USA > New York > Suffolk County > Riverhead > Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the organization of the town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, N.Y. at Riverhead, July 4, 1892 > Part 3
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It can be readily understood that the population here was far too small to constitute a church or to justify the erection of a meeting-house. As late as 1828 the people from Flanders, Riverhead, Baiting Hollow, Northville and east as far as Mat- tituck, went to the Steeple Church at Upper Aquebogue to worship. But a volume could be written to tell the lives and labors of a class of reverent preachers who, with small reward for constant labor, made it the object of their lives to do good. Their meetings were held in barns, schoolhouses, private resi- dences, and even in the open air, and their coming was anxiously awaited. The Steeple Church might be called the mother of churches. It was a portion of this congregation that in 1829 built a small meeting-house about two miles east of this village. In 1834 this congregation was also divided, one portion taking the meeting-house, removing it to North- ville. The remainder established a church in Riverhead, and at first worshipped in the lower room of the Seminary build- ing, till the erection of the Congregational Church in 1841. But prior to this came the Methodist Church, with its untiring ministry. This society was organized in 1833, and the first meeting-house built in 1834, to be succeeded in 1870 by the the present elegant edifice. The followers of Emanuel Swed- enborg organized a society in 1839 and built a house of wor- ship in 1855. The old Court House, or County Hall, as it was generally called, might, in the early days, have well been called a church of all denominations. The Congregational Church of Upper Aquebogue always claimed this neighbor- hood as a part of their parish, and every other Sunday Mr.
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Sweezy, the pastor, would preach in the building .. Next came the Methodist circuit rider, who would preach on Friday after -. noon or evening, making his temporary home (for he had no abiding one) at the house of Dr. Osborn; and at a later day, the service of the Roman Catholic Church would be conducted in the same place, their church being built in 1870. The Free Methodists built their church in 1872. The Episcopal- ians commenced stated worship in 1870, and erected a chapel in 1873. So far all these varied denominations have lived in harmony, which we trust will never be interrupted.
For long years the schools were of the most inferior de- scription ; the only ones that had the slightest claim to being educational institutions being schools kept at Upper and Lower Aquebogue, the former by Josiah Reeve, who was afterward Sheriff of the county, and the latter by Judge David Warner. These had a well-deserved reputation, and their influence for good was felt far and wide.
Riverhead, and indeed Suffolk County, is indebted to the late Judge George Miller for much that is good, but in nothing is it under greater obligation that for the seminary established by him in 1834 to advance the cause of female education. It was from the commencement a complete success, and its in- fluence for good can be hardly expressed in words. It is fortunate for the present generation that the days of the old- fashioned district school have passed away, and it is to be hoped that the entire community fully appreciates the advan- tages of the Union School and the tireless labors of our well- trained and efficient teachers.
We must not fail to give our due meed of praise to the followers of the "art preservative of arts." Our first news- paper, the Suffolk Gasette, was started in August, 1849, under the editorial management of John Hancock. The next year it was removed to Sag Harbor, but came back to its native place in 1854, and ended its carcer shortly after. Then came the Suffolk Union, with Washington Van Zandt as editor, in 1859, a very fearless paper during the carly days of the Civil
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War. The office, which stood on the south side of Main Street, just west of the residence of the late Dr. Luce, was burned about thirty years ago and publication stopped. A few years afterward, Buel G. Davis, an energetic young man from Greenport, started the Monitor here, but it did not con- tinue long, being purchased by James S. Evans, who merged it in a paper he was publishing in Setauket, which establish- ment was afterwards removed to Patchogue and survives to-day in the Patchogue Advance. Then James B. Slade, started in a very modest way what he called an advertising sheet, which grew into the Riverhead News. In 1875, Win. R. Duvall purchased the News and continued it till the time of his death in 1882. Mr. Duvall was a witty, sarcastic and effective writer, and humorous as well, though, strange to say, he seldom smiled. He had traveled a great deal and had a wide knowledge of the world and men. His son and name- sake succeeded to his work and well maintains the character and influence of the paper.
We cannot do better than to present a picture of River- head as it was fifty years ago, as taken from notes kindly furnished by Hon. Henry P. Hedges, who has been so long identified with the public life of Suffolk County, and who came here fresh from college to study law with Judge Miller. He says :
"I went to Riverhead in October, 1840, when the Harrison campaign 'log cabin and hard cider' cries were heard. At that time Henry T. Penney and John Corwin kept the hotels. Penney was Deputy Sheriff and kept a hotel in an old-fashioned house formerly of his father-in-law, William Griffing, the father of Wells and Hubbard Griffing. At that time there were about forty houses in Riverhead. Dr. Osborn's was almost the extreme west, only one or two houses beyond it. The avenue to the railroad station was then a cart path, and where the Court House now stands was thick woods. My solitary walk was often over that cart path, north to where is now the cemetery. At that time the
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Griffings were shipping wood to Providence: Judge Miller was in the thick of his professional fight; Sidney L. Griffin was the only other lawyer in Riverhead; Dr. Thomas Osborn was in active practice as a physician and so was Dr. Doane; Capt. Edward Vail was running a vessel, also Capt. Harry Ilorton and James Horton ; William Jagger and David Jagger were advocating temperance; their father, David, was then living; Herman D. Foster, Elijah Terry and Nathan Corwin were selling goods in country stores; David Davis was build- ing vessels: Timothy Aldrich was building the church; Rev. C. J. Knowles was minister; Clem. Hempstead was painting houses and wagons; Mulford Moore was blacksmithing; Geo. Halsey was tailoring; Titus Conklin was making shoes; and Aunt Polly Griffing was doing then, as always, the work of the good Samaritan; Daniel Edwards, was keeping the jail; John Perkins was manufacturing cloth at the Upper Mills; Isaac Sweezy, across the river, was grinding grain, and John P. Terry, now of the Long Island House, was living with him and threshing rye with a flail.
"The County Courts were held three times a year. Hugh Halsey was first Judge. Henry Landon, Judge Gillett and Richard M. Conkling were among the Associate Judges, and Selah B. Strong was District Attorney. The principal lawyers who came to court were S. S. Gardiner of Shelter Island and Samuel L. Gardiner of Sag Harbor, and Abraham T. Rose. These were the only ones from the east. From the west were Selah B. Strong, Judge Buffett, Charles A. Floyd, and a little later John G. Floyd. The old Court House and jail is now occupied by the Perkins Bros. as a clothing store. Charles Vail and his brother Gamaliel were old residents in the same house, where they continued for many years; now the house of D. F. Vail. North of the Main Street there were no houses, nor on any street parallel with the Main Street. The religious meetings were held in what was called the lecture room, where the Congregational Church now stands. The Ladies' Seminary was taught by Mrs. Miller, and was located
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on the same lot. In 1841, the 3d of April, I find a memo- randum : 'Day before yesterday raised meeting-house in River- head.' On December 1, same year, it was dedicated. Mr. Badger, Secretary of the Home Missionary Society, spoke from the text, "It is none other than the house of God.' Hubbard and Wells Griffing were among the most munificent contributors to that church. There came from Flanders 10 trade the peculiar characteristic people from that section-the old preacher, Nathaniel Fanning, who built his own church, old Major David Brown and 'Uncle Joe' Goodale. These two were rivals for the control of Flanders. At that time David Edwards was Justice, a very competent man and so mild-mannered that he never offended anyone. In some cases there would be testimony absolutely conflicting, and plain per- jury on one and sometimes on both sides. He would allude to this in his charge as 'a little discrepancy between the evi- dence for plaintiff and defendant.' He was a great admirer of the works of Pope, especially the 'Essay on Man.' One of the men of stronger intellect, and who impressed his opin- ions very largely upon his companions, was Elijah Teriy. Johnson was the first man that I saw hung in the county. He did not look like a malicious man. I think Judge Rose de- fended him. I remember Judge D. G. Gillett of Patchogue, who came to Riverhead and attended conventions. He was a large, thick-set man and of very impressive appearance ; and also Dr. Fred. W. Lord, a man of powerful intellect and pre-eminent as a public speaker. In 1840 Judge Abraham T. Rose was the most accomplished speaker, politically and as an advocate before a jury, in this county. It was said that Chan- cellor Kent once came down to Riverhead to hold a court of Oyer and Terminer, but found no lawyer, no cases, no prisoner, and adjourned for want of business. Titus Conklin was very intelligent, benevolent, and an active man in the church and business, and he had as fellow workers Deacon Hubbard Grif- fing, Wells Griffing, Isaac Sweezy, Herman D. Foster and first of all, Judge George Miller, who for a long time held
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meetings in the Court House and conducted the services. He was the founder and upholder of the Congregational Church : the Methodist Church was upheld by John Perkins and his family, and Dr. Osborn, who were its main supporters. Jona- than Horton preached in the Swederborgian Church, and was the heart of that organization. Sells Edwards employed him to draw his will. It was intended to give a life estate to a prodigal son, but by a mistake he gave him the whole fee of his portion. Judge Miller used to say Sells Edwards saved 50 cents in writing a will and lost $10,000. . Sylvester Miller was a man of excellent understanding. He was Justice of the Peace and Supervisor for many years. He was prudent; with a strong sense of justice, and was fully competent to control and direct. Judge John Woodhull was a man rather intelli- gent, cautious and discreet, not disposed to yield to the popu- lar current, and more disposed to row against than with it. He was thoroughly honest and very careful and deliberate. He had the confidence of all. In personal appearance he was tall, spare, bent, lean, angular, blue-eyed. and wore blue spectacles, owing to weak eyes. He was a strong Federalist. He lived to be 100 years old. David Warner was a very large and tall man. He was a man of strong understanding, and he well knew it, and was somewhat above his contem- poraries in reading, intelligence, in thought and in position. In later life his mind became unbalanced. He died nearly ninety years of age."
At what time settlements were first made in the eastern part of the town is unknown, but it is probable that they are at least as old as the settlement of Wading River. At the location called in early days the " Fresh Ponds" and now " Baiting Hollow," a settlement is believed to have been, as early as 1719, and in 1792 a church was organized with a few members. Previous to that the people had doubtless been connected with the church at Wading River, said to have been old in 1750. We may add here that the churches which were known as the " Strict Congregational," had their origin in the
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famous " New Light" movement that originated in New Eng- land about 1744; their leader on Long Island was Rev. Elisha Payne, who was pastor of the " New Light" church at Bridge Hampton, and whose tombstone may be seen in the Hay Ground cemetery near that village. In 1803 a small meeting house was built at Baiting Hollow, which was succeeded by the present edifice, built in 1862. Time fails us to give due justice to the memory of Rev. Manly Wells, Nathan Dickinson, David Benjamin, Azel Downs, and their successors, whose names are identified with the history of this church. The vil- lage and country round has been the home of thrifty citizens, whose family names are among the oldest in our town. It was here that the first Swedenborgian church was organized, whose leader and teacher for many years was Jonathan Horton, its chief supporter. An important item in the history of North- ville is the memorable repulse of a party sent from a British squadron to capture several sloops lying near the shore, on May 31, 1814. The American militia (a small company of thirty) was under the command of Capt. John Wells, a man of resolute will and great courage, a member of the Legislature in after years, and who has left many prominent descendants, among them the late Alden Wells, a son. The attack was met with so vigorous a defense that the enemy soon withdrew, their errand unaccomplished.
Doubtless the most ancient settlement in the town is the region known as Upper and Lower Aquebogue; the latter portion being now generally known as Jamesport. From the fact that this latter region was frequently spoken of as "Old Aquebogue," we may conclude that it may claim priority of settlement, and with the more reason as it was nearer to the parent village of Southold. When these settlements were actually begun, we have at present no knowledge, but it is hoped that a more thorough investigation will eventually throw light upon the subject. From our present information, we conclude that it was about 1690. It is believed that a church was established here in the early part of the last century, and
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a meeting-house built on the cemetery lot, where the first interment is said to have been made in 1775. This church was doubtless an offshoot or a branch of the old church at Southold, but on the 26th of March, 1758, a "New Light" Church, or as it was called, "The First Strict Congregational Church of Southold," was organized by Rev. Elisha Payne. From the fact that they occupied the old meeting-house, we conclude that it absorbed the former organization, or at least a majority. We may say here that the "New Light" bore the same relation to the old Congregational Churches that the Puritans did to the Church of England; their motto was "Come forth from the world and be ye perfect." At intervals of a few years large numbers were added to the church by revivals of religion, and among them was Manly Wells, Daniel Youngs and David Benjamin, who, as preachers, were after- ward known throughout the country. In 1797 the old church at Upper Aquebogue was replaced by a new and larger one, rebuilt in 1833, and a tall steeple, which from the peculiar nature of the country was visible for a great distance round, and gave to the building and also to the neighborhood, the name of "Steeple Church ;" and this, in 1863 was replaced by a still larger building. The old one was removed to River- head, by the late George N. Howell, and converted into two stores, now owned by John Robert Corwin, and occupied by Davis & Son and Lee & Bunce. The names of Timothy Wells, Daniel Youngs, Moses Sweczy and Parshall Terry must ever be identified with its history. In 1829, about sixty members of this church withdrew and built a new one about half way to Riverhead, and a few years later this again was divided, part with the church building removing to North- ville, the remainder to Riverhead. 1753475
The great success of Sag Harbor, as a port for whaling ships, prompted a few men, among whom the foremost were James Tuthill, of Southold, and James Halsey, of Bridge Hampton, to purchase Miamogue Neck, and establish a new scaport, which from the names of its principal founders was
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called Jamesport. Its rapid growth at first is mentioned by the historian Prime, who in 1845 says: "In 1833 there was not a single habitation here, now some forty." The place was well started by building a hotel and a good wharf, and at one time two or three whale ships sailed from here, but the failure of the whale fishery ended its prosperity. In 1849, James Halsey, one of the founders, started for California overland, but never reached the land of gold. The future of Jamesport is doubtless to be a summer resort, for which it is well adapted. In Lower Aquebogue, the oldest church in this town was estab- lished, it is believed as early as 1728. It was Presbyterian, and a church building was erected in 1731, and a hundred years later was repaired and enlarged. It was eventually merged into the Lower Aquebogue Congregational Church. We cannot fail to mention the Camp Meeting Association which annually in August attracts crowds of worshipers from all the country round. Jamesport will long be distinguished as the home of two brothers, Messrs. Simeon S. and Edward Hawkins, both of whom have represented the First Senatorial District at Albany, and who, belonging to different political parties, are notable illustrations of a fact which politicians sometimes forget, that men can be good representatives and not belong to your party. .
A fact but little known and proper to be stated here, is that in 1793 Mrs. Phobe Wickham, at her house, near Matti- tuck, established the first Sunday-school in Suffolk County, only eleven years after Robert Raikes, the father of Sunday- schools, began them in London. Mrs. Wickham was a half sister of the famous traveler, John Ledyard. She died in Gro- ton in 1840.
There are many persons besides those we have mentioned of whom extended notice should be given, like the Hon. John S. Marcy, a genial and generous man; Rev. Thomas Cook, pub- lic-spirited and of great energy ; Nathan Corwin, long a leader in town matters and who in his person always seemed to us as the incarnation of Riverhead Town; his long-time partner,
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John C. Davis, Member of Assembly thirty years ago; Silas S. Terry, a man greatly beloved by a wide circle of acquaintances ; his partner, Joshua L. Wells, in early life a successful school teacher; Dr. R. H. Benjamin, a zealous supporter of his church and the public school, and who, as first president of the Savings Bank, laid broad and deep the foundations of its great success; his successor, Dr. A. B. Luce; John Corwin, the popular landlord ; and scores of others, useful, prominent citi- zens of this town, who have gone to their reward; but the limit of time and space forbids ; nor can we attempt to add the names of those who, natives here, have achieved honorable name elsewhere. There is one name, however, that must be mentioned. Tappin Reeve, son of Rev. Abner Reeve, a clergyman of this town, became famous as a lawyer and founder of the celebrated law school at Litchfield, Conn. He was the first eminent lawyer in this country to arraign the common law of England for its cruelty in cutting off the natural rights of married women and placing their property entirely within the control of their husbands. This year is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the first Act in our Legislature looking to the liberation of married women from this bondage, and by a law passed at our last Legislature the reform which Mr. Reeve first preached is thoroughly effected. He died in 1823, but he lived long enough to see his principles gain a footing in Connecticut, though at first they did not meet with much favor.
A book should be written to preserve the memory of what Riverhead Town did to aid in the war to preserve the Union. She promptly voted down all disloyal reso- lutions offered by the few sympathizers that rebellion had here, and supplied all the money's necessary to do her part, while one hundred and twenty-two of her citizens went to the front, of whom ten never returned. Of those who did return, sixteen have answered to the last roll call here, and time is reducing the ranks of the remaining.
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Then honor to the brave who nobly died; And honor to the men who by their side Survived the canon's hail With hearts that did not quail When all our country's fate was cast For life or death in War's fierce blast. -DR. WHITAKER.
The time and space we have devoted to the past forbids our entering upon extended remarks as to the future. We have endeavored to give a picture of the times that are gone; but the things that are, surround us now, and they speak for themselves. The unpainted and unsteepled meet- ing-house is succeeded by the elegant church edifice. The little rustic schoolhouse of the rudest kind, and for whose maintenance every dollar was grudged, is supplanted by the Union School, for which no expense is too great and no orn ?- ment too good. Compare the private dwelling of to-day with the homes of our best citizens of generations past, and how great the contrast. To-day a good selection of books and the weekly or daily newspapers are found in every household ; then the Bible and the almanac comprised almost their only library, and of newspapers their were none. In matters of decoration, how great the change. There is not a house that has not a multitude of things which the good people of the past would have called the "superfluities of life." The chromos and engravings that now adorn the humblest homes would have been miracles of art a century ago. The increase of means of communication with the outside world are too apparent to require mention. Where the thrifty village was in the early times we find it more thrifty still; and where once was an unbroken forest we see around us all the evidences of prosperity and happiness.
If towns and villages have their periods of decline it is nothing strange, for cities and nations have the same; but the general progress is still onward. The traveler who ascends a lofty mountain will not find his journey one regular ascent from the base to the summit. For a long distance he will be
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traveling over apparently level ground; then he will ascend a slight elevation, then he will descend into a valley, and for a part of his journey he will actually be going down hill; but as he travels on he will find that the valley of the present mo- ment is higher than the hill on which he stood an hour before. At one time he will be as completely hidden from the goal of his hopes as if he were in the center of the earth, and again he will be in full view of the object of his aspirations.
And so he goes on and on, through all changes of climate and varieties of vegetation, till he reaches that chill region of mist and cloud, where no life exists and which marks the border line of perpetual snow. But beyond all these, the cloud and darkness left behind, he enters a region of perpetual light and his feet at length tread the summit where the sun shines forever with unclouded glory.
The band here played again, and then Chairman Foster presented Prof. Joseph M. Belford of Riverhead, who de- livered the following address :
What man has done, how he has done it, and what results have followed his action, are questions that not only power- fully appeal to the imagination, but engage the intellect as well. There is probably no field of investigation into which the human mind can enter that in a greater degree stimulates the curiosity, and arouses and sustains the interest, than that of human history. With unwearied patience, in the face of difficulties that seemed insurmountable, we find man feeling his way through the past, reading its cuneiform inscriptions, deciphering its Babylonian bricks, exploring its pyramids, studying its art, its architecture, its literature, anything and everything that might throw any light upon the life of a people that had played its part in the solemn drama of history.
And there is no field of study that is more fruitful of solemn lessons than this, for as man comes to study the facts
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of the past, not as isolated phenomena, but in their obvious and necessary relation to each other, as so many successive links in the great chain of historic evolution, he is over: whelmed with the fact that here as everywhere in the universe he is within the domain of law; that there is just as absolute and fixed an order of sequence in the phenomena of his- tory as there is in the phenomena of nature; that the scientific observer can with no more certainty . lay down the law of sequence in the facts he observes in nature, than the historical observer can lay down the law of sequence in the facts he ob- serves in history; that things no more happen fortuitously in the growth of a nation than they happen fortuitously in the growth of a plant; that nations have a law of life and decay, just as trees have a law of life and decay ; that a nation can no more grow in contravention of law than an oak can.
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