A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 151

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 151

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The Presbyterian Church of Babylon claims an existence since 1798. That was the date when the Presbyterian Church govern- ment was effected by the election of a session and trustees, although the charge of the con- gregation was formally assumed by the Pres- bytery of Long Island April 11, 1797. It seems to have been an off-shoot from a congre- gation which in 1730 built a church in Islip township. The Methodist congregation dates from 1840, and Trinity Episcopal Church from 1862, but that parisli was afterward merged into that of Christ Church, West Islip. The Baptists founded their church in 1872, and St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church dates from 1878.

Amityville, which was once known as West Neck, seems also to have had its origin in a grist and saw mill, and dates back to about 1780. It had an inn as early as the date of

Washington's tour through Long Island, for we read in Onderdonk's "Annals" that the Father of his Country "dined at Zebulon Ketcham's Huntington South and begged the landlord to take no trouble about the fare, and on leaving gave a half Joe and a kiss to his daughter. (Ketcham's)."

However, Amityville must be classed as a modern town. Its oyster business is large and prosperous, its hotels are modern and well appointed, and its healthlı 'sanitariums are fa- mous all over the country. It has all modern improvements in the way of splendid roads, electric lights and boating and fishing appli- ances for pleasure seekers and attracts a yearly increasing colony of summer residents of the highest social class.

Lindenhurst, formerly Breslau, only dates back to 1869, when it was founded as a Ger- man colony, with manufacturing as its feature, and that feature it still retains. It now has a poulation estimated at 1,080, an increase of only about 100 in a decade. It is, however, a thriving place, and well adapted as a manu- facturing center.

South Oyster Bay, under its modern name of Massapequa, has within the past few years assumed considerable importance as a summer residential village, with its fine hotel and many beautiful and attractive villas. It has an esti- mated population of about 500. Decr Park, with an estimated population of 275, West Deer Park with 200, North Babylon with 257, and Maywood with 60, are among the other settlements in the township.

CHAPTER LXVI.

SMITHTOWN.

MITHTOWN is another one-man township, and over all of its early his- tory the sturdy personality of Rich- ard [Bull] Smith appears,-the Smith from whom it takes its name. The story of this man's career has already been told, and need not be here referred to in de- tail. Up to 1656 he was a resident of South- ampton, a man of much influence, one of the "Proprietors," but apparently of a most litig- ious disposition, one of those individuals who are never so happy as when they have a law- suit on hand. On September 15, 1656, he was ordered by the General Court at South- ampton to leave that township within a week and not to return under a penalty of twenty shillings. His crime was "unreverend car- riage towards the Magistrates," contempt of court, Pelletreau calls it, and probably some one of the judicial decisions aroused his ire beyond the limits of circumspection. He did not obey the order to its fullest extent, for he remained in the town for several weeks after the decree went forth, but it marked the end of his usefulness in Southampton, and he sold his home lot and other property and removed to Setauket. "The great aspiration of his life," writes Mr. Pelletreau, "Records of Smith- town" (Introduction, p. 9), "seems to have been a desire to be an extensive landlord and to possess a domain of which he was to be the sole ruler, and free from the domination of other jurisdictions." In this he succeeded so far as the extent of his domain was con- cerned, but up to the close of his earthly ca- reer he was almost constantly engaged in liti-

gation with "other jurisdictions" on matters of boundary rights. He was an honest, chiv- alrous man, a useful citizen, a typical pioneer, a firm friend and a zealous upholder of law and order,-but he evidently loved a law-suit and was never so happy as when he had one on hand.

Smithtown's historians generally date its settlement from 1650. There is extant an In- dian deed of that year in which for the inevita- ble hatchets, kettles, coats, etc., the natives sold "a certain quantity of land, beginning at a river called and commonly known by the name of Nesaquake River, and from that river east- ward to a river called Menanusack, lying on the north side of Long Island, and on the south side from Conccticott four necks west- ward." The buyers named in the deed were Edmond Wood, Jonas Wood, Jeremy Wood, Timothy Wood, Daniel Whitehead and Ste- phen Hudson.

These men were simply speculators, and there is no evidence that any of them ever settled on the property thus acquired. There is a "rider" on the document signed in 1663 by Jonas Wood, stating that he in company with Jeremy Wood and Daniel Whitehead "went to view" the territory and found the Indians they met quite disposed to acquiesce in the sale of the lands. But even if the authenticity of all this be admitted, it presents no evidence of settlement, and it seems certain that Jonas Wood and his associates were only land boomers and sold their "rights" as soon as they could. Jonas' "rider." if it be anthen- tic, which is open to doubt, was simply added

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to perfect Smith's title. Certainly the deed to Jonas and others was never completed, so far as they were concerned, according to law. The territory now included in the township was peopled only by the Indians when in 1659 most of it was conveyed to Lion Gardiner under the romantic and touching circumstances already related. The following is a copy of the deed of transference, the original being now in the possession of the Long Island His- torical Society :

EAST HAMPTON, July 14th, 1659.

Be it known unto all men both English and Indians, especially the inhabitants of Long Island, that I, Wyandance, sachem of Paum- anack, with my wife and son Wyandanbone, my only son and heir, having deliberately con- sidered how this twenty-four years we have been not only acquainted with Lyon Gardiner, but from time to time and from much kindness of him by counscell and advice in our prosper- ity, but in our great extremity, when we were almost swallowed up of our enemies-then, we say, he appeared to us not only as a friend, but as a father in giving us his money and goods, whereby we defended ourselves, and ransomed my daughter ; and we say and know that by this means we had great comfort and relief from the most honorable of the English nation here about us; so that, seeing we yet live, and both of us being now old, and not that we at any time have given him anything to gratify his love and care and charge, we, having nothing left that is worth his accept- ance but a small tract of land left 11s, we desire him to accept for himself, his heirs, executors and assigns forever. Now that it may be known how and where this land lyeth on Long Island, we say it lyeth between Huntington and Se- tauket, the western bound being Cow Harbor, easterly Acatamunk, and southerly crosse the island to the end of the great hollow or valley, or more than half way through the island southerly ; and that this is our free gift and deed doth appear by our hand mark under written. Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of

RICHARD SMYTHE. THOMAS CHATFIELD.

THOMAS TALMADGE.

WYANDANCE F M, his mark. .

WYANDANBONE III, his mark.

The sachem's wife S M, her mark.

Richard Smith was a friend of Lion Gard- iner of many years standing, and, as will be seen, was one of the witnesses to the above im- portant transfer. Gardiner appears to have done nothing with the property thus presented to him except to hold it. But Smith, from his home at Setauket, saw the land and knew it to be good and concluded it to be the place by which his long cherished desire for a large es- tate might be gratified. What the considera- tion was is not clear, but in 1663 Gardiner conveyed to Smith his entire rights. Gardiner died that year, and it seems doubtful if the transfer was fully effected. However, on the 15th of October, 1664, David Gardiner, son and heir of Lion, endorsed the original Indian deed to Smith, acknowledging to have re- ceived "satisfaction," and so the transfer from the Gardiner family was complete. On April 6, 1664, Smith added to his holding by a fresh purchase from the Indians, which, it was thought, wiped out any claim which might linger among those connected with the Jonas Wood syndicate :

This writing witnesseth, that when Nasses- conset sould that part of land on the est siede of Nessequage River unto Jonas, Jerime, Tin- othy wood, and daniell whitehead, and others, that then my sayed unkle did Resarve half the sayed Neck, called and Knowne by the name of Nesequage neck, to himselve and Nese- quage Indiens, to live and to plant on. I Nas- sekege, being soele haire to all Nassesconset's land on the Est siede of Nesequage River, doe by these pressents for me and my haires make over all our interest in the sayed halve neck unto Richard Smith, of Nessequag, senyer, the same to have and to hould, to him and his haires forever; and Nassekege doth further wittness of my knowledge that Nineponishare was formerly apoynted, Nesaconnopp and my- selve was apoynted by young Nassesconsett my unkle, as Joynt haires to them both, to mark the bounds of Nessequag land for Rich- ard Smith, and we did doe it acording to the saels which they had formerly made unto Ra- conkumake, a fresh pond aboute the midle of long Island, acording to the order that they both did give to us, beeing acompaned with John Catchem and Samuel Adams and Maw-

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HISTORY OF LONG ISLAND.

hew, to mark the trees-aperell 6th 1664. I Nassakeag, doe owne that the above saied was wittnessed by Richard Odell, and Richard Har- nett doth promis to own the above saied before the governor or any else, Nassekeag X mark having Reserved full satisfacktion for the premisees to his content.

wittnes MASSETUSE X his mark. the wrieting above was owned by Nase- keage and Massetuse to be true in my presens. RICHARD WOODHULL. DOROTHY WOODHULL.

So far as the Indians were concerned Smith had now a clear title to most of his land. But Indian deeds were not titles at law, being simply evidences of possession. The land, according to the British law, belonged to the Crown and could only pass from it by a direct patent, the Indian documents being generally accepted as indicating boundary lines and as evidence of conformity to the statute ordaining that the aborigines were to be satisfied in the first instance as a means of keeping these children of nature in good humor. So Smith applied for and obtained the following patent from Governor .Nicolls :

A confirmation of a tract of land called Nesequauke granted unto Richard Smith of Long Island.

Richard Nicolls Esqr, Governor under his Royall highness James Duke of Yorke &c of all his Territories in America, To all to whome these presents shall come sendeth greeting. Whereas there is a certain parcel or tract of land situate, lying and being in the East Rid- ing of Yorkshire upon Long Island, commonly called or known by the name of Nesaquauke Land, Bounded Eastward with the Lyne lately runne by the Inhabitants of Seatalcott as the bounds of their town, bearing Southward to a certaine ffresh Pond called Raconkamuck, from whence Southwestward to the Head of Nesaquauke River, and on the West side of the said River so ffarr as is at this present in ye possession of Richard Smith as his proper right and not any wayes claymed or in con- troversy betweene any other persons; which said parcell or tract of land (amongst others) was heretofore given and granted by the Sachems or Indyan proprietors to Lyon Gardi- ner of Gardiner's Island, deceased, and his

heirs, whose interest and estate therin hath beene sold and conveyed unto Richard Smith and his Heires, by vertue of which hee claymes his propriety ; and whereas the commissioners authorized by a Genall Court held at Hertford in his Maties Colony of Conecticot did here- tofore-That is to say in ye month of June 1664-make an agreement wth the said Rich- ard Smith, That upon the conditions therein exprest hee the said Richard Smith should place Twenty ffamilyes upon the said land; Now know yee that by vertue of the commis- sion and authority given unto mee by his Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke, I do rat- ify and confirme the said agreement, and do likewise hereby give, confirme and graunt unto the said Richard Smith, his heirs and assignes the said Parcell or Tract of land called or knowne by the name of Nesaquauke Lands, bounded as afore- said, together with all the lands, woods, meadows, Pastures, Marshes, Waters, Lakes, ffishings, Hunting, and ffowling, and all other proffitts, commodityes and Emoluments to the said parcell or tract of Land and Premisses belonging, with their and every of their ap- purtenances and of every part and parcell thereof, To have and to hold the said Parcell or Tract of Land, with all and singular the appurtenances, unto the said Richard Smith, his Heirss and Assignes, to the proper use and behoofe of the said Richard Smith, his Heires and assignes for ever, upon the conditions & Termes hereafter exprest, That is to say: That in Regard there hath arisen some dis- pute and controversy between the Inhabitants of the Towne of Huntington and Captaine Robert Ceely of the same place concerning that Parcell of land lying to ye westward of Nesaquauke River, which for the consideracon vertue of the aforementioned Agreement was to enjoy, But now is molested and hindered in the quiet Possession thereof, The said Rich'd Smith shall bee oblieged to Settle onely tenne ffamilyes on the lands before mentioned within the space of three years after the date hereof. But if it shall hereafter happen that the said Richard Smith shall cleere his Title and bee lawfully possest of the premises as aforesaid, that then hee the said Richard Smith shall settle the full number of Twenty familyes within Five yeares after such Clear- ing of his Title, and being lawfully Possest as aforesaid, and shall fulfill whatsoever in the said Agreem't is required. And for an en-

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couragement to the said Richard Smith in his settling the ffamilyes aforementioned the Plan- tations upon the said Nassaquauke Lands shall, from the first settlement untill the expiration of the Terme or Termes of years, bee free from all Rates or Taxes, and shall have no dependence upon any other place; but in all respects have like and equall priviledges with any Town within this Governm't, Provided al- ways That the said Richard Smith, his Heires and Assignes shall render and pay such other acknowledgements and dutyes as are or shall be Constituted and Ordained by his Royall Highness the Duke of Yorke and his Heires, or such Governor or Governors as shall from time to time be appointed and Sett over them.

Given upder my hand and Seale at ffort James in New Yorke this 3d day of March in the Eighteenth yeare of the Rayne of our Soveraign Lord Charles the Second by the Grace of God King of England, Scotland, ffrance and Ireland, Defender of the ffaith &c., And in the year of our Lord God 1665.

RICHARD NICOLLS.

Still the Indians were not entirely satisfied and Smith had to give a dozen coats, a blanket, a gun, some powder and shot and various other commodities before he satisfied, in 1665, the last of the Indian claimants to his ex- tensive possessions. It will be seen that the Nicolls patent conferred upon the territory the dignity and privileges of a town, and soon after its receipt the patentee, "Mr. Richard Smith of Nessaque," as he is described, identi- fied his own. name with his estate as "Smith- field," at least we find it so mentioned on March 8, 1666. The patent also shows he had a dispute on hand with the people of Huntington as to his boundary lines, and soon afterward he had similar trouble with Brook- haven and a long course of litigation followed, lasting until 1775. Into the details of that long controversy over boundaries there is no occasion to enter here ; the interest in the mat- ter is purely antiquarian, and is of no prac- tical or even historical importance. Smith fought every phase of the dispute with dogged pertinacity and on the whole was successful in his claims. A curious feature of his defensive

operations was his defense against a claim set up for some of his lands by John Saffin, ad- ministrator of the estate of Captain Thomas Willett, to whom the Jonas Wood syndicate had disposed of an interest in their purchase of 1650. The claim was duly entered, but the claimants were silenced in some way by Smith, for it seems not to have been pushed. Several other claims were brought against this prop- erty under the same 1650 deed, but he seems to have settled them out of court. The last settlements of which there is record were dated on March 3, 1684, by the sons of Daniel Whitehead and Timothy Wood.

But long before that date Smith had still further fortified his position by obtaining a fresh patent from Governor Andros, in which. the township honors were renewed, the boun- daries again defined and the name of Smith- town, for the first time, given to the territory. That patent read as follows :

Edmund Andros, Esquire, Seigneur of Sausmares, Lieutenant and Governor General under his Royall Highness James Duke of York and Albany, and of all his territories in America, To all to whom these presents shall come sendeth greeting. Whereas there is a certain parcell of land situate, lying and be- ing in the East riding of Yorkshire upon Long Island, commonly called or known by the name of Nesaquake lands, bounded eastward by a certain runn of water called Stony Brook, stretching north to the Sound, and south- ward bearing to a certaine fresh water pond called Raconkamuck, being Setalcott west bounds, from thence Southwestward to the head of Nesaquake River, and so along the said river as it runs unto the Sound; Also another parcell or tract of land on the West side of the said river, extending to the wester- most part of Joseph Whitman's Hollow, as also to the west side of Leading Hollow to the fresh pond Unshemamuck, and the west of that pond att high water mark, and so to the Sound, being Huntington east bounds ; which said parcell or tract of land, on the East side of Nesaquake River, was heretofore granted by patent unto Richard Smith, the present pos- sessor, by Coll. Richard Nicolls, and to his heyres and assigns forever; as also that on

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the west side of said river, with some provisoes and restrictions ; the which has since, by due course of law, att the General Court of As- sizes held in the year 1675. been recovered by the said Richard Smith from the town of Huntington.

Know ye that by virtue of his Ma'ties let- ters patent, and the commission and authority unto me given by his Royall Highness, have rattifyed, confirmed and granted, and by these presents do ratify, confirm and grant unto the said Richard Smith, his heyres and assigns, the aforesaid parcells or tracts of land on both sides of the Nesaquake River. Together with all the lands, soyles, woods, meadows, pas- tures, marshes, lakes, waters, fishing, hawk- ing, hunting and fowling and all other profits, commodities and emoluments to the said par- cells of land and premises belonging, with their and every of their appurtenances, and every part and parcell thereof. To have and to hold the sayd parcells or tracts of land and premises, with all and singular the ap- purtenances, unto the said Richard Smith, his heyres and assigns, to the proper use and be- hoof of him, the said Richard Smith, his heyres and assigns for ever. The tenure of the said land and premises to bee according to the custom of the manor of East Green- wich, in the County of Kent, in England, in free and common soccage and by fealty only. As also that the said place bee as a township, and bee called and known by the name of Smithfield or Smithtown, by which name to be distinguished in all bargains and sales, deeds, records and writings. The said Rich- ard Smith, his heyres and assigns, making due improvement on the land afore mentioned, and continuing in obedience and conforming himself, according to the laws of this govern- ment, and yielding and paying therefor year- ly and every year unto his Royal Highness's use, as an acknowledgement or quit-rent, one good fatt lamb unto such officer or officers as shall be impowered to receive the sanie. Given under my hand and sealed with the seal of the province in New York, this 25th day of March in the twenty-ninth year of his Ma'ties reign Anno, Dom. 1677.

E. ANDROS.

Smith does not appear to have troubled himself about bringing settlers to his domain. He had nine children-Jonathan, Obadiah, Richard, Job, Daniel, Adam, Samuel, Eliza-

betli and Deborah. Obadiah was accidentally drowned Aug. 7. 1680, and was buried at Nissequogue, near his father's home, being the first white man interred in Smithtown. Elizabeth married, as his second wife, Col. William Lawrence, of Flushing, and her sister, Deborah, married a son of that gentleman by his first wife, so that the family relations be- came a little mixed. On her husband's death, in 1680, Elizabeth was left with seven chil- dren. A year later she married Philip Cart- eret, Governor of East Jersey, and gave her name to the town of Elizabeth. Carteret died in December, 1682, and she afterward married Col. Richard Townley.

Richard Smith's six sons all settled in Smithtown and their descendants until the Revolution and long after made up the bulk of the population. In 1689 some land to the south of that covered by the Smith patents, "known by ye name of Winnecomac," was sold by the Secatogue Indians to John Scidmore and John Whitman and this tract was after- ward sold and subdivided and the whole was incorporated in the township in 1788, and then defined its boundaries as follows: "All that part of the county of Suffolk bounded southerly by Islip, northerly by the Sound, westerly by Huntington and easterly by the patent of Brookhaven, including Winne Com- ick shall be and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Smithtown."

When the war of the Revolution broke out the population of Smithtown was 555 whites and 161 negroes. Town meetings had been held at least from 1715, when the existing records commence, but they had very little to discuss except surveys, ear-marks, highways, . the "disposition of the claims in Stony Brook Harbour," and the like, until the time of the great crisis was at hand. Living to a great extent by themselves, making their own little laws and apparently regardless of whether the continent was in the hands of the English, the Dutch or the Continentals, one would have thought that the interest of Smithtown in the

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Revolutionary movement would have been pas- sive. But the opposite was that case and no- where on Long Island was there to be found a greater proportion of patriots. In fact when the time came for men to declare themselves only 15 Loyalists were to be found in the town. At a town meeting in 1774 the posi- tion of the people was clearly stated and its representative in the Provincial Congress, Thomas Treadwell, was one of the most out- spoken and determined patriots in that body. Smithtown contributed a company to Col. Jonah Smith's regiment of militia and it is supposed that it took part in the battle of Brooklyn, but as to that there is no certain knowledge.

The names of those who signed and of those who refused have been preserved and as the list has a genealogical value, apart from its historie interest, it is here presented :

Solomon Smith, Daniel Smith, Thomas Treadwell, Epenetus Smith, Philetus Smith, Jacob Mills, Edmund Smith, jun., William Phillips, Esq., Elemuel Smith, sen., William Phillips, jun., Samuel Blidenburg, Isaac Smith, jun., Samuel Mills, Richard Platt, Job Smith, jun., Samuel Buchanan, Benjamin Brewster, Nathaniel Smith, Samuel Smith, Paul Gillet, Ebenezer Smith, Jedediah Mills, Joshua Smith, Daniel Brush, Thomas Wheeler, David Smith, George Wheeler, Joseph Smith, jun., Jonathan Mills, Samuel Hazard, Job Smith, Joseph Bly- denburgh, Jeffery Smith, Obadiah Smith, Isaac Smith, Abner Smith, Jacob Longbottom, Selah Hubbs, Samuel Tillotson, jun., Micah Wheeler, Elias Gerrard, Jacob Wheeler, William Nicoll, Jacob Concklin, James L'Homedieu, Ebenezer Phillips, Isaac Mills, Samuel Soaper, Daniel Tillotson, William Mills, John L'Homedien, Nathaniel Taylor, Lemuel Smith, jun., Jesse Arthur, Stephen Rogers, Floyd Smith, Benja- min Gerrard, Caleb Smith, Joseph Platt, Tim- othy Mills, Zephaniah Platt, Jonas Wheeler, John Stratton, Zebulon Phillips, Aaron Smith, Richard Smith, Henry Rosecron, Jacob Smith, Obadiah Smith, Jesse Smith, Samuel Phillips, Benjamin Blydenburgh, Benjamin Nicolls, jun., Platt Wheeler, John Gerrard, Nicholas Tillotson Jacob Longbottom, Nathaniel Ger- rard, Jolın L'Homedieu, Zophar Mills, Nathan- iel Platt, Floyd Smith, Timothy Wheeler, sen.,

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 151

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