USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 56
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 56
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"Concerning the mill ponds it should be observed that until nearly the end of the Nineteenth Century they were well stocked with trout, the resort of local fishermen as well as fishermen from New York City. And during the trouting season the New York papers carried news items of the catches made by these famous fishermen. It is interesting to note that the ice from these ponds not only supplied the needs of the starch factory, the butchers and the residents of Glen Cove, but the ponds were the scenes of much gaiety and enjoy- ment by the young folks during the skating season."
In addition to the other advantages that have been noted it was also apparently true that the water supplied by the springs in this locality possessed some unique quality that was found to be especially valuable for use in the manufacture of corn starch. This was in part
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STORY OF GLEN COVE
responsible for the success achieved by the starch factory during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
This discussion of the ponds and mills has carried us far ahead in the chronology of our story. We would like to glance back again to the earliest days and consider a few side lights that may be interesting to the reader.
By the end of the seventeenth century two of the original "Five Proprietors" had passed away. Joseph Carpenter died in 1683 and Daniel Coles in 1692. When we consider the activities and accomplish- ments of Joseph Carpenter, it is difficult to realize that he was only about 48 years of age at the time of his death. Daniel Coles was probably about 55. Robert Coles was about 67. As mentioned before, Nathaniel Coles apparently never lived in Musketa Cove. And Nicholas Simpkins apparently moved away sometime early in the eighteenth century.
Today we are prone to think of those pioneers of early Musketa Cove as hoary individuals even during the years that they were clearing the land for settlement. But a glance at the record shows that this is not the case. It was a project planned and executed by youth. In 1668 the age of each of the original Proprietors was about as follows :
Joseph Carpenter
33 years
Daniel Coles
31 years
Nathaniel Coles 28 years
Robert Coles 20 years
Nicholas Simpkins
41 years
The closing years of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries were filled with tense and exciting days in and about the little settle- ment of Musketa Cove. Already the community was joining others on North Shore Long Island in helping importers and merchants evade the high import taxes imposed by the British Governor and his advisors. There was heavy traffic in rum from the West Indies. It was said that in 1699, "one-third of the goods imported into New York are run into Southold, Setauket, Oyster Bay and Musquito Cove." In an address by Henry J. Scudder at the Glen Cove bi-centennial celebration, in 1868, he said: "The accounts of the merchants would persuade us that it (rum) constituted the chief subject of trade-it seems to have been meat and drink. In a long category of supplies furnished by someone hereabouts at this time, we are surprised to find that twelve quarts, thirty-five half pints, and seventeen gills of rum are reckoned, and the only useful article charged is the footing of one pair of stockings!"
An item from the New York Gazette, dated August 9, 1728 and quoted in Onderdonk's Queens County in Olden Times, reads as follows :- "Josiah Millikin, of Musketo Cove, periwig maker, denies that he gave any information to the Customs House officers, whereby they were enabled to discover and seize several casks of imported brandy and wine concealed in Captain Walton's cellar."
1
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Now, at long last, we come to two of the legends that cling to old Musketa Cove. In his address during the bi-centennial celebration in 1868, Mr. Scudder told the following story about the famous Captain Walton :
‹‹* * * The house occupied by Walton here, and where the seizure of smuggled brandy was made *
* is occu- pied by the descendant of one of the old families of the Cove.
A
(Photo Courtesy of H. W. Bigelow)
City Hall, Glen Cove
Curious legends connect themselves with its history. It is said that Captain Walton, upon the return of one of his vessels, engaged his slaves an entire night in transporting huge chests, filled with milled dollars and Spanish doubloons, from his schooner to the cellar of his house. 'Closing the night's toil at day-dawn, the munificent master, prompted to unusual generosity, threw wide some of the chests of the precious treasure and proffered their contents to his servants. Eager hands flew at the coin, but not a piece could be extracted-so compact were the contents that no mortal power, unaided by instrumental agencies, could move a dollar. Cupidity was foiled, and the weary servants, lost in amaze- ment at the inaccessibility of the treasure, were fain to con- tent themselves with whispered narratives of the marvel. So it floats down to the present, with the added certainty that
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STORY OF GLEN COVE
under each corner of the dwelling rests a full chest, and the present occupant may be sure his house rests upon the rocks."
We may add that the old dwelling has long since disappeared and the treasure --- ?
This seems an appropriate place to mention another Musketa Cove legend that has been handed down from one generation to another. This one dealt with none other than the famous old pirate, Captain Kidd. I would like to quote the story as my father told it so many times :
* It is an established fact that in the early part of the Eighteenth Century, an English vessel anchored in Hemp- stead Harbor opposite Sheep Pen Point (Now Garvies Point, in Glen Cove), and remained there for several days-no one from the vessel was seen ashore-finally one morning the vessel was gone and it was discovered that considerable digging had been done in the Sheep Pen Lot and a large chest apparently removed from the form left in the earth and dragged to the shore, where the imprint of the keel of a rowboat was noted.
"William Kidd, the pirate, after an absence of nearly three years, returned to this country in July, 1699, stopping at Gardiner's Island at the end of Long Island Sound. While there, according to testimony of several witnesses, including John Gardiner of Gardiner's Island, given at a hearing at Boston, several chests and many bales of goods were loaded on sloops bound up the Sound. Robert Livingston, one of Kidd's sponsors, testified that Kidd had said to him that he had hidden a chest between Boston and New York where no one could find it but himself. Upon the close of the hearing, Kidd was arrested, taken to England and tried for piracy and murder, convicted of murder and executed at Execution Dock in London on the 23rd day of May 1701.
"Except possibly upon Gardiner's Island, there is no proof of any other treasure having been buried along the shores of Long Island Sound and no evidence of any other treasure having been recovered along the shores of Long . Island Sound. The conclusion is inevitable."
(The above quoted from the Glen Cove Record-Advance for September 10, 1942.)
This story would be quite incomplete if we failed to mention something about old Dosoris. Although not within the bounds of the original Musketa Cove purchase it is now within the limits of the City of Glen Cove. The very name, Dosoris, suggests a host of weird and interesting tales. And, indeed, no other region on all Long Island can boast of a more fascinating past in which history and legend are so completely intermingled that it is sometimes difficult to tell where one leaves off and the other begins. And it is to be
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LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
happily observed that much of the original atmosphere of mystery and romance lingers there today. Dosoris is a world unto itself and has been most appropriately called "The Sleepy Hollow of North Shore Long Island."
The first English name that we find associated with the region now known as Dosoris is that of Robert Williams, who purchased East Island of the Matinecock Indians in 1667. Described as a "near relative" of Roger Williams, this enterprising pioneer pos- sessed considerable land on the Island. In 1648 he purchased a large tract of land including all of the present village of Hicksville and is said to have made his residence in that vicinity at a later date. Before acquiring East Island he also had lived at Hempstead.
In 1670 Williams sold this land to Colonel Lewis Morris from the Barbados, and in 1693 Morris conveyed the land to one Daniel Whitehead. The next owner was Daniel Whitehead's son-in-law, John Taylor, who left it to his daughter Abigail.
This brings us to the early decades of the 18th century where the romantic story of Dosoris begins in full fervor.
It was in the year 1717 that Abigail Taylor married the Reverend Benjamin Woolsey, who was born at Jamaica in 1687 and in 1720 became pastor of the first church in Southold. In 1736, after the death of Abigail's father, they removed to Dosoris where they resided for the remainder of their lives. It was this learned gentleman who first applied the most descriptive and poetic appellation Dos-Uxoris to this historic tract of land. Interpreted it means "wife's dowery" and referred, of course, to the fact that the property had come to Abigail Woolsey by inheritance from her father. This later became "Dosoris" and is revived today in the names of two highways in Glen Cove, Dosoris Lane and Dosoris Way. And the memory of Benjamin Woolsey is kept alive in the name of Woolsey Avenue.
We regret that space does not permit more than casual mention of the famous Benjamin Woolsey and his descendants. He passed away in 1756 and was laid to rest in the old Woolsey burying ground where the following eulogy may be read today on his quaint head- stone :
"Sacred to the memory of the Reverend Benjamin Woolsey, who, in the united character of the gentleman, the christian, the divine, shone with distinguished lustre, and adorned every station of public and private life, with dignity and usefulness. Early devoted to the work of the gospel ministry, endowed with the gifts of nature and grace, he employed his superior talents in the service of his divine master, with fidelity and zeal. After a shining course of distinguished labors to promote the cause of true religion, he exchanged the ministry of the church militant on earth for the rewards of the church triumphant in heaven, August 15 A. D. 1756."
The Reverend Benjamin Woolsey had two sons and four daughters. His son, Benjamin, lived at Dosoris throughout his life,
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STORY OF GLEN COVE
serving for a time as Justice of the Peace. The other son, Colonel Melancthon Taylor Woolsey, lost his life in action in the campaign against the French at Ticonderoga in 1758. The daughters named Abigail, Sarah, Mary and Hannah married men of eminence and prestige and their children lived to reflect credit on the heritage of Dosoris.
As the years passed the locality made famous by the Reverend Benjamin and his descendants passed into other hands but continued as a place of historic interest.
In 1766 John Butler, a man of unusual ambition and ingenuity, purchased East Island. He was known as "John the Miller", an appellation that he earned by reason of the tide mills that he built and successfully operated with much profit. Beginning his career as a boatman and later serving as apprentice to a saddler in Oyster Bay, Butler eventually sought wider horizons and, with his small earnings in hand, struck out on his own for New York. It has been said that on his first visit to the big city he fell in with a crowd of gamblers and soon lost all that he had earned. Returning to Oyster Bay he again set faithfully to work and before long had accumulated an amount equal to that which he had lost. Again he headed for the city and, but for the persuasive arguments of an old acquaintance, might have fallen prey to the same unscrupulous gang. This friend suggested a proposition that immediately appealed to Butler's adven- turous spirit. He knew of a boat that could be purchased for a very reasonable price and promised Butler that if he would put up the money they might go into business together, with Butler as Captain of the vessel. This scheme was successfully executed and our hero thus embarked on a series of ventures that eventually netted him considerable profit. From his business in coastwise shipping he made enough to invest in cargoes and finally became sufficiently wealthy to purchase the island at Dosoris, where he built his tide mill.
A daughter of "John the Miller", named Hannah, married Nathaniel Coles. They lived at the Dosoris estate of her father and as Jesse Merritt has written, "again 'Dos-Uxoris'-'wife's property' -was appropriate in this beautiful land."
A roll call of all the interesting personalities that combined to make the history of Dosoris would fill more space than we are permitted here. But we shall mention just a few and hope that someday opportunity will permit a more complete story of this famous locality.
As the years passed the lands at Dosoris were divided and sub- divided while new names became known in the region.
One of the sons of Nathaniel Coles was Nathaniel Jr., later known as General Nathaniel Coles. He bred on West Island the thorough- bred race horse, "The American Eclipse".
That life in old Dosoris was lived in a grand and sumptuous manner may be gleaned from a statement made by the Hon. Henry J. Scudder in his address at the Glen Cove Bi-Centennial Celebration in 1868:
L. I .- I-32
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"On the arrival of peace (at the end of the Revolution and eight years of distress) people celebrated at Butler's, Dosoris; they had an ox roasted; 13 turkeys, 13 geese; 13 ducks; 13 fowl."
We know that General Nathaniel Coles and his brother, John B. Coles ran mills at Dosoris and that at one time these mills "employed from sixty to one hundred mechanics and laborers * * *",
During the Revolution the homes in this locality were frequently molested by the British troops in their forages for provender for their horses and other provisions for the officers and men stationed nearby. In addition to this the inhabitants were in constant fear of raids by the whaleboatmen from Long Island Sound.
During the Nineteenth Century the region at and about Dosoris continued to flourish and its picturesque setting drew more families of fortune and prominence. The brothers Samuel and Stephen Taber purchased West Island in 1857. In 1873 the famous editor and publisher, Charles A. Dana, purchased West Island where he died in 1897. And the world-renowned financier and philanthropist John Pierpont Morgan later established his residence on East Island.
Today all of the characters that made history at Dosoris are gone. The lands have suffered more divisions and new names take the place of the old. Time, storm and fire have claimed most of the old-time homesteads that sheltered the early families and homes of different architecture have risen where those first dwellings stood. But in many ways the land has not changed. The beaches along the sound still echo the tune to the music of the waves as they did nearly three centuries ago. Ancient oaks, locusts and tulip trees, in whose friendly shade the first families lived, still spread their vener- able branches over the secluded by-ways that they followed. Cool springs and laughing streams sparkle in the sunlight as fresh and beautiful as ever.
One reason, perhaps, that the spirit of romance lingers in old Dosoris today as in the past is that its theme was captured and recorded for all time in 1887 in a fascinating volume called The Van Gelder Papers, written by John Treat Irving. This nephew of the celebrated Washington Irving lived at Red Spring, in Glen Cove. He had a deep affection for the antique and possessed a fine ability of blending fact and fiction in a style that makes fascinating reading. In these stories he recorded a host of old traditions about Dosoris, Musketa Cove and Cedar Swamp. In them he included just enough of the local atmosphere with a sprinkling of old family names so that as we read them today it is often impossible to separate the traditional from the historical.
It is with regret that we must leave Dosoris and return to review the development of Musketa Cove during the 18th Century. As we have already seen, the early interests were largely centered in the mills that had been built on the various dams thrown across the stream that followed the valley from Cedar Swamp into the cove on the east side of Hempstead Harbor. The lands adjacent to
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STORY OF GLEN COVE
the valley in which the mills were located, and where the merchants established their shops, were rapidly cleared and cultivated. Large farms with substantial dwellings were established along Town Path and Duck Pond Road, the main highway to Oyster Bay. The land to the south of the ponds was also settled and improved in the early years of this century. New names were regularly appearing and many of these are prominent in the transactions of the Oyster Bay Town Meetings.
Both at Musketa Cove and in the surrounding territory were many followers of the then new religious faith known as the Society of Friends, or Quakers. The early families of Underhill, Feeks and Cocks were followers of this faith which had been promulgated by George Fox of England. They first held their services for worship in their homes, but after the visit of George Fox to America in 1671-72, when he preached at large out-of-door meetings held at Flushing and Oyster Bay, the Society determined to erect Meeting Houses for worship. Not long after his visit one was built at Oyster Bay and in 1725 the Matinecock Friends Meeting House was erected, which building is still standing and in which descendants of the original Friends hold services every Sunday. This was the first place of worship at or near Musketa Cove.
Apparently the first Robert Coles at Musketa Cove was not a member of the Society of Friends, although various branches of the family belong to that faith today. His father was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church of Providence and we find in the Town Records that he was Captain of a Foot Company in the Town of Oyster Bay in 1690. In this same Company Moses Mudge was Lieutenant and James Weeks, Ensign. In the same volume we read:
"In ye 9th m: 1677
Mathew Prier and his son John Prier refusing to worke at their fort at Oysterbay and John not training Robert Cole tooke away be violence one cow prised at 4£- 12s- Od."
This does not sound like the act of a Quaker.
The records show that the inhabitants of Musketa Cove were actively interested in all of the developments that affected others in the Colony in those early days. As the years passed they became concerned over the increasing difficulties with the mother country and it is reported that at the outbreak of the Revolution a company of eighty men from and about the vicinity of Musketa Cove joined General Woodhull's brigade.
But in this locality the ones who remained at home suffered from the war almost as much as those who shouldered arms. British and Hessian troops were quartered in the immediate locality of Musketa Cove and they showed little concern even for those who, through fear of their lives or otherwise, professed loyalty to the mother country. We have already mentioned the fear that the Dosoris inhabitants had of the whaleboatmen. And these renegades were just as active in Musketa Cove, as may be judged by the follow-
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ing item included in Onderdonk's Revolutionary Incidents of Queens County:
"June 28, 1779, Gain. Last week a whale boat came near to Musquito Cove to carry off a boat lying there. Being observed to approach, a few men from the shore got on board unperceived, with arms, and as soon as the whale boat came nigh enough, gave the rebels such a dose, that three were killed the first fire; when they went off with greatest precipi- tation."
And in the same volume the following is quoted :
"July 3, 1779, Riv. Last Monday night a party of rebels, supposed from Horse Neck, headed by one Benjamin Kirby, (whose father lives on Long Island, near where he landed, and is known to be an atrocious rebel), at 12 at night attacked the house of Abraham Walton, Esq., at Pembroke, Musquito Cove, forced open the door with the butt ends of their Muskets, seized upon Mr. Walton's person, who was much indisposed in bed, used him coarsely, forced him to walk four miles, plundered the house, took away all the silver plate they could find, and demanded Mrs. Walton's money, which she delivered. They then proceeded to the neighbors, as Dr. Brooks, Albert Coles and eight more very respectable and loyal inhabitants, and carried them off together to Connecti- cut, where they were to be interrogated by Gen. Lewis Morris-etc."
With such men at large about Musketa Cove during the years of war it is not suprising that the home folk found good reason for rejoicing when peace was finally declared. We have already men- tioned the victory feast held at Dosoris and in the Glen Cove Bi-Cen- tennial book it is also stated:
"There was a dinner at Rem Hegeman's, Cedar Swamp, and a liberty-pole was erected; the festival terminated with a dance, and the rain coming on, it was continued 'till morning, so that one of the ladies afterward said 'she'd been keeping liberty all night'."
As previously stated, the population of Musketa Cove in the decade after the Revolution was nearly 250. In addition to the families already mentioned the names of Valentine, Craft, Downing, Pearsall, Mott and several others were then well known in the locality. Apparently the name Craft had evolved from Thornycraft, although the family name of Thorne did not come from it, despite statements that have been made to that effect.
During the early years of the 19th century the natural beauty and general convenience of this region as a place of residence or resort for recreation in summer began to attract many from New York. But many others who might have been attracted hesitated
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STORY OF GLEN COVE
because of the name which led them to believe that it must have originated from the presence of more than the usual number of obnoxious stinging insects. And no arguments by the inhabitants, explaining the Indian origin of the name, would suffice to alter this view. In 1818 it was spelled Musquito Cove and in 1833 it was changed to Moscheto Cove, but even this was not enough to lessen the apprehensions of some non-residents. Therefore a public meeting was held the following year for the express purpose of changing the name. Many suggestions were made. Among them were Cirassia, Regina and Pembroke. The home of the Waltons had been known as Pembroke and during the Revolution that name was applied by many to the entire community, but it was never generally adopted. During this meeting Glencoe, the name of a Scottish glen, was sug- gested.
"In the confusion another party mistook the name men- tioned for Glen Cove, and loudly exclaimed : 'That's it! that's the name-we can still say going up to the Cove!' This suggestion received immediate approval and without delay the name Glen Cove was chosen.
"Thus a name conceived through one man's misunder- standing has clung to this community for well over a century. It is descriptive of the locality and is, at the time, highly euphonious."
By the year 1818 the first U. S. Post Office was established and with that event it may be said that the community began to receive its first national recognition. And as the century progressed its growth was uninterrupted.
For some three decades after its inauguration the railroad did not have a line to Glen Cove and commerce with New York was conducted either by steamer through Long Island Sound or, after the establish- ment of the railroad to Hempstead Branch (now Mineola), partly by stage and partly by railroad. Before the advent of steam power sailing vessels were employed in the Sound.
One of the first of the steamboats was the Star, a small vessel not more than 110 feet in length under command of Captain Elijah Peck of Flushing. He had two other vessels on the line named the Fox and the Statesman. These were of about the same size as the Star. In 1845 a larger vessel, known as the American Eagle, was run to New Rochelle, Cold Spring and Glen Cove. This ship ran for only a few months, however. About 1848 a steamboat named the Croton was brought from the Hudson and used on the Glen Cove Route. This was by far the largest running into Hempstead Harbor at that time. She continued in service until 1854, when a new boat took her place.
It was in 1853 that the Glen Cove was built and run on this route by her builder, Thomas Collyer of New York. The next steamer of any consequence was the Long Island, built at Brooklyn in 1859. She made landings at Great Neck, Sand's Point, Glen Cove and Roslyn. After running on this line for about two years she was sold to the
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