A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 140

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188

USA > New York > A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time > Part 140

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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 acute, however, the Whig 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 some of its mem- bers were in the ranks of the defending force. With 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 off to prison, and sequestered all the grain, live stock, and wagons of rebels they could lay 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 suffered from its con- tinuance. Mr. H. G. Onderdonk wrote:

The Friends, not feeling free to aid war, were great sufferers. 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, worth four shillings, were taken from him for some like cause.

Besides the outrages of British soldiers in stealing, burning fences and robbing at night, North Hempstead suffered greatly from the

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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 Thorne's dock (after- ward Judge Kissam's) and proceeded to James Burr's store, Manhassett 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 corners of the store. Burr received a ball in his body, went to the bedside of his little brother, told him he was a dead man and fell. Being unable to force open the door, the robbers ripped off the boards, entered through the side of the store, and loaded themselves with goods. As 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 Molly, 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 yet day Joseph Onderdonk was dispatched for Major Kissam, who came and held an examination. 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 United States," but not to go on land. Captain Mar- 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. Mar-

tin's body was buried in a corner of Martin 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 off 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 robbers. 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 over to the Connecticut shore. Thomas Dodge was once a passenger and sat in the cabin when a boat was taken. Hearing a noise he tried to get on deck, but found he was fastened down. He sang out, "What 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 Nova Scotia for fear of being punished by 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 all 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-

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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, constables ; Peter Onderdonk, Abraham Schenck and Ben- jamin Everitt, commissioners 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 by the line of the "Country road."

But we are treating 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 Presbyterian body were held at Roslyn in 1849, and the first Roman Cath-

olic place of worship was that of St. Bridget's, Westbury 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 was 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 Roslyn, not so much on account of its own in-

William Cullen Bryant

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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 tlie 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 Province of New York was estab- lished here in 1773 by 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, Massachusetts, November 3, 1794, was educat- ed at Williams 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 Plainfield, 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 ninc- teen years of age he wrote his remarkable poem, "Thanatopsis," which at once assumed a foremost place in American poetic literature, and still remains the most popular and most often read of all his works. The poem first appeared in the North American Review and at once attracted wide attention, and as soon as the authorship became known gave him a place in the highest literary circles of his time. He also contributed several prose articles to the Review, and so demonstrated that he wielded a facile pen in prose and was a grace- ful, clear and cogent writer on whatever theme he concentrated his thought. Under these circumstances it was easy to forsee that with law on the one side and literature on the other, each claiming his attention and each demand- ing all his powers, one would have to be abandoned, and, happily, he turned away from law and made literature his sole 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 became 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 broadened and widened his own views of men and matters, had made him

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see 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.

Most 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 WILLIAM CULLEN 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 many of the most competent critics and scholars to be the best English dress which had been given to the

the name of Cedarmere, 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 antiquary, joint author with T. V. N. Yates of a history of New York, and was sold by him to Bryant in 1846. Bryant remodelled the house, en-

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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, Miss 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 Mackay, 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. Mackay asked per- mission from the Trustees to take possession of the library 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 publie 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 rebinding 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 into

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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 and 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 hundredthi anniversary of Bryant's birth was celebrated, were made when his plenitude of years might have caused a weakening of the old forces, 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 popular resort for clever men, and not long after Mr. Godwin's establish- ment there he noticed a finely intellectual- looking man, always grave, silent and thought- ful and alone.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 140

Author: Ross, Peter. cn Publication date: 1902 Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1188

Author: Ross, Peter. cn
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: New York ; Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1188