USA > New York > Suffolk County > Bridgehampton > Sketches from local history > Part 13
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is extremely painful. But it is gratifying to know that the 'Watchman' exists in full vigor, & is today in this era of our wretchedness & woe, the bold champion of Liberty & right, & that its Editor has been so truly enobled by the cowardly assaults upon his person by imbecility & wickedness in high places, for the conservative, firm, independent, manly & honorable course persued by his journal. And now to be more personal permit me to say, although per- sonally an entire stranger to you, that my best wishes have ever been with you, since you were first brought to my notice as editor of the Watchman. For I thought I detected in your Editorials & man- agement of your paper the ring of the right metal. That you designed to be a vigilant Watchman on the walls of our political Zion, (as you have since fully demonstrated ) & that you would strive to pre- serve, defend, & maintain inviolate in all their pur- ity, those great principles recognized, established, & declared by the Fathers in our glorious Charter, the Federal Constitution, against all opposition, tyrany, &: oppression. come ( from) what quarter, they may. But for presuming to exercise this high & holy Vo- cation, & for daring to expose wickedness in high places, & attempting the vindication of the dearest rights of Freemen, rights founded on the plainest provisions of the Constitution, & backed by the say- ings & arguments of the Fathers; Expounders & most able Defenders of that Sacred instrument. Rights wrung from the grasp of Tyrants by the agonizing sacrifice of rivers of blood & millions of treasure, rights which no exigency might impair, but which Despots & corrupt minions of power, in all ages, have ever been ready to invade, for daring to do this, & nothing more nor less. It appears that you were by Judases of evil omen the base minions of the great Author, Executor & Administrator of Higher Law doctrine, in violation of all forms of law. Human or Divine, while traveling on a peace- ful mission & in the performance of high & honor- able duties entrusted to you by a patriotic & loyal constituency, in an unguarded moment waylaid & l:y force of arms & without a judge or jury clandes- tinely conveyed a prisoner to a fortress once honor- ed by the great & hallowed name of Lafayette, but which had been so shamefully desecrated by a des- potic political party for the vile purpose of perpetu- ating their power & silencing all opposition to their sanguinary measures, by the Terrors of this & their
other modern wretched Bastiles ; * (Sec note below). Oh: Shame; Where is thy blush? But thanks to that redeeming spirit which burst forth so peacefully & gloriously at the Ballot Box, we can now begin to breathe a purer atmosphere & again inhale the balmy, refreshing & invigorating breezes of Liberty. And I rejoice that though you were thus shamefully outraged & maltreated by those wicked men in power, whose Authority (for the good of this country) I pray to God may be brief. That you have been bold to publish & declare the truth under that Law, the force of which your op- pressors & all other like tyrants for their misdeeds should yet be made to feel in all its power. The people of the North are laboring under an awful delusion on the subject of such vital & paramount importance to the safety of their rights, & have been acting entirely regardless of the teachings & warn- ings of all history in the matter, & were fast forg- ing their own fetters & by blind, & overweening con- fidence in their rulers, were being led (like lambs to the slaughter) by successive steps from that lofty elevation of Freedom & Independence, under our glorious Constitution, to those Sombre Shades of Despotism & Oppression where Liberty expires. The Constitution Inviolate & the Union inseparable have ever been the Democratic creed, in despite of all op- position, & to this only let all our Moral, Social, & just political energies continue to be directed, for this let us work, for this let us pray, & if need be, for this only let us fight (but not with brute force. nor the sword) & do battle valiantly, until every abolitionist of the North (those vile traitors to the Government, & fathers of that other political her- esy, Secession) with their Co-workers of the South shall fill one common political grave, & thus, & thus only, can we restore our once glorious Union. Go on in your good work standing firm in the faith, continuing to raise the standard of Constitutional Liberty, & to battle for the right, remembering by way of consolation & encouragement the Scriptural observation, that when vile men are exalted to pow- er, the people mourn, & that good men in all ages of the world have, like yourself. for the cause of truth, of liberty & right, suffered at the hands of
*Henry A. Reeves was arrested during the days of the Civil War and incarcerated in Fort Lafayette for a time because of his unpatriotic speeches and publications in his paper, the "Republican Watchman " Reeves was a rabid Democrat and Copperhead.
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Tyrants in power, bonds, imprisonment & even death itself, well knowing that the memory of the wicked shall perish, while the name of the just shall be inscribed in letters of living light, high on the scroll of imperishable fame, & that their memory shall not only be embalmed in the hearts of the truly worthy & good of the present generation, but shall likewise remain a standing memorial for virtuous emulation to future millions & generations, far down to the remotest period of time ; & in conclusion allow me to offer the following sentiment : 'The Re- publican Watchman,' a living Democratic substance, Very annoying to Abolitionists & Tyrants because unanswerable in its arguments. May its shadow never be less, & may its Editor never have occasion to say : 'Lord, what evil have I done that these Black Republicans should praise me?' You will please pardon my unwarrantable trespass upon your attention, & believe me,
"Yours very truly,
"David Pierson."
I might copy more, similar to the foregoing, but this is sufficient to show the feeling and sentiment of one at least who resided in that little hamlet by the sea, and who can compute the extent of the in- fluence and effect of such principles as this man pro- claimed, on the minds and lives of the youth with whom he came in contact. I do not say, nor would I infer that this man was the main reason that no one enlisted from Sagg, yet on the other hand I firnily believe his influence was felt, and that it did not savor of patriotism nor loyalty to the highest and noblest principles of citizenship in their native township or their native land. Con- trast if you will the conditions just mentionedi, with the stand taken by the ancestors of the men of that same community in 1776, in whose hearts the spirit of patriotism burned as an un- quenchable fire. This same David Pierson's grand- father was the Captain David of Revolutionary fame and no one can question his patriotism. Again, note the long list of men who went from that same hamlet with Capt. David, and carried their flint- locks all through that long war for freedom, and while considering this, answer if you can. why the man just quoted above should have taken the stand which he did take, and that in a community where those of his ilk would be frowned upon and scorn-
ed as being untrue and disloyal to the highest prin- ciples and doctrines as set forth in the (to quote him) Federal Constitution? I know and realize that all men cannot think alike on many questions, nor take the same stand relative to many vital mat- ters of import, both local and national, but when any man, in expressing his personal views, will use language so scathing and insulting as did this man in referring to the "Great Emancipator," I would feel a sense of guilt and shame, if when writing on tliis subject, I did not denounce him also, which I hereby do, for I consider it not only a local, but a National insult as well.
I have made reference already in this chapter "to family divisions caused by this war that separated relatives forever." and in this connection I wish to relate an account that will illustrate this statement, and that from a local standpoint.
One of the descendants of the Cook family of Mecox was Captain John Cook, who married Eliza Mulford, of AAmagansett. They had sons, John and Henry. John was born Jan. 21st, 1784, died Jan. 26th, 1856. John married Elizabeth Ludlamı, and Henry married Zerviah, a sister of Elizabeth. John had a large family of children, of whom my mother. Caroline, was one. Henry had two children. Wil- liam and Zerviah. When these children of Henry's were quite young, both parents died, and their uncle John took them to his home, treated them just as if they had been his own, gave them every advantage his own children were given, and brought them up to mature years.
The children of these two brothers were really double cousins, and then having been brought up together as they were, they were as brothers and sisters of one family, and were just as near and dear to each other as if they really had been. When quite a young man, William Cook went to New Or- leans, where he married and made his permanent home. He had quite a family, I think four boys. William's sister, Zerviah, married William Top- ping, and had quite a large family, one of which was William Owen. This brother and sister wrote to each other occasionally, and kept informed as to each other's welfare, as well as their families. This was the relation that existed for years between this brother and sister, and continued until the South seceded. Then came on the "Great Conflict" that separated and divided many families. especially
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along the border line of the Free and Slave States. Sad indeed were these family divisions, but I sup- pose it was only natural for each to support and up- hold their own side. I imagine there were many that did not do it from choice, but were almost obliged to cast their lot with the class representing the majority where they lived. There was an illus- tration of this in connection with this Cook family. that I wish to mention. Two of William Cook's sons enlisted in the Confederate Army, and were in the service until both were killed. Zerviah ( Cook) Topping's son, William Owen, enlisted in the Un- ion Army, became a Lieutenant in the Seventh New York Regiment, and served until killed at the siege of Vicksburg, April 29th, 1863. Here was an ex- ample of the children of a brother and sister who served, perhaps without doubt, where they thought duty called them, but on opposite sides in the great- est war this country had ever known up to that time, and that unto death.
I wish I knew if they faced each other in battle in that bloody siege on the banks of the Mississippi. In 1868. William Cook came to New York City on business, and after getting back home. he wrote to his relatives in Bridgehampton, and told of his trip North, and said he so longed to come down to his old home, and see his dear friends and relatives, but he feared the feeling was so strong in the North against the South that they would not welcome him. and he so much wanted to see them again. Had he only known it, his friends felt if anything worse than he did at his not having visited them. So fam- ilies and friends were divided.
The following is an article written for me by re- quest by a veteran of the Civil War. A private of Co. H. 127th. New York infantry, enlisted Sept. 8th, 1862, in which he gives an account of the rais- ing of the flag on Fort Sumter April 14th, 1865 :
"Being the anniversary of the fall of Fort Sum- ter, it was arranged to have the old Sumter Flag again raised on the Fort. There were detachments of marines and sailors under the command of Lieu- tenant Commander Williams. A detachment of the 127th. N. Y. Volunteers, of ten Corporals or Sergeants. Corporal .A. Asbury Halsey (afterward a Sergeant) representing Co. K. 127th. Regiment. .\ detail of the 55th Mass. Colored Regiment. Rear Admiral Dahlgren, Henry Ward Beecher and fam- ily, Theodore Tilton. William Lloyd Garrison, Ma-
jor General Doubleday, General John A. Dix, Ad- jutant General Townsend, Judge Adjutant General Holt, Colonel Stewart L. Woodford, Rev. Dr. Storrs. also Sergeant Hart, with the old Sumter Flag, that he hauled down when the Fort was evac- uated, in 1861. The ceremonies were : Prayer by the Rev. Matthew Harris, who had made the prayer at the raising of the flag December 27th, 1860, when the garrison removed from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter. Reading of the Psalms 126th, 47th, 9Sth and the 20th, by the Rev. Dr. Storrs. Major .An- derson's despatch of April 18th, 1861, to the Gov- ernment announcing the fall of Fort Sumter, was then read by Adjutant General Townsend. Major Anderson and Sergeant Hart then stepped forward and unfolded the old flag amid loud cheering. Hart raised the Flag with a wreath of evergreens attach- ed. A salute of 200 guns from the Fort. Salutes from Navy, Forts Moultrie, Battery B. Sullivan's Island. Fort Putnam on Morris Island, and Fort Johnson on James Island, Address by General .\n- derson, Singing of Star Spangled Banner, and the address of the day by the Rev. Henry Ward Beech- er, Prayer by the Rev. Dr. Storrs, and singing of the Doxology.
"We witnessed the flag raising from the jail tower, where we were on duty. We had none of the pleasure of hearing the good exercises and I presume Sergeant A. AAsbury Halsey is the only . person living who saw the event. (certainly the only one from this locality who was present and took part in the exercises, his name may be found in the list of those who went from Hay Ground). The 55th Mass. Colored Regiment fought in the terrible siege against Fort Wagner, the Sebastopol of America, where the four small regiments, two white and two colored, left nearly 1.400 of their comrades lying dead and wounded on the sand. .Asking to come within the Confederate lines the next morning (Sunday) to bury their dead, the word came back, that we could have the body of Colonel Strong, of the White N. Y. Regiment, but the body of Colonel Shaw we could not have, as they should bury him with his Niggers. As the Flag Raising was so near the surrender of Lee's Army, there was but little thought of it, but today it ought to be history, yet the student of today asks me. 'Where is Morris Island? We never heard of any battle there!' But to the living veterans of the
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127th, who were there in the spring, summer and autumn, during the siege of Charleston, under the fire of an ever vigilant foe, it is memory and history also. But we were glad the animosity has cooled on both sides, for being on that Island within call of the Confederate sentry, we of course took more interest in the flag raising than the country at large. "FREDERICK ROSE, "Water Mill."
The Rev. Edward Hop- per was minister in the Presbyterian Church in Sag Harbor from June 8th, 1852, until May 3rd. 1863. This includes that period of unrest prior to the Civil War and also covers a considerable period of actual fighting in that "Great Conflict." He was a man of mark- REV. EDWARD HOPPER ed oratorical ability and eloquence, and perhaps did more to influence the young men of eastern Long Island .to volunteer in their country's service than any other one man. His patriotic speeches were com- mented on by all who heard him throughont this entire section. He was so enthusiastic on the sub- ject of abolition of slavery that some even accused him of being a radical and a fanatic on the subject.
This. I imagine turned some against him. I think his was a remarkably successful pastorate especially with the young people and children, and
all was serene until he went away for his summer vacation, when, during his absence one of his ses- sion wrote an anonymous letter and gave it to an- other of the same session to copy, so that one could say. "It is not my handwriting" and the other, "It is not my composition," and this was given to Mr. Hopper on his return. This underhanded and con- temptible message broke his heart, for he thought all was well, and it finally led to his resignation.
After he left Sag Harbor he wrote a book under the title of "Old Horse Gray," in which he personi- fies this old horse which after years of faithful ser- vice is turned out to browse on the highways and eke out a living as best he can. It is one of the fin- est pieces of sarcasm, with which I am familiar. These books for the most part have either been hidden or destroyed for they are now very scarce.
After leaving Sag Harbor he became pastor of the "Church of the Sea and Land" in New York City. This was really a Mission Church somewhat on the order of the Bowery Mission or the Water Street Mission : here he served for sixteen years. While there a goodly portion of his congregation was made up of seamen and sailors from the large fleet of sailing ships that sailed the "Seven Seas" and carried on a trade with all foreign ports. It was while here that he conceived the idea of writing that beautiful hymn, "Jesus Saviour Pilot Me," and not from his memory of Sag Harbor as some have suggested. He died in the year 1888.
* The facts above given were related to me by the late Judge Henry P. Hedges, who was familiar with them all.
STORMS, CYCLONES AND EARTHQUAKES
I have been much interested in looking over the diary of Daniel Hildreth, 3rd, an old resident of Water Mill, who was born on May 10th, 1800. He was a man far above the average in intellect. A close observer of nature, and one who differed from most men in that he was willing to give some time and thought to record very many of those items of ocal history that are so valued by all thoughtful citizens today who are interested in the early history of this community. I quote from him as follows :
"We had, when I was a boy, much more snow than in later years, sometimes banking as high as the eaves of the houses, and where there were hedges, I have known it to be 12 feet high, and it would stay on the ground for weeks, and sleighs were in use for a goodly portion of the winter. The roads were often blocked for weeks.
"The 'Conklin' or as it is sometimes referred to. as the 'Christmas' storm, occurred the 24th of De- cember. 18II, and was the worst storm in my re-
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membrance. The day before was cloudy and sprink- led rain, in the night the wind shifted to the north- east, and such a snow stormn I have never known since. The wind blew a gale and it was very cold. Ev- erything seemed to be buried up with snow. My fath- er and brother had much difficulty in getting out of the house the next morning. The cattle and sheep were mostly covered with snow. It was impossible to take care of them. There were many sheep and some cattle smothered to death under the snow. The day before being so mild and warm, these were left out in the fields."
I, myself, as a boy heard some of the old people tell about this storm, and they said, "the sheep and cattle were very restless the day before, and at night gathered about the barnyard gate, as if they had a premonition of the approaching storm. (and with- out a doubt they did have) and were asking as plainly as they could for shelter, and we, more ig- norant than they. failed to understand and heed their request."
There were a number of vessels and some lives lost on Long Island Sound that fitful night. The above account of this storm is from an eye witness. The reason for its being called 'The Conklin Storm' is from the fact that on that night Capt. Conklin with all of the crew and also the vessel were lost. I think he was a native of Amagansett. In Thomp- son's History of Long Island, Vol. II, page 52, it is stated : "An immense amount of property was de- stroyed, and many lives lost. It is supposed that more than sixty vessels were cast ashore upon the north side of Long Island, most of which were des- troyed or so greatly injured as to be of little value. Whole crews were lost. The mercury fell to 8 be- fore the storm abated. The snow continued to fall. the wind increased to almost a tornado, and swept over the plains with desperate intensity. It raged for twenty-four hours. The day previous had been so remarkably pleasant, and the transition from warm to cold was so great that in many instances human beings perished on land as well as on the water. Sheep expired in great numbers, domestic fowls were frozen to death, and cattle were over- come by the severity of the cold."
These are the accounts from two different writ- ers, both authentic, of the same disastrous storm.
I quote again from the Hildreth diary of another storm in which he says: "I well remember another
storm that happened on September 15th, 1815 - that was a complete hurricane. The sea rose so high that it swept down almost every dune or bank the length of Long Island. Because of the great waves from the Ocean, Mecox Bay at Watermill rose so high that it ran over the dam into the Mill Pond. Our saw mill was blown off the post, and many houses about the town were unroofed, fences and trees were leveled to the ground. We had two orchards, good ones, that were ruined. Timber in the woods was a heap of destruction. We had much valuable white oak timber, One Thousand Dollars (equal to $5,000 at this time) would scarcely have paid the damage to it. The corn was ruined, and the sea and wind drove the sand into the ponds and creeks and Bay, (this accounts for the great sand flats on the southerly portions of these bodies of water) and covered up much valuable land and meadow. This was and is still known as the 'GREAT SEPTEMBER GALE'." The effects of this great storm are plainly visible in the forests all of the way from Shinnecock Hills to Montauk Point even to this day.
I have mentioned elsewhere that the timber used in the erection of the Charles A. Ludlow house in Mecox. and the James Hand house in Wainscott. was hewn from trees blown down in this great storm. I have since learned that the timber used in building the Presbyterian Church on Shelter Is- land was gotten from the same source. This church was dedicated July 17th, 1817.
In walking about these woods one will often come upon a mound of earth several feet high and perhaps 8 or 10 feet across it, and at one side of this will be a corresponding hole or depression. This was made, when in that storm above mentioned. some primeval oak, of huge proportions, was up- rooted and leveled, and in so doing, lifted tons of-
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Ocean in a storm at Mecox
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Ocean in a storm at Mecox
earth on its roots, and thus made the depression. The massive trunk may have been used for timber. but the roots held the soil together for many years, or until such a time as they decayed and left the mound of earth as it is seen today.
Then again; there was a time when all of the ponds from Shinnecock Bay to Mecox Bay, includ- ing these two bays, were united. That is, Mecox Bay, Channel Pond. Sayre's Pond, Foster's Pond. Halsey's Pond, Phillip's Pond, Old Town Pond. Sinall Pond, Agawam Lake, Halsey's Neck Pond. Cooper's Neck Pond, Taylor's Creek, and Shinne- cock Bay were all connected by a water-way or stream of water. At the present time some of these ponds no longer exist, and most of them are sepa- rated by land that makes them independent bodies of water. The important question is: When were they separated, and just as important, how were they separated? Capt. Thomas Sayre. a life long resident of Flying Point, born 1809, said that these facts came directly from his grandfather, Matthew Sayre. That he, when a boy, declared that the above named conditions existed. Matthew Sayre was born 1731, died, 1819. Again, Mrs. Elbert Rose said that her grandmother, who was Mary Jagger, and married Daniel Halsey (she was born 1759. and died 1847), told that these same condi- tions existed when she was young, and that she re- membered it well.
We must bear in mind the fact that the ocean, as a general thing, is at the present time, and has been for centuries, encroaching on the land on the south shore of Long Island. Some will say that there are no evidences to bear out this idea, but just consider for a moment the fact that perhaps one hundred years ago the shore fine was at a place that is now many, many rods from the present shore line, per- haps one half way out to the outer bar, and that in
many places, the land to the north of the dunes was marshes and salt meadows, which varied in width and extent. . At the time referred to, the stream connecting these ponds flowed through, and was bordered on either side by these marshes. In some places this stream was much deeper and wider than in other places. This will account for some of the ponds being entirely separated at the present time, and others still connected.
In that great storm of Sept. 15th, 1815, large areas of the marshes, meadows and even the upland were covered and filled with sand. Where the con- necting channel was shallow it was entirely filled and the ponds separated. I have seen the tracks of oxen and the ox cart in good solid loam south of the dunes, and when these tracks were made, the dunes were far to the south of the location of these tracks, which were made in cultivated fields on im- proved farming land. This has wrought a great change in conditions along the south shore of Long Island. It is not at all improbable that one day, no one knows how far back in our history. Mecox Bay, Sagaponack Pond, Fairfield Pond, Peter's Pond. Georgica Pond and Hook Pond in East Hampton were all connected in the same manner as were those mentioned above.
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