USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 55
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 55
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Given under my hand and seal this 6th April, 1668.
Richard Nichols, Gov'r."
This was more than an order. It was, in fact, an ultimatum and on the strength of it Joseph Carpenter felt free to proceed with his plans. On May 24, 1668, he obtained title to the land from the Indians.
Although the original document has long since disappeared we have it from no less an authority than the late George W. Cocks that :
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it is an established fact that on May 24, 1668, the Indian Sachems, Suscaneman and Weragh, Chief-Proprietors of land upon Matinecock conveyed to Joseph Carpenter of Providence Plantation, lands on both sydes of Musketa Cove !"
There is included in the appendix to Vol. 2 of the Oyster Bay Town Records the transcript of a deed to Joseph Carpenter for land at Musketa Cove. This is dated November 7, 1668, and reads as follows :
"This prsent wryting testifyeth that we the Indian Pro- prietors of Matinicock upon Long Islan undr the protection & patronage of his Highnes James Duke of Yorke, do acknowl- edg to have bargained sould & made over, unto Joseph Carpenter of Potuxen of Rhoade Island Colony his heires & assignes, a certaine parcell of Woodland containing a hundred acres, lying upon the North side of Musketooe Cove, wth a square myle of timber, & grazing, on the South syde of the said Cove, the meadows & all the Creeke Thatch excepted, lying or being about the said Cove, & also a square myle of timber & grasing at the head of the said Cove, ioyning to the said hundred acres the prmisses above menconed wth all priviledges, of fishing, fowling, hunting, mineralls according to Law, wthin the said hundred acres; Wee the said Pro- prietors doe by theise prsents engage orselves, or heires, suc- cessors or assignes to make good the said sale, unto the said Joseph his heires or assignes against all prtences or pleas that shall or may be made against the said Purchase, by any Indian or Indians, whatsoever, & engaging our selves to or utmost endeavor to make good the said Sale, against all Claymes whatsoever having received a valuable Consideration, as is specified upon a Bill obligatory from the said Joseph, as witness or hands the day & date above wrytten in the 20th yeare of the Kings Raigne.
Signed sealed and Dilivered in ye
prsence of us. The Marke of X Asseton
Robert Williams The Marke of X Arompes
Nicholas Simpkins The Marke of X Seher
Jno Underhill The Marke of X Atehen
Nicholas Wright The Marke of X Chascaneman"
This deed was among documents preserved at Albany until the fire in the Capitol in 1911.
We regret that there is apparently no existing record of the "valuable Consideration" that the Indians received from Joseph Carpenter in payment for this land.
On November 30 of the same year Carpenter admitted as co-part- ners, Nathaniel Coles, Abia Carpenter (his brother-in-law), Thomas Townsend and Robert Coles. Soon afterwards the interests of Abia
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Carpenter were transferred to Daniel Coles and the interests of Thomas Townsend were transferred to Nicholas Simpkins. Thus, Joseph Carpenter, the three Coles brothers and Nicholas Simpkins are generally referred to as "the Five Proprietors of the Musketa Cove Plantations". Apparently neither Abia Carpenter nor Thomas Townsend ever occupied their land at Musketa Cove. And from the records it seems that Nathaniel Coles lived at Oyster Bay.
Daniel, Nathaniel and Robert Coles were the sons of Robert and Mary (Hawxhurst) Coles. This first Robert Coles came to America
(Photo Courtesy of H. W. Bigelow)
Coles Homestead, Oldest House in Glen Cove
from England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. After a somewhat stormy career in Massachusetts he followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island and is identified as one of those mentioned in the "Initial Deed" of 1638. He died sometime in the year 1654 and his widow later married Matthias Harvey and moved with him to Oyster Bay.
Daniel Coles was born about 1637 (probably at Ipswich, Massa- chusetts) and married Maha-Shalal-hasbaz Gorton, daughter of the famous Samuel Gorton of Warwick, Rhode Island. To quote again from George W. Cocks: "The name of the daughter of Samuel Gorton who m. Daniel Coles, practically coinciding in structure with the 'Maher-shalal-hash-baz', Isaiah VIII: 1, 3, explained in the con- cordance as in making speed to the spoil, he hasteneth the prey, seems difficult of application, but some of the perilous experiences in Gor- ton's hegira from Boston to Warwick, may have suggested the Jewish situation at the time of Isaiah's dreary prophesy".
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Nathaniel Coles was born about 1640 at Providence, Rhode Island. He was married three times, his first wife being Martha, the daughter of Robert and Agnes (Washbourne) Jackson. She died at Oyster Bay in 1668 and he next married Deborah, the daughter of Nicholas and Ann (- -) Wright. She also died and before 1696 Nathaniel Coles married Sarah (possibly) daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Potter) Harcurt.
Robert Coles was born at Providence, Rhode Island about 1648 or earlier. In 1670 he married Mercy Wright, a sister of Nathaniel Coles' wife. She died at Musketa Cove in 1708 and he died in 1715. Their graves, marked with rough field stones, may be seen today on a low knoll west of the factory of the Powers Photo Engraving Company at Glen Cove. Ancient locusts tower above the graves and a flourishing growth of briars almost hides the stones which are now so badly weathered that the inscriptions cannot be read. The writer has an excellent photograph of the headstone marking Robert Coles' grave that he made before the initials and date had entirely disappeared.
There is less available regarding Nicholas Simpkins, the fifth Proprietor of the Musketa Cove Plantations. From his own account, written on December 20, 1683, he was then an inhabitant of Musketa Cove and about 56 years of age. That would place the year of his birth at about 1627. He states in the above-mentioned account that he was present at the settlement of Oyster Bay in 1653, some fifteen years before the settlement of Musketa Cove. He was apparently the son of Nicholas Simpkins, tailor, of Boston, Massachusetts. About 1666 he married Elizabeth Weeks, daughter of Francis Weeks of Oyster Bay. The wife of Francis Weeks is apparently not known. It is mentioned that Nicholas Simpkins of Musketa Cove was also a tailor by trade.
If we could but draw aside the curtain of time and look in upon Musketa Cove in those early days it would surely be an interesting picture. Today we gather our clues from many scattered sources. There are time-worn deeds and other ancient documents, old maps and various other items that shed light on the happenings of those olden days. But there are many vacant gaps in the story that cannot be filled. Sometimes, however, we are rewarded by some new and unexpected discovery. A shred of evidence that has been hidden for centuries suddenly comes to light, inspiring us to continue the search with renewed vigor. So it is that today we visualize the Musketa Cove of long ago.
These men who cleared the wilderness-Carpenter, Coles and Simpkins-were not followers of the beaten path. Like others who came to Long Island in those days to build their homes near the campfires of the Indian they and their families were endowed with the spirit of the pioneer. They were well fortified with qualities of courage, determination and high faith in their ability to succeed in the face of uncertainty and discouragement. Above all, they were not afraid to work long hours to mold the raw materials of nature into the finished products needed to build a civilization. And they
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made the land produce and handed on to those who followed a better world than they had found.
Very soon after the settlement a dam was built and a saw mill erected as Joseph Carpenter had planned. This first mill stood near the foot of the highway known today as Mill Hill. This saw mill continued in use for many years after its construction and on Janu- ary 14, 1777, Joseph Carpenter executed a paper reciting that he had built a grist mill adjoining the saw mill which was owned by the "Five Proprietors". In this paper he pledged himself to keep and maintain said mill and to grind corn and grain for all of the Pro- prietors' families without charge so long as the said stream was owned by the "Five Proprietors", their heirs and assigns.
The following letter, probably from Governor Anthony Brock- holles attests to the value of the saw mill at that period :
"Mr. Joseph Carpenter :
There being present occasion for the use of the Fort for fifteen hundred foote of plank of two inch, more than what i allready writte for, I desire you'll provide it with all expedi- tion. I having sent a boat expresse to fetch it, who I have ordered to stay till it be ready. Therefore I pray by no means fail therein. I am your loving friend,
New York, May 27, 1678
A. B.
It is supposed that this lumber was for old Fort James, the Fort Amsterdam of the Dutch, which stood at the lower end of Manhattan Island.
By this time the tiny band of settlers had grown considerably. The families of Moses Mudge, William Thornycraft, Ephraim Car- penter and many others had come to join the community. A con- tributing factor to the sudden influx of settlers at the time was King Philip's War which drove many out of New England for fear of their lives. In less than a decade after its settlement the community of Musketa Cove had among its population carpenters, weavers, wool- spinners, sawyers, saddlers, tailors, tanners, cordwainers, millers, mill- wrights, shipbuilders, coopers, caulkers and many tradesmen. We are also told that: "They had their own town government, constable, Overseers, Justice of the Peace and Recorder. They held town meetings and elected their own officers until the organization of Queens County in 1683."
Despite the rapid progress that evidently followed the settle- ment, some nine years went by before application was made for a Patent from the Crown. This delay may be accounted for in part because of the fact that the Dutch recaptured Manhattan Island and again gained jurisdiction over this territory for considerably over a year before they re-capitulated to the English.
But because of the steadily growing population and the increased trade and commerce resulting from it, the settlers considered it expedient to acquire a better title to the land. Up to this time they had merely held the deed from the Indians.
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After appropriate negotiations an application was made to Governor Andros and on the 29th of September 1677 he issued Letters Patent to the "Five Proprietors" to "a certain tract of land at Musketa Cove, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, upon Long Island, which by my order hath been laid out." The consideration was pay- ment "yearly and every year unto his Royal Highness's use as a Quit Rent, one bushel of good winter wheat."
This Patent was among the papers left by my father, Franklin A. Coles, at the time of his death in 1943, and is now in possession of the City of Glen Cove. It may be read in transcript in Vol. I of the Oyster Bay Town Records.
The area of Musketa Cove, as mentioned in the Patent, was 1700 acres. In 1786 it was given as 3678 acres and a computation made by the surveyor, Isaac Coles, in 1882 established it as 3000 acres. In a statement made by him at the bi-centennial celebration in 1868 he said: "Whichever way it might have been, the losers were the poor indians * * " **
As originally planned each of the "Five Proprietors" owned a "Home Lott" on which his dwelling was built. These were along the highway then known as The Place, meaning the original place of settlement, and this name has survived to the present time. The remaining lands were divided into five parcels and each parcel into five sections, one for each of the Proprietors. The distribution was made in this way so that each would receive an equal quantity of the same kind of land. None had more woodland or pasture land than another but all shared alike.
While the first dwellings were probably crudely thrown together, not much better than the wigwams of the Indians, the first real house was probably ready for occupancy by the winter of 1668. This was the home of Joseph Carpenter. It was built on his "Home Lott" on the property now belonging to the Dickson estate and just to the north of land recently purchased by the Wah Chang Trading Corporation. We are told it was so well built that "it continued to be used as a dwelling until about 1835. It was occupied by Joseph Carpenter during his lifetime, being also the birthplace of nearly all of his children and continuing in the family for several generations." The writer distinctly remembers having visited the site as a boy and seeing the partially filled excavation in which there had grown a good-sized black locust.
The original home of Robert Coles is standing today as the east wing of the residence of Dr. Leeds at 34 The Place and just west of the large brick building that is now the home of the Glen Cove Record-Advance. This tiny east wing of the present dwelling is quite dwarfed by the more pretentious wings that have been added by subsequent residents. It is the oldest place of residence now standing in Glen Cove. Until the spring of 1945 there stood a large and much weather-beaten black locust (Robinia pseudocacia), in front of the house. This ancient tree was one of several brought to Long Island by Captain John Sands, of Cow Neck shortly after the settlement of Musketa Cove. This was probably the first introduction of that
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species of locust to Long Island, although today it is very plentiful along the north shore.
Within a stone's throw of these home sites may be found to this day the discarded shells of clams, oysters and scallops left by the Indians near their ancient wigwams. Among these shells are found implements of stone, bone and antler, fragments of Indian pottery and the ashes of the camp fires over which they prepared their feasts some three centuries ago.
The Home Lotts of Daniel Coles, Nicholas Simpkins and other early settlers can be located today from the original records, although none of the old dwellings are yet standing so far as we know.
In 1674 Joseph Carpenter sold to Moses Mudge "four acres of land, butting on ye saw mill dam, which said land he purchased of the Indians in 1668." A portion of this original tract is now occupied by Sterling W. Mudge and his son William S. Mudge who are direct descendants of the original Mudge settlers in Musketa Cove.
In possession of the Mudge family today is an old parchment- bound account book that was kept by Moses Mudge. This is of great interest in the light it sheds on the trade of those first white citizens in Musketa Cove.
Much of our present knowledge of early Musketa Cove has been gathered from another quaint old parchment-bound volume measuring 1412 x 91/2 inches and kept by Robert Coles. This is known as the Musketa Cove Proprietor's Book. This book, now in possession of the writer, was never actually a part of the Town Records, but because of its historical interest much of its contents is copied in the appendix to Vol. I of the Oyster Bay Town Records.
To peruse the pages of this ancient volume would thrill anyone with the least spark of curiosity about the past. The feeling that on its time-stained pages is the actual handwriting of the men whose everyday experiences made the history of old Musketa Cove is like exploring the past through magic spectacles. This is no tracing or photostatic copy, but an original record with all the scratches, blots and errors, just as they remained when the writer laid down his quill pen and set the book aside for the last time. Its pages contain many interesting land records, a copy of the famous Andros Patent of 1677, Articles of Agreement signed by the original Proprietors in 1668, references to minor land disputes with the Matinecock Indians, family records of the Coles, Thornycraft and Carpenter families, the first and second wills of Robert Coles and other items of similar nature.
Space does not permit us to include more than a brief résumé of its contents. The entries are not arranged in chronological order and while much of it is in the hand of Robert Coles, there are records written by others. The dates indicate that it was kept for many years after his death in 1715.
On the reverse sides of the front and back covers and also on several of the inside pages are merchants' accounts, many of which are in the handwriting of Robert Coles. Among these are the accounts for Thomas Hopkins for 1680 and John Wood for 1682.
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Some may be shocked perhaps when they learn that the principal item is rum, although cider, bricks, stockings, tobacco and other commodities are fairly numerous. On the inside pages are accounts of the sale of lumber cut in the old saw mill. None of these accounts is copied in the transcript included in the Town Records.
The earliest item in the book bears the date of November 30, 1668. It is a listing of certain Articles of Agreement signed by the "Five Proprietors". Among other things these state that all meadows, creek or thatch within the bounds of their purchase shall be divided equally among the purchasers. That no trees shall be cut for pipe staves except as agreed upon by vote of the majority. That no one shall put out hogs or cattle for summering except as agreed on by majority vote. That only by vote of the majority shall any highways be built, lots laid out or fences erected. That if a saw mill or any other mills be built each of the Proprietors must share equal expense in the same and each is to enjoy equal benefits. That any purchaser who neglects to settle his land within three years after the date of said agreement shall lose his interest in said land and any money that he has paid shall be returned.
This agreement was signed by Joseph Carpenter, Nathaniel Coles, Abia Carpenter, Thomas Townsend and Robert Coles, the Pro- prietors of Musketa Cove as of that date. Matthias Harvey, Daniel Coles, Nicholas Simpkins and John Thompson signed as witnesses.
Another record, dated January 5, 1681, tells of the allotment of lands, describing the "Home Lotts" and the various outlying parcels. Among the individuals mentioned in the deeds and other land records are Moses Mudge, Samuel Pell, Ephraim Carpenter, John Williams, William Thornycraft and others who settled in Musketa Cove during the first decade of its growth.
Toward the end of the book, following several blank pages, are two wills of Robert Coles. The first of these, dated March 17, 1689/90, is in his own hand, signed by him and with the signatures of Moses Mudge, George Codner and John Newman as witnesses. The second will, dated July 25, 1712, was made after the death of his wife. In this he states that he is "very sick in body but of perfect mind and memory". He was too feeble at the time to write it himself for it is in the hand of another, apparently Derick Albertson. On this document his signature is quite unsteady but still easy to identify. Derick Albertson, Caleb Peck and Joseph Carpenter (son of the original Proprietor) signed as witnesses. Robert Coles lived for nearly three years after preparing this will.
Among the pages of this old book, but not a part of it, is a separate sheet containing "An Account of the Landholders with the number of Acres each possesses within the Patent: And also the Sums annexed that they are to pay as Quit-rent for fourteen years past and fourteen years to come which is to be the final payment * *
The heading on this account reads: "Mosqueto Cove, November 11, 1786." In this list are the names of 40 landholders then living and the names of 6 deceased whose estates are listed. The greatest
.
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individual landholder listed is James Townsend with 279 acres. The next is Jacob Valentine with 277. The family of Coles is the most frequently listed with eleven entries and combined land holdings of 904 acres.
Although it is evident that all of the landholders named did not live in Musketa Cove in 1786, the list has provided the writer with a valuable aid which, with the 1790 census figures, makes it possible to get an approximate idea of the population during the decade after the American Revolution. Comparison of these lists indicates that there were between 230 and 250 men, women and children living in Musketa Cove at that time.
It was primarily the stream, flowing through the wide valley and emptying into Hempstead Harbor, that attracted the first white settlers to this locality. Being a man of imagination and ambition Joseph Carpenter naturally recognized the possibilities that this situation offered as the site for a mill. This attractive feature and the developments that occurred during the first century and more of Glen Cove's history emphasize the fact that it was the stream and subsequently the clear fresh-water ponds that were the greatest factors in the community's early growth. And in conjunction withı this, of course, was the easy access to New York by water.
As we have noted before, a dam was thrown across the stream near the foot of the present Mill Hill and a saw mill erected there, probably toward the latter part of 1668. We are told that there was a good quantity of lumber to be had without the necessity of long hauls and since the demand for sawed timber was far in excess of the supply, both hereabouts and in New York, Carpenter and his associates were kept busy. Records in the account books of Robert Coles and Moses Mudge provide evidence of a flourishing business at the saw mill from the time of its erection.
Within a decade Carpenter built his grist mill on the same dam, as indicated by his agreement of January 14, 1677 to grind the corn and grain of the Proprietors.
A second dam, situated farther upstream and known as the upper dam was built about 1699. This was on what is now Pulaski Street and above that dam was an extensive pond area.
It is recorded that "Robert Coles, the then owner of the land bordering the South side of the Mill Pond, 'Grants to the Proprietors, free liberty to Dam against any part of his land joining ye Mill Stream, with privilege of digging earth and carting from his land for ve Deam, for which he is granted all of a certain piece of land and swamp joining to his meadow on South side of ye Mill Creek, he not to hinder nor prejudice the highway to Hempstead or way to ye Head of Cove or any watering Place.' "
By 1707 Captain William Walton, a large importer and merchant from New York, and other members of his immediate family, began negotiating with the owners for the purchase of complete interest in the mills and stream at Musketa Cove.
This William Walton was an individual of calculating ways whose interests in locating here were largely inspired by the con-
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venience of the location for smuggling imported goods into New York to evade payment of the heavy tax then being imposed by the British. We shall hear more about him and his family later.
In 1755 a dam, generally known as the "Lower Dam", was built downstream from the first at or very near the site where a modern concrete dam now stands, making the so-called lower pond and the only one of the three ponds that remains today. The area where the other ponds formerly existed has been filled in within the past quarter century so that one unfamiliar with the earlier scene would find it quite impossible to picture the ponds. Today large parking spaces, extensive park areas planted with good-sized trees, the site of the City Hall and the Post Office occupy that which was once a part of the ponds.
There are probably some who have wondered at the origin of the name of Bridge Street, a short highway running south from. School Street to Continental Place. But anyone that has lived in Glen Cove for twenty-five years or more will remember that this was once the site of a bridge that crossed the pond, permitting easy access from south Glen Cove to the shopping district on School Street and Glen Street.
In reference to the various dams and mills that were erected, the late Franklin A. Coles has written: " These dams were probably not very firmly built for in the early days spring freshets and heavy rains very often broke them. There is a record that in 1768 the upper dam broke and the old dam at the foot of Mill hill was rendered absolutely useless and was closed. This probably resulted in the abandonment of that dam entirely leaving the mills only at the upper and lower dams, known to most of us familiar with this terri- tory before the upper pond was filled in. The upper dam . was sold by William Walton and others in 1773 to Isaac Underhill and others. Later that mill was conducted by Daniel and Joshua Kirk, and for many years the mill was known as 'Kirks Mill', while the mill at the lower dam came into the possession of Charles Thorne and was familiarly known as 'Thorne's Mill'. In a heavy freshet in 1826, Kirk's saw mill was carried away and the lower dam badly damaged. The land at the west and southwest of Thorne's Mill later became the site of the Glen Cove Starch Factory.
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