History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683, Part 31

Author: W.W. Munsell & Co., pub; Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather); Cooper, James B. (James Brown), 1825-; Pelletreau, William S. (William Smith), 1840-1918; Street, Charles R. (Charles Rufus), 1825-1894; Smith, John Lawrence, 1816-1889
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 677

USA > New York > Suffolk County > History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683 > Part 31

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So much of the tract of land in question as lay from the Country road south to the Peconic River was in- cluded in a large triangular piece of land, which had no doubt been purchased of the patentee of St. George's

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

long before, and certainly was owned in common by twenty-five residents of Southold, and divided to the several individuals holding title to it on the roth of March 1742.

BROOKFIELD.

That part of the before described tract that lay south- ward from Peconic River afterward appears as the prin- cipal part of Brookfield. The boundaries were the same, except that the eastern line of Brookfield was a due north line from Terrell's River, which gave the latter tract a greater width by more than a mile.

By what steps title was transferred we are not informed, but the territory was probably occupied at an early period by a hardy class of pioneers, mostly from the eastern towns, who seem to have been determined on beating a livelihood out of the virgin soil, with perhaps no great respect for the claims of either civilian or savage upon it. On the 26th of March 1793 petition was made to the court of common pleas for a partition of Brook- field among the several owners. This was granted, and the court appointed Captain William Phillips and John Bailey, of Brookhaven, and Captain James Reeves, of Southold, commissioners for the purpose. These com- missioners met, and with the assistance of Isaac Hulse, surveyor, laid out the tract to the several owners, whose names appear as follows:

John Turner, Matthew Raynor, Tuthill Dayton, Joseph Raynor, Isaac Raynor, Nathaniel Lane, Henry Turner, Joseph Raynor jr., Jonathan Robinson, Benjamin Ray- nor, David Carter, Benjamin Conkling, John Conkling, John Robinson, Nathaniel Terry, Justus Raynor, Free- man Lane, David Robinson, Jonathan Halliock, Jona- than King, William Petty, Ishmael Reeve, Daniel Lane, George Cobit, Samuel Wines, Susanah Overton, Patience Howell, Samuel Robinson, David Fanning, Henry Raynor, John Wells, Joshua Terry, William Ayres, Joshua Wells, Solomon Wells, Elijah Terry, Enos Swezey, Higby Raynor, James Smith and Daniel Robin- son jr.

The survey and partition was begun on the 16th of April, and the commission reported the result to the court October 2nd 1793. Brookfield contained about 6,600 acres, and about this time it appears to have been joined to the town of Brookhaven.

HALSEY'S MANOR

was a section of territory adjoining Brookfield on the east, with a more definite history but with a less definite boundary. The latter indefiniteness however holds only in relation to the eastern boundary. The tract was bounded on the north by Peconic River, on the west by Brookfield, on the south by the Moriches patentship, and on the east by the town of Southampton. This land was included in the Smith patent of 1697. It was sold by Major William Henry Smith to Isaac Halsey, of South- ampton, March 30th 1716, for £65. Captain Abraham Howell and Theophilus Howell were partners with Hal- sey in the purchase. The tract was estimated to con- tain 14,000 acres. If that estimate was correct it must

have extended some distance beyond the present east line of the town of Brookhaven. Still, if it had extended as far east as the boundary of the patent of 1697 it would have been greater. There was probably a compromise somewhere. It is said the share of Theophilus Howell was one-seventh of the whole, or 2,000 acres. In 1776 9,779 acres were owned by Matthew Smith, David How- ell and Josiah Smith. In 1786 the tract was divided among its individual owners in twenty-five lots, of vari- ous size and irregular shape. The owners at that time were David Howell, Matthew Smith, Josiah Smith, David Wells, James Petit sen., widow Ann Smith, Phebe How- ell, Joseph Lane, Christopher -- , William Halsey, Timothy Halsey, and Hugh Smith. As then surveyed the east line of the "manor " was the present east line of the town, but in that division the tract contains only about 10,700 acres. The record has been discovered that Isaac Halsey sold 2,500 acres to Timothy Hudson, and this land must have been beyond the present east line. It is probable that the balance was sold in the same way to some individual to whom it was set off be- fore the division of the main body among the different owners. Halsey's manor, as well as Brookfield, was un- der the political jurisdiction of the manor of St. George until about the time of the Revolution, when the whole was annexed to the town of Brookhaven.

THE MORICHES PATENTSHIP.

South of Halsey's manor, and surrounded by the jurisdiction of St. George's except on the east, where it joined the Southampton line, lay the independent patent- ship of Moriches. The earliest purchase from the In- dians in this section of which we find any record was made by Dr. Henry Taylor and Major Thomas Willets, of Flushing, and Captain Thomas Townsend, of Oyster Bay. Dr. Taylor, having received liberty from Governor Andross October 31st 1677 to purchase land on the south side of Long Island, and associating with himself the other two, purchased of the Indian John Mahew the neck called Watshauge February 12th 1679. This neck at present contains the eastern section of the village of East Moriches, locally known as "the Neck." The name is frequently called Watchogue. The neck is bounded on the east by a small brook called Mattuck, running down between the residences of Jehial S. Ray- nor and J. C. Havens, and on the west by a creek called Pomiches, the head of which, once a marsh, is now the valley which crosses the main village street near the boarding house of Joshua Terry in the village. The language of Mahew's deed covers " all the meadow &c. from river to river, being 2 miles in breadth, and from the meadow northward one mile into the woods, and what wants of the two miles in breadth to be made up in length."

January 7th 1681 Richard Woodhull received a deed from John Mahew, the Indian who laid claim to all this territory, for a neck of land with a small island lying just south of it, bounded on the east by Watchogue and on the west by a small creek "pung-plues," and extending a

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

mile back into the woods. This small neck was only a part of the neck called Moriches or Maritches. Whether the title thus gained was transferred or abandoned is un- known. Probably the latter was the case.

Colonel Smith's second patent admits the claims of Colonel Thomas Willets, Dr. Henry Taylor and Thomas Townsend, whose purchase had no doubt been confirmed by a patent, and the neck called Maritches and other necks which lie within the limits of Smith's patent are excepted from its jurisdiction. These three men sold their rights to Richard Smith in 1697, and he the same year obtained a patent from Governor Fletcher for the same. The boundaries given in this patent are as fol- lows :- "On the west by a river on the west side of Mar- itches Neck, called Paquatuck; on the north by a line from the head of said river to a white oak tree marked, on the west side of the neck called Watshage, by a pond, and from thence to a line [east] to Seatuck River; on the east by Seatuck River aforesaid, and on the south by the sea." By "the sea" is meant the bay, and the river Paquatuck is now known as Terrell's River. The patent is dated November 12th 1697. The title to this tract, con- taining as it did about 3,000 acres, was further confirmed old pepperidge tree at the head of Wading River, which by a quit-claim from Cononel William Smith to Richard had stood as a land-mark for many generations. Smith and Matthew Howell, dated March 15th 1703, in which substantially the same boundaries are recited as in the patent. Whatever interest Matthew Howell thus held in the matter was sold by his heirs to Richard Smith. This tract was by instruments bearing date 1719 and 1734 transferred to Nathaniel Smith, the ancestor of the Smith family of Moriches, through the line of whose succession much of the property has been held down to the present time.

The land lying between Terrell's River and Mastic River was taken up by settlers at an early period. As early as March 15th 1703 Samuel Terrell was in posses- sion of a neck called Warratta, lying on the west side of the river named in his honor. His possession of that land was acknowledged by Colonel Smith, and probably was obtained from him. This Samuel Terrell appears to have been an active pioneer in the purchase and improve- ment of land. On the 11th of April 1738 he was admit- ted by the trustees of the town as a proprietor and tenant in common, and at the same time was acknowledged to be the owner of Yaphank Neck.

TOWN BOUNDARIES.

The manor of St. George, Brookfield, Halsey's manor and the Moriches patentship having, about the time of the Revolution, been annexed to the town of Brookhaven, the trustees on October 2nd 1797 ordered that a survey of the town and a map of the same should be made by Isaac Hulse, who was then the clerk of the town. With the assistance of Captain William Phillips, supervisor at the time, and others, he began the survey on the Ioth of the same month. The sum of £50 was appropriated to the expense of this enterprise, which was completed dur- ing the months of October and November, and the map was filed in the office of the secretary of state at Albany.

Boundaries of the town have been surveyed or adjusted at different times as follows:

In 1696 Brookhaven by its clerk requested Southold to appoint a day when its committee would meet a commit- tee from this town to establish and run out the line be- tween the two towns. On the 22nd of May the trustees, having heard from Southold, appointed Richard Wood- hull, John Hallock, Thomas Helme and Peter White- haire to represent Brookhaven in the joint commission. The line does not appear to have been definitely settled, for on the 3d of June 1709 the trustees agreed for a con- sideration to resign to Southold all their right to land and meadow on the east side of the Wading River. In 1742 the line was run out between this town and Southold from Wading River to the Peconic, on a south line. Again, in 1748, a committee appointed for that purpose reported May 2nd that they had run the east line of the town across the island, and found the distance to be, from the sound to the bay, fourteen and a half miles, lacking thirteen rods. November 2nd 1840 a committee appointed by the towns fixed a stone monument on the line between Brookhaven and Riverhead, in place of the

The line between this town and Southampton was es- tablished by a commission April 30th 1782; December 16th 1817 the land-marks were renewed. With the pass- ing years some points of the line had become indistinct, and it was again established May 21st 1873. A survey was made and stone monuments were set up at con- venient points. This line runs from a red stone stand- ing at some distance above the head of Clam Creek on the beach, northward to the center of the mouth of Sea- tuck River, and so on, crossing the center of the mill- dam, to a stone at the Country road on the west side of Seatuck River, which stands in place of the "Bound Tree at Seatuck," so frequently mentioned in ancient records. From that point the line runs on a course north 20° 40' east to Peconic River.

Several differences having arisen with the people of Smithtown regarding the line between the towns, men were called in from other towns to decide upon the line. As fixed by that commission on the 27th of March 1725 the line runs from the head of the middle branch of Stony Brook, down the brook northerly to the harbor and through the channel to the sound; and southerly to a certain tree by the side of Ronkonkoma Pond. A dis- pute which afterward arose in regard to the location of the dividing line running through the harbor was referred to Hon. Charles H. Ruggles, of Poughkeepsie, who de- cided that the line should be the center of the middle branch of the brook from the mill-dam, and the center of the main channel through the harbor.

The western boundary of the jurisdiction of Brookhaven over the South Bay was settled December 15th 1834, by a commission composed of Nathaniel Potter, Joel Jarvis and Selah Carl, of Huntington; Eliphalet Smith, Tredwell Scudder and Richard A. Udall, of Islip, and Mordecai Homan, Davis Norton and James M. Fanning, of Brook-

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

haven. They decided that the line in question should run from "the northermost range pole on the South Beach " a due north course, " polar direction," across the South Bay to a point on the main island, which should be marked by a stone monument. Stone monuments were set up at either end of the line September 15th 1835. The outer end of this line is about four miles east of Fire Island light-house, and the inner end is at the east side of the mouth of Great River in Islip.

The line between Brookhaven and Islip had for many years been in controversy. In 1860 a joint commission was appointed to settle the boundary. In this commission William Sidney Smith, John S. Havens, Manly Ruland and Thomas S Strong represented Brookhaven, and Walter Scudder, Abraham G. Thompson and William Nicoll represented Islip. They decided upon the follow- ing line: Beginning at a point on the north side of Ron- konkoma Pond, where the line between Brookhaven and Smithtown stops; running southerly along the eastern margin of the pond for the time being, to a fixed monu- ment near the south end; thence southerly by and with the center of the old highway or Pond road to the Long Island Railroad; thence easterly by and with the north bank of the railroad to another fixed monument; from. which the line runs south, by the magnet, along the cen- ter of the highway leading to Patchogue, a distance of 72 chains and 65 links, where it meets a line running north 60° 47' east from the head of Namkee Creek, which line and creek it follows to the bay. The work of the commission was consummated on the 8th of Sep- tember 1860.

DURING THE REVOLUTION.

On the eve of the Revolution the freeholders and in- habitants of this town met, and June 8th 1775 elected a "committee of observation" to act for the town in the emergencies which threatened. That com- mittee, consisting of sixteen persons, met on the 27th of June, at which meeting there were present John Wood- in the councils of the State or nation rose to the emer-

hull, Thomas Helme, John Robinson, Thomas Fanning, Lieutenant William Brewster, Noah Hallock, Joseph Brown, John Woodhull jr., Nathaniel Roe jr., Captain Jonathan Baker, Daniel Roe, Samuel Thompson, of Brookhaven; William Smith and Jonah Hulse, of the manor of St. George, and Josiah Smith, of the Moriches patentship. The meeting was held at Coram, and after John Woodhull had been appointed chairman and Sam- uel Thompson clerk the following resolutions, expressive of the bold patriotism which ruled the men of that per- iod, were passed:

"That we express our loyalty to His Majesty King George III., and acknowledge him as our rightful lord and sovereign."

" That it is the opinion of this committee that the sev- eral acts passed in the British Parliament for the purpose of raising a revenue in America, also the acts for stopping the port of Boston, for altering their charter and govern- ment, for establishing the Roman Catholic religion, and abolishing the equitable system of English laws and erecting in their stead French despotic government in -

Canada, as also the act for restraining the New England fishery, and further declaring they have power to make laws binding on us in all cases whatsoever, are contrary to the constitution and subversive of our legal rights as English freemen and British subjects."

"That we will use our utmost endeavor strictly to ad- here to the resolutions of the honorable Continental Con - gress, and to comply with the injunctions of our Provin- cial Convention, which (under God) we hope is the most effectual means to obtain redress of our present griev- ances and save us from impending ruin.

"We do unanimously make this our apology to the re- spectable public and to our several Congresses that we have come so late into the Congressional measures, and hope a veil may be cast over our past conduct; for our remissness was not for want of patriotic spirit, but be- cause opposition ran so high in some parts of this town, which arose, we verily believe, from want of better in- formation.

" It is unanimously resolved that we will keep a strict watch that no provisions be transported from the bounds of our constituents so as to fall into the hands of our enemies."

As the contest deepened no town in the county was more intimately associated with the national movement than Brookhaven. The representatives of the leading families of the town were among the leaders of the prov- ince and confederation. General Woodhull, a veteran military officer, at the outset placed in command of the militia of Suffolk and Queens, president of the Provin- cial Congress of New York, and one of the first heroes to sacrifice his life upon the altar of American liberty, was bound by the blood of generations to Brookhaven, and his ashes repose here still. William Floyd, one of the patriot band who set their signatures to the immortal scroll which will be read with pride as long as America has a name, was a son of Brookhaven. Colonel Josiah Smith, who accompanied his regiment of Suffolk militia into the battle of Long Island, Selah Strong and Wil- liam Smith, who represented the county in the Provincial Congress during several years of its existence, and others who were active in the cause and whose wisdom assisted gencies of the hour from the home-like retirement of Brookhaven or its associated precincts.

During the war this town was the scene of many petty depredations as well as some engagements and exploits worthy of special mention, accounts of which will be found in other parts of this work. On page 37 is given an account of the capture of Fort St. George, at Mastic, by Colonel Tallmadge. Henry Onderdonk jr. gives some additional particulars, and furnishes the accompanying cut to illustrate the narrative.

3 1

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

Mr. Onderdonk says:

"Tallmadge took William Booth for a guide, and as he neared the sentry of the fort he crept along the ground, and watched till the latter's back was turned, when lie rushed on and the sentinel was dead before he knew whence the bayonet thrust came. The watch-word, ' Washington and glory,' was shouted forth simultaneously on the three sides, as the victors cut down the pickets and rushed into the center of the parade. Thus was the fort taken by surprise and almost without a blow. As the victors stood elated with joy a volley of musketry was discharged on them from the second story of Mr. Smith's house, which formed a corner of the stockade. In an instant the doors were broken in by the enraged Americans, who darted up stairs and pitched all the men they could lay hands on out of the windows-they having forfeited their lives by the rules of war. All would have been massacred on the spot had not Colonel Tallmadge humanely interfered and stopped the carnage. In ten minutes all was quiet again.

" The vestiges of the old fort are still to be seen at Smith's Point, Mastic, where the writer hereof was shown and told many things that have never yet found their way into history. The colonel committed the preceding plan and sketch to paper for the benefit of his children, who now possess the manuscript. Fort St. George was 96 feet square, and, as will be seen by the above cut, was connected by a strong stockade with General Smith's mansion and a smaller house. These were both bar- ricaded, and from the larger house it was that the tories fired on Colonel Tallmadge after the capture of the fort. The dotted line denotes the passage of Colonel Tall- madge through the pickets and gate into the main fort."

GAME LAWS-LOCAL CURRENCY-VOTES AGAINST DI- VISION.

The trustees of the town have from time to time en- acted regulations for the preservation of deer and other game with which the woods in early days abounded. One of the first acts of this kind was passed December 4th 1786, and it prohibited the destruction of deer and grouse. The town meeting took the matter in hand on the third of April 1798, and voted that no non-residents should be allowed to hunt deer or other game in the town. In the following year the people gave their votes to the same order. The generation has not yet passed away that can remember when deer hunts upon the plains of this town were common, and among the grey- haired inhabitants may be found a few men who have en- gaged in that exciting sport. But the race of that game is almost extinct, and the sound of the huntsman's horn and the baying of the eager hounds no longer start the echoes upon a clear November morn as whilom they were wont to do.

In 1815 there was a scarcity of fractional coins in cir- culation. A number of business men who felt the in- convenience of this state of monetary matters petitioned the trustees to do something to remedy the matter. They accordingly made arrangements for issuing a frac- tional currency. They ordered of Alden Spooner, printer, a quantity of blank bills, and directed the town clerk to sign and put them in circulation. This was done during the long service of that faithful and honored clerk Mordecai Homan.

The great territorial extent of Brookhaven has often been remarked. At times the eager desire for something new has prompted a few to clamor for the division of the town. The proposal, however, has been treated by the popular vote with uniform disfavor. At the annual town meeting of 1830 a vote was taken, which resulted in an opposition of about five to one against division. Again in 1831 the question was brought up, only to be repulsed by unanimous opposition. Ten years later it was again agitated. April 6th 1841 a vote by ballot was taken, and of the 260 votes then cast every one was against dividing the town.

SLAVERY.

It may be said that practically the settlers brought the institution and custom of slavery with them. The first record of its existence in this town appears December 9th 1672, when Richard Floyd of this town bought of Robert Hudson, of Rye, a negro man named Antony, warranted to be sound in wind and limb, for £48 sterling in wheat, pork or beef at market rates. The said negro was sold by Richard Floyd to John Hurd, of Stratford, March 9th 1674. December 13th 1677 John Thomas bought of Isaac Raynor, of Southampton, a negro man " Samboe," for £38 in whale oil at £2 to the barrel, or in other goods. March 18th 1678 Richard Starr, of Brookhaven, sold a negro man named Martin to John Mann, of Ja- maica, May 5th 1683 Ralf Dayton sold his negro Jack for a three-acre lot in Newtown, eight pounds of beef and £4. October 7th 1684 Captain John Tooker bought of Isaac Arnold, of Southold, a negro man named Dick.

The gradual abolishment of slavery began soon after the Revolution. Under the act of February 27th 1788 persons wishing to set free any slaves were required to obtain licenses from the trustees and justices, which were granted on evidence of the negroes being under fifty years of age and capable of providing for themselves. The town records show the certificates of 66 slaves set free under that act during the years between 1795 and 1831. The following are the names of their former owners, with the number set free by each:

Mariam Brown, Mills Brewster, Joseph Davis, Daniel Davis, Mary Davis, Thomas Helme, and Elisha Ham- mond, r each; Noah Hallock, 3; John Homan, I; John Howard, 1; William Helme, 2; Joseph Homan, Jeremiah Havens, Jonas Hawkins, Thomas S. Mount, Robert Haw- kins, Sarah Helme, Zophar Hallock, William Howell, John Havens, Joseph Jayne, Daniel Jones, and Benjamin Jones, r each; Timothy Miller, 2; Richard Oakley, 1; Henry P. Osborn, 3; Phillips Roe, 1; Richard Robinson, 2; Thomas S. Strong, 7; Selah Strong, r; Wessell Smith, 2; Theophilus Smith, 1; John Smith, 2; Henry Smith, 2; Woodhull Smith, Thomas R. Smith, Oliver Smith, Josiah Smith, and Ebenezer Smith, I each; Dr. Samuel Thompson, 4; William Tooker, 2; Abraham Woodhull, 2; Mrs. Ruth Woodhull, Dr. David Woodhull, Hannah Woodhull, and John Woodhull, I each.

Under the act of March 29th 1799, requiring the regis- tration of all slave children, in order that their owners might hold them until they reached a certain age, the following persons registered slave children born to their possession at different times between 1798 and 1834:

THE TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN.

Samuel Carman I, Joseph Davis 1, Goldsmith Davis 1, General William Floyd 2, Colonel Nicoll Floyd 17, Sarah Hallock 2, Robert Hawkins 1, Joseph Hedges 3, Robert Hawkins jr. 1, Ebenezer Jones I, Joseph Jayne 1, Tim- othy Miller 2, Sarah Miller 3, Daniel Petty 1, John Payne 1, Daniel Robert 1, Richard Robinson 4, Mrs. Mary Robert 7, Samuel Smith 1, Oliver Smith 4, Joanna Smith 1, William Smith 8, Josiah Smith 4, Woodhull Smith 7, General John Smith 7, Theophilus Smith 4, Amos Smith 1, Stephen Swezey 1, Selah Strong 4, William Tooker 1, Nathaniel Tuthill 1, Ruth Thomp- son 2, Samuel Turner 1, Jehial Woodruff 1, Ruth Wood- hull 2, Meritt S. Woodhull 2, James Woodhull I, John Woodhull 2, Mary Woodhull 1, Benjamin Woodhull 1, Abraham Woodhull 1. Total number registered, 108.

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