USA > New York > A geographical history of the state of New York: embracing its history, government, physical features, climate, geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology, education, internal improvements, &c., with a separate map of each county > Part 19
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A considerable number of Friends having settled in Vlissin- gen, Governor Stuyvesant, animated by the spirit of intolerance so prevalent at that day, issued an order requiring the people of the town to cease giving them any countenance, or enter- taining them.
To this order, the people of that town sent a dignified remon- strance. Gov. Stuyvesant, however, persisted in his intolerant measures, inflicting heavy fines, protracted imprisonment, and severe corporeal punishment, on those who professed the Qua- ker faith, as well as upon all who assisted or sheltered them. Some thirteen or fourteen prominent individuals were thus made to feel the weight of his displeasure.
One of the sufferers, having manifested more firmness than the rest, in the avowal of his sentiments, was sent by the Gov- ernor, a prisoner in chains, to Amsterdam. He was liberated from confinement, and sent back by the West India Company, and made the bearer of a letter from the company to the perse-
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cuting Governor, which, for the noble sentiments, in regard to religious liberty; which it avows, deserves to be written in letters of gold.
But the intolerant spirit of the Dutch governor did not stop here. The Lutherans also fell under the ban of his displeasure, and he banished them from the colony.
This bigotry did much toward rendering the people dissatisfied with the sway of the director, and but for the incursion of the English, in 1664, they would, in all probabilty, have thrown off their allegiance, by a civil revolution. In the ex- change of masters, however, there was little else than an exchange of tyrants. Religious intolerance still prevailed, under a new form.
In 1702, Lord Cornbury, having taken refuge in Jamaica, from yellow fever, (at that time epidemic in New York city), occupied the residence of Rev. Mr. Hubbard, the Presbyterian minister of the place, which was courteously tendered him, by its occupant, as the best dwelling in the village.
With characteristic ingratitude, he dispossessed this clergy- man of his pulpit, in which he placed an Episcopal minister, whom, on his return to New York city, he ordered to occupy Mr. Hubbard's parsonage. Twenty-six years elapsed, before the Presbyterians were able to recover possession of their church edifice.
In 1707, Lord Cornbury imprisoned two Presbyterian clergy- men, in this county, for preaching without his license, and finally liberated them, on the payment of a fine of $500.
During the Revolution, a majority of the inhabitants of this county took the oath of allegiance to Great Britain. British troops were stationed in different portions of the county, and the people were obliged to furnish them with large quantities of wood and provisions.
There were many, however, whose hearts beat with true loyalty to the cause of their country, and who rejoiced, when she succeeded in throwing off the yoke of foreign oppression.
It was rather, perhaps, the misfortune than the fault of the people of this county, that, exposed as they were, without defence, to the hostile power of the enemy, they yielded to a force they could not oppose.
Yet this was made a subject of reproach to them, and in 1784, a tax of £100,000 was levied upon the southern district, to be appropriated, as a com- pensation, to the other parts of the state, on account of their not having been able to take an active part in the war ; and Queens county, in addition to ler se- vere losses from the British, was obliged to atone for her own misfortunes.
VILLAGES. NORTH HEMPSTEAD, the seat of justice for the county, is situated near the southern boundary of the town of the same name. It is an inconsiderable village, and was se- lected for the county seat, from its being the geographical cen- tre of the county.
Flushing village, in the town of Flushing, situated at the head of the bay of the same name, is one of the most beautiful villa- ges in the state. It is a favorite summer residence of merchants
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and others, from the city of New York, and has many noble villas and. country seats. Population 2500.
Its schools are highly celebrated. St. Ann's Hall, a female sem- inary of a high order, St. Thomas' Hall, and St. Paul's college, about three miles from the village, a collegiate school for boys, are among the most distinguished. These schools are under the direction of the Episcopalians. The Friends have also a flourishing seminary, and there are several well conducted select schools.
The nurseries and botanic gardens here, have long held the first rank in our country. The Linnean Botanic garden was established, by Mr. Prince, in 1750, and still maintains a high reputation, while the new nursery of the Messrs. Prince, the Bloodgood nursery, the Commercial garden and nursery, and the Floral and Pomological nursery, contend with it for the palm.
In this town is still standing the Bowne mansion, where the celebrated George Fox, the apostle of the Friends, spent much of his time. Near it stands the an- cient and venerable oak, under the canopy of which he proclaimed his views, with an eloquence which won many hearts.
Jamaica village, in the town of that name, is situated on the line of the Long Island railroad, twelve miles east from the city of Brooklyn. It is a beautiful village, with many facilities for intercourse with the adjacent towns. The railroad company have here a large manufactory, for the construction and repair of their cars. It also contains Union Hall academy, an old and flourishing institution, a female seminary of some reputation, and several select schools. The Union race course is within the limits of this town. Population about 2000.
Hempstead village is delightfully situated, on the southern margin of the great Hempstead plain, in the town of the same name. For beauty and salubrity, it has few equals. The Hempstead seminary has a fine and costly edifice, and is in a flourishing condition. The village is a favorite summer resort. Population about 1800.
There are several other villages in the town. Rockaway beach, or Far Rockaway, is a headland projecting from the southern shore of the town, on which the restless surges of the ocean beat, with ceaseless vehemence.
Near Rockaway is a pleasant and thriving little village. Near the Methodist church, stands a marble monument erected to the memory of 139 unfortunate emigrants, whose bodies were washed ashore from the wrecks of the ships Bristol and Mexico, in the winter of 1836-7. In these two melancholy shipwrecks 215 persons were lost.
Newtown, Astoria, Oyster Bay, Glen Core, and Norwich, are villages of some importance. Lloyd's neck belongs to the town of Oyster Bay.
V. SUFFOLK COUNTY.
Square Miles, 976.
Organized, 1683.
Population, 34,579.
Valuation, 1845, $5,962,618.
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TOWNS.
1. Brookhaven, 1788.
2. East Hampton, 1788.
3. Huntington, 1788.
4. Islip, 1788.
5. Shelter Island, 1788.
6, Smithtown, 1788.
7. Southampton, 178S.
8. Southold, 1788.
9. Riverhead, 1792.
Rivers. a. Connecticut creek. b. Nissiquogue River. c. Sampawan's creek. d. Conesqua River. v. Peconic.
Bays, &c. E. Atlantic Ocean. D. Long Island Sound. f. Great South Bay. e. Great Peconic. g. Gardiner's. j. Smithtown. m. Huntington's. n. Shinecock. o. Great West.
Ponds. h. Ronkonkama.
Islands, &c. q. Fisher's. r. Gardiner's. s. Robbins'. t. Plumb. u. Shelter. p. Montauk point ..
Villages. RIVERHEAD. Sag Harbor. Greenport.
BOUNDARIES. North by Long Island Sound ; East and South by the Atlantic Ocean ; and West by Queens county.
SURFACE. Toward the northern shore, the surface is hilly and broken. The southern portion is level and sandy. There are no hills of considerable altitude in the county. The Great Peconic bay, extending nearly into the centre of the county, di- vides it into two peninsulas.
RIVERS. The county is not well watered. The Peconic, Con- necticut, Nissiquogue,'Sampawan's and Conesqua rivers are the principal.
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BAYS, &c. The Atlantic Ocean washes its southern and eastern shores, and Long Island sound its northern. Its most considerable bays are Huntington, Smithtown, Gardiner's, Great Peconic, Shinecock, Great West, and Great South bays.
PONDS. Ronkonkama pond lies at the junction of the towns of Islip, Smithtown and Brookhaven.
ISLANDS. Shelter, Gardiner's, Fisher's, Robbins', Plumb, and the Gull islands on the coast belong to this county.
CLIMATE. Similar to that of the Island generally. The pre- vailing winds are from the southwest. The atmosphere is at all times moist, and the cold of winter is accompanied by a de- gree of chilliness, which renders it unpleasant. The longevity of its inhabitants is greater, however, than that of any other portion of the state.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALS. The geological formation of this county does not differ from that of the other counties of the island.
It is a disputed point, whether the formation of the whole county is alluvial or not. That of the southern portion is undoubtedly so, and the immense granite and gneiss boulders imbedded in the soil, would indicate that the northern part might be also.
It is the opinion of many eminent geologists, that the northern portion of the island once formed a part of the coast of Connecticut, and that it was rent from the main, either by the force of the waves, or by some convulsion of nature.
Hematite, iron pyrites, lignite, clay, suitable for making porcelain ware, mag- netic iron sand, and garnet, are the principal minerals.
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. Portions of the soil of this county are barren wastes of sand, producing little except pitch pine timber. Other portions on the southern shore are composed of sand dunes, or small hillocks of sand, affording no sustenance to any vegetable, except an occasional tuft of coarse grass. There are large tracts, however, of highly fertile land, which, manured with ashes, seaweed, and the fertilizing moss- bonker, or whitefish, yield ample crops, to repay the husband- man for his toil.
The timber of the county is chiefly pitch pine, oak, hickory, chestnut and locust. The bay berry, or wax myrtle, abounds in Riverhead.
PURSUITS. Agriculture is the pursuit of a majority of the in- habitants. The preparation of lumber and wood, for market, occupies considerable attention, though less now than formerly. Corn and oats are raised to some extent, and in some parts of the county, there are extensive dairies.
The fisheries also afford employment to many of the inhabit- ants. The whale fishery is extensively prosecuted from Sag Harbor and Greenport. A considerable number of vessels are employed in the codfisheries, and numerous smacks, &c., in the coast fisheries. The entire amount of shipping, enrolled in this district, in 1845, was 28,348 tons.
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The manufactures of this county are not extensive. Flour, woollen and cotton goods, and leather, are the most important. STAPLE PRODUCTIONS. Oil, fish, corn and oats.
SCHOOLS. There are in the county 142 district school-houses. The schools were maintained, in 1846, nine months ; 9117 chil- dren received instruction, at a cost of $17,953. The district libraries contained 19,728 volumes.
There were, in addition, forty-six select schools, with 634 pupils, seven academies and one female seminary, attended by 119 scholars.
RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. Methodists, Presbyterians, Con- gregationalists, Baptists, Episcopalians, Universalists and Ro- man Catholics. There are seventy-nine churches, and eighty- two clergymen.
HISTORY. This county was peopled mostly by emigrants from New England, and the inhabitants have retained, in a great de- gree, to this day, their primitive simplicity of manners and habits.
Southold was the first town settled in the county, and the first to adopt a municipal organization, on the island. Its settlers removed here from New Haven, and remained under the juris- diction of that colony, until it was included in the charter of Connecticut, in 1662, after which, it became a dependency of that colony, till 1676, when Sir Edmund Andross insisting on his right to jurisdiction over it, the people submitted, somewhat un- willingly.
Southampton and East Hampton were also included under the government of New Haven and Connecticut, until this period.
Smithtown was purchased by Richard Smythe, of Narragan- sett, Rhode Island, who obtained a patent from Governor An- dross, in 1677, and removed here and founded a settlement. Gardiner's Island was settled by Lyon Gardiner, in 1635 ;* Shelter Island in 1652, by James Farrett and others ; and Brook- haven in 1655, by emigrants, mostly from Boston.
In 1673, Colve, the Dutch governor of New Netherlands, at- tempted to reduce these towns to subjection to the Dutch au- thority at New Orange [New York]. This effort called forth a sharp remonstrance from John Winthrop, the then governor of Connecticut, and a spirited correspondence ensued, which re- sulted in a partial compromise, on the part of the Dutch gov- ernor.
In 1674, however, the English sway was resumed, and in 1676 the county came under the government of the colony of New York. In 1699, the pirate Kidd secreted a portion of his
Mr. Gardiner was a man of fine education, and exerted a powerful influ- ence over the Indians, and the white settlers on the island. Wyandanch, the powerful sachem of the Montauks, regarded him with the utmost reverence and affection.
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ill-gotten treasures on Gardiner's Island, in this county. These were seized by order of the Earl of Bellomont, the same year.
During the revolution, the people of Suffolk county were de- cidedly patriotic in their sentiments, and though under the dom- ination of the British, they maintained their affection for their country, and consequently suffered severely from her enemies.
It deserves to be recorded, to the honor of East Hampton, that every man in the town, capable of bearing arms, signed a solemn pledge, on the 6th July, 1775, not to submit to British taxation. The other towns were nearly unanimous in their resistance to oppression.
On the 21st of May, 1777, the British having collected a con -- siderable quantity of provisions and military stores at Sag Har- bor, General Parsons formed the design of destroying them, and committed the enterprise to Lieutenant Colonel Meigs.
That officer proceeded directly to Guilford, but on account of the roughness of the weather, could not embark till the 23d, when he left Guilford, at one o'clock, P. M., with 170 men, in thirteen whale boats. They arrived at Southold about six o'clock, P. M., transported their boats over land to the bay, and arrived, at twelve o'clock at night, within four miles of Sag Harbor. Securing their boats under a guard, they marched di- rectly for the village, and attacking the outposts with fixed bayo- nets, they proceeded immediately to the shipping.
An armed schooner, with twelve guns and seventy-nine men, lying here, fired upon them for three-fourths of an hour, but without effect. Twelve brigs and sloops, (one of which was the vessel above referred to), 120 tons of hay, corn and oats, ten hogsheads of rum, and a large quantity of merchandise, were completely destroyed; six of the enemy were killed, and ninety taken prisoners. Not one of Colonel Meigs' force was either killed or wounded.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, he returned to Guilford, hav- ing been absent only twenty-five hours. Congress voted a sword to Colonel Meigs, and Washington addressed him a let- ter of thanks, through General Parsons.
In retaliation for the capture of Major General Silliman, by the British, in May, 1779, a party of twenty-five volunteers set off from Bridgeport, Conn., on the 4th of November of the same year, to capture Hon. Thomas Jones, then judge of the supreme court, who was noted for his attachment to Great Britain. They succeeded in their object, and captured three other pris- oners. These were exchanged, in May, 1780, for Major Gen- eral Silliman, and other prisoners.
On the 21st November, 1780, Major Benjamin Tallmadge at- tempted an enterprise against Fort St. George, a British stock- ade post near Mastic, on the southern shore of the island, in the town of Brookhaven. Embarking at Fairfield, Conn., with
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eighty men, he crossed the sound to Old Man's harbor, where he remained concealed through the day, and at night marched for the fort, which he reached about two o'clock in the morning, and carried immediately, at the point of the bayonet, taking fifty-four prisoners, and destroying several vessels laden with stores. On his return he stopped at Corum, and burned three hundred tons of hay, which had been collected by the British. He arrived at Fairfield, on the evening of the 22d, with his pris- oners and booty, without the loss of a single man.
In October, 1781, Major Tallmadge attacked Fort Slongo, a British post at Tredwell's bank, in Smithtown, and destroyed it, taking a number of prisoners.
During the late war with Great Britain, the enemy repeatedly seized vessels in Long Island sound, and on the coast, and either wantonly destroyed them, or demanded an exorbitant price for their ransom. In one of their incursions for this pur- pose, at Riverhead, in May, 1814, they were repulsed by the militia, with severe loss.
VILLAGES. RIVERHEAD, the seat of justice for the county, is a small village on Peconic rlver.
Sag Harbor, the largest whaling port in the state, and the most populous village in the county, is situated on the boundary line between Southampton and East Hampton, the larger por- tion of it being in the former town. Its site is sandy and sterile, but its harbor is excellent. It was first settled in 1730.
In 1845 there were sixty-one ships and barks belonging to this port, engaged in the whaling business, employing a capital of more than $2,000,000, and a number of smaller vessels in the home fisheries and coasting trade. It suffered severely, from a disastrous fire in 1845, but was soon rebuilt, in a better man- ner than before. Population 3621.
Greenport, the terminus of the Long Island railroad, has sprung up since 1827, and has had a more rapid growth, than any other village in the county. It had twelve ships, engaged in the whaling business, in 1845. Population about 1200.
Huntington, in the town of the same name, is a small but an- cient village, with an incorporated academy. It has a fine harbor.
Oyster Ponds, or Orient, and Southold, are growing settle- ments.
VI. RICHMOND COUNTY.
Square Miles, 63.
Organized, 1683.
Population, 13,673. Valuation, 1845, $1,373,279.
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TOWNS.
1. Castleton, 1758.
2. Northfield, 1788.
3. Southfield, 1788. 4. Westfield, 1788.
Bays. A. New York Bay. a. The Narrows. b Arthur Kull Sound. c. Staten Island Sound. q. Newark Bay. w. Raritan. x. Lower Bay.
Forts. Tompkins. Richmond.
Villages. RICHMOND. New Brighton. Tompkinsville. Factory- ville.
BOUNDARIES. North by Newark bay and Arthur Kull sound ; East by New York bay and the Narrows; South by the Lower bay and Raritan bay ; and Westby Staten Island sound. It em- braces Shooter's island, and the islands of meadow on the west side of Staten island.
SURFACE. Richmond county is quite elevated and much bro- ken. There are a few miles of marsh, however, on the west- ern coast, extending back from Newark bay. The northern shore of the island is very bold, affording some delightful pros- pects and beautiful sites for building, some of which are occu- pied. The southeastern extremity is more level.
BAYS, &c. New York bay on the north connects with New-
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ark bay by means of the Arthur Kull sound. Staten island sound, seldom exceeding half a mile in width, bounds it for fif- teen miles on the west. New York bay on the east is contracted at Signal hill into the Narrows which divide it into the upper and lower bays. That portion of the upper bay lying northeast of the island is known as the quarantine ground, where vessels from warm climates are obliged to lie at anchor, under quaran- tine regulations, till permission is given by the health officer for them to proceed to the city.
CLIMATE. The climate is less subject to extremes than in many sections of the state. The sea-breezes moderate alike the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Its inhabitants are healthy.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. Staten Island is based upon prim- itive rock, which rises near its centre into a ridge, running lon- gitudinally through it, with a breadth of from one to two miles. Boulders of green-stone, sand-stone, gneiss, granite, &c., appear in some sections sparingly, but on the northeast part of the island in considerable abundance.
Steatite, containing veins of talc, amianthus, and alabaster, covers the granite of the ridge. This approaches in many places within one and a half feet of the surface. Brown hematitic iron ore, of a superior quality, is abundant, as well as a granular oxide of iron. Chalcedony, jasper, lignite, crystalized pyrites, asbestos, amianthus, dolomite, Brucite, Gurhofite, talc and serpentine, are the other prin- cipal minerals.
There is a single chalybeate spring, of no great strength, in the county. Ma- rine fossils have been found in the alluvial portions of the island.
SOIL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS. The soil of the county with proper culture produces fair crops, particularly of oats, corn and grass. Land, however, commands a high price per acre, even when taken in farms.
Oak, hickory, walnut, and chestnut trees are abundant on the ridge, but they are small, and chiefly of after growth.
PURSUITS. The attention of the people is divided between ag- riculture, manufactures and commerce. Manufactures are al- most entirely confined to the dyeing and printing of cloths.
Fisheries are a source of sustenance and profit to many of its inhabitants. Large quantities of fine oysters and clams, shad, herring and mossbonkers, or white-fish, are annually taken from its waters.
Many of its citizens are engaged in business in the city of New York.
SCHOOLS. The public school-houses are fourteen. The schools were taught in 1846 on an average ten months, and were attended by 1915 scholars. The wages of teachers amounted to $5425; the libraries contained 4462 volumes. There are twenty-six private schools with 716 pupils.
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RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. _ Methodists, Episcopalians, Bap- tists, Dutch Reformed and Roman Catholics. There are twenty-one churches and twenty-four clergymen.
HISTORY. Staten Island was purchased from the Indians, in 1630, by Wouter Van Twiller, as agent for Michael Paauw, one of the directors of the Dutch West India Company, together with a large tract of land in Bergen county, New Jersey. Paauw named his " Colonie" Pavonia,* probably from the abundance of wild turkeys, regarded by the first settlers as a species of peacock.
For some reason, Paauw seems soon to have relinquished his claim to the island, and it reverted to the company. In January, 1639, David Pieterszen De Vries, the pioneer in the settlements on the Delaware, commenced a colony on the island. Through the short sighted policy of Governor Kieft, in regard to the In- dians, their revengeful disposition was roused, and in the ab- sence of De Vries, his colony was cut off.
In 1611, Cornelis Melyn, an unprincipled adventurer, claimed the island under an alleged grant from the West India Compa- ny, and commenced a colony upon it, but the settlers were soon dispersed by the Indians. In 1651, the Indians sold it again to Augustin Herman, and in 1657, to the Baron Van Capellan, who founded a colony, which was broken up by the Indians.
In 1655, during Governor Stuyvesant's invasion of the Swe- dish settlements on the Delaware, the Indians made a descent upon Staten Island, and massacred sixty-seven persons, which must have embraced nearly the whole white population.
In 1658, Melyn obtained the exclusive title to the island, and claiming to be independent of New Amsterdam, gave Governor Stuyvesant and the colonists much trouble. In 1659 he convey- ed his rights to the company.
In 1664, the county, together with the rest of the colony, fell into the hands of the English, and soon became the home of numerous emigrants. In 1667, the first court of justice was established here. In 1670, it was once more purchased of the Indians by Governor Lovelace. In 1683, it contained 200 fami- lies. It was then organized as a county. Soon after this time it received an accession of inhabitants from the Huguenots, who fled from their native land on account of persecution.
On the fourth of July, 1776, Sir William Howe seized the island, and issued from thence his proclamations to the inhabit- ants of Long Island ; and on the 22d of August, landed his troops without opposition, on the Long Island shore, opposite South- field. The island was held by the British, during the whole revolutionary struggle.
. Pavonia signifies the land of peacocks.
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STATE OF NEW YORK.
On the 21st of August, 1777, Gen. Sullivan, with a force of about 1000 men, undertook an expedition against the English forces on Staten Island He captured about 150 prisoners, but, from the terror of the boatmen who conveyed his troops to the island, he was pressed by the British and thirteen of his men killed, and the rear guard of one division numbering 136 men, taken prisoners, before they could effect a passage to the main land.
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