the
question to a vote of the people. On January
13, 1896, the league organized a mass meet-
ing in the Academy of Music, where Dr. Storrs
presided and declared that while resubmis-
sion was the topic to be considered, "there is
now a strong sentiment against consolidation
with or without resubmission." "Let Brook-
lyn's future remain in the hands of Brook-
lyn's people," was the watchword of the meet-
'ing. and its entire proceedings showed the keen
antipathy which had been aroused to any at-
tempt at union. In March, 1896, however, a
bill favoring consolidation was passed in the
Senate by a vote of 38 to 8 and in the Assem-
bly by 91 to 56. When submitted as required
by law to the executives of the municipalities
affected. Mayor Strong, of New York, and
Mayor Wurster, of Brooklyn, vetoed the bill,
and Mayor Gleason, of Long Island City, ap-
proved it. When the bill was returned to Al-
bany it was promptly repassed and became a
law. .A. mass meeting in New ^'ork, in which
A. A. Low and the Rev. Dr. Cuyler took a
prominent part, asked Governor Morton to
veto the bill, but it was signed on May 11,
1896, and so the first stage of the struggle
was over.
By the terms of the act consolidation was
to go into eflfect on January i, 1898, and in
the meantime a commission was to frame a
charter for the proposed great municipality
and setting out the basis of the union. This
commission consisted of Seth Low, Benjamin
F. Tracy, John F. Dillon, Comptroller Stew-
518
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
art L. Woodford, Thomas F. Gilroy, Silas B.
Dutcher, William C. De Witt, George M.
Pinney, Jr., and Harrison S. iNIoore. That
body accomplished its task, and the charter it
prepared, after being amended to ple;ase the
whims of some of the legislators, was duly
passed and became a law by the signature of
the Governor on May 2, 1897. In November
of that year the Mayor of the consolidated
municipality and all the other elective officials
provided by the charter were chosen after a
heated campaign, and then the cons3lidation
movement had only to wait a few weeks be-
fore coming to its full fruition.
It was truly a mournful gathering that
assembled in the Council Chamber of Brook-
lyn's City Hall on the closing hours of De-
cember 31, 1897, to observe the passing into
history of the City of Churches. There was
no lack of expressions of hope for the future ;
it was even felt by many that Brooklyn was
about to enter upon the highest phase of her
history; that she was to preserve her indi-
viduality in the cluster of boroughs which the
next day were to unite into the Greater New
York ; but even the most optimistic in the
gathering could not but feel that they were
face to face with "the end of an auld sang,"
as the Chancellor of Scotland remarked with
the passing of the last vote which united that
country to England. The meeting, — "the
wake," some one irreverently called it, — was
arranged mainly by the Society of Old Brook-
lynites'and the city officials, and the following
formed the committee in charge: Joseph C.
Hendrix, William Berri, Herbert F. Gunnison,
John S. McKeon, Richard Young, James L.
Watson, D. T. Leverich, John Hess, E. D.
White, Stephen M. Griswold, Mayor Wurster,
Comptroller Palmer, Auditor Sutton, Alder-
men J. R. Clark and David S. Stewart. The
City Hall was bedecked with flowers and
seemed gay even in the waning hours of its
pre-eminence. Over the exercises Mayor
Wurster presided, and in a graceful manner
performed his last public official duty. The in-
evitable "oration" without which no Amer-
ican gathering would be complete was deliv-
ered by St. Clair McKelway, whose theme
was "From Great to Greater." Will Carle-
ton, the poet, read an original ode, "The Pass-
ing of Brooklyn," and Rev. J. M. Farrar,
D. D., delivered an address on "Commerce
and Church." An informal address was
made at the close of the exercises by ex-
!Mayor Seth Low.
The proceedings were kept up until the toll-
ing of the bell in the tower announced at once-
the dawn of 1898 and the end of the long and
honorable storv of the Citv of Brooklyn.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Development From Rural tc
Horse Racixg-
Q_UEENS.
Urban Life — The Future of th
-An Interesting Story of the
Consolidation.
E Borough —
^rallTH the advent of the Greater Xew
Si W York the old county of Queens be-
i V M came little more than an expres-
sion. Shorn of its ancient bound-
aries it retained its county organization, its
County Clerk, District Attornev, Surrogate,
Sheriff and other legal officials, but for admin-
istrative purposes it became one of the bor-
oughs of the Greater Xew York with its repre-
sentatives in the Council and on the F.oard of
Aldermen of the great city, its own local Bor-
ough President, Board of Public Improve-
ment, its school board and the like. It is as
much a distinct borough as Manhattan or
Brooklyn, with the same official staff as has
any of the other component sections of the
greater city.
But that fact does not make it any the less
true that many of the old residents of the
Queens County as it was, believe that in its
present status as a borough much of its old
glory has departed, that its birthright has been
sold for a mess of pottage and that even that
reward or price is still in the future. At the
■election of Nov. 6, 1894, at which the question
of consolidation was decided by the people
Queens county voted in favor of the change
by 7,712 votes to 4,741, the large majority
being rolled up mainlv through the votes of
Long Island City. Flushing township voted
1,407 against consolidation and 1,144 i" favor
of it.
The boundaries of the old County of
Queens were as follows: On the east by Suf-
folk County, on the west by Kings County, on
the north by Long Island Sound and on the
south by the Atlantic, and included 410 square
miles. In its territory was the North and
South Brother, Riker (Hallet's) and several
smaller islands. The whole was divided into
the six townships of Newtown, Flushing,
Jamaica, North. Hempstead, Hempstead and
Oyster Bay. For a long time its population
increased slowly — slowly, that is, considering
its contiguity to Manhattan Island. In 1731
the figure was 7,895; in 1786, 13,084; in 1800,
16,983; in 1830, 22,460; in 1880, 90,574; and
in 1890, the last official census in which the
county figured, 128,415, The details of the
two latest censuses follow :
522
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
1890.
1880.
19,803
15,906
Including College Point vil-
lage
6,127
4,192
Flushing village
8,463
6,683
Whitestone village
2,808
2,520
Hempstead town
23,756
18,164
Including Far Rockaway vil-
lage
2,288
Hempstead village
4,831
2.521
Inwood village
1,277
Lawrence village
626
Rockawav Beach village.
1,502
Seaford village
503
10,088
Including Jamaica village. . . .
5,361
3,922
Ozone Park village
539
Richmond Hill village...
626
Long Island' Citv
30,506
17,129
\^' ard I 8,359
Ward 2 3,303
Ward 3 4,813
Ward 4 9,263
Ward 5 4,768
Newtown town
17,549
9,804
Including Corona village
2,362
750
Middle village
504
Winfield village
819
Woodside village
710
500
North Hempstead town
8,134
7,560
Including Roslvn village
1,251
1,101
Oyster Bav town, including
Sea Cliff village (organized
m 1880)
13.870
11,923
Totals
[28,059 90,574
Since the change which incorporated it
into New York, what remains of the old coun-
ty as the Borough of Queens still continues to
show an increase, and that in a more marked
degree than formerly. Long Island City has
now an estimated population of over 50,000
and the other sections are increasing in great
although not equal proportions. Of late years
the land boomer has been energetically at work
and devoting to Queens some at least of that
energy which helped so materially to build up
the old outlying sections of Brooklyn, and as a
result many new settlements are opened up
each year. But the increased facilities of travel
with the various sections of the Greater City
in the way of bridges over the East River and
tunnels under it and the splendid programme
of the Long Island Railroad as to its immedi-
ate extension and the adoption of improve-
ments which will make it a trunk line are the
surest reliances for the wonderful growth
which will come to Queens within the next
decade. Its population of 152,999 in 1900 will,
it is confidently expected, be doubled.
For a long time in the last century the pop-
ulation of Queens increased very slowly so far
as immigration was concerned. Little effort
was made to entice settlement and it was so
inconveniently situated that even intercourse
between it and Brooklyn was difficult. Long
after Brooklyn and its associate towns and
even the villages of Westchester were more or
less marked by the influx of settlers from
abroad, Queens county went on the even tenor
of its way, contented with its isolation, proud
of its old families, and careful of the ancient
customs which had been handed down, gener-
ation after generation. But such a state of
things could not endure for ever and the in-
troduction of the railroad in Queens as well
as elsewhere brought a change. Long Island
City, for instance, may be regarded as a prod-
uct of the railway, and it has had for years,
as it has now, a larger proportion of foreign
born citizens in its population than any other
part of the borough. Jamaica, too, has felt
the change, although it was not until the in-
troduction of the trolley and its cheap and
speedy method of transit that it began to really
feel the full effect of the modern impulse.
But gratifying as this increase of popula-
tion is in one sense — in every practical sense —
it has not been witnessed without a sentiment
of regret by some of the representatives of the
old families. The late Gov. R. C. McCormick,
who for fifty years had his home in Jamaica,
remarked a few weeks before his death (1901)
to the writer with considerable pathos : "I re-
member when I used to walk along these
streets of Jamaica and everybody knew me and
spoke to me. I knew all the children, and
QUEENS.
52S
could send kindly messages of enquiry with
them to their homes. I had something to say
to every man or woman I met, I knew much of
their history, their hopes, their disappoint-
ments, their anxieties and sorrows. They all
knew me, knew of my interests, my politics,
my purposes, my standing in the community.
Now I can walk from my home here to the
postofiQce and back again and not exchange a
word with any one. It is very sad; it is not
as it used to be ; we have lost the old friendli-
ness and neighborliness, we are growing in
strength, new streets are being opened up each
year, we have no fault to find with the new-
comers, they are here to found homes — the
very best class of settlers who can come to any
place, but somehow the old charm of personal
acquaintance has been lost."
■ In one respect the statistics of Queens
County are peculiar, as they show, until almost
a recent date, a very small proportion of pau-
i;er:sm. In 1835, for instance, with a popula-
rion of 25,130, there were only 71 persons re-
ceiving public relief. This slim proportion
continued all through the history of the coun-
ty until the introduction of the railway, and
the figures before us tell the story so familiar
to students of sociology that as the county ad-
vanced in wealth so did the number of its pau-
pers increase. In a purely agricultural com-
munity, and especially in a community where
the ground is tilled by its owners, pauperism
does not flourish, and such a community was
Queens County until it began to fall under the
influence of the spirit of "modern improve-
ments."
But the future of Queens borough is not to
lie in agriculture ; that much seems certain
from a survey of existing conditions or condi-
tions promised. It will be by the growth of its
manufactures, the development of its seaside
resorts and its advantages as a place for home
building. Long Island City is already a manu-
facturing centre, so is Jamaica, and scattered
through the country are places like Steinway
devoted solely to one branch of trade. All that
is really needed to upbuild local manufacturing
prosperity is cheap and adequate communica-
tion with the rest of the continent, and that is
promised in the fullest measure in the near fu-
ture. Land is cheap in every section of the
borough and water privileges are plentiful.
In the way of summer resorts contiguous to
New York, it has splendid advantages. On the
Atlantic coast the Rockaways, Arverne,
Woodsburgh, Lawrence and Edgemere are al-
ready famous and popular ; on the other side
North Beach now attracts thousands each year,
and Flushing Bay is ready to provide a dozen
resorts, while College Point, Whitestone and'
the shores of Little Neck Bay alreaily boast
populous summer colonies.
For home building with the trolley system
daily becoming more ubiquitous, and the prom-
ised development of the Long Island Railroad,
and the tunnels and bridges now in course of
construction, all' insuring rapid and convenient
travel, there is no section better_ for practical
purposes on Long Island. Real estate in
Brooklyn — throughout old Kings County, in
fact — has long lost its old; time quality of
cheapness — a quality that still presents itself
abundantly in Queens. Then according to the
schemes now being put through, Jamaica wilt
really be nearer the centre of business on Man-
hattan Island than are Flatbush or Gravesend.
A ridge of high hills runs east and west
through the borough along its northern part,
throwing out spurs to the Sound and breaking
the shore into indentations of bays and head-
lands. On this ridge, facing the water, are
some of the most finished home settlements in
the city, while the broad interior plain stretch-
ing southward to the Atlantic is covered with-
agricultural villages, railroad towns and thriv-
ing suburbs. Throughout both the Sound and
plains settlements city improvements, such as
water, gas and electricity, are universal, and
larger places, like Flushing and Jamaica, have
sewerage systems.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Writing on the certain progress of Queens
Borough, a recent writer, who evidently had
the facts at his finger's end, wrote :
This tremendous prospective growth of
population must of necessity follow the lines
of least resistance, which, in the presence of
adequate transportation, are determined by
the cost of land. On this basis Queens should
receive a disproportionate share of whatever
investment takes place, for land in Queens
is selling at hundreds of dollars as against
thousands in the case of land in Manhattan
and The Bronx at an equal distance from the
Manhattan City Hall. The Long Island Rail-
road's passenger service will come into direct
contact with the Manhattan Rapid Transit
system at the Brooklyn terminal of the tunnel
from the Battery and in Manhattan itself
througn the tunnel from Long Island City.
Through these tunnels the principal settle-
ments in Queens will be tapped without change
of cars, except to board those of the Man-
liattan Rapid Transit road, and these new out-
Jets to Manhattan will be supplemented by
three others dispensing with water passage —
the East Rivet Bridge, the Blackwell's Island
Bridge and the bridge at Peck Slip, all of wnich
are under way. The combined effect of two
tunnels and three new bridges on the passen-
ger service from Queens will be tremendous,
revolutionizing travel not only over the Long
Island Railroad, but over the elevated and
■trolley lines as well.
How susceptible the growth of the borough
is to betterments of transportation appears
from the progress made in the past three or
four years. Consolidation with Xew \ ork
induced the construction of a network of trol-
ley lines throughout the borough by the New
York and Queens County Railway Company
and the New York and North Shore Railway
■Company, which are identical as to manage-
ment. The former system starts at the Long
Island Railroad ferry in Long Island City and
the latter at the terminus of the Kings Conntv
Elevated road at the Brooklyn borough limit.
The two systems, which also connect with the
Long Island Railroad and the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit lines at numerous points in the inte-
rior, served the needs of local travel, besides
bringing: formerly inacessible places into con-
tact with the highways of travel to Manhattan.
The formation of the New York and Queens
Electric Light and Power Company not only
supplied the illuminant that is now essential
in public lighting but made economical power
for manufacturing available throughout the
borough, except the Rockaway district.
These notable improvements, together with
the admission to Brooklyn Bridge of the trolley
and elevated lines of the Brooklyn Rapid Tran-
sit Company, which sends one branch of its
system to Jamaica and another to Flushing,
started a building movement which spread far
beyond the customary limit of housing im-
provements. However, the bulk of the travel
from the farther parts of the borough 'mist
continue to be over the Long Island Railroad.
Hence the supreme importance of the tunnels
which will connect that road with the Manhat-
tan Rapid Transit system, implying a saving
of at least fifteen minutes in distance whicn
now consume an hour in travel, besides dis-
pensing with ferry transfers. But although
the improvements in transportation that have
been obtained since consolidation with New
York appear slight by comparison with those
now in sight, they were sufficient to initiate a
far-reaching movement in real estate, until .n
1900 the number of conveyances practically
equalled those of The Bronx with its direct
approach to downtown Manhattan and its
years of start in municipal progress.
Outside of farming, only one of the old
industries of Queens remains, that of horse
racing, although it must be confessed that the
sorry and sometimes silly exhibitions at Aque-
duct are but a poor succession to the old glories
of Hempstead or L^nion Course. Horse racing
really was the first industry of Queens county
and its meets were long the most famous in
the country. In 1665 Gov. Nicolls ordered a
race course to be set aside on Hempstead "for
encouraging the bettering of the breed of
horses which, through great neglect, has been
impaired." His successor. Gov. Lovelace, also
lent his aid to making the sport a success and
it seems to have been a popular feature from
the first. Daniel Denton in his "Brief De-
scription" (London, 1701) savs: "Toward
the middle of Long Island Iveth a plain 16
miles long and 4 broad, where you will find
neither stick nor stone to hinder the horses'
heels, or endanger them in their races, and
aUEENS.
525
once a year the best horses in the island are
brought hither to try their swiftness, and the
swiftest rewarded with a silver cup, two being
annually procured for that purpose." The
course itself was changed at least once, but the
racing centre continued to be on Hempstead
plains until 182 1, when it was moved to Union
Course. The stakes at New Market, as the
Hempstead Course was called, were as a gen-
eral rule £50 for each event, although on two
or three occasions iioo was the figure. It was
on Union Course that horse racing reached its
highest development in the eyes of the sporting
fraternity, the gentlemen who make money on
the turf. Gambling in fact was as much the
feature of each meeting at Union Course as
was horse racing itself; in reality, as in our
modern days, the racing was but an excuse for
the gambling. It was estimated that in the race
in 1823 between "Eclipse" and "Sir Henry"
for a stake of $20,000 a side $200,000 changed
hands when Eclipse was declared the winner.
The amount lost was even greater in 1842
when "Boston" defeated "Fashion" in two
heats. It was estimated that 70,000 persons
witnessed this race. It was probably the
widely reported excesses of that race and its
attendant circumstances that induced Dr.
Prime to write :
"Here [Union Course] are regularly enact-
ed twice a year, scenes which no imagination,
however fertile, can depict without the aid of
ocular demonstration. It has been stated, and
the statement stands uncontradicted, that at a
single course of races 50,000 p&rsons attend-
ed and $700,000 were lost and won ; and that
during the five days that the "sports" contin-
ued the toll of the Fulton I'erry Company aver-
aged $1,000 a day; and it is supposed that the
other avenues of the city realized an equal
sum. But the gambling, expense, and loss of
time attending these scenes of dissipation
form only a part of the evils with which they
are connected. The drinking, the swearing,
the licentiousness, the contentions and other
nameless crimes, which are here periodically
committed, with the countenance of law, are
enough to sicken the soul of every man that
fears God and is disposed to reverence His-
commands and must induce him to wish most
devoutly for the time to come, and that speed-
ily, when this crying abomination, with all
its accompaniments, shall be banished from,
this once sacred soil of Puritans and Hugue-
nots."
Queens County had other tracks which
while not so famous as that at Hempstead and
Union Course still proved attractive enough to
bring crowds to their "events" and to swell
the notoriety which the county enjoyed — en-
joyed even in England — as the headquarters-
of horse-racing in America. As early as 1757
there was a track in Jamaica, and one at New-
town in 1758. The "Fashion Association for
Improving the Breed of Horses" had a course
at Xewtown in 1854, which continued with
varying success until 1865, when it had to give
way to the progress of the railroad. At Cen-
treville, near Union Course, a trotting track
was laid out in 1825 where, in 1847, the "Al-
bany Girl" was tried to run 100 miles in 10
consecutive hours in harness. She actually
accomplished 97>4 miles in g^A hours and then
broke down. Surely such sport shows degen-
eracy somewhere.
With the decadence of the Union Course
racing in Queens County ceased to be profit-
able, and it was abadoned altogether when
Kings County took the sport up in earnest,
until the establishment of the track at Aque-
duct, where racing seems to be in reality an-
other name for gambling. When horses are
started to race in mud or by electric light the
nature of the sport can easily be appreciated.
In the general chapters of this history re-
ference has already been made to the position
of Queens County in the War of the Revolu-
tion, so that it is needless to dwell upon that
theme here. It had its Tories and its Patriots
in probably equal numbers, it has been even
asserted that the former were the most numer-
ous, but however that may be, there can be no»
&-2G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
doubt that all sections were fully aroused to
the evils of the system of government to which
they had become subject and that the people
of Jamaica have the right to claim their old
suburb of Brushville as being the birthplace
of fhe Revolution on Long Island.
It is not known what duties the County's
militia performed at the battle of Brooklyn
other than throwing up fortifications and-
standing guard at the outposts and ferries.
Capt. Jacob Wright of Jamaica and Capt.
Van Nuyse of Kings County formed two com-
panies in Col. Lasher's ist New York battal-
ion in Scott's brigade. The Kings and Queens
County Militia guarded alternate days at the
Flatbush pass. On the dav of battle Capt.
Wright's men were in Cobble Hill fort. The
Queens County Militia often spoke of lying
behind the lines when the British shot whistled
over their heads. Putnam rode along the line
and every now and again, checking his horse,
would say : "Gentlemen, by ycur dress I con-
clude you are countrymen, and, if so. good
marksmen. Now, don't fire till you see the
whites of their eyes."
Next to the Revolutionary story the most
interesting study in connection with the his-
tory of Queens County is thr.t of the incidents
in connection with the transformation of the
greater portion of it into a borough of the
modern New York City. The story is well
worthy of study and that it might be clearly
and intelligently put before the reader by one
- who has made a thorough study we present the
following written at the request of the publish-
ers by Mr. Duncan Maclnnes, one of the ex-
pert accountants in the ofiice of the Comp-
troller of New York, through whose hands
all the papers in the case were passed and con-
sidered :
At midnight on the 31st day of December,
1897, there were forty-eight separate munici-
palities merged into the Greater New York,
under the general name or title, Borough of
Queens. These former municipalities consisted
of Long Island City, the old towns of New-
town (from which Long Island City was orig-
inally created in 1871), Jamaica (in its earliest
form the town of "Crawford"), Flushing' and
that part of the town of Hempstead extending
westward from the eastern limits of the in-
corporated village of Far Rockaway to the
Rockaway Beach inlet. Eight incorporated
villages were among the said municipalities,
viz. : Flushing, College Point, Whitestone,
Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Far Rockaway, Ar-
verne, and Rockaway Beach; also fourteen
school districts in the township of Newtown,
eleven school districts in Jamaica, seven in
Flushing, and three in Hempstead. These
forty-eight separate municipalities were all
within the corporate limits of that part (over
two-thirds) of Queens County merged into the
city of New York by the act of consolidation ;
and, together with the funded debt of the coun-
ty, brought a legacy of bonded indebtedness
alone to the greater city of $13,337,465. The
total real-estate assessed valuation within said
former municipalities was $83,263,593 on Dec.
31, 1897, and this was a great increase over
what the same property was assessed at twelve
months before, and an extraordinary increase
over the assessment of 1895 and 1894, as the
following comparative figures will show:
Real Estate,
Assessed Bonded
Date. Valuation. Debt.
Dej. 31, 1894 $40,405,036 $ 4,813,300
Dec. 31, 1895 42,186,900 5,627,650
Dec. 31, i8g6 69,267,710 6,089,125
Dec. 31 1897 83,260,593 I3-337.465
On January i, 1895, when the ten per cent
constitutional limitation as to the debt of a city
or county went into effect. Long Island City
real estate, assessed valuation, was $16,667,-
332, and her bonded debt alone $3,033,500, or
nearly twice the statutory limitation. Some-
thing had to be done, and the powers that then
were proceeded to increase the assessed valu-
ation of property, so as to scale down the ratio
of the bonded debt, and the work was done
efl^ectually by increasing Long Island City real
QLTEENS.
estate values in 1896 from $16,667,332 to $42,-
377,481, or more than the combined assessed
vakiation of 1895 of all real estate in Long
Island City, the towns of Newtown, Flushing,
Jamaica and that part of Hempstead which
ultimately was merged into the Greater New
York. These 1896 and 1897 values have since
been reduced by the courts by upwards of six
millions of dollars, which has the disadvantage
of decreasing the proceeds to the City of New
York from Long Island City tax arrears.
It will be noted from the table that the
bonded debt of these Queens municipalities
was more than doubled in the year 1897 as
compared with a normal increase of several
hundred thousand dollars in each of the years
preceding ; and the extraordinary increase dur-
ing 1897 was practically all after the passage
of the Greater New York charter in April of
said year. As Comptroller Coler has said,
"The worst mistake of the charter, it seems to
me, was that it put a premium on the notion
of the various communities (to be) consolidat-
ed going into debt."
The latter part of the year 1S97 witnessed
an orgie in Queens of lavish expenditure and
debt-incurring obligations. Every town, vil-
lage and school district was issuing bonds ad
libitum, and generally on the most liberal
terms to purchasers thereof. The county was
also doing its share. The funded debt of tlie
county park was increased in 1897 from
$1,083,500 to $4,837,811, and everywhere was
a feverish anxiety and haste to take in on the
one hand and disburse from the other every
cent that could be realized previous to Dec. 31,
1897, after which the authority to contract fur-
ther liability or disburse a dollar was vested in
the officials of the City of New York. It was
a wild orgie while it lasted, and officials who
in former years had never handled more than
a few thousand dollars found themselves in
possession and absolute disposal of hundreds
of thousands of dollars, which was expended
with the reckless lavishness of a Monte Cristo.
Chapters might be written of the cow-paths
that were paved by granite blocks, of the tur-
nip and potato -patches that were lighted by
electric lamps, of the by-lanes that were lit by
gas and naptha lamps, etc., etc., and of the va-
riety and questionable character of contract
on contract made on the very eve of actual
consolidation ; and of the hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars of floating debt that has since
come to light and been foisted on the greater
city, and the end is not yet ! Consolidation has
cost the ]\Ianhattan taxpayer, or rather Man-
hattan property, several millions of dollars for
the honor of being the second largest city
(numerically) in the world.
CHAPTER XLIV.
FLUSHING.
The Patentees of
lG-15 — Freeholders ij
— Modern Changes
1C83-
-The Lawrences-
iND Developments.
-The Chirch]
HE earliest year of any settlement
within the old township of Flushing,
— \'lissingen, as it was called, — is
1643. Two years later Governor
Kieft issued a town charter to the inhabitants,
and this charter was afterward renewed by
Governor Dongan in 1685. The town's early
records and patents were destroyed by fire in
1789, but in 1792 a copy of Dongan's patent
was furnished from the records in Albany
under the seal of Governor Clinton, of the
State of New York. There is a theory that
the name given to the place was derived from
that of a town in Holland, but the evidence
as to this is a little hazy, and while the matter
is practically of no moment, it seems fair to
say that the honor of name giving to the
Dutch town should not. be abandoned. The
first settler was William Thorne (the name
long survived in Thome's Neck), who appears
to have held views on religious matters which
did not find sympathy among the Puritans,
so he is said to have come to this neighborhood
from New England in search of a place where
he might enjoy liberty of conscience. What
his views were is not exactly known, but they
were of such a nature that he afterward found
it congenial to throw in his lot with the Society
of Friends. Soon he was joined by several
others, and thus Flushing was another relig-
ious community, which, like Gravesend, was
a standing reproach to the reputed religious
toleration of Massachusetts.
The names in Kieft's patent of the settlers-
to whom it was issued were Thomas Faring-
ton, John Townsend, Thomas Stiles, Thomas
Saull, John Marston, Robert Field, Thomas
Applegate, Thomas Beddard, Laurence Dutch,
John Lawrence, William Lawrence, William
Thorne, Henry Sautell, William Pigeon, Mi-
chael Milliard, Robert Firman, John Hicks,
Edward Hart. They were empowered to elect
a Schout, to build fortifications, "to have and
enjoy the liberty of conscience according to
the custom and manner of Holland without
molestation or disturbance from any Magis-
trate of Magistrates or any other Ecclesiastical
Minister." In return for all this and other
privileges they agreed to "reverently respect
the High and Mighty Lords for their Superior
Lords and Patrons," and pay a really moderate
tax "in case it be demanded." All of those
mentioned in the deed were not from New
England, or e.xiles for religion. John Law-
rence, who was one of the incorporators of
Hempstead in 1644, was quite an enterprising
gentleman, and was several times Mayor of
New Amsterdam, and at the time of his death,
1699. was a Judge of the Supreme Court.
William Lawrence was also prominent as an
office-holder, and had the knack of "holding
on" no matter what tiag — Dutch or English —
waved over the fort at New Amsterdam.
In Dongan's patent the names of the free-
holders were Thomas Willett, John Lawrence
Seinior, Elias Doughty, Richard Cornell,.
FLUSHING.
5-2g
Moriss Smith, Qiarles ^Morgan, Mary Fleake,
Wouter Gisbertson, John Masten, John Cor-
nells, John Harrison, Denins Holdron, John
Hinchman, WiUiam Yeates, Joseph Thorne,
John Lawrence Junior, Matthias Harveye,
Harmanus King, John Farrington, Thomas
Williams, Elisabeth Osborn, Joseph Havyland,
John Washborne, Aaron Cornells, John Bowne,
William Noble, Samuel Hoyt, Madeline Fran-
ces Barto, John Hoper, Thomas Ford, John
Jenning, John Embree, Jonathan Wright,
Nicholas Parcell, William Lawrence, Richard
Townly, Edward Griffin Junior, John Law-
rence at the Whitestone, Henry Taylor, Jasper
Smith, Richard Wilday, Thomas Townsend,
John Thorne, Anthony Field, John Adams,
Richard Stockton, James Whittaker, Hugh
Copperthwaite, Richard Chew, James Clem-
ent, Margaret Stiles, Samuel Thgrne, Thomas
Hedges, William Haviland, Thomas Hicks,
John Terry, David Patrick, James Feake,
Thomas Kimacrj^ Phillip Udall, Thomas Da-
vis, Edward Farrington, Thomas Farrington,
Matthew Farrington, John Field, Joseph
Hedger, John Talman, William Gael, William
White, Elisabeth Smith, Thomas Partridge,
William Hedger and Benjamin Field. Out-
side of the Lawrence, Farrington, and Thome
families few representatives of the original
patentees appear in this list. But so far as
can be learned they were of pretty much the
same stamp as most of the pioneers — men
and women whose law lay wholly in the
sacred Scriptures.
Most of these people were farmers : most
of them were from New England. Probably
many had left the mainland to get rid of the
religious notions prevailing there and enjoy
freedom of worship in their own way. But
they brought with them their Bibles ard their
own peculiar views, and were prepared to set
up as much of a theocracy as circumstances
would permit, — some even were determined to
carry out their spiritual ideas no matter what
circumstances presented themselves.
So it was as a religious colony that Flush-
ing was to thrive. In 1647, by order of Gov-
34
ernjr Stuyvesant, the Rev. Francis Doughty
settled in it as its minister. Stuyvesant was
curious in his friendships, his likes and dis-
likes, and what there was in Mr. Doughty's
composition that won him the personal interest
of the Governor it is difficult to imagine.
Doughty was an English clergyman, who had
crossed the Atlantic that he might speak the
truth, but his views on baptism did not suit
the Puritans, and he was arrested, tried and',
ordered to leave Massachusetts. He promptly
went to Rhode Island for a brief period, but
in 1642 he went to Long Island, having with
several associates secured a grant of 13,332
acres of land at Newtown. An Indian out-
break soon scattered this settlement, and
Doughty took refuge in New Amsterdam for
two years. In 1645 Doughty and most of the
patentees returned to Newtown, but trouble
and quarrels broke out, and as a result Dough-
ty threatened to refer the matter to Holland,
and thereupon he was arrested and fined twen-
ty-five guilders. In this case Stuyvesant acted
in haste and without warrant, and when he rec-
ognized this he was anxious to "do something"'
for Doughty. A request from Flushing for a;
minister reached Stuyvesant about this time,
and he at once named Doughty. The good
folks of Flushing, however, did not want the
Newtown dominie, but Stuyvesant reasoned
with them one by one. As a result Doughty
was accepted and his salary fixed at 600 guild-
ers. It was probably Flushing's complaisance
in this matter that impelled Stuyvesant in 1648
to permit it to elect three Schepens and a clerk
in addition to the primitive Schout. Doughty
does not seem to have become popular in
Flushing. His religious views were not pleas-
ing to many, and that singular compound^
Captain John Underbill, when elected Schout
in 1648, at once ordered the meeting-house
closed, as the preacher "spoke against his bet-
ters." Doughty wandered forth again, but re-
turned. He had made his home in Flushing,
and there his sons developed into splendid citi-
zens, while his daughter Mary married Adrian
'V'an Der Donck, a Hudson River patroon, wha
tllSTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
included what is now the city of Yonkers in
his holding.
As a settled minister Doughty was a fail-
ure, and probably the citizens did not care to
ask for another in his place. In 1656 one of
the pioneers of the Society of Friends, William
Wickendam, a shoemaker, settled in Flushing
from Rhode Island, and the people seem to
have accepted his views. They listened to his
preaching and what he said appears to have
united them under his spiritual leadership,
and many were baptized by him. Even Dough-
ty accepted the workingman's theological
views and threw in his lot with the Quakers.
Such a condition of things aroused attention
in New Amsterdam and led to Stuyvesant's
persecution of the Friends, which has been
•detailed at length lin an earlier chapter of this
work. But this persecution failed, like most
persecutions of similar nature, to stamp out
the object of its enmity, and Flushing became
more and more deeply a religious, — a Quaker
community. In 1660 quite a number of Hu-
guenots settled in the township, and their pres-
ence and pronounced views on matters of faith
made Flushing more than ever before a center
of religious thought.
In June, 1672, George Fox, the founder
of the Society of Friends, made his memorable
visit to Long Island, and, as might be expected.
Flushing was one of his stopping places. He
stayed in the home of John Bowne, Stuyves-
ant's victim and victor, and the couch on which
he was wont to rest and other articles of fur-
niture usedby him or in use during his sojourn
are still preserved. Fox in his diary mentions
holding one large meeting in Flushing, "many
hundreds of people being there."
Although, however, Flushing was thus in
a sense a center of Quakerism, it was not until
1690 that a meeting-house was erected. After
Stuyvesant's experience in the case of John
Bowne the Friends seem to have been per-
mitted the utmost freedom of worship, so far
as the civil government was concerned. Lender
the English rule, indeed, thev were more or
less in trouble, because in accordance with their
principles they refused to train in the militia
service, a service which by law was made com-
pulsory on all able-bodied men. This refusal
was punished by the imposition of a fine, and
as it was not in keeping with their ideas of
religion and right to pay this fine, their goods
were seized and sold in satisfaction. This pro-
cedure tlie Quakers regarded as an infringe-
ment of liberty and conscience, as a religious
ijersecution ; but it was not so in reality, as
the law made no provision for creeds, the
militia was for the defense of the people and
the Quakers enjoyed the security of that de-
fense and should contribute their share in it.
A nui;h more dangerous disturber Of the
peace of the Quakers, and indeed of the com-
munity, was the attempt made in the reign i^f
James II to establish the Church of England
throughout the province. We say attempt, be-
cause, although it is the fashion for some
writers to argue as though that church was
established in New York, just as it was in
England, it never really succeeded. Royal in-
structions and Gubernatorial edicts notwith-
standing. The King's orders to Governor
Dongan, in fact, avoided the question of "es-
tablishment," although that result was implied.
"You shall take especial care that God Al-
mighty be devoutly and duly served through-
out your government; the Book of Common
Prayer as it is now established read each Sun-
day and holiday, and the Blessed Sacrament
administered according to the rites of the
Church of England." He was also ordered
not to present a clergyman to any benefice
within his gift "without a certificate from the
Most Reverend the Lord Archbishop of Can-
terbury of his being conformable to the doc-
trine and discipline of the Church of Eng-
land." Still he was to "permit all persons, of
what religion soever, quietly to inhabit within
your government without giving them any
disquiet or disturbance whatever for or by rea-
son of their differing opinions in matters of
religion." So far as Flushing was concerned,
FLUSHING.
531
these instructions had little interest, and it was
not until 1702, under Governor Cornbury, —
one of the most disreputable of men and blind-
est of churchmen, — that any effort was made
to foist an Episcopalian minister on the town.
Then the turbulent George Keith came upon
the scene, but as the story of his experiences
and of his persecutions of Quakers inspired
by him have already been told in an earlier
chapter, the story need not be repeated here.
Ecclesiastically in the Episcopalian fold,
Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing were united
for a time under one Tector. The first, Patrick
Gordon, died: a few days after his arrival, and
then Cornbury sent the Rev. James Honeyman
among the people to preach to them until he
could determine upon a rector. This rector,
the Rev. William Urquhart, was put in pos-
session of the charge in June, 1704, and con-
tinued to minister to such of the people as ad-
hered to him until his death, in 1709. Flush-
ing did not take kindly to him, nor did he to
Flushing. "Most of the inhabitants thereof
are Quakers," he wrote, "who rove through
the county from one village to another, talk
blasphemy, corrupt the )'Outh, and do much
mischief." He held services once a month in
the Guard House, which was amply sufficient
for his auditory. Mr. Urquhart's headquarters
were in Jamaica, and there, too, as we shall
see, his path was not one strewn with roses.
His successor was the Rev. Thomas Poyer, a
Welshman. Flushing still continued obdurate,
and matters were not much brighter in Ja-
maica, which still continued to be the rectorial
headquarters, but Mr. Poyer "wras'led" on
amid a host of discouragements, as we will
read in the story of Jamaica, until his death,
in 1 73 1. Two years later the Rev. Thomas
Colgan was given the charge, and under him,
in 1746, the first Episcopalian Church in Flush-
ing was erected. Mr. Colgan seems to have
got on better with the Quakers than any of
his predecessors, and one of them, it is said,
actually aided the new congregation by a gift
of money. As was customary, the Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel (in London)
sent to th-e new church a Bible and Prayer
Book, and that gift is now among the treas-
ures of St. George's Church. On the death
of Mr. Colgan, in 1755, the Presbyterians and
others endeavored to seize control of the eccle-
siastical affairs in the three towns and elected
a Presbyterian minister. Sir Charles Hardy,
then Governor, would have none of this, and
presented the Rev. Samuel Seabury to the
charge. Mr. Seabury had not a very high
opinion of Flushing, which he said was "in the
last generation the ground seat of Quakerism,
is in this the seat of infidelity," but under
him the ch.urch was finished and in 1761 it
received a charter from King George HI
under the title of St. George's, which it still
retains. His leading lay helper in Flushing
was Mr. John Aspinwall, whom he described
in one of his letters as "a man of low birth
and strong passions, and violent in his resent-
ments, who, having acquired a great fortune
in privateering, removed thither from New
York, and has really done very considerably
toward finishing the church and giving it a
good bell." Not much of an angelic character,
certainly, but this reformed pirate was a bene-
factor to the Flushing church in many ways,
even to the extent of "bringing over many
Quakers and Calvinists, so that I myself,"
wrote Mr. Seabury, "have been a jo\'ful wit-
ness of a numerous congregation in a church
wherein, within three or four years, seldom
assembled above ten or twelve persons." It
is sad to think that the friendship of Mr.
Aspinwall and Rector Seabury should have
ended in a violent rupture caused by an effort
on Aspinwall's part to make Flushing a sepa-
rate charge under a new rector, but so it was.
The effort did not succeed, and Seabury re-
mained until 1765, when he removed to West-
chester. Afterward he was the first Episco-
palian bishop in America. His successor in
the three towns was the Rev. Joshua Bloomer.
The tripartite rectorial arrangement continued
until 1802, when Flushing and Newtown
532
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
united in calling a rector, leaving Jamaica to
its own course, and in 1809 Flushing^nd New-
town separated, and the Rev. Brazella Buckley
became first sole rector of Flushing.
From then until now St. George's has
held a long list of earnest, devoted rectors,
but the name that stands out in boldest relief
is that of the Rev. William A. Muhlenberg,
who presided over it from 1826 to 1829. This
famous preacher and practical philanthropist
founded the once famous Flushing Institute
for the education of boys, and out of its success
grew St. Paul's College, of which he contin-
ued to act as principal until 1844, when he
accepted a call to New York.
Until 181 1 St. George's Church and the
meeting-house of the Society of Friends con-
tained the only twb organized religious bodies
in F^lushing. In 181 1 a congregation of col-
ored Methodists was organized, although it did
not possess a church edifice until 1837. The
white Methodist brethren built a church in
1822, the Roman Catholic Church had its be-
ginning with twelve adherents in 1826, when
the Rev. Father Farnham celebrated mass for
the first time in Flushing, and in 1835 the
first place of worship was fitted up. In 1854
a second Episcopalian Church, St. Michael's,
was erected, and St. George's Church was re-
built for the third time, the second building
having been erected in 1812. The ■ Baptists
also erected their first Flushing church in
1854.
The most prominent of the early industries
of Flushing, next to agriculture — farming —
was that of fruit and tree growing. The Hu-
guenot settlers introduced many of the fruits
of their native land, and their product won
quite a measure of fame and brought them con-
siderable profit. In the early years of the
eighteenth century a number of English gar-
deners settled in Flushing, attracted by stories
of the varied nature of its soil and its adapta-
bility to fruit raising, and established market
gardens. Its fame, however, in horticultural
circles was reallv won bv a native, \\'illiam
I'rince, who was born in Flushing in 1766,
and died there in 1842. His father, William
Prince, in 1750 laid out a tract of land in
Flushing for the propagation of trees, such as
apple, plum, peach, cherry, nectarine and pear.
This venture proved quite a success, and the
area of ground was steadily enlarged and the
varieties grown extended to almost every va-
riety possible in the climate, almond and fig
trees, flowering trees and shrubs, berry bushes.
So famous did the place become that General
Howe, when manoaivring in Flushing on Au-
gust 29, 1776, ordered it to be guarded so
as to prevent any depredations on the part of
his soldiery. The nursery, however, did suffer
considerably during the British occupation,
and for the time its business was paralyzed.
In 1789 the place was visited by General
Washington, who had long heard of its beau-
ties, but what he saw did not answer his
"expectations," for at that time the business
was just beginning to recover. By 1792 Mr.
Prince had twenty-four acres under his opera-
tions. His son brought the nursery up to the
fullest measure of its usefulness. In 1793 he
entered into business relations with his father
and extended the area under cultivation until
it exceeded sixty acres. He sent far and near
for trees, fruits and plants for experimental
purposes, successfully acclimatized several
hundred, systematized the nomenclature of the
best known fruits, such as the Bartlett pear
and the Isabella grape, and wrote a "Treatise
on Horticulture," the first work of the kind
issued in the United States. The London
Horticultural Society named the William
Prince apple in his honor, and he enjoyed the
personal friendship of all the celebrated bot-
anists and naturalists of his time. The ]Morus
multicaulis, long so well known in the manu-
facture of silk, was first grown here in 1826
by J\Ir. Prince from trees imported from
France a year after they had been received
there from the Philippine Islands. Perhaps
this should entitle him. to be regarded as the
pioneer in the great American Philippine trade
FLUSHING.
583
which is so certain to come as the result of
more recent events !
Flushing had many other famous nurseries,
such as that of Samuel Parsons, a man noted
for his benevolence, his enterprise, his public
spirit and his steadfast adherence to the So-
ciety of Friends, before which body he fre-
quently preached. His love of trees led him
to plant many along the streets of Flushing at
his own cost, and he went into the business
of tree raising simply for the good he might
accomplish rather than as a commercial specu-
lation.
With the upward progress which attended
so many of the Long Island towns after the
Revolutionary War Flushing had but little
share. Its business had been sadly shattered
by that armed conflict, and its geographical
position was such that it was by no means
easy of access. In the closing years of the
eighteenth century communication with New
York was had twice a week — -Tuesdays and
Fridays — by passenger boats, and that service
sufficed until the advent of the nineteenth cen-
tury. In 1801 a daily coach service was estab-
lished, running from Flushing through New-
town to Brooklyn, and such coach service, with
slight changes as to route, continued until
1854, when the opening of the Flushing &
North Shore Railroad forced its cessation.
But long after the railroad was an assured fact
the carrying trade in merchandise continued
to be done by packets. The first steamboat
from Flushing to New York was run in 1822.
It was a small concern, but proved so success-
ful that in the following year "The Linnaeus,"
a much more substantial and roomy vessel,
was put on the route.
In 1837 Flushing began to feel that she
really was becoming prosperous, and in that
year it applied for and received its charter as
a village. The population was then about 2,000,
the number of real estate owners was 103, and
the assessed valuation $465,360. Robert B.
Van Zandt was elected the first President un-
der the charter.
The Rev. H. D. Waller, to whose interest-
ing "History of Flushing" this sketch has been
much indebted, says: "The village boundary
line began at the creek just beyond the bridge
on the College Point causeway and ran east,
.crossing Whitestone avenue about 300 feet
beyond Bayside avenue, just including the Os-
good property. At a point near the junction
of Bayside avenue and Parsons avenue the
line turned south and ran to the corner of
Sanford avenue and Long lane (now South
Parsons avenue). From this corner, which
marked the furthest limits of the village in
that direction, the line ran west to the creek,
forming an acute angle with Sanford avenue
and crossing Jamaica avenue just south of
the Jagger homestead (now Captain Hin-
man's). Sanford avenue was not open below
Jamaica avenue. Bowne avenue was the street
furthest east. Long lane began at the village
limits and ran south. Jagger avenue was a
private lane leading from Main street to the
Jagger house ; Lincoln street was then called
Liberty street ; Amity street was not then
opened ; neither was Locust street east of
Main. A tide mill, kept by William Flamil-
ton, stood at the bridge on the College Point
causeway. There were no houses northeast
of the park except a few which stood in large
country places. * * ''' The lower part of
Main street was more thickly settled, but even
there the houses stood apart from each other
with gardens between. The Pavilion, once a
famous hotel, stood at the corner of Bridge
street and Lawrence avenue, where the old
electric power house now stands. The Town
Hall stood where the fountain now stands,
facing on Main street, the school-house being
on the lot now occupied by the Empire Hose
Company's building in Lincoln street."
From the time of her incorporation as a
vllage until the closing scene in her history,
when she became part and parcel of the Great-
er New York, the story of Flushing was one
of great progress. It was regarded as a resi-
dential quarter, sufliciently retired to be the
5.84
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
scene of several county fairs, where abundant
educational facilities were provided, and
church, social and professional circles were all
of the most desirable qualities. The Board
of Education commenced work in 1848 in ac-
cordance with an act of the Legislature passed
that year, and under its direction the educa-
tional system of the village was steadily ex-
tended : in 1874 the Douglass Pond water sup-
ply was introduced and mack the occasion of
a grand demonstration and parade, with the
usual oratorical accompaniments. In 1883 the
old area of the village was considerably ex-
tended by a new act of the Legislature, and
in the following year the Flushing Hospital
and Dispensary was incorporated, a building
being rented for its purpose until 1887, when
the hospital was ejected on ground presented
for the purpose by the late John Henderson.
"The village of Flushing," writes Mr. Waller,
"has always been a place of residence. Those
institutions have been fostered that would ren-
der the village attractive to persons seeking
homes ; manufacture has not been encouraged.
The village streets are macadamized, well
shaded with fine trees of many varieties, light-
ed by gas and electricity and swept and sprin-
kled at public expense. The sidewalks are
-paved with stone flagging. A complete system
of sewers extends throughout the village. The
steam and electric cars make frequent trips be-
tween Flushing and the city. These conven-
iences and improvements have made Flushing
an attractive home for business and profes-
sional men of New York. Here they find
pleasant homes and rural surroundings within
easy reach of their places of business."
Such are the salient points in the history
of Flushing township in general, and espe-
cially of Flushing village, the center of its life.
There are several settlements or villages
throughout the township which are deserving
of some mention, however brief.
College Point (formerly Lawrence's Neck)
on Flushing Bay was first settled by immi-
grants from Germanv. It was the scene of
the operations of Dr. Aluhlenberg's St. Paul
College and from that got its modern name.
It has some manufactories and a population
of some 6,000. Within recent years it has be-
come quite a suburban residential village,
boasting all modern improvements in the way
of gas, electricity, etc., and many remarkably
fine residences have been added to its attrac-
tions during the past year or two. It is con-
fidently expected that it will continue to grow
in favor.
\Miitestone is regarded as being, next to
Flushing village, the oldest settlement in the
township. It derived its name from a large
white piece of rock in front of it in the East
River, and although several efforts have been
made to change the name the efforts have
failed. Even De Witt Clinton's popularity,
which inspired a meeting of citizens. to give
it the name of Clintonville, failed to make
the change any more than a passing whim.
Another name once given to it "Cookie Hill,"
did not find many admirers at any time, so
Whitestone has clung to it throughout its
modern history. That history really amounts
to very little. In 1800 it had less than twelve
houses. It was not until 1853, when J- f)-
Locke & Company established a tin and cop-
per ware factory, that it began to attract set-
tlers, and a year later it had advanced suffi-
ciently to induce L'ncle Sam to estalilish a
postoffice within the village. Some of its clay
soil has been found eminently suited for mak-
ing tobacco pipes, flower pots, flower vases
and the like, and in connection therewith
several establishments have arisen, and the
village now boasts a population of about 3.400.
Whitestone is the temiinns of the North Shore
branch of the Long Island Railroad. It is
one of the stations of the New York Yacht
CluJj. and already before consolidation con-
tained a considerable colony of New York
business and professional men. The village
has a new athletic club, and a school-house
costing $200,000 has lecently been completed
A tract of land fronting nearlv a mile on the
FLUSHING.
535
water is held jointly by the Realty Trust and
the Cedar Cliff Park Association, part of which
is tinder development by Edwin P. Roe.
Francis Lewis, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence, whose seat in
Wh'itestone was one of the centers of Revo-
tionary activity, was born at Llandaff, Wales,
in March, 1713, and was educated at West-
minster School, London. In that city he also
obtained his mercantile training. He sold all
his property in England in 1735, and came to
this country, where he at once engaged in
business as a merchant, establishing houses in
New York and Philadelphia. He met with
remarkable success, and probably was the
leading shipper in New York at that time. His
enterprise was unbounded, and he paid fre-
quent visits to Europe on business ventures,
going as far as Russia, and was twice ship-
wrecked. As a supply agent for the British
army he was taken prisoner at Fort Oswego
when it was surprised by Montcalm, was car-
ried to Alontreal, and from there to France.
After his liberation he returned to Xew York
to find the conflict between the Colonies and
the mother country already practically com-
menced; and, joining heartily in Revolutionary
movements, he was in 1775 unanimously
elected a delegate to the Continental Congress,
where his business experience, executive talent
and knowledge of commerce made him a val-
uable member. At the next session he with
his fellow patriots signed the paper to the
maintenance of which they pledged "their
lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor."
Having some time previous purchased a coun-
try seat at Whitestone, he removed his family
to it in 1776, and then entered actively upon
the performance of duties of importance with
which he had been entrusted by Congress,
one detail of which was the importation of
military stores, in which he expended the bulk
of his large fortune, and for which he was
never repaid. Hardly had his family been
settled at their home in Whitestone before they
were visited, in the fall of 1776, by a body of
British light horse, who plundered his house,
wantonly destroyed his extensive and valuable
library, and, taking Mrs. Lewis a prisoner, re-
tained her several months, without a change
of clothing or a bed to rest on ! Through the
influence of Washington she was released,,
but with her health so broken by the abuses
she had suffered that she drooped and died —
another victim to English chivalry in the eight-
eenth century. Mr. Lewis resided here until
1796, when he disposed of his property and
retired to New York, where he died Decem-
ber 30, 1803, in his ninetieth year.
The second son of this patriot, Morgan
Lewis, afterward Governor of New York, also
lived at Whitestone for many years. He served
in the War of the Revolution as a captain,
and afterward as major, retiring with the rank
of colonel, to resume his legal studies and qual-
ify for the bar. He soon acquired distinction
in that profession, and in 1792 became Chief
Justice of New York's Supreme Court. In
1804 he was elected Governor. In the War
of 1812 he became a major general and served
on the Niagara frontier. But the details of
his career are too interesting to be condensed
and we must refer the reader to the sketch of
India Delafield, containing a sketch of his life
and that of his father. Governor Lewis died
in 1844. x\ portrait of him is given on page
277 of this volume.
Bayside, on Little Neck Bay, although in
many respects a modern settlement, has really
a history of almost equal antiquity with Flush-
ing village, but its story is uninteresting, al-
though it contained a building which, like so
many hundreds of others, bore the designa-
tion of Washington's Headquarters. It was
really simply a scattered group of- rural resi-
dences until within a comparatively few years,
and its progress has been slow. It has a pop-
ulation of 700, but is steadily rising into favor
as a residential village, as it presents many
advantages in the refined society already to
be found there and the many beautiful villas
which adorn its streets.
536
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
As much might be said of Little Xeck, a
similar community on the other side of Little
Neck Bay and close to the Nassau county
boundary line. The property was in the hands
■of the Hicks family from the time Thomas
Hicks drove the Indian owners off the lands
by force until a recent date; indeed, some of
that redoubtable land grabber's descendants
are still to be found in and near the village.
Douglass Point, however, as it is now called,
one of the most beautiful "bits" of landscape
on the sound, passed from their hands early
in the last century. Little Neck is slowly but
surely rising in popular favor, and its popu-
lation of 600 are doing all that is possible to
add to its attractiveness. Willets Point, Doug-
laston and several small settlements are also
gradually finding jheir way into public favor
and are certain to increase as the years roll on.
In fact, there seems little doubt that the
whole of the old township of Flushing is des-
tined to be the "home land," as it were, of a
great population of home owners, — ^the best
possible class of citizens. A recent article in
one of our daily papers, speaking on this
point evidently with the knowledge of an ex-
pert, says: "Flushing, with a population of
9,700, on the ridge overlooking Flushing Bay,
is a village of Dutch Colonial antiquity, of
historic associations and substantial grow^th.
Originally an agricultural community, its chief
characteristics have come to be those of a
suburban home settlement. It has good Toads,
schools and churches, libraries, banks, stores,
shops and a complete system of public works.
Fine old mansions, set in spacious grounds,
break the uniformity of development present
in more distinctly modern places, and the
water affords variety to the enjoyment of
nature and outdoor life. In the outskirts
of the village are important suburban ad-
ditions, developed by private enterprise, as
Ingleside and Bowne Park. Both are located
on high ground, abutting on fine residential
streets, which are continued through them.
At Ingleside the Realty Trust has sold some
hundred detached frame dwellings at $3,500
to $6,750, besides a number running as high
as $10,000. Building sites are sold to investors
at $260 to $1,000 a lot. At Bowne Park, where
John Dayton & Company have built extensive-
ly, similar conditions as to prices of houses and
lots prevail, this place, like the former, having
maintained a high grade of suburban con-
struction. Among smaller groups of houses
in the market are eight dwellings at the Broad-
way station that are quoted at $3,000 and
upward. These are offered by John N. Fal-
kinburg, who is also improving a tract at
Bay side, a station just east of Flushing, with
houses selling at $3,500 to $6,000. Land in
the various additions under development at
Flushing has been carefully restricted against
uses objectionable in a residential community,
the aim having been to keep in harmony with
the social and natural features which have
made the village attractive to quite a colony
of artistic and professional men.
"Corona, with a population of 2,700, is an-
other center of suburban development in the
section overlooking the Sound. Until re-
cently houses were for the most part built
by intending occupants with assistance from
co-operative building and loan associations.
Construction work is now largely carried for-
ward on extensive tracts, as Luona Park and
Hamilton's Homes. At Luona Park, laid
out by the Realty Trust, several hundred
houses have been built. The prices prevail-
ing have been between $2,400 and $3,500. At
Hamilton's Homes, developed by William J.
Hamilton, quotations range from $2,000 to
$3,000.
"Elmhurst, near by, with a population of
3,000, is composed of two principal elements,
an old village of Dutch origin and a modern
suburban settlement. The newer Elmhurst
comprises a tract of 1,800 lots controlled by
Cord Meyer & Company. Houses are sold to
intending occupants at $3,500 to $10,000.
FLUSHING.
537
About two hundred and fifty families have
been drawn to tiie neighborhood since the tract
was o]5ened in 1896. Provisions are contained
in all the deeds reserving the land for private
residences, and property is thus guarded
against construction which might tend to de-
preciate values. The D^anagement refuses to
sell lots unless assurance is given that no house
is to be erected without the plans having
been approved by the company. This makes
speculative building impossible. On the other
Imnd, the village elsewhere ofTers attractive
opportunities for building operations, and a
group of new houses by Warren & Combes
were for the most part readily disposed of
last season at $3,800 to $4,300."
CHAPTER XLV.
NEWTOWN.
The Step-Child of the Metropolitan Area — Mespatii and Mr. Doughty-
MlDDLEBURG DeWiTT ClINTON MiDDLE ViLLAGE AND
Other Settlements.
DN the old Gazetteers the township of
NewtoAvn w^s described as bounded on
the north by the East River (inchiding
in its Hmits Riker's, the two Broth-
er and Berrian Islands), on the south by Ja-
maica, Flatbush and Bushwick, and west by
Bushwick and the East River. It was held
to contain 10,683 acres. These rather vague
boundaries are now of little use, except in an
antiquarian sense, for the town is described
very differently nowadays, when it is appor-
tioned beween the First and Second Wards
of the borough of Queens and has its bounda-
ries indicated by named streets or avenues.
For a long time Newtown was the step-
child of the metropolitan area, its backyaird, so
to speak. Whatever was too offensive for the
rest of the area foun.d lodgment tliere, and the
odors from some of its works often aroused
indignant protests even from dwellers on
Manhattan, while Newtown Creek, once one
of the sweetest bits of water stretching into
Long Island from the river, became a syno-
nym for all that is vile. Much of its territory
was used as a dumping ground, its manufac-
tories were those which could not be carried
on close to any large city, the making of glue,
the rendering of fat, the distillation of oil and
the like, and the establishment of each of these
made the surrounding territory only the more
barren and bleak. Back from the coast line
the land was flat and the landscape uninterest-
ing, and as agriculture decayed the old
farms, many of them, began to be cut up into
market gardens, while discolored and deserted
barns became mute evidences of the glories of
the past. In the entire district pools lay stag-
nant, helping by their exhalations to make
the territory uninviting even to the land boom-
ers, who found "Newtown lots" invariably the
hardest sort of proposition to tackle when the
lots were away from within sight of the river.
The place had gradually lost caste and settlers
were few. .\storia had flourished, the beau-
ties of Ravenswood had invited a colony of
home builders of the better class, Hunter's
Point was boomed for many years as a suita-
ble site for the homes of Manhattan working-
men, but the lots failed to command anything
like attractive prices outside of Astoria, and
Ravenswocd was somewhat exclusive. Within
the last ten or twelve years a change for the
better has taken place and many thriving com-
munities have sprung up, thanks to the in-
crease in the metropolitan population, the fa-
cilities of transportation and the more respon-
sible efforts of the land speculators, and such
places as Winfield, Elmhurst, Woodside, Lou-
ona Park, Corona, are not only beautiful and
attractive settlements, but are an illustration
of the effect of business principles, capital and
thoughtful, well-planned enterprise being ap-
NEWTOWN.
53&
plied to the once wild and irresponsible busi-
ness of land booming. But even in spite of the
number of these settlements, and their sur-
rounding evidences of prosperitv, there are not
more dreary and uninteresting trolley rides
in the area of the Greater New York than
those across old Newtown township, say from
Greenpoint Ferry to North Beach.
Tt used to be a standing joke, — a somewhat
grim one, — to say that Newtown's greatest
industry was that of funerals, that it was the
great burying ground of New York and
Brooklyn. Certainly it is plentifully dotted
over with cemeteries, the cheapness of the land
and its apparent unpopularity with the living
having induced churches and corporations to
buy up large lots or "parcels" and developing
them for burial purposes. Except such as the
extensive holdings of the Roman Catholic
Church and some smaller places owned by
other religious bodies, these cemeteries are all
ruled by corporations, pay dividends or are
expected to pay dividends on the money in-
vested in them, and are managed on business
principles and with a view to the profits just
the same as any other piece of property would
be. The largest of these cemeteries is Cal-
vary, now inclosing some 300 acres, and the
smallest the little Quaker resting place in Mid-
dle \'illage, which is hardly one acre in extent,
while the Methodist cemetery, near the latter,
only encloses two acres, but it has a history of
its own which antedates the Revolution, for
it was laid aside for its present purpose in
1770. The Lutheran cemetery and St. John's,
also at Middle Village, Machpelah, St. ^li-
chael's. Mount Olivet, Mount Nebo, Union
Field and parts of Evergreens and Cypress
Hills are among the best known of the other
silent cities which so long were Newtown's
most potent attractions for throngs of visitors
from the neighboring centers of population.
In another way the township of Newtown
is peculiar among the old Long Island com-
munities. In Jamaica, Flushing, Hempstead,
Oyster Bay and other places the first settle-
ment, the first place which gave the name to
the township, has retained its original impor-
tance and maintained its place as the center of
its population, — the local capital, as it might
be called. Not so Newtown. In 1870 its most
densely populated comer, including Astoria,
Ravenswood, Hunter's Point, was concentrat-
ed into one municipality and elevated into the
dignity of a city, with the result that Long
Island City naw has a population of 52,240,
while Newtown still struggles on as a village
with a population of about 2,500. Still the old
village is growing, has added about 1,000 to
its population in a decade, and in spite of the
prominence of the city it is to the village we
must turn when we write of the history of
the township until at least within the last three
or four decades.
Antiquarians have decided that the first
settlement in the township was made at what
was afterward known as Fisher's Point and
which is known at the present day as North
Beach. The pioneer Hendrick Harmansen
received a grant of land there from Governor
Kieft in 1638, and appears to have at once
settled. Not long after Richard Brutnell re-
ceived a grant of land near the modern Dutch
Kills, while amidst a slowly gathering pro-
cession we find a blacksmith named Jorissen,.
who was the first white man to become pos-
sessor of the beautiful tract later known as
Ravenswood. That he was killed by a party
of Indians is simply to say that he was the
victim of a contingency which he and all
other pioneers, and even dwellers in towns,
in those picturesque but happily remote days
had to face.
The first general name applied to the ter-
ritory was Mespat, so named after a small
tribe of Indians who hunted around Newtown-
Creek. The Rev. Mr. Doughty 's settlers
twisted it to Maspeth, a name which still lin-
gers in one of the villages of the township.
After the Doughty forces were shattered by
the terrible Indian rising of 1643, the whole
of Newtown's territory was, in fact, pretty
540
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
well cleared of settlers by the avenging hosts
of the red man. When peace was restored
and a truce had been made with the aborigines,
the pioneers, who slowly returned, found they
had a new girievance, — the pretensions of Mr.
Doughty. That gentleman seemed to have
caught the land fever pretty severely and tried
to set up as a patroon, but the other original
patentees stood up for their rights and won
their case when they appealed to the Governor
and his Council. So in his wrath Mr. Doughty
gathered up his skirts and forsook Maspeth
forever.
Immigration helped the territory but slow-
ly, a spot here and thene only being cleared,
for although lying temptingly near to New
York, the swift and treacherous currents in
the river were not 'much to the liking of the
longing eyes on Manhattan. In 1652, how-
ever, a little colony came from Connecticut,
mainly English people, and after prospecting
around settled on a spot which answered all
thei'r requirements in the way of meadowland,
abundant and pure water and the like. As
was necessary, application was made to -Gov-
ernor Stuyvesant for a town warrant or char-
ter, which he at once granted, giving the name
of Middleburg to the place and conferring on
the colonists all the privileges which had been
awarded to the other towns on Long Island
which had asked that favor from him. This
was the beginning of Newtown.
The first Magistrates were Robert Coe,
Richard Gildersleeve and Thomas Hazard.
The usual system of town meetings seems to
have governed as far as possible all the local
arrangements, but it is unfortunate that nearly
all the early records have been lost. But
enough has been left to show that Middleburg
was a peaceable and law-abiding community,
that it admitted newcomers to the privileges
of settlement only after being satisfied as to
character and after a vote had been taken,
and when a citizen did not walk according to
the local ideas of right and wrong he was un-
vCeremoniouslv ordered to betake himself else-
where. Serious crimes were apparently un-
known among them ; they had no lock-up for
offenders, and imposed liberal fines upon all
who violated any of the local ordinances.
Some offenses were too heinous to be condoned
by a fine, no matter how severe, and in 1660
we read of the just and merited penalty in-
flicted on a "ne'er-do-weel" who stole some
corn from Magistrate Coe's bairn. This rep-
robate had to walk through the village with
two rods under each arm and drums beating
in front of him, and having suffered this humil-
iation he was to make "amends" to the party
he had robbed. Besides all this he was ordered
NEWTOWN'S FIRST HOUSE OF WORSHIP.
to keep to his house at nights and so give
no cause for suspicion as to his movements.
Why he was not summarily ordered out of the
community is not disclosed. Very likely there
were sufficient reasons for not imposing this
last dread penalty. The citizens united in pay-
ing premiums for the slaughter of wild beasts,
especially wolves, and in mutual protection
against the Indians, but the latter continued
troublesome, and in 1653, so great was the
apprehension of a general rising of the Ted
men, that the whole colony passed over to Con-
necticut for safety. They soon returned, how-
ever, and resumed the usual tenor of their
ways, but in 1655 the Indians did make a raid
which caused much bloodshed and destruction.
NEWTOWN.
541
The people from the first seem to have been
dissatisfied with the Dutch government in New
Amsterdam, although they fulfilled all their
obligations to it honestly and paid their tithes
with commendable regularity. In 1662 Con-
necticut, under its charter, laid claim to juris-
diction over Long Island and the English
towns excepting Gravesend seem to have ac-
cepted this claim joyfully. Those which were
near New Amsterdam, however, had to be
cautious in their preference, because the re-
doubtable Peter, the doughty Silver Leg, had
his eye upon them. So Aliddleburg had to
await events while cherishing her hope of
getting away from Dutch rule. In 1663, how-
ever, her citizens openly professed allegiance
to Connecticut, threw away their Dutch
name and adopted that of Hastings. Then
they were landed in a slough of despond by
news that Connecticut had deserted them as
the iresult of a treaty with Stuyvesant, and
hailed the arrival of Captain John Scott as
the direct representative of English authority,
elected him their President, but he did not
rule very long. Peter Stuyvesant had too
much on hand to think of the contumacy of
Middleburg or Hastings, and in 1664 Captain
Nicolls wrested the entire province from his
rule, and Middleburg or Hastings had an
English government at last, an English gov-
ernment de facto, which of course had never
been realized under the Connecticut claims.
\\'ith that change, too, the old names were
abandoned and "the New Towne" took their
place.
In the convention of 1665, which accepted
"the Duke's laws," the limits of the different
townships were discussed and to a certain
extent determined, for the original charters
were, as has been noticed frecjuently. So, too,
was the determination of the convention.
However, in the following year the freehold-
ers secured by purchase all the remaining lands
in the possession of the Indians, or lands
claimed by them, and on March 6, 1667, Gov-
ernor Nicolls issued a brand new charter in
which he gave the people all the privileges of a
town government, ordered that the town
should continue to be known as New Town
and vaguely set out its boundaries as "east by
Flushing Creek, north by the Sound, south by
the Jamaica line which runs on the south side
of the hill and west by Mespat Creek or Kills."
The boundaries as thus set forth continued
practically to be those of the township al-
though the courts had afterward to be ap-
pealed to very frequently. A bract of meadow
land which was in dispute between Bushwick
and New Town was awarded to the former
after quite cantankerous legal proceedings in
1669. In 1684 Newtown, Brooklyn and Bush-
wick had a three-cornered fight over their
boundaries, and a year later Flatbush secured
a patent for some land which Newtown
claimed. A long and wearisome contest en-
sued, all the other towns apparently joining
issue, most of them against Newtown, assert-
ing that she claimed tracts of territory which
had been patented to the others. Sometimes
the trouble was before the law courts, some-
times before the Governor, sometimes before
the Legislature. There is no practical purpose
to be gained by following its details and it may
be dismissed by saying that after .dragging
along for some 80 years it was finally adjusted
by an act of the Legislature in 1768. The sud-
den overthrow of the English government and
the appearance of Anthony Colve in 1673 as
the representative of the Dutch authorities,
appear to have been received by the Newtown
people with equanimity. The Duke's laws and
the Duke's methods had been tried and found
decidedly wanting by a people who valued the
privileges of freedom. However, when Colve's
representative visited Newtown to administer
the oath of allegiance he found only 23 out of
the 99 male adults which his papers showed
the place contained. New Town was united
with "Rustdorp, Heemstede, Vlissingen and
Oyster Bay in the election in the usual round-
about way of a sheriff and clerk who were to
execute the laws in those five towns. Toward
542
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the close of 1674 the Dutch rule gave way to
the English, the Duke's laws were again oper-
ative, and the Dutch officials were removed.
But the people were far from satisfied, and
when the news came that King James had fled
from his ancestral kingdom and been succeed-
ed by the Dutch prince, William of Orange,
there was great rejoicing among the freehold-
ers'generally, Dutch as well as English. They
were represented in every convention and in
their excess of zeal actually voted to provide
two soldiers for the defense of the fort at New
Amsterdam and to fully provide for the main-
tenance of that brace of heroes !
Newtown, throughout its eairly history, b)-
which may generally be understood its pre-
revolutionary history, was essentially an agri-
cultural community,, and it is said that it be-
came so 'famous for its crops of wheat, rye,
hemp, tobacco and potatoes, that in 1732 all of
the land within its boundaries had been taken
up mainly for fanning, grazing or fruit grow-
ing purposes. Horses, cattle and sheep were
reared in great numbers and much attention
was given to breeding, importations being
made from New England and Holland. The
fruit raised was particularly good and the
Newtown pippins became famous at an early
date. In such a community few trades were
in demand, for the people were content with
their own product and the wealthier had slaves
who were generally handy men on the farm
or did the rough work in the domestic estab-
lishments. Then, too, money was scairce and
business transactions were conducted on the
basis of barter. Thus in 1661 a house was
sold for "six hundredweight of tobacco, a
thousand clapboards, and half a fat [vat] of
strong beer." Still the community supported
several such tradesmen as butchers, weavers,
tailors, catrpenters, coopers and blacksmiths.
In some instances the trades were represented
by a single representative, but there were half
a dozen weavers although every household had
its spinning wheel, and sometimes its own
loom. Milling in such a community was a re-
munerative as well as a most necessary busi-
ness and as early as 1657 John Coe had set up
a flouring mill. The first trace of manufactur-
ing pursuits occurred in 1691 when Thomas
and Edward Stevenson were given permission
and the necessary ground to set up a fulling
mill. In 1 72 1 a Ijark mill and tannery were put
in operation by William \'allance. Then fol-
lowed a starch factory, a brewery and a grist
mill. Most of these were in operation when
the Revolutionary War Ijroke out and managed
to struggle through it, although while the
struggle lasted all business was depressed ex-
cept agriculture and where that was permitted
without molestation it was no longer profitable.
When the war broke out Newtown was
found like every other town on the Island, es-
pecially on the island west of Oyster Bay, to
be hopelessly divided. The Newtown farmers
saw their stock carried off by order of Con-
gress to prevent it being used by the British
and the news of the result of the battle of
Brooklyn made it only too apparent that their
property would never be returned. Some of
their citizens, too, who formed part of General
Woodhull's little force were captured along
with that hero and sent to the prison ships.
The British troops were visible in Newtown
village on August 28 and the Whigs knew then
that their doom was sealed. Those who could
fled before the arrival of the redcoats, most of
those who remained were seized and impris-
oned or taken out of the town and their prop-
erty confiscated. Feeling in the crisis rose
high and a Tory thought it no disgirace to turn
informer against his Whig neighbor, a pro-
ceeding which the latter repaid with full in-
terest when his turn came in course of time.
Newtown on the surface, at least, became in-
tensely loyal and joined heartily in a petition
which prayed that the whole of Queens Coun-
ty might be restored to royal favor. It was
restored and Newtown raised a couple of
troops of horse to guard its borders against
the depredations of the despised Whigs. But
the wages of loyalty was soon found terribly
NEWTOWN.
54S
exacting, exasperating, and beggaring. Mar-
tial law prevailed during the seven years of
the "occupation" which followed the battle of
Brooklyn, and the civil courts were suspended.
Many, troops were quartered at Newtown from
time to time — the 17th dragoons, the Mary-
land Loyalists, the 42d Highlanders, the 33d
regiment and a battery of artillery. The sol-
diers were mainly billeted in the houses of the
Whigs, but the farmers. Whig or Tory, had
to supply the army with their produce at a
price named by the army officials, or see their
oats, wheat, straw and provisions confiscated
and themselves harshly maltreated by the sol-
diery or imprisoned, perhaps both. Robbery
was a matter of daily occurrence and toward
the end of the seven years life, liberty and
property weire held by the slenderest of ten-
ures. Little wonder that Newtown, Whig or
Tory, hailed the return of peace with many
manifestations of delight.
While we do not think of Newtown as a
religious settlement such as was Gravesend,
or even as a theocracy like Hempstead or Ja-
maica, there is little doubt that the pioneer
settlers were earnest God-fearing people, fully
imbued with the devout spirit of New Eng-
land. Still their purpose in leaving the land of
the Puritan was to secure a stretch of fertile
soil and earn a livlihood rather than to ob-
tain any further religious freedom than the
law or public sentiment there tolerated. Mr.
Doughty, of course, might be cited to prove
an exception to this, but while he had to leave
New England mainly on account of his views
on baptism, there is no evidence to show -that
he intended setting up a religious community
when he settled in "Mespot." Lideed he ap-
pears more anxious to attain the dignity of
patroonshiip rather than the barren honor of
spiritual leadership. But his connection with
Newtown was too brief to give full scope to
his ambition, temporal or spiritual, while cer-
tainly the course of events showed that what-
ever his views may have been as to the found-
ing of a little theocracy, they were not shared
by those who were bis fellow-patentees in
1652. It has been asserted, however, that the
first settlers were organized in a congregation
prior tO' setting up their homes in Mespot and
that accompanying them was their pastor, the
Rev. John Moore. That this minister was
among the pioneers seems undoubted, and it is
very likely, nay it is certain, that he would
preach to his neighbors and perform his holy
offices among them ; but there is nothing ro
show that he was accepted as their leader, that
his voice and influence were all-important in
their councils as was so often the case in other
settlements. We are told that be preached in
the "town house," which served him also as a
dwelling, and which had been erected soon
after the settlement was effected, but all that
relates to him is so disjointed and meagre that
bis personaHty adds little to our history. He
died in 1657, so that at best he was not permit-
ted to enjoy for many years the associations of
the communit\- he had helped to found. It was
not until 1 67 1 that the first church building
was erected in Newtown. The Rev. William
Leverich was at that time the pastor and he is
generally regarded as the first settled minister
in the town. Mr. Leverich had quite a history
before settling in Newtown, where his life
work was destined to end, about 1694. It
seems, however, that several yeans before that
he had retired from the active duties of the
ministry. He was a native of England, and
after being educated for the ministry at Cam-
bridge crossed the Atlantic in 1633 to become
pastor of the church at Dover, N. H. He re-
mained there two years or so and then, after
holding several brief charges, became, in 1640,
minister at Sandwich, Cape Cod, where, it
seems, he took a particular interest in the work
of spreading a knowledge of the Gospel
among the Indians. He removed to Oyster
Bay in 1653, where he had acquired some land,
and was chosen as minister lay the people at
an annual salary of £15. He remained there
for some two years as pastor and then became
minister at Huntington, where he remained
544
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
until 1670, when he settled in Newtown. He
seems to have been a man of singular ability,
about as learned in the law as in the Gospel,
and seems to have engaged in many enterprises
outside of his sacred calling, and his lawsuit
or lawsuits with his predecessor as religious
teacher in Huntington still form an interesting
story in the early annals of that town. Mr.
Leverich certainly prospered in his worldly-
affairs and seems to have been much beloved
in Newtown. His descendants are still among
the most prominent citizens of Long Island.
The successors of Mr. Leverich at New-
town were amiable men, and the church pros-
pered so that about 1697 or thereabout a
house and lot were set apart for the use of the
ministry. In 1703 the church was taken posses-
sion of by the Rev. Mr. Urquhart of the com-
bined cliarge of Jamaica, Newtown and Flush-
ing, under the orders of Lord Cornbury, just
as in the case of the Jamaica church, and an
effort was made to suppress Presbyterianism.
The Rev. John Hampton was openly arrested
in Newtown and imprisoned for attempting to
preach without first obtaining a perniit from
the precious scamp who then represented the
majesty of Britain — Lord Cornbury. In spite
of this the Presbyterian flock was able to keep
together and in 1708 the Rev. Samuel Pumro>-
accepted a call to the pasto-ate and entered up-
on his duties on September i8th, that year, al-
though he was not ordained for some fourteen
months later. Under hii . the church waxed
strong and in 171 5 it was received into the
Presbytery of Philadelphia and built a new and
much larger tabernacle, which seems to have
been used for religious services from that date,
although it was not fully completed until 1741.
P.y that time, however, the labors of Mr. Pum-
roy were nearing an end, for he died in 174-I..
The most noted of his successors was the Rev.
Simeon Horton, who held the charge for some
26 years. Then he retired and waited for the
end, which came to him May 8, 1786. He had
the mortification of seeing the church in which
he had labored so long without a pastor (for
his successor, Andrew Bay, was not a success
in any way and only lasted a couple of years),
used by the British troops as a hospital, a
guard house, and finally demolished. It says
wonders for the steadfastness of the people
that in 1787, four years after the last British
troops sailed through the Narrows homeward
bound, they commenced the erection of a new
house of worship.
For many years after the zealous Mr. L'r-'
quhart captured the Presbyterian meeting
house at Newtown, the story of the Episcopal
Church in Newtown is bound up with the story
of its progress in Jamaica and Flushing and
has already been told in the sections devoted
to these towns. It does not seem that at first
the old meeting house was much used or that
Newtown was regarded as much more than a
preaching station. But in 1735 a building was
erected for the use of the church and services
were commenced in it although it was not
completed until 1740. Newtown continued
NEWTOWN.
545
part of the tripartite charge until 1797, when
the Episcopahans attained the long sought
privilege of having a minister of their own and
tire Rev. Henry Van Dyke entered upon the
sole charge. Five years later he retired. New-
town then united with Flushing and the Rev.
Abraham Clarke became joint rector. This ar-
rangement lasted until 1809, when it was dis-
solved and Mr. Clarke was irector of Newtown
until his death in 1810. The Rev. Evan Mal-
bone Johnson became rector in 1814 and con-
tinued until his removal to Brooklyn in 1827,
when he was succeeded by the Rev. George A.
Shelton, who was rector for the long period of
33 years, from 1830 to 1863.
The first Dutch Reformed Church was
erected in Newtown in 1732, but the congrega-
tion for several years thereafter was dependent
upon the service of such ministers as might be
sent them from New York or Kings County.
Tn 1739 the people united with the other Re-
formed churches in Queens County and this
arrangement continued until 1802, when the
Rev. Jacob S'choonmaker became minister of
Jamaica and Newtown jointly. He labored
in Newtown until 1849 and the church throve
under him greatly and built in 1833 a new
house of worship. But years began to limit
even his great capacity for work, so he con-
fined himself for the remainder of his days to
Jamaica, and Newtown went forth alone and
prospered under the care of the Rev. Thomas
C. Strong, who was installed December 12,
1849.
As early as 1661 a schooJ was held in the
town or meeting house under the direction of
Richard Mills and thereafter under a succes-
of high attainments. Tlie children in the county
sion of teachers, some of than apparently men
were never without means of learning as much
at least as the three R's, which was all that the
American common school system aimed at
until within comparatively recent years. As
the population increased schools were estab-
lished at different points and by 1740 there
were no fewer than five in the town, and in
1762 an advanced school, where writing, arith-
metic, the "Italian method of book-keeping by
double entry," Latin and Greek were taught,
was opened at Hallet's Cove.
After the Revolutionary struggle had been
fought and won Newtown relapsed into its old
quiet ways as an agricultural community and
slumbered on. It had a population when the
rule of Uncle Sam commenced of about 2.000:
forty yeairs later (in 1830) it had only in-
creased by some 500. Communication with
the outside world was difificult and dangerous
on the one side and. expensive and tedious on
the other. The currents on the East River
were treacherous and a knowledge of their
peculiarities had never been thoroughly mas-
tered even by those living on its banks, so that
a voyage from Newtown Creek to the oppo-
site shore might last an hour or take up the
best part of a day, and the landing place de-
pended not on the will of the passenger but on
circumstances. All was well provided fair
weather was vouchsafed; if not the simple
trip might furnish terrors enough to enthrall
a farm fireside for a generation to come. If
the journey was made by land up to 1798 the
means of accomplishment were few and far
between, unless one had the command of hors-
es and wagons. In that year, however, a
"light, airy coachee, hung on springs," was put
on the route between Newtown and Brooklyn,
running through Maspeth, across Penny
Bridge tO' Bushwick, Cripplebush and Bed-
ford, and the cost for the trip was 3 shillings.
The "coachee" carried seven passengers and'
left Newtown three days in each week. In-
1805 the extension of the Cripplebush road
brought Newtown more easily in touch with
Brooklyn and in 1816 it was plarcd in direct
communication with the Williamsburg ferry
and so in easy reach, comparatively, of Man-
hattan Island. It was not, however, until
1854, with the opening of the North Side Rail-
road, that Newtown was brought into touch
not onlv with Brooklyn and New York but
with the outlying sections of its own territory
i46
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and bejjaii to make read)- for the threat ad-
vance which was in time to come with the
trolley, railroad, rapid transit and annexa-
tion.
So far as the township was concerned tliL"
mod'ern advance in population commenced in
1830, but little of that advance was felt in
Newtown village. In fact it steadily began,
almost with the opening of the last century.
is seldom used as very few of that denomina-
tion are to Ije found in this vicinity. It is su])-
posed to be about 100 years old, but there is
some reason to believe that it is even more
ancient." But whatever its age it has long
since disappeared altogether and so have most
of the countr\- homes of the merchants and
others of New York which in the early part of
the nineteenth century made it tlie best known
?*=^
CLINTON HOMESTEAD.
[s prmiai pi;
and to becc
m the stc
quite a si
::if the
dinate
Even Maspeth in time surpassed it. That
early English settlement, almost as early as
Newtown village itself, has had a most curious
liistory. For years it was a stronghold of the
Quakers, but that body abandoned it long ago.
Writing-in 1845 Dr. Prime said: "The only
public edifice is an ancient Friends' meeting-
he use which is now very much in decav, and
village in the township. Here De Witt Clinton
had his country seat to which he was glad to
retire at frequent intervals to think out his
many schemes for the upbuilding of New
York and to escape from the worry and wiles
of the politicians, and one is almost inclined
to think that the local statesmen were more
numerous, more irrepressible, more zealous in
their plans fcr emptying the public treasury
either by way of salaries or appropriations
than r.ow. The old house is still standing.
NEWTOWN.
547
seemingly in as good condition as wlien it was
inhabited by Walter Franklin, Clinton's father-
in-law, whose New York house was Washing-
ton's residence when he became President of
the I'nited States and whose name is still kept
alive in Franklin Square, on which the Presi-
dential dwelling- stood. Many modern villas
and cottages, even little settlements, have
arisen in Maspeth since De Witt Clinton's day,
but it still retains much of its rural aspect ex-
cept in the spots where manufacturing has
sprung up.
To-day it would really be termed a manu-
facturing village, and has been such since
1842 when John Murch began the manufacture
of cord and twine, and that business is now
carried on in several establishments, the indus-
try giving employment to several hundred
hands. In 1852 Cord Meyer started a factory
for producing animal carbon. Oil cloth mak-
ing was another industry, established in 1863,
and since then a mmiber of other establish-
ments of various kinds have given employment
to a population estimated to-day at 2,500.
During the past few \-ears the building up
process going on so unceasingly in New York
and Brooklyn has added what may be called a
new industry to Maspeth in the opening up of
picnic grounds and athletic grounds which at-
tract at intervals large crowds of visitors each
summer. It is well supplied with churches
and can now be so easily reached tliat there is
no doubt its popularity as a site for homes and
factories will steadily increase.
Aliddle N'illage is another old settlement,
but it is mainly given over in these later days
to cemetery purposes, although it supports a
living population of some 1,300. It received
its name from its geographical situation, being
midway on the old turnpike l)etwccn Williams-
burg and Jamaica. In it was Iniilt in 171^3 the
first Methodist church on Long Island, but
that stiucture has long since disappeared. The
late Joseph Wesley Harper, of the famous
New York publishing house, had his home in
Middle Village from the time he reached man-
hood until his death in 1871, and did much to
improve the amenity of the village as a place
of residence. The Harper family originally
hailed from Newtown, where the father of the
founders "J. & J. Harper" was long a farmer.
Corona has lately come into prominence as a
manufacturing village and home site, having
been much favored by the land boomers, and
as much may be said of Laurel Hill, full of
memories of the old Alsop and Rapalye fam-
ilies and which began to be laid out for "im-
provement" in 1853. About the same time
Woodside became known as a desirable place
for residential purposes and several elegant
villas were erected. It dates from 1850, when
the late J. A. F. Kelly came north from South
Carolina and sought retirement from active
life amid its beautiful surroundings. It still
continues to be a village of homes and its busi-
ness interests are mainly confined to floricul-
ture and market gardening. East Williams-
burgh, Charlotteville, Glendale, New Sufifolk
and several other settlements arc among those
likely to become soon prominent through the
impetus which rapid transit and cunsolidation
have even already brought about. What may
lie called the eld part of Newtown township
has an interesting history in the past, but its
future promises to surpass it in incident, in
importance and in real achievement.
CHAPTER XLVI.
JAMAICA.
The Little Republic of Rusdorp — Ministerial Trourles — Mr. Poyek"
The Revolution — Educational and Business Progress.
Tri
O Governor Stuyvesant must be award-
ed the credit of bringing this town
into existence, the old village of
which is destined to become in the
near future one of the great railroad centres
with the usual accompaniments of trade, busi-
ness and industries of all sorts, of this pairt of
the continent. Stuyvesant issued his first war-
rant for settlement jMarch 21, 1656, and a
more ample and more imposing document in
1660. When Gov. Nicolls sent Stuyvesant to
enjoy the comforts of his Bouwerie, he con-
firmed all the rights and privileges which had
been granted Jamaica by a deed dated Feb. 15,
1666, and Governor Dongan- twenty years later
gave it another charter mainly for the sake of
the fee involved. On March 7, 1788, it was re-
organized as a town by the state government
and so it remained until it was swallowed up
in the Greater New York.
Such in brief is what might be called the
municipal history of Jamaica from beginning
to end. There is much doubt about the origin
of its name, but it is generally accepted as be-
ing a modernized rendering of the old Indian
name Jameco — the name of a small tribe lo-
cated on Jamaica Bay. How or when this
name was first applied is not clear. The Dutch
authorities called it Rusdorp — town in the
country ; and this was long its official designa-
tion. Some of the settlers called it Canorasset,
others -Crawford, but Jamaica, by whoever in-
troduced, kept to the front and remained. Very
likely it was called Jameco before the white
man came along. But there have been all sorts
of surmises and speculations over the name
and the etymologists as usual have given their
fancy free reins over it with wonderful re-
sults : even so staid a personage as the late Dr.
O'Callaghan, the famous local historian,
formulated a theory that the word was de-
rived from the Indian name for beaver as
translated by the French "Amique."
\\'here the first settlers came from is a
point that has not been exactly determined, but
there is little doubt that they came over from
Connecticut with the view of establishing a re-
ligious colony, or rather a colony where relig-
ious tolerance might be enjoyed. Those who
signed the request to Stuyvesant, therein de-
scribed themselves as "inhabitants of the town
of Hempstead and subjects of this province,"
so it is very likely that some of them had been
for a time residing in Hempstead and spying
the land. They told the Governor that the)-
wanted "a place to improve our labors upon ;
for some of us are destitute of either habita-
tion or possession, others, though inhabited,
find that in the place they are they cannot com-
fortably subsist by their labours and exer-
tions." So they asked for the Governor's con-
sent to settle on a tract of land "called Conor-
asset and lyes from a river which divideth it
from Conarie see to the bounds of heemstead.
JAMAICA.
549
and may contain about twenty families." This
tract they had already "bought" from the In-
dians for "two guns, a coat and a certain quan-
tity of powder and lead." Stuyvesant had to
be petitioned three times before he consented,
but when he did confirm the request he did it
in a most handsome manner, giving them per-
mission to elect magistrates and conduct their
affairs on the same lines as Brooklyn, Mid-
wcut and other Dutch towns. The names of
the petitioners were Robert Jackson, Nich-
olas Tanner, Nathaniel Denton, Richard Ev-
erit, Rodger Linas, Daniel Denton, John Eazar,
Abraham Smith, Thomas Ireland, Thomas
Carle, Edward Spray, John Rhoades, Andrew
Messenger and Samuel Matthews. These
fourteen may therefore be regarded as the first
citizens of Jamaica. By 1660, when Stuyvesant
gave the town a regular charter and the name
of Rusdorp, there were some forty additional
freeholders in the town. It was a little irepub-
lic m itself ; its town meeting regularly settled
all its affairs and even regulated who should
and who should not be admitted to citizenship.
One Benjamin Hubbard, for instance, in 1649
had bought a house lot without having first
obtained the sanction of the town meeting, so
it required him to give assurance of his good
behavior. Of course with such additions to
the population mone land had to be secured
from the local Indians from time to time, and
we find several records of purchases made in
exchange for such articles as soldiers' coats,
kettles, "bottles of licker," powder, lead, guns,
blankets and the like. The value of the Don-
gan patent of 1686 was that it clearly defined
the limits of the township and showed that
several of the original patentees were still
prominent in the town. The names given in
this patent were, Nicolas Everit, Nathaniel
Denton, Nehemiah Smith, Daniel Denton,
John Oldfields, William Creed, Bryant New-
ton, Benjamin Coe, Jonas Wood, William Fos-
ter, John Everit, Edward Higbie, Daniel
Whitehead, John Carpenter, John Furman,
Samuel Smith, Richard: Rhodes, Thomas Lam-
berson, Joseph Smith, George Woolsey, John
Baylis, Thomas Smith, Wait Smith and Sam-
uel Mills. The town government seems to
have gone at once into operation on receiving
Stuyvesant's first permit (it should hardly be
called a charter, although in effect it was one).
The town meeting, as has been said, deter-
mined everything, subject, of course, to the
Governor's veto, but Stuyvesant seems to have
given the English settlements much more lib-
erty than he did the Dutch, and so practically
the town meeting of Jamaica was supreme
within its bounds. Attendance at these meet-
ings was compulsory and absence without
cause was the subject of a fine. A keeper was
hired in 1661 to look after the cows and calves
of the lieges, thus saving a lot of individual
time and worriment, and they gathered in their
crops in squadrons under appointed officers for
mutual protection against any overt effort on
the part of Indians. It must be said, however,
that the settlers did all they could, according
to their light, to deal justly with the red man,
and held frequent conferences with his repre-
sentatives while the conclusions seem to have
been mutually satisfactory. In 1662 they hired
Abraham Smith, one of the original patentees,
to beat the drum on Sundays and on the days
of public meetings. They laid aside a lot ten
rods square as a burying place and this, in
1668, they had reverently enclosed with a
wooden fence.
The glimpses we get of the community
show it to have been prosperous from the first
and steadily advancing in material wealth, re-
minding us in many respects of the English
settlements on the eastern half of the island.
The population steadil>- increased, although as
early as 1664 the adventurous, roving spirit
of some of the early settlers asserted itself and
Daniel Denton, John Baylis and Luke Watson
headed a new migration which passed over
into New Jersey and there commenced the set-
tlement of Elizabethtown. Denton, however,
seems to have returned within a few years to
Jamaica and resumed his original holding
there. It is worthy of notice that in the peti-
tion to Gov. Nicolls for a tract of land on
550
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
which to settle in New Jersey, Denton and his
associates dated the document "from Jamaica,
commonly so called." From this paper, in
which they speak of the "deceas of the Dutch
interest" in the Province, we see how thor-
oughly English at heart were the pioneer set-
tlers at Jamaica. They had fled from New
Englanid intolerance and from nothing else and
built up right under the official dictatorial re-
gime of Stuyvesant as complete a little repub-
lic as was any of the communities in Massa-
chusetts which sent representatives to the Gen-
eral Court. In all essential matters they were
masters of their own municipal destinies — and
so continued for many years.
\\'hile not a professedly religious com-
numit}- like Gravesend, or enrolled under cler-
ical leadership like Southold, there is no doubt
that from its inception Jamaica was a theo-
cratic society — one in which the affairs of the
little commcnwealth were regulated by the
teachings of the Scriptures rather than the
statutes of their High Mightinesses. The life
of the community revolved around its church
and the recognized fathers of the church were
the natural leaders of the people, so that for a
long time after the settlement was begun the
story of its religious development is really
the entire story there is to tell. Stuyvesant's
permission for settlement was dated March 21,
i65f'), and il was not until 1662 that a town
meeting decided to erect a house of worship, a
meeting house, and united in a call to the Rev.
Zachariah Walker to join with them and be-
come the first minister of Jamaica, which he ac-
cepted. It is not to be imagined, however, that
during the four or five years which elapsed be-
fore this preacher that the community was
without any regular religious services. L'n-
doubtedly one or more of their number was
quite capable of conducting public worship and
fulfilling all the duties which could be per-
fonned by a la}- preacher. Services would be
held in any convenient barn or in the winter
time in any hospitable kitchen. With the erec-
tion of the meeting house, however, the people
had a place where they could worship God or
discuss affairs of state or assemble for any pur-
pose, religioiTS or secular, as they saw fit. The
little frame edifice (20 feet square) was at
once the church and the Town Hall. About
the same time a house was built for the pros-
pective minister and a lot laid aside fcr his use.
It would seem that an effort was made to try
the experiment of listening to one of Stuyves-
ant's ministers before finally calling one from
New England and accordingly in answer to
a petition Stuyvesant sent there the Rev. Sam-
uel Drisius, who was able to preach in English
and who, on Jan. 8, 1661, delivered two ser-
mons and baptized eight children and two wo-
men. Probably all this was done to please the
irascible Governor and to pave the way to the
peaceable settlement of the minister of their
choice. Mr. Walker seems to have won the
affections of his people, although one would
think from the records that he was as much a
fanner as a clergyman. He received, how-
ever, much "encouragement" in the way of
having his stipend increased and the like, but
he decided on trying another sphere of opera-
tions and in 1668 removed to Connecticut.
The Rev. John Prudden, a Harvard graduate,
then became Jamaica's minister at a salary cf
£40 and the use of the minister's house and
land. He was a Congregationalist and the
majority of the citizens were Presbyterians
and they seem to have been unable to agree,
although what the real difference was between
the two, considering the time and circumstan-
ces, it is difficult to realize. It is not so stated,,
but probablv the people did not want any con-
nection with the Congregational churches in
Connecticut, while ]\Ir. Prudden at that
time regarded New England as the hub of the
entire religious system. The Jamaica citizens
seemed to have appreciated his services and
were desirous of retaining him, but he retired
in 1674. His successor, the Rev. William
Woodruff, whose salary was fixed at £60, did
not seem to please the people. Mr. Prudden,
on full reflection, thought he might go further
and fare worse, so in 1676 Mr. Woodruff"
seems to have been released and Mr. Prudden
JAMAICA.
551
once more presided over the taljle in the meet-
ing house. It was an amical)le arrangement
on both sides. Mr. Prudden became a Pres-
byterian and his salary was to be £40 a year.
Besides, he had the use of forty acres of mead-
ow lanid and 19 of the brethren agreed each 1?o
bring him a load of firewood each year. Then
he was housed in the minister's home and to
encourage him it was agreed that if he re-
.mained as minister for ten years the house and
lot which had been set apart for the use of the
minister should become his own property.
Under him the congregation prospered. In
i6yo a new and more commodious meeting
house was erected — 60 feet long and 30 feet
wide, and a year later the minister's salary was
raised to £60 with all firewood and other priv-
ileges. In the following year, however, he ac-
cepted a call to Newark, X. J. His ministry
had extended six years I)eyund the ten which
madte tlie minister's house and lot his personal
property, but befoi-e leaving he transferred the
holding to the congregation, receiving in re-
turn land elsewhere. Jamaica seems to have
Iieen invariably liberal in its treatment of its
ministers an<l to Mr. Prudden's immediate
successor, the Rev. George Phillips, the pro.ii-
ise was made that if he shculd remain in
charge until the close of his life his annual sal-
ary of i6o would be continued to his widow.
The minister's salary being paid mainly in
produce, or as a result of sales of produce,
sometimes a little difficulty arose in connection
with the collection, owing to the (.Hlatoriness of
human nature, Ijut such details wc.ie to be ex-
pected.
In 1699 a stone meeting-house was built
partlv l>v subscription among the people, and
when that source failed by a rate passed by
the trustees. I!y that time, it should be noted,
several of the rate])ayers were opposed to the
Presb\terian fi;rni of worship and refused to
pay the irate, but payment was finally made
compulsory. It was a small sipiare structure,
forty feet square, surmounted with a belfry.
Its interior was plainly fitted up with high-
Ijacked, uncomfortable pews, and a high pul-
pit, high enough to liring the preacher on a
level with the gallery, on the snutli side, had
the usual huge sounding l)oard, an arrange-
ment which good Dr. Prime used to think
was an arrangement of the devil. Much of
the history of Jamaica centered around the
church until it was demolished in 1813.
Its historic interest began immediately on
its completion. The Rev. John Hubbard, who
had lieen ministering to the people for some
time, was fomially called to the cliarge in
Januair}-, 1702. and was dul\- installed and
given ]iossession of the minister's hnusu and
lot. He had hardly more than got accustomed
to his new dignity when he was dispossessed
of Iioth church and manse in the suiumary
procedures already recorded in ;a previous
c]ia]5tLM- of this work.
I!v that time, it sin mid be reiucniliered, the
Prcsl)yterians were nn lunger th.e sole dicta-
tu:s of Jamaica. The growth of population
ha,d long overstepped the old necessity of sub-
mitting a certificate of character on the part
of prospective settlers to the town meeting,
and people had Ijecome citizens to whom Cal-
vinism was a thing al)horrc(l.
.\s carlv as 1(157 we find Robert Hodgson,
a preacher of the Uuaker persuasion, visited
Jamaica and was lodged in tire house of Henry
Townsend (one of the first petitioners to
Stuyvesant for settlement privileges), who for
Iris hospitality was promptly fined eight Flem-
ish pounds. A few months later Townsend,
who seems to have adopted the views of the
Society of Friends, repeated his oft'ense by
housing another preacher, ami was again fined,
this time at a higher figure. Cut Townsend
never failed in his hos]jitality, and welcomed
each wanderer and gathered a cougregation
to listen to the preaching of the new doctrine
until Stuyvesant, tired of hearing such con-
tumacv. sent down to Jamaica a squad of sol-
diers to sec that his edicts were respected,
and then T<iwnsend and several others re-
moved to Oyster F>ay and so placed themselves
beyond Stuyvesant's jurisdiction. But in spite
of soldiers and local opposition the number
552
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of Firiends grew. They stubbornly held their
views in spite of opposition, decHned to pay
the rate imposed for the support of the "priest
of Jamaica," and had their goods distrained as
a result, but held their ground. As a result
their services were more numerously attended
3-ear after year, and Jamaica was declared in
1686 a place for holding quarterly meetings,
although it was not until 1706 that they erect-
ed a meeting-house.
About 1702 a Dutch Reformed congrega-
tion seems to have been organized, meeting in
the stone church, which, as has already been
pointed out, was never intended, even by the
Presbyterians themselves, for their sole use.
It was not until 1716, that the Reformed Dutch
people erected a little tabernacle of their own.
The year 1702 also marks the formal intro-
duction of the Episcopalian body, when, ac-
cording to the authorities of that denomination,
Jamaica, Newtown and Flushing were spirit-
ually united under one rector. After the forci-
ble ejection of Mr. Hubbard the Rev. William
Drquhart continued, in spite of strong oppo-
sition on the part of those he styled "noncon-
fo.miists" and sometimes amid much and
sometimes bitter controversy, to hold the
church and the minister's house until
his death, in 1709. Air. Hubbard died
in 1705, and was succeeded by the Rev.
Francis Goodhue. We do not find wheth-
er he was elected to the pastorate by the peo-
ple or was simpl\' set down among them by the
rascal who then represented Queen Anne.
But he must have been a rather weak-kneed
brother or he would never have accepted such
a document as the following prior -to entering
on his duties :
By his Excellency Edward \'iscount Corn-
bury Captn Genl & Govr in Chiefe of ye
Provinces of N York, New Jersev & of
all The Territories & Tracts of Land
Depending thereon in America & A'ice
Admiral of the same &c.
To JNIr Fr.vncis Goodhue, Greeting.
I do hereby Licence & Tollerate }-ou to be
Ministr of the Presbvterian Congregation at
Jamaica in Queens county on the island Nas-
saw in the sd Province of New Yorke & to
have & Exercise the ffree Liberty & use of
yor Religion pursuant to Her Matys pleasure
therein signified to me In her Royal Instruc-
tions & during so Long Time as to me shall
seem meet & all Ministrs & others are here-
by Required to Take notice hereof Given undr
my hand & scale at flfort Anne in New York
this day of this Instant January in the flfourth
}ear of Her AIat\-s Reign x\nnoq : Dni 1705.6.
CORNBURY.
By His Excys Command
WiLLi.Mi Anderson D secy
Goodhue only lasted about a year and then
went home to New England to die. With his
departure the Presbyterian flock had no shep-
herd until in 1 710 the Rev. George McNish
entered upon the work of the ministry among
them. In July of the same year the Rev.
Thomas Poyer was appointed Rector of Ja-
maica, Newtown and Flushing under the
Episcopalian banner. Then the battle royal
between the two forces was on. Both of
these men were of marked ability and of earn-
est devotion to their work. Perhaps McNish
was the brainiest of the two, the most brilliant
of the two. but Poyer was one of those dili-
gent, plodding individuals whose dogged per-
severance makes up, in the way of actual ac-
complishment, for genius. It is not certain
whether Mr. AIcNish was born in Scotland
or in the north of Ireland, but his name de-
monstrates clearly that he was of the Scottish
race. Mr. Poyer was a Welshman and came
direct from the Mother Country to at once
enter upon his duties here. Mr. McNish
came to America in 1705, in company with the
.tainted Mackemsie, and with him assisted in
the formation of the Presbytery of Philadel-
phia— the first in North America, and to him
is generally awarded the credit of bringing
about the first Presbytery on Long Island, in
'717. However, he remained a member of
the Presbytery of Philadelphia until his death,
hi 1722.
McNish seems to have been a natural lead-
JAMAICA.
553
■er, and if Po\-er lacked that essential quality
to success in public or professional life, he
had at least the backing and support of the
representatives of the Royal Government, the
authorities of the church and the powerful
society in London - which was then engaged
in sending out men like him as missionaries
to "propagate" the Gospel in foreign parts.
Such were the two men who were destined to
oppose each other in support of their respective
standards in Jamaica for several years. The
echoes of the battle rolled over Newtown an(l
Flushing, over all of Queens County, in fact,
but Jamaica was the battle ground ; there the
leaders resided and there was the centre of
attack, the prize for the victor, the little
stone church.
Certainly Mr. Foyer had officially the most
exacting position of the two. }ilr. jNIcXish
had his energies concentrated in Jamaica,
and although he made his influence felt
throughout Long Island, and seems to have
travelled all over it doing missionary work,
his parochial labors must have been light. But
in Mr. Foyer's case there was steady paroch-
ial work all the time and a host of other
troubles — pecimiary mainly — while the op-
position confronted him at every step. From
some of his letters we get a capital idea not
only of his own little troubles, but of the con-
dition of the places over which he was set to
hold spiritual supervision.
The first position in the struggle was won
by ilcXish. Settling in Jamaica before the
arrival of Foyer, he took possession of the
church and for some reason or another, Mrs.
Urquhart, the widow of Foyer's predecessor,
vacated the minister's house and turned it
over to ;\IcNish. Gov. Hunter saw to it th-at
the church was turned over to Foyer, but
JNIcNish, "an independent North Britain
preacher who has had the assurance in the
face of the contrary to aver that the Bishop
of London as no power here," held on to the
dwelling and the people, the ratepayers, not
only refused to pay Mr. Foyer his stipend,
but actually handed over part of it to Mr.
McNish. To oust McNish from the dwelling
a suit at law was necessary and Gov. Hunter
seemed imwilling at first to spend his money
in that manner: besides the Judge before
whom the matter would likely come was a
Dissenter. Afterward he seemed willing to
aid in bringing the case into a court of law,
but by that time Foyer hesitated about fol-
lowing such a procedure and aroused the ire
of the Chief Executive. It seemed a paltry
case throughout, one in which Foyer had the
worst of it — his salary unpaid or only partly
paid, his dwelling withheld, his appeals disre-
garded at headquarters, his congregation
growing slowly, and personal indignities be-
ing heaped upon him on frequent occasions.
But for gifts of money from the home society
it is difficult to see how he could have main-
tained the struggle. His brother clergy,
however, stuck to him all throiigh and really
forced the authorities to take some action — ■
getting some special instructions in his case
from the Queen in Council ; but even all that
had paltry practical results. Even a suit
at law which he instituted for the recovery of
his salary dragged along so slowly as al-
most to banish all hope of legal relief. Here
are two of his letters to the Secretary of the
Society for the Fropagation of the Gospel,
whose missionar}- he was, which are pathetic
in their presentation of his case :
Jamaica L. I. Novr. 2d 17 14.
Honored Sir — It will be five years the last
day of next month since my most honored
patrons the Venerable Society were pleased to
ordor me to embark to proceed on my Mis-
sion which I obeyed and embarked that same
Jay but there were more hindrance than
one that detained the Fleet 'till the loth of
April and in the interim I was tossed about
from one expensive harbour to another witth
my family having my Wife visited on board
with two fits of sickness and obliged each fit
to bring her ashore for the help of a Doctor
which was not a little trouble & charge to me
and besides all this the £20 i" was forced
to pay for our passage & the twice laying in
554
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of sea Stores put me to very great straits the
loth of April we left the Lands end of Eng-
land and had a very tedious and uneasy pas-
sage of 13 weeks lacking two or three days.
In this passage I had great experience of the
goodness of God and often had occasion to
reflect on the Royal Psalmist's expressions in
Psalm 107. 23 &c where he has these words —
They that go down to the Sea in ships and
occupy their business in great waters these
men see the works of the Lord and his won-
ders in the deep &c. I saw indeed & won-
dered and often expected in the great temp-
ests we had to have been swallowed up of
the merciless waves, but when we were in
our trouble and almost brought to our wit's
end We cried unto the Lord and he was
graciously pleased to hear us and bring us
tho' not into the haven where we would have
been yet unto a Christian shore yea unto the
Island where my, Mission was to terminate
about' 100 miles from my Parish Here the
ship and part of her Lading was lost on the
7th July but not the life of one person.
The week following I did set out for this
place where to this time I have not ceased
( according to the ability that God hath given
me) to instruct the Flock committed to mv
charge I have laboured faithfully in my
Lord's Vineyard and in mv private advice
from House to House as well as public dis-
courses I have exhorted them to faith in
Christ and amendment of life and to live in
Love I have likewise end-eavoured to possess
them with as due a sense of the fundamentals
of our religion as I could and the Great God
has vouchsafed to give such a blessing to my
poor yet well meaning endeavours the nuni-
Ijer of the communicants of the Church of
England here before my time never exceeded
30 I have had above 60 — of the Independ-
ents who are the most numerous in mv parish
T have gained some and of the Quakers more
some that were very rigid Independents
since I came and that have reflected very
much on our Church and constitution are now
very frequently my hearers ; and among the
Quakers where my predecessor Mr. Urqu-
nart thought it not worth his while to go I
seldom have so few as fifty and often more
dian one hundred hearers.
And notwithstanding I have all along dis-
charged the duties of a Parish Minister yet
have I never received one penny of the Salary
due to me by the laws of the Colony how to
come by it I can't tell ; and without it or an
augmentation of my Salary from my Right
Honble & Right Revd Patrons I cannot live
in this dear place. I live very near much
below the character of a Missionary and yet
am running myself in debt. I am spending
my strength & yet cannot get a competency
wherefore I humbly beg the \'enerable So-
ciety will be pleased to consider my condi-
tion, it is very necessitous indeed.
But I will trouble you with no more at
this time but refer you to the Revd ISlr \'esey
who I understand is safely arrived in London
how I have led my life here and in how mean
circumstances I am he can if you'll be pleased
to enquire of him verv well inform you.
I have no more to add but my most sin-
cere & hearty prayers to the Lord tb bless
prospe-r & keep my most honored Patrons
and when the time of their departure hence
shall come may God who is the rewarder of
those who make it their study and delight to
enlarge Christ's Kingdom here take 'em to
the eternally happy enjoyment of himself in
Heaven is the prayer of
Honored Sir &c &c
Thos. Pover.
Jamaica I5tli Jany 1716-17
Ho.xouiCD Sir — ^ly suit at Law for the re-
covery of my Salary here is as backward as
my last gave you an account, so that I ha\e
nothing new to add on this head but that
one of my lawyers is dead which put a stop
to it last Term & what progress v.-ill be made
in it the next I cannot tell, you shall be ac-
quainted of the proceeding by every oppor-
tunity.
The continuance of my troubles ( which
alas have no prospect of an end) and the
tediousness of this lawsuit have almost
wearied me out, I find a daily decay in my-
self thro" the continual fatigue I undergo in
this large ]3arish which consists ( as I have
formerly observed) of Three towns which I
serve alternatelv & how I have discharged my
duty to the Souls I am entrusted with is well
known to my good God and Great Judge &
will I hope be testified by some of my people.
I humbly beg the favour of you to give
my most humble duty to my most Honble
Patrons & acquaint them that their poor Mis-
sionary is labouring under many difficulties
& reduced to the want of a great many nec-
essaries : two Gowns and Cassocks I have al-
ready worn in their service a 3d is worn very
JAMAICA.
l55
1)are and my taniil_\- wants are so many an<l
]iressing that I know not how I shall pro-
cnre another.
But pray give me leave to assure you
that I am not reduced to this necessitous Con-
dition thro' any extravagance in my way of
living, 'tis well known to many li'ere Dis-
senters from us as well as friends to tli>>
Church that I am contented to want many
necessaries the better to be enabled to be hos-
Iiitable, which is expected from the estab-
lished Ministers here and which with my be-
ing conversant with them hath ( I praise God
for it) removed the prejudices of some and
effectuallv brought others to us.
But under all my troubles this bears me
up and is great comfort that God is so good
lo me as to continue his Blessing on my en-
deavours I have lost none but have gained
many the number of my hearers consisting
of about 400 & Communicants above 3 Score,
1 have this last week gained two families from
the Anabaptists & Quakers and baptized them.
Manv are often coming over to us and I am
assured more would, were there according to
their desire a Minister of the Church of Eng-
land to preach to them in this Town every
Lord's day.
But this I leave to the consideration of the
Honble. Society and hope they will be pleased
to consider my necessities and administer a
little comfort to me in my troubles.
I prav God to bless guide preserve and
keep mv most honored Patrons may they be
enabled to send out many faithful Labourers
into Christ's Vineyard & amply rewarded for
all their pious and good deeds. This is what
offers at present from
Your most humble Servt
Titos Povf.r.
Mr. Pover's appeals to the home authorities
for help were backed up by his own peojile
in the following statement which was for-
warded to London :
February 6th 1716
We humbly pray leave to lay before our
Honble Patrons a true state of the case of
the Church here and that as briefly as the
nature of the thing will bear.
The Independents here being the most nu-
merous do annually choose the Church War-
dens & Vestry out of those of their own per-
suasion who are the most inveterate against
the Church, every freeholder having a vote by
Mrtue of an Act of Assembly for SL-ttling the
Ministry made in the year 1(193 in which act
there is a clause empowering them tu call a
Minister, the act also provides that such a
Minister shall be inducted & established to
entitle him to the Salary of fbo per annum
given by the same Act.
Now this Dissenting Vestry & Church
Wardens have (as no other could be ex-
pected of them) after the death of the Revd
Mr Lrquhart (who enjoyed the Glebe & Sal-
ary undisturbed for about six years) called
one Mr Geo: McNish who because of that
call has seized upon the Parsonage House &
Glebe pretends to all and has actually re-
ceived some part of said Salary. This call is
the only argument on which they insist & on
pretence whereof they defraud the rightful
minister both of the Glebe and Salary con-
trary to the known laws and continued prac-
tice of all the other places in this Province
that stand upon the same foundation. To con-
fute therefore their absurd notion the case may
be stated thus. In Feb 1702 the \"estry &
Church Wardens (being as always Dissenters)
called one Mr Hubbard a Dissenting Minister
(one whom some of us have heard declare it
a sin to sav the Lord's Prayer). In the year
1704 JNIr Urquhart was sent here by the Ven-
erable Society & Bishop of London and was
immediately inducted and established by the
then (lovernor of this Province the said call
given to Mr Hubbard ( who never did officiate
as ^linister of the Parish ) being deemed to be
invalid because the person called was not qual-
ified to accept & this proceeding of that Gov-
ernor was declared to be right by another Act
of Assembly in 1705 for the better explaining
the former Act — Thus in like manner after
y[r L'rquharts death as is said before they
called the said Mr McNish who being a Dis-
senter like the other not qualified to accept
thereof, our present Governor for the reasons
aforesaid on the arrival of Mr Poyer imme-
diately caused him to be inducted and estab-
lished bv the Chaplain Mr Sharpe on the i8tli
day of July 1710 which we think (with sub-
mission) makes the matter \ery clear that the
Salary & Glebe can belong tu none ])ut him;
for tlie Cure must not lie vacant for want of
a call or presentation & not to call at all or to
call a person in himself incapable of accept-
ing is all one. And it can never be supposed
that the Law intended any other than an
Orthodox Minister for if otherwise nothing
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
but confusion must ensue abnut the disposal
even 'amongst the Dissenters themselves all
having an equal right.
To this false argument of the Church War-
dens_& Vestry (as well as their principles)
may be attributed the many affronts by them
at sundry times given to our Minister even to
the excluding him from sitting in the Vestry
contrary to the Governors express Injunctions
from the Crown signified to them.
Yet notwithstanding the imperious be-
haviour of these our Enemies who stick not
to call themselves the Established Church &
us Dissenters we can with Joy say the Church
hath increased very considerably both in 'ts
■number of hearers & Communicants by the
singular care pain and industry of our present
Labourious Minister Mr Poyer who notwith-
standing the many difficulties he has struggled
with has never been in the least wanting in the
due execution of his ^Ministerial Function but
rather on the contrary has strained himself in
travelling thro' the Parish even beyond his
strength & not seldom to the prejudice of his
health which is notorious to all the Inhab-
itants for almost 7 years last past in all which
time he has not received one farthing of his
Salary allowed him by the laws of this Prov-
ince nor any private contributions that by the
nicest search we can find out except about
£18 (this Country money) which was pre-
sented to him by some of his people at his first
arrival here purely on the account of the
tediousness of his voyage from England & his
having with his family been shipwrecked on
this island about 100 miles from his parish
and at divers times since Gifts on the whole
not amounting to Fifty pounds.
A year later ]\Ir. Poyer reported a little
progress in spiritual matters, but the situation
unchanged in other respects, ^^'riting to Lon-
■don, under date of October 24, 1717. he said:
Jamaica. October 24th, 171 7.
The State of the Church in this Parish is
much the same as. my last gave you an ac-
count of saving that I had two new members
added to it since, & baptized besides several
Infants & some adult persons.
And Here I must desire vou to pardon me
while I acquaint you that I have undergone
more trouble in the discharge of mv Ministry
here than I am able to tell vou — for besides
the frequent abuses and affronts I receive from
some of the Enemies of our Constitution- be-
sides that they make it their constant en-
deavor to tire me with their ill usage and to
starve me as some of the most inveterate
among them do sometimes express themselves ;
the service of the three towns which this
Parish consists of bears hard upon me, and
affords me as much business as I am able to
go through with. I serve them by turns every
other Sunday besides frequent Lectures on
week days. Xow to do this and to visit my
people which I am often obliged to who live
distant from me many of them about 12 miles,
I am necessitated to keep two horses which is
very expensive & troublesome to me & con-
sumes me more Clothes in one year than would
serve another that is not obliged to ride for
3 or 4. In Newtown & Flushing for want of
the convenience of private houses I am forced
to make use of Public ones which is a very
great charge to me for I bring some of my
family generally with me. If I did not they
would be the half of the year without op-
portunities of public Worship.
Mr. McNish held the fort — the house and
glebe — until his death, in 1723, but the passing
of that doughty antagonist made no dift'erence
in Mr. Foyer's worldly prospects. In fact they
were w^o-rse, for the Presbyterians were actual-
ly at law with him for the recovery of the
church building, and in this they were finally
successful. Tired of it all, Mr. Poyer became
anxious to give up the struggle, and wrote
■i touching letter to London asking to. be re-
lieved. The letter was dated June 16, 1731 :
By this opportunity I beg leave humbly
to represent to my Honble Patrons the Ven-
erable Society for Propagating the Gospel in
Foreign Parts that I have been their Mission-
ary here 21 years & may without incurring the
imputation of boasting say that my diligence
in the discharge of my functions has been
little inferior to any I pray God to give a
blessing to the seed sown but so it is that be-
sides the great and almost continual con-
tentions that I have struggled withal amongst
the Independents in this parish having had
several law suits with them before I could have
the Salary which the Country has settled upon
the Minister of the Church of England several
JAMAICA.
557
other law suits for some Glebe lands which we
have lost and at last even the Church itself of
which we had the possession 25 years is taken
from us by a trial at law (with what justice
I can't pretend to say) tho' I say I have en-
deavored as patiently as I could to bear up un-
der all these trials besides the loss of two
Wives & Several children yet the infirmities
of old age bear very hard upon me insomuch
that I find myself almost unable to officiate at
the three towns of Jamaica, Newtown and
Flushing as I have hitherto done and which
is absolutely necessary for the Minister of the
Parish to do.
The intent of these are therefore to beg
that my distressed state and condition may be
laid before the \'enerbk: Society and that they
will be pleased to permit me to quit my Alis-
sion and to return to Great Britain as being
for the reasons aforegiven not capable of bear-
ing such fatigues and discharging my duty as
I have done for so many years in this place.
I humbly beg of my most honored patrons to
consider my case & circumstances & I re-
main &c TlIOS POYER
His resignation was accepted, but before
the arrangements were completed he was called
higher and passed away January 15, 1732.
We must now return to the Presbyterian
camp. y[r. AIcNish, broken in health, seems
to have either retired from the active work of
the ministry a short time before his death
or to have obtained leave of absence, for he
passed away at Newtown, New Jersey, Alarch
10, 1722. It was under his successor, the Rev.
Robert Cross, "an Irish gentleman," Thomp-
son called him, that the crowning victory of
the restoration of the old church was won.
The dissenters — Presbyterians and Quakers —
could not, however, avoid tlie payment of the
salary for the maintenance of the Episcopalian
minister, and this salary was paid out of the
rates with grumbling and sometimes only after
a legal process had been indulged in. The
Quakers invariably paid under protest, when
they paid at all. The result of .the Revolu-
tionary War put a end to all this.
In 1738 the Rev. Walter Wilmot, one of
the best beloved of Jamaica's ministers, en-
tered upon his work in the little stone church.
His ministry was spiritually a success, and
the historic tabernacle had all it could do to-
hold the worshippers. Under him the local
Presbyterians lost much of the harshness
which had come'to them as a result of niore
than a generation of fighting with Friends on
the one hand and Episcopalians on the other.
They had won the victory and Mr. \\'iImot
was essentially a man of peace, a man who-
had taken no part in the warfare and so was
better able to heal up the wounds among the
laymen, the result of years of friction. He
was a native of Southampton and had mar-
ried a daughter of the Townsend family, a
family which had been locally famous for its
devotion to the doctrines of the Society of
Friends, even before that society was fully
organized. She was a devoted Christian and
on her marriage openly embraced the Pres-
byterian views held by her husband. His min-
istry was destined to be a brief one. Mrs. Wil-
mot died February 24,, 1744, in the twenty-
third year of her age, and her husband joined
her on the 6th of August following, when in>
his thirty-fifth year.
Under a succession of ministers and itin-
erant preachers or students designated as
"stated supply," the cause of Presbyterianism
barely held its own in Jamaica for a long term
of years after Mr. Wilmot passed awa>-. At
times the membership fell ofif greatly, and in
1 76 1 we read that it had but twelve commu-
nicants. There were several causes for this.
The preachers were, as a rule, able men, but
there was continual difficulty in the payment
of the stipend, and there were the usual di-
visions in the congregation itself, so com-
mon in the history of Presbyterian societies,
which led to schisms of more or less im-
portance. During the Revolution the min-
ister was Matthias Burnet, who was installed'
in 1775, when in the twenty-sixth }-ear of his
age. He seems to have been an amiable but
rather a weak brother, had married a lady be-
longing to an Episcopalian family and was
opposed to the Revolutionary movement. It
■was to his pro-British sentiments, however.
558
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
that the little stone church was saved, during
the occupation after the Battle of Brooklyn,
from the desecration which befel most of the
other places of worship on Long Island. When
the struggle was ended the feeling against him
on the part of the people generally was so in-
tense that he was compelled to resign. He
removed after a time to Norwalk, Connecticut,
where he accepted fully the views of the Epis-
copalian body and became rector of one of its
churches. We are told, h.owever, that he paid
an anntial visit to Jamaica, and in 1790
preached to a large congregation in the stone
church. That fact is significant as showing-
how early the first bitterness engendered by the
great struggle had passed over — so far as
Jamaica was concerned.
The stone church served until 1813. when
it was pulled down and a more commodious
structure was erected in its place and opened
for worship in January, 1814. At that time
the Rev. Henry Wood was the pastor.
The English Church, even after it had lost
the stone building and turned forever from
all thoughts of possessing it again together
with the glebe, seemed to wax in strength,
slowly, but none the less surely. Its official
position was of itself a tower of strength, and
the payment of the stipend was about as well
assured as anything worldly could be. The
Rev. Thomas Colgan. who was the successor
to the unfortunate and long-sut¥ering Poycr,
and who entered en his duties January 31.
1733, was a much more diplomatic and con-
genial gentleman. He aimed to make friends
all around and to antagonize no one and ap-
pears to have succeeded. He seems to have
accepted the situation as he found it and be-
gan holding services in the building which
then served as a court house. The old ani-
mosit}- seemed to die out rapidly, the law-
suits ceased, his stipend was paid as the law
directed and he slowly built up a congrega-
tion. Six weeks after he began his work he
was al)le to report that 200 persons attended
his services in Jamaica. The court house soon
proved too small for the work, and with quite
an effort, aided by help from Xew York and
elsewhere, the people secured a lot and erected
a building for their own use. Under the name
of (irace Church it was opened for service
April 5, 1734. Governor Cosby and his fam-
ily attended in state, the military lined the
front of the building and the throng was so
great that many persons had to be turned
away. It was a memorable occasion — one
\^•hich would have cheered the heart of poor
Mr. Poyer beyond measure and set Mr. Mc-
N'ish to measuring out unstintedly the vials of
destruction. Many gifts were made to the
church, notably a Bible, Prayer Book, sur-
plice and pulpit and communion table cloths
by the wife of the (iovernor. After such
an auspicious opening Grace Church flour-
ished. Here are some extracts from Mr. Col-
gan's letters to the London society which used
to get such dolorous reports from Jamaica :
Jamaica Novr 22d 1740
^\'e have yearly for these seven years last
past increased in Church Members, sO' these
Duildings are generally well filled in time of
Divine Service, & the worship of God is duly
performed with decency and good order, the
several sects which are around us do look
upon the Church with a more respectful eye
than formerly, there being not wanting either
in myself or people any Christian like or pru-
dential means necessary to form a reconcilia-
tion & union amongst us, some itinerant en-
thusiastical teachers, have of late been preach-
ing upon this Island the notorious Mr Whit-
field being at the head of them & among other
pernicious tenets, nave broched such false &
erroneous opinions concerning the doctrine of
Regeneration as tend to the destruction of true
religion & of a holy and virtuous life and
therefore I take this opportunity to beg that
the Society would be pleased to bestow upon
the people of this parish a few of Dr Water-
land's pieces on that subject, & of his Lord-
ship the Bishop of London's Pastoral letters
upon lukewarmness and enthusiasm.
Jamaica Decemr 15th 1741
However in the mean time be pleased to
accept this general account of the State of my
Mission there being three Churches belonging
to my Cure, that of Jamaica Xewtown and
JAMAICA.
559
Flushing, I must with a great deal of truth
sav that not only they are in a growing con-
dition & the members thereof generally of an
exemplary life and conversation but that the
Church of England here was never in so much
credit and reputation among the Dissenters
of all sorts as at this day, their opinion con-
cerning her doctrine as well as discipline be-
ing vastly more favourable than ever. En-
thusiasm has of late been vef-y predominant
amongst us but is now in a declining state
several of the teachers in that way as well as
their hearers being found guilty of the foulest
immoral practices and other of them have
wrought themselves into the highest degree of
madness — these occurrences together with
those good books lately sent over l^y the So-
ciety have taught people what the true spirit
of Christianity is and what it is not & that
it is to be found in a more sober rational
Scheme than that delivered to mankind by Mr
Whitfield that Arch Enthusiast and his ad-
herents, having nothing more to add but the
promise of all due diligence & fidelity in the
discharge of all the Offices belonging 'to my
Alission.
Jamaica March 23d, 1743
Our Church here is in a flourishing con-
dition her being depressed of late by those
clouds of error & enthusiasm which hung so
heavily about her. has in effect tended to her
greater illustration & glory.
If the Society would be pleased to order
me some small tracts, such as The trial of Mr
\Miitfield's spirit : An Englishman directed in
the choice of his Religion, llishop Stilling-
fleet's Unreasonableness of separation &c. I'm
vour most obt &c. Tuos Colc.vn.
Jamaica Sept 29th 1743.
( )ur Church here was never in so thriving
a way as at this time — for it has increased
both in number & esteem with those who are
without her pale, these eight or ten years last
past more than it did for 30 years before being
one of the oldest Missions from the Society —
This must be an argument with them, that
imder the benign influonce of Heaven and
their pious Care & bounty, my faithful en-
deavours have not been wanting to promote
and answer the end & design of my ]\Iission
to this place I would further acquaint the \'en-
erable Society- that since my last accounts I
have baptized 17 persons belonging to 3 fam-
ilies in this parish, consisting of Alen Women
& children who before were tainted with the
corruptions of Anabaptism S: Quakerism &
have now before me a fair prospect of doing
the like good office for others in a little time.
Jamaica Sept 29 1744.
The several Churches belonging to my
Cure (as those of Jamaica, Newtown & Flush-
ing) are in a very peaceable & growing state,
whilst other seperate Assemblies in this Parish
are in the utmost confusion & this I can write
with a great deal of truth that Independency
which has been triumphant in this town for
the 40 years last past is now by the provi-
dence of God in a very faint & declining con-
dition which gives us hopes that better Prin-
ciples than such as issue out thence will gen-
erally prevail amongst us & that we shall be
belter united than heretofore.
Jamaica Sept 29th 1746
These are to acquaint the \ enerable So-
ciety that my endeavours in the work of my
Mission are by the blessing of (jod attended
with success a late & remarkable instance
whereof we have in the conformity of a Fam-
ily of good repute in \e Town from Inde-
pendency to the Diiclrine <liscipline and Gov-
ernment of our Church which considering all
circumstances may be thought worthy of
notice.
In, my letter of the 26 March last I gave
information to the Society of our being in a
very likely way of having a Church erected
in the town of Flushing a place generally in-
habited by Quakers & by some who are of no
religion at all which indeed has all along from
the first settlement of the town been a great
obstructiiin and discouragement to an under-
taking of this kind l)ut now Iiy the kind prov-
idence of CJod ( who has raised up Friends &
monev for the purpose ) the work is actually
begun so that I have hopes of performing
divine Service in this new Church in about
3 months time and also that the Society will
bestow upon it a liible & Common Prayer
liook according to their usual bounty for cen-
tainly there can' be no set of People within
this Province who are greater objects of the
Society's pit}- & charity 'than those belonging
to the towMi of Flushing of which I have been
so truly sensible that it has brought me (if I
may be permitted thus to express it ) to
560
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
double my diligence in that place where error
& impiety greatly abound nor have I been
wanting (thro' the Divine assistance) in the
other parts & duties of my Mission for the
space of almost one and twenty years to ap-
prove myself a faithful Labourer & my trust
in God is that I shall continue to approve my-
self such whilst
Jamaica i\Iarch 28th, 1749.
I have great hopes that our Church at
Flushing will in a little time gain ground
among the Quakers who are very numerous
there, and it is somewhat remarkable and may
be thought worthy of notice, that a man who
had for many years strictly adhered to the
principles of Quakerism, when that new
Church was opened & a collection made he
gave money for the use of that Church, but
, thinking he had not put enough m the Plate,
went immediately after service and gave more
to the Collector.
]Mr. Colgan died in 1755 and then the
"dissenters" tried their couid — long famous
locally — of at once installing one of their own
ministers, .Simon Horton, into the vacancy,
but Governor Hardy made short work-of that
and Samuel Seabury, Jr., was inducted to the
charge of the three towns. He was not a suc-
cess by any means, and by 1760 he complained
that the communicants in Grace Church were
less than 20. L'^nder these circumstances the
full amount of liis stipend was not forthcom-
ing and the constant attention necessary to
keep the church in repair was relaxed with
the usual result. With the view of improving
matters, Seabury got up the idea of having
Grace Church incorporated, and the following
document, which explains itself, was drawn
up, signed and presented to Cadwallader
Colden :
To the Honourable Cadwallder Colden
Esq President of his jNIajestys Council and
Commander in Chief of the Province of
New York and the Territories depending
thereon in America &c
The Petition of the Alinister of the Parish
of Jamaica & Sui:dry of the Inhabitants
of The Town of Jamaica on Nassau
Island Communicants & professors of
the Chmxh of England as by Law Es-
tablished
Most Humbly Sheweth
That the Inhabitants of the town of Ja-
maica : Members & professors of the Church
of England as by Law Established : did some
years ago by Voluntary contributions Erect &
finish a decent & Convenient Church in the
Town of Jamaica: for the Celebration of Di-
vine Service according tto the use of the
Church Of England, but that through the
Want of some proper Persons to Superintend
the Affairs of the Same : With Legal Au-
thority, the Building is now Considerably out
of Repair, and There is Danger Least moneys
contributed for the Repair of tne Same may be
Improperly Applyd to the Detriment of your
Petitioners : & Thro' the want of Such Persons
it also comes to pass yt Pious & Well Disposed
People are Discouraged, in their Designs of
Establishing & Erecting proper Eunds for the
Support Of the Church & its Ministry Your
Petitioners Therefore Humbly beg that yr
Honour Takeing these things into Considera-
tion Would be Pleasd to Grant us a Charter
(Incorperateing such Persons as upon Mature
Deliberation shall be found Worthy) with
such Privileges & Immunities as in Your Wis-
dom you shall think Proper And Your Peti-
tioners as in Duty bound Will Ever Pray
Aprill the 8th 1761'.
Samuel Se.miury Jur Minister
Robert Howell
Benjamin Carpenter
John huchiens
John Smith
Jacob Ogden
Joseph Olfield
Joseph Olfield Junr
Jhno Troup
John Comes
Gilbert Comes
Thomas Truxton
Thos Braine
Benj. Whitehead
Samll Smith
William Sherlock
John Innes
Richard Betts.
Isaac Vanhook
Thos Hinchman
Adm Lawrence
The charter was granted, the church was-
repaired as the result of a subscription which
lAiMAICA.
561
netted £93 i8d, but the people did not flock
to Air. Seabury's ministrations in any greater
numbers tlian before. So he gladly went hi.s
way when an opening occurred for him at
\\'.estchester, and the Rev. Joshua Bloomer
was installed in his stead. Mr. Bloomer com-
menced his ministry May 23, 1769, and soon
was able to announce that his services were
well attended — "crowded assemblies who be-
liave with decorum." But the times were
sadly out of joint and it was not long before
he had some trouble in getting payment of his
salary as it fell due. When the crisis came Mr.
Bloomer found it necessary to close his church
for a few weeks ; some of his members were
sadly persecuted by order of Congress, several
even sent to prison or to Connecticut, but with
the victory of August 2'j, 1776, all went well
and the good, loyal minister was again per-
mitted to pray for King George and the royal
family without hindrance. In 1778, as a re-
sult of a lottery, $780 was realized for the
purchase of a glebe, and with the money a
farm of seventy acres was bought about a
mile west of Jamaica village. It was not the
first time a lottery had come to the aid of
Grace Church. By one, in 1747, the bell in
its steeple had been bought. The glebe does
not seem to have proven a profitable adjunct
to the church, and it was offered for sale in
1786. With the cessation of hostilities, Mr.
Bloomer seems to have passed over the crisis
of the sentiment against everything British un-
disturbed, and ministered in his three chargei
until 1790, when he passed to his reward, and
his remains were laid in the chancel of Grace
Church.
After Mr. Bloomer's death, however, the
congregation began to dwindle, although most
of the rectors were men of more than or-
dinary ability. In 1808 the money received
at a communion season was only $234. There
is no doubt that the influence and generosity
of the King family was the most potent agency
in carrying the church through its darkest
days, which may be said to have lasted from
1796 until 1815, and the first substantial token
of that interest was a gift from Rufus King of
real estate in New York sufficient to yield
the rector $500 a year. The same generous
hand in 1820 started the movement for the
erection of a new church, and as a result
the second Grace Church was built and opened
for service July 15, 1822. This building served
the congregation until January i, 1861, when it
was burned to the ground and to the building
which took its place, a beautiful gothic struc-
ture of stone, and which was consecraitetl
by Bishop Horatio Potter January 8, 1863, the
King family were princely subscribers, while
their subsequent gifts were numerous and
munificent.
The Dutcli Church seemed to have had its
beginning in Jamaica in 1702, and for a time
its services were held in the little stone build-
ing erected by the Presbyterians. For some
years the congregation was ecclesiastically at-
tached to the Kings County Consistory, but
in 1 71 5 they managed to build one of the little-
octagon edifices such as the early Dutch con-
gregations delighted in, and tried to get a min-
ister of their own, but they failed to oft'er
enough in the way of inducement and that
project slept. Afterward when there were
small congregations formed at Newtown, Suc-
cess and Wolver Hollow further attempts
were made to get a clergyman to devote him-
self to the four, but it was not until 1741 that
they succeeded, and the Rev. Johannes Hen-
ricus Goetschius settled among them. He and
his successors were able men, but they did not
attract large congregations somehow and the
people did not seem to act as a harmonious
unit with regard to them. During the Revo-
lution the church was unceremoniously used by
the British as a storehouse, the people were
without any stated pastor, but Dominies Rubell
and Schoonmaker, of Kings county, visited
them at intervals and held services in Grace
Church. After the war was over the Rev.
Rynier \'an Nest became the pastor of the four
churches. It was decided, in 1794, to have
56-2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Tialf of the services in English, as it was
thought that the younger people might wander
awaj[, seeing that the tongue of the motherland
was thoroughly understood by only a few.
But the old Dutch service continued to be a
feature and old Dr. Schoonmaker, who was
minister of the church when the old building
was abandoned, June 23, 1833, delivered the
iarewell sermon in Dutch, although not over
half a dozen could follow his words clearly.
The new church, a frame structure, was con-
secrated July 4, 1833, by which time the
octagonal edifice had been demolished. With
this change the congregation (it had parted
company with the other Reformed Churches in
the county) seems steadily to have waxed in
strength. The building was- burned to the
ground on Noveniber 19, 1857, but on Oc-
tober 6, 1859, the present tabernacle was
•opened for worship. It cost over $20,000.
The Methodist Episcopal body had a con-
gregation in Jamaica in 1784, but it was not
until 1810 that they erected a church. The
first Roman Catholic Church, St. Monica's,
was erected in 1839 and the first Baptist
'Church in 1869. In 1873 the German Re-
formed Church was erected.
From the consecration of churches we pass
•easily as a corroUary to the God's acre, where
the fathers of the village sleep. There are
several of these in Jamaica township, notably
that at Springfield and the quaint Hebrew cem-
•etery at Woodhaven, but the oldest of them all
is that in Jamaica village. . It was first set
aside — to the extent at least of ten rods square
— in 1668 and with considerable additions has
iDeen used since then, although the oldest exist-
ing stones bear such comparatively recent
■dates as 1732 and 1737. It has been much
beautified in recent years and the chapel at
its gateway, the Chapel of the Sisters, built
:by Nicholas Ludlam, of New York, in 1857,
in memory of his daughters, is an attractive
piece of architecture. In Jamaica village also
the Roman Catholic, Methodist and Protest-
ant Episcopal Churches each have their
grounds "sacred for the resting place of their
dead." In the ground of the last named is the
grave of Rufus King and of many of the
other members of that famous family.
At first, as might be expected, agriculture
and hunting were the two industries of Ja-
maica most generally followed, the two indus-
tries in which the early settlers found their
employment and their amusement. It was not
long, however, before the area of industry
was widened. In 1663 John Ouldfield, at a
town meeting, was voted a home lot and
twenty acres of meadow land on \vhich to set-
tle and pursue his occupation — that of a tan-
ner. He was admonished to stick strictly and
constantly to his trade and to take care only
to produce good leather. How he behaved him-
self after "getting in" we are not told, but as
the eyes of the leaders of the community were
upon him it is very likely that he fully met
their views. In 1669 the settlers offered
James Hubbard, of Gravesend, ground on
which to erect a mill, but he preferred to re-
main in Lady Moody's bailiwick. Benjamin
Coe, however, fell in with the offer in the
following year and the people agreed to build
a dam for the mill which he agreed to erect
and work. It was part of the agreement that
in return for the lot and the other bounties
conferred upon Tiim, he should grind the corn
of the townspeople in preference to that of
strangers on days to be mutually agreed. Mr.
Coe carried out his part of the agreement so
well that they added ground "for a grist mill.
The milling business after a time fell into the
hands of Joseph Carpenter and Caleb Carman
on the same terms as Coe had received and
which did not pan out very well with him, but
whether owing to his incompetency or neglect
history sayeth not. The new firm, however,
were also allowed to erect a saw mill and were
to be permitted to feed it from the common
lands of the township under a few restrictions
pertaining to growing trees. Their work ac-
cording to the peculiar ideas of the time was
to be done cheaper for the townspeople than
563
for others, but even toward outsiders they
were not permitted to make extravagant ■
charges. This arrangement seems to have
proved eminently satisfactory all around. Mill-
ing privileges were awarded in 1685 to Benja-
min Coe and John Hansen, but there is no rec-
ord as to how Coe profited in .this venture by
his first experience. There is also a record of
half an acre of land being voted to a cooper
on condition that he work at his trade, build
a home "and supply the town with such coop-
er's work as they shall stand in need of." In
1704 permission was given to Jonathan White-
head and Benjamin Thurston to establish a
fulling mill to "full [shrink] all kinds of cloth,
press the same for three pence the yard, and
to full for the townspeople before other towns-
people." I^^or a long time the milling indus-
try in Jamaica was a most important one, but
little has been heard of it in recent years.
In 1676 the first record of a local school
appears in the record, for in that year Richard
Jones was given the use of the little stone
church "for to teach scoule in for ye yere en-
suing, provided he keep ye windowes from
breaking and keep it deasent and cleane on
Saturday nights against ye Lord's Day and
seats to be placed in order." How Brother
Jones fared and how long he kept "scoule" is
not stated. Nine years later mention is made
of a girls' school kept by "Goody" Davis. In
1705 Henry Lindley was licensed by Governor
Cornbury to teach school in Jamaica and a sim-
ilar authority was conferred in the same year
on Thomas Huddleston. The ministers of the
Church of England generally were in receipt
of small grants from the London Society for
the Propagation of the Gospel to provide
teaching facilities, but the amount was never,
in the case of Queens county, sufficient to se-
cure more than temporary service. Thus the
Rev. Mr. Foyer complains, in 1724, that while
there were schools in Jamaica, Newtown and
Flushing, they were taught by Quakers 01
Fresbyterians. A public meeting vvas called
in 1726 to consider the possibility of estab-
lishing a free school, but nothing came of it,
probably owing to theological differences.
Still the educational facilities of Jamaica seem
to have been ample at all times, and several
of the teachers, such as James Lockhart,
Thomas Temple and John Moore, all pre-
Revolutionary schoolmasters, were men of
more than ordinary education. In 1777 An-
drew Wilson opened a grammar school, and
in 1784 the Rev. Matthias Burnet, the Fres-
byterian minister, opened a private school, in
which he proposed to teach Latin and Greek,
and for which he had engaged "a person" to
teach the common branches, writing, book-
keeping, vulgar arithmetic and the like. The
opening, in 1791, of Union Hall Academy led
the way to other schemes of higher education.
The history of that institution has already been
referred to. In 1812 the common-school sys-
tem of the state superseded all private enter-
prises to a great extent and put all the pri-
mary schools in the commonwealth within a
short time on a standard basis. Still even
under that system, as it progressed, much was
due to the work and intelligence of local teach-
ers and superintendents, and in this regard we
must recall the work of Henry Onderdonk, Jr.,
who was the first superintendent of common
schools under the law passed in 1844.
Jamaica has never figured much in the out-
side world. The General Assembly of the
Frovince of New York met in the village in
1702 and again in 1753, and in 1790 it received
a visit from George Washington, who seemed
to have been fully satisfied with his reception
and his entertainment. The village received a
charter in 1814 and an additional patent of the
same class in 1855. The town meetings were
held at first in the meeting house, which has
been generally spoken of as the stone church,
but afterward when that place became the
Episcopalian sanctuary they were held in the
court house. That building was torn down
by the British troops in 1777 for military rea-
sons, and from that time until 1858 they were
convened at various inns and public houses.
564
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In 1858 a town hall was erected on Herriman
street, near Fulton street — a wooden two-
story structure, inconvenient and dangerous.
It served its purpose, however, until 1870,
when the present town hall was completed and
was then converted into dwellings.
In 1827, so far as the records show, the
first made road in Jamaica was laid out, and
it was followed by several others, but it is
not likely that any of these early highways
are still used and their original boundaries
are not now exactly determinable. In 1786
the people in town me;ting decreed that no
hogs should be permitted to roam about the
streets, and we see plenty of other evidences
of a desire to improve the amenity cf the town
much earlier than was the case in many other
Long Island villages. It was not until 1830,
however, that the township was divided into
ten road districts, and a systematic effort made
at their improvement and maintenance.
While Jamaica was in all moral respects
quite a clean community, yet the people seemed
to be at all times in a condition to punish such
evil doers as might turn up among them. The
early town meetings were liberal in their
scale of fines for contraventions of local laws
and a significant appointment was that of
whipper, to which office Joseph Prue was ap-
pointed in 1772. His work, it is true, lay
principally among negroes, but still he stood
ready to suitably admonish any one the law
thought deserving of such treatment. In those
early days theft was a capital offense, and as
late as 1782 we read of two unfortunates —
William Guthrie and Joseph Alexander —
Being hanged at Jamaica for stealing from a
farmer at Cow Neck. But hanging was too
expensive a luxury to be indulged in by a
country town like Jamaica. Such corrective
agencies as the lock-up or cage, or even the
stocks, were much more in vogue. In fact
as late as 1S08 new stocks were ordere.d to
be erected.
W'hen the Revolution was over, the red-
coats gone and peace had been proclaimed, Ja-
maica celebrated the result with huzzas and
ovations and feasting, and then quietly settled
down to the even tenor of its days. Of course,
it felt remotely the trend of the outside world,
it had a reverent funeral procession when the
news reached it that George Washington was
no more, and it felt a revival of the old pa-
triotic thrill when the news came in 1812 that
war with Britain was again on ; it was stirred
to its depths around each election time, but
such flurries soon passed over and left little
trace. Its splendid fishing in Jamaica Bay
seems to have attracted few adventurous
spirits and the islands which dot that inland
sea, and which were included in the boun-
daries of the township, were untenanted and
unknown. It had its newspapers — the Long
Island Farmer was started by Henry C.
Sleight in 1819, and the Long Island Demo-
crat first saw light at Jamaica in 1835, — and
these in a measure supplied the news of their
day and more or less sage comment and com-
munication was kept up with the outside world
by means of lumbering stages, which run -uu
the schedule time which was formulated each
trip by the caprice and in accordance with the
temper of the driver.
A revival, the great modern revival, set in
in 1837, when the Brooklyn & Jamaica Rail-
road was opened. With that came, slowly at
first but surely, wonderous changes. The
once famous plank road of 1854 has already
been spoken of, and other road improvements
were soon in vogue. By and by the horse car
supplemented the service of the railroad, but
the advent of the trolley and the introduction
of something luce rapid transit by the railroad
brought the old village nearer and nearer, as it
were, to Brooklyn.
As the means of transit increased the land
boomers began to turn their attention in the
direction of Jamaica, especially after it began
to be understood that the elevated railroad sys-
tem of Brooklyn was certain, sooner or'Iater,
to be extended there. Lender their manipula-
tion such places as Dunlin, Richmond Hill,
JAMAICA.
565
Woodlawn, Clarenceville, jMorris Park, Wood-
hull Park and half a dozen settlements were
opened up and the lots disposed of with re-
markable celerity. Even the old pre-Revolu-
tionary village of Springfield — a place in fact
not many years the junior of Jamaica village
itself — felt the impulse of the change, and
Woodhaven, founded in 1836 by John R. Pit-
kin, talked confidently of extending its manu-
factories. In 1863 Messrs. Lalance & Grosjean
entered upon the manufacture of agate ware
in an old factory building and extended the
business so rapidly that in 1870 it was neces-
sary to organize a joint stock company to op-
erate and control it. The capital stock was
fixed at $500,000 and the operations grew
steadily year by year. In 1876 its buildings
were destroyed by fire, but the calamity in the
long run really helped the corporation, for the
old structures were at once replaced with mod-
em buildings, in which the most advanced ap-
pliances were introduced. The goods made
by this establishment are now to be found all
over the coimtry.
Queens, another of Jamaica's suburbs, has
also felt the impulse of the modern movement,
and has gradually been opened up to settle-
ment. It still, however, retains much of its
primitive agricultural aspects, although in the
recent railroad changes which have been dis-
cussed it seems likely that Queens will, more
than all the outlying portions of the old town-
ship, receive its share of the material pros-
perity so confidently anticipated.
Just as these lines were being penned a
telegram brought the news of the death of
one of the most devoted citizens of Jamaica —
ex-Governor Richard C. McCormick — at his
home, 88 Herriman avenue, in that village. In
this work he took a deep interest, made many
valuable suggestions and promised to aid it
from his rich stores of Long Island historical
data. He was a most enthusiastic student of
county history and had gathered together a
valuable library containing published volumes
of local historv from all over the country, for.
as he said, in such works the real story of the
nation and its people is to be found. In con-
versation with the writer a few weeks before
his death he told the story of the now forgotten
movement to erect at Jamaica a statue of Gen-
eral Nathaniel Woodhull and regretted that
that grand hero was apparently forgotten in
the region where he was best known and where
he gave up his life for his country.
Both the political and the business career
of Governor McCormick were anything but
commonplace. In recent years he had been en-
gaged in mining operations, with offices at X
Broadway, New York, but in earlier life he
was active as a Republican, and had the con-
fidence of such men as General Grant, Zacha-
riah Chandler, and William H. Seward. This
was considered somewhat remarkable, as he
married a daughter of one of the most dis-
tinguished Democratic statesmen of the day,
Allen G. Thurman, of Ohio.
Mr. iMcCormick was born in New York
City on May 23, 1832, and was descended from
several old Long Island families. He was
elected Trustee of Public Schools for the
Eleventh Ward in 1858, and two years later
was a member of the Republican State Com-
mittee,' taking an active part in the campaign
of that year in support of Lincoln, as he had
in the canvass four years previously, when
General Fremont was his party's candidate.
He was made Chief Clerk of the United States
Department of Agriculture in 1862, and a year
later became Secretary of the Territory of
Arizona. So well did he attend to the duties
of this office that in 1866 he was appointed
Governor of the Territory by President John-
son, and at once set about placing the people
in a better condition for defending themselves
against the hostile Apaches. It was on his
advice that General Crook was sent to this
section.
Governor jMcCormick served three terms
as a delegate in Congress from Arizona, and
declined a fourth nomination in order to ac-
cept the appointment of Commissioner to the
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Centennial Exposition. He was appointed
Assistant Secretary of the United States
Treasury in 1877, and Commissioner General
to the Paris Exposition in 1878. Returning
to New York and settling in Jamaica, he de-
voted himself to promoting the large mining
enterprises with which he had become identi-
fied. He was President and Director of the
Boreel Mining Company and the Small Hopes
Consolidated Mining Company, a Director of
the Leadville Consolidated Mining Company,
and a Trustee of the Citizens' Savings Bank.
He served a term in Congress from the First
Xew York District, taking his seat on March
4, 1895.
During Governor AlcCormick's stay in Ar-
izona he kept Secretary Seward informed as
to Maximilian's movements in Mexico. He
was one of the founders of the Long Island
Historical Society and the author of "Arizona:
Its Resources," and of several other works,
and was a member of the Union League Club,
the American Geographical Society^ and of
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. He
was also a Commander of the Legion of Honor
of France.
^^^^^
CHAPTER XLVll.
LONG ISLAND CITY
A Loose Aggregati
Terminus
; — Ai'jNEKE Tans — Captain Praa — Long Iseano Railroad's
-Astoria and Its Namesake — Grant Thorburn —
Hei.l Gate — A Picturesq^ue Mayor.
\' May 2-j, 1870, Governor Hoffman
signed the bill which took away part
of Newtown from that ancient town-
ship, including some of its most
thriving villages, and incorporated it into a
distinct municipality under the title of Long-
Island City. Such a union had been agitated
for several years, mainly since the terminus of
the Long Island Railroad had been established
for good at Hunter's Point, and the concentra-
tion, there of a large population seemed inevit-
able in the not very distant future. But it is
difficult now to see what was to be gained by
taking a section of territory with several vil-
lages widely separated from each other and
having little in common and dubbing it a
city. It was hardly a political measure; it
seemed rather a move on the part of the peo-
ple, headed by Father Crimmin, of St. Mary's,
Hunter's Point; the wealthy residents were
opposed to it and with reason, for there was
not even a city treasury in sight and the im-
position of city taxes on a sparsely settled
community meant a startling increase. That
increase it was urged would keep manufact-
ures from coming to the section and would
result in an increase of assessments on real
estate without any increase in the actual mar-
ket value of the property. From a financial
standpoint there was nothing to be said in
favor of the change, and the events which
followed from the signing of the bill of in-
corporation until the later bill was signed
which wiped the city out of existence amply
justified all the arguments against it. It be-
came in its consolidated state a prey to the
machinations of the local politicians, its treas-
ury was ever empty, its police force was never
adequate, its educational system was deficient;
the taxation was increased without adequate
return, the several sections incorporated by law
did not incorporate in reality, except in the
Hunter's Point section, the expected tremen-
dous increase in population did not materialize,
transit throughout the section was slow and
uncertain until 1890, when the trolley began its
work ; and when consolidation took effect Long
Island City was the weakest point in the ag-
gregation which made up the Greater New
York. Its most noteworthy feature was a
bonded indebtedness of $3,849,000, on some
of which interest was paid at the rate of seven
per cent. The Long Island Railroad had done
its work well in spite of local political op-
position. It had built up a vast terminal de-
pot, brought the place into close and frequent
communication with Manhattan Island and
made it a place of entry in reality for the busi-
ness of Long Island; but the city itself failed
to take advantage of its opportunity and be-
came more noted for the antics of its politi-
cians, its local "statesmen," than for aught else.
568
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
The localities incorporated into Long Isl-
and City were Astoria, Hunter's Point, Ra-
venswood, Dutch Kills, Blissville and Middle-
town and several small settlements, while the
two Brother and Berrian Islands were thrown
in for variety. The city had a splendid stretch
•of water front from Newtown Creek to Bow-
ery Bay, but although settlement was early
•effected within its borders it never had any
history worth writing about except that which
comes from the stories and traditions of the
old families who built it up and the more or
less straggling communities of which it was
composed. These communities may now be
considered in detail.
Governor Kieft seems to have given pat-
ents to many settlers for lands along the water
front from a fami at Hell Gate to an English-
man named William Hallet to another at a
point overlapping Newtown Creek at the other
end of the territory now under consideration
which was given to Everardus Bogardus, the
first minister or dominie of New Amsterdam,
and from that fact the point was named Dom-
inie's Hook. The property stood in the name
of the dominie when he went down into the
waters off the Welsh coast in 1647, along
with Governor Kieft himself, in the wreck of
the "Princess." His widow, the still famous
Aneke Jans, secured a fresh patent for the
point from Governor Stuyvesant, and it was
purchased from her heirs in 1697 by Captain
Peter Praa, whose descendants, along with
those of Aneke, have enjoyed many a most
exciting hunt after mythical real estate, to
the enjo}-ment of the public and the enrich-
ment of the lawyers. Peter Praa (or Pratt)
was a Huguenot, and came here from Dieppe,
France, in 1659. He appears to have been a
man of means, for soon after his arrival he
bought a bouwery at Gowanus. He died in
1663. His son. Captain Peter Praa, the pur-
chaser of the Dominie's Hook, was born at
Leyden in 1655, and therefore was but a child
when he came here. He developed into one
of the largest land owners in the vicinity.
owning vast tracts in Bushwick and elsewhere
as well as extending his original purchase of
the Dominie's Hook by much additional ter-
ritory on the water front as well as inland.
He died in 1740. One of his daughters, An-
netie, had married William Bennet, and died
some years before him, leaving a young fam-
ily, and to these children Captain Praa be-
queathed the Dominie's Hook property. Thus
in course of time its popular name became
Bennet's Hook. One of the family, Jacob
Bennet, bought up the entire interest in the
estate of the other heirs and at his death be-
queathed it to his daughter Anne, wife of
Captain George Hunter. She died in 1833,
leaving the property, which by that time had
again changed its name to Hunter's Point,
to her children. The last of these to reside
on the famih' homestead was Jacob Hunter,
who died in New York City in 1875.
It is noticeable that some of the deeds in
the early part of the last century conveying lots
at Hunter's Point call it Long Island City.
It continued to be a straggly, dreary, poverty-
stricken place, with few settlers and these of
the poorest class, until the Long Island Road,
because it could not make the necessary ar-
rangements in Brooklyn, selected it as the
main terminus of the road. Since then it has
steadily increased in population, and as the
First Ward of Long Island City it rapidly
assumed the lead in the destinies of that now
happily departed shade. Railway and manu-
facturing interests have steadily built up its
population and added to its material (resources,
most of which, however, were mercilessly
squandered by political intriguers.
The Second Ward of Long Island City,
Blissville, was founded by Neziah Bliss, the
patriarch of Greenpoint, but it really calls for
little mention, not having yet fulfilled the am-
bitious hopes once held as to its future. At
all events, it has not yet felt the upward move-
ment which the advent of the Greater City
has brought to so many other outlying places.
Its history has vet to be written. It formed
LOXG ISLAND CITY.
569
part of the old Dutch Kills section, and was a
corner of the old dominie's farm.
With Ravenswood, which became the
Third Ward of the city, we find better material
for historical stud)'. This is certainly one of
the prettiest "bits" in the whole of Greater
Xcw York, and as a residential neighborhood
it has been a favorite from the beginning of
the nineteenth century. In the first edition of
his "History of Long Island," issued in 1838,
Thompson says : "The site is sufficiently ele-
vated to afford the most charming view of
the adjacent country and possesses charms
which almost equal some descriptions in east'
ern romance. The situation will hardly suft'er
by comparison with the beautiful scenery of
the Thames at Windsor. Already several
houses have been completed and others are in
course of erection. In the vicinity are the
valuable farms of the corporation of New
York, upon which' buildings have been con-
structed for the accommodation of more than
500 orphan children who are maintained at its
expense." Grant Thorburn, the noted Scotch
florist of Astoria, whose seed store in New
York was long one of the landmarks of the
city, describes his sensations when, once pass-
ing this institution, he saw 600 children enjoy-
ing themselves. But the enterprise, or be-
nevolence, or whatever it may be called, did
not continue for many years. Its ultimate
fate created quite a riot. In French's Gazet-
teer of New York we read: "About 1834-5
the corporation of New York City erected ex-
tensive buildings about one and one-half miles
south from Astoria for a pauper establish-
ment, which were sold at public auction April
15, 1847, upon the removal of these institu-
tions to the islands in the river. Tlnree large
buildings, called the 'Boys' Nursery,' 'School-
house' and 'Infants' Nursery,' the property of
William W. Miles, were leased May 25, 1847,
to the Commissioners of Emigration for a
ship fever hospital and other purposes. A
public meeting was held immediately thereaf-
ter at Astoiria to express indignation at the
appropriation of the property to these uses
and to remonstrate against it. The people
failing to obtain their object, the premises
were assailed and destroyed on the night of
May 26-27 by a mob in disguise. An attempt
was made to fasten the expense of these losses
upon the town, and after repeated efforts the
owner recovered $3,000 from the State by act
of March 15, 1855." With this threatened
discord out of the way, Ravenswood resumed
its quiet and dignified serenity, and many fine
villas were erected within its neighborhood
from time to time. It still retains its old
description as a residential quarter, although
business and manufacturing requirements are
beginning to make inroads upon its domain.
It was long, however, the aristocratic section
of Long Island City. In 1849 St. Thomas's
Episcopal Church was organized, and since
then most of the social life of Ravenswood
has revolved around that little tabernacle.
Steinway, the principal settlement in the
Fifth Ward, was laid out in 1872 by the fa-
mous firm of New York piano-makors. There
they erected a splendid suite of buildings for
their own uses and around these buildings the
little village of Steinway was soon built up.
It has now an estimated population of 1,500,
and several other enterprises are carried on in
it, while its beautiful situation on Long Island
Sound has made it attractive to hundreds of
home-seekers. It is a thriving place in every
wa\- and will likely undergo many important
developments before many years pass by.
Astoria, which became the Fourth Ward
of the city, was long the most populous and
most popular village within it. It was incor-
porated as a village in 1836, and at that time
its name was changed from Hallett's Cove.
The name originally proposed: was the old
Indian one of Sunswick, still kept alive in
the name of a creek, but one of the men promi-
nent in the matter of the incorporation, Mr.
Stephen A. Halsey, suggested that if it were
named in honor of John Jacob Astor he might
pay for the foundation of a female seminary
570
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
which was to be one of the features of the
new village. Mr. Halsey spoke as one having
authority. He had been engaged in the fur
trade for many years, was intimately acquaint-
ed with Mr. Astor, and it was supposed pos-
sessed much influence with him. But Mr.
Astor was not exactly the man to be caught
with such chaflf, and when approached on the
subject rather threw cold water on the matter
by saying there was already a city named
Astoria and one was enough. However, Mr.
Halsey persevered, Astoria became the name,
and Mr. Astor contributed $ioo to the insti-
tution which it was expected he would erect
and maintain. Mr. Astor was a liberal enough
giver according to his lights, but the 'race of
modern benefactors had not then arisen.
Hallet's Cove received its name from Will-
iam Hallet, an Englishman, who got a patent
for a tract of land of i6o acres at Hell Gate
from Governor Kieft. In 1655 his home was
destroyed by Indians, and he was glad to es-
cape to Flushing,' of which place Stuyvesant
appointed him sherifif. However, he did not
hold that office long when the Governor de-
posed him for entertaining a traveling preacher
from Rhode Island. When the trouble had
blown over be returned to his property at
Hell Gate, and afterward added more acres
by purchase from the Indians until he owned
pretty much all of the coastline from Sunswick
Creek round to about where Steinway now is.
Anneke Jans also managed to get a slice of
real estate near by. She seemed to know how
to manage to secure choice parcels of land
better than any of her contemporaries, and she
certainly managed to hold on to what she got.
Bit by bit several farmers settled in the district,
and in 1753 Captain Jacob Blackwell and Jo-
seph Hallock built and operated a mill at the
mouth of Sunswick Creek, on its right bank.
Around the mill a small colony gradually
sprung up. Possibly there was not when the
Revolution broke out over half a dozen houses
altogether, but behind lay a thriving colony
of prosperous farmers. On-j evidence of this
is found in the fact that in 1762 an English
and classical school was established at Hallet's-
Cove, while thirteen of the near-by farmers
were willing to board one or more of the schol-
ars at a yearly rate of $45. But the institu-
tion did not last long, and Hallet's Cove re-
sumed its sleep.
With the War of 1812 the sleep was broken.
Large parties of experts visited the cove with
the view of surveying its importance as z
defensive position, covering as it could the
approach from the Sound through Hell Gate
to New York. One of the results of this
survey was the erection of Fort Stevens. But
the flurry was soon over, although its effects-
were of incalculable benefit to Hallet's Cove.
The many fine, even romantic, sites suitable
for residential purposes which surrounded it
had become known, and many New York mer-
chants secured choice plots in the neighbor-
hood. But the most noted'of the new arrivals-
was General Ebenezer Stevens, for whom Fort
Stevens had been named. A member of the
famous Boston Tea Party, a hero of two wars-
and a popular man in social life, his advent
would have caused a stir in any community
and would have been the occasion of a warm
welcome. Such he found in Hallet's Cove.
He built a splendid home on an eminence just
opposite the northern extremity of Blackwell's
Island, and gave the name of IMount Bonaparte
to his property.
I\Ir. Henry Whittemore, the well-known
Long Island historian and genealogist, gives
the following interesting record of the family
• of this hero and his achievements in "The
Heroes of the Revolution," a work of great
value and research :
John Austin Stevens, the founder and first
President of the Society, comes of a line of
distinguished New England ancestors, who
have been prominent in Church and State
affairs for two h.undred years.
Erasmus Stevens, the first of the family
mentioned in this line, appears in 1714 as one
of the founders of the New North Church in
Boston, He had a son, Ebenezer (i).
LONG ISLAND CLTV.
571
Ebenezer Stevens (i), son of Erasmus
Stevens, was probably born in Boston. He
lived in Roxbury, wliere he married Elizabeth
Wild. They had a son, Ebenezer (2).
Major-General Ebenezer Stevens, of the
War of the Revolution, son of Ebenezer and
Elizabeth (Wild) Stevens, was born in Bos-
ton, Massachusetts, August 22, 1751. He was
an ardent patriot, and led the famous "Tea
Pairty," 1773, in disposing of the obnoxious
cargo by "committing it to the deep." He
made little effort at disguise, being recognized
by the officers of one of the ships. He soon
afterward removed to Rhode Island, where he
raised two companies of artillery and one of
artificers, and was commissioned Lieutenant,
May 8, 1775, and took part in the expedition
against Quebec. He joined Henry Knox's
regiment of artillery, was made a Captain on
January 11, 1776, and on November 9, fol-
lowing, was brevetted Major. He commanded
the artillery at Ticonderoga and Stillwater.
As senior officer of this arm of defense in the
northern department, he directed the artillery
operations in the encounters which led to the
defeat and surrender of Burgoyne, and soon
after received a brevet commission as Lieu-
tenant-Coloucl, with a special resolution of
thanks from the Continental Congress, for
merit as Commandant of the Artillery of the
Northern Department in the campaigns of
1776-7. He was at this time in the Massachu-
setts line. On April 30, 1778, he was com-
missioned Lieutenant-Colonel and transferred
to Colonel John Lamb's regiment of the New
York line, in which he served to the end of the
war. He was entrusted with the defenses of
the Hudson River, and had chains and other
obstructions placed across the rivor to prevent
the ships of the enemy from ascending. In
1 78 1 he prepared a train of artillery for the
southern service and was selected by General
Lafavette to accompany him on his expedition
to Virginia.
Owing to impaired health he returned
home for a time, but after a brief respite he
was commissioned by General Knox to pre-
pare the artillery force which was to operate
against Cornwallis. This was collected and
transported from West Point. Philadelphia
and Baltimore, and plaved an important part
in the final siege which led to the surrender
of Cornwallis. This completed his active
service, though he continued his command till
the armv was finalh- disbanded. It is believed
that no officer of his grade in the army ren-
dered more arduous, various and important
services than Colonel Stevens, and his charac-
teristic energy, courage and perseverance gave
assurance that, had the opportunity occurred,
be would have signalized himself in a manner
worthy of his patriotism and his ambition.
After the Revolution he started in business
in New York, and without any previous ex-
perience, but relying on his own prudence
and foresight, he met with extraordinary suc-
cess and became one of the leading merchants
of New York City. As agent of the War
Department he constructed the fortifications
upon Governor's Island in 1800. In 1812 he
was commissioned Major-General of the State
Militia, and with Morgan Lewis mustered for
active service against the British, in Septem-
ber, 18 14, at the time of an anticipated attack
upon the city. He resigned his command in
1815 and withdrew from all public employ-
ment. He married, first, in 1775, Rebecca
Hodgson, of Boston. In 1784 he married Lu-
cretia, widow .of Richardson Sands, a daugh-
ter of John Ledyard and sister of Colonel
William Ledyard, the hero of Fort Groton.
By his first wife, Rebecca Hodgson, he had
issue three children, viz. : Horatio Gates,
George, Rebecca (married John P. Schermer-
horn). By his second wife he had Byam,
William, Henry K., Samuel, Dr. Alexander
H., John Austin, and Mary, wife of Frederick
W. Rhinelander, Esq.
John Austin Stevens, Sr., was born in New
York City January 22, 1795, died October 19,
1874. He was graduated at Yale in 1843;
entered mercantile life and became a partner
in his father's business in 1818. He was for
many years Secretary of the New York Cham-
ber of Commerce, and was one of the organ-
izers and the first President of the Merchants'
Exchange. From its first establishment, in
1839, till i860, he was President of the Bank
of Commerce. He was chaimian of the Com-
mittee of Bankers of New York, Boston and
Philadelphia, which first met in August, 1861,
and decided to take $50,000,000 of the Govern-
ment 7-30 loan. They subsequently advanced
$100,000,000 more, and the teirms of the trans-
action were arranged chiefly by Mr. Stevens,
as the head of the treasury note committee.
His advice was frequently sought by the offi-
cers of the Treasurv Department during the
Civil War.
John Austin Stevens, Jr., the first President
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and one of the incorporators of the Society
Sons of the American Revolution, son of John
Austin Stevens, Sr., was born in New York
City January 23, 1827 ; was graduated at Har-
vard in 1846, engaged in mercantile business
in New York, and in 1862 was elected Secre-
tary of the New York Chamber of Commerce,
continuing in office six years. He was libra-
rian of the New York Historical Society, and
devoted himself to the investigation of topics
of American History. He founded and for
many years edited the Magazine of American
History. He was the author of numerous
works, among which were "The Valley of the
Rio Grande ; its Topography and Resources"
(New York, 1864) ; "Alemorial of the New
York Chamber of Commerce on Steam Navi-
gation" (1864) ; "Colonial Records of the New
York Chamber of Commerce" (1867), con-
taining illustrations and biographical and his-
torical sketches ; "The Progress of New York
in a Century" ( 1876) ; "The Expedition of
Lafayette Against Arnold," published by the
Maryland Historical Society (Baltimore,
1878), and other works.
General Stevens' eldest son married the
daughter of Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the
Treasury under Jefferson and Madison, and
that venerable statesman died in the home on
Mount Bonaparte in 1849. By the middle of
the century quite a number of manufactories
had located around Hallet's Cove, which had
become quite a village. In 1828 St. George's
Episcopalian Church was founded, and in 1834
a meeting-house was erected for the use of the
Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed congrega-
tions. In 1837 the once famous female insti-
tute was founded. The Rev. Alexander H.
Bishop was installed in 1840 as minister of
the Dutch Church, and the Presbyterians, hav-
ing given up their interest in the building,
erected jointly, it was given over to the sole
use of the new pastor. The Presbyterians
worshipped in the district "school-house until
1846, when they entered a new church they
had built, and chose the Rev. F. G. Clark as
their pastor. .
About the middle of the last century As-
toria became noted for its nurseries and gar-
dens, the leader in that business being Grant
Thorburn, whose grounds were once the most
extensive of any devoted to the raising of gar-
den seeds to be found in the country. Thor-
burn's gardens were near the river, — the Soh-
mer piano factory now stands on part of the
property, and he himself was postmaster of
Hallet's Cove for some time, and assisted in
the organization of the Reformed Dutch
Church in 1839. A useful man, the founder
of a local industry and one who made a con-
siderable mark in the world of letters, it is
worth while to recall the salient features of
Thorburn's career before he became connected
with Astoria.
In the "Statistical Account of Scotland,"
vol. I, page 495, is the following brief notice :
"Mr. Grant Thorrburn, seedsman. New
York, the original 'Lawrie Tod,' though a na-
tive of Newbattle parish, where he was born
on the 1 8th of February, 1773, lived in Dal-
keith from his childhood until he sailed for
New York on the 13th of April, 1794. He is
a man of great piety and worth, though of a
remarkably lively and eccentric character. He
visited Dalkeith in 1834, when he published his
"Autobiography," which he dedicated with
characteristic singularity and elegance to Her
Grace the Duchess of Buccleuch."
It did not suit the purpose for Mr. Peter
Steele, the gifted schoolmaster who in 1844
wrote these words, to give any indication of
Thorburn's career in Scotland. Political feel-
ing then ran very high and political resentment
was very bitter, and the teacher could not, had
he so inclined, say a word commendatory of
Thorburn's early life without bringing upon
his own head the ill will of the Buccleuch
family and its adherents. So like a canny Scot
he acted the part of the Highlandman's parrot,
which "thocht a guid deal and said naething
ava." Thorburn learned from his father the
trade of a nail-maker, and became quite an
expert at it long before his aoprenticeship was
past. Like most of the Scottish workmen of
the time, — a time when the old order of things
LONG ISLAND CITY.
was fast changing and the governing powers
tried to .quell the popular advance and the
popular aspirations with trials for treason, se-
dition and the like, — Thorburn became deeply
interested in politics, and in Dalkeith was
prominent among those who advocated Par-
liamentary reform and a generous concession
to the claims of the people to a voice in the
conduct of affairs. The result was that when
opportunity offered he was arrested for trea-
son, and after a short time in prison was re-
leased on bail. This arrest made him a marked
man and blocked any prospect of his making
his way in the world, so, believing that the
star of freedom blinked bonnily across the sea
in the new republic which had thrown off' the
yoke of the same Parliament he had protested
against, Thorburn left Scotland, and, settling
in New York, tried to earn his living at his
trade of nail-making. It, however, did not
promise much for the future, and in 1801 he
started in business as a grocer at 20 Nassau
street. "He was there," writes Walter Bar-
rett, "some ten or twelve years, and then he
moved to No. 22, and about the time of his
removal, in 1810, he changed his business and
kept garden seeds and was a florist. He estab-
lished a seed-raising garden at Newark, but
it proved unsuccessful, and thereafter he con-
fined his attention to his business in New York
and acquired considerable means." In 1825
he secured land and opened his garden in
Astoria, where he built a home for himself.
From the beginning of his Ame^rican career
almost Thorburn became known for his kindly
heart, and he did much practical good in a
fiuiet wa>-, not only ainong his countrymen,
but among all deserving people whose needs
touched his sympathy or aroused his com-
passion. For many years his store in Liberty
street was not only a lounging place for the
merchants who bought flowers, but for the
practical gardeners who grew them, and his
place became a sort of clearing house for the
horticulturists in the city, and every Scotch
gardener who arrived in New York from the
old country made Thorburn"s place his head-
quarters until he found employment, and hun-
dreds used to say that the advice and informa-
tion they received from him at that critical
stage in their careers were of the most incal-
culable value to them through life. In 1854
Air. Thorburn in a sense retired from business
and returned to Astoria. From there he moved
to Winsted. Connecticut, and finally to New
Haven, Connecticut, where he died in 1863.
Air. Thorburn possessed considerable lit-
erary tastes, and under the iioin dc plniiic of
"Lawrie Tod" wrote in his later years at fre-
quent intervals for the "Knickerbocker Maga--
zine" and other periodicals. He gave to John
Gait much of the information which that ge-
nius incorporated in his story of "Lawrie-
Tod ; or. Settlers in the New World," and his
published books of reminiscences, notably his
"Forty Years' Residence in America" and
"Fifty Years' Reminiscences of New York,"
still form interesting reading. So, too, does a
now scarce volume published in 1848, under
the title of "Lawrie Tod's Notes on A'irginia,
with a Chapter on Puritans, Witches and
Friends." This book is one of tlmse contrilju-
tions to American social history which will
become of more value as time speeds on, al-
though its importance will be more apjjreciated
by the student than by the general reader.
L'ntil the incorporation of Astoria as a
village it progressed on somewhat slow yet
eminently satisfactory lines. In fact, it was re-
garded as prosperous. After incnriKiratinn it
progressed more rapidly. The "linrsc" f.Try
gave way to a steamer in 1839, and in 1853
a gas compan}^ was organized and man}' other
improvements were introduced. Its advan-
tages as a residential village were kept well
before the people and every inducement was
offered to people likely to become good citi-
zens to settle. It was a quiet, orderly com-
munity, a home community, a law-abiding,
peaceful community : and even after the fo^rma-
tion of Long Island City, of which it became
a ward, when other parts of the township:
574
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
were offering protection to blacklegs and
swindlers, when the liquor dealers . united
openly to defy the law, when it was loudly
boasted that in Long Island City a man might
even defy the law and escape justice, Astoria
held aloof from the maelstrom of license and
crime and pursued the even tenor of her way,
conscious that if other members of the family
had thrown open their doors to crime she at
least had preserved her name unsullied. But
it cannot be said that her incorporation with
Long Island City proved for Astoria's benefit ;
iiow she will fare in the Greater New York
still remains to be seen.
An event which for a time attracted the
attention of the entire country, and indeed of
the scientific world, to Long Island City was
the blowing up of. Hell Gate so as to provide a
clear channel for navigation. This event be-
longs to the annals of Astoria because the
main obstructions destined to be removed lay
.off her shore line and' the operations were
directed from headquarters established in her
territory. The wonderful story of that great
engineering enterprise has been so often fully
told that there is little need of plunging into
the details in these pages. Suffice it to say
.that the work was begun in 1870 by the United
States Government and placed under the direc-
tion of General Newton. For six years the
work progressed, and after some minor ob-
structions had been removed every effort was
directed to the destruction of Hallet's Reef,
the most dangerous in the whole passage. A
shaft had been sunk and passageways cut out
in the interior of the rock until its whole
extent was opened up. Into holes drilled
into these passageways 52,206^ pounds of
dynamite and other explosives were inserted,
a network of electric wires connected the
whole with a series of batteries on shore, and
these again were controlled by a single wire
operated by a button. The work was pro-
nounced complete, and on Saturday, Septem-
^ber 23, 1876, water was let into all the pas-
sasjewavs and on the following dav the little
daughter of General Newton touched the but-
ton and in two seconds Hallet's Reef was a
mass of bfoken rock. The whole scheme had
worked to perfection, almost exactly accord-
ing to the schedule of the engineers. Flood
Rock was afterward destroyed in the same
way and several smaller obstructions were
successfully removed. Hell Gate with its dan-
gers is now a thing of the past, and this was
amply demonstrated in the early summer of
1 90 1, when a United States war vessel of the
first class successfully passed through a chan-
nel which formerly was deemed too dangerous
to be attempted in time of peace except by
HELL G.^TE.
river craft manned by river pilots, and was
always dangerous. Readers of Fenimore
Cooper's interesting novel, "The Water
Witch," will recall a most thrilling descrip-
tion of the passage through Hell Gate as it
was in the days before L^ncle Sam undertook
to remove its dangers.
To the student of American municipal mat-
ters the history of Long Island City as a dis-
tinct community during its existence of some
twenty-eight years, is an interesting study, if
a somewhat nauseous one. It is not intended
to follow its details here, for, excepting for
the purposes of such study, the story is really
purposeless ; so a few details will suffice. As
LOXG ISLAND CITY
the new city became the legal center of Queens
county it became the seat of the law courts
and so attracted quite a new order of business
to the whilom Hunter's Point, a class of busi-
ness which it still holds. To accommodate this
legal business it was deemed necessary to build
a court house. One was authorized in 1872
and in 1875 it was completed and opened.
The original cost was fixed at $150,000, but
the actual cost was $278,000, and the local poli-
ticians thought it escaped them too easily at
that! The first election under the charter
was held on July 5, 1870, when Abram D.
Dittmars was elected Mayor, but the charter
proved unworkable and full of faults, so that
within a year a second charter had to be given
the city. Each of the five wards were repre-
sented by three Aldennen, but in 1879 the
number was reduced by limiting the wards to
one city father- each, while two were chosen
by the city at large. Henry S. Bebevoise was
elected the second Mayor in 1873, and in 1876
Mr. Dittmars was re-elected, but soon re-
signed. The most famous of all the Mayors, —
famous for his vulgarity, his defiance of law
and his aptitude for holding votes, — was Pat-
rick Jerome Gleason, the last of the city's
own lulers, and who, after a curious career, be-
■ came a political nonentity, a bankrupt, and
died poor and heartbroken early in 1901. One
of the newspaper accounts of his career said :
"Patrick Jerome Gleason, who in late years
was never mentioned without his emblem,
the battle-axe, being spoken of in the same
breath, was a unique figure in American poli-
tics. For years he practically carried Long
Island City in his vest pocket and was the
autocrat of the place. He was its Mayor for
- three terms, runing over eight years, and from
the time of his appearance there until his death
his name was constantly before the public in
one form or another.
"Gleason was fond of notoriety and liked
to talk about himself and his deeds. He de-
clared that the laborer and school children had
in him a champion, and in the fight for more
school-bouses he continually led the van. One
of his latest feats was to write an autobiogra-
phy, which it was his intention to publish in
book form. He could not keep it long enough,
however; he said it was too good for that, —
so he gave it to the newspapers a chapter at
a time.
"It was in the parish of Drum and Inch,
County Tipperary, the birthplace of Senator
John Morrissey, that Patrick J. Gleason was
born. He said in his book that he had a twin
brother and six other brothers and one sister.
Patrick was the pigmy of the family, and he
stood six feet one inch when he had attained
his growth.
"In May, 1862, when the Civil War was
raging, Gleason came to this country. He
used to tell that he had not been here two
da_\'s when he was assaulted by two volunteer
firemen, and he added, 'we had to be separated
by a policeman.'
"Mr. Gleason's twin brother became a
member of Mosby's guerrillas, but Patrick
elected to stand by the Stars and Stripes, al-
though the Ninety-ninth Regiment, in which
he was a lieutenant, never got to the front.
The next step in his career was as a distiller
in Flushing, but the plant was confiscated by
the Government and Gleason found himself
bankrupt. He became a bidder for a street
railroad through Williamsburgh into Long
Island City, and got a franchise. Then came
his fi!rst plunge into politics at the time of the
Greeley campaign, when he was defeated for
the Assembly.
"With a capital of fifty cents, Gleason
thought of California as a haven, and he said
he went to a friend to borrow $150, telling
him be need never expect to see it again.
The friend gave him $300 and he went to the
Golden Gate. He had brothers in San Fran-
cisco, and finally sold his distillery secret for
$5,000, dabbling in stocks and increasing his
capital to $32,000. He heard that some one
was trying to get his franchise in Williams-
burgh, so he came East, built his road, acted
576
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
as conductor, driver, president and oeneral
superintendent, and began to increase liis roll-
ing stock.
"It was as Mayor of Long Island City that
Gleason came irtto the greatest prominence.
He was a strong supporter of consolidation,
and when the Greater New York was finall\-
an accomplished fact Mr. Gleason announced
himself as a candidate for Mayor of the greater
city. The battle-axe was his emblem on the
ballot, but his candidacy was looked upon as
a joke."
With the story of this interesting person-
age, whose name for fifteen years or so was
the most familiair one in Long Island City,
we might fittingly close this chapter, for in
one sense he was its most representative citi-
zen, in that he could for manv vears rallv a
majority of its votes to his assistance to sup-
port his schemes. But before closing it may
be proper to recall one locality which practi-
cally has passed out of existence. Dutch
Kills still has a quasi-existence in local talk,
although it has legally been wiped out, but
■Middletown, on the eastern boundary line of
the city, seems to have been entirely passed
into the forgotten. In the Revolutionary era
it came into prominence from the movement
of the British troops, Sir Henry Clinton and
General Robertson having their headquarters
there for brief periods, just as Lord Corn-
wallis seems to have had a brief station at
Dutch Kills. But historic tradition alone is
not enough to give vitality to a place, and so
Middletown gradually fell from its one-time
prominence and is now practically a memory.
L
i|
A
CHAPTER XLVIII.
SUMMER RESORTS.
A Cosmopolitan Pleasure Resort — Health, Excitement, vSociety and Solitude
— Modern Baronial Estates — Patchogue — Peconic Bay — The
Land Boomer and the Railway.
OXG ISLAND, throug-hout its whole
extent, might most fittingly be
styled the garden of New York, or
Greater New York, the amusement
and recreation ground of America's greatest
city. It gratifies every taste. The lover of
quiet can find it in abundance, can settle down
in places apparently so far removed from the
din of commerce, the roar and bustle and
struggle of humanity, that he might easily
imagine himself a thousand miles away from
any habitation excepting his own and hear no
sound save the hum of the bee, the twitter of
the bird, oir the musical duet of the katydid
when night falls and darkness closes in on the
little world to which he has resigned himself.
If he wants society and fun and frolic and
excitement, he can find it in abundance at
many a popular caravansary, where he can be
associated with people from all parts of the
world, get the newest hints as to social life
and study the most recent fad in the fashiona-
ble world. If a sportsman, he can find full
use for rod and gun ; and if he desires to fish
in the deep blue sea, the waters of the Atlantic
or of Long Island Sound are ready at his com-
mand. The fishermen can find no place where
a day of more genuine fun can be had than
in Jamaica Bay, or he can have a day worthy
of being remembered by engaging in snipe
shooting at Westhampton ; if he wants excite-
37
men with his sport, let him spend a day or two
in an open boat off the Great South Bay ; if
he be of the quiet, contemplative, philosophical
kind, Izaak Walton description of a sport, a
gentle "angler," why, such places as Sayville
are ready to receive and welcome him. If a
golfer, the finest courses in the world are at
Babylon, Ouogaie, Flushing, Port Washing-
ton, the Shinnecock Hills and a dozen other
places. If a polo expert, he will find many
noted players in the Meadow Brook Club,
one of the most famous sporting organizations
in the land, whose kennels are a sight to see
and whose annual hunting record is the best
and most exciting in the country. If a bicy-
clist, he has only to secure a little tag and go
meandering over some of the finest cycle paths
to be met anywhere in this vale of tears and of
spent tires and smashed wheels. He may even
enjoy scorching now and again, and. most
wonderful of all, will never once in his jour-
ney on the island be denounced as a nui-
sance. Sea-bathing, rolling and tumbling in
tlie breakers or floating lazily in still waters
is everywhere at command or within easy
reach; and some of the most magnificent
stretches of sandy beach to be found any-
where are of frequent occurrence along the
whole extent of the South Shore. The har-
bor facilities for yachting purposes are unex-
celled, and the sport, one of the grandest ever
578
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
invented by human agency, is enjoyed to the
fiill by the dwellers on the island. No pret-
tier sight can anywhere be found than the snug
harbors of Port Jefferson or Shelter Island
during the height of the season. If one is
•of a poetic mirid, loves to realize how small
an atom he is in the cosmopolis, he can sit
on the rocks at Montauk Point and mourn the
glories of a vanished race, a royal race, and
realize the mutability of earthly greatness and
■comprehend his own insignificance as he
watches the wide expanse of horizon and sees
the wide limitless expanse of water kissing
the rocky coast when in placid mood, or hurl-
ing against it with resistless fury when the
■angry fit is on.
A rare place indeed is Long Island for all
sorts and conditions of men, and the beauty
of it all is that every section of it is within
easy reach of America's metropolitan city,
•Greater New York, part of which, indeed, is
now on the island itself. Even to the so-
journer, with only an hour or two to spare,
the attractions of the island are open. Coney
Island is less than an hour's distance by water,
or even by the trolley, and a ride on some
of these vehicles really carry the visitor
through a stretch of ground more crammed
with historical interest than can be found in
:an hour's ride even in history-burdened Con-
tinental Europe. We traverse the scene of
the Battle of Brooklyn and through old vil-
lages, now, however, so sadly modernized and
annexed that only glimpses here and there of
the relics of other days present themselves.
But we. in spite of changes, do pass through
Flatbush and Flatlands and Gravesend, and
■each of these names irecalls to the student of
modern history a flood of treasured mem-
ories. Coney Island itself is a picture, a unique
"city of the sea," with its bands, its noise, its
touts, its shows, its merry-go-rounds and its
cafes and saloons. A little bit vulgar, some
people call it: possibly they are right; but
there are many tastes in this world to be
o-ralified. and every taste that is right and
proper and in keeping with morals and ethics
has to be catered to. Coney Island has but
one mission, and that is to please the public;
and as it is visited every year by about a
million persons it can hardly be said not to
fulfill that mission. But people who think it
vulgar, who find it not to their taste, can
pass it by and go on to Manhattan Beach and
the Oriental, where they can listen to classical
music, hear now and again an opera or bur-
lesque, associate with the salt of the earth,
be waited upon by Austrian dukes and Italiap
counts rigged up in swallow-tailed coats, eat
the culinary masterpieces of French chefs, and
see a grand display of fireworks before as-
cending to their bedrooms to be lulled to sleep
with the gentle moan of the deep blue sea.
In the season "the sport of kings." as horse
racing is called, can be enjo>"ed at Sheepshead
Bay or at Gravesend. Another resort near
at hand is Rockaway, a long stretch of sand
lying between Jamaica Bay and the ocean ;
while east of it, on the same stretch of sand,
is Arverne, with its huge hotel and cottages,
a center of social pleasure for three months
every year.
The trolley system of Brooklyn is one of
the most comprehensive to be found anywhere,
•and by it one may journey over very considera-
ble distances of interesting country for a cost
that is almost nominal. From Brooklyn Bridge
to Jamaica is perhaps the acme of cheap and
pleasant traveling, and so in the trip from
the Broadway Ferry to Flushing or North
Beach. Jamaica is the railroad center of the
island. Flushing one of its old historic towns,
and North Beach a summer show place; and
to get to each of these places the cars pass
through a wide extent of varied country, some-
times more or less thickly populated, some-
times so thinly peopled that the car bowls
along with increased speed, irresponsive to
the beauty of the surroundings or the story
of the wayside, so as to make up the time
lost in threading its way through the city's
streets. Traveling by trolley is a delightful
SUMMER RESORTS.
579
pleasure on a warm day, for Ihe car itself
"makes a breeze," as the conductor tells us,
and there is a certain degree of excitement or
exhilaration always obtainable when one is
bowling along through an open country, now
passing a village, now a church, now a green
field, and ever and anon dashing through some
little collection of pretty villas, the beginning
of some future popular summer resort.
But the trolley has its drawbacks ; and as
we look at the motorman we realize what a
wide difference there is between that mechani-
cal development and the old-fashioned stage-
driver of OUT younger days. The motorman
is a part of the machinery, and nothing more.
The stage-driver was a gentleman, and, in his
way and so far as his observation went, a
scholar and a philosopher. He could tell you
the story, the romance, of every field as he
passed it by, name the owners of each house,
tell you how much the head of each family was
worth, relate all sorts of village scandal and
gossip, and point out the scene of every re-
markable occurrence within his view for a
hundred years back! Your motorman is a
different personage. He attends strictly to
business, and his business is to get his car to
the end of his route and nothing more. We
question if there is a motorman in Brooklyn
who could point out to you a bit of the ground
fought over in the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776,
or who ever heard that such a battle had ever
been fought. His mind is fixed on other
things.
The resorts on Long Island are very nu-
merous, and all of them seem to grow in popu-
larity year after year. We can not recall one
that has gone back to its primitive condition
of solitary wildness: althoueh most of them
have their ups and downs, their good years
and their bad ones, the story is one of steady
progress all along the line. Some seasons
the "gilded youth" of both sexes prefer one
place to another, and forsake, say Shelter
Island for Glen Cove ; but new arrivals take
the place of the departed ones, and the story
of success goes steadil_\- on. There is more
reason for this than appears on the surface.
The people who really make these resorts are
the dwellers in the large cities, and as these
increase in population year after year so does
the cry for summer homes, and summer
breathing places increase. Then Long Island
fills the bill. It is so easily reached and yet
affords such a welcome change! But, more
than all that, its schedule of prices are mod-
erate, and a man can spend a season at on€
of its best hotels as cheaply as he can in such
establishments anywhere. Land is cheap, and
a site for a dwelling is not costly, nor is labor
extravagant in its demands. A man can
choose a site overlooking the seashore or in
some picturesque nook in the center of the
island, all for a moderate cost, while he can
have his provisions from New York or from
some of the towns on the Connecticut shore
as cheaply and promptly as though he were
still a dweller in the busy haunts of men.
He can enjoy city privileges and rural felicity
without drawing more heavily on his purse
than though he never stirred away from the
noise and clamor of a city. Long Island is
every year becoming an island of homes in
the sense that Brooklyn used to be called a
"city of homes." It is drawing to itself all
classes of the community, — the millionaire
and the clerk, and the mansion and the cot-
tage, both find congenial surroundings.
In recent years a new development has
taken place on Long Island, in the holding by
individuals of vast extent of its territory, such
as the property at Oakdale of Williain K. Van-
derbilt and the estates of F. G. Bourne, of W.
H. Whitney and others. These demesnes are
veritable baronial holdings and rival in beauty
and elegance many an English show place.
But they are much more home-like, and the res-
idences erected on them are a thousand times
more comfortable than most of the storied old-
world castles we read so much about. The old
owners of manors on Long Island would have
gazed with wonder at these estates, the modern
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
successors of their vast holdings. The modern
manors are not so large as the old ones, and
their title deeds do not convey any question-
able "rights," — rights which sometimes sadly
interfered with "life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness ;" but they are better worth living
on and give to their owners more genuine
pleasure and comfort than any of the old patri-
archs could derive from their broad but lileak
and sterile acres.
Of late years a feature of summer-home
life on Long Island has been the organizations
which club together, buy a piece of property,
erect a club house and cottages and restrict the
rights of property-owning on their domain to
their own members. By this means many a
pleasant colony has been formed of people who
are acquainted with each other and whose com-
pany is congenial. Some of these places are
most attractive, their co-operation pennit;ting
many expenses which the members could not
indulge in single-handed, and they afford as a
result of the benefits of co-operation all the
pleasure of rural outdoor life at a very moder-
ate cost.
But the multitude of people who go to
Long Island flock to the resorts and the num-
ber of them is legion. Take Patchogue, for in-
stance. It is in itself an old and settled com-
munity, lying in the shelter of the Great South
Bay, in a little bay which bears its own name,
with a railroad station in its midst, and one of
the best roads in the island reaching from its
centre right across to Long Island Sound, to
Port Jefferson. It has an industry pre-emi-
nently its own, its oyster trade, as well as
several manufacturing establishments. Little
need for it one would think, to spread bait to
catch summer visitors ; yet season after sea-
son they flock to it by the thousand. Its wide
streets charm every one; and its churches, vil-
las as well as its general air of comfort and
cleanliness are satisfying somehow to the
dweller in cities. Of course it caters to this
annual trade and has all the attractions which
an up-to-date seaside resort should have, and,
unlike many of the smaller towns in Suffolk
county, it spends money on improvements with
no niggard hand. As a sea-bathing resort it
has all the adjuncts which fashion demands,
and a fleet of oar-boats or sailing vessels or
naptha launches are daily riding in its harbor,
waiting the beck and call of any who want to
enjoy a sail on the Great South Bay. If one is
tired of the seacoast he can easily turn his steps
inland ; he can enjoy a glimpse of the country,
or, by hiring a gig. can drive for many hours
through rich and varied scenes and never once
catch a glimpse of the coast until he returns to
his hotel or boarding-house, and boarding-
houses are as plentiful in Patchogue as dollar
bills in a bank.
For those who desire seaside with very
little, comparatively, of country, a tract of
Long Island has been coming slowly into
vogue in recent years, and that is at its eastern
end along the shores of Great and Little Pe-
conic Bay. A recent writer speaks of this sec-
tion in the following enthusiastic fashion, — a
fashion which, however, is truthful, in spite of
its entlmisiasm:
"Along Peconic Bay are a number of towns
and villages whose fine climate, good roads and
general attractions are making them prime fa-
vorites wfth summer visitors. The bay itself
is a beautiful body of salt water, on whose
placid bosom all manner of pleasure craft can
be seen during the warm months, bearing hap-
py groups of care-free folk. They sail or row
over the blue waters in land-locked security
from the rollers of the open sea. If they wish
to take a dip in the surf, good beaches offer
the alluring opportunity.
"On the north side of the bay, after leav-
ing Riverhead, one soon comes to the town of
Aquebogue, a name admirably descriptive, for
water anci bog make up the bay-front side.
The Saxon half of the name and the sedgy
flats about the town suggest the marshes of
Runnymede, where the barons wrested the
I\Iagna Charta from King John.
"Tlie land rises as one reaches Jamesport,
SUMMER RESORTS.
581
and here are hills crowned with old churches
and pleasant homes. This town has become
so popular for a summer holiday that the dif-
ficulty frequently met with is getting accom-
modations, a fact that has served as a stimulus
in the erection of many cottages.
"Franklinville is a pretty village, 'at peace
with all the world.' Contentment exhales from
it as a fragrance, and it always has a colony
of summer residents.
"A little way on down the narrow Italy-
shaped peninsula into which the north side
of Long Island is here tapering is the modest
village of Mattituck. Both to the north end
and to the south it has fine water views. Hav-
ing comfortable inns and hospitable farm-
houses for the entertainment of visitors, it
has won deserved repute as a place of sum-
mer outing. One of the diversions of those
sojourning here is found in a little creek flow-
ing toward the Sound and abounding in crabs.
In both sea and bay fish are plentiful.
" 'Just sneeze and you pronounce it:" that
is a remark the writer overheard as descriptive
of the name Cutchogue. But this description
is suggestive in other ways than phonetically.
A sneeze is apt to result from too much o.xy-
gen, and in the air that blows fresh from the
water over sightly Cutchogue oxygen is abund-
ant. This pretty town has other advantages
than good air and a fine view. It is on one
of the best roads in America, the long, straight
highway leading from Riverhead to Orient.
But good roads on Long Island, it should be
said, are the rule rather than the exception.
Every natural advantage in surface and soil
helps their construction and maintenance. The
drainage is good, the grades seldom steep,
save near the ocean, and there is plenty of
land to give the roads needed width. As a
result these highways Ijetween verdant
stretches of farm land, in the shade of noble
trees, by the shores of shining lakes, and in
sight often of the mighty sea, offer a perpetual
invitation to walking, cycling and driving.
"One's first impression of Peconic, formed
from a glance down its broad, shaded street,
is favorable, and closer acquaintance with the
old town confirms this impression. Jutting
out from the shore is a headland called Nas-
sau Point. Southold, a few miles east, lays
claim to antiquity in its name, and points to
the fact proudly that its first settlers secured a
concession from the Indians and from a
church as early as 1640. There is a conten-
tion between Southold and Southampton,
across the bay, as to which is the older. In
.\ugust, 1890, South61d celebrated, with much
ceremony, the two hundred and fiftieth anni-
versary of its founding. The town has a cen-
ter where the stores, schools, and churches are
grouped, and about it the houses are scattered
widely. Whichever way the wind may blow
the old place is fanned by a sea breeze. In
this fact some antiquarians profess to have
found a reason for the great age of some of
the inhabitants, a few of whom, it is gravely
claimed, antedate the founding of the place.
"Journeying to the very end of the main
line of the Long Island Railroad one reaches
the progressive and interesting town of Green-
port. It has over 3,000 inhabitants, and is
both a resort and an important business centre.
Besides the trade that comes to it from being
the terminus of the railroad, it has a consider-
able commerce through its boat connections
with Shelter Island, New London, and Sag
Harbor. Within the safe haven of its harbor
a mighty fleet could find anchorage. The
town's large summer population is drawn from
a wide territory — New England and the West
being represented as well as New York and
Brooklyn. These sojourners have pleasant
stopping places in well-appointed hotels and
comfort-giving cottages. They find every
means of outdoor diversion. Boating, sailing,
fishing, and shooting are excellent, and many
pleasant trips can be made awheel, afloat, or
afoot. The view one gets from a bluff north
of the town is expansive and exhilarating.
Dancing in the sunlight are the waters of the
Sound stretching away to the green shores of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Connecticut; to the south Hes Peconic Bay,
a ghttering sapphire set between the green
heights of Shelter Island and the trees of
Greenport, with spire and roof peering through
them ; to east and west the eye travels over
water to the far horizons. This north prong
the history not only of Long Island but of
the country at large ought to commend it to
many classes. To a certain extent and up
to a certain time it was a "resort," but since
it became a railroad centre it is so no longer ;
yet for one who wants to explore Long Island
■;UK.^L .\T G.\RDEN CITY,
of Long Island pushes on from Greenport,
beyond the pretty town of Orient, with its
one thousand people, to its ebd a|t O.rient
Point. Here the land, which has beeen grad-
ually becoming narrower, dips into the sea,
and what, in some of the geological epochs of
the past, was a greater Long Island here be-
comes the bed of the Atlantic."
To many, the central portion of Long Isl-
and will always be its most attractive feature.
Jamaica itself might be a resort, deserves to be
a resort in fact, for its antiquity, its natural
beauty ; and the important part it has played in
no place is better adapted as headquarters un-
less one is prov/ling around Montauk Point,
or meandering solemnly in the outskirts of
Wading River. It is surrounded by a cluster
of pretty home-like towns, — Hollis, in the one
direction and Woodhaven in the other, each
worth a visit to get a good understanding of
the comforts and discomforts, the joys and
drawbacks of the individual the comic papers
like to run foul of as the suburbanite.
It is not very far by rail from Jamaica to
Garden City, a place which has acquired so
much prominence from the beautiful cathedral
SUMMER RESORTS.
583^
and schools founded by the late A. T. Stewart
and his widow. Stewart was a strange in-
dividual. The most successful merchant of
his time, every speculation he entered into in
connection with his legitimate dry-goods busi-
ness turned to gold : everything else he touched
turned to dross. One of his pet schemes was
to found a city on Long Island, and with that
end in view he purchased a large tract of land
in the township of Hempstead. He knew that
a town must have some reason for its exist-
ence, and he furnished the reason — the cathe-
dral. He also built houses for the people to
live in; but none was to be sold, all to be
rented, and the rentals in turn was to help
support the cathedral and its work. It was
a failure. Americans do not like to live in
an atmosphere of restriction, and that was
what life at Garden City meant. The cathe-
dral is a thing of beauty, the architectural
beauty of Long Island, and the schools asso-
ciated with it are the best of their kind; but it
was not until Stewart was dead and the silly
restrictions were removed that Garden City
began to attract people. Its growth has been
slow : the word "city" as its title has proved a
misnomer. It will in course of time be peo-
pled : that is inevitable ; but it will never be in
itself a city, for the next time that the Greater
New York stretches itself it will be swallowed
up as have so many more popular places.
For sylvan beauty no section of Long Isl-
and can more commend itself than that around
Lake Ronkonkoma. Says the writer we have
already quoted :
"The sheen of its limpid surface sparkles
like the eyes of an Indian maiden. Fed by
springs at the bottom, its waters are as pure
as they are clear. The lake is about three
miles around, and its shores form the shape
of a pear. In places it is over sixty feet deep.
As a shady fringe around it are many trees,
and clustered about are a number of cottages.
Along the beach of white sand a road runs,
and the view from it over the crystal face of
the lake is beautiful. This is the largest body
of fresh water on Long Island. It is fifty-five
feet above sea level. Through some mystery
of nature it has periods of ebb and flood, but
these are not coincident with the tides or by
any possibility connected with them. On the
sloping banks daisies nod to their relatives the
lily-pads in the water. In the darkling depths,
bass, catfish, and perch disport »themselves.
Floating now and again over its bosom, as if
calling its Indian name, are the sounds of bells
from St. Mary's-by-the-Lake, and from other
steeples. A legend has it that a phantom
canoe now and again goes noiselessly over the
waters bearing an Indian girl, love-lorn, and
in search of the young brave to whom she has
given her heart. With the dawn her birch-
bark boat skims away into the ether and the
sun looks down into the mirror face of Ron-
konkoma."'
But we must cease mentioning places, for
wherever our eye falls on the map some great
hotel like that at Long Branch or some quiet,
old-fashioned inn like that at Roslyn comes
before us demanding a word ; and the sum-
mer delights of Southampton, or Cold Spring
or Moriches or Shelter Island troop up calling
for more detailed description than can well
be given them individually in a chapter de-
voted to all as a class. Then too many his-
toric spots are recalled, such as the early home
of him who when a wanderer far from it
wrote the plaintive words of "Home, Sweet
Home," — one of the world's songs; the old
Indian Canal at Shinnecock; the memorial to
Nathan Hale; the haunts of Captain Kidd,
and even the late tumult and excitement at
Camp Wyckofif, where our soldiers rested afeer
their return from their short but glorious cam-
paign in Cuba, — all these bid us linger, all in-
spire a desire to tell their story; but such
things cannot be crowded into a chapter and
had better, here at all events, be left untold.
For fifty years or thereabout Long Island
has been a paradise for the land boomers.
Money has been made in its real-estate field,
and much has been lost. The land boomer is
584
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
an evil: of that there is no doubt; and the
story of his doings in Wilhamsburgh and
and other places have won for him a memor-
able reputation. He has done harm in many
quarters, — harm which exists to this day, be-
cause he has floated a half-considered and ill
advised scheme, and then when the "bottom
fell out of it" left it hopelessly a wreck. Such
results are painfully evident all over Long
Island. But still the boomer has been of serv-
ice. He quickened the extension of the old
city of Brooklyn by his efforts more than did
any other agency; he it was who opened up
its farms and turned them into streets and
squares and won for 'it its title of "city of
homes ;" he, too, has been the means of bring-
ing to the front most of Long Island's most
popular resorts. Tl^ey have been started in
the first instance by his glowing descriptions
and his confidently expressed hopes, and once
he induced the people to believe as he professed
to believe the rest was easy. He made money.
He turned strips of sand into foundations of
wealth, won a price for old farms which would
have astonished the old holder of a manor pat-
ent; but the people got something for their
money, something they could use for health
and pleasure. It was said of a once famous
real-estate auctioneer and boomer in Brook-
lyn that he sold more sand and mud than any
other man living. So he did. But people built
hotels on the sand and homes on the mud, and
so all were benefited. The boomer should be
gratefully remembered when we think of the
marvellous prosperity which Long Island has
for so many years enjoyed for its pleasant
country homes, its suburban pleasures and the
wealth which the vast throngs of summer vis-
itors yearly bring to its resorts.
But if the boomer has passed a greater
power has arisen to perform his work, to per-
form it more honestly, more thoroughly, and
with more beneficial and permanent results.
That power is the railroad system of the
island. There is no doubt that the plans now
in progress for the extension and develop-
ment of the Long Island Railroad will open
up the entire island to business and pleasure
to an extent even now little dreamed of and
make it become a veritable fairyland of homes
and resorts, and that, too, at a not very far
distant day.
CHAPTER XLIX.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.
Early Medical Legislation' — A South
Physicians of the Olden TniE
LMPTON Doctor and His Fees — Noted
— Brooylyn's Pioneer Doctors.
By WILLIAM SCHKOEDER, M. D;
T appears from the records of the past,
that the relation of the medical man to
the people was not the same as that of
the minister or the schoolmaster, for
his efforts in behalf of humanity did not re-
ceive the same recognition as was accorded to
* This chapter and the two following, all re-
lating to the history of the medical profession
on Long Island, are from the pen of Dr. Will-
iam Schroeder, of Brooklyn, and have been
presented here in answer to a very general
request that so much, at least, of Dr. Schroe-
der's historical studies as could be made avail-
able should be gathered together and pre-
sented in an enduring form. All of the mat-
ter contained in these three chapters was
prepared and presented at various times and
in various publications — publications which
having served their day and purpose are now
forgotten or so scarce as to be beyond general
reach. It was felt that the material which
had been so carefully and so lovingly compiled,
at a great cost of time, research and patient
labor, should be brought within easy reach of
all interested in Long Island history.
William Schroeder was born in New York
city, July 26, 1854, but since he was four
months old his life has been spent in Brooklyn.
He may therefore be regarded as to all intents
and purposes a native of that borough. He
studied medicine at the Long Island College
Hospital, from which he was graduated with
honors in the class of ];88i. Soon afterward
he entered upon practice in Brooklyn and
slowly but surely advanced to the front in pro-
fessional circles. He is a member of the
the two other professions. This may be largely
accounted for by saying that medical science,
as we understand the term to-day, was un-
known, and that the people submitted them-
selves to various forms of treatment with no
particular object in view other than to lower
Kings County Medical Society, of which he is
the official Historian, and is a member also of
the Brooklyn iVIedical Society, the Brooklyn
Pathological Society, the Long Island College
Hospital Alumni Association and several
other medical organizations.
Dr. Schroeder is also a prominent figure in
social life. In Masonic circles he has attained
high rank, having served as Master of Nassau
Lodge, No. 356, and High Priest of Gate of the
Temple Chapter, Royal Arch Masons. In the
Order of the Eastern Star he has held the
office of Grand Lecturer for the State of New
York. An eloquent public speaker, Dr.
Schroeder has lectured in public several times,
mainly on Masonic matters, on which he is
recognized as ah authority of more than ordin-
ary standing. To medical and periodical lit-
erature he has for many years been a steady
contributor, mainly on historical themes. He
is to the present day a diligent and painstaking
student and he gathered around him a working
library of which any library man might well
be prOud. In addition to his medical books,
he has a collection of Masonic literature, col-
lected from all sources and all lands, which
could hardly be found equalled in any other
local private library, while of works relating
to Long Island history and antiquities his
treasures are large, varied and unique.
5S6
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
their vitality. The patient received consider-
able attention from his neighbors, and they
were always ready to give advice and offer
treatment — which usually consisted of herbs
of various kinds, each one possessing peculiar
merits, capable of curing all the ills that human
flesh is heir to. Many recovered, due to the
fact of their possessing a robust constitution,
consequent to their mode of living, which was
largely out of doors ; their living apartments
being larger and their food more wholesome,
— therefore much more health-giving than our
manner of living at the present day.
A few historical notes, relative to the early
history of medicine on Long Island, may not
be out of place at this time.
Benjamin F. Thompson, in his History,
published in 1839, informs us that tlie name
conferred upon Brooklyn by the Dutch was
Breucklin (broken land), and in the act for
dividing the province into counties and towns,
passed Nov. i, 1685, it is called Breucklyn.
On the 1 8th day of October, 1667, a patent
was granted by Governor Richard Nicolls to
the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of
Breucklen, their heirs, successors and assigns.
"It is generally believed that Governor Stuy-
vesant, in 1657, gave a general patent of the
town to Stephanus Van Cortlandt, of that por-
tion known as Red Hook." Grants were also
made between the years 1642 and 1647, by
Governor Kieft, to different individuals for
lands on the Brooklyn shore, from Red Hook
Point to the Wallabout Bay. In 1670, the in-
habitants being desirous of enlarging their
common land applied to Governor Lovelace,
who granted a license for that portion known
as Bedford, extending from Brooklyn Ferry
to the Flatbush turnpike.
In turning our attention to medical educa-
tion in the State of New York, we find that in
1767 or 1768 an attempt was made in the city
of New York to establish a medical school.
The faculty, organized at that time, continued
to read lectures until the beginning of the War
of the Revolution, which converted their col-
lege into a military hospital. From this time
until the year 1792, there were no medical lec-
tures delivered in this State, and from that
time until the institution of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons by the Regents of the
University in 1807, medical education did not
make much progress, in fact, the advancement
of medical science, so far as the State of New
York is concerned, may be dated from the year
1807.
In 1760 the General Assembly of the Prov-
ince of New York ordained that no person
should practice as a physician or surgeon in
the city of New York before he was e.xamined
in physic or surgery.
It appears that the first degree that was
granted in New York was that of Bachelor
of Medicine, conferred upon Samuel Kissam
and Robert Tucker, in 1769, by the College of
New York. In 1770 the degree of Doctor of
Medicine was conferred upon the same gentle-
men. (Transactions of the Medical Society,
State of New York, 1827 and 1842.)
The presentation of these historical notes
at this time is intended to fix in our minds the
condition of things as they existed at that time.
By so doing, we can more easily comprehend
the efforts put forth by medical men at that
time, to organize a college or society. Long
Island evidently was not looked upon as the
best place to practice medicine, as the writer
has been unable to find a record of any physi-
cian, who was willing to call Long Island his
home, until about the year 1725.
The practice of medicine on Long Island
is well presented in an address, delivered by
W. S. Pelletreau in 1890, at the 2Soth anni-
versary of the town of Southampton. He
seems to have understood the relative position
of the medical man in the community, for he
admits that the procuring of a minister and
then of a schoolmaster always preceded that of
a doctor. His language is so beautiful and
truthful, that I shall take the liberty of giving
it in full.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.
58T
For long years after the settlement there
appears to have been no physician in town. A
"Dr. Craig" is once mentioned, but he evident-
ly was not a permanent resident. Families
then doctored their ailments with domestic
remedies. It was a part of the duty of a good
housewife to lay in a good stock of herbs at
tlie proper season. "Yarb teas"" of all kinds
were given in cases of sickness, and if they did
no good they certainly did no harm.
It is quite a question, whether many of
these herbs were not brought with the first
settlers from England, with the traditional
knowledge of their efficacy. Some of them
are never found growing wild, far from the
haunts of men. However this may be, each
plant, according to their ideas, possessed a
peculiarly good quality. Catnip was soothing
to the nerves ; Indian posy was strengthening ;
boneset was good in fevers ; and skunk cab-
bage was used for rheumatism, but never cured
it.
The first physician who appears to have
settled here was Dr. John Mackie, who was
here previous to 1736. He died in 1758, and
of his medical practice we have no knowledge
whatever. Succeeding him came Dr. William
Smith, son of Nathaniel Smith, Esq., who
owned a very large estate at Moriches. He
first came to Southampton as a scholar of the
Rev. Sylvanus White. In 1742 he studied
medicine in Philadelphia, and settled here in
1754, remaining here until his death in 1775.
His son. Dr. John Smith, was a physician
here for many years, but the real successors
of Dr. William Smith were Drs. Henry White
and Silas Halsey, the latter removing to the
western part of the State after the Revolu-
tion.
Of the nature of a doctor's practice during
the latter part of the last century and the early
part of the present, we have a very full de-
scription, contained in the account book of
Dr. White, which is still in existence. His
prices certainly were moderate, — so moderate
that if physicians at the present time followed
his scale of prices we could almost aflford to be
sick. As examples of the fees then earned by
the medical profession, we may mention the
following: Charge for a visit in the vicinity —
one shilling. For a visit more than a mile
distant — three shillings. For a night visit —
four shillings. A visit to the North Sea — five
shillings, and if he stayed there all night, and
furnished medicines, the charge was nine shil-
lings and six pence. To Seth Squire's, at
Squiretown — seven shillings. To Wakeman
Foster"s, at Pon Ouogue — eight shillings, and
the same to Red Creek.
A visit, with paregoric, cost Squire Her-
rick (a near neighbor) two shillings, and for
three visits, with spirits of nitre, he charged
three shillings and six pence. A visit to Wick-
apog, in the night, with castor oil and pare-
goric furnished, was ten shillings. He made
a good many visits to Samuel Jaggeis, at Long
Springs, at three shillings each. His son Syl-
vanus made a good many more visits, but he
got a wife by them. The fee for extracting a
tooth was one shilling. A "purge" was one
shilling and four pence ; an emetic the same ;
also the same for a dose of rhubarb. Two
visits to Shinnecock, with sundry medicines,
cost some Indians twelve shillings. A visit to
North Sea, with bleeding thrown in, was four
shillings.
A large part of his pay was taken in barter
and days' work. At one time he gets a load of
sea-weed for a visit, with the inevitable
"purge," and again he brings home a fine bass,
at a cost of a cent and a half a pound. We
have no doubt but that his successors in the
profession would be glad of such a chance
occasionally. In one instance, a wealthy fam-
ily at North Sea, for divers visits and doses,
had run up a bill of nine pounds, seven shil-
lings and six pence. This was paid, in what
the doctor very justly calls "sundries," and in-
cludes apples, flax,' wood, pears, timothy seed,
beans, clams, fish, eels, pigs, watermelons and
geese.
His accounts show that all the medicines
he used were of the very mildest kind, and it
is doubtful if they have either killed or cured.
Phlebotomy and cathartic medicines, or as he
expressed it in much plainer English, "bleed-
ing and a purge," was the beginning, the mid-
dle, and, the end. No matter what the disease
might be, a "purge" was the first remedy ad-
ministered. If the patient recovered, the doc-
tor had the credit of it; if he died, it was
charged to Providence.
When Dr. Smith wished to replenish his
stock of drugs, he saddled his horse, fastened
on his saddle bags, and started for New York.
The end of the first day found him at Patch-
ogue, where he tarried at the tavern over
night. The next evening found him in the
city, which then extended almost to Canal
street. Having accomplished his business, he
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
started on his return home, and Saturday
night found him safe at home.
The foregoing notes give an idea of the
practice of medicine, and the relation of the
physician to the people, up to the beginning
of the present century, on Long Island. It is
probable that the same relative conditions ex-
isted in every other part of the country at that
time. The following items regarding the phy-
sicians in practice on Long Island up to this
time, as far as the writer has been able to col-
lect information concerning them, are intended
to give the medical men of our city at the pres-
ent time a view of the scarcity of physicians
at that time, in any of the three counties of
Long Island, for the purpose of organizing a
Medical Society. In the county of Kings, the
number was exceedingly small. Still there
may have been a number of medical men in
practice on this island, at the time referred to,
who simply attended to their professional
work, and never permitted their names to ap-
pear in connection with any other work, but
this was probably not the case, as they would
likely have been called upon to perform some
work for the town in which they lived, and in
that way their names would appear upon rec-
ord.
"The Annals of Medical Progress," by
Joseph M. Toner, M. D., 1874, makes mention
■of the following physicians on Long Island:
Samuel Osborn, a son of Dr. John Osborn,
of Middletown, Conn., studied medicine and
became a physician of repute in Brooklyn. He
subsequently resided in New York city. Drs.
Ball and Wendell succeeded to his practice in
Brooklyn.
Dr. Benjamin Treadwell, a physician of
Long Island, was in practice for nearly sixty-
five years. He died in North Hempstead, in
1830, aged ninety-five years.
Dr. Jacob Ogden was born at Newark, N.
J., in 1721. Received the best medical educa-
tion the Colonies afforded, and removed to
Jamaica, L. I., where he remained in practice
during the remainder of his life. He was
Warden of Grace Church from 1761 to 1802.
He wrote several medical dissertations on the
sore throat distemper of 1769. The application
of mercury in the treatinent of inflammatory
complaints was extensively used by him in
1749.- He was also noted for his advocacy of
inoculation. He died at Jamaica, L. I., Sep-
tember, 1780, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.
Dr. Samuel Martin, of Hempstead, L. I.,
son of the Hon. Josiah Martin, located in
Hempstead, where he was Warden of St.
George's Church from 1770 to 1791. He died
at Rock Hall, April 19, 1806, aged sixty-five
years.
In the Proceedings of the Medical Society
of the County of Kings, 1876, Dr. R. M.
Wyckofif contributes a paper on "Kings County
in 1776," from which we extract the following
notes :
Dr. John Jones, who assisted the Pro-
vincial Congress in establishing regimental
hospitals, was a native of Jamaica, L. I. He
was born in 1729. He studied medicine in
Europe. Returning to this country in 1768,
he was selected to fill the honorable station
of Professor of Surgery in the Medical School
of New York. He is the author of the first
surgical book published in this country. It
was brought out in 1776. The title reads:
"Treatment of Wounds and Fractures; with
an Appendix on Military Hospitals." He died
June 23, 1791, aged sixty-two years.
Dr. Daniel Menema, a native of New York,
who served as surgeon in the Second New
York Regiment, was afterwards a resident of
Jamaica, Queens county. He was a member
of Grace Church; also of the Society of Cin-
cinnati. In 1806 he was President of the Med-
ical Society of Queens County. He diea at
Jamaica, L. I., Jan. 20, 1810.
Nathan Shelton, M. D., for more than fifty
years a practicing physician in Jamaica, and
for more than forty years a ruling elder in the
Presbyterian Church. He was President of
the Queens County Medical Society in 1829.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.
589-
( History of the Presbyterian Church, Jamaica,
L. L, 1862.)
Dr. Joseph Bloodgood, who was born in
1784, graduated from the University of Penn-
sylvania in 1806. He became a trustee of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of New
York in 181 1, and came to Flushing in 1812.
He died March 7, 1851, aged sixty-seven
years. He was Postmaster of Flushing for
sixteen years. (History of Flushing, G. H.
Mandeville, i860.)
Dr. Benjamin Y. Prime, born in Hunting-
ton, in 1733, was graduated from Princeton
College in 1751. In 1756 and 1757 he was
employed as a tutor in the college. He studied
medicine with Dr. Jacob Ogden, of Jamaica,
L. I., and for several years thereafter prac-
ticed physic. He died Oct. 31, 1791, aged
fifty-eight years.
Dr. Gilbert Potter was born in Hunting-
ton, Jan. 8, 1725. He studied medicine with
Dr. Jared Elliot, of Guilfofd, Conn. He was
engaged as a surgeon in the French War. In
1776 he was appointed Colonel, and was asso-
ciated with General Woodhull in protecting
Long Island. In 1783 he returned to Hunt-
ington, and pursued his professional calling.
He died Feb. 14, 1786, aged sixty-one years.
(Historical Address, by the Hon. Henry C.
Piatt, 1876, Huntington, L. I.)
Robert A. Davidson, M. D., was born No-
vember 28, 1793, and settled in Hempstead in
1813. At the time of his death, he had been
engaged in the practice of medicine over sixty
years.
Dr. James Searing is remembered as an old
resident, at one time residing in the Harper
residence. He was the first Treasurer of the
Queens County Medical Society. He died at
the age of seventy-four years.
Edwin Webb, M. D., of Hempstead, was
born in England, September 2, 1804. He came
to New York when three years of age. He
studied medicine with Drs. Ball and Wendell,
who were in partnership, and were then the
principal physicians in Brooklyn. He received
his diploma from the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, New York, in 1825. (History
of Queens County, 1882.))
Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, of Hempstead, L.
I., was born in 1764. He died Sept. 7, 1831.
He was a physician, naturalist, and Senator.
He was admitted to the bar in 1791. Received
his medical education in Edinburgh, Scotland.
He held the chair of Chemistry and Natural
History in Columbia College in 1796. In 1797
and 1798 he made a geological survey of the
banks of the Hudson. He was a member of
the Legislature at Albany from 1797 to 1813.
He started with others the "Medical Reposi-
tory" in 1798. JNIade a special study of yellow
fever. Was present on November 4, 1825,
at the completion of the Erie Canal. In 1820
he presided over a convention of physicians,
who had for their object the formation of a
Pharmacopoeia. For twenty-seven years he
gave an annual course of lectures at the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons. He was
President of the New York Institution for the
Deaf and Dumb, and in 1808 made, with
others, that famous trip to Albany in Robert
Fulton's first steamer. (N. Cleveland's His-
tory of Greenwood.)
Dr. John B. Riker, born at Newtown, L. I.,
in 1738. He held the position of surgeon in
the American Army, from 1775 until 1783.
Returning to his native town, he practiced
medicine until his death in 1795, aged fifty-
seven years. He was considered a gentleman
of high professional attainments.
Dr. Ebenezer Sage, born August 16, 1755,
in Connecticut. He graduated from Yale Col-
lege in 1778; in 1790 settled in East Hampton,
and married a daughter of Dr. Wm. Smith, of
South Hampton. He was elected to the Elev-
enth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses, and
again in 1819 and 1820. In 1821 he was a
delegate to the convention for amending the
Constitution of the State of New York. He
died Jan. 20, 1834, at Sag Harbor.
Dr. Isaac Hulse, born August 31, 1796, at
Brookhaven, L. I., studied medicine in the
590
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
University of Maryland, and graduated in
1820. In 1 82 1 he was commissioned Assistant
Surgeon in the U. S. Navy ; in 1824 Surgeon
to the Naval Hospital in Virginia. In 1838
President Van Buren appointed him Fleet
Surgeon of the West India Squadron. His
medical reports exhibit talent of a high order.
Dr. George Muirson, of Brookhaven, L. I.,
in 1745 became celebrated for his successful
treatment of small-pox by the administration
of mercury, which method proved very suc-
cessful in his hands. (Benjamin F. Thomp-
son's History of Long Island, 1839.)
Dr. Benjamin F. Thompson was born in
Brookhaven, L. L, May 15, 1784. He stud-
ied medicine with Dr. Ebenezer Sage, of Sag
Harbor, and practiced the same for about ten
years. He then studied law, and was elected
to the Assembly in 1813 and 1816. He was
School Commissioner in 1813 and 1814. A
History of Long Island was written by him
in 1839. A second edition, in two volumes,
was published in 1843. He died March 21,
1849.
Dr. Nathaniel Miller was born in Brook-
haven, on April 17, 1783; graduated from the
New York Medical College in 1812 ; was a
member of the Assembly in 1818 and 1849.
He died May 7, 1863.
Dr. Nathaniel Gardner, of East Hampton,
born June 11, 1759, was a Surgeon in the
Revolutionary War, and served as a member
of the Assembly in 1786, 1789, 1790. He died
March 25, 1804.
Dr. Abel Huntington was born in the State
of Connecticut, February 22, 1776. In 1796
he came to East Hampton, L. I., where he
studied medicine, and for sixty years prac-
ticed his profession. He was a representative
in Congress from 1833 to 1837. Collector of
Sag Harbar under President Polk, and a mem-
ber of the New York Constitutional Conven-
tion of 1846. He was known for his ability
as a surgeon. He died May 18, 1858. (His-
tory of Suffolk County, 1882.)
The following are the names of physicians,
who have practiced medicine on Long Island
previous to 1822, so far as the writer has been
able to obtain information in regard to them,
together with the dates of their practice :
Dr. Gilbert Smith, 1775. HuntioKton, L. I.
Dr. James Sandford, 1780. Huntington,
L. I. Died Oct. 1795.
Dr. Daniel Wiggins, 1790. Huntington,
L. I. Died Sept. 10, 1805.
Dr. Zophar Piatt, 1754. Huntington, L. I.
Died Sept. 29, 1792, aged eighty-seven years.
Dr. Oliver Brown, 1800. Huntington, L.
I. Died Oct., 1815.
Dr. Jonathan Havens. Smithtown, L. I.
Dr. Zephanialy Piatt, 1760. Smithtown,
L. I. Died Jan. 27, 1718.
Dr. Samuel H. Rose, 1790. South Hamp-
ton, L. I.
Dr. Henry White. South Hampton, L. I.
Dr. Silas Halsey. South Hampton, L. I.
Dr. Aaron F. Gardner, 1800. East Hamp-
ton, L. I.
Dr. Samuel Latham, 1780. South Hamp-
ton, L. I.
Dr. George Punderson, 1780. Brookhaven,
L. I.
Dr. Samuel Moore, 1761. Newtown, L. I.
Dr. William Lawrence, 1774. Musquito
Cove, L. I.
Dr. Richard U.dall, 1800. Islip, L. I. Died
Oct. 6, 1841, aged ninety years.
Dr. Joshua Clark, 1780. Southold, L. I.
Dr. James E. DeKay. Oyster Bay, L. I.
Dr. Richard Sharpe. North Hempstead,
L. I.
Dr. Purdy. North Hempstead, L. I.
Dr. Drake. North Hempstead, L. I.
The town of North Hempstead claims the
following as having been born in the town :
Samuel Mitchill, M. D., 1764, Professor of
Natural History, etc., etc.
Benjamin Kissam, M. D., Professor of
"The Institutes of Medicine."
Richard S. Kissam, M. D., Professor of
Surgery.
Wright Post, M. D., Professor of Surgery.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.
591
A'alentine Mott, M. D., 1785. Professor of
Surgery.
Dr. D. W. Kissam, born in Cow Neck,
]March 23, 1763. He married the daughter of
Dr. Benjamin Treadwell, June 26, 1787. At
the death of Dr. Sand ford, 1795, he removed
to Glen Cove, where he remained in practice
until his death, November 21, 1839, at the age
of seventy-six years.
Nathaniel S. Prime, in his History of Long
Island, published in 1845, informs us that in
1802 the town of Brooklyn had but eighty-six
freeholders, but that it was -rapidly increasing
in population, so that in 1816 the total popula-
tion was 4,402. In the latter year the town
was invested with the powers of a village. The
impulse it received at this time soon became
manifested, so that in 1822 the total population
was about 8,000.
The formation of medical societies on Long
Island dates from the organization of the Suf-
folk County Medical Society, which was or-
ganized July 22, 1806. The early records of
this society have been lost, but as nearly as can
be ascertained at the present time, Drs. A. G.
Thompson, W. S. Preaston, and Dr. B. D.
Carpenter were prominently identified with
its formation. The first delegate to the New
York State Medical Society was Dr. Nathaniel
Miller, in 1818, and the second was Dr.
Charles H. Havens in 1820.
This was followed by the Queens County
Medical Society, which was organized Oc-
tober I, 1806, at Jamaica, with the following
as its first officers : Daniel Minema, Presi-
dent ; Henry Mott, Vice-President ; Thomas
Cock, Secretary ; and James Searing, Treas-
urer. But it is evident that they did not meet
with success, for on December 17, 1829, a
second society was formed. This also seems
to have met with adverse circumstances, for
the present society dates only from 1853.
At a preliminary meeting of fhe physi-
cians of the county of Kings, held at Flatbush
on the 25th of February, 1822, at which Dr.
Charles Ball, Matthew Wendell, John Car-
penter, William D. Creed, Francis H. Dubois,
and Adrian V'anderveer, were present, the or-
ganization of a County Medical Society was
decided upon, and carried into effect. At
an adjourned meeting, held on March 2, 1822,
at the inn of William Stephenson, Brooklyn,
the organization was perfected by the elec-
tion of the following officers :
Cornelius Low, President ; IMatthew Wen-
dell, Vice-President ; Adrian Vanderveer,
Secretary ; and John Carpenter, Treasurer.
At a second meeting, in addition to those
present at the first one, were Drs. Joseph G.
T. Hunt and Thomas Wilson Henry. A
third meeting was held on the 8th of April,
at which time a code of by-laws was adopted,
and the following gentlemen presented their
credentials :
Conidlius Low, licensed in 1782, died
1830.
Francis H. Dubois, licensed 1802, was
born May 21, 1783, and died Dec. 27, 1837.
Matthew Wendell, licensed 1804, was
born July, 1779, and died July 11, i860.
Jos. Gedney T. Hunt, licensed 1804, was
born in 1783, and died June 25, 1848.
Charles Ball, licensed 1806, died 1845.
William D. Creed, licensed 1809, was born
April 4, 1787, and died 1870.
John Carpenter, licensed 1812, was born
April 17, 1791, and died Sept. 13, 1864.
Adrian Vanderveer, M. D., Col. P. & S.,
N. Y., 1818, was born Dec. 21, 1796, and died
July 5, 1857.
Thomas Wilson Henry, M. D., Col. P.
& S., N. Y., 1820, died 1867.
The above named gentlemen founded the
Medical Society of the County of Kings.
At the ineeting of May 8th, Dr. Matthew
Wendell was appointed delegate to the New
York State Society, and Drs. Jos. G. T. Hunt,
T. W. Henry, and Charles Ball, censors ac-
cording to law.
In July, 1822, the society adopted a seal,
bearing the figure of a serpent spirally wound
around a staff, with the inscription, "Scientia
50i
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
Salusque Deo," and around the margin the
words, "Societas Medica Comitatus Regis.
Instituta A. D. 1822."
At the annual meeting in April, 1825,
the venerable President, Dr. Cornelius Low,
resigned his office. in consequence of his in-
tention to altogether abandon the practice of
physic, o'n account of his age and its attend-
ant infirmities. Dr. Low enjoyed a large
practice in Bushwick, New Lots, and part of
Newto,wn. He was an ardent Patriot. He
remained throughout his life unmarried. His
death occurred about the year 1830. He was
succeeded by Dr. George Co.x.
The "Brooklyn Medical Journal" of Jan-
uary, 1888, contains a short article on the
formation of the ^Medical Society of the
County of .Kings.
The first physician that settled in Brook-
lyn was Dr. John N. Barbarin, who estab-
lished himself on Front street, which was
then the main road, and remained in practice
from 1784 to 1815. He was a Frenchman by
birth, and came to this country as a surgeon
in the British service. He was for a while
stationed here during the occupation of Long
Island by the British, afterwards resigning
from the British service. He married a
daughter of Mr. Bamper, and entered upon
the practice of his profession in the village
of Brooklyn. He died greatly respected.
Dr. Osborn conducted the first drug store
in Brooklyn, on the corner of Sands and Jay
streets. In 181 1 it was bought by Ithiel
Smead, who was followed by Dr. J. W.
Smith, who removed the store to Hicks and
Fulton streets.
Dr. Jos. G. T. Hunt's office was on the
corner of Concord and Fulton streets. Dr.
Chas. Hall's office was on Pearl street; Dr.
Daniel McNeil at 22 Hicks street, and Dr.
John W. Smith, 16 Concord street.
In 1809, the yellow fever prevailed in
Brooklyn, producing what was known as the
newspaper war between the physicians of the
village. Among those particularly interested
were Drs. Osborn, Ball, and Wendell. Dr.
Ball was President from 1833 to 1835, and
Dr. Wendell in 1836, of the Medical Society
of Kings County. Dr. Wendell was Health
Physician from 1827 to 1834, and again from
1851 to 1856.
Dr. Osborn removed to Nev York, and
Drs. Ball and Wendell succeeded to his prac-
tice, their office being at the corner of Sands
and Fulton streets. Dr. Ball's house is repre-
sented in Guy's Brooklyn Snow Scene of
1820. See page 403 of this volume.
Dr. Francis H. Dubois and John Car-
penter were in practice in the town of New
Utrecht. During the yellow fever epidemic
Dr. J. E. Dubois, son of F. H. Dubois, fell a
victim to the disease. A beautiful monument
erected to his memory marks his resting place
in the old village graveyard. Dr. Carpenter,
in 1825, organized the first Sabbath school in
the village of Fort Hamilton, its sessions be-
ing held in a barn. In 1826 he organized
the New Utrecht Sabbath-school, of which he
was superintendent until his death.
Drs. Adrian Vanderveer and William D.
Creed practiced medicine in the town of Flat-
bush. Dr. Vanderveer was on July 24, 1832,
chosen the first Health Officer, one of his
assistants being Dr. Creed. Dr. William
Duryea Creed was born April 4, 1787. He
was Sheriff of Kings County in iSii, and
died in 1870.
In 1823 the Reformed Church organized
a Sabbath-school, of which Dr. Vanderveer
was the first superintendent, which position
he held for thirty years. He was President
of the Medical Society of the County of Kings
in 1837 and 1838. He received the degree of
A. M. from Columbia College in 1816.
Dr. J6s. G. T. Hunt was the first Health
Officer of Brookh'n, being such during the
years 1825 and 1826. He was well known
in Masonic circles, being Master of Hohen-
linden Lodge, No. 56, F. & A. M., in 1825,
and Scribe of Nassau Chapter, R. A. M.,
during the same year. For a few years pre-
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION ON LONG ISLAND.
593-
vious to lliis time he was surgeon to the Marine
Barracks. He was President of the Aledical
Society of tlie County of Kings from 1825 to
1831. "
Thomas AA'ilson Henry's office was at No.
67 Sands street, corner of Jay street. He
was President of the Medical Society of the
County of Kings during the years 183 1- 1832
The above facts are related by Henry R
Stiles, in liis "History of Kings County, in-
cluding Brooklyn," 1884, vol. H, page 887
also in part "by S. J\L Ostrander, in his "His-
tory of Brooklyn and Kings County," 1894
vol. n, page 32.
From the organization of the Medical So
ciet}' of the County in Kings, in 1822, unti
the repeal of that power by the Legislature in
1 88 1, the society conferred sixteen licenses to
practice medicine, as follows (Manual, 18S8,
page 25) :
Nelson A. Garrison 1824.
Joseph N. Smith 1827.
John Fred Sickels 1827.
Hartshorne Gregory 1S29.
William A. Clarke 1832.
Henry A. Ruding 1832.
Philip Harvey 1833.
John A'. E. Vanderhoef i833-
Stephen M. Disbrow 1834.
Henry J. Cullen 1843.
Nelson J. Tucker 1848.
John Van Ness 1852.'
William H. Van Duyue 1857.
George Wieber 1875.
John Mears 1878.
W. E. Conroy 1879.
CHAPTER L.
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE COUNTY OF KINGS.
Brooklyn's City Hospital and Si.milau Institutions — A Long Roll of Honor-
ORAisLE Professional Names.
HE formation of the state and county
medical societies was authorized by
the Act of 1806. Soon several coun-
ty societies were formed in various
parts of the State, though the Society of the
■County of Kings was not organized until
March 2, 1822, at the residence of Simon Voiz,
in Flatbush.
The first annual meeting took place on
April 8, 1822, at a tavern called "Aukl Lang
Syne," conducted by William Stephenson, at
Fulton and Nassau streets. The following
were the first officers and founders : Cornelius
low, President; Matthew Wendell, Vice-Pres-
ident ; John Carpenter, Treasurer ; Adrian
Vanderveer, Secretary and Corresponding-
Secretary; Joseph G. T. Hunt, Thomas W.
Henry, Charles Ball, Censors ; Matthew Wen-
dell, Delegate to State Medical Society ; Fran-
'cis H.- Du Bois and William D. Creed. From
1822 to 1827 the meetings alternated Ijetween
the house at Flatbush and the Auld Lang
Syne tavern, after which until 1857 they were
held cpiarterly in the Apprentices" Library
Building, Henry and Cranberry streets.
The records show that for a number of
years the Society confined itself to the dis-
charge of the duties connected with the "regu-
lating of the practice of physics and surgery
within its limits." The nature of the work
may be more clearly comprehended by the la\'
reader when the fact is known that the law of
the State required all practising physicians
and Surgeons to connect themselves with the
society in the county in which they resided.
Thus, the statute of the State in 1827 required
the President of the County Medical Society
to serve personally a written notice on every
physician and surgeon residing in the county,
not a member of the Society, directing him to
apply for and receive a certificate of member-
ship within sixty days after the service of
such notice.
The history of old Brooklyn records many
physicians whose standing was open to ques-
tion. As it was necessary for the protection
of the public at large, as well as that of the
reputation of the medical profession, it may be
readily understood that the officers and mem-
bers of the Society had sufKcient work in en-
forcing the law of the State during the first
thirty odd years of its existence. The first
historian of the Society was Theodore L. IsIr-
son, M. D., who recorded the above facts in a
short sketch of the Society published in 1858,
at which times the meetings were held at the
Brooklyn Lyceum, better known as the Brook-
■ lyn Institute, on Washington street, near Con-
cord, 1837-1866.
Although so occupied by the business of
enforcing the law, the Society found time as a
society to aid the poor as early as 1835, when
Isaac J. Rapelye, M. D., President of the So-
ciety, recommended that a committee be ap-
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUNTY OF KINGS.
595
pointed to prepare a memorial to the Common
Council proposing tlie establishment of a City
Hospital for the care of the sick poor. It
would be well to notice here that a dispensary
had been organized bv individuals in 1833 at
the coimer of Jay and Sands streets. This
was the first Brooklyn Dispensary. The at-
tending physicians were Doctors J. Sullivan
Thome and ^V. A. Clark. The consulting phy-
sician was Matthew Wendell.
To return to the hospital project, the Com-
mittee named below were appointed, and their
efforts resulted in the organization of the City
Hospital in 1839, then located in Adams street,
near Johnson. Committee : Theodore L. Ma-
son, M. D., Isaac J. Rapelye, M. D., John C.
Fanning, M. D., Matthew Wendell, M. D.,
Geo.rge Marvin, M. D., Samuel Boyd, M. D.
The staff at this time included : Theodore F.
King, M. D., President from 1840 to 1842;
John Sullivan Thome, -M. D., Secretary ; and
the attending physicians were Purcell Cooke,
AI. D., George jMarvin, M. D., and Samuel
Boyd, :\I. D.
The Brooklyn City Hospital may, there-
fore, be considered the nucleus of the great
hospital system which is one of the crowning
glories of our city. Our hospitals are estab-
lished for the relief of suffering, rich and poor
are alike benefited, and it is a question which
derives the greater good from these institu-
tions. The Long Island College Hospital, as
well as the Brooklyn City Hospital, owes its
inception to members of the Society, Drs. Dan-
iel Ayres, Louis Bauer, and John Byrne, to-
gether with the first council, and all but three
of the first faculty were members of the Soci-
ety. Owing to the fact that during the first
thirty years of its organization the Society
was obliged to expend its efforts in the en-
forcement of the law, there was little or no
time left for scientific work. As a result, the
Brooklyn Medico-Chirurgical Society was
foirmed on November 10, 1856, with Andrew
Otterson as President. The members of the
society were, with few exceptions, members
of the County Society. During the ten years
cf its existence the society was a most active
body. Here for the first time in the medical
history of the city of Brooklyn was the op-
portunity offered to present papers on the ad-
vancement made in medicine and surgery, the
discussion of which tended not alone to benefit
the members, but the community at large.
In 1858, by a revision of the State statutes,
the County Medical Society was relieved from
■its work of regulating the practice of medicine
and began the publication of its transactions.
This was simply the beginning of the great
work accomplished here on behalf of the peo-
ple of this city. At this time the society was
made up of men who were ready to give not
only their services but their lives when the
opportunity came. For example, during the
yellow fever epidemic in 1856 at New Utrecht
Doctors John L. Crane and James E. Du Bois
gave their lives in their endeavor to save those
who were stricken with the disease. A few
years before, in 1854, Joseph C. Hutchison,
ls[. D., took charge of the Brooklyn Cholera
Hospital, retaining its management for some
years. Later, during the epidemic of 1866,
William Henry Thayer, M. D., also a mem-
ber of the society, devoted his energies to the
Hamilton Avenue Cholera Hospital. William
J. Swalm took charge of the Cholera Hospital
in the City Park, called the City Park Hos-
pital, near the Xavy Yard. Besides this, var-
ious members of the society gave what leisure
time they had to the improvement of the
Brooklyn public schools. Doctor J. Sullivan
Tborne was president of the Brooklyn Board
of Education from 1868 to 1871. From the
beginning of the school system in the town
of Brooklyn to the present day there have been
physicians connected with the Board, ever
ready to give their advice on matters pertain-
ing to the public health and to better the con-
dition of the children.
The first Health Ofiicer of Brooklyn was
Dr. J. G. T. Hunt, who went into office in
1825. He was one of tlie organizers and sec-
59G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ond President of the Society, and from his
time nntil the present, with three exceptions,
every Heahh Officer or CommissioneT has
been connected with the County Society. No
one can estimate what a vast amount of work
these men, whose Hves are devoted to the heal-
ing art, have accomplished for the people in
the city of Brooklyn. The monumental work
performed in this direction by Dr. A. N. Bell
is sufficient of itself to test the sincerity of the
Society's members in behalf of the public
good. It has been said that the physicians
have not received the recognition which is
their due. As a matter of fact, however, the
records show that many of our physicians
have been called upon to fill places of honor,
both in the State and National Societies.
These positions have been such as to com-
mand the highest integrity and intellectual
development. Dr. Joseph C. Hutchison, as
well as three members of the Society who are
still living, have held the presidency of the
New York State i\Iedical Society. Two of
its specialists have been President of the
Ne>v York Obstetrical Society, one of whom
has also been President of the American
Gynecological Society. Dr. Joseph C. Hutch-
ison held the office of President of the New
York Pathological Society. Another of the
members has been President of the New York
Neurological Society. Still another of the
American Dermatological Society, and two
more have been Presidents of the American
Association for the. Cure of Inebriates. These
few examples show that the ability of Brook-
lyn men has not been entirely disregarded,
and proves conclusively that the members of
the County Society have been active in both
State and National Societies, while eight of
the members have received the degree of
LL. D.
The first offspring of the Society was the
above-mentioned Medico-Chirurgical So-
ciety. The second was the Brooklyn Patho-
logical Society, organized as a section of the
County Medical Society in 1870, under the
direction of Richard Crcsson Styles, Presi-
dent of the Society at that time. To-day it is
an active body, independent of membership
in the County Society, though, with a few ex-
ceptions, its members are also members of the
old County Society. In 1866 the Society
changed from quarterly to monthly meetings,
securing rooms m the Hamilton Building, at
44 Court street, where it continued to meet
until 1875. Then removing to Everett Hall,
398 Fulton street, where they met until 1887,
when they purchased the Bridge street build-
ing, 365 Bridge street, and remained until Au-
gust, 1898. At present the meetings are held
at Apollo Hall, 102 Court street. During the
past few years the Society has been making
efforts to commemorate events connected with
its members, and with medical history. The
first of these was a dinner to the late Dr. An-
drew Otterson, on April 25, 1895, in honor
of his completing fifty years of active practice
in our city. Next, the Jenner Centennial,
commemorating the inauguration of vaccina-
tion. May 14, 1896, all the guests receiving
bronze medals in commemoration of the occa-
sion. Then the 75th Anniversary of the Kings
County Medical Society, April 11, 1897. Fi-
nally, the laying of the corner-stone of the new
building of the Kings County Medical Society,
November 10, 1898.
The early history of the Society is so
closely identified with the lives of its mem-
bers that it is well to give a brief sketch of the
biographies of the founders.
Cornelius Low, M. D., the first President
of the Society, was born in Albany, New York,
about 1750. He was licensed to practice medi-
cine in 1782. Served the Society in the ca-
pacity of President for three terms, beginning
1822. Little is known of his personal history.
He died in Bushwick, Long Island, in 1830.
Dr. Matthew Wendell, M. D., the first Vice-
President and sixth President of the Society,
was born at Albany, N. Y., July 9, 1777. He
came to Brooklyn from his birthplace, Albany.
having studied under Dr. Hyde, of that city.
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUNTY OF KINGS.
597
He Ijtcanie a licentiate in 1804, and entering
into partnership with Dr. Charles Ball in 1805
he opened an office at the corner of Sands
and Fulton streets. In 18 12 he became sur-
o-eon in the I'nited States Army. From 1815
Dr. John Carpenter, first Treasurer of the
Society, was the son of Anthony Carpenter;
his mother was a daughter of the late Rev.
John MofTat, a Presbyterian preacher ; also the
earlv tutor of Governor DeWitt Clinton. Dr.
OF THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF THE COJNTY OF
to 1816 he was free vaccinator. In 181 5 he
was President of the Society for the Preven-
tion of \'ice in the Town of Brooklyn. He
was Health Officer of this city during the years
183 1 to 1838, and 185 1 to 1857, and in hours
of pestilence, as well as quiet, showed great
executive ability. He died in Julv. 1860.
Carpenter was born at Goshen, New York, on
April 17, 1 79 1. His education was conducted
by the Rev. John Moffat; he came, however,
to New York about 1807. On his arrival in
the city he made his home with Rev. James B.
Romeyn, D. D., and found employment in
the Governor's office. A few vears later he
59S
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
began to study medicine under Dr. Douglas,
of New York, as preceptor. He attended the
course of lectures at the old College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, and in 1812 was licensed
to practice by the New York State iVIediciJ
Society. It is believed that he obtained the
first license granted by the Kings County So-
ciety, which was given him in 1822. At the
beginning of the war of 1812 he was connected
with the United States Army, and continued
with the army until 1822, when he commenced
private practice in Fort Hamilton and New
Utrecht. In the same year he was one of the
organizers of the Medical Society. He also
organized the first Sunday-school in Fort
Hamilton, of which he was Superintendent for
thirty-eight years. In fact he might be termed
the father of the Brooklyn Sunday-school sys-
tem. He died on September 13, 1864.
Dr. Adrian A'andeveer was born in Flat-
bush December 21, 1796. He was prepared
for Columbia College at Erasmus Hall Acad-
emy, and after graduating from there studied
medicine at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons, New York. In 1819 he entered
upon a practice which finally extended over
the whole of Kings county. At the organiza-
tion of the Society he was elected First Sec-
retary, and became its seventh President, dur-
ing the years 1837 to 1838. He and Dr. T.
W. Henry were the only members of the So-
ciety at its organization who were graduates
of medical colleges, all others being licentiates.
In the epidemic of Asiatic cholera in 1832 Dr.
\'andeveer was appointed Health Officer of
Flatbush. He was one of the first physicians
to abandon general practice and confine him-
self to a special branch of the profession. This
aroused opposition from his medical brethren,
but he persevered, and eventually accomplished
much. He died July 5, 1827, in his sixty-fifth
year. Like many of the early physicians, he
was closely identified with church work, hav-
ing organized the Reformed Church Sabbath
School of Flatbush in 1825, of which he was
Superintendent from 1825 to 1857.
The duties of the Censors were far more
oneroua than the general public can realize. It
was their duty to examine candidates and
license them to practice medicine. The first
three men who formed the Board of Censors
were Drs. Joseph G. T. Hunt, Thomas W.
Henry and Charles Ball.
Dr. Hunt was born in 1783. He studied
medicine with Drs. Whitehead, Hicks and
Bard, was licensed in 1804 and appointed As-
sistant Surgeon in the Navy. After having
been promoted to full surgeon, 1806. he served
in the Algerian war under Decatur, and was
on board the "Chesapeake" when she was cap-
tured by the "Leopard." Later on he was sta-
tioned at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and in ad-
dition to his official duty acquired considerable
private practice. In 1820 he resigned from
the service. In 1825 he was appointed First
Health Officer of Brooklyn, with a salary of
$200 a year, and served until 1830. He was
also President of the Medical Society from
1825 to 1830. He died in August, 1830, hav-
ing held the office of President longer than any
other member up to the present time.
Thomas W. Henry was born in the city of
New York June 17, 1796. His education was
obtained in the private boarding schools of
New York. In 1818 he entered the College of
Physicians and Sui^geons, New York, receiv-
ing the degree of ISl. D. in 1820. Dr. Hi-nry
began the practice of his profession in the vil-
lage of Brooklyn, as Brooklyn at that time
did not extend much further than the present
City Hall, the population being about 5,000.
His first office was at Sands and Jay streets,
then he removed near the further corner c>f
Henry and Orange streets, and the old direct-
ories give his addr.ss as 65 Henry street. The
name of this street was chosen by the Trus-
tees of the village of Brooklyn, April 8, 1819
According to the custom then in vogue, Dr.
Henry conducted for a number of years a drug
store at the corner of Sands and Jay streets.
In addition to hckling the office of Censor in
the Societv, Dr. Hcnrv was elected to the Vice-
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUNTY OF KINGS.
599
Presidency in 1827, and to the Presidency in
1 83 1. In 1832 he was elected an honorary
member of the Medical Society of the State
of New York. The records show that he was
preceptor for the late George Gilfillan and
Ripley E. W. Adams. It is said of Dr. Henry
that he was a man of marked education, stern
and conscious in his manner, ever ready to as-
sist the sick and needy by his advice and treat-
ment.
In comparison with the other two Censors
little is known of Dr. Charles C. Ball. He was
licensed July 4, 1806, and entered into private
practice. In 1824 he and Dr. Wendell had
joint offices at Columbia and Cranberry streets.
They then moved to 112 Fulton street, corner
of Main. He erected the first three-story brick
house in Brooklyn, where he lived at the time
of his death. This house was surrounded by
beautiful grounds, and is pictured in Guy's
snow scene of 1820. Besides holding the posi-
tion of Censor he was President from 1833 to
1834. He was also a member of the Society
for the Prevention of A'ice. It is interesting to
note that he was the richest physician of his
time, owning all of what is now known as
Brooklyn Heights ; he was the first to give up
horseback for the more luxurious carriage.
Of Dr. Francis Du Bois, like Dr. Ball, little
is known. He was the son of John E. Du Bois,
of the town of New Utrecht. Was born May
21, 1873. He married Sarah Bergen, and died
January 22, 1827.
With Dr. Creed, however, we are more for-
tunate. He was born in 1787, in the town of
Jamaica. His early education was obtained at
Friars' Hall Academy, with the addition of a
few years at Columbia College. He began the
study of medicine in 1805, under the preceptor-
ship of Dr. Comaine, in New York. He also
attended medical lectures at the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and was
licensed to practice medicine in 1809. He ac-
cepted the position of interne in Bellevue Hos-
pital during the year 1810, being the second
interne in that institution.
In 181 1 he began the practice of medicine
in the village of Brooklyn. The same year he
was Sheriff of Kings, county, and was the only
medical man in Kings county to hold that
office. In 18 12 he was appointed surgeon in
Jeremiah Johnson's brigade, stationed at Fort
Greene. He resumed the practice of his pro-
fession after the close of the war, and in 1822
became one of the organizers of the Medical
Society of the County of Kings. When the
first board of health was organized in Flat-
bush, in 1832, by John B. Zabriskie, M. D.,
with Dr. Adrian Vandeveer as Health Officer,
his associates were Drs. William D. Creed and
Robert Edmond, all members of the Society.
Soon after Dr. Creed removed to Jamaica, and
connected himself with the Queens County
Medical Society, of which he was President
during the years 1856 and 1857. He was also
a member of the Suffolk County Medical So-
ciety. Dr. Creed, like many of the old physi-
cians, was interested in the temperance cause,
and for a number of years was President
of the Queens County Temperance Society.
He also organized the First Reformed Church
at Queens, Long Island, laying the corner-
stone in September, 1858. Dr. Creed died in
1870, aged eighty-three years.
In addition to the biographies of the foun-
ders it will be interesting to touch briefly upon
the lives of the deceased presidents.
Dr. Isaac J. Rapelye become the fifth Presi-
dent of the Society in 1835. He came of a
very interesting family, for tradition has it
that the first white child born on Long Island
was a Rapelye. The date of the Doctor's birth
has never been ascertained. In fact, little is
known of him up to the date of his gradua-
tion from the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons in 1820. He practiced in Newtown
from 1820 to 1830, and in Brooklyn from 1830
to 1847. He held the position of Health Of-
ficer from 1839 to 1840; was Censor of the So-
ciety during the years 1831, 1832 and 1833.
In 1847 he "■'St with a tragic death. While
going upstairs a favorite dog jumped upon
600
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
him with such force that he was tlirown the
full length of tne stairs. It was found, upon
examination, that his neck was dislocated, thus
producing instant death.
Dr. John Barrea Zabriskie was President
of the Medical Society of the County of Kings
in 1839, being the eighth in line of succession
of the preceding officers. He was prepared for
college at Millstone, New Jersey. He entered
Union. Schenectady, leaving that college in
1823. The following year he began the study
of medicine in the office of Mr. William Mc-
Keesick, of Millstone, and became a student in
the College of Physicians in New York, 1825.
In 1826 he was licensed to practice medicine
by the Medical Society of the State of New-
Jersey. Not being satisfied with this legal
qualification, he entered the University of
Pennsylvania, and received the degree of M.
D. in 1827. In 1830, after having practiced
for a time in New York, he removed to New
Lots, and thence to Flatbush, where he spent
the remaining eighteen years of his life in the
active practice of medicine. He joined the
Medical Society of the County of Kings in
1829. He was Censor and Secretary in 1831-2
and \'ice-President in 1833-4-5, and was Presi-
dent in 1839. He also represented the county
organization in the State Medical Society in
1829-31, where he presented a paper on the
medical topography of Kings county, which
was published in the transactions of 1832.
During that same year he was a member of
the Flatbush Board of Health and in 1847
superintendent of the Flatbush School Dis-
trict, which included New Lots. Besides
these positions he was at one time physi-
cian in charge of the Kings County Alms-
house, and at another surgeon to the Two
Hundred and Forty-first Regiment, New York
State Militia. He was also trustee of the
Erasmus Hall Academy, and was an elder
in the Dutch Reformed Church. In 1848
he died of a contagious disease contracted in
his professional career. His son, John L. Zali-
riskie, deceased, was a member, and his two
grandsons are now active members of the So-
ciety. ,
The date of the birth of Dr. Purcell Cook
is not known. He was licensed by the County
Medical Society in 1824, and in 1851 received
the honorary degree of M. D. from the Regents
uf the University of the City of New York.
He practiced all his life in Brooklyn, and
held the following positions in the Society, of
which he was a member during the years 1835
to i860: was Censor in 1835, Vice-President
in 1839, President in 1840, 1841 and 1845. He
died a bachelor December 24, i860.
The next in line is Dr. Theodore Lewis
Alason. He was born in Cooperstown, New
York, September 30, 1803. He was the son of
the Rev. David Mason, of Norwich, Connecti-
cut, and a direct descendant of the John Mason
who came to Boston from England in 1632.
The early education of Dr. Mason was re-
ceived under the preceptorship of Rev. Isaac
Lewis, He began the study of medicine in
1822 at Greenwich, Connecticut, under Darius
Meade, M. D. A few years later, after matric-
ulating at the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, New York, with David Hosback as his
preceptor, he graduated in 1825. In that same
year he began the practice of his profession
at Milton, Connecticut, where he remained un-
til 1832, when he removed to New York city.
In 1834 he came to Brooklyn, remaining here
until his death, February 12, 1882.
Bradley Parker graduated from the Medi-
cal Department of Dartmouth College in 1824.
In 1836 he joined the Medical Society of which
he remained a member until his death in 1874.
He was Censor of the Society during the years
1838, 1840, 1841, 1846 and 1847. Secretary
in 1842 and 1843, and President in 1844.
John Sullivan Thorne was born in the city
of New York, April 19, 1807. Entered Union
College and received the degree of A. M. in
1826, and immediately began the study of med-
icine in the offices of Drs. Matthew Wendell
and Charles Ball, two of the organizers and
cx-Presidents of the Medical Societv. Re-
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUNTY OF KINGS.
GOl
ceived the degree of ^I. D. from tlie College
of Physicians and Surgeons in Xevv York, in
the class of 1829, and immediately began the
practice of medicine in Brooklyn, at 51 Sands
street. In 1830 he assisted in organizing the
first dispensary in Brooklyn ; when the dis-
pensary was discontinued in 1839 he assisted
in the organization of the City Hospital, and
was one of the attending physicians until 1855.
During the years 1844 and 1845 lie was Presi-
dent of the Hospital. In 1832 he was physi-
cian to the Cholera Hospital, and from 1840
to 1880 physician to the Roman Cathoh'c
Orphan Asylum. In 1876 he became a mem-
ber of the Council of the Long Island College
Hospital, and, at the same time, one of the
consulting surgeons. In 1879 he was a mem-
ber of the Board of Regents. His connection
with the Medical Society, county of Kings,
dates from 1834. He became the Vice-Presi-
dent in 184.1., President in 1846, and Censor
in 1 85 1. In 1843 Dr. Thorne became a mem-
ber of the Brooklyn Board of Education, re-
taining his membership until 1872. In 1868
he was elected President of the board, retain-
ing the position until his retirement in 1872,
and as far as is known was the only physi-
cian who ever held that position. In addition
to these various offices of trust he held the po-
sition of Trustee of the Brooklyn Female
Academy, and was also a director of the
Packer Institute of Brooklyn. His life was a
record of usefulness.
Lucius Hyde was the son of Isaac Hyde,
M. D., of Connecticut. He was born December
13, 1800. Educated at Union College, he
studied under his father, Isaac Hyde, in 1823,
and in 1825 was licensed by the New York
State Medical Society. Practiced in Brooklyn
from 1825 to 1862. Joined the Society in 1835.
He was Censor during the years 1843, 1846,
1848, and President in 1847. A delegate 10
the New York State Medical Society 1848-50,
and to the American Medical Society 1847,
1849, 1850 and 1851. He died September 11,
1862.
Chauncey Leeds Mitchell, A. M., AI. D.,
was born at New Canaan, Connecticut, No-
vember 13, 1813. He graduated at Union
College in 1833, received the degree of A. M.
in 1836, and the degree of M. D. in 1836, from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York. He practiced medicine in Brooklyn
from 1843 to 1888, was a member of the Coun-
cil of Long Island College Hospital from i860
to 1888; a member of the Board of Regents
from 1878 to 1888. Was Professor of Obstet-.
rics at Castleton, A'ermont, Medical College
from 1842 to 1845. Member of the Medical
Society of the county, of which he was Presi-
dent in 1848, and 1858 to 1859; New York
Academy of Medicine from 1847 to 1888. The
American Academy of Medicine from 1879
to 1888, and the Brooklyn Pathological So-
ciety from 1871 to 1888.
Henry James Cullen, born at Manor Ham-
ilton, Sligo, Ireland^ July 2, 1806, came to this
country when about fourteen, remaining in
New York five or six years, when he removed
to New Orleans, where he began the study of
medicine. In 1828 he graduated from the
Geneva Medical College, in New York. Im-
mediately after graduation he returned to Mat-
amoras, IMexico. where he had previously lived
some years, and remained there three years.
In 1837, after a trip abroad, he settled m
Brooklyn, where he resided at the time of his
death. He became a licentiate of the Medical
Society in 1843, ^ membeil in 1844, Vice-
President in 1846 to 1847, and was elected its
President in 1849. He served as Censor in
1-851, 1856 to 1857. He was for years one of
the physicians of the Brooklyn City Hospital,
and at the time of his death consulting physi-
cian to St. Peter's Hospital and St. Mary's.
He was a member of the Brooklyn Medico-
Chirurgical Society from 1856 to 1866, and
President in 1866. He was one of the worth-
iest practitioners Brooklyn ever had. The
last time he was seen by some of his medical
friends was on a cold night, when the air was
filled with snow and rain, the pavements slip-
602
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
pery with sleet, walking a good distance in
spite of his chronic enemy, asthma, to witness
the transfusion of blood from the carotid of a
lamb to the veins of a man enfeebled by dis-
ease. Such occasions Dr. Cullen never allowed
to pass. He was a practitioner of the old
school, but in perfect sympathy with the pro-
gressive spirit of the profession. To Dr. Cul-
len the medical corps of the Navy owes a debt
of gratitude which, when known, will be fully
appreciated. It was he who instigated the
movement in 1859 to secure for the surgeons
a right which had often been asked for, and
as often denied. Acting upon his recommen-
dation, the Society appointed a committee with
power to promote, by all lawful means, the
passage by Congress according to the Naval
medical corps theii" just demands. Circulars
were addressed to medical societies far and
wide. Petitions were sent to Washington and
members of Congress appealed to personally
to further the cause, which two years later
signally triumphed. Dr. Cullen was a man
of decided natural ability and high intellectual
qualities.
James Harvey Henry was born at Rut-
land, Alassachusetts, Februarv 22, 1806. He
died in Brooklyn November i. 1875. He grad-
uated at the Berkshire Medical Institute in
1827. A member of the -Council of the Long
Island College Hospital from i860 to 1867,
and of the Medical Society of the County of
Kings, of which he was President in 1850.
Dr. Samuel Johnson Osborn was born
May 4, 1813, at Mount Airy, Germantown,
Pennsylvania. His early schooling was ob-
tained at the Middletown Academy, Connecti-
cut, and Joseph Hoxie's School, New York.
After completing his education he entered the
drug business, where he remained until 1840,
when he began the study of medicine in the
city of New York, under the preceptorship of
Drs. Nichol H. Deering and Joseph Smith.
Entering the Medical Department of Rutgers
College in 1842, and the New York College of
Physicians and Surgeons in 1843, l^^ obtained
the degree of M. D. in 1844, and began the
practice of medicine in the city of Brooklyn,
connecting himself with the Medical Society
the same year, serving the Society as Censor,
1846-50-52-55, and as President in 1851. He
was Secretary from 1845 to 1851. In 1855 he
removed to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where his
ability was recognized by the citizens, in evi-
dence of which he was called upon to fill the
following positions: Supervisor; School Su-
perintendent, 1859 to 1869; School Commis-
sioner, 1869 to 1871, and Alderman, 1871 to
1872. He was an upright man, a profound
student of human nature, and an honor to his
profession. During sixty years of his life he
was connected with the Masonic order, having
held the position of Master and High Priest
in his lodge and chapter.
George Marvin was born at Norwalk, Con-
necticut, February 23, 1798. Having been
prepared for college in his native town, he en-
tered Yale University in 18 14, receiving the
degree of .\. ^I. in 1817. In 1818 he matricu-
lated witli the L'niversity of Pennsylvania,,
where he received the degree of M. D. in 1821.
He began private practice in Rochester, re-
maining there until 1828, when he came to-
New York city. In 183 1 he removed to the
city of Brooklyn, where he engaged in active
practice until 1874. In 1831 he became a mem-
ber of the Medical Society, holding the posi-
tion of Censor in 1837-38 and 1839. Was
Vice-President in 1840 to 1841, and President
in 1852. He was Assistant Physician to the
City Hospital, 1840 to 1845, and a member of-
the Council of the Long Island College Hos-
pital from 1867 to 1874. For thirty-five years
he was a member of the First Presbyterian
church of Brooklyn.
Dr. Andrew Otterson was born near Ams-
terdam, Fulton county. New York, February
22. 1822, and died April 15, 1897. His aca-
demic education was received at Hempstead
Harbor, Long Island, and Freehold, New Jer-
sey, and in tlie year 1840 he commenced the
study of medicine at Whitehouse, New Jersey,
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUNTY OF KINGS.
G03
having for his preceptor Dr. William John-
son of that place. He went to the University
Medical College, graduating from there in
1844, and immediately selecting Brooklyn as
the field of his future efforts for fame and
success. In 1845 he became a member of the
Medical Society of the County of Kings, and
remained a member fifty-two years. His con-
nection with the Medical Society covers a
period of more than two-thirds of his life. He
signed his name as the seventy-eighth member
on the roll, and added to that eminent list an
unimpeachable presence, a sublime purpose,
and a dignity of character that remained un-
questioned, and lived to enjoy the growth of
its membership to more than six hundred. At
the time of his death he was the oldest ex-
President of the Society in active membership,
the oldest non-resident ex-President living be-
ing Samuel J. Osborn, who filled the chair m
1851, removed to Wisconsin in 1862, attain-
ing his eighty-fourth year of age on May 4,
1897. Between these two there existed a warm
friendship, which time failed to dim or dis-
tance to sever. Dr. Otterson's membership in
the Aledical Society was not without recogni-
tion. He was President in 1853, 1854, and
again in 1868. He held the position of Censor
in 1849, 1864 and 1865. Secretary in 1850,
185 1 and 1852, and Treasurer from 1855 to
1861. He also became associated with the
Brooklyn Medical Society in 1856, and was its
President in 1857; with the Brooklyn Med-
ico-Chirurgical Society from 1857 to 1866, be-
ing its President in 1857, 1858 and 1859; the
Brooklyn Pathological Society from 1877 to
1897; the Brooklyn Medical Book Club from
1892 to 1897, and the Alumni Association of
the University Medical College of the city of
Xew York, of which he was elected Vice-
President in 1896. While thus professionally
affiliated there were social duties which claimed
his attention ; among these were Altair Lodge,
No. 601, F. & A. Masons, Constellation Chap-
ter, R. A. M., Brooklyn Consistory, No. 24,
and Ancient Scottish Rite, thirty-third degree.
To cease here would be denying him the time-
honored association of a membership where
his presence was ever punctual and an inspira-
tion for good — a Fellow for fifty years of
Montauk Lodge, No. 114, I. O. O. F. In his
early professional life he filled the position of
Attending Physician to the Brooklyn Dispen-
sary from 1850 to 1855. In professional pub-
lic life Dr. Otterson was Health Officer of the
city of Brooklyn in 1872, and again in 1883;
was President of the Board of Health in 1875
and 1877; Commissioner of Health in 1879
and 1880, and again from February 6, 1886,
to February i, 1888. Like many physicians in
active practice, Dr. Otterson found little time
for contributing to the medical literature of
the day. He was essentially a practical man,
who never lost a suggestion, and was never
found without one. His reports of the Health
Department are chiefly clerical, but His papers
on the cholera epidemics of 1848 and 1854 in
Brooklyn give proof of a facile pen and an
ability to understand the hygienic requirements
necessary in times of sudden outbursts of dis-
ease. Dr. Otterson's life was one continued
earnest effort; right or wrong, he knew nO'
middle ground. To his brothers in the pro-
fession he was singularly courteous, upright
and void of dissimulation, ever ready to ex-
tend the helping hand. In ethics he was a
moralist ; in politics a Jacksonian Democrat ; in
the practice of his profession an ideal physi-
cian, kind, conscientious, faithful and beloved.
George I. Bennett was born November 15,
1809. He graduated at the University of the
City of New York in 1842. Practiced in
Brooklyn during his professional career, 1842
to 1875. He was the first outdoor temperance
orator in Brooklyn, lecturing on Fort Greene
plaza on Sunday afternoons, and using the
stomachs of patients who had died of alchohol-
ism (as prepared by Dr. John G. Johnson, of
Brooklyn) to illustrate his text. He was a
member of the Kings County Society, 1842 to
1875. The Vice-President in 185 1 ; Censor in
1858; Librarian in 1859 to 1869, and Presi-
dent in 1855.
• Timothy Anderson Wade was graduated
604
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
from Berkshire Medical Institute, 1843. He
practiced medicine from 1844 to 1866. Was
physician to the Brooklyn Dispensary, 1846
to 1850; physician to the Kings County Peni-
tentiary, 1849 to 1859. A member of the
Kings County Medical Society from 1845 to
1856. Was Secretary, 1847 to 1848 and 1849.
Censor in 184.9; President in 1856; Delegate
to the American Medical Association in 1855.
He died in Brooklyn, in April, 1866.
Samuel Boyde was born in Manhattan, in
1806, began studying medicine in New York
city, 1825, with Dr. Alexander Stephens.
Graduated from the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in 1828; post-graduate studies were
conducted in the hospitals of Dublin, Edin-
burgh and Paris. Began private practice in
New York city, 1829. In 1844 lie moved to
Staten Island, where he remained until 1848;
also had an office in Brooklyn from 1830 to
i860. Health Officer of the city of Brooklyn
from 1857 to 1859, and \^isiting Physician in
the City Hospital, 1840 to 1843. Member of
Kings County Society, 1847 to 1861 ; was
Vice-President in 1857. Delegate to the State
Society in 1835. Physician to Seamen's Re-
treat, Staten Island, 1844 to 1848; a surgeon
in the Seminole War, and the only member
that contributed a pamphlet on the yellow
fever of 1856 then prevalent in New Utrecht.
Daniel Brooks, M. D., born in Westmore-
land, New Hampshire, in 1813, took the degree
•of A. M. from Yale University in 1839;
the degree of M. D. from the Vermont Medical
College in 1845; was interne at the Insane
Asylum at Hartford, Connecticut, 1845 to
1846; practiced medicine in Brooklyn, 1846
to 1861 ; attending physician at the Brooklyn
Dispensary, 1846 to 1850; member of the
Kings County Society, 1847 to 1861 ; Vice-
President, 1859; President, i860; delegate to
the American Association, i860; died De-
cember 24, 1 86 1.
Christopher Raborg ^IcClellan, born in
Baltimore, Maryland, in 1813; graduated from
Yale University, 1833. Received the degree
of M. D. in the University of Maryland, 1835 ;
was interne at Baltimore City Hospital and
County Almshouse, 1835 to 1836; practiced
medicine in Brooklyn, 1837 to 1887; Health
Officer of Brooklyn, 1841 to 1842; attending
physician City Hospital, 1845 to 1850; con-
sulting physician, St. Peter's Hospital, 1877
to 1887 ; member of the Kings County Medical
Society, 1839 to 1887; Censor in 1842; Vice-
President, 1850 to i860; President, 1861 ;
member New York Mutual Aid Association,
New York Academy of Medicine, State Medi-
cal Association, and in 1866 he was a delegate
to the American Medical Association ; Profes-
sor of Botany in the New York College of
Pharmacy in 1839; he died in Brooklyn Jan-
uary 13, 1887.
Samuel Hart was born at Wakefield, Mass-
achusetts, November 27, 1796; graduated at
Harvard University (A. B., 1817; A. M.,
1820; M. D., 1821). Began the practice of
medicine at Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1821.
In 1828 he removed to Oswego, New York,
and in 1855 he removed to Brooklyn, where
he died September 3, 1878. He was a mem-
ber of the Kings County Medical Society,
1858 to 1878, and Censor in 1861, 1863 and
1870. Was President in 1862. He was a
member of the Oswego Medical Society, 1829
to 1855, also a member of the American Medi-
cal Association and of the New York State
Medical Society, and Fellow of Massachusetts
Medical Society. He was Curator of the
Medical Department of the University of Buf-
falo, and Surgeon to the Riflemen of Oswego,
New York. He bequeathed his library to the
Kings County Medical Society in 1878.
De Witt Clinton Enos, M. D., was born at
De Ruyter, New York, March 17, 1820. Died
in Brooklyn, New York, December 14, 1868.
Received his medical education in the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, grad-
uating in 1846. He was professor of General
and Descriptive Anatomy in the Long Island
College Hospital, i860 to 1867. Professor of
operative and clinical surgery. Long Island
THE MEDICAL SOCIETY OF COUxNTY OF KINGS.
G05.
Hospital, 1867 to 1868. He was President
of the Medical Society of the County of Kings
in 1863. He practiced medicine in the city of
Brooklyn from 1847 to 1868.
Joseph Chrisman Hutchison was born in
Howard coimty, Missouri, Feb. 22, 1827, died
in Brooklyn, New York, July 17, 1887. Grad-
uated M. D., University of Pennsylvania, 1848,
receiving the degree of LL. D. from the Uni-
versity of Missouri in 1880. Was Professor
of operative surgery and surgical anatomy of
the Long Island College Hospital from i860,
to iS')7. President of the Collegiate Depart-
ment, 1886 and 1887. President of the Medi-
cal Society of the County of Kings, 1864 ; New
York State Medical Society, 1866: New York
Pathological Society, 1871 ; and Health Com-
missioner of Brooklyn from 1873 to 1875,
where he practiced medicine from 1853 to
1887.
John Terry Conkling, M. D. was born at
Smithtown, Long Island, March 19, 1825, died
in Brooklyn March 17, 1898, thus rounding
out a useful life of more than the allotted time
of three-score years and ten. His preliminary
education was received in the schools at the
place of his birth, and at the State Normal
School of Albany, graduating from there in
1847. Shortly after this he came to Brooklyn,
and in 1852 began the study of medicine in
the office of De Witt Clinton Enos, M. D. Dr.
Conkling matriculated at the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, attending lectures during
the winters of 1853, 1854 and 1855, graduat-
ing in 1855. He began the practice of medi-
cine in Brooklyn, 1855, and continued until
incapacitated by sickness. Was Superintend-
ent of the Metropolitan Board of Health from
1864 to 1870, and -was made President of the
Brooklyn Board of Health in 1873. Was a
member of the Board of Education, 1864 to
1870 ; member Council of the Long Island Col-
lege Hospital, 1886 to 1893; Physician to the
Brooklyn Dispensary and Eye and Ear In-
firmary and Consulting Physician of the Long
Island College Hospital. Member of the Long
Island Historical Society ; became a member
of the Kings County Medical Society, 1859;
Censor, and President in 1864, serving one
term.
William W. Reese was born of Quaker
parentage, about eighty-seven years ago, near
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He received the
degree of M. D. from the University of Penn-
sylvania in 1845. After coming to this city
he became a member of the Medical Society
in the county of Kings in 1861. Six years
after joining the society he was elected to the
Presidency, which office he held during the
year 1867. Dr. Reese was one of the con-
stituent members of the New York Physicians'
Mutual Aid Association. Was the first Vice-
President, his term extending from 1871 10
1892. From 1874 he was also an active mem-
ber of the Committee on Applications for
Membership. Besides holding the office of
President he was Librarian from 1870 to 1878.
and later held the office of Assistant Secre-
tary. He was elected a delegate to the New
York State Medical Society for the years 1870
to 1873 ; 3- delegate to the American Medical
Association from 1870 to 1879, a"d the Na-
tional Quarantine and Sanitary Commission
in 1866. He died on October 20, 1894.
Richard Cresson Styles was born in Phila-
delphia. Pennsylvania, Oct. 4, 1830, died at
Westchester, Pennsylvania, April 17, 1873.
In 185 1 he took the degree A. B. from Yale
University, and in the following year began
the study of medicine in the office of Thomas
Turner, M. D., of Flatbush, Long Island,
matriculating with the University of Pennsyl-
vania, and receiving the degree of M. D. in
1854. The years 1855 to 1856 were spent in
the Paris Hospitals. Returning to this coun-
try, he began the practice of medicine in the
State of Vermont, where he continued until
1862, receiving in 'that year the appointment of
surgeon of volunteers. In 1863 to 1864 he was
surgeon in Hancock's corps, coming to the
city of Brooklyn. In the same year he en-
gaged in the practice of medicine, his office lie- -
«06
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ing at 1 6 Court street. He accepted an ap-
pointment as resident physician to the Kings
County Hospital, remainijig until 1866. Dur-
ing the years 1865 to 1866 he held the position
of Superintendent to the Hospital. Under the
Metropolitan Board of Health he held the of-
fice of Registrar of Kings county in 1866, and
was Assistant Sanitary Superintendent from
1868 to 1870. Previous to his coming to Brook-
lyn he filled the following positions : Lec-
turer on Physiology, College of Physician?
and Surgeons, New York, 1861 to 1862 ; Pro-
fessor of Physiology and Pathology, Vermont
Medical College, 1857 to 1865 ; Professor of
Physiology, Berkshire Medical Institute, Mas-
sachusetts, 1858 to 1862. His affiliation with
medical societies has been as follows : Medi-
cal Society, County of Kings, 1865-1873 ; Vice-
President, 1867; President, 1868-69; Censor,
1870; Brooklyn Pathological Society, 1870-
73, of which he was one of the organizers.
New York Academy of Medicine, 1865 to 1873.
Delegate to the American Medical Association,
1865. In this connection it may be interesting
to note that Dr. Styles had given some timt
to the study of Texas cattle disease, and dis-
covered the parasite which caused the malady,
and which Professor Haller, of Jena, named
the fungus Conisthecium Stilesianum, in honor
of the discoverer.
William H. Thayer was born in Milford,
Massachusetts, June 18, 1822, became a mem-
ber of the class of 1841, Harvard University,
taking his A. B. in regular course. He re-
ceived his M. D. from the Harvard Medical
School in 1844. He was an interne of the
^Massachusetts General Hospital during his
student period. For about ten years he prac-
ticed at Boston and at Newtown Centre, Mas-
sachusetts. From 1854 to 1862 he resided at
Keene, New Hampshire. Was a member of
the State Medical Society, New Hampshire
and A'ermont, and a surgeon of the New
Hampshire volunteers. From 1862 to 1865
was Alcdical Director of New York, the Sec-
ond Division of United States Army Corps,
being mustered out in July, 18G5. He joined
the Medical Society of Kings County in 1866,
filling various offices from 1867 to 1878, and
holding its Presidency in 1872 and 1873. In
1869 or 1870 he, with his friend, Dr. R.
C. Styles, and nine others, laid the foundation
of the Brooklyn Pathological Society. In 1892
he gave up the practice of the profession on
account of deafness, and removed to Lanes-
boro, Massachusetts. There he spent the
last five years of his life in the enjoyment
of outdoor freedom. He died December 22,
1897.
William Wallace was born in Cork, Ire-
land, May 14, 1835; began the study of medi-
cine in Edinburgh in 1851, and graduated from
the Royal College of Surgeons in 1856, and the
Royal College of Physicians in i860. During
1855 he was acting Assistant Surgeon to the
Royal Navy, in the Russian War. After the
completion of his medical course Dr. Wallace
entered the service of the Cunard Steamship
Company, and for seven years served as sur-
geon. In 1864 he began practice in Brooklyn.
He held the office of attending physician to
the Out-door Department of the Long Island
College Hospital. Subsec|uently he became
visiting physician to the following institutions :
Long Island College Hospital, St. John's Hos-
pital and Home for Consumptives. Consult-
ing physician to Long Island College Hospital
and St. Mary's Hospital, and medical director
to the college dispensary, were the important
titles conferred upon him. His appointment ns
a member of the Council of Long Island Col-
lege and Hospital Committee of St. John's
Hospital, and the board of Managers of the
Church Charity Foundation, shows the con-
fidence reposed in him by the general public.
In the Kings County Medical Society he was
elected Censor, Trustee and President, and
delegate to the State Society, and President of
the Brooklyn Pathological Society. He died
CHAPTER LI.
VARIOUS MEDICAL SOCIETIES— BROOKLYN HOSPITALS-
DISPENSARIES.
j^^^HE rcabDii for ihe organization of the
KM^w Mtvlici -Cliirurgical Society is that
^^^ usually offered, want of harmony.
' (_ r inactivity, in the older societies.
J. H. Hobart F.urge, M. D., located in the
city of Brooklyn in 1855. The Medical So-
ciety of the County of Kings was the only
medical body in existence and its members met
(|uarterly. Dr. Burge felt that medical men
should come together oftener, and issued a
call to a number of physicians to meet at his
office, 138 Duffield street, to consider the ad-
visability of forming an active medical so-
ciety. The result of this meeting was the or-
ganization of the above society on November
10, 1856.
The society was duly organized, in Duf-
tield street, the name of which it received in
honor of Dr. John Duffield, a surgeon in the
Revolutionary War, who practiced medicine
in the village of Brooklyn until his death in
1798.
During the ten years that the society had
an existence in Brooklyn it included fifty of
the most active phvsicians as members, many
of whom were connected with the different
hospitals of the city, and in a position to pre-
sent a great many specimens at the meetings
of the society, so much so that the society par-
took largely of the character of a pathological
society; this work continued until 1866. Dur-
ing this year the Medical Society of the Coun-
ty of Kings resumed active work, which made
it unnecessary to have two medical societies
in one section of the city. The menil)_rs of
the Medico-Chirurgical Society simply trans-
ferred their field of active work to the Coun.'y
Society.
The first President was Andrew Otterson,
M. D., who held the office from 1856-59.
He was followed by Joseph B. Jones, M.
D., in i860. Dr. Jones is a graduate of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York, of 1855. He was local Health Officer
from 1860-63 ^"d 1864-66; Coroner of the
county, 1869-74; member of the Medical So-
ciety of the County of Kings, 1860-76, and the
last President of the Brooklyn Medical Society
in 1857. Daniel Ayres, M. D., LL. D., fol-
lowed as President, during the years 1861-62-
63. He was born in Jamaica, Long Island, on
October 6, 1822, "a year that marks the birth
of our County Society." He was prepared for
Princeton College, from which institution he
was graduated, A. B., in 1842. Wesleyan
LTniversity conferred upon him the degree of
LL. D. in 1856. He commenced the study of
medicine at the Castleton Medical College,Ver-
mont, completing his studies at the University
of New York, receiving the degree of M. D. in
1845. During the years 1844 and 1845 he was
interne in Bellevue Hospital, and commenced
private practice in the city of Brooklyn in
1846, continuing in the active practice of his
profession in the city until his death, January
18, 1892. During his long and active service
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in the practice of the healing art he ever main-
tained that dignity of character and honesty
of purpose which go to make the true man
and physician. In 1848 he was surgeon of the
Fifth Brigade, Thirteenth and Fourteenth
Regiments, New York, and from 1861-65 sur-
geon. New York State Vohinteers ; surgeon to
the Brooklyn Hospital, 1846-53 and 1892 ;
surgeon to St. Peter's Hospital, 1864-70; Con-
sulting Surgeon, 1870-92.
His greatest work was in connection with
the Long Island College Hospital. He was
one of the founders, his active co-lahorers be-
ing Louis Bauer, M. D., F. R. C. S., and John
Byrne, M. D., LL. D. He was surgeon to the
hospital from 1858-60, and elected the first
Professor of Surgery in 1859, and Professor
Emeritus of Surgical Pathology and Clinical
Surgery, Long Island College Hospital, 1874-
1892. ■
In the history of Bellevue Hospital, pub-
lished in 1893, Dr. Daniel Ayrcs appears as
Professor of Surgery, Long Island College
Hospital, 1858-74. This is simply a mistake,
in so far as the dates are concerned. His con-
nection with medical societies was as follows:
Medical Society of the County of Kings,
1845-92; Censor, 1847; American Medical As-
sociation, New York Academy of Medicine,
New York Pathological Society, Medical So-
ciety of Berlin, Medico-Chirurgical Society of
Brooklyn, New York.
His contributions to surgery have been :
"Treatment of Membranous Croup by Trache-
otomy," 1852; "Successful Treatment of Tet-
anus," 1852 ; "Successful Reduction of Com-
plete Dislocation of the Cervical Vertebrje,"
1852; "Contributions to Surgery," 1857; "Con-
genital Exstrophy of the Urinary Bladder and
Its Complication Successfully Treated by a
New Plastic Operation," 1859; "Operations
for Artificial Anus ;" "Trepanning the Skull
for Reflex Epilepsy;" "Lymphomata in Ap-
terior JMediastinum," 1881 ; "Reminiscences of
Tracheotomy;" and "Croup and Diphtheria,"
1 88 1. Several of the above papers were re-
produced in Hamilton's Gross' and Erichsen's
".Systems of Surgery."
His bequests to Wesleyan University and
Hoagland Laboratory are well known.
John Henry Hobart Burge, M. D., followed
as President, in 1864-65. He was born in the
village of Wickford, North Kingston, Wash-
ington county, Rhode Island, August 12, 1823.
In 1844, at Wickford, Rhode Island, he com-
menced the study of medicine under the pre-
ceptorship of Drs. William Gorham and Will-
iam Allen Shaw, which were continued at the
University of the City of New York from
1846 to 1848, graduating M. D. in that year.
His post-graduate studies were conducted by
Professors Darling and Aylett, and at the New
York Hospital under Professors Post, Reid
and Watson. Dr. Burgc's private practice
commenced in New York city in 1848. In
1849 aiid 1850 he conducted a private hospital
at Sacramento, California, and in 185 1 to
185s in New York city, coming to Brooklyn
in 1855.
During the fifty years of professional life
he has been connected with the following:
Physician, New York Dispensary, 1852-54;
Physician, Brooklyn Central Dispensary, 1858-
63; Consulting Physician, 1866-76; Consult-
ing Physician, Brooklyn Contagious Diseases
Hosoital. 1863-70; Consulting Physician,
Sheltering Arms Nursery, -1870; Visiting
Physician, Long Island College Hospital, 1863-
94; Consulting Surgeon, Long Island College
Hospital, 1894; Consulting Surgeon, St. John's
Hospital, 1872; Consulting Surgeon, Lucretia
Mott Dispensary, 1882 ; member of the Brook-
lyn Medical Society, 1856-57; Medico-Chir-
urgical Society, Brooklyn, 1857-66; Medical
Society of the County of Kings, 1859 ; Presi-
dent, 1870-71 ; Long Island College Hospital
Journal Association, 1868-75 ! President, 1870-
71 ; Brooklyn Pathological Society, one of the
organizers, in 1870 ; Medical Society, State of
New York, 1876; New York Society of r^Iedi-
cal Jurisprudence; New York Neurological
Society, Vice-President, 1876; and Alumni As--
VARIOUS MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
609
sociation, University City of Xew York, Vice-
President, 1896.
His contribution to medical literature has
been as follows : "History and Mechanical
Treatment of Fractures of the Femur," 1890;
and "Treatment of Fractures of the Patella,"
1884 (his apparatus for the treatment of these
fractures was presented in 1868 and 1880) ;
"Hygienic Influences," address before the
Medical Society of the County of Kings, 1868 ;
"The Relations between Physician and Apoth-
ecaries," 1870; "A New Ether Inhaler; Re-
marks on Sulphuric Ether," 1889; "Anesthesia,
Apparent Death ; Resuscitation and Medical
Ethics," 1891 ; and "Points of Election in Lap-
arotomy, after Wounds of the Abdomen,"
1893. To these may be added "A Throat
Forceps," "Post-Mortem Needle," "Obstetrical
Forceps," "Dilating Strictures in the Urethra,
Curved and Straight."
Henry James Cullen, ^I. D., was the last
President of the Society, in 1866.
BROOKLVX PATHOLOGICAL SOCIETY.
The historv of any organization is simply
the history of those who were active in its
work. The success of any society depends
upon the earnest work of a few of its members,
aided by the general and hearty support of
all connected with the organization. It is,
therefore, to be expected that in outlining the
history of any society certain of its members
will be mentioned by name, while others who
may have been faithful and earnest in their
efforts to promote the best interests of the so-
ciety are not named, for the reason that their
work was along lines carrying with it little
or no prominence.
Previous to the formation of the Honfeo-
pathic Medical Society, County of Kings, No-
vember 12, 1857, a State law required that all
physicians who desired to practice medicine in
Kings county should become members of the
County Medical Society.
Tliis necessitv required homeopathic physi-
cians to present their names for membership
in the County Medical Society.
As a natural result the admission of homeo-
pathic physicians met with much opposition and
caused a lack of interest in the attendance at
the meetings of the Society, the outcome of
this indifference to the County Medical So-
ciety being that the Brooklyn Medico-Chirurg-
ical Society came into existence.
This Society was organized November 10,
1856. The following well known physicians
held the office of President during its exist-
ence : Andrew Otterson, M. D., President, ■
1856-59; Joseph B. Jones, M. D., President,
i860; Daniel Ayres, M. D., President, 1861-
63 ; John Henry Hobart Burge, M. D., Presi-
dent, 1864-65; and Henry J. Cullen, M. D.,
President, 1866.
This Society marked the beginning of the
study of pathology on Long Island; for at its
meetings were presented for discussion path-
ological specimens, the first time anything of
this character was ever attempted in the city
of Brooklyn.
The laws of the State having been amendecL
so as to permit the organization of more than
one County Medical Society, thereby removing,
the feeling of opposition to the existing So-
ciety, peace and harmony were restored. In.
a few years the Medico-Chirurgical Society
found that its usefulness as a society had prac-
tically come to an end, and the Society was
discontinued in 1866. For a few years nothing
of importance developed until the formation
of the Brooklyn Pathological Section, in con-
nection with the Medical Society, County of
Kings. The preliminary meeting was held at
the office of Charles H. Giberson, M. D., i88.'
Renisen street, on the evening of March 3,
1870, at which time it was agreed to issue u
call through the Medical Society, County of
Kings, for a meeting to be held at the rooms
of the Board of Health, on the evening of
March 22, 1870. The Assistant Superintend-
ent was Dr. R. C. Stiles, who had kindly of-
fered the use of the rooms for the meeting.
Eleven physicians responded to the call, as fol-
lows: Charles Henry Giberson, M. D., obit
April 14, 1879: Richard Cresson Stiles, A. B.,
610
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
M. D.. obit April 17, 1873; Charles Corey, M.
13.. obit April 4. 1894: John Henry Hobart
r.urse. -M. D. : John liyrne. M. D..' LL. D. :
Arthur Mathewson. A. Al.. Al. D. : Jonath.in
Slater I'n.ut, :M. D. ; Dcnjaniin Avery Sc-ur,
]'>. S.. M. 1).: William Henry Thayer, A. 1'..,
:\I. ])., (.bit December 22. 1897; Richard M,,r-
ri.s Wyeoff, A. II., M. D. : and Frederick Will-
iam W'un.lerlicb, AI. D.
At this meeting the Brooklyn Pathtilogieal
Section was organized, by-laws were adopted,
and Charles H. Giberson elected to the office
of Secretary and Treasurer, a chairman being
elected at each meeting of the section. In
1876 the by-laws were modified so as to ])ro-
vide for the election of a President and \ ice-
President, but it was not until 1884 that the
Pathological Section became a distinct organi-
zation, as in this year by-laws were so changed
as to adnfit to membership all physicians in
regular standing, irresiiective nf their me 11-
belrsbip in the .Medical Society, County of
Kings.
The Presi.lents of the P,rn..klyn Pathulcg-
ical Society from its organization to the pres-
ent tnne have been as follows:
Charles Henrv Giberson, Al. D., first Presi-
dent of the Society, was born in the Parish of
Kent, Bath, Carleton county, Xew Brunswick,
on Scptenilier 3, 1838. and died in Brooklyn,
Xew York, April 14, 1879. He was a graduate
of the University of N'ermont, Aledical Depart-
ment, in i8(>i, and was .\ssistant Surgeon in
the I'nited Slates Xavy from i8()i-fi3. Dur-
ing the year 1865 he attended the Post-Grad-
iiate course at the Long Island College Hos-
pital. He practiced medicine in Brooklyn
from i8(i8 to 1879, and occupied the positiiui
of President of the Pathological Society in
1876; in 1872 he delivered the .Semi-Centen-
nial address before the Medical Societ}-, Cmui-
tv of Kings.
l-rank Warrui Rockwell. Al. .\., AI. D..
was born in \'alatie. near All)any. Decemlier
22. 1843. Died in Brooklyn. Xew York, A])ril
30, 1889, receiving the degree of A. B., il''(>S-
and A, AI. in 1868 from Amherst, and grad-
uated M. D. from the College of Phxsicians
and Surgeons, Xew York, 1868. Lecturer on
Alateria Aledica, "Reading Term," L. I. C. II.,
1874. President of the Brooklyn Surgical So-
ciety, 1887-88. President lirooklyn I'atho-
Ictgical Society during the years 1877-78 and
1879. He practiced medicine in lirooklyn,
Xew York, from 1868-89.
Arthur Alathewson, AI. A., AI. D., was born
in Brooklyn, Connecticut, September 11, 1837,
received the degree of A. B., 1858. .\. Al.,
1865, Yale University, graduated AI. D., Uni-
versity City of X'ew York in 1S61. Assistant
Surgeon, United States Xavy, 1861-64. Sur-
geon, 1865. Surgeon L'nite<l States Xaval
Hospital, Brooklyn, Xew "^'ork. 1866. Lec-
turer, Diseases of the Eye and Ear. Yale Uni-
versity Medical Department. Clinical Profes-
sor Diseases of the Ear. L. I. C. H., 1872-95.
President Brooklyn Pathological Society. 1880.
Has practiced in Brooklvn since 1867.
AMUiam Wallace, AI. D., born in Cork, Ire-
land, Alay 14, 1835. Died in Brooklyn, Xew
York, December 22, 1896. Graduated at the
Royal College of Physicians, Edinliurgh. in
1S56. Royal College of Surgeons in i860.
\\'as -Vssistant Surgeon in the Royal Xavy in
1855. President of the Medical Society, Coun-
ty of Kings, 1887-88. President of the Brook-
lyn Pathological Society in 1881 and 1882. He
practiced in Brooklyn from i864-<)4.
John X. iM-eeman, AI. D., born in La
Grange, Ohio. August 4, 1831. Died in (~)ma-
ha, Xebraska, August 18. 1888. Graduated
AI. D. from the University City of Xew York,
1862. Assistant Surgeon Duryea's Zouaves.
1862-63. Surgeon One Hundred and Sixth
.\"ew York A'oluntecrs. 1863-63. Presiden: of
the lirooklyn Pathological Society in 1883.
Practiced medicine in Brooklyn. Xew York,
from 1869 to 1 888.
P.enjamin bVank Westlirook. Al. D., was
born in St. Louis, Alissouri, b'eljruar}- 4, 1831.
Died in lirooklyn. Xew York. April I2. 1895.
(iraduated Al. D. from the Long Lsland Col-
VARIOUS MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
611
lege Hospital in 1874. Lecturer on Anatomy,
L. 1. C. H., 1879-80. Lecturer on Anatomy
and Pathological Anatomy, 1880-82. Presi-
dent L. I. C. H. Alumni Association, i88f).
President Brooklyn Pathological Society. 1884-
85-86. He practiced medicine in lirooklyn,
Xew York, 1875-95.
Joseph Hill Hunt, P.. S., M. D., was born
in Huntshurg, Sussex count w Xew Jerse}',
April 12. 1848. receiving the degree of P,. S.
from Washington and Lee I'niversity in 18G9.
Graduated JNI. D. from the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, Xew York, 1873. Dem-
onstrator and Instructor of Histology and
Pathology, L. 1. C. H. Demonstrator of His-
tology, lirooklyn Anatomical and Surgical So-
ciety : member of the Kings County Board of
Pharmacy : Professor of Botany, Materia ]\Ied-
ica and Pharmacognosy, Brooklyn College of
Pharmacy, 1893-95. President Brooklyn Path-
ological Society. 1887-88. President Medical
Society County of Kings, 1898. Practiced med-
icine in Brooklyn, Xew York, since 1874.
John Cargill Shaw, M. D., born in Ja-
maica. \\ est Indies. Septeml)er 25. 1845.
Craduated M. D., College of Physicians anil
Surgeons. Xew York.- 1874. Was Medical
Superintendent of the Kings County Insane
Asylum from 1874 to 1883 ; has been Clinical
Professor Diseases of the Mind and Xervous
System, L. I. C. H., since 188.3: was President
Xew York Xeurological Society, 1872 and
1876; President Medical Society, County of
Kings, 1893; and President Brooklyn Path-
ological .Society, 1889-90. Practiced medicine
in Bro(.;kl\n, Xew \'nrk, since 1883.
Ezra Herbert Wilson. M. 1).. born in Port
Jefferson. Long Island, Xovember 24, 1859,
graduated M, D,. College Physicians and Sur-
geons, Xew York, 1882. Director Department
of Bacteriology, Hoagland Laboratory, Chief
of the Bureau of Bacteriology, Health Depart-
ment. President I'.rooklyn Pathological So-
ciety, 1 89 1.
Joshua Marsden \'an Cott, Jr., }^I. D., born
in Xew York Citv, 1861. Graduated M. D.
Long Island College Hospital, 1885. Director
Department of Pathologv. Hoagland Labora-
tory. Professor Histology and Pathological
Anatomy. L. I. C. H.. since 1891. President
of the Brooklyn Pathological Society, 1892-
93. In practice since 1887.
\\'illiam Xathan Belcher, JNI. D., born in
Brooklyn, Xew York, December 29, 1862,
graduated yi. D., Long Island College Hos-
pital, 1884. Instructor in Histology and Path-
ological Anatomy, L. L C. H., 1890. Lecturer
on Physiology. "Reading Term," L. L C. H.
President Brooklyn Pathological Society, 1894.
Practiced medicine in Pirooklyn. X^ew York,
since 1885.
l-rancis H. Stuart. M. A., 'SI. D., born in
Logansport. Indiana. July 29, 1846, received
the degree -of A. M. from Hamilton College,
graduating M. D. from Long Island College
Hospital in 1873. Registrar of N'ital Statistics,
Department of Health, P)ro(.)klyn, Xew York,
I'^^/S-/'"^- Lecturer on ( )bstetrics. "Reading
Term." L. I. C. H.. 1880-8(1. Acting Pro-
fessor of Surgery. L. I. C. H.. 1895-96. Presi-
dent Brooklyn' Anatomical and Surgical So-
ciety, 1884. President Brooklyn Pathological
Society, 1895. In private practice in Brooklyn,
Xew York, since 1874.
l-'rederic jnseph Sin..,]), M. 1)., born in
Braceville. Illinois, hebruary 8, 1862. Grad-
uated M. ])., College Physicians and Surgeons,
Xew York, 1883. President Brooklyn Path-
ological .Society, 1896. Practiced medicine in
I'rooklyn. Xew York, since 1886.
James Peter Warbasse. M. D.. born in
.Xewton, Xew Jersey, Xovember 22, 1866,
graduated M. D.. Colle.ge Physicians and Sur-
geons, New York, 1889. President of the
Brooklyn Pathological Society. 1897. In prac-
tice in Brooklyn, Xew York, since 1892.
Literally speaking, the Pathological Society
has not been very active ; true, many of its
members, particularly those who have held the
ciifice of President, have enriched our medical
literature by presenting papers at the meet-
ings, also at the meetings (if other Medical
612
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Societies, numbering about io8. Independent
of books and contributions to bound volumes
this figure would be double or more, when we
consider the contributions made by individual
members.
The proceedings of the Society were pub-
lished, together with those of the Medical So-
ciety, County of Kings, in their Journal from
1876 to 1883. The transactions of the Path-
ological Society for the years 1885 and 1886
were published in an octavo volume of 233
pages.
The first number of a magazine, under the
name of "The Pathologist," was issued in Jan-
uary, 1 88 1. This magazine continued to be
published until 1883, its editor being the late
Edward Seaman Bunker, M. D. The Chair
of Histology and General Pathology was
founded by Dr. Bunker at tlie Long Island
College Hospital in 1879. He was a member
of this Society from 1873 to the time of his
death.
In 1894 William N. Belcher, M. D., who
was then President, delivered an address be-
fore this Society, which was afterward pub-
lished, being, so far as known to the writer, the
only address ever published relating directly
to the Pathological Society of Brooklyn. A
report of the proceedings of the Twenty-fifth
Anniversary of this Society, together with the
address of Joseph H. Hunt, AI. D., and other
addresses were published in the "Brooklyn
Medical Journal" in 1896.
Previous to 1856 the study of pathology
on Long Island was practically unknown, and
even to-day I believe we are the only Society
that has 'been devoted to the study of pathology
on the Island, with the exception that during
the years 1874 and 1875 there existed a path-
ological society in South Brooklyn, with Jo-
seph E. Clark, M. D., as President.
An approximate estimate of the member-
ship of this society during the twent)--seven
years of its existence is as follows : Died in
active membership, 30; removed, 70: present
number of members, 150; total, 250.
In conclusion may I express the hope that
the Pathological Society of Brooklyn, as this-
city merges into the greater city, may increase
in membership and in usefulness, and that the
interest manifested in its proceedings during
the last few years may be an incentive to
greater work in the future.
Considering tliat the study of histology and
pathology, as we now understand it, is the
product of but recent years, the advances made
in this study by members of this society are
truly commendable. I well remember, in my
student days at the Long Island College Hos-
pital, the look of surprise that passed over the
faces of the members of our class when the
announcement was made that a Chair of His-
tology and Pathology had been established, a
look which plainly said, "What is it?"
The Brooklyn Pathological Society has
just cause to be proud of its record in the past,
for if any one body of medical men more than
any other have been instrumental in present-
ing the necessity of education in the science
of pathology, and in giving an opportunity to
the profession of this city to study pathology
in its scientific and practical bearing, it has
been those who have cherished and worked
for its aims and its interests in the past, and
now look forward to a broader and a grander
field of labor and for achievements in the years
to come in the history of the Brooklyn Path-
ological Society.
DISPENSARIES, CITY HOSPITAL.
The town of Brooklyn in 1830 had a pop-
ulation of 15.295. Four years thereafter it
was incorporated as a city. The Medical So-
ciety of the County of Kings in 1830 had nine-
teen members upon its roll, and the town di-
rectory of that year indicates that there were
about ten physicians engaged in the practice of
medicfne who were not connected with the
Medical Society.
On the 8th day of February, 1830, the first
dispensary in Brooklyn was organized at 168
Fulton street, under the name of The Brooklyn
VARIOUS MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
6H
Dispensary. In 1S33 the dispensary removed
to the corner of Jay and Sands streets, and
must have been discontinued about this time.
The attending physicians were : Drs. J. Sulh-
van Thorne and W. A. Clarl>:. Consulting
physician, Matthew Wendell.
City Hospital, 1839-1840. — Under this
name, and about the time above indicated, this
hospital was organized, being located on
Adams street near Johnson. Its stafif at that
time included Theodore F. King, M. D., Presi-
dent, 1840-1842; John Sullivan Thorne, M.
D., Secretary ; attending physicians — Purcell
Cook, George Alarvin, and Samuel Boyd.
Theodore L. Alason, ^I. D., was President
from 1842 to 1844, and was succeeded by John
Sullivan Thorne, M. D., as President from
1844 to 1845. The attending physicians at this
time were George Call, Theo. F. King and A.
X. Garrison. This hospital was incorporated
May 8, 1845, "ncler the name of
Brooklyn City Hospital. It was then re-
moved to Hudson street near Lafayette ave-
nue. The attending physicians at this time
were Henry J. Cullen, Lucius Hyde, Purcell
Cook. C. L. JMitchell and Christ R. McClellan ;
attending surgeons — Theo. L. Mason, W. G.
Hunt, F. W. Hurd and Daniel Ayres.
In 1850 the hospital removed to Hudson
avenue, then "Jackson street," near Lafayette
avenue. Attending physicians : Henry J. Cul-
len, James Crane, Jr., J. Sullivan Thorne and
John W. Corson ; attending surgeons : Will-
iam G. Hunt, Daniel Ayres, John Cochran and
James M. Minor.
In 1854-55 we find the hospital at Ray-
mond street, near DeKalb avenue, where it is
situated at the present time. Attending physi-
cians : H. S. Smith, James Crane, Jr., D. S.
Landon, J. Sullivan Thorne and Henry J. Cul-
len ; attending surgeons : DeWitt C. Enos,
D. E. Kissam, John Cochran and James M.
Elinor ; 1857-58 — visiting surgeons : DeWitt
C. Enos, Daniel E. Kissam, James M. Minor
and Joseph C. hutcnison ; visiting physi-
cians : James Crane, Dillon S. Landon, Hora-
tio S. Smith and E. Krackowizer ; i860 — visit-
ing surgeons: James M. Minor, DeWitt C.
Enos, Daniel E. Kissam, Joseph C. Hutchison
and George Cochran ; visiting physicians :
James Crane, D. S. Landon, H. S. Smith,
A. Nelson Bell and Charles J. Seymour.
The hospital is still in existence, at Ray-
mond street and DeKalb avenue.
EROOKLYN DISPENSARY, ORG.VXIZED 1846.
Jackson House, Hudson street, near La-
fayette avenue. Attending physicians: J. D.
Trask, Bradley Parker, C. L. Mitchell, James
Crane, Jr., J. H. Henry, Lucius Hyde and
L. K. Brown ; district physicians : J. D. Ladd,
E. N. Chapman, W. Blackwood, T. A. Wade, •
A. V. Lesley, William Swift: 1849 — Danie/
Brooks, H. S. Smith, D. E. Kissam and Dr.
Beers.
1851-52. Removed to the basement of the
City Hall, but unable to remain there for any
length of time, as it was understood that the
city officials were afraid of contagious dis-
ease. The officers secured the back room of
Bailey's drug store at 269 Washington street.
Attending physicians and surgeons : John D.
Ladd, \\'illiam H. Gardner, D. E. Kissam, A.
Otterson and J. C. Hutchison.
In 1855 we find the dispensary located ot
107 or 109 Pineapple street. Attending physi-
cians and surgeons : James Hebbern, J. H.
Catlin, J. Blackmore, John Ball, E. A. Whaley,
Alex. Little and Joseph B. Jones : consulting
physicians and surgeons : H. S. Smith, D. E.
Kissam and L. C. McPhail.
About 1858 the name was changed to that
of Brooklyn Dispensary and Eye and Ear In-
firmary. Its stafif at this time consisted of the
following: John Ball, M. D., President ; Joseph
B. Jones, M. D., General Surgery ; John T.
Conkling, JNI. D., Diseases of Females ; John
A. Brodie, M. D., Children, Skin and Vaccina-
tion ; William Law, M. D., Heart, Throat and
Lungs: William Otterson, M. D., Head and
Digestive Organs ; and R. M. Deering, Apothe-
cary and Dentist; i860 — attending surgeons:
614
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Joseph B. Jones and W. F. Swalm ; attending
physicians: John Rail. William Law and Rob-
ert Ormiston.
The dispensary is still in existence, at X(i.
II Tillary street.
KINGS COrXTV IIOSPIT.\L.
The early history of this institution appears
to be intimately connected with the Brooklyn
Almshouse. On April q, 1832, the poorhouse at
Flatbush was opened, and John B. Zabriskie.
M. D., was appointed as physician, at a salary
of seventy dollars per year. In 1834 Dr. J. P..
Zabriskie was re-appointed as physician. In
1838 the County Hospital and Lunatic Asylum
were opened.
On I'ebruary S. 1848. Dr. J. P.. Zabriskie
died. He ajjpears to have been the only physi-
cian Cfjunected with the above instituti(,n u]i
to this date. ( )n March 5. 1848. F. M. Inora-
ham, M. D., and Philip ( ). Hyatt. M D.. were
appointed in place of Dr. Zabriskie.
March 30, 1849, the hospital at tlie Peni-
tentiary was opened and T. .\nderson Wade,
M. D., was appiiinted physician. Dr. Waile
agreed to treat all prisoners and furnish the
necessar_\- medicine for $12 per month, which
was accepted. Dr. \\'ade's salary was fi.xed in
1852 at $250 per annum. Dr. J. L. Zabriskie
was appointed phvsician at the Penitentiarv in
1859.
In 1854 it became known to the Board of
Superintendents that a bill was pending be-
fore "the Legislature directing that bodies of
persons who may die in the poorhouse be de-
livered to medical schools for the purpose of
tlissection. The liill was denounced as a
monstrous outrage, its provisions being de-
clared barliarous.
In 1834 Dr. Thomas Turner was physician
^io the hospital, and Dr. J. A. lUanchard
physician to the Lunatic .Asylum. Dr. Blanch-
ard was Superintendent from 1875 to 1877.
In 1856 Dr. Robert B. Baiseley was resident
physician of the Lunatic Asylum. In 1857 Ed-
win R. Chapin, M. D., was elected resident
]3liysician of the County Hospital. In 1859
Dr. F. R. Chaiiin became physician to the
Lunatic .\s\'lum, which pcisition he resigned in
1871.
Dr. Thomas Turner died in 1865, and his
successor was Dr. R. Cresson Stjles, who re-
signed in 1866. Dr. Stiles was followed by
Dr. Tennis Schenck.
C)rganized January, 185 1. ( )|:)ened Sept.
I. 1851. L(jcated at the corner of I'ifth and
South iMrst street. The first President was
Sanuiel (iroves. The attending physicians were
John A. Ijrady, Nelson L. North and Chas.
Holzhauer; consulting physicians, Sidney
^^'ade and (Jrson H. Smith : consulting sur-
geons, A. J. I'.erry and F. M. Lovett ; visiting-
physicians, L. .\. I 'aimer. C. 11. Schapps and
J. J. Ba.gley, M. D.
This dispensary is still in existence, under
the name of the liruoklyn ( F. D. I Dispensary
and Hospital.
uRooKi.vx i;i'.RM.\.\ i;i.:xi:k.\[. I)I.si'i:.\.s.\rv.
l'"rom 1857 to 1858, at 145 Court street.
Consulting physicians, Edward Macbert and
Ciustav Braeunlich ; consulting surgeons, Louis
Bauer and William .\riuing: resident
physician, Hermann Zundt ; .Mr. Hermann.
Cupper and Leecher.
This dispensary was opened to the public
in 1855. It was located at 173 Fulton street.
The first President was J. Sullivan Thorne, M.
D. Attending physicians and surgeons : J. H.
H. Purge, Nelson S. Drake, William II. \"an
Duyne, Arnold Hallett, Thomas H. Green and
T. H. Catlin ; consulting surgeons, James ^L
}iIinor and C. E. Isaacs : consulting physicians,
James H. Hewey and Jos. C. Hutchison.
In 1858 this dispensary was located at 5
Flatbush avenue. From that time to i860
there seems to have been a number of changes
among the physicians. In i860 we find them
VARIOUS MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
61&
to be: J. H. H. I'.uroe. John Ilill. S. C. Gregg,
W. H. Gardner and J. Wilson.
This dispensary is at present situated at
No. 29 Third avenue.
This enllege and hospital will undoubtedly
in the near future assume a position among
medical colleges second to none in this coun-
try. The additions to its curriculum ; the in-
creasing number of students: and the growing
interest in the welfare of the institution which
is exhibited by nur citizens, all indicate that
the Long Island College Hospital has before
it a career of unlimited usefulness. The pres-
ent outlook causes us to believe that the l.iright-
est pages in its history are yet to be written.
The writer can scarcely believe the testimony
of his own senses as he notes the advances
made by this institution during the short time
lie has been in active practice. While con-
gratulating ourselves upon the splendid pros-
IJects the future appears to have in store for
the Long Island College Hospital, let us glance
backward and note a few facts in the incep-
tion and early history of this institution.
During the year 1857 a number of German
physicians in general practice in the ."-^ixth
;uid Tenth Wards of the city of lirooklyn or-
ganized wdiat was known as the Brooklyn Ger-
man General Dispensary. This dispensary
was situated at 145 or 147 Court street, lie-
tween Pacific street and Atlantic avenue.
I'rominently connected with this dispensary
were the following doctors : Gustav Braeun-
lich, residing at 285 Henry street : Carl Aug.
Louis 1 Saner, 167 Court street: William Arm-
ing. 75 Court street: lulward Maebert, 109
Unir)n street: and Herman Zundt, 42 Dean
street.
The intention of these gentlemen was to or-
ganize a large German hospital, as at this
time the population of the Sixth Ward con-
sisted largely of Germans. Nothing definite
came of this idea, for we find that shortly
afterward they joined with Drs. John Byrne,
of 202 Clinton street: Daniel .\}-res. of 156
Montague street, and William H. Dudley, of
201 Henry street, in the organization of what
was then known as the St. John's Hospital.
(Jn November 5, 1857, this hospital occupied
the premises at 145 or 147 Court street, where
it remained until the spring of 1858.
The '"Perry Mansion" on Henry street be-
ing for sale,' subscriptions were solicited from
the citizens of Brooklyn for the purpose of
purchasing this property. The effort proving
successful and the property having been pur-
chased, application was made to the Legisla-
ture for a charter, which was granted in 1858.
Drs. Braeunlich and liauer deserve special
mention for the interest manifested b\' them
in the institution and for the wnrk which they
accomplished at this time.
The reason for the change oi name from
St. John's Hospital to that of the Long Island
College Hospital is unknown to the writer,
but it was under the latter name that the in-
stitution received its charter and opened the
hospital in the spring of 1858, on the site where
it now stands, and where we hope it may stand
f;n- ages to come. The following is taken from
the i!i:ooklvn Citv Directorv nf i858-'59:
llenry street, lietween Pacific ami -\mity.
I'.oanl of Regents: Hon. Samuel Sloan, Presi-
dent: Samuel W. Slocuni, Esq., Vice-Presi-
dent: C. Nestell Bovee, Esq., Secretary; Cor-
nelius Dever, Esq., Treasurer; Hon. Samuel
Sloan, Samuel W. Slocum, Henry Messenger,
C. N. liovee, L. K. Miller, Jaques Cortelyou,
.\. B. I'.aylis, R. L. Delisser, Cornelius Dever,
Daniel Chauncey, J. T. JMoore, George F.
Thomas, Joseph Hegeman, J. S. Brownson,
N. E. James, Theodore Polhemus, Charles
Christmas, Nicholas Luqueer, Eugene O'Sul-
livan, Harold Dollner, Henry F. Vail, R. H.
Berdell, L. B. Wyman, J. J. \'an Nostrand
and Samuel Smith. Memliers of the Council :
Theo. L. Masun, M. D., C. L. Mitchell, M. D.,
610
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
William H. Dudley, M. D., and J. H. Henry,
M. D. ; physicians: John Byrne, M. D., E. N.
Chapman, M. D., and Gustav Braeunlich,
M. D. ; surgeons : Daniel Ayres, M. D., and
Louis Bauer, M. D. ; adjunct physicians : R.
S. Olmstead, M. D., G. D. Ayres, M. D., and
W. H. Davol, M. D. ; adjunct surgeons: E. A,
Whaley, M. D., D. A. Dodge, M. D., and J.
G. Johnson, M. D. ; apothecary : E. S. Fougera.
MEDICAL SOCIETIES.
The first medical society, independent of
the Medical Society of the County of Kings,
was organized in 1852, and was known as
the Medical Association of the Eastern Dis-
trict. Among the physicians who were con-
nected with this society we find the following:
C. H. Schapps, M. D., who was President in
l852-'5S; Ernest Krackowizer, C. Macfarlan,
Jos. Creamer, James S. Hawley, Carl Witt-
man, Geo. W. Baker, John Walsh, J. J. Ache-
son, Nelson L. North, Sr., and E. N. Colt.
This society continued until 1882, when it
went out of existence.
On February 5, 1863, the Medical Associa-
tion of the Eastern District of Brooklyn was
organized.
MEDICAL CHIRURGIC.VL SOCIETY.
Instituted at Brooklyn in 1857. Active
among its membership were the following
well-known physicians : Andrew Otterson
(President from 1857 to 1859), John Ball,
Joseph B. Jones (President in i860), E. N.
Chapman, Daniel A. Dodge, J. H. H. Burge
(President from 1864 to 1865), Daniel Ayres
(President from 1861 to 1863), J. C. Halsey,
Jos. E. Clark, Henry J. Cullen (President
in 1866), William Law, Jr., A. N. Bell, John
Byrne and W. E. Mulhallon; besides James
Crane, Jr., U. Palmedo, .Geo. I. Bennet, A.
Moore, J. P. Colgan, Sr., Charles C. Isaacs,
J. P. Colgan, Jr., William Otterson, G. D.
Ayres, W. Mills, Thomas P. Morris, H. C.
Simms and De Witt C. Enos.
This society was discontinued in 1866.
BROOKLYN MEDICAL SOCIETY-
356.
This society met in Brooklyn Institute on
Washington street, but very little is known re-
garding it. The physicians connected with it
were Andrew Otterson (President from 1856
to 1857), John Ball, A. N. Bell, Jos. E. Clark,
Jos. B. Jones and John Byrne.
On August 21, 1846, a special meeting of
the Medical Society of the County of Kings
was called to consider the propriety of estab-
lishing a dispensary in the city of Brooklyn.
This call was signed by the following mem-
bers : Drs. Robert JNIcMillan, John F. Morse,
J. C. Halsey, Sam. J. Osborn, William Swift,
David F. Atwater, T. A. Wade, Purcell Cooke,
J. M. Moriarty, A. Otterson, Wm. C. Betts,
Daniel Ayres, F. W. Hurd, Geo. I. Bennet
and A. Van Pelt.
The committee appointed at this meeting
reported on September 14, 1846, that the mat-
ter had been presented to the trustees of the
Brooklyn City Hospital, and that a committee
had been appointed by them to consider the
subject. The committee from the medical so-
ciety comprised Drs. Sam. J. Osborn, Henry
J. Cullen, John F. ]Morse, John L. Thorne
and Theo. L. Mason.
CHAPTER LII.
DENTISTS IN BROOKLYN.
^aa L'R information regarding the early
I g dentists on Long Island is exceeding-
^Ja !}■ limited. The first of whom we
' have any record is T. Jefferson Jones,
M. D., who in 1828 practiced' dentistry and
kept a drug store at No. 4 Sands street. He
appears to have continued to practice at this
place until his death in 1835. In 1831 \\'. K.
Northall, Jr., commenced practice at 79 Ful-
ton street. His father, W. K. Northall, F.
S. A., was principal of the Mount Pleasant
Academy, 278 Fulton street. Dr. Northall
was evidently from Birmingham, England,
and in the directory for 1S32 appears the fol-
lowing advertisement :
W K NORTH \LL DENTIST,
No 79 Fulton Stieet Biookhn
Beas to refei to those Ladies and Gentlemen who ina\ lequire
his attendance to the Rls Mi M Ih in, Hiookhn Valentine
Mott M D and Dun. I I I M T I \ \,.ik
Ml Noithrfllli ~ II I I II nina Gentlemen m
England nameh ' I ' t ^natomv in the
Birmingham S( h I I I 1 I s M D , Lecturer
T. K Booth Senior Ph^sl
norshire the Rev Geoi„
shire Rector of Rochford 1
to Lord Broui^ham and Vau\
In the same year appears the advertisement
of Dr. T. Jefferson Jones, as follows :
lyn people, has the following advertisement in
the directorv of that vear:
desirous of having their gums healthy and teeth white and
,r from tartar without any injury to either. Also a general
nt of Drugs, Medicines and Perfumery for sale as above.
In 1836 Dr. Northall, having evidently
obtained somewhat of a practice among Brook-
DENT.^L SURGERY,
eth filled with Cement, Gold <
J ^^i II J ' ,
rticularlv attended to.
Ml III, following Certificates for the
, . . t 1 i -■ : ].
isli to empl
oy him professionally:
,1 1, 1 .) ,,
1. Iia
ina had or
portunities of judging of
..Mh.ill- l.illl
1 Dentist.
cheerfully subscribe our
inlon of hi
,.1 hi
, tn the r.ub
ic as one in whom every
tliu iiractic
of the various branches
profession.
(Signed) H-..'
s,in. K,.,-tor
of St. John's Church.
, , k,rt„r 0
St. Ann's Church.
LiuKlibi, Pre
idem Brooklyn Bank.
D.h
mbur
, Es,i., Cashier Long Island Bank.
Tooth powders
of all
kinds to be
obtained at the office, 78
Fulton Street.
rk called '
Hints to Parents on the
Importance of Early
Attention
0 Children's Teeth." by
W. K. Northall
tor sale. Also
ne entitled "Five Min-
utes' Advice on
the Teeth." Both works can be obtained
at the office or
at any
of the big s
tores in Brooklyn.
In 1842 Dr. Northall oaid a visit to Europe
and on his return calls to the attention of his
patients that he has resumed practice, and
with respect to charges "begs to state that he
shall at all times take a pleasure in consulting
the circumstances of those who may apply to
him and charge as moderately as he can with
justice to himself and patients."
Dr. Northall had considerable literary abil-
ity, and, in addition to the works referred to in
his advertisement, wrote a book, which was
published in 1850, entitled ''The Life and
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Recollections of Yankee Bill, together with
Anecdotes and Incidents of his Travels." In
1844 he became associated with Dr. George
Rose and had moved his office to 208 Fulton
street. This is our last information of Dr.
Xorthall, who probably died in 1846, for iu
1846 we find his partner, Dr. George Rose,
practicing alone at 246 Fulton street.
In the year 18.37 Dr.. Martin K. Bridges
settled in Brooklyn and commenced practice
at 118 Fulton street. In the directory of 1839
appears hi.s card, simply calling attention to
the fact that he was practicing at 105 I'ulton
street, and referring to fourteen or fifteen of
the leading clergymen and physicians of the
city, together with the Mayor, the Hon. Cyrus
P. Smith. He edited the "Dental Mirror," a
little leaflet published for gratuitous circula-
tion, in which appeared conspicuously in 1843
the following notice :
"Two hours in each week day, irv.m seven
to nine o'clock in the morning, are devoted to
the service of the poor without charge."
Dr. Bridges was born in Hardwick, Massa-
chusetts, August I, 1800, and when tliirty-si.\
years of age commenced the study of den-
tistry in the office of Dr. Lathrop at Sauger-
ties. He died in September, 1853, at 109
Henry street, lirooklyn. Drs. Jones, Xorthall
and Bridges were able representatives of the
pioneers in dentistry in the United States, and
the example they set in earnestness, ahilit}-,
learning and liberality has been faithfully fol-
lowed l>y their successors in Brooklyn.
In the year 1845 the village of Brooklyn
had become a city and had extended its bor-
ders to accommodate the rapidly increasing-
population. The two dentists who had been
sufficient to attend to the needs of the com-
munity in 183 1 h.ad increased to eight, among
whom were :
Dr. George Wood, born at Groton, Massa-
chusetts, July 24, 1813. and who settled in
Brooklyn in 1838 and began practicing at 169
Fulton street ; Dr. James E. Miller, born Janu-
ary 7, 1820, in Somers, Westchester count)-,
Xew York, and after teaching school in the
I'Viends' Meeting House, which was then on
the corner of Clark and Henry streets, com-
menced to practice dentistry in 1842, and in
1845 was practicing at Xo. 7 Squire's Build-
ing, Atlantic avenue : Dr. John Scott, born in
Wyoming county, Xew York, September 4,
1813, and after studying medicine and den-
tistry settled in Brooklyn in 1843 and was
then practicing on Fulton street, near Clinton
street; Dr. G. A. Cooper, born in Lexington,
Kentucky, in 1822, became a citizen of lirook-
l\-n in 1845 ^"'1 commenced to practice at 268
Washington street ; and Dr. Salmon Skinner,
born at Cceymans, Albany county, New York,
March 6, 1818, commenced to practice at •,/
Hicks street, T.rooklyn, in 1840.
In the year 1855 the r.unibcr of dentists
had increased to forty-nine, but, as far aS
kni;\vn, none were natives of Brooklyn.
Dr. Hezekiah X. Stratton was born in
riiillipston, Massachusetts, in July, 1822. and
in 1846 conmienced to practice at 139 Atlantic
avenue, I'.rcoklyn, and in 1855 was still there.
Dr. .\. .\ppleton Wheeler was born near I'.rat-
tleboro, X'ermont, December 11, 1832, and
commenced to practice in Brooklyn in 1853,
at 51 Myrtle avenue. In 1855 he moved to
what is now 80 Court street, where he died
Xovem])er 23, 1865. Dr. C. A. Marvin was
born at Tappan, Xew York, June 16, 1823,
was practicing at the southwest corner of
Montague and Henry streets, where he had
commenced May i, 1853. Dr. W. I'.. Hurd,
who was born at Brookfield, Connecticut. July
5, 1820, was on Fourth street, in what was
then Williamsburgh, where he had commenced
to practice in 1854, at which time there were
but four other dentists in Williamsburgh. viz.,
Dr. Andrew H. Griswold, Dr. Lloxd Slade,
Dr. Sau'.uel H. Twitchell and Dr. Cornelius
Weeks, all of whom had their offices on I'^ourth
street. Dr. H. G. Mirick was born in Worces-
ter, Massachusetts, October 15, 1832, and set-
tled in lirooklyn in 1852 as assistant to Dr.
James E. ^liller. He was practicing at 74
DENTISTS IN BROOKLYN.
019
Clinton street. Dr. John Branique was a na-
tive of Ireland and was practicing' at 196
Clinton street. Dr. Charles F. Alerniiir was
a native of Jamaica, West Indies, and was
practicini^ on Classon avenue, near Myrtle
avenue. Dr. C. D. Cook settled in lirooklyn
in 1853 as assistant to Dr. James E. Aliller,
whose office was on the corner of Pacific and
Henry streets, on the site of the present Hoag-
land laboratorv. At the present writing l.iut
four of those who were ])racticing in 1853
are living. Drs. Mirick and Marvin have re-
tired from practice, the former still residing in
J^.rooklyn. while the latter lives in Philadel-
phia. Drs. Hurd and Cook are both actively
engaged in the practice of their profession,
the former at 502 Bedford avenue, the latter
at 162 Remsen street.
The number of dentists kept jiace with the
increase of population, for in 1870 there were
seventy practicing. 'Idle boundaries of the
city were continually extending. In i860
there were not more than one or t\vo dentists
beyond where the City Hall now stands, but
at the end of the decade, while the greater
number were still located in that part of the
city known as the "Heights," many were in
South Brooklyn and on "The Hill."
Drs. A. H. Brockway, .M. E. Elmendorf,
W'. T. Shannon, E. W. Dolbeare and Henry
Brown were on "The Hill;" Drs. James H.
Race, S. \\^ Bridges, C. D. Cook and C. H.
Biddle were south of .Atlantic averaie : Drs.
W. 1;. Hurd, W. C. Parks, A\-illiam Eish-
l)(iugh, R. T. Ambler, C. W. Harreys, S. H.
Twitchell and E. C. \\'adsw<irth were in the
Eastern District; Drs. C. .\. Marvin, H. (1.
-Mirick, (). E. Hill, C. A, .Mills. William Jar-
vie, Jr.. I. C. Monroe, 1). S. Skimier, Thomas
Ery. J. B. Brown. R. C. I'.rewster, W. A.
Campbell and A. X. Idiapman werj (ju the
"Heights" or in the immediate neighborhood.
In 1842 John Kearsing opened a small es-
tablishment at the corner of South Eourth
street and Eighth street. \\'illiamsburgh,
where he refined gold and beat it into foil to
be used in the filling of teeth. In 1848 he
removed to 240 Adams street, Brooklyn, where
he kept a supply of dental instruments and
artificial teeth and melted and rolled out gold
and silver which were alone employed at that
time in the construction of sets of teeth. Prior
to this time it had been necessary for Brook-
lyn dentists to go to New Yoik for all their
materials, but Mr. Kearsing became so favora-
bl\- known as a refiner and beater of gold that
many New York dentists bought their gold
and silver plates and gold foil from him. In
185s Messrs. Jones, White & McCurdy opened
a branch of their dental depot, under the su-
pervision of Air. Thomas Wise, on EultoiT
street, near Tillary. .\ third-story hall room
at the back of the building was sufficiently
cijmmodious for the purpose, and a small ja-
jianned cash l>ox large enough to contain all
the gold and silver kept on hand. This box:
was carefully carried to Xew A'ork every
night for safe keeping and brought back every
morning. "Tom" was the faithful custodian
of this box, and continues to be the faithful
conservator of the interests of the S. S. White
Dental Manufacturing Company, and the gen-
ial friend of all Brooklyn dentists. In 1865
AI. AI. Johnston opened a dental depot at No.
20 Eulton avenue, in a small room in the rear
of a book store. He soon associated his broth-
ers with him under the name uf Johnston
lirothers, and introduced many ini])ro\cnunts
upon the materials and ajipliances then in use.
Prospering rapidlw the firm liecame a power-
ful competitor of S. S. White: competition
was terminated, luiwewr, in 1881, by a cum-
bination of the two firms under the name of
the S. S. White Dental Alanufacturing Com-
pany.
In the autunui of 1853 the first association
of dentists on Long Island was organized.
It was knenvn as the Long Island .Association
of Dental Surgeons, and held its first meeting
at the office of Dr. H. X. Stratton, 137 .Atlantic
avenue, and electeel as officers: 1), H. AIul-
ford. Recording Secretary : G. .\. Cooper, Cor-
620
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
responding Secretary ; James E. Aliller, Treas-
urer; Martin K. Bridges, Librarian; John
Branique, James E. Miller and J. B. Freder-
icks, Examining Committee ; B. S. Lyman,
A. H. Griswold and C. B. Hammond, Execu-
tive Committee.
This society liad no president, but a chair-
man was elected for each meeting. Its object
was more of a social than a scientific charac-
ter, and the interest in it soon subsided. It
passed out of existence after two or three
years of an uneventful career.
On June 12, 1862, a number of dentists met
at the office of Dr. O. E. Hill, on Fulton street,
near Clinton street, and organized the Brook-
lyn Dental Association. Its first officers were
W. C. Parks, President ; A. C. Hawes, A' ice-
President ; John Allen, Treasurer; and Will-
iam B. Hurd, Secretary. This society was
largely composed of the most able and pro-
gressive of New York dentists, its Brooklyn
members being O. E. Hill, A. Appleton
Wheeler, C. A. Marvin and William Jarvie,
Jr., while Williamsburgh was represented by
W. B. Hurd, W. C. Parks and W. C. Home.
It met every two weeks at the offices of the
members, and during its existence of five years
was the most active and useful society of the
time.
In 1867 unfortunate differences arose and
the society disbanded, some of its New York
members organizing the New York Odonto-
logical Society, while on December 14 of that
year thirteen Brooklyn dentists met at the
office of Dr. George A. Mills, 133 Henry street,
and organized "The Brooklyn Society of Den-
tal Science and Art." These dentists were
George A. iNIills, H. G. Mirick, O. E. Hill,
A. H. Brockway, L. E. Brockway, William
Jarvie, Jr., I. C. Monroe, John Scott. N. M.
Abbott, Thomas Fry, E. L. Childs, H. E.
Bird, George E. Bretz. The first officers cho-
sen were H. G. Mirick, President ; C. D. Cook,
Vice-President ; E. L. Childs, Recording Sec-
retary; William Jarvie, Jr., Corresponding
Secretary ; I. C. IMonroe, Treasurer ; G. A.
Mills, O. E. Hill and John Scott, Executive
Committee.
On January 4, 1869, the name was changed
to the Brooklyn Dental Society, and the fol-
lowing made application to have the society
incorporated: C. D. Cook, O. E. Hill, E. L.
Childs, William Jarvie, Jr., I. C. Monroe,
James H. Race, H. G. Mirick and (ieorge A.
Mills. The application was granted April
5. 1869.
(.)n January 10, 1870, this society organized
a dental infirmar}- at 260 Washington street,
which was open every week day and where
dental operations were performed for the
worthy poor without cost. A superintendent
was employed, and each afternoon a member
of the society was in- charge. The members
of the society not only volunteered their serv-
ices, but, with the assistance of a few public-
spirited citizens, paid all the expenses for one
year, after which the city contributed $1,500
annually toward its support. The infirmary
was in existence about four years, and through
it the society endeavored to teach the people
to appreciate the value of their teeth and to
educate them in their proper care. The in-
firmary studies became to many dentists a post-
graduate course. Clinics were frequently
given, and the dentists of Brooklyn, as well
as the public, are indebted to the late Dr.
William H. Atkinson, who at great personal
loss and inconvenience would frequently leave
his private jjatients in New York and conduct
them. As far as is known, this infirmarv was
the only institution of the kind ever in exist-
ence. Much good was accomplished, and its
relinquishment was caused principally by the
manv people who were able to pay endeavoring
to obtain good dental services gratuitously,
thereby defeating the charitable object for
which the infirmary was established.
In 1882 the Brooklyn Dental Society estab-
lished a library and reading room in connec-
tion with the Kings County Medical Society,
in Everett Hall, at 398 Fulton street. This
lilirarv was afterward removed to the rooms
DENTISTS IN BROOKLYN,
621
of the Medical Society in Bridge street, much
enlarged and owned by the Second District
Dental Society ; it is now in the beautiful new
home of the Kings County Medical Society in
Bedford avenue.
In 1895 the Brooklyn Dental Society re-
tired 4 from the field of scientific activity in
favor of its somewhat younger brother, the
Second District Dental Society, still retain-
ing, however, its organization, and meeting
but once each year, at which a banquet is
given. This function is looked forward to
with much pleasure as the social event among
the dental profession on Long Island. The
present officers of the society are: William
Jarvie, President ; W. A. Campbell, Vice-
President ; R. C. Brewster, Recording Secre-
tary ; R. G. Hutchinson, Jr., Corresponding
Secretary; F. C. \\'alker. Treasurer; F. O.
Kraemer, Librarian.
On April 7, 1868, the State Legislature
passed a law entitled "An Act to incorporate
dental societies for the purpose of improving
and regulating the practice of dentistry in
the State," which provided for a dental society
in each of the eight judicial districts, eight
delegates from each of which were to meet
at the capitol in Albany and organize what
was to be known as the Dental Society of the
State of New York. In accordance with this
provision in the law, thirty-eight of the dentists
of the Second Judicial District, which com-
prised the counties of Kings, Suffolk, Rich-
mond, Westchester, Orange,' Rockland and
Putnam, and to which was added in 1897 Nas-
sau, met at the City Hall, Brooklyn, on June
2, 1868, and organized the Second District
Dental Society by electing the following offi-
cers: President, W. B. Kurd: Vice-President,
George A. Mills ; Recording Secretary, Will-
iam Jarvie, Jr. ; Corresponding Secretary, L.
S. Straw: Treasurer, H. G. Mirick; Delegates
to State Dental Society, C. D. Cook, W. B.
Hurd, O. E. Hill, H. G. Mirick, A. H. Brock-
way, G. A. :\Iills, L. S. Straw and C. L.
Houghton.
This society has had an uninterrupted ca-
reer of activity and usefulness and is one of
the most prosperous and influential in the
State. The reg-ular monthly meetings, with
the exception of the September one, are held
in Brooklyn, at the residences of the members,
that of September being held in one of the
river towns, generally Newburgh. Once each
year a large meeting is held to which the
neighboring dental societies are invited and
papers of special value are presented. These
meetings attract eminent dentists from differ-
ent parts of the country and are anticipated
with great interest throughout the profession.
As stated above, this society has been most
influential in the affairs of the Dental Society
of the State of New York, four of its Brook-
lyn members having been called to serve in the
capacity of President, viz. : W. B. Hurd, C. A.
:\Iarvin, O. E. Hill and F. T. Van Woert.
H. G. Mirick was its Treasurer for several
years and until his retirement from the prac-
tice of his profession, while William Jarvie
has been a member of the Board of Censors
and of the New York State Dental Examining
Board for the last twenty-six years.
]\Iembers of this society have also been
called upon to fill positions of prominence and
responsibility in the New York Odontological
Society. C. A. Marvin, W. B. Hurd, O. E.
Hill, William Jarvie and A. H. Brockway have
been its Presidents, H. G. Mirick and F. C.
Walker have been its Treasurers, while Will-
iam Jarvie and \Mlliam J. Turner have edited
its transactions for several years.
It now has enrolled 123 names upon its
list of members. Its officers are : President,
William J. Turner ; Vice-President, F. P.
Hamlet ; Recording Secretary, Ellison Hillyer ;
Corresponding Secretary, H. P. Gould ; Treas-
urer, R. G. Hutchinson, Jr. ; Librarian, R. C.
Brewster; Censors, William Jarvie, E. L. Rip-
pier, F. B. Keppy, O. E. Houghton and G. W.
Knight; Executive Committee, F. C. Walker,
D. W. Barker and C. F. Ash.
Perhaps no better idea can he obtained of
02:
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the rapid advancement in dental standards
than Iiy a l)rief resume of legislation regulating
the jiractice of dentistry in this State. The
law of New York is generally conceded to he
the most comprehensive of all, and nearer the
ideal than that of any other State. In the var-
ious movements to obtain this result the den-
tists of Brooklyn have always taken a promi-
nent part. In response to an informal call a
meeting composed of dentists representing
various sections of the State was held on De-
cember 17. 1867, at Utica, New York, to con-
sider the desirability of securing a law that
should regulate the practice of dentistry in this
State. Such a law was drafted, passed by the
Legislature and signed by the (iovernor April
7, 1868. It was entitled "An Act t'o incor-
porate dental societies for the purpose of im-
proving and regulating the practice of den-
tistry in the State." and under its provisions
a societv was to be formed in each of the eight
judicial districts, and eight delegates from each
of these societies were to meet in Albany and
organize a State society. This provision of
the bill was carried out and "The Dental So-
ciety of the State of Xew York" was (Organized
at Albanv June 30, 1868.
Prior to this time there were but few den-
tal schools, and many of the prominent and
most able dentists had received their instruc-
tion and early experience in the offices of pri-
vate preceptors. In order that such might re-
ceive a degree after proper e.xamination, on
April 21. 1870, the dental law was amended,
providing for a Board of Censors and the con-
ferring of the degree of 'SI. D. S. ( Master of
Dental Surgery) in the following words:
Section 8. The State Dental Society, or-
ganized as aforesaid, at its first meeting shall
appoint eight censors, one from each of the
said district societies, who shall constitute a
State Board of Censors, and at the first meet-
ing of said board the members shall be divided
into four classes, to serve one, two, three and
four years, respectively, and said State Dental
Society shall, at each annual meeting thereaf-
ter, appoint two censors, to serve each four
vears and until their successors shall be cho-
sen, and fill all vacancies that ma_\- have oc-
curred in the board by death or otherwise.
Each district society shall be entitled to one
and only one member of said Board of Censors.
Said Board of Censors shall meet at least once
fn each year, at such time and place as thi y
shall designate, and l)eing thus met, they, or a
majority of them, shall carefully and impar-
tially examine all persons who are entitled to
examination under the provisions of this act.
and who shall present themselves for that pur-
pose, and report their opinion in writing to the
President of said State Dental Society, and
on the recommendation of said board it shall
be the duty of the President, aforesaid, to is-
sue a diploma to such person or persons, coun-
tersigned by the secretary, and bearing the
seal of said society, conferring upon him the
degree of "blaster of Dental Surgery" ( M. D.
S.), and it shall not be lawful for any other
society, college or corporation to grant to any
person the said degree of "Master of Dental
Surgery."
.Si:c. (>. All dentists in regular practice at
the time of the passage of this act, and all
persons who shall have received a diploma from
any dental college in this State, and all students
who shall have studied and practiced dental
surgery with .some accredited dentist or den-
tists for the term of four years, shall be enti-
tled to an examination by said Board of Cen-
sors. Deductions from such term of four years
shall be made in either of the following cases :
r. If the student, after the age of sixteen,
shall have pursued any of the studies usual in
the colleges of this State, the period not ex-
ceeding one year during which he shall have
i;ursued such studies shall be deducted.
2. If the student, after the age of six-
teen, shall have attended a complete course of
lectures of any incorporated dental or medical
college in this State, or elsewl.ere, one year
shall' h; deducted.
The examinations by this board were so
thorough and of such a high standard, and its
decisions so fair and evidentlv free from fa-
voritism, that the degree has always been
held in great esteem and was sought for even
by many graduates of dental schools who had
already the degree of D. D. S. ( Doctor of Den-
tal Surgery).
( )n June 20. 1879, the Governor signed an
amentlment wh.ich required every dentist then
DENTISTS IN BROOKLYN.
62£
in practice within the State to register within
sixty days, and permitting no one thereafter
to commence the practice of dentistry unless
having a dental or medical dtgree. The
amendment was as follows ;
It shall be unlawful for any person to prac-
tice dentistry in the State of New York for
fee or reward unless he shall have received a
proper diploma or certificate of qualification
from the State Dental Society, or from the
faculty of a reputable dental or medical col-
lege recognized as fuch liy said societies, pro-
vided that nothing in this section shall a])ply
to persons now engaged in th-j practice of den-
tistry in the State of New York : and that
Every person practicing dentistry within
this State shall within sixty days after the
passage of this act register in the office of the
Clerk of the county where located.
()n Alay 12, 1895. the law was again
amended so that "the Board of Censors" be-
came '"the Board of Dental Examiners'" to be
a])pointed by the Board of Regents of the
L'niversity of the State of New York from
nominations twice the number of vacancies to
be filled, made by the State Dental Society.
No person was allowed to commence the prac-
tice of dentistry unless he had received a
license to practice dentistry from the regents
upon the recommendation of the r>oard of Ex-
aminers. The board was allowed to examine
for a license only those who had received a
degree from a registered dental school, or
those who had been practicing legally in some
other State for a period of not less than five
years. The dental schools were not allowed to
graduate any in 1898 who had not had the
equivalent of one year in a high school three
years previous to the conferring of the degree :
in iSyg two years in a high school, and in igoo
a full high-school course. Provisions were
made for revocation of licenses and for ]3enal-
ties for infractions of the law. In 1899 ^"
interchange of licenses to practice dentistrv
was effected between New Jersev and New
York, by which dentists who had been licensed
lO practice in this State would lie licensed to
practice in New Jersey without further ex-
amination, and, vice versa, those wdio had been
licensed in New Jersey would be licensed to
practice in this State without further examina-
tion. This is the only case in which such an
interchange in dentistry or medicine is prac-
ticed, but negotiations are on foot by which
it is hoijcd to extend it to other States. On
March 28, igot, the law was yet further
amended, allowing the Board of Examiners to
recommend to the regents for a license only
those who had a dental degree, and also allow-
ing the regents to confer the degree of D. D. S.
in lieu of the -M. D. S which had been con-
ferred by the State Duital Societv.
Probably no other profession ever made
the rapid advance in science and art that den-
tistry has. Scarcely born at the beginning
of the nineteenth century, the close of it sees
it securely recognized as one of the learned
professions. In 1828, when the first dentist
of whom we iiave any knowledge came to
Brookhn, there was not a single dental society
in the country, there was no dental literature,
neither was there a dental school. Intercourse
among members of the profession was almost
unknown, and what little did exist was marked
by constraint, secrecy and jealousy. Now
there are about five humlrcil dentists in this
city ; there arc one hundred and sixt_\'-seven
dental societies throughout tl:e country, and
eighty-eight dental schools, and twenty-three
jonrnals devoted to the profession. Every-
where professional courtesy and liberality is
the rule, and a spirit of mutual interchange of
knowledge ancPsympathy abounds.
CHAPTER LIl
THE BENCH AND BAR.
Old Courts and Judges — Alden T. Spoonei!, Judge Furman — The Tii.tox-
Beecheii Case — Judge Neilsox, Judge Beach — A Groui'
OF Modern Judges and Jurists.
»^1]E first court house in Kings county
^ was inaugurated in Gravcscnd in
^ 1668, and there the seat of jus-
— ' tice remained until 1686, when it
was removed to Flatbush. In 1832 it was
finally located in Brooklyn, when Judge John
Dikenian opened the first session. At that
time the Brooklyn bar was represented by
thirty-three members, and if all reports are
true there were even then too many council-
ors for the extent of business. There had
been three court houses in Flatbush. The
first, a plain little building, was torn down
in 1758 and replaced by a large structure
which was part court house and part jail and
cost the ratepayers $448. During the occu-
pation the British officers often used the court
room for balls and entertainments. In 1792
it was condemned as antiquated and in such
a poor condition as to be not worth repairing,
and in the following year a new building was
erected, which served until it was burned to
the ground in 1832. When the embers of that
conflagration died out the glory of Flatbush
as a seat of justice passed away. In its day
it had Ijeen the scene of many brilliant forensic
displays. Egbert Benson, John ^Marshall,
John Jay, Joseph Story, Oliver Ellsworth,
Bushrod Washington, Samuel Nelson, Brock-
hoist Livingston, John Sloss Robert, James
Kent, Ambrose Spencer, William L. Marcy,
Eseck Cowan, John W. Edmonds, Ogden Ed-
wards and many other historic Judges have
presided over its courts. The Judges of the
higher courts prior to the legal changes im-
posed by the onstitution in 1846 were:
judicial officer.s (west riding, under the
"duke's laws.")
John Manning, James Hubbard,
Richard Betts, Ellert Elbertson,
Samuel Spicer, James Cortelleau,
Rulof Martin.
JUSTICES under the COMMISSION OF GOV-
ERNOR andros, 1688.
Stephen \'an Cortland, Judge of the Court
of Pleas.
James Cortelleau, William Morris,
Gerardus Beekman, Nicholas Stilhvell,
JUSTICE OF THE quorum.
Under the law of 1691, and the ordinance of
1699: Gerardus Beekman.
judges of the common pleas.
appointed
Gerardus Beekman 1700
Jacobus \'an Cortland Oct. 1702
Nicholas Stilhvell 1710
Cornelius Sebring Nov. 13, 1716
THE BENCH AND BAR.
625
APPOINTED
Cornelius van Brunt 1718
Peter Strycker 1720
Daniel Polhemus 1722
Peter Cortileau 1724
Samuel Garretsen 1 729
R}ck Suydam 1 732
Cliristopher Codwise Feb. 24, 1738
Johannes Lott 1742
Abraham Lott 1745
Isaac Seabring I749-'S2
Samuel Garretsen, Barnabus Ryder, Chas.
De Bevoise, 1752-61 Oct. 13, 1749
Abraham Schenck Oct. 9, 1767
John Lefferts May 9, 1770
John Lefferts, Jeremiah Remsen, Philip
Nagil 1770-77
Englebert Lott, Jeremiah A'anderbilt,
Theodorus Polhemus 1777-80
JUDGES OF THE COMMON PLEAS (since the
Revolution).
APPOINTED
Nicholas Covenhoven March 28, 1785
Johannes E. Lott June 11, 1793
John Skillman March 15, 1805
Wm. Furman Feb'y 28, 1808
Leffert Lefferts Feb'y 10, 1823
Peter Radcliff Feb'y 21, 1827
John Dikeman April 21, 1830
Nathan B. Morse April 30, 1833
John A. Lott April 18, 1838
John Greenwood Jan. 27, 1843
John \'anderbilt May I, 1844
COUNTV JUDGES l^NDER THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1846.
ELECTED
William Rockwell June, 1847
Samuel E. Johnson Oct. 1848
Henry A. Moore Nov. 185 1
Sanniel D. Morris Nov. 1855
Samuel Garrison Nov. 1859
John Dikeman Nov. 1863
James Troy Nov. 1867
Henry A. Moore Nov. 1871
Gerardus Beskman 1700
40
ELECTED
Jacobus Van Cortland 1702
Cornelius Seabring 1716
Cornelius Van Brunt 17 18
Peter Strycker 1720
Daniel Polhemus 1722
Peter Cortilleau 17^4
Samuel Garretson 1729
Ryck Suydam 173^
Christopher Codwise 1738
Johannes Lott 1742
Abraham Lott 1745
Isaac Seabring ^749
Samuel Garretson, Barnabus Ryder, and
Chas. De Bevoise 1749-1761
Abraham Schenck 1767
John Lefferts 1779
Jolm Left'erts, Jeremiah Remsen and
Philip Nagil i770-i777
Englebert Cowenhoven 1785
Johannes E. Lott 1793
John Skillman 1805
William Fumian 1808
Lett'ert Lefferts 1823
Peter Radcliff 1827
John Dikeman 1830
Natlian B. Morse 1833
John A. Lott 1838
John Greenwood 1843
John Vanderbilt 1844
Under the Constitution of 1846 the follow-
ing county Judges held office :
William Rockwell 1847
Samuel E. Johnson 1848
Henry A. Moore 185 1
Samuel D. Morris 1855
Samuel Garrison 1859
John Dikeman 1863
James Troy 1867
Henry A. Moore 1871
Henry A. Moore 1877
Henry A. Moore 1885
Henry A. Moore 1889
William B. Hurd 1895
Joseph Aspinall 1895
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In 1848 the Supreme Court of the State
was organized, and under it the following jus-
tices were elected in the Second Judicial Dis-
trict, which included Kings county :
Selah B. Strong, Presiding Justice, 1848.
William T. McCoun, 1848.
Nathan B. MoTse, of Brooklyn, 1848.
Seward Barculo, 1848.
John W. Brown, elected 1849.
Selah B. Strong, re-elected in 1851.
Gilbert Dean, appointed 1854, after Bar-
culo's death.
William Rockwell, of Brooklvn, elected
1853-
James Emmott, elected 1855.
Lucien Birdseye, appointed 1856.
John A. Lott, of Brooklyn, elected 1856.
William W. Scrugham, elected 1859.
Joseph F. Barnard, elected 1863.
Jasper W. Gilbert, of B.rooklvn, elected
1865.
William Fullerton, appointed 1867, after
Scrugham's death.
Abraham B. Tappen, elected 1867.
Calvin E. Pratt, of Brooklyn, elected 1869.
Jackson O. Dykman, elected 1875.
Erastus Cooke, of Brooklyn, elected 1879.
Edgar M. Cullen, of Brooklvn, elected
1880.
Charles F. Browne, elected 1882.
Willard Bartlctt, of Brooklyn, elected 1884.
William J. Gavnor, of Brooklyn, elected
1893.
William D. Dickey, elected 1895.
Wilmot M. Smith, of Patchogue, elected
1895.
^Martin J. Keogh, elected 1895 ; Augustus
Van Wyck, Nathaniel H. Clement and William
J. Osborne, former Judges of the City Court,
became Supreme Court Justices January i,
1896, by virtue of section 5, title YI of the
Revised Constitution.
Garret J. Garretson, elected 1896.
William W. Goodrich, of Brooklyn, ap-
pointed 1896.
Michael Hirschberg, elected 1896.
Samuel T. Maddox, elected 1896.
Jesse Johnson, appointed after death of
Justice Osborne, 1897.
We do not propose following in this chap-
ter the record of the various courts in which
justice has been administered in Kings coun-
ty, our purpose being mainly to speak of some
of the men. who were and are leaders of the
local bench and bar, and who by their judicial
and impassioned expounding of the principles
of the law, or their clear and cogent utter-
ances when charging a jury, or by impas-
sioned argument or ingenious tactics have
won victories at the bar for the cause of their
clients or the public weal, have won for the
bar of Kings county a measure of fame that
is not surpassed in any other section of the
LTnited States. The keynote to the structure
thus raised to . such noble proportions was
struck by Judge Egbert Benson when he ad-
dressed the grand jury at Flatbush June 6,
1800, as follows, to quote a most striking
passage from his charge: "In proportion as
your county, gentlemen, increases in wealth
and population ; as it advances in public im-
provement, in education, in arts, science, com-
mercial prosperity, which must flow from its
unsurpassed resources, there will be a cor-
responding growth of crime — the inseparable
companion of great public prosperity.
"Your county, gentlemen, over which the
smoke of battlefields has but recently floated,
has before it a magnificent future. Upon
grand juries; upon courts of justice; upon all
officers of courts, and upon all persons con-
nected with the administration of the laws,
rest solemn responsibilities, which are to tell
on that future ; for now is the seed time, —
now is the ground fallow which is to yield
fruit for generations to come. See to it, then,
gentlemen, that the responsibility with which
the law clothes you is properly executed and
directed."
One of the earliest of the recognized lead-
ers of the bar was John Wells, who was born
at Cherry Valley in 1770. He was the son
THE BENCH AND BAR.
G27
of Robert Wells, a prosperous farmer, who
was murdered along with eleven members of
his family in 1778 by a horde of Indians under
Joseph Brant, — the sad incident being now
spoken of as the Cherry \'alley Massacre. John
Wells would have shared the fate of the oth-
ers had he not been in Schenectady attend-
ing school. He was taken to Brooklyn by an
aunt, educated at Princeton, studied for the
MEMORIAL OF JOHN WELLS.
In St. Paul's Chapel, New York.
bar, and in 1791 was admitted to practice.
His home then was in Brooklyn, and he had
an office there as well as in New York. For
a time little business came his way, but his
literary ability attracted the attention of Alex-
ander Hamilton, and he assisted that states-
man in bringing out the "Federalist." But
his opportunity came when Mr. Cheetham,
editor of "The American Citizen," a New
York newspaper, selected him for his legal
adviser in a suit brought for libel against the
paper by W. S. Smith, son-in-law of President
Adams. It was one of those peculiar suits
which involved much more than appeared on
the surface. A contemporary account says :
Mr. Cheetham, it is said, reasoning from
the force with which Wells had wielded his
pen in certain political and other articles, re-
tained him as his counsel for the defense, — not
merely his counsel, but the leading counsel in
the case. This was a great surprise to all of
Chectham's friends; but the result shows he
made no mistake in his selection of counsel.
The cause came on for trial in the city of
New York early in 1804. The prosecution
was conducted by several of the ablest lawyers
then at the bar. The defense of Cheetham by
his young and apparently inexperienced coun-
sel, as has well been said, was masterly; it
would have added lustre to the reputation of
Wirt. The result was highly favorable to his
client. The damages against him were miti-
gated to a tritie, compared with what was con-
hdently expected on one side and feared on the
other. Nothing could exceed the surprise
which this splendid — we may say triumphant
— defense created in the public nund; ann tnc
young advocate at once took that high and
commanding place at the bar for which his
talents so admirably fitted him. From a
stinted business and a few clients, whose visits
had hitherto been "few and far between," he
was daily retained in cases of importance and
of pecuniary value to him. Not long after the
trial of Smith vs. Cheetham, he was retained
in an, imporlant case tried at Flatbush, in
which he displayed skill, learning and elo-
quence that added largely to his fame. His
opponent was Colonel Aaron Burr, who often
appeared in the Kings county courts. After
the trial Burr said, "1 was aware of Mr. Wells'
power and astonishing ability as a writer, but
I did not think he possessed, as he really
does, the genius of an Erskine as a lawyer."
From that time until the time of his death-,
in 1823, Mr. Wells, was the acknowledged
leader of the bar, not alone of Kings county,
but of the State. For a time "he was in part-
nership with Josiah Ogden Hofifman, but as
a rule he preferred to fight his battles single-
handed. After his death his associates at the
bar united in the erection of a memorial bust,
which is still to be seen in St. Paul's Chapel,
New York.
628
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
George M. Wood, born in Trenton, New
Jersey, and who began to practice law in
Brooklyn in 1837, was long famous as a local
leader. Chancellor Walworth called him a
"walking library of law," and the immortal
Daniel Webster, seeing him apparently asleep
in court while a case was going on in which
they held opposite sides, said, "Pray don't
wake him, for when George M. Wood is fully
awcike he is one of the most troublesome
opponents I am in the habit of meeting." Mr,
Wood died in 1861.
One of the last of the purely political
Judges to hold office in the court at Flatbush
was William Furman, who in 1808 became
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. It is
not certain that he was ever bred to the law
or knew much more about the profession than
any educated gentleman might pick up in the
course of his reading or association, yet he
sat on the bench from 1808 until 1823, and
won a most enviable record. One of the
biographers of his son, Gabriel Furman, the
well-known local antiquary, thus wrote of
him :
He was a man of finished education;
strong, practical good sense. Paramount traits
in his character were love of justice, perfect
integrity, impartiality and a close perception
of human nature. It will therefore be seen
he possessed the qualities of a useful and up-
right Judge; his popularity with the bar, and
the high esteem in which he was held by the
public, plainly attest his character as a Judge
and as a private citizen. He represented
Brooklyn on the Board of Kings County Su-
pervisors for several successive years. In the
fall of 1825 he was elected member of the
Assembly from Kings county, entering upon
his legislative duties January 3, 1826. That
illustrious statesman, Samuel Young, was
Speaker; the peculiarities of Mr. Young as a
legislator have become matters of history. He
was in every sense unlike Judge Furman, and
yet there always existed a warm friendship
between these gentlemen ; there is one fact
which attests this in a strong manner ; he was
appointed by Mr. Young Chairman of the
Judiciary Committee, and second on the Com-
mittee of Ways and Means.
Judge Furman was President of the Brook-
lyn Fire Insurance Company, incorporated in
1824. There was scarcely any public improve-
ment touching the welfare of the then village
of Brooklyn that Judge Furman was not more
or less identified with. He was a lifelong, un-
deviating friend of De Witt Clinton, strongly
sustaining him in that great policy that inau-
gurated and constructed the Erie Canal.
The legislative session of 1826 was one of
the most exciting and important in the history
of the State. The four-cornered Presidential
conflict between General Jackson, Mr. Adams,
Mr. Crawford and Mr. Clay culminated that
year. It entered largely into the Legislature
of the State, leading to frequent collisions.
In these Judge Furman largely participated.
On the whole he was one of the most active
and influential members of that session. He
was tendered the re-nomination the next year,
but declined. Among his associates in the
Assembly, whose names have passed into the
history of the State, were Ogden Hofifnian,
then a resident of Orange county ; Francis
Granger, from Ontario ; John Tracy, from
Chenango ; and Erastus Root, of Delaware.
After retiring from the Legislature Judge Fur-
man retired entirely into private life, a highly
esteemed citizen, influential and active in all
that concerned the interest and advancement
of the society in which he moved.
Judge Dikeman, the last of the presiding
Judges at Flatbush, was the son of a Hemp-
stead farmer, and was born in that township-
in 1795. For a time he was a teacher in a
school on Adams street, near Sands street,
but while so engaged he zealously studied law.
In 1821 he was appointed clerk of the village
of Brooklyn, and held that office until he was
appointed to the bench in 1830.
In referring to the career of Henry C.
Murphy reference was often made to his law
firm, Lott, Murphy & Vanderbilt, and as the
members of that firm were really representa-
tive lawyers of Brooklyn for many years as
well as active in its politics, the careers of the
other members may be briefly summarized.
John A. Lott was born in Flatbush in 1805,
and was the representative of a family whose
progenitor settled there in 1682. In 1828
M.r. Lott was admitted to practice at the bar.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
629
and for some time held an office in New York.
His acquaintance with Mr. Alurphy brought
about a partnership with that gentleman in
1835, and Mr. Lett removed his office to
Brooklyn. In 1836 Judge Vanderbilt was
assumed as a partner, and the firm of Lott,
Murphy & \'anderbilt started in its history
of some twenty years, until Mr. Murphy be-
came ^Minister to The Hague, in 1857. Then
it became Lott & Vanderbilt and so continued
until Judge Vanderbilt's death, in 1878, when
Mr. Lott continued in business alone until
he was summoned hence, in 1878. With Judge
Lott's politics, of course, this work has no in-
terest, but it must be confessed that he was
as much a politician as a lawyer, and for a
long time was the acknowledged leader of
his party in Brooklyn. In 1838 he was ap-
pointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,
in 1841 was elected a member of the Assem-
bly, an.d about two years, later was chosen
Senator. His legislative career was a most
honorable one. He took an active part in the
debates on every important public question,
and his words, well thought out and elegantly
and forcefully expressing the ideas of a well-
read man and one who was in favor of legiti-
mate reforms of all sorts, carried much weight.
One notable speech he made was on a motion
to cheapen the cost of the printed reports of
the State courts' decisions, m which he came
pretty close to the notion of a Scotch jurist
who held that when the State enacted a law
and the law continued in force, the State
should attend to its enforcement and its ad-
ministration so that justice would cost nothing,
as justice was a right, not a privilege to be
paid for. Judge Lott, among other things*
said -.
I am strongly in favor of cheap law and
cheap law-books. I think it quite as important
that a knowledge of law should be brought
within the reach of the people as the knowl-
edge of any other science, — for law, as has
been well said, "is the rule of human action."
We have read of the Roman Emperor who
caused his code to be written in fine letters
on tablets, placed on towers so high that none
could read it. Those who favor the other side
of this question do indirectly what that Em-
peror did. Sir, I do not desire to emulate him
in any degree. I cordially indorse the lan-
guage of a great English law reformer who
said : It was the boast of Augustus, — it formed
a part of the glare in which the perfidies of
his early years were lost, — that he found Rome
built of brick and' left it marble; but how much
more noble will be the Sovereign's boast when
he shall have it to say that he found law dear
and left it cheap ; found it a sealed book, left
it a living letter ; found it the patrimony of
the rich, left it the inheritance of the poor ;
found it the two-edged sword of tyranny and
oppression, and left it the staff of honesty
and the shield of innocence.
In 1857 Judge Lott was elected to the Su-
preme Court and entered on his duties January
I, 1858. In 1869 he was elected to the bench
of the Court of Appeals.
John Vanderbilt, the junior partner of the
famous firm, was, like Mr. Lott, a native of
Flatbusb, and, like him, was descended from
an ancient family of that good old town. In
1835 he became associated in business with
Mr. Lott and Mr. Murphy, and his association
with Judge Lott continued until the close of
his active career. In 1844 Mp. Vanderbilt
was appointed by Governor William C. Bouck
to the responsible position of first Judge of
the Court of Common Pleas of Kings county
to succeed Judge Greenwood, who had re-
signed. He discharged the duties of this im-
portant position with faithfulness and credit
for two years, until the Court of Common
Pleas was abolished by the adoption of the
New Constitution in 1846, and the creation
of the County Court as at present constituted.
It has been said that, at the time of his netire-
ment from the bench, there was not a more
popular man. politically and socially, in the
city of Brooklyn than he. In the fall of 1852
he received the Democratic nomination for the
State Senate, to which position he was chosen
by a large majority. He filled this station
oreditablv for the full term of two vears. Dur-
630
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ing his term as Senator he was appointed one
of the Commissioners to investigate the har-
bor encroachments of New York. He was
also selected as one of the Commissioners to
investigate the affairs of President Nott and
IJnion College. In the fall of 1856 he was
nominated on the Democratic ticket for Lieu-
tenant-Governor, with Amasa J. Parker, of
Albany, as Governor, but the Democrats were
not successful in the issue of the election.
For several years before his death, which oc-
curred at Flatbush May 16, 1877, Judge Van-
derbilt was retired from active service by a
shock of paralysis; but, "in the prime of his
energy was certainly the most vigorous and
handsome man in public or political life in this
county, if not in the State. His strong, manly
beauty mated with and was the exponent of
qualities of mind' and heart, as attractive as
his gifts and graces of person. In a time
when 'rings' were unknown, he was a Demo-
crat ; in a time when sectionalism was hardly
an apparition, and when the State had its
full rights, whether it was weighed or counted
as a factor, he was a patriot, and one who
gloried in his whole country; in a time when
shysters had not been evolved, and when petti-
foggers were limited to a satirical stage or
a sa-rcastic literature, he was a lawyer; in a
time when gentlemen were as dominant in poli-
tics, and scholars as dominant in council as
they now are not, he was a scholar and a gen-
tleman. His rapidity of public development,
his activity in affairs, his not surpassed quali-
ties of good-fellowship, the magnetism of his
mind and manners, and the impressive appeal
which he could address to the people, early
made him and long kept him what he was
freely called, 'Kings County's Favorite Son,'
when that appellation was forcible by its rar-
ity, significant in its meaning, and when it had
not been vulgarized' by its application to the
politicians by profession, and to the place-hunt-
ers by occupation."
Judge Vanderbilt married Gertrude Pbebe
Lefferts, daughter of John Lefferts, of Flat-
bush. She yet survives, and by her volume on
"The Social History of Flatbush" and other
graceful writings, has done much to keep
alive the kindly memories of that old Dutch
town. She has been a frequent contributor
to newspapers and magazines, and her inter-
esting story of the Dutch Reformed Church
at Flatbush has been by general request in-
corporated in these pages.
No study of the past generation of Brook-
lyn lawyers would be complete without a
sketch of Alden J. Spooner, who was at once
a representative citizen, a representative law-
yer, and a representative of the higher cul-
ture of the city. The following is condensed
from a sketch by L. B. Proctor. Alden T.
Spooner was born at Sag Harbor February
10, 1810. His father. Colonel Alden Spooner,
was long the foremost journalist in Brooklyn,
established "The Long Island Star," the first
newspaper published on Long Island, and in
1 841, although not bred to the law, was ap-
pointed Surrogate of Kings county. His son,
however, was duly qualified for a legal career
and was admitted to practice in the regular
manner and after a thorough training.
His first case at the Queens county bar
was one of great difficulty, full of knotty legal
questions ; and in addition to this his oppon^ent
was one of the ablest lawyers of his times.
Mr. Spooner had associated with him a very
able and experienced lawyer, who was to try
the case before the jury. But, being taken
suddenly ill, the whole responsibility of the
case rested upon the young advocate. With
many misgivings he entered the contest; but
as the struggle deepened his timidity vanished,
confidence and self-reliance took its place, and
after a long and bitter contest his efforts were
crowned with a triumph that greatly advanced
his professional prospects.
In May, 1836, the celebrated case of the
People V. John Nichols was tried at the Suf-
folk Term of Oyer and Terminer, the Hon.
Ogden Edwards presiding. Nichols had been
indicted for an assault with an intent to kill
THE BENCH AND BAR.
631
and for burglary. The crime was committed
under circumstances of great atrocity. Spoon-
er appeared for the defense, interposing the
plea of insanity for his client. The case is re-
membered as one in which an unprecedented
number of eminent physicians were sworn as
witnesses for and against the prisoner ; those
for the defense established beyond a doubt his
insanity, while an equal number- testified that
he was perfectly sane. Under this conflict
of evidence Spooner went to the jury. With
great ingenuity he took advantage of this
marked' conflict in the professional evidence,
thereby raising a reasonable doubt as to the
guilt of the prisoner.
"Gentlemen of the jury," said he, "you
have the testimony of ten respectable physi-
cians showing the insanity of my client. It is
true you have an equal number of equally re-
spectable physicians who testify to his sanity.
Notwithstanding this, will you take the respon-
sibility of convicting a man of a charge as
serious as this, whom ten scientific physicians
have pronounced insane? They may be right,
gentlemen, — quite as likely to be right as those
who have testified against them. Here, then,
gentlemen, is such a reasonable doubt of my
client's guilt that you can not convict him ;
for, gentlemen, when doctors disagree, who
can decide?"
His whole plea was a masterly effort, and
so pronounced by the bar and spectators pres-
ent. He was followed by the Hon. Selah B.
Strong, District Attorney of Suffolk county,
afterward one of the Justices of the Supreme
Court of the Second' Judicial District of the
State. Judge Strong made a very able and
eloquent reply to Mr. Spooner's argument, but
the jury rendered a verdict of "Not guilty,"
and the prisoner was discharged. This was
a signal victory for the young lawyer. As a
speaker Mr. Spooner had a full share of ad-
vantages in personal appearance, in oratorical
and reasoning powers, and in clear voice.
These united qualities commanded respect and
attention, and often produced conviction in
the minds of his hearers. With his pen he
was a more powerful dispenser of eloquence
than with his lips. Possessing a fine literary
taste, strengthened and enlarged by classical
lore, and an extensive knowledge of books,
he ranked among the most able writers of his
times. His capacity for intense application
to literary labor seemed exhaustless. All his
literary efforts exhibit vivacity and strength
of mind, quickness of perception and great
purity of taste. Books were his constant com-
panions, and he was ever a close student of
the Greek and Latin writers. He used to
say : "I am pleased with Livy, for his inimita-
ble manner of telling a story; with Sallust,
for his entering into those internal principles
of action which arise from the characters and
manners of those he described ;, with Tacitus,
for displaying those outward motives of safe-
ty and interest which give birth to the whole
series of transactions he relates." A more
pleasing and truthful description of these ele-
gant writers could hardly be given.
His literary taste gradually led him from
the duties of his profession. As has well
been said: "The literary and artistic features
of Mr. Spooner's character were an especial
and profitable phase in his life. He wrote
much and well. In his earlier years, besides
the work of editing the 'Long Island Star,'
he was a frequent and valuable contributor
to that greatly admired periodical, 'The Knick-
erbocker Magazine.' The history of Brooklyn
and Long Island always interested him deeply.
He furnished a loving, tender biography of
the author to a reprint of Gabriel Furman's
'Notes, Geographical and Historical, Relat-
ing to the Town of Brooklyn' (annotated by
Dr. H. R. Stiles), which was published in
1865. He also edited a reprint of Silas Wood's
'Sketch of the First Settlement of the Towns
of Long Island.' Of both of these works
small editions on large paper, for private dis-
tribution, were issued by the Faust Club
(consisting of Alden J. Spooner and Henry R.
Stiles) in 1865.
<5:j2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
"A more recent work was the article on
Brooklyn in Johnson's Encyclopedia, published
a few years ago, — a very complete sketch ;
and he also contributed articles on other top-
ics for the same work.
"Mr. Spooner's interest in public atifairs
dates back to his earlier years. When, on the
i8th of November, 1830, the Hamilton Liter-
ary Society was organized, Mr. Spooner, then
a youth of twenty years, was one of the active
promoters of the movement, and was elected
first president of the Hamilton. With him
were associated at that time, in the organiza-
tion of the society, such men as Hemry C.
Murphy, A. A. Low, Seth Low, John T. How-
ard, Prof. Raymond, — afterward President of
the Polytechnic and Vassar College, — Joshua
A. Van Cott and Hon. John Greenwood, of
the city of Brooklyn."
One of the pleasantest instances in the lit-
erary career of Mr. Spooner was the semi-cen-
tennial of the Hamilton, on the evening of
January 19, 1880, held in the Art Gallery on
Montague street. As one of the founders of
the society and its first president, Mr. Spooner
was one of the honored guests of the evening,
and there led in that old song so dear to all
Hamiltonians,
"When we all ate the oyster fries
Way down at Johnny Joe's."
He was the writer of that song, and it has
been sung at the annual banquets of that so-
ciety for years. It carries the memory of many
a gray-haired and ireverend citizen back to his
younger days, and to the pleasures and com-
panions of his youth.
Mr. SjDooner loved the Hamilton Society
as a parent loves its offspring; and he was
always the hearty friend of the young men
who, year after year, swelled its ranks and
participated in its exercises.
His connection with the establishing of the
Long Island Historical Society is one of the
main features of his career. The idea was
present in his brain long before the initial
step was taken, and his name is signed to the
call for the meeting held on the i6th of Feb-
ruary, 1863, when the project took shape and
form, and he was among its first officers. He
drew largely from the shelves of his own
library to contribute to the infant library of
the institution. He presented pictures and ob-
jects of interest to the gallery and museum
of the society, and he was always its earnest,
steadfast friend; and his leisure hours were
largely passed in its alcoves. The following
minute was adopted by the Board of Directors
of the Long Island Historical Society, Octo-
ber- II, 1881, as expressive of their sense of
the loss which the society sustained in his
death :
Alden J. Spooner, one of the councillors
of this society, died suddenly in the month
of August last. His life was most absolutely
that of a Long Islander. He was born in
Suffolk county, passed the greater part of his
life in Kings, and died and was buried in the
county of Queens. His tastes were always
predominantly literary, and his busier years
were divided between journalism and the
practice of the law. He was a wide reader,
and wrote with facility and finish in both prose
and verse. He was a delightful companion,
and abounded in anecdote, fun and genial hu-
mor. He was humane and generous up to the
full measure of his means. From early man-
hood down to his death, on the very verge of
old age, he sympathized with all measures
and efforts which aimed to make men wiser,
better and happier in their lives. Beyond most
of his contempoiraries, he had a prescience of
the rapid growth and prosperity of this city,
and of its needs of libraries, lyceums, schools
of art, and other institutions for culture and
pleasure ; and he was always a prompt, eager
and enthusiastic participant in all combined
efforts to make adequate provision for such
needs. The early Apprentices' Library, the
City Library, the Athenaeum, and the Hamilton
Literary Association, are among his debtors,
and should hold him in grateful and honorable
remembrance. The circular which convened
the earliest meeting for the organization of
this society was from his pen, and bears his
name, and he was not only among the first,
but among the most zealous of those to whose
public spirit the society owes its existence.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
G3?
Prominent and active members of the existing
institutions of the city, who shared his genial
companionship and hberal aims, have united
to pay a parting tribute to his cultivated tastes,
his broad humanity, his devotion to the welfare
of the city and the island, and to his high
character for integrity in his relations to his
fellow men.
Air. Spooner was also largely interested in
establishing the Birooklyn Institute, on Wash-
ington street. Indeed, there is scarcely one
among the older institutions of Brooklyn in
which he was not activel)" interested. The
latest offspring of his efforts in this direction
was the Society of Old Brooklynites.
As a judge of art, Mr. Spooner had few
superiors among amateurs. Painting and
sculpture were equally a study with him, and
he had an intelligent appreciation of their finer
points.
In his later years he was engaged in col-
lecting, arranging in chronological order, and
uniting together a mass of historical incidents
relating to Long Island, which he had been
years in gathering. It was his intention, ha^
his life been spared, to have written a com-
prehensive history of Long Island; but death
came to him suddenly at his residence in
Hempstead, on the evening of August 2, 1881.
He never had any taste for politics, conse-
quently never sought political distinction or
official promotion. The only office he ever
held was that of clerk of the Brooklyn City
Court. As has well been said : "Always too
ready to yield to the advancement of others,
he put aside positions he would have splendidly
adorned with his magnificent intellect."
Mr. Spooner's life was one of spotless in-
tegrity, and the rigid honesty of his business
dealings always secured him absolute confi-
dence, not only with his clients, but with all
classes of business men. He was a fascinating
and instructing conversationalist ; one of those
persons in whose society intelligent men and
women became still more intelligent. He
could draw out persons, if there was anything
in them to draw out; if there was a subject
about which they knew more than he did,
nothing pleased him so much as to have it
introduced. He seized quickly upon charac-
teristic traits, and by an anecdote would put
one in possession of the real character of the
man better than an extended biography.
Perhaps no Judge in BTOoklyn came, for
a time, more before the eyes of the civilized
world than did Justice Joseph Neilson, who
presided so ably over the famous Beecher-
Tilton trial. He was born at Argyle, New
York, April 15, 181 5, and was of Scotch-Irish
descent. His father was a physician. Joseph
studied for the legal profession, and on being
admitted to the bar "hung out his shingle" in
Oswego, New York, and there remained until
1844, when he removed to New York and
took up practice there, building up quickly a
large business. He made his home in Brook-
lyn, and in 1870 he was elected one of the
Judges of that city. He retired at the close
of 1882, having then reached the constitutional
age limit. He was in every respect a remarka-
ble Judge, and a notable instance of this was
given just toward the close of the long and
involved Beecher-Tilton trial. The evidence
was all in, the decisions of the Judge on law
points had been given day after day with un-
varying courtesy, the lawyers had summed
up and every one waited to hear the Judge's
charge. All through the long trial he had
been so impartial that neither side could say
how the evidence had impressed him or what
his opinion of the case really was. Now it
seemed as if he must at least show his leaning,
and counsel, jury and public hung on his words
as he laid down the law, pointed out the value
of the evidence submitted and went over every
detail, every law point, and presented the
whole in such a clear and logical mariner
that the jury had, as it were, a birds-eye view
of the ugly story laid before them. At the
conclusion of his summing up not a single
exception was taken to any part of his ad-
dress by the counsel on either side ; all those
634
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
brilliant men who had weighed every word
uttered could find no flaw, no wavering in the
scales of justice, and through their spokesmen
answered they were "content." In comment-
ing on the charge the Albany Law Journal
said: "The brief charge to the jury of Judge
Neilson, in the Tilton-Beecher case, is a
marked contrast with the address of Lord
Cockburn in the Tichborne case. The address
of the former occupied only one hour and' a
half, while that of the latter required many
days, and fills two ponderous volumes. The
vast variety of topics, social, moral, religious,
political and legal, which were connected with
the Tilton-Beecher case, gave the counsel on
both sides, and the Judge presiding, a splen-
, did opportunity to air their learning, their
fancy, their rhetoric and their logic. This op-
portunity the counsel accepted, but the Judge
modfestly, and we think commendably, re-
frained from the display of anything but what
the necessities of the case required. His charge
is a model of clearness, precision and force.
It seems almost incredible that the case could
have been presented to the jury adequately in
so few words. But a careful perusal of the
charge shows that nothing was left out which
was necessary to the complete presentation
of the case. The whole address bears marks
of the most patient and careful consideration
of all the material evidence, und^r the most
wonderful condensation. The spirit which
breathes through the address is one of the ut-
most fairness and impartiality. The counsel
on both sides expressed themselves satisfied,
and this of itself is a high testimonial to the
freedom from bias which the charge evinces."
The summing up in the Beecher-Tilton
case, grand as it was and hailed as it was with
acclaim all over the civilized world, — at least
over as much of it as American newspapers
reached, has now in a measure lost most of
its interest for us. The world has long ago
made a decision in the case, grander and more
conclusive than that of the jury, and fully ac-
cepted the perfect innocence of Brooklvn's
greatest preacher and foremost citizen. But
Judge Neilson was a polished man of letters, as
well as a brilliant jurist, and we as laymen
can read much of his literary work to-day
with more interest than even his most pains-
taking utterances from the bench. Here, how-
ever, is a summing up which seems so perfect
a piece of literary work, and at the same time
so thoroughly judicial in tone, that it may
serve to recall his genius in both qualities. It
is, in fact, a summing up of the characters of
Bacon and Coke, — two of the greatest judges
of England. King James I, the "British Sol-
omon," and exponent of the Divine Right the-
ory, had tried to persuade his law officers that
he was the supreme judge of the law and that
judges should obey his wishes, and as a result
had frequent conferences with those whose
duty it was to administer justice. Judge Neil-
son wrote :
In one of these conferences Coke thought
to teach James I that he was not above the
law, could not add to or alter it, or create new
offenses. At another interview, Bacon, the
attorney-general, present, and supporting the
king in his arrogant pretensions, the question
was put whether the judges would obey the
royal mandates. All the other judges, infirm
of purpose, answered yes ; but, with the mod-
eration and dignity which became his ofiice,
Coke said: "When the case happens, I shall do
that which shall be fit for a judge to do."
By his independence Coke paved the way
for his dismissal from office, a disgrace for
which Bacon, neither the greatest nor meanest
of mankind, had toiled, and in which he en-
joyed a temporary triumph. But though, in
that deprivation. Coke revealed what Sheridan
might have called "the flabby part of his char-
acter," he was thus left free to act as a states-
man.
We call up in review before us the life of
Coke with alternate emotions of regret, shame,
sorrow, pride and consolation. Was that life
as a journey of a day? If so, it was by path-
ways through dreary and desolate wastes, over
Sorbonniian bogs, each footstep sinking in the
slime, but occasionally leading up to Alpine
heights, glowing with celestial light and beau-
ty. It was a life often marred by want of moral
THE BENCH AND BAR.
635
tone; often redeemed by elevated sentiments;
full of distortions and contradictions. As the
Speaker when in Parliament, under Elizabeth,
he was shamefully subservient; as a crown
officer, extorting confessions from prisoners
put to the torture, he was pitiless; as uttering
reproaches and accusations against Sir Walter
Raleigh, on trial for his life, he was fierce and
brutal. His devotion to study and his mastery
of the law were unprecedented ; his assertion
of his rights as a judge, against royal intru-
sion, was admirable ; his intrigue to regain
royal favor by the marriage of his daughter to
the brother of Buckingham was intolerable;
his independence, virtue, courage, devotion in
Parliament, under James I and Charles I
gave special grace and value to the history of
the times. But our sensibilities are touched
when we find him a prisoner in the Tower of
London. The room in which he is confined,
long devoted to ignoble uses, becomes sacred.
We enter with reverence, as upon holy ground.
He is absorbed in his work on the Commentar-
ies. As he writes the hand is tremulous ; but
that hand had never been polluted by accepting
bribes.
In some aspects of life and character Coke
appears to greater advantage than Bacon.
Both were insatiate in their ambition, implac-
able in their resentments. The one was rough
in manners, arrogant in speech, ready to strike
terrible blows openly ; but poor in feigning
and clumsy in changing his ground. The
other was courtly, plausible, serene, had a
gentle touch, even when that touch boded ruin,
was an athlete in fencing with cunning words,
had the facial adroitness of a trimmer, was
covetous, to his own disgrace and ruin. Those
who dislike the one may well despise the other.
For neither of them can we feel the love and
sympathy we have for Sir John Fortescue and
Sir Thomas More. In scientific speculation,
no jurist has commanded as much respect as
Bacon. In exact and profound knowledge of
the old common and statute law, none could
rival Coke. But, in view of the times in which
they lived, the work allotted, and the materials
in which they wrought, it would be unjust to
weigh and estimate their labors with reference
to the more enduring and fruitful services of
the great English jurists and statesmen of
later days. In the freedom of judicial inquiry
and direction, in the temper of the people, the
condition of trade and commerce, and in the
character of legislation, there had been a great
advance between their time and that of Hard-
wick. Coke and Bacon could not for any prac-
tical purpose have adapted their work to the
coming and higher civilization. As in the nat-
ural world we have progress and rotation,
each season performing its appropriate office,
so in the intellectual, social, and political life
of a people events are marshalled in due order
and relation — a gradual development. What
was easy of achievement when the times were
ripe for it would have been impossible if at-
tempted prematurely or out of season. When
Mansfield moulded and illustrated our com-
mercial law the materials were at hand, plastic
and ready for use.
In another part of this work mention was
made of the unusual honor paid to Mr. J. S.
T. Stranahan in seeing his own statue erected
by the people among whom he had lived and
labored for so many years. A similar honor
was, on May 8, 1895, paid to Benjamin D.
Silliman, long the Nestor of the Brooklyn bar,
and whose death in 1901 removed from public
life a figure that had been active in Brooklyn's
afifairs for nearly two generations. On the
date mentioned a marble bust of Mr. Silliman,
from the studio of William Ordway Partridge,
was unveiled and presented to the New Eng-
land Society. It was the occasion of a brilliant
gathering. Gen. Stewart L. Woodford, Will-
iam M. Evarts and the Rev. Dr. Storrs were
among the speakers. Mr. Silliman was born
at Newport, R. I., in 1805, and was graduated
at Yale in the class of 1824. He studied law
in the office of Chancellor Kent and was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1829. Thenceforth his
life was bound up in his profession and he
sought relaxation in literary pursuits. His
home in Brooklyn was the constant scene,
until the weight and infirmities and changes of
years forced him to abandon all sorts of ex-
citement, of pleasant and intellectual gather-
ings. Though often urged to enter political
life, he invariably refused, except when he
served a term in the State Legislature. In
1873 he was prevailed upon to become the can-
didate for Attorney General of the State on
the Republican ticket. The ticket was defeat-
ed, and while Mr. Silliman mourned the blow
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to his party, he was personally glad to escape
what to him were the annoyances of public
office, for as United States District Attorney,
which office he resigned in 1866, he knew that
even legal officials had to submit to much that
made political life irepulsive.
As a lawyer Mr. Silliman was rather dis-
tinguished for his deep and thorough knowl-
edge of the fundamentals of jurisprudence, for
his complete mastery of the details of every
case submitted to him, for the clearness and
cogency of his arguments, than for his ora-
torical ability. He was more conversational in
his tone at the bar than impassioned or glow-
ing, but when he laid down a point it was so
clear, so logical, so matter-of-fact in its as-
sumptions that he seldom failed to win his
case. His knowledge of the "authorities" was
most thoroughgoing and he could support his
own views with an array of decisions that left
little to controvert. As a chamber or consult-
ing lawyer he was without a peer, and his
cautious and conservative advice, his desire to
arrange out of court all differences that could
be so adjusted, and his honest appraisal of the
legal status and prospects of his client, often
eiTected settlements involving vast interests
without the intervention and expense of liti-
gation.
For his legal profession, as such, Mr. Silli-
man had the most unbounded admiration. In
addressing a graduating class at Columbia Col-
lege he said:
In welcoming you, gentlemen, to the broth-
erhood of the Bar, you may well be congratu-
lated on the peculiar advantages you enjoyed
in preparing for its duties. You have not been
left to pick up, as you best might, here and
there, scattered fragments of legal knowledge,
but you have been systematically instructed in
the principles and philosophy of the law. You
have been guided and trained by eminent and
learned teachers in a school that ranks second
to none in the land for the completeness of its
system and the thoroughness of its instruction.
You come not as undrilled militia, but as grad-
uates from the very West Point of the pro-
fession.
Widely different have been (with few ex-
ceptions) the opportunities of legal instruc-
tion in this country until a comparatively re-
cent period. The student was required to enter
the office of a practicing attorney, and there to
i:ursue his studies. He was at once engaged in
the practice of that which he had not learned
the principles. He became familiar by daily
observations, and as a copyist, with the forms
of conveyancing and phraseology of plead-
ings, without understanding their reason. *
"■ * As a general rule, it was impossible for
the attorney, in whose office the student was
engaged, to give any material attention to his
studies, and his progress and attainments,
therefore, lacked system, and were slow, con-
fused and uncertain. A formal and superficial
examination finally passed him to the Bar,
where he could rarely feel at home until he had
acquired by subsequent laborious and anxious
practice a knowledge of very much that he
should have attained at thi outset. * * In
Europe, on the other hand, full and careful in-
struction in the principles of law has ever been
a pre-requisite to admission to the Bar, and the
schools in which such instruction has been
given have been organized, fostered, and more
or less regulated by public authority. Regular
schools of law were established in Rome, in the
time of Augustus, at which those who aspired
to the honors of the forum were assiduous stu-
dents. None but the thoroughly learned and
skilled could dream of such honors where
Scaevola, Sulpicius and Cicero had been com-
petitors, and where even the boys, according
to Cicero, were taught the "twelve tables" as
a necessary lesson (discebamus enim pueri XII
tablulas ut carmen necessarium) to instruct
them in so much of the laws as should be ob-
tained by every Roman citizen. In France such
schools existed as far back as the twelfth cen-
tury. From an early period the law has been,
and still is, most fully and elaborately taught
by renowned professors in the Universities of
Germany and Holland. In England the schools
of law have been less regular and complete
than on the Continent, but the qualifications of
candidates for the English Bar have, neverthe-
less, been measured by a very high standard.
We regard the annual reinforcement of the
Bar by a class of accomplished and educated
gentlemen who have been thus thoroughly
taught in the principles of the law. and whose
minds have been carefully disciplined and
trained for its intellectual duties, as sure to
elevate the standard of legal attainment, and
THE BENCH AND BAR.
to promote the honor and usefuhiess of the
profession. * * *
A grand future beckons you, and j'ou have
the best preparation for the course. But we
must bear in mind that other stout knights,
who have had no such advantages as you have
had, will enter the lists with strong lances, and
compete with you for the higher prizes. The
great lawyers who preceded us — the Hamil-
tons, the Kents, the Jays, the \'an \'echtens,
the Spencers, the Hills, the Wellses^ the Oak-
leys, the Duers, the Woods, the Talcotts, the
Ogdens, the Hoffmans, the Van Burens, the
Butlers — had not such training as you have en-
joyed. But what summits did they not attain!
1 have spoken of this school as the "West
Point" of the profession ; but we have seen
within the last six years that other soldiers
than those who graduated at West Point won
victories and received laurels — marched to the
front with muskets on their shoulders and re-
turned with stars on their shoulders.
At the same time he warned his auditors
against indulging in practices which are apt
to militate against legal ethics and defeat the
ends of justice — practices which were then,
and still are, often indulged in, especially by
young lawyers in their desire to win a position
quickly. He said : "No man can, consistently
with personal honor or professional reputa-
tion, misstate a fact or a principle to the court
or jury. The man who would cheat a court or
jury would cheat anybody else. Measured by
the lowest standard, that of expediency, no
lawyer can, in any case, afford to act meanly
OT speak untruly. He owes no such duty to
his client ; an honest client would not be safe
in the hands of a lawyer who would do either."
In speaking of the frequent popular denun-
ciation of lawyers in defending cases — espe-
cially criminal cases in which the guilt of the
accused is evident to everyone who "reads th;
newspapers" — and succeed in getting a ver-
dict actually or practically removing the ac-
cused from the grasp of the law, Mr. Silliman
laid down a ruling which must be accepted as
just:
It needs but little thought to convince even
the vulgar that the idea that the vocation of
lawyers is inconsistent with the strictest
truth, is but vulgar efror. In support of the
charge, it is often said that counsel will not
refuse to defend a prisoner whom he supposes
to be guilty of the offense for which he is to
be tried. The answer to this is plain : The
accused person is not to be tried by the impres-
sions, or even by the convictions, of any one
man, whether lawyer or layman. The law of
the land requires, not only for the sake of the
accused, but for the safety of every citizen,
that no man shall be tried and convicted ex-
cept by a jury of twelve men. The question
of his guilt or innocence calls for a division
of labor in the process by which it is to be de-
termined. It is made the duty of the counsel
for the prosecution to conduct one, and of the
counsel for the prisoner to conduct the other
branch of the investigation ; for the former to
collect and present before the jury the evi-
dence against the accused, and to state such
views adverse to the prisoner as result from
the whole testimony ; and for the latter to col-
lect and present before the jury the evidence
in favor of the prisoner, and to state all such
views in his favor as result from the whole
testimony.
If counsel assumes the guilt of an accused
person before that guilt has been judicially as-
certained, if he determines at the outset that
the accused is guilty, he takes upon himself
most unjustifiably the combined character and
prerogative of accuser, witness, jury and
judge ; and if, because of such conclusions in
his own mind, he refuses to conduct the de-
fense of the prisoner, he throws the we'ght of
his own character and convictions into the
scale against him.
Of course were we attempting a complete
chronicle of the bench and bar of Brooklyn
many names would be included in the retro-
spect, some of which have acquired a national
measure of fame, but the aim here has been
to select a few judges, attorneys, men of local
fame as well as those whose names belong to
the nation, who are representative of all ranks
of the greatest of all the professions.
But what a galaxy of brilliant men the
story of whose lives the biographer who would
aim to cover the bar of Kings County a decade
ago could draw upon for illustrations ! Ben -
jamin F. Tracy, statesman as well as lawyer..
638
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
although now in practice in New York, was
for years the leader of the bar in Brooklyn.
Judge George G. Reynolds, Judge Alexander
McCue, Major Gen. Duryea, Judge N. H.
Clement, who succeeded the erudite Nielson,
Judge S. D. Morris, who for 9 years was Dis-
trict Attorney, Thomas G. Shearman, who was
as well known as a publicist and political re-
former as a lawyer. General J. S. Catlin, who
won an enviable record in the field as a sol-
dier ; ^lark E. Wilbur, another distinguished
lawyer-soldier; Judge T. W. Gilbert, who in
1865 was elected to the bench of the Supreme
Court after being nominated by conventions
of both the great political parties and held
the seat until 1882, when the legal age limit
compelled his retirement ; ; Judge Henry A.
Moore, a graduate from the famous office of
Lott, Murphy and Vanderbilt, and County
Judge for some twenty-eight years ; Asa
W. Tenney, who for over a decade was Unit-
ed States District Attorney for the Eastern
District of New York; Calvin E. Pratt, who
fought at Bull Run and until 1891 carried in
his cheek bone a bullet which had prostrated
him at Mechanicsville, Va., while fighting un-
der Gen. Porter, who was recommended for
promotion to a brigadier generalship by Mc-
Clellan and was promoted, succeeding Han-
cock in the command of the 6th Army Corps,
and who on returning to civil life resumed
his old profession of the law, and in 1869
was elected to the bench of the Supreme
Court; but even the names alone which
cothe up to memory would fill a chapter. De-
tailed sketches of most of these appear in
other sections of this work.
Some of the present-day leaders of the bar
are deserving of brief mention, for their public
services are such as to show that the old pre-
eminence of the City of Churches in the
"forum of justice" is still maintained and that
the legal profession is still prominent in all
that stands for good citizenship, — honesty in
public life, and in knowledge of and devotion
to the legal system, which, after all, has been
the backbone of American liberty and which
has stood amid all the political turmoils which
have excited the people since the adoption of
the Constitution for the freedom and ecjual-
ity of the citizen, for free speech, freedom of
contract, and the purity, potency and dignity
of the source in these United States of all
power — the ballot box which registers and de-
termines the people's will.
Perhaps the most widely known exponent
of all this at the present time is Justice Will-
iam J. Gaynor of the Supreme Court, whose
services in connection with the ballot-box
frauds at Gravesend won for him the gratitude
of every man who values liberty and popular
government. Justice Gaynor was born in
Onieda County, N. Y., in 1851, and spent his
early years on a farm. He received his aca-
demic training at Whitestown, and for a time
was employed as a teacher in Boston, during
which time he availed himself of every chance
to add to his own education. In 1873 lie
settled in Brooklyn and studied law, maintain-
ing himself at the same time by newspaper
work. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar and
soon had quite a large practice. He soon be-
came known for his mastery of local questions
and as a stanch and unwavering advocate of
good government and came prominently to the
front in public life as the counsel for Mr.
William Ziegler in the contest against the
city's purchase of the plant and assets of the
Long Island Water Supply Company. All of
Mr. Gaynor's legal points in this case were
fully sustained by the courts and as a result
the city saved a large sum of money. But
apart from that saving, a principle was in-
volved with which the whole cause of munic-
ipal government was concerned. Besides this
Mr. Gaynor appeared in several other cases in
which the rights of the people were, involved,
notably against the system of giving away pub-
lic franchises, which has lost not Brooklyn
alone, but every American city so much in the
way of the collection of practical assets which,
created by the community, should be shared Ijv
THE BENCH AND BAR.
it. -Mr. Gaynor is a Democrat, but in public
life has been known for his complete inde-
pendence of party control, and it was this in-
dependence, his stern assertion of right, his un-
swerving devotion to high ideals in politics
whether in county, in state or in municipality
which won for him the wonderful majority by
which he was elected to the bench of the
Supreme Court, where he still presides.
Judge Gaynor"s opponent in the contest
for the Supreme Court Judgeship was a gen-
tleman who has long enjoyed an enviable
reputation in Brooklyn's legal circles, Mr.
Thomas E. Pearsall. As representative of an
old Brooklyn family Air. Pearsall would be lmi-
titled to a prominent position among the lead-
ers of Brooklyn thought and society, even had
not his own abilities and personal successes
been such as to win for him an honored posi-
tion among those v/ho in the present day and
generation are striving to make Brooklyn be
regarded as the leading Ixirough among those
which make up the present City of New York.
All his associations have been with Brooklyn.
He was born there lin 1842, studied in its pub-
lic schools and then entered the law office of
Judge Samuel Garrison, and at once diligent-
ly entered on the study of his intended pro-
fession. In such an office a student has an
opportunity of learning in a practical manner
the practice of law as well as its theory, office
routine as well as general principles, and the
application of these general principles and le-
gal decisions to individual cases. By the time
he had reached his 21st year Air. Pearsall was
so thoroughly skilled in the law that he had no
difficulty in passing the examination at Pough-
keepsie, which made him become a full fledged
member of the bar. .\fter getting his diploma,
he continued his relations with Judge Garri-
son for a time, but finally concluded to engage
in business en his account.
One of the first of his cases and of his suc-
cesses was over the will of one Peter O'Hara,
in which a large amount of money was in-
volved upon the construction of several of its
clauses. Mr. Pearsall was retained by one of
the heirs and the opposing counsel was the
late Henry C. Murphy. After a considerable
amount of litigation the case was settled in
favor of Mr. Pearsall's client by a decision of
the Court of Appeals.
In 1867 Mr. Pearsall entered into partner-
ship with Judge Samuel D. Morris, then Dis-
trict Attorney of Kings County, and from 1868
until 1872 he acted as Assistant District At-
torney, besides carrying on most of the private
legal business of his firm. He was the prose-
cutor in many noted criminal trials, including
that of Fanny Hyde, a murder case which for
many reasons was one of the most prolific of
talk and rumor in Brooklyn and which is still
of interest to the student of jurisprudence.
But perhaps the most celebrated trial in which
Mr. Pearsall has taken part was that of Tilton
vs. Beecher, in which he appeared for the
plaintifif. Associated with him in behalf of
Tilton was a brilliant array of counsel — Sam-
uel D. Morris, Roger A. Pryor, Austin Ab-
bott, William Fullerton and William A. Beach
— but to him fell the real work of the plain-
tiff's case, the preparation of the evidence, its
presentation, and the arrangement and sifting
of the authorities upon the important and far-
reaching points of law which were constantly
coming up. His work in that case was really
extraordinary and the value of his services
was freely acknowledged by all his associates.
A stanch Democrat, and a gifted orator,
he has always been regarded as one of the
local leaders of the party, but cares little for
public office. His own legal business and the
many and varied and important interests com-
mitted to his care are more than sufficient to
occupy his time. But he believes that one of
the tests of good citizenship is the interest a
man takes in public affairs and the doings of
his political party. So he has been active in
politics, served on the local Democratic com-
mittee, and willingly accepted an appointment
from Gov. Hill to membership on the commis-
sion of lawvers which he intrusted with the
640
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
delicate task of revising the section of the
State Constitution appertaining to the ju-
diciary. He is a member of the Montauk,
Carleton and Crescent Chibs and is prominent
in Masonic circles.
Justice Goodrich of the Supreme Court,
Second District, who presides over the Appel-
late Division of that body, was noted in Brook-
lyn for his ability as an admiralty and com-
mercial lawyer for many years before he was
elevated to the bench. He was born at Ha-
vana, in Catharines Township, Schuyler
County, N. Y., in 1833. After he was grad-
uated at Amherst College, in 1852, he went to
Albany to study for the legal profession. He
attended the Albany Law School and after-
ward ente-red the office of Hill, Cagger &
Porter, and there remained until 1854, when
he was admitted to the bar. On receiving his
diploma he settled in New York with the view
of building up a practice, but in the course of
five or six years he removed his office to
Brooklyn, and has since been identified in a
marked manner with its affairs. A devoted
Republican in politics, he soon proved a pillar
of strength to the local ranks of that party,
and in 1866 was elected a member of Assem-
bly. In 1869 he was defeated by a small
majority for re-election, but in 1871 he was
again returned. When his term closed he re-
turned to his law practice and devoted him-
self to it closely, without at the same time
losing his interest in political life as may be
judged from the fact that in 1890 he was
elected Chairman of the Republican General
Committee. As a member of the Brooklyn
School Board to which, in 1867, he was ap-
pointed by Mayor Schroeder, Justice Goodrich
rendered much effective service to the cause of
education, and in 1889 he was privileged to
perform some good work for his profession
and the business interests of the county as a
member of the International Marine Confer-
ence which met in June of that year in Wash-
ington.
Justice Goodrich is a member of the Phil-
harmonic Society and the Apollo Club and is
more or less active in several of Brooklyn's
charitable and social organizations.
For many years the name of Grenville T.
Jenks was one of the best known and best be-
loved among the members of the bar in New
York and Brooklyn. He was a man of many
brilliant parts, a thorough law student, a care-
ful, conscientious adviser, an eloquent speaker,
a skillful examiner of witnesses, a man of
ready wit, keen perception, wide reading and a
thorough knowledge of human nature, he
would have come to the front in any calling
to which he had chosen to devote himself.
He studied law in the office of Lott, Murphy
& Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, and afterward in
that of Storrs & Sedgewick in New York, and
it was while so engaged, in 185 1, that he was
called to the bar. On receiving his certificate
he at once entered into practice in New York
and soon attained a marked measure of success.
On removing his office to Brooklyn success
still attended him, and when he died, in 1870,
at the early age of 40 years, he was regarded
not only as one of the most brilliant members
of the local bar, but as a man who would,
sooner or later, have attained any professional
honor to which he might have aspired.
Almet F. Jenks, the eldest son of this giftetl
man, is worthily following in his footsteps.
He was born at Brooklyn, May 21, 1853, and
received his early educational training at
Adelphi Academy. From there he passed I0
Phillips , Exeter Academy, at Andover, antl
completed its curriculum with all the honors.
Then, being destined for a legal career, he
went to Yale, where he was graduated in 1875.
and closed his training by passing through
Columbia Law School. He was graduated
from that institution in 1877 and in the same
vear entered on practice in Brooklyn in part-
nership with Frederick A. Ward. It was not
long before it was recognized that the firm
had won a large business and that many im-
portant interests were committed to its care.
In 1848 Mr. Jenks accepted an appointment as
THE BENCH AND BAR.
Assistant District Attorney under James W.
Ridgway, and he continued to hold that office
until Feb. i, 1886. when he was appointed
Corporation Counsel by Mayor Whitney, and
by successive appointment he continued to hold
that important office throughout the adminis-
trations of Mayors Chapin and Boody. A
change in political conditions caused him to
retire from public office with the accession of
IMayor Schieren and Mr. Jenks devoted him-
self to building up his private practice and so
was engaged with eminent success when, in
November, 1898, he was elected a Justice cf
the Supreme Court from the Second Judicial
District with a popular vote of 169,436, and
that dignified office he continues to hold.
Justice Jenks almost from the time he at-
tained his majority has been an active worker
in the Democratic party and has since been
prominent at many of its conventions. He
has been a pronounced supporter of honest
money and lent all his influence and bent all
his ability and eloquence to keep that plank
paramount among the issues supported by the
Democrats of New York State. In 1891 Gov.
Hill appointed him Judge Advocate General
and that appointment was endorsed by Gov.
Flower when that lamented statesman and
financier became the Chief Executive of the
State. Since ascending to the bench Justice
Jenks has been less active as a worker in the
party — his judicial position so demands — but
his interest in its councils is unabated and he
is still regarded as one of those quiet, deter-
mined, far-seeing leaders whose advice is cer-
tain to lead to good results.
For several years the late Mr. Charles J.
Patterson held an honorable position in Brook-
lyn as one of the leaders of the local bar. He
was bom in what is now the Borough of Man-
hattan, May 19, 1853, ^"d received his general
education in the public schools. He entered
the law office of Gen. C. W. Sanfond and re-
mained there until he was admitted to the bar.
In 1876 he was admitted to practice at Pough-
keepsie and soon after settled in Brooklyn,
where he entered upon the professional career
which, slowly but steadily, has given him such
an enviable position in legal circles of the old
"City of Churches." Mr. Patterson devoted
himself closely to his professional duties, and
while he made many brilliant appearances in
court, his arguments were legal ones pure and
simple, and probably a case presenting sensa-
tional rather than purely legal features would
have been repugnant to him. He was regarded
especially as an authority on the subject of
torts, and many of his best earned victories
were in connection with suits in which wrongs
have been redressed by substantial damages.
Mr. Patterson died in 1901.
Mr. James C. Church, a native of Rhode
Island, has been quite prominently identified
with the legal profession in Brooklyn since
1883, when he was admitted to the bar. His
early years were mainly spent in New L'trecht,
and he received his legal training in the office
of Morris & Pearsall. His practice has been
in a great measure confined to corporation
work, as he is counsel for several such con-
cerns and his work as an organizer has been
pre-eminently successful.
Surrogate Abbott, who retired from that
position on Jan. i, 1902, as a result of a "land-
slide" which in November preceding had be-
fallen his ticket, is one of the most honored
lawyers in Brooklyn. It was felt throughout
the electoral canvass which ended in the defeat
of the ticket on which his name appeared, that
a mistake in the very fundamental principle of
good government had been made when he was
not endorsed for re-election by both parties.
Throughout the whole of that heated cam-
paign, not a word was said derogatory to Sur-
rogate Abbott, while his eminent fitnes§ as a
judge, and his upright, dignified and thought-
ful disposition of the many and often extreme-
ly tangled cases which turn up in his court,
were freely admitted. He had presided over
the Surrogate's Court since 1888, and had
earned the highest encomiums from the bar,
the press and the citizens generally. He has
64-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
now resumed private practice and will doubt-
less soon build up a large clientele.
That same election placed in the important
office of Comptroller of Greater New York
Mr. Edward M. Grout, who had won an en-
viable record as President of the Borough of
Brooklvn, which office he vacated onl}' on Jan-
uary I, 1902, when he entered upon the duties
of the Comptrollership, succeeding another
Brooklyn man, Mr. Bird S. Coler. Mr. Grout
has been a consistent Democrat all through his
career, but has never wavered in upholding his
theory that national and state policies should
have no place in connection with municipal
government. The latter, he holds, is simply a
business proposition and should be adminis-
tered from a business standpoint. His ideas
on that and kindred subjects, as well as his
independence in politics generally, have won
him the confidence of his fellow citizens of the
Greater City, 299,713 of whom gave him their
votes at the election of November, 1901, a
greater number than voted for Mayor Low,
the head of the ticket. But Mr. Grout has a
habit of running ahead of his associates in the
various municipal contests in which he has
taken part.
We have already referred to Mr. Grout's
career in a previous Chapter and only refer to
him in this instance to emphasize his prom-
inence as a member of the Brooklyn bar. In
1893 he became a partner in the firm of which
Judge Gaynor was the head, and in 1894 when
that gentleman took his seat on the bench, Mr.
Grout became the head of the firm. His large
practice soon won for him an independence,
but his active mind, his sense of public duty
and his ideals of citizenship, as well as the
trend of most of his associates, made him be-
come a prominent figure in politics. His
watchword was reform, and as a reformer
most of his political battles have been fought
from the time that he aided so successfully in
sending the Gravesend ballot-box stuffers to
jail. For some years he was associated in po-
litical work with Mr. Edwin M. Shepard, but
in 1895 both he and Mr. Shepard were in the
race for the Mayoralty of Brooklyn, both using
reform banners, and as a result the Republican
candidate was elected. In 1897 he was elected
President of the Borough of Brooklyn, and as
such did as much good as he could. But his
experiences in that office led him in 1901 to
accept the candidacy of a non-political fusion
movement for Comptroller, which again ar-
rayed him against his old associate, Mr. Shep-
ard ; and his personal popularity aided much in
accomplishing the defeat of that gentleman
and bringing about the accession of Seth Low
to the Mayoralty of the Greater New York.
Edward M. Shepard, who in the canvass of
1 90 1 came so prominently before the citizens
as the Democratic candidate for the Mayor-
alty, has long been prominent in legal and
public life in Brooklyn. His law practice is a
large one, but it is as a public-spirited citizen
that he has won the magnificent following he
possesses and the large measure of confidence
and popularity which he 'enjoys. Possibly his
grandest public service has been his work as
counsel to the Rapid Transit Commission. In
that respect he has performed a series of im-
portant labors which are hardly fully appre-
ciated even by those who have watched the re-
cent development of the rapid transit move-
ment in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Mr. Shep-
ard is recognized as a man of honest pur-
poses, of pure ideals and rare administrative
qualities, and will undoubtedly continue to be
an active factor in Brooklyn's public affairs
for many years to come.
But lest it might be thought that we are
"drifting into live politics," we will leave such
leaders alone and turn to those whose claim to
notice here is their prominence solely in con-
nection with bench and bar. One of the fore-
most of these is Justice E. M. Cullen, of the
Supreme Court, who was born in Brooklyn in
1843. After he was graduated from the Troy
Polytechnic Institute, in 1861, he became a
Lieutenant in the United States Army and saw
considerable active service during the Civil
THE BENCH AND BAR.
643
War. In 1862 he was commissioned a Colonel
by Governor Morgan, and continued in the
service until the close of the war. On leaving
the army he followed for a while the profession
of civil engineering; but he was at the same
time devoting himself to the study of law, and
under the guidance of his ncle. Judge McCue,
grasped its details so thoroughly that in 1867
he was admitted to the bar and became a mem-
ber of the firm of McCue, Hall & Cullen. In
1872 he was appointed Assistant District At-
.torney and filled that office in a manner that
won him many stanch friends both in the pro-
fession and among the public. In 1880 he was
elected a Justice of the Supreme Court. His
political independence, manifested by his keep-
ing the bench free from party interference, led
to his being "turned down" in 1894, when he
was a candidate for re-election, but the vigor-
ous action of the Bar Association as well as
the general sentiment of the voters led to his
receiving the nomination from the pa/rty oppo-
site to that which had formerly placed his
name before the electors, and he was again
elected. Political managers have often found
out that "monkeying" with the Supreme Court
is a dangerous business for them, but, unfor-
tunately, they soon forget the many lessons
in this connection which they have received.
Judge Willard Bartlett, who has resided in
Brooklyn since 1868, was born at Uxbridge,
JNIass., in 1846. His father, the late William
O. Bartlett, in 1859 purchased a country seat
in Brookhaven township, and that property is
now in possession of his son and is the subject
of constant improvement. Nothing delights
the Justice more than to throw away the dig-
nity of the ermine and enjoy the relaxation
and the health-giving properties of his now
beautiful country seat "out on Long Island."
Willard Bartlett studied law at Columbia Col-
lege and was admitted to the bar in 1868. For
a time he was associated with Elihu Root, the
present United States Secretary of War, in
the practice of his profession, and so continued
until 1887, when he was appointed one of the
justices of the Supreme Court, and that office
he still holds. He has proved an able judge,
and during his long career on the bench his
fairness and impartiality have never been
questioned and his decisions have seldom been
subject to adverse review. He is naturally of
a judicial temperament and his long experi-
ence, his thorough grasp of the principles of
the law, his wide reading, his close observation
and his good New England practical common
sense all combine in giving him a "grip" on
even the most involved case and a clear, em-
phatic and practical decision is the invariable
result.
Tunis G. Bergen, a nephew of the famous
antiquarian and genealogist of Kings county
who bore the same name, was born May 17,
1847. After passing through the public
schools he completed his academic training,
in succession, at the Brooklyn Polytechnic In-
stitute and Rutgers College. Designed for
the legal profession, he then attended the law
school of Columbia College, and on complet-
ing the course there went to Berlin and Heid-
elberg for further study, and in 1871 received
from Heidelberg University the degree of
Doctor in Public Law. He attended lec-
tures afterward at other continental colleges,
notably at the famous Sorbonne, and spent
some time at Oxford. Returning at length
to his own country, Mr. Bergen began the task
cf building up a practice, and slowly, it seemed
to him for a long time, but none the less sure-
ly, he became the centre of a large clientele,
and one that is even yet steadily growing.
But in spite of the cares of his law practice
Mr. Bergen has found time to perform a good-
ly share of the duties which fall to the public
spirited citizen. Proud of the city of his
birth, proud of his Dutch ancestry, zealous of
the tender memories of the old-fashioned his-
toric Bergen homestead in which he first saw
the light, Mr. Bergen has been most active in
aiding by voice or by pen whatever seemed to
him to be for the honor, the progress or the
glory of the good old town. He was long an
active member of the local school board, and
for over four years was its president. In the
644
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
work of the Long Island Historical Society,
and especially in the capacity of one of its
secretaries, he has rendered a grand service in
carrying on the work so ably begun by Mur-
phy, Spooner, Storrs, McCormick and others
of bygone day, and thus maintaining in all
its usefulness an institution which has done
more for the preservation of the history of
Long Island than any other single force. A
stanch Republican in politics he lias generally
managed to win the support cf independent
letters to the newspaoers and other literary
efforts and his manner of arresting and retain-
ing the attention of the people gave him a de-
gree of national prominence and made his
name familiar all over the country. Mr. Ber-
gen is a many-sided man, a deep and tireless-
student of all things, especially delighting per-
haps in historical themes, yet he has the true
instincts of a sportsman, holding membership
in various hunting and fishing clubs. In the
Hamilton and Brooklyn clubs he is especially
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Democrats to any cause which he espoused,
and in many a contested election he has proved
himself a power in the art of winning votes,
winning votes, that is to say, as they should be
won, by explanation and argument. He rare-
ly wastes words in his speeches, is epigram-
matic rather than florid, but every successive
point tells. Not long ago he was foremost in
an effort to arouse the sympathy of the people
of this country toward the Boers in South Af-
rica in their great struggle to retain their po-
litical freedom, their cotmtry's independence,
and while so engaged his ringing appeals, his
interested and is held in the highest personal"
esteem in thelse institutions, and indeed in
every circle, business, social or political, in
which he moves.
General Horatio C. King, who has long
been prominent as a soldier, lawyer, jour-
nalist and statesman, and won a national
reputation, comes of most distinguished an-
cestry. His great-grandfather, George King,
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and
his father. Horatio, was postmaster-general
of the United States in i86i. Horatio C.
King was born at Dickland, Me., December
THE BENCH AND BAR.
645
22, 1837, and after the usual course of study
was admitted to the New York bar in 1861.
The crisis between the States was then on and
the young lawyer, like so many thousands of
the men of the time in the first flush of young
nianhood, thought his first duty was to aid
in maintaining the supremacy of the flag, so
he volunteered for duty and was actively en-
gaged "at the front" from August, 1862, until
October, 1865, when he was honorably dis-
charged with the brevet rank of colonel for
his brilliant service and his bravery in t\)e field.
Then he returned to New York and devoted
h.imself to the building up of a law practice.
His tastes gradually led him into the jour-
nalistic field, and by 1870 he was more widely
known perhaps as a newspaper man and all-
around author than as a lawyer. For a time
he edited the "New York Star," and after-
ward managed the "Christian Union" in such
a way as to win the heartiest commendation
of Henry Ward Beecher. His entire relations
with that gifted man were of the pleasantest
and closest nature. He stood by Mr. Beecher
Vv'ith unwavering fidelity throughout the great
crisis in his personal career, and was promi-
nently identified with the management of
Plymouth church during the latter days of the
great preacher. In' quitting journalism and
resuming his law practice. General King
seemed to become a more active factor than
ever in political affairs, and in the councils of
his party in the state of New York, and every
movement that tended to promote the cause
of good government found in him an earnest,
devoted supporter. As a platform orator dur-
ing a political contest he often appeared at his
best as a public speaker and he was ever
ready to discuss the affairs of the nation and
the state, and to discuss them with a full
knowledge and a flow of argument based on
reading and experience, such as few could
equal. In the canvass which ended in the
election of ]\Iayor Cleveland, of Buffalo, to the
governorship of New York, General King took
a most active part, and it is said to be due to
his active influence that Mr. Beecher, a Re-
publican in politics, threw his party aside and
came out for Mr. Cleveland at a critical point
in that statesman's campaign for the Presi-
dency. Governor Cleveland appointed Gen-
eral King Judge Advocate General in 1883 and
he continued to hold the office under Governor
Hill. Upon returning to private life General
King resumed his law practice and since con-
tinued in it with occasional flights into the
literary or journalistic field. He has won a
liigh reputation as a military lawyer and his
"Guide to Regimental Courts-Martial," issued
in 1882, is still regarded as a standard work
on the subject. In Grand Army circles he is
very popular and for two years he served as
commander of Charles R. Doane Post, No.
499, of which he was one of the charter mem-
bers. He enjoys in a high measure the per-
sonal regard of his fellow citizens, and wher-
ever he goes is always certain of a loyal and
hearty welcome.
Another prominent adherent of the Demo-
cratic party in Kings is William C. De Witt,
v/ho for thirteen years held the important of-
fice of corporation counsel, and in late years
has been conspicuous ;n the work attending
the consolidation of the two cities. He is de-
scended from Tjerck Clausen De Witt, who
left Holland in 1657 and founded a family
v/hich gave to the country, among many other
distinguished citizens, Charles De Witt, a
member of the first Continental Congress, and
De Witt Clinton, the greatest of all the gov-
ernors of New York. William C. De Witt
was born at Paterson, New Jersey, in 1840,
but has resided in Brooklyn since he was five
years of age. He was admitted to the bar in
1861, and since then has built up a large and
lucrative practice in spite of the time he has
devoted to politics and the demands of his
party. In the cause of good municipal gov-
ernment he has been an active, and what is
better, a practical worker, and his efforts wort
him the hearty support of a majority of the
citizens of Brooklyn, regardless of party in-
fluences. He was elected corporation counsel
of Brooklyn in 1869, and by continued re-
646
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
election served until 1882, when he retired to
attend to the increasing demands of his pri-
vate practice, now one of the most extensive
in Brooklyn. Devoted to the law, a close and
painstaking student of all its phases past and
present, its procedures, rules, decisions and
provisions, he has found time to study litera-
ture in general from the standpoint of a stu-
dent of letters and in the works of the classic
writers of English and American literature has
found a world of pleasure and of solace quite
diiiferent from that other and rather common-
place world in which a busy public man of the
present day "lives, moves and has his being,"
as the popular saying goes. His own orations
and public utterances, even his addresses in
court, have always been models of good nerv-
ous English, and the frequent and apt quota-
tions which sometimes illustrated a point,
seemed always to come from a storehouse
filled with such aids to argument. In 1881 he
published a volume in which, under the gen-
eral title of "Driftwood," he printed several
of his orations and contributions to magazine
literature, and the book is at once an evidence
to his literary taste and critical judgment. But
Mr. De Witt is first, last and all the time a
lawyer, and it is in that field that his most
active work has been done, the work which
has won for him the prominent position he oc-
cupies in Brooklyn — in the Greater New York
in fact, for consolidation has made his name
equally familiar on both sides of the East
River.
We may now speak of a lawyer who is not
a representative of the bench, but simply of the
bar. Mr. W. B. Davenport claims descent
from John Davenport, who founded the New
Haven colony in 1638, and from Thomas Ben-
edict, a member of the first English Colonial
Assjmblv in New York. He was born in New
York City in 1845, but has been a member of
the Brooklyn bar since 1870. In 1889 he was
elected public administrator of Kings County.
That is the only public office he has ever held,
for the extent of his private business has fully
monopolized his time. In connection with cor-
poration matters and the administration of es-
tates he enjoys a large practice, while his per-
sonal popularity and social instincts are shown
by the fact that be has held the office of Presi-
dent of the New England Society in Brook-
lyn andi is a member of the Sons of the Revo-
lution, the Society of Colonial Wars and sev-
eral such organizations as the Hamilton, Cres-
cent and Athletic Clubs. He is also a Trustee of
the Polhemus Memorial Clinic, of the Brook-
lyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, and a num-
ber of other public and business organizations.
But we must now draw this chapter to a
close, for our purpose has been fully gained of
presenting in the pages preceding a few repre-
sentative types of the bench and bar, showing
its high standing in its own community and
its wealth of material in the olden time as well
as in the days now passing. The list might hz
extended easily so as to fill two or three goodly
volumes. We might mention such present-day
leaders as Judge Hand, Judge Aspinall.
Messrs. E. B. Thomas, James Troy, George
H. Fisher, A. E. Lamb, H. C. iM. Ingraham,
A. G. McDonald, J. A. Burr, John A. Taylor,
A. E. Mudge, R. P. Chittenden, T. H. Field,
Jesse Johnston and Herbert T. Ketchum, and
by recalling their struggles and their exploits
and achievements prove that the bench and
bar of the Brooklyn of to-day are equal in in-
tellectual capacity and legal scholarship with
any of those groups whose members were re-
garded as giants in the days that are gone.
But such a theme really should form a special
study.
CHAPTER LIV.
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
Social — Tiny Beginnings of a Great Institution — Sketches of Representativ
Early Lodges — Some Distinguished Long Island Craftsmen.
S might readily be supposed, Brook-
lyn is a city of societies of all
sorts — secret, fraternal, political,
sporting, dramatic and fashion-
able. Most of its organizations are popular,
that is to say, their membership is practically
open to all who apply and who have the req-
uisite qualifications as to taste, acquaintance,
reputation and the wherewithal to pay the en-
trance fee and the annual dues. Some on the
other hand are as exclusive as can be imag-
ined, and it would seem the more exclusive a
certain club or society may be the larger is its
waiting list. In the long list of Brooklyn
clubs and societies nearly every taste seems
to be catered to, every nationality has its circle,
every trade and profession has its social home,
and every recreation its temple. Even the
ladies have their chosen societies and the num-
ber of those open equally to both sexes — not-
ably the dramatic and singing societies — run
into the hundreds.
The time indeed was when the people on
almost eadh block in Brooklyn formed prac-
tically a little social organization among them-
selves. That was in the days prior to the ad-
vent of the tenement or apartment house and
the appearance of the trolley. In the pleasant
summer afternoons people would gather on
the stoops and verandahs in front of their
homes and receive the visits of their neigh-
bors, while the ladies would ramble from one
home to another and indulge in their dearly
loved and kindly gossip. Each block had its
own passing affairs to discuss and business to
regulate, and it was done in a pleasant, neigh-
borly fashion as the evening hours slipped
away. The children played in the streets
right under the eyes of their elders, and with-
out any of the modern dread which the bi-
cycle, the trolley and the automobile have in-
spired, and the adult male population dis-
cussed the latest turn in politics or canvassed
the most recent news. Each household seemed
to unite for the time being into but one fam-
ily, having the same interests, the same anxie-
ties, the same ideas of hospitality and amuse-
ment. So it went on, night after night, dur-
ing the spring and summer, and when winter
came each house in turn held sweet converse
with its neighbors, unless, indeed, when a
sleighing excursion carried practically the
whole adult and active population on a wild
and health-giving rush along one of the old
plank roads. All this is now a thing of the
past. We are not so friendly with our neigh-
bors as we were wont to be, for the influx of
population is steady and changes are contin-
ual. But Brooklyn is still a city of social in-
stincts, and instead of holding forth on a stoop,
we now spend our evenings in our clubs and
there seek that solace, that kindred associa-
tion, that inspiration from congenial souls
which tends so effectually to lighten the bur-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
dens and dissipate the cares of the moiling
and toiling of our daily existence and which
make life after all seem really worth living.
Ill point of antiquity the credit of being
the premier among the existing organizations
on Long Island must be given to the Masonic
fraternity. The records of the Grand Lodge
inform us under date of February 4, 1784,
that it was then
"Voted unanimously that the petition of
James Gardiner, John Leverel Hudson and
Joseph Corwin requesting an Ancient War-
rant to form a lodge on Long Island be
granted."
There is, however, no further record of
this lodge, and, indeed, it is doubtful if it was
ever constituted. The three surnames men-
tioned frequently appear in the annals of the
island, but diligent investigation has failed to
locate them exactly. It is generally supposed
that they were residents of Brooklyn, but even
for this there is no warrant. The record shows,
however, that in some part of Long Island
there were, in 1784, members of the Ancient
and Honorable Fraternity in numbers suf-
ficient to think of uniting into a lodge. It is
worth noting, too, that the then Grand Master,
Bro. William Cock, although a lawyer in New
York, was a native of Long Island, and a rep-
resentative of one of its oldest families.
In 1787, however, another Long Island ap-
plication for a charter reached the grand body,
over which Chancellor R. R. Livingston then
presided, this time from brethren at Jamaica.
This was granted and Jamaica Lodge was
duly constituted on September 5, that year.
It does not, however, appear to have gained
much headway, and in 1792 surrendered its
charter and passed out of existence. In the
following year some brethren at Oyster Bay,
headed by Moses Blackly, applied for the
necessary authority to organize a lodge in that
town, and the application was referred to a
committee. So far as the records show that
ended the matter. Probably the field in that
stronghold of Quakerism did not seem to the
committee ver)' promising. At all events there
is nothing in the minutes to show that they
even dignified the application with a report. On
March 22, 1793, a lodge was constituted at
Huntington, but it seems to have been a weak
organization from its very beginning. It
struggled on, however, until 1806, when so far
as can be ascertained it ceased holding any
meetings and was abandoned. Its last master
was Ruluf Duryea, but local history concern-
ing him is silent.
On December 7, 1796, application for a
warrant for "a lodge in Suffolk county, Long
Island, by the name of Suffolk Lodge" was
made to the Grand Lodge of New York, and
it was at once granted. Grand Lodge was
not so particular then as now and little time
was wasted either in making Masons or war-
ranting lodges. It was not, however, until
March 10 following that the first regular meet-
ing of the new body was held and the lodge
"duly opened and in order for business." The
officers were installed, the first master being
William Wright, a past master of Independent
Royal Arch Lodge, No. 2, New York City.
The visitors present at the opening meeting
were seven brethren from Huntington Lodge,
No. 26, and "Brother Fagan from Ireland."
The first applicant for initiation was Wood-
hull Smith, who was afterward passed Fellow-
craft March 16 and raised April 11. The
lodge increased rapidly at first. In the course
of its opening year it initiated nineteen candi-
dates, the highest number reached in any given
twelve months in its entire career. The peo-
ple around were mostly farmers or seamen,
and while the seamen were enthusiastic at first
their vocation did not permit them to attend
lodge meetings regularly and after a time most
of them lost all interest and dropped out. Those
who did retain their connection were of little
practical use. The lodge was seldom represent-
ed in Grand Lodge meetings even by prox-
ies, but it managed to pay its dues with more
or less regularity until 1820. In 1822 it was
reported in arrears for two years. Long be-
GRAHD MASTER R. R. LIYIHGSTOH.
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
649
fore that it began to decline, and in the seven
years from 1806 to 1812 partly inclusive it ini-
tiated only seven candidates — in 1806, 1807
and 181 1 two in each year, in 1810 one, and
in 1808, 1809 and 1812 none. From 1812 on-
waril things seemed to improve. In 1813 it
had three initiations, in 1816 the number
reached seven, and in 1820 the records show
five additions. From then the jtory of the
lodge is simply that of slow progress to disso-
lution. Even in 1816, which looked as if the
earh' success had in a measure returned, of
the seven initiates five went no further than
the first degree, and in 1820, when there were
five initiations, two remained Entered Appren-
tices to the end of time, so far as Suffolk
Lodge was concerned. This, of course, is a
bad sign, but the cause for this particular
weakness we can not trace. In spite of many
discouragements the lodge met regularly and
elected officers each year until December 11,
1822, when J. M. Williamson was elected
Master. He does not seem to have been in-
stalled, and after that date the meetings- were
held infrequently and irregularly, the last en-
try in the old minute book bearing the date of
September 14, 1825. That may be accepted as
the date of dissolution.
The writer of a manuscript history of the
old lodge, from which the facts here set forth
have been gleaned, comments on the downfall
of this lodge in words which are as applicable
to the craft at this date as they were when
written nearly forty years ago. He wrote:
"Two causes may be found for this decline.
First, too little care was taken in the examina-
tion of the characters of persons proposed for
membership. So far as the minutes sliow there
was not always a committee of inquiry ap-
pointed, but the candidate was proposed, re-
ceived and initiated at the same meeting. It
was this want of due discrimination in the
admission of members which explains a fact
that appears on the records, viz., that in 1805
there were more suspensions and more of lodge
discipline than through all the existence of the
lodge. The other cause which may account
for the decline of the lodge was the neglect
of the brethren to pay their dues regularly.
It is not certain that they always paid the fees
for degrees. At a meeting of the lodge in
February, 1800, when it had been organized
three years and had about thirty members, a
note in the treasurer's accounts states that
there was 'Cash on hand, $64.19; due from
members, $103.75.' Fcur years afterward the
state of the finances was in a still worse con-
dition, the report being $221.80 due from mem-
bers and no cash at all in the treasury. It
was this un-Masonic conduct in the members
not paying dues, and the neglect of the lodge
in not using its power of discipline that led to
its extinction in the end. A very brief exami-
nation into this will teach a lesson which the
wise among Masons will be ready to learn."
So far as we can learn the body fulfilled
all its duties perfectly with the exception de-
tailed in the above quotation. We have, of
course, no idea of how the "work" was ren-
dered, but we may conclude it was at least
equal to that of the other Long Island lodges.
It observed the two saints' days, sometimes by
a dinner, sometimes by a sermon, sometimes by
book, and it readily responded to all claims
upon its charity. One lamentable feature of
the records is the amount of ill feeling that
seemed to prevail among the brethren or some
of them. As early as 1799 we find a com-
mittee at work straightening out a quarrel be-
tween two brethren. The committee reported
and the report was accepted, but what they did
report the minutes do not state. The compiler
of the manuscript says : "In 1802 two brethren
were called to account by the lodge itself and
a committee appointed. This committee duly
reported 'that although the said I. B. and S. C.
may be considered as respectable members of
society, they, as Masons, have acted without
the square and compass and ought to be con-
sidered as refractory members until something
favorable on their side may be produced.' In
1805 the lodge became more severe. Brother
650
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
S. S. was called upon to answer the following
charges presented against him by a committee
appointed for the purpose: i. Refusing to
discharge his dues ; 2. non-attendance at lodge
meetings; 3. slandering and injustice to his
brethren. S. S. pleaded guilty to the first two,
but defended himself against the third. The
lodge after considering the defense proceeded
to ballot for his expulsion and the ballot was
unanimous."
Another brother was diarged with "de-
frauding the fatherless and the widow," but
the minutes do not show what was done with
him. In 1802 the lodge was summoned to
examine into a "matter of difference" between
two of its Past Masters. It did examine on
the promise of both to abide by the .decision
of the brethren, but the one who was held to
be in the wrong refused to accept the conclu-
sion arrived at, and the matter was carried
into a law court. Such things do not add to
the prosperity of a lodge, and the wonder is
that old Suffolk carried the banner of Ma-
sonry in Setauket for the number of years it
was so privileged.
The present Suffolk Lodge, No. 60, which
meets at Port Jefferson, claims to be the suc-
cessor and heir of the old organization with
whose history we have just been dealing. The
modern No. 60 is a most prosperous body
with over one hundred members, and is proud
of the earlier lodge whose name it bears. As
the old lodge went out of existence in 1824
and tlie new one was warranted in 1856, it
can hardly be said that the theory of continuity
is much in evidence. Thirty-two years is a
long time in American Masonic history, and
that fact makes us feel that the connection
between the old lodge and the new is one of
sentiment rather than continuity. But then
sentiment is a powerful factor in all that con-
cerns the fraternity.
The year 1797, when Suffolk Lodge was
chartered, was a busy one, apparently, among
the Freemasons on Long Island. Morton
Lodge at Hempstead was then organized and
still continues, having celebrated its centennial
with great eclat June 23, 1897, when Grand
Master Sutherland and a host of dignitaries
took part in the proceedings. It was probably
an offshoot from Huntington Lodge, at least
the brethren applying for a warrant seemed
to be members of that organization. The cen-
tennial exercises created quite a degree of in-
terest in local circles, and many stories of the
older brethren found their way into print.
From these we select two. The first incident
is that of two brothers who lived on the north
side of the island, perhaps twenty miles from
Hempstead. They reached the lodge by what
is called the "ride and tie" method. That is,
they both started together early in the morn-
ing, one riding the single horse on the farm,
and the other walking. The rider proceeded
to a place agreed upon, where he tied the horse
and took up his journey afoot. When the first
walker reached the horse he mounted and after
passing his walking journey tied the horse
again at another place of agreement. So the
journey was made to the lodge, and the re-
turn on the following morning was a repeti-
tion of the scheme.
The second story is told of a man named
Piatt Stratton, living near what is now College
Point. Stratton was a candidate for Masonry
and rode into Hempstead on horseback at
about noon. Having looked after his horse in
the barn, he went to the hotel through the
kitchen, which was as fashionable a way as the
front door at the time. In the kitchen he found
an old colored cook standing over a great fire
in the large chimney place, across which was
a gridiron of very ample proportions.
"What's the gridiron for, Aunty?" asked
Stratton, to which the old cook replied : "I'se
don' know, marsa, zackly, 'cept that the Ma-
sons meet ter day an' dey genly uses it when
dey meets." This was enough for Stratton.
He returned to the barn, mounted his horse
and rode off. Nothing was ever heard of him
again by the lodge, and 'he doubtless died in
the faith that the gridiron was intended for
him.
The various committees who arranged for
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
651
the celebration of the centennial were as fol-
lows, and included the master, Robert A.
Davidson, and all the living past masters of
the lodge:
Invitations — Wor. Bro. B. Valentine
Clowes, Bros. George W. Terry, Carman
Lush.
Grand Marshal— R. Wor. Charles L.
Phipps. Aids — Lewis H. Clowes, Israel W.
Williams, William B. Osterhont, Jotham Post,
Henry Floyd Johnson, Royal Harvey.
Railroad and Transportation — R. Wor.
Robert A. Davison, Wor. Augustus Denton.
Music — Wor. Bros. Augustus Denton and
Oliver E. Stanton.
Press and Printing — Wor. Bros. Oliver
E. Stanton, Lot Van ,de Water, Jr., and B.
Valentine Clowes.
Tent and Hall — Bros. Lewis H. Clowes,
Eugene V. Willis and John Findlay.
Refreshments — Bros. William M. Akley,
Lewis H. Clowes, William McCarthy, Eugene
V. Willis, Jotham Post, Foster L. Oakley,
Benjamin Griffin, Edward Willis, Morris
Sherwood, John Findlay, Richard C. Camp-
bell, Thomas" W. Albertson, Walter N. De
Nyse, Israel W. Williams, George W. Terry,
John Miller, C. Gardner Miller, William B.
Osterhont, William S. Hall, Wor. Oliver E.
Stanton.
Decorations — Bro. Richard C. Campbell.
Reception — R. Wors. Robert A. Davison
and Charles L. Phipps, Wors, Augustus R.
Griffin, Benjamin A. Haff, B. Valentine
Clowes, John W. De Mott, Joseph E. Firth,
Robert Seabury, Augustus Denton, Lott Van
de Water, Oliver E. Stanton and John R.
Sprague, Bros. George W. Terry, Israel W.
Williams, Richard C. Campbell, Thomas W.
Albertson, William McCarthy, M. J. Gilder-
sleeve, Lewis H. Clowes, Walter N. De Nyse,
C. Gardner Miller, Joseph H. Bogart, M. D. ;
C. G. J. Finn, M. D. ; Charles F. Lewis, Tim-
othy J. Bird, Thomas B. Seaman, Thomas J.
Sammond, Charles Davison, Samuel S. Rhame,
William H. Patterson, William S. Hall, John
Miller, William P. Miller, Foster L. Oakley,
George Emery, Eugene V. Willis, William
B. Osterhont.
In 1797, too, the first known Brooklyn
lodge of which we have any record — St. Al-
ban's — was constituted. There are vague in-
dications that, apart from the lodge warranted
in 1784 and which, as has been pointed out,
may or may not have been a Brooklyn body,
there was one lodge existing there prior to
1797 — Mechanics', No. i. But all we know
about that is its name. About St. Alban's
Lodge we certainly know little more. It only
existed for about two years, and then it was
permitted to disappear. At all events, it was
mentioned as "lately held" in the petition pre-
sented December 4, 1799, to the Grand Lodge
by a number of its members and others for a
new warrant under the name of Fortitude
Lodge. The warrant was at once issued, and
bore the signature of Chancellor Livingston.
That lodge is now undoubtedly the oldest
in Brooklyn, and it celebrated its centenary in
December, 1899, with a banquet and reception
which will long be remembered with pleasure
by all who were permitted to take part in the
proceedings. The first meeting place of the
lodge was in the upper room of a tavern near
"the Ferry," as Fulton Ferry was then called,
and the keeper of the tavern, Martin Boerum,
was one of the charter members. Soon after
its institution the lodge was called upon to
make its first public appearance, when it took
part in the local procession on the death of
George Washington, and it marched in one of
the processions which, in 1824, welcomed La-
fayette on his memorable journey through the
country which he had helped to mold into a
nation. There was always a good deal of pa-
triotic sentiment in Fortitude Lodge when oc-
casion arose, and it was one of the lodges
which, in 1814, under the immediate direction
of the Grand Lodge, helped to build the forti-
fications around Brooklyn and so protect it
from the British invasion then expected.
Fortitude has had its ups and downs like
<)52
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
all our older lodges, but it managed to pull
through, although it was hard pressed in 1832,
when an epidemic of cholera made things un-
pleasant in Brooklyn. The history tells us that
"the first record of the conferring of degrees
was on January 13, 1806. The fee for each
degree was two dollars, but at a meeting oi
the lodge held January 20, 1806, the fee for
each degree was raised to five dollars." The
history also tells us that "refreshments ap-
pear to have been an important part of the
proceedings of the lodge. The amounts of
money spent for this purpose ranged all the
way from five dollars to sixty dollars per night.
Upon the night of November 16, 18 12, there
is the record in the minutes of a charge of
£41 I2S lod. which is something over two hun-
dred dollars. The regular refreshments for
meeting nights during the earlier history of
the lodge were cheese, crackers and wines."
"Besides this the records show that the ex-
penditures for charity were continuous and lib-
eral. How they managed it all, with their small
income, I can not understand, unless it be that
the brethren "chipped in" very frecjuently and
that fines were liberally imposed and willingly
paid. The great curse of all our early lodges
was the drinking habit. When they went to
refreshment the brethren went in reality in-
stead of symbolically, as we do at present, and
the junior warden's duties as superintendent
of the feast meant more than mere words. But
the costliness of the custom led to its abolition,
although some of the lodges had to adopt he-
roic measures before the abolition was com-
plete. Had the habit not been stopped we
would have had a very difl^erent history of
Freemasonry in New York than that to which,
in the language of the political platform mak-
ers, we now 'point with pride.' Our early
brethren, both here and in Britain, were jolly
fellows and the lodges were often places of
pleasant retreat, where the flowing bowl and
the merry song made life seem rosier and hap-
pier than in the currents of life appeared pos-
sible. They performed their Masonic work
with dignity and with care, they were scrupu-
lous, possibly more scrupulous than we are in
these days of rush and commercialism, as to
who they admitted to their charmed circle,
they zealously fulfilled all the Masonic duties
they professed, and when they turned from
their labors to 'rest and refresh themselves'
they did it with a thoroughness and abandon
that sometimes stagger us, as we read the
story. In many instances the records of the
old lodges tell us more of the refreshment epi-
sode than of the incidents of the time devoted
to work, the old 'monitors' and 'companions'
and 'vade-mecums' present us with page after
page of the songs and glees and 'catches' they
U£ed to sing, and as most of the poetry is mis-
erable doggerel, and refers to drinking, love
making and law defiance, we are apt to get
rather a poor opinion of the morals and man-
ners of the early brethren unless we probe a
little beneath the surface. But give these fa-
thers "all the credit to which they are entitled,
it is impossible to study the Freemasonry of
1800 and that of 1900 without coming to the
conclusion that the craft is one of the most
progressive of organizations ; that if it holds
as steadfastly as possible to the old landmarks,
it is earnestly seeking forth after new ones.
"To me, the most interesting part of Ma-
sonic study has been, not its rules, not even
its ritual, but the character and standing of the
men who have been prominent in its ranks.
If Masonry has been worth anything, if it has
really proved a moral factor, if its philosophy
is sound, it can not have failed' to impress
itself upon the lives and thoughts and aspira-
tions of those who have been prominently iden-
tified with it. Fortitude Lodge has had quite
a number of brethren on its roll who have won
a measure of fame, sometimes local, it is true,
hut still sufficient to show that they were dis-
tinguished above their fellows, and who can
say that the teachings and mellowing and
broadening influence of the lodge did not aid
these men in winning such distinctions and
honors as they received? The first master of
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
65S
Fortitude Lodge, Dr. George A. Cliissman,
who held the office until the close of 1801, was
the most prominent physician of the time in
Brooklyn, and although physicians, like actors,
are soon forgotten when they cross old Char-
on's ferry, this man's memory is still held in
sweet remembrance in the story of the com-
munity in which he lived and labored. Forti-
tude's first Senior Warden (afterward Mas-
ter), Daniel Rhoades, was a grocer and a
soldier, and in the war of 1812 was a
member of the military company locally
known as 'the Katy-dids,' which failed to
win national renown only because the Brit-
ish forces did not come to this neighbor-
hood during that struggle with the old
country. Still though the opportunity
did not come, Rhoades and his comrades
proved that they were ready to meet it. The
more notable of the early officers, however,
was the junior warden, Henry Eckford, the
greatest shipbuilder of his time. A native of
Scotland, but a typical American citizen, he
constructed most of the vessels wliich on the
Great Lakes won so much fame in the war of
1812 for the American navy. The once fa-
mous battleship Ohio and many other noted
war vessels were built from his designs, and
in fact he was the reconstructor of our navy
at the time when America successfully wrest-
ed from Great Britain— for a while, at least —
the undisputed sovereignty of the seas. He
afterward went to Turkey and became chief
naval constructor for that country. He died
in 1832. All his biographers bear witness to
the loyalty and sweetness of his disposition,
to his true Christian spirit and to his posses-
sion of every true Masonic virtue."
The first chaplain of the United States
Navy, the Rev. John Ireland, was also a mem-
ber of Fortitude Lodge. He was one of the
chaplains of the Grand Lodge. Another broth-
er of Fortitude who held this honor was the
Rev. Evan M. Johnson, one of the most nota-
ble of the long list of clergymen who have
made the name of Brooklyn famous as "the
City of Churches." He was a zealous worker
in the Master's service, freely gave of his
own means to the cause in which he labored,
and for years preached without fee or reward,
building one or two churches where they were
needed — among the poorer classes of the city —
among the lapsed masses. He was a roan of
rare courage, and in the pulpit and out of it
never hesitated to proclaim his loyalty to Ma-
sonry even in days when persecution was
abroad and zealous Masons were content to
hide their light under a bushel. It is singular
that men like Ireland and Johnson did not
hold the appointment of Chaplain in the lodge,
but from the list in the volume now published
it would seem that such officials were not for-
mally recognized and appointed until 1864.
^Masonically, probably the best known name
on the long list of members of Fortitude Lodge
is that of Nathaniel F. Waring, who was its
master in 1834 and again in 184S. For many
years he was one of the most active Masons
in New York, and came into special promi-
nence in connection with what is known as
the Phillips Grand Lodge. He was elected
grand master of that body in 1857, and when
it was received into the legitimate Masonic
fold in 1858 he, according to the agreement,
carried with him into "the" Grand Lodge his
honors as a past grand master. We can hard-
ly regard him, even when in opposition to the
regular Grand Lodge, as being clandestine, for
his opposition was based upon honest princi-
ple, and he was an honest man, one of those
who would rather be right than be president,
as the saying goes.
Fortitude Lodge at present is a flourishing
body of craftsmen. It has some two hundred
members on its roll, and ranks high among the
lodges of Brooklyn. It is fully conscious of
its position as a representative lodge, is proud
of its antiquity, and is a splendid example of
that Masonic spirit which with one hand holds
steadfastly to the past and with the other
reaches out for all that is beautiful and worthy
and commendable in the days which are pass-
ing over us.
On Julv 26, 1804, a lodge was constituted
654
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
at Sag Harbor, but it passed out of existence
in 1818, and appears to have had a struggle
for existence until 1818, when it disappeared.
An interesting history of this lodge and its suc-
cessor, the Wamponamon Lodge of the pres-
ent day, has been written by one of the Past
Masters of the latter. Brother Brinley D.
Sleight, which we here reproduce :
During the first decade of the present cen-
tury the Masonic fraternity established its or-
ganization in Sag Harbor. The first officers of
Hampton Lodge, No. ill, were: Elias Jones,
Master; Ithuel Hill, Senior Warden; Joel
Fordham, Junior Warden ; Moses Clark,
Treasurer; Benjamin K. Hobart, Secretary;
John Godbee, Senior Deacon; Aaron Clark,
Junior Deacon; John Morrison, Tyler.
Five years afterward we find the same offi-
cers in the East and West, with Nathaniel
Havens, Junior Warden, and Luther Hildreth,
Secretary. The list of members comprised
about fifty well-known citizens, — names fa-
mous in the historic annals of the east end of
Long Island, such as Howell, Hildreth, Worth,
Crowell, Jennings, Gardiner, Glover, Bishop,
Briggs, Baker, Conkling, Hedges, Harris, Top-
ping, Seabury and others. The communica-
tions of the brethren were held in the attic of
the house of Moses Clark, on the corner of
Division and Union streets. The house is still
standing, having been moved further up the
street, next south of the residence of Miss
Julia King.
Hampton Lodge, No. iii, was at that time
the only civic society in Sag Harbor. Neither
were there military, firemen's or other organi-
zations. The mystery attached to the name
and ceremonies of the order lent an attractive
interest to every occasion when the brethren
appeared in public, and well-accredited tradi-
tion says that the schools were dismissed, and
the people turned out en masse "to see the Ma-
sons parade."
After a while fraternal activity languished,
and eventually in 1819 the lodge surrendered
Its charter, having for fifteen vears been
"steadfastly held in the Port of Sag Harbor."
About this time politics infested Masonry. In
1827-30 exciting partisan contests followed, in
which anti-Masonic sentiment was a powerful
agency.
On the east end of Long Island all Masonic
affiliation was abandoned. For thirty-eight
years thereafter the Masons had no habitation
in Sag Harbor, but in 1857 some brethren
from other jurisdictions abiding among us, to-
gether with the few remaining members of
Hampton Lodge, mindful of the precept, "once
a Mason always a Mason," concerted to insti-
tute a new lodge. Others desirous of joining
the order were initiated, passed, and raised in
Peconic Lodge, No. 349, of Greenport, with
the understanding tbat they were to become
charter members of the new organization when
the requisite number was obtained. The char-
ier members of the new lodge were : Henry S.
Roscoe, Eastern Star, No. 227, New York
City ; Joseph Stanton, Widow's Son Lodge,
North Stonington, Connecticut ; Charles H.
Reeves, Star of the East, New Bedford, Mas-
sachusetts ; J. W. Nickerson, Lebanon, New
York City ; Noah Washburne, Jacob Leek,
Thaddeus Coles, Nathan T. Fordham, Zebu-
Ion Elliott, of defunct Hampton Lodge, No.
Ill, and James E. Smith, Roswell Warner,
Thomas Lister, Nathaniel Dominy, John Stein,
John R. Sayre, P. H. Douglas, raised in Pe-
conic Lodge, Greenport. These sixteen men
having taken the obligation and agreed, to
dwell together in unity, established Wampona-
mon Lodge, No. 437, F. & A. M. The name
was settled upon after thoughtful considera-
tion. There were those who desired the old
name and number to be retained. "Hampton"
had local signification, and the three units
were unique and easily fixed in the memory.
Besides, they indicated seniority in the list of
Masonic lodges. But the newly-initiated
brethren wished to imprint their own individ-
uality upon their offspring, and so they liter-
ally "left the west and traveled east" in search
of a new name. Wamponamon is the Indian
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
655
appellation for the easternmost point of the
promontory of Montauk, and signifies "to the
eastward." It is found in the records of the
town of Easthampton, and a correlative term
in the Indian deeds. It is quaint, original
and not likely to be appropriated by other so-
cieties.
The first men made Masons in Sag Harbor
under the new order of things were: Joshua
B. Nickerson, Abner D. Smith, William White,
William L. Parsons, Sylvester F. Brown. They
were raised under a dispensation in January,
1858, the charter of the lodge not being issued
until the June following. The lodge was dedi-
cated on June 16, A. L. 5858, and on the same
occasion the following officers were duly in-
stalled : Henry S. Roscoe, W. M. ; James E.
Smith, S. W. ; Roswell Warner, J. W. ; Joseph
Stanton, Treasurer; Sylvester F. Brown, Sec-
retary ; Nathaniel Dominy, Senior Deacon ;
Pulaski A. Douglas, Junior Deacon; Thomas
Lister and William White, Masters of Cere-
monies ; Noah Washburn, Tyler.
The first meetings were held in the rooms
of Suffolk Lodge, I. O. O. F. Afterward the
third story of the south side of the present
Nassau House building was obtained. It was
furnished not without elegance and comfort,
in part due to the good taste and generosity
of Dr. Frederick Crocker, for many years
treasurer of the lodge.
In 1883 it became necessary to look about
for a new home. After the consideration of
various schemes it was duly determined to
purchase the old Presbyterian Chuich, then
owned by the Episcopal society. A contract
of sale was signed with the vestry of Christ
Church on December 17, 1883. A fund was
raised by bonding the property, which, together
with the moneys already accumulated, provided
for a thorough reconstruction of the building.
The present Masonic Hall is the result. The
new hall was opened with a festival and prome-
nade concert on July 8th next ensuing. On
the evening of November 20th following, the
ceremonies of dedicating the new lodge room
were impressively conducted by Right Wor-
shipful Frank R. Lawrence, Deputy Grand
Master of Masons, and his associate officers of
the Grand Lodge. Public addresses were also
given in the large hall, and a collation served
in Crowell's Hall. The occasion was a mem-
orable one. Thus, the structure originally
erected in 1817 for the worship of God was
again consecrated to the Supreme Architect
of the Universe and dedicated to the memories
of the Holy Saints John.
It may not be inappropriate to refer, in
passing, to the early Masters of the lodge,
those who have gone before us, who have seen
the Great Light, and who are now no more
among the living.
Henry S. Roscoe, the first Master, was a
swarthy, dark-eyed man, with black hair and
flowing beard. He was of dignified demeanor,
well up in his work, and a conscientious be-
liever in the tenets of Freemasonry. Restless
and nervous, and something of a nomad, he
went from this place to East Hampton, and
thence to Connecticut, where he died.
The second Worshipful in the East was
James E. Smith, an active business man, iden-
tified with our early prosperity as a commer-
cial mart. He came here from Connecticut
when a young man, and lived here until his
death. His final mercantile venture was the
building of a vessel at the foot of Main street.
It was the last one built in Sag Harbor, and
was sent to the Pacific coast, where it still
bears on its stern the square and compasses
which signalized its bridal with the sea, in the
waters of our bay.
Joshua B. Nickerson succeeded Captain
Smith. He had been one of the argonauts in
the search for gold in California. He returned
home, having been more successful than many
others. Entering into the business activities
of our village, a prosperous career was before
him, but the insidious disease, consumption,
cut him off in the strength of his manhood.
Following came Captain A. Smith French,
a typical whaleman, in our characteristic whal-
65'J
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ing times. More than once had he circum-
navigated the globe carrying the emblems of
Masonry and Masonic charity to the confines
of the earth. He was raised in Hawaiian
Lodge, No. 21, Sandwich Islands, but was a
native of this county. He sleeps beneath the
quiet shades of Oakland cemetery. Next came
Abner D. Smith, merchant and citizen of good
repute, methodical, correct, attentive, who
served the lodge with fidelity and zeal, both as
Master and Secretary, for several years. Will-
iam H. Gleason, a graduate of Yale, wielded
the gavel after Smith. A scholar, a politician, a
lawyer and a divine, his life work was well
done and his career active and; honorable.
Of those who have more recently occupied
the East, but who have passed beyond the veil,
are Benjamin F. Huntting, whose name is es-
pecially associated with the purchase and re-
construction of the present hall. He was the
chairman of the Building Committee and
threw all the enthusiasm of his nature into the
work, making it a labor of love, and Thomas
F. Bisgood, whom we have so lately borne to
the silmt tomb, a wise counselor, a steadfast
and genial friend. These are "the dead but
sceptered sovereigns who rule our spirits from
their urns."
The lodge was constituted but three years
before the beginning of the war of the Re-
bellion. Our numbers were few, but Wam-
ponamon supplied its honorable quota to the
list of self-sacriiicing heroes who voluntarily
imperiled their lives in defense of the Union.
Dr. L. D. Hall, one of the early initiates, and
Drayson Fordred, another, a promising young
man, were killed upon the field of battle. Sev-
eral returned after having won the laurels of
honorable conflict.
Among the living members who have
achieved Masonic distinction may be men-
tioned David A. Emory, who has found light
in .the East, having become a Deputy Grand
Master of the Northern District of the Empire
of China. He is still a resident of the Flowery
Kingdom. The brother of longest official rec-
ord is Right Worshipful Elbridge G. Howard,
who, in a period of twenty years, extending
from 1869 to 1889, occupied the Master's sta-
tion twelve times. In 1884 he was made Dep-
uty Grand Master for this district.
There have been memorable occasions in
our history which can only be alluded to here,
as matters of record. Conspicuous among these
are the public installation, given in December,
1884, and previous to this, in the same eventful
year, the entertainment of July 8th, and the
dedication of the lodge, November 24th. The
commemoration of the emancipation from debt
of the order in the State was duly observed
April 24, 1889, and the celebration of the one
thousandth communication of the lodge en
May 2, 1895, was a jubilee of fraternal interest
transcendent in our annals. In this festivity
Peconic Lodge, of Greenport, joined with us
in a body. The whole membership of W'am-
ponamon Lodge since the beginning numbers
two hundred and ninety-four. There are now
living, and in good standing, one hundred and
twenty ^Master JNIasons, who have traveled the
same road and are bound by the same ties of
brotherhood.
May the mystic bond never be loosened.
Fresh as the green sward upon the promon-
tory whose name it bears, may the memor>- of
our lodge forever be ; bright as the beacon light
from its headlands, which bids God-speed to
the parting traveler ; glad as its beckoning rays
that cheer the homeward bound, may its future
ever shine. Long live Wamponamon ! Esto
perpetua !
In 1808 a lodge was warranted at New-
town, which seems to have flourished about
a decade and then passed away. It was one
of the lodges which, in the panic of 18 14,
v.'orked a couple of days on the Brooklyn forti-
fications, but that is about the only glimpse of
it which we get. Then, so far as can be
learned, Hohenlinden Lodge, No. 338, organ-
ized in 1821, and still extant, and Naval Lodge,
No. 391, warranted in 1826, but which almost
on receipt of its charter abandoned it, were
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
657
the other lodges instituted on Long Island
prior to the outbreak of the Morgan contro-
versy, which played such havoc with Free-
masonry all over the North American conti-
nent, compelled hundreds of lodges and chap-
ters to pass out of existence, raised up a
powerful if short-lived, political party, at-
tempted to seat a President in the White
House and almost brought about the complete
annihilation of the Masonic fraternity.
From that persecution the craft slowly re-
covered and in time was restored to its old
strength. Long Island felt the change, al-
though it was not until about 1852 that the
upward movement still going on may be said
to have fairly begun. In that year the whole
of Long Island was united with Staten Isl-
and and several Hudson River counties into
the First Masonic District. In 1859 Long
Island was divided. Kings county being placed
in the Third Masonic District and Suffolk
and Queens in the Fourth. In 1868 Kings
county itself was made the Fourth Dis-
trict and in 1873 it was divided. Frequent
changes, as a natural result of the wonderful
progress made by the fraternity, finally re-
sulted in Long Island being divided into three
districts — the first three on the roll of the
Grand Lodge — and that arrangement seems
destined to endure. According to the latest
official returns there are now on Long Island
about fourteen thousand members of the fra-
ternity and seventy-six lodges. In addition
there are a great many members of the fra-
ternity residing in Kings county and in Queens
borough who are members of lodges meeting
on Manhattan Island. Taking that into ac-
count it is safe to estimate the entire mem-
bership of the craft on Long Island at nearly
twenty thousand.
The three districts into which Long Island
has been divided are made up according to the
following official tables :
MASONIC DISTRICT No.
Nassau and Queens).
00
34!
) Suffolk
i Morton
- - ( Peconic
l37jWamponamon .
4!i:!| South Side....
4!I4 Jephtha
.54(; Jamaica
.")():iiCorniicopia
.ISd'clen Cove....
o8(i Isl.Tiiii Cit\
«:!.") \(iy
«4.") Kiv.
()!ll Meridian..
()!).") Alcyone...
72!t .\nclior . . .
THSMizpah...
7fi:i: Babylon . .
800'Matinecocl
SlW.Olympia . .
822 Massapequ
Port Jefferson G
Hempstead \\
iGreenport I-^
Sag Harbor A'
Patchogue. .
Huntington.
head.
, Flushing
, Glen Cove
, Long Island Cii
Astoria, L. I. C
Riverhead
Islip
Northport
College Point..
Elmhurst
Babylon
Oyster Bay. . . .
far Rockaway.
Rockville Cente
\V. Rr
)eX^
Thomas H. Saxton. . . .
George W. Terry
IMuin 1). luthill ILewelen F. Terry....
Arthr.r F, Hrown JThomas W. Lister. . . .
Samuel T. F'erguson [Lemuel B. Green
Charles H. Walters iEdgar P. Bunce
Frank E. Hopkins JFred J. Moore
Sanford S. Gowdey II. Sidney Valentine. . .
R. Frank Bowne jcharles J. Baldwin. . .
Frank E. Haff J. Robert Laws
James Grav,son Henry F). Ing
Usher B. Howell George T. Reeve
Matthew I. Hunt Harrv P. Haff
Henry H. Van 1 )yck Wm. A. Strawson
Henry 1. Delemain Henry L. Partenfelder
Henry Shilson Abel Powell
Charles Searle ISimon \V. Cooper
Theodore A. Swan Walter Franklin
Sanford 1. Ellsworth Harry G. Hevson
William H. Holdsworth.. I William J. Carr
Total
658
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
MASONIC DISTRICT No. 2 (Kings County).
Location
188 Marsh
205| Hyatt
284lBaltic
354jProgressive, . .
367jCorner Stone.
403JGreen,point. . .
430|Star of Hope.
44.5 Cassia
446 0Itmans
4-13 Clinton
4(il Yew Tree....
.■)4(IHill Grove...
(1252 Bedford A,ve
iBedford Ave. & Madison St
il252 Bedford Ave
Gates & Nostrand Aves. . .
'Grand & Havemeyer Sts. .
Manhattan &Meserole Aves
Broadway & Boerum St. .
& Nc
id Aves.
•i.'il) Manual
<).">() Euclid
()7S Seawanhaka .
704 Tuscan
709 Merchants' . .
710 Ridgewood . .
7(i!) Anthon
770 Reliance . . . .
81 7 Sterling..,..
82.5;Kilwinning. .
12.V-' Bedford .\ve
Liberty & Wvona Aves. . .
Gates & Nostrand Aves...
1030 Gates Ave
Manhattan&MeseroleAveS'
12.i2 Bedford Ave
Graham Ave. & Broadway
1030 Gates Ave '.
8!)7 Gates Ave
Manhattan&MeseroleAves|
Reid & Gates Aves
12.52 Bedford Ave
Alfred E. Everdell Henry Hahn
Lawrence Coffin Charles F. Lamy . . .
Wm. H. Woodcock Herman Ranken. . . .
Herbert J. Knapp Charles E. Marr. . . .
Charles W. Labdon Icharles W. Carpente
Edgar H. Hazlevvood Robert F. Quaille. . .
Henry Berau, Jr lEdward L. Walter. .
Charles Doman 'Frank H. Sawtelle. .
Louis Keller John J. Wolf
Amos J. Niramo Charles B. Valentine
Ira O. Tracy John Watkins
David F.Moore ;W. M. Robinson...
Henry Kahlert Fred W. Hancock..
George E. England William Miller
Nathan S. Jones ReviUo Wells
Chauncey M. Bennett. . . . Franklin H. GiWett.
Joseph Marfing Christian Sipp
Bernard A. Matschke Adam Maue
Harry H. Gould Peter Van Cott
Henry H. Celler William B. Maas. . .
Frank E. Krueger Ijames H. Merklee. .
Abram J. Piddian JAlfred L. Cowles. . .
Alexander S. Cook iThomas J. Scott
Total
102
4,32(i
MASONIC DISTRICT No. 3 (Kings County).
Number of
Master
Masons
19 Fortitude 200 Joralemon St
.56 St. Albans 44 Schermerhorn St
137 Anglo-Saxon Bedford Av. & Madison St.
201 Joppa 200 Joralemon St
2S{i Montauk 153 Pierrepont St
2-<.s Brooklyn 44 Schermerhorn St
310 Lexington 153 Pierrepont St
'ATi Star of Bethlehem. 200 Joralemon St
]l53 Pierrepont St.
Long Island.. .
Cnrnmonwealth....!
I iilia 200 Joralemon St
Zrredatha ,44 Schermerhorn St
Siulla il4 Nevins St
Kings County !'S24 Flatbush Ave
Nassau 1200 Joralemon St
Greenwood i7th Ave. & ilth St . . . .
Bedford |Bedford Av. & Madison St.
Cosmopolitan 315 Washington St
Altair ^Bedford Av. \ Madison St.
Crystal Wave ^315 Washington St
Adytum 44 Schermerhorn St
Mistletoe 15.'i Pierrepont St
Cambridge 'iHO Joralemon St
Orion II Xevins St
. . Bedford Av. \ Madison St.
.. 1.53 Pierrepont St
.. Union & Court Sts
. . Bedford Av. & Madison St.
.. 44 Schermerhorn St
.. 7th Ave. & 9th St
.. 3d Ave. &54th St
.. Bath Beach
.Vcanthr
:, Minerva .
1 1 Day Star.
1 Kedron . .
Martin Miller Charles R. Phillips. . . .
Charles E. Lane Edward J. Salisbury. .
George Freifeld George F. Fagan
Samuel H. Holmes | William H. Riley
Wm. F. Campbell Edward P. Thomas. . .
William F. Wenisch ! Alex. Thomson
.\ndrew G. Cooper iCharles L. Staton
J. Joseph Rossbottom. . . . 'John C. Mullins
Arthurs. Willdigg J. H. Burley
Valentine Zahn ;Charles L. Clark
Samuel Crook E. J. Campbell
Ira M. Cornwall Edwin Schofield
Chas. Friedenberg, Jr. . . . William M. Rome. . . .
John H. K. Green ! Alfred B. Montgomery
David Morris Kurtz T. Morris Terry '.
James Divisich Wm. A. Dwineil
John D. Goodwin John Miller
George H. Packer Geo. F. Churchill....
Edward W. Re\nolds. . . . Alfred W. Sloggatt. . . .
Rufus L. Scolt, Ir Albert C. Aubrey
Franklin ]. Spnnlding. . . . Henry Edebohls'
Kdward ONeil, Jr K. W. Gunzenhauser .
Richard E. Shaw Thos. G. Singleton
James F. Weales John K. Van Sise
.\lexander Gardner Charles Delapierre. . . .
H. Grant Buswell William Bower
James A. Doyle Joseph Williams
Nathan Solomon Henry Maginness
Edgar P. Rice William H. Clark
John Keating Edgar D. Davis
Samuel Smith John T. Whitehead. . .
James Bower, Jr James Bower
.\llan McLain Rodgers. : . Josiah W. Perkins
Total
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
659
About the date of this writing there is a
movement on foot looking to the erection of
a Masonic Hall in Brooklyn. That there is
need of such a structure is apparent to every
one; and that the brethren in the borough
are numerous enough, wealthy enough and in-
fluential enough to make such a movement
successful if it is proceeded with, there is no
doubt. Yet there are so many things to be
considered that a natural conservatism is ap-
parent about actually beginning the work. At
the same time an option on a site has been
secured, quite a large sum has been pledged
and an outline architectural scheme has been
prepared and so the matter rests, awaiting
developments. In the meanwhile, as may be
seen from the statistical tables already given,
the Brooklyn lodges, as well as the chapters
and commanderies, meet in apartments and
halls scattered all over the borough. What
might be called the headquarters of the fra-
ternity is the structure known as the Aurora
Grata Cathedral, the local home of the Scot-
tish Rite bodies, the Mystic Shrine of many
lodges and of the Aurora Grata Club, the lead-
ing Masonic social organization of the bor-
ough. The Aurora Grata Club was organized
in 1887, and has some four hundred members,
all connected with the Masonic fraternity. The
building fit occupies was formerly the parson-
age of the Bedford Dutch Reformed Church,
and is a comfortable, roomy structure, but the
good old dominies of that closely Calvinistic
body would hold up their hands in pious horror
could they see the improvements and changes
which the Masonic brethren have introduced.
Even what used to be the holy man's study —
his sanctum sanctorum — is almost nightly — in
season, of course — given over to merry par-
ties ; and there are bowling alleys, billiard
tables, a reading room and all other accessories
of an up-to-date social club. Adjoining the
house occupied by the Aurora Grata Club is
the cathedral of the same name^ — the old Re-
formed Dutch Church — now adapted for Scot-
tish Rite and other Masonic purposes. The
Brooklyn Veterans' Association meets in the
basement, and in one corner is their library,
a small but wonderfully useful and well se-
lected collection of books. The building it-
self has seen its best days and the wind on a
stormy night seems to have free access to the
several apartments. A modern Masonic tem-
ple is certainly needed in Brooklyn. The
Brooklyn Masonic Veterans' Association is
one of the best and grandest developments of
the social side of Freemasonry of which we
have knowledge. All members must have be-
longed to the .fraternity for at least twenty-
five years and all are therefore men who have
passed at least into mid-life, but the organi-
zation's motto, "The best of life is yet to
come," shows how they face the setting sun
slowly sinking in the west. The Veterans'
annual dinners are possibly the jolliest "func-
tions" of their kind which we know. They
combine a splendid bill of fare, splendid sing-
ing and some of the best after-dinner oratory
heard in Brooklyn. They are generally at-
tended by the most active Masons in Brooklj-n,
as witness the following partial list of those
at the gathering of 1901 :
Josephus L. Wood, president of the Brook-
lyn Masonic Veterans ; Henry A. Powell, A.
H. Nichols, E. W. Mascord, John W. Rich-
ardson, James T. Burdick, John H. Visscher,
Richard E. Shaw, C. K. G. Visscher, Sidney
L. Rowland, Charles F. Bloom, Claudius F.
Bcatty. Andrew B. Martin, Joseph H. Cum-
min, Dr. James T. Terhune, Frederick L.
Jenkins, C. W. Hubbell, Rufus L. Scott, John
S. Mowry, Edward A. Dubey, R. A^an Val-
kenburgh^ Joseph C. Abell, W. T. Rams-
botham. Commodore Edward Hooker. William
Van Sise, Charles A. Shaw, J. K. Van Sise,
Frank Mapes, J. Carlisle Loudon, John W.
Palmer, John T. Palmer, J. Fred Marble, Lee
C. Moore, Augustus C. Tate, John W. Mott,
L. E. Nicholson, Charles W. Held, George
W. Foote, Frank E. Wilson, Dr. J. J. Terhune,
W\ O. Cloges, Stephen W. T. Tennant, J. Har-
ris Balston, Wilmon Whilldin, Howard W.
Ennis, George W. Arnold, Abram H. Dailey,
Robert Rogers, James A. Babcock, The-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ophilus: Pratt, Herman Canter, Thomas Heil-
son. William E. Stein, Lawrence MacNaugh-
ton, Charles S. Buell, D. G. Griffiths, Daniel
J. Morrison, W. H. Armstrong, Theodore
Thieler, John Cuthbert, W. J. Smith, Charles
W. Hayes, W. Westlake, C. O. Cqwtan, Jo-
seph W. Ray, David S. Bruen, Obediah
Harned, Thomas W. Corrigan, William P.
Christmas, William H. Johnson, Gustavus C.
Weber, John C. Waldron, James D. Wright,
Wi .A. Mathies, F. Frederick Lenhart, Al-
fred Sims, W. J. Allen, Augustus W. Boerner,
Joseph H. Loomis, W^ A. Campbell, Eli R.
Denniston; J. W. Smith, A. E. Leach, Louis
Nathan, Rudolph R. Bennett, Isaac Hicks,
James E. Martin, G. B. Martin, J. R. Bennett,
J. M. Kerrigan, L. A. Lewis, J. T. Ross,
Harry T. Cook, J. W. Hawkes, W. H. Jam-
ton, John K. Torfts, James Divisch, Charles
Christmas, James L. Waldon, J. G. Ramee,
Dr. W. T.Millington, E. L. Spike, T. M.
Goddard, Charles Goddard, D. M. Meninger,
1. Dunn, Colo Venoni, Isaac S. Waters, Edwin
Selvage, Judah Moses, James Parsons, James
Macbeth, W. H. Steers, S. Wasserman, Sam-
uel Steinbrink, Washington Irving Comes,
William M. Clark, G. Turner, J. W. Stopford,
H. McKeon, B. A. Levett, H. A. Aechtemacht,
Almet R. Latson, H. G. Buswell, A. E. Bieder-
man, George W. Wilson, John W. Carme,
George W. Brown, James A. Byxbee, William
L. Burke, William Burns, Henry Scheele,
Herman Pietsch, M. L. Mann, George W.
Cook, G. Greve, C. F. Graves, William Chevi-
ton. Charles Schabaker, William H. Phillips,
George S. Patton, Joseph M. Cord, Robert E.
A. L. Estrange, H. T. Giberson, John Fleming
Duncan, Walter MacBain, Charles G. Smith,
Elmer E. Cain, William Clowninzer, James
Sinn, Dr.W. H. Clowninzer, Henry A. Phil-
lips, Henry E. Tuthill, Burton AI. Balsh and
Thomas G. Singleton.
At the dinner of 1893 addresses were de-
livered by three prominent citizens of Brook-
lyn—^William Sherer, chairman of the New
York Clearing House; "Deacon" William
Richardson and Mr. St. Clair McKehvav, of
the Brooklyn Eagle. These addresses are so
elevated in tone and so full of interest to the
general reader that we are tempted to reprint
tliem here :
Brother William Sherer responded to the
toast of the Grand Lodge, saying: "I am here
to-night for the purpose of partaking of this
banquet and do what I can to extend the
brotherly feeling in Brooklyn. It was my as-
signment, I believe,- to speak for another
Grand Body, the 'Grand Chapter.' I loaded
myself with sufficient ammunition, I thought,
to do execution in that direction ; I come here
and find that owing to the absence of our
Grand Master I am called upon to fill in space
to be occupied by either of those gentlemen,
so that much abused institution, the Grand
Lodge of the State of New York, that has
suffered so often at my hands, is again to be
a victim to-night. Brethren, you know the
story of the Grand Lodge, now one hundred
and twelve years old, representing the constit-
uencies of seven hundred and fifty lodges
formed with us. You know the purpose for
which this annual assemblage of Masons is
held. You know every lodge in this State,
no matter how small or how large, is afforded
equal representation in your own Grand
Lodge, and you know the voice of the repre-
sentative of the most humble New York body
receives as much attention as though he came
from the most desirable one in the State, and
for harmony, dignity and justice of ruling
the Grand Lodge of the State of New York
sets an example that the several Houses of
Congress and State Legislature may well fol-
low. And it is this fact that will, in years to
come, as it has in years that have passed, be
of great importance to the fraternity in this
State, and when you come to think that this
Grand Body, without danger and without con-
fusion, represents a grand feeling of brother-
hood extending amongst more than one hun-
dred thousand men, then you see the force that
there is in that body. Representatives of
more than one hundred thousand men are
there to legislate, for what ? In the interest of
FREEMASONRY GN LONG ISLAND.
6(51
"brotherly love and respect for all that is good.
No matter what may be- a man's political opin-
ion, no matter what may be his religious, creed,
if he believes in our recognized Supreme Be-
ing and in the brotherhood of man, he finds
his representative and his' place. Socialists, an-
archists, reformers and national men hive tried
for ages to find the panacea for human wounds,
but I will tell you that the solution rests
alone in this fact and in this condition, when
men will treat' their brother men as brethren,
when they will do tothertias they expect to
be done by, then we will have no need of
reformation in anything. Now, Brethren,
we do not pretend, we do not claim, to stand
in the place of any man's creed or religion,
but we do believe that we have the founda-
tion of all that is good arid substantial, the
foundation of every creed, and that is love
to God and love to all. Our Grand Lodge
during its one hundred and twelve years of
existence has exalted all that I have just men-
tioned in these few brief words. That your
several Grand Bodies have other uses I will
not deny. You can not compel every man to
follow in the same rut and in the saime line,
■and if a man finds that his usefulness to his
fellow man and his usefulness in Masonic cir-
cles is growing by taking an interest in the
other lodges, theii give him freedom to go
there, but never lose sight of this fact, that
the Grand Lodge Cif the State of New York,
through whom indirectly the authority came
to bring this association to light,' is the mother
of all that stands for Freemasonry in the
grand State of New York.
"It has been my great good" fortune to
be a" member of that body for twenty-four
years. I have sat under the gavel of many
Grand Masters that have pased away; I
have sat under the gavel of so many of them
that to-night I can not recall their names.
bMt-'I'have";y-e4: to see a-man in that position
and in the chair who has eyer given way to
personal spite or pers'oual feelings in carrying
out the official position in which his brethren
placed him. Now, Brethren, recollect, he who
serves you so serves without the hope of re-
ward. There is no salary attached to the office
of Grand Master of the New York Body, nor
for many years past has one ever thought that
his position was any reason Vvdiy'he should g6'
before his fellow citizens as candidate for any
office. "We are enabled by our great system of
brotherhood to eliminate partisanship and
every selfish motive and every Othe'r motive
which might bring us down from the pinnacle
upon which we stand."
Brother William Richardson, responding
to the toast of the Brooklyn Masonic Veter-
ans, said: "It is with a feeling of pride that
we recognize ourselves^ this evening to be
]\Iasonic Veterans. The City of Brooklyn,
by reason of recent events, is well and favor-
ably known amongst all the cities of the world.
It has been the fashion amongst a certain class
of Brooklyn men, when traveling, to register
themselves as from 'New York.' That time
has passed by. Hereafter, in registering, no
man will be loath to put himself down as
from Brooklyn. It was claimed by St. Paul,
of old, that he was 'a citizen of no mean city,'
and we can certainly claim, in vieW of recent
events, that we are 'citizens of no mean city,'
and one which contains very few mean peo-
ple.
"The motto of our Association is 'The best
of life is yet to come;' and that is- a worthy
motto for those whom' we may look upon as
being amongst the 'sifted wheat' of the Ma-
sonic lodges of this city. "After the length of
experience which we must attain' before being
cligilile to membership in the Masonic Veter-
ans, we may reasonably — and without too
much egotism — look upon ourselves as illus-
trations of the truth of the dottrine of 'the
survival of the fittest.' But while we can
more thoroughly and sensibly enjoy the pres-
ent, one of the most important things for 'us
to feel and enjoy is the hope- of the' future,
that 'the best of- life' is yet to ' coriVe,' — not
merely during the few more years which we
niay spend here, but in the life eternal in that
great beyolid. In this connection ydu will
662
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
pardon me if I recite a few verses written
by Thomas Campbell, a Scotch poet, who lived
the latter part of the last century and the
earlier part of this. For the theology of the
poem in a critical sense I will not vouch ; for
the poetry of it I am willing to be held re-
sponsible :
" 'All worldly shapes shall melt,
The Sun himself must die in gloom,
Before this mortal shall assume
Its immortality.
I saw a vision in my sleep
That gave my spirit strength to sweep
Adown the gulf of Time.
I saw the last of human mould
That shall creation's death Behold,
As Adam saw her prime.
" 'The Sun"s eye had a sickly glare.
The Earth vvith age was wan,
The skeletons of nature were
Around that lonely man.
Some had expired in fight : the brands
Still rusted in their bony hands ;
In plague and famine some.
Earth's cities had no sound nor tread,
And ships were drifting with the dead
To shores where all was dumb.
" 'Yet, prophet-like, that lone one stood,
With dauntless words and high.
That shook the sere leaves from the wood
As if a storm passed by.
Saying, we are twins in death, proud Sun.
Thy face is cold, thy race is run ;
'Tis mercy bids thee go ;
For thou ten thousand thousand years
Hast seen the tide of human tears,
That shall no longer flow.
" 'Go, let oblivion's curtain fall
Upon the stage of men,
Nor with thy rising beams recall
Life's tragedy again.
My lips that speak the dirge of death.
Their rounded gasp and gurgling breath
To see thou shalt not boast.
The eclipse of nature spreads my pall.
The majesty of darkness shall
Receive my parting ghost.
" 'Go, Sun, while mercy holds me up
On nature's awful waste,
To drink this last and bitter cup
Of grief that man shall taste:
Go tell the night that hides thy face,
Thou saw'st the last of Adam's race, •
On earth's sepulchral clod.
The darkening universe defy
To quench his immortality
Or shake his trust in God.'
"It was well said by the old patriarch of L'z,
Job : "For I know that my Redeemer liveth ;
and that He shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth : and though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see
God, Whom shall I see for myself and mine
eyes shall behold, and not another, though
my reins be consumed within me.' Again,
another patriarch who lived long after him,
the Psalmist, King of Israel, cried out in
ecstasy: 'As for me, I shall behold Thy face
in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I
awake with Thy likeness ;' and in this connec-
tion I may again quote the lines of a poet :
" 'There is a land where every pulse is thrill-
ing
With rapture, earth's sojourners may not
know ;
Where heaven's repose the weary heart is
stilling:
And peacefully life's time-tossed currents
flow.
■■ 'Thither our weak and weary steps are tend-
ing ;
Saviour and Lord! with Thy frail chil-
dren bide.
Guide us towards home, where, all our wan-
derings ending,
We shall see Thee and 'shall be satisfied.' "
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
663
"But, while we have the duties of Hfe here,
we must not be entirely engrossed with the
thoughts of the best of life being yet to come,
even in the great hereafter."
President Haskell in response to the toast,
"The Mason as a citizen," said: "Even those
who are skeptical as to the extent to which
Masonry controls men's actions, will admit
that if tenets of Masonry are made the rules of
men's lives there will be better sons, better fa-
thers and better citizens."
St. Clair McElway, responding to the same
sentiment, "The Mason as a Citizen," said :
"Every American Mason should be a good
American citizen. I do not so far lay out the
duties of other men as to say that every Amer-
ican citizen should be a Mason, but I do say
that lif every American citizen were a Ma-
son some questions which are now before
the public would be settled at once and for-
ever. There would be no question in such
a case about the eternal divorce between
Church and State. There would be no ques-
tion in such a case about an end at once and
forever of legislative appropriations to sec-
tarian schools. There would be in citizenship,
as there are in Masonry by legitimate evolu-
tion, natural and qualified leadership. For a
thousand years Masonry has been the epitome
of an honest registration and an honest vote.
The last twenty years our country has wit-
nessed the deterioration of the legislative arm
of government, but in Masonry the legislative
arm represented by our Grand Lodge of this
and other States, and of other nations, was
never stronger, was never purer, never more
simple, never more worthily trusted, and never
more universally respected than now. In the
one hundred and twelve years of its existence
it has commanded the approbation of man, the
allegiance of the Brethren, and it has de-
served, not only the considerate judgment
of mankind, but it has received, whether
in adversity or prosperity, the gracious favor
of Almighty God. Masonry was invisible in
the duties of citizenship and ever should
be. It was, however, much invisible, not
unfelt, not unfelt in its professional, its fra-
ternal capacity, but strongly felt in the un-
derlying principle of the golden rule and the
brotherhood of man and the equal rights of
all before the law, which are the foundation
stones of this supreme, magnificent order. As
Masons we know what our charter is, we
know where we got it, we know to whom we
owe allegiance and obliigations under it, and
we know its invaluable advantage to our or-
der. Now let us as Masons believe what we
please concerning protection, believe what we
please concerning revenue reform or free
trade, believe what we please concerning sound
money, but let us bear in mind that home
affairs are not political affairs, that neigh-
borhood affairs are not State affairs. Un-
der the Declaration of Independence the
right of man to liberty is regulated by law.
I congratulate you upon your numbers and
your enthusiasm, and I thank you for your
courteous attention. I regret that I have not
been able in previous years to be with you.
To-night, I am, if you will allow me to in-
dulge in a personal remark, so fatigued with
labor finished, and yet awaiting me, that I
hardly hoped to be with you. I have been
brought into good company, and this will
become a pleasure of memory ; associated
with other occasions of our brotherhood
down at the St. George, where I have met
them at the festive board, and is suggestive
of a few verses, which I think I can remember,
although I would not dare match my poor
memory alongside of the magnificent mental
faculty of the Deacon, whom I found but did
not make, and in labelling him I had only
acknowledged the fitness of things.
" 'There is an isle.
And the name of that isle is the Long Ago;
And we bury our treasures there ;
There are brows of beauty and bosoms of
snow.
There are heaps of dust ; but we loved
them so ;
There are trinkets and tresses of hair.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
" 'There are fragments of songs that nobody
sings,
And a part of an infant's prayer,
There's a harp nnswept, and a hite witliout
strings,
There are broken vows and pieces of rings,
And the garmetits- she used to wear.
'■' 'Oh. remembered for aye be that blessed isle,
All the days of our life fill night,
And when the evening comes with its beauti-
ful smile.
And our eyes are closing in slumber awhile,
- ' May that 'Greenwood' of soul be in
sight.""
"What manner of men may these Free-
masons be," is a question that was once asked
in London when the fraternity began to at-
tract notice outside of their lodge-rooms, and
it is a question that is often asked even yet
wherever Freemasons by their unmbers stand
out in bold relief in any community. So far
a'S Brooklyn 'is concerned the roll of member-
ship of the various lodges might be said to
include the foremost representatives of everv
walk and condition in life, niinisters and me-
chanics, bankers, lawyers, political war-horses,
teachers, merchants- and professional men of
all sorts. The 'writer of this has an abiding
conviction that the best interests of the Ma-
Sonic fraternity can always he most readily
subserved by naming for public discussion the
men who are, or have been, prominent in its
ranks, rather than by enlarging upon the moral
and other lessons which are inculcated in its
lodge. Contrary to the general Ix-lief. Free-'
masonry has no secrets. It has. of course,
grips, words and signs peculiar to itself, but
these are not what are considered "secrets" in
the popular sense. Outside of these all that
the fraternity dwells upon is contained in the
pages 'of the Holy Book, which ever lies open
on its altars. "Study the Bible," Grand ]\Iaster
Thome once said in addressing a mixed audi-
ence, "and you will be not only iii possession
of every Masonic secret, but be as oood a
!Mason as any one in the ranks." Of that there
i'. no doubt. Most men are the result of their
associations, and are just what their associa-
tions make them, whether these associations
be found in the home circle, the political
forum, the church parlor or around the ]Ma-
sonic altar. So it Js Safe to say, when a man
becomes prominent in public life or in any
walk of life and we find that he is also active
in Jilasonry, has been, in fact, active in Ma-
sonry long before he became prominent in
other good work, that it is the teachings of the
craft which have directed his path and
strengthened his effort in air good works. A
good Mason must be ''also a good citizen and
exhibit in his walk and conversation all that
which makes for peace, order, law, progress
and advancement in any community. One or
two examples of Masonic biography may en-
able us to understand this more clearly.
The first we select is that of a man whose
memory is yet cherished among the members
of the fraternity ifi Brooklyn and who was,
and is, justly regarded as the- most typically
representative Freemason which Long Island
has given to the great brotherhood. This was
Joseph D. Evans, who, in 1854, succeeded the
famous Chancellor Walworth as-Grand Master
of the State of New York, and who, while by
no means -the most brilliant chief executive
the Grand Lodge had chosen up to that time,
proved by no means the least useful.
The following sketch of the career of this
distinguished brother is reprinted from the
Standard History of Freemasonry in the State
of New York, issued a- few years ago by the
publishers of the present work:
CAREER OF JOSEPH D. EVANS.
Brother Evans was born in the city of New
York in 1807. His parents removed to "Rich-
mond, Virginia, and there the future G'rand
blaster received his education and business
training. In 1842 he was made a Alason in
]\Iarshair Lodge, No. 39, Lynchburg, and
afterward affiliated with St. John's Lodge, No.
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
C65
36, of Richmond, and in 1846 became its Mas-
ter. Two years later, when he left Richmond
to take up his residence in New York the
brethren presented him with a Past Master's
jewel.
Taking up his abode in Brooklyn, he affil-
iated with Anglo-Saxon Lodge. His business
interests, however, lay in New York, and here
it may be said that his commercial career was
as brilliant as his Masonic one. As president
of the New York Tobacco Board of Trade he
exerted himself greatly in the struggle of
187 1 -3 to retain the bonded warehouse system
in New York City, and he was the first presi-
dent of the New York- Naval Stores and To-
bacco Exchange. His business career was
marked by industry and, probity, his word
was as good as' a bond, and, while he paid
close attention to details, : he acted with a
breadth of -view and, a wholesome liberality
that showed htm' to be animated by. as much
ambition to promote the general good as to
conserve his own personal ends. He was a
man of humble piety and of deep religious
sentiments and his memory is yet held in lov-
ing remembrance in the Church of the Mes-
siah, Brooklyn, of which he was vestryman
and clerk for manv'vears. ' • r ,
In Anglo-Saxon Lodge Brother Evans be-
came Master in 1850, was elected again in the
following year and declined re-election in
1852. In the Grand Lodge he was noted for
his loyalty and his conciliatory spirit. When
the Phillips division took place in 1849 Anglo-
Saxon Lodge went out with the dissidents,
but Evans exerted all his influence upon the
brethren and submitted a resolution; which,
on being adopted, brought /thefrLodge'bafckto
its allegiance; As Grand Master he tried iard
to restore harmony in tlte jurisdictioiv and, .
though he^ did not fully succeed,' Otere- is no
doubt that his influence hastened .the ^final
union of the various • bodies among -whom
union was desired. In fact, it was to his direct
initiative that the measures were* 'taken in
1858 which in 1859 finally closed the disunited
ranks. He was 'a; strong advocate, of the rep-
resentative system between the different Grand
Lodges and wrought hard to make it universal,
and to him is due the inauguration, of the Dis-
trict Deputy systfem as we .have it- to-day —
a system that has done much to preseirre the
unity of the craft and to lessen the labors- of
the Grand' Master and other executive officers
cf the Grand Lodge. • '
On retiring from tlie Grand Master's chair,
after being twice elected,- Brother Evans
stepped down to the ranks again only to re-
sume his active. work. In 1859 he dimitted,
from. Anglo^S'axon Lodgej affiliated- with
Prince of Ci^rkrige Lodge, No. 16, and became
its Master in i860. In 1864 he aided in
the organization of Hillgrove' Lodge, No. 540,
and later, in 18-67, when Hillgrove had be-
come prosperous, he helped to organize Mis-
tletoe > Lodge, No. 647, Brooklyn, and setved
2£ its-Master until 1870. All this time he was
more; or less- active in all the Masonic
branches. Chapter -and Crypt had no 'mys-
teries for -him and chivalric Masonry claimed
hirn' as a' faithful knight. In the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite he received. the i high-
est degree. Sovereign Grand Inspector Gen-
eral, and"" for- two years "presided ovet the
Grand • Consistory;^ Northern Jurise^iction,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
while as Grand Minister of State he accom-
plished much good work.
As a Mason he was a stanch advocate of
maintaining the simplicity and purity of the
order; and in showing the brethren that the
ritual, while beautiful, was simply an intro-
duction to a wonderful system of philosophy,
religious and moral, he never tired. The land-
marks of Masonry formed a theme which en-
gaged his attention for many years and his
concise arrangement of these much disputed
essentials found great favor in New York.
I'his arrangement is to be found printed in the
current edition of the constitution, a position
of honor which it should always occupy.
There never lived a more devoted Mason or
one who interwove Masonry more completely
into his daily life. All of his sons in this
respect emulated his example. The entire
family of Brother Evans was noted for its
interest in Masonry, and his eldest brother,
James, was at one time Grand Master of Vir-
ginia. Joseph D. Evans died at Brooklyn
September ii, 1888, when in the eighty-second
year of his age.
As an evidence of how thoroughly he him-
self could apply the teachings, the philosophy
of Masonry, we quote the following from his
address in 1855, when referring to the death in
that year of John A^an Buren, who was an en-
thusiastic Mason and had been Junior Grand
Warden and Senior Grand Warden during
four years under the Grand Mastership of
Morgan Lewis:
"The soul of our beloved brother, John
Van Buren, has taken its everlasting flight ; his
well known seat is vacant; it was, as you well
recollect, always near the East. His manly
form, benignant demeanor and unobtrusive
deportment are vividly impressed upon our
memory. He was ever watchful of the true
interests of the institution, a friend to the
needy and oppressed, and a firm and unflinch-
ing adherent to our ancient laws and regula-
tions; in his death we have sustained a great
loss, but we have the consolations afforded by
the happy reflections that he has gone to meet
a rich reward, and that his memory will ever
flourish as the green bay tree. Brother Van
Buren died in January last ; at his request his
remains were consigned to the tomb by his
brethren, who assembled in large numbers to
unite in the sorrows of the family and partici-
pate in our last solemn rites, and as the sympa-
thetic tear which silently expressed their grief
at their unexpected loss fell upon his grave,
the evergreen deposited by hundreds of kin-
dred hearts within the tomb proclaimed with
trumpet power the everlasting truth that his
body will rise and become as incorruptible as
his soul."
As might be supposed, the ritual came in
for a large share of his official attention while
Brother Evans exerted a direct influence on
the craft as Deputy Grand Master or as Grand
Master. In 1852, at his suggestion, one im-
portant piece of uniformity was attained when
the Grand Secretary was instructed to notify
all Lodges that it was a violation of the con-
stitution to transact any business other than
conferring degrees, except when in a Lodge
of Master Masons ; another regulation that
did good service in keeping the craft free of
tmdesirable material, or assisted to that end,
v;as that p^ss^ed the same year requiring a
candidate to b(/ an actual resident in the vicin-
ity of a Lodge before being in a position to
apply for membership. A Masonic funeral
service drawn up by H. G. Beardsley, of Ham-
ilton, New York, was also adopted by the
Grand Lodge and recommended to the frater-
nity of the State. Such a compilation was
much needed and it served a useful purpose at
the time, although it has since been superseded.
It would have been thought that Freemasons
would have respected the Sabbath, but im-
fortunately in the multiplicity of interests
v.'hich then prevailed some organizations, both
'cheap and nasty," found it profitable to work
the degrees on the Lord's day, even without
the justification that they were Hebrews and
.held sacred the seventh day of the week; so
ir is gratifying to find the Grand Lodge put-
ting squarely on record for the second time a
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
declaration that jMasonic meetings on Sun-
day, except for burial purposes, are improper
and prohibited, and also that the use of pro-
fane language should render a brother liable
to discipline. Being himself a man of strong
religious sentiments, there is no doubt that
Brother Evans' influence was at work in
bringing about such legislation. Doubtless all
such matters were thoroughly understood by
the brethren long before his time, but they
\.-ere not 'given legislative force until he took
the initiative.
The necessity of having the esoteric work
uniform throughout all the Lodges of the
State had been a theme of anxious interest
throughout the jurisdiction since the days of
Livingston, but, although many means had
been tried, Grand Msitors and District Visit-
ors appointed, the desired imiformity could
not be brought about, and now that Lodges
were springing up in all directions it was
seen that something had to be done or the
Vk'ildest confusion would ensue. To overcome
this, if possible, Oscar Coles, in 1852, intro-
duced a motion, which was adopted, that the
Grand officers should constitute a Lodge of
Instruction, to meet once a week, and appoint
?. sufficient number of Grand Lecturers so
that each Lodge could be visited at least once
:-i year and exemplify the standard work. The
Grand Lecturer was to receive compensation
from the Lodge so visited. This was virtually
the beginning of the present Committee on
Exemplification of the Work, and under it the
lectures were thoroughly revised and submit-
ted to the craft. The system thus compiled
was favorably received, but in 1855 the expe-
rience of the committee led to the permanent
employment of a Grand Lecturer. This sub-
ject is thus summarized by the late C. T. Mc-
Clenachan, who as a ritualist had in his time
no superior in the jurisdiction: "The revised
work of the craft," he wrote, "was pronounced
by the Grand Master, Joseph D. Evans, as
very gratifying, meeting with general appro-
bation ; that if was 'the same taught by Pres-
ton, Webb, Cushman, Cross and men of their
day, and was in general practice throughout
the United States; that Past Grand Master
Walworth, our Grand Chaplain, the Rev.
Brother Town, together with four other old
Masons, recognized and stamped it the same,
substantially, as that taught to them forty to
fifty years ago.' As to the above-named ritu-
alists, Preston and others, there seems ample
room for surprise, for the above and similar
remarks occur in the Grand Master's address of
June 5, 1855. The inconveniences in the Re-
vision are thus set forth : 'It is now three
years since the Grand Lodge commenced a
revision of the work. * * * The chaotic
rubbish had to be removed, predilections and
prejudices overcome, before truth could rear
her towering arch, self-supporting and self-
capped, to the admiring gaze of the devotees
of Masonry's ancient landmarks, but, thanks
to patience and perseverance, success equal to
all expectation has crowned the effort. Its
merits have borne it on approving wings to
distant quarters of the State, and it is now
practiced and adhered to in the main by scores
of our Lodges.' The subject of the new re-
vision went to a committee, who reported on
the following day, recommending the election
of a Grand Lecturer, under the constitution, at
a salary of one thousand dollars, who shall re-
side in the city of New York, and other Lec-
turers, who shall receive for their services their
actual expenses and two dollars per day during
the time they are attending a call. * * *
On June 8 Brother A. Colo Veloni was de-
clared elected Grand Lecturer and on the suc-
ceeding day the Grand Lodge resolved 'that
the work of the Grand Lecturer be submitted
to the Grand officers, with power to receive or
reject his standard, as they may see fit.' Ac-
cordingly, at the close of the session * * *
the Grand Lecturer exhibited his version of
the ritual to the Grand Master and the Grand
Secretary and it was rejected." The reasons
for this very drastic conclusion were many,
but the main one was the brother's imperfect
pronunciation of the English language and a
certain amount of extraneous matter, which
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was not suited to the taste of American Ma-
sons. Further on, McCIenachan says :
"On June 7, 1856, the Grand Lodge abol-
ished the Lodge of Instruction ; voted Brother
A. Colo Veloni, for his services as Grand Lec-
turer, five hundred dollars; elected Brother
William H. Drew the Grand Lecturer without
a fixed compenstation. * * * An appro-
priation of five hundred dollars to -Brother
Drew was made on the following June, and the
sum of two hundred and fifty dollars to
Brother Veloni as his assistant. The services
of the Grand Lecturer were then settled at
three dollars per day and necessary expenses,
to be paid by the lodges employing him. The
lengthy reports presented by the Grand Lec-
turer, William H. Drew, to the Grand Lodge
and printed in full in the proceedings of 1857
and 1858 are remarkable 'documents and
worthy of frequent reference. It was in thir
latter year the compensation to the Lecturer
was made one thousand dollars. It was or-
dered that the State be divided into Grand
Lecture Districts, designated by Senatorial
districts, and that conventions be held in
each."
It was this legislation that placed the
"standard work" right before every Lodge
in the State and gave the New York brethren
a reputation as ritualists which has never
been surpassed by those of other jurisdictions.'
It was under Grand Master Evans, too,
that the present Grand Lodge library really
had its beginning, although for such purpose
donations of books had already been received
on various occasions. He brought the heed of
such an annex so clearly before the brethren
in his address in 1855 that the first five officers
were appointed a Library Committee, with
power to commence the formation of a library
and to draw on the Grand Treasurer for five
hundred dollars during the year to purchase
books. ■ Subordinate Lodges were asked to aid
in the work, and a really good beginning was
made, although the work afterward, for vari-
ous reasons, was permitted to languish. It was
•Evans' idea that the Grand Lodge library
should be a sort of central lending organiza-
tion, giving the brethren all over the country
the advantages of studying whatever treasures
it possessed, but this was soon ■ 'afterward
abandoned as unfeasible. It was not, jii fact,
until the Grand Lodge got' settled in ^Cs'^own
home that much practical headway was riiade
in the' collection of a library worthy of the in-
stitution'.
Grand Master Evans governed the craft
wisely and well, and, while discussion pre-
vailed in the craft, the Grand Lodge steadily
advanced in popiilarity and power. When he
retired at the close of his second term there
were three hundred and nineteen lodges'under
its jurisdiction and, besides, thirty-two lodges
were working under dispensations, while the
New York fraternity was recognized all over
the world for its power and well directed en-
ergies.
A more modern Mason, yet one who in his
earlier days was often associated with Evans
and who died in November, 1901, was John
G. Barker, Masonic bookseller, who was prob-
ably known, by name at least, to every read-
ing member of the fraternity in the United
States an-d Canada. His home was for years
in Brooklyn and some of the Masonic organi-
zations of which he was a member had their
headquarters there, but his place of business
was in New York City. For 'some thirty years
he published Masonic books, but the great fea-
ture of his business was its half-yearly auction
sales of Masonic books, gatherings from all
sorts of places of volumes of interest to mem-
bers of the order and' to no one else. Some-
times not over half a dozen buyers would at-
tend .these sales, but as a rule nothing was
exactly sacrificed — Barker attended to that.
He'was vfery proiid of these auction sales and
claimed, with justice, that they were not only
helpful to the members of the craft, but that
he was of ;real benefit to the widow or heirs
of a book-loving Mason by securing for his
literary treasures better prices than could be
obtained were they sold in open market. But,
as he sadly used to admit with a grim smile.
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
"book-buying brethren" seemed to get smaller
in number year after year; as to the brethren
in New York and Brooklyn who read books —
Masonic books — he was wont to aver that
they "might be counted on the fingers of both
hands and still leave us two or three fingers
for additions." For the "bright Masons" of
the present day he had nothing but the most
contemptuous words and was ready on all oc-
casions to demonstrate that such burning and
shining lights are not Masons at all.
But still, it must be admitted that Barker
himself was behind the age. His place of busi-
ness was in a street that was once a Ma-
sonic center, but had long ago lost its pre-
eminence in that and in every other respect,
except for manufacturing industries. He had
a large stock, but it was never displayed prop-
erly. When )'ou wanted anything you had to
ask for it, and Barker generally had it, no
matter how rare a bibliographical treasure it
might be. Yet it may be questioned if even
he had a complete knowledge of all that his
stock contained, for human memory has its
limitations.
The establishment in Bleecker street, New
York, was not an inviting one. It was not at
all tidy.; the furnishings were "the remains of
former grandeur," and the presence of half a
dozen cats did not add to the neatness of
things. Three or four chairs were disposed
around an old stove, chairs so well seasoned
that they could not be destroyed by rough
usage, and therein lay their supreme comfort,
for you could sit in them as you liked, elevate
them to your notion of the fitness of things,
and if you so desired tilt your feet on the
stove at any angle. It was not a handsome
spot, the surroundings were venerable and de-
crepid, yet around tliat stove more Masonry
has been talked, and discussed during the past
quarter of a century than probably in any other
spot in the State of New York. Mr. Barker
himself was a living encyclopedia of local Ma-
sonic history, and if his educational training
had only been commensurate with the oppor-
tunities that came to him and with the facil-
ities his business opened up, he would have
been a power in the fraternity. But his early
education appears to have been limited. For
several years he edited and published a JNIa-
sonic magazine, which had more errors on the
page — errors in grammar and in spelling, in-
volved and dense sentences, misquotations and
the like, than any publication the writer of
this ever knew, yet he was never aware of
them. His sale catalogues were useless for
bibliographical purposes because of their mis-
takes in names and dates, yet such errors he
never seemed to think amounted to much. But
if some one had pointed out to him a mis-
spelled name in one of Albert Pike's publica--
tions he would have gloated over it for a
month and denounced the ignorance of Pike in
the bitterest terms to all and sundry.
In fact, denunciation was his great forte.
At times he was wont to denounce everything.
The name of Albert Pike used to arouse his
ire much as a red flag is said to arouse the dan-
der of a bull, and the name of the late Enoch
Terry Carson uncorked all the vials of his
wrath. Even some of the Grand iMasters of his
own jurisdiction did not escape his ire and of
some of them the language he used was such
as if here repeated might lay the publisher
open to legal proceedings. Of the Grand Mas-
ters of recent years he knew nothing, except
John Stewart and Wright D. Pownall, for both
of whom he entertained the highest regard,
but all the others since the days of Frank R.
L-awrence were to him little more than names.
He admired Grand Master Lawrence's work,
or rather the magnificent outcome of it. al-
though he did not admire Lawrence's methods ;
but then Barker was one of those whom Law-
rence himself used to denounce as the Past
Masters who led the New York fraternity into
the mire of debt from which only heroic meas-
ures and masterly leadership enabled them to
get out of.
But. in spite of his gift of denunciation,
which, as usual, grew more virulent as years
crept on, John G. Barker had a kind heart.
Many a time have we seen a beggar enter his
670
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
store, and experience a share of his wrath,
vvindmg up with the stern admonition that
"this is a place of business and not a bureau
of charity ;" and we always noticed that when
the speech was near the close his hand was in
his pocket and the supplicant went away satis-
fied. Once a fellow walked in and solicited
a dime, saying he was a brother of a lodge in
Boston and had tramped the streets in search
of work until he was played out. Barker, after
the customary discourse, gave him the ten
cents. "That fellow wants a drink," the
writer said after the scene was over. "Well, '
said Barker, "what if he does? He asked me
for a dime for food and I had the dime to
spare. If he has lied about it, I have at least
done my part." But his kindliness of heart
showed itself in many other ways. No young
brother ever applied to him for a bit of in-
formation as to work, or law, or procedure,
or history without having the point at issue
fully explained, no matter how much of his
time it took up, and he would not only give his
own views but would back them up with
authorities, ransacking his whole store, search-
ing in safes, desks, pigeon-holes and all sorts
of corners for the necessary books or data.
"Proceedings" of Grand Lodges were his fa-
vorite study, and probably he knew as much of
the contents of these as any man living. Now
and again he used to talk of editing a volume
or two of selections from the valuable contri-
butions to Masonic history which lie buried in
these "books which are not books," but he
seemed unwilling to undertake the task owing
tc his advanced years.
Barker was a genuine example of the old
school of Masons, of the type that prevailed in
New York forty years ago. At that time
Simons, Holmes, Phillips, Macoy, Sickels,
Henry C. Banks, Somers, and Evans were in
the height of their usefulness. Grand men,
they were, all of them. Although one or two
gave way to the cup which inebriates, they
v/ere not drunkards ; they were "convivialists,"
as they used to call themselves, but there is
no doubt that their fondness for looking on
"the wine when it is red" lowered their stand-
ing in the social scale and more or less
wrecked their lives. But whether bon z'iz'aiits
like Holmes, or prim, devout, hard-working
merchants like Evans, they were all men of
brains. When Barker was raised in Silentia
Lodge in November, 1862, he had known
Simons, Holmes, Sickels and most of the rest
of these leaders for some years, and he had
quite an intimate acquaintance with that
apostle of unrest — that most wonderful of rit-
ualists— Henry C. Atwood, who passed away
from the storms and distresses and conflicts
of this life to, let us hope, a haven of rest
above, two months before Barker signed the
by-laws and was acknowledged a Master Ma-
son. Still, although he thus dated legitimately
in a Masonic sense from 1862, it is difficult to
tell when Barker's acquaintance with the craft
began. They were not so particular then as
now about many matters and Barker laugh-
ingly once told a group of listeners that his in-
itiating, passing and raising showed him noth-
ing new as he had "many times seen the whole
business before." In fact he had often tyled a
lodge when he was in that state of darkness
which the elder brethren stigmatized so elo-
quently as being that of a "cowan," although
not one of them could tell the exact meaning of
the word. Neither can any of the brethren of
the present twentieth century, for that matter.
Of course it was wrong to let a boy act as ty-
ler, but if the fact of a non-Mason being tyler
had been called in question Simons would have
found ample precedent for it in the Scotch sys-
tem which did not demand in those days — and
possibly does not make it obligatory even yet —
that the tyler of a lodge must be a member of
the fraternity.
For many years Barker was a prominent
figure in Grand Lodge circles although the
only official appointment he ever held was that
of grand librarian for some four years. But the
library was a small affair in his day, containing
little beyond loose numbers of proceedings, and
during his tenure of the office he attempted
little beyond arranging and completing these.
FREEMASONRY ON LONG ISLAND.
671
The fact is that he became active in Grand
Lodge circles at a time when a Hbrary was
hardly likely to be a theme of immediate inter-
est. The first year he attended the Grand Lodge
as a representative the purchase of the present
site of Masonic Hall was announced and then
followed the excitement of corner-stone laying,
of seeing the building in process of erection, of
its dedication, and the long years of doubt,
money-raising, and even despondency, until
Lawrence lifted the load. It was in these years
of financial darlcness that Barker was promi-
nent. For the past decade he seemed to take
more of a direct interest in Scottish Rite mat-
ters than in anything else. He was the secre-
tary and real leader of what the brethren in
Brooklyn and New York generally speak of as
the Gorman Cerneau council, and he supported
its claims to being the genuine article with all
the force and vehemence of the old controver-
sial school in which Hyneman and Folger al-
most to our day carried on the argumentative
methods of Lawrence Dermott himself. Into
this feature of his career, however, this is not
the place or time to enter.
Since the days of the leadership of Joseph
D. Evans, Brooklyn has given two Grand Mas-
ters to the craft in New York, Joseph J.
Couch and William Sherer, and in all proba-
bility will in 1902 furnish yet another in the
advancement to the highest honor in the gift
of the fraternity of Elbert Crandall, now Dep-
uty Grand Master. A lawyer engaged in active
practice on Manhattan Island, Mr. Crandall's
home was long in Brooklyn and his entire
JMasonic affiliations are centered here. He is
a member of Ridgewood Lodge, No. 710: of
Ridgewood Chapter, No. 263 ; of De Witt
Clinton Commandery, No. 27 ; Aurora Grata
Consistory, Scottish Rite, and of Kismet Tem-
ple, Mystic Shrine. In the Grand Lodge, be-
fore being elected to his present office, he was
chief commissioner of appeals, and his elo-
quent voice has often been heard in that ca-
pacity as well as in urging measures and mat-
ters of importance to the general welfare of
the fraternity. He has proven a wise and con-
servative counselor, has rendered loyal service
to a succession of Grand Masters, and is thor-
oughly equipped by long years of practical
training and by the dictates of his own heart
to assume the leadership of the big army of
New York Masons — an army now numbering
over one hundred thousand.
Possibly the course of time will place yet
another Long Island Mason in the highest
office. At present Townsend Scudder is chief
commissioner of appeals in Grand Lodge, and
somehow that office has come to be regarded
as a stepping-stone to greater honors. Town-
send Scudder was born at Northport July 26,
1865, and has represented Suffolk county in
Congress. As a lawyer he ranks high, having
been counsel for Queens county at the time
when its afifairs were being adjusted prior to
annexation. In Masonic circles he is popular
everywhere, and the same high regard follows
him into every walk in life, for there is no
doubt that but for his own determination to
quit active political life he would Iiave been
returned to Congress from his .district as often
as he cared. He proved a most useful and'
reliable representative of his constituents, and
while he was in Congress he never permitted
his associates to forget that there was a place
called Long Island, a place that had many and
just claims upon their consideration, and he
managed somehow to get quite a large propor-
tion of these claims satisfactorily and liberally
adjudicated.
CHAPTER LV.
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
A Grand Array of Associations of All Sorts — Assessment Insure
ABLE Clubs — Sporting and Hunting Organizations.
v'CE — Fasiiion-
ESIDES the Masonic body, Brooklyn
has quite a variety of secret organ-
izations ; but with few exceptions
these are all of what may be called
the beneficial order of associations; that is,
their main purpose is to help, aid and as-
sist the'ir members in time of sickness and
trouble, to provide a burial payment, and
ini some cases to pay over to the heirs of
a deceased member a sum of money generally
regulated by the assessment plan, that is to say,
according to the result of a fixed amount col-
lected from each surviving member and paid
over to the family or estate of a member "who.
has passed from the cares and troubles of this
transitory scene," as the ritual of one of these
associations graphically expresses it. In other
words, many of these organizations, in spite
of their claims to secrecy and their choice col-
lection of grips and passwords and more or
less elaborate rituals, are simply insurance or-
ganizations, with friendship as their basis in-
stead of business. Their system is based on
fellowship, while that of a regular insurance
company is founded on experience, statistics
and the computations of their actuaries. There
is no doubt that the assessment plan of life
insurance is wrong — wrong in theory and in-
different in practice — that the prosperous ca-
reers of societies founded on such a basis is
short, generally a couple of decades, and that
even with the best and most careful manage-
ment those who are so insured for any length
of time generally find their assessments in-
crease until, in the end, they become as costly
as the most costly of the regularly established
insurance companies, the old-line companies,
as the assessment plan managers used con-
temptuously to call them when the assessment
plan was in the first flush of success — and
that was shortly after it entered upon its ca-
reer as a popular fad. To win in an assess-
ment society one had to die when it was in
the first flush of success. Its principle was so
simple that on the surface it appeared feasible
and plausible. Get together a thousand men
between the ages of twenty-one and fifty, men
who seemed strong and healthy, and, in some
cases, men able to pass a quite superficial medi-
cal examination. Let each pay in one dollar
and thus raise a fund of one thousand dollars.
When one died the fund thus created was to
be handed over to his heirs and a fresh assess-
ment levied, the vacancies caused by death to
be filled up by new members. Nothing could'
be more simple, and yet in practice it proved
most defective, and there are thousands of the
policies of such organizations kept as sad me-
mentoes in homes all over the continent — me-
mentoes that are not worth the cost of the
paper on which they are printed.
And still this form of insurance has not
been without its good qualities. It has been
the means of paying over to thousands of
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
673
widows many millions of dollars which other-
wise they would never have received, and as
these women were generally widows of me-
chanics and laboring men, men working for
a dailv wage, the result of the assessment call
was generally all that stood between them and
actual want when the days of trouble ar.d deso-
lation came upon them. The working classes
were not given much to the provident and
thoughtful scheme of saving involved in life
insurance schemes until this system directed
their attention practically to it, and one benefit
which these assessment associations was, in
the long run, to add to the old and established
companies a class of moderate "risks" which
had hitherto been overlooked by them even in
their keen and incessant hunt for business.
According to one eminent authority, Mayor
Merrill, of Massachusetts, long at the head of
the department of insurance in the old Bay
State, the assessment system nf life insurance
can only be run successful!)- when it lias dthcr
features to recommend it other than those
which might be described as purely business,
when it brings to the front the social qualities
and aspirations of its members, when it is sup-
plemented by a scheme of sick or cut-of-work
benefits, when it is confined to a trade or brings
together people of one nationality, and so keeps
alive by its reunions the memories and the
story and the customs of the old home across
the sea.
Among these a prime place must be given
to the Royal Arcanum, even although that
strong national organization has had to revise
and adjust and increase its scale of assessments
since it was first organized, in 1877. It has its
regular lodges and social gatherings, and while
the national organization takes direct cogni-
zance of no part of the work excepting that of
administering what is called the mortuary
fund, the local lodges do all that can be con-
ceived in the way of catering to the cultivation
of the social aspirations of the members and
rendering them fraternal aid. The strength of
the whole svstem lies in the work of the local
lodges, and they in turn rely on the solidity of
43
the general organization to meet^ all claims
which become due on the death of one of their
members, claims which vary according to a
stipulated scheme from one thousand to five
thousand dollars. On Long Island it has a
membership of over twenty thousand, distrib-
uted in ninety-three lodges, as follows:
r.RooKLvx.— Acme, No. 594, 7th avenue
and yth street: Adirondack, No. 1742, 54th
street and 3d avenue: Alert, No. 1567, Brook-
lyn avenue and Fulton street ; x\lgonquin, No.
1610, Johnston Building; Amaranth, No. 461,
153 Pierrepont street; Atlantic, No. 1417, Ja-
maica and Bushwick avenues ; Bay Ridge, No.
1383, 13th avenue and 67th street; Bedford,
No. 655. Nostrand and Gates avenues ; Blythe-
bourne. No. 1324, New L'trecht avenue and
56th street; Bravura, No. 1285, Sumner av-
enue and Fulton street; Brevoort, No. 1350.
Johnston Building; Brooklyn, No. 72, John-
ston Building; Burnside, No. 625, Brooklyn
avenue and Fulton street; Bushwick. No. 1327,
1556 Broadway; CanarMr. X'm. KijX, avenue
G and 9th street: I'arnill I'arl^, Xn. (130, Liv-
nigston and Smith strec'ls ; Champion, No.
1618, 153 Pierrepont street; CommonweaUh,
No. 542, 153 Pierrepont street; Dauntless, No.
1757. 897 Gates avenue; De Forest, No. 1527,
I'ulton street and Bedford avenue; De Long,
.\o. 725, 16 Graham avenue; DeWitt Clinton,
No. 419, Bedford avenue and Madison street ;
East New York, No. 953, Bushwick and Ja-
maica avenues ; Fern. No. 774, Johnston Build-
ing; Fort Greene, No. 1048, Johnston Build-
ing; Franklin, No. 253, 970 Fulton street ; Fra-
ternity, No. 504, 16 Graham avenue; Fulton,
Xo. 299, Johnston Building; General Putnam,
No. 1446, 897 Gates avenue ; General Slocu n.
No. 1701, Gates avenue and Broadway; Gil-
liert, No. 1343, Johnston Building; Gramercy,
No. 1510, 1028 Gates avenue; lolanthe. No.
318. Argyle Building; J. F. Price, No. 1769,
"1028 Gates avenue; Kings County, No. 459,.
Xostrand and DeKalh avenues; Lefferts, No.
1452, 6 Brooklyn avenue; Libertv Bell. No.
1589, 1584 Ful'ton street; Long Island. X..
173, 153 Pierrepont street; Manhassct, Xn.
1518, 217 Court street: Midwood, No. 1(115.
F'-2 Flatbush avenue; T^Iontauk, No. 651, 153
Pierrepont streii ; M'ifning Star, No. 6S0.
Johnston Building; Xassau, No. 822, John-
ston Building; Ocean Hill, No. 1134, Gates
avenue and ISroadway; Old Glory, No. 1712,
Mvrtle and Waverlv avenues; Osceola, No,
674
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
759, Alanh^ttan and Meserole avenues ; Ox-
ford, No. 650, Johnston Building; Palm, No.
1626, 1360 Broadway; Peconic, No. 631, John-
ston Building; Phi'ladelphos, No. 562, Nos-
trand and Gates avenues ; Pro Patria, No.
1312, 869 Bedford avenue; Prospect Heights,
No. 1 52 1, 265 Prospect avenue; Ridgewood,
No. 678, 897 Gates avenue; Stuyvesant, No.
690, Howard avenue and Madison street; Suy-
dam, No. 1746, Broadway and Halsey street ;
Templar, No. 1376, Johnston Building; Un-
dine, No. 1547, Gates and Nostrand avenues;
Utrecht, No. 1332, Bath avenue and Bay 22d
street; Valiant, No. 1559, 1089 Broadway;
Vigilantia, No. 1065, Johnston Building; Vigi-
lant, No. 1536, 54th street and 3d avenue;
Washington Irving, No. 821, 897 Gates av-
enue ; Welcome, No. 703, Howard avenue and
Madison street; Williamsburgh, No. 441, Bed-
ford avenue, near South 9th street.
Queens. — Defender, No. 1502, Arcanum
Hall, Cedarhurst; Far Rockaway, No. 1693,
Far Rockaway; Floral Park. No. 706, Ar-
canum Hall ; Flusning, No. 997, Masonic Hall,
Flushing; Jamaica, No. 433, Town Hall, Ja-
maica; Newtown, No. 717, Jeben's Building,
Corona; Olive Branch, No. 1729, Turn Hall,
C^ollege Point; Ozone, No. 1465, Odd Fellows'
Hall, Ozone Park; Queens, No. 1669, Ar-
canum Hall, Corona ; Richmond Hill, No.
1625, Arcanum Hall; Sunswick, No. 1374,
756 Boulevard Astoria.
N.\ssAU County. — Arbutus, No. 1362,
Fleet's Hall, Oyster Bay; Charter Oak, No.
141 5, Odd Fellows' Hall, Rockville Centre;
Farming-dale, No. 1052. Arcanum Hall, Farm-
ingdale"; Flempstead, No. 842, Masonic Hall ;
Hicksville, No. 11 59, Hicksville; Seawanhaka,
No. 362, Glen Cove, Arcanum Hall.
Suffolk County. — Amityville, No. 1644,
Amityville; Babylon, No. 881, Babylon; Great
South Bay, No. 1635. Sayville ; Greenport, No.
1256, Greenport; Nathan Hale, No. 1121,
Fluntington; Neptune, No. 1282, Southamp-
ton ; Northport, No. 1450, Northport : Pau-
manake. No. 778, Patchogue ; Port Jefferson,
No. 1279, Port Jefferson ; Riverhead, No. 1260,
Riverhead; Smithtown, No. 151 1, Smithtown ;
Stony Brook, No. 1333, Stony Brook; Suffolk
County, No. 571, Bay Shore.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is
a much more ancient organization than the
Royal Arcanum, and its objects are on the
whole pretty much the same, although its lodge
affiliation seems closer — somewhat akin, in fact,
to the Masonic body, while its ritual is said by
those who have had practical experience to be
much more elaborate than that of any other
purely beneficial organization. In fact, many
are of the opinion that the order was really
organized to furnish just those practical bene-
fits wdiich the Masonic body does not supply,
and to cater mainly to the working classes, to
whom Masonry at the time Odd Fellowship
was instituted was practically a closed order.
The candidate for ?iIasonic affiliation is taught
to expect no temporal benefits from his connec-
tion with it, while the candidate for initiation
into the circles of Odd Fellowship is assured
that if admitted he will benefit both himself
and others. The Rebekah lodge gives women
a chance to benefit by and work for the order,
and those who belong to such lodges have a
much more recognized standing in its circles
than have the ladies belonging to the Eastern
Star in the oldest of all the existing secret so-
cieties.
Odd Fellowship received its start in Brook-
lyn from the action of certain brethren of the
order, resident in the city, but holding member-
ship in New York City lodges. Several meet-
ings and consultations were held in the year
1839, at the house of Brother James W. White,
and finally application was made to the Grand
Lodge for a charter. This application, signed
by Brothers George P. Bancroft, Garret B.
Black, Lemuel B. Hawxhurst, John Van Pelt,
William G. Hynard, James W. White, John
Higbie. Abram Campbell, Charles and John
Pelletreau, was favorably received by the
Grand Lodge, and a charter granted, to be
known as Brooklyn Lodge, No. 26, I. O. O. F.,
which was fully organized November 12, 1839,
in Hall's Building, corner of Fulton and
Orange streets, by John A. Kennedy, at that
time Grand Master of the order in the States,
assisted by the officers of the Grand Lodge.
The officers then chosen and installed were:
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLA\*D.
675
L. B. Hawxhurst, N. G. ; James W. White,
\'. G. ; William G. Hynard, Secretary ; John
W. Van Pelt, Treasurer. At the next meeting,
November 19th, Messrs. John C. Roach, Thad-
deus Davids, Richard Hallam, Henry Rohring,
Jarvis Rogers, Thomas H. Redding, George
Bloomfield, William M. Johnson, John Povie,
David M. Smith, Henry S. Smith, Peter
L. Taylor and Philip Adams were initiated
members. By 1847 the membership num-
bered five hundred, and Nassau, 39; Prin-
ciple, 48; Atlantic, 50; Ivanhoe, 127; and
Magnolia, 166, had been colonized froiii it.
From its organization in 1839 to January,
1844, this lodge enrolled 1,070 members.
This lodge at an early day purchased ten lots
in Greenwood cemetery in which to furnish a
place of decent sepulture for its members, and
for strange Odd Fellows dying here, away
from home and friends.
The membership of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows on Long Island is about thir-
teen thousand, distributed in the following
lodges :
Brooklyn. — Brooklyn, No. 26, Nevins and
Fulton streets; Principle, No. 48, 725 Union
street; Atlantic, No. 50, 177 Montague street;
Montauk, No. 114, 49 Court street; Ivanhoe,
No. 127, 177 Montague street; Franklin De-
gree, No. 13, 49 Court street; Magnolia, No.
166, 177 Montague street; Myrtle, No. 323,
49 Court street ; Union, No. 169, 49 Court
street ; Crusaders, No. 61, Broadway and Dod-
worth street; Mount Ararat, No. 144, Man-
hattan and Meserole avenues ; Olive Leaf, Xo.
233, Manhattan and Meserole avenues ; James
L. Ridgely, No. 287, Broadway and Boerum
street; Lyceum, No. 333, 14 Graham avenue;
I'rogressive, No. 339, Broadway and Boerum
street; Norman A. Manning, No. 415, Grand
street and Graham avenue ; Ridgewood, No.
534, 654 Hart street; Mystic Links, No. 711,
Cooper street and Bushwick avenue ; Nathan
Hale, No. 804. 14 Howard avenue ; Artistic,
No. loi, 972 Fulton street; Bunker Hill, No.
136, Bushwick and Jamaica avenues; Ceres,
No. 225, 1630 Fulton street; Prospect, No.
290, 14-16 Graham avenue; Purity, No. 337,
854 Gates avenue; Fort Greene, No. 354.
Broadway and Willoughby avenue ; Eagle, No.
368, 854' Gates avenue; Ivy, No. 472, corner
DeKalb and Bedford avenues ; Wyona, No. 28,
440 Liberty avenue and Wyona street ; William
Tell, No. 125, 114 Graham avenue; Socrates,
No. 22^, 134 Graham avenue; Diogenes, No.
-^98' 355 Bushwick avenue; Charles T.
Schniitt, No. 348, 574 Broadway; Chase, No.
3''7' 59 Driggs avenue ; Justitia, No. 370, 355
Bushwick avenue; Harmoniia, No. 394, 117
Himrod street; Rainbow, No. 409, Atlantic av-
enue, near \'ermont street; Heinrich Heine,
No. 580, 253 Irving street; Steuben, No. 133,
123 Smith street; Blucher, No. 426, 123 Smith
street; Wallenstein, No. 428, 217 Court street;
^^'erder, No. 594, 267 Prospect avenue ; Hamil-
ton, No. 640, 92d street, cor. 4th ave. and P'ort
Hamilton; The Woods, No. 121, Bath Beach;
F'ranklin, No. 182, Sheepshead Bay; Gowanus,
Xo. 239, 635 3d avenue ; Arbor Vitae, No. 384,
478 5th avenue; Joppa, No. 386, 258 Court
street; Peerless, No. 535,' 217 Court street;
Bay View, No. 567, 3d avenue and 54th street ;
Intrepid, No. 654, 13th avenue, near 67th
street ; Dauntless, No. 708, 258 Court street ;
General Putnam, No. 724, 725 Union street.
Rebekah Lodges. — Olive Branch, No. 19,
315 Washington street; Silver Spray, No. 63,
262 Prospect avenue ; Mayflower, No. yy,
tiates and Nostrand avenues ; Arbutus, No.
90, Bath Beach; Miriam, No. 107, 1089
Broadway; Laurel Wreath, No. no, Fulton
street and Bedford avenue ; Mount Olive, No.
117, Pennsylvania avenue and Fulton street;
Amaranth, No. 176, 49 Court street; Cornelia,
No. 38, 134 Graham avenue; Vereinigte
Schwestern, No. 59, 217 Court street.
Encampments, Thomas Fawcett, D. D.
G. P. — Fidelity, No. 50, 854 Gates avenue;
Roland, No. 91, 123 Smith street; Beacon
Light, Xo. 94, corner Grand and Havemeyer
streets; Kades, No. 63, 134 Graham avenue;
Liberty, Xo. 146, 3d avenue and 54th street;
Mt. Pisi;'ah. Xo. 2O. Broadway and Dodworth
street; Bethlehem, Xu. 10, 879 Gates avenue;
A'enus, Xo. 109, 23S Court street; Excelsior,
No. 134, Gates and Nostrand avenues.
Queens. — Pacific, No. 85, Flushing, 71
Broadway: Astoria, No. 155, 165 Fulton av-
enue, Astoria; Marvin, No. 252, College Point;
Anchor, Xo. 324. 3d and Vernon avenues,
Long Island City ; Long Island City, No. 395,
432 Steinway avenue; Whitestone, No. 775,
\Vhitestone; Woodhaven, No. 204, Wood-
haven : Jamaica, No. 247, 22 Harriman av-
enue, Jamaica; A. Grosjean, No. 371, Wood-
haven ; Freeport, X'o. 600, Freeport.
Rebekah Lodges. — Long Island City, No.
676
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
80, Grand and Steinway avenues ; Florence,
No. 97, Flushing; Gestina. No. 120, Wood-
haven ; Camillia, No. 210, Woodhaven.
Nass.vu. — Farmingdale, No. 613, Farm-
ingdale; F"reeport, No. 600, F^reeport; Hemp-
stead, No. 141, Front street, Hempstead; Pem-
broke, No. 73, Glen Cove; Primrose, No. 569,
Hicksville; Protection, No. 151, Roslyn; Rock-
ville Centre, No. 279, Rockville Centre; Sea-
side, Xo. 260, Inwood ; Seavvanhaka, No. 670,
Port Washington ; Welfare, No. 695, Oyster
Lay.
Suffolk. — Brookhaven, No. 80, Pat-
chogue ; Suffolk, No. 90, Sag Harbor ; Sampa-
wams. No. 104, Babylon; Sayville, No. 322,
Sayville; Brcslau, No. 524, Lindenhurst ;
Awixa, No. 574, Islip ; Hampton, No. 575,
East Hampton ; Fire Island, No. 636, Bay
Shore ; New Point, No. 677, Amityville :
Greenport, No. 179, Greenport ; Southold, No.
373, Southold; Ellsworth, No. 449, Hunting-
ton ; Roanoke, No. 462, Riverhead ; Northport,
No. 523, Northport; Port Jefferson, No. 627,
I'ort Jefferson ; Stony Brook, No. 730, Stony
Brook.
Rebekah Lodges. — ist District, Mrs. Emma
G. Downs, vice-president, Riverhead. Friend-
ship, No. 70, Greenport; Suffolk, No. 132,
Northport ; Veritas, No. 167, Riverhead ;'
Promise, No. 204, Southold ; D. Meinen, No.
119. Lindenhurst.
Encampments : Queens — Ridgeley, No. 60,
Flushing.
Suffolk. — Thomas W. Lister, D. D. G.
P. Montauk, No. 56, Sag Harbor; Medole,
No. 145, Greenport; Suffolk, No. 147, Bay
Shore.
Nassau — Mineola, No. 121, Hempstead.
The Knights of P}-thia3 has a membership
of some 2,000 on Long Island; the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, 2,000; the Ameri-
can Legion of Honor, 1,400; Deutscher Order
der Harugari, 1,200; Improved Order of Red
Men, 2,000; Knights of Honor, 2,000, There
are aho many minor secret organizations with
somewhat fantastic titles, such as the Knights
of the Golden Eagle, Benevolent Order of Buf-
faloes, Knights of the Golden Star, Order of
(iood Fellows, which have small membership
rolls, but devoted adherents. The Benevolent
and Protective Order of Elks is possibly the
liest known of all these minor organizations,
and its only lodge in Brooklyn has a member-
ship of close on to 500. It is a national society,
has lodges scattered all over the country, and
accomplishes a vast amount of practical good
each year. A large proportion of its members
belong to the theatrical profession, and some
of their "high jinks" are redolent of the stage.
Their ritual, we understand, is quite an elab-
orate aft'air, a compound of Freemasonry, Odd
Fellowship, Forestry, and original with the
brilliai'.t, witty and warm-hearted men who are
its moving spirits. The Brooklyn lodge has
cften come before the public, but generally in
connection with some deserving case of charity
or in the giving of elaborate funeral ceremo-
nies over the remains of some well-known and
much loved brother.
The Foresters of America have a member-
ship throughout the country of about 180,000,-
the figures for Long Island being given as
20,000. Its lodges are termed courts, and the
first established in America was that of Brook-
l}'n. ( )ne curious point in co'.mection with the
early history of this organization is that the
struggle of the Revolution of 1776 was fought
over again in its ranks — on a small scale, of
course. The order is an English one, and the
early American courts were ruled from that
ciumtry. accepted its dictates and squared
their business in accordance with regidations
n^ade. After a time, naturally, some dissatis-
faction arose over this method, and the dis-
satisfaction steadily increased in extent as the
American membership waxed strong. At
length the crisis came, brought about, as in the
case of the Civil war, with the negro as the
issue. The English courts were open to men
of all races, so far as their by-laws went, while
the American subsidiary high court inserted
the word "white" among the necessary quali-
fications for membership. This discrimination
found no favor in England, and after due con-
sideration a message was sent across the sea
ordering the American high court to remove
the offending and restricting word. But the
representatives of the courts who made up that
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
67
bodv ihcught they understcod what was want-
ed in America much better than possibly could
any body of men in England, and they re-
turned a courteous message to that effect and
explained the situation in detail. But it was
the old story over again. The English supreme
court was obdurate ; its mandate must be
ol^eyed ; the oft'ending word must go. So the
Americans at their next meeting, held at IMin-
neapolis August 15, 1889, quietly listened to the
rather imperiously worded message from the
old country, and after a long discussion de-
cided to become independent. That edict at
once took effect, and a courteous notice of the
change was the only answer sent across the
sea. The order in America at that time had
31.000 members; after two years of independ-
ence it had risen to 77.790.
In another chapter we have referred to
the Grand Army of the Republic, but in this
place may refer to it in its aspect as a lienevo-
lent, social and fraternal organization. There
are in all 33 posts in Kings ccur.ty, 6 in
Queens borough. 3 in Xassau county, and 9
in Suffolk county, with a membership approx-
imated at 4.300. The posts are:
Bkooklyx. — Abel Smith and First Long
Island. No. 435, 441 Bedford avenue ; B. I'.
Middleton, No. 500, 879 Gates avenue: Bar-
bara Frietchie, No. 11, 116 Calyer street;
Brooklyn City, No. 233, 1630 Fulton street :
C. D. 'McKenziie, No. 399, 315 Washington
street; Charles H. Burtes, No. 185, 1028-30
Gates avenue; Gushing. No. 231, 9th street
and 6th avenue; Devins. No. 148, 12 Nevins
street; Erastus T. Tefft. No. 355, 153 Pierre-
pont street; Frank Head, No. 16, 258 Court
street; Germain Metternich. No. 122, 241
Floyd street: George Hunstman, No. 50, 17th
Sep. Co. ; George C. Strong, No. 534. Gates
and Nostrand avenues; George Ricard, No.
362, 164 Clvmer street ; G. K. Warren. No.
286, 1810 Fulton street; Harry Lee, No. 21,
897 Gates avenue; H. W. Beecher, No. 620,
iOt Downing street ; Henry W. Slocum Post.
No. 28, .Amphion Building; James A. Perry,
No. 89. Bedford avenue, near DeKalb ; James
H. Kerswill, No. 149, Snyder's Hall, Grant
street: L. M. Hamilton, No. i=;2, Atlantic av-
enue and \'ermont street ; ]\IcPherson-Doane,
No. 499, Johnston Building: ^Mansfield, No.
35. 208 Grand street; Aloses F. Udell, No. 443,
153 Pierrepont street; N. S. Ford. No. 161,
Avenue G and 95th street; Rankin, No. 10,
407 Bridge street; S. F. Dupont, No. 187, 211
Montrose avenue ; Thatford, No. 3, Prospect
Hall, Prospect avenue ; T. T. Dakin, No. 206,
156 Broadway; U. S. Grant, No. 327, John^
ston Building; W. \\'. Stephenson, No. 669,
165 Clermont avenue: ^^'inchester, No. 197,
■^)-2 Fulton street; William L. Garrison, No.
207, 118 Alyrtle avenue.
QuEExs. — Adam Wirth. No. 451, College
Point, 1 2th street and 4th avenue; Alfred AI.
Wood, No. 368, Jamaica. Fraternitv Hall;
Benjamin Ringold, No. 283, Long Island City,
County Court House ; John Corning, No. 636,
(^ceanus. Hall Engine Companv. No. 2 ; Rob-
ert J. Alarks, No. 560. Elmhurst. G. A. R.
Hall; Sheridan, No. 628, Long Island City,
Columbia Hall.
N.\ss.\u. — Daniel L. Downing, No. 365,
(den Cove, Roberts Hall; EKjah Ward, No.
(.S4. P'>.-lvn 1. ().(). I-'. Hall; AL.scs A. Bald-
win, .\m. S44, Ilcnip-trad, Cannairs Hall.
SiFi'dLK.— luUvin Rose, .\<i. _74, Sag Har-
bor, G. A. R. Hall; Edw. Himtley, No. 353,
Greenport, G. A. R. Hall ; Henrv A. Barnum,
No. 656, Riverhead, G. A. R.'Hall; H. B.
Knickerbocker, No. 643, Amitvville, Wood's
Hall; J. C. Walters, No. 641, Huntington, G.
-\. R. Hall ; Lewis O. Conklin, No. 627, Port
Jefferson, Athena Hall ; Richard J. Clark, No.
210, Patchogue, Arcanum Hall: Samuel Ack-
erly. No. 426, Northport, G. A, R, Hall: Will-
iam Gurnev, No. ^^8, Bav Shore, Odd Fellows'
Hall.
There is no doubt that it was the action
taken in 1875 by the Brooklyn Grand Army
JMSts that led to the successful developtuent of
the long agitated plan to erect a soldiers' home
at Bath, New York. Reference to this has
already been made, but further details may
here l>e appropriate. At a meeting of the State
Encampment the matter was urged by the
Brooklyn veterans, and in the course of a warm
address in advocacy of the scheme Corporal
Tanner pledged Brooklyn to contribute $10,-
000 toward the project. Where he was to get
the money or how he was to get it had not
b:en considered liy th.e impulsive corporal, Ixtt
678
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
he made the offer anyway and trusted the fu-
ture. In this instance it did not fail him. On
returning- to Brooklyn he and several other
veterans laid the whole matter before Henry
Ward Beecher and secured that lion-hearted
preacher's hearty espousal of the pledge. A
meeting was in course of time called in the
Academy of Music, and Beecher delivered one
of his stirring patriotic orations, which aroused
the enthusiasm of the vast audience to the
highest pitch. The subscription was at once
launched, and ere long Tanner's pledge was
more than redeemed, for $14,000 was raised.
The good work thus splendidly begun was at
once carried to full fruition with his usual
good-hearted impulsiveness by Corporal Tan-
ner. He traversed the State from New York
to Niagara, making speeches and appeals, and
securing the promise of aid from every mem-
ber of the Legislature he could reach. The
result was the erection of a splendid home
where disabled and poverty-stricken veterans
were enabled to await the setting of their sun
with temporal comforts and freedom from the
harassments incidental to the usual struggle
for existence, a struggle that is so hard when
accompanied by old age and physical ailments.
Corporal Tanner in 1877 was appointed
Collector of Taxes for the city of Brooklyn,
and won an enviable record in that office. As
Pension Commissioner he removed to Wash-
ington, and would have made an equal suc-
cess in that office, but an unguarded remark
about the surplus and a determination to at-
tend to the pension demands of the old soIt
diers with undue liberality led to a hue and
cry against his methods and in time led to his
retirement. For years he was one of the most
prominent citizens of Brooklyn, and during
these years was very frequently the theme of
newspaper comment.
Corporal James Tanner was born at Rich-
mondville, Schoharie county. New York, April
4, 1844. His early life was spent on a farm,
and his educational privileges were those of
the district school. While a mere boy he
taught in an adjoining district, manifesting the
thoroughness and force of will that have since
characterized him, and proving to anxious
friends that he was fully competent for the
work. After a few months' experience as
teacher, at the outbreak of the war, although
not yet eighteen, he enlisted as private in Coni-
pany C, Eighty-seventh New York Volunteers.
He was soon made corporal, with assurance
of further promotion, had' not a terrible dis-
aster befallen him. His regiment was hur-
ried to the front, and, with Kearny's Division,
participated in the Peninsular campaign, and
the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the
siege of Yorktown, the seven days' fight be-
fore Richmond, and at Malvern Hill. After
leaving the Peninsula, the Eighty-seventh
fought at Warrentown, Bristow Station and
ALinassas Junction.
Corporal Tanner served with his regiment
through all the engagements, until wounded
at the second' battle of Bull Run. There the
Eighty-seventh held the extreme right of our
line, with Stonewall Jackson's corps in front.
During a terrific shelling from the enemy, the
men were lying down, when a fragment from
a bursting shell completely severed the corpor-
al's right leg at the ankle, and shattered the
left so badly as to make amputation necessary.
Carried from the field, he lost consciousness,
and on recovering found that the surgeons had
amputated both legs, four inches below the
knee. Meanwhile the Union lines had been
broken and the army was in full retreat. The
corporal's comrades were forced to leave him
at a farm house, where the rebel army, in close
pursuit, soon made him prisoner with the other
wounded. Paroled after ten days, he was taken
to Fairfax Seminary Hospital; then com-
menced his long struggle for life, with all the
odds against him — but a good constitution and
a determination to live, brought him through
the doubtful days. Through all his suffering
his courage never left him ; and when he be-
gan to improve his first thought was, "What
can I do, thus crippled, to hold my place
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
679
among men?" His manhood and ambition
could not brook the thought that he must take
an inferior place because of his misfortune.
After treatment in the hospital, and recupera-
tion at his old home in Schoharie county, he
was able to walk about on artificial limbs. He
was appointed deputy doorkeeper in the As-
sembly, and subsequently held various posi-
tions under the Legislature, which he filled
with great credit. He then accepted a clerk-
ship in the War Department, under Secretary
Stanton. On the night of President Lincoln's
assassination he was employed to take notes of
the first official evidence, and then stood by the
dying bed of the President. In 1866 he re-
turned to Schoharie county, and studied law
with Judge William C. Lamont. The same
year he married a daughter of Alfred C. White,
of Jefferson, New York, and they now have
four beautiful children, two daughters and two
sons. He was admitted to the bar in 1869.
Soon after he was appointed to a place in the
New York Custom House and removed to
Brooklyn. On competitive examination he
rose to the position of deputy collector, and
served four years under Gen. Chester A. Ar-
thur. He was the Republican nominee for
Assembly in 1871, in the Fourth Kings county
district, but was counted out in the election
frauds of that year. Nominated for register
by the Republicans in 1876, when the Demo-
cratic county majority was nineteen thousand,
he was defeated by less than two thousand.
Corporal Tanner is an impressive public
speaker, and his public utterances, especially
when tb.e theme is the late war or the claims
of the veterans to the most liberal treatment at
the hands of the country, are marked by that
strenuousness which our present honored chief
magistrate so thoroughly commends. During
recent years Mr. Tanner has gradually re-
tired into private life and there his many fine
qualities of head and heart keep closely around
him troops of warm and devoted friends.
There is no doubt that U. S. Grant Post is
the most popular and best known of the Grand
Army organizations in Brookljn. It came into
prominence, as has been already stated, in this
work, in connection with its services at the ob-
sequies of General Grant, and since then it has
been particularly active in all that pertains to
the welfare of the old soldier. It has among
its members many who are prominent in civil
life. Rankin Post is still a popular organiza-
tion, but indeed all of the posts of Long Island
might so be described, although year by year
their numbers are wearing down. But that
contingency is in the nature of things and
something to be expected.
The national societies which are linked to-
gether by a secret ritual are representative, to
mention them in the order of their strength, of
Ireland, England and Scotland. The Ancient
Order of Hibernians has something like 3,000
members on the island. The Order of Sons of
St. George has nine lodges in Brooklyn, with a
total membership of about 800. The first of
these lodges — Anglo-Saxon — was instituted
Sept. 22, 1879. The lodge meetings as a rule
are well attended and present many attractive
features. In connection with the jubilee of the
late Queen of England, in 1887, these societies
took a prominent part in the proceedings held
in New York and Erastina, Staten Island, by
which the British residents of the Metropolitan
area showed their respect for the venerated
British sovereign. The Scottish organization,
Clan McDonald, has 200 members, a ritual
which is as full of historical data as could be
crowded into it, and any amount of enthusiasm
for "the land of the mountain and the flood."
It is part of an order that has branches
throughout the United States and has a grad-
ed scheme of life assurance which pays be-
tween $250 and $2,000. It is based on a scheme
thoughtfully prepared by Mr. Duncan Mac-
Innes, one of the actuaries in the New York
comptroller's office, and is believed to be the
most perfect and abiding scheme of assessment
insurance in force. As to that, of course time
is the best and most potent judge.
Of what mav be described as the fashion-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
able social clubs Brooklyn possesses an abun-
dance andi several of them have acquired a
measure at least of national fame. Most of
them are fitted up with a degree of luxurious-
ness that is equal to an\- of the London and
Continental clubs about which so much is writ-
ten. They are housed in roomy mansions fit-
ted up with every imaginable convenience for
social pleasure or the amenities of every day
life; their cuisine is of the highest order and
liveried attendants are ready to carry out the
wishes of the members and their friends.
Reading rooms, smoking rooms, cafes, billiard
rooms, grill rooms and even expensive exam-
ples of the artist's studio or sculptor's altier
adorn what are considered the public rooms,
while the highest skill of the architect, the dec-
orator, the upholsterer and the furniture de-
signer is employed in every apartment ard hall.
In such clubs the whole domestic machinery
moves with a noiseless precision that bespeaks
the most watchful discipline, and the service
throughout from the imported chef to the col-
ored girl who peels potatoes is the best that can
be secured. In such a retreat a man can enjoy
the real luxuries of hfe t j a degree that inde-
pendent effort could hardly attain. He can
find himself in a veritable palace, be waited on
as though he was attended by the genii we used
to read about in connection with Aladdin and
hi; lamp, and have his aesthetic notions culti-
vated by everything that. is bright, beautiful
and costly but withal in the most exquisite
taste. He can revel in fine paintings, delight-
ful upholstery harmonies, exquisitely cooked
chops, and carpets which are themselves poems
in construction and design. Fifty years ago no
crowned king had more real comfort, more
perfect service, more to delight the eye and
soothe the cares and the vexations of the busy,
toiling, exasperating world than the Brock-
lynite who has the entree to one of these genu-
ine modern palaces. Then, too, he has what
kings did not always have according to his-
tory and may not have at the present day — al-
though we nnist confess that our acquaintance
with modern kings is of the slightest extent — a
circle of congenial friends, friends having
ta.nes similar to his own and whose conversa-
tion, whose hobbies, whose pleasures, whose
])olitics, whose fads, whose aspirations are
more or less his or have his interest and his
sympathy. Most of the Brooklyn clubs, even
the most exclusive,, have this community of
tastes as their foundation, and a sure and
sturdy foundation it has amply proved to be.
In, the L^nicn League Club, for instance, poli-
tics is the crowning feature; in the Aurora
Grata it is Free Masonry ; in the Germania it is
the Fatherland.
Some of these social organizations are
housed in buildings especially erected by or for
them. The Hamilton Club possesses a build-
ing which at once impresses one with an idea of
internal comfort, while the remarkably beauti-
ful statue of Alexander Hamilton, Washing-
ton's finance minister and one of the founders
of the Republic, shows that the members think
on higher matters than mere personal ease.
The L'nion League's mansion is Romanesque
in style and constructed of brick and brown-
stone with medallions of Lincoln and Grant
showing prominently in the facade, and an
eagle and a bear form conspicuous features in
the adornment. But the main attraction to vis-
itors is the magnificent equestrian statue of
General Grant which stands in front of the
building and was unveiled in 1896. The sculp-
tor was William Ordway Partridge. The
pedestal of Quincy granite rises to a height of
16 feet and the statue itself is 15 feet 8 inches
in height, so the whole assumes heroic propor-
tions. General Grant's son — General F. D.
Grant — General Horace Porter and others
competent to speak have declared it to be the
best portrait of the hero of the War of the Re-
bellion yet set up in any public place. The
IMontauk Club house is a most ornate structure
with a Greek frieze on the upper part of its
front as well as several other architectural
features well worthy of careful study. The
home of the Riding and Driving Club was Iniilt
•mi.
KlJ ^
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
681
for convenience rather than to develop any ar-
chitectural ideals, but its internal arrange-
ments are perfect. The Germania Club house,
on the other hand, arrests, the attention of
every one passing it on Schermerhorn street by
the rich Florentine design of its facade, a de-
sign that has apparently been copied, in many
respects, in several other club buildings as well
as private homes in the borough. Then many
clubs have altered and adopted a private house
— sometimes have taken two adjoining build-
ings and thrown them practically into one and
so secured an abundance of elbow room even
though the outward appearance does not give
one any idea of the splendor of the interior.
Perhaps the best specimen of an old dwelling
developed into a motlern club is the home of
the Midwood at Flatbush, a grand old Colonial
structure with great white columns in front, a
style of mansion that used to be common in the
neighborhood of both New York and Brook-
lyn, but of which few specimens' are now left.
One of the oldest, if not the oldest, of the
aristocratic social organizations in Brooklyn is
the Hamilton Club. It was originally intended
to be a purely literary club and was so de-
scribed in its first designation, the Young
Men's Literary Association of Brooklyn, but
the suggestion of calling it after the author of
the Federalist — or the principal author —
seemed' to cover better the idea of the founders,
and within a year the title was changed to the
Hamilton Literary Cluli. It certainly gathered
in its fold all the leading literary lights and
reading men of Brooklyn at that date — Henry
C. ;\Iurphy, Alden T. Spooner, Henry Silli-
man, John H. Raymond, Edgar J. Bartow,
Abiel L. Low, Joseph Howard, Francis P.
Sanford. D. N. Schoonmaker, Josiah C. Dow,
Thomas G. King, John T. Howan, George W.
Dow, Horace H. Dow and John Jewett, among
others. l<"or many years the literary feature
■was fully maintained as the peculiar field of the
club and its annual lecture course constituted
an important detail in the social calendar of
the city. In fact the association seems latterlv
to have developed into simply a lecture-giving
body, and with the decadence of that form of
public instruction — that tribune of the people,
as the lecture platform was titled in the palmy
days of Wendell Phillips, Lloyd Garrison,
Henry Ward Beecher and a score of others —
Hamilton Literary Association appears to have
lost its usefulness and its place in the public
regard. In 1882 a reorganization was effected
or rather the old association was practically
wiped out and in its stead the Hamilton Club
was evolved, a new organization with the mem-
bers, library, pictures and other accessories of
the old one, but better equipped with rules and
regulations calculated to meet modern social
wants and aspirations. It was a success from
the first. In 1884 it was established in its pres-
ent home, erected to meet its wants, at a cost
exceeding $100,000. It is quite an aristocratic
organization, that is to say, its membership is
rather exclusive, and is itself regarded as a so-
cial honor. Its art gallery is a particularly
choice one and includes Huntington's famous
painting of "The Republican Court," which
was fonnerly one of the features of the won-
derful collection in the mansion of A. T. Stew-
art, 2^ianhattan's merchant prince. Another
possession that is highly treasured is a Sevres
vase presented to the club by the French Gov-
ernment as an acknowledgment of the hospital-
ities showered upon M. liartholdi and his com-
patriots when the statue of Liberty was being
placed in position on Bedlow's Island.
The present officers are: President. James
AIcKeen ; secretary, \\'illiam A. Taylor ; treas-
urer. Theodore B. Brown.
The Brooklyn Club, organized in 1865, was
for many \ears the most fashionable of the so-
cial iirganizatiuns of Brooklyn, and has enter-
tained in its rooms such guests as General
Grant, Admiral Farragut, General Sherman,
Grand Duke Alexis of Russia, Professor Tyn-
dall, the worhl-renuwned scientist, and Henry
M. Stanley, the New ^"nrk rejiDrter wli.-i dis-
covered Dr. Livingston in the recesses of the
Dark Continent, and who has since become a
682
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
social lion in London, having been knighted by
the late Queen Victoria, elected to membership
in the House of Commons and marrying into a
family noted for brains as well as for social
prominence. The club was housed very soon
after its organization in a building at the cor-
ner of Clinton and Pierrepont streets. In 1883
an adjoining house was bought and three years
later the two buildings were practically recon-
structed and the present commodious club-
house was the result. For twenty years — from
1870 to 1890 — the club was presided over by
Mr. B. D. Silliman, one of the most representa-
tive of the citizens of Brooklyn and of whom
an extended biography is given in another
chapter of this work. He was succeeded by
Mr. David M. Stone, editor of the New York
Journal of Commerce, who served for but a
single term and was followed by General Ben-
jamin F. Tracy, then probably the most active
member of the legal fraternity in the city.
Although his energies are now directed
elsewhere and he is regarded as belonging
rather to Manhattan than to Brookl>Ti, General
Tracy played too prominent a part in the afifairs
of the latter borough — was for too many years
identified with its progress, not to be regarded
with affectionate pride by every citizen of the
present day. He was born at Owego, New
York, April 26, 1830, and studied law in an
office in that village. In 185 1 he was admitted
to the bar and three years later was elected
District Attorney of Tioga County on the
Whig ticket, although the constituency was
strongly Democratic, and at the expiration of
his term he was re-elected in spite of a deter-
mined effort to bring about his defeat. In
1861 he was elected a member of Assembly,
and during his short service at Albany won
golden opinions for his common-sense views
on all topics, his short, clear-cut, pithy speeches
and his devotion to the advancement of public
business. He served but one term and then re-
turned to his law practice in Owego. But he
was not long permitted to devote himself to his
private business. The war cloud had settled
on the land and the Nation was engaged in the
most gigantic of modern armed conflicts. Re-
garding his war record one authority writes as
follows :
"In the spring of 1862, still remembered as
a period of alarm to the friends of the Union
cause, new levies were imperative for the Fed-
eral army, and Governor Morgan at once ap-
pointed a committee in each Senatorial district
to organize a general recruiting effort. Tracy
was one of the committee for Broome, Tioga
and Tompkins counties. He accepted the
charge, and, in addition to general service as a
member, he received a commission from the
Governor, and personally recruited two regi-
ments, the One Hundred and Ninth and the
One Hundred and Thirty-seventh, making his
headquarters in Binghamton. The active work
was completed in thirty days, and Tracy was
appointed colonel of the One Hundred and
Ninth, with which he reported to General
Wool, at Baltimore, in whose department it re-
mained until transferred to that of Washing-
ton. In the spring of 1864 the regiment was
ordered to join the Ninth (Burnside) Corps,
then a part of Grant's advance. Colonel Tracy
led his regiment with great gallantry in the
battle of the Wilderness, when its loss, on Fri-
day, May 6th, was upwards of eighty killed
and wounded. Near the close of the fighting
on that day, he fell exhausted, and was carried
from the field. Urged by the staff of his com-
manding officer to go to hospital, he refused,
but resumed the lead of his regiment, and held
it through three days of the fighting at Spot-
sylvania, where he completely broke down, and
was compelled to surrender the command to
the lieutenant-colonel.
"As soon as he became satisfied that months
must elapse before he could again join the
army, and not liking military service in a hos-
pital, he tendered his resignation, and came
North to recruit his health. In the following
September, without solicitation on his part.
Secretary Stanton tendered him the appoint-
ment of Colonel of the One Hundred and
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
683
Twenty-seventh United States Colored Troops,
which he accepted. Subsequently, he was or-
dered to the command of the military post at
Elmira, including the prison camp and the
draft rendezvous for Western New York.
This was a large and important command. In
the prison camp there were at one time as
many as 10,000 prisoners.
"The treatment of prisoners of war was
long a subject of extended and bitter contro-
versy between the North and the South. That
there was nuich suffering and great mortality
at Elmira is not denied, because these are in-
separable from large military prisons ; but that
either can be attributed to cruelty or neglect is
positively denied. Nothing that could be rea-
sonably done to alleviate the suffering of the
prisoners was omitted. The very best of food
was supplied in large quantities, while the bar-
racks were large and commodious — nearly all
new and built expressly for the prisoners ; the
accommodations and supplies furnished them
being in all respects the same as those supplied
to the Federal troops on guard, and to the vol-
unteers received at the draft rendezvous."
There are a class of men who achieve dis-
tinction that seem to resemble the mechanic
who forms his calculations and fashions his
machinery upon the abstract considerations of
the mechanical powers, making no allowance
for friction, the resistance of the air, or
strength of his materials. This was not the
case \'ith Judge Tracy. He exerts a quick,
careful examination of every circumstance by
which he is surrounded, even though sprung
upon him instantaneously. Perhaps nothing in
his life more strongly illustrates his ability to
overcome sudden difficulties than the triumph-
ant manner in which he repelled the dastardly
attack made by Hill, of Georgia, in the House
of Representatives, March, 1876, upon the
treatment of rebel prisoners at Elmira. It was
virtually an attack upon General Tracy, and
took place in a once celebrated debate between
Hill and Blaine, in which the former, incensed
by the representations of the latter of the hor-
rors at Andersonville, referred bitterly to the
Elmira camp, charging upon its management
cruelties quite equal to those recorded of the
Southern prisons.
General Tracy was at home at this time>
and it was by mere accident that he learned
the nature of the debate in progress at Wash-
ington, and of General Hill's charges. This
occurred at a time when the General was deep-
ly engaged in an absorbing and important mat-
ter. One morning, while rapidly glancing over
a New York daily, his attention was arrested
by the heading of a column, as follows : "Hill,
of Georgia, on the Elmira Prison ; he alleges
that the rebel prisoners confined in it during
the war were treated with great inhumanity,"
etc. After reading it carefully, burning with
indignation, he hastened to telegraph Mr.
Piatt, member from the Twenty-eighth district,
a full, well-worded reply to Hill. This reached
Mr. Piatt in the House, while the debate on the
subject of the prison at Elmira was still in
progress. Immediately arising to a question of
privilege, he sent the remarkable telegram to
the clerk, by whom it was read to the House.
It commanded profound silence, falling upon
Hill and his Southern friends like a sudden
clap of thunder. Hardly was the reading con-
cluded when Hon. C. C. Walker, a member
from the Elmira district, an intense Democrat,
sprang to his feet, and, in a few glowing and
efl'ectual words, fully sustained General Tra-
cy's telegram ; alleging that, to his own knowl-
edge, every word of it was true. This ended
the debate, completely refuting the charges
made by Hill.
On resuming civil life General Tracy be-
came a member of the New York law firm of
Benedict, Burr & Benedict, and so continued
until appointed United States District Attor-
ney for the Eastern District of New York.
This office he resigned in 1873 and entered
upon the practice of law in Brooklyn, quickly
becoming recognized as one of the leaders o£
the local bar and one of the most active work-
ers in the local ranks of the Republican party.
<j84
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In i88i' he was offered the nomination for the
mavorahy but declined in favor of Air. Seth
Low.
Before the close of that year, however, he
was appointed to a seat on the l^ench of the
Court of Appeals, which he held for over a
year, and then resumed private practice,' and
along with Mr. Silas B. Dutcher was the rec-
ognized leader of the Republican forces in the
city. In 1889 General Tracy entered the cab-
inet of President Harrison as Secretary of the
Navy, and with his acceptance of that office
his' connection with Brooklyn may be said to
have closed. His career in the Navy Depart-
ment at Washington won for him the heartiest
commendation of all classes of citizens, regard-
less of party affiliations and he- is credited with
being the real builder of the "Xew Xavy."
which rendered the country such he'roic and
brilliant service when the time' came to practi-
cally test its value and efficiency: His resi-
dence at the Capital, however, was clouded by
a terrible affliction. In a fire which destroyed
his residence his wife and his youngest daugh-
ter were burned to death, and for several days
his own condition was regarded as critical.
He calmly resumed his official cares, apparent-
ly finding relief from his own sorrows- in the
rush of business, and continued in th'e official
harness to the close of his term. Then he left
Washington, entered upon the practice of law
in Manhattan, and so continues. He is active
in politics still, figured prominently as the reg-
ular Republican candidate in the first contest
for the mayoralty of the consolidated city, Init
the campaign was made on his part more in
compliance with a sense of party duty rather
than from any personal desire to againi hold
public office. His law practice, one of the
most important on Manhattan Island, fullv oc-
cupies all his working hours.
The officers are: President, Edward M.
Grout ; vice-president, Edward F. Patchen ;
secretary, Henry Earle; treasurer, William C.
Smith.
The largest and the best generally known
of the social organizations of Brooklyn is the
Cnion League Club, which was organized in
1887 as the Twenty-third Ward Republican
Club, but changed its name to its present desig-
natioiii a year later when it was incorporated.
The present officers are : President, Hibbert
B. Masters ; first vice-president, David Thorn-
ton ; second vice-president. Horace M. Carle-
ton; treasurer, Thomas Bishop; and secretary,
James R. Ross.
The Li^nion League is essentially a political
organization, Republican to the backbone and
the head centre of the party in the "City of
Churches." There is no getting away from
this or any desire to get away from it. The
constitution of the club plainly declares that
its aims are "To promote social intercourse, to
advance the cause of good government by
awakening a political interest in citizens, to
overcome existing iiidifference in the discharge
of political duties, and to perform such other
work as may best conserve the welfare of the
■RepubHcan party." The club was a numerical
and financial success from the first and in 1891
took possession of its present palatial edifice on
'Bedford avenue and'Dean street at a cost, in-
cluding site and fittings, of some $215,000.
Architecturally the building is an ornament to
the city, and the front is designed after the
TR-omanesque style, of brick and terra cotta, and
is exceedingly chaste throughout, while the
four stories which rise over the line of the side-
walk are surmounted by a French roof,' giving
really the accommodation of an additional floor
aitd the whole is surmounted by a neat cupola.
Th.e main entrance is most imposing in eft'ect,
and throughout the entire interior the appoint-
ments are the very best that taste or luxury
could suggest and money could buy. On its
roll of membership are 850 names — thereby
representative of every professional and busi-
ness interest in the city, and all adherents of
the Republican party with an intensity that is
only varied by their natural temperaments.
The Lincoln Club was originally a purely
Republican institution, although nowadays its
^:i7^-W:7''Lk.-.m^
The Lewis FubUshm^ l
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
685
association with party politics has been aban-
doned anid its pnrel}' social features are its
main attraction. In fact many of the' most
prominent Democrats in Brooklyn have been
and are on its roll of membership and in its
boards of officers and managers. The Lin-
coln was organized in 1878 by a number of cit-
izens of Republican proclivities in politics, and
for a year or so held very pleasant meetings
according to a sort of house-to-house arrange-
ment. By the close of a year a knowledge of
these meetings and their many social pleasures
and their spread of good fellowship and ac-
quaintanceship ledi to so many requests for
membership that the originators were induced
to widen the scope of their association, to
abandon its political proclivities and to look
out for a house in which the affairs of the
club might be carried on antl its social features
developed' .to the utmost. Two adjoining
frame buildings were purchased on Putnam
avenue anid there the club took up its head-
quarters and speedily grew in popularity as
well as in financial and r,u:iierical strength.
This was shown in 1889 when, after "tinkering
and coopering," at a considerable expense, the
original frame buildings, from time to time to
meet the needs of the institution, it was deter-
mined to pull them down and- erect on their
site a structure that would meet all the passing
and prospective wants of the association and
be another architectural landmark in the city.
The result was the erection of the present Lin-
coln Club house, a magnificent four-story
structiire in a style developed from- the early
French Renaissance — one of those builjdings
which attract the eye and rivet the attention
even in a "wilderness of brick, stone and square
holes for windows,"' as a writer once gave as
the characteristic feature of American streets.
Internally it is fitted up in a st_\-le in keeping,
not with all the comforts of home, but with all
the attractions and luxuries of clubdom, and
that means it is in every sense of the word a
modern palace.
The Lincoln Club is officered as follows :
President, H. F. Williams; secretary, Jay
Stone ; treasurer, A. T. Stoutenburgh.
The Hanover Club has a history in many
respects akin to that of the Lincoln Club in
that whatever political proclivities it may have
had in its earlier da3-s have long been aban-
doned and it is purely devoted to social pur-
poses. It is essentially an Eastern District or-
ganization, and its inception was due to the
desire of several of the wealthier residents of
that section of the old city which would fill the
same purposes in their own home district that
the older clubs did nearer the oldi Ferry. The
matter was discussed for quite a considerable
time and then the old Hawley Mansion, an
ideal building for club purposes, was put on
the market and the desire to secure it for the
proposed organization led to action being taken
in the matter. A meeting was called, signed
by Andrew D. Baird, Frederick W. Wurster,
Charles Cooper, William C. Bryant, Henry
Seibert, Charles H. Russell, A. C. Hallam, E.
B. Havens, Warren E. Smith. H. G. Taylor,
Charles Fox, B. E. ^'eitch, J. A. Peterkin,
^Millard F. Smith, James A. Sperry and Louis
Conrad, who may be regarded as the "found-
ers and fathers" of the organization. As a
result of the call quite a large and representa-
tive meeting was held, when it was determined
to organize the Hanover Club and take up an
option which had been secured on the Hawley
^lansion. This arrangement was carried out,
a set of by-laws for the government of the new
organization was drawn up and possession was
taken of the mansion. The first Board of Di-
rectors was made up of Andrew D. Baird,
:\Iillard F. Smith, John Cartledge. J. Adolph
]\Inl!cnhauer, William Donald, Benjamin D.
r)acon, William C. Bryant, E. I!. Havens,
Alathew Dean, Henry Hasler, Edwin Knowles,
Frederick W. Wurster, J. Henrv Ditk, A. C.
Hallam and H. F. Gunnison. The first busi-
ness was to "fix up" the splendid old mansion,
to remodel it for the uses of the organization
and this involved not only a thorough over-
hauling of its interior arrangements and a
686
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
complete outfit ini the way of furniture and
decoration, but also the building of a large ex-
tension. However, all this was satisfactorily
accomplished and on January 19, 1901, the
club house was formally opened to the mem-
bers and their friends. Since then the prog-
ress of the organization has been as rapid as
its most enthusiastic member could desire. It
has a membership of 400, and among those
who figure on its roll are many of the most
prominent residents of Brooklyn — prominent
in professional, business, political and social
life, the very class of men who by their ener-
gies are making Brooklyn advance with rapid
Sitrides to the foremost position among the
group of boroughs which constitute the Great-
er New York.
The president is Mr. James A. Sperry ; the
treasurer, Mr. Andrew D. Baird, and the sec-
retary, Mr. Alvah Miller.
The Montauk Club is the last of the social
clubs which we present here as being fuUy and
fairly representative of the higher club life of
Brooklyn. Its home on Eighth avenue, Lin-
coln Place and the Park Plaza, occupies one
of the finest sites in Brooklyn and its building
is among the most attractive in the city. The
structure in design is after the Venetian, and
every detail is carried out with the most ex-
quisite taste. The edifice stands out in bold
relief, as it were, even in its rather aristocratic
surroundings, and while there can be no doubt
of its semi-public character — its size at once
determines that even to the most casual ob-
server— there is never any question as to its
being a home, and a home whose owners pos-
sess taste and wealth. This itself is a satisfac-
tory point, for we have seen club houses — ex-
pensive concerns so far as their cost was con-
cerned and pretty exclusive as to their mem-
bership— which would puzzle even an experi-
enced man about town to say off-hand whether
they were hospitals, police stations or insur-
ance headquarters. The Montauk Club house
cost, including site, $202,680, while its fur-
nishings and fittings involved a further outlay
of about $30,000. It was opened for the use of
members in May, 1891, the club at that time
having been some two years in existence. The
limit of membership — 500 — has long been
reached and is easily maintained — a long wait-
ing list being one of the features of the story
cf the club. Its management is of the most
generous order, its appointments throughout
are of the most perfect description and every-
thing it does, every hospitality it extends, is
characterized by lavishness, but at the same
time everything that savors of what might be
called the mere ostentation of wealth — the bar-
barity of richness — is strictly tabooed. It is a
progressive and thoroughly representative or-
ganization of Brooklyn's most prominent citi-
zens, and has thoroughly deserved the almost
national degree of importance it has achieved
during the comparatively brief period of its
existence.
Its officers are : President, William H.
Henry; treasurer, T. Plunkett; and secretary,
J. ^leyers.
Among the other leading social clubs are
the following:
Aldine Association — iii Fifth avenue, or-
ganized 1889. 500 members. H. B. Domin-
ick, president; C. L. Patton, secre'tary, 43
East Tenth street.
Brooklyn Barnard Club — 132 Remsen
street. Organized 1896. 350 members. Hon.
John A. Taylor, chairman ; Mrs. Thomas R.
French, secretary, 150 Joralemon street.
Brooklyn Schnorrer — 237 Johnson avenue.
Organized 1886. 50 members (limited).
William Hcrthe, president; Henry Bauer, sec-
retary, 46 Bartlett street.
Bushvvick Club — Bushwick avenue and
Hart street. Organized 1890. 400 members.
Charles Graham, president; Louis Burger,
secretary, 465 Pulaski street; William Batter-
man, treasurer.
Carleton Club — Sixth avenue, corner St.
Marks. Organized 1881. 141 members. B.
J. York, president; Henry Bodevin, secretary,
426 First street.
Church Club of the Diocese of Long Isl-
and.— 2-4 Clinton street, Brooklyn. Organ-
ired 1894. 375 members. Francis H. Miller,
president ; Sutherland R. Haxtun, secretary.
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
687
Cortelyou — Bedford, near Newkirk ave-
nue. Organized 1896. 275 members. \\'ill-
iam H. Hooper, president; C. A. Balm, sec-
retary, 199 East 28th street, Flatbush. Has
athletic and cycle clubs and Dramatic Society.
Crescent — 25-29 Clinton street. Country
house. Shore road and 83d street, Bay Ridge.
1,700 members. William H. Ford, president:
A. Wallace Higgins, secretary, 99 Cedar
street, Manhattan; Henry L. Langhaar, treas-
urer.
Dyker Heights Club— 86th street and 13th
avenue. Organized 1898. 100 members. The-
odore H. Bailey, president ; Karl B. Sack-
mann, secretary ; Chas. A. Seaver, treasurer.
Eastern District Citizens' Association —
Organized 1899. 200 members. John Feier-
abend, president ; Nicholas Bonnlander, sec-
retary, 1477 DeKalb avenue; annual election,
April.
Excelsior — Clinton and Livingston streets.
Organized 1854. 100 members. George W.
Chauncey, president ; J. A. Ayres, treasurer ;
William De Vigne, secretary, "2 South El-
liott place.
Farmers' — 603 Grand street. Organized
7883. 100 members. John J. Jennings, presi-
dent: F. Dahlbender, treasurer; Anton Dahl-
bender, secretary.
Germania Social Club — Schermcrhom
street. Organized i860. 250 members. Dr.
R. Schmeltzer, president, 206 Lincoln place ;
A. Buchner, secretary, 32 7th avenue.
Homard Club — Organized 1899. 100
m.embers. Club house, 6th avenue and 9th
street. N. Heyman. president ; C. Henry, sec-
retary, 375 qth street.
Home of the City of Brooklyn — 654 Grand
street. Organized 1889. 100 members. R.
C. Knipe, president ; A. D. Canty, treasurer ;
A. J. Shefers, secretary.
Keramos Club — Manhattan avenue and
Milton street. 100 members (limited).
George R. McLaughlin, president, 82 Norman
avenue ; Miss A. Gorman, secretary.
Knickerbocker Field Club — Tennis Court
and East i8th street. Organized 1891. 225
members. Walter Moore, president; C. F.
Bond, treasurer ; FL R. Ham, secretary.
Lexington Social Club — 225 Lewis avenue.
Edward J. Farrell, president; James J. Eagan,
secretar}', 771 Gates avenue; James Mulvenan,
treasurer.
Lincoln Social Club — 405 Bridge street.
Organized 1895. 50 members. M. E. Walker,
president ; J. J. Bavenizer, secretary, 93 Cler-
mont avenue ; L. W. Herald, treasurer.
Metropolitan — 174 Prince street. Organ-
ized 1896. 90 members. H. A. Williamson,
president; A. . H. Ferguson, secretary, 569
Union street.
Midwood — Flatbush, near Caton avenue.
145 members. William A. A. Brown, presi-
dent; W. Joel Moran, treasurer; R. G. New-
begin, secretary, 147 Midwood street.
Millard Club — 335 Hoyt street. Organized
1895. no members. Andrew I. Cunan, pres-
ident ; David A. Whamond, corresponding sec-
retary, 31 Douglass street; Ed. A. Cantwell,
treasurer.
Nonpareil — Henry Perera, president : Mat-
thew Ryan, treasurer ; Thomas Ryan, secre-
tary.
Original Fourteen Club — 7 Myrtle avenue.
Organized 1890. 617 members. Roljert T.
Brown, president ; William Grady, secretary,
249 Jay street ; Thomas Donlon, treasurer.
Oxford — Lafayette avenue, corner South
Oxford street. Incorporated 1880. 300 mem-
bers. F. Joseph Vernon, president ; Charles
Martin Camp, secretary, 109 Lafayette avenue;
Frederick Worth, treasurer.
Prospect Club — Prospect Heights. Or-
ganized 1897. 42 members. Mrs. Margaret
E. Bretz, president; Miss J. A. Jordan, record-
ing secretary, 873 Union street.
Ridge — 2d avenue and 72d street. Organ-
ized 1893. 95 members. Frederick C. Cocheu,
president : Frank F. Koehler, secretary, 270
53d street.
Saratoga Social Club — 2042 Fulton street.
Organized 1895. 155 members. William
Chambers, president; Clans Kuck, treasurer;
Dennis Haggerty, secretary, 1098 Herkimer
street.
St. Patrick Society of Brooklyn — 4 and 5
Court square. Organized 1850. 230 mem-
bers. William J. Carr, president; Daniel
Kelly, secretary ; John T. Breen, treasurer, 379
State street.
Shinnecock Club — High and Bridge streets.
Organized in 1900. 102 members. John T.
pra\es. Prc-ident; M. J. Burke, treasurer;
Charles J. FTayes, secretary, 155 Bridge street.
Trinity Club — Hall Memorial House, Or-
ganized 1897. no members. A. M. Griffith,
president, 72 Hoyt street; A. R. Davison,
treasurer; D. Hughes, secretary, 61 Canton
street.
Twelfth Ward Home Club — 420 A^an
Brunt street. Organized 1898. 100 members.
Daniel J. Lynch, president ; August H. Guthes,
treasurer ; Claus H. Luhrrsen, secretary, 424
\'an Brunt street.
688
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Unity — ^482 Franklin avenue. Organized
1896. 160 members. Closes J. Harris, pres-
ident ; Josepli Maiine, secretary, 482 Franklin
avenue : Ferdinand Seiignian, treasurer.
Washington Club — 172 Prospect place.
Organized 1898. 350 members. Thomas R.
Farrell, president ; ^larriott T. Dowden. sec-
retary, 837 Bergen street.
The sporting clubs of Long Island form
even a more conspicuous feature of its pleasure
circles than even the social organizations.
From the begimiing of its history, almost,
Long Island has lieen regarded as a sort of
sportsman's paradise and we have seen how
the early English governors encouraged' horse-
racing on Hempstead plains. There doubtless
was a variety of sporting clubs on Long Island
in earlier times, for sportsmen are sociable be-
ings and half the pleasure of sport is the gath-
ering around the evening campfire and the
swapping of wondrous stories of adventure,
escape, and the weight of fish, the length of
antler; or the size of a bag. But sportsmen do
not — or rather did not — keep written records,
and there is very little reliable information in
existence concerning the doings of these early
associations of sportsmen. There was, how-
ever, one great difiference between them and
the present generation. The fashion used to
be to kill indiscriminately and without any re-
gard to the laws for the protection of the
game ; rather in open defiance of them : and a
hunter who went forth with a gun banged
away at every animal he saw and his prowess
was measured by the number of animals he
sent to their death. Nowadays there are no
better assistants to the game wardens than
the members of the various sporting clulis, and
indeed it has been said, and said with truth,
that the preservation of game on Long Island
is due more to the protection afforded by the
wide domains of many of the sportsmen's or-
ganizations and to the intelligent appreciation
of the necessity of close seasons and a rigid ,
application of the laws.
• The first of the sporting clubs of which we
have any precise record was the Long Island
Shooting Club. Of that organization: and sev-
eral other early ones Mr. Abel Crook, presi-
dent of the Fountain Gun Cliib, wrote as fol-
lows :
The Long Island Shooting Clulj was the
pioneer organization of the gun clubs of this
country. Originally it was simply an associa-
tion of gentlemen who had enjoyed trap shoot-
ing in England, their mother country, and
wished to perpetuate a pastime which fur-
nished them the practice of wing shooting at
comparatively small expenditure of time and
money.
It was in existence prior to 1842. Rol)ert
Carter was its secretary as early as 1847, when
its roll consisted of about 25 members, includ-
ing such "old time sportsmen" as Harry Rus-
sell, Samuel Parker, John Thompson, John
Maitland, l-'rank Palmer, Humphrey Harts-
horn and Robert Robinson. Their place of
meeting was "The Woodcock," then, kept by
Harry Russell and afterwards by Palmer, in
Adams street, near Willoughby, on about the
site of the present iron works of Howell &
Saxtan. All business meetings were at the call
of the president, and were held about three or
four times a year, to arrange for a trap shoot
which depended upon the possibility of obtain-
ing a sufficient supply of wild pigeons, which
were generall}- used for that purpose. They
had no regular club ground but held contests
in the vicinity of the old Oil Cloth factory,
near the present Sackett street boulevard,
which was then in commons, and also at Sut-
ton's Prospect Hill Hotel, then known as "Sam
X'unk's," and located on about the site of the
Distributing Reservoir, at the entrance to
Prospect Park. The novelty of these "shoots"
attracted such a crowd of spectators that the
members ceased to hold them in the old places,
and adopted the system of chartering a tug-
boat and sailing to some of the islands near
the city, where they could enjoy themselves
without interruption.
Their last excursion of this character was
to Riker's Island, in 1850, when 700 birds were
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
killed. At that time no regular trap rules had
been adopted, except such as had been in vogue
in England for at least a century. One ground
trap only was used, which the clu].) imported
from England.
All disputes were settled by submission to
Bell's Life, and frequently large sums were
wagered on the result of the decisian, which
would remain undetermined pending the six
weeks' delay necessary to receipt of the paper
from London containing the "answer." The
amount of shot allowed was one and a half
ounce. Soon after the Riker's Island meeting
the club moved its headquarters to the tavern
corner of Main and York streets, kept by Rus-
sell & Stainsby, and still later it followed Harry
Russell to his place, then in Fulton street,
about opposite York street. In 1855 '^hs club
was reorganized and its membership was lim-
ited to 24 members, and applicants for mem-
bership were required to await a vacancy.
About 1868 a further reorganization wiis
effected, and the limit of membership in-
creased to fifty, and, for the first time, a formal
constitution and by-laws and shooting rules
were adopted. Its ofiicers, then elected, were :
William ^I. Parks, president; Robert Robin-
son, first vice-president; Charles W. Rod nan,
second vice-president; Captain Sealy, treas-
urer; J. Foulke, Jr., secretary. Its executive
committee were: Frank H. Palmer, Benja-
min L. DeForest, Robert Robinson, Dr. S. W.
Bridges and George S. Lanphear.
Shooting grounds were selected at John I.
Snediker's, on the old' Jamaica plank road.
The club then included among its members
Benjamin W. West, George Lorillard, How-
ard Jaffray, and many other men of means and
sporting tastes, who united in rendering each
meeting at the trap peculiarly festive.
A dinner on the grounds was a feature of
those days, and was served frequently at the
expense of the losing team of those selected at
the commencement of the contest. In 1874
another reorganizr.tion was had. Again, in
1876, an ineffectual attempt was made to in-
corporate the club under the club act of 1875.
A certificate was filed in Queens county, which
stated its object to be "the enforcement of all
laws and ordinances against the killing and
sale of game out of season and the encourage-
ment of a genuine sportsmanlike spirit among
its members." The limit of membership was
removed, but a unanimous vote was required
to elect a member.
Finally, on June 3, 1876, the club filed with
the Secretary of State a copy of a further cer-
tificate of incorporation, which had been filed
in Kings County Clerk's office on May 24,
1876, and the incorporation became complete.
This final certificate states as the "object" of
the organization, "Protection and preservation
of game and the shooting of pigeons, from
traps ; to practice and improve in the use of the
gun in shooting birds on the wing, for which
suitable grounds have been provided in the
county of Queens."
The mmiber of the directors was certified
to be seven, "who, with the president, vice-
president, secretary and treasurer, shall "form
an executive committee." It has about 50 mem-
bers. Officers: Theodore Linington, presi-
dent ; John Akhurst, vice-president ; John H.
Chasmar, secretary; Robert Robinson, treas-
urer.
The Phoenix Gun Club, as its name denotes,
sprung from the ashes of its original associa-
tion, the Blue Rock Pigeon Club, which was
organized February 4, 1866.
The "Blue Rock" founders were : A. H.
Glahn, Adam Glahn, M. McMahon, Owen
Larkin, Austin Appleyard, Samuel McGaw
and John H. Chasmar. Its first meeting was
at the residence of A. H. Glahn, Flushing ave-
nue, near Classon avenue, Brooklyn ; but
subsequently the meetings were at the
residence of Austin Appleyard, at the cor-
ner of High and Bridge streets. It was
limited to fourteen members. The officers
were held peculiarly to the performance of
their duties by the imposition of a fine of one
dollar for any neglect. Non-attendance at a
6fJ0
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
business meeting subjected a member to a fine
of twenty-five cents ; and if not present at roll
call, ten cents was imposed as a penalty. Pro-
fanity an-d personalities were especially ab-
horred and payment of fifty cents for such in-
dulgence was exacted. The trap contests were
monthly, and the trophy for the winner was a
sterling silver cup, thirteen inches in height,
in a glass case ; which was retained until won
by some other member at a subsequent contest.
In May, 1871, the "Blue Rocks" dissolved,
leaving the cup with its then holder, Austin
Appleyard. On June 7, 1872, it was reorgan-
ized under its present name at a meeting in
the "Abbey," on Fulton street, nearly opposite
Flatbush avenue, with Austin Appleyard, Ed-
ward H. Madison, Warren Birdseye, John H.
Chasmar, Daniel McGaw and Jolm Akhurst as
its members. Its limit of menilicrsliip is ten.
The rigid official and inidivitlual discipline
Jias been retained. Each member contributes
:$i.50 monthly until a sufficient sum has been
'received to provide the birds necessary for a
shooting contest and for refreshments upon the
ground. About four "shoots" are held each
year. All shooting is by teams of equal num-
bers, one side being captained by the president
and the other by the vice-president ; the shoot-
ers being selected by lot and all being experts.
Each contestant shoots at fifteen birds. Some-
times a single trap, with use of one barrel of
the gun, is provided, but usually the contest is
with five traps and both barrels may be used.
The losing side furnishes a supper for the
participants upon the close of the day's sport.
The club gold badge is awarded to the indi-
vidual making the best score of the day ; but
is returnable to the club at the next contest.
The conservative but social character thus
maintained has rendered membership so de-
sirable that vacancies seldom occur. Its pres-
ent officers and members are: Samuel Mc-
Gaw, president; Reuben Midmer, vice-presi-
dent; John H. Chasmar, secretary; John Ak-
hurst, treasurer; William Baulsir, James
Smith, Moses Chichester, D. H. Freligh,
George Jamer, Austin Appleyard.
The Brooklyn Gun Club. — This voluntary
organiization dates from July 24, 1872, and
was reorganized July 31, 1877. As a pigeon-
shooting club it has had on its roster the names
of many well-known citizens of the city whose
name it bears. Gradually its members have
deserted the ranks and sought enrollment in
more active bodies. At one time, some years
since, it secured a victory over, the Riverton
Gun Club, then known as the Social Gun and
Rifle Club of Philadelphia. Its policy has
been exceedingly conservative..
At its annual meeting, in January, 1884,
it was decided that the club should devote its
energies and funds to stocking with quail cer-
tain farms in the vicinity of Smithtown, Long
Island, for the purpose of affording its mem-
bers facilities for field sports, and that trap
shooting should be abandoned by it. Last year
the club tried the experiment of re^stocking,
with gratifying results. Its membership is
about twenty-five. Its officers are: Henry I".
Aten, president ; John L. Logan, vice-presi-
dent ; John E. McEwen, secretary ; Isaac C.
Monroe, treasurer.
The Fountain Gun Club has appropriately
lieen styled the "banner club." It was the
creation of necessity. Prior to 1876 member-
ship of gun clubs was practically limited to
expert manipulators of fowling pieces; and
trap shooting was confined chiefly to sweep-
stakes or contests for cups, which represented
the aggregate amounts paid by the contestants
as entrance money. Skillful shots formed
"combinations," whereby they agreed to di-
vide winnings and share expenses. Novices
soon became discouraged.
In May, 1876, a few of these tyros met at
"Brown's," on the old Coney Island road, and
inaugurated a shoot in an adjoining potato
patch. The surroundings were "truly rooral."
Refreshments were at hand on a l:able, com-
posed of a board supported by two barrels.
One ground trap was provided, and as each
participant "toed the mark," the others formed
a line beside him and the luckless bird became
the target for their united efforts. If killed,
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
it was scored to the shooter who had been
called to the front. Many "goose eggs" ap-
pear on these original records.
Soon those pastimes occurred at regular in^
tervals of one month and the "lunch" gave way
to a regular dinner which each member at-
tended ; and toasts and responses, having spe-
cial reference to the incident of the day, were
intermingled with songs and chorus. Under
such fostering influences the members became
closely united, and an esprit, dn corps prevailed
to an extent far greater than in any of the
rival clubs. Members of the older organiza-
tions applied for admission to the young so-
ciety ; and, having outgrown its swaddling
clothes, it was incorporated May lo, 1877.
Its objects are specified in the articles of incor-
poration to be as follows : "The particular
business and object of such society shall be the
enforcement of all laws and ordinances against
killing and sale of game out of season; the
prevention of unlawful and inhumane destruc-
tion of game; the improvement in the use of
the gun and the fostering of a genuine social
and sportsmanlike spirit among its members."
The leading sporting associations of the
present day, on Long Island, include:
Rockaway Point Rod and Gun (The
Cuckoos) — Shooting grounds, Rockaway
Park, Rockaway Beach, Long Island. Mem-
bership limited to 12. C. Glier, president; J.
Fleming, vice-president; Edw. F. Bourke,
treasurer; E. J. Meyer, secretary, 257 Flat-
bush avenue, Brooklyn.
Steinway Gun — 911 Steinway avenue,
Long Island City. Organized 1890. 10 mem-
bers. Jacob Schumann, captain ; Charles
Knueppel, secretary, 911 Steinway avenue.
RICHMOND.
Lehner's Rifle Club — 02 Canal street, Sta-
pleton, Staten Island. Organized 1889. 12
members. F. Winsch, president ; August Mey-
er, treasurer ; Carl Seidel, secretary.
West New Brighton Rifle Club — Broadway
and Cary avenue. Organized 1897. 15 mem-
bers. John F. Smith, president; Jacob F.
Seeger, treasurer; Robert R. Westbrook, sec-
retary, 1 1 South street. West New Brighton,
Staten Island.
QUEENS.
College Point Schuetzen Company — Col-
lege Point. Organized 1884. 24 members.
William Frese, president ; Emil Vouarb, secre-
tary. College Point.
Bay Shore Gun — Bay Shore, Long Island.
Organized 1892. 20 members (Innited).
tirounds etxtend from Bay Shore to Islip.
Stocked with quail. John H. Vail, president;
J. R. Howell, secretary and treasurer, Bay
Shore, Long Island.
Bellport Gun — Bellport, Long Island. In-
corporated April, 1895. Dr. H. A. Mandeville,
president; Alfred Wagstafif, secretary, 27-29
Madison avenue, Manhattan.
Brooklyn, E. D., Fishing Club^26o Hum-
boldt street. Organized 1885. 25 members.
I\Ieets first Saturday. G. Gillen, president ; H.
Bachmann, secretary, 637 Bushwick avenue.
Carman's River — Brookhaven, Long Isl-
and. Peter B. Acker, president; Henry C.
Wilson, treasurer; Alfred Wagstaff, secretary,
27-29 Madison avenue, Manhattan.
Carteret Gun Club — Garden City, Long Isl-
and. Organized 1883. 100 members (limited).
Henry A. Gilderslee\'e, president ; Walter H.
Mead, secretary-treasurer, 67 Wall street,
Manhattan.
Cedar Island — Cedar Island, near Baby-
lon, Long Island. Organized 1892. Stephen
C. Duryea, president ; Carll S. Duryea, secre-
tary, Babylon, Long Island.
Coram Gun Club — Coram, Long Island.
Organized 1897. 16 members. T. J. Smith,
president ; A. S. Pittit, secretary, Fairground,
Long Island.
Flushing Fishing — Anchorage, Hicks
Beach, Flushing, Long Island. Organized
"1896. 75 members. J. B. Schnicl/el, presi-
dent; George W. Pople, secretary 1,^3 Lincoln
street. Flushing. Annual election, March.
Four Jacks Fishing Club — Rockaway
Beach. Organized 1896. 150 members. R.
H. Sherman, president; Ma.x Berger, treas-
urer; Charles Watson, secretary, 1198 Myrtle
avenue, Brooklyn.
Freeport Gun — Freeport, Long Island.
Organized 1892. 37 members. T. D. Carman,
president; E. A. Dorlon, secretary.
Gilbert Rod and Gun Club of Brooklyn —
Club House, ,Amityville, Long Island. Organ-
69i
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
dzed 1894. 30 members. J. G. TiUhill, presi-
dent ; George W. Barnard, secretary, 63 Leon-
ard street, Manhattan; W. K. Gilbert, treas-
urer.-
Huntington Gun Club — Huntington, Long
Island. Organized 1899. 30 members. Doug-
lass Conklin, president; Lewis B. Smith, sec-
retary. First and third Tuesdays.
Glenwood Fishing — Hempstead Harbor,
Long Island. Organized 1882. 20 members.
G. H. K. White, president; F. A. Brockway,
secretary, 167 Willoughby avenue, Brooklyn ;
Russell Wheeler, treasurer.
Lexington Fishing Club — Goose Creek, Ja-
maica Bay. Organized 1891. 12 members.
J. E. iMcElroy, president; A. :\IcElroy, treas-
urer; G. V. Beckwith, secretary, Belmont av-
enue, near Crystal street, Brooklyn.
Long Island Meadow Club— 19 West 30th
street, JNIanhattan. 50 members. Dr. Edward
Bradley, president ; Burton Loomis, treasurer ;
Charles B. Bradford, secretary, Richmond Hill,
Long Island.
j\Ieadow Brook Hunt Club— Westbury,
Long Island. Organized 1881. 100 members.
William Jay, president ; Egerton L. Winthrop,
Jr., secretary and treasurer, 48 Wall street.
Medicus Rod and Gun Club — Headquar-
ters, Interstate Park. Incorporated 1900. 50
members. Dr. A. A. Webber, president; Dr.
C. E. Kemble, secretary, 905 Myrtle avenue,
Brooklyn. Annual election, April.
Oceanic Rod and Gun Club — Rockaway
Park, Rockaway Beach. Shoots clay birds
October to April. L. H. Shortemeier, presi-
dent; J. H. \V. Fleming, secretary and treas-
urer, 19 East 28th street, Manhattan.
Old Farmers' Light Guard of Queens,
Long Island — Organized 1877. 30 members.
J. Krumenaecker, president; H. A. Herrmann,
treasurer ; Jacob Jacobs, secretary, Elmont,
Long Island.
Olympic — Bay Shore, Long Island. Or-
ganized 1840. 50 members. James Ke.np-
ster, president; James F. Wenman, secretary,
12 Old Slip, Manhattan; James J. :\IcKenna,
treasurer.
Pastime Fishing Club — Brooklyn. Tim-
othy J. Dady, president ; Peter Toy, secretary ;
William D. Watson, treasurer.
Patchogue Gun Club— Patchogue, Long
Island. Organized 1898. 32 members. A.
H. Carman, president; Warren U. Weeks, sec-
retary.
Prospect Gun — Meadow Island, Jones' In-
let, Freeport, Long Island. Incorporated 1882.
35 members. Aleetings at 518 Fulton street,
Brooklyn. W. J. La Roche, president ; Charles
E. Hill, secretary, 141 Broadway, ^lanhattan.
Rassapreague — Smithtown, Long Island.
C)rgan/ized 1894. Has club house and over
100 acres on Nissequogue river stocked with
game. Limited to 8 members. H. L. Terrell,
secretary, 749 5th avenue, Manhattan. G. B.
Schley, treasurer.
Richmond Borough Gun Club — Dubois
Pleights, Staten Island. Organized November,
1898. 17 members. William H. Allen, presi-
dent; William J. Alston, secretary. Box 15,
Castleton Corners, Staten Island.
Ridgewood Gun Club — Ridgewood Park,
Long Island. Organized 1889. 25 members.
Ouaz Martin, president ; A. Newburger, sec-
retary, 1235 Hancock street, Brooklyn.
Riverhead Rifle Club — Riverhead, Long
Island. Organized 1899. 25 members. S.
Terry Hudson, President ; William F. Flana-
gan, secretary treasurer.
Robins Island — Peconic Bay, Long Island.
Organized and incorporated 1881. Owns Rob-
ins Island, buildings and wharves. Annual
meeting in, February. Eugene A. Hoffman,
president; W. H. Force, secretary, 78 Front
street, Manhattan.
Rockaway Beach Schuetzen Corps — Or-
ganized 1893. 50 members. George Gross,
captain ; George Griepenkerl, secretary.
Rockaway Hunting — Cedarhurst, Long
Island. Organiized 1882. ifio members. .An-
nual meeting in March. George C. Rand,
president ; Newbold T. Lawrence, secretary,
51 Liberty street, Manhattan.
Rod and Gun Club (The) — Hempstead.
Long Island. -Organized 1898. 15 members.
W. K. Bedell, president; George H. Baukney,
secretary.
Southampton Sportsmen — Southampton,
Long Island. Organized 1879. E. H. Mceran.
president; Charles H. Coster, secretary and
treasurer, 27 West 19th street. Manhattan.
Southside Sportsman's — Oakdale. Long
Island. Organized 1866. Membership 100.
Annual meeting in March. George P. Slade,
president ; F. L. Hall, secretarv.
Stereo Fishing — Cauarsie, Brooklvn. Or-
ganized 188^. 26 members. A. H. Mahr,
president; W. J. Hilton, secretary and treas-
urer. 43,!; 2d avenue, Brooklyn.
Wa Wa Yanda Fishing Club — Cap Tree
Island. Great South Bay. Organized May 13,
1878. 7S members. Charles .A.. Stadler, presi-
dent; S. Popper, secretary. 260 West 93d
street, Manhattan.
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND.
Wyandanch — Smithtown, Long Island.
Org-anized 1872. 45 members. Annual meet-
ing second Tuesday in January. John L. Hill,
jiresident ; G. Walter, secretary, 45 Maiden
Lane, Manhattan.
It may vary the round of the sporting and
country clubs by referring here to another
class of organizations which promises to grow
in number and importance as time passes on
and history adds, kt us hope, to the honors,
dignity and influence of these United States.
We refer to the patriotic and commemorative
organizations, chief of which, of course, in
point of numbers, is the Grand Army of the
Republic, which has already been referred to.
Time was when the only one of such societies
that existed was that of the Cincinnati, organ-
ized in 1783, but now they can be numbered
by the score and run all the way from organ-
izations of descendants of those who came
over in the "Mayflower" and "Descendants of
Colonial Governors" to the "Society of the
Puerto Rican Expedition." Long Island has
a share of such associations, but not, it seems
to us anything like a full share. There is the
"Colonial Daughters of the Seventeenth Cen-
tury," of which Mrs. H. P. Halsey is Presi-
dent and Miss R. I. Halsey is Secretary, and
which has ninety members, all of whom can
trace their descent for at least two centuries.
"The Society of Old Brooklynites," which has
one hundred and seventy members, has Mr.
Edward W. Cooper as its President and C.
L. Young as its Secretary. It has accom-
plished a vast amount of good in preserving
the memories of Brooklyn of long ago, and its
monthly meetings in the Hall of Records are,
as a general rule, well attended ; the "St.
Nicholas Society of Nassau Island," of which
Mr. Tunis G.. Bergen is President and Mr.
W. T. Lane, Secretary, has a membership of
some 300 and has proved a most vigorous
and useful auxiliary to the organizations
whose purpose is to gather and preserve the
records of by-gone days in Long Island.
Brooklyn is the headquarters for the
society of "Prison Ship Boys— Children of the
American Revolution," and the "Prison Ship
]\Iartyr Monument Association of the United
States," both of which refer, of course, to
the martyrs of the Wallabout. It is also the
headquarters of the "Patriotic League of the
Revolution," organized in 1884 to collect relics
of the great conflict, and of the "Society of
Settlers and Defenders of America," estab-
lished in 1899. The purpose of this last or-
ganization is "to stinudate historical research,
to publish patriotic manuscripts, to locate and
protect historic sites, to collect colonial records,
and to aid in the erection of libraries,
museums, etc." It will be seen from this that
the society has quite an extensive field of oper-
ations and must cover in its work almost every
corner of the thirteen original states. Its
membership is confined to those descended
from a pioneer settler, a colonial resident or a
Revolutionary patriot. Its President-General
is Mr. W. L. Carter and Mr. G. B. Winthrop
holds the ofiice of Secretary.
The war with Spain, in Brooklyn met
with as unqualified a degree of moral support
as did the war for the L'nion, but somehow it
did not arouse anything like the same excite-
ment. Volunteering was brisk while it lasted,
and Camp Black at Henqjstead was for a time
one of the military depots of the country, giv-
ing rise in Brooklyn, often, to scenes that re-
called the Civil War days to the memory of
the old residents. Then, too, the Navy Yard
was the center of particular activity and as the
scene of the building of "the Maine," the
vessel whose destruction by a hidden torpedo
in Havana Harbor led indirectly to the con-
flict, it was often visited by curious throngs.
It is not our purpose here even to summarize
the events of that conflict, which resulted in
LTncle Sam acquiring new lands across the sea
and taking on his honored shoulders new re-
sponsibilities and cares, but it may be said
that the military spirit of Brooklyn showed
itself, during its continuance, to be as potent
as when "the first gun fired at Fort Sumter
aroused the world," as tl:^ orators used to put
694
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
it. The record won by the Forty-seventh
Regiment in Putrto Rico, and indeed all
thronigh its service, was in every way credit-
able to its own history and to the good name
of Brooklyn, and as much at least may be said
of Troop C and the Second Signal Corps.
There were, it must be admitted, some dis-
agreeable incidents in connection with other
commands, but these arose from a misunder-
standing on minor points rather than from any
desire not to perform the duty of a soldier.
In ithe war w'hich freed Cuba and added
Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the terri-
tory of the United States, Brooklyn con-
tributed her full share, faithfully and loyally.
In view of this it seems strange that Brook-
lyn should not have at least one Spanish-
American War commemorative society, but
that is a want which it is expected will ere
long be supplied.
It is hard to tell how many clubs the bicycle
gave rise to, some of them quite fashionable
in their reservations and restrictions, but the
fad has somehow passed over and the more
expensive automobile has displaced interest in
the humble and ever ready wheel. Boating
clubs flourish on Long Island so numerously
that possibly no complete record of them has
ever been made, and many have only a brief
existence, sometimes lasting only over a single
season. Baseball and athletic organizations
likewise are a'plentv in every township, and
their records are a part of the local story that
often forms a leading theme for village gossip
the whole year round.
One class of associations deserves more
particular mention because of the good they
accomplish in promoting social and family life
as well as in developing in a pleasant way the
resources of the territory in which they are
located. That is the class known as country
clubs, a class that is increasing steadily year
after year, and is destined to continue to in-
crease as life in the cities becomes more strenu-
ous, more intense. The most prominent of
these organizations within our scope is the
Long Island Country Club, which was organ-
ized in 1886. It owns 1,250 acres of land at
Eastport and holds an additional 5,000 acres
under lease, all of which are stocked with game
and rigidly reserved. It has an ample club
house and cottages for the use of its members,
and year out and year in really performs a
work that not only is attractive to its own
large membership, but is really of public bene-
fit by preserving intact so much of Long Isl-
and's old hunting grounds and keeping them
well stocked) in spite of the army of pot-
hunters which yearly prowl around its fences.
Its trout ponds are generally fully stocked,
and altogether membership in this organiza-
tion is, as a New York merchant, who in his
early days had been "raised" on a farm, once
expressed it, "one of the delights of life." Its
officers are: Dr. H. G. Preston, President;
Otto Magnus, Vice-President; Ward Williams,
Treasuer; James P. Philip, Secretary, 26
Court street, Brooklyn.
The other country clubs include :
Lawrence Club — Lawrence, Nassau county.
Long Island. Organized 1892. 60 members.
F. B. Lord, president ; George Hewlett, sec-
retary, loi Wall street, Manhattan.
Maidstone — Easthampton, Long Island,
Everett Herrick, president; Preston B. Spring,
treasurer; S. T. Skidmore, secretary, 71 West
50th street, Manhattan.
Marine and Field — Bath Beach, Long Isl-
and. Organized and incorporated 1885. An-
nual meeting, second Tuesday in January.
400 members. William H. Garrison, presi-
dent; George H. Lusher, Jr., secretary, 253
Broadway, Manhattan.
Meadow Club, of Southampton — South-
ampton, Long Island. Henry E. Howland,
])resident ; Edward W. Humphreys, vice-presi-
dent; Charles R. Henderson, secretary; Rob-
ert Olyphant, treasurer.
Ocean Country Club — Far Rockaway,
Long Island. Organized 1900. Limited to 75
members. B. J. Einstein, president ; S. Bier,
secretary ; C. Scheurer, treasurer.
Quogue Field Country — Quogue, Long
Island. ' Dr. S. F. Morris, president ; Orison
B. Smith, 59 Frankfort street, Manhattan, sec-
retary; Albert Van Wyck, treasurer.
THE SOCIAL WORLD OF LONG ISLAND,
Royal Arcanum Outing Club — Gravesentl
Beach. Winter quarters, Saengerbund Hall.
Organized 1897. 125 member.s. John T.
Kvan. I president ; John H. Petersen, secretary,
291 Pearl street, Brookhii.
Smithtown Outing Club — St. James, Long-
Island. Organized 1896. 40 members. P.
H. Butler, president ; AI. Blydenburgh, sec-
retary, Smithtown Branch.
XVesthampton Country — Westhampton
Beach, Long Island. Organized 1890. Aaron
P. Whitehead, president: Dr. W. B. Clark,
secretary, 50 East 31st street Manhattan.
Akin to the country clubs are the riding
and driving clul:)s, the principal of which are :
Bay Ridge Drivers' Club— C. W. Boberts.
])res'ident : J. J. Lynch, secretary: F. Jacobus,
treasurer.
Brooklyn — Rides Wednesday evenings,
Bedford avenue, corner Atlantic. Member-
ship, 20. A. Wierl, president : Ph. Corell,
vice-president : X'X^illiam Bruorton, secretary,
394 Degraw street : Charles M. Heid, treas-
urer.
Parkway Driving Club — Boulevard and
Kings Highway. Organized 1899. 300 mem-
bers. Francis D. Creamer, president; William
C. Allen, secretary and treasurer, P. O. Box
233, Brooklyn.
Pleasure Drivers' Association — Oilman's
Hall, I2qs Bedford avenue. William M. Clark,
president ; W. A. Carter, secretary, "ji Wash-
ington avenue, Parkville.
Riding and Driving Club of Brooklyn —
A'anderbilt avenue and Prospect Park Plaza.
William N. Dykman, president; E. H. Barnes,
vice-president ; Irving T. Bush, secretary ; W.
W. Walsh, treasurer.
Whip Club — Organized 1896, 25 members
(limited). Hamilton H. Salmon, president;
E. K. Austin, vice-president : G. Herbert Pot-
ter, secretar\--treasurer : club house, Park
Plaza.
Tlie most noted of these organizations is
the Riding and Driving Club of Brooklyn,
which was organized -in 1889. Its membership
is limited to 400. Its building opened in the
fall of 1891, and is one of the most commo-
dious structures of its kind in the world.
Architecturally its appearance betokens that
beauty has been freely sacrificed to usefulness,
and that in fact is also the main character of
its interior accommodations. The main feat-
ure is the riding arena, 90 feet by 180 feet,
and in the stalls 200 horses can be accommo-
dated. The club was an exclusive organiza-
tion! at the beginning, and that exclusiveness
it still retains, although in many respects it is
the most generally popular of all the develop-
ments of Brooklvn's social life.
HOMESTHAD.-Fl
CHAPTER LVI,
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
History and Story — Pioneers, Heroes, Mercf
Descendants.
ROBABLY no family name was cr is
lietter known throughout Queens or
Xassau county than that of Hicks,
mainly, of course, on account of the
celebrity which one at least of their number
attained in religious circles. Most of them
were Quakers of the most devoted class, in-
tolerant of the wiles and vanities of this wicked
world, and yet it is singular that they should
one and all take pride in tracing the family
descent from a warring knight, Sir Ellis Hix,
who, the genealogical writers tell us, was one
of the most trusted warriors of the Black
Prince and was knighted for his valorous
deeds by that hero in 1356 on the battle-field
of Poictiers. How the descent is proved it
is not easy to say, but it seems satisfactory to
the genealogists and to the family, and in such
circumstances no one has any right to dispute
the correctness of the tree. Only it is singu-
lar that such vanity should find expression in
the circumstance. The first of the family to
settle in America was John Hicks, who settled
at Roxbury, Massachusetts, and had a family
of six sons and three daughters. Two of the
sons, John and Stephen, crossed to Long
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
697
Island in 1642 and settled in Hempstead, of
which he became quite an active citizen, and
he also acquired some property in Flushing-.
Stephen bought from the Indians an extensive
tract of land at Little Neck and settled there.
One evil-minded biographer asserts that John's
son Thomas in time also acquired a tract of
land at Little Neck after, according to tradi-
tion, quite a rude dispossession of the Indians
who had held the land in question. There is,
however, it must be confessed, some dubiety
about this matter, and probably it arose from
the fact that some unregenerate aborigines
returned and squatted on lands which Thomas
had received from his uncle. The family biog-
raphers, as we shall see, speak in the highest
terms of Thomas Hicks, as is right and proper
when we recall the fact that he was the an-
cestor-of the most distinguished member of
the Society of Friends that this country has
produced. Many of the descendants of the
pioneer brothers settled over Long Island and
are to be found there, notably in Flushing,
Hempstead, Rockaway and Oyster Bay.
The following sketch of the family and of
the wonderful and useful career of Elias Hicks
was written by one of the family, Mr. Isaac
Hicks :
John Hicks settled at Hempstead, and it is
from him that the extensive family of the
name on Long Island and in New York are
descended. Having been educated at Oxford
LTniversity, he was a man of intelligence, and
his natural force of character made him a
leader in the youthful colony. He took an
active part in public affairs, and his name
appears in most of the important transactions
of the time.
John Hicks left an only son, Thomas, who
seems to have inherited his father's intellec-
tual vigor and force of character. He occu-
pied a prominent position in public and social
life, and filled many places of trust and honor,
among others that of the first judge appointed
for the county of Queens, an office which he
held lor manv years.
In 1666 he obtained from Governor NicoHs
a patent for 4,000 acres, including Great Neck
and lands adjacent. Here he erected a fine
mansion and introduced the English manorial
style of living.
He was a remarkable man in many respects,
retaining his mental and' physical powers un-
impaired to extreme old age. A paragraph
in the New York Postboy of January 26, 1749,
states that ''he left behind him, of his own
offspring, above three hundred children,
grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-
great-grandchildren." He died in his one hun-
dredth year, and left, among other children,
a son Jacob, who was the grandfather of the
subject of this sketch.
Elias Hicks was born at Rockaway, Long
Island, March 19, 1748. His parents, John
and JSIartha Hicks, were in moderate circum-
stances, but owned a good farm and comforta-
ble home, where their children had excellent
moral training, but otherwise received only a
very limited education.
His father being a Quaker, although not a
very active member of that society, Elias early
imbibed the principles of that sect, but during
his youth, while apprenticed to a carpenter,
seemed inclined to prefer the gay society of
the young people of the neighborhood. As he
grew older he developed a vigorous and active
intellect, and evinced a steadfast devotion to
his convictions of right and duty which was
ever one of the most marked elements in his
character. He early took decided ground
against the iniquity of human slavery, and
later in life was among the pioneers in the
cause of emancipation in the Society of
Friends. This was one of the battles that he
felt called upon to fight in the cause of truth
and justice, and he devoted the energy and
ability of a long life to the faithful champion-
ship of the oppressed negro. His father was
an owner of slaves, and im his youth Elias
plead long and earnestly until he eft'ected their
emancipation. Later in life, when the estate
of his father-in-law, who was also a slave-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
holder, came to be divided, he resohitely re-
ftised to accept for his own share any portion
of the money which represented the vahie of
the slaves, but used it to purchase their free-
dom, and ever after took upon himself the
care and support of those thus liberated ; even
leaving a bequest in his will for their main-
tenance in old age.
In 1/75 lif became a public preacher in the
Quaker Society, and from that time until his
death, when over eighty years of age, he was
a faithful and tireless worker in. what he be-
lieved to be the cause of truth and righteous-
ness. He was especially earnest in the convic-
tion that service im the ministry should be free,
and without the selfish stimulus of earthly re-
ward, and to this end he was scrupulously care-
ful when traveling in the service of the society,
and on all other occasions, to defray his own
expenses.
During the exciting years of the Revolu-
tionary war he carefully maintained the peace-
ful principles of his sect, and such was the
confidence reposed in his high character that
he was permitted, in the exercise of his relig-
ious duties, to pass six times through the lines
of the contending armies. He was scrupu-
lously just in bis business affairs, holding in
all cases the dictates of conscience to be su-
perior to the fallible laws of man.
In his dress, the furruiture of his house,
and all outward things, he carried to the ex-
treme the principle of plainness and simplicity
advocated by his society. In person he was
erect, of commanding stature, and possessed
in a remarkable degree that intangible attri-
bute which we denominate "presence." In so-
cial life he was dignified but kind, a little re-
served in manner, and giving the impression
of great intellectual force, combined with a
stern devotion to the convictions of duty.
Affable in bearing, and inheriting the courtly
politeness of the old school gentleman of the
last century, his society was much sought by
intelligent people of all classes, who were at-
tracted by his rare and varied gifts as a con-
versationalist.
His public addresses were not adorned with
flowers of rhetoric, nor polished by scholastic
learning, but were plain, logical discourses,
delivered with a natural earnestness and elo-
Cjuence which seemed to inspire his audience
with a measure of his own strong faith, and
to carry them onward to conviction in the
principles he advocated with such force and
sincerity.
His religious views were somewhat in ad-
vance of those popular in his day, and were
the result of individual thought and experi-
ence, uninfluenced by theological reading or
metaphysical study. While accepting, in its
broadest sense, the Quaker doctrine that the
Almighty Spirit directly influences the hearts
of all mankind, and that a strict adherence to
the manifestations of duty, as revealed to each
individual soul, is the foundation of all true
religion, he was disposed to assign a less ex-
alted place to the Bible, as God's specially re-
vealed guide to man, and to maintain the Uni-
tarian view of Christ's divinity. He took
strong and decided ground against the old-
time belief in Satan's personal existence and
active work in the world, holding that the
weaknesses and unbridled passions of human
nature were the actual and only evil spirit
against which mankind had to contend. In his
view God was all love, and he rejected every
doctrine or theory that impugned the absolute
wisdom and goodness of the Divine Being, or
His universal affection for all the human fam-
ily, however indorsed by conclave or synod.
As it was his nature to think out his conclu-
sions for himself, and then to take bold and
fearless ground in maintaining his convictions
of right, his advanced views naturally met
with the disapproval of many of the conserva-
tive members of his society, and after a few
years of excited discussion the Quakers in
America divided into two separate bodies,
which have ever since remained distinct. Those
who united with the sentiments of Elias were
called Hicksite, and those opposed to him Or-
thodox, Quakers. The former are the most
numerous about New York, Philadelphia and
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
C99
Baltimore, while the latter compose the bulk
of the society in the Xew England and West-
ern States.
Like most celebrated men of strong will
and earnest convictioni;; of duty, Elias Hicks
made a decided impression upon the religious
thought of his time, although the circum-
scribed limits within, which the customs and
principles of the Quaker Society of that day
confined his labors prevented his working in
connecticn with other associations; thus re-
stricting his efforts to the endeavor to promote
a higher standard of Christian life among his
own religious associates.
During his long and active career he was
constar.itly traveling about the country, ad-
dressing the meetings of his society, and wher-
ever he went large and deeply interested audi-
ences gathered to greet him. Hi's noble pres-
ence and eloquent words made lasting im-
pressions upon his hearers, the memory of
which was ever afterward cherished in aft'ec-
tionate hearts and has been handed clown with
a feel'ing of reverence to a later generation.
Elias Hicks died at Jericho, Long Island,
on the 27th of February, 1830.
Many old families were represented among
the residents of Flu'shing before it was opened
up by modern improvements so as to develop
into a metropolitan suburb. The Thornes
could trace their descent to' William Thorne,
who settled on a neck of land which was called
Thome's Point until the name was supplanted
by its modern designation of Willett's Point.
The family were all intensely patriotic during
the Revolution, and one died while a prisoner
on a hulk in Wallabout Bay. The Cornell
family claimed connection with Flushing from
1643, when Richard Cornell, a 'sturdy Quaker,
settled within its bounds, and after a life of
exceeding usefulness left a large family, by
whom the name was retained in the front rank.
The Lowerres were originally Huguenot refu-
gees, and came to America in 1660 or there-
about, gradually developing into Quakers as
time went on. These words might also be ap-
plied to the Embree family and to that of the
\'an Zandts.
Jamaica also furnishes the local historian
with records of many old families, chief among
whom is that of King. This family came to
Long Island, where Richard King had long
been a successful merchant. There his son,
Rufus King, the most famous of the family,
was born in 1755. He was educated at Har-
vard, where he was graduated in 1777, and
then studied law in an office at Newburyport.
His studies were somewhat disturbed by his
becoming an aide to General Sullivan in that
hero's Rhode Island expedition, but after its
disastrous termination he was honorably dis-
charged and returned to his desk. After he
was admitted to the bar he rapidly won quite
a proiiiinent place, and as a member of the
General Court of Massachusetts, to which he
was elected, he was soon distinguished by the
clear manner in which he handled all of the
many pressing public questions then before
that body. In 1784 he was elected to Con-
gress, and was returned again in 1785 and
1786. In 1785 he offered his famous resolu-
tion that "there 'should be neither slavery nor
unvoluntary service in any of the States de-
scribed in the resolution of Congress in April,
1784, otherwise than in the punishment of
crime, whereof the party shall have been per-
sonally guilty ; and that this resolution shall
be made an article of compact and remain a
fundamental principle of the constitution be-
tween the original States and each of the States
named in the said resolve." This was not
pressed to a vote at the time, but the princi-
ple laid down was adopted in the ordinance of
1787 for the government of the Northwestern
territory. In the movement to strengthen the
Federal authority, which began to agitate the
country almost as soon as peace was declared,
Rufus King took a prominent part, his views
being in favor of a strong central executive
authority. He was recognized as one of the
leaders, with Alexander Hamilton, of the Fed-
eralist party, and by voice and pen strove
700
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
mightily that its principles might prevail. In
1788 he was chosen Senator along with Gen-
eral Schuyler from New York, and was re-
elected in 1795. But higher honors awaited
him. He was offered the Secretaryship of
State, and declined, but accepted the post of
Minister to Great Britain. He left New York
in 1796, and for -eight years continued to rep-
resent his country at the court of St. James,
although during the latter part of the time he
was not in political sympathy with the then
President (Jefferson). In 1804 he asked to be
relieved, and when his successor was appoint-
ed returned to America and retired to a beau-
tiful farm he had purchased at Jamaica. Thus
began the long and honorable connection of
his name with the good old village. There
be mainly resided, keeping a watchful eye on
public affairs, until 1813, when he was: again
elected to the United States Senate, and con-
tinued to serve until 1823. when he retired,
as he hoped, to enjoy the leisure he had so
richly earned. In reviewing his career in the
Senate chamber we are unable to recall any
policy advocated by him which was not wise,
just and eminently patriotic, and his stanch
opposition to slavery, to the indiscriminate
sale of the public lands, sales often made upon
credit and without guarantee, and in particular
his opposition to the scheme of a political bank
with a capital of $50,000,000 pledged by the
government, showed that, strong Federal as
he was, he was unwilling to lend aid to a
scheme which in a few years would either have
become bankrupt itself or would have para-
lyzed and bankrupted the trade of the country.
In 1825, at the earnest solicitation of Presi-
dent Adams, Rufus King again entered public
life by accepting once more the post of Am-
bassador to Great Britain, but after a few
months' residence in London his health failed
and he was compelled to resign. He died in
New York City April 29, 1827.
The mantle of Rufus King fell upon his
eldest son, John Alsop King, who developed
much of his father's public spirit and high
statesmanship. Educated for the bar, he had
a taste of military experience during the war
of 1812, when he served as a heutenant in a
cavalry regiment. He took up his residence
near his father's home in Jamaica, and en-
gaged in farming, but in 1819 was elected a
member of the New York Assembly, where
he soon became noted for his opposition to the
policy and plans of De Witt Clinton, with the
exception of that statesman's canal projects,
which he heartily endorsed. He went to Lon-
don with his father in 1825 as secretary of
legation, and remained in charge of the affairs
of the embassy from the date of his father's
resignation until the arrival of the next ap-
pointee. In 1838 he was again returned to the
Assembly, took part in 1855 in the convention
at Syracuse at which the Republican party
was born, and in 1856 was elected Governor
of the State of New York. He declined a
re-election, and when his term was over retired
to his honne in Jamaica, where he continued
to reside until his death, in 1867. His widow
survived until 1873, and then passed away,
venerated by all who knew her for her kindly
ways and Christian, beautiful life. Of her
many benefactions to Grace Church, Jamaica,
as well as the many gifts to that temple of
other members of the King family, mention
has already been made. The family is still
prominently represented in public and com-
mercial life, although their connection with
Jamaica has almost become a memory.
A group of Jamaica families claim descent
from Joris (or George) Jansen de Rapalje,
who with his brother William came to America
from Holland in 1623 in the same vessel with
Peter Minuit, and from another brother, An-
tonie Jansen, who follo\ved them in 1623. It
is not certain that William ever married, but
Joris founded the Wallabout family of Ra-
palyes, of whom we have spoken considerably,
while Antonie, who married a Quakere'ss, had
four sons, and they appear to have departed
from the old Dutch custom in the way of
transmitting surnames and stuck to the Jansen,
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
roi
which in due process of time became trans-
formed into plain Johnson and as such became
prominent in Kings as well as in Queens
county. A family genealogi'st thus describes
the fortunes of the Jamaica Johnsons and their
collateral branches :
Hendrick Jansen, the youngest son of An-
tonie, settled at Gravesend and married a Stil-
well, by whom he had four sons: i, Jan
(John), who settled at Jamaica, Long Island;
2, Claes, who settled at Six Mile Run, New
Jersey; 3, Barent, who settled at Gravesend;
4, William, who 'settled at Gravesend. Barent,
the third son of Hendrick, was the father of
the Rev. John B. Johnson, a noted preacher
of the Reformed Dutch Church, who was set-
tled first at Albany, New York, and afterward
at Brooklyn, where he died in 1803. Rev.
John B. Johnson had three children: i, Maria
L., who married the Rev. Evan M. Johnson,
rector of St. James's Church, Newtown, Long
Island, from 1814 to 1827, when he removed
to St. John's Church, Brooklyn ; 2, Rev. Will-
iam L. Johnson, D. D., who from 1830 to the
time of his death (1870) was rector of Grace
Church, Jamaica, Long Island; 3, Rev. Samuel
R. Johnson, D. D., who was rector at different
times of several Episcopal churches, and pro-
fessor in the Episcopal Theological Seminary,
New York City. Hendrick's children changed
the Holland name Jansen to the English name
Johnson, yet the Holland name was retained
fur many years in the family records.
John Johnson, the oldest son of Hendrick,
was born at Gravesend, Long Island, Decem-
ber 5, 1705. He married (September 23,
1732) Catalina Schenck, who was born May
7, 1705. They had seven children: i, Maria,
born August 11, 1733, married Douw Ditmars,
of Jamaica; 2, Catalina, born August 15, 1735,
remained unmarried ; 3, Elizabeth, born No-
vember 21, 1737, married Abraham Ditmars,
of Jamaica; 4, Barent, born April 2, 1740,
married Anne Remsen ; 5, Martin, born Octo-
ber 25, 1742, married Phebe Rapalje; 6, Cath-
arine, born February 18, 1746, died in infancy;
7, Johannes, born July 25, 1748, died in in-
fancy. John Johnson held office in the Re-
formed Dutch Church at Jamaica. He died
March 27, 1776. His wife died October 5,
I779-
Martin Johnson, of Jamaica, born October
25, 1742, married! (May 10, 1772) Phebe,
daughter of George Rapelje, of New Lots.
She was born February 25, 1754. Their chil-
dren were: i, Catalina, born May 14, 1773,
married (November 5, 1791) John D. Ditmis,
of Jamaica, and had children Martin, Dow I.,
John, Abraham, Phebe, Maria, Catalina and
George; 2, Maria, born August 20, 1775, died
in infancy; 3, Johannes (John), born Febru-
ary 27, 1777, died in infancy; 4, Maria, born
May 10, 1778, married (November 30, 1798)
Rem Suydam, of Newtown, and had children
Phebe, Catalina, John, Maria, Nelly, Martin,
Gitty, and Georgei and Henry (twins) ; 5,
Johannes (Jdhn), Imrn September 26, 1780,
died in infancy: h, Martin, born March 14,
1782, died in infancy; 7, Phebe, born July 19,
1783, married (December 11. 1800) John I.
Duryea, and had children Jane Ann, Maria,
Alletta, Martin I., Sarah, Catalina and John I. ;
8, Martin, born September 13, 1785, died in
infancy; 9, Elizabeth, born January 25. 1788,
married Willett Skidmore, and had children
Phebe and Samuel; 10,. Jannetie (Jane), born
May 15, 1790, died in infancy; 11, Joris
(George), born August 30, 1791, married
(June 28, 1815) Catharine Smodiker, and had
children Martin G.. Catharine and Phebe; 12,
Johannes (John), born May 17, 1794, mar-
ried (August 22, 1815) Maria Lott, and had
children Alartin I., Stephen, Phebe, Eldert,
George, ^ilaria Ann, CataHna, Henry, Jere-
miah, Sarah, Ditmars and Catharir.e ; 13, Jan-
netie (Jane), born Feliruary 22, lyqj, died in
infancy.
;\Iartin Johnson, the grandfather of Martin
G., died April 27, 1798. Phebe, his wife, died
October 27, 1828.
Martin Johnson was earnest in the cause
of independence, and was compelled to give
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
up the best part of his house to the British
officers, who occupied it while their army was
encamped at Jamaica. He and his family were
greatly discommoded, but it was better to sub-
mit quietly than to object and perhaps suffer
more. Martin Johnson was an active mem-
ber and an elder of the Reformed Dutch
Church, and one of the committee to repair
the church edifice after the Revolutionary war,
during which it was dismantled by the British
soldiers. He was one of the contributors to
the fund for founding Union Hall Academy.
The first building was erected on the south
side of Fulton street, where Herriman's brick
row now stands, and was opened May i, 1792.
Here his sons George and John were educated,
when Lewis E. A. Eigenbrodt, LL. D., was
principal, which position he held from 1796
to 1828.
George Johnson, born August 30. 1791.
married (June 28, 1815) Catharine Snediker
who was born December 5, 1788. They had
three children: i, Martin G. Johnson, born
April 26, 1816, married (May 31, 1859) Mar-
garet T. Nostrand, who was born February
19, 1815 — no children; 2, Catharine Johnson,
born July 8, 1819, married (May 13, 1856)
Elias J. Hendrickson, who was born August
ID, 1812— no children ; 3, Phebe Johnson, born
January 4. 1824, married (June 19, 1854)
George O. Ditmis (wlio was born July 22,
1818), and died December 27, 1866. James
Hendrickson, the father of Elias J., was an
elder and one of the pillars of the Reformed
Dutch Church of Jamaica.
George O. and Phebe Ditmis had six chil-
dren: I, Catharine, born November 26, 1856;
2, Georgianna J., born May 5, 1859; 3. John
D., born December 18, i860; 4 and 5, Martin
G. J. (born January 30, 1862, died February
18, 1878) and Margaret N., born January 30,
1862, died in infancy; 6, Caroline Ivlaria, born
November 9, 1863, died in infancy.
George. Johnson, the father of ^Martin G.,
held at different times the town offices of su-
pervisor, commissioner of common schools, in-
spector of common schools, inspector of elec-
tion, commissioner of highways and assessor.
He was an elder in the Refomied Dutch
Church of Jamaica, and one of its most liberal
supporters. He died May 14, 1865. His wife
died December 15, 1858.
A short genealogy of, the Johnson family
is as follows : Gaspard Colet de Rapalje, from
France, married the daughter of Victor An-
toniie Jansen, in Holland, by whom he had
two sons and a daughter Breckje, who married
her cousin, Victor Honorius Jansen, who was
the father of Abram, who was the father of
Antonie, who was the father of Hendrick, who
was the father of John, who was the father
of Martin, who was the father of George, who
was the father of ^Martin G.
THE SXEDTKl'.R F.VMILV .\S COXXECTED WITH
THE JOHXSOX F.VMILV.
Jan Snediker, the common ancestor of the
Snediker family, came from Holland to this
country as early as 1642, and was among the
first settlers of Flatbush, and his name appears
in the patent of New Lots, 1667; by his will
( 1670) he devised his land to his son Gerret.
(New Lots was then part of the town of
Flatbush.)
Gerret Snediker, of New Lets (son of
Jan), married; first, Willemtje Vocks; second,
Elstje Denyse: he died in 1694. Children:
Jan of Jamaica, Margaret. Christian of Ja-
maica, Abraham, Isaac of New Lots, Sara,
born 1683 (married Adrian Onderdonk) ; Ger-
ret and Elstje.
Abraham Snedi:ker, of New Lots (son of
Gerret), born 1677, married and had children
Abraham, Johannes, Gerret, Theodoras, Eliza-
beth, Altie and Sara.
Isaac Snediker, of New Lots (son of Ger-
ret), born 1680, married Catryntje Janse ; died
in 1758. Children: Garret, Abraham, Antie,
Sara, Isaac, Catryntje (born 1721, married
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
703
Douwe Ditmars), Jacob of Xew Lots, Fem-
metie (Phebe), and Elstje, born 1731.
John Snediker, of New Lots, married
Neiltje, daughter of Johannes Lott, of Flat-
bush; she was born Noveniljer 13, 1730. Tbey
had a son, Isaac I. (grandfather of Martin
G. Johnson).
Isaac I. Snediker, of Xew Lots (son of
John), born July 17, 1759, married Catharine,
daughter of Jacob Rapelje, of Xewtown. She
was born January 18, 1760. They had fcur
children: i, Jacob, born May 18, 1787, died
in infancy; 2, Catharine, born December 5,
1788 (the wife of George Johnson and mother
of Martin G.), died December 15, 1858: 3,
XTelly, born November 5, 1790, married (Oc-
tober 5, 1815) John E. Lott, of New Utrecht,
Long Island (who was born December 16,
1789), had one daughter, Catharine, and died
May I, 1866; 4, Jacob, born November 2,
1792, married (March, 1822) Anne Lott,
daughter of Hendrick Lott, of Jamaica ; no
children.
Jacob Snediker belonged to the Reformed
Dutch Church of Ncav Lots, and was one of
its firmest friends and supporters. He died
September 20, 1859. His wife died August
22, 1867.
Isaac I. Snediker (father of Jacob) died
February i, 1804. His wife died September
9, 1796.
The Snediker homestead, on which Jacob
Snediker and his forefathers were born and
lived and died, is situated on both sides of the
New Lots road, at the crossing of the New
York & Manhattan Beach Railroad and the
Brooklyn & Rockaway Beach Railroad. The
house, probably two hundred years old, still
stands in a good state of preservation. This
farm originally extended to what is now the
center of East New York ; but Jacob Snediker
sold forty-five acres of the northerly part to
Whitehead Howard, and sixty-nine acres of
the middle and easterly part to Abraham Van-
dsrveer. The homestead still belonisrs to the
heirs of Jacob Snediker. It has been in the
family 215 years.
THE NOSTK.VND FAMILY AS CONNECTED WITH
THE JOHNSON FAMILY.
The X'ostrand family derives its origin
f; om Hans Jansen, who came to Long Island
in 1640 from the Noortstrandt, in the duchy
of Holstein. He married Janneken Gerrits
\'an Leuwen, and bad four 'sons — ^Jan, Gerrit,
I'eter and Folkert. His sons adopted the
r.ame of the place from which their father emi-
grated, which in the course of time hais been
changed to the present to the present name,
Nostrand. Different branches of the family
have in former times lived and their descend-
ants still live in New York, Brooklyn, Flat-
bush, New Utrecht, Flatlands and New Lots,
Kings county; iru Jamaica, Flushing and
Hempstead, Queens county ; and in Hunting-
ton, Suffolk county.
Margaret T. Nostrand, the wife of Mar-
tin G. Johnson, is the daughter of Timothy
Nostrand, who for many years was a merchant
in New York. When he. retired from business
he bought the farm on which his son George
now lives, 'situated on the Brooklyn & Jamaica
Plank Road, one mile west of the village of
Jamaica, where he died December 21, 1831.
Her grandfather, John Nostrand, owned and
lived and died on the homestead farm at Val-
ley Stream, in the town of Hempstead : it de-
scended to his son, John Nostrand, Jr., and
there he lived and died ; after his death it be-
longed to his son Foster, who also lived and
died there. On this farm Timothy Nostrand
was born, February 8, 1767.
Timothy Xostrand married first ( Septem-
ber 27, 1793) Garchy, daughter of John Suy-
dam, of Newtown. Their children were:
Sarah, born October i, 1794, married James
Bogart, died October 14, 1845; and John S.,
bom March 16, 1796, who died, unmarried,
February 6, 1836. Timothy Nostrand mar-
ried, second (September 8, 1804), Catharine,
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
daughter of Stephen Lott, of Jamaica. Their
children were :
1. Stephen L., horn August 31, 1805, mar-
ried (January 30, 1826) Cornelia L. Remsen,
of Flatland'i. They had one child, Catharine
Ann, who married Jacob Ryerson, of Flat-
lands.
2. Garchy (Gitt}') Ann, born March 16,
1807, die>d, unmarried, January 8, 1831.
3. George, bom February 5, 1809, mar-
ried first (March 26, 1846) Mary Bogardus.
They had one child, Henry L. Nostrand, who
married Phebe W., only child of Dominicus
Vanderveer, of Jamaica. George married sec-
ondly (October 12, 1859) Cornelia C. Van Sic-
len, of Jamaica. No children.
4. Catharine L., born December 31. 1810,
married (April 7, 1836) Dr. Richard T. Hors-
field, of New York. Their children are: Rich-
ard T., Timothy N. (who married Sophia Fris-
bie), and Catharine L. (who married John
K. Underhill). Catharine L. Plorsfield died
February 2, 1879.
5. Margaret T., born l'\'bruary 19, 181 5,
married (May 31, 1859) Martin G. Johnson.
No children.
6. Timothy, born April 21, 181 7, married
first (October 19, 1853) Catharine Lott, of
New L^trecht (cousin of IMartin G. Johnson).
Their children were: Ellie (deceased), J. Lott,
T. Foster, Margaret (deceased) and George
E. Timothy married, secondly Belinda Hege-
man, of New Utrecht, who survives him. He
died December 6, 1878.
All the children of Timothy Nostrand. Sr.,
are dead except George Nostrand and Mar-
garet T., .wife of Martin G. Johnson.
Timothy Nostrand, Sr., was one of the
most prominent members of Grace Church,
Jamaica, and was for many years warden, and
for several years^ and at the time of his death,
senior warden. The following notice of his
death appears on the records of the church,
January 2, 1832 :
"The vestry have heard' with deep regret
of the decease of Mr. Timothy No'itrand, their
clerk, the senior warden, of this church, and
treasurer, and sincerely condole with the con-
gregation with whom he was connected, and
with his family, in the great bereavement they
have been called to sustain ; and we implore
the Divine compassion on them that this afflic-
tive providence may be sanctified to them,
and to the church of which he was a member."
He was a member of Assembly of the State
of New York, and a trustee of Union Hall
Academy. He died December 21, 1831. His
wife Catharine died February 13, i860.
THE DITMARS F.VMILY ,\S C0.\'NECTED WITH THE
JOHXSOX FAMILY.
Jan Jansjn Ditmars, the common ancestor
of the family, emigrated from Ditmarsen, in
the duchy of Holstein. He married Neeltie
Douws ; obtained a patent March 23, 1647, for
24 morgens, at Dutch Kills, Newtown, Queens
ccunty ; died prior to 1650.
Douw Jansen Ditmars resided first at Flat-
bush, and finally settled at Jamaica. His first
name was variously spelled Douwe, Douw,
Dowe and Dow, and his surname Ditmarse,
Ditmis, Ditmas and Ditmars. He held office
in the Reformed Dutch Church, Jamaica, and
died about 1755.
Abraham Ditmars, of Jamaica, married
(June 18, 1725) Breckje, daughter of Abra-
ham Remsen, of Newtown, and died on his
farm at Jamaica, August 7, 1743. He was the
father of Douw Ditmars and Abraham Dit-
mars, Jr.. the two brothers who married two
sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, the daughters
of John Johnson, of Jamaica (great-grand-
father of Martin G. Johnson).
Douw Ditmars, of Jamaica, born August
24, 1735, married Maria, the oldest daughter
of John Johnson, of Jamaica. They had five
children, John D., Abraham, Breckje, and
JNIaria and Catahna, who were twins. He was
an office holder in the Reformed Dutch Church.
He died August 25. 1775.
John D. Ditmis, of Jamaica (son of Douw
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
/05
Ditmars), married (Xovcniljer 5, 1791) Cata-
lina, the oldest daughter of Martin Johnson
(grandfather of Martin G. Johnson). They
had eight children : Martin, Dow, John, Abra-
ham, Phebe, Maria, Catalina and George, who
are all deceased except Maria.
Dow L Ditmis, son of John D., married
(April 22, 1817) Catharimei Onderdonk, of
Cow Xeck ( Manhas.'^et ) . Their children are :
George O., John and Jacob Adrian Ditmis, all
of Jamaica. Henry Onderdonk, Jr., A. M.,
married Maria H., sister of Catharine Onder-
donk, wife of Dow L Ditmis.
Abraham Ditmis, son of John D., married
(April 18, 1827) Katie Onderdonk, of Cow
Xeck (Manhasset). They had one child,
Henry O. Ditmis.
John D. Ditmis held the military office of
major; he waj a member of Assembly in 1802
and 1804, and a State Senator from 1816 to
1820, and held the office of Surrogate of
Queens county. He was a trustee of Union
Hall Academy ; he belongedi to the Reformed
Dutch Church. He died March 11. 1853; his
wife July 6, 1847.
Abraham Ditmars, Jr. (son of Abraham,
of Jamaica), born December 9. 1738, married
Elizabeth, the third daughter of John Johnson
(great-grandfather of Martin G. Johnson).
They had four children — .\braham. born Oc-
tober 6, 1760; Catalina, born September 20,
1762, married Samuel Eldert, of Jamaica;
John A., born April 9, 1766; and Dow, born
June 12, 1771.
John A. Ditmars married' Xancy, daughter
of Johannes Wyckof?, of Jamaica. They had
three children — Margaret Ann, A. Johnson
and Elizabeth, all deceased.
Elizabeth Ditmars married (December 30,
1839) Martin L Johnson, who was for some
years, and at the time of his death, county
clerk. He was the ekkiit son of John and
Maria Johnson, and cousin of Martin G. John-
son. Martin L and Elizalieth are both de-
ceased, but cue son, A. Ditmars Johnson, of
Jamaica, survives them.
Dow Ditmars, sou of Abraham Ditmars,
Jr., studied medicine, and went to Demarara,
South America, where he had a lucrative prac-
tice for fourteen years. When he returned he
married Anna Elvira, daughter of Samuel
Riker, of X'ewtown, and bought a farm at Hell
(iate (now Astoria), where he spent the re-
mainder of his life, and died, at an advanced
age, in i860. Their children were Thomas T.,
Richard R., Abraham Dow and. Anna. They
are all deceased but Abraham Dow Ditmars,
who is a lawyer in Xew York.
Abraham Ditmars, Jr., held office in the
Reformed Dutch Church, Jamaica, and so did
his son, John A. Ditmars.
Abraham Ditmars, Jr. (father of John A.)
was a captain of militia in the Revolution. He
was known among the British soldiers who
were quartered at Jamaica as the "rebel cap-
tain," and he suffered much from their depre-
dations. They stole the crops from his farm,
the provisions from his cellar, and all of his
fowls but one, which went to the top of the
l)arn to roost. One day the soldiers ordered
him and his family to leave the house, as they
intended to burn it. He had to obey, and his-
sick wife was taken on a bed and placed in.
the dooryard ! But it seemed that an Almighty
Power interposed ; the consciences of the fiends
stung them, and the dreadful threat was not
executed.
So great became the demands upon him for
the produce of his farm, and for the use of his
men and teams for carting the supplies of the
British army, that he at last refused to comply.
■ Eor this the petty officer who made the demand
arrested him, took him to the village of Ja-
maica, and locked! him up in the dungeon in
the cellar of the old county hall, which stood
on the spot now covered by Herriman's brick
row. He was confined until the next day,
when he was brought before a superior officer
of the British army, to whom he made a frank
statement of the sufferings he had endured,
and of the unreasonable claim's: continually-
made upon him. The officer at once gave him.
703
HESrORY OF LONG ISLAND.
an honorable discharge ; and at the same time
severely reprimanded the underling who had
arrested him. This decision had a good effect,
as he afterward did not suffer much annoy-
ance. It is proper to say that the highest
British officers always condemned the cruel
and barbarous acts which were committed by
the dregs of the army.
The home of Abraham Ditmars, Jr., was
the farm of the late William C. Stoothoff, one
and a half miles southwest of the village of
Jamaica, and the old house, in which he lived
and died, still remains. The home of his
daughter Catalina, who married Samuel Eldert,
was the old house on Eldert's lane now be-
longing to Henry Drew; and the old house
on the Brooklyn '& Jamaica Plank Road now
belonging to Dominicus Vanderveer was for-
merly the home of Douw Ditmars, of another
branch of the Ditmars family. It is a singu-
lar circumstance that these three old houses,
probably the oldest in the town, 'should all
have belonged to members of the Ditmars fam-
ily. They still stand as monuments of the solid
style of building of the early Dutch settlers.
Abraham Ditmars and Abraham Ditmars,
Jr., were contributors to the fund for building
Union Hall Academy, and' were two of the first
trustees at the time its charter was signed by
Governor Clinton, March 9, 1792.
Abraham Ditmars, Jr., died November 19,
1824.
John A. Ditmars was colonel of the State
militia in the war of 1812, and he and his
cousins George and John Johnson and their
nephew Dow I. Ditmis were encamped at Fort ■
Greene (now Washington Park), Brooklyn.
They were under the command of Genera)
Jeremiah Johnson, of Brooklyn, who was the
cousin of George and John Johnson and John
A. Ditmars. There our soldiers were for some
time, in daily expectation of the landing of the
British forces, whose vessels of war were lying
off the harbor of New York; but the British
wisely concluded to depart without landing.
INTERJIARRI.\GES OF JOHNSON, DITMARS AND
RAPELJE FAMILIES.
The union of the Johnson and Ditmars fam-
ilies in this country began by the marriage of
two sisters of Martin Johnson, Maria and
Elizabeth, daughters of John Johnson, of Ja-
maica (great-grandfather of Martin G.), to
two brothers, Douw and Abraham Ditmars, of
Jamaica.
Catalina, daughter of Martin Johnson, of
Jamaica (grandfather of Martin G.), married
John D. Ditmis, the son of Douw.
Martin I. Johnson, a great-grandson of
John Johnson above named, married Elizabeth,
daughter of John A. Ditmars.
Phebe, daughter of George Johnson, of Ja-
maica, married George O. Ditmis, a grandson
of John D. Ditmis.
Victor Honorius Jansen, of Holland, mar-
ried Breckje Rapalje (written by dift'erent
families Rapalje, Rapelje, Rapelye and Ra-
pelyea). Martin Johnson, of Jamaica, married
Phebe Rapelje. General Jeremiah Johnson, of
Brookl3-n, married Sarah Rapelje.
Breckje, sister of John D. and daughter of
Douw Ditmars, of Jamaica, married (Decem-
ber 29, 1791) Peter Rapelje, of New Lots.
Their children were Jacob, Dow and Peter.
Maria and Catalina were twin daughters
of Douw Ditmars, of Jamaica, and sisters of
John D. and Breckje Ditmars. Maria mar-
ried Jacob Rapelje, of Newtown. They had
one child, Susan. Catalina married John R.
Ludlow,- of Newtown. She was his second
wife. They had one son, Ditmars.
Susan, the only child of Jacob and i\Iaria
Rapelje, married the Rev. Gabriel Ludlow, D.
D., who for many years, and at the time of his
death, was pastor of the Reformed Dutch
Church at Neshanic, New Jersey. He was
the son of John R. Ludlow by his first wife.
Another son was John Ludlow, D. D., who
was twice professor in the Theological Semi-
nary, New Brunswick, New Jersey, for many
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
707
j-ears pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church
at Albany, and afterward provost of the LTni-
versity of Pennsylvania.
OTHER F.\MILIES.
The Hallet family formerly had many rep-
resentatives in Janiaica, although Newtown
seems to have long been more prominently
associated with the name than any other local-
ity. The pioneer of the family, William Hal-
let, settled in 1655 at what became known as
Hallet's Cove, and, as we have seen, had quite
a melancholy experience with the Indians. He
survived his troubles, married a Quakeress and
settled at Hell Gate until his death, when he
had attained the age of ninety years. His de-
scendants were long known as thrifty farmers,
and seem to have spread all over the western
end of Long Island. They were devoted ad-
herents, most of them, of the Society of
Friends, and in the persecution of these peo-
ple by the authorities they seem to have been
visited with a full share. In connection with
the history of this family a story is told in
Riker's "Annals of Newtown," which long
created a deep sensation throughcut the district
and still, for its heartless atrocity, holds a
prominent position in the criminal annals of
Long Island. The details as given by Riker
were as follows :
"Very near the present settlement of Mid-
dletown there lived a thrifty farmer, William
Halktt, Jr., who held a portion of the land
which his paternal grandfather had purchased
of the natives. Near neighbors there were
few or none, but his domestic hearth was en-
livened by the presence of five children and a
fond wife who was expected soon to add an-
other to their store of conjugal comforts. In
the family were two colored slaves, a man and
wife, the former an Indian. Incensed, as was
said at the time, because they were restrained
from going abroad on the Sabbath, the woman
meditated revenge and assured her husband
that if he would onlv kill the whole familv
then, the farm and everything pertaining to it
would become his own. He at last yielded to
the wicked suggestion and accomplished the
atrocious deed while his victims were asleep.
It was on Saturday night, the 24th of Janu-
ary, 1708. Hoping to screen themselves from
suspicion, they concluded to be the first to
announce the tragedy, and with this intent the
female fiend, the prime instigator of the deed,
set out early the next morning for Hallett's
Cove. Entering a house, her first exclamation
was : "Oh, dear ! they have killed master and
missis and the children with an axe, and only
Sam and I have escaped." The truth, how-
ever, was too palpable, and the guilty creature
soon confessed who was the real murderer.
Both were straightway arrested and lodged in
Jamaica jail. Tidings of the affair were at
once sent to Governor Cornbury, who imme-
diately issued a special warrant to the judges,
before whom, at Jamaica, the prisoners were
arraigned for trial, and being found guilty,
they were executed on the plains east of that
village, on Monday,, February 2d, in the pres-
ence of a large concourse of spectators. The
woman was burnt at the stake. Her accom-
plice was hung in gibbets and placed astride
a sharp iron, in which condition he lived some
time ; and in a state of delirium which ensued,
believing himself to be on horseback, would
urge forward his supposed animal with the
frightful impetuosity of a maniac, while the
blood oozing from his lacerated flesh streamed
from his feet to the ground. How rude the
age that could inflict such tortures, however
great the crime committed I * * * Mr.
Hallett was a son of Captain William Hallett,
then one of His Majesty's justices of the
peace. He was in the prime of life, and had
served the town in various public capacities.
"The event which so prematurely termi-
nated his life and those of his family produced
a strong sensation in the province, and a law
was passed shortly after, making mention of
the occurrence and entitled 'An act for pre-
venting the conspiracy of slaves.' The dwell-
ro8
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ing where the murder was committed is still
(1852) remembered by many, it having re-,
mained until the beginning of the present cen-
tury. It was built of brick and stood in the
hollow on the we'st side of the road, opposite
the late residence of Mr. Marks and within a
few feet of the small housie now erected there.
The well which belonged to these premises
remains still in use. \Mth this spot the juve-
niles were wont to associate the idea of ghosts
and hobgoblins; it wa's noted as the scene of
marvelous appearances witnessed by the timid
traveler at the dim, mysterious hour of twi-
light, and was often pointed at by the passing
school boy as "the haunted house." By some
it is stated that the assa'ssination of the Hallett
family was only part of a plot among the
slaves of the vicinity to possess themselves of
the property of their masters. There must
have been some evidence in support of this
theory, for it is related that on Tuesday, Feb-
ruary loth, a week and a day after the exe-
cution of the murderers, two negro men were
put to death for complicity in the crime and
several others had been arrested and were
awaiting trial. Yet, had the murderous move-
ment been a general one, it would doubtless
be recorded that still others were punished.
In the absence of such a statement it is fair
to presume it was not."
The Burroughs family in Xewtown can
trace its American genealogy back to 1637,
when John Burrcughs landed in Salem, INIas-
sachusetts. In 1643 he seems to have settled
in Newtowm, where he occupied a farrn that
remained intact in the possession of his de-
scendants until about 1835. Another noted
Newtown family was that of the Rikers, whose
American ancestor, Abraham Rycken or de
Rycke, received a grant of land at the Walla-
bout from Governor Kieft in -1638. He got
possession of what is now known, as Rikcr's
Island about 1650. His sons Abraham and
Andrew proved shrewd business men. and their
extensive land purchases made them rich.
Abraham was a public-spirited citizen of New-
town, and took a prominent part in the erec-
tion of the old Dutch Church there.
The Lent family is of common origin with
the Riker family, being descended from Ryck
and Hendrick, the eldest and youngest sons of
Abraham Rycken, who, for reasons not clearly
known, renounced their own name and as-
sumed the name of Lent. Abraham Lent, son
cf Ryck, came from Westchester, ccunty to-
Newtown in 1729 and took possession of a
farm left him by his uncle, Jacobus Krank-
heyt, on Bowery Bay. He resided here until
his death, in 1746, when his son Jacobus, for
years a ruling elder in the Dutch Church, suc-
ceeded to the farm. His death occurred in'
1779. Daniel Lent, youngest son of Jacobus,
was the last of the family who occupied this
estate. It was sold just prior to his death,-
which occurred April 20, 1797. Daniel, his
only child that survived infancy, removed to-
Flushing Bay, and for years resided upon the
farm.
The Alsop family goes back, or could go-
back if any of its representatives still exist,
which is doubtful, to the roll of the first set-
tlers of Newtown. Thomas Wandell, a major
in Cromwell's army, seemed to get involved
in some dispute with the Lord Protector, — a
dispute, whatever its nature, so serious that
^Vandell had to fly for his life. He made his-
way across the Atlantic, and in 1648 we find
him in ^Maspeth. In 1659 he bought a farm
at Newtown and took up his residence there,,
marrving the widow of its former owner. He
was quite an influential member of the local
society, and was held in high estesm even on
:\Ianhattan Island. Having no children, he
invited a nephew in England to join his for-
tunes with his in this country, and when he
died, in 1691, he left his estate to that nephew,
Richard Alsop. That young man had "taken"
to the new country almost as soon as he ar-
rived. He fell in love with a Dutch lady,-
but as she could speak no English and he did
not know a word of Dutch, the billing and
cooing customary to courtship had to be car-
OLD COUXTY FAMILIES.
709
ried on with the aid of an interpreter. How-
ever, love, which laughs at locksmiths, tri-
umphed over such an obstacle, and the pair
were married. They lived very happily to-
gether on the Wandell property until h's death,
in 1718. His widow survived until i/S/,
wlun she passed away in her ninety-first year.
Their son Richard succeeded to the property,
and it remained in possession of the Alsop
family until 1837, when the last of the name
died and the property was sold to strangers —
all except the old family burial plot, which is
now enclosed in Calvary cemetery, a little
Protestant plot in the midst of that great city
of Roman Catholic dead.
The two following sketches of other New-
town worthies are from the pen of the late
\\'illiam O'Gorman, of Laurel Hill, and were
written for the Long Island Star:
"Captain Richard Betts, whose public serv-
ices appear for fifty years on every page of
Newtown's history, came in 1648 to New Eng-
land, but soon after to Newtown, where he
acquired great influence. In the revolution of
1663 he bore a zealous part, and after the con-
quest of New Netherlands by the English was
a member from Newtown of the Provincial
Assembly held at Hempstead in 1665. In 1678
he was commis'sioned high sheriff of 'York-
shire upon Long Island,' and he retained the
position until 1681. He became a bitter oppo-
nent to Director Pieter Stuyvesant and the lit-
tle town of Bushwick, which he had' founded.
Lender leave from the Governor, the English
settlers had planted their town, but were re-
fused the usual patent, and in 1656 Richard
Betts administered a severe blow to Stuyvesant
by purchasing the land for himself and fifty-
five associates, from the red men, at the rate
of one shilling per acre. The total cost
amounted to £68 i6s. 4d., which, with the sum
of £76 9s. paid to the sachems Pomwaukon
and Rowerowestco, extinguished the Indian ti-
tle to Newtown. For a long series of years
Betts was a magistrate. During this time he
was more than once a member of the hi"h
court of assize, then the supreme power in the
province. He became an extensive landholder
at the English Kills. His residence was here,
in what is still known as 'the old Betts house.'
It is further said that here within sight of his
bedroom he dug his own grave, in his one
liundredth year, and from the former to the
latter he was carried in 171 3. No headstone
marks the grave, but its absence may be ac-
counted for by the fact that his sons had be-
come Quakers and abjured headstones. The
old house, which we may enter by lifting the
wrought-iron latch of heavy construction, worn
by the hands of many generations ; the polished
flags around the old deep well, where the sol-
diers were wont to wash down their rations,
are still as the British left them on their last
march through Maspeth. This house is but
one of several most ancient farm houses still
carefully preserved for their antiquity, on the
old Newtown road, between Calvary cemetery
and Maurice avenue. These venerable com-
panions have witnessed many changes, and
now enjoy a green old age, respected by the
community in 'which they stand.
"John Moore, the early ancestor of the
Newtown family of this name, was supposed
to be of English birth, though it is unknown
when or whence he emigrated. He was an
Independent, and the first minister of the town.
Though not authorized to administer sacra-
ments, he preached to the people of Newtown
until his death, in 1657. In consequence of
his interest in the purchase of Newtown from
the Indians the town awarded eighty acres of
land tp his children, thirty years after his de-
cease. One of his sons, Samuel Moore, be-
came a grantee of land in Newtown village in
1662, and afterward bought an adjacent tract,
previously owned by his father, which subse-
quently came into the hands of John J. Moore.
In 1684 he bought a farm near the Poor Bow-
er}', to which he removed.
"Among the distinguished members of the
r^Ioore family was Benjamin Moore, who was
born at Newtown October 5, 1748. He re-
710
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ceived his education at Kings (now Columbia)
College, and afterward became its honored
president. After pursuing theological studies
he went to England and was ordained to the
Episcopal ministry. In 1800 he was appointed
rector of Trinity Church, and in 1801 was
elected bishop of the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the State of New York, and he con-
tinued in this relation until his death, Febru-
ary 16, 1816. Hi's wife was a daughter of
Major Clement Clark, of New York.
"His brother, William Moore, born at New-
town January 17, 1754, was a medical student
and a graduate of Edinburgh in 1780. He
then returned home, and for more than forty
years was engaged in the duties of an exten-
sive practice. For many years he was presi-
dent of the New York Medical Society, and
trustee of the College of Physicians and Sur-
-geons. His wife v/as a daughter of Nathaniel
Fish, of Newtown. One of their sons, Na-
thaniel F., succeeded his uncle as president of
Columbia College.
"Captain Daniel Sackett Moore was a suc-
cessful and respected ship-master. He owned
the Moore residence near Newtown village,
and died here in 1828. His son, John Jacob
Moore, the last of the sixth generation of the
Moore family, died June 14, 1879, aged ?ev-
enty-three years. The ancestors of this gen-
tleman form an unbroken line of proprietors
in fee from the original Indian purchase, in
1656, in the following order: Rev. John
Moore, died 1657; Samuel Moore, died 171 7;
Benjamin Moore, died 1750; John Moore,
born 1730, died 1827; Captain Daniel Sackett
Moore, died 1828; John Jacob JMoore, died
1879.
"The venerable Moore house standing on
the Shell road was one of the mansions of the
colonial period. It is carefully preserved and
has been occupied constantly by the Moore
family since its erection, more than a hundred
years before the Revolution ; no part of it is
allowed to go to decay, nor is there much
change save by additions, which are not al-
lowed to displace the old structure. The same
hall door — in two sections, of solid oak and
secured by the original strong hinges, bolts
and locks, and with the original ponderous
brass knocker — is still spared; the old well
built stairway give access to the upper rooms ;
the ancient beams still exhibit their full pro-
portions and are well varnished. This bouse
occupied thd center of the British camp for
many years. The well beside it requiresi but
one glance down its mossy stones to discover
its antiquity."
The Kissam family of North Hempstead
can point in its records to the names of many
who have been prominent, locally at all events,
in public and professional life for over two
centuries and a half — a long time as geneal-
ogies go in the United States. The name of
the American founder of the family has been
lost "through the vicissitude of time," as
Burkes' "Peerage" gravely puts it, and so gets
over such a snag in its story of the origin of
many noble families in Great Britain. Had
the town records of Flushing not been de-
stroyed by fire in 1789 it is possible that the
name of the American pioneer would have
been extant and so the genealogical tree of the
family might have had a more symmetrical
beginning. This now nameless pioneer seems
to have arrived in America about 1640 and
settled on a piece of land in Flushing. He did
not long survive the change of country, for
when he died he left his property in the care
of guardians for the benefit of his only son,
John. John was born in 1644 and in due time
entered upon possession of his father's acres
and like a good Dutchman settled down and
cultivated them, bringing to the homestead as
its mistress a Jamaica girl, Susan Thome,
whom he married in 1667. Their family con-
sisted of three sons. The second son, John, in
after years married and settled in Freehold,
New Jersey, and it is thought that the young-
est, Thomas, also removed to that colony.
Daniel, the eldest, appears to have left Flush-
ing- and secured a farm on Great Neck. In
JOHU HOWARD PAYHE,
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
711
1703 he was elected a vestr_vman in St.
George's Church, Hempstead. He had a
large family, one of whom, Joseph, also be-
came a vestryman in St. George's, and had a
farm at Cow Bay. Daniel, a nephew of the
last named, son of an elder brother, who also
held a farm at Cow Bay, had quite an ex-
perience in public life, as he served as county
treasurer from 1759 to 1782 and was for many
years a member of Assembly and a justice of
the peace. Some of his family, at least, were
opposed to the Patriots during the Revclu-
ticn, for we find one of his sons, John, accept-
ing a commission as major from Governor
Tryon in 1776. Another member of the fam-
ily active in public life was Daniel Whitehead
Kissam, who served in 1786 as a member of
Assembly.
Richard Sharpe Kissam, born in 1763, was
educated for the medical profession at Edin-
burgh, .Scotland, and entered upon practice in
New York in 1791. For thirty years he stood
at the head of the active members of his pro-
fession in the city, and until his death, in 1822,
he was regarded as one of the foremost sur-
geons of his time. From one of his brothers
Governor John T. Hoffman of New York was
descended. It is impossible to trace here all
the ramifications of this family to the present
time. Its members have married into nearly
all the old families of New York and Long
Island and it almost seems to us that a history
of the various generations would almost in-
clude the story of the legal and medical pro-
fessions in Manhattan from the beginning of
the story of the United States.
In Suffolk county the number of old fam-
ilies which are still represented in every town-
ship is such that a volume or two would be
needed to present even the usual meagre .de-
tails of births, marriages and deaths, which
form the genealogists' stock in trade. Here,
however, a few may be selected at random to
illustrate all the rest.
We may begin with a family whose con-
nection with Long Island has long since ter-
minated, which was really connected- with it
for a few years, genealogically speaking, yet
some of the credit of affiliation with it must
be given to Suffolk county, because there
seems little doubt that when the most famous
member of the family wrote the heart-touch-
ing words of "Home, Sweet Home," it was
the memory of the interior of a little cottage
in East Hampton that inspired the theme.
John Howard Payne was born in New
York City, June 9, 1792. He was destined for
a business career but early showed a predilec-
tion for literature and the stage. He edited
some trifling publications while still in his
teens, — publications now interesting only as
curiosities, — and in 1809 made his first profes-
sional career as an actor in the old Park The-
atre, New York, taking the part of Norval in
Douglass' tragedy of that name, a part which
used to be the starting point in the career of
every budding Roscius. The play has long
been relegated to the bookshelf and is never
now acted, but in the early part of the past
century it was a prime favorite. Payne's suc-
cess in the part was nost flattering and after
playing it in many American cities- he re-
peated it in Drury Lane Theatre, London, with
equal commendation from the critics and the
public. That success determined his career
and for some twenty years thereafter he was
associated with the stage as actor, manager
and playwright. General James Grant Wil-
son writes : "While living in London and
Paris, where he was intimate with Washing-
ton Irving, Payne wrote a host of dramas,
chiefly adaptations from the French. In one
of these, 'Clari ; or, The Maid of Milan,' oc-
curs his deathless song of 'Home, Sweet
Home,' which made the fortunes of all con-
cerned, except the always unfortunate author.
By it alone, Payne will be remembered after
his multitude of poems and dramas have been
forgotten, which, indeed, has almost hap-
pened already. His tragedy of 'Brutus,' pro-
duced in 1818, with Edmund Kean in the
principal part, is his only dramatic composi-
712
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
tion that still holds possession of the stage,
with the single exception of 'Charles the Sec-
ond,' the leading character in which was a
favorite with Charles Kemble." In 1832 the
wanderer returned to America, as. poor as
when he left it, and pursued his theatrical
career with varying fortunes, generally brief
bits of success mingled with long periods of
misfortune and poverty. Home he had none
throughout his career since the death of his
mother when he was a lad of thirteen years,
and it was destined that he should die in exile
from his native land. In 1841 he wasi ap-
pointed consul at Tunis and there he resided
until his death, in 1852. His body was in-
terred in a little cemetery on the shores of the
Mediterranean until 1883, when it was re-
moved to Oak Hill cemetery, Washington,
and so poor Payne was home at last. His
career was a sad one; poverty and he were
close acquaintance's, he "fattened on trouble
and starvation," as he said himself, and he
often in later years told a story of the bitter-
ness he once felt on hearing his famous song
sung one night in London when he himself
was unable to raise the price of a night's lodg-
ing and had to find a home in the streets.. He
made plenty of money but had no idea of how
to keep it, and a hit, when it was made, only
carried him and his friends — partners in his
joys and often strangers to his sorrows —
through for a few days and then the weary
round of misery was faced again. The pen-
alties of genius were never better illustrated
than in the sad career of this gifted singer.
The genealogy of the Payne family has been
made a theme of special study by JMr. Henry
Whittemore, and as much misunderstanding
exists concerning the poet's ancestors and even
concerning his birthplace, we give the record
in full:
Thomas I'aine, the progenitor of the fam-
ily from which John Howard Payne descend-
ed, was the son of Thomas, supposed to have
come from Kent, England, and presumably
identical with Thomas Payne of Yarmouth,
the first Deputy from that place to the Old
Colony Court at Plymouth in June, 1639.
Thomas Paine (2), son of Thomas (i),
came to New England when a lad ten years
of age, and settled in Eastham before 1653, as
he was constable there at that date. He was
admitted freeman 1658. He represented
Eastham at the Colony Court 167 1-2-3, 1676-
78-80-81, and in 1690. He removed to Boston
before 1695. He was a man of more than or-
dinary education, and was a very fine pen-
man. He died at Eastham August 16, 1706.
He married Mary Snow, daughter of Hon.
Nicholas Snow, who came in the Anne to
Plymouth in 1623, and in 1654 removed to
Eastham, Massachusetts. He married Con-
stance Hopkins, daughter of Stephen Hopkins,
of Plymouth, fourteenth signer of the "May-
flower Compact."
The children of Thomas and Mary (Snow)
Paine were:' Mary, Samuel, Thomas, Elea-
zer, Elisha, John, bom March 14, 1660-1,
Nicholas, James, Joseph, Dorcas.
Deacon John Paine, sixth child of Thomas
(2) and Mary (Snow) Paine, was born in
Eastham, Massachusetts, March 14, 1660-1.
He was admitted freeman June, 1696.
He was elected clerk of the town 1706 and re-
elected until 1729. He was Treasurer from
1709 to 1736, and Representative to the Gen-
eral Court at Boston 1703-9-14-16-18-24-5.
He was of a literary turn of mind, and some
of his spare moments were devoted to literary
pursuits. Scraps of prose and poetry written
by him are still in the hands of his descend-
ants. He died October 26, 1731.
He married first Bennet Freeman, daugh-
ter of Major John and Mercy (Prence) Free-
man, born March, 1671. She was "a pleasant
companion, a most loving and obedient wife,
a tender and compassionate mother, and a
good Christian." By her he had John, Mary,
William, born June 6, 1695. Benjamin, Sarah,
Elizabeth, Theophilus, Joseph, Nathaniel, Re-
becca, IMercy, Benjamin again.
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
713
He married, 2nd, Alice Alayo. and had by
her Hannah, James, Thomas, Ahce, Hannah.
Lieut. \\'ilHam Paine, third child of Dea-
con John and Bennet (Freeman) Paine, was
born at Eastham, June 6, 1695. He was a
Representative to the Provincial Legislature
from Eastham 1731-32-35-38-39-4043-44. He
was appointed one of His j\Iajesty's Justices
in 1738. He took part with the Colonial forces
in the capture of Louisbourg as Lieutenant in
Capt. Elisha Doane's company. Col. Gorham's
Seventh ^Massachusetts Regiment, and died in
service in 1746.
His first wife was Sarah Bacon, of Barn-
stable, who he married in 1727. He married,
2nd, June 14, 1741, Elizabeth Myrick, a
widow, the daughter of Rev. Samuel Osborn,
pastor of the South Church in Eastham, and
sister of Dr. John Osborn, the distinguished
physician and poetical writer of Middletown,
Connecticut. By his first wife he had Sarah,
Ruth, Jo'siah, Jedediah. He had one child by
his second wife, William, born 1746.
William Paine, or Payne, (2), son of
Lieut. William and Elizabeth (Myrick nee
Osborn) Paine, was born in 1746, the year his
father died in the Colonial service. His moth-
er remarried and he was placed in the family
of Rev. Joseph Crocker, pastor of the South
Congregational Church of Eastham. He com-
menced the study of medicine under Dr. Jo-
seph Warren, who fell at Bunker Hill. He
was interrupted in his studies by the events
which inmiediately preceded the Revolution,
and opened an English Grammar School in
Boston, but on account of the occupation of
that city by the British he gave it up and be-
came a tutor in a private family. Writing to
a friend, of his experience at that time, he
says: He was obliged to be in his school
"from the first entrance of light till nine in the
evening." While on a visit to Barnstable he
married Lucy Taylor, who died shortly after
the marriage. He went to New London, Con-
necticut, and there engaged' in a mercantile ad-
venture to the West Indies. On his return he
formed the acquaintance of Aliss Sarah Isaacs,
of East Hampton, Long Island, who was on a
visit there, and soon after married her. Her
father was a convert from the Jewish faith,
who came from Hamburg, Germany, previous
to the Revolution, and settled at East Hamp-
ton. He was a man of education and wealth,
but difficulties in his own country and the
Revolution in his adopted country induced
heavy losses and left him comparatively poor.
His wife, a l\liss Hedges, was the daughter of
a lady whose maiden name was Talmage. His
uncle Talmage was the Earl of Dysart, a Brit-
ish nobleman.
\Mlliam Paine, or as he wrote his name,
"Payne," settled in East Hampton after his
marriage, about 1780, and became one of the
teachers of the academy there. His wife, who
was a woman of remarkable beauty, fine edu-
cation and many excellent traits of character,
assisted her husband in teaching. Payne con-
tinued there for about ten years. Several of
his children were born there, and this was
really the only home he ever possessed. He
removed to New York in 1790, where he
taught school for some years. In 1793 he re-
sided at No. 5 Dey street, and he also resided
and taught school on Little Queen street. In
1799 he was invited by some influential men
in Boston to open a school there, which be-
came quite noted. He returned to New York
about 1809 and taught school on Common
near Grand street. He died March 7, 1812.
In the cemetery at East Hampton is the
grave marked by a stone of Andrew Isaacs,
the father of William Payne's wife, Sarah
(Isaacs) Payne, on which is inscribed: "Be-
hold an Israelite in Whom is No Guile."
William Pavne by his wife Sarah (Isaacs)
Payne had issue :
1. Lucy Taylor, born 1781. at East Hamp-
ton, married, in 18 16, Dr. JoImt Cheever Os-
borne, of New York ; died in Brooklyn, 1865,
kft no issue.
2. William Osborne, born at East Hamp-
ton, August 4, 1783, died March 24, 1804.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
3. Sarah Isaacs, born at East Hampton,
July II, 1785, died in New York. October 14,
1808.
4. Eloise Richards, born at East Hamp-
ton, March 12, 1787, died at Leicester, Massa-
chusetts, July, 1819.
5. Anna Beren Leagers, born at East
Hampton, April 9, 1789, died at Newport,
Rhode Island, October 11, 1789.
6. John Howard, the poet, born in New
York City, at 33 Pearl street, June 9, 1791,
died at Tunis, Africa, April 9, 1852.
7. Eliza Maria, born in New York City,
September 19, 1795, died there May 25, 1797.
8. Thatcher Taylor, born in New York
City, August 14, 1796, married in New York,
X833, Mrs. Anna Elizabeth Bailey, died in
Brooklyn, December 27, 1863.
9. Elizabeth Mary, born in Boston, Massa-
chusetts, died the-e aged about two years.
The Scudder family, although not among
the original settlers of Suffolk county, might
almost claim directly, can, in some of its
branches at least, claim descent by intermar-
riage with every one of the historic families
of which Suffolk is so justly proud. Then,
too, their own American pedigree commences
at a date almost ranking with the first. The
American pioneer, Thomas Scudder, left
Grafton, England, in 1636, and settled at
Salem, Massachusetts. He left three sons,
Thomas, John and Henry, all of whom in
1652 crossed over to Long Island and became
residents of Southold. After a while they all
moved to Huntington township and acquired
land there. Then John removed to Newtown,
where he resided until his death, about 1670.
He left an only son, John, who married a
daughter of Captain Richard Betts. His two
sons, John and Richard B., moved with their
families to New Jersey, and their descendants
are there to be found ■even to the present day.
Thomas and' Henry Scudder may there-
fore be regarded as the progenitors of the
Scudders of Long Island. Thomas seems to
have had quite a land thirit and apparently
invested all the money at his command in real
estate. At his death his holdings were divid-
ed, according to his directions, between his
two sons, all within the town of Huntington
going to the eldest, ]3enjamin ; and tracts at
Cow Harbor, Crab Meadow and elsewhere, to
the younger one, Timothy. There were five
daughters in the family but they seem to have
been lost sight of in the distribution of the real
estate. Both of these fortunate brothers mar-
ried and had families and soon the mere rec-
ords of the marriages and baptisms and deaths
begin to tangle us up in a maze, and, even if
printed, would have no interest even for the
family themselves outside of a few of an anti-
quarian turn of mind. But there are several
names on the long and honorable record
which deserve to be held in general remem-
brance throughout Long Island, at any rate
for their patriotic and public services.
Thomas , Scudder, son of Benjamin, and
third in descent from Thomas (ist) of Salem,
died about 1760, leaving onl}' one son, also
named Thomas, who in turn died in 1809,
leaving four sons, John, Nathaniel, Gilbert and
Thomas. John joined the Continental army,
was taken prisoner at the battle of Long Island
and confined with many others in the old su-
gar house in New York City, where the cold
and hunger occasioned much sickness and
many deaths among the prisoners.
The old house of the Scudders at Hunt-
ington Harbor, offering good quarters for the
British officers, was occupied by them, except
the kitchen, where the family were forced to
crowd together, and the officer's horses occu-
pied the barn and used the hay and grain
'Stored there, while the stock of Thomas Scud-
der was turned adrift in the fields and streets.
The sufferings of John as a prisoner, com-
ing to the ears of his father, caused the latter
to send his son Gilbert (then a lad of sixteen
years) to New York to aid in his brother's re-
lief, which he accomplished by walking past
the prison house several times a day and when
the chance offered passing food from his pock-
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
ri5
et to him, or to some one for him, through the
iron bars of a window bordering on a side
street. This assistance continued until he was
Hberated on parole; but the severity of treat-
ment the prisoners suffered and the injustice
and rapine offered liis father's family in Hunt-
ington so embittered John's feelings against
the rule of Great Britain as to justify him, in
his own opinion, in breaking his parole and
enlisting in General Greene's command in the
Southern army, where before a year had
passed he died of yellow fever. Another
Revo'u;ionary hero belonging to the family
was Henry Scudder, who was of the fourth
in descent from the Salem pioneer. On the
outbreak of the war he gave heart and hand to
the cause of the Revolution, promoted its de-
velopment, held a commission in the army, and
during the seven years' war sacrificed all per-
sonal and family considerations for the com-
mon cause of independence. He was captured
at or shortly after the battle of Long Island,
but escaped confinement, passed over the
sound to Connecticut, and was attached to the
force of General Tallmadge. During the
seven years' struggle be largely contributed
by his local knowledge and great personal
daring to many successful expeditions against
the British forces on Long Island between
JNIatinecock Point and Wading River, and
came to be held by them as a scourge whom
they at once feared and watched for. His
possessions at Crab Meadow were laid waste
by cutting his wood, burning his fences and
outbuildings and driving off all the stock (ex-
cepting one cow which was secreted by an old
slave), and his wife was subjected to a system
of most distressing espionage in order' to dis-
cover the presence of her husband on- his
stealthy visits to her. To the courage of his
wife and her sympathy with the cause of jus-
tice Henry Scudder undoubtedly owed much
in his cheerful self-denial and endurance of
the hardships occasioned by the long struggle
for freedom. After the declaration of inde-
pendence he was chosen as one of the dele-
gates from Suffolk county to aid in the adop-
tion of the Federal constitution. He repre-
sented the county in the Assembly several
terms and held other positions of honor and
trust. Henry Scudder died in 1822, leaving
three sons. Youngs Prime Scudder, Henry
Scudder and Joel Scudder. He also had two
daughters, the oldest Phebe, who married Azel
Lewis, and Amelia, married to Piatt Lewis.
Several of the Scudder family have been
members of Congress. Tredwell Scudder
represented Suffolk ccunty in the State As-
sembly for several terms and was elected a
member of the fifteenth Congress. For over
twenty years he was prominent in public life.
Henry Joel Scudder was chosen to Congress
in 1872 and declined a renomination. He was
born at Northport in 1825, graduated at Trin-
ity College, Hartford, in 1846, and two years
later was admitted to the New York bar. He
acquired a leading position in his profession,
and in 1881 the degree of LL. D. was con-
ferred upon him by Roanoke College. His
career was distinguished by the interest he
took in educational matters and in schemes for
improving the condition of the poor and for
his native town of Northport he was always
thinking and planning some scheme of im-
provement. His death in 1886 was deeply re-
gretted by a wide circle of devoted friends.
His son, Townsend Scudder, afterwards repre-
sented Suffolk and Nassau, etc., in Congress
and proved a thoroughly practical and most
eminently useful member.
The Huntting family is another which has-
representatives all over the island, and, not-
ably, in Suffolk. Their progenitor, so far as-
their American story goes, was John Huntt-
ing, who in 1638 settled at Dedham, Massa-
chusetts, from England. His grandson, the
Rev. Nathaniel Huntting, was minister of
East Hampton for about half a century. He
had a family of six sons, and his grandson,
Jonathan. Huntting, became minister of South-
old. In 1739 Samuel Huntting founded the
Southamipton branch of the family. ColoneL
(16
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Benjamin Huntting, who was born in South-
ampton in 1754 and died there in 1807, was
one of the most enterprising merchants of his
day. He was one of the first to equip whaHng
vessels for long voyages and carried on a large
trade with the West Indies. The family have
been merchants, lawyers and fighters and are
represented in nearly all the wars in which
this country has engaged. When the Civil
War broke out E. F. Huntting of Southold
volunteered for the front and with a commis-
sion as lieutenant went forth to do what he
could to defend the flag. His career was a
short but brilliant one; he was shot at the
head of his company and soon after the news
was brought to Southold the Rev. Dr. 'Epher
Whitaker preached a notable sermon on the
lessons of the young hero's death which, as it
deserves to be printed in some form likely to
preserve it, and as its deeply religious tone
and moral musings and splendid spirituality
form an elevating change from most of what
appears in this chapter, we print it entire. It
will be seen that it is more than' a sermon ; it is
a sketch both biographical and genealogical,
with a lesson of deep import drawn from the
whole :
"Here am I ; send me." Isa. vi, 8.
Readiness for duty, however dangerous
burdensome and responsible, is the expression
of this text ; and it would not be easy to find
another more fit to indicate the character of
that young soldier, whose death we mourn
and whose virtues we commemorate to-day.
The Bible is not a book of life and peace
only. It is also, very largely, a volume of war
and death. The songs of Miriam and of De-
borah are pteans of victory. Many of the
psalms of David are martial odes. His lamen-
tation over Saul and Jonathan is the eulogy,
and elegy of battle-slain heroes. And the
Bible abounds, throughout all its parts, in
language and illustration drawn from the sci-
ence and art of war. This is the case in the
earlier as well as in the later ages of its his-
tory. The fine figure which soldiers present
in its latest books is specially remarkable.
Here some of them and there others, again
.■and again save the life of the chiefest of the
apostles, and afford him the means of spread-
ing the gospel among the nations. Others
often hate and hurt him. Soldiers commonly
treat him fairly and kindly.
But I have chosen no inoident of a soldier's
life, nor any circumstance of a soldier's death,
to indicate the character of that heroic soldier,
in whose honor we perform this service. Yet,
"Here am I ; send me," are words full of mar-
tial decision, alacrity, courage and manliness.
These qualities and others of Lieutenant
Huntting will appear in the briefest sketch of
his life and death.
Edw.\rd Foster Huntting was born May
22, 1843, in the home of his parents and pa-
ternal grandparents, in Southold, and died in
the service of his country, while commanding
his company, on the battle-field of Olustee,
Florida, February 20, 1864, in the twenty-first
year of his age.
He sprang from a long line of worthy an-
cestors of the same family name. The earliest
of the name in this country was John Hunt-
ting, who came from England two hundred
and twenty-five years ago last September, and
settled at Dedham, Massachusetts, where he
died April 12, 1682. His son, John, who mar-
ried Elizabeth Payne, was a resident of the
same place, where his son Nathaniel was born
November 15, 1675. This Nathaniel Hunt-
ting, a graduate of Harvard College in 1693,
began his life-long ministry at Easthampton,
in September, 1696, before he was twenty-one
years of age, and by his vigorous ministry
ther^ for more than half a century, he pre-
pared the way for the Rev. Samuel Buell, D.
D., and the Rev. Lyman Beecher, D. D., who
were his next successors. Two of his sons
and one of his grandsons, having graduated
at college and then studied theology, became
ministers of the gospel. The grandson was
the Rev. Jonathan Huntting, who graduated
at Yale College in 1804, and was ordained and
installed here on the 20th of August, 1807, the
Rev. Drs. Woolworth and Beecher performing
the chief parts of the services. He fulfilled
the duties of the pastoral office here twenty-
one years and one week ; and his pastorate,
under God, was the salvation of this church.
After he ceased to be the pastor, he retaiined
his home in this place, and with him, till his
death, December 30, 1850, lived his son Ed-
ward, this bereaved father, whose first-born
child and only son is the subject of our
thoughts to-day.
The brief service of an hour will not permit
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
•ir
me to make any specific mention of the wide-
!>■ spreading branches of Liientenant Hunt-
ting's maternal ancestry, whether through the
Cases, the Halseys, or others more remote
from him. They are extensive and known to
be worthy of the regard due to his forefathers
on the paternal side.
It requires some acquaintance with men
to appreciate the full worth of such an ances-
try. But its advantages are none the less real.
Apart from the virtue of blood, which is sub-
stantial and operative, it gives the child of
such parentage a material vantage ground in
the very first years of his life. It goes before
him and prepares the way for his reception of
kindness, instruction, attention and manifold
advantages on every hand. It gives him the
confidence of others, and makes many friends
for him even before his own merits have won
them or deserved them. He is "beloved for the
fathers' sakes." This may aid him long after
his ancestors are in their graves. For many
important purposes, the worth of his forefa-
thers avails him as if it were his own. The
nature of human life and the structure of hu-
man society make it as useful as it is unavoid-
able that parents and children should share
their advantages and disadvantages with each
other. Everv child feels this connection of
the parents and their offspring, even before he
can fullv understand its nature or appreciate
its great value; and he is a most unwise and
ungrateful son, who recklesslv throws awav
all the substantial advantages of honorable par-
entage, and chooses to fight the battle of life
alone, and cut his wav throueh the world
friendless and unsupported. We honor those
who make a good name for themselves without
this advantage': but we blame the man who
scorns the privileges of his own birthright.
Even the childhood of Lieutenant Hunt-
ting was marked bv no follv of this kind. He
was earlv mindful of the advantages which his
parentage gave him, and commendablv obedi-
ent to parental authoritv. The familv is the
foundation of human societv. He felt un-
ceasingly its bemign and mighty influence.
The wishes of his parents were often con-
trary to his boyish tendeiicies, his constitution-
al inclinations, and the customs of many among
liis youthful associates, and in many a case of
this ktnd it was exceedingly interesting to
mark the cheerfulness of his conformitv to
their will. For instance, the entertainments
of doubtful character, which they wished him
to forego, he often treated for their sakes as
unattractive and worthless. Thus he cheerful-
ly rejected what would have pleased his social
clisposition, in order to show his regard for
their wishes. He was thus trained to faithful-
ness in duty.
The same deference to their authority and
regard for their comfort, which marked the
course of his boyhood and chiefly formed his
charactet, also restrained him, I know not
how long, from giving himself to his country
in arms.
For many months before he volunteered,
the strong impulses of his ardent patriotism
impelled him to this step, but a life-long desire
to promote the comfort of his parents and
sisters, held him back for a season.
He was not aware that his talents and
training had fitted him for this service. His
highest triumphs in school were in the exact
sciences ; and I never saw him appear in a
better light at any time than in the splendor
of an examination in certain branches of the
higher mathematics, which are closely con-
nected with that precision of movement and
aim, and quick measurement of time and dis-
tance for which a soldiier should be fitted.
His progress and excellence in his academ-
ical studie's were not more marked than his
activity, agility, strength and readiness in all
athletic sports on the playground. But his
vigorous mental powers and superior physical
endowments found not their chief object in
sports and pastime. As manhood drew on
apace, the choicest athletic games became less
attractive than substantial, productive toil : and
whether he ploughed the fields of his father or
performed some neighborly and generous act
for one in need of aid. the labors of his hands
were cheerful industry, not repulsive drudgery.
Within these weeks of our mourning, since he
met his early death as a thorough soldier
might wish to die, new anecdotes of his skill,
efficiency and generosity as a worker have been
related to me in his praise.
Thus in the life of the familv, in the studies
and sports of good schools, both at home and
abroad, in the labors of the farm, and in the
social activities, duties and charities of the
neighborhood, he had shown himself worthy
of liigh regard.
P^ull five years since he passed the most
critical portion of his youth ; and the fears
which some of his friends then experienced
for a short time, lest he should falter in virtue,
were happily and speedily done away.
The approach of manhood both matured
718
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and improved his cliaracter. Tlie benign influ-
ences of the family and of tlie church of God,
in whose worship he was habitually active,
were, through the working of the divine Spirit,
not without effect upon his higher powers. He
became more thoughtful, considerate, manly
and gentle, and so acquired no little decision
of character. We saw it often, but will paint
you to no more than one instance.
We shall not soon forget that evening, the
i8th of August, 1862, when his tall and shape-
ly form was seen advancing here to place his
name, with his own right hand, upon the list
of volunteers for his country's army ; and we
knew him to be one who would never shrink
from his engagement, neglect his duty, nor
turn his back to his country's foe. His un-
selfish patriotism was not the kind to wear the
badge of meanness and infamy, and his heroic
soul was not shaped and fashioned to receive
the brand of cowardice and shame. The multi-
tude who then thronged this house of God
hailed his generous act with loud applause.
But it was not so much the acclamations of
the enthusiastic spectators as the noble im-
pulses of his own spirit and the firm decision
of his own mind, that filled his radiant eyes
with light, and spread a smile over his ex-
pressive countenance. Meniorv is faithful to
disclose even now the graceful dignity which
he displayed among his worthv companions
who then, with him. pledged their young man-
hood's prime and their precious lives to the
defence of our country against the lawless
violence and war of traitors. Dumb be our
lips and dead be our hearts if we fail to honor
them, whether thev live or die, for such gen-
erous and heroic devotion.
It was no sudden freak of Lieutenant Hunt-
ting that led him to lay down his life for his
country. He pondered the matter long and
well before he gave himself to live or die for
the nation. Though his life had not reached
a score of years, he had carefully studied the
history, the extent and the worth of the coun-
try and its national government. He had
marked the insurrection of traitors and had
seen how they had levied and begun war
against their lawful rulers. He scorned their
sophistry, despised their selfishness, detested
their oppression and defied their warlike
power. He counted not his life dear unto
himself, to maintain his country's rights and
promote the general welfare.
As soon, therefore, as approaching man-
hood would justify it, and the national voice
asked, "Who will go for us?" his firm answer
was ready, "Here am I ; send me." When he
thus offered himself, he was not unaware that
he gave perhaps his life for his country. He
was not unmindful of this fact in subsequent
days. Indeed, he desired to incur the danger
and to fight the battles for which he had vol-
unteered to serve his country in arms.
This was one reason why he desired pro-
motion and transfer from his place in the One
Hundred and Twenty-seventh Regiment to his
lieutenancy in the Forty-seventh Regiment of
New York Volunteers. In the former regi-
ment he had faithfully performed the duties
of a non-commissioned officer for more than
a year in Maryland, Virginia and South Caro-
lina, on both sides of the Potomac, the James
and the Nansemond rivers, as well as on the
coast islands of South Carolina ; and though
often in pursuit of the enemy, yet never able
to see more than his back or a line of his
pickets. This did not satisfy our young sol-
dier. His patriotic aspirations sought a
more vigorous and decisive service of his
country and hence it was a real gratification
to him, even at the e.xpense of a separation
from dear companions of long and well tried
friendship, to be transferred to a lieutenancy
in the Forty-seventh Regiment, whose fortune
it had been to see more decisilve service. Ac-
cordingly, in November last, he received his
commission in this regiment.
It presented a fit occasion to display the
integrity and nobleness of his character. His
commission was presented to him with the
promise, on his part, that he would forthwith
report himself to the commander of the regi-
ment in which he had been commissioned. But
no sooner had he received his commission, than
he was advised by senior officers around him to
do what is not uncommon in such cases, name-
ly, pocket the commission, and make a short
visit home before reporting himself in the new
place according to his promise. But neither
his strong desire to see his parents and kindred
and home friends once more, nor the example
of many a one among his brother officers, nor
all other considerations combined with these
powerful motives could induce him to falsify
his word, or swerve one line from the path of
integrity and honor. He would not burden his
conscience with a broken promise, even to
lighten and gladden his heart with all the de-
lights of home, though he might see that be-
loved home and its unspeakably dear inmates
never more. This is virtue bevond the reach
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
719
of mere heroism. It is virtue whicli comes
from Christian principle only.
It was virtue too in one whose heart craved
the society of gentle souls with inextinguish-
able longing. This yearning cf his heart
might be shown in many ways. Let one inci-
dent suffice. In one of his cheerful, familiar
letters, intended to be read only in the home of
his childhood, he writes, "I do not particularly
dislike this kind of life, but still it does not fill
up the vacancy. The associations do not ex-
actly suit ; and you may laugh, but I am more
'homesiick' for good female society than I ever
was for any thing else. I want something re-
fining among all this coarse, strong community
of men who do and dare. I think sometimes,
what would I not give for an hour's talk with
mother and sister. I never liavc been home-
sick— never ivill he, so long as I have health in
other respects ; but I do hunger for something
refining, and softer than these surroundings of
war, if I am 'a man of blood.' I never told
you of the risk I ran to have an hour's con-
versation with an old lady and her daughter
while in Virginia. They lived outside the
lines ; but I took my gun and went out, deter-
mined to risk a fight or capture for the sake
of an hour's chat with the ladies. The old
lady's name was Warner, and I found herself
and her niece both at home, but very much sur-
prised to see me, as they lived up among the
mountains or 'up country,' as they said. I told
them just what I had come for, and hoped they
would not be ofifended. They invited me into
the parlor, and I spent a very pleasant two
hours. The old lady's .'•on was in the rebel
army; but she was no partisan, and said she
hoped some Southern lady would talk to her
son like a mother, for she was sure he would
need it. She was a member of the Episcopal
church, a very good, motherly old lady, and
when I left she gave me some very good ad-
vice."
How clearly this incident discloses the
union of the tenderest sensibility with the man-
liest courage. It prepares us to glance our eye
at his modesty, which was equal to his merit in
other ciualities. In a letter containing his
photograph, sent to his oldest sister "three
months since, one of the two letters from his
pen which I have had opportunity to read, he
wrote thus : "Is Eddie much changed, do you
think? When I look at him with my mind,
and compare the untried boy. untaught in the
world's rough school, who left his island home
fifteai months ago to fight the battles of his
country's flag, and shield that flag from the
foul stain traitors would put upon it, to the
individual, half boy half man, who to-day ap-
pears Ijefore me, I can see a great change in
many respects. He has gained a glimpse of
the many and various pages of the text-book
set before him in this great school, and his
opinions and feelings and whole mind have
changed much. But when, at the hour of twi-
light, he puts aside the present and outward
world, gives imagination free scope, and thinks
of the loved ones who at that moment are
thinking and praying for the absent one, he is
the same boy of fifteen months ago, not a whit
changed, still cheerful, still hopeful that the
end will soon come, and he be again united to
that pleasant family circle which liis imagina-
tion correctly pictures."
This mention of the twilight hour is a
beautiful intimation of his prayerfulness. It is
the part of the day in which he devoted a half
hour to prayer in concert with his mother. His
frequent allusions to it in his letters, and his
oft-repeated request that his mother would not
fail to observe it, show most clearly how highly
he prized it. He was mindful of the religious
privileges and education which he had received
from his parents: and it would seem that he
made a deep impression of his Christian prin-
ciple and rectitude upon the minds of his
brother officers.
This shines forth in the letter of Lieutenant
Smith, who wrote, with equal perspicuity and
tenderness, the particular circumstances of our
young lieutenant's death.
This letter is the most grateful evidence
that even in the last moments of his life, Lieu-
tenant Huntting maintained and disclosed, and
even most fitly displayed some of those sterling
virtues which have come into view in the
course of this sketch.
Only four days after the battle, and while
yet in bivouac. Lieutenant Smith obtained the
address of Lieutenant Huntting's mother, and
most generously and k!ndly wrote thus:
"AIv De.\r ;\L\nAM — It is with feelings of
deep sorrow that I communicate to >-ou the
news of the death of your son, my esteemed
friend. Second Lieutenant E. F. Huntting. He
fell while gallantly leading his company T,' in
the battle of Olustee, on the afternoon of last
Saturday, February 20th.
"A large number of the original members
of Company T had re-enlisted as veteran vol-
unteers, and the captain and first lieutenant had
-'0
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
accompanied them home on furlough. So
great was the confidence reposed in Lieutenant
Huntting by Col. Moore, that although he was
only a" junior officer, the colonel gave him the
command of his company.
"Our mess on the march consisted of Lieu-
tenants Evry, Scott, Huntting and myself.
While conversing together over a cup of coffee,
reference was, by chance, made to the proba-
bilities of some of us going down in the battle
that we knew was soon to take place. Your
son's thoughts seemed to dwell particularly on
home, and the sad effect thr.t any thing serious
or disastrous to him would cause in the family
circle. He mentioned you particularly as likely
to be seriously aft'ected, should he be taken
away. Alas for the uncertainty of human life !
The early moon that evening looked down se-
renely on the lifeless forms of two out of that
little group of four who were then so quietly
talking .over their future prospects.
"At a little after 8 A. M. we were on the
march. My company was first in line, Lieut.
Every's next, and Lieut. Huntting's third. We
pushed on rapidly, and by 3^ P. M. were sup-
posed to be within a mile of the town of Olus-
tee, a distance of twenty miles. A smart artil-
lery fire, directly followed by the rattle of
musketry, about half a mile in advance, led us
to suppose that the enemy had thrown out a
small picket force, which our pavalrj' were then
engaged in driving in. Soon we were ordered
to form brigade line, and shortly afterwards
we came into line of battle, our regiment being
on the left flank. Imm^efdiately the enemy
commenced shelling us, with good range on his
part, so that we at once moved forward to en-
gage him. In a few moments we were hotly
engaged. Your son — cool, calm, and deliber-
ate in every movement — cautioned his men to
fire low, and bravely stood up facing the death-
storm that raged about him. In a little while
a rebel regiment moved forward on the left
and attempted to flank us. This drove back
our left wing for a time, leaving us who were
on the right exposed to an enfilading fire. Our
men were falling rapidly, and the three right
companies became somewhat massed together.
Lieut. Huntting deliberately walked back to the
colonel, not understanding what order had just
been given, and inquired if he had any thing
for him to do. 'J^^st tell me what you want,
colonel,' said he, 'and I will do it.' The col-
onel answered that he, the lieutenant, was do-
ing very well, and he had no orders to com-
municate. L'pon this Edward walked over to
where I was standing, and remarked that it
was a pretty liot place. I answered in the
affirmative, at the same time showing him
where the throat button of my overcoat had
been shot away by a rifle-ball. He then called
upon the men to 'stand steady, aim low, and
fire deliberately.' The words were scarce out
of his mouth, when he suddenly threw his right
hand over the left breast, at the same time
covering it with his left forearm, and turning
his face towards me, remarked, 'I'm struck ;
don't leave me, Smiith.' I made a motion to
catch him in my arms, but he reeled towards
the right, and fell immediately on his right
side. Hastily calling two men to carry him to
the rear, I knelt for a moment at his side,
heard him mutter something incoherently about
'mother,' 'heaven,' and then the eyes closed,
the limbs stiffened, and his pure unselfish spirit
passed away to be at rest forever. God grant
that when my hour for departure from earth
and earthly joys and sorrows may come, I shall
be found as well prepared as he was.
"My duties calling me to my company, I
ordered the men to carry him to the rear, not
thinking but that we should hold the ground,
and be able to take care of our wounded and
bury the dead. In a few moments a heavy
forced of the enemy was thrown forward to
capture a battery, and we were forced to fall
back some distance. We never recovered the
ground, so that nothing of the personal effects
on your son's body were saved except his
sabre.
"I have written thus at length, under many
difficulties, knowing you would take a mourn-
ful interest in everything relating to your so
much loved son. Believe me, my dear madam,
that it has been a mournful subject for me to
dwell upon, for your dear boy was a cherished
friend and companion of mine. Particularly
since the opening of this campaign we have
been together night and day; and his singular
openness of heart, unselfish conduct, strict and
unbending integrity, and thorough knowledge
of all of bis duties as a soldier and an officer,
had endeared him not only to me, but to all
his brother officers. By his men he was not
only promptly obeyed, but greatly respected.
You well know that in the field an officer's
power over his inferiors extends' even to life
itself, but your son's men well knew that while
they travelled in the path of duty, they would
be protected, and always receive strict and im-
partial justice. His every action seemed to
be dictated by a spirit of true Christian re-
sponsibility.
"It would not become me to intrude upon
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
721
your sorrows — me, who am so far behind your
loved and lost one in preparation for eternity
— but may I not suggest, that his whole life
was so pure and guileless as to warrant us in
saying that he is now rejoicing in the presence
of his Saviour, where I trust you and I, and all
of his and my friends may some day join him.
For one, I shall try to benefit by the example
of my lost friend, who, in a few months, took
a place in my heart that will cause his memory
to remain there for ever.
"Wishing you every blessing under this
heart-rending bereavement, I remain, dear
madam, your obedient servant,
"John A. Smith, First Lieut.,
Commandino- Co. G,
47th Reg. K Y. Vols."
Thus his comrade in amis and battle ten-
derly tells us how noblv died our true, faith-
ful, courageous young lieutenant. How could
a soldier find a more appropriate death? We
mourn his early fall, even though he died glo-
riously. For it is our grief that our ears shall
hear no more his sprightly footsteps and his
cheerful voice; that our eyes shall no more
behold his tall and vigorous form. His bril-
liant eyes will no more flash responsive to our
looks of love. His dark glossy hair feels the
dampness of the grave, and the earth has hid
those handsome, manly features from our sight
till the morning of the resurrection.
He has finished his work on earth. He
will toil no more for his kindred and his coun-
try. He will die no more for us all — for ns
all. It remains for us to cherish his memory,
to emulate his virtues, and to receive the in-
spiration and the consolation which properly
come from his noble, unselfish life and his gen-
erous and courageous death.
His readiness for the most burdensome and
dangerous labors and exploits should animate
us to perform our respective duties with alac-
rity and faithfulness, and to bear our heaviest
burdens with fortitude and submission to God's
holy will and providence.
The example of good men, whether old or
young — whether in ancient times or in these
days — should encourage us to walk in the
footsteps of the one perfect j\Ian, who was
also God manifest in the flesh, and who died
for us all, that we through him might have
forgiveness of sins, and strong consolation in
the deepest afflictions and sorrows.
The grace of God in Christ Jesus affords
the best relief for the hearts that grieve over
the bereavements of earth. The father of all
46
can make the severest anguish of his children
work for their future and eternal joy. To
these bereaved kindred he can make the death
of their beloved one work a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory than all the fame
and honors of the world.
Oh may this mournful event promote in
them and in us all the proper preparation for
death, judgment, and heaven; so that when-
ever may come the hour of our departure from
these earthly scenes, we may each be ready to
say unto God, "Here am I; send me."
The foremost living historian of Suffolk
county and, indeed, the Nestor of its histori-
cal students, is i\Ir. William S. Pelletreau.
He has been and still is a diligent student of
our old records and has the happy faculty of
making even the dryest of them tell an inter-
esting story. His recent work on Early New
Yorksi Wills, issued by the New York Histor-
ical Society, and his volume on the Records
of Southampton, are cases in point, and in
both there is hardly a page from which some
detail of general interest could not be gath-
ered, and yet their local character is thor-
oughly preserved. Both books received quite
commendatory notices at the hands of the
critics of the country, while the long extracts
which appeared in the daily press showed the
value placed on their contents. Mr. Pelle-
treau isi still closely studying the story of Suf-
folk county and every now and again hits upon
a discovery which is at once given to the world
with the same honest enthusiasm which Sir
Walter Scott — the prince of antiquaries — used
to announce the literary and historical results
of one of his tours to the Borderland or the-
Highlands.
The family to which Mr. Pelletreau by
his life work and' his many brilliant talents has
added additional honor, has long been one of
the most prominent in the county. He has
sketched its history so briefly and pithily that
we here reproduce his own record:
The ancestors of the Pelletreau family
were Huguenots who upon the revocation of
the edict of Nantes fled from France and
sought safety and religious freedom in a for-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
eign clime. The first of tlie family in Amer-
ica were Jean Pelletreau and wife Magdalena,
and their nephews Jean and Elie, the latter
having two sons, Jean and Elie (these names
were soon anglicised into John and Elias).
These were direct descendants from an ances-
tor who was physician to Admiral Coligny,
and like his illustrious patron perished in the
massacre of Saint Bartholomew, August 23,
1572. King Charles IX granted him a coat
of arms July 17, 1571. The following is a
translation of the description :
"Azure, upon a column in pale or, encir-
cled with a serpent proper, and bordered on the
dexter and sinister sides by a martlet, or;
crest, a helmet."
Jean ist was naturalized in New York Sep-
tember 22, 1687, and died in 1700. His wife
Magdalena died in 1702, without children.
Jean 2nd died in 1703, childless. He and his
iDrother Elie were naturalized July 10, 1696.
The native place of this family was the village
of Areas, in what is now the Department of
Charente Inferieure. They were all members of
the French church in New York, and in their
wills left funds toward the support of its poor.
Their names are found in connection with the
troubles in that church, as in favor of Rev.
Lewis Row (see Documentarv Historv of New
York, Vol. HI).
Elie Pelletreau died in 1730, leaving sons
Elias, Paul, Francis, John and Benjamin, and
a daughter Magdalena. Elia-s died before his
fatlicr, leaving a wife, Elizabeth. John also
died before his father, and left daughters
Mary and Elizabeth. Paul is supposed to
have had a son Elias," who had children Elias,
Samuel, Mary and John. From the first of
these are descended the families now living in
the city of Brooklyn. Benjamin was the
y-oungest 'son and is not known to have left
descendants.
Francis Pelletreau is said to have been an
infant at the time when the family left France
in 1686. He came to Southampton, L. I., in
171 7. He married Jane, widow of Richard
Osborn, September 26, 1721, and by this mar-
riage had two children — Mary, born Novem-
ber 30, 1723, and Elias, born May 31, 1726.
His wife Jane died December 6, 1733, aged
thirty-eight. His second wife wf.s Mary
King, widow o^f Joseph King, ot Soul!;oId, and
daughter of Judge Thomas Chatfield. of East
Hampton. She was born September 12, 1707,
and was married to Mr. King September 9,
1 73 1. He died while on a visit to his father-
in-law at East Hampton, November 6, 1732,
aged twenty-five. Mrs. King married Francis
Pelletreau September 4, 1734, and they had
children Hugh and Hannah, born in 1735.
Francis Pelletreau was a merchant. In 1728
he purchased the homestead of Samuel Wood-
ruff in Southampton village, and this place re-
mained in the hands of his descendants until
1866, and is now the residence of Josiah Fos-
ter. The old house remained standing till
1881 ; it was the last house on Long Island
that retained the old-fashioned rhomboidal
panes of glass set in lead, and from these it
was known as "the house with diamond win-
dows." In 1737 Francis Pelletreau went to
London to undergo a surgical operation, and
died from its effects September 26. His widow
married Judge Hugh Gelston, February 23,
1737, and died September i, 1775.
Mary, eldest child of Francis Pelletreau,
died July 6, 1736. Hugh died when a child.
Hannah married Edward, son of Rev. Silvanus
White, in 1757, and died March i, 1810.
Elias Pelletreau married Sarah, daughter
of Judge Hugh Gelston, December 29, 1748,
and had five children, viz. : Jane, born iVIay
13' 1750, married Judge Pliny Hillyer, of
Simsbury, Conn., whose descendants are now
living in Westfield, Mass. ; Francis, born May
15, 1752, died September 29, 1765; Hugh
born November 25, 1762, died July 30, 1771 ;
John, born July 29, 1755, died August 26,
1822; Elias, born August 29, 1757, died Octo-
ber 10, 1831.
The last named married Hannah, daughter
of Colonel Josiah Smith, of Moriches, August
7, 1782, and had children: Francis, born May
16, 1784; Elias Smith, born ]\Iay 18. 1789,
died September 30, 182 1 ; ilaltby, born ]\Iarch
23, 1791-
Hannah Pelletreau, wife of Elias 2nd, died
July II, 1804, and he married Milicent Post,
December 21 of the 'same year, and by her had
one son, Paul, who died when a child.
Elias Smith Pelletreau married Hannah,
daughter of Oliver Smith, of Moriches, and
had a son, Jesse Woodhull Pelletreau, who
died in 1878, leaving children Mary (wife of
Hon. John S. Havens of Moriches, Jessie and
Legrand.
Maltby married Jane Joralemon, of New
York, and left children William LTpson, Malt-
by and Francis.
Francis married Mary Conkling, of Islip,
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
723
and left children Henry and Cornelia; the lat-
ter married Rev. Ralph Smith ; the former
died childless.
Elias 2nd married Sarah Conkling, daugh-
ter of Zebulon Conkling, of East Hampton,
June 28, 1786. They had no children. His
wife Sarah died April 14, 1784, aged fifty-
three.
The descendants of John Pelletreau, son of
Elias 1st, were as follows:
John married Mary, daughter of Dr. \\"\l\-
iam Smith, April 9, 1785, and had six chil-
dren, viz.: William Smith, born June 8, 1786,
died March 15, 1842; Nathaniel, born Septem-
ber 18, 1787, died January 5, 1823; Sarah,
born July 19, 1789, died April 15, 1839;
Charles, born December 9, 1791, died Febru-
ary 24, 1863; Edwin, born January 11, 1795.
died 1840; John, born February 15, 1804, died
December 2, 1817. Mary, wife of John Pelle-
treau, died December 2, 1817, aged fiftv-eight.
\\'illiam Smith, son of John Pelletreau,
married Nancy Mackey, daughter of David
Mackey, May 23, 1810, and had children: Al-
bert died May 19, 1843, aged thirty-two;
George died December 21, 1832, aged twenty;
Jane married I /man Lewis, of Westfield,
Massachusetts: Gilbert died in 1864: Alex-
ander, born March 4, 1829, now in California;
Mary Gelston, wife of William Green. Prairie
du Sac, Wisconsin ; Frances, wife of William
L Mathews, Washington, Pennsylvania.
Nancy, wife of William S. Pelletreau, died
April 22, 1832, aged 44, and he married Eliza-
beth, daughter of Colonel Isaac Welles, of
Westfield. Massachusetts, June 26, 1839, and
had children: Helen, now president of Penn-
sylvania Female College, Pittsburg, Pennsyl-
vania; William Smith (the historian), and
George. Virginia Citv, Nevada.
Nathaniel, son of John, married Harriet
Crittenden, and bad children: Walter; Mary,
wife of Daniel Jagger ; and Maria, wife of
Albert Jagger.
The Dering family, which for so long was
closely connected with the progress of Shelter
Island, was descended from Henry Dering, a
native of Dorsetshire, England, who came to
America in 1660. He became a merchant in
Boston, and at the time of his death, in 1717,
was a member of the Governor's Council. His
grandson, Thomas, settled on Shelter Island,
and as the husband of Mr.iy Sylvester, heiress
of Brinley Sylvester, he was practically lord
of the manor. In the time of the Revolution
he cast in his lot with the Continental Patriots,
but after the result of the battle of Brooklyn
became known, deemed it prudent to retire to
Connecticut like so many Long Island Whigs
too old to fight or not possessing fighting qual-
ities. He died in 1785, leaving two sons, Syl-
vester and Henry Packer, and a daughter.
Sylvester made his home on Shelter Island and
did much to beautify it. He was the first to
introduce merino sheep into America and add-
ed considerably to his wealth by the develop-
ment of that stock. Having been appointed a
brigadier-general of militia, he became quite
an authority on military matters after his own
notions like most of the old time "militia sol-
diers," and, like them, he was proud of his
title and liked to be addressed as "General"
to the end of his life journey. He was super-
visor of the town of Shelter Island for many
years, and ini 1804 was elected a member of
Assembly. His death, on October 8, 1820,
was the result of an accident. The younger
brother of this warrior-stock raiser, Henry
Packer Dering, was appointed collector of the
port of Sag Harbor by President Washington,
and was one of the most honored of the busi-
ness men of that place. He died in 1822.
In Hu;itington Jonas Wood became one of
the first settlers and the ancestor of a long line
of men and women who were highly honored
in that township and wherever the changes of
life carried them. The best known of them all,
Silas Wood, has been called the first historian
of Long Island. He was born at West Hills,
Huntington, September 14, 1769, and was edu-
cated at Princeton, where he was graduated in
1793- He seems to have then studied law.
Two years later he was elected to the Assem-
bl}', and when his service at Albany was over
he practiced as a lawyer in Huntington. In
18 17 he was elected a member of Congress and
served in that capacity for five terms in suc-
cessioai. In 1828 he was defeated of re-elec-
724
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tion and retired to private life. He died in
1847. His most noted work was his "Sketch
of the First Settlement of the Several Towns
on Long Island," and a brief sketch of the his-
tory of Huntington. It is said that during his
last years he engaged in a series of extended
theological studies and wrote quite volumi-
nously upon religious matters. But as the end
drew near he began to feel dissatisfied with
some of the opinions be had expressed and
burned every line he had written.
Several of the descendants of the Rev.
Joshua Hartt are still to be found in Hunting-
ton, and as he may be regarded as the founder
of the family and certainly as the most not-
able of the name, we may here present a sketch
of his extraordinary career, written by Mr.
Charles R. Street, the learned and painstaking
annalist of Huntington :
Joshua Hartt was born at Dix Hills, near
Huntington, September 17, 1738. He gradu-
ated from Princeton) College, New Jersey, in
1770, and wasi ordained and installed pastor
of the Presbyterian Church at Smithtown,
Long Island, April 29, 1774. He married Abi-
gail Howell, of Moriches, by whom he had ten
children. After the Revolution he went to
Fresh Ponds, where he preached many years.
During the Revolutionarv War his bold and
uncompromising advocacy of the cause of his
country caused him to be arrested a number of
times by the adherents of the king. Once he
was brought before the court martial held at
Lloyd's Neck, but he was admonished and dis-
charged. He was soon after arrested, tried
and committed to the jail in New York City,
where he remained from May 27. 1777, until
October 25 of the same year. During this
imprisonment he came near dying from want
and disease brought on throug^h cruel treat-
ment by his jailer, the notorious Pr6vost Mar-
shal Cunningham. Among his fellow prison-
ers was the celebrated Colonel Ethan Allen,
with whom he was on terms of intimate friend-
ship, although their views of spiritual matters
were totally at variance, Allen being at the
time an infidel. While Mr. Hartt lay sick of a
fever and his life was in danger Allen was
active in his attention to the wants of the sick
man, and by his lively manner and cheerful
conversation did much to make his sickness
and confinement endurable. It was during Mr.
Hartt's illness that Allen one day knelt down
by his bedside and made a most fervent prayer
for his restoration to health. (See Onder-
donk's Annals.) Soon after this Mr. Hartt,
probably by the influence of some Tory friend,
was released from prison upon parole, and
when he was about leaving Allen took him by
the hand and said: "Good bye, Mr. Hartt;
when you go home tell your wife that while
you were sick and nigh unto death, Ethan Al-
len, a servant of the Most High God, prayed
over you, and you recovered."
Although released from prison, he was not
free from persecution. On one occasion while
he was preaching in the church at Smithtown
Branch a bullet was fired at him, lodging in
the wall just above his head, where the mark
remained for many years. For some time
after the return of peace in 1783 Mr. Hartt
was engaged with others in making surveys
of the state lands in the neighborhood of
Whitestown, Oneida county, New York. In
1790 he and Rev. Nathan Kerr were appointed
missionaries by the Presbyterian General As-
sembly. They visited Whitestown, Cherry
V^alley and the Indian tribes of that vicinity.
Their route was then regarded as in the far west.
During the war between this country and
England in 1812 Mr. Hartt took strong
ground in favor of sustaining the government
in its efforts to punish Great Britain for her
insolent treatment of our rights upon the seas.
He preached several sermons in which he vin-
dicated the acts of the government in declar-
ing war, and in which he set forth the neces-
sity of a hearty support of the government
while prosecuting the same. Thes; sermons
were printed in pamphlet form, and were ex-
tensively circulated, several copies being still,
preserved.
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
725
The Howell family was formerly a prom-
inent factor in the business affairs of South-
ampton. Captain Stephen Howell was born
in the good old town in 1744,, and died there in
1828, was one of the first to erect a storehouse
in the village. He was a stanch patriot in the
Revolution and fought in the battle of Brook-
lyn, seemingly ending, however, in that disas-
trous engagement, his military career. In 1785
he became prominent in the whale fishery busi-
ness and he and his sons, Lewis and Silas,
made considerable money rapidly. Latham
may also be regarded as the founder of Sag
Harbor's industries, he having established
there a candle-making factory. Although he
was a man of many progressive ideas and of
shiewd business instincts and his endeavors
added greatly to Southampton's prosperity.
A family named Miller was long promiinent
in East Hampton. They were descended from
John Miller, one of the first settlers. In 1717,
Eleazer Miller, the grandson of this pioneer,
was born and developed into quite a famous
character. He was elected a member of the
Assembly in 1748 and continued to hold the
office for twenty-one years, when, in 1769, after
a warmly contested election he was defeated by
no less a personage than Gen. Nathaniel Wood-
hull. Eleazer's son, Bumet, was clerk of
Huntington for many years, served in the As-
sembly and in Congress and was supervisor
for eleven years prior to 1776. He seems to
have been lost si'ght of in the course of the
Revolutionary war, probably removed to some
place up the Hudson.
Hubbard Latham, of Connecticut, settled in
Southampton in 1760 and was for many years
one of its most active citizens. He was a
dealer in real estate as well as a speculator in
marline ventures and gathered together quite a
fortune. He left a large family which is still
represented in the village.
The Rose family, still represented in North
Sea, Southampton, are descended from Robert
Rose, who settled in the township in 1644.
Judge H. P. Hedger wrote the following
interesting sketch of the career of a member
of this family who attained high judicial
honors :
Judge Abraham T. Rose, son of Dr. Sam-
uel H. Rose, was born in Bridgehampton, in
1792, and died April 29, 1857. He graduated
at Yale College in 18 14, and became a success-
ful practicing lawyer, residing through life in
his native village. He was county judge and
surrogate of Suffolk county from July, 1847,
to January, 1852, and from January, 1856, until
his resignation, in the month wherein he died.
In 1848 he was an elector to choose a president
of the United States.
He was a man of varied and almost uni-
versal genius, of generous and kindly im-
pulse, poetic temperament and magnetic elo-
quence ; where others by slow and laborious
effort achieved the mastery he by intuition
looked through the complication of mechanics,
science, literature, music and the practical arts.
Hosts of ardent friends admired, loved and
served him ; crowds thronged the place where
and when he was expected to speak. Fluent
in expression, graceful and commanding in
gesture and action, fertile in fancy and inven-
tion, versed in all the springs of human nature,
winning and persuasiive in manner, his pres-
ence was a poem and his speech was music.
Almost at will he carried courts, jurors, wit-
nesses and crowds to his own conclusions, and
in his own inimitable way. One of his con-
temporaries remarked that industrious appli-
cation would, make a good lawyer, but only
genius like his would make a man an advocate.
Unquestionably as an advocate and orator he
was of the highest rank in his time.
When the dark shadow of the inevitable
hour gathered around him, professing his un-
doubting faith in Jesus Christ, and regret and
repentance for errors past, he was received on
the Sabbath in the church at his residence, and
partook of the sacramental elements at the
hands of the elders. When his malady ob-
structed his wonderful and attractive utter-
ances he commended to us the Ii6th Psalm as
expressing his experience and undying hope.
The tramping feet of the living thousands may
726
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
move on unconscious of the memory of the
other thousands gone before ; yet age after
age the remembrance of this gifted man, of his
wonderful eloquence and his generous heart,
will live in the traditions of generations to
come, transmitted by those who have gone as
he has gone.
These random notes and delvings into the
family history "out on Long Island" must here
close. We have lingered with the subject lov-
ingly and reverentlv so as to bring out the
characteristics of each and in most cases their
special claim to remembrance, but the subject
might be indefinitely extended, for such fam-
ilies as the iNIulfords, the Hewletts, the Day-
tons, the Brewsters, the regiment of Smiths,
and a host of others are at hand — ^enough to
fill many volumes. But we desire to close this
chapter with a biographical sketch of a man
v.'ho was for years a tireless student of Long
Island genealogy and whose works are a de-
light to the antiquary and an inspiration to
the historian — Teunis G. Bergen, of Bay ■
Ridge. This sketch was written by his life-long
friend. Dr. Stiles, the historian of Brooklyn.
Teunis G. Bergen, farmer, statesman and
antiquary, was born in the town of New Ut-
recht, October 6, 1806. He was the eldest child
of Garret Bergen and Jane Wyckoff, his wife.
He clearly traced his ancestry to Hans Hansen
Bergen, a native of Bergen, in Norway, who
came over to the New Netherlands with Wou-
ter \'an Tweller, the second director of the
colony. Bergen's wife, whom he married in
1639, was Sarah, the daughter of the Wal-
loon emigrant, Jan Joris Rapalye, who came to
this country in the ship Unity in 1623 and
settled in Albany, afterwards removing to
New Amsterdam, and thence (1635) to the
Waleboght on Long Island. Sarah was her-
self a historic character, being the first white
female child born within the limits of the pres-
ent state of New York — at Albany. Thus, from
a stock not originally of the Netherland blood,
but which became afterwards thoroughly in-
corporated with the first Dutch settlers of this
county, sprang this most distinguished Dutch
scholar. His early youth was mainly spent be-
tween work upon his father's farm at Gowan-
us, and at the common school of the district.
As youth merged into manhood, he applied
himself to the study and practice of surveying,
in which he soon became proficient. To the
main duties of an active life he added those
of a farmer ; and, not forgetting those he owed
to the community in which he resided, he faith-
fully discharged such as were imposed upon
him by the choice of his fellow-citizens, as sol-
dier, civilian and statesman. He held the po-
sition of Ensign, Captain, Adjutant, Lieut. -
Colonel in the militia; and, finally, that of
Colonel of the 241st Regiment, N. Y. S. N.
G. He was supervisor of the town of New-
Utrecht for twenty-three years in succession
(April, 1836, to April, 1859) ; and from 1842
to 1846 was chairman of the board. He was
a member of the Constitutional State Conven-
tions in 1846, 1867 and 1868, and was repeat-
edly a member of the Democratic state conven-
tions. He was a delegate to the national Demo-
ocratic Convention held at Charleston, S. C,
in i860, and vigorously opposed the resolutions
Oi that body which caused the breach between
the northern and southern Democratic party.
I'he last and most notable public office which
ho held by the choice of his fellow citizens
was that of representative in Congress from
the Second Congressional District, in 1864,
when he was elected by a majority of 4,800
over his opponent, the "Union" candidate. In
that session of the House of Representatives
liis party was in the minority ; but, true to his
Dutch principles, he stood firm to his party to
the completion of his term of service. The
pages of the history of the county of Kings
bear frequent witness to Mr. Bergen's many
public services in behalf of the interests of the
county and of its several towns, as well as of
the city of Brooklyn. That he was so fre-
quently called upon, in these public affairs, was
a most striking tribute to his ability, industry
and integrity.
On his retirement from public and profes-
sional duties, he devoted his leisure hours to
OLD COUNTY FAMILIES.
727
those antiquarian and genealogical investiga-
tions which possessed, for him, so great a fas-
cination. These investigations ran most nat-
urally in the lines of Dutch ( and Kings Coun-
ty Dutch) ancestry and history. In the ear-
lier years of his life, spent among the hills and
by the waterside at Gowanus, and at New Ut-
recht, be knew no language but the Dutch —
not as spoken nowadays, but with the idiom
and pronunciation of two hundred years ago —
and corrupted, in a measure, by the gradual
introduction of the English. By education, he
soon became versed in the English language ;
but he never ceased- to cultivate the language
of his boyhood, which he lived to see almost
eradicated, in this county, as a spoken lan-
guage. It sometimes seemed to his friends as
though he thought in Dutch, but spoke in Eng-
lish : and there was always a certain peculiar
accent to his pronunciation, especially when a
little excited, as if both tongues wrestled at his
lips for precedence. By birth, and education
and study be was admirably qualified to de-
cipher the Dutch records, both public and pri-
vate, which he frequently had occasion to con-
sult. His pure character and great experience
as a land-surveyor in the settline of town-
boundaries and private estate-liines among the
old Dutch families of the county, also gave
him access to many ancient documents and
sources of information which would have been
closed to any other person. So that he early
became an expc^rt in all that related to the
Dutch and their descendants, not only in the
county, but upon Long Island and even in New
Jersey. In the history of the Dutch families
of Long Island he was not only (with the ex-
ception of Riker) the first gleaner, but be was
by far the most thorough, exhaustive and au-
thoritative. His untiring and self-sacrificing
researches into the almost obsolete records of
the ancient Dutch churches of Long Island
and New York have unearthed numerous and
important materials for the use of modern his-
torians ; while his discoveries, in out-of-the-
way places, of many of the detached birth, bap-
tismal and marriage records, and the restora-
tion of the same, have conferred inestimable
benefits upon the genealogist and antiquary.
His published writings were numerous and im-
portant. Scattered through the volumes of the
New York Genealogical and Biographical Rec-
ord will be found valuable papers on Records
of Births of the Society of Friends, Gravesend,
L. I., commencing 1665 ; the Van Dyke Fam-
ily; Marriage Records of Gravesend, com-
mencing 1664; a List of Deaths in Captain
Grant's company in 1762 > the Montfoort Fam-
ily ; Pioneers of the Revolutionary War ; the
Martense Family; Contributions to the History
of the First Settlers of Kings county ; Memor-
ials of Francays D' Bruynne; the Van Duyn
Family. Some of these formed portions of
"A Register of the Early Settlers and Free-
holders of Kings county, X. Y., from its First
Settlement by Europeans to 1700, with Bio-
graphical Noticesi and Family Genealogies,"
which was published in 1881, a few weeks after
his death. Before this, however, in 1866, he
had issued "The Bergen Family," an octavo of
298 pages ; in 1867, the history of bis wife's
ancestry, "Genealogy of the \'an Brunt Fam-
ily," in 80 octavo pages. But the crowning
glory of bis well-spent life, so far as family
history is concerned, was a second edition of
his "Bergen Family," so improved and aug-
mented as to embrace, by regular descent and
intermarriage, a large portion of the Dutch
population of southern New York and eastern
New Jersey; forming a handsome illustrated
volume of .6=;8 octavo pages. In 1878 ap-
peared bis "Genealogy of the Lefferts Family,"
1675-1878-, an octavo of 172 pages. In 1877,
also, at the 200tb anniversary celebration of
the Reformed Dutch church of New Utrecht,
be delivered an "Address on the Annals of
New Utrecht," of great historic value ; and
which was printed for private circulation by
the consistory of the church. He left, also, in
manuscript, "A History of New Utrecht,"
which antiquarians are hoping to see issued, in
due time, by competent hands. He left, more-
over, translations of several important manu-
scripts relating to Kings county matters.
CHAPTER LVII.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Long Island Campaign — Dutch Names of Places and Persons — Histor-
ical Gleanings and Documents — Early Nineteenth
Century Descriptions.
N this chapter we propose to present
some documents, extracts, and addi-
tional details which will help to elu-
cidate several of the earlier passages
of this work, and also to present specimens of
the work of the earlier historians of Long
Isiland, all of which will be found of interest
to the general reader of the local history:
capiti.tlation by tpie dutch to
sir richard nicolls.
These Articles following were consented to
by the Persons here under subscribed, at the
Governour's Bowery, August the 27th, Old
Style, 1664.
I. We consent That the States-General, or
the West India Company, shall freely injoy all
Farms and Houses, (except such as are in the
Forts,) and that within six months they shall
have free Liberty to transport all such Arms
and Ammunition as now does belong to them,
or else they shall be paid for them.
II. All Publique Houses shall continue for
the U'9es which they are for.
III. All people shall continue free Deni-
zens, and shall injoy their Lands, Houses,
Goods, wheresoever they are within this Coun-
try, and dispose of them as they please.
IV. If any Inhabitant have a Mind to re-
move himself, he shall have a Year and six
Weeks from this day, to remove himself,
Wife, Children, Servants, Goods, and to dis-
pose of his lands here.
V. If any Officer of State, or Publique
Minister of State, have a Mind to go for Eng-
land, they shall be transported Fraught free,
in his Majesty's Frigotts, when these Frigotts
shall return thither.
VI. It isi consented to, that any People may
freely come from the Netherlands, and plant
in this Colony; and that Dutch Vessels may
freely come hither, and any of the Dutch may
freely return home, or send any Sort of Mer-
chandize home in Vessels of their own Coun-
try.
VII. All Ships from the Netherlands, or
any other Place, and Goods therein, shall be
received here, and sent hence, after the man-
ner which formerly they were, before our com-
ing hither, for siix Months next ensuing.
VIII. The Dutch here shall injoy the Lib-
erty of their Consciences in divine Worship
and Church Discipline.
IX. No Dutchman here, or Dutch Ship
here, shall upon any occasion be pressed to
serve in War against any Nation whatsoever.
X. That the Townsmen of the Manhattans
shall not have any Soldiers quartered upon
them, without being satisfied and paid for
them by the Ofificersi ; and that at this present,
if the Fort be not capable of lodging all the
Soldiers, then the Burgomasters, by his Of-
ficers, shall appoint some Houses capable to
receive them.
XL The Dutch here shall injoy their own
Customs concerning their Inheritances.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
729
XII. All Publique Writings and Records,
which concern the Inheritances of any People,
or the Reglement of the Church or Poor, or
Orphans, shall be carefully kept by those in
whose Hands now they are, and such Writ-
ing's as particularly concern the States-Gen-
eral, miay at any Time be sent to them.
XIII. No Judgment that has passed any
Judicature here, shall be called in Question;
but if any conceive that he hath not had Jus-
tice done him, if he apply himself to the States-
General, the other Party shall be bound to
an-wer for the supposed Injury.
XIV. If any Dutch, living here, shall at
any Time desire to travaile or traffique into
England, or any Place, or Plantation, in obedi-
ence to his Majesty of England, or with the
Indians, he shall have (upon his Request to
the Governor,) a Certificate that he is a free
Denizen of this Place, and Liberty to do su.
XV. If it do appeare that there is a pub-
lique Engagement of Debt by the Town of the
Manhattoes, and a Way agreed on for the sat-
isfying of that Engagement, it is agreed that
the same Way proposed 'shall go on, and that
the Engagement shall be satisfied.
XVI. All inferior Civil Officers and Mag-
istrates shall continue as now they are, (if
they please,) till the customary Time of new
Elections, and then new ones to be chosen by
theni'ielves ; provided that such new chosen
Magistrates shall take the Oath of Allegiance
to his Majesty of England before they enter
upon their Office.
XVII. All Differences of Contracts and
Bargains made before this Day, by any in this
Country, shall be determined according to the
Manner of the Dutch.
XVIII. If it do appeare that the West In^
dia Company of Amsterdam do really owe any
Sums of Money to any Person here, it is
agreed that Recognition and other Duties pay-
able by Ships going for the Netherlands', be
continued for 6 months longer.
XIX. The Officers Military, and Soldiers,
shall march out with their Arms, Drums beat-
ing, and Colors flying, and lighted Matches ;
and if any of them will plant, they shall have
fifty Acres of Land set out for them ; if any of
them will serve as Servants, they shall con-
tinue with all Safety, and become free Deni-
zens afterwards.
XX. If at any Time hereafter the King of
Great Britain, and the States of the Nether-
land, ,do agree that this Place and Country be
re-delivered into the Hands of the said States,
whensoever his Majestic will send his Com-
mands to re-deliver it, it shall immediately be
done.
XXI. That the Town of Manhattans shall
choose Deputyes, and those Deputyes shall
have free Voyces in all publique Affairs, as
much as any other Deputyes.
XXII. Those who have any Property in
any Houses in the Fort of Aurania, sliall (if
they please) slight the Fortifications there,
and then enjoy all their Houses, as all People
do where there is no Fort.
XXIII. If there be any Soldiers that will
go into Holland, and if the Company of West
India in Amsterdam, or any private Persons
here, will transport them into Holland, then
they shall have a safe Passport from Colonel
Richard Nicolls, Deputy-Governor under his
Royal Highness, and the other Commissioners,
to defend the Ships that shall transport such
Soldiers, and all the Goods in them, from any
Surprizal or Act of Hostility, to be done by
any of his Majestie's Ships or Subjects. That
the Copies of the King's Grant to his Royal
Highness and the Copy of his Royal High-
ness's Commission to Colonel Richard Nicolls,
testified by two Commissioners more, and Mr.
Winthrop, to be true Copies, shall be delivered
to the Hon. Mr. Stuyvesant, the present Gov-
ernor, on Munday next by Eight of the Clock
in the Morning, at the Old Miln ; and these Ar-
ticles consented to, and signed by Colonel Rich-
ard Nicolls, Deputy-Governor to his Royal
Highness ; and that within two Hours after the
Fort and Town called New Amsterdam, upon
the Isle of Manhatoes, shall be delivered into
the Hands of the said Colonel Richard Nicolls,
by the Service of such as shall be bv him there-
unto deputed, by his Hand and Seal.
John De Decker,
Nich. Verleet,
Sam. Megapolensis,
Cornelius Steenwick,
Oloffe Stevens Van Kortlant,
James Cousseau,
Robert Carr,
Geo. Cartwright,
John Winthrop,
Sam. Willys,
Thomas Clarke,
John Pinchon.
I do consent to these articles,
Richard Nicolls.
730
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
The division of Long Island by the Treaty
of Hartford, in 1650, is given below:
TREATY OF HARTFORD, 1650.
Articles of agreement made and concluded
at Hartford, upon Conecticut, September 19,
1650, between delegates of the Commissioners
of the United English colonies, and the dele-
gates of Peter Stuyvesant, governor-general
of New Netherlands — concerning the bounds
and limits between the English United Colo-
nies and the Dutch province of New Nether-
lands.
U'c iigrcc and dctcnninc as follows:
That upon Long Island, a line run from the
westernmost part of Oysterbay, and so in a
straight and direct line to the sea, shall be the
bounds between the Englisb and the Dutch
there, the easterly part to belong to the Eng-
lish, and the westernmost part to the Dutch.
The bounds upon the main to begin upon
the west side of Greenwich Bay, being about
four miles from Stamford, and so to run a
westerly line twenty miles up intO' the country,
and after, as it shall be agreed by the two gov-
ernments of the Dutch and New Haven, pro-
vided that said line run not within ten miles
of Hudson's' River, and it is agreed that the
Dutch shall not, at any time hereafter, build
any house or habitation within six miles of the
said line. The inhabitants of Greenwich to re-
main (till further consideration thereof be
had,) under the government of the Dutch.
That the Dutch shall hold and enjoy all the
lands in Hartford that they are actually in pos-
session of, known or set out by certain marks
and bounds, and all the remainder of the said
lands', on both sides of Connecticut River, to be
and remain to the English there.
And it is agreed, that the aforesaid bounds
and limits, both upon the island and main, shall
I)e observed and kept inviolable, both by the
English of the L^nited ' Colonies and all the
Dutch nation, without any encroachment or
molestation, until a full determination be
agreed upon in Europe, bv mutual consent of
the two States of England and Holland. And
in testimony of our joint consent to the several
foregoing conditions, we have hereunto set our
hand£i this 19th day of September, 1650.
Simon Bradstreet,
Thom.\s Pri.nce,
Thom.\s Willet,
George B.vxter.
CAPTAIN MULFORD'S TROUBLE, 1717.
Captain Samuel Mulford, of 7 East Hamp-
ton was the eldest son of one of the first set-
tlers of that town and was born in 1644. In
1705 he was elected a member of the Assembly
and held that office until 1720. Mr. Pelletreau
in a biographical sketch of this sturdy patriot,
says :
The greatest grievance of Captain Mul-
ford's fellow townsmen was a ta.x which, with-
out shadow of law or justice, had been levied
by the governor upon the products of the whale
fishery, he diemanding a tenth as a right of roy-
alty. Against this unjust demand the people,
with Mulford at their head, rose as one man. In
a memorial addressed to the king he recounts'
the facts that the taking of whales by the peo-
ple continued "above fifty years before the
captors heard of any duty for so doing until
of late," and that it was looked upon as "an
imposition contrary to the law of the colony."
It also seems that Captain Mulford- and his
two sons and Colonel Richard Floyd, of Brook-
haven, "had been arrested on an action of
trover for converting the Queen's goods to
their own use," and that this case had been
"carried from court to court to the number of
fifteen or sixteen courts." The case against
Colonel Floyd was, that Captain Theophilus
Howell's company of Southampton had a
license to take whales, obli-ging themselves to
pay one-twentieth part of all they gained. This
party killed a whale and brought it ashore, and
in the night a strong east wind drove it along
shore about fnrty miles. The owners of the
whale put it into Floyd's hands to try out, and
he was prosecuted by the governor for the
whale. The defense that was made by Cap-
tain Mulford is an example of careful reason-
ing which before an unprejudiced tribunal
could not fail to command respect; but judg-
ment was given against him, and in every pos-
sible way he was annoyed by persecutions and
penalties.
On the 2d of April, 1714, he made a speech
in the Assembly, "putting them in mind of
some ill measures I was informed were taken."
This speech was printed, and brought down
upon the devoted head of its author the wrath
of the royal governor. Suit was instituted
against INIulford in the supreme court, and as
it was in the power of the governor to prolong
the matter rit kept him away from his home,
and deprived him of the opportunity of attend-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
ing to his personal affairs. Conscious of the
injustice the Assembly united in a petition that
the prosecution might be dropped and Captain
Mulford permitted to return to his native town.
With that tenaoi'ty of purpose which distin-
guished him through hfe he resolved to make
the journey to England, and there to present
his wrongs in person to the king and council
and demand redress. A voyage across the
Atlantic at that time was something that called
for the vigor of early manhood, but it was un-
hesitatingly undertaken by this man, whose
head was whitened by the frosts of seventy
years, but whose spirit was unconquered. To
conceal his departure he made Ms way to Bos-
ton to embark, and duly arrived at London.
Unaccustomed to the sights and sounds of
crowded cities, and with none to urge his case
or assist his claim, Samuel jMulford stood in
England's capital, unknowing and unknown.
The attendants of court had no attentions for
the plain man from a distant colony, who came
unannounced bj' the voice of fame and un-
accompanied with the pomp of power. At
length, by one of those singular circumstances
which, insignificant in themselves, sometii^ies
turn the tide of human events and set at
naught all human calculations, attention was
drawn to his case, and justice obtained for his
cause. His unsophisticated appearance ren-
dered him a conspicuous and suitable subject
for the operations of the light-fingered gentry,
and the contents of his pockets were quickh'
transferred to their own. It would seem as if
the proverbial Yankee sharpness must have
been early developed in this clime and prompt-
ed him to have several fishhooks sewn into
his garments in such a manner that the next
hand that was introduced into his pocket re-
ceived an invitatlion to remain that it was
found impossible to decline. This amusing
affair was quickly noised abroad : it was men-
tioned in the newspapers at the time, and from
an unknown individual he became the topic of
the hour. His case was examlined before the
council, his information duly appreciated, the
tax on oil ordered to be taken off, and he re-
turned to his constituents with his efforts
crowned with well merited success. At his
return he took his seat in the Assembly. The
hatred of the governor was not appeased ; the
old subject of the speech was revived, and by
the vote of a subservient house he was expelled
from his seat. It is needless to say that the
people of Suffolk county did honor to them-
selves by immediately re-electing him to the
place he had filled so long and so well, and he
continued to serve as their representative till
October 17, 1720, when he was again ex-
pelled, for protesting against the legality of
the house and refusing to unite in an ailclress
to the governor. Thus ended his public career,
but to the end of his life he was in h'Js native
town an honored man. j
The following documents illustrate the de-
tails of this controversy from Captain Mul-
ford's standpoint and were written by him :
A MEMORIAL OF SEVERAL AGGRIEV.VNCES AND
OPPRESSIONS OF PUS MAJESTv's SUBJECTS
IN THE COLONY OF NEW YORK IN
AMERICA
Sheweth : When the Enemies of the Nation
had, by their wicked Councils and trayterous
Intreagues, brought our Nation to tlie very
Brink of being swallowed up bv Popish
Svperstition and Arbitrary Government, it
pleased the Almighty God by hisi wonderful
Omnipotence to bring in Peace and settle his
Mofit Sacred Majesty, King GEORGE, upon
the British Throne ; and it is to be hoped, that
his Subjects in distant Countries, and in par-
ticular those of the Colony of New York may
in some Measure feel the Influence of his
Happy Government, and be in due time re-
lieved from all Oppressions.
The West End of the Island Nassau, (the
then Manhados) Hutsons River and Staten
Island were first settled by the Dutch from
Holland, in great Danger and Hardship many
of them being slain, by the Salvages ; the East
End of the same Island by English under the
Crown of England (they then being a Part
of Connecticut-Colony) who also settled in
great Hazard and Hardship. In some time
after the Natives were suppressed, in the Year
1664, General Nicols with a Fleet of Ships
and some Land' Forces reduced the then, Man-
hados to the King's Obedience, it being de-
livered to him upon Articles. And being thus
subjected to the Crown, King Charles the Sec-
ond making a grant of the same to his Brother
James Duke of York, as by the same may at
large appear, the said General Nicols and Com-
missioners demanded the East End of the
Island : and though the Inhabitants thereof
were much against, being moved from, Con-
necticut to New York, yet it was their Misery
and unhappy Fate to have it to be so. The
732
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Governor, Commissioners and Council took
upon tliem the Legislative Power, and the Peo-
ple were governed by their Ordinances, until
Governor Dungan came to be over them, then
an Assembly were called, which Privilege was
then declared to be the People's Right; and
some time after an Act of Assembly passed,
That the Persons to be Elected to sit as Rep-
resentatives in the General Assembly fron:^
time to time, for the several Cities, Towns,
Counties, Shires, Divisions or Manners of this
Province, and all Places within the same, shall
be according to the Proportion and Number
hereafter expressed ; that is to say. For the
City and County of New-York four, for the
County of Suffolk two, for Queens-County
two, for Kings-County two, for the County
of Richmond two, for the County of West-
chester two, for the County of Ulster two, for
the County of Albany two, for the Mannor
of Ranslerwick one, and for Dukes County
two, and asi many more as their Majesties,
their Heirs and Successors shall think fit to
establish ; That all Persons chosen as afore-
said, or the major Part of them shall be deemed
and accounted the Representatives of this
Province in General Assembly, and such Acts
made by them, consented to by the Governor
and Counsel, shall be the Laws of the Province,
until they are disallowed by their Majesties,
their Heirs and Successors, or expire by their
own Limitation. And though by this Act,
their Majesties, their Heirs and Successors
may establish as manjr more, as they shall
think fit : It is not to be thought that our Most
Gracious Sovereign King George, will estab-
lish so many in such Places, that they may live
upon other Parts of the Government, and great
Injustice be done thereby, neither give Power
to his Governor so to do ; But that his Most
Sacred Majesty would have Justice done : Not-
withstanding of late there hath been Precepts
issued out for Choice of Representatives in
what Part and Places of the Government as
he pleaseth. So that notwithstanding the Law,
they are raised to the Number of Twenty Five ;
and now the Minor Part of the People in the
Government have the Major Part of the As-
sembly, and for their Interest Oppress a great
Part of the People, and they lie under great
Disadvantages ; as may appear by the follow-
ing proportion of a 4000Z. Tax, and several
other Particulars upon'the several Counties in
the Colony, here is an Account of the men.
Inhabitants in each County, and their Rep-
resentatives in the Assembly; also the Quota
of Tax in the same.
In the City and County of New Yk
County of Albany, with Ranslerw'h
Kings County
Queens County
County of Suffolk t
County of Ulster
County of Westchester
County of Richmond
Orange County
Dutchess County
z
f
Quota
of
Tax
L
s
D
1200
540
420
1000
800
1 fi20
630
3,50
(in
CO
t
2
2
2
2
3
2
2
2
885
175
730
644
680
311
240
220
60
4G
00
10
00
10
10
10
00
13
00
00
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
8
! .51)85
25
iOOO
0
By this plan it is evident, that the several
Counties' are very unequally Represented, as
well with Regard to the Number of Inhabi-
tants in each, as to the Taxes they pay; And
to this Disproportion of Assembly-Men is to
be ascribed the unequal Taxing of the several
Counties, without respect to their Number of
People, their Riches and Commerce. To
evince this it will appear, that Kings-County,
Queens-County and County of Suffolk, which
contain 2220 ^len, have only Six Representa-
tives in Assembly, and are taxed 2055/. where-
as all the other Counties, having in them 3465
Alen and so many Representatives that they
are Taxed only at 1945/. So that at this time
there is up Hudsons River Ten Assembly-
Men, in Albany, Ranslerwick, Ulster, Orange
and Dutchess Counties, and all those Ten rep-
resent, do not pay in one Tax so much as one
County on the Island of Nassau, where they
have but two in each County. And for what
Disbursements and Services done on the same
Island, for publick Service there is very little
if anything paid them : When for publick Dis-
bursements and Services done up Hudsons
River (do but give it the Name for their Maj-
esties Service) altho' it be to draw Trade to
them, or to go to purchase Land for them-
selves, it is brought to the Assembly to put
the Charge upon the Country ; and for the most
part they get twice so much as others in part
of the Government would demand for the same
Service, if it were not for the Publick.
It is a Privilege to have an Assembly, if it
w-ere as near as may be according to the Num-
ber of the People in each County, that Justice
and Right might be done: But to have the
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
TSfT
Name and nothing of the Nature, is but a
Snare to the greatest Part of the People in the
Colony, and would be easier for them that
there was not any Assembly, than to have such
an One as endeavour to live upon their Neigh-
bours, and not by them, and shall be called
True and Loyal Subjects, complying to all Pro-
posals for some Men's Advantage ; when oth-
ers, endeavoring to have Justice and Right
done, and speak any thing for Property and
Liberty of the Subjects, shall be looked upon
as Criminalsi, if not prosecuted for the same,
as Capt. Mulford was. It is supposed there
are some things else besides Loyalty, as An
Office with a Sallary, A Grant of some Lands,
and A Sallery of Three Hundred Pounds per
Ann. to the Commissioners of the Indian Af-
fairs' at Albany ; though it is not known to the
Country, what Service they do to the King
or Country, except it be to draw Trade to
themselves and Debts upon the Country, and
procure a Resolve of the Assembly to allow
them 300/. per Annum for five Years, and
also to Allow the Indians 400/. by a Resolve
of the House for the same time. And so in
time of Peace have brought the Colony to be
Tributaries to the Heathen, and when the five
Years are expired, the Indians will expect it
for ever; and if they have it not, they will
think they have just Cause to Quarrel with
the English. And of what dismal Consequence
are such Measures ! But it is thought that the
Indians did not expect such a Present now,
but that it was somebody else that wanted it:
For 400/. at New York, with the Customary
Advance of 50/. Per Cent, at Albany, makes
600/. And if the Indians have 400/. there, it
will do ; also somelxidy must present it to the
Indians, who in Retaliation return several
Packs of Beaver and other Skins : The Report
is, that sometimes to the Value of the Present,
which is unknown to the Publick what becomes
of it. But it is thought to be the greatest Rea-
son of Making the Present, and so bring His
Majesties Subjects to be Tributaries. If it
were of Necessity to do it, and were for the
publick good of the Plantations in America,
why do not the Neighbouring Colonies assist,
which are as deeply concerned for their own
Security?
The Indians that fled out of New-England
are setled near Albany, and those from North-
Carolina, when fled from thence, come there
for Shelter, amongst those Indians which their
Majesties Subjects in New- York-Government
are brought to be Tributaries to ; and it is
thought that the Present that was made to
those Indians in the Year 1713, put them in a
Capacity to assist in destroying their Majes-
the Subjects in South-Carolina. The Report
is, That when the Wars were in North-Caro-
lina they had Assistance from South Carolina,
the Albany-Member;! informed the Assembly,
That there was Five Hundred of the Enemy
Indians come amongst the Five Nations. They
also informed the House, That they thought
it was requisit to make a Present to the In-
dians : Amongst some slight Arguments, they
said. The young Men amongst our Indians
armed themselves', and it was to be feared they
were upon some ill Design : So in the latter
End of the Summer they had a Present of
400/. The Report was. That the Winter fol-
lowing there were Indians from South-Caro-
lina amongst the Five Nations, complaining
that the English at South Carolina had taken
their Land from them, and craved their As-
sistance. In the Spring following the Wars
were at South-Carolina, and it was reported,
that several Indians from those Five Nations
were gone when the Warsi were there, and
the latter End of that Summer the Indians Sold
(at Scunnatade, about twenty Miles above Al-
bany,) Beaver Hats bound with Silver Lace,
Wigs, good Broad Cloth Coats, and Shirts : It
is so reported that it is thought to be real
Matter of Fact, and it might be well if it were
not so. It was commonly reported. That the
Albany-People made a Truce with the French
of Canada, and had a Trade with them all the
Time of the Wars : Notwithstanding by their
Remonstrances to the Assembly, of their Dan-
ger, and they being a Frontier, the Country
was at great charge keeping Garrison there,
and all the Officers must be of Albany, and
most of the Money for that Service centers
among them; which was thought to be the
greatest Reason for that Service.
And if the Governor for the time being
hath power to establish so many Representa-
tives, and in what Places of the Government
he pleaseth (as it now is) and such as for
their own Interest will do and comply with
all the Proposals to bring it to pass, and the
Governor to put in Office whom he will, and
as many as he pleaseth, and allow them what
Sallary he sees cause, and all the publick
Money in the Government at his Disposal, to
no other Use but at his Will : Then the Peo-
ple in the Colony have not the Property and
1?A
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
Liberty of English Subjects, but are subjected
to some Mens Avarice ; not only to those who
have the Name of Christians, but to the bar-
barous and cruel Heathen. And is it not a
Dishonour to His Majesties Crown and Dig-
nity, that his Subjects should be sold Tribu-
taries! to them? Would it not be better for
them to part with one Half of their Personal
Estates, for Encouragement for 5000 or 6000
Men to come and suppress those Salvages,
that his Majesties Subjects could not live
quietly by, and to possess their Lands, and
not become Tributaries to them, or at least to
do as those of Quebeck did in October, 18,
1716, on the Interruption of their Commerce
bv the Savages, living Four Hundred Leagues
up the Country, went with Three Hundred
French and Six Hundred Savages their Allies,
to bring them to a better Temper: And find-
ing the Enemy well entrenched with Pallisa-
does and good Ditches, they planted them-
selves near enough to the Pallisadoes, and
threw two Granadoes, brought them to Sur-
render and agree to pay the Expence they had
been at, and restore to the French their former
Skin-Trade, as before ; and they had but one
Frenchman and two Savages wounded in that
Expedition, though there were above 3000 j\Ien
Women and Children in that Fort. So that it
is a Quaere, whether it be not more for some
particular Mens Interest, to make so much
Stir for Presents to the Indians and bring the
Colony to such vast Charge, than it is for the
publick Good.
The poor Colony of New-York, containing
in it not above 6000 Men at the most, were at
the Charge of at least 30000/. upon the Expe-
dition for Canada, upwards of 27000/. to pay
some small Debts and make good the Embas-
selment of the publick Money in the Govern-
ment, and 4045/. per Annum for five Years- by
Resolves of the House, part of which is to
bring them to be Tributaries to the Heathen,
and pay Men to bring it so to be ; and now
the Colony is miserably distressed, if not vas-
saled : The Sence whereof caused several to
move out of the same, and several more pur
pose to do so, if they cannot be relieved.
A great Part of the Aggrievances and In-
justice done in the Colony may be ascribed to
an unequal Proportion of Representatives ; and
if not redressed, may ruin the Colony. If
there were an equal Proportion of them, as
near as may be according to the Number of
the People in each County, then they might
in the strongest Manner unite the Hearts of
all the Subjects, and put an effectual End to
all the Feuds and Animosities that have ob-
structed Pros.perity in the Colony for a Course
of many Years.
There is a Court of Chancery erected at
New-York, where the Governor is sole Judge,
and if he demands any thing in the King's
Name and it is not comply 'd with, they shall
be subpoena'd to the Court of Chancery, where
the Governor shall judge whether he shall
have his Demands; the ^Masters of Chancery
shall not judge in the Cause, only tax the
Costs of the Court. So in all Cases that come
to that Court, the Governor is cnlv ardi sole
Judge, whether the Cause be right by the Ver-
dict of Twelve Men and Judgment upon the
same. So the Governor becomes The End of
all Law and Judgment in the Government : .
Let the Judicial Reader judge, whether it be
not a i\Iiserable and L'nhappy Fate to be sub-
jected, both Persons and Estates, to the Will
and Pleasure of any Governor for the time
being, especially considering the People under
the Government by Experience find the chief
End of their Coming. It may be said, You
have an Agent for your Colony. Answer,
Though there be an Act for an Agent for the
Colony of New-York, yet by the same Act he
is Agent for the Governor, and not for the
Country, they have nothing to do but to pay
him, and send to him such Instructions as the
Governor shall approve of; for it is said in
the Act, That the Instructions sent to him,
shall be by the Governor and Council, or Gen-
eral Assembly ; and what is sent by the Gov-
ernor and Council, shall be; Signed by the
Governor and major Part of the Council, re-
siding within the Province, and what is sent
by the General Assembly, shall be Signed by
the major Part of them and the Speaker; and
if any thing comes to him otherwise, then as
aforesaid, he shall not have any Regard to it.
Observe, The Governor hath Power to call
some to sit in Council, they must acquiesce
with what he proposeth, lest thev be suspend-
ed ; and for the Assembly,- if the Goverror hath
Power to have them chosen where he pleaseth,
and get the Soldiers to chuse for such Men in
New- York as they shall be directed to chuse
to serve upon the Assembly, the most subtle
]\Ien to have a grant of some Lands, an office
with a large Sallary, as several of the Assem-
bly j\Ien have, they must comply to the Gov-
ernor's Proposals, and make Resolves to allow
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
rb5
the Governor 1710/. per Annum for five Years,
the Chief Justice 300/. per Annum, for the
same time, the Commissioners of the Indian
Afifairs at Albany 300/. per Animm. for the
same time, and some others of the Assembly
Sums too tedious here to relate.
So that some for their Interest and others
for Fear dare not oppose any thing proposed,
but comply with whatsoever is^ for the Gov-
ernor's and some cunnino- Mens Advantages :
And how can the major Part of the Assembly
make known the Aggrievances of the People,
when they are drawn and deter'd from speak-
ing. And if the major Part and Speaker of
the Asseni1)ly ^ln uld he about to send to the
Agent, if the Governor should not like it, he
could dissolve the Assembly at his' Pleasure,
and so prevent them of sending. So' it must
be what he pleaseth : and if Demetrius and the
Craftsmen of the same Occupation made such
an Uproar about Paul's Preaching the Gospel
at Ephesus, because it took away their gain
and \A^ealth, what Stir do you think these Men
will make, if any should endeavour ti break
the Schemes they have laid, whereby they get
their Wealth, and wholly subject the People
to their Pleasure? But if the Governor be in-
fallible, and the People under his Government
both Persons and Estates at his Pleasure, then
it is in vain to cHspond or complain ; but if
the People have Property, and the Government
ought to be carried on for His Majesties Bene-
fit, and Good of the Subjects, then such Meas-
ures as these ought to be took into considera-
tion and what is amiss to be rectified.
The People in New- York Government have
been called Stubborn, Reflectory, little if any
thing less than Rebels, when they have been
Oppressed under the Government, and Ruin-
ous ^Measures taken amongst them, whereby
they are deprived of the Privileges of English-
men, and thev have been uneasie under the
same : And there is not an}^ Reason to Villify,
Scandalize and Reproach them, except to ren-
der them so vile, that not any should have re-
gard of them, to relieve them from' Oppres-
sions. But he that doth Injustice dishonours
the King, and those that endeavour to uphold
and vindicate such, are Accessories though
not Principals.
These are some of the Measures that are
and have been taken in New- York Govern-
ment ; although the truth of this may be cjues-
tioned, yet many One in the Colony of New-
York by woful Experience knows this and sev-
eral other Oppressions to be real INIatter of
Fact.
And although there was an Act of Parlia-
ment passed in the Reign of King \Villiam
III. For Punishing of GovernoTS of Planta-
tions! in this Kingdom, for Crimes by
them committed in the Plantations, what
Benefit can the People in New- York Gov-
ernment have by this Act, when they can
not have an Agent to be informed of the
Aggrievances of the People, nor any Publick
Money in the Government, to enable any other
Person to do it, but what the Governor pleas-
eth. And for particular persons, when denied
to make Use of the Customs of the Colony
and Grants made by former Governors, denied
the Benefit of the Laws of the Colony, Prose-
cuted contrary to Law, passed upon and de-
stroyed without due Course of Law ; How
shall they be relieved from such Oppressions,
when by their Poverty and Ruinous Measures
are so impoverish'd, that they have not iNIoney
to prosecute in such Case? These must be
Ruin'd : for there is not any Fencing against
a Flail.
So, by what is here set forth, may be left
to the Consideration of all Judicial Persons,
what Encouragement such a small People as
are in New-York Colony have, to allow their
Governor such a large Sallery. Oucere. Is the
Government carried on for their Majesties
Benefit, and Good of the Subjects, according
to the Laws and Customs of the Colony, and
according to English Government ; or is it Ar-
bitrary, Illegal, Grievous, Oppressive, LInjust
and Destructive?
AN INFORMATION.
It hath been a Custom, for above 60 Years,
(several Years before New- York was Subject-
ed to the Crown of England) for their Majes-
ties Subjects, on the East End of Long-Island
then belonging to^ Connecticut Colony, to go
out upon the Seasi adjacent to their Land, Six
Men in a small boat to take and kill Whales
and other Fish, and the Capters to have all
they killed, brought on Shore, or left dead
or wounded ; so that they came on Shore with
Wind or Sea, which continued above Fifty
Years, liefore the Capters heard of any Duty
for so doing, until of late, by violent Proceed-
ings, frighted some to do it, when generally it
was look'd upon to be an Imposition, contrary
to the Law of the Colony: And while my
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Lord Lovelace was Governour; Maj. Engols-
bee Lieutenant Governour, and Colonel Beat-
man President, there was not any thing de-
manded nor paid by the Capters ; so it ceased
until Brigadier Hunter came ; then he imposed
upon the People, seizing Whales, Oyl and
Bone, and subpoena'd the Capters to New-York
to the Court of Chancery, issuing out Prosecu-
tions at Law, to compel People to pay Duty
for that Fishery: Whereupon, in the Year
1712, they commenced an Action of Trover
against me, in the Supream Court at New-
York, and also arrested Colonel Richard Floyd
and my two sons Timothy and Matthew Mul-
ford, in an Action of Trover, for converting
the Queens Goodsi to their own Use: This
was carried on from Court to Court, to the
Number of Fifteen or Sixteen Courts. Here
follows the Defence I made in the Courts.
SAMUEL MULFORD'S DEFENCE FOR HIS WH.VLE
FISHING.
New- York, March the 15th, 171 5-16.
The Custom of the Whale-Fishing is a
Free Custom ; because there is not any Law to
Prohibit it: It is an Antient Custom, to the
Third and Fourth Generation ; it is more An-
tient than the Colony of New-York, and not
in any Man's Memory to the contrary till of
late: And in the Year 1686, we, the town of
Easthampton, had a Patent to us, by the King's
Governour, with several Priviledges therein
granted to this Corporation, for which we pay
40s. per Annum to the Crown, amongst which
it was granted to us, to have Rivers, Rivulets,
Waters, Lakes, Ponds, Brooks, Streams,
Beaches, Quarries, Mines, Minerals, Creeks,
Harbours, High- Ways and Easements: Fish-
ing, Hawking, Hunting and Fowling, [Silver
and Gold Mines excepted] and all other Fran-
chises, Profits, Commodities and Heredita-
■ments, whatsoever, to the said Tracts and
Necks of Land belonging or in any wise ap-
pertaining, or there withal used, accepted, re-
puted or taken to belong, or any wise apper-
tain. To All Intents and Purposes, and Con-
structions whatsoever: So that we have Wat-
ers, Lakes, which is Sea, and Fishing granted
to us, and nothing prohibited, but granted to
us, except Silver and Gold Mines, The Whale-
Fishing was our Fishing at the time of the
Grant, and several Years before; so we hold
it to be our Right to continue so to do, it be-
ing reputed to be one of the Franchises con-
firmed to us both by Patent, Law and Rea-
son: And in the Third Year of King Will-
iam and Queen Mary, 1691, there was an Act
of Assembly passed. That no Aid, Tax, Tall-
age, or Custom, Loan, Benevolence, Gift, Ex-
cise, Duty or Imposition whatsoever, shall be
Laid, assessed, imposed, levied or required of
or on any of their Majesties Subjects in this
Province : Or their Estates upon any manner
of Colour or Pretence whatsoever; but by the
Act and Consent of the Governour, and Coun-
sels, and Representatives of the People, in
General Assembly met and convened ; also by
another Act of Assembly, made at the same
time, confirming Patents and Grants, which
by the Act may at large appear. And also unto
ail and every of the several respective Free
Holders, their Heirs and Assigns for ever
within this Province, are to all Intents and
Purposes whatsoever, hereby Ratified and con-
firmed to have. Hold, Exercise, occupy, pos-
sess and enjoy all their, and every of their
Former Rights, Customs, Prerogatives, Privi-
ledges, Preheminences, Practices, Imunities,
Liberties, Franchises, Royalties and Usages
whatsoever: And in their Majesties Letters
Patent to the Governour for the time being,
saith. You shall call to your Self, some of the
principal Free-Holders to sit in General As-
sembly, and such Acts as are made by them,
consented to by the Governour and Counsel,
shall be the Law of the Province, except they
are disallowed by us. These two acts above
mentioned were never disallowed by the Crown
that ever I heard of, neither by Record or In-
formation from the Crown to this Govern-
ment ; so consequently they must be the Laws
of this Colony, until they appear to be dis-
allowed by their Majesties : So that the Prose-
cution of me, for Whale-Fishing, I take it to be
against the Form of our Grant to this Cor-
poration ; against the Laws of thisi Colony, and
against Reason and the Governour for the time
being's Instructions from the Crown ; for it is
said therein. You shall carry on the Govern-
ment for our Benefit and the Good of the Sub-
jects, according to the Laws and Customs of
the Colony. It is hurt to the Common- Wealth
of this Colony, against the Crown to hinder
Effects being taken, to make Returns^ Home
for England, to purchase the Manufacture of
the growth of that Realm ; and although Mr.
Attorney General was pleased to commence
an Action in Behalf of the Crown, in the Su-
pream Court at New- York, against me, and
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
737
prosecute from time to time for above Three
Years, I know not any Law the Action is
grounded upon, but Consequence or Pretence :
for I have not done any thing in that Case, but
what is according to the Laws and Customs of
the Colony, it is a common Saying, where there
is no Law there is no Transgression' ; and in
thisi case I do not see how any can give Judg-
ment against me, if he have Regard to the for-
mer Governors Grant, the Law of this Colony,
the Governours Instructions from the King,
Reason and a publick Good of the Subjects,
which is the End of all good Laws : I query,
what Judgment and Penalty shall be put upon
any of their Majesties Subjects, that have not
done any thing contrary to Law and Custom,
but consonant to both, and only made use of
an Antient Custom and L^sage confirmed by
Patent, Law and their Majesties Instructions:
I have not done any thing but used a particu-
lar Custom, as I take it to be neither against
the Law of God nor the Law of Reason, and
to be good and necessary to the Common-
wealth.
I understand, within the Realm of Eng-
land, a General Custom is to be decided by
the Justices, which I take to be the Twelve
Judges : But if not, I suppose it must be more
than One single Person :. but in a particular
Custom (as this is) the Student at Law saith.
If it be not against the Law of God nor the
Law of Reason, although they be against the
said general Customs or Maxims of the Law :
yet nevertheless, they stand in Eflfect and be
taken for Law: But if it rise in Question in
the King's Courts, Whether there be any such
particular Custom or not? It shall be tried by
Twelve Men, and not by the Judges, except
the same particular Custom be of record in the
same Court; And if not to be tried by the
Judges, to be sure not by one particular Judge.
So I crave and Request of this Honoured
Court, the Judgment of Twelve Men, my Peers
of the same Vicknage, that may know some-
thing of the Matter, that Justice and Right
may be done in such Matter of great Comsc-
quence as this is.
And in fine, We have Water and Lakes,
which is Sea, granted to us. In the 8th Chap-
ter of St. Matthew, Verse 22. it is said. The
Herd of Swine ran into the Sea; And St.
Mark, Chap. 5. Ver. 13. saith. They ran into
the Sea: St. Luke, Chap. 8. Ver. 33. saith.
They ran into the Lake and were choaked. So
that by the most Infallible Rule, the Lake is
Sea, and the Sea adjacent to the Land is Lake,
which is granted to us, it being one of the
Premisses of the Grant. And we have Fish-
ing granted to us, which we hold of the Crown,
and pay an Acknowledgment for the same.
And I know not any Reason why we should
not fish in the Waters and Lakes granted to
us : There is not any Sort of Fishing prohib-
ited. Silver and Gold Mines are excepted, and
all other Franchises, Profits, Commodities and
Hereditaments whatsoever, to the said Tracts
and X'ecks of Land and Premisses belonging,
or in any wise appertaining, or therewithal
used, accepted, reputed, or taken to belong, or
in any wise appertain, to all Intents, and Pur-
poses, and Constructions whatsoever. The
Whale-Fishing at the Time of our Grant, was
used, accepted, reputed, and taken to belong
to us, and hath been ever since till of late.
And although there might have been more
Words put into the Grant, to have made ib
more plain to be understood, yet the law doth
it : For the Law in express Words confirms
cur Patents and Grants, against the King, His
Heirs and Successors for ever, notwithstand-
ing the Want of Form in the Law, or Nort-
feizance of any Right, Priviledge, or Custom,
which ought to have been done heretofore, by
the Constitutions^ and Directions contained in
the respective Charters, Patents and Grants
aforesaid. And the Law proceeds farther, to
say, what the Priviledges granted to the Sub-
jects are, as at large may appear in the same.
And if a Grant from the Crown, the Laws of
this Colony, nor the Instructions from the
King to the Governors for the Time being,
will not secure the Priviledges^ of the Subjects,,
according to the Laws and Customs of this
Colony, what shall a Man sav, but request and
crave the Priviledges of an English Man, and
not to be passed upon but by due Course of
Law.
My Council pleaded an Act of Parliament
for the Subjects within this Kingdom to go a
Whale Fishing to Greenland, Friezland and
Places adjacent, and for the Oyl and Fins they
so got should not pay any Duty. Also New-
foundland and the Plantations in New-Eng-
land, who should pay a Duty for that when
brought into this Kingdom. He shewed the
Act to the Court. Upon the Tryal I was de-
nied to have a Jury. My Council had pleaded'
a former Court, that we had Right bv Pre-
scription ; upon which the Attorney-General'
pleaded a Demur, and it was a matter of Law ;,
rss
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
so I should not have a Jury: Although for-
merl}', in the Year 1694, Peter Choke seized-
a Whale killed by Richard Smiths, Esq; Com-
pany, he sued for the same in the Supream
Court at New- York, and Judgment was given
in Favour of the Subject. On Thursday the
Chief Justice said he should defer Judgment-
until Saturday. On Fryday he sent his ^lan
to me with a Note, the Copy whereof is a&
followeth :
To Samuel Mulford, Esq; These,
Sir, I desire you will send rae by the Bearer, the
Paper you read in Court Yesterday; for I did not take
any Notice on my Paper, and cannot remember so long
a Discourse, so as to form any Judgment of what you
offered in your own Defense, except I read it,
I am. Sir, Your Servant,
Lewis Moris.
The Answer that I returned, was. Sir, You
had it Yesterday in the Court.
On the Tryal there was only the Chief Jus-
tice on the Bench. My Council pleaded, that
Judgment ought to be according to Justice:
The Judge said he could give Judgment con-
ditionally. The Clerk wrote something, but
I did not hear the Judge give Judgment, nor
hear him direct the Clerk what to write, neith-
er did he read what he wrote in the Court.
Then the Court adjourned until next Term.
So I could not know whether there was a
Judgment passed, nor what it was. The Re-
port was, that there was a Judgment against
me: I desired the Officer to give me a Copy
of the Courts Proceeding about the Whale-
Fishing The 3d time I spake to him he could
not give me a Copy, because the Attorney-
General had the Rolls. I went to the Attor-
ney-General, desired him to let the Officer have
the Rolls, that he might give me a Copy. I was
with them for a Copy in May, June and Au-
gust, and I could not have any Copy. The
Officer said, he could not do it, because the
Attorney-General did not let him have the
same. I desired the Officer to give me under
his Hand, the Reason why he did not give me
a Copy, which he refused to do. I desired
some to go with me, that they might be wit-
nesses that I demanded a Copy ; but thev would
not, and said, if thev should they should have!
Ill-will, and might have an Injury done them.
And although I could not know in the Court
what was done, I was informed the Judge did
give Judgment against me, my two Sons and
Col. Richard Floyd. So they made it all one
Case upon Tryal, but every one particular in
the Court Charges ; but there ought to have
been particular Pleadings, because the said
Floyd's Case was thus: Capt. Theophilus
Howl's Company in Bridghampton had a Li-
cense from the Governor to go to kill Whales,
obliging themselves to pay the 20th Part. This
Company killed this Whale, and brought it on
Shore. In the Night a strong Eastwardly
Wind drove it along Shore about Forty Miles.
The Owners of this Whale put it into the said
Floyd's Hands, to cut it up and make it into
Oyl for them. The said Floyd is prosecuted'
for this Whale, and the Capters having their
Whale kept out of their Possession, by Reason
of the Prosecution, next Season would not take
a License : So that Nine Men were subpena'd
to New-York the 24th of June, in the most
busy Time in the Summer, one Hundred Miles,
to pay the 20th Part of what they got the Win-
ter before, besides Charges. So that if they
will not take a License, they shall be molested,
if they do, they may lose their Whale.
Some time after the Supream Court was
over, there was a Jury of Enquiry impannelled,
to enquire what Damage was done to the'
Crown by our Killing Whales. The Jury was
told, there was a Judgment against us, and
their Business was only to say what a Whale
was worth. So that they could not but say a
Whale was worth Something. So Execution
was issued out, and Distress made upon out
Instates for using an Antient Custom ; because
one Single Judge was of Opinion, That they
had not right by Prescription, though they
had by Law, but we know not what is Law.
The Chief Justice makes' an Argument, that
we have nothing to do with Acts of Parlia-
nient, we have no Law but what the Crown
allows us. But we know by Experience, That
all Penalties by Act of Parliament and Laws of
the Colony shall be severely put in Execution ;
when if by either of them the People might
have a Benefit it shall do them little or no
good. Our Attorney-General said in Court,
when pleading about the Whale-Fishing, If
there was an Act of Assembly to give the Lib-
erty to go to Sea a Whale-Fishing, it signifies
nothing. So what our Officers please is Law.
I desire and hope, for a publick Good, that the
Subjects in the Plantation of America, might'
have the Whale-Fishing so settled, that they
may be encouraged to go on that Design, and
be capacitated to have Commerce with this
Kingdom, to purchase the Manufacture of the
same. I know no Reason why the Subjects
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
•89
in New York and New Jersey Governments
should not have the same Liberty to Fish for
Whales as freely as other Subjects in their
Neighboring- Colonies in America have, or as
the French King hath granted his Subjects to'
do, and not be deprived of Right and Privi-
leges granted to us, for which we pay an Ac-
knowledgment to the Crown, for Quit-Rents
for our Land five Shillings, and an Acknowl-
edgement for Priviledges fourty Shillings per
annum ; of which the Whale-Fishing was most
Material, and several Places in the Colony pay
the same.
I have seen a Memorial, setting forth sev-
eral Aggrievances and Oppressions in the Col-
ony of New York ; I know several things there-
in mentioned to be too true to make a Jest of.
In the Year 1713, I with my Son Matthew
Mulford was subpena'd to appear at the Court
of Chancery at New- York on the gth of April :
My Son then had not one Foot of Land, nor
ever was a Trustee; so was not prosecuted,
but was forced to go 115 Miles to New York,
and the same back, to be afflicted and put to
Charge. And I that had not been in the Sta-
tion of a Trustee for several Years before,
could not pay the Debt of the Corporation,
without Orders from the Trustees : But upon
our being subpena'd to New York, the Trus-
tees sent a Man to New York, to pay what the
Corporation was in Arrears ; but the Receiver-'
General would not receive it : So they ordered
me to receive the Money and pay it. I ten-
dered the Money to the Receiver, he would
not receive it, and said he had put that Matter
into the Attorney General's Hands, I must go
to him. So I went and tendered him Sixteen
Pounds, for him to take what was due ; and
also eight Pounds for him to take the Charge
out of it: He said he could do nothing, and
would not receive it. The next Week in the
Court of Chancery, it was proved that I had
made a Tender of the Money, as abovesaid.
The Decree of Chancery was, That I should
pay to the Register of the Court Fifteen
Pounds and Fifteen Shillings, and the Charge
as it should be taxed by one of the Masters of
Chancery, and if the Receiver-General did nol
see Cause to accept thereof, but shall further
prosecute: In such Case, if he did not make
it appear there was more due, I should not pay
any more Charge. I paid the 15/. 15s. to the
Register of the Court, and 5/. and lod. taxed
for Costs to the Attorney-General, and took
their Receipts for the same, and comply'd with
the Decree as far as I was capable, remain'cl
at New-York Fifty Days upon the General
Assembly. Soon after I got home, a Man was
sent down, being hired as it was said, for 5/.
IDS. to bring a Writ to our Sheriff to arrest
me. The Sheriff did arrest, and I gave Secur-
ity for Appearance. I was charged with Con-
tempt, but when I came to New York, being
115 Miles from my Abode, they could not
make any thing out against me, only pretended
that I was not discharged from that Court,
neither could I get a Discharge until I had
paid them Twenty Shillings. So in this Case
I was prosecuted contrary to the Form of the
Grant of the Quit-Rents, and the Custom of
the Colony, if not a Breach of the Instructions
from the Crown and the Decree of Chancery.
So it was said, They were at 5/. los^. Charge,
to compel me to ride 130 Miles to pay them
Twenty Shillings, I being near Seventy Years
of Age. By the Grant, the Trustees are the
only capable Persons to act and do all things
in Reference to the Corporation, and every
particular Freeholder, not being a Trustee,
liath not any thing to do with the Money of
the Corporation without their order.
It was the Peoples Pleasure to chuse me
to be their Representative to sit in the General
Assembly, to assist in having the Government
carried on for their Majesties Benefit and
Good of the Subjects. In the Year 1714, upon
the 2d Day of April, I made a Speech in the
Flouse, putting them in Mind of some ill
Measures that I was informed were taken, and
to set things in their true Light, that Justice
and Right might be done amongst us. There
Avas a Discourse of having it Printed, but the
Question was not put ; however a Copy was
desired and taken, which was printed. That
Assembly being dissolved and another chose,
who expel'd me out of the House upon the
2d Day of June, 1715, about that Speech. The
next Week the Supream Court sate, and there
was an Indictment drawn, charging me with
an High Misdemeanor, acting contrary to my
Duty of Allegiance, in manifest Contempt of
his ^Iajesty, and the Governour of these Prov-
inces under His said Majesty, and against the
Peace of Our said Lord the King, His Crown
and Dignity, and against the Form of the Stat-
utes made and provided : Whereupon the said
David Jeneson, who &c. for our said Lord the
King, prays the Advice of this Court in the
Premisses, and that the said Samuel Mulford
be attached by his Body whersoever, &c. To
740
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
answer our said Lord the King in the Prem-
isses. Tlie Indictment was brought to the
Grand Jury, who return'd it to the Court in-
dorsed Ignoramus. The Attorney General
makes Information and obtains a Capias to
our Sheriff, to take me a Prisoner, to bring me
to New- York before the Chief Justice upon the
first Tuesday in September at the Supream
Court, where Recognizance was required and
given of 500/. Mr. \'andam and Mr. Dehm-
sey, my Securities that I should attend the
Court, and not depart without Leave. The
Plea we made waj, That it was against the
Priviledge of the House, to Appeacli any
Member of the same in any Court or Place
but in the House; desiring the Court would
take that for an answer. Which Plea the
Chief Justice over-ruled, there not being any
other upon the Bench to assist. And I have
been at four Courts, and know not but that
it must he from Court to Court so long as I
live: which has been a great Hardship upon
me already, which I set forth in a Memorial
to the House in June the 21st 1716. They
took the same into Consideration, and re.solved
to Address his Excellency on that account;
The Speaker with the whole House presented
the Address, which is as followeth :
The humble Address of the General As-
sembly of New-York May it please your Ex-
cellency,
The Assembly being deeply sensible of the
great Hurt, Damage and Inconveniency Mr.
Samuel Mulford, a Member of this^ House,
suffers and undergoes, by Occasion of a Prose-
cution against him in the Supream Court for
Printing and Publishing a Speech formerly
made by him in Assembly, are humble Suters
to your Excellency, To give Orders that Mr.
Mulford, in regard of his great Age, Distance
of Habitation from the City, and other Con-
siderations, may be freed and discharged from
the said Prosecution, in the Supream Court.
The other Considerations in the Address,
may be because the Prosecution was against
the Priviledges of the House appears by Act
of Parliament, and contrary to a Law of the
Colony, which saith. That in all Cases Capital
and Criminal, there shall be a grand Inquest,
who shall first present the Offence, and then
Twelve good Men of the Neighbourhood, to
try the Offender, who after his Plea to the
Indictment, shall be ahowcd his reasonable
Challenges.
Of what Benefit or Good can it be to the
Colony, to have such an Assembly to represent
them, when the Members of the House shall
not have Freedom of Speech, and let the Peo-
ple they represent know what they are doing
for them ; but shall he prosecuted from Court
to Court in the King's Name, and every Mem-
ber of the House deterred to speak of any Ag-
grievances of and Priviledges for the People;
but let things' pass at Pleasure, lest they be
molested as I am, and shall not have Relief,
when by the best Authority of the Country
his Excellency was addressed to free and dis-
charge me, he refused to do it, except I would
acknowledge. That I had set out a false Libel,
and maks him Satisfaction : Which I could
never do, knowing that all which I set forth in
that Speech was true ; and I can prove it to be
true, except what I related by Information, and
that I believe to be true. I desired of the
House, when I made that Speech. To let me
know, whether they knew any thing in it that'
was not true. There was not any thing ob-
jected against it; but it was said in the House,
That the worst Part of it was, it was too true :
Also, That it was too true to make a Jest of.
And I know not anv Wrong I have done the
(lOvernor. It may be remembered, That the
Speech was made the 2d Day of April, 17 14,
which was in the late Administration ; there-
fore could not be against his present Majesties'
Administration ; neither is it a Crime for any
Member of the House in the same, to mention
Matters of Fact, which are the Aggrievances
of the People they represent ; but their Duty
to endeavour to have them relieved. Although
the Governor might be the Occasion of the
.\ggrievances, and if I have done the Governor
any \^'rong, he might have brought his Per-
•sonal .Action against me, and not nrosecutf^ in
the King's Name, except he is to be Infallible
and do what he pleaseth, and nothin? to be
said by any, lest they in the King's Name be
prosecuted from Court to Court. I always
thought. That the Government ought to have
been carried on for their Majesties Benefit and
good of the Subjects, according to the Consti-
tution of English Government: But it is so
new with us, that I desire to 'know, Whether
the Subjects in New-York Colony are to be
governed by Prerogative and deprived of
Property, or whether they are to be governed
by the Constitution of English Government?
If the fonner, then there is not any need of a
General Assembly, nor any Occasion for that
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
741
Act of Parliament made in the Reign of King
William III. For punishing Governors or Com-
manders in Chief, for Crimes by them com-
mitted in the Plantations : But let the Gov-
ernors for the time being demand of the Peo-
ple what they please, and the People take care
to help them to it, lest they be subpena'd to the
Court of Chancery at New-York, where the
Governor is Judge whether he shall have his
Demands, and pay Court Charges into the Bar-
gain : But if according to the Constitution of
English Government, then by the Common
Law, what Estate every Subject possesseth, is
deemed to be his Property, and is not to be
taken from him by due Course of Law, which
is by his own Consent, the Lawful Judgment
of his Peers, or the Penalty for the Breach of
some Law : And I know not any thing that I
have done contrary to Law and Custom, en-
deavouring to do my Duty to the King and
Country, as far as I was capable, and to have
Justice and Right done. And I know not any
just Cause or good Reason, why I should be
thus molested and destroyed. So I am forced
to come to this Court of Great Britain, to seek
Relief for my self and others who employed
me, which I hope will be took into Considera-
tion, that I may be discharged and freed from
unjust Prosecution, and my Securities indem-
nify'd. and a final Determination setled there-
upon for a Publick Good.
Which is the Desire and Request of His
]\Iost Sacred Majestv King GEORGE's Most
Humble, Loyall. Faithful and Obedient Sub-
ject, S.\MUEL MULFORD.
House of As.semijlv Die J'cticris.
Sept. 13. 1 717.
Col Rutsen reported from the conimittee ap-
pointed to consider a Menmrial entitled A \le-
morial .of Several Aggrievances and Oppres-
sions &c. That thev are of Opinion, the same
isi most false, malicious & scandalous Paper,
reflecting upon the Governor and Government
and the whole Constitution of this Colony and
of Pernicious Consequence, and humbly Con-
ceive, that the Thanks of this House, ought to
be returned his Excellency for communicating
the same, and that he be addressed to use his
Interest at the Court of Great Britain, to find
the Author in order to be brought to Justice,
and in the Meantime his Excellency would
please to acquaint the Indians of the five Na-
tions, That we utterly abhor and detest that
Suggestion in the Said paper or Libel, of re-
ducing the Indians by Force, and possessing
their Lands, for the SteacHness of those In-
dians to the Interest of Great Britain, all the
last War with France, is that we owe in a great
measure, our present Security: which was
read & agreed to by the House.
LETTER FROM THE LORDS JUSTICES TO GOV.
HLINTER.
Whitehall, fl'eby 25th, 1717-18.
You intimate in Your letter to our Secry of
22d Nov. last that the Whale ffishery is re-
served to the Crown by Your Patents. As we
can find no such thing in Your Commission,
We desire you will explain What you mean
by it. In the meantime We have received an-
other Petition from ^lulford, praying Dispatch
in our Report upon the Papers our Secretary
sent you on the 19th of Septemb last : We
must desire therefore from You a full Answer
to those Papers; and particularly as to the
Right of the Crown ; and that you would in-
form us what Ouantitys of Whales are Caught
in your Government Comnnibus annis ; In what
Condition that ffishery is. & has been for some
years past, especially since your being in this
Government, whether other persons have paid
& continue to pay the Dues you demanded &
which iMulford Complains of; What these
Dues may amount to one Year with Another,
& how -the profit arising by them is Apply 'd.
Upon this Occasion We must observe to
you, that we hope you give all du; Encour-
agemt to that Trade.
Mr. Philips has laid before us the Address
from the General Assembly of New York to
You about Mulford & at the same time ac-
quainted us that he had reason to believe your
Answer to Mulfords Complaints was lost in the
Ship Mercury.
THE REV. MR. HORTON'S LABORS
AND DL\RY.
The story of the efforts to advance the
spiritual welfare of the Indians of Long Isl-
and is one of intense interest, involving as it
does the usual details of patient labor, of pri-
vations endured, of triumph and of dejection;
triumph when the grand message seems to
have been accepted and dejection over the ap-
parent slowness of the work and the inability
742
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to reach and rescue the thousands who might
be reached. On Long Island the missionary
story, while reheved of the tortures and mis-
eries which darken the story elsewhere, is still
full of details wMch must ever form a graphic
chapter in the story of Christian endeavor in'
North America. The Rev. Dr. Prime enlarges
on the life and work of the Rev. Azariah
Horton, and as that missionary was a native
of Long Island, it may not be out of place here
to present his record as given by Long Isl-
and's ecclesiastical historian. The society re-
ferred to is the London Society for the Propa-
gation of the Gospel, often mentioned in this
work:
After the settlement of East Hampton the
Rev. Air. James, the first minister of that town,
moved with compassion for the ignorance and
moral darkness of the Indians, commenced
the study of their language, with the design
of instructing them in the way of life and
salvation. It appears that he was employed
by the same society about the year 1660, but
how long he continued in the work cannot be
determined. His exertions were principally,
if not exclusively, bestowed upon the Montauk
tribe.
There were probably other individuals, in
different parts of the island, who devoted more
or less time to their religious instruction. But
it is lamentable to record the fact that for
about one hundred years these benevolent ex-
ertions appear to have been made in vain.
The Indians, almost with one consent, ad-
hered to the religious opinions and the sense-
less rites of their ancestors, and exhibited no
inclination to receive the blessed gospel. It
seems probable that after the experiment of
a few years had been made the work was
abandoned as altogether hopeless.
This state of things remained until towards
the middle of the eighteenth century. In 1741
the New York committee of the society al-
ready named, engaged Mr. Azariah Horton
(a native of Southold) as a missionary, to be
exclusively employed in the instruction of the
Long Island Indians, and for this purpose he
was ordained to the work of the gospel min-
istrv in that year by the Presbvtery of New
York.
Although human 'instrumentality, at all
times and under all circumstances, is dependent
for its efficacy on the divine blessing, it will
not be out of place to remark, that both the
character of the missionary and the time of his
appointment were peculiarly favorable to the
results that were realized. Though the good
man has long since gone down to the grave,
and no memoir or extended biographical sketch
of hiis life perpetuates his memory, and no
memorial remams but the simple and concise
record of his daily labors and some of their
obvious results, he was manifestly a humble,
laborious and self-denying servant of the cross.
His charge extended along the whole southern
shore of the island, for more than one hundred
miles, upon which the remnants of those once
numerous tribes, at that time reduced to "four
hundred, old and young," were scattered. And
here you trace him, four or five times a year,
from Montauk to Rockaway, the two extreme
points, back and forth, subsisting upon In-
dian fare — sleeping in their frail wigwams —
teaching them to read the word of God, and
almost daily preaching to them the gospel of
Christ.
The time of his appointment was that
notable period, at which it had pleased the
King of Zion to bestow such a copious and ex-
tensive effusion of His Spirit on the American
churches. And while thousands, in every part
of the land, were raising the anxious inquiry,
"What must we do to be saved?" He, who is
"no respecter of persons," saw fit to send His
devoted servant to these benighted savages
with the same message of salvation and ac-
companied it with "the dispensation of the
same Spirit." And while the skeptiic is always
ready to/aise the cry of fanaticism and priest-
craft against the work of God in the conversion
of souls, the devout Christian, and even the
candid rationalist, can scarcely fail to acknowl-
edge the general awakening of that day, not-
withstanding the human infirmities with which
it was in same cases disfigured as a super-
natural operation, when he sees these ignorant
and degraded savages, who for one hundred
}-ears had strenuously rejected a proffered
gospel, now melted down and brought to bow
with contrite hearts to the message of grace.
And let it be particularly noticed that these
effects were produced, not by the powerful ap-
l>eals of an eloquent preacher, addressed to the
passions and sympathies of his hearers, but
often by the slow communication of divine
truth through the imperfect medium of a dull
interpreter. And besides this, these astonish-
ing results were realized, not on a few special
occasions and in one or two populous neighbor-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
743
hoods, but, during several successive years and
throughout the length of the island.
A few extracts only can be given from the
journal of this indefatigable missionary, to il-
lustrate these remarks.
Rockawa.v, June 6th, 1742; preached. My hear-
ers attended with seriousness, and appeared some-
what thoughtful.
Islip, June 8th; preached. Two awakened to a
considerable sense of their sinful dangerous condi-
tion ; others concerned before brought under fresh
and strong impressions of their guilty state, of their
need of Christ, and to earnest inquiries after an in-
terest in him, and, in general, they are very devout
and attentive.
Moriches, June 13th ; preached. Two Indians
awakened, and several others under distressing con-
cern of mind, &c. Most of these are endeavoring to
learn to read.
Shinnecock, June isth. Preached; and surely the
Lord was in this place ; his power made known in
bringing some that were concerned before, under
distressing apprehensions of the wrath of God, of
their need of Christ and his salvation, and in re-
freshing some that were hopefully his own children,
by the refreshing influences of his blessed Spirit.
June i6th. Spent the forenoon in conversing with
the Indians. P. M. preached. Many were under
distressing concern, filled with anxiety of mind, and
inquire "what they must do to be saved." Some
were abundantly refreshed with joy and comfort in
the Holy Ghost. O what adoring thoughts of free
grace and redeeming love ! O what wonder did they
express at Christ's stooping to them, poor, unde-
serving creatures ! The Lord was with us of a
truth.
June i8th. Arrived at Montauk. The Indians
gladly received me. Many among them are now sick.
June 19th. Spent most of the day in visiting,
from wigwam to wigwam, both sick and well.
June 20th. preached, &c.
June 23d. Spent most of the day in visiting.
Con/ersed with an Indian and three squaws, who, by
the accounts they gave, and their conduct and con-
versation consequent thereupon, are hopefully con-
verted. And these conversions were wrought, ac-
cording to their accounts, while I was upon my
journey to the western Indians upon Long Island.
July sth. This day conversed with an Indian
girl, by an interpreter, and I hope she has had a
saving change wrought in her heart. This, while
I was gone westward.
July Sth. Expounded; and at this exercise an
Indian (who was hopefully converted while I was
westward) owned the covenant and was baptized to-
gether with four of his children.
July iSth. Preached. Former concern contin-
ued. Two squaws owned the covenant, and were
baptized. These were hopefulh' converted last Oc-
tober.
Shinnecock, July 22nd. This evening, gave my
dear people some catitions and warnings against
some irregularities that abound in our land at this
day, and by which their best interest has been much
endangered. After this, preached. Some had their
distress renewed and increased. Others appeared
to be sweetly composed, and to find, by fresh ex-
perience, the ways of religion to be ways of pleas-
antness, and her paths peace.
Moriches. August isth. Preached. Some were
deeply distressed. Some that attended came 12
miles, and others 20, on purpose to hear the word
preached.
Montauk, August 22. Preached. This day the
power of the Lord was evidently displayed in
strengthening the convictions of some, and height-
ening the joy of others. It may be noted that
seven squaws came hither from Shinnecock, on pur-
pose to attend public worship, and that one of the
number was hopefully converted in the time of ser-
vice, and another in the evening.
Shinnecock, September 10. Visited and preached.
The outpourings of the Spirit still evident and con-
spicuous among my dear people, &c.
Islip, October 6th. Spent the evening in giving
instructions and cautions to some of my Indian peo-
ple gathered together for that purpose. They were
greedy to hear, and very thankful to me for my in-
structions. It may be noted, these Indians have fre-
quently gone (since I left them last summer) 16
miles to attend public worship.
Rockaway, October loth. Preached. The In-
dians attended with seriousness, and some appeared
to be under some awakenings about their eternal
safety.
Islip. October 24th. Preached. Some deeply-
concerned.
Mastick, October 29th. Preached. They ap-
peared serious and thoughtful.
Moriches, October 31. Preached. Some deeply-
concerned.
Montauk, November nth. Conversed with an
old Indian, who appears to have found the Lord
Jesus by faith. This, while I was gone westward.
Quaog, December 19th. Preached. They seri-
ously attended, and some considerable movings ac-
companied the exercises of the day.
Moriches, December 20th. In the evening
preached. Some few were led to commend the dear
744
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Redeemer, from a view of his special love to their
souls, and to acknowledge their own meanness and
tmworthiness. Some were deeply distressed, &c.
At this exercise one squaw hopefully converted.
Quaog. December 24th. Visited. In the evening
preached, attended with encouraging appearances.
It may be noted that nine or ten Indians came to
the meeting twelve miles, in a wet, stormy time.
December 26th. Preached. Some favoured with
lively views of the glory of Christ, and their mouths
filled with praises to him. Others deeply distressed.
Montauk. January 2, i74^-3- Preached. Many
of God's children favourcfl with almost overcoming
discoveries of divine love, which rai-e.i Uieir affec-
tions on high, and filled their souls with holy trans-
port and sweet nourishment, and made them with
pleasure speak forth the praises of their dear Re-
deemer; and these discoveries were attended with
a deep and abasing sense of their own unworthiness,
and led them to pity their poor Christless friends.
.Shinnecock. January 30th. Visited.
Quaog, January 23d. Preached. Some were, as
I trust, refreshed froin on high, and their mouths
filled with praises to the blessed and glorious Jesus.
Some others were deeply distressed in mind, and
brought to inquire with solicitude after an interest
in the Lord Jesus Cln-isl.
Montauk, February 5th. Conversed with one
squaw, and I can't but hope she has received a sav-
ing change, and that, a few days ago.
Moriches, March 2nd. Preached. They attended
with seriousness, and appeared forward to receive
instruction.
Islip, March 6th. Some considerably affected
with a sense of their undone estate.
Rockaway, April 14th. Preached. Some few
appeared somewhat attentive and thoughtful.
Islip, April 17th. Preached. Some were made
sensible of their sins in some measure, &c.
Shinnecock, April 20th. Returned to the Indians
there, and they appeared much rejoiced, &c.
Montauk, April 24th. Preached. Some were en-
livened and refreshed, &c.
Rockaway, May 8th. Preached. There was a
forwardness in some to receive instruction. I can
not well omit observing, the great necessity of one
to instruct, caution, and exhort them in a more
steady and uninterrupted method than I possibly
can, seeing they, with the Indians of many other
places upon Long Island, live at so gre^t a distance
from each other, it being at least 100 miles from the
two extremes.
■ Smithfield, May 18th. After a long and tedious
journey arrived at Smithfield upon Delaware, &c.
JMoriches, June 2nd. Preached. Some were dis-
tressed imder a sense of sin. The Indians here-
abouts are much reformed, and very ready to re-
ceive instruction.
Shinnecock, September 8th. This day was ob-
served as a day of public thanksgiving. The exer-
cise was attended with seriousness and decency. A
beautiful sight to behold, those gathered together
to worship and bless God, who before gospel light
shone upon them were wont to meet to sing and
dance, carouse and give loose to vain mirth and
jollity.
Quaog, December loth. This morning I had the
pleasure to hear three Indian children repeat a con-
siderable part of the Assembly catechism, and to
hear each of them spell in the Psalter, and the two
eldest repeat the two first of David's psalms. Their
mother can read well, and is painful, after her
capacity, in giving instructions to her children.
(This woman was afterward employed as a school-
teacher at Montauk.)
December 13th. After divine service, I told my
people the news I had received from Scotland, viz.,
of my continuance among the Long Island Indians.
They universally "manifested what great joy and
satisfaction it was to them, and they explicitly de-
clared their thanks to the great God, for his kind
Providence herein.
Montauk, December 25th. Preached. Some of
the children of God brought to a deeper acquaint-
ance of their own hearts, and made to mourn bitter-
ly under a sense of their indwelling corruptions.
Towards evening, instructed 4 or 5 squaws, who
came to visit me, about the great business of sal-
vation.
Quaog, January 8th, 1743-4. Preached. Some
had their concern revived and increased. The ex-
ercises of this day were attended with much of the
divine power.
Moriches, January 23. Preached in the evening.
Visibly attended with divine power. A great part
of my hearers this evening came from Quaog, which
is 12 miles, and the Indians of this place go fre-
quently there to meeting,
Montauk, January 29. Preached. Some few re-
freshed.
Quaog. February 5. Preached. Some distressed ;
others sweetly refreshed.
In making these extracts the object has not
been to furnish a few isolated passages of the
most remarkable character, but to exhibit sev-
eral deeply interesting facts connected with the
work of grace among this ignorant and be-
nighted race, such as the following:
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
745
1. The incessant and extended labors of
this devoted and self-denying servant of the
cross. He appears to have been untiring in
his efforts for the salvation of perishing souls.
While the principal settlements of the Indians
were at Montauk and Shinnecock, and there-
fore most of his time was spent there, still we
find him traveling, several times a year, from
one end of the island to the other, to proclaim
the message of salvation. And then, the ex-
treme caution with which he expresses his
hopes of the favorable appearances among
them, warrants the highest confidence in the
truth of his statements.
2. While the work of grace was manifest-
Iv wrought bv the instrumentality of divine
truth, communicated in preaching and conver-
sation, these hopeful conversions, in numerous
instances, did not take place under the excite-
ment of public meetings, but even in the ab-
sence of the missionary to other parts of his
charge, plainly showing that it was the work
of God and not of man.
3. The long continuance of this blessed
work furnishes another evidence of its genu-
ineness. It was not the hot-bed production of
a few days or weeks, originating in special
efforts to produce a public excitement, and
then subsiding into death-like coldness, as soon
as the exercises were suspended. But it com-
menced and was continued for months and
even years, by the occasional labors of a single
missionary, traveling back and forth over a
region more than one hundred miles in extent.
And yet, in every part of this vast field, the
same moral phenomena were exhibited, to a
greater or less extent, throughout this pro-
tracted season of mercy. And when we take
into consideration the numerous disadvantages
under which these labors were performed, it
seems that infidelity itself, if associated with
a small degree of candor, must be constrained
to acknowledge that such results could not
be ascribed to mere human ingenuity or effi-
ciency.
Mr. Horton remained in the service of the
Long Island Indians eleven years. During the
first three years, which his printed journal
covers, he appears to have confined himself
constantly to his field of labor. In May, 1742.
he attended the synod in Philadelphia, and in
the year following he spent a fortnight in visit-
ing the Indians on the Delaware river, for the
purpose of preparing the way for the estab-
lishment of a mission among them. With these
short intervals, not of relaxation, but of a
mere change of labor, he pursued his solitary
work, uncheered by the presence of a single
fellow laborer, except that in February, 1742,
David Brainard, who was then preparing to
set out on a similar embassy of mercy, paid
him a short visit and preached a single dis-
course to his "poor, dear people." In 1752
Mr. Horton, from what cause is not known,
left the island and was settled that same year
at South Hanover, or Bottle Hill, New Jersey,
a settlement that had been formed in part by
Long Island people. Here a church had been
recently formed, of which Mr. H. was the first
pastor. Here he spent his days and laid his
bones. His tombstone bears the following sim-
ple inscription:
"In memory of the Rev. Az.\RrAH Horton,
for 25 years pastor of this church. Died
March 27th, 1777, aged 62 years."
Mr. Horton was evidently a very respect-
able minister in his day. He was one of the
most constant attendants on the judicatories
of the church — was seldom absent from the
meetings of the synod, and was frequently ap-
pointed on its commission. And yet his
memory has well nigh passed away. It is still
true that "the righteous perish, and no man
layeth it to heart," even while men of far less
excellence and usefulness, obtain a temporary
renown by a splendid monument or a flatter-
ing memoir. But the name of Azariah Horton,
though little else of the good man remains, is
worthy to live in the history of Indian mis-
sions, and should never perish from the annals
of Long Island.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN.
PRECAUTIONS PRIOR TO THE LANDING.
Jamaica, May 15, 1776.
Resolved : That no person be permitted to
move into the township from the date hereof
unless he produce a certificate from th» com-
mittee where he resided that he has in all
things behaved as a friend to the cause of
American freedom. And whereas, sundry per-
sons, in passing and repassing through the
town, have given just cause of suspicion that
they are employed in aiding and assisting the
unnatural enemies of America : Therefore
Resolved, That all such persons passing
through this town be taken up for examina-
tion.
By order of the committee,
Elias Bayles, Chairman.
On the day after Woodhull's capture Elias
Bayles was arrested by a neighbor and brought
before the British officer at Jamaica, although
old and blind. He refused to say even a word
against the American cause and was shut up
in the Presbyterian church for the night and
the next day was sent to the prison at New
Utrecht. He was an elder in the Presbyterian
church and beguiled the hours of his imprison-
ment by reciting passages of scripture and
singing psalms and hymns. Finally he was
removed to the provost in New York. After
confinement for two months he was released,
but died on the ferry while crossing to Long
Island.
INCIDENTS FROM ONDERDGNK.
Guarding ti-ie Stock. — August 24, 1776.
— Congress ordered half the Western Regi-
ment of Suffolk with five days' provisions, "to
march into the western part of Queens, that
the officers of the militia of Queens order out
the whole militia, with the troop of horse, and
use all dihgence to prevent the stock falling
into the hands of the enemy, that the captain
of the troop of horse of Kings county jom
said militia and that the inhabitants of Queens
(not of the militia) assist when ordered.
Farm and Garden Provisions. — August
12, 1776. — Captain P. Nostrand was stationed
at Far Rockaway with forty-six men to guard
the coast. There was a guard at David Mott's,
and at Hog Island Inlet was a guard boat. A
guard was often put on board fishing boats to
prevent their giving information to the British
fleet, to which the disaffected used to carry
water, eggs, butter and fresh provisions.
Disposition of the ]\Iiliti.\. — August 10,
1776. — One-half of the militia of Kings and
Queens counties was ordered to march immedi-
ately to Brooklyn; the levies from Kings and
Queens to be formed into one regiment under
command of Colonel Jeromus Remsen, Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Nich. Covenhoven and Major
Richard Thorne, and continue in service until
September i.
Captain Andrew Onderdonk's company lay
at Bedford, in the barn of Lambert Suydam,
and marched daily to Brooklyn to throw up the
fortifications.
CAPTAIN SUVDAm's DISCOVERY.
Camp Long Island, August 19, 1776.
I, the subscriber, went down to Rockaway
just at daybreak with my company of light
horse, pursuant to an order from Brigadder-
General Heard to take care of some boats. At
the house of Van Brockle I discovered
a number of men issue out of the door and
run, some of them partly dressed and some in
their shirts only. Immediately I ordered my
men to pursue them, and presently overtook
three of their number and took them prisoners.
Two of them got to the woods and hid under
the bushes; on finding them I ordered them
to surrender. One of them did; the other
absolutely refused, although one of my men
had his gun presented to his breast, on which
my men alighted and took him.
After I had taken six prisoners I examined
the beach and found a boat and four oars and
a paddle. In the boat were three sheep, four
ducks and a large bottle wlith water.
Lambert Suydam,
Captain of the Troop.
THE HOWARD HOUSE.
Just as this work is going to press the news
has transpired that the Howard House at East
New York is about to be torn dowm, and thus
another of Brooklyn's historic landmarks is
doomed to disappear. The Howard House of
1776 figures prominently in the story of the
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
r47
battle of Brooklyn, and although possibly but
little of the building of that day is extant in
the old tumble-down structure which has borne
its name to the present generation, still there
was that continuity about the house which
gave it a certain claim to authenticity and an-
tiquity. The old Howard House of 1776 was
never pulled down ; the building now doomed
just developed out of it by slow degrees, altera-
tion succeeding alteration, repairs obliterating
the past, and all the varied requirements of a
century and a quarter of busy occupation ne-
cessitating frequent changes in exterior as well
as interior. But just as the old man of three
score years and ten is to be regarded as the
same individual who as a boy of five or six
summers awoke the echoes with his mirth, so
must we regard the passing Howard House as
the scene of the culmination of Sir William
Howe's bit of strategy, which turned the flank
of the defenses of Brooklyn and brought about
a disastrous defeat of the Continental heroes at
a time when the cause of American liberty
could ill afford such a set-back.
The original Howard House was built In
1700 by William Howard and was conducted
as a tavern pure and simple, with nothing to
lend it any degree of prominence until that
eventful August night in 1776, when Howe's
detachment came upon it and Sir William
compelled the proprietor and his son to guide
the troops through the pass, the movement
which insured the victory of the red-coats be-
fore the sun went down the next day. It is
said that Sir William and several officers stood
at the bar of the house and ordered refresh-
mt<nts, but on that point historians differ.
However, the British commander had a habit
of wasting time and it is quite possible that
even in that crisis he was not forgetful of
creature comforts. After the battle the How-
ard House simply sank linto a tavern once
morel and so continued its uneventful story
until possibly twenty years ago, when it was
invested with the dignity of recognition as a
landmark.
Writing of its approaching destruction a
writer in the Brooklyn Eagle wrote of some
of the old characteristics of the house as fol-
lows :
A key was left hanging outside the door
for belated farmers, who might enter and help
themselves, settling their scores at some more
convenient season. This seemingly rash policy
would bring any modem tavern to the brink
of lasting ruin, but they were honest in those
days, and it was with such considerate sim-
pliaity that the inn was then conducted. His-
tory contains no record that the Howards of-
fered the first free lunch, but a perusal of their
business methods, as aforesaid, indicates their
right to the distinction. In the Howard House
on winter evenings merry sleighing parties
gathered, coming all the way from far distant
Brooklyn, and here politics and weighty state
matters were discussed. It was a resort for
the farmers from far and near, and Major
Joseph Howard is a name still held in hon-
orable memory by old Long Islanders. In
1852 the property passed into the hands of
Catherine Howard, the mother of Philip H.
Reid, who was the proprietor of the hostelry
when, in 1880, it was first proposed to re-
move it.
Thompson's story of tpie e.\ttle of Brook-
lyn.
After the commencement of hostilities in
1776, New York being situated near the center
of the colonial sea-board, and readily accessible
from the sea, was selected by the enemy as a
principal point for their future operations.
With this view, a first division of their army
arrived at Staten Island in the latter part of
June of that year, followed, about the middle
of July, by the grand armament under Lord
Howe, consisting of six ships of the line, thirty
frigates, with smaller armed vessels and a
great number of transports, victuallers and
ships with ordnance.
The Americans, anticipating the invasion
of Long Island, had fortified Brooklyn before
the arrival of the British at Staten Island. A
line of intrenchment was formed from a ditch
near the late toll-house of the Bridge Com-
pany at the navy-yard to Fort Greene, then
called Fort Putnam, and from thence to-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Freek's mill-pond. A strong work was erected
■on the lands of Johannis Debevoice and of Van
Brunt; a redoubt was thrown up on Bsemus'
Hill opposite Brown's mill, and another on
the land of John Johnson west of Fort Greene.
Ponkiesberg, now Fort Swift, was fortified,
and a fort built on the land of Mr. Hicks on
Brooklyn Heights. Such were the defences of
Brooklyn in 1776, while a cbcvaiix dc frisc
was sunk in the main channel of the river be-
low New York. The troops of both divisions
of the British army were landed on Staten Isl-
and after their arrival in the bay, to recruit
their strength and prepare for the coming con-
flict. It was not till the middle of August that
a first landing on Long Island was made by
them at New Utrecht. Here they were joined
by many royalists from the neighborhood, who
probably acted the infamous part of informers
and guides to the enemy. General Sir Henry
Clinton arrived about the same time with the
troops re-conducted from the expedition to
Charleston.
Commodore Hotham already appeared
there with the reinforcements under his escort,
so that in a short time the hostile army amount-
ed to about twenty-four thousand men, Eng-
lish, Hessians and Waldeckers. Several regi-
ments of Hessian infantry were expected to
arrive shortly, when the army would be swelled
to the number of thirty-five thousand combat-
ants, of the best troops of Europe, all abund-
antly supplied with arms and ammunition, and
manifesting an extreme ardor for the service
of their king. The plan was, first to get pos-
session of New York, which was deemed of
most essential importance. Then, if General
Carleton, after having passed, as was hoped,
the lakes of Canada, could penetrate to the
banks of the Hudson and descend this river
at the same time that General Howe should
ascend it, their junction would have the im-
mediate effect of interrupting all communica-
tion between the provinces of New England
■on the left bank, and those of the middle and
south upon the right. While General Howe
was seconded in bis invasion of New York b\-
the twelve or thirteen thousand men coming
from Canada under Governor Carleton, Gen-
eral Clinton was to operate in the provinces of
the south and to attack Charldston. The
American troops being thus divided, and their
generals surprised and pressed on so many
sides at once, it was not doubted but that the
British arms would soon obtain a complete
triumph. But in executing this design they
had counted too much on an admirable con-
currence of a great number of parts, and had
not taken into account the difficulties of the
winds and seasons. Admiral Howe did not
arrive until after Clinton's expedition to
Charleston had totally miscarried. The army
at Canada was entirely interrupted at the lakes.
It was still, however, confidently expected that
General Howe would be able alone to make a
decisive campaign.
To resist this impending storm Congress
had ordained the construction of rafts, gun-
boats, galleys and floating batteries, for the
defense of the port of New York and the
mouth of the Hudson. They had also decreed
that thirteen thousand of the provincial militia
should join the army of Washington, who, be-
ing seasonably apprized of the danger of New
York, had made a movement into that quarter ;
they also directed the organization of a corps
of ten thousand men, destined to serve as a
reserve in the provinces of the center. All the
weakest posts had been carefully intrenched
and furnished with artillery. A strong de-
tachment occupied Long Island, to prevent the
English from landing there, or to repulse them
if they should effect a debarkation. But the
army of Congress was very far from having
all the necessary means to support the burden
of so terrible a war. It wanted arms, and it
was wasted by diseases. The reiterated in-
stances of the commander-in-chief had drawn
into his camp the militia of the neighboring
provinces, and some regular regiments from
^laryland, from Pennsylvania and from New
England, which had swelled his army to the
number of twenty-seven thousand men ; but a
fourth of these troops were composed of in-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
749-
valids, and scarcely was another fourth fur-
nished with arms.
The American army, such as it was, oc-
cupied the positions most suitable to cover the
menaced points. The corps which had been
stationed on Long Island was commanded by
]\Iajor-General Greene, who, on account of
sickness, was afterwards succeeded by General
Sullivan. The main body of the army en-
camped on the island of New York, which, it
appeared, was destined to receive the first
blows of the English.
Two feeble detachments guarded Gov-
ernor's Island and the point of Paulus' Hook.
The militia of the province, commanded by
the American General Clinton, were posted
upon the banks of the sound, where they oc-
cupied the two Chesters, East and West, and
New Rochelle. For it was to be feared that
the enemy, landing in force upon the north
shore of the sound, might penetrate to Kings-
bridge, and thus entirely lock up all the Amer-
can troops on the island of New York. Lord
Howe made some overtures of peace upon
terms of submission to the royal clemency,
which, resulting in nothing, decided the British
general to attack Long Island. "According-
ly," says Botta, "on the 22d of August the
fleet approached the Narrows ; all the troops
found an easy and secure landing-place be-
tween the villages of Gravesend and New
Utrecht, where they debarked without meet-
ing any resistance on the part of the Ameri-
cans. A great part of the American army,
under the command of General Putnam, en-
camped at Brooklyn in a part of the island it-
self, which forms a sort of a peninsula. He
had strongly fortified the entrance of it with
moats and intrenchments ; his left wing rested
upon the Wallabout bay, and his right was
covered by a marsh contiguous to Gowanus'
Cove. Behind him he had Governor's Island
and the arm of the sea which separates Long-
Island from the Island of New York, and
which gave him a direct communication with
the city, where the other part of the army was
stationed under Washington himself. The
conmiander-in-chief, perceiving the battle was
approaching, continually exhorted his men to
keep their ranks and sunnnon all their courage ;
he reminded them that in their valor rested the
only hoi)e that remained to American liberty;
that upon their resistance depended the preser-
vation or the pillage of their property by bar-
barbians ; that they were about to combat in
defense of their parents, their wives and their
children, from the outrages of a licentious sol-
diery ; that the eyes of America were fixed
tipon her champions, and expected from their
success on this day either safet}' or total de-
struction."
The English having effected their landing
marched rapidly forward. The two armies
were separated by a chain of hills covered with
woods, called the heights, and which, running
from west to east, divide the island into two
parts. They are only approachable upon three
points, one of which is near the Narrows, the
road leading to that of the center passes the
village of Flatbush, and the third is approached
far to the right by the route of another village
called Flatlands. Upon the summit of the
hills is found a road, which follows the length
of tlie range, and leads from Bedford to Ja-
maica, which is intersected by the two roads
last described; these ways are all interrupted
by precipices and by excessively difficult and
narrow defiles.
The American general, wishing to arrest
the enemy upon these heights, had carefully
furnished them with troops, so that, if all had
done their duty, the English would not have
been able to force the passage without extreme
difficulty and danger. The posts were so fre-
cjuent upon the road from Bedford to Jamaica
that it was easy to transmit, from one of these
points to the other, the. most prompt intelli-
gence of what passed upon the three routes.
Colonel Miles, with his battalion, was to guard
the road of Flatland, and to scour it contin-
ually with his scouts, as well as that of Ja-
maica, in order to reconnoiter the movements
of the enemy. Meanwhile the British army
pressed forward, its left wing being to the
750
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
north and its right to the south ; the village of
Flatbush was found in its center. The Hes-
sians, commanded by General Heister, formed
the main body; the English, under Major-Gen-
eral Grant, the left, and the other corps, con-
ducted by General Clinton and the two lords,
Percy and Comwallis, composed the right. In
this wing the British generals had placed their
principal hope of success ; they directed it upon
Flatland. Their plan was, that while the corps
of General Grant and the Hessians of General
Heister should disquiet the enemy upon the
two first defiles, the left wing, taking a circuit,
should march through Flatland, and en-
deavor to seize the point of intersection of this
road with that of Jamaica, and then, rapidly
descending into the plain which extends at the
foot of the heights upon the other side, should
fall upon the Americans in flank and rear.
The English hoped, that as this post was the
most distant from the center of the army, the
advanced guards would be found more feeble
there, and perhaps more negligent; finally,
they calculated that, in all events, the Amer-
icans would not be able to defend it against a
force so superior. This right wing of the
English was the most numerous and entirely
composed of select troops.
The evening of the 26th of August, Gen-
eral Clinton commanded the vanguard, which
consisted in light infantry; Lord Percy the
center, where were found the grenadiers, the
artillery and the cavalry; and Cornwallis, the
rearguard, followed by the baggage, some
regiments of infantry and of heavy artillery ;
all this part of the English army put itself in
motion with admirable order and silence, and
leaving Flatland, traversed the country called
New Lots. Colonel Miles, who this night per-
formed his service with little exactness, did not
perceive the approach of the enemy ; so that
two hours before day the English were already
arrived within a half mile of the road to Ja-
maica, upon the heights. Then General Clin-
ton halted and prepared himself for the at-
tack. He had met one of the enemy's patrols
and made him prisoner. General Sullivan, who
commanded all the troops in advance of the
camp of Brooklyn, had no advice of what
passed in this quarter. He neglected to send
out fresh scouts ; perhaps he supposed the
English would direct their principal eiTorts
against his right wing, as being the nearest to
them.
General Clinton learning from his prisoners
that the road to Jamaica was not guarded, has-
tened to avail himself of the circumstance and
occupied it by a rapid movement. Without
loss of time he immediately bore to his left
towards Bedford and seized an important de-
file, which the American generals had left un-
guarded. From this moment the success of
the day was decided in favor of the English.
Lord Percy came up with his corps, and the
entire column descended by the village of Bed-
ford from the heights into the plain which
lay between the hills and the camp of the
Americans. During this time General Grant,
in order to amuse the enemy and divert his at-
tention from the events which took place upon
the route of Flatland, endeavored to disquiet
him upon his right ; accordingly, as if he in-
tended to force the defile which led to it, he
had put himself in motion about midnight and
attacked the militia of New York and of Penn-
sylvania, who guarded it. They at first gave
ground; but General Parfons being arrived
and having occupied an eminence, he renewed
the combat and maintained his position till
Brigadier-General Lord Stirling came to his
assistance with fifteen hundred men. The
action became extremely animated and fortune
favored neither the ' one side nor the other.
The Hessians, on their part, had attacked the
center at break of day, and the Americans,
commanded by General Sullivan in person,
valiantly sustained their efforts. At the same
time the English ships, after having made sev-
eral movements, opened a very brisk cannonade
against a battery established in the little isl-
and of Red Hook, upon the right flank of the
Americans, who combatted against General
Grant. This also was a diversion, the object
of which was to prevent them from attending
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
751
to what passed in the center and on the left.
The Americans defended themselves, however,
with extreme gallantry, ignorant that so much
valor was exerted in vain, since victory was
already in the hands of the enemy. General
Clinton being descended into the plain, fell
upon the left flank of the center, which was
engaged with the Hessians. He had previous-
ly detached a small corps, in order to intercept
the Americans.
As soon as the appearance of the English
light infantry apprized them of their danger,
they sounded the retreat and retired in good
order towards their camp, bringing ofif their
artillery. But they soon fell in with the party
of royal troops which had occupied the ground
on their rear, and who now charged them with
fury ; they were compelled to throw themselves
into the neighboring woods, where they met
again with the Hessians, who repulsed them
upon the English; and thus the Americans
were driven several times by the one against
the other with great loss. They continued for
some time in this desperate situation, till at
length several regiments, animated by an
heroic valor, opened their way through the
midst of the enemy and gained the camp of
General Putnam; others escaped through the
woods. The inequality of the ground, the
great numbers of positions which it offered,
and the disorder which prevailed throughout
the line, were the cause that for several hours
divers partial combats were maintained, in
which many of the Americans fell.
Their left wing and center being dis-
comfited, the English, desirous of a complete
victory, made a rapid movement against the
rear of the right wing, which, in ignorance of
the misfortune which had befallen the other
corps, was engaged with General Grant. Fin-
ally, having received the intelligence, they re-
tired. But, encountering the English, who cut
off their retreat, a part of the soldiers took
shelter in the woods; others endeavored to
make their way through the marshes of
Gowan's Cove, but here many were drowned
in the waters or perished in the mud; a very
small number only escaped the hot pursuit of
the victors and reached camp in safety. The
total loss of the Americans in this battle was
estimated at more than three thousand men in
killed, wounded and prisoners. Among the
last were found General Sullivan and Briga-
dier-General Lord Stirling. Almost the en-
tire regiment of Maryland, consisting of young
men of the best families in that province, was
cut to pieces. Six pieces of cannon fell into
the power of the victors. The loss of the
English was very inconsiderable ; in killed,
v/ounded and prisoners it did not amount to
four hundred men.
The enemy encamped in front of the Amer-
ican lines, and on the succeeding night broke
ground within six hundred yards of a redoubt
on the left and threw up a breast-work on the
Wallabout heights, upon the Debevoice farm,
commenced firing on Fort Putnam and recon-
noitred the American forces. The Americans
were here prepared to receive them, and orders
issued to the men to reserve their fire till they
could see the eyes of the enemy. A few of the
British officers reconnoitred the position, and
one, on coming near, was shot by William Van
Cotts, of Bushwick. The same afternoon Cap-
tain Rutgers, brother of the late Colonel
Rutgers, also fell. Several other British troops
were killed, and the column which had incau-
tiously advanced, fell back beyond the range of
the American fire. In this critical state of the
American army on Long Island ; in front a nu-
merous and victorious enemy with a formidable
train of artillery, the fleet indicating an inten-
tion of forcing a passage up the East river;
the troops lying without shelter from the heavy
rains, fatigued and dispirited. General Wash-
ington determined to withdraw the army from
the island, and this difficult movement was
effected with great skill and judgment, and
with complete success. The retreat was to
have commenced at eight o'clock in the even-
ing of the 29th, but a strong north-east wind
and a rapid tide caused a delay of several hours,
a southwest wind springing up at eleven essen-
tially facilitated its passage from the island
752
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to the city, and a thick fog hanging over Long
Island toward morning concealed its move-
ments from the enemy, who were so near that
the sound of their pick-axes and shovels were
distinctly heard by the Americans. General
Washington, as far as possible, inspected
everything from the commencement of the
action on the morning of the 27th till the
troops were safely across the river; he never
closed his eyes and was almost constantly on
horseback. After this the British and their
allies, the Tories and refugees, had possession
of Long Island, and many distressing scenes
occurred, which were never made public and
can therefore never be known. The Whigs
who had been at all active in behalf of inde-
pendence were exiled from their homes and
their dwellings were objects of indiscriminate
plunder. Such as could be taken, were incar-
cerated in the church of New Utrecht and
Platlands, while royalists, by wearing a red
badge in their hats, were protected and en-
couraged. It is believed that had Lord Howe
availed himself of the advantage he possessed
by passing his ships up the river between
Brooklyn and New York, the whole American
army nuist have been almost inevitably cap-
tured or annihilated. General Washington saw
but too plainly the policy that might have been
pursued and wisely resolved rather to abandon
the island than attempt to retain it at the risk
of sacrificing his army.
The unfortunate issue of the battle of Long-
Island was doubtless to be ascribed, in part,
to the illness of General Greene. He had su-
perintended the erection of the works and be-
come thoroughly acquainted with the ground.
In the hope of his recovery, Washington de-
ferred sending over a successor till the urgency
of affairs made it absolutely necessary, and
then General Putnam took the command, with-
out any previous knowledge of the posts which
had been fortified beyond the lines, or of the
places by which the enemy could make their
approach, nor had he time to acquire this
knowledge before the action. The consequence
was, that, although he was the commander on
the day of the battle, he never went beyond
the lines at Brooklyn, and could give no other
orders than for sending out troops to meet the
enemy at different points. The following is a
letter to Congress, describing the events of the
day, by Colonel Harrison, secretary to the com-
mander-in-chief:
New York, 8 o'clock p. m.,
27th August, 1776.
Sir: I this minute returned from our lines
on Long Island, where I left his Excellency
the General. From him I have it in command
to inform Congress, that yesterday he went
there and continued till evening, when, from
the enemy's having landed a considerable part
of their forces, and from many of their move-
ments there was reason to apprehend that they
would make in a little time a general attack.
As they would have a wood to pass through
before they could approach the lines it was
thought expedient to place a number of men
there on different roads leading from where
they were stationed, in order to harass and
annoy them in their march. This being done,
early this morning a sharp engagement ensued
between the enemy and our detachments,
which, being unequal to the force they had to
contend with, have sustained a considerable
loss, at least many of our men are missing.
Among those who have not returned are Gen-
eral Sullivan and Lord Stirling. The enemy's
loss is not known certainly, but we are told
by such of our troops as were in the engage-
ment, and have come in, that they had many
killed and wounded. Our party brought off
a lieutenant, sergeant and corporal, with twen-
ty privates, prisoners.
While these detachments were engaged, a
column of the enemy descended from the
woods, and marched towards the center of our
lines with a design to make an impression, but
were repulsed. This evening they appeared
very numerous about the skirts of the woods,
where they have pitched several tents ; and
his Excellency inclines to think they mean to
attack and force us from our lines by way of
regular approaches, rather than in any other
manner. To-day five ships of the line came
up towards the town, where they seemed de-
sirous of getting, as they turned a long time
against an unfavorable wind : and, on my re-
turn this evening, I found a deserter from the
Twenty-third Regiment, who informed me that
they design, as soon as tli^ wind will permit
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
753
them to come up, to give us a severe can-
nonade, and to silence our batteries if possible.
I have the honor to be, in great haste. Sir,
your most obedient.
Robert H. Harrison.
As the two generals who commanded the
engagement were taken prisoners, no detailed
official account of the action was ever reported
to the commander-in-chief. The following
letter from Lord Stirling, and extracts from
General Sullivan's, contain a few particulars
not hitherto published. Lord Stirling was a
prisoner on board Lord Howe's ship when he
wrote:
Lord Stirling to General Washington.
E.VGLE, 29 August, 1776.
My Dear General :
I have now an opportunity of informing
you of what has happened to me since I had
the pleasure of seeing you. About three o'clock
in the morning of the 27th I was called up
and informed by General Putnam that the
enemy were advancing by the road from Flat-
bush to the Red Lion, and he ordered me to
march with the two regiments nearest at hand
to meet them. These happened to be Haslet's
and Smallwood's, with which I accordingly
marched, and was on the road to the Narrows
just as the daylight began to appear. We pro-
ceeded to within about half a mile of the Red
Lion, and there met Colonel Atlee with his
regiment, who informed me that the enemv
were in sight ; indeed, I then saw their front
between us and the Red Lion. I desired Col-
onel Atlee to place his regiment on the left
of the road, and to wait their coming up, while
I went to form the two regiments I had
brought with me along the ridge from the road
up to a piece of wood on the top of the hill.
This was done instantly on very advantageous
ground.
Our opponents advanced and were fired
upon in the road by Atlee's regiment, who,
after two or three rounds, retreated to the
v/ood on my left and there formed. By this
time Kichline's riflemen arrived ; part of' them
I placed along a hedge under the front of the
hill, and the rest in the front of the wood.
The troops opposed to me were two brigades
of four regiments each, under the command of
General Grant, who advanced their light troops
to within one hundred and fifty yards of our
right front, and took possession of an orchard
there, and some hedges, which extended to-
wards our left. This brought on an exchange
of fire between those troops and our riflemen,
which continued for about two hours and then
ceased by those light troops retiring to their
main body. In the meantime Captain Car-
penter brought up two field-pieces, which
were placed on the side of the hill so as to
command the road and the only approach for
some hundred yards. On the part of General
Grant there were two field-pieces. One how-
itzer advanced within three hundred yards of
the front of our right, and a like detachment
of artillery to the front of our left. On a ris-
ing ground, at about six hundred yards' dis-
tance, one of their brigades formed in two
lines opposite to our right, and the other ex-
tended in one line to the top of the hills, in the
front of our left.
In this position we stood cannonading each
other till near eleven o'clock, when I found
that General Howe, with the main body of
the army, was between me and our lines, and I
saw that the only chance of escaping being
all made prisoners was to pass the creek near
the Yellow Mills, and, in order to render this
the more practicable, I found it absolutely
necessary to attack the bodv of troops com-
manded by Lord Cornwallis, posted at the
house near the LTpper Mills. This I instantly
did, with about half of Smallwood's regiment ;
first ordering all other troops to make the best
of their way through the creek. We contin-
ued the attack for a considerable time, the men
having been rallied, and the attack renewed
five or six several times, and we were on the
point of driving Lord Cornwallis from his sta-
tion, but large reinforcements arriving, ren-
dered it impossible to do more than provide
for safety. I endeavored to get in between
that house and Fort Box, but, on attempting
it, I found a considerable bodv of troops in my
front, and several in pursuit of me on the
right and left, and a constant firing on me. I
immediately turned the point of a hill, which
covered me from their fire, and was soon out
of the reach of my pursuers. I found that it
would be in vain to attempt to make my escape,
and therefore went to surrender myself to
General de Heister, commander-in-chief of the
Hessians. Wm. Stirling.
General Sullivan to the President of Congress.
Whitemarsh, 25 October, 1777.
I know it has been generally reported that
I commanded on Long Island when the actioa
r54
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
happened there. This is by no means true.
General Putnam had taken the command from
me four days before the action. Lord Stirling
commanded the main body without the lines.
I was to have commanded under General Put-
nam within the lines. I was uneasy about a
road, though which I had often foretold that
the enemy would come, but could not persuade
others to be of my opinion. I went to the hill
near Flatbush to reconnoiter, and with a picket
of four hundred men was surrounded by the
enemy, who had advanced by the very road I
had foretold, and which I had paid horsemen
fifty dollars for patrolling by night while I
had the command, as I had no foot for the pur-
pose.
What resistance I made with these four
hundred men against the British army, I leave
to the officers who were with me to declare.
Let it suffice for me to say, that the opposition
of the small party lasted from half-past nine
to twelve o'clock.
The reason of so few troops being on Long
Island was because it was generally supposed
that the enemy's '.anding there was a feint to
draw our troops thither that they might the
more easily possess themselves of New York.
I often urged, both by word and writing, that,
as the enemy had doubtless both these objects
in view, they would first try for Long Island,
which commanded the other, and then New
York, which was completely commanded by it,
would fall of course. But in this I was un-
happy enough to differ from almost every other
officer in the army till the event proved my
conjectures were just. John Sullivan.
A DEFENCE OF PUTNAM.
The recent publication of an interesting
and valuable life of Gen. Israel Putnam by
W. F. Livingston has called renewed atten-
tion to the hero's share in the disaster to
the Continental arms on Long Island.
Naturally Mr. Livingston defends Putnam
from the charge so often made by contempo-
raries and by later historical writers, that his
military incapacity and his utter ignorance
of civilized military tactics, as well as his
reckless personal bravery, cost his coun-
try a defeat that for a time made the pros-
pects for liberty seem decidedly dark. How-
ever, as the late John Fiske pointed out, the
wonder is not that 5,000 half-trained soldiers
were defeated by 20,000 veterans, but that
they should have given General Howe a hard
day's work in defeating them. The new biog-
rapher of Putnam accepts the statement of the
case made by Prof. Henry P. Johnston : "As
for the generalship of the day, if the responsi-
bility falls on any one, it falls first on Sullivan,
who sent out the mounted patrol in the first
instance, and to whom it belonged to follow
up the precautions in that direction. Putnam
was in chief command, but nothing can be in-
ferred from contemporary writers to fasten
neglect or blunder upon him any more than
upon Washington, who, when he left the
Brooklyn lines on the evening of August 26,
1776, must have known precisely what disposi-
tion had been made for the night at the hills
and passes." Prof. Johnston goes on to say
that the situation seems to have been the fol-
lowing: "On the night of August 26th we
had all the roads guarded. On the morning
of the 27th Putnam promptly re-enforced the
guards on the lower road when the enemy were
announced. The arrangements were such that
if an attack was made at any of the other points
he and Sullivan were to have word of it in
ample time. No word came in time from the
left, for the reason that those* who were to
bring it were captured or surprised or failed
of their duty. Hence the disaster. The dis-
positions on Long Island were quite as com-
plete as those at Brandywine, more than a year
later, where we suffered nearly a similar sur-
prise and as heavy a loss." Under this state of
facts, Prof. Johnston submits that to charge
Putnam with the defeat of August 27 is both
unjust and unhistorical. No one hinted such
a charge at the time; nor did Washington in
the least withdraw his confidence from Putnam
during the remainder of the campaign.
In May, 1777, Putnam was placed in com-
mand of the Hudson Highlands, and contin-
ued to occupy this post until the spring of
1778. Here he by no means gave satisfaction
to the Commander-in-Chief, and, after being
subjected to a court of inquiry, he was super-
seded by General McDougall. The author of
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
755
this book concedes that in the Hudson High-
lands Putnam's military capacity was put to a
severer test than at any previous period of his
life. He did not appreciate how critical was
the state of affairs at the time. He did not
comprehend that Washington must have large
re-enforcements from the northern army to
prevent Howe from removing the obstructions
on the Delaware and opening free communi-
cation between Philadelphia and the British
shipping. In addition to Hamilton's unfavora-
ble report concerning Putnam, General Wash-
ington received numerous complaints from in-
habitants of New York State who found fault
with Putnam's good nature in granting appli-
cations for passports to the city. He had shown,
it was said, an "overshare of complaisance and
indulgence" to Tories, and many of them, un-
der the pretence of urgent business, had gone
into the city and given valuable information
to the British General. Even the fact that
Putnam had exchanged newspapers with some
of the King's officers who had been his com-
rades in the French and Indian war was com-
plained of. Chancellor Robert R. Livingston,
in a letter to Washington, lamented that Put-
nam's patriotism would not suffer him to take
the repose to which his advanced age entitled
him. The Chancellor added : "Unfortunately
for him, the current of popular opinion in this
and the neighboring States, and,, as far as I
can learn, in the troops under his command,
runs strongly against him."
The judgment of the court of inquiry was
favorable to Putnam, who was not reinstated
in his command on the Hudson, however, but
was ordered to Connecticut to superintend the
forwarding of troops.
THE PRISON SHIPS.
General Jeremiah Johnson communicated
the following data to the "Naval Magazine" of
September, 1836: "The subject of the naval
prisoners, and of the British prison ships sta-
tioned in the Wallabout during the Revolution,
is one which cannot be passed by in silence.
From printed journals published in New York
at the close of the war, it appears that eleven
thousand five hundred American prisoners had
died on board the prison ships. Althoug-h the
number is very great, still if the number who
perished had been less the commissary of na-
val prisoners, David Sprout, Esq., and his dep-
uty, had it in their power, by an official return,
to give the true number exchanged, escaped
and dead. Such a return has never appeared
in the United States. This man returned to
America after the war, and resided in Phila-
delphia, where he died. He could not have
been ignorant of the statement published here
on this interesting subject. We may therefore
infer that about that number perished in the
prison ships. A large transport, named the
"Whitby," was the first prison ship anchored
in the Wallabout. She was moored near
"Remsen's Mill," about the 20th of October,
1776, and was crowded with prisoners. Many
landsmen were prisoners on board this vessel.
She was said to be the most sickly of all the
prison ships. Bad provisions, bad water and
scanted rations were dealt to the prisoners.
No medical men attended the sick. Disease
reigned unrelieved, and hundreds died from
pestilence, or were starved, on board this float-
ing prison. I saw the sand-beach between a
ravine in the hill and Mr. Remsen's dock be-
come filled with graves in the course of two
months; and before the ist of May, 1777, the
ravine alluded to was itself occupied in the
same way. In the month of May of that year
two large ships were anchored in the Walla-
bout, when the prisoners were transferred from
the "Whitby" to them. These vessels were
also very sickly, from the causes before stated.
Although many prisoners were sent on board
of them, and were exchanged, death made
room for all. On a Sunday afternoon, about
the middle of October, 1777, one of the prison
ships was burnt; the prisoners, except a few,
who, it was said, were burnt in the vessel,
were removed to the remaining ship. It was
reported at the time that the prisoners had fired
their prison; which, if true, proves that they
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
preferred death, even by fire, to the hngering
sufferings of pestilence and starvation. In the
month of February, 1778, the remaining prison
ship was burnt at night, when the prisoners
were removed from her to the ships then win-
tering in the Wallabout. In the month of
April, 1778, the "Old Jersey" was moored in
the Wallabout, and all the prisoners (except
the sick) were transferred to her. The sick
were carried to two hospital ships, named the
"Hope" and "Falmouth," anchored near each
other about two hundred yards east from the
"Jersey." These ships remained in the Walla-
bout until New York was evacuated by the
British. The "Jersey" was the receiving ship
• — the others, truly, the ships of Death ! It has
been generally thought that all the prisoners
died on board of the "Jersey." This is not
true ; many may have died on board of her
who were not reported as sick, but all the men
who were placed on the sick-list were removed
to the hospital ships, from which they were
usually taken, sewed up in a blanket, to their
long home.
After the hospital ships were brought into
the Wallabout, it was reported that the sick
were attended by physicians ; few, very few,
however, recovered. It was no uncommon
thing to see five or six dead bodies brought
on shore in a single morning; when a small
excavation would be made at the foot of the
hill, the bodies be cast in, and a man with a
shovel would cover them by shoveling sand
down the hill upon them. Many were buried
in a ravine on the hill ; some on the farm. The
whole sihore from Rennie's Point to Mr. Rem-
sen's dock-yard was a place of graves ; as were
also the slope of the hill near the house, the
shore from Mr. Remsen's barn along the mill-
pond to Rapelje's farm and the sandy island,
between the flood-gates and the mill-dam;
while a few were buried on the shore, the east
side of the Wallabout. Thus did Death reign
here, from 1776 until the peace. The whole
Wallabout was a sickly place during the war.
The atmosphere seemed to be charged with
foul air from the prison ships, and with the
effluvia of the dead bodies washed out of their
graves by the tides. We have ourselves ex-
amined many of the skulls lying on the shore ;
from the teeth, they appear to be the remains
of men in the prime of life. A singularly dar-
ing and successful escape was effected from
the "Jersey" about 4 o'clock one afternoon, in
December, 1780. The best boat of the ship,
had returned from New York, was left fast-
ened at the gangway, with the oars on board.
It was stormy ; the wind blew from the north-
east, and the tide ran flood. A watchword
was given, and a number of prisoners placed
themselves between the ship's waist and the
sentinel; at this juncture four eastern captains
got on board the boat, which was cast off by
their friends. The boat passed close under
the bows of the ship, and was a considerable
distance from her before the sentinel on the
forecastle gave the alarm and fired at her. The
boat passed Hell Gate, and arrived safe in
Connecticut next morning.
Suffice it to say, in conclusion, that here
more than eleven thousand American citizens
and soldiers perished, many of whose names
are unknown, and whose suft'erings are buried
in oblivion ! They lingered where no eye of
pity witnessed their agony ; no voice adminis-
tered consolation ; no tongue could praise their
patriotic devotion, or friendly hand be
stretched out for their relief. Here to pass the
weary day and night, unvaried, except by new
scenes of painful endurance and new inflic-
tions of hopeless misery. The hope of death
was to them the only consolation which their
situation afforded.
STORY OF A SURVIVOR OF THE PRISON SHIPS.
The Rev. Thomas Andros, of Berkeley,
Alassachusetts, was a prisoner on the old bat-
tleship "Jersey," and related his experiences
in the following graphic words :
"This was an old sixt^'-four gun ship,,
which through age had become unfit for fur—
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
757
ther actual service. She was stripped of every
spar and all her rigging. After a battle with
a French fleet her lion figurehead was taken
away to repair another ship ; no appearance of
ornament was left, and nothing remained but
an old unsightly, rotten hulk. Her dark and!
filthy external appearance perfectly corres-
ponded with the death and despair that reigned
within; and nothing could be more foreign
from truth than to paint her with colors flying
or any circumstance or appendage to please the
eye. She wasi moored at the Wallabout Bay,
about three-quarters of a mile to the eastward
of Brooklyn Ferry, near a tide-mill en the
Long Island shore. The nearest place to land
was about twenty rods ; and doubtless no other
ship in the British navy ever proved the means
of destruction of so many human beings. It
is computed that not less than eleven thousand
American seamen perished in her. After it
was next to certain death to confine a prisoner
here, the inhumanity and wickedness of doing
it was about the same as if he had been taken
to the city and deliberately shot in some public
square ; but, as if mercy had fled from the
earth, here we were doomed to dwell. And
never, while I was on board, did any Howard
or angel of pity appear, to inquire into or alle-
viate our woes. Once or twice, by the order
of a stranger on the quarter deck, a bag of
apples was hurled promiscuously into the midst
of hundreds of prisoners, crowded together as
thick as they could stand, and life and limbs
were endangered by the scramble. This, in-
stead of compassion, was a cruel sport. When
I saw it about to commence I fled to the most
distant part of the ship.
"On the commencement of the first evening
we were driven down to darkness, between
decks secured by iron gratings and an armed
soldiery, and a scene of horror which baffles
all description presented itself. On every side
wretched, desponding shapes of men could be
seen. Around the well-room an armed guard
were forcing up the prisoners to the winches
to clear the ship of water and prevent her
sinking; and little else could be heard but a
roar of mutual execrations, reproaches and
insults. During this operation there was a
small, dim light admitted below, but it served
to make darkness more visible, and horror
more terrific. In my reflections I said this
must be a complete image and anticipation of
hell. Milton's description of the dark world
rushed upon my mind : —
'Sights of woe, regions of horror doleful,
'Shades where peace and rest can never
dwell.'
"If there was any principle among the pris-
oners that could not be shaken, it was their
love of country. I knew no one to be seduced
into the British service. They attempted to
force one of our prize-brig's crew into the
navy, but he chose rather to die than to per-
form any duty, and was again restored to the
prison-ship.
"When I first became an inmate of this
abode of suffering, despair and death, there
were about four hundred prisoners on board;
but in a short time they amounted to twelve
hundred, and in proportion to our numbers
the mortality increased. All the most deadly
diseases were pressed into the service of the
king of terrors, but his prime ministers were
dysentery, small-pox and yellow fever. There
were two hospital ships near to the old 'Jer-
sey,' but these were soon so crowded with
the sick that they could receive no more. The
consequence was that the diseased and the
healthy were mingled together in the main
ship. In a short time we had two hundred
or more sick and dying lodged in the fore
part of the lower gun deck, where all the
prisoners were confined at night. Utter de-
rangement was a common symptom of yellow
fever ; and, to increase the horror of the dark-
ness that shrouded us (for we were allowed
no light betwixt decks), the voice of warning
would be heard, 'Take heed to yourselves !
There is a madman stalking through the ship
with a knife in his hand !' I sometimes found
758
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the man a corpse in the morning by whose
side I laid myself down at night. At an-
other time he would become deranged and
attempt, in the darkness, to rise, and stumble
over the bodies that everywhere covered the
the deck. In this case I had to hold him in
his place by main strength. In spite of my
efforts he would sometimes rise, and then I
had to close in with him, trip up his heels
and lay him again upon the deck. While so
manv were sick with raging fever there was
a loud cry for water; but none could be had
except on the upper deck, and but one al-
lowed to ascend at a time. The suffering
then from the rage of thirst during the night
was very great. Nor was it at all times safe to
attempt to go up. Provoked by the continual
cry for leave to ascend, when there was one al-
ready on deck, the sentry would push them
back with his bayoret. By one of these thrusts,
which was more spiteful and violent than com-
mon, I had a narrow escape of my life. In
the morning the hatchways were thrown open
and we were allowed to ascend, all at once,
and remain on the upper deck during the
day. But the first object that met our view
was an appalling spectacle — a boat loaded with
dead bodies conveying them to the Long Isl-
and shore, where they were slightly covered
with sand. I sometimes used to stand and
count the number of times the shovel was
filled with sand to cover a dead body; and
certain I am that a few high tides or torrents
of rain must have disinterred them, and had
they not been removed I should suppose the
shore even now would be covered with huge
piles of the bones of American seamen."'
"There were probably four hundred on
board who had never had the small-pox.
Some perhaps might have been saved by in-
oculation, but humanity was wanting to try
even this experiment. Let our disease be
what it would, we were abandoned to our fate.
Now and then an American physician was
brought in as a captive, but if he could ob-
tain his parole he left the ship ; nor could wc
blame him for this, for his own death was
next to certain and his success in saving
others by medicine in our situation was small.
I remember only two American physicians
who tarried on board a few days. No Eng-
lish physician, or any one from the city, ever,
to my knowledge, came near us. There were
thirteen of the crew to which I belonged, but
in a short time all died but three or four. The
most healthy and vigorous were first seized
with the fever and died in a few hours. For
them there seemed to be no mercy. My con-
stitution was less muscular and plethoric, and
I escaped the fever longer than any of the
thirteen except one, and the first onset was
less violent."
Another survivor of these horrors, Cap-
tain Dring, wrote regarding the burial of the
dead from the hulk:
"After landing at a low wharf, which had
been built from the shore, we first went to a
small hut which stood near the wharf, and
was used as a place of deposit for the hand-
barrows and shovels provided for these occa-
sions. Having placed the corpses on the
hand-barrows, and received our hoesi and
shovels, we proceeded to a bank near the
Wallabout. Here a vacant space having been
selected, we were directed to dig a trench in
the sand of a proper length to receive the bod-
ies. We continued our labor till our guards
considered that a proper space had been ex-
cavated. The corpses were then laid into the
trench without ceremony, and we threw sand
over them. The whole appeared to produce
no more impression on our guards than if we
were burying the bodies of dead animalsi in-
stead of men. They scarcely allowed us time
to look about us ; for no sooner had we heaped
the earth above the trench than the order was
given to march. But a single glance was suf-
ficient to show us parts of many bodies which
were exposed to view; although they had
probably been placed there, with the same
mockery of interment, but a few days before.
Having thusi performed, as well as we were
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
759
permitted to do it, the last duty to the dead,
and the guards having stationed themselves
on each side of us, we began reluctantly to re-
trace our steps to the boat. We had enjoyed
the pleasure of breathing for a few moments
the air of our native soil, and the thought of
returning to the crowded prison-ship was ter-
rible in the extreme. As we passed by the
water's side we implored our guards to allow
us to bathe, or even to wash ourselves for a
few' minutes; but this was refused us. I was
the only prisoner of our party who wore a pair
of shoes; and well recollect the circumstance
that I took them from my feet for the pleas-
ure of feeling the earth, or rather the sand, as
I went along. It was a high gratification to us
to bury our feet in the sand and to shove
them through it, as we passed on our way.
We went by a small patch of turf, some pieces
of which we tore up from the earth and ob-
tained permission to carry them on board for
our comrades to smell them ! =■' * * Having
arrived at the hut we there deposited our im-
plements and walked to the landing-place,
where wc prevailed on our guards, who were
Hessians, to allow us the gratification of re-
maining nearly half an Iiour before we re-
entered the boat.
"Near us stood a house, occupied by a
miller ; and we had been told that a tide-mill,
which he attended, was in the immediate
vicinity, as a landing place for which the
wharf where we stood had been erected. It
would have afforded me a high degree of
pleasure to have been permitted to enter this
dwelling, the probable abode of harmony and
peace. It was designated by the prisoners by
the appellation of the 'Old Dutchman's,' and
its very walls were viewed by us with feelings
of veneration, as we had been told that the
amiable daughter of its owner had kept a reg-
ular account of the number of bodies which
had been brought on shore for interment from
the Jersey and the hospital ships. This could
easily be done in the house, as its' windows
commanded a fair view of the landing place.
We were not, however, gratified on this occa-
sion, either by the sight of herself or of any
other inmate of the house. Sadly did we ap-
proach and re-enter our foul and disgusting
place of confinement. The pieces of turf which
we carried on board were sought for by our
fellow-prisoners with the greatest avidity,
every fragment being passed by them frqm
hand to hand, and its' smell inhaled, as if it
had been a fragrant rose."
FURMAK'S LIST OF ANCIENT NAMES
OF PLACES.
Gabriel Furman, writing in the year 1824,
gives the following 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. Gowanus, which still retains the same
name.
i66y. Cripplebush, which still retains the
same name.
1686. \\'allaboght, which still retains the
same name.
1686. Marchwick, and in 1722 called Mar-
tyr's' Hook, which was the point of land
forming the present United States Navy
Yard.
1^189. Lubbertse's Neck, 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 during his life. In 1690 the
same place was called Graver's Kill. This
place was recently known as Cornell's Red
]\Iills, and is about five hundred feet north
of the Atlantic dock.
1700. Gowanus 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 planta-
tions were divided, by particular names, and
these names they retained for many years.
Thus in this town, near the road leading from
Brooklyn Ferry to Flatbush, were the "Geele
Water's Caump," the "Erste Caump of Der-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
rick"s land," the "Kline Caump," the "Twede
Caump of Derrick's land," the "Middleste
Caump," the "Benen Caump," and the "Ag-
terse Caump."
IN THE TOWN OF MIDWOUT, OR FLATBUSH.
1660 Canarsee Landing, Canarsee Woods,
which places still retain the same names.
1679 Third Kill.
1687. Minsehoele Hole.
1698. Rush Swamp.
IN THE TOWN OF BUSIIWICK.
1690. The Norman Kill.
IN THE TOW.N OF AMERSFORT, OR FLATLANDS.
1636.
Kaskutensukin, the
westernmost
of land of the three flats.
1646.
Mutelar's Island.
1687.
Stroom Kill.
1687.
Turianses Hook.
1687.
Fries Hook.
1690.
Hogg"s Neck.
1694.
Albertse's Island.
1695.
Mavise land.
1704.
Fresh Kill.
1711.
P.estevaar's Kill.
1712.
Craven Valley.
IN THE TOWN OF NEW UTRECHT.
1660. Nayack, which name it still retains.
1685. The Fountain at Yellow Hook.
1690. Turk's Plantation, afterwards called
Bruynenbergh.
1692
1693
1695
1697.
1698
1704
1718
1718,
1718.
IN THE TO\A'N OF GR.VVESEND.
Hoogh Penne Neck.
Gysbert's' Island.
Ambrose Strand.
Garretsen's Neck.
Cellars Neck.
Great Woods.
Harbie's Gat.
Brown "s Creek.
Robin Povneer's Patent.
IN THE TOWN OF NEWTON.
1656. The west branch of Mespatt Kills,
■called Qiiandus Qitaricus.
Dosoris. the name of a jjlace 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 be-
ing a scholar, called it Dos U.voris, the Wife's
Gift, which the people subsequently corrupted
to its present name of Dosoris.
Quogiic, in Suffolk county, is probably a
corruption of the Indian name of a favorite
shell-fish known to us as the clam, Quohaug —
these shell-fish having been very abundant, and
probably of a choice kind, as is indicated by the
immense ancient shell banks in all the sur-
rounding region. At this olace is the only point
from which the Great South Beach can be
reached on foot from the mainland of the
island, for the immense stretch of coast reach-
ing from Fire Island to the inlet of Shinecoc
Bay. In all other places \'ou 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 succeed in
reaching the beach alive, they will find no shel-
ter there, and' having from ten to twenty miles
of water to cross before thev can experience
any relief, and their boats being almost in-
variably destroyed or lost in the shipwreck, if
the stormi is very heavy and the cold severe,
as is frequently the case, they perish from the
exposure. It may be asked by those not ac-
quainted with this beach. Why is this not pro-
vided against? The answer is, It is almost, if
not quite impossible to do so, the character of
the beach being such, and the distance from
the mainland, and the difficulties and dangers
of communication often so great that men
could not live there at the times when their
services would be most required. The forma-
tion and position of this beach is, however
such that the great loss of life is usually sus-
tained before the shipwrecked persons have
the chance of reaching the land, from the im-
mense 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
FAMILIES IN BROOKI
Ancient
Modern.
Courten.
Deflforest,
Deforest.
Ffilkin.
Gulick.
Hansen ,
Johnson.
Harsen.
Houghawout,
Lefiferts.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Ancient. Modern.
Abranse.
Aerson.
Amertman, Amernian.
Blaw.
Beeckman, Beekman.
Casperse.
Dehart.
Depotter.
Ewetse.
Hooghland.
Janse, Johnson.
Jarisse.
Jurian.se.
Lanibertse, Lambertson and Lamberson.
LeFoy.
Lubbertse.
Middagfh.
Scliaers.
Seberingh.
Symonse. Simonson.
Staats.
Van Cortlandt.
"\^an Eckellen.
(Jf all these families there are now but
seven remaining in Brooklyn, viz.: Beekman,
Deforest, Johnson, Lambertson, Lefferts, Mid-
dagh and Simonson. Within the last five or
si.x years the emigration from Continental
Europe has brought back some of the old
names as in New York, merchants of the name
of Courten. The name of Middagh is Dutch,
and means, in English, midday or nocn.
NE\\' UTRECHT.
Ancient. Modern.
Van Westervelt.
Mattyse, Martense.
Coorten.
Salom.
Smack, original of ]\Iartense.
A'an Thinhoven.
GR.-WESEXn.
Garretse, Garretson and Gerritson.
Remmerson, Remson.
FLATL.VNDS.
Tiehuynon, Terhune.
Lucasse.
Kenne.
Elbertse.
Harmanse.
BUSHWICK.
Aneienf.
Vanderschaez.
Schamp.
Lovsen.
Ditmarse,
Model
FLATBQSH.
Ditmas.
The practice of giving people what would
now be called nicknames, by which they be-
came known, not only to the public generally,
but also in the official records, was very com-
mon under the Dutch Colonial Government,
and it also continued for a considerable period
under the English administration in this col-
ony. In 1644, in the Dutch records we have
John Pietersen, alias Friend John. In the
Newton purchase from the Indians, dated
April 12, 1656, one of the boundaries is, "by a
Dutchman's land called Hans the Boore;" and
in the Bushwick patent, dated October 12,
1667, one of the boundaries is "John the
Swedes Meadow." In 1695, in the Kings
County records a man is named living at Go-
wanus, as "Tunis the Fisher."
And we also find that by the record* of the
Common Council of the City of New York, on
the 25th of r^Iarch, 1691, they ordered that "fish
be brought into the dock, over against the City
Hall [then standing in Pearl street, at the head
of Coenties slip] , or the house that Long Mary
formerly lived in."
Andi also on the gth of April, in the same
year, they directed "that Old Bush deliver into
the hands of the treasurer the scales and
weights that he hath in his hands belonging to
the city, being first satisfied for the making of
them."
Again, on the same day, the order "that
Top Knot Betty and her children be provided
for as objects of charity, and four shillings a
week allowed." And further, that "the treas-
urer let Scarebouch have a new suit, and as-
sist him in what's wanting."
All the preceding orders, from the date of
April 9th, inclusive, were made in one day, so
that cur city functionaries of that period seem
to have had a most charitable disposition, as
well as a strange propensity for giving nick-
names to people. But we are not yet dtone;
this Common Council were not so mean as to
apply such nicknames to those only to whom
they afforded charitable relief, as some might
otherwise suppose — they also used them when
J&2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
discharging their debts. Thus, on the 8th of
December, i6gi, the cit}' records contain an
order that "the treasurer pay Enghsh Smith,
ii, 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
Common Council of a city to place such names
upon the public records, yet we have seen that
this practice extended to the highest function-
aries of the Colonial Government, and that the
Governors, both Dutch and English, used it in
their patents for towns, and other official docu-
ments. The explanation of it. in many cases,
undoubtedly 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 them-
selves know it, and that which now appears
like a nickname was from necessity adopted
as a means of distinguishing them, and was
usually taken from some personal characteris-
tic, 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
sometimes become changed in this country is
truly curious. There was previous to the mid-
dle of the last century, among the Dutch set-
tlers in the southern part of this colony, and
particularly upon Long Island, a regular sys-
tematic change of the family name with every
generation, so that the son never bore the fam-
ily name of his father; thus, if the father's
name was Lefifert Jansen, and he had a son
named Jacobus, this son's name would not be
Jansen, but it would be written Jacobus Lef-
fertsen. Suppose the old gentleman would
have a grandson by his son, who was christened
Gerrit, his whole name would be Gerrit Jacob-
sen. Thus we would have in the three genera-
tions of that one single family, the following
different names, viz. :
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
they preserved their family names from the
first settlement, and many of them may there-
fore be traced back without difficulty. "
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 Feyerston, was obliged, in pursuit of for-
tune, to settle amongst some Germans in the
western part of the State of New York. They
translated his name literally into German and
called him Fourstein. On his returning to an
English neighborhood his new acquaintances
discovered that Fourstein, in German, meant
Flint in English ; they translated, instead of
restoring his name, and the descendants of
Feyerston go by the name of Flint to this day.
I ought, however, says Mr. Livingston, to ex-
cept one of his grandsons who settled at the
Acadian coast, on the Mississippi, whose name
underwent the fate of the rest of the family;
he was called, by a literal translation into'
French, Pierre-a-fusil, and his eldest son re-
turning to the family clan, his name underwent
another transformation, and he was called Pe-
ter 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' ist 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 also 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 Stephenson, the former Governor of that
island, observes : "In naming his children, the
Stiftsamptman (Governor), as well as his
sons, have abolished the custom, which is other-
wise, I believe, very general in Iceland, of call-
ing the child after the Christian name of the
father, with the addition sen or son to it ; thus
the son of the Etatsroed (Chief Justice) JNIag-
nus Stephenson ought by this rule to have been
Magnusen, to which any Christian name might
be subjoined. If it had been Olaf Magnusen,
his son would bear the name of Olavsen, or
rather Olafsen, as I believe it is generally writ-
ten. The females had the addition of datter
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 fam-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
768
ilies, and also in examining our old records, as
there are but few who are conversant with
this peculiarity in their change of names. Thus,
amongst the Dutch the original name of the
present family of the Lefferts was Hougha-
wout. Lefi'ert Houghawout's son James was
called Jacobus Leffertsen, or Leffertse, as it
was often written, dropping the letter n ; and
when this custom was abolished about the mid-
dle of the last century, this latter name Lef-
fertse 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 be-
came the present name of Martense, although
as now written only within the last half cen-
tury. This is also the origin of the present
family names of Johnson, or Jansen (which are
both the same name), Remsen, Gerritsen. etc.
It is strange that such a custom should have
been identically the same with those two dif-
ferent nations; but it shows their common
origin.
Upon this island, and especially in the cen-
tral 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 distinguish
the various original families by some peculiar
name. Thus we have the Rock Smiths ; the
Blue Smiths; the Bull Smiths; the Weight
Smiths, and the Tangier Smiths. Of the Rock
Smiths there are two distinct families: one
originally settled between Rockaway and
Hempstead, some ten or fifteen years before
the settlement of the first white inhabitant in
Setauket, who derived their name from their
contiguity to Rockaway ; and the other located
themselves in Brookhaven, and obtained their
appellation from their ancestor erecting his
dwelling against a large rock which still re-
mains in the highway of that town. The Blue
Smiths were settled in Queens county, and ob-
tained their peculiar designation from a blue
cloth coat worn by their ancestor ; whether be-
cause a cloth coat was then an uncommon thing
in the neighborhood, 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 families of the name of
Smith upon this island; it is said that there
are now at least one thousand males of that
branch on this island. The ancestor of this
branch of the Smith family was Major Rich-
ard Smith, who came from England to New
England, with his father Richard, in the early
part of the seventeenth century ; and afterward
came to the island and became the patentee of
Smithtown. The sobriquet of this class of
Smiths is said to have arisen from the circum-
stance of the ancestor having trained and used
a bull in place of a horse for riding. The
Weight Smiths derived their name from being
possessed of the only set of scales and weights
in the neighborhood of their residence, to which
all the farmers of the country around resorted
for the purpose of weighing anything they
wished to sell or buy; at least so says the tra-
dition. 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 col-
ony in the summer of the year 1686, where he
settled in the town of Brookhaven, on the Neck
known as Little Neck, and afterward as
Strong's N'eck, which, together with his other
purchases, were erected into a manor by the
name of St. George's Manor, by a patent grant-
ed to him in 1693, by Governor Fletcher. Most
of the Tangier Smiths are now in that town,
scattered through 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 were regular family names ; so that when
any inquiry 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 Rock breed, or the Bull breed, etc. : and
if the person desiring the information could say
which breed, he at once was told of his resi-
dence. 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 New York a
negro man named Harry, who lived with him,
with his son, and then with his grandson, and
died at Smithtown in the month of December,
1758, aged at least one hundred and twenty
years. This remarkable individual said he
could remember when there were but very few
houses in the city of New York ; his memory
n:ust have extended back to the administration
of the Dutch Governor Kieft. His health and
764
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
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 hun-
dred 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 New York, it is stated that an
obituary article appeared in a newspaper, print-
ed in 1739, of the death of a negro man at
Smithtown, on Long Island, reputed to have
heen one hundred and forty years old; who
declared that he well remembered when there
were but three houses in New York. The
memory of this man must therefore have ex-
tended back to the founding of New Amster-
dam, in the year 1626, as New York was then
called, and he must have come into this coun-
try with some of the first Dutch settlers.
BROOKLYN SURVIVORS OF THE
MEXICAN WAR.
It is singular that in 1901 no fewer than
thirty-five survivors of the Mexican war were
still resident in Brooklyn, and nearly all, if
we may judge by their portraits, hale and
Iiearty old gentlemen, and several of them still
engaged actively in business. Their names and
the regiments in which they served are as fol-
lows :
T. W. Barnum, Company A, First Louisi-
ana Volunteers ; A. Nelson Bell, Naval Sur-
geon ; Anthony Bassey, LTnited States Steam-
ship "Ohio ;" Charles Blohm, Permanent Par-
ty; C. M. Brower, Company F, First New
York Volunteers ; Othneal Bush, United States
Steamship "Princeton ;" R. D. Buttle, United
States Marine Battalion ; Jacob Clute, Siege
Train ; E. B. Cole, Company C, Second United
States Artillery ; William Coler, Company B,
Second Ohio Volunteers; Hugh Conner, ]\Ia-
rine Corps ; John Cornock, Company E, Third
United States Dragoons; John Da Silva, LTni-
ted States Steamship "Savannah ;" John Dick,
Company I, First New York Volunteers; C.
H. Farrell, Company I, First New York Vol-
unteers ; James C. Foote, LTnited States Steam-
ship "Columbus ;"' John H. Foote, United
States Steamship "Columbus ;" J. S. Gallagher,
Company A, Second Maryland Volunteers ; C.
Herrschaft, Company H, First United States
Artillery ; F. W. Jennings, Company E, First
LTnited States Infantry; Edward Kast, United
States Steamship "Raritan ;" Robert T. Kirk,
Company K, First New York Volunteers ;
Julius Lucas, United States Steamship "Cum-
berland;" Hubert Oberly, Company G, Sev-
enth United States Infantry ; F. E. Pinto, Com-
pany D, First New York Volunteers; David
Randall, Recruiting Office; John Ritter, Uni-
ted .States Steamship "St. Mary's;" H. T.
Spencer, United States Steamship "Vesuvius;"
Samuel C. Stores, Company A, Tenth United
States Infantry ; E. Sullivan, Company I, First
Rhode Island Volunteers; L. Thomas, Com-
pany F, First Pennsylvania Volunteers; D.
Van Auken, United States Steamship "Inde-
pendence;" Van Bokkelen, Seventh United
States Infantry; John Weeks, United States
Steamship "Cumberland;" J. Williams, United
States Steamship "Vesuvius."
The following details regarding some of
these veterans are taken from an article in
"The Brooklyn Eagle" of February 17, 1901 :
By far the most important military organ-
ization that was recruited in this vicinity for
service in Mexico was the First New York
\^olunteers, under the command of Colonel
Ward B. Burnett, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles
Baxter, who was killed at Chapultepec, and
Major J. C. Burnham. On May 19, 1846, the
President served a requisition on Governor
Fish for seven regiments to be organized and
held in readiness for service. On November
16 of the same year a regiment was called
for, and ColoneL Burnett's being the first or-
ganization, was chosen for the service.
The surviving members of the First New
York \'olunteers are General Francis E. Pin-
to, Charles H. Farrell, Charles M. Brower,
Robert Kirk and John Dick. General Pinto
enlisted as second lieutenant in the First
Regiment, New York Volunteers, and is the
only surviving commissioned officer of
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
r65.
the regiment. He was brevetted a captain
and assisted in planting the only regimental
flag on the walls of Chapultepec. General
Pinto was a close friend of Lieutenant Mayne
Raid, who became famous as a writer of boys'
stories, they being officers in the same regiment.
The General raised a regiment for service in
the Civil war, during which he rose to the
rank of brigadier-general. He has written a
history of the Mexican campaign and the Re-
bellion, which he has not published. He is not
now actively engaged in business.
Charles M. Brower, who lives at 1 105 Bed-
ford avenue, was one of the original members
of the regiment, and enlisted in Company F.
One of his most conspicuous services during
the war was the recovery for burial of the body
of a comrade who had been murdered by the
Mexicans in the rear of the American army.
Mr. Brower was twenty years old when he^
enlisted. He rose to the rank of sergeant.
Charles H. Farrell enlisted in Company I,
of the First New York Volunteers, and served
through the entire war. He contributed letters
to the Herald during the Alexican war, and at
the outbreak of the Civil war became its regu-
lar correspondent. For years Mr. Farrell was
the city editor of that paper, and is now clerk
of the Supreme Court in this borough. Mr.
Farrell, who is seventy-two years old, resides
on Gates avenue.
Robert Kirk enlisted in Company K, of the
same regiment, at the age of twenty-three, but
being detailed for recruiting service at Fort''
Hamilton, he was unable to sail with the rest
of the troops. He did duty as a recruiting ser-
geant until August 10, 1847, when he joined
his regiment in Mexico. Mr. Kirk has retired
from business and lives at his home on Stuy-
vesant avenue. He is seventy-six years old
and a well-preserved man.
John Dick enlisted in Company I, with the
original regiment, and was connected for a
time with the quartermaster's department. Mr.
Dick is in poor health and somewhat feeble.
Edward Kast, who is nearly eighty-two
years of age and still hale and hearty, followed'
the sea all the early years of his life, and at the
outbreak of the Mexican war he was serving
in the United States Navy on the frigate "Rar-
itan,"' under the command of Coinmodore
Gregory. Before the beginning of actual hos-
tilities his vessel was dispatched to Point Isa-
bel, and he, among others, was sent ashore to
join General Taylor's division, which took part
in the battle of Palo Alto. Mr. Kast remained
with the American forces until the end of the
war, when he embarked in the merchant serv-
ice. He now conducts a cigar store on Met-
ropolitan avenue.
Julius Lucas shipped on the "Falmouth"
when that vessel sailed for Vera Cruz with the
United States Minister. This was in 1844,
when Mr. Lucas was about sixteen years of
age. Shortly after this. Commander Forrest,,
who was a friend^ of Mr. Lucas' father, had
the young man transferred to his own vessel,
the frigate "Cumberland." He was at the
siege of Vera Cruz, the engagement of Eldo-
rado, and later was sent ashore to join the
land forces at Tobasco. Mr. Lucas marched
into Vera Cruz by the side of Commander
Forrest. He is seventy-three years old, and has
retired from business.
John Ritter joined the merchant service
when he was but seventeen years old, and fol-
lowed it for a decade, when he entered the
LTnited States Navy. He served on the United
States steamship "St. Mary's," the famous
"hanging ship" (so called because a man was
hanged at the yard arm for striking an officer),
during the Mexican war, and took part in the
siege of Vera Cruz. He is not only the oldest
retired gunner in the Navy, but the oldest
Mexican war veteran in Brooklyn. He works
every day in the Department of Arrears in
the Controller's office, and, although eighty-six
years old, he writes a beautiful hand.
A. Nelson Bell, the editor of the Sanitarian,
was a naval surgeon during the war with Mex-
ico, and the last one who survives. ]Mr. Bell
went to Vera Cruz with Farragut, and was ia
76(3
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the wreck off the coast of ]\Iexico when two
commanders were lost. He floated out to sea
on two oars, and, after terrible suffering, was
picked up by a passing vessel. He served on
six different vessels during the war.
Anthony Bassey, who is quite feeble, is one
of the few sailors who served on the Pacific
coast. John Da Silva was also in the Pacific.
They both served on the "Savannah," and Mr.
Bassey was also on the "Ohio." Mr. Da Silva
is a Portuguese, and was born in Madeira.
James Williams, who lives at 33 Devoe
street, and Hiram T. Spencer, of 555 Tenth
street, were both on the United States steam-
ship "Vesuvius." John H. Foote and James
C. Foote, who are brothers, were on the ship
"Columbus," doing blockade duty at Monterey.
They were under the command of Commodore
Bidel, and afterward circumnavigated the
world in this vessel. Othneal Bush, who is
employed in the Navy Yard, served during the
war on the "Princeton." .Daniel Van Auken
was stationed on the Pacific coast in the "In-
dependence," under Commodore Schubert. Mr.
Van Auken is seventy-five years old, and has
retired from business. John Weeks, who is
the only colored survivor of the Mexican war
in Brooklyn, was on the old frigate "Cumber-
land."
The other veterans in this borough were
enlisted in the regulars or the volunteer regi-
ments of other States. There is one member
of the Marine Battalion, one of the Third
Dragoons, one of the First and one of the Sec-
ond Artillery, several in the infantry, and one
each of the volunteer regiments of Ohio, Penn-
sylvania, Rhode Island and Maryland. There
is also a musician, a member of the Permanent
Party and one of the Ordnance Department.
John Cornock, who belonged to Company
E, Third United States Dragoons, has the rep-
utation among his fellow veterans of being one
of the most recklessly brave fighters of the
war. Mr. Cornock is very reticent about his
own feats, but his regiment saw some of the
severest fighting of the war. Mr. Cornock has
led a very romantic career since the war with
Mexico. Many of his personal experiences in
Mexico are thrilling and entertaining, and his
narrow escape from capture by Indians in
crossing the continent, his services in the Cali-
fornia Vigilante troubles and his subsequent
life prove him to have been a seeker of adven-
tures. Mr. Cornock has retired from business
and lives at 114 Fourth avenue.
Robert D. Buttle is the only survivor of the
Marine Battalion in this borough. He enlist-
ed in this/ organization on May 24, 1847, an<^
sailed in the "Atlas" on June 4 of the same
year, arriving at Vera Cruz in the early part
of July. His company was engaged in the
battles of Pueblo, Contreras and Churubusco,
and at the storming of Chapultepec. Mr. But-
tle was wounded at the capture of the city of
Mexico, and lay there eight months before he
had recovered sufliciently to be removed. He
is now seventy-three years old, and conducts
a restaurant in Court street.
Charles Blohm was a member of the Hano-
verian army in Europe, and on account of his
training was selected for a body of troops
known as the Permanent Party. They enlisted
for any service until the end of the war, but
were quartered at Governor's Island till the
declaration of peace. Ebenezer B. Cole enlisted
in Company C, of the Second United States
Artillery, during the Mexican war, and for
years after was a captain in the Rhode Island
Militia. Mr. Cole is seventy-two years old and
has retired. Jacob Clute was. connected with
the Ordnance Department under General
Stone, and was attached to Scott's army. Mr.
Clute lives at 207 Halsey street, and has re-
tired. David Randall, who lives at 277 Eight-
eenth street, was a musician during the Mexi-
can war. Mr. Randall is seventy-six years old.
Coley Herrschaft occupies the unique posi-
tion of being the youngest Mexican war vet-
eran. He enlisted in the First Artillery, Feb-
ruary 10, 1845, at Governor's Island, and
fought under the forces of General Taylor.
Mr. Herrschaft was but twelve vears old when
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
767
he became a soldier. He served part of the
time in Company H and afterward in the regi-
mental band, his regiment being the last to
leave A'era Cruz. He received his discharge
after a service of five years, and this docu-
ment places his age at that time at seventeen.
William Coler is the only representative
of the Ohio troops in this city. Mr. Coler was
in Company B, of the Second Regiment of
Ohio Volunteers, under the command of Colo-
nel Morgan. Mr. Coler was elected a ser-
geant, but resigned the office to become clerk
to the colonel of the regiment. He is best re-
membered as the father of Controller Bird S.
Coler and the head of the banking firm of W.
N. Coler & Company.
John S. Gallagher belonged to Company A,
of the Second Regiment of Maryland Volun-
teers, under the command of Colonel Hughes.
This regiment captured and held the National
Bridge and acted as a part of the body guard
of Santa Ana after his surrender.
Eugene Sullivan enlisted in Company I, of
the only regiment of Rhode Island Volunteers,
under the command of Colonel Clemens. This
regiment formed a part of General Scott's
army. Lafayette Thomas, who is quite ill at
present, was a member of Company F, of the
First Pennsylvania Volunteers. Captain John
Bennett commanded the company and Colonel
Wynkoop the regiment. Mr. Thomas was one
of the organizers of the Scott Legion in Phila-
delphia.
Samuel C. Stores enlisted in the Tenth
United States Infantry, raised under the ten
regiment bill. The regiment was commanded
by Colonel Temple and was a part of Taylor's
army, but was never engaged in any battles.
William K. Van Bokkelen belonged to the
Seventh Regiment of the same body of troops.
He is a West Point graduate, and served in the
Mexican war as a second lieutenant. Mr. Van
Bokkelen is seventy-nine years old and isl en-
gaged in the real estate business.
Hubert Oberly enlisted in the Seventh Uni-
ted States Infantry in 1840. He served all
through the Mexican war, part of the time with
Taylor's army and later with the army of Gen-
eral Scott. j\Ir. Hubert was in the Florida
war, the Rebellion, and fought Indians on the
frontier for ten years. His service in the army
lasted for twenty-five years, and he was for
thirty-two years on the police force.
Hugh Connor was a member of the Marine
Corps. He sailed for Vera Cruz in the "Mon-
terey," and was in the rear of Scott's army.
Mr. Connor is seventy-one years old and has
retired from business.
T. W. Barnum, of 118 Prospect place,
served in Company A, Captain R. R. Mace,
First Regiment Louisiana Volunteers, under
the command of Colonel L. G. DeRuse, of
New Orleans.
GLEANINGS FROM EARLY HISTO-
RIANS.
Thompson's account of kings county.
For purposes of comparison, and showing
the wonderful advance made by Kings county
in little over half a century, we reprint the
entire story of the county and its towns given
in Thompson's "History of Long Island," first
edition, 1839:
Town of Biishzuick.
This town is situated in the northeast ex-
tremity of Kings county, is bounded westerly
by the East river, northerly by Maspeth or
Newtown creek, easterly by Newtown and
southerly by Brooklyn, and that part of Flat-
bush called New Lots. Its area is 3,860 acres,
of which a greater, portion is under cultiva-
tion ; its proximity to the cities of Brooklyn
and New York rendering it valuable in a high
degree. The precise period of its settlement
is not satisfactorily ascertained, but is be-
lieved to have been some years later than
Brooklyn and the more southern towns. It
was commenced by the Dutch, who were
joined, many years after, by a number of
Huguenot families, whose descendants are nu-
merous and respectable in this and the neigh-
boring towns. The name is of Dutch origin,
indicating that the territory was remarkable
res
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
for the woods which covered its surface in
early times. There are some families here
who can trace their ancestry back nearly two
hundred vears, and as possessing at that period
the identical lands now in the occupation of
their descendants. The increase in popula-
tion in this part of the country was so small
as not to acquire its municipal character be-
fore the year 1648, at which time application
was made to the governor for a patent or
ground-brief. One was accordingly issued,
under which the inhabitants remained till
the conquest of New Netherlands in 1664.
The government having now fallen into other
hand's and many considerable defects existing
in the charter ' granted by Governor Stuy-
vesant, the people of Bushwick, in 1666, at a
town meeting assembled for the purpose, ap-
pointed a committee to wait upon Governor
NicoUs, "to solicit him for a new patent, and to
request that therein the boundaries of their
plantation might be more expressly defined
and set forth."
This patent was obtained on the 25th of Oc-
tober, 1667, wherein, among other things, the
limits and bounds of the town are set forth in
the words following:
"Bounded with the mouth of a certain
creeke or kill, called Maspeth-Kill, right over
against Dominie-Hook, soe their bounds goe
to David Jocham's Hook; ihen stretching upon
a south-east line along the said Kill, they come
to Smith's Island, including the same, together
with all the meadow-ground or valley there-
unto belonging; and continuing the same
course, they 'pass along by the ffence at the
wood-side, soe to Thomas Wandall's meadow,
from whence, stretching upon a south-east by
south line, along the woodland to the Kills,
taking in the meadow or valley there ; then
pass along near upon a south-east by south
line six hundred rod into the woods ; then run-
ning behind the lots as the woodland lyes,
south-west by south ; and out of the said woods
they goe again north-west, to a certain small
swamp ; from thence they run behind the New
Lotts, to John, the Sweede's-meadow ; then
over the Norman's-Kill, to the west end of
his old house, from whence they goe alongst
the river, till you come to the mouth of Mas-
peth-Kill and David Jocham's Hook, whence
they first began."
From the organization of the town till the
year 1690, it was for certain civil purposes as-
sociated with the other towns in the county,
except Gravesend, constituting a separate dis-
trict under the appellation of the "Five Dutch
Towns ;" and for which a secretary or register
was specially commissioned by the governor,
whose duty it was to take the proof of wills,
of marriage settlements, also the acknowledg-
ment of •"Transcripts," or conveyances, and
many of tlie more important contracts and
agreements ; all of which were required to be
recorded. This office was, in 1674, held by
Nicasius de Sille, who had once held the office
of attorney-general under the administration
of Stuyvesant. These five towns likewise
formed but one ecclesiastical congregation, and
joined in the support of their ministers in
common. The inhabitants, with few excep-
tions, professed the doctrines promulgated at
the synod of Dort in 1618, most of whose reso-
lutions are still adhered to in the Reformed
Dutch churches. These churches were at that
period, and for a long time after, governed
by the classis of Amsterdam, and so contin-
ued till about the year 1772, when the Ameri-
can churches repudiated any dependence upon
the mother church, and established classes and
synods of their own, on the model of the
church of Holland. In the year 1662. accord-
ine to one authority, the dwellings in this town
did not exceed twenty-five, and were located on
the site of the village of Bushwick, which,
with the Octagon church, built in 1720, were
enclosed by palisades, as most of the other
settlements were. In the minutes of the court
of sessions is the following entry :
"At a Court of Sessions, held at Flatbush
for Kings County, May 10, 1699. Uppon the
desire of the inhabitants of Breucklyn, that
according to use and order every three yeare
the limmitts betweene towne and towne must
be runn, that a warrant or order may be given,
that upon the 17th day oflf May, the line and
bounds betwixt said towns of Breucklyn and
Boswyck shall be run according to their pat-
tents or agrements. Ordered, That an order
should be past according to theire request."
The population of this town was very in-
considerable at the time of the Revolution com-
pared with other parts of the county ; yet they
suffered greatly from the depredations of the
enemy. They were particularly exposed to the
invaders, who made, of course, an indiscrim-
inate destruction of whatever their caprice or
revenge dictated. The nearness of its forests
to the garrison and barracks of New York
and Brooklyn led to the entire waste of the
valuable timber which abounded at the com-
mencement of the contest. On the return of"
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
the owners to their homes at the close of the
war, they found not only the woods and fences
destroyed, but their dwelHn^s, in many in-
stances, greatly deteriorated in value.
On the 1 2th of ^Nlay, 1664, the magistrates
of this town sentenced one John Van Lyden,
convicted of publishing a libel, to be fastened
to a stake, with a bridle in his mouth, eight
rods under his arm, and a label on his breast
with the words, "writer of lampoons, false
accuser, and defamer of magistrates," upon it,
and then to be banished from the colon}'. An
instance also occurred, of a clergyman, who
had improperly married a couple, being sen-
tenced to "flogging and banishment," but
which, on account of the advanced age of the
delinquent, was mitigated by the governor to
lianishment only. Another person, convicted
of theft, was compelled to stand for the space
of three hours under a gallows, with a rope
around his neck and an empty scabbard in his
hands. In 1664 permission was given by the
town to Abraham Janson to erect a mill on
jMaspeth Kill, which was probably the first
water-mill built within the town, and for
grinding of the town's grain he was to receive
the "customary duties." November 12, 1695,
the court of sessions of Kings county made
an order "That Mad James should be kept at
the expense of the county, and that the deacons
of each towne within the same doe forthwith
meet together, and consider about their proper-
cons for maintainence of said James."
The village of Williamsburgh is not only
the principal settlement, but contains within its
corporate limits more than two-thirds of the
whole population of the town. This flourish-
ing village was, till within a few years, an in-
considerable place, although it was com-
menced, by a few spirited individuals, nearly
thirty years ago, by erecting a few houses and
establishing a ferry between it and the foot
of Grand street. At this period the houses
on the New York side, in the vicinity of the
ferry, were scattering ; .and where extensive
blocks of buildings and a large population now
exist, was then, in a great measure, an open
field of broken ground ; and a general want of
confidence in the project of making this a
place of business, retarded its operations and
prevented its growth. In the year 1817 a
ferry-boat, impelled by horse power, gave a
new impulse to Williamsburgh, and it began
to assume an importance before unknown.
Still, the main current of travel was by way
of Brooklyn, and the progress of improvement
here w-as slow and gradual. At that time the
road leading to the ferry was the principal
thoroughfare of the village, and where there
are now wide and handsome streets partially
built upon, were then cultivated fields, or-
chards, etc. Such was the state of things, in
a great degree, when the first act of incorpora-
tion was obtained, April 14, 1827, which
proved, in fact, a new and important era in the
increase and prosperity of the village. The
territory embraced in the act is as follows :
"Beginning at the bay or river opposite the
town of Brooklyn, and running thence easterly
along the division line between the towns of
Bushwick and Brooklyn to the land of Abra-
ham A. Remsen ; thence northerly by the same
to a road or highway at a place called Sweed's
Fly ; thence by the said highway to the dwell-
ing-house late of John Vandervoort, deceased :
thence in a straight line northerly, to a small
ditch or creek, against the meadow of John
Skillman ; thence by said creek to Norman's
Kill ; thence by the middle or center of Nor-
man's Kill to the East river; thence by the
same to the place of beginning." The first
trustees appointed in this act were Noah
Waterbury, John Miller, Abraham Meserole,
Lewis Sanford and Thomas T. Morrill ; of
whom the first named, a well-known and spir-
ited individual, was chosen president. The
board, under the extensive and liberal pro-
visions of this charter, applied themselves im-
mediately and vigorously to the laying out of
streets and building lots as the basis for future
improvements ; and everything was done by
them which th; state of things at that time
seemed to authorize, or require. Nevertheless
the increase of business and population was
not equal to the public expectations until an-
other portion of territory was included in the
incorporated part of the village, and additional
powers conferred upon the trustees by the
act of April 18, 1835. This additional legis-
lative provision vested the pviblic concerns of
the village in the hands of nine trustees, of
which new board Edmund Frost was chosen
president, and by whose zeal, industry and per-
severance much has, within a short time, been
accomplished for the increase and welfare of
the place. Such has been the progress of im-
provement, that the ancient village of Bush-
wick can scarcely be identified, having become
amalgamated with the village of Williams-
burgh. Indeed, it now seems both a matter
of surprise and deep regret that public atten-
tion should not have been sooner and more
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
efficiently attracted towards a place possessing
so many and superior natural advantages for
the successful prosecution of every species of
manufacture and commerce, and for the erec-
tion of pleasant and convenient private resi-
dences. Situated opposite the very heart of
the city of New York, it has a bold water
front upon the East river of a mile and a half,
with a sufficient depth for all commercial pur-
poses, and has this advantage over Brooklyn,
that its entire shore is under the control of its
■own local authorities. There has already been
■ constructed, under the act of the 22d of April,
1835, and the statutes before mentioned, sev-
eral large and substantial wharves and docks,
aitording safe and convenient mooring for ves-
sels, even of the largest class. Its ferry is, by
two or three miles, the nearest approximation
to the upper parts of the city from the eastern
towns, and is connected with the upper and
lower parts of the city by double lines of steam
ferry boats of the best kind, and remarkable
for their accommodations and speed. The
ferry to Peck Slip may be said to unite the
village with the Fulton and Catharine mar-
kets, while another is in contemplation to the
foot of Houston street, leading to the upper
wards and Harlaem. Williamsburg now con-
tains seventy-three streets permanently laid
•out, of which twenty-seven have been opened
■and regulated, including one jMcAdamized and
seven paved streets. The number of dwellings
is five hundred and eighty, and the inhabitants
about three thousand and five hundred. There
are one Dutch Reformed and two Methodist
churches, ten fire companies, one hook and
ladder company, two distilleries, which con-
sume annually more than two hundred thou-
sand bushels of grain, one steam spice mill, five
rope-walks, an extensive glue factory, two hat
manufactories, one iron foundry, two lumber
yards, two lime and brick yards, one coal yard, ,
six hotels, one drug store and a due propor-
tion of other mechanics and tradesmen. A
considerable number of elegant dwellings have
lately been erected in the southern part of the
village, owned and occupied by persons doing
business in New York. Many other induce-
ments exist, besides an easy and speedy com-
munication with the city, that will insure a
rapid influx of inhabitants, and an expansion
of business- in every department. The im-
pro\cments in contemplation, and partially in
progress, a'ong the shore south of the present
ferries, will in time unite with those in the
vicinity of the na\_.- yard at Brooklyn, and in
half a century perhaps fo'"m a continuous city
from the mouth of NewtouT creek to Red-
Hook, a distance of four miles.
Tozi'ii of Gravescnd.
This town occupies the most southerly part
of Kings County, including also Coney Island,
which is washed by the Atlantic ocean. It is
centrally distant from New York city about
ten miles ; bounded east by Flatlands, south by
the sea, and west by New Utrecht, of a tri-
angular shape, with its base upon the ocean
and terminating northerly in a point adjoin-
ing Flatbush. Much of the territory consists
of salt marsh, not more than one-third be-
ing returned as improved land ; the surface
generally level, but near the seashore are some
ridges of sand-hills. This town, unlike the
rest of the county, was settled by English
people, mostly from Massachusetts, as early as
1640, who gave it the name of Gravescnd,
they having sailed from a place of that name
in England on their departure for America.
They were joined soon after by a small colony
of English Quakers, accompanied by Lady
Deborah Moody, a woman of rank, education
and wealth, who, with several others residing
at Lynn, Sandwich, and other towns in New
England, had imbibed the religious sentiments
of George Fox, and being objects of jealousy
and persecution with the Puritans there, de-
termined to settle elsewhere. Considering the
situation of this town calculated for the site
of a commercial village, they proceeded al-
most immediately to lay out ten acres of
ground near the center into streets and squares,
which they enclosed with a palisado defense.
The plan of the village is still preserved in
the clerk's ofiice of the town, and is worthv
admiration for its simplicity and beauty. It
seems the project was soon after abandoned
on discovering the insufficient depth of the
water for the approach of large vessels. One
of the original squares of the contemplated
city was occupied by the court house of the
county so long as the courts continued to be
held here; another contained the first Dutch
church, and a third has long been used for a
public cemetery. On the same plot are a con-
siderable number of graves oi the first Quak-
ers, the whole of which have been levelled by
the plow, except that of Peter Sullivan and
his wife, at the head of which is a large gran-
ite slab, containing only the names of the de-
ceased. As this particular sect make no use
of such memorials, it was probably placed here
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
rri
by some friend or relative who was not a
Quaker. ;
The first patent or ground-brief was grant-
ed bv Governor Kieft in 1643 to Antonie Jan-
sen \'an Sale (or Anthony Johnson) for one
•hundred morgen -of land, which was after-
wards known as the Old Bowery. A morgen
was a Dutch measure of little less than two
acres, consisting of six hundred square Dutch
rods. On the 24th of May, 1644, a patent was
also granted to Guisbert Op-Dyck for Coney
Island, called in the patent Gunny Island, and
by the Dutch Conynen-Eylandt, probably from
the name of an individual who had possessed
some part of it. Pine Island, then called
Conyne-Hook, was at that time separated from
the former by a creek, which has since disap-
peared. The latter was doubtless the spot upon
which the discoverer of the Hudson and his
crew landed in 1609 before entering the bay
of Xew York. A general patent for this town,
written both in Dutch and English, was ob-
tained from Governor William Kieft on the
19th of December, 1645. The patentees named
therein are the Lady Deborah Moody, Sir
Henry Moody, Baonet, Ensign George i3axter
and Sergeant James Hubbard, with their as-
sociates ; and is for "A certain quantity of land
lying or being upon or about the westernmost
part of Long Island, beginning at the north
of a creek adjacent to Gonyne-Island, and
bounded on the west part thereof with the
lands belonging to Anthony Johnson and Rob-
ert Pennoyre ; and to run as far as the western-
most part of a certain pond in an old Indian
field on the north side of the plantation of the
said Robert Pennoyre; and from thence to
run directly east as far as a valley, being at
the head of a fly or marsh sometime belong-
ing to the land of Hugh Garretson ; and being
bounded on the south with the main Ocean,
with liberty to put what cattle they shall see
fitting to feed or graze upon the aforesaid
Conyne-Island, and with liberiy to build a town
with such necessary fortifications as to them
shall seem expedient ; and to have and enjoy
the free liberty of conscience according to the
customs and manners of Holland without mo-
lestation, and to establish courts, and elect
magistrates, to try all causes not exceeding
fifty Holland guilders."
The circumstance of this patent being
granted to a female, and her being also first
named, is a matter of some curiosity; and, in
connection with events hereinafter mentioned,
exhibits the Lady Moody in a conspicuous
light. She being a considerable personage in
the early history of the town, it is important to
ascertain, as far as possible, the particulars
of her history. We find it mentioned in the
verv interesting publication by Mr. Alonzo
Lewis, entitled "History of Lynn," that the
Lady Deborah IMoody came to that town in
the year 1640. That in 1635 she went from
one of the remote counties in England to Lon-
don, where she remained in opposition to a
statute which directed that no person should
reside beyond a limited time from their own
homes. On the 21st of April of that year, the
court of Star-Chamber ordered that "Dame
Deborah Mowdie" and others, should return
to their hereditaments in forty days, in the
good example necessary for the poorer class.
That soon after her arrival at Lynn, on the
Sth of April, 1640, she united with the church
of Salem; and on the 13th of May the court
granted her four hundred acres of land. In
1641, she purchased the farm of the deputy
governor, John Humfrey, called Swamscut, for
which she paid ii,ioo. That some time after-
wards she became imbued with the erroneous
doctrine that the baptism of infants was a sin-
ful ordinance, and was thereupon excommuni-
cated, and that in 1643 she removed to Long
Island. Governor Winthrop, in his journal,
says, that "in 1643 Lady Moody was in the
colony of Massachusetts, a wise and anciently
religious woman ; and being taken with the
error of denying baptism to infants, was dealt
withal by many of the elders and others, and
admonished by the church of Salem, whereof
she was a member; but persisting still, and to
avoid further trouble, etc., she removed to
the Dutch, against the advice of her friends."
"After her arrival at Long Island (says ]\Ir.
Lewis), she experienced much trouble from
the Indians, her house being assaulted by them
many times. Her wealth enabled her to render
assistance to Governor Stuyvesant in some
trouble with the neighboring settlers in 1654,
and so great was her influence over him that
he conceded in part the nomination of the
magistrates to her. In the quarterly court
records her son is styled Sir Henry Moody."
"At the same court, December 14, 1642, the
Lady Deborah Moodie, Mrs. King and the
wife of John Tilton were presented, for hold-
ing that the baptism of infants is no ordinance
of God." From these historical relations we
learn the reason why the Lady Moody, her son
Sir Henry Moody, Ensign Baxter, Sergeant
Hubbard, John Tilton and many others of her
772
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
associates and friends, left New England and
planted tliemselves at Gravesend, where tliey
hoped to enjoy the most perfect freedom of
opinion, unawed by the civil power, and be al-
lowed unmolested to propagate those religious
principles which to them seemed most agree-
able to their principles of reason and justice.
All this, it would seem, was intended to be se-
cured bv the patent above mentioned: how far
it was realized under the governor's successor
will appear hereafter, when we view the jierse-
cutions practiced upon the Quakers of this and
other towns under the Dutch jurisdiction.
Lady Moody probably retained a portion of
her large real estate in New England, for Gov-
ernor ^^'inthrop says that in 1646 the house of
Lady bloody at Salem was injured by a
tempest, the roof being torn off ; which fact
he likewise mentions in a letter to his son
John, then living at Fisher's Island. A re-
lease or conveyance from the Canarsee Indians
was obtained for Gravesend-Neck and Conyne
Island, on the 7th of May, 1654. Other con-
veyances in different parts of the town were
procured at diff'erent times, both by the town
and by individuals, which in the end occa-
sioned no small difficulty, in consequence of
the clashing of boundaries, the description of
which, in deeds, were frequently inconsistent
and obscure.
On the 1st of January, 1643, a soldier was
convicted before .the court of sessions at
Gravesend of having left his station while on
guard, and was punished by being compelled
to sit upon a wooden horse during the parade,
with a pitcher in one hand and a drawn sword
in the other : to show that he loved beer more
than his duty, and that his courage was always
to be determined by the quantity consumed.
"At a town meeting, September 27, 1644, it was
voted that those as should have Boweries
(farms), should have fifty morgen of upland,
with meadow proportionable to their stock ;
and it was further ordered, that if any did not
build a habitable house by the last of May
next, should be defaulted and forfeit their land
to the town." The records of this town, which
were kept uniformly in the English language,
are still preserved almost entire. They com-
mence with the year 1645, and for a series
of years are chiefly occupied with records of
wills, inventories, letters of administration and
a variety of private contracts, bargains, sales,
etc. In January, 1648, the town elected Ser-
geant James Hubbard, a man of respectability
and influence, to execute the office of scout
or constable, which was considered of much
importance. On the 14th of April, 1649, John
Furman agreed with the town to keep their
calves three months for twenty guilders a
month, to be paid in money, tobacco or corn,
and some bitters, if desired. In March, 1650,
it was required of every owner of a lot of
ground to pay one guilder toward the common
charges of the town, to be collected and paid
by Mr. Stillwell and Joseph Tilton. In De-
cember of the same year it was ordered that
every man should fence the head of his lot
upon the town square, with a sufficiency of
palisades, by the middle of April next. "With-
in this palisade enclosure, which included the
original town-plot of ten acres, the inhabitants
secured their cattle during the night, and them-
selves also, when apprehensive of danger from
the natives, in which case an armed guard was
employed. That wolves were both plentiful
and mischievous at that time, appears from
the fact, that on the 8th of August, 1650, three
guilders were oft'ered for each wolf killed in
the town, and two guilders for a fox. It was
ordered also that every man be provided with
a gun. a pound of powder, and two pounds of
lead or bullets. Every owner of a house was
likewise required to provide himself a ladder
of twenty feet or more in length. It was also
voted and agreed in town meeting, that who-
ever should transgress, in word or deed, in
defaming, scandalizing, slandering or falsely
accusing any, to the breach of the peace and
the reproach of the place, should suffer condign
punishment according to his demerit, as should
be thought meet by the magistrates, by fine,
imprisonment, stocking or standing at a public
post.
In the year 1650 the following persons are
ascertained to have been inhabitants and free-
holders of the town :
William Goulding, Jacob Swart, W^alter
\\'all, Charles Morgan, Peter Simson, John
Cock, John Laus, Lawrence Johnson, John
Broughman. W^illiam Wilkins, John Tilton,
John \'an Cleef, Thomas Spicer, Ralph Car-
dell, James Grover, Carson Johnson, Thomas
Baxter, William Bowne, Thomas Whitlock,
Richard Gibson, Richard Stout, James Hub-
bard, William Nicolls, Edward Brown, John
Thomas, Lady Deborah Moody, Elizabeth
Applegate, John Bowne, John Peters, John
Applegate, Lyman Law, Thomas Morrell,
James Curlear.
In 1654 Governor Stuyvesant rejected cer-
tain persons who had been nominated by the
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
town for magistrates, and submitted for his
approbation ; these were Baxter and Hubbard,
who had rendered themselves obnoxious to his
displeasure by their fidelity to the people and
their opposition to the arbitrary measures of
his administration. This produced great of-
fence, and the popular indignation rose to so
high a pitch, that his excellency found it ex-
pedient to go in person to Gravesend. In order
to allay the general excitement, he was induced
to avail himself of the popularity and influence
of the Lady Moody, and even committed the
appointment of the magistrates to her discre-
tion. Whether this remarkable woman con-
tinued here till her death, or returned again to
New England, is not certainly known. It is
supposed that while she remained here, she
occupied the farm of the late Van Brunt Ma-
gaw, now owned by Samuel Smith, Esq., and
one of the best in the county. It appears that
the neighboring Indians were sometimes
troublesome to the white settlers, and on one
occasion a considerable body of Indians from
the Main attacked the place, assaulting the
house of the Lady Moody, and would have ■
destroyed her and her family (as they did
Lady Ann Hutchinson and her party a short
time before at Throg's Point), had they not
been overpowered by the number and courage
of the inhabitants. Upon the Dutch records
in the office of the secretary of state is the
following entry, bearing, date March 25, 1643:
. "Whereas, in some time past, several mis-
understandings have taken place between the
savages of Long Island and our nation, bv
which, from both sides, the blood has streamed
upon the land, the houses have been robbed
and burned, 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 whatever side, are hereby for-
given and forgotten."
A confirmation patent for this town was
obtained from Governor Nicolls on the 13th
of August, 1668, in which the boundaries do
not vary from those described in the patent of
Governor Kieft in 1644. An additional patent
was issued on the 1st of July, 1670, by Gov-
ernor Francis Lovelace, which, after reciting
the most material parts of the original Dutch
patent, and the bounds therein mentioned, pro-
ceeds as follows :
"Know ye, that by virtue of the commission
and authority unto me given by his Roval
Highness, I have ratified, confirmed, and
granted, and by these presents do ratify, con-
firm and grant unto Thomas Delavall, Esq.,
Mr. James Hubbard, Ralph Cardell, William
Bowne, John Tilton, William Goulding, and
Samuel Spicer, as patentees, for and on behalf
of themselves and their associates the free-
holders and inhabitants of the said town, their
heirs, successors, and assigns, all the fore-
mentioned quantity, tract, and parcel of land,
together with the inheritance of all Coney
Island (reserving only the privilege of erect-
ing huts for fishing and drying of nets there
upon occasion for all persons who shall un-
dertake that design for the public good). In-
cluding all the land within a line stretching
from the uttermost part of the said Island,
unto the southernmost part of Antony Jansen's
Old Bowry; their east bounds being the
Strome Kill, which comes to the marsh or Fly
of jNIathew Gerritsen's land aforementioned.
As also the meadow-ground and upland not
specified in their former patent; concerning
which there have been several disputes and
differences between the inhabitants of the said
town and their neighbor, Francis Brown, the
which in part were issued both by my prede-
cessors and myself, but since fully concluded
and determined between them by articles of
agreement ; the which articles I do hereby
confirm and allow, with all havens, quarries,
rivers, &c. Given under my hand, and seal of
the Province at Fort James in New York, this
first day of July, in the 22d year of his Majes-
ties Reign, Anno Domini, 1670.
"Francis Lovelace.
"Mathi.\s Nicolls, Sec."
On the 26th of March, 1777, an agree-
ment was entered into between the towns of
Gravesend and New Utrecht in relation to
their boundaries, which was confirmed in the
patent granted by Governor Dongan on the
loth of September, 1686. The boundaries
mentioned in this instrument are as follows:
"Beginning at the westernmost part of a
certain place called Coney Island, and from
thence to the westernmost part of Anthony
Jansen and Robert Pennoyer's land ; and so
"from thence by New Utrecht fence, according
to agreement, to the bounds of Flatbush, and
from thence along John Ditmas his land unto
the bounds of Flatlands, upon a line agreed
upon between Flatlands and Gravesend, which
from John Ditmas his land, runs to a certain
bound stake, and from thence to a white-oak
tree marked and standing near New Utrecht
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
wagon path, and so to the north-west corner
of Albert, the weaver's field, and so going to
a certain marked white-oak tree that stands
by the highway side in the Hollow, and from
thence running along the Hollow to the head
of a certain creek commonly called and known
by the name of Strome Kill, and along the
said creek to the main Ocean, and so along
the sea-side to the westernmost part of Coney
Island."
The patentees in this instrument are James
Hubbard, John Tilton, Jr.. William Goulder,
Nicholas Stillwell, and Jocham Guilock ; and
the quit-rent reserved was six bushels of good
winter merchantable wheat, to be paid on the
20th day of March annually, for his Majesty's
use, at the city of New York, forever.
"At a court of sessions held at Gravesend,
June 21, 1676, John Cooke and John Tilton,
being Quakers, and refusins: to take the oath,
were ordered to give their engagement to Mr.
Justice Hubbard to perform their office as
overseers, under penalty of perjury." "At the
same court, holden Dec. 17. 1679. Mr. Jos.
Lee, dcpntv-sbcriff, presented Ferdinan'dus
^'an .siricl^laiiil for refusing to give entertain-
ment ti' a .-[ranger who came from Hunting-
ton about liusiness at this court: upon which
the court do order, that if said Ferdinandus
does not make his submission to the sheriff
and the justices tij-niormw. .that he lie dis-
missed from tapping." It is lielie-ed that
many of the Friends who s^-ttled in this tnwn
removed to New Jersey at or about the time
of the visit of George Fox to Long Island in
the year 1672.
Coney Island, on the sea-board, is a place
of great resort for strangers in the summer
season, is constantly fanned bv cool sea breezes
and affords an unlimited viOw of the ocean.
It is separated fn.m \ ., ,i^ Mand bv a narrow
creek or inlet, over winch a handsome bridge
has been erected. .\ large and spacious hotel
is established here, called the Ocean House,
and hitherto conducted in a superior manner.
A railroad is attached to the establishment,
with cars leaving the hotel for the beach, a
distance of eighty rods, at particular intervals
dnrmg the day. The bathing at this place is
not surpassed by any in the United States.
The beach is a beautiful white sand. The isl-
and is about five miles long and one wide, and
is entirely of alluvial formation. The effect
of severe ocean storms has long been visible
here, and much of what was once Conev Island
has disappeared. It has been conjectured bv
some persons that Coney Island proper, two
hundred years ago, lay at the entrance of
Sandy Hook, and separated from the present
Coney Island by a channel of considerable
width, which is supposed to have been entirely
demolished by a storm about the year 1715.
It is well ascertained that in 1643 there was
a convenient harbor for vessels of a large size,
which is now in a great measure filled up.
The exposed situation of this island subjects
it to the encroachments of the sea, and to be
entirely destroyed at some future period. In
the terrible gale which occurred upon the coast
on the 26th of January, 1839, the whole of this
island, with the exception of a few sand-hills,
was completely inundated by the sea ; the base-
ment story of the Ocean House was filled with
water ; the bridge was carried away, several
small vessels cast upon the shore, and in one
instance carried to a considerable distance to-
ward Flatlands.
The first church, built here was by the
Dutch in 1655. It was rebuilt in 1770, and
stood till 1833, when the present church was
erected. It is located in the village of Graves-
end, upon one of the original squares of the
town-plot made by the first settlers, and near
the place where the court-house formerly
stood. Here the court of sessions was held
till the Ridings were abolished in 1685, after
which it was removed to Flatbush. All the
lands in this town were laid out in reference
to the village plan, tha exterior lines of most
of the farms converging towards this center
like the radii of a circle. The soil of this
town is light and sandy, yet it is generally
well cultivated, and the surplus produce of
the farms is supposed to exceed forty thou-
sand bushels of different kinds of grain an-
nually, which is a permanent mine of wealth
and independence to its inhabitants, their num-
ber being seven hundred.
In many Dutch patents there was a clause
requiring the patentees and their associates,
after the expiration; of ten years from the
date thereof, to pay, by way of quit-rent, to
the governor, or his agent lawfully authorized
to receive the same, one-tenth part of all the
produce of the lands cultivated by them ; and
as difficulties and disputes sometimes occurred
in reference thereto. Governor Stuyvesant is-
sued a peremptory order, on the 6th of June,
1656, prohibiting the inhabitants of Flatlands,
Flatbush and Brooklyn from removing their
crops of grain from the fields until the tythes
reserved by their patents had either been taken
or commuted for.
The following is a true copy of the com-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
775-
mission issued by the governor to the magis-
trates of the several Dutch towns :
"Fort Amsterdam, April 24, 1660.
"Loving Friendes.
"Out of the nomination presented unto us
we have maade choice, as you may knowe bee
theese presents off Tunis Guisbert, the which
wee for the yeare followinge doe confirme and
establish ft'or magistraate off the towne called
New-Amersforte, requrringe all and every one
whome these may concerne to esteeme them
as our elected and confirmed magestraate ffor
the towne, so after mee respects, I rest, your
lovinge fricnde and Governor.
"P. Stuyves.xxt."
Form of a commission from Lieut. Gov-
ernor Liesler.
"By the Lieut. Gov, and commander in
chicft'e'. &c. Ey virtue oft' the authoritie unto
mee, I doe hereby authorise and empower you
Jacobus Van De Water to be Clark and Regis-
ter ft'or Kings County, giving you ffull power
and authoritie to acte and officiate therein as a
Clark may and ought to doe, and this com-
mission to continue till I receive further or-
ders from his Magesty King William. Given
under my hand and seal 20 oft' Dec. 1689.
"Jacob Liesler."
Town of Flatlands.
This town, called by the Dutch New
Amersfort', is bounded northerly by Flatbush,
southerly by Jamaica Bay, and westerly by
Gravesend. Barren Island, situated upon the
w^est side of Rockaway Inlet, and at the mouth
of Jamaica Bay, is attached to this town, and
the south part of the town is indented by nu-
merous small bays. Along the shore of Ja-
maica Bay is an extensive salt-marsh, which
yields an abundance of hay of an inferior qual-
ity. With the exception of this marsh, there
are no waste lands, the whole being divided
into farms well cultivated and productive. The
settlement was commenced in 1636, contem-
poraneously with Gravesend, and one of the
first grants for land was that for Barren Isl-
and, which was at that time a great deal larger
than at present, and was also covered with
cedar and other timber. The woods have long
since disappeared and much of the land is
composed of sand-hills, affording but a scanty
subsistence to a few cattle. Ex-Governor "Van
Twiller had a farm in this town at the time
of the first settlement, and called Van Twiller's
Bowery for a long time after. The village of
Flatlands is a very pretty spot, in the center
of which is the Dutch church, originally erect-
ed in 1661, and has since been twice rebuilt.
By the Duke"s laws, passed in 1665 in re-
lation to public officers, it was declared that
the "Overseers shall be eight in number, men
of good fame and life, chosen by the plurality
of voyces of the freeholders in each town,
whereof foure shall remain in their office two
years successively and foure shall be changed
for new ones every yeare ; which election shall
preceed the election of constables, in point of
time, in regard the constable for the yeare en-
suing is to bee chosen out of that number
which are dismist from their office of Over-
seer." The following is a copy of the oath,
administered to the overseers elect : "Whereas
you are chosen and appointed an Overseer for
the towne of ft'latlands, you doe sweare by the
Ever-Living God, that you will ffaithfully and
diligently discharge the trust reposed in you,
in relation to the publique and towne affaires,
accordinge to the present lawes established,
without favoure, affection, or partiality to any
person or cause which shall fall under your
cognizance ; and at times, when }ou shall bee
required by your superiors to attend the pri-
vate dift'erences of neighbors, you will en-
deavor to reconcile them: and in all causes
conscientiously, and according to the best of
your judgment, deliver your voyce in the
towne meetings of constable and overseers. So
help you God." It was the duty of the over-
seers, together with the constable, to hold
Town Courts, for the trial of causes under
five pounds. They, with the constables, were
frequentlv to admonish the inhabitants "to
instruct their children and servants in matters
of religion and the lawes of the country: to
appoint an officer to record every man's par-
ticular marke. and see each man's horse and
colt branded." The constable and two over-
seers were to pay the value of an Indian coat
for each wolf killed; and "cause the wolf's
head to be navled over the door of the con-
stable, there to remaine : as also to cut oft' both
the ears, in token that the head is brought in
and payd for."
The custom of putting Dutch inscriptions
uoon tombstones, which was the general prac-
tice in former times, was continued as late as
1770, and some may be seen even of a much
later date in many of the burying-grounds in
this county. For the last fiftv years the English
language has been generally adopted in epi-
taphs and inscriptions. Many individuals, and
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
even families, emoloy the Dutch language in
their ordinary intercourse with each other at
this day.
An extraordinary interview took place on
the 2d of April, 1691, between the Governor
of New York and a Sachem of Long Island,
attended by his two sons and twenty other In-
dians. The Sachem, on being introduced, con-
gratulated Governor Slaughter, in an eloquent
manner, upon his arrival, and claimed his
friendship and protection for himself and his
people: observing also that he) had, in his
own mind, fancied his Excellency as a mighty
tall tree, with wide, spreading branches, and
therefore prayed leave to stoop under the
shadow thereof. Of old (said he) the Indians
were a great and mighty people, but now thev
are reduced to a mere handful. He concluded
his visit by presenting the governor with thirtv
fathoms of wampum, which he graciously ac-
cepted, and ordered the Sachem to attend him
again in the afternoon. On taking leave, the
youngest son of the Sachem handed to the
officer in attendance a bundle of brooms, say-
ing at the same time, "that as Leisler and his
party had left the house very foul, he had been
advised to bring the brooms with him for the
purpose of making it clean again." In the
afternoon the Sachem and his party again at-
tended the governor, who made a speech to
them, and on receiving a few presents, they
departed. To exhibit the relative value of
some kinds of property, the following is ex-
tracted from an inventory of the effects of a
deceased person, which was taken December
16. 1719: A negro wench and child, valued
at £60; while five milch cows, five calves, three
young bulls and two heifers were valued to-
gether at £20 only.
From the New York Gazette of August 13,
1781 : "On the night of the 4th inst. the crew
of a rebel whale-boat from New Jersey landed
near Flatlands on Long Island, and robbed
the house of Colonel Lott of about six hun-
dred pounds, and carried ofif with them two of
his slaves. They also robbed the house of Cap-
tain Lott of a considerable amount of specie."
The surface of this town is, as its name
indicates, a perfect level ; the soil, a light sandy
loam, warm and pleasant to till; and from the
skill and industry of its farming population,
yields a large amount over and above the
wants of the inhabitants. The people, gen-
erally, are conspicuous for habits of economy,
and modern fashions have not yet extinguished
their love of simplicity and substantial com-
fort. The character of the inhabitants is tol-
erably well portrayed by the traveler, James
Stewart, when he says that "some of the farm-
ers of Long Island are wealthy, but are, in
general, contented to live comfortably and hos-
pitably, with all the ordinary necessaries and
conveniences of life, without ostentation or
parade, and without seeming to care so much,
as other classes of people in this country do,
about money." To satisfy any doubts that
may be entertained in regard to the prevalence
of good order and morality in this and the ad-
joining towns, the compiler considers the fol-
lowing facts as affording pretty satisfactory
evidence. Elias Hubbard, Esq., a respectable
magistrate of this town, states that he has
held the office of justice of the peace therein
for more than twelve years, and in that period
transacted most of the judicial business for
Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht and Graves-
end, and during the whole time had scarcelv
a dozen trials, and only two suits in which a
jury was demanded; that another gentleman
held the office of justice in the town of Graves-
end for eight years, who had, during that
period, but one jury trial, and even in that one
case the difference was compromised by the
parties before the jury had delivered their
verdict into court. Such a pacific temper is
honorable to the people, and creditable to the
government under which they live.
It was upon Barren Island that the no-
torious pirate, Gibbs, and his associates in
crime, secreted a portion of the money which
they had plundered upon the high seas, part of
which only was recovered. The names of tlie
pirates were Charles Gibbs, Thomas Wansley.
Robert Dawes and John Brownrig, the last
of whom saved his life by becoming a witness
against his companions, who were convicted
and executed upon Gibbet Island in the harbor
of New York, in the fall of 1830.
To^cn of Nczv I'trccht.
This town is bounded north by Brooklyn
and Flatbush, east by Gravesend, and west and
south by Gravesend Bay and the Narrows op-
posite Staten Island. It was settled in 1654
by about twenty families from Holland, and
a few Palatines, who at first erected a block-
house, as well for security against the natives
as from the hordes of wandering savages,
robbers and pirates, which at that time, and for
several years after, infested the country and
adjacent coast to such a degree that the inter-
position of the government became necessary
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS-
for the more complete protection of the inhab-
itants, who, from their position, were peculiar-
ly exposed to their predatory excursions. The
population of this part of the country increased
in a very moderate degree compared with other
places in the vicinity, in consequence of the
constant danger apprehended from the attacks
of enemies ; and the first steps taken to organ-
ize a separate community was in 1660, when,
on application to the governor, he appointed a
scout or constable for the town, together with
a secretary or clerk, and an assessor, with
power to make a division among the inhabi-
tants of the land held in common ; to cause the
same to be enclosed and cultivated ; to lay out
a street or highway through the village; to
make arrangements for the erection of a place
of defense, with a mill in it, and a well by it,
at the common charge of the people ; to decide
difference among individuals, and do as other
subaltern village courts were accustomed to
do. In 1662 a patent was obtained from Gov-
ernor Stuyvesant, by which the inhabitants
were not only confirmed in the several pur-
chases and divisions of land already made, but
were vested with the right of pre-emption of
all the remaining lands not included in the
patents previously granted to the adjoining
towns. By this patent they were partially in-
corporated, with power to build a town, to
elect magistrates subject to the approval of
the governor, and to hold town courts for the
trial of causes not exceeding in value five
pounds. On the isth of August, 1666, two
years after the conquest of New York, another
patent or grant of confirmation was issued by
Governor Richard Nicolls, in which the boun-
daries of the town are described as follows :
"AH that tract of land, together with the
several parcels of land which already have
been or hereafter shall be purchased or pro-
cured for or on behalf of the said town,
whether from the native Indian proprietors or
others, within the bounds and limits herein-
after set forth and exprest; that is to say, the
bounds of tiie said town begins from Nayack-
Point. stretching alongst the Bay to the land
belonging to fl^rancis Bruyin, and from thence
run into the woods along the said ffrancis
Bruyin's land to the land heretofore belonging
to Robert Pennoyer, near upon a north-east
line, twelve hundred Dutch rods ; from which
they goe again in a direct line to the North
River, running three hundred rod, to the north
of the whole Hook or Neck of land ; and then
again alongst the North River to Nayack-
Point. comprehending within the said bounds
or limits twenty lotts as they are now layd
out."
The paucity of the records of this town,
as well as the great difficulty of deciphering
those that remain, render it impossible to ob-
tain from them much information in relation
to the early history of its inhabitants ; and the
little we have been enabled to procure, has been
derived from extraneous sources.
It was oft' the shores of this town that the
squadron under the command of Colonel Rich-
ard Nicolls, destined as the future English
governor of New York, anchored in 1664: and
the first communication addressed to the Dutch
governor bears date on board the ship Guynev.
riding before Nayack, on the 20th of August
of that year. The place at that time known
by this name, is near the present site of Fort
Hamilton, and is a delightful place of resi-
dence ; being in sight of the ocean, it commands
a full view of all the shipping leaving and en-
tering the harbor of New York, and steam-
boats passing down the bay. It has now be-
come an important military station by the con-
struction of a fort and batteries, and the main-
tenance of a considerable garrison for the de-
fense of the harbor. Several handsome build-
ings have likewise been erected, and few situ-
ations can boast of a more sublime and beau-
tiful prospect. A handsome Episcopal church,
called St. John's, was built a few years since,
and adds much to the appearance of the place.
In 1836 a company was incorporated for the
purpose of making a railroad from Brooklyn
to Fort Hamilton, Bath and Coney Island,
which has not yet been undertaken, but which,
if accomplished, would make each of them
places of more extensive resort than hereto-
fore. The village of New Utrecht is pleasantly
situated on a fine plain, nine miles south of
Brooklyn, containing a Dutch Reformed
church and about fifteen dwellings. This
church was originally built in 1700, and was
occupied during the revolution as most of the
other Dutch churches were, for a store, hos-
pital or prison, as suited the convenience of the
enemy. The present church was erected nearly
upon the site of the old one in 1820. It is a
substantial stone edifice, and an important fea-
ture in the general aspect of this delightful
spot. Bath House and village is upon the
margin of the Bay, a mile or two southeast
from the Narrows or entrance of the harbor, in
full view of the military works and the com-
merce of the bay. It has for many years been a
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
favorite place of resort for sea-bathing. Here
is a large and well-i<ept public house, with a
lawn in front, beautifully shaded by trees.where
the luxury of the ocean breezes may be enjoyed
in their fullest extent during the heat of the
summer. It is the nearest watering-place to
New York, and new accommodations have re-
cently been erected within a short distance
of the beach, which commands a most charm-
ino- prospect of the ocean. It was near this de-
lightful s]iot that the British army commanded
bv Sir W'illiam Howe, protectecl by the guns
of their fleet, landed on the 22d of August,
1776, and followed, a few days after, by the
disastrous battle of Long Island. South of
the hills the surface of the town is perfectly
smooth and level ; but along the shore of the
Narrows it is rough and uneven. The woodv
ridge that borders the town is the western
termination of the range which extends to
the eastern part of Southold, and is denomi-
nated the ridge of a spine of Long Island. The
shad-fishery of the town is one of the most im-
portant and valuable in this part of the coun-
try, in which many of the inhabitants engage
at' the proper seasmi. and find it a profitable
employment. It is alfirnieil that ten thousand
of these fish have been caught here at a single
draught. On digging a few feet below the
surface, some years as'o, at the Narrows, more
than a wagon load of Indian stone arrow-heads
were discovered lying together, under circum-
stances calculated to induce a Ijelief that a
large manufactory of that indispensable article
of Indian warfare must once have existed at
that place. They were of all sizes, and from
one to six inches in length : some perfect,
others partly finished ; together with blocks of
the like kind of stone in the same condition as
when brought from the quarry. They had the
appearance of, and were nearly as hard as,
ordinary flint, from which not only arrow
heads were formed, but axes and other articles
of domestic utilitx'. Tt must ever remain a
matter of astunishnicnt how these native arti-
ficers, destitute, as they were, of the knowledge
or possessiiMi oi ImhIs of iron, could form and
polish with such exquisite art so many various
instruments from so hard a material.
In the year 1663 one of the clergy of this
town was accused before the court of sessions
of having performed the ceremony of his own
marriage, and that, too, while he had another
wife living. The reverend gentleman pleaded
his own cause, and alleged, by way of excuse
for so novel a procedure, that his first wife
had eloped from him without cause, and being
minded to take another, he conceived he had
as good a right to execute the ceremony for
himself as for any other person. This mode
of reasoning did not, it seems, satisfy the
court. The marriage was declared void, and
the delinquent was fined in two hundred
guilders, forty beaver skins, and also forty
guilders more for his insolence and imperti-
nence to the court. In addition to the patents
before mentioned, another was granted by
Governor Dongan on the 13th of May, 1686,
of which the following is an extract:
"TiiOM.vs DoNGAX, Lieut. Governor and
Vice Admiral of New-Yorke and its dependen-
cies under his Majesty James the II, by the
Grace of God of England, Scotland, France
and Ireland, King, Defender of the faith, &c.
Supreame Lord and proprietor of the Colony
and Province of New-Yorke and its Dependen-
cies in America, &c. To all whome this shall
come, sendeth greeting. Whereas there is a
certain Towne in King's County on Long-
Island, commonly called and knowne by the
name of New-Utrecht, Beginning at the
North-East corner of the Land appurtaining
to Mr. Paulus Vanderbeeck called Goanus to
the Bounds of Flattbush Pattent and soe along
the said bounds of the said Pattent, and
stretching from thence South-East and by
South till they meete the Limitts of Flatt-
lands, Gravesend, and the said Utrecht, and
from thence along Gravesend Bounds to the
Bay of the North River and soe along the
said Bay and River till it meets the Land of
the said Paulus Vanderbeeke as according to
severall agreements and writeings and the pat-
tent from Governor Richard Nicolls, dated in
the year 1666. And whereas applicacon hath
to mee been made by persons deputed from the
aforesaid. Towne of New-L'trecht for a con-
firmation of the aforesaid Tract of Land and
premises ; now Knowe Yee, that by Virtue of
&c. I have Given, Granted, Ratified and Con-
firmed, and by these presents doe Give, Grant,
Ratify and Confirme unto Jackues Corteljour,
Ruth Joosten, John Verkerke, Hendrick Ma-
thyse, Jolm Kiersen, John Vandyck, Guisbert
Thyson, Carel Van Dyck, Jan \'an Cleef, Cryn
Jensen, Meyndert Coerten, John Hansen,
Barent Joosten, Tennis ^'an Pelt, Hendrick
Van Pelt, Lawrence Janse, Gerrit Cornelisson,
Dirk Van Stutphen, Thomas Tierkson, Gerrit
Stoffelson, Peter Thyson, Anthony Van Pelt,
Anthony Duchaine, Jan \'andeventer, and Cor-
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
779
nelis Wynhart, on Behalf of themselves and
their associates, the present Freeholders and
Inhabitants of the said Towne of New Utrecht,
their Heirs, Successors and Assigns ; All and
singular, &c. To have and to hold the said
Tract and parcell of Land with their and every
of their appurtenances to them the said Jackues
Corteljour, &c. — To bee holden of his said
Majesty, his Heires and Successors in free
and common Soccage, according to the Tenure
of East Greenwich in the County of Kent in
his Majestyes Kingdome of England ; Yielding
Rendering, and paying therefor. Yearly and
every year, on every five and twentyeth Day
of March, forever, six bushels of good Winter
merchantable Wheate att thee Citty of New-
Yorke, &c. Given under my hand, and sealed
with the seale of the Province att Fortt James,
in New Yorke, the 13th day of May, 1686,
and in the 2nd yeare of his Majestves Reigne.
"Thomas Dongan."
"May it please your Honor,
"The Atturney Generall hath perused
this Pattent, and finds nothing contained there-
in prejudicial! to his Majestyes Interest.
"Ja. GRAHAar."
In 1706 the negroes, who had become nu-
merous both in the city of New York and the
adjoining country, were at times so disorderly
and dangerous to the peace and safetv of the
people, that the government was compelled to
take measures for restraining their depreda-
tions upon the community. A proclamation
was issued by the governor for this purpose in
the words following:
"Whereas I am informed that several ne-
groes in King's County have assembled them-
selves in a riotous manner, which, if not pre-
vented, may prove of ill consequence; You,
the Justices of the peace in the said county,
are hereby required and commanded to take
all proper methods for the seizing and appre-
hending all such negroes as shall be found to
be assembled in such manner as aforesaid, or
have run away or absconded from their mas-
ters or owners, whereby there may be reason
to suspect them of ill practices or designs ; and
to secure them in safe custody ; and if any of
them refuse to submit, then to fire upon them,
kill or destroy them, if they cannot otherwise
be taken ; and for so doing this shall be your
sufficient warrant. Given under my hand, at
Fort Anne, the 22nd day of July, 1706.
"CORNBURY."
In the clerk's office is the copy of a
proclamation issued on the i6th of June, 1780,
by James Robinson, a British officer, styling
himself captain-general and governor-in-chief
in and over the province of New York, by
which the inhabitants of Long Island are
peremptorily required to furnish a sufficiency
of wood for the barrack-yard in New York ;
that Kings county shall get fifteen hundred
cords. Queens county four thousand five hun-
dred, and the western part of Suffolk county,
including Huntington, Islip, Smithtown and
Brookhaven, three thousand cords ; all to be
cut and carted to the landing by the 15th of
August next ensuing. And the inhabitants of
Southold, Southampton and Easthampton
were speciallv required to cut upon the wood-
lands of William Smith and William Floyd
(notorious rebels), in those parts nearest to
the landing by Mastic-Neck, three thousand
cords, to be ready by the ist of September ; and
for which they were to receive at the rate of
ten shillino-s p r cord. This requisition it was
made highly penal to neglect, and those who
did so were severely punished, instances of
which were not uncommon.
On the 26th of May, 1836, an act of the
Legislature was passed to incorporate the New
Utrecht Dock and Steamboat Comoanv, but
as yet, it is believed, nothing has been done to
carry this very desirable measure into opera-
tion.
Tozvn of Flatbush.
This town, called by the Dutch Midwout,
or ^tliddle Woods, is bounded north by Brook-
lyn and Bush\vick, and a small part of Queens
county : east by Jamaica ; south by Jamaica
Bay, Flatlands and Gravesend; and west by
Gravesend ; being of an. irregular shape, con-
taining an area of about seven thousand acres,
most of which is under cultivation. The set-
tlement of this town was begun in 1651, and
the next year a patent or ground-brief was ob-
tained from Governor Stuyvesant, authorizing
the inhabitants to erect a town or plantation,
with the usual privileges of other towns under
the Dutch jurisdiction; and under which the
settlers managed their public concerns during
the remainder of his administration. In Octo-
l3er, 1667, application was made to Governor
Nicolls for a patent of confirmation and assur-
ance of their lands and boundaries ; and on the
nth day of the same month one was issued
unto Mr. Johannes Megapolensis, one of the
ministers of the city of New York; Mr. Cor-
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
nelius A'an Ruyven, ome of the justices of the
peace; Adrian Hegeman, Jan Snedeger, Jan
Stryker, Frans Barents (Pastor), Jacob Stry-
ker, and Cornelius Janse Bougaert. as patentees
for and on behalf of themselves and associates,
the freeholders and inhabitants of the said
town, their heirs, successors, and assigns', for
the premises described therein, as follows:
"All yt tract wt ye severall parcells of
land wh already have or hereafter shall be
purchased or procured for and on ye be-
half of ye sd town; whether from ye na-
tive Indian proprietors or others, wt in the
bounds and limits hereafter set forth and
expresst : That is to say. bounded to ye
south by ye hills, and to the north by ye fence
lately sett between them and the town of Ams-
fort, alias Flatlands, beginning at a certain
tree standing upon ye Little-Flats, marked by
ye order and determination of severall arbitra-
tors appointed by me, to view and issue ye dif-
ference between ye two towns concerning the
same, wh accordingly they did upon the 17th
of October, 1666 and to ye east and west by
the common woodlands, including two tracts
heretofore called by ye names of Curler's and
Twillers flatts wh lye to ye East of ye town ;
As also a parcell of meadow ground or valley
on ye East-north-east side of Canaresse plant-
ing land, and having to ye South ye meadow
ground belonging to Amsfort als Flatbush, ac-
cording to ye division made by an East line
running half a point northerly between them
without variation of ye Compass, and so to go
to ye mouth of ye creek or Kill, which said
meadows were on ye 20th of April last by com-
mon consent staked out and by my approba-
tion allowed of."
On the I2th of November, 1685, a further
confirmatory patent was executed by Governor
Thomas Dongan to the following persons
named therein as patentees: Corneleus A"ander-
wick, John Okie, Joseph Hegeman, Art Jansen
\'anderbilt, Lafi'ord Peterson. William Guil-
iamson, Hendrick Williams, Peter Guilliams,
Arien Ryers. Peter Stryker, John Strj-ker,
John Ramsden. Jacob Hendricks, Direck Van-
derfleet, Hendrick Rick, Peter Lott, Daniel
Polhemus, Cornelius Vanderveere, Direck
Johnson, Hooglant Denise, John Johnson, Pet-
imus Lewis, Okie Johnson, Jan. Jansen, Will-
iam Jacobs, Hendrick Hegeman, Jan Stryker,
Garret Lubberts, Hans Bogaert.
The premises are in this patent described,
as '"A certain town in Kings County known by
the name of Middwout, alias Flatbush, the
bounds whereof begin att the mouth of ye fress
Kill, and soe along by a certain ditch which
lyes betwixt Armsford and Flatbush meadows,
and soe running alongst the ditch and fence
to a certain white oake markt tree; and from
thence uppon a straight line to the westernmost'
point of a small island of woodland lying be-
fore John Striker's bridge ; and from thence
with a straight line to the northwest hooke or
corner of the ditch of John Okie's meadow;
and from thence alongst the said ditch and
fence to the swamp of the Fresh-Kill, and soe
alongst the swamp and hollow of the aforesaid
Kill to the land of Krewler's hooke; then
alongst the same to a marked white oak tree ;
from thence with a straight line to a black-oake
markt tree standing uppon the north-east side
of Twilder's Flatts, having a small snip of flatts
upon the south-east side of the line, and soe
from thence to a white-oak tree standing to
the west side of Mustahole upon a small island,
leaving a snip of flatts in the Flattlands
bounds ; and from thence to a certain markt
tree or stump standing by the highway which
goes to Flattlands upon the Little Flatts, about
twenty rod from Flattbush Lotts, and soe
alongst the fence six hundred Dutch rodd to
the corner of Flattbush fence, and soe alongst
by the rear of the Lotts to a sassafras stump
standing in Cornelius Jansen's Bowery lott of
land ; and from thence -with straight line to a
certain old marked tree or stump standing by
the rush-pond under the hills, and so along
upon the south side of the hill till it comes to
the west end of the long hill, and soe along
upon the south side of the said hill till itt comes
to the east end of the long hill ; and then with a
straight line from the east end of the said long
hill to a mark'd white-oake tree standing to the
west side of the roade near the place called the
gale or porte of hills, and so from the east side
of the porte or gale along upon the south side
of the maine hills as far as Browklin pattent
doth extend, and soe along the said hills to the
bounds of Jamaica pattent ; and from thence
with a southerly line to the Kill or creeke by
the east of the Plunder's Neck, and soe alongst
the said Kill to the sea, as according to the
several deeds or purchases from the Indian
owners, the patent from Governor Nicolls, and
the award between Browkline and the town of
Flattbush, as by reference thereto will fully and
at large appear."
On the 17th of December, 1654, Governor
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
781
Stuyvesant, who seems to have exercised entire
authority as well in ecclesiastical as in civil and
military affairs, gave orders that a house of
public worship should be erected in this town,
"sixty feet long, thirty-eight wide, and four-
teen feet in height below the beams." And on
the 9th of February, 1655, he issued his com-
mands that the people of Brooklyn and Amers-
fort should assist the people of Midwout or
Flatbush in getting timber for the house. In
September, 1660, those who had the charge of
the building reported that it had cost four
thousamd six hundred and thirty-seven guild-
ers; of which sum three thousand four hun-
dred and thirty-seven had been collected in
New Amsterdam, Fort Orange and on Long
Island. LTpon which the Governor contributed
out of the public funds four hundred guilders,
leaving a balance of eight hundred against the
church. In June, 1656, the Governor directed
the inhabitants of Brooklyn, Flatbush and Flat-
lands, to enclose a place in each of them with
palisades for the common defense. In 1660
the Rev. Mr. Polhemus petitioned the Gov-
ernor to have a window placed in the church,
which recjuest was granted ; and it being re-
ported that the church was indebted to the
amount of six hundred and twenty-four guild-
ers, it was ordered to be satisfied out of the
treasury as soon as fumds should be received.
Complaint being mad; that the minister was
inattentive to his calling, attending only once
a fortnight, and then only for a quarter of an
hour, giving the people a prayer instead of a
sermon, the Governor gave orders "that he
should attend more diligently to his work."
October i, 1673, an ordinance of the Governor
and Council was published, enjoining it upon
the Sheriff and Constables to take care that
the reformed religion be maintained, to the ex-
clusion of all other sects. It is supposed that
the first Dutch church erected in this country
was one built in the city of New Amsterdam
in 1642, although a society had been organized
as early as 1629. And the inhabitants of Kings
county attended religious worship in the city
until the church was built in Flatbush as above
mentioned. The Rev. Everardus Bogardus
was the first minister, and officiated in the city
from 1638 to 1647; ^'"^d was succeeded by the
Rev. Johannis j\Iegapolensis, who continued
till the conquest in 1664. The latter gentleman,
with John Snedicor and John Stryker, were
the persons appointed to superintend the erec-
tion of the church here, which stood nearly on
the site of the present Dutch Church. It was
directed to be in the form of a cross ; and the
rear part of the buildhig was reserved and
fitted up for the accommodation of the minister
and his family. The original subscription list
of this church is still preserved among its rec-
ords, and shows the names of the inhabitants
of the Dutch towns at that time. A church
was ordered to be built at Flatlands in 1662,
and completed the next year ; another was
erected in Brooklyn in 1666, which, with the
one in Flatbush, being associate churches, con-
stituted but a single congregation, and were
under the pastoral care of the same minister.
The Rev. Johannis Polhemus was employed to
preach soon after the erection of the church at
Flatbush, with a salary of one thousand and
forty guilders (about four himdred and) six-
teen dollars ) a year, raised by assessment upon
the towns in which he officiated. He was re-
quired by the Governor, in jNIarch. 1656, to
preach every Sunday morning at JMidwout;
and in the afternoon, alternately at Amersfort
and Brooklyn. In 1660 the Rev. Henericus
Selwyn was installed at Brooklyn by order of
the Governor, at a salary of six hundred guild-
ers a year, one-half to be paid by the people,
and the other half by Fatherland or Holland.
He resided in New Amsterdam ; and in 1662
the inhabitants of Brooklyn petitioned the Gov-
ernor that he should be required to reside
among them. The Governor agreed to pay a
part of his salary, provided he should preach
at the Bowery ever_\- Sunday evening. At the
conquest he returned to Holland. Mr. Polhe-
mus died June 9, 1666. In 1667 the churches
engaged the Rev. Casperus Van Zuren, who
remained about the period of ten years, when
he returned again to Europe. The Rev. James
Clark was the next minister, who remained
till 1695 ; and was followed by the Rev. Will-
iam Lupardus, who died in 1702. The Rev.
Vicentius Antonides was settled in 1706, and
continued till his death, in 1714. His succes-
sor was the Rev. Bernardus Freeman, who re-
mained till the close of life, in 1741. In 1742
the church engaged the services of the Rev.
Johannes Arondius, but who, in 1747, removed
to New Jersey. The Rev. Anthony Curtenius
was settled as an associate minister in 1730,
and remained till his death, in 1750. The
Rev. Ulpianus Van Sinderen was employed
in 1747, about which period much controversy
arose in the churches touching the necessity
of foreign ordination ; the opinion being enter-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tained by great numbers, both clergy and laity,
that ministers should be ordained in Holland.
This unhappy schism continued for several
years to agitate the churches, to interrupt their
peace, and retard their prosperity. These dis-
sensions having much abated, the Rev. John
Caspar Rubel was in 1760 employed as a col-
league of Mr. Van Sinderen, but was, for
some reason, deposed from the ministry in
1784. The death of Mr. Van Sinderen took
place in 1796. The Rev. Martinus Schoonma-
ker was settled in 1785, and continued till his
death, at an advanced age, in 1824, and with
him terminated the practice of preaching occa-
sionally in the Dutch language. The Rev.
Peter Lowe became an associate minister of
the churches in 1787, where he remained to
the end of his life, in 1818.
The church built here in 1663 stood, with
occasional repairsi, till 171 7, when it was suc-
ceeded by another, built of stone. This build-
ing fronting the east, had a large double-arched
doorway in the center; a steep quadrangular
roof, with a small steeple rising from the mid-
dle. It was sixty-five by fifty feet, the pulpit
being in the west side. It was repaired and
altered in 1775, at an expense of more than
seven hundred dollars ; but in 1794 it was taken
down, and the present large and commodious
edifice erected, which cost about twelve thou-
sand dollars. It was completed in December,
1796, with a fine bell, imported from Holland,
and presented to the church by John Vander-
bilt, Esq. In 1818 the churches of Flatbush
and Flatlands united in settling the Rev. Wal-
ter Monteith, who removed in a short time
thereafter; and in 1822 was settled their pres-
ent highly respected clergyman, the Rev.
Thomas M. Strong. In 1824 a new congrega-
tion was organized, and a church erected in the
easltern part of the town, called New Lotts,
from the circumstance of the land having been
divided or allotted among the inhabitants at a
later period than some other sections of the
town. The soil is generally of a good quality,
and by careful cultivation is made highly pro-
ductive. The village of Flatbush, situated
about four miles from the City Hall of New
York, is hardly excelled by any other as a place
of residence. The spirit of improvement has
reached this delightful spot, and several splen-
did private edifices have been erected, bearing
all the insignia of taste and opulence. A softer
or more agreeable landscape than is here pre-
sented is seldom met with. Its surface is an
inclined plane, elevated about fifty feet above
the ocean, toward which the descent is regular
and gradual. The court house of the county
was erected here in 1685, and the courts! con-
tinued to be held therein till it was destroyed
by fire in 1832. St. Paul's Episcopal Church
in the village was built in 1836, mainly iDy the
liberality and munificence of one of its citizens,
Matthew Clarkson, Esq., and is a neat and
handsome edifice. Erasmus Hall, a noble aca-
demical institution here, was incorporated No-
vember 20, 1787, being the second in point of
time upon Long Island. It has' always main-
tained a high reputation as a place of educa-
tion, and its pupils are diffused over almost
every part of the United States. The building
is not only spacious and airy, but replete with
every convenience, having sufficient grounds
about it, filled with ornamental trees and shrub-
bery. A little north of the village is an eleva-
tion, called Prospect Hill, which is estimated
to be one hundred feet above the surrounding
country, and from whose summit the view is
sublime and beautiful beyond description.
The Poor House of the county of Kings is
located a short distance from the village. The
farm contains sixty acres of excellent land,
which cost three thousand dollars. The main
building is forty-four feet square, with two
wings, each sixty by thirty-five feet. The
whole is two stories in height. There is also
a building detached from these, appropriated
for patients laboring under infectious diseases ;
and likewise another for deranged' persons,
where these unfortunate individuals are treated
with the attention which humanity requires.
Surely this benign establishment does honor
to the county, and deserves the imitation of
every other in the State. The soil of this town
is inferior to none other, and improved in the
highest degree, furnishing to the markets of
Brooklyn and New York a large quantity of
produce. Many of the farmers are wealthy,
and there is an appearance of independence and
opulence seldom witnessed in many other
places.
Town of Brooklyn.
This town, the whole of which is now in-
cluded within the corporation of the city of
Brooklyn, lies upon the extreme western part
of Long Island, opposite the southern portion
of the city of New York, and separated there-
from by the East River, which is here about
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
r83
three-quarters of a mile in width. The length
from northeast to southwest is six miles, and
its greatest breadth four miles ; giving an area
of nine thousand two hundred acres, most of
which has been apportioned into city lots. The
surface is high, broken and stony ; and the
more elevated points afford beautiful and ro-
mantic sites, many of which have been built
upon, and are not excelled in elegance by any
others in the country. The soil, in common
with the whole county, was originally claimed
by the Canarsee Indians, a numerous tribe, in-
habiting chiefly the more scuthern parts of the
county, and from whom the title to the lands
waa procured by the Dutch government. The
situation of this tribe rendered them peculiarly
obnoxious to invasion from their savage neigh-
bors of the north, and it has been supposed
that they were once tributary to the JMohawks,
and obliged to conciliate their forbearance by
yearly contributions of dried clams and wam-
pum. At the first settlement of the white peo-
ple, the Indians were persuaded to withhold
the accustomed tribute, being promised protec-
tion from these unjust exactions of their ene-
mies ; in consequence of which they were un-
expectedly assailed by a hostile force, and num-
bers of them destroyed or taken captive.
The name conferred upon this town by the
Dutch was Breucklen (or broken land) ; and
in the act for dividing the province into coun-
ties and towns, passed November i, 1685, it
is called Breucklyn : nor does the present ap-
pellation appear to have been generally adopted
until after the Revolution. Many changes have
doubtless taken place upon the shore, and it is
believed that Governor's Island was formerly
connected with Red Hook Point. It is well
known that a short period previous to the war
of independence, cattle were driven across what
is called Buttermilk Channel, now sufficiently
deep to aiiford passage to vessels of the largest
class. The alteration is no doubt in great meas-
ure attributable to the vast extension of the
wharves on both sides of the river, thereby
diverting the course and increasing the force
of the currents. The first European settler in
this town is supposed to have been George
Jansen de Rapelje. at the Waalboght, or Waa-
loons Bay, during the Directorship of Peter
Alinuit, under the charter of the West India
Compan}'. In a family record in the posses-
sion of Jeremiah Johnson, Esq., it is stated that
the first child of Rapelje was Sarah, born in
1625, unquestionably the first white child born
upon Long Island. Watson says she was born
on the 9th of June, and honored as the first-
born child of the Dutch settlers; also that, in
consideration of such distinction, and of her
widowhood, she was afterward presented with
a tract of land at the Wallabout. She was
twice married ; first to Hans Hanse-Bergen, by
whom she had six children, namely, JMichael
Hanse, Joris Hanse, Jan Hanse, Jacob Hanse,
Breckje Hanse, and Marytje Hanse. Her sec-
ond husband was Teunis Guisbertse Bogart, by
whom also she had six children, namely Aurtie,
Antje, Neelje, Aultje, Catalyntje, and Guys.-
bert. The account of this remarkable woman
in the archives of the New York Historical
Society contains the names of the persons to
whom eleven of her children were married,
and the places where they settled. The twelfth,
Breckje Hanse, went to Holland. In the jour-
nal of the Dutch Council in 1656, it is related
that "the widow Hans Hanson, the first-born
Christian daughter in New Netherlands, bur-
dened with seven children, petitions for a grant
of a piece of meadow, in addition to the twenty
morgen granted to her at the Waale-Boght."
There is a tradition in the family, that the In-
dians, induced by the circumstance of her being
the first white child born here, gave to her fa-
ther and his brethren, the other French who
followed them, the lands adjacent to the bay;
hence called (says Judge Benson) Het- Waale-
Boght, corrupted to Wallabout Bay. A few
of the other associates of De Rapelje were Le
Escuyer, Duryee, La Sillier, Cershow, Conscil-
laer, Musserol ; thesie, with some changes in
the mode of spelling, are still found among us.
It appears by the Dutch records, that in 1634
a part of the land at Red Hook was the prop-
erty of Wouter Van Twiller, being one of the
oldest titles in the town. The earliest deed for
landi was from Governor Kieft to Abraham
Ryckcn, in 1638. The oldest grant recorded
is to Thomas Besker, ini 1639. This nuist be
consiidered as the commencement of permanent
Dutch settlements on Long Island, and there
is no evidence of any direct and systematic
eflforts being made for the purpose till this
period. In 1641 the Governor and Council, in
order to strengthen their claim to the island,
consented that the English should settle under
their jurisdiction on taking the oath of alle-
giance to the States-General and the Dutch'
West India Company. The following grant for
land in 1642 is given as a specimen of convey-
ances at that remote period :
7S4
HISTORY OF LOxXG ISLAND.
"By William Kieft, Director General and
Counsellor, about the high and mighty Lords,
the States General of the United Low Country,
and his highness of Orange, and the Lords
Commanders of the privileged West India
Company, residing in the New-Netherland, do
ratify and declare by these presents, that we,
upon the date hereinafter written, did give and
grant to Jam Manje, a piece of land, 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 twen-
ty rod, about north north-west, well so north-
erly, and along the strand or water side, sev-
enty rod. Which above-said land is lying upon
Long Island, between Andries Hudde and
Claes Janse Ruyter. With express conditions,
&c. Dated at Fort Amsterdam, in the New-
Xetherland, the nth day of September, 1642.
"William Kieft.
''By order of the Lord the Director Gen-
eral, and Counsellor of New-Netherland.
"Cornelius V.-vxtiexhovex,
"Sec'ry."
Between the years 1642 and 1647 grants
were made by his Excellency Governor Kieft,
to ditterent individuals for all the lands on the
Brooklyn shore, from Red Hook Point to the
\\'allabout Bay, which were generally in the
above form. It is believed that a general pat-
ent of the town was granted by Gn\ernor Stuv-
vesant in 1657, the same being frequently re-
ferred to in conveyances between individuals
at an after period, and is evident from the fol-
lowing extract from the records: ''August 10,
1695. The patentees and freeholders of the
town sold unto Stephanus Vaii Cortlandt the
neck of land called Red-Hook, containing, by
estimation, fifty acres ; which they state in their
deed was formerly given and granted to the
town of Broocklyn in the year 1657, by Gov-
ernor Stuyvesant, the Dutch governor, then,
at that time, and since confirmed by the En-
glish governors, Nicolls and Dongan." On
the 1 8th of October, 1667, a full and ample
patent was granted by Governor Richard Nic-
olls to Jan Everts, Jan Damen, Albert Cornelis-
son, Paulus Veerbeeck, Michael Encyl, Thom-
as Lamberts, Tennis Guisbert Bogart, and
Joris Jacobson, as patentees for and on behalf
of themselves and their associates, the free-
holders and inhabitants of the town of Breuck-
len, their heirs, successors and assigns, for "all
that tract, together with the several parcels of
land which already have been or hereafter shall
be purchased, procured for and on behalf of the
said town, whether from the native Indian pro-
prietors, or others, within the bounds and lim-
its hereafter set forth and expressed; that is
to say:
"The town is bounded westward on the far-
ther side of the land of Mr. Paulus Veerbeck,
from whence stretching south-east, they go
over the hills, and 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 river and ex-
tend to the farm on the t'other side of the hill
heretofore belonging to Hans Hansen over
against the Kicke or Locke-out. including with-
in the said bounds and limitts all the lotts and
plantations lying and being at the Gowanis.
Bedford, Wallaboucht, 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 planta-
tion or plantations thereupon, from henceforth
are to bee, appertaine and belong to the said
town oi Breucklen; together with all havens,
liarbors, creeks, quarryes, wood-land, meadow-
ground, reed-land, or valley of all sorts, pas-
tures, marshes, runs, rivers, lakes, hunting,
fishing, hawking, and fowling, and all other
profitts, commodities, emoluments, and heredit-
aments, to the said lands and premises within
the bounds and limitts aforesaid belonging, or
in any wise appertaining. And withal to hav;
freedome of commonage for range and feed of
cattle and' horse into the woods, as well with-
out as within these bounds and limitts, with the
rest of their neighbor; : as also one-third part
of a certain neck of meadow-ground or valley
called Seller's Neck, lying and being within
the limitts of 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 has lately been laid
out and divided by their mutual consent and
my order, whereunto and from which they are
likewise to have free egress and regress as their
occasions may require. And that the place of
their present habitation shall continue and re-
tain the name of Breucklen, by which name
and stile it shall be distinguished and known
in all bargains and sales made by them, the
said patentees, and their associates, their heirs.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS
r85
successors, and assigns, rendering and paying
such duties and acknowledgments 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 IManhattat, the i8th of October, 1667.
"Richard Nicolls."
In 1670 the inhabitants, being desirous of
enlarging the bounds of their common lands
by extinguishing the Indian claim, applied to
Governor Lovelace, and obtained from him the
following license :
"Whereas, the inhabitants of Breucklyn,
in the West Riding of Yorkshire, upon Long
Island, who were seated there in a township
by the authority then in being ; and having bin
at considerable charges in clearing, ffencing,
and manuring their land, as well as building
ffor their conveniency; have requested my ly-
cense for their further security, to make pur-
chase of the said land of some Indians, who
lay claim and interest therein. These are to
certify all whom it may concerne, that I have
and ,doe hereby give the said inhabitants ly-
cense to purchase their land according to their
request, the said Indians concerned appearing
before me, as in the law is required, and mak-
ing their acknowledgments as to fully satis-
fyed and payed for the same. Given under
my hand and seal at fTort James, in New-
Yorke, this fifirst of May, in the 22d yeare of
his Majestyies reigne. Anno Dom. 1670.
"FR.A.NCIS Lovelace."
This purchase had been agreed upon the
14th of May, 1670, between the town and five
Indian chiefs, and is described in the convey-
ance as "all that parcell of land in and about
Bedford, within the jurisdiction of Breucklyn,
beginning fifrom Hendrick Van Aarnhcm's
land by a swampe of water, and stretching to
tlie hills ; then going along the hills to the port
or entrance thereof, and so to Rockaway foot-
path, as their purchase is more particularly
sett fiforth. To have and to hold all the said
parcell and tract of land unto JNIonsieur ]\Ia-
chiell Haimelle, Thomas Lambertse, John
Lewis, and Peter Damiantier, fifor and on be-
halfe of the inhabitants aforesaid, their heyres
and successors for ever." The port or en-
trance mentioned in this instrument is the val-
ley upon the Flatbush Turnpike, a short dis-
tance beyond the three-mile post from Brook-
50
lyn Ferr)^, where a freestone monument has
been placed to designate the line between this
town and Flatbush. The price paid for the
land in and about Bedford was one hundred
guilders seawant, half a ton of strong beer,
two tons of good beer, three guns, long bar-
rels, with each a pound of powder, and lead
proportionable, two bars to a gun, and four
match coats.
Notwithstanding the early inhabitants of
this town had previously obtained patents for
their lands both from the Dutch and English
Governors, yet Colonel Thomas Dongan, who
succeeded to that office in 1683, had the ad-
dress to make them believe that a new patent
was necessary to confirm and assure their
lands. Accordingly, on the 13th of May, 1686,
a new patent was issued, which, after reciting
the boundaries of the town as described in for-
mer grants, with reference to the charter of
Governor Nicolls in 1667, the powers and priv-
ileges of which are recognized to the fullest
e.xtent, concludes in the following words :
"Now know ye, that I, the said Thomas
Dongan, by virtue of the commission and au-
thority derived from me, and power in me re-
siding, have granted, ratified and confirmed,
and by these presents do grant, ratifie and con-
firm, unto Tennis Gysberts, Thomas Lamberts,
Peter Jansen, Jacobus Vander Water, Jan
Dame, Joris Jacobs, Jeronimus Rapalle, Daniel
Rapalle, Jan Jansen, Adrian Bennet, and i\Iich-
ael Hanse, for and on the behalf of themselves
and the rest of the present freeholders and in-
habitants of the said town of Breucklen, their
heirs and assigns for ever, 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, gar-
dens, orchards, trees, woods, underwoods, pas-
tures, feedings, common of pasture, meadows,,
marshes, lakes, ponds, creeks, harbors, rivers,-
rivulets, brooks, streams, highways and ease-
ments whatsoever, belonging or in any Ayise
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 singnlar, the said tract or parcels of
land and premises, with their, and every of
their appurtenances, unto the said Tennis Gys-
berts, Thomas Lamberts, Peter Jansen, Jacobus
Vander Water, Joris Jacobs, Jeronimus Rap-
palle, Daniel , Rappalle, Jan Jansen, Adrian
78tj
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Bennet, and Michael Hanse, for and on behalf
of themselves and the present freeholders and
inhabitants of the town of Breucklen, their and
every of their heirs and assigns for ever, as
tenants in common without any let, hindrance,
molestation, right of survivorship or otherwise,
to be holden in free and common socage ac-
cording to the tenure of East Greenwich, in the
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, for ever, in lieu of all
services and demands whatsoever, as a quit
rent to his most sacred Majesty aforesaid, his
heirs and successors, at the city of New-York,
twenty bushels of good merchantable wheat.
In testimony whereof, I have caused these
presents to be entered and recorded in the
Secretary's office, and the seal of the Province
to be hereunto affixed 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 Dong.\n."
Under this and other patents considerable
sums have been paid at dififerent times for quit-
rents, for which receipts have been preserved.
June 8, 1713, there was paid to Benjamin Van-
dewater, treasurer, the sum of £96 7s id, for
upwards of sixteen years quit-rent. April 6,
1775, Charles Debevoice, collector of the town,
paid to the receiver-general of the colony,
twenty bushels of wheat for one year's cjuit-
rent; and, November 9, 1786, Fernandus Suy-
dam and Charles C. Doughty, two of the trus-
tees, paid to the treasurer of the state, £105
IDS. in full for arrears of quit-rent due from
the town. During the early years of the colony,
the old ferry was from near the foot of Jerole-
mon street to the Breede-Graft, now Broad
street, in the city of New York; but it is diffi-
cult to ascertain the exact period when the old
ferry was first established at its present situa-
tion on the Brooklyn side. It appears that, in
1693 John Areson, the lessee of the ferry, com-
plained of his inability to pay the rent of £147,
and it was reduced to £140. At this time the
ferriage for every single person was eight
stivers in wampum, or a silver two-pence ; each
person in company half the above ; and if after
sunset, double price; each horse or beast one
shilling if single, or nine pence in company.
In 1698 Rip Van Dam was lessee of the ferry
for seven years at £165 per annum. During the
Revolution the old ferry was kept by Van
Winkle and Bukett, when the usual charge for
crossing was six pence. The corporation of
the city of New York has long claimed and ex-
ercised the control of the ferry, which has pro-
duced a considerable revenue. August i, 1795,
the ferry from the foot of Main street was es-
tablished by William Furman and Theodosius
Hunt, on a lease from the corporation of New
York. In May, 1814, the first steamboat com-
menced running upon the Fulton Ferry, and at
a later period upon the other ferries also.
The town having acquired so great an ex-
tent of common land by 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 ; accordingly, "At a town meeting held
on the 25th day of February, 1692-3 at IJreuk-
lyn, in King's county. They Resolved to di-
vide their common lands and woods into three
parts, in manner following, to witt :
"i. All the lands and woods after Bedford
and Cripplebush, over the hills to the path of
Newlotts, shall belong to the inhabitants and
freeholders of the town of Gowanis, beginning
from Jacob Brewer and soe to the uttermost
bounds of the limits of New^-Utrectht.
"2. And all the lands and woods that lyes
betwixt the abovesaid path and the highway
from the ferry towards Flattbush, shall belong
to the freeholders and inhabitants of Bedford
and Cripplebush.
"3. And all the lands that lyes in common
after the Gowanis, betw'ixt the limits and
bounds of Flattbush and New^-Utrecht, shall
belong to the freeholders and inhabitants of
Brooklyn, fred. neck, the ferry and the Walla-
bout." This proceeding of the town meeting
was allowed of by the court of sessions, held at
Flattbush on the loth day of May, 1693.
The following will serve to show the man-
ner in which the inhabitants of this town elect-
ed the trustees of the common lands, and the
duties of those trustees. "Att a towne meet-
ing held this 29th day off Aprill, 1699, at
Breucklyn, by order ofif Justice Machiel Hans-
sen, fifor to choose townsmen iTor to order all
townes busines and to defifend theire limitts
and bounds, and to dispose and lay out sum
part thereofif in lotts, to make lawes and orders
flfor 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 townes
revenues, and to pay townes debts ; and that
with the advice oft' the Justices off this said
towne standing the space and time oft" two
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
787
years. Chosen ffor that purpose by pluralitie
off votes. Benjamin \'an de Water, Joores
Hanssen, Jan Garretse Dorlant. By order of
the inhabitants afforesaid. I. Van'de Water,
Clarke."
Although it may not be generally known,
yet it is true that tiie records of this town, from
its first settlement to the end of Revolutionary
war, were either destroyed during the contest
between Britain and her colonies, or carried off
at its close by some evil-disposed individual.
The person suspected is John Rapalje, Esq.,
who was in authority here during that period,
and against whom an act of attainder was
passed in October, 1777, by which his large
real estate was confiscated, and himself forced
to depart from the country. The necessary
consequence is, that we have been deprived of
many valuable materials toward a history of
the town. It might be expected, that in a
state of hostility, every measure would be
adopted to afflict an enemy ; yet it mav be ques-
tioned whether abstracting the records of a
country is strictly justifiable by the customs
and usages of civilized warfare.
The hope is still entertained that these im-
portant documents are still in existence, and
that by proper exertions they may yet be found
in some of the public offices in England. Some
facts of recent occurrence corroborate this
opinion, and a correspondence was set on foot
a few years since, between General Jeremiah
Johnson, supervisor of the town, and Governor
De Witt Clinton, which led to examinations in
one or more places in London, where it was
supposed they might chance to be deposited ;
but nothing satisfactory was elicited. The sub-
ject matter of this correspondence is thought
sufficiently important to justify its insertion in
this place.
(General Johnson to Governor Clinton.)
Sir:
Albany, April 11, 1827.
I visited this city, in December last, for the,
purpose of examining the Dutch records and
public papers in the secretary's office, particu-
larly the Dutch patents of the towns of Brook-
lyn, Flatbush, Flatlands, and Jamaica ; and not
finding them, the search was continued among
the English records to the year 1684, wherein
I found that in that year the governor and
council of the colony issued an order com-
manding all the inhabitants of the Dutch towns
in the provinces of New-York and New Jersey'
to bring their Dutch patents and Indian deeds
into the Secretary's ofifice in New- York. This
measure, in my opinion, accounts for the ab-
sence of many papers supposed to be lost. Sub-
sequent to my search in the office in 1826, I
had been informed that many old papers re-
lating to this state are in the colonial office in
London. And, as the records of the town of
Brooklyn were removed during the Revolu-
tionary war, I entertain a hope that we may
regain them. This information is presented
to your Excellency in the expectation that in-
quiry may be made in London whether the
papers alluded to, or authenticated copies, can-
not be obtained. The recovery of the records
of the town would be of great importance, and
the patents and Indian deeds serve to improve
the history of the town.
Yours, respectfully,
Jeremiah Johnson, Siipcrz'isor.
His Excellency, Governor Clinton.
(Governor Clinton to Albert Gallatin, Esq.)
Sir:
Albany, 12th May, 1827.
I take the liberty of transmitting to you a
letter from General Johnson, a respectable citi-
zen of this state, and of requesting your atten-
tion to it. According to a report made at the
last session of congress, there will be no dififi-
culty on the part of the British government.
The papers wanted may be found in the former
plantation office. Yours, &c.
De Witt Clinton.
Albert Gall.\tin, Esq.
(Mr. Gallatin to Governor Clinton.)
Sir:
London, 25th August, 1827.
I had the honor to receive your Excel-
lency's letter of the 12th May last, enclosing
one from General Johnson, and requesting that
application might be made to this government
for certain town records, and other papers
therein-mentioned as having been carried
away, and being now either in the colonial
ofifice, or that of trade and plantations in Lon-
don. I regret to say, that after diligent inquiry,
and although the various departments here
were anxious for the restoration of the papers
if they could be found, there is no trace of
them whatever. There are two deposits for
records and documents connected with the
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
colonies ; the office of the Board of Trade and
Plantations, and the State Paper office, where
the records and papers of the colonial, as well
as the home and foreign departments, are kept.
There is nothing in the colonial office ; and you
will perceive by the enclosed letters, that noth-
ing was found in the others ; and that it is be-
lieved the papers in question were carried away
by individuals who never deposited them in
any office. Mr. Charles Grant, the writer of
two of the notes, is the vice-president of the
board of trade, one of the commissioners ap-
pointed to treat with me, a gentleman of dis-
tinguished merit and obliging disposition.
Another search may nevertheless be made, if
Gen. Johnson will state the time when the
records were carried away, and other circum-
stances, which may afford a cue to the inquiry.
I have the honor to be, &c.
Albert Gallatin.
His Excellency, De Witt Clinton.
(Charles Grant, Esq., to JMr. Gallatin.)
London, August 14, 1S27.
Dear Sir:
I have only this morning received the en-
closed from Mr. Rice, whose absence from
town prevented his sooner transmitting it to
me. I regret much the result. As a last hope,
I have sent Governor Clinton's letter to the
colonial office, that inquiries may be made ; but
I fear there is little probabilitv of success.
I am. Sir', &c.
C. Grant.
A. Gallatin, Esq,
(Spring Rice, Esq., to Charles Grant, Esq.)
My Dear Grant:
On coming down to the office this morning,
I found enclosed, which relates to your com-
munication with me. I enclose it as the best
means of answering Islr. Gallatin's request, re-
gretting that we cannot do more to furnish you
with the information requested.
Ever and most truly yours.
Spring Rice.
Judge Furman, in speaking of the history
of this town, observes,- "that its great antiquity
is apparent from the fact that the English colo-
nists, who came out from Holland for pro-
fessed purposes of settlement, were those
brought out in 1623, only two years before the
settlement of Brooklyn, in the ship of Capt.
Kornelis Jacobse Mey ; and that soon after two
ships of the West India- Company brought, as
agriculturists, the Walloons, who settled in
Brooklyn." In 1646 the town was permitted
to choose two magistrates, who were author-
ized "to give judgment in all events as they
should deem proper, not contrary to the charter
of New Netherlands ;" and, to give complete
effect to their authority, the governor ordered
that if any one disobeyed the decision of the
magistrates, he should forfeit his right to the
lands within the village. This privilege seems
not to have been extended to any other town,
probably because no other was at that time so
populous as to require it.
The first public officer appointed by the
Dutch government for this town after its set-
tlement in 1625, was a "superintendent,"
whose duties were to preserve the peace and
regulate the police of the town. A few years
after the office of superintendent was abolished,
and the offices of schout, secretary, and as-
sessor, created. These were, like others, ap-
pointed by the governor.
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 other towns under the
Dutch government, assembled at New Amster-
dam, November 26, 1663, on an invitation
from the governor; where they, on the nth of
December following, entered into a remon-
strance against the exclusion of the people
from any share in legislation, and generally
against their mode of government. The gov-
ernor 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. Enter-
taining a just sense of the responsibility at-
tached to them, the deputies made another, but
ineffectual attempt, to obtain a recognition of
their rights; and on the 13th of the aforesaid
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 superiors, the States-general." The
governor, in a fit of anger, dissolved their
meeting, and sent them home.
In order to secure the settlement against
the depredations of the Indians, the governor, .
NOTES x^ND ILLUSTRATIONS.
789
in 1660, required the inhabitants to fortify the
town, and remove their families within the en-
closure, constructed of palisadoes, set close to-
gether and made sharp at the top. This order
was probably in consequence of threatened hos-
tility from the northern Indians, who had in
1655 made a descent upon Staten Island, and
massacred sixty-seven persons ; and the set-
tlement of Gravesend was only saved by the
timely arrival of soldiers from New Amster-
dam.
It seems to have been enjoined upon the
overseers and constables to admonish the in-
habitants to instruct their children and ser-
vants in matters of religion and the laws of the
country. They likewise appointed an officer
to record every man's particular mark, and see
each man's horse and colt branded. They
were to pay the value of an Indian coat for
killing a wolf, whose head was to be nailed
over the door of the constable. In October,
1675, an order was passed by the court of
assize that a fair or market should be yearly
kept near the ferry, for the sale of grain, cat-
tle, or other produce of the country ; to be held
the first Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in
November ; and in the city of New York the
Thursday, Friday and Saturday following.
Although the population of this town has aug-
mented every year since its settlement, yet,
previous to the incorporation of the village in
1816, the increase was far from what it has
been since; and within the last fifteen years
the accession in number and wealth has been
greater than for the preceding hundred years.
In 1706 the real and personal estate in the
town was valued only at £3,112, the tax there-
on £41. In 1824 the valuation was over two
million six hundred thousand dollars, and the
taxes between six and seven thousand. In
1S34 the valuation in the city of Brooklyn
alone was $7,257,473.
The controversies which have heretofore
existed between this town and the corporation
of the city of New York in relation to the
ferry across the East river, and the claim of
the latter to the soil below high water-mark
along the Brooklyn shore ; and also concerning
the title of the United States to a valuable
tract of land at the Wallabout, are of the high-
est importance to the inhabitants ; but their
merits would require more space for examina-
tion than could be afforded in this work. For
an exposition of the legal principles involved
in the discussion, the reader is referred to
\
Judge Furman's notes, and other productions
of the same author.
The history of the Dutch church in this
county has been so fully detailed in our ac-
count of Flatbush, that little more is necessary
on that head.
In the year 1659 the inhabitants of the
town applied to Governor Stuyvesant for per-
mission to call a minister for their congrega-
tion, assigning, as a reason for their applica-
tion, the badness of the road to Flatbush, the
difficulty of attending divine service at New
York, and the extreme old age and inability of
th.e Rev. J\Ir. Polhemus to perform ministerial
services at Brooklyn.
The governor deemed this request reason-
able, and sent Nicasius de Sille, Fiscal of New
Netherland, and Martin Kregier, Burgomaster
of New Amsterdam, to this town, as a com-
mittee of inquiry, who reported in favor of
the application ; whereupon the request of the
inhabitants was granted. They accordingly
prepared a call for the Rev. Henry Solinus,
alias Henricus Selwyn, from Holland, who
was approved of by the classis of Amsterdam,
on the 1 6th of February, 1660, when the
classis also gave the Rev. Mr. Solinus a dis-
mission, wishing him a safe and prosperous
journey by land and by water to his congre-
gation in the New Netherland. The time of
the arrival of this minister is not known. He
was installed in the church on the 3d of Sep-
tember, 1660, in the presence of the Fiscal and
Burgomaster Kregier, by the order of Gov-
ernor Stuyvesant, who appears to have been
at the head of the ecclesiastical as well as the
civil and military government of the colony.
The salary of Mr. Selwyn was fixed at six
hundred guilders ; and the marriage fees, in-
stead of being a perquisite of his office, were
to be acounted for to the church. On the 2gth
of October, 1662, it appears that he paid over
to the consistory seventy-eight guilders and
ten stivers, for fourteen marriages performed
by him during the year. On the 23d of July,
1664, he returned to Holland ; and after his de-
parture, Charles Debevoice, schoolmaster and
sexton, was directed to read the prayers in the
church, and a sermon from an approved au-
thor, every Sabbath, till another should be
called. The first Dutch church was built here
in 1666, and stood about forty years, when
another was erected on the same spot, which
was taken down in 1810, and a new and sub-
stantial one built in Jerolemon street. This
790
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
last, not being found sufficiently laro;e, has
lately given place to a more splendid edifice,
on nearly the same site.
An Episcopal society existed in this town
as early as 1766. It was incorporated in 1787 ;
and in 1795 St. Ann's church was occupied for
the first time. This building was of stone,
and was superseded by the present elegant
edifice in 1824. The first Methodist church
was incorporated in 1794; the first Presby-
terian church in 1822 ; the first Baptist church
in 1823 ; the first Roman Catholic church in
1822; and the first Congregational church in
1839.
The first printing-press established in this
town was by Thomas Kirk in 1799, from which
was issued a weekly newspaper, entitled "The
Courier, and Xew York and Long Island Ad-
vertiser," and was continued for about four
years. The first number of the 'T-ong Island
Star," by the same gentleman, was isued on
the first of June, 1809, and transferred to Alden
Spooner in the year 181 1.
The most compact part of this town was in-
corporated into a village on the 12th of April,
1816, which, although violently opposed by
a portion of the population, gave a new im-
pulse to the spirit of improvement, and has re-
sulted in raising it to the third rank among
the cities of the State of New York. The vil-
lage charter authorized the election of five
trustees, and those named in the act were An-
drew Mercein, John Garrison, John Doughty,
John Seaman, and John Dean. This charter
was several times amended and enlarged as
the increase of population required, until it
became indispensable to endow the place with
the name and privileges of a city. On the 8th
of April, 1834, the whole territory of the town
was incorporated under the name of the "City
of Brooklyn," and its inhabitants a body cor-
porate and politic, by the style of "The Mayor
and Common Council of the City of Brook-
lyn." It is divided into nine wards ; the pow-
ers of the corporation are vested in a mayor,
and a board of aldermen composed of two,
elected annually, from each ward. These have
the appointing of most of the subordinate offi-
cers of the city. Bedford, upon the eastern
part of the town, was formerly a separate
hamlet ; but is now so far swallowed up by the
progress of improvement, as to have nearly lost
its identity. Gowanus is that part of Brook-
lyn which joins Flatbush and the waters of the
bay, consisting principally of a low tract of
salt marsh, ponds, and creeks, over which a
highway and bridge have been constructed,
and is fast becoming more valuable as the city
advances in that direction.
The Wallabout is a part of Brooklyn north-
east from the ferry, and rendered famous in
the Revolution from having been the scene of
the most heart-rending sufferings of many
thousand American citizens, confined on board
the prison-ships stationed in the bay. The
LTnited States possesses about forty acres, in-
cluding the site of the old mill-pond. Here
have been erected a spacious navy-yard, pub-
lic store-houses, machine-shops, and two im-
mense edifices, in which the largest ships are
protected from the weather, while building.
On the opposite side of the bay has latelv been
constructed the Naval Hospital, which is not
only splendid, but magnificent. The "Appren-
tices' Library Association" was formed in
1824, the corner-stone of which was laid by
the Marquis La Fayette during his last visit to
America in that year. The library is now in
the Brooklyn Lyceum ; and the building, hav-
ing become the property of the city, is appro-
priated for public offices, and the holding of
courts, being denominated the "Citv Build-
ings." The" Brooklyn Lyceum was instituted
October 10, 1833. The edifice is a beautiful
specimen of architecture, composed of granite,
and every wav adapted to the purpose of its
projection. Th'^ objects of this institution are
intellectual and moral improvement, by means
of certain specified committees, and by gratui-
tous public lectures. A course of lectures by
gentlemen of the city of New York was com-
menced on November 7, 1833, and has been
varied occasionally by essays, principally from
the pens of ladies. The Brooklyn Collegiate
Institute for young ladies was incorporated in
1829. The building is large and beautifully
located near the East river. It flourished for
a few years, and gave promise of permanent
utility;' but from want of sufficient patronage
the school has been given up. The "City
Hall," which was commenced a few years
since upon a magnificent scale, has been inter-
rupted in its progress, and doubts are enter-
tained of its completion, at least upon the plan
and to the extent originally contemplated.
prime's account of queens and SUFFOLK
COUNTIES, 1845.
The people of Queens county are of a more
mixed character, both in regard to their
origin and religious views, than either of the
other counties. In Kings, till within a few years.
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
idl
the Dutch character had a decided and obvious
preponderance, which is still the case in some
towns. This was manifest to the eye of the
transient observer, in the manners and habits
of the people, and even in the form and style
of their buildings. A Dutch house, or a Dutch
barn, has been, from time immemorial, a term
that conveyed as definite an idea to the mind
as the most detailed description could have
given. And till after the commencement of
the present century, a Dutch church was in-
variably conceived to bear a strong- resem-
blance to a light-house, only occupying more
ground at its base, and not extending to so
great a height. And so peculiarly appropriate
was this form of church building, in the public
estimation, that other denominations some-
times erected their houses of worship on the
same plan.
On the other hand the people of Suffolk
county, being almost exclusively of English
or New England origin, present to the present
da}' the constant evidence of Yankee predilec-
tion. Overlooking the physical features of the
country, the traveler can not divest his mind of
the idea that he is in the midst of a New Eng-
land population, living in New England habi-
tations. And had he entered almost any one
of their churches, some thirty years ago, be-
fore "the spirit of improvement" swept over
the land, he would have recognized in the vast
pulpit, sufficiently large to hold a dozen min-
isters, with its deacon's seat beneath, and a
sounding board of corresponding size above,
which always attracted the attention of chil-
dren more than the preacher, and filled them
with constant apprehension that it might fall
and crush the man of God in the midst of his
devotions ; in the large square pews, too. which
obliged one-half the congregation (and those
were generally the children) to sit with their
backs to the minister, and thus, in spite of
themselves and all their efforts to become list-
less and sleepy hearers, — in all these and many
other particulars the observer, if from New
England, would recogniize the fac sUnilc of his
native church. The writer has always been of
the opinion that the devil had as much of a
hand in the invention of sounding boards and
square pews as he had in the Salem witch-
craft, and that the scheme has been vastly
more successful, in its pernicious influences,
on the rising generation.
But in Queens county there is nothing of
this unique, homologous character, either in
the manner of the people, the style of their
buildings or the moral aspect of society. Here
Yankees and Dutchmen, Presbyterians and
Quakers, men of every religion and no re-
ligion, have for almost two centuries been min-
gled together, with all their various affinities
and repulsions ; and while the effervescence
has been constantly going on, the time is yet
future, if it ever is to come, when it is to sub-
side into one homogeneous mass.
It may therefore be readily inferred from
the facts of the case that there is and always
has been a greater diversity of religious views,
and consequently of the moral habits of the
people of this county, with far less of fellow
feeling and assimilated manners, than in any
other district of the island. Except in a few
thickly settled spots, houses of religious wor-
ship, till of late years, have been much fewer
in number and attended by a less proportion
of the population, than in the other counties;
while in many towns, fishing and hunting,
traveling and visiting and even ordinary secu-
lar labor, are indulged in by multitudes on the
Sabbath day. Its "proximity to the city has
doubtless increased these evils, if it has not
been their origin ; but it is to be apprehended
that too many of the inhabitants are voluntary
panderers to the votaries of pleasure from the
great metropolis.
And here it is proper to notice one of the
principal means of demoralization, with which
this county as well as the adjacent parts have
been cursed for the space of one hundred and
eighty years. Here has been the permanent
arena of "sports of the turf," as they are de-
nominated in the jockey dialect, since the year
following the surrender of New York to the
government of Britain.
This regular system of horse racing was
established in 1665 by Governor Nicoll. Four
years afterward (1669) his successor, Gov-
ernor Lovelace, issued a proclamation appoint-
ing "trials of speed," to take place in the
month of May annually, and ordering the jus-
tices of Hempstead to receive subscriptions ( !)
for "a crown of silver, or the value thereof in
good wheat," to be the reward of the winner.
The ostensible argument for this procedure
was "for the purpose of improving and en-
couraging a good breed of horses," an argu-
ment diat is most ridiculouslv retained in our
statute book to the present day. Every man
of reflection knows, that from the first settle-
ment of this country, the breed of race-horses
is the last species of the animal that the ex-
igencies of the people have demanded. In
792
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
days gone by those capable of enduring hard-
ship and of easy support have been sought
after, while extraordinary speed has been only
a secondary consideration and of limited de-
mand in the occupations of life. But now,
when the iron horse, which travels untired
with the speed of a hurricane, has entirely
superseded the use of the fleetest steeds, it is
to be hoped that when the current "fifteen
years" shall have expired the act, with its base-
less reason, will cease to disgrace the statute
book of the State, whose laws forbid every
species of gambling.
The Hempstead Plain, or its vicinity, has
been the permanent theater of these semi-an-
nual enactments, from their commencement in
1665. The "Newmarket Course," called also
"Salisbury Plain," was in the southwest cor-
ner of North Hempstead, five miles east of
Jamaica, and was thus occupied for more than
one hundred and fifty years. This was ex-
changed, some twenty years ago, for the
"Union Course," three miles west of Jamaica,
a circle of a mile's circumference, completely
palisadoed, for this exclusive purpose. And
here are regularly enacted, twice a year, scenes
which no imagination, however fertile, can de-
pict, without the aid of ocular demonstration.
It has been stated, and the statement stands
micontradiicted, that at a single course of races
fifty thousand persons attended, and two hun-
dred thousand dollars were lost and won, and
that during the five days that the "sports" con-
tinued the toll of the Fulton Ferry Company
averaged one thousand dollars per day, and it
was supposed that the other revenues from the
city realized an equal sum. But the gambling,
expense and loss of time attending these scenes
of dissipation form only a part of the evils
with which they arc connected. The drinking
— the swearing — the licentiousness — the con-
tentions and other nameless crimes, which are
here periodically committed, with the counte-
nance of law, are enough to sicken the soul of
every man that fears God and is disposed to
reverence his commands, and must induce him
to wish most devoutly for the time to come,
and that speedily, when this crying abomina-
tion, with all its accompaniments, shall be
banished from this once sacred soil of Puri-
tans and Huguenots.
There is no reason to doubt tliat the ft?-
sion for horse racing, so long and so assidu-
ously cultivated, has had a powerful influence
in stamping the character of the people of this
county with traits so diverse from either of
those with which it stands in juxtaposition.
Suffolk county embraces the whole of the
remaining part of Long Island (proper) with
its adjacent islands. i\Iuch of the land, as al-
ready described, is a barren waste. In travel-
ing through it the stranger finds it difficult to
imagine how even the wandering deer can find
sustenance, much more how human beings
can secure an adequate support. And yet it
is astonishing to see, in a propitious season,
how large crops are raised from these sterile
plains. Good Indian corn may frequently be
seen growing in the fine white sea sand, which
has evidently been drifted by the waves and
the winds to the distance of miles. This,
slightly mingled with sea mud and vegetable
mould, conveyed by the same agency, forms
a substratum, if not a soil, in which, in a wet
season (for, on Long Island, water is pre-
eminently a main supporter of vegetation)
corn and other grains will grow with aston-
ishing rapidity and luxuriance.
But while these remarks apply, with strict
propriety, to large portions of this county,
there are extensive tracts of excellent land,
which amply repay the labor of cultivation.
This is true, not only of the ntmierous necks
of land which jut out into the surrounding
waters and the margins of the numberless
bays, coves and harbors, but also of large
bodies of land situated in almost every part
of the island. But the writer would gladly
whisper in the ear of many large land holders
in this, his native county, if they could be
persuaded to believe it, that there is a great
deal more profit in cultivating one acre of land
well, than in ten acres badly. The fact is,
many on Long Island, as in other parts of the
country, own and work too much land. The
writer has in his mind's eye a farm of nearly
a thousand acres, which, half a century ago,
was owned and cultivated under the direction
of a single individual, who was called a great
farmer. But when he had ruined himself by
the operation, and had surrendered the whole
to pay his debts (as honest, but unfortunate
men were in the habit of doing in old times),
it was cut up and sold to six or eight persons,
who have since supported as many families
from its productions. And if it could under-
go another, and even another subdivision, it
might afford sustenance to double or quad-
ruple the present number, besides materially
improving the aspect of the town in which it
is situated. The same remarks apply to scores
of farms in this county, which, in their present
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
(03
condition, are to their owners what self-right-
■eousness is to the sinner, "the more they have
the worse they are off." We have seen that
in this county there is an average of eighteen
acres to every inhabitant, wliile there is many
an acre in Kings comity that furnishes su|)port
to a whole family. And though the proximity
of a great market maizes a vast dilTerence in
the vahie of vegetable productions, the dis-
parity in the two cases would be exceedingly
reduced by applying more manure and more
labor to less ground. There is no knowing
till the experiment is fairly made, how much
an acre of land may be made to produce by
good husbandry.
But it is not intended by these remarks to
convey the idea that all the farmers of old
Suffolk are regardless of the improvements
made in agriculture, or that they are in the
habit of taxing their fields without furnishing
them the means of answering the demand.
More or less attention has long been paid to
the importance of manuring, and they would
be singularly culpal;)le if this were not the
case, since nature has furnished them with
peculiar facilities for the accomplishment of
the work. The waters with which they are
surrounded not only furnish a large supply of
provisions for immediate use, but they are the
unfailing sources of enriching the land. The
seaweed, which is cast up in immense quanti-
ties on the whole extent of shore and various
other productions of the bays and marshes are
daily yielding vast supplies of fertilizing ma-
terials.
But more than all, the countless multitudes
of one peculiar species of fish, which crowd the
bays and press upon the ocean's shore, of
which millions are annually taken for the sole
purpose of manure, are the principal source
of fertility to the land. In several of the east-
ern towns this business is as regularly pursued,
during a part of the summer, as ploughing
and sowing, or mowing and reaping in their
appropriate seasons. For this purpose, the
farmers of the neighborhood form themselves
into a company sufficiently large to afford a
relief of hands every week, and having provid-
ed themselves with a large seine, boats, a fish-
house on the shore and every necessary con-
venience, the party on duty take up their resi-
dence on the water side, and it is impossible to
convev to a stranger's mind the immense prod-
uct of a week's labor. A single haul of a seine
has been calculated at one million of fish.
These fish are called bv various names, as
skip-hog, moss-bonker, shad and bony-fish,
the last of which is the most descriptive.
Though of a good flavor and generally very
fat, they are so perfectly filled with fine bones
that it is hazardous to eat a particle of them.
It would seem as if the God of nature had
formed and annually sent them in such im-
mense Quantities to these shores for the sole
purpose of fertilizing the land. By this means
alone, the value of much of the land on the
east end of the island has been doubled, and
by the same means its present value is main-
tained. For many years Suffolk county did
not raise sufficient grain for its domestic sup-
l)ly. wdiile of late it has exported a large an-
nual surplus. It may be added here, that in
taking these fish, other kinds of an excellent
quality for the table are caught in sufficient
quantities to supply the fishermen and whole
vicinity with fresh fish every day, while those
which are not wanted for food are cast into the
common receptacle. So that, on the whole,
though this country, from the nature of the
land, may never be able to sustain a popula-
tion proportioned to its superficial extent in
comparison with other portions of the State, it
is really questionable whether there is any part
of the world in which the means of support-
ing life can be more readily 6btained. And
one thing is believed to be certain that in no
part of this republican country is there so
great an equality and such a strong sympathy
and perfect fellow-feeling among the whole
mass of population as in Suffolk county, es-
pecially in the eastern towns.
The following extract from \'ol. I of the
"Transactions of the Society Instituted in the
State of New York for the Promotion of Ag-
riculture, Arts and Manufactures, in Febru-
arv, 1 79 1, will give some idea of the fertilizing
effects, as well as the vast quantities of these
fish which were taken, even at that early day.
"Observations on Manures, by Ezra
L'Hommedieu, Esq., read in March, 1795.
"Notwithstanding the great improvements
which have been made in husbandry in diff'er-
ent parts of Europe and America it is far from
being ascertained what is the largest quantity
of produce, which may be raised from a given
quantitv of land by manure. It will no doubt
be much more than from the most fertile land
in its natural state. I have heard of no in-
stance of new land producinsf more wheat
than forty-two bushels to the acre. In Suff'olk
county, some years ago, at Huntington, by
manure fifty-two bushels of v\dieat were raised
794
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
to the acre. Since the practice in that county
of manuring land by fish has been in use be-
tween forty and fifty bushels of wheat from
one acre is not an uncommon crop. And by
a late accidental experiment, it apears that the
product of grain from an acre will be in pro-
portion to the quantity of this manure, and so
far as to exceed any production we have heard
of in any part of the world. A farmer in the
town of Riverhead, in Suffolk county, Mr.
Downs, having four thousand fish called
mossbonkers or Menhaden, strewed them
about the ist of June on twenty rods of
ground, being a poor, gravelly, dry soil, and
which without manure would not pay for the
tillage. These fish were plowed under a
shallow furrow ; at the time of sowing, about
the last of September, the ground was plowed
up again, and a little deeper: by har-
rowing the putrefied fish were well mixed with
the earth, and the ground sown with rye at
the rate of one bushel to the acre. The ground
being well covered in the fall, the rve was not
injured in the winter : in the spring the growth
was remarkably rapid and luxuriant till it was
about nine inches high, when his neighbor's
sheep broke into the inclosure and eat it all
off close to the ground. The fence was mend-
ed and the rye grew again, and much thicker
than before, till it got about six inches high,
when the same sheep broke in again and the
second time eat it close to the ground. It
was then supposed the crop would be lost,
but it grew up again with additional thick-
ness and great rapidity; it all .stood well,
the ears were very long and full and Mr.
Downs assured me he had sixteen bushels
of rye from his twenty rods of ground.
This production was so extraordinarv that al-
though I could have no reason to doubt the
assertion of Mr. Downs, I conversed with
some of his neighbors on the subject, who had
seen the rye growing at different times and
just before harvest — they made no doubt of
the fact, and observed the heads and thickness
of the rye far exceeded anything they had seen
or could ha.ve imagined. This piece of land
was manured at the rate of thirty-two thou-
sand fish per acre, which would cost, including
the carting from the shore where they were
taken, ten shillings per thousand, which would
be si.xteen pounds. The product would be one
hundred and twenty-eight bushels, which at
that time was worth eight shillings per bushel,
which is fifty-one pounds four shillings. If
we allow three dollars for the plowing, gather-
ing and threshing the grain per acre, with the
straw, which will be fully adecjuate to the
labor, there will remain eighty-five dollars
clear of expense on the net proceeds of one
acre of rye thus manured and produced. .'-X.nd
Mr. Downs' profits on the twenty rods of rye
were four pounds five shillings.
"Mr. Downs as well as his neighbors were
of opinion that unless the accidents of the
sheep eating off the rye twice had happened,
the whole would have been lost by reason of
its falling or lodging. If this opinion be right,
by this experiment we are taught the necessity
of cutting or feeding off the grain on lands
highly manured, in order to preserve the crop.
Perhaps the thicker such land is sown the less
necessity there will be for cutting or feeding,,
as there will be more original strong stalks.
Most of the lands in this country of the same
quality will bring more bushels of wheat than
rye — and I trust by improvements on this ex-
periment, which was merely accidental, we
may soon be informed of a much larger quan-
tity of wheat being raised on an acre than
hitherto has been raised in Europe or America.
"It was expected that the taking of these •
fish in such large quantities on the sea coast
for manure, would in a few years destroy
them, but hitherto they have increased. This
year I saw two hundred and fifty thousand
taken at one draught, which must have been
much more than one hundred tons. One seine
near me caught more than one million the last
season, which season lasts about one month.
Various are the modes of manuring land by
fish. Those that are taken early in the sea-
son are by some carted on the land, spread
lightly and plowed under the furrow for rais-
ing Indian corn ; this com is taken off in the
fall and the land plowed and sowed for wheat.
By this mode they have two good crops by
manuring once."
The eastern towns on Long island were,,
for the most part, originally settled on a dif-
ferent basis from most of the other colonies of
this country. They had no royal charter or
proprietary patent as the foundation of civil
government. Having purchased their lands
of the original proprietors of the soil and ,
secured a corresponding grant from the pat-
entee, without anv restrictions to their civil
rights, they found themselves absolutely in a
state of nature, possessing all the personal
rights and privileges which the God of nature
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
795
gave them, but without the semblance of
authority one over another. From the neces-
sity of the case they were thrown back upon
the source of all legitimate authority, the sov-
ereign people, and entered into a social com-
pact, in which every man had an equal voice
and equal authority. On this platform they
founded a pure democracy, and for several
years each town , maintained a perfectly inde-
pendent government, making their own laws
in public town meeting and executing them by
magistrates of their own appointment. And
it is worthy of remark that the invaluable priv-
ilege of trial by jury was at once introduced,
though with this peculiarity, that a majority
was sufficient to render a verdict. And when,
afterwards, one town after another deemed
it expedient to unite themselves with •the
larger colonies of New England, it was
not because they felt themselves incapable of
managing their own internal affairs, but solely
for defense from foreign aggression. And the
nature of the union was rather that of an al-
liance, than of subjection.
Being thus trained up in the possession
and exercise of all their natural rights and
privileges, they exhibited through the whole
course of their colonial existence, the most
unyielding determination to maintain these sa-
cred immunities. And in this they generally
agreed to a man. It is a fact, though little
known, but worthy of being handed down to
posterity, that the declaration of rights and a
solemn pledge not to submit to British taxa-
tion, proposed in a meeting in the city of New
York, April 29, 1775, and distributed for sig-
natures in every town in the province, was
signed by the 6th of July of that year by every
man capable of bearing arms in the town of
Easthampton, to the number of two hundred
and eighty individuals. This is surely a much
more notable fact than that since the establish-
ment of the present government the elections
of that town have often been returned without
a dissenting vote, and the former gives a ready
explanation of the latter. Similar unanimity,
though not as entire, characterized the most of
the towns of this county during "the times that
tried men's souls."
There is another fact, however great the
contrast with the present state of things, which
gives this and the adjoining counties a conse-
quence that has long since been lost sight of.
There was a period, and that of some consider-
able duration, when Long Island constituted
the great body of the province of New York.
It was the first occupied by actual immigrants
for the purpose of a permanent settlement and
agricultural pursuits. Here the first churches
were organized and the first towns formed.
And in the easternmost town, within less than
twenty miles of Montauk Point, and at Flat-
bush, near the western extremity, the first in-
corporated academies in the great state of New
York were erected and put in successful opera-
tion.
The first Assembly of Deputies that the
representative of royal power condescended to
convoke for consultation, the year after the
surrender of the province to British arms, was
held at Hempstead March i, 1665, and (with
the exception of two) was composed entirely
of representatives from the several towns of
the island.
The first Legislative Assembly convened in
1683, was not only procured through the re-
monstrances and demands of Long Island
more than any other part of the colony, but
was in a great measure made up of its rep-
resentatives. The first speaker in that body
was either then or afterwards a resident of the
island, and the same office was afterwards held
by one of its representatives sixteen out of
twenty-one years. Though now regarded as
the mere "fag-end," Long Island was once
both the body and soul of the province of New
York. Nor has she deteriorated in her in-
trinsic worth, though she has been completely
lost sight of and almost cast into oblivion in
the extending glory of a great commonwealth,
which has arrogated to itself the proud title
of the "Empire State."
But patriotic views and love of national
liberty do not constitute the chief glory of old
Sufliolk. It is her primitive puritanism which
it is believed has been illustrated here, in piety
towards God and love to men, for two hun-
dred years, and now exists in more of its orig-
inal purity than can be found on any other spot
of equal extent on the American continent.
Let it be proclaimed in trumpet-tongued ac-
cents that here no man was ever persecuted
and disfranchised for his religious opinions,
nor man or woman executed for heresy or
witchcraft. On the contrary, from the first or-
ganization of their civil institutions, they or-
dained the widest toleration of religious opin-
ions, so long as it was not exercised for the
seduction of others and the injury of the com-
munity, and that, too, while as yet suc^h an
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
article had not been enacted, if it had been
conceived, on the continent of America.
From the natural reserve of a people
brought up in seclusion from the rest of the
world, which still, in a measure, distinguishes
them, these traits of character may not be
readily recognized by the casual observer. But
if the present generation have not greatly de-
generated from the sentiments and practices
of their immediate predecessors, among whom
the writer spent some of the happiest years of
his early life, a residence of a few months or
even weeks among these primitive people on
the east end will afford complete conviction of
the correctness of these remarks.
THE YAHDEVERE RESIDEHCE.
Ik
,-j.
CHAPTER LVIII.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
By marc F. VALLETTE, LL. D.
PART I.— THE PRE-DIOCESAN PERIOD.
T MAY be a matter of no little surprise
to Long Islanders to know that their
island was colonized by Catholics as
far back as 1634, and that it is almost
coeval with Maryland in giving Catholics
shelter from non-Catholic persecution and at
the same time offering an asylum to non-
Catholics fleeing from the persecution of their
co-religionists; yet such is a fact.
The first constitution of the colony of
New Jersey, or, as it is known in its first
charter, the province of New Albion (which
comprised New Jersey and Long Island, in
the present State of New York), proclaimed
religious toleration to all, in these words :
"No persecution to any dissenting, and to
all such, as the Walloons, free chapels ; and to
punish all as seditious, and for contempt, as
bitterly rail and condemn others of the con-
trary; for the argument or persuasion of Re-
ligion, Ceremonies, or Church Discipline,
should be acted in mildness, love, and charity,
and gentle language, not to disturb the peace
or quiet of the inhabitants."
The Catholic leader of this Colony, and per-
haps the first Englishman that settled New
Jersey, was Sir Edmund Plowden, a member
of an old Saxon family of Shropshire, Eng-
land, whose antiquity is amply established by
the meaning- of the surname, "Kill-Dane."
This gentleman, with other noble "adventur-
ers," petitioned King Charles I for a patent
under His Majesty's seal of Ireland, for
"Manitie, or Long Isle," and "thirty miles
square of the coast next adjoining, to be
erected into a County Palatine called Lyon, to
be held of 'his Majesty's Crown of Ireland,' "
etc.*
This island of "Manitie or Long Isle" was
also known as the Isle of Plowden, for in the
charter of Charles I the King gives to Ed-
mund Plowden "all that entire island near the
continent or terra firma, * * * called the
Isle of Plowden or Long Island, and lying near
or between the 39th and 40th degree of north
latitude." There were "four Kings on Long
Isle, with about eight hundred bowmen ;" and
a chivalric order, the "Albion Knights," was
established "for the conversion of the twenty-
three Kings" or twenty-three Indian tribes,
residing within the entire limits of Sir Ed-
mund Plowden's grant.
*See Burke's Commoners and Landed Gentry of Great
Britain and Ireland, under "Plowden;" Baker's North-
amptonshire, under "Fermor;" the Visitation of Ox-
fordshire, published by the Harleian Society; Records
of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, by
Henry Foley, S. J, London, 1S7.")-.S2. Winsor's Narra-
tive and Critical History of .Vmerica, vol. HL p. 4.")7,
Rev. R, L, Burtsell, D. D., in Catholic World for
July, 187.-..
798
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
The number of persons who resided in
New Albion, and especially on Long Island,
under the rule of the Plowdens is difficult to
ascertain. That there were settlers on the Isle
of Plowden is sufficiently established, but how
many and what became of them is shrouded
in mystery. Religious persecutions and civil
commotions in England contributed largely
to preventing Sir Edmund Plowden and his
Catholic associates from realizing their plans
for colonizing New Albion, as they had fondly
hoped to do, but the fact remains that Long
Island formed part of. a province founded by
a Catholic, with the purpose of securing entire
freedom of religion to all within its limits.
"Calvert and Roger Williams," says Mul-
ford in his "History of New Jersey," "have
been represented as standing entirely alone"
as the exponents of religious liberty to all,
"until the appearance of Penn. This is not
just or true. * * * Though Plowden's
designs were not successful, though the work
he projected fell short of completion, yet he
deserves to be ranked with the benefactors of
our race, and New Albion is entitled to a
higher place in the history of human progress
than is often allotted to older and greater and
more fortunate States."
We have seen above that there were Cath-
olic settlers on Long Isle as far back as 1648.
Father Jogues, in his "Novum Belgium" (1643-
44), mentions the existence of some Catholics
in the vicinity in his time;, in 1654 the Jesuit
LeMoyne visited New York from time to time
and administered to the wants of the Catholics
in the vicinity; in 1657 we find a Frenchman,
Nicholas by name^^ living in Walebrocht, who
refused to pay an assessment of six guilders
for the support of Dominie Polhemus on the
"frivolous excuse" that he was a Catholic.
The poor fellow was obliged to pay twelve
guilders instead of six! In 1756 Long Island
received quite an accession of Catholics in the
Arcadian exiles who found homes in Kings,
Queens and Suffolk counties.
The earliest Catholic of distinction con-
nected with Long Island, and whose name has
come down to us, was Thomas Dongan, Gov-
ernor of New York, who in 1683 convoked the
first General Assembly of New York, which
granted the celebrated Charter of Liberties
recognizing freedom of conscience. In 1688
he 'retired to his farm at Hempstead. Tlie
Dongan white oak, "which had become his-
torical as a monumental tree, being named
in the patent of Governor Dongan which estab-
lished the boundary lines of Brooklyn, was
felled to the ground in the days of the Revo-
lution for the construction of rude fortifica-
tions. The stern exigencies of war had called
for its sacrifice ; and its great branches, filling
a narrow lane, proved a formidable though
temporary obstacle to the enemy's advance."*
Governor Dongan "and his fellow worship-
pers met in a little chapel" for religious pur-
poses. Here no doubt mass was offered up
by the English Jesuit Fathers that the Gov-
ernor had brought with him to counteract the
influence of the French Jesuits among the
Indians in the upper part of the State. The
early Brooklyn Catholics were obliged to cross
the East River in order to hear mass on Sun-
days. There were no ferry boats then, nor
great bridges, and crossing the river in row-
boats or flat-boats was often attended with
danger, especially in winter, when the river
was filled with floating ice.
Old St. James'. — Prior to 1822 there was
not a Catholic church on Long Island, but in
that year (on January ist) the Catholics of
the village of Brooklyn resolved that "what-
ever they did in word or work" should be done
"all in the name of Lord Jesus Christ, giving
thanks to God the Father, through Him."
They wanted "their children instructed in the
*The Battle of Long Island, by Thomas W. Field.—
The little bluff on the east, commanding the Flatbush
and old Post roads at their junction in the Valley Grove
was the sight of a two-gun battery which enfiladed the
former road, up which the Hessians marched to assist
Sullivan's lines on .•Vugust 27, 1770. A few rods in front
of this battery and almost in the center of the Flatbush
road stood the Dongan oak.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
799
principles of our Holy Religion," and "more
convenience in hearing the word of God them-
selves."
A society was formed with the approbation
of the Rt. Rev. John Connollv, O. P., D. D.,
then Bishop of New York, for the purpose of
securing the ends in view, and on January 7th
the first meeting was held at the residence of
Peter Turner, at the southeast corner of Wash-
ington and Front streets. Associated with
Peter Turner were James M. Laughlin and
William Purcell. After a careful examination
it appeared that only seventy men were able
to give any assistance to the good work under-
taken, and some of these, not being able to
contribute money, generously ofifered the labor
of their hands. On March 2d eight lots of
ground were bought at the corner of Jay and
Chapel streets, for $800 ; of this amount $500
was paid in cash and a mortgage was given
for the balance. It must be borne in mind
that these good men, while acting with the
approval of the Bishop of New York, under
whose jurisdiction Brooklyn was at that time,
were also working under great disadvantages.
They were without the aid or guidance of a
pastor, and although they made many earnest
and repeated requests for one, the Bishop had
none to give them. They were entirely de-
pendent on the kindness of the Very Rev.
John Power, of St. Peter's Church, Barclay
street. New York, who, whenever opportunity
offered, crossed the East River in a row-boat
and said mass for them in a private house.
Sometimes his place would be taken by Fathers
Richard Bulger, Auley McCauley, Michael
O'Gorman, Patrick McKenna and others, and
these good Fathers would offer up mass in
Mr. Depsey's "Long Room" in Fulton street.
The first mass celebrated in Brooklyn was hy
the Rev. Philip Lariscy, O. S. A., at the resi-
dence of Mr. William Purcell, at the northeast
corner of York and Gold streets.
Perseverance, such as these good people
displayed in the face of so many difficulties,
could not go unrewarded. They had purchased
ground for the erection of a church and also
for a burial ground ; they had this ground
blessed on the feast of St. Mark ( April
25) by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Connolly, and
they had taken courage from the kind
words of Rev. Richard Bulger, who preached
on that occasion. Slowly but surely the
first Catholic Church in Brooklyn advanced
toward completion. On December 31, 1822,
the following trustees were incorporated un-
der the general act: George S. Wise, Peter
Turner, William Purcell, D. Dawson, P. Scan-
Ian, W. McLaughlin and J. Rose. The work
went on, but it was still impossible to give
them a resident pastor, as there were only
eight priests in the entire diocese of New York
at that time. On the 28th of August, 1823,
Bishop Connolly dedicated the new clnirch to
the honor and glory of God, under the invoca-
tion of St. James. The interior of the church
was yet unfinished, and upon an altar con-
structed of a few boards roughly put together
the Rev. John Shanahan said the first mass.
The sermon was preached by Very Rev. Dr.
Power. The children of the new and still
pastorlesss parish required attention, and on
the 1 2th of the following month, J. Mehaney*
was appointed schoolmaster, sexton, and care-
taker of the graveyard which had just been
leveled and fenced in. The amount of money
expended up to this time was $7,118.16, quite
an amount for those days. The most strenu-
ous efforts were still made to secure a resident
pastor.
The Rev. Patrick M. Kenna, who had min-
istered to these persevering and energetic
Catholics with some degree of regularity, died
on Oct. 4, 1824, and was buried in St. James'
churchyard. This was a severe blow to the
new and struggling congregation, but they
were not discouraged. In January, 1825, they
sent through the Very Rev. Dr. Power some
$220 to Ireland to the Rev. Father Dufify, in
*Mr. Mehany
Brooklyn,
the first Catholic schoolmaster
800
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the hope of securing his services as their pas-
tor; but, as he decUned to come at that time,
the money was returned. It was not until the
following April that Dr. Power, acting as Ad-
ministrator of the Diocese of New York, the
Bishop being in Europe at the time, was able
to send a pastor to St. James'. This was the
Rev. John Farnan, * who became "the first res-
ident clergyman and who received $600 a year
and house rent free." During his pastorate he
introduced the Sisters of Charity, who took
charge of a school opened in the basement of
the church, and in other ways advanced the
condition of a parish which was only too ready
to second him in every good work undertaken.
But his pastorate did not last very long.
In 1832 Father Farnan was succeeded by
Rev. John Walsh, a student of St. Mary's,
Montreal, and who had been ordained five
years before (1827) by Bishop Dubois. Fa-
ther Walsh is regarded by many of the old St.
James' people as the real founder of the mis-
sion. His pastorate lasted over ten years, and
was marked by great zeal for the welfare of
his people. While at St. James' Father Walsh
visited the Catholic families at Sag Harbor,
Flushing and Staten Island.
In 1834 an act was passed "incorporating
the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum Society
in the City of Brooklyn in the County of
Kings." From this we see that the building
of old St. James' was soon followed by a move
toward the education of Catholic children and
a tender care for the orphans. (Reference to
the Orphan Asylum will be made further on.)
During his pastorate Father Walsh was as-
sisted successively by Rev. James Dougherty,
who died March 29, 1841 ; Rev. Philip Gillick,
Rev. Patrick Danahar, and Rev. James Mc-
Donough. Father Walsh died at Harlem, Aug-
ust 8, 1852, aged sixty-seven years. As an evi-
dence of the high esteem in which he was
held by his superiors it may be stated that
"Bishop Dubois, who ordained him, had af-
firmed of him years before that of all clergy
of the Diocese Father Walsh was primus inter
optimos." For ten years or so, tmtil 1841, he
labored throughout the whole extent of Long
Island, building churches, and then resigned
in order to become a Trappist, in Mount Mell-
eray, Ireland. But his love for souls led him
back again to missionary life," * and on his
return to the United States he became pastor
of St. Paul's Church, Harlem. His successor
at St. James was the Rev. Charles Smith, who
remained there until 1847, ^^d enlarged the
old church.
St. Paul's. — In the meantime the number of
Catholics in Brooklyn had been increasing in
number. They began to spread over the city
and it was not long before St. James was too
far away to suit the convenience of those who
lived on the other side of Fulton street. The
truly Catholic perseverance which had marked
the early struggle of the people of old St.
James' had strengthened their faith and awak-
ened a spirit of seli-sacrifice. Cornelius Hee-
ney, a man of means and of heart too, was
ready to do his part towards the erection of
another church. In 1835 he gave the piece of
land valued at $8,000 and formerly offered to
St. James', situated at the corner of Court
and Congress Streets, and in the following
year St. Paul's was erected upon it. It was
built of brick, 72 feet by 125 feet, at a cost
of somewhere about $20,000. The debts in-
curred in its erection were generously shar-:d
in by the good people of St. James', a truly
Christian but rather unusual proceeding now-
adays. St. Paul's Church was dedicated by
Bishop Dubois and his coadjutor, the Rt. Rev.
John Hughes, D. D. The first regular pastor
was Rev. Richard Waters, who remained only
two years, 1838-1840 ; but during that time he
established a parochial school, which he placed
under the care of the Sisters of Charity, and
*Register of Clergy Laboring in New York, by Mo
Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D.
*Register of Clergy Laboring i
:ev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D.
New York, by Most
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OX LONG ISLAND.
H)l
began several other good works. He was suc-
ceeded by Rev. Nicholas O'Donnell, O. S. A.,
who, with his cousin, the Rev. James O'Don-
nell, also a Hermit of St. Augustine, came from
Philadelphia and labored not only at St. Paul's,
but at many other places on Long Island.
Father Nicholas O'Donnell was evidently a
man of learning and literary tastes. It was
under his editorial management that the first
issue of the Catholic Herald, the first Catholic
paper published in Philadelphia, appeared on
January 3, 1833. In 1844 he appeared in con-
nection with his cousin and the Very Rev.
John Hughes (afterwards Archbishop of New
York) in a suit against the County of Phila-
delphia, to recover damages for the wanton
destruction of St. Augustine's Church, in that
city, during the Native American riots of that
year. In 1846 he was recalled to Rome, much
to the regret of his parishioners of St. Paul's.
Father O'Donnell was succeeded by Rev.
Joseph A. Schneller, whose long pastorate is
still remembered by the older Brooklynites.
He was ordained by Bishop Dubois in 1827,
and was connected with the Society of Jesus
in the early part of his career. He was a man
of literary tastes and was for a time on the
staff of the New York Weekly Register and
Catholic Diary. Before taking charge of St.
Paul's he had been pastor of Christ's Church,
New York, and of St. Mary's Church, Albany.
While in the latter place he engaged in con-
troversy with the Rev. Dr. J. W. Campbell,
of the First Presbyterian Church, in that city,
and replied to his pamphlet, entitled "Papal
Rome." He also published a reply to Rev. Dr.
Sprague's pamphlet entitled, "Protestant
Christianity Contrasted with Romanism."
Father Schneller died Sept. 18, 1862, and was
succeeded by Rev. Robert Maguire.
St. Mary's. — In the meantime Father James
O'Donnell had been extending the field of his
labors to Williamsburg. In 1841 he built
St. Mary's Church. Three years before ( 1838)
Father Dougherty went over from St. Mary's
Church (Grand Street, New York), and said
51
Mass in a stable on Grand Street. This was
not, as some suppose, the first Mass said in
Williamsburg, because records show that
Father John Walsh, of St. James', and his
assistant, Father Bradley, visited Flushing,
Staten Island and Williamsburg in 1837, and
it is probable that they went there as early
as 1836. In 1839 Flushing was visited once a
month by Rev. Michael Curran, who also at-
tended Harlem and Throgg's Neck. Father
O'Donnell remained at St. Clary's Church
until 1844, and while here visited the Cath-
olics at various points on Long Island. We
find traces of him at Sag Harbor, Jamaica,
Flatbush and elsewhere.
Father James O'Donnell was a remarkable
man. It was just after the disastrous decline
in all real estate — and the village of Williams-
burg was by no means prosperous — that in
February, 1840, he succeeded in securing an
eligible site and at once set to work to obtain
contributions towards the erection of a church.
He succeeded so well that a small building was
erected during the year and it was dedicated
to our Blessed Lady under the title of St.
Mary's.
One of the first steps of Father O'Donnell
after organizing his congregation was to es-
tablish a Catholic Temperance Society, and in
the ensuing year we find the members honor-
ing the patron saint of Ireland by hearing-
Mass in that little church. In 1844 Father
O'Donnell was recalled by his superiors to St.
Augustine's Church, Philadelphia, just in time
to see the church and its most valuable library
destroyed by an infuriated mob. After a short
stay at Villanova, the Mother House of the
Augustinians in the United States, he visited
Ireland, and on his return to the LTnited States
went to the Diocese of Boston, the Bishop of
that See assigning him to the newly incorpor-
ated city of Lawrence. Here he erected a fine,
large church, dedicated to Our Lady, and la-
bored earnestly until summoned from the
world by an almost sudden death, on April 7,
1861. His name is still held in benediction in
802
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Lawrence and should never be forgotten in the
Diocese of Brooklyn.
Father O'Donnell was succeeded in Will-
iamsburg by the Rev. Sylvester Malone, who,
in view of the increase in his flock, which soon
numbered three thousand souls, resolved to
undertake the erection of a more commodious
edifice. He soon found an eligible site on Sec-
ond street, between South Second and Third
•streets, and plans for a fine church in the point-
ed style of Gothic architecture were prepared
by the eminent architect, Mv. P. J. Keily.
On May 30, 1847, at four o'clock in the
afternoon, a procession, led by the symbol of
salvation, and closing with a bishop in full pon-
tificals, entered the ground and proceeded to
the cross erected where the altar of the future
church was to stand. The solemn ceremonies
by which the Catholic Church blesses the stone
of her sacred edifices, was performed by the
illustrious Rt. Rev. John Hughes, D. D.,
Bishop of New York. A beautiful church, the
finest in Williamsburg, and in those days sur-
passed by few in the country, with a frontage
of sixty feet, facing the East River, and a
depth of one hundred feet, soon rose with its
spire towering one hundred and fifty feet. On
May 7, 1848, the church was solemnly dedi-
cated to the service of God. under the invoca-
tion of Sts. Peter and Paul.
But we must not anticipate. The year 1841
was a church-founding year for the Catholics
of Williamsburg. It was in this year that the
Rev. John Rafifeiner, the "apostle of the Ger-
mans" in this section of the country, gathered
his scattered countrymen around him, and out
of his own purse bought ground and erected
a church which his picus soul led him to dedi-
cate to the Alost Holy Trinity.
The Assumption. — Old St. James' Church
had been growing all these years, and another
-division of the parish was made, in 1842. This
time the new church was dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin, under the title of the Assump-
tion. This church had been commenced some
years before by Father Farnan, while undtr
ecclesiastical censure. It was his intention to
establish an independent Catholic Church, but.
as his congregation did not respond to his
needs, the church remained in an unfinished
condition for some years. In 1841 it was
bought by Bishop Hughes, who placed it under
the pastoral charge of Rev. David W. Bacon.
He completed the building and had it dedicat-
ed under the alDOve invocation, on June 10,
1842. Father Bacon was a hard worker and
hesitated at nothing. He would dress the
altar himself, and he was known to have cut
out the cassocks made for and worn by the
altar boys. His congregation grew rapidly
and demonstrated the necessity for further
church extension. He was largely instru-
mental in the erection of the church of St.
Alary's Star of the Sea, but before its comple-
tion he was called to a higher dignity and a
broader field. He was consecrated Bishop of
Portland. Maine, in 1855. His successor was
the Rev. Wm. Keegan, who had been his as-
sistant for some time.
Father Keegan was born in the County
Kings, Ireland, in 1824, and came to this coun-
try in 1842. He graduated from St. John's
College, Fordham, in 1849, and, continuing
his ecclesiastical studies, acted as professor
until October 16, 1853, when he was ordained
by the Most Rev. Cajetan Bedini, Archbishop
of Thebes, and Papal Nuncio to the L'nited
States. He was immediately appointed assist-
ant at the Church of the Assumption, and on
the promotion of Father Bacon to the See of
Portland he became its pastor. It was not
long before he enlarged and beautified the
church. Some time later he erected what was
then one of the finest parochial school-houses
in the country. In 1880 he was made Mcar
General of the Diocese, and held that honored
position up to the time of his death. May 10,
1890.
While rector of the Assumption, the Rev.
David W. Bacon interested himself in the erec-
tion of a new church on Court street, between
Luqueer and Nelson streets. But higher hon-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
803
ors awaited him and before lie had time to get
the building fully under way he was called,
1855, to preside over the newly erected See of
Portland, Maine. He was succeeded by Rev.
Edward Alaginnis, whose pastorate was very
short. In 1856 Rev. Eugene Cassidy became
pastor, and continued in that capacity for twen-
ty years. In 1872 he put a steeple on the
church and in 1873 a clock was added. In
1867 Father Cassidy, finding the "little chapel,"
which had been used as a school, too small to
accommodate his pupils, built a school house
60x100 feet, and three stories high. It now
contains some five hundred and sixty boys,
taught by the Franciscan Brothers, and six
hundred and seventy girls, taught by the Sis-
ters of St. Joseph. In 1876 Father Cassidy
was succeeded by Rev. Henry 0"Loughlin,
who remained pastor for ten years.. On
Alarch 9, 1888, the Rev. Joseph J. O'Connell,
D. D.. became pastor. In 1893 he built a large
hall for literary and social purposes and has
kept the parish up with the times. During
his connection with the Star of the Sea, Dr.
O'Connell has been honored both by his
Bishop and by the Sovereign Pontiff. Pope
Leo XIII raised him to the dignity of a
Consignor. He is one of Bishop ^tlcDonnell's
Diocesan Consultors and holds the position of
Defensor ^latrimonii, is one of the LIrban
Deans and is a member of the Catholic School
Board for Kings county.
Old St. Alai-y's. — We have seen that old
St. Alary 's Church (North Eighth and First
streets), Williamsburg, was commenced in
1841 by Father James O'Donnell. It was an
unpretentious wooden structure, but it was a
start, and the Catholics of that day, for a long
distance around, were wont to bury their dead
in its immediate vicinity. The little church has
long since disappeared, but the old tombstones
stood for fifty years, and told the Catholics of
a later generation who had been the founders
of their parish. In 1890 they, too, disappeared,
the dead were removed to Holy Cross ceme-
tery and the ground has been devoted to busi-
ness purposes.
The history of the old church, though
brief, is not devoid of interest, because of the
mighty tree that grew from this little mustard
seed. It was dedicated in 1843 by Bishop Du-
bois and the sermon was preached by Father
0"Donnell. On the same day a temperance
society was established, the first in Brooklyn,
by the \'ery Rev. Dr. Felix Varela, V. G., of
Xew York. In 1844, just after his ordination.
Rev. Sylvester Malone became the pastor. He
found a debt of $2,300 — no small amount in
those days — staring him in. the face. His peo-
ple, too, were scattered over a large extent of
territory, for his parish extended to Hal-
lett's Cove on the north, JMyrtle avenue on tlu-
south, Middle \'illage on the east, and the East
River on the west. Before the end of three
years, by energy and trust in God, he secured
not only the payment of this debt but the pur-
chase of a site for a new church in a more
eligible locality, ''convenient for the Catholics
of the Fourteenth as well as those of the Thir-
teenth ward, which were the only settled sec-
tions of Williamsburg" at that time. We have
already referred to tlie corner-stone laying and
dedication of this church on Sunday. Alav 8,
1848.
The years that followed were years of
thought and suffering for the good pastor,
and of anxiety to his people. In 1849 Father
jMalone fell a victim to that dreadful scourge,
the small-pox, contracted while attending to
his duties among the sick of his parish. Scarce-
ly had he recovered when the cholera broke out
among- his people. It is needless to say that
the good priest was at his post and that he
again shared the maladies of his people as well
as their troubles. Misfortunes never come
alone, and hardly had he recovered from his
second attack when the scourge of ship-fever
fastened its grip upon him. St. Peter and St.
Paul must have prayed and prayed hard that
he might be spared to his people, for Father
Malone was permitted to live on to bless a
flock by whom he was revered. He held as
warm a place in the hearts of non-Catholics as
in the hearts of his own people. In 1854 he
804
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
went to Rome to be present at the definition of
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
During his absence the anti-Catholic prejudice
that had manifested itself in the burning of
churches in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and
in the destruction of the Orphan Asylum in
Boston, reached Williamsburg and threatened
Father Malone's church. As the Know-Xoth-
ing rioters advanced tlrey were met at the
church door by Mayor Wall (a non-Catholic),
who declared that he would protect the church
of his absent friend if it cost him his life. The
church was saved and stands to-day as a noble
monument of charity and good will among
men.
Father Malone was noted for his devotion
to the American flag, and he was honored be-
fore his death by being made a member of the
Board of Regents of the University of the
State of New York. He died, universally re-
gretted', on Dec. 29, 1900.
St. Patrick's (Gowanus). — As far back as
1846, the Catholics of Gowanus and vicinity
were attended by the clergy of other parishes
as the opportunity offered. Father Peter ]\Ic-
Laughlin gathered them together in a small
wooden structure and organized a parish. The
old church was replaced by a more suitable
edifice in 1850. St. Patrick's Church at Fort
Hamilton was built in 1849.
It was a long distance from old St. James'
and the Church of the Assumption to Father
Malone's church, in WiUiamsburg, and yet
they were "adjoining parishes." The number
of Catholics was growing in this long stretch
of territory and they began to feel that there
ought to be a church somewhere in the Wall-
about region. The Catholic laymen of old St.
James' had gathered together, subject to the
Bishop, of course, and' built a church and then
waited until the Bishop could give them a
. priest. Why could not this be done again?
There was a public house on the old' Newtown
road (now Flushing avenue), kept' by a ]\Ir.
Markey, an Irish Catholic. Here, some time
in the early forties, a number of Catholics were
wont to meet and talk over their need of a
church. They were earnest men and meant to
do all in their power to meet that need. They
agreed that each man should contribute a cer-
tain amount, and finding that they had every
prospect of success they began to look about
for a suitable lot. Their patron saint befriend-
ed them. A small frame IMethodist meeting-
house on Kent avenue, near Willoughby ave-
nue, was purchased, with two lots of ground,
from the trustees, for something like $3,000.
These happy sons of Ireland immediately set
to work to make such alterations as would
transform their new property into a Catholic
church. This done, they petitioned Bishop
Hughes to send them a pastor, but he had
none to send them ; yet, with the example of
old St. James', the Mother of Churches in
Brooklyn, set them twenty years before, they
had learned to labor and to wait, until finally,
in 1843, the Rev. Hugh Maguire, who had
been laboriiig among the French Canadians of
St. Lawrence county, was given them as pas-
tor. Before six months had passed away he
found it necessary to enlarge the old church.
Later on a basement was added, in which he
opened a school for the children of his grow-
ing congregation.
Ten years had passed away since the first
meeting at ]\Iarkey's "house of call," and the
little mustard seed had been growing steadily
Brooklyn no longer had to depend on New
York for its priests. It had now a Bishop of
its own, and his far-seeing eye was not long in
telling him that a new and much larger church
must be built at once. The corner-stone of the
present beautiful edifice was laid on Nov. 5,
1854, and the new St. Patrick's Church was
dedicated in 1856. The old church was turned
into a school-house and was used as such for
many years. Among its teachers may be men-
tioned Manly Tallo, Esq., for many years
afterward editor of the Cleveland Catholic
Universe, and Mr. John Gallagher, now
(1901) principal of the Brooklyn Training
School for Teachers. The old building in
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
805
time gave way to the splendid academy for
boys, which was placed under care of the
Franciscan Brothers. The girls were provided
for in the large asylum back of the school and
conducted by the Sisters of Mercy. After a
pastorate of nineteen years Father Maguire
was succeeded by Rev. P. C. Fagan (1862-
1865), Rev. E. G. Fitzpatrick (1865-1872),
and the present pastor ( 1901), the Rev. Thom-
as Taafife.
"Father Thomas," as many of his people
love to call him, was born at Dromard, County
Longford, Ireland, in 1837. He made his
ecclesiastical studies at the well known mis-
sionary college of All Hallows, where he was
ordained in 1863. He came to this country
immediately after his ordination and labored
successfully at the church of St. Mary, Star
of the Sea, and at Our I-ady of Mercy, Brook-
lyn. It was while at the latter place that he
gave evidence of that executive ability which
pointed him out to Bishop Loughlin as the man
who alone was able to lift St. Patrick's Church
out of the financial difficulties in which it was
involved.
Hardly had Father Taaffe put the church
of Our Lady of Alercv on its feet and was
justly entitled to a season of rest, when he was
sent to face a debt of over $70,000 at St. Pat-
rick's. He had taken the vow of obedience to
the will of his superiors, he had preached
obedience to his people, and without a murmur
he removed to his new field of labor. But be-
fore he could begin to cut down that debt he
was obliged to put $20,000 more on it ! The
parochial house was unfit for habitation ; his
congregation was growing and would require
more priests to meet their wants. A suitable
house must be provided, and that immedi-
ately. The work was undertaken, the house
was built and two additional lots were pur-
chased for school purposes ; and what is better
still, in a few years the church was out of debt.
Arrangements were made for its solemn con-
secration as the crowning work of good Father
Taaffe's labors and sacrifices. But before he
could accomplish that which was nearest to his
heart, the Bishop ordered the purchase of addi-
tional lots and the erection of a school-house.
Overwhelmed with disappointment. Father
Taafife set to work to do the work assigned to
him. The school-house he erected is a credit
to our city, and his parochial school is one of
the ibest conducted in Brooklyn. He has, with-
in a year, erected a splendidly equipped school
for boys. The church has been renovated sev-
eral times, and now the good pastor is strug-
gling to get his church property out of debt
once more.
New Church of the Holy Trinity. — \\"e
have spoken of the Church of the Holy Trin-
ity, which Father Rafifeiner had built on lots
purchased with his own money, in 1841. The
German Catholics of Williamsburg had been
growing to such an extent that their old church
had become too small to accommodate them,
and on June 29, 1853, t'^^ Most Rev. Arch-
bishop Hughes laid the corner-tone of a
larger church, the Most Holy Trinity. Father
Raffeiner labored here until 1861, when he
went to his reward.
Few priests have done more for their peo-
ple than good Father Rafifeiner. He was born
at Mais in the Tyrol, on December 26, 1785,
and received in baptism the name of John
Stephen. From his tenderest childhood he
displayed these qualities of piety, firmness and
perseverance which distinguished him in after
life. His early manhood was not devoid of
struggles. The agitated condition of his coun-
try, and the imprisonment of Pope Pius VI T
made him almost despair of reaching ordina-
tion. For a time he devoted himself to the
practice of medicine with no little success, but
his yearning for a life in which he might
spend himself for the benefit of his fellow men
grew stronger with his knowledge of the in-
ner life of men. He resolved to resume his
theological studies at his old home in Tyrol.
On May i, 1825, at the age of forty, he had
the happiness of realizing his life-long desires
by receiving the commission that enabled him
805
HISTORY OF LOiNG ISLAND.
to minister to souls as well as bodies. He re-
mained at Tyrol for seven years, acting as pas-
tor of a church and chaplain to a hospital near
by. About this time the church in America
was calling for zealous missionaries to labor
among her German population. The Rt. Rev.
Dr. Fen wick, of Cincinnati, appealed to the
Emperor of Austria, through his Mcar Gen-
eral, Father Rese (who subsequently became
Bishop of Detroit), and the Leopoldine Asso-
ciation was formed. Its object was to assist
foreign missions, and Father Raffeiner's mis-
sionary spirit was aroused by its work. He
resolved to set out for America and devote
his life to the propagation of the faith among
the Germans who had settled first in Pennsyl-
vania and later on spread into Ohio, then a
comparatively new country, where church and
priest were rarely seen. He arrived in Xew
York on Jan. i, 1833, with the intention of
going to Cincinnati, where his friend, the Rev.
Father Henni, afterwards Archbishop of Alil-
waukee, was laboring with great success. Bifh-
op Dubois received Father Raft'einer very
warmly and pleaded with him on behalf of the
Germans in and around Xew York, and final-
ly prevailed upon him to remain in his diocesj.
From that time until the day of his death
he devoted himself to the service of God and
oi his people. His countrymen were poor, but
he managed to form a congregation of devoted
men and women. He leased an old Baptist
church at the corner of Pitt and Delancey
streets and transfurnitd it into a Catholic
churcli. Next he purchased lots for a building
of his own and soon laid the cornerstone of
St. Nicholas' Church (Second Street). This
was the first German Catholic Church in Xew
York ; it was dedicated on Easter Sundav,
1836.
But Xew York was not the only field to
which Father RafTeincr devoted his labors.
Bishop Fenwick, of Boston, invited him to his
diocese and in a little while he was building
churches there too. We cannot follow him
through all his works : it will be enough here
to "summarize the record of Father Rafifein-
er's church buildings: 1850, St. Francis'
Church. Bedford; 1853, St. Benedict's, New
Brooklyn: 1853, St. Boniface's, Brooklyn;
1855, St. Clary's, Winfield ; 1856. St. Fidelis',
College Point; 1857, St. Boniface's, Foster
Meadow ; i860, St. JMichael's, East New York;
and St. Margaret's, Middle Village. In addi-
tion to this, he founded the Orphan Asylum
Society and introduced into the Diocese, from
Ratisbon, the Dominican Sisters, committing
to them the care of the school and of the or-
phans. '■' Father Raflfeiner also extended the
fruits of his labor to Buffalo, Syracuse and
Patterson, so that at the time of his death he
could p:jint to thirty churches in the state of
Xew York that owed their origin and pros-
perity in one way or another to his zeal and de-
votion. No wonder that Bishops Dubois and
Hughes honored him with the appointment of
Mcar Genei-al for the Germans, and Bishop
Loughlin continued him in the sa:ne capacity
for the new Diocese of Brooklyn. He died on
July 16, 1 86 1, in the arms of his devoted as-
sistant, Rev. Michael May, who succeeded him
as Pastor oi the Church of the Holy Trinity
Rev. }ilichael May was bom at Waldkirch,
Bavaria, June 2, 1826, and after taking a thor-
ough ecclesiastical course was ordained on July
19, 1851. After eight years of service in his
native land, he determined to come to this
country and arrived in X'ew York on Alarch
2, 1859. Bishop Loughlin accepted his ser-
vices and at once assigned him to do duty at
the church of the ]\Iost Holy Trinity as assist-
ant to Father Raflfeiner, who was not long in
discovering that Father May was ciii Pricster
iiacli dc!)i Hcrtzcn Goitcs. and that in him he
would have a successor who would carry on
the work of the parish as he had planned it
The care of the young, the orphan and the
sick, commended itself to Father May, and
his wisdom and prudence may be seen in the
magnificent church he has reared to the ser-
*JohnH. Haaren, in the Catholic Annual for 189.5.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG. ISLAND.
807
vice of God, a church costing- some $300,000;
in the flourishing schools, with their 800 chil-
dren ; in the Orphan Asylum, with its four or
five hundred inmates; in the hospital which
has opened its doors to thousands of unfort-
unate men and women who have received the
best ward and dispensary treatment that the
latest discoveries in medical science can afford.
Bishop Loughlin fully appreciated Father
May's work by making him Vicar General,
and shortly before his death Father May was
honored by Pope Leo XIII with the dignity of
a Monsignor. Father May died, universally
regretted, on the nth of February, 1895.
St. Charles' Borromeo. — If the Catholics in
the Eastern District had been increasing in
numbers and building churches in which they
might practice the religion of their choice,
tlieir brethren in the Western D'lstrict were
not behind them. They, too, needed more
church room. St. Paul's had become too far
away from St. James', and the good Catholics
in the intervening space 'must needs have a
church of their own. Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes
had foreseen this and he soon organized a
new parish, which he placed under the charge
of the Rev. Charles Constantine Pise, D. D.
Near the corner of Sydney Place and Living-
ston street stood the old Church of the Em-
manuel, which the Episcopalians had built ten
years before and which they were now anxious
to sell. Doctor Pise bought it and on Decem-
ber 30, 1849, "ifter having been remodeled
and renovated, it was dedicated to the service
of God, under the invocation of St. Charles
Borromeo. There is an incident connected
with the early history of this church which is
not devoid of interest. It was here that the
Rt. Rev. Levi Silliman Ives, Episcopal Bishop
of North Carolina, ordained the Rev. Donald
McLeod. Some years later Bishop and Min-
ister met again in this same church, but the
church had become a Catholic church, the
Bishop had become a Catholic layman, and
the minister had Iiecome a Catholic priest.
Rev. Charles Constantine Pise, D. D., was
born at Annapolis, ]\Id., on Nov. 22, 1801.
His father was a native of Italy and his mother
was a Philadelphian. After completing his
studies and graduating at Georgetown Col-
lege, he began his novitiate as a Jesuit, and
was sent to the Roman College of the
Propaganda to pursue his theological studies.
The death of his father compelled his return
to his native country and his withdrawal from
the Society of Jesus. Soon afterward he be-
came professor of Rhetoric at Mount St. .
Mary's College, Emmittsburg, a position he
held until 1825, when he was ordained by the
IMost Rev. Ambrose Marechal, Archbishop .jf
Baltimore. After serving for some time as
assistant at the Cathedral in Baltimore, he was
assigned to St. ^Matthew's Church, Washing-
ton. While there his brilliant talents and
courteous manners attracted the attention of
Henry Clay, at whose instance he was unani-
mously elected Chaplain to the L^nited States
Senate. In 1832 Dr. Pise visited the Eternal
City, and while there passed a splendid public
examination at 4he College of the Sapienza,
earned the degree of Doctor of Divinity, and
received the ring and other insignia of his of-
fice at the hands of His Holiness, Pope Greg-
ery X\T. His writings merited for him the
Cross and Spur and the title of Knight of the
Holy Roman Empire. In 1838 he again vis-
ited Europe and he described his wanderings
through Ireland in his Home Vagahundac.
Bishop Dubois invited him to New York and
soon made him rector of St. Joseph's Church.
He was afterwards transferred to old St.
Peter's, and from there to the Church of St.
Charles Borromeo, Brooklyn, where he labored
until his death, in ]\Iay, 1866. Few men, if
any, have done as much work for Catholic
literature as Dr. Pise. In 1830, while in Balti-
more, he was editor of the Metropolitan, the
first Catholic Magazine published in this coun-
try. In 1842 he was associated with Very
Rev. Felix \^arela, D. D., in the publication
of the Catholic Expositor, of New York, a
magazine of great merit. Besides his maga-
808
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
zine work, Dr. Pise wrote a "History of the
Churcli :" "Father Rozvland," a novel; "Ale-
theia;" "St. Ignatius and His Companions;"
^'Christianity and the Church;" "Indian Cot-
tage;" "Letters to Ada;" "Pleasures of Relig-
ion;" "Zcnosius, or* the Pilgrim Convert;"
"The Acts of the Apostles," in verse. Among
his masterly translations may be mentioned De
]\Iaistre's Soirees in St. Petersburg and Hymns
from the Roman Breviary. His poetical writ-
ings are numerous and full of genius.
In manners Dr. Pise was always courteous
and refined, and in his many controversies he
never forgot that he was a gentleman ; hence
he never made enemies of his opponents. He
was passionately fond of music and painting,-
and his choir and the decorations of his church
evinced his fine taste.
In 1858 Dr. Pise established a parochial
school, with ove- two hundred pupils. This
school opened prosperously, but, difficulties
arising, it became necessary to suspend it for
a time. There is now a flourishing school of
over 600 pupils. The girls are under the care
of the Sisters of Charity and the boys under
the Franciscan Brothers.
Dr. Pise, while Pastor of the Church of
St. Charles Borromeo, had as his assistants the
Rev. Joseph Fransioli (1857-59), Rev. David
O'Mullane (1861), and Rev. Thomas F. Mc-
Givern (1865-66). Dr. Pise was succeeded
by the Rev. Francis J. Freel, D. D., one of the
assistants at St. James' Cathedral. Dr. Freel
was born in Ireland, in 1840, and pursued his
ecclesiastical studies at the famous Urban Col-
lege of the Propaganda, in Rome. Like his
predecessor, he was a gentleman of culture and
fine tastes. He immediately applied himself
with energy and good will to the continuance
of the work of Dr. Pise. In December, 1866,
he purchased seven lots, on Livingston street,
for which he paid $22,000. It was his inten-
tion to erect a larger and more imposing edi-
fice than the one his congregation then occu-
pied. This determination was hastened by an
unexpected event. On the night of March y,
1868, the church took fire from a defective
flue, and, notwithstanding the most strenuous
efforts of the firemen, the entire building with
its valuable stock of church music, beautiful
paintings, statues and costly furniture, was
soon reduced to ashes. Dr. Freel, at the risk
of his life, rescued the Ciborium and its sacred
contents, some other sacred vessels and some
of the most valuable of the vestments. This
fire was a sad blow to the people of St.
Charles', but in less than three weeks after
the disaster ground was broken for a splendid
new church, of Philadelphia brick, with a
frontage of seventy feet on Sydney Place, and
a depth of one hundred and thirty feet on Liv-
ingston street. The corner-stone was laid in
August, 1868. For eighteen years Dr. Freel
carried on the work entrusted to him. His
new church continued to attract the elite of the
city, but the poor were never neglected. Dr.
Freel also looked after the education of the
children of his parish, and, as has always been
stated, he placed his parochial school on a
firm and flourisliing basis. He was also par-
ticularly devoted to the poor sailors at the
Navy Yard, and at a time, too, when they
had no Catholic chaplain. He devoted a great
portion of his time to their service and later
on became the first Catholic Chaplain at the
Navy Yard, and a small chapel was built at his
request. Dr. Freel died on April 5, 1884.
The successor of Dr. Freel was the Rev.
Thomas F. Ward. He had been at St. Charles,
since Feb. 20, 1875. Father Ward was born
in St. James' parish, Brooklyn, on Christmas
Day, 1843. He pursued his early studies un-
der the Christian Brothers, and was one of
the first pupils of old St. James' School. When
a boy he often served the Bishop's Mass, and
he was a model altar boy. Dr. Freel became
very much interested in him and advised him
to study for the priesthood. In time young
Ward entered St. Charles College, Ellicott
City, Md. Having completed his studies he
was ordained, the 20th of February, 1875,
with the late Rev. Edward J. Smith, of Glen
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
809
Cove, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin, and
was immediately assigned to St. Charles. He
proved so valuable an assistant to Dr. Freel
that on the death of the latter Father Ward
was appointed to succeed him. He set to work
at once to reduce the church debt, enlarged
the school building and made needed improve-
ments in other directions. With all his paroch-
ial work Father Ward found time to devote
to literature, and in 1892 he published his
"Thirty-two Instructions for the Month of
May" — a translation from the French. His
genial face will long be remembered, especial-
ly by the poor of the parish, who were es-
pecially dear to the good pastor. He died (.m
October 21, 1898, and was succeeded by the
Rev. James E. Bobier.
St. John's, the Evangelist. — St. John's
Church (Gowanusj, now Twenty-fifth street,
near Fifth avenue, was opened in 1850 by the
Rev. Peter McLoughlin, then of Fort Hamil-
ton. The first ^lass was said (1849J in the
second story of Patrick O'Donnell's stable,
which he kindly oiTered to Father jMcLough-
lin until such time as he could build a church.
Father McLoughlin soon secured three lots on
Twenty-first street, upon which he erected an
unpretentious frame church, 90 by 40 feet. In
1852 the tower was completed and other im-
provements were made. In this year, too. Fa-
ther McLoughlin was transferred to West-
chester county to build another church, and he
was succeeded at St. John's by the Rev. John
]\IcKeon. This pastor turned his attention to
the education of the children of his parish and
built the first parochial school in that part of
the city. It was a brick building, 25 by 60
feet, but ample for his needs at that time. Fa-
ther McKeon had been but three years at St.
John's, when he was transferred to another
mission. He died in 1857. His successor
(1855) was the Rev. Patrick McGovern, who
might well be called a patriotic priest. When
the Civil War broke out Father McGovern was
not slow in telling the men of his flock their
duty to their country. The New York Cavalry
was organized in his parish, and before setting
out for the front the men attended Mass and
received Holy Communion. In 1862 Father
McGovern was transferred to St. Paul's. Rev.
Hugh McGuire became the next Pastor of St.
John's. He was a man full of years and serv-
ice, but he labored on until May, 1867, when
the Bishop sent him an assistant in the person
of the Rev. Peter Daly, who died the following
year. He was succeeded by the Rev. John Mc-
Guire. These two namesakes worked with no
little success; they enlarged and improved the
church in 1872, so as to accommodate some
1,300 persons.
Father Hugh died in 1872 and Father John
acted as Pastor until March, 1873, when the
Rev. James O'Beime, one of the pioneer priests
of Brooklyn, became Pastor. Born in Ireland,
he made his ecclesiastical studies at Maynooth
College, where he was ordained in 1852. He
at once came to New York, and while laboring
in that diocese became acquainted with the
future Bishop of Brooklyn. A warm friend-
ship was formed between the two priests,
which terminated only in death. When Bishop
Loughlin came to Brooklyn Father O'Beirne
volunteered for the new diocese and his serv-
ices were readily accepted. He was appointed
to Flushing, where he labored for twenty-one
years. During that time he built St. Michael's
Church. In 1864 he purchased the ground
upon which the Convent and Academy of the
Sisters of St. Joseph now stands. While at
St. John's, Father O'Beirne erected a hand-
some parochial school, in 1885, and placed the
girls' department under the care of the Sisters
of St. Joseph, and the boys' under the Fran-
ciscan Brothers. Father O'Beirne died, uni-
versally regretted, in 1888, and was succeeded
by the Rev. Bernard J. McHugh, formerly of
the Church of the Holy Cross, Flatbush.
St. Benedict's. — In 1852 eight German
Catholic families settled in what was then
known as New Brooklyn, which district lay be-
tween Bedford and East New York. They were
poor but industrious people, thrifty withal, and
810
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
anxious to secure homes for their growing
families while property was cheap. But the
faith they had brought with them from their-
fatherland still burned in their bosoms and
they were anxious to transmit it to their chil-
dren. Hence the long journeys on foot they
were required to take on Sundays to attend
Mass, either at St. Francis", in Putnam ave-
nue, near Bedford avenue, or to Holy Trinity,
in Williamsburg, where good old Father Raf-
feiner was still Pastor, were too long for the
aged and the sick. These good people resolved
to have a church of their own. Thcv had little
money but they had wihint;- hands ; and, hav-
ing secured a suitable lot .ni Herkimer street,
near Ralph avenue, ground was soon broken
and a small frame buikling, 60 feet by 30 feet,
was erected. Those who could not contribute
money were ready to contribute a day or two
of la1)or every week to the work. The church
was ready for occupancy in ?\Iareh, 1852, and
was attended for a time 1]_\- the priests from
St. Francis' or from Holy Trinity. In Janu-
ary, 1853, Bishop Dubois, of New York, sent
the Rev. Maurus Ramsauer, O. S. B., to take
charge of this parish. He did not remain long.
however, and was succeeded by Father Peter
Hartlaub, who remained only a few months.
The next Pastor was Rev. Bonaventurc Keller,
who remained identified with St. Benedict's for
over three years. On October 25, 1857, Bishop
Loughlin sent the Rev. Alo}-s Enders to St.
Benedict's, but after a stay of thirteen months
he sought missionary work in the West. The
next Pastor, the Rev. James Tuboby, came in
December, 1858, and remained nearly two
years. He was succeeded in October, i860,
by Rev. Father Peine, who also attended St.
Francis'. Ill health forced him, after a few
months, to give up his charge, and in iNIay,
1861, the Rev. Franz Sak-s Klosterbauer lie-
came Pastor.
Up to this time little was done except to
look after the immediate needs of the people,
and an effort to give the children the rudi-
ments of an education. Father Klosterljaucr
remained at St. Benedict's for twelve years,
during which time the little congregation out-
grew the original frame church and the chil-
dren were clamoring for increased accommo-
dations. Father Klosterbauer determined to
build a new church, but he did not remain long
enough to realize his hopes. His successor,
however, the Rev. M. Kochren, arriving ^lay
25, 1873, carried out his plans, and the present
beautiful St. Benedict's owes its commence-
ment and completion to Father Kochren. The
new church, 137 feet long by 65 feet wide, is
built of brick, with slate roof, and surmounted
liy a tower 130 feet high. It faces Fulton
street. The old church on Herkimer street was
immediately altered, made two stories high,
and was given over to tlie school. Father
Kochren also erected a commodious brick pas-
toral residence. He remained at St. Benedict's
until September, 1875, and died not long after-
wards. His successor, Rev. Francis Duermay-
er. remained only until January, 1876, when
Rev. Henry J. Zimmer became Pastor. Be-
fore the year was out, however, he was or-
dered to St. Patrick's Church, Kent avenue,
and was subsequently transferred from there
to Far Rockaway, where he built a very beau-
tiful church. On October i, 1876, Rev. Igna-
tius Zeller came to St. Benedict's. He had
lieen a Lutheran minister and l^ecame a Cath-
olic under the instruction of the good Father
Goetz. When he came to St. Benedict's he
found a debt of over $44,000 to be liquidated.
During the ten years of his pastorate he re-
duced this debt to $26,000. besides having
built a new rectory. The old parochial resi-
dence he turned into a convent for tlie Sisters
of Christian Charity, from Wilkesbarre, to
whom he gave charge of his school, in 1881.
Father Zeller resigned in January, 1886, as he
desired to see the parish in the hands of a
younger man. He went to Jamaica and built
a new church for Ids countrymen there.
The next Pastor was the Rev. John M.
Hanselmann, who assumed charge of St. Bene-
dict's on July 3, 1886. He is one of four
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
(11
brothers who have devoted their hves to the
service of God at the altar. He was born on
Aug. 5, 1854, in Holy Trinity parish, made his
studies in Montreal, and was ordained on De-
cember 21, 1878. His first work was under
o-ood Father May, whose assistant he was until
January 13, 1880, when he became chaplain of
.St. Catherine's Hospital. Here he exhibited
the true vocation of the priest. It is related
that he made 234 converts and administered
the last Sacraments to over 1,500 patients,
l-'ather H-anselmann is one of the live priests of
the diocese. He is quick to see necessities and
to devise the means of meeting them. He took
was scarce. Father Zeller had made great ef-
charge of St. Benedict's at a time when money
forts to rid his church of debt, and Father
Hanselmann found people willing to do all they
could, and who had done great things with the
little they had. The Rev. Father Hanselmann
realized all this, but he must needs carry on
the good work of his predecessor. He at once
set to work to decorate the interior of his
church ; he put in beautiful stained-glass win-
dows, and new Stations of the Cross; he or-
ganized societies of men and women, and ex-
cited his people to a holy life. In 1893 he be-
gan the erection of a new school on the north
side of Herkimer street. It has a frontage of
67 feet and a depth of 55 feet, with a height of
70 feet from the court level, embracing three
stories. The walls are of brick and terra cotta,
with cornices of copper and galvanized iron,
and the entire building is heated by steam. It
is attended by some 300 children, under the
care of six Sisters of Christian Charity. St.
Benedict's Church property is now estimated
to be worth $130,000, with a debt of a little
over $20,000. Father Hanselmann is assisted
by Rev. George M. Schaaf and Rev. Jacob A.
Kunz. The present number of parishioners is
estimated at 1,800.
St. Joseph's Church, on Pacific street, near
X'anderbilt avenue, was founded in 1853, by
the Rev. Patrick O'Neill. \Mien it was decid-
ed to form a new parish in this part of the city,
a meeting of the Catholics in the vicinity was
called to see what could be done. The people
were not rich but thev were ready to do what
thev could. Fifty families contributed $500,
and an equal amount was contributed by
Messrs. Charles and Edward Harvey. With
the amount thus secured ground was bought
and a small brick church was erected in Pacific
street, in which ]\Iass was first said by Father
Cassidy in April, 1853. It was not until Octo-
ber of that year that Father O'Neill took
charge of the parish. Like Father O'Beirne,
he had followed Bishop Loughlin from New
York, and for nearly nine years he labored
at St. Joseph's. He soon built a larger church,
and in its tower was placed the first clock that
proclaimed the hour from a Catholic church in
the city of Brooklyn. In 1857 Father O'Neill
established a school, which was attended by
some 200 pupils, under the care of Mr. and
Mrs. Garvey. This worthy couple continued
to teach in St. Joseph's school until the advent
of the Franciscan Brothers, in 1859. This was
the first school in Brooklyn to have the Fran-
ciscan Brothers. In February, 1864, the Rev.
Edward Corcoran became Father O'Neill's
assistant. These two worthy priests worked
together until September, 1867. when Father
O'Neill was called to his heavenly reward. It
devolved upon Father Corcoran to continue
the work.
Father Corcoran was born Sept. 4, 1836,
in the County Westmeath, Ireland, and was
ordained at .\11 Hallows College, Dublin, in
June, 1863. He at once volunteered for the
American missions, and on being adopted by
Bishop Loughlin was assigned as assistant at
the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
After a service of seven months Father Cor-
coran was transferred to St. Joseph's. His
succession to the pastorate of this church was
by no means a sinecure. The parish was grow-
ing; it had a debt of some $30,000; and the
children of the parish were clamoring for in-
creased school accommodations. Father Cor-
coran was a man of order ; everything he un-
812
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
dertook was done in a most systematic manner.
It was not long before he began making neces-
sary improvements upon the church; next he
erected an academy and a large hall for liter-
ary purposes,, and also enlarged the parish
schools. This work the zealous Pastor kept
up until his death. In a few years the church
property was the admiration of passers-by.
It was 300 feet wide and extended from street
to street. The church, school academy and
hall were surrounded by beautiful lawns orna-
mented with statues. Father Corcoran died in
1893. and was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Mgr.
P. J. AlcXamara, V. G.
^^'e have, up to this date, dealt with
church foundations commenced before the es-
tablishment of the Diocese of Brooklyn. We
shall now enter upon the Diocesan period.
PART II.— THE DIOCESAN PERIOD.
BISHOP LOUGHLIN.
The second period in the history of Cath-
olicity on Long Island begins with the year
1853, when it became organized into a Diocese.
At that time Long Island had in all only twelve
churches, eight of which were in Brooklyn
proper, two in Williamsburg and two in re-
mote parts of the island. There was but one
institution of charity, and that was situated on
the corner of Congress and Clinton Streets.
It was an orphan asylum, the Congress Street
wing being occupied by the boys and the Clin-
ton Street wing by the girls. This structure was
erected by the Roman Catholic Orphan So-
ciety, which was incorporated in 1836, for the
purpose of receiving the legal transfer of a
house on Jay Street from the Rev. Father
Walsh, second pastor of St. James'. That
house, which then had but two stories and a
basement, was the first orphan asylum in
Brooklyn. Later, another story was added,
and an equally large building adjoined to it.
This house, which was the episcopal residence
for thirty-five years, is now used as the rec-
tory of St. James' Cathedral,
The Diocese of Brooklyn was established
by Pope Pius IX in 1853. It comprises the
whole of Long Island, which a legend says
was known to the early Catholic explorers
(Gomez, 1525) as the Island of the Holy
Apostles, because it is said that they discov-
ered it on the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Surely no name could have been more appro-
priate than this latter, for it seamed to have
been a forecast of that apostle "sent of God
whose name was John," and who more than
300 years later was to be its first representa-
tive of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles.
On the morning of October 18, 1840, three
young men, classmates at old Mount St.
Mary's, Emmittsburg, ]^Iaryland, knelt in old
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, before the
valiant Bishop Hughes, and received at his
hands the grand commission that sent them
forth to preach Christ and Him crucified.
They were Edward O'Neil, Francis Coyle and
John Loughlin. These 3-oung men, full of
zeal and energy, had chosen "the better part"
and devoted the rest of their lives to the ser-
vice of God and of their fellow men at the
altar. They "were set for the rise and fall
of many." Father Coyle was assigned to the
missions of Sandy Hill, Lansingburg and
Waterford. Father O'Neil became Treasurer
and Professor of Natural Philosophy at St.
John's College, Fordham; while Father
Loughlin was assigned to St. Patrick's Cathe-
dral, Mulberry Street, New York, of which be
became Rector in 1848. While attached to the
Cathedral, he went for a time to L^tica to assist
the Rev. Father Quarter.
John Loughlin was born near Rostrevor, n
the County Down, Ireland, on Dec. 20, 18 17.
When only six years of age he was brought
to America by his parents, who settled in
Albany. In due time he entered the Albany
Academy, where he had for professor the dis-
tinguished Latinist, Dr. Bullion. At the age
of fourteen young Loughlin was sent to a col-
lege in Chambly, near Montreal, where he
acquired a knowledge of the French language.
Three years later he returned to the United
RT, REY. JOHN LOUGHLIH, D. D.
FIRST BISHOP OF BROOKLYN.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
States and entered Mount St. Mary's Semi-
nary, at Emmittsburg, Md. Here his remark-
able talents were soon discovered, and he was,
while yet a theologian, made tutor in the
classics. The faculty of the college at that
time was composed of such men as William
Henry Elder, now Archbishop of Cincinnati ;
Rev. Dr. John McCloskey, and Rev. John Mc-
Caffrey, D. D. Having completed his studies,
the Rev. John Loughlin bade farewell to Alma
Mater and repaired to New York to receive
the Holy Order of Priesthood.
While laboring at St. Patrick's Cathedral,
Father Loughlin had as his fellow assistants:
Rev. John McCloskey, a distinguished son of
Brooklyn, and the first American raised to the
dignity of the Cardinalate ; and Rev. James R.
Bayley, the future bishop of Newark and later
Archbishop of Baltimore. Father Loughlin
was an indefatigable worker, and when Bishop
Hughes was obliged to go to Rome in 1850
he appointed Father Loughlin Vicar General of
New York. This appointment made him Ad-
ministrator of the Diocese in the Bishop's
absence. It was during this time that Father
Loughlin gave evidence of that peculiar wis-
dom, prudence and administrative ability that
characterized him through life. In 1849 we
find Father Loughlin at the Seventh Provincial
Council of Baltimore acting as Theologian 10
Bishop Hughes. He served in the same ca-
pacity at the First Plenary Council of Balti-
more, in 1852, and, when the Fathers at this
Council proposed the creation of several new
Dioceses, among them the Diocese of Brook-
lyn, Pius IX approved of their designs. By
an Apostolic Letter, dated July 29, 1853, the
new Sees of Brooklyn, Newark and Burling-
ton, Vermont, in the ecclesiastical province of
New York, were erected. When it became
necessary to make a choice of a ruler for the
new See of Brooklyn, the eyes of the assembled
Fathers fell upon the Vicar General of New
York.
On October 30, 1853, old St. Patrick's
Cathedral was thronged to witness a ceremons-
that was very unusual in those days. Three
worthy laborers in the vineyard of the Lord
were to be elevated to the episcopate. They
were Very Rev. John Loughlin, Vicar General
of New York, for the nev.^ Diocese of Brook-
lyn; Very Rev. Lruis de Goesbriand, Vicar
General of the Diocese of Cleveland, for the
new Diocese of Burlington, Vt., and the Rev.
James Roosevelt Bayley, Secretary to Arch-
bishop Hughes, for the new See of Newark,
N. J. Bishop Bayky was promoted to the
Archiepiscopal See of Baltimore in 1872 and
died in 1877. Bishop de Groesbriand had been
a missionary and co-laborer of Bishop Rappe,
in Ohio, and on the elevation of the latter to
the See of Cleveland became his Vicar General
and was laboring in that capacity when the
Bulls came making him Bishop of Burlington.
He died full of years and good works on
November 3, 1899. The Consecrator of these
Bishops was the ;\Iost Rev. ( afterwards Card-
inal) Cajetan Bedini, Papal Nuncio to the
Brazils, and, at that time, on a special mission
to the L'nited States. The consecration ser-
mon was preached by Archbishop Hughes. It
was a sermon to be remembered, and it made
a deep impression upon the Catholics of Brook-
lyn, who rejoiced that they had now a Bishop
of their own.
Bishop Loughlin lost no time in entering
upon his new field of labor, and on November
9 his installation took place in old St. James',
which he selected for his future Cathedral
It would be difficult to describe the joy that
filled the hearts of his flock as tHey prepared
to meet their future Shepherd.
The ceremonies over, the Bishop lost no
time in familiarizing himself with the needs of
his diocese and his unusual capacity for man-
aging affairs soon showed him the means for
reaching those needs. It is interesting to note
that among the first churches the new Bishop
blessed in his diocese was St. Patrick's Church,
which he worked so hard to complete. He at
once began the work which before long gained
for him the name of "the ^reat church builder
814
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of America." He had a quickness in compre-
hending the necessary growth of his episcopal
city, and his promptness for recognizing and
securing eligible sites for new churches is
something remarkable. We have seen how
poor the church in Brooklyn was when he
became its Bishop, yet, on the occasion of the
celebration of his golden jubilee, in 1890, he
had acquired church property to the amount of
$6,000,000. In the course of thirty-seven years
he had built 120 churches and chapels, 93 par-
ish schools, two colleges, nineteen select
schools and academies, five hospitals, two
homes for the aged, one home for newsboys,
and lastly, as the crowning of them all, a mag-
nificent seminary for the education of the
priests of the Diocese.
Church of the Immaculate Conception. —
His first official act as Bishop-elect may be
said to have been the laying of the corner-
stone of the church of the Immaculate Con-
ception, at the corner of iMaujer and Leonard
Streets, on August i, 1853. This church was
commenced by the Rev. Peter McLoughlin,
but his pastorate, like that of his successor,
the Rev. Anthony Farrelly, lasted only one
year. The church was a substantial brick
building with stone foundation, and calculated
to seat some 1,200 persons. Father Farrelly
was succeeded by Rev. Andrew Bohan, who
ministered to the wants of his people for more
than ten years. Father Bohan became Pastor
during the days of Know-Nothingism, and
while he suffered affronts and insults from
time to time his church was never attacked.
Later on Father Bohan opened a parochial
school in the basement of the church. During
part of his pastorate Father Bohan was as-
sisted by the Rev. John ^NIcKenna, who later
on became the founder of the Church of Our
Lady of Mercy. Father Bohan died in 1867.
Rev. John Crimmins, who was Pastor from
1879 to 1883, made some improvements in the
old church; and his successor, Rev. M. F.
Murray, erected the present pastoral residence.
The next Pastor was the Rev. James Taaffe,
brother of the Rev. Thomas Taaft'e, of St.
Patrick's Church. He took charge of the par-
ish in 1888. Father James was born at Droni-
ard, County Longford, Ireland, and completed
his preparatory studies at Clongoes Ward Col-
lege, where he graduated in 1872. His ecclesi-
astical studies were made in France, partly at
the College of Ste. ]\Iarie, at Toulouse, and
at the famous St. Sulpice, in Paris. He was
ordained in 1878, and on his arrival in this
country in 1879 was appointed as assistant at
St. Patrick's. Here he labored with the zeal
peculiar to his family, until his appointment
as Pastor of the Church of the Immaculate
Conception, in 1887. ' Father Taaffe's first
care was the erection of an academy, which
was in due time placed in charge of the Sisters
of St. Joseph, who also teach in the parochial
school. Father Taaffe also made a very ma-
terial reduction in the church debt. His pas-
torate here was not very long, as he was in a
short time, to succeed the Rt. Rev. P. J. Mc-
Namara, as Pastor of Our Lady of !Mercy. In
less than a year afterwards, Father James
Taaffe died of a cold contracted while in
the discharge of his duties. The chief mourn-
ers at his funeral Avere those who knew him
best — the poor of the parish. He was suc-
ceeded at the Church of the Immaculate Con-
ception by the Rev. James F. Crowley, who on
Sunday, December 29, 1901. burned the last
mortgage (of $40,000) against the church,
and now rejoices in a church free from debt.
St. Boniface's. — In the same year, 1853, St.
Thomas' Episcopal Church, Bridge Street,
near Willoughby Street, was purchased by a
new German Congregation and dedicated un-
der the invocation of St. Bonifacius, on Jan.
29, 1854. Father Raft'einer, of Holy Trinity,
who was at that time Mcar General for the
Germans, saw the necessity for a new German
parish, and, with the approbation of Bishop
Loughlin, encouraged the work. The congre-
gation was at once formed, and through the
kindness of Father Schneller the basement of
St. Paul's was placed at their disposal until
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OX LONG ISLAND.
815
the new church was ready for occupation. The
new church property was purchased for $4,500,
by a board of trustees, of which Mr. F. J.
Glatzmayer was the leading spirit. The dedi-
cation was performed by Bishop Loughhn,
and liis sermon on this occasion was pro-
nounced by the local papers as "of great power
and deep reflection." The first Pastor was the
Rev. [Nloritz Ranisauer. The congregation
numbered about 200, and the children of the
new parish were cared for in a school opened
in the basement and taught by a lay teacher.
It numbered fifty pupils. Father Ramsauer
was succeeded by Father Bonaventura Keller,
a Franciscan, but, his health failing, he re-
signed and joined the brethren of his order
in \\'isconsin. He was succeeded, in 1858,
b\' Rev. Joseph Brunnemann, whose pastorate
was very short. He in turn was succeeded by
Rev. John G. Hummel, O. S. B., who admin-
istered to the affairs of the parish for five
years.
In 1865 Rev. ]\Iichael J. Decker became
Pastor of St. Bonifacius'. Born in Germany
Father Decker came to America at a very early
age. In time he became a teacher in the school
connected with the Church of the Holy Trin-
ity, and later on entered the theological semi-
ary and was finally ordained by Bishop Lough-
lin. He was stationed for a time at St. James'
pro-Cathedral. Father Decker was a man of
business and was not long in seeing that the
growth of his congregation made it necessary
to build a new church. In 1867 he was able
to purchase two lots on Duffield Street, be-
tween Willoughby and Myrtle Avenues. It is
a pity that he was not able to see the realiza-
tion of his hopes. His health broke down and
he was obliged to seek a more congenial cli-
mate. He was, however, successful in secur-
ing the services of the Dominican Sisters to
take charge of his parochial school. In 1868
Father \V. Oberschneider took charge of the
parish, but at the end of a year he went to St.
Michael's Church, East Xew York, and Father
F. Biffi became pastor of St. Boniface's. As
his name indicates. Father liiffi was of Italian
extraction, but had been educated in one of
the German cantons of Switzerland, and of
course spoke Gemian. During his short pas-
torate the work on the new church had been
going on steadily, and the corner-stone was
laid l.iy Bishop Loughlin. Father Bifii soon
went to (_)hio, and was succeeded at St. Boni-
facius' by the Rev. P. De Berge. This zealous
priest came to Brooklyn with a reputation as
a church builder, from Wisconsin. He com-
pleted the new church and had it dedicated in
1872. Father De Berge soon after purchased
additional property for a convent and school
for the Sisters of St. Dominic. After a suc-
cessful pastorate of four years. Father De-
Berge (in 1875) returned to his native land,
and after a short sojourn there came back to
America and again sought the scenes of his
early labors in Wisconsin and died, near Mil-
waukee. Father F. Schwarz attended to the
parish for nearly a year, when he was assigned
to other duties in the Diocese, and in 1877
Father J. B. Willman became Pastor. He
soon tore down the old frame buildings on
\\''illoughby Street and replaced them with
substantial brick houses. One of these became
the pastoral residence and the other is a school-
house, on the upper tloor of which is a large
hall suitable for lectures, meetings and enter-
taimiients. The present Pastor ( 1901) is the
Rev. George Feser.
Church of the A'isitation. — The Church of
the A'isitation, on A'erona Street, was founded
in 1854, by the Rev. Timothy O'Farrcll. It
was a brick building of modest proportions
and was replaced in 1880 by a very fine struc-
ture of blue-stone, seventy-five feet by ninety
feet. This splendid church was finished dur-
ing the pastorate of the Rev. John M. Kieley,
and was dedicated in March, 1880, by Bishop
Loughlin. Solemn Pontifical ]\lass was then
celebrated by Bishop Corrigan, of Newark
(now Archbishop of New York), and the ser-
mon was preached by the Rt. Rev. J. F. Stran-
ahan, D. D., Bishop of Harrisburg.
816
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
St. Anthony's Parish, Greenpoint, now
Seventeenth Ward, Brooklyn, has an interest-
ing history. Its foundation goes back to the
early years of Bishop Loughlin"s episcopate.
The first Mass in this section was celebrated
in 1853 at the house of a :Mr. Rider. Prior
to this the Catholics of Greenpoint were ai-
tended by Rev. Sylvester ^^lalone. of the
Church SS. Peter and Paul. Williamsburg.
In 1855 the Rev. Joseph Brunnemann, O. S.
F., said Mass in a hall at the corner of Frank-
lin and Eagle Streets. Father Brunnemann
was a native of Bavaria, and after his arrival
in America labored for a time at Newark,
Ohio. Later on he came to Brooklyn, and,
having been accepted by Bishop Loughlin,
was sent to take charge of the new church at
Winfield, N. Y. From here he attended
Greenpoint and said Mass at such places as
were then available, one of which was a hall
at the corner of Union Street (now Manhattan
Avenue) and India Street. In 1856 Father
Brunnemann purchased two lots on India
Street, and on Dec. 21, of that year. Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of a new church
which was thenceforth to be known as the
Church of St. Anthony of Padua. The church
was dedicated in 1858. For sixteen years the
Catholics of Greenpoint worshipped in this
church, but it had now become too small to
accommodate the rapidly growing congrega-
tion started by good Father Brunnemann while
he was pastor of Winfield.
In 1858, the year of the dedication of the
church. Bishop Loughlin sent Rev. John Brady
to take charge of the parish. Father Brady
was a man of energy; he had done service as
Pastor of the Church of the Holy Trinity,
Hartford, Conn. ; and, after being adopted
into the Diocese of Brooklyn, labored at the
Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, under the
Rev. Sylvester Malone. His first care was
given to the education of the children of the
parish, and before the year was out he had
established a parochial school of some five
hundred children. In the fall of 1859 a pas-
toral residence was purchased on ^^lanhattan
Avenue (or LTnion' Avenue, as it was then
called), not far from India Street. Here
Father Brady resided until the day of his
death, which occurred on I^Iarch 4, 1872. He
was succeeded by Rev. William Lane.
Bishop Loughlin, who seemed to have an
eye on every lot in his diocese that was suit-
able for church purposes, seeing the growth of
the Seventeenth Ward, purchased from Sam-
uel J. Tilden a piece of ground on the east
side of Manhattan Avenue, at the head of Mil-
ton Street. Here wris to be built a group of
buildings, church, school and pastoral resi-
dence, and an additional piece of ground was
purchased from Mr. Edward Crawford. This
gave the church property the full depth of the
block extending from Manhattan Avenue to
Leonard Street. In the meantime Father
Brady had gone to his reward, and Father
Lane took up the work. The corner-stone of
a beautiful new church, a model of Gothic
architecture 164 feet by 72 feet, was laid on
August 24, 1873, and by March 8, 1874, the
work on the new St. Anthony's had so far
progressed that Bishop Loughlin had the hap-
piness of celebrating the first Mass said within
its Avails, in the basement. On June 13, fol-
lowing, the feast of St. Anthony, the new
church was dedicated, and to-day its graceful
spire, the cross on which is 240 feet from the
street below, may be seen even from the great
metropolis across the river. In October fol-
lowing Father Lane moved into the new pa-
rochial residence adjoining the church.
Father Lane's pastorate was not without
trials. He took the parish with a debt of $10,-.
ODD. The ground that he inherited from his
predecessor had cost $23,000, and only $10,000
had been paid upon it. Then it became neces-
sary to add more ground to the property, and
the purchase had to be effected at the time, if
it was to be made at all, and it was necessary
that it should be made. Thus Father Lane
found himself confronted with a debt of $32,-
000 for ground alone. The church was now
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
81T
commenced, but hardly had the contracts been
given out when a commercial panic came upon
Greenpoint. Oil works, sugar refineries and
factories of various kinds were obliged to
"shut down," and employees were placed on
half time. Father Lane saw himself in sore
straits. His church was half built; to stop
would injure what had been done, if not de-
stroy it altogether; to go meant additional
burdens upon his people and renewed heart-
aches and responsibilities upon himself. Young
and vigorous and full of hope, he looked for-
ward to more prosperous times in the near fu-
ture, and he decided to complete the work. But
church building, at best, is not a thing of joy.
Father Lane struggled on heroically for six
years, then, broken down in health and spirits,
he applied to his Bishop for a removal, and was
transferred to the Church of the Visitation.
During his trials he did not forget the educa-
tion of the children, and in September, 1875,
he succeeded in obtaining four Sisters of St.
Joseph to take charge of the school which, up
to that time, had been conducted by lay teach-
ers. These good Sisters were first domiciled
in a small frame house on Manhattan avenue,
and their school was the original St. Anthony's
Church on India street.
Father Lane's successor was the Rev.
Michael J. Murphy, who was transferred from
the pastorate of the Church of St. Mary, Star
of the Sea, at Far Rockaway, L. I., on October
I, 1879. Father Murphy was not in the most
robust health when he assumed the pastorate
of St. Anthony's. Financial difficulties stared
him in the face ; added to this was the work
of busybodies who always know more than
anyone else and whose loose tongues are al-
ways ready to make trouble. Misunderstand-
ings, and wrong notions as to what was really
being done to put the parish on a solvent basis,
created distrust, and distrust tightens purse-
strings. Father Murphy was greatly beloved
by his people, the better element of whom
helped him even beyond their means. But the
good Pastor's health was failing, and finding
that the work in hand was beyond his strength
he resigned his parish on January 27, 1883.
Father Murphy's first assistant was the Rev.
John Loughran, D. D. ; and, as the Bishop was
not disposed to appoint a new Pastor for St.
Anthony's, Dr. Loughran took charge and ad-
ministered to the wants of the people until
July 22, 1884, when the Bishop sent one of his
own household, the Rev. Patrick F. O'Hare, to
lift St. Anthony's out of its difficulties.
Rev. Patrick Francis O'Hare was born
near Newry, County Down, Ireland, February
17, 1848. He was brought to this country
when only four years of age, his parents set-
tling near old St. James', Brooklyn, and later
on moving to New York. His early studies
were made under the Christian Brothers in
New York, and for one year in Ireland. In
September, 1862, he entered St. Francis
Xavier's College, in New York, from which he
graduated with honor in 1868, and was accept-
ed by Bishop Loughlin for service in the Dio-
cese of Brooklyn. He immediately repaired to
St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, to pursue his
ecclesiastical studies under the Sulpitian Fa-
thers. On March 19, 1872, he was ordained to
the priesthood in old St. James' Cathedral by
Bishop Loughlin. He said his first Mass and
preached his first sermon at St. James' Church,
New York City, at the invitation of his old
friend, the Rev. Felix Farrelly. Bishop
Loughlin formed a strong attachment for the
young priest, — an attachment which lasted
until the end of his life, — and he at once made
him a member of his own household. Father
O'Hare remained at old St. James', Jay street,,
for seven years. While here he attended the-
Catholic sailors and marines at the Navy Yard,
for whom he said Mass Sunday after Sunday.
After the death of the Very Rev. J. F. Tur-
ner, and the transfer of the Rev. John M.
Kiely to the Church of the Msitation, Father
O'Hare became the senior assistant at the
Cathedral, and thus came in more direct con-
tact with the people than formerly. He soon
gained the confidence of the parishioners, and.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
friendships were formed which terminated
only in death. Bishop Loughlin rejoiced in
the prudent and judicious career of his pro-
tege, and when the new Cathedral chapel, at
the corner of Clermont and Greene avenues,
was opened, on July 12, 1879, Father O'Hare
was appointed its Rector. He immediately set
to work organizing the new parish. He insti-
tuted societies for various purposes, put a suit-
able organ in the chapel, inaugurated a move-
ment to establish a Purgatorial Society for the
priests of the diocese, arranged for the plac-
ing of new and beautiful stained-glass win-
dows in the Cathedral chapel, and was largely
instrumental in starting the movement for the
£rection of the present episcopal residence.
On July 22, 1884, Father O'Hare, by order
tjf his Bishop, severed his relations with St.
John's Chapel and went to St. Anthony's
Church, Greenpoint. His new post was not
•one to be envied, but he has made it so to-day,
'by his tact, perseverance and devotion. He
found St. Anthony's overwhelmed with debt
and almost under the Sheriff's hammer. He
rescued it and made it one of the most prom-
inent parishes in the diocese. One of his first
cares after redeeming the church from its fin-
ancial difficulties was the education of the chil-
dren of the parish. The parish school had been
held for some time in the old church on India
street. Father O'Hare at once replaced it by
a suitable two-story building capable of accom-
modating 700 pupils. But this was only a tem-
porary arrangement, for he already contem-
plated the erection of a building capable of
meeting the growing needs of his people. The
church edifice was sorely in need of renova-
tion, but the means for doing it were hard to
get, especially after the manv calls made upon
the poor people and their generous response.
But the good Pastor was not discouraged, and
God sent him a way out of his trouble in the
person of Mr. John Good, one of his former
parishioners at St. John's Chapel. He offered
to meet all the expenses of the renovation of
the church and of a suitable organ for so fine
a building. On Sunday, Jan. 24, 1885, the
renovated church was opened, and the people
of St. Anthony's rejoiced in the good work in
which they had taken a most creditable part.
Bishop Loughlin, Bishop J. F. Shanahan, of
Harrisburg, and a large number of the Brook-
lyn clergy took part in the ceremonies. In
April, 1885, Father O'Hare purchased five lots
adjoining the church property, and in these, in
time, he erected a spacious parish hall, which
later on gave place to a magnificent school
building with a frontage of one hundred and
fifty feet on Leonard street, and costing over
$60,000, exclusive of the ground.
Father O'Hare is a man of strong convic-
tions, as evinced in his war upon the illicit
liquor traffic, upon intemperance and upon the
violation of the Sabbath day. His temperance
society is one of the largest in the diocese, and
his Holy Xame Society one of the most exem-
plary. He has also found time to do good work
in the field of controversv and of literature.
We cannot follow Father O'Hare's work
at St. Anthony's in all its details. Suffice it to
say that when he took charge of the parish in
1884 he had to face a debt of $140,000. He not
only reduced this debt to less than $50,000, but
he has increased the valuation of his property
to $350,000. He has built a new parochial resi-
dence, giving the old one to the Sisters of St.
Joseph for an academy. He has more than
once renovated the church, introduced magnif-
icent stained-glass windows, erected costly
marble altars, provided a chime of bells of
great power and sweetness of tone, organized
societies to meet every necessity of his people
and tending to their spiritual and temporal
welfare.
In March, 1897, Father O'Hare celebrated
the twenty-sixth anniversary of his ordina-
tion. The occasion was, to his devoted people,
one of great rejoicing. St. Anthony's stands
out to-day as a lasting monument to the work
of a devoted Pastor and to the generosity of a
self-sacrificing flock. In June, 1901, he was
honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws
by Villanova College.
St. Peter's. — The corner-stone of St. Pe-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
819
ter's Church, Hicks and Warren Streets, was
laid by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin on Sept.
4, 1859. The task of building this church was
entrusted to Rev. Joseph Fransioli, then an as-
sistant to Rev. Dr. Pise, at the church of St.
Charles Borromeo. Father Fransioli was
born in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, on
November 30, 1817, and, after making his
studies at two famous seminaries in Italy, was
ordained, in 1840. He labored in Ticino for
some time and afterwards became Director of
the Government Normal School at Milan,
where he did much to advance the cause of
education. After a career of sixteen years of
almost unbroken labor his health failed and he
came to America and offered his services to
Bishop Loughlin, who assigned him to the
Church of St. Charles Borromeo, in December,
1856. He immediately set to work to master
the English language, and such was his suc-
cess in that direction that in three years (1859)
he was entrusted with the formation of a new
parish. The wisdom of the confidence placed
in him by the Bishop is manifested today in the
beautiful church, the flourishing schools with
some 2,000 children, the kindergarten, the
parish library, the splendid hospital, the pub-
lic hall and the endless societies for old and
young, for males and females, with which
Father Fransioli's energy and foresight have
adorned the parish.
After a pastorate of nearly a third of a cen-
tury, during which he gained golden opinions
from all who knew him, whether Catholics or
Protestants, Father Fransioli passed to his
eternal reward, in October, 1890, while the
Catholics of Brooklyn were celebfating the
golden jubilee of their honored Bishop. A
grateful and loving congregation erected a
magnificent monument to his memory, but his
greatest monument will ever be the grand in-
stitutions he erected for the honor and glory
of God, for the education of youth, and for
the alleviation of human misery.
St. Ann's. — Hardly had St. Peter's been
erected in South Brooklyn when it became
necessary to erect another church in the vicin-
ity of old St. James'. On August 20, i860,
the Rev. Bartholomew Gleeson broke ground
for the erection of St. Ann's church, at the
corner of Front and Gold Streets. This
ground was not obtained without some little
trouble. The owner had decided objections to
selling his property for the erection of a Cath-
olic church, even when offered a good price
for it. Other ground was available, but the
Bishop had set his heart upon having this
corner. The services of Mr. Henry Breslin,
a business man of the neighborhood, was en-
gaged to obtain the property, which he did,
purchasing it at a very low figure, and at once
conveyed it to the Bishop. The first Mass
was celebrated in St. Anne's on Christmas
day, i860, but the dedication of the church
did not take place until Sept. 8, 1861. St.
Anne's is a brick building 130 feet by 60 feet,
surmounted by a tower 135 feet high, and has
a seating capacity of 1,100. In November,
1869, a parochial school was opened in the
basement. In 1871 it became necessary 10
erect a separate school building, which was
formally opened in September, 1872. This
building will accommodate 1,000 pupils. The
female department was placed in charge of
the Sisters of St. Joseph, and the male de-
partment was entrusted to the Franciscan
P.rothers. Father Gleeson resigned in 1875
and was succeeded by Rev. J. J. McMeel,
whose kindness and genial disposition is still
held in greateful remembrance. He was as-
sisted by Father James J. Durick, a gentle-
man who not only proved a valuable assistant
to his pastor, but who took a great interest in
the young men of the parish. On the death of
Father McMeel, Father Durick succeeded to
the pastorate of St. Anne's.
St. Vincent de Paul's. — In the Eastern Dis-
trict the English-speaking and the German
Catholics were also increasing. The year 1863
saw the erection of two new churches, St. Vin-
cent de Paul's, at North Sixth street near Fifth'
under the pastoral care of the Rev. Bernard
820
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
McGorisk, and the German Church of the An-
nunciation, under the care of the Rev. John
Hauptmann. A frame building on the corner
of North Sixth Street had long been used by
the Presbyterians of this vicinity as a house
of worship, but they were now about to remove
to a more suitable church in another part of
the city. Father McGorisk secured the frame
structure and dedicated it to St. A'incent de
Paul. Father McGorisk labored in his little
parish for six years and was succeeded by the
Rev. David O'Mullane, who built a very hand-
some church. He was succeeded in 1872 by
the Rev. Martin Carroll, the present Pastor.
Father Carroll is a progressive priest, and
everything about his parish proclaims it. Al-
though his congregation is composed of hard-
working people their generosity is above ques-
tion. Father Carroll has had the church beau-
tifully frescoed and decorated, and marble al-
tars have taken the place of the original wood-
en ones. But the work dearest to his heart
will ever stand as a monument to his zeal in
the interest of the children of his parish. In
1873 Father Carroll transformed the old frame
church into a parochial school — the first in the
parish. It was fitted up so as to accommodate
about 500 pupils, but this was only the initia-
tory step to what he saw he would need before
many years. In 1885 he erected a magnificent
school-house, one of the finest in the city, capa-
ble of accommodating from 1.500 to 1,800 pu-
pils, and the schools of St. A'incent de Paul's
are now in a flourishing condition and have an
excellent reputation.
The Annunciation. — The German Church
of the Annunciation was founded by the late
Rt. Rev. Monsignor Michael May, in 1863.
The building of the church was entrusted to
the Rev. John Hauptmann, who administered
to the people of this parish until 1891. The
first Mass was celebrated at the northeast
corner of North Fifth street and Havemeyer
Street. Father Hauptmann labored earnestly
and not without difficulties, for before he
could see his way clear to accomplish his de-
sires he was obliged to meet a law suit in-
volving a loss of $15,000 to his struggling
parish. Yet, in the face of all this. Father
Hauptmann succeeded :n doing a great work.
In 1870 he replaced the old church by a hand-
some brick structure 125 by 50 feet, and made
other improvements. In 1891 he was trans-
ferred to St. Aloysius' Church,- and Rev.
George Kaupert became Pastor. His first
thought was the education of the children of
his parish and in 1892 he erected a fine three-
story school-house 88 feet by 50 feet, and
when completed he placed it under the care
of six Dominican Sisters. The school is now
taught by fifteen Dominican Sisters.
St. Nicholas". — Rt. Rev. Algr. May inherit-
ed the church-building spirit of his illustrious
predecessor, and the German Catholics of
Brooklyn are indebted to him for the founda-
tion of more than one parish for the accom-
modation of his fellow countrymen. In 1865
he founded the new church of St. Nicholas, at
the corner of Olive and Powers streets. The
first Mass was celebrated in the old church on
May 14, 1866, by the Rev. Charles Peine, and
from four to five hundred persons were pres-
ent. Father Peine did good service here until
1877, when he was succeeded by Rev. John
P. Hofifmann, who built a new church at the
corner of Olive and Devoe streets and turned
the old building into a school. The old church
was 40 by 100 feet: the new edifice, a de-
cided improvement upon the old one, is 70
feet by 140 feet. The school has some between
five and six hundred pupils. There is also a
Convent of Sisters of St. Dominic dedicated
to St. Catherine of Sienna, erected in 1867
by Father Peine. Father Hoffmann has en-
deared himself to his people by his zeal and
devotion to their welfare. He is assisted in his
work by the Rev. John J. Bender.
St. John the Baptist's. — During Bishop-
Loughlin's episcopate the Diocese of Brooklyn
had but two Congregations of priests within
its limits. The first to come were the Laz-
arists, or Priests of the Congregation of the-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
821
Mission. In the spring of 1868 the Rev. Ed-
ward M. Smith, of that congregation, was sent
by his superiors to Brooklyn to open a new
field for the special work of his community.
He was fortunate enough to secure an entire
block of ground, bounded by Lewis, Stuyves-
ant and Willoughby avenues and Hart street.
It was bought by Very Rev. Stephen V. Ryan,
subsequently Bishop of Buffalo, but who was
then Visitor of the Congregation of the Mis-
sion in the United States. There was a little
cottage upon this ground and it was soon trans-
formed into a community house. A room was
fitted up as a chapel, and here, on July 12, 1868,
the first Mass was celebrated, before a con-
gregation of not more than twelve or fifteen
persons. On the same day the corner-stone
of the temporary wooden church was laid, by
Bishop Loughlin. In the following year, 1869,
the Bishop laid the corner-stone of the new
College of St. John the Baptist, and in Septem-
ber, 1870, it was opened, under the presi-
dency of the Rev. John T. Landry. Rev. J.
Ouigley succeeded Father Smith as Pastor of
the church in 1868, but Father Smith returned
in 1870 and resumed the pastorate, and con-
tinued in that capacity until 1874, when he
went to La Salle, Illinois. On February 9,
1875, Father Landry resigned the presidency
of the college and his unexpired term was
filled out by the Rev. James A. Maloney. In
September following the Rev. P. M. O'Regan
became President and Father Maloney became
Pastor of the church. Father Maloney was a
man of more than ordinary ability and his
pastorate was marked by a growth and pros-
perity that was most gratifying. In Septem-
ber, 1877, the Rev. A. J. Meyer became Presi-
dent of the college and he continued in that
capacity until 1882, when he was appointed
Bishop of Galveston, Texas. Father Meyer's
ambition was to be a good Lazarist and to
die a good son of St. Vincent de Paul. He
pleaded with the Holy See io be excused
from so great an honor, and among other ex-
cuses urged his failing sight. Rome accepted
his excuse, and after years of useful service
to his congregation as President of St. Vin-
cent's College at Los Angeles, California, and
of Kenrick Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, he
died — as he wished — a good Lazarist.
In 1882 the Rev. Jeremiah A. Hartnett, C.
M., became President of St. John's College and
Pastor of the church. The congregation had
outgrown the old frame church and the col-
lege had increased in the number of its pupils
because its standard had been raised to meet
the requirements of the times. A new church
was needed, and on June 24, 1888, Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of one of the
largest and finest church edifices in the State.
It is 208 feet long; nave, including side chap-
els, 85 feet; width of transept, 135 feet; depth
of chancel, 50 feet ; and height of ceiling from
floor, 95 feet. The material used in the con-
struction of the church is blue granite; the
style of architecture is Rom'an, and the build-
ing was under roof before there was a cent
of debt upon it.
The new St. John's was dedicated in May,
1894. The occasion was worthy of the splen-
did edifice. The dedication was performed by
the Rt. Rev. Charles E. McDonnell, D. d',
second Bishop of Brooklyn ; the Solemn Pont-
ifical Mass was celebrated by the I\Iost Rev.
William Henry Elder, D. D., Archbishop of
Cincinnati, and the dedication sermon was
preached by His Eminence James, Cardinal
Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore. Rt. Rev.
Stephen Vincent Ryan, D. D., Bishop of Buf-
falo, but who as Visitor of the Congregation
of the Mission, had purchased the splendid
church property years before, occupied a seat
in the Sanctuary. It was a happy day for
Father Hartnett, and he deserved it. But his
work was not yet over, as we shall see
further on.
Our Lady of Lourdes. — Besides the Laz-
arists the only congregation or community of
priests allowed in Brooklyn up to this time
were the Fathers of Mercy, or "Peres de la
Miserccorde." They are a society of mission-
822
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ary priests, founded in France in 1806 by Fa-
ther Jean Baptiste Rauzan. In 1842 they
came to the United States, and imder their
Superior, the venerated Father Annet Lafont,
took charge of the French church of St. \'in-
cent de Paul, in New York city. In 1873 they
established themselves at No. 1575 Broadway,
Brooklyn, where they secured a private house,
which became their novitiate, parish church
and parochial school. Mass was said in the
parlors of this house until 1875, when a neat
brick church, one hundred feet long by forty
feet front, was erected and placed under the
patronage of St. Francis, de Sales. This con-
gregation, under the direction of Father
Leneuf and his successors, has grown quite
rapidly. Considerable improvements were
made by Very Rev. E. H. Porcile, the present
Superior, and a year or two ago the original
church was replaced by a very handsome
structure dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes.
The Fathers of Mercy have a flourishing
parochial school attended by over four hun-
dred children, under the care of the Sisters
of St. Joseph. The Fathers attend a number
of out-missions and charitable institutions, be-
sides giving missions in all parts of the coun-
try.
St. Francis'-in-the-Fields. — Reference has
already been made to Rev. Father Raffeiner.
justly styled the Apostle of the Germans. Like
Bishop Loughlin, he was a great church-
builder, but it is a question whether he ever
erected a more quaint or a more interesting
church than that of St. Francis, built in 1850
on Putnam avenue, near Bedford. This little
two-story church stood about the middle of a
fine lot, surrounded by a high board fence,
with an entrance on Putnam avenue. A narrow
flagstone path extended from this gate to a
wooden staircase which led to the church prop-
er in the second story. After the burning of the
Brooklyn Theatre, in 1873, when all the pub-
lic buildings were required to have unusual
means of e.xit, this staircase was doubled, so
that persons might reach the ground from a
landing at the church door by two staircases
in place of one. The church was built of
brick, with shingled roof, and was surmounted
by a little, slender steeple, in which was a bell,
the tones of which, if not as melodious as
some of larger proportions, were dear to those
who frequented St. Francis.' Rev. Maurus
Ramsauer, O. S. B.,was its first Pastor; he was
succeeded in 1855 by Rev. Bonaventure Keller.
In 1857 he became superior of a house of his
order in Philadelphia and St. Francis' was at-
tended from Holy Trinity until 1861, when
Father Raflreiner died, and the church was
closed for a time. In 1866 Rev. Nicholas Bal-
leis, O. S. B., took charge and made it his
home up to the time of his death, December
13, 1891.
Father Balleis was born at Salzburg, Aus-
tria, November 22, 1808, and was ordained
November 17, 1831. In 1836 he came to this
country, at the invitation of Bishop Kenrick,
of Philadelphia. He was the first Benedictine
that came to the United States. He labored
for a time in Philadelphia, at the Church
of the Holy Trinity, and afterwards in
other parts of Pennsylvania, and later on in
New York. In 1841 we find him in New-
ark, New Jersey, organizing St. Mary's par-
ish. Here he remained for some years, and
they were years of severe trial. On Sep-,
tember 5, 1854, a mob of Orangemen attacked
his church, looted it, and Father Balleis and
his assistants barely escaped with their lives.
Father Balleis repaired the church and then
obtained permission from his superiors to sep-
arate himself from his order. He ministered
for a time to the wants of the German Cath-
olics in Elizabeth, Hoboken and elsewhere in
New Jersey, settled in Brooklyn in 1866, and
took charge of the little church "in the fields."
Here he liv^d in comparative seclusion, in the
lower part of the church building. His bed
was for a long time a board stretched across
two trunks. His sitting-room or reception
room was monastic simplicity itself. His only
luxury was his library, well stored with theo-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
823
logical and miscellaneous works of the choicest
kind, for Father Balleis was a man of more
than ordinary ability. In the centre of the
church was a little wooden stairway leading
down into the good pastor's living rooms be-
low. At the foot of these stairs was his con-
fessional. The sanctuary was a model of
neatness and of regard for tlie "decency nf
divine worship." The ornaments were not al-
ways of the richest kind, but they were the
best he could afford. His sermons were al-
ways very practical and full of instruction. He
would frequently have a number of books and
periodicals brought to him while preaching,
and he would read extracts from them on the
practical questions of the day, and comment
upon them.
The church was a "free churcli." that is,
there were no pews rented. It was customary
to take up a seat collection at the Credo and
the usual collection at the Post Communion.
Father Balleis rarely spoke of money, but
sometimes he would venture a playful remark
upon the "number of brass pennies that had
been hoarded up to put into the collection
box." On November 2~, 1881, he celebrated
the Golden Jubilee of his ordination, in a very
quiet way in the little church, and he lived
on ten years longer, doing good to all who
came in contact with him. Father Balleis was
a most lovable character, generous with the
little he possessed, and considerate with every-
body. He would baptize, hear confessions, and
attend "sick calls," but he would not perform
marriage ceremonies. The old-time custom of
the men sitting on one side of the church and
the women on the other was followed in this
church. The grounds around the church were
ample. On the Putnam avenue side a nicely
kept lawn afforded the Pastor an abundant
crop of hay, while the ground on the Jeft'er-
son street side was occupied by rows of grape-
vines, some of which crept up the side of
the church and shaded the worshippers from
the summer sun. From the grapes Father Bal-
leis used to make his altar wine. For a quar-
ter of a century this good man was seen at the
altar every morning with scrupulous regu-
larity. Even in his old age he persisted in
singing the late ^Nlass and preaching on Sun-
days in spite of the long fast this duty im-
posed upon him. His health continued good
until the last year of his life. He was loth
to accept -the assistance tendered him by his
brother priests, but he was obliged to yield
at last and avail himself of kind offices of the
Fathers of Mercy, A short time before his
death his Benedictine confreres came from
Newark and persuaded him to return to his
convent and die with, his brethren. He con-
sented and went to Newark, where, on Decem-
ber 13, 1891, in the eighty-third year of his
age and the sixtieth of his priesthood, he "gave
his better part to God and slept in peace."
"St. Francis in the fields" did not survive its
Pastor. The property on which it stood
passed into the hands of the Sisters Adorers
of the Precious Blood and their beautiful mon-
astery now occupies the site of the quaint yet
historic old St. Francis'.
Our Lady of A'ictories. — The new parish
of St. John the Baptist had hardly been organ-
ized when within a fortnight another Cath-
olic church, in an adjoining parish, was dedi-
cated. On July 26, 1868, the new Church of
Our Lady of Victories, on McDonou,gh street,
corner of Throop avenue, was opened for di-
vine service, under the pastoral care of the
Rev. Patrick Creighton. This edifice was built
of wood, and four years later was' turned into
a school-house, as a new structure, in course
of erection, was then so far completed as to
be used for church purposes. This building
is of granite and is one of the most imposing
in the city. It fronts on Ralph avenue. The
pastoral residence, a handsome brick building,
adjoins the church, and is amply provided for
the needs' of tha resident clergy. Father
Creighton labored here faithfully for some
years, until his advanced age induced the
Bishop to assign him to a less arduous charge.
He is now Rector of St. John's church. River-
824
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
head. He was succeeded by Rev. James J.
Woods.
New Cathedral. — Bishop Loughlin, it has
been said with truth, was a far-seeing man and
at the same time a man of wonderful pru-
dence. He foresaw the marvelouj growth of
the city of Brooklyn and also that of its Cath-
olic population. A city of the importance
which Brooklyn was fast attaining deserved
a Cathedral worthy of itself, and in i860 Bish-
op Loughlin began to look around for a lo-
cation upon which to build his new Cathedral.
He found it near the summit on the "Hill,"
and in one of the most aristocratic quarters of
the city. The property purchased by the
Bishop in i860 extended 470 feet on Clermont
avenue, 200 feet on Greene avenue, 470 feet
on Vanderbilt avenue, and 200 feet on Lafay-
ette avenue. The ground was owned by Maria
Spader and Jeremiah V. Spader and Margaret,
his wife, who, on November i, sold it to John
McCahill, of New York, for $75,200, the prop-
erty being guaranteed against nuisances by a
covenant in the deed. Mr. McCahill gave a
mortgage for $50,000, which was paid in No-
vember, 1865, when he conveyed the property
to Bishop Loughlin.
Three years later, on June 21, 1868, the cor-
ner-stone of the new edifice was laid with im-
posing ceremonies by the Bishop. The sermon
■was preached by Archbishop McCloskey, of
New York. In his sermon, referring to the
■grandeur of the new Cathedral, he said the
•edifice "will stand as a monument to Catholic
genius, Catholic architectural taste and skill,
and to be, besides, looked upon, as it will be,
as adding a newer beauty and another glory
and another honor and another source of
pride to what is already the renowned City of
Churches." Bishop Bacon, one of the pioneer
priests of Brooklyn, came from his Diocese
of Portland to take part in the ceremonies, as
did also the Rt. Rev. Francis P. McFarland,
D. D., Bishop of Hartford ; the Rt. Rev. John
J. Conroy, D. D., Bishop of Albany; the Rt.
Rev. John J. ^\'illiams, D. D., Bishop of Bos-
ton ; and the Rt. Rev. James F. Wood, D. D.,
Bishop of Philadelphia. A large number of
priests from this and neighboring Dioceses
made the occasion memorable by their pres-
ence.
The new Cathedral is to be dedicated to
Almighty God, under the invocation of the
Immaculate Conception ; the style of archi-
tecture is to be Renaissance-Gothic of the
thirteenth century, revised by Pugin. The en-
tire length will be 354 feet; extreme breadth
at the transept, 180 feet; the largest chapel,
St. John's, is 90 feet long and 40 feet wide ;
the whole frontage is 160 feet, the large
towers at the front will be 50 feet square at
the base and 350 feet high. The entire struc-
ture will be of blue granite. The building is
far from completion, as work has been sus-
pended for years, owing to the greater need
of churches, schools and institutions. The
prudence of the Bishop told him that his Ca-
thedral could wait until the more urgent needs
of his Diocese had been provided for, and
among these were the sick and the orphans.
But the building was not left entirely un-
finished. The end towards Green avenue will
give an idea of what the Cathedral is to be.
St. John's Chapel was opened in 1879. It is
handsomely decorated with frescoes represent-
ing Scriptural scenes; the altar is of pure
white mafble and the body of the chapel is
furnished with neatly carved walnut pews.
The opening of this Chapel formed the nucleus
of the congregation that will some day wor-
ship in the magnificent structure when com-
pleted. The architect, Mr. P. C. Keely, left
his plans, almost completed, to his successor,
and he was correct in claiming that no church
edifice in the country will be equal to the
Brooklyn Cathedral in completeness or beauty
when it is finished. The lapse of time and
changes in architectural taste may interfere
with some of his original ideas, but the struc-
ture itself, when completed, will stand as a
lasting monument to Brooklyn's first Bishop.
Our Lady of ]\Iercy.— LTp to 1869 there
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
825
was no Catholic church between St. Paul's
and St. Patrick's. The Catholics of that sec-
tion of the city were divided between St.
Paul's and St. James,' but in 1869 a new parish
was formed in Debevoise Place, near De Kalb
avenue. It is true that as early as 1857 the
Catholics of this vicinity assembled in an old
oilcloth factory, under the pastoral care of the
Rev. John McCarthy. Aiiiong the first Trus-
tees of this church were Mr. Clarence Bradley
and Mr. Thomas McCarty, father of the pres-
ent Pastor of St. Augustine's. Though the
beginnings of this parish were very humble,
it did not fail to grow. Father McCarty was
succeeded by the Rev. John McKenna, who
ministered to his growing flock until 1868,
when he went to Flushing. Before going,
however, he began the erection of the present
church of Our Lady of Mercy, the corner-
stone of which was laid in September, 1867.
It was finished by his successor, the Rev.
Thomas Taafte. and dedicated by the Rt. Rev.
Bishop Loughlin, on February 7, 1869. The
church is a modern Gothic structure, 70 feet
by T28, and is ornamented by a handsome
stained-glass window back of the altar. A
school was started in Father !McKenna's time,
and in 1864 numbered 290 boys, under the
Franciscan Brothers, and some 200 girls. The
school, which is opposite the church, is built
of brick and is three stories high, and the
class-rooms are well lighted and well venti-
lated. Adjoining the school is a select acad-
emy under the care of Sisters of St. Joseph,
who also have charge of some 300 girls in the
parochial school. The present convent was
built in 1S90, by Father JMcNamara. Father
Taaffe built the present pastoral residence and
placed the church upon a solid basis, and was'
then called to rescue St. Patrick's church from
its financial embarrassments. He was suc-
ceeded by the Rev. James J. McElroy. Father
^IcElroy was not in very robust health and
his pastorate was not of very long duration.
At his death, in 1877, he was succeeded by the
Rev. P. J. r^IcXamara, who had already done
good service as an assistant at St. Joseph's
and for three years as Pastor of St. Malachi's
Church. Under each of these Pastors the
church progressed, and in 1884 Father Mc-
Namara presented a financial statement which
was highly creditable to the business methods
of the Pastor and to the generosity of his peo-
ple. On the death of Father Corcoran, Father
McNamara, after a pastorate of seventeen
years at Our Lady of Mercy, was transferred
to St. Joseph's. From the time of his ordina-
tion in 1870 Father McNamara worked quietly
but effectively. He visited the prisoner and
carried consolation to the homes of mourn-
ing, whether of the rich or the poor. His
Bishop, recognizing his abilities, appointed
him Vicar General of the Diocese and the
Holy Father, Pope Leo XIII, invested him
with the dignity of a Monsignor. His fellow
students of St. Francis Xavier's College, New
York, showed their appreciation of his worth
and of his elevation to the prelacy by making
it the special feature of one of their annual
celebrations. May he long live to continue the
good work he has been doing so long and so
faithfully.
St. Stephen's. — In 1866 a small frame
church on Carroll street, now Hicks, was pur-
chased from the Episcopalians by the Rev. O.
J. Dorris and dedicated under the invocation
of St. Stephen. In 1873 the Rev. E. J.
O'Reilly began the erection of a new church
at the corner of Summit and Hicks streets, on
lots that had been purchased some years be-
fore, and in October, 1875, the new St. Ste-
phen's was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin.
This is a beautiful structure, surmounted by
a magnificent spire, on the summit of which is
a cross that may be seen far out. upon the
waters of New York Bay. In years gone by
this cross was illuminated at night, and was a
beacon to mariners entering the "bellissimo
lago of San Germano," as the Catholic ex-
plorer, Verrazano, was wont to call our bay.
The old church was turned into a school and
placed under the care of the Sisters of Charity.
826
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
In 1890 the Rev. Michael T'. Falhhy be-
came Pastor of St. Stephen's. He continued
the work of his predecessor until the time of
his death, in 1898. He was succeeded by the
Rev. J. H. Mitchell, LL. D. Father Mitchell
was born at Astoria, Long Island, in October
10, 1853. He made his ecclesiastical studies
in Montreal, and was ordained by Bishop
Loughlin on December 22, 1877. Imme-
diately after his ordination he was appointed
assistant at old St. James' pro-Cathedral,
where he labored for some years. In time he
became Secretary to Bishop Loughlin and
Chancellor of the Diocese. He was a great
friend of the young men and did much to im-
prove their mental and spiritual condition.
They were quick to recognize his interest in
them, and he was elected President of the
Young Men's National Union, succeeding the
Rf. Rev. Bishop Keane (now Archbishop of
Dubuque) in that office. He was one of the
founders of the Brooklyn Catholic Historical
Society and was its Vice-President for some
years. The Presidency was offered to him
more than once, but he refused, insisting that
that position should be held by a layman. He
was, nevertheless, the leading spirit of that so-
ciety and one of its most indefatigable workers.
One of the last acts of his life was the arrang-
ing of a public meeting of the society. He
was foremost in the movement which cul-
minated in the erection of a bust of Peter Tur-
ner, one of Brooklyn's pioneer laymen, in
front of St. James' pro-Cathedral, and as
chairman of the Publication Committee was
collecting matter for the first publication of
the Historical Society.
Father Mitchell's pastorate at St. Ste-
'phen's, though full of promise, lasted only two
or three months. His people had just come
to know him and to appreciate his work when
he caught cold, which developed into pneu-
monia and ended in his death on April 17,
1898. This was a sad blow to his parishioners
and to tine Catholics of Brooklyn in general,
for no priest in the Diocese was better known
or more beloved. So great was the esteem in
which he was held that his name was one of
the three proposed for a successor to the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Loughlin. The Catholics of
Brooklyn were anxious to do something to
show their appreciation of this good priest.
The Brooklyn Catholic Historical Society in-
augurated a movement to perpetuate his mem-
ory. Under the Presidency of the late Joseph
W. Carroll, a union of the Catholic societies
of the Diocese was effected and all joined to-
gether in raising a fund of $5,000 to secure
a scholarship, to be known as "the Rev. James
H. Mitchell scholarship," in the Catholic Ihii-
versity of America, at Washington, D. C. Tlie
Rt. Rev. Bishop McDonnell approved and en-
couraged the movement, and in time he had
the happiness of sending a check to the Rt.
Rev. Mgr. Thomas J. Conaty, D. D.. Presi-
dent of the university, for a scholarship which
was to lie for the benefit of Brooklyn theo-
logical students, for all time. Had Father
Mitchell been consulted in this matter he
would not have desired otherwise. The first
Mass of many a young and zealous priest will
be offered up for the repose of good Father
Mitchell long after those who knew him and
loved him and who contributed to this fund
shall have passed away and been forgotten.
Father Mitchell's successor was the Rev.
Nicholas J. Doran, the present (1901) Pastor
of St. Stephen's.
St. Louis.' — In 1869, on July 18, Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of a new church
for the French-speaking Catholics of the
Eastern District. This church was later on
dedicated to God, under the patronage of St.
Louis. The Pastor was the Rev. Jules Jollon,
a gentleman who has done missionary service
in Africa as well as in America, and who has
been signally honored by the French Govern-
ment. In 1889 Father Jollon removed his
congregation from ^Marshall street to Ellery
street near Xostrand avenue. Here a hand-
some frame church with parochial school and
pastoral residence has been erected. The
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
827
church has a seating capacity of 1,700. The
French element, whicli at one timj was largely
from Alsace and Lorraine, is gradually di-
minishing, and the bulk of the congregation
is now composed of English-speaking people.
Father Jollon's assistants are English-speaking
priests and sermons are delivered, on Sundays,
in French and in English.
St. Cecilia's. — In 1870 two new churches
were started, one in the Eastern District under
the invocation of St. Cecilia, and the other in
the Western District dedicated to St. Augus-
tine. The old St. Cecilia's, a small frame
building, and the frame pastoral residence,
were about as primitive as it was possible to
make them. The congregation started as a
mission of old St. Mary's. At first Mass was
said in a hall on Herbert street, between North
Henry and Monitor streets. Some 200 persons
constituted the original congregation and
prominent among these were William Clarkson,
Patrick Doyle, Michael Dowd, M. Riley, Thom-
as Riley and J. McCabe. In 1870 a small frame
church, 25 feet by 50 feet, ivas built by the Rev.
Father John R. McDonald. Rev. Florence Mc-
Carthy was the first resident Pastor, in 1874,
and he built a second church, also a frame
structure, 35 feet by 85 feet. After a pastor-
ate of ten years Father McCarthy was suc-
ceeded by the Rev. Michael Malone, in 1884.
In the meantime the parish had been growing
and the time was fast approaching when a
third church would become necessary. Father
Malone labored for four years to meet the
needs of his people, and in 1888 he was trans-
ferred to another field of labor. His successor
was the Rev. Edward J. McGoldrick.
Father McGoldrick is a native of Brooklyn
and made his early studies in old St. James'
school. Later on he went to Manhattan Col-
lege, where he graduated with honor. Having
decided to devote his life to the service of God,
at the altar he offered himself to Bishop
Loughlin, whose quick discernment not only
led him to accept the young aspirant for holy
orders but to send him to the American Col-
lege in Rome to make his ecclesiastical studies.
At the completion of his theological course
Father McGoldrick was ordained in Rome,
and on his return to Brooklyn was assigned to
assist Father Taafl'e at St. Patrick's.
Here he labored until 1888, when he was
appointed Pastor of St. Cecilia's. The posi-
tion demanded a man of prudence and energy ;
there was a considerable delit to be paid and
the erection of a new church was an imper-
ative necessity. Bishop Loughlin made no
mistake in the man he selected to undertake
this work. Father McGoldrick at once made
an appeal to his people, setting forth the needs
of the parish, and the people responded' with
alacrity. In a short time the old debt was
paid ofi^, and on September 27, 1891, Bishop
Loughlin laid the corner-stone of the new St.
Cecilia's, a white marble structure, 90 feet
by 165 feet, in the Romanesque style of- archi-
tecture, and with a seating capacity of 1,400.
Tlie ceremonies attending the laying of the
corner-stone were of an unusual character.
The musical part was performed by the Bee-
thoven Liederkranz, Oriole Glee Club, and
picked soloists from tlie various Catholic
choirs of the city. After the ceremony of the
laying of the corner-stone was over, a ser-
mon was preached by the Rev. William J.
Donovan, Rector of St. Anne's church, Hamp-
ton Junction, New Jersey. An address was
also delivered by Governor Albert, of New
Jersey, who was a lifelong friend of the Pas-
tor. Immediately adjoining the church is a
handsome three-story pastoral residence of the
same material (Georgia marble) as the church.
The new St. Cecilia's was dedicated in 1893,
and the first Mass was celebrated by Most
Rev. Francesco Satolli, D. D., at that time
Apostolic Delegate to the Lnited States. The
church property is now valued at some $250,-
000. In time Father McGoldrick expects to
build a school that will accommodaie the chil-
dren of his 6,000 parishioners.
St. Augustine's. — The corner-stone of the
original St. Augustine's church was laid in
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
November, 1870, by the Verj' Rev. J. F. Tur-
ner, then Vicar General of the Diocese of
Brooklyn. The church was situated at the
corner of Fifth avenue and Bergen street.
Rev. Louis J. Rhatigan was its Pastor, and he
had the happiness of seeing his church com-
pleted and dedicated in March, 1871. This
church, though small, was amply sufficient to
meet the wants of the Catholics in that part
of the city in those days. But it was not long
before the congregation began to grow very
rapidly, and the congregation of fifteen or
twenty persons who attended the first Mass
said in the Pastor's residence, at No.\ 43
Prospect Place, now began to be compressed
in the original church, which was 100 feet by
50 feet in dimensions. Then, too, the noisy
surface cars and the projected elevated line
made a change of site desirable. Father
Rhatigan died on JMarch 23, 1876, at the age
of thirty-six, after a pastorate of only six
years.
He was immediately succeeded by the Rev.
Edward W. McCarty, the present (1901)
Pastor. Father McCarty at once saw the needs
of his parish. The church property — 200 feet
on Fifth avenue and 169 feet on Bergen street,
and 100 feet on St. Mark's avenue, together
with the old church and parochial house — wero
sold, for $70,000, to the Brooklyn Elevated
Railroad Company. A new site was pur-
chased, 200 feet on Sixth avenue by 245 feet
on Sterling Place, by 145 feet on Park Place,
and on it the present magnificent building was
erected, at a cost of about $350,000. An evi-
dence of Father McCarty's tact and prudence
will be found in the fact that the church is
now practicably free from debt, and plans arc
now on hand for the erection of a chapel,
school house and rectory. Among the fam-
ilies that were interested in the early founda-
tion of the parish may be mentioned Mr. James
Rorke's and Mr. Michael Bennett's. The
parish has also given the church two of its
distinguished sons : The Very Rev. William
L. O'Hara, A. M., President of Mount St.
Mary's College, Emmittsburg, Maryland ; and
the Rev. John L. Belford, the successor of
the late Rev. Sylvester Malone, as Rector of
the church of Sts. Peter and Paul. The pres-
ent church was dedicated in 1892. It is a
grand English Gothic structure, 166 feet by
75 feet, and is considered by many to be the
finest church in the Diocese. Father McCarty
is a gentleman of taste and refinement and this
is evinced in the appointments and decora-
tions of his church, which are of the finest
quality and most artistic in design.
St. Leonard of Port Maurice. — The year
1871 saw the erection of two new churches,
St. Leonard of Port Maurice, for the Ger-
mans, and the Church of the Sacred Heart.
St. Leonard's is situated at Hamburgh avenue
and Jefiferson street, and was erected during
the pastorate of the Rev. John J. Raber.
Father Raber was a far-sighted man and was
not slow to realize that his young parish was
destined to grow. He seized the opportunity
that presented itself and secured nearly the
whole square block bounded by Jefiferson and
Melrose streets and Hamburg avenue and De-
Kalb avenue. He built a church suitable to
the needs of his day and made it especially
attractive on account of the beautiful paint-
ings which decorated its walls. He erected a
school, attended by some 730 boys and girls,
and placed it under the care of the Sisters of
St. Dominic. Father Raber died in 1888 and
was succeeded by Rev. Henry Francis Weite-
kamp. The parish had now grown to such an
extent that Father Weitekamp required two
assistants. At this time he had the Rev. F. M.
Schneider and Rev. Peter Henn. It was not
long before he began to feel that a new and
larger church was necessary, and he made ar-
rangements to meet these requirements. But
before he was able to carry out his designs he
was called to a better world. He died Jan-
uary 8, 1895, at the age of thirty-two years.
Father Weitekamp was a native of Brooklyn
and was ordained in 1886. It was reserved
for Father George D. Sander to undertake the
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
!i29
work of the erection of the new church.
Father Sander had been an assistant of the
Rt. Rev. Mgr. May, at the church of the Holy
Trinity, and had profited by the experience
of his former pastor. In July, 1896, ground
was broken for the new building, a grand
commodious structure costing some $200,000.
Father Sander has had the satisfaction of reap-
ing the reward of his labors. His school has
also increased, so that in 1901 he had some
1,400 children under the care of twenty-four
Sisters of St. Dominic. His assistants are
Revs. Francis X. Bettinger and Hermann
Luegel.
Church of the Sacred Heart. — The church
of the Sacred Heart, Clermont avenue, near
Park, was started in the old primary-school
building on Vanderbilt avenue in 1871. Like
many other churches in the city of Brooklyn,
its beginning was very humble, but the
mustard seed grew in time. It is a pity that
Father McGivern, the first Pastor of the
Church of the Sacred Heart, was obliged by
ill health to give up his charge before he had
the opportunity of maturing the plans he had
made for the future ; but, finding that the work
before him was beyond his strength, he re-
quested the Bishop to turn it over to another.
Bishop Loughlin rarely, if ever, made mistakes
in his selections of men to fill certain places.
Rev. John A. AlcCullum was an energetic
young priet-t who had been assisting Father
Taaffe at St. Patrick's church for some four
years, and Bishop Loughlin confided to him
the task of developing and shaping the plans
of Father McGivern. Father McCullum at
once set to work to organize the new parish.
His first effort was the holding of a fair, which
proved to be one of the most successful ever
held in the city. A magnificent new church
was soon erected on Clermont avenue, near
Park. By the side of the church was erected
one of the most spacious and best equipped
parochial schools in the city. Father Mc-
Cullum was ably assisted in his work by the
Rev. John F. Nash, who on the death of Fa-
ther IMcCullum, on December 31, 1887. suc-
ceeded to the pastorate of the Church of the
Sacred Heart and completed the work which
he and his predecessor had commenced.
Church of the Nativity. — The year 1871
gave still another church to the city of Brook-
lyn,— the Nativity of Our Blessed Lord, — at
the corner of Classon avenue and Madison
street. On October i, 1871, Bishop Loughlin
sent the Rev. Michael J. Moran to form a
new parish between St. Joseph's and St. Pat-
rick's. Father Moran was well known in the
district in which he was to labor, having as-
sisted Fathers Fagan and Fitzpatrick at St.
Patrick's, Kent avenue, for several years.
He also spent a year at Flatbush, and while at
the latter place attended Parkville, where he
built a little church for the few Catholics who
then resided in that vicinity. On being sent to
organize a new parish he secured a most ad-
vantageous site, and on the feast of St. Pat-
rick, 1872, he said his first Mass in the new
parish, in the present parochial residence. The
number of attendants was small, reckoned by
the dozens only, but a start had to be made.
On the 19th of May Father Moran had the
happiness of seeing the corner-stone of the
present church laid, and on the 21st of Octo-
ber of the same year the church was solemnly
dedicated to the Nativity of Our Blessed Lord.
Its construction indicates that it is only a tem-
porary structure which later on, when the
times are propitious, will become a school and
give way to a handsome church worthy of
the neighborhood. In the meantime Father
Moran has provided for the education of the
children of the parish by the erection, in 1885,
of a commodious school house, and about the
same time he purchased a property adjoining
his own and opened a convent and academy,
which he placed under the care of the Sisters
of St. Joseph. In 1888 Father Moran secured
a valuable property at the southwest corner
of Gates and Franklin avenues, which eventu-
ally will be used for educational purposes,
but which in the meantime is' used bv the lit-
SoO
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
erary and benevolent societies of the parish as
a meeting place.
Father Moran was ordained in old St.
James' Pro-Cathedral, December 8, 1865, and
on December 8, 1890, he had the happiness of
celebrating his Silver Jubilee. His congre-
gation of a few dozen that assembled in the
old rectory nineteen years before have grown
to 4,000 ; his Sunday-school numbers some
i,ooD children; and his parochial school and
academy are in a prosperous condition. Among
the more prominent members of his parish
may be mentioned the Hon. Felix Campbell,
former member of Congress and an ex-School
Commissioner, a gentleman who has done the
Church and the State good service.
St. Bernard's. — In 1872 the Rev. John J.
Ammann gathered together the Catholic Ger-
mans living in South Brooklyn and said Mass
for them in Temperance Hall, on Hamilton
avenue, and two years later he succeeded in
obtaining a church which had been used by
Baptists and which he dedicated to God under
the invocation of the great St. Bernard. In
1891 the feast of St. Bernard was celebrated
in this church, with great pomp and cere-
mony. The Pastor at that time, the Rev. M.
N. Wagner, left nothing undone to make the
occasion worthy of the great saint. Bishop
Loughlin, of Brooklyn, presided, and the late
Rt. Rev. Winand M. Wigger, D. D., Bishop of
Newark, pontificated. The sermon was
preached by the Rev. Father Bonaventure, O.
S. F. In 1891 a four-story brick dwelling on
Woodhull street near the rear of the church
was purchased for a parish school. The school
is now (1901) under the care of six Sisters
of St. Dominic. The Pastor is the Rev. Jo-
seph Traenkle.
St. Alphonsus. — While the Germans of
South Brooklyn were organizing St. Bernard's
their fellow countrymen in Greenpoint, under
the guidance of the Rev. Wendelin Guhl, were
laying the foundations of St. Alphonsus'
church on Kent street, near Manhattan avenue.
The church was a frame building, the corner-
stone of which was laid by Bishop Loughlin
in Alarch, 1873. It was dedicated on August
8, of the same year. The first Mass was said
in a little frame building on the same lot,
and the people assembled in it every Sunday
until their new church was finished. The di-
mensions of the present church are 56x85 feet.
In the rear of the church Father Guhl has a
parochial school, opened in January, 1892, and
taught by Sisters of Notre Dame. Father
Guhl is a hard worker and his school is in a
flourishing condition.
St. JMichael's. — The year 1874 saw the
foundation of four churches: St. Michael's,
at Fourth avenue and Forty-second street ;
St. Casimir's (for the Poles), on Green ave-
nue, near Adelphi street; St. Teresa's, on
Classon avenue and Butler street; and the
church of the Transfiguration, Marcy avenue
and Hooper street.
St. Michael's congregation was first or-
ganized in a private house. No. 1047 Third
avenue, by the Rev. Michael J. Hickey. The
first Mass was attended by about twenty-fi.ve
persons. Later on a church was built on
Fourth avenue. Father Hickey was succeeded
in 1875 by the Rev. Joseph P. O'Connell, D.
D. (now Mgr. O'Connell), who on January
3, 1886, opened a fine school, 70 feet by 45
feet. In September of the same year he
opened a convent for the Sisters of St. Jo-
seph, who have charge of the school, which
now numbers 500 pupils. On March 9, 1896,
Rev. Henry A. Gallagher became Pastor of
St. Michael's. He made some very important
improvements and enlarged the church, so that
its present dimensions are 92 feet by 45 feet.
He is doing good work in the parish and is
ably assisted by Rev. Joseph Smith and Rev.
Edward F. McGolrick.
St. Teresa's. — The foundation of St.
Teresa's church was a little more propitious.
The Rev. Joseph McNamee was sent, in April.
1874, to organize a new parish in the sparsely
settled neighborhood of Classon avenue and
Butler street. He looked around for a build-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
831
ing in which to say his first Mass. Like Fa-
ther Mickey, of St. Michael's, he found a good
Irisliman who was ready to open his doors
to the priest, so that on the 4th day of May,
1874, the nucleus of the new St. Teresa's par-
ish— one hundred and fifty souls — assembled
at the residence of Mr. D. Gallagher, No. 685
Butler street, to welcome their future Pastor
and extend to him their hearty co-operation.
On the same day ground was broken. The
corner-stone of the present building, "jQ feet
by 125 feet, was laid on August 2, 1874. By
the following January (1875) the building had
progressed so far that Rt. Rev. Bishop Lough-
lin was able to open the basement for divine
service, but the beautiful church was not en-
tirely finished and dedicated until October 16,
1887. On September i, 1883, Father Mc-
Namee opened a fine school house, 50 feet by
90 feet, which was taught by thirteen Sisters
of St. Joseph and two lay teachers. In No-
vember, 1883, he opened a convent for the Sis-
ters ; so that St. Teresa's is now a thoroughly
equipped parish. During his pastorate Father
]\IcNamee has been assisted by Rev. Laurence
J. Guerin (October, 1876, to January, 1891),
Rev. Hugh Cassidy (January, 1885, to Jan-
uary, 1886), Rev. John J. Crimmins (October,
1885, to November 7, 1899, when he died),
Rev. Joseph McGurley (i89i),and Rev. James
A. Higgins and Rev. Philip T. Brady, his
present assistants.
Church of the Transfiguration. — At the
corner of Marcy avenue and Hooper street
stands a beautiful structure of the Roman style
of architecture and erected in honor of the
Transfiguration of our Blessed Redeemer. To
see that building now, few persons would be-
lieve that in 1874 one hundred and ten Catli-
olics of the neighborhood assembled to hear
Mass by the Rev. John Fagan, in a carpenter
shop at No. 208 Hooper street, but such is the
fact ; and yet, did not the Divine Founder oi
the Holy Catholic Church begin life in the car-
penter shop of his foster father, St. Joseph ?
Perhaps this coincidence may account for the
success that has attended this parish. In 1875
Father Fagan moved his congregation into a
neat brick structure, 40 feet by 75 feet in di-
mensions, which was intended ultimately for
a parochial school. Father Fagan died in 1878
and wias succeeded by Rev. William J. Hill,
the present pastor of St. Paul's. Before Fa-
ther Hill had time to accustom himself to his
surroundings his services were required to in-
fuse new life into old Mount St. Mary's Col-
lege, Emmittsburg, Maryland, and he did it.
In 1881 Rev. John M. Kielv assumed
charge of the Church of the Transfiguration.
He saw at once that the parish had outgrown
the old brick church erected by Father Fagan,
and he immediately set to work to build the
present church, a magnificent structure, 140
feet by J-X) fee*:, and made it one of the large.st
and handsomest churches in the city. He also
built the large and commodious pastoral resi-
dence adjoining the church. Father Kielv died
in 1899, deeply regretted by his flock.
The priests connected with the Church of
the Transfiguration are as follows : Pastors —
Revs. John Fagan, 1874-78; Rev. William J.
Hill, 1878-81 ; Rev. John M. Kiely, 1881-1899;
Rev. William J. Maguire, 1900-. The assist-
ants were Revs. Denis Tivenan, E. W. Dullea,
C. H. O'Dougherty, Walter Mansfield, Joseph
Kilpatrick, Walter Power, Peter Quealey,
John J. O'Neill and Jeremiah J. Heafey.
Church of the Holy Family. — In 1876 the
Rev. James J. Hanselman erected a church for
the Germans on Thirteenth street between
Fourth and Fifth avenues, and dedicated it
to the Holy Family. Some time afterward Fa-
ther Hanselman erected a fine school, which
he placed under the care of the Sisters of St.
Dominic. It is now attended by some 200
pupils. The year 1877 was marked by the
opening of St. John's Chapel, one of the chap-
els of the new Cathedral on Clermont avenue,
and which has already been described.
St. Agnes.' — Three new churches were
added to the city of Brooklyn in 1878. The
most prominent of these was St. Agnes', un-
S32
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
der the pastoral charge of the Rev. (now
Mgr.) James Duffy. It began in a modest
frame structure on Hoyt street, near Sackett
street. The congregation then numbered
about 600. The corner-stone of the new
church was laid in the spring of 1881. It was
a massive Gothic structure of brick, brown
stone and polished marble, 180 feet by 90 feet.
The windows, which were very fine, were
made in Alunich, and the grand organ was said
to have cost $20,000. In the summer of 1901
this beautiful church was struck by lightning
and totally destroyed. This was a terrible
blow to Mgr. Duffy and his people, but they
have set to work to rebuild their church and
in time a new St. Agnes' will rise from the
ashes of the old one. Mgr. Duffy also erected
a magnificent school building, which is at-
tended by over 1,300 pupils, under the care
of six Sisters of St. Joseph and sixteen lay
teachers. Mgr. Duft'y is assisted by Revs.
James J. Flynn, Louis J. Sloame, Louis M. O.
Blaber and John I. Whelan.
Church of the Holy Name. — The next
house of worship, built in 1878, was the Church
of the Holy Name. The Rev. Thomas J.
O'Reilly in March of that year gathered to-
gether the first congregation in "McCann's
stable," at the corner of Eighteenth street and
Eleventh avenue. On August 11 of the same
year Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-stone of
a new church on the corner of Ninth and Pros-
pect avenues, and Father O'Reilly had the
happiness of seeing it dedicated on Christmas
day of the same year. It is a neat brick edi-
fice capable of seating a thousand people. In
addition to this Father O'Reilly has provided
for the education of the children of his parish
by erecting a school that now accommodates
some 500 children, under the care of the Sis-
ters of St. Joseph. Father O'Reilly is still in
charge of the parish and is assisted by Rev.
John McEnroe.
Church of the Fourteen Holy Martyrs. —
The Church of the Fourteen Holy IMartyrs
is another new edifice, erected for the Lithuan-
ians. It is situated at Central avenue and
Covert street. The first Mass was said in a
house on Central avenue and Cooper street;
some twenty-five persons attended. Soon after
a church, 40x60 feet, was built, and dedicated
in 1878. The Rev. Bernard F. Kurz was its
first Pastor and is still in charge. He has
also a parochial school in the basement of the
church, under the direction of the Sisters of
St. Dominic.
St. Matthew's. — Rev. B. J. McHugh was
commissioned to build St. Matthew's church on
Utica avenue near the boulevard. A fine brick
building was erected, which for a time an-
swered the needs of both church and school.
At length Father McGlinchey, who succeeded
Father McHugh, erected a new church and
also a school, which is conducted by the Sis-
ters of St. Joseph. They have over 300 chil-
dren under their charge. In March, 1901,
Father McGlinchey celebrated his silver jubi-
lee. He was ordained by Bishop Loughlin on
]\Iarch II, 1876, and was immediately as-
signed to assist the late Father Corcoran, at
St. Joseph's, and continued in that capacity
for nine years. He was then appointed Pastor
of St. John's church, Riverhead, Long Island,
and after five years of hard service here was
called to the pastorate of St. Matthew's, where
he is still doing good work.
St. Bridgid's. — The parish of St. Bridgid,
Linden street and St. Nicholas avenue, was
formed in October, 1882, by the Rev. John
McCloskey. The corner-stone of the new
church was laid in June, 1883, and the church
was dedicated on Christmas day of the same
year. Father McCloskey died in 1893, and
was succeeded by Rev. Michael A. Fitzgerald,
who remained here until 1897, when he was
placed in charge of St. Peter's church. His
successor was the Rev. Thomas E. Carroll,
the present (1901) Pastor, who is assisted by
Rev. William F. Blaber and Rev. Frederick
Wunch.
St. Ambrose's. — In the year 1883 the Rev.
Daniel J. Sheehy, who had been for some years
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
S38
an assistant at St. Augitstine's church, was di-
rected to build a new church at the corner of
DeKalb and Tompkins avenues. An old frame
house stood upon this corner and here Father
Sheehy said his first Mass for the little con-
ijregation that was soon to be placed under
the patronage of St. Ambrose. Father
Sheehy was a man of action and before a year
had passed he had erected a neat frame church
to 1)e replaced in time by a larger and more
pretentious edifice. He also erected a large
and commodious pastoral residence in the rear
of the church. Father Sheehy secured the
large double house on DeKallj avenue, just
below the church, and converted it into a
flourishing academy under the care of the Sis-
ters of St. Joseph : Sister Alarv Augusta is
in charge. Father Sheehy died February 4,
1895, at the age of forty-five years, in the full
vigor of manhood and with great possibilities
before him. He was succeeded by the Rev. J.
J. Crowley, who had been for nearly a quarter
of a century Pastor of St. Patrick's church,
Huntington, Long Island. There is as yet no
parochial school attached to St. Ambrose's
church, but there is a rapidly growing Sun-
day-school, which now numbers over 600 chil-
dren. The church property is valued at
$120,000.
St. Thomas Aquinas. — The Church of St.
Thomas Acjuinas has a history. It is the forty-
seventh Catholic church in the city of Brook-
lyn. In the winter of 1884 the Rev. James
Donohue was sent by Bishop Loughlin to or-
ganize a new parish in Gowanus. The wig-
wam on Ninth street, near Fifth avenue, which
had been used by the Twenty-second Ward
Democrats during the presidential campaign,
was presented to Father Donohue by ex-Coun-
ty Clerk Delmar, and it was gratefully ac-
cepted and used for church purposes until
Passion Sunday, 1886, when the first Mass was
said in the basement of the new church. The
corner-stone of the church had been laid June
28, 1885. The church property has a frontage
of 200 feet on Fourth avenue and 100 feet on
53
Ninth street. The style of the church is
foliated Gothic; the nave is 75 feet by 100
feet, the transept 37 by 78, and the apse 16
feet by 32 feet. The upper part of the struc-
ture is of Philadelphia brick, the interior is
finished in hard wood. The windows are of
stained glass, and the church will seat 1,400
persons. It was dedicated to the service of
God on Sunday, May 16, 1887. by the Rt.
Rev. Bishop Loughlin, who also preached on
the occasion. Among the most prominent
Ijenefactors to the church are ex-County Clerk
Delmar and his estimable wife, and Mrs.
Daniel Gray.
St. Francis Xavier's. — The church of St.
Francis Xavier, on Sixth avenue, corner of
Carroll street, and of which the Rev. David
J. Hickey is happily still the Pastor, was or-
ganized in 1886. Father Hickey had been
for many years assistant Pastor at St. Au-
gustine's church and in that time had acquired
an experience that proved invaluable to him in
the great task entrusted to him. He went to
work at once, and on September 17, 1886,
rented the house No. 243 Sixth avenue, and by
the following Sunday he had fitted up the
spacious parlors into a temporary chapel, and
here two Masses were said for the new con-
gregation which crowded into the parlors, the
halls and the stairways. Father Hickey is a
graduate of St. Francis Xavier's College, and
he did not forget alma mater when he started
his new church. He had commenced his.
studies under the care of the Apostle of the
Indies and he took pleasure in placing the
great work of his life under the patronage of
that saint. Ten vacant lots on the opposite
corner of the house just mentioned were se-
cured for the needs of the new parish, and
these lots were subsequently supplemented by
five more on Carroll street. On October 3
Father Hickey with his own hands turned up
the first spadeful of earth, and by Christmas he
had the happiness of seeing the work in hi's
new church so well advanced as to enable him
to celebrate the birth of Christ within its wall?.
834
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Twelve hundred persons gathered in the base-
ment to hear Mass "in their own church."'
Father Hickey did not feel that he could, at
that time, build such a church as he desired,
but he did build a very neat and substantial
church of wood and iron that was adequate for
the immediate wants of his people, and he is
now erecting a more lasting building. The
original church was ninety-two feet deep by
fifty wide, with a sacristy i6 by 32 feet and a
seating capacity of from 700 to 800. The
•new church will be an ornament to the city
and will continue in spite of the vast improve-
ments that have recently been made in that
part of the city to merit the name of tho
"Gem of the Hill."
Father Hickey was born in Brooklyn and
is now in the full vigor of manhood. He was
for a long time an altar boy at the Church of
the Assumption under good old Father Kec-
gan. In 1872 he graduated from St. Francis
Xavier's College, New York, and made his
ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of Our
Lady of Angels, Suspension Bridge. He was
•ordained in 1876. His parish has grown from
■900 souls to over 3,000. Besides the church
he has built a fine rectory, and his people
liave generously seconded his efforts. Al-
though he began in 1886 without a cent in
liand, he had the happiness, on Sunday, June
28, 1896, of announcing that his parish, church
house, academy and all, valued at $150,000,
were free from debts of any kind. This is a
record of which one may feel proud. But
Father Hickey's work is not yet done. He is
now building a magnificent new church.
The Church of Our Lady of Good Coun-
sel, on Madison street, was built in 1886 by
the Rev. Eugene P. Mahony, formerly Chap-
lain at the Penitentiary. This building has
since been replaced by a handsome new edifice
•on Putnam avenue, which was dedicated by
Bishop Loughlin on Sunday, October 4, 1891.
The building is of Norwegian granite, Eng-
lish Gothic in style, and is said to have cost
.some $80,000. It is one of the most complete
cliurches of its size in the city of Brooklyn.
The structure was erected under the imme-
diate supervision of its Pastor, who did a
great deal of the manual work himself while
superintending the work of others. Besides
the erection of his fine church, Father Mahony
has provided ample school accommodations for
over 300 boys under the care of the Franciscan
Brothers, and nearly 400 girls under the cars
of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Father Mahony
was a quiet, unobtrusive man, shunning noto-
riety, but always an indefatigable worker, as
his church and school will testify. He died
a victim to his devotion on January 26, 1901.
As Father Belford said in his beautiful eulogy
over the dead pastor, "No priest ever worked
harder, and few priests have met and con-
quered difficulties so wisely and so well."
Church of the Presentation. — In 1887 the
Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin sent the Rev. Hugh
Hand to organize a new parish at the corner
of Rockaway avenue and St. Mark's avenue.
It was called in honor of the Presentation of
the B. V. M. On April 7th of that year Fa-
ther Hand assembled his people in Luhr's
Hall, at the corner of East New York and
Liberty avenues. Thirty persons attended his
first Mass, prominent among whom were Mr.
Thomas F. Ryan and Mr. Timothy Berckley.
In a short time Father Hand erected a church
building, which he enlarged and improved in
1896. The edifice is 112 feet by 36 feet, ample
enough for the accommodation of the Cath-
olics of a new district. Father Hand has
been hampered in his work by the immigra-
tion into his parish of an element not cal-
culated to make it attractive to English-speak-
ing people ; nevertheless, he has had the happi-
ness of seeing his congregation grow from the
thirty who attended his first Mass to one that
now requires the ministrations of two priests.
Father Hand is still a young man and has
plans for the future which will be realized as
soon as the means for so doing are placed at
his disposal.
St. Nicholas'. — The Rev. John Hoffman
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LOXG ISLAND.
835
in 1886 built a new church for the German
congregation in Bushwick. On July 4th of
that year Bishop Loughlin laid the corner-
stone of the new St. Nicholas'. Over 1.500
men from the different German Catholic so-
cieties in the city participated in the cere-
monies. Father Hauber preached the sermon,
in German. The edifice is 148x70 feet, is
Gothic in style without transept, and accom-
modates 1,000 persons on the floor and 200 in
the gallery. The complete cost of the church
is estimated at $100,000.
Our Lady of Sorrows. — The church of
Our Lady of Sorrows, at the corner of Mor-
gan avenue and Harrison Place, was founded
for the Germans in 1890 by the Rev. John
Willmann and Rev. John B. Zentgraf. Father
Willmann remained only two or three weeks
after the foundation of the parish, and its or-
ganization devolved upon Father Zentgraf. A
two-story frame building, 40 feet by 60 feet,
constituted the first house of worship, and
about 300 persons attended the first Mass. In
October, 1892, Father Zentgraf added forty
feet to the length of the building and improved
it, both interiorly and exteriorly. He also
built a school, 40 feet by 100 feet, which is
under the care of eight Sisters of St. Dominic,
who teach 180 boys and 190 girls.
In 1893 Father Zentgraf, knowing how
dearly Our Lady of Sorrows loved the friend-
less and the orphan, erected a fine brick
Orphans' Home, 100 feet by 75 feet, four
stories high, and supplied with all modern im-
provements, and placed it under the patronage
of Our Mother of- Sorrows. Here are lodged
some three or four hundred boys and girls
who are cared for by twenty-four Sisters of
St. Dominic. Father Zentgraf continues ro
look after the interests of his church, school
and asylum and is assisted in his work by Rev.
Herman Mertens. His parishioners now num-
ber about 1,000 souls. Some 400 children at-
tend Sunday-school.
The New Theological Seminary. — The
year 1890 was also marked by the opening of
the New Theological Seminary of St. John.
This building adjoins the College of St. John
the Baptist, at the corner of Lewis avenue and
Hart street. This building was designed by
the clergy of the Diocese as a testimonial of
their regard for their Bishop on the occasion
of the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood. No
personal gift would have found favor in his
eyes. This the clergymen knew too well ; they
consequently decided to give their memorial
in the form of a monument that would con-
tinue the good Bishop's work long after he
had ceased "to fight the good fight." He had
long cherished the idea of founding a diocesan
seminary, and his devoted priests decided to
cheer his heart by the realization of this de-
sire. The Bishop selected the ground ad-
joining the college as the site for his future
seminary, and while both clergymen and laity
questioned the wisdom of building a sem-
inary in the heart of the city, where the sem-
inarians would be deprived of the out-door
exercise so necessary to student life, yet this
was no time for crossing the Bishop's deep-
set purpose, and work was at once commenced.
The Lazarist Fathers were to be the trainers
of his future clergy and upon Father Hartnett
fell the tdsk of erecting the building. The
corner-stone was laid on Sunday, September
29, 1889. The style of the building is Roman-
esque; it is built of brick, with terra-cotta and
stone trimmings and is three stories high,
with a Mansard roof. The Lewis avenue front
is sixty feet in length and the depth on Hart
street is one hundred and eighty-five feet. At
the extremity of this wing is a beautiful chapel
adorned with stained-glass windows and hand-
some frescoes, representing St. Thomas
Aquinas and St. Catherine. The altar is of
white marble and of beautiful design. Over
the chapel is the Diocesan Library. The class-
rooms, dormitories, halls and refectory are
large, well ventilated and finished in hard
wood, and are all heated by steam. The sem-
inary w'as opened in the fall of 1891.
Church of the Holy- Rosary. — In June,
836
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
1889, Bishop Loughlin decided upon the for-
mation of a new parish, to be placed under
the patronage of the Holy Rosary, on Chauu-
cev street, between Stuyvesant street and Reid
avenue. His choice for its Pastor fell upon
Rev. Dominic Monteverde, then an assistant
at the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
Father Monteverde was a native of Italy, but
his early childhood was passed with his par-
ents in England. After deciding to devote his
life to the service of God at the altar, he went
to Ireland, where he made his ecclesiastical
studies at the famous Seminary of All Hal-
lows, near Dublin. After his ordination he
labored for some years as a missionary in
California and Nevada. While attending some
mission among the mountains of Nevada he
was thrown from his horse and sustained in-
juries from which he never fully recovered.
He came to BrookhTi and offered his services
to Bishop Loughlin. They were accepted
and he was assigned to duty as an assistant
at the Church of St. John the Evangelist.
In 1889 he was directed to build the Church
of the Holy Rosary. He set to work at once
to survey the ground and lay his plans. Hav-
ing no residence of his own, he accepted the
hospitality of Father Corcoran, at :^t. Joseph's
rectory, and before many days secured a build-
ing at No. 1747 Fulton street, near Reid ave-
nue. Here he gathered his first congregation
and said his first Mass in this improvised
chapel. A week later he purchased a piece of
ground 100 feet square for $3,000, and upon
it he built the church that to-day owes its ex-
istence to his unceasing labors : and it required
all his energies to accomplish what he did.
His people were not numerous, nor were they
blessed with this world's wealth. . Father
Alonteverde had made friends while at St.
John's, among whom was the good pastor, who
was not slow in offering a helping hand to
his former assistant. Father Alonteverde
appealed to the people of St. John's for
help, and they responded most generous-
ly. The new house of worship was start-
ed, and on May 4, 1890, it was dedicated.
The good Pastor was anxious that everything
about his church should be worthy of the great
object to which it was devoted. His ambition
was to have a beautiful marble altar. He did
not live to see his hopes realized, but the nionev
he had secured for the purpose was used ac-
cording to his desires by the Rev. M. J.
Mynn, who was for a time acting Pastor after
the death of Father Monteverde. The main
altar, which is Gothic in style and very mas-
sive, was consecrated by Bishop ^McDonnell
on April 24, 1897, the month after the death
of Father Monteverde, which occurred in
Baltimore on January 2, 1897. The present
Pastor is Rev. James McEnroe.
Church of the Blessed Sacrament. — In
February, 1891, Rev. Joseph F. McCoy, an
assistant priest at St. Anthony's Church,
Greenpoint, was sent by Bishop Loughlin to
found a new parish in the Twenty-sixth Ward.
Father McCoy set to work at once, gathered
his flock in Pflalman's Hall, Atlantic avenue
and Crescent street, said Mass for them, and
announced his intention of building a church
for their use. Later on he said Mass in the
]iarlors of a pastoral reisidence he had been able
to secure. In a little while Father McCoy pur-
chased ground for a church, ,at a cost of
$5,000. This lot has a frontage of 125 feet
on ;\Iarket street and runs back 150 feet. On
this lot. on July 19th, Bishop Loughlin laid
the corner-stone of a frame church, 45 feet
wide by 90 feet deep and 40 feet high. The
design is Gothic, the foundation is of stone
and brick aild it has a seating capacity of oyer
600. On November 22 Father McCoy had the
happiness of seeing his church dedicated by the
Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin. This was the last
of the many churches founded and dedicated by
that venerable prelate. The occasion of the
dedication was one of great joy to both Pastor
and people. The interior of the church is beau-
tifully decorated and the little congregation
that had gathered in the parlors of the rectory
has now grown lo nearly a thousand. Father
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
837
McCoy at once invited tlie Augustinian Fa-
thers to give a Mission in his new church, and
thus enkindled a zeal for religion that hums
as brightly to-day as when the church was
opened.
St. Edward's. — In May, i8yi. Bishop
Loughlin sent the Rev. J. F. Mealia to estab-
lish a new parish at the corner of Canton and
Division streets (now known as St. Edward's
street and Leo place). It was to be formed
from parts of St. James', Our Lady of Mercy
and the Sacred Heart parishes. Father Mealia
lost no time in beginning the work entrusted
to him. A suitable site was secured, ground
l^roken. and on September 13 Bishop Loughlin
laid the corner-stone of the new St. Edward's
Church. The ceremonies were attended by a
vast concourse of people, who listened to the
address of the bishop with the deepest atten-
tion. In the territory assigned to this parish
there was an estimated Catholic population
of 3,500 sculs. On December 8, 1891, work
on the new church had so far progressed that
the basement was opened and mass has been
said there ever since. The new church will
be completed during the present vear, 190 1,
and will be, architecturally considered, a very
handsome building. This parish claims to be
the last one founded by Bishop Loughlin. It
is estimated that the church and pastoral resi-
dence will cost some $100,000. The style of
architecture of the church is Romanesque, with
rounded front flanked by two towers. The
building will be 124 feet long, with an average
width of si.xty-five feet, and will seat about
1 ,000 persons. The material used in construc-
tion is gray brick, trimmed with terra cotta.
The roof is tiled with slate. The rectory will
be built in the rear. Father Mealia is keeping
the debt well in hand.
Our Lady of Angels. — The village of Bay
Ridge, now a part of the borough of Brook-
lyn, was a long time without a church, and the
Catholics of that region were obliged to go to
St. Patrick's Church, Fort Hamilton, or to
St. Michael's, at Fourth avenue and Fortv-
second street, to hear mass on Sundays and on
holy days of obligation. In 1890 Bishop
Loughlin conceived the idea of establishing a
new parish for their relief. The people were
not blessed with much worldly wealth, and it
was nearly a year before the bishop could see
his way clear to make a beginning. In Sep-
tember, 1 89 1, he sent the Rev. Martin J. Lof-
tus, one of the assistant priests at St. John's
Chapel, to set the work in motion. A lot of
ground 100 feet b}- 120 feet was secured on
Seventy-third street, near Third avenue, and
$1,700 was subscribed toward a building fund.
Father Loftus made a visitation of the terri-
tory assigned to him, and he found some three
or four hundred Catholics who were to form
the nucleus of his future congregation. He
got them together in an engine house in Si.xty-
seventh street, where on Sunday morning, Sep-
tember 20, he said two masses, one at eight
o'clock and the other at ten o'clock. A meet-
ing of the parishioners was held, and Mgr.
M. J. McXamara was appointed temporary
chairman. Collectors were appointed to go
through the village and raise funds for the
erection of a church. Good Bishop Loughlin
gave the work his blessing, but before the
corner-stone could be laid he had gone to give
an account of his stewardship. In the mean-
time Father Loftus secured additional ground,
and it was not long before the corner-stone of
a beautiful church, to be placed under the pat-
ronage of Our Lady of Angels, was laid by
Bishop Loughlin's successor.
The structure is in the Italian Romanesque
style of architecture, of washed brick with
terra cotta trimmings, and a basement of blue
stone. The tower is eighty feet high and the
interior ai¥ords a seating capacity for 600 or
700 persons. The church was dedicated by
Bishop McDonnell, on Sunday, September 21,
1893. Adjoining the church is a neat and com-
modious rectory. When it is considered that
all this was done inside of two years and by
a congregation bv no means rich, too much
praise can not be given to both pastor and
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
people. Torday the church propert}' is vakied
at, $60,000, three-fourths of which has been
paid.
LIISHOP LOUGHLIN's JUDn.EE.
On October 17, 1890, Rt. Rev. John Lough-
lin, D. D., celebrated the fiftieth anniversar}'
of his priesthood. The people of the diocese
of Brookl3'n, over which he had presided as
Bishop for thirty-seven years, — priests and
laity, — determined to celebrate the occasion in
a truly Catholic manner. The celebration
throughout was religious in character, atf ec-
tionate in feeling and edifying in results. It
was not a mere display of adulation, which
would have been deeply offensive to the, retir-
ing modesty of the great Bishop. It was the
outburst of grateful souls; grateful to God for
having given them so good a bishop, gjrateful
to the Bishop for the impetus he had given to
religion in his diocese. And this gratitude
proclaimed itself in the spontaneity and magni-
tude of the celebration. It is estimated that
no less than 10,000 persons were present at
the Clermont Avenue Rink and its immediate
surroundings on the night of that memoralslc
17th of October, 1890. On the stage beside the
jubilarian were seated Cardinal Gibbons, Arch-
bishop of Baltimore and Primate of the Amcri-
ican Heirarchy; Archbishop M. A. Corrigan,
of New York; Archbishop Elder,. of Cincinnar
ti ; Bishops Conroy, McNiqrny, O'Farrell.Wad-
ham, Ludden, Keane (now Archbishop of Du-
buque), Ryan (of Alton), McQuaid and Wig-
ger; Monsignon parley (now Auxiliary Bisli-
op of New York), McDonnell (the successor
of Bishop Loughlin) ; Rev. D. E. Allen, Presi-
dent of Mt. St. Mary's College (Bishop
Loughlin's alma mater) and representatives. of
religicus orders, in and out of New York.
At the appointed hour Mr. James H. i\Ic-
;\Iahon, chairman of the Central Committee,
read the opening address. It was very brief,
and expressed the love of the people of Brook-
lyn for their bishop. This was followed Isy
congratulatory addresses by Air. Edward J.
Dooley, of the St. James' Catholic Club, of
Brooklyn ; Mr. Thomas W. Hynes, of the St.
Vincent de Paul .Society ; Mr. Edward Feeney,
of the State Council of the Catholic Knights
of America ; Mr. John Greene, on behalf of
the alumni of St. Francis' College; Mr. John
C. McGuire, of the Catholic Benevolent, Le-
gion ; and Major John D. Keiley, Jr., on behalf
of the laity. Following these addresses Mr.
Jacob Zimmer, Treasurer of the Jubilee Fund,
came forward and presented the Bishop with
a check for $25,000, the offering of the dif-
ferent parishes of the diocese.
The Most Rev. M. A. Corrigan, D. D.,
Archbishop of New York, was the next speak-
er. He made a hasty review of the church
in the last fiftv years. At the time of
Bishop Loughlin's consecration Brooklyn
contained but two Catholic churches. "The
diocese then embraced the State of New
York and . the greater part of the State
of New Jersey. There were but sixty
priests and fifty-four churches, in whose terri-
tory there are now over 1,0,00 priests, 1,500
churches and 1,500,000 Catholics." The Arch-
bishop concluded with a justly. eulogistic trib-
ute to Bishop Loughlin, which was most heart-
ily endorsed by His Eminence, Cardinal, Gib-
bons. Bishop Loughlin's reply to all this was
characteristically brief and characteristically
modest : "I can not take to myself any of the
glory that has been ascribed to my labors, for,
inasmuch as we are in the handi of Almighty
God, we must accord to Him all the. glory;
next, to the clergy of the diocese, who have
manifested such untiring energy in the dis-
charge of their duties. Wonderful, indeed, has
been their work. Nor can the glorious., relig-
ious communities be overlooked. What could
we do without them ? Nothing. To these and
to the faithful laity, who have always joined
with the clergy in their beneficent suggestions,
and to whom God has given tne dispositions
as well as the means to carry out these. sug-
gestions,— to these, but above all to God the
Father, be honor and praise and glory and ben-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
839
ediction forever and ever." Thus ended the
exercises at the rink, and the vast audience
filed out to the strains of the "Star Spangled
Banner."
On the following day, October i8th. took
place the Ecclesiastical celebration. It was
held in old St. James', which had been the
Bishop's cathedral for so many years, around
which clustered all the memories of his early
episcopate and among the people who had been
his direct parishioners for so many years. Is
it any wonder that "old St. James' was decked
out in holiday attire ?" At ten o'clock the pro-
cession moved out of the quaint old building
that adjoins what had been Bishop Loughlin's
home for so many years, and which he left
so reluctantly. The procession was headed by
a Cross Bearer and Sanctuary Boys; next
came the Franciscan and the Christian Broth-
ers ; these were followed by some 200 priests ;
next came the Very Rev. Presidents of Col-
leges and Seminaries ; the Very Rev. Vicars
General ; the Rt. Rev. Monsignori ; the Rt.
Rev. Bishops, to the number of thirteen ; and
next to these four Archbishops. When these
had taken their places, Solemn Pontifical Mass
was celebrated by the Rt. Rev. John Loughlin,
D. D., Bishop of Brooklyn, with Very Rev.
Michael May, V. G., of Brooklyn, as Assistant
Priest. The Deacons of Honor were Very
Rev. A. L. Magnien, S. S., D. D., President
of St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore, and Very
Rev. Edward P. Allen, D. D., President of
IMount St. Mary's College, Emmittsburg,
Maryland ; Deacon of the Mass, Rev. Thomas
Taaflfe, Rector of St. Patrick's, Brooklyn ; and
Sub-deacon, Rev. Martin Carroll, Rector of the
Church of St. Vincent de Paul, Brooklyn.
The Masters of Ceremonies were the Revs.
James H. Alitchell, Rev. J. A. Brosnan, Rev.
J. J. McCarron. all of the Cathedral. The ser-
mon was preached by His Eminence, Cardinal
Gibbons, who took his text from St. Luke,
X, 1-9. In speaking of the work of Bishop
Loughlin His Eminence said :
"Do you ever reflect, my brethren, on the
immense weight of monetary obligations that
has been resting all these years on the shoul-
ders of your Bishop? During the last forty
years, how many powerful corporations, how
many princely merchants, who have been re-
garded as the Napoleons of finance, have been
crushed beneath the ruins occasioned by some
financial crisis! During all that time your
Bishop has been in business transactions for
religious and charitable purposes. The prop-
erty he has accumulated has amounted to thou-
sands and tens of thousands, and hundreds of
thousands, and even millions of dollars. He
has come out of the ordeal with clean hands
and a clean heart, without a single note of his
protested. Now, I ask you to consider what
foresight and tact and sound judgment must
have been displayed by your chief pastor in
passing through these financial operations with
so much credit to himself and so much honor
to the diocese over which he presides."
At the conclusion of the Mass the Bishop
sat on his throne and received the various
congratulatory addresses that were presented
to him. The first was the address from the
clergy of the diocese of Brooklyn, which was
read by the Rev. Father Sylvester Malone.
He quoted the prophecy of the great Arch-
bishop Hughes at the time of the nomination
of Bishop Loughlin for the new See of Brook-
lyn : "I have in my household a priest full of
Apostolic spirit, with the simplicity of life,
fruit of the indwelling spirit of God. He, I
hope, will be ordered to take up the all but
barren soil of Long Island, and it will flourish
and bring forth the 'golden rod' of faith, hope
and charity. Under his active ministry and
unbounded zeal my episcopal joy will be full,
and a great compensation will be given me
now, nearing the close of a most boisterous
and stormy episcopal life." "Has the great
departed," asked Father Malone, "been disap-
pointed ? Did he err when he threw the weight
of his mighty influence at Rome into the nom-
ination of the Very Rev. John Loughlin, for
first Bishop of Brooklyn? We are all here,
in your presence, to answer No."
After the reading of the addresses of the
840
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Clergy, the Rev. Thomas Taaffe, pastor of St.
Patrick's Church, advanced toward the Bishop
and presented him. in the name of the Clergy,
with a beautifully illuminated check for
$12,000.
Addresses were delivered by Brother John
Evangelist, on behalf of the Christian Broth-
ers, of St. James' School ; by the Rev. Brother
Superior of the Franciscan Brothers ; and by
Mr. Edward Rorke, on behalf of the "Old St.
St. James' Parishioners." Bishop Loughlin's
reply was the same as he always made when
people sought to glorify his work : "All our
efforts amount to nothing unless aided by
Almighty God. Unless the Lord build the
liouse, they labor in vain that build it."
Later in the day the Clergy gave their
Bishop a banquet in the Academy of Alusic.
About 200 participated in the ovation. Through
deference to the Bishop's wishes, there were
no speeches made at the banquet. In the even-
ing a grand torchlight procession took place,
in which 50.000 men participated, under the
command of General James McLeer and his
efficient marshals. The procession consisted
of five divisions, in which every city and sub-
urban parish in the diocese was represented.
Professional men walked beside the artisan
and the humble sons of toil. All were readv
to sink their dififerences in one grand demon-
stration of love and devotion to their common
Father in God. It was nine o'clock before the
head of the procession reached the reviewing
stand, and it was two o'clock before many of
the delegations liroke ranks at their respective
churches.
The third day of the celebration was de-
voted to the children's procession. The Bishop
was a great lover of little children, and it was
his desire that they should have a prominent
liart in this celebration. Every Sunday-school
and parochial school in the city turned out its
hundreds and thousands, except St. Peter's,
whose devoted pastor, Father Fransioli, had
gone to his reward on the previous day. The
pageant of this procession was marred by a
heavy fall of rain ; but all, from the poor little
orphans, who as the brightest jewels in the
Bishop's mitre were accorded the right of line,
down to the last little "tot" that turned out
that day in holiday attire, had a chance to
pass the reviewing stand, even if many of
them did go home hungry, wet and tired.
The fourth and last day of the celebration
was marked by a grand banquet in the .\cad-
emy of Music, in which 250 guests partici-
pated. Among the guests were His Eminence.
Cardinal Gibbons ; the Archbishops of New
York, Cincinnati and St. Paul ; the Bishops of
Lincoln, Nebraska; Trenton, Albany, BufTalo.
Burlington, Springfield, Ogdensburg, Syra-
cuse. Duluth ; Rt. Rev. Dr. John J. Keane, the
President of the Catholic University of Amer-
ica ; the \"icar General of Brooklyn ; and
man\ of the Clergy. Besides these were Mayor
Chapin, Murat Halstead, Andrew McLean,
and a large number of distinguished laymen,
both Catholic and non-Catholic.
Every school, academy, college and relig-
ious institution in the diocese, and colleges
and many ecclesiastical seminaries outside of
the diocese, sent letters and telegrams of con-
gratulation and good wishes to the great
Bishop of Brooklyn. In many respects this
celebration was one of the most remarkable
ever witnessed in this country. True, cele-
brations have been held which commanded the
interest of a greater number of people, but they
were national in character and appealed to the
patriotism or sympathies of our people as a
nation. Bishop Loughlin's Jubilee was of a
local character and concerned only the people
of Brooklyn, but it was unprecedented in spon-
taneity, in good will, and on the part of Cath-
olics it was a grateful appreciation of an un-
selfish and sacrificing life.
Whatever Bishop Loughlin's feelings may
have been regarding all this, he continued
doing the work of the Master in the same
quiet, unostentatious manner that had charac-
terized his whole life. The money offerings
he received on this occasion soon found their
RT. REY. CHARLES E. HcDONNELL.
SECOND BISHOP OF BROOKLYN,
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OX LONG ISLAND.
841
way to needy charities, so that, when Bishop
Loughlin laid down the crozier lie had so
wisely and prudently wielded for so many
years, his personal property was little more
than that of the poorest of his flock. He left
to his heirs, — his clergy and people, — a legacy
of nearly one hundred churches and chapels,
a seminary for the education of the future
priests of the diocese : homes for the aged and
the orphans, hospitals for the sick, and refuges
for the fallen and forsaken.
I)E.\TH OF DISHOP LOUGfJLIX.
Bishop Loughlin died at the episcopal resi-
dence on Tuesday, December 29, 1891, deeply
lamented by clergy and laity. At the time of
his death he was the oldest priest ordained in
the Diocese of Xew York, and with one ex-
ception. Archbishop P. R. Kenrick, of St.
Louis, the oldest Bishop in the L'nited States.
He was a man of great humility and of great
firmness. He knew what he wanted, and when
his mind was made up it was useless to attempt
to move him. This characteristic had been
commented upon and has not infrequently
given offense. This was a matter of no con-
sequence to the Bishop ; he felt that his decision
was the correct one, and it was better to say
no at first than to be obliged to say it later on.
He was very simple in his habits and tastes,
and full of wit and humor among his friends,
and even with newspaper reporters. Above
all, he was a man of the most unostentatious
charity. He went to Brooklyn to be its Bishop
and he continued to keep his hands at the helm
of affairs until that hand lay cold in death.
It may be said of him that he was the onl_\'
Bishop in the L'nited States who never wrote
a pastoral letter. He was a sagacious and
jjrudent counselor in all that related to the in-
terests of the church and in what he deemed
for the benefit of his people. At his death
the Diocese of Brooklyn lost a pastor who vig-
ilantly watched over it and who never flinched
from the performance of his duty, and he left
to his clergy an example of zeal and self-denial
in the accomplishment of their holy mission.
When the summons came and (iod called him
to Himself, he could well say: "I am ready
to sheathe the sword I have wielded in the
cause of truth and justice." His people and
his clergy will hold his name in veneration and
feel that he has merited the unfading crown
of glory which the Master he served so faith-
fully had promised to "the good and faithful
servant," and that he has been ]>ermitted to
"enter into the joy of his Lord."
His funeral took place on Xew Year's
Day, 1892. The remains were taken from the
episcopal residence adjoining the new but un-
finished Cathedral in Clermont avenue to old
St. James' Cathedral. The streets along the
route of the procession were lined with crowds
of respectful citizens of every shade of relig-
ious belief, anxious to testify to the venera-
tion in which the lamented dead was held by
them. The Solemn Pontifical Mass of Requi-
em was celebrated by Archbishop Corrigan, of
Xew York, and the funeral oration was de-
livered by the Rev. Frederick Wayrick, rector
of St. Alphonsus' Church, Xew York. The
Bishops of the province and many distin-
guished clergymen and laymen were present.
After the ceremonies the remains of the de-
ceased Bishop were deposited in a vault pre-
pared for them, under the Sanctuary of old
St. James', which he loved so well.
PART III.— BlSflOP McDOXXELL.
The third period in the historv of Catho-
licity on Long Island begins with the year
1892, when the Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Mc-
Donnell, D. D., began his episcopate as second
Bishop of Brooklyn.
Bishop McDonnell was born in the city of
New York, on January 5, 1854. and his early
life was spent in the Seventh Ward. In his
youth his parents moved to Brooklyn. After
studying for a time under the tuition of the
Christian Brothers in old De La Salle Insti-
tute, on Second street, Xew York, he entered
842
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the College of St. Francis Xavier. Young
McDonnell was a diligent student, and he was
thus enabled to begin his theological studies
two jears in advance of his classmates. In
1871 Cardinal McClosky sent him- to Rome to
pursue his studies at the American College.
He was then scarcely eighteen years of age.
On the completion of his theological course he
took a supplementary course and earned the
degree of Doctor of Divinity. He was or-
dained priest by the Rt. Rev. F. S. Chatard,
D. D., on May 8, 1878, in the Chapel of the
American College, where the Bishop himself
had been consecrated only a week before. In
the fall of 1878 Dr. McDonnell returned to
the United States and was assigned, by the
late Cardinal McCloskey, as an assistant at
St. Mary's Church, Grand street. In January,
1879, he was transferred to St. Stephen's to
assist the Rev. Dr. Edward McGlynn, then
pastor of that church. In May of the same
year St. Patrick's Cathedral, on Fifth avenue,
was opened and Dr. McDonnell became one of
the Cardinal's household, the Cardinal recog-
nizing the necessity of having some one near
him who was especially acquainted with the
liturgy of the church, and Dr. McDonnell had
been trained in this direction while in Rome
by Mgr. Cataldi. In 1884 Mgr. John M. Far-
ley, who had been secretary to Cardinal Mc-
Closkey, was made pastor of St. Gabriel's
Church, in East Thirty-seventh street. Dr.
McDonnell became his successor, and on the
death of Cardinal McCloskey, when Arch-
bishop Corrigan succeeded to the See of New
York, he retained Dr. McDonnell in the Sec-
retariat, and later on made him Chancellor
also. He retained these offices until called to
the dignity of the episcopate. In 1890 he ac-
companied Archbishop Corrigan to Rome, and
while there Pope Leo XIII conferred upon
him the dignity of Private Chamberlain, with
the title of JNIonsignor. In the fall of 1890
Mgr. McDonnell was appointed Spiritual Di-
rector of the Catholic Club, in place of the
late Vicar General Donnelly.
An experience of over ten years as private
secretary and Chancellor of a great diocese
like New York proved very valuable to Dr.
McDonnell. His position made him acquaint-
ed with all the details of a diocese. He knew
all its inmost workings ; he came in contact
with almost every priest in the diocese, and
always managed, by his prudence and affabil-
ity, to command the respect and good will of
all. It is not surprising, then, that when the
See of Brooklyn became vacant, he should
have been chosen to succeed the great Bishop
Lcughlin.
On April 25, 1892, Mgr. McDonnell was
consecrated Bishop of Brooklyn in St. Pat-
rick's Cathedral, New York, by Archbishop
Corrigan. The Assistant Bishops were Rt.
Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, of Rochester, and
the Rt. Rev. Francis S. Chatard, of Vincennes.
Over 500 priests participated in the ceremo-
nies, among whom were Rev. Jeremiah A.
Brosnan and Rev. John H. McCloskey, of
Brooklyn, classmates of the new Bishop at
the College of St. Francis Xavier. The ser-
mon was preached by the Very Rev. Thomas
J. Campbell, Provincial of the Maryland-New
York Province of the Society of Jesus.
In referring to the new Bishop of Brook-
lyn. Father Campbell said: "You are not going
into a new land, but into a great church
which a noble pioneer of the faith planted and
strengthened and adorned. You are going into
a territory that had scarcely a cross or a spire
when he raised his crozier over it forty years
ago, and now, after a lifetime of toil, con-
tinued to the very end, when he lay down in
his coffin with the royal robes of poverty
about him, having given all to God, he hands
it over to you rich in its magnificent churches ;
strong in its splendid charities and schools ;
with a zealous and devoted clergy and a flock
of more than a quarter of a million, all on fire
with zeal for the glory of the church of Christ.
All this I know only fills you the more with
consternation. But there are many things
which seem like bright harbingers of a great
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND
843
and happy episcopate. Do ycu remember how
when death was palsying the Hps of the dying
prelate that almost his last words were imex-
pectedly addressed to you, giving you, for a
moment, almost episcopal powers? Perhaps
at that solemn hour it was vouchsafed him to
penetrate the darkness that was closing around
him. AMiy should it not be so, for the Qne
who had stood long before the mystic veil of
the Altar of Sacrifice? There has come spon-
taneously from every side evidence of warm
and enthusiastic welcome, increased bv the
quick honor of your elevation; and who can
doubt that it is a prophecy of the future and
that the brightness of to-day will remain with
you, not merely as a memory, but as a widen-
ing and deepening reality through the labors
and difficulties of your new and great career?"
After the Mass of Consecration the clergy
were entertained at a dinner, during which
Mgr. Farley read the address of the clergy of
New York, congratulating the new Bishop on
his elevation to the sublime dignity of the epis-
copate and in their name presenting him with
a check for $7,490. On Monday, May 2,
Bishop AIcDonnell took formal possession of
the See- of Brooklyn. Never did a Bishop
enter a diocese under more auspicious condi-
tions. No diocese in a purely Catholic coun-
try ever received its Bishop in a more Chris-
tian or more respectful manner. One hundred
and twenty-five carriages, filled with clergy
and laity, awaited the arrival of the new
Bishop on the ferryboat "Texas," at the foot
of Broadway. From the moment Bishop Mc-
Donnell set his foot upon the soil of Long
Island he was among friends. His clergy
were there in large numbers to welcome their
future superior, and no sooner did his carriage
emerge from the ferry house than they crowd-
ed around him to testify their allegiance and
devotion. The faithful lined the streets along
the entire route selected for reaching the ca-
thedral to welcome their Bishop and receive
his blessing as he passed along, clad in the
robes of his sacred iofifice. In that countless
mass were Catholics of all nationalities. Amer-
icans, Irish, Germans, French, Italians, Greek
Uniates, non-Catholics, and men of no religious
faith. All lifted their hats respectfully as
thcv saluted a new citizen who was thencefor-
ward to occupy a prominent position in their
city.
At the Cathedral of old St. James' the cere-
mony of the installation took place. At and
immediately after the installation the clergy,
headed by Vicar General May, until now ad-
ministrator of the diocese, and Chancellor
James H. Mitchell, gathered around the new
Bishop and kissed his ring in token of their
loyalty to his person and to his holy office,
and to receive a blessing from his newly an-
ointed hands. The faithful laity followed the
example of the clergy, and soon afterward
Bishop McDonnell was escorted to the episco-
pal residence in Clermont avenue, which was
to be his future home.
In the evening the Bishop was given a re-
ception at the Academy of Music by the Co-
lumbia Club, the vast assemblage of from two
to three thousand gentlemen, who crowded
into the magnificently decorated Academy at
the invitation of the club to greet the new
Bishop ; the warm address of welcome by its
President on the part of the laity, and the
graceful and dignified words that fell from the
lips of the city's chief executive. His Honor
Mayor Boody, as he welcomed the .Bishop to
the city of Brooklyn, were all incidents that
might well awaken the just pride of Bishop,
clergy and people, and which spoke volumes
for the intelligence and liberal Christian feel-
ings of the Brooklyn people at large.
Finally, as enthusiastic, though perhaps
less pretentious, -was the reception given to the
Bishop on Tuesday evening by his fellow
alumni, — his Brooklyn college friends and
brothers of old St. Francis Xavier College,
New York. In the Clarendon Hotel, B.rook-
lyn, were assembled distinguished prelates and
worthy priests and a body of laymen noted for
intelligence and for the respectable standing
844
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
they occupied in tlie National Congress, in the
State Legislature, on the hench, in the learned
professions and in commercial life. All of
these gentlemen joined in a hearty welcome
to their old college companion and in assur-
ances of their loyalty to the future I'.ishop of
Brooklyn.
The first official act of Bishop McDonnell
was the dedication of the new St. Augustine's
Church, on May 15, 1892. The ceremony was
witnessed by a vast concourse of people. After
the dedication Solemn Pontifical Mass was
celebrated by Bishop Ludden, of Syracuse.
The sermon was preached by Bishop Chapelle,
of Santa Fe (now Archbishop of New Orleans
and Apostolic Delegate Extraordinary for Cu-
ba. Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands).
Bishop O'Farrell, of Trenton, was also in the
Sanctuary. On the Wednesday following
Bishop McDonnell administered the Sacrament
of Confirmation to 600 persons, at the Church
of the Sacred Heart, in Clermont avenue. On
Sunday, June 5, he celebrated his first Pontifi-
cal Mass in Brooklyn, in old St. James' Ca-
thedral, and on the Sunday following, June
II, he conferred Holy Orders for the first time
in his diocese, by raising the Rev. William J.
Dunne, of Niagara University, to the dignity
of the priesthood.
CHTRCHE-S.
St. Frances de Chantal. — The Fathers of
Mercy who have charge of the old Church of
St. Francis of Sales, now known as the new
Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, in 1892
founded another church at the corner of Fifty-
seventh street and Thirteenth avenue. This
church was placed under the patronage of St.
Frances de Chantal. The first mass was said
in the house of Miss Gorman, at Fifty-sixth
street and Thirteenth avenue. There were
about 125 persons present, among whom were
William J. Powers, James Hanley and Will-
iam May, who took special interest in the or-
ganization of the new parish. The church is a
modest structure, 24 by 60 feet, with a seating
capacity of 400, but it proved a great accom-
modation to the people of that sparsely settled
neighborhood. It was first attended by Father
Michael Maloy, S. P. ^I. He was succeeded
in 1894 by the Rev. T. McTague, S. P. M..
and he in turn was succeeded in 1895 by the
well-known missionary. Father Gaston Sep-
tier, S. P. M. These Fathers improved the
parish until at present the number of parish-
ioners has increased to 700. It is now at-
tended by Rev. William McAdam. S. P. M.,
who is assisted by Rev. Alphonsus B. Parker,
S. P. M.
Redemptorists in Brooklyn. — The late
Bishop Loughlin gave very little encourage-
ment to religious orders of men in his diocese :
consequently, at the time of his death, the
Lazarists and the Fathers of Mercy w^ere the
onl\- regulars in the diocese. Bishop McDon-
nell, recognizing the necessities of the times
in which he assumed control of the diocese,
felt that those orders had now become a neces-
sity and he opened the dOors to them. The
first to avail themselves of his hospitality and
to offer their services to the faithful were the
Redemptorist Fathers. The Brooklyn foun-
dation of the Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer (as the Redemptorist Fathers are
called officially) was formally established on
Easter Sunday, April 2, 1893. \'ery Rev. Fer-
dinand A. Litz. C. SS. R., was Provincial at
this time of the Baltimore Province of the
congregation (or order). Rev. F. W. Way-
rick, C, SS. R., rector of St. Alphonsus'
Church, New York City, acting in the name
of the Provincial, bought from Messrs,
Creamer and Gallagher the entire block bound-
ed' by Fifth and Sixth avenues and by Fifty-
ninth street and Sixtieth street. The purchase
was made on the feast of St. Peter of Alcan-
tara, October 19, 1892. The formal opening
of the church was deferred until the following
spring. On April 2, 1893. however. Rev. J. B.
Daily, C. SS. R., of St. Alphonsus' Church,
New York, said mass for the first time in this
iiarish at what was called Professor Moss'
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
845
house, at the corner of F"oiirth avenue and
Fifty-fourth street. About forty persons were
present at this mass. Although it was Easter
Sunday, there were no communions, and the
collection taken up amounted to the small
sum of $6.io. The limited attendance was due
partly to the fact that the neighborhood was
sparsely populated, and partly because it was
not generally known that mass would be cele-
brated on that day. (Jn April 22d the Fathers
rented a house at the corner of Fifty-seventh
street and Fourth avenue, near the site of the
projected church. The congregation had now
grown to 178. On May 9th Sunday-school
was opened, with an attendance of forty-nine
children. On ^lay 30th the Fathers took the
census of their parish and found that it con-
tained just 348 persons. The parish now num-
bers 3,000 parishioners. Father Daily man-
aged the affairs of the parish until May 12th,
when Father .Augustus Mclnerney, C. SS. R.,
was appointed Superior, with Fathers Daily
and Crosby as assistants. On October 29th
the corner-stone of a new church was laid by
Bishop McDonnell, and Father Wayrick
preached the sermon. The new residence for
the Fathers was ready for occupation and they
moved into it on December 7th, and mass was
said in it on the 9th.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help. — On Janu-
ary 14, 1894, the new Church of Our Lady of
Perpetual Help was dedicated by Bishop Mc-
Donnell. He was assisted by \'ery Rev. P. J.
McXamara, A\ G., \'ery Rev. James H. ]\Iitch-
ell, Chancellor of the Diocese, and a number of
priests of the Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer. The mass was celebrated bv Rev.
John B. Daily, C. SS. R., and the sermon was
preached by Rev. F"rancis Sigl, C. SS. R. On
May 23d Father Mclnerney resigned the posi-
tion of Superior, on account of ill health, and
was succeeded by Father Dailey. On June 24th
the six boys and ten girls who approached the
altar on that day can "tell posterity that they
had the honor to belong to the first band who
made their first communion in the new
church." The Sunday-school, which opened
on May 7th with forty-nine children, now
numbers 550. The League of the Sacred
Heart, established in December, 1895, numbers
over 1,000 members. The community now
consists of seven Fathers and two lay Broth-
ers. It has become a missionary center, and
some of the Fathers are constantly engaged,
during the season, in giving missions.
St. liarbara. — A new parish for the Ger-
mans, under the invocation of St. Barbara,
was founded in 1893: the church is situated
on Bleecker street, between Central and Ham-
burg avenues. It was placed in charge of
Rev. Isidore Wunch. The first mass was cele-
brated in a small building 20 by 60 feet, which
was subsequently used as a school room.
Among the first members of this parish were
Joseph Eppig, William Wolf and John Pope.
The corner-stone of a temporary church was
laid on August 27, 1893, by Bishop McDon-
nell, assisted by A'icar General McNamara
and Mgr. May, and it was dedicated on
Thanksgiving Day of the same year by Bishop
McDonnell. A Mass was celebrated by Rev.
Peter Dauffenbach, of Winficld. assisted by
Rev. Henry Weitekamp as Deacon, Rev.
George Kaupert, Subdeacon, and Rev. John
Hanselmann as Master of Ceremonies. The
sermon was preached by Rev. John B. Zent-
graf. Immediately after the mass the Rt.
Rev. Bishop administered the Sacrament of
Confirmation to a large number of children.
The new church is a neat Gothic frame build-
ing with a front of forty-five feet on Bleecker
street and a depth of ninety-five feet on Cen-
tral avenue, with a seating capacity of 600.
Father Wunch has a school of 600 children,
in charge of thirteen Sisters of St. Dominic.
Church of the Immaculate Heart. — In Oc-
tober, 1893, Bishop McDonnell called the
Rev. James J. McAteer. an assistant at St.
Agnes' Church, to the pastorate of a new
church to be erected in the neighborhood of
Windsor Terrace. The new parish was to ht
formed of parts of the parishes of the Holv
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
Name, Flatbush, and St. Rose of Lima, Park-
ville. A plot of ground was secured near
Ocean Parkway, and preparations were being
made for the erection of a church. In the
meantime Father McAteer celebrated mass in
a hall: at 'No. 38 Vanderbilt street, Windsor
Terrace.. At the first mass Father McAteer
announced that he had a larger congregation
than assembled at the first mass in St. Agnes'
parish fifteen years before. The church was
placed under the patronage of the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. Father McAteer set to work
at once to secure funds for the erection of his
church ; a fair given for the purpose was very
successful, and in a short time ground was
broken and the new church commenced. The
corner-stone was laid September 26th. The
edifice is 106 by 42 feet in dimensions, with a
tower seventy feet high. The building will
accommodate about 600. The congregation
now numbers 1,200, and the church property
is valued at $35,000. The Sunday-school is
attended by 200 children. Father McAteer
is assisted by the Rev. William T. Conklin.
St. Mark's. — In the year 1893 a new church
dedicated to St. Mark, the Evangelist, was
opened at Sheepshead Bay, now East Four-
teenth street and Sheepshead Bay road. It
was intended to accommodate the summer
guests who lingered around the popular resort
until late in September. The place had been
visited by the priest long before this, how-
ever, for as far back as 1861 we find that
Father James Moran ministered to the people
in this vicinity. Mass was celebrated in a
little old building on the Bay road, erected by
subscription. Mrs. Ellen McMahon, a con-
vert, gave the ground. There were then only
three Catholic families on the place, Messrs.
Matthew Healy, John Bo3'le and a ]\Ir. Dooley.
Mrs. Ellen Johnson, who afterward married
Mr. John McMahon, also became a parish-
ioner. After Father Moran, the place was vis-
ited by Revs. Michael Moran, William Do-
herty, Thomas O'Reilly and James McKiver-
kin, who officiated at Sheepshead Bay until
1889. The old church, which was 30 by 20
feet in dimensions, was destroyed by lire. The
new St. Mark's Church was built by Rev. J. J.
Hefiferman, who attended the mission and be-
came resident pastor in 1889. It is a very
pretty frame structure, 100 by 40 feet, with a
neat rectory adjoining. The new church was
dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Bishop McDonnell
on Sunday, August 20, 1893. The sermon
was preached by the Rt. Rev. John J. Keane,
D. D., rector of the Catholic University at
Washington. The mass was celebrated by the
Rev. John M. Keily. Father Hefferman is still
pastor (1901). He has a regular congrega-
tion of 500 or 600 people, but this number is
largely increased during the summer months.
He has also a flourishing Sunday-school, at-
tended by some 200 children.
St. Simon and St. Jude. — On Sunday, Oc-
tober 23, 1893, Bishop McDonnell laid the
corner-stone of the new Church of St. Simon
and St. Jude, Van Sicklen street and Avenue
T, of which the Rev. William A. Gardiner is
Pastor. The sermon was preached by the
Rev. Dr. Donohue, Rector of the Church of
St. Thomas Aquinas. Before starting the
work Father Gardiner held a fair in the town
hall at Gravesend, which proved a great suc-
cess and gave him a handsome sum with which
to start the erection of a church. He now
has a neat little church, with a seating capacity
of about 600.
St. Aloysius'. — On Tuesday, May 30.
1893, Bishop McDonnell had the happiness of
dedicating the new Church of St. Aloysius,
for the German Catholics residing in the vicin-
ity of Onderdonk avenue and Stanhope street.
The Pastor is the Rev. John W. Hauptman.
After the dedication Solemn High Mass was
celebrated by Rev. Anthony Arnold, with Rev.
Joseph Hauber, Deacon, and Rev. P. Dauffen-
bach as Subdeacon. The sermon was preached
by the Very Rev. Michael May, V. G. Father
Hauptman has devoted all his energies to the
advancement of his people, and he now has a
very handsome church, and a school of over
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
847
500 children, under the care of thirteen Sisters
' of St. Dominic. The number of parishioners
now is nearly 3,000, in the spiritual care of
whom Father Hauptman is assisted by Rev.
Joseph Buser.
St. Finbar. — The Catholics of Bath Beach
go back to the early 'eighties for the founda-
tion of their parish. As the name of their
church implies, the first Catholics in this vi-
cinity were Irish, for St. Finbar was an Irish
saint. The old church was a very modest edi-
fice, which gave way in 1893 to a renovated
St. Finbar's and a church property valued at
$25,000. Under the pastorship of the Rev.
Hugh B. \\'ard (1893) the old church was
enlarged to nearly twice its former dimensions
and the entire building was turned around so
that it now faces entirely on Bay Twentieth
street. Mass was celebrated for the first time
in the new church on Sunday, June 25, 1893,
and the good people of the parish contributed
very generously out of their limited means for
the completion of their church. In January,
1894, Father Ward was promoted to the pas-
toral charge of St. Malachi's Church, East
Xew York, and was succeeded at Bath Beach
by the Rev. Andrew J. O'Rourke, who had
been pastor of St. Agnes' Church, Greenport.
The church will accommodate about 300 per-
sons. Father O'Rourke is still in charge.
Some eighty children attend the Sunday-
school.
St. Francis of Assisi. — The growth of
Catholicity in Brooklyn does not seem to be
■confined to any part of the city. New parishes
are constantly springing up in every direction,
and when we consider that 500,000 Catholics
are to be provided for in the diocese it does
not seem at all surprising that its Bishop is
kept busy laying corner-stones and dedicating
churches. Thus it came to pass that in the
portion of the Twentv-ninth Ward bounded
by the parishes of St. Teresa's, St. Matthew's
and the Church of the Holy Cross, it became
necessary to build another church. The site
chosen was at Xostrand avenue and Lincoln
road, and the erection of that church was en-
trusted, in May, 1898, to the Rev. Francis
Ludeke, who had long been an assistant to the
Rev. Martin Carroll, at the Church of St.
Vincent de Paul. Father Ludeke repaired at
once to the scene of his new labors, and on
August 28, 1898, Bishop McDonnell laid the
corner-stone of the new Church of St. Francis
of Assisi. The destruction of the little church
on Putnam avenue, which will always be iden-
tified with the memory of "Dear Old Father
BuUeis," left Brooklvn without a church under
the patronage of the Seraphic Doctor. Father
Ludeke deserves credit for his choice of a
patron. It serv£s two purposes : it gives his
people a holy patron and it helps to perpetuate
the memory of good old Father Bulleis. Fa-
ther Ludeke's task was not an easy one, — no
priest's is when he starts to build a church, — ■
but the great St. Francis, the apostle of hu-
mility and of holy poverty, did not forsake
him, and on Sunday, October 22, Bishop Mc-
Donnell came to dedicate the new church.
Father Ludeke had many friends at St. Vin-
cent de Paul's, and they did not forget him
in his new field ; nor was his own congregation
slow to appreciate his worth. The result may
be seen to-day in the handsome church, val-
ued at $35,000, with its growing congregation,
now numbering some 900 persons. Father
Ludeke is assisted by Rev. Thomas J. Mulvey.
The Sunday-school is attended by nearly 200
children.
St. Mary of Angels. — The Lithuanian par-
ish of St. Mary of Angels was started on De-
cember 25, 1895, on Grand street, in a build-
ing that had been a Methodist Church, then
a court room and next a skating rink. Later
on the Rev. George W. Mundelein, now Chan-
cellor of the diocese, secured old Trinity
A'Tethodist Episcopal Church, and it was soon
remodeled and dedicated by Bishop McDonnell
in October, 1899. After a connection with
the parish of some three months Father Mun-
delein was transferred to another field. Father
Vincent Krawezunas had charge of the parish
848
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
until October 12, 1898, when he succumljed
to puhnonary trouble. He did much to unite
his people and advance the interests of the
church, and his death was deeply deplored.
He was succeeded by the Rev. Anthony Mi-
lukes, and he gave way in time to the Rev.
Vincent Varnagiris. the present Pastor. The
church is now a very creditable building and
is well attended, but it had to pass through
many trying ordeals to reach its present pros-
perity. As we have seen, its beginnings were
humble enough, for part of the time mass had
to be celebrated in a hall over a store. Then
came. the unsavory administration of the Rev.
Judyzius, who gave no end of trouble to his
Bishop and to his people ; but the Queen of
Angels guided her devoted children out of
their difficulties, and to-day the church has an
attendance estimated at 2,000 people.
The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus,
corner of Ninth and Prospect avenues, was
founded in 1878, by the Rev. Thomas S.
O'Reilly. The first mass was celebrated in a
stable at Eighteenth street and Eleventh ave-
nue. About 100 persons were present, among
whom were Messrs. S. Donovan, P. Reigan,
P. McGovern, Thomas Wall, S. Bannon and
H. Corrigan. The present church is 84 by 96
feet in dimensions, with a congregation of
over 2,000. It was founded March 17, 1898.
In 1885 Father O'Reilly built a school-house,
40 by 98 feet, which is now attended by nearly
500 children, under the care of six Sisters of
St. Joseph. Father O'Reilly has a congrega-
tion not over-blessed with this world's goods,
but they have done much with the little they
have. They have built a fine church and school
and are encumbered with a comparatively small
debt. Father O'Reilly is assisted in his work
by the Rev. John McEnroe.
St. Elias' — Greek L'niate. — On Leonard
street, Greenpoint, just in the rear of St.
.•\nthony's Church, is a neat frame church, 100
by 30 feet in dimensions. It is surmounted
by a steeijlc, at the top of which is a cross
with thrcr cross pieces. This indicates that
the churcli belongs to the Greek rite, though
in communion with the Catholic Church and
subject to the Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn.
It is known as the Greek Catholic Church of
St. Elias. The congregation was formed Jan-
uary I, 1891, and the first mass was celebrated
in St. Bridgid's Church, New York, through
the courtesy of the Rev. Dr. McSweeney;
there were about fifty persons present. In the
course of time the congregation moved to
Greenpoint. The first Pastor was the Rev.
Ale.xander Sereghy. He was succeeded con-
secutively by Rev. Nicholas Sztoczovich, the
Rev. Eugene Wolkay and the Rev. Madimir
Deak. The present pastor_ is the Rev. Theo-
dore Damijanovich, who has done very good
work among his people during his pastorate.
He has a parochial school, attended by some
sixty children, and a Sunday-school attended
by about 700 children.
The Italian Churches. — The Italian popula-
tion of Brooklyn has grown very rapidh'
within the last ten years, and it soon became
evident that means must be provided for them
to attend to their religious duties and to guard
them against neglecting attendance at church
because of a want of knowledge of the En-
glish language. Bishop Loughlin and Bishop
McDonnell have both taken a deep interest
in a people who are destined before very long
to be a very important factor in our popula-
tion. Care has been taken to place all priests
educated in Rome in districts in which there
is an Italian population. Then, too, Italian
priests have been received into the diocese of
Brooklyn that they might labor among their
countrymen. Besides these, a band of Italian
Lazarist Missionaries have taken up their resi-
dence in Brooklyn and are engaged in giving
missions and retreats to the Italians, not only
in churches strictly of their own nationality,
Init in all parishes having a considerable Ital-
ian attendance. At St. Patrick's C'ltirch, Kent
avenue, for instance, there are 3,000 Italians
receiving the ministrations of the reverend
clergy attached to this church. The Rev. Dr.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OX LONG ISLAND.
84&
William J. White devotes himself almost en-
tirely to Italians, and his services are grate-
fully appreciated by them. He has within the
last year opened a kindergarten school for the
little children, and it is growing rapidly. There
is another kindergarten connected with St.
James' pro-Cathedral, established some years
ago under the direction of the Rev. William
B. Farrell. Bishop McDonnell has manifested
quite an interest in the educational and indus-
trial advancement of the Italian colony in
Brooklyn. In November, 1894, he directed
Father Pasquale De Nisf-o to open an indus-
trial school in his parish and furnished the
means for starting the work. He was anxious
that Italian children should be brought up with
a thorough knowledge of American institu-
tions. He wanted their minds broadened and
that they should learn the English language.
Classism was to be a thing of the past and
true American citizenship the only thing to be
thought of. The school was placed under the
direction of the Salesian Sisters.
The Church of St. Michael the Archangel,
at the corner of Laurence and Tillory streets,
was founded in 1891. The edifice was orig-
inally a Presbyterian Church. In 1880 the
Polish Catholics purchased it from the Pres-
byterians and dedicated it to God under the
invocation of St. Casimir. In 1891 they sold it
to the Italians, and Father Serafino Santi be-
came its first Italian pastor, and he placed it
under the invocation of St. Michael the Arch-
angel. In May, 1893, the Rev. G. Garofalo
assumed pastoral charge. The church is a
frame structure, with brick basement, and a
seating capacity of about 300.
The congregation of the Church of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel owes its start to the
courtesy of the reverend clergy of the Church
of the Most Holy Trinity, on Montrose avenue.
In 1887 the Rev. Peter Saponara arrived from
Italy and was appointed by the late Bishop
Loughlin to take up his residence at the pas-
toral house of the Church of the Most Holy
Trinity and to organize an Italian congrega-
tion which was to worship in that church
until other arrangements could be made for
their accommodation. The church was then
situated where the school now stands. Dur-
ing the same year Father Saponara moved
with his people to the school hall of the Ger-
man Church of the Annunciation, in the vicin-
ity of which the Italian colony in the Eastern
District had settled.
In June of the same year he accepted the
hospitality of Father Carroll, at the Church
of St. Vincent de Paul. In the meantime
every effort was made to purchase ground
and build a church for the Italians. Finally a
suitable location was found and a lot was pur-
chased on North Eighth street, near Haver-
meyer street, for $3,000; but, as a more eligi-
ble site was found to be available on North
Eighth street and Union avenue, the lot was
sold for $5,000. The new site was secured,,
but it was only after numerous difficulties had'
been overcome that Father Saponara was able
to invite Bishop Loughlin to lay the corner-
stone for his new church. This occurred on.
July 31, 1887. It was dedicated on November
20, 1887. The Italians were poor and unac-
customed, in their own country, to contribute
to the erection of churches, as the government
there does all the church building. Still, under
the guidance of their good pastor, they perse-
vered, and soon the congregation of the
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel num-
bered 2,000 souls. Two masses were said'
every Sunday and holy day for their accom-
modation, but as their numbers increased rap-
idly it soon became necessary to have four
masses said on these days. Three years later
a neat rectory was built, and Father Saponara
saw his congregation still growing until now
it numbers 10,000. Five hundred children at-
tend Sunday-school. Father Saponara has
now an assistant, and still continues to do all
he can for his people. They are gradually
growing to understand American methods, and
in time they will learn the advantages of build-
ing and supporting their own churches and
charitable institutions.
The Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
and Mary owes its origin, in a great measure,
to the Rev. Father Joseph Fransioh. This de-
voted priest, seeing the necessity for having
a church in vkfhich the Italians of the southern
part of the city might hear sermons and re-
ceive instruction in their own language, in
1882 rented a hall on Warren street for this
purpose, and, with Bishop Loughlin's consent,
placed it in charge of Rev. Father Defini, who
after a brief period was succeeded by Rev.
John Baptist \'olpe. After a year's trial it
was found that another location was more de-
sirable and the mission was moved to No. 30
President street, a site formerly, occupied by
the Protestant Evangelical Italian Society, and
which Father Fransioli purchased for his peo-
ple and placed under the care of Father Pac-
casson.
But Father Fransioli had something more
than a mere mission station in his mind. In
1884, while in Rome, he called upon the Fa-
thers of the Society of Pious Missions and in-
duced them to send a priest to Brooklyn to
take charge of the Italian parish it was his
intention to found. In the same year, 1884,
Rev. Pasquale De Nisco, of the Society, ar-
rived in Brooklyn, and under the direction of
Father Fransioli two lots, Nos. 37 and 39,
were purchased, and the corner-stone of the
present church was laid by Bishop Loughlin
in 1885. This church, though inadequate to
meet the wants of the growing congrega-
tion, has nevertheless realized the hopes of
good old Father Fransioli. Father De Nisco
has been followed by other priests of the So-
ciety of Pious Rfissions, until now it requires
three Fathers to minister to the Italian popu-
lation of that parish. The present pastor is
Rev. John B. Vogel, who is assisted by Rev.
Valentino Marino and Rev. John Corcoran.
In 1892, as has already been stated, Rt. Rev.
Bishop McDonnell purchased a building at
Van Brunt and President streets, which had
been used as a Protestant church, and con-
verted it into a school for Italian children.
It is now attended by 550 children, under the
care of eleven Salesian Sisters of the Sacred
Heart. The attendance at school would be
three times as large if accommodations could
be provided for them.
The Church of Our Lady of Loretto,
Powell street, between Liberty and East New
York avenues, is the fourth church in Brooklyn
for the use of Italians. The structure was
originally a hall used by the Salvation Army.
In June, 1896, Father Stephen Gesualdi, an
energetic young Franciscan, was assigned by
Bishop ]\IcDonnell to form a new parish. He
secured this hall, enlarged it and otherwise
changed it until now it presents the appearance
of a Greek cross, 30 by 100 feet in dimensions,
and its estimated value is set .down at $10,000.
It is neatly furnished, has oak pews and a
beautiful altar, the gift of the German congre-
gation of the Church of the Annunciation. The
first mass in the renovated edifice was sung
on June 29, 1896, by the Rev. John M. Han-
selmann, rector of St. Benedict's Church, as-
sisted by the Rev. Hugh Hand as Deacon
and Rev. G. Garofalo as Subdeacon. The ser-
mon was preached by Rev. Assunto Faiticher,
C. M., of the Mission House, Rome. Father
Gesualdi has labored most energetically for
the spiritual advancement of his countrymen.
He is a young man, who came to this country
in 189 1. His first work was as assistant to
Father Saponara, with whom he remained
until appointed by Bishop McDonnell to the
charge of the Church of Our Lady of Loretto.
St. Rose of Lima. — The parish of St. Rose
of Lima (Parkville) was founded in 1870, by
the Rev. Michael J. Moran, now rector of the
Church of the Nativity, Brooklyn. The cor-
ner-stone was laid by the Very Rev. John F.
Turner, V. G., on Sunday, August 21. It
was a simple but very neat structure, and was
dedicated by Bishop Loughlin on Sunday, No-
vember 27, 1870. The pastor is the Rev. J.
McAleese.
The parish of St. Mary, Mother of Jesus,
at Bensonhurst, was founded in 1888. The
first mass was said by Rev. J. McAleese, of
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
851
Parkville, in a vacant house (now occupied
as a drug store) at the corner of Twenty-sec-
ond avenue and Eighty-sixth street. Mass
continued to be said in this house until 1892.
On June 26th of that year the Rev. Charles
Wightman, who is now rector of the church,
laid the corner-stone of a new edifice, pri-
vately. There is no record of any ceremony.
The church was built and had been in use
some time prior to the advent of Bishop Mc-
Donnell to the diocese, but it was never for-
mally blessed or dedicated. On the day it was
first opened for divine service, however, a
Solemn High Mass was celebrated by the Rev.
Daniel F. Cherry, assistant at the Church of
Our Lady of Good Counsel, with Rev. James
F. Melia as Deacon and Rev. Edward Dufify
as Subdeacon. The opening sermon was
preached by Rev. ^L T. Killahy, rector of St.
Stephen's Church.
St. Michael's. — The number of German
Catholics in the town of New Lots, East New
York, had been steadily growing for several
years, and the need of a church for their ac-
commodation was keenly felt, but it was not
until January 25, i860, that Father Philip
Albrecht, Pastor of St. Benedict's Church, felt
that he would take steps to provide one for
this portion of his flock. He called a meet-
ing of the more prominent German Catholics
of the region and submitted to them his plan
for the erection of a church for their use. At
this meeting fifty of the best German families
were represented, and they at once decided
to give Father Albrecht all the assistance in
their power. With the consent of Bishop
Loughlin four lots were purchased on John
street between Liberty and Atlanta avenues,
and work was commenced. So rapidly did
this work progress that the corner-stone of
the new St. Michael's Church was laid by Rt.
Rev. Bishop Loughlin on April 18, i860.
The Germans are always very prudent,
and that prudence manifested itself in the erec-
tion of St. Michael's. The building was small,
40-X30 feet, a plain frame structure, sur-
mounted by a modest steeple. By the 3d of
June, i860, it was dedicated bv Bishop Lough-
lin and placed under the invocation of St.
Michael, the Archangel, and on the following
Palm Sunday a bell was blessed and placed in
the steeple. The Rev. Charles Peine became
the first Pastor of this congregation. The
church records show that the first marriage oc-
curred on July 8, i860, and the first baptism
on August 6, i860. Father Peine soon de-
voted himself to the care of the young lambs
of l\is flock, and on May 12, 1861, nine boys
and three girls made their first communion
in his new church. On Palm Sunday of the
following year the Stations of the Cross were
hung around the church. In February, 1863,
Fatlier Peine was succeeded by the Rev. Cyril
Zielinski, who in June of that year invited the
Rev. Father Laufhuber, S. J., to give a :\Iis-
sion to liis people. This Alission was at-
tended with the most consoling results.
In August, 1863, the Rev. M. I. Decker
took charge of the parish and began the erec-
tion of a pastoral residence, a part of which,
according to the custom of the Germans in
small parishes, was to be used for school pur-
poses. The building was finished by Father
Peine, who returned to St. Michael's in May,
1864. This time Father Peine remained with
his old parishioners for two years, devoting
himself to their service with the zeal that had
marked his early efforts. In July, 1866, he
was succeeded by Rev. Casper Muller, who, in
February, 1868, purchased two lots adjoining
the pastoral residence, on which it was pro-
posed to erect a new school building. In Au-
gust, 1868, the Rev. A. Oberschneider began
a pastorate at St. Michael's, which lasted until
January, 1871, when the Rev. I. Michaels be-
came Pastor. Between 1871 and 1875 three
Missions were given in this church by the
Redemptorist, Capuchin and Jesuit Fathers
respectively. In March, 1875, the Rev. Aug-
ust Maria Niemann became Pastor of St.
Michael's. Father Niemann was not slow in
realizing the fact that the growing needs of
852
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
his congregation demanded the erection of a
new house of worship. This not being prac-
ticable, he obtained the consent of the Bishop
to add sixty feet to the dimensions nf the old
building. This was done in Septemlier, 1875.
Father Niemann was a great advocate of Plain
Chant and he soon introduced it in bis church,
and its use was continued during his entire
pastorate. He was fully alive to the needs of
his people ; he foresaw the ra])id growth of his
section of the city and consequently of his par-
ish, and in 1876 he purchased three lots, in
1878 one and in 1879 two more. The wisdom
of his purchases is evident to-day. In 1881
Father Niemann was given an assistant to aid
him in the discharge of his duties. As time
progressed Father Niemann's health began to
fail and eventually he was obliged to with-
draw from the active duties of the ministry.
St. Michael's has since passed into the hands
of the Capuchin Fathers, who still minister to
the congregation.
St. Malachy's. — Before the advent of Bish-
op Loughlin to the Diocese there were very
few Catholic families in the vicinity of Cypress
Hills. True, there were a few Catholics work-
ing on the farms along the old New Lots Road
and the Jamaica Plank Road, but they had no
church and scarcely a house in which the
priest might say Mass for them. Hence they
were obliged to go to Flatlnish, or for want
of a better conveyance thev must take the old-
fashioned and dust-covered stage to Williams-
burg or Jamaica. In 1853, however, good
Father Andrew Bohan, of the Church of the
Holy Cross in Flatbush, came to the relief of
these people, as he did to that of many others
on the outskirits of the city of Brooklyn. In
the village of East New York he found, at
the northwest corner of Atlantic and Vermont
Avenues, a hostelry, a two-story frame build-
ing, then known as Altenbrand's Hotel. Father
Bohan rented the dining-room of this inn,
which was connected with the bar-room — but
having also a door leading to the street; and'
here Father Bohan (as Father McCoy did in
another neighborhood, fifty years later) of-
fered up the adorable sacrifice of the Mass,,
and Mr. Barney Farrell "had the honor of
'answering the priest.' "
But the asylum offered by this dining-room-
did not long satisfy Father Bohan. He soon-
found six lots on the east side of \"an Sicklen
Avenue, near the north side of Atlantic
Avenue, and he secured them for his people.
He secured the services of a Mr. Plunkett for
the erection of a church suitable for that time.
The preparing of the frame-work was done in
Flatbush, and when completed its material was
tran ported to East New York ; and so rapidly
was the church completed that on April 9, 1854,
Bishop Loughlin had the happiness of dedicat-
ing it to the service of God under the patron-
age of St. Malachy. The congregation liegan
to increase and Father Bohan used to attend
them from Flatbush until 1855. when he was
succeeded by Rev. John Dowling. Like his
predecessor, the latter would come from Flat-
bush to St. Malachy's every Sunday, through'
sunshine and rain, through heat and cold, until
1858, when he was killed by being thrown
from his buggy. His remains lie in Holy Cross
Cemetery.
Father Bartholomew Gleason was the next
Pastor of Flatbush, and attended St. Malachy's
until 1860, when he became Pastor of the new
Church of St. Anne. Father Stephen Cas-
sidy, as Pastor of Flatbush, attended St.
]\Ialachy's for a year, or up to the time of his
death. The next pastor was the Rev. Thomas
McLaughlin, who seemed to take quite an in-
terest in this mission. He established a Sun-
day-school at St. Malachy's and among the-
first teachers were Messrs. James Maguire,
Thomas Landers and Maurice Murphy, and
Misses Ellen Fleming, Bridget Farrell (now
Mrs. John McCabe) and Margaret Delaney.
Father McLaughlin also made what improve-
ments he could in the appearance of the altar.
The ladies gave liim all the assistance in their
power and collected $20 for the purchase of
lace and other necessary articles. The good
Pastor also prepared ithe children for first
communion and was prompt in the discharge
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
853
■ of his duty to the sick and dying. In 1862 he
reHnquished St. Malachy's to the care of the
Rev. Patrick Creighton, who in April of that
year became the first resident Pastor of the
Httle church. "His first place of residence,"
says Rev. Wm. J. Maguire, "was a two-story
frame building on the west side of Hendrix
street (Smith avenue)."
He at once set to work renovating the
httle frame church. He next established the
first Catholic school in the town and placed
it under the charge of Mr. Simon Dunn, who
later on practiced law in Brooklyn. The next
teacher was a Mrs. French, who was assisted
by her daughter, but, after a year's trial,
Father Creighton determined to open a regular
parochial school and was fortunate enough to
secure a three-story brick building on Atlantic
Avenue, together with the nine lots adjoining;
and, after building an addition to the original
building, opened his school. The boys were
taught by Mr. Robert Whelan, and the girls,
successively by Miss Dillon, Miss Herbert,
Miss Galvin and Miss Shanahan. Father
Creighton's work was appreciated by his Bish-
op, who, in August, 1868, promoted him to the
pastoral charge of the new Church of Our
Lady of Victory. He left St. Malachy's deep-
ly regretted by all his people.
Father Martin Carroll, the next Pastor of
St. Malachy's, continued the work of his
predecessor with great zeal. In the autumn
after his appointment he held a fair, which
realized $1,800, and in 1871 he secured the ser-
vices of the Sisters of St. Joseph to take
charge of his parochial school. He established
a Temperance Society, and a Purgatorian So-
ciety, and took a great interest in the young
people, who were so much in need of a guid-
ing hand. During the four years of his pas-
torate he paid off $6,000 of the church debt.
In 1872 he was called to the pastorate of the
Church of St. Vincent de Paul, and his devoted
people presented him with a handsome testi-
monial of their appreciation of his labors
among them.
Rev. John Purcell succeeded Father Car-
roll at St. Malachy's. His first care was to
look after the needs of the poor of his parish
and for this purpose he established the Society
of St. Vincent de Paul, with Mr. James Mc-
Guigan as President. In 1873 he established
St. Alalachy's Home for Orphans and Desti-
tute Children, which was placed under the care
of the Sisters of St. Joseph. Father Purcell was
a man of great zeal and devoted to his sacred
calling, but his zeal was beyond his powers.
In the spring of 1873 he went south in the
hope of building up an exhausted constitution,
but it was too late. He tried the south of
France, but with no better result. Feeling
that his end was near he turned his face to-
ward his native Ireland, and died in 1874, at
Thurnes, in the County Tipperary, soon after
his arrival there.
Father Purcell was succeeded at St. Ma-
lachy's by the Rev. P. J. McNamara, the pres-
ent Rt. Rev. Vicar General of the Diocese. He
set himself to work to pay off the debt on the
church. He met a call for $1,200 and im-
proved the decorations of the church. His
watchful care extended over all the needs of
his parish, and his people, realizing his worth,
soon learned to love him; but higher honors
awaited him in the future, and on Aug-
ust 15, 1877, he was transferred to the pastoral
charge of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy.
Bishop Loughlin, in looking for a successor to
Father McNamara, turned his eyes to St. Pat-
rick's, tha:t mother of Pastors, as he had done
once before, and Father Andrew O'Connell be-
came pastor of St. Malachy's. He immediate-
ly enlarged the church, erected a splendid new
school-house, established the Catholic Benevo-
lent Legion and the Young Men's Catholic
Lyceum. For ten years Father O'Connell de-
voted himself to the service of his people. He
died on July 31, 1888. His successor was the
Rev. Hugh B. Ward, who has carried on the
work entrusted to him with all the zeal and
prudence of his venerated predecessors.
Church of the Holy Cross, Flatbush. — The
Catholics in the early '403 were obliged to go
to St. Joseph's, the pro-Cathedral, and St.
854
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Paul's, in order to hear Mass on Sundays and
holy days. In 1843 they were visited occa-
sionally by the Rev. James O'Donnell, and in
1844 by the Rev. William Hogan of St. Paul's.
When Bishop Hughes purchased ground in
Flatbush for cemetery purposes, the priests of
the pro-Cathedral used to go out to perform
the last sad rites over the dead, and Mass was
said occasionally in private houses. Finally,
through the efforts of the Rev. James McDon-
ough, of St. James', a small frame church was
built in 1848, in that part of the town known
as the English settlement. It was located on
Erasmus street, near Prospect street. The
first resident priest was the Rev. Andrew Bo-
han. He had no rectory and was obliged to
board with a family named Walsh, who lived
in what is now Rogers avenue and Erasmus
street. The first baptism recorded was on
October 26, 1852, and is signed by Father Bo-
han. The little church had evidently not yet
been named, as in Father Bohan's own hand-
writing the Baptismal Registry is entitled
"The Baptismal Registry of the Catholic
Church in Flatbush." Most probably, had it
been otherwise, he wOuld have inserted the
words "Church of the Holy Cross." Father
Bohan labored here until June, 1855, when he
was transferred to the Church of the Immacu-
late Conception, in Williamsburg. He was
succeeded by the Rev. John Bowling, who was
killed by being thrown out of his wagon on
Flatbush avenue, near Church avenue.
The next Pastor was the Rev. Bartholo-
mew Gleeson, who went to Flatbush on Octo-
ber 3, 1858, and who was transferred to St.
Ann's in 1861. His successor was the Rev.
Stephen Cassidy, who remained only about one
year. Father Frank T. McLaughlin became
Pastor in 1861 and ministered to the wants of
his people until 1864, when failing health com-
pelled him to seek a season of rest. A voyage
to Europe was advised, but just as he was
about to embark on the steamer he was strick-
en by the hand of death. His successor was
the Rev. T- Strain, who labored in Flatbusli
until 1867, when he succumbed to a stroke of
apoplexy and was found dead in his bed. The
Rev. James Moran was Pastor of the church
of the Hoi)' Cross for two years, when he was
transferred to St. Stephen's Church (1869.)
During all these pastorates little was done
towards the improvements of the parish. In
1869 Rev. Michael Moran became Pastor of
Flatbush, and though full of zeal the condi-
tions of his parish offered little to encourage
him. Two years later, in 1871, he was trans-
ferred to a more fruitful field, where his ener-
gies would be taxed for years to come. He
was sent to found a new parish at the corner
of Classon Avenue and Madison Street. Here
his life work began, and here, as rector of the
Church of the Nativity, he still labors with
undiminished zeal, as will be seen on another
page of this history.
Father James J. Dougherty succeeded Fa-
ther Moran, and it was during his pastorate
that the present Church of the Holy Cross was
l:>uilt. The corner-stone was laid in 1872 and
the church was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin
in 1873. The old frame church was trans-
formed into a school and it was placed under
the care of the Sisters of St. Joseph. After a
pastorate of ten years, Father Dougherty was
replaced (in 1881) by the Rev. Bernard Mc-
Hugh. During his pastorate of five years he
built the church at Flatlands, and another
church, since destroyed by fire, in that section,
now comprising St. Matthew's parish. Hav-
ing been promoted to the pastorate of the
Church of St. John the Evangelist, he was suc-
ceeded by the Rev. Matthew O 'Council , who
died Dec. iq, 1892. Four days later, Dec. 19,
the Rev. John T. Woods took charge of the
parish, which was then encumbered with a
mortgage debt of $18,000. By hard work Fa-
ther Woods succeeded, in five years, in wiping
out this debt. His next step was the decora-
tion of the church, which was sadly needed,
and this was accomplished at a cost of $8,000.
No sooner was this accomplished than Father
Woods, in 1898, erected a new convent, cost-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
855
ing $i6,c»o. The following year the estates
of Clayton and McCrory, to the west of the
church, were purchased, for $8,000, and a new
rectory, costing $16,000, and a parochial school
costing $55,000, were built on the acquired es-
tates. The old school-house is now (1901)
being fitted up for a Young Men's Lyceum.
From this it will be seen that Father Woods
has not been idle. He now has 3,000 parish-
ioners; 430 children attend his parochial
school, which is under the care of the Sisters
of St. Joseph, while 500 children attend his
Sunday-school. The church property is esti-
mated to be worth something like $175,000,
on which there is a comparatively small debt.
St. Stanislaus, for Scandinavians. — In Feb-
ruary, 1891, the Rev. Claudius Dumahut, a
French missionary who had labored for twen-
ty-five years in Norway, was authorized by
Bishop Loughlin to found a church for Cath-
olic Scandinavians. He at once leased the
house, No. 299 Fifteenth street, between Fifth
and Sixth avenues. This house became chapel
as well as pastorate residence. On Sunday,
Feb. 15, the chapel was opened and Catholic
Scandinavians from Brooklyn, New York and
Jersey City filled the parlors in which the serv-
ices were held. Since that time Father Duma-
hut has succeeded in building a church and
rectory and his parish is in a flourishing condi-
tion. The number of Catholic Scandinavians
is not very large, but with the help of the Eng-
lish-speaking Catholics who frec|uent the
church they have succeeded in building a very
handsome church edifice.
Suburban Parishes. — L'p to the present
we have dealt entirely with churches erected
within the limits of the present city of Brook-
lyn ; but there are many parishes on the island,
all of which are worthy of special mention be-
cause they have connected with them stories of
patient suflfering, of unremitting toil, of heroic
devotion, wrapped up in the simple and unos-
tentatious lives of the pioneer priests who
planted the mustard seeds that have lirought
forth such abundant fruit.
Prior to 1834 there appear to have been
few Catholics licyond the confines of Brooklyn
proper. But in that year the faithful in the
vicinity of Sag Harbor, near the eastern end
of the island, began to be visited by priests
from New York and Brooklyn. Later on.
Flushing and Jamaica became mission stations.
In 1843 Astoria had its church, dedicated to
Our Lady of Mount Carmel ; Flushing re-
joiced in St. Michael's; and Jamaica and Sag
Harbor had been placed under the protection
of St. Monica and St. Andrew. From this
time forth Catholics began to settle in dififer-
ent parts of the island, and churches sprang up
almost "wherever two or three were gathered
together in His name."
In October, 1838, the Rt. Rev. John Du-
bois, D. D., Bishop of New York, sent the
Rev. Michael Curran, Jr., of Astoria, to found
a parish at Jamaica, Long Island. He built a
small frame church on Washington Street, on
what is now known as St. Monica's Cemetery
property. The little church was 80 feet long
and 25 feet wide. In this quaint structure
some 200 Catholics gathered together from
miles around and assisted at Mass as best they
could, some having to kneel outside the door.
In time the parish grew and out missions be-
gan to depend upon it for their spiritual needs.
Flushing (1843). Westbury (1850) and Far
Rockaway (1848) became dependent on Ja-
maica. Father Curran said Mass in some of
these places only once a month, and this con-
tinued until these missions grew into parishes.
After six years of hard labor Father Curran
was relieved of some of his outlying missions,
and the Rev. John McGinnis took charge of
St. Monica's, in 1844. l" 1854 the Rev. An-
thony Farley, Sr., liccame Pastor of St. Mon-
ica's, and by this time the congregation had
outgrown the old frame church. In 1856 Fa-
ther Farley erected a new and more suitable
building, the old church was used for a time
as a hall and was afterward sold to Patrick
O'Rourke, who had it removed to Talford
Lawn. In 1879 Father Farley opened a paro-
85G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
chial school and placed it under the care of
the Sisters of Charity from Mount St. Vin-
cent's on the Hudson. It is attended by 300
pupils. Father Farley ministered to the Cath-
olics of Jamaica for thirty-five years, and died
late in 1890.
In the following January (1891) the Rev.
Michael J. Dennison, of Sag Harbor, came to
Jamaica, and his pastorate, which extended
over a period of ten years, was a very success-
ful one. Before he had been Pastor two years
he had made repairs and improvements on the
church to the amount of $5,000. He purchased
a lot in Prospect street, and before his death
he erected a new convent. Father Dennison
was very highlv esteemed by his parishioners,
and even by people who were not of his relig-
ion. He died on March i, 1900, and was suc-
ceeded by the present Pastor, the Rev. Maurice
P. Fitzgerald, who is carrying on the good
work with much zeal. He at once organized
a church debt-paying society to assist him in
paying off the debt on the church property,
and the work of this society has already been
felt.
Presentation. — In the meantime the Ger-
man Catholic population of Jamaica had been
growing, and a piece of ground was secured at
the corner of Shelton and Flushing avenues,
and on March 19, 1886, Rev. Ignatius Zeller
laid the corner-stone of his new church, which
he placed under the auspices of the Presenta-
tion of the Blessed Virgin. There were about
forty people present at this ceremony, among
whom were Messrs. Hartmann, Kissel, Prinz,
Oertel, Bernhard, Peine, Braun, Siebert and
others. Prior to this time Mass was said in an
old farm house built in 1767, and which is still
standing on the church property. The church
was enlarged in 1894 by Father Zeller, and,
with the rectory, is now 125 feet by 50 in di-
mensions. The first baptism administered, by
Father Zeller was on May 16, 1886. In 1893
Father Zeller erected a two-story school-house,
45 by 25 feet in dimensions. It is taught by
■nine Sisters of St. Dominic. Besides all this
there is a convent and orphan asylum, dedicat-
ed to St. Elizabeth (widow), under the care
of ten Sisters of St. Dominic, who provide
for sixty or more orphans and look after other
matters connected with the church.
Father Zeller has been a great worker
among the German Catholics of the Diocese of
Brooklyn, and it is to be regretted that his
failing health has forced him to resign his
parish (October, 1901) and seek the rest his
long years of service have merited for him.
St. Andrew's, Sag Harbor. — Sag Harbor
was visited back in the early '30s by priests
from Brooklyn and elsewhere. In 1836 it was
attended by Rev. John Wastl and Rev. Patrick
Dougherty. In 1839 the church of St. An-
drew was not yet dedicated, but the mission
was visited by Rev. J. Cummisky and the Rev.
James O'Donnell, O. S. A., the latter of whom
continued his ministrations until 1845, when
Father Curran, from Astoria, took his place.
During the next two years the Rev. James Mc-
Ginness, from St. Peter's, Barclay street, New
York, used to attend to the Catholics of Sag
Harbor. In 1848 Father McGinness, who was
now resident Pastor of Flushing, continued
his ministrations, until 1855, when he was re-
lieved by the Rev. M. O'Neil, of Greenport.
From i860 to 1866 Sag Harbor was attended
by Father Brunneman, from Southold. He
was succeeded by Rev. John McCarthy. It
was not until 1870 that St. Andrew's had a
resident Pastor. This was the Rev. Felix
O'Callaghan, but ill health compelled him to
resign before a year had elapsed, and he was
succeeded by Rev. J. J. Heffernan.
The history of this parish presents nothing
very striking except the devotion of the good
Catholics who lived there in early times, and
who followed the priest from station to sta-
tion on Sundays that they might hear Alass.
In February, 1892, the Rev. Laurence Guerin
made important repairs on the church, en-
larged it and improved the parochial residence.
The present Pastor is Rev. iMichael C. Carey,
who is assisted by Rev. E. P. Flaherty. A
school is taught by the Sisters of the Sacred
Heart of Mary.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
857
St. Luke's, Whitestone. — Back in the '30s,
Samuel Leggett, a member of the Society of
Friends, a philanthropist and financier, erec-
ted a sort of union church for the use of all
denominations in Whitestone and \icinit}-. It
was known far and wide as the Quaker church,
and was used as originally intended for some
time. After the death of Mr. Leggett, it was
used jointly by the Episcopalians and the
Methodists. On Oct. 11, 1866, the property
was sold to the Rt. Rev. Bishop Loughlin, and
in a short time after it was dedicated to the
service of God under the invocation of St.
Luke. The Catholics of Whitestone were no
longer obliged to drive or walk to Flushing to
hear Mass. It was Father James O'Beirne
who tirst ministered to the Catholics of White-
stone. He was followed by the Rev. William
McCloskey ; Rev. F. J. Blake, who came from
the Diocese of Wilmington, Del. ; Rev. Will-
iam Connollv, who died in September, 1886;
Rev. Peter Kearney, now rector of St. Ra-
phael's Church, Blissville, who made quite a
number of needed improvements in both
church and rectory : and, finally, the present
rector, the Rev. John F. O'Hara. Father
O'Hara soon saw the need of a new church,
and in due time he set to work. The new
church is of brick, 50 feet by 123 feet in di-
mensions, the style is English Gothic, and is
surmoimted by towers. The basement alone
will be completed at present.
Our Lady of jNIt. Carmel, Astoria. — As-
toria is one of the oldest parishes on Long
Island. It was founded as far back as 1841.
One of the earliest pastors, if not the earliest,
was the Rev. Michael Curran, who attended
Sag Harbor and some other out-missions. The
first church was dedicated to St. John, and the
congregation consisted of fourteen members,
among whom were John Small and Michael
Tuomey. After Father Curran came Father
James Phelan, who took charge of the parish
in 1858, and laljored here until March, 1880,
when he died of pneumonia. The corner-stone
of the present church was laid on Sept. g,
1871, and the edifice was dedicated by Bishop
Loughlin, Aug. 7, 1873. Father Phelan was
succeeded by Rev. P. F. Sheridan, whose pas-
torate was only one year in duration. At his
death, in 1881, he was succeeded by Rev. Will-
iam McGinness. In 1883 the present Pastor,
Rev. P. A. Walsh, assumed charg-e of the par-
ish. During his pastorate he has erected a
splendid parochial school, rebuilt the old church
and made many valuable and needed improve-
ments. On December 27, i8qi, he celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of
his church. He has been honored with the
title of Vicar Foraneus or Rural Dean.
St. Bridget's, Westbury. — Westbury mis-
sion was founded in 1850. The original St.
Bridget's was an old farm bouse, one of the
first houses erected in Westbury, that had
been altered and adapted as nearly as possible
for church purposes. It was attended from
Hempstead and elsewhere, by Rev. Father Mc-
Enroe and other priests. On February 11,
1893, the Rsv. Thomas McGronen, one of the
assistants at St. Anthony's Church, Green-
point, was assigned by Bishop McDonnell to
take charge of Westbury. There was no house
for the priest, and Father McGronen had to
live as best he could. He at once set to work
to better the conditions of his poor mission.
He made appeals, Sunday after Sunday, to
different congregations in Brooklyn, and in
time was able, in February, 1894, to lay the
foundations of a new church, 40 feet by 79
feet, on the south side of the old church. Peo-
ple began to gather around the new church,
until in a short time Westbury came to be a
flourishing parish. Hyde Park was one of its
out-missions. In 1895 the Rev. Herbert F.
Farrell became Pastor, and he has continued
the good work commenced by Father Mc-
Gronen. Westbury has now acquired the dig-
nity of a deanery, and Father Farrell is the
Dean for the county of Nassau.
WINFIELD AND ITS EARLY OUT MISSIONS.
It was here that appeared the first dawn of
the faith in northwestern Long Island. In
1854 a Mr. Anderson presented to Bishop
858
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Loughlin two lots with the understanding tliat
they should be used for church purposes. They
were accepted and the Church of St. Mary,
Help of Christians, was erected during the fol-
lowing year. The priests in charge of this
church established missions at Maspeth, Green-
point, Laurel Hill, Middle Village, Dutch
Kills, Corona and Hicksville, all of which were
attended as opportunity ofi'ered, and nearly all
of which are independent parishes today. Rev.
Joseph Brunnemann, as we have seen, took
charge of the new parish and founded St. An-
thony's parish, Greenpoint.
Rev. Theodore Ignatius Goetz, a French
Alsacian, ordained in Strasburg, in 1855, after
spending some years as professor in the
Kcclesiastical Seminary of his native Diocese,
came to America, offered his services to Bishop
Loughlin, and was accepted. He was a man
of great learning, self-sacrificing and of extra-
ordinary prudence. To this day his name is
held in veneration even by those who have not
always been remarkable for the charity with
which they have spoken of their pastors. He
established several mission stations and gave
them constant attention at a time when Long
Island did not possess the means of transporta-
tion it possesses today. While attending
Hicksville, on one of his visits, he was nearly
killed by a railroad accident. His labors ex-
tended over a vast field and were attended
with no little hardship, but they did not pre-
vent him from meeting in controversy those
not of his faith and who were willing to hear
him, and he has the happiness of effecting
the conversion of the Rev. Ignatius Zeller,
then pastor of the Lutheran Church at Mas-
peth, and the Rev. O. Schnurrer, also a Lu-
theran minister of the neighborhood, and who
subsequently became editor of the Orphan's
Friend, published at Columbus, Ohio.
After ten years of hard labor as pastor of
St. Raphael's Church, Laurel Hill, Father
Goetz died, on February 8, 1879, and was
buried in Calvary Cemetery, near tlie scene
of his trials and triumphs. The old grave-
diggers in Calvary point out his grave, and
with hat in hand speak of his virtues with
pious veneration. Strange to say, his succes-
sor was Father Ignatius Zeller, the Luther-
an minister above alluded to, who had in the
meantime studied Catholic theology and be-
came a Catholic priest. His work in the Dio-
cese of Brooklyn has been frequently referred
to in this book. He soon introduced the Sisters
of St. Dominic to assist him in the work of
teaching the young. He attended at the same
time outlying missions, where improvements
were in contemplation, when that terrible
"Black Friday," which scattered so many
hopes with its blighting influence, made itself
felt in this small, out-of-the-way place and put
a stop to Father Zeller's plan.
In 1868 the church, school and rectory were
destroyed by fire. Fortunately they were fully
insured. In 1875 he was succeeded at Win-
field by the Rev. John McElhinney, and he
in turn was succeeded in 1876 by Rev. Peter
Daufienbach, and upon the transfer of the
latter to the rectorship of the Church of the
Holy Trinity, Brooklyn, he was succeeded by
Rev. ]\I. Schneider, the present Pastor.
St. Rita, Ravenswood. — The first ]Mass was
said in Ravenswood as far back as 1833, by
Rev. Father Phelan. The present Church of
St. Rita, on the Boulevard between Webster
and Washington avenues, was commenced on
Nov. 4, 1894, by Rev. Wm. J. IMcGuire. For
some months Mass was said in a store owned
by Patrick Fitzgerald, and later on in a hall
on Hancock street. Ground for a church
building was broken in March, 1900, by the
Rev. Thomas F. McGronen ; and the corner-
stone was laid on April 22, 1900, by the Rt.
Rev. Bishop McDonnell. Among the promin-
ent laymen present at this ceremony were Hon.
John P. Madden, the late Patrick Jerome
Gleason, former Mayor of Long Island City,
and Francis D. Thorne, Esq. On August 6
]Mass was said for the first time in the new
building Ijy the Rev. Thomas F. AIcGronen,
the unsafe condition of the hall above referred
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
859
to having made it necessary to use the church
before it was ready for dedication. The new
cluirch, 45 feet by 105 feet, was dedicated by
Bishop McDonnell on Sept. 6, 1900. St. Rita's
is an out-mission attended from St. Patrick's
Church.
St. Patrick's, Dutch Kills.— In 1868 Father
Goetz, pastor of St. Raphael's Church, Laurel
Hill, near Blissville, founded the present St.
Patrick's parish, at Dutch Kills (as an out-
mission from Laurel Hill), at the corner of
Henry and William streets. The original
church was a modest frame building 25 feet by
60 feet, and no corner-stone was laid. In 1870
the church was moved to Crescent street, be-
tween \\"ilbur and Payntar avenues, and an
addition built, which made the church cruci-
form. It was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin.
In the fall of 1889 the church was partly de-
stroyed by fire. In the spring of 1898 the
present handsome brick church, 80 feet by 135
feet, was begun, the Rev. Thomas F. M. Mc-
Gronen turning the firsit sod. The corner-
stone was laid Sept. 15, 1898, by Bishop Mc-
Donnell, assisted by Rt. Rev. Mgr. McNam-
ara. The sermon was preached by Rev. P. ¥.
O'Hare. The dedication of this' church took
place Sept. 9, 1899, Bishop McDonnell of-
ficating. A new rectory was completed and
occupied on March 17, 1901. Father McGron-
en, though a young man, has accomplished a
grand work in the few years of his pastorate.
St. Patrick's Church, Glen Cove, dates
back to 1856, when the Rev. Patrick Kelly
said the first Mass in this place, in a hall, in
the presence of some' fifty persons, among
whom were Thomas McCormack and John
Carroll. The first baptism dates back to
March 30, 1856. Among the old tomb stones
in the graveyard may be found those of
Thomas Higgins and Andrew McGery, pio-
neer Catholics of Glen Cove. The original
church was 60 feet by 30 feet. In 1876 the
Rev. James McEnroe enlarged and otherwise
improved it. Father iSlcEnroe became Pas-
tor on Nov. I, 1858, and continued to minister
to the faithful of Glen Cove for nearly forty
years. He is now Pastor of the Church of
the Holy Rosary, Brooklyn. The present Pas-
tor of St. Patrick's is Rev. Bernard O'Reilly.
St. Fidelis', College Point. — The history of
this parish goes back to 1856, when College
Point was known as Strattonport. In that
year the Rev. Joseph Huber was sent to open
a new church. There was not much to en-
courage him, but he set himself to work with a
will and continued to labor here until his death,
which occurred on January I. 1889, at the age
of sixty years. He was one of the veteran
priests of the Brooklyn Diocese, and was al-
ways known as a quiet and unobtrusive work-
er. He was succeeded by the Rev. Ambrose
Schumack, C. PP. S., the present incumbent.
The present church will seat between 700 and
800 persons, and the parish numbers some i,-
300 souls. A fine school, attended by 125
boys and 1 10 girls, is conducted by six Sisters
of St. Dominic. The entire church property
is estimated to be worth some $100,000, on
which there is merely a nominal debt.
Our Lady of Loretto, Hempstead. — The
first Mass said in Hempstead was in 1849, i"
the house of J\Ir. Powers. Before that time
the people had to walk across the great Hemp-
stead Plains to Westbury, and then they were
sure of Mass only once a month. The congre-
gation was very small, and the priest. Father
McKenna. came from Jamaica.
In 1 85 1 the Catholics living in the terri-
tory now comprised within the limits of Nas-
sau County held a meeting and resolved to
build a church in a central location. West-
bury was chosen and a very humble frame
structure, valued at $200, was erected. In
1853 a church was built. It is now used as a
rectory by the Pastor at Westbury. In i86r
Rev. James McEnroe, now Pastor of the
Church of the Holy Rosary in Brooklyn, at-
tended the church from Glen Cove. In 1872
the Rev. Eugene McSherry was appointed to
Westbury, but made Hempstead his residence.
The present Church of Our Lady of Loretto
«60
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was built by him and it was dedicated by Bish-
op Loughlin. The money subscribed for the
building of the church came largely from the
Irish laborers then employed on the water-
works and in laying out Garden City. They
at first purchased a large house and some out
buildings. Among these buildings was one
that had been used as a Baptist meeting-house,
and it was in "an upper room" of this building
that the first parochial Mass was said, by the
Rev. Eugene McSherry. The following year
additions were made to this building. On
June 22, 1872, the comer-stone of the present
church was laid. It is a beautiful edifice and
is said to have cost $15,000.
Father McSherry died in 1879, when he
was succeeded by Rev. Peter Kearney. He
was succeeded alternately by Rev. Peter
Plunkett, Rev. J. J. McCusker, Rev. Robert
Boyce, and finally the Rev. William B. Farrell,
the present Pastor. In spite of many difficul-
ties, Father Farrell has greatly improved the
appearance of the church. He has devoted
himself to the moral and intellectual improve-
ment of his people, and during the recent
Spanish war he was unremitting in his minis-
trations to the soldiers encamped upon the
plains and within the limits of his parish.
The following parishes are the outgrowth
of the mustard seed planted in Hempstead:
Westbury, Mineola, Hyde Park, Queens,
Rockville Centre and Freeport. This shows
the wonderful growth of Catholicity in this
portion of the island in twenty-five years.
Freeport is an out-mission of Hempstead and
is attended by Father Farrell. The Church
of the Holy Redeemer was founded in 1899.
St. Margaret's, Middle Village. — Quite a
German population began to settle around
Middle Village in 1858 and they have become
quite numerous now. Many of the early Ger-
man settlers were buried in the Lutheran
Cemetery near by, the Catholics having no
burial places of their own at that time.
In 1862 St. ]\largaret"s Church was found-
ed. It was at first attended from Winfield
by the Rev. Ignatius Theodore Goetz. In
1863 this church was attended by the Rev.
J. M. Decker, of St. Michael's Church, East
New York. The present Pastor is the Rev.
Francis O. Siegelack. The parochial school
is under the care of six Dominican Sisters.
The church will seat about 300 persons, and
the property is valued at about $25,000, with
little or no debt upon it. Besides the church
property there is a very large and well situated
cemetery known as St. John's, and which is
destined at no distant day to rival Calvary
and Holy Cross Cemeteries. Between sixty
and seventy acres are now under improvement
and Bishop McDonnell is having this laid out
and the roads macadamized, so that St. John's
will soon become the Catholic Cemetery of
Brooklyn.
St. Mary's Church, Long Island City, was
founded in 1868, by the Rev. John Crimmins.
The first Mass was said in an old public-school
house on Sixth street. There were about fifty
persons present, among whom were Justice
Madden, James Dennen, M. Smith and Joseph
Tusil.
The original church was 45 feet by 90 feet
in dimensions. Rev. John McGuire, who be-
came Pastor on Jan. i, 1879, enlarged and im-
proved the church, but in 1893 a fire destroyed
both church and school. Father McGuire im-
mediately went to work to rebuild his church,
and in 1899 he improved the new church and
it may be said with truth that he built this
church twice. The school destroyed by fire
was a four-story and basement building, 95
feet by 50 feet; and a new building is now in
course of erection. In 1897 Father IMcGuire
opened a new lyceum building for young men
on Fifth street, and had it dedicated by Bish-
op McDonnell.
In 1891 St. John's Hospital was founded.
In 1896 the corner-stone of a new and much
larger hospital was laid. It is conducted by
the Sisters of St. Joseph, and will accommo-
date 150 patients. Patients are admitted re-
, gardless of race or religion. Father McGuire
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
861
has done a great work at Long Island City,
and it is appreciated by all classes.
St. Stanislaus', Maspeth. — In January,
1872, the Rev. Ignatius Zeller was deputed to
establish a new parish at Maspeth, which was
to be detached from Winfield. The first Mass
was said in the new church. From 600 to 800
persons were present, among whom were ex-
Police Justice Francis McKenna and ex-Sena-
tor Edward Fagan. In June, 1872, the Rev.
John McElhinney was appointed Pastor. He
improved the church and built a rectory. Rev.
John Baxter was Pastor from 1877 to 1880,
when Father Malone came, and ministered to
the parish until Dec. 17, 1881, when he was
succeeded by Rev. F. X. Pauletigi. The pres-
ent Pastor is Rev. Joseph A. Bennett. The
congregation now numbers some 1,300, and
the church property is estimated to be worth
about $10,000.
St. Aloysius', Great Neck — Great Neck
was for a time a dependency of Roslyn, and
in February, 1876, the Rev. P. F. Sheridan,
Pastor of the latter place, founded the Church
of St. Aloysius at Great Neck. The first Mass
was said in the new church on May 20, 1876.
About 100 persons were present, among whom
were Hon. Wm. R. Grace, John Chester, John
Ryan, P. Regan, William Shea and others. In
1896 the church was enlarged from 45 feet by
30 feet to 60 feet by 30 feet. The succession
of Pastors is as follows: Rev. P. F. Sheri-
dan, from 1876 to i88d; Rev. Edward J.
Smith, from April 25, 1880, to 1898; and the
Rev. Daniel F. Cherry, the present incum-
bent.
St. Ignatius', Hicksville. — In 1859 the Rev.
Joseph Huber, of Strattenport, was sent to or-
ganize a new mission at Hicksville. The
corner-stone was laid on Aug. 31, of that year,
on the site of the present church. The ground
was donated by Adolph Pasker. Father Theo-
dore I. Goetz was the first resident Pastor.
He was succeeded by Revs. Casper Miller,
Joseph Huber and L. Schneider. Very Rev.
Lawrence Fuchs, V. F., the present Pastor,
took charge on Sept. i, 1872. L"fnder his care
the congregation has grown and the church
property has been improved. On Mav 12,
1891, the corner-stone of a new edifice, 40 feet
by 96 feet and surmounted by a spire no feet
high, was laid by Bishop Loughlin, and on
December 15, 1891, it was dedicated. The
older building has been remodeled and other-
wise improved and turned into a parochial
school. Father Fuchs is held in high esteem
by his people. He is one of the Rural Deans
of the Diocese.
St. Benedict Joseph, Morris Park. — The
first parish founded by Bishop McDonnell on
Long Island was at Morris Park (Clarence-
ville). It was placed under the patronage of
St. Benedict Joseph Labre, and the Rev. Will-
iam J. McGuire was its first Pastor. Some-
time in August, 1892, Bishop McDonnell pur-
chased a number of city lots at a moderate
price for a church site and the new church was
dedicated on Oct. 8, 1892, by Bishop McDon-
nell. The dedication sermon was preached by
Rev. A. P. Doyle, C. S. P. Father McGuire
labored hard to raise the necessary means to
start his church and God rewarded his efforts.
When removed to a more responsible cure he
was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick J. Fahey,
the present Pastor. The parish was formerly
a part of St. Monica's.
Church of the Holy Ghost, New Hyde-
Park. — In 1893 the Catholics of Hyde Park,
under the pastoral care of Rev. Thomas F. Mc-
Gronen, began to think of having a house of
worship of their own. In August of that year,
they raised $1,500. This amount steadily in-
creased until May, 1854, when Bishop McDon-
nell laid the corner-stone of the new Church
of the Holy Ghost. On August 15 of the
same year a very pretty church edifice was
dedicated by Bishop McDonnell. The sermon
was preached in Polish by Rev. Father Leo.
The church commands an imposing site on th-2
Jericho turnpike. The interior is in Gothic
style. It is 40 feet by 67 feet in dimensions
and will seat 420 persons. It is heated with-
862
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
hot air, and is lighted by seven stained-glass
windows on each side. The altars, pews and
windows were presented by the Church of St.
John the Baptist, Brooklyn, and the organ by
Father Zeller, of Jamaica. The present Pastor
is the Rev. Thomas Videnz. Over loo chil-
dren attend a school conducted by the Sisters
of St. Dominic.
St. Joachim's, Cedarhurst. — In September,
1893, ground was broken for a new church at
Cedarhurst. It was placed in charge of the
Rev. Patrick McKenna, of Hewlett's Station,
and on Oct. 24 following, the corner-stone was
laid by Bishop McDonnell, assisted by Vicar
General McNamara, Rev. John I. Bennett,
Secretary to Bishop McDonnell and the Rev.
Pastor. The sermon was preached by Rev.
Wm. Hill, Rector of St. Paul's, Brooklyn. The
church was dedicated in June, 1894, by Bishop
McDonnell, and the dedication sermon was
preached by Re\. James H. McGean, Pastor
of old St. Peter's, New York. The church
was destroyed by lightning on July 12, 1899
and rebuilt in 1900. Father McKenna still at-
tends St. Joseph's Church, Hewlett's, but has
for some years past resided at Cedarhurst,
where he has the gratification of seeing his
congregation rapidly increasing under his fos-
tering care.
St. Joseph's, Hewlett's. — In 1871 the seven-
teen Catholics gathered together in and near
Hewlett's and formed themselves into a con-
gregation and for nine months heard Mass
said by Father Doris in the house of Mr. Dan-
iel Longworth, who later on donated a plot of
ground on Broadway, upon which, in May,
1872, the corner-stone of the present St. Jo-
seph's Church was laid by Bishop Loughlin.
The new church was dedicated in May of the
same year.
St. Mary's, Roslyn. — St. Mary's Church,
Bryant avenue, Roslyn, was founded by the
Rev. Father O'Donnell in the latter part of the
'60s. In November, 1872, the Rev. P. F.
Sheridan became Pastor, and during the four
years of his pastorate he improved the church
and built the rectory adjoining the church.
Father Sheridan died in May, 1876, and was
succeeded by the Rev. Mortimer C. Brennan.
The parish grew, in the meantime, so that
some of its out-missions were detached and
formed with separate parishes. In July, 1886,
the Rev. N. J. Doran became pastor. On the
death of Rev. Dr. Mitchell, in 1898, he was
transferred to St. Stephen's, Brooklyn, and
was succeeded here by Rev. Myles J. O'Reilly,
in July, 1898. The present Pastor is Rev. M.
J. Hogan.
St. Sebastian's, Woodside. — By the year
1894 the Catholic population of Woodside had
so far increased as to warrant the erection of
a church of their own. Up to this time they
were obliged to go to Blissville or Winfield to
hear Mass on Sundays and holy days. The
organization of the new parish was entrusted
by Bishop McDonnell to Rev. Edward W.
Gannon, one of the assistants at the Church
of the Sacred Heart, Brooklyn. Father Gan-
non set to work at once to collect funds for
the erection of his new church. A tract of
land was bought in one of the most desirable
parts of the town, and on June 14, 1896, he
had the happiness of having his church dedi-
cated by Bishop McDonnell. The church will
accommodate some 800 people.
•Church of the Sacred Heart, Bayside.—
The corner-stone of the Church of the Sacred
Heart at Bayside was laid on Sunday, Sept. i,
1895, by Very Rev. P. J. McNamara, V. G.
It is a neat frame structure of Gothic archi-
tecture, and together with the parochial resi-
dence the church property is valued at some
$18,000. The Pastor is the Rev. Matthew J.
Tierney, who also attends to the needs of the
Catholic soldiers at the military post at Willet's
Point.
St. Adalbert's, Elmhurst. — In December,
1891, the Rev. Joseph Fyda was sent by Bish-
op Loughlin to found a church at Elmhurst for
the Poles. In the early part of the following
year he gathered together about 150 of his
countrymen, in St. ]\Iary's Church, Winfield,
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
and said Mass for them. Later on he erected
a church, 50 feet by 100 feet, at Elmliarst, the
basement of which he utihzed as a school,
which he placed under the care of the Sisters of
Nazareth. It is attended by over 100 children.
Father Fyda was succeeded in 1896 by the
Rev. B. Puchalski, and in Dec. 9 that year
the church was transferred by Bishop McDon-
nell to the Capuchin Fathers from Syracuse.
The present Pastor is Rev. Felix Baran, O.
^l. C, who is assisted by Rev. Benedict Langa,
O. M. C, and two lay Brothers.
Corpus Christi, Mineola. — This is a com-
paratively new mission, although Mass was
said in Mineola some years before by the rever-
end clergy of Hempstead. In 1897 the Rev.
Herbert Farrell, of Westbury, of which
^Mineola is still an out-mission, invited two
Paulist Fathers from New York to give a re-
treat to the faithful, in Allen's Hall. The re-
sult of the mission was the formation of a
little congregation of some eighty Catholics,
who resolved upon building a church of their
own. On Sunday, Aug. 14, 1898, Bishop Mc-
Donnell dedicated the new chapel or church,
which has neat stained-glass windows and will
seat 200 persons.
St. Agnes' Church, Rockville Centre. — The
first Mass said at Rockville Centre was by
Rev. Thomas V. RobinsoUj C. S. P., in a pri-
vate house. The next Sunday, owing to the
increasing number of attendants. Mass was
said in a shed. Later on, through the exer-
tions of a Mr. Vincent, the Rockville Institute
was secured and converted into the present St.
Agnes' Church. It was first attended by the
Rev. Patrick McKenna. In 1894 the Rev.
Thomas Carroll was appointed Pastor. He
was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick M. Fitz-
gerald, the present Pastor.
St. Kilian's, Farmingdale. — Farmingdale
has the honor of being the first parish on Long
Island under the care of the Sons of St. Bene-
dict. In the fall of 1896 Bishop McDonnell
invited the Benedictine Fathers of the Bahama
Islands to establish themselves in the Diocese
of Brooklyn. Accordingly a band of Benedic-
tine Fathers, under the Rev. Gerard Spiel-
mann, went to Farmingdale, and on Sunday,
Oct. II, 1896, they said Mass for the first time
in a building which had formerly been a Prot-
estant house of worship. In February, 1897,
the Fathers secured a beautiful mansion with
four acres of land, in the heart of the village,
for their monastery, church and school. The
new church was dedicated on July 4, 1898, by
Bishop McDonnell, and the ceremony was par-
ticipated in by a large concourse of people.
Besides the Benedictine monastery. Farming-
dale has the Nazareth Trade School, which is
attended by 300 orphan boys, who are cared
for by 28 Sisters of St. Dominic.
St. Joachim and St. Ann's, Queens. — On a
plot of ground situated at the junction of
Hollis and Franklin avenues and Joseph
street stands the Church of St. Joachim and
St. Ann's. The corner-stone was laid on Sun-
day, Sept. 12, 1897, by Very Rev. P. J. Mc-
Namara, V. G. The sermon was preached by
the Rev. Dr. James H. Mitchell, Chancellor
of the Diocese. The church is 50 by 100 feet
in dimensions. It is a frame structure, Gothic
in style, and has a seating capacity of about
600. The parish was organized in 1896 by
the Rev. Ignatius Zeller, of Jamaica. A small
building on Bennett street, formerly used by
the Episcopalians of Queens, was secured, and
is still used. About one month after the or-
ganization of the parish the present Pastor,
the Rev. Frederick W. Dotzauer, was ap-
pointed Pastor. He has about one hundred
families under his charge, and his Sunday-
school numbers about one hundred children.
The congregation is drawn from Queens, El-
mont and adjacent places. In its early days
Queens was a dependency of Hempstead.
St. Martin's, Amityville. — This is a com-
paratively new parish, and as such dates from
June, 1897. A plot of ground of two acres on
Cnion Avenue, was secured, and Father Ger-
ard Spielmann, O. S. B., from St. John's Bene-
dictine Abbey, Collegeville, Minn., was en-
864
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
trusted with the erection of a church, rectory
and school. Mass was first said in Liberty
Hall The present Pastor is Rev. Benno
Ferstl, O. S. B., who also attends ]\Iassepegua
and Wantagh.
St. Michael's, Flushing.— St. Michael's
Church, Flushing, is among the oldest founda-
tions on the island. The original church build-
ing, a small frame structure, was erected in
the early '40s (1843), when Father Michael
Curran, of Astoria, visited this and a number
of other missions on the island. Later on the
mission was attended by Fathers Dennis'
Wheeler, the first resident Pastor, and Mc-
Mahon. In 1853 Rev. James O'Beirne was ap-
pointed Pastor of St. Michael's and continued
to minister to its people for twenty-one years.
He built the present St. Michael's church, and,
in 1864, he purchased the ground upon which
the convent and academy of the Sisters of St.
Joseph now stands. In 1874 Rev. Henry
O'Laughlin became Pastor. After a pastorate
of a few years he was succeeded by Rev. John
R. McKenna, who died in 1893. His successor
was the Rev. Eugene Donnelly, the present
Pastor, who had been an assistant at St.
Michael's for some years. Father Donnelly
built the present parochial residence and other-
wise improved the church property. He has
a flourishing parochial school, attended by
nearly 300 pupils under the care of the Sisters
of St. Joseph. The church will seat about 800
persons, and the entire church property is val-
ued at $150,000. Father Donnelly is a gradu-
ate of the American College in Rome and is
one of the Rural Deans of the Diocese.
St. Boniface, Foster Meadow. — This mis-
sion -was founded in 1854 and was attended
by the Rev. B. Keller, and later on by Rev.
Joseph Huber, of Strattonport. The church,
which was placed under the patronage of St.
Boniface, was not dedicated until 1858. Father
Hauber, who became Pastor in 1870, has done
all that circumstances will permit. He has a
school attended by about 150 pupils, under the
care of the six Sisters of St. Dominic. The
congregation now numbers 800, and the church
property is estimated to be worth about $25,-
000, with little or no debt upon it.
St. Dominic's, Oyster Bay. — In 1871 Oys-
ter Bay was attended from Glen Cove by the
Rev. James McEnroe, who built and paid for
the little church that was used for many years.
In 1883 Oyster Bay became an out-mission of
Huntington and was attended by Rev. Jere-
miah J. Crowley. During his pastorate he col-
lected some $9,000 for a new church, and the
mission was in a prosperous condition, when,
in 189s, Bishop McDonnell sent Rev. John L.
Belford to become its first resident Pastor.
Father Belford built and paid for a handsome
rectory, and then set to work on a new church,
102 feet long by 53 feet wide, with a seating
capacity of 450. Father Belford gave a new
impetus to religion at Oyster Bay, and its
proximity to the sea has made it quite a sum-
mer resort. On the death of Father Malone,
Father Belford was promoted to the pastoral
charge of the church of St. Peter and St. Paul,
Brooklyn, and he was succeeded at Oyster Bay
by Rev. Walter J. Power.
St. Laurence, Sayville. — In 1895 the Cath-
olics of Sayville came together to discuss the
prospects of having a church in their village.
The Rev. Thomas S. Duhigg was assigned by
Bishop McDonnell to look after them, and
form a new parish in Sayville. An old Meth-
odist church, no longer used by that denomina-
tion, was rented, and on June 2, 1895, Mass
was said for the first time in Sayville. Father
Duhigg made an earnest appeal to his people.
Ground was purchased at the corner of Hand-
some avenue and Main street, and work was
commenced at once. On Sunday, Oct. i, 1896,
Father Duhigg had the happiness of seeing his
new church dedicated to St. Laurence, by
Bishop McDonnell. High Mass was celebrat-
ed by the Rev. E. J. McGoldrick, Rector of St.
Cecilia's Church, and the sermon was preached
by the Rev. P. F. O'Hare, Rector of St. An-
thony's Church, Greenpoint. The church is
pure Gothic in style, with gallery and organ
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
865
loft. It will seat 500 persons. Father Duhigg
has heen honored by the Bishop with the title
of Rural Dean for Snflfolk county.
Ronkonkoma, which has long heen an out-
mission of Sayville. was organized into a sepa-
rate parish in 1 90 1, and placed under the
charge of the Rev. M. P. Hel¥ernan. The
mission was opened in 1884.
St. Mary's, Islip. — Until 1870 the Catholics
of Islip were attended from Greehport. After
that and up to 1876 they were attended from
Huntington, liy the Rev. Jeremiah J. Crowley.
In 1882 St. Alary "s Church was built, and the
mission continued to be attended from else-
where. Rev. J. E. Bobier, of Bayshore, at-
tended it during the '80s. It is now under the
pastoral charge of the Rev. E. A. DufTy, who
resides in Islip.
Southold and Cutchogue. — In 1854 the
Rev. Joseph Brunnemann, O. S. F., organized
old St. Patrick's parish when there were very
few Catholic families in the neighborhood.
Father Brunnemann's work was appreciated,
for it was not long before Mr. Jacob Apley
purchased the old Southold Academy, which
had become financially involved, and presented
it to the Catholics. It was soon remodeled and
converted into a Catholic church, and Father
Brunnemann erected a rectory adjoining it.
In 1870 Rev. John R. McKenna succeeded
Father Brunnemann, and remained until 1876,
when he went to Flushing. He was succeeded
by Rev. Richard S. Foley. In the meantime
Southampton, Cutchogue, Alattituck and other
places looked to Southold for spiritual attend-
ance. Southold was growing in importance
as a summer resort. Rev. James H. Lynch be-
came Pastor of St. Patrick's after Father Fo-
ley, and in September, 1901, having built the
church of the Sacred' H^art at Cutchogue, he
took up his residence in that village and was
succeeded at Southold by Rev. Peter F. Math-
ews, formerly of Fort Hamilton.
St. Patrick's, Huntington. — This parish
was founded as an out-mission in 1849, and
was attended bv Rev. J. McGinnes, and later
on by Rev. John McCarthy. The first Mass
was said in a ])rivate house about a mile and a
quarter from the village. Nearby was the little
country burying-ground. The first baptism of
which there is any record was performed by
Father McCarthy in December, 1854. This
clergyman attended Huntington until 1857,
when he was succeeded by Rev. Father O'Neil,
who continued his ministrations until October,
i860. On Nov. II, i860. Rev. Jeremiah J.
Crowley succeeded him. Father Crowley lived
at Bav Shore, from which place he attended
a number of mission stations. On April 4,
1864, he moved to Huntington and became its
first resident Pastor. Prior to this time Father
Crowley said Mass in Huntington once in
three of four weeks. Like the country pastors
of those days he would say Mass in one place
early in the morning and then drive fifteen or
twenty miles, fasting, to say Mass at another
mission. In the meantime the church was used
during the week as a school, which was attend-
ed by about 60 children. These children were
in time taught to sing hymns for benediction,
and they also learned to sing an easy Mass.
In February, 1867, the church was entirely
destroyed by fire. Father Crowley rented a
hall in the village and at once set to work ta
build a new church. He secured a lot in a
most central position in the village and the
corner-stone of the new St. Patrick's Church'
was laid by Bishop Loughlin on Thanksgiving
Da}-, 1867. The new church was to be of lirick,
with stone foundation, 114 feet by 45 feet.
Bishop Loughlin had misgivings about the-
ability of Father Crowley to complete the work:
he had undertaken, as the people were very
poor, Ijut the good Pastor had friends who
came to his .rescue and on June 21, 1871, Bish-
op ■ Loughlin dedicated the beautiful new
church. It was Father Crowley's ambition to
secure good ground for school purposes or for
an academy, but he was unable to do so.
After a successful pastorate of forty-one
years, Father Crowley was promoted to the
pastorate of St. Ambrose's Church, Brooklyn,.
866
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in November, 1895, as the successor of the late
Rev. Daniel J. Sheehy. While at Huntington
he attended Oyster Bay, Islip, Cold Spring,
Penataquit, Patchogue and Smithtown. His
successor at Huntington was the Rev. John
C. York, the present Pastor, who also attends
West Neck. Father York has not been idle
since he assumed charge of St. Patrick's. In
1896 he purchased a large plot of ground for
a new cemetery and had it blessed on Memorial
• Day of that year.
St. Anne's, Brentwood. — Up to eight or
nine years ago a Catholic was almost unknown
around Brentwood. In 1895 the Rev. Edward
F. Hannigan, one of the assistants at St. Jo-
seph's, Brooklyn, said the first Mass in that
village. Since that time Catholics have settled
in the village, and now they are quite numer-
ous. In the summer of 1895, Mr. Charles B.
Van Nostrand, whose father was a convert to
the faith, called a neeting of Catholic residents
to consider the best means of securing a priest
to minister to them. The Sisters of St. Joseph
had already purchased Hotel Austral and its
-annex, Hotel Brentwood, and several cottages
-which had been built on speculation when
Brentwood was considered a promising sum-
mer resort.
The advent of the Sisters gave an impetus
to religion. Mr. Van Nostrand and his friends
had gathered the children of the neighborhood
together on Sundays that they might be in-
structed in their catechism; but a church had
become a necessity, and as the Bishop was ab-
sent in Europe, Mr. Van Nostrand and his
friends applied to Mgr. McNamara, the Ad-
ministrator of the Diocese, in the Bishop's ab-
sence. He sympathized with these good peo-
ple and sent them a priest from his own house-
hold, until the Bishop's return. A small store
adjoining the postoffice was rented and Mass
was said in it on Sundays. Bishop McDonnell,
on his return from Europe, approved of the
formation of the desired parish, and in Octo-
ber, 1895, appointed Rev. Henry F. Murray to
take charge of it. Father Murray collected a
sufficient amount among his friends in the city
to build a church, and the present St. Anne's
was erected. Father Murray was succeeded
by the Rev. John M. Kiely, who improved the
church, introducing steam heat, and by erect-
ing a handsome set of Stations of the Cross.
Father Kiely also attends Central Islip. Brent-
wood has of late become the seat of the An-
nual Retreat of the Reverend Clergy of the
Diocese of Brooklyn.
St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Far Rocka-
way. — In 1848 Far Rockaway was visited by
clergymen from the city and from older and
stronger missions on the island. In time, St.
Mary's became an independent parish and was
very numerously attended, especially during
the summer months. Rev. Henry J. Zimmer
was Pastor here for a time and he erected a
fine Gothic church, the interior of which is
handsomely decorated. The Stations of the
Cross are all painted in oil, and a beautiful
altar piece, representing "Hope," was present-
ed to the church by the late John Kelly, former
head of the Tammany Society in New York.
In 1896 the Rev. M. G. Flannery became Pas-
tor. Father Flannery is a gentleman of artistic
taste, and his church shows it. The marble
altar, the gift of the parishioners, the onyx
altar railing and brass pulpit are the gifts of
Messrs. William and James Cafifrey in memory
of their parents. Father Flannery has a flour-
ishing school, under the care of the Sisters of
St. Joseph.
St. Philip Neri, Northport. — This mission
was founded about 1868, by the Rev. Jeremiah
J. Crowley, of Huntington. Father Crowley
was a hard-working priest and the fruit of his
labor can be seen in many parts of Long Island.
Mass was first said here in an old hall at the
foot of Main street. In 1875 Father Crowley
purchased a site on which stood a Presbyterian
church, for some $4,000. The building was
transformed into a Catholic church and was
used until about 1878. At this time Father
Crowley was attending Bay Shore and Islip,
besides Huntington and Northport, and cir-
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON LONG ISLAND.
807
cumstances were such tliat he was unable to
continue his ministrations at Northport. The
church here was purchased by Mr. Robert
Murray, who moved it to his own property and
turned it into a carriag^e house. In 1893 the
Rev. P. J. Tuhigg reorganized the parish, se-
cured the old church, still a carriage house, and
Mass was said in it for some time. The mis-
sion was attended by the Lazarist Fathers, of
Brooklyn, from Christmas, 1893, until May,
1894, when the Rev. Maurice Fitzgerald was
appointed to Northport, and from this time
the parish took on new life. The land on which
the first church had stood was in the market
for fifteen years, when it was repurchased by
the Catholics and the oresent church was built
upon it. The corner-stone was laid Sept. 9,
1894, by Bishop McDonnell, and the dedica-
tion took place November 3, 1895. It is a
wooden building, Gothic ia style, and is 50 feet
by 100 feet in dimensions. The present Pastor
is the Rev. Francis A. McCarthy, S. T. D.
OTHER CHURCHES ON THE ISLAND.
The progress of Catholicity on Long Isl-
and has been truly marvelous.
Besides the churches already mentioned
there is the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows
at Corona, of which the Rev. James J. Corri-
gan, D. D., is Pastor. It was founded in
1870, and now has a congregation of nearly
1,000 souls.
St. Elizabeth's, at Woodhaven, was
founded in 1873. The present Pastor is the
Rev. Joseph Ernst. Attached to this church
is a school of nearly 250 children taught by
the Sisters of St. Dominic.
St. Joseph's Church, Schutzen Park (As-
toria), under the care of the Rev. C. Eisele, is a
flourishing German parish, with about 7,000
souls.
St. Agnes', Greenport, dates back to 1855,
when it began as a little out-mission. It is
now under the care of the Rev. Patrick J.
Farrelly, Rural Dean, who attends Orient and
Shelter Island.
St. John's Church, at Riverhead,-is under
the pastoral care of the venerable Father Pat-
rick Creighton, so long known in Brooklyn as
the Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Vic-
tories. This parish was founded in 1870. At-
tached to it as an out-mission is the Church
of the Immaculate Conception at Quogue.
Centre Moriches and Babylon were both
founded in 1875 : the latter is under the pas-
toral charge of the Rev. Joseph Kilpatrick.
Attached to St. John's Church, Father Kilpat-
rick has a school taught by the Sisters of St.
Joseph.
Kings Park (1884) is under the pastoral
care of Rev. William Donaldson, S. T. D., as-
sisted by Rev. Nicholas Keating. They also
attend Port Jefferson.
The Church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus
and Mary, at Southampton, was dedicated on
July 3, 1893. The Rev. Lawrence J. Guerin
was its first Pastor, and he has been succeeded
by the Rev. Wm. S. Kirby, the present Pastor.
OTHER CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS.
The space allotted to this paper will not
permit a detailed account of the Religious Or-
ders or Communities in the Diocese, nor of the
colleges, academies, hospitals, orphanages or
asylums and homes directed by them. They
can be referred to only in the following sum-
mary :
St. Vincent's Home for Boys is under the
supervision of the St. Vincent de Paul Society,
with Rev. William L. Blake as chaplain. The
Benedictine Fathers have foundations at Farm-
ingdale and Amityville ; the Fathers of Mercy,
the Redemptorist Fathers, the Fathers of the
Pious Missions, the Lazarist Fathers and the
Capuchin Fathers all have foundations in
Brooklyn ; the Franciscan Minor Conventuals
are at Elmhurst, while the Christian Brothers
and the Franciscan Brothers have colleges and
academies, and conduct the boys' departments
of the parochial schools of the city.
The Sisters of Charity have charge of St.
Joseph's Orphan Asylum, St. Mary's Female
Hospital, St. Mary's Maternity, St. Mary's
General Hospital, St. Paul's Industrial School
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and a number of parochial schools in r>roul';-
lyn.
The Sisters of Christian Charity from
Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, have charge of
the school of St. Benedict's Church.
The Sisters of St. Dominic have their
mother house at ]\Iontrose and Graham ave-
nues, Brooklyn, and their novitiate at Amity-
ville. They ciniduct St. Catharine's Hospital
and two asylums in i;nx)kl\n; St. Catharine's
Infirmary at Amit> \illc ; St. Joseph's German
Orphan Asylum. Lcnii; Island City; St. Eliza-
beth's Orphan Asylum. Jamaica, and St. Dom-
inic's Home, Hyde Park. Besides these they
have charge of the German parochial schools
of the Diocese.
The Sisters of the Poor of St. Francis con-
duct St. Peter's Hospital, Brooklyn.
The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have
charge of the House of the Good Shepherd,
for fallen women and wayward girls.
The Sisters of the Holy Family of Naza-
reth provide for the wants of sick, destitute and
orphaned Poles in Brooklyn and at Elmhurst.
The Sisters of St. Joseph have their mother
house and an academy at Flushing, St. John's
Home for Boys, Home for Females Seeking
Employment and some ten or twelve acad-
emies in Brooklyn ; a seminary for boys at
Bayside ; academies at Brentwood, Far Rock-
away; St. John's Hospital, Long Island City,
and various other charitable works.
The Little Sisters of the Poor have two
homes for aged men and women in Brooklyn.
The Sisters of Mercy have their mother
house in Brooklyn, where they also conduct
St. Francis Orphanage, and take charge of
three parochial schools and of similar schools
at Blythebourne and Syosset.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame have
charge of the German school of St. Alphonsns'
Church, Greenpoint.
The Salesian Missionary Sisters look after
the wants of Italian children.
The .Soeurs du Sacre Coeur de Marie
Vierge, from France, have a convent and
boarding academy for girls at Sag Harbor.
The Ladies of the Sacred Heart of Mary
have charge of St. Joseph's Institute for Deaf
Mutes on Butifalo avenue, Brooklyn.
The X'isitation Nuns have a convent and
flourishing academy on Clinton avenue,.
r>rooklyn.
Sisters Adorers of the I'recious Blood, a
contemplative community, have a monastery on
Putnam avenue, Brooklyn.
In fine, the Diocese of I'.rooklyn comprises:
RECAPITUL.VTION.
Bishop 1
Secular Priests 273.
Priests of Religious Orders 47
Total 320
Churches with resident priests 133
^Missions with Churches 12
Total 145.
Stations 11
Chapels 14
Seminary fi.ir Secular Clergy I
Students 34
Colleges for boys 3.
Students 570
Academies and Select Schools for
young ladies 15
Pupils 1,017
Boys in Academies 317
Parishes with Parochial Schools 65
Pupils 3-. ^-2 1
Orphan Asylums 12
Orphans 3''J95
Infant Asylum i
Infants cared for 454
Industrial School for girls 1
Pupils 143
House of Good Shepherd i
Inmates 427
Total of young people under Catholic
care 38,417
Hospitals 6
Patients treated during the year,
over 18,020
Homes for Aged Poor 2
Inmates during the year 480-
Catholic {)opulation about 500,000
CHAPTER LIX.
NASSAU COUNTY.
Description
Hi
Ijrtir^ra ASSAU ccmnty owes its creation to the
i IHl movement wliich brought about the
lij Greater New York. Roughly speak-
' ' ing it comprises all the sections of
the old county of Queens not included in the
big metropolis. The act constituting the
county was signed by Governor Black, April
28, 1898. Its officials. County Judge and Sur-
rogate, District Attorney, Sheriff, Treasurer,
Clerk and Superintendent of Poor were elected
November 8 following, and the county com-
menced business on January i, 1899.
The county is made up of the towns of
Oyster Bay, North Hempstead and the greater
part of Hempstead. Mineola, the county
seat, is in North Hempstead township, and
has a population of some 900. There are the
following villages : Oyster Bay, with a popu-
lation of 2,000 ; Hempstead, 5,000 ; Freeport,
2,500; Glen Cove, 4,000; Rockville Center,
2,000; Hicksville, 1,500; Farmingdale, 1,100;
Manhasset, 800; Sea Cliff, 1,300; Roslyn,
1,300; Port Washington, 1,250; Lynbrook,
1 ,000 ; and Garden City, 800. The latter with
its magnificent cathedral and schools, and
splendid array of homes, churches, etc., prom-
ises in time to develop into one of the most
important towns on Long Island for resi-
dential and educational purposes. The coun-
ty has a total area of 320 square miles and is
16 miles in width from the borough of Queens
to the count^■ line of Suffolk and 22 miles in
870
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
length from Long Island Sound to the At-
lantic. On the Sound it has several fine har-
bors— Little Neck, Hempstead, Oyster Bay
and Cold Spring. On the Atlantic front its
water line is more adapted for summer resorts
than for commerce. Hempstead Bay and its
islands pi^esent hundreds of spots which can
be and will be utilized in that way and quite
a number are in existence today. It was esti-
mated that when the new county started out
it had over 200 miles of splendid new macad-
amized roads, over which continued improve-
ments have since been in progress and at a
cost of very nearly $3,000,000. The assessed
valuation and tax lists in 1899 (the latest fig-
ures available) was as follows :
Towns.
Assessed
Value Real
Estate.
Assessed
Value
Properrv.
Town
Taxes.
County
Taxes.
State
Taxes.
Statejax
for Soiiools
» 4,40.5,78,1
(5,84.5, .-)()2
8,409,01.5
$429,100
394,000
7.50,920
$ 42,590.90
97 950.44
45,170.93
$ 9,037.89
13,970.98
17,(i87.23
$10,700.70
15,511.70
19,037.05
Hempstead
Oyster Bay '.
13,310,03
8,510.07
$19,810,302
$1,. 580,080
$185,718.27
$41,290,10
$45,849.57
$20,32.7,2()
Population, census of 1900
.5.5,448.
It cannot be expected that a county which
dates back only two or three years can present
much in the way of historical data, and really
all that could be said of Nassau would be
simply a resume of a constant movement look-
ing to improvement. Already it has become
what might be called the society section of
the island and it seems steadily attracting to
it men and families of vast wealth whose es-
tates almost put them on a level, for the extent
of their holdings with the old patroons, while
many of the mansions recently erected are
palaces in all but name.
But while the county has practically no his-
tory, its townships are among the richest in
that respect on Long Island, and to them we
will now turn.
With Nassau County we may fairly be
said to have entered upon the i..ost picturesque
coast line of Long Island, and here some refer-
ence to that entire coast line may be in order.
so full of interest and beauty on the south, so
wild and romantic on the north side of the
island. The Lighthouse Board of the Uni-
ted States has established the following lights
at the most dangerous points :
Montauk Point, on the extreme east of
Long Island.
Shinnecock Bay, on Ponquogue Point,
Shinnecock Bay.
Fire Island, on the east side of Fire Island
Inlet.
Little Gull Island, south side of easterly en-
trance to Long Island Sound.
Plum Island, Plum Island, Gardiner's Bay,
northeast extremity of Long Island.
Long Beach Bar, entrance to Orient Har-
bor and Peconic Bay, Long Island.
Cedar Island, entrance to Sag Harbor.
Greenport Harbor, outer end of Break-
water, Greenport Harbor.
Horton Point, Horton Point, north of
Southold village.
Stratford Shoal, in Long Island Sound,
nearly opposite Port Jefferson.
Port Jefl:"erson Breakwater, east side of en-
trance to Port Jeft'erson Harbor.
Port Jeft'erson W. Beacon, west side of en-
trance to Port Jeft'erson Harbor.
Old Field Point, north of Setauket.
Eaton's Neck, east side of entrance to
Huntington Bay.
Lloyd Harbor, southeast end of Lloyd
Neck. '
Cold Spring Harbor, easterly point of
shoal, entrance to Cold Spring Harbor.
Great Captain Island, near Greenwich
Point.
Execution Rocks, off Sands Point.
Sands Point, northwest extremity of Man-
hasset Neck.
NASSAU COUNTY.
871
Whitestone Point, P. L., Whitestone Point.
Flushing Bay, P. L., dike in Flushing
Bay.
Riker's Island, P. L., north end of Riker's
Island.
North Brother Island, south end of North
Brother Island.
South Brother Island Ledge, west entrance
to South Channel, East River.
Lawrence Point Ledge, west entrance to
South Channel, East River.
Blackwell's Island, on northerly point of
Blackwell's Island.
Coney Island, on Norton Point, western
end of Coney Island.
Ft. Lafayette Fog Bell, east side of Nar-
rows.
In }-ears gone by, in fact from aliout
1670 to 1850, whalefishing was the great trade
on the Long Island coast — except during the
crises of 1776 and 1812, when commerce was
interrupted, but even then the whaleboats
played a most important part in other ways.
At a town meeting in Huntington, on April
12, 1671, the following was enacted:
"It was ordered and agreed by and with the
consent of the whole town, that no foreigner
or any person or persons of any other town
on this island shall have any liberty to kill
whales or any other small fish within the limits
of our bounds at the south side of the island,
neither shall any inhabitant give leave, directly
or indirectly, unto any such foreigner or other
town's inhabitants, whereby the companies of
whalemen or fishermen may be damnified [in-
jured], except any such foreigner or other
town's inhabitant comes into the said com-
pany, or any of them, as a half-share man."
In a note on this resolution, Mr. C. R.
Street, the editor of Huntington's records,
says: "It indicates that the people at that
early day understood their rights over the
waters as well as the lands under the Colonial
grant. At this period the Government claimed
and received one-fifteenth of the oil out of
whales cast up on the shore, and "the right of
drift whales" was a privilege bought and sold.
But the industry seems to have had a be-
ginning much earlier at Southampton. Mr.
William S. Pclletreau, the able and painstaking
historian of that good old town, says:
One of the most important sources of reve-
nue to the town in early days was the drift
whales that floated upon the shore. In 1644
it was ordered that "if. by God's Providence
there shall be hence forth within the bounds
of this plantacon any whales cast up" the town
should be divided into four wards (eleven per-
sons in each ward — this number probably em-
braced all the grown men at that time), and
when a whale was cast up two men of each
ward were to be employed to cut it up, and
they were to have a double share; the re-
mainder was to be equally divided among the
townsmen. Soon after this began the business
of killing whales, and whaleboats manned by
hardy and fearless crews did not hesitate ta
attack the monster of the wave in his native
element. In 1658 John Ogden fitted out a
small vessel and began catching whales along
the coast. In the agreement between him and
the town it was stipulated that the whaling
company should have the privilege of landing
and trying their oil at any part of the coast,
and the right to cut firewood for that purpose,
and all dead whales bearing the marks of their
harpoons, were to belong to them. This was
the beginning of the enterprise that in after
years Long Island 'whaleman carried to the
farthest extent of the known world ; and there
is not a shore on the habitable earth that has
not felt the tread of their adventurous feet,
and not an island in the mighty ocean but has-
welcomed the coming of their spreading sails.
Whaling stations were established at vari-
ous points, and in these a new element of pow-
er was introduced. The crews of the whale-
boats were in many instances composed of In-
dians, and in this business their native courage
found full play. The state of war no longer
existed. The pleasing business of killing their
enemies and the equally pleasing prospect of
being killed in return made a state of things
that had passed away, and their courage was
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
now' devoted to the far better purpose of kill-
ing "whales and other great fish," under the di-
rection of the race that owned their lands and
■controlled their destinies. The records abound
in agreements made with the Indians in rela-
tion to whaling. Among them the following
may serve as an example:
"Know all men that we Towsacon and
Phillip, Indians, by these presents have bound
and engaged ourselves (God permitting life
and limb) unto Josiah Laughton and to his
assigns, to goe to sea for them for the full
term of three compleate seasons, at Mecox,
for ye killing and striking of whales and other
great fish. And that in the said time we will
attend all ojjportunities to goe to sea for ye
promoting of ye said designe. And in consid-
eration he the said Josiah Laughton or his as-
signs doe engage unto us, the said Towsacom
and Phillip, that for every season they will
give unto us three Indian coats, one pair of
shoes or a buck neck to make them, one pay re
of stockings, three pound of shot, halfe a
pound of powder, and a bushel of Indian corne.
Witness our hands this 15 Nov. 1670."
Whalefishing from Easthampton has been
traced back to 1651, and at Southold to the
year 1652. In the former township a town
meeting in 165 1 ordained "if any whale should
be cast up within our bounds that every house-
holder shall do his part to save the whale ac-
cording as his turn shall come ;" also, "If any
Indian shall find a whale and forthwith bring
tidings of it he shall have 5s. If any English-
man of this town do accidentally find a whale,
and bring first tidings, he shall have a piece of
Vi^hale three feet broad."
For some years it was evident that whaling
was simply confined to lying in wait for the
monsters who managed to get stranded on
some beach or who allowed themselves to get
into positions where they might be attacked
from shore. About 1680 the people put off
from the coast in their light canoes and at-
tacked a solitary whale, and by 1700 the war-
fare seems to have been conducted in boats
specially constructed, strong and roomy struc-
tures, with broad beam and stout sides, so as
to withstand damage from the monster slip-
ping under the boat with the object of tossing
it in the air or pounding its timbers out of
place by the lashing of its tail. It was then
that the fishing may be regarded as an indus-
try, and a most profitable one it was, for the
big fish were around the coast in enormous
quantities, and by-and-by whaling stations
were to be found dotting its entire line. It was
an industry full of excitement and danger, but
it brought substantial reward, and until the
race died out Long Island's whaleboat men
were regarded as among the most substantial
of the citizens of each township from Oyster
Bay to Montauk. even although many of their
"yarns" of the sea were justly regarded with
suspicion and showed that thev had prolific
imaginations as well as comfortable purses.
Writing of the early importance of the in-
dustry, Mr. R. M. Bayles said: "Some idea
of its magnitude may be gained from the state -
ment that about 1690 the following companie ;
were engaged in it, forming a picket line for
alx)ut fifty miles along the eastern end of the
island beach : John Gardiner & Co. and Sam-
uel ^lulford & Co., at Easthampton; Henry
Pierson & Co., Robert Xorris & Co., James
Topping & Co., and Shamgar Hand & Co., at
Sagg ; John Cook & Co. and Joseph Moore &
Co., at Mecox; Isaac Raynor & Co. and Abra-
ham Howell & Co., at Wickapog; Francis
Say re & Co., at Southampton ; Joseph Pier-
son & Co. and John Post & Co., at "Tiie
Pines," just west of Shinnecock Point; Thom-
as Stephens & Co. and James Cooper & Co.. at
Quogue ; John Jessup & Co., at Ketchabonack ;
Stephen Baile-y & Co., at East ^loriches; and
Col. William Smith, at Elastic. The profits of
a season's business were variable. In 1687 the
returns varied among the different companies
reported from two barrels to twenty-five bar-
rels for each man in the company. Ten or
twelve barrels to a man was common. Earl
BcUamont, in his report to the Lords of Trade,
NASSAU COUNTY.
873
in 1699, declared that Col. Smith admitted to
him that he had in a single year cleared five
hundred pounds sterling, by the whales taken
along the beach claimed by him. The Hamp-
ton stations obtained in 1687 about two and a
quarter thousand barrels of oil. The oil was
generally shipped to England. Whales were
so frequent along the coast in those days that
on one occasion, in 1702, as many as thirteen
were sighted in riding the seven miles from
Easthampton to Bridgehampton. During the
season of 1726 eleven whales were killed at
Southampton, six of which yielded 220 barrels
of oil and 1,500 pounds of bone. An ordinary
yearling whale would then make about forty
barrels of oil. Older ones produced fifty or
sixtv barrels. In 1707 it was reported to the
English Lords of Trade that Long Island pro-
duced 4,000 barrels of oil. The whaling sea-
son began about the middle of October and
continued until March."
Naturally, after being hunted for years,
and being hunted without much regard to any-
thing but capture, the whales began to forsake
the shores of Long Island. Then the adven-
turous whalers concluded to try their fortunes
on the high seas and built craft for the pur-
pose, fitted by their stanchness to brave an
■ocean voyage and by their size to carry a good
cargo of oil. This branch of the industry
commenced about 1750, but the Revolution
caused a suspension of its operations before it
gained much headway. With the return of
peace, however, it was iresumed with Sag Har-
bor as its centre. In 1785 Capt. Stephen How-
ell, whose monument still stands over his
grave in the cemetery of Sag Harbor, in part-
nership with Col. Benjamin Huntting, fitted
out a large vessel \Vhich brought in a splendid
cargo, and so, as the inscription on his tomb
claims, became "one of .the founders of that
extensive and successful business which for a
long period characterized and distinguished
his native town. Mr. Bayles, already quoted,
says :
■'In 1790 there was one vessel, a brig of 150
tons, engaged in whaling from this port. In
1807 there were four; in 1820 there were six;
in 1832 there were twenty; in 1838 there were
twenty-nine; in 1841 there were forty-four; in
1843 there were fifty-two; in 1845 there were
sixty-one, and in 1847 there were sixty-three.
During the year last mentioned there were
thirty-two arrivals, the returns of their work
being 3,919 barrels of sperm, 63,712 barrels of
whale oil. and 605,340 pounds of whalebone.
During the thirty years, from 1820 to 1850,
the fiiur hundred and ninety returning vessels
brought into Sag Harl)or oil and whalebone to
the value of fifteen million dollars. From
aliout the year 1847 the business began to de-
cline. While the whale fishery in deep seas
and on distant oceans was enjoying its season
of prosperity, the village of Greenport felt
something of its impulse. The first ship sent
out from that port was purchased in 1830, and
at the high tide of its prosperity twenty ves-
sels hailed from that port. New Suffolk, on
Peconic Bay, had in 1843 two or three whaling
ships at sea, and Jamesport a like number. At
Cold Spring Harbor, on the north side of the
island, the impulse of this business was felt.
About 1843 that port had nine or ten ships en-
gaged in whaling. But in all these places the
business declined about the same time, and the
last vessel was withdrawn from the business
nearly twenty years ago. In the height of its
success at Sag Harbor it employed a capital
of nearly two million dollars and furnished oc-
cupation to eight hundred men and boys. The
cooper shops of that village manufactured 25,-
000 oil barrels a year.
"In 1844 the American whaling fleet com-
prised about 650 vessels, the' fleet of Long
Island amounting to one-seventh of this num-
ber. As to prowess. Long Island ships and
sailors were not left in the shade by their asso-
ciates. In 1849 t'apt. Roys, of the bark "Su-
perior," of Sag Harbor, entered the Arctic
Ocean at Behring Straits in July and cruised
from continent to continent, going as high as
latitude 70 degrees, and saw whales wherever
874
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
he went. He "cut in" his last whale on the
23d of August, and returned through the
straits on the 28th of the same month. On
account of powerful currents, thick fogs, the
vicinity of land and ice, and imperfect knowl-
edge of the region, he found it difficult and
dangerous to continue, although there were
plenty of whales. During his cruise no ice was
seen, and the weather was pleasant, so that the
men could work in light clothing. In most
170 barrels of oil; the second was a polar
whale; and the third was a small whale, pe-
culiar to that ocean. The last three yielded
over 600 barrels."
The dangers as well as the beauties of
Long Island Sound have been duly appreciated
by mariners since its discovery. As early as
1657 the ship "Prins Mauritz," with emigrants
from New Amsterdam, went ashore in a gale
of? Fire Island and was completely wrecked.
parts of the cruising ground there was anchor-
age, in fourteen to thirty-five fathoms of
water, and part of the time the vessel lay at
anchor. The first whale was taken at twelve
o'clock at night. It was not difficult to whale
during the whole twenty-four hours, for it was
so light that one could read at midnight. The
whales were tame, but different from any
Capt. Roys had ever before taken. He cap-
tured three species, one of the largest yield-
ing 200 barrels of oil. The first species re-
sembled the Greenland whale, aft'ordine nearlv
although the passengers and crew were saved.
This is the earliest disaster of importance on
record. During a storm on the night of Jan.
22, 1781, the British frigate, "Culloden," was
wrecked oflf Montauk, and the spot where it
went down has since been known as "Culloden
Point." A pitiful disaster was the wreck o'f
the British sloop of war, "Sylph," which went
ashore near Southampton in a snowstorm on
Jan. 15, 1815, and out of 117 men on board
only six were saved. The Savannah, the first
steamboat to cross the ocean, was wrecked.
NASSAU COUNTY.
875
October 27, 1822, on a voyage from Liverpool,
on the beach opposite Fire Island, and her cap-
tain, John Coles, of Glen Cove, and crew of
eleven drowned. She had been launched as
a steamboat in 1818, but for some years before
her wreck her career as a steamer was over
and she had been transformed into a sailing-
ship. On Oct. 21 the Atlantic ship Bristol,
with sixteen men in her crew and over one
hundred passengers, was driven in a gale on
the beach at Rockaway and eighty-four of
those on board perished. Another most har-
rowing catastrophe was that which, on Jan.
2, 1837, wrecked the bark Mexico which, with
1 12 steerage passengers, and a crew of 12 men,
had left Liverpool on Oct. 23, 1836. She
weathered the dangers of the Atlantic all right
and arrived off Sandy Hook on December 31.
A gale, however, threw her ashore on Hemp-
stead beach and she rapidly went to pieces.
In all, 116 persons perished.
One record says: "The Sound steamer
Lexington took fire on the evening of Jan. 13,
1840, when off Eaton's Neck. In a few mo-
ments she was enveloped in flames and burned
to the water's edge. One hundred and eighteen
persons perished either by the flames or the
waters, only four of all those on board surviv-
ing." On July 19, 1850, the ship Elizabeth was
wrecked off Fire Island, and among the pas-
sengers lost was Margaret Fuller, the famous
American writer, her husband and their child.
A bronze tablet commemoTative of this dis-
aster was unveiled at Point o' Woods, Fire
Island Beach, July 19, 1901. The tablet de-
scribes Margaret Fuller as "author, editor,
poet and orator." She was a power in her day,
and her influence and example are yet potent
in the cause of the advancement of her sex.
The ship John Milton, of New Bedford, re-
turning from the Chicha Islands, Feb. 20,
1858, went ashore on Montauk, in a snow-
storm. She was a vessel of nearly fifteen hun-
dred tons burden and was loaded with guano.
The entire crew, composed of the captain,
three mates and twenty-two seamen, were
drowned. In September, 1858, the brig Hai-
dee, of New York, was scuttled and sunk by
her orew when off Montauk. The brig had
been to the coast of Africa, whence she had
taken a cargo of 960 slaves to Cuba. After
landing the slavej the captain and owners sent
the brig in charge of the mate north to be sunk.
The entire crew of twenty-two men came
ashore in boats and scattered, some going to
New York and others to New London. The
mate was arrested near New Bedford and
three of the men in New York. The schooner
Helen J. Holway was wrecked on Flat Beach,
opposite Sayville, April 4, 1876, with a loss of
six lives. The ship Circassian was stranded on
the beach opposite Bridgehampton, Dec. 30,
1876. In her destruction by the waves twenty-
eight lives were lost, many of them being
Shinnecock Indians, who were at wo>rk on the
wreck trying to rescue the cargo from the
waves."
Every winter adds a new chapter to the
story of disaster and death. On the north
side the battle between the waves and the rock-
bound coast is often a terrific one, and woe to
any unfortunate vessel which at such times
gets into the power of the sea through any ac-
cident or miscalculation. On the south side
the storms beat with awful fury on the great
sand bar, sometimes seemingly lifting it up
and tossing it about, changing its appearance,
closing up one inlet arnd opening another, cov-
ering one stretch entirely over and raising a
temporary sandhill of considerable propor-
tions on another. There, again danger lurks
for every passing vessel. The lighthouses,
with their beacons and whistles and bells of
course do much to lessen the number of such
disasters, while the life-saving stations save
many lives each winter. These stations vir-
tually cover the whole of the island and are as
follows :
Amangasett, Amagansett.
Bellpoirt, four miles south of Bellport.
Blue Point, four miles and a half scuth of
Patchogue.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Ditch Plain, three and a half miles south-
west of iMontauk light.
Eaton's Neck, east side of entrance to
Huntington Bay.
Forge River, three and a half miles south
of Moriches.
Fire Island, half a mile west of Fire Island
Georgica, one mile south of the village of
East Hampton.
Gilgo, west end of Oak Island.
Hitcher Plain, half mile southwest of Fort
Pond.
Jones Beach, east end of Jones Beach.
Lone Hill, eight miles east of Fire Island
light.
Long Beach, near west end. Long Beach.
^lecox, two miles south of the village of
Bridgehampton.
]\Ioriches, two and a half miles southwest
of Speonk.
Xapeague, Napeague Harbor.
Oak Island, east end of Oak Island.
Potunk, one and a half miles southwest
of Potunk.
Point of Woods, four miles east of Fire
Island light.
Point Lookout, two miles west of New
Inlet.
Ouogue, half a mile south of Ouogue.
Rockaway, near the village of Rockaway.
Rockawav Point, west end of Rockawav
Beach.
Rocky Point, about four miles northerly
from Greenport.
Southampton, three-fourths of a mile south
•of Southampton.
Shinnecock, two miles east-southeast of
Shinnecock light.
Smith's Point, abreast of Smith's Point.
Short Beach, half mile east of Jones Inlet.
Tiana, two miles southwest of Shinnecock
light.
Zach's Inlet, west end of Jones Beach.
Tales of piracy in connection with Long
Island used to be plentiful and some of these
are elsewhere related in these pages. Conev
Island and Rockaway in particular were hot-
beds of pirates, principally the small fry who
ought to be more properly classed as smugglers,
but who were equally as ready to murder and
to rob as to cheat the revenue of what the rev-
€nue claimed to lie its just due. There is the
story of Captain Kidd, who is claimed to
have hidden treasures in so manv places along
'the coast that if he had only dropped one
strong box in all the places alleged to be his
"hiding places" he must have had enough of
such boxes to have burdened an entire fleet.
The legends of the pirates are too vague to be
of much use in history. But the record closes
with a veritable story. On Nov. 9, 1830, the
brig A'ineyard left New Orleans with a valu-
able cargo and $54,000 in specie. Had this
last detail not been known to the crew all
might have gone well, but the fact that it was
on board aroused the cupidity of the fo'csle
and the apparently innate desire of ignorant,
lawless men to get rich quickly. A mutiny
was determined upon so as to gain possession
of the money and the plans arranged were
put in effect when the brig was off Cape Hat-
teras. The Captain and mate were murdered
and the crew of seven men took possession of
the brig. They determined to proceed to the
Long Island shore and there abandon the
ship and scatter, each with his share of the
plunder. The vessel arrived all right within
a few miles of Long Island and was, in ac-
cordance with their plans, burned and sunk.
They took to the small boats intending to
land at different places. Then the troubles of
the mutineers began. One boat with three
men upset and its occupants were drowned.
The other boat had a hard time making shore
and much of the money had to be thrown over-
board to lighten the little craft. The four
pirates landed near Coney Island with some
$5,000, and then began quarrelling with the
result that their crime became known and
their arrest followed. Two of them were
hanged on April 22. 1831.
As Nassau county is the heir to so much,
some few particulars regarding the fighting
spirit of Long Island may also be presented in
this place.
Long Island from the beginning of her
history contributed her full share to the fight-
ing force of the country. In the old Colonial
NASSAU COUNTY.
877-
French War, when Britain and France were
struggling for the mastery of the continent,
jNIajor Nathaniel Woodhull, of Mastic, Suf-
folk, Colonel Isaac Corsa, of Flushing, Captain
Richard Hewlett and others led Long Island
troops in the campaign under Abercrombie,
and took part in the capture of Frontenac. A
strong militia force was maintained on the
island from an early period even for home
defense.
In 1693 the enrolled militia of Kings coun-
ty numbered 319 commanded by Colonel
Stephanus ^'an Cortlandt, of Queens county;
580 commanded by Colonel Thomas Willett,
and of Suffolk county, 533 commanded by
Colonel John Young, a tight little army of
1,432 men, very nearly one-half of the entire
force in the province. In 1700 Kings county
militia had 280 men, Queens, 601, and Suffolk,
614. In that year the official returns gave the
names of the officers of the three regiments
and the various companies, as follows :
Of ye Reg'iment of Militia of ye County of
Suffolk on ye Island Nassaw.
FIELD OFFICERS.
Isaac Arnold Colonel
Henry Pierson Lieut Col.
Matthew Howel Majr
THE SE\-ERAL COMPAS IN YE SAID
REGT.
The Foot Compa in the town of Brookhaven.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Sam. Smith Captain
Richd Floyd Lieut.
Joseph Tucker Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Huntington.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Thos. Wicks Capt.
Jon Woods Lieut.
Epenetus Plat Lieut.
Of ye Foot Compa in ye town of Southampton.
CO.M.MON OFFICERS.
Abra. Howell Capt.
Joseph Fordham Lieut.
Isaac Halsey Ensigne
Of another Compa in ye said Town.
COMMON offici-:rs.
Capt.
Jon Lupton Lieut.
Joseph ]\Ioore Ensigne
Of another Compa in ye said Town.
common officers.
Tho. Stephens Capt.
Joseph Pierson Lieut.
Jerem. Scot Ensigne
Of ye Foot Compa in ye Town of Southold.
COMMON officers.
Tho. Young Capt.
Sam. Glover Lieut.
Rich. Brown Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Jonathan Harlon Capt.
Griffin Lieut.
■ Emens Ensign
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Thos. Mapas Capt.
Joshua Harlow,
Jon Booth.
. Lieut.
, Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye town of East
Hampton.
Capt.
Lieut.
Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
John Wheeler Capt.
Enoch Fitchen Lieut.
Corn. Conchling Ensigne
OF THE REGIMT OF MILITIA IN
OUEEXS COUNTY ON YE
SAID ISLAND.
field OFFICER.
Colonel
John Jackson Lieut. Col.
Alajr
Of the Foot compa in the town of Janiaica.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Hope Carpenter Capt.
Benjamin Thurston Lieut.
Richd Oldfield Ensigne
878
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
COMMOX OFFICERS.
Sam. Carpenter Capt.
Joseph Smith Leiut.
Dan. Smith Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Content Titus Capt.
Sam. Kecham Lieut.
Sam. Morrell Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
COMMON OFFICERS.
Robt Coe Capt.
Jon Berian Leiut.
Johathan Coe Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Hampstead.
Terem. Smith Capt.
Richd Hubbs Leiut.
Isaac Smith Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Joseph Smith Capt.
Lieut.
Thos. Gildersleive Ensigne
Of another Foot Compa in ye said Town.
Tho. Tredwell Capt.
Jon. Pine Leiut.
Jon Foster Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Flushing.
Robert Hinchman Capt.
Harrington Leiut.
Daniel Wright Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Oysterbay.
Robt Coles Capt.
Josia Latten Leiut.
Nath : Coles Junr Ensigne
Of the Troope of Horse in ye said Regimt.
John Lawrence Capt.
Jonath : Smith Leiut.
Daniel Lawrence Cornet
Jon Finne Quartermaster
OF THE REGIMENT OF MILITIA IN
KING'S COUNTY ON YE
SAID ISLAND.
FIELD OFFICERS.
Stephen Cortlandt Colonel
Gerrardus Beekman Leiut. Col.
Corn : Van Brunt Majr
Of the Foot Compa in the town of Amersfort.
Jon Terhermon Capt.
Peter Mansford Leiut.
Corn. Van Voorhuyen Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye Town of Gravesend.
John Lake Capt.
Chr : Bemoyn Leiut.
Albert Coerten Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in the town of Brookland.
Joris Hansen Capt.
Daniel Repalie Leiut.
Teunis Repalie Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of New
Uytregt.
John Van Dyke Capt.
Joost Van Brunt Leiut.
Matys Smake Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Midwout.
Arie Van de Bilt Capt.
Symon Hansen Leiut.
Isaac Hegeman Ensigne
Of the Foot Compa in ye town of Boswick.
Peter Pra Capt.
Michill Parmyter .Leiut.
Jochem Vouchnewen Ensigne
Of the Troop of Horse in ye said Regiment.
Dan. Polhemius Capt.
Roeloft Verkirk Lieut.
Jerominus Remse Cornet
Gysbert Bayard Quarter Master
This martial spirit was well understood by
the leaders on both sides when the Revolu-
tionary War broke out and accounts in a
great measure for the importance which the
island assumed during that struggle. Besides
being one of the approaches to New York, the
Continental generals knew there was a fight-
ing force on the island worth winning, and
the British fully realized that if not already
won to their side that force should be pre-
vented from being of service. This accounts
for much of the completeness and severity of
the "occupation" from the date of the Battle
of Brooklyn until the sun went down on the
last British vessel on the day of the evacuation
of New York. By the disunion of the Long
Islanders when the struggle began, its fighting
NASSAU COUNTY.
879
strength was rendered of little avail, and its
divided councils practically made the entire
island a prey to official or military or thieving
Tory or to Whig freebooter alike. So it suf-
fered terribly, and the suffering, like the rain,
fell alike on the just and the unjust, — the pa-
triot and the loyalist. Silas Wood estimated
that the loss sustained by the islanders during
the occupation at $500,000, a very low esti-
mate.
But the hardest blow administered to Long
Island came after peace was declared, when
the New York Legislature taxed her $195,000
for not having been in a condition to take an
"active part in the war against the enemy."
Thus, comments Dr. Prime, "their misfortune
was interpreted a crime; and because they did
not emancipate themselves from a mighty army
to whose power the whole Continental force
had abandoned them in the very commence-
ment of the contest they must be subjected to
a very heavy fine ; and after being pillaged by
a remorseless enemy and tortured by their
presence for six gloomy years they must be
taxed to repair the losses of those who had
been subjected to occasional depredations!"
In Nassau county we begin to see the old
mills which are such prominent features of
the Long Island landscape. Some of these,
notably out by Southampton and East Hamp-
ton, are at least a couple of centuries old, and
were any of them removed the appearance of
their surroundings would change as completely
as though a hill had been leveled or a natural
landmark destroyed.
On the North Shore, at Port Washington,
is the largest tidewater mill ever built on Long
Island. It was erected by Adam Mott in 1730,
near his home, which is still called the "Mill
House." When the troops of Lord Howe had
driven the American army across the Harlem
River this old mill was seized along with its
owner, and thereafter until the war of inde-
pendence was over the unwilling miller, who
was a Quaker, was forced to grind rations for
the invading army. Another large mill was
built near this one in 1785, and to these two
mills the village of Port Washington owes its
early importance; the mills were supplied with
wheat from the Mediterranean Sea, and did a
large business.
On the beautiful shores of Manhasset Bay,
formerly' known as Little Cow Neck, stands
the well-known Plasdome Mill, built by Will-
iam Nicolls in 1735. It was spoken of as
Latham's Mill in 1746. It was afterward owned
by the learned and renowned Dr. Samuel L.
Mitchell, — one of Long Island's famous men,
— who named it Plasdome, meaning a pleasant
place. Part of it was carried away by the
great wind and flood of August 10, 1826. It
was rebuilt, and remained unchanged until
1863, when it was changed to its present form,
with additions.
At Babylon, on the south shore, is the old
Monfort Mill, rich in historic interest and
legends of olden days, when the sturdy farm-
ers of Suffolk county claimed citizenship with
New England. It was built in 1680, and is one
of the oldest mills on Long Island. It was
run by Judge Garret Monfort for fifty years.
The Monforts sold it to the Oakleys, a family
of millers, who ran it for sixty years as a grist
mill. It is now used as a toy whip factory,
the only one in the United States. At Mill
Neck are the ruins of the old Cocks Mill and
homestead, dating back to 1675. Old Thomas
Cocks was a staid owner, and only on certain
days would he turn the water against the old
mill wheel. On other days he would attend to
his estate of 180 acres.
At Smithtown is another old-time mill,
and at Cold Spring, across from the State fish
hatcheries, not far distant from the spot where
Nathan Hale landed on his perilous undertak-
ing, is a mill dating back to long before the
Revolution. This is one of the few mills that
now run by the over-shot wheel, the power
for which is obtained from a narrow canal
built along the hillside.
CHAPTER LX.
HEMPSTEAD.
IX an earlier chapter the entire story of
the settlement of Hempstead has been
treated somewhat at length, so it is
' onl)^ necessary to say here that the
first patent was issued by Governor Kieft
November 14, 1644, and this patent was con-
firmed by those issued March 6, 1666, and
April 17, 1685, by Governors Nicolls and Don-
gan, respectively In 1784 the territory was
divided into North Hempstead and South
Hempstead townships. South Hempstead was
recognized as a town by the Legislature on
March 7, 1788, and in 1796 it dropped its
prefi.x and became simply Hempstead. Under
its organization statute each township was to
enjoy the right of oystering, clamming and
fishing in the other, and both continued to cut
grass on the south meadows until 18 15. In
1797 a litigation commenced between the two
townships with relation to the grass cutting
right, which was only settled in December,
1828, with such victory as there was to Hemp-
stead. It was at best a miserable dispute,
and, like most of the boundary disputes, so
frequent in the early history of the various
Long Island townships, seems to us silly in
these days. Empty land was about them all,
yet they wrangled for years over a field or
two. In 1830 Hempstead disposed of all its
public lands by auction, a consummation that
added greatly to its future internal peace.
Hempstead township lies on the south side
of the island., has a frontage on the ocean of
some twenty miles, and a total area of nearly
100 square miles. Down to 1784 the history
• of the two townships must be considered as-
one, and after the division the story follows
tha fortunes of the southern section, the sec-
tion which now monopolizes the plain title of
Hempstead.
While n.uch is doubtful as to the early
histC'ry of Hempstead, two things seem cer-
tain. It was a theocratic colony, like South-
old, and it was peopled by a congregation, or
part of a congregation, from Stamford, Con-
necticut, most of them being natives of Eng-
land. One of the first things they set up was
a building for public worship, as already told
in this work. But the town had a civil his-
tory as well. Among the early settlers who
came after arrangements fo.r their reception
had been completed by the Rev. Robert Ford-
ham, their clerical leader; and John Carman,
were Richard Gildersleeve, Edward Raynor,
Thurston Raynor, William Raynor, the Rev.
Richard Denton, Matthew Mitchell, John LTn-
deirhill, Robert Coe, Andrew ^^■ard, Jonas
Wood, John Ogden and Robert Jackson. Most
of these people, if not all of them, were pos-
sessed of more or less means, and several had
been prominent in public life in Connecticut,
such as Richard Gildersleeve, Thurston Ray-
nor, Robert Coe and others. The patent was
obtained from Governor Kieft in 1644, wdiich
may lie accepted as the date of the founda-
tion of the township, although many antiqua-
ries would place it a year earlier, when Ford-
ham and Carman had bought the territory-
from the Indians. With these helpless aborig-
ines the settlers of Hempstead seemed to get
HEMPSTEAD.
iSSl
along- fairly well ; there were several unpleas-
ant details in the early relations, but it would
seem to a less extent than was the case in most
of the other settlements. In 1656 a sort of
treaty of peace governing the relations of the
two races was made and settled the boundaries
of the white man's land, confirming a prior
agreement made in 1647. As a result of this
the following deed was drawn up :
July the 4th, 1657. Stilo novo.
Know all men by these Presents, that We,
the Indians of Marsapege, Mericock, and
Rockaway, whose Names be underwritten, for
ourselves, and all the rest of the Indians that
doe Claime any Right or Interest in the Pur-
chase that hempsteed bought in the year 1643.
And' within the bounds and limitts of the
Whole tract of Land, Concluded upon with
the governor of Manhatans as it is in this
paper Specified, Doe, by these p'rsents, Ratifie
and Confirme to them and their heires forever,
freely, firmly, quiettly and Peaceably, for them
and their heires and successes for Ever to
enjoye without any Molestacon or trouble
from us, or any that shall pretend Any Clayme
or title unto itt.
The Montooke Sachem being present att
this conformacon.
In Witness whereof Wee, whose names
bee here under written, have hereunto sub-
scribed.
The Marke of Takaposha.
The SiACHEM of Marsapeague.
The Marke of Wantagh.
The Montake Sachem.
The Marke of Chegone.
The Marke of Romege.
The Marke of Wangwang.
The Marke of Rumasackromen.
The Marke of .
The Marke of Woronmcacking.
In the presence of us,
Richard Gildersleeve.
John Seaman.
John Hicks.
Vera copia concordans cum originalis
scripsit, per me, John James, cler.
When the payments had all been completed
the following document was drawn up and
signed :
Wee, the Indians above written, doe here-
by acknowledge to have received from the
Magistrates and Inhabitants of Hempsteed, all
our pay in full satisfaction for the tract of land
sould unto them, according to the above and
within written agreement, and according to the
pattcnt and purchase. The General bounds is
as followeth : Beginning att a place called Mat-
tagarrctts Bay and soe running upon a direct
line, north and south and from north to south,
from Sea to Sea, the boundes running from
Hempsteed Harbour due east to a pointe of
Treese adjoining the lands of Robert Will-
iams, wheire wee left marked trees, the same
line_ running from Sea to Sea. The other line
beginning att a marked tree Standing att east
end of the greate plaine, from that tree and
running a due south line and' att the South
Sea, by a Marked tree, made in a Neck called
Maskutchoung and from thence upon the same
line, to the South Sea. And we whose names
are hereunto subscribed, do further Ingage
ourselves and our successors, to uphold and
maintain this our present act, and all our for-
mer agreements to bee just and lawfuU : that
the aforesaid Inhabitants of Hempsteed Shall
Enjoye the Said Lands according to the Equi-
ty-marked bounds with all privileges thereun-
to Any way belonging or Appertaining, for
them, their heires and successrs for Ever.
And we doe binde ourselves to save and defend
them harmlesse from any manner of Claime
or pretence that shall bee made to disturbe
them in their right or any prte thereof, here-
by binding us and our successes to cause them
to Enjoye the same Peaceably without Any
Molestacon or Interrupcon for them, their
heires and successrs for Ever. Whereunto
we have subscribed, this eleventh day of May^
anno 1658. Stilo novo.
Witnesse: Waautauch.
Che Know.
Sayasstock.
Tackapoush.\._
Martom.
Pees Komach.
Suliscribed by Wacomliound, Montauk Sa"-
chem, after the death of his father, this 14th
February, 1660, being a generall town meet-
ing of Hempsteed.
A true coppy. Compared with the Originall
and both of them being written by me.
John James, Clerk.
In 1647 there were fifty-seven freeholders
in the township, and a formal division of the
882
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
land was made anions' them. They were as
follows :
John Carman, Jeremy \\'ood, Richard Gil-
dersleeve, William Raynor, Benjamin Coe,
John Ogden, Samuel Strickland, John Toppin,
Jonas Wood, John Fordham. William Law-
rence, Henry Hudson, Thomas Ireland. Rich-
ard \'alentine, William Thiekstone, Nicholas
Tanner, William Smith, Edmond Wood, John
Smith jun, Thomas Armitage. Simon Sering,
Terry Wood, Thomas Willet. Henry Pierson,
Joseph Scott, Henry Whitson, Richard Lewis,
Thomas Stephenson, John Coe, ^^'illiam Scott,
John Storge, William Williams, James Smith,
William Rogers, Richard Ogden, Robert Jack-
son, John Foncks, John Lawrence, Thomas
Sherman, Francis Yates, John Ellison, Abra-
ham Smith, William Shadding. Thomas Ffos-
ter, Roger Lines, John Lewis, Christopher
Ffoster, Samuel Clark, John Hudd, Thomas
Pope, Daniel Whitehead, Robert Williams,
Edward Raynor, John Sewall, John Smith sen,
Samuel Baccus, John Strickland.
In 1673 the list had passed the hundred
mark, as may be seen from the following enu-
meration preserved in A'anderkemp's Transla-
tion of Dutch Records, XXII:
John
-, John Smith Blew, Richard
Geldersly, Sen, \'rolphert Jacobs, Jan Carman,
John Symans jun, Robert Jackson, Symon
Tory, John Smith, Peter janse Schol, Richard
Gildersly, Robbert Beedill, George Hallet,
Samuel Allen, Richard ^'alentyn. Kaleb Car-
man, John Williams, Thomas Richmore, John
Ellesson, Edward Spry, William Osborne.
Edward Remsen, John Fossaker, John Sorram,
James Payne, William Fixton, Samuel Den-
ton, Robberd Hobbs, Thomas Sodderd, John
Smith jun, Joseph Williams, Ralph Haal. Dan-
iel Beedell, John Jackson, Jonathan Smith,
John Champion, John Hobbs, John Langd.
Jonathan Semmes, John Bordes. Robberd Mar-
i^seu, Mos Hemmery, John Beets carpenter,
Samuel Embry, Matthew Beedel, Comes,
Thomas Ellison, Philip Davis, Hop-
kins, Adam Mew, Edward Titus, Richard Elli-
son, John Seavin, Thomas Teasay, Thomas
Ireland, Thomas Ellison, Joseph Gem, Thom-
as Champion, Joseph Pettet, Richard Fotter,
John Beddell, Thomas Southward, John
Beates, Calvet Goullet, Christoffel Yeomans.
John ^\'oully, Edward Banbury, Thomas
(iowes, John' Mavein, \Vm. Thorne, Joshua
\\'atske, Benjamin Symenson, Jan Roelossen,
Elbert Hubssen, Lewis Niot, John Ellison jun,
Thomas Seabrook, Samuel Jackson, John Pine,
Peter Jansen, William Ware, Solomon Sem-
mar, Tenuis Smith, Richard Valentin jun,
Joseph Wood, Herman Flouwer, William
Dose, Symon Foster, Henry Mott, Wm. Four-
mer, Joseph Smali, Walter pine, Josia Carman,
John Peacock, John Ouakerson, Thomas Dan-
iels, John Napper, Richard Osborn, George
Robbert, Cliarles Abram, Thomas Appelbe,
Samuel Smith, Persell, Adam Mott
Junr, Samuel Jackson, Joseph Truax, Joseph
Hoyt & Nine others whose names are lost.
The original condition on which the first
patent was granted was that the people should
pa\- a tax to the Council at New Amsterdam
of a tenth part of their farm produce ten
years after the first general peace with the In-
dians. It would seem that it was not until
1658 that the people declared their readiness
to contribute to Stuyvesant's treasury. In
that year they informed the Governor that they
had "voted' and put upon denomination our
former Magistrate, Mr. Gildersleeve, and with
him William Shodden, Robert Forman and
Henry Pearsall," all of them known "men of
honest life and of good integrity," as their
^lagistrates, and Stuyvesant, invariably gra-
cious to the English settlements, at once con-
firmed the selection. The same year Magis-
trate Gildersleeve was authorized to go to
New .Vmsterdam and arrange about the pay-
ment of the taxes, provided the Governor was
reasonable in his views of the matter, as
he seems to have been.
The early government of Hempstead was
by town meeting, over which the influence of
the I'resbyterian Church was predominant
until the beginning of the eighteenth century,
and long after that its influence in the affairs
of the township continued to be important.
The town meeting did everything even to the
extent of naming the value of the various
products of the farm and fixing the price of
labor. A day's work was adjudged to be worth
2s 6d, but then a night's lodging was only
valued at 2d and two days' wages paid for a
HEMPSTEAD.
week's board. At that rate the laborer of 1658
was at least as well paid as his brother of the
present day. Attendance at church was early
voted a prime necessity, and it was ordered
that any man or woman who did not occupy
a place in the church at the Sabbath services
should be fined five shillings, — the value of a
week's board, — for the first ofifense, and ten
shillings for the second, and twenty shillings
for the third. Those who still absented them-
selves after being so mulcted were deemed in-
corrigible under lenient measures and were to
be dealt with by means of corporal punish-
ment, and after that, if the remedy failed,
were to be banished from the town. Drunk-
enness seems to have been one of the common
faults of the brethren, if we may judge by the
severe measures taken. These fines and pun-
ishments were not, however, determined as
to their application by the town meeting, but
after trial in the regular local court. Some
of the records of that tribunal are interesting
for the light they throw on the domestic his-
tory of that early time, and we quote the fol-
lowing from Onderdonk's "Annals of Hemp-
stead:"
1658, July 25. — Richard A'alentine hav-
ing reported that Thomas Southard went up
and down with a club, the latter, meeting him
one morning as he was going about his avo-
cations, struck him on the face. As Southard
still menaced and threatened to further beat
him, he took oath that he stood in danger
and fear of his life, and required the peace and
that Southard might put in security for his
good .behavior. It is therefore ordered by
Mr. Richard Gildersleeve, for that Thomas
Southard did contemptuously resist authority
in refusing to obey the marshal with his war-
rant, and did fly the same and betook himself
to his own house for his refuge, in considera-
tion of these outrages and misdemeanors he
is required to put in security for his appear-
ance at court. And said Southard doth bind
himself and all his lands, goods and chattels,
to appear at court, and meantime to keep the
peace and good behavior.
At a court held December 28, on the sub-
mission of Southard, and paying all costs, the
penalty and fault are remitted in hopes of his
reformation. A'alentine is also reconciled, and
doth remit the abuse done unto him.
1659, January 2. — Thomas Ireland com-
plains of Richard Brudenell, keeper of an or-
dinary, for using deceitful dealings, and pro-
duces in court the following witnesses:
Mary, wife of Richard Willis, sent her
child for a pint of sack and he afterwards de-
manded pay for a quart.
William Jacocks bought four cans of beer,
one day last spring, and was booked seven.
He paid it.
Thomas Langdon was charged for four
bushels of oats and had but two, and a few
oats in a piggin and a tray — lieing half a
bushel,
Richard Lattin, four or five years ago,
agreed with Brudenell for diet of himself and
son for twelve shillings the week, and had it
a week and four days, which did come to twen-
ty shillings. Lattin said it was ten days, but
ISrudenell made it eleven, and said if he would
not pay for eleven he would show him such
a trick as he never had seen ; that is, he would
set upon his book a guilder a meal and eight
pence a night for his bed, and then he should
[jay whether he would or not.
The court find, January 14, that Brudenell's
books arc false and not fit to pass in law, and
he is to pay twelve guilders for calling a court,
else execution to follow.
1659, January 14. — Robert Lloyd, having
spoken unseemly words to the dishonor of
God and the evil example of others, is fined
ten guilders. But having, February 11, made
an acknowledgment of his fault, the court
hath remitted the fine, on his reformation.
1659, January 16. — Daniel Whitehead,
when he lived at Hempstead, lost linen and
other goods, and upon search he found at
Richard Brudenell's a brass candlestick and
one small striped linen carpet and one table
napkin which he doth judge to be his own.
Whereas Brudenell would not enter into
recognizance and utterly refused the favor of
the court, he is condemned to restore fourfold
— that is twenty-eight shillings sterling — elsd
execution to follow in fourteen days. He ap-
peals to the governor, and the answer in
Dutch may be seen in the He:upstead court
minutes.
1659. May I. — Robert Jackson contra Rich-
ard Lattin — action of the case, defamation to
the value of £100 sterling damages. Jackson
in his declaration says that, having occasions
of account with Lattin, upon some debate he
884
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
gave him very bad language tending to his
defamation and scandal, and amongst other
evil words called him a rascal. The court,
June 5, sentences him to forty guilders fine, or
corporal punishment, unless he sulDmissively
acknowledges, in presence of the court, that he
hath wronged Mr. Jackson, and is sorry for it.
1659, Alay r. — Robert \\'illiams sent to the
mill of Hempstead six bushels of good Indian
corn and delivered it into the keeping of Will-
iam, son of Peter Cornclisseq, to be ground.
He received two l>ushels, but the rest of the
meal lay on the mill-bed and had been spoiled
by the rain beating upon it, and was grown
sour and not fit for man's food. When Will-
iams demanded satisfaction Cornelissen re-
fused, and said he had carried corn himself
to jManhattan's mill and it took damage and
he could get no recompense. He then desired
Cornelissen to put out the meal and give him
the sack, but he told him he would not meddle
with it.' The court adjudged Cornelissen to
make good the damage done unto the sack
and meal by giving him good meal, and in case
they cannot agree, then to stand at the judg-
ment of two indifferent men ; and Cornelissen
is to pay court charges and give satisfaction
within fourteen days, or before he depart the
town, else execution to follow.
1659, J""e II. — It is ordered that all wills
proved in this court at Hempstead shall pay
six guilders unto the use of the court, and the
clerk and marshal's fee.
1658, September 2. — Among other items
in the last will of Nicholas Tanner is that "a
beast shall be sold to buy some linen to burv
me in, and also a sheet and other things that
shall be needful, and the white-faced cow
killed at my burial and given to the neighbors."
1659, November. — Richard Lamson put
out a cow to Joseph Schott to winter. He re-
moved that winter from Hempstead, and the
cow was to be returned next spring to Samuel
Clark, his agent, but Schott refused, though
Clark tendered security. Schott savs the cow
proved unsound in her bag, and the spring
following, being farrow, he put her down to
the common pasture to feed, and in the fall
sold her to D. Whitehead. Her calf he main-
tained till it came to be a cow, and she had
one calf, and another which was destroyed bv
wolves. The cow, being well so far forth as
he knew, was found dead one morning, leav-
ing a calf. The court order Schott to pav for
the cow i6.io, and 20s, for one summer's milk,
with one guilder on the pound interest upon
interest for eight years, and costs, and los.
for the plaintiff's charges for this journey.
Schott ( ultimo January, 1659) makes a tender
of goods to the valuation of the aforesaid sum,
to be publicly sold at outcry by the marshal,
and engages to save him harmless. Priiiio
February Schott's barn and appurtenance,
with his home-lot (three acres), is sold to
George Hewlet for £5.4 in present passable
pay. I, Thomas Skidmore (May 6, 1659 j,.
have received £15.9.6 in full satisfaction of
the above sentence, in behalf of Edward Higbie
of Huntington.
1660, January 21. — John Smith, Jr., sues
Thomas Ellison in an action for trespass, for
that he did ride his mare double, contrary to
his knowledge, and his mare was lamed to his
damage 40s. Ellison answers that he was at
John Carman's door, and at his wife Hannah's
request did ride before her to Oyster Bay, on
Saturday, and on the Lord's day keot the mare
there and on IMonday rode her back and de-
livered her to John Carman. The court doth
condemn the plaintiff in all the court charges,
to be paid within fourteen davs, else execution
to follow.
The change brought about by the down-
fall of the Dutch Government and the institu-
tion of English authority. seems to have been
accepted with equanimity by the Hempstead
settlers. Governor Nicolls introduced among
them a new "industry," that of horse-racing,
for which purpose the great Hempstead plain
was so well adapted, and his lead in that re-
gard was still further developed by his suc-
cessor. Governor Lovelace, and Salisbury
Plain, near the present pleasant village of
Hyde Park, became celebrated for its sport-
ing events on both sides of the Atlantic. The
sport still continues a favorite one in Hemp-
stead, although it has there lost much of its
vulgar and debasing features, and, as at Alin-
eola, is an exhibition of racing pure and
simple.
The Duke's laws were felt in Hempstead,
as elsewhere, to be oppressive and unjust, and
it can not be said that when the Dutch regime
in 1673 was once more established in New
.Amsterdam, the Hempstead people mourned'
over the change. As soon as Governor Colve
HEMPSTEAD.
885
took hold of the reins of power he sent a
letter of instructions to Hempstead and other
Long Island towns, in which he really granted
as full a measure of local self-government as
was conceivable in those days. Some of his
instructions were :
3. All cases relating to the Police, Secur-
it\' and Peace of the Inhabitants: also to Jus-
tice between man and man, shall be finally
each one shall be cntitlerl to an appeal to the
Governour General and Gmiiicil here.
4. In case of inequaUty nf votes, the mi-
nority shall submit to the majority; but those
who are of a contrary opinion may have it
recorded in the minutes but not divulge it
without the meeting on pain of arbitrary cor-
rection.
5. \\'henever any cases occur in the meet-
ing in which any of the Magistrates arc inter-
ested, suLdi Magistrate shall, in that instance.
D SCHOOLUOrSE. ( Pliotoyraphed at Woodhi
■determined bv the magistrates of each of the
aforesaid Milages, to the amount of sixty
florins, Beaver, and thereunder without appeal :
In case the sum be larger the aggrieved partv
may appeal to the meeting of the Sheriff and
Councillors delegated from the \'illages sub-
ject to his jurisdiction, fur which jjurpose one
person shall be annually appointed from each
Village who shall assemble in the most con-
venient place to be selected by them, and who
shall have power to pronounce final judgment
to the amount of fl. 240 Beavers and there-
under. But in all cases exceeding that sum
rise and absent himself, as is hereinbefore
stated.
6. All Inhabitants of the abovenamed Vil-
lages shall be citable before said Sheriff and
Schepens or theiir delegated Councillors who
shall hold their meetings and courts as often
as they shall consider requisite.
7. All criminal offences shall be referred
to the Governour General and Council, on
condition that the Sheriff be obliged to appre-
hend the offenders, to seize and detain them
& to convey them as prisoners under proper
safeguard to Chief Magistrate with good and
886
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
correct informations for or against the of-
fenders.
8. Smaller offences, such as quarrels, abu-
sive words, threats, fisticuffs and such like,
are left to the jurisdiction of the Magistrates
of each particular ^'illage.
9. The Sheriff and Schepens shall have
power to conclude on some ordinances for the
welfare and peace of the Inhabitants of their
district such as laying highways, setting oft'
lands and gardens and in like manner what
appertains to agriculture, observance of the
Sabbath, erecting churches, school houses or
similar public works. Item, against fighting
& wrestling and such petty offences — provided
such ordinances are not contrary but as far as
is possible, conformable to the Laws of our
Fatherland and the Statutes of this Province :
and therefore, all orders of any importance
shall, before publication, be presented to the
Chief Magistrate and his approval thereof re-
quested.
With the return of the British power and
the advent of Governor Andrus upon the
scene the "Duke's laws" were again enforced,
even more rigidly than before. Lender Gov-
ernor Dongan, the great charter monger, in
1685, the town, much against the will of a
majority of its people, was compelled to take
out a new charter. It seems to have taken
three years of negotiations to perfect an in-
strument which was thoroughly satisfactory
to Hempstead, and probably the gift which the
people gave to Dongan of a plantation of 650
acres had something to do with directing his
mind in the right direction on many mooted
points of boundary and in the township's an-
nual ta.x being placed at twenty bushels of
good winter wheat or four pounds of good
current money. — a reasonable enough impost.
From that time until the outbreak of the
Revolutionary struggle there is little to tell
of the civil history of Hempstead. In 1702
the Colonial Assembly proposed to erect a
public school in its bounds. About that same
year the Episcopalians organized a congrega-
tion in Hempstead, — represented by the pres-
ent St. (^icorge's Church. — and, as was then
customary, took possession of the meeting-
house and manse of the Presbyterians.
In 1775, when the crisis with the mother
country became acute, Hempstead was pro-
nouncedly against any change in the relations
between the crown and the colonies, and a
public meeting held on April 4th pledged re-
newed allegiance to King George III and de-
clined to send deputies to any provincial con-
gress or assembly. It seems, however, to have
changed its views so far as to elect Thomas
Hicks and Richard Thome to represent it in the
provincial congress, but Hicks refused to at-
tend, saying that Hempstead wanted to remain
peaceable and quiet. Under the circumstances
we can understand its becoming a favorite
hunting ground for Tories in the days imme-
diately preceding the landing of the British
forces in 1776. Colonel Heard and the other
Continental raiders captured many stacks of
arms and stores of ammunition in Hempstead
and sent many of the local Tories into exile.
That, however, did not win the inhabitants
over to the side of the patriots, and although
under orders from the Whig leaders, it con-
tributed' several companies to the Queens
county militia under the redoubtable Colonel
John Sands, the heroes composing the regi-
ment were found to be of little avail when the
real hour of trial came and stern service was
demanded.
But when that time came, when the B-ritish
were in possession of the island and Hemp-
stead was overrun with redcoats, the people
found small comfort in their Toryism. The
soldiers rode roughshod over ^\'hig and Tory
alike, helped themselves to produce and prov-
ender without stint and paid prices of their
own choosing, burned up fences and barns for
firewood, robbed orchards and farm buildings
without fear, turned the Presbyterian meeting-
house into a barracks, and even desecrated the
interior of St. George's Church (built in
1733). although the rector, the Rev. Leonard
Cutting, was pronounced in his Toryism, so
much so that when the war was over he was.
HEMPSTEAD.
forced to abandon his charge summarily and
secretly.
At the time of the Revolution Hem]istead
village consisted probably of a dozen dwell-
ings and the English and Presbyterian meet-
ing-houses, and its progress was slow, the
progress of a hamlet without any interests to
attract the outside world. When Mr. Cutting
summarily left the parish with the departure
of the British, his place was filled by the Rev.
Thomas Lambert Moore, a native of England,
who seems to have developed into a most loyal
American soon after his arrival in this coun-
try. He was one of those who took part in
the church proceedings necessary when the
civil government had thrown off the English
yoke to make the Episcopalian body equally
independent of the authorities in London. In
the old Prayer Book which had been sent
to St. George's as a gift along with a com-
munion set, presumably from Queen Anne, he
]iasted in new prayers for the President and
I'nited States authorities in place of those com-
mending the British King and royal family
and Parliament. In this church, in 1785, the
first ordination in the American Episcopal
Church took place, when John Lowe was ad-
mitted to holy orders. Lowe was a native of
Scotland, a man of many fine qualities, and,
having received a university training, was for
a time employed as tutor in the family of a
wealthy landed proprietor in Galloway, not far
from the English Iiorder. He fell in love with
one of the young ladies of the family, and it
is said she reciprocated his affection, liut some-
how the hoped-for marriage never took place.
While the billing and cooing was going on
one of the sisters of the young lady dreamed
tliat she saw her sweetheart, a ship surgeon,
and that the wraith had told her that the ship
with all on board had gone down, and urged
her not to weep for him, as she would soon
join him in the other world. After many
months it was learned that the lover had
actually been drowned at sea. On hearing the
dream related Lowe went to his room and
wrote the following beautiful lines :
The moon had climbed the highest hill
Which rises o'er the source of Dee.
And from the eastern summit shed
Her silver light o'er tower and tree ;
When Majry laid her down to sleep,
Her thoughts on Sandy far at sea;
When, soft and low, a voice was heard,
Saying;, "Mary, weep no more for me!"
She from her pillow gently raised
Her head, to ask who there might be ;
And saw young Sandy shivering stand,
With visage pale and hollow e'e ;
"O Mary, dear! cold is my clay —
It lies beneath a stormy sea ;
Ear, far from thee, I shall sleep in death — ■
So, Mary, weep no more for me !
"Three stormy nights and stormy days
We tossed upon the raging main.
And long we strove our bark to save.
But all our striving was in vain.
Even then, when horror chilled my blood.
My heart was filled with love for thee :
The storm is past, and I at Test,
So, Alary, weep no more for me !
"Oh, maiden dear, thyself prepare.
We soon shall meet upon that shore.
Where love is free from doubt and care.
And thou and I shall part no more."
Loud crowed the cock, the shadow fled,
No more of Sandy could she see ;
But soft the passing spirit said,
"Sweet Alary, weep no more for nie !"
This song, the only piece of poetry Lowe
wrote that is worth reading, has won for him
an honored place among the minor poets
of his native land. When his love passage
ended Lowe came to- this country and stud-
ied for holy orders, which resulted in ins
ordination in St. George's Church. He after-
ward went to A'irginia, made an unfortunate
marriage, fell into dissipated habits, and died
at Fredericksburg in 1798. Mr. Moore was a
most successful pastor, and under his care the
congregation became the most flourishing of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
any in the township. Under him a new rectory
was built in 1793, a large, commodious dwell-
ing, and many important improvements were
effected in the church building itself. In
1799 Mr. Moore passed away, and was suc-
ceeded by the Rev. J. H. Hobart, who after-
ward became Bishop of New York, and the
ministry has since been held by a succession
of tak-nlfd (!i\'incs, several of whom have been
pruniiiHiit in the affaiiis of the cliurch at large.
The Alctliodist congregation was organized
about 1 81 2, the people meeting in each other's
houses until 18 16, when a house was rented
and fitted up for service. In 1820 they built
their first church, a small structure on the site
which is now occupied by the building now
in use.
With the beginning of the past century
Hempstead village cominenced slowly to grow,
for it became noted as a place of summer resi-
dence and many people from New York began
spending a season there, and as a result quite
a number of attractive homes were added to
it \ear after \ear. Conmumication with Brook-
lyn was maintained by means of stages, and
until the advent of the railroad Hempstead
had a regular service of three stages in each
week. The streets are lined with trees and
are well and cleanly kept, and up to the pres-
ent day, when it is credited with a population
of nearly 4,000, it still retains many of the
rural features which made it so attractive in
the past and which half a century ago en-
abled it to start on its modern era of pros-
perity. It is a residential town, its manufac-
tures amounting to little in a lousiness way,
and it depends to a great extent on the trade
which comes to it from the needs of the villa
residents and its summer population. It has
all modfern improvements in the way of gas,
electricity, macadamized roads and social feat-
ures of the highest class. Near it the Aleadow
Brook and Farm Kennel Clubs have their
headquarters, and attract to it year after year
many hundreds of people representative of
what are called the foremost classes in New
York City's aristocratic circles. C)n the out-
break of the late war with Spain Hempstead
came prominently before the people of the
.State, foir about to the north of it was located
Camp Black, where for many months several
thousand volunteers were housed and drilled
in readiness to be sent to the front or into
active service according to the requirements of
the War Department. Had the war lasted any
length of time there is no doubt that Camp
Black would have been 'retained as a military
depot, but the rapid victories of the American
forces on land and sea brought hostilities to
a more speedy conclusion than had been an-
ticipated, and the camp was abandoned and has
since been "a waste of furze and brush."
In point of historic antiquity the settle-
ment in the township which dates closest to
that of Hempstead village is that of Jerusalem,
now a hamlet which has lost all its former
prestige and pre-eminence and has apparently
been forgotten. It is on the border line of
Oyster Bay township, the creek known as
Jerusalem River separating it from that ter-
ritory. ^^'hen the exodus from Stamford
which peopled Hempstead took place, in 1644,
one of the immigrants, Captain John Sea-
man, and Robert Jackson purchased on their
own account 1,500 acres of land from the In-
dian's and settled upon it with their families.
Their houses, as usual, were placed almost side
by side, and after a time the dwellings of
their children (Captain Seaman had eight
sons and eight daughters, it is said, while
Jackson had two sons and two daughters)
made up quite a village a few hundred feet
east of the Jerusalem River. Additions
to the real estate holdings were made
from time to time until the village terri-
tory included some 6,000 acres,^some of it
the most fertile land on Long Island. De-
scendants of these pioneers are to be found
all over Long Island, and many have held
high positions on the bench, in the learned
professions, in Congress, and in the military
service of the United States.
HEMPSTEAD.
889
The Seamans and Jacksons and their col-
lateral branches devoted themselves to agri-
culture, and the settlement would have passed
on without attracting much attention but for
the fact that it became one of the gathering
places of the Long Island Quakers. The Sea-
man family, or many of them, early adopted the
tenets held by these "peculiar people," as they
were then described by those who described
them most tenderly ; and for nearly a century,
from 1697 until 1793, Tegular meetings for
worship were held in one or other of the Sea-
man homes at more or less regular intervals.
A regular meeting-house was built in 1827,
and there Ardon Seaman preached and labored
until his death, in 1875. By that time, how-
ever, the Society of Friends had lost its hold
in the vicinity, many of the old settlers moved
away, the land through a long series of years
of mismanagement had lost its fertility, and
the new settlers who came in Itelonged to
other communions. So the meeting place was
abandoned, and with its passing Jerusalem be-
gan to fade. Early in the nineteenth century,
when it was seen that the land was losing its
original fertility, an elifort was made to in-
troduce manufactures, a grist mill and a paper
mill were built, and long afterward a tannery
and wood mill were introduced, but none of
tliem made much headway. It seems a pity
that a place so full of treasured memories
should pass into oblivion,, but such seems to be
the fate in store for Jerusalem unless a change
speedily sets in, and of that there is yet no
sign.
The crowning glory of Hempstead is Gar-
den City, which was founded in 1869 by Alex-
ander Turney Stewart, long the most noted of
New York's merchant princes. A shrewd, far-
seeing and wonderfully successful man in his
business, Stewart, when wealth came to him,
engaged in schemes which he deemed philan-
thropic and which at the same time were likely
to return to him the money actually expended
on them. He gave several large donations in
charity, but as a general rule he had no con-
ception of giving away money in the fashion
of more modern millionaires. He was ready
to help a public enterprise with his means,
willing to inaugurate an undertaking which
was to benefit the people, but he wanted some
return for the money expended. For instance,
one of his schemes was the erection of a hotel
solely for women in New York, by which he
thought he could benefit the hundreds of pro-
fessional women in the great city and the hun-
dreds of women who visited it from day to
day, and at the same time gain five or six
per cent, on the money he should invest in it.
The liotel was built, but its restrictions were
such that no one was satisfied, and it was soon
abandoned.
So, too, he conceived the idea of erecting
a town which would in its way be a model
community, a little republic, a revival in nine-
teenth century days of the old theocratic set-
tlements. It would be far enough away from
New York to keep away excursion parties,
its land should be common property, should
not be sold outright, and even the houses
would be built by the corporation and only
leased to the settlers. It would be a complete
community within itself, make and enact its
own laws, have a large hotel capable of ac-
commodating the most refined travelers, wide
streets, superb schools, and all manner of mod-
ern improvements and equipments. Every-
thing would be hedged about with restrictions,
the place would be exclusive and refined, and
the entire community should so ciDmmend itself
that it would be regarded as a garden spot, —
a veritable Eden. With these notions of town
building Mr. Stewart looked about for a site,
and in 1869 selected a plot of 7,170 acres on
the historic Hempstead plain, not far from the
old village, for which he paid to the township
$394,350. By an act of Legislature this money
was to be invested and the proceeds devoted
to educational purposes in the town he pro-
posed to establish and for the support of its
poor, should it have any poor.
So the place received the name of Garden
890
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
City, was surveyed, cut up into streets and
avenues, the hotel was built, houses were erect-
ed, but the people did not flock in. Ameri-
cans do not like to be hampered by restric-
tions, and the class of people he aimed at se-
curing preferred to own their country homes
outright, and it seemed as though Garden City
would end in being regarded as a merchant's
folly. For two or three years its main pur-
pose was to advance the price of Hempstead
real estate and to afford the land boomers a
chance to throw into the market other tracts
of the great plain. Stewart died in 1876, be-
fore he had time to fully mature his plans for
the success of the new town, but it is difficult
to understand how the policy he had outlined,
and which he would have clung to with all
the dogged pertinacity of his nature, would
have ended in anything but failure.
But with his death a change came over
Garden City. Many of his foolish restrictions
were quietly thrown aside and the town was
permitted to grow on the regular lines of sup-
ply and demand. But the demand would have
been slow had not his widow designeid to make
the town a memorial of her husband. She
determined to build in it a .grand cathedral,
rivalling in size and beauty some of the great
European religious shrines and to associate
with it a school whose educational advantages
should be unsurpassed. Some have averred
that the cathedral and school were but a part
of A. T. Stewart's original scheme, but that is
merely surmise. The millionaire left the bulk
of his vast estate to his wife untrammeled
by obligations, and the cathedral, the school
and the bishop's palace were her free offering,
and all she asked in return was that the group
of buildings should become the seat of the
Bishop of Long Island and that the crypt of
the cathedral should be the last resting place
of her own body and that of her husband,
whose memory she thus desired to honor. Airs.
Stewart's purposes were heactily approved by
Bishop Littlcjohn and his clergy, architects
were set to work and plans prepared, and on
June 28. 1877, the corner-stone of the cathedral
was laid by the Bishop with imposing cere-
monies. The following description of the
cathedral and school is from the pen of the
Rev. Dr. T. S. Downe :
The plan of the edifice is cruciform, with
tower and spire, baptistery, organ apse, crypt
and mausoleum. The style employed is deco-
rated gothic of the thirteenth century, but the
architect has given freshness and independence
to the treatment by adopting the foliage and
flowers of this country, and following nature
rather than the old and stiff conventional
forms. L'nusual beauty and grace are attained
in this manner in all the carved work of the
triforium, capitals, bosses and corbels, which
furnish everywhere varied and pleasing sub-
jects for study. The exterior is constructed of
Bellville (New Jersey) stone, and the interior
of Berlin (Ohio) stone, with the use of native
and foreign marbles in the pavement, chancel
steps, baptistery and mausoleum. The pro-
portions of the building are admirable, the
extreme length measuring 190 feet, width of
the transept including the porches 109 feet,
of the nave and aisles 52 feet. The choir and
chancel are 60 feet deep, separated by mar-
ble steps, with the bishop's throne on the north
side and the dean's on the south. The tower,
which is monumental in character, with bold
buttresses, ornate gablets and pinnacles, is 124
feet high ; and the delicately tapering spire,
crocketed and surmounted by a large illumi-
nated cross of colored gems, is 97 feet, making
the whole height 221 feet. In the upper stage
of the tower is hung the chime of bells, thirteen
in number, exhibited at the Centennial exhibi-
tion in Philadelphia, from the noted McShane
foundry in Baltimore. The spiret of the bap-
tistery is beautiful in design and workmanship,
with its flying buttresses and pierced belfry ;
and from the aisle walls also spring flying but-
tresses to the nave, giving lightness and ele-
gance to the general effect of the exterior,
while the cornices are enriched with gargoyles
and pinnacles. The roof is slated, and finished
at the apex with a bronze crest, bearing a
crown at the junction of the nave and tran-
septs, and a cross over the chancel.
In the interior the work is equally elaborate
and carefully finished. The baptistery is con-
nected with the choir and transept Ijy large
arches, filled with elegant stone tracery, and is
finished with colunms of variegated foreign
HEMPSTEAD.
891
marbles, with capitals of statuary marble ex-
quisitel}' carved, supporting- the gothic groin-
ing of the dome above. Around the walls
runs a wainscoting of statuan,- marble with
panels of vert antique. In the center of the
inlaid marble pavement stands the white mar-
ble font,' adorned with appropriate symbols
and figures, and covered by a rich canopy. The
seats of the bishop and dean as well as the
stalls of the clergy in the ante-chancel are of
mahogany, with elaborately carved canopies ;
and in the sanctuary the stalls and canopies
are of carved stone, as well as the piscina and
credence. On a platform of raised steps stands
tl;e altar, constructed of the purest statuary
marble, with panels presenting in bold relief
the chief events of our Lord's incarnate life,
with their prophetical types in the old dispensa-
tion. The pavement of this portion of the edi-
fice is a rich mosaic of colored marbles. In
the choir and transepts are large niches for
appropriate figures, executed in marble.
The crypt is connected with the choir and
nave by staircases, and contains a large chapel,
with a spacious hall and vestibules of carved
oak filled with panels of stained glass. At the
west end under the choir is another smaller
chapel, and adjoining it the mausoleum, which
is polygonal in form, having 14 bays, wrought
in the most elegant manner in statuary marble,
with clustered columns of the costliest Euro-
pean marbles at each angle of the walls, sup-
porting the vaulting and its pendant crown.
The symmetry and variety of the columnar
treatment, the exquisite finish of the floriated
capitals, corbels and mullions, all of which
are separate studies, the stained glass present-
ing the story of our Lord's passion, death and
resurrection, the graceful statuary and the
massive sarcophagus all combine to render this
mortuary temple a triumph of architectural
genius.
The architect is Henry G. Harrison, of No.
67 William street. New York, and the contract-
or James H. L'Hommedieu, of Great Neck,
Long Island. The stained glass of the crypt is
from the manufactory of Colgate, New York ;
and that of the mausoleum and the cathedral
itself from the celebrated London firms of Hea-
ton, Butler & Bayne, and Clayton & Bell.
When completed the edifice will have cost
$1,000,000.
The organ, built by H. L. Roosevelt, of
New York, ranks among the largest, and in
several respects is one of the most remarkable
in the world. It has four manual kevboards.
and one pedal keyboard, and comprises one
hundred and twenty speaking stops and aljout
right thousand pipes. Though placed in dif-
ferent parts of the cathedral, it is all played
from one key box, situated in the choir, the
lemote portions being connected by cables of
electric wire, over twenty miles of which are
used for this purpose. The main body of the
instrument is in an octagonal chamber built
on the north side of the choir for this purpose.
The next largest portion is at the other end
of the building, in the stage of the tower im-
mediately below the chimes and separated from
the church by a stained glass window, which
is opened and shut from one of the swell pedals
in the choir by means of electricity. A third
l^art is in the chapel under the nave, and can
l)e played there from its own keyboard for
chapel services. A fourth, above the ceiling,
is called the Echo organ, and is played also
from the choir. Two other portions are on
c:ither side of the choir. The chimes are also
played from the solo manual by electricity, or
from a separate keyboard in the tower. The
combination pedals are so arranged that the
organist can change any combination to suit
himself, small knobs being placed above the
drawstops for this purpose. Three steam en-
gines, located in different parts of the building,
are employed to work the bellows. The cost
of the instrument, which was not completed at
the time of writing, was over $60,000, and the
ornately carved mahoganv cases cost about
$30,000 additional.
Relative to the site of the cathedral a writer
in the Sanitarian remarks :
"The setting of this gem of the pure gothic
order of architecture, instead of being in arid
metropolitan streets, is in a locality which
\\-ill yet have a world-wide reputation for all
that is most attractive to the eye and grateful
to refined taste in landscape and architectural
beauty, and all the luxury that wealth can ac-
cumulate in its surroundings. Approached by
any of the various lines of railway, or by the
substantial and well kept carriage roads,
worthy of the appellation sometimes given
them of 'Roman roads,' the cathedral seems
firmly planted upon an elevated plateau, with
gently rolling surface, here and there broken
by valleys sweeping in graceful curves, robed
in green, and enlivened by flowers and crystal
S9:i
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
fountains, shaded with trees luxuriant in
growth and of every variety known to the
chmate, fanned by dehcious breezes, invigorat-
ing and exhilarating to both body and brain,
and elevating to the soul."
We may appropriately close our sketch of
this noble edifice with the following eloquent
passage from the address of the Rev. Dr.
Snively at the laying of the corner stone :
"From this home of reverent worship and
this center of earnest work there shall go con-
stantly the messengers of peace on earth and
good will to men, and in the Master's name and
work shall kindle upon unseen altars the
flame that shall illumine the world. And this
cathedral, which at once enshrines the memory
of the departed and gives untold efficiency to
the missionary capabilities of the church, shall
be both the instrumentality and the prototype
of that sublime spiritual temple erected of
human souls and cemented by a living faith —
a temple which gathers its stones from many
quarries, and hews its timbers from the forests
of many lands, and which, without the noise
of axe or hammer or saw, is rising through
the centuries to its glorious consummation in
Jesus Christ, its chief Head and Corner-stone.
"The cathedral idea is an element in the
organic life of the visible church. It has been
well said that its embryo was in the upper room
in Jerusalem, where solemn conferences were
held while awaiting the coming of the Com-
forter. From then until now the necessity of a
central rendezvous and rallying point for the
church, a common altar and common confer-
ence ground in devotion and debate, has been
profoundly felt, and this necessity has been re-
lieved by the cathedral. We rejoice, then, not
so much over the architectural cathedral,
who.se walls rise and beautify this broad-
bosomed plain ; nor again over the memorial
cathedral, which shall in silent eloquence move
the present and coming ages with the story of
human love sublimed in Christ, honoring and
soul-helping; but chiefly we rejoice over the
great spiritual edifice, whose corner stone we
have laid in the Master's name, whose walls
shall be salvation, and whose gates praise
through a far-reaching gospel future.
"The cathedral, in its whole idea, its theory
and method, is designed to fuse into a holy
harmony the whole evangelical work and de-
votional life of the diocese. To build a ca-
thedral, equip it, and endow it, and then give
it to God for the worship of his people, is
something without precedent in the annals- of
Christian charity. And then how beautiful
the blending of the wifely affection and the
Christly devotion, making a mausoleum for
the loved and lost of earth, and vaulting it
over with a temple for the worship of the King
of heaven."
A fine pictorial view of this cathedral is
given on page 582 of this volume.
The Cathedral School of St. Paul occupies
a sightly position about a quarter of a mile
northwest of the cathedral. It is in style an
adaptation of English gothic, and is massively
constructed of brick, made at the brick works
of the estate, with brown stone and Dorchester
yellow stone for windows, doorways, porches
and other ornamental features.
The edifice consists of an imposing facade,
which with the port-cochere is 290 feet long,
and three wings 170 feet deep, forming a
ground plan something like the letter E ; and
is four stories in height, with additional stories
in the center and at the angles, which have
high mansard roofs. Besides these projections
the exterior is diversified with ornate porches
of carved stone, a clock and bell tower and a
broach spire in copper for the ventilation of
the laboratory. Over the main entrance is in-
scribed: "In Memori.vm Alex. Turney
Stewart," with the name of the school be-
neath, and over the east and west doorways,
"Historia et Scientia," and "Ars et Philoso-
phia."
The interior arrangements have been care-
fully planned, and appear to successfully com-
bine the best features of modern collegiate
edifices, whether in this country or abroad.
The whole building is fire-proof, admirably
ventilated, and supplied with gas and hot and
HEMPSTEAD.
89a
cold water in every room, with abundant bath-
ing facihties, and steam heating apparatus
after the HoHy system. The different stories
are connected by two elevators, and several
commodious stairways, constructed of iron and
stone. The first floor comprises the main hall,
270 feet long and 10 wide, and lateral cor-
ridors 170 feet long, wainscoted with tiles
and marble, and paved with Minton tiles of
beautiful designs ; reception rooms on either
side of the central entrance, connecting with
a library and parlor, each 21 by 50 feet, the
head master's and the matron's apartments,
dormitories in the east wing; the dining
hall in the central wing, 43 by 62 feet, with
serving rooms; and the two assembly
rooms in the west wing for the higher and
lower school, about 50 feet square, with
several recitation and lecture rooms, each 20
by 24 feet. The second story is devoted to
teachers' and pupils' rooms, varying in size
from 9 by 20 feet to 18 by 25 feet; and in the
center, occupying two stories, is the chapel, 42
by 65 feet, which is arranged with longi-
tudinal sittings for some four or five hundred
pupils, and has at the north end a chancel,
organ and sacristy. On the third floor are sit-
uated in front the music rooms, the art gallery,
25 by 62 feet ; the infirmary, 25 by 40 feet, with
apartments for nurses, and in the corridors
a large number of dormitories. The fourth
story contains, besides dormitories, the labora-
tory, 20 by 4-|. feet, studios for art pupils, and
the g3-mnasium, 37 by 62 feet, with dressing
rooms, in the central mansard. In the base-
ment are play rooms in the school wing, the
armory, the laundry and drying rooms, the
steward's room and the servants' hall, the
store rooms, butcher's shop, refrigerators,
dairy, engine room, ovens, kitchen, scullery,
etc. ; and in the east wing the servants' dor-
mitories. Throughout the building the wood
work is of ash, black walnut, oak and mahog-
any, finished in the most elegant and substan-
tial manner, with solid and appropriate furni-
ture specially manufactured for the school
after the most approved designs.
The Right Rev. A. N. Littlejohn, D. D.,
the first Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Long
Island, took up his headquarters at Garden
City as soon as a home was prepared for him
and from there managed the aft'airs of the dio-
cese until his death on August 3, 1901. The
sad event took place at Williamstown, JMassa-
chusetts, where the venerable prelate was
spending a brief vacation from his many and
exacting duties. His sudden death created a
profound sentiment of regret, not alone on
Long Island but throughout the Church of
which he was so long recognized as a leader.
Dr. Littlejohn was born December 13, 1824,
at Florida, Montgomery county. New York.
Entering Union College, Schenectady, when
seventeen years old, he was graduated with
honors in 1845, and, after a course of three
years in theological studies, he was ordained
a Deacon by Bishop William H. De Lancey
in 1848. His first church position was that of
assistant in St. Anne's, Amsterdam, New
York, whence he went not long afterward to
accept a corresponding place in St. Andrew's,
Aleriden, Connecticut.
In 1850 he was called to Springfield, Mas-
sachusetts, as rector of Christ Church, but he
remained there only a year, leaving to take
charge of the important parish of St. Paul's,
in New Haven, Connecticut. It was while in
this church that he began to be well known
throughout this country and Europe, his writ-
ings on ecclesiastical and literary subjects at-
tracting favorable attention generally.
After ten years at New Haven, Dr. Little-
john, who in the meantime had been hon-
ered with the degree of Doctor of Divin-
ity by the University of Pennsylvania, came
to Brooklyn to be rector of the Holy Trin-
ity Church, at Clinton and Montague streets.
Before this he had been offered the Presi-
dency of Geneva College, now called Ho-
bart College, but had declined the position.
He had also been a lecturer on pastoral the-
ology in the Berkeley Divinity School, Middle-
town, Connecticut, for seven years. He was
the second rector of Holy Trinity Church in
894
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Brooklyn, succeeding the Rev. Dr. William H.
Lewis.
During the nine years Dr. Littlejohn stayed
there the debts of the church were paid off,
and the steeple, which had been unbuilt for
lack of funds, was reared to its full height.
Dr. Littlejohn's career was distinguished
by an occurrence that is said to be unique in
the records of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in this country. When the Dioceses of Central
New York and Long Island were formed he
was elected Bishop for both of them, almost
simultaneously. His acceptance of the latter
teritor}- was made on the ground that he was
more familiar with the needs of the diocese
where he had been working than with those
of the one up the State. He was consecrated
on January 27, i86g, Bishop Henry C. Potter
officiating, with the assistance of eight other
Bishops.
In 1874 Bishop Littlejohn was appointed
to take charge of churches established in Eu-
rope by the Protestant Episcopalians of Amer-
ica, and he consecrated the Church of St.
Paul's-Within-the- Walls, in Rome, and opened
the American Church in Paris. Later, how-
ever, he was forced to transfer his foreign
duties to the Bishop of North Carolina, church
affairs in Long Island demanding his entire at-
tention.
The University of Cambridge, England,
made Bishop Littlejohn a Doctor of Laws in
1880, and he received the degree of Doctor
of Civil Laws from the University of the
South, at Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1897. From
the time of his residence in New Haven he
continued to write regularly. Among his pub-
lished works are "The Philosophy of Re-
ligion," "The Metaphysics of Cousin," "The
Life and Writings of Coleridge," "The Poetry
of George Hefbert," "The Bible and Com-
mon Sense," "The Outwardness of Popular
Religion," "Human Progress," "The Alt-
Catholic Movement," "Condones ad Clerum,"
"Stephen's Lectures on the History of
France," "Roger's Eclipse of Faith," and "The
Christian Ministry at the Close of the Nine-
teenth Centurv."
In February, 1899, services commemora-
tive of the Bishop's thirty years of service were
held in the Cathedral of the Incarnation. The
last public service of unusal importance that
Bishop Littlejohn attended was that which
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the or-
ganization of the Church Charity Foundation,
in which he had always been interested. It was
noticeable at this service that he was very
feeble, and since then there has been frequent
talk of his having a coadjutor. He persistent-
ly refused this offer, even taking occasion to
say at a meeting of the clergymen and lay-
men of the diocese that he was well able to
take care of the affairs of the diocese.
Dr. Littlejohn was a strict Churchman, and
was heard to express himself emphatically
more than once about certain innovations in
the worship of his church that he regarded as
altogether wrong. Although his reputation
as a writer and scholar was the greater, he
achieved no small note as an orator, and there
were those who ranked him among the best
pulpit preachers.
Eveii with all its ailvantagcs, the populatifjn
of (Jarden City has crept up but slowly. In
1 89 1 it had something like 600, in 1896 it had
increased to 700, in 1900 it had added about
tifty more, and there it remains. But time is
on its side and it will undoubtedly grow
in importance and influence as time speeds
on. It is now recognized as a splendid
center of church and education work ; and the
beauty of its streets and of its situation is
yearly becoming more widely known : its
hotel has even now become a resort and
in many respects it is the pride of Nassau
county. Mrs. Stewart has been lying at rest
in the crypt for several years : it is presumed
that the body of her husband is there too,
although nothing on that point is known. The
Stewart millions have been dissipated, some
of them in a fashion that would have roused
his indignation. But the haste which his widow
showed in erecting this great architectural pile
and in so lavishly providing endowments have
been amply justified by the story of the dispo-
HEMPSTEAD.
895
sal of these millions, and prove that her native
shrewdness had almost ■ forecasted the end of
it all. So Garden City's cathedral has become
the merchant's enduring monument, and still
keeps by its healthful agencies part at least
of his own great fortune engaged in useful
and beneficent work.
There has been talk, more or less vague,
for some time of a municipal union between
Hempstead village and Garden City, and while
the time for it seems hardly ripe, there appears
no reason to doubt its taking place ultimately
unless the Greater New York takes another
leap and adds Nassau county to its domain.
Even that has been talked about, and certainly
as unlikely things have happened in the history
of the big city.
Rockville Center, which now claims a. pop-
ulation of some 2,500, was settled mainly in
1854, but its Methodist Church has an exist-
ence dating back to 1790, when a small hamlet
sprang up around it. The first church was
torn down in 18 17 and a new edifice was built
on its site, which served until 1874, when the
present structure was erected. As usual, the
first church was erected as a meeting-house
for the use of any body of worshipers, and its
surrounding cemetery was for the reception
of the fathers of the little hamlet as one by
one they fell into that sleep which knows no
waking. But after a while it appears that
there were no residents of the vicinity who
laelonged to other than the Methodist body,
and so they seem to have entered into full pos-
session. In 1870 the Methodist Episcopal
Church of St. Mark erected a temporary
church, which in the following year gave way
to the now existing building. Rockville Cen-
ter remains a residential village, its high school
is a most attractive building, and as a spot for
home building it possesses many peculiar at-
tractions.
As much may be said of Pearsalls. which
also dates practically from the middle of last
century, but without any old church to bind
it to the remote past. From a religious point
of view Pearsalls may be regarded as the sister
of Rockville Center, for the religious work and
influence of the one is always shared by the
other. In 1841 the old Methodist Church
at Rockville helped to found a church at Pear-
salls, and St. James' Church at the last named
was the result of a division of the work at St.
Mark's. A school-house was one of the first
buildings erected' at Pearsalls after it was laid
out, and the construction of the water-works
' for Brooklyn made it a busy place in 1857.
After that commotion passed it assumed its
proper place as a residential point, which it has
since retained. Its present population is esti-
mated at 1,400.
Freeport, one of the centers of the oyster
industry; New Bridge, the happy hunting
grounds of the Merrick Indians and possessing
some weird local traditions of Revolutionary
events; Seaford, Bellmore, Valley Stream,
Ridgewood, Baldwin's, Norwood, are all pleas-
ant villages devoted to summer visitors, or
oystering, or both. Some of them are beauti-
fully located, and in all of them the village
church is generally the most notictable feature
of the landscape.
One of the most lovely of these smaller
villages is Merrick, or Meric, Moroke, or
Merihoke, as the name has been variously
spelled, and which thus keeps alive the name
of the old Indian tribe which formerly owned
its land. The history of the town has recently
been written by Mr. Charles N. Kent, and
from his monograph we gather many details
of much interest not only regarding the village
itself, but of this section of Long Island.
The Carman family early sent representa-
tives to Merrick from the settlement on Hemp-
stead Plains. To John Carman was born,
January 9, 1645, the first white child in the
settlement. He was christened Caleb. The
Carmans and Smiths intermarried, and appear
to have held in common land westward from
the eastern line of what is now the property
of Mr. H. H. Cammann, on Merrick avenue.
There is also evidence that these two families
pre-empted the entire territory "from Merrick
896
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
river east to Cove Spring Landing, ?\Ierrick
Cove, and from the baj' north to Hempstead
Plains."
John Rock Smith settled west of the pres-
ent "lakes on either side of Merrick road — his
house on the north and barn on the south side.
Jonathan Smith Black laid out his farm east
of Merrick path, which afterward became the
Hempstead turnpike; and Jonathan Smith
Rock settled to the west, there being between
them a wedge of land known as the Hewlett
farm. It is reported that this wedge was
contributed equally by the two Smiths to in- '
duce the Hewletts to settle thereon.
Richard Valentine had land, undescribed,
in ^Merrick as early as 1657. He was a town
marshal and a man of some parts.
One of the first houses was built by Jona-
than Rock Smith. It is still in existence, and
stands back from the present residence of Mrs.
Elijah Smith. The house of ;\Ir. ^Villiam E.
Hewlett was erected at about the same time.
From carefully preserved records now in
the poisession of Mr. George T. Hewlett and
Mr. George M. Hewlett it appears that the
first of that family to reach America was one
of the judges who passed sentence of death
upon King Charles (1648). The name in the
King's death warrant is differently spelled,
and it is supposed to have been purposely
changed afterward to avoid pursuit and de-
tection. The first Hewlett settlement (about
1649) was on Riker's Island, near Hell Gate;
the house was destroyed by Indians, although
the family being warned, escaped, and we ne.xt
hear of them in Hempstead, whither they prob-
ably migrated. There were then three broth-
ers, George, John and Lewis, and one sister.
George and John both died unmarried, the
former at Hempstead, the latter at Cow Neck.
Of the others there is no record. The first
George Hewlett to come to Merrick settled
"between Whale Neck and New Bridge road,"
including what is now known as Cedar Swamp.
There is also record of an early Hewlett set-
tlement upon the farm of Mr. George M.
Hewlett, which has always remained in the
family. The original house has been incor-
porated in the more modern residence occu-
pied at the oresent time. An old clothes press
brought from England is still in its garret,
as well as portraits of Colonel Hewlett and his
wife. The people were largely Tories in the
early period of our struggle for independence.
Washington wrote to the Committee of Safety
( 1776) : "The inhabitants of L. I. have dis-
covered an apparent inclination to lend a help-
ing hand to subjugate their fellow citizens,"
and Jonathan Sturges writes to Governor
Trumbull : "Long Island has the greatest
proportion of Tories of any part of this col-
ony." The women, too, assumed a royal atti-
tude, and went even to greater lengths to sig-
nify their devotion to the crown. We may be
pardoned, perhaps, for copying the following
statement from an old record : "A young
woman in our town [Hempstead] formed an
intimacy with a Highlander in the British
army. When the British were about to evac-
uate the island she was missing. The dis-
tressed father expressed his apprehensions to
the commanding officer that his daughter had
eloped, and was now in the company of her
lover. Forthwith the men were drawn up, and
the father walked along the ranks, wherein
he discovered his daughter, in Highland uni-
form, and in the guise of a soldier, by the
whiteness of the skin where the garter is
usually tied." The Hewletts were among the
leaders of the Royalist party, and at times were
in imminent danger, but finally a declaration
of submission to the Continental Congress was
drawn up, and among its signers were John
Carman, John Smith Rock, William Smith
Black, Benjamin Hewlett. Benjamin Hewlett
(2d), Joseph Hewlett, George Hewlett and
John Hewlett. The Hewlett coat of arms rep-
resents two owls upon a shield, with the mot-
toes : "To stake one's life for the truth,"
and "By courage, not ay craft." The name
was sometimes spelt Hulit, and also "Owlett,"
the latter probably derived from the Yorkshire
dialect and the representative owls. In the
last generation of our first George Hewlett's
descendants there were twelve brothers and
sisters. Of these Mr. George T. Hewlett and
Mrs. Mary Willetts are now (1900) the sole
survivors.
As an illustration of the deserved pros-
perity and enterprise which have ever char-
acterized the Hewletts the following, copied
from an old newspaper dated February 28,
1800, will serve as an example: "The curious
are invited to a sight of one of the most as-
tonishing productions in nature, a large ox,
raised by Mr. George Hewlett. He is to be
seen at Mrs. Delouf's Flymarket. Admittance,
one shilling. To give an idea of this o.x, it
need only be mentioned that he is nineteen
hands high, seventeen and a half feet in length.
HEMPSTEAD.
anil nim- feet in girth, forming a tremendous
mass of animation. Xot to view him as he
now stands argues that want of curiosity
which tends to enlarge the mind." And again,
in 1831, we read: "George Hewlett, of ;\[er-
rick. has a cornstalk on which grew thirteen
perfect ears."
The old Merrick Path, beginning near the
present Hempstead turnpike and passing east
of the hpuse of Mr. Benjamin Seaman, in a
northerly direction to the plains, probably first
did duty as a road in this part of the new
township. It is said that one with sharp eyes
can still discern its outlines. It was simply
"brushed out," and indicated more distinctly
by "blazed trees." This path later on was
known as the "Hempstead Road," and then as
the turnpike.
The Merrick Road, or as sometimes desig-
nated, the great south road, came next in
order. It was built in sections, not continu-
ously; and not until about 1850 was it com-
pleted between ^lerrick and Freeport. Before
that time its local terminus in Merrick was
west of Merrick river, where a connection was
made with the southerly Freeport road, s(iutli-
west to the old mills and again in a northerly
direction into Freeport village.
At about this time (1850) a company was
organized for the construction of the South
Oyster Bay Turnpike, including the ]\Ierrick
Road from Babylon to the old Hempstead
Turnpike in ^lerrick, and thence north to
Hempstead Plains. The work seems to have
been accomplished with but little delay and re-
sulted in pretty general satisfaction to all but
stockholders. The original road in Alerrick
ran within twenty feet of the front door of
Mr. John J. Hewlett's house, now occupied
by his son, ]\Ir. William E. Hewlett, \\lien
the Commissioners reached that point in laying
out the new turnpike, to obviate an unnatural
curve the course was laid further south, as
the road now runs. To this the senior Hew-
lett strenuously objected, urging as a suf-
ficient reason therefor that it would "cut him
off" and leave his house too far away from
the travelled thoroughfare. A still more po-
tential argument on his part was a refusal to
take additional stock in the company if the
change was insisted upon. This might have
brought the company to terms had there not
been — unfortunately for Mr. Hewlett — an-
other householder further west who insisted
with equal pertinacity that the southerly course
should be confirmed, in order that he might
thus secure a "larger door yard," and agree-
ing in consideration therefor to take and pay
for more stock than would otherwise be pur-
chased by Mr. Hewlett. Such diplomacy was
irresistible and the road was changed accord-
ingly.
There were regular lines of stages on the
new turnpike from Babylon to Hempstead — -
thence to Jamaica and Brooklyn. South Oys-
ter Bay had a postoflicc. and one was soon
after established for jMerrick in the old hotel
and store combined on the Hempstead Turn-
pike north of the present railroad crossing.
The building was destroyed by fire in 1896.
The Merrick postoffice was a general point
for distribution, and the nearest station for
people residing in Freeport.
To the west of Mr. Cammann's present
residence, and extending from the road in a
northerly direction, was a high board fence
erected to screen from view objectionable farm
buildings further on. In course of time, how-
ever, the southerly boards of this fence were
cut oft at a reasonable height so that stages
might the more easily be seen from the house
as they passed to and fro upon the Merrick
Road.
The Plank Road to Jamaica was built about
1854. It commenced at the junction of Hemp-
stead Turnpike with the Merrick Road and ex-
tended over the latter in a westerly course,
bridging Freeport swamps, and furnishing a
direct thoroughfare between that village and-
Merrick. The new road was not a profitable
investment, and was soon acquired by the town.
Merrick avenue, extending from the Bay
north to the railroad and thence to and beyond
the camp grounds, is perhaps as fine a road
with its surroundings as can lie found on Long
Island. It is, the greater part, beautifully
shaded, and has a macadani fnundation. Pre-
vious to 1850, h(i\\ i,\er, it was but a cow path,,
more particularK (lesii.;nated as "Whale Neck
Road," from the stranding of a whale at
Whale Xeck Point, which whale was later
subdivided and transferred in carts over the
cow path to settlements further north. A pair
of bars then closed Merrick avenue to the pub-
lic at its junction with the Merrick Road. The
necessity for making the path a highway soon
became apparent, and it was accordingly set
apart for that purpose and reconstructed.
Freight from the Merrick dock, at the foot
of this avenue, before the days of a railroad.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was then received from vessels and conveyed
in wagons to all parts of tlie surrounding-
country. Indeed, at this period, nearly all
freight to and from Hempstead and New York
was so transferred. The good ship "Native
of America," commanded by Captain Thomas
Raynor, made regular trips between the two
ports.
To go back to an earlier date, we find
what might now be called private roads, but
laid out by Commissioners, and entered in the
town records. The following is a copy of one
of these entries :
"Articles of agreement made by the own-
ers of a certain tract of Meadow Lands Lying
in the Township of Hempstead on Little Mer-
rick is as follows: Whereas, we the sub-
scribers whose names are hereunto Written,
Do agree for Ourselves, our heirs and assigns
forever that we will take a Road that the
Commissioners Shall Lay out. One Rod
Wide In Leu of all other Rights or Priviledge
that we Heretofore have had, to Pass to and
From our Meadow, For the Use of Carting
the Hay Cut on our Respective Meadows, Said
Road to Begin at Duryea's Bars, Running as
the Path Now Runs to the Bars Near Jacob
Smith's and Timothy Titus' House, and from
thence To the Island as the Cross Way Now
Is. One Rod Wide Easterwardly from the
Ditch on the West Side of Said Crossway. The
Priviledges above written are no Other than
the Priviledges we had In the Old Road which
we have given for the New One. In witness
Whereof We set our Hands, Nov. 9, 1809."
Agriculture naturally occupied the early
attention of our colonists and has remained a
principal occupation. Records show enormous
crops gathered from productive soil, good
prices in return for the same, and a gradual
increase in the comforts and surroundings of
the farmer. Nevertheless, we find him com-
plaining of exhorbitant taxes, illegal assess-
ments, and protesting to the Colonial (jOv-
ernor his inability to pay them. It is on record
that this contention came to naught, but once
resulted in an edict from Governor Lovelace
to "lay such taxes upon them in future as
may not give them liberty to entertain any
other thoughts, but how they shall discharge
them." This was in 1668.
The Merrick River was then a stream of
some importance and for years a source of
great value within the hamlet. LIpon its banks
were no less than four paper mills. The first,
about a quarter of a mile north of the present
railroad track, was owned by Gilson Willis ;
Joseph Smart had another, still further north ;
the next belonged to Isaac Willis, and the last
to F. S. Molineaux, but is now transformed
into a grist mill. They all did a thriving busi-
ness for years, and furnished a good market
for all straw farmers could bring to them.
Rags came from New York and were returned
in the form of white paper, by a regular line
of packets ; leaving a dock below the present
residence of Mr. Gilbert Smith. There was
every evidence of a long continued prosperity
in this branch of manufacture, when that
which has proved so destructive to the Eastern
End of Long Island — the "Brooklyn Water
Works Company" — by authority from the leg-
islature reached out into the township, like the
octopus sucking through its tentacles, water
from streams and springs to its reservoirs and
conduits, until the streams ran dry, the mills
were closed, and so the industry came to an
end. The several fulling mills which had long
done a thriving business were also obliged to
close for the same reason.
"Flotsam" and "Jetsam" were terms well
known and understood. A copy of one re-
corded document bearing upon goods of this
nature appears of sufficient interest to war-
rant its repetition :
"In March, 1814, the Privateer Mars ware
Drove on Shore near the New Inlet, by the
British Cruisers, and set on fire by them. Wc,
the Subscribers, saved Sum property 'from
her. Jacob S. Jackson and Thomas Treadwell
made an agreement with the ajent and part
owner, Peter H. Schenck to Save the property
from her to the Halves and Deliver said prop-
erty when saved to New York to said Schenck
and to have the one hafif of the neate proceeds
for saving the same. And the above said
property or part of it Whare Delivered to Mr.
Schenck at New York by James Bedell, which
said Schenck refused to make a settlement for.
Now we the subscribers do agree that the sum
of money that ware lodged in the hands of
Patrick Mott should go towards bringing a
sute against Mr. Schenck, and if not a suf-
ficient sum to carry on the sute, ,we the Sub-
scribers agree to pay all charges that may a
Crew in carrying on said Sute.
"February the 14th, 1816."
As a means for promoting industries, build-
ing churches, establishing schools and divers
other public works, the lottery was frequently
HEMPSTEAD.
resorted to and was pretty generally in vogue.
In 1763 the Reverend Samuel Seabury re-
corded in his dairy : "The ticket No. 5866 in
the Light House, drew in my favor, by the
blessing of God, £500, for which I now record
to my posterity my thanks, and praise to Al-
mighty God, the Giver of all good gifts.
Amen."
"There is abundant evidence," says Prime,
"that the first settlers of all these towns, from
East to West, considered the establishment of
schools as second in importance to nothing
but the institutions of the gospel, and many of
them were as careful to bring their school mas-
ters as their ministers with them." Flint re-
cords that schools must have been opened im-
mediately after the colonists settled in Hemp-
stead. As early as 1671 we find an order,
signed by Governor Lovelace, to the over-
seers of Hempstead commanding them to
"cause speedy payment to be made to Richard
Charlton, who kept a school ; otherwise he
will have good remedy against you at Law."
In 187 1 there was a school on Cow Neck,
taught by George Sheresby.
The first school house in Merrick was built
early in the last century. It was of rough
boards and timbers hewn from logs — from its
size evidently not intended for a large number
of pupils. The remnants of this building may
still be seen in rear of Mr. William E. Hew-
lett's residence, where until fallen into decay
they did duty for many years as a chicken
house. The old boards and logs bear indica-
tions that the boys then, as well as now, had
jack knives and knew how to use them ;
they record, cut deep in the wood, initials of
many a girl and boy, long since passed away,
and of whom there is probably no other me-
morial extant.
The second school house, on the Merrick
Road, east of Mr. Hewlett's, was erected in
1844, and used until the modern building
further east was completed in 1892. In this
second edifice many of the present residents
of Merrick received their education ; and for
years this school produced the best scholars
and gave the most thorough instruction of
any on Long Island. The early teacher lived
on the premises, sleeping over the school
room, and cooking his frugal meals upon the
rough apology of a box stove. It is said
of one that his chief nutriment was derived
from buckwheat cakes in their season, and
other kinds of cakes during the rest of the
year. An "old bov" remembers that this teach-
er was famous for his skill in cooking, "and
when the process was about to commence the
scholars gathered around to watch him flop
the cakes on top of the hot iron."
"In Merrick," writes Thompson, "the
Methodists have a meeting house, erected in
1830, and another east in 1840." This first
meeting house referred to has been identified
as one which stood near Hempstead Turnpike
in Freeport, about one mile north of the Mer-
rick Road : it was formerly known as the Sand
Hill Church. The grave yard, with its head
stones, is yet to be seen in the still kept in-
closure where the) building formerly stood.
The edifice east, to which Thompson refers,
was probably the Merrick school house, where
services were occasionally held and a regular
Sunday-school maintained.
The first building erected within Merrick
precincts for religious services was undoubt-
edly the Union Chapel, commenced in the fall
of 1875, completed in the summer of 1876, and
dedicated Sunday, August 27th, of that year,
by Methodist Elder Graves.
The famous Merrick camp meeting at-
tracts hundreds of Methodists in August every
year. It was established about a quarter of a
century ago, and is now held on a tract of
ninety acres of land, oiT Merrick avenue, about
a mile from the railroad station. An audi-
torium, capable . of seating 1,500 persons,
stands in the center of the grounds and around
it are grouped some sixty cottages.
Probably the best known portion of Hemp-
stead, the portion which attracts the most vis-
itors every year and has done so now for near-
ly half a century, is the great sand bar which
practically stretches along the entire south
front of Long Island, forming a succession of
inland seas — Hempstead Bay, Jamaica Bay,
South Bay — and -which is known by many
names. The part included in Hempstead
township, Long Beach, virtually a continua-
tion of Rockawav licach, l)ecanie famous in
1880 for the mammoth summer hotel which
was then opened for guests. It was a huge
structure, capable of entertaining 5,000 guests
at one time. Far Rockaway, now incorporated
in the Greater New York, was purchased from
the Indian proprietors in 1676 by a pioneer
000
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAxND.
named Cornwell, and remained for many years
in possession of his descendants. Its Marine
Pavilion was long a popular resting place by
the sea, and later came more elaborate struc-
tures. For the past twenty years Far Rock-
away has had a settled community and many
really beautiful villas adorn its streets. It does
not now attract such throngs of visitors as it
formerly did, but it cannot be said that those
who have built their summer homes there
much regret its loss of popularitv in that re-
spect.
From an interesting and valuable mono-
graph on the "History of the Rockaways," by
Mr. William Soper Pettit, we quote the follow-
ing interesting details concerning Rockaway
and its environs :
Over half a century ago, this part of Long
Island was a fashionable resort, as is shown by
the following ext"acts from the New York
Mirror of 1833: "'For a number of years the
Rockaway beach has attracted numbers of our
townsmen with their families to that healthful
and agreeable part of Long Island. The at-
mosphere there is fresh, cool and delightful ;
invalids soon find themselves invigorated by
the constant sea breeze ; and the tired den-
izen of the town, whose scorching pavements
have long blistered his feet, and whose hetero-
geneous and fanciful odors from gutters, sew-
ers, piles of tilth, dust and smoke, have regaled
his olfactory organ, finds a plunge or two in
the Atlantic a truly delicious luxury. They
have a real pleasure in perspective, who have
never ridden down to that broad, white, end-
less, magnificent beach, where the heavy swell
of the ocean rolls so superbly to the snowy and
silvery sand. One after another forever the
waves come heaving, swelling, breaking, tum-
bling, flashing, foaming and roaring in. Hither
the stranger delights to resort when the fervor
of the long summer day begins to abate. For
miles and miles around the eye wanders over
the dead level. Fearless of interruption, he
loves to feel the grateful, wet, velvet sand
crushed beneath his feet as he- wanders into
the foaming tide, for the next billow. Soon it
comes ; he takes his place so as to stand exactly
within its green transparent curve, when it lifts
its head just in the act of breaking. The
emerald wall rises suddenly before him, and,
with a skillful spring, he plunges headlong into
the liquid mass, which bursts above him with
stately and measured sweep, while, with a few
well timed strokes, or, with an attitude braced
with more than ordinary care, he stems the
swift current of the returning flood, rejoicing
in this exercise of his amphibious abilities, till
some crab, perhaps as large as his thumb nail,
seizes him by the foot, as if the ocean were not
big enough for them both, and warns him that
he is but a timid intruder in the empire of Nep-
tune."
In 1841, Howe in his history says: "Far
Rockaway, aliout 29 miles from New York,
(by the old road) has grown into importance
as a fashionable watering place. The Marine
Pavilion, a splendid hotel, was erected here in
1834, near the beach, 76 rods from the ocean."
From the foregoing extracts it will be seen
that the Rockaways have long been known and
appreciated by the citizens of New York.
Mention has been made of the "Marine
Pavilion." This was a hostelry of note in its
day ; it stood near the Cheever mansion in
Wave Crest. In speaking of this hotel
Thompson says: "It is a large and splendid
edifice standing upon the margin of the At-
lantic, and has hitherto been kept in a style not
excelled by any hotel in the Union. The main
luiilding is two hunilred and thirty feet front,
with wings, one of which is seventv-five, and
the other forty-five feet long. The peristyles
are of the ionic order, the piazza being two
hundred and thirt}-hve feet in length by twenty
in width. The dining room is eighty feet long,
and the drawing room fifty." The sleeping
apartments numbered one hundred sixty. It
was erected 1>y an association of gentlemen of
the cit\- of Xew York, and the building cost
fortv-thrce thousand dollars.
This t;rand liotcl was destroyed by fire on
Jinic j^ili, iS(;j ; not a vestige of it remains.
"It was uKuK: memorable by its old-time hos-
pitalil) ami the distinguished persons who
patronized it, am<ing whom were conspicuous,
Longfellow, X. P. \\'illis, Washington Irving,
Trumbull the artist, and General George P.
Morris," and Herbert, who it is believed in-
dited from its porch the well known lines :
On Long Island's sea-girt shore
Many an hour I've whiled away,
Listening to the breakers' roar
That washed the beach at Rockaway.
Transfixed I've stood while Nature's lyre.
In one harmonious concert broke.
And catching its Promethean fire
M)' imnost soul to rapture woke.
HEMPSTEAD.
901
Oh, how delightful 'tis to stroll
\Vhere murmering winds and waters meet,
IMarking the billows as they roll
And break resistless at yimr feet!
To watch young Iris as she dips
Her mantle in the sparkling dew.
And, chased by Sol, away she trips
O'er the horizon's quivering blue, —
To hear the startling night winds sigh.
As dreamy twilight lulls to sleep.
While the pale moon reflects from high
Her image in the mighty deep :
]\Iajestic scene where Nature dwells,
Profound in everlasting love,
^^'hile her unmeasured music swells
The vaulted firmament above.
These verses were put to music, and were
popular for many years ; "they are supposed
to have been inspired by the measured rhythm
of the waves breaking against the magnificent
jutting headland which is Rockaway's pride."
Other well known personages have had
their summer homes in this section : there
were the Franklins, of l^hiladelphia; the Blenn-
erhassets, of Blennerhasset, on the Mississippi ;
the Livingstons, of Livingston ]\Ianor; the
Van Rensselaers, descendants of the famous
patroon ; Admiral Wilkes ; the Bleeckers, the
Hoffmans, the Aspinwalls, and the famous
Mme. Jumel, widow of Aaron Burr.
At this early period no railroad extended
to Rockaway ; it was not until 1832 that the
Long Island Railroad Company was chartered
to run from Brooklyn to Jamaica. All our
visitors came in carriages and stage coaches,
driven by way of Hempstead. Before the bar
was formed opposite Far Rockaway, the
beach at low tide stretched out many rods and
was known as The Strand. During the height
of the season it was customary to see the white
sand dotted with portable tents, under whose
shelter were groups of gay young folk from
the city and adjoining towns. Bathing was
then carried on in a peculiar fashion. The
bath houses were on wheels and driven di-
rectly into the surf. The bath chair was also
in vogue. The scene resembled that of Brigh-
ton, in England.
Within the last half of the nineteenth cen-
tury the towns known as Lawrence, Cedar-
hurst, Arverne, and Edgemere have sprung
into existence and have received their names
from various sources. Lawrence was named
in honor of its founder, Mr. John Lawrence,
brother of Messrs. Newbold and Alfred Law-
rence. This place was recently incorporated
and now includes territory formerly within the
bounds of Cedarhurst. With its peaceful in-
habitants, its scenic landscape, and its clean,
shaded and well sprinkled streets, Lawrence
is indeed a model village. The ideal name
Cedarhurst was given to that section front-
ing the Hempstead Bay, where primeval pine
and cedar abound. Here ultra-fashionable
colonists have erected handsome summer resi-
dences. Cedarhurst is also the home of the
Rockaway Hunt Club, an organization that
has done much to popularize polo with society
people.
Arverne was founded in 1880 by Reming-
ton Vernon, who coined the name Arverne,
from R. Vernon. Within five years the sand
hills of this section were converted into a
pretty village.
West of Wave Crest is Edgemere, a fash-
ionable summer resort that has recently
come into prominence through the construc-
tion of the magnificent hotel of that name,
which is directly on the ocean, at the head of
the Inlet, with its rear to the bay. "The Edge-
mere," in its unique position, is one of the
most aristocratic hotels on the Atlantic Coast.
It enjoys to-day the reputation the "Marine
Pavilion" had a half century ago.
Mr. Lancaster's original idea was to have
a "New Venice" at this place, but the uncon-
trollable deep convinced " him that this plan
was not feasible.
Until a recent period the development of
this part of the beach was very slow, but now
it gives promise of becoming the most pictur-
esque section of all "The Rockaways." The
arrangement of the streets and the disposition
of the houses are worthy of favorable com-
ment.
Far Rockaway, called "Far" in contradis-
tinction to "Near" Rockaway, measuring from
the town seat, Hempstead, is said to be the
brightest gem in the diadem of Imperial Man-
hattan. It is the City by the Sea, which has
not been deprived of its rural features. Its
railroad facilities and other modern advan-
tages mav, without hesitation, be compared
widi those of any section of our greater city.
The streets in and about Far Rockaway
recommend themselves; they are well graded
and are either brick or macadamized; all are
shaded with maple or other trees. The drives
through the adjacent country are unsurpassed.
Beautiful scenery and interesting sights
902
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
abound. The educational facilities of Far
Rockaway are exceptionally good. The high
school and grammar school, with their efficient
corps of teachers, stand second to none in
educational advantages. The attractive, con-
venient and imposing high school iDuilding was
erected in 1894. Since that time the school
has grown to a surprising extent. In 1896 it
was necessary to add two wings on the north
and south ends, thus nearly doubling the size
of the original building. In 1900 a well
equipped gymnasium was added, together with
a new library of several hundred volumes.
During the early part of last year the Board
of Education set up a physical laboratory and
business department, which is a new and ad-
mirable feature of public school education.
West of Far Rockaway lies beautiful Ja-
maica Bay, on the shores of which nestle many
unique and handsome cottages.
The Bayswater Yacht Club, incorporated
in 1892, at the foot of Bayswater avenue, lies
situated some four hundred feet from the
shore, surrounded by water. This is the meet-
ing place for those who are fond of yachting
and social pleasures. On its roll of member-
ship are to be found the names of Judge Ed-
mund J. Healy. John M. Frucks, S. B. Alt-
hause, Thos. Henderson, ^^'atkin W. Jones,
Ed.gar Mott, Richard Mott, F. L. Richmond,
Daniel Whitford, John Renehan, John Dohse,
David N. Carvalho, Chas. E. Pretz, Rev. Henry
Mesier. E. .\. Brinkerhoff, Sr, ; Fredk. Haw-
ley, Hubert Cillis, John Guilfoyle. John \V.
F. Nichols, P. F. (iriffin, Frank AI. Cronise,
Franklin B. Lord, Louis J. Bossert, John F.
Schumann. Edward Roche, .\ndrew McTigue,
E. N. Dickerson, Hermann Miller, Alalcolm
R. Lawrence, Harold Werner, John N. Moser,
John W. Masurv, H. G. Hevson, F. J. Henev,
S. N. Decker, C. R. Betts, A. C. Havne's,
J. A. North, D. L. Starks, Wm. J. Buck-
ley, R. W. Buckley, Otto L. Roche, Andrew
L. Sullivan, Frank Jenkins, Philip R, Sim-
monds, Houghton Wheeler, James Lynch,
Henry Frielman, and others.
The property designated as Wave Crest
(so named by Mr. John H. Cheever ) on the
west boundary of Far Rockaway, includes the
land formerly owned by the ^Marine Pavilion
Association, and what was known as the Clark
estate. Until a recent date the grounds were
enclosed as a private park, with lodges at the
entrances.
To-day the gates of Wave Crest are open
to the public and it is the delight of all to drive
through this picturesque park, with its mean-
dering roads and beautiful lake. Among the
residents are: Messrs. A. W. Nicholson, E.
A. Brinkerhoflf, John Cowdin, Murray, Ben-
jamin F. Einstein, I. A. Bach, M. Foster,
Louis -Auerbach, Lowenstein and A. J. Bach,
Mrs. E. N. Dickson and Mrs. J. Cheever.
Perhaps before closing this sketch it would
be appropriate to tell what finally became of
the Rockaway tribe of Indians. Alas! They
met the same sad fate as the Mohicans.
To the whites these aborigines were just,
generous, and hospitable, and less warlike
than many other tribes of North America.
Their admirable qualities were esteemed by
our Quaker forefathers, and from the time of
the treaty of 1657 there never was an actual
breach of friendship between the English and
the Rockaway Indians.
After the natives sold their property at
Far Rockaway, for a few cents an acre, they
moved eastward to Cedarhurst and, in that
vicinity, lived for nearly a century. In the
woods near the old turnpike road, at Cedar-
hurst, lived and died the last of the Rocka-
way sachems, Culluloo Telawana, who, there is
every reason to believe, was a lineal descend-
ant of Tack-pou-sha. Mr. Abraham Hewlett,
who, in his boyhood, was personally acquaint-
ed with this chief, erected a monument to his
memory at Cedarhurst, L. I., opposite the
Hewlett homestead. About 1819 the trilje left
Cedarhurst in a body and joined their breth-
ren on Bamum's Island at Near Rockaway,
(now East Rockaway) and there, with the aid
of the White Man's fire-water, one by one,
went to the happy hunting grounds.
For them — the children of Tack-pou-sha — ■
the beautiful waters laugh no more, for the
pale-faces are masters of the earth, and the
time of the red men has not \et come again.
CHAPTER LXI.
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
S has been said, the present townsliip
i)f Xorth Hempstead was taken from
1784. It lies upon Long Island Snund
the original Hempstead township in
between Hempstead Harbor and Little Neck
Bay, while to the south it extends to the
center of Hempstead Plains. It was com-
puted to contain 34,470 acres. A range
of hills extend cast and west near the cen-
ter, and from them spurs extend to the
Sound, giving to the northern part of the
township a peculiarly hilly character. The
coast line is rocky and rugged and is indented
with several deep and irregular bays — Hemp-
stead Harbor, Manhasset Bay, and with sev-
eral "points," Hewlett's Sands' Baker's —
while immediately ofif the coast are a great
number of half sunken rocks — such as the Ex-
ecution Rock; and the whole coast line, as
may readlv be conceived, is dangerous to navi-
gation. The soil, as a general rule, is light
and sandy, Init in the northern sectiun is a
stretch of loam which is markedly adapted
for farming purposes. Harbor Hill is the
highest point on Long Island — 380 feet above
tide water.
While, however, the coast line is dangerous
it is very beautiful, sometimes beautiful even
in its ruggedness and desolation, sometimes in
its stretches of sand, its coves and eddys, and
many charming villas have been erected in
these open places, notably on Great Neck. The
light house on Sands' Point, erected first in
1809, caused that <]<i>\ to become quite a resort
up to ali'uit tlif niiildle of the century, and
quite a nunilicr ni private residences sprung
up in its vicinity. Communication with New
York bv rail is ample, while from Roslyn,
904
HISTORY -OF LONG ISLAND.
Glen Cove, Sea Cliff ami other places there is
abundant facilities for water communication
with the great city.
The earliest settlement of which we have
record was in 1640, when a part)' of advent-
urers from Lynn, ^Massachusetts, armed with
a permit from Lord Stirling's agent, landed
on the west side of Cow Neck, tore down the
arms of the Netherlands, which they saw
nailed to a tree so that all the world might
know their "High Mightinesses" held sway
there, and carved a fool's face on the tree in-
stead. Then they took possession of the land,
erected dwellings and entered into negotia-
tions with the Indians for the sale of a gen-
ernu< slice nf ihe soil. The aborigines, how-
ever, Lanu il iiii'i irmatii n of these wayward do-
ings In < li.Nirmir Kicft, and the blood of that
peppery little man boiled with indignation at
the recital. The settlement, unauthorized as
it was, might be forgiven and arranged, but the
insult to the arms of the Fatherland could not
be condoned. So he sent twenty-five picked
soldiers to Cow r>ay. who made short work
with the settlers. They took most of them cap-
tives, demolished their houses and eft'ectually
quenched their aspirations. Many of those
thus summarily dispossessed aided in the set-
tlement of Southampton. The more method-
ical settlement under Fordham and Carman in
1644 was arranged peacefully enough,, and
settlements gradually spread north as well as
south from Hempstead village. In 1G76 Great
Neck was fairly well settled and the records
tell of other early colonies.
The majority of the settlers in this town-
ship were opposed to the separation from the
mother country when the time came to decide
that most momentous question. When the
crisis became ^cute, however, the \\"hig minor-
ity was found to be the most active, and under
the leadership of John Sands held a meeting
in which the authority of Congress was ac-
knowledged. A militia regiment, or skeleton
of a regiment of militia, was also organized
through the instrumentality of Sands, and he
was rewarded with its colonelcy. He was most
successful and persistent for a time in annoy-
ing the local Tories, had many of them arrest-
ed, saw to it that the public offices were filled
with patriots and on a small scale introduced
a reign of terror. It is said that his militia
took part in the Battle of Brooklyn, but there
is much about that story that is not very clear,
and the presence of that half-hearted command
is at least doubtful, although soine of its mem-
bers were in the ranks of the defending force.
\\'ith the close of that battle, however. Sands'
reign of terror was brought to a summary
conclusion, and the Tories had their innings.
The British forces soon found their way to all
sections of Hempstead, seized Sands and sev-
eral other leading Whigs, sent ■ them oft" to
prison, and sequestered all the grain, live stock,
and wagons of rebels they could la}' hands
on. A little later, the requirements of the cam-
paign caused them to sequester the grain,
horses and cattle of the Tories, and to force
them to supply wood to the soldiers, but these
things were paid for, although at prices fixed
by the King's officers. But the "occupation"
unsettled all order and authority except that
upheld by the rigors of martial law, and all
classes of the people suft'ered from its con-
tinuance. Mr. H. G. Onderdonk wrote:
The Friends, not feeling free to aid war,
were great sufterers. March 3, 1777, Elias
Hicks, their great preacher, was deprived of a
great coat worth twenty-six shillings on a de-
mand for twelve shillings to pay the hire of
men to repair the British forts at Brooklyn;
April 4th a pair of shoes worth ten shillings
was taken from him on his refusal to stand
guard : on August 28th he was distrained of a
pair of silver buckles worth eighteen shillings,
two pairs of stockings, worth fifteen shillings,
and a handkerchief worth five shillings, all
because he would not go on an alarm in armed
pursuit of the enemy ; and in June, 1778, a pair
of stockings worth five shillings and a razor
case with two razors, worjh four shillings,
were taken from him for some like cause.
Besides the outrages of British soldiers in
stealing, burning fences and robbing at night,
Xorth Hempstead suft'ered greatly from the
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
905
nightly depredations of whale boatmen, as they
were called, who had their quarters in Con-
necticut. Guards were stationed along- the
shores of the sound. After years of mischief
the head of a gang of these robbers was shot,
and the governor of Connecticut, on a repre-
sentation made to him by the sufferers, refused
to commission any more. On a Thursday
evening (October 26, 1782,) two whaleboats
with muffled oars landed a number of whale-
boatmen in Cow Bay at Thome's dock (after-
ward Judge Kissam's) and proceeded to
James Burr's stoie, ]\Ianhassett Valley. Burr
had been robbed once before, and slept in the
store with his gun loaded. As soon as they
demanded admittance he fired. Judging of
his position by the report, the robbers fired
diagonally through the front comers of the
store. Burr received a ball in his body, went
to tlie bedside of his little brother, told him he
was a dead man and fell. Being unable to
force open the door, the robbers rijjped oft'
the boards, entered through the side of the
store, and loaded themselves with goods. .A.s
they returned and were rounding the cor-
ner of John Burtis' blacksmith shop, west of
the house occupied by the late Dr. Purdy,
David Jarvis, an apprentice boy, fired on them
one after another, from the second story win-
dow, Burtis, loading the guns and ISIolly, his
wife, handing powder. In this way several
were wounded, till at last came their leader.
Captain Martin, staggering under an enormous
load of goods, who received a buckshot in the
center of his forehead and had his breast also
tattooed with shot. Throwing down his car-
bine, he stumbled up the hill north of Dr.
Purdy's dropping his load by the way, and fell
down dead on the summit, where his body was
discovered by George Onderdonk. The firing
alarmed the neighbors, who had now assem-
bled in great numbers. Before it was \ct day
Joseph Onderdonk was dispatcheil for Majnr
Kissam, who came and held an examinntinn.
In Martin's pocketbook were found a list of
his crew and a captain's commission from the
State of Massachusetts authorizing him "to
cruise against the enemies of the I'nited
States," but not to go on land. Captain ]^Iar-
tin's clothes, shoes with silver buckles, and
watch, together with the guns dropped in the
flight, were given to Jarvis. He was also
presented with a pair of new pistols as a re-
ward for his heroic daring. Jarvis had on a
previous occasion beaten off a party of whale-
boatmen and wounded one Jim Brown. ?\Iar-
tin's body was buried in a corner of Alartin
Schenck's land, south of the Episcopal church.
The rest of the gang escaped to their boats,
which were seen by Joseph Onderdonk during
the alarm of firing slowly dropping down the
bay to a preconcerted spot, probably Mitchell's
landing. The night was overcast. Joseph
Onderdonk, a lad of sixteen, was stationed
with a gun in a young locust northeast of his
father's house to fire an alarm in case the
house was attacked. While he was here a fel-
low ran up to him, crying out, "D — n their
blood, they've wounded me !" On discovering
his mistake he made oft' and was out of sight
in an instant. Captain Martin had been a
lucky fellow, having captured a number of
prizes.
The old block-house now standing at Her-
ricks was erected for a store on the Jericho
turnpike near Westbury, during the Revolu-
tion. It was bullet proof and had portholes
in the second story to afford protection from
rolibers. Not only was there a loss of prop-
erty on land from the whaleboatmen, but their
captures of boats plying between here and New '
York were numerous. The prizes were carried
ov(^r to the Connecticut shore. Thomas Dodge
was once a passenger and sat in tlie cabin when
a boat was taken. Hearin- ,1 imim' he tried
to get on deck, but found lu: \\a> fastened
down. He sang out, "AMiat are you about up
there? Open the door and let me up, or else
come down yourselves, and let us drink for
better acquaintance." The captors came down,
and were treated with a bottle of spirits from
Dodge's provision basket. They had a jolly
time of it, and on Dodge's arrival at Horse
Neck he found many old friends, and was
allowed to return on parole. This exempted
him from the fatigues of military duty (which
consisted in frequent trainings and patrolling
the coast at night) until he was exchanged.
At the peace in 1783 many loyalists sold
.out and left North Hempstead for Xoya Scotia
for fear of being punished l)y the Whigs ; but
some returned after they found it safe to do
so. The Legislature passed the "trespass act,"
by virtue of which suits were brought against
ail British agents who had impressed horses,
cattle, wagons, forage or persons, or carted off
wood during the war. Many farmers thus re-
covered damages. Only two farms in North
Hempstead were confiscated to the State. One
was that of Daniel Kissam, the elder (now
occupied by Howell and Adrian Onderdonk,
at Flower Hill). It consisted of three hun-
900
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
dred and thirty acres and was bid in by the
widow for £2,000, August 5. 1784. The other
belonged to the Ludlows.
The Legislature ordered a special town
meeting December 2, 1783, when Whigs were
chosen to office in place of the loyalists who
had held office during the war, viz. ; Adrian
Onderdonk, supervisor; John Schenck, clerk:
John Searing and John Burtis, constal)les ;
Peter Onderdonk. Aliraliam Schenck and Ren-
janiin Everitt, conmiissii mers of highways,
etc. Such was the antipathy of the Whigs of
North Hempstead to the loyalists of South
Hempstead that the Legislature, April 16,
1784, divided the town bv the line of the
"Country road."
Rut we are tieating of North Hempstead,
and its history does not begin until 1784, and
by that time the Revolution was over and
"King George he reigned no more," so far as
New York was concerned. North Hempstead
quietly settled down to work out its own story
as an. agricultural community. In 1832 oyster
culture was added to its industrial field
through the efforts of Henry Cock and John
Mackey. Since then that business has grown
to wonderful proportions, and the oysters of
Cow Bay, in particular, are in high repute ; the
clams with which the shore abound have also
given rise to a most extensive industry. But
still the main feature of North Hempstead is
agriculture and floriculture — the products of
the soil, varied within the past two decades
with the "summer boarder business," which,
however, lasts only about two months in each
year.
From the first North Hempstead has been
a religious community, a stronghold almost
equally of Quakerism and Methodism. The
former has been traced back to 1671 and the
latter to 1785. The Dutch Reformed church
had a congregation at Lakeville in 1730. All
the other denominations represented are of
modern date. The Episcopalians did not have
a place of worship until 1803, when Christ
church was erected at Manhasset, and the first
meetings of the Presljyterian body were held
at Roslyn in 1S41J, and the first Roman Cath-
olic place of worship was that of St. Bridget's,
\\'estbury Station, which was dedicated in
1856 — the second Roman Catholic church
erected east of Brooklyn. The history of none
of these bodies presents any very remarkable
features, features likely to be interesting out-
side of their own immediate constituencies,
and there is little need of presenting such de-
tails in a general history like this. Possibly
the Society of Friends might be made an ex-
ception from the force of this remark, but the
organizations of that body really had their
center in Oyster Bay, and in our sketch of that
township their story will be found treated at
considerable length. The Dutch Reformed
church at Lakeville was housed in a little
octagonal structure, with high sloping roof,
very much after the style of those of the same
denomination in Kings county. The seats
were allotted at the rate of twenty-five shil-
lings each among the male members, while the
sisters paid twenty shillings each. At first,
with the church at Oyster Bay, it was under
the care of the churches at Newtown and Ja-
maica, and services were held once a month.
In 1813 the members residing in Manhasset
withdrew and erected a tabernacle of their
own, and this severely weakened the old con-
gregation. They held together with a strug-
gle until 1830, when they were compelled to
disband on account of the paucity of their
members, and the venerable little tabernacle
which had spread the light of the Gospel for
exactly a century w^as sold the same year and
demolished.
The principal villages in this township,
with their present population, are as follows :
Great Neck, 1,600; Port Washington, 1,250;
Manhasset, 800; Mineola, 900; Roslyn, 1,300;
Westbury Station, 400 ; Thomaston, 350 ; New
Hyde Park, 500 ; Old Westbury, 375 ; Her-
ricks, 125; Searington, 150; Alberson, 240.
Some of these may now be considered in de-
tail.
Probably the best known of them all is
Roslvn, not so much on account of its own in-
//ZlLic^^ L^i-cXtj^^i^ Gzniy,(u.
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
907
herent. beauty, but because it is associated with
the name and fame of William Cullen Bryant,
one of the greatest of American poets. In-
dependent, however, of this it has considerable
historical data connected with it to invest it
with interest to the antiquary. Down to the
middle of the nineteenth century it bore the
name of Hempstead Harbor, and besides being
the leading village of the township was known
as a manufacturing center. The first paper
mill in the rrtn-ince of New York was estab-
lished here in 1773 liy Hendrick Onderdonck,
grandfather of the two bishops of that name,
along with Hugh Gaine, a well known New
York printer of that time, and Henry Remsen.
There were also several grist mills at an early
day, one at least dating from prior to 1700.
General Washington, who visited Hempstead
Harbor in April, 1790, commended such local
industries in pleasant terms. Several paper
mills were established at later dates, but did
not seem to prosper, and in 1880 a silk mill
was added to the attractions of the village. It
is a prosperous community, with savings
bank, public library and other accessories de-
manded by modern culture and requirements,
and although its industries are still important
it has developed of late years more and more
as a settlement of refined homes. In this there
is no doubt William C. Bryant led the way.
The life story of this brilliant man of let-
ters is part of the literary history of the United
States and need not be dwelt upon here at any
great length. He was born at Cummington,
]\Iassachusetts, November 3, 1794, was educat-
ed at WilHams College, and when only in his
twenty-first year was admitted to the bar. He
entered upon the practice of the legal profes-
sion at Plainficld,' and after a while he re-
moved to Great Barrington, where, it is said,
he won considerable prominence in the local
courts. But his success was not substantial.
The law, as Sir Walter Scott used to say, is a
jealous mistress, and Bryant, even before he
had assumed the dignity of a full-fledged
lawyer, had been coquetting with literature,
so much so that he was recognized as a man
of letters even ere he had attained his majority.
When thirteen years of age he was a reg-
ular contributor of poetry to the country
papers, and had written a long effusion in the
nature of a political squib which was justly
considered an extraordinary production by
those interested in the lad and the argument,
but is now, happily, forgotten. When nine-
teen years of age he wrote his remarkable
poem, "Thanatopsis," which at once assumed
a foremost place in .\merican poetic literature,
and still remains the most popular and most
often reail of all his works. The poem first
appeared in the Xnrth American Review and
at <ince attracted wide attenticni, and as soon
as the autliin>hip became kni.iwn gave him a
place in the highest literary circles of his time.
He also ccntributeil several jirose articles +0
the Review, and Sd denmnstrated that he
wielded a facile pen in pmse and was a grace-
ful, clear and cogmt w riter (m \\hate\er theme
he concentrated his tlinught. Under these
circumstances it was easy to forsee that with
law on the one side and literature on the other,
each claiming his attentinn and each demand-
ing all his piiwers, inie would have to be
aliandiined, and. happily, he turned away from
law and made literature his Sdle companion.
In 1825 -Mr. Bryant settled in New York
and became one of the editors of "The New
York Review." A year later he became as-
sociated with the Evening Post, and a few
years later assumed the duties of editor in
chief and maintained his connection with it
until the end of his long career. But while
engrossed in the editorial cares of a news-
paper which 1)ecaine in his hands one of the
most powerful in the country and one that
exercised a most marked influence upon the
political, economic and literary history of its
time, he did not neglect his own literary work.
His frequent visits to Europe had made him
personally acquainted in all the literary cen-
ters there, and had l)roadened and widened his
own views of men and matters, had maile him
90S
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
sec that all the world was really akin, and
wherever he went he was a ceaseless student
of language, art, manners and customs,
thoughts and aspirations. All that became re-
flected in his poems, his orations and even in
his editorial and critical articles in the "Post."
Before settling in New York he had published,
-at Cambridge, a small volume of poetry. In
1832 he again printed that work, with addi-
marvellous writings of "the first of poets."
Literally Mr. Bryant continued in harness
almost until his "summons" came, June 12,
1878.
Alost of his time in his later years was
spent at Roslyn, and he took a most active part
not only in promoting the beauty and amenity
of the village, but in enhancing its material
prosperity. His own home, to which he gave
CEDARMERE-THE HOME OF WII.L1AM Cl'LLEN BRYANT.
tions, and several editions followed. In 1866
he issued a volume entitled "Thirty Poems,"
which has since been incorporated in his col-
lected writings. He was an indefatigable
worker and after he had attained his seventieth
year he began the translation in blank verse
of Homer's "Iliad," and followed it up with
a version of the "Odyssey." His work as a
translator was conceded by manv of the most
competent critics and scholars to be the best
English dress which had been given to the
the name of Cedarniere, he loved almost as
passionately as Scott loved Abbotsford. The
house was originally built in 1787 by Richard
Kirk, a zealous Quaker, who seemed to have
taken a considerable interest in laving out the
house and its land, about forty acres. Then
it passed into the possession of Joseph White
Moulton. the historian and antic|uary, joint
author with T. \'. X. Yates of a history of
New York, and was sold by him to Bryant
in 1846. Bryant remodelled the house, en-
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
909-
larged it on all sides and introduced many
peculiar architectural features and added to
its surrounding grounds until they measured
200 acres. It was his kingdom, his hobby, his
pride, even more than his literary triumphs ;
every field had for him a story and some pe-
culiar feature greeted the visitor at almost
every step, and visitors to Cedarmere came
in plenty, for Bryant was never happier than
when acting as host and surrounded by his
literary and artistic friends. His remains were
laid in Roslyn's beautiful cemetery, in which
he had taken a most marked interest, and the
Bryant Circulating Library, named in his
honor, is housed in a beautiful building, which,
with its grounds, was presented to the village
by his daughter, j\liss Julia S. Bryant, in ac-
cordance with an expressed wish of the ven-
erable poet shortly before his death.
The library still continues to be the main
feature of the village life. Within the past
year or so it has been the object of much kind-
ly interest on the part of Mrs. Clarence
JNIackay, wife of one of the owners of one of
the modern baronial estates on Long Island,
whose palatial home, as will be seen, is in the
immediate vicinity of Roslin village. Shortly
after settling there Mrs. ^vlackay asked per-
mission from the Trustees to take possession
of the lil.irar}' and to furnish it, and stipulated
that no one was to make any suggestions, as
she wished to be free to do as she liked. Her
desire was granted, and she secured Miss
Maud Johnson and Miss Susan Clendenning,
graduates of Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, and
trained librarians. After inspecting the books
then on the shelves four hundred were re-
tained and four hundred and fifty new ones
added, and all arranged after modern methods.
Miss Johnson, who is an ardent book lover,
and who has assisted in classifying and cata-
loguing many rare and valuable collections,
was interested deeply in the discovery of the
old books. The books were such as the gen-
eral public does not care for and therefore
were allowed to drop out of sight. Their
neglect seems to in a way justify the criticisms
of Mr. Bryant by his friends and neighbors at
the time he gave the library for bestowing such
works upon so small an institution.
Outsiders have often come to the rescue of
the library. The Bryant family, the Goodwin
family, and George A. Thayer preceded Mrs.
Mackay in aiding it. Besides adding to the
number of books and reljinding the old ones,
Mrs. Mackay has redecorated and recarpeted
the rooms.
There is as usual an inharmonious note
heard, due to the removal of the portraits, fine
lithographs of Bryant and Longfellow, and
some engravings given by the Goodwin and
Bryant families. These no longer appear on
the walls, and some of the old residents who
are not in sympathy with the radical changes
and who retain a loyal affection and gratitude
for the poet founder, think this is a mistake.
Cedarmere is now the property of the poet's
grandson, Harold Godwin.
But with the passing of William Cullen
Bryant Roslyn did not lose its literary celeb-
rity, for his place was at once taken by his son-
in-law, Parke Godwin, who was long asso-
ciated with him on the Evening Post and had
won a measure of success as a man of letters
even when he married the poet's eldest daugh-
ter, and for many years his home, Clover
Croft, was a gathering place of famous men,
just as Roslyn had been. Nowadays Mr. God-
win has no home, in one sense, in Roslyn. He
gifted over Clover Croft to his daughter,
Mrs. F. N. Goddard, when he began to feel
the need of husbanding his strength to com-
plete his literary work ; but no man is better
known in Roslyn than he, and his frequent
. visits, spent either at Clover Croft or Cedar-
mere, keep up his connection with the village
which has now continued over many, many
years.
Writing of Clover Croft and Mr. Godwin,
a recent visitor says :
"The great attic of Clover Croft, which is
the length and breadth of the house, has a
big storage of theater flies and stage details,
which ;in the past were often called injto-
910
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
requisition for impromptu entertainments,
when the neighbors were hastily bidden to
meet some prominent actor or singer. The
dramatic strain in Mr. Godwin's many sided
nature has always been in evidence, whether
as an enthusiastic anil appreciative frequenter
of his box at the opera or during the win-
ter's series of plays, or when as a brown haired
man he took part in the amateur theatricals
at Clover Croft, when Roslyn was but a little
hamlet and the summer home of Charles A.
Dana, Bryant, Richard Storrs Willis and the
brilliant friends they entertained. The wit and
humor of Mr. Godwin's character songs, his
strong, rich voice, natural grace and intense
magnetism made him the life of all gatherings
which he shared.
"There has been a wide range of experi-
ence in his eighty-seven years, and his mar-
velous memory recalls this to the happy lis-
tener, when Mr. Godwin is in the mood to talk.
Had he been less the dreamer, poet, philos-
opher and student, with ambition equal to his
abilities, these would have kept him contin-
ually before the public eye and ear. He has,
however, responded reluctantly to appeals,
especially when desired as a speaker, but his
addresses are notable as fine mosaics of terse
phrases, graceful imagery, sound sense and
a wide range of knowledge. Memorable ad-
dresses are, one delivered in the Century Club
on its fiftieth anniversary, his eulogy on
George W. Curtis at the same place, and at
Paterson when that city celebrated its cen-
tennial and he stood before a great audience
as the oldest living representative of the first
white settler, Abraham Godwin, when Pater-
son was Tatwana. His latest addresses, 'the
one at the memorial service of Edwin Booth,
and at Cummington, when the one hundredth
anniversary of Bryant's birth was celebrated,
were made when his plenitude of years might
have caused a weakening of the old force?,
but his magnetic earnestness, rich, clear and
sonorous tones made him, as in the past, the
chief attraction.
"A marked feature of the Booth commem-
oration ceremonies was the volume of cheers
the newspaper men gave the great journalist
when he came forward on the stage, one of a
group comprising Henry Irving, Tomasa Sal-
vini and Joseph Jefferson, and the next day
they reported that "Mr. Godwin's delivery was
even finer and more impressive than that of
any of the three professional actors who spoke
from the stage,' and 'we think that any per-
son in the audience who did not know the
men on the stage would, in judging by ap-
pearance, have picked out the seventy-seven-
year-old Parke Godwin as the greatest
tragedian of the lot.'
"Mr. Godwin is an art critic of intelligence
and discrimination, and the lectures on art
given at Princeton, his alma mater, are held
up to the students as models in diction and
knowledge. In his personal relations as
friend and neighbor, he is delightful, and
when the ball of thought is sent rolling into
the past it is a great privilege to be a listen-
er. He likes to tell how strangely the cur-
rent of his life was changed, when as a young
lawyer he tried to wait patiently for the cases
so slow in appearing. At this time his Sun-
day afternoons were spent with a young mar-
ried cousin, of whom he was very fond, and
to whom he went for advice and sympathy.
On one of these- occasions he inquired if in
her neighborhood he could find a boarding
place where accommodations were pleasant
and prices reasonable, and was referred to
'a house across the way, lately changed from
a school to a select boarding place.' This
soon became a oopular resort for clever men,
and not long after ]\Ir. Godwin's establish-
ment there he noticed a finely intellectual-
looking man, always grave, silent and thought-
ful and alone.
"There was something so distinguished
about his personality that Mr. Godwin asked
of one of the attendants the stranger's name.
The answer was so carelessly given that the
next day Mr. Godwin again made inquiries
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
91]
and was told that the man was Wilhani Ciil-
len Bryant, who was a transient boarder dur-
ing the absence of his family from the city,
and tliat he had sought this unpretentious
place because of its quiet and nearness to the
office of the Evening- Post. The interest was
nuitual, however, and ordinarily shy and
reticent as Mr. Bryant was, he one day, find-
ing himself seated near Mr. Godwm, and the
two the only occupants of the room, inter-
rogated him in a friendly way as to his occu-
pation, which Mr. Godwin frankly acknowl-
edged was only in embryo. 'Then,' said the
elder man, 'as you are not busy, why can you
.\T ROSLVN.
not take the place of my assistant, who is ill.'
( iodwin tells with much humor that he assured
Air. Bryant he could be of no earthly use to
him. as he had never been in a newspaper
(jffice. But he accepted the offer, and the reg-
ular assistant dying soon after, he continued
to serve with Mr. Bryant the interests of the
Evening Post from 1837 to 1853, and after a
long interval resuming editorship in 1865 for
another period pf years. The business rela-
tions with Mr, Bryant led to a friendly m-
timacy, resulting in the marriage of Mr. God-
win to Mr. Bryant's eldest daughter. An epi-
sode of his journalistic life which was always
of interest to him was when as editor of Put-
nam's Magazine Miss Bacon presented to him
her appeal to the public to dethrone Shake-
speare and substitute Bacon as the author of
the immortal plays and sonnets. Mr. Godwin
has always been an ardent student of Shake-
speare, and he published the article only as a
literary curiosity, the mental disorder of the
Writer being quite apparent, and it was a
satire of fate that ]\Iiss Bacon should offer her
uncanny imaginings to a man who had studied
his Shakespeare as devoutly as he loved and
believed in his personality.
"In the early years of Mr. Godwin's mar-
ried life he occupied in the summer an old-
fashioned home on the southern part of Mr.
Bryant's estate at Roslyn. It was simple
in construction, but quaintly attractive, and
stood midway between the waters of Hemp-
stead Harbor and the winding lake from
which the place takes its name. It was here,
on the grassy slope just above the salt waters,
where Margaret Fuller, a frequent and be-
loved guest, would throw herself after a swim
in the harbor and talk breezily to her friends
with that captivating magnetism which made
Ikt a liL'liived companion at Brook Farm.
"When the Godwins were living at Roslyn
occurred the frightful storm which ship-
wrecked on Long Island Sound the vessel on
which Margaret Fuller Ossoli, her husband
and child were passengers, and it was a curious
psychological fact that Mrs. Godwin was so
much under the influences of the night of
disaster that she could not sleep. l)ut rest-
lessly walked her room until morning, insist-
ing that some one they knew and loved was
in danger. The first person Mr. Godwin met
the next morning near the Evening Post
building was Bayard Taylor, who told him
of the sad news, which was a mutual sorrow.
"In the gradual developing of the Cedar
Mere grounds the low brown house was torn
down, and some time later on its site was
built an attractive cottage, known as Golden
Rod. It has of recent years been rented for
the summer, one of its tenants having been
Albert Sterner, who used the west balcony
91!
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
for a studio. Among the changes Mr. God-
win deplores is the shutting out of the Sound
view from Clover Croft piazzas by the mag-
nificent trees of Willow ]\Iere. When these
were planted by the direction of the mother
of Mrs. Richard Storrs Willis, Mr. Godwin
foretold they would prove a future barricade
to his view ; but his neighbor assured him
that they would not be likely to give him
trouble, as years would come and go before
they would attain such proportions as to
change the landscape. ' To-day Mr. Godwin
is the only one left to bear witness to the
truth of his prediction.
"For a man who has in his nature the es-
sentials of a dreamer and a poet Air. Godwin
has had a keen and practical interest in poli-
tics, and at one time was deputy collector of
the New York Custom House. Many of the
reforms he advocated in the Democratic Re-
view were afterv/ard embodied in the consti-
tution and code of New York. ]\Ir. Godwin's
yeai's of Shakesperean research have culmi-
nated, since his retirement from newspaper
work, in an analytical arrangement of the
sonnets of Shakspeare. He began by careful
and continuous reading, determined to find
the author's meaning which he believed the
sonnets were written to convey, at last group-
ing them, adding marginal notes, after
thoughtful readings, and now he declares that
the key to their various moods is that they
tell the history of the author. iNIr. Godwin,
with this loving tribute to the great master,
closes his literary work. He believes that
his vigorous physical and mental vitality is
due not only to the inheritance of a sound
mind and body, but to his restful summers
at his Roslyn country home and the exer-
cise of horseback riding. Friendly guests at
both homes of whom Mr. Godwin often speaks
are Bayard Taylor, Hawthorne, Fitz-Greene
Halleck and Richard Storrs Willis, Edwin
Booth, Salvini, Lord Houghton, Sir Henry
Irving, Justin McCarthy, Orville Dewey, Rob-
ert Collyer, Edwin Forest, Horatio Green-
ough, Sanuiel J. Tilden and scores of others,
of whom many were women prominent as sing-
ers, writers and artists."
It has been said that Bryant brought fame
to Roslyn and made its beauties known to
thousands, inducing many to build homes
within its boundaries or to select it as a place
in wliich to recuperate mind and body in a
summer rest each year. Bryant and later
Parke Godwin used to declare that they owed
much of their triumph over the wear and tear
of years by the splendid health-giving qualities
of Roslyn's pure air and its restfulness. Per-
haps the most advanced form of this spirit of
home 'building has been the palace on Harbor
Hill which has been erected for Clarence
Mackay, son of one of the California mil-
lionaires. By it Harbor Hill is now closed
to the public, and the palace rises on the apex
where for many years the United States Gov-
ernment maintained an observatory by the un-
dignified right of "squatter sovereignty."
When he selected the site for his summer
residence Mr. Mackay bought up as much of
the surrounding farmland as he deemed was
necessary for his purpose and the proper se-
clusion of his home and of its appendages in
the way of barns, stables, cottages for work-
people, etc., and now it is said is in possession
of some 650 acres, all enclosed and all ''n
process of development, for at the date of this
writing neither the house nor the "improve-
ments" on the property have been completed.
The whole "scheme" of the estate is- being
worked out according to careiully thought-out
plans, covering the most minute details, and
everything has had to give way to these from
Uncle Sam's observatory and public roads to
a humble negro burying ground, which had
been in use for a century or more. The fol-
lowing newspaper account of the details of the
work is fairly correct and is worth preserving :
The estate itself was, and to a great ex-
tent is yet, simply a wild waste of hill and
dale, covered with a tangled mass of under-
growth, so thickly intertwined that in most
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
fllS.
places it is impossible to force a way through
it without an axe and a bush hook. Stately
oaks, massive hickories, groves of mammoth
chestnuts, pine, ce'dar and maple, undisturbed
by the'woodman's axe, abound. It is a wilder-
ness which for hundreds of years has been in-
vaded only by the hunter. Two roads only
intersect the property : one, the primitive road
cut through from the village to the site of the
(;ld United States observatory ; the other, a
mere bridle path running diagonally acrciss the
estate, the closing of which a month or so ago
aroused the animosity of a few of the villagers.
The daily papers had the stories of how the
Roslyn residents purposed to invoke the law
to uphold their alleged prescriptive rights to
pass through the property over this road.
When, a week ago, I made inquiries about
Roslyn in reference to the alleged unlawful
closing of the olil road, I was unable to find a
resident of the place who would admit that he
had any grievance against Mr. Mackay on ac-
count of his action in the matter. They all
said that it was simply a path through the
jungle, which, although it had been used for
manv years, never was a road, and conse-
quently had not become a right of way by pre-
scription.
Early in the course of the preparation of
plans :\lr. ;\lackay made known his preference
for the natural wilderness of the estate and of
his desire to preserve this feature as much
as possible.
It was decided that the house should be
built on the very apex of the hill, with a
tower which should extend even higher than
the old United States observatory, which for-
merly occupied the space, so that an even bet-
ter general view of the surrounding country
could be nliiaincd. To reach this spot, high
above the surnmndings, a long road was nec-
essary. The jxiiiit nearest the railroad station,
only about three minutes' ride by carriage
from it, was chosen for the site of the lodge,
the entrance to the estate. Here it was de-
cided to build a gate, modeled after the old
iMiglish style. The lodge, the foundation of
which has already been completed, is to be of
solid granite. It will consist of two houses or
structures, with a bridge containing other
rooms, connecting the two, over the roadway
leading into the estate.
A huge iron gate, suspended between the
two main wings of the lodge, will be closed
to all except the friends and invited guests
of the owner. A gatekeeper will be in-
stalled in the lodge, who has for years been
a servitor of the Mackay family and has mar-
ried and grown gray .in the service. He has
a number of children, who, following the old
English feudal idea, are all stanch adherents
of the Mackay family. Having served in the
family since the da}'s when the Mackays be-
gan to keep a retinue of servants, the gate-
keeper and his wife know every friend or ac-
(juaintance of the family, and there is little
chance of their affronting anyone for whom
J\Ir. ^lackay has the slightest regard. The
quarters of the gatekeeper, who will be in
supreme command of the guards surrounding
the estate, will be in every way superior to
many fire-class city residences, not only in
architectural beauty, but in size, surroundings
and fittings as well.
The problem which was submitted to the
civil engineers connected with the huge staff
engaged in the work of laying out the es-
tate was how to run the road to the summit
of the hill so that the grade might be uniform
throughout the whole distance, witliout abrupt
rises, or too many short turns. That they
have solved the problem is a feather in their
caps, which all engineers who have looked over
the work are willing to recognize. A topo-
graphical map of the entire estate was first
made, and from it the route was laid out. It
winds in and out like a snake, through cuts
in the hills, over seemingly natural bridges,
through defiles and over filled-in ravines, keep-
ing the same relative rise for its entire dis-
tance, of from a mile to a mile and a half,
all within the JMackay domain, until it finally
ends at the terrace leading to the house. This
road is nearly completed. There is no por-
tion of it less than sixty feet wide, and in'
many places it broadens out to loo feet.
Throughout its entire length it is to be mac-
adamized, under a guarantee that it will be
as lasting as the best macadam road in this
city.
In its windings it meets hills, through
which it is necessary to bore. This has been
done, and in one instance the cut is between
thirty and fortv feet deep. Then it meets
ravines, which have been filled in, some of
them to the depth of from twenty to thirty
feet. In one instance it was necessary to skirt
a hill with a sheer, almost perpendicular de-
scent of a hundred or more feet. A portion
of the side of the hill had to be excavated,.
914
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
but, as in a short time if left in that condition
the weather would have washed the new road
entirely away, it was necessary to build a
stone stay or abutment on the precipitate
side. This was done with unhewn rocks dug
from other portions of the road. The retain-
ing wall at its deepest point is about fifty
feet, and extends from one side of the gully
to the other, something over 500 feet.
This retaining wall at the bottom is twenty
feet thick, tapering up to a nine-foot thickness
at the level of the roadbed. Just before reach-
ing the apex of the hill, where the casile
is to be situated, a valley is met, which
has taxed the ingenuity of the engineers.
After trying all sorts of plans, it was finally
decided to fill it in for the roadway, and this
is now being done — has been in course of fill-
ing for upward of a month.
Mr. Mackay has kept- careful count of
everything which has transpired in the effort
to transform the howling wilderness into a
luxurious abode, and has personally conducted
many of the plans. He is jealous of his wild
woodland effect, and is spending tens of thou-
sands of dollars in saving the trees. One
instance of this was shown when he ordered
a change from the original lines of the road,
because if the work were continued on the
original plan it would cut through a noble
grove of old chestnuts and naturally destroy
many of them. It cost him between $4,000
and $5,000 to change the route, but he seemed
to consider the money well spent when it saved
his beloved grove of chestnuts from destruc-
tion. Strict orders were given by him that
no tree or shrub, however insignificant, should
be destroyed if money could save it.
In complying with these orders, thousands
of trees which grew in valleys along the site
of the road, and which would have to be
buried or half buried in filling in the ravines
for the road were encased in boxes from the
roots to a height above the level of the filling,
with air space between the trunk of the tree
and the boxing. One noble oak which I
noticed, standing just on the edge of the sur-
veyor's line, in the bottom of a valley, would
have been buried to its lower branches in the
filling in earth, and would have eventually
died had it not been boxed in from the roots
to the lower branches, fully twenty-five feet.
The tree measured fully four feet in diameter
at the bottom. To encase it for twenty-five
feet, took a square box four by four by twenty-
five feet, allowing for the necessary air space.
The timber used was spruce — worth five cents
a foot. The saving of this one tree cost twenty
dollars, for material alone, not counting the
e.xtra labor. One little maple sapling, which
the owner insisted upon saving and which the
ordinary mortal walking through the woods
would smash witn his cane, without a second
thought, cost him eight dollars for boxing, so
that it should not die!
His love for nature at her wildest, to-
gether with his fear lest some portion of his
magnificent domain should be marred by the
ruthless hand of the contractor and his em-
ployes, has led Mr. Mackay into extravagance
which he scarcely could have contemplated in
the beginning. The original contract for cut-
ting through the mile or so of road to the
site of the residence was moderate. His ex-
actions since then, in respect to the saving uf
trees, shrubbery, etc., which was not con-
templated in the original agreement, will prob-
ably augment the total cost to at least three
times the original contract price.
The approach to the mansion alone will
cost close to $150,000, and this is only the
actual approach and does not include the ap-
propriation for the landscape engineer. Every
cut through a hill will have to be sodded,
seeded, planted and set out so as to carry out
the general scheme of native wilderness. All
of the ravines which have been filled in will
have to be mossed over and made to look
natural. Every portion of the approach will
have to be so treated by the gardeners and
architects in order that it may be a complete
contrast to the surrounding estates. So much
for the approach to the house alone.
Then will come the fencing in. A portion
of the vast estate will be inclosed by heavy,
substantial stone walls. Another portion will
have a high and closely woven wire fence as
a protection, and still another section will be
inclosed by a thick thorn hedge. It will de-
pend entirely upon the topography of the
ground. And this, also, is but the beginning.'
The house, which i\Ir. Mackay has said
would be "his little summer place," will, as
a matter of fact, probably be the most mag-
nificent summer home in America. It is Mr.
^lackay's ambition to eclipse all others. The
homes of the Vanderbilts, Astors, Whitneys
and Goulds are to be nothing in comparison
to the splendid place planned by Mr. Mackay.
The house proper, which the builders after
IN AHD AROUHD PORT WASHIHGTOH.
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
915
nearly a year's work have gotten up to the
second story, is 238 feet wide — larger than
the ordinary city block — and no feet in depth.
This is the main building and does not em-
brace various small L's and additions. On
the north side of this is to be a glass con-
servatory, looxioo feet, which will make the
actual frontage of the mansion 338 feet.
The outside foundation wall is of granite,
the inside walls being of pressed brick. Above
the floor level the building is of Illinois sand-
stone, handsomely chiseled and of the same
shade as the granite foundation.
The entrance to this palace will be in the
center, facing south, and is composed of three
doorways. One big double one and two
smaller — one on each side. These lead into a
hall forty by eighty feet, in which, it will be
seen, four ordinary small city houses could be
put. To the right of this will be the salons,
reception rooms, music rooms, etc., while to
the left will be the banquet hall, dining room,
picture gallery, breakfast room, etc.
The second floor will be divided into suites
of apartments for the family and guests, and
the third floor will contain the billiard room
and other rooms for guests, while in a wing,
separated from the main structure, will be
the servants' rooms. The ceilings of the
main floor are eighteen feet in height and
of the two upper floors fifteen feet each. There
will also be a tower from which the finest view
obtainable on Long Island may be enjoyed.
Under the whole house is a concreted cel-
lar fifteen feet deep, and intersected by pas-
sageways, running both lengthwise and across.
Here one can almost lose himself. The vari-
ous rooms are of brick and most of them are
to have iron doors. They will be laundries,
store rooms, cold-storage plant, wine cellars,
etc. Two elevators run from the cellar to the
top floor, and a large steam and hot-water
heating plant will furnish warmth of two dif-
ferent and independent sorts. The electric-
light plant is situated in a natural valley, some
distance from the house and entirely hidden
from it by surrounding trees. It is proposed
not only to light the house, stable and imme-
diate grounds, but the entire mile and a half
of roadway, the lodge and other buildings con-
nected with the estate, from this plant, which
will also furnish power for a pumping station
to fill a perfect little reservoir near the house
from springs on various parts of the estate,
from whence the water will be pumped to the
house, stable, etc.
The approach to the house is to be a marvel
of beauty, built on the old Roman order of ar-
chitecture. Just in front of the house will be
an oblong piaza, nearly as large as the main
front of the house. In the center of this will
be a fountain, capable of presenting prismatic
effects in the evening. Around this will be
rare plants, and on the outside a marble walk,
surrounded by solid marble balustrades. At
the side opposite the house three steps will
lead down to another marble plaza, with
antique lamp posts at either end. Three more
steps will lead down to a third level like the
second, and so on until the final circle is
reached, where the carriages stop. For use on
rainy days, when the owner may not wish to
ascend the graduated plazas, a road will be
built from the carriage circle to the left, and
through a tunnel under the main plaza into
the cellar of the house, where an elevator will
take the occupants to the rooms above.
It is proposed by Mr. Mackay to keep the
p.operty as far as possible in its present state
of wilderness, and it will be stocked with game
of varioiiS kinds.
It 's estimated by those who are conversant
with Air. Alackay's plans that it will cost all
of $5,000,000 to carry them out, and that the
place will be one of the most magnificent, if
not the most magnificent, of .America's sum-
mer residences.
Great Xeck has risen in importance and in-
creased in population since the opening of the
railroad through it, but although it has been
settled since about 1670, there is little about
it to call for notice beyond saying that it is
a prosperous agricultural community. The
splendid estate of ex-AIayor William R. Grace,
of New York, which bears the name of Grace-
land, is one of many attractive properties
which wealth and taste combined have created
out of what was indeed a wilderness.
Port Washington is the terminus of one
branch of the Long Island Railroad, and with
the opening of that bit of railroad line in 1898
its annals as a modern resort will in the future
date. But at present its story is mainly of the
past. Up to 1875 it was known as Cow Bay,
and its oystering business gave employment to
the bulk of its adult population, and it could
rejoice in its antiquity, as it was the scene of
916
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the surrender of the English to the Dutch,
already narrated in this chapter. In the early
part of the eighteenth century two tidewater
grist-mills were erected at Cow Bay, and with
them the village may be said to have begun.
Manhasset looms up a little more promi-
nently than its two neighbors we have just
been writing about from the historian's point
of view. It was formerly called Cow Neck
by its white inhabitants, and Sint Sink by
the red men, but Manhasset has been its legal
designation since 1850. Since the opening
up of the railroad it has added greatly to its
population, and it promises ere long to be one
of the most popular resort towns on the north
shore. In most of the guide books a tradition-
ary story is printed which connects Manhasset
with a very remote past and may be reprinted
here :
"Stout Miles Standish came so far, and with
him a young maa named Davis. The latter
was of fine stature and gentle birth, so there
must have been some unusual attraction in
the Indian girl who ensnared his heart. The
story is as old as the region of which we
speak. It has been told of other lovers in all
climes, but it loses no interest because of the
romantic surroundings here. The girl was
loved by a young brave of the village, but she
returned the affection of her white admirer,
and sought to flee with him. He was faith-
ful even unto death, and when they were pur-
sued, with his back against the great stone
upon which is engraven his name, fought gal-
lantly until they slew him. Plucking the fatal
arrow from the heart of her lover, the Indian
gid took her own life, and they were buried
where they fell. Rugged vines and great
patches of moss are on the stone near where
they rest, but their names, graven upon the
rock, are yet to be deciphered, and the lovers
of to-day who make of the spot a favorite
trysting place, repeat the ancient story with
hushed voices and find a tender inspiration in
recalling it."
Turning to another section of the town.
we find the rifle ranges of Creedmoor, where
}-ear after year the State militia compete for
marksmen's badges and where the famous
series of international rifle matches for the
"Palma" trophy were held in the "seventies.
At that time the rifle butts of Creedmoor were
as well known as those of Wimbledon. Init in
recent years its competitions have been local
and humdrum. Floral Park is the site of the
Childs Nurseries, and one of the prettiest
sights on Long Island is that of these gardens
in bloom, — and something or other seems
to be blooming there all the year round. The
little village beside the nurseries, Floral Park,
is of modern date, but already boasts a popu-
lation of about 400. Hyde Park was for-
merly a horse-racing center, and at one time
bore the name of Newmarket. Hyde Park
was former!}- the residence of Judge George
D. Ludlow, and his mansion was for many
years the most notable dwelling in the neigh-
borhood. Judge Ludlow was an intense Tory
during the Revolution and his brother Gabriel
was Colonel- of a regiment of American loy-
alists during the same period. As a result of
this, when peace was declared, their estates
were forfeited and the two brothers settled in
New Brunswick, Canada, and Hyde Park saw
them no more. In 1816 William Cobbett, the
English political reformer and agitator, was
compelled to leave London on account of hav-
ing excited the ire of the Government of that
day, and coming to this country until the
storm should blow over, leased a farm at Hyde
Park. He resided in the old Ludlow mansion,
and it was while in his occupancy, in 1817,
that it was destroyed by fire. Cobbett did not
remain long in America, for in 1819 he was
again in England and earning his liveliliood
by his pen.
Mineola. the "seat" of the county of Nas-
sau, has sprung into prominence since the erec-
tion of the county, when it received that desig-
nation. Its origin (i860) is of recent date,
and in French's "Gazetteer" it is described as
"a scattered village at the junction of the Long
NORTH HEMPSTEAD.
917
Island and Hempstead Branch Railroads."
Still in 1892 it had a population of some 600,
so that it can not be said that its applied
honors have boomed it to any very great ex-
tent. Since 1866 it has been the headquarters
of the Queens County Agricultural Society,
which from its beginning in 1841 had up to
that time been wandering around the country
giving its exhibitions at Jamaica and else-
where. In 1866 a tract of forty acres of land
was deeded to it at Mineola and on that prop-
erty it has since had its permanent home.
Its buildings have been erected in the most
substantial manner, and its exhibitions have
steadilv increased in attractiveness until now
OLD (JUEENS COrXTY COUKT HOrSK.
Near Mineola.
the "fair" has become one of the most fash-
ionable functions not only in Xassau county,
but in the borough of Queens, for it is hard
for the people of Jamaica to understand that
they have legally parted company with an
institution they did so much to build up. Ac-
cording to the annual report of the society,
issued at the close of 1900, it expended that
year in premiums alone $12,831, giving prizes
foir horses, cattle, vegetables, fruits, flowers,
etc. The Presidents of the society from the be-
ginning to the present time have been :
Effingham Lawrence 1841
Singleton Mitchell 1845
William T. McCoun 1847
John A. King 1848
^^'illiam T. McCoun 1856
David R. Floyd- Jones 1858
Edward A. Lawrence i860
Daniel K. Youngs 1861
John C. Jackson 1863
Samuel T. Taber 1866
I'eter C. Barnum 1868
Samuel T. Taber 1869
Charles H. Jones 1870
Roberts VVillets 1873
John C. Jackson 1874
Horatio S. Parke 1876
Thomas Messenger. 1877
George T. Hewlett 1878
Townsend D. Cock 1879
Frederick N. Lawrence 1882
George S. Downing 1883
Samuel S. Avmar 1883
Charles Post 1888
Edward Cooper 1890
( ;. Howland Leavitt 1893
Thomas Mott 1895
J. William Ahles 1897
George P. Titus 1899
Westbury derives its name from West-
burv, \Mltshire. England, that being the birth-
jilace of Henry Willis, who first settled within
the present precincts of the village in 1670 and
applied the name to it. Willis was a Quaker,
and had suffered much persecution before
crossing the Atlantic. Westbury was long
noted as one of the centers of Quakerism on
Long Island, and most of its. old families still
belong to that body. It has become a golfing
ground since the craze for that ancient and
royal Scottish game has assumed its present
American popularity, and quite a number of
handsome homes and large and well-appoint-
ed club-houses have in recent years been added
to its old attractiveness.
Before leaving this catalogue of the more
important villages of North Hempstead, the
more important that have any historical sig-
nificance or interest, mention should be made
918
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of one which seems in recent years to be retro-
grading, but which had a bit of history at-
taching to it that is worth remembering. That
is the village of Lakeville, almost on the old
border line of Flushing. Indeed, it is its
closeness to Flushing that is due its historical
interest. It contained a country seat belonging
to Governor Dongan, and part of the 600 acres
or so which he received when Flushing and
Hempstead received their charters, and which,
while not exactly a bribe, was at least a diplo-
matic gift. Lakeville used to be called Suc-
cess from a pond in its neighborhood which
bore that name.
OYSTER BAY AHD YICINITY.
CHAPTER LXU
OYSTER BAY.
11'' township of Oyster Bay, which is
the largest in Nassau County, as it
was the largest in the old County of
Queens, extends across the entire
island from the Sound to the ocean. The
north shore is deeply indented, and on the
south it is separated from the ocean by the
Great South Bay, with Jones or Seaford Beach
in front. The bay encloses several small
islands which are included in the township,
but for the most part they arc of very little
value. Its first patent was issued by Gov.
Nicolls in 1667, and in 1677 the document
was confirmed by Governor Andros. But its
history goes back to a much earlier date, and
it was one of the sorrows of old Peter Stuy-
vesant. It was neither English nor Dutch.
The English held it ; the Dutch claimed it ; so
it was a sort of no-man's land, caring little
for the Dutch laws and looking to Connecti-
cut for protection, although nominally under
Dutch jurisdiction. Its sovereignty was
claimed for a time by the colony of Xew Ha-
ven, but Stuyvesant never formally admitted
that claim, although there is little doubt that
it was a just and lawful one, as just and law-
ful as a treaty could accomplish. But the ac-
cession of Gov. Nicolls settled all such dis-
putes, overthrew the Dutch rule, made Long
Island an integral part of the Province of New
York, and, except for the brief interval of the
Colve opera bouffe supremacy, crushed for
ever its hopes of being part of the New Eng-
land Confederacy. But all this has already
been told in an earlier part of this work, and
treaties and the like may he passed b}" here
and the story of actual settlement lie dwelt
upon.
The earliest deed for the (hsposal of land
in Oyster Bay Township was unearthed some
years ago by ^Ir. ^^^ S. Pelletreau. It was
issued in 1639 by the agent of the Earl of Stir-
ling, and although Mariner Sinderland does
not seem to have profited by the deed it may be
inserted here as it shows the value of the land,
and also proves that CAcn in spite of the grant
of the "'Royal King" the Indians had to be
reckoned with :
Know all men whom this p'snt writeing
may concearne that I, James ffarrett, gent.,
Deputy to the right Honorable the Earle of
Starelinge, doe by these p'sents, in the name
and behalfe of the said Earle, and in mv own
name as his deputy as it doth or may any way
concerne myselfe, give and graunt free leave
.and liberty unto Mathew Sinderland, Seaman
at Boston in New England, to possesse and
yniprove and enjoy two little necks of Land,
the one uppon the East side of Oyster Bay
Harbour, and the other uppon the west side of
the said Harbour, w'ch two necks, and every
part of them, and all belonging thereunto or
that the aforesaid two necks may afiforcl, to
remain unto the said jMathew Sinderland, his
heires and assignes for now and ever, with full
power to the said Mathew to dispose thereof
at his own pleasure. But, forasmuch as it
hath pleased our Royall King to grai^t a patent
of Long Island to the said Earle, in considera-
tion thereof it is agreed upon that the said
Mathew Sinderland shall pay or cause to be
paid yearely to the said Earle or his deput\-
tenn shillings lawfull money of England, and
920
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the first payment to bee and beginn at our Lady
day next ensuinge, in the year of God one
thousand six hundred and fforty yeares, and
so to continue. And it shall bee lawfuU for
the said Mathew to compound and agree with
the Indians that now have the possession of
the said necks for theire consent and good will.
In witness I have sett my hand and scale
this day, beinge i8th of June 1639.
Robert Turner. James F.vrrett.
Whereas Mathew Sinderland, seaman,
hath apporcon of Land at Oyster Bay on Long-
Island from one James Farrett, in the name
and belialfc of the Earle of Starelinge, and the
said Mathew is to pay for the said proportion
tenn shillings a yeare to the said Earle or his
deputy. Know you that I James ffarrett to
have received from the said Mathew twenty
shillings, and for the rent of the said land for
the first yeare of his possession, beinge from
thirty-nyne unto the fortieth, w'ch I reseaved
and graunt the receipt thereof.
Witness my hand the ,4th of September
1639. J.VMES Farkett,
Recorded the ist of iMarch 1660, by me.
Will: Wells, Recorder.
The first real settlement was begun in 1653,
when land was bought from the Alatinecock
Indians by Peter Wright, Samuel Mayo and
William Leverich, and the purchase included
the present bounds of Oyster Bay village.
The price paid was on a much more liberal
scale than usual and included "six Indian
coats, six kettles, six fathom of wampum, six
hoes, six hatchets, three pair of stockings;
thirty awl blades or muxes, twenty knives,
three shirts, and as much .peague [wampum
shells] as will amount to four pounds ster-
ling." The others included in the purchase
were William Washburne, Thomas Armitage,
Daniel Whitehead, Anthony Wright, Robert
Williams, John Washburne and Richard Hol-
brook, and these men may justly be regarded
as the pioneers of the township. Several
others joined immediately after the agreement
was made, if they were not even then on the
exact spot. Twenty lots were laid out at first,
of 6 acres each. Not much is known of the
personal history of anv of the settlers. Mr.
Leverich we have already met in our story of
Newtown. In Oyster Bay he does not appear
to have been recognized as a leader, although
he was the accepted minister of the settlement
until 1657. His great aim in settling on Long
Island seems to have been to work among the
Indian tribes, and he certainly found many
opportunities. Peter Mayo was a remarkably
enterprising fellow. Lie owned the good ship
"Desire," of Barnstable, and in it carried the
adventurers and their goods and possessions
to Oyster Bay. He seems to have been the
business man of the enterprise and looked after
the aff^airs of the colony, apportioning its plan-
tations or farms to those new-comers who
proved agreeable to the town meeting. Peter
Wright was probably regarded as the leading
man in the settlement, and Richard Holbrook
built the first house in what is now Oyster Bay
village. Robert Williams is described as hav-
ing been a near relative of the celebrated Roger
Williams, and was the first purchaser of the
property which afterward became known as
Dosoris. Daniel Whitehead soon removed to
Jamaica, Anthony Wright prospered in Oyster
Bay until his death in 1680, and the Wash-
bournes moved to Hempstead. Most of them
were natives of England, and while the settle-
ment they formed was not a religious one it
was a moral community in every way. They
seem to have freely admitted new-comers to
share in the privileges of settlement, and Gov.
Andros's patent presents us with several new
names. As we have not printed any of the
manifestoes of this potentate, we may here
present a copy of the patent he issued to
Oyster Bay :
Edmond Andros Esqr., Seigneur of Saus-
mares, Lieut, and Governor General under his
Royal Highness James Duke of York and Al-
bany &c. of all his Territories in America, To
all to whom these Presents shall come sendcth
greeting.
Whereas there is a certain Town in the
North Riding of Yorkshire on Long Island
commonly called and known by the name of
Oyster Bay, situated, lying and being on the
OYSTER BAY,
921
north side of the Island, towards the Sound,
having a certain Tract of land thereunto be-
longing; the East bounds whereof begin at the
head of the Cold Spring, and so to range upon
a Southward line from the Sound or North
Sea to the South Sea, across the Island to the
South East bounds of their South meadows at
a certain River called by the Indians Narras-
ketuck ; thence running along the said coast
westerlv to another certain River called Arras-
quaung; then northerly to the Eastermost ex-
tent of the Great Plains where the line divides
Hempstead and Robert Williams' bounds ;
from thence stretching westerly along the mid-
dle of the said Plains till it bears South from
the said Robert Williams' marked Tree at the
point of Trees called Cantiagge; thence on a
north line to the said marked tree, and then
on a north west line somewhat westerly to the
head of Hempstead Harbor on the East side,
so to the Sound ; and from thence Easterly
along the sound to the aforementioned North
and South line which runs across the Island
by the Cold Spring aforesaid : Bounded, on
the North by the Sound, on the East by Hunt-
ington limmitts, on the South part by the Sea
and part by Hempstead limmitts, and on West
by the bounds of Hempstead aforesaid, includ-
ing all the Necks of Land and Islands within
the afore described bounds and limmits.
Know ye that by virtue of His Majesty's
Letters Patents and the commission and auth-
ority unto me given by his Royal Highness I
have Rattified, Confirmed and Granted, and
by these presents do hereby rattify, Confirm
and grant unto Henry Townsend senr., Nich-
olas Wright, Thomas Townsend, Gideon
Wright, Richard Harcker, Joseph Carpenter,
and Josias Latting, as Patentees for and on be-
half of themselves and of their associates the
Fieeholders and Inhabitants of the said Town,
their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, all the
afore mentioned Tract of Land within the said
bounds, with the Islands and Necks of Land
aforesaid, together with all the Wood lands,
Plains, Meadows, Pastures, Quarries, ?ilarsh-
es. Waters, Lakes, Rivers, Fishing, Hawking,
Hunting, and Fowling, and all of the profits,
commodities, emoluments, Hereditments to
the said Town Tract of Land and premises
within the limmitts and bounds aforemen-
tioned described belonging or in any wise ap-
pertaining; To have-and To hold all and sing-
ular the said lands, Heriditments and prem-
ises, with their and every of their appurtenanc-
es and part and parcel thereof, to the said Pat-
tentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Suc-
cessors and Assigns, to the proper use and be-
hoof of them the said Pattentees and their As-
sociates, their Successors and Assigns forever.
The Tenure of the said lands and premises to
be according to the Custom of the Manour of
East Greenwich in the County of Kent in Eng-
land, in free and Common Soccage and by
Fealty only. Provided allways notwithstand-
ing that the extent of the bounds afore recited
in no way prejudiced or infringed the particu-
lar propriety of any person or persons who
have right by labour or other lawfull claim to
any part ot parcell of Land or Tenement with-
in the limmitts aforesaid, only that all the lands
and Plantations within the said limmitts or
bounds shall have relation to the Town in gen-
eral for the well Government thereof ; and if it
shall so happen that any part or parcell of the
said land within the bounds and limmitts afore
described be not all ready purchased of the In-
dians it may be purchased (as occasion) ac-
cording to Law.
I do hereby likewise confirm and grant
unto the said Pattentees and their associates,
their Heirs, successors and assigns, all the
privilidges and immunities belonging to a
Township within this Government, and that
the place of their present habitation and abode
shall continue and retain the name of Oyster
Bay, by which name and Stile it shall be dis-
tinguished and known in all bargains and
Sales, Deeds, Records and writings ; they mak-
ing improvements thereon according to Law,
and yielding and paying therefoa- yearly and
every year unto his Royal Highness' use as a
Quit Rent one good fat Lamb on the 25th day
of March unto such Officer or Officers as shall
be empowered to receive the same.
Given under my hand and sealed with the
seal of the Province in New York this 29th
day of September in the 2gth year of his Ma-
jesty's Reign, Anno Domini 1677.
An DROSS.
Examined by me, ;M.\thew Nichols, Sec.
This is a true Record of the original patent
of Oyster Bay, written and examined by me,
John Newman, Recorder.
On the back side of the before written pat-
ent is the following endorsement:
New York, November ist, 1684.
Memorandum. — That it is agreed and con-
sented unto by us whose names are underwrit-
922
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ten, deputed from the town of Oyster Bay to
adjust and ascertain the bounds and limmits
between the towns of Oyster Bay and Hemp-
stead before the governor and council at Fort
James in New York, that the bounds and Hm-
mits between Oyster Bay and Hempstead be-
gin at the Barrow Beach, according to an
agreement made the 25th day of October 1677.
Witness our hands — Thos. Townsend, Na-
thaniel Coles, John Weeks, Isaac Horner.
Signed in the presence of John Sprague,
George Farewell, George Brewerton.
Gov. Andross' patent was needed, for the
vagueness of the boundary lines had given
trouble. The Indians had not been promptly
paid in the first place and that involved con-
siderable negotiations, and the precise limits
of the western boundary involved another dis-
pute with the red men, while a similar trouble
was started in 1663 with Huntington over the
eastern boundary, but that dispute lasted for
over a century and its details are too weari-
some to be followed, especially as the matter
has long ago lost its living interest — if it
ever really had any except to a handful of
people.
In the internal government of the town-
ship the town meeting ruled in everything.
So far as is known no clergj'man was ap-
pointed in Mr. Leverich's place when he left
and it was many years before a meeting house
was erected. In 1677 "Thomas Webb,
Schoolmaster," was appointed town clerk, but
the title is all the reference to show that
there was any educational provision in the
town. In 1693 the town meeting "met to-
gether in order to a late act of Assemblv for
settling two ministers in the county, but
nothing done about it ; but made return that
it was against their judgment, therefore could
act nothing about it." Now it is impossible
to believe that these people were without pub-
lic worship from the time Mr. Leverich left
in 1657 or thereabouts, and the probability is
that the Quaker doctrines had made headway
among them.
It would seem that at first the land was
to be held in common, except the six-acre
home lots. That theory, however, was soon
departed from and in practice all sorts of
notions prevailed. Privileges were granted to
one and withheld from another. Some lots
carried rights to privileges in the meadows,
pastures and woodlands, others did not ; some-
times lots were given to people wi.th the pro-
viso that they should build houses on them,
others received lots without any proviso at
all. It was the rule that the town meeting-
should pass upon the merits or demerits of in-
tending settlers, but after a while lots were
transferred without asking the leave of the
meeting. All this in the long run led to con-
fusion and bickering, recrimination and law
suits. The fathers seemed to have had some
ideas of settling the land question, but ap-
peared unable to carry them out and the re-
sult was trouble all around. So burdensome
did all this become that a meeting was held
in 1677, "when there was confirmed, by name,
every freeholder which hath a free vote for
giving and granting of common rights, and
not otherwise; and that from henceforward ro
grant of township or common rights shall
be confirmed, or held legal grants, without
every freeholder hath legal warning that such
a meeting is to be appointed, or that there are
lands to be given out ; and, after legal warning
given them by the officer appointed, it shall
be held legal, to all intents and purposes, all
gifts or grants by common rights to either
man or men, given by the majority of free-
holders that doth appear at the time and place
appointed. And it is further agreed that
for every town right that any freeholder doth
possess he shall have so many vetes in the
giving and granting land and common rights,
and not otherwise to be understood, but to
grant and divide, as they shall see cause."
The freeholders named were: Henry
Townsend, Joseph Dickinson, Edmund
Wright, Anthony Wright, Joseph Ludlum,
Samuel Weeks, Nicholas Simpkins, John
Jones, Francis Weeks, William Frost, John
OYSTER BAY.
923
Rogers, John Dickinson, William Buckler,
Nicholas Wright, Job Wright, Elizabeth
Townsend, John Townsend, Josiah Latting,
Nathaniel Coles, Richard Harcott, Adam
Wright, Latamore Sampson, (Simon Cooper),
Daniel Coles, John Wright, John Townsend,
Caleb Wright, Isaac Doutty, James Townsend,
John Weeks, Samuel Andrews, Matthias
Harvey Fyde, Samuel Furman, Alice Crabb,
Henry Townsend, Jr., Gideon Wright, Rich-
ard Crabb, George Dennis, Thomas Town-
send, Joseph Weeks, John Weeks, of War-
wick, Thomas Weeks, JMoses Furman, James
\\"eeks.
Only freeholders could vote in town meet-
ing, but all lot owners were not freeholders
and thereby arose another complication. In
fact the early land question in Oyster Bay is
about as interesting a puzzle as a legal an-
tiquary would delight to study.
From the first the settlers looked to New
Haven as their suzerain, so to speak, and it
would seem that New Haven accepted the
charge, and in 1662 named John Rigebell as
Constable of Oyster Bay. The colonists
seem to have thought this hardly in keeping
with their ideas of municipal liberty and in
1664 they joined with Hempstead, Newtown,
Jamaica and Flushing to make up a sort of
federation and manage their own affairs with-
out crossing the Sound. How this federation
would have panned out is hard to say : certain-
ly Connecticut would have opposed it, and
just as certainly Stuyvesant would not have
tolerated it so far as such places as Flushing
and Newtown and Jamaica were concerned.
But the advent of Richard Nicolls settled all
such matters, as has already been noted. It is
said that Rigebell became so unpopular in
Oyster Bay village owing to his willingness
to accept Connecticut's nomination that he was
glad to sell his property and wander away.
Rigebell is described by some as the pio-
neer merchant of Oyster Bay and Newtown.
The second was a George Dennis, who, how-
ever, if he was the second merchant was the
first bankrupt, for we are told that he had to
turn over his property to his creditors. But
Oyster Bay soon became noted as a mercantile
centre, and as early as 1668 there was talk of
building a wharf at what afterward became
known as Ship Point. In 1661 the first grist
mill was erected by Henry Townsend. The
miller engaged to run the concern, Richard
Harcut, was not a ver}' polished or a very pol-
itic gentleman and seemed to offend several
of the customers of the mill and much grum-
bling ensued. The matter, as was certain, was
discussed at a town meeting in 1672 with
the following result: "That if any person or
persons do not like their usage at the mill
they are to give notice of it to the miller and
atend himself, or his wife if he have one, and
see their corn grinding if they will ; but if
the}- will not attend the grinding * * ' *
they are at liberty to grind in another place
and the miller is at his liberty whether he will
grind again for any such person or persons."
By the close of the 17th century Oyster
Bay had become quite a port and fifty years
later its merchants had an extensive trade with
the various Sound ports and even with the
West Indies. The' outbreak of the Revolu-
tion, however, dissipated all that prosperity
and blighted even the work of the fields for
several years.
Oyster Bay seems to have been fairly di-
vided when the great question which the War
of the Revolution decided first began to as-
sume a critical phase. It was loud in its pro-
testations against the misgovernment and the
stupidity which brought the matter of separa-
ion to an issue, but when the time came to
fake the step one way or the other which was
to determine her position she seems to have
hesitated.
As early as ]March 6, 1766, a town meeting
was held at which the following stirring pro-
test against the stamp act was drawn up and
addressed to "The Committee of the Sons of
Libertv in New York":
<)24
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Gentlemen : By order of a committee
of the Sons of Liberty in Oyster Bay we are
to acquaint you that at a meeting of the in-
habitants, on Saturday, February 22nd, 1766,
it was unanimously agreed and resolved :
L That the person, crown, and dignity
of our rightful sovereign King George III,
with all his just and legal rights of govern-
ment, we will to the utmost of our power sup-
port, maintain, and defend.
II. That the liberties and privileges which
we as Englishmen have still enjoyed, particu-
larly those of being taxed by representatives
of our own choosing and being tried by our
own juries, we will also support, maintain, and
defend.
III. That the late Stamp Act is destruc-
tive of these our liberties, and is by us deemed
to be arbitrary and unconstitutional; that as
such we will to the utmost of our power en-
deavor to oppose and suppress the same.
IV. That tne measures which you have
taken and the several noble efforts you have
made in vindication of the general cause of
liberty we do heartily approve of, and that
with our lives and fortunes we stand ready to
assist you in the same.
V. That the committee now chosen do
signify these our resolutions to the Sons of
Liberty at New York, and elsewhere as they
may think proper; that the said committee do
for the future keep up appointed meetings, as
may be thought necessary, at the house of
George Weeks, in Oyster Bay, and maintain
a correspondence with your committee, in
which we expect your concurrence.
This shows that the good people of Oyster
Bay were not afraid to express their views in
plain language ; but when the question of sep-
aration came before them in 1775 they were
emphatically opposed to it. At the annual
town meeting that year the clerk, Samuel
Townsend, stated that he had received a letter
from the Committee of Safety in New York
recommending that the people of Oyster Bay-
should get together and elect deputies to the
Provincial Convention. The letter and its pur-
port were discussed at considerable length,
some urging the immediate election of
deputies, some advocating delay and still
others contending to leave the matter severely
alone. The whole discussion finally resolved
itself into the simple question whether or not
deputies should be selected, and when the vote
was taken it was found that 205 had voted
against deputies and only 42 were in favor
of sending them. However, when the result
was declared, the minority, who were enthusi-
astic and active in the furtherance of their
views, at once got together and elected a
deputy in the person of Zebulon Williams.
Field, the historian of the battle of Brooklj'n,
characterizes the entire proceedings as a bit of
adroit politics. However that may be, Will-
iams went to the Provincial Congress and was
accepted as the representative of Oyster Bay.
He bore with him the following document :
To the Provincial Convention:
Whereas the unhappy dispute between the
mother country and the American colonies,
we humbly conceive, has arisen from assumed
power claimed by the British Parliament to
pass laws binding on us in all cases whatso-
ever, and hath given us great uneasiness ; and,
as we conceive, unanimity among the inhabi-
tants of the colonies is the only means under
Providence to secure the essential rights and
liberties of Englishmen ; and, in order that the
inhabitants of thd. different colonies should
know each other's sentiments and form gen-
eral plans for the union and regulation of the
whole, it is necessary there should be dele-
gates appointed to meet in general Congress.
And whereas the committee of corresponcK
ence of New York did request the people of
Queens county to choose deputies, in conse-
quence thereof there was a town meeting at
Oyster Bay on April 4th, for the appointing
of one deputy ; but there appearing at said
meeting a majority against it, yet nevertheless
we the subscribers, freeholders of Oyster Bay,
being determined to do all in our power to
keep in imity with you and the colonies on the
continent, and desirous of being in some meas-
ure represented at the general Congress, do
hereby appoint Zebulon Williams as our
deputy, giving unto him full power to act in
our behalf in the premises aforesaid. In con-
firmation whereof we have hereunto set our
hands respectively:
George Townsend, Micajah Townsend,
William Seaman, David Layton, George Ben-
net, Joseph Carpenter, John Schenck, Peter
Hegeman, James Townsend jr., John Wright,
OYSTER BAY.
925
Gilbert \\'right, Richard \\'eeks, James Town-
send, Wm. Townsend, Prior Tovvnsend, Wm.
Latting, B. Latting, Joseph Thorney Craft,
WilHam Hopkins. Joseph Coles, Albert Al-
bertson, John Luister, Rem Hegeman, Sam-
son Crooker. Jacobus Luister, Albert Van
Nostrand, Jotham Townsend, William Laton
jr., \\'illiam Latim, Peter j\Iutty (x mark),
Benjamin Rushmore, William Wright, John
Carpenter, James Farley (captain), Samuel
Hare jr., Benjamin Rirdsall, Joseph Doty,
Isaac Bogart, Samuel Townsend, Gideon
\\'right, Gilbert Hare, Benjamin Townsend,
Josiah Lattin.
Emboldened by their success, the combined
results of patriotism and politics, the \\'hig
element at once, on learning of their recogni-
tion b}- the Provincial Congress, proceeded to
carry out their plans with a high hand. The
Tory Justices, Thomas Smith, John Hewdett
and John Townsend, protested against the
rather high-handed doings at a town meeting;
but in December, 1775, they and 26 others
were summoned before the Provincial Con-
gress to explain their attitude, but a significant
fact is that when the Oyster Bay company of
militia was ordered to repair to headquarters
there were more delinquents — they should
hardly be called deserters — marked on the roll
than the number of those who personally re-
sponded. Captain Sands — now Colonel — in-
stituted a ruthless search throughout the town-
ship for deserters and Tories, and as soon
as it was evident that the crisis was at hand
and that Long Island was to be the scene of
hostilities, the effort to crush out the op-
position to the patriot cause throughout the
whole of Kings and Queens counties was car-
ried on with increased determination, and in
some instances with increased cruelty. Civil
law practically ceased to be enforced in Oyster
Bay as elsewhere and the power was in the
hands of the local Committee of Safety. On
July 29, 1776, the following orders were sent
to Lieut. Jotham Townsend:
I. You are to take command of the re-
cruits, and march them down to Matinecock
Point, where you are to place sentinels in the
most advantageous places to discover the
enemy ; likewise to be very careful there is no
communication to the ships of war. Should
you discciver any persons attempting it, yoit
are to put them under guard.
2. You are to build a shelter if there be
none convenient. Should you want any ma-
terials, take such as will answer your purpose
best.
3. Charge your men that they insult nor
abuse any of the inhabitants, or destroy their
eft'ects.
4. Should you discover the enemy at-
tempting to land, you are to send off express
to me, and order the owners of stock to drive
them oft' with all expedition on the Great
Plains.
5. Should any of your men disobey or-
ders, steal, or abuse the inhabitants, you are
to put them tmder guard.
6. Minute down daily what happens, and
make a return Saturday next by 10 o'clock, at
my house. Jno. S.^NDS, Col. '
' Westbury, July 29th, "1776-
Additional orders, August 3d :
Should you discover the enemy in sight
you are to immediately hoist your signal, then
send oft' your express.
You are not to suft'er yoiu" men to play at
cards, dice, or any unlawful game, nor in-
toxicate themselves with strong drink. You
are to observe that no small craft passes and
repasses having any transient persons or ne-
groes on board. Should you discover any you
are to take them up. If, upon examination,
you find them clear, discharge them; if guilty,
put them under guard till discharged by the
town committee. You are not to let your men
waste their cartridges by firing wantonly at
game. You are to exercise your men four
hours every day.
But the disaft'ection could not be kept
down. ]\Iany of the Tories to escape persecu-
tion went into hiding, but on August 12, 1776,
some 20 belonging to Oyster Bay were ar-
rested and sent over to Connecticut. The com-
mittee which represented the Patriot cause
for a time in reality used the name of liberty
to cover persecution.
When the news of the result of the battle
of Brooklyn reached the township, a change
came almost in the twinkling of an eye and
926
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the hunters became the hunted. The Com-
mittee of Safety, which received the news at
Matinecock, disbanded in a hurry and some
of them hurriedly departed to insure their
personal safety within the Patriot lines. Joost
Montfort ran away from the township, too,
but he hurried to the British camp and gave
himself up to General Robertson, who handed
him a certificate of loyalty and so saved him
further trouble. Several leading. Whigs took
to the swamps where the Tories had so recent-
ly been sheltered, and it was not long before
British cavalrymen were engaged in the ugly
task of hunting for them just as they a short
time before had been engaged in "rooting
out" the Tories from the same hiding places.
The saddest fate befell George Townsend and
John Kirk, both of whom had made them-
selves particularly obnoxious during the reign
of the committee. Townsend, in fact, was its
chairman, and seems to have been almost
rabid at the very name of Tory. Townsend
and Kirk were arrested and taken to New
York, where they were thrown into the Pro-
vost prison, and endured its horrors for nine
weeks — a sufficient punishment, it would seem,
for any conceivable crime to be visited on men
accustomed to the refinements and decencies
of life! While there Kirk contracted small-
pox and died from its effects. His wife and
infant child died from the same disease, so
that virtually three lives were thus made to
pay the penalty of one man being just a little
too positive and premature in his patriotism.
Townsend came out of prison hating the
Tories worse than ever, and in 1782 seems
to have had another taste of the hospitality
of the Provost.
Toward the close of 1776 Gen. Oliver De
Lancey took up his headquarters at Oyster
Bay and assumed military control of the dis-
trict. Then the full force of martial law be-
gan to be felt. Prices were fixed by the Brit-
ish officials for grain, provisions, provender,
horses, cattle, and all these had to be delivered
up to the soldiers without question. Some of
the farmers were left with hardly enough fod-
der to sustain their stock, teams were im-
pressed without regard to their local necessity
and while money was paid for all this to the
loyal farmers, it was said that when the
farm of a Whig was raided and emptied the
money was generally retained at headquarters.
Business was paralyzed under such circum-
stances and farming practically was at a
standstill, for though payment was made for
what was appropriated it was not enough to
pay for the outlay and the labor, and the
presence of the military guaranteed neither
order or safety. The gold paid for the produce
was really a burden to those who received it.
They could not spend it, they had no place
in which to deposit it and so had to conceal
it about their premises, and a knowledge of
this was an incentive to the thieves in the army
and to the large body of desperadoes which
followed the troops — as such men have fol-
lowed all armies from the beginning of his-
tory.
An effort was made to enlist a corps of
loyalists at Oyster Bay and Captain Henry
Seton, who took charge of the recruiting, had
stations at Oyster Bay, Huntington and Jer-
icho. In March, 1778, a proclamation was
issued calling for recruits and promising in-
creased bounty money and all sorts of induce-
ments to make up the strength of the Queen's
Rangers, while $1 was promised to each per-
son instrumental in bringing in a recruit. It
would seem that 350 recruits were obtained
and the Rangers were stationed at Oyster Bay
and on Lloyd's Neck until May 16, 1779, when
they left for King's Bridge, New York. The
following extract from the "History" of Lieut.
Col. J. G. Simcoe, who commanded the
Queen's Rangers, refers to military operations
in Oyster Bay Township in 1778:
There was a centrical hill [in Oyster Bay]
which totally commanded the village and
seemed well adapted for a place of arms. The
outer circuit of this hill, in the most accessible
places, was to be fortified by sunken fleches,
OYSTER BAY.
927
joined by abattis, and would have contained
the whole corps ; the summit was covered by a
square redoubt, and was capable of holding 70
men ; platforms were erected in each angle
for field pieces, and the guard-house in the
center, cased and filled with sand, was ren-
dered mflsket-proof, and looped so as to com-
mand the platforms and surface of the para-
pets ; the ordinary guard of 20 was sufficient
for its defense. Some of the militia assisted
in working one day when Sir Wm. Erskine
came to Oyster Bay intentionally to remove
the corps to Jericho, a quarter of the legion
was to quit in order to accompany him to the
east end of the island. Lieut. Col. Simcoe
represented to him that in case of the enemy's
passing the sound both Oyster Bay and Jericho
were at too great a distance for an}' post to
expect succour, but that Jericho was equally
liable to surprise as Oyster Bay ; that its being
farther from the coast was no advantage, as
the enemy, being acquainted with the country
and in league with the disaffected inhabitams
of it, could have full time to penetrate undis-
covered through the woods, and that the vi-
cinity of Oyster Bay to the seacoast would
enable him to have a more watchful eye over
the landing places, and to acquire a knowledge
of the principles of the inhabitants in these
important situations ; and that provisions from
New York might be received by water. Sir
W. Erskine was pleased to agree with Lieu-
tenant Colonel Simcoe; and expressed himself
highly satisfied with the means that had been
taken to ensure the post. * * * The gar-
rison in New York being in great want of
forage, Oyster Bay became a central and safe
deposit for it, and frequent expeditions to-
wards the eastern and interior parts of the
island were made to enforce the orders of the
commander-in-chief in this respect.
The people suffered much from the troops
under General De Lancey, but when Fan-
ning's Loyalists came along they found, Whig
and Tory alike, that they were in the hands
of a gang of thugs and cut-throats. Military
law prevailed in its harshest form, corporal
punishment was inflicted on the slightest
provocation, the soldiers, most of them bil-
leted in the villages, destroyed property, furn-
iture and buildings without scruple. The of-
ficers tried to stop the reign of plunder, but
seemed to be helpless. The Baptist meeting
house became a barracks, that of the Friends
a store house for the Commissary. A battal-
ion of Hessians, commanded by Col. Von
Janecke, robbed right and left in defiance of
their officers and murdered in cold blood many
citizens who opposed their designs. It was
related that in one instance where Jacobus
Montford wounded a Hessian who was rob-
bing his yard and was arrested, the officer
dismissed him, saying if Montford had shot
the Hessian he would have given him a guinea,
but as a general rule the citizens did not es-
cape so easily when they attempted to defend
their property from the blackguards who were
arrayed on the side of King George and dis-
graced the cause they were enlisted to support.
One of the most remarkable features of
the story of the Revolution at Oyster Bay
was what is known as the Whaleboat cam-
paign, which resulted in much annoyance and
loss to the Loyalists. The whaleboats were
taken into the service of the Continental Con-
gress and the purpose was to cut off the sup-
plies being sent to Long Island from the main-
land, to capture prisoners and the smaller
boats in the service of the British, to harass
the coast of the island, and now and again to
make a descent and capture some prominent
Tory, who might thus be made to serve his
country by serving as a ready exchange for
some equally prominent Continental held as
prisoner in the camps or jails of the Royalists.
Sometimes it must be confessed that, especial-
ly toward the close of the struggle, there was
little difference between the doings of many of
the crews of these whaleboats and the acts of
ordinary harbor thieves and coast pirates, but
on the whole they fulfilled their purpose cred-
itably. The following synopsis of their cam-
paign is based on Onderdonck's researches,
from which, indeed, the material on which
this whole story of Oyster Bay in the Revolu-
tion has been taken :
One of the first reports of the capture of a
boat plying between the ports of this town and
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
New York was published in New Haven, Dec.
14, 1778: — " "Peggy' and cargo, Darby Doyle,
master, navigated with forty men, under a
commission of \'al. Jones, to supply New York
with fuel, forage, and provisions, was taken
by Peter Griffing, captain of a company of
rangers."
Dec. 22, 1777, Gaine says: "Sunday
night, 14th, the reCoels landed at Cold Spring,
and carried off two market boats loaded with
flaxseed, wood, cider, &c., &c." About the
same time the sloop "Dove," with cargo, was
taken in Cold Spring Harbor by Thomas Sel-
lew, in the armed sloop "Lucy." The "Flying-
Fish," of Rye, captured the "Industry," Cap-
tain .'Vbraham Selleck, from Oyster Bay to
New York, loaded with fifteen cords of wood,
seventeen half-barrels of cider and vinegar,
seven or eight bags of meal, and rigging and
sails for another vessel.
About 12 o'clock March 3, 1778, seven
men, with arms, were discovered crossing
Lloyd's Neck, bending their course for the
narrow beach that leads oil: the Neck. They
were pursued and taken by a party of loyal
refugees. They were the noted William S.
Scudder and his gang, as appears from his
confession. He says he quit Long Island i:i
September of 1776. After going with several
expeditions he went to Hog Island with a
party to take Squire Smith, but missed of him
and took a Quaker, and plundered the house
of considerable value. He had been with all
the expeditions which had come to the island,
and was the man who took Mr. Ireland. He
had been on the east end of the island in the
interest of General Parsons, and some time
afterward was of the party who took two
sloops out of Cold Spring Harbor. He was
of the party that had lately come over to Long
'Island and bin-nt the three vessels cast away
while cuniing from Rhode Island, and it was
his design in coming over at present to collect
what he could from the wrecks then burnt.
They robbed Samuel Skidmore's cider-mill
house, and then attempted to go over to the
other shore ; but, the wind being contrary, and
the day becoming extremely cold, freezing their
fingers and feet, they had to make for the first
land, which proved to be Lloyd's Neck. The
confession is dated March 3, 1778, and signed
by William Smith Scudder, with Tyler Dibble,
a refugee, and William Quarme, captain of the
guard ship "Halifax," in Oyster Bay, as wit-
nesses. The prisoners on Saturday afternoon,
March 7th, were brought to New York in the
boat of the "Halifax," and secured.
General Putnam on the 22d of December
following wrote a letter to Governor Clinton
concerning Scudder, in which he mentions that
Scudder had a commission from Governor
Clinton to cruise the sound in an armed boat
against the enemies of the United States ; but
complained that he had violated the orders of
the commander-in-chief by seizing private
property on Long Island. General Putnam
adds that he knows nothing, personally,
against Scudder, but has heard that he is a
brave man, has suffered much, and done con-
siderable service in the cause of his country.
On a Monday evening in the latter part of
April a party of loyal refugees were cutting
wood on Lloyd's jMeck when they were at-
tacked by two row galleys and an armed ves-
sel, and carried prisoners, eighteen in number,
to Connecticut. A little later in the same
month Tyler Dibble and 15 wood-cutters were
carried from Lloyd's Neck by a galley carry-
ing a i2-pounder, and four whaleboats. The
alarm reaching the man-of-war on that station,
the boats were pursued, but without success.
On the 5th of May a small boat commanded
by Captain Adamson, with six men and ten
swivels, went into Oyster Bay and fell in with
the tender of the British ship "Raven," which
mounted eight swivels and had nine men
armed. The boat, after discharging her swiv •
els and small arms, boarded the tender, and
carried her the next morning into Stamford.
She had on board three hogsheads of rum,
several casks of bread, beef and other articles
for the ship, and some dry goods.
Early in June the Schooner "Wild Cat,"
of fourteen swivels and forty men, came from
Connecticut to Oyster Bay and landed four-
teen of the crew, who shot some sheep at Oak
Neck. This vessel is described as having a
large number of oars, which enabled it at
every calm to cross over and pillage the in-
habitants of the island. A few days after this
the "Wild Cat" and the "Raven's" tender,
with four whaleboats well manned, came to
Lloyd's Neck to harass the wood-cutters, when
a number of boats from the British ship pur-
sued them, capturing the "Wild Cat," and re-
capturing the "Raven's" tender and a wood
boat, which had been taken when commg out
of the harbor, together with some of the
whaleboats, and thirty prisoners, killing two
men, with no loss to the pursuers.
OYSTER BAY.
929
After the first of September the scale of
success was changed again, and Major Grey,
of Colonel ]\Ieigs"s regiment, killed three
Tories on Lloyd's Neck, and carried ofi^ fifteen.
A privateer also carried off a sloop loaded
with wood and provisions. A party consist-
ing of James Ferris, a refugee from the island,
Benjamin Howell, Nathaniel Sacket, of Bed-
ford. Obadiah Valentine and Patrick Stout,
came over from Connecticut on Thursday
evening, a week after this, and plundered the
house of William Cock of goods to the amount
of £140, obliging him and his family to carry
tlie goods nearly two miles to the whaleboats.
On Saturday following another party came
over, in two boats, to Red Springs, near Mos-
quito Cove, and robbed the houses of Jacob
Carpenter and John Weeks of a quantity of
valuable effects, and then made off, but re-
turned that evening and robbed two unfortun-
ate weavers at Oak Neck. On the 9th of June
f. illowing, Clark Cock, at Oyster Bay, was
robbed of considerable cash, and goods to the
value of over £400. by another band from over
the sound. The "True Blue," Captain Elder-
kin, captured the "Five Brothers," a schooner
of 24 tons, with Abraham Cock master, nine
miles west of Huntington Harbor, on the 3d
of February, 1779. A sloop of 45 tons, going
to New York, the property of one Youngs,
was captured on the 15th, four miles west of
Oyster Bay, on the high seas.
"Simcoe's Journal," dated April 18, 1779,
relates that a party of refugees, led by Captain
Bonnel, with Captain Glover and Lieutenant
Hubbell, furnished with arms, agreeable to or-
ders from headquarters, went from Oyster
Bay to take the generals, Parsons and Silli-
man, from the opposite shore. They did not
risk an attack on General Parsons, but brought
Brigadier-General Silliman to Oyster Bay.
He was sent next day to New York. About
the first of September following, Captain
Glover, who headed this party, was himself,
with twelve others, with some plunder, carried
off from Lloyd's Neck by a whaleboat from
Connecticut. On the nth of the next month
a continental armed schooner, commanded by
T. White, captured the "Charming Sally" and
cargo in Oyster Bay. Justice Hewlett and
Captain Israel Youngs were carried off in June
by a party from Connecticut. A number of
refugees soon after went over to Connecticut
and returned with thirteen prisoners, four
horses, and forty-eight cattle.
"Rivington's Gazette" tells us that on
Monday night, July 3d, a party of rebels, sup-
posed to be from Horse Neck, headed by one
Benjamin Kirby, attacked the house of ^M^ra-
ham Walton, at Pembroke, Mosquito Cove,
and took him, together with his silver plate,
and Mrs. Walton's money. They then pro-
ceeded to the neighbors, and took Dr. Brooks,
Albert Coles and eight more Loyalists, and
carried all to Connecticut. Li the latter part
of July, at 2 o'clock on a Tuesday morning.
John Townsend of Oyster Bay was carried oft
by a company of rebels, led by one Jonas
Youngs. They also carried away most of the
valuable articles in his house, besides partly
demolishing the house itself. Arnold Fleet, a
millwright, was carried off at the same time.
The men, fearing the militia, several com-
panies of whom were stationed near, hastened
away, carrying their boats over the beach,
and left their sentinel, a young man, on Mill
Neck. He wandered about the neck until
compelled by starvation to' give himself up.
On a Monday in October five vessels came
into Oyster Bay and captured a guard brig
pierced for 14 guns, with 10 mounted ; also a
sloop of six guns, commanded by Samuel
Rogers, who had been taken and carried to
Connecticut three times since the first of
March preceding. Three other sloops, also a
schooner from under the battery at Lloyd's
Neck, were taken and all safely conveyed into
port on the Connecticut shore.
Hon. Thomas Jones, Justice of the Supreme
Court of New York, a noted and active Loyal-
ist, was much coveted by the Americans as an
offset for General Silliman, whose capture has
already (been mentioned. An attempt was
made for his capture and conveyance to Con-
necticut ; the mode and results are recorded
as follows :
"Fishkill, December 9th, '79. — On the
evening of November 4th about twenty-five
volunteers, under Captains Hawley, Lockwood
and Jones, and Lieutenant Jackson and Bish-
op, crossed the sound from Xewfield [since
Bridgeport] to Stony Brook, near Smithtown,
and marched to the house of the Hon. Thomas
Jones, justice of the supreme court of New
York, at Fort Neck, where they arrived about
9 o'clock on the evening of the 6th, hiding
in the woods by day. The whole distance
was 52 miles. There was a ball in the house,
and the noise of music and dancing prevented
the approach of the adventurers being heard.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Captain Hawle)' knocked at the door, and, re-
ceiving no answer, forced it and found Judge
Jones standing in the entr\^ He told him he
was his prisoner, and immediately conducted
him off, and a young man named Hewlett.
A guard of soldiers was posted at a small dis-
tance from the road. When they came near
the spot the judge hemmed very loud, but was
forbidden to repeat it. He did, however, but
on being further threatened desisted. An
alarm arose, which obliged the men to retreat
rapidly, traveling 30 miles the same evening,
and to secrete themselves the next day, by
which time the British light horse were near.
The next evening they reached their boats,
having taken two prisoners more, and arrived
safe at Black Rock, Fairfield county, on the
8th, except six men in the rear, who were
overtaken and captured by the light horse.
Judge Jones was taken to Middletown, and in
May, 1780, was exchanged for General Sulli-
van', a prisoner at Flatbush. Mr. Hewlett
was exchanged for the general's son, one
"Washburn being thrown in as a make-weight.
After the exchange the judge and general
'dined together."
Judge Jones had been paroled in Connecti-
cut as a prisoner of the United States just
three years, to a day, before the date of the
above article.
"New Haven, Nov. 24, '79. — ^londay
sen'nit two small privateers, of four guns
each, commanded by Captains Lockwood and
Johnson, ran into Oyster Bay under British
colors, where four wood vessels under protec-
tion of a large eight-gun brig, who asked the
privateers, 'Where from?' and on being an-
swered, 'From New York,' they were per-
mitted to run alongside the brig unsuspected,
and, boarding her, the crew were surprised
into immediate surrender, without firing a
gun, though manned with 20 stout fellows; on
which the other vessels also submitted, and
were brought out of port, destined for Nor-
walk or Stamford; but, on being pursued by
some armed vessels from Huntington Har-
bor, the brig unluckily ran on a reef of rocks
near Norwalk Harbor, and fell again into
the enemy's hands, who got her off and took
her away. The other prizes got safe into
port."
This brig was a guardship in the mouth
of Oyster Bay. The first ship, the "Halifax,"
under Captain Ouarme, was after two years
condemned, when he was succeeded by Cap-
tain Ryley, who became superannuated. Then
came Captain Townsend, who had been for
some time ashore sick at \\^illiam Ludlam's,
in the house now occupied hy Henry Ludlani
on Hog Island. One day after he had begun
to be able to walk about he invited Mr. Lud-
1am to walk to the other side of the island
to look at his vessel, when, to their surprise
and chagrin, they saw the privateers run
alongside and capture the craft, which was
the above mentioned brig. The British had
been expecting their own fleet of privateers,-
so did not suspect the trick. ]\Ir. Ludlam was
always sorry for his friend.
The "Lively," of seventy tons, was taken
in Oyster Bay December 7th, with a cargo of
salt. "Rivington's Gazette," July 25th, says
that two whaleboats, the "Association" and
"Henry Clinton," crossed from Fort Frank-
lin, on Lloyd's Neck, to Norwalk, landed 38
men, and returned to the island to escape
observation, but were to be back at a given
hour. The party marched five miles from the
shore, and remained hidden in the woods till
2 o'clock. Captain Frost surrounded the
sanctuary where the people of Middlesex
(now Darien) had assembled for prayer, and
took fifty "notorious rebels, their reverend
teacher at their head. Forty horses ready
saddled were taken care of at the same time,
and all safely brought to Long Island." On-
derdonk adds : "Thev were all ironed, two
and two, on the green in front of Wooden's,
Oyster Bay, and so marched to the provost."
On the evening of November 24th, 1781,
Lieutenant J. Hull, of Colonel Fitch's corps,
came over the sound in a whaleboat, navi-
gated by eight men, and landed near Hemp-
stead Harbor, the entrance to which was
guarded by an armed vessel. He left his boat
with two men, and with the others marched
to Mosquito Cove. Finding a canoe, and
embarking, they boarded nine vessels which
lay in the cove and made prisoners of sixteen
men ; not deeming it safe to try to take the
vessels away, they were ransomed and the
prisoners paroled. The whole party returned
without the loss of a man. About the first
of December a number of whaleboats came
into Oyster Bay and unrigged Captain Shed-
dan's (boat at Ship Point, and carried off an-
other, which was ransomed for £200.
"Rivington's Gazette," under date of Sept.
18, 1782, says:
"As Captain Thomas, of the 'Association,'
OYSTER BAY.
931
carrying ten 4-pounders and 30 men, was con-
voying a fleet of wood boats down the sound,
they were attacked off Tinnicock by two gun-
boats and II whaleboats manned with 200
men, the largest boat having a brass six-
pounder in her bow. Captain T. hid his men,
housed his guns, and thus decoyed the boats
within musket shot, when his men suddenly
discharged their muskets, and canister shot
from the four-pounders. A number fell, but
they did not desist from their attack, but
towed off detached vessels, as it was a calm.
They were, however, all retaken after a com-
bat of six hours. These pickaroon gentry
greatly infest our coast."
In the latter part of December the schooner
"P^ggy-" John Envidito master, and her cargo
of broadcloths, coating, linen and other goods,
were taken.
On one occasion the whaleboat men found
a vessel aground at Cold Spring. They at-
tempted to get her off, but failed. Threats of
burning caused the vessel to be ransomed. The
whaleboat men robbed the store of one Youngs
at East Woods, and hid the plunder in the
bushes near the shore, in order to remove it at
a more suitable time ; but, the goods being dis-
covered, they were prevented. Nicholas
Wright's store was robbed. Justice Smith, of
Hog Island, was robbed of silks, etc., and Will-
iam Ludlam, a tailor who lived with him, was
robbed of a great many suits of clothes which
he was making up for his customers. Sarah
\\'right, at Cove Neck, was robbed, among
other things, of a silver milk pot, which was
carried to Stamford. Seth Wood's store at
East Woods was also robbed. The house of
John Willets, at Cedar Swamps, was broken
open, his hands were tied, every threat was
used, and his house was even set on fire, to
make him give up his money, but in vain.
Probably the people of Oyster Bay, wheth-
er Whig or Tor}', felt relieved when the sound
of war ceased and the horrors of martial law
became a thing of the past. When peace was
proclaimed, industry was resumed, but the
township had been so seriously drained of its
resources, its fields had been so trampled on
and destroyed, its granaries, when spared, had
been so emptied, and its financial resources so
reduced, that it took a long time to regain
what had been lost during the few vears of
conflict. Agriculture was at that time the
main industry, for the war had shattered the
shipping trade which had been promising so
much prior to 1776. But the soil, not the sea,
was, after all, the mainstay of the people, and
so until the nineteenth century had pretty well
advanced, the story of the township is mainly
a record of improvement in crops, in farm
stock, in extension of the farm land by a steady
clearance of the brush and wildwood, and in
the development of the breed of horses, horses
for pleasure as well as for work. The apple
seems to have been the principal fruit culti-
vated, and Oyster Bay became noted for its
cider.
Oystering did not develop into much of
a business until about the middle of the last
century. The oysters of the town's Sound
shore front had been famous among the In-
dians, and the white settlers prized them as
food. So did others, for we find, in 1784, a
special town meeting declared that outsiders
should not be permitted to "take or carry away
any of the oysters from off the oyster beds
lying in the town on penalty of five pounds, to
be recovered by the persons hereafter named
[Samuel Youngs, James I'arley, Amaziah
Wheeler], and to be paid to the Overseers of
the poor." In 1801 a town meeting came to
the protection of the oyster by declaring "that
no oysters be caught in the harbor of Ovster
Bay with rakes or tongs from the first day of
May next to the ist day of September follow-
ing, under the penalty of five pounds for each
and every offence." There was probably grave
reason for this, for the quality of the oysters
and the demand for them evidently threatened
a shortage in the supply. Up till then the
oyster fishing had been one of the privileges of
the township and seemed to be part of the
common property of the people, but in 1807
the beginning of a system of private property
in the bivalve was inaugurated, when a town
meeting granted Robert Peeks ten square rods
under water "for the purpose of making an
oyster bed where no valuable bed has been
982
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
known." This was a beginning, and private
ownership in oyster beds soon became so wide-
spread as to threaten the occupanc)' of the en-
tire harbor and remove from the people a right
which they had enjoyed since the settlement.
The courts were appealed to, but decided that
any inhabitant could plant an oyster bed in a
spot not previously occupied, and the bed
should be regarded as private property. There-
after there ensued a long struggle between the
people and those who had thus acquired prop-
erty rights, and the battle was waged for years.
The people could pass and did pass resolu-
tions regulating the trade, protecting the
growth of the oysters, and laying down laws
for close or open seasons, but when the ques-
tion came to be an invasion of private prop-
erty rights the courts sternly interfered. In
1843 a meeting declared "we will defend the
rights of the town to the exclusive ownership
of the oysters in Oyster Bay," but that gallant
defence went practically no further than the
paper on which it was written. In 1847, how-
ever, they got down to a tangible issue when
they declared that "the oysters in the bay or
waters of the town be free to all of the inhab-
itants of the said town the ensuing year." The
owners of the oyster beds at once took issue
with this, the law was appealed to, and the
rights of the planters to the exclusive use of
their property was sustained.
We may now turn our attention to the re-
ligious life of Oyster Bay, a subject which is
of equal interest and importance with its civil
history. It has already been said that the
first community was not a theocracy, although
the Rev. Mr. Leverich was among the pioneers
and was regarded as their minister until he
moved away in 1657. It is held that in 1659
a regular meeting of the Society of Friends
was established at Oyster Bay, in the resi-
dence of Anthony Wright, and a marriage
was solemnized there between Samuel An-
drews and Mary Wright, August 8, 1663.
There are some signs also that some of Mrs.
Hutchinson's converts visited Oyster Bay and
held religious meetings, so that in one way or
another the place was not without its spiritual
leaders, and Oyster Bay became the religious
centre for a wide district. In 1672 George
Fox paid it a visit and preached in the woods,
with a rock for a pulpit, because there was no
house in the place large enough to accommo-
date the number of his atiditors, and it was in
that year that Anthony Wright gave land, part
of his house lot, to the Society of Friends, on
which to erect a meeting house and lay out a
burial plot. The house was finished early in
the following year and seems to have been a
comfortable little structure, with double doors,
eight windows and plain benches. The Soci-
ety waxed strong, and large congregations
were formed in Matinicock in 1671, Jericho in
1676, and in Bethpage in 1698, while on the
lonely farms the simple faith of the Society
was that held by possibly nine-tenths of the
people. For a time it would seem that next
to Flushing, Oyster Bay was the most import-
ant centre of the Society on Long Island. So
the burly and blusterous Keith reported, in
1 70 1, as the result of his personal observation.
But even then a change had taken place, and
the adherents of the Society gradually fell
ofif in the village. The first meeting house was
taken down in 1693, and a second was not built
until 1749. In 1797 the number of Friends
had dwindled down until little more than "a
remnant."
This, however, was not caused by any fall-
ing off in the religious spirit of the town, but
because other influences had been at work and
had weakened the hold of the Society. The
Baptists had been zealously at work even when
the Society seemed supreme, and had gradual-
ly won converts to their views. About the year
1700 William Rhodes settled in Oyster Bay
village from Rhode Island, and at once began
to hold regular meetings, and so organized a
congregation — a congregation that was made
up mainly, if not wholly, of persons who had
been numbered among the Quakers. It has
been held that he was not an ordained minis-
OYSTER BAY
933
ter, that he was without denominational au-
thority, but in the early history of either the
Quakers or the Baptists such matters were not
deemed of prime importance in the face of re-
sults. In 1724 a Baptist meeting house was
erected, but the congregation lost its up-build-
er, for Mr. Rhodes in that year was called to
his reward. He was succeeded, Prime tells us,
by "an individual by the name of Robert Feeks,
the son of a Quaker preacher," who had been
his assistant. "He was ordained," says Prime,
"in 1724 by Elders from Rhode Island. He
was what is called a Free-will Baptist, and as
no other qualification was considered neces-
sary in a candidate for baptism than a desire
to be saved, his church was, of course, numer-
ous. * * * He labored many years, and died
[1773] in the 89th year of his age." But he
was not without his troubles. In 1745 the
Rev. Thomas Davis was appointed his col-
league, and, being a stern and unyielding Cal-
vinist, his sentiments were on many points
utterly opposed to those of his senior. This
led to bickerings and confusion and might
have caused the creation of another congrega-
tion had not Davis, after some three years of
agitation, retired from the vineyard on account
of ill health. The people then held together,
each section certain of ultimate triumph. Ca-
leb Wright, a grandson of the pioneer Rhodes,
had been educated for the ministry and was
to be ordained and installed as Mr. Feeks's
colleague. The people had listened to his
preaching for over a year, and there was a
strong hope that he would lead the people into
quiet waters, that he would heal the past dif-
ferences. But the day appointed for his or-
dination turned out to be that of his burial,
and the Rev. Isaac Still, of New Jersey, who
had been appointed to ordain, preached his
funeral sermon. After that contention broke
out worse than ever. Mr. Davis returned for
a brief visit in the hope of restoring peace, but
seems to have made the confusion worse than
ever, and if we read Prime's story of the trou-
ble aright, he and the now venerable Pastor
Feeks had a regular set-to in tlie pulpit one
Sunday, and Davis proved the victor, put
Feeks out and preached tlie sermon !
In 1759 David Sutton was called to the
pastorate, and for a short time peace prevailed,
but the result was a schism and the formation
of a new congregation, calling themselves the
"New Lights." The pastor of this body, or
its spokesman and preacher, was Peter Under-
bill (a grandson of the famous Captain John
Underbill), but its real leader was his mother-
in-law, Mrs. Sarah Townsend, who, having
in her early years been a schoolmistress, was
generally known as Madame Townsend; a wo-
man of much ability, evidently, and one who
had certainly studied the Scriptures closely
and believed in expounding them according to
her lights. She refused' to believe in denom-
inational restraints, believed in the indiscrim-
inate outpouring of the Spirit, and believed
that all would, at one time or other, be con-
verted. When the new body attempted, after
a little experience, to draw up a set of rules to
maintain order and decorum, she shouted
"Babylon !" and withdrew. However, she
seems to have soon returned, and the little
community lasted for some thirty years, when
she and Underbill and the others gave up the
struggle and became associated again with the
regular Baptist Church. Bv that time that
body had been reduced to nine members, and
even six years later it was only blessed with a
membership of forty. In 1801 the Rev. Mar-
maduke Earle, having settled in Oyster Bay to
assume charge of the Academy, also agreed to
supply the pulpit of the Baptist Church, and
under his ministry, which continued until his
death, in 1856. the Baptist lx)dv has had a his-
tory in Oyster Bay in every way worthy of its
aspirations and its high position as a body of
earnest, devoted Christian workers.
Along with the Baptist body the Episco-
l^ialians aided in the disintegration of the Qua-
ker supremacy. Keith, the renegade Quaker,
mentions that he had considerable success in
his proselytizing efforts in Ovster Bay, among
984
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
other places on Long Island, -in 1701. A
church building was erected in 1707, but for
many years the congregation was under the
pastoral charge of the clergyman at Hemp-
stead. After the Revolution services were con-
ducted irrregularly, but the congregation re-
mained intact and the church authorities in
New York in 1787 appointed Andrew Fowler
as "reader" to the people at Islip, Brookhaven
and Oyster Bay. Mr. Fowler afterward be-
came rector at Oyster Bay. He did not remain
long with the people after being ordained a
priest. It is doubtful if the church building
was much used after the Revolution for Di-
vine service, as the Hessian troops had used
its timber for their own purposes and de-
stroyed much of the internal fittings. In 1804,
however, the structure was blown down and
the material of which it was composed was
then sold for $67, which sum, however, the
local church authorities did not receive until
1845. Its site was used for the Oyster Bay
Academy. With the removal of Mr. Fowler,
in 1 79 1, the congregation seems to have again
passed under the care of a reader, with occa-
sional visits from the rectors at Huntington
and North Hempstead. When the Academy
was completed the people worshipped in one
of its rooms. In 1835 it was made a mission-
ary station under the Rev. Isaac Sherwood.
In 1844 Oyster Bay again became a district
charge, a new church building was erected in
1845, ^nd the modern history of the congrega-
tion may be said to have then begun. The
present beautiful' structure in which the con-
gregation now worships was erected in 1878,
when the cornerstone was laid by the then rec-
tor, the Rev. George R. Van de Water, now of
New York.
It was not until 1846 that a Presbyterian
congregation was formed at Oyster Bay.
The present village of Oyster Bay has a
population of 2,320. In 1846, in a moment of
irresponsibility, it was decided to change its
name to Syosset, but the change only lasted,
foramatelv, for about a week. Besides its im-
portant oystering and shipping trade it is the
centre of a colony of summer homes of the
very highest class. Its importance has steadily
increased since the railroad gave it easy access
to the outer world. Its cottages are most pic-
turesque and reach out from it in all direc-
tions, and it is well supplied with hotels and
boarding houses. As the home of the Seawan-
haka Yacht Club it is a centre for that class of
sport, and the clubhouse of that organization,
a most imposing structure at the entrance of
the bay, with more or less of its "fleet" in
front and its dock always a busy, bustling
place during the season, is itself a prime at-
traction to visitors. Oyster Bay, in fact, has
become quite a fashionable centre, and its dig-
nity in this respect seems certain to steadily
increase. Of recent years it has come into
especial prominence as the residence of Theo-
dore Roosevelt, ex-Governor of New York,
and now President of the L^nited States. His
splendid cottage has been the scene of many
an important gathering since his return from
Cuba, where, as Colonel of the famous "Rough
Riders," he won a national pre-eminence and
became one of the foremost figures in Ameri-
can public life. As the first Chief Executive
which Long Island has given to the L^nited
States, his career is entitled to particular con-
sideration in a work like this and it will be
found treated at length at the close of this
chapter.
]\Iatinicock is now best known to the out-
side world from the fact that its "point" has be-
come a "mark" in the local yachting competi-
tions. Yet, in spite of that and in spite of the
fact that its population increases but slowly
(125 at last reckoning), it has a most inter-
esting history. For a long time it was claimed
l:)y Hempstead as part of its territory, but that
claim was disproved in 1666, but although the
Oyster Bay settlers claimed to have bought it
from the Indians in 1653, and that claim has
been allowed to stand, there does not seem to
exist any tangible proof of it. But it was set-
tled soon after, for in 1659 we find that people
OYSTER BAY
9b5
from ;\Iatinicock attended the services of the
Society of Friends in Oyster Bay. In 1660
the famous — or infamous — Capt. John Under-
hill received 150 acres of land in Matinicock
from the Indians as a gift, and in 1663 he
added to his possessions by purchase. About
the same time his brother-in-law, John Peeks,
a Quaker preacher, bought an adjoining tract,
and the dwellings of these two worthies were
erected close together. The only son of John
Feeks became the pastor of the first Baptist
Church in Oyster Bay. In 1682 a stated meet-
ing of the Society of Friends was inaugurated
here, and in 1682 a meeting house was erec-
ted, which was followed by the erection of a
larger structure in 1725. From the first Mat-
inicock has been a farming community and so
remains. Locust \ alley (formerly called
Buckram), which has a population of 625;
Lattingtown (200), and Bayville (400), are
all pleasant villages in the old territory of
Matinicock which call for little comment, al-
though the schools of the first named have
won more than a local reputation. In these
places the influence of the Society of Friends
is still very great.
Dosoris can date from 1668, when Robert
Williams bought 1,000 acres there from the
Matinicock Indians, including two islands
known by the prosaic names of East and West.
The property, after several changes, came into
possession of Daniel Whitehead of Jamaica,
who bequeathed it to his daughter, the wife of
John Taylor. It was inherited by the only off-
spring of that marriage, a daughter, Abigail,
who became the wife of the Rev. Benjamin
Woolsey of Southold. He it was who gave it
its name — a contraction or adaptation of the
Latin Dos Uxoris — a wife's dower. Apart from
the singularity of its name there is nothing
to demand our attention in the village, which
has only a little over 100 of a population. Bui
it is a beautiful and romantic place, and when
it becomes easier of access is certain to attract
a large share of the summer business of Long
Island. For manv rears Charles A. Dana, of
the Xew York Sun, occupied West Island, and
Townsend Cox, a long and leading politician
in New York, had his home on West Island.
In September, 1868, Glen Cove celebrated
its bicentennial, and there was a procession,
music, oratory — mainly an oration by Mr. H.
T. Scudder — and a feast of clams, sandwiches,
coffee, etc. It was a good old-fashioned jolli-
fication, it was open to all who chose to listen
or partake, and w4:en the day was over the
good folks of the village were ready to swear
that Glen Cove had not its equal in all Long-
Island.
In 1668 Joseph Carpenter, a resident of
Rhode Island, after a short stay at Oyster Bay,
bought some land from the Indians at Mos-
quito Cove, Nathaniel Coles, Abra Carpenter,
Thomas Townsend and Robert Cole. That
purchase was taken to mark the beginning of
Glen Cove by the local antiquaries. The little
colony was soon enlarged, and in 1786 the set-
tlement had no fewer than 32 taxpayers. They
were :
Caleb Coles, 125; Benjamin Coles, 100;
Jacob \'alentine, 277; Coles Mudge, 80; Jor-
dan Coles, 19; James Bennett, 3; Henry Mott,
26; Charles Thorne, 19; Thomas Kipp's es-
tate, 6; Joseph Wood, 120; Benjamin Craft,
JT^;. Joseph Craft, 147; Solomon Craft, 60;
Morris Carpenter, 15; William Hyde, 11;
Coles Carpenter, 200 ; Albert Coles, 75 ; Derich
Coles, 62; William Coles, 48; Benjamin Coles,
jr., 100; Isaac Coles, 19; Daniel Coles, 120;
Ananias Downing, 156; William Hopkins, 80;
Thomas Hopkins, 140; Silas Downing, 20;
Jeromas Bennett, 80; George Bennett, 80;
Thomas Pearsall, 185; Charles Frost, 3; John
Frost, 3 ; William Bennett, 6.
The first industry, outside of agriculture,
was that of milling. Joseph Carpenter erected
the first sawmill and in 1677 added a grist mill,
in connection with which he entered into the
following agreement with his neighbors :
Agreed yt whareas I, Joseph Carpenter,
haveing Built A grist-mill joyneing to oure
new saw-mill, and upon ye stream which be-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
longeth to us five purchasers — Nathanell
CoUes, Daniel Colles, Robert Colles, Nickolas
Simkins and my selfe — and in consideration of
three parts in ye streme and timbar I Joseph
Carpenter doe pledge my selfe, my heyres, Ex-
sexetors. Administrators, and Asignes, see
long as my selfe, my heyres, Exsexetors, Ad-
ministrators, or Asignes shall keep or man-
taine ye said mill, tto grind ye aforesaide pro-
prietors' corne and grayne for each of their
famylies well and Tolle-free for ever; and iff
my selfe, my heyres, Exsexetors, Adminis-
trators, or Asignes for ye futar shall see case
to Lett ye sayde grist-mill fall, and not to keep
it in repayre for ye fulfilling of ye conditions
as above inserted, that then and after, forever,
ye aforesayde streme to remaine to us five pro-
prietors and our heyres and Asignes for ever,
to order apd dispose of as we shall see Case —
to which I have sett my hand and seale ye 14th
of Janewry 1677. Joseph Carpenter.
Signed, sealed and delivered in ye presence
of us — Tho. Townsend, Samuel Pell.
These mills appear to have done quite a
large business, and indeed prosperity seems to
have been the characteristic of life at Mosquito
Cove until the crisis of 1776. Its people then
were mainly found on the side of the Patriots,
and quite a number of its youth — a company
indeed— marched away to the scene of battle
and gave up their lives under the leadership
of the gallant Woodhull, whose own life was
also sacrificed for the cause of liberty.
From the declaration of peace, Glen Cove
seems to have been forgotten by the world,
until about 1828, when a joint stock company
was organized to run a steamer between it and
New York and intermediate ports. A steamer,
the Linneus, had for some time been run be-
tween Glen Cove and New Rochelle by Capt.
Peck. The stock company built a splendid
new dock and the adventure proved quite a
success. It is still continued, even although
many thought that the railroad would force its
cessation. Some of the most substantial boats
that ever plied on Long Island Sound have
been on this route, the "Flushing," "American
Eagle," "Mayflower," "General Sedgwick,"
among them. Two of the boats, the "Glen
Cove" and the "Long Island," were sent South'
during the Civil War and were there burned.
The saddest incident of the line's story was
that of the burning of the "Seawanhake," on
June 28, 1880. She had left her pier in New
York on that date with some 300 passengers
on board. When passing Ward'.s Island, the
vessel seemed suddenly to become a mass of
flames and the Captain hastily determined to
run it on to a marsh known as the Sunken
Meadows. By this action the lives of most of
those on board were saved, but between deaths
by burning and drowning the casualties
reached 61.
It was the establishment of the Glen Cove
Manufacturing Company — for the making of
starch — in 1855 that has given to the village
its position as a manufacturing place and made
its name to be known almost all over the civil-
ized world. The product was perfect from the
start and speedily won its way, while the
awards it received at the great London Exhi-
bition of 1862 gave it a position which it has
since maintained, that of making a starch
which is not surpassed for purity by any in the
world. The- subsequent "world's exhibitions,"
Paris, Philadelphia, Chicago and others, have
emphasized the praise bestowed on it by the
London experts when it first entered into open
competition with all other makes. Its first
factory, erected in 1856, was destroyed by fire
in February, 1858, but a new establishment
was erected at once. Nowadays the company
operates an immense establishment, and to it,
more than to any other single agency. Glen
Cove owes its eminence as the most richly pop-
ulated village in Oyster Bay township, the lat-
est returns placing it at 4,700.
It has been held that a Methodist congre-
gation was formed in Glen Cove as early as
1785 under Jesse Coles as class leader. The
services were held in private residences until
1827, when provision was made for them in
the school building, and a Sabbath school or-
ganized. In 1844 a church building was erec-
ted, which gave wav in 1861 to a much more
OYSTER BAY.
937
commodious structure. St. Paul's Episcopal
Church was founded here in 1833, and was at
first closely associated with the church at Man-
hassett, and a Presbyterian Church was organ-
ized in 1868 with fifteen members.
Writing of Glen Cove, a recent guide-book
says : "Adjacent to Glen Cove is the Pratt
property, an estate of eight hundred acres,
magnificently located, with a frontage on Long
Island Sound. On the Pratt estate is the tomb
of the late Charles Pratt, in his lifetime the
most prominent personage identified with Glen
Cove. He located his country home upon the
estate above referred to, and established a
model educational school building for the town,
which he designed to stand as his most endur-
ing monument. He died before the realization
of his hopes, but his sons carried out as a sa-
cred injunction the favorite design of his life-
tim.e, and the building was dedicated with due
solemnity on May 24, 1893. The institution
maintains an agricultural department which is
operated upon a portion of the estate, and here
the students are initiated into the best and lat-
est researches of modern farming. Contiguous
to the Pratt estate the veteran editor of the
New York "Sun," recently deceased, laid out
his magnificent possessions, known as "Dana
Island." This beautiful property is known far
and wide, and the late Charles A. Dana lav-
ished upon it a constant and unremitting care.
It is as celebrated in the records of horticulture
as the famous Shaw's Garden of St. Louis,
and contains trees, plants, and shrubs collected
from every portion of the globe. Dull care
and business were never allowed to enter this
ideal spot. To \lr. Dana it was a happy Val-
ley of Rasselas. His last hours were spent
here, and the estate is to be maintained in its
integrity and beauty with the same reverent
care as was lavished upon it by its lamented
owner."
Sea Clift'. which might be called a suburb
of Glen Cove, was founded in 187 1 as a re-
ligious settlement by a corporation having its
headquarters in Xew York. It was to be a
place for the summer residence of Christian
families of moderate means, where they might
lease a small plot of ground, erect modest cot-
tages and enjoy fresh air and rest with such
spiritual enjoyments as camp meetings and
other forms of public worship. The ground
was at first intended to be leased, not sold, and
an annual rent of ten dollars on each lot was
to be devoted to paying the interest on the
money invested and in improving the grounds,
opening up and grading the streets, policing,
etc. But the beauty of the place soon over-
turned these primitive calculations, and after
a while the early restrictions were abandoned,
the streets were widened, the size of the lots
increased, and palatial villas began to arise
beside the modest cottages, The system of
leasing gave way to selling outright, and Sea
Cliff is now one of the most popular of Long
Island's "summer" cities, and has a population
estimated at 1,475. ^t has good hotels, splen-
did bathing accommodations, and in many re-
spects is a model settlement.
East Norwich was named after their fa-
ther's birthplace in England by James and
George Townsend, sons of John Townsend, of
Oyster Bay. They secured a tract of land in
1680, about two miles south of Oyster Bay
village, and around' their farms a .small village
gradually sprang up. It was never very popu-
lous, it now only claims 425, but at an early
period in its history it became a centre of
Methodism, and the light started there in 1784
is still burning. The history of East Nor-
wich really centres round its little Methodist
church, and as it is curious in many ways the
following story of its career by Mr. H. H.
Erost may not be without interest to the gen-
eral reader :
"The Rev. Philip Co.x, a IMethodist minis-
ter belonging to the Jamaica circuit, preached
in this place in 1784. Services were held at
private houses. From 1784 to 1822 traveling
ministers of the Jamaica circuit officiated here.
In 1822 the Rev. Joshua Burch was located
here, and held services at the residence of
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Thomas Cheshire. During the summer of
1833 a grove meeting was held at Muttontown,
then called Christian Hill. This grove meet-
ing was a memorable one ; out of it grew a well
organized and efficient working ^lethodist so-
ciety in this place, and the erection of a suit-
able building. About forty persons were con-
verted upon this occasion, and among them we
find the name of James Vernon. The first
thought of this good man after his conversion
was to devise plans for a suitable place of wor-
ship. He aroused enthusiasm among a few
neighbors. They held a meeting in a barn now
standing, drew up a paper stating their olaject.
and Air. \>rnon started the list of suljscribers
with $40, a very large sum in those days. At-
tached to this paper are seventy-four names,
with the amount promised. George Peters,
Thomas Cheshire, Henry Cheshire, John Nos-
trand, Abraham Remsen, Catherine, Alary and
Sally Peters and Andrew C. Hegeman gave
$25 each : Thomas Cheshire and ^^'illiam Dur-
yea, $20 each; John A'an Cott, $15: Jackson
Vernon, George Remsen, John Jackson, John
Layton.John Cheshire, Charles Cheshire, Jo-
seph White, C. & J. Stores, Samuel Alott, Gid-
eon Wright and Townsend W. Burtis, $10
each ; and others from five dollars down to one
as they were_able. The members of the Soci-
ety of Friends also contributed liberally.
"The church was built in 1834, and it has
been of great use and benefit to the entire
neighborhood. It is 31 by 37 feet, located just
south of the village, and is worth, with the
ground attached, about $2,500. The site was
a gift from James Vernon. The parsonage,
situated a short distance north of the village,
is a two-story structure, built in 1866 or 1867,
and, with the plot of ground, worth perhaps
$1,500."
Bethpage is another community which for
long was a religious center. Thomas Powell,
a Quaker from Huntington, bought a large
tract of land in 1695, and in 1698 a Friends
meeting was estaiblished, which was main-
tained until a year or two ago, when it seems
to have died tnit. The population at present
is given as 150, and brickmaking is the only
industry, excepting farming.
A much more important religious center
was Jericho, a pleaSant village near the center
of the town. It was settled first about 1650,
and the present population of 325 is mainly
descended from the first settlers, such as Sea-
mans, Willets, Underbill, Williams. In early
times Jericho was known as "The Farms,"
or Springfield, and the Indians called it Lu-
sum. Most of the early settlers were of the
Society of Friends, and meetings for worship
were held in the homes of the people with
more or less frequency from 1676 to 1787,
when a regular meeting house was built. In
that tabernacle some wonderful reunions have
been held, and Elias Hicks preached in it for
several years. It is still a place of worship,
but the old palmy days have gone, although
the si.xty members on its roll make up a con-
gregation as earnest and devoted as any that
ever assembled in its walls,
The mention of the venerated name of
Elias Hicks recalls to us the town named in
his memory and which, although it seemed for
a long time incapable of growth, now has a
population of 1,300, a number of factories and
industries, and appears destined to grow stead-
ily in importance as a manufacturing center,
even if it fails to become a resort. It was
founded in 1836, wheji a number of member.-;
of the Society of Friends bought part of the
land on which it is situated, and laid out a
few streets on a map and gave it the name of
Hicksville. But the population expected did
not appear, and the place seemed dead. In
1842 the Long Island Railway reached it and
built a station, an engine house and some
storage places, and on the strength of all that
the original projectors took heart and erected
a hotel and a dozen cottages. But the venture
even then seemed a failure. For some reason
or other the Rev. Dr. Prime, the historian,
was bitterly opposed to Hicksville, mainly be-
cause he was opposed to the doctrines of Elias
Hicks. He wrote in 1845 •
"It [Hicksville] is a village of recent origin
_>A^^L^-iSr-«^
vn^j(2
OYSTER BAY
939
situated on the western line of the town about
midway of the great plain. It originally con-
sisted of a large depot and workshops, a hotel
with its outhouses and five or six small private
dwellings. The railroad having been ex-
tended to Greenport in 1844, the depot being
burned down about the same time, and no ad-
ditions whatever being made to the private
dwellings, the 'village' bids fair to remain m
statu quo. Its business, however, is undi-
minished, as it is a point at which several
stages and private conveyances arrive daily
with passengers from the adjoining villages,
and after remaining an hour or two depart
with their return cargoes. Of course, its prin-
cipal trade consists of hay and oats for horses,
and cakes and pies and coffee, or whisky, for
men, all of which are articles of foreign pro-
duction, as there is no land under cultiva-
tion. Indeed, all the houses stand 'out of
doors' without any enclosure except a small
garden attached to the hotel. And although
the whole territory is as level as a barn floor
and building lots can be purchased far cheap-
er than in New York, the public seems de-
termined not to buy them. * * * It does
not seem likely to be selected as a place cf
residence of any man in his senses. East
New York and Jamesport are privileged spots
compared with Hicksville. The name may
live, but the 'village' is a miserable abortion."
All of which is another instance proving
that while Dr. Prime may have been a very
good preacher, he was a mighty poor prophet.
In 1849 Frederick Heyne purchased 1,000
acres of land and several others, Germans, like
himself, also purchased land in the vicinity.
In 1850 the idea was broached of making
Hicksville a German settlement, and the idea
was quickly put into practice. Streets were
again surveyed and lots staked out, and in
1852 a school house was erected. The people,
mostly Germans, began to buy up the lots and
build, and long before Dr. Prime died, in 1856,
he could have seen a thriving village rising on
the spot concerning which he uttered his sar-
casms and his lamentations.
Farmingdale is a thriving village of some
1,600 inhabitants, and with its church, educa-
tional advantages, its School of Technology,
its one or two factories, and its beautiful sit-
uation, it is one of the pleasantest little towns
to be met with even in Long Island. It lies
at the foot of the Comae Hills and is really
one of the healthiest places to be found within
a wide circle of New York. In olden times
it rejoiced in the name of Hardscrabble, but
how or when such a cognomen was first ap-
plied lias not come down to us in any sat-
isfactory shape.
Among the other villages in Oyster Bay
township mention might be made of Glen
Head, "a summer city," with a population of
500; Plainview, 230; South Oyster Bay, 475;
Syosset, 368; Wheatly, 175; Laurelton, 125;
Greenvale, 192; Central Park, 375; Bayville,
400; Glenwood Landing, 268; Alill Neck,
200 ; New Cassell, 225 ; Woodbury, 350 ; and
Plain Edge, 137.
BI0GR.-\PHIC.\L SKETCH OF PRE.SIDEXT ROOSE-
VELT.
The eyes of the nation have never been
turned with more anxious questioning to one
man than to Theodore Roosevelt ; they now
rest upon him with good will, confidence and
trust. Under the administration of President
McKinley the country had enjoyed over four
years of marked growth, advancement and
progress. Through his kindly nature, his
great diplomacy and powers of statescraft he
had done more than any other individual to
bring the whole country into harmony and
unity, and had given it prestige among the
great world powers. The marvelous hold
which he had upon the affections of the peo-
ple, east and west, north and south, was mani-
fest in the universal grief which reached its
culmination in the five minutes of absolute si-
lence which prevailed tliroughout the land in
every avenue of life as the hour for his burial
arrived.
And the people turned to their new ruler
anxiouslv and vet with faith in their hearts.
940
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
for he. had proved his bravery on the San Juan
hills, had manifested the puritv and strength
of his purpose in public office and in his earn-
est and purposeful way had shown himself to-
be the peer of some of the most gifted men of
the nation. He is, however, the youngest chief
executive that has presided over the destinies
of the United States, but since he has handled
the reins of government he has shown a won-
derful insight into public affairs of every de-
scription. The man of war has become the
man of peace ; the man of action has become
the man of thought ; his diplomacy has elicited
the highest commendation ; and while his great
strength of purpose has in no wise diminished,
he has directed it in different channels, having
marked influence upon the public good.
President Roosevelt springs from one of the
old and distinguished families of German orig-
in. This family was one of considerable import-
ance in Holland, as shown by the coat of armor,
indicating the origin of the family. Arms, ar-
gent on a mount vert, a rose bush with three
roses ppr. ; crest, three ostrich feathers per
pale, gules and argent; motto. Qui plantavit
curabit [the one who planted it will take care
of it]. This is the same in substance as that
borne on the arms of the State of Connecti-
cut, viz., Qui transtulit sustinet [he who trans-
planted sustains].
Claes Martinzen Van Roosevelt, meaning
Nicholas the son of Martin, of the Rosefield,
who emigrated to America from Holland in
1654, was the first of the name in this country.
His descendants intermarried with the Schuy-
lers, Bogaerts, Provosts, Van Schaicks, De-
Peysters, Latrobes, Hoffmans, Barclays, Van
Courtlandts, Lispenards, etc. The family early
obtained an extensive tract of land in New
York city, extending from Chatham street to
the East river, lying between Pearl, Roosevelt
and Catharine streets, or, as it was originally
called, Ruger's old farm. Hence in this way
and by its commercial enterprises it has become
affluent. The family has been represented in
Colonial and State affairs through every gen-
eration down to the present period, and owing
to the achievements of the present representa-
tive of the family the name is as familiar to
every schoolboy throughout the country as is
that of Washington or Grant.
The wife of Claes Martinzen Van Roose-
velt was Jannetje Samuels or Thomas, prob-
ably the latter.
Nicholas Roosevelt, fourth child of Claes
and Jannetje Roosevelt, was baptized October
2, 1658, and married December 26, 1682, Hey-
tje Jans, who was an Alderman of New York,
1698 to 1701. He removed to Esopus, and
died July 30, 1742.
Johannes Roosevelt, eldest child of Nich-
olas and Heytje (Jans) Roosevelt, was bap-
tized February 27, 1689. He was assistant
Alderman of New York from 1717 till 1727
and Alderman from 1730 until 1733. He
married Heltje Sj verts. This name is also
spelled Hyla Suerts in the Dutch records of
New York. She was the daughter of Olphert
Suerts, who married Margrieji Cloppers, born
May 30, 1708, a daughter of Cornelius Jansen
Cloppers.
Jacobus Roosevelt, fifth child of Johannes,
OYSTER BAY.
941
was born August 14, 1724. He married An-
netje Bogart, and his second wife was Ele-
nora Thompson. The si.Kth of their seven
children was Jacobus RooseveU, who was born
October 25, 1759, and died August 13, 1840.
He was known as James I. RooseveU, and was
commissary during the war of the Revolution,
giving his services gratuitously. "Getting
supplies" for the Continental amiy became so
impressed on his mind as to enter into his
every-day transactions, and long after the war,
whenever he went to market, as was the cus-
tom of the head of the family in those days,
taking a servant along to carry the basket, he
always referred to it as going for "supplies."
He married Mary Van Schaick.
Cornelius Van Schaick Roosevelt, youngest
child of Jacobus (2), was born January 30,
1794. From his father and grandfather he in-
herited a large fortune, and this he augmented
by various successful financial ventures, be-
coming one of the richest men in New York.
For many years he was engaged in the impor-
tation of hardware and plate glass. He was
one of those who founded the Chemical Bank
on the single principle of honesty, and that in-
stitution has never failed to pay its obligations
in gold, and during the Civil war redeemed its
notes at one time at $280 in greenbacks. He
introduced in business the principle of giving
no notes. Mr. Roosevelt married Margaret
Barnhill, of Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish
ancestry. Her grandfather was Thomas Potts,
a member of the Continental Congress. The
issue of this marriage was: Weir, C. V. S.,
Jr., James A., Robert and Theodore (ist).
Theodore Roosevelt (i), youngest child of
Cornelius \'an Schaick Roosevelt and Mar-
garet (Barnhill) Roosevelt his wife, was born in
New York city, September 29, 183 1, and died
there February 9, 1878. He joined the firm
of Roosevelt & Company, glass importers, then
located at No. 2 Maiden Lane, and continued
in that business till 1876, when he established
a banking house in partnership with his son
at No. 32 Pine street. Mr. Roosevelt was
among the pioneers in the development of
what was known as the up-town district of
Manhattan island. He built an elegant resi-
dence on West Fifty-seventh street, and there
he passed the last hours of his life.
At the time of his death Mr. Roosevelt was
one of the three state commissioners of public
charities, a position for which he was admir-
ably fitted by his experience and his peculiar
devotion to philanthropic enterprises. He was
vice-president of the Union League Club and
a member of the Century, St. Nicholas and
various kindred organizations. When Arthur
was supposed to be on the point of giving up
the position of collector of the port of New
York, attention was turned upon Mr. Roose-
velt as a gentleman conspicuously fitted for it,
and one who, it was thought, would discharge
its functions to the advantage of the com-
munity and his own honor. At first an oppo-
sition was made on account of his participa-
tion in an importing business from which
some believed he had not entirely alienated
himself. He was tendered the position by
President Hayes, but the senate, for the above
named reasons, failed to confirm the appoint-
ment.
i\Ir. Roosevelt's charitable enterprises were
so numerous and varied in character that it is
difficult to refer to them all, but perhaps no
more useful institution owes to him a share of
its paternity than the Orthopaedic Hospital in
Fifty-ninth street, near Ninth avenue. New
York. Knowing that prompt and skilled
treatment would in many instances spare the
victims of accident or disease from becoming
deformed, he had lent his best exertions to
establish an institution where such permanent
treatment would be readily accessible. The
Newsboys' Lodging House is also deeply in-
debted to him for its success. From its in-
ception he paid special attention to the de-
velopment of its resources and the perfection
of its management. The up-town branch of
the establishment devolved entirely upon him
for a support which was liberally accorded. He
also greatly enlisted himself in the Young
Men's Christian Association, and aided by his
94i
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
counsel and his purse in developing its use-
fulness. In fact, during a business career
which absorbed a great part of his time and
thought for the amelioration of his fellow-
creatures' conditions, he was evolving plans
for having charity more widely distributed
and turned to the best advantage. When the
scheme of uniting all benevolent organizations
for the purpose of mutual assistance and gen-
eral co-operation was proposed, Mr. Roose-
velt warmlv encouraged the movement. He
took part in organizing the Bureau of United
Charities, which he believed would subserve
a great object, but was forced with his asso-
ciates to give over his design by the disinclina-
tion of some charitable institutions to make
their methods and resources public.
He married Martha, daughter of James
and Martha Oswald Bulloch, of Roswell,
Georgia. Her maternal great-grandfather
was Daniel Stewj.rt, who joined the Revolu-
tionary army when a boy and was captured by
the British, but escaped from a prison ship and
afterward served as captain under Sumter and
]Marion. Martha Bulloch's paternal grandfa-
ther was James Bulloch, who was a captain of
the Georgia troops in the Revolution and an
original member of the Society of the Cin-
cinnati. James Bulloch's father was Archi-
bald Bulloch, first Revolutionary Governor of
Georgia, who married Mary de Vaux, whose
paternal grandfather, a Huguenot, fled from
France after the Revocation of the Edict of
Nantes. Her maternal grandfather was Ed-
ward Bellinger, one of the Carolina land-
graves. Archibald Bulloch's father was James
Bulloch, who came from Scotland about 171 5
and settled in Georgia, was a member of the
Provincial Congress, and held positions of
honor and trust. He was a blood relative of
the Douglasses, Bartons and other prominent
families. Their children were Anna, wife of
Captain A\'. S. Cowles, of the United States
Navy ; Theodore ; Elliott ; and Corinne, the
wife of Douglas Robinson, Jr. Mrs. Roose-
velt died February 15, 1884. She was a
member of the Rev. Dr. Hall's church, and
took a deep interest in many charities, includ-
ing the Orthopaedic Hospital, of which her
husband was one of the founders.
Theodore Roosevelt, the leading subject of
this sketch, was born in New York city, Oc-
tober 27, 1858, and was graduated at Harvard
with the class of 1880. Among the early New
York families to establish a summer home at
Oyster Bay, Long Island, was that of Corne-
lius Van Schaick Roosevelt, the grandfather
of the President. The place where he re-
sided was known as Tranquillity, and to him
it was all that the name implied^ — rest, peace
and quietness. His son, Theodore Roosevelt,
Sr., became very much attached to the place
and spent the long summer and autumn months
at this most delightful resort. Thus it hap-
pened that the early childhood of young Theo-
dore was spent amid these surroundings. It
was said that "he was a mere wisp of a boy,
pale and puny, without health or strength ;
but he had a will, and determined to over-
come his lack of physical vigor." The boys
in the neighborhood knew him as the wiry,
earnest, determined little fellow, perfectly
fearless and ready to encounter any difficulty
or danger that would add to his bodily health
and strength. He "rode and swam and
climbed and jumped;" his "yacht" was a row-
boat in which he could exercise his muscles
and toughen every limb, and this "toughen-
ing" process was continued years after on his
western ranch.
Memories of his childhood days at Oyster
Bay clung to him 'long after he left home to
prepare for his great life work, and not long
after his graduation in 1880 he purchased one
hundred acres, mostly woodland, to which he
gave the name of "Sagamore Hill" — a name
at the time having no particular significance —
but, associated with his subsequent achieve-
ments, it is fitly named.
Politics seemed to have a fascination for
Colonel Roosevelt from an early age, but be-
fore entering the field he called on his Uncle
Robert and said, "Uncle Bob, I want your ad-
vice. Shall I run for the Assembly?" "I
OYSTER BAY.
943
can't say," replied his uncle. "Here is Colonel
Charles Hutchinson, of Utica, who may an-
swer the question." "Take it," said Hutchin-
son : "there's an opening for young men of in-
dependent fortune and good education in pub-
lic life. You ought to make the experiment."
Young Roosevelt "made the experiment" and
succeeded, as he has in every subsequent "ex-
periment" of his life. The word "fail" is not
a part of his vocabulary. He literally "batters
down" all opposition as he did on the famous
field of San Juan, and then quietly surveys
the situation and sums up the cost preparatory
to a second onslaught if necessary.
A writer in one of the New York dailies
gives his impressions of the young man as he
saw him at a State convention some time after
his first election to the Assembly. "Mr. Theo-
dore Roosevelt in the convention seemed to
be a light-footed, agile, nervous, yet prompt
boy, with light brown, yet slightly curling
hair, blue eyes and an eye-glass, and ready to
rise and speak with a clear, sharp boyish voice,
a manner more of the undergraduate than the
finished orator, but unmistakable, candid, un-
trifling and withal 'kind and chivalric. He has
a slight flush of the countenance and resolute
expression of the head, well adapted to start
sympathy and possibly enthusiasm. I was a
little reminded of Blanche Roosevelt, the
singer. He applauded Warner Miller with his
hands when the latter was applauded in rising
to make a counter nomination. George Bliss
applauded Roosevelt with his feet but did not
applaud Miller. Roosevelt sometimes turned
and conferred with Robert McCord behind
him. He set the conciliatory, yet manly tone
in much which characterized the whole con-
vention, and I never saw a State convention
anywhere in the Union, though I have seen
them from Massachusetts to Michigan and
South Carolina, equal in modesty, intelligence
and appearance to this."
Young Roosevelt was elected to the As-
sembly as a Republican. He led the minority
during the session of 1882, was active in re-
form measures, and on his re-election in 1883
was largely instrumental in carrying out the
State civil-service-reform law and an act for
regulating primary elections. As chairman of
the committee on cities in 1884 he succeeded
in abolishing the fees of the county clerk and
register and in providing for their payment
by salaries; curtailing abuses in the sheriff's
and surrogate's offices ; and securing the pass-
age of a bill that deprived aldermen of the
power to confirm appointments to office, and
centered in the mayor the responsibility of ad-
ministering municipal affairs. He was chair-
man of the New York delegation to the Na-
tional Republican Convention in 1884, and an
unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of New
York in 1886. He was nominated as an inde-
pendent but was endorsed by the Republicans.
In May, 1889, President Harrison appointed
him Civil Service Commissioner, and he served
as President of the board until May, 1895. He
succeeded in changing the whole system
of public appointments and in establish-
ing important reforms. He, resigned in
May, 1895, to accept the position of presi-
dent of the New York Board of Police
Commissioners, and with characteristic ener-
gy and vigor he began the work of reform by
the application of civil-service principles in
appointments to and promotions on the force.
He rigidly enforced the excise law and suc-
ceeded in closing the saloons on Sunday, and
in purifying the city of many corrupting in-
fluences which then existed.
Colonel Roosevelt's life on his ranch on
the borders of the Little Missouri river in the
far West, with all of its exciting adventures,
has been given in his Hunting Trips of a
Ranchman. He went out as a "tenderfoot,"
but he was soon able to give the cowboy and
the ranchman points that they little dreamed
of.
Colonel Roosevelt is as modest as he is
brave, and his most intimate friends could
never succeed in drawing from him any inci-
dent of his life the description of which neces-
sitated any reference to himself as the hero.
The following incident would probably never
944
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
have found its way into print but for the fact
that the local editor considered the joke on
the "profession"' too good to be suppressed :
It appears that the Colonel, while stopping at
a hotel in a border town, was approached by
a typical western' "tough," who with accus-
tomed Western politeness invited the "tender-
foot" to take a drink. The invitation was
politely declined with thanl>s. It was re-
peated, and this time pressed by the "tough"
with hisi finger on the trigger of his gun. Sud-
denly he felt something between his eyes and
the ball struck wide of the mark and entered
the ceiling above. He fell backward and went
to sleep. When he awoke he was not certain
whether he had been struck with a cannon
ball or the heels of a mule ; he concluded, how-
ever, that it was not always safe to meddle
with a "tenderfoot."
Colonel Roosevelt first became known to
the general public outside of his own State
when he accepted the position of Assistant Sec-
retary of the Navy in 1897. Shortly after he
assumed the duties of office he asked for an
apropriation of eight hundred thousand dol-
lars for ammunition for practical target-shoot-
ing in the Navy, and a few months later for
another appropriation of five hundred thou-
sand dollars for the same purpose. The re-
sults at Manila and Santiago justified what was
considered at the time reckless extravagance.
His connection with the Spanish war which
followed is best told in the language of Col-
onel Watterson in his History of the Spanish-
American War. He says :
"It is the nature of Americans to welcome
bold experiments and to applaud success.
There was no volunteer body of the war that
received as much attention and invited as much
interest as the regiment of cavalry known as
Roosevelt's Rough Riders. That was its pop-
ular name although Lieutenant-Colonel Roose-
velt was but second in command. His was
the resolute spirit that prompted its organiza-
tion and fixed public interest upon it.
"The Hon. Theodore Roosevelt was As-
sistant Secretary of the Navy at the opening
of the war, one of those characteristic per-
sonalities in the public and private life of the
United States that represent the vigor of de-
mocracy without regard to difiference of opin-
ion. Of the old Dutch stock of New York's
oldest settlers, he was born to great wealth and
with determined character. Carefully edu-
cated in universities, he made his entrance into
politics early, with vigorous ideals and prac-
tical methods. Greeted with the epithet of the
'dude politician,' he received the epithet with
the good nature that an athletic, courageous
and good natured man would naturally ex-
hibit. He was soon a representative in na-
tional conventions, was the forlorn hope of his
party for the Mayoralty of New York, was
appointed President of the Civil Service Com-
mission, was Police Commissioner of New
York and became Assistant Secretary of the
Navy in 1897. Recognizing then the prob-
abilities of the war with Spain, he began to
encourage the system of State naval reserves,
and made many addresses in which he upheld
the manful necessity of war to compel peace
and secure justice. The good condition of the
navy at the outbreak of war was largely due
to his labor and enthusiasm. When war was
inevitable he resigned his position as Assist-
ant Secretary and asked for a commission to
organize a regiment of cavalry of which Dr.
Wood was to be commissioned Colonel. Great
was the public surprise. His friends remon-
strated with him and urged that he was jeopar-
dizing his career. The authorities suggested
that he would be invaluable in the Navy De-
partment. 'The Navy Department,' he an-
swered, 'is in good order. I have done all I
can here. There are other men who can carry
it on as well as I ; but I should be false to my
ideals, false to the views I have openly ex-
pressed, if I were to remain here while fighting
is going on after urging other men to risk their
lives for their country.' He declined a Col-
onel's commission and asked it for his friend
Dr. Wood. There was his answer in this self-
reliant' courage of American manhood. Mr.
Roosevelt had written admirable historical
OYSTER BAY.
945
works, exciting- stories of adventure in hunt-
ing 'big game' while he was leading the life
of a ranchman in the far \\'est. He was at
once at the beginning and end of the Amer-
ican type, rich, intelligent, thoughtful, cul-
tured, and had 'sand." "
Referring to Colonel Roosevelt's participa-
tion in the battle of San Juan, Hon, Henry B.
Russell in "The Story of the Two Wars" said:
"A little before 4 o'clock occurred the second
thrilling episode of the day. Under the brow
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
of the little hill a council of war was held, the
question being whether they should push on
and take the main hill where the Spanish
block-bouses were. Colonel Roosevelt volun-
teered to head the charge. It seemed a mad
rush. A foreign officer standing, near the
position when the men started out to make the
charge was heard to say : 'Alen, for heaven's
sake don't go up that hill. It will be impos-
sible for human beings to take that position.
You can't stand the fire.' But with a terrific
\ ell they rushed up to the enemy's works, and
the Spanish, ,whose courage had fled after the
first charge, retired, and when night came they
had been driven back upon the city."
Colonel Watterson in describing the charge
said : "After a moment's pause for forma-
tion, the volunteers, with Lieutenant-Colonel
Roosevelt marching in front of the line, made
a dash for the block-house, the men raising the
terrible yell of the Western Indians as they
went. A murderous fire poured from the
block-house. Lieutenant-Colonel Roosevelt
turned and waving his sword called on his
command to follow him up the hill. The
Spaniards poured a steady fire and for a sec-
ond the volunteer fighters hesitated under the
shock of it. At that critical moment the Tenth
Cavalry on the valley road to our left and the
First Cavalry in the rear that had been ordered
against the wings of the enemy had made their
attacks and charged up the slopes with the in-
trepidity of disciplined veterans. The sound
of the guns was echoed by cheers from the
Rough Riders, who dashed against the block-
house with cyclonic force. At the sight of
such impetuous daring the enemy burst from
the fort and ran to the cover of the woods be-
hind, leaving seventeen dead on the ground as
they fled. Then they gave way on both wings
and three thousand Spaniards were in full
flight before nine hundred and fifty Americans
that had fought against enormous odds and
disadvantages. No pursuit was possible, and
our victorious troops camped on the ground
and held it."
The most authentic as well as the most
graphic of the famous charge of Colonel
Roosevelt is that given by himself in his vol-
ume on "The Rough Riders." He says : "The
infantry got nearer and nearer the crest of the
hill. At last we could see the Spaniards run-
ning from the rifle pits as the Americans came
on in their final rush. Then I stopped my men
for fear they would injure their comrades, and
called to them to charge the next line of
trenches on the hills in our front, from which
we had been undergoing a good deal of pun-
ishment. Thinking that the men would all
come, I jumped over the wire fence in front
946
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of us and started at the double ; but, as a matter
of fact, the troopers were so excited, both with
shooting and being shot, and shouting and
cheering, that they did not hear, or did not
heed me; and after running about a hundred
yards I found I had only five men along with
me. Bullets were ripping the grass all around
us and one of the men, Clay Green, was mor-
tally wounded; another, Winslow Clark, a
Harvard man, was shot first in the leg and then
through the body. * * * There was no
use going with the remaining three men, and I
bade them stay where they were while I went
back and brought up the rest of the brigade.
This was a decidedly cool request, for there
was really no possible point in letting them
stay there while I went back; but at the mo-
ment it seemed perfectly natural to me, and
apparently so to them, for they cheerfully
nodded and sat down on the grass firing back
at the line of trenches from which the Span-
iards were shooting at them. jMeanwhile I
ran back, jumped over the wire fence, and
went over the crest of the hill, filled with anger
against the troopers, and especially those of
my own regiment for not having accompanied
me. They, of course, were c^uite innocent of
wrong doing; and even while I taunted them
bitterly for not having followed me, it was all
I could do not to smile at the look of injury
and surprise that came over their faces, while
they cried out, 'We didn't hear you ; we didn't
see you go. Colonel ; lead on now, we'll sure
follow you.' I wanted the other regiments to
come too, so I ran down to where General
Sumner was and asked him if I might make the
charge, and he told me to go and that he would
see that the men followed. By this time
everybody had his attention attracted, and
when I leaped over the fence again, with
Major Jenkins beside me, the men of the vari-
ous regiments which were already on the hill
came with a rush and we started across the
wide valley which lay between us and the
Spanish intrenchments. * * * Long be-
fore we got near them the Spaniards ran, save
a few here and there, who either surrendered
or were shot down. * * * Lieut. Davis'
first sergeant, Clarence Gould, killed a Span-
ish soldier with his revolver just as the Span-
iard was aiming at one of my Rough Riders.
At about the same time I also shot one. I
was with Henry Bardshar, running up at the
double, and two Spaniards leaped from the
trenches and fired at us, not ten yards away.
As they turned to run I closed in and fired
twice, missing the first and killing the second.
My revolver was from the sunken battle-ship
Maine, and had been given me by my brother-
in-law, Captain W. S. Cowles, of the Navy.
At the time I did not know of Gould's ex-
ploit, and supposed my feat to be unique ; and
although Gould had killed his Spaniard in the
trenches not very far from me, I never learned
of it until weeks after.
"There was a very great confusion at the
time, the different regiments being completely
intermingled — white regulars, colored regulars
and Rough Riders. General Sumner had
kept a considerable force in reserve on Kettle
Hill, under Major Jackson of the Third Cav-
alry. We were still under a heavy fire, and I
got together a mixed lot of men and pushed on
from the trenches and ranch houses which we
had just taken, driving the Spaniards through a
line of palm-trees and over the crest of a chain
of hills. When we reached these crests we
found ourselves overlooking Santiago.
"While I was re-forming the troops on the
chain of hills, one of General Sherman's aides,
Captain Robert Howze — as dashing and gal-
lant an officer as there was in the whole gal-
lant cavalry division, by the way — came up
with orders to me to halt where I was, not
advancing further, but to hold the hill at all
hazards.
"I now had under me all the fragments
of the six cavalry regiments which were at
the extreme front, being the highest officer
left there, and I was in immediate command
of them for the remainder of the afternoon
and that night. * * =■= The Spaniards
who had been holding the trenches and the
line of hills, had fallen back upon their sup-
OYSTER BAY.
947
ports and we were under a very heavy fire both
from rifles and great guns. Our artillery made
one or two efforts to come into action on the
firing line of the infantry, but the black
powder rendered each attempt fruitless. The
Spanish guns used smokeless powder, so that
it was difficult to place them. As night came
on the firing gradually died away. Before
this happened, however, Captains Morton and
Boughton, of the Third Cavalry, came over to
tell me that a rumor had reached them to the
effect that there had been some talk of retir-
ing, and that they wished to protest in the
strongest manner. I had been watching them
both, as they handled their troops with the
cool confidence of the veteran regular officer,
and had been congratulating myself that they
were off toward the right flank; for as long
as they were there I know I was perfectly
safe in that direction. I had heard no rumor
about retiring, and I cordially agreed with
them that it would be far worse than a blunder
to abandon our position.
"Soon after dark General Wheeler, who
in the afternoon had resumed command of the
cavalry division, came to the front. A very
few words with General Wheeler reassured
us about retiring. He had been through too
much heavy fighting in the Civil War to regard
the present fight as very serious, and he told us
not to be under any apprehension, for he had
sent word that there was no need whatever of
retiring, and was sure we would stay where
we were until the chance came to advance.
He was second in command, and to him more
than to any other one man was due the prompt
abandonment of the proposal to fall back —
a proposal, which, if adopted, would have
meant shame and disaster. Shortly afterward
General Wheeler sent us orders to intrench.
* -f * We finished digging the trench
soon after midnight, and then the worn-out
men lay down in rows on their rifles and
dropped heavily to sleep. * '■' =^ Before
any one had time to awake from the cold,
however, we were all awakened b}' the Span-
iards, whose skirmishers suddenly opened fire
upon us. * * * At the alarm everybody
jumped to his feet, and the stiff, shivering,
haggard men, their eyes only half opened, all
clutched their rifles and ran forward to the
trench on the crest of the hill.
"The sputtering shots died away and we
went to sleep again. But in another hour
dawn broke and the Spaniards opened fire in
good earnest. * * * , In this fight our
regiment had numbered four hundred and
ninety men, as, in addition to the killed and
wounded of the first fight, some had to go to
the hospital for sickness and some had been
left behind with the baggage or were detailed
on other duty. Eighty-nine were killed and
wounded, the heaviest loss suffered by any
regiment in the cavalry division. The Span-
iards made a stiff' fight, standing firm until
we charged home. They fought much more
stubbornly than at Las Guasimas. We ought
to have expected this, for they have always
done well in holding intrenchments. On this
day they showed themselves to be brave foes
worthy of honor for their gallantry.
"In the attack on the San Juan hills our
forces numbered about 6,600. There were
about 4,500 Spaniards against us. Our total
loss in killed and wounded was 1,071. Of
the cavalry division there were, all told, some
2,300 officers and men, of whom 375 were
killed and wounded. In the division over a
fourth of the officers were killed or wounded,
their loss being relatively half as great again
as that of the enlisted men, — which was as it
should be. I think we suffered more heavily
than the Spaniards did in killed and wounded,
though we also captured some scores of pris-
oners. It would have been very extraordinary
if the reverse was the case, for we did the
charging; and to carry earthworks on foot
with dismounted cavalry, when the earthworks
are held by unbroken infantry, armed with
the best modern rifles, is a serious task."
The city surrendered on the 17th of July,
and soon after this the men, being relieved
from the constant strain and excitement, be-
aran to feel the effects of the climate. Colonel
948
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Roosevelt says: "Every officer other than
myself except one was down with sickness at
one time or another, ^'ery few of the men,
indeed, retained their strength and energy,
and though the percentage actually on the sick-
list never got over twenty, there were less
than fifty per cent, who were fit for any kind
of work. Yellow fever also broke out in the
rear, chiefly among the Cubans. It never be-
came epidemic, but it caused a perfect panic
among some of our own doctors and especially
in the minds of one or two generals and of
the home authorities. * * * The Wash-
ington authorities seemed determined that we
should stay in Cuba. They unfortunatel}- knew
nothing of the country nor the circumstances
of the army. Several suggestions were made,
and among others it was proposed that we
should go up the mountains and make our
camps there. * * * The soil along the sides
of the mountains was deep and soft, while the
rains were heavy. We could, with much diffi-
culty, have got our regiments up the mountains ;
but not half the men would have got up there
with their belongings ; and once there it would
have been an impossibility to feed them.
About the last of July General Shafter called
a conference in the palace of all the division
and brigade commanders. * * * It was
deemed best to make some record of our opin-
ion in the shape of a letter or report which
would show that to keep the army in Santiago
meant its absolute and objectless ruin, and
that it should at once be recalled. At first
there was naturally some hesitation on the part
of the regular officers to take the initiative, for
their entire future career might be sacrificed ;
so I wrote a letter to General Shafter, reading
over the rough draft to the various generals
and adopting their corrections. Before I had
finished making these corrections it was de-
termined that we should send a. circular letter
on behalf of all of us to General Shafter, and
when I returned from presenting him mine I
found this circular letter already prepared and
we all of us signed it. Both letters were made
public. The result was immediate. Within
three days the army was ordered to be ready
to sail for home. This letter was known as
the famous 'Round Robin.' "
Colonel Roosevelt with his Rough Riders
was encamped at Montauk Point, Long Island,
and in the following autumn, peace having been
formally declared, he bade farewell to his
men, every one of whom was devoted to him,
and returned to his home at Oyster Bay.
On September 27, 1898, Colonel Roosevelt
was nominated for Governor of New York
State. He conducted his own campaign, vis-
iting every important town in the State. His
brilliant military record gave him great pres-
tige, and he was enthusiastically received
wherever he went. . He carried the State by a
plurality of 18,079. -"^s Governor he encour-
aged honest legislation and carried through
every reform measure to which he had pledged
himself. He carefully scrutinized every bill and
withheld his signature from all that had the
least taint of irregularity, regardless of party
obligations. No man ever had a more diffi-
cult task to carry forward the work of reform
which he had planned than did Governor
Roosevelt at this time. The political pressure
brought to bear upon him by the leading men
in his own party was A-ery great, but he re-
mained firm and true to his own convictions,
even at the risk of losing the influence of
those on whom he relied for support. Above
all, he put in office as high-minded and able
a set of public officials as the State has ever
had since its foundation. It was his wish to be
elected for a second term that he might com-
plete the work he had begun, but circum-
stances beyond his control and" that of his
friends changed all his future plans.
Governor Roosevelt was a delegate to the
Republican convention held at Philadelphia in
the summer of 1900. The re-nomination of
President McKinley was a foregone conclu-
sion. Two or three candidates were brought
forward for the vice-presidency, but from the
very beginning a pressure was brought to bear
by those who sought to defeat his aspirations
for a second term as Governor to force on hira
OYSTER BAY
949
the nomination for Vice-President. They
failed, however, to accomplish their object,
and Governor Roosevelt compelled the New
York delegation to definitely abandon its ef-
forts to put him forward, and at the same time
he introduced the name of Lieutenant-Gov-
ernor Woodruff, hoping thereby to secure his
nomination, but the delegates simplj' refused
to consider any other candidate and insisted
on the Governor's nomination in order to save
the electoral votes of half a dozen Western
States and thereby assure a majority in Con-
gress. Under these circumstances Governor
Roosevelt felt that he was in duty bound to
accept, and he was nominated for Vice-Presi-
dent, amid the greatest excitement and en-
thusiasm, the East and the West, the Xorth
and the South rallying around him and pledg-
ing him their earnest support.
The presidential campaign of 1900 was the
most remarkable of all ever held in this coun-
try, and from the beginning to the end Gov-
ernor Roosevelt fought the battle almost sin-
gle-handed and alone. He represented honest
money, honest principles and a defense of
President McKinley's administration; while
his opponent, \\'illiam J- Bryan, clung to his
"16 to i" silver policy, on which he had been
defeated four years previously, and exposed
the "expansion" policy of the administration.
Colonel Roosevelt traveled from one end of
the country to the other, even invading the
home territory of his opponent, speaking sev-
eral times a day from the train platform, in
the open air on improvised platforms and in
public halls, and wherever the people could
gather to hear him. With one or two excep-
tions he met with a hearty reception wherever
he went, — even in "the enemy's country." The
result was one of the grandest victories ever
achieved by the Republican party and Gov-
ernor Roosevelt was duly inaugurated A^ice-
President of the United States on the 4th of
March, 1901. In his inaugural address he
said:
"The history of free government is in a
large part the history of those representing
legislative bodies in which, from the earliest
times, free government has found its loftiest
expression. They must ever hotd a peculiar
and exalted position in the record which tells
how the great nations of the world have en-
deavored to achieve and preserve orderly free-
dom. No man can render to his fellows greater
service than is rendered by him who with fear-
lessness and honesty, with sanity and disinter-
estedness, does his life work as a member of
such a body. Especially is this the case when
the Legislature in which the service is ren-
dered is a vital part in the governmental ma-
chinery of one of those world powers to whose
hands, in the course of the ages, is entrusted a
leading part in shaping the destinies of man-
kind. For weal or for woe, for good or for
evil, this is true of our own mighty nation.
Great privileges and great powers are ours,
and heavy are the responsibilities that go with
these privileges and these powers. According-
ly as we do well or ill, so shall mankind in the
future be raised or cast down.
"We belong to a young nation, already of
giant strength, yet whose present strength is
but a forecast of the power that is to come.
We stand supreme in a continent, in a hemi-
sphere. East and west we look across the
two great oceans toward the larger world life
in which, whether we will or not, we must take
an ever increasing share ; and as, keen-eyed,
we gaze in to the coming years duties new and
old rise thick and fast to confront us from
within and from without. There is every rea-
son why we should face these duties with a
sober appreciation alike of their importance
and of their difficulty. But there is also every
reason for facing them with high-hearted res-
olution and with eager and confident faith in
our capacity to do them aright.
"A great work lies ready to the hand of
this generation ; it should count itself happy
indeed, that to it is given the privilege of doing
such a work. A leading part therein must be
taken by this, the august and powerful legis-
lative body over which I have been called to
preside. ^lost deeply I appreciate the privi-
950
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
lege of my position, for high indeed is the hon-
or of presiding over the American senate at
the outset of the twentieth century."
On Friday, September 6, 1901, the start-
ling news was flashed over the wire that Pres-
ident McKinley, while visiting the Pan-Amer-
ican Exposition, had been shot by a Polish
anarchist named Czolgosz. Vice-President
Roosevelt hastened to Buffalo as quickly as pos-
sible, reaching there the following day. He was
completely overwhelmed by the news, but on
arriving at the house of Dr. Milburn, where
the President had been taken and where he
had been stopping with his family for some
days previously, he was overjoyed to learn
from the attending surgeons that the wound
was not necessarily fatal and that there were
hopes of his recovery. He remained in Buf-
falo for a few days, until the danger point
seemed past. He then went on a hunting trip
in the Adirondack:;. Soon after this a change
for the worse took place in the President's
condition, and as soon as it was found that
death was inevitable, messengers were sent
to the Vice-President, who traveled day and
night, reaching Buffalo some hours after the
President's death. He was driven at once to
the house of his friend, Mr. Ansley Wilcox.
As soon as he entered Mr. Roosevelt was told
that it had been planned for him to take the
oath of office at once. This agreement had
been reached at a meeting of the cabinet held
during the forenoon at the Milburn residence.
The new President refused to recognize it as
an agreement, and he declared he was not
ready to take the oath yet. He was here
more for the purpose of paying his respects to
William McKinley than of qualifying as Will-
iam McKinley's successor.
"But, Mr. President," he was expostulated
with, "everything is in readiness. Don't you
think it would be far better to do as the cabinet
has decided?"
"No," retorted the President; "it would be
far worse. I intend to pay my respects at
William McKinley's bier as a private citizen
and offer my condolence to the members of the
family as such. Then I will return and take
the oath."
In the face of such an emphatic stand by
the new chief executive all arguments availed
nothing and President Roosevelt had his own
way. He left the Milburn house about half
past two o'clock and entered his carriage
alone. When he found that he was being
escorted by a squad of mounted policemen he
stood up and shouted : "Get back ! I want no
escort. I will have no escort. I am now on
a mission as a private citizen." He then drove
swiftly to the Milburn house and after paying
his respects to the dead President returned
to the Wilcox house to take the oath, reaching
there shortly after three o'clock. All the mem-
bers of the cabinet and a number of others
were assembled there. Among these was
Judge Hazel, who was to administer the oath.
"President Roosevelt," said Mr. Root, "I
have been requested by all the members of the
Cabinet of the late President who are here in
the city of Buffalo, being all except two, to
request that for reasons of weight affecting the
administration of government, you should pro-
ceed without delay to take the Constitutional
oath of ofiice."
A silence fell upon the group. It lasted
but a minute and then Mr. Roosevelt spoke :
"^Ir. Secretary, I shall take the oath at once,
agreeable to the request of the members of
the Cabinet, and in this hour of trouble and
national bereavement I wish to state that it
shall be my aim to continue absolutely un-
broken the policy of President McKinley, for
the peace and prosperity and honor of our
iDcloved country." He then took the oath and
\'ice-President Theodore Roosevelt became
the twent}--sixth President of the United
States. Although but a few brief months have
since passed at this writing, his course is so
clearly marked that all recognize his policy,
and although the youngest who ever occupied
the presidential chair he has the confidence
and support of leading men throughout the
nation.
It is difficult to conceive how any one so
OYSTER BAY.
951
thoroughly absorbed in pubhc affairs could
find time to devote to hterary work, and yet
Colonel Roosevelt has achieved a world-wide
reputation as an author, and his works have
become standard on the subjects he has treated.
Among the best known are: "History of the
Naval War of 1812" (1882) and "Hunting
Trips of a Ranchman" (1883). As a biog-
rapher he has won fame as the author of the
"Life of Thomas Benton" (1886) ; and "Life of
the United States of the territory west of the
AUeghanies, and in their intrinsic merit and
their importance as contributions to history
they rank with the works of Parkman. His
books have been characterized as "marked by
felicity, vigor and clearness of expression,
with descriptive power."
As a man of letters it may be said as more
completely true of Mr. Roosevelt than any
other writer, whose books are as numerous
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I'KKSIDKNT ROOSEVELT-S LIBRARY.
Gouverneur Morris" (1888). He has also
published "History of the City of New York"
( 1890) ; "Essays on Practical Politics"
( 1898) ; and has collaborated with Captain A.
S. ^Mahan in writing the "Imperial History of
the British Navy ;" he is also joint author with
Henry Cabot Lodge of "Hero Tales from
American History." The most important of
his works, however, are the volumes bearing
the collective title "The Winning of the West."
These have for their subject the acquisition by
and widely read as his are, that he has merely
adopted literar}- expression with the aim of
placing before the public facts and ideas which
he sincerely believes to be worthy of considera-
tion and preservation. His presentation of
facts, however, is useful and stimulating
rather than merely entertaining, while his
ideas represent an eloquent appeal for a gen-
eral and wholesome examination of the truths
which he so fervently believes and so ardently
advocates. In other words, Mr. Roosevelt is
952
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in no sense a professional author. The books
he has written simply represent one phase of a
verv active career. On the title page of
"Ranch Life and Hunting Trail" we find cited
that passage from Browning ending with the
words —
which speaks more eloquently and is more
characteristic of Mr. Roosevelt as a man, and,
therefore, necessarily as an author, than all
that litterateurs have written and all that poets
have sung about the beauties of rhetoric and
the philosophy of style.
Mr. Roosevelt's first published work was
his history of "The Naval War of 1812,"
which bears the date of 1882, and it is a singu-
lar coincidence that his most recent production,
written just as his term as Vice President of
the L'nited States was to be brought to a fate-
ful close, should be 1 contribution to an English
work on the same subject, — "The Royal
Navy," Vol. A'T, by Laird Clowes. A com-
parison of these works offers an excellent op-
portunity to observe the mental development
of the man in a most important field of his-
torical study and observation. One was writ-
ten at the age of twenty-three ; the other at
forty-two. It is not from the fact that we find
the patriotism less intense, or the presence of
any taint of Anglomania in the later work, but
because the man has learned to think for him-
self, has freed himself entirely from the anti-
British prejudices which for years have in-
spired the makers of many American school
books ; and he has from a fuller knowledge
been able to appreciate the merits of the enemy
and to point out the reasons for his misfor-
tunes in a clear, almost scientific manner and
without undue laudation of American enter-
prise and courage. Moreover, it is not singu-
lar that his historical works, particularly "The
Winning of the West," should have a vitality
which few histories possess. It is because he
has lived with and knows intimately the trap-
per, the hunter, the frontiersman of to-day,
that he has been enabled to reproduce the dis-
tant predecessors of these men and their sur-
roundings with marvelous intimacy.
In the last nineteen years Mr. Roosevelt
has written over a dozen books, which are in-
cluded in many departments — history, biogra-
phy, travel, observation and politico-ethical
discussion. At the same time he has occupied
successively various positions in public life
upon which he has left the stamp of his indi-
viduality and the results of his tireless energv.
What these offices were and what he did in
them have taken their place in our State, mu-
nicipal and national history, and are now more
or less familiar to every one. But the more
one becomes familiar with ^Ir. Roosevelfs
public achievements the more must one marvel
that he could have produced the books that he
did, which, from the point of view of mere
mechanical and mental labor, would have been
considered more than adequate to establish
the literary reputation of a professional writer.
To attempt a character sketch of Colonel
Roosevelt is a most difficult undertaking. He
can be judged only by his acts. His motive is
always apparent, for he is incapable of du-
plicity. His utterances both public and pri-
vate are clear, distinct and unequivocal.
Whether his opinions are right or wrong they
are honestly held and are stated with simplicity
and directness. He is emphatically a man of
action, and his writings deal with matters of
observation rather than thought; he is no
theorist, but intensely practical. With deter-
mination and undaunted courage he combines
tenacity of purpose. If he ever experienced
the sensation of fear it is known only to him-
self. He has the instinct of a soldier, and in
emergencies does not stop to consider whether
or not the odds are against him, but obeys
orders with decision and accepts the conse-
quences. He is as generous as he is brave;
bears no malice; and after inflicting punish-
ment on an adversary he would instantly seek
to alleviate the pain he has caused. With the
heart of a lion in danger, he is moved to pity
at the sight of suffering, and without a mo-
ment's hesitation would befriend a fallen ad-
OYSTER BAY.
953
versan-. His qualities and achievements have
made him a popular hero, and in a democratic
societv like ovu's there is no distinction which
he may not hope to attain.
Colonel Roosevelt married, first, Jiliss
Alice Hathaway Lee; second, Miss Edith Ker-
mit Caroiij and his children are Alice, Theo-
dore, Jr., Kermit, Ethel, Archibald and Quin-
tin. The children roua:h it at their country
cool breezes of Oyster Bay in summer and a
warm, comfortable stall in winter.
The entrance to Sagamore Hill is up a
winding road through a thickly wooded coun-
try for some distance until a "private road"
turning sharply to the left is. reached, which
leads up to the home of the Vice-President.
The view on reaching the crest of the hill is a
most beautiful one, although partly obscured
7^"*^*
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'
>ME, OYSTER BAY.
home, Sagamore Hill, as did their father, en-
joying the utmost freedom, apparently un-
conscious of the honors that have been show-
ered upon the father by a grateful and appre-
ciative constituency. The veteran war horse
"Te.xas" that carried him through the Santi-
ago campaign munches his oats and hay in the
stable in peace and quietness, glad no doubt
that his campaigning days are over and that
for the remainder of his life he can enjoy the
on the west and south sides of the house by
the dense growth of forest trees. From the
east and south sides a fine view of the bay is
presented. A lawn of several acres slopes
clown to the wall of forest trees, and the other
side, which is nearly level, is devoted to farm-
ing purposes. The character of the e.xterior
of the dwelling is known as the Queen Anne
style of architecture. It is a substantial edi-
fice, the first story being of brick, the second
954
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and third stories of frame. A wide piazza ex-
tends around two sides, from which a beautiful
view of the surrounding country is obtained.
The entrance to the house is through a vine-
covered port-cochere. The wide hall, simply
furnished, contains numerous trophies of the
Colonel's life in the far ^^'est. The larsfe
library looks like the workshop of an active
brain worker. A portrait of the father which
hangs on the wall looks benignly .down on
the son, who, with unceasing energy and tire-
less industry, works out the great problems of
life, stimulating in others a desire to be some-
thing and do something for their fellow men.
OLD WINDMILLS OH LOHG ISLAND,
CHAPTER LXIII.
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
UFFOLK county includes all of Long
Island lying to the east of the town-
ship of Oyster Bay. Its greatest
length is about ninety miles and its
greatest breadth, from Eaton's Neck to the
Great South Bay, twenty miles, and its area
measures about 1,200 square miles. The east-
ern extremity of the county is divideU by
Great and Little Peconic Bays and Gardiner's
Bay, into two narrow, unequal branches, be-
tween wliich are Gardiner's, Shelter, and Rob-
in's Islands, which, with a number of smaller
islands, form a part of the territory of the
county.
From 1665 to 1683 the county formed the
East Riding of Yorkshire. The first settle-
ment of white people was made in 1639 on
Gardiner's Island, and then in quick succes-
sion settlements were effected on the mainland
and town governments set up. The settlers
were mainly from New England and most of
them were devout. God-fearing people, strong-
ly imbued with Puritan doctrines and zealous
in their religious observances. Some of the
towns they founded were even more thorough-
ly theocracies than was to be found in New
England. They kept aloof from the Dutch
and held that whatever state allegiance they
owed was to Connecticut. In the Revolution
the county was strongly patriotic, and willing-
ly contributed its quota of troops to the forces
of the Committee of Safety. "Suffolk county,"
writes the historian of the Battle of Brooklyn,
"had early given evidence of its hearty zeal for
republican doctrines. Out of its whole popu-
lation of freeholders and adult male inhab-
itants, numbering 2,834 between the ages of
sixteen and sixty, only 236 were reckoned as
being of loyalist proclivities. The enrolled
militia of the county exceeded 2,000, of whom
393 officers and privates were in the ranks of
Colonel Smith's regiment, the best disciplined
and armed on the island. It was the only one
that could be considered in any form to have
survived the shock of, the 27th of August,
and only a small part even of this body ever
did service after that fatal day.'' General
Nathanael Greene seems to have fully appre-
ciated the value of Colonel Smith's regiment,
if we correctly interpret the following letter
he sent that officer:
Camp at Brookland, Aug. 9, 1776.
Sir: Enclosed are the resolutions of the
Provincial Congress ordering you to join my
brigade immediately. On the receipt of this
you will march the troops under your com-
mand immediately to this camp. You will
make all possible expedition, as the enemy has
embarked part, if not all, the troops on Staten
Island, and are making dispositions as if they
meant to land here. You will send out scouts
and parties to get intelligence. If the enemy
should make their landing good on any part
of the island and hear of your coming they
may send out a party to intercept your march.
Keep good front, flank and rear guard to pre-
vent being surprised.
I am. Sir, your most obedient, humble
servant, N.\tii.vx.-\el Greeke.
Colonel Josiah Smith.
After the battle some, at least, of the Suf-
folk and Queens troops joined the main body
956
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of the patriot forces, but the hearts of the
men seem to have been in their defenseless
homes. Onderdonk says :
"The Committee of Safety on September 3,
1775, in session at Fishkill. hearing that Col-
onel Smith's and Remsen's regiments are dis-
persed or have been disbanded without per-
mission of the State, resolved 'that General
Clinton detain as many of said levies as pos-
sible, even if they produce passes, it being of
the utmost consequence that so large a num-
ber of armed men should not be added to the
enemy's power on Long Island, and that the
committees of West Chester, Horse Neck,
Stamford and Xorwalk diligently watch all
boats passing from the main to Long Island.'
"Most of the militia recrossed to Long
Island and took British protection to save their
property from confiscation and their families
from insult. Some followed Congress to Fish-
kill, where we find Lieutenant Onderdonk 'in
some distress' and Captain B. Coe 'in dis-
tressed circumstances, who recovered £20 due
him. Colonel Smith returned to Long Island
and was subsequently taken from his home
at Moriches and thrown in Provost by the
British. His daughter. Hannah, in her labors
and excursions to procure his release, caught
a cold that brought on a deafness, from which
she never recovered."
During the occupation of Long Island Suf-
folk county was in a terrible plight. British
troops were stationed at various points; de-
scents of patriots, Tories and pirates on her
coasts were frequent, the exactions of the mil-
itary were most severe and military law was
often exerted in its most cruel form. The
people seemed to have remained, outwardly
at least, quite passive, and Governor Tryon,
after a tour through Long Island, wrote to
his home government as follows, in a letter
dated December 16, 1776:
"On the loth inst. I reviewed the militia
of Queens county at Hempstead, when 820
men were mustered, and on Thursday follow-
ing I saw the Suffolk militia at Brookhaven,
where nearly 800 appeared, to all of whom,
as well as to the militia of Queens county, I
had in my presence an oath of allegiance and
fidelity administered. * * *
"A very large majority of the inhabitants
of Queens county have indeed steadfastly
maintained their loyal principles, as have small
districts in Suffolk. Some men from South
and East Hampton, who attended the review,
assured me that rebel parties from Connecti-
cut were then on the easternmost part of the
island, and which prevented in general the set-
tlers in that quarter from attending my sum-
mons, but that they are very desirous to be
under a peaceable obedience to his Majesty's
authority. * * * Three companies, I
learned, had been raised out of Suffolk for
the rebel army, most of whom, I was made to
understand, would quit that service if they
could get home. I have the pleasure to as-
sure your Lordship that through the whole
of this tour I did not hear the least murmur
of discontent, but a general satisfaction ex-
pressed at my coming among them, and, to
judge from the temper and disposition I per-
ceived of them, there is not the least appre-
hension of any further commotions from the
inhabitants on Long Island. * * * xhe
General has been pleased to give my Secre-
tary, Colonel Fanning, a warrant to raise a
battalion of Provincials for the American serv-
ice, and for the term of two years, or during
the war, at the General's discretion."
When the occupation was over Suffolk
county was assessed i 10,000 as her share in
the cost of the war, or, as Silas Wood puts it,
"for not having been in a position to take an
active part in the war against the enemy!"
The county lost no time after the declara-
tion of peace in getting back to its old quiet
and prosperous channel. Its farmers resumed
work in their fields, the deep-sea whale-fishing
trade was inaugurated, and by 1791 the coun-
ty had progressed far enough to see its first
newspaper, the "Long Island Herald," estab-
lished at Sag Harbor bv David Frothingham.
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
957
In the war of 1812 a British fleet was sta-
tioned off its coast and several trifling de-
scents were made, but practically, except for
the worry and excitement, that conflict inter-
fered but little with Suft'olk county. Since
then its progress has been slow but steady
until within a few years ago, -w'hen the ex-
tension of the railroad to its eastern end by
degrees brought even its extreme points into
close touch with the rest of the county, and
made much of it available for the summer
colonies which are now so numerous and im-
portant.
Up to 1872 Suffolk county was divided into
nine townships. In that year the present town
of Babylon was formed, making the entire
number ten, as follows :
Huntington.
Babylon.
Smithtown.
Islip.
Brookhaven.
Riverhead.
Southampton.
Easthampton.
Southold.
Shelter Island.
At the annual meeting of the Historical
Society of Suft'olk County, held at Riverhead
in February, 1900, the Rev. Dr. Epher Whit-
aker delivered an address on "Fifty Years of
Suffolk County," which, with his permission,
is hefe reproduced :
The life of any region springs funda-
mentally from its physical basis. In its condi-
tions and relations of land and water our
country for the last half-century has main-
tained the attractive and desirable features of
its earlier years. The sinking of the land
along the Atlantic shore from Cape Cod to
Florida has been too slow to produce much
effect upon our condition. This decadence
of the land may be due merely to those changes
in the life of our planet which cause the cease-
less cooling and consequent shrinkage of the
surface of the earth. This solid surface may
be fifteen miles in thickness, and equal in deptli
to that of the atmosphere surrounding our
globe— ruot as thick in comparison with the
earth as a sheet of tissue paper on a man's
head in comparison with the height of a man.
This decadence has given us a few earth-
quakes within the last fifty years, but none
like that which gave Charleston so dreadful
a shake.
The new lighthouse, built in water several
feet deep, at Orient Point, stands where living
men have seen fields of grain ripening for the
harvest. Along the shores of the ocean and
the Sound we have lost a small quantity of
fruitful land. We have gained as much by the
accumulation of rich soil around lakes and
ponds and other bodies of shallow water.
Furthermore, this natural make of rich and
valuable soil has been wisely increased in many
places by human implements and industry.
C)ur county retains its great physical at-
tractiveness. It is abundant in scenes of
picturesque beauty. It has no mountains; but
close at hand, throughout its whole length
of nearly a hundred miles from the line of
Nassau county to ^lontauk Point and Fisher's
Island, we see the grandeur and the sublimity
of the ocean, which surpasses the impressive-
ness of the unchanging mountains, because it
is alive with the movement and partakes of the
magnificence of the illimitable heavens. And
everywhere, throughout our bounds, the eye
is delighted with charming pictures of hill and
valley, lakes and rivers, and all forms of in-
lets, coves and bays.
The terminal moraine of the Arctic glacier
is the firm rampart (from end to end of our
county) that gives strength and stability to all
its parts, and under its abiding protection the
gentle plains spread their sunny slopes to the
life-giving breezes of the ever-changing sea.
Here Nature has permitted no lack of variety
and beauty, and no scarcity of fruitfulness for
the support, the comfort, the enjoyment of
man. And all these resources, which Nature
has so amply provided, the people of our coun-
ty have in these fifty years past been making
more available and valuable.
The northern half of the county is sig-
nally diversified. It contains every form of
hill and dale which the forces of ice and water
and gravitation can produce. From hundreds
of pleasant elevations one beholds on Sound
and bays and inlets the inextinguishable laugh
which Homer saw on the face of the sea be-
fore the drop serene veiled his and Milton's
eyes.
There are nowhere choicer sites for ele-
gant country homes than our whole north
shore presents from Huntington to Orient, not
to mention our Fisher's Island.
958
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
j\len are greatly affected by the climate
in which they live. It may be cold, hot, dry,
moist, rare or dense. In many places, as in
our own county, the climate depends more '
or less upon the presence or absence of for-
ests. In many parts of our county the half
century has seen forest land converted into
fruitful fields. But this advantage has pro-
duced no want of balance in our healthful cli-
mate. Tens of thousands of trees for fruit,
shade and beauty, with shrubs and vines for
ornament and use, have well supplied the ab-
sence of common trees. Milages that fifty
vears ago were in the summer season scorch-
ing in the glowing sun now resemble pleasant
parks adorned with goodly trees of resplend-
ent variety and attractiveness. The desert has
become paradise. Furthermore, many of these
well-adorned villages have doubled their size
since 1850. The people of the county have
changed far more than the soil they occupy
or the healthful and genial air which they
breathe.
The bringers of Christian civilization
hither two hundred and fifty years ago were
nearly all people of pure English blood.
There were among them a few French,
Scotch, Welsh and Dutch families. The
•French appear in the names of L'Hommedieu,
Diament (Dimon), Fithian, Pelletreau, Sal-
lier, Boisseau. The Scotch are seen in Muir-
son, Blythe, Gelston. The Welch in Floyd,
Wines, Lloyd, The Dutch in Schellenger and
others.
After the greater part of Long Island was
torn governmentally from its kindred New
England in 1662 the people here were doubly
isolated. The Sound and the ocean were less
a barrier than the repulsive government and
the uncongenial population of New York.
Hence our people lived signally within them-
selves for several generations. The county
produced its own men and women — its own
farmers, mechanics, merchants, sailors, fisher-
men, ministers, lawyers, doctors. It produced,
also, in great measure its own food, clothing,
utensils, buildings and other supports and
comforts of its citizens. It asked no favors
and received little benefit from the great world
beyond it. This somewhat undesirable but
thoroughly natural state continued until near
the middle of the century which has just ended.
For two hundred years young people had
swarmed from the teeming hive. Few persons
from abroad had made their homes within
its bounds. Now and then a young man, who,
for trade or toil, had gone forth and found
the treasure of his life elsewhere, returned
with his bride. But cases of this kind were
rare. For Suffolk county girls were then, as
they are now, good enough for any man.
When this uncommonness of our condition
terminated, the population of our county was
about 37,000. In these fifty years it has
nearly doubled its resident citizens. During
the summer, including visitors, and cottagers,
it is above 100,000.
The rate of increase in wealth has been
far greater than in population. An indica-
tion of this fact is seen in the establishment
of banks. The county, it is supposed, had no
bank in it fifty years ago. It certainly had no
savings bank. It now has two national banks
in Greenport, one in Sag Harbor, one in
Southampton, one in Riverhead, one in Pat-
chogue, one in Babylon, one in Port Jefferson,
and one or more elsewhere. There is a pri-
vate bank in Easthampton, one in Sag Har-
bor, one in Riverhead, and others, it may be,
in dift'erent places.
The Southold Savings Bank was organ-
ized in 1858. This has been followed by the
organization of those of Riverhead, Sag Har-
bor and Patchogue. These savings banks now
have six millions of dollars deposited in them.
It is believed that the Suffolk county deposi-
tors in savings banks equal in number one-
tenth of its whole population, as many as half
the men who voted last year at the election
for county officers. Furthermore, our citizens
have millions of dollars invested in life in-
surance. It is needless to conjecture how
many millions they have in Government bonds
and in other bonds and stocks.
Many causes have been active to effect the
changes already indicated. The building of
the railroad from one end of the island to the
other brought into the county a small army of
men born on the other side of the sea. Many
of them saw the fitness of the land to reward
industry, to afford health, and to make pleas-
ant living. They set up their banners all
along the road, and they have not ceased for
half a century to call their kindred and coun-
trymen effectively to tlieir standard. These
and their descendants are now an important
part and element of our people. The railroad
has notably fostered a change in the agricult-
ure of the county by making quick and ready
access to the best markets for the produce
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
959
of the soil. And this change has summoned
a muUitude of men of ahen birth to work the
ground. The facihties of travel by cars and
steamers between the great emporium and our
beautiful shores and villages, with their ocean
waters and health-giving air, have brought
hither in ever increasing throngs the summer
visitors who have profoundly affected our na-
tive citizens and rural ways.
The opportunities for thrift and gain of
riches here have also led many other classes
of persons to build their homes within our
bounds.
These enlargements of the life of our coun-
ty have not turned away our people from ag-
riculture as their chief employment. They
are well pleased with the ways of Cincinnatus
and the Pilaster of Mount Vernon. But they
have revolutionized the methods of their fa-
thers. These gave a large part of their time
and strength to the work of gathering fertil-
izers for their fields. The seaweed of the
ocean, the grass of the bays, the sedge of the
marshes, the fishes of the briny deep, and even
the leaves of the trees were diligently and
toilsomely collected to be used in giving heart
to the land and making it yield fruitful har-
vests.
The products of the soil in those days were
little else than grain, potatoes, turnips and hay.
Step by step the farmers have had recourse
to chemically prepared fertilizers and to the
raising of a wide range of marketable crops.
The vast regions of the West and Northwest of
our country have made the cultivation of grain
on Long Island unprofitable. Formerly Suf-
folk county land, in broad fields, raised wheat
and rye and oats. For these crops its occupa-
tion is gone.
On the other hand, our nearness and fa-
cilities of access to the great markets in the
populous cities of New York and New Eng-
land enable our farmers to raise and sell green
crops to advantage. Strawberries, cranber-
ries, cabbage, cauliflower, and kindred veget-
ables, as well as various fruits, have come to be
a prominent part of the sources of our sup-
port and wealth. Increase of this kind of in-
dustry and profit has come from the ever-in-
creasing accession of summer guests and cot-
tagers and from the multiplication of factories
for canning fruits and vegetables in the neigh-
borhood of their growth.
All of this transformation has been ani-
mated and fostered by the beginning which
invention has made in the creation of mani-
fold and effective agricultural implements.
The farmer of fifty years ago, if he should now
return to us, would not know the names of half
the tools and utensils that his son now em-
ploys. He could not name a monkey wrench ;
and the boys of to-day will hereafter use more
implements of future invention than all that
now exist. The weeder, the mower, the tedder,
the reaper, the binder, the thresher, the sifter,
the planter, the drill, the digger, and others,
separate or combined, and with or without
steam power, have come after the hoe, the
spade, the plow and the harrow, but there are
many more to follow that have not yet been
invented. These inventions have already made
the farmer's life easy and pleasant in com-
parison with his toilsome days and weary
nights five decades ago. He does not now
sling, a peck of wheat over his shoulder,
trudge over soft, uneven, plowed ground,
and scatter the seeds with his ever swinging
and ever increasingly weary arm. He pours
his grain into a box, mounts his seat behind
his fine span of horses, says to them "go," and
the drill does the rest.
Next to the cultivation of the soil the most
interesting industry of our country for these
years has been the building and use of sea-
going vessels. The departments of productive
activity dependent upon navigation and fish-
ing, or included in them, were in full vigor,
operation and fruitfulness at the beginning of
the period under review. The shipyards of
Greenport, Patchogue, Port Jefferson, Setau-
ket, Stony Brook, Northport and other places
in the county were scenes of skillful and
profitable employment, where capable design-
ers and draftsmen and expert mechanics cre-
ated the finest crafts that pierced the waves
and delighted the hearts and justified the
pride of seafaring men. Every year these
yards sent forth both sloops and schooners
of shapely beauty and excellent fitness for
profitable use or healthy pastime. Some of
these yards also built brigs and barks and
barkentines — vessels that asked no favors of
any others of their respective classes that
sailed the sea.
In the midst of this prosperity came the
union of British lords and American slave
masters with the infernal purpose of destroy-
ing our nation. They lighted the highways
of the ocean with our flaming ships and swept
from all the courses of foreign commerce our
060
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
whole merchant marine. Tliese things arc
said
"Lest we forget — lest we forget."
This violent outbreak of the confederacy
of envy abroad and oppression at home made
the soaring eagle of our Suffolk county ship-
yards a feeble bird with broken wings. Our
beautiful flag of stars and stripes — the red,
white and blue — that waved so proudly on our
clipper ships in all the commercial ports of the
globe, disappeared from human vision there
like a vanishing cloud that shrinks away from
the heavens under the burning rays of the
noonday sun.
But, though the field of foreign commerce
was lost in the flames which British and Con-
federate ambition kindled, all was not lost.
There remained, as in the hero of Milton's
sublime creation, the unconquerable will :
"And courage never to submit or yield
And what is else not to be overcome."
The coasting .rade and the fisheries con-
tinued to be available ; and our vessel-builders
made the best of these important and valuable
remainders. In the harbors along the Sound,
and at Greenport aud other places, the enter-
prise of our shipwrights — no other workers
are more enterprising than they — rose to the
height of the demand made upon their genius
and diligence.
But unhappily they had in those days to
fight another battle, which soon became a
somewhat unequal contest. It was the de-
fensive battle of the wind against the invad-
ing power of steam. It was essentially the
same kind of a combat which steam is now
compelled to wage against the encroaching
power of magnetism. It is said that when Edi-
son crossed the ocean he coulil not sleep dur-
ing the voyage. This was not due to the
ceaseless tossing of the ship which conveyed
him, but to his inability to see how he could
harness the forces of the waves — old Nep-
tune's steeds — and make them work, for man
under human control and direction on the
land. Well, he need not be too much cast
down; for doubtless thiei whole g'lobe is a
magnet,, and Edison, Bell and Marconi and
others are following Henry and Morse and
showing how it can be put into harness on both
land and sea.
The Hon. Lewis A. Edwards, of Orient,
one of our society's in memoriam members,
was a man whose soul was commensurate with
the stateliness of his physical frame and with
the dignity and winsomeness of his bearing
and manners. Not a small part of his well-
earned and comfortable fortune was at one
time invested in sailing vessels. I remember
distinctly how he said to me: 'T formerly be-
lieved that steam would never master wind
upon the high and open sea for the convey-
ance of freight. I believed that the inex-
pensiveness of the one would be more than a
match for the greater constancy and certainty
of the other. But I have changed my mind.
The last two years have decided the battle,
and the steamers have won the victory." That
was perhaps twenty-five years ago, and our
Suffolk county shipwrights were building sail-
ing vessels.
Furthermore, this was not the only battle
fought and lost which affected the shipbuild-
ers of the county. Another contest was that
of iron and steel against wood, and the triumph
of the former, while our shipwrights were
generally workers in wood. To maintain their
business and make it profitable they had to
unite in themselves the daring of the mariner,
the courage of the soldier, the venturesome-
ness of the merchant and the genius and skill
of the engineer. One fact shows their eminent
ability: they have at no time ceased to build
seafaring vessels — crafts of nearly every kind,
rowboats, fishing smacks, pleasure yachts,
scollopers, sloops, schooners, barks, brigs. The
trader has given employment to hundreds of
men ; and they have matched in the excellence
of the fruits of their toil that of the worthy
architects, builders and mechanics who have
erected houses, barns, mills, bridges and
other structures which have within the last
fifty years utterly changed the face of the
county for the better so far as this can de-
pend on the work of men's hands. For the
period in review has made nearly all things
new in the villages not only, but also on the
farms. Advance and improvement in size,
style, surroundings are seen everywhere. In-
crease in wealth has made the delightful
change not more than the growth and progress
of intelligence and the elevation and refinement
of taste.
The builders of houses have perhaps made
no more remarkable advancement than men
in other employments have manifested. In
every department of mechanic arts are seen
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
901
tlie g-ratifving- iniprovc-nients of the half-cen-
turv.
In other (hrections may be seen noteworthy
changes in the employments and conditions
of our industrious and thrifty fellow citizens.
Within the last decades many poultry
farms have been established. From some of
these severally three or foiu- thousand ducks
are sent to market every year. Otiiers yield
one or two thousand each. Changes for the
better in the incubators and other apparatus
as well as in the buildings, and the business
generally, have been made and continue.
The whaling business in Suffolk county
culminated a few years before the beginning
of our half-century. One of the causes which
depressed it was the transfer of California
from Me.xico to the United States, and the dis-
covery of abundance of gold there. The fasci-
nation of luck always had an influence hx
drawing men to the pursuit of whales. It is
true that courage, coolness, skill and strength
were required in striking them, but even with
these manly qualities there was much uncer-
tainty in capturing them. Furthermore, there
was no full assurance of finding them even in
the most likely places. The business alwa3-s
contains an element of fisherman's luck.
The pursuit of gold in California pre-
sented at not a few points a striking re-
semblance to the pursuit of whales. The suc-
cessful pursuers must be enterprising, brave,
resolute, venturesome, patient in hardships
and capable of immense endurance.
So our adventurous men fifty \ears ago
luade their way to the Pacific coast for gold.
Nearly an hundred sailed under Captain
Henry Greene in one ship. Many others went
to try their fortunes by other means of ven-
vevance. The experience wdiich they acquired
in that distant region — then far away — af-
forded them no little advantage on their re-
turn home. Some, alas! never returned.
Their burial place is like that of Moses. The
change in the method of fishing for men-
haden a few years later gave to the same sort
of men desirable employment. During the
first half of the century these fish were mainly
taken by Suffolk county people in huge seines
cast around them and drawn to the shore.
They were used in a crude way to enrich the
fields. Many millions were thus taken and
used every year. Sometimes a million were
caught and landed at one haul, making seven
hundred tons or more. The seines were drawn
61
ashore with the fish by horses. It was not till
1850 that these fishes were steamed for the
extraction of oil from them. The building
of factories for this purpose soon led to a
new method of fishing, which is used in the
deep water of the liays, the Sound and the
ocean. The seines of several hundreds of feet
in length are discarded and shorter nets are
used. These are cast around a shoal of fishes
and then drawn together like a purse, and
hence called "purse nets." From these purses
the fish are scooped out and conveyed to the
factories.
These developments caused the invention
of new models for seagoing vessels, which
were constructed, especially steamers, accord-
ingly. The mental originality, ingenuity and
constructiveness applied to the business are
extremely commendable, and the various ])arts
of the business now employ millions of cap-
ital and manv hundreds of men. In its pres-
ent models, it is wholly a creatiim in the last
half-century, and is a signal ilhist ration of the
methods by which creating .Mind has pro-
duced the advance and (li\-crsit> of Xature.
All the wealth which ciimcs from the busi-
ness is drawn from the lidundlcss treasures
of the sea — far more inexhaustible than an\-
mines of the earth; and if the product should
lie multiplied a thousand fold the illimitable
sources of it would not be perceptibly ili-
minished.
It is time to look at some other aspc-ls
of the life of our county. Thirty-nine years
ago the leaders of the slave masters of our
country began a war to divide and destroy our
nation; to stop the flow of the Mississipjii un-
vexed to the sea. The national goNcrniuent
called all patriotic citizens to defend li'.e life
of the nation. The young men of Suffolk
county heard the call. They did not lag and
scheme for commissions, but many of them
resolutely accepted the hardest and most dan-
gerous service. They were ready to risk their
lives around the dear old flag that had proudly
floated from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from
the Fakes to the Gulf, over courthouses and
capitol, over forts, and arsenals, and over
American ships in ever}' commercial port of
the globe. Their mothers, wives, sisters,
sweethearts were as patriotic as they dared to
be. and bore up under the burden of their ab-
sence and the peril or loss of their lives.
The flowers that deck the graves of our
heroes, and the starrv flag that waves over
m-2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
them, and the tender and grateful remem-
brance which we cherish for them with each
returning- spring time in the cemetery of every
village of our county, attest the devotion and
the unselfish love of country which the men
and the women of old>Sufifolk have shown.
They died not in vain. They laid down
their lives that the nation might live, and
that righteousness, freedom and Christian ex-
cellence might flourish on earth. And no lips
can speak the wonders of that prosperity,
wealth, power and glory which have come like
a new creation from the rescue of the nation
in whose behalf they gave their precious blood.
The fruits of their virtues, toils and death
have made our country the astonishment of the
world.
Fifty years ago there were three news-
papers published in the county — perhaps four
or five. The last Year Book of our Society
contains the names of twenty-three now pub-
lished. We have seen a score of these out-
shoots of the press in twice as many years
bloom and wither. They derive their origin
and support mainly from political partisanship
and show plainly the character of their par-
■entage. They put to rout the oral gossips and
perform a desirable function in the social life
of our villages.
One cannot present a full list of the list of
the authors, native or resident, of this county,
who have in these five decades published sep-
arate volumes. An incomplete list includes
the Rev. Drs. James B. Finch, Enoch C.
"Wines, Edward Hopper, William P. Strick-
land. Samuel E. Herrick, Egbert C. Lawrence,
Samuel H. Kellogg, Allen Page Bissell, Epher
AMiitaker, William Force Whitaker, Joseph
Xewton Hallock, John Balcom Shaw, Robert
Davidson, the Rev. Messrs. Alanson A.
Haines, Abraham S. Gardiner, James Coote,
Edward Warriner, Jacob E. Mallmann, Sam-
vtel Whaley, Charles E. Craven, Joseph H.
Young, Phineas Robinson, John Reid, Charles
Hoover, the Hon. Henry P. Hedges, the Hon.
Joseph Nimmo, Jr., Prof. Eben N. Hosford,
Prof. Alonzo Reed, Prof. Edward R. Shaw,
Prof. Isaac F. Russell, Archivist George R.
Howell, Frank A. Overton, M. D., L'^aac Mc-
Lellan, David Philander Horton, John O.
Terry, Alonzo Foster, Mrs. Mary L'Homme-
dieu, G. Horsford, Mrs. Ella B. Hallock, Miss
Cornelia Huntington, Miss Mary B. Sleight,
Miss Mary Hubbard Howell, Miss Anna
Reeve Aldrich, Augustus Grififing, David
Gardiner, Richard ^I. Bayles, William S.
Pelletreau, Charles B. Moore.
Many artists have made their respective
homes in various parts of the county, and their
famous school at Shinnecock Hills is the
gathering place of scores of them during ri
long season from spring to autumn every year.
Yacht clubs, golf clubs, fishing and gun
clubs, and other organizations for sports and
pastime, give zest and pleasure to the coun-
try life of hundreds of cottagers. These and
the cyclists have made their first conspicuous
appearance in the half-century.
So have the brave and skillful life-savers
at the long line of stations which the nation
has established along the coast. To obtain
this service for humanity my friend, William
A. Newell, M. D., Governor of New Jersey,
and subsequently of Washington Territory,
had himself elected to the Congress of the na-
tion, and made it his chief concern there to
secure the passage of a law to begin and es-
tablish the service which Sumner I. Kimball,
Superintendent, has so worthily directed and
promoted.
The schools of the county have become
less numerous than formerly, and have lost in
some measure their individual traits of char-
acter. They have generally approximated an
uninteresting and typical sameness of manner
and quality.
The public schools having become a part
of the machinery of the political parties, with
extreme power of taxation, and millions of
money in the hands of a few central operators,
to be used for their purposes every year, these
schools have a character distinctly unlike those
of earlier days. They have been effective in
gradually closing the academies that were
formerly sources of intellectual life in the sev-
eral villages of Easthampton, Remsenberg,
Bellport, Southampton, Franklinville, River-
head, Mileir's Place and elsewhere.
These academies were generally taught by
able and ambitious young men of liberal edu-
cation, whose instruction, impulse, example
and inspiration animated and impelled their
bright pupils to aim at excellence and noble
ends. These teachers sometimes entered upon
other pursuits and won eminence, distinction
and honor in walks of professional usefulness.
Thus they led onward an attractive and aspir-
ing procession of worthy followers. Their
day is past.
The schools of the countv are now far less
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
individually distinctive and far more mechan-
ical. They work with magnetic energv to
bring all their pupils to the same level in their
respective classes. All the public schools were
made free about thirty years ago. More re-
cently the attendance at schools of children
within certain ages has been made compulsory,
and by these means the likelihood of deplorable
illiteracy has been diminished.
Remarkable changes have occurred in tho
churches of the county. In 1850 there were
as many as ten African churches, most of them
Methodists ; and these about equally divided
between Methodist Episcopal and j^lethodist
Episcopal Zion. There were also African
churches unconnected with each other. These
African churches, for the most part, continue
alive, with no great variation in the number.
There were four Baptist churches. These re-
main, and twice as many have been added to
them. The Congregational churches then
numbered fifteen, and do now. Four Lutheran
churches have been organized and are flourish-
ing. The Methodist Episcopal churches are
forty. About half of them have been organ-
ized within the period of fifty years. The
Methodist Protestant churches are two, as for-
merly. The two New Jerusalem churches have
become one. One Pentecostal church has been
organized. The twenty Presbyterian churches
have become forty-two, including eight chapels
in which public worship is held on Sundays.
The Protestant Episcopal churches have multi-
plied from five to twenty that are ordinarily
served by clergymen, though several of them
are open in the sunimier only. One Reformed
church has been organized. The Roman Cath-
olic churches, with one exception, have all been
established within these fifty years. They are
twenty-four in number, with several missions
in addition, and are served by sixteen priests.
There are two LTniversalist churches — one
formed earlier, the other later, perhaps, than
1850.
Thus the churches within the half-century
have more than doubled in number, and in-
creased more rapidly than the whole popula-
tion of the county. This is not twice as nu-
merous as it was fifty years ago. These
churches combined are now served by as many
as 140 clergymen. The full pastoral service
of a minister does not probably exceed, on the
average, twenty years. To maintain the sup-
ply requires an accession of seven each year.
At this rate three hundred and more come and
go in half a century. Doubtless, 200 have
passed away since 1850.
In the various towns of the county, from
their origin, 250 years ago, there has always
been a Christian ministry of high character In
morals and religion, of eminent ability, and of
liberal education. There has been no lower-
ing of the standard during the period under
review.
Among those who have passed away in
this period may be mentioned: Baptist —
Charles J. Hopkins, Alvin Ackley. Congre-
gationalist — Charles J. Knowles, Henry T.
Cheever, Christopher Youngs, Thomas N.
Benedict, Charles Hoover, Aaron Snow,
Henry ^^'oodrufi', Eusebius Hale. Methodist
Episcopal — Thomas G. Osborn, Seymour Lan-
don, Alarvin R. Lent, George W. Woodruff,
Edward ^^'arriner, George Hollis, Stephen
Rushmore, Samuel A. Seaman. Presbyterian
• — Enoch C. Wines, Edward Hopper, Hugh N.
Wilson, William B. Reeve, M. D., Augustus
T. Dobson, William H. Cooper, Daniel M.
Lord, Carson W. Adams, Daniel Beers, James
T. Hamlin, Phineas Robinson, Abraham Luce,
George F. Wiswell, Zachariah Green, Ezra
King, James S. Evans, James McDougall.
Protestant Episcopal — D. V. M. Johnson, J.
M. Noll. Roman Catholic — John McKenna.
Universalist — Dr. Emerson.
The flood of years has borne away from
the legal profession some of the ablest judges,
counsellors and advocates of justice who have
at any time given dignity and worth to the
judicial office of the county.
Selah B. Strong was a judge who had few
peers in the hig-hest court of the Empire State
— upright, impartial, recondite, diligent, con-
siderate, and pure and spotless as the snowy
ermine, the precious emblem of his proud and
conspicuous office.
Worthy to be associated with him were the
judges of our county who have passed away
within the period in hand: Hugh Halsey,
Abraham T. Rose, William P. Buffet, George
Miller, J. Lawrence Smith. The successors
of these men are their peers. There has been
no abatement of the lofty judicial standard.
The Surrogates, James H. Tuthill and
others, when not the same as the judges of
the county, have not been inferior to them in
legal knowledge, elevation of character and
soundness of judgment. Their decisions have
not been often contested — rarely overruled by
higher courts.
964
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Of the clerks of the county. Georg-e b.
Phillips. Samuel A. Smith, Joseph Wickham
Case, like the judges of the county who have
died within the half-century, have been known
to me. What a splendid list of courteous and
capable gentlemen they and their successors
present to grace the annals of our county for
the last fifty years!
It has been my good fortune to be free
from alt unpleasant grips of the sheriffs of
old Suffolk. But I have been the guest of
these faithful and courageous officers who
have joined the great majority, namely, Rich-
ard W. Smith, Silas Horton, John Clark, Sam-
uel Phillips, John Shirley.
I have had occasion to meet the Grand
Jury and obtain the indictments of a criminal,
but it so happened that no one of the eight
District Attorneys, diligent and commendable
officers, whom I have known has written aii
official indictment against myself.
The occupants, including the Treasurer >,
of the chief count}' offices known to me in
these fifty years have been Democrats, both
hunkers and barn burners. Know Nothings
and Republicans, and all alike have been good
citizens, and nearly or quite all have been
honest, capable and trustworthy officials. How
their personal conduct and the performance of
their public duties put to shame the partisan
abuse and rancor that were so common fift\-
years ago.
The attorneys and counsellors who- have
been officers of the courts of the county in-
clude a goodly array of legal gentlemen, emi-
nent for honor, learning and eloc|uence. (Jne
calls to mind among the departed, Samuel S.
Gardiner, Selah B. Strong, William H. Glea-
son, James H. Tuthill, Abraham T. Rose, J.
Lawrence Smith, Henry J. Scudder, Everett
A. Carpenter and others.
Among the physicians and surgeons who
have adorned their benevolent profession and
conferred priceless benefits upon their fellow
men were Doctors Ebenezer Sage, Frederick
W. Lord, Henry Cook, Levi D. ^^'right,
Ezekiel D. Skinner, Franklin Tuthill, Abra-
ham B. Luce, Richard H. Benjamin. John E.
Hartranft. Tames I. Baker, Nathaniel Miller,
.\brahani G. Thompson, and a score of their
compeers.
There are not many features in the face
of the county where its life has made a more
charming and notable change than in its live
stock. Herein the Suffolk County Agricult-
ural Societv has been efficient, and among the
chief who liave made this improvement may be
named Richard B. Conklin, the breeder of
Rarus; Henry L, Fleet, the owner of Black
Eagle: Carll 'Burr, David Carll and Edward
Davton, whose oxen in strength and beauty
were admirable types of their kind ; and when
the old Greek poets, the most tasteful and
artistic of mankind, wished to put the finish-
ing touch to their description of the Queen
of Heaven, they called her ox-eyed.
It is not in the lower forms of life only
that improvement is seen. The people of the
cciunty have advanced to a higher degree of
intelligence, culture, refinement and manifold
traits of Christian excellence.
In referring to this article the local paper
said:
" 'Fifty vears of Long Island.' at the kindly
and competent hands of the K.cv. Dr. Whit-
aker, the Southold historian, is, it is super-
fluous to say, a competent and authoritative
review. No man is better qualified than Dr.
\\'hitaker for the agreeable task; none could
write with a fairer appreciation of the relative
importance of the changes which have come
over the eastern county during the last half-
century, and his work is timely and of per-
manent and historical importance. A peace-
ful revolution has been wrought in the people,
the industries and the characteristics of east-
ern Long Island, which may be studied in
detail in Dr. Whitaker's entertaining and in-
structive paper. It is also well worth while
to notice that the historian is an optimist as
well ; that he does not return regretfully to the
good old times, but speaks like 'a man of
cheerful yesterdays and confident to-morrows.'
The future of Long Island, largely in the
hands of Suffolk county, now there is no
longer danger that Brooklyn will drink it dry,
would seem to be eff'ectivelv assured."
HUHTIHGTOH YIEWS.
CHAPTER LXIV.
HUNTINGTON.
HI
|HIS township, which extended its au-
thority across the entire island until
1872, when the scuthern half was
raised into the dignity of a separate
local government and became the township
of Babylon, was incorporated under a patent
issued November 30, 1666, by Governor Xic-
olls. It is not clear when or where the first
settlement was effected. The earliest Indian
deed, between the Sagamore Raseokan, of the
Matinicock tribe, on the one hand, and Rich-
ard Houlbrock, Robert Williams and Daniel
Whitehead on the other, when certain lands
in the township aliout six miles square were
sold by the Sagamore to the pioneers for
"6 coats, 6 kettles, 6 hatchets, 6 howes, 6
shirts, 10 knives. 6 fathoms of wampum. 30
muxes, 30 needles," is dated April 2, 1653.
and it was not until six years later that a town
meeting was called, so far as existing records
show. Another tract of land was in 1656 sold
by "Asharoken. Mattinicock Sachem, and the
rest of the Indian owners with him," to Jonas
Wood, William Rogers and Thomas Wickes,
"for themselves and the rest of their asso-
ciates," covering land from Xorthport and
Smithtown Harbor, and including Eaton's
Neck. That neck, however, was afterward
claimed and held under a supposed Indian
deed dated 1646 to Theophilus Eaton. This
claim was allowed in law and was confirmed
by a grant by Governor Nicolls. Where the
pioneer white settlers came from seems also
uncertain. Mr. C. S. Street says: "I incline
to the belief that the first and oldest company
came across the Sound, perhaps under the
leadership of the Rev. William Leverich, from
the vicinity of New Haven and Branford,
landing- at Huntington Harbor and locating
])rinci])ally along the valley where the eastern
part nf Huntington village now is, this having
been always called "the town spot" or "old
town spot:" that the second immigration was
an otT-slioot from the Hempstead colony, led
thither liy Rev. Richard Denton soon after
1640, originally from Wethersfield. Massachu-
setts, and for a time at .Stamford, Connecticut:
and the third influx came from the vicinity of
.Salem. Massachusetts, after stopping a short
time in Southold and Southampton, principally
in the former town." The Indian name of the
territory was Ketewomoke, and its English
name may either be a corruption of that of
■ the old town of Huntington or of Hunting-
town, — the latter being significant of the
abundance of wild game when settlement be-
gan. Probably the first surmise is the correct
one. The Indians gave little trouble. They
were few in number, remnants, in fact, of
the }kIatinicock, Marsepagne and Seucatogue
tribes, and the advent of the white man com-
pleted the process of extinction which had
been begun by the evil fortunes of war with
the tribes on the mainland.
"In the first }ears of the settlement." says
Mr. C. R. Street in his "Town Records," vol.
I, ]). 13, "the pioneers built their rudely con-
structed dwellings around and near the 'town
S])0t,' where they had a fort and watch houses
and where the 'train bands' were drilled. Their
9(36
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
animals were daily driven out and herded un-
der guard, some in the 'east field,' now Old
Fields, and some in the 'west field,' now West
Neck, and at night the cattle were driven back
and coralled near the watch house. Gradually,
however, the more adventurous pushed out in
all directions and made themselves homes
where they found the richest soil and most
attractive surroundings, and at their meetings
grants of 'home lots' were made. At first the
women pounded their corn in mortars, and the
men wrought logs and clapboards for build-
ing with axes and cleavers, but soon dams
were constructed across the streams, small
mills were built for grinding grain and saw-
ing lumber, rude tanneries were constructed
for tanning leather, and spindles or looms were
made or procured for the manufacture of
coarse flaxen or woolen fabrics for clothing.
The ox-cart was their only vehicle for travel
and cart-paths their only highways. They
used wooden ploughshares tipped with iron.
Their match-lock guns were even more clumsy
than the old flint-locks, but some of their
swords were wrought by Spanish artisans and
were tempered with a skill that is among the
lost arts."
The patent of 1664 covered with the priv-
ilege of a township the entire region between
Cold Spring and Nesaquake River and from
the sound to the ocean. The exact boundaries
were not very clearly set forth, neither were
they in the Dongan patent of' 1686 or the
Fletcher patent of 1694, and this as well as
the weakness of the Indian deeds afterward
gave rise to much litigation, which once oc-
cupied a great deal of thought and temper, but
does not invite any general interest nowadays.
But the town as a settled and self-governing
community dates really ahead of the Xicolls
patent, for the town meeting was in operation
as early as 1659, and one would judge from
one entry in the records that the brethren
had advanced so far in the art of governing
that by 1660 the stocks had been built where-
with to detain and punish offenders. The
town meeting at once rose into power. It di-
vided and awarded lands, voted allegiance to
Connecticut, elected deputies to the General
Court at Hartford, made and repaired high-
wa}s, fixed legal fees, administered justice in
criminal as well as in civil cases (thirty trials
being recorded up to 1664), apparently ac-
cording to the pioneers' ideas of justice until
the Duke's laws were forced upon them;
elected constables ; ordered fences built to keep
cattle and hogs from wandering; and fined
without mercy. The town meeting even ban-
ished a man, — Richard Latting, — agreeing
"that ould Laten shalle take away his cattel
out of this town bounds within a fortnight, or
14 days, or pay to the town 10 shilling a
head." His imputed offense was, according to
ilr. Street, his refusal to recognize the sov-
ereignty of Connecticut, but he must have
been a bad man clear through, for he was af-
terward expelled from the immediate jurisdic-
tion of Hartford, where he had taken refuge,
for his "turbulent conduct." He then appar-
ently wanted to settle in Huntington once
more, but the town meeting would have none
of him, and resolved that if any person "shall
either by way of gift or pave do give or selle
entartanement to Richard Laten for more than
the spase of one week every person so offend-
ing shall pay forty shillings fine for every
time he shall offend in brakeing this order
made for the pease of the Town."
But the most significant evidence of inde-
pendence was, — as in all of the town meetings
in the Island towns, — that the meeting was
the sole arbiter as to who should settle within
their domain, and in 1662 the Rev. J\lr. Lever-
ich. Will Smith, Thomas \\'eekes, John Lum,
Goodman Jones, James Chichester and Jonas
Wood were appointed as a committee to pass
upon the character and credentials of every
applicant for admission into the little com-
munity. No one interfered with the town
meeting's edicts ; it was a law unto itself ; its
verdict was supreme, and there does not seem
to have been any idea of an appeal from its
HUNTINGTON.
9G7
■ decisions to a higher court. With Governor
Nicolls and the Duke's laws that state of in-
dependence passed away.
Huntington was not a theocrac_v. Its early
JNIagistrates were elected by the people, and if
the confirmation of the General Court at Hart-
ford was asked, it was more in the nature of
a formality than anything else. The Rev.
\Mlliani Leverich, whom we have already met
in our studies, was one of the pioneers and
preached to the people and exercised his sa-
cred offices, but he was necessarily absent from
among them frequently, and besides his world-
ly occupations must have occupied quite a part
of his time. He built and ran the first mill
in the township, and seems to have been a gen-
eral merchant, selling cloth and other articles,
so that while he was the first minister in Hunt-
ington he could hardly be rightly described
as the first minister of Huntington. A Pres-
byterian Church was erected in 1666 and en-
larged in 1686, but the influence of the church
did not seem to become dominant any more
than it would in any well-regulated Christian
community. In 1676 the Rev. Eliphalet Jones
was chosen as the first minister of Huntington,
but he was chosen by the representatives of the
town meeting, and as a result of a vote at a
town meeting and not so far as we can see
on the initiative of the church session and
congregation, as such. j\lr. Jones ministered
in the town until his death, in 1731. He had
then attained the patriarchal age of ninety-
three years. In 1719 the Rev. Ebenezer Prime
became his assistant and successor. In 1766
the Rev. John Close became Mr. Prime's suc-
cessor, but withdrew in 1773. Six years later
I\Ir. Prime died. By that time the British had
taken possession of the church building and
turned it into a storehouse and so it remained
until 1782, when it was torn down. There
were then two other Presbyterian congrega-
tions in the township, one at Comae in 1730,
and another at Fresh Pond, (now Northport),
but later by several years.
In 1746 St. John's Episcopal Church was
constituted under the name of Trinity Church.
It was ministered to by the Rev. Samuel Sea-
bury, rector at Hempstead. In 1749 the first
church building was erected, and in 1773 the
Rev. James Greaton, of Boston, was settled
as the first sole rector.
Loyal, in sentiment if in no other respect, to
Connecticut, Huntington made short work of
the claims of the redoubtable Capt. John Scott
in 1663 as the direct representative of King
Charles II, but we are inclined to think that if
Connecticut's claims to active sovereignty,
which she made in 1664, when she sent com-
missioners to collect taxes and establish addi-
tional courts on Long Island, had been pushed
the sentiment of Huntington would not have
proved powerful enough to have yielded. For-
tunately the envoys of Connecticut did not
reach Huntington, so the reign of sentiment
continued. Governor Nicolls cut it short, how-
ever. He summoned a meeting of all the Long
Island towns at Hempstead, and Jonas Wood
and John Ketcham were chosen representatives
of Huntington. As such they attended the
meeting, accepted all the Governor's promises
and changes, and signed the obsequious ad-
dress to him which was so heartily repudiated
as far as possible by the people, and returned
to their constituents with a manuscript copy
of the Duke's laws, which were henceforth,
except for Colve's brief interruption, to lule
the roost. These two men were the most
popular in Huntington when they set forth
on their journey to Hempstead, but when they '
returned and their doings were known they
lost their popularity entirely. However, it was
too late. The die was cast. Long Island was
a part of New York ; there was to be no more
dallying with Connecticut ; a strong man was
at the helm; the Duke's authority and laws
had been accepted, and, having no choice in
the matter, little town governments like Flunt-
ington had no recourse but to accept the con-
ditions that presented themselves and get along
as well as possible. But it was not long before
the fact was experienced that the old perfect
9CS
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
freedom and autonomy were things of the
past ; a liigher power than the town meeting
had come, and come to stay, with Colve's
opera bouffe sort of interruption, until the
Revolution, and then, although changed in
name and style, the outside power remained.
The annals of Huntington, outside of a
lawsuit or two, each now an obsolete story,
and a little grumbling at much of the Duke's
laws, might lie described as quiet and peace-
ful until the advent of the Revolution, calling
for the recital of nothing more than purely
local and domestic in point of interest. But
then tlie history of the Revolutionary move-
ment liegan early in Huntington. At a town
meeting held on February 21. 1670, consid-
eration of a demand' by Governor Lovelace
for a "contribution" toward the cost of repair-
ing the fort at Xew York was discussed with
the following emphatic result: "We of the
town of Huntington can not see cause to con-
tribute anything toward the Repaireacon of
the forte for these following reasons : First,
because we conceive we are deprived of the
liberties of Englishmen ; secondly, we conceive
we have little or no beneiits of the Law ;
thirdly, we can not conceive of any benefit or
safety we can expect from the fort; fourthly,
we find ourselves so much disenabled by mani-
fold troubles wdien we thought ourselves in
peace that we can not imparte with an_\' such
disbursement." A copy of all this was sent to
Lovelace, and he pronounced it "scandalous,
illegal and seditious," and had the document
publicly burned. But Huntington did not pay,
and so this spirited protest was one of the
earliest defiances against "taxation without
representation," and accomplished its purpose.
This meeting, however, was the beginning
of the Revolutionary movement in the town.
When Governor Andros came in after Colve's
short reign he made the usual array of glit-
tering promises, and then the old restrictions
and the Duke's laws were enforced more rig-
idly than ever. The town meeting protested,
Andros sent several of the citizens to jail,
but even that did not cause the grumbling to
cease. Governor Dongan tried to pacify every
one by calling a meeting of deputies at New
York, but the meeting accomplished nothing
practical. Dongan pretended he saw a weak-
ness in the old patents of Huntington, and di-
rected a new one to be made. It was drawn
up in such a way as to meet the views of the
local authorities, and in their fullness of heart
they offered to pay £20 for the document, but
Dongan fixed the price at £29 4s 6d, and this
was eventually paid with much grumbling.
When the "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 sent
Governor Slaughter to these shores a greater
meed of liberty followed, and popular repre-
sentation in the afi'airs of government was no
longer a dead letter, but afterward the blind-
ness of Parliament and the unfitness of many
of the royal Governors gradually aroused the
spirit of opposition and led to revolt. In this
Huntington was outspoken from the first, and
was most pronounced and determined m its
adoption of the patriotic cause. At .a town
meeting held June 21, 1774, it was declared,
among other things :
"That every freeman's property is abso-
lutely his own, and no man has a right to take
it from him without his consent, expressed
either by himself or his representatives.
"That, therefore, all taxes and duties im-
posed on His Majesty's subjects in the .Ameri-
can colonies by the authority of Parliament
are wholly unconstitutional and a plain viola-
tion of the most essential rights of British
subjects.
"That we are of the opinion that our breth-
ren of Boston are now suffering in the com-
mon cause of British America.
"That it is the opinion of this meeting that
the most eflfectual means for obtaining a speedy
•repeal of said acts will be to break off all
commercial intercourse with Great Britain, Ire-
land and the West India colonies.
"And we hereby declare ourselves ready
to enter into these or such other measures as
shall be agreed upon by a general congress
of all the colonies."
There was thus, so far as the surface indi-
HUNTINGTON.
969
cations go, no thought of separation ; but as
events unfolded themselves and militia com-
panies were formed and drilled, independence
became tlie issue, and loo pounds of gunpow-
der was sent by the Provincial Congress to
Huntington in September, 1775. On June
29. 1776, a local war committee was chosen,
consisting of Joshua Ketcham, John Buffet,
Piatt Conklin, Piatt Carll, Josiah Wood, Wil-
mot Oakley. Jesse Brush, Timothy Ketcham,
Gilbert Fleet. Richard Conklin, Jonas Rogers,
Thomas ^^"icks, Benjamin Y. Prime, Timo-
thy Conklin, Solomon Ketcham, David Rusco,
Henry Smith, Gilbert Potter. The enrolling
and drilling of the troops continued and prep-
aratijns were zealously prosecuted for meeting
the armed crisis which, it was felt, was near
at hand. In a general appendix to the story
of Suffolk county the names of all her military
heroes are given, so there is no use in mention-
ing any of them here, but on January 24
Chairman \\'illiam Smith, of the Suffolk com-
luittee, estimated the county's entire militia
as 2,000 men. On July 5, 1776, Congress sent
1. 000 pounds of powder to the Huntington
committee. By that time the immortal Declar-
ation of Independence had been launched, and
the fiat had gone forth that "these United
Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free
and independent States." On July 22 the
edict of independence was celebrated in Hunt-
ington amid much rejoicing. A letter from
there, written the day after and published in
Holt's New York Journal, tells the story :
"Yesterday the freedom and independence
of the thirteen United Colonies was, with beat
of drum, proclaimed at the several places of
parade, by reading the Declaration of the
General Congress, together with the resolu-
tions of our provincial convention thereupon ;
which were approved and applauded by the
animated shouts of the people, who were pres-
ent from all the distant quarters of this district.
After which the flag used to wave on liberty
pole, having Liberty on one side and George
III on the oth.er. underwent a reform, /. c,
the union was cut oft', and the letters George
III were discarded, being publicly ripped oft';
and then an effigy of the personage represented
by those letters, being hastily fabricated out
of base materials, with its face black like Dun-
more's \'irginia [negro] regiment, its head
adorned with a wooden crown, and its head
stuck full of feathers, like Carleton's and John-
son's savages, and its body wrapped in the
union instead of a blanket or robe of state,
and lined with gunpowder, which the original
seems to be fond of — the whole, together with
the letters above mentioned, was hung on a
gallows, exploded and burnt to ashes. In the
evening the committee of this town, with a
large number of the principal inhabitants, sat
around the genial board, and drank 13 patri-
otic toasts, among which were: The free and
independent States of America, the General
Congress, The Convention of the 13 States,
t )ur Principal Military Commanders, and Suc-
cess and Enlargement of the American Xavy.
Xor was the memory of our late brave h.eroes
who have gloriously lost their lives in the
cause of liberty and their country forgotten."
On August 12, 1776, Colonel Josiah Smith
marched from Smithtown for Brooklyn, pick-
ing up the companies of 'his regiment on the
way. There seems some doubt as to the num-
ber of men he took with him into the brief
campaign which ended in the retreat of the
Continental forces from Long Island. Mr.
Henry P. Johnston, in his "Campaign of
1776." estimates the whole at 250. but Mr.
Pelletreau seems to think this an underesti-
mate. Xor can we determine exactly the num-
ber of men from Huntington who were in
the ilisaster of August 27th. It would seem,
however, that on that day 100 men were sent
from Huntington to join General Woodhull
and assist him in his humble mission of driving
away the cattle from before the enemy. The
results of the battle of Brooklyn paralyzed all
militarv effort, although some of the ardent
spirits at Huntington were for continuing the
struggle; but on September ist General Oliver
De Lancey and the Seventeenth Dragoons
were in full control, and a dav later Hunting-
1)70
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ton's Chief ^lagistrate, Isaac Wood, formally
surrendered it to the royal authority, and the
awful reign of the army of occupation com-
menced.
Then followed the usual acts of pillage,
confiscation and ruin, of which we have seen
so much. In Huntington there was no room
for doubting the sentiments of the great body
of the people, as there might have been justly
in Queens, and so it seems that the troops
carried on their mission in a much more high-
handed manner in this township than even
in Oyster Bay. One of the first of the British
hauls was a prize of i6o casks of oil and
twenty gallons of molasses, which were put
on board two vessels, which were also vir-
tually confiscated, and sent to New York City.
Every horse fit for troop or team work was
seized, wagons, boats, grain, live stock, for-
age,— all that could be useful to an army were
seized, paid for at valuation fixed by the mili-
tary authorities when the victim was a Loyal-
ist or confiscated when a pronounced or sus-
pected Patriot. Even men were impressed into
the royal service to drive the teams or convey
the live stock to Jamaica, or to cut down wood
for the use of the military. The requirements
of the troopers pressed heavily on all classes,
many of the most pronounced Patriots aban-
doned their property and sought refuge in
Connecticut or service in the Continental
army; the oath of allegiance was ordered to
be taken by all of the adult male population,
and the records show that 549 of the dwellers
in Huntington gave this evidence of their lip
loyalty at least to the dominant cause. Those
who had belonged to the local militia were
compelled to do military duty, such as guard
mounting, etc. As the period of the occupa-
tion progressed and the township was overrun
by the Loyalist regiments, — the scum of the
population in the large cities, — robbery and
wanton destruction of property became the rule
and all pretence of any law except that of
might and the drum-head was abandoned.
The people were openly accused of being reb-
els, even those who had taken the oath being
regarded with suspicion, and those who es-
caped that declaration of lip loyalty were few,
for Governor Tryon had swept Suffolk county
as with a dragnet and forced the acceptance
of the declaration with the alternative of an
enforced trip to Connecticut.
Huntington was strongly guarded, for its
position on the sound made it a likely place
for landing parties of Patriots. Fort Frank-
lin, at the west end of Lloyd's Neck, with
seven or eight guns and a garrison generally
of 300 or more men, was supposed to safe-
guard this bit of coast from attack, but it be-
came a place from whence marauding parties
fitted out expeditions for shore robberies, and
the pirates cared little when a chance for plun-
der appeared about distinguishing whether
their victims were Loyalists or Whigs, whether
the booty was money, blankets or teaspoons.
Even the regular soldiers got up pillaging
parties, and "the Honorable Board of Asso-
ciated Loyalists" was simnly a refined name
for a gang of thugs and cutthroats who, under
the name of loyalty, enjoyed a season of lib-
erty and rascality, and robbed whenever,
wherever and whoever they could. An attack
on this fort was made on July i, 1781, by a
force of Americans and Frenchmen, but they
were repulsed by superior numbers, and the
fort as a centre for pillaging parties continued
for a little while longer.
In the center of the village of Huntington
is a hill commanding a fine view of the sound.
The people of the village had selected it as
a place for the burial of the dead, and for
over a century it had been so used, and the
stones which marked its graves bore the names
of every family in the place. It was, in fact,
to them, holy ground, and we can imagine the
indignation that was felt when, in 1782, Colo-
nel Benjamin Thompson (afterward known
as Count Rumford) decided to build a fort on
the hill, and especially when his edict went
forth that the people of the village were to as-
semble with spades, axes and teams and help
HUNTINGTON.
971
in the work of desecrating the graves of their
ancestors. " The local militia were impressed
into the unhallowed work, and over a hundred
tombstones were removed and the ground lev-
eled. For the erection of the fort a church
was torn down, and even buildings in use
were stripped of their outer walls, while or-
chards, trees, fences were cut down or carried
away without the slightest regard to personal
property. The tombstones were used as floor-
ing, some went into the construction of ovens,
and bread was often seen bearing part of the
inscription on a tomb from contact with one
of these stones in the oven. The fort was
completed and bore the appropriate name of
Golgotha. Its remains are yet discernible.
Some of the old gravestones left untouched by
Thompson's troopers and more or less unwill-
ing helpers are still to be seen, fragments of
them, rather, for the hill was often swept by
cannon shot. The hill itself is a veritable me-
morial of the Revolution, more precious than
mere human hands could contrive.
These cruelties and oppressions and rob-
beries, however, belong to the past, and time
has helped to soften the sense of their miseries
and degradation. But the events of the Revo-
lution have left in Huntington one memory
which is as bright as ever, one hero whose
name, which is and ever will be held in the
very foremost rank of American patriots and
whose dying declaration, 'T regret I have only
one life to lose for my country," will always
be regarded as among the watchwords of lib-
erty.
Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Con-
necticut, in 1755, and was educated at Yale
with a view to entering the ministry. After
he was graduated, in 1773, he taught school
at East Haddam, and afterward at New Lon-
don. He was so engaged when the news
reached New London of the engagement at
Lexington, and was one of the speakers at
the town meeting that was called at once to
consider the situation. He advised imme-
diate action, saying, "Let us march immediate-
ly and never lay down our arms until we have
obtained our independence." He at once en-
rolled and was given rank as lieutenant. After
the siege of Boston, in which his regiment
participated and where he was promoted to a
captaincy, he was ordered with his command
to New York. There he distinguished himself
by capturing one of the supply boats carrying
provisions to the Gubernatorial ship of refuge,
the "Asia," and the provisions provided quite
a feast for his soldiers. In response to a call
from General Washington Hale volunteered
to pass the British lines in search of data,
and in the guise of a Loyalist schoolmaster
he entered most of the British camps on Man-
hattan and Long Islands, estimating their
forces, sketching their fortifications and ac-
quiring other information which he deemed
might be useful. His work was almost com-
pleted on Long Island. He had crossed the
sound from Norwalk, landed at Huntington
Harbor at a point called the Cedars, and trav-
ersed all through the British posts, returning
to Huntington according to a date previously
arranged about two weeks later to meet a boat
that was to take him back to Norwalk. He
saw a boat on the morning arranged approach
the shore of Huntington Bay, and, supposing
it to be the one he waited for, stood on the
beach until its crew was landed. Then he
saw he had made a terrible mistake, and the
lowered rifles pointing at him made escape
impossible. He was taken on board a pris-
oner and rowed to the frigate "Halifax," then
in the bay, and the evidence found concealed
in his boots left no doubt of his guilt. Hale
was taken to New York and condemned to
death as a spy. His execution took place Sep-
tember 22, 1776, in New York City. The ex-
act place is not known, although it is generally
conceded to have been elsewhere than in City
Hall Park, where IMacMonnies' statue repre-
senting Hale just before his execution now
stands.
Huntington is proud of her association
with this hero. In 1894 a neat fountain lamp
972
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was erected in the village "to coniniemorate
the patriotism of Nathan Hale," and on the
shores of the bay, near the scene of the cap-
ture, a boulder weighing forty-five tons was
laid from a field near by. It bears three mas-
sive bronze memorial tablets, one of which
repeats a part of Hale's words when he ac-
cepted the mission which demanded his life.
service its claims to the performance of that
service are imperious."
Huntington Bay is about a mile from the
village, and is one of the most delightful
"bits," as a landscape painter might say, along
the coast of Long Island Sound. "As a whole,"
said a writer in Scribner's ^lagazine for .May,
1 88 1, "it resembles the track of a bird. The
"I will undertake it. I think I owe to my
country the accomplishment of an oliject so
important and so much desired by the com-
mander of her armies. * * =•= Yet I am
not influenced by the expectation of promo-
tion or pecuniary reward. I wish to be useful
and every kind of service for the public good
becomes honorable by being necessary. If the
exigencies of my country demand a peculiar
rear claw is the narrow entrance from the
sound ; the center of the foot is the main body
of water, and three or four claws are spread
from this westward, southward and eastward.
Each long, narrow harbor is diversified with
many points and coves that surprise you as
you explore it. You pass. farther and farther
inland, among the wooded hills and along the
clean sand beaches. A sloping field here and
HUNTINGTON.
973
there, an orchard covering a low farm-house,
or a villa on a commanding knoll, are minor
points in the charming panorama of the shores.
In-and-out, in-and-out, is the course of land
and water ; and in their devious way they play
many tricks at hide-and-seek, and draw you
on from nook to nook by the most attractive
pictures. At last you reach the head of the
harbor, with its salt meadow of waving grass,
its old tide mill, its pond, and the shady village
sheltered among the encircling hills. You can
explore still farther with pleasure by following
the Toads and lanes through scenes of unusual
beauty. The road may skirt the beach of a
sand-locked bay bordered with forest ; it may
lead past old farm-houses, orchards and typi-
cal barn-yards ; or it may mount the hills of
a headland or neck commanding extensive
views of tortuous harbors, rounded headlands,
long tongues of white sand dividing the blue
water, the wide horizon of the continent, and
the sound stretched eastward to the Atlantic."
When hostilities ceased the population was
only a little over i,ooo, and the township's
losses by the occupation were figured at about
£75.000. Civil law was quickly restored ; the
town meeting again held its supreme position
as the arbiter of local affairs, and farm and
mill combined to make Huntington once more
a prosperous as well as a peaceful community.
By 1790 the township had doubled its popula-
tion, but it would seem that some of the new-
comers had not proved either well-doing or
prosperous, or perhaps deserving of either,
for the overseers of the poor then found it
necessary to buy a building in the village
for the purposes of a poor-house. This house
was continued to be used for that purpose until
1868, when a poor farm was bought at Long
Swamp. In 1872 the paupers belonging to the
township were removed to the county institu-
tion as Yaphank, Brookhaven township.
The War of 18 12 caused a good deal of
alarm in Huntington, considerable powder
was sent there, as in 1776, and the local militia
once marched to Llo\ d's Xcck on a false alarm
that the British were landing troops in that
vicinity. But the war only brought rumors,
and the township was permitted to work out
its problems of progress and development in
peace.
The Civil War found Huntington again
ready to "rally round the flag." Alany of her
sons went to the front and never returned, but
the handsome soldiers' monument and memo-
rial house show that their devotion has not
been forgotten. The course of the Civil War
brought into active service, after he had been
officially retired, a veteran whose home had
been in Huntington for many years. This was
Admiral Hiram K. rankling, a son of John
Paulding, one of the trio which captured Ma-
jor Andre. Admiral Paulding entered the
navy as a midshipman in 181 1, took part in
tlie victory of September 11. 1S14, on Lake
Champlain under McDonough, and was pro-
moted lieutenant in 1816, during the Algerian
War. By the usual slow process of promotion
through the various grades he was retired
with only the rank of captain, when he reached
the age limit for active service, December 21,
1861. On July 16, 1862, he obtained the rank
of rear admiral and was in command of the
Brooklyn Navy Yard until May, 1865, when
he returned to Huntington and again resumed
the pleasures of private citizenship. He died
there October 20, 1878.
In 1872 the township was divided by the
general consent of the people, the southern part
becoming an independent township under the
name of Babylon. It was said at the time
that the reason for this change was simply
a lack ijf sympathy or coherence between the
people on the northern side of the township
and those on the south, but possibly the real
reason was that the Long Island Railroad,
when it had completed its road from Hicks-
ville to Greenpoint in 1844, practically divided
the township into two sections, and in 1868
the northern half got a railroad of its own
by the extension of the branch from Syosset.
In these modern days Huntington village
974
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
is a thriving country place, proud of its past
and more tlian hopeful as to its future. It has
eight churches, a bank, two weekly papers,
exceptional educational facilities, and an esti-
mated population of 4,000, a JNIasonic lodge
(Jephtha, No. 494), an Odd Fellows' lodge,
and a number of other organizations.
Northport, formerly Great Cow Harbor,
now boasts a population of some 1,800. Its
Presbyterian Church has a record dating from
1794, although not always located in the vil-
lage. The most famous of its ministers was
the Rev. Joshua Hartt, who held forth to its
people from about 1780 until 1809, by which
time the congregation had dwindled down
until only a handful remained. The Rev. N.
S. Prime, the historian of Long Island, then
took hold and succeeded in reviving it so that
at the conclusion of his stay of eighteen
months it had a membership of forty. The
Rev. Mr. Hartt continued to act as "pulpit
supply" until his death, in 1825. He was a
great "marrying minister," for some reason
or other, and probably mated more couples
in Huntington than any other clergyman, one
record placing the number as high as 500.
It is now a manufacturing village, with an
increasing summer boarding business. As
much might be said for Centerport, which in
olden times rejoiced in the name of Little
Cow Harbor, and for Cold Spring, the sur-
roundings of which have been described as
being "as charming as those of the Lake of
Como." There are several other smaller set-
tlements all through the township. It pos-
sesses many splendid agricultural sections, but
its glory lies in the part lying between the
railroad and the coast, and in that portion of
the township there is little doubt that rapid
and wonderful developments are certain in the
immediate future.
OLD SCHOOL BUILDIHG, COLD SPRIHGS HARBOR. N. Y.
1
"'^^HH^IH^^l^ll
n^^
m
BI»JH|^|
HEW SCHOOL BUILDING, COLD SPRIHGS HARBOR, H. Y.
CHAPTER LXV,
BABYLON.
ROPERLY speaking, the history of
Babylon township only commences
with March 13, 1872, when she was
constituted to the dignity of a sep-
arate community with the following as her
boundary lines, according to the act of the
Legislature :
"On the north by a line commencing at the
boundary line between the towns of Hunting-
ton and Oyster Bay, one mile north of the
line of the Long Island Railway, and running
thence easterly and parallel with said Long
Island Railway until it Teaches a point on the
boundary line between the towns of Hunting-
ton and Islip one mile north of the Long Island
Railroad ; on the east by the town of Islip ; on
the south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west
by the town of Oyster Bay; the eastern and
western boundaries being the lines now estab-
lished and recognized as the town divisions of
the said several towns respectively."
L^p to the time the act took effect, on the
date above given, the general history of Hunt-
ington applies to Babylon. It had its Revolu-
tionary experiences and heroes, it had its little
excitements in 1812, and it contributed its full
proportionate share to the heroes who went to
the front in the Civil War, yet these are part
of the history of Huntington and only belong
to Babylon in a sort of reflected light as the
glory of Shakespeare and Milton belongs to
the literature of America.
The part of Huntington now included in
Babylon had a slow growth. Mr. James' M.
Cooper, the town's historian, says: "Doubtless
few if any dwellings or other buildings were
erected in this portion of Huntington previous
to the year 1700. The land first purchased on
the south side was bought by the settlers on
the north shore. They bought the marshy
necks of land on the South Bay, which were
then and are now covered with an abundant
growth of salt sedge and black grass. These
lands at that period appear to have been more
highly prized by the inhabitants of the town
than the uplands. The farmers were in great
need of hay with which to feed their domestic
animals, and English grasses were but little
cultivated on Long Island until about 1800.
The early yeomen spent the early portion of
the fall months in cutting, curing and carting
the hay from these marshes to their north-
side homes." Mr. Cooper also remarks: "It
is rather a singular fact, although more than
two centuries have elapsed since the town has
been settled by the white race, and its west-
ern limits are only about thirty miles from
New York City, more than three-quarters of
the land in the town remains in an uncultivated
state, that portion which is cultivated being on
the eastern and northwestern parts and along
the southern or post road."
That was written in 1880, and although the
population has wonderfully increased since
then, and the railroad mileage more than dou-
bled, and the land boomers have been zealous-
ly at work, the same sentence might be penned
at the present writing (1901). The shore is
now lined with pretty villas and mansions.
Babylon and Lindenhurst and other places
976
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
have become popular centers for the ■"sumnitrr
boarder" business, vast hotels have sprung up.
some of them among the most perfectly fitted
up and most beautifully attractive of any near
the metropolis, golf links have been laid out,
sporting clubs of all sorts have been organ-
ized, and even the sandy wastes of Oak Island
and Muncie Island have been adapted to the
uses of man and been transformed into health
or pleasure resorts : but still the track of all this
excitement is bounded pretty much by the lines
laid down in 1881. Then, too, it lasts only
for about four months in each year, and for the
rest of the time, except for its oystering and
clamming industry, Babylon township, as a
whole, resumes its old-time quietness and soli-
tude.
"The oldest house in the town,"' writes Mr.
Cooper, "perhaps in the county, is situated
near the Huntington line. It was built by Cap-
tain Jacob Conkliii, who was impressed on
board of Captain Kidd's ship and served under
him on one of his voyages. On Kidd's return
from his last voyage, and while his vessel, the
'San Antonio.' lay in Cold Spring Harbor,
Conklin and others, having been sent on shore
for water, hid themselves and did not return
to the ship. Doubtless they feared Kidd's
arrest and trial, and dreaded lest they might
be punished with him. They were for some
time secreted among the Indians. Conklin
purchased a large tract of land from the na-
tives, of which the farm late the property of
Colonel James F. Casey is part, and upon
which the venerable mansion above alluded ti:i
is situated. The house was probably erected
about 1 710, and every part of it bears evi-
dence of its antiquity. The high hill behind
the dwelling commands a splendid though dis-
tant view of the ocean and bay. Near by are
several fine springs of water, one of which is
said to be of medicinal character.
"Captain Jacob Conklin was born in Wilt-
shire, England, probably in 1675, and died at
his residence in this town in 1754. His wife
was Hannah Piatt, of Huntington, by whom
he had several children, among them Colonel
I'latt Conklin, who was an ardent patriot dur-
ing the Revolution. The latter had only one
child, Nathaniel, who was Sherift" of the coun-
ty. He was the third owner of the premises
above described. This property descended to
the grandchildren of Sheriff Conklin, thus hav-
ing been owned by four successive generations
of the family. It has since been owned by
Dr. Bartlett, formerly editor of the "Albion,"
Colonel James F. Casey, and Ulysses S.
Grant, Jr."
The village of Babylon has an existence of
about a century, and seems to have originated
in a saw mill and a flouring mill built in the
closing years of the eighteenth century, al-
though there is a local tradition that the first
house was erected about 1760. In 1801 Na-
thaniel Conklin built a tannery and a cloth mill
was begini by Timothy Carll about 18 10. Conk-
lin was the owner of large tracts of land in
the vicinity of his mill, and it seems to be
generally agreed that it was his mother who
gave to the place its modern name.
The leading industry in Babylon in these
modern times might be described as "hotel-
keeping," and the business has been associated
with it from almost the beginning of its his-
tory. In the beginning of the nineteenth cen-
tury an inn was opened by Jesse Smith, and
the business then established is still known as
the American House. It has perhaps, from
the historian's point of view, a more interest-
ing record than any existing house of enter-
tainment on Long Island. It was one of the
stopping places in the days prior to 1841 of
the coaches carrying the mails, and was then.
a popular place of "refreshment for man and
beast." Among its many distinguished guests
mention is made of Prince Joseph Bonaparte,
e.x-King of Spain and a brother of Napoleon
the Great, who in the course of a tour through
Long Island in 18 16 put up at the hostelry
for several days, — longer than he intended to,
but he was overtaken by a sudden illness. This
distinguished individual traveled around with
BABYLON.
977
a good deal of style, and his illness was doubt-
less a most fortunate source of increase to the
week's financial returns. The Prince was in
search of a piece of property on which he
might settle, but apparently was unable to
find what he wanted and continued the search
elsewhere, finally locating at Bo^rdentown, New
Jersey. In 1840 a much greater man than this
King who had retired from business, was a
guest for a night at the American House, — ■
the immortal Daniel Webster, who rested at
Babylon while on his way to arouse the Pat-
chogue \\'higs into a proper condition of en-
thusiasm. This he did, for on such an expe-
dition failure with him was an impossibility.
The Presbyterian Church of Babylon
claims an existence since 1798. That was the
date when the Presbyterian Church govern-
ment was effected by the election of a session
and trustees, although the charge of the con-
gregation was formally assumed by the Pres-
bytery of Long Island April 11, 1797. It
seems to have been an oft'-shoot from a congre-
gation which in 1730 built a church in Islip
township. The ^Methodist congregation dates
from 1840, and Trinity Episcopal Church from
1862, but that parish was afterward merged
into that of Christ Church, West Islip. The
Baptists founded their church in 1872, and St.
Joseph's Roman Catholic Church dates from
1878.
Amityvillc, which was once known as West
Xeck, seems also to have had its origin in a
grist and saw mill, and dates back to about
1780. It had an inn as early as the date of
Washington's tour through Long Island, for
we read in Onderdonk's "Annals" that the
Father of his Country "dined at Zebulon
Ketcham's Huntington South and begged the
landlord to take no trouble about the fare, and
on leaving gave a half Joe and a kiss to his
daughter (Ketcham's)."
However, Amityville must be classed as a
modern town. Its oyster business is large and
prosperous, its hotels are modern and well
appointed, and its health sanitariums are fa-
mous all over the country. It has all modern
improvements in the way of splendid roads,
electric lights and boating and fishing appli-
ances for pleasure seekers and attracts a yearly
increasing colony of summer residents of the
highest social class.
Lindenhurst, formerly Breslau, only dates
back to 1869, when it was founded as a Ger-
man colony, with manufacturing as its feature,
and that feature it still retains. It now has a
poulation estimated at 1,080, an increase of
only about 100 in a decade. It is, however,
a thriving place, and well adapted as a manu-
facturing center.
South Oyster Bay, under its modern name
of Massapequa, has within the past few years
assumed considerable importance as a summer
residential village, with its fine hotel and many
beautiful and attractive villas. It has an esti-
mated population of about 500. Deer Park,
with an estimated population of 275, West
Deer Park with 200, North Babylon with 257,
and Maywood with 60, are among the other
settlements in the township.
-r^^r
CHAPTER LXVI.
SMITHTOWN.
MITHTO\\'X is another one-man
tciwnship, and over all of its early his-
tory the stwrdy personality of Rich-
ard [Bull] Smith appears, — the
Smith from whom it takes its name. The
storv of this man's career has already been .
told, and need not be here referred to in de-
tail. Up to 1656 he was a resident of South-
ampton, a man of much influence, one of the
"Proprietors," but apparently of a most litig-
ious disposition, one of those individuals who
are never so happy as when they have a law-
suit on hand. On September 15, 1656, he
was ordered by the General Court at South-
ampton to leave that township within a week
and not to return under a penalty of twenty
shillings. His crime was "unreverend car-
riage towards the Magistrates," contempt of
court, Pelletreau calls it, and probably some
one of the judicial decisions aroused his ire
beyond the limits of circumspection. He did
not obey the order to its fullest extent, for he
remained in the town for several weeks after
the .decree went forth, but it marked the end
of his usefulness in Southampton, and he sold
his home lot and other property and removed
to Setauket. "The great aspiration of his life,"
writes ]\Ir. Pelletreau, "Records of Smith-
town" (Introduction, p. 9), "seems to have
been a desire to be an extensive landlord and
to possess a domain of which he was to be
the sole ruler, and free from the domination
of other jurisdictions." In this he succeeded
so far as the extent of his domain was con-
cerned, Init up to the close of his earthly ca-
reer he was almost constantly engaged in liti-
gation with "other jurisdictions" on matters
of boundary rights. He was an honest, chiv-
alrous man, a useful citizen, a typical pioneer,
a firm friend and a zealous upholder of law
and order, — but he evidently loved a law-suit
and was never so happy as when he had one
on hand.
Smithtown's historians generally date its
settlement from 1650. There is extant an In-
dian deed of that year in which for the inevita-
ble hatchets, kettles, coats, etc., the natives sold
"a certain quantity of land, beginning at a river
called and commonly known bv the name of
Xesaquake River, and from that river east-
ward to a river called Menanusack, lying on
the north side of Long Island, and on the
south side from Conecticott four necks west-
ward." The buyers named in the deed were
Edmond Wood, Jonas Wood, Jeremy Wood,
Timothy Wood, Daniel ^^'hitehead and Ste-
phen Hudson.
These men were simply speculators, and
there is no evidence that any of them ever
settled on the property thus acquired. There
is a "rider" on the document signed in 1663
by Jonas Wood, stating that he in company
with Jeremy Wood and Daniel Whitehead
"went to view" the territory and found the
Indians they met quite disoosed to acquiesce
in the sale of the lands. But even if the
authenticity of all this be admitted, it presents
no evidence of settlement, and it seems certain
that Jonas Wood and his associates were only
land boomers and sold their '"rights" as soon
as they could. Jonas' "rider." if it be authen-
tic, which is open to doubt, was simply added
SMITHTOWX.
979
to perfect Smith's title. Certainly the deed to
Jonas and others was never completed, so far
as they were concerned, according to law.
The territory now included in the township
was peopled only by the Indians when in 1659
most of it was conveyed to Lion Gardiner
under the romantic and touching circumstances
already related. The following is a copy of
the deed of transference, the original being
now in the possession of the Long Island His-
torical Society :
East Hampton, July 14th, 1659.
Be it known unto all men both English and
Indians, especially the inhabitants of Long-
Island, that I, Wyandance, sachem of Paum-
anack, with my wife and son Wyandanbone,
my only son and heir, having deliberately con-
sidered how this twenty-four years we have
been not only acquainted with Lyon Gardiner,
but from time to time and from much kindness
of him by counscell and advice in our prosper-
ity, but in our great extremity, when we were
almost swallowed up of our enemies — then,
we say, he appeared to us not only as a friend,
but as a father in giving us his money and
goods, whereby we defended ourselves, and
ransomed my daughter ; and we say and know
that by this means we had great comfort and
relief from the most honorable of the English
nation here about us ; so that, seeing we yet
live, and both of us being now old, and not
that we at any time have given him anything
to gratify his love and care and charge, we,
having nothing left that is worth his accept-
ance but a small tract of land left us, we desire
him to accept for himself, his heirs, executors
and assigns forever. Now that it ma}- be known
how and where this land lyeth on Long Island,
we say it Iveth between Huntington and Se-
tauket, the western boiuid being Cow Harbor,
easterly Acataniunk, and southerly crosse the
island to the end of the great hollow or valley,
or more than half way through the island
southerly ; and that this is our free gift and
deed doth appear by our hand mark under
written. Signed, sealed and delivered in the
presence of
Richard S'mythe.
Thomas Chatfield.
Thomas Talmadge.
Wyandance F M, his mark.
Wyandanbone III, his mark.
The sachem's wife S M, her mark.
Richard Smith was a friend of Lion Gard-
iner of many years standing, and, as will be
seen, was one of the witnesses to the above im-
portant transfer. Gardiner appears to have
done nothing with the property thus presented
to him except to hold it. But Smith, from his
home at Setauket, saw the land and knew it to
be good and concluded it to be the place by
which his long cherished desire for a large es-
tate might be gratified. What the considera-
tion was is not clear, but in 1663 Gardiner
conveyed to Smith his entire rights. Gardiner
died that year, and it seems doubtful if the
transfer was fully effected. However, on the
15th of October, 1664, David Gardiner, son
and heir of Lion, endorsed the original Indian
deed to Smith, acknowledging to have re-
ceived "satisfaction," and so the transfer from
the Gardiner family was complete. On April
6, 1664, Smith added to his holding by a fresh
purchase from the Indians, which, it was
thought, wiped out any claim which might
linger among those connected with the Jonas
Wood syndicate :
This writing witnesseth, that when Nasses-
conset sould that part of land on the est siede
of Xessequage River unto Jonas, Jerime, Tim-
othy wood, and daniell whitehead, and others,
that then my sayed unkle did Resarve half the
sayed Xeck. called and Knowne by the name
of Xesequage neck, to himsclve and Xese-
quage Indiens, to live and to ]:)Iant on. I Xas-
sekege, being soele haire to all Xassesconset's
land on the Est siede of Xesequage River, doe
by these pressents for me and my haires make
over all our interest in the sayed halve neck
unto Richard Smith, of Xessequag, senyer, the
same to have and to hould, to him and his
haires forever ; and Xassekege doth further
wittness of my knowledge that Xineponishare
was formerly apoynted, Xesaconnopp and my-
selve was apoynted by young Xassesconsett
my unkle, as Joynt haires to them both, to
mark the bounds of Xessequag land for Rich-
ard Smith, and we did doe it acording to the
saels which they had formerly made unto Ra-
conkumake, a fresh pond aboute the midle of
long Island, acording to the order that they
both did give to us, beeing acompaned with
John Catchem and Samuel Adams and Maw-
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
hew, to mark the trees — aperell 6th 1664. I
Nassakeag, doe owne that the above saied was
wittnessed by Richard Odell, and Richard Har-
nett doth promis to own the above saied before
the governor or any else, Xassekeag X mark
having Reserved full satisfacktion for the
premisees to his content.
wittnes Massetuse X his mark,
the wrieting above was owned by Xase-
keage and Massetuse to be true in my presens.
RlCH.\RD ^^'00DHULL.
Dorothy Woodhull.
So far as the Indians were concerned
Smith had now a clear title to most of his
land. But Indian deeds were not titles at law,
being simply evidences of possession. The
land, according to the British law, belonged
to the Crown and could only pass from it by
a direct patent, the Indian documents being
generally accepted as indicating boundary
lines and as evidence of conformity to the
statute ordaining that the aborigines were to
be satisfied in the first instance as a means of
keeping these children of nature in good
humor. So Smith applied for and obtained the
following patent from Governor 'Xicolls :
A confirmation of a tract of land called
Nesequauke granted unto Richard Smith of
Long Island.
Richard Xicolls Esqr, Governor under his
Royall highness James Duke of Yorke &c of
all his Territories in America, To all to whome
these presents shall come sendeth greeting.
Whereas there is a certain parcel or tract of
land situate, lying and being in the East Rid-
ing of Yorkshire upon Long Island, commonly
called or known by the name of X^esacpauke
Land, Bounded Eastward with the Lyne lately
runne by the Inhabitants of Seatalcott as the
bounds of their town, bearing Southward to a
certaine fifresh Pond called Raconkamuck,
from whence Southwestward to the Head of
Xesaquauke River, and on the West side of
the said River so iTarr as is at this present in
ye possession of Richard Smith as his proper
right and not any wayes claymed or in con-
troversy betweene any other persons ; which
said parcell or tract of land (amongst others)
was heretofore given and grianted by the
Sachems or Indyan proprietors to L)'on Gardi-
ner of Gardiner's Island, deceased, and his
heirs, whose interest and estate therin hath
beene sold and conveyed unto Richard Smith
and his Heires, by vertue of which bee claymes
his propriety ; and whereas the commissioners
authorized by a Genall Court held at Hertford
in his ;\Iaties Colony of Conecticot did here-
tofore— That is to say in ye month of June
1664 — make an agreement wth the said Rich-
ard Smith, That upon the conditions therein
exprest hee the said Richard Smith should
place Twenty ffamilyes upon the said land ;
Xow know yee that by vertue of the commis-
sion and authority given unto mee by his
Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke, I do rat-
ify and confirme the said agreement, and do
likewise hereby give, confirme and graunt
unto the said Richard Smith, his heirs
and assignes the said Parcell or Tract
of land called or knowne by the name
of Xesaquauke Lands, bounded as afore-
said, together with all the lands, woods,
meadows, Pastures, Marshes, W^aters, Lakes,
fishings. Hunting, and fi'owling, and all other
proffitts, commodityes and Emoluments to the
said parcell or tract of Land and Premisses
belonging, with their and every of their ap-
purtenances and of every part and parcell
thereof. To have and to hold the said Parcell
or Tract of Land, with all and singular the
appurtenances, unto the said Richard Smith,
his Heirss and Assignes, to the proper use and
behoofe of the said Richard Smith, his Heires
and assignes for ever, upon the conditions &
Termes hereafter exprest. That is to say:
That in Regard there hath arisen some dis-
pute and controversy between the Inhabitants
of the Towne of Huntington and Captaine
Robert Ceely of the same place concerning
that Parcell of land lying to ye westward of
X'esaquauke River, which for the consideracon
vertue of the aforementioned Agreement was
to enjoy. But now is molested and hindered
in the quiet Possession thereof. The said
Rich'd Smith shall bee oblieged to Settle onely
tenne fi'amilyes on the lands before mentioned
within the space of three years after the date
hereof. But if it shall hereafter happen that
the said Richard Smith shall cleere his Title
and bee lawfully possest of the premises as
aforesaid, that then hee the said Richard
Smith shall settle the full number of Twenty
familyes within Five yeares after such Clear-
ing of his Title, and being lawfully Possest
as aforesaid, and shall fulfill whatsoever in the
said Agreem't is rec[uired. And for an en-
SMITHTOWN.
981
couragement to the said Richard Smith in his
settUng the lYainilyes aforementioned the Plan-
tations upon the said Xassaquauke Lands shall,
from the first settlement imtill the expiration
of the Terme or Termes of years, bee free
from all Rates or Taxes, and shall have no
dependence upon an}- other place ; but in all
respects have like and equall priviledges with
any Town within this Governm't, Provided al-
ways That the said Richard Smith, his Heires
and Assignes shall render and pay such other
acknowledgements and dutyes as are or shall
be Constituted and Ordained by his Royall
Highness the Duke of Yorke and his Heires,
or such Governor or Governors as shall from
time to time be appointed and Sett over them.
Given upder my hand and Seale at fi'ort
James in New Yorke this 3d day of jMarch in
the Eighteenth yeare of the Rayne of our
Soveraign Lord Charles the Second by the
Grace of God King of England, Scotland,
ffrance and Ireland, Defender of the fifaith
&c., And in the year of our Lord God 1665.
Richard Nicolls.
Still the Indians were not entirely satisfied
and Smith had to give a dozen coats, a blanket,
a gun, some powder and shot and various
other commodities before he satisfied, in 1665,
the last of the Indian claimants to his ex"-
tensive possessions. It will be seen that the
Nicolls patent conferred upon the territor}-
the dignity and privileges of a town, and soon
after its receipt the patentee, "Air. Richard
Smith of Nessaque," as he is described, identi-
fied his own. name with his estate as "Smith-
field," at least we find it so mentioned on
March 8, 1666. The patent also shows he
had a dispute on hand with the people of
Huntington as to his boundary lines, and soon
afterward he had similar trouble with Brook-
haven and a long course of litigation followed,
lasting until 1775. Into the details of that
long controversy over boundaries there is no
occasion to enter here ; the interest in the mat-
ter is purely antiquarian, and is of no prac-
tical or even historical importance. Smith
fought every phase of the dispute with dogged
pertinacitv and on the whole was successful in
his claims. A curious feature of his defensive
operations was his defense against a claim set
up for some of his lands by John Safifin, ad-
ministrator of the estate of Captain Thomas
Willett, to whom the Jonas Wood syndicate
had disposed of an interest in their purchase
of 1650. The claim was duly entered, but the
claimants were silenced in some way by Smith,
for it seems not to have been pushed. Several
other claims were brought against this prop-
erty under the same 1650 deed, but he seems
to have settled them out of court. The last
settlements of which there is record were dated
on March 3, 1684, by the sons of Daniel
Whitehead and Timothy Wood.
But long before that date Smith had still
further fortified his position by obtaining a
fresh patent from Governor Andros, in which
the township honors were renewed, the boun-
daries again defined and the name of Smith-
town, for the first time, given to the territory.
That patent read as follows :
Edmund Andros, Esquire, Seigneur of
Sausmares, Lieutenant and Governor General
under his Royall Highness James Duke of
York and Albany, and of all his territories in
America, To all to whom these presents shall
come sendeth greeting. Whereas there is a
certain parcell of land situate, lying and be-
ing in the East riding of Yorkshire upon Long
Island, commonly called or known by the
name of Nesaquake lands, bounded eastward
by a certain runn of water called Stony Brook,
stretching north to the Sound, and south-
ward bearing to a certaine fresh water pond
called Raconkamuck, being Setalcott west
bounds, from thence Southwestward to the
head of Nesaquake River, and so along the
said river as it runs unto the Sound ; Also
another parcell or tract of land on the West
side of the said river, extending to the wester-
most part of Joseph Whitman's Hollow, as
also to the west side of Leading Hollow to the
fresh pond Lhishemamuck, and the west of
that pond att high water mark, and so to the
Sound, being Huntington east bounds ; which
said parcell or tract of land, on the East side
of Nesaquake River, was heretofore granted
bv patent unto Richard Smith, the present pos-
sessor, by Coll. Richard Nicolls, and to his
hevres and assigns forever; as also that on
98-2
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
the west side of said river, with some provisoes
and restrictions ; the which has since, by due
course of law, att the General Court of As-
sizes held in the year 1675, been recovered
by the said Richard Smith from the town of
Huntington.
Know ye that by virtue of his ]\Ia"ties let-
ters patent, and the commission and authority
unto me given by his Royall Highness, have
rattifyed, confirmed and granted, and by these
presents do ratify, confirm and grant unto the
said Richard Smith, his heyres and assigns,
the aforesaid parcells or tracts of land on both
sides of the Nesaquake River. Together with
all the lands, soyles, woods, meadows, pas-
tures, marshes, lakes, waters, fishing, hawk-
ing, hunting and fowling and all other profits,
commodities and emoluments to the said par-
cells of land and premises belonging, with
their and every of their appurtenances, and
every part and parcell thereof. To have and
to hold the sayd parcells or tracts of land
and premises, with all and singular the ap-
purtenances, unto the said Richard Smith, his
heyres and assigns, to the proper use and be-
hoof of him, the said Richard Smith, his
heyres and assigns for ever. The tenure of
the said land and premises to bee according
to the custom of the manor of East Green-
wich, in the County of Kent, in England, in
free and common soccage and by fealty only.
As also that the said place bee as a township,
and bee called and known by the name of
Smithfield or Smithtown, by which name to
be distinguished in all bargains and sales,
deeds, records and writings. The said Rich-
ard Smith, his heyres and assigns, making due
improvement on \the land afore mentioned,
and continuing in obedience and conforming
himself, according to the laws of this govern-
ment, and yielding and paying therefor year-
ly and every year unto his Royal Highness's
use, as an acknowledgement or quit-rent, one
good fatt lamb unto such officer or officers
as shall be impowered to receive the same.
Given under my hand and sealed with the seal
of the province in New York, this 25th day
of ]March in the twenty-ninth ydar of his
Ma'ties reign Anno. Dom. 1677.
E. AXDROS.
Smith does not appear to have troubled
himself about bringing settlers to his domain.
He had nine children — Jonathan, Obadiah,
Richard, Job, Daniel, Adam, Samuel, Eliza-
beth and Deborah. Obadiah was accidentally
drowned Aug. 7, 1680, and was buried at
Xissequogue, near his father's home, being
the first white man interred in Smithtown.
Elizabeth married, as his second wife. Col.
William Lawrence, of Flushing, and her sister,
Deborah, married a son of that gentleman by
his first wife, so that the family relations be-
came a little mixed. On her husband's death,
in 1680, Elizabeth was left with seven chil-
dren. A year later she married Philip Cart-
eret, Governor of East Jersey, and gave her
name to the town of Elizabeth. Carteret died
in December, 1682, and she afterward married
Col. Richard Town ley.
Richard Smith's six sons all settled in
Smithtown and their descendants until the
Revolution and long after made up the bulk of
the population. In 1689 some land to the
south of that covered by the Smith patents,
"known by ye name of Winnecomac," was sold
by the Secatogue Indians to John Scidmore
and John Whitman and this tract was after-
ward sold and subdivided and the whole was
incorporated in the townsliip in 1788, an;I
then defined its boundaries as follows: "All
that part of the county of Suffolk bounded
southerly by Islip, northerly by the Sound,
westerly by Huntington and easterly by the
patent of Brookhaven, including Winne Com-
ick shall be and hereby is erected into a town
by the name of Smithtown."
When the war of the Revolution broke out
the population of Smithtown was 555 whites
and 161 negroes. Town meetings had been
held at least from 171 5. when the existing
records commence, but they had very little to
discuss except surveys, ear-marks, highways,
the "disposition of the claims in Stony Brook
Harbour,"' and the like, until the time of the
great crisis was at hand. Living to a great
extent by themselves, making their own little
lav>-s and apparently regardless of whether the
continent was in the hands of the English,
the Dutch or the Continentals, one would have
thought that the interest of Smithtown in the
SMITHTOWN.
Revolutionary movement would have been pas-
sive. But the opposite was that case and no-
where on Long Island was there to be found
a greater proportion of patriots. In fact when
the time came for men to declare themselves
only 15 Loyalists were to be found in the
town. At a town meeting in .1774 the posi-
tion of the people was clearly stated and its
representative in the Provincial Congress,
Thomas Treadwell, was one of the most out-
spoken and determined patriots in that body.
Smitlitown contributed a company to Col.
Jonah Smith's regiment of militia and it is
supposed that it took part in the battle of
Brooklyn, but .as to that there is no certam
knowledge.
The names of those who signed and of
those who refused have been preserved and
as the list has a genealogical value, apart from
its historic interest, it is here presented :
Solomon Smith, Daniel Smith, Thomas
Treadwell, Epenetus Smith, I'hiietus Smith,
Jacob Mills, Edmund Smith, jun., William
Phillips, Esq., Elemuel Smith, sen., William
Phillips, jun., Samuel Blidenburg, Isaac Smith,
jun., Samuel Mills, Richard Piatt, Job Smith,
jun., Samuel Buchanan, Benjamin Brewster,
Nathaniel Smith, Samuel Smith, Paul Gillet,
Ebenezer Smith, Jedediah ]\Iills, Joshua Smith,
Daniel Brush, Thomas Wheeler, David Smith,
George ^^'heeler, Joseph Smith, jun., Jonathan
Mills, Samuel Hazard, Job Smith, Joseph Bly-
denburgh, Jeffery Smith, Obadiah Smith, Isaac
Smith, Abner Smith, Jacob Longbottom, Selah
Hubbs, Samuel Tillotson, jun., Alicah Wheeler,
Elias Gerrard, Jacob ^^'heele^, ^^■i^iam Nicoll,
Jacob Concklin, James E'llonicdiru, Ebenezer
Phillips, Isaac ]\Iills, Samuel Soaper, Daniel
Tillotson, William Mills, John L'Homedieu,
Nathaniel Taylor, Lemuel Smith, jun., Jesse
Arthur, Stephen Rogers, Floyd Smith, Benja-
min Gerrard. Caleb Smith, Joseph Piatt, Tim-
othy Alills, Zephaniah Piatt, Jonas Wheeler,
John Stratton, Zebulon Phillips, Aaron Smith,
Richard Smith, Henry Rosecron, Jacob Smith,
Obadiah Smith, Jesse Smith, Samuel Phillips,
Benjamin Blydenburgh, Benjamin Nicolls,
jun., Piatt Wheeler, John Gerrard, Nicholas
Tillotson Jacob Longbottom, Nathaniel Ger-
rard, John L'Homedieu, Zophar ^lills, Nathan-
iel Piatt, Flovd Smith. Timothy Wheeler, sen..
Jonas Mills, Timothy Wheeler, jun., Stephen
"Nicoll, William Gerrard, Micah Smith, Israel
Mills, Daniel Wheeler, Israel ^lills. Jacobus
Hubbs, James Paine, Zophar Wheeler, Piatt
Arthur, Benjamin Nicoll, Gamaliel Conklin,
Thomas Wheeler, Jonas Mills. Jeremiah
Wheeler, Epenetus Wood, Jonathan Sammis,
sen., Nathanael Sammis.
The recusants were :
Isaac Newton, Caleb Newton, John New-
ton, James Smith, \\'iliam Smith, Jonathan
L'Homdieu, William Thompson, Alexander
Munsel, Peter Smith. John Edwards, Stephen
Smith, Gershom Smith, Joseph Gould, jun.,
Silas Biggs, Zophar Scidmore.
During the occupation Smithtown was the
scene of several encounters, chief of which was
the fight at Fort Slongo, in which Col. Tall-
madge figured so heroically. Many of the
leading citizens, such as Richard Smith — the
representative of the founder of the town — ■
the third in direct descent — the Rev. Joshua
Hart, the Presbyterian preacher, Zephaniah
Piatt, and others, were sent to prison in New
York. Others fled over into Connecticut and
all who remained were compelled to take the
oath of allegiance. The coast line was a con-
stant scene of turmoil and pillage and Whig
and Tory alike proved equally welcome prey
to the marauders, who under the guise of pa-
triotism or loyalty really performed the crimes
of shore pirates.
Smithtown recovered slovv'ly, very slowly,
from the effects of the occupation. Farming
was resumed, a few mills were erected here
and there, the oyster business was languidly
prosecuted, and clamming formed quite an in-
dustry, but fishing seemed more of an amuse-
ment than a serious occupation. L'ntil the
advent of the railroad Smithtown was for-
gotten by the rest of New York and seemed
to be quite content with that condition of
things. Even to the present day it is felt
that the resources of the township have never
been fully developed, and its healthfulness,
picturesque coast and rich natural scenery
have never been fully made known, and that it
has not become the fashion among the "sum-
984
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
mer people" as Islip or Southampton. But all
things come to him who waits and it re-
quires little of the gift of prophecy to say that
the time is not far distant when Smithtown
will fully share in the harvest reaped by her
sister townships. Already it has two fashion-
able clubhouses — the Wyandanch and the
Rassapaque — and of late years many attrac-
tive villas have been erected along the shore
of the Sound. The "land boomers" have
helped to retard the growth of the township,
perhaps more than aught else in these modern
days.
From a religious point of view the early
history of Smithtown is pretty much a blank.
It does not seem that the original Smith or
his immediate descendants made any provision
for the maintenance of a clergyman in their
domain. Prime says that the first church was
erected at Nissequague, but could not give any
date for its erection. It seems that it was re-
moved to Smithtown Branch in 1750, and that
in 1751 it had seven members. Its minis-
ters seldom stayed long and there were long
intervals between the pastorates — 20 years on
two occasions. In 1808 a Methodist church
was erected at Hauppauge, and in 1845 ^
Roman Catholic congregation was formed
there. In 1853 an Episcopalian church was
built at St. James, the modern name for the
village of Sherrawog.
Smithtown Branch, with an estimated
population of 500, is the most thickly popu-
lated of all the villages in the township, with
the exception of Kings Park or St. Johnland,
which mainly through its institutions claims
some 1,050. Smithtown A^illage ("Head of
the River") only has 215, and St. James, in
spite of several years successive "booming,"
400. Hauppauge has 380, but the rest of the
villages will fall below the 300 mark.
It is the custom to treat of the homes of
the Society of St. Johnland in a separate divis-
ion from the other atractions of King's Park,
that is, they are regarded as in that village but
not of it. There is no more useful or more
truly charitable work carried on anywhere than
in these institutions, where aged men are en-
abled to await the close of life's generally dis-
astrous and poverty-stricken journey in com-
fort and peace and where children are i^eceivetl,
clothed, fed and educated in a manner calcu-
lated to develop them into strong, active and
intelligent citizens whose labors in years to
come will add to the general welfare of what-
ever section where their lots may be cast.
During the year ending Decemiber i, 1901, the
Society had maintained in these institutions 51
aged men, 83 boys and 60 girls, at a per capita
cost of about $175, and had received legacies
during the same period amounting to $27,761,
which had been added to its general fund — the
fund which insures the permanence of the
work. Truly in this case the perpetual power
of good is clearly illustrated. Dr. Aluhlenburg,
the founder of the institution, has long rested
from his labors, leaving behind a sainted mem-
ory, yet his example and his work still bring
forth good fruit and daily render grand service
to the cause of humanity — the cause of Chris-
tianity. At the annual meeting of the Society
of St. Johnland held in the closing week of
1901, the' following officers were elected:
The Rev. Dr. Henry Mottet, President;
William Alexander Smith, Vice-President ; Dr.
Frederick D. Hyde, Secretary; Francis M.
Bacon, Treasurer. Trustees — W. Alexander
Smith, Bishop Hemw C. Potter, A. W. Hard,
George Blagden, the Rev. Dr. Jklottet, John A.
McKim, Joseph Park, J. H. Hewson, James
McLean, F. M. Bacon, Theodore Thomas,
Roswell Eldridge, Dr. F. E. Hyde, the Rev.
Dr. W. M. Grosvenor, John H. Cole, George
E. Chisholm, John Seely ^^'ard, Jr., the Rev.
James E. Freeman, Avery D. Andrews, Alfred
G. Vanderbilt, S. Nicholson Kane, William N.
Wilmer, James K. Gracie, and ^^'illiam G.
Davies. Superintendent — Rev. N. C. Halsted.
CHAPTER LXVIl.
F Babylon Township be practically
stripped of its ancient history, its
neighbor, Islip, fully makes up for it
in this regard, even although its career
as a township only dates from 1710 and the
township records from 1720. It has an area r,f
about 72,000 acres, is about 16 miles in length,
and in breadth measures about 8 miles, from
the "backbone" of the island to the shores of
the Great South Bay. It never was, it prob-
ably never will be, a fertile region, except in
its southern portion, and it was a region of
slow growth until it was discovered by the
summer boarder. In 1880 its population was
6,490, in 1890 11,073, and in 1900 12,545. In
the latter decade it had not only been discov-
ered by the summer boarder but had been
taken up by society and been made fashionable.
In his survey of the history of this town-
ship, ^Ir. Prime commences with a plaint that
is much better founded than most of his pessi-
mistic utterances — and these are many. He
said: Here we have a striking illustration of
the pernicious influence on the interests of pop-
ulation resulting from the accumulation of
land in the hands of a few owners ; especially
where that accumulation is perpetuated by the
old feudal law of entailment. Although a
large portion of this town is naturally incapa-
ble of maintaining a large population, as it
embraces extensive tracts of sterile plains and
vasi swamps, yet the necks and other tracts of
land are good and capable of sustaining a much
larger number of inhabitants than it now con-
tains ; and as the law of entailment is now ab-
rogated, it may be expected that the evil will
be gradually remedied, though time will be
required to render the work effectual." This
was written in 1845, and the trouble com-
plained of has been most effectually remedied,
but it is to be questioned whether Islip's real
popularity and prosperity were retarded even
for a year by the arrangement so denounced.
The iron horse was the great clearer of feudal
notions and Puritanic isolations on Long Island
as elsewhere.
Its coast, on the Great South Bay, is an
exceedingly beautiful one, while the waters of
the bay itself afford aquatic sport of all kinds.
Its shores are lined with pleasant cottages and
huge hotels, summer boarding places of all de-
scriptions, while hei^e and there rise veritable
palaces, and now and again we encounter
enclosures of private property almost rivaling
in size baronial manors and certainly exceed-
ing most of such old-time relics in the elegance
of their equipment and the extent of their re-
sources. Even Fire Island, that part of the
great sand bar which separates the Great South
Bay from the Atlantic, has been brought into
requisition for the summer boarder trade, al-
though, it must be confessed, without the same
degree of financial success that has crowned
the efforts of the upbuilders of such resorts on
the mainland of the township.
The story of Islip, the story, that is, from
the time when the white man generously took
up its burden from the red man, introduces us
in the first place to a single landgrabber irather,
as in other townships, to an organization of
986
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
men seeking to benefit their worldly prospects
or to promote their religious freedom and fel-
lowship, or to enjoy civil liberty according to
their own ideas. Matthias Nicolls, the com-
piler, it is alleged, of "the Duke's laws," and
secretary of the Province, and connected in one
way or another with it in an official capacity
almost until his death, in 1687, was so fond of
Long Island that he secured quite a large es-
tate at Great Neck in the present township of
North Hempstead. His son, William, followed
in his footsteps and became famous as a law-
yer and local politician. In 1683 he purchased
a large tract of land from the natives, of which
more anon, and the same year he was appoint-
ed clerk of Queens County. In 1687 he was
appointed Provincial Attorney General. After
his father's death he settled in Xew York and
became a leader in politics and at the bar. He
opposed the little movement of Jacob Leister,
and was held by that serio-comic potentate as
a prisoner. When that crisis was over he got
his reward in being made a member of Coun-
cil, and in 1695 he was sent by the New York
Assembly on a mission to the crown with the
view of getting the other colonies to share in
the cost of the defence of Britain's strip of
coast against the inroads of the French, which
fell almost wholly upon New York from its
geographical position. In 1698, in the course
of the kaleidoscopic change so frecjuent in the
history of American politics, Nicolls was again
among the outs. Gov. Bellomont summarily
dismissed him from the Council. However,
he soon showed the extent of his influence, for
in 1701 he was elected a member of Assembly
from Suffolk county, but was not permitted
to take his seat on the ground that his election
was illegal, he being a non-resident. He got
over that by erecting a mansion — Islip Grange
— on the Great South Bay, and in 1702 was
again chosen to represent Suffolk and so con-
tinued for 21 years, and for 16 years was
Speaker of the Assembly. He died at Islip
Grange in 1723.
The land which in 1683 Nicolls bought
the Indians was confirmed to him by patent
issued in the following year by Gov. Dongan.
In 1686 he still added to his holdings by fur-
ther purchases from the Indians, and again
Gov. Dongan issued a confirmatory patent, and
he secured .another addition in 1697 by deed
from Gov. Fletcher. Thompson estimates the
area of Nicolls' holdings at 60 square miles.
In 1C92 Nicolls had a neighbor in Andrew
Gibb, Clerk of Queens county, who that year
got a patent for a big tract at the east side,
while in 1695 a tract on the west side of the
Nicolls lands was given by Gov. Fletcher to
Thomas and Richard Willets. Other patents
were those in 1692 to Stephen \'an Cortlandt,
and in 1708 to John JNIowbray, who is de-
scribed as a tailor from Southampton. All the
patentees seem to have settled more or less on
their respective holdings, excepting A'an Cort-
landt, who was probablv the most active of the
local statesmen of his time, filling every office
of importance in the Province except that of
Governor. He was a soldier, a merchant.
Mayor of New York, member of Council,
Judge of the Common Pleas in Kings County,
and it is hard to tell all what.
Practically all of the present township of
Islip was held by these men, excepting a small
portion in the north which no one seemed to
want. ^lowbrav seems to have gone into the
ISLIP.
business of selling portions of his extensive
real estate as soon as all the legal requirements
which invested him with proprietorship had
been complied with. The others, however,
held on to theirs, probably, as in the case of
Nicolls and his heirs, with the view of keeping
intact a great estate, which would by its very
extent confer distinction.
But under such circumstances the territory
did not attract much additions to its popula-
tion. William Nicolls did not spend much of
his time for many years at Islip Grange, and
there is a tradition that Andrew Gibb, in his
anxiety to have a neighbor he could speak to,
deeded a large share of his land to Amos Wil-
lets, a Quaker, on condition that the latter
should live near him, and the bargain was car-
ried out. There is also a tradition that Will-
iam Nicolls tried to induce a settlement in or
near the present village of Islip but was not
very successful. It was probably not until all
of the original patentees had been gathered to
their fathers that the entrance gates were un-
barred sufficiently to permit others to enter
and "enjoy the land."
In 1/20, when the records of the township,
as such, commence, the freeholders were :
Benjamin Nicolls (Supervisor),
Thomas Willets (Assessor),
John Mowbray (Assessor),
Isaac Willets '(Collector),
David Akerly, •
Joseph Dow,
John Moger,
James Saxton (Constable),
William Gibb,
George Phillips, jr.,
John Arthur,
Amos Powell,
John Smith,
Samuel Muncy,
William Green,
Richard Willets,
William Nicolls,
Anning Mowbray,
Joseph Saxton,
James Morris,
Israel Howell,
John Scudder,
Ananias Carll, . ;
Stephen White,
Amos Willets,
Daniel Phillips,
Joseph Udall,
Samulel Tillotson.
The town meeting was a humble affair until
long after the 19th century had dawned. It
could not be otherwise in the presence of the
large landed interests which vVere on every
side of "the precinct of Islip." In 1737 Anan-
ias Carll, John Arthur and John Scudder were
elected Overseers of the Poor, which may be
accepted as evidence of increasing population
and advancing civilization, but the principal
work of the town meetings even up to 1820
was to attempt to restrict the harvest of the
sea, or as much of it as lay before them, to the
actual residents. Fishing was for long the
main industry of the people, and clamming and
oystering in time reached large proportions,
and continues to afford employment to several
thousands of people in one way or another.
For many years the forests of pine and oak,
which seem to have in primitive times covered
the township, afforded a revenue for the pat-
entees and much employment to the people.
But as the timber was cut down it was not re-
placed, and as the supply of nature gave out
the employment ceased, the mills which had
been built to cut the wood into staves, etc., fell
into decay, and the ground on which the "mon-
archs of the forest" stood was given over to
brushwood. Several mills were started from
time to time, and no part of Long Island was
better adapted for manufacturing purposes,
but few had any pronounced success, few last-
ed over a decade in any one's hands. Stock-
raising, although extensively engaged in for
some years, gradually became unprofitable, and
in 1876 was abandoned altogether as a recog-
nized industry. The population increased
slowly; in 1820 it was figured as 1,156, in 1830
as 1,653, in 1840 as 1,909, and in 1850 as 2,602.
It was not until the land monopoly was aban-
doned and the railway crossed its territory that
988
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Islip began to assume its modern position and
popularity.
The earl_v church record of IsHp is an ex-
tremely scanty one, as might easily be imag-
ined from the way in which its territory was
portioned off. Thompson gives the first church
building as that of St. John's Episcopal, "a
grotesque-looking edifice of small dimensions
and singular shape, standing upon the country
road near the middle of Nicolls' patent. It
was erected in the year 1766, principally, if not
entirely, at the expense of the then opulent
proprietor of that immense estate." Prime
places the erection of the building three years
later, saying: "In 1769 a small church edifice
was erected by the patentee near the middle
of the town on the south road, designed for
the celebration of divine worship according to
the forms of the Episcopal Church, and was
occasionally used for that purpose, though it
long remained unblessed by prelatical hands.
From 1814 the Rev. Charles Seabury, rector
of Caroline Church, at Setauket, acted as mis-
sionary to this congregation and devoted a
portion of his time to its service. In 1843 this
church was repaired and enlarged, and on the
6th of July duly consecrated by the Bishop."
Prime also mentions an Indian congregation
but seems to doubt if it had a regular house of
worship.
The Methodist Church in Islip village dates
from 1810, although the first church was not
erected until 1828. It was a wooden structure
measuring about 22 feet by 32, and was erected
so as to be as convenient as possible to the
brethren in Penataquit as Bay Shore was then
called. It was not until 1850 that Methodism
organized a separate society at Bay Shore, and
about 1854 a small chapel was erected. The
best of feeling during all the separation pro-
ceeding seems to have prevailed between the
brethren at Islip and those at Penataquit.
Amos, Doxsee, the leader of the first class at
the latter place, was, like all of his family, a
stanch supporter of Methodism, a believer in
the most literal interpretation of the Scrip-
tures and in their verbal interpretation. It is
told of him that at a meeting of the clergy and
laity to give expression of their views on danc-
ing, which was beginning to creep into the
early church, having held back and being ap-
pealed to by the pastor for his opinion, he
stood up and, slowly raising his tall, gaunt fig-
ure on tiptoe, said: "Now I'll tell you what I
think about dancing. Let a man be filled with
the Holy Ghost and if he wants to dance, let
him dance."
One of his brothers, Leonard, was class
leader for over 20 years, and another brother,
Benjamin, was a trustee for some 40 years and
was proud at being able, in spite of the weight
of years, to work a little on the walls of the
Tabernacle of 1892, the latest development of
the home congregation which his family had
been so prominent in founding. Z^Iany of the
old members of the church even now recall the
grand "seasons of refreshing" in 1877 and
1878, when the Rev. Stephen Rushmore led in
a series of revivals which arc said to have
stirred Bay Shore to its depths.
A Methodist class at Sayville was organ-
ized about 1838 by members of the church at
Patchogue, but ic was not until 1847 that a
house of worship was erected, and it continued
to be associated with Patchogue until 1866,
when it became a separate charge. A class
was formed at Great River in 1872 and at Bay-
port dn 1874.
St. JNIark's Episcopal Church at Islip was
organized in 1847 under the Rev. William
Everett. Its present building was erected in
1880 by William H. Vanderbilt. This church
has mission stations at Central Islip since 1869,
and at Brentwood since 1872. Emanuel Church
at Great River was organized in 1862 by St.
JMark's, but in 1878 it was erected into a sep-
arate parish. Christ Church, West Islip, dates
from 1869, and St. Ann's at Sayville from
1866. The Presbyterian Church of Islip had
its beginning in 1854, and the Dutch Reformed
Church dates its entrance into the township
from 1866, one year before its church at Say-
ville was erected.
^^'riting 20 years ago, one of Islip's histo-
ISLIP.
rians said that "so thickly are summer resi-
dences scattered along the South Road through
this town that it is almost a continuous vil-
lage." For some years past that word "al-
most" could be eliminated and the sentence
would hold good to-day. All along the line of
the railroad and the South Road is a contin-
uous succession of villages, hamlets, county
seats and villas from Udall's Road to Bayport.
Some of the villages have considerable popu-
lation— Bay Shore, 3,135; Islip, 1,956; Say-
ville, 3,369; Youngsport, 571; Central Islip
(including the Manhattan State Hospital),
1,600; Great River, 571, — but all are new — too
new to have acquired much in the way of his-
tory, except such society data as might pass as
such among a class, but data of that kind, do-
ings of coaching and kennel clubs, the progress
of horse shows and the ups and downs of the
ancient and royal game of golf are hardly
worthy of serious chronicle. Bay Shore,
which was once called Mechanicsviile, and then
Penanquit (the Indian name of a small stream
in the vicinity) is, next to Islip, the most an-
cient village in the township, but like Islip, its
modernity is its chief characteristic. The
main business of all the villages except, per-
haps, Bohemia, is summer-boarding; and sum-
mer boarders, especially of the class which
seems to have taken hold of Islip, want modern
improvements; for Islip has become fashion-
able. Its splendid hotels and clubhouses, and
the magnificent estates of W. K. Vanderbilt,
F. G. Bourne, W. K. Aston, the Cutting fam-
ily, as well as the hundreds of palatial villas
which have been erected mainly by New York-
ers for their summer homes, have drawn to it
people of the very highest class, people who
by their means and tastes have made even
much of its sandy wastes blossom into verit-
able gardens. There is an air of exclusiveness
outside of the villages and hotels which seems
to be especially pleasing to those who regard
themselves as the fashionable world, while
such enterprises as the group of Moorish
houses, erected by H. O. Havemeyer at Bay-
berry Point, near Islip, is an experiment in the
way of co-operation among the very rich
which will be watched with curious interest.
The Vanderbilt estate at Oakdale, with its new
mansion costing, it is said, $1,600,000, and its
thousand acres of farm garden and wood land,
and its iron fence, beautiful entrances, lodges,
farm buildings, game preserves, and it is hard
to tell all what, is a veritable fairy-land and
one of the wonders of Islip. It is a part of the
old Nicolls patent, and when it first passed into
the hands of the Vanderbilts was a mass of
brush and shrub, half-starved fields, and brok-
en-down steadings. Now its gardens, its
groves of oak and maple, its well kept lawns
and smiling fields seem to speak eloquently of
how man can triumph over nature with the
aid of determination, taste, ambition and
money. During late years trees have been
planted liberally all along the line of popula-
tion, and Islip now boasts of her pine and
other forests, while nature has also been at
work replacing the damage done by the deple-
tion of a generation that has now passed, and
it is safe to say that the value of such forests
is now too highly appreciated to permit again
of their wanton destruction for purposes of
firewood.
\^ \^
CHAPTER LXVII
BROOKHAVEN.
ROOKHAA'EX is the largest town-
ship on Long Island. It extends
the entire width of the island and
has 20 miles of coast line on the
Sound, 221 on the Great South Bay and about
30 on the Atlantic, facing Fire Island or Great
South Beach. Its acreage has been figured at
152,500, its square mileage at 250, and besides
it rejoices in the jwssession by geographical
and legal right of some 70 square miles of
water.
The first purchase of land was made in
1655 from the Setalcott Indians by a party of
6 pioneers, who were evidently acting on be-
half of others, prospecting, as it were, for a
spot on which to establish a colony. Five of
these were from Massachusetts — John Scud-
der, John Swezie, Jonathan Porter, Roger
Chester and Thomas Charles, and .one,
Thomas Mabbs or Mapes, belonged to South-
old and was one of the original settlers of
that township. Probably he accompanied the
others as being a man of experience in dealing
with the natives ; it could hardly be because he
had any knowledge of the land. The party
had with them the usual collection of coats,
hatchets, powder, knives and the like with
which to do a land business with the Indians,
and appear to have driven a fairly good bar-
gain.
Pretty soon those for whom the prospec-
tors were acting began to arrive ; most of them
were from New England, but several came
from other portions of Long Island, from
Southampton and even from Jamaica. Within
years the following were found in the settle-
ment according to a list in "Thompson's His-
tory":
Richard Woodhull,
Zachariah Hawkins,
Peter Whitehaire,
John Jenners,
Henry Perring,
Andrew Gibb,
William Satterly,
Thomas Biggs,
John Tooker,
Henry Rogers,
William Fancy,
Jacob Longbothorn,
Daniel Lane,
Richard Floyd,
Francis jMuncy,
Obed Seward,
John Wade,
William Salyer,
Robert Smith,
Edward Avery,
John Smith,
Samuel Dayton,
John Davis,
William Frost,
John Thomas,
Elias Baylis,
John Thomson,
Thomas Ward,
John Roe,
John Budd,
Henry Brooks,
William Williams,
Roliert Woolley,
Samuel Akerly,
Arthur Smith,
John Combs,
Richard Waring,
Joseph }ilapes,
Thomas Thorp,
Richard Brvant,
Samuel Eburne,
Timothy Brewster,
John Brewster,
William Poole,
Daniel Brewster,
Thomas Sharpe,
George Phillips,
Thomas Smith,
Moses Burnet,
Richard Smith [Bull],
Thomas Helme,
Joshua Garlick,
John Aloger,
Robert Akerlv.
It was essentially a New England com-
numity and as usual the scheme of town gov-
ernment was at once set up. A town was
fixed which afterward became Setauket and
around it were the home lots, one of which
was reserved for a meeting house, and one for
the minister, when he should come. Each of
the original settlers had a home lot and a
BROOKHAVEN.
991
further allotment of meadow, or a lot on the
beach, besides each settler was at liberty to bu)'
what additional land he pleased, only the pur-
chase had to be confirmed by town meeting.
That power was put in operation very early in
the story of the colony, and probably a town
meeting decided the primal allotment of the
lands. A house was in time built upon the
home lots, which served the purpose of a place
for town meetings and for divine worship un-
til the first church was built in 1671. So far
as can be seen the colony was an independent
body ; its town meeting was the supreme dicta-
tor of all its aflfairs until 1661, when it volun-
tarily acknowledged itself as under the Gov-
lernment of Connecticut and sent Richard
W'oodhull and Thomas Pierce to represent it
in General ^Meeting. That connection, senti-
mental as it mainly was, did not last long, and
Gov. Xicolls made it clear, soon after he as-
sumed control, that the Long Island colonics
should look to New York and not to Hart-
ford for protection and support.
The town of Setauket had hardly been
founded than additional tracts of land were
secured by the colony from the Indians. In
1657 a large tract at Mastic was purchased ; in
1664 their purchases gave them a vast tract
from the Great South Bay to the middle of
the island, and for a coat, a knife, a pair of
stockings, two hoes, two hatchets and two
shirts they secured practically the land along
the north shore from Old Man's Harbor to
Wading River. In 1675 the purchase of all
the land from Stony Brook to Wading River
was confirmed by the Indian Sachem Gy, and
bit by bit all the territory included in the pres-
ent limits of the township, and indeed much
more, was given up to its representatives so
far as the Indian power of disposal was con-
cerned. In accomplishing all this quite a
large variety of coats, stockings, penknives,
powder and the like was doubtless expended,
but the Indians were made complaisant in
another way, for in 1671 the buyers were told
to "take some likers with them to the Indians,"
and charge the cost to the town.
The principal negotiator in all these trans-
actions, evidently the leading and most repre-
sentative citizen of the young town, was Rich-
ard Woodhull, the founder of a Long Island
family, which from his day to this has given
a large number of distinguished citizens to
the State and Nation. He was born in Eng-
land in 1620, and in 1640 came to this country
and settled at Lynn, Mass. For a time he re-
sided in Southampton, then in Jamaica. He
was a man of superior attainments, a practical
surveyor, of undoubted personal courage, a
born diplomat and an able executive, all the
qualities in fact which were reproduced in the
most famous of his descendants. General
Nathaniel Woodhull, the Long Island hero of
the Revolution.
There does not seem to have been any idea
of anything but a civil government at Setau-
ket and the town meeting passed the usual
laws for the regulation of afifairs just about
the same as we have seen similar bodies legis-
lating in previous chapters of this history.
Yet a clergyman was present, if not among
the first batch of settlers at least very soon
'hereafter. This was the Rev. Nathaniel
Brewster, a grandson of William Brewster,
one of the Pilgrim Fathers. His three sons
were among the pioneers and it is thought that
he merely went to Setauket to visit them and
was induced to stay. There is no record that
for a number of years, at least, he was re-
garded as the minister of the town. In fact,
in 1662, the town meeting extended a call to a
dominie named Fletcher to become the min-
ister at a salary of £40 a year, but whether
he accepted or not cannot be determined. But
from his arrival Brewster acted as minister,
and in 1665 seems to have fully accepted the
charge, for a house was purchased for his use
as a manse. It was evidently a most super-
ior structure, for it had doors and glass win-
dows and other modern improvements. Brew-
ster died in 1690. In 1685 he was laid aside
from active work through ill-health and Sam-
uel Eburne, one of the men in Thompson's list,
was chosen as his successor. He was to re-
992
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
ceive a salarj' of £60 per annum "soe long as
hee should ;;ontinue to preach amongst them."
At the end of the year, however, the salary
was not forthcoming — probably they did not
think much of his preaching — and he ap-
pealed to Gov. Dongan to enforce payment.
This the Governor ordered, but probably the
controversy destroyed Mr. Eburne's useful-
ness and closed his ministerial career. In 1687
Mr. Jonah Fordham, of Southampton, became
minister, and from then on the town meeting
was always zealous in seeing that the spiritual
interests of the people were attended to, but
the church as such had no special power in
the community.
In 1666 the town received a patent from
Gov. Nicolls and in 1686 that patent was con-
firmed by a fresh one issued by Gov. Dongan.
Besides the territories contained in these pat-
ents there were four large tracts, which, about
1770, were formally annexed to the town of
Brookhaven — the Moriches Patents — on land
originally purchased from the Indians in 1677,
the Winthrop Patent for land between Islip
and Bellport and extending to the center of the
island Halsey's Manor, bought in 1716 from
Col. W. H. Smith, and the Smith Purchase,
the largest of them all. When these became
part of the legal territory of the township it
started in, in 1797, to define its boundaries
and then ensued a series of squabbles with its
neighbors, which were not wholly settled until
i860.
In the Revolutionary struggle Brookhaven
was most emphatically on the side of the Pa-
triots from the beginning of the conflict.
\\\\\\& the struggle lasted it was the scene of
many exploits which have already been
chronicled in these pages, and it had its own
full share of the hardships and wrongs of the
days of the occupation. But the special glory
of Brookfield in this connection is in the men
she contributed to the cause of American lib-
erty— General Woodhull, William Floyd, one
of the signers of the Declaration of Independ-
ence ; Caleb Brewster, a descendant of Setau-
ket's first minister and who did such grand
service with his fleet of whaleboats; Major
Benjamin Tallmadge, a son of a minister of
Setauket and born in that village; Captain
Nathaniel Norton, who was at the capture of
Burgoyne and his army; Col. Josiah Smith,
who led the Suffolk County Militia, and many
others who might be named. Her record in
the Civil War, while it did not furnish so
many brilliant names, amply demonstrated
that the fighting qualities of its citizens had
not diminished with the years of "inactive
ease." To that conflict it furnished more
men by far than were demanded by the drafts,
while in a financial -sense its contributions
were most generous.
The modern storv of Brookhaven presents
little to detain us. After the Revolution was
over it resumed the c^uiet and even tenor of
its ways and until the advent of the iron horse
was apparently forgotten. Its people were
farmers, shipbuilders and fishermen, and very
little manufacturing was done within iis
bounds. For many years shipbuilding was the
greatest of its industries, the one that kept it
most in touch with the world, but as the era
of wooden ships passed, so passed that in-
dustry, although yacht building has in recent
years made some of the old yards lively again
and opened many new ones. Manufacturing
has been tried at Setauket, but has never
reached anything like the proportions it was
at one time hoped it would attain, and it re-
mains yet a village with only some 600 in-
habitants.
Yet Setauket is a place with a good deal
of historic interest. Tradition says that its
ancient "Green" was the headquarters of the
Setalcott Indians and that on it the bargain
was struck by which the red men abandoned
their lands for a few trinkets. The Green
still remains the centre of Setauket"s story.
The origin of the Presbyterian Church, as a
town meeting house, has already been touched
upon. A new and large structure devoted
wholly to religious uses was built in 1671 and
BROOKHAVEN.
993
around it lay the spot which the fathers had
selected as the town's burying ground. This
structure served until 1714, when a grander
building was erected on its site and by a vote
of the town was to be "a Presbyterian meet-
ing house forever." It gave way, however,
to another building, still larger, in 1766, which
was used by the British during the occupation
as a barracks and before they left was com-
pletely dcstro}-cd. However, it was soon re-
placed. The church during its long existence
has had many well-known pastors, the Rev.
David Youngs from 1745 to 1751 ; the Rev.
Benjamin Tallmadge from 1754 to 1786; the
Rev. Zechariah Greene from 1797 until 1858.
During the latter part of his ministry Mr.
Greene had several "helpers," and the last of
these, the Rev. James S. Evans, entered the
charge in 1850, and continued until 1867,
when he was succeeded in 1868 by the Rev.
W. H. Littell, who is still its pastor.
Setauket has got another old church —
Caroline Episcopal — which dates from 1730.
In detailing its history -Mr. R. M. Bavles
wrote :
The clun-ch was organized during the fir.st
quarter of the last century. The earliest notice
on the books of the "Society for the Propaga-
tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" is of the
appointment of the Rev. ]\Ir. Wetmore as mis-
sionary in the town of Brookhaven in 1723.
That the services of the Church of England
were known here, and worship in accordance
with that form conducted many years before
that date, there is scarcely room to doubt. It
is not known, however, that the church had an
edifice of its own until the present one was
erected in 1730. For this building, which ap-
pears to be enjoj-ing a robust old age, is
claimed the double honor of having been the
first church edifice ever erected at the expense
of the I-'-iMscopal denomination on Long Isl-
and, and at present being the oldest church
edifice standing on the island. The original
]iame of the church was Christ Church, but
the name was changed to its present one in
compliment to Queen Caroline of England,
who had presented to the parish a silver com-
munion service and embroidered altar cloths.
This royal gift was sacrilegiously abstracted
during the Revolutionary period. Through a
long term of years the societv in London
helped to sustain the missionary stationed here
by a contribution of from £50 to iGo a year.
The church was stronger and its services were
more largely attended during the colonial per-
iod than for many years afterward.
Within a few years past the parish has re-
covered somewhat. Since 1878 a new fence
has been set up around the churchyard, a
SET.\l-KHT.
rectory of handsome appearance and comfort-
able dimensions has been erected, and the
church repaired and thoroughly painted.
Within the same ])eriod 24 adults and the
same numl)cr of infants have been baptized,
38 have been confirmed, 33 communicants
added anew and 22 received from other par-
ishes. There are now 70 communicants. The
Sunday-school, under the superintendence of
the rector, consists of 50 children and six
teachers. The following is a list of thcrec-
994
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND,
tors, which also shows the term each served
the church, as nearly as can be ascertained:
Rev. Mr. Wetmore, 1723-1725; Rev. Mr.
Standard, 1725-28; Rev. Alexander Campbell,
1728-30; Rev. Isaac Brown, 1733-43; Rev.
James Lyons, 1746; Rev. T. Lambert Moore,
1781-83; Rev. Andrew Fowler, 1788-90; Rev.
Mr. Sands, 1800; Rev. N. B. Burgess, 1811-
14; Rev. Charles Seabury, 1814-44; Rev. Will-
iam Adams, 1843, 1844; Rev. Frederic M.
Noll, 1844-77; Rev. Robert T. Pearson, 1878.
[Rev. D. Marvin is the present rector.]
The Rev. Charles Seabury was the son of
the first American bishop, and was introduced
at the recommendation of Bishop Hobart, in
1814. After 30 years of faithful service he
was buried in the churchyard, and a marble
pillar there marks his tomb. Rev. F. M. Noll,
who served the church 33 years, was unmar-
ried, and for many years occupied rooms at
the rear of the church, where the graves in
the surrounding churchyard lay so near that
•one could step upon them from his threshold
or reach the marble slabs from his bedroom
windows. Amid such gloomy surroundings
he enjoyed undisturbed seclusion.
In 1662 the shipbuilding industry in Se-
tauket appears to have had its beginning and
the yards afterward turned out some famous
•craft. The Hand family were for years con-
spicuous in this line and as late as 1870 David
Bayles constructed a vessel — the Adoma — of
1,700 tons, but the industry has since then
lost its vitality.
Near Setauket is Strong's Neck — Little
Xeck it used to be called. It was once a royal
seat and a favorite residence of the Indians.
The principal part of the neck was bought
from the red men by Daniel Lane, whose title
was transferred to the town proprietors in
1663. According to Thompson a certain part,
called the "Indian Ground," about 70 acres,
not included in this purchase, was bought cjf
the Indians by Andrew Gibb Nov. 28, 1685,
■and a patent was issued for the same by Gov-
ernor Dongan December 20th, 1686. Colonel
William Smith bought the interest of the town
proprietors in this neck Sept. 11, 1691, and it
was included in his patent of 1693. His
grandson, William Smith, in 1768 sold it to
Andrew Seaton, reserving a mortgage upon it.
This being soon after foreclosed the property
was bought by Selah Strong, and by him and
his descendants it has ever since been held.
The most thriving place in the township is
Patchogue, which, with a resident population
of some 4,250 and four times as many in the
summer season, its handsome stores, its large
hotels, its surrounding country seats and its
general air of wealth and refinement, has been
called "the Queen City of the South Shore."
Its oyster trade has reached wonderful pro-
portions, while some of the fastest yachts on
the South Shore waters are from such yards
as those of S. C. Wicks & Co., Fillmore Baker,
G. Smith and De \Vitt Conklin. Patchogue
has a history which extends back until the
middle of the i8th century, and has been more
or less of a manufacturing centre since about
the year 1800. It still has many establishments
of that class, among them being extensive silk
mills. But the glory of the place is its summer
business. It is a gathering place for bicyclists,
canoeists, yachtsmen, automobilists and all
sorts and descriptions* of pleasure seekers; its
roads are among the best on Long Island, its
streets are macadamized and lighted by elec-
tricity, its bathing facilities are of the best, and
it caters in a sensible and progressive way to
the wants and wishes of the great army of
"summer folks," who descend upon it year
after year, and add to its popularity and its
material wealth.
As much might be written of Port Jeffer-
son if it would only throw oft' its inertia and
try a step or two in the march of progress.
But somehow or other it seems to defeat every
movement which has been begun to open up
its many beauties to the world. Its location is
a beautiful one, on one of the finest harbors on
Long Island Sound, a harbor which brings up
many stirring memories. Paul Jones used to
rendezvous here, one of his vessels was
fitted out in the harbor, and here he killed two
officers belonging to the British frigate "Na-
BROOKHAVEN.
995
hant." In the war of 1812 two British frig-
ates sailed into the bay and made off with six
sloops, and a seventh which they burned at
Dyer's Neck.
At that time, up, in fact, to 1836, Port Jef-
ferson rejoiced in the name of Drown J\Iead-
ow. Its modern history may be said to begin
with 1797, when John Wilsie began the ship-
building industry. At that time there were
only five houses in the village, and for a num-
ber of years the increase was small. Wilsie
built a dock into the bay on his property ; and
seems to have done a good trade, but up to the
time of his death, in 1818, the shipbuilding
industry remained in his hands and added but
little to the prosperity of the place. But a be-
ginning had been made, and by 1825 there
were several firms in the business.
"About the year 1836," wrote Mr. Bayles,
"a new era seemed to open to the progress of
this industry and the improvement of the vil-
lage generally. This was in a considerable
measure owing to the enterprise of Captain
Williain L. Jones, who probably ventured
more capital and energy in developing the vil-
lage than any other man has ever done. Cap-
tain Jones was a member of a native family,
and was born about the year 1792. In early
life he naturally took to the water. His par-
ents were Daniel and Bethia Jones. He inher-
ited considerable landed property about Com-
sewogue, which furnished him with the means
for carrying out the designs of an inventive
and enterprising genius. The estate of the Roe
family comprised the greater part of the pres-
ent village site, and from this Captain Jones
purchased a large tract, reaching from about
the site of the Presbyterian Church, along the
west and north sides of Main street to the
neighborhood of the Baptist Church, and so
northerly to the shore of the bay ; including
also a tract on the east side of Main street, up
Prospect street as far as the residence of John
R. Mather. November 10, 1837, he received
a grant from the town for a dock into the bay
from the shore of his property, and at the same
time entered into an agreement to constiuct a
causeway over the salt meadows to the dock
through his land, so as to make a public high-
way 18 feet wide, to be stoned up on either
side and of sufificient height to be above ordi-
nary high tides. This two-fold enterprise was
completed in a few years, at a cost of several
thousand dollars. The dock is maintained in
part, and the highway thus opened over the
flooded meadows is now the busy street that
runs from Hotel square to the shore. Nearly
half the business of the present village is car-
ried on upon the land that forty years ago was
owned by Captain Jones, the greater part of
which was made available; for business by the
improvements just noticed. Captain Jones was
married November 30, 1814, to Hetta Hallock.
After her death he married the widow of Rich-
ard Mather, and his third wife was Hannah
Hallock, who survived him. He died in i860."
For a time Port Jefferson really was pros-
perous, and its shipbuilding industry grew
until it had the largest business of that kind
of any town in Suffolk county, and other in-
dusiries — notably milling — found entry. A
Methodist Church was erected in 1836, a Pres-
byterian Church in 1854, and a Congregational
tabernacle in 1855. Up to 1868 it seemed on
the high road to prosperity, but somehow it
began then to recede, and even the opening of
the railroad, in 1892, does not appear to have
renewed its old-time business prosperity. It
has a splendid body of citizens, everything that
has made other Long Island shore villages so
successful, but it seems to fail to make them
available. Its streets are narrow and ill-kept;
its electric lights are few and far between and
are turned oft' carefully at midnight. It has
miserable bathing accommodations. In fact,
as one of its citizens remarked to the writer,
"it does not care abcut visitors." In winter it
is virtually dead, and has not, like Patchogue,
even the memory of summer gayeties and
profits to carry it smiling through the gloomy
months of the year. The late P. T. Barnum
once took a fancv to Port left'erson and in-
996
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAXD.
tended to "build it up." He would certainly
have succeeded, but he found that his plans
were impeded by the very people who would
most quickly have profited by them. It is
hoped that this inertia will soon be thrown off
and Port Jefferson take the place which seems
hers by right — that of the most popular vil-
lage on the North Shore.
Stony Brook now boasts a population of
some 700, and can trace its history to 1699,
when a mill was established by a pioneer bear-
ing the afterward famous name of Adam
Smith. Its population grew slowly, but sure-
ly, and in 1801 it reached the dignity of hav-
ing a school-house, and in 1817 a church build-
ing. For many years its principal trade, out-
side of farming, was the manufacture of cord
wood and fertilizers, and in 1843 it boasted a
fleet of I brig, 8 schooners and 15 sloops. Then
it became a little manufacturing place, but that
soon passed, and it slowly drifted backward
until, with the opening up of the railroad, it
received a new lease of life and is steadily
winning a place among the popular resorts.
In 1900 it had a population of 500, so its prog-
ress has been fairly satisfactory. Its situation
is one of exceeding beauty, and it possesses
many rural and aqiiatic attractions concerning
the curious Brookhaven village of Bohemia.
The following interesting details have been
supplied by a recent visitor :
One of the quaintest places to be found near
New York city is the village of Bohemia,
which lies a few miles from Stony Brook, a
prosperous village on the Long Island Rail-
road. This village is inhabited by Bohemians
who maintain in the heart of Long Island the
customs, manners, language and prejudices
of their native land.
There are about three hundred inhabitants
in the village. It has one main street, on
which are shops and stores with the names
of the proprietors and the character of the
business marked in words that appear to be
made up mostly of consonants.
The inhabitants seem primitive in many
ways. The men wear the heavy shoes, short
jackets and caps of the European Bohemia and
the women wear the wooden shoes of their
fatherland and go bareheaded. A New Yorker
who happens suddenly to fall in among these
people can scarcely believe he is still on Long
Island. The men are mostly farmers, some
working tracts which they own and which lie
beyond the village. Others work for Amer-
ican farmers in the neighborhood. They are
sober and industrious and hard times have
never struck the village.
Here on a Sunday afternoon the people
give themselves up to amusement. The music
sounds strange to the American, but it is that
of the ancient kingdom. The villagers gather
in the public dance halls and young and old
dance and make merry. The provisions of the
Sunday liquor law do not seem to apply to the
village, and between the dances the hop brew
and wines of the old country pass freely
around. While the men are gOod citizens,
still, there is more talk of the happenings in
the country across the sea than of what is go-
ing on in the United States.
One of the most prominent features of the
village is a monument erected to John Huss.
It stands near the village church. Recently
the monument has fallen into decay. Some
of the leaders of the village have started a
fund to repair it.
3iIoriches, a district rather than a village,
and generally understood as covering Morich-
es, Centre Moriches and East Moriches, may
be said to lie between Forge River and the
village of Eastport, on the line of Southamp-
ton township. The territory formed a part of
the Moriches patent. It is a popular summer
resort, with large hotels and boarding houses
of all sorts and degrees. It is a place given
over in the summer season to outdoor amuse-
ments, and in the other months of the year to
oystering.
Coram, in the centre of the township, is one
of the oldest settlements, and Middle Island
has likewise some claim to considerable antiq-
uity. Both are small farming communities.
Yaphank started in 1739 as a mill-site, and in
time other mills were started and a settlement
grew slowly, but it was not until 1853 that it
was large enough to have a church, and in that
year St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal
BROOKHAVEN.
997
Church was erected. In 1871 the Suffolk
County Ahnshouse was erected in the village
on a farm of 170 acres, and which, in 1879,
was extended by the addition of 80 acres.
]\Iount Sinai, a village which according to
the records formerly boasted a larger popula-
tion than now, lies on the coast some three
miles eastward from Port Jefferson. It was
called by the Indians Xon-o-wan-tuck, but the
more commonplace New England settlers
dubbed it "Old JMan's." It seems to have
come into use as soon as the choice plots in
Setauket were appropriated, for its rich mead-
ows appeared desirable settling places, while its
forests stretched away in the distance in seem-
ingly inexhaustible extent. But the soil did
not prove as fruitful as it locked, and Old
Man's grew very slowly. Early in the nine-
teenth, century sloopbuilding was begun, and
for many years cordwood was shipped in great
quantities, and the business in clams reached
large proportions. In 1720 a preaching sta-
tion in connection with the Setauket Presby-
terian Church was established, and it grew into
a separate congregation in 1760. It has, how-
ever, long since disappeared. A Congrega-
tional Church, founded in 1789, upon, it is
supposed, the "remnants"' of the Presbyterian
fold, has fared better, and still contiiuies to
shed the light of the Gospel with an active
membership of 120. The total population of
Mount Sinai is about 225.
Still eastward along the Sound is ^Idler's
Place, a settlement with a population of some
200, which takes its name from its original
settler, Andrew Miller, who removed there
from East Hampton in 1671. Its antiquity is
all that calls for remark, as it is a widely scat-
tered farming community. Rocky Point and
\\'oodville are small settlements between Mil-
ler's Place and Wading River — the latter town
lying on the boundary line between Brook-
haven and Riverhead, but belonging mainly to
the latter. From St. James' to Wading River,
IVookhaven possesses a magnificent stretch of
shore line, which will some day be utilized for
resort purposes and will bring to the township
a degree of prosperity it has not yet dreamed
of. The opportunity lies waiting and only
needs energy, enterprise and capital to develop
rich and lasting results.
Among the other villages in the township
are : Bellport, population 795 ; Mandeville,
380: Old Field, 200; ]\Iastic, 50; Blue Point,
355; Brookfield, 380; Dyer's Neck, 150; Lake
Grove, 330 ; Ector, 355 ; and Brookhaven, 325.
The latter used to bear the name of Fire Place
up to about 1876. It is entirely a place of mod-
ern growth, its first church society dating from
1848. South Haven, a neighboring village, is
much older, although its population is only
about 100. It was large enough in 1745 to
have a Presbyterian meeting house and several
mills. At that time it was known as Yamp-
hank Neck. The name was changed to South
Haven in 1757 as the result of a vote of its
people, so we see that the fashion of substitut-
ing more fanciful names for the often homely
but always expressive primitive ones is not
quite as modern a fad as is commonly sup-
posed.
CHAPTER LXIX.
RIVERHEAD.
HE story of Riverhead Township, the
county town of Suffolk, begins with
1792, when it was fonned out of
Southold. It is 15 miles in length,
with an average width of 5 miles, and con-
tains something like 36,500 acres. Its north
shore runs along the Sound, while its south
shore is on Peconic Bay, and the Peconic
River separates it from Southampton and
Brookhaven. Farming is exclusively car-
ried on, but in no part is the land noted
for its fertility and even to the present
day large sections of the township can hardly
be said to be under cultivation. Yet within
recent years a ivast improvement has been
effected and bit by bit acres which have been
given over for a century or more to wildbrush
and weeds have been recovered and are yield-
ing abundant return in the shape of grain or
garden truck. Many thriving communities
have sprung up and Riverhead from being, as
the Rev. Dr. D wight described it in 1804, "a
miserable hamlet" is now one of the most pros-
perous and beautiful and progressive towns
on Long Island, with a population estimated
at about 2,500.
The territory in the township, or most of
it, was purchased from the red men in 1649,
another part was purchased from Col. William
Smith and divided among settlers in 1742.
The population increased very slowly, the set-
tlements were small and widely scattered and
the people were poor. The territory added
nothing to the wealth of Southold. It had
no harbors, no commerce, no excess of crops
and was very little heard of even in the town
meetings. The county was not particularly
adapted for traveling. The distances were
great and from Aquebogue westward the terri-
tory to the Brookhaven line was in Southold,
but not of it. Therefore there was little
excitement when it became known that on
March 13, 1792, the Legislature had cut off
the territory and erected it into a separate
township, apparently by the unanimous desire
of the people. The bill which so enacted read
as follows :
Whereas, many of the freeholders and in-
habitants of Southold, in Suffolk county, have
represented to the Legislature that their town
is so long that it is very inconvenient for
them to attend at town meetings, and also
to transact the other necessary business of the
said town, and have prayed that the same may
be divided into two towns ; therefore,
I. Be it enacted by the people of the State
of New York, represented in Senate and As-
sembly, that all that part of the said town of
ginning at the sound and running thence
Southold lying to the westward of a line be-
southerly to the bay separating the towns of
Southampton and Southold, and which is the
eastern boundary, or side of a farm now in the
tenure or occupation of William Albertson
and is the reputed line of division between
the parishes of Ocquebouge and Mattetuck,
shall, from and after the first ]Monday in April
next, be erected into a distinct and' separate
town, by the name of River Head ; and the first
town meeting of the inhabitants of the said
town shall be held at the dwelling house of
John Griffin, at River Head ; and the said town
shall enjoy all the rights, privileges and im-
munities which are granted to the other towns
RIVERHEAD.
999'
within this State by an act of the Legislature
passed the 7th of JMarch, 1788, entitled "An
Act for Dividing the Counties of this State
into Towns."
II. And be it further enacted, that the
poor of the town of Southold, on the first
]\Ionday of April next, shall afterwards be
divided by the town of Southold and the town
of River Head, in such proportions as the
supervisors of the county, at their next annual
meeting, shall direct, and the contingent
frame building had there been erected, which
served as courthouse and jail, and on March.
27, 1729, a Court of General Sessions met
there for the first time. The first court of
Oyer and Terminer under the State Govern-
ment in Suffolk County convened at River-
head Sept. 4, 1787. The town meeting seems
to have revised its laws in 1794, but the pro-
ceedings at these gatherings included little of
RIVERHE.\D.
charges and expenses of the town of South-
old that have already arisen, or shall arise be-
fore the first Monday in April next, shall be
assessed, levied and paid in the same manner
as if this act had not been passed.
The first town meeting was held as directed
in the act, on April 3, 1792. The laws of
Southold were those by which the new com-
munity was governed. Riverhead being the
county town gave the new township a certain
dignity to start with. In 1725 a two-story
interest to us. One exception to this might
Ijc made in the care taken of the poor. When
the township was formed it had only 6 paupers
and these were let out for one year to the
bidder who ofi'ered to maintain them for the
least money, and this method of disposing of
such dependents continued to prevail until
1832, when. a farm was purchased at Lower
Aqueboque and the poor were gathered to-
gether and removed there, and that establish-
ment was maintained until the county system
iO]0
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
came into law and the paupers of Riverhead
were transferred, in 1871, to Yaphauk, and
the old poor farm was sold.
When the war of 18 12 commenced the
town meeting passed resolutions heartily en-
dorsing the action of the Government in be-
ginning hostilities, but that was about as much
as they were directly concerned so far as that
episode went. But when the Civil War broke
out the people of Riverhead got a chance to
show their patriotism. Every call of the Gov-
ernment was loyally met, large bounties were
awarded to volunteers, and altogether the con-
flict seems to have cost the town over $81,000.
Cut in spite of its dignity as a township
and its position as the county town, River-
head advanced very slowly. In 1800 its popu-
lation was 1,498; in 1820, 1,857; ™ 1825, i,-
816: in 1835, 2.138; in 1840, 2,373, and twen-
ty years later it had only reached 2.734; two
decades still further it had advanced to 3.939,
and the census in 1890 showed that it prac-
tically stood at these figures, the census re-
turns showing only 4,010. As a county — a
county engaged in farming, its history under
these circumstances can be understood as pass-
ing along without much in the way of interest
for the annalist unless he chose to fill up his
pages with statistics or tax returns, census
reports and lists of local officials, all of which,
however, fails to arouse any interest even in
the mind of the reader of local lore.
Cut in the stories of the various villages
and settlements deserving of a much more
dignified title, we find much deserving of
study. Even the story of the village of River-
head, modern as most of it is, is full of in-
teresting detail, all of which tend to present
it before us as a typical American country
town, and one which at the present day is full
of ambition and life and is making full use of
its natural beauty of situation and its ready
adoption of all that in these modern times is
regarded as necessary to municipal success to
make it become one of the most attractive and
popular of Long Island cities. It is a beau-
tiful place, it combines city and country in its
broad and well paved streets, its stately trees
lining the sidewalks everywhere, its business
establishments and banks, its many really hand-
some villas, its steadily increasing popularity
among summer visitors and its loyal, ener-
getic and enterprising body of regular resi-
dents, who have an abiding faith in its future
and are ready and willing at all times to be-
stir themselves in every movement likely to
aid in its development. At the same time it is
a "'homely" place, using the word in its original
meaning, homelike. It has in its population
no man or class who might be described as
rich in the modern multi-millionaire meaning
of the term; it has no very poor and all are,
more or less, neighbors. A poor man is re-
spected equally with the wealthy one so long
as both respect themselves and act the part of
good citizens.
Like so many other centers of population
on Long Island Riverhead began with a saw
mill erected on the banks of the Peconic in
1659 by two pioneers — John Tooker and
Joshua Horton. The erection of the court
house does not seem to have aided its growth
very much, for in 1812 it contained only four
buildings besides the court house and jail, and
of these one was a tavern kept by John Grif-
fing- and another a grist mill owned by Josiah
Albertson. By 1825 a new court house had
been erected and a separate building con-
structed for a jail, and there were five stores,
and in 1828 a woolen factory was added to
the industries, deriving power from the Pe-
conic. In 1835 an efifort was made to deepen
the channel of the river; but, although a be-
ginning was efifected, the work had to be aban-
doned owing to a lack of funds and it was
iiot until 1882 that the work was completed
by Congressional appropriation. In 1854 a
new court house was completed at a cost of
$17,800, but it was not until 1881 that a new
jail was provided, with all the modern im-
provements to which a jail could then aspire.
The excellent power furnished by the Peconic
RIVERHEAD.
1001
River began about the middle of the last cen-
tury to attract many manufacturing enter-
prises to Riverhead — molding and planing
mills, a soap factory, fertilizer works (both
fish and wood being the staple of manufac-
ture), organ building and quite a number of
other industries increased its wealth and im-
portance. Such establishments rarely add
much to the aesthetic beauty of a place and
Riverhead in its march of improvement might
have lost some of its attractiveness but for the
organization, in 1881, of the "Village Im-
provement Society," which not only accom-
plished much and lasting good by its own di-
rect work, but exerted a healthy influence on
the entire community.
In 1868 the citizens showed their public
spirit and their sagacity, by purchasing 20
acres of ground in their village and present-
ing the property to the Suffolk County Agri-
cultural Society as its permanent headquar-
ters. The stor}- of that organization has been
told in 1881 by Mr. Xat W. Foster, long its
secretary, an office now held by his son, and
it is here given in his own words :
The first record we find of an agricultural
society in this county is a printed copy of the
"Constitution of the Suffolk County Agricul-
tural Society adopted Oct. 6, 1818"; article 2
of which states the society's object to "be the
advancement of agriculture in all its various
branches, by collecting and circulating the
knowledge of improvements, and by bestowing
premiums for the most successful exertions."
Article 9 provides for "two meetings each
year, at the court-house in Riverhead, in iMay
and in October;" article 10 for "an annual fair
and cattle show, time and place to be ap-
pointed by the managers." The officers, were :
President, Thomas S. Strong; ist vice-presi-
dent, Sylvester Dering; 2nd vice-president,
Joshua Smith ; 3d vice-president, Nathaniel
Potter ; 4th vice-president, John P. Osborne ;
corresponding secretaries, Charles H. Havens
and Henry P. Dering; recording secretary,
Ebenezer W. Case ; treasurer, David Warner.
Twelve managers were also elected. We find
no mention of any meetings or fairs.
In A'olume I of the Transactions of the
New York State Agricultural Society for J841
is found the statement that the Suff'olk Coun-
ty Agricultural Society was organized in that
vear. In the "Transactions" for 1842 are sev-
eral statements by persons receiving premiums
for crops from this county society, of whicn
William W. Mills was then president. In the
volume for 1843 is a report by William C.
Stout, president, stating that the third annual
fair was held Nov. 15, and $186.50 paid 'in
premiums. Richard B. Post was secretary,
David C. Ih-ush treasurer, and there was a
manager from each town. "The society is not
in so flourishing a condition as I would like to
see it, owing almost entirely to the immense
length of our county, thereby rendering it
difficult to fix upon the proper place at which
to hold an annual fair and give general satis-
faction. Measures are in progress, however,
to correct this evil by organizing two so-
cieties."
In the volume of 1846 J. Lawrence Smith,
president, writes under date of March 20,
1847, that "the county society was dissolved
in 1843, and a new society formed from a
smaller and more thickly settled portion of the
count}-." This society was known as the
"Western Branch of the Suffolk County Agri-
cultural Society." Its records show that fairs
were held each }-ear from 1843 to 1852 (ex-
cepting 1844 I, rcs])ectively at Comae, Smith-
town, Comae, Isli]), lluntingtdU, Greenport,
Babylon, Smithtown and Huntington. The
officers during this period were as follows, ,-0
far as recorded :
Presidents — \\'. C. Stout, 1843. 1845 ; J-
Lawrence Smith, 1846, 1847; Joshua B.
Smith, 1848; Harvey W. Vail, 1849, 1850;
Edward Henry Smith, 1851 ; Dr. John R.
Rhinelander, 1852: ICdwin A. Johnson, 1853.
Vice-Presidents — W. H. Ludlow, 1845;
Lester H. Davis. 184'); Samuel N. Brad-
hurst, 1847; William Nicoll, 185 1 ; Samuel L.
Thompson, 1832, 1853.
Secretaries — Henrv G. Scudder, 1845 ;
Nathaniel Smith, 1846,' 1847, 1851 ; Dr. Abra-
ham G. Thompson, 1848-50; Edward K.
Briar, 1852: J. H. Carll, 1853.
Treasurers — R. B. Post, 1843; Nathaniel
Smith, 1845; Richard Smith, 1846, 1847; J^f-
vis R. :Mowbray, 1848; Elbert Carll, 1849,
1850; ^^'illiam Lawrence, 1851 ; David C.
Brush, 1852; William H. Ludlow, 1853.
At the fair at Comae Oct. 16, 1843, pre-
miums were awarded amounting to $110. At
1002
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Smithtown in 1845 the premiums amounted to
$95. An address was delivered by Dr. John
R. Rhinelander. In 1846 the premiums were
$79. An address was given bv Samuel A.
Smith.
At a meeting (date not given) held be-
tween the fairs of 1846 and 1847 't was re-
solved "that this society be hereafter known
and called by the name of the "The Suffolk
Cotmty Agricultural Society." At the fair of
1847 mention is made of "corn planted three
feet apart, four stalks in each hill, showing
that good corn may be produced on much less
ground than is usually required ;" and "fine
flat turnips grown since oats were taken off."
The address was by William H. Ludlow, and
the premiums aggregated $94. At Hunting-
ton October loth, 1848, a new constitution
(prepared by the secretary, Dr. A. C. Thomp-
son, as instructed at a previous meeting) was
presented and adopted. An address by Dr.
Thompson "reviewed the past and present
operations of the society, the benefits result-
ing from the formation of agricultural so-
cieties, and urged tne importance of system,
of industry, and economy in managing agri-
cultural matters."
The first fair held in the eastern part of
the county was at Greenport, Oct. 2, 1849.
The address was by John G. Floyd.
At a meeting of the managers, April 6,
1850, it was resolved, "on condition that the
residents of Babylon and vicinity pay or se-
cure to be paid to the treasurer of the society,
on or before May i, 1850, the sum of $100,
and that the necessary cattle pens be erected,
a suitable building or tent be provided, and
that arrangements be made for the convey-
ance of passengers to and from the railroad
free of all charge, that the fair will be held in
that village Sept. 24, 1850." Also resolved,
"in case the residents of Babylon and its vi-
cinity do not agree to the above resolution,
the exhibition will be held in Islip in case the
said conditions be complied with." In addi-
tion to the premiums offered the year before,
premiums were offered for crops grown on the
"Plain lands." The fair was held at Baby-
lon. "F. M. A. Wicks, of Thompson's sta-
tion, exhibited cheese, pumpkins, citron, mel-
ons, fine potatoes and Isabella grapes raised
on the 'Plain lands,' adjoining the Long Isl-
and railroad at Thompson's station. Ira
L'Hommedieu exhibited tomatoes, blood beets
and egg plants raised on .land of Dr. E. F.
Peck at Lake Road station. These produc-
tions showed conclusively the error of the
idea that the lands contiguous to the Long
Island railroad are worthless." "The society
is indebted to Mr. Francis M. A. Wicks and
to Dr. E. F. Peck for proving beyond objec-
tion that these desolate lands can be made
productive under a proper course of cultiva-
tion. The perseverance shown by these two
gentlemen is deserving the highest commen-
dation, and it is hoped that success may at-
tend their efforts." The annual address was
delivered by John Fowler, Jr.
At the winter meeting, Dec. 4, 1850, a
premium was awarded to Samuel S. Thomp-
son, of Setauket, "for 84^4 bushels, 4 quarts
and I pint of Australian or 'Verplank' wheat,
raised on two surveyed acres, the weight be-
ing 6314 lbs. per bushel; the standard of 60
lbs. per bushel being allowed, the yield of the
crop was 89 bushels 2 pecks on the two acres.
* * * Deducting the expenses, the net
profit was $341.75."
"William Burling, of Babylon, raised 65
bushels of onions on one-eighth of an acre,
being at the rate of 520 bushels per acre."
The net profit was $24.65.
At Smithtown Sept. 25, 185 1, the ad-
dress was delivered by Dr. Franklin Tuthill,
of New York City. Mr. Brush, the treasurer,
dying before the next fair, John D. Hewlett
was appointed treasurer in his stead. At the
fair at Huntington, Oct. 21, 1852, the address
was by Henry J. Scudder, of New York City.
It is reported that another fair was held in
1852, at Islip, but the record shows no further
meeting till February i, 1865, when the so-
ciety was reorganized at Thompson's station,
with the title "Suffolk County Agricultural
Society." The officers elected for the first
year w.ere as follows: President, William
Nicoll, Huntington ; vice-president, Robert W.
Pearsall, Islip ; secretary, J. H. Doxsee, Islip ;
treasurer, William J. ' Weeks, Brookhaven ;
directors, H. G. Scudder, Huntington; Caleb
Smith, Smithtown; Robert O. Colt, Islip;
Thomas S. Mount, Brookhaven; D. H. Os-
borne, Riverhead; David G. Floyd, Southold.
The officers from this time have been:
Presidents— William Nicoll, 1866, 1867,
1872-74; Dr. B. D. Carpenter, 1868-71 ; Henry
Nicoll, elected in 1872, not serving, William
Nicoll was appointed ; Henrv E. Huntting,
1875, 1879, 1880; Hon. John's. Marcy, 1876-
78; Alvah M. Salmon, 1881, 1882.
RIVERHEAD.
1003
Vice-Presidents — Dr. B. D. Carpenter,
1866, 1867; Samuel B. Gardiner, 1868; Henry
G. Scudder, 1869-71 ; Lewis A. Edwards,
1872; Henry E. Hunting, 1873, 1874; R. T.
Goldsmith, 1S75 ; Stephen C. Rogers, 1876-
78; Alvah j\l. Sahiion, 1879, 1880; George W.
Cooper, 1881, 1882.
Secretaries — J. H. Doxsee, 1866, 1867;
Thomas S. Mount. 1868-71, 1875; Henry D.
Green, 1872-74; Nathaniel W. Foster, 1876,
1877, 1879-82; J. L. Millard. 1878.
Treasurer — W. J. Weeks, 1876. 1877;
Joshua L. Wells, 1868-71; David F. Vail,
1872-74; Samuel Griffin, 1875-82.
The first fair after the reorganization was
held at Riverhead, Sept. 27 and 28, 1865.
"The board of managers are fully satisfied
with the results of the fair, both in the interest
manifested by the people of the county and the
pecuniary result arising therefrom." The re-
ceipts were $1,600, and the disbursements
$800. From this time the fair has been held
each year at Riverhead, excepting 1867, when
it was at Greenport. The addresses have been
delivered as follows: In 1865 by Hon. Henry
Nicoll, of Mastic: 1866, Hon. William H.
Gleason, Sag Harbor; 1867, Hon. Samuel A.
Smith, of Smithtown; 1868, Hon. Henry P.
Hedges, of Bridgehampton ; 1869, William
Nicoll, of Islip; 1870, Robert W. Pearsall, of
Brentwood; 1871, Hon. Henry J. Scudder, of
Northrop; 1872,, Hon. Horace Greeley, of
New York; 1873, General Stewart L. Wood-
ford, of Brooklyn ; 1875, Hon. Townsend D.
Cock, of Queens county; 1876, Hon. L. Brad-
ford Prince, of Flushing: 1877, Hon. John R.
Reid, of Babylon ; 1878, Hon. Nathan D. Pet-
ty, of Riverhead; 1879, Hon. James W. Co-
vert, of Flushing; 1880, P. T. Barnum, of
Bridgeport: 1881, Hon. R. B. Roosevelt and
E. G. Blackford, of the New York Fish Com-
mission, and Barnet Phillips, secretary of the
American Fish Cultural Association.
In 1866 the question of permanent loca-
tion came up, was discussed and laid over;
also "the propriety of uniting with Queens
county to form a Long Island agricultural so-
ciety," October 29, 1867, the managers accept-
ed from the citizens of Riverhead a deecl
donating to the Suffolk County Agricultural
Society "land lying near and westerly of the
Riverhead Cemetery, for fair grounds, with
this condition — if the society shall fail for two
consecutive years to hold a fair thereon, the
grounds shall revert to the donors." The
grounds are pleasantly located, conveniently
near to the village and to the depot of the
Long Island Railroad, and of very ready ac-
cess from all directions.
The matter of fitting up the grounds was
referred to the President, A'ice-President and
Treasurer, and it was "resolved that the sum
of $200 be appropriated to pay the Treasurer
for his extra services in behalf of the so-
ciety." The first fair on the new grounds was
held September 30th and October ist and 2d,
1868. Again $200 was paid to the Treasurer
for services.
B. D. Carpenter, Stephen C. Rogers,
Joshua L. Wells, John S. Marcy, William
Nicoll and Robert W. Pearsall were the build-
ing committee that supervised the erection of
the Exhibition Hall. The architect was
George H. Skidmore, of Riverhead. The con-
tract for building was awarded to Fielder,
Skidmore & Co. The building was completed
in time for the next annual fair, October 6,
7 and 8, 1869. In the evening of the 6th
a public meeting was held in the court house,
and papers were read by Robert W. Pearsall,
of Brentwood, and Hon. Henry P. Hedges, of
Bridgehampton, the latter upon "Fertilizers
and their Application." "]\Ir. ^Mlliam Nicoll
in a few appropriate remarks called attention
to the Exhibition Hall, and, with a view of
liquidating the debt incurred by its erection,
he moved that a committee be appointed for
soliciting life members of the society upon the
payment of ten dollars each. The motion hav-
ing been passed and the committee appointed,
Mr. Nicoll manifested his earnestness in the
movement by the payment of seventy dollars,
making his wife and children life members.
Others immediately followed the example till
$400 had been contributed." The annual
meeting in the evening of the 7th was ad-
dressed by Mr. Nicoll.
On June 22 and 2}^, 1870, occurred the first
horticultural exhibition, a festival and reun-
ion, which was very successful, bringing to-
gether a very large and pleasant company.
Others were held June 14, 1871, and June 19,
1872. There being few if any professional
florists in' the county and the strawberry
growers being particularly busy marketing
their fruit, it was found to be impracticable
to attempt at present more than one fair each
year.
In 1876. besides the usual annual meeting
on \\'ednesday evening during the fair, meet-
1004
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ings were held at the court-house on Tuesday
and Thursday evenings for discussion of mat-
ters of interest to the county and its people;
but the attendance was so small that no en-
couragement was felt to repeat the experiment.
During this year the grounds were im-
proved by planting trees, which were donated
to the society by Isaac Hicks & Sons, of Old
Westbury, Queens countv; P. H. Foster, of
Babylon ; E. F. Richardson, of Brentwood,
and Israel Peck, of Southold. Adjoining Ex-
hibition Hall was built a cloak or package
room, which has proved a great convenience to
visitors and a source of profit to the society.
New features were introduced into the exhibi-
tion, viz. : "Centennial relics" and "a display
of antiquities." This being the Centennial
year this feature seemed to touch every heart,
bringing out a warm response throughout the
county, and, not stopping;- with county limits,
was similarly responded to in several other
counties as a striking feature in their fairs.
The suggestion, coming as it did from this
county, at once introduced this society to many
sister societies that before hardly knew of it.
A display of "plans" for farm buildings, etc.,
by Suffolk county architects (which has been
of much service by favorably introducing to
visiting strangers such architects as exhibited,
and also by elevating the standard of architec-
ture in the county) and a "collection of foreign
curiosities" were very successful in themselves
and added much to the exhibit. A new and
notable feature of the fair was the gathering
of the children of the public schools of the
county, — teachers and pupils being admitted
free on one specified day, — the effect of which
was so gratifying that it has become one of the
fixtures of each fair, thereby cultivating in the
rising generation an interest in the society.
This year, too, more largely than ever before,
was the power of the county press shown in
arousing throughout the county a new and
general interest in the society, and a strong
desire to attend the fair. All together, not-
withstanding the greater attraction offered by
the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, this
year seems to have been a turning point in the
history of the society. Partly from the geo-
graphical situation of the county, partly from
the difficulty experienced in reaching the fair
with articles for exhibition, and from various
other reasons, a feeling of more than indiffer-
ence seemed very largely to have possessed the
people of both east and west. This now gave
place to a desire to promote the success of the
fair.
In 1877 the new features of the preceding
year were retained and a new department, an
"exhibit of school work," was introduced,
whereby the public schools became interested
in the society; also exhibits of minerals and
Indian relics. This fair was made more at-
tractive by a fine display from the Long Island
Historical Society of Brooklyn, through the
kindness of Elias Lewis, Jr. The attendance
was larger, by reason of the improved railroad
connections and facilities, whereby people were
brought from all parts of the island and re-
turned at reduced rates. Not only the society,
but many people throughout the county were
much benefited by a donation from J. N. Hal-
lock, formerlv of Suffolk county, now publish-
er of "The Christian at Work," New York
city, of subscriptions amounting to $100,
which were largely used as premiums. This
year $600 was paid on the debt, and in 1878
$400.
In 1879 more new features were introduced
— displays of decorated pottery, rare china,
native woods, and leaves and nuts of trees
growing in the county. Among the cattle ex-
hibited were a pair of immense oxen, weighing
over 4,600 pounds, exhibited by Elbert Rose
of Bridgehampton, and some superior Jerseys
from the well-known stock-yards of William
Crozier of Northport. Point judging on cattle
and horses was now introduced. The exhibit
of school work, first introduced in 1877,
showed gratifying . progress. The hall was
made more cheerful by the exhibit of a large
number of the bills and posters of the different
county societies of the State. The debt was
reduced $250 this year.
A very important feature of the fair of
1880 was the addresses of P. T. Barnum, at the
hall in the afternoon and at the court-house in
the evening, replete with humor and wisdom.
Some very fine Early Rose potatoes, that took
the first prize, were grown in beach sand. One
man reported a crop of 500 bushels of potatoes
raised on an acre of ground. This year the
debt was again reduced $250.
At a meeting of the board of managers held
at Riverhead Jan. 27, 1881, Austin Corbin, the
newly elected" president and receiver of the
Long Island Railroad Company, and several of
the directors were present ; also reporters from
RIVERHEAD.
1005
the city papers. Mr. Cor1)in and others ex-
plained the condition of the road and the com-
pany and their plans and intcntiMus for the fu-
ture. Mr. Corbin, as a Suitolk ccunty farmer,
made a donation to the society of $250.
Before the fair the railroad company of-
fered $500 in special premiums for stock,
grains, fruit, etc., which greatly stimulated
the exhibitors and added much to the interest
of the exhibition. H. W. Maxwell, one of the
directors of the railroad company, offered five
gold medals, of the total value of $100, to be
competed for during the fair by the pupils of
the public schools of the county, in reading,
arithmetic. United States history, geography
and English language. Three of these were
taken by pupils of the Greenport school, one
by a pupil at Yaphank, and one by a member
of the school at Patchogue. During this year
the grounds were improved by planting more
trees. The addresses at the fair were on iish
culture, out of the regular course, but of great
interest to the whole coimty. The debt was
still further reduced $500.
Again a new departure : The officers of the
society, not content with showing their coun-
ty's products to those that might come to the
county fair, proposed to the farmers and others
of the county an exhibit of their good things
at the State fair at Elmira,, which exhibit, al-
though an experiment, was very encouraging
in its results, the first premium ($25) being
awarded to R. O. Colt, of Bay Shore, for the
best collection of vegetables, besides other
premiums to different exhibitors ; while a new
wagon gear invented and exhibited by C. M.
Blydenburgh, of Riverhead, attracted great
attention, as did also the wood of which the
wagon was built — Suffolk county oak. The
exhibit brought the county into very promi-
nent and favorable notice.
Another institution which has proved of
great service to the upward progress of River-
head is the Savings Bank, which was estab-
lished in 1872, mainly through the efforts of
Mr. Nat W. Foster and Orville B. Ackerly.
The latter, who was for many years a resident
of Riverhead, has been engaged in business in
New York for a considerable time past. He
was County Clerk of Suffolk for six years
and had previously been Deputy Clerk for
twelve years, and not only proved a most
capable official but was one of the most pop-
ular men in the county, and that popularity
he still retains, although the prosecution of
his business necessarily removes him from its
associations — at least to the same extent as
formerly.
The bank started out with the following-
trustees : James H. Tuthill, John Downs, N.
W. Foster, Jeremiah ^I. Edwards, Gilbert H.
Ketcham, Daniel A. Griffing, J. Henry Per-
kins, Moses F. Benjamin, Edwin F. Scjuiers,
John R. Corwin, Orville B. Ackerly, Richard
T. Osborn, Isaac C. Halsey, Simeon S. Hawk-
ins, Richard H. Benjamin, John F. Foster,
Thomas Coles, J. Halsey Young, John S. Mar-
cy, Abraham B. Luce, Jonas Fishel, and John
P. iNIills. It was a success from the first, and
during all the years that have passed, in spite
of periods of panic, depression and financial
restlessness, it has maintained a clean and hon-
orable record, and by its wise management has
done much -to develop the prosperity of the
town. According to the latest report its re-
sources amounted to $3,189,770, and its de-
posits to $2,859,829, giving it a clear surplus
of $329,941. But that report showed another
detail which ought to be a matter of local
pride, showing as it does the thrifty character
of the people, and that was the average of each
account in 1900 was $457.93, an amount ex-
ceeded by only two others of the savings banks
on Long Island.
But the Savings Bank rendered a most
valuable service to Riverhead and to the county
in a widely different direction from its finances,
for it was at a meeting of its board of trustees
in 1886 that the organization of the Suffolk
County Historical Society was first broached.
The Rev. Dr. Samuel E: Herrick, of Boston,
a native of Suffolk county, was a guest at the
usual luncheon which was a feature of the
trustees' meetings, and in the course of a most
interesting address suggested the formation
of an organization which should gather up the
records of the past and preserve them. "Too
manv of these have been alreadv lost," he
1006
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
said, "because such an institution has not ex-
isted. Suffolk county may for all time rejoice
in her illustrious citizens. Who would forget
Captain Mercator Cooper, of Southampton,
who, in the whaleship Manhattan, of Sag
Harbor, first carried the United States flag into
Japanese waters, at the same time returning
to their homes more than a score of ship-
wrecked sailors he had rescued? Who would
be willing to lose record of the illustrious pa-
triotism and devotion of General Nathaniel
WoodhuU or of the valuable services of Ezra
rHommedieu and many others? Shall the
story of their brave and heroic lives be lost,
or shall they be saved to inspire others to good
works? Why, then, may not something at
once be done?"
Before the close of the year the Suffolk
County Historical Society was fully organ-
ized. The following account of its progress
has been drawn 'up by Mr. Foster, now its
President:
The early members were: Hon. James H.
Tuthill, George F. Stackpole, Nat W. Foster,
Daniel W. Reeve, William C. Ostrander, Ahaz
Bradley, Professor Charles S. Stone, the Rev.
Samuel Whaley, Benjamin K. Payne, Dr.
Howard H. Young, William R. Duvall,
Holmes W. Swezey, Sheriff Henry W. Halsey,
James L. Millard, John Walsh, Jr., Gilbert H.
Conklin and Samuel Tuthill, of Riverhead ;
Wilmot M. Smith, Hon. John S. Havens, Will-
iam H. Newins and George M. Ackerly, of
Patchogue; Joseph H. Petty, of Amityville;
Stuart T. Terry, the Rev. Epher Whittaker,
D. D., and N. Hubbard Cleveland, of South-
old; Richard M. Bayles, of Middle Island;
Salem H. Wales, of New York, with a country
residence at Southampton; James Slater, of
Central Islip ; Henry A. Brown, of West Deer
Park; A. M. Salmon, of Peconic; Theodore
W. Smith, of Smithtown; Benjamin T. Rob-
bins, of Northport; Charles E. Shepard, of
Huntington ; Sidney H. Ritch, of Port Jeffer-
son ; and W. W. Thompson, of Orient.
The officers for the first vear were: Presi-
dent, James H. Tuthill, Riverhead ; Vice-
presidents, the Rev. Dr. Epher Whitaker,
Sbuthold, and Joseph H. Petty, Amityville;
Recording Secretary, Stuart T. Terry, South-
old; Corresponding Secretary, Richard M.
Bayles, Middle Island; Treasurer, James H.
Pierson, Southampton ; Custodian, George F.
Stackpole, Riverhead.
Mr. Tuthill was re-elected President until
his death, in January, 1894.
At the next annual meeting after Mr. Tut-
hill's death, February 20, 1894, Nat W. Foster
was elected as his successor, the Rev. Dr.
Whitaker declining the position and continu-
ing as Vice-president along with Floyd, of
New York. At the evening meeting special
services, memorial of the life of the late Presi-
dent, were held, addressed by the Rev. Dr.
Whitaker, the Rev, William I. Chalmers, B.
K. Payne and Professor J. M. Belford.
In 1895 Orville B. Ackerly, now of New
York City, was made Corresponding Secre-
tary.
In 1896 the Rev. Charles A. Stonelake, of
Aquebogue, was elected Recording Secretary,
and continued to so act until suddenly called
out of the State, when, at the next annual
meeting, February 15, 1898, iliss Ruth H.
Tuthill, daughter of the late President, was
chosen for that position.
At a special meeting of the society held on
July I, 1893, the Riverhead Savings Bank
building, at the corner of ^Main street and
Griffing avenue, was purchased for $4,000.
One-half was paid and $2,000 remained on
bond and mortgage. This mortgage has since
been reduced to $1,300.
Addresses have been delivered at the pub-
lic meetings of the society as follows:
June, 1887. The Rev. Dr. Whitaker:
"Union of Church and State, Past and Pres-
ent."
June, 1888. John R. Reid : "Historic
Studies."
October, 1889. Henry P. Hedges: "Prior-
ity of Settlement, Southoldand Southampton."
RIVERHEAD.
1007
October, 1890. James H. Tiithill : "Proper
Work of an Historical Society, and How It
Should be Done."
February, 1893. The Rev. W. I. Clialmers :
"Urging Deeper Interest in Historical Work
and the Suffolk County Historical Society."
February, 1895. The Rev. Dr. Whitaker:
"The Rise of Woman." District Attorney W.
H. Jaj-cox: "The Value of Historical Knowl-
edge." George F. Stackpole : "What May be
Done in the Future in the Way of Developing
Long Island." The Rev. R. M. Edwards:
"Impressions of Long Island."
February, 1896. William Wallace Tooker:
"Cockinoo de Long Island." Edward P. Buf-
fett, Jr. : "Fort Salonga."
February, 1897. Augustus Floyd: "Suf-
folk in Revolutionary Times." The Rev. A.
C. Stonelake : "The Collections of the Socie-
ty-"
February, 1898. R. C. McCormick : "Val-
ue of Local Historical Societies." William S.
Pelletreau: "Richard Smith of Smithtown.",
The objects of the society as stated in
Article II of its constitution read, "To foster
the historical spirit in thought, study and pur-
pose; to encourage historical and antiquarian
research; to disseminate historical knowledge;
to collect and preserve such autographs and
other manuscripts, maps, plans, charts, paint-
ings, engravings and other pictorial represen-
tations, books, pamphlets, newspapers, curiosi-
ties and antiquities of every kind as may have
been or shall be the products of Suffolk coun-
ty, or of its several towns, some of which are
the oldest English settlements and religious
and civil organizations within the bounds of
the State of New York; and also to discover,
procure and preserve whatsoever material of
any kind may illustrate the history of its sev-
eral towns."
The society, since its organization in 1886,
has gathered a large number of valuable his-
torical documents, old sermons and addresses
by Suffolk county men, statistical reports,
portraits, Indian and Revolutionary War rel-
ics, pre-Revolutionary implements of indus-
try and other articles of interest. Among the
valuable historical works are the following:
Records of Boston and New Haven, the for-
mer comprising twenty-seven volumes, show-
ing the origin of many Long Island families,
presented by Orville B. Ackerly ; Mailman's
"History of Shelter Island ;" "Early Long
Island Wills," by W. S. Pelletreau; All the
town records of the several Long Island towns
as published by the town authorities ; Thomp-
son's "History of Long Island;" Genealogi-
cal and biographical record of New York ; and
a copy of the laws of the Colony of New York
from 1 69 1 to 1799, presented by Elbert Carll
Livingston, containing in its fly leaves a family
register. (The first death recorded on the fly
leaf in manuscript is that of "Captain Jacob
Conklin in Dec. ye 8 1754 on the ist day of
the week at 9 o'clock at night.")
Among rare documents and publications
are : Early Long Island wills of Suft'olk coun-
ty, known as the Lester Will Book ; manuscript
copy of the roster of soldiers stationed at Sag
Harbor under command of Major Benjamin
Case in War of 1812; proceedings of the New
England Historic Genealogical Society and of
the Massachusetts Historical Society, all pre-
sented by Orville B. Ackerly; papers in the
case of the trustees of Southampton against
Frederick H. Betts, giving a full history of
the early settlement of the town and the par-
titioning of the lands and meadow rights;
unbound journal of New York Assembly Jour-
nal, 1796, and Senate, 1806; the origin and
meaning of English and Dutch surnames of
New York State families ; list of ancestors and
descendants of John Howell Wells; seventy
old almanacs between the years 181 1 and 1896;
and "Long Island Journal of Philosophy and
Cabinet of Varieties," published at Huntington
in 1825.
Among the curiosities is a framed commis-
sion by the Postmaster General to Elihu S.
Miller as postmaster at Wading River, Febru-
ary I, 1869, to his father, Sylvester Miller,
1008
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
July 30, 1844, and to his grandfather, Zophar
jNIiller, February 26, 1825.
A letter from the Postmaster General to
Congress transmitting a statement of the net
amount of postage accruing at each postoffice
in the country for the year ending ]\larch 31,
1826, shows the following to have been the
receipts of various Long Island offices : Ja-
maica, $164.27; Hempstead, $36.57; Hunting-
ton, $64.50; Suffolk Court House (now River-
head), $29.40; Wading River, $2.74; Bridge-
hampton, $50.22; Cold Spring, $18.63; Cut-
chogue, $10.20; Deer Park, $7.37;, Easthamp-
ton, $59.33; Islip, $20.40; Jericho, $18.07;
Jerusalem, $1.27; Mattituck, $18.86; Oyster
Bay, $23; Oyster Bay South, $7.39; Oyster
Pond (Orient), $25.32; Patchogue, $24.31;
Sag Harbor, $117.06; Setauket, $28.46;
Smithtown, $56.16; Southampton, $47.62;
Southold, $35.35; and Westhampton, $9.61.
Among other interesting documents are the
records of the First Strict Congregational
convention, held at the house of the Rev.
Daniel Young, Riverhead, August 26, 1791.
The Rev. Daniel Young, pastor of the First
Congregational Church of Riverhead, organ-
ized March 26, 1758; the Rev. Jacob Corwin,
the Rev. Noah Hallock, Bridgehampton, and
Deacons Daniel Terry and Richard Robinson,
delegates from the churches at Riverhead and
Wading River; the Rev. Jacob Corwin, pas-
tor of the Second Congregational Church,
founded at Aquebogue, or East Riverhead, in
1787, and the Rev. Paul Cuffee, a native In-
dian of the Sliinnecock tribe, located at Canoe
Place, "a man of great influence and reputa-
tion." His grave is prominent to-day in the
cemetery east of Good Ground Station. The
appointment of Calvin Cook as ensign of ''the
regiment of militia in Suffolk County," signed
by Daniel D. Tompkins, is prominently dis-
played. There is an interesting exhibit of
flax seed, a sheaf of the flax raised in Suffolk
county, unhetchelled and hetchelled flax, thread
and linen cloth. There are also shown the
various old-fashioned flax machines, including
llax hackler, flax wheel and swift reel. A relic
of historical interest is a piece of cedar from
the British sloop of war "Sylph," built in Ber-
muda in iSii and wrecked on Southampton
Bar on January 17, 181 1, when, out of a crew
of 121, 115 were lost, including Captain
George Dickens, commanding officer ; Lieuten-
ants George Butt and H. S. Alarsham, Surgeon
James Still and Thomas Atwell, master. This
piece of cedar was part of a fence post under-
ground oil a farm at Quogue for seventy-five
\ears, and is still as fragrant as ever. Among
the Indian relics are arrow heads from Fort
Salunga, Indian arrow heads, stone axes, hoes,
tomahawks, mortars, found mainly in South-
old and Southampton. Some of these were
taken from a well twenty feet underground,
and the stone was of a character such as is
found only in the outcropping ledges of Mas-
sachusetts. It puzzles scientists to know how
four of the preglacial stone arrow and spear
heads came to be found on Long Island and
at such a depth below the surface, where they
have evidently been buried for ages past.
Wampum and other Montauk Indian relics
are also displayed here. An old plow with a
wooden mould-board, used in the town of
Southold a hundred years ago, and several
British cannon balls fired over to Long Island
from British men-of-war in the \^'ar of 1812-
15 and picked up by the farmers in their fields,
are shown.
Among other curiosities are : Curious fish
found in the waters of Suffolk county ; shin-
plasters issued by local merchants in the War
of the Rebellion ; old merchandise bills and re-
ceipts;, old State bank and Continental bills;
piece of first flat rail used on the Long Island
Railroad in 1836, size of rail two and one-
half by three-fourths, ordinary tire iron, also
the chain used for holding the ends of the
rails ; ivory paper-cutter used by Daniel Webs-
ter and presented by him to Charles Taylor,
of Peconic ; photographs of the exhibits at the
Suffolk County Agricultural Society's fair by
H. B. FuUerton ; a bear's skull, found at Great
RIVERHEAD.
loo'J
Pond many years ago ; a ten-pound piece of
meteor that came down on the farm of R. M.
Bowne at Glen Cove in 1794 (the original piece
weighed fifty pounds) ; a Latin Vulgate and
Greek text Bible, printed in 1544 in Venice;
assessment roll of Riverhead in 1839, in an
ordinary writing book; and picture of tomb-
stone of John Gardiner, proprietor of Gardi-
ner's Island, who was born in 1752 and died
in 1823, and of David Gardiner, second pro-
prietor of Gardiner's Island, in the Hartford
Cemetery, Connecticut.
Among the engraved portraits are those
of Thomas George Hodgkins, who was born
in England in 1703, and died in Setauket in
1792; the Rev. Charles J. Knowles, former
pastor of the Congregational Church at River-
head, who died in 1880.
Ezra L'Hommedieu, member of Continen-
tal Congress in 1779-83, member of the Senate
of New York, clerk of Suffolk county, 1784-
1810, and regent of the university 1787-1811.
Nathaniel W. Foster, who has been for
years the prime mover in these three institu-
tions and is one of the best known and most
generally popular men in Suffolk county, is
entitled to a word or two in this place. He
was born at Riverhead September 24, 1835,
and through his father traces his descent from
Christopher Foster, who in 1635 settled in
Boston from England and in 1651 made his
home in Southampton, Long Island. From
that day to this the name has been prominent
in, the aifairs of the island, and its members
have taken part in all the great wars from the
Revolution to the conflict between the States.
His grandfather, Rufus Foster, fought in the
War of 1812, and was for a time stationed
at Sag Harbor, and his father, Herman D.
Foster, settled at Riverhead in 1834. On his
mother's side Mr. Foster can claim an ances-
try equally prominent, as she was one of the
descendants of Richard Woodhull, so promi-
nent in the early history of Brookhaven.
Nat W. Foster was trained to business in
the dry goods store of his father, and after-
ward the business was carried on by him in
partnership with Mr. O. B. Ackerly. In 1874
he retired from that connection to devote his
entire time to other enterprises which claimed
his attention, and primarily to his work as the
local agent of the Equitable Life Assurance
Society, an appointment he had held for some
years and which he still retains. Then, too,
the savings bank of which he has since become
president began to demand a share of his
time, much of the local public business was
thrown on his shoulders, and the secretaryship
of the Suffolk County Agricultural Societx-
of itself furnished enough work for one man.
Mr. Foster's life has been a busy one: and
while his career has been prosperous, it has
always been on lines calculated to bring pros-
perity and happiness to others, and no fact
is more heartily recognized throughout Suffolk
county to-day than that.
In 1888 Mr. Foster was elected treasurer
of the Long Island Bible Society and has held
the position ever since. He was an organizer
of the Riverhead Cemetery Association, has
been a trustee since the organization and for
several years the president. He is also presi-
dent of the Village Improvement Society, in
which he takes a great interest, and which has
done good work through his direction and in-
fluence. In early life he was deeply interesteed
in temperance work and was connected with
nearly every temperance society of importance
in village, county or State. He was particu-
larly interested in the Sons of Temperance,
and in 1865, unexpectedly to himself, he was
called to the head of the order in eastern New
York.
Mr. Foster has traveled quite extensively,
both in the Lfnited States and Europe. He is
a liberal supporter of the Congregational
Church, where he has been a member since
sixteen years of age, and for several years has
served as deacon.
In the year 1858 Mr. Foster married Fan-
nie, daughter of Sylvester Miller, of Wading
River. Mr. Miller was _ Supervisor of the
1010
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
town for twenty years and justice of the peace
for many years more. Mrs. Foster died in
1888, leaving five cliildren : Warren W., a
Justice of the Court of General Sessions in
New York; Millicent F., who was educated
at Wellesley College; Sylvester M., a gradu-
ate of Dartmouth and the secretary of the
Suffolk County Agricultural Society for some
years past; Herman D., who died in infancy;
and Fannie Estelle.
Aquebogue has more to boast of in the way
of-antiquity than Riverhead. It seems to have
been the site of an Indian village of consid-
erable size, so it is possible that the early set-
tlers in the district from Southold simply took
up the red man's improvements in the way of
clearances and trails, and the strange temple
and graves discovered in 187Q demonstrate the
affection and reverence which a primitive race
must have had for the territory, — possibly an
older race than thai which sold the ground to
the white pioneers from Southold. From Lower
Aquebogue, which some suppose to have been
settled before any other part of the district,
the comparatively modern village of James-
port was formed about 1830, seemingly one
of those paper cities which for a time was so
common in the story of American life, and
was ridiculed so mercilessly in Dickens' novel,
"Alartin Chuzzlewit." Dr. Prime tells us that
in 1833 there was not a single house in the
place and that it owed "its origin to the specu-
lation fever of a single individual who ruined
himself by the operation." The site was nicely
mapped out, streets were surveyed, a wharf
was built and a rather imposing hotel was
erected. For a year or two it seemed as if
the hopes which centred in it would be real-
ized ; one or two whaling ships made use of
the wharf. But there was no earthly reason
why ocean boats should seek a harbor at such
a place, at the extremity of Peconic Bay, that
was open to no vessels larger than coasters,
and that was at all times difficult of access.
So the mariners, after a trial or two, sought
other and more convenient headquarters, and
Jamesport's commerce fell away and its hopes
were blighted. A few years ago its beautiful
situation began to attract the "summer peo-
ple," and it has become quite popular with
that class, so much so that at the height of the
season it is rather difficult for all who desire
accommodations to secure them. But that is
a matter that can be remedied and there is
little doubt it will be. Under these circum-
stances Jamesport can look forward to a
brighter future than ever was anticipated for
it at its inception or that seemed possible in
1843, when the early glamor had passed and
it boasted some forty houses.
At the other extremity of the township,
on the boundary line dividing it from Brook-
haven, is the village of Wading River, the ter-
minus, for the present at least, of what is
known as the Port Jeft'erson Branch of the
Long Island Railroad. It is supposed that a
settlement was eft'ected about 1670, and in
1708 a mill was established by John Roe.
Some four miles eastward is the settlement of
Baiting Hollow, which is said to date from
1 719. Like Wading River, it did a considera-
ble business in the first half of the nineteenth
century in cutting and marketing firewood,
but the source of supply did not prove inex-
haustible, and when it passed farming re-
mained the only industry, for even to the pres-
ent day the summer boarder has not discovered
this region to any great extent. During the
War of 1812 an exciting skinnish is said to
have been fought on the shore between Fresh
Pond Landing and Jericho Landing. Several
sloops belonging to Baiting Hollow and en-
gaged in carrying firewood, were espied on the
beach by a British squadron cruising in the
sound, and two boats' crews were dispatched
to seize them. The local militia was, how-
ever, on the lookout, and under Captain John
Wells opened fire on the invaders with such
effect that although they had landed and had
boarded one of the sloops, thev were glad to
effect a retreat. It is said that the British had
RIVERHEAD.
1011
a cannon in each of their boats and used them,
but this part of the story may well be doubted.
Manorville (380 population), Calverton
(350), Northville (412), Roanoke (200), Bu-
chananville (200), Laurel (197), are all farm-
ing centers, and there are a number of others
still more slenderly populated, of which noth-
ing interesting can be said. In fact, out-
side of Riverhead village, the township is al-
most wholly given over to farming.
In the Fifty-sixth Congress Mr. Townsend
Scudder made an effort to give a new port to
Riverhead by having an appropriation for a
breakwater at Northville, or rather at Luce's
Harbor, where a small amount of local traffic
is carried 011 through local efl'orts at harbor-
making. In his speech on presenting the sub-
ject to Congress Mr. Scudder said :
"Along the north shore of Long Island
Sound, between Port JeiTerson and Mattituck,
there stretches a vast area of country which
has failed to receive the attention and consid-
eration to which it would seem to be entitled.
Intercourse between it and the markets of the
metropolis, as well as of the cities on the sound,
in the State of Connecticut, are denied to it
through lack of available means being alTorded
its people to transport their goods and products
to places of sale.
"For many years the farmers of this neg-
lected locality have felt the necessity of having
their produce carried to city markets at a rate
that would return them something for their
labor. The railroad to New York was too re-
mote to permit profitable carting, even if the
freight rates by rail. had permitted shipments
to market by that carrier. To overcome these
difficulties the people of this community have
constructed out into the open waters of Long
Island Sound a pier. This work was accom-
plished by these people with a laudable desire
to improve their condition at the cost of a
self-denial almost be3'ond description. The pier
now affords a means of shipment to the city
markets, weather permitting, but being unpro-
tected from wind and wave, and projecting out
from an open coast, it is not always available,
and is often in danger of being washed away.
"It is the pride of many of the great gov-
ernments of Europe that where harbors did
not exist in times past through the farsight
of those having in control the reins of govern-
ment now are to be found ports of great com-
mercial importance, harbors of refuge, com-
mercial activity, and prosperity.
"It seems to me that the case of these Long
Island farmers which I now plead demands
for them some consideration. Appropriations
for harbor improvements are justified by the
promotion of commerce which it is assumed
will result. This dock is the only place of de-
barkation on Long Island Sound between Port
Jefferson and Greenport, a stretch of over forty
miles, excepting Mattituck Harbor, which,
through failure of the National Government
to complete the improvements there projected,
is not available for the purposes for which the
dock under consideration is used, even if it
were within profitable carting distance, which
it is not. This dock is open to all shippers, to
all who desire to take passage from it on the
vessels touching at it. Its use is unrestricted,
I am told, for the greatest good to the greatest
number. It will do much toward the develop-
ment of a section of Long Island that has been
sadly neglected, and which only rec[uires prop-
er transportation facilities to come to the front.
This section of country, while one of the most
productive on Long Island, is isolated and cut
oft' from the great centers of business.
"The chairman of the committee seems to
have been touched by my appeal in behalf of
these people, for he tells me he will not op-
pose the adoption of my amendment Ijy the
House. I submit the same in full confidence
that it is a worthy object.
"I trust the survey may be made at an
early date, that a favorable report will be re-
ceived from the engineers, and that the next
Congress will make a proper appropriation to
construct the desired breakwater and thereby
protect the shipping which will flow from this
1012
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
point and bring to these hard-working peo-
ple the benefits of safe transportation facilities
to which they are entitled by their enterprise
and sacrifices."
The early church history of Riverhead is
involved in considerable doubt. A Presbyte-
rian Church seems to have been organized at
Upper Aquebogue, beside the now ancient
cemetery, but little concerning it has been
learned beyond the names of two of its early
pastors, a Mr. Lee and the Rev. Timothy
Symmes, and as the latter became a minister
in New Jersey in 1746 the period of the be-
ginning of the Aquebogue congregation must
have preceded that date by several years. At
Lower Aquebogue a Presbyterian Church was
erected in 1731, at Baiting Hollow in 1803.
None of these early churches survive. A Con-
gregational Church was organized at L'pper
Aquebogue in 1758. In 1785 a congregation of
the body known as 1he Strict Congregational
Convention of Connecticut was organized at
^^'ading River, and in 1 79 1 a similar congrega-
tion was formed; at Baiting Hollow, and these
three bodies continue to the present time. In
1815 a Swedenborgian Church was established
at Baiting Hollow andi existed at least up to a
few years ago, and the same people set up a
congregation at Riverhead in 1839, and in 1855
erected a building for public worship.
In 1833 the first Congregationalist Church
in Riverhead village was organized, and the
iMethodist Episcopal body in the village had
its beginning the same year. Services under
both these denominations had, however, been
held in the court house from a much earlier
date. The first mass was celebrated in 1844
in a private house at Upper Aquebogue in the
presence of four persons. It was not until
1870 that the Episcopalians commenced the
effort which in 1872 resulted in the erection
of Grace Church in Riverhead village, and it
still continues the sole representative of that
body in the township.
CHAPTER LXX.
SOUTHOLD.
a
HE township of Southold occupies the
north division of the eastern end of
Long Island from the Riverhead
boundary to Orient Point, a distance
of twenty-three miles. At its widest part it
measures only about four miles and it is said
to contain 29,446 acres. On its Long Island
Sound side its coast line is rugged and pre-
cipitous, but that facing Peconic Bay is flat,
with wide stretches of rich meadow land. The
soil in the interior is very fertile, and the cli-
mate, on the whole, may be ranked as healthy
and bracing. The township has several "de-
pendencies" in the shape of islands, — Robin's
Island, Plum Island, Fisner's Island, and oth-
ers, but these can hardly be said to add either
to its dignity or importance.
The story of the founding of the colony in
1640, by the Rev. John Youngs and his asso-
ciates, has already been told in this work. It
was never an independent colony, like that, for
instance, at Huntington or at Brookhaven, but
from its beginning owed allegiance to the com-
monwealth of Hartford, to full association
with which it was brought in 1649. But, ex-
cept for the trial of grave criminal offenses
and of the more important law-suits, the con-
nection with the mainland was little more than
nominal. The commonwealth never seems to
have interfered with the town, and the town
was ruled by the town meeting and the town
meeting was subordinate to the church. It
was a pure theocracy, and unless a man was
a member of the church he was not allowed
a voice in town meeting. His certificate of
church membership was his evidence of citi-
zenship. If he had not such a document he
was not regarded as on an equality with those
who had, and his presence was not desired in
the community. The town meeting attended
to the highways, the cleaning of the streets,
the removal of obstructions, the education of
youth, the division of lands, the hunting of
wolves, the marking of cattle, and the defense
of the settlement. The town meeting was held
ever}- three months, and a fine of twenty shill-
ings was imposed for non-attendance.
Mr. W. S. Pelletreau, the ablest living his-
torian of Suffolk county, wrote the following
sketch of the first settlers of Southold in
1880, and the sketch is inserted here with his
permission :
Tradition and history alike unite in award-
ing to Rev. John Youngs the honor of being
the founder of this town. The first notice
we have of this remarkable man is found in
the following entry, copied by Samuel G.
Drake from the original records in London
and printed in his "Founders of New Eng-
land," p. 49: "The examination of John
Yonge of St. Margretts, sufif. minister, aged
thirty-five years, and Joan his wife, aged thir-
ty-four years, with six children — John, Thom-
as, Anne, Rachel, Mary and Josueph. Ar de-
sirous to passe for Salam in New England to
inhabitt." Against the above entry in the place
of the date is written: "This man was for-
byden passage by the commissioners and went
not from Yarmouth." This entry follows six
other entries, dated May 11, 1637, and is fol-
lowed by two entries of examination on May
12, 1637. Neal in his history of New Eng-
land, published in London in 1720, mentions
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
Rev. ]\Ir. Youngs of Southold among the list
of Puritan ministers "who were in orders in
tlie Church of England, but being disturbed
by the ecclesiastical courts for the cause of
nonconformity transported themselves to New
England before the year 1641."
In Lambert's History of New Haven,
which is a work of original research and con-
sidered good authority, it is stated : "Mr.
Youngs reorganized his church at New Haven
on the 2ist of October, 1640, and, with them
and such others as chose to accompany him,
in the latter part of the month passed over
to the island and commenced the settlement
of the plantation." Moore's "Index of South-
old," an invaluable work, which embraces
in small compass the fruit of a vast amount
of patient research, speaks of him as organ-
izing a church in New Haven, to be located
at Southold, October, 1640. We have no posi-
tive knowledge as to who the men were who
constituted this church, and any attempt to
make a list of the early settlers must be based
upon inference more than actual knowledge ;
but the following list contains the names of
those persons whom we believe to have been
residents of the town prior to 1654:
Robert Akerly, Richard Benjamin, Thomas
Benedict, John ISayley, John Booth, Thomas
Brush, John Budd, Henry Case, Roger Ches-
ton, Richard Clark, John Conklin, Thomas
Cooper, Alatthias Corwin, Philemon Dicker-
son, Jeffry Easty, John Elton, Frost,
Charles Glover, James Haines, Peter Hallock,
(?), John Herbert, Josiah Hobart, Barnabas
Horton, Thomas Hutchinson, John Ketcham,
Thomas Mapes, Thomas Moore, Humphrey
Norton, Thomas Osman, Isaac Overton, Peter
Paine, Edward Petty, John Peakin, William
Purrier, James Reeves, Thomas Rider, Will-
iam Salmon, Thomas Stevenson, John Swezy,
Richard Terry, Thomas Terrv, Thomas Ter-
rill, John Tucker, Henry Tuthill, John Tut-
hill,* John Underbill, Jeremiah Vail, William
*From this pioneer a recent local genealogical writer
traces the descent of the late President Benjamin Har-
rison, as follows:
I. John Tuthill, Jr., of Southold, son of Henry
Tuthill, of TharstoQ. England, and Hingham, Mass.,
was born July l(i, l(i;j,5, and married Deliverance, daugh-
ter of William and Dorothy King.
II. Henry Tuthill, of Southold, born May 1. Hid.-,,
married Bethia, daughter of Captain Jonathan Horton.
III. Henry Tuthill, of Southold, born 1(19(1, mar-
ried Hanna Bebee (or Crouch).
Wells, Abraham Whittier, Barnabas Wines,
Rev. John Youngs, Colonel John Youngs, Jo-
seph Youngs.
To give an account of each of these would
take us far beyond our limits, and a brief no-
tice of a few of the more important names
must suffice. The leader, Rev. John Youngs,
had five sons — Colonel John, Thomas. Joseph,
Benjamin and Christopher — and daughters
Anne, Mary and Rachel. His son. Colonel
John had arrived at man's estate at the time
of the settlement, and until the end of his
life was the foremost man of the colony.
Barnabas Horton was without doubt one
of the original company who came with Mr.
Youngs. He was born at Mousely, in Leices-
tershire, England, in 1600. After coming to
this country he is said to have lived at Hamp-
ton, Massachusetts, till 1640, when he joined
the church organized by Mr. Youngs. He
had sons Joseph, Benjamin, Caleb, Joshua and
Jonathan, and daughters Hannah, Sarah and
Mary. In 1654, 1656 and i65() he was a depu-
ty from Southold to the court of New Haven.
He was admitted freeman of the Connecticut
colony in 1662, and was deputy in 1663 and
1664. His name occurs as one of the pat-
entees of the town in 1676, and he was inti-
mately connected with all public afifairs till his
death. His tomb in the churchyard in South-
old is covered with a slab of blue slate, said
to have been imported from his native place
and bearing the following inscription :
"Here lieth buried the body of i\Ir. Bar-
nabas Horton, who was born at Mousely, Lei-
cestershire, Old England, and died at South-
old on the 13th .day of July, 1680, aged eighty
years.
"Here lies my bodv tombed in dust.
Till Christ shall come and raise it with the just.
My soul ascended to the throne of God,
\\'here with sweet Jesus now I make abode.
Then hasten after me, mv dearest wife.
IV. Henry Tuthill. of Aquebogue. born before
171.), married Phoebe Horton.
V. Anna Tuthill, born 1741, married John Cleves
Symmes.
VI. .\nna Symmes married President William
Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin Harrison, signer of
the Declaration of Independence, and for three terms
Governor of the State of Virginia.
VII. John Scott Harrison married Lucretia K.
Johnson.
VIII. Benjamin Harrison, late President of the
United States, born August 2lJ, l.S;i:!, died March I'i, lOOl.
SOUTHOLD.
1015-
To be partaker of this blessed life.
And >'ou, dear children all, follow the Lord ;
Hear and obey His public sacred word,
And in your houses call upon His name,
For oft I have advised you to the same.
Then God will bless you with your children all,
And to this blessed place He will you call."
"Heb. xi. 1 — He being dead, yet speaketh. "
^^'illiam ^^'ells, who was second to none in
influence, is said to have come from England
June 19, 1635, in the same ship with John Bay-
ley, another of the early settlers. The first
notice of him on Long Island is the following-
entry in the records of Southampton : "Alarch
15th, 1643, ^Villiam Wells, Gent., was cen-
sured for some unreverent speeches to Daniel
Howe, who confessed his offence and prom-
ised reformation." Li 1646 his name appears
in the same records among a list of men who
had evidently abandoned the settlement. The
exact time at which he became a settler at
Southold is unknown, but he was a resident
here before 1649. He was a native of Nor-
wich, England, and was born in 1608.
Throughout his life he was the legal authority
of the town, and pre-eminently the business
man of the place, and it was through him that
the purchases were made from the Indians
of the region of Cutchogue, Mattituck and
Ockabock, including the town of Riverhead.
As the inscription on his tomb narrates, he
was a "justice of the peace and first sheriff'
of Yorkshire," being appointed to that position
by Governor Nicolls in 1664. He died No-
vember 13, 1671, aged sixty-three, and left a
wife Mary, who afterward married Thomas
Mapes. His first wife, Bridget, was the
widow of Henry Tuthill, and had the follow-
ing children : William, Joshua, Mary, Bethia
and Mehetabel. His tomb may still be seen
in the old burial ground, and after a lapse of
two centuries is in a perfect state of preserva-
tion, thanks to the reverent care of his descend-
ant, the late William H. Wells. The magnifi-
cent genealogical work, "William Wells, of
Southold. and His Descendants." by Rev.
Charles Wells Hayes, contains a full account
of this illustrious man and his family.
John Budd, according to Moore's "Index,"
was in New Haven in June, 1639, and signed
an agreement as a freeman. He is reputed
to have been one of the original company of
settlers. The first actual knowledge we have
of his presence on Long Island is in October,
1644, when we find this entry in the South-
ampton records : "Mr. Jones hath the lott
granted unto him which was formerly granted
unto John Budd of Yeanocock" (Southold).
This clearly indicates that he was a dweller
there at a very early date. In 1645 "it is
ordered that John Budd shall have graunted
unto him 4 Acres of new ground adjoining
to his other 4 acres, to make up an 8-acre
lott." In 1650 he is mentioned in Southamp-
ton as the owner of a water-mill and as run-
ning the same, and he is called "Lieutenant."
In 1651 he appears as plaintiff" in a suit against
John Hubbard, but after that his name occurs
no more. It is certain that he was a land
owner in Southold in 1649, and left a large
estate to his son John, who was one of the
wealthiest men in the town. In 1657 he was
deputy from Southold to New Haven. He
removed to Westchester county about 1660,
probably on account of some difficulty with his
neighbors, and died there previous to 1670.
He had children John, Joseph and Judith.
None of his descendants are now found in this
town.
Thomas Cooper was not, as some of the
historians of Southold suppose, the same per-
son who was among the first settlers in South-
ampton. The former died in 1658, leaving a
wife Margaret and daughters Abigail and
Mary, who married respectively Stephen Bay-
ley and Elnathan Topping. The tombstone of
Mary Topping is in the burying ground at
Sagg (Bridgehampton), where she died April
2G, 1704, aged sixty. Thomas Cooper left a
large estate to his widow and daughters.
Matthias Corwin was doubtless an orig-
inal settler. Previous to his settlement here he
was a resident at Ipswich, Massachusetts. He
was a man of the same rank as Colonel Youngs
and Mr. Wells, and in 1656 was one of the
men appointed to order town affairs, a position
of great responsibility. He died in 1658, leav-
ing two sons, John and Theophilus, and a
daughter Mary, who married Henry Case, the
ancestor of the numerous family of that name.
The descendants of Matthias Corwin are wide-
ly spread, and among them are to be found
some who have held the highest positions in
church and State.
John Conkling was not among the orig-
inal company, but came here previous to 1651.
Before this he was a resident of Salem. There
are few families on Long Island that have ex-
erted a wider influence. His brother Ananias
1016
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
was the founder of the East Hampton family.
From his son Timothy are descended the fam-
ihes in the town of Hunting-ton and the west-
ern part of the county ; while from his sons
John and Jacob are sprung the families in
this town, and the name is found in all sections
of our country. He is said to have been a
iiative of Nottinghamshire, England. Tradi-
tion states that he and William Salmon, the
proprietor of Hashamomack, were neighbors
and playmates in their boyhood days, and this
is supposed to have been the reason why after
a short stav in 'Southold village he removed
to the neighborhood of his former compan-
ion. About 1661 he removed to Huntington,
aiul died there about 1683, at the supposed age
of eighty-three.
Few of the carl}' settlers have left more
distinguished descendants than Philemon
Dickerson. In 1637 he came to America in
the same vessel in which Minister Youngs
had vainly attempted to obtain a passage. In
1639 he appears at Salem, Massachusetts,
where in 1641 he was admitted as a freeman.
He is supposed to have come to this town in
i'14'i, ))ut the date is unknown. He died in
i(>74, aged seventy-four, and left sons Thomas
anil Peter. From these are sprung a numerous
posterity, embracing some of the most noted
public men of the land. In 165 1 Hon. Mahlon
Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy, erected in
the ancient burying ground of this village a
massive monument to the memory of his an-
cestors.
John Goldsmith, though not one of the first
settlers, was a prominent citizen, and has left
a numerous and respected posterity. He is
supposed to have been the son i)f Tlmnias
Goldsmith who was a resident in Snuthamp-
ton in 1 65 1, and was living there as late as
1677. In 1661 he bought of Richard Barrett
his house and land. It was a part of this land
that John Goldsmith sold to widow Margaret
Cooper in 1678, in exchange for a lot in Cut-
chogue. The deeds may be seen in vol. I print-
ed records of Southold, p. 209, 210. He moved
to this town at that time, and died in 1703,
leaving children John, Richard. Nathaniel,
J\lary, Thomas, Daniel and Elizabeth.
Thomas Moore left England in 1635. In
1636 he and his wife Martha were admitted
as members of Salem Church, and they came
to Southold about 1650. In 1658 he was dep-
uty from this town to the General Court at
New Haven. He was appointed a ^lagistrate
by the Dutch officers in 1673; he declined,
but accepted the position under English rule
in 1685. -He was a large land owner and a
prominent man during his whole life. He
died in 1691, leaving children Thomas, Mar-
tha, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Hannah, Jonathan,
Mary and Sarah. His son Benjamin married
Amie, daughter of James Hampton, of South-
ampton, who came to that place from Salem.
The descendants of this family are very numer-
ous. Among them none is more worthy of
respectful mention than Charles B. Moore,
of New York, whose genealogicaV indexes
must ever be an authority of the greatest
weight upon the subject.
Colonel John Youngs, next to his venera-
ble parent the minister, was justly considered
the foremost man in the town, and there are
few names in the early history of the county
more prominent than his. He was born in
1623, early became master of a vessel, and
was in active service against the Dutch. In
1654 he was appointed by the commissioners
to cruise, in the sound as a part of a naval
force, and was actively engaged in this service
. two years. In 1660 and 1661 he was a dele-
gate to New Haven, and after the union with
Connecticut he was a delegate to Hartford.
He assisted in collecting a military force to
assist in the concjuest of New Amsterdam, and
was one of the representatives in the first
Assembly at Hemostead under the Duke of
York. Through him was obtained a new deed
from the Indians, confirming their previous
sales. He was one of the patentees in 1676,
was made Sheriff of Yorkshire, and was a
member of the Colonial Council from 1683
to 1697. At the age of seventy he was in
command of the militia regiment of 533 men.
\\'e have only time and space to briefly mention
the offices he filled and the acts he performed,
but the life and public services of this famous
man must ever be a bright page in Long Island
history. His eventful life closed in 1698. His
tomb may still be seen in the ancient burial
place, and the stone that covers his remains
bears the following:
"Here lieth interred the bodv of Colonel
lOHN YOVNGS Esquire, late' one of His
Maiestie's Covncel of the Province of New
York, who Departed this life the I2day of
April Anno Domini 1698, Aged 75 years."
In 1654 an order was made that each man
who had not already done so should bring in
to the recorder a description of his lands —
SOUTHOLD.
1017
"how they ly East, west, north and South, be-
tween whom, and in what places." Thanks
to this order we have a pretty accurate knowl-
edge as to where each of our ancestors had his
abode. Parson Youngs and his little band
landed at the head of Town Creek, and here
they established their future home. That the
minister's lot should have been the best and
most advantageously situated was a thing to
be expected. We will in imagination turn
back tlie wheels of time, and endeavor to pre-
sent a picture of the village in the early days
and locate the homes of cur honorable ances-
tors.
On the west side of the road that leads from
the main street to Town Creek was the home
lot of Minister Youngs. This lot extended
westward as far as the western side of the
deep hollow west of the Methodist Church.
The pastor's dwelling w^as on the eastern part
of the lot and near where the house of Henry
G. Howell now stands. Here he lived, and
labored, and died.
Next west came the home lot of his neigh-
bor, Robert Akerly (now the "Cochran
place"), but in 1653 he had moved to another
place, and his home lot is described as "Twelve
acres more or lesse, the highway goeing into
the old field lying north, the land of Thomas
Cooper lying at the rear of his home lot
south." This was near the present residence
of William Horton.
Next came the home lot of John Booth.
His lands were recorded in 1685, and at that
time his homestead was six acres, bounded
west by John Herbert and east by Benjamin
Youngs. These premises are now the resi-
dence of the family of the late Israel Peck.
Next came John Herbert's homestead. This
descended to his son John, who in 1699 sold
it to "the inhabitants of the township of South-
old" for 75 pounds in silver. From that time
it has been used as a parsonage lot, and the
Presbyterian Church stands upon it.
Next west was the home lot of Richard
Benjamin, and its western boundary was the
present easterly line of Richard Carpenter's lot.
The lot of Ananias Conkling, who after-
ward removed to East Hampton, was next
west, and this was purchased by Richard Ben-
jamin; his boundary then was "Benjamin's
lane," a road that ran from the town street by
the east end of Deacon Moses Cleveland's
barn to Jockey Creek Point, but was long
since closed.
Upon the corner lot now the homestead of
Closes C. Cleveland, and upon which the Uni-
versalist Church now stands, was the home of
George Miller in 1656. It was sold by him
to John Tuthill in 1O58, and passed into the
hands of jnse]ih Sutton in 1660, which was
probal)l_\- the time when John Tuthill went to
<.)yster Ponds. In ifj68 it be,longed to John
Swaze\-, who sold the west part of it to Sam-
uel King.
On the corner where the main street turns
to the south the first lot was Samuel King's,
who owned it from 1658 to 1666. In the
words of Hon. J. Wickham Case: "John Tut-
hill, Richard Bniwn and Samuel King formed
a remarkaljle trie. The\' li\-ed side by side for
a score of }ears in jjcrfect harnion)-. The}'
made purchases jointly; they divided, they ex-
changed with and they sold to one another ;
entrusted their property to each other. King
only four years before Tuthill's death gave
him a writing of assurance for exchanges of
land made forty years before and for which no
legal papers had ever been executed." The lot
of Samtiel King is now in possession of the
daughters of Mrs. Sophronia Jennings.
Next south came the lot of John Elton,
1658. This lot he obtained of William Pur-
rier, \v'ho bought it of ^^latthew Edwards. It
now belongs to the heirs of ]\Irs. Sophronia
Jennings.
The lot where Gilder S. Conkling now lives
was the original home lot of Thomas Mapes.
He added to these the home lot of Jeffrey
Esty, who lived next north, and also that of
John Elton. This gave him a front of about
fifty rods from the south line of the present
home lot of Gilder S. Conkling. Thomas
Mapes was born about 1628. and could not
have been one of the original settlers. He was
a land surveyor and divided "Calves Neck."
receiving for his services the privilege of hav-
ing his share next his own home lot.
Next came the homestead of William Pur-
rier, who was repeatedly a delegate to New
Haven and filled many places of honor and
trust, Init left no sons to perpetuate his name.
His lot is a part (jf the farm of Hiram Terry,
and is opposite the house of Edward Huntt-
ing.
Lastly, at the south end of Main street, at
the head of Jockey Creek, was the home lot
of Philemon Dickerson, now owned by Hiram
Terrv, and Dickerson's house stood a few rods
east of Hiram Terrv's barn. He is mentioned
1018
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in old deeds as a "tanner," and the remains
of his tan-vats have until recenth' been visible
in ths hollow west of the barn.
The road running north from Main street
to the railroad station, and called in modern
phraseology Railroad avenue, was in ancient
times known as "Cooper's lane," and it is prob-
able that Thomas Cooper, from whom it de-
rived its name, had his home lot on its east
side. To the west of this highway was the
home lot of William Wells, so prominent in
all town affairs. This lot extended as far as
the westerly side of G. F. Hommel's lot, and
the original site of William ^^'ells's house is
now occupied by H. W. Prince. From the
description of Thomas Cooper's lot as given
in the town records it would seem as if Mr.
Wells must at one time have resided on the
lot east of the road, now owned by D. B.
Wells, but probably this was only for a short
time.
The next neig'hbor of \\'illiam ^^'ells on the
west was Ji;hn Cimkliny, who owned the lot
now bciuiidcd on the west by the east line of
D. F. Conkling. This lot was in his posses-
sion but a short time, when he gave it to his
son and removed to Hashamomack.
Next was the lot of a man whose name
was famous in New England as well as upon
Long Island, Captain John Underbill. Dur-
ing his short stay in this town, which was
probably in the years 1658 and 1659, lie re-
sided on this lot. It is situated in the heart
of the village, and at the present time is owned
by D. F. Conkling and \A"illiam C. Bucking-
ham. Captain Underbill's career is fully nar-
rated in Thompson's History of Long Island.
His was an eventful life — fighting with In-
dians at one time and at another with church
authorities, he was in all respects a "moving
man." Southold was probably too dull for
him, and in 1659 he spld his lot to Thomas
Moore and sought and found new fields of
action.
_ Thomas Brush owned the next lot, but sold
it in 1658 and removed to Huntington, where
his descendants' are still to be found. His lot
is now owned by Hezekiah Jennings.
Matthias Corwin, whose claim to be one
of the original company has never been dis-
puted, lived on the next lot. This was left
by him to his son John, who was the owner
for many years after his father's death, and
then removed to what was called the "Indian
Field" farm, in what is now the village of Pe-
conic. This homestead of Matthias Corwin is
directly opposite the Presbyterian Church, and
is now owned by David A. Jennings and Mrs.
M. A. Rose.
Barnabas Horton's home lot, the only one
which has come down to modern times through
an unbroken line of descendants, was next to
Matthias Corwin's. His homestead consisted
of two home lots, separated by what is called
in the old record "the highway leading toward
the North Sea," now called "Horton's lane."
The Catholic Church stands on the east lot,
arid also the Presbyterian Chapel, and the
residence of the late Ira Tuthill. Upon the
west lot stood until within the last few years
the original house of Barnabas Horton, which
was at the time of its destruction, in 1873, the
oldest house in Suffolk county. It was here
that the courts were held in ancient times,
and it was for this purpose that the original
house was enlarged in 1684. After the death
of the first settler it passed in succession to
five generations of his descendants, all bear-
ing the name of Jonathan Horton, and after a
brief ownership by Henry Huntting and Dr.
Sweet it has returned to its ancient line of pro-
prietorship, and is now in the possession of D.
Philander Horton, of the seventh generation
from Barnabas the first. Careful drawings of
this ancient mansion were made before its
destruction, and will perpetuate in time to
come the memory of one of the most noted
landmarks on Long Island.
At the angle of the town street, and bound-
ed on the west by the road anciently known
as "Tucker's lane," was the homestead of
Lieutenant John Budd, and afterward of his
son John. The Budds were in that day the
wealthy family of the town, and upon this lot
they erected a mansion, yet standing, which
must have exceeded in magnificence any of
the other houses of the earty settlement. In
1679 John, Jr., sold the west part, with the
house upon it, to John Hallock, and it is now
owned by Jonathan W. Huntting. The east-
ern part was sold to Jeremiah \'ail, and is now
in the possession of Samuel S. Vail.
The next lot was the homestead of John
Tucker, and was bounded north by the road
that bore his name. The lot seems at first
to have belonged to Roger Cheston, of whom
we know but little, and afterward to Nehe-
miah Smith, of whom we know still less. John
Tucker in 1659 removed to "Ockabock," and
was the first man who set up a saw-mill on the
^OUTIIOLD.
stream at Riverhead. He was an officer in the
early church, and is mentioned as "Deacon
Tucker." His home lot is now owned by Bar-
nabas H. Booth.
Joseph Horton, oldest son of the first Bar-
nabas, records his home lot as "lying between
the land of John Tucker east and Barnabas
Wines west." In 1665 he sold it to his father
and removed to Rye in Westchester county,
where his descendants are still remaining.
The lot continued in the Horton family for
some generations, and is now owned by Cap-
tain Benjamin Coles.
Next was the homestead of Barnabas
Wines, who recorded it in 1665. From him
it descended to his second son, Samuel. His
first son, Barnabas, went to Elizabethtown,
New Jersey, in 1665, but after some years re-
turned and settled at Mattituck, on a farm
still owned by his posterity. The original
home lot is now owned by heirs of Moses
Cleveland and of Joseph Horton.
Thomas Scudder lived next, and recorded
his home lot with his other land in 1654. In
1656 he sold it to John Bayles and removed to
Huntington, with his brothers Henry and
John. It is now owned by Charles A. Case.
Richard Terry lived next. It is probable
that he was one of Minister Youngs" company.
His brother Thomas was either one of the
first settlers in Southampton, or was at least
a witness to their agreement. Richard Terry,
Jr., was styled "recorder." About 1673 he
removed to Cutchogue, where he owned a large
tract of land, including a part of Pequash or
"Quasha" Neck. Richard, Sr., died in 1675,
and his widow Abigail and son John then con-
tinued on the old homestead. It now belongs
to Moses Cleveland, Charles S. Williams and
George B. Simons. Between Richard Terry
and his brother Thomas lived Thomas Reeves,
the ancestor of the families of that name
throughout the town, unless we luake an ex-
ception in the case of Hon. Henry A. Reeves,
so widely known as a politician and .editor.
His line of descent from Thomas Reeves who
settled in Southampton in 1670 is as follows :
I, Thomas; 2, John; 3, Stephen; 4, John; 5,
Edward ; 6, Lemuel ; 7, Henry. This home
lot is now owned by Edward Huntting, who
inherited it from his father. Rev. Jonathan
Huntting, in 1850.
Last came the home lot of Thomas Terry,
which is mentioned as "next the bridge," and
doubtless there was a swamp or morass there
in early days ; even now a small bridge is
deemed necessary for the highway to cross
the "run." He died in 1672, and the lot went
to his son Daniel. It was in after time the
dwelling place of "Good Jonathan Horton." a
great-grandson of Barnabas. It is now owned
by Patrick May.
Colonel John Youngs, the right arm of the
settlement, had his homestead on the east
side of the road running from Main street to
Town Creek and opposite the dwelling place
of his father, the minister. Here he lived till
his death, in 1697 The hist ly of the. 1nt sub-
sequent to this can not be traced, but about
100 years ago it came into the possession of
Richard Peters, a merchant, and the house now
occupied by Richard L. Peters, or a part of it,
is believed to be the identical mansion occu-
pied by Colonel Youngs during his long life.
Upon this lot also stands the dwelling house
of Hon. J. Wickham Case, whose efforts to
preserve the relics of our early history have
placed the town under a debt of gratitude
which can -never be repaid.
To the east of Colonel Youngs lived John
Haynes in 1656, and on the south of these two
lots and next the creek was the home lot of
Isaac Arnold, one of the foremost men of
the second generation, and Judge of the county
from 1693 to 1706.
To the east of John Haynes lived John
Corey and Peter Paine, while next the creek
was the home lot of Thomas Moore. This is
described in the record of 1658 as "six acres
more or lesse, the widdowe Payne's habitacon
Southwest, the Creeke on the north east side."
This is the present residence of William T.
Fithian. The house which stood on this lot
was famous as being the place where the
Dutch Commissioners sent from New York
in 1673 had their formal meeting, and made
their endeavors to bring the town under the
Dutch government.
At the east end of Alain street, near the
residence of Mrs. Beulah Goldsmith, was the
home lot of Henry Case. The first mention
of him occurs December 15, 1658, when the
town granted him a home lot of four acres
"next to the east side of the lot late granted
to Richard Skydmore." It was provided that
he should remain and improve the same for
three years. In 1658 he married Martha, only
daughter of Matthias Corwin. He died in
1664, leaving two sons, Henry and Theophilus.
To give a record of all his descendants would
1020
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
far exceed our limits, but one branch deserves
an especial mention. Henry 2d had a son
Samuel, who had a son Lieutenant Moses,
who died September 25, 1814, aged ninety-
one, leaving sons Gilbert, ■Matthias and Luther.
The last was the father of Hon. J. Wickham
Case, whose knowledge of the local history
of the town is not exceeded by that of any
living man, and for whose assistance the writer
is under the deepest obligations.
The original Indian deed of sale given to
minister Youngs and his associates has been
lost, but in 1665 a confirmatory deed was
drawn up and signed by the Indian chiefs cov-
ering all the purchases up to that time. It ran
as follows:
To all people to whom this present writing
shall come, greeting. Know yee that, whereas
the inhabitants of Southold, their predecessors,
or some of them, have, in the right and behalf
of the said Inhabitants and Township, pur-
chased, procured and paid for, of the Sachems
and Indians our Ancestors, all that tract of
land situate, lying and being at the East ward
end of Long Island, and bounded with the
river called in the English toung the Wead-
ing Kreek, in the Indian toung Pauquacon-
suck, on the \\'est to and with Plum island on
the east, together with the island called Plum
island, with the Sound called the North sea
on the North, and with a River or arme of the
sea wch runneth up betweene Southampton
Land and the afore said tract of land unto
a certain Kreek which fresh water runneth
into on ye South, called in English the Red
Kreek, in Indian Toyonge, together with the
said Kreek and meadows belonging there
to ; and running on a streight lyne from the
head of the afore named fresh v.'ater to the
head of ye Small brook that runneth into the
Kreek called Pauquaconsuck ; as also all necks
of lands, meadows. Islands or broken pieces
of meadows, rivers, Kreeks, with timber, wood
lands, fishing, fowling, hunting, and all other
commodities what so ever unto the said Tract
of land and island belonging or in any wise
appertaining, as Curchaug and Mattatuck, and
all other tracts of land by what name soever
named or by what name so ever called; and
whereas the now Inhabitants of the afore
named town of Southold have given unto us
whose names are under written, being the true
successors of the lawful and true Indian own-
ers and proprietors of all the aforesaid tract
of land and islands, fourty yards of Truck-
ing cloth, or the worth of the same, the re-
ceipt where of and every part of the same
we doe hereby acknowledge and thereof ac-
quit and discharge the Inhabitants, their heirs,
successors or assigns, and every of them by
these presents.
Now these presents witnesseth that wee
whose names are under written, for the con-
sideration aforementioned, hath given, grant-
ed, remised and confirmed, and doth by these
presents grant, remise and confirm unto Cap-
tain John Youngs, Barnabas Horton and
Thomas Mapes, for and in behalf of the In-
habitants and township of Southold. and for
tlie use of the aforesaid Inhabitants, accord-
ing to their and every of their several divi-
dends, to have and to hold to them and their
heirs forever, by virtue of the afore recited
bargain, bargains, gifts and grants of what
nature or kind soever made with our prede-
cessors, we under written doe confirm all the
afore named tract or tracts of land, contained
with the afore mentioned bounds, as also Plum
island, with waranty against us, our heirs or
any of us or them, or any other person or per-
sons' claime, or from, by or under us, them, or
any of us or them, or any other person or per-
sons, as our, theirs or any of our or their
right, title or interest; as witness our hands
and seals this seventh of December, 1665, in
the Seventeenth yeare of ye reigne of our
Soveraigne Lord Charles by the grace of God
of England, Scotland, France and Ireland
King, defender of the faith &c.
[Signed by Ambuscow, Hammatux and 41
others.]
Sealed and delivered in ye presence of us
Benjamin Youngs,
Benoxi Flint.
In 1662 the commonwealth of New Haven
became merged in that of Connecticut and
Southold appears to have accepted that change
with reluctance, but the connection was a brief
one, for in 1664 Governor Nicoll asserted the
authority of his patron, the Duke of York,
and it was not long thereafter that Governor
Winthrop, of Connecticut, acquiesced in that
claim and virtually told the English towns on
Long Island to make peace with the agent of
SOUTHOLD.
1021
their new master. Southold, like the otliers,
accepted the new condition of things, and
Nicolls was profuse in his promises as to their
rights to regulate their own local affairs, elect
their own magistrates and the like. When
Colve's Dutch regime was in possession the
claim of Connecticut to the eastern towns was
again renewed, and again asserted by the com-
munities interested. The Dutch sent an agent
to visit these towns and arrange matters, but
his reception at Southold was such that he
deetned it useless to proceed any further and
returned to New Amsterdam to report the
failure of his mission. What the upshot would
have been it is not difficult to predict, but
the trouble was ended with the resumption of
British authority. Even then Southold and
the rest of the English settlements desired to
be under Connecticut, but Governor Andres
would not listen to any such claim or petition
and insisted that each town should take out a
patent as holding from the Duke of York.
Southold had never held any such docu-
ment and demurred. The people said they had
held their lands for thirty years and had
bought them from the Indians with the ap-
proval of the agent of Lord Stirling, the
then patentee under the Crown, and had never
heard that a patent was necessary. Besides,
Governor Nicolls had promised to maintain
them in the full and free occupation of their
lands. But Andros would not listen to any
such pleas, and so on October 31, 1676, the
representatives of Southold accepted the docu-
ment from the Governor which virtually made
their hopes for association with Connecticut,
come to an end forever. The document for
the first time clearly defined the boundaries of
the township: "Ye western bounds whereof
extend to a certain River or creek called ye
wading creek, in ye Indian tongue Pauquacun-
suck, and bounded to ye eastward by Plum
Island, together with ye said Island; on ye
North with ye sound or North sea, and on
ye South with an arm of ye sea or River which
runneth up between Southampton land & ye
aforesaid tract of land unto a certain creek
which fresh water runneth into, called in Eng-
lish ye red creek, by ye Indians Toyoungs, to-
gether with ye said creek and meadows be-
longing thereunto (not contradicting ye
Agreement made between their town and ye
town of Southampton after their tryal at the
Court of Assizes) ; soe running on a strit line
from ye head of ye aforenamed fresh water
to ye head of ye small brook that runneth
into ye creek called Pauquacunsuck ; includ-
ing all ye necks of land and Islands within ye
aforedescribed bounds and limits." The pat-
entees named in the document were Isaac
Arnold, John Youngs, Joshua Horton, Samuel
Glover, Benjamin Youngs and Jacob Coxey.
They in turn gave a deed of confirmation to
the freeholders. Mr. Pelletreau says that this
deed proved that the lands in the township
did not of right belong to any one simply be-
cause they held a residence in the town. The
first comers had bought the land and had used
as much as they wanted, but they never ha<l
any idea that those who afterward settled
among them should enter into possession of
any of the common land except by pur-
chase or by grant of the town meeting for
some specified purpose or public benefit.
It has been estimated that in 1650 the pop-
ulation of Southold township was about 180;
in 1698 it had increased to 880; when the war
of the Revolution broke out it was in the
neighborhood of 2,000. In that contlict South-
old was wholly on the side of the patriots, and
its citizens were well represented in the
forces which the county sent into active serv-
ice. During the British occupation it felt all
the rigors of that hated period, the rigors of
which were not removed even after Governor
Tryon had forced the acceptance of the oath
of allegiance.
Joy reigned thronghcjut the township when
it was known that the war was over and the
victory won. After the rejoicings had passed
the township resumed its peaceful progress.
The trouble of 18 12 seemed to concern it but
1022
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
little, and it probably dreamed little of wars
or rumors of wars until the conflict between
the States was precipitated in 1861. During
that struggle Southold manfully stood by the
Government, and many of its bravest sons
gave up their lives on Southern battlefields
in defense of the stars and stripes. It met all
the claims of the Washington authorities
without a murmur, bonds were issued freely
to meet the various expenses incurred, and it
was not until 187 1 that the principal of these
was wholly extinguished and the financial cost
of the war troubled the tax assessors no
more.
The history of the village of Southold is
little more than a history of its church, and
that has already been told. It now has a pop-
ulation of nearly 1,000 and is already begin-
ning to be appreciated by the summer board-
ers who desire quiet and rest rather than ex-
citement and "functions." Its old church still
points upward, and since 1819 it has had a
JNIethodist tabernacle as a neighbor, although
since 1795 that body had a congregation in
the village.
The business center of the township, how-
ever, is Greenport, a thriving commercial city
with some 3,000 inhabitants. It was orig-
inally part of the land of Captain John
Youngs. The territory was given the name
of Stirling in honor of the first patentee. It
seems to have been a favorite rendezvous for
shipping from an early period, owing to the
fact that its harbor was never frozen even
in the severest winters. In early times a
wharf was erected at the mouth of Stirling
Creek, and not far inland was an inn and two
or three houses. Such was the beginning of
Greenport. Washington passed through the
place in 1757 and in 1763 George Whitefield
wrote on a pane of glass in Captain Webb's
tavern, "one thing is needful," and the glass,
with the inscription intact, is now one of the
exhibits of the Long Island Historical So-
ciety's collections. It was not until 1825, hov^?-
ever, that the town really entered upon its
progressive stage, owing mainly to the ship-
ping which sought. its harbor. In 1827 Main
street was laid out and the trade with the
West Indies seemed to steadily increase. In
1 83 1, however, began its whaling industry,
which first established its commercial activity
on a sure basis.
"The first whaling ships which sailed from
this port," writes Mr. Pelletreau, "were the
'Triad' and the 'Bayard,' the former com-
manded by Captain Nathaniel Case and the
latter by Captain John Fordham, of Sag Har-
bor. About the same time sailed the 'Potosi,'
which was wrecked on the Falkland Islands.
The first mentioned being successful, other
vessels were purchased, among them the
'Delta' (commanded by Captain Isaac Sayre,
of Southampton), 'Caroline,' 'Kanawha,'
'Neva,' 'Italy' and others, twenty in all, and
most of them made full voyages. Captain
David Wicks, of Babylon, commanded the
'Delta' twenty-one years, and died in 1870.
The result of this prosperity was that the
village was rapidly built up.
"The first house was built by Lester Brooks
and stood not far from the lumber yard west
of Main street. This house was afterward
bought by John Ashby and moved, and it now
stands two doors north of the corner of Main
and Amity streets. The first store, built in
1828, by Walter Havens, stood at the foot of
Main street, east side.
"The name Greenport was adopted at a
meeting held in 1834. A postoffice was estab-
lished in 1832, and John Clark was the first
postmaster.
"The first vessel built here was a sloop
named Van Buren, built by Calvin Horton in
1834^ The first ship was the Jane A. Bishop,
built by Hiram Bishop and named after his
daughter. Steamboats began running here in
1836.
"The whale fishery had its decline and fall
almost as sudden as its rise. It ended for
this place in i860, and the last ship was the
Italy.
SOUTHOLD.
1028
"Since then a new business has sprung up
in the shape of the menhaden fishery, and
there at tlie present time twenty-one steam-
ers engaged in the enterprise. The number of
fish caught in 1881 was 211,000,000; fish oil
made, 1,013,350 gallons; tons of scrap, 22,100.
The estimated catch of fish within the col-
lector's district by bay and other fisheries is
400,000,000, with a value of $975,000."
In 1882 Congress passed a resolution (o
protect the harbor with a breakwater at a
cost of $46,000, but it was not completed un-
til 1893. It has proved a splendid improve-
ment and done much to increase the business
of the port, which is now estimated at 200,000
tons' annually. Its shipbuilding trade is also
advancing by leaps and bounds.
There has been a Baptist meeting house in
Greenport since 183 1, and a Presbyterian
church since 1833. The Congregational
church, Vvhich claims to be the real representa-
tive of the first church at Southold. has wor-
shipped in its own building since 1848. The
school system of Greenport is justly regarded
as inferior to none on Long Island — or any-
where.
;\Iattituck lies on the shore of Mattituck
Bay, which will be one of the best harbors on
the Long Island coast when the Government
completes the extensive improvements which
it has promised and planned. But it is hard to
tell when that will be, for in such matters
Uncle Sam's wa3''s "are peculiar." In the
meanwhile it remains a quiet farming com-
munity, although it boasts a population of
about 1,200. Its settlement was begun about
1680, and in 17 16 its population had so in-
creased that a church building was erected on
a couple of acres of ground presented for the
purpose, and also for a burying place by
James Reeves. A pastor was at once called —
the Rev. Joseph Lamb — who seems to have
remained over a long series of years. In 1752
the church was united with that at Lower
Aquebogue and that arrangement lasted until
1853. since which time it has continued a sep-
arate charge. In 1878 an Episcopal church
was built in the village.
Cutchogue is a farming village, which
seems to have been peopled since about 1661.
"Probably one of the first settlers," writes
Mr. Pelletrcau, "was Benjamin Horton, who
had a house here in 1664. By various sales
and exchanges he secured a large estate. His
will is of such an extraordinary nature that
we give it entire :
In ye name of God Amen, febr ye 19
1685-6, according to the computation of ye
Church of England, I, Benjamin Horton, in
ye County of Sufi^olk in ye Province of N.
Yorke on Long Island, being in perfect mem-
ory, doe make & ordain this my last will &
testament.
Ileiii. — I give to Caleb Horton & Joshua
Horton & to Jonathan Horton & Mersy
Youngs 80 bushels of wheate & Indian, 20
swine, 20 sheep, to be devided to them four
alike.
Item. — I give my house & land & meadows
except my Meadow of Common over the River
to the Sacrament table yearly for evermore.
Iton. — I give to my friend Thomas Tusten
one lot of the common meadows over the
River, and a coate cloth that is at Stephen
Bayles, and the corne that is more than the
80 bushels I give to Thomas Tusten.
Item. — I give ten oxen for a bell for the
meeting-house to call ye people together tj
worship the Lord God.
Item. — I give the rest to the poore.
Item.- — I give to my man Joseph one sow,
one gun, one . sheep & his time, to be out
next may day.
Item. — I give to my sisters my wives
cloathes to be divided to them two.
Item. — I give all the rest of my goods to
my brother Joseph Horton.
I make my brother Joshua Horton sole
executor of this, my last will and testament
revoking all other wills and testaments, to see
all my debts paid. Benjamin Horton.
The church referred to in the above will
was the venerable house at Southold. It was
not until 1732 that a church was erected in
Cutchogue. It held an independent congre-
gation until 1848, when it entered the Presby-
terian fold. Four vears later the old build-
1024
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
ing- was pulled down and a handsome struc-
ture erected in its place ; in 1830 a Methodist
church was built and a Congregational church
in 1862.
One of the most interesting of the villages
of Southold is that known as (Orient, which
lies at the eastern extremity of the island on
what is virtually an island. The land from
Stirling Creek to the extreme point at Plum
Gut was surveyed in 1661, and the 400 acres
which now make up the center of the village
of Orient became the property of Gideon
Youngs, who held them until his death, in
1699, when they passed to his children. At
that time the property was known as Oyster
Pond Lower Neck. In 1650 there were prob-
ably thirty persons resident in Orient, and in
1740 a wharf was built by Richard Shaw.
Mr. Pelletreau, from whom we have quot-
ed so much in this chapter, thus sketches the
church history of Oiient:
A church was founded and a house for
worship built previous to i/ij- The earliest
record we have found is this :
"David Youngs, in consideration of 5s.
paid by the persons that have builded a meet-
ing-house in ye Oyster Ponds Lower Neck,
sells to them so long as they shall keep up a
meeting-house all that piece of land that ye
sd meeting-house stands upon; that is soe
much of land as the sd meeting-house stands
upon, bounded west by Thomas Terry's land,
south by ye highway, north and east by land
of mee the sd David Youngs. — Jan. i, 1717."
According to "Griffin's Journal" (a work
of the highest value wherever the venerable
author speaks from his own knowledge, but
wandering very far indeed from historic truth
when he trusts to tradition) this building was
a singular edifice. "It was about 30 feet
square, two stories high, and on the top an-
other building about ten feet square and nine
feet high, and then a finish something like the
lower part of a steeple, with an iron spire
which supported a sheet iron figure of a game
cock, showing the course of the wind." This
building stood for a century, and was torn
down and a new one built on the same site m
1818. This being inconvenient, a more ele-
gant one was built on the same place in 1843,
which still remains, a very neat and commo-
dious edifice. We have seen that David
Youngs in 1717 sold the site for 5s. When
the present church was built a few rods of
land were added as a cost of fifty dollars.
Griffin quaintly observes : "Thus we see that
five shillings in 1700 were worth four hundred
shillings in 1843. How things change !"
The first clergyman who labored here of
whom we have any knowledge was Rev. Jona-
than Barber, who, according to Griffin, was
here in 1735, and the records of the pres-
bytery speak of him in 1757 as having been
here "some years." At that time the church
appears to have been in a very weak condi-
tion, and could hardly be said to be established.
Methodism was introduced in this village
in the autumn of 1802, and the first preacher
(jf that denomination was Rev. John Finnagan,
an Englishman. As in many other places at
that time, there was much prejudice excited
against the new sect, whose religious exer-
cises were in those days not unfrequently con-
ducted in a manner more likely to excite the
ridicule of the profane than the veneration of
the righteous. The first meetings were held
in the school-house, contrary to the wishes of
many, but before spring some of the promi-
nent families of the place became more fa-
vorably inclined, and no further opposition was
made. From Mr. Finnagan's departure in
1803 until 1820 there was very little preach-
ing by any clergyman of this denomination,
and the Rev. Cyrus Foss was the first who
made any stay. That the prejudice was fast
wearing away is shown by the fact that the
church was used by him when not occupied
by the regular pastor. The corner stone of the
Methodist church was laid June 3d, 1836, the
services being conducted by Rev. Samuel W.
King. From that time the pulpit has been
regularly supplied and the congregation is
prosperous and increasing.
The author of "Griffin's Journal" gives
from his own experience a description of a re-
markable storm, which we quote as an un-
doubtedly truthful account:
SOUTHOLD.
1025
"On ihe afternoon of the 24th of Decem-
ber, 181 1, the wind was light, from the west;
at II p. M. very moderate, and cloudy, gentk
breeze, S. E. ; at 12 o'clock nearly calm, with
a little sprinkle of rain. In one hour after
it commenced almost instantaneously blowing
a gale, with snow and the most intense cold.
A more violent and destructive storm has not
been kmown for the last hundred years. Many
young cattle froze to death in the fields. Two
vessels bound to New York were lost and
most of the crews perished."
Griffin also narrates the accounts he had
heard of the great snow storm of 171 7, wliich
was doubtless the most remarkable fall of
snow that has ever occurred in this country
since the settlement. Houses in Orient were
buried to the second story windows, and one
on Plum Island was entirely covered. Cotton
Mather states that the snow in Boston was
twenty feet in depth. This storm occurred in
February. The winter of 1780 was remark-
ably cold, and the ice was so thick that Noah
Terry rode on horseback from Orient Harbor
to Shelter Island.
On the 23d of September, 1815, occurred
one of the severest easterly storms of rain and
wind ever known, and it is still spoken of as
the "September gale." About 11 a. m. the
wind blew so violently as to unroof houses,
blow down barns and uproot trees. The tide
rose to a wonderful height, and Griffin nar-
rates that one of the families living near the
wharf came in a boat and landed near his
house. The Atlantic coast was strewn with
wrecks, and many a sailor sunk into a watery
grave.
The year 1816 was remarkable as having
a frost every month.
In the summer of 1849 this place was vis-
ited by a very fatal epidemic, to which physi-
cians gave the name of "cholera dysentery."
Within a space of half a mile there were more
than sixty cases in two weeks. In the street
leading to 'the wharf scarcely a house es-
caped. Mr. Griffin records that within a hun-
dred rods of his house there were! twelve
deaths, and in one district one-fourth of a mile
square thirty persons died in two months. All
business was at a stand and the place seemed
almost deserted.
The other settlements in Southold are
small and unimportant. Peconic is the modern
name of a village once known as Hermitage,
and has now a population of 385, mainly de-
voted to farming, and Franklinville, another
farming community, has barely 200. although
it lies in two -townships, being on the River-
head boundary line. East Marvin, in the other
extremity, a neighbor to Orient, is a fishing
\-illaii'e, with apopulation nearly reaching to400.
Of the dependencies of Southold — as its
islands miglit be called — Fisher's Island is tlie
largest and claims a population of 250, which
in the summer season is increased to about
1,000. Its association with Southold is a freak
of political geography, as it is in close prox-
imity to Connecticut. In 1668 Governor
Winthrop accelpted a patent for the island
from Governor Nicolls, of New York, thus
acknowledging the New York title, and the
island remained in the possession of Win-
throp's descendants until 1863. It has since
been opened for settlement. Robin's Isl-
and is mainly a game preserve. Plum Island,
which once bore the more distinguished name
of the Island of Patmos, supports a popula-
tion of fifty, and the Gull Islands are useless
except for lighthouse purposes, although the
Government has utilized Great Gull Island
by erecting important fortifications on it as
part of the system of coast defense. Plum
Island has also been fortified.
The Gull Islands got their name, as might
be supposed, from the vast quantities of gulls,
or terns, which used to make their home there.
But as a result of the depredations of plume
hunters these birds began some years ago to
leave their habitat, and the military opera-
tions frightened away altogether what re-
mained, so that now a gull is rarely seen in
the islands bearing its name. The headquarters
1026
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of these beautiful birds are on the eastern end
of Fisher's Island and the small islets — Flat
Hammock, Wicopesset, mainly — beside it.
Between Fisher's Island and Gardiner's Island
is the famous waterway known as the Race,
the most famous fishing ground off the Long
Island and Connecticut coasts. Immense
catches are made there every year; vast
schools of bluefish, mackerel and menhaden
and small fish in limitless number pass through
the Race every day or linger awhile in its
swirling, dashing, ever white-capped water.<.
The Race is also the happy hunting ground of
the tern and it is said their movements are of
great importance to the fishermen. The latter
•watch the careening of the birds and know
from experience that where they congregate
most numerously in that bit of water will be
found the best fishing ground, for that day
at least. The Race is well watched by these
beautiful little birds, and the presence of a
school of bluefish is known to them long be-
fore man discovers the fact, and these active
aerial beauties have generally hunted to their
hearts' content before the fishermen begin op-
erations by driving them away. A recent
writer says:
"One of the colonies from Gull Islands
migrated to Gardiner's Island, and the birds
have even since nested and bred there, in spite
of opposition, persecution, and persistent de-
struction. There are two large colonies on
Gardiner's Island, one located at the north and
the, other at the south side of th'e island.
These colonies are the largest in existence in
the Sound or anywhere along our neighboring
beaches, and they have received more atten-
tion and protection as a consequence than any
other. Two wardens have been employed
right along to protect these colonies and to see
that robbers did not take the eggs or kill the
old birds. The colony on the north side of
the island numbers 2,000 or more birds, while
the one on the south side is rather larger, if
anything, making nearly 5,000 terns on Gardi-
ner's Island. . This number constantly in-
creases every year. The birds show every dis-
position to make this their permanent home,
and they return to it regularly season after
season to nest and breed."
^s^Q«e^
CHAPTER LXXI.
SHELTER ISLAND.
HIS is the smallest of the townships
in Suffolk county in extent of terri-
tory and in population. Just why it
should have been elevated to the dig-
nity of a separate town is not easy to imag-
ine, except that the difficulty of attendance at
the Southold town meetings, of which town-
ship it was virtually a part until 1730, led to
its securing in that year the right to a town
meeting of its own. Its acreage seems to
vary according to the surveyor. It has been
placed as high as 10,000 and as low as 7,298,
and is generally placed at 8,000, which is
probably correct enough for all practical pur-
poses. Its name is probably derived from its
Indian cogomen, which in English was the
"island sheltered by islands." It was evidently
at one time the home of quite a powerful tribe
oi red men, but the last of the race — an aged
woman — died in 1835.
The island was sold , by James Farret,
Lord Stirling's agent, to Stephen Goodyear,
of New Haven. In 1651 it was sold by
Goodyear to Thomas Middleton, Thomas
Rouse, Constant Sylvester and Nathaniel Syl-
vester for 1,600 pounds of "good merchantable
muscovado sugar," and this syndicate secured,
in addition, a deed to the island from the In-
dians in 1652, which is generally held to be
the year that the white settlement was be-
gun. By 1664 the Sylvester brothers had be-
come sole owners of the island, and as a result
of a lump payment to Governor Nicolls, partly
in money, partly in pork and partly in beef,
obtained a release from taxation in the follow-
ing patent :
Richard Nicolls, Esq., Governor under his
Royoll Hig-hness James Duke of Yorke and
Albany &c. of all his teritoryes in America, to
all to whom these presents shall come. Where-
as Nathaniel Sylvester of Shelter Island. Mer-
chant, ft'or and on the behalfe of himselfe
and of his brother Constant Sylvester of Bar-
badoes, Esq., hath, of his own voluntary free
will and good affection to this government, ad-
vanced and paid toward ye support and main-
tainance thereof the sum of ^150, the receipt
whereof I doe hereby acknowledge, Now know
yee that, by virtue of commission and au-
thority given unto me by his Royoll High-
ness James Duke of York, I, for and in con-
sideration of the afore said sum of ;£i5o and
for other good causes and considerations me
thereunto moving, doe hereby grant unto ye
said Nathaniel and Constant Sylvester, and
to their heirs and assigns forever, That ye said
Island called Shelter Island is and forever
hereafter shall bee by these presents dis-
charged, exonerated and acquitted from all
taxes and rates either civill or military, and
from all traynings, setting forth and keeping
any soulcliers, horses, arms, troops or other
warlike provisions, other than what they shall
voluntarily do for the defence of their said
island and this government in case of a for-
eigne invasion, or disturbance by the natives.
Given under my hand and seal in ffort James
ye 25 day of May in ye yeare Anno Dom. 1666.
RiCH.\RD Nicolls.
Within a short time a patent of confirma-
tion of their rights to the island was granted
by Governor Nicolls to the two brothers Syl-
vester, conveying the following:
1028
HISIORV OF LONG ISLAND.
A tract of Land lying and being in a cer-
tain bite, bay or arm of tbe sea, which runneth
between the lands of East Hampton. South-
ampton and Southold, m the East Riding of
Yorkshire upon Long Island, heretofore pur-
chased from the Indians by James ffaret, agent
to William Earl of Sterling, and which hath
since came by several deeds, conveyances and
grants to the said Constant Sylvester of the
Island of Barbadoes, Esc|., and Nathaniel Syl-
vester, then inhabiting and residing in Shelter
Island aforesaid, merchant ; and which said
island shall be held, reputed, taken, and be an
entire infranchised town ship, manor and
place of itself, and forever have, hold and en-
joy like and equal privileges and immunities
with any other town, infranchised place or
manor within this government ; but not to ex-
tend to the protecting any traitor, malefactor,
fugitive or debtor flying into the said island,
to the damage of any person or the obstruc-
tion of the laws. The same to be held as of
his Majesty the King of England, in free
and common soccage and by fealty only, yield-
ing and paying yearly one lamb upon the first
day of ^lay, if the same shall be demande:].
RlCH.\RD XlCOLLS.
Dated Tune ist 1666.
The Sylvesters came to America about
1640, and were representatives of an old Eng-
lish family. Nathaniel Sylvester has been de-
scribed by Alden J. Spooner as "a man of
great enterprise and integrity, and who re-
ceived ' and protected on Shelter Island a
number of families of fugitives from the per-
secution of the colony of Massachusetts in
early times, some of whom died on the island."'
Another writer, basing his story on an article
in the Magazine of American History, wrote:
"The island did not get its name from the
Indian's phrase, but from the fact that some
Quakers, e.xiled by the Puritans, and wander-
ing, heart-sick and weary, in search of a ref-
uge, here found a shelter, under the protect-
ing arm of the tolerant Nathaniel Sylvester.
To these Quakers it was a "rock in a weary
land, and a shelter in the time of storm ;" and
in gratitude for the haven they bequeathed to
it the name of Shelter. Sylvester was en-
gaged in the sugar trade in the West Indies
when he acted the part of patron to the
friendless Friends, and permitted their foun-
der, George Fox, to "preach from the front
steps of his manor-house. This structure, the
center of much gaiety and hospitality, was
built of bricks brought over from Holland,
with queer biblical tiles for the chimneys, and
with windows and doors from England or
Barbadoes. The prime floral denizens of the
old-fashioned garden were immigrants, too,
and to this day a flourishing boxtree and a
hawthorn hedge attest the loving care of the
first lords of the manor. The surrounding
woods were cut away to furnish timber for
hogsheads used in the sugar trade. The pres-
ent manor-house, almost on the site of the
original one, belongs to a later day, yet it is
over one hundred years old. It was the sum-
mer residence of the late Professor Hosford,
of Harvard, and with his co-operation a monu-
ment was erected commemorating the landing
of those early Quakers. These were not the
only exiles to whom Sylvester extended a
brotherly band. When the uncompromising
Puritans had imprisoned, whipped and ban-
ished Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick
from Boston because of their faith, these un-
fortunates also found a refuge in Shelter Isl-
and, where they passed the rest of their lives
with the kindly inhabitants."
The subsequent changes in the ownership
of the island have been thus successively
traced by Mr. W. S. Pelletreau :
"In July, 1673, by the recapture of New
York, the Dutch regained possession of this
lost territory. It was at this time that the
Dutch government sent an armed vessel to the
east end of Long Island to bring the dififerent
towns to their allegiance. According to one
account Constant Sylvester was reported to
have made a will leaving his half of Shelter
Island to his sons. This will he had left at
home and was absent at the time of the visit
of the Dutch force. Lender the supposition
that he was dead the Dutch ofiicers undertook
to confiscate the interest of his heirs, and his
SHELTER ISLAND.
1029
portion was sold for £500 to Nathaniel Svl-
vester, who thus became the sole owner of
the island. He had five sons — Giles. Na-
thaniel, Constant, Peter and Benjamin, and
left his island to them in equal parts. Three
of these sons died without issue. Their parts
reverting to Giles, he became the owner of
four-iifths of the island, and Brinley Sylves-
ter (son of Nathaniel last mentioned) owned
the remaining fifth. In 1695 Giles Sylvester
sold to William Nicoll, the patentee of the
town of Islip, one-quarter of the island, which
included the part still known as Sachem's
Neck, for the sum of £500. Nathaniel, father
of Brinley Sylvester, had previous to his death
(which occurred in 1695) sold 1,000 acres
of his part to George Havens. Giles Syl-
vester died in 1706 without issue, and left
one-quarter of the island to William Nicoll,
who thus became the owner of half of the
whole. The remainder, excepting the 1,000
acres in the middle of the island which be-
longed to George Havens, still remained in
the hands of Brinley, the son of Nathaniel.
He had been living in Rhode Island, where his
father had resided at the time of his de-
cease, but at this time he returned to this
island. The portion of it which he now
owned was all that part north of a line drawn
from the head of Bering Creek to Cockle's
Harbor. In 1737 he built a stately mansion,
which is now standing, a most interesting relic
of a long-past age. The residence of the first
Nathaniel had stood very near the spot where
the new house was reared. The doors and
many other portions had been brought from
England, and were of a make and material
impossible to procure in the infant days of the
new world. These were made a part of the
new building, and are now existing after a
lapse of two centuries.
"Upon the decease of Brinley Sylvester his
estate was left to his daughter Mary, who
married Thomas Bering March 9th 1756.
After his death, in 1785, it descended to his
two sons Svlvester and Henrv. After the
death of Sylvester (better known as General
Bering) his estate was bought by Ezra
L'Hommedieu, whose grandfather Benjamin
had married Mary the daughter of the orig-
inal Nathaniel Sylvester. It passed at his
death into the hands of his daughter Mary,
who married Samuel S. Gardiner, and for a
long time is was widely known as the 'Gardi-
ner Estate." The offspring of this marriage
was three daughters, one of whom married
Professor Lane, of Cambridge, Mass.; the
other two were successively the wives of Pro-
fessor Horsford of the same place. At the
setlement of the estate it finally passed into
the hands of the latter gentleman, whose chil-
dren are the lineal descendants of the first
Sylvester."
The old manor house is now occupied by
Miss Hosford, the last descendant of Na-
thaniel Sylvester on the island, and the build-
ing, together with its many interesting me-
morials of a by-gone age, are carefully pre-
served by her. Among these is a piece of
gold chain, several links, which was given to
a Sylvester by the redoubtable Captain Kidd
in payment of some supplies. The local story
is that the pirate, "as he sailed," got short of
fresh meat and landed at the head of a party
of his desperadoes on Shelter Island in search
of some. In the Manor House yard they came
across two pigs, which they appropriated in
the easy manner usual with pirates. But the
pigs objected and began to squeal, and the
racket brought out on the scene a servant girl
who defied the whole gang and demanded that
the pigs be dropped. A cowardly historian
has suggested that if she had known she was
dealing with Captain Kidd and his freebooters
she would have run away to the other end of
the island. That, however, is a base slander.
Captain Kidd saw he had a determined woman
to deal with, so he called a halt, explained
his necessity in the way of provender, tore off
several links of the gold chain he wore' — far
more than the value of the pigs. She ac-
cepted the payment and left the pigs to their
lor.o
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
fate, and handed the bulhon to her mistress,
who had watched the entire scene with fear
and trembling from an upper chamber window.
She had recognized Kidd and would wiUingly
have let him take all the stock he could lay his
hands on if only he and his crew would have
departed in peace.
The old Sylvester burying ground, not far
from the Manor house is one of the attractions
to visitors in search of the ancient and the
picturesque.
It occupies but a small space measuring
about fifty by twent)^-five yards. It is well
shaded and is in every way such a spot as
would be selected by the first resident pro-
prietor of the manor of Shaker Island. Na-
than Sylvester would have taken umbrage at
one feature of his earthly re&ting place. It is
enclosed by a fence made of oaken posts and
iron piping- Of the latter there are two rows.
Above the top row is a strip of barbed wire.
It looks curiously out of place and one won-
ders why it was put there. Had the fence
been of wood the wire would have been no
protection against relic hunters, but even the
most feeble minded of that class would hardly
contemplate the demolition, bit by bit, of the
iron piping. Besides there is something un-
pleasantly indongruous about a barbed wire
fence around a seventeenth century graveyard.
Relic hunters have perhaps chipped away bits
of the slate head stones, but the weather,
doubtless, has had much to do with their
time-worn appearance. The inscriptions upon
the slate headstones are much more easily de-
cipherable than those of the granite tablets.
Of these headstones there are nineteen.
In the centre of the burying place is a
monument of rather imposing dimensions.
The upper and lower slabs are covered with
inscriptions. The upper slab is of marble and
the inscription denotes that buried beneath it
is the body of Nathaniel Sylvester, "First
Resident Proprietor of the i\Ianor of Shelter
Island, Under Grant of Charles II., A. D.,
1666." It also contains the family coat of
arms. The monument is approached by three
stone steps. These contain the following
curious inscriptions :
"The Puritan in his pride, overcome by
the faith of the Quaker, gave Concord and
Lexington and Bunker Hill to history."
"The blood and the spirit of Victor and
A'anquished alike are of the glory of Massa-
chusetts."
"Daniel Gould bound to the gun carriage
and lashed.
"Edward Wharton, the much scourged.
"Christopher Holder, the mutilated."
"Ralph Goldsmith, the shipmaster, and
Samuel Shattuck of the King's missive: these
stones are testimony."
"Lawrence and Cassandra Southwick, de-
spoiled, imprisoned, starved, whipped, ban-
ished.
"Who fled here to die."
"Alary Dyer, Marmaduke Stevenson, Will-
iam Robinson and William Leddra, who were
executed on Boston Common."
"Of the suffering for conscience sake of
friends of Nathaniel Sylvester, most of whom
sought shelter here, including
"George Fox, founder of the Society of
Quakers, and of his followers."
Some of the above is apt to give one the
impression that freedom of thought, par-
ticularly religious thought, was a dangerous
commodity in pre-Revolutionary days. Shelter
Island was so named for the best reason in
the world, because it was a place of shelter
from all kinds of storms, of which those of
the wind and wave seemed to be less danger-
ous than the maelstrom of religious bigotry
in which so many perished in the "godly"
days when Miles Standish made the mistake
of entrusting his courtship of Priscilla to John
Alden. They were a dour lot in those days,
and could they be transported in the flesh
to-day to Shelter Island and brought face to
face with the five or six hundred guests of
one of the big hotels there about an hour after
dinner, when dancing is in full swing and
gleaming shoulders are much in evidence, they
would either put every mother's son and
SHELTER ISLAND.
daughter to the sword or drop dead of heart
disease.
Shelter Island has changed much in the
last couple of centuries. The husbandman no
longer tills his fields with an uncertain flint-
lock strapped across his back, with one eye on
the furrow and the other on the surrounding
territory. His ear no longer expects the fear-
some war whoop, for it is many cycles since
the gentle redskin was induced to remove to
other hunting grounds. Captain Kidd's
piratical craft would meet with a short shrift
to-day as the target practice of the Essex
and Lancaster, training ships, can be heard
quite plainly on the island. Moreover, is not
Station No. 5 of the New York Yacht Club
on the island, and are not yachts almost as
plentiful as sea bass in the vicinity?
William Nicoll, the patentee of Islip, was
in 1706 the owner of half of the island. At
his death it was left to his son William, who
was a member of the Colonial Assembly from
1739 to .1768 and was universally known as
"Speaker Nicoll." He died without children
in 1768, and the estate then went to his nephew
William (a son of his brother Benjamin),
who, having been county clerk from 1750 to
1775, was commonly called "Clerk Nicoll."
By w^ill made in 1778 he left it to his son,
Samuel Benjamin Nicoll, during his life, en-
tailing it to his oldest son, Richard F., who by
the act abolishing entails became the owner
in fee. He sold it to his brother, Samuel B.
Nicoll, and from him it descended to its
present owners in 1865 ; the estate has been
in the possession of the family 187 years.
The portion of the Sylvester estate that
was owned by Henry Deering was sold to
Lawrence \". B. ^^'oodrufl:^ and portions of the
Nicoll and Havens estates were sold to various
parties.
At the first independent town meeting, in
1730, the names of the adult male inhab-
itants of the island were as follows, the list
being taken from Thompson's "History oi
Long Island:"
^^'illiam Nicolls (supervisor).
John Havens (assessor).
Samuel Hudson (assessor).
George Havens.
Elisha Payne.
Ivel Bowdelet.
Abraham Parker.
Edward Havens (collector).
Samuel Vail.
Thomas Conkling.
Edward Oilman (clerk).
Brinly Sylvester.
Jonathan Havens.
[oseph Havens.
Noah Tuthill.
Henry Havens.
Samuel Hopkins.
John Bowdelet.
Daniel Brown.
Slyvester L'Hommedieu.
Mr. Pelllereau estimated that these twenty
names represented a population of 100 and
figures that in 1790 the population was 201. It
was probably about the latter figure during
the Revolutionary War, during which crisis
the island suflFered little except from thefts by
the whaleboats and from the carrying away
of all its growing timber by order of the
British authorities.
In 1742 Jonathan Havens gave half an acre
of ground on which a church might be erected
and a burial place laid out. The church build-
ing was put up the same year, a little square
box with a peaked roof. Its little pulpit was
open to any clergyman who came along, al-
though it would seem William Adams, who
was chaplain and tutor in the family of Brind-
ley Sylvester, preached in it for over thirty
years. In 1764 the famous George Whitefield
preached in its pulpit at least once. In 1S16
the old box church was pulled down and a
new building erected, which, with improve-
ments and alterations, has served until the
present day. In 1812 the congregation placed
itself under the care of the Long Island Pres-
b} tery, and in 1848 the Rev. Daniel M. Lord
was installed as the first regular pastor of the
island. In 1873 an Episcopalian church was
erected on a site almost in the center of the
1032
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
island, the gift of Dr. S. B. Nicoll, and it re-
ceived the name of St. Mary's chapel, in
memory of the wife of Matthias Nicoll, one
of the most Hberal contributors to its build-
ing and a stanch and generous supporter.
Since 1870, when a campmeeting ground
of some 200 acres was purchased by the
]\Iethodists on the west side of Dering's Har-
bor, Shelter Island has slowly risen to the
first rank among the summer resorts of Long
Island. Its immense hotels and luxuriant cot-
tages, its yacht houses, golf links and all the
etceteras of a refined resort, together with its
exclusiveness and its healthfulness, seem to
make it become more and more popular sea-
son after season.
CHAPTER LXXII.
SOUTHAMPTON.
Governor Winthrop's "History of
New England" (ed. Savage, 1853) we
read that about forty families in Lynn
left that town in 1640 to found a new
home on Long Island. They organized a
church before leaving, and with the Rev.
Abraham Pearson, of Boston, as their min-
ister, prepared to set out. The advance party
went in a vessel in charge of Captain Daniel
How to Cow Bay, bought some land there
from the natives, tore down the insignia of the
States General and prepared to settle. As
we have seen, however, in the story of North
Hempstead, this settlement was quickly ami
ignominiously dispossessed as soon as Gov-
ernor Kieft learned of the presumption of the
pioneers in settling without his leave and of
the indignity they inflicted on the emblems
of his Government. Sixteen of the L}nn
contingent, however, were taken in Captain
How's ship to the south fork of Long Island —
too far away from Kieft's authority to be
easily assailable by him, and there got a tract
of land from the Indians and set up a colony —
that of Southampton. Besides this purchase
they had authority to effect a settlement from
the agent of Lord Stirling. As soon as the
preliminaries were adjusted the first settlers
were joined by others, and within a few years
Southampton was a Connecticut town and was
represented in the General Court. Such in
brief is the story of the founding of South-
ampton.
From a reference in Winthrop's story one
might think that the colonists were poverty-
stricken, lint the opposite was the case, at least
so far as the majority was concerned. Those
who were its leaders — "L'ndertakers," they
called themselves — possessed considerable
available means. When the colony was in
course of formation they bought a ship for
transportation purposes, which they trans-
ferred to Captain Daniel How under the fol-
lowing restrictions, dated Alarch 10, 1639:
March 10 1639 In consideration that Ed-
ward Howell hath disbursed 151b and Ed-
mond ffarington lolb, Josiah Stanborough 51b,
George \\'ei3be lolb, job Sayre sib, Edmond
Needham 51b, Henry Walton lolb, and Thom-
as Sayre 5lb, itt is agreede upon that wee the
forenamed undertakers have disposed of our
severall pts of our vessel to Daniel How. In
consideration whereof bee is to transporte
them soe much goods either to them, their
heirs, executors and Assignes (If they shall
desire it ) as their Several Somme or Sommes
of ;\Ioniiey shall Amount unto. And more-
over, to each of those persons Above named
rir their Assignes he shall transporte to each
man A person and a tunne of goods free. But
in case that any of the forenamed persons
shall not haue occasion for the transportacon
of soe much goods as his money shall Amount
vnto, that then the said Daniell is to make
them payment of the remainder of the monney
by the end of two yeares next ensuing the
date hereof. And likewise this vessel shall
be for the vse of the Plantacon, and that the
said Daniell shall not sell this vessell without
the consent of the Maior pt of the Company.
And that the vessell shall be reddy at the
Towne of Lynne to Transporte such goods
as the Aftoresaid vndertakers shall Appoint,
that is to sav, three tvmes in the veare.
1034
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Ffurtherniore, if In case that any Person or
Persons shall not have occasion to Transport
any goods, that then the said Daniel is to pay
them their Somme or Somnies of JNIonney, to-
gether with Allowance for A tunne of goods
and A person, within the tearnie of two years
next ensueing the date hereof. And for the
full performance of [two words gone] said
Daniel How hath our [three lines gone].
Ffurtherniore, whareas it is expressed for-
merly that the vessell shall come to our In-
tended Plantacon three tymes in the yeare, we
thought good to express the tymes, viz. the
fifirst Moneth, tlie ffourth moneth and the
eighth moneth. Ffurtherniore, ftor the rates
of persons, goods and chattell if there proue
anv difference between vs the vndertakers and
the Said Daniell How, that then it shall be
referred to tue men whonie they and he shall
chuse. Ffurtherniore, for as much as Allen
Bread, Thomas Halsey and William Harker
Are by the Consent of the company come into
and party vndertakers with vs, we Edward
Howell, Daniel How and Henry Walton have
consigned three of our parts — that is, to each
man A howse lott, planting lott and ffarme,
answerable to the rest of ye vndertakers — for
their disbursement of five pounds A man to
vs the above said vndertakers. That is to say,
whereas Mr. Howell had 3 lots he shall have
but two, and Daniel How for 3 lots shall
have but two and Henry ^A'alton for 2 lots
shall have but one.
Edward Howell,
Daniel How,
Hexr. Walton.
The L^ndertakers also drew up an agree-
ment among themselves, the agreement clearly
showing that when it was agreed to no
exact location for the proposed colony had
been determined on. But they arranged what
might be called a constitution for the govern-
ment of the intended "plantacon," the most
interesting features of which were that the
Undertakers were to dispose of the land with-
in the limits of the colonv, "so that what
they laid out for a house lot should always
continue so and that but one dwelling house
should be budded upon it," regulating the
transfer of the lot, providing against absentee-
ism, and also the foinidation of a church.
The influx of new settlers was also carefully
guarded against unless with the consent of the
Undertakers. It was to be a Christian com-
munity. "Whensoever it shall please the Lord
and He shall see it goode to adde to us such
men as shall be fitt matter for a church thai
then we will in that thinge lay ourselves
downe before ye constituters thereof, either
to be or not to be received as members thereof
according as they shall discerne the worke of
God to be in our hearts." The entire pro-
duction was simply drawn up from that of
most of the New England town governments,
excepting that those who paid out the neces-
sary money for the purchase of the land or
the transportation of the se.ttlers claimed the
right of disposal of the lands outside of those
apportioned at the beginning among the orig-
inal members of the colony.
Having thus arranged their preliminaries,
the Undertakers secured their first warrant-^
that of a permit from the agent of the patentee
to settle on eight square miles of land on Long
Island. That patent, still preserved in South-
ampton, reads as follows :
Know, all men whom this present writing
may concenie, thatt I James Farrett, of Long
Island, Gent., Deputy to the Right honorable
.the Earle of Sterling, Secretary for the King-
'dom of Scotland, doe by these presents, in
the name and behalf of the said Earle, and in
mine own name as his deputy, as it doth or
may in any way concerne myself. Give and
Grant ffree leave and liberty to Danyell How,
Job Sayre, George Webbe, and William Har-
per, together with their associates, to sitt
downe upon Long Island aforesaid, there to
possess. Improve and enjoy Eight miles square
of land, or so much as shall containe the said
quantity, not only upland butt alsoe what so-
ever meadow, niarrsh ground. Harbors, Rivers
and Creeks lye within the bounds or limitts
of the said Eight miles, the same and every
part thereof quietly and peaceably to enjoy,
to them and their heires forever, without any
disturbance, lett or molestation from the said
Earl, or any by his appointment or procure-
ment for him or any of his ; and that they are
to take theire choyce to sitt downe vpon as
SOUTHAMPTON.
1085
best suiteth them. And allsoe that they and
theire Associates shall enjoy as full and free
liberty in all matters that doe or may con-
cerne them or theires, or that may conduce lo
the good and comfort of them and theirs, both
in Church order and civell government, to-
gether with all the easements, conveniences
and accomodations what soever which the said
place doth or may afforde, answerable to what
other Plantations enjoy in jMassachusets Bay.
Butt in as much as itt hath pleased our Royall
King to give and grant the patentee of Long-
Island to the aforesaid Earl, In consideration
thereof itt is agreed upon that the trade with
the Indians shall remaine to the said Earle of
Sterling, to dispose of from time to time and
at all times as best liketh him; Onely the
aforesaid Daniel How and his co-partners shall
have liberty to make choyce of one man
ani'itiL;-^! thiiii that shall freely trade with the
]nilian> in ihcir Jiehalf for any victuals within
thcirc iiwnc plantations, but not for wampum.
And if any of the aforesaid persons or any for
them shall secretly trade with the Indians for
Wampum, whether directly or indirectly, with-
out leave or license from the said Earle or
his assigns, the person or persons soe. offend-
ing shall pay for every fathom so traded, to
the said Earle or his assigns, the sum of twen-
ty shillings. P'furtber itt is Agreed vpon that
what soever shall be thought meete by the
Right WorshipfuU John Winthrop, Esq., Gov-
ernor of the massachusets Bay, to be given to
the Earle of Sterling in way of acknowledge-
ment as the Pattentee of the place, shall be
duly and truly paid; and ffurther more it is
agreede upon that noe man shall by vertue of
any gift or purchase lay claim to any land
lying within the compass of the eight miles be-
fore mentioned, but only the aforesaid Inhab-
itants shall make purchase in their owne names
and at their owne leisure from any Indians
that Inhabit or have lawful right to any of
the aforesaid land or any part thereof, and
thereby assume itt to themselves and their
heires as their Inheritence for ever. In wit-
ness whereof wee have hereunto sett our
hands and seals the 17th day of Aprill 1640.
]\Ieinorandum. — That the true meaning of
Mr. Farrett is that, whereas he hath formerly
purchased certain lands in Long Island for
the Earle of Sterling or him selfe, that he doth
by these presents fully release all claims and
interest in the land aboue mentioned or per-
sons that shall sitt downe upon it, with ail
title to government, whether in Church or
Commonwealth, all which is to bee clearly and
fully drawne up accordinge to the true mean-
ing of this agreement when things shall be set-
tled and concluded by the Right honorable
John Winthrop above named.
James ffarett. [l.s.]
Sealed and delivered in Presence of
Theoph. Eaton, John Davenport.
L'pon the back of this document was after-
ward written the following :
I Jolm Winthrop within named, having
seariously considered of that which in this
writing is reffered to my determination, al-
though I am very unwilling to take it vpon
me & as unfitt also, the rather being to seeke
of any rule or approued precedent to guide me
herein, yet being called hereunto, I shall ex-
press what I conceive to be equall vpon the
considerations here ensueing, viz. : The land
within granted being a mecre wilderness, and
the natives of the place pretending some In-
terest which the planters much purchase, and
they might have had land enough gratis (and
as convenient) in the massachusets or other
of the Collonies, with liberty to trade with
the Indians (which they are debarred from),
and for that they had possessed and improved
this place before any actual claim made there-
to by the Right honbbl the Earle of Sterling
or had any neede of his lordships patent ; and
whereas his lordship (vpon consideration I
suppose of the premises) required nothing of
them but in way of acknowledgement of his
interest, I doe hereupon conceive and doe ac-
cordingly (soe farr as power is given mee)
order and sitt d6wne that the Inhabitants of
the tract of land within mentioned, or the
plantation now called Southampton, vpon
Long Island, and their successors for ever
shall pay yearely to the said Earle of Sterling,
his heirs or assigns, vpon the last day of 7
ber, att Southampton aforesaid, foure bushells
of the best Indian Corne there growing, or
the value of soe much, in full satisfaction of
all rents and services (the 5th part of gold
and silver oare to the Kings majesty reserved
allways excepted). In testimony whereof I
have hereunto sett my hand, dated 20 (8)
1641 Jo. Winthrop.
The legal right being thus established, the
settlers made an agreement with the Indian
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
tribe occupying tlie land, and on the 13th of
December, 1640, obtained the following deed:
This Indenture, made the 13th day of De-
cember Anno Dom. 1640, betweene Pomatuck,
jNIandush, iMocomanto, Pathenianto, Wybbe-
nett, ^^'ainmenowog, Heden, \\'atemexoted,
Checkepuchat. the native Inhabitants & true
owners of the eastern pt of the Long Island,
on the one part, and Mr. John Gosmer. Ed-
ward Howell, Daniel How, Edmond Xeedham,
Thomas Halsey, John Cooper, Thomas Sayre,
Edward ffarington. Job Sayre, George Wel-
bee. Allen Breade. \\'illm Harker, Henry Wal-
ton, on the other part, witnesseth, that the
saved Indians, for due consideration of six-
teen coats already received and alsoe three
score bushells of Indian corne to be payed
vpon lawfull demand the last of September,
which shall bee in the year 1641. & further in
consideration that the above named English
shall defend vs the sayed Indians from the
iniiust violence of whatever Indians shall
illegolly assaile vs, do absolutely & for ever
give & grant, an 1 by these presents do
acknowledge ovrselues to have given &
granted, to the partyes above mentioned, with-
out any fraude, guile, mental reservation or
equivocation to them and theire heires & suc-
cessors for ever, all the lands, woods, waters,
water courses, easements, proffits & emolu-
ments thence arising whatsoever, from the
place commonly knowne by the place where
the Indians hayle over their cannoes out of
the Xorth Bay to the south side of the Island,
from thence to possess all the lands lying east-
ward between the foresaid bounds by water,
to wit, all the lands pertaining to the parteyes
aforesaid, as alsoe all the old ground formerly
planted lying eastward from the first creek
at the westermore encl of Shinecock plaine ; to
have & to hold forever, without any claime
or challenge of the least title, interest or pro-
priety whatsoever of vs the sayd Indians or
our heires or successors or any others by our
leave, appointment, license, counsel or author-
ity what soever, all the land bounded as Is
above said. In full testimone of this our ab-
solute bargaine, contract & grant, indented,
& in full and complete satisfaction & estab-
lishment of this our act & deed of passing
over all our title and interest in the premises,
with all emoluments & proffits thereto apper-
taining or any wise belonging from sea or
land, within our limits above specified, with-
out all guile wee have set to our hands the
day and yeare above sayd. Memorand. — Be-
fore the subscribing of this present writing it
is agreed that the Indians aboue named shall
have the libertie to break vp ground for theire
vse to the westward of the creek above men-
tioned on the west side of Shinecock plaine.
Witness of the deliverie & subscribinge
this writing: Abraham Pierson, Edward
Stephenson, Robert Terry, Joseph Howe,
Thomas Whitehgne, Joshua Griffiths, William
Howe Manatacut x his mark, Mandush x his
mark, Wybenet x his mark, Howes x his
mark, Secommecock x his mark, Mocomanto
X his mark. These in the name of the rest.
This deed, however, elaborate as it is, did
not quite satisfy the Indians, or rather the
children of the original settlers. There grad-
ually grew rumors of trouble and to adjust
them the territory was again bought by a new
deed in 1686. This pacified these children of
nature, but in 1703 another generation arose
and it too had to be pacified, and in that year
a fresh deed was granted, which settled the
claim forever.
According to Mr. Pelletreau the original
settlers up to 1650 included: "Edward How-
ell, Thomas Halsey, Thomas Sayre, Job Sayre,
William Harker, William Wells, John Moore,
Thomas Talmadge jr., Thomas Talmadge sen.,
Abraham Pierson, Henry Pierson, Daniel
Howe, Richard Barrett, ^^'illiam Rodgers,
Eulk Davis, Nathaniel Kirtland, Phillip Kirt-
land, Thomas Earrington, John Farrington,
Richard Mills, Thomas Tomson, Allen Breade,
Henry Walton, Josiah Stanborough, Edmond
Needham, Thomas Terry, George Welbee,
John Gosmer, John Cooper, Henry Seymonds,
Richard Post, John Stratton, Thomas Hil-
dreth, Isaac Willman, John Budd, Thomas
Burnett, Thurston Raynor, John Odgen, John
White, Arthur Bostock, Richard Smith, Josh-
ua Barnes, Theodore Vale, Thomas Topping,
Jonas Wood, George Wood, John Mulford,
Richard Odell, Edward Johnes, William
Browne, Theodore Robbinson, John Kelley,
William Barnes, Robert Rose, Ellis Cook,
John Cory, Robert ^larvin, Jeremiah Howe,
SOUTHAMPTON.
103(
Christopher Foster, John Lum, WiUiam Mul-
ford, Robert Tahnage, Robert Bond, John Og-
den, Mark Meggs, Thomas Beale, Thomas
Pope, Isaac Wilhnan, Richard Woodhull,
Richard Jacques. John Hand, Tristram
Hedges, Samuel Dayton, Raphael Swinfield,
John Jessup, John Jagger, Thomas Doxy.
"Of these many remained but a short time,
and some of them were among the first set-
tlers of East Hampton. Richard Smith re-
moved from the town at an early date and be-
came the founder of Smithtown, and his name
is celebrated in Long Island history as "Bull
Smith." It is generally believed that Rich-
ard Odell and Richard Woodhull, whose
names appear as above, were one and the same
person, who afterward settled in the town of
Brookhaven, and whose illustrious descendant
General Nathaniel Woodhull has left an im-
perishable name as a martyr to the cause of
Long Island liberty. Of the original LTnder-
takers,' Edward Howell, the acknowledged
leader, was a native of Marsh Gibbon in Buck-
inghamshire, England; Thomas and Job
Sayre were, as before stated, from Bedford-
shire ; John Cooper was from Olney, coimty
of Bucks or Buckinghamshire ; family tradi-
tion states that Thomas Halsey was from
Yorkshire; Josiah Stanborough was from
Stanstead, in Kent. These are the only ones
of the 14 founders whose descendants are now
found in the town."
A glance at the map of the township will
show that it seems divided into two parts,
which are joined by a narrow neck at what is
now Canoe Place. The original purchase only
extended to the portion eastward from this
isthmus. It was not until 1658 that Wyan-
dance gave a deed to Lion Gardiner for lands
to the west of this isthmus; the Quogtie -pur-
chase as it was called, was made in 1659 by
John Ogden (it was afterward sold to the
valorous Capt. John Scott), and the Topping
purchase in 1662 by Capt. John Topping.
These holdings led to trouble, and in 1666
Gov. Nicolls decided that all the lands so pur-
chased were to be regarded as \Mithin the
bounds of Southampton.
The land in the original purchase was at
first divided into 40 home lots valued at $150
each. The proprietors received lots according
to the amount they had invested in the enter-
prise and also a share in the undivided lands.
A share or lot was afterward laid aside for
the minister, and the entire number of home
lots increased to 51. Sometimes a lot was
subdivided into three and a third awarded to
a mechanic — a mechanic whose handicraft was
of general benefit and by such a gift was in-
duced to offer himself as a candidate for settle-
ment. But such instances of free gift were
few, and it may be said in general that each
settler had to pay for his lot according to the
terms fixed by the L'ndertakers and afterward
by the town meeting. The lots were carefully
measured. Bit by bit the undivided lands
were apportioned until 1782. The "Under-
takers," and their descendants and successors.
under the more modern name of proprietors,
continued in reality to rule the township- imtil
1818, when they became an incorporated body
to attend simply to their personal interests.
At first the town meeting in regular or
special assembly arranged all the details of
local government and was the court of last re-
sort. It yearly elected magistrates who realh"
do seem to have been terrors to evil-doers and
saw to it that the edicts of the town meeting-
were carried into effect. In if'144 a meeting
formally voted to enter the (.'nnfederacy of
Hartford, and as the (lencral lourt of that
Commonwealth that year agreed to its admis-
sion Southampton came under its jurisdiction.
By this step, however, it threw oft' its inde-
pendence and lost its power of electing its
magistrates, that being the prerogative of the
General Court. However, Southampton sim-
ply presented three names, of which two were
accepted. Outside of this, however, the con-
nection was little more than a nominal one :
not even attendance at the General Court, ex-
cept by proxy, being insisted on. The Con-
loss
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
stable seems to have been elected by vote and
so were the "Townsmen," as those who acted
as Overseers of the Poor, Assessors, etc., were
called, and the town meeting continued to be
as authoritative in local affairs as ever. Its
allegiance was transferred to Connecticut after
the union of the New Haven and Hartford
Commonwealths in 1662.
The political connection with Connecticut
came to an end when Gov. Nicolls began to
assert his authority and to proclaim the extent
of his royal master's dominion. Southampton
seems to have quietly admitted his claims and
submitted to his authority, yet the citizens
openly acknowledged t'hey would have pre-
ferred the Connecticut arrangement to con-
tinue. But when, in 1676, Gov. Andros in-
sisted that the town should possess a patent
the people demurred. They sent a long re-
monstrance showing clearly and emphatically
their sense of the uselessness and injustice of
such a document and also its future danger.
"The patents we have seen seem to bind per-
sons a-nd towns in matter of payment to the
will and purpose of their lord and his succes-
sors, and who caji tell but in time to come
those may succeed, who through an avaricious
distemper, may come upon us with such heavy
taxes as may make us or our poor posterity
to groan like Israel in Egypt." But here is
the protest in full :
Southampton, February 15, 1670.
To the Governor:
Honorable Sir. — We, the inhabitants of
this town, do hereby present unto you our hum-
ble service, &c. to show our respect to your
honor's pleasure, and our obedience to the
order of the honorable court of assize — we are
bold to manifest herein unto 3-ou some reasons
why we are unwilling to receive any further
patent for our lands, as foUoweth :
1st, Because, as we have honestly purchased
them of the natives, (the proper and natural
owners of them,) so also we have already the
patent right, lawfully obtained and derived
from the honorable Earl of Stirling, we being
to pay one-fifth part of gold and silver ore, and
four bushels of Indian corn yearly.
2dly, Because the injunction laid on persons
and plantations by the laws in 1666, to take
forth patents for their lands from our then gov-
ernor, we groundedly conceive intended not the
plantations on this east end of the island, but
only those at tlie west end who were reduced
from a foreign government, even as heretofore.
Those English that came to dwell within the
precincts which the Dutch claimed took out
land briefs from the Dutch governor.
3dly, Because those of us, who were first
beginners of this plantation, put none but our-
selves to the vast charge in our transport
hither, we greatly hazarded our lives (as some
lost theirs) here amongst and by the then nu-
merous and barbarously cruel natives ; yet
through divine Providence we have possessed
these our lands above thirty years without in-
terruption or molestation by any claiming them
from us, and therefore we cannot see why we
should lose any of our rightful privileges, so
dearly and honestly purchased, or how our
lands can be better assured to us by taking
out another patent from any one.
4thly, And materially because by our said
patent we had license (we being but few) to
put ourselves under any of his Majesty's colon-
ies for government, whereupon accordingly, by
willing consent on all sides, we adjoined our-
selves to Hartford jurisdiction, and divers of
us became members of the king's court there,
and when the worthy Mr. Winthrop obtained
a patent from his Majesty our present lord,
King Charles II, for the said colony of Hart-
ford, our town is included, and some of the
then chief members of our town expressly
nominated in the patent; so that this place be-
came undeniably an absolute limb or part of
the said colony ; and moreover, since that and
after his Majesty's commissioners came into
these parts, his Majesty of grace and free mo-
tion was pleased so far to encourage his people
of the said colony, as by his letter to assure
them that their ecclesiastical and civil privi-
leges which he had granted them, should not
be infringed or diminished by his said com-
missioners, or any others whatsoever.
5ly, It is not only in all our experience be-
yond all parallel that each town should be con-
strained to take forth a patent, but also the
patents here imposed and those given forth,
which yet we have seen, seem to bind persons
and towns in matter of payment to the will and
mercy of their lord and his successors, or lieu-
tenants ; and who can tell but in time to come
those may succeed who, through an avaricious
SOUTHAMPTON.
1039
distemper, may come upon us with such Iieavy
taxes and intolerable burdens, as may make
us, or our poor posterity, to groan like Israel
in Eg}-pt.
61y, Because people are enjoined to ac-
knowledge in the said patent (if we mistake
not greatly) that his royal highness the Duke
of York is sole proprietor of the whole island ;
which we cannot consent unto, because we
know ourselves to be the true proprietors of the
land we here possess, with the appurtenances
thereunto belonging, and also because men are
enjoined by the said patent to pay not only all
just dues, but also all demands that may be
made- by his royal highness or his authorized
agent.
/ly. Because we are more than confident
his Majesty will desire no more of us than al-
ready we are, even his faithful liege people,
who have many of us already taken, and the
rest of 'US are ready to take, the oath of alle-
giance unto him. Willing we are to pay our
just dnes in town and to the country, and ready
to serve his Majesty with our lives and for-
tunes ; we are his subjects, and we know that
he will not make us slaves to any.
Sly, Because General Nichols gave it un-
der his hand that we at this end should have as
great privileges as any colony in New England,
and yet we are denied our deputies at the
courts ; we are forced to pay customs for goods
imported, for which custom hath before been
paid to his Majesty's use in England.
gly, and lastly. — The king's commissioners,
in the year 1664, by their proclamation, seemed
to demand only the government, with exact
and full promise that the people should enjoy
whatsoever God's blessing and their own in-
dustry had furnished them withal ; and we see
not what more a patent can assure us, especial-
ly considering that the patents here taken forth
l)y places, or particular persons, secure them
not absolutely : for it seems to us by the order
of the court of assizes, even from them who
have received a patent, wood and timber may
be taken away without leave and without pay ;
in all which respects, and some other, we can-
not l)e willing to take forth more patent than
we have. And if we do succeed otherwise than
we expect, we hope we shall, like good christ-
ians, patiently bear the pressure that may be
permitted to fall upon us, yet never fail to be
fervent votaries for your honor's real happi-
ness.
[Signed by Thomas Halscy, jun., and 49
•other inhaliitants of the town.]
But the remonstrance was unavailing. An-
dros placed little value by such things and
an ultimatum was sent to Southampton, the
terms of which were such that the town had
to comply with the Governor's demand or lose
all its township rights. So the patent was
issued. As a historical document its only 'u-
terest for us is that it defines for the first
time and with understandable clearness the
boundaries of the town. Its main features
were as follows :
Edmond Andross, Esqr., Seigneur of Saus-
marez, Lieut, and Governor (ien'all under His
Royall Highness James Duke of York and Al-
bany &c. of all his Territoryes in America, To
all to whom these presents shall come sendeth
Greeting. Whereas there is a certain Towne
in the East Riding of Yorkshire upon Long
Island commonly called and knowne by the
name of South Hampton, situate, lying and be-
ing on the South side of the said Island, to-
ward the Maine sea, having a certaine Tract of
Land thereunto belonging, the Eastward
Bounds whereof extend to a certaine place or
plaine called Wainscutt, where the bounds are
settled betwixt their Neighbors of the Towne
of East Hampton and them ; Their southern
bounds being the Sea, and so runs westward
to a place called Seatuck, where a Stake was
sett as their farthest extent that way ; Then
crossing over the Island to the Northward to
Peaconick great River (not contradicting the
agreement made betweene their Towne and the
Towne of Southhold after their tryall at the
Court of Assizes), and soe to run Eastward
along the North bounds to the Eastermost
point of Hogg neck over against Shelter
Island; Including all the Necks of land and
Islands within the afore described bounds and
Limits ;
Now for a confirmation unto the present
Freeholders Inhabitants of the said Towne and
precincts. Know Yee that by virtue of his
Majestie's Letters Pattents and the Commis-
sion and Authority unto mee given by his
Royall Highness I have Ratified, Confirmed
and Granted * =^ * unto John Topping
(Justice of the Peace), Captain John Howell,
Thomas Halsey Senior, Joseph Raynor (Con-
stable), Edward Howell, John Jagger, John
Foster, and Francis Sayre (Overseers), Lieut.
Joseph Fordham, Henry Pierson, John Cooper,
1040
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
Ellis Cooke, Samuel Clarke, Richard Post and
John Jennings, as Patentees, for and on the
behalfe of them selves and their Associates the
ffreeholders and Inhabitants of said town,
■' * ••• All the afore mentioned tract of
land * * * with all Rivers. Lakes, waters.
Ouarrvs, Woodlands, Plains. Meadows, pas-
iTires. Marshes, ffishing, Hawkine. Himting
and ffouling, And all other Proffits and Com-
modities '' '■■■ '" To Have and to Hold all
and singular their said lands and premises.
* * :;= -piie Tenure of said land to be ac-
cording to the custome of the ]\Ianor of East
Greenwich in the County of Kent in England,
in Free and Common Soccage and by fealty
only. * * * And 1 doe hereby likewise
Confirme and grant unto the said Patentees
and their Associates all the privileges and Im-
munities belonging to a Town within this gov-
ernment. And that the place of their present
Habitacon and abode shall continue and retaine
the name of South Hampton, by which name
and Stile it shall be distinguished and known
in all Bargaines * * * and writings.
Yeilding and paying therefor as an acknowl-
edgement or Quit rent One fatt Lamb unto
such officer or officers there in authority as
shall be Empowered to receive the same.
Given under my hand and sealed with the
Seal of the Province, in New York, the first
day of November in the Eight and twentieth
year of his Majestie's reign, Annoqiic Domini
one thousand six hundred and se\-enty-six.
E. Ax DROSS.
Gov. Dongan, of course, insisted on the
town taking one of his patents which was is-
sued in 1686. It confirmed the rights, etc., of
the former .document and ordered that twelve
trustees should annually be elected "of the
freeholders and commonalty of the town of
Southampton, two constables and two assess-
ors." The first trustees under this patent were
John Howell. Thomas Halsey, senr., Edward
Howell, John Jagger, John Foster, Francis
Sayre, Joseph Fordham, Henry Pierson, Sam-
uel Clark, Job Sayre, William Barker and
Isaac Halsey. It is noticeable that by this
charter others than the proprietors or free-
holders were made qualified to vote.
Southampton was a Christian, democratic
town, but bv no means a theocracv. Its rea-
sons for formally annexing itself in 1644 to
Hartford rather than to New Haven was that,
under the laws of the last named common-
wealth, church membership was an essential
to the full rights of citizenship, to the right to
speak and vote at town meetings. This deci-
sion, however, lost to the community its first
minister, the Rev. Abraham Pierson. He had
hoped that the town would develop into a com-
munity in which the church would be supreme,
and he had even organized the congregation
with seven members before the first batch of
colonists left Lynn. But from the first he
probably was dissatisfied with the results. A
church building was erected at Southampton
in 1640, but when Pierson left he took part of
his people with him and set up a new taber-
nacle at Bradford, Conn. The Rev. Robert
Fordham, the pioneer of Hempstead, succeed-
ed Pierson in the ministry of Southampton,
and concerning that Dr. \\'. Wallace Tooker,
in an unpublished monograph from which
many data have already been obtained, says :
"His arrival and locating at Southampton
undoubtedly gave a boom to that weak colony,
then to a great extent disorganized by the de-
parture of JVIinister Pierson and the few who
agred with him, as well as by the dissensions
that occasioned it. The best and most influen-
tial townsmen, liowever, remained to welcome
"the well-beloved servant of the Lord, Mr.
Fordham,' as they expressed it, in April, 1649,
in their contract with him as their minister.
Before his coming to Southampton the towns-
men had become dissatisfied with their 'old'
town site, which possessed many disadvantag-
es unseen and imthought of in the haste of lay-
ing out the first settlement, and after his arrival
they began to lay out and to build upon the
new, now represented by the present wide and
beautiful main street of Southampton village.
So, with Fordham's ministry, the town of
Southampton entered upon a different order
of things, as well as upon a new era of pros-
perity, which has continued until the present
dav. Lender Mr. Fordham a new church build-
SOUTHAMPTON.
lUil
ing- was erected in 1651. This church stood
until 1707, when a third structure was erected,
which was occupied by the congregation until
1845. when it was replaced by a more com-
modious structure."
Air. Fordhani continued to act as minister
until his death, in 1674, and long before that"
he enjoyed the reputation of being the wealtlv
iest man in Southampton. Yet his stipend
never seems to have exceeded £80, so he must
have largely engaged in mercantile affairs and
been a good business man. In 1716 the church,
then under the care of the Rev. Samuel Gel-
ston, came under Presbyterian government.
Southampton was in favor of the move-
ment for freedom in 1776 almost to a man.
Three or four companies of militia and minute-
men were raised in the township, in addition
to two companies which guarded the great
herd of cattle on Alontauk Peninsula. It is
supposed the Southampton company in Col.
Smith's regiment took part in the battle of
Brooklyn, but, unfortunateh', there is nothing
on record about that. But we do know that
the smoke had hardly cleared away from Go-
wanus Heights before Gen. Erskine"s procla-
mation was circulated, calling on all to subjiiit
to royal authority. Many of the best and
wealthiest of the townspeople, rather than
comply, crossed over into Connecticut, but
Governor Tryon"s oath had to be taken by all
who remained. The British troops made their
headquarters at Southampton and Sag Har-
bor in 1778. and then followed the same story
of wrong and robbery, reciuisiticns without
stint but generally without payment, the di-
version of everything to the use of the mili-
tary, the abandonment of work on the farms,
the wanton destruction of jiroperty, growing
crops, fences and Iniildings, which has fol-
lowed us all over the island in our story of the
townships. .\s soon as the troops left, indus-
try again set in, but it was many a year before
the damage done during that military satur-
nalia was fu'ly repaired.
The modern story of Southampton village
is one of quiet progress. In 1844 the first
Alethodist Church was organized, and a large
congregation has since been built up. In 1879
the Episcopal body made a beginning with
their quaint little church, St. Andrew's-in-the-
Dunes, but it is only used during the sunmier
season. The Roman Catholic Church only be-
gan its work in 1886. The Civil War natur-
ally created much excitement, but the demands
of the Federal authorities were met. A bountv
of $750 was paid to each man drafted and $500
for recruits. The local hero of the war. Col.
Edwin Rose, died at Jamaica, L. I., where he
was acting as Provost Marshal, in 1864.
Southampton is now one of the most select
of the summer resort towns on Long Island.
It is famous for its clubs, its social life, its
artistic "atmosphere." It has many of the fin-
est suburban homes in America, and during
the season its "functions" are many and select.
It has now a population of nearly 2,000.
Alany Indian legends concerning Suft'olk
county have been unearthed by Dr. William
Wallace Tooker, of Sag Harbor and concern-
ing the aboriginal inhabitants of his home town
and the memorials they left behind in the way
of place names, he writes as follows :
In a former time, under primitive condi-
tions, on the rolling ground and plain, to the
northward of the range of hills that extend
west and east across the eastern portion of the
present village of Sag Harbor, were located the
picturesque wigwams, corn fields and other ac-
cessories of the village of Wegwagonock. .\
large portion of the elevation, on the southern
slopes of which the most compact part of the
village had been situated, was leveled about
fifty years ago and its contents distributed over
the adjoining meadow in order to increase the
area and stability of the ship and oil yards of
Alulford and Sleight. The writer was in-
formed by the late William R. Sleight that hu-
man bones, supposed to have been those of
Indians, very friable and decayed, were un-
earthed during the excavating ; but, if any ob-
ects aboriginal were deposited with them at
the time of burial, they were overlooked in the
haste and carelessness of the digging.
The situation of this summer dwelling place
1042
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
of the red men, which it must undoubtedly
have been, for in the winter they hved back in
the forests where it was less exposed and more
sheltered, was highly favored naturally for
their purposes and their primitive mode of liv-
ing. From evidences, surface or otherwise,
that have been discovered from time to time,
this village extended, with the wigwams in
scattered order, along the edge of the meadows
where the late E. M. Cooper and Charles L.
Phillips' houses stand, skirting the base of the
hills as far as the Fahys Watch Case Factory.
At the present day a large portion of this area
has been obliterated of its aboriginal marks by
the march of improvements until but a small
part of the site indicates what it must have been
at the period of which I write, that portion in
close proximity to the depression which has
been known from my childhood as the "Frog
Pond" is about the only part remaining that
may still be studied by the student of prehis-
toric anthropology with much interest and sat-
isfaction.
The conditions which give rise to this vil-
lage in aboriginal times were these : First, its
nearness to the tidal waters in front made their
food quest an easy one, for fish abounded here.
Second, the sand-flats, bare at low water, bor-
dering the shore in every direction, undoubted-
ly teemed, as it does to-day, with shell-fish of
various kinds. The abundance of the uni-
valve, commonly called the periwinkle, in the
various coves and bays hereabouts, gave the
name Melitanawack, "country of the ear-shell"
to this part of Long Island, thus making it a
place of note to the natives on the neighboring
main. There can be no doubt whatever but
that the manufacture of wampum was carried
on to a great extent at this Indian village, and
that it was frequently visited by the Dutch for
the purposes of trading in this commodity.
All the facts disclosed by excavating on this
village site proves it; the numerous columella
or stock of periwinkle scattered about this vil-
lage site bears mute testimony of this manufac-
ture. The writer, in digging here, discovered
a cache of these shells which had evidently
been stored for future use. He has discovered
like deposits in other places which bears out
Roger Wilhams' observation in 1643, viz. :
"Most on the sea-side make Money, and store
up shells in Summer against Winter where-
, of to make their money." Again, at the mouths
of the tidal creeks could be found in abundance
the round clam which Roger Williams said
"the Indians wade deepe and dive for, and
after they have eaten the meat there (in those
which are good) they break out of the shell,
about halfe an inch of a blacke part of it, of
which they make their suckau hock, or black
money which is to them pretious." It is very
rare we find a whole valve of the round clam
{veniis mcrcenaria), but fragments exist in
great quantity, showing breakage of the shell
in order to obtain the "blue eye" so highly de-
sired for beads. The debris which marks the
settlement is composed of shells, ashes, char-
coal, burnt stones which were probably the
hearths of the wigwams, pottery sherds, both
ornamented and plain, arrow points, hammer
stones, celts, stone axes and other objects that
carry the age of the village back to a past, pre-
vious to the dawn of settlement by the English,
and the layers of which prove that the occupa-
tion of the site by the Indians was not continu-
ous but was revisited time and time again.
Again in the top layer has been found a few
gun flints, glass beads and brass buttons, indi-
cating occupation within historic times. On
the surface it was the writer's fortune to find
a brass arrow-point identical with that figured
by Dr. Abbott on page 421 of his Primitive In-
dustry, which also belongs to the writer. There
is something peculiar about these two points in
the fact that when placed one on the other it
is indicated seemingly that they were both cut
by a die, for the perforations and outlines are
exact in both specimens. There is no question
but what careful examination on the site of
this village would bring to light many objects
of aboriginal use and workmanship. It is only
a few years ago that my friend, Dr. C. S. Stil-
well, who owns the hill and land adjoining,
was digging to reset a post on the lowest part
of this village site, when he drew out at the
depth of about three feet, a perfect grooved
stone axe. It was quite large and very nicely
finished, and its accidental discovery indicates
to some extent what may lie buried underneath
the soil in this vicinity.
The neighboring meadows and the marshy
pools of water where the rushes grew and
where the cat-tail flourished in abundance,
were frequent places of resort in order to
gather flags for making mats, baskets and cov-
erings for their wigwams. The adjoining
hills, then all wooded, were roamed over in
search of game, and the occasional arrow-point
picked up on the surface or overturned by the
plow is a reminder of the arrows' flight either
in time of war or peaceful pursuits. The notch-
ed or grooved sinker is also a token of the foot-
SOUTHAMPTON.
1043
steps of the Indian fisherman and indicates
where his nets sometime were left to dry on
the upland bordering the shore. Thus on every
Jiand hereabouts may be met some token of
the dweller in the village of Wegwagonock.
Across the bay could be seen the island of
Ahac|uatuwamuck, "the sheltered fishing-
place," now known as Shelter Island, of which
its southern end directly opposite Wegwago-
nock, still retains its aboriginal appellation of
Meshomack, a term denoting "where there is
going by boat," indicating the ferry between
that point and Three Mile Harbor or to ^^'eg-
wagonock. Further northward, also within
sight where now we see the residence of Dr.
S. B. Nicoll, was the wigwam of the Sachem
Ambusco in the seventeenth century, which
gives the name "Sachem's Neck" to the lo-
cality. The trail or path from Wegwagonock
led to Ashawagh at Three Mile Harbor, to
\\'eckatuck at the north side, with branches in
various directions wherever the footsteps of the
Indian might lead him.
The name Wegwagonock or Wigwago-
nuck, as designating the locality, was retained
in the early records of East Hampton and prob-
ably in the speech of our first settlers until the
year 1731, when it disappears from the written
page and from the memory of our oldest in-
habitant until it was brought again to light by
the publishing of the records. Among other
notices we find one dated April 30th, 1718,
when ""It was agreed * * * that all the
land lying to the westward of Joseph Strettons'
meadow at Wigwagonock shall lie * * *
as common land forever * * ='' all the
land lying between the bound line and the
north side to the utmost limits of East Hamp-
ton bounds." This record identifies the locality
beyond a shadow of doubt, for the "bound
line," "north side," "utmost limits of the
bounds of East Hampton," could not have ap-
plied to any other locality than that north of
the site of where I place the village of Weg-
wagonock. By the inroads of the sea and
other causes, much of the meadow hereabouts
has disappeared and it is impossible to locate
any of the tracts of meadow first allotted to
the inhabitants of East Hampton ; although in
1728 Ananias Conkling, Jr., entereth his land
joining his land at Wigwagonock — near the
bound line, w^hich was probably what is now
the residence of 'Sirs. William R. Sleight and
of the others in the rear, extending back to the
bay. including the site of Wegwagonock and
meadow to the eastward, and terminating in
Conkling's Point, so named after its first
owner.
Indian place names are invariably descrip-
tive of the place to which they are applied, and
were therefore topographical, and not mere
marks to distinguish one place from the other
like all our names. Wegwagonock belongs to
the same class and denotes "land or place at
the end of the hill," which fully describes the
location at the foot of what has been known
for many years as "Sleight's Hill." John
Eliot, the eminent Indian Missionary, would
probably have written it in the Massachusetts
dialect as Wequae-adn-ohke, from Wequae,
"at the end of," "as far as," limit, etc., adn,
"a hill." use in compound words only, — ock,
"land or place." The name being descriptive
is found in varying forms in other parts of
New England. It was also the name of an In-
dian village in Sharon, Conn., as written by the
Moravian missionaries, Wequadn'ach. Once
I asked a Chippeway Indian what Wegwago-
nock meant, giving the sounds as represented
here : he was unable, however, to translate it,
but just as soon as I told him that it was the
same as Waiekwadnach in his own language,
he recognized its identity and translated it as
given above without my assistance. The same
name is found in Columbia and Dutchess
Counties New York, applied to a tribe of In-
dians who were called the Wayaughtanocks
or Wawyachtonocks, froin the facts that they
dwelt "at the end of a hill or mountain."
Sag Harbor is now the business city of the
township, and its most populous centre, hav-
ing a population of 4,000. It had its origin,
seemingly, about 1707, but little is known
of its early modern history. A good deal of its
traditions centre in a tavern, erected in 1745,
on a site now covered by the railroad station.
It was a noted resort for a long time and in it,
it is said, Fenimore Cooper, whose knowledge
of the entire Long Island Sound coast was
most intimate, wrote his novel, "Precaution."
The need of the location of a landing place for
vessels at Sag Harbor seems to have arisen
about the time whalefishing began to be an in-
dustry. In 1742 an efifort was made to build
a wharf, but it was unsuccessful, and it was not
until 1770 that such a necessary feature for a
seaport was constructed. Another was built
1044
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
in 17Q4. During the Revolution and in the
War of 1812 Sag Harbor acquired consider-
able prominence on account of its tactical situ-
ation, but its storv in these two emergencies
has already been told. Its commercial history
realiy begins with the close of the Revolution.
By 1806 quite a crowd of shipbuilders had
yards in which they turned out vessels suitable
for whaling, and it has been estimated by Mr.
Pelletreau that in 1845 no fewer than 70 ves-
sels engaged in that industry. Init it gradually
declined, and about 1862 ceased to be a factor.
It was thought that the ruin of this industry
meant the end of Sag Harbor's prominence.
But it had been slowly acquiring prominence
as a manufacturing centre, and in that respect
its success has been most marked, especially
since the introduction of the railroad in 1870.
No\vada\s some of its manufacturing cstab-
lishuKnts have a national fame, and it is a pro-
gressive, wide-awake community. It has had
a Presbyterian congregation since 1766, when
the first meeting house was erected, and the
services of the Methodist Church commenced
in 1807, two years before that body built a
place of worship in the village. Christ Protest-
ant Episcopal Church dates from 1845. I"
1784 its first school was erected, and by 181 5
it boasted an "academy" in addition.
An interesting sketch of "Sag Harbor in
the older times" was written in 1896 by Judge
Henry P. Hedges, the veteran leader of the
bar of Suiifolk county, which will be read with
interest as a contribution to local story by one
whose name is honored throughout Suffolk
county and whose knowledge of its legends,
its history, its people is justly regarded as
"second to none."
The social and economic life of Sag Har-
bor in its early days differed little from that of
the adjoining Hamptons. Settled later, it was
settled chiefly from them, and was appropriate-
ly their child. The Fordhams, Halseys, Pier-
sons, Fosters, Coopers, Howells, Sayres, Rog-
ers and others came from Southampton, the
Conklings, Edwards, Hedges, Osborns, }.Iul-
fords and others from East Hampton, At
first the dwellings were small one-story sin-
gle houses and so continued until after the
Revolution. Within a few years thereafter
the rewards of commerce, trade and the in-
dustrial arts so increased as to warrant the
construction of larger dwellings. About 1790,
two-story double houses were first built.
Merchants kept store below, and with their
families resided above. As late as the fire of
1845 Thomas P. Ripley, merchant, so lived.
The dwelling of Albert G. Hedges, then
burned, was so used by his father. In that
fire these and other like houses vanished. The
dwelling of Miss Mary Rose Rogers and the
old Latham house next north, late the resi-
dence of George B. Brown, remain as speci-
mens of the post-Revolutionary order of
architecture. After 1825 few double houses
were built. After 1830 generally they were
two-story, end to the street, after the pattern of
that at the junction of Main and Madison
streets, built by Captain David Hand, son of
Captain David and grandson of Captain David.
The dwelling in the rear of the residence of
R. J. Power is a pattern of ante-Revolution-
ary order. The dwelling next north of that,
formerly of George B. Brown, deceased, once
owned by Captain Selah Youngs, dates just
after the Revolution. The house of John De-
Castro is the style of single houses in vogue
from 1790 to 1825, or thereabouts. The de-
velopment and improvement of sailing craft
excelled that in the architecture of dwellings.
The small sloop of fifteen to fifty tons of 1640
had more than doubled in size in 1740, and
after 1712 when the first schooner was built in
the United States, those vessels grew in favor.
When this first schooner was launched, a
spectator said, "See how she scoons or skims,"
and the owner replied, "A schooner let her be."
This is said to be the origin of the word
schooner. The Custom House records of Sag
Harbor show these figures :
In 1794, 472 tons registered; 473 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
In 1800, 805 tons registered; 1449 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
In 1805, 1916 tons registered; 2228 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
In 1810, 1186 tons registered; 3223 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
In 1815, *808 tons registered; 2719 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
In 1820, 2263 tons registered; 3416 tons enrolled and
licensed vessels.
* A declil
ed by the
SOUTHAMPTON.
1045
From the early days of Sag Harbor, agri-
culture received some attention, and horti-
culture still more. \Miile the mercantile and
mechanic arts were the chief reliance of its
citizens, the culture of the soil was not neg-
lected. Barns were built and used in con-
nection with houses, and in many cases horses
were kept for agricultural purposes. Wood
was the only fuel used, and that had to be cut
and hauled to the dwelling. North Haven
bridge was not constructed. For a supply of
milk most families were obliged to keep their
own cows. The food of the community was
chiefly salt beef, pork and fish ; oftener rye
than wheat bread. For breakfast a Johnny-
cake with fried pork, sometimes fresh, while
the supply held out, and then salt while that
lasted ; sometimes neither could be had. For
supper, bread, samp, hominy or pudding with
milk. Dinner then as now was the larger
meal. A farmer's dinner was a chunk of salt
pork, an Indian pudding with a lot of potatoes
boiled together in an iron pot, and hence the
common expression of having "a boiled pot for
dinner." Eels, clams and fish were plenty.
Game abounded, and these relieved the monot-
ony of salted food. In my early days trench-
ers or wooden plates were sometimes used, be-
fore they were superseded by pewter, and they
in time by tin and crockery. Hence the say-
ing of a large eater, "He is a good trencher-
man." The old brick oven, indispensable and
inimitable in excellence, of the olden time, like
"the old oaken bucket that hung in the well,"
exists but in story and in song.
After my day began, little fresh meat was
sold in the market. ]\Iany families bought
beef and pork of the farmers and salted them
for the year's supply cf meat. In truth, it was
a cold, narrow frugal life.
Hard necessity compelled the use of the
cheapest food and clothing. Indeed, the cloth-
ing was mostly of home manufacture, spun in
the house and often there woven. Hosiery
was wholly a domestic product. The leather
used for harness, for saddles, for boots and
shoes was all tanned here and made up here.
To a considerable extent boots and shoes were
exported for sale elsewhere. Yet in all this
round of untiring industry, exacting from
young and old the daily task, social life was
brightened by frequent intercourse. In the
afternoon the women, taking on their should-
ers the small, light spinning wheel visited their
neighbors, and the simultaneous hum of the
wheel and of converse went gaily on.
Captain \'ail remembers when a boy taking
his mother's wheel to Robert F'ordham's Inn,
where the ladies gathered of an afternoon, until
in the large ball-room forty spinning-wheels
were counted. In reading this paper to a
friend, inadvertently I omitted the word spin-
ning before wheel, when he interrupted me,
suggesting the adjective, and saying at first he
thought I meant the bicycle wheel! How
widely the past and present differ, and what
could be more suggestive?
In the long evenings by the winter's fire-
side many a yarn relieved the monotony of
the hour. The friendly, bright, social life of
Sag Harbor was formerly far-famed. In the
olden time newspapers were rare. Knowledge
and news were orally conveyed. Conversa-
tional practice perfected the art. The charm
of modern conversation does not exceed that
of former days. Necessity compelled indus-
trious toil. Exercise developed a hardy race.
Rowing trained the muscle of the men ; the
spinning-wheel brought out the activities and
grace of the women. Young ladies at the
large wheel spun woolen rolls in yarn. It re-
quired skill and dexterity to draw out the
thread and roll it on the spindle. But the
symmetry, the grace of motion, the harmony
of proportion, the lithesome activity of the
feminine form, and the undefinable charm of
woman never shone more winningly than when
operating that wheel. The settlement at Sag
Harbor \vas compact and facilitated and in-
vited the enjoyment of social life. The em-
barkation and return of voyagers on the great
deep were events of interest to the little com-
nninitv, and as the port increased in population
and enlarged enterprise, these events were of
frequent occurrence. Strangers visited the
taverns, mechanics and artisans came to render
aid as the seasons requiring their labors re-
turned. With the cargoes of lumber, fish
and other imports, strangers made a temporar\-
or permanent sta\- in the place. Farmers
from the Hamptons came often.
Thus the pulsations of the outer world, its
politics, its business, its modes of thought, its
inventions, its discoveries, its manners, its
news were conveyed by its visitors, and Sag-
Harbor throbbed and glowed with the Nation's
life. This old telephone wrought slowly but
sureh' and incessantly, and the message kept
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
the standard of progression in the village
abreast of the advancement of the age.
Bridgehampton, which now has a popula-
tion of 850 and is a farming, fishing and rail-
road centre, dates from about 1712. It is part
of the district once known as Mecox and seems
to have eclipsed the old village of that name,
which was settled in 1660, and had a church
for the use of its people about the close of that
century. The first cliurch in Bridgehampton
was erected in 1737 — a Presbyterian congre-
gation which is still active and vigorous, and
it was able to support another church in 1820,
when the Methodist body began its local his-
tory. Mention is also ma'de of yet another
church, the result of a schism in the Presby-
terian ranks in 1748, but it only lasted a few
years. Its people called themselves the "New
Lights," and were followers of the Rev. Mr.
Davenport of Southold, to whose strange
career reference has been made in an earlier
chapter of this work. Bridgehampton is a
pleasant retired village, "quiet and comfort-
able," a recent visitor described it, and is ap-
parently just beginning to acquire some prom-
inence among summer visitors who care more
for rest than frivolities.
North Sea, the oldest settlement in the
township next to Southampton, dates from
1647, and is said to have been the spot where.
the settlers first landed. It used to be a place
with some commercial pretensions, but Sag
Harbor long since stripped it of what little
trade it had, and its present population of 75
is made up mainly of farmers. Speonk, or, as
it is now called, Remsenburg, is a village which
of late years has come into prominence on ac-
count of the successful effort to change its
name. The regular settlers call it Speonk, as
it has been called since it first became settled,
about 1750, and the summer folks call it Rem-
senburg, and, as the postal authorities have ac-
cepted the change, it seems likely to prevail.
It has a population of some 200, but in the
summer season it has about four times as
many, and its Presbyterian Church is one of
the handsomest structures of its kind to be
seen in any Long Island village. Quogue,
however, seems to be even more of a favorite
with the dwellers from the city who love to
spend their holidays at a watering place pure
and simple. Quogue was first settled in 1748,
but it now presents few evidences of its age,
being mainly made up of modern villas. The
old Indian tract, generally spoken of as Shin-
necock, is more famous for its golfing grounds
than for anything else. It claims a resident
population of 125, and the Indian reservation
at Shinnecock Neck 200. Canoe Place has a
population of 150, but in the summer months
there are generally several hundred visitors
roaming along its neighboring roads, hunting
for relics of the fast disappearing red man, or
for botanical curiosities, or simply enjoying
the sunshine, pure air and natural beauty of
one of the most primitive spots to be met with
on the island.
Tlie rest of the settlements in the township
present little to occupy our attention. With
the possible exception of Sag Harbor, they are
SOUTHAMPTON.
1047
all of them laying plans for attracting to their
confines a large share of that summer trade
which has done so much within the past quar-
ter of a century to build up the outlying dis-
tricts of Long Island, and which seems certain
to increase in volume and importance and to
steadily open new centres as time glides on.
In it will be found Long Island's greatest
source of wealth, and every agency — good ho-
tels, splendid roads, rapid transit, liberal and
honest dealing — should be used to accelerate
its development and quicken its progress.
CHAPTER LXXIII.
EAST HAMPTON.
OHN LIOX GARDINER, the seventh
proprietur of Gardiner's Island, was
the antiquary of the family. He
compiled a vocabulary of the lan-
guage of the Mohawk Indians, which, brief
as it is, really preserves all that is known now
of that ancient tongue. He was a careful stu-
dent of local history, and his "Observations
on the Town of East Hampton," written in
1708, is a valuable little monograph which
should really be the basis of all the histories
of the township. In accordance with that view
it is here reproduced in full:
The Town of East Hampton is bounded
South-Easterly by the Atlantic Ocean, on
which side the shore is a sand beach free
from rocks. The sea gains on the shore, and
it has been said by aged people that, in some
places, the sea now washes the shore where
Indian Corn has been planted by their Fathers.
The sand near the shore is blown into hills on
which nothing grows but a grass called "Beach
Grass," and a shrub bearing the Beach plum.
By this grass & the Bushes, the sand is, in
some measure, prevented being blown over the
adjacent pasture & mowing fields.
Easterly, the town terminates at !Mon-
tauk's Point around which the Tide runs very
rapidly. Gardiners Island, or the Isle of
Wight, lies on the North Eeast side of Gard-
iner's Bay, and contains about 3,000 acres of
good land. Its greatest length is from N.
W. to S. E. and is about 7>4 miles. There
is, besides, an Island called Rom (or Rum)
Island, which belongs to it, and lies on the
South part. The shape of the Island is ir-
regular. From its first settlement in 1639,
it was a plantation by itself. As the Legis-
lature in 1788 thought proper to annex it to
the town of East Hampton, it will, in those
Notes, be considered as a part of that Town-
ship. This Island is distant from the town 10
miles ; and from Long Island shore about 3.
It is assessed for about one sixth of the value
of the Township. The shore on the North
side of East Hampton is rocky and indented
with bays, coves, and creeks, which lead into
Ponds abounding with shell and scale fish, and
are harbours for small vessels.
Westerly, the town is bounded by South
Hampton.
The line between these two towns was in
contention from the first settlement till 1695,
when it was, finally, fixed where it now is,
by persons mutually chosen by the two Towns.
It begins at the sea shore on the south side,
and crosses the eastern branch of the Island,
to the North side & leaves but a small part of
the houses, at Sag Harbor on the East Hamp-
ton side. This line is about — miles in length,
& was fenced about the year 1664 in order to
keep the Southampton horses &c. from cross-
ing over the bounds. This line is now much
farther to the Eastward than where it was
fixed by the General Assembly of Connecticut
about 1660 to whose decision it was then re-
ferred.
The settlement of Sag Harbor is mostly
EAST HAMPTON.
1019
in Southampton Township, and is a thriving
place. It is exceedingly well calculated for
the Whale and Cod Fishery,
By the Records, it appears that East
Hampton was at first called Maidstone. This
name does not appear after the year 1664,
when they came under the Duke of York, and
soon after received a Patent from Col. Rich-
ard Xicolls. By this Patent the Town is called
East Hampton, though the records of the
Town prior to the year 1664, mention that as
the name of the place. It was probably called
East, on account of its situation to the East
of Southampton.
Some of the First Settlers appear, by the
Records, to have come from Stansted in the
county of Kent in England. Probably some
of them might have come from Maidstone in
the same County. It is very evident from
the Records, that some of the original 35
settlers and purchasers of the Town removed
from Lynn in Massachusetts ; and tradition in-
forms us that they came from several of the
towns on the Sea coast to the Eastward of
Boston. These were, probably, natives of
England, as Xew England had not been
settled so long as to produce Native Immi-
grants when E. Hampton was first settled.
Those who were received by the Original
Settler as "accepted Inhabitants," might
have been born in America. None were re-
ceived into the Town as Inhabitants but by a
vote, and some were forbid settling on account
of their principle and laziness.
There were, at first 35 purchasers. The
names of 13 of these are now entirely extinct
in the Town. The Christian & Surnames of
many of the original settlers are now foimd
to the 4th 5th & 6th degree, counting the first
as one. Lands that were at first allotted, have
descended in the family, and are, after a space
of 150 years, occupied by one of the same fam-
ily and name.
\\'hen the town was first settled only a
home-lot at the South end of the Town, con-
taining from II to 13 acres, was laid out.
This was done on both sides of the Pond,
called the '"Town Pond." This was probably
on account of the convenience of getting
water for themselves and cattle before they
dug wells. It is probable a brook might have
discharged itself into the Pond, which, since
the land is cleared, has disappeared.
The next lands that was laid out to the
Owners, were the Salt Marshes in the various
parts of the Town. The last of the Wood-
land was allotted to the owners about 60 years
ago.
Excepting the Indian Deed for the Town-
ship, there is nothing of an earlier date on
Record than the following:
"At a General Court holden at East Hamp-
ton, March 7th 1650 [o. s.] It is ordered that
Ralph Dayton is to go to Keneticut for to pro-
cure the Evidence of our Lands, and for an
acquaintance for the payment of our lands,
and for a boddie of laws.
'Tt was alsoe ordered that any man have
libertie to sett gunns for to kill wolves, but
not within half a mile of the town" &c &c.
"No man shall sett any gun, Init he shall look
to it while the stars appear, and take the gunn
up by the sunrising, and no man shall sell
any dog or bitch, young or ould, to any Indian
upon the penaltie of paying of 30s."
Various town laws, similar to the above
are on Record. They are styled "Orders."
Many of them are relative to laying out vacant
lands, making roads, destroying noxious ani-
mals &c. in short, laws that were necessary
in a new settlement.
The Indian Deed for the land is on Record.
It is from the four Indian Sachems, Paggala-
cnt, of Manhansett: Wayaiidancli of Mianta-
cutt : Momozi'eia of Curchaki : Xowcdonah of
Shinacock.
It is dated April 29th, 1648, and conveys
the land, to the "Eastward of Southampton
bounds, to the Worshipful Theophilus Eaton
Esquire, Governour of the Colony of New
Haven and the Worshipful Edward Hopkins
Governour of the Colon \- of Conecticut and
1050
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
their assocyates ... for and in consid-
eration of 20 coats, 24 Looking Glasses, 24
hose, 24 Hatchets, 24 Knives, and one hun-
dred Mucxs, already received by L'S, and re-
serve unto ourselves free Liberty to fish in
all the cricks & ponds, and hunt up and down
in the Woods without molestation, giving the
English Inhabitants noe just cause of offence :
likewise are to have the fynns & tails of all
Whales cast up, and desire they may be friend-
ly dealt with in the other part alsoe to fish for
shells to make Wampum of, and if the In-
dyans, in hunting deer shall chase them into
the water and the English shall kill them, the
English shall have the bodie and the Sachem
the skin." The witnesses were, Richard
Woodhull, Thomas Stanton, Robert Bond,
Job Sayre and Chectanoo (by his mark) the
Interpreter.
There is recorded a receipt from Edward
Hopkins to "Robert Bond — inhabitant of East
Hampton for £34. 4. 8. being the amount )f
monies paid for the purchase of the Lands,"
and a certificate of the delivering of said Bond
the writings of the said purchase and all the
Interest that was thereby purchased dated
i6th April 1651. On a blank leaf of one of
the old Books of Records are seen these words
"Robert Bond delivered unto the Govr for the
purchase of our Lands, for the towns use the
sum of £1. 3. 10. Robert Bond for his ex-
penses, going to the Mayne land in the Town's
service the sum is £1. 3s. 6d." It appears
that the purchase was made by these two Gov-
ernors in trust & in behalf of the Original
Settlers of the Town.
The English & Natives appear to have
lived on good terms. The lands on the East
end of Long Island as well as the neighbour-
ing Islands — Shelter Island, Gardiners Island,
Plum Island & Fishers Island — were pur-
chased of the Natives. Some French writer,
I think Raynal, speaks in praise of the Great
William Penn for having sett an uncommon
Example in purchasing the Soil of Pennsyl-
vania of the Native Indians, and which if it
had been followed by the Settlers of New
England and Virginia would have prevented
some wars that took place. This Frenchman,
like many European writers who have never
been in the country, did not understand him-
self sufficiently on the subject. The fact was
that the Settlers of Virginia & New England
purchased their lands of the Natives before
Geo: Fox the Founder of the Quaker's Sect
published their principles in England in Oliver
Cromwell's time, and a long time before the
celebrated William Penn settled in Pennsyl-
vania. There is no doubt but the regular pur-
chase & the warrantie deed from the four
abovementioned Sachems, in 1648, prevented
difficulties between the Natives & English.
Some Indian writings on record in East
Hampton speak of the friendship & amity of
their neighbours the English about 1660.
Gov. Winthrop in his Journal, page ■ — and
Gov. Hutchinson in his History of Massa-
chusetts p. 88, mentions that in 1640, a num-
ber of families removed from Lynn to the
West end of Long Island, and bought land
there of James Farret Agent to the Earl of
Sterling: but getting into some quarrel with
the Dutch, they rem&ved to the East end, and
settled at Southampton & chose one Pierson
for their Minister. Probably Southampton
was settled before East Hampton. Tradition
informs us that before East Hampton people
built their first grist mill (which went with
cattle), they went to Southampton to mill, and
carried their grain on the back of a bull that
belonged to the Town for the use of thoir
cows. If this is true, no doubt Southampton
was settled first.
Govr Hutchinson says that in 1644 South-
ampton by an act of the Commissioners of the
United Colonies was annext to the Jurisdic-
tion of Connecticut. One might suppose that
E. Hampton was settled from Southampton,
but the method of pronunciation is quite dif-
ferent, although the Towns join. An East
Hampton man may be known from a South-
ampton man as well as a native of Kent in
EAST HAMPTON.
England may be distinguished from a York-
shire man. The original settlers of these
Towns probably came from different parts of
England. Besides the names that prevail in
one town are not to be met with in the other.
The names of Pierson, Halsey, Howell, Top-
pin, Sanford, Cooper, White, Post &c and
common in Southampton & confined there, as
are the names of Mulford, Osborn, Conkling,
Baker, Parsons, Miller, Gardiner, Dayton, &c.
to East Hampton. The names of Hedges &
presented to Gov. Dongan about 1683, men-
tions his father as the first Englishman that
had settled in the Colony of New York.
Southampton put itself under the Jurisdiction,
of Connecticut in 1644, as Southold did under
New Haven in 1648. According to President
Stiles' History of the three Judges of Charles
I., East Hampton was a Plantation or Com-
monwealth as it is styled, in the Record —
that was. Independent of any other Govern-
ment from the first settlement till about 1657.
_ ,v-- . ' , .^ ^- '"-^ ^ - :'-:k.3ri»«^'^
EAST HAMPTON.
Hand, are met in the Eastern part of South-
ampton but originally [they were] from E.
Hampton. Very little intercourse took place
between the two towns before the Revolu-
tionary war. Since that, visits and intermar-
riages are more frequent.
What time East Hampton was first settled
is not certainly known. Probably soon after
Southampton. Neither of the Towns was
settled as early as Gardiners Island which was
settled by Lion Gardner in March 1639.
David, son of Lion Gardiner, in a petition
The magistrates frequently asked advice in
difficuk cases "of the neighbour Towns of
Southampton & Southold" and sometimes cf
"the Gentlemen at Hartford."
The three Towns on the East are styled
the "Three Plantations." The government of
the Town of E. Hampton was purelly Repub-
lican. Their laws were enacted by all the citi-
zens assembled in town meeting; this was
stiled ''the General Court" and a fine inflicted
on such as did not attend.
In Deer 1653 by a vote of the General
1052
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Court, "the Capital laws, and the laws and
Orders that are notic'd in the bodie of laws
that came from Connecticut shall stand in
force among us."
Their public officers were few ; three mag-
istrates who were called Townsmen, were
chosen annually. Their oath of office points
out their duty ; it was as follows : —
"You being chosen by the Court for the
careful and comfortable carrying on of the af-
fairs'of this Town, do here swear by the
name of the Great & Everliving God. that you
will faithfully, and without respect of persons,
execute all such laws and orders as are or
shall be made & established by this Court, ac-
cording to God, according to the trust com-
mitted to you during this year for which you
are chosen & until new ones be chosen, if you
remain among us, so help you God."
A Recorder and Constable were the only
other public officers chosen ; their oath points
out their duty, and is mutatis iniitaiidis. similar
to the above. The Constable was always a
reputable citizen and of great authority. He,
bv law, moderated the General Court. The
Recorder, or Secretary, not only recorded all
orders of the General Court, but the decisions
of the ^lagistrates. and by a vote passed in
1656, the depositions of witnesses in trials at
Law, for which he was allowed a stated price,
as were also the magistrates and constable.
Their trials were sometimes, with a Jury, but
mostly without. From 1650 to 1664, about
the time they came under Gov. Nicoll, there
are about 50 or 60 cases at law on record.
They were mostly for small debts & for
defamation. By law, no one could recover
more than £5 for defamation. In 165 — Geo:
Lee attorney to prosecuted "Lieut. Lion
Gardiner of the Isle of Wight in behalf of
himself and the States of England for five
hundred pounds Stg" before the Magistrates
in E. Hampton. It appears from the very
lengthy depositions "that a Southampton man
had hired a Dutchman to bring a freight
(cargo) to that place from Alanhadoes, & that
the vessel was taken from the Dutchman &
brought to the Isle of Wight to the Lieften-
ant who retook her for the Dutch owner" and
was prosecuted by the original captors.
This affair was referred to the General
Court at Hartford by the East Hampton Mag-
istrates & both parties were bound to appear
there. Lee obliged himself, if he did not
prosecute the case there, it should be dropped.
This was likely the result. This is the most
important case on record where property was
concerned.
"The three men were to meet the first sec-
ond day of every month for the tryall of any
cause according to an Order and to consider
of those things that may concern the publick
good of the place & whosoever of those Three
men do not attend the day at 8 o'clock in the
morning shall be liable to pay 5s."
"John Mulford, Robert Bone & Thos
Baker chosen by this Court for the execution
of those Orders, complied with their trust for
this year. Ralph Dayton, Constable and
Benjn Price, Recorder." Done at a General
Court holden October 7, 1651.
The first General Court was in March
1650.
It was decreed October 1652 that "if any
man be aggrieved with any thing that is done
by the men that are in authoritie, that he shall
have liberty to make his appeal to the next
General Court, or when the freemen are as-
sembled together for their publique occasions."
Their town Meetings were frequent and
became burdensome on the people, but being
their own law makers they made a mutiplicity
of laws for regulating the fences of fields pas-
tured in common ; for division of lands ; mak-
ing highways ; building a mill or meeting
house & this took up much of their time. The
business of killing whales was regulated by
law, and every one [was] obliged to take his
turn to look out for them on the shore." Their
houses were thatched and liable to take fire.
Every man was obliged by law to provide
himself with a ladder that should reach to the
EAST HAMPTON.
1053
top of his house, and a man was appointed
to see that the chimneys were well plaister'^d
and swept. Severe laws were made against
selling any Indians, guns, swords, powder,
lead, flints, or any more than two drams of
strong water at one time." Many of the laws
appear curious, but in general they are mild,
and the penalties not very severe. There are
only three or four cases of corporal punish-
ment and none of capital.
In the year 1653 the Indians were some-
what troublesome. Powder & shot were sent
for to the mouth of the Connecticut River,
and a watch by night of two, and a ward by
day of one man was ordered to be kept by the
Inhabitants in town. "April 26, 1653, It is
ordered that no Indians shall come to the town
unless it be upon special occasion, & none come
armed, because that the Dutch hath hired In-
dians against .the English, & we not knowing
Indians by face cannot distinguish freinds
from enemies : &, because the Indians hath
cast ofif their Sachem &c orders were given
to shoot any Indian on third call or if they ran
away." "Every man was obliged to go armed
to the meeting house every Lords day, under
penaltie of 12 pence," and four assistants were
added to the three Townsmen. It does not ap-
pear by the Records that any battle was
fought. Probably the Indians who were then
numerous had , not learned the use of Fire
x\rms. This was at the time Oliver Crom-
well was at war with the Dutch Xation and an
opinion prevailed through this country that
the Dutch at Manhadoes supplied the Indians
with arms, and urged them to destroy the
English settlements. From the histories of
those times, it is evident something was de-
signed against the English by the Dutch &
Indians. Oliver Cromwell about this time
called on all the Colonies to assist in an ex-
pedition against the Dutch at Manhadoes, par-
ticularly Xew Haven and Connecticut, who
were nighest the Dutch. Major Sedgewick
of Massachusetts was to have the command
of the men that were to be sent from each
Colony in a certain proportion. The follow-
ing extract from the E. Hampton records
probably refers to this : —
"June 29 1654. Having considered the
letters that come from Connecticut wherein
men are required to assist the power of Eng-
land against the Dutch, we do think ourselves
called to assist the said power."
The expedition did not take place, prob-
ably on account of Peace having been made
soon after between the two Nations. A'ery
little more is said about the Indians till the
Great Indian war which threatened all this
country in 1675, when the people were again
on their guard. Cut it does not appear that
any lives were lost.
This was the most formidable combination
of Indians that ever happened. Gov: Andross
sent an armed Sloop to Gardiner's Island to
protect it against the Indians. The English
& the Indians were probably both on their
guard against a surprise, but by 1675 the East
end of Long Island had so many English
settled that there was no great danger. The
Five Nations joined this confederacy.
"Oct. 3, 1654. It is ordered that there
shall be a copie of the Connecticut combina-
tion drawn forth as [soon as] is convenient
for us and all men shall sett to their hands."
This combination was signed Oct. 24, 1654.
by about 40 and is now on Record by each on
the Book. All excepting 3 or 4 write a plain
legible hand for those days. These sign by
inaking their mark.
"This Combination is to maintain & pre-
serve the libertie and puritie of the Gospel of
our Lord Jesus which we now profess as alsoe
the Discipline of the Church which according
to the said- Gospell is now practised among
US. As alsoe in our civill affaires to be
guided & governed according to such laws and
orders as shall be made according to God and
which by vote of the Major Part shall be of
force among L's &c &c."'
This Combination is similar to the one en-
tered into in 163 — by the 3 Towns of Hart-
1054
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
ford, Windsor & Wethersfield, and is a copy
preamble of that as recorded in Hazards Coll :
of State papers, p. .
March 19, 1657. It is ordered and by a
Major, vote of the Inhabitants of this Towne
agreed r.pon, that Thomas Baker & John Hand
is to go into Keniticut for to bring us under
their government according to the terms as
Southampton is, and alsoe to carry Goodwife
Garlick that she may be delivered up unto the
authorities there for the triall of the cause of
Witchcraft which she is suspected for." It
was afterwards agreed upon by the town "that
Mr. Gardiner shall be intrusted with the same
power with Ths Baker and John Hand for
coming under Government."
In the Records the word is "interested."
It doubtless should be intrusted.
It is evident from the Record that soon af-
ter this they were under the jurisdiction of
that Colony, or rather composed a part of it,
altho' nothing is said of their men's returning.
Probably the General Court at Hartford did
not pay any attention to the latter part of the
business on which Baker & Hand were sent.
This poor woman had a trial in E. Hampton
for Witchcraft, but nothing was done. It was
referred to the Genl Court at Hartford.
At this day it appears surprising that not
only those who settled in the American Wild-
erness should be so infatuated about Witches
and \Mtchcraft but that King James I, Lord
Justice Holt and some of the first characters
in the English Nation should also be so carried
away with notions of this kind. If the affair
of witches has made more noises in this coun-
try than it has in some Countries of Europe,
it is not owing to their having been more
executed for that supposed crime here: for
I have no doubt there has been, during the
same time, as many executed in England only,
as there have been in all New England & Vir-
ginia, for it was not confined to New England
but prevailed also in other parts. In Europe,
the execution of a few individuals would be
effaced from the page of History by more im-
portant events that were continually taking
place during the last century. But in this
country it was a singular affair, & has been
handed down by our own writers, and dwelt
upon, with wonder, by European writers who
have endeavoured to account for it from the
enthusiastic ideas of the Inhabitants here, not
considering that they acquired these ideas in
Europe from books published by men of char-
acter & information. It is to be hoped this in-
fatuation is done away among the Citizens of
both sides of the Atlantic but it is not justice
for one side to suppose that this infatuation
prevailed only on the other. If King James,
Lord Holt and others of information, who be-
lieved in witchcraft, are excusable, certainly
those persecuted exiles who fled to a savage
wilderness are equally clear of blame. Per-
haps the law of ^Moses by which in many cases
the first settlers were governed, w-as a Mean of
urging them on in the belief of Witchcraft
and its evils.
November 29, 1662. It is jointly & fully
agreed that Mr. T. Baker, Mr Thos James, &
Mr Lion Gardiner, Mr Robert Bond, Mr John
Mulford, Thos Tomson and Thos Chatfield
shall go to Southampton the next second day
to compound a difference between Us & Capt.
John Scott Esqr and Mr. John Odgen about
Meantaquit, and do hereby engage to ratifie
and confirm what our committee shall con-
clude upon: & also we do empower this our
Committee to joyne with Southampton and
Southold about a Patten grant."
To whom they proposed to apply for a
Patent I don't know. New York was then in
the hands of the Dutch. It was either to King
Charles 2nd or to the Government of Connec-
ticut.
"Novemb: 23 1663. A committee was ap-
pointed to Join Southampton & Southold
Committees and if they see cause, to establish
laws for settling government among us. And
what our Committee or a Major part of them
shall doe herein we engage ourselves to stand
unto."
EAST HAMPTON.
1055
It was, doubtless in contemplation to have
the three towns join in one government as
other towns on this continent have done.
February 23, 1663. [o. s.] It was agreed
that I\Iuntauk shall pay Fifty pounds of the
150 that is to purchase the pattent right."
March 25. At a Town Meeting, after
long debate, it was agreed to that the Pur-
chase of Pattent right should be borne by all
the Inhabitants according to the land every
Man Possesses.
"April 26, 1664. At a Town Meeting the
Town doth desire those men, that doe goe to
Hartford, to debate together with the Neigh-
bouring Plantation for the things of Mutual
Government bewteen Hartford & Us for our
future Settlement, but to conclude of nothing,
as understanding that the Governour will
come over, or a Committee from the General
Court."
Dec. 21, 1664. The inhabitants of this
Town — understanding that we are off from
Connecticut, and the magistrates not willing
to act further on that account, that we may
not be without laws & Government, it is agreed
the former laws shall stand in force till we
have further order, from York. It is agreed
that the Constable of the Town shall be se-
cured by the Town for ndt gathering the
Rates."
The "rates'" referred to in this Resolve
probably refers to the adjudication that was
made at New York Dec. i, 1664 by Gov. Nicoll
«S: others on one part, and Gov. Winthrop and
others, on the other, that Long Island should
not be under the Government of Connecticut,
but under His Highness the Duke of York
&c. There appears from this time to have
been some alteration in their Government. In
April 1664 the Constable & Town Overseers
were chosen : no mention is made of Towns-
Copv of James Fcrrdt's Grant to Lion Gard-
iner.
Know all whom this present Writing may
concern, that I. Tames Farrett of Long Island,
Gent. Deputy to the Right Hon'ble the Earll
of Starling Secretary for the Kingdom of
Scotland, doe by these presents, in the name
and behalf of the said Earll of Starling and
in my own name also, as his Deputy, as it
doth or may concern myself. Give & Grant
free leave and liberty to Lion Gardiner his
heirs, executors and assigns to enjoy that Isl-
and which he hath now in possession called
by the Indians Manchonack, by the English
the Isle of Wight ; I say to enjoy both now
& for ever, which Island hath been purchased,
before my coming, from the ancient Inhabi-
tants, the Indians; Nevertheless though the
said Lion Gardiner had his possession first
from the Indians before my coming, yet is he
now contented to hold the tenor & title of the
possession of the aforesaid Island from the
Earll of Starling or his successors whomso-
ever, who hath a Grant from the King of
England, under the Great Seal of the afore-
said Kingdom. Bee it known, therefore, that
I, the said James Farret doe give & hath giv-
en free liberty & power to the said Lion Gard-
iner, his Heirs, Exe'rs and Assigns and their
Sucessors for ever to enjoy the possession of
the aforesaid Island, to build & plant thereon
as best Hketh them, and to dispose thereof as
they think fitt, and also to make, execute &
put in practice such laws for Church and Civil
Government as are according to God, the
Kings and the practise of the Country, without
giving any account thereof to any whomso-
ever and the aforesaid Right & Title, both of
land and Government to remayne with, and to
them and their successors for ever, without
any trouble or molestation from the said Earll
or any of his successors, for now & forever.
And as much as it hath pleased Our Royal
King to give the Patten of Long Island to
the aforesaid Earle of Starling in considera-
tion whereof it is agreed upon that the trade
with the Indians shall remayne with the said
Earle and his successors, to dispose upon from
time to time and at all times as best liketh
him. Notwithstanding [allowing] the said
Lion Gardiner to trade with the Indyans for
Come or any Kinde of victuals for the use of
the Plantation and no farther: and if the said
Lion Gardiner shall trade in Wampum from
the Indyans hee shall pay for every fadome
twenty shillings and also the said Lion Gard-
iner and his successors shall pay to the said
Earle or his depuytes a yearly acknowledg-
ment being the sum of Five Pounds, (being
105G
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
lawfully demanded) of lawfull money of Eng-
land, or such commoditys as at that time shall
pass for money in the country ; and the first
payment to begin on the last of Oct. 1643, the
three former years being advanced for the use
of the said James Farrett. In witness where-
of the party has put his hands and seal the
tenth day of March 1639. [o. s.]
(Signed) James Farrett (seal.)
Sealed and delivered in the presence of
ffiilk Davis
Benjn Price.
Much of East Hampton still remains as
nature has made it, wild, desolate and barren —
a plaything for the storms and for the wintry
waves which seem to gather strength as they
roll across the Atlantic and break with wild
impetuosity on its shore, lifting up miles of
sand bar as if they were driftwood, and even
battering down the rocky bulwark that for
ages has carried on a ceaseless warfare with
the elements but has gradually got the worst
of it. The cliiT at the extreme point is slowly
but surely being ground to powder by the re-
morseless action of the ocean, and while many
of the boulders and pebbles and gravel we see
all over the township are the results of glacial
movement, still much of the debris is part of
the volcanic rocks. The sea, in fact, is stead-
ily encroaching upon the land and winning
back to its depths that which had l.ieen raised
high above its level in some primeval struggle.
But the sea at one time at least returned a little
of what it had won. There is no doubt that
the district we call Montauk was once an
island, perhaps two — one from Xapeague Har-
bor to Fort Pond, and one from there to the
lighthouse on that historic point
"Against whose breast the everlasting surge
Long traveling on and ominous of wrath
Forever beats."
From .\inagansett to Alontauk Puin.t is a
region of desolation and gloom. Sand every-
where, sand in all the shapes which nature can
twist it, dunes and hills and wide rolling ex-
panse. It is said that this territory v.'as cnce
fairly well wooded in spots, Init we find no
signs of the forests now and the spots appear
to have vanished. Sand, sand everywhere, and
long stretches of solitude, the Montauk penin-
sula looks as if it were intended by nature to
be left alone by man. \'et the railroad runs
through it now almost to the point, and it
does not need much of prophetic power to say
that within a quarter of a century this will rank
among the favorite resorts along the Atlantic
coast, and that it will be one gorgeous par-
terre— for three months in each year at least.
The western division of the township presents
difl:"erent characteristics. Facing Gardiner's
Bay, its coast line is rockv. But except on the
coast there is no elevation of the land, and it
descends by an easy gradiant to the Atlantic
which fringes it with a sandy bulwark. In the
west and north are quite extensive ranges of
forests. The farming lands, which extend to
where the Montauk peninsula begins, are fairly
productive, and though the holdings, as a gen-
eral rule, are §mall, they support a thrifty
and settled population.
The first section of the township to be
actually settled' by white men was (iardiner's
Island, which, in 1639, as we have seen, be-
came the ]3roperty and the home of Lion Gar-
diner. The settlement of East Hampton, in
1648, seems to have been simply a part of the
extension movement of Connecticut, and from
the first the colony recognized itself as an in-
tegral part of that commonwealth. The gen-
eral opinion of its early settlement is that ex-
pressed by Professor Johnston in his mono-
,graph on "Connecticut," that it w-as a party of
pioneers from Lynn for whom the land com-
posing the township was originally secured,
and in French's Gazetteer, a most valualile
work which seems now forgotten, we reail :
"Settlement in the western part of the town
was commenced in 1648 by a company of Eng-
lish families from Lynn, Mass. The trust-
ees named in the patent were John ]\Iulford,
Thomas Baker, Thomas Chatfield, Jeremiah
Concklyn, Stephen Hedges, Thomas Osborne,
sen., and John Osborne." But Mr. Pelletreau
EAST HAMPTON.
1057
seems to incline to the opinion tliat it was
really an overflow colony from Southampton.
He says: "The first settlers of this town, the
men for whom Governors Eaton and Hopkins
purchased the territory, were John Hand,
Thomas Talmadge, Daniel Howe, Thomas
Tiiompson, John Stratton, Robert Bond, Rob-
ert Rose, Joshua Barnes and John Alulford.
Of the above all were originally settlers in
Southampton," and their names appear in the
The truth nt the early settlement of East
Hampton ajipears tn li,. that its foundation was
a part of tlic colonizmg policy of Connecticut,
based, as Professor Johnston remarks, upon "a
provident determination on the part of the peo-
ple to give their commonwealth respectable
limits and to turn to account every favoring
circumstance in that direction." The reports
from Southampton, probably made by its
representatives in 1644, showed that there was
CLINTON ACADE.MY, EAST HAMPT0>
early records of that township. With the ex-
ception of Daniel How, not one had any pre-
vious residential connection with Lynn. The
first name given to the settlement was Alaid-
stone, and this has given rise to a tradition
that many of the early settlers were from that
Kentish village, but this tradition has not been
verified, and in reality seems to have no found-
ation. Probably it was the name of a trading
ship. At all events it was never formally adopt-
ed, although long used in'local documents.
room for another settlement on its eastern side,
and a beginning was made to secure the terri-
tory and hold it for future development. J\'Iany
of the New England colonies were founded
with the view of giving vent to religious ideas
or to afford an escape from religious views, or
to put in practice ideas regarding church and
state which could best be carried to a practical
conclusion by the working out of a distinct
community, but this was not the case, so far
as we can judge, with either of the Hamptons.
105S
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
It was simply an early develonment of the
principle of territorial acquisition, wliich has
been a prime factor in American history from
the earliest time until the present day.
The utmost care was taken in securing the
land from the red men to prevent any trouble
as to title, and so the first step of the represent-
atives of the Connecticut Governors was to se-
cure the joint assent of the Indian chiefs inter-
ested to the deed of transfer, which deed reads
as follows:
This present Writing testifieth an agree-
ment lictwecn the Worshipful Theophilus
Eaton, h'squire. Governor of the Colony of
New Haven, /\.nd the Worshipful Edward
Hopkins, Esquire, Governor of the Colony
Connecticut, and their associates, on the one
part. And Pogatacut, Sachem of ^^lanhanset,
Wyandanch, Sachem of JMeantauket, Alomo-
woton, Sachem of Corchauk, Xowedonah, Sa-
chem of Shinecock, and their assotyates, the
•other Part. The said Sachems having sould
unto the foresayed ]\Ir. Eaton and Air. Hop-
kins with their assotyates all the land lying
from the bounds of the Inhabitants of South-
ampton unto the East side of Napeak, next
unto Meantacut highland, with the whole
breadth from sea to sea, not intrenching upon
any in length or breadth which the Inhabitants
of Southampton have and do possess, as they
by Lawfull right shall make appear : for and
in Consideration of twentie coats, twentv-four
looking glasses, twenty-four hoes, twenty-four
hatchets, twenty-four knives, one hundred
muxes, already received by us the forenamed
Sachems, for ourselves and assotiates, and in
consideration thereof wee doe give up unto the
said Purchasers all our right and Interest in
the said land to them and their heyres for ever.
Allsoe wee dot bind ourselves to secure
their right from any claims of any others,
whether Indians or other nations whatsoever,
that doe or may hereafter challenge Interest
therein. Allsoe wee the said Sachems have
Covenanted to have Liberty to fish in any or
all the creeks and ponds, and to hunt up and
downe in the woods without Alolestation, they
giving the English. Inhaliitants noe just offence
or Injurie to their gnods or cattle. Lykewise
they are to have the fyns and tayles of all such
whales as shall be cast up, to their proper
right, and desire they may be friendly dealt
with in ye other part. Allsoe they reserve lib-
erty to fish in all convenient places for shells
to make wampum. Allsoe if the Indyans hunt-
ing of any deer they should chase them into ye
water and the English should kill them, the
English shall have the body and the Sachem
the skin. And in Testimony of our well per-
formance hereof we have sett to our hands the
Day and yeare _abDve written.
The mark of X Poggatacut, Manhanset Sa-
chem.
The mark of X Wyandanch, Meantacut Sa-
chem.
The mark of X AIomoweta, Corchake Sachem.
The mark of X Nowedonah, Shinecock Sa-
chem.
Witnesses to this : Richard Woodhull,
Tho. Stanton, Robert Bond, Job Sayre, Chec-
tanoe X his mark, their Interpreter.
Whereas, by direction from Theophilus
Eaton, Esq., and Mr. Edward Hopkins, a pur-
chase was made bv Thomas Stanton and others
of a part of the Eastern part of Long Island,
of the Indian Sachems, the true proprietors
thereof, in the name of Theophilus Eaton,
Esq., aforesaid and myself with our associates,
as by the said agreement dated the 29th of
April 1648 may more fully appear, which said
purchase was paid by me Edward Hopkins,
and amounted to the sum of thirty pounds four
shillings eight pence, as may appear by a note
of particulars under the hand of Thomas Stan-
ton, to whom the said sum was paid, now de-
livered to Robert Bond of East Hampton ; this
writing witnesseth that I have received the
fore-mentioned sum of thirty pounds four shil-
lings eight pence, of the Inhabitants of East
Hampton, and have delivered unto them the
writings of the said purchase, and all the in-
terest that thereby was purchased. In witness
whereof I have hereunto subscribed, the i6th
of .\pril 1 65 1. I say received £30 4s 8d' per
me, Edward Hopkins.
This purchase only included the lands,
roughly speaking, westward from Amagan-
sett. From there to the Point was reserved
by the Indians, and probably when the wide
stretch of sand was seen by the first settlers it
excited no desire in their hearts. But it was
not for long. In 1660 a deed for the whole of
the Montauk Peninsula was given by the In-
dians, somewhat provisional in its nature and
EAST HAMPTON.
1059
evidently inspired by fear that their old ene-
mies, the Narragansetts, would come over and
claim the territory. In i66i "Sunk Squaw,
widow of W'yandanch," and her son, Wian-
kombone, and others, transferred to Thomas
Baker, Robert Bond, Thomas James, Lion
Gardiner, John Mulford, John Hand, Benja-
min Price, "together with their associates, the
inhabitants of East Hampton," the lands on
the peninsula. In 1670 another slice — between
Fort Point and Great Pond — was given up,
and in 1687 a final deed transferred the re-
mainder of the peninsula — and thereafter the
red man's connection with the lands of the
royal race was simply one of sufferance. Thus
the power of expansion ceased, but it was not
until the middle of the nineteenth century that
East Hampton really began to extend much
beyond the clearance effected during the first
fifty years after her settlement as a township.
As usual, the town meeting managed every-
thing excepting grave cases — and these were
few, the queer case of Goody "Garlick" being
the gravest as well as the most noted of any.
The "court of three men" tried all other cases,
and the edicts of the courts, of the town meet-
ing and — after a while — of the commonwealth
across the Sound, were carried into effect' by
the constable. That official was quite a per-
sonage in all the townships. "In the little town
republics," writes Prof. Johnson, "the ancient
and honorable office of constable was the con-
necting linl< between the commonwealth and
town. The constable published the common-
wealth laws of his town, kept the 'publike
peace' of the town and commonwealth, levied
the town's share of the commonwealth taxa-
tion, and went 'from howse to bowse' to notify
the freemen of meetings of the General Court,
and of the time and place of elections of depu-
ties thereto. 'The parish,' says [John] Selden,
'makes the constable, and when the constable
is made he governs the parish.' " But in the
case of East Hampton the constable was not
left entirely to his own devices. He was the
actual representative and embodiment of the
law, its executive, but be does not seem to
have had the power to "govern the parish at
any time, even between the dates of the town
meeting. The local court was always in ses-
sion, or ready to be called in session, and it,
under the town meeting, was the real "ruler of
the parish," rather than the constable, whose
doings and dictums could be overruled by it
on short notice, should occasion arise. But it is
fair to say that the records of East Hampton
do not show that any such "clash of author-
ity" ever developed in its early history.
On entering upon his office the constable
took an oath to carry on his work "without
respect of persons * * * according to God,
according to the trust committed to you." In
1650. we read "there were chosen 4 men with
the constable for ye orderinge of ye affairs of
\'e town, and it is ordered that any two of them
shall have power to grant a warrant for ye
bringing of any delinquent before them in any
case; also ye said 5 men shall have power to
try any case under ye sum of 40 shillings ; but
if any case or action be to be tryed that is
above, then it is to be tryed by a jury of seven
men." Thus the constable had not full power
to make arrests, the warrant had to be signed
by two, but it would seem that he cculd even
sit in judgment in the "cases" which by his
office he was the means of bringing to the bar
of justice. But this court was not omnipotent,
for we find an entry in 1652 that "if any man
be aggrieved by anything that is done by the
men in authority he shall have libertie to make
his appeal to the next General Court, or when
the men are assembled together on public oc-
casions." But, although its powers were thus
subject to review, the dignity of the court was
carefully upheld. In 1655 one William Si-
mons was fined 5s., "which is to be disposed of
to make a paire of stocks," "for his provoking
speeches to the three men in authoritie being a
disturbance to them in their proceedings."
Then the men in authoritie had ample means
of making their court a "terror to evil doers."
As early as 1650 a house was set aside as a
lOGO
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
lock-up, and. by way of emphasis, it was not
long thereafter until the village stocks stood
outside as a visible exponent of the terrors of
the law and the righteousness and certainty of
judgment.
. From the beginning of the settlement relig-
ious services were maintained, at first in the
house of Thomas Baker, which seems to have
been the village inn, and for which accommo-
dation he received i8d. each week. In 1652 a
meeting house was erected, on the east side of
the burying ground. It was a small structure,
36 feet long and 20 feet wide, and it was en-
larged in 1673 and again in 1698. In 1717 it
was abandoned and a second church erected
on another site in 1717. This edifice continued
in use until 1864, when the existing structure
was erected.
The first pastor was the Rev. Thomas
James. He was the son of a minister in Lin-
colnshire, England, and came to America in
1632, settling for a time at Charleston and at
New Haven. It is not clear whether he was
one of the very earliest settlers at East Hamp-
ton, but his coming was not long delayed, for
on April 22, 1 65 1, an entry in the town records
shows that he was then owner of a town lot.
The lot, according to Mr. Pelletreau's map,
was opposite the site assigned even then evi-
dently for the church, and was in his posses-
sion since 1650, which was probably the date
of his arrival. It seems likely, too, that he re-
received a gift of the lot, so that he may be
said to have virtually ministered to the people
from the beginning. So he continued until the
end of his long career, June 16, 1696, when he
was laid to rest in the little churchyard, and at
his particular request, with his face to the east,
as "he wished to arise in the morning of the
Resurrection with his face to the people." He
seems to have been a man of singular piety,
and possessed of many characteristics which
those associated with him deemed singulari-
ties, but he was a zealous, active and thorough-
going minister, eminently fitted to be the spir-
itual leader and guide and comforter of the
people among whom his lot was cast, and he
aspired apparently to be nothing more. \\'hat-
ever the nature of his eccentricities they were
harmless, and they didi not abate the respect
his people evidently had for him, or weakened
his reputation as a shrewd, sound business .
man. Of the respect of the people there is no
doubt, for they voted him many privileges,
such as giving his corn precedence at the mill,
presenting him with another town lot and half
of the dead whales that drifted on shore. He
was keenly interested in the religious welfare
of the Montauk Indians ; studied their lan-
guage, compiled a catechism for their use in
their own tongue, and was the first paid in-
structor of the Long Island Indians, receiving
an allowance for that service for several years
from the Society for Propagating the Gospel
in New England. The good minister seems to
have gathered considerable property and to
have passed through life cjuietly and peaceably,
except in one memorable crisis which will be
told later. He disposed of all his real estate in
1695 to Mr. John Gardiner, "Lord of the Isle
of Wight," for isoo, one-half in cash and one-
half to be paid to his assigns within 30 days
after his death, but during his lifetime Mr.
Janies was not to be disturbed in the actual
possession of the property thus disposed of.
He was then feeling the approach of the end,
and, apparently, putting his house in order.
It was not until June 5, 1696, however, eleven
days before his death, that he completed his
arrangements by signing his will, a document
which Mr. Pelletreau prints as follows :
The last will and Testament of me Thomas
James, Preacher of ye Gospel & minister of
East Hampton, in ye County of Sufifolk, upon
ye Isle of Nassau alias Long Island, within ye
Province of New York, as followeth: * * *
To my eldest daghter, Sarah, wife of Pere-
grine Stanborough (having alreadv given her
more than any of the rest of my children) , * *
■■' four score pounds, in cash current of this
Province, also an equal part with my other
children of my personal goods, * * * also ye-
small part I have in ye ship called ye "Speed-
EAST HAMPTON.
1061
well" (being half a quarter!, also ye feather
lied I lye upon & ye green rug with it. To my
second daghter, J\'Iary, wife df John Stratton,
an hundred pounds in cash. * * "" To my
daughter Hannah, wife of James Diament, one
hundred pounds. I, having very lately deliv-
ered to my son-in-law Thomas Harris in be-
half of his wife, my 4th daghter, Ruth, one
hundred pounds upon some conditions, doe
confirm it absolutely to her; I also give her my
feather bed in ye large chamber, with ye furni-
ture to it. * * * I give to my grandchildren
Mary Stanborough and Mary Stratton £50 a
piece, and a feather bed and two pairs of
sheets, * * * also to each of them a cow and
six sheep, and an iron pot of ye bigger sort,
, * * * ' two pewter platters, a silver spoon.
* * * To my daughter Anne Howell, now
Avife of Mr. Abraham Howell of Southampton,
£20, provided she bring in noe after reckoning
on account of her first husband, mv son Na-
thaniel, deceased. * * * To my eldest grand-
son, John Stanborough, £10. To my two
daughters-in-law [step daughters?] Mary,
wife of Mr, John Mulford, and Elisebeth, wife
■oi Joseph Osborn, £10. =*="'=='= I appoint Pere-
grine Stanborough, John Stratton and James
Diament executors. As for what debts is ow-
ing to me from this Towne of East Hampton,
■either former arrears or for last year, amount-
ing to above four score pounds, I give to all
mv grandchildren excepting those mentioned
in this will. Only this — that if ye Towne free-
ly and readily will take ve best and speediest
wav they can for ye discharge of ve debts afore
■said, then I give to ye town £20 towards ye
maintaining of a good school-master in this
towne ; otherwise not. * * * I give to my
■son-in-law John Stratton what time I have in
my man Charles Jones, my executors to make
good his indenture and allow him 40s. in pay
more. * * '* To mv son-in-law James Dia-
ment my share in ye horse mill. * * * Dated
June 5 1696. Thom.vs J.vmk.s.
Mr. James was succeeded by the Rev. Na-
thaniel Huntting, a graduate of Harvard, who
was the progenitor of the numerous families of
that name in Suffolk county. He ministered
for half a century — until his death Sept. 21,
1753. His successor, the Rev. Samuel Buell,
is locally celebrated as the founder of Clinton
Academy. Under him the church formalh'
united with the Suffolk Presbytery and he con-
tinued in the pastorate for nearly 52 years — ■
dying in harness July 19, 1798. "The day he
was 80 years old," writes Dr. Prime, "he rode
14 miles, preached, and returned home at even-
ing." Although a zealous Christian, an elo-
quent preacher and a man of considerable edu-
cation. Dr. Prime tells us that Dr. Buell had
his weaknesses and as one of them quotes the
fact that when in his seventieth year he mar-
ried (for the third time) a girl of seventeen.
The Rev. Lyman Beecher, father of the fam-
ous Brooklyn preacher, succeeded Dr. Buell.
He labored among them until 1810, when he
removed to Litchfield, Conn., making the
change simply and frankly because his stipend,
eked out as it was by his wife's earnings as a
teacher, were not sufficient to supply his wants
and keep him out of debt. With his dismis-
sal came the first vacancy in the pastorate of
the church, except by the death of the pastor.
Four pastors covering 160 years is a rare rec-
ord. Althou,gh it is commonly spoken of as a
Christian community, and such it undoubted-
ly was, the need of special revival occasions,
those "seasons of refreshment" as they were
called, which form such a prominent feature
in the early religious history of East Hamp-
ton, would seem to have been unnecessary, yet
all agree as to their importance and to the
amount of good they accomplished.
East Hampton has long been noted for its
splendid educational facilities. The fame of
Clinton Academy had, of course, much to do
with this, but even when few in numbers and
engaged in their first struggle with the soil,
the pioneers were mindful of the needs of the
children and a school was established as soon
as the church. Mr. Pelletreau writes on this
point :
"A school was established within a year
after the settlement, and the first schoolmaster
was Charles Barnes, a son of William Barnes,
one of the original founders. He received at
first £30 a year, and to insure a regular atten-
dance a small part only of the amount was
1062
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
charged upon the scholars and the rest raised
by tax. Jonas Hpldsworth succeeded him in
1673, and after him the rod of correction was
wielded by Peter Benson, whose pay was £50
a year. In 1682 the school consisted of 29
scholars. About all required of a teacher in
those days was that he should be a good pen-
man, and have a fair knowledge of arithmetic.
If 'Solomon's rule' was his guide and practice
it was considered an additional merit. Gram-
mar, geography, and other branches now
thought essential were not t-aught at all. It
was not considered necessary for girls to know
much except reading, and hence we find in old
deeds a large proportion of women signing
their names with a 'mark ;' and to most of the
boy pupils the 'rule of three' was the bound-
ary of mathematical knowledge. Still the gen-
eral desire for learning was much greater in
this than in the neighboring town, a fact which
we can hardly account for unless by suppos-
ing that the early ministers, who were all-
powerful in their social influence, must have
taken a deep interest in the cause. It was the
zealous efforts of Rev. Samuel Buell that
builded Clinton Academy.
"The salary of the schoolmaster and min-
ister in earl}- times was partly paid in produc-
tions of sea and land, and to fix a uniform
price of these things it was ordered in 1656,
by 'the three men,' that for the payment of
town rates wheat should be 4s. 6d. a bushel,
and Indian corn 3s. 6d. It was ordered at a
subsequent meeting that dry merchantable
hides should be 6d. a pound, and whalebone
three feet long 8d. a pound. At the time Jonas
Holdsworth was schoolmaster it was agreed
that one-half his salary should 'bee payd in
beef or oyle, and the other half in oyle, pork
hides, or tallow, or whalebone.' Holdswort'n
had previous to this been teacher in South-
ampton and Huntington."
Much against their wishes the people of
East Hampton had to acquiesce in the change
introduced by the advent of Gov. Xicolls in
1664, and receive a patent from his hands.
Gov. Dongan, who assumed control of things
after Gov. Andros had wiped out the effects
of the Dutch interregnum under Colve, forced
another charter on the township in 1686. The
movement which culminated in the latter char-
ter brought not only East Hampton but its
venerable minister into open conflict with Don-
gan and his Council, and led to the preacher's
arrest. The official papers tell the story, but
the underlying cause of the trouble was the
disinclination to be mulcted on the part of the
people to the extent of the new charter, with
its loopholes for litigation and its renewed sur-
render to a Provincial government with which
they had no sympathy. The papers follow ;
COMPr..\IXT AOAIXST THE TOWN OF EASTIIAMP-
TOX.
Att a Council held att Ffort James in Xew^
York July the 29tli, 1686
Present. The Governor &c.
Robert Cady, John Parsons, Jacob Da\ton,
John ffields, Samuell Sherrv. "uliver Xorris
William Hamilton, Daniell Kieft", Simon Hill-
yer, John Richardson makeing their complaints
that the town of Easthampton will lay them
out no land, as they were ordered in Council
to doe ; & it appearing that the said Inhabit-
ants have for more yn the space of fouer
yeares payed all dutyes in the aforesaid towne,
and are become Associates in the same. Or-
dered that Capt Josiah Hobart high Sherriffe
of the County of Suft'olk see that a Surveyor
lay out for each person of the aforemenconed
Inhabitants thirty acres of Arable land within
the bounds of Easthampton, that is not yet
fenced or entered and appropriated by any per-
son, they paying the charges wch the sd Sher-
riffe & Surveyor shall be at in the performance
of the same : & giveing security not to dispose
or sell any of the said land vntill it shall be im-
proued by them.
By order in Council &c.
J. Spr.\gg, S.cr
the above written is Entred
Into Suffolk Records folio 224
pr Jno Howell Cla, [Endorsed.
Governors order for Laying out land
ATTOUXEV GEX-
To his Excellency Thomas Doxgax Captaine
General and Governor in Chiefe of Xevv-
EAST HAMPTON.
1063
Yorke and Territoryes thereto Belonging
and the Council!.
New Yorke ss. James Graham Esqr Attor-
ney Generall of our sovereigne Lord the King
James the Second by the grace of God of
England Scotland ffrance and Ireland King
defender of the faith &c. Gives your Excel-
lencye and honors to understand and be in-
formed that whereas by an order of Councill
liearing date the 29th day of July 1686 direct-
ed to Joshua Hubbard High Sheriffe of the
county of Suffolke within this province it was
ordered and declared in these words ftolloW-
ing viz. Att a Councill held at ffort James
in New Yorke July the 29th 1686, Present.
Tlie Governour &c, Robert Cady: John Par-
sons, Jacob Dayton, John ffield, Samuel! Sher-
ry, Ofipher Norris, William Hamilton, Daniel!
Kieff, Simon Hillyer John Richardson, make-
ing their Complaints that the towne of East-
hampton will lay them out no Land as they
were ordered in Councill to doe and it ap-
pearing that the said Inhabitants have for
more than the space of four yeares payed all
dutyes in the aforesaid Towne and are become
associates in the same : Ordered that Captaine
Josiah Hobart Higli Slierifife of the county of
Suffolke see that a Surveyor lay out for each
])erson of the aforementioned Inhaljitants
tliirtv acres of aralale Land within the bounds
of Easthampton that is not yet ffenced or En-
closed and appropriated by any person they
paying the cliarges which the sayd Sheriffe
and Surveyor sliall bee at in the performance
of tlie same giveing securitye not to dispose
or sell any of the sayd Land untill it shall
l)e improved by them. By Order in Councill
J : Spragg Seer. Whicli said Order the sayd
Josiah Hnljbard as in duty bound did follow
and obey according to the tennor and effect
tliereof Yett notwitlistanding Sam! iMulford,
Robert daiton, Samuel! Parsons Benjamin
Conkling, Thomas Osburne, John Osburne,
and all at Easthampton within the county
of Suffolke aforesayd did confederate together
to bring his Maties authority into contempt
and' scorn and particular in contempt of the
sayd Ordr of Council and against the peace
of our sayd Lord the King with ft'orce and
arms did upon the sixth day of October In
tlie yeare of our Lord 1686. att Easthampton
in the county of Suft'olk aforesayd in the day-
time Riotcflisly Tumultously Contemptuously
and unlawfully assemble themselves together
with diverse other unknown' By beating of the
drum without any warrant or authority wliat-
ever from his sayd Majestye and there did
publish and affix upon the wall of their meet-
ing house a certaine Scandalous Libellous pa-
per which follows in these words vizt A Pro-
test Whereas Robert Kedy John Parsons Ja-
cob daiton Samuel! Sherry Simon Hilliard
John Richardson Oliver Morris and John ffield
have procured certain Lands within the bounds
of Easthampton on Long Island in the province
of New Yorke Belonging to the proprietors
of the said land vizt Thomas Baker Tliomas
Chalfield Jeremiah Conkling Stephen Rodgers
and others witli them to whom the sax'd Land
hath been granted and Ratifyed as by their
pattent deeds of Conveyance and Law both
of England and the province aforesayd may
ft'ullv appeare to be measured marked and to
be Entered in the book of Records to them the
sayd Kedy, Parsons, daiton, Sherry, Hilliard,
Richeson, Morris, and field as by the sayd En-
tr\- appeareth And whereas wee Samuel Mul-
ford, Robert daiton Sam! Parsons Benjamin
Conkling Thomas Osburne and John Osburne
are appoynted by tlie proprietors of the Land
in the bounds of the sayd township of East-
hampton to defend and preserve the Right of
the sayd proprietors In upon and Unto the
sayd Lands as by their order to us In that
behalfe given appearetli : Wee tlie said SamI
Mulford Robt daiton Sam! Parsons Benjamin
Conkling Thomas Osburne and John Osburne
in pursuance of our sayd Trust doe make and
declare this pulilic iirotest against the sa\(l
Robert Kedy John Parsons Jacob daiton Sanil
Sherry Simon Hilliard John Richeson r)liver
Morris and John ffield That is to say wee doe
declare to them an.d all men that soe much of
tlie Land lying in the sayd Bounds of East-
liamptim as was not formerly before their pro-
curing it t,i lie measured for them layd out to
other [Persons But it remained undivided be-
tweenc the prDpri.Uirs aforesayd as hath been
by them the sayd Kedy &c or any of them
been procured to be measured, marked and
Bounded to tbem or any of them the
sayd Kedy &c is the Lands of the sayd
proprietors whose Comittee we the protest-
ors arc and doe protest hereby against the
sayd persons that have measured marked or
recorded the Same to themselves or procured
the same to bee done and against the sayd act
of them and Every of them as a Trespasse
against the propriety of the proprietors there-
of and done against their Lawfull Interests
1064
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
therein and that their sayd Entr}- not being
by Law is Refellable in and by the Law — And
doe hereby forl^id and warne the sayd Kedy
&c and Each of them or anv others from or
under them or any of them from any occupa-
con of any of the sayd Lands not granted and
divided to them by the sayd proprietors de-
claring unto them and all men hereby that if
they or any of them shall presume to occupy
any of the sayd Lands that wee shall L'se
the Law against any such occupyer for the de-
fence of the proprietors Right therein to the
uttermost. And this protest wee have made
to the intent those Concerned' may not pre-
tend ignorance of the proprietors Right and
Claime in and to the sayd Lands and may bee
lyable to such damages as shall accrue if they
shall wilfully proceed to improve sayd Lands
and that noe person may purchase or other
ways Receave the same from them as good
Estate in Law and for the Conservation' cf the
proprietors Right and Claime in and unto the
sayd Lands This done and published the
Sixth of October 1686 By Samuell Alullford
by order of the Comittce. \Miich sayd Scan-
dalous and libellous paper was so affixed by
Saml ]Mullford Roliert daiton Saml Parsons
Benjamin Conckling Thomas Osburne and
John L)sljU:'nc (Jn purpose to Bring his Maties
Authority Into Contempt and Scorne and to
the Evill Example of his Maties Liege people.
— Wherefore his JMaties sd Attorney Genl
prayeth the Consideration of this honble board
in the premises And that the sayd Saml Mul-
ford Robt daiton Samuell Parsons Benjamin
Conckling Thomas Osborne and John Osborne
may answer the premisses and have due pun-
ishment In Law for such their Contempte
aforesayd.
[Here follow Gov. Dongan's \^■arrants for
the arrest of all the above parties, and of
Stephen Hedges, A\'illm. Perkins, Jeremy
Concklin, Daniel and Nathaniel Bishop aiders
and abetors in the above. Dated 19. Nov.
1686.]
;t .\c.\in'.';.-i
iMES.
JosiAH Hur.n.MiT of Easthampton in the
County of Suffolke' Esqr being deposed upon
his Corporall Oath Saith That upon the Seav-
enteenth day of October one thousand Six
Hundred Eighty and Six in Easthampton Mr
Thomas James minister of Easthampton afore-
sd preaciit out of that Text in the Twenty
fourth Chapter of Job the Second verse the
whole Subject of his Sermon was to Show
tlie evill and pronounce the curses against
those who removed their, neighbours Land
markes and in his applicacon he brought it to
the present matter of this Towne as to the
Land laid out here lately and continued the
pronouncing the Curse against them that acted
in it and shewed that there order for it was
noe excuse though it were an Edict from the
King himself as Supreame nay though it were
establisht by a Law yet they could not be ex-
cused from the Curse and then he went on and
blessed God that this was not our Condicon
for the Providence of God had soe ordered it
that our Honod Governor had made such Re-
strictions in the order that mens Proprieties
could not be meddled withall
J.VS HOB.VRT.
Jurat dcclmo Octavo die Noi'cmb: Anno
Dmni ( 1686) .S"c'(/(';;/^ Cur.
J. P.\LMEK.
Endorsed Mr Hobarts Affidt : 1686
.A.tt a Councill held the i8th day of Novemb
1686, prest his Exly the Governor Majr
BrockhoUs Mr ftlipsen Mr Cortland Mr
Spragg Majr Baxter
Two depositions being this day read
against ^Ir Thomas James minister of East-
hampton for preacheing a certeyne Seditious
Sermon on the Sevententh day of October last
Its ordered that a warrant bee made out to
one of the messengers of this board to repayre
forthwith to Easthampton & take into his cus-
tody the body of the sayd Jeames & him keepe
.So as to have him to answer the' premisses be-
fore this board this day fortnight.
Its' likewise ordered that Mr Josias Hub-
bart bee Subpenaed to attend the same day,
and that the clerk of Easthampton bee then
likewise' here with the bookes of that Towns
public affayres.
.\ certeyne Lybell being this day read called
ye ptest of a comittee of Easthampton wherein
they contemptuously opose the orders of the
Governor and Councill for the layeing out land
in that Town and it appeareing that in a most
riotous mutinous & Seditious manner they the
Sayd pretended Comittee did publish their
Sayd lybell by Beate of Drum & afterwards
did affix the Same on the publick meeting
house of the Sayd town It"s therefor ordered
that Samuell AluUford Robt Davton Saml Par-
EAST HAMPTON.
IO60
•sons Benja Concklin Thomas Osborne & John
Osborne bee by vertue of a warrt taken into
ye custody of a Messengr of this board to an-
swr the premisses here this day fortnight.
Another Lybell of the same nature by
Thomas Osborne Stephen Hedges & Mary
Perkins being hkewise read Ordered That
Steplien Hedges & the husband of Mary Per-
k:ins bee lykewise taken into custody to answer
the same the same day.
Ordered lykewise that Jeremy Concklyn
Danl Bishop Nathaneel Bishop hee likewise
taken into the Custody of the messenger to
answer lykewise this day fortnight.
Ordered lykewise that Mr Hubbard bring
up along with him one or more prsons to whom
hee layd out ye land by ordr of this board
who are in feare from the threats of the afore-
menconed persons & theyr accomplices.
Ill the ditference between Mr prudden min-
ister of Jamaica an his parishioners It's or-
dered that they pay to the sayd Mr prud.den
what is due to him by agreement on record
in the Town booke — and that when that's don
if the Sayd parishionrs have any thing to ob-
ject against theyr said minister the}' shall bee
heard
INFORM.VTIOX OF THE ATTORXEY .GENER.\L.
To his Excellmcye Thomas Doncan Captaine
("lenerall Governcur in Chiefe of Xew
Yorke and territoryes Belongeing And the
Councill.
New York ss James Graham Esqr Attor-
ney Generall of our Sovereigne Lord James
the Second by the grace of God King of Eng-
land Scotland ffrance and Ireland King de-
fender of the faith &c Gives your Excellencye
and honors to understand and be informed
That Mr Thomas James Late Minister of East-
hampton in the County of Suffolk within this
province nowwayes Regardeing the duety and
fealty he owes unto our Sovereigne Lord the
King did upon the Seave/nteenth day of Octo-
ber 1686 att Easthampton in the County of
Suffolk aforesaydi publish and declare in a
Sermon by him then and there preached upon
the text in the twenty fourth chapter of Job
the Second veirse many Seditious words which
were these following viz Cursed is he that re-
moves his neighbours laiidinark and in aplica-
tion to thcl present matter of this Towne
meaneing the Town of Easthampton aforesaid
[as to the land lately layd out here the Curse
is against them that acted in it. and their order
for it (meaneing and order of this honble
Ijoard) (jf no excuse though it zvere an edict
from the King hiniselfe as Supreme nay tho'
it zvas establisht by a laze yett they (meaneing
those that gave oljedience to the sayd ord )
cannot bee 'c.rcnsed from the curse.]' Which
words were preached by him on purpose to
Raise and Stirr up thei minds of his Majestyes
Liege people Into Sedition and his Majestyes
Laws and authority into Contempt to Bring
against the peace of Our Sayd Lord the King
and to the Scandall and Reproach of the Cler-
gy ^^'herefore his ^lajiList\'es Sayd attorney
General prayeth the Consideracon of his hon-
ble board in the premises and that the Sayd
Mr. Thomas James may answer the Same.
Tames Graham.
Endorsed
Inform agst Mr Jeames 1686
WARRANT TO ARREST THE REVD MR JAMES.
Thom.vs Dongan Captayne Generall and
Govenr of the province of New York and the
territoryes thereto belongeing To Henry ffilkin
one of the messengers of the councill greeting
These are in his majestyes name to comand
yo to take into custody the body of Thomas
jeames late, minister at Easthampton whereso-
ever hee shall bee found and him Safely keepe
so as yow may have him to answer before mee
and the Councill on the first Thursday in De-
cember next ensuing unto a certeyne Lifor-
macon then and there to bee exhibited against
him for that heci the Sayd Thomas Jeames on
the Seventeenth day of October last past in the
Sayd Town of easthampton did preach a cer-
teyn Seditious Sermon tendeing to the Stirring
up of Strife and publick disturbance of the
peace and quiett of his majestyes Liege people
and government here hereby lykewise com-
andeing and requireing all Sherrift's Consta-
bles and other officers as also all other persons
of what degree or quality soever to bee aideing
and assisteing unto the sayd Henry ffilkin in
the execution of the premisses as they will an-
swer the contrary att theyr perrills and have
with vow att the Same tyme this precept for
yor doeing whereof this shall be your Suffi-
cient warrant Given under mv hand and Seale
att ffort James this nineteenth day of novem-
ber in the Second yeare of his Majestyes
Reigne Annoq Dmne 1686
Thos : Dongan.
Sheriff's returne
By vertU2 of this writt I have in
1066
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND
my custody the body of the within
named Thomas Jeames
Henry Ffilkix
Endorsed
1686 warrt & apprehendding
of Jeames
PETITION OF THE REV. MR. JAMES.
To the Right Honorable Thomas Dongan
Governour and Captaine Generall of all his
Majesties Territories belonging to the
Province of New Yorke, The Humble Pe-
tition of mee Thomas James Minister of
Easthampton as followeth.
Whereas yor Excellencies Supplicant was
Informed that you were offended with nu-. in
Respect of some expressions uf mine in a Ser-
mon preached Octob. 17. — 86. I thought my
selfe bound in duety, & from the High Re-
spects I haue of your Excellencies Dignity &
vpon good Advice, voluntarily to make my
Appearance before yor Excellency in New
Yorke & haue waited yor pleasure to this Dav
in order to yor Excellencies satisfaction, &
haue submitted my selfe to yor Excellencies
Censure, and knowing yor Excellencies Clem-
ency am emboldened humbly to Craue ycr
Pardon, of what through any Error in my Ap-
prehension I haue giuen occasion of olTence
to yor Excellency my Intentions being Right
in whateuer proceeded from me att that tyme ;
and that yor Excellency be graciously pleased
to remitt the Penalty imposed, & what fees
may be exacted vpon me before the tyme of
my being sumoned to appeare before you & ye
Honble Councill, considering the great charge
I haue beene att for about 3 weeks time since
my comeing from home this being the first
tyme (for almost fourty years of my being a
minister of the Gospel) that I haue been;
called to accompt by any Authority I haue
lined vnder, or giuen any cause for the same,
nor needed at this tyme had there beene yt
faourable construction of my words as they
deserued. So hoping as God hath got ycu as
a father over this Comonwealth, so you will
exercise a fatherly compassion towards yor
humble Petitioner, who hath & shall continue
yor Excellencies humble Orator att the Throne
of Grace, & stand euer obliged to yor Excel-
lency in all hearty affection, & duetifull *
* * [Here a zcord or lico are illegible in tin-
original eopy.]
As might be supposed of such citizens,
discontented and expressive of their discontent
even when the royal regime was so firmly es-
tablished that even the possibility of change
was undreamed of, from the first, although
isolated from the centre of events, they eagerly
watched every movement in the impending
struggle, and when the crisis came the people
were unanimous in favor of a change, and even
Dr. Buell at one time threw oiif his gown and
shouldered a musket to do battle for the lib-
erties of his country. The feeling in East
Hampton is clearly shown by the fact that
when the Provincial Congress, with the view
of fully estimating the sentiments of the peo-
ple, sent out what were called articles of as-
sociation to the various communities, every
adTdt male signed the copy received in East
Hampton, the only instance of such unanimity
on the island.
The document is well worthy of a place 'n
the annals of the township, not only for its
value as indicating the patriotic sentiment of
the people, but as furnishing a list, practically,
of its active male inhabitants at the time. It
is, in eft'cct, as follows :
Persuaded that the salvation of the rights
and liberties of .America depends, under God.
on the firm union of its inhabitants in a vig-
orous prosecution of the measures necessary
for its safety, and convinced of the necessity
of preventing anarchy and confusion, which
attend the dissolution of the powers of Gov-
ernment, we the freemen, freeholders and in-
habitants of East Hampton * * * do as-
sociate, under all the ties of religion, honour,
and love to our country, to adopt and en-
deavour to carry into execution whatever
measures may be recommended by the Con-
tinental Congress or resolved' upon by our
Provincial Convention, for the purpose of pre-
serving our constitution and opposing the ex-
ecution of the several arbitrary and oppressive
acts of the British Parliament, tmtil a recon-
ciliation between Great Britain and America
on constitutional principles (which we most
ardently desire) can be obtained; and that we
will in all things follow the advice of our
general committee respecting the purposes
aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good
order and the safety of individuals and private
property.
EAST HAMPTON.
luC7
John Chatfield, Abraham Gardiner, Burnet
Miller. David Mulford, Thomas Wickham,
Stephen Hedges. John Gardiner, Samuel Buel,
John Hudson, Nathaniel Huntting, Eleazar
Miller, Jeremiah Dayton, Thomas Dibble,
Noah Barnes, Lemuel Mulford, Jeremiah
Gardiner, Aaron Isaacs. Daniel Conkling,
Elisha Davis, John Davis, Jacob Wickham,
William Conkling, Nathan Conkling, John F.
Chatelain, Thomas Hedges, John Parsons 3d,
William Huntting, John Mulford, Jeremiah
Bennet, Samuel Hunt, Selah Pike, Elias Conk-
ling, Abraham Alulford, Jeremiah Conkling,
John How, Samuel Parsons, Benjamin Strat-
ton, David Osborne. Elisha Mulford. Daniel
Hand. David Mulford. Matthew Mulford.
John Miller, John Dayton, Joseph Osborne jr.,
Eljenezer Conkling. Henry Chatfield. John
Miller jr., Abraham Barnes, Patrick Goold,
David talmadge, Seth Barnes, Jason Miller,
Simon Dibble, William Mulford, Jeremiah
Sherrill, Gurdon Miller, Aaron Isaacs jr.,
Elisha Jones, Lewis Chatfield, Enos Talmadge,
Thomas Jones, Huntting Miller, Samuel Strat-
ton, Abraham Sherill, Recompense Sherill,
John Stratton, Stephen Hand, John Dayton,
Daniel Hedges, Jonathan Barnby. William
Conkling jr., David Dayton, David Miller,
Henry Hopping, Josiah Osborne, Joseph Hop-
ping, John Strong, Nathaniel Talmadge, Jere-
miah Aliller jr., Abraham Dimon, Isaac
Dimon, Cornelius Osborne. William Hedges.
Elisha Talmadge. George Gladden, Abraham
Hand, Stephen Stratton. Thomas Osborne,
Jeremiah Osborne jr., Jonathan Mulford,
Isaac M. Huntting, James Hand, Jeremiah
Talmadge, Jeremiah Miller, George Strong,
Lewis Osborne, Joseph Osborne, William
Hedges jr., Recompense Sherill, David Ed-
wards, Ezekiel Mulford, Cornelius Payne,
David Fithian, Samuel Conkling, Thomas
Baker, Isaac Van Scoy, Isaac Van Scoy jr.,
Nathaniel Hand, Mathew Barnes, Philetus Os-
borne, Merry Parsons, William Parsons,
Henrv Downing, John Parsons, Jonathan Os-
borne, Joseph Osborne, Jeremiah Conkling,
Samuel Conkling, John Mulford, Jonathan
Tuthill, Jesse Dayton, Jacob Dayton, Jeremiah
Parsons, Mulford Conkling, Mathew Stratton,
Joseph Miller, Abraham Edwards, Samuel
Parsons, Samuel Sherill jr., Eleazer Hedges,
Abraham Mulford jr., David Loper, Nathaniel
Doming, Isaac Payne, Benjamin Parsons,
Jacob Conkling, Jacob Conkling jr., Christ.
Dibble, Samuel Gardiner, David Leek, Abra-
ham Leek, Samuel Dayton, L'riah Miller, Na-
than Miller, Abraham Schellenger, Jeremiah
Conkling, Nathaniel Baker, Jeremiah Conk-
ling, Zebulon Conkling, Isaac Conkling, Jona-
than Edwards, Abraham Loper, Philip Hedges,
George Miller, Thomas Edwards jr., Elias
Mulford, Edward Conkling, Jedediah Conk-
ling, Joseph Hicks, Zachariah Hicks, Jeremiah
Dayton, Daniel I'laker, Isaac Schellenger,
Abraham Baker, Nathan Mulford. Jacob
Hedges. Jeremiah Barnes, John Gardiner jr.,
Aaron Fithian, David Talmadge jr., Jeremiah
Sherrill, Nathan Conkling 3d, Elanthan Par-
sons, Cornelius Basset, David Miller, Peleg
Miller, Elisha Miller. Daniel King. Daniel
Edwards, Nathan Miller, Stephen Burnett,
James Field, Sanniel Mulford, Benjamin Conk-
ling, Gamaliel Bennett, Seth Parsons, Richard
King, Mulford Conkhng, William Bassett,
Ezekiel Miller, John Huntting, Abraham
Ouaw, David Loper, John King, Ichabod Ray-
nor. Smith Osborne, Abraham Miller, Jona-
than Miller, Samuel Mulford, Ezekiel Jones,
Ezekiel Jones jr., Nathan Conkling, Daniel
Loper, Jeremiah Loper, David- Edwards jr.,
Edward Bennett, Ludlam Parsons. John Par-
sons, Josiah ]\IuIford. Elisha ]\Iulford jr.,
Stephen Russell, Jeremiah Hedges, Thomas
Talmadge, Jeremiah Osborne, John Hedges,
Samuel Hutchinson, Jacob Aliller, Henry Alil-
ler, Ezekiel Hand, Abraham Conkling. Elisha
Conkling, Elisha Osborne, Matthew Osborne,
Jedediah Osborne, Jacob Osborne, Benjamin
Hopping, Jonathan Squier, Jeremiah Hand,
John Talmadge, Abraham Osborne, Henry
Hopping, Elias Hand, Henry Dayton, Zebedoe
Osborne, John Parsons, John Stratton, Jacob
Sherrill, Samuel Baker, Micah Hart, Benjamin
Leek, Abraham Hedges, Jacob Osborne, Jona-
than Schellenger, Thomas Edwards, David
Baker. Sineus Conkling, James Loper, Stephen
Cooper jr., Benjamin Eyres, Benjamin
Hedges, John Parsons 4th, Nathaniel Doming,
Edward Wick, Jeremiah Terry. \\'illiam
Barnes, Ananias Miller, Thomas Filer, John
Hoos.
These may certify that every male in the
town of Fast Hampton have signed the above
association that are capable of bearing arms.
By order of the committee.
John CH.vTFiEr.D, Chairman.
The war itself added little to the sum of
local historw The vessels of the British fleet
were seen from the heights of Montn'ik at
1068
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
various times, and the Continental authorities
duly apprised, and to the various military com-
panies East Hampton contributed fully its
share. During the occupation of the island
British troops were stationed at Sag Harbor
and repeatedly overrun East Hampton, leaving
behind them the usual tales of spoliation, dis-
order and crime, even going as far as Mont?.uk
Point in search of deserters from their own
forces or of "contumacious rebels." Many of
the leading people sacrificed their property and
went to Connecticut, including Colonel David
Mulford, Nathaniel Gardiner, Abraham Hand,
Jesse Dayton, John Mulford, Aaron Isaacs,
Jr., Elisha Osborn, Jeremiah Miller and Bur-
net ^liller. Those who remained were forced,
in 1778, to take the oath of allegiance under
the direct Fupervision of Governor Tryon, who
declared liin-'self satisfied with the thorough-
ness of his work, in East Hampton as well as
elsewhere throughout the county.
From the termination of the war until a
comparatively recent date the story of East
Hampton might be summarized in the words
•of Channing's "Needy Knife Grinder," —
"Story? Lord bless you, sir.
1 have none to tell you."
A change now and again of a pastor, the
removal of an old family, the stranding of a
whale, or the arrival or departure of a whaling
ship might be regarded as the sum total out-
side of the doings of the farm or the gossip of
the village. In 1854, through the instru-
mentality of John Wallace, a Scotchman, who,
somehow, had wandered to East Hampton, a
Church of England congregation was found-
ed in that village, out of which has developed
St. Luke's church, consecrated in 1859 by the
late Bishop Potter. In i860 a new Presby-
terian church was constituted at Amagansett,
of which the Rev. J. B. Finch has been pastor
since 1879. Long pastorates seem to have
again become the rule in East Hampton, for
we find the old church of the village — the
■church of James and Buell and Beecher, pre-
sided over by the Rev. John D. Stokes, who
was installed into the pastorate in 1867. In
the Civil War East Hampton bore its full
share in the patriotic work of upholding the
Government at Washington, and contracted in
its efforts a war debt of nearly $35,000.
The old North District school house at the
Hook, about seventy-five years old, was sold
in 1895 to the congregation of the M. E.
church and has been raised slightly, remodeled
and used for church services. It is sixty feet
long. The first school house was built on the
site 150 years ago. The original building was
erected upon town land and the property was
deeded by the town to the school trustees in
1875. About the same time the old-fashioned
desks arranged around the four sides of the
room, at which the pupils sat in rows facing
the wall, were changed for those of a
newer pattern, at which the pupils were seiated
by twos. The belfry and school house bell
were added fifteen years ago. Before that
the children were summoned Ijy a hand bell.
Over half of the inhabitants of East Hampton
received their education at the old Hook
school. Thirty-five years ago, before the ses-
sion house was built, the regular prayer meet-
ings of the Presbyterian church were held in
the old school house, as well as in the old
town house, where Dr. De\\'itt C. Talmage
preached his first sermon.
In 1893 the railroad system was extended
through the township to Fort Pond Bay, and
with that event may be said to commence its
rise as a summer resort, or township of sum-
mer resorts, for that seems to be its inevitable
destiny, all hope of making an international
port at Fort Pond having been seemingly
abandoned at least until the new schemes in-
troduced by the Long Island Railroad looking
to close connection with the entire railroad
system of the country approach fruition. The
published reports of these schemes seem to
indicate a trans-Atlantic port at Fort Pond or
in its vicinity, but on that particular detail not
much has been made public.
Yet in the way of commercial greatness
East Hampton still has hopes, hopes inherited
EAST HAMPTON.
1069
apparently' from the old whaleboat days. It
has many splendid harbors, which only need
the application of a slight expense to make
them serviceable for even large fleets. As an
instance of this, as an evidence of the hope
still entertained, the following record of a
speech in Congress by the Hon. Townsend
Scudder, the late reprefcntativc of Suii'olk
and Nassau in the National k^gi^laliirc. will Ije
interesting. It is taken from "Tl-.c Lciii^ros-
Montauk Point lighthouse and five miles east
of Sag Harbor. East Hampton is the nearest
village to the harbor, and is distant about two
miles from its head. There is situated the
nearest railroad station.
The harbor proper is about two miles long
and one mile wide ; of a general triangular
shape, with the base toward Gardiner's Bay,
from which the harbor is separated by a sand
lieach, with an entrance channel at the east of
the same. According to chart, the harbor has
a maximum depth of thirteen feet, with a.
sional Record." In the debate on the River
and Harbor bill, January i6, 1901, Mr. Scud-
der moved an amendment to the elTect that a
channel should be constructed through the en-
trance into Three-mile Harbor not less than
ten feet in depth at mean low water and 200
feet in width. In supporting this amendment,
Mr. Scudder said :
Three-mile Harbor is a land-locked bay on
the north shore of the south fork of Long
Island, situated some eighteen miles west of
depth of six feet or more over an area of three-
quarters of a square mile. At the present time
the entrance channel is narrow and quite
crooked. The depth of the channel inside the
beach is about six feet, except where reduced
by a couple of sand spits.
This harbor once accommodated quite a
coasting trade, but for many years its en-
trance has been gradually filling with sand.
The washing away in recent years of the north
point of Gardiner's Island has allowed the
ocean swell, as well as that from the east en-
trance of Long Island Sound across Gardiner's
1070
HISTORY OF LOXG ISLAND.
Bay, to wash up sand and choke up the mouth
of the harbor, diminishing its usefuhiess.
The purpose of my amendment is to au-
thorize a survey with a view to constructing
a channel through the inlet from Gardiner's
Bay into the harbor, not less than ten feet in
depth at mean low water and 200 feet in
width.
It is estimated that the present freightage
interests of the locality immediately surround-
ing this harbor aggregate 10,000 tons a year.
There are large tracts of hard-wood lands and
considerable timber which would be convenieiit
for shipping from this harbor if the same were
accessible. Its shores are capable of develop-
ment.
Bv the improvement suggested by this
amendment a large area of country now of
comparatively little value would be opened up.
The population which would derive benefits
from the improvements is not less than 2,000
souls. The residents of the towns of East
Hampton and Amagansett are unanimous, so
far as I have been able to learn, in favor of
this improvement The shores of this harbor
are generally highlands, bespeaking a health-
ful locality.
I have no desire to conceal any facts in
connection with this proposed project. Were
I so inclined, which I am not, the chairman
of the River and Harbor Committee would
supply them. I frankly state them. A survey
of this harbor was made in 1899. The local
engineers reported at that time adversely tc
the improvement of the harbor. The project,
however, which I have in view dififers from
the project which was then turned down.
Moreover, a careful reading of the engineer's
report will satisfy any person familiar with
the conditions existing in this section of the
country that the work of the local engineers
was hardly as thorough as we believe the im-
portance of the question should have war-
ranted; therefore do I renew the request that
a survey again be made to the end that if
error was committed the first time justice to
the people of this section of my constituency
may be done, and the first error righted.
Mr. Chairman, this work will not be ex-
pensive. The local engineers are employed
continuously. They have to inspect all im-
provements now in course of construction or
maintenance on Long Island. A day or two
of careful work and investigation of Three-
mile Harbor, when they are engaged near
there, will entail little cost and will convince
them, I feel confident that a mistake was
made by the engineers who first looked the
ground over. Of course, under our rules and
tile law. an appropriation can not be secured
from Congress for such an imporvement as
I desire to have made here excepting the re-
port of the local engineers be indorsed favor-
able by the Chief of Engineers and approved
by the Secretary of War. Therefore it be-
comes necessary for me to try this case de novo
and to endeavor to secure a favorable report
at the bottom of the scale, namely, from the
local board of engineers.
In closing my remarks I will make mention
of certain advantages which will follow the
improvement of this harbor.
First. The Laiited States Government has
constructed fortifications on Gull Island and
on Plum Island in Long Island Sound. Three-
mile Harbor would be a safe and convenient
harbor for torpedo boats operating with these
fortifications in the event of war.
Second. It would be a safe harbor of
refuge to vessels engaged in the coasting trade,
and in fishing, which pass through Long Isl-
and Sound and Gardiner's Bay.
Third. It would enable vessels to enter
the bay for the purpose of taking aboard their
cargoes of wood and merchandise which, at
the present time, are obliged to load by means
of scows, lighters, and small boats while lying
oflf at some distance from the mainland.
Fourth. It would open up for development
a large section of country, would foster com-
merce, and consequently give needed employ-
ment to a large population, besides affording
an excellent harbor for steamboats and other
vessels.
East Hampton to the present day retains
many of its ancient characteristics. The old
windmills with their wide extended arms look
as if they belonged to another clime and carry
the spectator's mind at once back to the "days
of old," and the memorial tomb of Lion
Gardiner, with its knightly figure in full
armor, fits into its quaint surroundings — a
mediaeval monument in a village, which until
a few years ago hardly understood what mod-
ern progress meant. The relics of the past
seem to be more carefully conserved than
than in most American towns ; the ancient in-
EAST HAMPTON.
1071
formal name has been revived in the Maid-
stone Club, whose splendid building was de-
stroyed by fire in 1901 and is being rebuilt,
at a cost of $50,000 ; the old building of Clin-
ton Academy still greets the visitor and he can
render homage to genius at one of its verita-
ble shrines — the home in which John Howard
Payne, the author of "Home, Sweet Home,"
main attraction of East Hampton at present.
The ancient and royal game of golf claims
first honors, and nowhere in America are to
he found better grounds for the practice of
that magnificent sport than from Wainscott
to Fort Pond.
Wainscott is a small village, some four
miles from East Hampton, which was first set-
THE BOYHOOD
(An
spent his earliest years, and the memories of
which may have unconsciously framed the
thoughts and inspired the words of what has
become one of the "world's songs." The grand
old trees which line the main street were plant-
ed, some of them, a century ago, and succeeded
others which marked out the line of the road-
way in the early settlement. There is splendid
bathing on the beach, but sea-bathing is not the
tied about 1670, and is the home of a farming
and fishing population. It is little known ex-
cept to golfers and anglers, and its pond, fa-
mous for its pickerel, is one of the most beauti-
ful bits of inland water on the island. In 1880
it had a population of 100; at present it claims
170, so that its modern progress is not very
rapid. Neither is Amagansett progressing
very rapidly, for in 1880 its figures were 548,
i072
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
and the latest computation only added two to
that total, while Gardiner's Island, which in
1880 had a population of 40, has now only
25. Northwest, which had once high com-
mercial hopes and in 1880 a population of
78, now has only 60, although if it could only
be again discovered it would show wonderful
advantages for the development of a summer
resort. But the township in many places
shows substantial increases. The Springs,
which in 1880 had 339, now rejoice in 529,
while East Hampton village in 1880 had
807, in 1890, 1,014 and now has 1,600. Then
there are several new communities which have
been started within the past few years, which
promise to become places of importance within
a decade, while JNIontauk Point, thanks mainly
to the importance it acquired in the Spanish-
American War, now claims a residental pop-
ulation of 200. Had the census been taken
when Camp Wickoff occupied the Point it
would have swelled the figure for the district
and the township considerably. But the splen-
did advantages of the section for healthfulness
and fun became the theme in the camp days
of national interest and discussion, and ;t
would not be surprising ere many years pass
to see the Montauk region inhabited by a pop-
ulation far surpassing in extent the numbers
which made Camp Wickoff so busy for sev-
eral memorable months.
Meanwhile the old Royal demesne is prac-
tically deserted and the following exceedingly
beautiful description penned early in the past
century still accurately describes it :
The place is almost one extended region
of solitude. Over its elevated surface, the eye
seldom rests upon other than natural objects.
The large forest, which once covered its face,
has fallen before the axe of the husbandman,
and the winds of heaven; and the vision has
no interruption, over the greater part of the
land, to an illimitable expanse of ocean. The
extensive swamps, where the warrior waited
in ambush the passing of his foe, have most of
them become dry, and free of wood. The
grounds, where often the battle raged, in the
strife for life and victory, are noted only by
the many arrow-heads, which the tread of ani-
mals and the crumbling of the soil expose to
view. The lofty and symmetrical stature of
the red man no longer crowns the cliffs and
headlands of the shore ; but over the summits,,
the sea-bird and the eagle may still be seen
hovering in the air, or soaring aloft, in beauti-
ful gyrations. All the magnificent features of
nature still present, to the visitor, the same
sublime and majestic appearance which they
presented to former successive generations;
but the red man sleeps in his grave. The band
of sparkling foam, produced by the waves of
the ocean, rolling and dashing on the shore in
endless succession, still embraces the land ; but
he, who whilom watched the pulsations of the
mighty deep, is no longer there. On the bold
headland of Wamponomon, where, in the
clear dark night, the signal fire was kjndled,
to give notice to the friendly tribes, on the
opposite shore, of the approach of some mu-
tual foe, or of readiness to proceed upon some
enterprise of danger or revenge, the Sentinel
no longer holds his midnight vigil. The calm
moon, whose bright and soft light was re-
flected from the undulating surface of the
gently rising wave, where the canoe was
launched upon its bosom for distant adventure,
still sheds its monthly brightness upon the
troubled sea, but it no longer guides the bark
of the red man. The agitations and tumults
that gave activity and excitement to savage
life, and filled the forest with the echoes of the
war-hoop, are buried in the grave of the war-
rior; and the almost painful stillness of the
region is disturbed only by the everlasting,
murmur of the ocean.
APPENDIX
LONG ISLAND TROOPS IN THE REV-
OLUTION.
(From Fernow's "New York in the Revolution."
Albany, 1887.)
The people of Long Island responded to
the call of the Provincial Congress, asking
them to organize in military bodies as ear!}-
as the inhabitants of the other counties, and
below are given the earlier organizations. The
fortunes of war severing the connection be-
tween the island and the main land, these
organizations could not be kept up, hence the
list of Long Island officers is necessarily small.
The Coimcil of Appointments made no ap-
pointments for Long Island until 1784.
KINGS COUNTY.
Col. Richard Van Brunt.
Lieut. Col. Nich's Covenhoven.
1776.
1st Major Job's Titus.
2d Major John Van Debilt.
Adj. George Carpent-er.
O. M. Nich's Covenhoven.
All commissioned March i :
■ Caf'taiiis.
Job's \'anderbilt.
Lambert Suydani.
P). Johnson.
John Titus.
Corn's V. D. Veer.
Rem. Williamson.
Barnard Suydam.
Adrian \'an Brunt.
A return of the officers chosen by the dif-
ferent companies in Kings county who have
signed the Declaration and taken their com-
missions, 1776:
1st Lieuts.
Captains.
Light Horse. Adolph Waldron,
Troop of Horse, \ Lambert Suydam
Flatlands, ' Jere'h V. P. Bilt, Ab't. Stothoff,
Gravesend, Rem. Williamson. Saml. Hubbard,
Half of Brooklin, Barent John.son, Barent Lefferts,
do do Ferd's Suydam, Simon Bergen,
Flatbush, Corn's V. D. Veer, Peter Lefferts,
Bushwick, John Titus, Abr. Van Ranst,
New Utrecht. Abr. Van Brunt, Ad'nHegeman,
■3d Lieuts.
Wm. Boerum,^ Thos. Everett,
Dan'l Rapyle. Jacob Bloom,
Elsv
rth.
darrett Williamson,
loost D. B. Vooise,
Wm. Brower.
John Van Duyn.
Peter Colyer,
Harm's Barkulo,
Ensigns.
Jacob Sebring, Jun.
Peter V. D. Voort.
Peter V. D. Bilt.
John Lane.
Martin Schenck.
Ja'bStillenwert.
John Bennem.
John Skillman.
Wm. Barre.
Quarter Master.':
Isaac Sebring.
Peter Wyckofl.
Rem. A. Remsen, 1st Lieut, of Waldron's
Light Horse, had been elected, but declined,
whereupon the company was officered as
above.
QUEENS COUNTY.
No record of any regimental organization
has been found. The following names are of
company officers of an early period of the war :
Great Neck .^nd Cow Neck Company.
Capt. John Sands, appointed October 12,
1775-
7
(]^k/,...A*l
1st Lieut. Henry Allen, declined.
2d Lieut. Thos." Mitchell, promoted ist
Lieut. March 8, 1776, vice Allen.
Ensign Aspinwall Cornwell (Cornell) pro-
moted 2d Lieut, vice Mitchell.
Ensign Andrew Onderdonk, appointed
April 15, 1776.
New Town District, .Soiitlieriiniost Beat.
Capt. Abr'm Remsen.
1st Lieut Benj'n Coe, promoted Captain
June 17, 1776.
iKZ/iM^^
1074
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
2d Lieut Robt. Furman, promoted ist
Lieut.
Ensign Benj. North, promoted 2d Lieut.
Ensign Tonaii Hallett, appointed Tune tS,
1776.
Nciv Toivn District, North Beat.
Capt. John Lawrence, promoted Brig.:
Major. ' ■ .
1st Lieut. William Sackett.
2d Lieut. Wm. Lawrence, promoted Cap-
tain August 14, 1776.
Ensign Jesse Warner.
Light Hprsc Company.
Capt. Rich'd Lawr,ence, resigned on ac-
count of jll health.. . . ...
1st Lieut. Dan'l Lawrence, promoted Cap-
tain, etc.
2d Lieut. Samuel Riker, promoted ist
Lieut.
Cornet, John Coe, superseded by Jon'n
Lawrence.
Q. M. Peter Rap?lje.
Original commissions issued May 10, 1776.
Flushing Company.
Capt. Nath'l Tom.
ist Lieut. M'athias Van Dyck.
2d Lieut Jeffry Hicks.
Ensign Nich's Van Dyck.
Commissioned June 8, 1776.
Jamaica_ Cpiiipany.
Capt. Ephraiin Baylies.
1st Lieut. Increase Carpenter.
2d Lieut. Abr'm Vanausdale.
Ensign Othniel Smith.
Commissioned March 27, 1776.
SUFFOLK COUNTY.
First Regiment.
Col. Wm. Floyd, of St. George's Manor,
vice Piatt Conkling, who declined.
Lieut. Col. Dr. Gilbert Potter, of Hunt-
ington.
1st Major Nathan Woodhull, of Brook-
haven.
Huntington and Smithtown Companies.
Capt. John Wickes.
1st Lieut. Epenetus Conkling.
' 2d Lieut. Jonah Wood.
Ensign Ebenezer Prime Wood.
Capt. Jesse Brush.
1st Lieut. Jon'n Titus.
2d Lieut. "Phillipp Conckling.
Ensign Joseph Titus.
Capt. Timothy Carll.
1st Lieut. Gilbert Fleet.
2d. Lieut. Joel Scudder.
'Ensign Nath'l Buffet, Jun'r.
First Brookhaven Company.
Capt. Samuel Thompson.
1st Lieut. Ab'm Woodhull.
2d Lieut. Isaac Davis.
Ensign Daniel Satterly.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.
Second Brookhaven Company.
■ Capt. Enen'r Miller.-
1st Lieut. Caleb Woodhull.
2d Lieut. James Davis.
Ensign Davis Davis.
2d Major Edmund Smith, Jun'r., of
Smithtown.
Adjutant Philipp Roe, of Brookhaven.
O. M. James Roe, of Brookhaven.
Third Brookhaven Company.
Capt. Wm. Brewster.
1st Lieut. Isaac Davis.
2d Lieut. Uriah Smith.
Ensign Benj'n Woodhull.
Commissioned September 13, 1776.
Smithtoivn Company.
Capt. Philetus Smith.
1st Lieut. Edmund Smith, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Daniel Tillotson.
Ensign Richard Smith.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.
Islip Company, formed from east part of
Smithtown and west part of Southampton.
Capt. Benijah Strong.
1st Lieut. Jeremiah Terry.
2d Lieut. Samuel Oakley.
Ensign Annen Mowbrey.
Commissioned February 13, 1776.
Soiithold Company.
Capt. Nathan Rose.
1st Lieut. Hugh Smith.
2d Lieut. David Fanning.
Ensign John Smith.
Commissioned September 13, 1775.
APPENDIX.
1075
CHANGES IN THE REGIMENT.
December 12, 1775 — Joh'n Titus, Capt. 2d
Comp., vice Jesse Brush, promoted Major ;
Joshua Rogers, 1st Lieut.; Thos. Brush, 2d
Lieut.
February 7 and 8, 1776— Piatt Neal
(V^ail), Capt., Cow Harbour, or Fifth Hunt-
ington Company; Michael Hart, ist Lieut.;
Isaac Dennis, 2d Lieut. ; Jacob Conckling, En-
sign ; John Buf¥et. Capt. South or Fourth
Huntington Company; Isaac Thompson, ist
Lieut. ; Zebulon Ketcham, 2d Lieut. ; Joseph
Ketchum, Ensign.
A return of this Regiment, dated April
5, 1776, gives the following changes: Majors
Jesse Brush and Jeffry Smith; O. M. John
Roe; Captains Samuel Tomson, Eben'r Miller,
Nathan Rose, Wm. Brewster, Philetus Smith,
Joshua Rogers, Epenetus Conckling, Joel
Scudder, John Buffet, Plat Vail, Gilbert
Carle and Benjah Strong.
Second Regiment.
Col. David Mulford.
Lieut. Col. Jon'n Hedges.
1st Major Uriah Rogers.
2d Major George Herrick.
Adjutant John Gelston.
Q. M. Phineas Howell.
Sergt. Major Lemuel Peirson.
Drum Major Elias Matthews.
These officers were so returned February
10, 1776.
A return of the names of the persons for
the officers of the Second Battalion in Suffolk
county, taken according to the Directions of
the Provincial Congress by the Committees of
Easthampton and Southampton :
First Company.
Capt. David Howell.
1st Lieut. Jeremiah Post.
2d Lieut. Paul Jones.
Ensign Zephaniah Rogers.
Second Company.
Capt. John Dayton.
1st Lieut. Isaac Mulford Hunting.
2d Lieut. John Miller, Jun'r.
Ensign Wm. Heges.
Third Company.
Caut. David Peirson.
1st Lieut. Daniel Heges.
2d Lieut. David Sayre. .
Ensign Theophilus Peirson.
Fourth Company.
Capt. David Fithen.
1st Lieut Sam'l Conckling.
2d Lieut. Thomas Baker.
Ensign Daniel Conckling.
Fifth Company.
Capt. Stephen Howell.
1st Lieut. John White, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Lemuel Wick.
Ensign Isaah Hallsey.
Si.vth Company.
Capt. Wm. Rogers.
1st Lieut. Jesse Halsey.
2d Lieut. Henry Halsey.
Ensign Nath'l Rogers. .
Seventh Company.
Capt. Josiah Howell. .
1st Lieut. Nathaniel How.ell.
■ 2d Lieut. Mathew, Howe.lI,
Ensign. Wm. Stephens.
Eighth Co-inpany.
Capt. Sam'l L'Hommedieu.
1st Lieut.. Silas Jessup. ,. :
2d Lieut. Edw. Conckling. .
Ensign Daniel Fordham.
Ninth Company.
Capt. John Sandford.
1st Lieut. Edw. Topping.
2d Lieut. Phillip Howell.
Ensign John Hildreth. / '
Commissions issued September
THIRD REGIMENT.
3.. 1775-
A "Third Regiment" of Suft'olk county I's
mentioned and commissions were issued to of-
ficers of the same, but no record of its roster
has been found.
Capt. Israel Scudder.
1st Lieut. Nath'l Buffet.
2d Lieut. Epenetus Smith.
Ensign John Hart.
Commissioned December 12, 1.775. ^*^'"
Third Company, Third Regiment.
1st Lieut. Edmund Howell.
2d Lieut. Selah Reeve.
Ensign James Wells.
Commissioned June 29, 1776, for Second
Company, Third Regiment.
1076
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
KEGIMEXT OF MINUTE MEN.
Col. Josiah Smith.
Lieut. Col. John Hulbert.
1st Major Isaac Reeve.
2d Major Jon'n Baker.
Easthampton Company.
Capt. Ezekiel Mulford.
1st Lieut. John Miller.
2(1 Lieut. Nath'l Hand.
Commissioned February 23, 1776!
First Soiitliaiiipfoii Company.
Capt. Zephaniah Rogers.
1st Lieut. Nath"! Howell, Jun'r.
2d Lieut, ?ilatthew Saver.
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
Second Southampton Company.
Capt. David Pierson.
1st Lieut. John Foster, Jun'r.
2d Lieut. Abr. Rose.
Ensign Edward Topping.
Commissioned February 23, 1776.
The return of this Regiment, of May 30,
1776, gives:
Isaac Overton, 2d Major, vice Baker; and
Captains Nath'l Piatt and Thos. Wicks, in ad-
dition to the above; Adjutant, Ephraim Mar-
vin, April 4, 1776, vice Isaac Overton, de-
clined; O. M. Eben'r Dayton.
First Soulbold Company.
Capt. John Bayley.
1st Lieut. Joshua Youngs.
2d Lieut. John Tuthill."
Ensign James Reeves.
■ Commissioned May 3, 1776.
Second SoutJiold Company.
Capt. Paul Reeves.
1st Lieut. John Corwin.
2d Lieut. David Horton.
Ensign Nath'l Hodson.
Commissioned May 3, 1776.
Brookhaven, Sniithtown, Manor of St. George
and Moriches Companies.
Capt. Selah Strong.
1st Lieut. Wm. Clark.
2d Lieut. Caleb Brewster.
Ensign Nath'l Brewster.
Commissioned April 4, 1776,
Regi
Benjamin Coe, Capt.. mentioned October 9,
1776.
Capt. Wm. Ludlum and 2d Lieut. Ephraim
Marston, mentioned December 2, 1776.
Artillery Company.
( Belonging to Col. Smith's Minute
ment.)
Capt. Wm. Rogers.
Capt. Lieut. John Franks.
1st Lieut. Jeremiah Rogers.
2d Lieut. Thos. Baker.
Lieut. Fireworker John Tuthill.
Commissioned February 20, 1776.
(From "New York in the Revolu
A. Roberts, Comptroller, Albany, l.S!)8.;
SUFFOLK COUNTY MILITIA.
Josiah Smith.
Captains.
Clarkson.
Benj. Coe.
Jno. Dayton.
David Fithian.
Danl. Hedges.
David Howell.
Josiah Howell.
Sam'l L'Hommedieu.
Wm. Ludlam.
R. Manne.
Ezekiel Mulford.
Peter Nostrand.
Joshua Benjamin.
Caleb Brewster.
Thos. Brush.
Wm. Clark.
Timothy Conkling.
Jno. Corwin.
John Foster.
Nathaniel Hand.
David Horton.
Nathaniel Howell.
David Pierson.
Nathaniel Piatt.
Paul Reeve.
Wm. Rogers.
Zephanniah Rogers.
Jno. Sanford.
Selah Strong.
Thos. Weeks.
Jno. White.
Jno. Wickes.
Thos. Wickes.
Paul Jones.
Carl Isaac Ketcham
Ephriam Marston.
Jno. Miller.
Abr. Rose.
Matthew Sayre.
Hy. Scudder.
Saml. Smith.
Edw.' Topping.
Joshua Youngs.
Ensigns.
Benj. Blatsley.
Nathaniel Brewster.
Nathaniel Hudson.
Nathaniel Williams, Jr.
APPENDIX.
Enlisted Men.
Enlisted Men — Continued.
Abbet, James.
Akerly, John.
Albertsob, John Parker.
Aldeich, Jacob, Jr.
Aldridge, Joshua.
Allen, Nathaniel.
Armstrong, Bishop.
Askly, John,
liailey, Joseph,
liaker, Samuel.
Barker, Henry.
Baley, John.
ISarnes, Jereniah.
Barnes, Jonathan.
Barrett, William.
Barts, Francis.
Basset, Cirnelius.
Bavkev, John.
Bayley, Philip.
Baylis, John.
Baylis, Nehemiah.
Baybeks, Israel.
Beale, George.
Beale, Matthew.
Beekwith, Ohineas.
Benjamin, Azariah.
B>enjamin, David.
P)enjamin, James.
Benjamin, Nathan.
Benjamin, Richard.
Benjamin, William.
Bennet, Edward.
Bennett, Ganakiel.
Bennett, John.
Betts, Richard.
Biggs, Silas.
Bishop, David.
Bishop, Enoa.
Bishop, John.
Bishop, Samuel.
Blatsley, Daniel.
Blindenburgh, Daniel.
Booth, Wheelock.
Bower, David.
Bower, Hezekiah.
Bower, Zephaniah.
Bower, Jeremiah.
Brewster, John.
Brian, James.
Brian, Lemuel.
Brown, Caleb
Brown, Daniel.
Brown, David.
Brown, Henry.
Brown, Henry, Jr.
Brown, Reuben.
Brown, Richard.
Brush, Eliphalet.
Brush, Gilbert.
Brush, James.
Brush, Nehemiah.
Brush, Nehemiah, Jr.
Brush, Robert.
Bryan, Jesse.
Bryant, Ale.xander.
Buchanan, William.
Bunce, Jesse.
Burnett, Joseph.
Carle, Jesse, Jr.
Carl, John.
Carl. Scudd.
Carpeter. Nehemiah.
Case, Ichabod.
Chatifield, Henry.
Chichester. Eliphalet.
Clark, Elisha.
Clark, Stephen.
Cleaveland, Joseph.
Coan, Abraham.
Conklin, Jacob.
Conkling, Benjamin.
Conkling. Ezra.
Conkling, Jacob.
Conkling. Jeremiah.
Conkling, John.
Conkling, Joseph.
Conkling. Nathaniel.
Conkling, Samuel.
Conkling, Silvanus.
Conklin, William.
Conkling-, William, Jr.
Conklina:, Thomas.
Conn. William.
Cook, Calvin.
Cook, John.
Cook, Jonathan.
Cook, Nathan.
Cook. Silas.
Cooper. Benjamin.
Cooper, Charles.
Cooper, David.
Cooper, Matthew.
Corey, Isaac.
Corwin, Gershom.
Corwin, Jacob.
Corwin, Jeremiah.
Corwin, Jonathan.
Corwin, Joshua.
Corwin, Nathan.
Corwin, Nathan, Jr.
Corwin, Simeon.
Corwin, Thomas.
Corwithe, Caleb.
Corwithe, Henry.
Corwithe, John.
Cook, Benjamin.
Dains, Paul.
Davall, Samuel.
Davis, Daniel.
Davis, Matthias.
Davis, Timothy.
Davis, William.
Davison, Isaac.
Dayton, Jacob.
Dayton, Jeremiah.
Dayton, Samuel.
Denton, Benjamin.
Dibble, Isiah.
Dickerson, Abraham.
Ditmas, Garret.
Doming, Henry.
Downs, Peter.
Drake, Richard.
Duree, Charles.
Edwards, Daniel.
Edwards, David.
Edwards, Henry.
Edwards, Isaac.
Edwards, John,
lulwards, Silas,
l-'dwards, William.
Ennis, George.
Everett, George.
Fanning, Nathaniel.
Fleet, Ale.xander.
Fordham, Stephen.
Foster, Asa.
Foster, David Hains.
Foster, James.
Foster, Jedediah.
Foster, John.
P'oster, Wakeman.
Foster, William.
Fowler, Richard.
Gardiner, Jeremiah.
Garrard, Zopher.
Gates, William.
Gau, John.
Gear, John M.
Gelston, Hugh.
Gelston, William.
Gerrard, Benjamin.
Gerrard, John.
Gerrard, Joseph.
Gerrard, William.
Gildersleeve.
Gildersleeve, John.
Gildersleeve, Philip.
Gladin, George,
Goldsmith, John.
Goldsmith, John Jr.
Goldsmith, William.
Goodale, Joseph.
Gould, John.
Gray, Daniel.
Griffing, John,
Griffis, James.
Guyer, Lazarus.
Haff, Isaac.
Haff, James.
Hallock, Daniel.
Hallock, John.
Hallock, Peter.
Hallock, Richard.
Hallock, William.
Hallock, Zachariah.
Halsey, Abraham.
Halsey, Daniel.
Halsey, David Fithian
Halsey, Ethan.
Halsey, James.
Halsey, Job.
Halsey, Philip.
Halsey, Silas.
Halsey, Silvanus.
Halsey, Stephen.
Halsey, Thomas.
Halsey, Timothy.
Halsey, William.
Hand, David, Jr.
Hand, Jno., Jr.
Hand, Jonathan.
Hand, Joseph.
Hand, Josiah.
Hand, Nathan.
Harcus, Selah.
Harris, George.
Harris, Henry.
Harris, Stephen.
Hart, John.
Hart, Nehemiah.
Hart, Samuel.
Haven, Constant.
Hawkings, Alexander.
Hawkings, Eleazer.
Hawkings, Gershorn.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Enlisted Men — Continued.
Hawkings, John. Jackson, Samuel.
Hawkings, Jonas. Jagger, Abraham.
Hawkings, Zophar. jagger, Jeremiah.
Hawks, John. .tagger, Matthew.
Hedges, Christopher. Jarvis, Joseph.
Hedges, Eleazer. jarvis, Nathaniel.
Hedges, Elihu. Jarvis, Seth.
Hedges, Job. Jayne, Robert.
Hedges, Jonathan. Jayne, Shadiack.
Hedges, Nathan. Jennings. Silvanus.
Hedges, Timothv, Tr. Jennings, Stephen.
Herrick, Micaiali. " Jennings, Thomas.
Hicks, Zachariah. Jennings, Zebulon.
Higbee, Jonas. Jevis, Isiah.
Higbie, Stephen. Jessup, Isaac.
Hildreth, Joshua. Jessup, Zebulon.
Hildreth. Luther. Johnes, Thomas.
Hill, William. Jones, Benjamin.
Homan, Joseph. Jones, Elisha.
Homan, Phineas. Jones, Jeremiah.
Hopkins, Samuel. Jones, Obadiah.
Hoppin, Daniel. Jones, Thomas.
Horton, Calvin. Kellum, Jesse.
Howell, David. Kellum, Obadiah.
Howell, Edmund. Kelly, Stephen.
Howell, Edward. Ketcham, Daniel.
Howell, James. Ketcham, Jesse.
Howell, Jehiel. Ketcham, John.
Howell, John. Ketcham, Joshua, Jr.
Howell, Jonathan. Ketcham, Stephen.
Howell, Matthew. King, Abraham.
Howell, Mathew, Jr. King, Alexander.
Howell. Moses. King, Gilbert.
Howell, William. King, Samuel.
Hubbard, Richard Lewis, Samuel.
Steers. L'Hommeditu, Ben-
Hubbard, Samuel. janiin, Jr.
Hubbell, James. L'Hommt-dieu,
Hubbs, Jacobus. Eyihraim.
Hubbs, James. L'Hommedieu,
Hudson, Ebenezer. Grover.
Hudson, Henry. L'Hommedieu, Henry
Hudson, John, L'Hommedieu,
Hudson, John, Jr. Hudson.
Hudson, John Fred. L'Hommedieu, John.
Hudson, Samuel. L'Hommedieu,
Huff, John. Mulford.
Hulse, David. Liscom, Isaac.
Hulse, Richard. Lockwood, John.
Hunt, Benjamin. Longbottom, Jacob.
Ireland, Joseph. Longbottom, Samuel.
Isaac, Aaron, Jr. Loper, Abraham.
Jackson, David. Loper, James.
Jackson, Richard. Loper, John.
Enlisted Men— Continued.
Ludlam, George. Paine, James.
Ludlam, Jeremiah. Parshall, James.
Ludlam, Parsons. Parshall, John.
Lupton, David. Parsons, Samuel.
Lyon, Henry. Patty, Ezekiel.
Maccolum, Malcom. Patty, James.
Makes, Joseph. Payne, Paul.
Marvin, Ephraim. Payne, Peter.
Maynor, Josiah. Peas, Matthew.
Messenger, Oventon. Pelletreau, John.
Miller, David. Perry, Edmund.
Miller, Ezekiel. Petty, James, Jr.
Miller, Hunting. Pierson, Abraham.
Miller, Joel. Pierson, Elias.
Miller, Nathan. Pierson, Isaac.
Miller, Peleg. Pierson, Job.
Miller, William. Pierson, John.
Mills, Israel. Pierson, Lemmuel.
Mills, Jedidiah. Pierson, Zachariah.
Mills, Jonas, Jr. Pike, Amasa.
Mills, William. Piatt, Amos.
Monroe, David. Piatt, Arthur.
Moore, Henry. Piatt, Ebenezer.
Moore, Thomas. Piatt, Jeremiah.
Morgan, John. Post, Jeremiah. .
IMulford, David. Ramsons, Auris. •
^lulford, Elisha. Raynor, Ichabod.
Mulford, John. Raynor, Joseph.
Mulford, Jonathan. Raynor, Josiah.
IMulford, Matthew. Raynor, Stephen.
Mulford, Samuel. Raynor, William.
Newman, William. Reeve, Ishmael.
Nicoll, Benjamin, Jr. Reeve, James.
Nicoll, Robert. Reeve, Jonathan.
Nicolls, Stephen. Reeve, Luther.
Norris, James. Reeve, Obadiah.
Norton, George. Reeve, Stephen, Jr.
Nostram, Jacobus. Reeve, William.
Nostram, Samuel. Reeve, Barnabas.
Oakcs, Simon. Reeves, Purr, Jr.
Osborn, Abraham. Reeves, Purryor.
Osborn, Cornelius. Reigner, Ichabod.
Osborn, Joseph. Reyonlds, Israel. ■
Osborn, Smith Stratton Rider, Jesse.
Osburn, James. Robijson, Edmund.
Osman, Jacob. Robinson, David.
Osman, Jonathan. Rogers, Abraham.
Oventon, James. Rogers, Abraham, Jr
Oventon, John. Rogers, Caleb.
Overton, foel. Rogers, Jarvis.
Overton, Nathaniel. Rogers, job.
Packin-, Andrew. Rogers, John.
Pain, John. Rogers, Stephen.
Pain, Silas. Rogers, Topping.
APPENDIX",
H II listed Men — Continued.
Enlisted Men — Continued.
Rogers. \Mlliani.
Rolph, Benjamin.
Rose, David.
Rose, Lemuel.
Rugg, Silas.
Ruland, David.
Ruland, John.
Ruland, Luke.
Ruland, Zophar.
Rusco, David.
Rusco, Nathaniel.
Russell, David.
Russell, Jonathan.
Ryder, Stephen.
Sammis. Xathanicl.
Sanimis. Philip.
Sammis, David.
Sammis, Ebenezer.
Sammis, Joseph.
Sammis, Piatt.
'Sammis, Timothy.
Sanimis, William.
Sanford, Abraham.
Sanford, Benjamin.
Sanford, Daniel.
Sanford, David Howell.
Sanford, Lewis.
Satterly, Josiah.
Satturly, Samuel.
Sayre, Abraham.
Sayre, Stephen.
Schekkenger, Isaac.
Schellenger, Isaac.
Schellinger, Jacob.
Scribner, Seth.
Scudder, Timothy, Jr.
Shaddain, Henry.
Shearman, Anthony.
Sherrill, Daniel.
Sherrill, Henry.
Sill, Wessell.
Simmons, Samuel.
Simons, Moses.
Snalling, William.
Smith, Abner.
Smith, Arthur.
Smith, Charles.
Smith, Daniel.
Smith, David.
Smith, Epenetus.
Smith, Floyd.
Smith, Gilbert, Jr.
Smith, Hezekiah.
Smith, James.
Smith. Jeremiah.
Smith, Jesse.
Smith, Job.
Smith, John.
Smith, Joseph.
Smith, Josiah.
Smith, Lemuel, Jr.
Smith, Matthew.
Smith, Nathan.
Smith, Nathaniel.
Smith, Noah.
Smith, Obad.
Smith. Obadiah.
Smith, Peleg.
Smith. Philip.
Smith, Silas.
Smith, William.
Smyth, Sylvester.
Soaper, Gilbert.
Soaper, Jesse.
Soaper, Jonah.
Soaper, Moses.
Solomon, Jonathan.
Stanbrough, Josiah.
Stanbrough, Thomas
Stephens, Thomas.
Still, William.
Stratton, Daniel.
Stratton, John.
Stratton, Samuel.
Stratton, Stephen.
Strong, Selah.
Sweasey, Daniel.
Sweasey, Isaac.
Sylls, Phineas.
Talmage, Enos.
Talmage, Joseph.
Tanner, Benjamin.
Tarbel, David.
Taylor, George.
Taylor, Nathaniel.
Taylor, William.
Terril, James.
Terry, Daniel.
Terry, Daniel, Jr.
Terry, Elijah.
Terry, James.
Terry, John.
Terry, Joseph.
Thompson, Jonathan.
Thompson, Zebulon.
Titus, Timothy.
Topping, Henry.
Topping, Jeremiah.
Topping. Matthew.
Topping, Silas.
Topping. Zaphaniah
Totten, John.
Totten, Losse.
Trcdwell. Thomas.
Turner. Henrv.
Tnthill, John."
Tnthill. Nathan.
Tnttle, Jonathan.
Tattle, "loshua.
r.lali, Nathaniel.
I 'deli, Nathaniel.
I'dke, Nathaniel.
\''ail, Christopher.
\'ail, John.
A'ail, Piatt, Jr.
Vail, Samuel.
Weed, Jehiel.
^^'eeks, Jesse.
^^'ells. David.
\\'ells, Isaac.
\\'ells, Isiah.
^Vells, John Calvin.
Wells, Joseph.
Wells, Joshua, Jr.
Wells, Manley.
Wells, Nathaniel.
Wells, Youngs.
Wheller, John.
Wheller, Thomas.
Wheller, William.
\\'eldon. Jonathan.
A\'hite. Ephraim.
AMiitc, Memucan.
\\'hite, Samuel.
\\'hite; Stephen.
■Whotman, Nathaniel.
A\"ick, Silvanus.
^\'ickes. Samuel.
\\'icks, Josiah.
WillKim.. Inhn.
Williaiii-, li, la. IKS.
WillianiMni. jcddiah.
Wilmot, Jesse.
Wilmot, Nathaniel.
Wood, Epentus.
Wood, Epenetus, Jr.
Wood, Jeremiah.
Wood, Jonas.
Wood, Joseph.
Wood, Richard.
Woodhull, Abelenus.
\Vnodluill, James.
\\'oodhull, John.
WoudhuU, Nathan.
Woodruff, David.
Woodruff, Joshua.
Woodruft', Silas.
Wooley, Charles.
Youngs, Nathan.
SUFFOLK COUNTY MILITIA, THIRD REGIMENT
OF MINUTE MEN.
Col. Thomas Terry.
Capt. Jonathan Bayley.
Lieut. John Tuthill.
Lieut. Joshua Youngs.
Ensign James Reeve.
Enlisted Men.
Beebe, Lester.
Booth, Prosper.
Brown, Daniel.
Brown, James.
Conkling, Thomas.
Demmon, Jonathan.
Dickerson, Nathaniel.
Drake, Richard.
Gardener. James.
Glover, Ezekiel.
Glover, Joseph.
Goldsmith, John.
Griffing, Peter.
Havens, John.
Hemsted, Thomas.
Horton, Benjamin.
Horton, Calvin.
Horton, David.
Horton, James.
King, Benjamin.
King, Jeremiah.
King, John.
King, Jonathan.
Newbury, Samuel.
HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.
Enlisted Men — Continued.
Overton, Aaron.
Pain, Benjamin.
Prince, Thomas.
-Racket, Absalom K.
Racket, Noah.
Rogers, William.
Rogers, William.
Roghers, William.
Samon, Jonathan.
Salmon, Joshua.
Tabor, Ammon.
Tabor, Frederick.
Terry, David.
Terry, Elijah, Jr.
Terry, Thomas.
Trnnian, David.
Truman, Jonathan.
Tuthill, Christopher.
TuthiU, David.
Tuthill, James, Jr.
A'ail, Benjamin, Jr.
A'ail, Daniel.
Vail, Elisha.
Vail, Jonathan.
\'ail, Thomas.
Wells, Jonathan.
A\'iggins, David.
Wiggins, William.
Youngs, John.
Youngs, Joseph.
FFOLK COUNTY MILITIA REGIMENT OF
MINUTE MEN.
Colonel.
David Mulford.
Captains.
John Dayton.
David Fithian.
Danel Hedges.
David HoWell.
Josiah Howell.
Samuel L'Hommedieu.
William Rogers.
John Sandford.
John White.
[Xo enlisted men found.]
4001
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