F 127 .L8 fl7 Copy 1 W^mmmMM A NEW AND COMPLETE VOLUME OF INFORMATION With Original Pen and Ink Sketches by EUGENE L. ARMBRUSTER €adle Cibrary M^o. 182 SiP A VIEW OF THE HAIRDRESSING ESTABLISHMENT OF MRS. TYLER-MILLER AT 80-82 FLEET STREET, BROOKLYN. MRS. TYLER-MILLER'S HAIRDRESSING ESTABLISHMENT Mrs. Tyler-Miller conducts at 80 Fleet Street, one of the oldest and best known hair- dressing establishments in Brooklyn, having given satisfaction to her many patrons at that address for over twenty years. Last sea- son, on account of the large increase in her patronage, she added the building at 82 Fleet Street, thus doubling her space. Mrs. Tyler- Miller's establishment is fitted up in the most elegant manner and is equipped with every modem convenience needed in her business. Her patrons include many of the leading so- ciety women of Brooklyn and Long Island, as they find in the private rooms, which are a I feature of the establishment, the lux- ury and privacy of their own boudoirs. Mrs. Tyler-Miller has a large force of helpers, who are experts in their respective lines, such as the making of hair goods, shampooing, scalp treatment, hairdressing, facial massage, and manicuring, but Mrs. Tyler-Miller gives her personal supervision and advice to each pat- ron and her personal attention to every detail of the business, and, as she is an expert in her line, the business is conducted on a first-class basis. .Her prices are moderate and she of- fers special inducements to ladies living on Long Island. She is very glad to show visit- ors her establishment and they will find much to interest them there. ZJ THE EAGLE LIBRARY LONG ISLAND ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS By EUGENE L. ARMBRUSTER (Copyright, 1914. by E. L Armbruster) PUBLISHED BY THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE, BROOKLYN-NEW YORK Entered at the Brooklyn-New York Post office as second-class matter. Vol. XXIX No. 7, of the Eagle Library, Serial No. 182, June, 1914. Trademark "Eagle Library," registered. Almanac Number $1.00. Yearly subscription, $1.50, including Almanac. Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. n l7 The Queens County Trust Company Offices and Safe Deposit Vaults, 375 Fulton St., Jamaica, ^.Y. CAPITAL, $600,000.00 BANKING DEPARTMENT Deposits Subject to Checks. Special Deposits not Subject to Check. Interest Allowed on Daily Balances. Foreign Exchange, Travelers Cheques TRUST DEPARTMENT Executor Estates Managed Adininistrator Registrar Guardian ' Transfer Agent Trustee Legal Depository for Receiver ' moneyspaid intoCourt SAFE DEPOSIT VAULTS Boxes rented $3.00 per year and upward. Robert B. Austin, Pres. Willis H. Young, V. Pres. Thomas Napier, V. Pres. W. E. Stecher, Sect'y- Leander B. Faber, Counsel. Queens County Trust Co., Jamaica, Queens Borough. Conducts a General Banking Business. BRANCH OFFICE JUL -2 1914 , Queens Plaza North, Long Island City, N. Y, ©CI.A374658 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. DR. BERNARD LISSEY One of Queens Borough's leading dentists is Dr. Bernard Lissey, with offices at 339 Pulton street, Jamaica, and his dental operating room, a picture of which is shown above, has been declared the best equipped and the most elaborate and costly on Long Island. As an artisan is judged by his tools and uls workmanship, so a dentist is judged by his appliances and his pleased or displeased patrons. The fact that Dr. Lissey has a large clientele and that his pa- tients invariably leave his office with pleased expressions on their faces, is sufficient proof of Dr. Lissey's worth. Dr. Lissey desires to please his patrons by not only giving them the best possible workmanship and dental surgery under absolute aseptic conditions, but by giving surrounding cleanliness and comfort. Upon arriving in New York, at the age of 17 years. Dr. Lissey immediately proceeded to educate himself. He secured employment as a junior clerk in a drugstore and within a short time re- ceived his license as a graduate pharmacist. In 1903 he decided upon entering the College of Dental and Oral Surgery of New York. He had a very successful college career, graduating in 1906, receiving a silver medal. Shortly after his graduation. Dr. Lissey was married and in 1907 he established himself modestly at Jamaica, L. 1. By close application to his work and constant effort to please. Dr. Lissey soon made for himself an enviable reputation. Despite the fact that he is a very busy dentist, Dr. Lissey still finds time to devote to civic, political, fraternal and charitable work. He is a member of the Jamaica Citizens Association, a member of the Board of Directors of the Iroquois Democratic Club, of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, of Jamaica Council of the Royal Arcanum, of Jamaica Conclave, Independent Order of Heptasophs; of the Council of Im- migration of New York, of the Woodmen of the World, of the Foresters of America, of the Knights of Pythias, and of Ionic Lodge No. 486, F. and A. M., and of various dental societies. Dr. Lissey is still a comparatively young man. He is ihirty-three years old. He lives with his wife and two children — Jeanette Frances and Dorothy Marion Lissey — in a handsome home at 63 Shelton avenue, Jamaica. Dr. Lissey is always pleased to receive members of his profession, medical doctors, as well as the public in general, and permit them to inspect his handsome dental offices at 339 Pulton street, Jamaica. Telephone 281-597 Jamaica. Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 1 LYN SAVINGS BANK CORNER PIERREPONT AND CLINTON STREETS New Entrance 300 Fulton btreet BROOKLYN, IM. Y. Due Depositors Surplus (Par Value) $51,400,000 $5,900,000 CROWELL HADDEN - - DANIEL J. CREEM - - RICHARD L. EDWARDS CROWELI. HADDEN RICHARD L. EDWARDS EDW. H. I,ITCHPIELD FRANK LYMAN DAVID G. LEGGET WILLIS L. OGDEN JOHN F. HALSTED JONATHAN BULKLEY OFFICERS : President LAURUS E. SUTTON Vice-Pres. ARTHUR C. HARE - Vice-Pres. CHARLES C. PUTNAM Comptroller - - Cashier Ass't Comp'r TRUSTEES FRANK L,. BABBOTT HENRY F. NOYES SANFORD H. STEELE DANIEL J. CREEM CLINTON R. JAMES B. HERBERT SMITH FRANCIS L. NOBLE FREDERICK A. M. BUBRELL WILLIAM L. MOFFAT HAROLD I. PRATT EDWIN P. MAYNARD CHARLES J. PEABODY MARTIN JOOST ALBERT L. MASON FRANK D. TUTTLE WILLIAM MASON CHARLES L. MORSE J Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. OAK PARK NURSERIES M iij^>-^i On East Main street, Patchogue, is situated the Oak Park Nurseries, E. C. and S. V. Tiger, proprietors, comprising many acres. As the picture indicates, their specialty is evergreens. Established in 1888 the nursery has been spreading out year by year, until it now covers a large acreage of superbly stocked nursery specialties. Their reputation is such that it has gained for them customers who continually renew their orders, as they realize they can place their orders in perfect confidence and receive just exactly what they buy. Special attention is given to the culture of trees that will succeed best in this climate, and those grown here are already acclimated. Write for their beautiful cata- logue and when in need of anything in this line write the Oak Park Nurseries, which will exert an effort to please you and make you a satisfied and permanent customer. Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. Jamaica Park South Realty Corporation 120 West Thirty-second Street, New York Telephone 2914 Madison Square 236 Fulton Street, Jamaica, L. I. Telephone 878 Jamaica The Best Moderate Priced Residential Section in Queensborough 19 Minutes From the Pennsylvania Station, 33d Street, New York. 30 Minutes From Manhattan by the New Subway System. LOTS FROM $250 TO $1,500 The City, State and National Governments have united to open what the "New York World" aptly calls "America's New Front Door." It will be at Jamaica Bay, adjacent to our property. New York dock authorities declare at this hour that there are countless vessels which, upon arrival, have no prospect but delay, uncertainty and extortionate dock charges when they try to unload. A READJUSTMENT OF THE COMMERCE OF THE WORLD IS NOW UNDER WAY AND JAMAICA BAY IS TO HANDLE IT. We are showing you history in the making. Facts are here which your mind can build to- gether. It is a cold business proposition. The alert will grasp it to their certain profit. We can prove to you every assertion. JAMAICA PARK SOUTH REALTY CORPORATION 120 West Thirty-second Street, New York Telephone 2914 Madison Square 236 Fulton Street, Jamaica, L. Telephone 878 Jamaica Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. Jamaica Park South Realty Corporation 120 West Thirty-second Street, New York Telephone 2914 Madison Square 236 Fulton Street, Jamaica, L. I. Telephone 87S Jamaica EVERY DOLLAR IN THE PENNSYLVANIA TUNNELS AND TERMINALS, EVERY DOLLAR IN THE CITY'S DUAL SUBWAY SYSTEM, EVERY DOLLAR IN JAMAICA BAY'S GREAT HARBOR, EVERY DOLLAR IN THE NEW ERIE BARGE CANAL, EVERY DOLLAR IN HELL GATE BRIDGE, Every dollar in each and all of these projects is a lever raising Jamaica Park South realty values to a higher level. Our proposition is an open book. These big improvements are right there doing business — ready for your inspection. You take nothing on faith. The facts speak for themselves. When you see, you will say what every other man says — "IT IS BETTER THAN IT WAS REPRE- SENTED." Any of these improvements will create enough big business to make an ordinary city. Think what it means to build a harbor. Here will be miles of wharfage, steamship terminals, docks, etc. Jamaica Bay Harbor means the creation of a thousand new business centers — a city within a city. Shipping facilities bring manufacturers. The increase in Queens manufactures, 314% in 10 years, is a demonstration of that fact. If the National Government were spending $70,000,000 in the construction of a new harbor on some barren shore, miles from any city, property there would be a good investment. But at Jamaica Bay the harbor is being built at the backdoor of the greatest commercial city in the world — a city with water or rail transit to all points on the globe. Suppose even ONE of these improvements was being worked out in any community — you know it would be good business to buy property there and wait its completion. But suppose the entire five came together in that community — what then? If some big business concern would spend $500,000 establishing a plant in a town, you would figure that property there was a good investment. But here is an expenditure of eight hundred and twenty million dollars on the biggest enter- prises this country ever saw — all of them working together to make Jamaica Park South the greatest commercial center in the United States. If real estate does not reach high values here, there is no place on earth that it will. If real estate is not a good investment here — there is no such thing as a good investment. It is GOOD BUSINESS to investigate our proposition before you make any investment any- where. LET US TAKE YOU OUT AND SHOW YOU THE PROPERTY. JAMAICA PARK SOUTH REALTY CORPORATION 120 West Thirty-second Street, New York Telephone 2914 Madison Square 236 Fulton Street, Jamaica, L. L Telephone 878 Jamaica Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. r ^ L THE Patchogue Bank OF F*AXCHOGUE, IM. Y. Capital .... $75,000.00 Surplus and Profits Over $65,000.00 JOHN A. POTTER, President JESSE C. MILLS, Vice President FRANK A. POTTER, Cashier JOHN A. POTTER JESSE C. MILLS JOHN M. PRICE JOHN J. ROE ARCHIBALD S. HAVENS DIRECTORS FRANK OVERTON SMITH W. CONKLIN NATHANIEL O. SWEZEY GEORGE H. FURMAN HOWARD S. CONKLIN JOSEPH T. LOSEE JAMES H. MILLS JAMES H. SNEDECOR J. ROBERT BAILEY DANIEL R. DAVIS FRED B. NEWINS DAYTON HEDGES J Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. FRED M. RULAND Granite, Marble and Statuary. Artistic Granite Work a Specialty. Office and yards, corner of Lake street and North Ocean avenue, Patchogue, L. I. kept pace with the demands of the times for better cemetery work, assures all Ruland customers of prompt, courteous, efficient, honest service. The most modern elec- trical lettering devices, the highest grade of workmanship, elevating cranes and all up-to-date equip- ment are the best evidence to offer that Ruland can meet any and all requirements for monuments, headstones, statuary, etc. If you are looking for the genuine prod- ucts—no substitutes — of the fa- mous quarries of Barre, Vt.; Quincy, Mass., and Westerly, R. I., or the noted imports from Aber- deen, Scotland, or Italy, ask The monuments manufactured at the establishment of Fred M. Ruland are noted for their original design and artistic workmanship. Island are many examples of Ru- land's superior work, admired and highly commended for their excel- lence of finish. An established In the cemeteries of eastern Long i business of thirty years, that has FRED M. RULAND, North Ocean Av., Patchogue, L. I. IF YOU PLEASE- will you send us a sample of that job of commercial printing which you soon will need and permit us to quote you a price upon it — Remembering That Our Reputation for producing printing which is technically and commercially correct gives you all reasonable assurance that, our price being right, you need have no hesitancy in entrusting your order to us? THE AMITY PRINTING HOUSE CHARLES F. DELANO, Proprietor AMITYVILLE, LONG ISLAND, N. Y. Long Distance Telephone No. 77 Amityville. (All Hours) 10 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. UNIQUE THEATER On South Ocean avenue, 500 feet from Main street, is located the "Unique Theater," a new and modern house, equipped with all improvements, including a gallery seating over SOO. The latest capacity of theater nearly 1,000. Mr. Nathan Goldstein, proprietor and manager, caters to the elite of Patchogue, exhibiting all the latest films as soon as released. This beautiful theater was opened to the public last July and has, under Mr. Goldstein's able management, proven a great success. WILLIAM L. MANTHA COMPANY, Inc. Have been established nine years in Bayport and four years in Sayville, operating a garage in each place. Fully equipped with power to make any repairs that an automobile may require. Expert mechanics are employed. Mr. Mantha makes a study of each new car as it appears upon the market, and is familiar with all types. The cut represents a Reo car for which this company are the local selling agents. They are also selling agents for the Mitchell automobile. These two high-class cars have a splendid reputation, and those seeking an automobile can make no mistake in selecting either of them. Touring cars can be engaged here at reasonable rates. There is also ample storage room for private owners, who can rest assured they will receive first-class service. Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 11 THE BANK OF HUNTINGTON HUNTINGTON, L. I. Just about twenty-six years ago there was started in Huntington, N. Y., a bank. The exact date is July I, 1888. The institution sprang from the private bank of the late James M. Brush, Henry S. Brush and Douglas Conklin. These men virtually did business "over a soap box," and when it was announced that "The Bank of Huntington" was to be opened as a public enterprise, folks were inclined to laugh. Today the bank is the best known on rural Long Island, is the ninth strongest bank in the United States, is the second strong- est State bank in New York State, topped only by the famous Fifth Avenue Bank in New York City. It occupies a place well toward the top on the "roll of honor" of the national banking world. The rise of a community into prominence is generally the rise of its business institutions. Huntington is a good example. The town is composed chiefly of agricultural and residential interests, and for a town of about 6,000 inhabitants it is practically unrivaled on Long Island for general prosperity. If the truth be told, the Bank of Huntington takes a very large percentage of the credit for putting the village on the map, and has much to do with the solidity of its present financial condition. The Mercantile and Financial Times said recently: " * * * when an institution operating or doing business in a small community can show on a capitalization of 830,000 a surplus and undivided profits account more than six times its capital, and total resources of almost one and three-quarter million dollars, it is indeed a most enviable condition and a decided testimonial to the abilities that have been and are directing its affairs. Such is the condition shown upon its completion of a quarter of a century of existence by the 'Bank of Huntington,' which institution now shows a surplus of $200,000, deposits of more than $1,400,000, and total resources of $1,700,000." As an indication of the value of the capital stock of the Bank of Huntington, a short time ago two shares were sold at auction. One share went for §1,025 and the other for $1,020. Par value, $100. OFFICERS: DOUGLASS CONKLIN. President. HENRT P. SAMMIS, Vice President. ROSS W. DOWNS, Cashier. ADDISON W. SAMMIS. Assistant Cashier. WILLARD N. BATLIS, HENRT S. BRUSH. CARLL S. BURR. DIRECTORS: GEORGE WOODHULL CONKLIN. DOUGLASS CONKLIN. AUGUST HECKSCHER, JOSEPH IRWIN, JOHN T. ROBE, HENRY F. SAMMIS, J, NEWELL SAMMIS, THOMAS TOUNG. Statement of The Bank of Huntington, N. Y., May 2, 1914. Resources. Bills discounted $919,755.61 Mortgages 98,462.05 Stocks and bonds 431,141.23 Real estate 16,000.00 Cash on hand 84,078.56 Due from reserve banks 170,478.23 $1,719,915.68 Liabilities. Capital stock $30,000.00 Surplus 130,000.00 Undivided profits 106,143.38 Due depositors 1,451,046.61 Due banks 2,725.69 $1,719,915.68 12 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. The Eastern District OF Brooklyn WITH FORTY-SIX PEN AND INK SKETCHES BY Eugene L. Armbruster SIZE 5x7. CLOTH BINDING. P. P. 205, WITH GENERAL INDEX Price, ^2-^^ Postpaid ORDER FROM EUGENE L. ARMBRUSTER, 263 Eldert Street, Brooklyn, N. Y. The Eagle Library Contents Page Sohquompuo 15 The Indians 16 Dutch and English Claims 17 The English Towns 18 Political Division of the Island 18 Long Island's Population at Different Periods 18 The Borough of Brooklyn 18 Towns: Brooklyn '. 20 New Utrecht 23 Gravesend 24 Platbush (and New Lots) 25 Platlands 26 Bushwick (and Williamsburgh) 26 Newtown (and Long Island City) 27 Flushing 29 Jamaica 30 Page Towns (Continued) : Hempstead (and North Hempstead) 30 Oyster Bay 31 Huntington (and Babylon) 33 Smithtown 34 Islip 35 Brookhaven 36 Southold 37 Shelter Island 38 Riverhead 38 Southampton 39 Easthampton 40 Statistics 40 Long Island a Century Ago 41 Map of New York Harbor 41 Conclusion 43 General Index 44 to 48 Illustrations Page Map of Original Lake 15 Map of Indian Tribes 17 Map of Roads in Kings County 18 De Heere Gracht 19 Map of West Riding of Yorkshire 19 De Hart or Bergen House 21 Gowanus Stone House 21 Preeke's Mill and Yellow Mill 21 Second Breukelen Church 22 Long Island Ferry Landing, 1740 22 Fulton Ferry, 1840 23 Dutch Church and De Sille House, New Utrecht 24 First Dutch Church, Gravesend 24 Gravesend Town Hall 25 Original Long Island Church, Middelwoud 25 New Amersfoort Church, Erected 1663 26 Schenck Homestead, Canarsie 26 On Old Woodpoint Road, Bushwick 26 Bushwick Church and Town Hall 27 Old Bay Tavern on the Poor Bowery 28 Page Jackson Tide Mill 29 Duryea House, Flushing 30 Stone Meeting House, Jamaica 30 Cedarmere 31 Monument at Near Rockaway 31 Youngs House, Oyster Bay 33 Lighthouse, Cold Spring Harbor 33 First Presbyterian Church, Huntington 34 Lefferts Homestead, Huntington 34 Paper Mill on Oriwie Lake 35 Fire Island Lighthouse 35 Old First Presbyterian Church, Southold 37 Horton House, Southold 37 Mill on Mattituck Creek 37 Champlain House, Orient 37 Mulford House, Orient 37 South View of Riverhead, 1840 38 Sayre House, Southampton 39 Payne's Childhood Home, Easthampton 40 Map of New York Harbor in the Dutch Times 42 The Eagle Library Introduction I U »^| STRUS STUYVESANT reported to his ^"Yjcft/l ■■ superiors in the Netherlands, on taking office as Director General of the colony of New Netherland in 1647, that "he found the colony so stripped of inhabi- tants, that, with the exception of the English villages of Hempstead, Flush- ing and Gravesend, fifty bouweries and plantations could not be enumerated, and there could not be made out in the whole province 250, or at the farthest 300, men capa- ble of bearing arms." Thus the population of Long Island in 1647 may be estimated at 500 men, women and children. We have the figures of later times, viz: In 1700, about 9,000; in 1800, 42,391; in 1900, 1,452,611. In the next decade the increase was 645,849, or approximately 19 times the increase during the century from 1700 to 1800. At this rate Long Island will be transformed so rapidly that it may be well to picture the old towns, while it yet is possible, while we still have some of the old landmarks with us. The first fact on record in the story of Long Island is the arrival of the Half Moon in the bay of New York. Thompson says: "The opinion has sometimes been ad- vanced that the bed of the Long Island Sound was at some remote period covered by the waters of a lake," etc.; but the geologists are silent on this subject. Thomp- son also says "that the language of the Montauk was very close to that of the Narragansett and other New England tribes"; and he quotes Heckewelder, saying, "that from the best accounts he could obtain, the Indians, who inhabited Long Island, were Delawares, and early known as Matouwakes, according to De Laet and Pro- fessor Ebeling." Silas Wood tells us: "It appears that Long Island had been overrun by hostile tribes and many of the natives must have been destroyed by them." These are the few hints we have regarding the history of the island, while occupied by the Indians exclusively. The writer has endeavored to find parts of the unwritten history of the Indians in the names of localities on the island, and the story of Sohquompuo and the chapter on "the Indians" are the result of this undertaking. The Indian names of localities in the counties of Kings and Queens are of the Delaware dialect, and are more sig- nificant than is generally believed; the Dutch names in many cases and the English names in some cases are again translations of the Indian names of these locali- ties. The history of the Indians of Long Island pi-ior to Hudson's coming has been a sealed book, and thus no authorities can be quoted; the absence of geological proofs relating to the formation of Long Island Sound makes it necessary to give the story of Sohquompuo simply as a narrative, although the writer has found it indirectly confirmed by the recorded history in a higher degree than many things which are generally accepted as true historical facts. The spelling of names of towns, villages, rivers, Indian tribes, sachems, etc., is not uniform throughout the book. This is due to several causes. The old documents and records were written by men who had come to this coun- try from all parts of Europe. These men took dov/n the names according to sounds. Names of towns, rivers, etc., in many cases were corruptions of Indian words, which were gradually transformed into names, more agreeable to the ears of the white men. Hence the great variety of spelling in names of the same localities at different periods. The Eagle Library LONG ISLAND iTS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT SOHQUOMPUO. Captain C. was a native of Long Island; the farm on which he was reared was located on Manhasset Necli, and had been in the family for gener- ations. Here he lived the life of a farmer's boy, which fitted him for a future full of adventures and hard- ships. His only recreation was to spend an hour or two in the cool of the e%-ening upon the waters of the Sound, after a day's hard toil in the fields. Rowing- away from the shore I'e would let his boat drift along while he listened to the noise of the water and the chirping of the birds and thus became familiar with many secrets of . nature. These evening hours had a great fascination for the boy. One night h.e was surprised by a storm; he had not noticed the change in the atmosphere and the storm was upon him without any warning. He tried his best to reach the shore but _the boat was hard to manage in the angrUy ' splashing waters; it was driven down the Sound, and while passing a rock, against which the waves dashed furious- ly, he thought that he heard the sound ' of a human voice between the thunder crashes. He forgot his perilous situa- tion, all his senses were concentrated upon that black rock. The sky was of an inky color, but when now a flash of lightning tore the darkness, the figure j of a human being seemed to stand on top of the rock; all disappeared in a moment and the storm soon subsided. Rowing back, he tried to locate the reck, without success, and reached home, completely tired out, at mid- night. Many times afterward he went searching for the mysterious rock, but in vain. When he had reached his twentieth \ear he left home and went West. After many adventures he crossed the line at the great lakes and lived for years among the Indians of Canada; here he became acquainted with the various dialects of the Algonquin tribes. He forget civilization, amass- ing a fortune in the fur trade. But one thing he could never fully forget — that black rock in the Sound. Many a night while lying awake in his wigwam tn the wilds of the far-northern forests, he vainlv tried *" <;olve the mystery. The years rolled bj- and his hair was now white. No matter how long a man may have been away from home some day the memory of that place wiU stand out so clearly that he is compelled to overcome all obstacles and return to it, to see once more the place where he has spent his childhood days. This happened to Captain C. and he obeyed wilUngly. We meet him again on the paternal farm on Manhasset Neck. His parents had closed their eyes many years ago. His younger brother lived now in the old home; the captain decided to live with him and his fprni'-- This was the only place In the world for him with which any pleasant recollections were connected; the snow-covered forests of the high north had lost much in his memorj-, he began to feel his age. Just now he had returned from a ride on horseback; it had been a typi- cal August day and now, at evening, heavy clouds began to gather and a storm promised to bring relief by mid- night. He walked down Middle Neck Road, expecting to find the air cooler near the shoro '^»>o waters of the Sound had not lost their old power over him and he decided to row to Execution Rocks Lighthouse. On the way his mind was occupied by recol- lections, his boyhood and later life passed in review, and he did not notice a dense mist settling over the water. The rolling thunder made him look up and around and he realized that he had lost all direction. The night grew darker and the storm broke loose with full force; the boat drifted along with the water for some time. A flash of lighting enabled him to see an object j ahead of him; he hoped that it might ^ be the lighthouse ; the next flash, how- ever, showed it to be a steep, bare rock, and the boat was alarmingly close up to it. The memory of that mysterious rock of long ago flashed through the captain's mind; a moment later the boat was thrown against the rock and capsized. Holding on to the upturned vessel, he managed to keep above 16 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT water until the sky was lit up again. He noticed that the rock fell off grad- ually on one side and be pushed the boat in that direction. Leaving the boat in a fairly secure position in a split in the rock, he climbed up. Exhausted, Captain C. stood still. Amidst the howling of the storm he imagined he heard the wailing of a human voice. Forgotten was his exhaus- tion, danger and storm. He ran into the dark until he stumbled; a flash, fol- lowed by a terrible crash revealed the figure of a man with outstretched arms. The mystery of the black rock was to be solved; tlie half century which had passed since that night was wiped away, he was ready to face any- thing in order to succeed. As sudden as the storm had set in it died out again and the moon broke through the black clouds, flooding the rock with silvery light. The captain walked toward the dark shape, it was the fig- ure of an Indian. His arms, before stretched out, had fallen down on his sides. The Indian broke the silence; his words sounded strange at first, but the captain, familiar with the dialects of the various Algonquin tribes, could grasp the meaning of most sentences. The stranger said: "It was a night like this, when," pointing to the water all around, "the rocks were swept away; down the Sound they went, tearing away large pieces of land. Hundreds of men, women and children were killed. Hob- bamock had told me, while I was lying in my wigwam half asleep, to warn the women and children, but I had not the courage to go upon the water; the waves were angry, and I fled toward the middle of the island. Many died; all are dead— dead for a long, long time; *Shoquompuo alone is alive. Hobbamock says he cannot find rest until the rocks come back again. My people had a tradition that where we now stand was the shore of a lake, which extended eastward beyond Pau- manack, the Fishers' Hook. Many hundreds of years ago this lake was destroyed, and the water, rushing down toward the open sea, broke the land into pieces all along on its way. It formed many islands, which the pale- faces have named Fishers, Gull, Plum, Manhattan, etc., islands; it also made a channel, or what you call the East River; a chain of rocks across the Sound was all that remained here of the shore of the lake. About the time when the first paleface came to this continent, way down in the South, far, far from here, Hobbamock was angry at my people, but he did not want to destroy the women and children. He sent the rocks down the Sound, the waters tore away pieces from our island, which fragments the palefaces now call Ward's, Blackwell's and Gov- ernor's Islands. Randall's Island also was torn from the main; Manhattan Island was flooded so that few could escape from it. Staten Island trem- bled all the time; the pieces of land were thrown against it, when they be- came piled up in the Narrows, and the waters, held up, ran over the island. When the Dutch came here they were told of this and they called the place Stooten Eylandt, which means the island which was tossed. The goose-band, living upon it fled over the pieces of land, which were pressed in the Narrows, to the westerly end of our island, and drove my people away. They made a village there, which was known as Maereckkaakwick; that is, the place of the gray goose-band. Staten Island was later occupied by men of the Manhattan tribe, who called it Aquehonga Monacknong; that Is, the abandoned place of the goose- band. Westward from Staten Island, on the Jersey coast, lived one of the •Sohquompuo — Fainthearted, coward. wolf bands; they also fled over to our island and settled west of the goose- band. Their totem was the wolf; the Dutch called them bears or Canarsee. The Maereckkaak found themselves crowded and renewed their warfare upon my people; they drove them along the north shore; at Nesaquake there was a place of slaughter; at Se- tauket they dispersed them in consecu- tive attacks; at Unkechaug or Patchoag they were finally driven apart and fell in a snare; at Secatoag was the hid- ing place of the last who remained of their number. "The Canarsee were less cruel to my people. They allowed them to remain among them. One band was called by them Mispat; that is, a separate peo- ple. They were not captives, but they were without the power of alienation. The Jamaica were of the same class. They had given up their land without resistance. At Keshkechqueren, or the bay, and at Rechhouwhacky they had villages of their own tribe. The goose- band started a village near here, at the stones, which was called Sintsink or Matinecoc, and another at the great river. This was called Marospinck, or Matsepe. Later on the tribes on the Fishers' Hook took the last of my peo- ple under their protection. The east- ern tribes had come from the main across the Sound. They landed at Corchaug, the old place; afterward they spread over the pine lands, and be- came thus known as Sinnecox. When the whites bought their land they called the most eastern band Montauk, or those toward the east, or sunrise. An- other band, on Shelter Island, they knew as Manhanset; that is, on the island. "Manhattan Island suffered terribly. The people fled from it, crying out Manetto— that is, god, for they knew not what had befallen them. It was supernatural; way beyond their com- prehension. The island still bears the name Manette, or Manhattan. When the palefaces came, the Indians had a few small places upon that island to give shelter during the hunting sea- son. At the time of the flood, they had fled to the northern limit of their territory, and that part of the band which stayed there became known as Wecquaeskeek. Those who came south again were known as Manhattan, rhey had a village at their original place, or what you call Tonkers. They were of the Wappinger tribe. The VVappinger and my people, the Ma- touwacs, were of the Mahican nation. The Maereckkaak and Canarsee were Delawares, or Leni Lenape. They were called Souwenos, because they came from the southwest, and the land which they had taken from my people was called *Sowanohke, or Suanhacky. In later times the Mae- reckkaak, or Maereck, removed from their first place on the most western end of this island and settled among their brethren, taking up their abode on the Great South Bay. There they became known as Merricoke, or 'Mer- ric' " The Captain had listened to the old chief without interrupting him. Sud- denly the shrill whistle of a Sound steamer broke the charm. He looked in the direction from whence the noi.se came. When he turned his eyes back his bronze-colored friend had vanished. The first signs of the new day ap- peared. He felt a chill run down his spine, his limbs were stiff and with diffi- culty he reached the boat, and rowed back to Sands Point Light. The cap- tain spoke to his relatives about the adventure of that night. His wish was fulfilled, the mystery was solved. He never again tried to find the rock. Not many years later he closed his eyes •Land of those from the Southwest. in peace. His brother's family still lives on Manhasset Neck. The project recently mentioned in the papers, to construct a lake, which is to take the place of the Long Island Sound, has vividly brought back to their minds the adventure of their relative, for if it be carried out, it will give to his strange acquaintance, Sohquompuo, the rest which he has been longing for for ages. THE INDIANS. The Maereck or Maereckkaak; i. e., Goose band, a tribe of the Delaware family, on coming over from Staten Island, made a village on the extreme western end of Long Island, which was known as Maereckkaakwick or Mary- chkenkwickingh; i. e., the place of the Maereckkaak. They occupied the ter- ritory of the town of Brooklyn with the exception of Bedford and Rinnega- conck (Wallabout village); and New Utrecht and Midwout (the original town of Flatbush). The Maereckkaak also sold to the Dutch Ward's and Blackwell's Islands. They were followed by another Dela- ware band, which had been located on the New Jersey shore, west of Staten Island. This band established a vil- lage on Jamaica Bay, which was called Keshkechqueren; i. e., at the bay. They occupied Gravesend, Flatlands, New Lots, Bushwick, Bedford, Rinnega- conck, Jamaica, Newtown and part of Hempstead. They also sold Governor's Island to the Dutch, which latter called them Bears or Canarsee. Barren Island and Coney Island together were prob- ably a secure place for the women of the tribe. Barren Island was called by the Dutch t' beeren eylandt; i. e., the Island of the Bears, and the name Coney Island may come from Konooh, a bear. The Canarsee made a new village at Rockaway Bay, called Rechouwacky; i. e., "place of their own people," dis- tinguishing it thus as a place where men of their own tribe resided, in op- position to Mispat and Jamaica, which places were occupied by men of con- quered tribes. The Dutch considered the Rechouwhacky or Rockaway band to be a separate tribe, but the Canar- see chief, Penawitz, i. e. "one of a different tongue or country," sold all the land of the entire tribe to the Dutch in 1640. Tracts of land within the limits of the Canarsee were granted by Director General Kieft in 1642 to Tymen Jansen behind Dominie's Hoek, in 1643 to the Rev. Francis Doughty and others at Mispat, to Anthony Jansen from Salea at Gravesend, to Burger Jorissen and Richard Brutnell at Dutch Kills, In 1644 to Gysbert Op Dyck at Coney The Maereckkaak soon felt the need of a larger territory, being closed in at all sides by the water and the Canar- see; they renewed their warfare upon the tribe or tribes which had been driven back into Queens County. Th« names of the tribes, thereafter four In number and located in Suffolk, outside of the Sinnecox confederation, tell the story of the war. The Long Island tribes were driven along the north side of the island; at Nesaquake was a place of slaughter; at Setauket they were scattered; at Unkechaug or Patchoag thev fell into a pit or snare; at Secatoag was the hiding place of those that remained of their number. The Maereckkaak established in their new territory a village on the water- way now known as Massapeaque River. This place they called Marossepink, Matsepe or Massapeaque; another one near the rocks off Cow Neck they named Sintsink or Matinecoc. In 1639, Mech- owodt, chief sachem of Marossepink, Sintsink and its dependencies, sold all the territorv of the tribe in Queens County to the Dutch. The chiefs of Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 17 ^ouv^eMOi The dotted line on the map indicates the boundary between the Souwenos and Mattouwacks, which is identical with the Suffolk County line. However, the Matinecoc and Massapeague had, during the War of 1643, retreated into the lands of the Nesaquake and Secatoag and remained in possession of parts of these tracts. The Eastern tribes, on taking the four old Long Island tribes under their protection, would have sent the invaders back to their own territories, but were probably prevented by the English from doing so. For it would have established the title of the Dutch to the territory of the town of Oyster Bay beyond a doubt, as the Dutch had purchased all the lands belonging to the Matinecoc and Massapeague in 1639. But now these tribes occupied lands in Suffolk County, to which they held no other title save by squatter-right, and the English acquired these lands. On the strength of this purchase the English could lay claim to other lands held by the two tribes and on this base they constructed their claim to parts of the town of Oyster Bay. Maereckkaakwick sold their land with- in the town of Brooklyn in the following year and the band removed to Najack, in the town of New Utrecht. In 1643 the war broke out, and after peace be- ing restored in 1645, Seysey and two other chiefs sold the land within the town of New Utrecht to the Dutch and removed to the land along the south side, in Queens County, and we find them recorded as Merric, or Merri- coke, with a village at Hicks Beach. Director General Kieft granted a par- cel of land within the bounds of Mae- reckkaakwick as early as 1G39 to Thom- as Bescher, near Saphorakan, at Go- wanus; this land, however, had been purchased some years prior, by indi- viduals, from the Indians. In 1640, land was granted to Frederick Lubbertsen near the Indian village; in 1641, to Jan and Pieter Monfort next to Rinnega- conck; in 1642, to Cornelius Lambert- sen Cool, at Gowanus, and to Claes Cornelissen Schouw, near the ferry; in 1643, to Wouter Van Twiller, at Red Hook, and to Jacob Wolphertsen, near the Navy Yard, etc. The Indians on the eastern end of the island and the conquered tribes called the Maereckkaak and Canarsee "Souwenos;" i. e., people from the sf uthwest and the territory occupied by them, Sowanohke;" i. e., land of the Souwenos. The Dutch gave the name of sewan or zewand to all shell money, while the English used the word wam- pum. Thus the Dutch understood Sowanohke or Suanhacky (Delaware) to denote the land of shell money, 1. e. Sewanhacky, and the latter name ap- pears on deeds for land in Kings County of 1636. These deeds were for three "flats" in the bay, called Caste- teuw, and for land at Gowanus. In 1637 Governor's Island, Blackwell's Island, Ward's Island and Rinnegaconck were purchased by individuals, and the first purchase of land by the Government; i. e., the West Indian Company, was made in 1638 for the territory of the town of Bushwick. The Canarsee and Maereckkaak sold their lands on the condition that they were to be permitted to remain there- on, to plant corn, to fish and hunt. Certain parts were set aside for their use, and through continued occupancy tliey acquired a certain title to these regions— by squatter right. When the land became more settled and these sections were required for farm land, the best thing for the whites to do was to purchase these plots again; this was done with Conorasset; 1. e., the planting land of the Bears on Ja- maica Bay, by the town of Jamaica, and with the greater portion of the town of Middelburgh or Newtown. The Canarsee also sold, after they had re- tired to Staten Island, Sintsink: i. e.. in 1664, and Bedford in 1670. New Utrecht was again sold in 1652 by the Maereckkaak, Hempstead in 1643, etc. Kanapaukah was the waterland of the Bears, along the East River, ill the t<^wn of Newtown, the later "Water- tide" or Ravenswood. The Sinnecox confederation embraced the Montauk, Shinnecock, Corchaug and Manhasset tribes. Their first abode seems to have been the Corchaug ter- ritory; this name denotes "the old." When the plantation of Southold was established it was named South Old, to describe its location. The eastern tribes spread later out over the Pine region and became then known as .Sin- necox. Their entire territory was later covered by "the three Plantations," viz.: Easthampton, Southampton and South Old, the last named including the later towns of Riverhead and Shelter Island. The deed of the town of Easthamp- ton of 1648 was signed by the chiefs of these four tribes; the chiefs are .said to have been brothers. In 1645 the Shin- r.ecock chief appeared before the Dutch Governor, representing the four tribes and the neighboring weaker tribes, Setauket, Nesaquake, Unkechaug and Secatoag, which they had taken under their protection. Three years later, in the Easthampton deed, the Manhasset chief appears to be the leader, and after that Wyandance, the Montauk chief, takes this position, and he, re- spected by the Indians, the English and the Dutch alike, held this place as long as he lived. Thus the whites found the Indians of the Island divided into three dis- tinct parts. In Kings and Queens Counties were the Canarsee and Mae- reckkaak, collectively known as Sou- wenos and their territory as Sowan- ohke. The Canarsee were divided into Canarsee proper and Rockaway; living among them were the Mispat and Ja- maica bands. The Maereckkaak were known at first as Maereck or Maereck- kaak at Maereckkaakwick, in Kings County, and later as Merric or Merri- coke, and Matinecock and Massapeague in Queens County. In the western part of Suffolk County were the conquered tribes, known as Setauket, Nesaquake, Unkechaug and Secatoag. These and the Mispat and Jamaica bands were probably the survivors of the Matou- wacs, who formerly had inhabited the entire island. In the eastern part of Suffolk County were the Montauk, Shinnecock, Corchaug and Manhasset, collectively called Sinnecox; their ter- ritory was called Paumanack. The Maereckkaak and the Canarsee sold their lands independent from each other; the deeds read: The Canarsee chief sells, or else the chiefs of Mary- kenwickingh sell; there was no com- Helfgate "Neck (not to be confounded ] munion among these two tribes. When with the Sintsink of the Maereckkaak),! Wyandance of Montauk became the leader of the Eastern tribes, about 1652, he being the most trusted among the chiefs on the island, had to append his mark to most deeds for land within the territory of the four protected tribes, as well as on other places on the is- land. When Tackapousha was chosen chief sachem of the Western tribes, in 1656, the Secatoag formally joined their union; the Canarsee were reduced by this time to a small number. In 1660 Takapousha is called by the Dutch the "Chief of the Savages on Long Is- land." In 1669 Governor Lovelace in- quires whether Takapousha, of Massa- peague, had a right to sell the lands of the Matinecoc, in 1643, and whether the Montauk chief, by conquest, had power to dispose of said lands. The Hemp- stead people replied later, in 1671, that Takapousha was Intrusted by the Matinecoc to sell their land, and the sale was confirmed by the Great Sa- chem of Montauk. About 1677 Taka- pousha appeared before Governor An- dios for all the Indians, as far east as Unkechaug; i. e. all except the four Eastern tribes. The Indians applied the name Mat- touwac to the island, the Dutch Ge- broken Land or Broken Land, is a translation of it. By an act passed in 1693 the name of Long Island was changed to Nassau, but this name be- came soon obsolete. DUTCH AND ENGLISH CLAIMS. From the time of the earliest set- tlement on Long Island until the sur- render of the colony of New Nether- land to the English, the western end of the Island was within the jurisdic- tion of the Dutch, whose claim in- cluded the town of Oyster Bay. which claim, however, was disregarded by the English. ' . . •„ The Plymouth Company issued, in 1635, by order of Charles I, letters patent to William, Earl of Sterling, for the entire Island. Sterling exe- cuted in the following year a power of attorney to James Farrett, to dispose of lands on Long Island. Four years later the Earl died. His grandson, who had succeeded him, survived him but a few months. Their heirs surrendered the grant for the Island to the Crown. The settlers on the eastern end were left to themselves, and regulated their affairs accordingly. Purchases of land were made by the towns and were in later years confirmed by the governors appointed bv the Duke of York. Van der Donck savs: In 1640 a Scotchman claimed Long Island. In 1647 Captain Andrew Forester of Dundee, Scotland, claimed Long Island for the Dowager of Sterling. In 1660 Charles II ascended the throne of England, and Winthrop, the Governor of the Colony of Connec- 18 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. ticut, was sent to England to obtain a charter. In 1662 he received a char- ter covering the territories of the colo- nies of Connecticut and New Haven, and now the colony which became later known as Connecticut Colony, laid claim to Long Island, as being one of the islands adjacent. In 1664, in the month of January, Major John Scott came to Long Island with some royal authority, and formed a combination of the English villages — Hempstead, Gravesend, Flushing, New- town, Jamaica and Oyster Bay — with himself as president. On March 12, 1664, Charles II granted, by letters patent, to his brother, James, the Duke of York, the country occupied by the Dutch, together with Long Island. The Duke appointed Colonel Richard Nlc- POLITICAL DIVISION OF THE ISLAND. After the surrender of New Nether- land to the British, Long Island was incorporated with the Colony of New York. In 1665, Governor NicoUs called together delegates of the several towns to meet at Hempstead. At this assem- bly Long Island and Staten Island were created into a "shire" called Yorkshire, and the Duke's laws were formulated at this occasion. Yorkshire was di- vided into three ridings like its name- sake in England. These were divisions of territory for the convenience of the courts, implied in the Saxon word "try things," long since called ridings. The oils governor, and to him New Nether- land was surrendered by the Dutch on August 27, 1664. THE ENGLISH TOWNS. Lyon Gardiner was the first settler on the eastern end of the Island, locat- ing on Gardiner's Island In 1639. South- old and Southampton were settled in 1640, Easthampton in 1648, Shelter Island in 1652, Oyster Bay and Hun- tington in 1653, Brookhaven in 1655 and Smithtown in 1663. Each town was in the beginning a colony by itself, in- dependent of each other. After a few years they voluntarily placed them- selves under the protection of the New England colonies. Southampton ob- tained, in 1644, the protection of Con- necticut; Easthampton in 1657, Brook- haven in 1659 and Huntington in 1660. Southold united, in 1648, with the New Haven colony, together with Shelter Island. When the colonies of New Haven and Connecticut were united, in 1662, and a new charter was granted. Including in the territory "the islands adjacent," Connecticut claimed Long Island as one of these islands. This claim had the support of the eastern towns. Oyster Bay also placed itself under the protection of Connecticut. The other English towns on the west- ern end, within the Dutch jurisdiction, were trying to join this union, and then the grant of 1664 to the Duke of York was made, and in the same year the Colony of New Netherland was sur- rendered to the English. "shires" in England were also called counties, because they were governed by a count or earl. The word shire is derived from Anglo-Saxon "sciran" to cut or divide, and means "division." "York" is derived from "Ure" and "wic." Ure was the name of a part of the river later known as "Ouse." "Wic" means a village. In Anglo-Saxon the name was Eurewic; the old Roman was Eboracum. The several towns had up to this time existed without having their bounda- ries properly fixed. The settlers of a district came together from time to time to regulate their local affairs, and these men, associated for the purpose of government, constituted the town. Now the towns were recognized and were required to take out patents for the lands within their boundaries, which the towns themselves, or else the West India Company, had purchased from the Indians. After the reconquest of the colony by the Dutch, in 1673, the Island came soon again into the possession of the Eng- lish by treaty, and the Duke of York obtained a new patent for the province of New York in 1674. The present Suffolk County had con- stituted the East Riding. Hempstead Flushing, Jamaica and Oyster Bay the North Riding, and the present Kings County, Newtown and Staten Island the West Riding. In 1675 Staten Island was separated from the West Riding. In 1683 the first General Assembly of the colony met and repealed some of the Duke's laws, the ridings, also, were abolished, and the Island was re- divided into three counties, viz., Kings, Queens and Suffolk. The town of New- town, formerly a part of the West Rid- ing, was now made a part of Queens County. Kings and Queens Counties were named in compliment to King Charles and his wife. Staten Island was made a county by itself and named Richmond. Richmond was the title of a son of Charles. In 1788 the towns were recognized by the laws of the newly established State of New York. The division of the Island Into three counties, made in 1683, remained in force until Greater New York City came Into existence, which took in, of Long Island territory. Kings County and a large part of Queens County. In 1899 Queens County was divided. The part included within the greater city retained the old name Queens County and the remainder was incorporated as the County of Nassau. LONG ISLAND'S POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. Year Kings. Queens. Suffolk. 1698 2,013 3,565 2,679 1703 1,915 4,392 3,346 1723 2,218 7,191 6,241 1731 2,150 7,995 7,675 1737 2,348 9,059 7,923 1746 2,331 9,640 9,254 1749 2,283 8,040 9,384 1756 2,707 10,786 10,290 1771 3,623 10,980 13,128 1786 3,986 13,084 13,793 1790 4,495 16,014 16,440 1800 5,740 16,916 19,735 1810 8,303 19,336 21,113 1814 7,655 19,269 21,368 1820 11.187 21,519 24,272 1825 14,679 20,331 23,695 1830 20,535 22,460 26,780 1835 32,057 25,130 28,274 1840 47,613 30,324 32,469 1845 78,691 31,849 34,679 1850 138,882 36,833 3e,922 1855 216,355 46,266 40,908 1860 279,122 57,391 43,275 1865 311,090 57,997 42,869 1870 419,921 73,803 46,924 1875 509,154 84,011 51,873 1880 599,495 90,574 53,888 1890 838,547 128,059 62,491 Year Kings. Queens. Nassau. Suffolk. 1900 1,166,582 152,999 55,448 77,582 1910 1,634,351 284,041 83,930 96.138 THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN. The Borough of Brooklyn comprises the territory of the County of Kings, one of the three original counties of Long Island. Until eighty years ago Kings County was the least among these, not only in area, but also In population, as may be noticed from the following list, containing the number of inhabitants at various times. Kings. Queens. Suffolk. 1698 2,013 3,565 2,679 1749 2,283 8,040 9,384 1800 5,740 16,916 19,735 1830 20,535 22,460 26,780 1835 32,057 25,130 28,274 The population of Kings County was thus: in 1698, 2,013; In 1800, 5,740. and In 1840, 47,613. The increase was very slow outside the limits of the two later cities of Brooklyn and WlUiamsburgh. Of the 5,740 Inhabitants In 1800, 3,298 resided In Brooklyn, and of the 47,613 in 1840, 36,233 resided In Brooklyn and 5,094 In Williamsburgh; and the number of people living outside of these two centers of population was in 1800, 2,442, and In 1840, 6,286. A description of the other towns with- in the county in the year 1700 closely fits the state of things in 1800. In 1700 the land was nearly all under cultiva- tion; a century later some of the farms had been divided, and the number of inhabitants had correspondingly in- creased. During the first four decades of the nineteenth century, the popula- tion rose more rapidly, viz.: from 5,740 In 1800 to 47,613 in 1840, yet this In- Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 19 crease was mainly caused by the influx of people into Brooltlyn and Willlams- burgli, where ropewalks and factories had been built; the other towns were still farming districts. Indian footpaths connected the shores of the East River and Jamaica Bay. They followed the line of least resist- ance through the flats or level lands, which had been the cornfields of the Indians for many years, and these flats the white men were eager to possess. Along one trail settlements were estab- lished which were known as "het veer" or "The Ferry," Breukelen, Bedford, Middelwoud and Nieuw Amersfoort; along another trail the Boswijck and "het kruispad" settlements came into existence. In 1636 several settlers bought lands from the Indians in Flatlands, Flatbush and probably in Brooklyn. In 1638 the West India Company purchased the territory of the town of Bushwick and during the following two years the remainder of Kings and all of Queens County. The Indians had been friendly toward the settlers, and persuaded by them to do so, refused to pay any longer tribute to the Mohawks. They were attacked by the latter and were nearly extermi- nated. In the uprising against the Dutch in 1643 they sustained further losses, epidemics also reduced their numbers. When the second uprising of the In- dians in the colony occurred. In 1655, some of the settlers on the Long Island side of the East River wished to attack their red-skinned neighbors and to drive them from their planting lands. The remnant of the Canarsee tribe disposed of the lands which were in their pos- session, and which they claimed to own, and removed across the Narrows to Staten Island, and after a few years to other parts. The last one of the Can- arsee tribe died about 1800. Until 1636 the territory of the present Borough of Brooklyn had been a wilder- ness of marshes, hills and woods; a few "plains" with waterways on two sides were cultivated by the Indians. Such plains were situated between Gowanus Creek and the Walboght; Gowanus Creek and East River; Newtown Creek and Bushwick Creek; Bedford Creek and Gerretsen's Creek. They were traversed by the Indian trails from river to bay. There seem to have been a few white squatters located on the western end of the island then, but doc- umentary Tiroofs are lacking. It has been the general belief that the towns founded under the Dutch on Long Island were named after towns in the Netherlands, at the time when each settlement was begun, as Breukelen, Amersfoort, Gravesend, New Utrecht, Middelburgh, etc. When settlements were started by single settlers locating here, nobody thought of selecting names for the same — they were dots in an im- mense wilderness — but within a short time localities became known by spe- cific names. These names described the location of a settlement, generally point- ing out some pecuHar feature of the ground, which served as a landmark. Thus the present Flatlands was called "bouwery," or district of Achtervelt, i.e., the bowery or plantation in the rear, meaning in the rear of the hills, from achter, behind, and feld. field. One of the landmarks considered by the Dutch of greatest importance, was caused no doubt the application of the name Grenewijck to this region, from grenen (fir) and wijck (quarter, district refuge, retreat). On Van der Donck's map of New Netherland, 1656, is a settlement marked Greewijck, on the site of the later New Utrecht. Several other localities received their names from this same word "grenen," as Greenpoint, from grenen punt or grenen hout-punt. Grenen Berghen, the hills forming the boundary line between the Towns of Newtown and New Lots, were anglicized into Green Hills or ; Cypress Hills; the cemeteries located upon them, viz.. Cypress Hills and the Cemetery of the Evergreens, are trans- , lations of the original Dutch name, both having the same meaning. Bennett and Bentyn's reasons for selecting the DE HEEBE GBACHT, OB GBAFT, ABOUT 1645. a forest of fir trees; It must be remem- bered that the Netherlands depend, even to this day, upon other countries for timber. The low lands do not produce strong and tall trees, and they have al- ways had a great need of such trees, suitable for masts and planks for their many ships, as well as for building ma- terial. Thousands of majestic fir trees, taken from the Black Forest, are an- nually floated down the Rhine to sup- ply the demands of the Netherlands. The wooded ridges on the northern border of the Town of New Utrecht, Gowanus region for a plantation may be found not only in the condition of the ground, but also in the nearness of the wooded ridges of New Utrecht; as the settlers needed building material to erect houses, palisades, fences, etc. The Dutch settlements originated by individuals settling in a certain neigh- borhood, each one by himself, and as these settlers became more numerous the Director General appointed magis- trates, with more or less power, as he judged proper in each case, without any uniformity as to their number or 20 that tL°1»fA ^''^"" <^"*J' ^a« t° see fences kpn^f '^'""•'' ^"'"''"^ ^"-^ the lences kept in repair, to open a mm- ^r^ct "TV^rlT''' *^<^ -t?lemtnt. "o erect a blockhouse or other niihlin the''an^ds'V>,"l°^ *° the dlvisl^on'of ine lands, which were held In com- mon provide for the security of the CasesTn°lh''"H ^"'"^^ ^" differences or ov^pr J""? ^!^™^ °* fifty guilders or over were in dispute could be ao- Council.'° '""^ "'"-^^tor General and During: the first Indian War the scat Kfe'ft t^™'"" ^""^ "e^^" adv?sed by IwIUh '=°?'^^ntrate themselves, in 1644, and again in 1645. After the sppnnd an"S oi *r"'^'^^ StuyveVantfssSed an order on Januarv 18, 1656 that vii ages were to be fofmed n the spring i to reduce the danger of Indian attacks ?ame to'th^'f '' '''"■ '^"^ Anal order ' came to the farmers to remove their houses, goods and cattle before thP of ipnf fo'^^h^ ''^f/*'^ ■-'est'?/;'i^idd'le neaVllt nr^* , ^'"ages or settlements wifh ?L r.""?*^ convenient to them, or with the previous approval of the Di- r i°J peneral to a favorably situated vmagl'r'be'h^''"' ^ ^ new^paUs^adld ^1 lage, to be hereafter formed, where shown .'n7''° '*'^" ^PP'y shaTl be the T?- ^J^ granted suitable lots bv thus be'^hPtt '''"'' ,*;°""^"- ^ho would good suhiP.t^^ ''"'''' *° P'^^tect their ^M?h ^"'^Jects in case of any difficulty clause Of t'hT' barbarians/ T^lZit Clause of the order led to the formn tion of Boswijck Village. ™''' the^r%arms%n ''^S"^?* ^^^ P^° £ilO Z ~ thIi''r^p^M """.^f ^^"'^"'^"t^ carried on BreuVeTen "wlTch'^^'as ""nou" *°"^"^- ^^^^^ Mif^ut"?i^owTa^,ed"'J^Ta't^ bush, Nieuw Amersfoort, now called I860 279,122 1865 3li,'090 1870 419,921 1^75 509,154 1880 599,495 1890 8.SS.547 1900 1,166,582 1910 1.634.3R1 After Williamsburgh and Bushwick had been consolidated with Brooklvn the population of Kings Countv in 1855 was as follows : Brooklyn, First to Twelfth Wards 148 774 Brooklyn (Williamsburgh). Thir- teenth to Sixteenth Wards. . . 48 367 Brooklyn (Bushwick). Seven- teenth to Eighteenth Wards.. 8 109 Flatbush ' o'oon Flatlands Z'J'^^'^''^ 1 k7s Gravesend , 'i,-/. New Utrecht V. '.'.'..'.'.'.' .' 9730 New Lots o'^ei Total ojgjjgg In the sketches of the several 'towns the population, number of houses etc ot a century ago— census of 1810— are given for the sake of comparison with present day conditions: al.so, the num- ber of inhabitants in 1835 and 1840 NrJ''\??u settlements in the colony of New Netherland had been made unde- Patroons," and the Manors of Zwaan- endal, Pavonia and Renselaerwijck had been granted in 1630 and 1631 This feudal system was abolished in 1638 and the privilege to hold and cultivate land m allodial proprietorship was ex- tended to everybody, Dutchmen and foreigners alike. Whosoever should con- vey besides himself five grown persons to New Netherland was to be recog- nized as a Colonist and could occupy 200 acres of land. If such settlements ot colonists should increase, municipal government was promised. Manhattan Island had been reserved to the West India Company. Staten Island and the Jersey coast formed the Manor of Pa- vonia The latter territory was bought back from the Patroon by the West In- dia Company, but was reserved for tliat corporation's special purposes. The land on the Long Island side of the East River was now purchased trom the Indians for the purpose of starting plantations of moderate size These plantations were inaugurated under conditions totally different from those under which the manors had come into being. Instead of paving a fee— farm rent to the patroons, the tarmer received land as "a free loan:" i. e., they became the owners of the land, subject to a quit-rent, consisting ot the tenth of the produce of their farms, payable "annually to the West India Company, after they had the plantations under cultivation for ten years. While the patroons had procured as many planters for their lands as they possibly could, still the greatest part of their immense tracts lav waste, and would have remained in that state for a long time to come. Now, bv granting smaller parcels to the settlers, the West India Company had reason to ex- pect better results, for each farmer was bound to cultivate his land or else for- feit It. The Dutch word' for manor or loan is 'leen," and the one for tenant is bruyker : "bruykleen" means "a free loan, given to a tenant or user for a certain consideration." The name Bruykleen was given to this experi- mental colony, started under the new regulations, because the planters were to be the owners of the land, subject to the quit rent, which was to be paid to the West India Company. Bruyk- leen was the name of the original Dutch colony on Long Island, the name Breukelen was adopted in remembrance of the old Netherlands town, when a village was formed in 1645. At this time an order was issued by the Col- lege of the XIX to the colonists to establish themselves on some of the most suitable places in towns, hamlets and villages, "as the Engli.sh are in the habit of doing." In Kieffs com- mission or brief of 1646 the name an- pears as J3reuclcelen, in the Nicolls charter ot 1667 as Brueckelen On vn rious other documents we find- Breucklyne, Bruecklyn, Breucklyn Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 21 Breuklen, Broockeland, Broockland, Brookland, Braycklandt, Breuk Land, Bruckland, Breuklin, Bruckllne, Bruycklyn. etc. The first purchase of land in the town of Brooklyn is supposed to have been made at Gowanus, about 1636; the deed, however, has been lost. In 1639, Thomas Bescher sold to Cornells Lam- pertsen Cool a plantation formerly oc- cupied by Jan Van Rotterdam. Jan, being indebted to the West India Company at the time of his death, the land reverted to the company. The name of that locality was probably de- rived from Cowanes — briar, Genista tinctoria, a shrub used for dying pur- poses. The point of land on the south side of Gowanus Bay was called by the Dutch 't Gheele Hoek, the later Yel- low Hook, probably on account of the great abundance of yellow blossoms on these bushes, which may have attract- ed the attention of the man who named this piece of land, or else they trans- lated the name used by the Indians into their own language. 'T roode hoek, or Red Hook, may have received its name for similar reasons. Roode Hoog- ties, or Red Heights, was the name of an elevated ground on Red Hook. Rhode Island is supposed to have been named by Adriaen Block, "de roode eylandt," on account of the redness of :^^' THE OLD DE HART OR BERGEN HOUSE, Near 36th Street. Gowanus. View in !863. ha.alets and villages, as the English are in the habit of doing." After peace was restored, in August, 1645, a number of small farms came into existence on both sides of the old Indian trail. To this distinct settle- ment the name Breukelen was now applied and in June, 1646, the Director General and Council issued the foliage at the time of his visit to this neighborhood. Red Hook in Dutchess County is said to have been named Roode Hoek by the Dutch on account of a marsh near by being cov- ered with ripe cranberries, when first seen. In 1637, Kakapoteyno, "the Crow," and Penhawis, as owners of the dis- trict, sold to Joris Jansen de Rapalie, a piece of land at the Walboght, called Rinnegaconk, from woonkag-onck — "at the crooked place;" i. c, at the bend. In 1640, Director General Kieft granted to Frederick Lubbertsen the land at Werpos, between Red Hook and The Ferry. The Cripplebush Patent was granted in 1654 to settlers located at the Walboght; at Bedford a settle- ment was started in 1663; some of the Canarsee chiefs, who had removed to Staten Island, laid claim to the land, and the town of Brooklyn purchased it from them. Bedford is probably angli- cized from Bestevaar; i. e., :?randsire or old man ('s place), named thus after some patriarch who was tilling the ground here, before the land was ac- quired by the town, in 1663; Marcus du Susoy had a plantation near this re- gion, in the Cripplebush. Ilipetonsa; 1. e., high sandy bank, was, according to Schoolcraft, the Indian name of Brooklyn Heights. During the Indian uprising of 1643, most of the plantations on Long Island were destroyed, the houses burned down and many people were slain. The home government urged the Director General and Council to do all in their power to Induce the colonists to "establish them- selves on some of the most suitable places, with a certain number of in- habitants, in the manner of towns, THE GOWANUS STONE HOUSE. VIEW IN 1848. a proclamation, wherein they said, that "whereas on May 21st, Jan Evert- sen Bout and Huyck Aertsen from Ros- sum, were unanimously chosen by those interested in Breukelen, situate on Long Island, as schepens to decide all questions which may arise, as they sl'all deem proper, according to the Ex- emptions of New Netherlands, granted to particular colonies, which election is sulJscribod by them, with express stip- ulation that if anyone refuse to submit in the premises aforesaid to the above- mentioned Jan Evertsen and Huyck Aertsen, he shall forfeit the right he claims to land in the allotment of Breukelen, and in order that e<(»,'ry thing may be done with more author ity, we, the Director and Council afore- said, have therefore authorized and ap- pointed and do hereby authorize the said Jan Evertsen and Huyck Aertsen to be schepens of Breukelen, and in case Jan Evertsen and Huyck Aertsen do hereafter find the labor too onerous, they shall be at liberty to select two more from among the inhabitants of Breukelen to adjoin them to them- selves. We charge and command every nelis Van Tienhoven, on March 11, 1647, for a pieca of land which had teen surveyed by the Surveyor, Adrian Hudde for Jan Aertsen, and the latter had failed to improve the land, the location is described as follows: "Situ- ate in the allotment of Breukelen, for- merly called Marechkawick." About 1657 the lots in the settlement were reduced from small farms to house and garden lots and a more compact village was established. Thompson remarks in his History of Long Island that there are on record many references to a general town patent granted to Breukelen by Stuy- vesant in 1657. On February 9, 1660, an ordinance was passed in relation to the establish- ment of villages, and it became now compulsory for the farmers to remove to the villages. Stuyvesant's order says: "We have war with the In- dians, who have slain several of our Netherland people." An order of Feb- ruary 23, 1660, reads as follows: "Whereas it is highly necessary that the lately formed villages of Breuke- len and L'trecht be surveyed, enclosed \\ ith palisades, and put in a good state of defense as quickly as possible, therefore the Director General and Council have hereby specially commis- sioned and authorized the Honorable Nicasius de Sille, Councillor and Fiscal of New Netherland, to have this nee- ersary work quickly done, using all possible means and making such ar- rangements thereto as he shall think test for the public good and the inhab- ita,nts especially." The motto in the corporation seal of Brooklyn, "Eendraght maakt maght," is a free translation of the Latin motto in the seal of the Republic of the Seven I'nited Provinces of Holland: "Con- cordia res parvae crescunt," which lit erally means "By unity little things ii.crease." The motto in its Dutch form i', found as early as 1556 in the coat of ai'ms of William the Silent, Prince of Cirange. When the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of Holland was formed, in 1579, William of Orange was invited to become its leader. The Dutch motto in the seal of Brooklyn proves that the seal came into use during the Dutch administra- tion, as its adoption in later years would have brought the displeasure of ■^^■^. FREEKE'S MILL, WITH YELLOW MILL IN DISTANCE. inhabitant of Breukelen to acknowl edge and respect the above-mentioned Jan Evertsen and Huyck Aertsen as their schepens, and if anyone shall be found to exhibit contumaciousness to- wards them he shall forfeit his share as above stated. On December 1st of the same year Jan Teunissen was ap- pointed Schout of Breukelen, and thus the town was established, in 1646. In the patent granted to Secretary Cor- any one of the English Governors upon the town. Thus the seal must have been created by Stuyvesant, for under his rule a voluntary adoption of it was out of question; all matters of this kind were regulated by the authori- ties on Manhattan Island. The be- stowal of the motto in the seal of the Fatherland upon the settlement shows that the founding of the Bruykleen colony was looked upon by the Gov- 22 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. ernor as the beginning of a new era in the colonization of New Netherland. In the absence of positive proof, cir- cumstantial evidence is admissible, and thus it must be remembered that Stuy- vesant in 1660 isoued an order directing all Colonists to remove from their ex- posed farms and to concentrate them- selves within the neighboring towns, j He then laid out Bushwick, naming it "Boswijck." This name signifies a col- lection of small things, packed close together (bos) and refuge (wljck). I'latbush, also settled under Stuyve- sant, but prior to Bushwick, was known as 't Vlakkebos, and also aa Middelwoud or Midwout. The first name means a collection of small things packed close together on the plain, and the second name means surrounded by forest. The two words seem to have formed a compound name in the earliest days. The motto in New Amsterdam, made in 1653, that the city should have a seal, wrote to Stuy- vesant: "We have decreed that a seal for the City of New Amsterdam shall be prepared and forwarded." The seal was sent across the sea, and in De cember of the same year the Director General delivered to the presiding Bur gomaster. Mart. Crigier, the painted coat of arms with the seal of New Am sterdam and the Silver Signet, which was sent by the Directors. This inci dent may have caused Stuyvesant to create also a seal for the Bruykleen colony. In response to a letter of Adrian Kogeman, Secretary of the Courts of Midwout, Amersfoort, Breukelen and New Utrecht, Stuyvesant issued an or der on February 14, 1664, "to take care that no deed or mortgage of any piece of land, house or lot be passed, of m^^^^ SECOND BREUKELEN CHUBCH EDIFICE, ERECTED 1706. the seal "Eendraght maakt maght" is usually translated Unity makes strength. Still, we have seen that the motto is a free translation of the Latin motto, which literally translated means "By unity little things increase." The man who selected the phrase for the seal's motto would also coin the names of Boswijck and Midwout. The phrase- ology is very similar. In 1654 the Directors of the West India Company at Amsterdam, refer- ring to a request of the burghers of| which no proper patent can be pro- duced, so that our good inhabitants may not be cheated and misled, for deeds and mortgages of property for which no patent has been issued are null and void. In passing deeds, mort- gages, etc., you will use the seal sent herewith until further orders." This probably was the seal later known as the seal of the City of Brooklyn, but originally used for all the territory of the Bruykleen colony. In the month of April of the same year, Breukelen, Amersfoort and Mid- wout obtained full municipal govern- ment. Breukelen had now four schep- ens instead of two, Midwout had three, Amersfoort two, and there was a Su- perior District Court, composed of delegates from each town court, to- gether with the schout. The face of the country in the town of Brooklyn was broken and uneven, the soil of various qualities, along the New York Bay considerably stony, but favorable for agriculture, and the gen- oral character of the soil rather light, though productive. Breukelen, the name of the town in the Netherlands, denotes "marshy land," and is also ap- propriate for the site of the original Long Island village. The name Brook- land was applied by the English to thf town, it being a free translation of thF Dutch name. The tow.i of Breuke- len was organized in 1646, Brooklyn vil- lage was incorporated as a fire dis- trict In 1801, and as a village in 1816, and the City of Brooklyn in 1834. Be- sides Breukelen there were other set- tlements within the town limits, known as Gowanis or Gowanus, Bedford, Kreupelbosch or Cripplebush, Het Veer or the Ferry, Walboght or Wallabout, Roode Hoek or Red Hook, Gheele Hoek or Yellow Hook, and in later times there were sections known as South Brooklyn, North Brooklyn, East Brook- lyn, West Brooklyn and New Brook- lyn. The Dutch church was organized in 1060, when the population consisted of 134 pei'sons, in thirty-one families. The congregation used a barn for a place of worship until 1666, when a church edifice was erected in the middle of the tcwn road. A new structure was built on the same site in 1706, a third one on Joralemon street in 1810, which was replaced by a fourth one on the same site; this, too, has been removed and the church has been transplanted to another section. As early as 1642 a rowboat ferry was operated by Cornells Dircksen between t anhattan Island and Long Island, with landing places on both shores on ground owned by this farmer. In 1654 the municipal government of New Am- sterdam took over the control of the ferry, and in 1699 a new ferry house was erected by the corporation at the Long Island shore. The illustration shows the little ferry house and the new stone building, the barn and the cattle pen. In 1707 new landing places were established on the New York side. On Mondays and Thursdays the boats landed at Countess Key (Maiden lane), on Tuesdays and Fridays at Burgher's path (Hanover square), and on FERRY LANDING, LONG ISLAND, 1740. Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 23 Wednesdays and Saturdays at Coenties Slip. In 1717 two ferries were estab- lished, running from the original Long Island landing, the present Fulton street, the one was called the Nassau Ferry, which carried passengers as well as goods and cattle to the three slips mentioned; the other, called the New York Ferry, conveyed only passengers and goods to the slip at Burgher's path and to "the great dock" at Broad street,, the former "heeregracht." The Long Island Ferryhouse, erected in I'jPS, was burned down, supposedly by incendiaries about 1747, and a new stcme building was erected in 1749 by the corporation of New York. It was used as a tavern and was known as "the Corporation house"; this building was destroyed bv fire in 1812. The New York ferry established in 1717, was later discontinued and only one ferry line was running for many years. In 1774, three ferries were established, one to Coenties Slip, another to Fly Slip (Maiden lane), and a third to Peck Slip, the original site of the ferry. On the Long Island side were now for some years two landing-places, one at "The Old Ferry" and another at present At- lantic avenue, at Philip Livingstone's AVharf. "The New Ferry" from Main street, Brooklyn, to Catherine street. New York, was opened in 1795. William A.lrianse Bennett, one of the first settlers, erected his house on Gow- anus Cove; it was destroyed during the Indian War of 1643; on its foundations was later the Schermerhorn Mansion erected. The De Hart or Bergen house, in the same neighborhood, was built some thirty years after the destruc- tion of the Bennett house. The Vechte Cortelyou or Gowanus stone house, was built in 1699. The Debevoise mansion, standing near the church, and later known as the Duffleld house, was de- stroyed by fire in 1857; in the rear of the house was the burial place of the DuflBeld family. The "old Gowanua Mil!" and the Yellow Hook Mill were burned in 1776 by the British. The Gowanus Mill was the oldest mill r-tructure in the town, others were the Red Hook, Cole's, Luqueer's and Rem- sen mills. The last mentioned stood at or near the site of the tide mill, built at an earlv period at the head of Wal- labout Bay. The Rapalje Mansion, near the ferry, built of stone, was taken down in 1S16. The old Rem Lef- ferts house, at Bedford, was torn down in 1840, the Leffert Lefferts house, near by, in 1877 and the Nicholas Bloom house, which stood near these two Lef- ferts houses and had come mto the possession of Leffert Lefferts in 1791, was demolished in 1909. The land oc- cupied bv the Navy Yard was ceded by the State of New York to the Fed- eral Government in 1807. In 1810, Brooklyn had a population of 4,402, and there were 400 houses, 50 to 60 ships (brigs and schooners) docked annually at its wharves, and there were then 6 grain or tide mills, 3 maga- zines for storage of gunpowder, sev- eral distilleries, 3 ropewalks, 1 Epis- copal stone church, 1 Reformed Dutch stone church, 1 Methodist church, 1 poor house, 2 market houses, construct- ed of wood, and situated on the open spaces near the old and new ferries. The one at the old ferry was estab- lished in 1675, and both were abolished In 1814. The postofl!ice of Kings County was in this town, and was a principal point of concentration for all the stage and other roads on the island. There was one weekly newspaper. A draw- bridge was at this time contemplated to connect Brooklyn with New York. There were sixtv-one freeholders with- in this to-rni in 1706. and in 1802 their number had increased to eighty-six. The population of the town of BrooK- Ivn was in 1800 3,298 1810 4,402 1820 7,175 1830 15,292 1SS5 25,312 1840 35.233 1S45 59.574 1850 96,838 The taxable property was valued 1706 at £3,112, and the tax amounted to £41; the valuation in 1810 was $1,175,- 529; in 1824 it was $2,600,000, and the tax amoimted to $7,000; In 1834 the valua- tion was $7,257,473. TOWN OF NEW UTRECHT. Cornells Van Werckhoven, a director of the West India Company, purchased on November 22, 1652, from Seiseu and Mattano, chiefs and owners, the terri- tory of the later town of New Utrecht, "as the same has previously been bought on behalf of the Honorable Company, and tor which payment was to be made yet." On December 1 of the same year he secured from Mat- tano, Mattaveno and Cossikan, on be- half of themselves and as attorneys for all other inhabitants and supposed owners of the land now come into the FULTON FERRY, 1840. possession of Van Werckhoven by the foregoing act, their promise "to remove immediately from the land now occu- pied by them, called Naieck." After starting a settlement at Nayack, which is called "Greewyck" on Van der Donck's map, Van Werckhoven went to Holland, with the intention of re- turning. He died, however, there in 1655. „ Jacques Corteleau, the tutor of Van Werckhoven's son, asked the Director General and Council on January 16, 1657, as the agent of the heirs of Cor- nells Van Werckhoven, tor permission "to establish a village on Long Island, on the bay of the North River." His request being granted, he laid out and surveyed the place, dividing it into twenty lots of twenty-five morgen each. The village was named New Utrecht, in honor of Van Werckhoven's birth- place. Nicasius de Sille, the Fiscal or Attornev General of New Netherland, was among the settlers; he built his house here in 1657, which stood for two centuries; in this building General WoodhuU expired from his wounds in 1776. , ^ „„ Stuvvesant granted on August 2i, 1657, to the newly begun village of New Utrecht, one hundred and thirty mor- gen of meadowland "on the east hook of the bay of the North River, oppo- site Coney Island." On August 13, 1658, Anthony Jansen from Salee proved to the Director General that he had bought the aforesaid meadow from the Indians on September 26, 1651, and as he had no other meadow for mak- ing hay, part of the meadow nearest to his house was given to him. It appears that Jacques Corteleau was the owner of the neck of land called Navack, the site of the present Fort Hamilton. He also was a lot- holder in the village of New Utrecht, and resided there, no doubt, during the last years of Stuyvesant's admin- istration. On his land, on the neck, ho ;,llowed th.? "Nayack Indians;' i. e., Manhattan Indians, who had removed to this place from Staten Island, to remain for many years, where they planted their corn. In 1659 Stuyvesant appointed Jan To- massen to the office of Sergeant, to keep order in the village, and Jacob Van Corlear was soon after made the Secretary of New Utrecht. In the fall of 1659, when a renewal of troubles with the Indians was expected, the Fis- cal gave order to fortify his house, which was the only one within the town having a tilea roof. The house, forty-two feet long, together with the garden, was now surrounded with high palisades, set close together, as a place of refuge for the townspeople. On February 6, 1660, Stuyvesant visited the village In company of the Fiscal; the latter had given to the town a flag of the Prince of Orange, which was now hoisted on a pole in the center of the village. The mottoes in the Prince's coat-of-arms and in the seal of the Bruyckleen Colony being iden- tical, the hoisting of the flag repre- sented the salute of the Long Island Colony to the Director General. On February 23, the Fiscal was au- thorized to have the lately formed vil- lages of Breukelen and New Utrecht surveyed, enclosed with palisades, and put in a good state of defense. Per- suaded by some of their fellowmen, the people of New Utrecht tried to delay the work, and the Fiscal asked the Director General to send over, as promised, some of the company's ne- groes, to do the work. This was grant- ed two days later, and the palisades were cut and set up. A blockhouse was now ordered to be erected in the center of the village, and a public well dug, also a pound to be construct- ed for the cattle which may have committed damage to any person. To the end that the village might be quicker settled and built up, it was or- dered that whosoever be first ready to build, should have a preference of choice, even notwithstanding such per- son's chance may have fallen to a dif- ferent lot. Such plantations in the town which were not as yet fenced, as well as village lots, were to bo fenced. In the same year a horse-mill which had been in use in New Amster- dam was purchased and set up near the blockhouse. On December 22, 1661, the town received a village charter. Adrian Hegeman, the successor of Schout Tonneman, took charge of New Utrecht, together with Breukelen. Mld- wout and Amersfoort, and Jan Tomas- sen, Rutger Josten and Jacob Hella- kers were appointed Commissaries. Van Corlear was directed to hand over to the Schout all documents relating to New Utrecht. On August 24, 1662, the Commissaries asked that the meadow land be divided between the village and Navack. In a letter dated April 26, 1664, and addressed to the Directors of the West India Company, at Amsterdam, Stuy- vesant states: "Concerning tho set- tling and securing of both Long and Staten Islands, near the Narrows, the orders have been carried out some time ago, by forming hamlets on both is- lands. The village of New Utrecht was laid out on Long Island, about a quar- ter of an hour's travel inland from tho Narrows, there being no convenient place nearer for the location of a vil- lage; it is settled by about twenty-two to twenty-four families of the Dutch or Netherland nation. A hamlet not yet named was begun on Staten Island about two years ago, and has now about twelve to fourteen families of Dutch and French from the Palatinate: it lies about half an hour's walk from the Narrows, there being no more con- venient place for a village nearer the water. Both these places were provid- ed with commodious blockhouses for a defense against the attacks of the sav- ages last summer: the blockhouses are built by putting beam upon beam and for their better defense are each pro- vided with two or three light pieces 24 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. of ordnance, of which one or two arf pedereroes; the hamlet on Staten Is- land, being the weakest, and too far to be relieved in time, is garrisoned with ten soldiers for its greater safety." The Dutch Church was organized in 1S77. A stone edifice of octagonal shape was erected in 1700, surrounded by the graveyard, on the Kings High- way, and what is now Sixteenth ave- nue; it was demolished in 182S. A new structure was built on the present site. Eighteenth avenue, between Eighty- Church edifice, the taxable property was valued at $275,765; the population was then 907; in 1835, 1,027; in 1840, 1,283. Neighborhoods in this town were Bay Ridge, Fort Hamilton, near the United States grounds, and Bath on Gravesend Bay. The latter was a fa- vorite place for sea bathing, hunting and fishing. The fortress known as Fort Hamilton was constructed during the years 1824-1832, Fort Lafayette was built upon Hendrick's Bluff, 200 yards from shore, in 1812, and was orig- DUTCH CHURCH AND DE SILLE HOUSE, NEW UTRECHT. third and Eighty-fourth streets, and dedicated in 1S29. The old church edi- fice had been used by the British dur- ing the Revolutionary War at various times for a hospital and riding school. The Simon Cortelyou house was built long before that struggle, on the Shore road; in its rear was the burial ground of the Cortelyou family. This house was the headquarters of Lord Howe after his landing in Gravesend Bay in August. 1776, for about a month. After Simon's death it came into the possession of one Napier, who transformed it into a tavern. After Napier's death, Simon Cortelyou's son, Simon, became the owner and later on the Stillwell family owned the house. In 1892 the Federal Government pur- chased it, and finally it was destroyed by fire in 1901. The Van Pelt Manor house was built about the latter part of the seventeenth century, and is still standing on Eighteenth avenue and Eighty-first street; nearby is one of the two remaining milestones in the coun- ty, which were erected by the King'.^ order, to mark the postroad from Bos- ton to Philadelphia. The road was known as the King's Highway; it cut through New Utrecht and Gowanus to Denyse's Ferry, where the connection with Staten Island was made by boat. At every turning point in the road a stone was set up. At Denyse's Ferry the British landed their first troops in 1776; near the shores of this town, too, the squadron of Colonel Richard Nic- olls, the first English Governor of New York, had anchored in 1664. and his letter to Director General Stuyve- sant bears date on board the Guyney, riding before Nayack, on the 20th day of August. Along the Narrows the land is hilly and stony, and on the northern town line were some considerable hills. These wooded ridges formed the extreme western end of the backbone of Long Island, which extends all along the northern side of the "Great Plains," as far as Southold, on the eastern end of the island. The Interior part of the town is level, and the soil consists of light loam and sand. In 1810 the village contained forty houses and the Reformed Dutch inally known as Fort Diamond. A few feet below the surface, at the Narrows, was found, in 1837, more than a wag- on-load of Indian arrow-heads. TOWN OF GRAVESEND. A tract of 100 morgen of land oppo- site Coney Island was given to An- thony Jansen from Salee in 1639, and a patent for it was issued in 1644. This commissary at "the Hope." At least he laid claim to all three in later years, though on account of the danger of at- tacks by the Indians, in an extremely exposed position, he had never taken possession of the property. The patent describes it as "situate on the east side of the bay, running into the North River." In 1643 English settlers from Massa- chusetts came here; in 1645 they re- ceived a general town patent, issued December 19, to Lady Deborah Moody and associates. The origin of this town differs from that of the Dutch towns. Gravesend was intended to be- come a commercial port. Ten acres of land were laid out and surrounded by palisades. When, however, it became evident that there was not sufficient depth for vessels of a larger class, the original plan was abandoned. The English settlers held religious services in the town and Stuyvesant stated that the inhabitants of Gravesend had more privileges than the exemptions gave to any Hollander. In 1655 the settlement was saved from destruction at the hands of the River Indians by a guard sent over from New Amsterdam. In the following year the inhabitants ob- tained three small cannon from the fort for their protection. In 1659 a mill was erected. Of the 7,000 acres of land in the town 3,500 were farm land, 500 woodland and the balance salt meadows and a ridge of sand hills near the seashore. It has been suggested that the town wa.s named after the former home of some of the original settlers, viz., Gravesend in England; another suggestion is that it was originally called "s'Graven- sande," i.e., "the count's beach." Di- rectly opposite Gravesend, on the other side of Lower New York Bay, are tlia Navesink Highlands; along these high- lands and the Navesink River the sand is of a reddish color, hence the name "Red Bank" in this neighborhood. On the Long Island shore the sand is of a grayish color, and this fact may have 'i.:n:.--^d«„ .- -ji"' i-iiSI- - PIRST DUTCH CHURCH EDIFICE AT GRAVESEND. Sketched After Old Description. land, described as situated "near the bay," became later known as "the old Ijouwery." Adjoining Anthony Jan- sen's patent a tract of 90 morgen, lying partly in Gravesend and partly in New Utrecht, was granted in 1645 to Robert Pennoyer. The present Coney Island consisted originally of three parts, viz., Conijno Eylandt, Conijne Hoek or the later Pine Island, and Gysberfs Eylandt, or the later Johnson's Land. Apparently these three parts were granted on Mav 24, 1644, to Gysbert op Dyck, the former led the settlers to name this shore "Graauwezande," or Grauesand, as the name is often written in old documents, i.e., "Grayishsand." The Dutch Church was organized in 1763 and a church edifice was erected, which was replaced by a second one in 1833 and this one again by a third one in 1894. Shortly after the conquest of 1664 the town was made the seat of justice, a court house was erected in 1668 and the Courts of Sessions of the West Riding were held here, also the Courts of Kings County until 1686, Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 25 ■when the County Court at Flatbush was opened. The Strycker house, on Gravesend avenue, near present Avenue U, was destroyed by fire about 1894. The Still- well house was formerly known as the Van Siclen house. The Johnson house was built upon "the bouwerij of ye Lady Moody." The Wyckoff homestead, on present East Nineteenth street, near Avenue Q, was erected about the latter part of the eighteenth century and was tern down during the first years of the present century. A block away is standing the still older Bennett farm house. The Wyckoff house, on Kings Highway, near Fourteenth street, was built about forty years ago. In 1649 Coney Island is called Manna- hanning, i.e., island place. A locality at the mouth of Gerrettsen's Creek was called Moeung. This probably was the place called by the Dutch t'vlaeck, i.e., a stain or blot, a black or muddy place. Another locality in this neighborhood, the upland, was called Makeopaca. An Indian burying ground was found in 1897 on Avenue U, near Ryder's Pond. Deep beds of oyster shells, the outer sides of the shells uppermost, were found, also pottery and more than a dozen of skeletons. In ISIO Gravesend village contained twenty houses, the Reformed Dutch Church edifice and a schoolhouse. A lighthouse was designed to be erected at Coney Island, on the west end of Schryer's Hook. There were two tide mills. The taxable property was val- ued at $178,477; the population was 520, increasing to 69.5 in 1835 and 810 in 1840. The settlement on Sheepshead B.ay was originally known as "The Cove,' and later as Sheep-shead Bay. Other neighborhoods were Unionville and Ginitherville on Gravesend Bay, South Greenfield on the Kings Highway and on the head of Gerrettsen's Creek, ex- tending over the Flatlands line. TOWN OF FLATBUSH. (Including the Later Town of New Lots.) Flatbush was originally known as Midwout and was settled in 1651, though single settlers had been on the ground earlier. It is named in old documents variously 't Vlakke Bos, Midwout and Middelwout. 'T Vlakke Bos means small things packed close together, i. e., "a bunch" on the plain; Midwout and Middelwout means "in the midst of the forest "or siirrounded by forest." In 1653 Stuyvesant wrote, in answer to a remonstrance presented to him: "It is not true that general town-patents had been promised to the inhabitants of Middelburgh and Mid- wout. The contrary can be proved by living witnesses and by the written conditions, now deposited in the secre- tarv's oflice, under which lands were allotted and taken possession of in the said villages. If they have not their individual deeds, they may come and call for them; they will not be carried home to everybody." Cornelius Van Ruyven, the secretary of the colony, and son-in-law of Domine Megapolen- sis, bought in 1654 a farm of twenty- five morgen in this town for the sum of 525 guilders. On October 16, 1655, a plan was approved for concentrating the village of Midwout. Five or six lots were to be reserved for public buildings, such as for the schout, the minister, the secretary, the school- master, village tavern and public courthouse. On February 22, 1656, a plan was ready to lay out the village, set up palisades, and erect a block- house. On May 26, 1656, the Schout and "the magistrates of Midwout and Amersfoort" issued orders that those in- habitants who had not as yet set up their share of palisades must do so within eight days or pay a fine of 25 guilders for each lot. On February 26, 1660. the magistrates of Midwout and Amers- foort were ordered to have the pali- sades surrounding the villages repaired ' and kept in good order by assigning to each inhabitant a certain portion, for which he was to be held responsible. On March 31, 1661. separate inferior courts were erected in each of these villages. Part of the town, known as Oostwout, or the New Letts of Flat- GRAVESEND TOWN HALL. bush, was settled In 1654, and was separated in 1852 from the town of Flatbush and organized as the town of New Lots. A horsemill was erected here in 1660. A low, broad range of hills extended along the town border; the remainder of the territory was level, the soil being light loam. Prospect Hill was elevated 300 feet above the plain, overlooking the neighboring townships. In Oost- wout, the southern halt of the terri- tory consisted of salt meadows; the soil of the remainder was light loam. The first Dutch church edifice on Long Island was begtin here in Mid- wout, in 1654, when the church was or- ganized. There were 100 morgen of fire in 1832, the courts were transferred to Brooklyn. Erasmus Hall was in- corporated in 1787. The Vanderveer homestead, on Flatbush avenue, oppo- site Dorchester road, took, in 17S7, the place of an earlier structure on land granted in 1660. It was demolished in 1911. The Bergen House, said to have been built in 1735, was torn down about 1840; the Strycker House, which also has been removed, had been erected in 1696, of brickstones. Nearly opposite stood the Zabriskie homestead, another brickstone building, and as old as its neighbor, until 1877. The original Lef- ferts homestead, built in the latter part of the seventeenth century on the junction of Flatbush and Wash- ington avenues and Lincoln road, and the Martense house, opposite, were both burned down by the British in 1776; the Lefferts house was rebuilt on its old lines. The Suydam-Ditmas Man- sion, near the junction of Ditmas ave- nue, was erected about 1700 and stood until 1911. The old farmhouse on Church lane, near Story street, and known as the Story homestead, was formerly occupied by the Martense family. Melrose Hall, built in 1749 by John Lane, near Flatbush avenue and Clarkson street, was torn down at the beginning of the present century. Judge Isaac Terhune erected a house about a half-mile distant from the Kings Highway station of the Brighton Beach R.iilroad, in 1?12, which was later purchased by Benjamin Hitchings. In 1810 Flatbush was known as the "Capital of the County." The village contained about 100 houses, standing on the town road and covering a stretch of one and a half miles in length; the stone building of the Reformed Dutch Church, the courthouse and jail, Eras- mus Hall Academy and two common schools, also two tide mills and one windmill, were within the town limits. The taxable property was valued at $369,118; the population was 1,159, and in 1835, 1,537; in 1840, 2,099. The poorhouse of the county is located in this town. The farm of sixty acres was purchased for $3,000. Neighborhoods in the town were: Greenfield, Parkville, Oaklands and Windsor Terrace. The region known as Keuters" Hook, received its name from the fact that ORIGINAL LONG ISLAND CHUKCH, ERECTED AT MIDDELWOUT. land set aside for the church, the little structure on the Indian trail was in- closed with a strong palisade, and in time of danger the settlers, after till- ing their farm land all day, retired at nightfall within the protecting stock- ade, until they were able to erect more substantial houses upon their farms. A second structure was built in 1699, which was altered in 1775, and the present building was erected in 1795 on the original site. The courthouse of the County of Kings was erected in Flatbtish village in 1685, and in the following year the courts were removed from Gravesend to this place. The courthouse was re- built in 1793. After Its destruction by this tract was given over in the earlier days to the mechanics of the town, who could only take care of small par- cels of land. The name is derived from the word Keutel-boer, used in opposi- tion to boer. The word boer was ap- plied to farmers on large farms in the older part of the town. In the later town of New Lots, the farmhouse built in 1715 by William Howard, near the present junction of Broadway and Fulton street, was known as the Rising Sun Tavern, or Howard's Halfway House, of Revolu- tionary War fame. The Howard es- tate was sold in 1867, and soon there- after turned into building lots, and the old tavern was torn down. Among the 26 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. landmarks are the Schenck homestead, on Jamaica avenue, and the Eldert homestead, on New Lots road, between Lincoln and Sheridan avenues, on land granted to Johannes Eldert in 1667. Daniel Rapelje built a stone house on what is now Sheffield avenue, before the Revolution, which has been taken down. His son, Simon, built the house now known as the McGee house; Wil- liam Rapelje built the present Rapelje house, on the north side of New Lots road, between Sheffield and Georgia avenues, in 1820. The Wyckoff house is standing on New Lots road, between Miller avenue and Bradford street, and the Van Siclen, near Hendrix street. The Reformed Dutch Church of New Lots was organized in 1824, and an edifice erected on New Lots road In the center of the settlement. The former town hall of New Lots, stand- ing on Jamaica Bay, at present Stan- ley and Atkins avenues, was destroyed by fire in 1912. TOWN OF FLATLANDS. The principal village of the Canarsee was in this town and known as Kes- kaechqiieren, i. e., at the bay. The name Flatlands is derived from het vlakke land, i. e., the flat country. The soil is light sand or sandy loam. The town .vcfeaft- NEW AMERSFORT CHURCH. ERECTED 1663 was settled in 1636. One of the first grants for lands wa« for Barren Is- land, which was then considerably larger and called Equendito. The Dutch called it 't Beeren Eylandt, i. e.. Bears Island. Upon Barren Island the pirate Charles Gibbs had secreted a portion of the wealth which he had plundered upon the high seas. Part of it was recovered after the pirate and his companions had been executed upon Gibbet Island in New York Harbor in 1830. The islands and meadows ad- joining Barren Island were called by the Indians Hoopaninak, Shanscoma- cocke and Macutteris. There are im- mense shellheaps at Canarsie and Ber- gen Island. Achtervelt was a plantation in this town, comprising a tra»t of land of about 1,800 morgen, ef which only a small part was cultivated; a patent for the same was granted in 1638. The patents for the Castateuw purchases of 1636 from the Indians were annulled in 1652. They consisted of the two smaller fiats, claimed by Wouter Van Twiller and the great fiat, also called "at the bay" or Amersfoort flat, claimed by Wolphert Gerretsen and Andries Hudde. At the same time patents for other large tracts were an- nulled, as the maize land, flatland and ■valley of Canarisse, conveyed by gift to Jacob Wolphertsen to the serious dam- age of the new village of Midwout, further the islands in the Hellgate, Nooten Eylandt ,Red Hook, the land at Sloops Bay and Oyster Bay, called Matinnecough. The territory of the town is later called the Bouwery or District of Ach- tervelt. In January, 1651, a village was established, which was named Nieuw Amersfoort. Twenty-eight lots were di- vided by lot. Stuyvesant owned a farm here in 1655; in the same year a mili- tary guard was stationed in the town on account of the Indian troubles; the village was inclosed by a stockade. Van Twiller's and Corlear's flats, con- taining 1,600 to 2,000 morgen of land, were used as a common pasturage by the people of Amersfoort and Midwout. The Dutch church in the town was founded in 1654; a first edifice was erected in 1663; it was enlarged in 1762; a second one was built in 1794 and a third one in 1848. The graveyard wa^s established upon an old Indian burial hill, and the Indian graves were in- cluded in the graveyard. The house on Flatlands Neck was built in 1664 by Pieter Claes Wyckoff, who had purchased the land from the Canarsee at an early date. There is a tradition that the name Wyckoff was given to him on account of his settling in this isolated neighborhood; its mean- ing being "to depart" (wijken) and "beyond" (over), i. e., to depart to a distant place. The homestead was re- paired in 1819. The little schoolhouse on the neck was built in 1786. The mill on Gerrettsen's Creek, the former Stroomkil, occupies the founda- tions of the original gristmill. The Jan Martense Schenck house was built about 1656 near a creek, on which later a mill was erected. Mentelaer Island, called by the Indians Wimbaccoe, is now known as Bergen Island. Mus- kytte Hool was the name of a locality on Flatlands Neck. In 1810 Flatlands Village contained twenty houses. There was the Re- formed Dutch Church edifice and one tidemill in this town. The taxable property was valued at $14,039; the pop- ulation was 517, increasing to 684 in 1835 and 810 in 1840. Canarsie village was a settlement upon the road lead- ing to the bay. TOWN OF BUSHWICK. (Including the later Williamsburgh.) The name Bushwick has been said by some writers to signify "Town in the Woods," while others have trans- lated it "Heavy Woods." In the town records we read under date of April 5, 1663, that some of the inhabitants pe- titioned the Director General and Council to allow them to inclose their lands near the village with a common fence, "in view of the great expen.se of individually fencing their land, said expense being greatly increased by the scarcity of wood in their neighborhood, etc." This was three years after the settlement had been started, and it is inconceivable that a region, which hal been remarkable for its wealth of tim- ber, in such a degree as to cause the Governor to name the town for this very pecularity of the region "Town in the Woods," to be so stripped of timber within a short time, as the pe- tition shows. To the writer it seems more likely that the village was named for the compact form in which it was laid out by Stuyvesant. The latter had ordered in February, 1660, that all settlers should remove to villages; a few days later a party of men peti- tioned him to select a site for them, suitable for a settlement, and he took them to the plain between the New- town Creek and Bushwick Creek, where he laid out a village of twenty-two lots. A year later he again visited the new settlement, and, requested by the in- habitants to give a name to the place, he named it Boswijck. As noted above, the Director-General would no longer permit the planters to occupy their scattered farmhouses, and with this point in view, he had established this place of concentration on the plain. The name Boswijck, coined by Stuy- vesant on this occasion, expressed per- fectly what the Governor's order was intended to enforce, i.e., to take the ex- posed homes of the several settlers and bring them together at a central point for the sake of their own safe- ty. The word is composed of "bos," meaning a "collection of small things packed close together" and of "wijk," i. e., a retreat, refuge, guard, defend from danger. The site selected was suitable for a settlement, as it was lev- el land or "a flat," bounded by creeks; that part of the town known in later times and to this day as Greenpoint was in the olden days known as Gren- en Hout Punt, or Hout Punt. It was the neck of land from which the set- tlers of Boswijck secured the timber for palisades and building material; Hout Punt means "timber place." The name was later anglicized into Wood- point, and the remnant of the town road, which led to the place, is still known as "Old Woodpoint road." Grenen Hout Punt indicates that the woods consisted of fir trees. The territory of the town was pur- chased by Governor Kieft from the Ca- narsee in 1638; settlers which had lo- cated here prior to that date were con- firmed in their possessions, and pat- ents to new settlers were granted in rapid succession. The soil was princi- ON OLD WOODPOINT ROAD, BUSHWICK. pally a light loam and the surface con- siderably hilly, in some parts stony, though productive. On March 31, 1661, an Inferior Court was established and thus the town was organized. Adriaen Hegeman, the Schout of Breukelen, Amersfoort and Midwout, had now also jurisdiction over New Utrecht and Boswijck. In 1662, the village, which was inclosed with palisades, contained twenty-five houses; according to Brodhead, two blockhouses were erected within this town in 1663; this no doubt refers to the blockhouse upon the Kijkuit near the Strand and another one in the village. A Dutch church was erected about 1720 and a second edifice was built in 1829 on the original site (de- molished last January) ; in the same year a chapel was opened in Williams- burgh. In 1810, the town contained the Reformed Dutch Church edifice in the village, a Methodist meeting house In the Williamsburgh region, two tida Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 27 mills, two schoolhouses and two tav- erns. The taxable property was valued at $263,025; the population was 798; In 1835. 3,341, and In 1840, 6,389, including Williamsburgh. In 1827, the village of Williamsburgh was incorporated; this community was separated from Bush- wick in 1840 and incorporated as a town. The City of Williamsburgh came into existence in 1852. Of the old farmhouses, the oldest still standing is the Duryea house on Meeker avenue, near Newtown Creek; the Conselyea in Bushwick village, erected prior to 1700, has been taken down. Other old buildings were the Skillman house, the two Devoe houses on the Woodpoint road, where also stood the Mansion House, built by Theodorus Polhemus, and the Debe- voise house, both erected before the Revolution. At the Crossroads settle- ment, the former Kruis-pad, was the Whaley house and Rapalye's Tavern. In Williamsburgh, the Miller house stood on the site of the blockhouse up- on the Kijkuit; it was taken down in 1860; the Fountain Inn was situated near Grand Street Ferry; near Union avenue was the house of Jan de Swede, who lived here before the land was avenue and Woodbine street; It was taken down about 1901. The original cemetery on the Wood- point road was abandoned in 1879; a churchyard, surrounding the Dutch church had been established in 1814; there were family burial places on many of the farms. The Bushwick Ferry was started by James Hazard in 1797, a rowboat being operated between Hazard's farm on Corlear's Hook and the Fountain Inn on the Long Island side. WoodhuU's Ferry was started a few years later; Morrell's Ferry in 1812. The Will- iamsburgh Ferry was incorporated in 1824; the Peck Slip Ferry was establish- ed in 1836; the Houston Street Ferry in 1840; the Greenpoint Ferry to Tenth street, Manhattan, in 1853. The ferry which had been operated for some years from Calvary Cemetery to Twen- ty-third street was also transferred to Greenpoint avenue in 1857; the James Slip Ferry, running from South Tenth street, w^as established in 1857. In 1860, the Roosevelt Street Ferry began to run a boat to Williamsburgh. The Broadway Ferry to Twenty-third street was opened in 1885, and some The water flowing into this reservoir comes from a chain of lakes and creeka scattered over the towns of Hempstead and Jamaica. Near the eastern ex- tremity of this chain was a railroad station of the old South Side Railroad, called Rldgewood, twenty-seven miles distant from Brooklyn and close to the Oyster Bay town line. From the fact that the Aqueduct and canal, as they were laid out, when the great enter- prise was commenced, started In the Ridgewood tract, the reservoir con- structed upon the Cypress Hills be- came known as the Ridgewood Reser- voir and the thinly settled neighbor- hood in its rear as Ridgewood. Thus the reservoir received its name not from being located near the Ridge- wood settlement, but the settlement received its name from being located near the reservoir. A few years before the latter was built, another settlement had been started near the northern entrance of the Cemetery of the Ever- greens, which was named South Will- iamsburgh. This being the most com- pact neighborhood, the name Ridge- wood was gradually applied to it and when a large area was later embraced BUSHWICK CHUBCH AND TOWN HOUSE A CENTURY AGO. The View of the Church Is Taken From Long Island Miscellanies and the View of the Town House From the Brooklyn Manna! of 1868. bought from the Indians. In Green- point Dirck Volkertse, the Noorman had built a stone house on the shore of Bushwick Creek, which later was named after him "Noorman's Kil"; Dirck was also one of the early set- tlers. The Provoost house was de- stroyed by fire about 1832. Abraham Jansen erected a mill in 1664 on New- town Creek, near Bushwick village, and on its site was "Masters' Mill," standing until a half century ago; Schenck's Mill was nearby. The Schenck family burial ground is near the site of the mill, on the former Wyckoff farm. The Wyckoff hou.se is located on Flushing avenue, near Cypress avenue; there are several other old houses on this farm. The Suydam house, built about 1700 and formerly owned by Leffert Lefferts, was situated on the Old Bushwick road on the corner now known as Evergreen years later boats were run to For- ty-second street. The Ridgewood section in Queens Borough is the territory over which a legal fight was carried on for more than a century between the towns of Bushwick and Newtown. By granting the New Lotts of Bushwick to the town, Stuyvesant had made the present Ridgewood section apparently a part of Bushwick; still when in 1769 the dis- pute was settled, the tract was decided to be a part of the town of Newtown. However, today the section is most intimately connected with the upper part of the former town of Bushwick, and in considering the Ridgewood sec- tion the territory situated in Kings and Queens Counties must be taken as a unit. The name came into use here when a small settlement sprang up in Queens County near the Ridgewood Re.servoir, about a half century ago. under the designation Ridgewood, this part became known as Evergreen, as most of its denizens were in some way connected with the Cemetery of the Evergreens, as florists, laborers, etc. The name Ridgewood was now identi- fied with a large tract in Queens Coun- ty and with a considerable part of the Eastern District of Brooklyn and the old South Side Railroad station became known as Wantagh, Its name having been changed in 1891, at the request of its inhabitants. TOWN OF NEWTOWN. (Including the later Long Island City). Part of this town was set off in 1870 and incorporated a city under the name of Long Island City. The Indians called the territory of the grreater part of the town, i. e.; the eastern portion, "Wan- 28 Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. dewenock," meaning "the fine land be- tween the long streams," viz., Flushing and Newtown creeks. The Mispat band had their village on the head of Mispat Kil, or Newtown Creek. When the Rockaways sold the land to the settlers of Middelburgh in 1656, they reserved "a tract of upland, lying under the hills, southward from the town place, now seated," as hunting ground. The west branch of Mispat Kil was called Quandoequareus, i. e., "at the further- most branch of the long tidal stream." In 1640 the Rev. Francis Doughty was granted the so-called Mispat pat- ent, including nearly all the territory of the town; he and his associates found on their arrival two or three squattei-s on the g:round. In the Indian War of 1643 the Mispat settlement, hav- ing then more than eighty inhabitants, was wiped out. At this time, lands were taken up at the junction of Newtown Creek and the Dutch Kills Creek, at Kunapaukah; i. e., "the Bears' water- land." On the east side of Kanapaukah Kil, or Dutch Kills Creek, was Rich- ard Brutnell's plantation, deeded to him in 1G43; it came later In the posses- sion of William Herrick. Herrlck's widow married Thomas Wandell, who was living on the Bushwick shore of Newtown Creek as far back as 1648. Wandell enlarged the property by pur- chase and it became later known "as the Alsop farm. The Alsop house, erected by Wandell in 1665, was destroyed in 1879. On the west side of the Kana- paukah, lands were granted to Tymen Jansen and Burger Jorissen in 1643, and to .Jan Jansen in 1647. Dominie's Hook received its name from its owner. Dominie Everardus Bogardus of the Church in the Fort on Manhattan Island, the son-in-law of Tymen Jansen, as early as 1643. This tract, known as "The Old Farm," consisted of 212 acres; it was purchased in 1697 by Captain Peter Pra, who lived then on the Bush- wick shore of Newtown Creek. The captain's granddaughter married Cap- tarn George Hunter, and from him the "point" received the name "Hunter's Pomt." Hunter's wife died in 1833, and two years later the farm was sold and the old homestead disappeared. Brou- card Burgon, or Bragaw, a French Huguenot, who emigrated from Mann- heim, in the Palatinate on the R^ine. m 1675, settled at Sunnyside in 1688, after havmg sold his farm in Bushwick and after a short residence on Staten Island. He erected a gristmill; in 1757 the farm came into the possession of Isaac Bragaw, who erected the house on Jackson and Skillman avenues, near the present Queensboro Bridge Plaza; It was taken down in 1912. After sev- eral changes the land came Into the Payntar family in 1831. The Debevoise house on Hill street, near Anable street, was destroyed by fire about 1909; among the other old houses are the Van Pelt, Stevens, Cxosman Dur- yea and Washington houses. At Ravenswood, formerly called the waterside. John Delafleld erected in 1792 the mansion known as "Sunswick"; the Blackwell homestead on Webster avenue, near the river, was built in 1664. About 1834 the corporation of the City of New York erected buildings for a poorfarm at Ravenswood, which were sold in 1847, when the institutions were transplanted to the islands in the river; the owner leased the buildings to the Commission of Emigration for a ship-fever-hospital, etc. After many in- effective protests, the citizens de- stroyed the buildings. Ravenswood was connected with New York City a half century ago by stages running via As- toria and Eighty-sixth street, or Hell Gate Ferry, to Chatham Square. William Hallett, born in Dorsetshire, England about 1616. received a grant for 160 acres at Hellgate in 1652, for- merly in possession of Jacques Bentyn, the site of the later Astoria village. In 1655 his house and outbuildings were destroyed during the Indian uprising, and he removed to Flushing; later he settled again in this section. A small shell heap was at Sandford's Point, op- posite the north end of Blackwell's Island, showing that the Indians had a village there. There were early, as well as later, relics. A blockhouse was built at Hellgate during the Revolu- tion, and a water battery, "Fort Ste- vens," during the War of 1812. The Woolsey mansion, opposite East Nine- ty-sixth street, Manhattan, was erected about 1726; other old houses are the Barclay mansion, on the Shore Road, and the Rapelje mansion. Patents for five small plantations of about 50 acres each and extending from the river to the great swamp, or Lubberts' swamp, were granted about 1653; they were later purchased by Homer Lawrence, who also obtained a patent for the ad- joining "Round Island," in 1665. Round Island is now known as Berrian's Island, and contains 12 acres. The Greenhook, later known as the G. M. Woolsey farm, was granted to Jean Gerardse in 1653, and in the same year THE OLD BAY TAVERN ON THE POOR-BOWERY. the later Dr. Ditmars farm, to Philip Gerardse, and the later Polhemus es- tate, to Tenen Craye. In 1654 Anneke Jans, the widow of Dominie Bogardus, obtained an additional patent on Pot Cove. Abraham Rycken, or de Rycke, had received in 1638 a large grant of land In Bushwick. He obtained another grant in 1654 at the "Poor Bowery," which had originally been granted to the Dutch Church on Manhattan Island for an "armen bouwery" — that is, a poor farm. Abraham Rycken died in 16S9; his son Abraham enlarged the property; the family burial place is on Bowery Bay, near the site of the house erected by the younger Rycken. Hen- drick Rycken, a grandson of the orig- inal settler, removed to Hallett's Cove lirior to the Revolution, and bought the sawmill on Sunswick Creek. The foundation of the gristmill at the mouth of the Sackhigneyah stream was laid by Cornelius Luyster in 16G8. Thomas B. Jackson bought the mill property on "Fishpoint" in 1835, and erected a gristmill on the old founda- tions. Sack-ig-naiag means a "point of land near the mouth of a stream." Riker's Island, containing 50 acres, and formerly known as Hewlett's Island, from its being the residence of George Hewlett, was conferred to Guysbert Rycken in 1667. The Rev. Francis Doughty, the leader in the original Mispat settlement, conferred his bouw- ery on Flushing Bay, at Stevens Point, on his daughter Mary at her marriage in 1645 to Dr. Adrian Van der Donck, who obtained a patent for it in 1648. About three years later, Thomas Ste- venson, an Englishman, living at Flushing, removed to this farm as tenant for Van der Donck, and after the departure of the latter to Holland, where he died, Stevenson obtained a patent from Stuyvesant, conferring these premises to himself. To this farm belonged originally a wooded eminence of twelve acres, lying on the Flushing Meadows; this was named Yonkers Island, after Van der Donck, who was called "de Jonker," or "Jongheer." The place was also known as "St. Ronan's Well," and in later years, when It was a favorite place for picnic excursions, it was called "Snake Hill." After the Mispat settlement had been destroyed by the Indians, a new set- tlement was commenced by some Eng- lishmen from New England; the old Mispat or English Kills settlement was located where Maspeth is today; the new place was midway between the old site and Flushing, along a meadow from which creeks fiowed into Newtown Creek and Flushing Creek. Here they settled in 1651, and named the place Mid- delburgh, the "village midway be- tween"; in 1662 the name was changed to Hastings, and later to Newtown. Another settlement was made in 1655 on Smith's Island, the later Mas- peth Island, or Furman's Island, in Newtown Creek. This settlement, named New Arnheim, was broken u» by the Dutch Governor, as being detri- niental to Boswijck village, laid out by Stuyvesant near by. Major Daniel Whitehead testified in court in 1704 that at the time of the coming of Gov- ernor NicoUs, his father and he, then living at "Mespatt Kills," which then did not belong to Newtown, chose dep- uties to the Assembly at Hempstead in 1665, as other towns did. When Yorkshire was created at this Assem- bly, the former Middelburgh, then called "Hastings," was included in the West Riding under the name of "the new towne," being enlarged by the out- plantations, comprising the Poor Bow- ery, Hellgate Neck, the English Kills, the Dutch Kills, etc. In 1670 a town house was erected on the site now occupied by the Fish House, on Grand Street and Hoffman Boulevard. In this building the serv- ices of the Presbyterian Church wera held, the church having been organ- ized in 1651, until a church edifice was erected in 1717. This was used as a guardhouse and hospital by the British while they occupied Newtown, from 1776 to 1783, and was finally demolished. On the same site a new edifice was erected in 1787, which was enlarged in 1S36; it is now used for Sunday school purposes. Opposite this old frame structure a stone church was opened for service, in 1895. The Dutch church was organized in 1704, and an edifice was erected in 1732; this building was used by the British for a powder maga- zine; it was taken down in 1832, and a new one erected. The Protestant Epis- copal Church was organized in 1731. Jonathan Fish joined the Middel- burgh settlement in 1659; his grand.son, Jonathan Fish, built, about 1700, the Fishhouse, on the site of the first town- house. Samuel Fish, the son of the younger Jonathan, kept it as an inn; he also purchased the farm at "Fish Point," on Flushing Bay, a part of the Luyster farm, or Poor Bowery farm. The Palmer, Riker, Luyster, Kowen- howen and Jacob Rapalje houses are located on this farm. John Moore, who died in 1657, was the first minister of the town; several "Moorehouses," built by his descendants, are to be noted. One, a Colonial mansion, was erected on the shell road, more than a century anterior to the Revolution; another, later owned by the Penfold family, and a third one, on the Bowery Bay road, Avith the Moore family burial place near by. The last-named house was the headquarters of Sir Henry Clinton after the Battle of Long Island. Cap- tain Richard Betts was one of the first settlers on the disputed lands along the Bushwick boundary. He built his house on the old Newtown road, be- tween Calvary Cemetery and Maurice avenue. The old house on the Bur- Eagle Library— LONG ISLAND; ITS EARLY DAYS AND DEVELOPMENT. 29 roixgh farm was built long before the Revolution by John Burrough, who died here in 1750. The Furraan house, later owned by Jonathan Howard, and standing on the road to Flushing, was erected at an early date. Willem Van Duyn settled in Hempstead Swamp, in this town, in 1719; the homestead on this farm was later known as the Van- derveer farmhouse; Abraham Remsen also settled at Hempstead Swamp; his son Jeromus bought the farm in 1735; the Remsen family burial place is on Van Duyn Hill. Abraham Brinckerhoff settled on a large farm on Flushing Meadows; the family burial place is on Flushing Bay. The Jackson homestead, on Jackson avenue, was built a century ago. Some months ago an article ap- peared in the papers, stating that the old house was to be taken down and to be re-erected at Sea Bright, N. J. At Corona, the Leverich homestead, facing the meadow, which is situated between Newtown and Flushing, was built by Caleb Leverich, who died here in 1717. It became later known as the Elliott House; its oldest part is said to date back as far as 1664; in the de- velopment of Elliott Manor, one street runs directly through the site of the old house. Here, too, the old stone house on the Old Mill road, built by the Coe family, dates back to the sev- enteenth century; its front, facing the creek, is built of Holland brick. Gideon Hallett, a descendant of William Hallett of Hellgate, settled at Maspeth; on his farm stood the Quaker Meeting House, surrounded by the b.irying ground,