History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals., Part 18

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co.
Number of Pages: 703

USA > New York > Queens County > History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals. > Part 18

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NEWTOWN.

William H. Bedell, 147th N. Y. Louis Brummer, 5th bat .; k. at Petersburg, September 3, 64. Thomas M. Burke, 16th N. Y. heavy art .; at Baltimore, March 14 '65. George W. Burtiss, 4th Metropolitan. John Duffey; k. at Bull Run. Michael Fose. William Frawley, 145th N. Y. Michael Garrwick. William Hawkhurst, 124th N. Y. John S. Vitty; at Bull Run.

NORTH HEMPSTEAD.

John C. Pollite, 44th Mass .; at Roslyn, L. I., in '6 1. Charles Wanson, 118th N. Y .; pro. corp .; d. in '62, in Virginia. Erastus Webster, 119th N. Y .; pro. orderly; d. in '64, in Georgia. Lanson E. Wicks, 14th R. I .; at New Orleans, July 11 '64.

OYSTER BAY.

Samuel Althouse, 20th N. Y. colored; at Riker's Island, February 16 '64. Henry Althouse, 20th N. Y. colored. Thomas Appleford, 2nd N. Y. cav .; December '64, at Harper's Ferry. Charles Baker, corp. 4th N. Y .; Feb- ruary 20 '64, at Baltimore. Alfred Barlon, 2nd N. Y. cav .; August 9 '63. Thomas Bolton, 90th N. Y. Van R. Brush, 102nd N. Y. Augustus Bullman; July '62. John Burton, orderly sergt., 40th N. Y .; June 4 '6 1. James Butler; d. while a prisoner at Andersonville, of starvation. Charles Coleman, 20th zouaves. John Dempsey, 2nd N. Y. cav .; February '65. Levi Devoe, 5th N. Y. art .; July 4 '64, at Harper's Ferry. William Dodge, 2nd N. Y. cav .; September 13 '64, at Chat- tanooga. Daniel Dourney, 2nd N. Y. cav .; June 17 '63, at Aldie, Va. Benjamin Hall, Sickles brigade; Septem- ber 1 '62. John Hall, 2nd N. Y. cav .; at Harper's Ferry. James Henry, 33d Mass .; June '64. William Hicks, Ist N. Y., Co. H; September I '61. Charles E. Layton, 2nd N. Y. cav .; in Virginia, of typhoid fever. Thomas Layton, 2nd N. Y. cav .; in Queens county. James Mott, 5th N. Y. art .; at Salisbury. John Powell, 145th N. Y .; September '62. Cornelius Remser, 2nd N. Y. cav .; July 12 '64, of starvation, at Andersonville. James Sheridan, 2nd N. Y. cav .; pro. corp .; d. February 63, in Queens county. Henry Southard, 102nd N. Y .; August '63, at Annapolis hospital. Cornelius Stillwell, 102nd N. Y .; May 8'63, at Yorktown. Adolphus Tor- rey, 2nd N. Y. cav .; September '62. William H. Town- send, 2nd N. Y. cav .; September '64, at Petersburg. Oliver Valentine, Excelsior brigade; pro. sergt .; k. at Gettysburg, July '62. Samuel Vennor, 20th N. Y. cav .; died while a prisoner in South Carolina. John Verity, Excelsior brigade; July 2 '64, at Gettysburg. James Vernon, 2nd N. Y. cav .; pro. corp .; died at Brandy Station, in June '63. Alfred Waters, 145th N. Y .; Au- gust '62. Charleton Weeks, Ist N. Y .; February '63.

TOWN, VILLAGE AND CITY HISTORIES.

THE TOWN AND VILLAGE OF FLUSHING.

HE first half of the seventeenth century was crowded with incidents and events of the gravest importance to the history of the world at large; and in no quarter of the globe was this more noticeably the case than on the Western hemisphere. The previous century had given an impetus to the spirit of adventure, and to commercial enterprises, that even the disasters attending the Spanish colonies or the almost ceaseless warfare in Europe had failed to check; and there had sprung up in the hearts of thousands, proscribed and ex- iled for their religious views, the hope that on the shores of America was to be found a haven of spiritual peace and freedom from persecution. That this feeling was prudently fostered by one or two of the European powers is well known to the readers of history, and in this wise and liberal course the States-General of Holland were so far the leaders as justly to entitle that country to the grateful memories of those who to-day enjoy the sunlight of free thought in this land of the free; and it may be well to remark here that, although we shall have occasion to censure the arbitrary acts of local officials, there is no evidence that such acts were other than the unauthorized officiousness of a governor, and there is much to prove that his course was not dictated by orders from the home government, but, rather, was severely censured.

The writer is inclined to differ from many American historians as to the influence of certain events on the na- tional character, and to believe that to the Dutch settle- ments under the Prince of Orange is due an equal if not a greater effect on the character of our institutions than can be traced to any contemporaneous colony. Ante- dating the Massachusetts settlements nearly a quarter of a century, the Dutch possessions had become influential when that of Plymouth Rock was still struggling against the disadvantage of a sterile forest-covered soil and fighting hostile tribes of Indians; and but eighteen years elapsed after the landing of the " Mayflower " before the growth of New Amsterdam had extended to the locality

whose history this article narrates, and the first settler of Vlissingen staked out a home at the head of the bay- That these first settlers were Englishmen does not in. validate our claims as regards the Dutch, as they were English refugees, who canie from their temporary resi- dence in Holland, to which they had been driven because of their creed, belonging as they did to the community of Friends or Quakers. There is little doubt, however, that the love of their native land proved too strong for their allegiance to the Dutch government, and was a prominent factor in the final transfer of Long Island to the British; one of the instances, not infrequent, where English intolerance and injustice became the cause of her profit, and one which confirms the belief that the author of the famous adage " Honesty is the best policy ', was not a Briton, or, if he was, that he did not draw the inspiration for his proverb from a perusal of British his- tory.

SETTLEMENT AND ACQUISITION OF LAND.

The best attainable data place the first settlement on Flushing Bay at about 1643, and in the next seven years the number of settlers had increased by additions of Friends from Holland, and several who were accredited as coming from the Massachusetts colony, and who were driven here by the practical operatior. of the strange in- terpretation placed on their boasted motto "Freedom to worship God," by the proprietors of that colony.

The oldest official document throwing light on the first settlement of this place-Vlissingen, as it was then called, after a village in Holland in which the English refugees had lived, and of which name Flushing is a corruption-is dated in 1645, and is a charter for a town, granted by Governor Kieft and found embodied in a confirmation granted by the State of New York in 1782. The original manuscript, including a renewal granted by English au- thority in 1685, was lost in the destruction of the town's records by fire in 1789; and on the 24th of February 1792 an exemplification of Flushing patent was issued by

THE FLUSHING CHARTER.

Attorney-General James Graham, which is now on file in the town hall. The English renewal of Governor Kieft's charter was by Governor Dongan, in the name of James II., the reigning king of England. The tract in question was granted, according to the governor's announcement, in 1666 to John Lawrence, alderman of the city of New York, Richard Cornell, Charles Bridges, William Law- rence, Robert Terry, William Noble, John Forbush, Elias Doughty, Robert Field, Edward Farrington, John Mars- ton, Anthony Field, Philip Udall, Thomas Stiles, Benja- min Field, William Pidgeon, John Adams, John Hinch- man, Nicholas Parcell, Tobias Feakes and John Bowne as patentees, for and in behalf of themselves and their associates, the freeholders and inhabitants of the town of Flushing, their heirs, successors and inhabitants, forever, and was described as follows:

"All that Certaine Town in the North Riding of York- shire upon Long Island called by the name of Flushing, Scituate, lying and being in the north side of said island; which said hath a Certaine tract of land belonging there- to, and bounded westward beginning at the mouth of a creeke upon the East River known by the name of Flush- ing Creeke, and from thence including a certain neck of land called Tuesneck, to run Eastward from the head or middle whereof a Line is to be run South East; in length about three miles and about two miles in breadth as the Land hath been surveyed and laid out by virtue of an order made at the General Meeting held at the town of Hempstead in the month of March one thousand six hundred and sixty four; then that there may be the same lattitude in Breadth on the South Side as on the North, to run in two direct Lines Southward to the middle of the hills, as is directed by another order made of the General Meeting Aforesaid; which, passing East and West as the two are now marked, is the Bounds be- tween the said Towns of Flushing and Jamaica; for the greatest parte of which said tract of Land and premissess there was heretofore a Pattent granted from the Dutch Governor William Kieft, bearing date the tenth day of October one thousand six hundred and forty five, Stilo Novo, unto Thomas Farrington, John Lawrence, John Hicks and divers other Patentees, their Successors, As- sociates and assignes, for them to improve, manure, and settle a competent number of familyes there upon."

The document then recites that on the 14th of April 1684 Elias Doughty, Thomas Willett, John Bowne, Mat- thias Harvey, Thomas Hicks, Richard Cornell, John Hinchman, Jonathan Wright, and Samuel Hoyt, agents of the freeholders of the town of Flushing, to perfect their title, bought from certain Indians who claimed their territory, " all the lands, situate, lying and being on the North Side of Long Island, called and knowne by the name of Flushing, within Queens County, the first bounds whereof begin to the West with Flushing Creeke, to the South by Jamaica Line, to the East by Hempstead Line, and to the North with the Sound, for and in con- sideration of a valuable sume then received."

It is further stated that the inhabitants of Flushing and Jamaica agreed upon their boundaries as follows: " That from the foot or bottome of the hills upon the South side the Town of Jamaica shall have Seven Score Rodd upon a direct and straight point unto the hills in all places from the Eastermost Bounds of Jamaica, being at a

marked Walnut tree upon Rockie hill, standing upon the West Side of the Road between Flushing and Hemp- stead, to the Westermost Bounds of Jamaica and Flush- ing in the bills;" also that "by another Certaine Writing or agreement, dated the last day of June one thousand six hundred eighty four, made by Elias Doughty, John Seaman, Thomas Willett and John Jackson, the Bounds between the towne of Flushing and Hempstead are to begin at the middle of the bay, where Capt. Jacques runn the line, and to hold the same until it comes to the land Called by the name of the Governor's Land, and then from the South side of the Governor's Land towards the End of the plaine to the former markt tree that stands in the Hollow, and to run from thence upon a direct line unto the Rocky hill Westerly, where Carts usually goe to Flushing;" also that the patentees and their associates " have, according to the Custom and Practice in this Province, made several divisions, allottments, distinct settlements and improvements of severall pieces and par- cells of the above recited tract," and that application had been made to the governor by Joseph Smith and Jonathan Wright for a confirmation of the patent. In view of these facts Governor Dongan issued the following:

" Now, for a Confirmation unto the present Freeholders and Inhabitants of the said Towne, their heirs and As- signs, in the Quiett and peaceable possession and enjoy- ment ot the aforesaid Tract of Land and premises, Know Yee that, by virtue of the Commission and Author- ity, I have ratified, Confirmed and Granted unto Thomas Willett, John Lawrence Seignor, Elias Doughty, Richard Cornell, Moriss Smith, Charles Morgan, Mary Fleake, Wouter Gisbertson, John Masten, John Cornelis, John Harrison, Denius Holdron, John Hinchman, William Yeates, Joseph Thorne, John Lawrence Junior, Matthias Harveye, Harmanus King, John Farrington, Thomas Williams, Elisabeth Osborn, Joseph Havyland, John Washborne, Aaron Cornelis, John Bowne, William Noble, Samuel Hoyt, Madeline Frances Barto, John Hoper, Thomas Ford, John Jenning, John Embree, Jonathan Wright, Nicholas Parcell, William Lawrence, Richard Townly, Edward Griffin Junior, John Lawrence at the Whitestone, Henry Taylor, Jasper Smith, Richard Wilday, Thomas Townsend, John Thorne, Anthony Field, John Adams, Richard Stockton, James Whittaker, Hugh Cop- perthwaite, Richard Chew, James Clement, Margaret Stiles, Samuel Thorne, Thomas Hedges, William Hav- iland, Thomas Hicks, John Terry, David Patrick, James Feake, Thomas Kimacry, Phillip Udall, Thomas Davis, Edward Farrington, Thomas Farrington, Matthew Far- rington, John Field, Joseph Hedger, John Talman, Wil- liam Gael, William White, Elisabeth Smith, Thomas Partridge, William Hedger and Benjamin Field, the pres- ent freeholders and Inhabitants of the said Towne of Flushing, their heires and Assignes for Ever, all the before recited tract and parcell or neck of land set forth, limited and bounded as aforesaid by the aforementioned patent, Indian deed of sale, and agreements; together with all and singular the houses, Messuages, Tenements, Fencings, Buildings, Gardens, Orchards, Trees, Woods, Underwoods, Highways and Easements whatsoever be- longing or in any ways appertaining to any of the afore recited tract, Parcell or neck of land, divisions, Allott- ' day and date hereof. -** ments and settlements made and appropriated before the * . And as for and concern- ing all and every such parcell or parcells, tract or tracts of Land and Meadow Remainder of the Granted prem-

HISTORY OF QUEENS COUNTY.

issess not yet taken up or appropriated to any particular person or persons before the day of the date hereof, to the use and behoof of the purchasers above recited and to their heires and assigns for Ever, to be Equally divided in proportion to the above recited Inhabitants and Free- holders aforesaid and to their respective heires and as- signes for Ever, without any let, hindrance or molestacion, to be had or reserved upon pretence of joint tenancy or survivorship, or anything herein Contained to the Con- trary in anywise notwithstanding: To be holden of his Most Sacred Majesty, his heires and successors, in free and Common Socage, according to the tenure of East Greenwich in the Kingdom of England, Yielding there- fore and paying Yearely and Every Yeare an acknowl- edgement or Quit-rent to his Majesty, his heires and suc- cessors as aforesaid, or to such officer or officers as shall by him or them be appointed to receive the same, at New Yorke, in lieu of all services and demands whatsoever, Six- teen bushels of good Marchantable winter wheate on Every five and twentieth day of March."

Attached to this is the official indorsement of George Clinton, governor of the State of New York, bearing the date of February 24th 1792 and the great seal of the State; well named, as it is nearly half an inch in thick- ness and three and one half inches in diameter, made of wax and covered with paper.

Subsequent events seemed to prove that the charter granted by Governor Kieft was one which, while it fully guaranteed the freedom of its recipients from any more burdensome exactions than the patent confirmed by the British governor, was a source of annoyance to Kieft's successor in office, as the sturdy independence of the patentees led them to resist any encroachments of the governor upon their vested rights and to refuse to render to the colony any assistance other than that nominated in the bond.

The Indians mentioned in the above instrument were the chiefs of the Matinecock tribe, once very numerous and whose principal settlements within the town limits were at Little Neck and Bayside, at which places they " dried " oysters and clams for winter use, and engaged in the manufacture of wampum of a very superior quality, which was the circulating medium of the locality for many years. In fact the Matinecocks operated the first mint ever opened on the island, and, though its raw ma- terial was not intrinsically valuable, yet the coin, even though made of sea shells, was the natural progenitor of the " fiat money " idea that is now attracting attention among financiers. So full a description of this tribe is given elsewhere in this volume that no more space need be devoted to the subject in this article, further than to say that here as elsewhere the edict "Move on" was early enforced, and that the annals of the period of which we are now writing make but slight allusion to them. It is, however, a credit to the pioneers of Flushing that they conceded to the poor red man some title to the soil; and that though, as Mandeville relates, the price paid for the fee simple was only one axe or its equivalent for each fifty acres, yet the present owners of the soil can trace their titles untainted by the robbery by which so much of the landed wealth of America was wrested from the aborig- ines. The extensive vlaies or salt meadows were proba-

bly among the inducements which led the agricultural people by whom the town was settled to locate here, as within four years after the date of the charter a writer described the town as a handsome village, tolerably stocked with cattle.

CIVIL TROUBLES.

The earliest date of any event of importance to the new town is January 17th 1648, when John Townsend, Ed- ward Hart, Thomas Styles, John Lawrence and John Hicks were summoned to appear before Governor Stuy- vesant and council on January 23d as " the principal per- sons who resist the Dutch mode of choosing sheriffs, pre- tending it is against the adopted course in the fatherland, and who refuse to contribute their share of the mainten- ance of the Christian, pious Reformed minister, and if they refuse, to be apprehended and prosecuted by the at- torney-general." This was the first symptom of resist- ance to Stuyvesant's bigotry and oppression. Another entry from the court records is as follows:

"April 8th 1648 .- Thomas Hall, an inhabitant of fflishingen, in New Netherland, being accused that he pre- vented the Sheriff of fflishingen to do his duty and exe- cute his office in apprehending Thomas Heyes, which Thomas Hall confessed that he kept the door shut so that noe one might assist the Sheriff, demands mercy and promise he will do it never again and regrets very much that he did so. The director general and Council doing Jus- tice condemn the said Thomas Hall in a fine of 25 guilders, to be applied at the discretion of the council."

On the 22nd of April 1655 Thomas Saul, William Lawrence and Edward Farrington were appointed magis- trates from a list of persons nominated by the town; and Tobias Feake was appointed sheriff.

The sentence of Henry Townsend (who had been a highly respected resident of the town, then living in Ja- maica, or Rudsdorp as it was called by the Dutch) on the 15th of September 1647 for having called together con- venticles aroused the freedom-loving people of both towns to unite in a remonstrance, dated December 27th in the same year, and resulted in the arrest of Sheriff Feake, Magistrate Farrington and Town Clerk Edward Hart. Feake was degraded from office and sentenced to banishment, or to pay a fine of two hundred guilders. Farrington sued for and obtained pardon, and on a peti- tion from Hart, who showed that he was only acting in the matter as a scrivener, he was excused on payment of costs. Town meetings were then forbidden " except for highly interesting and pressing reasons," and in an order of March 26th 1658 Governor Stuyvesant, after bestow- ing his formal pardon on the town for its "mutinous orders and resolutions," says: "In future I shall appoint a sheriff acquainted not only with the English and Dutch languages, but with Dutch practical law; and in future there shall be chosen seven of the most reasonable and respectable of the inhabitants, to be called tribunes and townsmen, whom the sheriff and magistrates shall consult in all cases; and a tax of twelve stiver sper morger is laid on the inhabitants for the support of an orthodox

FLUSHING AND THE GOVERNOR-BUSINESS BEGINNINGS.

minister, and such as do not sign a written submission to dispose of their estates here, and once more turn their faces toward their own vine-clad hills. The only names of these settlers that have come down to us are Jean Apree, Jean Gienon, Fre Braton, De Wilde, Esmond and Embre, the last of whom was the founder of the Embre families of Flushing and of Chester county, Pa; the others not appearing in the annals of this locality at a later date than 1690. to the same in six weeks may dispose of their property at their pleasure and leave the soil of this government." This was in direct violation of the town charter, which gave the people the right of choosing their own civil officers, and full liberty of conscience; yet so ob- stinate had the sturdy old Knickerbocker become, in his attempt to establish a State church, that he did not allow that trifling circumstance to affect his course in the least. In 1672 Flushing, by a vote of its town meeting, re- fused to assist in the repair of the forts on the coast, giving as a reason therefor that any such concession His enmity toward the English settlers, dating back to the protest of 1653, in which John Hicks and Tobias Feake represented the town, led to an arbitrary exercise heretofore made by the people had been claimed as a of his power. This, although unsustained by the home right by the governor, whose excessive taxation and dis- regard of the good of his Majesty's subjects had become intolerable. government, destroyed the sympathy for and loyalty to the States-General on the part of many who were in- clined to be grateful for past favors; and in 1662 Flush- The year 1673 witnessed the recapture of New York by the Dutch, and the acquiescence of Flushing in its results. Francis Bloctgoct was chosen magistrate, and in March 1674 a commission was given by the governor- general to him as chief of the inhabitants of the Dutch nation residing in the villages Vlissingen, Heemstede, Rusdorp and Middleburgh, and the places belonging to these districts; by which he is commanded to communi- cate to said inhabitants that they on the first notice of the enemy's arrival, or on the arrival of more ships than one, shall at once march well armed toward the city. ing became one of the English towns which in conven- tion at Hempstead offered their allegiance to the British colony of Connecticut. It was accepted by that colony, and steps were taken to protect the newly acquired ter- ritory from the claim of its late masters. The new asso- ciation proved, in many respects, unsatisfactory. The authors of the Blue Laws seemed inclined to regard their new friends rather in the light of vassals than equals; and the enforcement of the Duke of York's claim on Long Island, by its capture by the British in 1664, was welcomed by the English-born residents, and toler- ated by the Dutch and French, as an epoch that must restore their chartered rights.

The tyrannical theories that proved the ruin of the Stuarts were then in full force, and the instruments of their power in America were chosen to carry them into effect. The inhabitants of Yorkshire, as the island was then called, saw no reason to congratulate themselves on a speedy recognition of their rights, but were soon in a position of passive hostility to the governor; in 1666 the wealthy and scholarly William Lawrence was arrested and fined heavily for seditious language, and four years later Governor Lovelace ordered the protest of the town against the unauthorized exactions of his government publicly burned on the court-house square at Jamaica.

GROWTH OF POPULATION AND BUSINESS.

An important event of this period was the settlement here of a small number of Huguenot families, who, driven from France by the revocation of the edict of Nantes, had found a temporary refuge in Holland, and, at the advice of the authorities there, made part of a cargo of emigrants who located in different parts of the Dutch possessions. There are no traces of their participation in local politics, but to this day their old homes are marked by the bell pear and lady apple trees set out by them, and their introduction of these and other fruits from sunny France gave an impetus to horticulture that has led to results of the greatest importance. Love of their native land was their peculiar characteristic; and when, after a residence of some twenty years, a change of administration made their return safe, they, with but few exceptions, took advantage of the earliest opportunity

The peace of 1674 restored Flushing to the British, and up to 1680 no important political events transpired. In that year the town voted to Governor Dongan a gift of land adjoining a tract that had been given to him by one of the neighboring towns. In 1690 occurred the usurpation of Leisler, whom the people of Flushing re- fused to recognize, despite a display of force made by him with a view of intimidating them. The closing years of the century were, except for religious difficul- ties, unmarked by any event of especial interest. Trade had been opened with New York, by means of large boats, the first of which was owned by a man who started a small barter store at the landing. It was a large canoe, purchased from the Indians at Bayside, and it is said to have been able to carry a hogshead of molasses and eight or ten persons at one time. The early products of the locality were wheat, tobacco, Indian corn, and live stock; while the oysters and clams that abounded in the bays and inlets proved a godsend to a class too un- settled in character to devote themselves to the pursuits of agriculture. Business alliances were being formed in the city that laid the foundation of some of the most noted commercial and monetary interests of New York, and the seventeenth century closed on a people alive to their own rights, enterprising and sagacious, and success- ful in a pecuniary point of view to an extent rarely wit- nessed in the first half century of a colony's existence. One reason for this was that the first settlers were not poor in the sense in which the word usually applies to immi- grants. It was not penury but persecution that drove them here; and the fact that the Lawrences, Bownes, Hickses and others were what in those days were termed wealthy men aided largely in building up the young settle-

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History of Queens County, New York : with illustrations, portraits, and sketches of prominent families and individuals., Part 18

Author: Publication date: 1882 Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co. Number of Pages: 703

Author:
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell and Co.
Number of Pages: 703