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GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01177 0952
GENEALOGY 974.701 Su2ma
6/23/70
Part of may facing Page 64
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Rev. JACOB E. MALLMANN
HISTORICAL PAPERS
ON
SHELTER
ISLAND C
AND ITS
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
WITH
GENEALOGICAL TABLES
OF THE DESCENDANTS OF
BRINLEY SYLVESTER, SAMUEL HOPKINS, JOEL AND JOHN BOWDITCH, SAMUEL HUDSON, JOHN HAVENS, GEORGE HAVENS, JONATHAN HAVENS, JOSEPH HAVENS, HENRY HAVENS, NOAH TUTHILL, THOMAS CONKLING, ABRAHAM PARKER, DANIEL BROWN, SYLVESTER L'HOMMEDIEU, REV. DANIEL AND LUCRETIA HALL, SYLVESTER AND E. SARAH DERING, JONATHAN AND ABIGAIL DOUG- LASS, EPHRAIM AND MEHITABLE KING, MARY MAYO, EUNICE CASE, ESTHER CASE, LODOWICK HAVENS, ELIZABETH HA- VENS, ABIGAIL SAW- YER AND ANNA BOISSEAU.
BY THE
REV. JACOB E. MALLMANN PASTOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SHELTER ISLAND, N. Y.
1899
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY
THE A. M. BUSTARD CO., 157 WILLIAM ST., N. Y.
List of Illustrations.
Frontispiece.
Page.
Deed of Fobn Booth to Capt. nathaniel Sylvester,
25
Ancient BBurial Plot,
33
The manor house, 48
Shelter Island's "Declaration of Independence," .
64
Fly=Leaf of Old Sermon, with portrait, 77
Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, . 97
A Group of Former Pastors and preachers,
120
Public Buildings and Ancient Grist Mill,
. 144
Copyright, 1899, by Jacob E. Mallmann.
1519398
DEDICATED TO THE PEOPLE OF THE PLACE AND CHURCH WHOSE HISTORY IS HEREIN SET FORTH WITH THE ESTEEM AND AFFECTION OF THE AUTHOR.
SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER I.
A precious duty. The occasion of it. The benefit derived from it. Shelter Is- land and its Presbyterian Church. Re-dedication. Its suggestion, How past and present are linked together. Quotation from Rev. Dr. Mckenzie. A pleasant study. Attractive personalities. A desire. Our earliest historical reference. Year of 1637. A memorable year. "Paumanach." The land of tribute. The Indians of Shelter Island. The mission of Waiandance. Shel- ter Island's great Sachem. A celebrated Indian Quartette. An important grant of land to the Earl of Stirling. His commissioner. A wise selection. "Mr. Farrett's Island." First disposal of Shelter Island. The purchaser. His re- lation to the New Haven colony. Seeks to have the Island bought by that colony. Is unsucessful. Continues as owner for ten years. 1651. The pur- chase of Shelter Island. A strange payment. How the English revolution under Cromwell led to the settlement of Shelter Island. The Puritan Exodus. The early struggle between the English and the Dutch for supremacy in the New World, and its outcome. Sketches of the company of four Englishmen who purchased the Island from Mr. Goodyear. Our original settler and his bride. Their eventful journey. A disputed title. Its settlement. An inter- esting paper. An apparent discrepancy. How explained. Withdrawal of the Indians from Shelter Island. Strange dogs. Death of Manhansett's Grand Sachem. The burial of Shelter Island's great Chief. (Whooping Boys Hollow.) Cockenoe, a noted Manhansett Indian.
CHAPTER II.
Nathaniel Sylvester's visit to England. Its pleasant purpose. Date of his mar- riage. Return to America. Who were in the party. The first landing place. Resuming the journey. "The Golden Parrot." Coming of slaves to Shelter Island. Founding of the first white settlement. Its growth. Anxious parents. A surprising thing. Shelter Island the refuge of the oppressed. Whittier, the poet's, tribute. George Fox's visit. An interesting retraction. "Cotjewa- minick." "Manhansick Ahaquazuwamuck." Its meaning. The origin of Shelter Island's name. Tracing the various owners of Shelter Island. The English expedition of 1664. Conquest of the New Netherlands. Gov. Nicoll's grant to Nathaniel Sylvester of manorial rights. The consideration. Another change in Colonial Government. The exaction of the Dutch. Some State papers. Nathaniel Sylvester now sole owner. His large family. A romantic courtship. Death of Mr. Sylvester. Another important advent. The coming of the Nicoll family to Shelter Island. Troublous times. A respectable inheritance. William Nicoll the first, or Speaker Nicoll. A noble career. Sketch of his life. Some delightful coincidences. Governor Cornbury's detes- table act. Persecution of two Presbyterian Clergymen. Their acquital. No- table and praiseworthy services.
CHAPTER III.
George Havens' purchase. Its position. His ancestors. His family. An abstract. A pleasant surprise. The growth of the community. Twenty men of great importance. What they did. What moved them. Shelter Island's first Town Meeting. The original Town officers. Biographical sketches of our Town Fathers. A recapitulation. First effort toward erecting a " Meeting House." An ancient subscription paper. When was the first church erected on Shelter Island? What historians say. The probable year. The style of architecture. Its suggestion. Who preached in it. A sketch of his life. His relation to Brinley Sylvester. His relation to the community. An important paper. Its high sense of responsibility. Its author. First meeting of Presbytery on Shel-
ter Island. A second meeting. Its noble purpose. Ordination of the Rev. Elam Potter. His subsequent life. An early abolitionist. The coming of Thomas Brinley. Who he was. His useful life. Two important letters. Another tie between Newtown and Shelter Island. An ancient lineage. Mr. Dering's slaves. Overtaken in the act. A trial. Comus's forceful reasoning. "Cato, thou art discharged."
CHAPTER IV.
First census list of Shelter Island. What it reveals. A minute from the Town records. Not such a spiritual wilderness as has been intimated. The begin- ning of the American revolution. Shelter Island's glorious record. A precious and immortal document. Our representatives. Gardnier's bay. The enemy's squadron. In the enemy's hands. No mercy shown. Great hardships. A sample. A blessed release. "Culloden's Point." Close of the war. Our first His eminent life. An
Trustees. First inventory. Jonathan N. Havens.
interesting letter.
William Bowditch.
A man of influence.
Last of the
Indians.
A remarkable conversion.
Manumitting slaves.
Various move-
ments towards obtaining a preacher.
manuscript. Two noted theologians.
Some of those who served. An ancient Dr. Timothy Dwight's visit. "Bushe's
Ferry." Coming of Rev. Daniel Hall. His eminent services. Organization of this Church. Its articles of faith and covenant. The original members. Mr. Hall's death. A movement towards a new church building. Another cloud. The war of 1812. Shelter Island again the butt of the enemy. A torpedo and its indirect effect. A bit of vandalism. A boomerang. A neat trap. Yankee ingenuity. The retaliation. Again invincible. Church fully organized accord-
ing to Presbyterian polity. Our first elders. Dr. Woolworth's tribute to Rev. Daniel Hall. A pleasant pursuit.
CHAPTER V.
Ecclesiastical matters. Renewed effort to build a new church. A successful sub- scription paper. The subscribers. Appointment of a building committee. The "great September gale." "It is indeed an ill wind that blows nobody
good." The work accomplished. First great revival on Shelter Island. Its
origin. Its scope. A remarkable manifestation in the public school. The fruits of that outpouring of grace. Rev. Stephen Tracy's coming. His great work. A happy community. Cost of building. What was considered a great achievement. Description of building. First pew list. Dedication. A hymn composed especially for the occasion. First women's missionary society. A pleasant correspondence. Rev. Daniel Hall and his relation to this church. Various supplies. "Do you keep that good little minister yet?" General Sylvester Dering, our first elder. His noble life. A high tribute. His sad death. One of the General's orders. A remarkable trio. A community in
sorrow.
One of the elders ordained to the ministry.
The coming of the
Rev. Ezra Youngs. His services. Certain records straightened out. Mr. Young's romantic courtship. His wit. A peculiar marriage fee. Mr. Ben- jamin Conklin's large bequest. Inventory of the society's property. Two epitaphs.
CHAPTER VI.
Mr. Youngs' successor. Rev. Jonathan Huntting. His labors. A man of marked ability. How he met her who became his wife. Striking the iron while it is hot. Rather a costly exchange. The second great revival. The second mem- ber of the Church who entered the ministry. Rev. Daniel M. Lord. His second coming to this Island. His services. A memorable winter. First de- cisive step towards temperance and total abstinence. Mr. Lord's ordination. His going to Boston. Rev. Randolph Campbell's advent. His able ministry. A fourth revival. Lovingly remembered. His call to a noted church. A long pastorate. Mr. Campbell's successor. Rev. William Ingmire. Laboring at a disadvantage. The commercial embarrassment of 1836-'7. Its effect upon the funds of this church. Rev. Anson Sheldon's coming. His period of service. A notable daughter of this church. Grace conquering nature. Her beautiful poem. "My Native Isle." Her speedy death. Samuel S. Gardiner, Esq. The occasion of a wonderful speech. Rev. Mr. Lord's third coming. His
purpose in it. A smiling Providence. The very man. The first formal call to the pastorate. Mr. Lord accepts. The beginning of a brilliant ministry. A happy occasion. A lofty motive. God's seal upon it. The most remarkable revival as yet. Another one. Still another more powerful than the others. Mr. Lord's sacred enthronement in the hearts of his people. A privilege. His tragic death. Its awful gloom upon the community. Widefelt sorrow. "Those dear children-have they been hurt !" "The Lord have mercy, I am going." A solemn and memorable day in August, 1861. Rev. Dr. Whitaker's high tribute. Mr. Lord's charming personality. Unusual powers. His remarkable services in Boston. Rev. Mr. Jones's conversion. A bright gem in his crown. The church enlarged. Belfry added. Mr. Lord's family.
CHAPTER VII.
Other ambassadors of the Most High. Mr. Lord's successor. Rev. Charles H.
Holloway. His coming to Shelter Island. Installed as pastor. Length of service. A man of marked literary ability. Building the present parsonage. Various homes of the clergy who resided on Shelter Island. The first parsonage owned by the Society. Mr. Holloway's successor. Coming of the Rev. Thomas Harries. Unanimously called as pastor. Dully installed. Various clergy as- sisting at installation. Mr. Harries' long term of service. An able and efficient servant. Ministry blessed with revival power. Number of persons who united with the Church during ministry. Memory greatly cherished. Forced to resign through ill health. Resolutions of the Church concerning his services. Moved to Brooklyn. Date of death. Place of birth. His early life. Called to the ministry. Various fields of labor. A preacher of righteousness for fifty years. Succeeded by the Rev. Dr. A. P. Bissell. Date of coming. Relation to the So- ciety. His ministry favored with a blessed quickening. A scholarly man. The receiver of various degrees from American and European institutions. Place of birth. Course of study. Varied labors. His present honorable position. Dr. Bissell followed by the Rev. Benjamin F. Parliman. Term of service on Shelter Island. Blessed with a remarkable revival. Largest in gathering in the history of the Church. A memorable occasion. Two consecrated young souls. Their holy zeal. An untimely death, but not in vain. Another speedy death. Bro. Parliman's ministry. Conspicuous also for the erection of our cozy chapel. His place of birth and present charge. His successor, the author. Unanimously called as pastor. Installation services and those who took part. His place of birth. Parentage. Early life. Called from a mercantile life into the gospel ministry. Course of preparation. Graduation and ordination. First service in the ministry. Second service as pastor of the Newtown Presbyterian Church. His great privilege. Called to Shelter Island. His saintly mother. A tribute of love and an ardent wish. Repre- sentatives of the Church in the gospel ministry. Those who are living. Rev.
Charles E. Havens and Rev. Nelson B. Chester. Sketches of their earnest and useful careers. Our noble roll of Ruling Elders. Short biographies of each of those who have passed to their eternal reward. Other noted worthy members of the Church and congregation. Conclusion. Poem, " Hallowed Echoes."
INTRODUCTION.
As an introduction to this volume, permit these few words con- cerning its origin. In July, 1896, feeling the need of renovating our church building, a meeting was called to consider the best means for raising the required funds.
Two means were decided upon, namely, the holding of a lawn festival and the circulation of a subscription paper among the mem- bers and friends of the church. These were immediately put into execution, with the happy result that we were able to completely renovate the interior of our main audience room by the third Sunday of the following March, at a cost of about fifteen hundred dollars, all of which was paid for, with a small balance besides, which was turned to missionary purposes. With gratitude to God for His favor upon our work, we felt the need of rededicating our renovated build- ing to His service, and prepared accordingly a series of services to begin with Sunday, March 21st, and to continue through the week until and including the following Sunday. On the morning of the first Sunday the renovated building was rededicated, the rededi- catory sermon being preached by the Rev. Arthur P. Newman, pas- tor of the Presbyterian Church of Bridgehampton, L. I. We turned to him for this important service not only because he is an able Pres- byter and beloved, but because he is a successor in the pastorate of the Bridgehampton Church of the Rev. Dr. Aaron Woolworth, who preached the first dedicatory sermon when the present building was completed in 1817. Brother Newman's text was the same as Dr. Woolworth's, namely, Ps. 123:6, "The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." It was an inspiring discourse, and cheered us on in our renewed endeavor. For the evening service of that Sunday we prepared a historical paper, and it was that effort which has led us on to the present result of this volume. We found so much that was interesting and valuable in our research that we were able but to touch the beginning of things on this island in our first paper. We continued our research and presented another in- stallment on the 4th of April following. Again we resumed our study. With increasing delight we found our effort growing both in interest and in proportions. As we came to the time when Shelter Island was fully organized into a town by the election of town offi- cials, and so met the names of the twenty men who were the founders
of our town, we felt, in view of so much that is creditable and delight- ful in the history of this place, and of their undying connection with it, that their names were worthy of a more permanent form than had yet been given to them. Thus one thing led on to another until now behold what we have endeavored to do-write a series of historical papers on Shelter Island and its Presbyterian Church, with genea- logical tables of most of the founders of the town and church. We say "behold" for the reason that it was something which we least intended to do when we started out in the preparation of an his- torical paper, to be read in connection with the rededication of our church. We feel that such an effort, had we known it at the begin- ning, would have made us hesitate to the degree of great reluctance, if not to entire refusal. It is only through the uniform kindness which we have received from one and another that we have been able to accomplish this. Among the many who have thus cheered us on and aided us greatly are the following to whom this public courtesy is due, namely, Rev. Epher Whitaker, D. D., and N. Hubbard Cleve- land, of Southold, L. I .; Richard C. Fosdick, of St. Paul, Minn .; Miss Katherine E. Havens, of Stamford, Conn .; Mrs. M. S. D. Law- rence, of Quiogue, L. I .; the Misses Horsfords, of Cambridge, Mass .; Mrs. Daniel Hudson, and Byron Griffing, of Shelter Island; Mrs. Sophar Woodhull, of Laurel, L. I .; Mrs. Stuart Terry, of Pe- conic, L. I .; Miss Elizabeth M. Brown, of New London, Conn .; Mrs. Mabel L. Huntington, of Rome, N. Y .; Mrs. Emma H. Thomson, of New York city; William Wallace Tooker, of Sag Harbor, L. I .; Rufus King, of Yonkers, N. Y., and George R. Howell, archivist of the State Library, Albany, N. Y.
To them as well as to all who have in any way encouraged and assisted the author he extends most hearty and lasting thanks.
And now the volume is to go forth into the hands of the public. What is sought by its issue is simply this: to help fix in memory and in history the things it records as having occurred upon this beauti- ful island.
Faithfully yours,
Shelter Island, N. Y.
March 15, 1899.
J. E. MALLMANN.
ERRATA.
Page 42, line 38, for George and Mary Havens of Fisher's Island substitute Jonathan and Hannah (Brown) Havens.
Page 43, line 40, omit daughter of Jonathan and Eliza Brown, and grand-daughter of the first Nathaniel Sylvester.
Page 80, in table and wherever subsequently the name Doughlass is so spelt ; it should be Douglass.
Page 127, line 16, for Edward read Edgar.
Page 136, line 18, for Annable read Annabal.
SHELTER ISLAND AND ITS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
CHAPTER I.
"Remember the former things of old."
-PROPHET ISAIAH.
T HESE words enjoin upon us a precious duty, the duty of retro- spection, of calling up the past. It therefore has to do with history. In complying then with this charge, "Remember the for- mer things of old," we shall endeavor to set before you that part of the past which bears upon the history of this fair isle of the sea, and of this honored Church of God. In other words, I am moved to give you an historical paper; the subject of which is, "Shelter Island and its Presbyterian Church." I am moved to do this, because the occasion of this morning, namely, the rededication of this renovated building to the service and glory of God, gives a fitting opportunity to do what our text exhorts us to do, that is, take a glance backward and "remember the former things of old." For such an event em- phasizes the past; is in itself a reminder of former days. A rededica- tion suggests a first or former dedication. It thus turns the mind backward, and the mind once thus turned, seems to take delight in travelling over the whole line of sequence and antecedents. Be- sides this, as I remarked in my opening sentence, the duty enjoined in our text is a most precious duty, precious not only in the sense of being valuable, a truth in itself sufficient to incite one's powers to such a duty, but precious in the sense of exciting within us peculiar affections and encouragements; in showing us how vitally the pres- ent is connected with the past; the present being but the outgrowth of the past, as the man is but the outgrowth or development of the boy. By this study we shall see, that the opportunities of to-day are the flowers of the buds of yesterday. That without a past there could never have been a present, much less a future, all of which is precious, doubly precious, since as Dr. Mckenzie says in his intro- duction to Dr. Byington's recent work on "The Puritan," "no study is more essential than that which makes us wise in our past that we
9
IO
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
may be prudent in our future." By the help of our God, I want to aid you in catching this thread of development; this sequence and consequence in the history of this beautiful island with which the life of our church is so closely interwoven. I can say, that to me it has been both a pleasant and a profitable study. It has excited within me those peculiar affections and encouragements already referred to. I have been thrilled by the many things of interest, the hallowed memories, sacred associations, attractive personalities, etc., con- nected with this garden spot of earth. And as I was thus affected, I understood, at least in part, why a beautiful daughter of this island and church, should have been moved to write the sweet poem, "My Native Isle," that Mrs. Mary Gardiner Horsford did. The subject is worthy of every line of it. I too have wished that the feelings which have come to me, while pursuing my present purpose, might have been voiced and versed through a poet's skill. This much will do for an introduction.
Let me now proceed to give you what I have been able to gather together from one source and another. The earliest reference bear- ing upon this island that has come under my notice bears the date of 1637. That, my hearers, is just two hundred and sixty years ago. It is a memorable year in the history of our country. Memorable for the conquest that the New England settlers achieved under the leadership of Capt. John Mason and Capt. John Underhill over the fierce tribe of Indians known as the "Pequoits," who had so long harassed and terrorized them. But in that year, goaded on to ex- treme measures by the murders that the Pequoits had committed, those early settlers rose up in their might and exterminated that tribe of savages by the aid of fire, sword and gun. It is in connection with that very work of conquest on the hills of Mystic, Conn., that this first reference touching our island is made. Before mentioning it, however, it will help us in our understanding of it, to know that the Pequoits were the most powerful tribe of Indians east of the Hudson River. Their chief sachem, according to Goodkin's His- tory, "held dominion over divers petty Sagamores, who were chiefs of the tribes on Long Island, over the Mohegans, and over the Sagamores of Quinipiac, yea, over all the people that dwelt on the Connecticut River, and over some of the most southerly inhabitants of the Nipmuck country about Quinebaug." Hence the tribes on Long Island, including Shelter Island, were subject to the Pequoits; and acknowledged it, by paying them tribute. Indeed, the earliest
II
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
name of the eastern end of Long Island was "Paumanack," mean- ing land of tribute. Immediately upon the conquest of the Pe- quoits in 1637, the Indians that dwelt upon Shelter Island, together with those of Long Island, sent representatives to the Englishmen of New England, desiring to be considered their friends and sub- jects by the payment of a tribute to them. Winthrop, who was Governor of the Massachusetts colony at the time, says in his jour- nal, that upon the reduction of the Pequoits by the English in 1637, "Sachems from Long Island came voluntarily and brought a tribute to us of twenty fathom of wampum each of them." This is also established by the following statement, made by Lion Gardiner, who afterwards became the owner of Gardiner's Island, but who at this time was commander of the fort at Saybrook, Conn. He says: "Three days after the fight with the Pequoits, came Waiandance to me, to see if we were angry with all Indians. I answered, No; but only with such as killed Englishmen. Then he inquired if he (Gar- diner) would trade with them, that is the Indians, adding, 'I will go to my brother, for he is the great Sachem of Long Island, and if we may have peace, and trade with you, we will give you tribute as we did to the Pequoits.' Now, the brother of Waiandance, of whom he speaks as the 'great Sachem of Long Island,' was 'Yovo- wan,' the Sachem of the tribe of Indians who lived on this Island; and who were known as the Manhasset tribe of Indians. Yovowan's name appears upon the deed of Gardiner's Island, dated 1639. He was also called 'Yenicoe,' 'Yennicok,' or 'Yennicott,' and 'Youco,' or 'Yocow.'"
This then, is our starting point, and, as a starting point, it will serve our purpose very well, since it tells us a number of things. First of all it tells us who dwelt here, prior to the advent of the white man; not only to the shores of Shelter Island, but, you might say, to the whole of Long Island; for not a settlement had yet been made on the whole of Long Island save at its most westerly ex- tremity, that of Brooklyn-that information being the familiar one of the red man. It tells us, too, what was the relation of the tribe of Shelter Island Indians to the other tribes of Long Island; namely, that of chief. And it further tells us what was the disposition of these Indians towards the English: namely, to have been a peace- able and friendly one. Besides this, I have been able to gather the following, concerning the Indians who lived in this region at that time; by which I mean all the territory east of an imaginary line
I2
Shelter Island and Its Presbyterian Church
running across Long Island at Riverhead. This territory was pos- sessed by four tribes of Indians, the first of which was the "Man- hansetts," of this island, whose Sachem was called "Yoco." The second was the "Montauks," living on the southern strip of Long Island, east of Easthampton, and whose Sachem was called "Waian- dance." The third was the "Shinnecocks," living in the region of Canoe Place and eastward to perhaps Easthampton, the Sachem of which was called, at this time, "Witaneymen" or "Weenaganim." The fourth tribe was the "Corchaugs," who possessed the whole of the northern strip of Long Island now comprised in the townships of Southold and Riverhead, whose Sachem was called "Momoweta."
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