Yale Uolversllf Library

39002021928925

Wood's Town of Huntington.

(gbttton Ctmiteb
to 215 Copies.

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 L

SILAS WOOD.
HUNTINGTON. L. I. I76<j-i847.
From an original daguerreotype.

SILAS WOOD'S SKETCH OF THE
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L.L
FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE
END OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION.

EDITED WITH GENEALOGICAL AND
HISTORICAL NOTES

WILLIAM S. PELLETREAU, A. M.

NEW YORK :
FRANCIS P. HARPER.
1898.

Copyright 1898,
BY
Francis P. Harper.

TO
RICHARD H. HANDLEY, ESQ.,
of Smithtown, Long Island, as a very slight token of
respect, and acknowledgment of many favors
and much assistance in the work of
collecting and preserving history,
this work is respectfully
dedicated.

INTRODUCTION.
Among the earliest settlers on Long Island was
Jonas Wood, who came from Halifax, England, and
was among the first residents of Hempstead in 1644.
He removed to Southampton about 1649 and became
the owner of land in the right of ' ' his father-in-law,
Mr. Sticklin, of Hempstead. ' ' * From Southampton
he removed to Huntington, about 1655, and was one
of the original purchasers of Copiage and the five
necks east, in 1657. Tradition states that he was
drowned in Peconic River, between the 20th of April
and the 18th of May, 1660.
Joshua Wood, one of his descendants, was born
October 12, 1716, and died September 6, 1779, aged
63. He married Ruth Wood, who was born May 26,
1724, and died August 29, 1807, in her 84th year.
Their children were Samuel, Selah and Silas. Of
these children, the youngest, Silas Wood, who has left
a lasting fame as the Historian of Long Island, was
born at West Hills, in the town of Huntington, Sep
tember 14, 1769. At the early age of 16 he entered
Princeton College, pursued a full classical course, and
graduated from that institution with high honors. In
1795, he was elected Member of Assembly, where he
¦*See Vol. I, Printed Records of Southampton, page 47.
VII

INTROD UCTION.
served for four years, and introduced the first General
Highway Act, which with a few changes has remained
in force till the present time.
What was known as the " Great West " at that time
meant the western part of the State of New York and
the ' ' Ohio region. ' ' Mr. Wood became the owner of
a large tract in Johnstown, and spent several years in
establishing a settlement. In 1802, he married Catha
rine Huyck, a descendant of one of the Dutch families
who settled in the Mohawk valley. She died suddenly
while they were on a journey through what was then
a wilderness, now Montgomery County, N. Y. Short
ly after that he began the study of law, and was
admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of that
State, February 15, 1810. On March 2nd of the same
year, he was appointed Master in Chancery, and in
May, 1813, became Solicitor in Chancery. In Novem
ber, 181 7, he was elected Member of Congress, taking
his seat March 4, 1819. In this high position he served
five terms, a period of ten years. During the whole
of his Congressional career he was an earnest opponent
of the extension of slavery and a strong supporter of a
protective tariflE, and never failed to advance the idea
that a country like our own should be self-supporting
and entirely independent of most of the manufactured
products of foreign nations.
From 1 8 18 to 1821, he was District Attorney for
Suffolk County, and for a long term of years he was
the recognized leader of the Suffolk County Bar.

VIII

INTRODUCTION.
His " Sketch of the Early Settlements of Long
Island," which has made his name famous, was the
work of his leisure time for many years. He lived
before the days of railroads, and his journeys in pur
suit of information were made in a plain box wagon
' ' as plain as himself. ' ' In this humble vehicle he
traveled throughout the Island visiting the clerks'
offices of every town and county. This ' ' Sketch ' '
was first printed in 1824, and was a small volume of
66 pages. A second edition, containing 112 pages,
was published in 1826. A third edition, of 183 pages,
appeared in 1828. This last edition was printed for
the sole purpose of doing honor to the memory of Gen.
Nathaniel Woodhull. The first edition of this work
was limited to 250 copies, while of the second and third
only 100 copies were printed, and it is not strange that
copies are now scarce and command a high price. A
fine reprint of the work, with a brilliantly written life
of its distinguished author by his friend and admirer,
Alden J. Spooner, Esq., was issued in 1865.
The "Sketch of the Geography of the Town of
Huntington," which is here reprinted, was prepared
while the author was in Congress. Of this little work
only a limited edition was printed, and a large portion
of that was destroyed by a fire that consumed the house
of his neighbor, Moses Rolph, and copies of the orig
inal pamphlet are exceedingly rare.
In the spring of 1830, Silas Wood withdrew entirely
from the world of politics and business, of which he

INTROD UCTION.
had for many years been so distinguished a part. To
make his separation more complete he sold his law
library, ceased to take the newspapers, and devoted
the remainder of his years to religious contemplation.
At the age of 63 he joined the Presbyterian Church.
At the time of his death his library consisted entirely
of a small number of religious books, which he left to
the Presbyterian Church, at Sweet Hollow, near Hunt
ington. In 1829, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Josiah
Smith, of Long Swamp, Huntington. He left no
descendants to inherit his fortune or his fame. He
died at peace with God and mankind March 2, 1847,
in the 78th year of his age. His remains were buried
in the Old Hill burying ground, adjoining the Pres
byterian Parsonage in Huntington, and one of the
plainest of plain tombstones marks his last resting
place. He was farsighted as a statesman, able and con
vincing as a lawyer, careful and painstaking as a
historian, and left behind him a reputation for honor
and uprightness that no one could assail.
William S. Pelletreau.
Southampton, L. I., July 12, 1898.

A SKETCH

THE GEOGRAPHY

Town of Huntington ;

BRIEF HISTORY

FIRST SETTLEMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITION

TO THE END OF

THE REVOLUTION.

BY SILAS WOOD.

WASHINGTON :

printed BY DAVIS & FORCE, (FRANKLIN'S HEAD, PENNSYLVANIA AVE. )
1824.

A SKETCH OF

THE GEOGRAPHY, OF THE
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON.

SITUATION AND EXTENT.
Huntington is the most westerly town in Suffolk
county — it comprises a section of the island, extend
ing from the sound to the South-Bay, in its widest
part. The principal village lies about 40 miles north
easterly from New- York, in 40 deg. 52 min. north
latitude, and 73 deg. of longitude, west of Greenwich.
It is bounded on the north by the sound, on the
east, by a line running from Fresh Pond to the north
west angle of Winnacomac Patent, and from thence
to the creek east of Sunquam's neck; then down said
creek to the South-Bay, and from thence south to the
ocean. On the south by the ocean, on the west by
Cold Spring Harbour, and by a line running from the
head of the said harbour, to a creek west of West
Neck; then down the said creek to the South- Bay,
and from thence running southerly to a monument on
the beach, fixed by commissioners appointed by law
in 1797.

A SKETCH OF

It extends about lo miles on the sound, and 6 miles
on the South-Bay, and 20 from north to south, and
contains nearly 160 square miles.
In 1691, Horse Neck.i which lies within the bounds
of Huntington Patent, was annexed to Queen's county,
by an act of the legislature, and has remained so ever
since. POPULATION.*
By the census of 1820, the town of Huntington con
tained 4935 inhabitants of the following description:

White Males.

White Females.

Under 10 years, - 728

Ditto.

645

Between 10& 16, 344

do.

320

do. 16 & 26, 428

do.

404

do. 26 & 45, 464

do.

492

Upwards of 45, 382

do.

395

2346

2256

Male Slaves.

Female Slaves.

Under 14, - - 9

do.

10

Between 14 & 26, - 19

do.

II

do. 26 & 45, - 5

do.

7

Upwards of 45, i

do.

2

34

30

Free Coloured

Free Coloured

Males.

Females.
Under 14, - - 40
do.
- 38
Between 14 & 26, 12
do.
44
do. 26 & 45, 22
do.
25
Upwards of 45, 14
do.
14
88
121
TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. L

All other persons — 60

White Males, - 2846

Employed in Agricul

White Females, 2256

ture,

1069

Male Slaves, - 34

Employed in Trade,

33

Female Slaves, 30

do. as Tradesmen,

261

Free coloured Males, 88

Free coloured Fe
1363
males, - 121
Other persons, - 60
Total,
4935
COMPARATIVE POPULATION.
1820.
East Hampton, - 1646
South Hampton, 4229
Shelter-Island, - 389
Brook- Haven, 5218
Islip, - - 1 156
Huntington, - 4935
Smith Town, - 1874
River Head, 1857
South Old, - 2968
Suffolk, -
Queens, Kings,
Employment of Males over 16.
Ag^ricul.
Com.
Manuf.
Suffolk,
4642
342
1093
Queens,
4130
102
1119
Kings,
840
81
713
- 24272 2I5I9
- III87
Unemployed,
Males.
11761 9643 5096
Females. 1x250 90404514
9612 525 2931
Males over 16, 14180
Employed in A. C. M. , 13068
56978 26500 24804 as 13 to 12
A SKETCH OF

Proportion of Population of Long-Island to the State of
New -York.
Long-Island. State.
1731, - 17820 - 50,291 as I to 3
1771, - 27731 - 163,338 as I to 6
1786, 30863 - 238,896 as I to 7
1790, 36949 - 340,120 as I to 9
1800, 42167 - 586,141 as I to 14
1810, - 48752 - 959,049 as I to 19
1820, 56978 1,372,812 as I to 24
Proportion of Population of New-York to the United
States.
New- York.
1790, - 340,120
1800, - 586,050 -
1810, - 959,049
1820, - 1,372,812
Of the number of taxables in the Town, and the
valuation of their real and personal property at differ
ent periods.
1687 taxables, 84 - valuation, $ 15,088 68
1787 do. 458 do. 326,352 52
1819 do. - 648 do. 1,253,850 00
1823 do. - 729 - do. 811,480 00
Comparative valuation of the several towns in Suffolk.

United States.
- 3,950,000 as I to II
5,305,666 as I to 9
7,230,514 as I to 7
9,654,415 as I to 7

Valuat'n. Tax. Valuat'n. Tax. Valuat'n. Tax. Valuat'n. Tax.

1804.

1812.

1818.
1823.
East Hampton,
315900
78
97
308200
115
57
657900
109
65
464060
154
72
Southampton,
607380
151
85
6204P0
232
63
1357750
226
29
960305
320
10
Shelter-Island,
77040
19
26
81735
30
54
141490
23
58
105640
35
21
South Old,
407170
101
79
399100
149
66
651600
108
60
534920
178
30
River-Head,
238490
59
62
232891
87
33
388066
64
68
267380
89
12
Brook-Haven,
765910
191
48
768050
288
01
1369580
228
26
969500
323
16
Smith.Town,
418320
104
58
375464
140
79
426675
71
11
320078
106
69
Huntington,
702030
175
51
739720
277
39
1253850
208
98
811480
270
49
Islip,
213400
53
3541
219730
82
3946
373370
62
23
38
279349
93
11
3745640
936
3745380
1404
662028l|ll03
4712712
1570
90
TO WN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
Of the several Counties on the Island in 182 1.
Kings, $ 3,513,164
Queens, 5,876,775
Suffolk, 4,889,474
 Whole State.
$14,279,413—241,283,532 as I to 16.
Proportion of the valuation of the County of Suffolk to
the State.
COUNTY. STATE.
1815 $ 6,834,906 % 293,882,224 as I to 43.
1817 6,676,267 315,370,836 as I to 47.
1819 5,327,392 281,068,280 as I to 52.
1820 5,267,141 256,605,300 as I to 48.
1821 4,889,474 241,283,532 as I to 49.
CLIMATE.
The insular situation of this town renders it more
temperate than places in the same parallel of latitude,
at a distance from the sea. In the summer it is regu
larly fanned by a sea breeze, which generally rises
afternoon, but sometimes before, and extends more or
less across the Island, according to the strength and
continuance of the wind. In the winter the predomi
nant winds are from the west and southwest. The
thermometer seldom sinks below zero in winter, and
seldom rises higher than 90 degrees in summer. The
mean temperature of the year is about 51 degrees,*
and the weather is clear three-fifths of the year.
* The mean temperature of Italy 30 years before the birth of
Christ, was about 51 — in the year 1783, it was 68. The mean tem
perature of the different places in Europe is about 10 degs. higher
than the corresponding latitudes in the United States, and this is
found, by experiment, to be about the difference of the tempera
ture of the earth in cleared and uncleared land.

A SKETCH OF
White frost happens when the thermometer is
at 49 degs.
And black do  at 39 degs.
Peach trees bloom the last of April.
Apple trees bloom the loth of May.
The white oak begins to leave 20th of May.
The dog wood blossoms ist of June.
Pasture is fit for horses the 20th of May, and con
tinues till the 20th of November.
Cattle need some kind of provender for six months
in the year.
The following are the results of a series of observa
tions made in Huntington for 455 days, commencing
the I St September, 1821.
Greatest Heat. Greatest Cold.
1822, July 4 — 94 1822, January 5 — 5 below zero.
do. 20 — 94 do. 14 — 4 do.
do. 24 — at zero.
September 3 — 94 do. 25 — 2 below.
The mean temperature of the several months in the
year from the ist September, 1821 to ist September,

September,

- 67 degrees.

Winds.

October,

- 54

do.

North,

20

November,

43

do.

Northwest, -

¦ 41

December,

32

do.

Northeast,

52

January,

- 25

do.

East,

59

February,

- 30

do.

Southeast,

21

March,

- 41

do.

South,

25

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.

Winds.
April,May,
June,July,August,
48 degrees.
61 do.
69 do.
75 do.
72 do.
Southwest,
West, Weather.
120
117
455
The mean of the
Clear,
270
year,
Temperature of
deep wells and
51
Cloudy, Rainy,
Snowy,
"3 51 21
springs,
51
455
SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY.
The surface of this town along the sound, and for
two or three miles from it, is rough and uneven, and
in some places stony — it then becomes level, and con
tinues so from 2 to 4 miles in different places, when
there are three separate short ridges or groups of hills ;
to wit, the west hills, the hilly land around the long
swamp and Dix hills — these are irregular, and extend
two or three miles in length, and nearly the same in
breadth. South westerly of Dix hills, after a small
interval of level land, there is another tract of elevated
*Note — The mean temperature at the City of Washington,
was as follows:
September  72.10
October  57- n
November  42.21
December  32.30
January  24.45
February  33
March  44
April  52.30
May  65.30
June  69.40
uly  73.20
August  76
And the mean temperature of the year 53.35.
A SKETCH OF
land rising in the midst of the plain land, and extends
about three miles east and west, and about two miles
north and south, called the half-way hollow hills.
From these different hills, there is a gentle descent
to the South-Bay, but it is so gradual and impercep
tible as not to be distinguished from a perfect plain —
the rise from the South-Bay to the high land, near the
sound, not being supposed to exceed lo feet in a mile.
The South-Bay is bordered with salt and sedge
meadows about one mile deep ; north of these mead
ows, there is a strip of oak -timber from one to two
miles wide ; from this strip of timber, which is called
the south woods, north to the hills and high lands, a
distance of from 5 to lo miles; in different places, the
whole country is a barren pitch-pine and shrub oak plain.
SOIL.
The soil on the neck's on the sound is usually good,
and is the best land in the town — for nearly 10 miles
from the sound, the soil is tolerably good; and with
manure, is capable of being rendered very productive
— it then becomes more sandy. The soil on the hills
and high land is usually the best and most productive.
The pine plain is a bed of sand, with intervals of a
thin covering of sandy loam, and is uninhabited, ex
cept near the creeks that head there.
The tract of land which lies between the plains and
the salt meadows, is the only land that is cultivated on
the south side — the soil is generally a very sandy
8

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
loam; it is a thin but kind soil, and many of the pro
prietors, by the aid of the grass produced by the mead
ows and islands in the South Bay, and the sea weed
that drifts on the shores, have rendered their farms
quite productive, especially in grain ; but the soil is so
porous, that the same process must be continually
renewed to keep them so.
The soil of every part of the town is more or less
mixed with sand, and is deficient in moisture — it is
very liable to suffer by drought, and is much better
adapted to grain than grass.
The south meadows and the islands in the South-
Bay produce an abundance of salt and sedge grass,
and are admirably well calculated to remedy the de
fects of the soil by furnishing the inhabitants with a
substitute for English hay, for the support of their
stock. AGRICULTURE.
The inhabitants of this town have, within twenty
years, generally begun to improve their farms by
manure, and in some instances they have brought them
into a high state of cultivation. Those who live on the
north and south sides of the Island, possess more ad
vantages with regard to the means of procuring ma
nure, and have availed themselves of their situation.
The land on the south side has improved more in value
within 20 years than any other part of the town : but
many farms on the north side and in the interior of
the town have greatly increased in value, and the

A SKETCH OF
whole town has been rendered much more productive
both in grain and grass than it formerly was. The
people, generally, have become much more careful to
increase the quantity of their bam yard and other
manure, than they formerly were. Those who are
able, usually procure leeched ashes and other lighter
manures in addition to their own stock. Experience
has proved that ashes are the most productive and
permanent manure that can be employed in this town.
The importation of this article has become a regular
business, and forms the largest item in the trade of
the town. WATER.
The high land near the sound and the ridges of hilly
land, abound with ponds of standing water; there are
few farms without one or more of them, and many of
them are left unenclosed for public watering places.
Springs abound near the harbours on the north side,
and near the creeks on the south side ; and there are
some excellent Springs at the West Hills and half-way
Hollow Hills. The ponds on the high lands supply
the beasts — water for domestic use is derived from
wells, but on the level land the water is obtained from
wells for both purposes. Those on the hilly lands are
shallow, but on the level land are deeper, and near
the sound very deep, frequently as low as the level of
high- water mark.

10

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
HARBOURS, BAYS AND CREEKS.
There are several harbours on the sound within the
limits of the town — these are Cold Spring Harbour,
Lloyd's Harbour, Huntington Harbour, and Great
and Little Cow Harbour. The tide rises and falls on
an average of about 7 feet in these harbours, and they
are navigable for vessels drawing 8 or 10 feet of water.
The large bay formed by Eaton's and Lloyd's Neck's,
affords water sufficient for vessels of large size, and
was a station for some of the ships belonging to the
British fleet, during the Revolutionary war. The
streams that fall into these harbours, and the heads of
the harbours, by means of dams thrown across them,
afford accommodations for mills and other water
works. The South-Bay lies between the meadows and the
beach, and is about 4 miles wide ; it is separated from
the ocean by the beach, which is a body of pure fine
sand, about a quarter of a mile wide, and reaches from
Rockway to South Hampton, nearly 80 miles in extent.
There are several inlets or openings in the beach,
which form communications between the ocean and
the bay, through which vessels pass from one to the
other — these inlets are all in the towns of Islip, Oys
terbay and Hempstead.
The Fire Island inlet, which is the principal one,
is in Islip, a few miles east of Huntington line.
The tide rises and falls in the bay near the inlets
about 2 feet, and lessens as the distance from the in-
II

A SKETCH OF
lets increases, at Moriches — the rise and fall are scarce
ly perceptible.
The bay is shallow, but the channels that intersect
and traverse it admit of vessels that draw 4 oi' 5 feet
water, and it is navigable for flat bottomed vessels
through its whole extent.
The bay is gradually diminishing in width by the
sand blown from the beach, which, in the memory of
persons now living, has formed large tracts of meadow
on the north side of it — it is also becoming more shal
low by means of the sand blown from the beach, and
forced into it from the sea, by the tide. The meadows
are seldom overflowed as they formerly were, and are
less productive on that account, and the navigation of
the bay is becoming more difficult. During the revo
lutionary war, privateers of considerable size entered
the Fire Island Inlet, which at this time will hardly
admit vessels drawing six feet water.
The south bay contains a number of small islands of
salt marsh, which are not susceptible of cultivation,
and are only valuable for the grass they produce.
The south side of the town is indented by 10 or 12
small streams or creeks, the greater number of which
reach only a small distance above the salt and sedge
meadows — they generally take their rise in the swamps,
in the woods north of the meadows, and are from i to
2 or 3 miles in length. The stream on the west side
of Sunquam's Neck,''' rises in a swamp near the Half
Way Hollow Hills, and is 6 or 7 miles in length; none

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
of these streams are navigable above the meadows,
but several of them furnish water for mills ; and the
one on the west of Sunquam's supports 3 grist mills
and 4 saw mills. There are also Indian shell banks
on several of these creeks.
NATURE OF THE EARTH.
The whole town is evidently alluvial; some have
supposed that the elevated land near the sound was not
alluvial, but recent discoveries of parts of trees above
an hundred feet below the surface in this tract of
country, prove that no part of it is of primitive forma
tion.* In no part of the town can the earth be per
forated many feet without coming to sand ; on the high
land, as well as elsewhere a few feet from the surface,
you invariably discover the same composition of earth ;
the usual strata are loam — loam mixed with gravel or
sand, and sand with occasional thin strata of loam or
marl on the hills, but very seldom elsewhere ; and the
deeper you go the purer the sand.
On a slope at the west end of the ridge, called the
Half- Way Hollow Hills, there is a small tract of land
covered with coarse sand stones of a dark yellow col
our, some of which appear to be intermixed with some
mineral substance. The earth here has been opened,
* Mr. John Velsor, who lives about two miles south west of
Cold Spring Harbour in Oysterbay, in digging a well some years
since, at the depth of no feet, found a part of a tree about 4 feet
in length and several inches in diameter entire, with the usual
marks distinct, but which soon decayed on its being exposed to
the open air. 13

A SKETCH OF
and a quantity of the sulphuret of iron discovered in a
dark coloured moist earth. At the depth of eighteen
feet a quantity of the limbs and outer bark of the pitch
pine was found, with the cavities and interstices filled
with this mineral substance — but whether the branches
and bark of the pine are an original deposition in the
alluvial formation of the country, or have by some
explosion and rupture been let into the earth, as the
composition of some of the stones on the surface would
seem to indicate, must be left to conjecture.
TIMBER.
The predominant timber on the north side and on
the high lands is oak, hickory and chesnut, and with
these is an intermixture of various other kinds — the
timber on the plains is pitch pine and shrub oak brush,
with spots intermixed with a kind of dwarf white oak.
Before the revolutionary war the people of Huntington
were very careful of their timber, and cut only such as
was old and decayed. During the war the British
refugees seized the farms of such of the inhabitants as
had retired within the American lines, and cut off all
the timber, and it was then supposed had ruined the
farms ; but within a few years, these farms were cov
ered with a fine growth of young timber. This dis
covery has changed the mode of managing timber
land. The practice now universally adopted is to cut
the timber entirely off and to keep the sprouts fenced,
and in this way it is supposed the timber on the hills
14

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
and the high land will replace itself in every thirty
years. The town abounds with the plants, shrubs, and
flowers of similar climates, and produces a variety of
valuable medicinal plants. ' ANIMALS.
When the town was first settled, it abounded with
several kinds of wild beasts, and wild fowl, that are
no longer to be found here, particularly wolves * and
wildcats, wild turkeys, swans, and pelicans : deer were
formerly abundant, and they still traverse the pine
plain, but as there are no large swamps and thickets
within the limits of this town to afford them refuge
and shelter, they seldom resort here. There are
foxes, and squirrels, rabbits, and various other small
animals. Birds are plenty, the most valuable are the
growse, the partridge, the quail, the plover, and the
woodcock. The south bay abounds with wild fowl in their
season ; among which are the wild goose, the brant,
the broad bill, the widgeon, the black duck, and the
sheldrake. The bay also abounds with fish, many of
which are animals of passage as well as the birds,
among which are the bass, the sheep's head, the weak
fish, and various others. Several species of fish are
* November loth, 1685, the committee who adjusted the charges
against the county, allowed ^^43 13 for forty-three wolves, young
and old killed the year preceding, of which number fifteen were
killed in Huntington. 15

A SKETCH OF
taken in the bays on the north side. Lobsters are
taken in the sound, and the bays on both sides of the
town abound with eels, and most kinds of shell-fish.
Serpents are not numerous; those most frequently
seen are the striped snake, the black snake, the water
snake, and the adder; the rattle snake is sometimes
seen, but very rarely.
HISTORY OF THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.
A settlement was attempted at Huntington as early
as 1640, but was interrupted and broken up by Kieft,
the Dutch Governor, in 1642, and the people went to
the east end of the island and formed a settlement at
Southampton, which was the foundation of that town.
The earliest Indian deed for lands in this town, is
the deed to Governor Eaton, for Eaton's Neck, in
1646. The first Indian deed* to the original settlers of
Huntington, was obtained in 1653, and comprises all
the lands between Cold Spring and East Cowharbour,
and extending from the Sound to the old Country
Road, including Horse Neck, which it seems was not
intended to be conveyed by the Indians, and was sold
in 1654, to three men living in Oysterbay.
This may be considered the date of the first perma
nent settlement in the town.
It is to be regretted, that we have no account of the
transactions or state of the settlement during the first
five years from its commencement. The records of
those years have by some means or other been de-
16

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
Stroyed, and all the events connected with that inter
esting period are unknown.
In 1656, the people of Huntington obtained a deed
for the land extending from Cowharbour to Nissaquage
River, and from the Sound to the Country Road. Six
of the South Necks were purchased in 1657, and three
in 1658; the other Neck with the lands lying south of
the Country Road, were purchased at different times
after that date. INDIAN PROPRIETORS.
The lands in the town of Huntington^ were claimed
by three different tribes of Indians; the Matinecoes,
the Massapeags, and the Secataugs. The first claimed
the country from Cold Spring to Nissaquage River,
and from the Sound to the old Country Road ; the sec
ond claimed that part of the town which lies between
the old Country Road and the South Bay, as far east
as a line from the middle of Copiague north to the said
Country Road ; and, the third claimed all the remainder
of the town.
Wyandance Sachem, of Montauk, in 1659, sold the
lands on both sides of the Nissaquage River, extend
ing west as far as Cowharbour, to Lyon Gardiner, of
East Hampton, who, in 1663, sold to Richard Smith.
Mr. Smith^ obtained a deed of confirmation for the
same lands of the Sachem of the Nissaquage Indians,
in 1665, who was dissatisfied with the sale made by
Wyandance, and thus became the sole proprietor of
Smithfield, as it was then called. 17

A SKETCH OF
Both these Sachems denied the right of the Matin-
ecoc Indians* to the lands between Cowharbour and Nis
saquage River, which they had sold to the people of
Huntington. ^ The conflicting claims of these different
tribes of Indians, produced a long controversy between
the people of Huntington and the proprietor of Smith-
town, which, after an arbitration and several law suits,
terminated in 1675, in a division of the disputed prem
ises between the parties, and the boundary between
the two towns was determined to be a line, running
from Fresh Pond to Whitman's Hollow; the north
west corner of Winnacomac patent.^
STATE OF THE INDIANS.
There is no record of the number of Indians belong
ing to these tribes, it is presumed, however, that they
were considerably numerous. The shell banks around
the harbours on the north side, and the creeks on the
south side of the town, from their size and number
indicate that the population was once very consider
able, or must have been stationary there a long time.
Their numbers were such as rendered it prudent for
the first settlers to take measures to guard against sur
prise, and to be prepared to resist any attack that they
might make on them.
By a vote of town meeting in 1658, every man was
required to be provided with a good gun and sword,
and with a certain quantity of powder and lead, and
was obliged to assemble, when warned, under a pen
alty for neglect in any of these respects. The first
18

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. L
settlers also erected a fort for their security, which by
a vote of town meeting in 1680, they gave to Mr.
Jones, their minister, for fire wood. These precau
tions were probably taken as well against the Indians
as the Dutch.
The Duke's laws in 1665, prohibited the sale of arms
and ammunition to the Indians, and in 1670, the whites
were forbidden to sell horses to them. October 7th,
1 68 1, four Indians came to a store at Cold Spring in
the night, and forcibly took two guns and a quantity
of rum, tobacco, and venison, and threatened the lives
of the family. The first settlers were in the practice
of guarding their cattle which they turned in the
wood, and it might have been to protect them against
the Indians as well as wild beasts, and it is probable
they might have been sometimes troublesome to in
dividuals ; but the records furnish us no evidence that
the settlement was ever interrupted by any general
attack by them.
The Indians raised corn and vegetables, and these
with the deer, wild fowl, and various kinds of shell
fish, and other fish that abounded here, must have
afforded them easy and ample means of subsistence.
Notwithstanding these advantages, they still continued
in the hunter state, and had made no advances in the
arts which are usually first cultivated in the infancy of
society ; they were not distinguished by their dwellings,
their clothing, their domestic utensils, or their weapons
from the natives of the interior. The only materials

19

A SKETCH OF
of art among them seem to have been some rude ves
sels of earth hardened in the fire, and these are some
times found in their shell banks.
They had certain festivals in which it was supposed
they worshiped evil spirits, and by the Duke's laws of
1665, it was enacted that " no Indians should at any
time be suffered to pawaw, or perform worship to the
devil, in any town within the government ; ' ' but noth
ing is now certainly known of the manners, customs
or religious sentiments of these tribes of Indians.
At the first settlement of this town, these tribes
seem to have been under the influence of Wyandance
Sachem, of Montauk, and in some kind of subjection
to him. The first purchaser of these tribes deemed it
an object to have their deeds signed by him as well as
by the Sachem of the tribe who claimed the land. Sev
eral of the earliest deeds in this town are executed in
this manner. In one of these deeds he is called the
Sachem of Paumanacke or Long-Island.
When the first settlements on the island were made,
the Indians were at war with the Narraganset Indians
who obtained a victory over them, and took the daugh
ter of Wyandance, the Montauk Sachem, captive, who
was redeemed by the assistance of Lyon Gardiner, of
Gardiner's Island; in gratitude for which, the chief
afterwards presented him with a deed for the territory
which now forms the town of Smithtown.
By a tradition of the Indians in some parts of the
Island, they had been greatly diminished by a raging

TOlifN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
pestilence a few years before the arrival of the whites
among them. They had also been reduced by a war
with the Peguods of Connecticut, by whom they were
subdued and subjected to tribute. All these tribes
have long since disappeared, and not a solitary Indian
remains in this town to remind us of the original in
habitants of the country, nor are there any monuments
to shew that the country was ever before inhabited,
except the shell banks before-mentioned.
STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
The Indians here, as well as every where else where
they were settled, annually burnt over the woods in
order to clear the land, and to provide food for the
deer and other game.
There are numerous facts to prove that at the time
of the first settlement of this town, the woods were
destitute of under brush, and that the large trees were
so scarce, that it was deemed necessary to preserve
them from waste, and to prescribe means for their
preservation. The first settlers commenced their improvements
immediately without any previous clearing: they en
closed large tracts of land by a common fence for plant
ing, and also for pasturing such part of their stock as
they did not wish to run at large.
By a vote of town meeting, 27th December, 1659,
they resolved, that if the two half mile squares which
had been set apart for planting could not be fenced by

A SKETCH OF
the two ends of the town, as was expected, then such
as could agree together might look out for a tract fit
for corn elsewhere, and fence and improve it in the
best way they could.
By a vote, 14th April, 1668, it was concluded to en
close the town plat for common use, for certain por
tions of their stock which they choose to keep from
ranging at a distance, and every man was enjoined to
make as much of the fence as was proportionable to the
interest which he was to have in the field, in a given
time, under the penalty of five shillings for every rod
that was not made by that time.
The settlers at first only took up the open land, and
suffered the timbered land to remain in common, and
subject to the regulations of the town.
In March, 1659, the inhabitants by a vote at town-
meeting, resolved that no timber should be cut for sale
within three miles of the settlement, under the penalty
of five shillings for every tree. In 1660, they made an
exception of white oak timber, for pipe staves ; but in
December, 1668, the constable and magistrates, after
stating their apprehensions that the town was in dan
ger of being ruined by the destruction of its timber,
ordered, that no timber should be cut or wrought for
pipe staves, hogshead staves, or barrel heads, for
transportation, on the town commons, within three
miles of the settlement, under the penalty of five shil
lings for every tree so cut, or wrought, contrary to the
order; and also forbid the inhabitants to suffer any

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
Stranger to cut any timber within the limits of the
town, under the like penalty.
The timber in the woods was so thin and sparse,
that they abounded with feed, and the people depended
on them for pasture for the cattle that were not needed
for domestic purposes.
The 30th May, 1665, it was ordered by a vote of
town-meeting, that all the young and dry cattle should
be driven to Horse Neck to pasture, after the second
day of June ensuing.
The 14th April, 1667, by a like vote, it was or
dered, that all the dry and young cattle belonging to
the town, should be driven to Crab-Meadow, or be
yond, to Sunken - Meadow, to pasture, the first of
May. It is evident, also, that the Pine plains were bare of
brush at this time.
The 7th December, 1663, the inhabitants, at town-
meeting, after complaining that great damage was
done to the South-Meadows by the swine that found
their way there from the settlement, Resolved, that
the owners should forthwith fetch them away, and
keep them from returning, under a penalty of ten
shillings for every one that was suffered to remain
there two days, after notice of their being there. It is
not probable that the swine would have ranged as far
as the south side, if the plains had been covered with
brush, as they now are.
By neglecting the Indian practice of annual bum-

23

A SKETCH OF
ings, in a few years the young timber and underbrush
increased so as to injure the feed in the woods.
In 1667, the town Court appointed two men to warn
the inhabitants to meet, to fire the woods at such time
as they should think fit, and ordered, that every one
so warned, should attend, under the penalty of four
shillings for every day's neglect. — ist July, 1668, it
was voted by the town-meeting, that every male over
sixteen years of age, should assemble, when warned
by the men who were appointed for that purpose, to
cut down brush or underwood when it should be
thought a fit time to destroy it, under the penalty of
five shillings a day for neglect.
The 7 th October, 1672, the governor, by an order,
after stating that the feed for horses and cattle in the
woods on Long-Island, had decayed by the increase of
brush ahd underwood ; directed the inhabitants from
sixteen to sixty, to turn out four days in every year,
under the direction of the town officers, to cut out the
brush and underwood, under the penalty of five shil
lings for every day's neglect.
MODE OF OBTAINING LAND.
The first settlers purchased their lands of the natives
who claimed them ; the consideration given for them,
was very inconsiderable, and usually consisted of blan
kets, clothing, fishing implements, and sometimes of
gfuns and ammunition ; but, in all cases was such as
they deemed an equivalent, and with which they were
satisfied. The settlers at first only took up a house-lot
24

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
in the village, and this is supposed to be all the land
taken up, before the first Patent.
Immediately after the conquest of New- York, in
1664, the English governor ordered that the purchasers
of Indian lands, should take out letters patent for the
confirmation of the purchases, and forbid any further
purchases to be made of the natives without a license
from the government.
In 1666, the inhabitants of Huntington obtained a
patent, by which the whole territory between Cold
Spring and Nissaquage river, and between the Sound
and the Sea was erected into a Town, with town priv
ileges: the purchases made of the Indians by the
inhabitants were confirmed, but the patent gave no
power to the inhabitants to purchase the lands which
were still held by the Indians within the limits of the
Town. INTEREST OF PROPRIETORS.
The expense of the patent was defrayed by a volun
tary contribution of all the inhabitants, and the inter
est of each in the vacant land was determined to be in
proportion to his contribution — a given sum constituted
one right, the half of that sum half a right, and double
the said sum two rights, and there were as many
rights as the said sum was contained in the amount
that was paid for the patent — the rights were called
hundreds or hundred pound rights.
It is not now known how many rights were under
the first patent, nor what was the expense of obtain-
25

A SKETCH OF
ing it. In 167 1, there were 90 rights in the whole
Town, in 1688, they were reduced to 34, and in 1689
to 70.
It is probable that this reduction took place by the
removal of some of the proprietors to other places, and
that on such removal they abandoned their rights to
the lands not taken up, or that their rights in the same
were deemed to be forfeited, and to devolve on those
who remained in the Town.
In 1688, the people of Huntington obtained another
patent, bounded in the same manner as the former
one, which after confirming their titles to the lands
which had already been purchased, granted all the re
mainder of the lands within the limits of the patent,
(except the necks on the south side, and the land to
the north of them,) absolutely to the inhabitants ac
cording to their rights or shares in the original pur
chases, and also incorporated the Town. The expense
of this patent was levied on the proprietors according
to their rights in the first patent, and their interests
under this patent remained the same as before.
In 1694, they took out their present patent, by which
the eastern limit of the Town was altered, their former
purchases confirmed, and the right of pre-emption to
all the lands within the limits of the patent not then
purchased of the Indians was secured to them, and the
incorporation of the Town was renewed.
The expense of this patent amounted tO;^56. 18.3,
of which sum ^^50 was paid to the governor and public
26

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. L
officers; the whole sum raised was ^^^63. 14. lo, which
was raised by a voluntary contribution of all the inhab
itants, and all who contributed became interested in
the lands that were not then taken up or appropriated ;
in proportion to their respective contributions — a right
was estimated at is. gd., which made 164 1-2 rights or
hundreds in the whole Town.
DIVISION OF THE LANDS.
A division of the land was made among the proprie
tors when a majority of them agreed to it — previous to
every division, they determined what number of acres
should be allotted to a right. Two surveyors were an
nually chosen to make the division, who laid out the
land to the several proprietors according to their allot
ments, and new divisions were made from time to
time, until all the lands of any value were taken up.
The number of rights have been reduced under the
present patent in the same manner as under the first.
In 1 731, they were reduced to 137, and probably do
not now amount to 100.
In a few instances the proprietors gave certain
tracts of land to such persons as were willing to pur
chase them of the natives ; this appears to have been
the case with regard to the Baiting place and i" Square-
pit purchases, and also with regard to the purchases of
the upland of some or all the necks on the south side.
In two cases, that of the Half-way hollow hill, and
of the Yorkers purchase, they sold their right of pre
emption to the purchasers. 27

A SKETCH OF

OF TRADE.

For some time after the first settlement of the town,
the surplus produce of the settlers, as is the case in all
new settlements, was needed by the new comers — dur
ing this period they had little or no trade, but among
themselves, and money was very scarce ; contracts were
made in produce, and business was carried on by bar
ter and exchanges — contracts for the sale of land, as
well as others, were made payable in produce.
In the draft or copy of a contract, between the town
and a schoolmaster, dated in 1657, for three years, at
the rate of ^^25 for the first year, ^^35 for the second,
and ;^ 40 for the third; the salary is stipulated to be
paid in produce, at fixed prices.
In 1686, the town contracted with a carpenter to
make an addition to the meeting-house, to be paid in
produce, at certain rates.
In 1674, the town erected a mill at Cowharbour, and
it is presumed, from circumstances, that the wages of
the carpenter were also paid in produce.
In 1682, a farm was sold for ;^9o, payable in nine
annual instalments, in produce, at stipulated prices.
Debts were discharged, executions satisfied, and
rates paid with produce — the rate at which produce
was taken in payment of debts, was the price which
the merchants gave for the like articles at the time —
produce was taken on execution, on judgments of the
town Court, by the same rule, when left to the discre
tion of the constable. 28

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
The Court sometimes designated the articles by
which the judgment should be satisfied, and also fixed
the prices at which they should be taken.
5th March, 1665, the Court gave judgment that the
defendant should pay the debt in wheat, or peas, at
merchant's prices, viz: wheat at 45. dd. per bushel, and
peas at 3J. 61a?'. per bushel ; — in these cases, it is con
jectured that the Court only enforced the contract of
the parties.
Sometimes the Court ordered the debt to be paid in
produce, at the current price.
28th January, 1679, the Court gave judgment that
the defendant should pay the debt " in good merchant
able pay, at the current price. ' '
But generally the Court merely gave judgment for
the debt, and left it to the constable to collect it, ac
cording to the usage at the time, which was in salable
articles, at their current price.
2 2d September, 1680, the Court gave judgment for
the debt, and the constable sold a house and lot, being
what had then been allotted to two rights, on execu
tion, at public auction, for ;^io loj., "to be paid in
merchantable pay, at market prices. ' '
Executions issuing out of the Court of Sessions were
also levied in produce, but it was appraised by indiffer
ent men, chosen by the parties, or appointed by the
sheriff, when it was delivered to the plaintiff in satis
faction of his judgment.
The prices of produce receivable for county rates.

29

A SKETCH OF

were fixed by the governor and the Court of Sessions,
and by the Court communicated to the several towns
in the county. PRICES OF PRODUCE.
In 1665, the assessors were ordered by law, to esti
mate stock at the following rates :
A horse or mare 4 years old, and upwards, ;^i2 00 o
Do. between 3 and 4 - - - 8 00 o
Do. do 2 and 3 - - 4 00 o
Do. do I and 2 - 3 00 o
An ox or bull 4 years old and upwards, 6 00 o
A cow, 4 years old and upwards, - - 5 00 o
A steer or heifer between 3 and 4 4 00 o
Do. do 2 and 3 - - 2 10 o
Do. do I and 2 i 10 o
A goat, I year old, - - 080
A sheep, Do. - - - -068
A swine, Do. - - i 00 o
In 1679, the prices fixed by the governor, at which
produce should be received for county rates, were as
follows :

Pork,

£0

0 3 per lb.

Beef, -

- 0

0 2 Do.

Winter wheat,

0

4 0 per bushel,

Summer wheat.

0

3 6 Do.

Rye, -

0

2 6 Do.

Indian corn.

0

2 3 Do.

Oil, - -

I

10 0 per barrel.

In 1637, the prices of produce receivable for taxes
were, as follows : 30

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
Pork, - J^T, IO o per barrel.
Beef, - 2 oo o Do.
Wheat, - 050 per bushel.
Indian corn, - 026 Do.
Tallow, - - - o 00 6 per lb.
Dry hides, - o 00 4 Do.
Green hides, o 00 2 Do.
Contract prices of various articles, from 1665 to 1687.
Pork, _^3 100 per barrel, or 2,d. per lb.
Beef, - I 10 o Do. or 2d. do.
Butter, • o 00 6 per lb.
Tallow, o 00 6 Do.
Hog's fat, o 00 6 Do.
Wheat, from 040 per bushel, to <,s.
Rye, 036 Do.
Corn, - 026 Do.
Oats, 020 Do.
Board, 050 per week.
Victuals, 006 per meal.
Lodging, 002 per night.
Beer, - 002 per mug.
Pasture, 010 for a day and night.
Labor, 026 per day.
OF THE CHARACTER OF THE FIRST SETTLERS.
The first settlers of Huntington came either from
the New England colonies, or directly from England,
and probably some from the one and some from the
other. They were probably English independents,
and partook of the spirit and temper which at that
time characterized that class of men in England.
They adopted every precaution in their power for
31

A SKETCH OF
the preservation of good morals and good order in
their settlement. ADMISSION OF SETTLERS.
6th July, 1662, the people by a vote at Town-meet
ing, appointed a Committee consisting of their minister
and six of their most respectable inhabitants, to ex
amine the characters of such as came to settle among
them, with power to admit or refuse admission to them,
as they judged they would be likely to benefit or in
jure the society, with a proviso that they should not
exclude any " that were honest and well approved of
by honest and judicious men, ' ' and forbid any inhab
itant to sell or let house or land to any one but such
as should be approved of by said Committee, under
the penalty of _£'io to be paid to the Town.
I oth February, 1663, by vote of Town -meeting, they
ordered a certain house and lot to be seized by an
attachment for a breach of the aforesaid order.
19th February, 1663, by a vote of Town-meeting,
they forbid any inhabitant to entertain a certain obnox
ious individual longer than the space of a week either
gratuitously or for pay, under the penalty of 405 for
the breach of the order ' ' made (as they state) for the
peace of the Town. ' '
2d January, 1682, the Town Court ordered the estate
of a certain person who was likely to spend it by his
extravagance and intemperance, to be seized by attach
ment, that it might be " secured, preserved, and im-
32

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I
proved for his livelihood and maintenance, and that
the Town might not be damnified."
29th June, 1682, the Town Court ordered that an
inhabitant who on complaint was convicted of bring
ing a bag of meal from Oysterbay to Huntington on
the Sabbath, should pay a fine of 205- or make an
acknowledgment for the offence, such as the Court
would accept.
3d June, 1683, the Court required a written acknowl
edgment such as they prescribed, of three men who
were convicted of having travelled from Huntington
to Hempstead on the Sabbath, the preceding winter.
1 8th October, 1660, they established a house of enter
tainment, and to insure good order, made the continu
ance of the keeper to depend on the correctness with
which he discharged the trust.
In 1657, it would seem they established a school, to
be continued for three years under the same teacher.
MINISTRY.
They had a minister settled among them at a very
early period of the settlement, if not from its origin.
William Leveredge was a settled minister in the
Town in 1659, and had been there some time before,
but how long is not known.
February loth, 1662, the people by a vote of Town-
meeting, appointed two men to purchase a house and
land for a parsonage, and by a similar vote the 7th
June, following, they granted to Mr. Leveredge the

A SKETCH OF
use of all the meadow about Cow-Harbour on both
sides of the creek, as long as he should continue the
minister of Huntington. They also made a vote to
raise his salary for a number of years in succession, but
it does not appear what the amount of it was.
Mr. Leveredge continued in Huntington until some
time between 1670 and 1673, when he left the Town,
but for what cause is not stated.
In April, 1673, the people by a vote at Town-meet
ing, authorized the magistrates, with certain others
named for that purpose, to use their endeavours to pro
cure a minister for the Town.
In January, 1676, by a similar vote, they agreed to
give Eliphalet Jones an invitation to continue with
them as minister, and at the same Town-meeting voted
to give him twenty acres of land where he chose to
take it up.
Mr. Jones did not give them a definitive answer
until June loth, 1677, nor until after the question
whether they desired his continuance with them as
their minister, had at his request, again been put to
the people assembled at a public training, and was
answered in the affirmative by all but one who were
present. In 1684, it appears that the salary of Mr.
Jones was ^^50 a year.
Mr. Jones continued the sole minister of Huntington
until June sth, 1723, when on account of his age and in
firmities, Ebenezer Prime was ordained and settled as
a colleague with him. Mr. Jones gave the charge to

34

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I
Mr. Prime at his ordination, with which he was so
much pleased, that he transcribed it into the records
of the church, and this is the only authentic produc
tion of Mr. Jones that is known. — There is a paper
containing the outlines of a discourse among the Town
records which is supposed to be his from the date it
bears, but that is the only evidence of it. — Mr. Jones
lived some years after this period, but it is not known
how long. After the death of Mr. Jones, Mr. Prime
continued alone the minister of Huntington until Octo
ber 30th, 1766, when to lighten his labours John Close
was ordained and settled as a colleague with him. Mr.
Close continued in that capacity until the fall of 1773,
when he obtained his discharge and left the town, for
what cause does not appear from the records. Mr.
Prime after this continued without a colleague until
his death in September, 1779 — his salary was _^ 70 per
year, and his fire-wood.
In 1672, the people contracted with the drummer of
the military company, to beat the drum on the Sab
bath, to give notice of the time to assemble for public
worship ; and this practice probably continued till they
procured a bell, for which he received ten shillings a
year from the Town.
There were forty-three members belonging to the
Church at Huntington in 1723, when Mr. Prime was
ordained, and the number was very considerably in
creased during his time.
The constitution of the Church at Huntington was

35

A SKETCH OF
originally congregational, as was that of all the
Churches in the country. In 1748, the people of Hunt
ington were prevailed on to exchange the congrega
tional form of government for that of the Presbyterian,
which had been recommended by some of the minis
ters, and had been adopted through their influence the
year before, by several of the congregations in the
eastern part of the country. MEETING-HOUSE.
The first meeting-house in Huntington was built in
1665, an addition of fifteen feet was made to it in 1686.
The second meeting-house was built in 1715 — it was
raised near where the first was erected, but in order
to compromise a difference between the inhabitants of
the east and west parts of the Town, relative to the
proper position of the house, it was taken down and
erected on the hill east of the valley where the old one
stood. This house continued till the revolutionary
war. The British troops stationed in Huntington dur
ing the winter of 1777, took possession of it — carried
the bell aboard one of their ships, which was after
wards returned so much injured, that it was necessary
to have it cast anew — surrounded the house with an
intrenchment — tore up the seats and made a store
house of it. It remained in this condition until the
fall of 1782, when it was torn down by order of Col
onel Thompson, who commanded the troops then sta
tioned in the Town, and the materials were employed
in erecting the barracks in the fort on the burying hill.
36

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
An Episcopal Church was erected in Huntington be
tween the years 1750 and 1760. Mr. James Greaton is
the only minister that was ever settled in that church.
He came to Huntington in the fall of 1767, and con
tinued till his death in the year 1773, after which the
church was occasionally supplied by other ministers. A
Presbyterian meeting-house was erected between
Crab Meadow and Fresh Pond, in the eastern part of
the town shortly before the revolutionary war, and
was supplied a part of the time by Mr. Hart, the minis
ter of Smithtown. MILLS.
The first grist mill in Huntington was built in 1660,
on the stream running into the harbour, by Mr. Lever
edge, the first minister of the town.
A mill was erected by the town on the small stream
at Cowharbour in 1674, which was sold to Jeremiah
Smith in 1677, on certain conditions, one of which
was, that he should not exact more than one quart in
sixteen for toll for grinding wheat, nor more than one
in twelve for grinding Indian com.
The privilege of erecting a mill on the stream at
Cold Spring, was granted to John Adams, April ist,
1682. The grant for a mill on Huntington harbour
was made to Zophar Patt," April loth, 1752; and the
grant for a mill on Cowharbour was made to Sylvanus
Townsend, January 14th, 1774.
It is a condition in all these grants for mills, that the
37

A SKETCH OF
grantees, their heirs, or assigns, shall grind for the
people of the town for a fixed toll.
In 1686, the town surveyors were directed to lay
out all the ponds or places of water conveniently situ
ated for that purpose, for public watering places.
OF THE POLITICAL STATE OF THE TOWN AT DIFFERENT
PERIODS.
Long- Island was claimed both by the English and
the Dutch; Kings and Queen's counties were settled
under the Dutch; Suffolk county was settled under
the English, and in defiance of the Dutch claim.
The several towns in Suffolk county were settled by
emigrants from England, and the eastern colonies
without any concert with each other — they were not
united by any political bond of union, but each was
independent of the other, nor were they under the
protection or government of any colony.
In this situation, being too remote from the mother
country to derive any aid from there, and without con
nections here, the whole powers of government de
volved on the inhabitants of each town. Self-preserva
tion rendered it absolutely necessary that they should
assume the exercise of these powers, until a change
in their situation should supersede the necessity of
their exercise. AT FIRST A PURE DEMOCRACY.
Thus, each town from its first settlement to the con
quest of New York in 1664, was a pure democracy.
38

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
The people in each exercised the sovereign power; all
questions were determined by the vote of the major-
part of the people assembled in town meeting. In this
manner they formed such laws and regulations as they
judged necessary for the security, peace, and prosperity
of their infant settlements.
The town of Huntington was a frontier settlement,
and was regarded by the Dutch as an encroachment
on their territory. The colonists took sides with their
mother countries in the disputes relative to their
respective claims to the Island.
MEASURES FOR PUBLIC SECURITY.
The people of Huntington were obliged to take
measures for their own security. In order to maintain
their settlement from which they had formerly been
forced to remove, they took the precaution of provid
ing arms, and erecting a fort as before-mentioned,
both against the attacks of the Dutch and the
Indians. The Dutch to check the encroachment of the En
glish, erected a fort in Oysterbay.
These two towns continued to be the limits of the
respective claimants until the whole fell under the
jurisdiction of the English in 1664.
The people of Huntington at the same time con
trived measures for the preservation of internal order
as well as external security.

39

A SKETCH OF
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
To secure the administration of justice, and to pre
vent and punish crimes, they instituted a court which
was called the town court, composed of three magis
trates, a constable, and clerk, to be chosen annually
at town meeting. They invested this court with
power to hear and determine all causes civil and crim
inal. The parties were entitled to a jury if either of
them requested it: the jury consisted of seven men,
and the verdict was decided by a majority.
It seems that the parties rarely resorted to a jury,
as by far the greatest number of decisions are made
by the court without a jury.
The judgments of this court extend from a few shil
lings to fifty pounds and upwards, and affected lands
as well as goods and chattels.
In cases of slander, the judgments, when in favor
of the plaintiff, are generally in the alternative, that
the defendant make verbal satisfaction to the plaintiff
in open court, or pay him a certain sum of money.
In one case for gross slander and abuse, they adjudged
the defendant to the stocks, which is the only instance
of corporal punishment mentioned in the records of
the court.
It is a remarkable fact and a decisive proof of the
purity of the morals of the people, that from the first
settlement of the town to the year 1664, it does not
appear that a single criminal case came before the
court ; slander and trespass are the most aggravated
40

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. L
offence contained in the records. The proceedings of
the court were governed by the principles of the com
mon law, and the acts of the town-meeting.
The decisions of the court were conclusive, and it is
to the honour of the magistrates who presided in it,
that notwithstanding the extent of their powers, they
seem to have exercised them with great fidelity, pru
dence, and moderation.
The officers of this court freqt\pntly made orders
relative to matters which concerned the welfare of the
town; which seem to have had the same force and
effect as the resolutions of the town meeting, from
which it is presumed that they were invested with
power for this purpose by the voice of the people.
The amount of taxes to be raised for public purposes,
was fixed by a vote of the town-meeting ; and the rates
were made and gathered by persons chosen for that
purpose. Under the benign influence of the common law, and
of regfulations made by themselves at town meeting,
and enforced by a court thus constituted, the people
seem to have enjoyed the usual benefit of good gov
ernment, and to have prospered as well as those set
tlements that were under the protection of an organ
ized government.
The danger to which the people of Huntington were
exposed by their situation, induced them to seek for
protection in a connection with some organized
colony.

41

A SKETCH OF
NEGOTIATIONS WITH CONNECTICUT.
In 1658, they choose two men to visit New-Haven for
this purpose, but it does not appear that they effected
their object.
In 1660, they voted to put themselves under the
jurisdiction of Connecticut. In 1662, they choose two
deputies to attend the next general court of election,
to be held at Hartford, in May, 1663, and as a similar
application was made by the eastern towns about the
same time, it is probable that they all agreed to be
come a part of the colony of Connecticut, and subject
to its government.
A clause in the charter of Connecticut annexing the
islands adjacent to it, to that colony, afforded a pretext
for their claiming Long-Island. Accordingly the as
sembly at Hartford, May 12th, 1664, formally resolved,
that Long-Island belonged to the jurisdiction of Con
necticut by the terms of the charter, and appointed the
governor and two others to go to the island to settle
the English plantations there, under the government
of Connecticut ; to establish quarter-courts, and other
courts for the administration of justice, provided their
judgments should not extend to life, limb, or banish
ment, and directed capital cases to be tried at Fair
field, or Hartford.
These commissioners met at Setauket in the summer
of 1664, made some decisions on disputed claims, and
took some steps towards the objects of their appoint
ment; but these arrangements were all frustrated be-
42

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
fore they could be carried into effect, by the conquest
of the Dutch settlements by the English shortly after
they were made.
Long-Island was comprised in the territory which
had been conveyed by King Charles the second, to his
brother James, the Duke of York, the 12th March,
1664, and he would not suffer any section of country
to be detached from it, by any agreement between the
inhabitants and any other colony.
THE CONQUEST OF NEW-YORK.
In September, 1664, New- York, then called New-
Amsterdam, was taken by the British, and the town of
Huntington and the county of Suffolk, were incorpo
rated with the province of New- York, and became sub
ject to the government of the Duke of York.
The people of the several towns in Suffolk county,
rejoiced at the conquest, and anticipated great benefits
from an organized British government ; they flattered
themselves that they should be admitted to the com
mon privilege of British subjects, of participating in
the formation of the laws, by which they were to be
governed ; but it was not long before they discovered
that they had been too sanguine in their expectations.
Richard Nicoll, the deputy governor under the Duke
of York, shortly after he took possession of New- York,
convened a meeting at Hempstead, composed of two
deputies from every town on the island, for the pur
pose of adjusting disputed boundaries, and settling the
limits of the several towns. 43

A SKETCH OF

At this meeting the governor promulgated a code
of laws which he caused to be framed for the govern
ment of the province ; which, with the alterations and
additions made to them from time to time, continued
to be the laws of the province, until October 1683,
when the first colony legislature met, and the people
were admitted to a share in the legislative power.
These laws which are called the Duke's laws author
ize the several towns to elect a constable and eight
overseers, who were the assessors of the town, and with
the constable were empowered to make regulations
respecting matters that concerned the welfare of the
town. The courts established by these laws, were the town-
court, the court of sessions, and the court of assize.
The town-court was composed of the constable and
two overseers, and had cognizance of all causes under
five pounds ; the justice of the peace was authorized
but not required to preside in this court.
The court of sessions was composed of the justices
of the peace of the county, each of whom was allowed
^20 a year, and had jurisdiction of all criminal causes,
and of civil causes over ^5. The judgments of this
court for sums under ;^2o were final; but from such
that were for more than that sum, the parties might
appeal to the court of assize. Causes were tried in
this court by a jury of seven men, in civil cases, and
in criminal cases not capital, and the verdict was deter-
44

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
mined by the voice of the majority; but in capital
cases the jury consisted of twelve men, and they were
required to be unanimous.
The court of assize was composed of the governor,
and such magistrates as he chose to call to his assist
ance by warrant; suits for demands exceeding ^^20
might be commenced in this court; so that it had
original as well as appellate jurisdiction, and was a
court of equity as well as common law.
TYRANNY OF THE DUKE'S GOVERNMENT.
The Duke's laws made no provision for a general
assembly, nor did they give the people any voice in
the government. The governor possessed unlimited
powers, he was commander-in-chief ; all public officers
were appointed by him, and held their offices during
his pleasure ; he retained the exclusive power of legis
lation ; could make what laws he pleased, and alter or
repeal them when he pleased ; he presided in the court
of assize, which by appeal had the control of all in
ferior tribunals. The judgments and decrees of this
court were in fact those of the governor ; his assistants
not being colleagues, but merely advisers.
In this court the governor united the character of
both legislator and judge; he not only pronounced
what the law was, but prescribed what it should be.
All laws subsequent to the code first promulgated are
stated in the preface to be made at the court of assize ;
and many of them were partial and arbitrary, as will
45

A SKETCH OF
always be the case where the people have no voice in
legislation. By an act made at this court, October Sth, 1670, a
levy or contribution was ordered to be made in the
several towns on the island, to repair the fort at New-
York. This the people of Huntington refused to obey,
and assigned this among other reasons for their refusal :
" because they were deprived of the liberties of En
glishmen ; ' ' intimating that they deemed it a violation
of their constitutional rights, that their money should
be taken from them without their consent.
Charles the second, to extend his territories in
America by emigration, had declared by proclamation,
that the purchases fairly made of the natives should be
a valid title. The towns of South-Hampton, South-
Old, and Oysterbay, relying on the force of this proc
lamation, declined taking out patents for the confir
mation of their purchases of the Indians in compliance
with the governor's order of 1665, which had a retro
spective operation in this respect.
By an act made at the court of assize, October 8th,
1670, the titles to land in these towns were declared to
be invalid unless patents were taken out for their con
firmation within the time specified in the act.
By a proclamation of governor Andross, 26th No
vember, 1674, a term of the court of sessions, in Suf
folk county, was suspended, and the towns of Setauket,
and Huntington, were ordered to have their business
for that term transacted at the ensuing court of ses-
46

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
sions at Jamaica, in Queen's county; because the
towns of East-Hampton, South-Hampton, and South-
Old, had not returned the accounts of the constables
and overseers of those towns to the governor accord
ing to his orders.
April, 1682, the people of Huntington, at town-
meeting, voted to make provision for the time and ex
penses of five of their citizens ' ' who were forced to
New- York, and suffered imprisonment ' ' under the
same governor, on what pretence is not stated ; but as
a meeting of delegates from the several towns was
held there shortly before, for the purpose of deliberat
ing on their political condition, it is conjectured that it
was to punish them for daring to exercise the rights
of freemen. FIRST LEGISLATURE.
The arbitrary measures of the Duke's governors
produced so much discontent, that he was at length
compelled to admit the people to a share in the legisla
tive power. The first general assembly met in Octo
ber 1683, after which the Duke's laws ceased to oper
ate, except such as were adopted or recognized by the
legislature. The innovations made on the Duke's laws for the
administration of justice by the legislature of 1683,
are contained in the act published in the appendix to
the second volume of the revised laws of 181 3.

47

A SKETCH OF
ARBITRARY POWER OF THE GOVERNOR.
After the organization of the colony legislature, the
governor still retained many prerogatives which he
exercised in an arbitrary manner : he had the whole
power over the public lands: no purchase could be
made without his licence, and no purchase was of any
avail unless confirmed by patent within a limited time,
and for these he extorted such sums from the appli
cants as his avarice dictated.
The fees of patents constituted the principal per
quisites of the governor, and the quit rent charged on
them formed no inconsiderable part of the public
revenue. The interest which the governors had in these,
operated as an inducement to multiply the number of
patents and enlarge the quit rents as much as possible.
In 1685, governor Dongan issued a patent to certain
persons who did not reside in the town, for the lands
which had been in dispute between the people of Hun
tington and the proprietor of Smith-Town, and had
been divided between them by the Court of Assize in
1675, which created a law-suit, but was never carried
into effect. In 1686, the governor ordered the people
of Huntington to purchase the lands within their pa
tent which were not then purchased of the Indians, in
order that they might be compelled to take out a new
patent. The quit rent charged on the patent of Huntington
was not fixed, and the amount which that should be
48

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
was a source of perpetual altercation between the peo
ple of Huntington and the Duke's governors. To
compel them to consent to its being fixed agreeable to
his wishes in 1686 or 1687, Governor Dongan seized
their patent, and before he would consent to grant a
confirmation of it, they were obliged to agree to raise
j^ 29 4 7 in satisfaction of their quit rent, and for the
expense of a new patent, which was granted in 1688,
and the quit rent fixed at 20 shillings a year.
APPLICATION TO CONNECTICUT.
These and the like arbitrary proceedings of the
governors induced the people of Huntington to unite
with the people of the other towns in the county, in
an unsuccessful effort to connect themselves with the
colony of Connecticut, the laws and institutions of
which were more congenial with their ideas of good
government than those of the Duke of York, who had
now become King James the Second.
OF THE REVOLUTION IN FAVOUR OF WILLIAM AND MARY.
The abuses which they had suffered under the gov
ernors, prompted the measures that were taken in
New- York in 1689, in favour of the great revolution,
then going on in England, in behalf of William and
Mary, and which terminated in the expulsion of James
the Second from the throne, and forever put an end
to his authority.
The patent of 1688 was signed just at the commence
ment of those divisions respecting the measures taken
49

A SKETCH OF
in favour of the revolution in England which distracted
the colony for several years, and was not carried into
effect before the government was quietly settled under
the new order of things, when the people of Hunting
ton, in order to fix the limits between them and
Smith-Town, agreeable to their respective titles in
1694, took out their present patent in which the quit
rent was fixed at 40 shillings a year, and which they
discharged by commutation under act of the legisla
ture of this state in 1787.
OF THE ROYAL GOVERNORS.
The royal governors, after the revolution in 1689, in
many respects resembled their predecessors; they
manifested the same disposition to get what they could
from the people, and the same inclination to rule with
out control, although they had less power to gratify
their inclinations. The whole colony administration
exhibits a constant conflict between the claims and en
croachments of power on the one hand, and the spirit
of liberty struggling to defeat them on the other.
OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The arbitrary measures of the provincial governors
taught the people to investigate and to understand
their rights, and prepared them for the revolution that
terminated in the independence of the country. The
people of Huntington were almost unanimously in
favour of it, and they suffered all manner of hardships
and privations during the war. SO

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I
The powers of the colony governor were suspended
at the commencement of the revolution, and the gov
ernment was administered by a provincial congress,
aided by town and county committees — Public spirit
supplied the place of authority, and gave the recom
mendations of these bodies the force of law.
The Island was surrendered the 29th of August,
1776, and in October, governor Tryon came to Hunt
ington, called the people together, and by threatening
imprisonment and banishment compelled the commit
tee, by a written declaration, to disavow and condemn
all their proceedings, and obliged them and the people
generally, to take the oath of allegiance. The commit
tees of the other towns and of the county, were com
pelled in the same manner to sign a similar declara
tion, and the people to take the same oath.
SUFFERINGS DURING THE WAR.
But this submission afforded them no protection to
their persons or property ; they were not treated as
subjects or prisoners, but according to the caprice of
every temporary commander. The whole country
within the British lines was subject to martial law.
The administration of justice was suspended ; the army
was a sanctionary for crimes and robbery, and the
grossest offences were atoned by enlistment.
The British troops were stationed in Huntington, at
different times during the war, and the persons of the
inhabitants were subjected to the orders, and their
property to the disposal, of the British officers.
51

A SKETCH OF
They compelled some to enlist — others to stand
guard, and obliged the people generally, to do all
kinds of personal services ; to work at the forts, to go
with their teams on foraging parties, and to transport
their cannon, ammunition, provisions and baggage
from place to place, as they changed their quarters,
and to go and come on the order of every petty officer
who had the charge of the most trifling business.
In 1 78 1, the town was compelled to raise ;^i76 by a
general tax, as a commutation for personal labour to
wards digging a well in the fort, on Lloyd's Neck.
The officers seized and occupied the best rooms in the
houses of the inhabitants. They compelled them to
furnish blankets and fuel for the soldiers, and hay and
grain for their horses. They pressed their horses and
wagons for the use of the army ; they took away their
cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry, and seized without
ceremony and without any compensation, or for such
only as they chose to make, for their own use what
ever they desired to gratify their wants or wishes.
In the fall of 1782, at the conclusion of the war,
about the time the provisional articles of the treaty of
peace were signed in Europe, Colonel Thompson,
(since said to be Count Rumford,) who commanded
the troops then stationed at Huntington, without any
assignable purpose, except that of filling his own pock
ets by its furnishing him with a pretended claim on
the British treasury for the expense caused a fort to
be erected in Huntington, and without any possible

52

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
motive except to gratify a malignant disposition by
vexing the people of Huntington, he placed it in the
centre of the public burying ground, in defiance of a
remonstrance of the trustees of the town, against the
sacrilege of disturbing the ashes and destroying the
monuments of the dead.
In April, 1783, Sir Guy Carleton instituted aboard
of commissioners for the purpose of adjusting such
demands against the British army as had not been
settled. The accounts of the people of Huntington
for property taken for the use of the army, which were
supported by receipts of British officers, or by other
authentic vouchers ; which were prepared to be laid
before the board, amounted to ^^ 7 249. 9s. 6d. and these
accounts were not supposed to comprise one fourth
part of the property which was taken from them with
out compensation.
These accounts were sent to New- York to be laid
before the commissioners, but they sailed for England
before they had examined them, and the people from
whom the property was taken were left (like their
neighbours, who had received no receipts for the prop
erty taken from them,) without redress.
But the inhabitants of Huntington sustained the
greatest abuse from the British refugees; who, when
ever they could shelter themselves under any colour
of authority, did all the injury in their power ; they
seized the farms of such of the inhabitants as had gone
into the American lines; destroyed the timber, and

S3

A SKETCH OF
suffered them to go to ruin. Those among them who
had no character or property, generally resorted to
Lloyd's Neck, and devoted themselves to pillage and
robbery ; it was a common practice with them to hang
the inhabitants whom they robbed, until they were
nearly dead, to compel them to give them their money,
and if they were detected, they enlisted, and this ar
rested the arm of justice, shielded them from punish
ment, and enabled them to bid defiance to those whom
they had robbed and abused.
These abuses evinced the value of that maxim of
free states that makes the military subordinate to the
civil power, and taught the inestimable value of civil
laws and legal liberty.

54

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.

NOTES.

When this pamphlet was written by its distinguished author, it
was to call attention to the advantages presented by that part of
Long Island, as a place of permanent residence. Previous to the
Revolution, Long Island was the most important portion of the
Colony of New York, and it was like a hive that at different
intervals sent out swarms of inhabitants to settle in other regions.
In fact, the Counties along the Hudson river, had in addition to
their original inhabitants, a very large population which origi
nally came from Long Island. Mr. Wood's great desire was not
only to check this emigration, but to attract settlers from other
parts. The pamphlet which was printed for gratuitous distribu
tion, attracted much attention at the time, and to some extent
realized the hopes of its honored author.
The patent granted to the town of Huntington by Governor
Richard Nicoll, Nov. 30, 1666, recites: "Whereas there is a
certain Town within this Government called and known by the
name of Huntington, now in the tenure and occupation of
several Freeholders and Inhabitants." The same is " confirmed
to Jonas Wood, Wm. Leveridge, Robert Seeley,' John Ketcham,
Thomas Skidmore, Isaac Piatt, Thomas Jones and Thomas
Weeks, in behalf of themselves and associates." Their bounds
were "From a certain river or creeke on the west commonly
called by the Indyans by the name of Nackag^natok, and by the
English the Cold Spring, and to stretch eastward to Nasaquack
river, on the north to be bounded by the Sound, running be
twixt Long Island and the maine, and on ye South by ye Sea,
including nine several necks of meadow ground. All which tracts
of land together with the said necks, are to belong to the said
Town of Huntingdon." 55

A SKETCH OF
HORSE NECK. NO. 2 (PAGE 2).
This Neck, called in later years "Lloyd's Neck," was pur
chased from its original owners by John Richbell. His title was
disputed by John Conkling, of Southold, but the title of Richbell
was sustained. He sold it to Nathaniel Sylvester, Thomas Hunt
and Latimer Sampson and a patent was granted to them by Gov.
Nicoll, Nov. 20, 1667, although it was included within the limits
of the Patent to Huntington. Nathaniel Sylvester sold his
share to the other two owners. Latimer Sampson left his share
by will to Grizzell, the eldest daughter of Nathaniel Sylvester,
and the share of Thomas Hunt was sold by his attornies, Robert
Story and John Brown, to James Lloyd, of Boston. He married
Grizzell Sylvester, and thus the whole tract came to them. Gov.
Thomas Dongan granted a Patent to James Lloyd, March i8,
1685, and established it as a "Lordship and manor of Queen's
village," with full manorial rights. This manorial government
continued down to the revolution, nearly loo years.. It was then
abolished and the territory was annexed to Queen's County. In
recent years it has been restored, and is now a part of Suffolk
County. THE FIRST PURCHASE. NO. 2 (PAGB 16).
The first purchase of lands in Huntington was made from
Raskokan, Sagamore of Matinecock, by Richard Houldbrook,
Robert Williams and Daniel Whitehead, April 2, 1653, " Bounded
on the West side with a river commonly called by the Indians
Nackaquetock, on the north by the Sea [Sound], and going
eastward to a river called Opcatkantyoke,* and on the south side
to the utmost part of my bounds." This deed is sigfned by 22
Indians. ORIGIN OF NAME. NO. 3 (PAGE 1 7).
The original name of the tract embraced in this town was
Ketewamoke. The town was called Huntington probably in
* This is the stream at the head of Northport Harbor.
56

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. /.
honor of the village in England, which was the birthplace of
Oliver Cromwell. THE EASTERN PURCHASE. NO. 4 (PAGE 18).
" On or about the Last day of July, 1656," the Indian Sachem
Asharakan sold to Jonas Wood, Wm. Rogers and Thomas
Wilkes "All the meadows, fresh and salt, lying and being on
the north side of Long Island, from our former bounds, Cow
Harbor brooke, to Nessequake river." This was called the
Eastern Purchase. All that part that lies east of Unthemamuck,
or the Fresh Pond, was claimed by Richard Smith, the founder
of Smithtown, on the ground that it was not the property of the
above-named Sachem, but was a part of the land conveyed
by the Mantauk Sachem, Wyandauch, to Lyon Gardiner.
After a long controversy, the claim of Richard Smith was
sustained. THE SOUTH PURCHASE. NO. 5 (PAGE l8).
On June i, 1667, Wyandouch the Great Sachem of Mantauk,
sold to Jonas Wood, " for himself, and the rest of his neighbors
of Huntington," " Five necks of meadow lying next adjoining to
Massapeags Sachems' lands." This was the first Indian deed
for lands on the south side of Long Island in Huntington.
These necks were bounded on the north by the "Old Indian
Path," which was the ancient fording place where the Indians
crossed the heads of the various creeks.
On Aug. 17, 1658, Wyandanch sold to Henry Whitner, of
Huntington, "for the use of the whole town of Huntingfton,"
"three whole necks of meadow lying on the southward side of
that town, and westwardly from the 6 necks which we bought
heretofore." This deed was executed through Cockenoe, the famous Indian
interpreter, as agent for Wyandanch. Among the various arti
cles given for this tract was "A Great Fine Looking Glass."
This is probably the first mention of a looking glass in Suffolk
County. 57

A SKETCH OF
POPULATION. NO. 6 (PAGE 2).
From these tables it will be seen that in 1820, Huntingdon was
the second town in the county in wealth and population. A few
years later the proportion was greatly changed, especially by
the sudden growth of villages like Sag Harbor, which is now
and has been for some years, the largest village.

In old times the region now embraced in the town of Babylon
was known as " Huntingfton South." The town of Babylon was
established in 1872.
The village of Babylon is situated on a neck known in early
times as Sumpwam's Neck. The following article from Dr.
Wm. Wallace Tooker, the distinguished student of the Indian
language, explains its meaning:
THE NAME SUMPWAMS AND ITS ORIGIN.
NO. 7 (PAGE 12).
BY WM. WALLACE TOOKER.
The name Sumpwams appears about twenty-one times in the
printed records of the town of Huntington, with the following
leading variations in orthography, viz. . Sampawame, Sump
wams, Sowampams, 1689; Sumpawams, 1690; Sampaumes,
1697; Sumpwams, 1740; and, although "commonly so-called"
in 1689, it does not appear earlier in the records. It is evident
from the insistence of the English possessive, that the neck of
land on which the name was originally bestowed, derives its
appellation from an Indian named Satnpawam or Sumpwam,
who formerly lived and planted there. There are other necks of
land extending into Great South Bay, and contingent waters,
which take their Indian names from like circumstances. I am
aware that no Indian, designated by this name in its entirety,
can be found mentioned in the records ; but there is one, how
ever, whose popular cognomen among the settlers, may be a
curtailed reminder of Sumpwams. In the "Indian deed for
58

TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, L. I.
Sumpwams' Neck" (H. R. Vol. i. p. 171), his name is written
"pwamas," which is seemingly near enough to the conclusion,
that this name in its various forms, seldom twice alike, is a collo
quial contraction. Similar change is noticed in the English con
traction "Siases" for Josiah's Neck in the same township. The
meaning of Sumpwams is the "straight walker" or "he goes
straight," hence, an "upright or just man." The prefix Sump
or Saump, being the equivalent of the Narragansett Saumpi;
Massachusetts Sampwi, signifying primarily "straight," "di
rect," and by metonymy, "just," upright, right in action or
conduct, being used more often in this sense than in the other by
Eliot in his Indian Bible. The terminal is the verb of motion,
in the third person singular — aum ^ 8m,, or as Eliot sometimes
wrote it, w87n, "he goes," hence we have in Eliot's notation
Samp-w8m' s Neck.
The full account of the lengthy controversy between Smith -
town and Huntington may be found in the printed volume of
Smithtown Records. No. 8 (page 17).
The tract of land known as Winnecomac, now a part of Smith-
town, was an independent purchase made by Charles Cong^eve,
and the g^reater part of which was afterwards owned by Rip Van
Dam, a very prominent citizen of New York. A dispute between
the owners of the tract, and the town of Huntington, as regards
the south line was settled by agreement. No. 9 (page 18).
" Square Pit purchase " is a misprint for Squaw pit purchase,
a well known tract near the middle of the town. No. 10 (page 27).
Zophar Patt is a misprint for Zophar Piatt, a very prominent
member of a well known family. For a full account, see Thomp
son's Hist, of L. I. No. II (page 37).
The Code enacted by the Duke of York was published in a
manuscript volume, copies of which were sent to each town. So
far as we know only two of these orig^inal copies are in existence,
one in Huntington, and one in Southampton. The whole was
printed many years since by the New York Historical Society.
No. 12 (page 44). 59

INDEX.

Adams, John, 37.
American Revolution, 50.
Andross, Gov., 46.
Babylon, 58.
Baiting Place, 27.
Brook Haven, 3, 4.
Brown, John, 56.
Carleton, Sir Guy, 53.
Charles 2nd, 43.
Close, John (Rev.), 35.
Cockenoe (Indian Interpreter),
57-
Cold Spring, 19, 25, 37, 55.
Cold Spring Harbour, i, 11,
13, 16.
Congreve, Chas., 59.
Conkling, John, 55.
Copiage, vil
Cow Harbour, 11, 16, 34, 37, 57.
Crab-Meadow, 23, 37.
Cromwell, Oliver, 57.
Dix Hills, 7.
Dongan, Thos. (Gov.), 48, 49,
56.
Duke's Government, 44.
Duke's Government, Tyranny
of, 45.
Duke's Laws, 19, 20.
East-Hampton, 3, 4, 17, 47-
Eaton, Gov., i6.

Eaton's Neck, 16.
Fire Island Inlet, 11, 12.
Fresh Pond, i, 18, 37.
Gardiner's Island, 20.
Gardiner, Lyon, 17, 20, 57.
Governor Royal, 50.
Greaton, James (Rev.), 37.
Half Way Hollow Hills, 12, 13,
27.
Hart, Mr. (Minister Smith-
town), 37.
Hempstead VII., 11, 43.
Hollow Hills, 10.
Horse Neck, 2, 16, 23, 56.
Houldbrook, Richard, 56.
Huntington —
Admission of Settlers, 32.
Agriculture, 9.
Animals, 15.
Boundary, i.
British Troops in, 51.
Character of First Settlers, 31.
Climate, 5.
Courts of, 40.
Division of the Lands, 27.
Eastern Purchase, 57. ';;
First Indian Deed, 16.
First Legislature, 47.
First Purchase of, 56.
First Settlement of, 16.

61

INDEX.

Huntingfton —
Governor's Powers, 48.
Harbours, Bays, Creeks, 11.
Indian Proprietors of, 17.
Laws of Timber Cutting, 22.
Measures for Security, 39.
Meeting Houses, 36.
Mills in, 37.
Ministry of, 33.
Mode of Obtaining Land, 24.
Negotiations with Conn., 42.
Origin of Name, 56.
Political State of, 38.
Population, 2, 58.
Soil, 8.
South Purchase, 57.
State of the Indians, 18.
Surface of, 7, 21.
Timber of, 14.
Trade of, 28.
Hunt, Thomas, 56.
Huyck, Catherine, viii.
Islip, 3, 4, II.
Jamaica, 47.
Johnstown, viii.
Jones, Eliphalet (Rev.), 34.
Jones, Mr. (Minister), 19.
Jones, Thomas, 55.
Ketcham, John, 55.
Ketewamoke, 56.
Kieft, Gov., 16.
Kings Co., 3, 5.
Leveredge, Wm. (Rev.), 33,
34. 55-
Lloyd's Harbour, 11.

Lloyd, James, 56.
Lloyd's Neck, 56.
Lloyd's Neck, Fort at, 52, 54.
Massapeags Indians, 17.
Matinecoes Indians, 17.
Montgomery County, N.Y.,viii.
Mouches, 12.
Nackagnatok, 55.
Nackaquetock River, 56.
Narraganset Indians, 20.
Nasaquack River, 55.
New York Historical Society,
59-
New York, repair of Fort, 46.
Nissaquage River, 17, 25.
Nicoll, Richard, 43, 55.
Old Indian Path, 57.
Opcatkantyoke River, 56.
Oyster Bay, 11, 16, 46.
Oyster Bay, Fort at, 39.
Paumanacke, Sachem of, 20.
Peconic River, vil
Pequod Indians, 21.
Pratt, Zophar, 37, 59.
Plott, Isaac, 55.
Prime, Ebenezer (Rev.), 34.
Princeton College, vii.
Queens Co., 3, 5.
Queen's Village, 56.
Raskokan, Sagamore of Matine
cock, 56.
Richbell, John, 55.
River Head, 3, 4.
Rockway, 11.
Rogers, Wm., 57.

62

INDEX.

Ralph, Moses, ix.
Rumford, Count, 52.
Sag Harbour, 58.
Sampson, Latimer, 56.
Secataugs Indians, 17.
Seeley, Robt., 55.
Setauket, 42.
Shelter Island, 3, 4.
Skidmore, Thos., 55.
Smith, Elizabeth, x.
Smith, Josiah, x.
Smith, Richard, 17, 57.
Smithfield, 17.
Smith, Jeremiah, 37.
Smith Town, 3, 4, 18, 20, 48, 50.
Smithtown Records, 59.
South Hampton, vii., 3, 4, 11,
16, 46, 47, 59.
South Old., 3, 4, 46, 47.
Spooner, Alden J., ix.
Square Pit, 27.
Square Pit Purchase, 59.
Sticklin, Mr., vii.
Story, Robt., 56.
Suffolk Co., 3, 5, 38, 56.
Sumpwams' Neck, 58.
Sumpwams, Origrin of Name, 58.
Sunken-Meadow, 23.
Sunquam's Neck, i, 12, 13.
Sweet Hollow, x.

Sylvester, Grizzell, 56.
Sylvester, Nathaniel, 56,
Thompson, Col., 36, 52.
Tooker, Wm. Wallace, 58.
Townsend, Sylvanus, 37.
Tryon, Gov. 51.
Unthemamuck, 57.
Van Dam, Rip, 59.
Velsor, John, 13.
Weeks, Thomas, 55.
West Hills, VIL, 10.
West Neck, i.
Whitehead, Daniel, 56
Whitman's Hollow, 18.
Whitner, Hy., 57.
Wilkes, Thos., 57.
William and Mary, 49.
Williams, Robert, 56.
Winnacomac Patent, i, i8, 59.
Wood, Jonas, vii., 55, 57.
Wood, Joshua, vii.
Wood, Ruth, VII.
Wood, Samuel, vii.
Wood, Selah, vii.
Wood, Silas, Biographical
Sketch of, VII. -X.
Wyandance Sachem, 17, 20, 57
Yonkers Purchase, 27.
York, Duke of, Code, 59.
York, Duke of, 43.

63

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