A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 142

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 142

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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 (1860) is of recent date, and in French's "Gazetteer" it is described as "a scattered village at the junction of the Long

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NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

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 steadily increased in attractiveness until now

OLD QUEENS COUNTY COURT HOUSE, NEAR MINEOLA.

the "fair" has become one of the most faslı- ionable functions not only in Nassau 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 for 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

William T. McCoun. 1856

David R. Floyd-Jones 1858

Edward A. Lawrence 1860

Daniel K. Youngs. 1861

John C. Jackson. 1863

Samuel T. Taber 1866

Peter C. Barnun 1868

Samuel T. Taber 1869

Charles H. Jones

1870

Roberts Willets. 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 1885

Charles Post. 1888

Edward Cooper. 1890

G. Howland Leavitt 1893

Thomas Mott. 1895

J. William Ahles 1897

George P. Titus 1899

Westbury derives its name from West- bury, Wiltshire, England, that being the birth- place 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

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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 AND VICINITY.

CHAPTER LXII.

OYSTER BAY.

HE 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 are 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 New 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 be passed by here and the story of actual settlement be dwelt upon.

The earliest deed for the disposal of land in Oyster Bay Township was unearthed some years ago by Mr. W. 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 even 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 my 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 ymprove 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 afford, to remain unto the said Mathew 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 grant 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 deputy tenn shillings lawfull money of England, and

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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 lawfull 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 seale this day, beinge 18th of June 1639.

ROBERT TURNER.

JAMES FARRETT.

Whereas Mathew Sinderland, seaman, hath apporcon of Land at Oyster Bay on Long Island from one James Farrett, in the name and behalfe 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.

JAMES FARRETT,

Recorded the Ist of March 1660, by me. WILL: WELLS, Recorder.

The first real settlement was begun in 1653, when land was bought from the Matinecock 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 any 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. He 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 affairs 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 sendeth 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

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OYSTER BAY.

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 westerly 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 Freeholders 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, Marsh- 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 or 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 therefor 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 29th year of his Ma- jesty's Reign, Anno Domini 1677.

ANDROSS.

Examined by me, MATHEW 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-

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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 lim- 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 clergyman 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 Assembly 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 theni.

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 with 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 no 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 votes 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 Ludluni, Samuel Weeks, Nichola's Simpkins, John Jones, Francis Weeks, William Frost, John

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OYSTER BAY.

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, Jolın 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, Moses Furman, James Weeks.

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 tlie 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 very 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 they 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- stime 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 take 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 Liberty in New York":

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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 :

I. 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 the 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.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 142

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