History of Suffolk county, New York, 1683, Part 93

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 93

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* * To Have and to Hold all and singular their said lands and premises, * * * The Tenure of said land to be according to the custome of the Manor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent in England, in Free and Common Soccage and by fealty

only. * * * And I doe hereby likewise Confirme and grant unto the said Patentees and their Associates all the privileges and Immunities belonging to a Town within this government. And that the place of their present Habitacon and abode shall continue and retaine the name of South Hampton, by which name and Stile it shall be distinguished and known in all Bargaines * * * and writings. Yeilding and paying therefor as an acknowledgement or Quit rent One fatt Lamb unto such officer or officers there in authority as shall be Em- powered to receive the same.

"Given under my hand and sealed with the Seal of the Province, in New York, the first day of November in the Eight and twentieth year of his Majestie's reign, Annoque Domini one thousand six hundred and seventy- six."

Charles Second, king of England, died in 1685, and his brother the Duke of York succeeded him under the title of James II. In 1686 Governor Thomas Dongan granted a second patent, confirming the title acquired under the former one, and enlarging the powers of the patentees and freeholders, and it was one of its provis- ions that "annually on the first Tuesday of April for- ever there should be elected twelve trustees of the free- holders and commonalty of the town of Southampton, two constables and two assessors, in such publique place as the trustees for the time being shall appoint and di- rect." The first trustees appointed by this patent were Major John Howell, Thomas Halsey sen., Edward Howell, John Jagger, John Foster, Francis Sayre, Joseph Fordham, Henry Peirson, Samuel Clark, Job Sayre, Wil- liam Barker, and Isaac Halsey.

tees of the proprietors are now a body incorporated (1835), and manage the undivided lands, and the duties formerly performed by them now devolve upon other officers, the old trustees as they are called find their occu- final.

From the terms of the Indian deed for the town of Southold a claim was set up by that town for the owner- ship of certain tracts of meadows lying near the village of Flanders and bordering on the bay. Some of the most curious and interesting documents in the clerk's office are connected with this dispute. The great point in controversy was to decide what tribe of Indians were the true owners of the soil, and this was decided by an appeal to Indian customs. From an affidavit made by Richard Howell and Joseph Raynor it appears that in May 1667 Captain John Young of Southold brought over to Southampton certain of the chiefs of the Southold Indians and Thomas Stanton, an interpeter, and met with some of the chiefs of the Southampton Indians at the school-house. Upon being asked the reason of his coming he replied, "To find out truth." There- upon a long debate ensued, and it was agreed upon by the Indians that it was in accordance with their ancient customs that in case young eagles were taken in the nests, or if a deer or a bear happened to be drowned, to send the young eagles and the skin of the animal to the sachem of the tribe that owned the land; and it was proved by Indian witnesses that upon a time a bear had been drowned in the waters, and that the skin was sent to the sachem of Shinecock. Minister Thomas James, of East Hampton, whose intimate acquaintance with the Indians and their language rendered his aid very desirable, was induced to make a journey to Montauk and to get the depositions of certain Indians who were acquainted with the facts of the case. Among the rest was Pawcatome, "councillor," who said that he knew the bounds of the different tribes, " as often being employed by ye Sachems in their matters." It appears that in ancient times there had been a war between the Shine- cock and the Jeanocock Indians, and that the latter were conquered and fled "to the main." After a time they were permitted to return and dwell in their old seats, and since that time the bounds of the Shinecock Indians "did reach to a river where we use to catch the fish we comonly call the Alewives." This was Peconic River. There were also two ancient women at Montauk who "affirmed they formerly were of the Akkabauk Indians;" "that formerly there was a small plantation at Akabauk, & that those Indians being few were driven off their

The annual town meeting on the first Tuesday of April has been held to the present time, and the twelve trus- tees duly elected; although, from the facts that the trus- land, and that in those times the bounds of the Akabauk

THE TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON.

Indians caine eastward of the river Pehickkonuck; and since those Indians were conquered the Shinecock Indians' bounds went to the River Pehickkonuck, where they catched Alewives." They also affirmed that " the Shinecock Indians had the drowned deer as their own this side the said river, and one bear some years since; and ye old squaw said by ye token she eat some of it (pointing to her teeth), and that the skin was brought to Shinecock to a squaw then living there, who was ye old Montauket sachem's sister and first wife to Ackkonmi." After a long and evidently angry controversy the case was tried before the court of assizes at New York in November 1667. The case was decided in favor of Southampton; whereupon Captain John Youngs, in be- half of the inhabitants of Southold, appealed to equity. The court granted the appeal, to be heard at the "next general court of assize, to be held in October 1688," un- less they should otherwise agree among themselves, "which the court doth recommend unto both parties." The whole affair was finally settled by a committee from each town (from Southampton Captain John Howell, Henry Peirson, and John Jessup; from Southold Captain John Youngs, Captain Charles Glover, Constable Thomas Mapes, Lieutenant Richard Terry and John Conkling jr.). By them it was agreed that the former town should have all the extent of territory they bought of Captain Topping, the north boundary of which was to run "from Seatuck to the head of the river or bay called Peaconnet;" but that certain portions of the meadow were to belong to Southold men as individuals. Such was the end of one of the most curious episodes in our history as a town. This is alluded to in the patents of Governor Andros and Governor Dongan, in which it is said that their north bound is Peconic River, "not contradicting the agreement made between this town and the town of Southold after their trial at the court of assizes."

SOUTHAMPTON PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.

Although Church and State were not so closely con- nected here as in Southold yet in this town, settled as it added about 1751. The following was communicated to was by men of strictest religious principles, the former was the soul of the latter. It is evident that at the time of the writing of the " Agreement of the Undertakers," in March 1639, a church organization had not yet been made. Yet, as Rev. Abraham Pierson was one of the witnesses to the Indian deed in December 1640, the church must have been duly established previous to that date. The first church was built at "Old Town," the locality of the first settlement, and stood upon the lot now the homestead of the heirs of Joseph King. It is mentioned in ancient deeds as the "old meeting-house lot." In April 1651 it was voted "that Richard Mills The fourth and present church was built in 1845, upon land purchased of George Mackie. At the same time the site of the old church was sold to Albert Rogers, a lineal descendant of Obadiah Rogers, who had sold it for church purposes 138 years before. The present edi- fice may well compare with any of the village churches in the county. In 1879 it was presented with an excel- lent organ, the munificent gift of Miss Harriet I. Rogers. shall have the old meeting-house, with the appurtenances, to help to enlarge his house, for which gift the said Rich- ard Mills doth engage himself to keep an ordinary for strangers for diet and lodging." Previous to this, in March of the same year, a bargain had been made with Ellis Cook and Richard Post to build a new meeting- house, which was to be 30 feet in length and 24 feet wide,

and "8 feet and a half from ye ground to the plate." The laborers who built it were to have two shillings a day, paid in wampum. This house was built on the south side of the home lot of Isaac Willman, at the present time the homestead of Edwin Post, on the east side of the main street of Southampton and directly opposite the parsonage. On the south side of this building there was a little "gore piece " of land which was long a sub- ject of dispute between Isaac Willman and the town. This was finally settled by allowing him to take up some land on the west side of Sagg Pond, in lieu of land laid out for him. near Seaponack, and also to take two acres

additional. This was at the end of the bridge over Sagg Pond, and will be noticed at another place. This church stood till 1707, in which year the third was erected. Alt- gust 20th i707 Obadiah Rogers sold to Benjamin Howell and John Mitchel a piece of land on the southwest cor- ner of his home lot "extending in breadth north and south six and thirty feet, and in length east and west six and forty feet." On the 27th of the same month Benja- min Howell and John Mitchel conveyed the same to 94 men residing in Southampton who had contributed toward the purchase of the lot and the expense of building the church; the deed stating that the said persons had "pious intentions for the founding, raising and building a con- venient house and structure to have continuance forever for the worship of Almighty God by praise and prayer, preaching of God's word and administering the sacra- ments, according to the usage and discipline of those churches known by the name and style of Presbyterian." This is the first notice we have of Presbyterianism in our church history. This church stood on the southwest corner of the homestead of the heirs of Albert Rogers, on the east side of Southampton street, and is well re- membered by many of the present generation. From the accounts of the building committee, which are yet in existence, we learn that the building was begun as early as September 18th 1707, but was not finished before No- vember 15th 1709. The cost was £55 7s. 5d. A steeple was the writer by the widow of William Howell. a native of this village, and now residing at Moriches: "John Sayre told me more than 50 years ago that about 1775 the old church had windows set in lead, and that there was a large can- non in the street near by, which was fired, and it broke the windows and Mr. Abraham Fordham (grandfather of the late Daniel F.) mended them. The steeple was built in 1751; this I saw narrated in a diary of Caleb Cooper, who said he attended a parish meeting to take measures about building it." This church was moved and rebuilt by the Methodist Episcopal society in 1845.

THE TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON.

The settlement of the town and the founding of the church were events of the same year, and the first pastor was Rev. Abraham Pierson. In an account of Rev. Hugh Peters, of Salem, it is stated that he attended the formation of a church at Lynn, composed of persons who had emigrated from that place and settled on Long Island. At the same time he assisted at the ordination of Rev. Mr. Pierson as their pastor. This was in No- vember 1640. He was a graduate of Cambridge Uni- versity, England, and had been a preacher in Yorkshire. His wife was a daughter of Rev. John Wheelwright. The statement in Prime's history of Long Island, repeat- ed by Thompson, that he removed with a part of his church to Branford, Conn., in 1644 is incorrect, as he was a resident here June 24th 1647, and it is not proba- ble that any number of his congregation left with him, for no important names are missed from our records, and if any of our townsmen removed to Branford they must have been few in number and limited in influence. The relationship, if any existed, between him and Henry Peirson, who was a prominent citizen and town clerk for

Henry Peirfon Ploark

many years, is not known, though it is generally supposed that he was an elder brother. His stay at Branford Indian corn at 2s. 6d. a bushel; tallow at 6d. a pound, ended in 1662, when he removed to Newark, N. J. He died, full of years and leaving a blessed memory, August 9th 1678.

Mr. Pierson was succeeded by Rev. Robert Fordhanı, an agreement being made between him and the town in April 1649 by which he was to receive £60 for his first year's salary, and £80 per annum afterward. Of his previous history but little is known. He came to this town from the west end of the island, and his name oc- curs as that of an early settler of the town of Hempstead. He had a wife Elizabeth, and their children were: Han- nah, who married Samuel Clark (of Old Town); Mary, wife of Edward Howell; Joseph, Jonah, John and Robert. His son Joseph left a numerous family and his descendants are yet numerous in the town. Mr. Fordham continued pastor until his death, which oc- curred in 1674.

Among the records of the town in the book of " court proceedings " is entered a document written in short- hand, which long defied all attempts to decipher it. It was finally sent to Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull, of Hart- ford, Conn., and by him translated. This paper proved to be an agreement between the town and Rev. John Harriman, dated June 5th 1674, from which we learn the following: Rev. Mr. Fordham had become incapacitated for the work of the ministry, and Mr. Harriman had been employed as a colleague. The town engaged to give him the use of 30 acres of land in the "ox pasture," and also the parsonage lot lately purchased of John Cooper, and agreed to build upon the same "a good house of two stories, with a brick chimney and two chamber chimnies."

Mr. Fordham had voluntarily relinquished half of his salary, and in addition Mr. Harriman was to receive £20 per annum, and "if Mr. Fordham should be wholly taken off the work of the ministry " he should then have the same salary as his predecessor. Several other items are added which indicate that Mr. Harriman was alive to his own interests, and lost no opportunity of advancing them. He remained here until 1679, though he was ab- sent a part of the time preaching as a candidate at vari- ous places in Connecticut. After his removal he sent a letter to the town demanding payment of his last half year's salary. This letter was presented to the town meeting held April Ist 1680, and it was promptly voted, "that Mr. Harriman was soe long absent, and .the town paid so much for him which he promised to repay, that Mr. Harriman ought in equity to make ye towne com- pensation than that they should pay to him one penny."

In 1679 a call was made to Rev. Joseph Taylor, a son of John Taylor of Cambridge, Mass. He was a graduate of Harvard (1669) and was for a time a tutor in that uni- versity. He was afterward a minister at New Haven, and was there at the time of his invitation to Sonthamp- ton. The call was accepted and he was duly settled here in 1680 as the fourth pastor. The agreement made by the town was exceedingly liberal for the time. He was to receive £100 per annum, to be paid in winter wheat at 5s. per bushel, or summer wheat at 4s. 6d. a bushel, or

green hides at 3d. a pound or dry hides at 6d. a pound, beef at 40s. a barrel, pork at £3 10s. a barrel, whalebone at 8d. a pound and oil at 30s. a barrel. He had the use of the parsonage land, and also a house and lot (now the homestead of Henry A. Fordham). His life of useful- ness here was cut short by his untimely death April 14th 1682. His tombstone stands in the South End burying ground. He seems to have left no children, and his house and lands descended to Abraham and Joseph Fordham (sons of Joseph and Martha Fordham), who mention him as their "uncle Taylor." Among his real estate was a close at Halsey's Neck on the west side of the lane, and "Taylor's Creek " derives its name from his land bordering upon it. He left a widow Martha, who afterward married John Howell jr.

Rev. Joseph Whiting, the fifth pastor, was the son of the first minister at Lynn, and like Mr. Taylor was a graduate of Harvard. He succeeded his father as min- ister at Lynn, and was settled there when called to Long Island. In June 1682 a committee was appointed to go to Lynn to invite Mr. Whiting to settle here. The time of his settlement here is unknown, but it was probably soon after this date. At a town meeting in April 1687 it was stated that Mr. Whiting, " our present minister," and the town had not yet come to "any settled conclusion for his yearly maintenance." An agreement was made at that time, upon nearly the same terms as those made with Mr. Taylor. He continued in the work of the min- istry in this place till called to a better world. His tomb- stone standing in our ancient burying ground tells of his decease April 7th 1723, at the age of 82. His wife

THE TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON.

Rebecca survived him three years, and died April 21st 1726, aged 63. He left sons, whose descendants reside in New England, but none are found in the town where he labored so long and so usefully.

Rev. Samuel Gelston, the sixth pastor, was a native of Belfast, Ireland, and with his brother Hugh came to this country in 1715. He was called to this church in 1716, and on April 17th 1717 he was installed pastor. He re- mained here about ten years, being a portion of the time a colleague of Mr. Whiting. In 1728 he was called to a church in Chester county, Pa. After many changes and much trouble he is said to have died October 22nd 1782, at the age of go. The only personal relic of Mr. Gel- ston that has met the eye of the writer, after very ex- tended research, is a single autograph signature, as witness to a deed in 1726.

The seventh pastor was Rev. Sylvanus White. He was a son of Rev. Ebenezer White, first minister of Bridgehampton, and was born in 1704. He graduated at Harvard in 1723, and was ordained pastor of this church in 1727. This was the commencement of a min- istry that lasted 55 years, when he died after a brief ill- ness, October 22nd 1782. It is passing strange that of all he must have written during his lengthened ministry nothing remains but his daybook of accounts, in which all articles bought and sold were entered with scrupulous care, and which gives us a very accurate picture of family life at that time. A monument testifying to his many excellencies stands in the North End burying ground, and his descendants yet remain in the village.

Rev. Joshua Williams, the eighth pastor of this church, received a call December 31st 1784 and was ordained May 26th 1785. At the time of his settlement the church consisted of one deacon, two elders, and 60 members in full communion, besides some who were connected with the church on the "half-way covenant" plan. He re- mained until 1789 and then removed to Connecticut.

Rev. Herman Daggett was a native of Walpole, Mass., and a graduate of Brown University. Previous to his call here he supplied the church at Southold. He first came to this place September 27th 1791, and was installed April 12th 1792. Difficulties concerning the half-way covenant caused his withdrawal in 1796, and he was afterward settled at West Hampton. He died, after a varied experience, May 19th 1832.

Rev. David Bogart was installed May 31st 1798, as the Ioth pastor. In 1806 he removed to New York. The next spring the church renewed the call, and he was re- installed June 17th 1807, and remained until April 1815. It is doubtful if any minister made a more lasting im- pression upon the community than Mr. Bogart. A very extended notice of his life may be found in Thompson's history of Long Island.

Mr. Bogart's successor was Rev. John. M. Babbitt. Of this clergyman very little information can be obtained. He was settled here November 19th 1817, and dismissed April 18th 1821. It is characteristic of the economical habits of the period that he was able with the help of an industrious wife to lay up money, although bis salary was

only $300 a year. A very remarkable revival of religion occurred during his pastorate, by which the membership of the church was increased from 70 to 280.

Rev. Peter H. Shaw followed Mr. Babbitt. If the ancient saying is true that "blood will tell," the twelfth minister of this church ought to have been Presbyterian- ism personified, for he was descended from a long line of ancestors distinguished for their zealous and ardent support of the doctrines of this denomination. Mr. Shaw was ordained and installed here September 19th 1821. His pastorate is distinguished for two things which ought to keep his memory ever green. At the time of his in- stallation he instituted the first Sunday-school in the town, and thus established a power for good, whose in- fluence will be felt in all time to come. He has the equal honor of being the originator of the temperance reform- ation in Southampton, at a time when drunkenness or moderate drinking was the rule and abstinence the rare exception. When he commenced this reform in his par- ish he stood alone, and, strange to say, none of his brother ministers in the town had the courage or inclina- tion to stand by his side and aid in the repression of an evil which had assumed such giant proportions. His eloquence and earnestness commanded attention and respect, and from that time may be dated the advance of the glorious cause which has made this town second to none in the temperance of its people. He labored here eight years, and was dismissed June 2nd 1829.

Rev. Daniel Beers, the thirteenth pastor, came to this place in November 1829, and was installed June 8th 1830. He remained here till April 21st 1835, when he resigned, and shortly after removed, to Orient. To Mr. Beers is justly due the credit of being the founder of Southamp- ton Academy, and for this if nothing else his memory should be hallowed in the minds of a grateful people.

Rev. Hugh N. Wilson, D. D., was a native of Eliza- beth, N. J., and was born May 7th 1813. He graduated at Princeton in 1830 and was elected tutor there in 1832, and licensed to preach by the presbytery of Elizabeth April 23d 1835. He received a call to this place and was ordained October 7th 1835, and installed June 29th 1836, succeeding Mr. Beers. Becoming by marriage a mem- ber of one of the oldest and most influential families of the place, his life was more fully identified with the com- munity than that of any of his predecessors since the Rev. Mr. White. The pastoral relation so happily begun continued, with unabated confidence and good feeling between pastor and people, till 1852, when, having re- ceived a call from the church in Hackettstown, N. J., he was induced to accept, and removed, to the great regret of his people. In 1863 he returned to Southampton, and preached for a while as a stated supply, and in accord- ance with the almost unanimous wish of the people he was installed a second time, in October 1864. He con- tinued as pastor till May 1867, when through physical in- firmity he was impelled to resign. Removing with his family to Germantown, Pa., he lived for many years in great weakness of body, but with unimpaired strength of mind, and died June 4th 1878. At the time of his second

THE TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON.

installation in this place the church was agitated with bitter dissensions; his presence was like oil upon troubled waters, and during his brief stay the utmost harmony existed. His unfortunate want of sympathy and benevolent feeling toward the Methodist society in the village (which was founded in the early part of his ministry) entirely prevented any union in religious mat- ters between the two churches, and was the source of much bitterness; but it is believed that his feelings were promptly executed; it would be well in these modern changed by the experience of years, and that his views in the latter portion of his life were more in accordance with good sense and Christian charity.

Rev. John J. A. Morgan, the fourteenth pastor of the Presbyterian church, was installed January 20th 1853, and remained till September 1855, when he was dis- missed. He afterward preached at Bridesburg, Pa., from which place he removed to Hempstead, Long Island, where he is at present engaged in secular pur- suits. From 1855 till the time of Dr. Wilson's second installation the following persons served as stated supply: Elias N. Crane, till 1856; David Kennedy, 1858; Wil- liam N. Cleveland from January Ist 1859 to July 2nd 1863.

Rev. Frederick Shearer began his services as colleague of Rev. Dr. Wilson, April 29th 1866; was installed as the fifteenth pastor in 1867; resigned in 1870, and is now agent of the American Tract Society in California.

Rev. Andrew Shiland, D. D., was called November 8th 1870, and still remains as pastor.

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