USA > New York > Suffolk County > Mattituck > A history of Mattituck, Long Island, N.Y. > Part 8
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The incursions from the Sound, raiding the farms of Col. Phineas Fanning in the west and of John Gardiner and the Wickhams in the east, were probably made from Mattituck Creek, which offered an admirable and se- cluded landing place for the armed boats. Judging from these instances of outrage perpetrated upon the most in- fluential families, some notion can be formed of the hardships suffered by those who had no influence suffi- cient to secure them redress. For most of the people the years of the British occupation of the Island must have been a time of helpless suffering, when they were ground between the upper and nether mill-stones.
The refugees in Connecticut suffered, though in a different way. They were not oppressed by the British or pillaged by the American soldiers, but after their little store of money was gone they were in sore straits. It appears that they found no remunerative employment in the Connecticut towns, and the Connecticut records are full of petitions from them to be permitted to make ex- cursions to the Island to secure stores and clothing from
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their old homes, or even to sell their farms that they might secure means for the support of their families in exile. It was necessary to secure permission for these excursions, for all communication between Long Island and the main land was forbidden by law. In January, 1780, the Connecticut legislature, formally enacting what had been for two or three years the policy pursued in be- half of the refugees, passed the following :*
"Whereas there is in this State a number of refugees from Long Island who have been drove out from their peaceable habitations merely for their attachment to the American cause, some of which have left their families, others their goods and effects, and are greatly straitened for a subsistence here for want of them, and by the bonds of humanity are in some way and manner to be relieved,
"It is therefore resolved by this Assembly, That in the recess of the Assembly his Excellency the Governor by and with the advice of the Council of Safety are hereby authorized and impowered to hear the applica- tion of any person or persons of the aforesaid character, and to grant permission to such person or persons as they may judge proper, to go to Long Island and to bring their families and effects, under such regulations and restrictions as they may judge proper : Always pro- vided that they never give permission to carry on any kind of provision except stores for the voyage, nor to bring off any British goods or merchandise, nor to any persons but such as shall be well recommended by the civil authority in and selectmen of the towns in which ·such refugees reside."
*Records of the State of Connecticut, 1776-1780, Vol. II., p. 464.
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
When such permission was gained it was availed of at great peril, for the refugees were in danger of cap- ture and imprisonment at the hands of the British. The mouth of Mattituck Creek was often entered under cover of darkness, and the refugees went secretly to their homes and their friends and secured such clothing and stores as they could without coming under observation of the enemy. It seems probable that the secluded place about "Kidd's Tree" was a rendezvous for these refugees and their friends. This ancient tree or group of trees, near the beach and not far from the mouth of the creek, stands in the midst of a grassy sanctuary shut in on all sides by hills and dense growth of lesser trees and bushes and climbing vines. Now a favorite picnic ground for small parties, its natural beauty and enchanting solitude are enhanced by the immemorial tradition that links the spot with the famous Captain Kidd. Whether that inter- esting individual ever hid himself or his booty under the shelter of the tree that bears his name is doubtful, but there is little doubt that in Revolutionary times the place afforded a somewhat safe retreat for the adventurous refugees from across the Sound, as well as for the ma- rauding parties that came from Connecticut to harass the British invaders.
Even when the refugees had successfully eluded the enemy and with their stores gathered on the Island were well away and back again in Connecticut waters, they sometimes fell victims to the rapacity of those who were presumed to be their friends. In May, 1778, a memorial was presented to the Connecticut legislature* from "Jona-
*Records of the State of Connecticut, 1776-1780, Vol. II., p. 76.
"KIDD'S TREE."
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than Havens, Benjamin Conklin and others, refugees from Long Island now residing in this State, showing that they by legal permit from the authority of this State lately brought from said Island each a small parcell of tea, lin- nen cloath, woolen and other goods, for the use of their distressed families, to the amount of what would cost them, as such goods are now sold, the sum of about one thousand pounds, which they received from their friends on said Island as the avails of the produce of their estates sold upon said Island in order to prevent the same from falling into the hands of the enemy ; that their said goods and effects were in a lawless manner taken from them by one Lieut. White and his associates belonging to the continental frigate called the Trumbull, and by one Combs and his associates commanding a whale boat, viz. : at Say- brook in the county of New London, who refuse to de- liver the same." Examination was made into these charges, which were found true, and the Secretary of State was directed to issue execution against the offend- ing officers for the recovery of the goods, or one thousand pounds as their equivalent in money, with costs.
In spite of these perils communication between the main land and the Island was continually kept up. When there was a raid on the Island the refugees in the Con- necticut towns heard of it as certainly as if there had been a submarine cable, and of other events they also had word. On Oct. 28th, 1779, James Corwin, then resid- ing at Guilford, was granted permission* to visit Long Island upon a memorial "showing that his wives father hatlı lately deceased at Southold on said Island and left
*Records of the State of Connecticut, 1776-1780, Vol. II., p. 438. r
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an estate to his children, and praying for liberty to go over and receive and bring off his wives part of said moveable estate." According to the Corwin Genealogy his wife's father was William Horton.
A week later, one Shipman was "permitted to go to Long Island for the purpose of marrying a wife, as also to bring away his wife with her effects, un- der the direction of the commandant of the fort at Say- brook."
An interesting case, throwing light upon the condi- tions of the time is that of Nathaniel Norton and Azariah Tuthill, of Long Island. Their memorial,* Jan., 1780, sets forth "that the said Norton sustains the office of a captain and said Tuthill that of an ensign, in the army of the United States; that on their return to said Guil- ford to their surprise they found that their families in their absence had been under the disagreeable necessity of going on to Long Island; that the memorialists are very destitute of cloathing, and have little or no interest in this State whereby they might be supplied therewith, and are exceedingly desirous to visit their families." This petition was of course granted. That a captain and lieutenant of the American army were reduced to such extremities illustrates vividly the distresses of the unpaid soldiers and the hardships suffered by their families. Such instances help us to realize the great price paid by the patriots for our liberties.
In 1780 the British forces, greatly needed elsewhere, were withdrawn from eastern Long Island, and many of the refugees returned. The petition of Silas Halsey, in
*Records of Connecticut, 1776-1780, Vol. II., p. 489.
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April, 1780, for permission to return to his home in Southampton, recites* that the enemy had "withdrawn from that part of the island and left them in the peace- able enjoyment of their estates." In Marcht of that year "John Wells and Timo. Welles his son in law, residing at Preston, refugees from Long Island," obtained per- mission to pass over to Long Island to see after and take off their considerable effects left there about three years since and of which they have not heard; they being well recommended by the authority and selectmen of Preston." This John Wells was the third son of 2d Joshua, and therefore a great-grandson of Ist William. His "considerable" estate consisted of Poole's Neck in Cutchogue, about 300 acres. Timothy was his nephew as well as his son-in-law, having married John's daugh- ter Mary, a cousin. Timothy and Mary were great- grandparents of John C. Wells of Mattituck.
The visit of the Wellses to Cutchogue in March con- vinced them that final return was safe, and the next month, April, 1780, they gained permission to remove to the old home, "where," they say, "they have a consid- erable estate in lands," adding, "that they have expended the greater part of their moveable estate for their sup- port since their residence in this State, and are now re- duced to indigence and want ; praying that they may have liberty to return to their farm on Long Island with their moveable estate, with a sufficient quantity of provision to support their families until wheat harvest, with one cow, one horse and two swine for each of the memorialists." The British soldiers had been unable to carry away with
*Records of Connecticut, 1776-1780, Vol. II., p. 538. ¡Ibid., Vol. II., p. 512.
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them the "considerable estate in lands," and the house was still standing, but the great flocks and herds that the owner must have possessed when he fled from the Island were gone, so that it was necessary to begin over again with a few animals carried across the Sound in a sloop. John Wells prospered, however, and a few years later he was able to purchase the adjoining Pequash Neck from his cousin James, the son of the 4th William, and brother of William the grandfather of Joseph Wells, of Laurel. Dying in 1797, he left the Pequash Neck to his daughter Abigail, the wife of Joseph Hull Goldsmith, and Poole's Neck to his daughters, Hannah Wells, and Sarah Fleet, the wife of John and afterwards of Rens- selaer Fleet. Hannah sold her half to Sarah, and the whole neck has since remained in possession of the Fleet family.
Not all of the returned refugees were able to rehabili- tate their shattered fortunes. It was probably the losses of the war-time that pressed James Wells to part with the Pequash Neck. The records of mortgages for the years immediately following the war show that many men who had been wealthy were forced to borrow money on their lands. Among these were John Gardiner, Capt. Peter Hallock, Jonathan Osman, Obadiah Hudson, Par- shall Howell and the Corwins. Most of these men were unable to weather the storm and lost everything. Many fine properties that had been handed down from father to son for more than a hundred years passed to other families.
While the refugees were frequently visiting the Island, the people remaining on the Island had occasion to visit the main land, and this intercourse was carried on under
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strict regulation by the British authorities, just as that from the other side of the Sound was regulated by the State of Connecticut. The accompanying illustration, photographed from an original paper in the possession of N. Hubbard Cleveland, of Southold, exhibits the form of permission required in such cases. This particular permit, issued in April, 1780, about the time of the with- drawal of the invaders from eastern Long Island, is No. II. This probably means No. II of the year 1780, for there must have been many more than eleven permits issued in all the years of the occupation. Probably many expeditions from the Island were made surreptitiously, without permits.
On the back of the permit illustrated is written the following: "No. 11. 7 April 80. Flag of Truce to San- ford in Connecticut to fetch Miss Hubbard and Mrs. Aspinwalls Effects to Long Island. Passes No. 235,236." The numbers of the passes give a better idea than the number of the permit of the frequency of authorized communication with the main land.
Accompanying the permit, among the papers in Mr. Cleveland's possession, is a letter, recommending its issu- ance, from David Mathews, the Tory Mayor of New York City, to Captain Adye, Aid-de-Camp to the Com- mandant, stationed at the office of Police. It is as fol- lows :
No. II.
SIR
We beg leave to recommend Mr. Isaac Hubbard to the Commandant for a Flag to proceed to Stanford in Connecticut in order to bring from thence a Sister of his who he wishes to have here, as he is in a Situation
Nº://
By JAMES PATTISON, Efquire, Major-General of Ilis Majefly's Forces, und Commandant of New-York, &c. &c. &c.
Chapman! PERMISSION is given to Gattain yilhenblikett na Pr Lapinwalt to page with a Blago Vina l'in animate schoonen navigated bythe your Hands, married in the Margins from Long blurred to tronford is Con : i Jane Hubbard Kár Billa denke Ì
hecticut_ _ W? Refinwals for they purpose of fetching her efecto and brittain tillitt for the future of bringing tiefe tables from meitat Long . Bland .
GIVEN under my Hand and Seal, in the City of New-York, the Seventh _ Day of
. april in the Year of our Lord One Thonfand, Seven Hundred and Eightyo
By Command of the GENERAL,
To all whom it may concern,
BRITISH PERMIT FOR FLAG OF TRUCE. From original in possession of N. Hubbard Cleveland, of Southold.
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to support her, and her Situation at present is rather dis- agreeable as being among Rebells.
We are Sir Your most obedt. Humbl Servts
Office of Police 5th April 1780
MATHEWS Mayor.
Captain Adye.
It is easily understood that the statement as to Miss Hubbard's situation being "rather disagreeable as being among Rebells" was the natural explanation of Mayor Mathews, and not necessarily the feeling of the Hub- bards. On the back of Mathews' letter is written a list of the articles which "Mr. Hubbard requests permission to take with him." These are, "50 lb. sugar, I Bushell Salt, I Loaf Sugar, 10 yds. Callico, I Linnen, 12 yds. Cambrick and Gauze, 6 1b. Tea, 6 1b. Chocolate, 1000 Needles, I pack Pins, I 1b. pepper, I 1b. Alspice, 21/2 yd. Broad Cloath, I Dozn. Knives and Forks, I sett Cups and Saucers, 14 Spices, 20 1b. Coffee." This list is marked "No. 236," the number of the second pass. This was evidently for the inspection of the British officers. The "flag of truce" was also most probably for their benefit, for it is not likely that peaceable Long Islanders needed a flag of truce from the British authorities to pro- tect them on the Connecticut shore. Neither is anything said in the Connecticut Records about flags of truce for parties visiting Long Island, although minute regula- tions are set down concerning their expeditions. Sched- ules of articles to be carried, either going or returning,
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were required by the Connecticut authorities as well as by the British.
We beg leave to recommend Me Vane Hubbard to the Commandand for a Flag be proceed le Hanford in Connecticut in order to bring from. nee a Sister of his who he wishes to have here , as" in a Situation to support her, and her Situation present is rather her disagreeable as bem antes
bello
Ogic of Police
Captain itdue,
LETTER FROM MAYOR DAVID MATHEWS
Recommending Isaac Hubbard for a Flag of Truce. (From original in possession of N. Hubbard Cleveland.)
Pass No. 235, also in Mr. Cleveland's possession on a separate paper, is for articles to be carried to Mrs. Chap-
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man and Mr. Hurd in Connecticut. It is here copied as of interest in showing the needs of the ladies of those times, and the fabrics then in vogue :
Pass No. 235. "Articles for Mrs. Chapman : 3 yds. black mode, 2 yds. white Gause, 2 yds. white Catgut, 2 pair black mitts, 7 yds. Ribbon, 2 Bonnet papers, 1/2 Dozn Stay Laces, 12 doz. Skeleton Wires, 2 Doz. large hair pins, I Bonnet pin and 3 pounds of Tea. Articles for Mr. Andrew Hurd : 14 yds. Callico, 91/2 yds. Camblet, I pair Silk mitts, 2 yds. Gause, 2 yds. Millinet, 6 yds. Rib- bon, 3 yds and a 14 of White Peling, 2 yds. durant, 9 yds. Blond Lace, 3/4 yd. Persian, and I pair of Shoes." This schedule, before it was marked with the pass number, was sent to the Commandant in New York with this note:
Mr. Van dyck begs leave to ask the honor of present- ing his most dutiful respects to Major General Pattison and begs the favor of his kind permission to send the articles mentioned in the within memorandum to Mr. Andrew Hurd and Mrs. Chapman both of Stratford in Connecticut known friends to his Majesty's Person and Government by Mrs. Aspinwall who is going in a Flag to the Colony of Connecticut.
New York April 5th 1780
MAJOR GENERAL PATTISON.
These interesting papers relating to Permit No. II and Passes 235 and 236 were handed down in the Hub- bard family of Mattituck. Isaac Hubbard, whose sister was to be brought from Connecticut, and William Hub- bard were undoubtedly therefore of the Mattituck Hub- bards, though the author cannot place them with cer- tainty. William and Isaac are common names in the
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family. The Leake whose first name is lost from the old document was in all likelihood a Mattituck man. Philip Leek was a member of the Mattituck Church in 1753. Strangely enough the Permit is not signed and sealed, though it was prepared for signature, "Given under my Hand and Seal, in the City of New York, the Seventh Day of April in the Year of our Lord One Thousand. Seven Hundred and Eighty." It must have been deliv- ered, however, with the passes, to the interested parties. This was a singular oversight, and there is no record to tell whether the lack of the official seal interfered with the safe-conduct of Mrs. Aspinwall and Miss Hubbard. One of the Hubbards at least got safely back to Matti- tuck with the papers.
All this illustrates the great inconvenience of living on eastern Long Island in Revolutionary days, when au- thority for all important transactions had to be secured from the British officials in New York, at great expense of time and money. Although there was a Surrogate's Court in Suffolk County, all Long Island wills were re- quired to be recorded in New York. After being proved before the surrogate these wills must needs be "approved and allowed and sealed at Fort George in the City of New York by His Excellency James Robertson Esquire, Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over the Province of New York, and the Territories depending thereon in America, Chancellor and Vice Admiral of the same, and Lieutenant General of His Majesty's Forces." Six years and more after the adoption of the State Con- stitution the people of Long Island had to submit to this, and it was not until the British evacuated New York, Nov. 25th, 1783, that they were free like their brethren
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in the upper part of the State. Then their wills needed no approval or sealing but of the Surrogate of the County of Suffolk in the State of New York, "by the Grace of God Free and Independent." In 1761 the costs of prov- ing and recording a will in New York were something over £3. In 1783 the costs had largely increased. In February of that year the costs for proving and recording the will of Joseph Mapes, of Mapes' Neck, were £5, IOS. At that time five pounds was a great deal of money, and it is no wonder that many wills were left unrecorded.
Notwithstanding the peculiar expenses, inconve- niences, indignities and sufferings of the people of Long Island, they had a heavy tax laid upon them by the State Legislature, in 1784, amounting to £37,000, because of their failure to bear a share in the expenses of the war. This tax was light in comparison with that already ex- acted from the unfortunate Islanders by the British. To add this to that was an act of cruel injustice.
In the war, for the reasons already given, there were no Long Island troops in service after the battle of Long Island, in August, 1776. In that battle Col. Josiah Smith's regiment of Minute Men was engaged. In this regiment were two Southold companies, the first com- manded by Capt. John Bayly, and the second by Capt. Paul Reeve. Under Capt. Bayly were Ist Lieut. Joshua Youngs, 2d Lieut. John Tuthill, and Ensign James Reeve. Under Capt. Paul Reeve were Ist Lieut. John Corwin, 2d Lieut. David Horton, and Ensign Nathaniel Hudson. The Ist Major of the regiment was Isaac Reeve, of Franklinville, son of 3d James Reeve, of Mattituck. En- sign James Reeve was Major Isaac's nephew, son of 4th James, who held a captain's commission under the Colo-
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terve to fo veplace of a wim thay of theverifica it
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COLONIAL COMMISSION OF CAPT. JAMES REEVE.
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nial Government. Lieut. John Corwin was a Mattituck man, afterwards Major Corwin. His seven daughters married Asaph Young, John Hubbard, John Clark, John Wells, Simeon Conklin, Benjamin Reeve and Isaiah Ben- jamin, and their descendants are many in Mattituck and elsewhere. Ensign Nathaniel Hudson was a Mattituck or Franklinville man. Lieut. David Horton was a Cutch- ogue man, son of Major Silas and Bethiah (Terrill) Hor- ton. His mother was a Mattituck woman. It is difficult to say to what branch of the Reeve family Capt. Paul belonged. He was a member of the Aquebogue Church.
The first Southold company was composed of men chiefly from the eastern part of the town. Capt. Paul Reeve's company was made up of men belonging to Mat- tituck and near villages. A complete roster of this com- pany, from papers handed down in the family of Col. Smith, is given, with others, by Mr. Wm. S. Pelletreau in Vol. II. of the recently published History of Long Island, p. 572. With Mr. Pelletreau's permission this is partly copied here, as of great interest to the people of Mattituck and vicinity, whose ancestors are described.
A Muster Role of Capt. Paul Reeve's Company, Southold, Augst 5th 1776.
Paul Reeve, Captain, statture 5 feet 8 inches; com- plection, dark ; age, 42; acutriments compleat.
John Corwin, Lieutenant, 5 ft. 9 in., light, age 41.
Joshua Benjamin, Lieutenant, 5 ft. 9 in., light, age 28. Whelock Booth, Sergeant, 5 ft. 6 in., dark, age 34. Nath'1 Conkling, Sergeant, 5 ft. 10 in., dark, age 36. Steers Hubbard, Sergeant, 5 ft. 8 in., dark, age 23.
Jonathan Sollomon [Salmon], Corporal, 5 ft. 10 in., dark, age 33.
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A HISTORY OF MATTITUCK.
Constant Haven, Corporal, 5 ft. 10 in., dark, age 45. Joshua Well, Corporal, 5 ft. 10, age 34. James Pershall, Drummer, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 22. John Fradrik Hudson, Fifer, 5 ft. 9, dark, age 20. Nathl. Overton, 6 ft., dark, age 24. John Goldsmith, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 29. Gilbert King, 5 ft. 6, light, age 18. John Goldsmith, Jr., 5 ft. I, dark, age 19. Joel Overton, 6 ft., dark, age 21. Richard Drake, 5 ft. 10, light, age 19. Stephen Halsey, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 19. Joseph Cleavland, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 17. Ishmel Reeve, 5 ft. II, light, age 23. Ichobod Case, 5 ft. 8, light, age 24. Elijah Terry, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 19.
Calvin Horton, 5 ft. 10, light, age 20. David Benjamin, 5 ft., light, age 17. Luther Reeve, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 17. John Calvin Wells, 5 ft. 4, dark, age 16. George Taylor, 5 ft. 4, light, age 48. James Reeve, 5 ft. 6, dark, age 24. Joshua Corwin, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 42. John Griffing, 5 ft. 7, light, age 38. Joshua Wells, Jr., 5 ft., dark, age 16. Peter Downs, 5 ft. 5, dark, age 47. Jeremiah Corwin, 5 ft. 4, dark, age 41. Isaac Wells, 6 ft., dark, age 30. Joshua Aldrige, 5 ft. 9, dark, age 25. Peter Hallock, 5 ft. 10, dark, age 22. Nathan Corwin, 5 ft. 8, light, age 27. Thomas Corwin, 5 ft. 10, light, age 22. Nathan Youngs, 5 ft. 10, dark, age 22.
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Nathan Corwin, Jr., 5 ft., dark, age 16. Samuel Hudson, 5 ft. 10, dark, age 37. Richard Benjamin, 5 ft. 4, light, age 18. John Hallock, 5 ft. 6, light, age 23. Jonathan Reeve, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 32. Ruben Brown, 5 ft. 10, light, age 39. John Terry, 5 ft. 9, light, age 22. Nathan Benjamin, 6 ft., dark, age 17. Ebenezer Hudson, 5 ft. 3, light, age 17. John Tuthill, 5 ft. 6, dark, age 46. Richard Wood, 5 ft. 7, dark, age 36. Richard Hallock, 5 ft. 5, dark, age 17. Amaziah Benjamin, 5 ft. 3, dark, age 35. Richard Brown, 5 ft. II, dark, age 23.
David Brown, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 29. William Reeve, 5 ft. 8, light, age 21.
Nathl. Fanning, 5 ft. II, light, age 21.
Amasa Pike, 5 ft. 5, dark, age 17.
Daniel Terry, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 19.
John Pershall, 5 ft. 8, dark, age 19.
James Detty, Jr., 5 ft. II, light, age 24.
All these fifty-seven men had "acutriments compleat." With the rest of Col. Smith's regiment they marched to Brooklyn before the middle of August, 1776, reaching there the 14th. They were in camp until the 22nd, when skirmishing with the enemy began. Fighting continued every day, especially the 27th and 28th, until they were ordered to cross to New York on the 29th, when by his successful retreat Washington saved his army, though he lost the battle. The Long Island regiment then dis- banded. Some of the men returned to their homes, while some enlisted in other regiments. The names of many
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