A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 153

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 153

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

John Jenners, Henry Brooks,

Henry Perring, William Williams,

Andrew Gibb,

Robert Woolley,

William Satterly, Samuel Akerly,

Thomas Biggs,

Arthur Smith,

John Tooker,

John Combs, Richard Waring, Joseph Mapes,

Henry Rogers,

William Fancy,

Jacob Longbothorn, Thomas Thorp,

Daniel Lane,

Richard Bryant,

Francis Muncy,

Timothy Brewster,

John Wade,

John Brewster, William Poole, Daniel Brewster,

William Salyer,

Robert Smith,

Thomas Sharpe,

Edward Avery,

George Phillips,

John Smith,

Thomas Smith,

Samuel Dayton,

Moses Burnet,

John Davis, Richard Smith [Bull],

William Frost, Thomas Helme,

John Thomas,

Joshua Garlick,

Elias Baylis,

Jolın Moger,

Jolın Thomson,

Robert Akerly.

It was essentially a New England com- munity and as usual the scheme of town gov- ernment was at once set up. A town was fixed which afterward became Setauket and around it were the home lots, one of which was reserved for a meeting house, and one for the minister, when he should come. Each of the original settlers had a home lot and a

Richard Floyd,

Samuel Eburne,

Obed Seward,

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BROOKHAVEN.

further allotment of meadow, or a lot on the beach, besides each settler was at liberty to buy what additional land he pleased, only the pur- chase had to be confirmed by town meeting. That power was put in operation very early in the story of the colony, and probably a town meeting decided the primal allotment of the lands. A house was in time built upon the home lots, which served the purpose of a place for town meetings and for divine worship un- til the first church was built in 1671. So far as can be seen the colony was an independent body ; its town meeting was the supreme dicta- tor of all its affairs until 1661, when it volun- tarily acknowledged itself as under the Gov- ernment of Connecticut and sent Richard Woodhull and Thomas Pierce to represent it in General Meeting. That connection, senti- mental as it mainly was, did not last long, and Gov. Nicolls made it clear, soon after he as- sumed control, that the Long Island colonies should look to New York and not to Hart- ford for protection and support.

The town of Setauket had hardly been founded than additional tracts of land were secured by the colony from the Indians. In 1657 a large tract at Mastic was purchased ; in 1664 their purchases gave them a vast tract from the Great South Bay to the middle of the island, and for a coat, a knife, a pair of stockings, two hoes, two hatchets and two shirts they secured practically the land along the north shore from Old Man's Harbor to Wading River. In 1675 the purchase of all the land from Stony Brook to Wading River was confirmed by the Indian Sachem Gy, and bit by bit all the territory included in the pres- ent limits of the township, and indeed much more, was given up to its representatives so far as the Indian power of disposal was con- cerned. In accomplishing all this quite a large variety of coats, stockings, penknives, powder and the like was doubtless expended, but the Indians were made complaisant in another way, for in 1671 the buyers were told to "take some likers with them to the Indians," and charge the cost to the town.

The principal negotiator in all these trans- actions, evidently the leading and most repre- . sentative citizen of the young town, was Rich- ard Woodhull, the founder of a Long Island family, which from his day to this has given a large number of distinguished citizens to the State and Nation. He was born in Eng- land in 1620, and in 1640 came to this country and settled at Lynn, Mass. For a time he re- sided in Southampton, then in Jamaica. He was a man of superior attainments, a practical surveyor, of undoubted personal courage, a born diplomat and an able executive, all the qualities in fact which were reproduced in the most famous of his descendants, General Nathaniel Woodhull, the Long Island hero of the Revolution.

There does not seem to have been any idea of anything but a civil government at Setatt- ket and the town meeting passed the usual laws for the regulation of affairs just about the same as we have seen similar bodies legis- lating in previous chapters of this history. Yet a clergyman was present, if not among the first batch of settlers at least very soon thereafter. This was the Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, a grandson of William Brewster, one of the Pilgrim Fathers. His three sons were among the pioneers and it is thought that he merely went to Setauket to visit them and was induced to stay. There is no record that for a number of years, at least, he was re- garded as the minister of the town. In fact, in 1662, the town meeting extended a call to a dominie named Fletcher to become the min- ister at a salary of £40 a year, but whether he accepted or not cannot be determined. But from his arrival Brewster acted as minister, and in 1665 seems to have fully accepted the charge, for a house was purchased for his use as a manse. It was evidently a most super- ior structure, for it had doors and glass win- dows and other modern improvements. Brew- ster died in 1690. In 1685 he was laid aside from active work through ill-health and Sam- tel Eburne, one of the men in Thompson's list, was chosen as his successor. He was to re-

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ceive a salary of £60 per annum "soe long as hee should continue to preach amongst them." At the end of the year, however, the salary was not forthcoming-probably they did not think much of his preaching-and he ap- pealed to Gov. Dongan to enforce payment. This the Governor ordered, but probably the controversy destroyed Mr. Eburne's useful- ness and closed his ministerial career. In 1687 Mr. Jonah Fordham, of Southampton, became minister, and from then on the town meeting was always zealous in seeing that the spiritual interests of the people were attended to, but the church as such had no special power in the community.

In 1666 the town received a patent from Gov. Nicolls and in 1686 that patent was con- firmed by a fresh one issued by Gov. Dongan. Besides the territories contained in these pat- ents there were four large tracts, which, about 1770, were formally annexed to the town of Brookhaven-the Moriches Patents-on land originally purchased from the Indians in 1677, the Winthrop Patent for land between Islip and Bellport and extending to the center of the island Halsey's Manor, bought in 1716 from Col. W. H. Smith, and the Smith Purchase, the largest of them all. When these became part of the legal territory of the township it started in, in 1797, to define its boundaries and then ensued a series of squabbles with its neighbors, which were not wholly settled until 1860.

In the Revolutionary struggle Brookhaven was most emphatically on the side of the Pa- triots from the beginning of the conflict. While the struggle lasted it was the scene of many exploits which have already been chronicled in these pages, and it had its own full share of the hardships and wrongs of the days of the occupation. But the special glory of Brookfield in this connection is in the men she contributed to the cause of American lib- erty-General Woodhull, William Floyd, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence; Caleb Brewster, a descendant of Setau-

ket's first minister and who did such grand service with his. fleet of whaleboats; Major Benjamin Tallmadge, a son of a minister of Setauket and born in that village; Captain Nathaniel Norton, who was at the capture of Burgoyne and his army; Col. Josiah Smith, who led the Suffolk County Militia, and many others who might be named. Her record in the Civil War, while it did not furnish so many brilliant names, amply demonstrated that the fighting qualities of its citizens had not diminished with the years of "inactive ease." To that conflict it furnished more men by far than were demanded by the drafts, while in a financial sense its contributions were most generous.

The modern storv of Brookhaven presents little to detain us. After the Revolution was over it resumed the quiet and even tenor of its ways and until the advent of the iron horse was apparently forgotten. Its people were farmers, shipbuilders and fishermen, and very little manufacturing was done within its bounds. For many years shipbuilding was the greatest of its industries, the one that kept it most in touch with the world, but as the era of wooden ships passed, so passed that in- dustry, although yacht building has in recent years made some of the old yards lively again and opened many new ones. Manufacturing has been tried at Setauket, but has never reached anything like the proportions it was at one time hoped it would attain, and it re- mains yet a village with only some 600 in- habitants.

`Yet Setauket is a place with a good deal of historic interest. Tradition says that its ancient "Green" was the headquarters of the Setalcott Indians and that on it the bargain was struck by which the red men abandoned their lands for a few trinkets. The Green still remains the centre of Setauket's story. The origin of the Presbyterian Church, as a town meeting house, has already been touched upon. A new and large structure devoted wholly to religious uses was built in 1671 and

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around it lay the spot which the fathers had selected as the town's burying ground. This structure served until 1714, when a grander building was erected on its site and by a vote of the town was to be "a Presbyterian meet- ing house forever." It gave way, however, to another building, still larger, in 1766, which was used by the British during the occupation as a barracks and before they left was com- pletely destroyed. However, it was soon re- placed. The church during its long existence has had many well-known pastors, the Rev. David Youngs from 1745 to 1751 ; the Rev. Benjamin Tallmadge from 1754 to 1786; the Rev. Zechariah Greene from 1797 until 1858. During the latter part of his ministry Mr. Greene had several "helpers," and the last of these, the Rev. James S. Evans, entered the charge in 1850, and continued until 1867, when he was succeeded in 1868 by the Rev. WV. H. Littell, who is still its pastor.

Setauket has got another old church- Caroline Episcopal-which dates from 1730. In detailing its history Mr. R. M. Bayles wrote :

The church was organized during the first quarter of the last century. The earliest notice on the books of the "Society for the Propaga- tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts" is of the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Wetmore as mis- sionary in the town of Brookhaven in 1723. That the services of the Church of England were known here, and worship in accordance with that form conducted many years before that date, there is scarcely room to doubt. It is not known, however, that the church had an edifice of its own until the present one was erected in 1730. For this building, which ap- pears to be enjoying a robust old age, is claimed the double honor of having been the first church edifice ever erected at the expense of the Episcopal denomination on Long Ist- and, and at present being the oldest churchi edifice standing on the island. The original name of the church was Christ Church, but the name was changed to its present one in compliment to Queen Caroline of England, who had presented to the parish a silver com- munion service and embroidered altar cloths. This royal gift was sacrilegiously abstracted 63

during the Revolutionary period. Through a long term of years the society in London helped to sustain the missionary stationed here by a contribution of from £50 to £6o a year. The church was stronger and its services were more largely attended during the colonial per- iod than for many years afterward.

Within a few years past the parish has re- covered somewhat. Since 1878 a new fence has been set up around the churchyard, a

CAROLINE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SETAUKET. Built 1730.

rectory of handsome appearance and comfort- able dimensions has been erected, and the church repaired and thoroughly painted. Within the same period 24 adults and the same number of infants have been baptized, 38 have been confirmed, 33 communicants added anew and 22 received from other par- ishes. There are now 70 communicants. The Sunday-school, under the superintendence of the rector, consists of 50 children and six teachers. The following is a list of the'rec-

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tors, which also shows the term each served the church, as nearly as can be ascertained :

Rev. Mr. Wetmore, 1723-1725; Rev. Mr. Standard, 1725-28; Rev. Alexander Campbell, 1728-30; Rev. Isaac Brown, 1733-43; Rev. James Lyons, 1746; Rev. T. Lambert Moore, 1781-83 ; Rev. Andrew Fowler, 1788-90; Rev. Mr. Sands, 1800; Rev. N. B. Burgess, 18II- 14; Rev. Charles Seabury, 1814-44 ; Rev. Will- iam Adams, 1843, 1844; Rev. Frederic M. Noll, 1844-77; Rev. Robert T. Pearson, 1878. [Rev. D. Marvin is the present rector.]

The Rev. Charles Seabury was the son of the first American bishop, and was introduced at the recommendation of Bishop Hobart, in 1814. After 30 years of faithful service he was buried in the churchyard, and a marble pillar there marks his tomb. Rev. F. M. Noll, who served the church 33 years, was unmar- ried, and for many years occupied rooms at the rear of the church, where the graves in the surrounding churchyard lay so near that one could step upon them from his threshold or reach the mar'ble slabs from his bedroom windows. Amid such gloomy surroundings he enjoyed undisturbed seclusion.

In 1662 the shipbuilding industry in Se- tauket appears to have had its beginning and the yards afterward turned out some famous .craft. The Hand family were for years con- spicuous in this line and as late as 1870 David Bayles constructed a vessel-the Adorna-of 1,700 tons, but the industry has since then lost its vitality.

Near Setauket is Strong's Neck-Little Neck it used to be called. It was once a royal seat and a favorite residence of the Indians. The principal part of the neck was bought from the red men by Daniel Lane, whose title was transferred to the town proprietors in 1663. According to Thompson a certain part, called the "Indian Ground," about 70 acres, not included in this purchase, was bought of the Indians by Andrew Gibb Nov. 28, 1685, and a patent was issued for the same by Gov- ernor Dongan December 20th, 1686. Colonel William Smith bought the interest of the town proprietors in this neck Sept. 11, 1691, and it was included in his patent of 1693. His

grandson, William Smith, in 1768 sold it to Andrew Seaton, reserving a mortgage upon it. This being soon after foreclosed the property was bought by Selah Strong, and by him and his descendants it has ever since been held.

The most thriving place in the township is Patchogue, which, with a resident population of some 4,250 and four times as many in the summer season, its handsome stores, its large hotels, its surrounding country seats and its general air of wealth and refinement, has been called "the Queen City of the South Shore." Its oyster trade has reached wonderful pro- portions, while some of the fastest yachts on the South Shore waters are from such yards as those of S. C. Wicks & Co., Fillmore Baker, G. Smith and De Witt Conklin. Patchogue has a history which extends back until the middle of the 18th century, and has been more or less of a manufacturing centre since about the year 1800. It still has many establishments of that class, among them being extensive silk mills. But the glory of the place is its summer business. It is a gathering place for bicyclists, canoeists, yachtsmen, automobilists and all sorts and descriptions of pleasure seekers; its roads are among the best on Long Island, its streets are macadamized and lighted by elec- tricity, its bathing facilities are of the best, and it caters in a sensible and progressive way to the wants and wishes of the great army of "summer folks," who descend upon it year . after year, and add to its popularity and its material wealth.

As much might be written of Port Jeffer- son if it would only throw off its inertia and try a step or two in the march of progress. But somehow or other it seems to defeat every movement which has been begun to open up its many beauties to the world. Its location is a beautiful one, on one of the finest harbors on Long Island Scund, a harbor which brings up many stirring memories. Paul Jones used to rendezvous here, one of his vessels was fitted out in the harbor, and here he killed two officers belonging to the British frigate "Na-

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hant." In the war of 1812 two British frig- ates sailed into the bay and made off with six sloops, and a seventh which they burned at Dyer's Neck.

At that time, up, in fact, to 1836, Port Jef- ferson rejoiced in the name of Drown Mead- ow. Its modern history may be said to begin with 1797, when John Wilsie began the ship- building industry. At that time there were only five houses in the village, and for a num- ber of years the increase was small. Wilsie built a dock into the bay on his property; and seems to have done a good trade, but up to the time of his death, in 1818, the shipbuilding industry remained in his hands and added but little to the prosperity of the place. But a be- ginning had been made, and by 1825 there were several firms in the business.

"About the year 1836," wrote Mr. Bayles, "a new era seemed to open to the progress of this industry and the improvement of the vil- lage generally. This was in a considerable measure owing to the enterprise of Captain William L. Jones, who probably ventured more capital and energy in developing the vil- lage than any other man has ever done. Cap- tain Jones was a member of a native family, and was born about the year 1792. In early life he naturally took to the water. His par- ents were Daniel and Bethia Jones. He inher- ited considerable landed property about Com- sewogue, which furnished him with the means for carrying out the designs of an inventive and enterprising genius. The estate of the Roe family comprised the greater part of the pres- ent village site, and from this Captain Jones purchased a large tract, reaching from about the site of the Presbyterian Church, along the west and north sides of Main street to the neighborhood of the Baptist Church, and so northerly to the shore of the bay; including also a tract on the east side of Main street, up Prospect street as far as the residence of John R. Mather. November 10, 1837, he received a grant from the town for a dock into the bay from the shore of his property, and at the same

time entered into an agreement to construct a causeway over the salt meadows to the dock through his land, so as to make a public high- way 18 feet wide, to be stoned up on either side and of sufficient height to be above ordi- nary high tides. This two-fold enterprise was completed in a few years, at a cost of several thousand dollars. The dock is maintained in part, and the highway thus opened over the flooded meadows is now the busy street that runs from Hotel square to the shore. Nearly half the business of the present village is car- ried on upon the land that forty years ago was owned by Captain Jones, the greater part of which was made available for business by the improvements just noticed. Captain Jones was married November 30, 1814, to Hetta Hallock. After her death he married the widow of Rich- ard Mather, and his third wife was Hannah Hallock, who survived him. He died in 1860."

For a time Port Jefferson really was pros- perous, and its shipbuilding industry grew until it had the largest business of that kind of any town in Suffolk county, and other in- dustries-notably milling-found entry. A Methodist Church was erected in 1836, a Pres- byterian Church in 1854, and a Congregational tabernacle in 1855. Up to 1868 it seemed on the high road to prosperity, but somehow it began then to recede, and even the opening of the railroad, in 1892, does not appear to have renewed its old-time business prosperity. It has a splendid body of citizens, everything that has made other Long Island shore villages so successful, but it seems to fail to make them available. Its streets are narrow and ill-kept ; its electric lights are few and far between and are turned off carefully at midnight. It has miserable bathing accommodations. In fact, as one of its citizens remarked to the writer, "it does not care about visitors." In winter it is virtually dead, and has not, like Patchogue, even the memory of summer gayeties and profits to carry it smiling through the gloomy months of the year. The late P. T. Barnum once took a fancy to Port Jefferson and in-

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tended to "build it up." He would certainly have succeeded, but he found that his plans were impeded by the very people who would most quickly have profited by them. It is hoped that this inertia will soon be thrown off and Port Jefferson take the place which seems hers by right-that of the most popular vil- lage on the North Shore.

Stony Brook now boasts a population of some 700, and can trace its history to 1699, when a mill was established by a pioneer bear- ing the afterward famous name of Adam Smith. Its population grew slowly, but sure- ly, and in 1801 it reached the dignity of hav- ing a school-house, and in 1817 a church build- ing. For many years its principal trade, out- side of farming, was the manufacture of cord wood and fertilizers, and in 1843 it boasted a fleet of 1 brig, 8 schooners and 15 sloops. Then it became a little manufacturing place, but that soon passed, and it slowly drifted backward until, with the opening up of the railroad, it received a new lease of life and is steadily winning a place among the popular resorts. In 1900 it had a population of 500, so its prog- ress has been fairly satisfactory. Its situation is one of exceeding beauty, and it possesses many rural and aquatic attractions concerning the curious Brookhaven village of Bohemia. The following interesting details have been supplied by a recent visitor :

One of the quaintest places to be found near New York city is the village of Bohemia, which lies a few miles from Stony Brook, a prosperous village on the Long Island Rail- road. This village is inhabited by Bohemians who maintain in the heart of Long Island the customs, manners, language and prejudices of their native land.

There are about three hundred inhabitants in the village. It has one main street, on which are shops and stores with the names of the proprietors and the character of the business marked in words that appear to be made up mostly of consonants.

The inhabitants seem primitive in many ways. The men wear the heavy shoes, short jackets and caps of the European Bohemia and

the women wear the wooden shoes of their fatherland and go bareheaded. A New Yorker who happens suddenly to fall in among these people can scarcely believe he is still on Long Island. The men are mostly farmers, some working tracts which they own and which lie beyond the village. Others work for Amer- ican farmers in the neighborhood. They are sober and industrious and hard times have never struck the village.

Here on a Sunday afternoon the people give themselves up to amusement. The music sounds strange to the American, but it is that of the ancient kingdom. The villagers gather in the public dance halls and young and old dance and make merry. The provisions of the Sunday liquor law do not seem to apply to the village, and between the dances the hop brew and wines of the old country pass freely around. While the men are good citizens, still, there is more talk of the happenings in the country across the sea than of what is go- ing on in the United States.

One of the most prominent features of tlie village is a monument erected to John Huss. It stands near the village church. Recently the monument has fallen into decay. Some of the leaders of the village have started a fund to repair it.

Moriches, a district rather than a village, and generally understood as covering Morich- es, Centre Moriches and East Moriches, may be said to lie between Forge River and the village of Eastport, on the line of Southamp- ton township. The territory formed a part of the Moriches patent. It is a popular summer resort, with large hotels and boarding houses of all sorts and degrees. It is a place given over in the summer season to outdoor amuse- ments, and in the other months of the year to oystering.

Coram, in the centre of the township, is one of the oldest settlements, and Middle Island has likewise some claim to considerable antiq- uity. Both are small farming communities. Yaphank started in 1739 as a mill-site, and in time other mills were started and a settlement grew slowly, but it was not until 1853 that it was large enough to have a church, and in that year St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal

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Church was erected. In 1871 the Suffolk County Almshouse was erected in the village on a farm of 170 acres, and which, in 1879, was extended by the addition of 80 acres.

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A history of Long Island, from its earliest settlement to the present time, Part 153

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