Author . ^^*0j^ Title Imprint. la— «7S7»-2 OPO .'^^^ "^^^ e^/^ OLD TIMES IN HUNTINGTON. AX Historical Address, BY HON. HENRY C. PLATT, DELIVERED AT THE CEXTEXNTAL CELEBRATION AT HUNTIXGTUN. SUFFOLK COUNTY, N. Y., ON THE rWITHADltlTlONAL NOTES AM) FAMILY bKETCIJF.S.I To-day a century's honors crown The land for which our prayers are given. And endless honors pouring down Shall bless it in the sight of heaven : So millions yet unborn shall rise To hail the hour wliich now we hail, Its glory sparkling in their eyes When we have passed beyond the vale. nUNTINGTON : LONG ISLAXDEa PRIXT, 1S7G. CENTENNIAL PROCLAMATIONS. I. The following is a copy of a proclamation made by- President Grant, May 25, 1876 : Whereas. A joint resolution of the Senate and House of Represen- tatives of the United States was duly approved on the 13th day of March last, which resolution is as follows : Be it Resolved, By the Senate and House of Eepreseutatives of the United States of America in Congress Assembled, That it be and is hereby recommended by the Senate and House of Representatives to the peo- ple of the several States that they assemble in their several counties or towns on the approaching Centemiial anniversary of our National Independence and that they cause to have delivered on such day an historical sketch of such county or town from its formation, and that a copy of said sketch be filed in print or manuscript in the Clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy in print or manuscript be filed in the office of the Librarian of Couffrew, to the intent that a complete record may be thus obtained of the progress of our institu- tions during the first centennial of our existence ; and Whereas, Tt is desmcd proper that such recommendation be brought to the notice aud knowledge of the people of the United States, now, therefore, I Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States, do here- by declare and make known the same, in the hope Ihat the object of such resolution may meet the approval of the people of the United States, aud that proper steps may be taken to cany the same into etfect. II. The following is a copy of a proclamation made by President Grant, June 26, 1876 : The Centennial anniversary of the day on which the people of the United States declared theii right to a separate aud equal station 4 among the power-j of the earth seetus to demand an exceptional obsoiT- ance. The founders of the Government, at its feebleness, invoked the blessings and the protection of a divine Providence, and the thirteen colonies and three millions of people have expanded into a nation of strength and numbers eommaudiug the position which then was assert- ed and for which fervent prayers were then ofl'ered It seems fitting that on the occurrence of the hundredth anniversary of our existence as a nation a grateful acknowledgement be made to Almighty God for the protection and bounties which he has vouchsafed to om- beloved country. I therefore invite the good people of the United States on the approaching Fourth day of July, in addition to the usual observances with which they are accustomed to greet the return of the day, further in such manner and at such time as in their respective localities and religious associations may be the most convenient, to mark its recur- rence by some public religious and devout thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings which have been bestowed upon us as a nation during the century of om* existence, and humbly to invoke a continu- ance of His favor and of His protection. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington the twenty-sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Seventy-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the One Hundredth. By the President, U. S. GRANT. Hamilton Pish, Secretary of State. THE D^Y. The One Hundredth Anniversary of American Independ- ence was celebrated in the Town of Huntington with un- usual enthusiasm and display. A large procession was formed under direction of Grand Marshal Major Thomas Young and his aides, all mounted, viz.: Supervisor, STEPHEN 0. ROGERS, Sherifi' EGBERT G. LEWIS. Constable, PETER M. TRAINER, FRANK M. GROSSMAN, GEORGE 0. WOOD, ANSEL B. GILDERSLEEVE, HENRY SCUDDER, GEORGE W. CONKLIN, AUGUSTUS H. SCUDDER, JOHN McKAY. 5 The following was the order of procession : Brass Baud. Speakers. Town officers and invited guests. Various representatives of the U. S. Govemnient. The old cannon, preceded by the American Flag and followed l)y the soldiers of 1776 and 1870. Banner of \7ashington and motto The Old Bell of 1776. Angel of Peace, guarding the Liberty Bell. — Miss Alice Velsor. Banner of the United States (coat of arms). Representation of the Goddess of Liberty and the thirteen origmal States, .personated by the following young ladies, riz.: Goddfss of Liberty, Miss MARY A. HEXDRICKSON ; Thirteen States : Nellie Conklin, Emma Ritter, Mary Prime, Cora Brock, •Lizzie Brush, Olive Secord, Florence Howard, Cora Howard, Addle McKay, Lillie Jarvis, Susie Jones, Lillie Fancher, Flora Rogers. Banner of New York State (coat of arms). Representations of Justice and Libertj^ : Justice, Miss Sarah Ritchie ; Liberty, Miss Laura Yelsor. Education — headed bv a bauuer and wagon with emblematic represen- tations — followed by members of Professions, Board of Edu- cation and Trustees of the vailous scbcoi districts of the Towr, Prncipals, Teachers and Children of Schools, with theu* school banners. Fire Companies of the Town. The Press, represented by a printing case on a wagon, an emblematic banner and files of newspapers. Agriculture, with banner and wagon representing Ceres and Pomona, enthi'oued upon products of the soil, followed by agricultural machinery, wagons, etc. Commerce, headed by a banner representing Neptune with his trident, followed by a long-boat on a wagon, containing capstan and oars, properly decorated with bunting and manned by sailors. Following this, carriages with representative captains of our ports. Trade, manufactures and artizans, each bearing emblematic banners and followed by wagons and carriages with rep- resentatives of the various branches. Ba^e Ball Club. Citizen-^. The route of the procession was from Piime Avenue through Main street to Prospect street, through Prospect to High street ; through High street to New Yoik avenue ; through New York avenue to Main street ; through Main street to Carly's Grove, at the brow of Cold Spring Hill, where the exercises of the day took place, upon a large plat- foim, and in the seated grove, in the presence of two thous- and five hundred assembled people. The dwellings of the inhabitants were gaily decorated with flags and the ToM-n of Huntington put on its holiday attire. National salutes were fired from sunset on the Third to midnight on the Fourth, at intervals (one hundred guns in all) under the direction of Messrs. Dodge, Conklin and Lindsay, and the bells of the town welcomed the day at early dawn. The following committees had charge of the details of the Centennial Celebration : COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS : Rev. Wm. W. Kuox, Chairman, Heury T. Fuunell, Amos P. Conklin, Charles E. Shepard, Nelson Sanimis, John McKay, Thomas Aitkin. FINANCE COMMITTEE : Ur. Wm. D. Woodeud, fhairman, George M. Tilestcm, Treasunr. Isaac Rogers, Frank M. Crossmau, J. Amherst "WoodhuU, TT. Wilton Wood, Arthur T. Hurd, Thomas Aitkin, Hiiani Y. Baylis. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: M Edward (\Trll, Henry Loekwood, Ansel 1?. Gildersleeve George M. Tileston. S. Lee .lurvis, Joseph Lewis, Clias. V. Scudder, John Carl!, Lemuel Cavil, Silas Jarvis, George Van Ausdail, Warr.'H B. Sammis, oreland Conklra, Char Isaac Watts Roe, David G. Velsor, , Daniel L Baylis, Stephen Gardiner, Joseph Irwm, Jesse Carll, John N". Robhins, William Godl're}', Timothy Oakley, William Brush," Walt'jr Hewlett, Sanmel J. Brush, rman, Garret F. Eaton, Nathaniel G. Brush. Albert Hopper, Henry C. Shadbolt, M. E. Bulling, Egbert G. Lewis, Carl] S. Burr, Egbert Carll, John C. Baylis, George W. IBrown, Buel' Titus, 0. Smith Sammis. PEACE OFFICERS OF THE DAY : ICgbert G. Lkwis, Shn-iff of Suffolk Coicnty. .__,, Sfuriiil l)i put;/ S/uriffx : Stephen Hloxom, Albert Walters. Daniel Pearsall, Joseph Vauderbilt, William Day, Coles Hendriekson, Henry C. Sliadboit, 'William 11. ('onklin. (^inxtahh s : Peter M. 'Fraiuer, Jacob DeLmig. 7 COMMITTEE ON MUSIC : Kev. J. J. Crowley, Chairman, Thomas Aitkiu, Moreland Conklin. The programme of exercises at Carly's Grove was as follows : 1 Music by the Band Hail Columbia. 2 Opening Prayer Kev. MosKS L. Scuddkr, LL. D. 3 Reading Declaration ot ludepeiuleuce Douglas Conklin. 4 Salute 5 Music by the Baud Red, White and Blue. 6 lutrocluctJiy Remarks by the Chairman S. W. Gaines. 7 Centennial Hymn " Singing by Schools. 8 Address Hon. H. J. Scitdder. 9 Music by the Band Yankee Doodle. 10 Historical Address Hon. H. C. Platt. 11 America Singing by Schools. 1 2 Doxology By the Audience. 13 Music by the Band March. 14 Benediction Rev. M. C. B. Oakley. 1 5 N"ational Salute of 38 Guns At the conclusion of the exercises a vote of thanks was passed to the speakers of the day, and on motion of J. Am herst Woodhull, seconded by Jarvis R. Rolph, it was unani- mously voted that Hon. Henry C. Platt be requested to fmnish a copy of his Historical Address for publication, in pamphlet form, and that one copy thereof, in print, be filed in the office of the Clerk of the County of Suffolk, and an additional copy be filed in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, in accordance with the resolution of Congress of March 13, 1876, and the proclamation of the President of the United States of May 25, 1876. In the evening there was a grand display of fireworks and music at the Grove. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentleman : — The Senate and Representatives of the Nation, in Con- oress assembled, have recommended the universal and special observance of this Day. The President of the United States has proclaimed the suggestion throughout the land, that as a part of the prop- er exercises of this Centennial occasion, the People cause to have delivered an historical sketch of their County or Town. To-day, the Nation, State, County and Town are looking away from the glowing hills of the future, and gazing back to the "twilight and dim valleys of the jiast," through which their Fathers journeyed. With reverence and emotion, they this day re touch the pictures on Memory's w^all, brush away the dust of oblivion, and rescue, as far as may be, the relics of the past from the invisible fingers of decay. We have already heard from our fellow Townsman, Hon. Heniy J. Scudder, in his eloquent Address, of the Nation's struggles, the Nation's trials, and the Nation's final victo- ry, in the days of the E evolution : I now respectfully in- vite your attention and your thoughts to a more limited sphere of action, nearer home, and within the boundaries of the ancient and venerable Town of Huntington. Our ears have listened to the Grand Music of the Storm-Cloud of War, and the Hurricane of Rebellion, that swept over the land as a mighty and resistless ocean ; let us heed also, the ligliter breezes that rustle among the flowers, or play over the babbling streamlet that sparkles in the Sun. (Ap- plause.) The recorded history of Huntington, during its early 9 settlement, and especially during the Revolutionary War, is fragmentary, scattered, disconnected, brief and incom- plete. The explorer can readily trace the course of rivers from where they flow into the sea, but when he enters and de- lineates their numerous branches, and seeks to find the fountains whence all the waters issue, he finds himself be- wildered, and wanders in the wilderness at hazard. So he, who leaves the beaten track, and branches off into narrow- er paths, to learn the history of particular times and places, men and manners, opinions and practices, finds his task most difficult and his labor often m vain. Like stars at daybreak, which have beamed brightly through the long night, the men of old have faded away, and the relics, ti'a- ditions and memories, connected with their trials, their troubles and their triumphs, will soon be covered up forever. We turn to dust, and all our miglitiest works Die l-oo ; the deep foundations that we lay. Time ploughs them up. and not a trace remains : We build with what we deem eternal rock ; A distant age asks where the faljric stood. [Applause.] For more than one hundred years j)iior to the Revolu- tionary War, our Fathers lived and died in this lovely Val- ley, and he who would faithfully sketch the local history of the Town of Huntington, in this day of retrospect and re- joicing, cannot well avoid brief mention of its birth as a community ; of its ways, manners and customs, long before its population were called upon to endure their hardships, tribulations and losses, in the National Contest of 1776. The first settlers of Huntington were a body of men, equally distinguished for the soundness of their morals and the purity of their lives. They were characterized by pe cnliar sternness of principle, and singular exactness in the discharge of every duty. They regarded exevj species of vice with a kind of instinctive abhorrence. Prodigality and licentiousness they branded v/ith infamy, and often punish- ed with severity. Tlie spirit that animated the Fathers of the Town, in the 10 early stages of their settlement, may be seen in the record of their proceedings before Magistrates, in their local laws and regulations ; and if a misguided zeal, or an imperfect acquaintance with the rights and duties of the social state, occasionally betrayed them into acts of personal oppression, the efficacy of sound principles soon corrected their errors and gave birth to milder and nobler sentiments. In those early days, the Magistrate and the Minister, both servants of the Town, displayed equal zeal in the defence of public order and good morals. There was not exactly a union of "Church and State," but a union of sentiment and effort — a union of all good citizens, having for its object, the promo- tion of that purity, which exalts a community, and a suppres- sion of those evils, which are the reproach and ruin of any people. We do well to venerate the memory of those men, whose incorruptible integrity, ardent love of liberty, and sacred regard for good morals and pure government, laid the foundation of this Town on a firm and lasting base. — They adorned and blessed their day and generation. Ill paths of glory, wealth and fame They had not cared to roam ; Their glory was— an honest name, Their lortune was— their home. [Applause.] The Town of Hmitington was first settled in 1653—223 years ago. The settlers were Englishmen. The Pioneers, who formed the settlement, consisted originally of Eleven families, who found their way across the Sound from Sand- wich, Massachusetts, coming through the Connecticut Val- ley. They were soon joined by others of the New Haven Colony. Three of the settlers made a purchase of land, comprising six square miles, of the Indians, for some trifling' trinkets, for the benefit of the whole. The land was then claimed and owned by the Matinnecock tiibe of Indians, who occu- pied the valley near the Harbor and were the Indii.n Pro- prietors c f Huntington. They were few in number rmd weak in spirit, having been greatly reduced by a wr.r with the 11 Peqxiocls of Connecticut, and by a pestilence that had swept over the Island, before the advent of the English. When the first settlers landed their families and house- hold goods on the shores of our Bay in 1653, there were only thirty families of Indians, whose huts and wigwams were scattered aboiit the head of the Harbor. They sold their land cheap. Their money was "wam- pum," made from fragments of sea shells, with which the shores aboundecl. The white people soon learned how to manufacture "'wampum." This was "hard money," but it became immensely "inflated." The result was, that the Indians soon had all the wampum, and the white people all the land. It was a custom of the Indians to require a nixmber of "muxes," in payment for their land. These consisted of small brad- awls that were very useful in the manufacture of "wampum ;" a species of tool for the Indian Treasury De- partment. Besides wampum, the Indians manufactured earthen ware, moccasins, baskets,- stone axes and arrow heads. They made canoes of such size and strength as to undertake and accomplish voyages in them to Connecticut, and even as far as Boston. In the "Remonstrance of the Deputies from New Neth erland," dated July 28th, 1649, it is stated that the Indians were well limbed, slender around the waist, broad shoul- dered, all having black hair and brown eyes ; they were very nimble and swift of pace, well adapted to travel on foot, and to carry heavy burdens ; dirty and slovenly in their habits, and as tawny as Gipsies. Their clothing consisted of a piece of deer-skin, leather or elk-hide around the body. Their shoes or moccasins were made from deer skins or corn husks ; they twined both white and black wampum around their heads, neck and waist, and in their ears, and thus, says the quaint chronicle, "in their way are mighty fine." They frequently smeared their skin and hair with grease. The women planted coin, cut and hauled firewood, and also performed domestic duties. The men were gene- 12 rally lazy. A lady friend suggests that the last mentioned fact is true of other races than the Indians, [Laughter.] Their dwellings were constructed of hickory poles, set in the ground, and bent bow fashion, like arches, and then covered with bark, which they peeled in quantities for that purpose. Their food was poor and gross ; they ate the flesh of all sorts of game that the country suj^plied, and did not take the trouble of cleaning or dressing the game be- fore they cooked it. They made their bread of maize, which was of a very indifferent quality. It would be deemed an amazing dish for the delicate j^alates of the Nineteenth Century. Rev. Nathaniel S. Prime, in his history of Long Island, states that the Long Island Indians had small idols or im ages, which they supposed were acquainted with the will of the Gods, and made it known to the Paw-waws or Priests. They had a God for each of the four corners of the Earth ; the four seasons of the year, and others of the elements of nature and the productions of the Earth. Hubbard in his "General History of New England" claims that the Long Island Indians were fierce and barba- rous. Silas Wood's History of Long Island states that they were less troublesome to the whites than these north of the Sound, and that, although they sometimes commit- ted depredations on the jsroperty of the settlers, it does not appear that they ever formed any general combination against them, or materially interrupted the progress of their improvements. The first settlers of Huntington however, erected a Fort for their safety and protection, and it is probable they ex perienced considerable annoyance from the uncivilized na- tives. The Fort was destroyed in 1G80, and the material was donated to the Town Minister for his firewood. It is stated by Charles B. Moore, Esq., in a very interest- ing paper on "English and Dutch Intermarriages," that Gov. Stuyves; nfc made friends witli the Indians and Indian Chiefs on Long Island for the sake of trade with them, and in dc- 13 ing so, armed some of them with guns, powder and ball, sent from Holland, and permitted arms to be sold them, which was quickly discovered on Long Island by seeing the Dutch gims in the hands of the Indians, and observing their conduct. This rendered all the English agricultural settlers unsafe. They dared not stay, excejit under arms, and they even carried their arms to church. At Southold, the guns found in the hands of the Indians were seized and taken, and the town paid a reward for each giui taken from an Indian. The Indians, it is said, abused the men in tbe field, and the women and children, and killed the oxen and cows of the farmers, either to get their meat or to make powder horns. Indians were as ready to kill a cow as a deer. They could not appreciate the difierence. But with the white settlers a cow was very valuable at that day. It is stated in an inventory of ancient date, that a dwelling house and fifteen acres of cleared land were together valued at £8 10s, and two cows were valued in the same inventory, at £9 10s. The only record, existing in this town, of any trouble fi'om the Indians, states that four Indians came into the dwelling house of John Robison at Nequaquatuck (Cold Spring) in the night time, in October, 1681, and for- cibly stole two guns, tobacco, venison, and some rum out of a barrel, (which was, it seems, kept as a precious article in the bed-room), and threatened to kill his wife, Jane Rob- ison, and a you.ng child. They escaped from the savages by running out of the back door through the woods to Hun- tington, after making a gallant but unsuccessful effort to sav3 that barrel of rum, by rolling it in the bushes. — [Laughter.] The white settlers were sometimes annoyed by the Indi- ans, while hunting for game. West Hills was a resort for the hunters, and they erected a stone fort there for pro- tection from the Indians, which they occupied in the night time while out on the chase. It was located where Mr. Lemuel Carll's orchard now is, and a stream of water ran close by it. It was a solid stone fort without any doors, 14 and was accessible only by a ladder, which its occupants placed inside, in the centre, the ends thereof reaching' above the height of the fort. In the morning, after a nights rest within the safe walls of this structure, it was no uncommon thing for the hunters to find the projecting end of their ladder stuck full of arrows, shot into it by the Indians, du- ring the night. As a general rule the Indians were justly dealt with by the early settlers of Huntington, and in case of wrong or injury, had the right and privilege, under the " Duke's Laws," of appealing to the Town court for redress, free of charge. " All injuries done to the Indians of what nature soever shall upon their complaint and proof in any court, have speedie redress gratis, against any Christian, in as full and ample manner (with reasonable allowance for damage) as if the case had been betwixt Christian and Christian." Such was a provision of the " Duke's Laws." The original*, settlement of the Town was located on the shores of the Harbor, and in the valley that now comprises the eastern part of the village. That was the original vil- lage of Huntington, and continued to be its chief business portion for over 100 years thereafter. The head of the Harbor extended up much farther to the south, than at the present time. Two centuries ago, the water turned a mill-wheel, through a dam located as far south of the present Mill Pond, as the bridge near Stephen K. Gould's residence. The land to the north of the pres- ent village, and between it and the Harbor, has by the ac- tion of the elements, and the washing of rains and floods upon the surrounding hill-sides, been filled in, during two centuries, changing the outline of the Harbor, and forming dry soil, as the waters have receded. The country abomided with wild fowl, wild turkeys, foxes, rabbits, wolves, wild cats, swans and pelicans, partridge, quail, plover and woodcock, and other small game ; deer were also abundant ; and the Harbor and Bay furnished quantities of fish of various kinds. Oysters and clams ex- isted and grew naturally along the shores and in the Bay 15 and Harbor, and the first settlers obtained their principal sustenance by hunting the game and catching the fish. The eai'liest history of Long Island ever written, by Dan- iel Denton, of Hempstead, in 1G70, states, " for wild beasts there is Deer, Wolves, Bear, Foxes, Raccoons, Otters, Mus- quashes and Skunks, Wild fowl there is a great store of, as Turkeys, Heath-hens, Quails, Partridges, Pigeons, Cranes, Geese of several sorts. Brants, Widgeons, Teal and divers others. Upon the south side of Long Island, in the Win- ter, lie store of Whales and Grampixsses, * * * also an innumerable multitude of Seals." The name of Hunting Town or Huntington was in all probability given to the settlement, by its early founders, by reason of the abundance of game of all kinds in and about theii- purchase. It is thought however by some, that it was named from Huntingdon, England, the birth-place of Oliver Cromwell, who was very popular with the Puritans of the New World. There is nothing in our records to show the authentic origin of the name given to the settle- ment, but I am inclined to think the former is the correct origin. It is, a mistaken notion to suppose that this country was a " howling wilderness " in 1653, covered with dense forests. On the contrary, although there was some timber, the woods were so thin and sparse, that they fm'nished good grazing ground for stock. The j)ine plains to the south were not then covered with " scrub-oaks." The woods had been kept clear by the Indians, prior to the settlement, by their custom of burning them over every year. The set- tlers therefore found considerable open or cleared land on their arrival, and they enclosed large tracts by fences for planting, and afterwards fenced the town plot for common pasturage of their stock, and to guard them from depreda- tions of wild beasts and Indians, and particularly from the large number of ravenous dogs with which Huntington even at that early day was cursed. The Indians caught young wolves, tamed and used them as dogs, and from their fond- 16 ness for destroying stock, they became a source of great an- noyance to the early settlers. The families who foimded Huntington made a social con- tract with each other to be ruled by such regulations and laws as a majority of them should decree ; to maintain the authority of their chosen magistrates, and officers, in exe- cuting the laws of their little community. The records show that some of them were well educated, for the times, and had a correct understanding of the common law of England. They were chiefly Independents, who had left England during the stormy and bloody reign of Charles I., being unable conscientiously to adopt the Constitution of the Church of England ; too manly to submit to the tyranny and persecutions of the High Commissioned Coiu't, and the Star Chamber of that miserable monarch who afterwards lost his head. They early secured the services of a minister. Rev. Wil- liam Leverich, who settled here about 1658, and remained until 1669, when he removed to Newtown. Huntington gave her first minister to Newtown in 1669, and Newtown handsomely returned the compliment two centuries later, in sending to Huntington one of her talented young sons. Rev. Wm. W. Knox, to dwell and labor among our people. [Applause.] The early houses of the Fathers of the Town were gene- rally of good size, but were seldom thoroughly finished, and the upper rooms, of course, were cold and comfortless. The houses were generally square or oblong, heavy build- ings, with stone chimneys that occupied a large space in the centre. The posts and rafters were of great size and solidity, and in the rooms, heavy beams stood out from the ceiling overhead, and projected like a low narrow bench around the sides. The floors were made of stout plank, with a trap door leading to the cellar. A line of shelves in the kitchen, called the dresser, performing the office of side- table and closet, often displayed a superb row of burnished 17 pewter. The best apartment was used as a sleeping room ; and even the kitchen was generally fiuTiished with a bed. The ceilings were low, and the fire-place, running deep into the chimney, gaped like an open cavern. But when the heaped up logs presented a front of glowing coals, and rushing flame, such a fountain of warmth cheered the heart, in winter, and promoted social festivity. The fire places were often eight feet wide and two or three feet deep. The kitchen was the principal sitting-room for the family. — Blocks in the chimney corner were used for childi-en's seats ; a tin candlestick, with a long back, was suspended on a nail over the mantel, and the rude walls were adorned with crooknecks, strips of bacon and venison, immense lobster claws, raccoon and fox skins, and other trophies of the chase. The friends, relatives and acquaintances of the first set- tlers followed after them, and the settlement rapidly in- creased in wealth and population. In 1663 the total esti- mated valuation of taxable property in Huntington, was £409 7s. 6d. In 1666, there were 57 freeholders and heads of families in the TowTi, which in 1684, was increased to 84 on the list of taxpayers.* Being at first far removed from Royal power, they estab- *The foUowiuff named persons were inhabitants and landowners of the Town in 1GG6 : Content Titus, Samuel Wood, liichard Brush, Thomas Siiidmore, George Baldwin, Samuel Titus, John Green, Edward Harnett, Thomas Whitson, John Jones. John Adams, Thomas Scudamore, John Todd, Jonas Houldsworth, Joseph Cory, John Mathews, Timothy Coukling,"^ Eleazer Lereuch, John French, Edward Tredwell, Richard Williams, Nathaniel Foster, John Coukling, Isaac Platt,^ Jonathan Porter, Samuel Wheeler, Jonas Wood, Jr.,- Thomas Powell. John Ketcham, Jonathan Scudder, John Mathews, Richard Darling, James Chichester. Thomas Brush, Caleb Wood, Jonas Wood, Thos. Wickes, William Ludlam, Joseph Bayly, Jonas Rogers, \\^illiam Smith, Mark Meggs, Robert Cranfield, Thomas Benedict, Rev. Wm. Lererich, Henry Soper, John Strickling, Caleb Leverich, Abial Titus, John Titus, Robert Williams, Epenetus Plait, John Westcote, Benjamin Jones, Stephen Jarvis, Robert Seely, Gabriel Lynch. 18 lished here a pui'e Democracy. All questions were deter- mined by the voice of the majority of the people assembled in Town Meeting, from which there was no apj^eal. The vox 2)02ndi was the vox Del. The men who were able to bear arms were enlisted in companies under officers chosen by themselves, and " train- ing day " was an early institution of Huntington. Laws were made, requiring every man to provide himself with arms and ammunition for defense of the settlement — for the division of lands — enclosing of fields — regulation of highways and watering places — for the destruction of wild beasts — collection of taxes — establishment and support of a school — for the prevention and punishment of crime — the preservation of good morals — the supjDort of a minister. Mechanics were invited and induced to locate in the Town by gifts of land and promise of support, and one Ananias Carle, of Hempstead, was induced to settle in Huntington, about two centuries ago, by a gift of a large farm at Dick's Hills, as he was a military man, and tlie people needed an officer to command their local militia and trained bands ef- ficiently for protection against the Dutch and Indians. He was the common ancestor of the various branches of the Carll family now residing in this Town.* *Ananias Carle had a son Ananias, who married a Piatt, and had children, named Piatt, Timothy and Jesse. Piatt Carll had a son Ja- cob S., who died in 1793, aged twenty-nine years, leaving a son Gil- bert Carll, now a venerable citizen of the Town, of the age of ninety- one years, residing at Dix Hills on the farm owned by his grandfather Piatt Carll, who bequeathed and devised it to him, upon his death. It IS the old Carll homestead. Timothj Carll, son of Ananias, was a Captain in the Militia. He had a cousm Major Timothy Carll, who owned and lived on the farm now belonging to J. T. Whipple, Esq., at Dix Hills. Capt. Timothy Carll, who died in 1805, aged teventy-one years, had sons, Phineas and Lemuel Carll. Phineas had a son David, an influential citizen of the Town, a strong " Democrat" in politics, known m his day and generation by the people of the town as " King David." He was the father of David and George Carll, of Dix Hills, and of Ell)ert Carll, of Babylon. Lemuel Carll, son of Capt. Timothy, had a scni Timotliy, who lived at West Hills, and was a Magistrate of the I'own for many years. He had a son, Lemuel Carll, who now re- sides at West Hills, on the farm formerly occupied by his father. The descendants of Jesse Carll were Major Israel Carll and Eliphalet Carll, and among their posterity now living in the Town, are Jesse and Israel Carll, of Northport, and Edward Carll, of Huntington. 19 Our ancestors here were very strict in their observance of the Sabbath, and punished any inhabitant for desecrating the day. They came from a colony where labor and dress were regulated by law. The laws of the Plymouth Colony were very strict. They had a law that ladies di'esses should be made so long as to cover their shoe-buckles. They pro- hibited short sleeves, and ordered the sleeves to be length- ened to cover the arms to the wrist. They forbid by law, immoderate great breeches, knots of ribbon, broad shoulder bands, silk roses, double ruffs and cuffs. Even as late as 1653, one John Fairbanks had been solemnly tried for wear- ing great boots. He probably showed, to the satisfaction of the Coiu't, that he was afflicted with corns, and couldn't wear small ones, as the record states he w'as acquitted. [Laughter.] But years soon changed all this. Splendor and luxury co-existed with humility. The women at the close of the seventeenth, and even of the eighteenth century, carried heated stones or bricks in their muffs, and the men put their feet into fur bags or moccasins at church, with which many of the seats were provided. At a later date foot stoves were used. Swords w^ere customarily worn when in full dress by persons both in a civil and military capacity. Hats were made with broad brims and steeple crowns. The coats were made with a long, straight body, falling below the knees, with no collar, or a very low one, so that the stock or neckcloth, of spotless linen, fastened behind with a silver buckle, was fully displayed. Red woolen stockings were much admired. SiTch wr.s the cuf^tcm at the commencement of 1700. Some sixty years later, a fashionable lady, dying, left clothing whose inventory showed that she had gowns of braw duroy, striped stuff, plaid stuff, black silk crape, cali- co, and blue camlet ; a scarlet cloak, a blue cloak, satin flow- ered mantle, and furbelow scarf ; a w^oolen petticoat with calico border ; a camlet riding hood, a long silk hood, vel- vet hood, white hood trimmed wdth lace, a silk bonnet, and nineteen caps ; sixteen handkerchiefs, a muslin laced apron. 20 fom-teen aprons in all ; a silken girdle, a blue girdle, etc. A gold necklace ; death's head gold ring, plain gold ring, set of gold sleeve buttons, gold locket, silver hair peg, sil- ver cloak clasps, etc. A full dress for a gentleman was mostly made of silk, with gold and silver trimming of lace, the waistcoat often richly embroidered. Ladies wore trails to their gowns, of- ten quite long, and when they walked out, they threw them over their right arm. The feet displayed a silk stocking, sharp-toed slippers, often made of embroidered satin, with a high heel. In fine, they seem to have had all the flum- mery of 1876, except the modern " pull-back " of our " go ahead " generation. [Laughter.] To illustrate the manner of the early settlers, in transact- ing affairs, I can perhaps recall no incident of a more novel character than the invitation or " call " of the people to Rev. Eliphalet Jones to become their Pastor, after their first minister. Rev. William Leverich, had left and removed to Newtown. At a Town Meeting held January 16, 1676 — just two hundred years ago — it was ordered by a genei'al vote of the Town, that Goodman Conklin, Isaac Piatt, and Jonas Wood, Sen., should in the "fcowne's behalf seriously give Mr. Jones an invitation, and fully to manifest their desire for his continuing to expound the word of God, and what more is due in the ministerial office amongst us of Hun- tington, and what farther may be requisite for the encour- agement to the aforesaid end." The committee performed their duties, but Mr. Jones did not at once accept the " calh" He desired to be satis- fied of his popularity, and he selected a training day (June 10th, 1677) for the purpose.* "The Militiii of the Provinco of N«w York, under "Richard, Earl of Hclleiuoiit, in 1700, was composed of three thousand one hundred and eifrhly-two nicu, of which Sutfolk County lurui>-hed a regiment of six liundrcd uud fourteen men, the largest in the Province, except New York, ou Manhattan Tshiud, which had a regiment of six hundred and oighty-four men. Sutlolk County was then one of the leading and most important portions of the Province. The field officers of the Suf- 21 The company of brave soldiers, the bone and sinew of the young Town, were out on parade, near the Church, which had been built in 16G5, on the lleeting House Brook, a stream of pure clear water that has flowed for ages from the hill-side to the Harbor (and now known as Prime's Brook.) They were under command of Capt. Joseph Bay- lys, who was also Recorder of the Town, (and to whom we are indebted for recording this incident in the Town Re- cords.) Mr. Jones " desired to have the company di'awn up in order, which was done." " Mr. Jones then spake to the company after this manner, that whereas the Provi- dence of God had brought him amongst us, in order to do the work of the ministry, for which he desired that he might see their willingness." At this point, Capt. Baylys, observ- ing that Mr. Jon^s spoke so low that the whole company could not hear him, commanded silence. Having a strong- er voice, he made a speech himself, which is given in the record as follows : " Fellow Soulders ! seeing it hath pleased ye Lord to send Mr. Jones amongst us, you may doo well to manifest your desires for his continuance amongst us, and his officiating in ye work of ye Ministree, by your usuall signs of houlding up your hands." We are further informed, " ye whole company held up all their hands, but only one man held uj^ his hand to ye con- trary." There was one contrary man in Huntington in 1677! [Laughter.] The vote of the " Military "" settled • the lousiness ; the Rev. Eliphalet Jones accepted the " call," and remained in Huntington for fifty-four years, when he died, at the ripe old age of ninety-one years. So that, not only in their cIa-^- il, but also in their religious affairs, the Fathers of Hun- tington observed the right of the people to rule and govern folk County Regiment, at this time, were Colonel Isaae Araold, Lieut. Col. Henry Pievsou, Major Matbew Howell. There was one foot corn- pan}' m Huntington ; one in Brookhaven ; two in Easthamptou ; three in Southampton and Southold, respectively, making ten companies m all. The commissioned officers of " ye to wne of Huntington " were Capt. Thos. Wieks, Fn-st Lieut. Jon Woods, Second Lieut. Epenetus Piatt. 22 themselves. They were imbued, at that early day, with the spirit of civil and religious liberty ; they put in practice in their own Town g-oveniment, the fundamental j^rinciples, that afterwards created a war and founded a Nation. The people were entitled to a share in legislation ; their prop- erty could not be taken from them without their consent. They were the keepers of their own conscience in religious matters. For the safe and unmolested enjoyment of these blessings, they had forsaken civilization and wedded the wilderness ; had torn the ties which bound them to their native soil of England ; had encountered the dangers of the deep, and had submitted to the hazards and privations of an unknawn country. [Applause.] In 1664, eleven years after the first settlement of Hun- tington, New Netherland was surrendered to Great Britain by the Dutch, and the whole of Long Island became subject to the Duke of York. Eichard Nicolls, the Colonial Governor, convened a meet- ing of two Deputies from every town on Long Island, at Hempstead, on the 1st of March, 1665. The Deputies from the Town of Huntington were Jonas Wood and John Ketcham. The Deputies signed a very fulsome address to the Duke of York, pledging loyalty as his faithful subjects, which did not meet with the approval of their constituents, and on their return to their homes, they were handled by the people " without gloves," and insulted in various ways. The " Duke's Laws " were enacted and put in force at this meeting. They made no provision for a General Assembly of the representatives of the people — gave the Governor un- limited power. He was Commander in Chief ; he appoint- ed all public officers, and with the advice of a council, had the exclusive power of legislation. He was in fact made a king by proxy. The people had no voice in the Govern- ment. The spirit of rebellion and independence broke out among the people of Huntingtcm. They remonstrated and protested against this arbitrary system, so repugnant to their ideas of just government ; and when the Governor 23 levied a tax ui^on them to pay for repairs to the Fort at New York, without their consent, they became alarmed at the threatened danger to their rights, at the encroachment uj)on their lawful privileges, and refiised to comply with the Governor's order, "because," they said, "they were deprived of the liberties of Englishmen." Their remonstrance, j>rotest and refusal, was thrown in the flames, by Gov. Love- lace, as "scandalous, illegal and seditious." In April, 1681, Sir Edmund Andros, Governor, sixmmoned Isaac Piatt,* Epenetus Piatt, Samuel Titus, Jonas Wood and *Isaac PLitt and Epenetus Piatt were brothers and among the first settlers of Huntino-ton. The.7 were the sons of Richard Piatt, who came from Hertfordshire, England, and settled at 'New Haven, Conn., in 1638. The following year he removed to Milford, Conn., where he lived until his death in the Fall of 1684. He was the common an- cestor of all the Platts in this country. Both Isaac and Epenetus (two of his sons) were prominently iudentified with the early history of Huntington, aud both were Patentees of the Town. A very interesc- ing history of the descendants of Epenetu-: Piatt may be foimdin Vol. II. of Thompson's History of Long Island, pages 4:72, et seg. Isaac Piatt died July 31, 1691, leaving children as follows : Elizabeth, born Sept. 1.5, 1665 ; Joua-J, born August 10, 1667; John, born June 29, 1669 ; Mary, born Ocr 26, 167-4 ; Joseph, bom Sept 8, 1677, aud Jacob, born Sepi. 29, 1682. Jonas Piatt, son of Isaac, had four son-;, Obadiah, Timothy, Jesse aud Isaac (2d). The first two went over and settled at Fairfield, Conn. Jesse and Isaac (2d) re- mained at Huntington. Jesse, son of Jonas Piatt, had three children, Jesse (2d), Isaac (3d) and Zophar. Isaac Piatt (3d), son of Jesse (3d), died in 1772, and left children; Elizabeth, Marv, Sarah, Oba- diah, Jesse (3d) and Isaac (Ith). Cbadiah Piatt, son of Isaac Piatt (3d), lived in Revolutionary days and afterwards upon his farm at West Hills, now belonging to the McKav estate. His brother, Isaac Piatt (4th), married Eunice Piatt of Connecticut, who died in Hun- tington in 1862 at the age of ninety-seven years, leaving uo children. She was a descendant of Obadiah Piatt, of Fairfield, Conn. Obadinh, son of Isaac Piatt (2d), left children : Elkanah, born Sept. 12, 1770; Philetus, bora April 7, 1774; Daniel, born June 16, 1776; Esther, bom 1772; Rebecca, born 1778; Phebe. born 1780, and Sarah, boru 1783. Jesse Piatt (3d), son of Isaac (3d), had children : Lewis, David, Ira, Jesse (4th), Ansel, Sarah, Isaac (5th) and Joel. Elkauah Piatt, son of Obadiah Piatt, of Huntington, married "Dency" Wood, daughter of Jeremiah Wood, in 1795, and had children: Elizabeth, born Feb. 19, 1796; George W., (now living m Xew York City) boru Aug. 2, 1798 ; David, bom Mav 4, 1801 ; Brewster W. and Daniel, (twins) born July 1, 1804 ; "jSTathan C., (Chamberlain of New York Gitv and now deceased) bora Dec. 20, 1806 ; Deborah W., bom Feb. 4, 1809, and Hannah C. born Feb. 2, 1812. The cliildren of David Piatt, dec'd, sou of Elkanah, now re- side in the village of Huntington. Isaac Piatt (5th), son of Jesse (3d), married Sarah Mathews, of Huntington, and afterwards Eliza- 2i Thos. Wicks, inhabitants of Hiuitington, to New York, and caused them to be imprisoned without trial, for having atten- ded a meeting of delegates of the several Towns for the pui-- pose of devising a method to procure a redi-ess of grievances against his arbitrary rule. They were afterwards released, and the Town of Huntington, at Town Meeting, voted them a sum of money, to pay their expenses and damages, as they had suffered in the Town's behalf. These were the first exhibitions of a rebellious spirit, in this Town, against the pernicious attempt to enforce " Taxation without Represen- tation. " The people of Huntington, a hundred years be- fore this nation declared its independence, revolted and re- beth Doty, of Cold Spring Harbor. He had iseveral children by his last wife, whose descendants reside in the western part of the State of JSTew York. Joel Piatt, son of Jesse (3d), married Miss Suydam, of Ceuterport. Jesse Piatt (4th), son of Jesse (3d), married and settled in New Jersey. Ansel Piatt, sou of Jesse (3d), married Miss Maria McChesney, of New York City. Sarah Piatt, daucchter of Jesse (3d), was a very beautiful lady and had three husbands : Thomas Steele, John Scudder, of Yeruon Yalley, and Joshua B. Smith. Philetus Piatt, son of Obadiah, married Content Sammis, of Hun- tinarton, and had children V Obadiah, Zophar, Stephen, Oliver, Watts, Polly, Amelia, Sarah, gloalie and Nancy. Daniel Piatt, son of Obadiah, married Miss Smith, of New York City, and had children, whose names are not known. Esther Piatt, daughter of Obadiah, marrisd Stephen Fleet, of Hun- tinffton, and had children : Piatt, Ruth, and Mary Esther Fleet. Rebfscca Piatt, daughter of Obadiah, married a Mr. Duryea, and had one son, John Duryea ; she then manned Jonas Sammis, of West Neck, and had four children by her second marriage, viz.: Nelson Sam- mis, (now living in Huntington); Daniel P. Sammis, of New York City ; Mary Sammis, dec'd, and Sarah Sammis, now Sarah Denton, wife of Jonah Denton, of I,;loyd's Neck. Phebe Piatt, daughter of Obadiah, married Nathaniel Chichester, of West Hills, and had the following children : Nathaniel, Eliphalet, Piatt and Mary Ann Chichester. Sarah Piatt, daughter of Obadiah, manned Jesse Sogers, of Hunting- ton, and had one daughter, Elizabeth Rogers. Obadiah, the son of Jonas Piatt, who with his brother Timothy, left Huntington and settled in Fairfield, Conn., had numerous descendants. He had sons: Jarvis, Jesse, Obadiah and Smith, and daughters : Sarah (died in infancy), Eunice, Polly and Abby. Jarvis Piatt married Annie Nichols, of Newtown, Fairfield Co., Conn., and moved from there to Black Lake, near Ogdensburgh, N. Y., on the St. Lawrence river, lie had children Sarah. Charlotte and other daughters, and Philo, Smith and David. Smith died young. Philo setlled m Payetteville, Virginia. David had two children, Philo T. and Alesia. Jesse Piatt, of Conn , married Hannah Raymond, of Norwalk, settled at Weston, Fairfield, Co., and left one child, Clarissa Piatt, who after- 25 belled against the enforceiaeut of that unrighteous doc- trine ; they inscribed upon their banners, " No Taxation without Representation. " A Century later, the United Colonies of America, rai^ed the same standard in armed rebellion, and swept every ves- tige of usurped authority from the length and breadth of the land. [Ajjplause.] To the part Huntington sufiered and endured, in that memorable and bloody struggle for National Independence, I now invite your attention. The people of Huntington, at the beginning of hostilities with Great Britain, entered into the spirit of the great con- flict with j)atriotic ardor. They called a general Town Meeting which was held on the tw^enty-first day of June, 1774, and was presided over by Israel Wood, then Presi dent of the Board of Trustees of the Town. The resolu- tions pissei at that meeting, miy be termed Huntington's wards married Judge Muusou, of Daubury, who«e daughter, Caroline A. Munson, dec'd, was the wife of Isaae A. Dusenberry, of Port Chester. Smith Piatt, of Conn., settled at Galway, 8 miles from Ballstou, N. Y. ; married Auuie Waiieman, of Greenfield, Conn., and had chil- dren : Polly, Abby, Eliza, \7al Gilbert studied medicine with Dr. Jared Elliot of Guilford, Conn, (grandson of the apostle Elliot,) and in 1745 engaged as surgeon on board a privateer in the French war. On his return here, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel Williams. In 1756 he was made captain of one of the companies from Sutiblk County, and proceeded to Ticonderoga. In July, 1758. when the detachment of Col Brad- 31 speecli on the occasion, by reading from the Constitutional Gazette, the following poetical summary of the rebel cause : Budely forced to drink Tea, Massachusetts in anger, Spills the Tea on John Bidl ; Jolin lalls on to bang her, Massachusetts, enraged, calls her neighbors to aid, And give Master John, a severe bastinado. how good men of the law : pray, who is in fault, Tlie one who began, or resents the assault ? [Applaiisc.] But gloomy days were at hand. Long Island, where the great Colony of New York stretched forth her bony finger to feel the pulse of old Ocean, first felt the throb of war from across the sea. The British fleet soon appeared in sight of our shores. British troops landed to the east of Huntington, and carried off cattle and provisions. Dr. Gil- bert Potter wrote from Huntington to Gen. Woodhull on the 26th of August, 1776, apprising him of the fact, biit be- fore the letter reached him at Jamaica, and on the next day, the 27th of August, 1776, the disastrous battle of Long Is- land at the west end, was fought, and resulted in the defeat of the raw and undisciplined American Militia by over- whelming niunbers of the veteran army of England. This defeat placed the whole of Long Island within the British lines, and left its conquered inhabitants entirely in their power. Gen. Woodliull was so badly wounded, after he had given street was on its way to Frontenac, the troops bscaaie sickly, ami a hospital boiiiff established at Scheuecta:iy, the medical departmeat was assigned to Dr. Potter. He returned home at the end of the second campaign and renewed his practice, which he continued till 1770, when he was appointed coiimel of the western regiment of Sufi'oUc militia, by the Proviacial 'Congress, and was associated ^ith General Woodhull in prole 'ting Long Island. After its capture, he retired within tha American lines, and was employed in confidential, rather than active service. In 1783 he returned with his family and pursued his professional busi- ness with high success till his death Feb. 14, 1786. His wife, born March 9th, 1728, died November 17, 1811. His daughter Sarah, born January 8th, 1756, married Captain "William Rogers, afterwards lost at sea. His sou isTathauie], born December 23d, 1761, was several times a representative in the Assembly, and many years a judge of the County. He died in the eightieth year of his age, unmarried, November 24th, 1841. 32 up his sword in suiTender, near Jamaica, that he died a few days thereafter.* Col. Josiah Smith's regiment of Suffolk County Militia was badly cut up and demoralized, and some of them were taken prisoners. The Colonel gave leave for every man to shift for himself in getting their families and effects off Long Island. Judge Hobart and James Townsend, who had been sent by the Provincial Convention as a committee to repair to Gen. Woodhull with their advice and assistance, foiuid on their arrival in Queens County, that Gen. Woodhull was captured and the Militia dispersed. They came at once to Huntington and tried to rally the remnants of the Militia at this point. They ordered. the Suffolk County forces to ren- dezvous here, and sent to Col. Mulford. of Easthampton, to come and tike command. Col. Floyd t was at Congress. Lt. * The WoodbuU family in Huntinorton are descended from the same ancestry as General Xalhaniel WoodhvUl. Eichard, the common an- cestor, was born at Thenford, Northamptonshire, England. September 13, 1620. His wife's n0me was Deborah. He came to America as early as 1648, and first appears at Jamaica, L. I. He had children : Richard, Nathaniel and Deborah. JSTathaniel died without issue. Richard (2d), born Nov. 2d, 1691, lived at Setauket. He married Mary Homan and had seven children, amoug them Richard (3d), born Oct. 11th, 1 712. He married Margaret Smith, of Smithtown, and had four children, among them John >Yoodhull, who married Elizabeth Smith and had nine children, among them Jeffrey A. Woodhull. Jeffrey was bora at Miller's Place and married Elizabeth Davis and lived at Rocky Point for a number of years ; from there he removed to Comae. He had three sons and one daughter. Smith Woodhull, second son of Jef- frey A., was born at Rocky Point, March 27th, 1797, and removed with his parents to Comae, in the Town of Huntington. He married Hannah Skidmore. His two sons, ex-Supervisor J. Amherst Woodhull and Caleb S. Woodhull, and his daughter, the wife of Jarvis R. Rolph, now reside m the village and Town of Huntington. Rev. Nathan Woodhull, formerly pastor of the church in Huntiufftou, was a son of Rich ard Woodh u 11 ( 3 d ) . t Suffolk County enjoys the honor of having taken aa active part in the Declaration of ludependeuce. Her representative on that memo- rable occasion was William Floyd, a worthy member of the heroic band who dared to assert and maintain the principles which have made America a nation, William Floyd, born on December 17, 1734, was a staunch, devoted, and unflinching Republican from the separation of tbe colonies from the mother country down to their Union as a distinct and independent confederation. His grandfather settled in Setauket, Long Island. Wm. Floyd, in 1774, was elected a delegate from rhe State of New York to the first Coutinental Congress, " and was one of the most active members of that body." Previous to that period he had served as com- 33 Col. Gilbert Potter had gone to Connecticut. The IVIilitia were without officers. Major Jeffrey Smith had (Aug. 29) ordered the four companies of Brookhaven Militia to march at once to Piatt Carll's at Dix Hills, in Huntington. When they had marched as far as Epenetus Smith's in Smithtown, the Militia waited to hear from the Major, who had gone to Huntington, to consult with Hobart and Townsend. At dusk, the Major returned, and told the IMilitia, that he gave up the Island ; they hadn't force enough to cope with the enemy, and he advised them to quietly disband and go to their homes, whereupon they broke ranks and dispersed. The conquest of Long Island by the British was now complete. The rejoicing of the people was turned to grief. They were at the mercy of their enemies. The Coimty committees and Town committees of the patriots were by force and fear, compelled to revoke annul, and disavow their previous proceedings — to repudiate the authority of the Continental Congress, and the inhabitants were compelled to take the oath of allegiance and of " good behavior," to the crown of Great Britain. Martial law alone prevailed. Those who had taken an active part in favor of the rebellion, fled to Connecticut, or within the American lines ; left their famihes improtected, and their property here to be occupied and seized by British mander of the Suffolk Countv mUitia. In 1775 he was re-elected to the General Congress, and during this period hisfamilv suffered greatly from the incursions of the Bntish armv, and were obliged, after the Battle of Long Island, in August, 1776, lo take refuge in Connecticut. For ^even reans his propertvVas valueless to him— the invaders taking possession of his house, live 'stock, &c. This stroke of misfortune had no effect on his patriotism, however, and he worked on in the cause of freedom and libertv, both in Congress and in the State Legislature. Ill health compelled General Floyd to ask Congress for leave of ab- sence in April, 1779, and on his return to Xew York, m May, he re- sumed his senatorial duties in the State Legislature, and served on manv important committees. He continued in pubbc life until 1789, and in 1803 removed to a fann of rugged beauty in Mohawk County, which he had purchased several years previous. . ;, ., He was a delegate to the Convention, in 1801, which revised the Constitution of New York State, and subsequently elected a member of the State Senate, and a Presidential Elector on several occasions serving m the latter capacity untU within a year of his death. He died August 4, 1821, in his eighty-seventh year. 34 officers or native Loyalists. The Tories wore red rags on their hats to distinguish them from the Kebels, and also as a badge of safety and protection. The boys and negroes, (there were negro slaves in those days) in Hnntington, took the hint and wore the red rag of England, for the purpose of security from attacks of the British soldiers. Many old men, who were unable to get away, and who had no sympa- thy with the British, kept a red rag on hand to stick in their hats in case of danger, and the material became so scarce in Huntington, that the women had to tear their red petticoats to pieces, to supply the overwhelming demand ! From this fact, those who vv-ore these emblems of submis- sion, were called by the more active and warlike patriots, the "Petticoat Brigade of 1776." [Laughter'and Applause.] The British troops, after the battle of Long Island, swept the Island for forage and provisions. They oppressed the people and stole their stock and j^roperty. As an opposi- tion poet sang at the time : In days of yore, the British Troops, Have taken warlike Kings in Battle ; But now alas ! their valor droops, For- they take naught but— harmless cattle ! Or as Freneau wrote, in " Gajge's soliloquy :" Let others combat in the dusty fleld ; Let petty Captains scorn to live or yie!d ; I'll send my sliips to neighboring isles where stray Unnumbered herds, and steal those herds away. I'll strike the women in this Town with awe. And make them tremble, at my Martial Law ' Huntington was one of the few places selected by them, to garrison, guard, fortify, and occupy permanently. It was the headquarters of the British foraging parties of Cav- alry, who seized and shipped provisions for the British Army and Navy. Its capacious Bays rendered it accessible at all times by British vessels, which transported the stolen property of this Town and County into the British Quar- termaster's possession, to feed the British Army. Thou- sands of troops were at Huntington in camp and fort and houses, during the war. The 17th Regiment Lio-ht Dr a 35 goons, 71st Infantry, Tarleton's Legion, The Queen's Ran- gers, Col. Hewlett's Provincials, The " Loyal Refugees," Jersey Loyal Volunteers, The Hessian Yagers, and the Prince of Wales' American Regiment, were at various times quartered on the inhabitants of Huntington, and encamped in their orchards and fields. Among the more prominent British officers, who came to Huntington, were Gen. Sir Wm. Erskine, who went from Huntington to Southampton ; Gen. Tryon, who went from Huntington to Southold ; Brig. Gen. Leland, Brig. Gen. DeLancey, Col. Tarleton, who marched from Smithtown, through Huntington to Jericho ; Col. Simcoe, of the Queen's Rangers, Col. Hewlett (Tory), of Hempstead, Col. Aber- crombie, Col. Bruinton, Col. Croger, Col. DeWormb, of the Hessian Yagers, Col. Ludlow, at one time in command of the Fort at Lloyd's Neck, who forced Jonas Rogers and others to go to Nevv' York with their teams after cannon ; Col. Upham, Col. DeLancey, Col. Benj. Thompson, Lieut. Carr of the 17th Light Dragoons ; Majors Green, Giliillan, Campbell, Terpenny, Gwin, Ferguson, and Major Hubbel of the " Loyal Refugees ;" Captains Cutler, Cameron, Royle, Boam, Ellison, Gore, Stephenson, Woolley, Stewart, Thomas, DeSchoenfeldt, of the Anspach Regiment, and numerous others. The first British Regiment that arrived in Huntington was the 17th Light Dragoons, a few days after the battle of Long Island. They found no American troops to oppose them. The officers stopped at the house of Stephen Ketch- am, * (which was the old Hewett mansion, on the site of Henry T. Funnell's new house on Main street.) It stood on the road. All around it were vacant lots. Mr. Ketcham, having been one of the Patriot Town Committee, had left Huntington for a time, and the house was in charge of Mrs. Ketcham, who had a large family and a number of slaves. The officers turned their horses into a lot by the side of * Stephen Ketcham was the great-graBdfather of Stephen K. Gould, of this village. 36 the house, a part of which was a peach orchard. Mrs. Keteham at the time had just finished baking in her oven, fifteen loaves of bread. She went to the door and request- ed one of the officers to turn their horses into another lot, as they might destroy the peach trees, which request was politely granted. But the officers, seeing the bread, marched in the house, and without comment or apology, seized and carried off every loaf, leaving the old lady as mad as a hornet. [Laughter.] Later in the day, when she came to look around for her large cooking pot, a very jiecessary article in those days, to cook her dinner, she discovered it was missing, and suspect- ing the British soldiers had stolen it, she put on her bon- net, went out of the door, across the road, and up in the fields to the south of the house, where they were encamped. Wandering on the outskirts of the camp for some time, she at last discovered her cooking pot, hanging over a fire, made of fence rails, and containing some savory mess, in process of cooking. Watching her opportunity, when no soldier was near, and when they were otherwise engaged, she turned it upside down, " dumped " the contents into the fire, seized it and retreated in good order, without being discovered, having successfully accomplished her pru'pose, and recovered her property. [Applause.] This was the first raid of the British on Avomen and chil- dren in Huntington, and victory perched ujjon the banner of the brave old lady ! [Laughter.] And now, fellow citizens, if I do not weary you, [cries of " No, no. Go on,"] I want to have an old fashioned talk with you about old times in Huntington. My friend, Mr. Scudder, has announced me as a speaker of polished peri- ods, but I did not come here to deal out rhetoric noi fine sounding phrases. I want to have a plain talk about our old Town, and some of the people who lived here One Hun- dred years ago. Let us see, if we can get some faint idea of how Huntington looked in 1776. It was not thickly in- habited, nor was there any compact village in these parts. 37 The farm houses were scattered far and wide, on East and West Necks, at Cold Spring, Dix Hills, Long Swamp, Sweet Hollow, West Hills, Little Cow Harbor, Great Cow Harbor and Fresh Pond. There w^as here and there a farm house and barn. The principal road led from the east side of the Harbor to Piatt Carll's at Dix Hills. None of the streets in the western part of the village were opened, ex- cej)t the main road leading west to Cold Spring, here by the side of this Grove ; the old Hollow Pond road to Long Swamp ; the Frog Pond road to West Hills ; the road to West Neck and Lloyd's Neck, and the crooked path to the west side of the Harbor, now known as Wall street. The only houses on Main street, in the western part, were the dwellings of Timothy Williams, (who is described as a whole-souled, jovial man,) near the present site of Hi- ram V. BayHs' residence ; John Lefferts, where the Suffolk Hotel now stands ; Stephen Ketcham, the old Hewett house now torn doAvn ; John Bennett, where the Himtiugton Ho- tel is located, and Solomon Ketcham, where the " Astor House " formerly stood, now a vacant lot. These houses stood nearly on the road, and the land about them, was en- closed by rail fences. With three barns, they comprised all the buildings on Main street to the west. On Wall street from John Bennett's corner (Hiintington House now owned by Casper Ritter) to the west side of the Harbor, there were only five houses. Dr. Gilbert Potter's dwelling, now occupied by Ebenezer C. Lefferts ; his new house on premises where George C. Gardiner now resides ; Joseph Sammis' where Theodore Shadb'olt lives ; Capt. John Squier's* dwelling on the corner where Isaac Watts Roe lives, a part of his present dwelling containing the old house ; and John Brush's where John F. Wood occupies, * Congress seut Gov. Patrick Sinclair, a British prisoner, to the com- mittee of Huntington, to keep, in August, 1775, at an early period of the war, before Long Island fell under British rule. He was boarded by the committee, while at Huntington, at the house of Capt. John Squiers as a prisoner on parole. He had two servants with him. Capt. Squiers' bill for his board from Aug. 1775 to March 28, 1776 was £50, 10s, 7p. 38 and belonging to William W. Wood, adjacent to the Mill. That locality was then known as "John Brush's Landing." He kej^t the Mill. There were also two farm houses in " Mutton Hollow " occupied by the Conkling and Sammis families. On the West Neck road, there lived Jesse Brush, William and John Haviland, Alexander and Jesse Sammis, Henry Titus, Joseph Conkling, James Long, Jonas Sammis, Augustin Sammis, Jolm Sammis* and his son Nathaniel, James Rogers and his son Charles, Ebenezer Gould, and others. At Cold Spring, there resided Alexander Rogers, Zebulon and Isaac Rogers, John Morgan, Richard and Hen- ry Conkling, William James, Zachariah Rogers, Zebulon Titus and son, Daniel Hendrickson and his son John, Israel and Abiel Titus, Jonas Rogers and his son Jacob, and nume- rous others. In and near the village proper, known as the " Town Spot," there lived Ebenezer Brush, son of John Brush, the miller, Timothy Conkling, Alexander Denton, Abel Conkling, Silvanus Chichester, Amos Piatt, Thomas Conkling, Jeremiah Wood, Peleg Wood, William Place, Conkling Ketcham, Israel Ketcham (Quaker),- John Wil- liams and Gilbert, (sons of Justice Williams,) Hubbard Conkling, Nathaniel Williams, Silas Sammis, and his sons, Phillip and David, Benjamin Gould, Ananias Conkling, David Conkling, Henry Sammis, Ezra Conkling John Sam- mis, William Ward, Timothy Sammis and his son Scudder, Jacob Brush! and two sons, John Wood, John Wheeler and his sou John, and numerous members of the Jarvis and Piatt families. * The original founder in Huntington ot the Sammis family, whose descendants are very numerous in this Town was Johu Sauimis, who had a grant of land made to him, lying at the head of Cold Spring Har- bor. His descendants settled m various parts of the Town, notably on West Neck, and in the '•' Town Spot." t The first of the name of Brush known in Huntington were Thomas and Kichard Brush, who were large landowners in the Town and came from Soulhold. Their descendants are numerous and now reside at West Neck, Old Fields, Crab Meadow, and in the village. Sherifl" David C. Brush, the father of Morris R. Brush, of West Hills, was a descendant of this family ; and all of that name in this Town came from a connnon ancestor, John Brush, of Southold, the father of Thomas and Kichard. 39 At West Hills and Sweet Hollow, the j)romineiit family names of one liunclred years ago, were Brusli, Cliichester, Biirtis, Smith, Wood, White, Nostrand, Collier, Oakerly or Oakley, Piatt, Carll, Whitman, Valentine, Ireland, Ketcham and Foster. At Long Swamp, lived the families of Smith, Lewis, Jarvis, Sammis, Kellum, Abbitt, Buffett and Carll. At Dix Hills — Carll, Hart, Smith, Valentine,' Baldwin, Stratton, Wicks, Blattsley, Lewis, Townsend, Hubbs, Eimp, Gillett, Soper, Kelcy, Buifett and Rogers. At Old Fields — Smith, Willis, Ireland, Conkling, Lysaght, At Cow Harbor— Higby, Udall, Jarvis, Fleet, Hill, Piatt, Scndder, Acker ly, Bryan, Rogers, Baldwin, Bunce, Ivelsy, Havens, Nicolls, Gildersleeve, Sills and Bishop. There were one hundred and one freeholders living in^ and about the " Town Spot ;" twenty-nine in West Hills and Sweet Hollow ; thirteen in Long Swamp ; thirty-seven in " Dick's Hills :" twelve in Old Fields ; and thirty-two in Cow Harbor. The village Inn was located " down town," as we call it, where J. Amherst Woodhull resides, and was kept by Gil- bert Piatt and Ananias Piatt, his father before him. There were quite a number of houses in that vicinity. It was the " village " of Huntington at that time. There was also a small house of entertainment, kept by an old woman known as '• Mother Chidd " or Chichester, at a place called " The Cedars," near the Selleck place, on Huntington Bay. at East Neck, which was a resort of British and Tory soldiers. Piatt Carll also kept an Inn at '^ Dick's Hills," (where his gra,hdson Gilbert now lives,) which was a general headquarters for that section of the country. The British forces often marched there and made it their stop- ping place, on their foraging excursions. He was taken prisoner, with Rev. Joshua Hartt, at one time, and confined m New York for three months. (The Minister's offence was that he performed the marriage ceremony without a license.) Mr. Carll was, with his family, violently beaten 40 and robbed, in 1783. He suffered large losses from British troops, during the war. He died in 1814, aged 77 years. Capt. Timothy Carll, his brother, lived at " Dick's Hills," on the farm, where his great-grandson, David Carll, now re- sides. The old Log House, which is still preserved on the place, and is used as a poultry roost, was then a store, kept by Capt. Carll, and the only one in that vicinity. Thomas Fleet, grand-father of John and Charles Fleet, of this village, lived near the shore of Huntington Bay, on East Neck, near Capt. Henry S. Hawkins' farm. His father Thomas Fleet kept a store at Cold Spring. He was a de- scendant of William Fleetwood, who married a sister of Oliver Cromwell, left England, after the restoration, and settled here, changing his name to Fleet. Stephen Kelsey, the great-grandfather of Jesse B. Kelsey, of this town, lived at East Neck, near the shore. He was one of the patriot Town Committee, and took an active part against the British. He is the ancestor of the Kelseys in Huntington. Jonathan Scudder,* the great-grandfathei of Rev. Dr. * The commou ancestor of all the Scutlders on Louo- Island was Thomas Scudder.' He was bom in England, and is believed to have been among the earliest settlers at Plymouth, Mass. His wife's name was Elizabeth. He resided at Salem from 1642 to 1657, and the records of that town show grants of land to " Old Goodman Scudder," (the term " Goodman" mdicatiug an honorable position in the Puritan Church). He died at Salem in 1657, leaving a will, in which he named his children John, Thomas (2d), Henry, Elizabeth (who mar- ned Bartholomew), and his grandson Thomas (3d), son of his deceased son A\^illiam. All these des-cendants of Thomas Scudder came from Salem to Southolh on or about the year 1651. The sons, Thomas, Henry and John came from Southold to Huntington about 1653 or soon thereafter, and were among its earliest settlers. The original homestead of Thomas (2d) was at the head of Huntington Harbor, where Jacob Scudder, dec'd, lately resided. Henry settled on East Neck where Thomas Lord, Jr., iiow owns. John located at Crab Meadow. Thomas Scudder (2d) was a tanner, and made the first leather manufactured in Huntington. He was a man of great physical power, and there is an amusing account in the Court records of his "tannlug" James Chichester at a "husking.^' " Town Court, Oct. 23, 1662.— Stephen Jervice, as attorney in be- halfe of James Chichester, pif. vs. Tho. Scudder, deft., acsion of the case and of batery. Deft, says that he did his iudevor to save ye pigg from ye wolff, but knows uo hurt his dog did it ; and as for ye sow,"he denys the charg ; touching the batery, striking the boye, says he did 41 Moses L. Scudder, who sits beside me on this platform, lived on East Neck, at the foot of the hill, on premises now owned by Thomas Lord, Jr. He was the proprietor of con- siderable land in that neighborhood. His great-grandson here comes from good stock, being a direct descendant of "Brother Jonathan." [Laughter and Applause.] Solomon Ketcham, the ancestor of my young friend, Douglas Conklin, who has read for us the " Declaration of Independence," lived on Main street. He got into a diffi- strike the boye but it was for his abusing his daughter. The verdict of the jury is, that def'ts dog is not fitt to be cept, but the acsion fails for want of testimony ; but tuuehiug the batery, the jury's verdict pass tor plff, that deft pay him 10 shillings for striking the boy, and the plff to pay deft 5 shillings for his boye's insevilty." Same court. — " Racheli Turner sayth, that being husking at Tbo. Powell's,. James Chichester found a red ear, and then said he must kiss Bette Scudder ; Bette sayd she -would whip his brick, and they too seufeling fell by her side ; that this deponent ami Tho. Scudder bemg tracing, and havmg, ended his trace, rose up and took howld of James Chichester, and gave him a box on the ear. Robard Crumtield says, that bemg husking at Tbo. Powell's, James Chiche>ter found a red eare, and then said he must kiss Bette Scudder, and they too scufling. Goody Scudder bid him be quiet, and puld him from her, and gave him a slap on the side of the hcade ; the verdict of the jury is, that James shall paye ye plf 1 2 shillings and the cost of ye cort." Thomas Scudder is named among those holdrag original "rights" under the Patents. He died in Huntington in 1690, leaving children, Benjamin, Tmiothy, Elizabetli, Mary, Sarah and Cleuiar. His Will may be found in the Prerogative Court records. "The Scudders on East Xeck nud the east side of Huntington Harbor, are nearly all descendants of Thcmias (2ud) ; amoug them are Capt. David C. Scudder. Thomas Scudder, Almeda, wife of Capt. Philetus C. Jarvio, ISTaomi Street, (daughter of Gilbert Scudder, and mother of Chas. R. Street of this village) and Henry G. Scudder. The line of descent to Henry G. Scudder is as follows : (1) Thomas Scudder of Sa- lem, (2) Thomas Scudder (2d) first settler in Huntington ; (3) Benja- min, son of Thomas (2d), and noted in his time as a man of letters ; (4) Thomas (3d), sou of Benjamin ; (.3) Thomas (-Ith), a man in the vigor of life during the Revolutionary War; (6) Gilbert Scudder; (7) Isaiah Scudder. who was the father of Henry G. Scudder. Rev. Moses L. Scudder, LL. I)., Hon. Henry J. Scudder. Hewlett Scudder. and Mrs. Hemy G. Scudder are likewise descended from the same common ancestor. ' They descend from Heuiy Scudder. another son of Thomas of Salem. This Henry Scudder, who settled on East Neck, married Catharine, daughter of Jeifrey Esty, and had two sons, Jonathan and David. Jeft'rey Esty was an old man at the first settle- ment here. He was presented to the church at Salem for the heinous offence of sleeping in church during service, and was duly admonished therefor. His daughter, Mrs. Henry Scudder, was a remarkable busi- ness -woman. All the Town taxes i'n her neighborhood were paid to her. The Scudders are numerous, at this day, in Hunrington. 42 culty at one time with the British soldiers, and snatching a picket off of a fence, offered to fight three or four officers. Not being very choice in the use of language towards them, he was taken prisoner, confined in the Fort on the burying hill, and kept on a diet of bread and water. He never for- got his imprisonment nor forgave his enemies ; and when the British fleet, afterwards, in the war of 1812, di'opped anchor in Huntington Bay, the old man might have been seen prowling aroiuid the shores of Lloyd's Neck and the Bay, musket in hand, and woe to the son of Britain, who came within his range. In company with a party, he forci- bly boarded a number of British vessels in our Bay in the war of 1812, took several prisoners, and kept them in du- rance, at his house, until the close of hostilities. Samuel Conkling, the father of Strong Conklin, lived in an old house that stood where the Woolsey cottage was af- terwards built, on the Bowery. He was an outspoken rebel. The British tried to take his team away from him, but he resisted so energetically, with his stout axe, that they were glad to desist. He knocked a British officer down with his fist. The soldiers put chase for him. He ran to his house, through the hall way, and out the back door, just as his pursuers came in the front. He escaped across the fields into the woods, and hid in a barn at Cold Spring. The British searched every house and barn in Cold Spring, and came in the barn, where he was secreted under a mow of hay, without discovering him. The next night, he made his way through the fields to the Brick yards at West Neck, where Kichard Conkling, (the great-grand-father of Joshua B. Place of this village) then lived, and borrowing a row- boat there, he escaped unier cover of night, to the Con- necticut shore, where he remained, doing good service in the patriot caiTse, to the end of the Revolution. Lemuel Carll lived at West Hills, where his grandson, of the same name, resides. He was very fond of the chase, and was a great hunter. The British stole hay and wood from him, and also a valuable horse, which he found at 43 Flushing, after eight months absence, and finally recovered it by paying a bribe of six guineas to Capt. Roorbach, a British officer. Jeremiah Wood,* the ancestor of the Wood family of this village, lived on the Cold Spring road. He was forced to cart wood, forage, and officer's baggage, by the British, and to labor on the forts. He was a large sufferer in hay and grain, stolen by the soldiery. Isaac Rogers, grandfather of Stephen C. Rogers, Super- visor of this Town, and of Isaac and George R. Rogers, of this village, lived at Cold Spring on the farm now occupied by Henry Rogers. He was forced to fui-nish hay and wood to the British, without pay. Samuel Oakley, grandfather of Zophar B. Oakley, dec'd, and great-grandfather of Mrs. C. D. Stuart, of this village, lived at West Hills, on the farm now occupied by his son, Solomon Oakley, an aged citizen of this Town. He was in hearty sympathy with the rebellion against the mother country, and suffered large losses in hay, grain, stock and wood, stolen and destroyed. Josiah Smith, grandfather of James N. Smith, of this village, had a large farm at Long Swamp, where his son * The Wood family were amonfr the earliest settlers of the Town. Edman Wood is thefirst one uieutioued, whose son Jonas, was one of the Patentees of the Town, and a prominent man in Town affairs. He died in 1690, leaving Jonas (2d) who owned large tracts of land. Jo- nas (2d) left children, John, Jeremiah, Jonas (3d), Timothy, Elizabeth, Phebe and Ann. Jeremiah died about 1748, leaving sons, Jeremiah (2d) and Jonas. Jeremiah (2d) left four sons, Jeremiah (3d), Stephen, Isaac and Pcleg. The old Wood homestead on the Cold Spring road seemed to have been kept by the Jerajiiahs of each succeeding gene- ration. Jeremiah (3d) died" in 1819, leavmg Prudence (wife of Elka- uah Piatt), Jeremiah (ith), Brewstei, Ida (afterwards wife of Gilbert Piatt), Phebe, SiTi'ah, Elizabeth (wife of Piatt Conkliu), and Ruth, wife of Erastus H. Conklin. Brewster Wood died, leaving sons, Edwin Wood, dec'd, (father of Mrs. Wm. D. Woodend, Mrs. Henry F. Sammis, and Mrs. Geo. C. Hendrieksou of this village, and of Mrs. Jacob Cross- man of Paterson, N. J.), and William J. AVood, George C. Wood, of this place, and Brewster Wood, jr., of Brooklyn. Ida Wood, daughter of Jeremiah 3d, now dec'd, was' the mother of Mrs Nathaniel Scudder Prime, and of Mrs. Mana Dowus, of Huntington, and of Mrs. Phebe Arrowsmith, of Brooklvn, and the grandmother of Mrs. Rev. Samuel T. Carter, wife of the Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Hun- tinsrton. 44 Josiah still lives, at an advanced age. He was robbed of forage and wood by the British. Oliver Hendrickson, grandfather of Joseph M. and Coles Hendrickson, of this village, and great-grandfather to the young lady who this day personates the Goddess of Liberty, lived at Dick's Hills. He was very fond of hunting. By occupation, a carpenter, he was forced by Col. Thompson to work on the Fort on the old burying hill. Selah Smith, the great-grandfather of the editor of the Suffolk Bulletin, and the grandfather of Selah Smith, of Northport, lived at Long Swamp, having purchased a farm there in 1750. The British pressed him into service, in carting wood and working on the forts, and stole hay and grain from him. * Sweet Hollow, or Melville as it is now called, was then on the main travelled road which ran through the Island, before the Smithtown and Jericho Turnpike was made. It was a small settlement, and I will endeavor to describe the dwellings there and who lived in them. Where Silas Jar- vis now resides, there was an old house occupied by a Mr. Powell, whose first name I have been unable to ascertain ; where Woodhull Jarvis lives, his grandfather Robert Jarvis then resided ; there was another house owned by Charles Duryea, great-grandfather of Supervisor Duryea, of Bab- ylon, where Isaac M. Baylis now resides ; also a house w^iere Joseph Bassett now lives, then occui^ied by Jesse Ketcham ; and Zophar Ketcham then lived where Isaac C. Ireland's hoiise stands. Zophar Ketcham, of Sweet Hol- low, was the grandfather of Zophar and Jacob Ketcham, of our village, whom I am glad to see upon this platform. The soldiers made him work on the fort at Lloyd's Neck. The old man didn't like it much, and resisted, but to no pxirpose. They were too strong for him. He said, " the British were worse than the Devil, and he could j^rove it by Scripture." •' Scripture tells us," said Mr. Ketcham, " resist the Devil and he will flee from you, but if we resist the British, they get closer to you !" [Laughter and Ap- 45 plause.] There was an inn or tavern where Daniel BayHs, one of our oldest and most venerable citizens, now resides at Sweet Hollow, kept by George Everett and Foster Nos- trand before him. Wilmot Oakley kept a store and resided where Elias BayHs, Sr. now resides. He was a bold, cour- ageous man and a sterling patriot. The British held him in great di-ead. They once surroimded his house to cap- ture him ; but he had it so strongly barricaded they were unable to enter, though they riddled it with bullets. One of the soldiers got a sheaf of straw to fire the building, when he was shot by Mr. Oakley fiom a garret window, after which they dispersed. John Woolsey, the Sweet Hollow giant, cleared up a spot and located where James I. Shipman now resides, but afterwards removed to Half Hol- low Hills. He was a strong powerful man and thought nothing of carrying on his back a hogshead, quarter-full of molasses, half a mile from Wilmot Oakley's store. He left a large family of sons and daughters. The first settlers of the numerous Baylis family of Sweet Hollow, whose repre- sentatives are here to-day, came from near Springfield and Jamaica, in Queens County, at the close of the Kevolution- ary War. One of the elder brothers was in the American army, under Washington. Without wearying yoiir patience by going farther into details, I have perhaps stated enough to give a general idea of the situation of the dwellings in and about Huntington, and of some of the old families living here, at the time of the arrival of the British forces. The British soldiers were quartered in the houses, in barracks, and encamped over all of this part of the Town. Some of them were on Lloyd's Neck, West Neck, on the fields between Wall street and the Bowery, near Gallows Hill, near the Episcopal Church and Presbyterian Church, and between the chui'ch and the western part of the village. The Presbyterian Church was their stable and store-house. They had a block-house on the field adjoining the Union School building, now owned by Henry S. Prime. Their whipping post, which was a 46 standing tree, flattened on one side, to tie their victims to, stood in front of the present school building. They de- stroyed and laid waste this whole section of country, until provisions and forage became so scarce they were compelled to reduce their garrison, and to scatter their troops over Wheatley, Jericho, Westbury, Herricks, Northside, Cow Neck and Great Neck, and other places to the "West. The inhabitants of Huntington were forced, not only to bury and secrete their money and valuables, but also their pro- visions in order to save them from the soldiery, and to keep themselves from starving. Many of the peoj^le of the Town were robbed of their money and valuables — and were hung up by the neck, until almost dead, to make them reveal where they had secreted their money. Two brothers, Zo- phar and Joel Rogers, living at Long Hill (now Clay Pitts) were hung up by the neck, one after the other, to force them to tell where their money was. Zophar was hung up three times and left for dead. Joel was stretched up twice. Zophar, reviving, aroused some of the neighbors, which alarmed the robbers, who fled without having obtained the money, which had been hidden in a couple of old shoes. Joel Rogers was the grandfather of Thomas Whited Gilder- sleeve, of this village. Robert Jarvis,* grandfather of Capt. Philetus G. Jarvis, * The oldest record of any of the Jarvis family in Huntington is that of Stephen Jervice or Jams, who lived here in 1661. A few years later, William Jarvis (1679), Thomas Jarvis (1679), Jonathan Jarvis (1684:) and John Jarvis (1684), appear to have resided here. John Jarvis went to Cape May, New Jersey, and settled there in 1692. Stephen Jarvis (1st) had two sons, Stephen (2d), horn June 2, 1683, and Abraham, born April 26, 1685. U^illiam Jarvis (1st) had a son, William (2d), and William (2d) had the followmg children : Abraham, Stephen (3d), Esther, (who married a Stratton), Samuel, William (3d) and Mary. The three latter went to liorwaik, (]onn. Mary marned a Seymour. Stephen Jarvis (3d), son of William Jarvis (2d),' had twelve children : Austin, John, Stephen (4th), Isaac, Thomas, Jjouisa (married llezekiah Wicks m 1755), Sarah, Ruth, Esther, Deborah, Mary and Daniel. Abraham Jarvis, son of William (2(1), married Lavinia Kogers Feb. 26, 1734, his firstwife, and Hannah Conkling (widow), July "31, 1760, his second wife, and had children: Abraham, Ichabod, Laviuia, Elizabeth and Samuel. Samuel Jarvis, son of William (2d), married Naomi Brush, and lived in Norwalk. He died in 1756. Abraham Jarvis (2d), son of Abraham (1st), married Jerasha Chi- 47 who lived at tlie east end of tlie village, and afterwards at Sweet Hollow, was gaslied and cut in his head, to force him to tell where his money was. He didn't tell — ^but he car- ried the marks of his injuries with him to the grave. David Rusco and Silas Rusco, the sons of David Rusco, Chester and had eight children : Lavinia, Jacob, Elizabeth, Jesse, Ebe- nezer. Keziah, Sarah and Margaret. Ichabod Jarvis, son of Abraham (Ist)j also had eight children : Israel, Benjamin (who died in Conn.), Abigail, Charlotte, Keturah, Hannah, Mehitable, and Sarah. Stephen Jarvis (4th), son of Stephen (3d), married Ann WTieeler May 15. 1728. He was araaiiner, and died in New York. He had six children: Mary, Susannah, Esther, Sarah, William (who died in Norwalk), and Thomas (2d). Ebenezer Jarvis, son of Abraham (2d), had children : Maria, Sarah, Ebenezer, lantha. Marietta and Jerusha. Ebenezer Jarvis, son of Ebenezer, married Prances Kelsey, and after- wards Hannah A. Kelsey. Thomas Jarvis (2d), son of Stephen (4th), married Eebecca Piatt, July 31, 1791. His children were Piatt, Jacob, Joseph, Eeuben, Dorcas. Charity, and Sarah. Dorcas married James Dunbar ; Charity, Samuel Bishop\ and Sarah, Charles Hewitt. Piatt Jarvis went in U. S. Navy. Joseph Jarvis, son of above named Thomas, had four chil- dren : Mary Esther (married John Thompson); Phebe Elizabeth (mar- ried John Remsen) ; Joseph Henry (married Sarah WTiite) ; and Ketu- rah Ann, (married Townsend Gardiner). William Jarvis (3d), son of William (2d), had four children : Henry, Jonathan, William, Benajah. Hem-v Jarvis, son of William (3d), had children : William, Samuel D. and Blkanah. Jonathan Jarvis, son of William (3d), had two wives: 1st, Anna Brewster; 2d, Charity White. His children were Timothy and Isaiah. Benajah, son of WiUiam (3d), had one child, Hannah Jarvis, He went to Nova Scotia after the Re- volutionary War. , T 1 J 1 Robert Jarvis, son of Thomas (2d), married 1st, Sarah Ireland, and 2d, Margaret Brush His children were, Joseph I., Simon Losee, Isaiah, Jonathan, Thomas, Phebe (mamed Piatt Rogers), Sarah (mar- ried J. Duryea) and Hannah (married Oliver Smith). Joseph I. Jarvis, son of Robert, married Phebe Caril. His chddren were Robert, William, Hendrickson, Keturah, Eliza and^Mana. Simon Losee Jarvis, son of Robert, mamed Keturah Oonkhn. His childreu wore Robnrt, David C, Thomas H. and Elizabeth (twins,) Esther, Jonathan, Phebe and Philetus C, _ Iro, Almira, Emilous, William H, and John B. Jarvis. Isaiah Jarvis, son of Rob- ert, married Christina Gould— had no children. Isaac Jarvis, son ot Robert, settled in Ouio, in 184.5, with his children, Isaiah, B luella and Ravent. Jonathan Jarvis, son of Robert, marned Deborah W bit- man, and had children: Dand, Sarah, Mary Ann Whitson, Aaron John, William and Charies. Thomas Jarvis, son of R-^ f I't- marned Phebe Rhemp, and his children were : Cariton, Woodhull, Anna and Elizabeth, the wife of D. Woodhull Conklin, of this village. Elizabeth Jai-vis, daughter of Simon Losee Jarvis, marned Cq,pt. Dean. Her daushter islhe wife of Thomas Aitkin of this village. The Jarvis families owned land, m the eariy days of the Town, cm East Neck, the "Town Spot," Sweet HoUow, and Crab Meadow. Their descendants are yery numerous in Huntington Townsbip. ,48 Sr., who lived in the house where William C. Scudder re- sides, were forced to work on the Forts, and to cart wood for the British. Silas Rusco was the father of David Rusco, now deceased, late of this village, and grandfather of Horace Rusco, now residing here. David Rusco (son of David, Sr.) played a trick upon some British soldiers, who came to steal hay from him, during the Revolution, and had to hide him- self in a cave in the woods to escape their vengeance, until he found his way across the Sound to Connecticut, where he remained during the war. John Haff, of the south side of the Town, was noted for being a curiosity, as the ugliest looking man in Suffolk Co. He took pride in his uncouth appearance. At one time, during the Revolution, he met a party of British officers, riding in a wagon, on a road on the south side of the Turn- pike, just below Piatt Carll's, where the road was and is too narrow for vehicles to pass each other. The question for debate was, who should back out to a wider part of the highway. Haff looked at the party and discovered the driver, an officer, to be worse looking than himself. " I wish you were dead," said Haff. " What do you mean, you rebel scoundi'el 1 " retorted the British driver. " Why," replied Haff, " before you arrived in Huntington, I used to make money, showing my face at sixpence a sight, as the ugliest man in the Town — but now I'm done. You can beat me, and I'll give up the business." The officers laughed at their driver, who good-naturedly backed out, and allowed Haff to go on his Avay. Selah Wood,* who lived at West Hills, where Andrew * Selah "Wood was an elder brother of Hon. Silas "Wood, the histonan, and of Samuel "Wood. Their father's name was Joshua Wood, who was a descendant of Jonas "Wood, of Halifax, who first settled in Hemp- stead m 1G44 ; then in Southampton m 1649, and afterwards at "West Hills, in Huntmgton, in 1G55. Jonas "Wood was drowned in attempt- ing to ford Peconic Kiver near Kiverhead, m 1660. Silas "Wood, tbe historian, was born at West Hills, Sept. 14, 1769. At the age of thirteen he was sent to Rev. Mr. Talmage, of Brook- haven for tuition. At fifteen he went to Fairfield, Conn., to school. At sixteen he went to Princeton College, and graduated at the end of four years ; was then employed as a tutor in the College for five years. In 49 Powell now resides, was strung up by the neck and left for dead, but was cut down by a negro wench, who discovered him, before life was extinct. When a British officer, in command of the Hessians, took possession of the house of Reuben Rolph, grandfather of Jarvis R. Rolph, he was frank enough to t ?11 him, if he had any money or valuables about the house, to put them out of the way before his soldiers arrived, as he had the worst set of scoundrels with him ever created. Mrs. Rolph had a purse of gold in her hand just as the Hessians marched in the gate, and in the hurry of the moment, threw it under the gooseberry bushes in the garden. She recovered it the next day, and hid it in a more secure place. Mr. Rolph lived in the eastern part of the "Town Spot." A party of Hessian robljers attacked the house of widow Piatt (widow of Ananias Piatt), where James Houston and John Stewart kept store " down town," and at midnight broke open a window with a sledge-hammer. They fired several shot into the house, which was defended by John Stewart, Gilbert Piatt, and a negro named " Lige," or Elijah, who performed wondrous deeds of valor, during the en- gagement. John Stewart killed one of the robbers, in the kitchen. Elijah knocked one on the head with a hatchet. The firing alarmed the neighbors, who seized their weapons and repaired to the scene, where they found the robbers had fled, and Elijah, the negro, shot through the head, but still living. This negro was a tough specimen. The musket ball went through his head and came out the back part of 1795. he was elected Member of Assembly from Suffolk County, and servf'd for four years. In 1804, he was offered the Presidency of the Esopus AcademV, and in 180.5 he was chosen a Professor in Union Colleiie, both of which he declined. He was admitted to the bar in 1 81 1), and made a solicitor in chancery in 1813. He was a reo'ular contributor to the Montr/ornery Republican, while practising law in New York. He returaed to Huntington in 1813. In 1817 he was elected to OonoTCNS, and re-elected for hve successive terms. In 1828, he was defeated by Hon. James Kent, by 274 majority. He made some sensible' and eloquent speeches in Congress, which attracted general attention at the time. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Josiah Smith, of Long Swamp. He died March 2, 1847, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, leaving no children. 50 bis cranium. He lived many years afterwards, and was a great fiddler, furnishing the rustic parties in Huntington, of that time, with music for dancing. In after years, on one occasion, the Rev. Nathan Woodhull, the minister, who was very austere and rigid in his social notions, came into the private house of one of his parishoners, where there was assembled a party of young people, dancing to the bewitch- ing strains of " Lige's" fiddle. There was a bed in a corner of the room, according to the custom of the period, on which Elijah sat, drawing his bow over his old "Cremona." The minister, shocked at such " worldliness " and levity, opened the door of the room, where they were dancing, and in a deep, sepulchral voice, said, as he fell on his knees, " Let .us pray !" at which the young men and maidens screamed and scattered, and " Lige," thinking his time had come, shot under the bed, with his fiddle, like a streak of light- ning ! [Laughter]. A party of armed men, with bayonets, came to the house of Gilbert and Simon Fleet, in the Town of Huntington, and robbed them and their families of all the money and plate they could find, and ilearly strangled one of them to death by hanging him to a beam in his kitchen. Among other inhabitants who were forcibly robbed, were Moses Jarvis, merchant, of Huntington, Shubael Smith (Tory), Mr. Weser, who lived eight miles east of Hunting- ton, Jesse Conklin, of Bushy Plains, and numerous otherp. Ezra Conkling,* who lived at the time, in the house, * The (Jonkling or Conkliu family on Long Island are very numer- ous. The first one of the name known here appears to have been " John Gonclin," who was born about 1600 and had a son John born in England in 1630. He was one of the "Pilgrim Fathers," and came from Nottinghampshirc, England ; lived in Salem, Massachu- setts in 1649. His wife's name was Mary. As early as 1660, if not earlier, John Gonclin, Sr., with bis son Timothy, came from Southold and settled in Huntington. His other sons, John, Jr., Jacob, Benja- min and Joseph, settled at Southold, and some of their descendants still reside at the east end of the County. Senator Roscoe Conkling is said to be a descendant of the eastern branch of the family. John, Sr., and his son Timothy, owned laud at West Neck, near wbere Gilbert Grossman, dec'd, formerly lived. They were both freeholders, and their names appear in the records and rate bills. Timothy was one of the purchasers from the Indians, under Gov. Fletcher's Patent of 51 which is now a barn, on the premises of George C. Gould, in the eastern part of the village, and whose grandchildren and great-grandchildren are now living in Huntington, and many of whom I see here to day, was a great sufferer fi-om the British soldiers, who stole almost everything eatable off of his farm. In order to hide a fat calf for his own use, he i^laced it in his milk-room, where it was secreted and fed. 1694. He had four sons. Timothy, Jr., John, Jacob and Cornelius, all residing on West Neck during early life. Cornelius weut to Cold Sprinsi; John moved to Clay Pitts ; Timothy remamed on West Neck, , and the Conklius ot Huutiugton are mostly his descendants. Jacob in 1711 i)archased a large tract of laud at Half Hollow Hills. He married Hannah Piatt, daughter of Epenetus, aud lived to an old age. He was the ancestor of ex-Sherifl' Jesse Coukliu, of Babylon. Ezra Conkling, above mentioned, was a descendant of Timothy Conkling. He married Sarah Piatt, daughter of Isaac Piatt (3d), of Huutiugton, and had nine children, viz.: Piatt, Brastus Harvey, Ezra, Woodhull, Elizabeth, Experience, Letitia, Matilda and Maria. Piatt Conklin, son of Ezra, lived at *• Clam Point," Huutiugton Harbor, married Elizabeth Wood, daughter of Jeremiah Wood (3d), aud had the following children : Ansel and Brewster (twins), Warren, Frank, Jeremiah, William, Mary, Matilda and Elizabeth. Erastus Harvey Couklin, son of Ezra, married Ruth Wood, sister to Elizabeth and daughter of Jeremiab Wood (3d), aud had the following children : Charles, Ezra, Maria, Sarah and Deborah — all living in Huutiugton ex- cept Ezra, who died in California. Maria is the wife of Frederick G. Sammis ; Sarah, the widow of Heniy Downs ; Deborah, the widow of Jesse Gould. Exra Coukliu (2d), sou of Ezra, married Jaue A. Brown, of Huntington, aud had three children : Seaman, Sarah Maria and Mary Emeline Coukliu. Woodhull Couklin, son of Ezra, married in Jamaica, L. I. Elizabeth Coukliu, daughter of Ezra, married Silas Ketcham, of Huntington, and had children: Silas T., Ezra C, Wood- hull, Henry, Jane, Maria, Elizabeth and Sarah Ketcham. Expeiieuce, daughter of Ezra, married Ebenezer Prime and had eleven childreu : Edward T., Ezra C, Henry K., Claudius B., Nathaniel Scudder, Matilda, Manetta, Ann, Mary, Sarah aud Margaret Prime. Letitia Conklin, daughter of Ezra, married Woodhull Woolsey, of Hunting- ton,- and had issue: Phebe, John K., Ezra and jSTewell Wool.iey. Matilda Conklin, daughter of Ezra, married Brewster Wood, son of Jeremiah Wood (3d), and had live childreu: Edwm, William J., George C, Brewster and Deborah. Maria Conklin, daughter of Ezra, man-ied Gilbert Piatt, of Huntington, and had one child, Sarah Piatt. Gilbert Piatt's second wife was Ida Wood, daughter of Jeremiah Wood (3c1). Timothy Conkling. a brother of Ezra Conkling, who lived in Hun- tington in Eevolutionarv times, married Mary Piatt, daughter of Isaac Piatt (3d). The two brothers married sisters. Timothy had eight children : Isaac, Jesse, Elkanah, Timothy Titus, Sarah, Ruth,. Emma and Keturah Couklin. Col. Isaac Conklin, son of Timothy, married Hannah, daughter of Solomon Ketcham, and had children : Jonas P., Washington, Irene, Thenna and Cornelia Conklin. Col. Isaac Coukliu was a Member of Assembly in 1819, from this Couuty. Like Grant he was not much of a talker. He never made but one speech while lu 52 He had a tory neighbor, living below him, whose daughters iised to flirt considerably with British officers, (girls used to flirt in those days) and they informed the officers where this calf was hidden. On the pretence of searching for a deserter, several British soldiers came to his house early one morning. Going up stairs, they threw two of the chil- the Leg'i!?lature. He sat listeniae to the remarks of a fellow member urgin{]f the appointment of a candidate to some position, with ill-con- cealed impatience, and at the close he arose to hi-i feet and said : " Mr. Speaker, thatfelhtc hti't any more fit Jar his position than HcU is for a powder houss ! " The House loared. The Speaker of the Assembly, appreciatiDg the situation, rapped loudly with his gavel and shoi;te,l, amidst the merriment of the members : " The Houss tcill come to order ; the gentleman from Suffolk has made a speech ! " Jesse Conklin, sou of Timothy, married Phebe Wood, of New York City, and had children : Elbert, Ida aud Isaac (twins), l^elson, Timo- thj', Jesse, Phebe, Mary, Kate and Richard L. Conklin. Elkanah Conklin, son of Timothy, never married. Timothy Titus Couklin, son of Timothy, married Amelia Rhemp, and had two children : David Woodhnll Couklin, now living in Huntington, and Mary Elizabeth, mother of Mrs. Edmund R. Aitkin, of this village, and wife of Joseph M. Heudrickson. Ruth Conklin, daughter of Timothy, married George Sammis, of West Neck, and had children : Frederick G., Stephen, Warren G. and Henrietta Sammis, wife of Nathan B. Conklin. Emma Couklin, daughter of Timothy, married Obadiah Rogers, of Cold Spring, aud had several sons aud daughters. Ketarah Conklin, daughter of Timothy, married Joseph Smith Roe, and had children : Maria, Susan aud Eliza (twins), James, Isaac Watts and Smith Roe. Susan IS the wife of Smith Rowland, of this village. The Couklin family are very numerous in the Town of Huntington. The first of the Gould family known in Huutiugton was Ebenezev Gould, who lived on West Neck, prior to the Revolutiou. He was a descendant of Ebeuezer Gould, of Fairiield, Conn., who was one of the principal men there in 1658; in 1660 Gould, Kucwles and Hill of Fairtield were appointed to settle a dispute between Norwalk and the Indians. Ebeuezer Gould, of West Neck, had children : Ebeuezer and Joseph. Joseph had a sou aud Ebeuezer had sous: Ebeuezer (od) and Conkhn. Beniamin, son of Joseph, married Elizabeth Piatt, daughter of Isaac Piatt (;kl), aud had three children : Walter, Jesse aud Piatt Gould. Ebeuezer Gould (3d), son of Ebeuezer, marned Lavmia C