SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

A SERIES OF HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE

HARBOR AND HAMPTON PORT

BY HARRY D. SLEIGHT SAG HARBOR, N. Y. 1930

Two Hundred Copies Printed, and the Type Then Destroyed Printed By THE HAMPTON PRESS Bridgehampton, N. Y.

1930 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

In 1711 there is an entry in Town Records of ,South­ ampton in which the Great Meadow (at Sag Harbor) is called "Bridge Hampton Harbor." 1"his is the _only time this occurs, as far as discovered. After the allotment of the Great Meadow, Theophilus Howell busied .himself buying what lands he could at the "Harbor." He bought from Joseph More, the weaver, Lot 2, just "rest of the wharf; from Josiah Halsey, lot 3, next west; from Edmund Howell, meadow . near the Brushy N eek bounded east by woods, north by water and south by highway; of Elisha and Lemuel Howell, part of Lot 2; ,_of John Fordham, gentleman, a piece of Smith's meadow, which Pelletreau says is north of Brushy N eek, but appears to be nearer Ligonef! creek or brook; all of these purchases \;Vere made before 1695. Others who sold lands at Sag Harbor were: John Cooper sells to his father-in-law, Capt. Daniel Sayre, a piece that lies over against the Great Meadow and 20 acres at Hog Neck for 107 pounds. Prices of land have increased in this decade for the date is 1710-11. This is lot 20. The same year Thomas Topping sells to Peter Norris all his right at a place called Great Meadow, bounded north by beach, south and west by woods. This is lot 19. 2 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

John Post sells to Theodore Pierson. Thomas Cooper sells to Theodore Pierson, Lot 5, in 1710. James White sells to Theodore Pierson a part of Lot 1, in 1711, bounded north by beach, south by Theophilus Howell, west by beach. James vVhite, son of James v\rhite, late of Southamp­ ton, carpenter, sells part of Lot 1, to Jonah Rogers. Theophilus Howell sells ~ome of the Smith Meadow to John Morehouse, in 1713. Morehouse also buys more of the same meadow from i\nthony Ludlam, who owns most of the Little Hog .N eek and some m·eadow adjoining to the west, not reserved by the town for a beach road. Nathaniel Howell sells to his brother Theophilus Howell a piece called by name "Sag Head." It comprised two acres or two 50 rights, an amendment to Lots 23, 24, 25, 26, in the South Division. It is noted here because this is the first time _"Sag Head" occurs in the records, 1715. The spot was on the road from Sagg to Sag Har­ bor, north of the country road.

Good meadow land was the most .valuable in the earlv., years of settlement. i\. piece of meadow, 7 acres at North :5ea, sold for 48 pounds, in 1718. Sacataco, Indian of l\1ontocket, sells to Robert Cody of .East Hampton "All that Island lying and being in the Spund or Harbor between Hog N eek and Sag Harbor or thereaboute called Mankesack, or Stony Island. Price 5 pounds, 1712. This Stony Island was sold to Ezekial Sandford .of Southampton by Cody for 10 pounds in 1713. (Traditio11 is that this ,vas near Hoganock. Could it have been Little Gull Island in our bay?) Thomas M. Sayre and others sell. to Benjamin Glover, Brnshy N eek, bounded scu th by Hugh Gelston, west and SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 3 north by water, east by Peter Hildreth, 50 acres, in 1818, for $1,850. Jonah Rogers sells to Theophlius Pierson an acre of Great Meadow, at Sag Harbor, 1722, bounded north by bay or water, east by Pierson, south by ,undivided land, west by Lydia Hildreth. Job Pierson sells to Theophilus Pierson n1eadow lot No. 1, .which is called \:\lhite's Lot, in 1731. 'fhe north end of Lumber lane, at Bridgehampton, was called the settlement of Huntington. .L\'Iay 16, 1762, the Southa1npton highway commission­ ers, who were Theophilus Howell, John Post and Christo­ pher Foster, made report that "then ye highway running northeast through brushey plain down by little pougoso­ baug and so running northward to j:he road that runs from Sagg to ye harbour ( Sag Harbor) and so runs in that road near the east end of L.ong Pond and to run northward to the slade that comes up from the head of Ligonee swamp and there it divides, one running to Dayton's hollow and so along the path that now is to the harbor at the great 1neadows; the other highway runs down to _the harbor at Liganee on the west side of the swamp and the said high­ way from Easthampton path down to the harbor shall be six poles all the way." In the old record appears a note: "Vooted .that Rich­ ard Shaw shall have liberty to sett up a warehouse at Sag Harbor in sum place at ye discretion ,of Elisha Howell and Isaac Jessup, where they shall think most convenient." There is no date given. The time, however, is after 1700, perhaps a lull generation. The historian has to rely upon Hedges, to a great extent, in writing of Sag Harbor. He says: "Uniform tradition dates the settlement of Sag Har­ bor about the year 1730. At first places of refuge from the storm were mere holes dug in the cliff at Turkey Hill SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

(near foot of Division. street). Then huts were construct­ ed to shelter fishermen, and then small houses. . The first houses were set in the Hill, one story under, and one above ground. The first of the houses were µpon poles or staun­ chions.'' .....\.lso: "Settlement preceded wharf building some thirty years." L. D. Cook, ,who wrote of Sag Harbor, and read an essay· before the Lyceum, in 1858, says: "About 1760 there were only three houses at Sag Harbor occupied severally by John Foster, Daniel Ford­ ham and James Howell." There were probably other habitations, for Capt. Nathan Fordham's tombstone, in Old Burying ,Ground, says he was born at Sag Harbor, in 1721. Capt. Ephraim Fordham was born at Sag Harbor in 1737. He went whal­ ing out of Nantucket in 1753. He was mate of the first whaling sloop out of Sag .Harbor, in the 60's, of which Daniel Fordham was the master. Capt. Ephraim Fordham commanded the _first whal­ ing vessel to quest for whales, after the Revolution, the "Eagle". These vessels did not make what were called ocean voyages. Not until .1784-1785 did vessels venture to the Brazil Banks, from Sag Harbor~ for whales. Sag Harbor vessels were trading with West Indies, before 1770, and that year the first section of Long Wharf was built. The old wharf, built about 1761, stood further west, close by. The Town Trustees gave a grant April 7, 1761~ to Nathan Fordham, Jr., and James Howell to build a wharf and set up a try house at Sag Harbor. Before this in 1742, they had sent a comn,ittee to Sag Harbor to choose a place for a wharf, and Zachary Sand­ ford's ,vharf ,vas the first ,vharf constructed, but just what SAG HARBOR IN EAR.LIER DAYS 5 year, there is no record. It, too, stood further west at about the foot of Glover street, on the Point. Between 1760 and 1770 Sag Harbor was aug1nented in population by addition of many reputable families who came over fron1 Connecticut. The record notes that in 1738, at Sag Harbor 12 1-2 acres of land were j:o be sold to the highest bidder in order "'for to defray ye charge of laying out ye undivided lands." Sa111uel Russell lived at Sag Harbor in 1739,• for the record of drawing in the 12-acre division ( south of Wash­ ington street, north of Union street) says "to heirs of San1uel Russellp showing he was dead in 1761. Samuel

Russell bought four poles of land 1at Sag HarLor in 1739, "'adjoining his meadow," and the presumption is this Rus­ sell was one of the first to live at Sag Harbor. The record further says: "September 7, 1764, have given unto Na than Fordham, Jr., all the land that his warehouse now stands on and a gore piece to the north­ ward of his house he had of Mr. Russell" .( which stood near the site of the railroad depot). The same note further says (1764) "his (Fordham's) and Foster's warehouse." 1745-There was a highway (already) "of uncommon breadth laid out att Sagg ,harbor." 1731-"The good sloop called the 'Portland Adven.­ ture', no,v riding at anchor in the harbor of Sagg, ye 26th of November, 1731" 1747-Sloop "Hampton", bound for West Indies, De­ ~ember 21, 1747, attested by B. Sylvester, Dep'y Collector & Surveyor. The above mentioned sloop "Hampton" is stated to be "Plantation built." That means the vessel was built in the Colonies of America, but there is nothing to indicate the vessel was built either in East Hampton or Southamp­ ton towns. I am inclined to believe vessel building as a SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS business came at a later date than 1747 in these towns. This is deduced from the fact that much of the wood that went into such home-built vessels was cut at Montauk, and the earliest notice of this is given in East Hampton Town Trustee's Journals, after the Revolutionary war. A good trade had been btiilt up, coasting and foreign ( to West Indies) from eastern Long Island before .the Revolution, but there is no record extant ref erring to pre­ revolutionary home built vessels.

AN OLD SHIPS' ACCOUNT BOOK

An old Ships' Account Book has been placed in hand. It covers a period of years 1770-1778. The leaves of linen, yellowed with age, are ,well preserved; the writing is like copper-plate; the binding of parchment. This book after serving for ships' accounts was used about 1843, for a scrap book by- "A. S. G." who I opine, was A. S. Gardiner. Some of the scrap clippings pasted therein are interesting; but the real value of the book is in its ancient record .of earliest shipping of Sag Harbor, which may be culled from uncovered pages. John Hurlbert, Daniel Sc·hellenger, Luther Schellen­ ger, Abraham Miller, Lemuel Howell, John Foster. Thomas \Vickham, David Gelston, John Sandford, Daniel Fordham, Timothy Halsey, Ebenezer White, Edward Topping, Abraham Howells, Daniel Hains, Elias Sandford, Joseph Conkling, David Howell, Daniel Sandford, Elias Pershall, are some of the names m~ntioned as interested in shipping .ventures, or supplying outfits and recruits to vessels. They are n1en of East Hampton and Southamp­ ton towns; the nanies of Conkling, Fordham and Foster, are recognized as those of men living in _Sag Harbor, or having business places there prior to 1775. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 7

There is information of adjustment of a voyage made by the sloop "·Mehitable," Clay, master, in 1771-a West India voyage-with profits of 135 pounds sterling. The "Mehitable" loaded at Long Wharf, a pier built .at Sag Harbor, 1770-71. Voyages were also made to the ''Indies" in ,li72. The "Mehitable" also ran packet trips to New Y'ork. Bennoni Schellenger made a fishing voyage from Sag Harbor, with the sloop "America," in 1773. Salted Long Island clams were used for bait. There are port charges in New York. Cod-fish were caught. In li74 the whale boat Winfield Scotts is mentioned; this relates to the boat, not the big Scott, and the whale boat and costs of outfits. Voyages for whales were made only along the coast; no vessels went as far. south as Brazil, out of Sag Harbor, after whales, until a decade later than 1774. In 1777, operations pf the shipping company have been moved from Sag Harbor to Connecticut. All of Long Island is held by the British. The Sag Harbor ship own­ ers are turning their ,attention to outfitting privateers to harass the British. How successful they are is told. In 1777, Capt. Conkling, of Sag Harbor, is sailing the sloop "Revenge". The stock of ,the company is valued at 1,497 pounds. Profits of one voyage amounted to 433 pounds. "Sam" Beaman, a Montauk Indian, is mentioned as on board the "Revenge". I-fe owns 1-32 ,of the sloop bought from John Hudson for 125 pounds. Joseph Conkling owns shares. The "Revenge" captures ra British schooner. · In this prize n1oney was shared by Abrahan1 Miller, 285 pounds; John McCurdy, 285: John Hudson 213; Geleston & Hurl­ bert 213: Sha,v 213; John & Sam Foster, 213. Schooner "Adventure" made her ninth successful voyage, running the blockade in 1777. J ermiah Lay was 8 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS master. Interested in the "Adventure" were Ezra L'Hom­ medieu, David Gelston and John Hudson. Each owned 1-16. The brig "William" is mentioned and the prize Ship "Amherst" avails running over p,237 pounds. 1'here is reference to the schooner "Hali£ax" and the brig "John." There is a list of sharing in prizes taken by Capt. Conkling, too lengthy to give here. The cargo pf the Am­ herst" was liquor, oats, etc. The "Revenge" brought in many prizes. Sag Harbor patriots who were forced to flee to.New England in 1776 were most active all through­ out the war. The brig "·Middletown" is mentioned in 1779, and the last mention of the sloop "Revenge" .is her 5th outfit in 1778. Onderdonk in "Revolutionary Incidents of Suffolk County," page 80, ,says: Capt. Conkling, with other ves­ sels, took a British privateer from Sag Harbor wharf, and again took two brigs from Cork to New York with rum, wine and 12,000 bushels of oats for the troops on the east- ern end of Long Island. . This is borne out by the accounts found in the old Ship's' Book.

DIVISION OF EAST HAMPTON TOWN LANDS IN THE VILLAGE OF SAG HARBOR

On the East Ha1npton side of the line, at land where is no,v located Sag Harbor, divisions, or allotments were 1nade about 1736. Some of the ones who drew immense tracts at ,vhat ,vas later to be the port of Sa~ Harbor were the J\1 nlfords, Chatfields. Conklings and Srreetons. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 9

The Conklings settled on their lands; likewise the Mulfords. The meadows at Sag Harbor in East Hampton town had been allotted years ,before 1736. One of the earliest .records is a release dated 1698. By its terms Joseph Stret­ ton was left by his father "a share of that piece of meadow that Lyes nearest Hogg N eek in this townes bounds." On April 14, 1710, Joseph Stretton signifies his choice of land going to his fart her bound 1neadow toward the west bound. Mention is made of W egwagonuck, the name of the Indian village, on the site of Sag Harbor, near the shore, north of Sleight's hill. The nam·e is very ancient. Even 175 years ago no one then living knew what W egwagon­ uck meant. William Wallace Tooker by study and re­ search located the village of W egwagonuck, near Conk­ ling's Point, Sag Harbor. The name of the Point, is per­ petuated, by the family name of one of the first settlers. Everything indicates that the oldest frame house, still standing in Sag Harbor is that of Joseph and Edward Conkling, now occupied by Miss A. F. Sleight. The old house has been thrice rebuilt and greatly enlarged, but some of the timbers of the original Conklin farmhouse are still within its walls. The Indians called the locality of Sag Harbor, W eg­ wagonuck, "the place at the end of the hill." The first white settlers called the locality the Great Meadow. In East Hampton Town Records the word W eg­ "vagonuck is spelled in different ways and appears several times. The first entry is: "April 30, 1711," when Joseph Stretton choose his right "in said division to be at or near or joining his meadow at Wegwag-onuck." And again: April 30, 1718, "agreed that all the land lying to westward of Joseph Stret­ ton's meadow at \lV egwagonuck shall lye, etc." An

CENSUS OF 1776

There was a census taken of Southampton town in 1776. In this group of names appears, in order given, and apparently as taken by the census man, commencing just south of Otter Pond, visiting at hon1es dowu the main road to the "port" and then proceeding on and across North Haven to South Ferry, the following, which it will be interesting to compare with names in an account book of 1770-1777, now available. The census group begins with Anthony Sherman, who tradition places as residing south of the Otter Pond. In the old book there is an item of outfits of the sloop "l\1:ehetable," in February, 1775: "To cash paid Anthony Sher1nan, 1 pound, 13 shillings." The sloop was then at 12 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Sag Harbor wharf taking on board provisions and cargo for a cruise to the West Indies. Following in the census is the name of Nathan ·Ford­ ham. Of this Fordham it is known he was one of the earli­ est settlers, born in 1721. The "Invoice Book" of John Hurlbert, who was a magistrate and merchant, ship own­ er, and a notary public, also contains a "Record of Judg­ ments," and an "Excise List" for the year 1786. The name of Nathan Fordham occurs therein six times pay­ ment of excise ( tavern and retail licenses) having been n1ade to hi1n by n1en then living in Sag Harbor. Next to Fordham comes the name of Nathan Post. In 1786, says the old book Capt. Nathan Post paid John Hurlbert 2 pounds for a "retail" excise license. Next in the li76 census as living at Sag Harbor are Obadiah Gildersleeve, Eunice Quithall ( which may be an odd way of spelling Corwithe, in olden times pronounced Quthee), Grover L'Hommedieu, and Samuel L'Homme­ dieu. The late Judge H. P. Hedges, historian, says of Nathan Post: "I think (he) was a mariner, and afterward n1aster of vessels sailing from this ( Sag Harbor) port to the West Indies." "Capt. Nathan Post" is mentioned in the old "Ships' Book," and also frequently occurs the name of Samuel L'I-Iom1nedieu: For sale of rigging (he had a rope \Valk at one time) 1771 to sloop "Mehitable"; "Discount with San1'l L'Hommedieu, 8 shillings, 1772," relating to a voyage of the fishing boat of Bennoni Schell­ inger. There is also mention of E. (Ezra) L'Hommedieu (in 17i8) "f:sqr.," in connection with disposal and sale of the ship ".t\.1nherst's" cargo of 1nahognay, rum and sack. Na than Fordham lived in the "Jesse Halsey" house near Otter Pond. The census taker in regular sequence visited John Foster, whose pre-revolutionary abode is kno,vn to have been near \vhat is now corner Main and SAG· HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 13

Howard street. John Foster's bill in outfitting the sloop ··Mehitable" at Sag Harbor in 1771 is noted; also items paid in cash to John Foster, "16 pounds, 16 shillings, 6 pence." Foster had a tannery and warehouse. The L:Hommedieus owned property at Sag Harbor near Main street and Bay View avenue and a John Gibbs lived somewhere further toward the Harbor between L'Honunedieu and Foster. Hedges opines that Gibbs or his fan1ily were schoolmasters. Search of the record shows that Daniel Gibbs taught the school at Brickiln, just west of Sag Harbor, in 1796; Wm. D. Gibbs was the schooln1aster at Bridgehampton for the term October. 1795, and ended January 16. 1796. Samuel Foster is mentioned in the old "Ships' Book" as the partner in vessel ventures with John Foster, for six years before the outbreak of the war of the Revolution, and in the seven years of the war owning in the "Revenge" and other armed vessels, evidently making Middletown or New London their base of operations some of the time. The census gives 32 families in Sag Harbor. Those who ,v-ere engaged in shipping ventures, or who sold sup­ plies to the ships and who either lived in· or near Sag Har­ bor, as noted in the old "Ships' Book," and also noted in the census are George Fordhan1 (moved to East Haddam, ( onnecticut, as refugee, 1776, and never returned), Col. John Hurlburt, John Hudson, James Wiggins, Joseph Conkling, David Sayre. Others named in the census, but not noted in the ves­ sel accounts, are Na than Fordham, Silas Norris, Timothy Matthews, Josiah Cooper, Samuel Howell, Uriah Miller, Jonathan Conkling, Daniel Fordham, Jonathan Hill, Ben­ _ian,.in Coleman. James Store, Timothy Hedges, ,N"idow Temperance Foster, William Duvall, James Howell, Sil­ vanus \\'"icks. \i'/id. Elizabeth Hicks, \Vid. Hannah I~athan,, \\Tid. Sarah Bovvditch. \i\Tid. Sarah Tarbell, Ed- 14 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS ward Conkling, Jeremiah Gardiner, William Butler, Ephraim Fordham, Benjamin Price, William Hallock, Braddock Corey. Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, sent out the first whaling ves­ sels from Sag Harbor, after the Revolutionary war. One of the brigs was commanded by Capt. Ripley. Both voy­ ages were abject failures, and the Gardiners lost consider­ able money. Col. Huntting and Capt. Stephen Howell sent out the brig· "Lucy", to Brazil, after whales, commanded by Capt. George Mackay of Southampton, in 1785. She returned in less than a year with 300 bbls., of oil, thus establishing the great shipping enterprise which later was to build up the port and keep many men busy for ninety years there­ after in the whaling enterprise.

AN ACTIVE PATRIOT

Hedges opines that John Hurlbert moved from Sag Harbor to Bridgehampton after the Revolutionary war. Hurlbert's Letter Book is now before me. His letters are for a period 1789-1798 written from Bridgehampton and written from Sag Harbor for the years 1799-1803, when partner, David Gelston; also with \Villiam Gelston. It has the book ends. Most of the correspondence is with his to do with ships, shipping and merchandise. Na than Sandford and David Gelston were two of the most noted men eastern Long Island ever produced. David Gelston, partner of Hurlbert~ took active part throughout the war. He was born in 1744, died 1828. He with others petitioned for establishment of the wharf at Sag Harbor in 1770. He was a member of three Provincial Congresses. He aided in establishing the new form of gov­ ernment in 1777; a men1ber of the Co1nmittee of Safety; SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 15 procurred vessels to carry refugees from Sag Harbor to New England; a commissioner to raise specie to pay bills 1780; a member of assen1bly 1777-85; speaker of assembly, 1784-5; senator from the southern district, 1791-4 and 1798-1802; canal comn1issioner, 1792; delegate to l.T. S. Congress, 1788; surrogate of New York county, 1787-1801; Collector of Port of New York, 1801-20. He was a son of Deacon Gelston of Bridgehampton. Na than Sandford, was one time U. S. Senator; chan­ cellor of New Y~ ork; and came very near being a vice presi­ dent of the United States. Such were the men \vho were associates of John Hurl­ bert, Esq., of Sag Harbor. Braddock Corey first lived on North Haven and then in a house ( torn pown long since) that stood one door South of Main and Suffolk streets and called at one time "the Jefferson Fordham house." . 1791 to 1802 Thomas P. Ripley was in partnership at Sag Harbor with the father of the late Charles W. Payne, as merchants. Joseph Ripley the father, and Thomas P., the son, came to Sag Harbor from Dartmouth, Mass., after the Revolution. Payne built the "Point House" .at North Haven in 1804. The oid building still ,stands, moved to another site, north of the country home of Mrs. Joseph Fahys. It was 1noved in 1890. Benjamin Coleman lived in Sag Harbor (at where the Municipal block stands) in Revolutionary years, so _says the late Miss Anna Mulford, who told the story of "Lucy Coleman and the soldier who gave his Bible for a loaf of bread," in a paper read before the Sag Harbor Historical Society some years ago. Coleman moved here from Nan­ tucket. He aided in teaching "ship whaling." 16 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

James Howell kept a tavern during the Revolution at the site of the present American IIotel. British officers lived there. Nathan Fordham was constable at Sag Harbor in 1784. Evidently he was somewhat in doubt about .his duties and authority. So he addresses inquiry to Ezra L'Hommedieu of Southold, then the most prominent legal authority of Suffolk .county. The reply is noted in Mag­ istrate Hurlbert's book. The answers are as applicable to-day as when written so long ago. And the NO which follows the question: "May a man swear to and acknowl­ edge in his own accounts?'' is heavily underscored. This Fordham, with ~wo other men, established the first stage line between Sag Harbor and New York in 1772. Justice Hurlbert also writes letters to Henry B. Liv­ ingston, who with Hurlbert and other Long Island men owned and outfitted the American privateering vessels which so annoyed the British. This is the same Col. Henry B. Livingston who, after the battle of Brooklyn, formed the daring plan to rally all the militia of Long Island and drive the enemy off the Island. Livingston was stationed at Southold in 1776. The fact that most of the companies were disbanded and that there was a general hegira to Connecticut of all ,:vho had reason to apprehend summary punishment if -captured, prevented execution of his pro­ posal. When the British were about to occupy Sag Harbor and villages of the Hamptons in 1776~ Abram Gardiner of East Hampton seized the arms of American patriots, and also administered an oath of allegiance to King George to all men who did not seek asylum in New England. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 17

SEIZED ARMS AT EAST HAMPTON

The book of the Gardiner genealogy has a note about a town charge for one Collins, who seized arms at East Hampton and carried them back to Sag Harbor, in 1777. The date is contemporary with the time when Meigs and his militiamen captured the British garrison at Sag Har­ bor and the arms ( muskets and some cutlasses) were then taken. At the time British troops had temporarily been withdrawn from Southold. In East Ha1npton records may be found a charge of Aaron Isaacs, the grandfather of John Howard Payne, "for going to Sagg harbour by order of Cap. .D. Mul­ ford," and for a journey to New L.ondon, carrying a letter to the Committee of Safety in New ,England. Isaacs was converted to Christianity by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Buell, at East Hampton, in 1764. His bill of 1775 reads: "3 .shill­ ings & for dinner 1 shilling to see ye men clowned up & dinner 4 shillings; to _paid cash Fordham for bread and ' cheeps & rum 3 shillings, board 8 shillings, going to New London 16 shillings." "William Duvall's name is given in the Sag Harbor census first taken after the Revolution. The record shows he took out license in 1786, and his tavern was about where the corner of Main and West Water street was ( the latter street having since been closed). A letter written by Magistrate Hurlbert in 1789 is sent from Sag Harbor to David Gelston in New York, by "hand of Capt. Beebee, of the sloop "Hampton." This Capt. Beebee is an ancestor of William T. Beebee of Sag Harbor. A letter from Hurlbert sent from Bridgehamp­ ton to Gelston then in New York, in October, 1789 says: "We are in want for a long boat for Brig 'America'. I wish you to get some of the boat builders to build one 18 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS for us by the beginning of November." The earliest rec­ ord of the brig "America" of Sag Harbor is 1784. Sag Harbor merchants have heard of a new material, plaster of Paris, imported from France, and they bring the first san1ples of this material to Eastern Long Island, in 1879 "for tryll." From the letters of Hurlbert it is learned that great quantities of alevvives were caught at or near Sag Harbor, salted and smoked, and shipped in barrels to New York n1arkets. Clan1s 'Nere caught, hundreds of barrels of them, and salted for bait for the cod fishing fleet that sail­ ed from Sag Harbor before 1800. Oysters from "Oyster Pond" at Montauk, and cranberries from Napeague make up some of the cargoes sent by the Sag Harbor merchants to the city for disposal in earliest years of the port. Capt. Nathan Fordham is sailing a packet between Sag Harbor and New York in 1799. ·Mention is also made of Capt. Parker and Capt. Sattersly, the latter taking a prominent part commanding militia at Sag Harbor during the war of 1812. Hurlbert dealt extensively in leather goods when at Sag Harbor in 1799-1803. He m.entions Capt. William Parker and_ Capt. Latham; also Capt. Noah Mason and Capt. Denison. There are Denison children attending the Sag Harbor school, at corner of Sagg and Suffolk streets. in 1795. A census of the school children of Sag Harbor, North Haven and Brickiln school districts was taken in 1796. The \i\Tilliam Parker mentioned above was one of the first of that name to locate his family at Sag Harbor. He is mate of the Riverhead built sloop "Industry," in 1797- 99, and n1aster of the Sag Harbor built schooner "Willing Maid." in 1808. a manifest of cargo from St. John's in Antiqna, shows him captain. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 19

Capt. Noah Mason planted an old sycan1ore tree ,vhich stood untl 1875 at Division street, where the ,ving of the Fahys factory now is. The tree was one of tse oldest and largest in the village when taken down. It measured 3 feet 10 inches in dian1eter and stretched its lofty branches some 80 feet toward the sky. One hundred or more years be­ fore 1875 the tree was planted at the time when Capt. Mason owned the house in the 70's next south of the Capt.

\Villiam Lowen house, and then called the "Tvler.., Havens' house." Capt. Mason was a mason by trade. He built the Sand's Point lighthouse. Cornelius Sleight, the first Sleight in Sag Harbor, 4sed to relate that when he was a school boy in East Hampton, in the latter part of the eighteenth century, the tree was the only one visible in the village after leaving the East Hampton woods. The tree was originally set out on the outer side of the side­ walk, but its growth, left no passage between the tree and the fence. The old "Tyler Haven's house" later was known as the "old Sweezx House." It was moved in 1891 to make a wagon en trance from Division street to the Fahys factory. I have heard it was built by an ancestor of Tyler. Havens. It was one of three houses on the road from East Hamp­ ton to Sag Harbor. They are all gone now. The Tunison house at Hampton road was not standing ,vhen these old houses were built. After 1840 Thaddeus Coles, lived in the Tunison house, now occupied by Sidney and Alice Havens. At the outskirts of Sag Harbor lived John Edwards. His homestead was at what is now called "Old Farm," on the Sag Harbor-Bridgehampton road. A f amity of Drakes also lived nearby. Other houses in Sag Harbor occupied by families soon after the Revolution are: Daniel Fordham, Main and Bay 20 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS streets, a pre-revolutionary tavern was kept in first years of the 19th century by Robert Fordham. Peter Foster's house stood somewhere between Fordham's tavern and the Howell tavern (now site of American Hotel); Timothy Hedges' house stood near the site now occupied by Mor­ ouney' s garage, and some years later a Truman lived in the locality. Ephraim Fordham lived about where the Wil­ liam Buck house stands; Du Daly owned the property now of Howard L. Reney, corner .of Sagg and Union streets. Henry P. Dering lived where the Lindberg honse now is; south of Duvall's tavern, the west side of Main. street, lived at one ti1ne, Benjamin Coleman; then·:,came· Uriah Miller. In first years of settlement on Main· street there were 5 houses on Main street, below W a·shington street, on its east side; six houses on Main street below Otter Pond, on its west side. With houses of the Conklings and Mulford at the East Hampton side of town, houses on Sagg and Union streets, there are in all 21 houses that could be lo­ cated, while the census of 1776 gives some fifteen other dwellings of which there is no record of destruction by fires, or the f°avorite method of old tirrie removal, placing by on greased skids and hauling through the streets with ox teams or the slower process of windlass and chain. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIEiR DAYS 21

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH COVENANT

The covernant of the Sag Harbor Presbyterian church, first signed in December 1791, carries names of the earli­ est inhabitants. rfheir names with date of ~igning are given below. Joseph Conkling, he of revolutionary war fan1e; Elisha Prior, a master shipwright at the Capt. Rysam yard; Sam­ uel L'Hommedieu, owner of a rope walk and windmill; Benjamin Price, a merchant; Ananias Conkling, a farmer; David Frothingham a printer and book publisher who also published the first newspaper of Long Island at Sag Har­ bor, and Daniel Pierson signed in 1792-1793. 1800--John Seabury, who succeeded Frothingham as the newspaper publisher; J obn Frederick Meyers who evi­ dently was a cartman, for he is paid for "services, etc.," at the time of the discharge of troops in the "Garrison at Sag Harbor" in 1815, also for "carting loads from the bat­ tery to the arsenal" and for "coopering casks of gunpowder at the magazine" and this Meyers drew a pension for many years after 1815. Peter Niles and John Foster joined the church in the fall of 1800. Foster was a merchant, ship owner, etc. Of Niles, the house in which he lived stood near Division street until about fifty years ago, when it was razed. The list of women who signed the church covenant is much larger than that of the men. They were Elizabeth L.'Hommedieu, Elizabeth Conkling, Abigail Conkling, Elizabeth Seabury, Jane Fordham, Mary Price, Keziah Colburn, Sarah Hains, Sarah Hedges, Simony Negus, Abi­ gail Fordham, January 22, 1791. Margaret Satterly, Margaret Jermain, Abigail Jagger, Jane Daily, Charlotte Havens, March 9, 1792. Bethian Beebee, January 19, 1793. 22 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Jennie Eldredge, Axuba Crowell, Tabitha Ryder, 1797. Elizabeth Bates, November 27, 1796. Amy Harris, Abigail Hildreth 1796. Sarah Halsey, April 9, 1797. Phebe Rysam, Isabel Hill, 1797. Elizabeth Rogers, August 6, 1797. 1'Iary Frothingham, ·March 30, 1800. Phebe Niles, September 5, 1800. Phebe Howell, September 7, 1800. Mary Bearse, 1805. Prudence Hurlbert, Nancy Hedges, Mary Eldredge, Mary Parker, 1795. Phebe Crowell, Jennie Nickerson, Nancy Beebee, Let­ tice Smith, 1806. Others were Joseph Crowell, Sr., 1805. Elias Jones, Abby Hall, Jane Kellis, Henry Rogers, Augustus Sleight, 1813. Job Pierson, Deacon Robert ,Hoey and his wife, Mrs. Nancy Corey, Mercy Hamilton, 1814. Hezekiah Jennings, from the church at Southold, Rev. J. Huntting. October 28, 1816. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 23

THE OLD BURYING GROUND

"The Old Burying Ground," at Madison, Union and Latham streets, dates back to 1767. Previous to this time there had been burial places at and near _Sag Harbor. The custom prevailed to bury in private ground somewhere near the farm or plantation where the dead person had been born or resided at the time of death. Not so many years ago there were mounds where once were graves on Fort Hill (l\fethodist Hill, .or now called Dering Heights). bodies have been exhumed at the site of the DeCastro premises between l\1adison and Church streets near the site of the first Sag Harbor ._church; there are scattered graves at North Haven and Northwest, so1ne of them still marked by headstones. When in 1767 Sag Harbor, then rapidly _growing in population, had need for a Burial Ground, a meeting of parish trustees was held and v\l illiam Rogers and David vV oodruff were instructed to purchase a piece ;of land near the meeting house not to exceed 3-4 of one acre to be for a burial place and that at the town's cost. This was in May the 5th day. June 23, 1767, the trustees permitted David Hand to have certain land near the meeting house, bounded on the west, by lands of Peter Hildreth "to be unto him forever, in consideration of a certain piece of land at ~r near the meeting house, as it is layed off and staked out for a buriel place to be to the trustees of Sag Harbor and their successors forever." Subsequently it appears that area of the burial ground was extended, for a conveyance of .1772 reads: "Thomas Tarbell .to Hubbard Latham, 10 acres, new burial ground, 18 pounds sterling." Only a part of this land went for burial purposes, however, and it is described to be in "Lot No. 1, Great Division, bounded north hy highway, east by land of Sarah Tarbell, 24 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS south by land of Edward Howell, west by land of David Hand." Latham makes a note: "1772 deed New Presbyterian church lot is Lot No. 1, Great Division." George Latham 1nakes a note: "Last burial jn Old Burying Ground in 1884." \Vhen lands were alloted at Sag Harbor there was buying and selling of lots. People moved from New Eng­ land to Sag Harbor in the decade 1760-70. Thomas Tar­ bell who sold to Hubbard Latham was a government phy­ sician at Richn1ond to\vnship, in the county of Berkshier, Boston. Gideon I-land, son of David I-land, heard Tar­ bell 1nake declaration of conveyance, and some of the docu­ ments which convey lands where the Presbyterian church now stands and the land occupied by the Old Burying Ground are witnessed by "Corn's Sleight, Master of Chan- cery. " There is a note that the earliest burial in Old Burial Ground occurred in 1767, "the infant son of . James Howell," and H. R. Stiles. writing in 1864, said that 'an aged sister of this child living until lately, often said that she remembered her mother weeping bitterly because her Ii ttle brother was buried way out _in those lonesome woods." The stone read "In memory of James, son of James and Lucretia Howell. who died June 4. 1767. Ae, one year. 3 months. 18 days." ,iVhen Oakland cemetery was laid out, at South street, (new Jern1ain avenue). many bodies were removed from the Old Burying Ground. This was after 1840. Names to be found on head stones in the Old Burying Ground in the 80's were then Raymond. Clark, Hedges, Price, Crow­ ell. L'Hommedieu, Treman. Russell, Jermain, Latham. Taylor. Hall. Cook, Goodwin. Jagg-er. _Welden, Denison, Duvall. Sayre. Harris, Eldredge. Collins, Ripley, Corey. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 25

Chase, Harlow, Whittlesey, Hildreth, Gelston, Ho,vell, Parker, Stuart, \V oodruff and others. One stone is in memory of William Havens, captain of the privateers "Beaver'', and "Jay", and "Retaliation", during the war of the Revolution, died li9i. \Vhen Old Burying Ground ,vas laid out the tract ,vas thickly wooded. Oakland ce1netery was laid out in 1840. It was then mostly ,voods. The first inter1nent in ,Oakland cemetery was the body of Hezekiah Jennings, 1840. Very decided improvements were made to Oakland cemetery in 1886. The late Joseph Fahys, Charles P. Daly and Stephen B. French purchased the Brass Foundary lot, and enclosed it as a part of the cemetery. This new part of the cemetery is known as "Oakland Rest."

EARLIEST VIEW OF SAG HARBOR

A water color sketch and painting of Sag Harbor, its wharves, water front and shipping, made in 1803 by Miss Elizabeth Sleight, shows a landing pier, warehouse and view of shipping; another pier is depicted further west of the Long Wharf built in li70, and with ,vind mill, ware­ house and shipyard occupies a position near where in after years, about 1834, the North Haven Bridge toll-house was built. Samuel Huntting and William Cooper applied to Southa1npton town trustees October 10, .1831, for a grant of liberty to build a wharf at Sag Harbor, west of the.grant to the proprietors of the Long Wharf and the State Pier, and to extend to the distance of 1,100 feet, northerly and northwesterly alongside the Long Wharf and State Pier. They were permitted to so construct a wharf "alongside of lot belonging to heirs of "\~Filliam Raymond, deceased," 26 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS under certain conditions, and providing the wharf be built within six years of date of the grant. The trustees of Southampton town ordered their pres­ ident and clerk to quit claim to Samuel Huntting and Ben­ jamin Huntting and their heirs and assigns forever, for the consideration of one dollar, April 9, 1838, "all that certain tract of Beach and Water laying and being situated in the port of Sag Harbor, State of New York, bounded Easter­ ly by Lot No. 6, as formerly sold to Hubbard Latham, Southerly by the Three Pole Highway leading to Hog N eek and Northerly by _.the water; the above premises when first conveyed by the Town Trustees were held under a certain reservation, for the purpose of a Trie House &c., for Trieing out whale blubber, from which re­ servation and all others, the present proprietors, their heirs and assigns are for ever released." No wharf had been .constructed at this new site in 1842, and a petition was then presented to the Southamp­ ton town trustees, asking the privilege to build a wharf at Sag Harbor. The petitioners were the same H unttings and their associates, known as the "Sag Harbor \Vharf Company." The to\vn authorities took prompt action and their record shows that "another wharf beginning at high­ water mark, at the highway adjoining the lot belonging to the heirs of ,the late William Raymond deceased, on the west .side of the grant to the Long Wharf proprietors run­ ning northerly and northwesterly along with the said Long Wharf, and with the grants for the State Pier, to the dis­ tance of eleven hundred feet, or the length of the present Long Wharf; and the trustees further granted to the Sag Harbor \!\.Thar£ Company the water on each side of said wharf: sixty feet on the west side, and on the east side all of the water within the basin from the east line of the said new wharf to the old wharf or dock. The people were given rights to pass and repass ,:vithout hindrance on this pro· SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 21 posed wharf, with creatures, carriages, or themselves, sub­ ject in common with others only to rules and regulations of proprietors of the Wharf Company; .and four years time was given to build the wharf, "or else be void." Improvements were made at the spot, but the wharf was never built as projected. A basin was constructed for small boats, and places provided for oil and whalebone storage. The fire of 1845, put a stop to all plans for the 1,100 foot pier parallel with Long Wharf. The Three Pole Highway mentioned in the grant of 1839, or "v\T est Water street" ( where is terminal of rail­ road now) was closed in 1891. The slip west of Ray­ monds' is now blocked by a railroad crossing; a road leads to causeway of North Haven bridge (new, 1891-92), and a causeway or .drive· has been constructed along the Sag Harbor water front. The old North Haven bridge, a wooden structure, built in 1834, was replaced ,by an iron ~raw bridge, and approaches so arranged that crossing of railroad tracks were eliminated. The Long Island Railroad acquired the land be­ tween Main Street slip and Bridge street slip when ex­ tending its tracks in 1870. The Bridge street slip is still a public landing. 28 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

METHOD OF ALLOTING THE LAND

The part of Sag Harbor first laid out by th~ surveyors and "alloters" in 1680 is sometime_s referred _to as appor­ tioned by "lottery." The lots were drawn, on cards upon which a number corresponding to the lot and a111endment, was placed in a receptacle and drawn therefrom by a dis­ interested party. Land lotteries were not frowned upon. In Southampton and East Hampton towns the only per­ sons participating in the drawings were original buyers and owners of land in the ··co1npanies" or "associations,'' their heirs or assigns. Persons who did not have an in­ terest in the "common" or "undiYided"' lands had no share of the lots thus a warded and designated and assigned to the land owners of the Town (when thus referred to n1ean­ ing all of the original plantation) ; and lands they claimed, in the commons, were recognized to be owned as by the1n as tenants in con1mon. There is nothing so plain in all of the early land allotment in the Hampton towns as recog~ nition of this practice, despite any different decisions of courts 200 years· after settlen1ent of the tovvns. Such divi­ sions of land give title to the Sag Harbor lands. In instances where common or undivided lands were never alloted or divided at Sag Harbor before 1882, when all common and undivided lands were sold to in­ dividuals, it is reasonable to believe that title to these un­ divided lands, quit-claimed in 1882 is rightfully in the gran­ tee. The Southampton men of earliest years provide for highways and landings at Sag Harbor, the latter known as ''slips." Where these highways have never been changed. closed or ceded by town trustees to individuals or corpora­ tions, and where no record of doing _away with landing places and "slips" is to be found. these highway-landings and "slips" remain; where no change in survey of high­ way-landings and "slips" has been made by Sag Harbor SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 29 trustees after the lands within the bounds of Sag Harbor were incorporated as a village by act of the state legisla­ ture, the "slips" and highways are public. There are at least four "slips" along the Sag Harbor waterfront, and possibly more. East Hampton town in 1820 laid out a "slip., or water road "vest of what is now municipal pier and east of Long Wharf. It is now closed. It was never closed by the town. The record is vague as to any action ever legally taken to close this water road by village authorities. There 1nay be, and probably is, a town landing, some­ where along the south shore of the Lower Cove. Town Records, Page 84, March 16, 1830, tell of the Proprietor Trustees visiting a highway two rods wide at Sag Harbor "and laid it out from the beach street between the said road and Capt. Stephen Howell's candle factory, to be and remain a road until further ordered by the Trustees." At Page 85, Southampton records, may be found a certificate of encroachment on the north side of the high­ way or road "called Cooper St., leading from Main Street to the old wharf, and adjoining the west side of the lot or premises owned by the heirs of Stephen Howell, de­ ceased." It bears date July 24, 1833. In 1726, the Commissioners of Highways of South­ ampton town attest to a six pole highway running to "ye­ harbor," and this highway is described in much detail. There are well defined "slips" on ,the Sag Harbor

water front at Bridg-e~ Street:. foot of Main Street:. Rector Street ; and Burke Street extension, the latter purchased in quite recent years. A part of v\T est Water street has been closed by the village and the land taken in by the Long Island Rail­ road Company. This change was effected in 1892 when approaches to North Haven bridge were changed. 30 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

June 27, 1891, the Southampton Town Trustees view­ ed location of a proposed bridge at Sag Harbor-North Haven. July 23, 1891, the Southampton Town Trustees grant­ ed to Joseph Fahys a perpetual easement "privilege and right of way over the lands under water belonging to the town of Southampton from the slip at north end of Main Street, Sag Harbor, to a point at North Haven." The Village of Sag Harbor owns water front land north of Bay street in East Hampton town, given by Mrs. Lila Havens of Oakland. California, for a public park. The village authorities have opened a roadvvay across a meadow just west of "Hard-a-lee" that leads to this shore front recreation spot. The gift is a memorial to the late Frank C. Havens, native and summer resident of Sag Har­ bor, and the land is called "Havens' Park."

THEY DID STRANGE THINGS

The men who lived in Sag Harbor in earlier years, often did things which seem strange to the present gen­ eration. They located their village site on a meadow bank and some sand hills ; they reclaimed and filled in the great­ er part of the meadows. This was along the water front where deep channels of Shelter Island Sound ( the bay) approached close .to the shores. The entire topography of the business part of the village ( down town) has been changed. At least three times in great conflagrations, building areas have been razed, and rebuilt; and many buildings that escaped the great fire in 1877, have been moved. Moving houses and heavy objects was pastime as well as occupation for Sag Harbor men. They moved wind mills from Sag Harbor to the Hamptons; large warehouses and SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 31 hotels ,vere skidded about from one location to another; ocean _going ships were built at the Coves (now quite shal­ low waters), slid from the "stocks" to such channels as then existed, and while "light" and sometimes ;'careened" were floated through the Narrows and passed through the draw of Payne's Bridge, after 1834, to moor at Long \V harf, where the riggers and sailmakers, etc., fitted the vessels for sea. Ships, schooners, brigs, packet sloops were built at Sag Harbor on "stocks" laid down at "yards" fron1 \vhat is now Bridge street to the deep water near Conkling's Point, and one of the earliest records of ship building is at "Brushy N eek," now called Red Wood. A vessel of about eight tons (sloop), was built in the woods where is now Oakland Cemetery. Many teams of horses dragged it on greased timbers to the water in the year 1875. It was launched, and carried a party to the Cen­ tennial Exposition, in Philadelphia, the next year, 1876. This vessel enterprise was similar to the work of Capt. vVilliam French of Southampton, who, at Hill street, that place, in 1835~ constructed a three-masted. two-centerboard schooner, dragged it to Heady creek, deepend the creek by excavating, floated his vessel to Shinnecock Bay, loaded it with wood, and sailed out of the inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. The schooner was sold with cargo in New York. The n1en \Vho lived in Sag Harbor before 1800 dug trenches to get water for the mill; but the mill wouldn't run, only at times of very high water; so a plan to utilize the tides for power was evolved. A grant having been ob­ tained, the Narrows between Hogonock and Brushy Neck were considered to be a good location for a dam. The dam and 1nill were never there constructed. Instead of obtain­ -ing power for the 1nill. another thing was accomplished: Otter Pond and Long Pond were converted from inland lakes to "fish ponds~" and Otter Pond has been called the 32 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

·'Fish Cove," because it has salt water at flood, and a rise and fall of tide. As late as the 70' s Sag Harbor considered the possi­ bility of obtaining an unli1nited supply of water for use in time of fire. It was then proposed to take water from Round Pond and pipe it to "'down town." Engineers re­ ported adverse to the project. There was no natural grav­ ity flow to give any force and the difference in grade be­ t,:veen _pond surface and bay front was a few inches only, instead of the drop of many feet son1e had thought it to 11Je. Sag Harbor had its geniuses in earlier years. The natives were not only builders and n1overs of boats and houses; they made almost everything used in the whaling enterprise, and they also made strange "contraptions." Bells were cast and clocks made in Sag Harbor nearly 100 years ago; the first submarine torpedo was unsuccess­ fully used off Sag Harbor during the war of 1812; a flying machine ( which did not fly) had been shaped and given a trial years before the \\T rights were born; at East Ha1np­ ton a D01niny put together the parts of a thrashing 1na­ chine and flour 111ill con1bined, long before the McCor­ micks and associates' machinery had been built. At producing things needed for their ships none could excel the men of Sag Harbor; only when they essayed manufacturing cotton goods, oil cloths, stockings, chen1i­ cals, etc., did they fail in competition with men whose New England parsimony had in flush whaling years been un­ known and unpracticed on Long Island. About the time gold was discovered in California, a Sag Harbor ship master invented a bomb-lance to kill whales. Experimenting with it he lost his hand by a pre­ mature explosion. Other men perfected the invention and profited by it. The inventor died in indigent circumstances son1e years later, far from Long Island, among strangers. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 33

THE PONDS

The ponds within the incorporated bounds of Sag Harbor village are, so some persons say, town property, Decisions of the highest courts of the State have decided that some land beneath water in the town belongs to the freeholders and commonalty, and is regulated through the town trustees. The Proprietor owners owned the mill streams. They thought they owned land beneath the waters. The Proprietors sold the bottom of Mecox Bay. 1'he bay bottom was adjudged to be town property. The bay was found to be neither salt water nor navigable water. It was classed with ponds like Sagg, Georgica, etc., at times connected with the ocean by sea pooses or inlets. It was fed by fresh water stream~. The owners of lands abutting the waters of Mecox never held riparian rights; the State. the Proprietors, nor the Town, had never dis­ posed of them. The court makes no distinction between large and s1nall bodies of water; and taking this decision as a precedent, and the always asserted claim of town own­ ership of waters and lands under water in the town, the de­ cision of the Court of Appeals has been held by some to apply to the town ponds. The right of way about certain ponds is also public property. It may be assumed that where a deed does not specify the pond or lands beneath ,vater of a pond, the pond does not, nor does the land be­ neath water, belong to the grantee, when bounds are speci­ fied as "the pond" or "the water" or the "edge of the pond." ·fhe mill streams were retained by the Proprietor ()Wners in 1818, because they were then valuable for power. A part of Round Pond is within village bounds; all of Otter Pond ( once a fresh water lake, now artificially connected with tide water) is within Sag Harbor village. A right of way leads to Otter Pond. The pond is now a part of Mash­ ashi1nuet Playground and Park. It makes laws against 34 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS catching fish with net or any devices other than hook and line, or scoop-nets, in this pond; the town also regulates the fisheries of Round Pond; its ordinances regulating fish­ ing in the Cove are apparently not understood, for they are not strictly enforced. The town trustees have forbid­ den as unlawful and prohibit any person to cast or set a net, seine, or other device, for the purpsoe of taking fish from May 15th to September 15th in each year, from the waters known as the Upper Cove above the narrows be­ t,veen Hogonock and Red Wood, near the village of Sag Harbor. 1"'he ordinance does not per1nit the catching of fish by angling, spear or crab-net. The penalty for in­ fraction of the order is $50 maximum fine. Years ago privileges of Otter Pond were granted by the town to John Jermain to run a fulling mill on the stream; attempts were made to utilize the waters of ponds, south of the village, by connecting the same by ditch with Otter Pond. A good head, or fall of water was never ob­ tained. There is a record of the ditch or drain from Otter Pond to Cove having been dug, in 1783, to convert the pond to a fish cove. Ligonee Brook, or the "Alewive Drain," connecting Long Pond with the Cove, was a fish .run so long ago no one can say whether it was a natural brook, or in part ar­ tificial. There are evidences that jlt ,some places the ditch has been deepened by digging. I have been told this ditch was dug at the same time other ditches were made to try to .obtain power for the mill at Otter Pond .stream. The s·ag Harbor Water Company has ,closed Ligonee Brook, by Legislative permission. Before, that time the town always controlled Long Pond, and it was from the town of Southampton that the water company first secured per­ mission to use a part of the fresh water flowing from the pond through the brook ~o the Cove. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 35

That private individuals, however, _did make assertion of ownership of Otter Pond is seen by advertisement of sale when "one eighth of the Fish _Cove" ( Otter Pond) was offered for sale at auction. In 1817, John Jermain, Thomas Beebe, Silas Howell, and Eden .S. Latha1n were executors of the estate of Hub­ bard L.atham. They offered .for sale one-fourth of the Otter Pond, belonging to the estate, at _private sale, or public ,vendue, on Saturday, March 8, 1817, at the house of Abraham Corey, inn-keeper. From the above it would seem that the "Fish Cove" was sold outright. It is one of the few instances in South­ ampton town, where ponds connecting by streams with tidewater, have been permitted to _pass from the town own­ ership to private ownership.

RAILROAD EXTENDED TO SAG HARBOR

The railroad extended its tracks to Sag Harbor in 1870. But it was some years after this before arrange­ ment was made to have the United States mails carried by railroad direct to Sag Harbor. The mails went by rail­ road to _Greenport, where tracks of the Long Island Com­ pany were laid and train service inaugurated in 1844. Soon after this the mails were brought by stage route from Greenport across Shelter Island to Sag Harbor and the Hamptons. The people of Sag Harbor, East Hampton and South­ atnpton record, in 1872, that they are greatly inconveni­ enced by having their mails conveyed by way of Green­ port and across Shelter Island, and that: "Whereas, there is a railroad on which trains are daily run, through the town of Southampton and having its termination in Sag Harbor, ,vithin a few rods of the to,vn of East Hampton, 36 SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS it is desirable and would greatly accommodate the people to have the mails conveyed on the railroad." Committees of Southampton _town and East Ha1npton town men were appointed at town meeting, .April, 1872, to confer ,and '·to take such 1neasures as shall be deemed necessary to secure the transportation of U. S. Nlails over the said Rail Road, at as early a period as possible." Edward R. Ackerly and Oriando Hand were appoint­ ed on this co1nmittee to represent Southa1npton, and they made a report in 1873, April 1st, when Hand \vas con­ tinued as con1mitteen1an, and S. B. French and E. A. Car­ penter of Sag Harbor, were added to the comn1ittee, the latter to fill vacancy caused by removal of ::'.vlr ...A.ckerly from the to,vn. This committee reported progress April 7, 1~74~ and they were instructed to press the 1natter of "having 111ails carried on the S. Branch." _,.\s there is no record hereafter of 111eetings or reports of the "Committee on l\,fails," their efforts must ha~:e heen successful and the change of handling the 1nails, _prohahl~­ obtained -in 1874. At any rate there is no thought g-i,·rn to the matter at the 1874 to,vn meeting, nor any n1inute 111acle of a report _of such committee. Before 1870 the poor of Sag Harbor were cared for at Sagaponack Poor Farm of Southampton town: and at the East Hampton Poor Farm at _Grassy Hollow. in the western part of that town. After the County Farm or Almshouse was established these town poor houses were sold, both real estate and farm equipment. The insane of Southampton, in _1872 were cared for at Brattleborough. Vt., and that year the town voted $200 for their care. It was also recommended that if any of the Southampton incompetent at Brattlehorough. could be moved, that they be transported to the County House. After _the railroad came throPg-h to Sa 2" T-l ~rhor in 1870 the electors of the village ,vere acco1nn1odated in SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 37

1872 and thereafter with special trains running to town meeting at Southan1pton village, every first week of April Sag Harbor people were not taxed for payment of principal and interest of Southampton war bonds, after 1874. They had all been liquidated and burned by that year.

AN EARLY SETTLER

J a1nes Howell was one of the early settlers of South­ ampton and among the first men to locate in Sag Harbor, about 100 years after the original laying out and occupa­ tion of _the township. Many of his descendants live in the western part of the town. He was born at Southampton, L. I., October 15, 1734. When a young man he moved to Sag Harbor; there he died December 12, 1808. He owned and resided on site of the property now occupied by the American Hotel and Jetter block, in Sag Harbor. He also owned the meadows on the west side of Main street, from the Elisha King block (now owned by Pappas) to the resi­ dence of William Cooper ( now Merritt's boarding house) at west side Main Street. Both these pieces of property he gave to his grandson, Charles James Howell. Col. Meigs, in his expedition to Sag Harbor, during the Revolu­ tionary war ( 1777) took the British commander a prison­ er from his quarters, at the Howell dwelling, the site of the American Hotel. James Howell, who by the way was a Tory in those days, like most of his neighbors who 1sub­ scribed to the oath of allegiance to the King, had a son Charles Howell, who died in New York City, in 1881. The gunpowder used in the early part of the nineteenth century in this country was mainly imported from Eng­ land. Another Charles Howell was a son of Matthew Howell, who ,vas· a large importer of gunpowder. Upon erection of the Du Pont Powder Company in America, Mr. 38 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Howell became its New York agent; subsequently, about 1840, he became the agent for the Hazard Powder Com­ pany. Charles, who died in 1881, aged 84, retired in 1863. having succeeded his father. He left the agency to his son, William. P. Howell. These Ho\vells were very suc­ cessful in business. Their ancestors helped settle the to\\"n of Southampton.

SOME EPITAPHS

Some of the epitaphs in Old Burying Ground and Oak­ land Cemetery to be found on tombstones are unique and informative of the ancient history of Sag Harbor village. The record of inscriptions legible in 1840, at Old .Bury­ ing Ground, when that year the new burying ground, or Oakland Cemetery was opened, has been preserved; also a record of removals of bodies and tombstones taken after 1840 to Oakland Cemetery. The first burial in Old Bury­ ing Ground occurred in June, 1767: the last burial at Old Burial Ground occurred in 1886. On a new stone. fronting Madison street appears this inscription: "In Memory of \\1illiam Havens, Captain of Priva­ teers Beaver, Jay and Retaliation during the War of the American Revolution, died 1797. Other inscriptions on grave stones are:

"This stone erected bv.., their fellow citizens as a tri- bute for respect to the memory of _N ath'l Baker and John Pierson, who were unfortunately killed in this place. Feh~.- 25, 1815 while celebrating the return of peace between the United States and Great Britain. their age 22 years." (The accidental discha.rg-e of a cannon cansed their death.) "Sacred to the memory of Naomi & Georg-e Hedg-es who were drowned in the Packet of Capt. N. F. Sayre SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 39 which sunk in a gale of wind on her passage to New Yor~ the night of October, 7, 1826." (Wife and son of Jesse Hedges.) "At Oakland Cemetery, stone moved from old Bury­ ing Ground, is buried Capt. David Hand, died 1840, ae 84 years, surrounded by five wives, all of whom he outlived. He wrote his own original epitaph. It reads: "Behold ye living mortals passing by How thick the partners of one Husband lie; Swift and unsearchable the ways of God, Just but severe his chast-ning rod." Tombstones tell of the following accidents: Jason Miller, killed by a whale at sea. Born Sept. 16, 1806, died Sept. 13, 1832. Alfred W. Beers, drowned at Greenport, Octo. 26, ae 20 yrs. Capt. Alfred Glover, Master of the ship "Acasta", kill­ ed by the blow of a whale in the South Atlantic on the 14th day of Jan. 1835, ae 29 yrs, 6 mos. Faireco Maeceia, a Portuguese sailor, ae 44. "Tho, Boreas winds and Neptune's wave Have toss'd me to and fro. By God's degree you plainly see I'm harbor' d here below." Phebe Niles, who died Oct. 23, 1804, age 17 yrs, 8 mos. and 15 dy. "Behold and see as you pass by As you are now so once was I ; As I am now so you must be Prepare for death and follow me." James Pierson, who died Sept. 20th 1838, aged 56 years. "Death by his strong resistless sway Now housed me in this darksome tomb: To rest in peace till that great day \i\Then earth and time shall meet their doom." 40 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

In memory of Jeremiah Sayre who died June 17th, 1804 aged 23 years, 2 mo & 17 dys also David Sayre, J unr., who died at Cumberland Island in Georgia, Dec. 19th, 1800, aged 23 years, 2 months & 19 days. "Should this marble, reader, catch thine eye Don't pass the solitary mansion bye; Where sleeps one brother whom his friends deplore, The other died on Georgia's disant shore; Cut off in bloom they left the world behind, ...A. friend and parent in their God to find." In memory of \Villiam, ae 18 yrs, 7 mo & John, ae 16 yrs, 5 mos, sons of Smith and Catherine Hatfield, who were drowned in Gardiner's Bay by the swamping of a sail boat, Sept. 12th, 1843. 10 days after the acci­ dent their bodies were found and brought to this place and interred. "Put thy trust in no man in the hour of danger, for when these boys were drowned man fled from the rescue." In memory of Nathan Fordham, Esq., who died Nov. 13th, 1805 in the 84th year of his age. "He was one of the first who commenced the settle­ ment of this place." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 41

OTTER POND GRANT

At ·Main, Jefferson and Union streets stands a me1n­ orial to John Jermain. His house now four d\vellings south of Jefferson street, is preserved on its original site of the last years of 1700, and first of 1800. He was one of the active citizens of the con1munity. And in 1793 the town trustees of the Southa1npton domain did grant to John Jermain the privilege to set mills on the stream which connected the pond called "Otter," with the cove. A grant had been made in 1782 by the town trustees, De­ cember 3rd, to Nathan Fordham, and Ebenezer VVhite Esqurs., and Deacon David I-ledges at the pond called Otter at "Sagg Harbour with all the privileges of the said pond, and likewise the privilege to dig across the road to said pond to have it ( the pond) communicate with the salt water, in order to make a Fish Pond, together with the privileges of the brook that 1nay run from said pond, so that the fish may not be hindered from coming in. This grant was "to them their heirs and assigns forever" pro­ vided that they maintained a _good and sufficient bridge across said brook at least twelve feet wide with a rail on each side of the same suitable for all sorts of carriages to pass over on. The proprietors of Otter Pond did in 1793 petition the trustees to transfer the pond grant and privil­ eges to John Jermain. Mr. Jermain agreed to bridge over the brook sixteen feet wide, with a rail on each side of the same and boarded up to said rail. Also John Jermain was given liberty to dig across the road that leads from "Sagg to Sag Harbour" ( the road from Sagg ran from the point where Sagg and Wainscott road intersects, north of Long Pond, it came out north of the house of Samuel T. Hildreth (now Dan'l McLane's) and south of Otter Pond, passed the old Jesse Halsey house and between the Cove and Otter Pond. and skiriting the Cove and west edge of the Meadow, to the landing near the old Toll Gate 42 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS of the North Haven Bridge, following some part of Glover and West .Water streets) in order to let the waters of Crooked Pond and Little Long Pond into the Otter Pond to obtain a head of water to run his fulling mill, provided that he shall well and truly make and maintain good and sufficient bridges across said brooks for .all sorts of car­ riages to pass over. At the town meeting in 1793 it was voted that the trustees should act at their discretion in regrad to grant­ ing a parsonage to Sag Harbor. They did subsequently grant a lot near North Main Street to the parsonage and also lands at Hog N eek Beaches. _The word parsonage as used does not mean Manse. In the Hamptons lands were set aside, the avails of which aided to pay the minister's salary and from which the minister'1s wood and fencing were obtained. The meadow grass at Hog Neck (Long Beach, for North Haven and Hogonock were called little and big Hog N eek,) was for years sold at auction for the parish of Sag Harbor. About 1724, in September, Southampton town sold 20,000 pine trees for three years, to box for turpentine. These trees were located at Red Creek. Moses Mandell bought, or leased the trees, and he paid the town fifteen shillings a thousand for the _use of the proprietors' of the town. Later than this it was custom to get turpentine from the pine trees in the Hampton towns, for in vessel cargoes loaded at Long Wharf, Sag Harbor, about 1770, turpentine is mentioned in the man if est. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 43

SOME DATA

The Nautilus, a monthly magazine was published for a year, 1844 45, at Sag Harbor. A contributor, gifted in verse, ,was "Grace, the Gypsy," and she was Miss Fanny Howell Hunt, a daughter of Col. Harry Hunt, who estab­ lished a ,veekly newspaper, The Corrector, in Sag Harbor, in 1822. Copies of the Nautilus Magazine are scarce. Morton Pennypacker, of Kew Gardens, has a number in his collection of Long Island imprints. _A.bout the year 1810 Cornelius Sleight was interested in a ·salt ,vorks on North Haven, where he owned exten­ sive lands. He also had a candle factory 1naking sperm­ acetti into moulds, at the east ,shore near Bay street, east of his father-in-law's rope walk. The rope walk water side terminal was near where is now Rysam street. The Sleight lands _at North Haven ( in part) were sold to Obadiah Havens. Constant Havens, of Shelter Island, assembled by purchase allotted lands at North Haven. He owned more than any other individual in lands _at that place. There were a great many commons or highways on North Haven, one of the quite early settled parts of Southampton town, and Constant Havens got permission from the Proprietor Owners to close certain highways and the lands were taken in. The Havens providing other and equally as convenient means to pass and repass on public highways. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SOME ANCIENT ROADS

:The "Middle Line" which separates the Great North and the Great South Division in Southampton town cross­ es the Bridgehampton turnpike at the north end of the premises of the Lily Pond cottage. There ·was some difference of opinion arising respect­ ing the road which runs through the amendments of Sag Harbor. In ( October 30th, 1787,) Little Division, in to East Hampton road, so the highway commissioners were ordered to ascertain and lay out a road; and they agreed to lay the road between the amendments No. 5 and 6, two ( 2) poles wide. This is the street known as VVashington street. On May 4, 1792, Union street was found to be "inconvenient" for a highway; so by desire of Braddock Corey, John Edwards, Jr., Stephen Satterly and Du Daily have given in exchange the said highway to the Comn1is­ sioners for a highway two rods wide running through their land. The north side of said highway beginning at South­ ampton road and the South,vest corner of John Edwards Jun lot running a straight course to the Southeast corner of W eg Clarks house, all the old highway west of the road known by the name of Sagg path to Braddock Corey, John Edwards, Jr., and Stephen Satterly, all east of said Sagg path to Duy Daily as far as hi,s land now extends." This is now the street in Sag Harbor known as Union street. The old highway mentioned as the boundary between the Great North Division and the Twelve Acre Division began at the present corner of Union and Division streets, and ran along the north side of the burying ground, and so on by the old Jeffry Fordham house (since razed) on the south side of Jefferson street and entered Main street on the north side of what was the house of John S. Fordham in 1873. W eg Clark lived on the lot now occupied by the Roman Catholic church and parsonage. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 45

Braddock Corey had purchased a number of "fifties'· in Lot 7, Twelve Acre Division, and John Hurlbert pur­ chased Lot 5, as shown by a deed in possession of Eleazer Latham, and Hurlbert built a house upon it, on the site of the Lobstein house ( of 1878) in the rear of the John Jermain Library, and within a few rods of the corner of lviain street. 'fhe residence of Dr. 11orley B. Le\vis stands to-day at south side of C nion street, on a part of Lot 5. In the Suffolk Gazette of June 8, 1807, John Hurlbert ad­ vertises for sale his pre1nises \Vhere "he now lives" in Sag Harbor. The L:-I-Ion1111edieu (mispronounced ... Lun1-a­ doo·' by the natives) house ,vas on the north side of Union street, built almost opposite the Hurlbert house, in 1810, and now owned and occupied by Mrs. George Hedges. San1uel L'Hommedieu, a Refugee to Connecticut, in 1776, returned to Sag Harbor after the war, where he continued the manufacture of ropes and cordage. His house was at lv1ain street and owned in 1873 by the heirs of r'\braham Gardiner. His son Samuel, built a house at Main street and what is now Bay View Avenue, (the Oliver R. Wade house) at a later date, and it is probable that the house of 1810 at Union street was built for descendants of Capt. Samuel or Capt. Ephrain1 L'Hon1111edieu. Take a look at the angle of Union street, opposite the Presbvterian., church: Feb. 12, 1802. the Con1missioners of High,Yays permitted Henry P. Dering, ,vho then owned and occupied the pren1ises (now Lindberg house) to take in some land in front of his dooryard, so as to make the front parallel with the front of hi1s house, provided that the high,vay is not to be made narrower than two rods, and also that he shall give to the town for a highvvay all the land opposite to his house on the other side of the street next to the land of Daniel Ford}:iam. (Josiah Douglas later lived in the Dering house). In 1797. Mr. Dering had given to accommodate the crook in said road, all the land ,vithout his fence, 11 ft., 4 inches. 46 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

The highway known as Church stre~t frorn lTnion street to Sage street was at the west of Dering's premises, and opened by him. The Meeting House was at Church and Sage Street northeast corner. Widow Elizabeth Hick's house stood on the corner of what is now Church and \\". ashington streets, nearly opposite where the boiler house of the l\1ontauk Steam Cotton Mills burned in 1879. The lot at corner of Main and v\i ashington streets, where now stands the Electric Light & Po\ver Co. Build­ ing, was part of An1endment 6. John Sizer and wife Mary of New London, sold it to John v·Vallace for L105, Jan. 22, 1796. It was then described as bounded N. by East .f-Ian1p­ ton road, S. by land of Wm. Parker, E. as far as v\t m. Parker's land extends, \'/. by highway. In 1804 it was sold by Sally Wallace to Na than Sayre and it was then bounded by Church street. It was thereafter occupied by Williamson, Dodson's n1arket, Seymour L. Tooker's mar­ ket, Gilbert A. Halsey, merchant, Wilbur H. Tabor, con­ fectionery, Thurber's oyster saloon, and Philip Ballen, mer­ chant. The old wooden building thereon burned January 1, 1925. Nathan Fordham, Jr., leased to John Foster, Jr., March 8, 1756 for the term of 999 years a certain parcel of land situated at Sag Harbor being 60 feet in length and 30 feet in breadth, bounded North by the Beach, E. S. and W. by meadow belonging to said Fordham, the said land for building of a storehouse and tan yard, "rent one pepper corn if it be law." The lease is acknowledged be­ fore Justice Job Pierson and duly witnessed by Abraham Rose. This i!s land located on the lower Cove and Meadow, where to-day titles to certain real properties are doubtful even by adverse possession, for the lands have never been enclosed by a sufficient boundary or fence. Part of \\Test VVater street within railroad terminal lands has been abandoned: but it does not appear that SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 4,7 the beach road connecting "rest Water Street with foot of Glover street near Zachary's L.anding or Point, has never been abandoned or closed. The town of Southamp­ ton owns a wide water front or slip at where Old North Haven Bridge abutments formerly were.

OPENED TWELVE-ACRES

Southampton Town proprietors when they allotted undivided land usually left a blank lot, to pay the expense of the survey and laying-out. Sag Harbor was no excep­ tion, in this respect. The Trustees Record says, On Nov­ ember 3, 1761: "It was ordered and enacted by sd Trustees that James Foster may and shall have that lot of land at or near Sag Harbor called the blank lot where the houses stand that Thomas Foster and Mr. (Obadiah?) Gilder­ sleeve now live in, for and in consideration of his paying to the Trustees the full and just sum of Six pound Sixteen shilling to be to him and his heirs for ever." And again: S. H. T. R., p. 127, December 10, 1761: "That the lots of land laid out at S'.agharbor, called the Twelve Acres, be emediately (sic) Drawn." And: Pg. 127, S. H. T. R., "Southampton December the 10th 1761. Then recd of the proprietors mony for land sold by the Trustees to James Foster at Sagharbor caled the blank lot for the sum of £06: 16: 00." And same record book, same page, "Paid to the Clerk for recording the return of the 12 Acre Division 00: 06: O." And: Pg. 128, S. H. T. R. Feb. 15, 1764. Then paid to J an1es Foster his proportion of the above ( see pg 127) sd mony for five lots & 3 fiftys the sum of £ 1: 2: 5¾." "Ballance due to the Town for land sold to James :Foster £ 3 : 12 : 00." Obadiah Gildersleeve was a master shipwright. He built vessels at Sag Harbor. He came from Huntington, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

L. I., in 1760. The census of July 4, 1776 says Obadiah Gildersleeve was living at Sag Harbor. Here is the return of the census-man: "Southampton East; he was a Re­ fugee to Connecticut, in 1776, Sag Harbor to Chatham. With 3 males in the family over 16 years of age; 2 under 16; 3 females over 16; 1 under 16; 9 in all in family. His \vife was Mary

JAMES' MEADOW

We know "that a broad highway", was made "nar­ rower" in 1745, thus laying out the Sag Harbor business section of Main Street, leading to Long Wharf. There was a law suit, in 1757, and Captain (Thomas) Stephens and Abram Hallsey, Clerk of Trustees, were "authorized and impowered to sue and to make an inspec­ tion into the land lying between WiUiam Rogers and Thomas Russell said to be the Town's and also concerning a piece of meadow lying at the North side called James' Meadow, to sell the same." . James Howell kept tavern where the American House now is. He was among the first settlers of Sag Harbor. His child is the first interment at Old Burying Ground, Madison street, opened 1767. I think this is the first mention of "James Meadow." It had been previously call­ ed "Great Meadow" and was variously to be afterwards called "Wentworth M eado,v" etc. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 49

About where Spring street is now a trail led to "George's" (Fordham's) or "Georgica" Pond, afterwards known as "Buckley's Pond,", (since filled in). Here fro1n time immemorial were tanning vats. James Howell once owned as far up Main Street, as property now owned by Mrs. Annie (Cooper) Boyd. I think then came James Foster, Jr., and about 1800 Lewis Howell from old deeds examined.

NAMES THAT HAVE DISAPPEARED

1'he name L' Hommedieu has disappeared from the census and assessment rolls of Sag Harbor. Like the name of Huntting, once so prominent as property owners, it is a memory as a family name. The Hunttings owned and sailed ships. L'Hommedieu made at his Sag Harbor rope­ walk the cordage and rigging used on the ships. He like others also owned in ships. In fact vessel shares and ves­ sel dividends were the principal source of wealth at "the port" 125 to 150 years ago. Benjamin L'Hommedieu founded the Huguenot fam­ ily of that name on Long Island. Benjamin was a young man who knew what he wanted. What he wanted he got. Sometimes he got more than he wanted. This happened in 1686 after the Edict of Nantes. Benjamin had found solace in religion; he now sought safety in flight. His emigration took him to Holland. He then came to Amer­ ica. He located in Southold, in the year 1690. Benjamin was a gentlemanly and Chesterfieldian character. He pos­ sessed pulchritude and perseverence. The catch of the col­ ony, at that time, in beauty and wealth was Patience, daughter of Nathaniel Sylvester, who ovvned the "Manor House" and all of Shelter Island. Benjamin romantically courted Patience. They were married. They were blessed with numerous progeny. Two sons were Benjamin and 50 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Sylvester. The latter was the father of Samuel L'Hom­ n1edieu, born at Southold in 1744. Like his grandfather, Samuel found an attraction at Shelter Island. He did not form a relation in the hymenal way. He adopted the l\iiother Church when Whitefield, the great evangelist, preached at Shelter Island and ,vas en­ tertained by the Sylvesters. Samuel constructed a raft on which he ferried \\1hitefield from Southold over to the Island. It was his first essay to construct a floating con­ traption. It gave him an idea. He would go to Sag Har­ bor where were ship yards and learn about ships and ship­ ping. I-fe resided in Sag Harbor before the Revolution. His rope walk is supplying material to vessels in 1770, be­ fore the days of off shore whaling. The Sag Harbor ships then traded with West Indies. Samuel held a commis­ sion as Lieuttenant in the Militia, issued by Governor Tryon. This commission may be seen in the rooms of the Long Island Historical Society. He also was one of a company of volunteers who were marching to join the patriot army in AttgtJst, 1776. They had proceeded but a little way toward Brooklyn, ,vhen word came of the dis­ astrous Battle of (Long Island) Brooklyn Heights. This caused the disbandment of Samuel L'Hommedieu's com­ pany. With other prominent Sag Harbor Whigs, L'Hom­ medieu fled to Connecticut as a refugee. There he harrie·d the British shipping with his privateersmen. He sustained a great loss of property \vhen General Arnold burned New London. He returned to Sag Harbor after the Revolu­ tion. He owned in the ship "Alknomack" in 1804, and with others sent Capt. Elias Jones to the Brazil Banks on a whaling cruise. He was elected a Justice of the Peace of Southampton and a highway inspector of the 7th District. He was chosen for the Legislature. He one time managed a grist mill or wind mill. His dwelling house was at the west side of Main Street, Sag Harbor. In 1878 this dwell­ was then owned bv., the heirs of Abran1 Gardiner. Samuel SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 51

L'Hommedieu's son, Samuel, built the house, at corner of Main street and Bayview Avenue. It was a brick struc­ ture, and is known now as the "Oliver R. Wade house." The wife of Samuel L'Hommedieu, the first of his name in Sag Harbor, was Sarah, daughter ·of Ebenezer W~hite. Samuel and Sarah were married November 26th, 1776. Independence year. His wife was of the White family of Sagg. Deacon John White was in the Meigs' Expedition to Sag Harbor, in 1777, and aided in guiding the soldiers and capturing the British garrison. Samuel L'Hommedieu signed the covenant of the re-organized Presbyterian church of Sag Harbor in 1792 and ·gave bond for 300 pounds in 1804 to hold funds, interest moneys of which should be applied to the Sag Harbor parish and the preaching of the gospel. He was the "Angel" of the local church. The L'Homme­ dieus were romantic, sentimental and possessed "tem­ perment," they were exceedingly pious and believed in prayer and prosperity, patriotism and plenty. They "got ahead!" Ezra L'Hommedieu of Southold held public office consecutively for 37 years. He was the big man 'in this time' of the county. Samuel L'Hommedieu was the friend of the Hunttings and the Howells and an admirer of Jefferson. Translated in to English, his name means "Sam­ uel-the-Man-of-God." The matter-of-fact Sag Harbor folks never pronounced his name correctly. He and his family were called ''Lum-a-due~s. ,._ Samuel and Sarah White L'Hommedieu had children, Sylvester, Charity, Phebe, Samuel~ Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary and Ezra. He lived to a great age and his tombstone in Oakland ceme­ tery bears the inscription: "Samuel L'Hommedieu, Esq., born at Southold 1744, died in this place 1834." 52 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SOME EARLY WHALE SHIPS

The whaling enterprise of Sag Harbor has been very thoroughly recorded. The names of vessels, captains and catch, however, in the earliest years, have just come to hand. The brig L:ucy has been named as the pioneer craft of 1785. The data now available shows other vessels sail­ ing from Sag Harbor in con1pany with the Lucy. Col. Benjamin Huntting and Stephen Howell & Co., owned respectively the Lucy and the brig Betsey 140 years ago. 1'hey made whaling voyages in the Atlantic on short out­ fits. The following list gives the names of vessels em­ ployed within the Collection District of Sag Harbor, L. I., with tonnage as entered in the Collector's office from 1790 to 1804: 1790-Lucy, 150 tons, Benj. Huntting owner. 1791-Betsey, 212 tons, S. Howell & Co. 1792-Lucy. Commerce, 170 tons, B. Huntting. 1793-Lucy and Commerce. 1794--Lucy. 1795-Lucy. 1796--Hetty, 256 tons, built at Brushy N eek, Sag Harbor for B. Huntting; Minerva, 215 tons, built at Orient, L.. I., for S. Howell & Co. 1797-Lucy. 1798-Hetty; brig Mary, built at Sag Harbor, 215 tons, named for Mary Huntting, only daughter of Ben­ jamin Huntting, afterwards Mrs. Luther D. Cook; Crite­ rion, 229 tons, B. H untting. 1800-Minerva. 1801-Abigail, ivlinerva. 1803-Abigail, Minerva. Arrival of whaling vessels at Sag Harbor, their cap­ tains, owners, and quantity of oil brought in from 1804 to 1816: SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 53

1804--Jan. 25, Nancy, 200 tons, John Godbee, S. Howell & Co., 800 bbls; Jan. 29, Minerva, 215, Wm. Fow­ ler, S. Howell & Co., 1300 bbls; Jan. 29, Abigail, 202, Barnard, Ben. Huntting, 1300 bbls. 1805-May 14, Alknomack, 258, J no. ·Hildreth, Benj. Huntting, 1300 bbls; June 28, Abigail, Barnard, Huntting, 1350 bbls; June 28, Minerva, Wm. Fowler, S. Howell·& Co., 700 bbls; June 28, Nancy, Sandford, S. Howell & Thos. Beebee, 800 bbls. 1806--May 26, Minerva, Fowler, S. Howell & Co., 1200 bbls; June 28, Alknomack, J as. Post, B. Huntting, 40 sperm, 1300 bbls. whale; June 28, Abigail, Topping, B. 1-Iuntting, 1300 bbls; June 29, \Varren, 284 tons, Folger, Howell & Beebee, 1700 bbls; Brazil, 208 tons, A. Folger, Gabriel & Tyler Havens, 1300 bbls. 1807-June 3, Jefferson, 299 tons, Godbee, built at Sag Harbor for B. Huntting, 1600 bbls; July 17, St. Law­ rence, 275 tons, Jas. Post, B. Huntting, 70 sperm, 1300 bbls. whale; Warren, Wm. Folger, S. Howell & Co., 1600 bbls; Brazil, A. Folger, G. & J. T. Havens, 1200 bbls; Min­ erva, F. Sayre, S. Howell & Co., 1200 bbls. 1808-Abigail, Bunker, Sam'l Huntting & Co., 450 bbls; Minerva, F. Sayre, S. Howell & Co., 1200 bbls. 1809-Alknomac, S. Huntting & Co., 100 bbls; Wash­ ington. 308 tons, built at Sag Harbor, \Vm. Fowler, S. Ho,vell & Co., 1700 bbls: Warren. Sayre, S. Huntting & Co., 1700 bbls; Brazil, Oliver Fowler, G. and T. Havens, 1100 bbls. 1810-Warren, Sayre, S. Howell & Co., 700 bbls; Washington, Wm. Fowler, S. Howell & Co., 1350 bbls; Abigail Bunker, S. H untting & Co., 420; Alknomac, Elias _Tones. S. Huntting- & Co., 500 bbls; Lavina, 196 tons, 0. Fowler. G. & T. Havens, 850 bbls. 1811-Abigail, Bunker. S. Huntting & Co.. 800 bbls. 1812-A.. bigail, Geo. Post, S. Huntting & Co.. 50 54 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS sperm, 1000 whale, taken to New York and sold for $1 per gallon. 1814--W'arren, Edward Halsey, S. Howell & Co., 1800 bbls. 1816-Abigail, Jas. Post, S. Huntting & Co., 1200 bbls; Argonaut, built at Sag Harbor, Eliphalet Halsey, S. Howell,& Co., 1300 bbls; \Varren, Wm. Fowler, S. Hunt­ ting & Co., 750 bbls; l\.bigail, Jas. Post, S. Huntting, 1200 bbls. In the year 1807, 1808 and 1809 there was an embargo by England. From 1812 to 1815 was the war with Eng­ land. There is no record of the returns of whalebone. There was some brought home in 1804 and sold for 4 cts., per pound. (probably thought too cheap to save.)

BONDSMEN OF 1796

There was a German invasion of Sag Harbor, 85 years before the Joseph Fahys watch case factory, established at Sag Harbor in 1881, brought with it many German em­ ployees from the German settlement of Carlstadt, N. J. It occured in 1796, but the foreigners did not tarry. They were moved on to New York and other points along the coast, principally, Pennsylvania by packet vessels then ply­ ing between eastern Long Island and New York. A let­ ter written by Sylvester Dering, of Shelter Island, under date of January 15, 1796 informs that on the 6th inst., a .!brig belonging to New York bound from Hamburg to New York, was cast away in a violent storm on the south part of Gardiner's Island or rather Ram Island. She had about forty German passengers on board "most of which are to be sold for their passage; they appear very willing to be sold for slaves, for a few years, then to be free in the land of Liberty. The cargo I believe will be saved but SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 55 some of it will be very much damaged; the vessel I think will most probably be lost." The above is corroborated by a record in ·Magistrate John Hurlbert's Journal, which covers year 1770-1805. At the eastern part of Sag Harbor stood until about 35 years ago an old house at a locality called "Ninevah." The Conklings, Wards, Vaughns, Brewers and in more latterly years, Edwards lived at the spot. Nearby is left one lone gravestone bearing the name of Triphena Vaughn, a child. The old farm house was destroyed by fire. Once the fields about were cleared and cultivated. There were no roads other than cart tracks over the land. In 1800, Capt. William J. Rysam bought the tract from the Conklings. The town recommended that the highway commissioners of East Hampton there survey and lay out from the creek ( Little Northwest) a passing highway. There is no record that this was ever done. The first road from East Hampton to Sag Harbor came through the Pine Swamp and struck the shore near the creek and there­ after followed the shore until it terminated near the foot of Turkey Hill ( near water end of Division street.) The owners of whale ships in Sag Harbor built cupo­ las upon the tops of their homes from which they could watch for their "ship to come in." Such cupolas may be seen on the Napier "Boxwood House," and the Mansion Hotel (Municipal building). I have been told that there was at one time a cupola upon the top of Wm. Rysam Mul­ ford' s house, and that when the house at one time was re­ mo_delled this cupola was removed, and that it still may be seen converted to an out building in the rear of the M ul­ ford house. The cupola on the house now owned by Wil­ liam S. Wilson, at Division and East Union streets, was built after whaling days, and not for the purpose of gaz­ ing off on the water; but for star-gazing. Dr. George A. Sterling had the cupola built so he and his son could study astromony. 56 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

There are entrees in the town of East Hampton many years ago where water lots were leased and sold to Sag Harbor. Along East \Vater street ( Bay Street) such lots were at one time held by Marcus Osborn, Jedediah Con­ kling, Elijah Simons, and William White. Some of the lands under water thus disposed of reverted to the town, the purchasers and leesees failing to fill in the land as they agreed to do within two years time. David Sherard appears to have been the first native of the Emerald Isle to locate in Sag Harbor. He was a shipwright and is first mentioned in 1800. His grave is in Old Burying Ground, marked as "a native of Ireland." Soon after this Edward Burke of London, who founded the Catholic church in Sag Harbor, located here. His name is perpetuated by Burke street, and he lived in the house in the rear of the Wilson Bottling Works. Church services and religious Sunday School were held in the home by Burke. He was a cooper by trade. He married a Protestant, who became converted in the Catholic faith. It was Burke who bought the old Methodist house of wor­ ship at Union Street in the thirties and changed it to a Catholic Church, after the Methodists had built a new one on High Street, in Sag Harbor. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 57

.TO WHOM WQU.LD HIGHWAYS REVERT

Considerable difference of opinion. exists on the part of professionals and laymen relative to whom certain high­ ways in Sag Harbor would revert in case they were ever closed or made narrower. Quite frequently changes have been made; sometimes arbitrarily by vote of village trus­ tees and at other times by submitting the question to a vote of the people. Main street was originally laid out by Pro­ prietor owners of Southampton town. It was a very wide street. They saw fit to change it several times. It has been straightened. It has been lessened in width. ..\.fter a great fire in 1817 the street was circumscribed by taking off 30 feet in width near the corner of West Water (now closed) and North Main Street. Some maintain where Proprietor land has been laid out as highway, if abandoned, the fee of roadbed does not revert t'l adjoining property owners. Where highways are laid out through private or individually owned land, the same authority opines, that in case of abandonment of a highway, then it would revert to the individual or heirs and assigns of the person who laid out the road through such property. If different persons owned at each side of the road the claim is made that the adjoining owners would own to center line of such high­ way. The matter of right to close or alter highways within an incorporated village, and proper precedure would seem largely to rest upon ordinary common sense, in localities where colonial patents were once obtained. These patents from the Crown gave certain privileges to associated own­ ers who for long years governed and asserted and enforced their rights. They laid out highways, closed highways and leased highway at will. They sold outright highways. Sag Harbor is one of the oldest incorporated village of either Hampton town. It is situated in two townships, South­ ampton and East Hampton. Each township is created 68 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS by Colonial grant bought and paid by tenants in common. 1"'he Long Wharf and Wharf street in Sag Harbor were established as early as 1770 by grant of Proprietor trustees of each town; the various slips in Southampton and East Hampton town were likewise opened by Proprietor trus­ tees, or were sold outright by Proprietor trustees. The slips or highways laid out to the water were to remain open forever. Some have since been blockaded or permanently closed. This has been accomplished by the simple action of village trustees ( in case of sale) giving a quit-claim deed signed by the village president and clerk, officially, acting in the year named in the deed. The town records shovv certain lands belonging to the assigns of the Proprietor trustees both in Southampton and East Hampton towns. These lands have been sold by the village. And yet the village never had fee in such slips, waterfront lots and highway, so good authority prefers to think. There are in­ stances where the village has closed or lessened the width of highways. West Water Street has been closed. N as­ sau street was opened to take its place. High street was made narrower to please the late Edward Driscoll, a realty promoter; Church street from Union to Sage, opened by the late Henry P. Dering, has been made narrower to per­ mit a hall to obtain a site at corner of Union and Church streets. In these two instances where changes were made, the persons who many think held the reversionary prop­ erty right, did not object to the change. In the case of East Hampton Toll Road house site, the land reverted to the original donors when the toll road ,vas abandoned; tike ,vise the site of the second M. E. church at High street, reverted to original donors when the church edifice was removed to another site. Individuals were trying, in the year 1927, to locate certain lands granted by Proprietor trustees of Southamp­ ton to the Parish of Sag Harbor, in the year 1793. These lands were the lot on ,vhich, later, the Huntting brick SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER. DAYS 59 block stood at foot of Main street; and meadows at Hog Neck Beach (south of little Hog Neck on Long Neck Beach). The meadows were yearly rented by the Parish until sold. The Main street lot was set aside for a Parson­ age ( this means parsonage land, not for site of a Manse, necessarily). The Parish or church trustees sold. It was somewhat difficult at that time to locate the exact bounds of the meadow lots. But the meadow lots, now very valu­ able, were granted in 1793 and are not included in the Proprietor sale of Long and Short Beach made to Rufus Sayre and others in 1882.

ACTIVITY IN THE REALTY MARKET

The activity in the realty market brought about by the Montauk development has a slight reflection in Sag Harbor. It has resulted in inquiry as to location of busi­ ness places on Main and Wharf and Bay streets, fifty years ago. This is to aid in proving title for insurance and au­ thenticating metes and bounds. A map of the burned district of February 18, 1877, gives location of most of the places of business in the low­ er part of the village. From it is. found that: Commencing at North Battery, west side of Wharf street about where now stands the Bliss office building, ,vas first north to south: A Fish lvlarket. Gregory building, ,vhere the fire started, really 3 build­ ings and adjunct. H untting building. - Music Hall, at ~Iain, \\Tharf and North l\1ain Streets. On the east side of \\,.harf street~ fron1 north to south: ~L H. Gregory, storehouse. John Fordham, smithy. H. & S. French, storehouse. 60 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Another H. & S. French storehouse, at corner of Wharf and Bay streets. On waterfront just east of Wharf Street, buildings of W. & G. H. Cooper and Jared Wade's boat builder's shop. On east side of lower Main street from north to south: George B. Brown, tenement, corner Main and Bay streets. John DeCastro's carriage house. John DeCastro's bowling alley. Nassau House, frame, built in 1848. The building south of Nassau House was brick with unpierced fire wall on north side._ It stopped the fire. Douglas & C.ooper owned and occupied this building. It was bought in 1877, March, by Robert J. Power and con­ verted into the Nassau House, a hotel ( the present Bay View House.) On Bay street from west to east: H. & S. French store house, corner Bay and Wharf streets. W. &. G. H. Cooper, storehouse. Maidstone Mills. Maidstone Mills store house. J. Conkling, smithy. J. Conkling, store house. In rear of •Mill building toward water: Maidstone Mill, cooperage. Division street west side, from north to south: John DeCastro's barn, corner Bay and Division streets. Nassau House barn. East side of Division Street, from north to south: Chemical Works, corner Division and Bay Streets. J. Kelly's residence. Edward Murphy's residence. Cross street, from west to east: Mrs. Grahan1's residence. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 61

Mrs. Lowen' s residence. Rysam street and corner of Bay Street: Peter Hughes' barn. Five buildings stood unburned between Chemical Works and corner of Rector and Bay streets. Peter Hughes' house at Rector street unburned. Rysam street, west side: N. Matthew's shop. N. Matthew's residence. Mrs. Corcoran's residence. Rysam street, east side: Zachariah Roger's residence. All the above buildings were destroyed by fire the night of February 18, 1877. 62 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

ANCIENT PAPERS FOUND

In a storehouse, at North Haven, have reposed for many years papers of the late Samuel L. Gardiner, Mr. Gardiner, at one time, owned and lived in the house form­ erly on the property now owned by J. E. Venetos of Brooklyn. The Gardiner papers were recently overhaul­ ed by an antiquary in search of the Capt. John Hulbert diary of 1775-1776. It was not found. Other papers re­ lating to pensioners of the war of 1812 did come to light. The list, of course, of Sag Harbor men who aided in de­ f ending Sag Harbor against invasion by the British, is in­ complete. Some of the papers were depositions made be­ fore Lawyer Gardiner; others before the late Esquire Phil­ ander Jennings, long a Justice of the Peace of Sag Harbor. Who remernbers Daniel Spencer? In applying for a pension Mr. Spencer relates: "That he at present, 1850, resides in the ,.f own of Southampton; that he is 63 years old and that he was born in the year 1787, in the town of East Haddam, in the state of Connecticut; that he enlist­ ed as a private soldier in the 4th Regiment of the United States of A1nerica on the 16th day of August in the year 1808, at New London, in the State of Connecticut. The Colonel of the regin1ent was John P. Bayd; the ~Iajor was J an1es IVIiller; the Captain was Joel Cook; the first Lieu­ tenant was Nicoll Fosdick; the second Lieutenant was Ebeneazer \Vay; the Ensign was Abar ham Hawkins. Spen­ cer enlisted for the tern1 of five years. He was stationed at N e\v London and Boston, until, with his regi1nent, he sail­ ed to Philadelphia, from which city he traversed the coun­ try as far as Peterburg, halting for short periods; thence he descended the Ohio to Newport, Kentucky; thence do,vn the Ohio and up the \Vabash to V1incennes where the regiment encamped. Spencer was present and took part in the battle of Tippecanoe; returned to Vincennes, descended the \t\T abash and passed through Ohio to Cin- SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 63

_cinnati. Leaving the city he passed through the city of Detroit where he was made prisoner at Hale's surrender, having previously been engaged in a skirmish at Sand­ which. He was confined as prisoner of war on board ship at Quebec and Montreal, until paroled and with his regi­ ment returned to Boston. He was then permitted by his Colonel to return home and while at home his term of service expired. His discharge or parole was given to one George L. Perkins the paymaster to obtain his pay; he re­ ceived the arrears of pay due him at the last session of Congress from the 3rd Auditor of the Treasury John Gal­ latin and his record is on file at that office. His back pay amounted to $76.66. He never received any land for his services." In his application for a pension Spencer deposes that "he is old and blind and decrepit and poor." So there was a Sag Harbor man who took part in the battle of Tippecanoe. There are Spencers living in Sag Harbor today, who doubtless descend from this veteran of the war of 1812. i\ few months ago inquiry was made to the writer about John Edwards, of the period of the \Var of 1812. There were several John Ed\vards as the na1ne is very com1non on eastern Long Island; but, possibly, the fol­ lo,ving relates to John Edwards, of whom a descendant wants information: John Edwards was 60 years old in 1850. He then resided in the Town of Southampton. At the commence- 111ent of the \Var of 1812 he ,vas a private in an artillery company co1nmanded by Lodowick Post, Captain; Ezekiel Jones, 1st Lieutenant; and Pardon T. Tabor, 2nd Lieuten­ ant. The company to which he was attached was immedi­ ately, after the declaration of war against Great Britain by the United States on the 18th June, 1812, called into service and stationed in the garrison or fort at Sag Har­ bor. under the con1mand of the officers aforesaid. He did duty and received pay. His company at one time was 64 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS ordered to New York City, where they went and reported themselves to Colonel Sichter, who ordered them to re­ turn to Sag Harbor and do duty in the fort. He served at the said fort at the time of the attack made by the British in June, 1813. The order for the disposition of the troops and draft was given by General Abraham Rose, of Bridge­ hampton. Jeremiah Miller, of East Hampton, had com­ mand of the troops in the garrison, and they numbered about 300, consisting of one company of artillery and three companies of infantry for the greater part of the war. John Edwards, having served his time, then volunteered in a company of Sea F encibles or Flotilla Company command­ ed by Captain Noah Terry; 1st Lieutenant John M. Wil­ liamson; 2nd Lieutenant John Isaacs. He served with the F encibles seven months prior to the cessation of the war and the conclusion of peace. He never received any writ­ ten discharge at the expiration of his term of service, nor could he remember that any were given. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 65

ASSERTED RIGHT TO SELL LANDS UNDER WATER

Some of the bidding at the October tax sale for Suf­ folk County was on property at Sag Harbor returned for taxes. \Vater lots with more than 100 feet frontage, on Bay street, were bought by Downs of Aquebogue, who also satisfied taxes paid on the property by Fred S. Pulver who purchased some years ago, and is said to have thought the property \\ras in Southampton town. The property, it is understood, will be transferred to Michael J. Morouney of Sag Harbor, who owns upland at south side of Bay street, and also has from the U. S. department permission to build a pier north of Bay street. East Hampton through its Town Trustees always has claimed ownership of lands be­ neath waters, foreshores and unallotted shores. In many divisions of lands by the original proprietor owners the lands ran to edge of cliff or fence line on bays, or grass line of the dunes. East Ha1npton not only asserted own­ ership of beaches, but the seaweed was "common." This sea\veed was in the early years, and up to 50 years ago con­ sidered to be valuable for fertilizer. The ,vriter can remem­ ber the fa1nous "sea\veed suits," in which the town won nominal damages for trespass. The town lost the Josiah I(irk case after years of costly litigation. O\vners of up­ land at Sag Harbor, \vho fenced and had water fences used to charge the farmers two cents a load to cross their land ,vhen gathering sea\veed. 'rhis was to protect title which in part at Sag Harbor, ran to High Water mark. The lots at Bay street bought in the 1927 tax sale have figured in Ia,v suits of the past. The present generation knows little about them, and as they are undoubtedly of considerable value, a relation of the status of the ,vater lot ownership at Bay Street bought in the 1927 tax sale have considerable interest. 66 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

East Hampton first asserted the right to sell lands under water in 1770. After that many lots were disposed of. The lots directly at the north east corner of Bay and Division streets and from there extending to the eastward along Bay street were disposed of as follows: Near Rysam street.-The privilege of building a wharf was granted to William R. Rysam in 1805. This grant is owned by heirs of William R. Sleight, and the foreshore north of foot of junction of Rysam street and Bay street is not a public slip. Soon after 1770 Charles Douglas leased land east of L,ong \Vharf and in 1820 the town set aside a water road or wharf site for the purpose of a highway beginning 70 ft., eastwardly on the shore from the west corner of the water lot of Douglas, and to extend northwardly as far as the head of the old main wharf which extended off shore ( first section built) 495 ft. October 29, 1819, East Hampton sold to John T. Havens, who lived on Division street and with his brother owned and sent out a whale ship, two water lots, 35 x 60; one 35 x 70 feet for $200. May 8, 1820, an alteration was 111ade in Sag Harbor water lots. The Beach highway was made 8 feet 3 inches wider than before. May 28, 1820. Squared the whole number of lots by selling John T. Havens a goreing piece, nothing in front, but 19 feet on the rear. February 28, 1831, East Hampton sold to Asa Wisner and Marcus B. Osborn for $225 a lot 100 x 100 feet "to be filled up with durable materials in 2 years, or a forfeiture of $100." (Osborn Dock was near vvhat later was kno\vn as Old Mill Dock and now is l\1unicipal Dock.) April 4, 1831, East Hampton leased Willia1n Cooper a small space in rear of his ~~ater lot "for the purpose of extending his shop." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 67

Men now living remember Osborn Dock, and "Billy" Cooper's shop. The record says Cooper was "to relinquish the same whenever ordered." June 31, 1831, Clerk to execute a deed to a water lot at Sag Harbor, 60 foot front by 100 foot rear to be "filled up with durable materials" to Jedediah Conkling ( foot of Division street) Price $135. November 18, 1833. The Clerk ordered to execute a deed to Jedediah Conklin for a ,vater lot at Sag Harbor 100 ft., rear, 60 ft., front, $135. (Undoubtedly refers to paragraph above and is the same lot, as a resolution in Town Records says this deed is to be passed when money is paid. And in 1833 it is "re­ solved to sell a water lot at Sag Harbor 60 x 100 ft., for $135." September 2, 1844. Received the application of Josiah C. Dayton in behalf of Mr. Simons at Sag Harbor for a \vat er lot opposite his ( Si1nons) front. October 21, 1844, Clerk to execute a deed to Lewis Simons of Sag Harbor conveying a water lot opposite said Simon's house 45 ft., front, 100 ft., in the rear, (money con­ ditions provided ON H.A.NDING OV1ER THE DEED.) November 18, 1844. .A.lso ordered Clerk tb give a deed to Elijah Si1nons of Sag Harbor for a water lot lying between the lots of J ededi~h Conkling and Lewis Simons 35 ft .. front, 100 ft., rear, 41 ft., outer end. February 10, 1845, Committee appointed to dispose of water lots at Sag Harbor report that they have disposed of one to Elijah (Eleazer) Latham of Sag Harbor 95 ft., front and 100 ft., rear. (This was on a note transaction and was very much involved. Probably deed did not pass.) There was some misunderstanding about bounds of water lots and it was ordered that they "examine the Rec­ ords further and act as they think proper." 68 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

December 26, 1853. Agree to sell to Eleazer Latham of Sag Harbor a water lot at Sag Harbor for $200; Clerk to give him a quit claim deed for the same. (Complicated exchange of deeds January 9, 1845.) February 12, 1856, East Hampton buys Elijah Sim­ on's water lot at Sag Harbor, at a sheriff sale, satisfaction of judgment. Description of lot: "All that water lot or tract of land under water situated in the village of Sag Harbor, etc., it being 42 ft., in width in front and rear and 100 ft., in length and bounded southerly by the highway or East vVater street 42 ft. Westerly by water lot of Jede­ diah Conklin 100 ft., and easterly by the water lot of the Trustees of the Freeholders, etc." ( From the above it :would seem that the town claimed the Lewis Simons water lot due to uncompleted contract. Later this Louis Simons deed turns up apparently owned in 1891 by Robert J. Power and described as part of 140 ft., on outer (bay end), 100 ft., on east and west. i\pplication was made in August 1859, by \V. &. G. H. Cooper to purchase a water lot '\Vhich "lies bet,veen the lot of the heirs of \\Tilliam Cooper and Post & Sherry." September 12, 1859, Instruct Clerk to sell and give warranty deed for same. November 28, 1859, Clerk reports he has exceuted deed to \V. & G._ H. Cooper.

There ,vas trouble about this sale as evidentlv_. trustees had sold some land already conveyed by former boards. March 5. 1863, Committee to act as they deem ex­ pedient respecting matter of settlement about vvater lot at Sag Harbor with G. H. & \¥. Cooper. Hedges, Power & Hedges having bought up much of upland and also riparian grants given in early years by the To\\,.n. obtained in 1888. a blanket riparian grant from Town where they built lV[aidstone pier and bulkheaded het,veen Long \:\rharf and Maidstone pier. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 69

Sleight and Power bought and received from the Town (by court order) in 1891 a warranty deed for all lands under water east of the Maidstone grant and ,vest of Conkling's Point extending 400 ft., from highwater mark outward, excepting 140 ft., front and 100 deep on east bound land under water of R. J. Power and a slip owned by the Town at the foot of Rector street. The Po,ver water lot ( one time a part of which was Si1nons' lot) is the land bought at a tax sale by Downs and is to be conveyed to Morouney, who has already bought 400 feet of land under water outward from the Power's grant to the channel at the 400 ft., grant taken by Sleight & Power in 1891.

THE PART TAKEN BY THE PATRIOTS

The part taken by the patriots of Sag Harbor in the ,var of the Revolution has never been wholly told. The Refugees, who emigrated to Connecticut, after the Battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776, had left them at the 1nercy of the enemy and to escape consequence of signing Articles of .A.ssociation, in 1775; and the stigma placed upon those ,vho ren1ained at home, because they ,vere too poor to seek safety elsevvhere, had subjected the Revolutionary fa1nilies to the scorn of the people of the 111ainland, as well as placing an undeserved blot upon the history of the settlement. Papers and documents that have reposed for 150 years in the attic, and have been found, shed a different light upon happenings. Sag Harbor had built up a prospering trade with the \i\Tjesit Indies in 1770. Lt '·was buifding · ships and .had built a ,vharf for large vessels by 1771. John Foster, Sam­ uel Foster, Nathan Fordham, Daniel Fordham, J ohp. Hud­ son, John Hulbert, Thomas \Vickham and others were assoC'iated in vessel building and maritime enterprises. '10 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Driven away from Sag Harbor, some of them lost much of their fortune, and after the war were thrown into prison for debt. They took most of their vessels to Con­ necticut and there outfitted them as privateers to harass British shipping. The money derived from prizes taken, instead of going into their pockets, was contributed to the cause of liberty to buy clothing and arms for the patriot army. At least one large ship, then building at Sag Har­ bor, was destroyed by the invaders. It was a v~ssel worth $10,000. It belonged to John Foster, a delegate to the First Provincial Congress, one of the Committee of Safety, Auditor of claims of all Refugees, who fought wtih Col. S1nith at the Battle of Long Island as a private, and later ,vas first Lieut. in the 4th line in Connecticut, a man who contributed his ships and substance for military stores. This John Foster was a bondsman for the privateer "Eagle". He signed the Articles of 1775. He was the o,vner of a remunerative shipping business. Returning fro1n Connecticut to his Sag Harbor ho1ne in 1783, after the British, who for seven years had garrisoned Sag Har­ bor, had departed, Foster was in1prisoned for debt. Offi­ cial documents note his petition to the State Senate of 1787, also 1790, stating: ''In Goal, in New York, Feb­ ruary 17, 1790. In the year 1775 was a delegate to the Prov. Cong. for the county of Suffolk, and thereby be­ ca111e very obnoxious to the ene1ny: upon his removal with his family, out of their power, they burnt his ships on the stocks at Sag Harbor, to the value of £2000 and injured 11is house and other property to a large amount. By those losses and by supporting a large f an1ily in Conn., during the ,var, he found himself unable to pay his debts, and prays for the Treasurer of the State by la\v to be enabled to sign as a creditor for the discharge of a certain bond. Further, states, in addition to the facts above set forth, that he took npon himself the charge of transporting pow- SAG HARBOR IN EAR·LIER DAYS 71 der and other warlike stores down Long Island for the use of Col. Henry B. L.ivingston; that he arrived safely with the stores by the help of Mr. Waldron who lived with his servant at the ferry and that he exerted himself in pro­ curing boats, arms, etc., and so made himself particularly obnoxious to Gov. Tryon, that the enemy burnt his ship, house, barn and outhouse; and to complete the destruction of his property also destroyed some goods, books and papers to the amount of 500 pounds, at Frenchman's Bay. Prays for compensation." It is somewhat pathetic that in years after the Revolu­ tionary war Captain John Hurlbert, who raised the first company of Southampton and East Hampton Minute Men, ,vho ,vith his miltia was at Fort Constitution in Sept. 1775, and Ticonderoga, 1775, Oct.; and who it is said flew the first Stars and Stripes flag. In the late years of his life he beca1ne destitute and poor. It was necessary for him to dispose of his personal effects to pay his debts. But it is also remarkable that so many of those effects have survived, after 150 years. Perhaps it may be a matter of pride for his descendants (had he any) that he was sufficient a patriot to bear his share of a depre­ ciated paper currency ,vhilst others were charging fabulous sums in anticipation of loss. 12 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

32 FAMILIES IN 1775 Sag Harbor had 32 families in 1775. The settlement began to expand in 1760. The large \vharf (now known as Long Wharf) \Vas built 495 feet long in 1770. (Later t\\ro other sections \Vere built out, or about 1,000 feet in all.) West India trading ships, built at Sag Harbor, and other coastwise vessels landed at this wharf. In 1775 came the approach of events that culminated in the Revolutionary \Var. Many men in Sag Harbor signed the Association in 1775. John Foster, who had a house at Sag Harbor, and a ship on the stocks, then build­ ing there, had been elected delegate to the first provincial congress. 11ilitary stores and powder ,vere sent him in August, 1775. In the same year Congress ordered 200 pounds of powder sent to Ezra L'Hommedieu, then at Southold. John Foster ,vas also one of the committee of safety and later auditor of claims. Samuel L'Hon1medieu of Sag Harbor who had a rope ,valk and 2ided in outfitting vessels before 1771, first held a com1nission as Lieutenant granted by Governor Tryon. In the Revolution he \vas a captain of a con1pany guard­ ing stock at l\1ontauk. This was in July, 1775. He was attached to Col. DaYid Mulford's ( of East Hampton) reg­ i1nent. He took a part in the Battle of Long Island, prob­ ably ~erving ,vith Col. Josiah Smith, although the records says that l\1ulford'-s regiment ,vent to Huntington and there Col. Mulford took command after the wounding and capture of Gen. Nathaniel \Voodhull at Jamaica by the British as a prisoner. Imagine the consternation among the families of Sag Harbor when word of def eat of \Vashington and the pa­ triot armv., reached the east end: Soldiers from the Smith and Mulford regiments continued to straggle home, aside fron1 those who were killed, taken prisoner or crossed to New York and then went to Connecticut. Col. Henry n. I-4iYing-ston. in command of miltia at Southold. tried •- . SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS '13 to communicate with Col. David Mulford by express, and contemplated erection of earthworks at Canoe Place. 1'here was delay in delivery of the n1essage. The plan was abandoned. Ar1ned vessels were at Gardiner's bay, off Sag Har­ bor as early as 1-Iarch 6, 1776, in all 20 sail. Col. Living~­ ton was in command of the troops at eastern Long Island by Washington's order. He was compelled to evacuate. He embarked his troops and landed them safely in Con­ necticut. This left Sag Harbor unprotected. In Septem­ ber, 1776. there was ahnost a panic upon reception of the ne,vs that Governor Tryon ,vas ordering troops to take possession of all Long Island and that he with an escort \Votlld make a trip to the East end in September and Oct­ ober. That he burned John Foster's ship on the stocks at Sag Harbor, and his house, outbuildings and possessions, property ,vorth $10,000, is known, when he did come to Sag Harbor. Governor Tryon stopped at the Abraham Gardiner house in East Han1pton. The building still stands. It ,vas built about 1740-45, and was the finest 1nansion of the to\\rn. Just what other depredations and reprisals occurred, it is difficult to bring out 150 years aftervvard. But ,ve do kno,v that such men as Col. John I-Iulbert, Capt. San1uel L'I-fon1medieu, John Foster and others of Sag Harbor suffered much loss at Sag Harbor bv_, raids of the British. There was a scramble to get the vessels of Sag Har­ bor away from the ,vharf and over to safety up the Con­ necticut River. There was also great anxiety to remove post haste, or rather, by vessel, the post route being held by the enen1y; and, all ,vho could, went over in the first vessels taken to N e,v England after news of the disaster­ ous Battle of Long Island. The committee of safety not only ordered the Sag Harbor people to Connecticut, but people of Suffolk County generally. And the wharfs at '14, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Sag Harbor in September, 1776, were crowded with folks seeking passage to Connecticut and refuge there.

THE NOVA SCOTIA PACKET CAPS

The "Mehitable," the "Middletown," the "Nova Scotia Packet," the.fishing boat of Benoni Schellinger, the ·'Winscott ,vhale boat" were some of the vessels at Sag Harbor in 1775-76. There was also a fleet of small pack­ ets or coastwise vessels sailed by master mariners of Sag Harbor, East ··Hampton, Shelter Island., and. Southold. Added to these many vessels of Connecticut were called upon to carry Refugees to Connecticut. The story of the Refugees from Sag Harbor is worth the telling and those ,vho joined the heigr:i. will be enumerated, so far as known. and the list is nearly complete, in alphabetical order. Of the known Sag Harbor owners of vessels at that time, and Hedges' list does not name them, perhaps because they lived sometimes upon their vessels, are Samuel Beebe, Zebulon Cooper, Daniel Fordham, Ephraim Fordham, Nathan Fordham, Daniel Havens, of ithe Southa1npton part of the port; Joseph Conkling and Edward Conkling ot the East Hampton part of the port. Capt. John Davis, of Southampton, is 1nentioned as taking the effects of l\1aj. Silas Cook of Southampton~ from Southampton to Guilford, in 1776. Capt. Asa Fuller in October, 1776, loaned his vessel to Capt. Benjamin King, Jr., to freight goods of the latter fron1 Sag Harbor to Middletown. His place of residence was really Orient, then called Oyster Ponds. Ananias, a brother of Capt. Edward Conkling, and Capt. Joseph Conkling ,vent from Sag Harbor to New London with his brother. The census of 1776 gives a Jonathan Conkling at Sag Harbor who does not appear to have removed to Connecticut. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 75

Capt. Ed\\'-ard Conkling, a son of Joseph and a brother of Capt. Joseph, went from Sag Harbor to Groton, and in September, 1776, his goods with those of his brother, Capt. Joseph, were brought over by Jeremiah Haley. This Capt. Edward commanded the privateer "Beaver," in 1779 and also the privateer "Eagle'' on which he lost his life. His fate was peculiarly heart-rending. Cruising off Point Judith, in the privateer "Eagle," he captured and manned six prizes in succession, which left the number of his crew less than that of the prisoners on board the "Eagle." The latter, seizing a favorable opportunity, rose upon their captors, and by force of numbers gaining command of the vessel exhibited the 111ost savage ferocity. Capt. Conkling and his men ,vere cut down. after they had surrendered,. and their bodies ,vere brutally mangled. Only two boys were spared. This was on the 9th of May, 1779. This Ed­ ,vard Conkling ,vas a son of Joseph Conkling, who owned and lived in a house located at ,vhat is now corner Division and Burke streets. Conkling's Point is named for Joseph, the father, who ,vas also a vessel captain, and Joseph con­ veys 12 acres bounded southerly by the highway at Sag Harbor, to his son, Edward, in 1775. _Another son, of Joseph Conkling. Capt. Joseph Conkling, Jr., commanded the privateer "ReYenge .. , outfitted by Col. John Hulbert, Abraham Miller, John IIudson, Tho1nas Wickham, David Gels ton and others. ,v ho fled fron1 Long Island and oper­ ated as patriots in N e,v England. In company ,vith other vessels, in the "Revenge." Capt. Joseph Conkling helped to take the Brtish ship "i\mherst" and Brig "William," bound from Cork to New York ,vith logvvood, rum, wine, and 12,000 bushels of oats for the troops on eastern Long Island: he also captured the transport "Adventure," load­ ed ,vith supplies. Of the fat her of these Conkling brothers the Albany records say: Joseph One, was son of Ananias 3, Jeremiah 2, i\nanias 1. He ,vent fro1n "Sag Harbor Point," which 16 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS means Conkling's Point, in East Hampton town part of the port, to Stonington. He returned to Sag Harbor and died there. He was a large land owner at Sag Harbor. He was baptised Nov. 13, 1709; married Jan. 14, 1730-1, Esther Jones; he died Feb. 13, 1792. He was not buried in Old Burying Ground at Sag Harbor, but probably at East Hampton, or possibly on his own lands as there ,vere graves on Methodist Hill, no,v called Dering Heights. Capt. Edward Conkling was born in 1745. Capt. Joseph Conkling was born in 1739. He was living in 1799. Of this Conkling family of Sag Harbor there was an­ other brother: Ananias, a Refugee from Sag Harbor to New London, ,vho had returned to East Hampton by 1790. There are no gravestones of Conklings at Old Bury­ ing Ground in Sag I-farbor. The first Presbyterian Church covenant of 1791 has the names of: Ananias Conkling, who signed Jan. 22, 1791; Eliza­ beth Conkling and ..~bigail Conkling, ,vho signed Jan. 22, 1791. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS '17

CENSUS OF 1776

There was a Benjamin Coleman living in Sag Har­ bor in 1776. His name is not among the refugees. It is known that he came from Nantucket, and was grand­ father of Julia Prentice, wife of Ezekiel Mulford. The story of Lucy Coleman who gave her bread to the Brit­ ish soldiers would seem to show that the Colemans re­ mained in Sag Harbor while the enemy had possession. Braddock Corey lived at Sag Harbor in 1776. He descended fron1 .A.braha1n 3, John 2, and John 1. He gave the land for Union street at Sag Harbor. As it formerJy ran it was the boundary line between the Great North Division and the 12-Acre Division. It ran from the East Han1pton line along the north line of Old Burying Ground, and entered I\-1ain street at what is now Jefferson Street. The house of Jeffry Fordham (now razed) on Jefferson street \Vas the old line of Union street, the road running parallel with the west side. The house was the residence of Braddock Corey, in 1775. Capt Zebulon Stow trans­ ported Braddock Corey fro1n Sag Harbor to Saybrook, in Septen1ber, 1776; and, in October 1776, he was taken to East Haddan1 by Capt. Joshua Griffith. Braddock Corey died at Sag Harbor. Feb., 1, 1809, aged 74; his wif~, Charity, died at Sag Harbor, Feb. 12, 1775, aged 33. He therefore \\·as born about 1735; also John B. Corey, died in 1814, and his wife Phebe, died 1818, and Charity, a daughter, died aged 5, 1788. \Villiam Devall ( or Duvall) is given as a pre-Revolu­ tionary resident of Sag Harbor. The census of 1776, says he \Vas an inn keeper, at the corner of Main and \Vest Water streets, \vhere now is the railroad terminal. Mather's Re­ fugees says "\Villiam Devall, from Shelter Island to Say­ brook. In 1776 his effects ,vere moved over by Capt. Jere- 1niah Haley, Clark Trun1an, Hubbard Latham, Daniel Fordhan1 and Zebulon Sto\v.'' He appears in the census of 78 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Southampton East district, 1776. He owned a house in Sag Harbor about 1800. There is no record that vVilliam signed the _Association in 1775. George Fordham was a brother of Capt. Daniel Ford­ ham, and a descendant of the Rev. Robert Fordham, sec­ ond minister of Southampton to,vn; also a brother of Capt. Ephraim Fordham. In 1776, his family, four passengers and effects were moved from Sag Harbor to East Had­ dam, by Capts. Ichabod Cole, Robert King, James Wig­ gins and Ephraim Fordham. On March 28, 1782, Gov. ·rrumbull authorized him to return to Long Island with his family and effects. Hedges says, however: "George Fordham and family, who removed to East Haddam, Conn., as a refugee in 1776, and continued to reside there all his life," which probably is correct for there is no man of this name buried in Old Burying Ground, and he prob­ ably never exercised his privilege to return to Sag Har­ bor. Nathan Fordham, Esq., one of the first to settle at Sag Harbor, went as a Refugee from Sag Harbor to East Had­ dam. On Sept. 2, 1776, his family ,vas moved by Capt. Zebulon Cooper from Sag Harbor to Saybrook. He was on the con1mittee of safety and also on the Sag Harbor sub-Committee in 1775, relative to cannon and ammuni­ tion. He signed the 1-\ssociation in 1775 . He was plund­ ered in 1776, and asked relief of the Gen. Ass·y of Conn., in 1778, ,vhich was granted. He ,vas vouched for as a Friend to Liberty. He returned to L.ong Island ,vith his fa111ily and effects October 11, 1782. Old Capt. Na than or 'Squire Fordham's tombstone in the Old Burying Ground records that he was born in 1721. Also in the same grave and buried the same dav., lies his second "'-ife, who died Nov . 12, 1805, aged 68 years. His first \\,ife, Abigail, died Sept. 6, 1796 aged 68 years. Both Hedges and Tooker say :-Squire Fordham ,vas named John Na than. In Revolu- SAG HARBOR IN EAR•LIER DAYS 79 tionary times Esq. Nathan Fordham lived in the old Jesse Haisey house above the Otter Pond. Capt. Daniel Fordham, son of Na than, and descend­ ant from Robert, second minister of Southampton parish, was the brother of George and Capt. Ephraim, and the father of Capt. Na than. His house and inn was at the corner of Main and East Water (Bay) streets. After the Revolution it was moved opposite Madison Square south of the Power dwelling; shunted to Church street when Dr. Darius v\'heeler built a new house; and it was again mov­ ed by skids to Glover street, and remodeled and is still used for a tenement. Not only was it the inn of Daniel Fordhan1, but of Robert Fordhatn, after him. There were held the village dances. A cannon ball from a British boat pierced its ,,valls in the war of 1812. Daniel Fordham went from Sag Harbor to Saybrook as a captain of a vessel in October, 1776,. and he brought from Sag Harbor to Say­ brook, part of the effects of Silas Jessup; and the effects of \\l illiam Duvall, of Sag Harbor, date and place not men­ tioned in the record. He also carried to Middletown, Nov. 25, 1777, effects of others; and he receipted for claims for carrying effects of Elisha Clark, Daniel Haines, Joseph Stanborough and his brother George ; and at the same place and date, 1777, for claims of his brother, Capt. Eph­ raim, for bringing certain Refugees to Connecticut. He ,vas in Saybrook in 1777. He ,vas plundered and granted relief by the general 1-\ssen1bly of Connecticut. His son, Capt. Na than, ,vas a prisoner on one of the Jersey prison ships, as also was Frederick Fordham, son, and the latter died soon after his release and is buried at Old Burying Ground, Sag Harbor, and his tombstone bears witness that his death occurred Jan. 23, 1782, in the 18th year of his age, and that he was the son of Capt. Daniel and Mrs. Phebe (Jessup) Fordham. It is a tradition that Capt. Daniel's father, Nathan 4, sailed the sloop "Polley" on regular packet voyages between Sag Harbor and Albany. 80 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Capt. Daniel signed the Association in 1775. In the army he was Ensign of the 8th Company, Col. Mulford's Regt. of l\1inute Men. He took part in the Battle of Long Isl­ and. .A.fter returning to Sag Harbor he continued as a mariner and innkeeper. He was born Dec. 6, 1730; mar­ ried Nov. 14, 1756, Phebe Jessup; died June 12, 1816, aged 86. His wife was born l\!larch 3, 1736, died Nov. 4, 1806, aged 70. He had ten children including the Capt. Nathan, and Frederick of who1n n1ention has been made.

FEW INHABITANTS BEFORE 1730

The locality of Sag Harbor, "Great Meado\vs," was allotted in 1680; but there were few inhabitants there be­ fore 1730. _,\ man named Russell is said to have lived at North Haven about 1707. The settlen1ent might well have been named after the Fordha1ns. Nathan Fordham was one of the first to decide to locate. The first three houses n1entioned in records are those of Na than Ford­ ha1n, J an1es Foster and James Howell. Capt. Ephraim Fordha1n, son of Nathan \vas born at Sag Harbor, l\!Iarch 12, · 1737. He died at l\1iddletovvn, Conn., in 11ay, 1832, in his 96th year. He could remember vvhen there \Vas only one house at Sag Harbor Landing. He engaged in the \vhaling business at Nantucket ,vhen 17 years old, in 1753. i\fter\vards he \Vent out as mate of the first \Vhaling sloop of Sag Harbor, of vvhich Capt. n·aniel Fordha1n, his brother vvas 1naster. Capt. Ephrai1n after,vards co1nmanded : the ,vhaling schooner "E:agle." vvhich it is said ,vas the first ,vhaling vessel sailing fron1 Sag_ Harbor for whales off the south side of Long Island. The blubber ,vas flenched from whales, brought ashore and tried out on the Sag Harbor shore, near North l\!Iain street, ,vhere there ,vas a ,i\... harf and try ,vorks. Capt. Ephrai111 Fordham ,vent as a Refugee fron1 Sag Harbor to Connec- SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 81 ticut, where he was in 1777. As Captain of a ship in Sep­ tember, 1776, he moved from Long Island to Saybrook, part of the effects of Isaac Jessup. His claim for services was paid to his brother, Daniel at Middletown, November 25, 1777. In December 1776 he also carried to Connecticut part of the effects of George Fordham, his brother. He signed the Association in 1775. He returned to Sag Har­ bor, where he owned much land, but again went to Con­ necticut. John Fordham is given as a Refugee and a son of Nathan Fordham, Esq., going from· Sag Harbor to East Haddam. He receipted for the claim of his father, Nathan, Esq., at Middletown, Nov. 21, 1777. The Gen'l Ass'y of Connecticut, October 11, 1782, authorized the Governor to permit John and Nathan Fordham to return with their families and effects to Long Island. Probably he served in the second line. Capt. Nathan 6, son of Capt. Daniel Fordham the n1ariner and innkeeper, went from Sag Harbor to East Haddam, as a Refugee. In 1776, as captain of a ship, he brought to the Rope Ferry part of the effects of John Hud­ son, of Sag Harbor. He enlisted at Sag Harbor and serv­ ed a part of the war under Capt. John Davis and Col. Henry B. Livingston, for ,vhich he was a pensioner in 1833. He was born August 7, 1757; married Mary Howell; died January 7, 1838, and is buried in Oakland cemetery. John Foster, a brother of James Foster of Bridge­ hampton, was fron1 Sag Harbor to East Haddam and Rocky Hill as a Refugee in 1776. Col. Smith lodged with him at Sag Harbor, August 9, 1776. He ,vas a very prom­ inent patriot and the British burned his house and ship at Sag Harbor. He signed the Association in 1775. He was interested in privateers, and one of the bondsmen for the "Eagle." In 1783 he was thrown into prison in New York for debt, having lost a fortune of $10,000 by the war. He served in Col. Smith's Regt., and later was the 1st Lieut., 82 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS in the Company of Col. Pierson, same Regt. He also served in the 4th Line, and in Connecticut. Once the own­ er of a prosperous shipping business at Sag Harbor he became the victim of adverse fortune. He rests in an un­ known grave at the old Burying Ground at Southampton. Lt. John Foster, son of John above, went as a Refugee from Sag Harbor to Saybrook taken over by Capt. Rich­ ard Dickinson, in October, 1776. He signed the Associa­ tion in 1775. He was a Lieut., in Col. Smith's Regt. He was a pensioner in 1834, aged 85. Peter Foster was a Refugee from Sag Harbor to Connecticut, in 1776. He married in May, 1779, Hannah Vail (from E. Haddam Ch. Rec.) George Fowler is named as a Refugee from Sag Har­ bor to New London, taken over in September, 1776, by C:apt. Amas Pendleton. Also Jonathan Fowler taken over by Capt. Zebulon Stow. They probably lived at South­ ampton and came to Sag Harbor to embark, for their names are not in the E. Dist. Southampton census of July 4, 1776. Jeremiah Gardiner lived at Sag Harbor in Revolu­ tionary years, says Hedges. He is listed as a Refugee from Bridgehampton to Stonington~ and was taken over from Sag Harbor, with two passengers, by Capt. David Sayre, in September, 1776. He signed the Association in 1775. He served in Col. Smith~s Regt., also in the 3d line. His name does not appear in the Gardiner Genealogy. The East Hampton Church record sho\vs that a J eren1iah Gar­ diner was born in 1741, joined the church in 1764. The Town record shows that he \Vas a cattle o,vner in 1764. Several children were born to hitn between 1764 and 1780. He held Tovvn offices about this date. .A. Jeremiah Gar­ diner lived at North Haven. SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS 83

REFUGEES OF 1776

Lt. Col. John Hulbert is named as a Refugee from Sag Harbor going from Sag Harbor to East Haddam and lvliddletown in 1776. His letter book and ships account book shows that at that time, he lived in Bridgehampton, but had a business as n1erchant, cordwain er and owner of ships sailing to West Indies, located in Sag Harbor. His name has been recalled in 1927 by finding a package bear­ ing inscription "1775" containing a flag and a roster of his company of Minute Men, raised at the Hamptons in June and July, 1775, and for Col. Henry B. Livingston's N. y. Troops. The flag, by son1e historians, is believed to be the first Stars and Stripes. Hulbert's Company guarded stock at 11ontauk at Shawongnack in August, 1775; on Sept. 7, 1775, the Company marched from Montauk and his 1nen \Vere supplied with guns and ammunition, and then were stationed at Fort Constitution, opposite West Point, N. Y~. In October, the Hulbert Company was in the Lake Chan1plain region, and Capt. Hulbert and his men escort­ ed prisoners from Ticonderoga to :Phi1adelphia. It is thought the Continental Congress, in the fall of 1775, took I-Iulberf s flag of Stars and Stripes as a pattern for the American flag. In Sept. 1776, after Hulbert had been mus­ tered out of service, Jan. 16, 1776, Hulbert was taken, with his effects f ron1 Sag I-Iarbor to East Haddam and Middle­ to\vn, by Capts. J an1es Harris, Charles Williams, Robert I(night and Elkanah Sears. On June 27, 1777, the N. Y. Council of Safety authorized hi111, together ,vith Obadiah Jones and Tho1nas Dering, to per1nit such of the Refugees as thev., thought<.. best to return to L. I., for their effects; and to ren1ove fro111 Conn., to Dutchess Co., N. Y. They gave such per111its. On January 3, following the Council confirmed the appointn1ent of the before named Commit­ tee, and n1ade its po\ver absolute by restricting the author­ ities of Connecticut. Hulbert, with David Gelston, Abra­ ha111 ~Tiller, Thotnas \\Tickhan1, John and Sam Foster, 84 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

John Hudson, and other L. I. Refugees, outfitted priva­ teer vessels, among them the "Revenge", a vessel that took many British prizes; among them the ship "Am­ herst," the brig "\Villiam" and the ship "Adventure." On April 5, 1782, he was alllowed to pass over to L. I. On June 29, 1775, he was commissioned as Captain. He also served as captain in the 3rd line. On Sept. 23, he and his Minute Men were on their way to Ticonderoga. In Oct. 1776, they were in Philadelphia. Hulbert was voted $120 by Congress and given a 10 days furlough. On Feb. 20, and on June 10, 1776, Hulbert was appointed Lt. Col. of Col. Josiah Smith's Regt. of Suffolk County Minute Men. On April 10, 1776, he was asked by Gen. Washing­ ton to help an expedition from Conn., to L .. I. Under date of Nov. 24, 1776, Henry B. Livingston wrote from Peek­ skill, to the Committee of Arrangement of the Militia, that Lt. Col. Hulbert had gone to L. I., (he had removed in Sept., 1776, to Conn., as a Refugee), and that it was improbable that he ( Col. Hulbert) \Vould accept his com­ mission. On Dec. 9, Col. Hulbert in a letter to the Com­ mittee, declined the appointment . He did, however serve as Lt. Col. of Col. Drake's Regt., in Scott's provisional Brig. In his military record, Col. Hulbert is mentioned as a very prominent citizen of Sag Harbor, and a Revolution­ ary war map of Sag Harbor village gives Hulbert as living there in 1776. He evidently lived at Sag Harbor from 1782 to 1797, and an old map of Bridgehampton places a Hulbert house at Lumber Lane near Scuttle Role road. All of his letters from 1798 to 1803 are captioned Sag Harbor, and it is thought that he at one time lived in the house on Main street built by Eliab Byram, and now own­ ed by Mrs. Clarence Shamel. Hulbert was a petitioner for the ,vharf of 1770 at Sag :Harbor. He was a large owner of land at Sag Harbor, including the tract where on the library and the former residence of Mrs. Russell Sage have heen built, says Hedges. After all of his public ser- SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 85 vice, misfortune and debt clouded his declining years. It is somewhat pathetic that Col. Hulbert, like John Foster of Sag Harbor, who was imprisoned for debt in N. Y. City, became so poor that it was necessary for him to dispose of his personal effects to pay his debts. But it is also re­ markable that so many of those effects have survived 150 years. Many things that were his personal property, be­ fore the Revolution, have been located. One may perhaps point with pride to his poverty. He was enough of a pa­ triot to bear his own share of a depreciated paper cur­ rency ~hilst others were charging fabulous sums in antici­ pation of loss. Col. John Hulbert left a Journal of his war experi­ ences. It was in possession of Samuel L'Hommedieu, the younger, in 1850; he loaned it to Lawyer Samuel L. Gar­ diner of Sag Harbor. Gardiner said he lost it in New York. Collectors are hopeful it yet may be found, and that there may be some reference in it, to Hulbert's Stars and Stripes of 1775. In the census of 1776, John Hulbert's family is noted as males: above 16, one; fem ales above 16, three. There is a grave stone in old Bridgehampton ceme­ tery, in memory of "Elizabeth, mother of Lt. John Hul­ bert, died 1783, aged 83 years." John Hulbert writes a brother in Conn., in 1803, "that his ,vife and family are well, and speaks of "John~' who evidently is his son. His letter book stops abruptly in November, 1803. Where Col. Hulbert is buried is not known. His grave is not marked, if at old cemeteries of Bridgehampton or Sag Harbor. 86 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SOME NOTABLES

Jonathan Hill lived in Sag Harbor in July, 1776. There was a William Hill of Southampton town who signed the .-\ssociation, and who went to Connecticut as a Refugee in September, 1776. He had fought in Col. Smith's Regt., at the Battle of Long Island. John Hudson lived in Southampton east of Water Mill previous to the Revolution. His son, John, Jr., was residing and doing business at Sag Harbor as shown by the census of July, 1776. The son was interested in ship­ building and ownership with the Fosters, and a vessel in which he seems to have owned, was the brig "Mehitable," making voyages to West Indies, before 1770. Both John Hudson, and John Hudson, Jr., went to Connecticut. Capt. Hubbard I..(atham took the Hudsons to Connecticut late in 1776. Other Captains of the vessels who transported the Hudsons and their effects were vVilliam Card and Nathan Fordham. There is a memorandum which says "Hudson came with his wife and son," probably, John, Jr. Both father and son signed the Association in 1775. The son was allo,ved to go from Connecticut to Long Island. May 17, 1777, to bring off his mother and furniture. Both father and son may have served in Col. S1nith's Regt., at any rate one of them.John Hudson, Jr., married March 18, 1790, Prudence Hallock, of Southold. J eren1iah Gardiner is listed as living at Sag Harbor before the Revolution. It is also said he lived near Bridge­ hampton. His nan1e does not appear in the Gardiner Genealogy. The East Hampton Ch. Rec., sho,vs that a Jeremiah Gardiner was born in 1741; married in 1754; joined the church in 1764. He had children born between 1754 and 1780, and a son died in 1775. He vvas a cattle owner as shown by the E. H. Town Recs., in 1764; and he frequently held town offices bet,veen 1764 and 1787. Capt. David Savre took in his vessel to Stonington, in Sept., SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 87

1776, Jeremiah Gardiner, and Gardiner is charged for two passengers. He had served in Col. Smith's Regt., and he had signed the •.\.ssociation in 1775. Hedges writes of Grover L'Hommedieu as living at Sag Harbor before the Revolution. In the Southampton census in 1776, Bridgehampton proper and what we now call Sag Harbor is grouped in the E. Dist. of Southampton town, i. e., east of Water Mill. Grover L'Hommedieu, son of Sylvester, and grandson of Benjamin, of Southold; and a brother of Capt. Samuel, of Sag Harbor, were taken from Long \Vharf to Norwich, Conn., on Sept. 2, 1776, by Capt. Ichabod Cole. He had served in Col. Smith's Regt. He signed the Association in 1775. His brother, Samuel L'Hommedieu, went from Sag Harbor to Saybrook and I\1iddletown, in Sept., 1776, with Capt. Daniel Hale, and Captains Robert Knight, Ichabod Cole and Joseph Havens transported 1nuch of his goods. Capt. Zebulon Cooper on Sept. 2, 1776, carried the members of his family from Sag Harbor to Saybrook. He had signed the Association in 1775. In 1776 there were three in his family: Males above 16, 1; below 16, 1, his son, Samuel; Females above 16, 1 his v,.rife. He returned to Sag Harbor May 23, 1780, where he lived and owned property. One L'Hommedieu house stood on the west side of l\1ain Street, near what is now Bay View Avenue; a L'Hommedieu house was built at Union street (no,v the ho111e of l\'.lrs. George Hedges), in 1810. Satnuel L 'Ho1nmedieu married Sarah White. Born February 20, 1744. He lived to be 90, dying in 1834. He \Vas for 1nany years a Justice of the Peace, and to distin­ guish him frotn his son, Sa1nuel he ,vas called "Old Squire L'Hommedieu." Benjan1in Price \vas one of the Refugees from Sag Harbor to Stonington. He and his wife, and three daugh­ ters, all under sixteen, where taken to Stonington, Conn., in Sept., 1776 by Capt David Sayre. He was a patriot, had signed the ~\ssociation in 1775, and served in the third 88 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS line. The family returned to Sag Harbor. He was born about 1739. He lived near where the M. E. Church edi­ fice now stands. He died Dec. 18, 1818, aged 79, and is buried in Old Burying Ground. His wife is buried beside him; her tombstone is shattered and obliterated. Timothy Matthews lived at Sag Harbor in 1776. There is an Elias Matthews named in the census. Elias is mentioned as the head of the family and as going as a Refugee, when over 50 years old to Haddam and East Haddam. In his family were: Males over 50, 1 ; above 16, 1; Females above 16, 2; under 16, 1. He went by Capt. Elijah Mason, with seven passengers and goods. He sign­ ed the Association in 1775.

THE BRITIS·H HELD SAG HARBOR

During the Revolutionary War, when the British held Sag Harbor, there appears to have been living, in Sag Harbor these persons (given in a census of 1776; and who are not numbered am'Ong the Refugees) : Southampton side of village: James Howell, Benjamin Coleman, Silas Norris, Silas Cooper, James Store, Widow Temperance Foster, Timothy Hedges, James Wiggins ( Capt. of a vessel), Benjamin King ( living aboard his ves­ sel). Hubbard Latham (a Capt. of a vessel), David Sayre (Capt. of a vessel) Edward Wick. Living near Sag Harbor, and persons who went as Refugees to Connecticut were: Gerrardus Drake and family: David Gelston, Esq., Daniel Havens (Capt. of a vessel), George Havens, Widow Hannah Havens, Dr. Jonathan Havens from Sag Harbor to East Haddam. Joseph Havens ( a Capt. of a vessel), William Havens ( a Capt. of a vessel), Ephraim Paine to Stonington: John Paine from Hog Neck to East Had­ dam: John Paine 2d, from Hog N eek to East Haddan1. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 89

The Paines were moved over by Capt. Constant L'Hom­ n1edieu of Southold; Benjamin Conkling of Sag Harbor; David Sayre of Sag Harbor; Elijah Mason, Thomas Rob­ inson, James Wiggins, and Benjamin King, Jr., all vessel owners. Peter Paine of Sag Harbor (Hog Neck) was moved to Stonington, with five passengers, by Capt. Amos Pendleton, in Sept. 1776; and Capt. Ephraim Pendleton carried over Peter's drove of hogs, in Oct., 1776. William Morpeth who went from Lpng Island to Con­ necticut, in 1776, was really from Sag Harbor (says Ford­ ham). He was at Valley Forge. There is very little kno,vn about 11orpeth, except that he wrote a letter show­ ing great familiarity with Sag Harbor and the Hamp­ tons, from Valley Forge, March 8, 1778. Persons living near Sag Harbor and who did not flee as Refugees to Connecticut in 1776 were: Probably a Russell family for there is record of Major Cochrane, in charge of troops at Sag Harbor, flogging a Russell youth; Anthony Sherman, who lived south of the Otter Pond; Eunice Quit hall ( Corwithe, mispronounced Quith-ee and Quith'l) ·named by Hedges, historian; and Joseph Gibbs, the latter a school teacher. (vVilliam D. Gibbs, probably a son of Joseph Gibbs, taught the Bridge­ hampton school in 1796 for £ 16 per Quarter; Daniel Gibbs, also probably of the same family, taught the school at Brickiln, in 1796, and had 23 scholars). In Revolutionary years there were two wndmills on the shore at Sag Harbor. The old wharf stood west of the Long \Vharf built in 1770. The old wharf was built about 1761. Here is the '\\ray the people resided in Sag Harbor in July. 1776: Obadiah Gildersleeve, near the foot of Main street. where he huilt ships: Anthony Sherman, south of Otter Pond: then going north. Na than Fordham known as occu­ pant of the Jesse Halsey house: George Fordham. who 90 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS went to Connecticut and did not return; John Foster, near corner of Main and Howard street; Nathan Post, who was a mariner, and also took out a liquor license; William Duvall, the innkeeper, Main \and \\r:est W,ater streets; Daniel Fordham, mariner and innkeeper, Main and East Water (Bay) streets; Braddock Corey is given ~s next south of Duvall in the 1776 census-Pelletreau places his residence near Main and what is now Jefferson streets. John Hurlbert lived on the east side of Main street be­ tween Union street and Otter Pond, at one time after 1776; the residence of Huh bard Latham, I have not located; but, Latham lived in the vicinity of Latham street. ,vhere he owned much land. In June, 1807, John Hulbert adver­ tises for sale his premises "where he no,v lives" at Union street, Sag Harbor, from which Hedges opines his resi­ dence was thereafter and not before that in Bridgehamp­ ton. There is no doubt as shown by Hulbert's Journal that he lived in Bridgehampton in 1776, and did business at Sag Harbor. His letter book contains first copies of his letters dated at Sag Harbor in 1798. The earliest date of his Bridgehan1.pton letters is 1789. Just ,vhere lived John Hudson, Jonathan Hill, J eren1iah Gardiner, the \V.ido\v 'farbell and the \,Vidow Hicks cannot be stated with any accuracy. The Hicks' property seen1ed to be near the corner of Church and \\r ashington streets. The Ripley fan1ily is not pre-Revolutionary in Sag Harbor. Thon1as I{ipley, ,vith his father Capt. Joseph Ripley, came from South Dartmouth, -:1\'lass .. to locate in Sag Harbor about 1790-91. Benjan1in Colen1an can1e from Nantucket. and ,vas a whaleman. Capt. Daniel Havens lived either at N oyac or North Haven. Brick I(iln ,vas populous before. and for sometime after the Revolution. So1ne ot the na1nes of children attending the Brick J{iln school. 17'6. i1n1ned­ ia telv after the Re·volution and the forn1ation of the Fed­ eral govern1n ent are; SAG HARBOR LV EARLIER DAYS 91

Stanbrough, Hand, Edwards, Sandford, Stuart, Payne, Talmadge, Howell, Bennet. Children attending Hog Neck (North Haven) school, in 1796, were named : Duvall, Payne, Havens, Rider and Gardiner. I do not think the so-called ''Umbrella House," is pre- Revolutionary. Itt was used for a ·hat fact.ory by the Denison Bros., in 1791. Hats were also made at the old Conkling house where the Lundhurst now stands, about 1791.

HOG NECK SETTLED ABOUT 1700

In earliest years of settlement Hog N eek, or North Haven was not considered as a suburb. Sag Harbor was really a suburb of the Neck, and Brick Kiln and Noyac were peopled long before there were habitations at the Harbor. The earliest record of habitation of Hog N eek is 1707, when a tenant was "warned" by a Southampton landlord and ordered to depart. It is very probable peo­ ple were living at Hog N eek before 1707, for the prop­ erty was purchased in 1665, and is very early mentioned in Southampton Town Records, and was allotted, appor­ tioned and highways surveyed in 1680-81. At this time the site of Sag Harbor was all woods and meadow. Otter Pond was fresh water. The boundary line between East Hampton and Southampton towris, now Division street, and a line trending northerly and westerly and going aln1ost along center of Wharf street extended, in 1695, to a marked pine tree at the eastern point of H·og N eek. There ,vere salt ,vorks at Hog N eek before and after Revolution­ ary years. The Refugees, who in 1776, went from Sag Harbor to Connecticut, were occasionally permitted to go to L. I., to get salt at the salt works on the N eek. These salt "Torks ,vere located on the Mitchell fartn, now owned 92 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS by J. G. Venetos of Brooklyn.. The salt was obtained by a process of evaporation. Salt was also brought to Sag Har­ bor by ship load from Turk's Island in years between 1785 and 1800. Charles \V. Payne made a deposition in 1914 that his grand£ at her was a life-long resident of Hog N eek, and that he had heard him say that the Long and Short Beach approaches to the N eek were always used as a public high­ way "both by use and deed" and "had always been so used as long as he could remember." Payne, deponent, the grandson, was born, in 1835, two years after a start had been made constructing a bridge across the narrow c~annel that divided Sag Harbor from Hog N eek. The meadow as well as beaches served as a way to pass and repass at times of high tides, severe storms or ice accumu­ lations. A story prevails that the *highway leading to Hog N eek ·from N oyac is very wide. It is probably recorded some,vhere in records, possibly described in terms now am­ biguous understood by the layers out and land owners of 200 years ago, for recent descriptions of the Wading Place at Head of Beach on Hog N eek make the spot 13 rods wide ( since closed to a width of 4 rods, in 1884). Men­ tined in a former chapter as among the Refugees is Dr. Jonathan Havens. Mr. Payne says: "He learned from his grandfather that one Jonathan Havens ( deponent's wife's great-grandfather) was a resident of North Hav-en for many years and ,~.ras, at the time of his death, in 1802. a practicing physician at said place for many years: and that Jonathan Havens travelled horseback over the beach­ es at least twice daily in making his professional visits to both Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton. The Refugee. Jeremiah Gardiner. mentioned in a for­ mer chapter. may have lived at Hog Neck, in 1776. There are Gardiner children attending the Hog N eek district school after the Revolution.

*Now a rec-orded and monumented hi~hwny.-Ed. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 93

The first year of peace, after the Revolution, the pres­ ent inlet from the Cove to Otter Pond was excavated "by all the inhabitants" rewarded with "a barrel of rum." At the time, 1776, when the Refugees embarked for Connecticut, great numbers of cattle and sheep were "pounded" on lands of the Conklirigs at Sag Harbor, wait­ ing to go aboard vessels for transportation. From Hog N eek were shipped droves of hogs, owned for the most part by the Paynes. Notwithstanding the many beasts taken to Connecticut; the British seized on Long Island, Gardiner's Island, Shelt~r Island, Plum Island and Fisher;s Island 100,000 cattle, horses, sheep and swine. The Islanders were cattle raisers; the Sag Harbor men mostly n1erchants, ship ovvners, ship captains and sailors. After the Revolution Ephraim Fordham lived on Mad­ ison street where now is the "Buck house"; Du Daly lived at the corner of Madison and Union streets; Henry P. Dering, Collector of Port, 1790, lived at the corner of lJ nion and Chruch streets; Dr. Ebenezer Sage, Congress­ n1an in 1812, lived one door east of the Meeting House ( corner Church and Sage Streets), and directly back of the church edifice. Benjamin Price lived on Madison street and the woods came do,vn to the yards of the homes of E·phrai1n Fordham, Price and Braddock Corey, at what is now Jefferson street, and Old Burying Ground, set off for a burial spot in 1767, ,vas partly \Vooded. The lot at the foot of Division street, now owned by \\Tilliam \\Tilson, leased to Capt. J ere1niah Hedges by East Hampton to,vn trustees to erect a hotne "below the cliff at Sag Harbor" opposite Turkey Hill, about 1800; the town clain1ed and sold all drift on the beach between the division line of the tovvns of East Hampton and South­ a1npton, as far east as Joseph Conkling's ,vater fence (Conkling's Point). 94, SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

There \Vas a dispute bet\veen the two to,vns about the division line at Sag Harbor in 1799. It was not finally settled until 1844. The Con1n1issioners of Highways ,vere per1nitted to lay out a passing highway through lands of David Russell, heirs of Stephen Baker and v\rilliam J. Rysan1, in 1800; but they never did so ( tract from Little Northwest creek to Conkling' s lands.) \Villiam J. Rysam was given his wharf and ship yard grant, north of Bay street, by East Hampton town, in 1803. Daniel Fordham and others had fenced in comn1on land belonging to East Han1pton at Sag Harbor. They paid no compensation for it. The Trustees leased the land in 1804 and later by an exchange of these lands and the shifting of the Highways, in 1807, the Fordhams, Derings and Lathams gained fee of the disputed lands. As Jeremiah Hedges, mariner, had only a permit for his water front site; he ,vas later obliged to remove. This lot at foot of Division street, as it now runs, was later sold outright to Jedediah Conkling, and the \Vat er lots for a distance of 140 feet stretching along Bay street, east of the Conkling land, were also sold, and good and sufficient title given to them ·by the Clerk of the Town Trustees. There was a dispute over payment of excise to East Hampton, in 1806. Some buildings at Sag Harbor \Vere intersected by the boundary line. The dispute ,vas settled by con1rnittee conference of East and Southan1pton 111en. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 95

SHIPS WERE BUILT AT SAG HARBOR

Capt. David Sayre lived near Sag Harbor previous to the Revolution. He was a ship builder and vessel master. Ships were built at Sag Harbor as early as 1762, perhaps before that time. Capt. Sayre owned a large tract of land near Sag Harbor; also a small island on which he had his home at time of his death. It was called "Sayre's Island" or "Sears Island." There are still living in Sag Harbor people who remember when they were children, and living in the rebuilt house now occupied by Mrs. Hod­ enpyl, at North Haven, that at the opposite shore, across the Lower Cove, was a small island called "Sears Island." .1\t that tin1e, some 60 years ago, one could walk from ,vhat has since been called the Lamont place, at Hogonock, at low tide, to this island. There, used to be the ruins of a house (the Capt. Sayre home). The meadow has since "made up'~ and has joined the island with the mainland of Hogonock; but, at extremely high tides the place is c11anged to an island. There is an old well on this island, sho,ving habitation years ago. Adjoining, or perhaps in­ cluding, the "Bide-a-wee" property at Sunset Beach, and the property of Mrs. Patterson on North Haven, was a portion of the land called Sayre's Lot, owned by David Sayre. Just how far it extended along the shore, or inland, is hard to define at this day. It was a large tract of land. Capt. David Sayre descended in the 4th generation fro1n Thomas Sayre 1, who ca1ne to Southampton in 1640, ,vith his son Job. -Both were from Lynn, Mass., in 1638. The house at Southa1npton erected by Thomas Sayre 1, stood for over 260 years. It ,vas built in 1648 and demol­ ished in 1912. Capt. David Sayre who is so prominently associated ,vith the earlv., settlement and commercial ac- tivities of Sag Harbor, was a son of Benjamin Sayre, and a grandson of Job Sayre 2, and a brother of Benjamin Sayre 4, ,vho lived at Bridgehan1pton and v.. 1 ho ,vent as a refugee 96 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS from Sag Harbor to Saybrook and East Haddam, in the fall of 1776. That Capt. David Sayre was a very busy 1nan, after the British captured Long Island, in Augus~, 1776, is shown by the following record to be found in .,Albany ar­ chives: On Sept. 9, he brought a part of Col. Abraha111 Gardiner's effects to Connecticut from Sag Harbor; same month, Ezekiel I1o,vell to East Haddan1; same month, Daniel Hedges. In Oct., 1776, Daniel Moore to Stoning­ ton; sa111e month, Jonathan Pain to East Haddam, (he lived at Hog N eek, now North Haven) ; san1e 111onth, Samuel \Yhite to Stonington. In Nov., 1776, Joseph Os­ born to Hadda1n; san1e 1nonth David Gelston; san1e 111onth his own goods ,vere moved to East Hadda1n by Capt. Robert Knight. In Sept. and Oct., 1776, he carried on his vessel from Sag Harbor to Stonington, a number of Re., fugees and their effects, the list including: Jeremiah Gard­ iner, David Hand, Benjamin Price, of Sag Harbor, and Jeremiah Conkling, Lemuel P:terson, Charles Topp'ihg, Elisha Clark, Silas Stuart, Abraham Loper, John Squier, John 11ulford, Joshua Hildreth, Col. i\braha111 Gardiner., Col. Jonathan Hedges, Theophilus Pierson and Benjamin Chappel, men with families residing in the Ha1nptons or near Sag Harbor. The census of Sag Harbor for July 4. 1776, shows that there ,vere in Capt. David Sayre's family: Males above 16 years, 3; under 16, 1; Fetnales above 16 years, 1 ; under 16, 1. There were houses on Hogonock in 1803, as is sho\i\111 by a sketch of the locality made that year. There ,vas also a ,vind mill at Hogonock. or Little Hog N eek. as the locality ,vas then called. The na1ne "Hogonock" con1es from a 111istake made by the scrivener ,vhen ,vriting the Dongan Patent for Southan1pton, Dec. 6. 1686. Henry Ludlum (Ludlow) ,vas the 111iller. ;-\ large part of Hogo­ nock ,vas o,vned hy the Ludlutns. in 1713. ,vhen Henry Ludlum, Jr.. "in consideration of £ 13, 15s. paid to 111y SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 91 honored fat her Henry Ludlum, miller, before the obtain­ ing of these presents by Anthony Ludlum," sells to An­ thony Ludlum, "all my right to a £ 100 lotment of upland and meadow at a place called Little Hog Neck." Dec. 5, 1713. Witness Charles Petty. Hog N eek is mentioned as early as "ffeb 1, 1641" in Southampton Records. In the lotment of lands of June, 1680, the lots designated as 48 and 49 embraced Hogonock and ,vere drawn by "Peregrine Stanborough and Josiah Henry Ludlum & Anthony upon little hogg neck," to have no out meadow they having meadow within themselves. The manner and form of laying out the land in Hog N eek was:" 1-\Ve begun and layd out a high (way) 6 poles wide from the going on to the neck at the end of the beatch bearing north and by East quite through the neck ,vhich was in length 490 poles, set out by a range of stakes leaving the highway on the west side of the stakes. 6- Then we began at the wadeing place on to the neck (near Short Beach.-Ed.) and run a highway quite thru the neck parallel with the first highway * * * measured at 342 poles in the map termed the wadeing place highway ,vhich highway contains a squadron of 10 lots, etc." The layers out say further: "Then on the east side of the aforesaid highway lyes 4 lots, numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and upon the south east point lyes 3 lots, No. 5, 6, 7, little hog neck lyes for 2 lots for num!ber 48, 49, brushy neck number 50." 98 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

MERCHANTS KEPT JOURNALS

A custom that has aided the historian greatly was that practised by the merchants and artisans of years ago. Many of them kept Journals. It was ,quite a popular vogue to note the most trivial happenings in these Journals. Of­ ten they contained much more information than contem­ porary period papers furnish. Sag Harbor had a news­ paper in 1791. It was regularly published until the last part of the second decade of the nineteenth century. Then there was a brief interim, until 1822, ,vhen publication was re­ sumed. Since then Sag Harbor has its weekly newspaper. The earliest ne,vspapers published little local ne,vs. The Journals of the Sag Harbor men, some of which have been preserved, aid to record the happenings of the past.. A.s a diversion, it may be said here, that Sag Harbor had the first newspaper of Long Island; the first printing press ,vas brought from New England; the first printery, book publishing house and bindery in 1791; from it issued the first magazine, and many printed books, volun1es of ,vhich are now treasured by collectors. Sag Harbor had the first semi-weekly newspaper issuing in 1838, The Corrector, and published until the S0's; the first daily nevvspaper, ,vith telegraphic ne\vs bulletins frotn New Y... ork, The Corrector, a daily folio in 1864. Tho1nas Ripley, l\1aj. John J ern1ain, so I am told. Luther D. Cook and others kept Journals. The habit of making scrap books has also aided the re­ searcher. Hon. Henry P. Dering, collector of the custo111s and posttnaster, 1791-1822 did not keep a Journal. so far as known, but his papers and hooks \Vere carefully posted and arranged for filing and preservation. His son Thon1as Henry Dering. a long ti1ne deputy collector of custon1s. kept a Journal \vhi!e he vvas at Gull Island. superintending­ the construction of a seavvall to preYent innn

From a Journal of the late Pardon T. Tabor, dates and memorandum are gleaned. Tabor was one of the solid citizens of Sag Harbor. In 1817 he was one of the commit­ tee instrumental in building a new church edifice at Church and Sage streets. Pardon T. Tabor and Eliab Byram had the management of the construction of this church. It stood until 1925, and then burned on another site, to which it had been moved, Church and Union streets, at the time of the destruction known as the Atheneum amusement hall and lodge rooms of the Masonic fraternity. Pardon T. Tabor bore the title, won in the war of 1812, of "Captain." Sag Harbor, a maritime port for a century or more, addressed masters of ships and even "skippers" of small craft as "Captain." But Captain Tabor aided to beat off the British when they attempted to land and sack and burn Sag Harbor in 1813. Long before war \vith Great Britain threatened, he had been enrolled in the .A.rtillery Company of Sag Harbor. He was corporal of the volunteers in 1806. Here are given the officers of this con1pany in June, 1806, holding its first parade June 17th, carrying only firelocks (not having received a field-piece): Captain John Jermain commanded and Jesse Hedges ,vas 1st Lieutenant. The organization was completed by nomination, election and induction of Lodo,vick Post, 2nd L.reutenant; Alden Spooner, W'ickham Sayre, F.rankHn Duvall, Ezekiel Jones, Jr., Sergeants; Pardon T. Tabor, Erastus Glover, Elijah Simons, Eliab Byram, Corporals; Henry B. Havens, Drumn11er; Lothrop Slate, Fifer. Lieutenant Tabor, in 1812, (later to become a Cap­ tain) notes : "Encamped at Sag Harbor 24th of September, 1812, for the defence of that place under the command of Cap­ tain Lodowick Post; Ezekiel Jones, 1st Lieutenant; P. T. Tabor, 2nd Lieutenant. Disbanded December 1812. 100 SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS

"Encamped 15th . . 1813 under Captain Post. Dis­ banded and discharged 30th Septe1nber, 1813. This makes six months' (service) within t,vo years. (The British were repulsed when they attempted to land at Sag Harbor, July 11, 1813).-Ed. Note. "Enlisted in Capt. John R. Satterlyj,s company as Lieut., October 4" 1814. "Enlisted under David Haines, 11ay 1" 1814 served three months. Discharged July 31st 1814. "Enlisted under Captain Noah Terry in a company of Sea Fencibles August 3d 1814 as Lieut., for 12 months. "Discharged from U. S. service April 3d 1815 after peace. "Peace celebrated 23d February 1815. John Pierson and Nathan Baker. (The memoranda immec\iately preceding refers to deaths of Baker and Pierson, who were killed at Sag Har­ bor on date named, ,vhile celebrating the return of peace bet,veen the United States and Great Britain by accidental discharge of a cannon) .-Ed. Note. "Peace signed at Ghent 24th Deer 1814. Ratified February 18th 1815. "Inspection of Volunteer Artillery in U. S. service commenced by Major Benjamin Case. "David Haines was called out and commanded 3 or 4 different companies. Levi Ho,vell Lieut'n 1813. "Capt. John R. Satterly & Lieutenant \Villiamson. "Captn Noah Terry & 1st Lieut. How.ell commanded a company before .Terry raised his Sea Fencibles. "Enlisted Jany 15th 1814 in Captn Edward Leverick's company as 1st Lieut. Discharged .A.pril 15th 1814." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 101

A DISTINGUISHED PATRIOT

"Capt." David Hand of Sag Harbor was a seaman in the Revolutionary war. He had been captured and a prisoner of war, five times before his twentieth year. Capt. Hand not only participated in the War of Independence, he distinguished himself in fighting off the British when they attempted to land and burn Sag Harbor, July 11, 1813. Tradition is that the British attacked Sag Harbor more than once. There were often alarms, and a note by Hon. Henry P. Dering seems to indicate there was more than one gesture by the enemy to attack the port. The following are some letters and memorandum re­ lating to Sag Harbor's part in the War of 1812: "June 3, 1813.- The enemy landed yesterday at Gar­ diner's Island and took off a number of cattle. A number of their ships now remain laying off Gardiner's Point."­ Excerpt from letter of Dering to Brig. Gen. Abraham Rose of Bridgehampton. June 12, 1813, Gen. Rose writes Mr. Dering: "\\le are in a very disagreeable situation ,the enemy very plenti­ ful in our waters ( eight ships yesterday) ; our militia, even the most easterly regiments, is scattered from twelve to fifty miles from Montauk. It will be seen that in quarter of the time necessary to get militia there, the enemy can easily effect their purpose and be off . . the ships can at any time cover their landing." Indeed the enemy ships could and did cover landings at Montauk where cattle were taken on board the English ships to feed the fleet. But the large British ships did not attempt to sail up the tortuous and unbuoyed channels in Shelter Island Sound and train_ their guns on the village. It would have been folly for the large ships of Admiral Hardy to make the attempt. Armed barges manned by n1en from the British ships in Gardiner's Bay made the 102 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS attack on Sag Harbor. There were howitzers or small cannon in the bows of each cutter. The English n1et with a warm reception for the Sag Harbor patriots were alert, as will be seen by the following letter:

GENERAL ROSE'S OFFICIAL REPORT

Bridgehampton, 11 July 1813. "Sir-About 2 o'clock this morning, five barges from the British squadron came and made attack upon Sag Harbor, took three vessels, set fire to one, but met with a reception so warm and spirited from our Militia there stationed, who are entitled to much credit, as also many citizens of the place, that they abandoned their object and 111ade a very precipitate retreat. They thre,v some shot almost to the extreme part of the place, but fortunately no lives ,vere lost or injury done except to the vessels which they had in possession, one of_ which ,vas bored through and through by 19-lb shot from the Fort. It is probable the enemy must have suffered, as they depart­ ed in such confusion as to leave some of their arn1s and accoutrements. "If we had not had men stationed there, the place might, and probably would have been destroyed. \\Te are apprehensive of another attack ,vith increased force. Have ordered two n1ore co111panies down for the present. Our militia. ,vere alar1ned but could not arrive in ti1ne to be of service " A letter ,vritten to a N e,v York paper and dated "Sag Harbor, July 10~ 1814," proves that there ,vas only one serious attack by the British on Sag Harbor during the \i\!ar of 1812. The note from Sag Harbor says: "This day twelve n1onth was the last ti1ne and first time that the enemv visited us. Thev are permitted to con1e ashore - •' and get ,vhateYer they choo~e ,vithin ten or t,Yelve n1iles SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 103 of us. The officers and crews of their war vessels are daily feasted on the rich product of the American soil and at a liberal price."

That there were alarms, the letter, below from the Dering files informs

"Southampton, 15th July 1814. "H. P. Dering, Esq., "Please_ pay unto Josiah Foster sixteen pounds pow­ der out of the Arsenal at Sag Harbor on account of six­ teen pounds furnished by him in three different alarms occasioned by the enemy some time since, "and oblige your friend "Abraham Rose "Brigadier General "80th Regt. N. Y. Militia." 104, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SAG HARBOR COMMENCED TO THRIVE IN 1730

The Great Meadows, present site of Sag Harbor, had !)Jeen divided for purposes of pasturage long years before there was a settlement at the Landing. This occured in 1680. vVhen the ,settlers at Sagaponack needed a landing, or port, nearer than the =wharf and warehouse at North West, in East Hampton town, or the pier at North Sea, presided over by John Lough ton, deputy customs collec­ tor for Southamfton as early as June, 1670. A road was cut through the Great North Forest to Sag Harbor. It follows very much the same course of the present Sagg road, but it branched off. It ran from the point where Sagg and Wainscott road intersect, north of Long Pond, near the present residence of James McMahon's (formerly Widow Gavett); it came out north of the house now occupied by Daniel McClain ( formerly Samuel T. Hil­ dreth), then ran bet\veen Cove ,and Otter Pond, skirting the west edge of the meadow to the landing near old piers of the first North Haven bridge (built in 1834 ). Sag Harbor commenced to thrive in 1730, \vhen there were three houses at the landing; it had got into its stride by 1760 and \Vas growing fast; ships were built there at the shipyard of the Gildersleeves, father and son, \Vho came to Sag Harbor from Huntington. This shipyard ,vas ren1oved to Connecticut, in 1776. The first record of a cargo at Sag Harbor is in a n1anifest of 1749. \Vhaling vessels had made coast,vise voyages before the Revolu­ tion. Zachary's Landing, near the foot of what is now Glover street, had sent out small whaling vessels upon along-shore cruises. A try house had been built on the shore near where is now North Main street, at Sag Har­ bor. 'The v.1 aterway hetween Sag Harbor and North Haven cnt off the latter place where there were habitations in 1705. One Russell ,vas the tenant of Daniel Sayre. of SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 105

Southampton. He was threatened with banishment, probably for son1e orthodoxical transgression; but appar­ eritly he never removed. The Russell family flourished like a green bay tree, and they acquired much land, among the tracts Russell's N eek, now called Barcelona or Little North \Vest. The name is prominent in earlier years, both in Southampton and East Hampton towns. Came the Revolutionary war. This interrupted ship building at Sag Harbor. It drove the .Gildersleeves to Portland, Conn., as Refugees. It resulted in destruction of a $10,000 ship, building at Sag Harbor for John Foster, Sen.; it interrupted the expanding and profitable com- 111erce ,vith the \Vest Indies. Governor John Lovelace had written Capt. John Ho\vell, l\,f agistrate of Southampton, November 28, 1672: "I understand there is a vessel designed for your ports of a very considerable cargo." And Governor Fletcher is petitioned to "grant us a port," for the ·petitioners are "under great Unconveniency by Reason we are abridged the Liberty of a port." The men ,vho lived at and had a part in the building of Sag Harbor, existing before the Revolution, can be briefly enumerated: Anthony Sherman, Na than Post, Ohadiah Gildersleeve, Capt. Samuel L'Hommedieu, Joseph ';ibhs, George Fordham, Silas Norris, Capt. John Hulbert (store at the Harbor), Timothy Matthews, Josiah Cooper, 5arnuel Ho,vell, John Hudson. Uriah Miller, Jonathan Conkling, Daniel Fordham, Jonathan Hill, Benjamin Coleman, Timothy Hedges, \Villian1 Duvall ( the inn keeper), James Ho,vell (kept tavern where American House stands). James vVig-gins. Silvanus \Vicks, Huh­ bard Latham. Edward Conkling, David Sayre (at Sayre's Island in Lower Cove), Jeremiah Gardiner (lived on North Haven), \\Tilliam Butler. Epraim Ford­ han1. Benja1nin Price, \Villiam Hallock. Braddock Corey 106 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS and the families of Payne and Havens living at North Haven. In earliest years at Sag Harbor fire-wood was the principal article of export. Sag Harbor sent a delegate to the First Provincial Congress convening at New York, May 22, 1775. Their representative was John Foster, Sen. He lost his ship and house which were burned when the British occupied Sag Harbor. His house is believed to have stood near the site of the old refurnished house at Main street, owned by Mrs. John (Cooper) Boyd, of Brooklyn. Foster suffered great financial loss in the war. He was thrown in a debt­ or's prison, in New York, after declaration of peace. Fos­ ter is not buried at Sag -Harbor. Once the owner of a pros­ perous shipping business at Sag Harbor, he fell a victim to adverse fortune. His body rests in an unmarked grave at Old Burying Ground, Southampton.

THE PEACE AFTER THE REVOLUTION

After peace had been declared and the Revolutionary war's close, pertnitted the Sag Harbor Refugees to come back from Connecticut, many of them did so. The ship building family of Gildersleeve were not among those who again resumed business activities on Long Island. Mostly credit has been given to Col. Benjamin Hunt­ ting and Capt. Stephen Howell, of Southampton, for re­ establishing shipping and ship building enterprises at Sag Harbor. And rightly so, for sending the brig "Lpcy" on a whaling voyage to Brazil Banks, in 1785, th·ey were suc­ cessful. But the year before this, 1784, a ship sent out by Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, and his brother, essayed whaling without making a profitable cruise. In fact the Gardiners lost much invested capital. A share of the honor of found­ ing whaling industries, after the Revolution at Sag Har- SAG I-I.ARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 107 bor, should go to Capt. Daniel Rav.ens. Of him, Morton Pennypacker wrote, in 1927, "Until the war ended Havens was active in the defense of his country and then when it was most needed he ,vas one of the first to start a re­ vival of business, not only on the east end of Long Island, but also on the New England coast, for the whaling in­ dustry o,ved, in a n1easure, its revival in 1785 to his efforts. Sailing out of Sag Harbor as master of the brig "America" in 1784, he steered for the Brazil banks and returned on June 4, 1785, ,vith 300 barrels of whale oil. The "Lucy" about the same time returned to the same port with 360 barrels of ,vhale oil. Capt. Havens died in 1789, but the story of his life was recalled in 1864, when a committee appointed to terrace the old burying ground adjoining the Presbyterian church at Sag Harbor, in removing the front ro,v of graves, found his remains and tombstone, upon vvhich the inscription reads as follows; "Died May 25, 1789, Capt. Daniel Havens in the 40th year of his age." Capt. VVilliam Johnson Rysam established his ship­ yard at Sag Harbor soon after the termination of the war of independence, and about 1800 Cornelius Sleight, his son­ in-law. was associated with him, not only building ships but sending out merchant carriers in foreign trade and also vessels on whaling voyages. Elijah Prior was mas­ ter shipwright at the Rysam yard. and the "stocks" ,vere on the east shore near Conkling's Point where the Old Ship channel approaches close to the high water mark. Jonathan and Tyler Havens were among the earlier ,vhale ship owners. Sag Harbor had its federal custom house, in 1788. and Henry P. Dering received his appoint- 111ent as collector of customs fro1n Congress in 1790, sign­ ed hy President George Washington. The Sag Harhor post office was established Jantt­ ctrv 1. 1795: the Bridg-ehampton post office. April 1, 1795. and Southan1pton post office. April 1. 1804. 108 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Stake lights were placed at Cedar Island about 1812. The lighthouse was not built until 1839. The fog bell, was installed in 1870. East Hampton town sold Cedar Island to the Government in 1838, for $200. At that time there were two acres of land, at low tide and a conisderable grove of cedars, in which birds nested, upon the island. Dec. 3rd, 1782. It was voted that Nathan Fordham, Ebenezer White, Esq., and Deacon David Hedges may and shall have privilege of the pond called the Otter Pond near Sag Harbor to dig through and let the said pond to have communication with the salt water in order to make a fish pond, and also the privilege of the brook that may run from said pond, so that the fish shall not be hindered at any time from coming in, to be them, their heirs and assigns for ever. White and Hedges in 1793, transferred their grant to John Jermain. Jermain, whose real name was Jordon, and who was of the family of Westchester ,vho removed to Nova Scotia at the tin1e of the Revolution, came to Sag Harbor under an assumed name. (He ,vas the only one of the J ordons not to go to Nova Scotia.) John J er­ main obtained a grant from the town to establish n1ills on the strea1n and to drain Crooked Pond and Little Long Pond into Otter Pond, to increase the head of water. The fall was insufficient. Jermain then in 1797, was given ex-­ elusive rights to erect a dam, for a tide mill, at Great N ar­ rows, between Hogonock and Brushy Neck to grind grist. This dam was never built. A Sag Harbor paper gives an account of Jermain's funeral. Where he is buried is not known. Long Wharf constructed in 1770-71 was t,vice added to. The outer end is the State Pier, built in 1808. Previous and subsequent to the Revolution there were wind mills on the shore west of Long Wharf. One was said to have been built in 1797 for Capt. John Hil­ dreth, a sea captain (but I do not find a John Hildreth so SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 109

early in Sag Harbor. Peter Hildreth lived near "Peter's Green," and probably this memorandum refers to the wind- 1nill at what is now Upper 11: ain street, long since remov­ ed.) There was a windmill at Hogonock, and the tniller was Henry Ludlum. The windmill on the Berwind place at Bridgehampton, once stood at Sag Harbor. The Beebee ,vind mill, built at Sherrill's Hill, near what is no\v the ,vater standpipe, in 1820, is known to be this Berwind mill of today. From it the novel by Miss Mary B. Sleight, "The Flag On The Mill," was inspired. The old house on the Cook f arn1, at Bridgehampton "on the east side of Ocean Road almost facing Mecox Road," was moved frotn Sag Harbor to that location. The old Daniel Fordharn tavern (first at East Water street and Main street) ~as been moved to Glover street. It is altered beyond recog­ nition. The Umbrella House, at Division street may be pre-Revolutionary, but I am inclined to think it is of later construction and I have a record of its existence in 1790. The v\1hitten Foster house on Main street (Mrs. Annie Boyd) and the Thaddeus Coles house at Hampton street (Alice Havens), are pre-Revolutionary, and possibly the Tvler., Havens house, which once stood in Division street opposite Ed,v. M. Dering's summer home. It was moved, and greatly changed, to Ha1nilton street; also the Hanni­ bal Norris house, at Union street, which was moved down from vicinity of Sagaponack to Sag Harbor. To the pre-Revolutionary names associated with Sag Harbor persons, ,vho lived in or near the "port" are added: John Edwards, Daniel Harens, Peter Foster, Joseph, son of Joseph Conkling, 4, who has been named and was a large land o,vner. 110 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

OFF SHORE V·OYAGES FOR WHALES

An impetus was given to ship enterprises by the suc­ cessful off shore voyages in pursuit of whales made by the Lrigs "LJ1cy" and "America", in 1784-85. Thereafter the ''Lucy" made annual whaling voyages and was also engag­ ed in coastwise trips. She was wrecked on Cape Cod, on a 1 eturn trip from Machias, Mainey in 1i97, loaded with lum­ ber. 1"'he federal custom house at Sag Harbor was not offi­ cially established by Congress until the commencement of the decade 1790-1800. But previous to tl1is there ,va~ a collector, or deputy, at Sag Harbor. The old ~.:ooks show entries for register in the year 1788. John Gelston, '\ivho ,vas born at Bridgehampton, was named collector a~ Sag .i:Iarbor, and by appointment of President \\rashington,. Ilenry P. Dering assumed charge of the cust0m house in 1790, up to the time of his death, in 1822. Things moved quickly toward growth and prosperity. In 1791, Sag Harbor became a post office, and 1-Ienry P. Dering was also appointed post master. \\'here the c11s­ tom house and post office were then located is not kno,vn. In 1810, the federal government built an arsenal at Union street, facing Church street. Then the collector's office and post office were there installed upon the second floor of the arsenal building. It is known that before this tin1e Mr. Dering dstributed the posts at his home on the north­ east corner of Union and Church street. He built an addi­ tion, on the Church street side, ( for his office) still to be seen, but just ·what year erected no one now kno,vs. The highway known as Union street lies near the old boundary between the Great North Division and the Twelve-Acre Division. It began at the present corner of Union and Division streets and ran along the north side of the burying ground and so on· by the Jeffry Fordham house ( now razed) site at west side Jefferson street, and SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 111 entered Main Street on the north side of the house of John S. Fordham ( 1879). \Veg Clark lived on the lot now occupied by St. Andre,v's R. C. church. This street wai changed for conveniency at request of Braddock Corey, John Ed\vards, Jr., Stephen Satterly and Duy Daily, May 4, 1792. By desire of Nathan Fordham, Noah Mason, Henry Moore, Hubbard Lathan1,' Elisebeth Hicks and Jonathan \V elden the highway now known as Church street was laid out in li92. David Pierson and Jeremiah Post also signed the petition. The n1eeting house (built 1767) stood at the corner of Church and Sage streets. Church street ran from this corner to ,vhat is now Washington street. The corner novv occupied by the old Lister house, was where vV.iclo,y Elizabeth Hick's house then stood and I think still may stand, or part of its original frame. Henry P. Dering subsequently gave the land for the continua­ tion of Church street fron1 Sage street to Union Steet; it \vas a straight continuation then. The present jog \Vas n1ade at the ti1ne l\1asonic Hall moved to corner of Union and Church streets. To provide room on ,vhich to place the old hall (previously a church) the village trustees of Sag Harbor arbitrarily made the street narrower. The decade of ,vhich this chapter treats was an im­ portant one for Sag Harbor. Long Island's first news­ paper \Yas issued in 1791 by David Frothingham. The first Presbyterian church was organized in 1791 \\~ith four 111en1bers. Its 111.inister was the Rev. John Tyler. ,vho preached alternately at Shelter' Island and Sag Har­ bor. The vessels of the port cotnprised a list of nearly 100 in li90-1800. Only the larger vessels can he enumerated here (I have record of them all): The "Lucy." pioneer ,vhaling brig. registered at the custom hot~se Septe111her 8. li88. The attest is bv Tohn Gelston. The "I.,ucv" ,vas - ~ . 150 tons hurthen. huilt. at Chatham. Conn .. in 1783. Her 112 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS owners in 1788 appear to be Stephen Ho\vell, Benjamin Huntting, Silas Halsey and \\ri1Iian1 Duvall. David Squire is named as master. He was of the Squire family of East 1-Iampton and Wainscott. vVilliam Duvall kept an inn. at Sag Harbor. B. Huntting owned the whaling brig "Commerce," 170 tons, and one voyage was made in 1792 and one in 1793. Other vessels of the period were the "Hetty," 256 tons, built at Brushy Neck, in 1796, and named for Hunt­ ting's second wife; "Minerva," 215 tons, built at Orient, for S. Howell & Co., 1796; "Criterion," 229 tons, owned by B. Huntting; "Mary", 215 tons, built at Brushy N eek, 1798, and named for ·11:ary Huntting, only daughter of Ben­ jamin Huntting and who married Luther D. Cook. In 1799, Col. Benj. Huntting and David Gelston (then collector of port of N e,v York City) purchased the ship "Abigail", 202 tons, built at Newport, R. I., in 1793, add­ ing her to the whaling fleet. This vessel made 17 voyages, under various masters, and when 24 years old, in 1822, she ,vas condemned by Samuel and Benjamin Huntting and broken up at Sag Harbor. In this decade Thomas Beebee was sailing the rebuilt and enlarged brig "Nancy," believed to have made at least two whaling voyages, and Capt. Clark sailed the· "11er­ chant," on foreign voyages ( not a whaler, but built near Conkling's Point about 1800) of which Cornelius Sleight. son-in-law of the o,vner Capt. "\i\Tilliam J. Rysam, went as supercargo. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 113

FOUGHT WITH PAUL JONES

\\Tho knows the Ricker boys? .. The census of June, 1776, taken before the seizing of Sag Harbor by the Brit­ ish, gives no family by the name of Ricker. There is a Ricker, one of a fishing crew, on a codtrawler, out of Sag Harbor, among ship's books kept by John Hulburt, in 1776. Benoni Schellenger, of Amagansett family of Schell­ engers, sailed the fishing boat. Sag Harbor, in the year 1778, was held by the British, and most of its former per­ n1anent and maritime population had fled for safety to New England. These refugees were patriots. They went to Connecticut and there established temporary homes. The boatn1en of Sag Harbor, those who manned the \Vest India trading vessels, or sailed with the fishing fleet to Grand Banks, volunteered for service upon privateers or on the vessels of the new navy of the Continental Con­ gress. So, if one \Vill take the time to search the navy records, it n1ay be found, in Commodore John Paul Jones list, that James Ricker and Reuben Ricker of. Sag Harbor sailed "vith Co1nn1odore Jones in the famous war vessel, "Ranger." T\vo Sag Harbor boys, or at least, ,vho in en­ listing gaYe Sag I-Iarbor, as their home port, ,vere on board in April, 1778, vvhen the "Ranger," fought and defeated the British ship-of-\var "Drake," 20 guns. near Carricfer­ gns, and also ,vhen \"Vhitehaven ,vas attacked. There is a record that Ezekiel Payne fought a gun on hoard of Thon1as \\Tickhan1's privateer, a sloop of eight guns. Capt. \\i'"ickham \Vas an East Han1pton man, but his vessel ventures \.Vere at Sag Harbor, until he ,vas forced hy occupation of the British, in the fall of 1776, to go to Stonington. At one time Capt. \\Tickhan1 had charge of the stock on Gardiner's Island. Ezekiel Payne, was an aged 111an in 1840: he related how prior to the Revolution he n1ade t,vo ,vhaling voyages in a brig from Nantucket to the Island of Disco. in latitude 70 degrees north, in Davis 114, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Strait; he voyaged to Greenland for a cargo of ,vhale oil. There are no \Vickhams in Sag Harbor no,v. Ephraim Fordha1n, born at Sag Harbor, March 12, 1737, in one of the three homes near the water front, also learned the whaling trade, at Nantucket, in 1753, going to sea when 17. Payne, Ezekiel Fordham, and, in fact, all the Connecticut and Sag Harbor Fordhams, were patriots in the Revolution. They served in the Line, and aboard vessels, and one Fordham, ,vho is buried in Old Burial G-round, at Sag Harbor, Federick, ( a son of Daniel, ,vho was a son of Nathan Fordhan1, one of Sag Harbor's first settlers), who had been a prisoner on the Jersey Prison Ships, died from the effects of his incarceration, soon a.f ter ..t11s • rel ease. It \vill be found that Nantucket fan1ilies and Sag Har­ bor f a1nili es are related by marriage, and that Nantucket 1nen really taught Sag Harbor 1nen what they kne,v about 'off shore' vvhaling. The natives of East Han1pton and Southa111pton were proficient in "shore ,vhaling," a quite different enterprise. Shore ,vhaling dates back to 1644. and in 165-0-60 the settlers vvere so skilled in taking the ,vhale, off Long Island's south side, that "fishing'' ,vas as 111uch a 111eans of livelihood as agriculture, ,vood cutting and in later years stock raising. Thomas Lester in November, 1776, was killed by a ,vad at New London. The Lesters ,vere reallv of South- . J old tovvn; but they owned lands at Sag Harbor. The Thomas named as killed above was a son of Svlvester Les- J ter of Southold. A Thon1as Lester sold the land upon ,vhich the federal arsenal \ivas built at Sag Harbor, in 1810. This Lester, or his family, also ovvned, and his descendants still own, woodland on Sagg road opposite the \Vido\v Gavitt farm (now property of Ja111es McMahon) near Long Pond. Col. Thomas Gardiner lived at Pltu11 Island during a part of the period of the Revolutionary ,var. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS- . 115

The salt works ( obtained from salt water by evapora­ tion) ,vere per1nitted to continue manufacture of salt, all through the Revolutionary war, at North Haven, near Sag Harbor, and December 3, 1779, Hugh Gelston, then a refugee in Connecticut, was permitted to cross the Sound to Sag Harbor to get 300 bushels of salt at the salt factory ( east side of Hog N eek, near Daniel Edwards' ,vaterfront far1n). Nantucket people nan1ed Coleman lived at Sag Har­ bor before and during the Revolutionary war. Benjamin Coleman was a Quaker, and so it is probable that he took no part in the \\t·ar. His home was in vicinity of Turkey Hill. Nantucket then contained a considerable commun­ ity of Friends, or Quakers, who were ever distinguished for their hospitality, integrity and industry. .After the cessation of war, it was Ephraim Fordham, ,vho sailed the first small vessel out of Sag Harbor, for whales. He commanded the schooner "Eagle." The voyage was along the south side of Long Island and about Block Island. The blubber of whales taken was flensed, stowed in the vessel's hold, and brought to Sag Harbor and rendered at the tryhouse, built about 1767, west of the site of the present L.ong vVharf, near what is now North l\Iain street. 116 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SOUTHAMPTON DIVIDED INTO DISTRICTS

Congress passed an act July 14, 1798 imposing a tax on all houses. Jonathan Rogers of Bridgehan1pton, at that ti1ne was Surveyor of the District. Southampton was divided ( for facility of taking census) into east and ,vest districts. Sag Harbor is included in a return of the East District. Rogers made a list of all houses. He also in­ cluded the territory of East Hampton, so, as Sag Harbor, is situated both in East and Southampton towns, fron1 this list it is easy to obtain ai1 idea of values. Appraisals were supposed to be at full value. Daniel Fordham paid the highest tax in Sag Harbor, in 1800. His share of the tax levy was $6.75. Next ca1ne Silas Howell, paying $5.06. Louis Howell, in the next generation, when fortunes ,vere 1nade in whale oil and bottoms was to be Sag Harbor· s wealthiest man. In 1800, Sag Harbor had its slave holders -an1ong then1 Nathan Fordham, Hubbard Latha111 and Henry P. Dering, who paid a tax of 50 cents for each slave. Henry P. Dering is taxed for one slave. Soon after this, when the la,v vvas shaped to per1nit, slaves ,vere 1nanu- 1nitte

Houses taxed in 1800 are given below; also present day owners of lands on which they stood: The house of a Conkling at Washington and Church streets was assessed for $675. ( Here previously on lot next south was the land and abode of Widow Hicks, in Revoluntionary times). The premises are now owned by 'fhomas W. Lister. Nearby another Conkling (Joseph father of Capt. Ed­ ward), lived where Miss Anne F. Sleig:ht's premises are now. In this yard were two old apple trees which bore fruit until recent years when felled by a gale. These trees, it is known, were planted before 1760. 'fhomas Beebee's assessment was $517.50. He lived near where is the present Vail House. The premises were once occupied by Capt. Satterly. Ephraim Fordham was assessed for $191.25. His old house was later known as the Bassett house; it still stands in rebuilt form at Madison and Union streets and today is owned by Howard L. Reney. He paid a tax of 39 cents. Luther Hildreth was assessed for $450, and paid a tax of 90 cents. His house afterward gaYe way for Capt. John Budd's residence, and this was razed when Mrs. Rus­ sel Sage bought the premises. Its location was about where Fred ,v. Wilson has built his home. The four above named men ,vere sea captains. Conk­ ling sailed privateers during the Revolution; Beebee and Fordham sailed coastwise and also went on whaling voy­ ages; Hildreth sailed to \Vest Indies and owned in ves­ sels. Beebee and Silas Howell owned the brig "Nancy." Thaddeus Fordham paid a tax of 39 cents and his house was valued at $196.87. It stood at a site now occu­ pied by the house of the late Lawrence P. Pleasants. John Hulbert' s house was valued at $562.50; he paid $1.69 tax. Hedges gays Hulbert's house stood ,vhere Mrs. Russell Sage o,vned: once owned by John Osborne. Pelletreau says: "Fron1 a deed in possession of Eleazer Latham 118 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

( 1897) we learn 'Braddock Corey hath purchased a num­ ber of fifties (lots) in Lot 7, 12-acre Division, and John Hulbert hath purchased Lot. 5, adjoining and built a house upon it, August 17, 1879.' This house stood on the site of the residence of Mrs. Lobstein ( now Vail House.-Ed.) south side of Union street, and within a few rods of the corner of Main street." The residence of Dr. M. B. Lewis also stands upon a part of Lot. 5. Daniel Hall owned the house at the site of the present Douglas house, Main street, now owned by Grace Doug­ las Mason. Hall paid on an assessment of $450; 90 cents tax. The John Jermain house, at Main and Palmer terrace, still stands. It is now owned by a Slocum, nephew of Mrs. Russell Sage, granddaughter of Major and Mrs. John Jer­ main. Palmer terrace was not open in. 1800, nor was it opened until nearly a century later. Major Jermain was assessed for $849.75 and paid a tax of $2.53. Where Mrs. Fanny Garaghan lived, east side of Main street, in 1800 was the house of Peleg Latham. It was valued at $1,125. His tax bill amounted to $4.53. The house of Hugh Gelston stood about 1800-1810 somewheres near Division and Wash_ington streets. I have been unable to place it. This Gelston house front door was a surveyor's key-it would help greatly could anyone no,v say ,vhere the house stood. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 119

TRADE, SHIPPING AND COMMERCE

\\ihen it was written that the "magnitude of Sag Har­ bor ( at tin1e of the Revolution) must be measured more by its trade and shipping and commerce than by its num­ ber of houses," the historian knew of what he wrote. As a seaport Sag Harbor then was only second to New York, and a claim has been made "it had more ton!!age sailing ioreign, than the City of New York." Hon. Henry P. Hedges wrote a paper for the Sag Harbor Historical Society, in 1909. Most of the archiyes of this defunct society have disappeared, and their where­ abouts is unkno,vn. Only a few copies of the Hedges' brochure ,vere printed. They are rare. To preserve the 111any facts co1nplied by the venerable man, it is here, in part reproduced: "The 32 dwelling hottses reported to be in Sag Har­ bor, at the taking of the census of the Town of South­ ampton, July 4th, 1776, did not include East Hatnpton, ,vhere probably Joseph Conkling, (father of Edward), Dr. J ere1niah Hedges, a surgeon in the Revolutt.ionary ar1ny, and perhaps a Russell and others may have resided as \vell as Ti1nothy .Hedges, grandfather of the late Capt. Jeremiah Hedges. (In the census for 1776 of East Hamp­ ton To\\rn are given Edward Conkling, of Sag Harbor; his brother ,vas Ananias, refugee; another brother was Capt. Joseph 5, all ,vere sons of Joseph (One) .-Ed.) All North Haven and Little North \Vest and Brick Kilns, and most of Noyack ,vere precincts of the centre. The products of farms and forests, hides, tallow, beef, pork, hoops, staves, cattle. horses, shoes, grain, salt fish. etc.. from all Eastern Long- Island \,\rere shipped at Sag Harbor for the V\T est Indies and for trade in other markets. "Note-By the record of deeds in Suffolk county it appears that Jonathan Paine, Jr.. of Southan1pton, sold lands of Joseph Jacohs and also one-third of a sloop call- 120 SAG. HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS ed 'Charming Betsey' now lying at Sag Harbor, June 13th, 1764. By a deed dated April 6th, 1784, Thomas and Phil­ etus Howell sold to Stephen Howell land and meadow at Sag Harbor 75 acres bounded N. E. by Cook Seaman and Nathan Fordham; East by the highway; South and West by John Woodruff; North and West by the beach. (It is known the first Nathan Fordham's home lot and house was that afterwards of Capt. Jesse Halsey near the south side of the Otter Pond.-Ed.) "In the State Library is a list of officers reading thus: 'Eighth company. Capt. Samuel L'Hommedieu; 1st Lie~t. Silas Jessup; 2nd Lieut. Edward Conkling; Ensign Daniel Fordham.' All are Sag Harbor names and showing an organized company probably chiefly residing there, and in its vicinity and near the date of the Battle of Long Island." John Hulbert's account book mentions before Ii76 these men owning and outfitting vesse}s at Sag Harbor: Capt. Clay, master of "Mehitable," 1771, West India voy­ age; in "general settlem.ent of Sloop/' John Hulbert, share holder, Daniel Schellinger, Luther Schellinger. Bills for carting for Sloop "Mehitable," Lemuel Howell; and John Foster's and Samuel L~Hommedieu's bill, the latter for rigging. Voyage of Fishing Boat, 1772, and account of Luther Schellinger. Sloop "Me.hitable," 3d outfit on a West India voyage, hay from Ebenezer \:Vhite, oats from

Elias Cook1 and other articles of produce f ro1n Samuel Howell and Edward Topping; a horse fron1 Elias Sand­ ford; hay from Abrm. Howell; hogshead, from Daniel Hains: 20 sheep from sundry persons. Hains seems to have lived in the East Hampton part of Sag Harbor. Capt. Wiggins commanded the "Mehitable." in 1772. David Howell and Anthonw Sherman (named in censusl776) are noted in Hulbert's book as dealing at Sag Harbor in 1774; also I.,evi Ho,vell for "work on board." Other names in a fishing account are Daniel Scheilinger, ,\!illiam Schel- SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 121 linger, Zephaniah Topping, .Absolom Halsey, Benjamin Price, in 1772. The same year Hulbert records dealings in oufitting vessels, with David Gel'ston ."fish from ye store, pickled cod." Nathan Barns, 1773; Jonah Tarbet, 1773; Daniel Schellinger "Boards and planks he took up on the North Side" ; crew of fishing voyage, 1773 : Capt. Eldredge sloop "Adventurer," William Moating, Zephan­ iah Topping, William Schellinger, Abraham Schellinger, Daniel Topping, Elias Pershall, Bennoni Schellinger's master share. Outfitting of whale boat "Winscott," 1774: warp, 3 irons, a lance, 5 oars, lance warp. The notes taken from the .ship book will give an idea of the activities at Sag Harbor before 1776, when the war put a stop to ves­ sel enterprises. There are two big books kept by Hul­ bert, one a letter book. "In 1846, Henry Onderdonk, Jr., published a book entitled "Revolutionary Incidents of Long Island, Prison Ships." In the quotations from that storehouse I shall often omit the title, but for reference mark the page. "vVhile the British were in Boston their vessels occa­ sionally carried off stock from Suffolk County. The jour­ nals of the Provincial Congre1ss contain the fallowing: " 'July 5th, 75. The people of E. and S. Hampton pray Congress that Capt. Hulbert's company now raising for Schuyler's Ar1ny, n1ay remain to guard the stock on the comtnon lands of Montauk, (2,000 cattle and 3 or 4,000 sheep) fro111 the ravages of the enemy.' Jour. 75, Onder­ donk p. 19. "'July 31st, 75. Congress allow Griffin and Hulbert's companies to remain to guard stock, J our., p 75. Onder­ donk p 19. (The Hulbert mentioned is the same who so meticul­ ously kept the records of shipping at Sag Harbor before the Revolution.-Ed) 122 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

" April 3d, 76. In consideration of the defenseless state of east pal"t of Suffolk Co., the 3 companies raised for Continental service were continued there., " Onder­ donk p 26.

AN ANCIENT JOURNAL

Continuing a brochure of Hon. H. P. Hedges, read in 1909, before the Sag Harbor Historical Society with notes and additions: The distinguished and venerable historian, who for many years lived and had law offices in Sag Harbor, in The "Corrector" office building, west ·side of Main street, over the post office, and directly opposite the American Hotel, writes: "Some sixty years ago I had the correspondence and journal of Capt. Hulbert from Samuel L'Hommedieu and read and returned it to him. He lent it to his nephew Samuel L. Gardiner, and in New York City it was taken from Gardiner's hat and disappeared perhaps forever, ( Present day historians are still hopeful of discovering this journal, expectant of finding something to give informa­ tion concerning the old flag Hulbert'·s co1npany is believed to have carried to Ticonderoga, in the fall of 1775.) This flag, some opine, \Vas the first Star and Stripes, and the one from vvhich the i\1nerican flag ,vas patterned by Betsey Ross. (It would, ho\vever, seen1 unlikely that Hedges should 111iss reading about a flag, if me1norandu1n of it vvas recorded in the journal.-Ed.) Fro1n the journal and letter I learn that Hulbert's company on Montattk ,vas stationed at Shagwannack ;_ that they ,vere supplied \Vith arms. amn1unition and provisions by the people of the to,vn through Burnet Miller and Stephen Hedges their con1mittee. and that on the 7th September. 1775, the co1n­ panies having n1arched off lvlontauk. Hulbert and his men SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 123 were supplied with guns and ammunition; and they were afterwards stationed at Fort Constitution. (On Hudson River, opposite West Point.-Ed.) The incidents given below are citations chiefly from Onderdonk with comment: "Dec. 3d, Hugh Gelston allowed to go to L.ong Island for 300 bushels of salt," p. 7. Note.-Thi1s Hugh Gelston was of the Gelston family of Bridgehampton. In 1776 he removed as a Refugee, em­ barking at Sag Harbor for Connecticut and locating at East Haddam. He was a son of Deacon Maltby Gelston. The old Gelston house at Bridgehampton. was standing in 1913. Hugh Gelston and Henry P. Dering were the Com­ n1ittee who notified, on June 3, 1813, Brig. Gen. Rose that the British fleet was in Gardiner's Bay; that private prop­ erty was no longer safe, and that public property ( arms and an11nunition at Arsenal) should be protected or re­ n1oved. The British attacked Sag Harbor, July 11, 1813. Just where Hugh Gelston lived, I greatly desire to know. His front door was a surveyor's bench mark. Hugh Gel­ ston was a brother of David Gelston, collector of Port of New York, 1801-1820: Hugh Gelston was uncle to David Gelston~ 4. killed while hunting deer on Gardiner's Island, in company \vith the proprietor of the island; Henry P. Dering, Capt. David Hand and others from Sag Harbor. The hunters agreed to stand still at certain "runs" in the for est. Gel·ston moved, thereby receiving a death wound. John Gelston, native of Bridgehampton, and, brother of David 3, was, under ·federal government, the first collector of duties at Sag Harbor, appointed before the Act of 1790, making Sag Harbor and New York the only federal ports of entry in New York State. This Hugh Gelston, 1narried Puah, daughter of David Corwithe of Bridge­ hampton. He had no issue. He was born in 1754, died 1826. He settled in Sag Harbor in 1806. He served as a prh,.ate in Col. S1nith's Regin1ent.-Ed. 124 SAG ·HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Hedges notes : "I think Gelston was going tp get thi·s salt from the old salt works on Hog Neck, located on or near the old Mitchell farm, lately owned by Sanruel L. Gardiner, deceased, and probably operated by the Revolu­ tion time or before. The salt was produced by evapora­ tion of salt "rater. (-,\ grandparent living at the time of the Revolution placed the salt works on the Edwards' property, next north of the Mitchell f arm.-Ed.) Reference is made to loss of the brig "Middletown" in an attempt by patriots to "cut out" seven transports, lying at, or near, the Sag Harbor wharf. This incident may be found in Onderdonk ,and also in published J our­ nals, East Hampton Trustees, 1772-1807. "This Major Cochrane (in command of British troops at Sag Harbor) has transmitted his name as infamous. He was killed at Yorktown." Major Cochrane writes a letter describing the naval fight at Sag Harbor. Though Capt. Sage, of the "Middletown" (brig, lost to enemy by running aground), Capt. Havens, the ·sloop "Beaver," Capt. Joseph Conkling, the sloop "Eagle," were compelled to retire, they, on the day before the loss of the "Middle­ to\vn," destroyed the British sloop-of-war, "Ranger"; and on their way back to New London, took two brigs from Cork, via N. Y., with rum, wine and 12,000 bushels of oats for the troops on L. I. (This is corroborated by ship books in 111y possession. The vessels taken are named as the ··\Villia1n, ., and the ".A.111herst.'') "On Sunday these 3 ("Middletown," "Beaver," and "Eagle'') again sailed for Sag Harbor, (Feb'y, '79) where they discovered i British vessels just arrived. But the wind \Vas ahead; the "Middleto,vn" struck the l\1iddle­ ground ( a shoal), in beating up the harbor, one-fourth of a 1nile fron1 the shore,· ,vhere she ,vas bravely defended for 4 or 5 hours by her crew against an inces1sant fire from the brig ( English ar111ed vessel of 8 or 10 guns), and sev­ eral cannon on the shore: after being hulled by 30 shots SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 125 under water, and the vessel careening by the title's fall­ ing, the guns could not be worked. All but 4 left the ship and were taken on board the other 2 vessels." ·Major Cochrane, in hi·s official report says: "Having five whale boats on board all the crew except 3 got off; ,ve n1et with but one accident, a corporal being wounded."

UNDER WATER LAND

Concerning the story of acquiral of Sag Harbor ri­ parian or foreshore grants : The Sag Harbor Wharf Com­ pany, organized in 1842, and granted land beneath water and right to build a pier or dock 1,100 feet long west of Long \\7harf, and State Pier (angle of Long Wharf), fail­ ed to exercise their franchise which ran for four years only fron1 date October 3, 1842. The grant obtained through instrumentality of ·S~muel Huntting and Wil­ liam Cooper, therefore lapsed. A big fire in 1845 caused a change of plans, and restricted expenditure of capital. The above ,vharf site was secured for private enter­ prise in 1903. The Southampton trustees at a meeting March 28, ordered that permi•ssion be given and is hereby given to George Kiernan for himself, his associates, suc­ cessors and assigns, to dig and dredge the land under ,vater opposite the land of the Public Slip at the foot of l\1ain street, in the village of Sag Harbor and the north­ erly side of the North Haven Bridge in said village be­ tween the dock property of the Long Island Railroad Company on the east and the Club Dock on the west; also to erect a dock in said waters commencing at the north­ erly side of the roadway of the North Haven Bridge and to run in a northerly direction not to exceed five ( 500) hundred feet out into the waters between the described boundaries, the "said George Kiernan his successors and assigns to construct and maintain the said dock and to 126 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS have the privelege to collect wharfage for a term not to exceed ninety-nine years." This wharf has never been built. Going still further east the bulkhead west of the Bliss station was owned by the Fahys interests, H. F. Cook and others, until disposed of by sale when the railroad ex­ tended its tracks over North Main street. The public slip at North Main street was then closed to vehicular traffic. The waterfront betvveen present Long vViharf and Eight Rod Slip when first conveyed in April, 1761, to Nathan Fordham, Jr., and James Foster with privileges of "building a wharf and try house," is the site of the Old Wharf built just east of the old North Haven Bridge, where the channel made near the landing. By resolution of Southampton town trustees, and grant to Samuel Hunt­ ting and Benjamin Huntting ( quit-claim. deed, April 9, 1839), "the present proprietors and all others, their heirs and assigns, are forever released" from the reservation "for purposes of a Trie House, etc." The grant of wharf right at ,vhat is now \Vharf street was made by East Hampton town trustees February 12, 1770, to Southampton and East Han1pton men, and Wil­ liam Nicoll, their attorney. It conveys absolute right to maintain a ,vharf 35 feet ,vide beginning at Southampton east patent line~ ,vhere Southan1pton grant for said ,vharf ends, to run north,vesterlv 30 rods and to have 60 feet of -' ,vater on each side of the vvharf. .t\. grant for extension of 385 feet vvas n1ade in 1808 and still another extension in 1818, n1.aking the Long \.\rharf and \\rhat was called the State \;\Thar£ (part of the extension) about 1,100 feet long from fill in of land, and about 1,000 feet long as a wharf or pier structure or bridge over the ,vater. The sale by East Hampton of water lots ( no\v filled in) het,veen the Long \\'"harf grant and foot of a slip at SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 127

Division street, took place in 1881. These grants were of ,vat er lots specified as to area, and where once was tide­ ,va ter is now solid land. H. P. Hedges, H. T. Hedges and R. J. Power ob­ tained from East Hampton town trustees a quit-claim deed for a wharf, built in 1888, and known as Maidstone wharf. Their grant to land under water (now property of Sag Harbor village, the municipal pier) included: from highwater mark along the shore, land beneath water and a bound on the north along side the channel, and an east bound line over which in 1891-1893 there was dispute. This dispute was settled by giving the Maidstone corpor­ ation. land beneath water 100 feet on easterly side of its pier. There are records of conveyances of water lots by East Hampton trustees to individuals, located east of what is now the boundary line on east of the village of Sag Harbor, lands beneath water at the foot of Division street. 128 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

SUFFERED MUCH FROM FIRES

In earlier years Sag Harbor had a large fleet of ves­ sels. A part of the time these vessels were employed bringing lumber to Sag Harbor. While great .quantities of wood for fuel was shipped from Sag Harbor, lumber for houses and vessel building came from New England. It was a time before fire-protected structures were de­ signed and built; the modern fire-proof building had not been thought of. Sag Harbor's business section burned at three different times due to building of inflamn1able material and placing buildings closely together. In 1802, Sag Harbor had two lumber yards. They were those of Capt. Stephen Howell and Stephen Mitchell. Howell established the first lumber yard, several years before lvlitchell. The Mitchell grant is thus described: "May 4th, 1802. Voted that Stephen Mitchell have a lease for a lot at Sag Harbor for a lumber yard, on the west side of Capt. Stephen Howell's slaughter-house or lu111ber yard, 80 feet in front and extending so far north­ ,vardly as Capt. Ho\vell's yard above said for 25 years fron1 the date above, for which he is to pay the trustees the sum of $5 yearly." •Mitchell's lease per1nitted he or his heirs, at expira­ tion of 25 years, to buy the land and in1prove1nents at an appraisal to be 1nade by indifferent persons "if they "·ill give 1nore than ony other n1an or 1nen ,vill give!' It ,vas, in 1767, voted June 23rd "that Mr. \,\1111. Rogers and David \\r oodruff shall purchase a piece of land at Sag I-Iarbor near the 1neeting house, not to exceed ¾ of an acre. to be for a burying place, and that on the to\vn's cost." For the burying ground plot ( Old Burying Ground at 11adison street), David Hand "shall have a piece of land on the south side of his hon1e lot, bounded on the "~est by the land of Peter Hildreth. for and in consideration SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 129 of a certain piece of land staked off for a burial place" near Sag Harbor Meeting House, to be to the trustees of South­ ampton and their successors forever; this land then was ad joining the Hand land, and Union street ran to its north bound soon after as laid out. Sagg road then came down east of Long Pond to head of Ligonee swamp. The name of Coles appears in records. I introduce it here because the old Coles' house which stands at East Hampton road, opposie High street, may be pre-Revolu­ tionary. "Jan. 7th, 1774. Voted Ichabod Coles may and shall have the in1provement of land at Sag Harbor beach, etc." Ichabod Coles ,vas to have his house thereon, as long as he occupied it. It was quite a custom to move houses at that early day. The land of Coles was very valuable. ( on waterfront, next to John Hurlburt's shop.) There is poS'sibility that the Coles' house was moved to its pres­ ent site at Ha1npton street. All of the Sag Harbor water­ front lands, where deep water channels approach close to shore, \Vere required for business purposes. At any rate it is certain that the old Coles' house escaped the many fires of earlv., .,vears . Payne & Ripley, n1erchant·s, are first mentioned in records the month of Oct., 1795. Hedges, the historian, \\rites: "Thon1as P. Ripley, with his father, Capt. Joseph Ripley, then a young 111erchant, was in partnership under the firn1 name of Payne & Ripley, with his great-grand­ father, an old man, and wealthy merchant, and landholder on North Haven, who built the Point House in 1802, and after 1nany years of merchant life died in 1807." The Ripleys can1e from Darth1nouth, Mass., and Thomas P., ,vas associated ,vith Payne as early as 1791. The Southamp­ ton trustees sent a committee to Sag Harbor, in 1795, to talk with Payne & Ripley about their store standing on the to\vn land. and demanded pay for the use of the land. 130 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

The committee to ascertain the corner of Lot. No. 1, (now Main and Bay streets) in the Sag Harbor division reported: "Running the·line from the corner of lots No. 13 and 14, called Pierce's corner ( now Division and Union streets) we find the N. W. corner of Lot No. 1 (now Dan'l McLain) to be 12¼ feet in front of Payne & Ripley's store, 19¾ feet from the N. \V. corner of said store, which leaves of common land belonging to the town of South­ ampton, above where the proprietors of the wharf claim 41 feet." The survey bears date July 6, 1799. The town of Southampton seems to have had con­ siderable trouble with the owners of the wharf, built in 1771. Land enhanced in value about the wharf. A note of Ripley's journal says, after a fire in 1717, he was offer­ ed the next morning for part of his lot ( about where the Bay View House now stands) $145 per foot front on Main street. A committee of proprietors, with the Commi·ssioners were at Sag Harbor and examined the beach between the wharf grant ( 1771) and the lotted land. They ascertained the co1nn1on land or beach from the Main stt eet of Sag Harbor \vest,vard along the beach. They ser up a red stone 17 rods ,vesterly from Capt. John Fordham's dwell­ ing house, "which house stands at the corner between the l\iain street and the street now laid out which goes to the old \vharf" (v\r est \\Tater street). The red stone stood on the south side of the ne,v high,vay, at the angle of the sa111e. They extended the line as far westerly as the N. E. corner of Hubbard Lathan1's lot, 47 poles and 15 links, and reported "there appears to be common land still further ,vest,vard." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS t81

A BEACH ROAD

i\. moot question concerning any record of a public highway across Hog Neck Beach (Long Beach and Short Beach) appears to be illuminated by a record in Book 1641-1826. In the opinion of the writer, in earlier years Hog N eek was referred to in records as the whole of the N eeks now known as North Haven and Hogonock. Sometimes reference is made to Hog Neck and Little Hog Neck, and the latter is now called Hogonock because it so appears in the Dongan Patent for Southampton, December 6, 1686. It is plainly a corrupted form of Hog N eek, so spelled by mistake, or the carelessness in properly spelling names: of localities. The name, by some supposed to be an Indian name, is not at all. Hog N eek Beach is the long stretch of beach at.south side N oyac Bay; and it leads from "Foot of Beach;'~ .. at N oyac highway near McN ally's pavilion northeasterly to a "Wading Place" on North Haven. It originaUy was'.a very wide highway. "Foot of Beach" was ·sold for $25 to Orlando Hand, of Bridgehampton, in 1882. Until quite recently it ,vas supposed to be merely a beach landing of 100 feet, 1nore or less; but the present owner has had sur­ veys made and claims a beach, east of McNaHy' s·, of· about 600 feet ,vater front on Noyac Bay. There is a wading place at the ,vest end of this Hog N eek B-each. · It goes fro1n Long Beach northeast of Foot of ·Beach across Staff Pain's Creek to lands just v.1 est of the C-eve View Terrace deYelop1nent of Thomas F. Bisgood, at Noyac road. It was a short cut used to carry across fish (menhaden) by farmers who used the fish for fertilizers~ So much for locality. Below are records: Page 426.-"Jan. 14th, li94. Voted that the common n1eadows on Hog N eek Beach and the land upon which Capt. Stephen Howell's house now stands at Sag Harbor, 132 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS with the profits arising from said store lot, arising by virtue of the grant from the town to said Howell and Rogers, be granted to the parish of Sag Harbor as a parsonage for the support of the gospel only, to be under the same re­ strictions as other parsonages in Southampton are granted. "Al·so voted that the highway or common land lead­ ing from the wading place going over at Hog Neck Beach to the road leading to Sag Harbor (with the consent of the Commissioners had and obtained) be granted to the parish of Sag Harbor for a parsonage, for the support of the Gos­ pel only, under the same restrictions as the other parson­ ages in Southampton are granted. "Reserved to the To,vn a passing highway for the in­ habitants and their effects to pass and repass at all times ,vithout molestation." Page 565.-"Mar. 1st, 1808. Commissioners named to attend to Hog N eek Beach, and there to place the limits and boundaries of the beach & n1eadows which were grant­ ed to the Parish of Sag Harbor for a parsonage, also that all the seaweed as the said Commissioners shall establish shall belong to the said parish of Sag Harbor, provided however that the said parish of Sag Harbor pay the ex­ penses of said Commissioners vvhile attending to the busi­ ness." In several places in \T ol. III of Southampton Town Records references are 1nade to the Cedar bound-tree "at the going over to Hog N eek Beach." There are persons living ,vho recall the cedar trees at Foot of Beach. They have tied their teams to such cedar trees, and the locality is also described by W eecatuck spring and Hog N eek spring and by the Lot No. 39. Up to the year 1834 ,vhen was constructed a bridge by the Payne Bridge Co1npany from "the Point" across the "Narro,vs," to Sag Harbor, North Haven people had no way of getting off or going on to their hon1es at Hog N eek ( unless using a boat) than to drive, ride horse back SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 133 or walk over the Hog N eek Beach. They used this means of goittg off and on at the Beach reserved to them and "to the T~wn a passing highway for the inhabitants and their effect~ to pa·ss and repass at all times without molestation," as pr(h-'"ided by vote and reservation of the trustees Janu­ ary 141 1794.

INTERESTING MEMORANDUM

f' (Om records of town and proprietors, principally the latter, kept at times together with town records, at other years iv separate book records not preserved in the town clerk'~ office, these interesting facts about Sag Harbor in earlieJ:- years may be learned. So far as I know, they have never been presented in any historical papers: ''June 2d, 1754. Ordered that Capt. Pierson shall go do,vn to Sag Harbor and inspect into the land sold by the town to Samuel Russell to set his house on and he the said ~apt. Pierson to write a bill of sale in behalf of the town ind then make demand of the money for said land and r~~eive it for the use of the town." 1'he above land of Russell appears to have originally been !)art of "the very wide highway." The Russell house ,vas located at what would be Main street and West \Vat et street, ( the latter street now closed.) Iti the division of Hog N eek lands, in 1680, including as am~11dn1ents the n1eadows along the Sag Harbor water­ front west of the present Southampton town line at Long \\7harf) is a peculiar order to this effect: "That none shoul~ sell his land except to people approved by the min­ ister ~:tJd constable." At time of the Sagaponack division of lands, made in 1653, the line between East Hampton and Southampton ran stn:iight from a point to the east of the present bounds straig}1t to Sag Harbor and Hog Neck, but the East 134 SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

Hampton and Southa1npton people took up lands before any of these divisions were made, and then, when the con­ troversy over the line, lasting 20 or 30 years, was settled, Southampton took as much land from East Hampton as the East Hampton people had taken from them, making a jog in the line at Sagaponack and Wainscott vicinity. What is known as the Sag Harbor division is now the part of Sag Harbor between the East Hampton line and the Main street of the village; it was originally a very wide highway and when the land becan1e valuable the highway was 1nade narrower, and the lands which originally formed the east side of it, were divided up into lots. The north end is at the property formerly of John DeCastro. The east boundarv., was Division street, which is the boundary line between East Ha1npton and ·,Southampton. It in- cluded all the land between Division street (no,v so1ne­ what changed at north end) bounded south by what is no\v Union Street and ,vest by l\1a~n street. It ¥.,as a very small, but verv., valuable tract, and because of this \Vas divided in very sn1all lots. The division ,vas made in li45. This is kno\vn as the "Little Division." The vvharf order of _-\pril i. 1i61 reads: "Voted and ordered that Nathan Fordhatn, Jr., and J a1nes Foster ( ,vho probably had a house \Vhere bungalovv of Mrs. Annie Cooper Boyd stands to-day) 111ay and shall have the liberty and privilege of building a wharf and set­ ting up a try-house at Sag Harbor, at such place as is thought fit and convenient by those persons. i. e., l\,1essrs. Josiah Pierson. Thos. Sandford, \V 1n. Johns, Lieut. Cor­ nelius Halsey and Isaac Post. who are authorized and en1- powered to inspect the place, and to settle the bounds for said house and warf, the to,vn reserving the privilege of landing their ,vhale upon said ,var£ at all tin1es. and they shall receive it into their trv• house and trv• said vvhale on rea'Sonable ter1ns, and thev• the said Fordha1n and Foster to pay the n1en that go to vie,v the place." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 135

The above lease remained in effect until 1831 when town trustees abrogated the grant, and gave permission to Samuel Huntting and William Cooper to build a wharf at the spot, west of Long Wharf. The proposed wharf of 1831 was never built. And a wharf grant was made in 1841. ....\ great fire at Sag Harbor, in 1845, temporarily put a stop to the project, and it was never renewed. Sag Harbor had a meeting house, built in 1767, at what is now Church and Sage street ( the identical site of Fahys watch case factory acid house.) Here is the author­ ity for laying out Old Burial Ground. "May 5th, 1767. Met, voted and ordered by said trus­ tees that Mr. Wm. Rogers and David vVoodruff shall pur­ chase a piece of land at Sag Harbor near the meeting house, not. to exceed ¾ of an acre, to be for a burying place, and that on the town's cost." "June 23d, 1767. Ordered that David Hand shall have a piece of land on the south side of his home lot, bounded at ,vest on the land of Peter Hildreth, and is 5 poles 21¼ feet ,vide at the ,vest end and run·s eastward 32 poles in length, and con1es to a point, to be to him and his forever, for and in consideration of a certain piece of land at or near Sag Harbor lvieeting House, as it is layed off and staked out for a burying place, to be to the trustees of Southamp~ ton and their successors forever, for and in consideration of the above said land and adjoining to Hand's lot." "Oct. 8th, 1771. Voted that Abraham Rose, John Hurlbut and David Gelston shall have liberty to set up a house at or near the northwest corner of James Hildreth's home lot, to n1ake potash in, or to be to them as long as they shall carry on the business in it and no longer, and then the land shall revert to the town." I have John Hulburt's (he signs that way) books for 1771. He then lived in Bridgehampton, but was doing bus­ iness as a merchant and ship owner at Sag Harbor, send­ ing cargoes by Capt. Clay and Capt. Jennings to West 136 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Indies in the sloop "Mehitable." Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor are grouped in the Eastern District of Southamp­ ton. By tracing James Hildreth' s home lot the site of the potash factory is determined.

MORE CONCERNING JOHN HULBURT

Reference has been made to Capt. John Hulburt and his partner, David Gelston, having a potash factory in the Sag Harbor-Bridgehampton district, in 1771. June 21, 1786, it was ordered that Major Uriah Rogers and Capt. Stephen Howell shall have a piece of land on the west side of the road to the wharf ( first section of Long Wharf) at Sag Harbor to build a store on. Stephen Howell, with Col. Benjamin Huntting had sent out the brig "Lucy," the year previous, 1785, on a successful whal­ ing voyage to Brazil Banks. Howell and Rogers were to have the store site during the term of 15 years, they paying therefore 20s yearly to the trustees of Southampton. "Bounded North by the warf, East by the highway to the warf, being t\vo feet to the westward of a parallel line ,vith Daniel Fordhan1s and John Hurlburt and Co1npany's stores, South and \;Vest by con11non lands ; said land to contain 30 feet northvvar

LONG ISLANDER CREATED A CULT, PRENTICE MULFORD A PHILOSOPHER

_,\n old letter that has· been saved, sent from Califor­ nia to Long Island, in 1850, by a New York State Argo­ naut, bears a caption "Long Island in the Pacific." Cali­ fornia was not an island, but there were_ so many Long Island men there in gold digging times, the adventurers did not feel as if in a far-away land. No matter where one turned, and California is a big State, there familiar faces \vere found. l\f.ost of these men made the voyage out "round the Horn," in battered old whaling vessels. The vessels never ca111e back. 'They ,vere wrecked in the roads of San Francisco Bay. The men ,vho manned them­ those ,vho did not return home-were "stranded" upon foreign shores. The quest for gold led to strange adven­ tures in strange countries, a1nong queer people-in Aus­ tralia, South _A.111erica, 1:f exico, Hawaiian Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Japan and China. S01ne found fortune in trade rather than in grubbing for gold: s01ne found contentment and a lazy life of langour a1nong gentle South Sea Islanders. ()ne of the _-\rgonauts. a Sea1nan. of the Hamptons, be­ ca111e potentate of a coral isle and ,vith numerous wives, f onnded a copper-colored dynasty; a blue-blood of Shelter Island sought solace in a l\iexican hidalgo, forming mari­ tal union ,vith the purest blood of Castilian Spain and be­ ca111e a grandee: another. a Jennings, of S.helter Island, like Robinson Crusoe. vvas sovereign of all he surveyed, a patriarch beachcomber of a Polynesian group, who went ,vhaling first on Long Island ships, tried gold digging at the Pacific coast. and then figuratively drifted to Samoa ,vhe.e he becan1e a second Juan Fernandez, with this clif­ f erence: he founded a Happy Family larger and more \Yorthv of the na111e than Barnun1's. 140 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Of gold diggin' days of California, notes have been left by _.\lbert Jagger, of Southampton; Prentice ·Mulford, of Sag Harbor, and "Nat" Miller, of Miller's Place, Long Island, concerning the men they met in California, and whose grandsons are eligible for membership in the Argo­ nauts' Association. To mention only a few of the many hundred, there were from Sag Harbor, Bob Gardiner, Bruce Fordham, Howard Gardiner, Ike Levy, Sam Oakley, Luther Hildreth, Sam Trib Hildreth, William Howes, David \Villiams, Wallace Tinker, Andrew Edwards, Eras­ tus Glover, Sam Cook, Steve French, Jim Bassett, Will Huntting, Stephen Baker, Henry Green, Barney Green, David Hand, Edwin Bill, Henry Webb, James Parker, Tom Ripley, Tom Glover, Horatio Rogers, Job Hedges, Pyrhus Concer, and scores of others. And of the South­ ampton and California Mining and Trading Company, who went out in the ship "Sabina," there were men who each subscribed $500, Nathan H. Din1on, Charles Howell, Al­ bert Rogers, Isaac Sayre, Jr., \\Tilliam C. Haynes, John Von Votchen, Jan1es Parker, \\Tm. H. Post, Peter H. I-Iovvell, \V.1n. Post, David H. Hand, \\Tin. S. Denison, Edw. W. Halsey, Edw H. vVhite, John Woodward, Isaac Van Scoy, Henry Rhodes, G. H. Burnett, Sa1n'l B. Halsey, Schuyler B. Halsey, Lafayette Ludlow, Austin Jagger, J. K. Field, Louis Jagger, D. E. Glover, John D. Green, Charles N. Green, Thomas E. \\Tarren, J etur F. Reeves, \\ln1. \\Thite, Ed,v. B. Isham. Thon1as L. l\icElraith, A. H. Sand£ord, Jedediah Conklin, James Case, Louis Sandford, vVm. T. Horton, Albert Hildreth, Doyle Sweeney, \Vm. Halsey, A. J. Tabor, Wm. \t\T. Tinker, Saltor S. Horton, J. Lamphere Dodge, men of the Hamptons, Shelter Island and Southold to,vns. And this was only one ship load. T,venty or more vessels sailed from Eastern Long Island to California. "Nat" Miller, of Miller's Place, notes "a gun was fired fron1 the U. S. sloop-of-war, in San Francisco Bay, the SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 141

'Savannah', and in1mediately three men were run up to the yard arm. They had attempted to drown Midshipman William Gibson, U. S. N., who was in charge of the shore boat, in order to desert to rush to the mines." Prentic 11:ulford jotted down everything he saw; and there was much to see. Soon after he landed he saw the Vigilantes "string up" three men. Their bodies were left dangling to the ramparts of Fort Gunnybags. 11:iller notes the arrival October · 31, 1850, of the schooner "Sierra Nevada,'' from Sag Harbor. She was built in that port and Capt. Lawrence B. Edwards brought her to California. i\.nother entry in Miller's diary reads: "Sept. 16. 1851 : Vigilance Committee suspended opera­ tions after executing Whitaker and l\ticKenzie. The com- 1nittee rid the city of many bad characters." l\1r. 11iller can1e home to Long Island from Califor­ nia, in 1858. His brother's demise brought him back. He had fully intended to make California his residence. i-\lbert Jagger in a letter from San Francisco writes ho1ne 1'!1arch 20. 1850: "1'here is gold, but few make for­ tunes. \.\re ha Ye a large inventory still in the ship "Sa­ bina." There is about $5,000 cash on hand. The party at the ship is large, mostly from Southampton. In addition to our o,vn Cotnpany ,ve have Le,vis Howell, Stephen Jag­ ger, Albert I-Ialsey. Stephen Halsey, Howell Corwith, Wil­ lian1 Fordham & \Villian1 Foster. They are waiting for the ,veather to change so they can start for the mines. As a Company, death has broken into our ranks frequently. Fe,v haYe heen so unfortunate. The "Henry Lee," of Sag I-Iarbor, has lost 11 of 130. The "Jacob M. Ryerson" has lost one-sixth of her crew. I have been on board the '·Ha1nilton," of Sag Harbor, Capt. Shamgar Slate; and the "Sheffield." of Cold Spring Harbor, Capt. Thomas Royce. The "Cadmus" and "Ann Mary Ann" of Sag Harbor, are looked for soon. The Cadmus Company must sink money like ourselYes. The Companies are unfortunate concerns. 14-2 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

George Corwin is here. He came out as master of the "Huron." Capt. Green bought the "Sabina" for $1,150; it cost us $8,000. Capt. Babcock, of the "l\1arcus," of Sag Harbor is here January, 1851-. There is going to be a thinning out for the States, 'Gold or no Gold.' "Sept. 28, 1851 : There is a tremendous rush for home this fall, al­ most as great as the rush to get here in 1849 & 1850." ,vhat kind of man was Prentice Mulford, who chron­ icled the adventures of the Long Island Argonauts? He was one of the strangest of men. He might have been called a crank or a seer, a foolish man or one who was wise beyond the n1easure of most men's wisdom. He visioned the flying machine and radio. Of the former he wrote in 1870 very much of the principles applied by the Wright brothers years later. He held that thoughts were. "things." He prophesied mental telepathy, and prac­ ticed it. Few knew him at all well for he was shy almost beyond belief, yet he had the keenest and most vivid in!"' terest in the affairs of men. In mental ability he was a chief among his fellows. He possessed vast knowledge, but of the most heterogeneous character. He was full of the most strange out-of-the-:way information, mingled with 1nuch that was practical to a degree. His humor was de­ lightful; he saw the comic side of everything. yet with his humor was most closely allied pathos. His range of thought covered the wildest, and to many the 1nost absurd drean1s, but he was full of hard common sense, which flash­ ed out in his brief comment on the doings of a day with the shock of a douche of cold water. In literary work nothing is so difficult ·as the writing of epigrams, those short, pithy sentences which cover so n1uch in so f evv words; yet .to Mulford, they seen1ed to be the easiest of all forn1s of co1nposition. , ... In his love of nature Prentice Mulford reminded one of. Thoreau. He was exceedingly fond of the water, and he..lived on it for 111any years, cruising about alone in his SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 14.3 boat. In San Francisco, when he was working for the Golden Era, a weekly paper edited by Col. Lawrence, of Flushing, Long Island, his home was in an old whaleboat he had picked up somewhere and made over to suit his needs. For quite a long while he wore the strangest clothes one can imagine-a knitted suit all in one piece, like a bathing suit. This had, originally been blue in color, but the wind and the rain and the strong sunlight had turned it to a rusty brown. Mulford declared it to be the only garment a man should wear, and was fond of expatiating on its many excellent qualities. In his boat he had a place to sleep and an arrange­ ment for cooking. It was his habit to land once in a day or two for the purpose of buying bread, papers, eggs, milk and butter, and to mail and receive his letters. At other times he cruised, sleeping at night with his boat anchored in the most lonely parts of the bay. But writing on a pad resting on his knee, ,vith his arm over the tiller he would pour out any quantity of the wittiest, 1nost humorous, 111ost common sense matter that any one ever read. Some of his articles literally laughed ,vith the fun that bubbled through the1n; in others he struck deep notes of passion or of pain. Col. Lawrence, also a Long Islander, a queer original, \Yas full of stories about 1\1 ulford. The Golden Era was the first paper Mulford ,vTote for, and he remained faith­ ful to it so long as Col. Lawrence had it. Mulford was under salary, but as he was utterly careless about 1n.oney and never dre,v more than ten dollars at a time-which he preferred should be paid in silver quarters, as he thereby had plenty of small change-his 1noney accumulated to his credit in The Era office. ~1any ti1nes Col. Lawrence urged him to draw it out but l\1ulford always replied he had no need of it. The Colonel 1nentioned the savings bank, but l\1 ulford. ,Yho at that titne ,vas a rank socialist, declared 144 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS he considered banks immoral institutions, which he refused to patronize. l\1ulford was shy beyond the power of words to ex­ press. When for any cause he found it necessary to visit The Era office, then in Merchant street, he used to stand on the sidewalk until some one he knew came along who would go up with him. Remember, the man was a fav­ orite with everyone in the place, and was, at that time, one of the chief contributors to the paper. When alone with one person he knew well, or with two, or, perhaps, if he were in the mood, with three, he would talk at times most brilliantly, holding his audience spell-bound by the beauty of his thoughts and words, or keeping them in par­ oxysms of laughter by his fun. Let some one he did not not know join the circle, or let two more persons come up and Mulford became silent- at once, nor was it long be­ fore he would break away to enjoy his beloved solitude once more. While he was able to face audiences at his lectures in after days, he never got over hi·s shyness when brought into close cotnpanionship with men. l\1ulford was a man who cared absolutely nothing about money. During the period of his married life, when he had a wife to support, he made greater efforts to earn it than at any other time but ordinarily he was indifferent. His wants were fe,v and of the simplest, his food was the plainest he could get, and his friends cared far more about his dress than he ever did. i\t one time he believed that n1en should not eat 1neat, for he held the blood ,vas the life. His diet then was fish, vegetables, fruit and bread. He argued eloquently in favor of this regimen. No one ever disagreed ,vith ·11 ulford ,vhen he spoke in earnest. ho,vever n1uch one n1ight rebel afterward when the spell of the talk was no longer on him. Mulford had strange ideas about the blood, and sometimes must have looked upon it as a sacrament. This ,vas a part of his mysticism which no one, ever thoroughly understood. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS I4!i

Strange things became no longer strange to one who knew Prentice Mulford; he always did that which no one ,vould expect. He had the most absolute disbelief in his own mental powers; he never realized the intense admir­ ation felt for them bv other men. He had in his time ~ actually resigned a position on a paper because he was convinced he would be discharged; the fact being that no one in the office would have allowed him to go if it might be prevented. He hated flattery of all descriptions: "lionizing" drove him away at once. He liked people to admire his articles, but their admiration had to be ex­ pressed ¥.7 ith extreme caution or he thought they were laughing at him. You could, however, praise his work if you sandwiched in a due proportion of criticism. Yet for all this he was quick to def end his beliefs. 1\1 ulford lived the most lonely of lives, and he was an example of what contemplation n1ay bring to man. In many respects he ,vas like those Hindoos who devote years of self-study. His n1ind became, under his training, mystical to an ex­ tre111e, yet ,vas he able to evolve 1nany ideas of striking force. He believed thought to be a tangible power. He wrote: "If you keep any idea, good or ill, in your mind from 1nonth to 1nonth and year to year, you make it a more enduring, unseen reality, and as it so becon1es stronger and strong-er, it 1nust at last take shape and appear in the seen and physical." Again: "If you ,vant to keep a secret fron1 others, keep it as much as possible out of your own mind, save when it is absolutely necessary to recall it. For what you think you make or put out in the air, and as put out in the air, when you are much of the time thinking of it, it is all the more likely to fasten on some 1nind about you, in the for1n of a surmise, a passing thought, which at last, if you keep forcing it on the1n by thinking of it, ripens into a suspicion. .A.II great success depends on secrecy." 146 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

A great mind not fairly well understood and never rightly exploited for others passed away when Prentice Mulford died. On Memorial Day, 1891, Mulford died alone. His body was found in a little boat at Sheepshead Bay. He was cruising to his home on the East End when "he went West." His object was to write of the Long Island of a half century after the "gold rush" for he called Long Island a "golden isle" of promise. He had left New York intending to sail through the Great South Bay a~d Pe­ conic Bays to Sag Harbor. He had a camping outfit, provisions, a banjo, artist's and writers' materials, twenty­ five dollars in money. He had started for one of those boat trips he was so fond of, and so often undertook. His love of the open air and solitary outing was almost a mania. He was fond of the woods, and fields and streams. Back to Sag Harbor, where he was born in 1834, they took his .body, and buried it in the family vault, for he "vas the only son, and last of the male line of an old aristocratic family. He was a son of Ezekiel Mulford, and this Ezekiel descended from another Ezekiel who commanded as lieu­ tenant colonel, in 1775, in Col. Smith's regiment at the Battle of Long Island, and another Mulford ancestor further back, opposed the royal governor of New York Province, made a voyage to England, took his grievance to the King and Parlian1ent, and secured relief for Long Island fron1 an obnoxious tax upon whale oil. Ezekiel Mulford was a merchant and ship agent in whaling times. Afterwards he was proprietor of the Mansion House, in 1850. Prentice Mulford commenced his life in the hotel. 1\f terwards he spent a term at Normal School in Albany, but he ,vas always a reader, a thinker, and a searcher after knowledge. After a few months in commercial pursuits in New York, the city wearied him, and he shipped for California. For 30 years Mulford's body lay unmarked in a lonely part of his native village. But his writings have SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 1-1-7 resulted in a cult, for he wrote 36 volumes of spiritualistic and theosophist science. A short time ago admirers in California came to Long Island, removed the Mulford body, and erected in Oakland Cemetery, over his remains, a massive boulder, as a shrine bearing the word "Philoso­ pher."

A FISH REPORT

Old account books and journals kept by Sag Harbor 1nerchants and ship owners indicate that the port not only did a business taking whales and cod fish; it also caught great quantities of menhaden or bunkers, a small oleagin­ ous fish that in season frequented Peconic Bays in count­ less rafts of millions of fish. The fish were taken for food, and also alewives, another species of clupeidae. They con­ tained so many bones the natives did not choose to eat then1; the natives had abundance of better and more tooth­ some fish. Menhaden and alewives were caught in seines and bunt-nets. Pickled and barreled they found a market in cities and were a part of general cargo shipped on Sag Harbor sloops and schooners, I find 1nenhaden mentioned as pickled and barreled for a N e,v London fish broker in 1771. John Hulburt at Sag Harbor provides for catch and ship1nent, the 111erchant supplying barrels. Incident­ ally 1nention is n1ade here that John Hulburt owned in 1790, the brig ".i\111erica," that sailed in 1784-5 on a whal­ ing voyage and with the "Lucy,., a brig owned by Hunt­ ting an_d Hovvell, established off shore whale "fishing" at eastern Long Island's principal port. In 1790, John Hul­ bert writes fro1n "Bridgehampton, Jany 1st" to Gelston & Saltonstall. New York: "By Capt. \\T 111. Parker ,vish you io send 1ne a Main mast for brig "i-\merica.'· Unexpectedly yesterday after bracing the Brig- found her l\1ain mast badly sprung and 148 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS no stick to be had here therefore must Wait untill we can git one from New York. We are in hopes it won't detain us and same can go in with our business of loading cargo, Capt. Parker has engaged to wait." Menhaden were caught and used for fertilizer (spread upon the land at first by the Indians, without covering; later by the English ploughed under.) Hon. Ezra L'Hom­ medieu, of Southold, notes 250,000 taken at one draught of the seine in Southold bay, in 1795, and one seine caught near "one million" in 1794. April 12, 1800, complaint is made that burying fish on the common land or highway at Sag Harbor is a damage to the public and danger:ous to travelers. An ordinance was enacted forbidding such burial of fish on penalty of $10 for every offense, half the fine to go to any person who will sue and recover from the offender. "Pap" (Josiah \!\l.) Wentworth again figures in the records of October 19, 1802. He had been dispossessed of town land upon which he was a squatter. The town ap­ pointed a committee to examine the 1natter concerning money obtained by Sheriff Halsey by execution against Wentworth. ,v entworth was requested by the Clerk, March 13, 1810 "to remove a part of a wreck off of the ground by 1st May" where "Tyler Havens can set a shop near the old wharf at Sag Harbor." Obadiah S1nith is ordered to give a note of hand and interest for the Sag Harbor land he bought, and he is to have his deed "when he shall have paid up." The grant to Theodore Cooper to set his shop on a piece of ground for 24 years is reconsidered. Explanation follows: "having since understood that there are material objections which never came to hand when the grant was n1ade." John Tyler Havens to "have the ground near the old warf at Sag Harbor to set up and build a ship, at the rent SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 149 of $10 per annum and in that proportion for the time he may occupy it for that purpose." This grant issued March 5, 1811. There was much ship building. What ship Havens was interested in, I cannot positively state; but in 1812 the ship "Argonaut" had been launched, built for Silas Howell; and Capt. Phineas Corey, formerly of the whaling brig " ....\bigail,'' was to go as master on a whaling voyage. The enterprise was def erred due to the war of 1812. Owners of the "_Argonaut" took her up the Con­ necticut River, for safety. Later Sag Harbor was block­ aded by Commodore Hardy and his British fleet anchor­ ed in Gardiner's Bay, 1813-14. The "Argonaut" got off for a ,vhaling voyage under Capt. Eliphalet Halsey, in 1815; the same ship was first from Long Island, to go around Cape Horn, into the Pacific for whales, in 1817. The sloop "Cornelia," built at Sag Harbor, for Luther Hildreth, sole ow·ner, registered in 1811. The sloop was sailed by Capt. Sa1nuel R. Briggs, in 1812. Capt. V/illian1 Pierson in the name of the trustees is to order Josiah \\T. "\:\/ entworth to remove the old hulk of a vessel off the co1nn1on land or highway at Sag Harbor and "prosecute him if he refused to do so," April 16, 1811. In December (ith) 1813, a confirmatory grant was given the proprietors of the Otter Pond "they represented to the trustees that for ,vant of a corporate seal being affixed to the original grant, doubts still exist in the minds of s01ne that the said grant is valid. To remove all such difficulties and doubts we observe that no such seal was in use at the tin1e the said grant ,vas made, that this writ­ ten instrun1ent was legally executed by our predecessors and \\Te the trustees, whose names are here inserted, for ourselves and successors, by these presents fully ratify and confirn1 the said original grant ,vith all its privileges to the said proprietors to all intents and purposes. Decem­ ber 1813." 150 SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

The above is of interest, for now Southampton trus­ tees are in litigation concerning ownership of ponds.

RESUMPTION OF WHALING

The year \Vas 1784. Months since British troops eva­ cuated Sag Harbor and the Hampton settlements. Deeds of the cruel Major Cochrane were still related to the Re­ fugees, who ,vere bringing their f amities back from Con­ necticut. Long Island, pillaged and suffering, from seven years' occupation of the British, once more breathed free­ ly. Tories who persecuted patriots during the Revolu­ tion had fled, or were fleeing to Hal if ax. Sag Harbor, at the south,vest side of the bay, with a deep water channel approaching its head, was slowly re­ covering 1naritime and commercial activities. Sag Harbor starting to grow in 1730, when there were at the Land­ ing but three houses, those of John Foster, ( west side Main street), James Howell (site of American Hotel), D'aniel Fordham ( corner NI ain and N oyac streets), had t,vo score families in 1776 when occupied by the British. It was not a con1pact settlement, at the time. John Foster's ship and Gildersleeve's shipyard had been burned by the British. The Long \Vharf ( then not long at all), 495 ft., in length, built by East Ha1npton and Southatnpton men, in 1770-71, stood unharn1ed. But Sag !-!arbor's ships and shipping had felt the full force of ene1ny occupation. Such vessels as had not been seized to carry produce and for­ age to British troops in N evv York, had been burned or scuttled. The small seaworthy sloops, o,vned by Hamp­ ton and Harbor men, and used for plum-puddin' ,vhaling along the coast of I"'ong Island and N e,v England, all vvere unavailable to resu1ne the ,vhale fishery. The models and vessel n1oulds necessary for vessel building had been taken to Connecticut. EYen the sn1ithy's forge had to he rene,v- SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 151 ed. People were trying to piece together the weave and woof and warp, threads of an interrupted and entangled life. The "Winscott", a small sloop, was outfitting for coast whaling. John Hulbert, one of her owners, was back from East Haddam. He had sent to New York for a whale boat. This vessel, in 1774, was making coast whal­ ing voyages. Blubber of whales caught, was stowed in the sloop's hold, and brought to the tryhouse and small pier, just west of Long Wharf, and there was rendered. Further west ( at foot of present Glover street) Zachery Sandford had his landing wharf at "Zachery's Point"; on Little Hog N eek might be seen the revolving sails of Tony Ludlun1's grist mill standi'ng on land' !he bought from Henry Ludlum, a miller in 1704; at east side of Upper Cove, stood another grist mill, the "spindle-legged wind •mill" on Peter Hildreth's Green. To re-establish the West India trade of 1760-1770, and to again invest such small capital as remained available in whaling enterprises, or the cod fisheries, the returning Re­ fugees bent their efforts. These were augmented by the men of the Port, who during the war had remained in the Harbor, acting as vessel masters and small farmers, eeking out a precarious existence. Anchored in the deep water in the lee of Conkling's Point, in the midsummer of 1784, lay the brig "Hope". The year before the "Hope" was fitted out· for a whaling voyage by Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, brother-in-law of Henry P. Dering, the voyage had failed, and Gardiner and his associates lost much monev.., Dr. Gardiner was a Gar- diner of Gardiner's Island. He had served as a surgeon during the war, and at the death of his father, Col. Abra­ ham Gardiner, had inherited estates and the "Brown House," in East Hampton. For a short time after the Revolutionary war Gardiner, engaging in his shipping ven­ tures, had been domiciled at Sag Harbor. 152 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Outfitting for an "off shore" whaling voyage was in the harbor the brig "America." Just who owned the ves­ sel is not known, but such men as John Foster, John Hul­ bert, Samuel L'Hommedieu and associates had held ves­ sel stock before the war. The "Mehetible" brig sailed foreign, with other vessels, to West Indies. It is probable some of these men outfitted the "America." Daniel Ford­ ham is said to have been a prime mover, and Daniel Havens was master of the brig. Benjamin Huntting and Capt. Stephen Howell, of Southampton, had bought the brig "Lucy" from Elijah Hubbard of Middletown, Conn. This vessel lay outfitting for the whale venutre. Both the "Lucy" and the "America" sailed in 1784. They were the first L.ong Island whale ships to venture "foreign" to the coasts of Brazil and Africa. Capt. George Mackay, of Southampton, commanded the "Lucy." \Vith between 300 and 350 barrels of oil each of these vessels returned to Sag Harbor, the summer of 1785. Oil brought $29 a barrel. Thus founded an industry that for 85 years sup­ ported Sag Harbor, that at its peak ( 1847) employed 1,800 men, and used 64 ships. An enterprise that enriched own­ ers and outfitters $25,000,000, and established shipyards in Sag Harbor. SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS 153

EAST HAMPTON TOWN SOLD UNDIVIDED LAND

All beneath water lands in the town of East Hamp­ ton at Sag Harbor water front had been sold and conveyed by quit claim or warranty deed to private individuals or corporations before the year 1888. The land beneath water from Conkling's Point o~ the east shore and west to Municipal or Maidstone wharf has been conveyed by East Hampton town trustees. The deed bears date February 1, 1891, and the sale was by court edict to carry out terms of a contract, to R. J. Pow.er and B. D. Sleight. Foreshore quit claim deeds to lands within the basin at Sag Harbor from highwater mark to distance 400 feet from shore, or to channel water, are now held by the Standard Oil Company of New York, the Sag Harbor Yacht Club, heirs of R. J. ~ow~r, H. D. Sleight and Michael J. Morouney.. There are public slips running to the water at Rector street and at Burke street extension. Rector street is a very narrow road, ill defined. Burke street extension is 50 feet wide. Rysam street does not run to the bay, its north termination being at intersection of Bay street. Years ago ( about 125) East Hampton town made a grant to Capt. William J. Rysam for a dock site and water lot near what is now Rysam street. There he built a pier and a house at the northern end of his rope walk. This beneath water grant has never been abrogated. East of Conkling's Point and all along the shore front of Sag Harbor trending easterly to property formerly of Capt. Fred Youngs, the East Hampton trustees leased the foreshore to the late Frank C. ·Havens. The lease was about to lapse a short time since; it presumably has been or will be renewed by Wilson Marshall, who bought some of the Havens property and whose pier and yacht basin, 154 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS are there located. There is no record of any sale of land be­ neath water from Conkling' s Point further easterly along water bounds of Sag Harbor village. About 1881, Edward Driscoll did obtain a deed for lands beneath water at south shore of Shelter Island Sound. This deed was set aside by court order as irregularly obtained, and it was voided. There is no riparian right to the Village Park given by ·Mrs. Lila Havens of Oakland, California; no riparian rights, as far as record shows, to the "Hard-a-lee" prop­ erty, the land of heirs Charles Shaw, or the land recently sold by the estate v\r. R. Sleight. East Hampton's share of assessed oyster lands under water takes in practically all of the south side of the lower Bays, all the way to Little Gull Island and a line dra,vn southerly to Goff Point. The line at west is nearly from a point at Pond Creek, North Haven to Little Gull Island, eastern entrance of Long Island Sound. Ligonee Brook, a natural ,vater bound of Sag Harbor village, at southvvest, is no longer a water course, having been closed some years ago by pern1ission of the State Legisiature. The ditch of the water courses, sometimes filled with water after copious rains, still is the established bound of the incorporated village at that place. When Hedges and associates obtained foreshore be­ tween Long '\h-rharf and old Mill Dock, in 1888, they bulk­ headed bet,veen Long ,v-harf and Maidstone pier, built in 1888. Before that tin1e, there was open shore betvveen the docks at thjs place, and a water road laid out to run 300 feet, or outwardly as far as the end of the first Long \Vharf grant of 1770. This road ,vas closed, by what right or order, it has never been plain to understand, and records of village proceedings for that year are mislaid~ or have been conveniently lost or destroyed or mutilated. The Sag Harbor Wharf Company, organized in 1842, and was granted land beneath water and the right to build a pier or dock 1,100 feet long west of long wharf, and SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS 155

State Pier (angle of Long Wharf), failed to exercise their franchise which ran for four years only from date October 3, 1842. The grant obtained through instrumentality of San1uel Huntting and \\.Tllliam Cooper therefore lapsed. _,\ big fire in 1845 caused a change of plans, and restricted expenditure of capital. The above wharf site was secured for private enter­ prise in 1903. The Southampton trustees at a meeting l\1arch 28, ordered that permission be given and is hereby given George Kiernan for himself, his associates, success­ ors and assigns, to dig and dredge the land under water opposite the land of the Public Slip at the foot of Main street, in the village of Sag Harbor and the northerly side of the North Haven Bridge in said village, between the dock property of the Long Island Railroad Company on the east and the Club Dock on the west; also to erect a dock in said ,vaters commencing at the northerly side of the road,\,.ay of the North Haven Bridge and to run in a northerly direction not to exceed five ( 500) hundred feet out into the waters between the described boundaries, the "said George Kiernan his successors and assigns to con­ struct and maintain the said dock and to have the privilege to collect \vharfage for a term not to exceed ninety-nine vears--•• . .I This wharf has never been built. Going still further east the Bulkhead west of the Bliss station was owned by the Fahys interests, H. F. Cook and others, until disposed of by sale when the railroad extend­ ed its tracks over North Main street. The public slip at North Main street was then closed to vehicular traffic. The waterfront between, present Long Wharf and Eight Rod Slip when first conveyed in April, 1761, to Na than Fordhatn, Jr., and James Foster with privileges of "building a wharf and try house," is the site of the Old \Vharf built just east of the old North Haven Bridge, ,vhere the channel made near the landing. By resolution 156 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS of Southampton to,vn trustees, and grant to Samuel Hunt­ ting and Benjamin Huntting ( quit-claim deed, April 9, 1839), "the present proprietors and all others, their heirs and assigns, aee for ever released" from the reservation "for purposes of a Trie House, etc." The grant of the wharf right at what is now Wharf street was made by East Hampton town trustees Febru­ ary 12, 1770, to Southampton and East Hampton men, and William Nicoll, their attorney. It conveys absolute right to maintain a wharf 35 feet wide beginning at South­ ampton east patent line, where Southampton grant for said wharfs ends, to run northwesterly 30 i;-ods and to have 60 feet of water on each side of the wharf. A grant for extension of 385 feet was made in 1808 and still another extension in 1818, :making._1 the Long \Vharf and what was called the State Wharf (part of the extension) about 1,100 feet long from fill in of land, and about 1,000 feet long as a vvharf or pier structure or bridge over the water. The sale by East Hampton of water lots ( now filled in) bet,veen the Long vVharf grant and foot of slip at Division street, has been -ref erred to. These grants were ct water lots specified as to area, and where once was tide­ water is no,v solid land. I-I. P. Hedges, H. T. Hedges and R. J. Power obtain­ ed fron1 East Hampton town trustees a quit claim for land for a ,vharf built in 1888, and kno\vn as lVIaidstone wharf. 'fheir grant to land under water (now the property of Sag Harbor village, the municipal pier) included: from high­ ,vater mark along the shore, land beneath water and a bound on nol·th alongside channel, and an east bound line over ,vhich in 1891-1893 there ,vas dispute. This dispute ,vas settled by giving the Maidstone corporation land be­ neath water 100 feet on easterly side of its pier. There are records of conveyances of water lots by East Hampton trustees to individuals, located east of what is no,v the houndarv line. SAG HARilOR IN EARLIER DAYS 157

THE LETTER-BOOK OF JOHN HULBERT

~A. journal and letter book of John Hurlbert, 1770- 1805, tells much of early happenings. He was magistrate and notary public. He was cordwainer and storekeeper, coniderable of a person in his time. Below are recorded some notations 1nade therein: Schooner "Little John" of Baltimore, Joseph Myrick, 1naster, 1799, January bound from Baltimore to Georgia. shipped a heavy sea, and the vessel broached to, upset so far as _to fill her with water, off Cape Henry. Both masts and bow-sprit went overboard; after the masts were gone the schooner righted and the crew got forward on the deck. Three of the crew perished the 10th of January, ~99 at which ti111e so111e were taken off the wreck by the brig "11:ary", of Sag Harbor, Thomas Beebee, master. 1'he crew of the brig "Mary" saved the survivors and son1e part of the cargo and arrived at Sag Harbor, J anu­ ary 16th, 1799. Note.-The brig "Mary" vvas built at Sag Harbor in 1798 for Benja1nin Huntting, of Southampton, and was named for Mary Huntting, only daughter of Benjamin Huntting, after,vards Mrs. Luther D. Cook, and grand- 1nother of \Villiam M. Cook, merchant of Sag Harbor. The brig "Mary" made a whaling voyage in 1798-99.-Ed. It was the custom of the tin1es for mariners after an unusually stormy voyage, or when disaster or wreck occurred, to go before a notary and make a formal protest against "the violence of the storm and winds and large seas.~, There are many such "protests" in the magistrate's record. The sloop "Betsey Ann," in March, 1799, lost many cattle, on a voyage from Long Island to Martineco. John Bowditch was master; his sea1nen were John B. Corey and Joseph Edwards. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

The brig "Ocean" bound from Bremen to Philadel­ phia, was lost on the back side of Long Island, in January, 1800. Bernard Markham, 1naster, was drowned; John -A.. F assmers, passengers and crew saved. Schooner "Three Friends," of Massachusetts, David Darling, master, drove ashore on the back side of Long Island, in September, 1800, and went to pieces, and with difficulty the people got ashore. Here is the story of the fishing boat "Debsey," show­ ing the trials and tribulation of mariners in 1797: "\Valter Franklin, pilot of the schooner "Debsey," of Sag Harbor, Nathaniel Miner, master. also Joshua Ball, second or salter, Frederick Franklin, Anthony Sherman, Isaac York, Sam Mott, Edward Ball, Montgomery Rose and \Villiam Money, fishermen, depose and say: Sailed from Sag Harbor third day of Aug't 1798 in the schooner "Debsey," on a fishing voyage. Being on Nantucket Shoels, Capt. Nathaniel Miner went on board the schoon­ er "Union", commanded by Isaac Sheffield. Returned on )board his o,vn vessel being 1nuch under the influence of spirituous liquor and gave up the command of the schoon- er to Joshua Ball and told us to take the schooner and go to hell with her and that he ,vould be damned if he ever stepped his foot on board her again. \Ve got her under way and at three P. M., the 19th arrived at Sag Harbor. \tVherefore ,ve protest in the 111ost solemn and public 1nanner against the conduct and behavior of the said Captain Nathaniel Miner, whereby we ,vere unable to persue our voyage." Schooner "Polley,~, of North I(ingston, Rhode Island, a \vreck on the south shore of Long Island, Dece1nber, 1800, and lost one man. three saved. Sloop "Traveler" lost at \Vest Hampton, Dece1nber, 1800; one man dro,vned; saved William Russell, master; Peter Furlong, mate: Joseph Schreader, sean1an. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 159

Schooner "Sally,"' from Philadelphia to Boston, lost on the south shore of Long Island, March, 1801. Brigantine "_-\nn," lost on back side of Long Island in June, 1801. Sloop owned by _Abraham Merrifield of Sag Harbor, abandoned on fishing trip by _Aaron Fithian of East Hamp­ ton in January, 1802, who with Josiah Rogers, fisherman, got safely ashore. Benjamin Crowell, master, Zadock Crowell and Jere­ miah Case are sailing the Sag Harbor o,v~ed schooner, "Little Edward" in 1803. Brig "Jane," Havana to Boston, cast on--R.am Island, and N apeague Pines, Long Island, January 1, 1804.

EARLY STREET NAMES

Some of the earliest ways of passing have distinctive names and others, at first just roads, nof have more char­ acteristic and euphonius names. The road f'rom East Hampton, within village limits, fallowed the shore line of the bay and was first called the 'Shore Road.' In 1833, when surveyed, it was called "the highway which runs over the beach"; and resurveyed in 1841, by the com­ missioners, it ,vas ordered and determined that the high­ way be altered and laid out as "East Water Street" ( so called) ; still later by village edict the street took -the name of "Bav., street," as now called. The East Hampton road from Union street north was designated as Division street running to East Water street in 1841; and the line of Division street, or the divid­ ing line was, by survey of 1839, extended south to the ocean. At one time the northern part of Division street had the name "the Exchange high,vay" of 1807, and was also called North Division street. JGO SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Sage street leading from the 11eeting House to East Han1pton street, or what is no,v Division street, is men­ tioned in Southampton Records of 1802. The house and lot known as the Abram Gardiner house, ,vas located at northwest corner of Sage and Division streets. The street is named for Dr. Ebenezer Sage, congressman for the first district during and after the war of 1812. He built and occupied the house at north side the street, still stand­ ing on land now included in grounds of the factory yard of Fahys Co., inc. He located at Sag Harbor in 1801. It is a gabled roof structure. Under date of April 21, 1798, the commissioners hav­ ing been called upon to take a view of and lay out a high­ \vay on the com1non landing along the beach at Sag Har­ bor, being appointed by the trustees to ascertain the boundaries of said con1mon land or beach, did so and: "Proceeded and laid out a highvvay three rods wide fro111 the northeast corner of the house of Capt. John N. Ford­ ham. This high,vay is described by metes and bounds running along an old ditch, etc. (\Vest \Vater street) ; and it is ,vell to e1nphasize that this high,vay then runs "\\T. 24 deg. S. 20 rods to another stone set in the beach, and from this stone we laid out a highway 3 rods wide to the ,vater a due northwest course including in this high­ way the old wharf, southwest from said road is co1111non land ( and apparently ren1ained until sold in 1882 by pro­ prietor trustees) or beach ,vhich may be in1proved as a passing road.'. A note explains that "the above is the southerly line or boundary of said highway exchanged by Na than For

throug-hL his land in the rear of his lot.. ,vhich road was laid SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS HH out in 1794. Fordham moved his fence and barn back and took some of the highway paying therefor $15. The high­ ,vay mentioned is a part of Church street "laid out from the Meeting House to the road by the house of Widow Elizabeth Hicks through the land of Nathan Fordham, Noah Mason, Henry Moore, Hubbard Latham, Elizabeth Hicks and Jonathan Weldon, in 1794, which they gave for a highway, the west side and the south end of the high­ way being 16¼ feet west from the northwest corner of the l\ieeting House, running a straight course to the north­ east corner of the Widow Hick's to the road; two rods wide. The continuation of Church street south had not been laid out, but ,vas, later in the same year, Henry P. Dering giving the land for a three rod road ( since made narrower, arbitrarily by village trustees accommodating the Fahys Co., when it purchased and moved the Meeting House to Union and Church streets where it was destroy­ ed by fire in 1924, and then kno,vn as the rebuilt Athen­ eum entertaintnent hall and lodge rooms of W amponamon F. & .A.. 1\1.) ...t-\.t the san1e time this extension of Church street was dedicated in 1794, a two rod road was laid out frotn the east end of the l\rleeting House running two rods bv., the said house to the northward, then a road two rods wide on the north side of said Meeting House, running two rods by the westward of said house, and then a road t,vo rods ,vide on the ,vest end of said house. The said road was through the land of Stephen Crowell for which he was tendered in exchange six feet on the front of his house on the road from Sag Harbor to Sagg (now Madi­ son street) and through land of Capt. Ephraim Fordham, for which by agreement he was allowed sixteen shillings for damage,. and through the 14th and 15th lots, which \Vere given. The census of 1810 shows that Sag Harbor had 80 d\ivellings. 162 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

_i\t one time a stone ,vall marked the north line of lots for111erly of dw. C. Rogers and later known as the "Dr. Wheeler" or no,v "Lipp111an" lot, formerly owned by Capt. Na than F'or

MORE ABOUT STREETS

The streets and localities at west side of upper 11ain street derive their names from early settlers. Glover street was dedicated as a public highway by Benjamin Glover. He built and lived in the house, at Glover and Main streets, one door southwest from the dwelling of William R. Reimann, long years thereafter occupied by Capt. David P. Vail. \Vhen he opened th-e street he sold off many house lots in the vicinity known as ''Peter's Green." The street running from Glover street to the Cove now bears the nan1e Green street. The local­ ity is named for Peter Hildreth. The "Green" is named for hin1. He 111arried Zachary Sand£ord' s daughter, and Zachery's Point, reputed to be the first landing place, at the foot of Glover street, takes its nan1e from Sandford. Charles T. Dering subsequently had a cooperage and Canal in the vicinity, in vvhaling years. 1"'radition accredits the opening of Meado,v street to a Fordha1n; and Col. Rose laid out Rose street. Spring street led to a spring on the 1neadow at what in first years of settlement was called Georgica Pond ( now filled in) and not to be confounded with the 111uch larger Georgica lake, in East Hampton tovvn. Bridge, Garden, Ho,vard, John, Henry, L.atha111, Burke, \Villian1, Rogers, Hempstead, and 1nany other 1nore 1nodern cross or lateral streets all ,vere na1ned for an individual, or for a locality. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 163

Rysam street was early opened by Capt. \Villia111 J. Rysam, one time a large land owner. Burke street from Division street to Rysam street, is named for Michael Burke, a cooper, who Ii ved in the house now back of the \Vilson bottling works, and who did so much to establish the first Roman Catholic church in Sag Harbor, in the 30' s. High street is so called because of the high hill it passes over; and, it was 1nuch wider, before Edward Dris­ coll bought Sleight's woods, from Mrs. Fanny Stillwell, in the 80's and con1menced a realty development, he never completed, due to his untimely death from tetanus. Suf­ folk street was laid out many years before 1825, and H. P. Hedges, who was born in 1817, and practised law in Sag Harbor says of Suffolk street: "It was settled in my day. The streets south of Joseph Crowell's corner, and east of l\1adison and west of Division, and west of Hamp­ ton streets and south of the intersection of Hampton and Division streets, were also settled in my day." South street, East Parker street, a part of Atlantic avenue and l\1ontauk avenue, have been changed to Jer- 1nain avenue, in 1nemory of John Jermain, the grandparent of the late Mrs. Russell Sage. The sign board attached to the old U1nbrella house, at Division street, marked "1646," is a deception and a sell and should be removed. Sag. Harbor by tradition did not begin to grow as a settlement until 1730; its lands were not allotted until 1680, and then only the meadows. It is first mentioned as a locality named "Sag Harbor" in Trustees Records, 1707, and some thirty years later the name appears on Town Records. The name of Palmer terrace is modern, and forty years ago went by the name of "Huntting's Lots" on "Huntting's Hill." F. H. Palmer opened the terrace about 1895. The old school stood at the corner of Madison and Jefferson streets. 164, SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

Oakland avenue leads to,vard Oakland Cemetery, the latter opened in 1840. Wharf street dates back to 1770. It was once lined on both sides with buildings consumed by fires of 1845 and 1877. The Sagg road, now called Madison street, did not follow its present route. It branched off about where now is the Elisha King house and ran west to the old landings. The Sleights gave the extension of *Burke street from Rysam to Bay street. It passes over what was Mott's Pond. By diverting the flow of gutter water down Rysam street to the bay, it was made possible to fill in the pond. George Kiernan took the job on contract, and much of the "fill" was dragged down from what is now ~alled Der­ ing Heigh ts. Rector street is mentioned as "early laid out" before 1841. It is an ill defined highvvay, and whence it derives its na1ne no one now seems to know. Possibly it may have been the Bush street of this locality. It runs to the bay and is one of the only three remaining public slips in Sag Harbor. It is a to,vn slip; while the extension of Burke street, dividing lands of the S. 0. C. of N. Y., is a village slip. Quite recently the village has had surveyed and monu­ mented a number of the streets; obviously the next move is to mark the streets with na1ne boards or plates. with letters of sufficient size to be easily read frotn a passing vehicle.

*Exchanged with the village for land further westward.-H. D. S .• 1930. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS Hi5

EARLY ORIGIN OF HARBOR STREETS

Associated with street localities, which from a histor­ ical viewpoint should be kept in memory, by repetition, are certain places having an interest connected with the past. Each street of Sag Harbor might tell its own story. .. Main street, once a sandy trail through hollow and swamp has been very n1uch changed. It is now quite diff­ erent. At night it is a lighted boulevard, lined at each side with parked automobiles. Day and night it is n1assed with a new activity, of silent moving motor vehicles. One time l,ong lines of "rigs" and horses tied to the old-time indis­ pensible hitching post, were to be seen. \Vharf street, now almost deserted, unless at steam­ j)oat time, once seemed too narrow and congested to ac­ comodate the vans and "trucks" of Nantucket-type pecul­ iarly suited to the handling of whale oil in barrels. And the Long VVharf, itself, a long drive over the water, fully 1,000 ft., in length, built in three sections, from 1770 to 1820, to meet demands of expanding commerce and a profitable enterprise which has made Sag Harbor known as a port in every part of the maritime world. The swift gliding automobile now travels the main street succeeding the antiquated "turn-outs" kept in wait for the gullable home-coming sailors by the doughty and acquisitive livery­ man. Suffolk street, ,vending its way to the quiet shades of Oakland Cemetery and Latham street led to the burial grounds, and the first named street had at its high ground the Beebee windmill, fron1 which was flown an American flag upon sight of a homeward bound ship, in Gardiner's Bay. The old grist mill, south of the site of the "Sherry mansion" stood at the locality then called Sherill's Hill. It was built in 1820, by the Miller, Beebee. In 1837, sold to A. T. Rose and Richard Gilson, it commenced a peri­ patetic jaunt, to "Mill Hill," in Bridgehampton, four miles 166 SAG HAR•BOR IN EARLIER DAYS nearer the ocean. Eventually, after much moving about, it came to rest on the Berwind estate, at Bridgehampton. Suffolk street was also sometimes called "the Academy street" because thereon was built the Academy, erected through the exertions of the Rev. J. A. Copp, in 1845; and burned by incendiary youth in the 60's. Suffolk street and Jefferson street, in earlier years, were localities for the par­ sonages, occupied by the Presbyterian divines. The house of Samuel L. Gardiner, on Jefferson street, was purchased by a company for the use of Rev. Mr. Copp, and he occu­ pied it until the present house, on Suffolk street, now the house of A. T. Brown, was built for his use, and was later occupied by the Rev. Mr. Hopper. lvladison and Sage streets were dignified by the Manse, the first minister's home, built for the Rev. Daniel Hall, in 1797; afterward occupied by Hiram Topping and S. G. Tho1npson. High street had its M. E. church edifice of 1834, and in 1832, the house novv the home of Mrs. Char­ lotte Stuart, had been built by a "co1npany" for the Rev. Samuel I(ing, through the efforts of the Ladies' Parson­ age Association. They acquired the l\:f anse property at Main and Union streets at a later date. The names of Sherrill and Huntting and Hulbert and L'Hom1nedieu have disappeared from Sag Harbor's as­ sessment rolls. They were men of prominence and sub­ stance in their time, contributing much to Sag Harbor's vvelf are. No streets or localities are nan1ed to perpetuate their n1emories. Y'et ,vith the Gelstons, the Howells, the Masons and the Pierces, they stood for n1uch in their tin1e. "Pierce's Corner" is a boundary departure. It is the corner no,v southeast of St. Andre,v's parish property: after first years of settle1nent it ,vas called Capt. Aaron Clark's corner: and Herman D. Sayre's home ,vas at the angle of North Division street. Capt. Joseph Conkling. patriot and privateers man. lived at what is no,v the cor­ ner of Division and Burke streets, sontheast. He did much SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS Hi7 to assist the surveyors in laying out the proper street bounds at the East Hampton side of the town. As he was one of Sag Harbor's first settlers, the co1n1nissioners did not hesitate to take his word regarding laid out ways and by-ways. \Vhen Hampton street was laid out ,vith its shorten­ ed name to succeed a part of East Hampton road, in 1841, to Eden Latham's corner, David Smith's home and his division line between properties of Ahira Hand and David Smith, the stone wall of Mrs. Mulford's dooryard and the yard wall of Francis D. Overton and the dooryard of Charles T. Dering, are all mentioned by the layers out. Few live today to say just where these persons lived; and a Corey and P. Parker King also resided on Hampton street. The residence now occupied in rebuilt form by Wil­ liam S. Wilson once was occupied by "Aunt" Carpenter. The Capt. Rysam rope walk, the shipyards, boat shops, piers, oil cellars, etc., at what is now Bay street, can be placed with reasonable accuracy. In establishing street bounds it would help materially, if anyone still lives who can positively say where David Gelston dwelt in Sag Harbor. His dooryard is a surveyor's point in laying out "Exchange Highway," of 1807. The key stone of most street surveys ( stone cover of the fire well formerly oppo­ site the Nassau House, on Main street) unfortunately, has been re111oved. This is regrettable, for most street corners could~ on old surveys, be located from this depart­ ure point. 168 SAG HARBOR IK EARLIER DAYS

A MAP OF THE PERIOD OF 1850

A map of the period 1850, sho,ving Sag Harbor in whaling years, is treasured by W. F. Youngs of the Amer­ ican Hotel. It was found in the Hotel garret. (The hotel building was erected after the big fire at Sag Harbor, in 1845.) On this map there are no dwelling houses on Marsden, Grand, Harrison, or Forest streets; there are no residences southeast of Elizabeth street along Atlantic Avenue, with the exception of one, at the corner of Atlantic avenue and Clinton street, that of A. Bennett; the only house south­ east of Vaughn's corner (then occupied by C. H. Vaughn's ho1ne ), is that of G. Eldredge. To the south of Parker street is marked Cottage City, where 200 lots are for sale. Sag Harbor seems to be gain­ ing through a realty bootn. The new Suffolk Steam Mills have been built at \Vashington, Division and Church streets. The boom is described by Prentice Mulford: "We saw Sag Harbor, the future Sag Harbor, full of cot­ ton factories; factories up to the Bridge and do\vn to the wharf; and on Sleight's hill, and Sagg road; and long rows of factory boarding houses stretching along the beach. Everything would have gone smoothly enough had not the shareholders complained that the dividends took a form of assessment, and money vvent out of instead of into their pockets." The cotton 111ill \Vas destroyed by fire in 1879. An old orchard stood ,vhere cottages fill the block east of Vaughn's store; Latha1n's Hill, where stands Pierson High School. '""as a place for coasting. C. I-L Halsey and C. Loper \Vere the only houses within village Ii1nits south of Capt. J. R. Halsey's corner on west side of 1\1:ain street and S. T. Hildreth, on the east side, this side of Ligonee brook. E. 1vL Cooper kept a store at that Bridge, east side of Main street. ·p_ Parker I{ing o,vned the house, at SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 169

Main and Jefferson streets, Capt. David Congdon lived where the Library now stands; on the corner of Main and Union lived W. H. Nelson, lumber merchant. On Hampton street where is now the Convent, lived Dr. King, and all the land between King and Elizabeth streets is marked as owned by C. Sleight. The Hunttings and Gar­ diners for the most part had their residences on Main street. Gilbert Howell lived where are now the Misses French; B. Huntting where is now Masonic Temple; J. M. Stewart at northwest corner of Main and Howard streets; S. L, Gardiner at Jefferson street at the site of of the present home of B. D'. Corwin; Mrs. Gardiner, N. Howell and S. L'Hommedieu and Miss L'Hommedieu and the engine house and residence of B. Glover were on the corner of Glover and ·Main streets. Bay View avenue was not then open. On the east side of Main street going south was a house of P. P. King at Jefferson street corner; next the Fordhams, and south of them given houses own­ ed by J. M. Stewart, S. Phillips, Luther D. Cook (Palmer terrace not then open), Gen. H. H. Huntting, Mrs. Hunt­ ting, \\ridow Huntting, S. H. Slate, Thomas Brown, Mrs. Glover (Oakland avenue not then ':Vholly open and lands thereabout owned by Youngs and D. D. Youngs, with L. Reeves on the corner of the street and avenue) ; south and living between here and Otter Pond and the store of Cooper, i~·· 'order named going southerl_y \Vere: N. Ed­ ,vards, l\irs. \Vebb, Holton, G. Payne, J. C. King and the Eldredges. C. L. Rose and another Eldredge dwelling. A house n1arked as Crocker is · placed at Main and John street corner sou th west, and Williamson and a God­ frey; two houses between John street andl Otter P1ond. drain. A store is marked at \vest side of Main and north of the drain opposite the Cooper store and there are dwell­ ings of Kings, Ho\vells, Piersons, Tabor and Nickerson thickly grouped. At the corner of Main and Glover streets lived Capt. G. S. Tooker, a ,vhaling master, who after re- 170 S.AG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS tiring from the sea, was keeper of Cedar Island lighthouse station between Gardiner's Bay and Shelter Island Sound. R. vVilletts lived at Main and Spring street corner south­ west, and he built vessels near site of old North Haven bridge. The Nassau Hotel, a frame building, is placed north of the present Bay View Hotel. The Nassau Hotel burn­ ed in 1877; then the brick stores and storehouse next south were converted to a hotel. Although some of the old folks of Sag Harbor have placed the shop of Cullun1 & Merrill south of the present Bay View, the map shows nothing but open lots, and Merrill lived at Main street and Tin­ ker's alley, the present site of a ne,v fire house. The Tin­ ker stores became the American Hotel, in 1877-8. A build­ ing at the corner of Main and Bay streets next to DeCastro land and then marked "Alley" is marked as owned by A. ·M. Gardiner. This is the locality now of D. McClain's corner. The l\tiansion House was doing business as a hotel kept by Ezekiel Mulford, a brief period, and by Samuel Fordham. The hotel built after the big fire of 1845 by a stock company never paid as an investment. It was con­ verted to the Union School in the 70's, and when the new Pierson High School was dedicated, the building, for a consideration of $1 was conveyed by the school district to the village, and is now used as a Municipal hall. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 171

"LAMB'S CORNER"

Sag Harbor has its "Lamb's Corner." It is in the locality of the Noyac Road station of the railroad. Few know why the corner is so called. The old slaughter house of Sam Tribe Hildreth, and his father, Samuel T, before him used to be nearby. But the corner does not derive its name from four footed lambs there led to the abattoir. In days of the prosperous whaling voyages the locality was known as the "Red Ljght District," and the fre,quenters of the resorts there maintained, while not lamb-like, were like lambs of ten fleeced; but this has noth­ ing to do with the name of Lamb. Joseph Lamb was a carpenter. He built a house southwest of Otter Pond.. Hence the name: "Lamb's Corner." The lig-hts of the '"Lone Star," further up the road welcomed the sailor, ashore for a lark, and the "Pleasant Valley" to be found on some old maps of the fifties is not far remote from the shore "cruising grounds" of Jack-the-sailor. There were parlous parties "above the bridge" in times when roister­ ing sailor n1en stopped to fortify the iinner man at the "Coffee House," with a cellar designed to hold 500 bbls., of liquors, and when the prints tell us Sag Harbor was a place were "they danced, sung ribald songs and raised the devil," they did not exaggerate. Many a broken head as ,vell as a "big head" straggled down Main street, after a particular riotious night; and. at least one murder, said to be the first committed in Sag Harbor, where the murderer paid a penalty, was committed in the vicinity. This was the first instance of a fatal affray. It occurred about 1840. .A. person named Rogers was killed by an old man named James Osborn alias "Jim Shak' em." They lived together in a "hotel" ( ?) near the Lamb's Corner, at village limits. "Shak' em" died in States Prison, before execution. Spring street has also associated with its memories of 1880, a murder or rather a case of manslaughter, tho' 172 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS from the testimony given in 'squire J enning·'s cour.t~ it \\<·ould seem there was premeditation. Jennings acted as coroner. John Higgens, a young man, deck hand of the steamboat "Sunshine," ( then plying from Sag Harbor to Hartford) in July, 1880, in cotnpany with Herbert \Vil­ bur, a fireman of the steamboat, had an altercation with Miles Morris, a laborer, who was somewhat in liquor and -belligerent. Wilbur went to the steamboat, procured a pistol, returned to Morris' pren1ises, and shot and killed the irate Irishman. S. L. Gardiner was counsel for Hig­ gins and Wilbur. The young 111en got off \Vith terms in States Prison. North Main street is seldom spoken of now. It led from Main street north to a public to,vn slip known as "Rotten Row," just west of Bliss Park. Vessels have been built there; and "Matt" Gregory there broke up and stripped, to recover junk, the hulls of condemned vessels, in years before 1877, when "North Battery" burned. North Main street is the short stretch of highway now leading from down town l\1ain street to the causeway of North Haven bridge. In earliest years, there stood the first "Try House." The year when it was built, with a landing near by, ,vas 1761. Nathan Fiordham, Jr., and James Howell obtained from the town of Southampton a privilege of "building a wharf and setting up a try-house at Sag Harbor, etc." The records tell of the town trustees appointing a con1mittee May 5, 1742 to choose a place for a wharf at Sag Harbor, "but not any charge to the town." There is nothing to show by record that a wharf was then built; but, the earliest wharf tradition places one at Zach­ ery's Point, near where the house of George Higgins now stands, on the shore of Lower Cove. Suffolk street before it was dignified with a name as a high,vay was knovvn in 1820 at "the path to the Mill'" -Beebee's wind1nill, built on Sherrill's Hill. in 1820. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 173

A certified map of Sag Harbor, drawn to scale, made about 1850, shows: Forest Street, the street south of Harrison; and Grand south of Marsden. The first three named, run from ~1adi­ son street to Eastville A venue, the latter having an acute angle near the northwest slope of Chatfield' s Hill. Mars­ den street, a deep declivinty between hills runs only from Madison to Division streets. Elizabeth Street had been laid out and from it running southeasterly is ..Atlantic Avenue intersecting with Forest street. \:Vest \V ater Street is shown as running along the shore from Main street and intersecting Glovt:r street. Garden street, over which there has been dispute be­ tween the railroad and the village about crossing railroad tracks, runs only to the edge of Wentworth Meadow. (The tracks of the L. I. R. R., were not laid until 1870.) L.iberty street is laid out from Hampton and Hemp­ stead streets. There is a road shown across Short and Long Beaches from North Haven to the road leading to Noyac. A History of New York State published in 1844, sho,vs a picture of the Sag Harbor water front; and a \vood cut of the old wooden Nassau House, built in 1848 is to be seen upon another 111ap. 17.1, SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS

WAR PAPERS TAKEN FROM LAWYERS HAT

Collectors of Americana and historians who are try­ ing to locate journals of Captain John Hulbert for years 17i5-1776, in hope of gaining information explaining the Hulbert union and six-pointed 111ilitia company flag, flo,vn at Ticonderoga, have drawn a blank. Hulbert did keep a journal in these years. It ,vas extant in 1850. Informa­ tion from the Gardiner family, at \\·hose home the flag \Vas found, is to effect: Samuel L'Hommedieu of Sag Harbor had the correspondence and journal of Capt. Hulbert. He loaned the papers to his nephew, Lawyer Sa1nuel L. Gard­ iner of Sag tHarbor, and, in New York city, they were taken from lvir. Gardiner's hat and disappeared, perhaps forever. Before the time of brief cases, the high hat worn in the 50's was the depository of valuable papers, \vhen traveling. William D. Halsey, "vho found and ovvns the old flag, has been overwhelmed with inquiries concerning the "find," since it has been n1ade kno\vn. His mail is so heavy he has ceased to atten1pt ans,vering by letter the interro­ gatories of nationwide historians, and has 111ailecl pictures of the flag and descriptive articles published in Brooklyn papers and to all correspondents. The flag incident has ·led to delving among Revolu­ tionary 1nen1oranda and much of the part Sag Harbor took in the struggle for independence, never before generally known, is coining to light. • Before the war, next, to New York City, Sag Harbor was, in the colony, the sea port of greatest importance. Produce of eastern Long Island ,vas shipped to West Indies and markets nearer home. The war changed all this. The village was one of the first seized by her foes. The shipping ,vas ruined and trade gone. The inhabitants~ for most part, went by order of Committee, to Connecticut as refugees. Victories at Saratoga and Yorkto,vn relieved SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 175 the situation elsewhere, but Sag Harbor was the last to look upon the retreating ships of the enemy, says Hedges. The vvharf built in 1770 \Vas used by the fleeing emigrants in September, 1776, in a way not dreamed of when it was built. \\'hen raiders from the British fleet were first sighted one Sunday and just before they reached the village, the church bells \\·ere rung for evening service. All of the village maidens were told to join the choir, whether or not they could sing. The ·enemy \vas attracted to the church by the melody, and the 111usical service was unusually long. In the meantime, the parents were busy burying the family silver and the enemy lost the object of their raid. November 30, lviajor John Davis and Capt. John Grin­ nell ,vere ashore at Sag Harbor, from a New London sloop, reconnoitering with several men. They were betrayed and taken prisoners by a Hessian 1najor with 20 light horse. They had two arn1ed boats with them which the enemy were about to set on fire, but Capt. Thomas Wickham in an 8-gun sloop fro111 Stonington, can1e about the same ti111e to the patriots· rescue and brought them off. The Thomas vVickha1n above is frequently mentioned in the John Hulbert journal of 1777-1780, went to Middle­ town and East Hadda111, Conn. I-Ie was a part owner in privateers outfitted by I-I ulbert. In the summer of 1776 Hulbert, offered a Lieut.Colonel's commission by General \\:r ashington. did not accept it: instead he re1noved his fan1- ily and household effects from Bridgehampton to Connect­ icut, n1aking the passage across the Sound with Capt. James Harris, from Sag Harbor. Thomas Wickham, com­ n1ander of an arn1ed sloop, took a British boat laden with provisions, January 30, 1783. The journal of Hulbert written in Connecicut, corro­ borates the state1nent that early in the war the first priva­ teers ,vere under the authority of the Provincial Congress; for this ,vas substituted the committee of safetv_, of which 176 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Hulbert ,vas a member; but after the for1nation of the state in 1777, the power to name commanders of the priva­ teers passed to the council of appointment. Hulbert's journal shows him naming commanders of privateers. Some of the Long Island commanders of the armed vessels of the revolution are shown to be: April 2, 1778, Titus Conkling of the "Refugee;" Daniel Griffing, "Re­ venge;" John Ingraham, "Retaliation;" March 6, 1779, Joshua Rogers, "Greyhound;" April 28, 1871, Nathaniel Norton, "Suffolk;" Robert Harris was lieutenant. aboard the sloop "Reprisal." Joseph Conkling, of Sag Harbor, sailed the "Revenge" for Hulbert and associates in 1777; Edward Conkling of Sag Harbor, a brother of Capt. Jos­ eph the "Eagle," 1779, and lost his life in service; Joseph Conkling of Sag Harbor, he of the "Revenge" named above, was also commander of the privateers "\Vhim" and "Venus," and was bondsman for the "Jay" and "Game Cock," and was a large land owner at Sag Harbor; Eben­ ezer Dayton, East Hampton, "Ranger," 1778; William Henry Havens, of Sag Harbor, "Beaver," "Jay" and "Re­ taliation." SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 117

SAG HARBOR ON·CE HAD 4,000 POPULATION

In the 40's \vhen Prime, historian, gives the population of Sag Harbor as over 4,000, business places and residences ,vere nu1nbered. Of the 4,000 inhabitants, estimated by Prin1e, at least 1,000 souls were at sea on whale ships most of the time. It \vas in reality a "floating population." _A.ccording to town records roads led from Sagg, East Hampton, Bridgehampton and Noyac to the landing at a very early day. Bush street is named in a part of Sag Harbor in East Hampton town, as early as 1731, "within 300 feet of the bound line" (Division street). Hickory street is another ancient street, the location of which can be shown by Cornelius Cosgrove, Sr. The first road from East Hampton to Sag Harbor passed through Pine S\vamp to the north of Northwest Creek; it fallowed the shore and came out north of Tur­ key Hill, just east of where the shop of Jedediah Conkling stood ( vvater front lot no,v O\vned by William S, Wilso·n). Sagg road ran fro1n Sagg, intersected Wainscott road, north of Long Pond. and came out of the woods north of the house no,v occupied by Daniel McLain at turnpike, it trended northerly bet\\"een the old house of Jesse Halsey and Otter Pond. and skirted the shore of the Cove and ,vest edge of the \\T ent,vorth meadow. It terminated at the Landing near the old Ton Gate :of ·'Nornh 1Haven Bridge, and some of the road follo,ved Glover street and \\.. est \i\T ater street. The Bridgehampton road came down along the Brick I(iln present road: it struck across in front ot the Tribe I-Iildreth house, no,v O"\vned by l\1cClain at Ligonee brook. Nathan Fordham gave the present Brick Kiln road from Jesse Fialsey's corner, and he took the old road in ex­ change. The East Ha1npton road was also changed, at an early tin1e, so as to leave N orth,vest creek, and come out at the 178 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS east end of Eastville, and the East Hampton turnpike road was cut through in 1844. The Bridgehampton turnpike was incorporated in 1840. Main street, formerly \vinding, was much more cir­ cuitous. It at first trended ,vest to avoid a swamp at David Hand's corner. "\;\ihen the "layers out" surveyed the Great North Division, in 1738, they say "all accustomed roads and paths formerly 1nade use of are to lye as they were." And "all roads leading to Sagg Harbor shall be open roads of four poles wide." Main street, Sag Harbor, is described in 1745 "a high\vay of uncommon breadth laid out at Sag harbor,n and some part of it \Vas laid out into lots for "ye Propri­ etors." And "ye highway is now eight poles ,vide want­ ing one foot" at "ye Cleft ( corne r Main and Bay streets) square across to ye board fence fro1n ye ffoot of ye Lotts ye highways is no\v eight poles ,van ting one foot ,vide; from ye Southeast corner of Mr. Russell's house it is six poles wide wanting two foot upon a due east course from said corner" (Railroad terminal). After the great fire of 1817, the course of Main and v\' est ,v ater streets is said to have been 1noved some 30 feet east. Squire Nathan Fordham gaYe the greater part of ,i\T est \i\Tater street ( no\\r closed,) according to Hedges: but, the records say "I, Na than Fordha1n. Jr., grant unto the to,vn of Southan1pton for ever" in exchange for land. "a highway of t,vo rods and a half wide bearing 'i\' est fif­ teen degrees South." All the line of l\1ain street of the survey of 1745 ,vas to "ly for a publick highway & Rode Including all ye land that is west,vard of above said line to the Meadow." The streets of Sag Harbor are comparatively not old ,vhen the very ancient roads of Southampton and Bridge­ hatnpton and East Ha111pton are considered. 11ain street seems to have been mostly "Common" before the survev.. of 1745. Union street \\ras formerlv. the honndarv- bet,veen SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 179 the Great North Division of 1738 and the 12-Acre Divi­ sion of 1745. It originally ran from East Hampton line along the north line of the burying ground, and entered 11ain street. The Jeffry Fordham house, on Jefferson street, was on the old line of Union street, the road run­ ning parallel with its west side. The house was the resi­ dence of Braddock Corey, in 1775.

REAL ESTATE HIGH EIGHTY YEARS AGO

Sag Harbor real estate was selling at high prices in 1925; but, after the great fire of 1845, Thomas P. Ripley a merchant, made this entry in his journal: "Sold to Josiah Douglas one-half of my house lot, on which our house was burned in the great fire on the night of November 12, 1845. Twenty-five feet front, at $75 a foot front, $1875." The Ripley lot is a part of the present Hotel Bay View . .t\fter the fire of 1877 property sold as high as $145 per foot front on Main street. August 13, 1869, the Sag Harbor Gas Works were con­ sumed by fire bet\veen 7 and 8 a. m. The fire started in one of the retorts on \\Test \Vater street and communicat­ ed a sheet of flame to the building. The old fire house on Washington street, long head­ quarters, sold a few years ago to Joseph Fahys & Co., Inc., and no,v used by that corporation as a storehouse, vvas built in 1863. It \Vas erected for Torrent Engine No. 3. The centennial anniversary of the fire department oc­ curred in 1919, but so far as I have been able to ascertain, there was no observation or celebration. The Nassau House was erected in 1848 by Gilbert Oakley for a hotel. He died before it was ready for oc- 180 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS cupancy. It ,vas opened by his ,vidow and sons. Alfred Oakley after,vard became proprietor. The hotel was afire on the morning of March 27, 1854, in the attic. A strong ,vind blevv from the north,vest. Through efforts of the fire department only the upper story was burned. It ""'~as ·rebuilt and occupied as a public hostelrie until destroyed by fire in 1877. It was the only hotel in the village, when burned in 1877. A month after the conflagration, Robert J. Po\ver, then proprietor of the Nassau House, purchased the brick blo~k consisting of the Douglas & Cooper build­ ing. He re111odelled it for use of a public house. vVindows and doorways were cut in the north side of the block, and verandas ,vere built for the first and second stories front­ ing ]\lain street. The north, or ,vater side, as planned was to be devoted to the parlors, the entrance in the middle, and the south, or up-street part, to be used for the office, lunch room and barroom. The site of the old \Vooden Nassau was filled in, leveled off and sown ,vith grass seed. \\Tan1ponamon Lodge, I\o. 437, F. & A. M., had a lodge roon1 in the Cooper Block as early as 1869. It had rooms in the new Nassau I-louse, ,vhich it vacated 1Iay 1, 1884. 1'hen it n1oved to its nevv l\Iasonic Hall. There are in existence pictures of the old wooden Nassau House. \Vork of converting the brick block to a hotel co1n1nenced March 17, 1877. On the ruins of the Tiaker site, after the fire of 1845,. arose a brick block. It still stands. This spot has been a taYern site since earliest years of settlement, and it ,vas in a house here, in 1777, that British officers co1n1nanding the garrison at Sag Harbor ,vere rudely roused fro111 their slun1bers by the lvleigs' expedition and taken prisoners . ..:.\ft er the February fire of 1877, the brick Tinker building on l\'1ain street ,vas bo.ught by A.\ddison M. Youngs, by the exchange of his Bridgeha1npton farm for it. ~Ir. Youngs finished off the interior and 111ade other alterations re­ quired for opening a hotel. The house ,vhen ready for SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 181 business was 1nanaged by lvlr. Y.oungs and his father-in­ law, Capt. \\'illiam Freeman. The hotel named the American, was ready for accommodating patrons the fol­ lb\ving summer ( 18i7). It is still doing business as the .-\111erican Hotel and is managed by vVilliam F. Youngs, a son of the late .A.ddison M. Youngs. 1'he Sag Harbor Academy, which was entirely con­ sun1ed by fire in February 1864, on a Wednesday evening, ,vas built in 1845 by a stock company at an expense of about $3,000, and incorporated as the Sag Harbor Insti­ tute. In 1849 it took fire during school hours and was partly consumed. It was repaired after the old model at an expense of $1,000. There was no insurance upon it. _A.f ter the organization of a union school district, the build­ ing ""'~as occupied by the academical department of that school. The 1864 fire broke out about 9 p. m. A high northwest wind prevailed, which hastened the consump­ tion of the frame structure. Nothing of importance was saved. The Academy library and the consolidated library of the three old school districts, upwards of 1,000 volumes, besides the text books belonging to the school and prop­ erty of the principal and students of the institution, were all lost, also the apparatus, school furniture, etc. The loss for books alone was estimated at $1,500. The building could not be replaced in those times for $5,000. Dr. Wil- 1ian1 0. Ayers of San Francisco was the first principal of the institution. This ,vas the second stock company school house of Sag Harbor destroyed by fire. The for- 1ner was situated at Church street and burned in 1833. 182 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

EARLY MENTION OF A VESSEL

The earliest 1nention of a vessel in records, "now rid­ ing at anchor in the harbor of Sagg" is the "good Sloop Portland i\dventure," Capt. Hartshorne, master, and ·'conditioned'!' for Francis Pelletreau, a 1nerchant of Southampton, is November 26, 1731; old style. B. Sy Ivester, ( the B. for Brinley) who is Collector & ~urveyor for the Cro\vn, signs the man if est of the "Hamp­ ton," loaded at Sagg Harbour and Cleared in His Majesty's Custom House at the East End of Long Island "in the N e,v York District." The "Portland Adventure" sailed in 1731 for New York. "The Hampton," a "Plantation built" ( meaning built in the colonies) sloop "of Burth en Thirty Tons, or there­ abouts, Elisha Jones, master or commander, 1nounted with six svvivell Guns navigated ,vith seven n1en,'' sailed for West Indies, December 21, 1747, old style. August 28, 1759 the Southampton town tneeting directs Abram Halsey, a surveyor, to go to Sag Harbor and vie,v a piece of land in possession of Mr. Zachariah Sandford, said to be the town's. By this, the assumption is, that Sandford then lived here: and quite possibly had ·already built his wharf. That the to,vn proprietors held the high,vays to be their's, and laid them out very ,vide for "passing and pas­ turing,'' so1neti1nes 20 rods is shown. In .A.pril ( 7) 1752, Abraham Halsey was ordered "to go down to Hog N eek (North Haven) with Josiah Pierson" and "at their dis­ cretion sell some of the highways on said neck or exchange the highvvays for other land if they think fit." This same year, 1752, Obadiah Johns, (Jones) a vessel 1naster of Sag Harbor, and one Ebeneazer Ho,vell were in contention about the "Old Sandy Hollow Path." It ,vas settled by the trustees closing the path. No one no,v can locate ,vhere was once the path. SAG HARBOR '1N EARLIER DAYS 183

v'l e kno,v this Sandy Hollow was in Lot No. 37. "And we run a high·w·ay do,vn to the high Cleft. No. 36 lyes on the left hand of the highway as it goes down to the aforesaid meadow; it lyes in a small cove by itself; then ,ve began on the n1eadow commonly called Smith's meado,v with No. 37 increasing upwards to No. 46 the meado,v on the west side of weekatuck neck lyes for the lot 47." It is well known where \Veeckatuck Spring is, on N oyack road, so lot 37 laid ten lots east of this in vicinity of Sag Harbor. Charles Sturmy and John Davis ,vere the original allottees of No. 37. In the allottment of Sag Harbor lands of 1680 the "bound stake" is describ­ ed as a point the western side of the cleft, Sag Harbor. The lay out of Sag Harbor's first division were amend­ ments to the Hog N eek Division, mostly meadow, much of which has been filled in. The lots along the Sag Har­ bor vvater front taking No. 1 at the Cleft as a commence­ n1ent of survey were allotted in the lottery (drawing) to James v\ihite, .Arthur Howell and Joseph More (Moore), Thon1as and Isaac Halsey, vVidow Cooper, Joseph Ford­ ham. Lot No. 21 was near Brushy Neck (Redwood), ,vhere about 1795, vessels were built for off shore whaling voyages to Brazil Banks. The Sag Harbor lands, west of present Main street, having been apportioned to private owners, in 1680, were exchanged and conyeyed thereafter as any other lands. This record is clear. Title can be traced back to 40 years after settle1nent of the town of Southampton. Only one or two instances will be mentioned. By 1710, Theopolius Howell was buying lots at the "Landing." He acquired land of L.ot 2, west of site of Long Wharf from the weaver Joseph Moore; lot 3, next west, from Edmund Howell (this was the meado,v near Redwood, and bounds are north by water, south by highway." This Theophilus Howell saw that Sag Harbor, then but sand and meadow and brushy woods, was to become a town site. 184 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

The deep water channels and its protected harbor back of Conkling's Point (no\v washed away), and the sloop anchorage west of "the Point," at Lo,ver Cove at North Haven, (then much deeper water), made an ideal haven for vessels and a preferable spot where vessels could be built. The wharf and try-house of Nathan Fordham, Jr., and James Foster were not built until 1762. Both resided in Sag Harbor: Na than Fordham at Main street; James Fos­ ter at site 'tis said occupied now by Mrs. Annie Boyd's bungalow, one of the oldest houses in town. The town reserved all privileges of this wharf for "landing whale" and to "try". at a reasonable charge. This wharf was built in 1762. It stood on the very wide highway west of ,vhat is no\v North l\f ain street.

WHEN WAS HOG NECK INHABITED?

I-log N eek (North Haven) laid out in 1680, had been bought frotn Shelter Island Indians by Southampton pro­ prietors in 1665. Just when was I-log N eek inhabited? Here are two entries in Proprietors' Journal that inform about- Hog Neck: "Oct. 9, 1764. Committee named to prosecute John lVIitchell for enclosing common lands at Hog N eek said to be the to,vns." "1703/4. Ordered that Capt. Theophilus Ho,vell shall go to Hog N eek and warne Daniel Sayre's tenant, who lives upon Hog N eek, forwith to depart with his fam­ ily to ye place from whence he came from." John Mit­ chell bought Hog Neck highways in 1765. This is invoking the right of banishment of an un­ desirable person ,vhich at that time the town exercised. Commissioners were ordered to sell Hog N eek highways in 1752. But to "leave a good way to the ferry." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 185

The Mitchells owned very large tracts of land at Hog Neck. Records say that Samuel Huntting is given the privi­ lege of docking his timber for a ship in rear of his store in the direction between that and Wm. Raymonds, not obstructing the passage for boats and also a privilege for setting up a ship on either side of the old wharf for $10, on lviarch 4, 1817. This indicates that he contemplated build­ ing three vessels. Samuel ,vas a son of Col. Benj. Hunt­ ting, the father dying in 1807, aged only 53. His sudden death for a brief time paralyzed industry at the port. Capt. Samuel Huntting and his brothers carried on the business so firmly established by their sire. Due to a great fire ,vhich swept much of the Sag Harbor waterfront clear in 1817, it is improbable the ships built by Samuel Huntting can be identified, as the Custom House and enrollment book for the years, are missing. This fire is said to have started in a small barn in the rear of Peletiah Ford­ hatn' s hotel, about Main and West Water Street. I prefer to quote Luther D. Cook, historian, and a brother­ in-lavv of Sa1nuel Huntting, ,vho wrote of the fire "it broke out in l\1ay, 1817, in a store occupied by a Mr. Wilcox, on the west side of l\1ain street, a short distance from the old Fordham corner, near v\r. \Vater Street and at 5 o'clock the next morning the losses summed up $200,000," destroy­ ing t,\~enty large stores, etc., and delaying the sailing of several ,vhaling vessels. The Hunttings built ,vhale ships for their outfitting business. The first Col. Benjatnin had built for him at Sag Harbor, the brig "Hetty," 256 tons, in 1796, and the brig "Mary,'' 215 tons, in 1798. He also built and owned the whale ships "Jefferson" the first, and "St. Lawrence" the first. There were larger whale ships of the same name at a later period, and the "St. Lawrence" second, Capt. Baker, of East Hampton, ,vas the largest ship of the Sag Harbor ,vhaling fleet. The tonnage of the "Jefferson," 186 SAG HARBOR IN' EARLIER DAYS built in 1806-7 was 299; that of the "\Vashington," a ,vhale ship built at Sag Harbor, in 1808-9 for S. Ho,vell & Co., was 308. Belovv are some vessels built at Sag Harbor: 1788. "Betsey," 33 tons, a sloop. 1788. "Nancy," a brig, rebuilt from a smaller sloop, 200 tons. 1789. "Fanny," 29 tons, a sloop. 1793. "N abby," 66 tons. 1793. "Abigail," whaling brig, 215 tons, rebuilt. 1796. "Hetty," a brig, 256 tons. 1798. "Mary," a brig, 215 tons. 1800. "Venus," 116 tons. 1800. "Neptune," 141 tons. 1802. "Temperance," 75 tons, a schooner. 1803. "Nancy," a brig, rerigged a ship, 200 tons. 1804. "Merchant," a brig, 202 tons. 1806. "Experiment," West India trade. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 18'1

SOUTHAMPTON TOWN HAD NO OFFICIAL SEAL IN 1782

Southampton to,vn had no official seal in 1782. This is made plain by a confirmatory grant given in 1813. In view of litigation now pending between Southamp­ ton town trustees and a Sportsmen, s Club to determine title of Bellows Pond near Ha1npton Bays, the following from records shows that proprietor trustees did sell ponds and privileges out right. What is taken from records here reproduced applies to Otter Pond, at Sag Harbor, formerly a fresh water body. Nathan Fordham, Ebenezer White and David Hedges in 1782 leased Otter Pond. It was connected by digging a drain to the Cove, then called Dayton's Bay and Nathan's Bay, in 1783. The trustees sanctioned the excavation. February 18, 1793 the record recites that whereas the trustees formerly granted unto David Hedges and Ebenezer \iVhite the Pond called Otter Pond at Sag Harbor, upon certain conditions mentioned in the gran4 and \vhereas the proprietors of said Pond did petition, February 18, 1793, the trustees that the above said grant should be trans£ erred to John Germain. Voted that the above grant for the Otter Pond vvith the privileges be­ longing to the same be trans£ erred to John Germain for hitn and his forever." December 7, 1813, at the request of the proprietors of the Otter Pond it was voted as follows: "To all to whom it n1ay come, whereas the proprietors of Otter pond whose names are inserted in the written grant ( the original grant) have represented to the trustees that for the ,vant of the corporation seal being affixed to the said grant, doubts have and still exist in the minds of some that the said grant is not valid, to remove all such difficulties and doubts we observe that no such seal was in use at the titne the said grant ,vas made, that this writ­ ten instru1nent was legally executed by our predecessors 188 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS and ,ve the trustees whose names are herein inserted, viz. : David Rose, Abram Rose, Zebulon Jessup, Abram Top­ ping, David Topping, Caleb Howell, Wjlliam W,ooley, Cepas Foster, John P. Osborn & Wm. Herrick do for our­ selves and our successors by these presents ratify and con­ firm the said original grant with all its privileges to the said proprietors to all intents and purposes. In witness whereof we have hereunto placed the seal of our corpor­ ation this 7th day of December 1813." Otter Pond has been held as private and not town property ever since. Hubbard Latham, one time a part­ ner of the Jermain who bought in 1813, died in 1817. His share of the pond was offered by his executors for sale private, and at vendue. In 1847 shares of the Fish Cove, or Otter Pond, were sold. Mrs. Russell Sage, in 1907, bought the lands about the Otter Pond. She included the pond in her gift of a park and playground to Sag Harbor; left a right of way for public approach thereto and hook and line fishing is permitted; seining is for bidden. Poxebogue Pond ,vas also granted by the trustees of Southampton to individual purchasers, as recorded: From Trustees Journal, page 425 : "Oct. 15, 1793 * * * Voted that the trustees have sold to Daniel Howell & Co. Poxebog Pond for £35, and they and their successors are to keep and maintain two suffi­ cient bridges across the drain for all sorts of loaded carri­ ages commonly used amongst us, the bridges to be each 15 ft., wide. C~t\.LEB COOPER, Clerk." Also, page 1 in the last end of the same Journal the fallowing item: "Proprietors of Southampton in account with Caleb Cooper Cr. "June 1794 Received for Poxabogue Pond £35." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 189

AN EARLY INDUSTRY

In 1802, John Hulbert manufactured saddles in Sag Harbor. There is a memorandum of a shipment by him of $700 worth of saddlery to South America. Pennypacker, who has traced Hulbert's active and interesting life says he sent his sister's son as supercargo with the invoice, John H. Cotton, "probably Long Isla_nd' s first traveling sales­ man to the Souther Hemisphere." Quoting Pennypacker further: "Capt. Hulbert own­ ed at least four properties. The property he owned in Sag Harbor when we last hear of him had at least five build­ ings on it, two built before the revolution, and one built by him which he occupied in 1807." This information is gleaned frotn advertisements of which the following 1s one: " 'To be sold at Private Sale.-The premises on which the subscriber now lives, consisting of a good, well finish­ ed dwelling house, a large shop, barn and out-houses, and about three-quarters of an acre of land, situated nearly in the center ( site of Vail house and Jermain Library.-Ed.) of the port of Sag Harbor. The shop has been occupied and is very convenient for a saddler and harnessmaker; and as the subscriber, in consequence of ill health, and the loss of his sight, proposes shortly to relinquish the busi­ ness, there will be a good opening for any person that wishes to carry it on. For further particulars enquire of the subscriber on the premises or to Samuel L'Homme­ dieu, Esq., or Silvanus Howell. John Hulbert, Sag Har­ bor, April 10, 1807. tf.' " Captain Hulbert was married. His wife's name was Prudence. Her maiden name is still uncertain. Hulbert's mother was Elizabeth Sage (maiden name) and she was a niece of Russell Sage's great-great-grandfather. The Upper Cove was called Dayton's Pond, before 1726. Dayton's Hollow was south of the coves. Some- 190 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS times this, or a hollow further west along what is now Brick Kilns, was called Sandy Hollow. There was a Sandy Hollow road closed in 1752, near Sag Harbor. All titles to lands at Sag Harbor are derived from ihe towns of East and Southampton~ The town title is based on Colonial charters, or patents, creating the town of Southampton and East Hampton, and granting the lands within the territorial limits. These are the patents of Governor Andross, of the 1st of November, 1676 and the patent of Governor Dongon of December 6th, 1686 in Southampton. When there was a dispute as to whether the inhabitants of the town had acquired the indian title to all the lands within the limits, the Governor determined that the Indian title to all the lands had been purchased by the freeholders of the town and then grants to persons therein named "freeholders and inhabitants" of the town of Southampton, made one body corporate and politic to be called by the name of "Trustee of the Freeholders, etc.," and their successors forever. From the dates of the patents down to the year 1818 the town remained in undisputed possession and control of all the lands and also the waters within the town, and assumed to hold the legal title to the same. The town recognized the right of the proprietors, but regarded them solely as e,quitable. No proprirtors ever took title to any lands within the town direc~~y under the patent but only mediately through the town. The town, the courts have held took the legal title to the lands. The statute of 1818 gave title of the undivid­ ed common lands, meadows and 1nill streams to the pro­ prietors and thereafter they disposed of such lands and divided the avails among themselves, without sharing with the town, They, the proprietors, after 1818, were a sep­ arate incorporated body, electing their own trustees, in­ dependent of the Town Trustees, and keeping their com­ monage book, the same as stock books are now kept. Each heir or assign of original proprietors then was paid SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 191 his share of avails of lands sold, in proportion to the amount of "commonage" he owned. In this way were sold meadow lands, the Shinnecock Hills, and in 1882, all the undivided common lands of the proprietors. All the common lands in and about Sag Harbor were disposed of by allotment, or sale by the year 1882.

THE WATERS

Both Southampton and East Hampton assumed legal title of the waters within their bounds. The bounds are from "sea to sea." Just what is the meaning of "sea" as applied to the north bound, was not settled until after 1900, when the state asserted ownership of the lands be­ neath water in Peconic Bay. The sea on the south of the Hampton towns as expressed plainly means the ocean. The Peconic Bay to north of Southampton, in earlier years, was called the North Sea. Although the water seems to have been the north bound, the towns not only claimed lands under ,vater but granted and sold lands beneath \Vater at Sag Harbor and granted the water as well. East Hampton, in its ,vharf grant at Sag Harbor, in 1771, recites "and to have sixty feet of water on each side of the wharf." Southan1pton grants, in 1770, to the wharf at Sag Harbor "the ,vater on each side of the ,varf 60 ft., wide." In 1803 a grant was made to Wm. J. Rysam, by East Hampton, for "the water" for a wharf. In 1819 East Hampton laid out a water road (which is really a reservation for a wharf) to "extend from the shore north\\'"ardly as far as the head of the old main ,vharf, and to be parallel with said wharf." A \vharf grant given by Southampton, in 1831, speci­ fies "the water on each side of said warf, sixty feet on the west side of the grant to the proprietors of the Long Warf, 192 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS that is to say sixty feet wide on the west side, and eighty feet wide" on the east side "the water on each side"; and this grant also makes provision, if the land beneath water is filled in, the town "reserves one half of the proceeds of the sale or rent of whatever water lots, or building lots may hereafter be sold or occupied adjoining said warfs and within the limits of the said grant." And again in 1842, Southampton granted the water, recording: "the water on each side of said wharf, that is to say sixty feet on the west side, and on the east side all the water within the basin from the east line of said New Warf to the old Warf or Dock." Again reservation Ts specified: "that the said town of Southampton" receives for the benefit of the town, "one half of the proceeds of the sale or rent of whatever water-lots, or building lots may hereafter be sold or occupied adjoining said \Varf and with­ in the limits of said grant." The State apparently does not now recognize that t4e towns own certain tidewater lands beneath water. The procedure now where riparian lands are desired is to apply to the State Land Commissioners at Albany. The to,vn is notified regarding the application and may favor or oppose such grant. The War Department is also notified and sees that navigation is not blocked or impeded. This, notwithstanding opinion of Attorney General Tabor, in 1891, that New York state has no jurisdiction over lands beneath water, in towns created by Colonial patents. The present ruling as to lands under water ¥.rould seem to mean that Southampton and East Hampton bounds are to south side of Sag Harbor bay. And again this is some­ what involved for the surveys show 500 feet of land under ,vater out from high water mark, natural bottom; the sur­ veyed lands beneath water sold to oyster growers by the County Commission are too, divided into town assessed zones, defined by stated bounds. The courts have declared the lands beneath water at Mecox Bay to be o,vned by SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 193 the town of Southampton. On this ruling such bays and lands beneath such waters as Sagg Pond, ~Iecox Bay and Shinnecock Bay are owned by the tov/n.

THE REFUGEES

There were at least 170 heads of families who were Refugees, in New England during the Revolutionary war, all from Long Island. Most of these people went by ves­ sel from Sag Harbor to East Haddam, Saybrook, Stoning­ ton, and other Connecticut places. There were 45 male Refugees in Saybrook alone, in 1777, from Suffolk County. Hedges identifies those from Sag Harbor as follows: i\t East Haddam, Col. John Hulbert, Nathan Ford- ham, George Fordham. At Saybrook, Ephraim Fordham, Daniel Fordham. At Stonington, Edward Conkling, John Hudson. At New Haven, Obadiah Gildersleeve. He also records Silas Norris, David Sayre, Obadiah Jones and Samuel L'Ho1nmedieu as Refugees, not stating ,vhere thev., located. To the above should be added these Refugees who embarked from Sag Harbor or its environs, in 1776 and 1777: Ananias Conklin, brother of Capt. Edward, to New London. Ca pt. Joseph Conkling, brother to the above, to Ston­ ington. vVilliam Duvall to Saybrook. Garradus Drake and Aaron Drake, of "old Farm," to East Haddam. John Edwards of Brick Kiln, to Guilford. John Foster to East Haddam. Lt. John Foster, Jr., to Saybrook. J eren1iah Gardiner of North Haven, to Stonington. 194 SAG !-!ARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Phillip Gildersleeve, son of Obadiah, to Portland. John Hudson, Jr., to Stonington. Col. Benjamin Huntting, of Southampton, who had shipping interests at Sag Harbor in 1776, pioneer whale ship owner, to Stonington. Capt. Stephen Howell, whose home ,vas Southan1p­ ton, but who in 1776 was engaging in shipping ventures at Sag Harbor, to East Haddam. The L'Homn1edieu who is n1entioned by Hedges is Capt. San1uel 3. He went to Saybrook. Sylvester L'Hommedieu was a son of Capt. Samuel He was 9 years old in 1780. He was at Saybrook; ther, Middletown, and a note informs, his fat her had permis­ sion to take him back to Sag Harbor, May 23, 1780. Elias Matthews, son of Timothy, to East Haddam. Timothy l\,f atthews to East Haddan1. Silas Norris to East Haddam. Capt. Hubbard Latham to Connecticut, 1781. Capt. David Sayre, of "Sayre's Island," near Sag Har­ bor, to East Haddam. Capt. Willian1 Havens to Stonington. Capt. Joseph Havens, probably son of Capt. \Villian1, to Saybrook. George Havens to Connecticut. Capt. Daniel Havens to Saybrook. The Havens were all originally of Shelter Island. They are given in the East District, Southan1pton to,vn census, July 4, 1776. Hedges opines that Joseph Conkling, fat her of Capt. Edward, Capt. Joseph, Jr., and Ananias, the Refugees, also went to Connecticut. He lived at what is i10W corner of Division and Burke streets. He also notes that Dr. J er­ emiah Hedges probably was residing in Sag Harbor, in 1776, and went to Connecticut. Dr. Hedges was a gradu­ ate of Yale. He died in Sag Harbor in 1797. "His grave and tombstone are near the north-east corner of the old SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 195 burying ground" at Sag Harbor. "Mather's Refugees" lists Joseph Conkling 4 as from Sag Harbor to Stoning­ ton. · He was 52 years old in 1776. Hedges writes: "Out of the 32 dwelling houses re­ puted to be in Sag Harbor at the Revolution 14 men most active for independence, and fearing for theit lives, fled from happy homes and became exiles and refugees for their country's cause in Connecticut alone. Nearly one­ third of its fighting force in number, full that in weight, trans£ erred from Sag Harbor, so reckoned to strengthen Connecticut." I do not think Hedges places the number high enough. According to the census of July, 1776, after the exodus, there are left in Sag Harbor: Josiah Cooper, Sam­ uel Howell, Uriah Miller, Jonathan Conkling, Jonathan Hill, Benjamin Coleman the Quaker from Nantucket, James Store, Timothy Hedges, James Howell, the Tory inn-keeper, where the British officers made headquarters, James Wiggins, Silvanus Wicks, Hubbard Latham (until 1781; he was plundered), William Butler, Benjamin Price, \Villiam Hallock, Braddock Corey. Besides these were the homes of the Widows Eliza­ beth Hicks, on what is now Church Street; Hannah Latham and Sarah Tarbell. Coleman was the grandfather of Julia Prentice, the wife of Ezekiel Mulford, a Sag Harbor agent of whale­ ships, and one ·ti1ne proprietor of the Mansion House, 1845-50. 196 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

PROVISIONS WERE SCARCE

Provisions were very scarce in the first months of 1777, when the British held Sag Harbor and settlements near by. Judge Hedges has left a story told by an aunt of his to him, when she was over 90 years of age. Tlie Judge, himself, lived to be a nonagenarian, indicating he sprung from long-lived stock. Sally Hedges was born in March, 1777. Her father had down in his cellar, a sow and pigs, and in his bedroom sheep and lambs, and was com­ pelJed so to do to keep the animals from the British rob­ bers and save his family from starving. Hedges notes: "Think of this as a picture of wretchedness in the Hamp­ tons, in Sag Harbor and all over our Island. The Ameri­ can armed forces said if they did not get our provisions they would feed the British; and the British said if they did not get them the Americans would. Both sides rob­ bed and plundered, and both justified it. The residents here were ground between the upper and neither mill­ stone. Roving outlaws, with eagle eye, look for prey; spies left no secluded nook unsearched. The thousands of sheep and cattle, pasturing on Montauk in summer and driven ho1ne in winter, would feed an army, and all sides coveted and plundered this drove until, as we have seen, the inlhabitants were compelled to kill their milch cows or starve. The marches and counter-marches of hostile forces on eastern Long Island, the movements of vessels and fleets in bays, streams, ocean, and sound, the many plundering raids and robberies recorded and unrecorded, related here would be confusing." ' The famine at Sag Harbor in April, 1777, was so acute the troops were sickly. There was ru1nor that Gen. Par­ sons was preparing for an attack on Sag Harbor, ,vith 4,000 troops. Isaac Van Scoy, who married Mary, daughter of David Edwards of East Hampton, settled at Northwest SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 191 soon after his wedding, February 1757. They were plund­ ered and suffered much from the British in the Revolu­ tion. Capt. Hubbard Latham, who went from Sag Harbor to Connecticut, as a Refugee, petitioned Governor Clin­ ton stating that his wife, family and property, at this place, were at the mercy of the British. He had also suffered by the American boats. He desired to remove to Connecti­ cut under such restrictions as were for the public good ,vhich was granted, September 18, 1781. The Meig's expedition to Sag Harbor, has been told in detail. Of it I-ledges says: "Its magnificent achieve­ ment was so striking, its success so illuminating in the­ darkness of the times as to demand rehearsal. It was not the solitary expedition to Sag Harbor. In 1779, in the last of January, or first of February, Capt. Sage, in the brig 'l\1iddletown'; sloop 'Beaver,' Capt. \Villiam Havens, and sloop 'Eagle,' Capt. Edward Conklin, took from Sag Harbor ,vharf, the 'Ranger,' a British privateer brig of 12 guns. Again, on Sunday, sailing from New London, the 'lvliddletown' grounded, and her crew was rescued by the other two vessels which, returning, took two brigs with rum, wine and 12,000 bushels of oats. Here are two more expeditions to Sag I-Iarbor, noticed by Onderdonk." The expedition of November, 1781, when Major John Davis of East Hampton, and Capt. Grinnell were taken prisoners, makes four expeditions. "Note.-The Hessians and Light Horse men who captured Davis and Grinnell probably were on North Haven and these men may have been betrayed by some one then engaged in the salt works there." "The whale boat was easily propelled by oars or sail, of little draft, built for living in all winds and weathers, and had n1uch carrying capacity, was easily handled, and almost all 'East Enders' in it, ,vere at home. John White, of Sagg, ( related to Ebenezer \Vhite, one of the grantees 198 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS of Otter Pond, at Sag Harbor, in 1782), piloted Meigs in his whaleboat expedition. Major Davis and Grinnell were in whaleboats, with crews, more or less of refugees." Havens, Conkling, Davis, Grinnell and Wickham were re­ fugees, and the first two were from Sag Harbor. Wick­ ham was from East Hampton, and was father of Sarah, wife of John P. Osborn of Noyack. The weight at Wick­ ham's front gate (in Stonington, Conn.), was two welded grape shot fired by the British in their attack on Stoning­ ton. John Foster, of Sag Harbor, notes that he transport­ ed with his vessel, in 1776, down L. I. Sound, powder and other warlike stores; that he arrived safely with the stores by the help of Mr. Welden, who lived with his servant at the ferry. The powder was for Col. Henry B. Livingston, then in command of troops at Southold. Jonathan Welden went from Sag Harbor to Stonington. In September, 1776; he went over with Capt. Amos Pendleton, a vessel master. Whether John, the father, or John the son, the record is vague. He served in Col. Smith's regiment, and in Connecticut. At the occupation of Long Island by the British, Col. Abraham Gardiner, held a commission under royal govern­ ment. He, while sympathizing with the patriots, and a signer of the Association, in 1775, did in 1776, surround the house of Jonathan Hedges, at Sagg, and compel him to take the oath of allegiance to King George; he also made his own son-in-law Capt. n:avid Mulford, Jr., sub­ scribe to the oath. On the other hand Col. Gardiner gave his own musket to the patriots, who were short of arms. It is said his administration of the oath to his fellow towns­ men mitigated the harshness attending occupation of pa­ triot territory in other sections of the Island by the enemy. At any rate the patriots are said not to have scorned Col. Gardiner as a Tory. He went from East Hampton to Say­ brook, in 1776, with seven in his family, as refugees. "He SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 199 should not be unduly blamed, for he was apparently, loyal to the American cause. "During his absence his house at East Hampton was occupied by Governor Tryon, Sir. Wil­ liam Erskine and Sir. Henry Clinton. Officers from the British fleet were also billeted there. This Col. Gardiner O\vned and had e1nployed in the West India trade two sn1all brigs sailing from Sag Harbor, 1760-1770. Daniel Collins from Sag Harbor, in 1776, and took from Col. Gar­ diner's house 130 firearms and 3 silver hilted swords, Gar­ diner had taken from patriots. They retook them. Col. Gardiner died August 21, 1782.

SURGEONS IN THE WAR

Concerning excerpts from a brochure published by the Sag Harbor Historical Society, in 1909, by Judge H. P. Hedges; ,vith additions: "Ho\vell's History of Southampton states that 'This town also furnished four surgeons for the War of the Rev­ olution, Henry \Vhite, Shadracik Hildreth, \Villiam Bur­ nett and Silas Halsey.' He should have added Samuel H. Rose, of Bridgehan1pton. East Hampton sent Nathaniel Gardiner, and Sag Harbor, Jeremiah Hedges. These seven absent n1ust have stripped these to\.vns almost, if not entirely, of medical relief and is another addition to the agonies endured." Dr. \Vhite ,vas fro1n Bridgehatnpton. October 26, 1780, at Stonington, he petitions for leave to return, stat­ ing that he had lost his clothing and instruments at Fort lviontgo1nery; that he had then sailed on the Privateer "Recovery," vvhich vvas captured, again losing clothing and instru1nents and beco1ning a prisoner. Dr. White was a pensioner in 1833, aged 83. Dr. Silas Halsey, son of Silas Halsey, went from Southa1npton to Saybrook and I{illing,vorth, with his fam- 200 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS ily and effects, in September, 1776. He returned to South­ ampton and resumed the practice of medicine, as one of the successors of Dr. William Smith. He was connected as a surgeon with the Hospital Service of the Army. He was sheriff of Suffolk county 1787-1791. Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, son of Col. Abraham Gard­ iner, was a surgeon in the 1st New Hampshire Infantry during a part of the war. After the war he returned to East Hampton and occupied the house now the home of Winthrop Gardiner. He married Elizabeth Dering, a sis­ ter of Henry P. Dering, of Sag Harbor. Dr. Gardiner and brother fitted out a ship and brig in 1784 from Sag Harbor on whaling adventures. They were both unsuccessful, Sag Harbor ship masters not then having learned the business of off shore whaling; but this is supposed to have been the first expedition after whales from Long Island to South latitudes. Dr. Gardiner died l\,larch 25, 1804. Hedges might also have added Dr. Jonathan Havens, son of Constant Havens. In September and December, 1776, with his family and effects, he sailed· from Sag Harbor to East Haddam, Conn. He signed the Associa­ tion in 1775. Having been plundered by Lt. Jacob White and Samuel Co1nbs, he petitioned for relief, Feb. 12, 1778, which was granted. On April 11, 1789, he petitioned to return stating that he had come to East Haddan1 with his wife, seven children, his sister's daughter, and two ser­ vants; and that two children had been born to him since. The petition was granted. He was a surgeon connected with the Hospital Service. His home was at North Haven. He died April 26, 1801, aged 64. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery. Dr. Jeremiah Hedges, son of Timothy Hedges, sign­ ed the ...i\.ssociation in 1775. He embarked from Sag Har­ bor for Connecticut: was a surgeon in the Revolutionary war. He died in 1797. He had a son, Jeremiah, who is also buried in Old Burying Ground having died June 12, SAG HAABOR IN EARLIER DAYS 201

1832, aged 69. He is said to have been known as Capt. Jeremiah, and that he obtained liberty from the Town Meeting of East Hampton to build a house below the Cliff, on common land, at Sag Harbor, in 1791. There was a Dr.--- Walker who on Sept. 2, 1776, embarked at Sag Harbor, with his chest, for East Had­ dam. Capt. Elijah Mason freighted his goods and chat­ tels as ,vell, too Connecticut. That he was a physician and in the Hospital Service is established, and still there is very little known about him. The official war records of New York does not reveal his identity. To the Refugees living near Sag Harbor should be added the name of Lieut. Silas Jessup. He was the own­ er of the peninsula called N oyack, known as J essup's Beach. He signed the Association in 1775; he is listed in the E. District. census, July 4, 1776, as of Bridgehamp­ ton, but he was probably living at N oyack as all residents of that _section and between there and Bridge Hampton. or Bull Head, are set dovvn as of Bridgehampton. He went by vessel, with Capt. Hubbard Latham, and Capt. Daniel Fordham to Saybrook in October, 1776. He was a Lieut. in Col. Mulford's regiment, and served at Sag Harbor and was 1st Lieutenant of the 8th Company (Sag Harbor). His commission was issued Sept. 13, 1775. He served under Capt. San1uel L'Hommedieu, of Sag Harbor, and guarded the cattle at l\1ontauk in August, 1775. A Paul Jones, who is accredited to Southampton, served in the State Militia, under Capt. David Howell. The historians evidently had their little joke, for Hedges says 2nd Lt. Paul Jones was not of Southampton, to which an­ other commented, "He may have been the Great Commo­ dore for aught I known." Mention of Commodore Jones makes it appropriate to record here that two Sag Harbor seamen served with him on board the "Ranger." They were James Ricker and Reubin Ricker, of Sag Harbor, enumerated in Co111n1odore Jones' o,vn enrollment return of his cre,v list. 202 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

A MUCH NEEDED ROADWAY

A new 50-ft street was opened by the village from Garden street, southeast of Howard street, in 1927. It was a necessity of Sag Harbor, motor vehicles and fire apparatus had difficulty unless trespassing on private property, turning around once in Garden street or How­ ard street. Garden street runs northwest from Main street to railroad land-there it terminates, so a commission has reported-it is not a cul-de-sac now, for Spring street across the meadows has been put through on "made land." Howard street is supposed to connect with West \Vater street. It crosses the railroad tracks; but vV est Water street is more a trail, defined on maps than a ,vorked high­ way. The new street permits access direct from lower Howard street across to Garden street, and by way of Spring street direct to Bridge street and Main street near Madison square. A connecting roadway between Howard street and Bay Vie,v avenue, and the latter avenue and Glover street, should be laid out. Sag Harbor when first settled had along its water­ front from Little Northwest creek on the east to Otfer pond brook, at the west, an unbroken shore front road. Commercial activities required these lands for shipping and ship-building, for ,varehouses and forges necessary to outfit the ships. The best part and ,vhat should be most attractive locations in Sag Harbor no,v have little or no shore road. There is a short stretch of Bay street, a record road since 1833, but only in recent years has this been improved. West \Vater street from l\fain street west to a point near Bridge street was closed at the time North Haven's nevv bridge and causevvay brought changes in 1891. The railroad it is understood gained certain title at that time, and the town gave an easement for the bridge cause,vay at Sag Harbor side. West -vvr ater street, on SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 203 maps of 1850 is shown running along the shore from Main street trending westerly to Meadow street, then following the meadow bank and shore in different courses to con­ nect with Glover street at or near lands now of Higgins, on Zachary's Point, Lower Cove. While the question of new roadways is occupying the village authorities, some attention might be profitabfy given to securing to posterity the shore road west of rail­ road property. A suggestion that North Haven bridge causeway could be made to connect at the Southwest end with the eight pole town landing at old North Haven bridge piers, then improving West Water street lay-out from that point to· Glover street, is timely. A shore boule­ vard would help to improve the present unsightly approach by rail to Sag Harbor. The town records show the old road leading from Glover street to the first wharf and try­ house of 1762. There is no indication that the road, a traveled and recognized path, was ever closed or sold. That meadow lands and highway have been appropriated does not make a title. On this question town commis­ sioners reported in 1798 that they had been appointed to ascertain ,vhat common land or beach there is westward along the beach from the main street Sag Harbor and they "set up a red stone 17 rods \vesterly from Cc1:pt. John Ford­ ha1n's house ,vhich now stands between the Main street and the street no\\r laid out which goes to the old wharf (Fordham exchanged land with the town in 1764; the land he exchanged was made a 2.½ rod highway) and we ex­ tended said line as far \vesterly as N. E. corner of Hub­ bard Latham's lot, and there appears to be common land still further ·west, but we did not ascertain its length or \)read th."· This Fordham is said to have also opened Meadow street. In 1798 commissioners report "did then proceed & lay out a high,vay three rods wide from the northeast corner of the house of Capt. John N. Fordham, running 204 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS west thirteen degrees south to a red stone set in the beach, thence running west twenty-four _degrees south twenty rods to another red stone set in the beach, from this said stone we laid· out a highway eight rods wide to the water a due northwest course including in this highway the old wharf; southwest from said road is common land, a beach .J.-:: which may be improved as a passing road." The above description is the southerly line or bound­ ary · of said highway and includes the land exchanged by Nathan Fordham in the year 1764 and is widened a half rod on the north side by the consent of Charles Douglas, John N. Fordham and Stephen Howell who own­ ed and gave the land for accommodation of the road. The records of the town show no conveyance of "com­ mon land or beach" southwest of old wharf, "which may be improved as a passing highway." It was never greatly improved but it has been worked and used as ,a passing cart-way to Dering' s canal and up to 1870 when the railroad came through, and many years thereafter. It is still a passing highway, and the 8-pole highway needed by Sag Harbor upon which to locate a sewage disposal plant is still town land so far as any town record of conveyance informs. In fact, in very recent years, the tow_n trustees made grants of the 8-pole high­ way (landing) to Valentine C. Bates, and to George Kier­ nan to construct bulkheads and a landing, but the vessel accommodations were not built. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 205

AN INTERESTING LETTER

The Rev. Fitch Reed, who was a Methodist minister at Sag Harbor wrote an interesting letter describing Sag Harbor in 1819. Among other things he said: "The houses principally stand upon two or three streets; which run back from the water. The streets are not paved, bu~ very sandy, which in dry weather renders them very un­ pleasant to travel. But in wet weather they are far super­ ior and preferable even to New York." The New York streets were paved with rough cobble stones, many of which were obtained at Montauk and taken therefrom by vessel to t4e city. Mr. Reed says in 1819 Sag Harbor had 150 houses and 750 inhabitants, two churches, Presbyter­ ian and Methodist, and an Arsenal belonging to the United States "in which are situated the post office and the police office, this being a port of entry." The letter further informs: "The inhabitants have lately obtained from the legislature an act of incorporation with a view of extending the convenience and privileges of the streets. And this when accomplished, will render the place far more pleasant. The people are generally better informed than most of the country. They have a circulating library, and a printing office has been estab­ lished for a number of years (since 1791.-Ed.) from which is issued a weekly paper called the "American Eagle.' Considering there is but little back country, this is a place of considerable business. It finds employment for a nun1ber of coasting vessels which run to New York, vari­ ous ports of Connecticut, Boston and to Southern states. The exports are wood, wheat, leather, rye, corn, oats, "flax­ seed, fish, etc. The imports are lumber, stone, brick lime and merchandise of all kinds. There is a convenient har­ c)or for sloops, and a Ii ttle distance from town, for ships and other large vessels. There is a considerable of whale fishery carried on from Sag Harbor. Six or eight ships 206 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS are employed in the service, which bring into port from 800 to 2,000 barrels of oil each, yearly. The oil sells from $15 to $20 a barrel. Each ship according to size, is man­ ned with eighteen, twenty-four, or thirty hands, and em­ ploy three, four or five boats six men to each boat. Pro­ visions are laid in for twelve or eighteen months, accord­ ing to the length of the voyage intended. A great many Indians are employed as hands on board, and it is found necessary to use the utmost caution lest they abscond after they have received many and necessary and conveni­ ent articles as part of their pay. In order to prevent this they are taken on board, the ships anchored some distance from shore, and they are not suffered to set their feet on land again. The ships depart in August or September and return the next June or July, but those that go around Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean are commonly gone two years." East Water street in 1850 was sparsely settled. On its north side going northwest and westerly from Hemp­ stead street lived G. Fickett, J. Price, C. Filer, J. Williams, R. Wade ( now the rebuilt house, the caretaker's tenement of the Wilson Marshall country residence) and the E. M. Cooper house, razed in 1895. There were no houses on Bay street east of High street. On the corner of Bay and High streets the house was owned by W. R. Mulford, and at a little later period occupied by William Adams, the banker. The house still stands owned and improved by Capt. J. B. Phillips. Then going west the houses were those of R. Warner and E. Burke, the latter opposite the Cooper house and at the corner where the Mulford private drive intersects Bay street at the northwest slope of what is now called Dering Heights, and in early days was known as Jerry Mulford's Hill. There were four buildings on Bay street, south side between Rysam and Division streets. The ones near Division and Bay street corner were oc­ cupied by E. Smith and H. K. vVhite. There was a pump- SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 20'1 ing station nearby and ,vater was supplied through iron pipes to whale ships at the wharf perhaps t,vo hundred yards distance. Post & Sherry had their shipyard at foot of Division street, later the yard and dock of Osborn, and "Billy" Cooper had a boat shop between the two wharfs, the long wharf of 1770 standing to the westward. There was a blacksmith shop and one cooperage near the foot of Division street. (The fire of 1845 destroyed many build­ ings in the locality.) One big and one smaller storehouse stood at the north side of Bay street, between foot of Divi~ sion street and \tVharf street. Standing at corner of Main and Bay streets was the old frame structure owned by A. H. Gardiner, later bought of Geo. B. Brown, and destroy­ ed in the fire of 1877. The street described as a water road in East Hamp­ ton town records of 1820, was not a street at all, but pro­ vision had been made for a road over the water, or water road east of Long wharf, where it was proposed to con­ struct a wharf. The locality is between L.ong Wharf and the site of Old Mill Dock. This pier was never built. An application was made to use the water road for a wharf in 1844; but the big fire of 1845 caused the projectors to abandon their ambitious plans. 208 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

PRICE COOPER SHOP

Among the very earliest cooper shops, at Sag Harbor, were those of the Prices. It was voted by the Trustees that "Capt. John Sand­ ford & Capt. David Peirson should go to Sagharbor at the request of and at the Coust (cost?) of Mr. Price and vew (view?) som ( e ?) Land where he wontfth ( wanteth ?) to set a Coopers shop and make return the next meeting.­ April 20th 1784. Other early grants were to proprietors of the Otter Pond, at Sag Harbor, who were in 1784, Ebeneazer White, Deacon David Hedges and Nathan Fordham, "should have the wator (fishing?) of Daytton's Bay" (Upper Cove?); James Foster had the Blank Lot- to set a house on, in .1761. Dayton's Bay was granted in 1784. One Foster house stood near what is now Madison and Union streets; a Hand house stood at the Madison Square triangle. Across the street ( about 1800) was the premises of Henry B. Havens, a mason, who had many apprentices about 1817. A Mr. Fordham appears to have been a jack-of-all-trades-mason, seaman and tinker, for he, too, was often addressed as "Captain." The records also tell of the "grist" at Otter Pond drain in 1784, thus indicating an early grist-mill. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 209

IN VICINITY OF LONG WHARF ABOUT 1800

At the Long Wharf before 1800 were storehouses and 1,umber yards. · H untting' s store was at the north end of Main street and in front of it about where the Liberty pole now stands, were the Stocks; there was a whipping post and pound at Meeting House Hill. After 1810 can­ non and war supplies were stored in the Arsenal, at Union street; upstairs Henry P. Dering, collector of port, had the custom house and also the post office, and there the jus­ tices of peace held court and the scales of Justice were balanced. The hay scales were in front of the store of Captain Oliver Fowler, a man who distinguished himself as master of whaling vessels. Shipyards were both east and west of Long vVharf; Captain Rysam's yard near Ry­ sam street, and located along the deep water front, run­ ning west to Brushy N eek, Benjamin Huntting, Stephen Hovvell, Capt. David Sayre and Elijah Prior built vessels, and before them the Gildersleeves, fat her and son. Early Sag Harbor had t,vo art studios, those of Hubbard L. Fordham and Hazard Parker. Byram's shop was the mechanical center. There were at least four windmills, the larger ones Beebee's at Sherry's Hill, and Peter Hil­ dreth's at Peter's Green, near Sam'l L'Hommedieu's rope ,valk at the Upper Cove. ·fhe first settlers ,vere Fordhan1s, Fosters, Ho\'.\i·ells, 1-Iunttings, Gardiners, Duvalls, Hedges, Coleman, Hicks, Tarbells, Conklings, Sayre, Butler, Ripleys, Coreys, Price. and Norris. The Fordhams, Howells, Fosters, and Hedges, and Sayres came fro1n Southampton; the Conklings, Hicks and Tarbells from East Hampton: the N orrises from Saga­ ponack; the Hulberts and Gelstons from Bridgehampton: the Duvalls and Havens and Griffings from Shelter Isl­ and; the Coreys from Southold: the Gildersleeves from Huntington; the Ripleys from Massachusetts; the Cole- 21-0 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS mans from Nantucket; Capt. Rysam from Norfolk, Va., via Newton, L. I. ; probably Jeremiah Gardiner who lived in Sag Harbor in 1775 came from Nantucket, for he does not seem to be a member of the Gardiner's Island family, and is not the Jeremiah Gardiner pf which there is a record as buried in East Hampton; the L'Hommedieus came from Southold, via Shelter Island, and the Lathams are from New England. Jeremiah Gardiner's name was pro­ nounced "Gar'ner", and French-Hotnmedieu was called "Lum-a-Doo." There \Vere 80 dwelling houses at Sag Harbor in 1810, and the port registered 5,000 tons of vessels. Not only whale fishing but cod-fishing employed a large fleet. There is a record of over 30 vessels engaged in fishing, as shown by licenses issued at the Sag Harbor Custom House for the decade 1810-20, even with the interruption of the war of 1812. I have a note that "Mrs. Miranda Beers, daughter of David ·Gibbs, the old time schoohnaster, stated in 1791 that she had been told by her grandmother, Prudence Foster, a sister of Nathan Fordham, who lived at Old Farm, that she remembered when there were but three houses at Sag Harbor. She died in 1808 82 years old. Her sister married a Bowditch, and they lived in a house owned then by one Norris. This house was on Turkey Hill. \\Then 11iss Fordham \Vas only 14 years old she can1e down through the woods all the way to this house on the bluff, near the Clift, and there were only two other houses there. The year was between 1730-40. Joseph Conkling had a house corner Division and Burke street about 1760, and a son, Capt. Edward, who lost his life in the Revolutionary \Var, lived south of the dwelling, where Henry Conkling lived, then Capt. Wickham S. Havens, and no,v the Misses Cady. John Foster had a brick store before the Revolution near where William R. Street's shop used to stand. Some have tried SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 211 to establish that this store remains standing as the "Um­ brella house" at Division street. This cannot be so. I have a note "After the Revolution Foster found his store entirely demolished." Foster mentions this when he peti­ tions the N. Y. State Legislature for relief when he has been imprisoned for debt. Foster was a character and a great mathematician. He asserted he could "figger how many solid feet there were in a load of brush." John Sage who attained manhood in the next generation after Foster, was a wonderful mathematician versed in astronomical cal­ culation, and a savant. The Lathams were once very prominent. They spring from Capt. Hubbard Latham, .who came from Noank, Conn., to Sag Harbor, in 1760. The record seems to in­ dicate that Latham had dealings, if not business associa­ tion with the Gildersleeves, who were preparing to build a vessel at Sag Harbor. Hubbard Latham was a "hustler." He took many of the refugees from Sag Harbor to Con­ necticut. He went there, with his family, after the Br1t­ ish had plundered his Long Island home. After the Revo­ lution he returned to Sag Harbor, where he owned much land. Born in 1746 he died in 1813. He had 12 children. None of his children survived in 1900. Eleazer Latham, who lived near the Pentecostal church, at Division street, and now deceased, was a grandson of Hubbard Latham, and George Latham, Eleazer' s son, was in direct descent from the Noank L.athams. Eleazer Latham never ,vrote history; but he accumu­ ]ated much about Sag Harbor and Sag Harbor people, ,vhich he gave to others to preserve in print. The Hovves family came early to Sag Harbor, brought from Nantucket to help in the whaling ventures. Tvvo Captain Howes sailed vessels for Charles T. Dering, agent and outfitter. Sears Howes appears to have been their father. His wife was Sarah Havens the daughter of "\t\Tilliam Havens, of Shelter Island. They had a son, or !12 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS maybe a grandson, William Brown Howes, who was a whaler, and I think was once master of the ship "Nimrod." The Howes may have come from Cape Cod before go­ ing to Nantucket. Hedges, in his genealogy, says: "Daniel Fordam, one of the first settlers of Sag Harbor, was there as early as 1769, and was a brother of Esquire Nathan Fordham." And another note by Hedges, indicates that Nathan Ford­ ham, Sag Harbor's pioneer, who lived at Old Farm, was father of a Nathan Fordham. We know the wife of Daniel Fordham was, a Phebe Jessup, of Noyac. The Daniel Fordhams had daughters Frances W et&tworth ( meadow west of Main street named for "Pap" Went- worth), and Charlotte Kirtland ( early East Hampton set­ tler) ; their sons were Samuel, Nathan, J arus, Thaddeus, Joel, Frederick and Daniel. Frederick died from priva­ tions suffered as a prisoner on the ships in the Revolution­ ary war. His death came shortly after his release. Samuel died young, before his father, leaving a daughter, · Eliza­ beth. Nathan sailed as mate of the whale ship "Marcus,.,' and was father of Samuel Fordham, who kept a little store in late life in Main street residential section, Samuel, also one time kept the Mansion House. Jarus was tavern keeper, succeeding his father, Daniel. Hubbard L. Ford­ ham was a son of Jarus, and grandson of Daniel the large landlord, ship owner, captain and tavern keeper and vic­ tualer of ships. Daniel lived to be 86, dying in 1816. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 213

THEN AND NOW

A nonagenarian died at Sag Harbor, in 1927. In the last years of his life he complained of the changes and par­ ticularly compared the ascending wage scale and accom­ panying advance in all cost of commodities. He in early life \Vas a carpenter, working for $1 a day, and walking 4 miles to his job, and 4 miles back to his home, each day, but Sunday. Meats, prime cuts, were a shilling a pound, rum was 3c a glass, and those who indulged in cigars were con­ sidered extravagant if they paid more than "two for five." Sag Barbor had the advantages of a newspaper as early as 1791. In 1804, the Suffolk Gazette, published ,veekly at Sag Harbor, has this odd communication: "Gentleman: as we are coming to the season for hot weather in which nature calls for drink and there has been difficulty to keep small beer from souring in hot weather in two or three days, by which necessity obliges us to make more use of spirituous liquors than persons ,vould otherwise choose, it may be useful to communicate to the public a method of brewing good wholesome small beer ,vhich will not sour, namely- "Take two ounces of hops, and boil them three or four hours in three or four pails-£ ull of water; then scald two quarts of molasses in the liquor, and turn it up into a clean half-barrel, boiling hot; then fill it up with cold v.rater; before it is quite full, put in your emptyings to vvork it; ( the emptyings it will produce work beer from tin1e to time) the next day you will have agreeable whole­ same s1nall beer, that will not fill vvith wind like that which is brewed from malt and bran; and it will keep good until it is all drank. I have practiced this method for about a year in 111y ovvn family, and find it very useful." The papers of earlier years show that most of the "general stores" sold rum. They also advertised wool, chintzes, Calicoes, din1ities, modes, satins, lutrings, cam- 214 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS brick muffins, jaconet, madras, hemp and worsted, nan­ keens humhums, bedtick and diaper, durants and.· cali­ mancoes, hairpowder and pomatum, hops, barley and mid­ dlings. Sag Harbor was a live seaport in 1840-50. A com­ munication printed in the "Riverhead News," of 1882, says: "In the active days of Sag Harbor, with some 300 or 400 whalemen of various colors and nationalities on the streets, with more than a score of places where Hquor was sold, there was a great deal of fighting and 'raising the devil' going on. \Ve remember there were two or three old fellows from Orient and Shelter Island who made per1- odical visits to Sag Harbor, kept 'Pinkster' for several days, usually putting up at Mrs. Tabitha Raymond's. (Wil­ liam Raymond's property, in 18~0, was just west of Long Wharf, even then a very active locality.) Sag Harbor had no 'Four Hundred,' but entertainment was supplied in the 'idle forties' by the "900," and the significance of the num­ ber was ,well understood then. The red lights were kept burning beyond 'Lamb's corner'; the 'Coffee house, at the Bridge,' had cellarage for 500 barrels of liquors. There was a good deal of drinking in Sag Harbor at that time. The 'Republican Watchman' office ,vas in the san1e build­ ing as a store of lower Main street, said store selling liquor. The printing office occupied the rear of the store; and the next house, separated by a narrow alley, was a sailors' boarding-house, for the accommodation mostly of foreign­ ers and colored men. In the yard there was often a lively fight. We remember one in Mr. Brown's yard, when two big darkies, an American negro named Bill Ha.rvy and a Portuguese called Totn Delombo had an ugly fight. Bill got Tom down and tried to gouge out his eyes, but a clerk came out and with some sturdy blows and kicks separated the combatants. A darky called Zip Coon was hoisting a barrel of wine to the loft of Mr. Bro,vn's store hous\!. Also SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 215

Henry Jessup was in the loft door receiving it. In S\ving­ ing it in he took hold of the cant-hooks instead of the chines of the barrel, and, of course, as soon as the tackle \Vas slacked, he pulled off the hooks, and down went the barrel to the ground. Zip was on the ground, flat, as soon as the barrel, and dan1med some the strea1n. Where there were depressions in the ground and little streams he fair­ ly reveled. The ground and Zip soon absorbed the 'poison.' "Rum selling was not then considered a disreputable business, perhaps because whiskey was not drank. Leading men of church and village affairs were in the business. Arnold Van Scoy, one of the old deacons in the Presbyterian church and eminent for his piety, al­ ways sold it at his store. But the effect of these stores was worse than the hotels of the 80' s, as the boys would meet there nights after the stores were closed, play cards and drink egg-nog, or roses, or peppermint, aniseed, and other cordials, shrub and other pleasant drinks, unheard of in these days." 216 SAG HARBOR IN" EARLIER DAYS

AN EARLY CENSUS

From a census of Southampton town and East Hamp­ ton town, taken in the midsummer of 1776, on July 4, the population of Sag Harbor settlement may be approximat­ ed. It is much greater than historical writers have placed it. In the enumeration the heads of the familes are given, but from various sources information has been gleaned to establish the number of persons in the family. In the list of Sag Harbor residents, of 1776, the names of such per­ sons as are positively known to then be living at the port are given, and a star is placed after the names of those who probably lived here. The census as taken applies to all of East Hampton town, and to that section of South­ ampton to,vn east of \Vater 11ill, including Bridgehamp­ ton and that part of Sag Harbor west of what is Division street, the dividing line, for Sag Harbor is located in both towns. As a prelimnary, to envisioning the Landing of Sagg, or Sag Harbor, as it was in earlier years, there were no permanent habitations before 1700 on the village site; one Russell (probably John) lived in vicinity of the Har­ bor in 1707, (possibily at North Haven); Samuel Russell bought land near what is now railroad depot in 1739 ( a son of John); about 1730 there were three houses at the Landing, and Nathan Fordham, Jr., later has Russell's property and the others are John Foster and Daniel Ford­ ham. James Ho,vell, of Southampton, located in 1761, and accommodated travelers who came to embark for New England ports, The list below embraces Sag Harbors environs such as North Side, Brick I(ilns, N oyac and North Haven, in 1776; No. Persons Family Head Male F en1ale Garradeus Drake, Scuttle Hole, 3 3 Joshua Budd, Little N oyac, 4 4 Joseph Rusell* 1 4 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 217

No. Persons Family Head Male Female Peter Pain, Little N oyack, 3 2 Daniel Pain, Little N oyack, 5 3 David Stanbrough, Brick Kilns, 2 3 Stephen Stanbrough, Brick Kilns, 1 2 John Edwards, N oyack 4 7 Lieut. Wm. Havens* 3 4 Silas Stuart, Brick Kilns, 4 4 Anthony Sherman, turnpike, 4 2 Nathan Fordham, Esq., Old Farm, 2 3 John vV oodruff, Brush N eek, 1 2 Sam'l L'Ho1nmedieu, 2 1 Joseph Gibbs, 2 3 John Foster, 6 5 Na than Post,* refectory, 1 2 Obadiah Gildersleeve, 5 4 George Fordham, 5 6 Silas Norris, 5 3 John Hulbert, 1 3 Ti1nothy Matthews, 2 3 Josiah Cooper* 3 4 Lemuel Ho,vell, Brick Kilns, 3 3 Uriah Miller 4 2 Daniel Fordham, 7 3 Jonathan Hill, 2 6 Benj. Coleman, 3 2 J a1nes Storer, 2 2 \\,'"id. Temperance Foster, 3 4 Ti1nothy Hedges, 4 4 James Howell, 2 5 Jam es \1/iggins, 2 2 Silvanus Wick, 1 3 \Vid. Eliz. Hicks, 2 2 \~rid. Hannah La than1, 0 2 Hubbard Latham, 4 4 218 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

No. Persons Family Head Male Female Edward Conkling, 3 6 Ephraim Fordham, 5 3 David Sayre, Hogonock, 4 2 Jeremiah Gardiner, 2 1 Benj. Price, 2 2 William Hallock, 3 1 Braddock Corey, ::,·,- 3 William Duvall, 5 4 Daniel Havens, North Haven, 3 1 George Havens, 4 3 Alexander King* 2 4 Benj. King, boatman, 2 2 Constant Havens, North Haven, 6 4 Joseph Havens, North Haven, 4 1 Dr. Jonathan Havens, North Haven, 6 3 John Pain, North Haven, 4 7 John Hudson, Jr.* \:Villiam Button (Butler) 4 4 VVid. Sarah Tarbell, 0 2 "\iVid. Sarah Bo\vditch, 0 3 Joseph Conkling, 4 6 Edward Wick. 3 3 Jeremiah Mulford* David Hand Peter Hildreth Tsaac Jes sup, N oyack, 3 2 Silas Jessup, N oyack, Nathaniel Jessup, N oyack, 2 1 Jonathan Pain, North Haven, 5 5 Ephraim Pain, North Haven Samuel Havens, North Haven* Peter Pain 190 195 Total ...... 385 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 219

It is difficult to locate the habitations of all the above. Of the I{ings we know Benjamin King, Jr., was captain of a vessel and carried many to Connecticut, and that he was a native of Oysters Ponds (Orient.) Of the Paynes­ Ephraim, Jonathan and Peter, with their families, all em­ barked from Sag Harbor as refugees. ' Jeremiah ·'Mul­ ford's "hill" on East Hampton side of town, is recorded very early. I think he lived in Sag Harbor about the time of the Revolution. The widow of Capt. David Mul­ ford married Capt. Wm. J. Rysam, and most of the lands in eastern part of Sag Harbor were owned by Rysam, he adding to his holdings by purchasing the extensive lands of the Conklings, after the Revolution.

EARLY SCHOOL CENSUSES

.:\ttending the first Sag Harbor school house, at cor­ ner l\1adison and Jefferson streets, in 1795, were: ...A.twood, John Halsey, Nancy Bates, Lorenzo Rowel, Elias Beebe, James Howard, Maria Cone, Reubin Hand, Clarisa Ells, Sam'l Hedges, Lodowick Duvall, Francis Hall, Lucretia Dennison, Edw. Halsey, Eliphalet Corey, John Hall, Polly Crowell, Thomas Hildreth, Mehetable Corey, Asa Havens, Betty Gardiner, Jeremiah Hicks, Sylv. Fordham, William Hicks, John Foster, Phebe Hedges, Howell Fordham, Austin L'Hommedieu, Polly Fordham, Sybil L'Hommedieu, Sally Fordham, Peletiah Miles, Ephm. Fordham, Latham Lugar, Christopher 22-0 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Lugar, George Rogers, James L'Hommedieu, Sarni. Rogers, Edw. Lincoln, Huldah Rogers, Josiah Jermain, Julia Topping, John Jermain, Alanson Satterly, Garrett Jermain, Rebecca Satterly, Stephen Latham, Sally Satterly, Nancy Latham, Abagail Stuart, Sayre Latham, Ruth Topping, Jane Mason, Sally Topping, John Parker, Simeon Topping, Sally Parker, James "\V oodruff, Abrm. Parker, Abrm. The schoolmaster was Jesse Hedges. Trustees of the Sag Harbor school in 1795-96 ,vere Sa111uel L'Homn1e­ dieu, Henry P. Dering and Noah Mason. The number of days each scholar attended is recorded. The greatest number of days' attendance is 142. A list of scholars of the North Haven, or "Hog N eek" s·chool, for 1796, can also be given. San1uel Waters, of East Hampton, was the schooltnaster; the quarter tern1 vvas 60 days, and he ,vas paid $50 per quarter. Trustees were Constant Havens, John Payne and Phinehas Duvall. These school lists have been a great aid in research. They establish that the Duvalls lived on North Haven at one time, and other families noted are Rider and Gardiner. Duvall, -Austin I1avens, Polly Duvall, Rebecca Havens, Nancy Duvall, Harriet Havens. Hyra1n Gardiner, 1\1 inerva Payne, Jeremiah Gardiner, Rebecca Payne, Selah Havens, Silas Payne, VVilson Havens, Sally Pavne. Marv ~ . . Havens, Ezekiel Payne, Charles Havens, David Payne, Zeruih SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 221

Payne, Charles (2) Rider, Thomas Payne, 1v1ehetable Rider, Timothy Rider, Samuel

THE BRICK KILN SCHOOL

The lands bet,veen the incorporated bounds of Sag Harbor village and Scuttle Hole and North Side were cleared and used for farms to a greater extent 125 years ago, than they are today. There was at Brick Kilns, a school district, and a list of scholars attending the school, in 1796, is available for consultation. Daniel Gibbs was the schoohnaster, and he gave his services for $7 per n1onth for a term from "February ye 1st 1796 to March the 15th li96." School trustees, in 1796, were John Ed­ ,vards, Josiah Hand and Henry Edwards. Below are the scholars: Benet, Polly Hand, Jane Ed,vards, Patience Hand, Fanny Ed wards, Russell Rowel, Elias Edwards, Isaac Payne, Nicholas Edwards, John ye 3rd Sand£ord, --­ Edwards, Elizabeth Stewart, Sayre Edwards, Lucretia Stewart, Abigail Ed,vards, J eremi1na Hand, l\1:ary Edwards, Dan'l Stewart, Na than Edwards, Joseph Stamborough, Elizabeth Edwards, Henry 'rahnage, James Hand, Zeruviah In very early records of Southampton town, the pen­ insula of J essup's N eek is called "ffarrington's neck." The lands ,vere allotted in 16i9 to John Jessup, the grandfather of Silas Jessup, who was a 2nd Lieut. of Minute Men, or State 1-Iilitia, of the 8th Company of Sag Harbor, in 1775. Ho,v the neck of land at Noyack ever came to be called 222 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS after Farrington, one of the founders will, probably never be explained. His surname was "John," and March 10, 1639, Farrington is noted as contributing 10 pounds toward the Southampton colony and the secural of the vessel of Daniell How. He was an "undertaker," for that is the term by which the men were known who settled Southamp­ ton originally. Lands east of Old Town in vicinity of Wickapogue, are also called ":ffarrington'.s neck," which has led to some confusion. Noyack was allotted in 1712, and Obadiah Rogers had the strea1n at Little N oyack for a fulling mill in April, 1686. Noyack is believed to have been settled about 1712. The earliest gravestone, in the ancient cemetery, that may be read, is of slate, to the memory of a Jessup, who died in 1724. Of the men who volunteered and fought at Ticonder­ oga with Capt. John Hulbert, of Bridgehampton, and Sag Harbor, in 1775, the following were of, or living near Sag Harbor: Jeremiah Gardiner . Philip Gildersleeve John Hudson, Jr. Daniel Havens Zebulon Jessup Paul Pain, Jonathan Pain .A.11 of the above are ne,v na1nes found in a roster of 1775, discovered in 1927. So1ne of the n1en after,vards fought in other regiments ,vith the Continentals; some of them ,vent to Connecticut as refugees. John Hulbert had a shop standing on the beach at Sag Harbor, January 7, 1774, 40 x 20 feet plot of ground leased fro1n the to,vn. SAG HAR·BOR IN EARLIER DAYS 223·

A NOTABLE ANNIVERSARY

Mrs. J. J. Harrison, Miss Anna Mulford and Miss Addie Sayre of the Sag Harbor Historical Society (now defunct), attended about 30 years ago a re-union held in Brooklyn in the old Prentice house, Grace street. It was an anniversary occasion. Benjamin Coleman, whose house in li76, stood at site of Municipal building, and figured in some unusual incidents, was a native of Nan­ tucket, a Quaker, and the fat her of Julia Prentice, wife of Ezekiel Mulford. The old Coleman house was razed by gunpowder, in 1845, to prevent spread further south of the big fire of that year. The ,vomen of the Sag Harbor historical society took ,vith them photographs of the old house which formerly stood on the old Brick Kiln road, at the top of the hill overlooking the village and which was used as a hospital, or an outpost by the British in 1777. It was the first place seized by the Meigs' Expedition. This old ruin will be re­ n1en1bered by s01ne still living, but it was demohshed about 50 years ago. An illustration of another old house said to be of the Revolutionary period ( still standing) was also displayed-the brick gabled-roofed structure on Division street, knovvn as "the Umbrella house," because of its peculiar architecture. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the old house was occupied by two brothers named Denison ,vho vvere hatters, and they 1nanufactured their goods on the pren1ises. They came from Stnningtan, Conn., to Sag Harbor. S01ne of their descendants are still liv:ing. The Un1brella house has been said to be t~e oldest house in Sag Harbor. If the statement is qualified to the 1nain part of the structure and to the oldest brick house, it vvill pass; but the Daniel Fordham house, now in Green street is n1uch older, and the house owned by Mrs. John Boyd on l\fain street is very ancient. The Fordham house has~ ho,vever, been so changed, as to bear no re- 224 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS semblance to its original framed lines. This Fordham house is of the period soon after 1745 when the very broad highway at Sag Harbor was divided and n1ade narrower. The part divided was soon after occupied as house and store house lots. The Fordham house stood on Lot 1, at the Clift. Of this old house there is record as follows: "In 1897, the old Fordham House after about a cen­ tury and a half of existance, took up its third itinerary. The old landmark originally stood at the foot of Main street and is said to have been kept as a hotel by Daniel Fordham. Longer ago than contemporaneous memory serves it was moved up town. Tradition says that some­ thing broke down and it did not reach its destination but was landed on a lot on Madison square where it stood (in 1897) between the present houses of Dr. VVheeler ( no,v owned by Edward Howell, and occupied by Louis Hertz) and R. J. Power, until Dr. Wheeler built, ,vhen it was moved back to Church street, on the rear of the Po,ver lot (later Ho,,rell's meat market). Mr. Power, anxious to obtain a rear entrance to his property, effected it. The house was partially reconstructed when it was moved last. Its present line of march has been: up Church street to Sage; down Sage street to Madison; down Madison street to Main ; up 1iain street to Glover; down Glover street to Green street. It will bivouac on 'Peter's Green' until further orders."-1897. There is another old house going back to times of the war for independence: but like the Fordhan1 house. it has been so completely reconstructed as to give no iri­ dica tion of its former appearance. It stands on lJ nion street, next to the corner of Division street. It \vas o,vned t,vo generations ago by l\1rs. Squires, ,vho· re1nodelled it about 1880. It ,vas formerly a story and a half gan1brel­ roofed d,velling built of frame, by one journeyman joiner Corev. · .i\nd this house \Vas the residence of Sir. Tohn ~ - Okltnixon. the friend of George the Fourth. Olchnixon SAG I-I.ARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 225 spent his latter days in Sag Harbor and died in this house. I have been told on creditable authority: "Oldmixon, was an erratic Englishman of some historic notoriety, who was for some reason exiled to Sag Harbor, and died here in poverty, and was buried in an unknown grave in Old Bury­ ing Ground. v\r e re1nember when a boy ( 1845) to have seen a small, worn, red stone bearing his name, and mark­ ing the place of his grave. Time, the vandal, has long since obliterated all traces of the spot." i\. very ancient pre-Revolutionary house was torn down at the time the house of the Misses Sayre was built. The site ,vas corner Division and Sage streets. The house should not be confounded ,vith the "Abram Gardiner house" still standing on Sage street, north side. Of this locality no,v owned by the Fahys' interests, Henry Haines and ,vife Sarah of Shelter Island, sell of John Godbee, of Sag Harbor a lot bounded E. by road leading from Sag Harbor to East Hampton, S. by road to Meeting house fron1 said East Hampton road, vvest hy the highway with­ in 2 rods of the Meeting house, N. by land of Daniel Ford­ ham ¼ acre ,vi th house thereon, Jan. 6, 1796. And Nathan Fordhan1 sells to John Godbee 4 1-3 fifties in Lot 10, 1'welve-acre division, eastward of the Meeting house, Aug. 25, 1800. John Fordham and wife Lydia sell to the Commis­ sioners of Highways, the parcel of land or highway in rear of his lot in Sag Harbor, for a highway to the Meeting house and commonly called the back street (now a part of Church street from Sage to Washington street) ; the ·said land was sold to John Fordham by Nathan Fordham, Esq. Price 3 dollars. Sept. 4, 1802. The witnesses are Ephraim and Hannah Fordham. 226 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

THE "COMMON" AT SAG HARBOR

It is possible to ascertain the value of Sag Harbor lands in earlier years by consulting the old records. When Main street was made narrower March 17, 1818, about 12 feet was added to Pelletiah Fordham's lot (railroad term­ inal) and for it he pair $29.16; the lot next south, Asa Partridge paid $29.51 for added 14 feet frontage. Silas Payne's store lot stood opposite Pelletiah Fordham, leav­ ing the highway 7 poles, 1 link in width at this place. Thomas Beebe's lot appears to be next south of Partridge, and opposite Beebe on the east side of the street next south of Payne, the cellar of Robert Fordham. Between Pelletiah Fordham and Partridge the heirs of John N. Fordham owned a lot and they added from 13 to 14 feet frontage paying for it $30.87. Thomas Beebe paid $38.90 for about the same frontage at ,vest side of the street. The Partridge store stood a little over the line and he also gave $5 for the few inches encroachment. John Norris sells to John Russell 26 acres bounded "S by 10 acres I sold Edward Howell E by by J ohnes land N by highway by Sagg Harbor road price 132 pounds, 9 shillings, August 9, 1742." John Russell is appointed one of three coin missioners to divide lands in dispute between Thomas Russell and Thomas Sandford at Hog N eek Spring, in 1712. This is the Russell family living either at Sag Harbor or North Haven, and who are mentioned as early as 1707, in con­ nection vvith lands at Sag Harbor. Pelletreau seen1s to think l\tlr. Russell's house stood about where is now Joseph Santacroce' s store (land at one time of heirs of Albert Hedges.) John l\iitchell o,vned in 1775 the lot where novv stands the Bav Vievv House: he sold it to Daniel Fordhan1. Lands ~ . further south on Main street, knovvn as Lot No. 4 (De- SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 221

Castro land was "Lot No. 1, at Clift") were sold by Henry and Levi Howell in 1775 to Daniel Fordham. Nathan Sayre owned in 1804 the lot on which stands the new Electric Light Co., building, Main and Washing­ ton streets. It was kno,vn as "west part of Amendment No. 6." Note.-The "highway to Sag-Harbor" is the continu­ ation of Sagg street at Sagg. The Howells lived on the corner where lived Edwards Howell in our day. John Norris lived where Stephen Topping later lived. Sag Harbor was laid out as the landing place £or Sagg; it was much shorter traveled and handier than landings at North­ west or North Sea. The road at south end of Great South division lots now called Cook's lane runs from the road from Sagg to Sag Harbor, on the north side of Poxabogue Pond, a pond sold to the Howell fishing company in 1793. 1739.-"It was .voted yt Samuel Russell shall have four poles of land att Sagg harber adjoining to his meadow, to be sold to him at the discretion of Isaac Jessup ( of Noyack) and John Morehouse." The house of Nathan Fordham, Jr., stood near the site of the railroad depot in 1764. It afterwards descended to his son Pelletiah Fordham, the tavern keeper, who also sailed vessels at times and owned the sloop "Bellona" about 1800. YVashington street is laid out bet\veen -Amendments 5 & 6 of Little Division, in 1787. \\T ey Clark lived on the lot now occupied by the Cath­ olic church and the rectory. ·vVidow Elizabeth Hicks house stood on the corner of vVashington and Church streets, on the west side of the latter, nearly opposite where were the engine room and boiler rooms of the Montauk cotton mills.. The house of Henry P. D-1ering still stands at corner V nion and Church streets, ( no,v Lindberg.) 228 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Abram Gardiner lived at the corner Sage and Division streets, at north side of Sage street; the house still stands. Pelletiah Fordham sells to John Mitchell 20 acres at Hog N eek Point, bounded E by Daniel Sayre, N by high­ way Wand S by water, 65 pounds, Nov. 10, 1719.

ORIGIN OF SAG HARBOR

The origin of Sag Harbor came about by the people of Sagaponack requiring a convenient landing to receive and ship goods. Capt. Mulford had a storehouse and wharf at Northwest before 1700; at Bull Head bay, Se­ bonack, Wm. Barker, Southampton's first merchant, had a storehouse and landing. These were miles away from Saga­ ponack and a long haul over poor roads. Sagaponack was very early settled. The population of Sagaponack and Meacox grew. The "Landing" at Sag Harbor was called until 1760 "the Harbor of Sagg" and "Sagaponack Har­ bor." There is one entry in records where it is called "Bridge Han1pton Harbor." The storehouse of John Fos­ ter was at Sag Harbor in 1756. There is a Nathan Ford­ ham living, apparently, at Sag Harbor, in 1755. Fordham and Foster, both juniors, build a wharf and try-house in 1764. It stood at the deep water, near site of the ''Whitney house;'' which was built for the toll-house of North Haven toll-bridge constructed in 1834 to connect North Haven \.vith Sag Harbor. There is a record, with no date, appearing very old, that Richard Shaw "shall have liberty to sett up a ,vare~ house at Sag Harbor in sum place at ye discretion of Elisha Howell and Isaac Jessup," and Jessup is living a-l N oyack, about 1712 vvhen lands there were allotted. Thomas Sha,v, a cooper, lived at North Sea. in 1682; he had several sons. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 229

William Russell lived at North End in 1657 and died in 1678. A wharf site was allotted one Russell in 1749. His sons were Oliver, born 1671, and William. Oliver Russell, a cooper, is listed in 1649, but he removed to Cape May, N. J., about that time. William married a daughter of Obadiah Rogers, one Elizabeth. William was drowned in 1681. There was a Samuel Russell, probably of East Hampton, after whom Russell's N eek, I think was named; he had a son David. Samuel ,vas probably a son of Wil­ liam. The Russells lived in vicinity of Sag Harbor, soon after North Haven had been allotted in 1680; and the next fan:iily seemingly to occupy lands is Mitchell at North Haven, ,vhich is apparently habitated by the English of the Hampton settlements long years before there are any living pern1anently at Sag Harbor. In 1688 there is a dispute over bounds between East Han1pton and Southampton and East Hampton claims a part of Hog N eek, the old bound apparently being one tin1e n1uch fart her to the west than now. This, despite Southampton having bought Hog N eek from Shelter Isl­ and Indians in 1665, and having allotted it in 1680. Sa1nuel Russell is noted as "deceased" in 1745, for Lot 12 Little division, 9 fifties, is drawn by his heirs. John Edwards, Jr., owned the lot at southv1est corner on ,vhat is no,v about l\1:ain and Jefferson streets in 1792. 1-\ petition for change of road to Union street survey is then 1nade by Braddock Corey, John Edwards, Jr., Stephen Satterly and Duy Daily, the latter living then where How­ ard L. Renev now ovvns . .I A petition ,vas filed the same year to open Church street from Sage to Washington streets. It is signed by Na than Fordhan1, Jonathan vVeldon, David Pierson, Noah l\iason~ Hubbard Latham, John Fordham, Henry Moore and Elizabeth Hicks, who o,:vned most of the lands, and 1nost of ,vhon1 then resided in Sag Harbor. 230 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

In 1792, it was voted that there be a pound and stocks at Sag Harbor. The highway from Sagg Harbor to North Sea was made more convenient in 1762. The highway that goes from Sagg harbour to Sagg is mentioned as layed out in 1762, then coming down west of Old Burying Ground to Little division of 1745, at what is now Madison and Union streets vicinity. Nathan Fordham, Jr., leases to John Foster, Jr., for the term of 999 years a certain parcel of land situate lying and being at Sagg Harber, being 60 feet in length and 30 feet in breadth, bounded north by the beach, E S W by meadow belonging to said Fordham, the said land is for the building of a storehouse and tan yard, rent one pepper corn if it be lawfully demanded. March 8, 1756. Young Fordham and young Foster were partners and built the wharf and try house in 1762. 1747. John Foster, Jr., shall have liberty to set up a tan house by the pond side. Note.-this shows that Foster was a tat.lner. This pond was not at Sag Harbor, but "by John Howell's water fence," Southampton. Theophilus Howell of Bridgehampton bought large tracts of land in and near Sag Harbor, and he sells to Richard Partelo, shoemaker, 3 acres of land at Sagg Head (near Poxabogue) bounded N by land of Josiah Hand. \V by Job Sayre, S by country road, E by undivided land. Price 17 pounds, Oct. 31, 1737. The above is on the road from Sagg to Sag Harbor, north of the country road and Theophilus Howell bought it from his brother Nathaniel in 1715 for 4 pounds. All lands and meadows at Farrington's N eek (J essup's N eek) were "for love and affection" given by John Jes­ sup, of N oyack, to his eldest son Isaac Jessup. and Great N oyack, and many other lands, his home and chvelling house "at Old To,vn," in 1713. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 231

POLITICAL AMENITIES 50 YEARS AGO

Presidential campaigns do not seem to stir up the in­ terest and the intense partisan feeling that they did fifty years ago. The gap between the various groups of f ac­ tions was pronounced and all the captious and disgruntlea Copperheads, Barnburners, Greenbackers, Abolishionists. N ullificationists, States-Rights men critisized and carped at the administration of government by the Union party. The aftermath of the assassination of President Lincoln, the attempted impeachment of Andrew Johnson, the scandals and embezzlements of G!rant's administration, the Credit-Mobilier expose, and the bitter feeling arising from the Hayes-Tilden election and the "crime of 1876," are not to be lightly set aside. Suffolk County, a truly rural community, with subsidiary interests of commerce and fisheries took its politics seriously. Men were extreme partisans and political campaigns were lively affairs. The Republicans were "Black," and the Democrats were anathema and "Seccess," although the war of sections had been over for three presidential elections. Cannon, torch light processions, marching clubs, the "bloody shirt" and lurid oratory from the hustings were the order rather than the exception. Campaign speakers were much more free in expression than to-day. The retort courteous was yet to be introduced. and opponents were not even damned by faint praise. Men called a spade a spade. The "man with the hoe" had not been eulogized. The presidential campaigns started early. Clubs were more a medium of getting out the vote, than the "machine." Assessments of office-hold­ ers for campaign expenses had in both parties reached the scale of- scandal and corruption. In Suffolk County cam­ paign orators pandered to the "battle-scarred veteran" and "our colored brother," ,vhile the opposition was not so nice, and referred to "bottle-scared bounty jumpers" 232 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS seeking pensions, and called the black man a "nigger." Garfield was shot in the next campaign before serving out his term, and when Rev. Burchard declaimed of the party of "rum, Romanism and rebellion" in the Cleveland-Blaine campaign, the fat was again in the fire. Suffolk County '~rock-ribbed Republican," went for Cleveland by 500 ma­ jority and New York State gave its electoral vote to the Democrats by barely 1,100 majority. Partisans boldly affirmed that the "crime of '76" had been evened by the "stolen election of 1884." The campaign had been bitter with its "Tattooed Man," and burning of "Mulligan Let­ ters," and its "Maria Halpins." Other than letters were burned. Poli ti cal banners of both parties went up in smoke, in one town, the night of election. Suffolk County was not hopeless for the Democrats half a century ago. Occasionally they elected men to office. Nomination was not a "forlorn hope." There was competition for place at both Republican and Democratic nominating conventions. The party leaders were more frequently assailed then than at this time. Individuals ,vere called by name and branded "Judas Iscariot," "Bar­ rabas," dictators or as the case might be "noxious Weeds," "Platt-ers," or "Tammany-Indians," and "pelfters." In one nominating convention when a leader had been assailed for "selling out" and called a "Judas,'"' he was sus­ tained by a henchman who explained that the opposing faction in the party had not been "tempted." \iVith all the bitterness of politics as "played" in the old days, there were always risibilities. The forging of a telegram assigned to a Suffolk politician, vvho later be­ came a power in a presidential ad1ninistration, pinned the nick-name "Proxy" on him for life. l\1en who were ,von over by office, or promise of office, were "approache

PRISON SHIP VICTIMS

There were Sag Harbor men incarcerated on the prison ships. David Hand was in the Sugar House, at the WaIJa­ bout, and in the prison ships. He was also imprisoned in Halifax. He escaped and footed it home, across New Eng­ land in dead of winter. He started to go jn the expedition with J\1:ontgomery, became sick at Albany and returned. When afterwards following the sea on privateers, he ,vas taken prisoner five times; and he was _pressed in the Brit­ ish navy and escaped. John Sawyer, a nephew of Capt. Daniel Havens of Sag Harbor, was taken a prisoner at sea. He was kept prisoner on the frigate Maidstone. In N evv Y.,. ork harbot he and a lad named Christopher Hawkins, escaped fron1 the ship, walked· Long Island to Sag Harbor ,vhere they were concealed at the Havens' house (probably at ~, orth ~laven). They were then smuggled over to Connecticut. S:ig Harbor was at the time held by the ·British. Sawyer was killed on a privateer off Montauk Point. Ifav;ki!ls ,vas captured, placed in a Jersey prison ship, escaped again ~tark naked, borrowed clothing and made his ,i\.1 ay again to Sag Harbor and security of friends. Capt. Na than Fordham was confined on board a prison ship, as was also his brother, Frederick Fordham, says Mrs. Herbert Latham Fordha1n. Frederick died soon after the brothers were released. He was but 17 years old. He is buried in Old Burying Ground. Nathan lived to a great age and when 76 years old, in 1833, received a pension for participation in the Revolutionary war. Judge Hedges, who was an orator, as well as historian, ornately expressed the part of Sag Harbor in the war: "At what a cost of privation Sag Harbor obtained independ­ ence. The victor's hostile flag floated before the eyes of her native born freemen. The victor's shout of triumph SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 235 saluted their ears. Her wharves, stores and houses held by her adversaries. Her shipping gone. Her trade ruined. The products of her fields seized by her foes and often robbed by professed friends. The aged and infirm and sick, dying and dead without medical relief. Her sons fu­ gitives in the armies of Liberty and on privateers, that heroically assail their enemy, or in prisons or dungeons. Her daughters subjected to the approach of soldiers of a garrison ,vhose desire was their dishonor, whose every victory brought them nearer to the gate of despair. All threatened with pestilence, with gaunt famine, and all last to look on the retreating ships of their country's foes and last to re-echo the glad hurrahs for Freedom and Inde­ pendence gained. vVhen the British ships sailed from New York they took thousands of royalists, born Americans, with them-not one from Sag Harbor. Her sons and daughters were true to the harmonies of Union and In­ dependence. In the war of the Revolution, and that of 1812, the British fleet anchored and held supremacy in Gardiner's Bay. No son of Long Island should wish a hostile flag again to float therein, secure in triumph .A.t any and all cost our navy should be such as to forbid that recurrence. As a child I remember the intense boil­ ing wrath of the American people against England. No sign of the time is 1nore cheering than the harmony now het,veen them. The memory of Sag Harbor's martyrs should never be forgotten." In 1779, General l\1cdougall reported to Governor Clinton that "it is certain there are 14 Companies of Light Infantry at Southampton." The brutal Major Cochrane comn1anded at Sag Harbor, where he flogged a Russell lad untii blood ran down his legs, and then had him tied up to a tree "for a target." 236 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS

During the Revolution, in 1775 and the spring, sum­ mer and fall months of 1776 salt and salt peter, made at Sag Harbor (Hog Neck), was removed to Connecticut. As indicating the official activities at or near Sag Har­ bor the records show : Dec. 28, 1776. Money was voted to David Gelston, who had a store at Sag Harbor, with John Hulburt, to pay salt peter claims. Jan. 28, 1777. Capt. Jeremiah Rodgers is paid for keeping a lookout for enemy's fleet at Southampton (Sag Harbor) for 111 days, certified by Henry Herrick, mem­ ber of the Southampton Committee. Feb. 27, 1777. An account from Mr. L'Hommedieu of Capt. Daniel Collins for the expense of re1noving pow­ der, small arms, etc., (These arms were taken from a house where stored in East Hampton.) June 12, 1777. Petition to Committee of Safety ask­ ing relief is signed by 45 eastern Long Island heads of families in Connecticut, among them Lt. \Villiam Havens, Capt. Daniel Fordham, Capt. Ephraim Fordhan1 of Sag Harbor. James Foster, of Sag Harbor, went as a delegate to the First Provincial Congress in 1775; David Gelston, in 1776 and 1777. From Journals of N. Y. State Senate and Assembly 1777-1799, inclusive: Jan. 31, 1785. Petition of John Foster, of Sag Har­ bor, relative to a vessel taken in 1776 for the use of the U. S. Committee reported that it vvas a transaction to be settled for by the U. S. Feb. 9, 1790. Petition of John Foster relative to burn­ ing of his ship, on the stocks, at Sag Harbor, by the enen1y, in 1777. Loss $10,000. Jan. 11, 1796. Deposition of Capt. "\\Tilliam Havens, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 237 of Sag Harbor, sworn to at Southampton, Jan. 21, 1794, states that he is the only surviving officer of Capt. Davis· Company of the 4th N. Y. Regt., and that he did enlist Thomas Filer, of East Hampton, in Dec., 1776, during the war, who did serve until on or about Nov. 1, 1777, when he departed this life at Poughkipsey. Filer died from wounds October, li77. 1778-82. David Gelston, an Assemblyman. After the ,var the Legislature returned to N. Y. City. Col. Benj. Huntting, says Conn. State Records, a re­ fugee from British tyranny, is granted liberty to bring his property from Long Island Into Connecticut, he taking the oath of fidelity. This is the Huntting, who after the

Revolutionarv., war v.ras a Colonel of State Militia. He established ,vhaling as an enterprise at Sag Harbor in 1785 and died in 1807. \;\Tarrants issued by the Provincial Congress, dated June 29, 1775 to John Haloburt, (Hulburt) Captain; WU­ lian1 Havens, 2nd Lieutenant. Enlisted in Col. Josiah Smith's 1st Regt. Suffolk Coun­ ty l\Iinute 1vlen, 1776, these Sag Harbor men: Ljeut. Sam­ uel L'Ho1nn1edieu, Joseph Conkling, John Foster, Jere­ n1iah Gardiner, Philip Gildersleeve, John Hudson, Jr., Isaac Jessup (Noyack), Zebulon Jessup (Noyack), John Pain ( Hog N eek), Silas Pain ( Hog N eek), Silas Rugg (Noyack), DaYid Russell (Little North \\Test). John Hurlburt appointed Lt. Col., of 3rd Regt. Gen. Scott's Provisional Brigade, June 9, 1776. John Foster ,vas a 1st Lieut. in Capt. David Pierson's Con1pany of Col. Smith's Regt. Philip Gildersleeve w=:l.s Corporal. David Russell ,vas a private. Jeremiah Gardiner was a private. Silas Pain was a private. Hugh Gelston, of Bridgehampton, ,vas clerk. He af ter\vards liYed in Sag Harbor. 288 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

John Hudson, Jr., was a private. Zebulon Jessup had rank as sergeant. Silas Rugg was a private. From diary of Col. Josiah Smith July 23-Sept. 7, 1776: Aug. 9, 1776. I went from Oyster Pond to Shelter Island and from thence to Sag Harbor and Lodged with Mr. (John) Foster. 10. I spent at Sagharbor with Coll. (Henry B.) Liv­ ingston and a number of the princepal Inhabitence.

SAG HARBOR BOYS FOUGHT WITH COMMODORE JOHN PAUL JONES

Among those who served as 2nd Lieutentant of the 1st Southampton Company of N. Y., State Militia, in Feb­ ruary, 1776, is mentioned Paul Jones. Phillip Russell, who writes a life of "John Paul Jones, Man of Action," replies in 1928 to an interrogatory: "I think it quite possible that Jones knew Sag Har­ 'bor, but I doubt if he was the militia lieutenant." There were Sag Harbor men who fought on board Commodore Jones' ship the "Ranger." Many of the men of East Hampton and Southampton town whose names are enrolled in Col. Josiah Smith's regi­ ment, in 1776, and who have credit for fighting at the Battle of L.ong Island, in Brooklyn, August of that year, subsequently enrolled and fought for Liberty's cause with other commanders. Other soldiers of the Revolution in­ clude these men of the Hampton to\\,.ns accredited to habitations in or near Sag Harbor: John Hulbert, Esq., Hugh Gelston, Jonathan ·Whelden (who came from Nan­ tucket), John Foster, Elias Matthews, Lt. William Havens, Lt. Edward Conkling, William Morpeth, Joseph Conkling, Nathan Fordham 6, Frederick Fordham 6, David Hand, Jeremiah Hedges. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 239

Sag Harbor people and those who lived nearby suf­ f erred greatly from whaleboat raids and what was called the "Illicit Trade." Armed bodies of men, in whaleboats crossed the L. I. Sound from Connecticut. They were licensed to prey upon the enemy and Tories. The worst feature of this kind of warfare resulted in outrages upon patriots ,vhich often came from those i_supposed to be friends of the outraged. Attacks of this banditti is clearly set forth in complaint of Jonathan Havens, of North Haven to the Con11nittee of Safety. He ,vas compensated for losses. A memorial praying for relief is addressed among others by Daniel Fordham, Nathan Fordham, of Sag Har­ bor, and Jonathan Havens of North Haven, to the General 1\ssembly of Connecticut, February 12, 1778, saying: "All refugees from Long Island and residents in this state, with authority, lately ventured upon the Island in a small boat to bring off their effects,, which their families stood in the uttnost need of; that they were seized and robbed by a certain (Jacob) White Lt., of the ship "Trum­ bull" & one (Sa1nuel) Combs, of the 'Oliver Cromwell,' commander of a privateer whaleboat." The con1mitte rep~rted that all the moneys and goods taken from Havens and his associates ought to be restored. They ,vere compensated 23 pounds, 1 shilling, 3 pence, together '\vith reasonable expenses of 50 pounds." The British evacuated New York City on March 24, 1783. The people of eastern Long Island ,vere last to gaze upon retreating sails of the enen1y fleet. The flight fro1n Long Island, by way of Sag Harbor to Connecticut, in the fall and winter of 1776, by refugees,· had been an affrighted exodus. There was nothing spectac­ ular about the return of most families seven years later. In­ deed the situation was tragic. Heads of families who were ,vell to do before the war. had difficulty to barely subsist in Connecitcut. They were of little means upon return. They 240 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS were in poverty and near to discouragement. They were burdened, and many of them old and decrepit. The silver and treasure they buried on Long Island at time of flight, where not discovered by the enemy, brought little on sale due to the depreciated currency. Life must be started anew upon the depleted and run-down farms; new herds of cattle and swine must be slowly bred; the wharves, and ships and ship chandleries at Sag Harbor must be restored and repaired. Long Island suffered more than any other rural district. Sag Harbor suffered greater damage than any other commercial port. Craven says "the record of mortgages for the years immediately following the war show that many men who had been wealthy ,vere forced to borrow money on their lands." Then is given a long list of names, and the paragraph concludes: "Most of these men were unable to weather the storm, and lost everything. Many fine properties that had been handed down from father to son for more than a hundred .,vears passed to other families." Of the Sag Harbor men who were rendered poor, and never recovered their former prosperity, were John Fos­ ter, ship owner and ship builder; John Hulburt, vessel owner and cordwainer and merchant; the Lathams and Conklings were compelled to part with 1nuch land. Once rich and powerful the names are mere memories on the assessment rolls of Sag Harbor today. The West India trade could_ be, and was again re­ established. For this, vessels had to be built or bought. It was cheaper to bµild. Gildersleeve's ship buildng yard of 1765-75 removed to Portland, Conn., in 1776. The Gar­ diners of Gardiner's Island attempted shipping ventures at Sag Harbor, in 1784. They sent vessels on whaling voy­ ages. Capt. Ripley commanded the first. He ,vas a mer­ chantman. The ,vhaling venture failed. Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, ,vho had married a daughter of the patriot, Thomas Dering of Shelter Island, financed the voyages to- SAG I-IARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 241 gether ,vith a brother. They lost heavily. In 1785 the brigs "Lucy," Capt. Joy Post, and "America," Capt. Daniel Havens, returned with 350 barrels each of Whale oil, from voyages to Brazil Banks. A new enterprise opened to Sag !Iarbor men. Col. Benjamin I-Iuntting and Capt. Stephen Howell, of Southampton, encouraged by these shipping ventures showed the way to a paying "fishery" that built up the port. For 75 years Sag Harbor grew and pros­ pered, until kerosense usurped whale oil and gol

THE TWELVE-ACRE DIVISION As Sag Harbor grew, more land was divided among the Southampton proprietors. This Division, made (in 1761) will be found at p. 288 ( unprinted record p 189 and· on, printed record p. 191, Vol. III, S. H. T. R. "Ordered * * lots of land laid out at Sagg harbour which is called the twelve acres shall be immediately drawn.") Here are some na1nes: James Foster bought the Blank Lot to set his house on, near Gildersleeves'; the pro1ninent drawees were James Foster, the heirs of Jonah Rogers deceased; the heirs of Halsey, (J ermiah) deceased; Topping (Thomas) ; Norris (Nathan); Jennings, (Samuel); Halsey, (Silas); \\r oodruff (David); \\T oodruff (heirs of Timothy); How­ ells, Piersons, Cook, (John) ; Halsey, ( heirs of Abran1) ; 1'1iller, (Burnet); Hand (David); Hildreth, (James); Coopers, Haines, Ludlam-now spelled Ludlow; Russells; Osborns, Sayres, Hedges, Posts, the heirs of San1uel Rus­ sell, deceased; Obadiah *Jones-the spelling at one time was J ohnes; Scott, Chatfield, Pelletreau, Sandford, Car­ withy-now spelled Corwith; White, Raynor, Burnet, etc. James Howell built a house at Sag Harbor, in 1761.

*Obadiah Jones prominent as a ReYolutionary ,,Tar patriot. 242 SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS

SOME EARLY SETTLERS The families who located at Sag Harbor and vicinity can be traced with reasonable accuracy. As there were settlements at Southampton, soon the settlers expanded. Lands were laid out at Hogneck, and Great Meadows, out­ lying, as "amendments," soon to be known as the Land­ ing, and the harbor of Sag. The first lay-out and division of Sag Harbor lands, by Southampton, was forty years after location of the Town Purchase, which occurred at Old Town, in 1640. John Howell Jr., registered the Sag Harbor division. The drawing, known as the the Hog­ neck Division, was before the Magistrates, June 1, 1680. The names that prominently descend to us, are: Halsey, (Daniel); Howell, (Edward); Topping( Elnathan); Phil­ lips, (Mr.) ; White, (James) ; Shaw, (Thomas) ; Cook. (John) and (Widow); Halsey (Isaac); Hildreth, (Joseph) ; Fordham, (Joseph) ; Jessup~ (John) ; Sayre (Job); Post, (Richard); Foster, (John); Topping (Thomas); Halsey, (Thomas); Wooley, (Robert); Jen(n)ings (John); Johnes (Samuel); Cooper (Widow); Cooper, (Thomas Jr.) ; Cooper. (Thomas Sr.) : Rogers~ (Obadiah) ; Stanborough (Peregrine) ; Ludlam -now Ludlow-(Josiah Henry) each at Little Hogneck or what is sometimes called "Hogonock"; Woodruff (John) at Brushy N eek-sometimes called "Redwood.'' "Smith's 11eadow" is nan1ed probably for Col S1nith or a Capt. Hugh Smith to whom the Trustees leased land, or possibly Richard (Bull) Smith; Dr. *S111ith, of South-

*Dr. William Smith was son of Nathaniel Smith, whose father was the original Patentee of Moriches. Dr. Smith first came to Southamp­ ton as a pupil of the Rev. Sylvanus White; he studied medicine in Phil­ adelphia, and settled in Southampton, L. I.. N. Y., in 1759, having purchased the homestead (now •belonging. 1878) to "\\Tm. S. Pelletreau. After a successful practice his life was cut short at the .age of 48. August I, 1775. He married Ruth. daughter of Zebulon Howell, and her four children were Dr. John Smith, who succeeded his father in the practice of medicine in Southampton. who died Ju]v 16. 1828, aged 59 years; Mary married John Pelletreau; Ruth married Dr. Ebenezer Sage, of Sa~ Harbor. There was another daughter, Phehe. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 24-3 ampton, who one time lived at ·Moriches, and had a son, was succeeded by Dr. Silas Halsey, but this way about one hundred years later than 1680. The Southampton proprietors convened and drew seventeen lots, at Sag Harbor, November 19, 1845. There were nine fifties to each lot; there were seventeen lots and seventeen "amendments." This was known as "The Sag Harbor, or Little Division." The layers-out made a "very broad highway narrower between what is now Bay and Division streets and the Great Meadows and Wash­ ington street (laid out in 1787) at Sag Harbor and between "amendments" No. 5 and No. 6, two (2) poles wide. A note reads : "\Vhereas there has some difference arisen respecting the road which runs through the 'amendments' of Sag Harbor little division into East Hampton Road, etc." All names of drawees are available for consultation at p. 115 (Southampton vs. Mecox Bay Court Record-a few copies of which were printed and bound, in 1886.) Prom in en t natnes that come down are: Jessup, (Isaac) ; Haines, (Deacon James); White, (Capt. Ephraim); Hil­ dreth (Joseph) deceased; Cook. (Elias): Ludlam-now Ludlo\v, (Sa1nuel): Cooper, (David); Mitchel, (Ensign John): Halsey. (Isaac Jr.): Hovvel, (.A.bram Jr.) deed.: Howell, (Capt. Theophilus): Vloodruff, (Nathaniel): Pierson, (David): Hand. (Josiah); Norris, (John); Howell. (Henry): Johnes. (Deacon Samuel); Sayre, (Job) ; Rogers. ( Capt. Obadiah) ; Howell, ( Capt. Abratn) ; (Daniel) Foster, deceased: Howell, (Joshua); Wooly, (John): Post, (Capt. John) deceased: Post, (Isaac): Hal­ sey & Son, (Wido,v Hannah) ; Howell :& Son, (Wido,v Mary); Howell, (Jeremiah): Foster, (Benjamin); Halsey, (heirs of Richard, deceased); Hildreth, (Peter); Foster, (Stephen): Foster. (Thomas Jr.): Halsey, (Henry) de­ ceased: Foster, (Christopher): ITo,vell, (Left. Hezekiah): Cooper, (Tho. Jr.): Reeves. (John): Pierce. (Jonathan) -Piet-ce's Corner at N. E. corner of Union & Division 244 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS streets-; Woodruff, (heirs of Benjamin Woodruff) de­ ceased; Halsey (heirs of Jeremiah) deceased; Halsey, (Abram); Halsey, (Nathaniel); Rogers, (Jonah); Pier­ son, (Job); Hedges (Daniel and Bro.); Johnes, (Edward); Eusbond-now Osborn-(Joseph); Pelletreau, (Elias); Chatfield, (Justice) ; Gilston, (J us. Hugh) ; Jennings, (Samuel); Smith, (Jonathan); Sayre, (heirs of. Abram Sayre) deceased; Taylor (heirs of Joseph Taylor) deceas- ed; Cooper (Justice Abram) ; Topping, ( Capt. Stephen) ; Rusco, (Nathaniel); Rose, (David Jr.); Wick--sometimes written "Wickham," in East Hampton Records (Job and Daniel); Fithing, (David); Hand (James Jr.); Howell, ( Samuel, Silus & Chas. C.; Halsey, (Dea. Joseph) ; Sayre (John); Howell, (John); Ausband-now Osborn­ (Elisha); Leek, (Daniel); Daniel Scellinks-now Schell­ inger (Daniel); Fordham, (Nathan); Foster( Hackaliah); Halsey (Widow Martha) ; Hildreth, Ephraim; Hildreth, (Nathan); Howell or son, (Richard); Halsey, (Thomas). John Howell made the entrie which he attests as "a true copy" as "Clark." SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 2.1,5

THE PIONEER WHALING BRIG

The brig "Lucy," owned by Benjamin Huntting is always mentioned as the pioneer successful vessel of Sag Harbor, in 1785. That the "America," another brig, made a good voyage the same season, has been noted. Who owned the "America"? Daniel Fordham appears to have been interested in her outfits and John Hurburt was a part owner. Daniel Havens outfitted her and was mas­ ter. A vessel, heretofore unmentioned, was the brig "Bet­ sey," owned by Stephen Howell & Co. All that is known of her is, that she sailed on voyages for whale to African and South American coasts, before 1790. Col. Benjamin Huntting, militia officer, aft~r the Rev­ olntionary war, and then attaining his commission, leased from Southampton town, lands near Long Wharf for his warehouse and lumber yard. Charles Douglas had his boat building shop at east side of Wharf street. Stephen Mit­ chell, Stephen Howell, the Havens Bros., Capt. William J. Rysam and others applied for leases, or bought lands along the Sag Harbor waterfront and had yards and ,vare­ houses. Stephen Howell. of Southampton, was the man who bought and out-fitted the "Lucy." Brought from Middle­ tov:n. Conn., to Sag Harbor, Howell & Huntting soon had a competent crevv. among then1 1nen \Vho had learned ship vvhaling on Nantucket vessels. There really was very little capital invested in whal­ ing before 1807, as compared ,vith 1825-50. There is rec­ ord of 30 voyages before the \Var of 1812, four firms, or partnerships engaged in ,vhaling: 10 vessels were built or rebuilt and re-rigged. Built at Sag Harbor were vessels ranging in tonnage from the "Nancy," 200, to the "\Vash­ ington," 308. H untting built the "Hetty." at Brushy N eek. Sag Harbor, in 1796: the sa111e year S. Howell & Co., had built at Orient, the ship "11inerva." 215; at Brushy N eek, 246 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS in 1798, Huntting launched the brig "Mary," 215; the 202 ton "Abigail," bought from Newport, R. I., by Huntting, was rebuilt at Sag Harbor, in 1804. Capt. David Sayre superintended the building of the "Hetty" and the "Mary." He lived at Hogonock. After 1800, followed construction of the whaling vessels "Alknomac," "Washington," "Jeff­ erson" and "Argonaut," and refitting of the brigs "War­ ren," "Brazil" and "St. Lawrence." "Joy," for Capt. George Mackay, was a nick-name. Men who invested in the "Lucy," having faith in the business ability of Col. Huntting, were: in, 1788, Stephen Howell, Silas Halsey, and William Duvall. David Squire was master in 1788. Halsey, a physician, had been a re­ fugee, and practiced at Southampton after the war. Dr. Halsey was sheriff of Suffolk County, 1787-1791. In 1792 he removed to Ovid, N. Y. William Duvall, in 1776, lived at the corner of ·Main and \Vest \\Tater streets. The Benjamin Duvall, associated with Col. Huntting as ship owner, is probably a son of William. The Huntting ware­ house and lumber yard was opposite Duvall's, at foot of 1\-Iain street. The 1nen who were n1asters of the whale ships in years 1804-12 inclusive were: John Godbee, William Fow­ ler, Barnard, Sandford, J a1nes Post, George Post, A. Fol­ ger, Topping, F. Sayre, Bunker, Elias Jones, Oliver Fow­ ler. In 1805, Thomas Beebe is associated with Stephen Howell in ownership of the enlarged and rebuilt "Nancy," a vessel he has sailed coastwise and foreign up to that time. Capt. Sandford is given command on a "rhaling­ voyage. 1805, and takes 800 bbls. of whale oil. Lester Beebee is to come over from Southold to help build vessels at Sag Harbor. "\i\Tith Henry Exford he after,vards became a noted shipbuilder in New York City. and lived several years in Flushing. Lester Beebee died at Sag Harbor, in 1832. The brig "Nancy," Ho,vell & SAG :HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 24'7

Beebee, was named for Nancy the wife of Capt. Thomas Beebee, when the vessel first was launched as a packet sloop. Capt. Thomas Beebee died at Sag Harbor, ae 67 years, in 1832. In 1806 Gabriel & J. Tyler Havens invested in the whaling enterprise, and with Barrett Havens, Philetus Havens, and Thomas Beebee had a separate and distinct "vhaling and merchant ship interest up to the year 1823. The Havens were brothers in a family of 9 descend­ ing from the Havens of Shelter Island. They were grand sons of Constant and Abigail Havens, and sons of Jona­ than and Abigail Tiley or Tyler Havens. They sent out the "Brazil," 208 tons, Capt. A. Folger, on voyages 1806, 1807, and Oliver Fowler, 1809. They owned and sent out the "Lavinia," 196 tons~ Capt. 0. Fowler, in 1810. All the ventures were profitable. The Trustees of Southampton lease to John T. Havens, in 1810, and again in 181 l~ ground near the old wharf at Sag Harbor, to set up and build a ship. Capt. Peleg Latham is also granted ground to build a ship, "without inconvenience to Mr. John T. Havens." There ,vas much ship building in these years 1805-1812- vessels laid do,vn for merchantmen. coasters, foreign trade and the cod-fisheries. aside from \vhaling brigs and ships. ~-\t one time 200 shipwrghtis ,vere v.rorking on vessels in Sag Harbor. This activity along the waterfront enhanced the value of lands; the population increased: men who oc­ cupied leased ,vaterfront lots. \Vith options to buy, closed their options. There ,vas a period of speculative Land trading. i\ den1and for better "vharf facilities resulted in a 300-ft., addition to the Long vVharf. first built in 1771. now extended about 1805. Sag Harbor thrived. The em­ bargo act affected n1erchant shipping, but ""haling and cod­ fishing forged forward uninterrupted. In 1811, the keel of the ship "i\rgonaut ,vas laid." \'\r ar threatened \vith England. This ,var and a fire made vast changes at Sag I-Iarhor. all ,vithin 5 years' time. 24-8 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

LAND DIVISIONS AT SAG HARBOR

There were five different divisions of lands by the Hampton towns within what are now the bounds of Sag Harbor. They were allotted in this order: 1680.-The meadow lands in Southampton town known as the "Great Meadows," skirting the shores of Shelter Island Sound and the Coves. This allottment was an "amendment" to the North Haven, or "Hog N eek Divi­ sion". Before 1698.-The division of lands in the East Hamp­ ton part of Sag Harbor, made at a very early time after settlement in 1649; and first mentioned in records in 1698 as "lying nearest Hogg N eek," and left by. Stratton pere, to his son Joseph. This is the meadow ( now much filled in) between Rysam street and Bay street and Hempstead street and the woods to eastward. The locality bore the Indian name "Wigwagnock," or "end of hill." 1738.-Great North Division. 1745.-Little Division. 1761.-12-..A..cre Division. All the land to westward of Joseph Stretton's meadow is declared to "lie common land forever," in 1718, and aII the land between the town "bound line and the north side to the utn1ost lin1its of East IIampton bounds." The Strettons never located upon their Sag Harbor lands. We find exchanges of lands and purchases made. Cornelius Conkling receives land at \Vigwagonock, "in exchange," in 1731. It ,vas laid out at North Side close to the bound line, and about 1760, possibly much earlier, a house was built there by Joseph Conkling, who seems to have been the first man to establish a permanent dom­ icile at Sag Harbor, on East Hampton side of town. He lived at the location of vvhat no,v is Division and Burke SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 249 streets, and a little strean1 flowed do,vn a gully close to his dwelling, and emptied into the bay. Division street as now layed out has been twice changed. All the foreshore lands between what is now rear of the Bayview garage and "Conkling's water fence" to eastward were "con1mon" and yearly leased for sea­ weed by the town trustees of East Hampton. Division street is now farther east than originally when it formed the bound between towns which line runs through rear of properties east of Main street, from school or municipal property to Wharf street and so on to water. Exchange of lands was made in 1807 to add to rear of Main street lots. The north part of Division street was called "Ex­ change high,vay." Rector street is narrow and ill defined. There, at foot of Rector street remains one of the only town slips in Sag Harbor. There was a Bush street, here­ abouts, no one now knows where. The road from East Hampton first trended along the south shore of Shelter Island Sound, and terminated at the triangular co1nmon near Turkey Hill. Hampton street ,vas laid out very tnuch later. There were no record town roads in Sag Harbor besides Hampton road running to boundary, any­ where east of He1npstead street. The lands east of Hamp­ ton street were partly cleared and cultivated and a house stood facing the bay just about 1-8th mile west of Little Northwest Creek. It burned in the 90~s. This house was occupied by Bakers, Wards, Brewers and last by Willian1 Edwards. There is an ancient burial spot nearby. vVashington street was laid out through the Little Division, in 1787. There is a note saying that previous to this Joseph Conkling assisted in laying out the first roads; that a road \Vas formerly provided for there, \vhich fro111 the form of the lots, together ,vith many other circun1- stances, led to conclusions it must have been established there. There vvas a cut or drive from Division line to 250 SAG HARBOR IS EARLIER DAYS

Meeting house hill, where roads ran four square around the meeting house built in 1767. An entry of records March 23, 1773 tells of "the land and swamp that 1'Ir. Isaac Mulford laid out to Joseph Conkling near Sag Harbor is bounded southwestly by the old highway and on all other side by land of said Joseph Conkling and his meadow, it being in lieu of land taken off from his land at the bound line." Jeremiah Gardiner ,vas chosen the collector in 1775 . .A.n entry of record June 21st, 1775, is "Joseph Conk­ ling, of East Hampton, &c., farmer, for divers causes, and more especially for the good ,vill I bear unto 1ny lov­ ing son, Edward Conkling, of the same place, mariner, do voluntarily and of my o,vn free °"'~ill give to my son Ed­ ward Conklin, a certain tract of land lying in East Hamp­ ton near Sag Harbor, containing about twelve acres 1nore or less, bounded northerly by the highway ( East Water street), southerly by Nathan Fordham, Esq., southwester­ ly by the highway that parts the two towns, and John Ellis's land." (Ellis is mentioned as a refugee and also the Conklings and Fordhams, in 1776). Dogs killed so many sheep that in 1785 it ,vas voted "that all the dogs in the town should be killed." Henry Haines of Sag Harbor entered his ear mark, in 1790. Jere1niah Hedges built a house belo,v the cliff at Sag Harbor on leased land, in 1791. Braddock Corey, of Sag Harbor, entered his ear mark, in 1793. Arbitrators laid out nevv passing high,vays at Little North,vest, owned by David Russel, in 1793. 1'.Iany others, among them Stratton. owned n1eadow land at the neck. The arbitrators vvere Na than Fordham and John \Vhitt, of the Bridgehampton district (Sag Harbor), and Jonathan N. Havens, of North Haven. SAG HARBOR I~ EARLIER DAYS 251

The boundary line between the two to,vns was ad­ justed by commissioners, in 1799. The co1nn1issioners of highways were empowered to lay out a passing highway through the land of David Rus­ sell, the heirs of Stephen Baker and William J. Rysam, "if they shall think proper," in 1800. This applies to the tract east of Hempstead street. The road was never laid out. 11:ile stones vvere erected on the East Hampton-Sag Harbor road, in 1807. East Han1pton trustees \Vere authorized to sell water lots at Sag Harbor, in 1816.

NOTES BY L. D. COOK

Sag Harbor is indebted to Luther D. Cook, who so faithfully recorded the happenings of a century ago. His historical me1norandu1ns were never published in book fortn; but so1ne of his tnanuscripts still exist. They '\Vere ,vritten and read before the Sag Harbor Lyceum Asso­ ciation, in 1858. From his notes and lectures 111ay be learned that in 1822, 11r. Cook beca1ne a one-third owner of the whale ship "Union," of 262 tons. This is the vessel of which J. Fennimore Cooper, who afterward achieved fame as a novelist, took charge of as agent in 1819. I-le remained in Sag I-Iarbor several months stopping at Peletiah Ford­ ha1n's tavern; and vvhile there, to ease the tedium of '\vait­ ing for his ship to return from sea, he turned his hand to novel writing. Jonathan Osborn was his captain, a typical lancer, for the "old n1an" always "whaled" and changed "end" ,vith his "boat-header" or harpooner, and 1nade the kill. I wrote in 1904 a complete account of the Eastern Long Island \Vhale Fishery, so, little space ,v-ill be devoted 252 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS here to the earlier years. Suffice to give a picture of the activities of five years, 1843-47, as jotted do,vn by 11r. Cook: "In 1843 there were 31 whaling vessels at Sag Har­ bor, of an aggregate tonnage of 9,994 and gauging out 4,959 barrels of sperm, 58,050 barrels of right whale oil, and 512,344 lbs., of whale bone. In January, 1844, the whole number of vessels at sea belonging to the Collection District was 57, of aggregate tonnage of 9,697---of this number 37 took their departure from Sag Harbor and from Greenport. The largest product and income of our ,vhal­ ing fleet was realized in 1847. During that year there were no less than 32 arrivals from sea in the district, including in the number 5 at Greenport, and one at the port of New York, all of which were registered in the Sag Harbor Custom House. The registered tonnage of the whole of these 32 vessels amounted to 11,423 tons, and the result of their catch footed up 3,919 barrels of sperm oil, 63,712 barrels of right whale oil and 605,712 pounds of whale bone, by far the largest portion of which was pro­ cured in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans. The mar­ ket value of the whole, at that tin1e, was estimated at $996,413.90. The average length of these 32 voyages ,vas 28 months and 19 days, and the average tonnage of bur­ den of each vessel \Vas 357 tons by federal measuren1ent." "A great fire swept the ,vaterfront in 1817. It proved a temporary set back to growth of the co111111unity and de­ layed the sailing of whale ships. I ts dire disaster ,:vas felt, however, for but a year or two. Sag Harbor rebuilt big­ ger warehouses; it built its second church in 1817; it led to organization of a fire company for the port. Respect­ able families perceived that Sag Harbor possessed 1nany desirable local advantages. Fire and death always effect changes; the first so1netin1es for a better state as is posi­ tively kno,vn." SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 253

There was liYing in Sag Harbor in 1858 a nonagen­ arian who remembered when "there were not to exceed a dozen dwellings in Sag Harbor." In 1730 when the Sagg road had been opened to "the L.anding" or soon there­ after in vicinity of the shore there lived three persons, and among the first names mentioned in records as at Sag l-Iarbor are Nathan Fordham, Daniel Fordham, John Fos­ ter, also a Russell. Strange as it may seem to relate in the present age, innovations first made upon ancient customs by introduc­ ing stoves in the churches caused many of the grandfathers and grandmothers to rebel and protest against measures which their Puritan ancestors had never thought of, or dreamed of enjoying. It was a duty to mortify the flesh and suffer all disco1nf arts. Although Sag Harbor did not really begin to take on any growth until 1760, and did build its first church in 1767, and .three costly edifices in a half century thereafter, the settlement has been criticized as "ungodly." This was because so few n1en attended church. There was a reason: many of them were to sea 1nost of the tin1e. And thev., even lowered boats for whale on Sundays, for there were no Sundays on a ,vhale ship. The population of the village of Sag Harbor very gradually increased after 1800. The population was 850 in 1810. In 1845 it had a census enumeration totalling 3.621. Of these 2,994 ,vere living .. within the town of Southampton, and 697 within the limits of the town of East Hampton, for the village is located in two townships. There was a monstrous conflagration in 1845; a languish­ ing of whaling after 1848; a California exodus in 1849. In 1855 '",.hen the state census ,vas again taken the return exhibited 3,067, approximately as great a population as Sag Harbor has in the year 1928. The falling off in pop­ ulation between 1845 and 1855, of 554, is directly attributa­ ble to many essential elements then removed ,vhich had raised and promoted the growth from 1815 to 1850, in so striking a 111anner. 254 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

"BRUSHY NECK"

\Vhat is known as "Red\vood~' today wa~ originally "\V·oodruffs," because first allotted to John W 1oodruff, June 1, 1680. The land at that locality was also called ·"Brushy N eek." It comprised what is known as "a fifty," or 1-3 part of a 150 drawing of land. Ships were built before 1800 at Brushy N eek, and around 1840-1860, 1nany vessels ,vere built at \Vade's ship­ yard, at the Cove. The earliest vessels were brigs, the "Hetty," and the "·l\fary," of about 200 tons burden, launch­ ed to ply in the West India trade, to bring lumber fro1n New England, and also they made whaling voyages. The waters of the Cove were deeper then than now, channels since having filled in. The Lower Cove was sometimes called "Sayre~s Bay," in which lay "Sayre's Isl­ and," now by accumulation of meadows, attached to the mainland of Hogonock peninsula. It ,vas named for Capt. Isaac Sayre, ,vho there had his house, and who o,vned large tracts on North Haven, then called Hog N eek. This Capt. Sayre not only sailed vessels; he superintended the building of the vessels built at Brushy N eek for Benjan1in Huntting, a Southampton man, vvho had a storehouse and lumber yard at Sag Harbor where is no\v the Bliss Park. The Narrows bounded Brushy N eek on the north, and the Upper Cove, first known as "Dayton's Bay." \Vas also call­ ed "Nathan's Bay," after Nathan Fordhan1, one of Sag Harbor's first settlers. \Vhen the vVades built ships near Peter's Green and Brushy N eek, i'n the 40's, some of the vessels were: the "San Diego," the "Sierra Nevada." the "1v1arion," the ''Storn1," and the "\Veather Gage." to mention only the larger schooners and ships. The late Edward Bill sailed in the "l\1arion" to Rio de Janeiro and the vessel was also engaged in the cod fishery, and eventually was sold and beca111e a slave schooner, vvas captured by the British on SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 255 the 'Iv.,. est Coast of Africa, and condemned at St. Helena. Capt. Jared Wade sailed the little schooner "San Diego" to Calafornia, in 1849, and the "Sierra Nevada" reached the same destination, San Franciso Bay, sailed by Capt. Lawrence B. Edwards. The "Sierra Nevada" was built by Benjamin Wade. The "Storm" brought her builders to bankruptcy. Sometimes this vessel was called by the ship­ wrights the "Line Gale." The "\\r eather Gage" was de­ stroyed by the Confederate pirate "Florida," by burning, off the coast of New England. In earliest years "Redwood" sold for $1,900 about 1820. The Sandfords seemed to have owned it at that ti1ne. Peter Hildreth, who married Zachary Sandford's daughter owned where is now Green street; Benjamin Glover owned where is the street named for hitn. The road leading to "Redwood" is n1entioned in 1680. Pere­ grine Stanborough and Henry and Anthony Ludlum then owned all of Little Hog Neck (Hogonock.) \Vhat is now all that is left of the "Great 1\1eadow," first name for the locality of Sag Harbor, is now called "Wentworth's Meadows," after .a squatter, "Pap" \V' entworth. Just as to-day, ,vest of this in 1680, was "the meado,v goeing on to brushy neck." The layers out started at the south and east part of all the 1neadow land abutting the coves. They laid out I"'ot 21, and the high,vay \\ras to go on to "Brushy N eek" and to be at the south end of the 1neado,v. Passing high,vays to all meadow lots ,vere provided from 1 to 50. The n1eadovvs ,vere "amendn1ents" to the farm lands al­ lotted at Hog N eek, and records say "a certain tract of land lying at or N eare Sagg harbour." When other lands at the "very wide highway" at Sag Harbor were laid out and allotted in li45, the "Cleft" is one of the surveyors bounds and was nearly at where Division street now inter­ sects Bay street. The locality besides being called "Great l\tleadows" is referred to as "Wigwagonock," or Indian for "the place at the foot of the hill." 256 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

The little neck, or peninsula now called "Redwood,'' took that name when the late Dr. \Villiam J. 11orton, of New York City, bought the property for a country resid­ ence about 1875. He built a lodge, or ,vhat now would be identified as a bungalow, and improved the premises. There the Sag Harbor Tennis Club congregated in the decade 1890-1900, and the Volunteer Boat Club, after its cockle-shell races on the inland but often s,qually ,vaters of the coves, held jollifications and the Nlortons ,vere hos­ pitable entertainers; there the Ladies' Village Improve- 1nent Society held a wonderful f ete champctre, which caused natives to inquire what "Capt. Petrie had to do with a garden party, anyway?" \V ell, the services of Sag Harbor skippers were required after all to pilot, in boats, those who wished to go onto "Redwood," for the tide rose over the meadows, and inundated the low roadway. Rowboats were commandeered "impromptu," as one not of the elite explained, until John DeCastro's and "Billy" Bennett's ancient "stages" arrived to carry pedestrians across the flood dry-shod. In the nearby waters, as the unctuous and flowery, the Rev. Edward Camp ,vrote: "the beautiful nymphs and naiads of Sag Harbor bathed in the placid waters of the pebbly bottom of the cove." SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 257

NO RECORD ROADS IN NINEVAH TRACT

_A.re there any record roads in the Sleight woodland tract at Little North West Creek and the Bay? In 1815 the commissioners of highways were author­ ized to stake out the highway leading from East Hampton four ( 4) rods wide. It DID NOT pass over the so-called Sleight tracts. 1793-Passing highways were laid out in 1793 over David Russell's land at Little North v·Vest or Russell Neck (see Vol. 4, ps. 280-1-2, E. H. T. R.) N. \V. Creek divided the Sleight and Russell lands. 1799-Voted the to,vn have full power to sell the sea weed on the shore at Sag Harbor from the boundary line bet\veen East Han1pton and Southampton to Joseph Conkling's water fence. (Note-The Town pl(Jinly clai111- ed the fee of the shore.) l800-Co1nmissioners to inspect the road that leads to Sag Harbor. 1800-Sell sea weed on common land or highway at Sag I--Iarbor. 1800-that the comn1issioners of highways 1nay lay out a passing road through the land of David Russell, the heirs of Stephen Baker and Willian1 J. Rysam, if they shall think proper. THEY NEVER LAID OUT SUCH J\ RO.AD OVER RYSA.NI, OR SLEIGHT HEIR­ L1\NDS. The 26th day of November, 1799 Joseph Conkling, then residing in the town of Brooklyn, mariner, and Eliza, his v.rif e, conveyed to \\rilliam J. Rysam, for 2,000 pounds "that certain fartn in the township of East Hampton, ,vhich vvas occupied by the father of the said Joseph Conk­ ling in his life time, and devised by him to the said Joseph Conkling, and ,vhich is bounded on the \Vest, southwest & South east by the land called the East Hampton Road and leading thereto from Sagg Harbor; on the East by 258 SAG HARBOR IN' EARLIER DAYS lands of David Russell and Benjamin Baker and on the north by the waters of Sagg Harbor Bay, containing T,vo Hundred and fifty acres be the same more or less." The deed was one of v\/arranty and ,vas sealed and delivered in the presence of Joseph Conkling, Jr., and John Bridger, and John Townsend and Thomas Cooper. At the sa1ne time Abigail Conkiing, wido,v and relict of Joseph Conk­ ling signed a release of dower and Joseph Conkling ac­ kno\vledged 2,000 pounds paid in hand to hin1. A 1,000 pound mortgage was also paid. In 1839 \Villia1n R. Mulford and Cornelius Sleight bought from Commissioners in Partition, H. B. Havens, Peletiah Fordham and Henry H. Hunting "all that cer­ tain land in the to,vn of East Hampton, bounded as fol­ lows by the deed: East by John Chatfield and Patrick T. Gould; South by the heirs of John N. Fordha1n, deceased, 'by the said Wm. R. Mulford & Cornelius Sleight, and north by the waters of the bay, being the homestead of the late Benjamin Smith, deceased, containing forty acres; also, meado,v land situated in East Hampton town, bound­ ed on Easterly by Little North \Vest Creek, northerly, westerly and southerly by lands of the late B:enjamin S1nith, deceased, co·ntaining eleven ( 11) acres; also, a tract of land situated in East Hampton to,vn at a place called North West being 1neadow and upland, bounded northerly and north vvesterly by the beach. north easterly by the Creek, southeasterly by the land of Patrick T. Gould and south,vesterly by land of the said Benj. Smith, deceased, containing seven (7) acres more or less. The persons cited in the Partition are "Bet,veen Reubin Smith. plaintiff, and Tryphena Smith, Joshua N. Stnith, Georg-e Smith, Benjamin S1nith, Philetus S1nith, Catherine S111ith, Stephen B. Sn1ith, Judah C. Smith, defendants." SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 259

SAG HARBOR'S LARGEST WHALESHIP

A query has been made regarding Sag Harbor's larg­ est whaleship? A certificate, or one-twenty-fourth share in Sag Harbor's whale ship "St. Lawrence" is before me. This was the largest ship in Sag Harbor's fleet. There were much larger ships at New Bed£ ord; and, the Cold Spring Harbor, L. I., whale ship '.'Sheffield,'' measured 579 tons. The "St. Lawrence" is described to be: "A ship, or vessel of the burden of 523 and 19/25ths tons, or thereabout; built at New York city," registered "at Philadelphia; built the year 1833"; has '·two decks, and three masts; length, 128 feet; her breadth, 30 feet, 2 inches; her depth 15 feet, one inch; and that she measures 523 and 19/25th tons." . The "St. Lawrence" was ship-rigged, "had a quarter­ stern, no galleries, a round tuck and a billet head." This description of the vessel "St. Lawrence" is at­ tested in 1844. The "St. La,vrence" made but one voyage from Sag Harbor; Capt. Baker, of East Hampton was master; Cook & Green of Sag Harbor, agents. It was a four years' voyage, the longest made by a Long Island vessel, and the biggest catch ever made by a Sag Harbor whale ship. She sent home 30,000 pounds of whale bone, returning in l\iay, 1848, vvith 300 barrels of sperm, 4.500 barrels of whale oil and 11,000 pounds of whale bone. The value of the oil and bone was $65,000. As the "St. Lawrence" was Sag Harbor's largest ,vhaling vessel; so vvas the "Wickford," Capt. David P. Vail, the smallest whaling brig of the Sag Harbor fleet. She ,vas less than 125 tons, much too small to be profit­ ably en1ployed. The "Hope" was the first off-shore whaler of Long Island unprofitably employed by the Gardiners, in li83. Capt. Ripley sailed for then1. 260 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

The "Lucy," in li84, and the "America," the same year, made profitable whaling voyages to the Banks off Brazil. The schooner "Eagle," Capt. Fordham, ,vas first to resume whaling, in 1815, after the \Var of 1812. She cruis­ ed on the back side of Long Island. The "Abigail" has been called "the school-ship for whalemen 1800-1820". The "Argonaut," built at Sag Harbor, 1812, ,vas the first Long Island vessel to round Cape Horn and, in 1817, took whales in the Pacific Ocean. The bark "Superior," of Sag Harbor, 1848, Capt. Royce, was the first whaling vessel to take whales in the Arctic Ocean.· Most of the abope ,vere s1nall vessels.

THE FIRST COMPANY WHALESHIPS

A claim is made for Sag Harbor people that they ori­ ginated the project and carried it to consun1mation of sending out the first company whale ship. For t\Yenty years after the off shore whaling enterprise had been es­ tablished the ships were owned, from 1785 to 1805 by co­ partnerships. Col. Benjamin Huntting, the pioneer ,vl1ale ship owner of Long Island, died in 1807. Thereafter the ships owned by the Hunttings ,vere "family ships.~~ .:\f rs. Huntting, the widow,, owned a large share of the business, associated with her sons. She was able to loan large sun1s to the U. S. government, after 1815, to help pay the debts occasioned by the war of 1812. Charles T. Dering and James Fennimore Cocper, afterwards the fan1ed novelist, put in practice sale of shares in the ship Union, in 1819, of which Capt. Jonathan Osborn, of Wainscott, was 1naster. Cooper was the larg­ est shareholder. He assu1ned management of the ship, in SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 261 behalf of the others, and he and Dering, his relative by marriage, outfitted the vessel. The scheme of associating several persons, ,vho subscribed for shares, to unite in pur­ chasing and sending out a vessel on a whaling voyage, or what was thereafter called a "company ship," evolved in the minds of Long Islanders. It was more or less of a success, and often the entire prosperity of the community depended upon good voyages by "company ships". There was a corresponding depression when poor voyages were 1nade. As stated above ,vhaling vessels, before this time, \Vere owned by an individual, a fan1ily, or a business firm. These "company ships" often occasioned intricate accountings involving large sums of money connected with the settlement of a whaling voyage, as all engaged worked on shares or "lays". There ,vas often disagreement. Sag Harbor appears to have been ahead of other communities, in introducing progressive ideas, and it had many remark­ able men. One of the most learned was Dr. John Sage, son of Dr. Ebenezer Sage. He had a degree, but did not pratice his profession. Instead he dabbled in astronomy, invented strange mechanisms, and is described to have been eccentric. He was an intellectual wonder and a mar­ velous 1nathematician. When the "company ships" share­ holders quarreled, Dr. John Sage straightened all ac­ counts. This \vas done in an incredibly short ti1ne, the computations ,vere correct and satisfactory to all con­ cerned. For this the Samaritan doctor would not accept any remuneration, saying it was a simple 1natter to him, and it gave him great pleasure to be of any assistance. Thus money was saved and litigation avoided. Dr. Sage was thoroughly read up on La Place's "Mecanique Celeste." The mathematics of La Place he studied in French. He made various instruments for math­ e1natical measure1nents. In the lower story of the Old Arsenal building, built in 1810, at Sag Harbor, he set up a work shop, and experimented with a flying machine, which 262 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS did not fly, because he had insufficient povver in the years before discovery of the internal combustion motor. His balloon constructed on scientific principals vvas a success. These were of his own invention, and his assistc1nt was his companion, Thomas Henry Dering. While Cooper waited for his "company ship'' to re­ turn to Sag Harbor, he wrote a novel, his first attempt in literature. Cooper afterwards achieved fame and wealth. D·r. John Sage never saw his inventions succeed; but he paved the way fo·r others. At this time, in Sag Harbor, the Byrams ,v~re 1naking clocks, some of which kept time in the city halls of N e,v York, and elsewhere, and for the towers of Long Island churches. The Dominys, of East Hampton, ,vere making clocks, and fine furniture, and experimenting in fly­ ing machines and threshing machines. It was a Byran1 who made, and exhibited in the cities, an orrery, a mechan­ ical apparatus that illustrated motion of bodies in the solar system by rotation and revolution of balls movtd by clock­ ,vork. As this article shows, the formation of the "company," ,vas a forunner to the corporation, letter reveal that Dr. J. Sage, was sage by nature and practice, as well as by name. He sought prolongation of life by his n1ode of living, and he held that "most drugs do n1ore hann than good." His theory was "n1ost ailments could be alleviated. in many cases, by diet and rest." He said: "Pharmacy could not have attained so lucrative a place in business, if doctors had continued the old fashioned ,vay of blood-letting. pills, povvders, salves, jalaps anci drops." He invested his for­ tune in an annuity, lived to be 93, and chuckled because he "beat the insurance actuaries." The people of the Hampton settle1nents may not have instituted the first American "Trust." But they were interested, for much of their profit came from whales. In Woodward's biography of "George \\Tashington," 1762 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 263

"we find an interesting item which deserves a larger place in history than it has been given. In that year the makers of spermaceti candles in Rhode Island 1net and considered their state of being. They differed on many subjects, for they were men of various capacities and of diverse degrees of moral virtue. But to a man they agreed on one quest­ ion; they were unanimously of the opinion that spermaceti candles were being sold at too low a price. Thereupon they made a mutual covenant, one ,vith everyone, and all together, to raise the price of ,vax candles, and to keep it raised. Thus the first American 'trust' came into exist­ ence. They called themselves the United Company of Spermaceti Candlers. In a short while they had enlisted all the important manufacturers of the humble but neces­ sary candle in the northern colonies. The United Comp­ any was a flat-footed little trust. It had no apology to make for price-raising. These spermaceti candlers merely announced an increase i:p the price of their product. They also stated-rather imprudently-that they did not intend to pay any more than they had been paying for raw mater­ ta. 1 . .' About 1800, or soon after, the Howells and Cornelius Sleight had sper1naceti candle "factories," at Sag Harbor. The Ho,vell factory gave ,vay to the site of the Gas Works, in 1859; the Sleight candle factory was at the East Shore, near present Bay street. 'f he moulds of these old candle factories had, in part, been preserved up to a few years ago. 264 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

PLAYED HAVOC WITH SHIPPING

The war of 1812 played havoc with Sag Harbor slup­ ping. It was of short duration. \Var declared July 18, 1812, brought a British blockade of Sag Harbor in 1813- 14; a midnight raid on the port in August, 1813, and de­ claration of peace made at Ghent, in December, 1814, was received by ship "Olive Branch," at New York, about the 12th of February, 1815, the news soon coming to Sag Har­ bor. Joy expressed itself in manifestations of jubilee on all sides. Shipping and outfitting for ,vhaling then resumed on a small scale in 1815. The "Abigail" and the new ship "Argonaut" were early in the summer of 1812, taken up the Connecticut river for safety. There they remained, in Chester Creek, until the termination of hostilities. They were moved over to Sag Harbor again, and here repaired and fitted for voyages to the coast of Brazil. returning ho1ne in 1816--as also did the "\Varren," a ship sent out that year by S. Hovvell & Co., co1n1nanded by Capt. ,,:--illian1 Fowler. The "\Varren," 284 tons, had been added to the Sag Harbor fleet by Howell, in 1809, and had 1nade voy­ ages, two voyages commanded by Capt. Sayre. These were the three returning whale ships in 1816: in 1817, tvvo; in 1818, four; in 1819, five; in 1821. six: in 1822, nine; in 1823, eight. During the continuance of the embargo and the \\?ar of 1812 and down to the summer of 1816. including 1811, there were only three arrivals from whaling voyages. The "Abigail," 202 tons, had been added in 1799. Seventeen voyages w~re n1acle in 1800-1822. The ship "Minerva," built at Orient, in 1795, vvas first comn1anded by Capt. \Villiam Fowler, of Southa1np­ ton, (he had been master of the "Lucy" in 1794.) His voyage in the "11inerva" ,vas to the South Atlantic. SAG HARBOR IX EARLIER DAYS 265

Cornelius Sleight interested himself in shipping about 1797, \vith his father-in-law, Capt. \iVilliam J. Rysam. Cor­ nelius was born in 1774 and when a young 1nan attended school at the Academy, in East Hampton. There he met and married Hannah Phrip Rysam. Rysam ,vas a retired sea captain. He had ·married a1' PortsrnoutH,_ .N. H., Ursula Pierce. At the beginning of the Revolution, Capt. Rysam was living with his family in Norfolk, Va. When that city was burned by order of Colonial Governor Lord Dun1nore, in 1776, Capt. Rysam fled in a vessel, owned by hi1nself, with his family. He stopped at Newtown, L. I., on account of sickness of his wife. She died and was buried there. He aftervvards ca1ne to East Hampton with his five orphan children. He bought property in Sag Har­ bor and ,vas engaged in commercial pursuits until he gave up the water in 1798. The Rysam shipyard, established about 1800 built 1nany vessels. Capt. Rysam bought his ,vaterfront properties in 1799. Cornelius Sleight bought the whale ships "Fair Helen" and "Thon1as Nelson" in 1817-18, and the ship "Thames," in 1821. The latter ship had taken the first _American n1is­ sionaries to Sandwich Islands. The 309 ton ship "Hannibal" was built for S. & B. Hnntting & Co., in 1819. and launched near the spot that in 1834 beca1ne the south end of the Payne bridge at Sag Harbor. In 1807, Col. Benjan1in Huntting died. His business ,vas carried on bv., his widow and sons. \\rilliam R. l\1 ulf ord and \:Villia1n R. Sleight formed a shipping firtn. \\Tith Cornelius Sleight they ovvned the "Nelson," "Fair Helen" and "Thatnes." They continued in business many years after the elder Sleight relinquished active participation, and up to the year 1850. Other ships ovvned by them ,vere: the "Thorn," "Cadmus," "Acasta." "Xenophon,'' "Tho1nas Dickason," "Silas Richards," "Citizen." 266 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Stephen Howell sent out vessels up to the time of his death, in 1828. Really all of the whaling enterprises that gained signal profit were instituted and backed by Hunt­ ting and Howell before 1807. Dr. Nathaniel Gardiner, who sent out whale ships. before Huntting and Howell, did not secure captains and cre,vs familiar with the taking of whales, there£ore these voyages failed. He was the son and heir of Col. Abraham Gardiner, of East Hampton. Dr. Gardiner mar­ ried Elizabeth Dering, only sister of Henry Packer Der­ ing, postmaster and collector of port at Sag Harbor as early as 1790, and retained the offices until his death in 1822. Dr. Gardiner built and occupied the residence on Main street, afterwards remodelled and known as the Col. Samuel Huntting house. It is now owned by Mrs. Judd. After loss of money in the whaling business Dr. Gardiner removed from Sag I-Iarbor. Master mariners whose services ,vere in demand be­ cause of their prowess as "whale-killers" in the quarter century 1810-35, were: Edvvard Halsey, George Post, James Post, Eliphalet Halsey, \Villiam Fo,vler, Gardiner and Coffin, who were probably Nantucket men, Jonathan Osborne of vVainscott, Henry Green, Isaac Sayre. Thomas Sayre, --- Smith, A. K. Griffin, --- Howland, George Howell, --- Tupper, Matthew Sayre, Hervey Harris, David Hand, Uriah Sayre, Andrew Halsey, Chas., Griffin, Huntting Cooper, Sylvester Griffing, \1/illiam A. Jones, Robert F. Hand, B:ar!.1ey Green, Parker, ~llen, Pearson, Case, Fordha1n, Rogers, Cart,vright, \Vickhan1 S. Havens, Tuttle Loper, Jeremiah Hedges, E. D. Topping, Chas. Payne, Glover, Eldredge, Barns, Miller. In the years from 1816 to 1829 the average number of arrivals annually fro1n whaling voyages "vas six, but from 1829 to 1841 the vvhaling tonnage was 9,772. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 267

EXCERPTS FROM ONDERDONK

"April 5th, N. London, 5 French prisoners escaped here from L. I., who say there are only 500 foot and 50 horses at Southold, and 700 men at Sag Harbor, with 2 field pieces, which force is kept there, to facilitate the tak­ ing of wood (Chatfield Hill was cut off, and also much wood at Shelter Island.-Ed.) and hay from Sag Harbor. A fleet of 16 sail of wood vessels, and a 12 gun brig there and a ship with provisions lately from N. Port. Before her arrival provisions were so scarce that the inhabitants were obliged to kill poor milch cows for food, and the troops sickly. Governor Clinton was returning to N. Y., after throwing up some breastworks, &c., in consequence of a report that Gen. Parsons ,vas preparing for an attack on Sag Harbor, with 4000 troops," p. 82. "Riv. Oct. 2, '79. N. Lon. Sept. 22. A requistion having been 1nade to Gen. DeLancey, of L.. I. Militia, to furnish 500 men to parade with their blankets on Aug. 23, to march for Brooklyn, to be employed in repairing and constructing new works there; 210 of which were to be fro1n Suffolk County, who were also to furnish and send to the 1nagazine at Brooklyn. 5000 fascines, 9 ft. long, and stripped of leaves, 25,000 pickets, from 3 to 4 ft., long, 5,000 faisings or stockades from 9 to 10 feet long, and 6 to 8 in. thick, 5,000 railing of 6 or 7 ft. The inhabitants having refused to con1ply, the following letter \vas sent to Gen. D elancev:- "N. Y .. _,\.ug. 26th, 79. Sir, you will signify to the People of Suffolk Co., that if the requisition is not i1n- 1nediately complied with, a detachment of troops will be sent into that district, and every person who shall refuse, shall be turned out of L. I. and their farms will be all for the support of those \vho have suffered fron1 real attach­ ment to Government."' Rawdon, Ad. General." p. 86. 268 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

"Sept. 22, '79. N. London Gar. Last Friday 35 young men came from L. I. to Saybrook, who left their homes on account of being ordered to work on the fortifications on the west end of L. I., apprehending they should be ordered thence to the West Indies." p. 87. "William Fowler and John Strong, in the armed boat vVm. the Conqueror, took a small skiff in Acabonic Bay, Aug. 23d, 81, with 300 lbs coffee, and 120 lbs tea." p. 80. "N. London, Nov. 30. Last week Major Davis and Capt. Grinnell being ashore at Sag Harbor with several men, were betrayed and taken prisoners by a Hessian major and 20 light horse. They had two armed boats with them which the enemy were about setting on fire, but Capt. (Thomas) Wickham, of E. Hampton, (refugee at Stonington) in an 8 gun sloop of Stonington about the same time coming to, near the boats, brought the men off.. , p. 106. Major Davis, an East Hampton man, tradition says vvas starved to death or poisoned in prison in New York City. Quoting again from the Hedges' brochure: "Re­ fugeees f ron1 Long Island and Sag Harbor: .A.f ter the Battle of Long Island and the hostile occupation by the British, those active in the American forces thought it unsafe to remain, and fled in great nun1bers to Connecticut. I quote this, ( 170 voters refugees from Suffolk no,v in E. Haddan1, Lyme, Saybrook, Killingworth. and Guilford, petitioned the N. Y. Legislature April 10th. 77. They want to be represented in convention.) p. 70. "Saybrook, June 12th, 77. Petition of 45 Suffolk County Refugees for relief and pennission to pass over to L. I., for forage for their families, bread, and corn grovving­ on their land, which otherwise vvill fall into the ene111ies' hands." p. 70. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 269

"The first quotation shows liO voters residing in five localities desired to vote for representatives in the pro­ vincial congress convention, or Assembly of New York. Note-Government authority at the commencement of hostilities was vested in committees. After that in the Provincial Congress, sometimes called 'the convention.' The 4th Provincial Congress met July 9th, 1776, and as­ sumed the name of 'The Convention of Representatives of the State of New York.' The first constitution of this State was adopted April 20th, 1777, in the stress and stor1n of war. Legislative authority was then vested in the Sen­ ate and Assembly. "In fact those representatives were then residing in Connecticut, and could not reside in Suffolk County. They were Thomas \Vickham and Burnett Miller of East Hamp­ ton. The second quotation shows 35 refugees in Saybrook alone, heads of families, refugees begging for relief, and atnong the signers are Daniel and Epraim Fordham, Oba­ diah Jones, Lewis Stanbrough, the first three t esidents of Sag Harbor, and the last in its vicinity. If we could as­ certain the number of refugees fro1n Sag Harbor it would aid to estitnate frotn other places, and I now examine the question." 270 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

NORTH HAVEN IS OLD SETTLEMENT

Settlement of North Haven dates back to earliest years when occupied by the white man. Soon after settlement of Southampton, in 1640, cattle and "also hoggs, yt lyeing in ye ways to Hogg N eek" and "they fence" near W ecatuck spring, and they shall be "lya­ ble to pay all damage that come through their fencing." North Haven and what we now call '·Hogoneck/' were bought in 1665, from the Shelter Island Indians. The deed is extant. Here is a copy: Hogoneck Deed "Oct. 1665. The Shelter Island Indians have this day confirmed the purchase of Hogg N eek to Southampton men forever reserving liberty of hunting and fishing and fowling upon the same and have received sixe Indian coates upon the confirmation thereof. In full satisfaction of all their claims to Southampton men. before me RICHARD NICOLLS in fort James." In June, 1680, pursuant to instruction of a to,vn meet­ ing, Hog neck ,vas layed-out. Soon after 1nen are trading lots. The letter of Captain Nathaniel Sylvester of Shelter Island, in 1678, shows that his Southampton neighbors pastured their horses on Hog N eek. North Haven is partly settled from Southan1pton partly from Shelter Island. There were Russels, l\fitchells, Havens, Hamiltons, Ludlums and Stanboroughs, Sayres and Eldredges owners in very early years. They built habitations. The Paynes and Jeremiah Gardiner, can1e much later. Jonathan Havens, of Shelter Island bought extensive­ ly at North Haven. Southa1npton town sold him many high,vays. Roads ,vere also sold Constant Havens. A committee was named in 1764, to "prosecute John l\1itchel1, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 271 for enclosing comn1on lands on Hog N eek said to be the to\vns." In li53, Abram Halsey and Josiah Pierson were em­ powered to sell or exchange the highways on Hog N eek "so as to leave one good highway across the Neck to pass to the ferry." The same year "John Russel is to build a wharf at Sag Harbor." Soon after this, salt \vorks were in operation at Hog N eek. The Revolutionary \Var made great changes on Hog N eek. Most of the settlers there ,vere patriots. 11any became Refugees in 1776. Among such ,vere: Daniel Havens, (ship captain), David Sayre, ( ship captain), N ehen1iah Sayre, ( ship captain), Jeremiah Gardiner and fa1nily; Dr. Jonathan Havens and family~ Ephraim Payne, John Payne, Peter Payne.

"FORDHAMVILLE"

Son1eti1nes Sag Harbor is alluded to as "Fordhan1- ville." For instance "Old Nathan," \Vas kno\vn as a Pioneer. He ,vas the Esq. ( ~721-1805). He fished and farn1ed. His birthplace was called "Old Farm." He, and others, had a grant of Otter Pond. He, about 1776, lived ,vhere the N unna I(o1na realty develop1nent is no,v. He, ,vith others, leased fishing privileges at Daton's Bay or Dayton's Bay, in 1i84 (the 1Jpper Cove,) nan1ed for Rob­ ert Dayton (,vho lived at Hog Neck, in 1791. Seep. 382 Trustee Book). There is a John N. Fordham, ,vho lived in 1790 at \\rest \\Tater street. This line of Fordham should not be confounded with Ebenezer and Capt. Daniel, ,vho had an inn and store, at what is now 1Iain and Bay streets corner. Capt. John Fordham was chosen a South­ a1npton Tovvn Trustee in 1791. That year he helped to "assess'' the Town. Near his ho1ne, he built the stocks ( near Liberty Pole), in 1 i92. He was To\vn Trustee in 1792. He then, in 1792. built a pound at Sag Harbor. 2'12 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Peletiah Fordham, also called "Duke," succeeded his father. "Duke" Fordham was keeping inn, about 1820. He was prominent in Southampton Town affairs. He also sailed a vessel· and occasionally shipped as master. A Merit Fordham was Collector of Southampton town, about 1840-50. All the Fordhams originate from Rev. Robert Fordham, second Southampton minister, 1649. Old Nathan's, or the Esqr.'s father, might have been a Nathan.

KINGVILLE

In very early years, for convenience, in taking enumer­ ations, Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton \Vere grouped in the "East District of Southampton town." These names have been variously applied to the locality of Bridgeha1np­ ton: "Feversham," "Brushy Plain," "Bridge Head," "Bull Head," "Sag Head," ( to the east) ; "Huntington or town," "Bridge Hampton," "Hayground," the "Wading Place," ( there was a "Hayground vVater," and there was a "1'1ecock Water,) and Mecock settlement, that tradition tells us was probably named for the place where "Secom­ mecock, an Indian, had his wigwam in 1640." The South­ ampton Indian-Deed of December 13, 1640 carrys as a signer "Secom-mecock." This is probably the origin of "Mecocks," ,vhich has in 290 years been changed to the present spelling "Mecox." There was a part of Bridge­ hampton once ( about 1840) called "I(ingville." Not for a king by name, or by royalty, but for an individual, it is said, arrogant in bearing and often te1nperamental. Round Pond, near Sag Harbor, was once called "Min­ ne-auke." "Paries," an Indian, was living at what is now Sag Harbor, in 1747. There vvere living at Sag Harbor Land­ ing, in 1750, families of Wentworth, Russell, Vail and soon after (near Sag Harbor, about 1745) the Widow Gavitt, SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 273

Nathan Fordham, Esq., Hands, Hildreths and Sandfords: in 1762, Gildersleeves, Fosters, and several families of Fordham, the latter descended from the Rev. Robert Ford­ ham, second minister of Southampton town, in 1649. Sam Shaw, a sailor on Russel's sloop, ,vas drovvned at Hog-neck, in 1736. ·

PIO-NEER GENEALOGY

E--sq. Fordham and George Fordham, of the Sag Har­ bor census of 1776 have always been so1newhat of 1nystery men; especially George. They all spring fron1 Rev. Rob­ ert, Southampton minister of 1649, who ca1ne frotn Hemp­ stead, L. I. All we know about George Fordham, he lived (in 1776) at Sag Harbor, near Esq. Nathan. Like Nathan, he ,vas a Refugee. The na1nes of George and Nathan are next each other in the 1776 census. Old Nathan, Esq., as a Refugee went to East Haddam, Conn. George Ford­ ham ,vent to East Haddam. Na than, ,vith his fan1ily, Sept. 2, 1776. The census gives the family, of Nathan, in 17i6, as above 50, males 1 ; about 16, males 1 ; above 16, f e111ales 2; under 16, f en1ales 1. He ,vas per1nitted to return to Long Island with his family and effects, Oct. 11, li82. He signed the Association~ in 1775. He ,vas th~ father of Capt. John (N.) Fordha1n, a Southa111pton Justice. To,vn Trustee and Assessor, first elected in 1791. See 11:ather's Refugees from Long Island p 345. Old Na than Esq., ,vas a Southampton town Constable after the Revolutionary \Var. He was a Justice. His son, Capt. John ( N.) ,vas a Justice of Southa1npton to,vn, there is a To,vn Record. On Old Esq. Nathan's ton1bstone, in Old Bury­ ing Ground, at Sag Harbor, is this inscription: "In Memory of Nathan Fordha111 Esq .. ,vho died Nov. 13th 1805 in the 84th year of his age. He ,vas one of the first ,vho con11nenced the settle111ent of the place: also Died his 274 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS wife Nov. 12, 1805, ae 68 years. They ,vere interred on the same day and in the same grave." Nathan Fordham, Esq. was plaintiff, against ,:vm. B. Havens, defendant, before Justice John Hulbert, at entering a judgtnent at Southampton, in 1798. The suit was for non-payn1e~t of a debt. We know positively that he was a Southampton town Constable; he was "voted 12 shillings for 2 days assessing" in 1788, indicating that he was also one of the town's Justice of the Peace, as well. Hi's burial plot con­ tains bodies of "Abigail Fordhan1 ,vife of Nathan Ford­ ham, Esq., who died Sept. 1st, 1796, ae 68 years." Hedges says "He m. Abigail Bowditch ( of Shelter Island) .Abigail (Bowditch) Fordham" had a grandchild named Joel, after Joel Bowditch, his progenitor, at Shelter Island, as early as 1730 (and perhaps much earlier); the first Joel n1. Ruth ----, and had several children. Nathan Esq .. evidently married twice-once ,vhen quite aged. John (N.) Fordha111 ,vas Old Nathan's son and he had a son Peletiah. From then on the f a1nilv is easilv traced. ~ ~ by any one interested. Let us consider George Fordha111. Little data is available. That he ever returned to Long Island, after 1776, 1s doubtful. Hedges says: "George Fordha1n, vvho removed to East Haddan1, Conn., as a refugee in 1776. and continued to reside there, all his life. p. 2i. .A.ddress. Mather p. 344 "Refugees from L. I.'' This l\1ather book gives him as a brother of Capt. Ephrai1n and Capt. Daniel Fordham, ,vho lived at the "Sagg Harbour Landing-.~' sometimes called ( the East Han1pton part) "Sag Harbor Point." Governor Trumbull is.sued a pern1it. lviarch 28, 1782: "to George Fordha1n to go to L. I.. to dispose of his estate there; to hring off his 111oney, furniture &c." The census of 1776 gives George Fordha1n's fan1ily as: l\1ales above 16 years 1: under 16, 4: fe111ales a hove 16. three: under 16, three. I-Ie had signed the r\ssociation. in 1 i75. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER D.A YS 275

Howell gives the Fordhan1 family, but does not vouch for the Sag Harbor line. Hedges says further: 'rhe grandmother of "Mrs. Miranda Beers, daughter of David Gibbs, the old schoolmaster, even in 1791 states that she was told by her grandmother that she remen1bered ,vhen there were but three houses in Sag Harbor. The grand­ mother was Prudence Fordhan1, sister of Esq. Nathan Fordham and daughter of (another) ,Nathan Fordham who lived at the 'Old Farm.' " She died in 1808, aged 82 years. Her sister, (----) (possibly Betsey Ann or more probably in 1776, the \\1ido,v Sarah Bo\\·clitch) \vho lived in a house for1nerly of one Norris ( possibly Peter) on Turkey Hill. In 1740, when she was 14 years old, the woods came all the way to this house, on the bluff. \Ve know that Daniel Fordham had a store and tav­ ern at, or near, the "Clift" in Sag Harbor, in 1776 (proba­ bly 1nuch earlier) ; he \vas given pern1ission to return to Long Island, l\iarch 6, 1783, and carry fron1 Saybrook. Conn., for the support of his son (he had ten children). a prisoner there, cattle &c .. and boards to repair (a) house. (See Onderdonk, reference in No. 100 11ather: "Pe·rmits to cross to L. I.," p. 986.) Daniel returned. That is kno,v11. He was a1nong the first settlers at Sag Harbor, as early as 1769. Hedges says "he was brother of Esq. Nathan Ford­ ham (he of the 1776 census)"; Hedges says he had a ,vife Phebe, daughters Frances "\\T ent,vorth, and Charlotte I(irtland: sons Sa1nuel, Nathan, J arus, Thaddeus. Joel Frederick and Daniel" and one other child. He died in 1816. An Ephraim Fordhan1 lived near ,vhere is no,v "the Buck house," on 11adison street. He was Captain of vessels. Mather gives hin1 as a brother of Daniel. Georg-e. and Nathan, the latter son of a Nathan. and sire of a John N. ( a than), and grandfather of Peletiah ( the Peletia·h 111en­ tioned as "Duke" about 1819.) These dates ,vill aid in tracing Fordha111 lines: 276 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Father-Philip Fordhan1, Saco111b, I-Icrfordshire, Eng., four miles N. W., from \Vare. Father of Rev. Robert Fordham b. 1603 d. 1674; admitted to Tarn's (pronounced Keys) College, Cambridge, July 3, 1622-Matriculated 1623; rec'd B. A., 1625-1\L A., 1679; came to N. E. 1640; Sudbury, Mass.; was adn1itted of Church of England and \vas second preacher of Southamp­ ton, 1649; also a founder and purchaser of He111pstead from the Dutch; Mrs. Edward \V.hite, of Southampton, says the deed of purchase can be seen no,v in _A.nt,verp­ where he is called "Governor of He111pstead." (2) Baptised Joseph Fordham---, d. Sept. 7, 1688: he was "Capt. in ye Militia," 1688. (3) Nathan, b. ----, d. , There v.ras a Nathan 2 between 1698-1705. Died 1772. His ,vill proved 1774. ( 4) George Fordhan1 \vas alive in I 782: signed the .:\s­ sociation, 1775; see Mather's Refugees: 1110,~ed to East Haddam, Conn., 1776: authorized by Gov. Trumbull to return to L. I., 1782. _A Joseph Fordhan1 ,vas allotted land at Great l\1eado,vs. in 1680. A Joseph Fordhan1 dre,v land at Sag­ Harbor, in 1745. A Nathan Fordhan1 dre,v land at Sag­ Harbor. in 1761. John N. ( a than) Fordhan, ,Yas living­ upon son1e of this land in 1790. Peletiah. his son, inherit­ ed before 1817. He had children. l\rlention is 111ade of John N. and Capt. John. They seem to be the same person. He kept tavern c.on the cor­ ner of Main and West "\V ater streets. The inn of Capt. Daniel ( an uncle) and after,vards of J arus and after,vards run by Jarus' brother, Robert, ,vas at the corner of l\1 ain and East "\i\T ater ( no,v Bay) streets." Thus there \Vere rival taverns. Both ,vere run hv "men inheriting ancestral gifts to excel in their calling-." "The old house and inn of Daniel Fordha1n. "'"as sold ( to be moved off its first site) to parties of Sagg." It had SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS been the inn of Daniel F ordhan1 ; af ter,vards of Robert Fordham. "Aunt D 1encie Fordhan1, grandn1other of George Bassett, deceased, danced there when a girl. It had been the habitat of Capt. N. ( another Nathan of "11arcus·' fame) Fordham, and he had sons, San1uel and Oscar:· Its origin was long anterior to the Revolution, its history "is coeval ,vith the early days of Sag Harbor.. , In Old Burying Ground, at Sag Harbor, are buried: Capt. Daniel Fordham d. June 12, 1816. ae 86 years. Samuel Fordham d. Feb. 2ith, 1803, ae 32 years. _;\ child-a son of J e111ina Fordhan1. Frederick Fordhan1, son of Capt. Daniel and l\Irs. Phebe Fordham, d. Jan. 23, li82, in the 18th year of his age. He served in the Revolution. He ,vas a prisoner on British prison ships. Capt. Na than Fordhan1 d. July i, 1833. ae 80 yrs., 3 n1os. Mary, his wife (Capt. Nathan's) d. KoY. 2d. 1818 in the Sith year of her age-and i children. 11rs. Phebe Fordham, ,vife of Capt. Daniel, d. ~ ov. 4th, 1806, ae iO years and 8 111onths. In Oakland Cemetery (bodies ren1oved from 0. B. G.) Daniel B., son of Capt. Peletiah and l\1aria F. Ford­ ham, d. April 19th, 1833, ae 21. .i\lso t,·vo children of the san1e. Robert Fordhan1 d. Feb. 2ith, 1834, in his 43d year.

"He lived beloved and died universallv., Ian1ented."' Jarus Fordhan1, ae 64, d. Nov. 3d. 1852. Note says: "He may have died ae 80"-this is doubtful if he is the son of Daniel ,vho d. in 1816. Mary, ,v. of \,T1n. B. Fordhan1, cl. Dec. 5. 1809. ae 2i. Frances, daughter, d. Dec. 29, 1809 ae i years. \\Tn1. B. Fordham d. June 14, 1866. ae 86. 278 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

In Old Burying Ground, Edgar Fowler Fordham, son of Frederick and Samantha H. Fordham, d. Jan. 2, 1832, ae 1 yr., 1 m. George Frederick, son of Frederick and Samantha Fordham_d. Jan. 13, 1832, ae 3 yrs., 6 mos. Hugh G. Fordham d. May 19, 1835, ae 33. Lu~helr -For~ham d. April 1, 1827, ae 37 yearrs, 9 months. Clarissa Dering, daughter of George G. and Frances A. Fordham d. March 20, 1838, aged 8 yrs, 4 mos. Theodore Bertram, son of George G. and Frances A. Fordham who was drowned by the s,vamping of a sail­ boat off Fireplace Point, Sept. 12th, 1843. Sarah L. Fordham is buried in 0. C. Died November 1, 1840. Harriet Lucretia, d. January 7, 1832. Harriet Harris Fordham d. Sept. 9th, 1825. Mary E. Fordham d. Nov. 9, 1839. Jane H. Fordham d. Oct. 9, 1828. All of the children of Capt. J a1nes and En11na Ford­ ham are buried in 0. C. The wife of Thaddeus Fordham cl. March 9th, 1824 in her 51st year. Betsey, ,vife of John Fordham, vvho died Sept. 11. 179-, aged 28 years. Charles H. Fordham d. Decen1her 24th, 1843, aged 30. And manv., others. These ,vere all descendants of pioneer Fordhams. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 279

EARLY SETTLERS

It ,vas really so1ne ti1ne prior to 1745. that settle­ ments had been 1nade at ,vhat is no\v called Sag Harbor, and, as stated, "amendments" of 111eado,v had been made to a division of land at "Hogneck, '' in 1680. Indeed, Capt. Epraim Fordham had been born at "the Landing," 1\-farch 12th, 1737. Capt. Elias Pelletreau. a Southa1npton 111er­ chant, shipped cargo fro1n Sag Harbor, in 1737. B. Syl­ vester, Deputy Surveyor for the Cro,vn, signed his 111ani­ f est. Capt. Ephraim Fordha1n died in the year 1832. at l\1iddleto,vn, Conn. He is buried there. He vvas brother to Capt. Daniel Fordham, ,vho ,ve positively kno,v \Vas at Sag Harbor, in 1769, and the indications are that he ,vas there very 111uch earlier. The Russels have been alluded to as early as 1707. Personally I think that they ca1ne a generation later from Hog N eek, and that the Coreys, of Southold, at a later time, catne by way of Hog N eek. The Russels and N orrises ,vere at Sagg. "Old Farn1'' and "Scuttle Hole," ,vere early occupied. and a "Pain" lived nearbv and an Ed,vards, at Little Novack. The "e" ,vas ~ - added to "Pain," 1nore recentlv. The historian 111ust take ~ s01ne starting point. Attention, in records. is called to "Sagg Harbor," by this entry, _A.pril 3d. 1744: "that Stephen Herick and Abratn Hallsey shall go clo\vn to Sagg Harbor to ue,v ( vie,v ?) a piece of Land for John lJ ent (I think John \\rent ( ,vorth) ( a forbear of Joshua \Vent­ vvorth, vvas a "squatter," at Great l\1eado,vs. near the shore.) The meado,v still bears \Ventvvorth's na111e. There are reasons to so deduce the n1issing ,vord. Capt. Daniel Forclhan1, \vho lived nearby. the Landing- had a ,vif e Phebe ----. \V. e don't kno,v her surnan, e: but the Fordhan1s had a daughter...__ nan1ed France~ (\\~ ent- ,vorth) : on Shelter Island lived Joel Bo""clitch ( 1730).

1-Iis ,vife ,vas Ruth ----. Thev., had seYeral children and grandchildren. Capt. John Bo,vditch \Ya~ 111aster of 280 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS the Sag Harbor sloop "Betsey Ann," in 1799. His mate was John B. Corey, and his seaman Joseph Edwards, all of Sag Harbor. The Widow Sarah Bowditch lived at Sag Harbor, in 1776. A sister of Nathan Fordham, ,vho first lived at "Old Farm," and then at N unna Koma, Sag Har­ bor, one Prudence, said before 1800: "My sister n1arried a Bowditch. He lived on Turkey Hill. The woods then came down to the bluff. My sister \vas then fourteen years old. That was 1740." Prudence died in 1808, aged 83 years; her brother, Esqr. Na than, died in 1804. aged 85 years. ,v e know that Capt. Daniel Forclha1n, Yictualer, bought from Thomas Foster, .April 25th. 1771. a cooper. one-half a share of the new Long \Vharf, at Sag Harbor. I have a Historical Address, by the late Judge Hedges. about Sag Harbor. It \Vas read, about 1895 before the Sag Harbor Historical Society, an association long since. disbanded. It is annotated by the late Charles ,;v_ Payne, secretary of the society. It gives Rev. Robert Fordha111. Southampton town's second minister, of 1649, as the Ford­ ham originator on Long Island. The line applying to the Sag Harbor Fordhams seen1s to be (Rev. Robert 1, Jos­ 2 5 eph , Na than 3, Nathan, Esq., , John Nathan. son1etin1es 7 called Capt. John N., 6, Peletiah • The penciled annota­ tions are: lacking for 4th generation. but as Joseph and Nathan Fordham were allotted land at Sag Harbor. in 1745, and as John Nathan settled upon land dra\vn by Joseph and devised by Nathan Esqr., the natural deduction is that this land decended or at least originated in title fro111 Joseph. The Nathan Fordham 5. so the annotations read. ,vho with "John Foster. in 1761. received fron1 the to,:vn authority to build ( at Sag Harbor) the first \vharf ,vas the grandfather-Esqr. Nathan. of Peletiah Fordhan1." John N. Fordham is called Capt.John in 1791-6. He sailed seY­ eral vessels. His son, Peletiah, is often called Capt. Ford­ han1. \Ve kno,v he ,vas master of the sloop "Bellona·' on trips to \\rest Indies, soon after 1800. Hedges gjves SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 281

Esqr. Fordham as the grandfather of a Nathan Y. There is a Nathan, child of Capt. Daniel and Phebe. \Vhere there are so many Nathans, ,vith the name handed do,vn more than 250 years, it is easy to confuse the Nathans. This comes to us: "Esqr. Fordham was "a common an­ cestor. He resided in the old Jesse Halsey house. He owned immense landed estates at Chatfield's Hill; a large territory south of Otter Pond bridge; at one ti1ne all the land south of the Hedges House (Joseph Santacroce) on the west side of Main street, and other lands." He came to Sag Harbor from vicinity of "Old Farm." References are Sag Harbor Custom books of 1i90 showing Capt. John Fordham sailing vessels; Capt. Pele­ tiah Fordham sailing vessels, a generation later; certain wills; the Fordhams advertise "Pleasant Valley," 200 home lots; the Fordhams give record roads; old convey­ ances; old ship's books; merchants' journals and n1agis­ trates' dockets; etc. Here is a deposition of 1i99: Personally appeared before me (John Hulbert, a Notary Public) John Bow( d)ich ·Mastor of the sloop Bet­ sey Ann of Sag Harbor; John B. Corey Mate; and Joseph Edwards, seaman, belonging to the san1e, being duly sworn . . . . Signed: John Bowditch, John B. Corey, Joseph Edwards." From Justice Hulbert's book, 1798: "Nathan Fordham Esqr. Plaintiff." Nathan Fordham signs as a Justice of Southampton, in June, 1784. The signatures of other Justices of the Peace are John Hulbert and Daniel Ho\\rell. Here are some old records, not easily available. The present Sag Harbor Presbyterian church edifice 282 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS originally cost $17,000; $2,000 for lot; $19,000 in all. Cor­ ner stone was laid in June, 1844. Dedicated 16th l\1ay. 1844. The design was by Maynard Lefevre, an architect. of N. Y. City. The builder ,vas Richard J. Sheldon of N. Y. City, who afterwards moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he died. Fron1 a historical centennial address, by "\\r. H. Glea­ son, in 1868: The Arsenal was built in 1810, for the U. S. by Henry

Havens, a mason; and Eliab Byran1, a carpenter. Henrv., P. Dering was the Federal Agent. Cornelius Sleight headed the 1817 church building committee. Pardon T. Tabor was pron1inent as a boss carpenter. The old church edifice, on Meeting ·House hill, ,vas sometimes by the irreverent. called "God's Barn." In 1788, the Eastern half of the first schoolhouse \Vas erected, on a lot on Jefferson street, donated by Brad­ dock Corey; the \Vestern half, in 1795. A new School House, ,:vas built at Church street in 1804. It \Vas burned in 1834. Before 1800, Phineas Duvall \Vas a chorister; Joseph P. Lamb once was such a chorister. Fron1 him con1es "Lamb's Corner." The parish is mentioned in records, in 1793. It re­ ceived n1eadows at Little Hog N eek beach as a grant. The first newspaper of Sag Harbor \vas published in 1791, by David Frothingham. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS 283

MASHASHIMUET

This is Indian for "the Great Spring," or Otter Pond, at Sag Harbor, ( abounding with otters). In the present time, -~Mashashimuet" is the name applied to a park and playground. Did the Proprietors of Southampton town sell out­ right the land under the water of Otter Pond? They leased fishing rights, notably West Bay and Fish Cove, the latter near Towd; they sold povver rights, they sold Poxabogue Pond. In each instance a large sum is named. in consideration. The historian assumes that vvhere a pond is on a man's land, the land beneath water is his prop­ erty, unless the pond is reserved to the town, in his deed: that a surveyor's line passes along the bottom of a pond. not the top-the rule in Colonial towns 1nay be different. \Vhen Otter Pond was first named in Records the Grant of 1782 to Deacon David Hedges, Ebenezer \Vhite and Nathan Fordham reads, December 3, that year: "privilege of the pond . . . . and to let out the said pond to have con1munication ,vith the salt water in order to n1ake a fish pond, etc." No compensation is named. Nathan Fordhan1, and others, leased what ,vas then called "Day­ ton's Bay" and "Nathan's Bay." The public were priv­ ileged to take nu1nbed fish. The brook vvas dug deeper \vhere is no,v "the Bridge." Sept. 7th, 1790 i\brahan1 Rose. in behalf of the Proprietors of Otter Pond, petition­ ed "that they have the privilege of Dayton's Cove. as they have had the t,vo years past." The consideration to be paid is 35 shillings pr. year. In 1793 the Proprietors of the pond and lessees of the Cove pray to transfer their grant of 1782 to John Jern1ain. J ern1ain is pennitted "to set n1ills on the strean1.'" The legality of the original grant ,vas questioned. Dec. 7th. 1813. for the ,vant of the corporation seal. The To,vn Trustees "obserYe that no such seal ,vas in use at the ti1ne the said grant ,vas 111ade: 284 SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS that this written instrument was legally executed by our predecessors and we, the Trustees, . . . . confirm the said original grant with all its privileges to the said pro­ prietors to all intents and purposes." In view of this, it seems odd to find in the financial accounts this item: 1794. "Received for hire of Otter Pond of Jonathan Rogers ...... £ 3 :10 :0." 1793. "Sold to Esqr. Daniel Howell & Co., Poxebog Pond for Thirty Five Pounds ...... 35 : 0 :0. ··

MIRANDA EXPEDITION

Zebulon Elliot, who was father of Secretary Elliot of the Sag Harbor Historical Society, \Vas in the l\1iranda Expedition. Andrew Carnegie can1e to this country \vhen a boy in the packet ship "Wickasset." }'his ship was after\\~ards bought for a Sag Harbor whaling voyage. The fan1ily of Andre,v Carnegie also accon1panied hin1. The "\\Tickas­ set" made two voyages fro111 Sag Harbor and took oil and bone worth about $100,000. This ,vas in 1841-44, 1844-47. The "VVickassef' was built in the State of 1\1aine. ERRATA

ERRATA -­.

Page 124, the co1nn1a should co111e directly after On­ derdonk, at the 12th line from top of page. 9th line from top of page 129 should read opposite not "opposie." 19th line from bottom to read \\! ashington instead of "Union" Street, on page 134. 4th line from top to read laying, not "layng," on page 137. 5th line fron1 top, on page 137, to read \:\F ashington, not "Union." 12th line fron1 botto111, on page 152, to read venture, not "venutre." Counting frotn botton1 of page 14, the lines 9, 10, 11, and 12 should be transposed. Second line fro1n botton1 of Page 20 should read "them," instead of "by." Third line frotn top of Page 47 should read "ever," instead of '~never." The \vord "Caps" should be taken out, following "Packet," on Page 74. First line, Page 118 date should be 18i9, not 1897. II SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Fourth line from top the date should read "1796," not "August 17, 1879." Page 120, fourth line from botto1n should read An­ thony instead of "Anthonw." Page 90, three lines from the botton1 should read 1796 not "17'6." Page 199. 2nd line from top at end of cause, to read cause." Page 199. 5th line from top at end of there, to read there." Page 201. Eighth line from top to read to, not "too." Page 156. 5th line from top, are, not "aee." Page 159. 2nd line beneath "Early Street N an1es," should read now, not nof." Page 165. 15th line from top should read, accommo­ date, not accomodate; 10th line from botton1 should read, ,vended, not "wending." Page 178. 15th line from top, should read, corner, not "corne r." Page 56. Should read at 1st line fro111 top, entries, not "en trees." LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS

LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS -­.

Name Address Mrs. L. C. Aldrich ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. J. H. Aldrich ...... ,Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Ada Hedges Adams ...... 187 Pine St., Kingston, N. Y. Florence E. Avery ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. A. T. Brown, Ph. G., (2) ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Thomas F. Bisgood ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Hathaway Barry ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Philip 'H. Ballen ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Rosa J. Bates ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Mrs. Elizabeth Stanton Burrcll .. 49 Claremont Ave., New York. N. Y. Mrs. Alfred M. Butts ...... Sag H,arbor, N. Y. Rev. Sidney H. Barrett ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Caroline L. Bennett ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Mrs. Rosa Bauman ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Herman M. Brown ...... 214 12th St., Des Moines, Iowa Mrs. Annie Cooper Boyd ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Miss Rosa.lie :Miller Baker ...... East Hampton, N. Y. \\,.,. elby E. Boughton ...... East Hampton, N .. Y. l\'Irs. Stanley l\i. Bennett ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Nancy S. Barns ...... East Hampton. N. Y. J. L. Bannister ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Nicholas Battle ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. George J. Cunningham ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. William M. Cook ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. George Carey ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Ency \:'". Carruthers ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Carrie H. Corwin ...... Sag Harbor.. N. Y. Convent of the Sacred Heart of Mary ...... Sag H-a.rbor, N. Y . .John Y. Corwin ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Fred L. Chandler ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Henry F. Cook ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Sam. B. Cline ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Mrs. George A. Dippel ...... Sap: Harbor.. N. Y. "\Valter H. Dippel ...... East H-ampton, N. Y. Mrs. Minnie Dalzell ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Frank Dutcher ...... Sag Harbor,. N. Y. Edward M. Dering ...... 112 Nippon St ... ::VIt. Airy, Philadelphia,. Pn. II SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS

Name Address Roy P. Dippel ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Kenneth E. Davis ...... East Hampton, N. Y. F. Raymond Dominy ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Herbert M. Dutcher ...... Sap: Harbor. N. Y. Mrs. Eva H. Esterbrook ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. W. S. Eaton ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. East Hampton Library ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Val Eichen ...... East Hampton. N. Y. David Edwards, M. D ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Capt. James L. Edwards ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. C. E. Fritts ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Clifford J. Foster ...... Sagaponack, N. Y. Mrs. C. B. Fuller ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Oscar F. Fanning ...... Southampton, N. Y. Ralph C. Frood ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Ross M. Fanning ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Wade ,French ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Douglas Gardner ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. R. C. Gravely ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Cornelia French Goldbeck ...... Sa_g Harbor, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Gibbons ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Fred Glaesner ...... Sag .H.a.rbor, N. Y. A. C. Griffin ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. J. T. Gardiner ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Lion Gardiner ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Winthrop Gardiner ...... East Hampton, N. Y. S. A. Gregory ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Edward M. Gay ...... East Hampton, N. Y. J. Edward Gay ...... East Hampton, N. Y. \Varren F. Greenhalgh ...... Riverhead, K. Y. Mrs. Annette F. Gleason ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Peter -Garypie ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Martin Holmberg ...... Sag Hn rbor, N. Y. Mrs. Frank Heinrichs ...... Sag Harbor, K. Y. Charles W. Hand ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. E. L. Hansen ...... Sag Harbor, K. Y. E. B. Hill ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Frank F. Holmberg, M. D ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Charles A. Halsey ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. Edwin J. Hildreth (2) · ...... Bridgehampton,N. Y. Samuel 0. Hedges ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. William C. Hedges ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Harry H. Heinrichs· ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Harri M. Howell ...... Southampton, N. Y. I. Y. Halsey ...... East Hampton. N. Y. Miss Cornelia Horsford ...... Shelter Island, N. Y. Miss Ettie C. Hedges ...... East Hampton, N. Y. \\.,..m_ M. Halsey ...... Shelter Island, N. Y. Mrs. J. E. Huntting ...... East Hampton, X. Y. Hampton Library, (2) ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. Augustus Hellemann ...... Sap: Harbor, X. Y. SAG HARBOR IN EARLIER DAYS III

Name Address Elwyn L. Harris ...... East Hampton. N. Y. Mrs. Cecelia F. Harris ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Conrad C. Hauser ...... 117 West 79th St., New York, N. Y. The John Jermain Memorial Library ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Everard F. Jones (2) ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Charles Jundt ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. '\Vallace Jones ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. William C. Johnson ...... 49 Wiarren St., Brookline, Mass. Roosevelt Johnson ...... Los Angeles, Cal. G. Augustine Kiernan ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Cortlandt Kiernan ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Miss Elisabeth B. Low ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Bertha B. Lewis ...... 2017 Pleasant Ave., Minneapolis. Minn. Miss Alvinia M. Lindberg ...... Sag H,arbor, N. Y. Arnold Lewis ...... :Sag Harbor, N. Y. Irene R. Lister ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. T. C. Lippmann, M. D ...... Southampton, N. Y. Harry M. Leek ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Joseph Loris ...... East ·Hampton. N. Y. Carl C. Mortensen ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Daniel McLane ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. C. Maier ...... Sag Harbor, N. "\•. Alice D. Miller ...... ~ ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Harry Moylan ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. George A. Miller ...... Springs, N. Y. Harry F. Miller ...... 207 Lena Ave., -Freeport. N. Y. John Mulligan ...... East Hampton, N. Y. W. J. Muller ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Ernest Miller ...... East Hampton, N. Y. E. C. Morford ...... East Hampton, N. Y. ·Mrs. B. Maloy ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Doctor Charles D. Napier ...... 100 Lafayette Ave., ·Brooklyn, N. Y. Alexander W. Na pier ...... Laura N. Napier ...... Arthur H. Na pier ...... llrs. Arthur Newman ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. Nelson C. Osborne ...... East Hampton, N. Y. S. Gardiner Osborn ...... East Hampton, N. Y. F"rancis Olejnik ...... Sag- Harbor, N. Y. Francis Phillips ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. J. F. Payne ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. J. B. Phillips ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Mrs. Edwin H. Pierson ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. Mrs. Fred L. Payne ...... Sag H-arbor, N. Y. Mrs. Lela Phillips ...... Sag- Harbor, N. Y. Raymond S. Parsons ...... East Hampton, N. Y. )1 rs .•J. Lester Parsons ...... Llewellyn Park, "\Vest Orang-e, N. J. Frederick Prime ...... 131 East 66th St., New York. N. Y. \V. H. Pearsall ...... 1097 East 17th St., Brooklyn, N. Y. \V. R. Reiman, Ph. G ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. :\I rs. Elizabeth Rogers ...... Sag- Harbor, X. Y. IV SAG HA:RBO·R IN EARLIER DAYiS

Name Address Miss Georgia Reeves ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Charles W. Rogers ...... Bridgehampton. N. Y. S. Raif ...... Sag Harbor, N. ).". Mrs. Henry J. Rees ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Carroll F. Ro.gers ...... Bridgehampton, N. Y. Wallace Reid ...... ·...... 76 William-St.,New York, N. Y. John Wesley Ripley ...... 50 Church St., New York, N. Y. Jeannette Edwards Rattray ...... East Hampton. N. Y. Miss Addie Sayre ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. C. F. Schrier ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. M. L. Seaton ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. Russell J. Smith ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Mrs. James Simms ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Hiram Sherrill ...... East Hampton, N. Y. C. R. Sleight ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Percy C. Schenck ...... East Hampton. N. Y. Rudolph Sigmund ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Raymond A. Smith ...... East Hampton. N. Y. James M. Strong ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Mrs. Lottie H. Sterling ...... Sa.g Harbor, N. Y. Miss A. F. Sleight ...... Sa.g Harbor, N. Y. Cornelia F'rench Smith ...... New Haven, Conn. Fred H. Scribner ...... : ...... East Hampton. N. Y. John N. Talmadge ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Stanley E. Tabor ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. N. N. Tiffany ...... East Hampton, N. Y. Mrs. William Taylor ...... East H.a.mpton, N. Y. Ellis Terry ...... Riverhead, N. Y. F. H. Tillinghast ...... East Hampton, N. Y. S. A. Tuthill ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Mrs. Blanche S. Travis ...... Brooklyn. N. Y. Fred C. Urlacher ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. W. H. Van Nostrand, D. D. S...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Miss Ada Wall ace ...... Sag Harbor, N. . Y Fred W. "\\.,.ilson ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Arthur Weiner ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. John M. Woodward ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Joseph B. Wright ...... Sag Harbor. N. "\.. . Harry M. Woodward ...... Sag Harbor. N. Y. Mrs. Edward P. ,vh-ite ...... Southampton, N. Y. William F. Youngs ...... Sag Harbor, N. Y. Frederick Yardley, Jr...... East Hampton, N. Y. INDEX

INDEX (By Chapters) -­.

Page An Old Ships' Account Book ...... 6 An I\ctive l'atriot ...... ~ ...... 14 An Earl~r Settler ...... 37 Activity in the Realty :Market ...... 59 Ancient Paper Found ...... 62 Asserted Right To Sell Land Under "\\tater ...... 65 .A Distingui5hed Patriot ...... IO I An Ancient Journal ...... · 122 A Fish Rep•ort ...... 147 A Map of 1850 ...... 166· An Earl,y Industry ...... 189 A :Much Needed Roadway ...... 202 An Interesting Letter ...... 205 1"\n Early Census ...... 21H A Notable Anni•ters:iry ...... 223 Bondsmen of 1796 ...... 54 "Brush~· X ec-k" ...... 254 Census of 1776 ...... : ...... 11, 77 Division of East fiampton Town Lands in Yilla_ge of Sa~ Harbor 8 East Hampton Sold Undivided Land ...... 153 Ea r]y Street X a mes ...... 159 Ea r]y Ori~in of Harbor Streets ...... 165 Early )fention of A '"'essel ...... 182 E:11~Jy School Censuses ...... 219 Excerpts from Onderdonk ...... 267 Early Settlers ...... 279 Erratn ...... I, II Few Inhabitants Before 1730 ...... 80 "Fordh:irn\·iJ!e" ...... 271 Fou~ht ""'ith Pnul .Tones ...... I 13 32 FamiHes in 1775 ...... 72 General Rose's Official Report ...... 102 Hog- X eek Settled A bout 1700 ...... 91 Jntrodnc-tion ...... 1 Int~resting- ::\'lemoran

P.tge James' Meadow 48 '' Kingvi•lle'' ...... 272 "Lamb's" Corner ...... 171 Land Division At Sag Harbor ...... 248 List of Subscriber's ...... I, II, III, IY Method of Alloting the Land ...... 28 Merchants Kept Journals ...... 98 More Concerning John Hulburt ...... 136 Mashashim uet ...... 283 Miranda Expedition ...... 284 Names That 1Have Disappeared ...... 49 No Record Roads In Ninevah Tract ...... 257 Notes by L. D. Cook ...... 251 X orth Haven is Old Settlement ...... 270 Otter Pond Grant ...... 41 Opened Twelve Acres ...... 47 Off Shore Voyages for ,vhales ...... 110 Origin Of Sag Harbor ...... 228 Presbyterian Church Covenant ...... 21 Ponds, The ...... 33 Prentice Mulford, Philosopher ...... 139 Provisions ,v ere Scarce ...... 196 Prices' ·C-ooper ·Shop ...... 208 Political Amenities 50 Years Ago ...... 231 Prison Ship Victims ...... 234 Played Havoc "\Vith Shipping ...... 264 Pioneer Genealogy ...... 273 Railroad Extended to Sag Harbor ...... 3.5 Refugees of 1776 ...... 83 Resumption of \Vhalinl? ...... 150 Real Estate High 80 Years Ago ...... 179 Revolutionary Incidents ...... 236 Sag Harbor In Earlier Days ...... 1 Seized Arms At East Hampton ...... 17 Some Epitaphs ...... 38 Some Data ...... 43 Some Ancient Roads ...... 44 Some Early \Vhale Ships ...... 52 Some N' ota bles ...... 86 Ships Were Built At Sag Harbor ...... 95 Sag Harbor Commenced to Thrive in 1730 ...... 10-J. Southampton Divided Into Districts ...... 116 Suffered Much From Fires ...... 128 Sag Harbor Once Had 4.,0-00 Population ...... 177 Southampton Town Had No Official Seal In 1788' ...... 187 Surgeons In The "Tar ...... 199 Sag Harbor Boys Pought With Commodore John Paul .Jo:1es ... . 238 Some Earlier Settlers ...... 2-1-2 Sag H:-irhor's Lar~~st ,vhaleship ...... 2!i9 The Old Burying Ground ...... :?3 They Did Strange Thinl?s ...... ~o To ,vhom "7" ould Hi~hways Revert? ...... 57 SAG HARBOR I:S EARLIER DAYS III

Page The Pa.rt Taken By The Patriots ...... 69 The Nova Scotia. Packet ...... 74 The British Held Sag Harbor ...... 88 The Peace After The Revolution ...... 106 Trade, Shipping and Commerce ...... 119 The Letter-Book of John Hulbert ...... 157 The Waters ...... 191 The Refugees ...... • ...... 193 Then and Now ...... 213 T·he "Common" At Sag Harbor ...... 226 The Brick Kiln School ...... 231 The Twelve-Acre Div-ision ...... 241 The Pioneer Whaling Brig ...... 245 The First Company Whaleships ...... 260 Under Water Land ...... 125 War Papers Taken From Lawyer's I-lat ...... 174 When ,v as Hog N eek Inhabited? ...... 184